Tip the Hourglass

Jiang Winters

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A year had passed since the assassination attempt on Chancellor Mohatu's life. The bombing had claimed the life of former Chancellor Alcor Bac, and had placed Chancellor Mohatu and his son, Jamall Junior, into a coma. Though their injuries were severe, with Jamall Junior's wounds being the worst, they had been recovering little by little, but still showed no signs of waking up.

Their hospitalization had hit Samanya hard. She was very close to her father and her brother. They had shaped her, defined her, made her the best that she could be. Junior, or 'Kamua' as Sam loved to call him, had taught her to be kind and gentle. He had taught her the arts of empathy and compassion, and he had trained her in the ways of the Force. Her father had taught her to fly and fight, to stand tall and never abandon what she believed in. Her father had taught her to be brave and loyal, to love and respect her friends and family, and to always be true to herself above all else.

Jamall and Kamua were two very different men. One was gentle, the other was strong. One was passionate, the other was patient. Their differences were innumerable, yet were combined together and personified in Samanya's indomitable spirit. She was their mirror image; nothing more, nothing less.

Needless to say, she was finding it difficult to cope without her life's two greatest influences. No matter what she did, no matter how many allies and companions she surrounded herself with, nothing she did ever replaced the loneliness and fear building inside her. She wanted her family back. That's all she had ever wanted; from the time she had been kidnapped at the age of sixteen to her time as a Jedi Knight. Six long years, and she still wanted the same thing.

The feline, on occasion, wondered if separation from her family was some kind of sick test the Gods were inflicting upon her. A trial, to determine her strength and her worthiness in their eyes. She always dispelled such thoughts, but the frequency at which they returned to haunt her was unnerving at best.

It was pleasant outside the Mohatu house; the skies were bright and blue, and white-crested waves rolled onto the beach. The house itself was built overlooking the shore of one of Balmorra's oceans. It was wholly conventional in construction, being made of sturdy timber with an adobe facade for style. The interior was fairly modern, with an abundance of polished steel, glass, and leather furnishings, though a few pieces of furniture -such as the dining room table and chairs- were far older in style, being of hand-carved wooden construction.

The two-story structure was surrounded with well-kept lawns, which were in turn bordered by a two-foot stone wall, which was capped with eight-foot tall steel fencing. The wall was never closer than one hundred yards at any point, and curved in a gentle arc around the property. A landing pad and hangar sat in the woods behind the house, and was connected to the rest of the property by a dirt trail that was typically traversed using a speeder or wheeled vehicle.

A guardhouse had been built by the hangar during her father's time as the Senator of Balmorra, and it had been reinforced and expanded when he became Chancellor. It was empty now; Samanya had told the guards to 'take a vacation' for a few days and leave her be. She needed time away from the guards; nothing too drastic, merely a few days. It'd give her the time she needed to pull herself back together, and to bolster her spirits.

She had sent for Ellie; a lifelong and a fellow pilot, she counted the Nelvaanian as one of her closest friends, and one of her most trusted - she had told Ellie everything about her slavery when she had told her father nothing. Sam dearly hoped that Ellie would answer her call; she wanted company for the next few days. She wasn't going to vent, she just wanted a shoulder to lean on for a bit.

The female sighed as she sprawled on the living room couch, wearing naught but a white tank-top and black sweats. She stared out into the ocean, blue eyes dark and tired. Her tail hung lazily over the edge of the couch, swishing back and forth as she thought. She didn't move, or speak, or even twiddle her thumbs; she just laid there, thinking. Dreaming. She was wondering what it would be like if she had never been kidnapped. Would she have gone to the Jedi Order? Would Kamua have signed up with the Jedi in the first place? Would her mother have survived her fight with cancer? Would her father have become the Chancellor? Would she have been more successful in finding romance? What would have happened?

She didn't know, and it frustrated her that she couldn't turn back the clock and find out.

Young Miss Mohatu was jolted from her thoughts when she felt a sudden lapse in the Force. She felt disconnected, unable to sense or manipulate anything through the Force. She sat up and stared down at her hands as she tried to puzzle out what was going on. By the time she recognized that disconnection as the effect of a Ysalamir, it was too late; the front door to the house shattered inwards, splinters of wood flying every which way in a hail of sawdust and kindling.

The feline bolted to her feet. Someone shouted behind her; the language was unfamiliar and incomprehensible to her. Before she could even turn to face the house's entry, she felt something small and sharp wedge into her upper back.

She instantly felt weak. Her muscles began to constrict painfully, her entire body tensing as red-hot pain flowed through her veins. She'd been drugged!

The Cathar slumped to her hands and knees. She felt indescribably weak, as if her body was made of lead. Even her cybernetic limb was affected, indicating that the drug was some kind of neurotoxin. Panicking and desperate for any means with which to fight back, she pushed herself to 'sit' on her knees and reached for the comms on the coffee table.

"Not so fast! Grab her!" a man snarled behind her. She cried out as she felt a pair of massive and powerful hands seize her by biceps from behind. She was dragged to her feet and hauled out into the open space between the living room and the front door, and roughly thrown to the ground. The wind was knocked from her lungs when she struck the flooring. She gasped and wheezed as she pushed herself up again, but one of her assailants put his boot right between her shoulders and forced her back into the floor. "Stay down, whore."

She knew that voice. It was the same heavy, almost gravelly tone of Kalil - a Kiffar torturer who delighted in reading the memories from his victims' clothing and his own implements of agony. He'd been a lackey for her fifth owner; a particularly cruel and unusual crime lord from the outer rim. He was anonymous in every way, but had delighted in watching and recording the torture and abuse of his slaves. From what she had gathered, he sold the recordings as a side job; his day job was overseeing a large and very profitable 'protection ring' on Taris's lower levels.

Kalil himself had tortured her more times than she could remember. To say that she was terrified was an understatement - there were no words that could adequately describe the fear coursing through her veins. Her heart pounded in her chest, her breath was shallow and rapid, and every fiber in her body begged her to shrug him off and run, but she couldn't. She could only lay there, pinned and helpless.

"Boss has been lookin' for you, you know," Kalil growled. The scarred man knelt down and brushed a lock of knotted and greasy black hair out of his face and grinned wickedly, revealing a grotesque collection of gold teeth standing in for his natural teeth. "He's... Missed you. I think he regrets sellin' you off to that Zeltron girl. And he wants you back! Imagine that, he wants you of all people, you lucky little whore."

He seized a fistful of her hair and roughly turned her head, forcing her to look at him. "But he wants you to come... How'd he put it... 'More or less willingly.' What that means is this:" Kalil paused and produced a tiny syringe, loaded with a sickly green fluid that seemed to glow. He jabbed it into her neck, and emptied the contents into her. "Either you show up at the usual spot in three weeks time, or this shit kills you. Not slow, either; it's gonna turn your insides to soup, it's gonna melt off your skin and liquiefy your bones, and it's going to do it very, very slowly so that you can savor every second of pain. Taris. Afterlife Club. Be there, hun, or else you're gonna be six feet under, you dig?"

She tried to speak, but couldn't. The drugs had done a number on her; she felt even weaker than before now.

"What's that? Cat got your tongue?" He laughed cruelly, and snapped his fingers. One of his cronies -she hadn't spotted them before, but now she noticed at least two or three other pairs of feet stamping around- handed him a long steel rod with a leather handle at one end and a ceramic 'box' covering the other end. He removed the ceramic, revealing a trident-shaped branding iron. With a flick of a switch, the end was glowing a brilliant red. The female shivered in fear as he brushed her hair aside. "Looks like your last brand healed nicely... Time for take two, eh?"

The sickening sizzle of flesh, the stench of burnt skin and singed fur, and the cries of pain from Samanya tickled Kalil's sense of humor. He roared with laughter and forced the brand in deeper, causing her to involuntarily squirm beneath him. "Oh, Samanya, Samanya, Samanya, you lucky whore! Just think, girl; this is only the beginning. Think of all the fun we'll have together once you come home to us!"

He shut off the brand and rose to his feet. A swift kick to her ribs knocked the wind out of her again and saw the young woman curled up into a helpless ball. "C'mon lads. Let's go."

Kalil and his crew walked out without a care in the world, leaving Samanya a frightened, broken wreck on the floor. Her past had come back to bite her in the ass, and it had bit hard. She waited five minutes after they left, then ten, then an hour; the drugs weren't wearing off. She was just feeling weaker and weaker. She struggled as long and as hard as she could, but ultimately gave up. Battered and bruised, she passed out in the middle of the floor, door wide open and a stormfront descending on the property - cliche, but, given the dreariness of her situation, the storm was only too fitting.

She would take up soon enough, though. She had summoned Ellie to meet with her that night, after all, and her friend was nothing if not [somewhat] punctual.
 
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There had been a lot of things on Val's mind. Her life had completely changed in ways she could never have foreseen. First and foremost, she knew she was going to be married soon. The thought was still alien to her, as if she hadn't gotten over the shock of being proposed to. She attempted to push the thought from her mind, as it distracted her constantly. As the months passed, she watched her son grow into a beautiful toddler, beginning to take his first steps. A curious fact was that his eyes had gradually turned gold as he aged, a unique trait his father carried. He looked more and more like Huang each day, though his attitude retained her fiery persona so far. Raziel was not on Val's mind, however, as she made her way over to Balmorra. It wasn't often that Sam had called upon her like this. She sounded troubled and Val knew it took a lot for her to be bothered.

Val had initially wanted to ask for more time to make her way over, in light of recent events. However, Sam's tone alone told her she needed to leave right away. Without a second thought, Val left Raziel with Huang and took off for Balmorra. Throughout the journey she thought of nothing but what could have happened to Sam to provoke this urgent call. Val looked at the time, cursing under her breath. She was slightly late, though she knew Sam wouldn't mind too much.

Although Val knew the family well, she had been out of touch with the Mohatus for quite some time. She had been devastated when she had learned about the assassination attempt. A pang of guilt struck her as she remembered that she hadn't really been there as support. When Sam had called, and things in her own life were finally calming down, she knew she had to answer right away. Val had stepped out of her ship, hailing a cab to take her over to the mansion.

The skies above were gloomy, thunder rumbling to herald the arrival of a storm. Val watched as the first drops of rain splattered against the window, glancing down at her comlink every now and then. She hated being late everywhere, as it was a habit of hers. Val mentally prepared an assortment of excuses for her tardiness as the cab arrived at the mansion. She tossed over a few credits and made her way over to the residence. Val stopped almost immediately. As if a dog picking up a scent, she knew something was wrong. The familiar feeling of dread filled her, the Force tugging at her conscious. She knew something was off, but at the Mohatu household?

Val followed the trail, ignoring the light drizzle that fell. She was far too preoccupied to notice that she was getting wet. Val's pace quickened when she noticed that the door was ajar. She ran up the steps and immediately ran in, spotting the Cathar right away.

"SAM!"

She ran over and crouched down next to Sam, immediately checking her pulse. Val exhaled for the first time when she felt the heartbeat. She gently nudged her to wake up, clueless as to what had caused this. Worry was etched across her features as her eyes roamed over the bruises on her body. They finally landed on the fresh brand on her neck. Val resisted the urge to touch it, her jaw dropping at the sight. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Oh, Sam..."
 

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Sam's eyes opened a crack. Her world was blurry and disorienting. She couldn't tell right from left or up from down. Everything was incomprehensible. There was pressure on her body, but as soon as it came, it left again. She realized that she was being nudged, but was too far gone to truly care. The drugs had done a number on her system; her mind and her senses were dulled, but they were slowly returning.

Her ears folded out drunkenly and she braced her palms against the floor. She pushed with all her might to try to sit up, but she moved scarcely an inch before white-hot agony flared up at the site of her branding, followed by streamers of pain coursing through every fiber of muscle in her body. She sobbed miserably and collapsed under her own weight. With teeth gritted and eyes screwed shut, the silently crying female was a pitiful sight, and a far cry from the rough-and-tough visage she usually portrayed.

Oblivious to Val's arrival, she tried to push herself up one more time. The moment she had an inch of air under her body the pain returned, and she collapsed just like before. Exhausted from her minimum of exertion and still recovering from the double dose of drugs and poison coursing through her system, she passed out again, leaving poor Val to tend to her without so much as a hint as to what had happened.
 

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Val was about to ask if she were all right, but Sam simply broke down into sobs. Val pulled the Cathar into a tight embrace, whispering for her to simply let it out. She felt tears brimming her own eyes, simply from the sight of seeing her friend like this. Her Force aura was warm and inviting, something she hoped would help soothe Sam. Val was enraged at whoever had done this to her, but now was not the time to ponder on it.

"Shh, Sam, it'll be okay..."

She looked down to realize that she had passed out again, half of her body weight on Val. As a small human, she almost felt crushed, though ignored it for now. With the aid of the Force, Val lifted the massive Cathar and moved her to lay down on the couch, taking care not to cause any harm. The brand was facing up so nothing could irritate it. Val quickly applied her healing abilities to the brand first, mainly to take away the pain from it. She moved onto the bruises and other injuries. Val crouched next to the couch, her eyes closed. As she focused more, she realized Sam had been poisoned.

As excruciating moments passed, Val called on her Force abilities, something she was not too proficient at, and delved into Sam's bloodstream, searching for the cause of the poisoning. Val had limited skills, but they were enough to at least slow down the effects. She worked for a few moments, completely draining herself of her energy in the process. However, she had found success when she realized that the poison no longer took a gripping hold of Sam, though it was not expelled from her body by any means. Val panted heavily, almost slumping to the ground herself. She scooted over to place a hand gently on Sam's head, her fingers brushing through the fur.

"Sam?"
 

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Sam began to come around a second time. She felt vastly better this time. Her head was far clearer, and though her vision was still blurry, she wasn't so disoriented. The female's eyes half-opened and she glanced around. She could feel fingers sliding through her headfur, and her brand hurt far less than before. Her heart skipped a beat and terror set in as she wondered if she'd been out for so long that Kalil had seized her. Before she began panicking, though, she felt a familiar presence in the Force, and her nose picked up a wonderfully familiar scent.

Valena.

A sigh of relief rolled past her lips as she pushed herself up into a seated position. Her body still ached, but she'd had worse. She leaned forward and planted her elbows on her knees, then drooped her head low enough to rub her face to try to clear the cobwebs from her head. Her cheeks felt wet - she momentarily wondered if she'd been crying. She couldn't remember. She couldn't remember anything after Kalil had left.

She lifted her head and peered over at Val, then, desperate for comfort of any kind, wrapped both arms around her human friend and pulled her into a tight hug. "Val," she muttered as she buried her face in the human's shoulder. She was shaking, partly in fear and partly because of the lingering effects of the poison. "I'm... He was here, Val he... Oh gods Val," the Cathar sobbed. She'd been thoroughly traumatized by Kalil's little visit, and was still trying to recover from the fear he had inflicted.
 

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Val was thoroughly relieved when she finally came around. Her mediocre skills had paid off after all. She welcomed the hug, returning it with a matching intense embrace.

"I'm here, Sam, I'm not going anywhere."

Val held the Cathar tight, though her mind wandered when Sam continued speaking. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Val sat up on the couch, still holding the much larger Cathar to her. She knew that it was important for her to be here for Sam now, though she couldn't help but be curious about what had done this to her. As she calmed down some more, Val looked at her with a serious gaze on her face.

"Sam. What happened? Be honest with me."

She knew there were things Sam hid from her, and Val had never pushed it. She never coaxed anything out of anyone. However, to come over to find her in a state like this demanded an explanation. Val's eyes burned with fury as she thought of ways to punish whoever did this to her. She patiently waited for Sam to speak, knowing that this was most likely something she would rather have avoided ever bringing up. For now, Val held her close, still exhausted from the healing.
 

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"He found me, somehow," Samanya muttered. She released Val, albeit reluctantly. She tucked her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her calves, her chin resting upon her knees. "A man named Kalil. He's a... A rapist and a torturer. Works for a crime lord on Taris. His boss was my fifth owner, back when I was almost seventeen. Kalil is a kiffar. Loves reading the 'memories' from the clothing of his victims and from his torture toys. He was obsessed with me, and so was his boss."

The female closed her eyes and flattened her ears. "He found me, Val. Brought a Ysalamir, I think. Broke into the house and darted me along with his gang of thugs, and he... Branded me for the second time." She wrapped her tail around her legs as well and shivered - just thinking about Kalil brought up memories of her past; memories that were the stuff of nightmares. "To make matters worse, he poisoned me with something. I don't know what. He said I have two weeks to go back to the boss's place on Taris if I want the antidote."

Sam glanced dejectedly at Val. "If I go, I'll be raped, tortured, and enslaved all over again. If I don't go, I'll die, and then the perverted bastard will probably steal and sell my corpse to some necrophiliac."
 

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As Sam spoke, Val found herself coming up with more questions than answers. She listened to the story, shock registering on her countenance.

"Fifth...fifth?"

How had she left such a large part of her life hidden? Val was astounded that she hadn't even had the slightest clue about any of this. The Jedi Knight slumped back on the couch, hit with a massive amount of staggering information that she had little time to process. Val finally heaved a long sigh, deciding that now was not the time to prod further.

"We have a few options. We can either tell the Order.."

She glanced at Sam.

"..I know, it sounds like a horrible idea but they will listen. If we have more backing, it'll be easier to handle this. Think about anyone else they're enslaving. We could potentially save countless lives and prevent anyone from going through what you have. Keeping this locked up will help no one."

She was surprised at how calm her tone was. Val was truly growing up from the nervous Jedi that always had little confidence in herself.

"But ultimately, the choice is yours. Our second option is to go after the bastards ourselves."

Val knew it would put a lot of things on hold. However, she also knew that time was running out with the poison in her veins.

"What do you want to do? I don't see any options outside of confronting them."
 

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Any other time, Sam would've burst into laughter at Valena's shock. Oh, how surprised the human would be to learn that Sam had been a slave to not five but twenty separate owners during her four years as a slave - with the exception of her last two owners, she burned through an owner once every two months at the most. There was no power in the 'verse that had been able to keep her chained up long enough to prevent her from escaping, or from beating the snot out of whatever stuffy little old pervert had purchased her.

But right here and now, Samanya couldn't even force a smile. She just gazed blankly at Val as her fellow Jedi listed off her options, neither of which sounded terribly appealing. She ran her hands through her headfur and hair, growling in frustration as her work-toughened fingers parted her mane. "If we bring in the Order, my time as a slave is gonna come out. I don't want that, Val. But if we go alone, with poison keeping me down, then... I just, I don't know..."

She didn't want to think about anyone but herself. She knew Val was right - they needed to beat the stuffing out of her owner and all of his stooges, and they needed to free his slaves, but she didn't want to let her past out to do so. She needed her secrets - only Elliot knew everything there was to know about her, and even then the wolfess was smart enough not to share so much as a hint of what she knew.

"Speakin' of Ellie, where is she? She should've been here by now... Oh gods, Kalil didn't catch her too, did he?"

The female pushed herself to her feet. "I'll... I'll figure it out. For now I need to get to the landing pad, see if the Shadow Walker is there. It's Elliot's ship. Silly mutt was supposed to visit me, but if Kalil and his guys were there right when Elliot's ship was landing, then..." Sam let her voice trail off - she didn't need to explain the rest.

She took a few steps towards the door, then staggered and nearly fell. She kept herself upright only by 'falling' onto the wall, which she dug the claws of her cybernetic hand into for support. She wasn't going anywhere, not so soon.
 

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"The Order won't pass judgment on you just because your record isn't perfectly clean."

Val rose as Sam did, attempting to reason with her friend. She inwardly found it to be ironic to be looking to the Order as a solution when she had spat upon its rules so many times. The Jedi raised an eyebrow as Sam mentioned Elliot.

"Who's Elliot? Christ, Sam, how much have you been hiding? It's like you're a completely different person."

The tone was slightly harsher than she had meant. Val was about to apologize when she saw Sam almost topple over again. Val rushed over to support her till she was back on her feet again. She sighed, thinking back to what she had said.

"Okay, **** this, we're solving this shit on our own. The Order is slow as hell and will only hinder us. We make straight for the landing pad. I hope your friend is ready for an adventure.."

Val whipped out her comlink, grimacing. She had no idea when she would be back. She had to tell Huang about her plans. Val stepped aside for a moment to make the quick call, though Sam would be able to hear.

"Yeah...some shit's hit the fan so I gotta handle this. Take care of Raz for a few more days."

There was a pause as Val's eyes narrowed.

"Yes a Knight can handle this. Bye!"

She rolled her eyes and walked over to Sam again, clearing her throat.

"Right, then, onward."
 

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Samanya didn't pay much attention to Val as her friend went about placing a call - she was a bit too busy clinging to the wall for dear life. As soon as Val returned, Samanya summoned over the long-barreled hunting shotgun that always sat behind the living room couch. It flew to her hand and she placed the butt on the ground and leaned on the barrel, using it as an impromptu staff. The gun was older than her father, and was made of the most rugged construction imaginable, with milled parts and carved wood; she could use it as a crowbar and it probably wouldn't even ding the finish!

She didn't bother answering Val's earlier question as she limped out of the house and down the path leading towards the landing pad. The trip didn't take too long - only a few minutes, in fact. The soft, dry dirt caved beneath the leathery pads of her bare feet, and was so soft that she didn't mind being barefoot, though her foot-fur quickly turned muddy brown in color. She was perfectly silent as they walked through the forest and into a clearing, in which sat a landing pad and several hangars. A single Tien class ship -the same as Samanya's- had just settled onto the pad, with the name Shadow Walker stenciled across the bow.

It was Ellie's ship! "That's Elliot's ship, looks like it just got here. That's a relief," Sam muttered. The feline trotted up the stairs to the pad's surface and headed to the ship's stern. She pulled open the armored housing containing the controls for the vessel's rear hatch and punched in the access code. The ramp hissed and clanged, then popped open and lowered to the ground. Sam gestured in. "Go on, tell Elliot what happened. I need a second to rest, and I don't want Elliot shutting off the ship's engines. It'd take forever to run a complete cooling and restart cycle."

Ellie, meanwhile, nearly yipped in surprise when she heard the rear cargo door clank open. "That's weird," she remarked idly, tail drooping behind her and her ears folding out as she tapped her chin. "Could've sworn I locked that... Huh, probably nothing!" she decided with a hitch of her shoulders, as she unzipped her jacket and trotted along towards the cargo bay.
 

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"Explain but..I don't know Elliot.."

Val caught the look on Sam's face and sighed, defeated. She let Sam rest while venturing into the ship. She followed the life energy projecting from Elliot, allowing it to guide her to the wolf. Val cleared her throat, holding her hands up in a don't-kill-me gesture. Once she was sure the woman wasn't about the rip her head off, she decided to speak.

"I'm a friend of Samanya Mohatu. She knew the access code, so that's why I'm here. I'm here instead of her because well.."

There wasn't much to explain, though she knew how it felt to be slammed in the face with a load of information. Val took the time to explain exactly what happened. She could tell Elliot was just as surprised as she had been.

"...And so that's why we have to leave right now. I know this is all very weird and sudden but the poison is in her system right now."

There was a moment of pause and Val blinked.

"Oh yes, I'm Valena Cross by the way. Nice to meet you, Elliot."

She stepped forth to quickly shake the limp paw. Val turned and walked back out to find Sam.

"How're you holding up? I told her everything and she's probably still processing it, but I'm sure she's down."

Val reached down to help Sam up, gesturing that the Cathar could use her for support.
 

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"I... Uh... Wait, WHAT!??!"

Ellie stood in the corridor, slackjawed, as Val explained the situation to her. The wolfess very nearly passed out in shock, and ended up having to cling to a power cable to keep herself upright. [Which, with her track record, could've ended very badly indeed.]

Once Val left, the canine shook her head and groaned. "Well kriff me sideways. This is just lovely..." she muttered. She flipped about on her heel and marched back up to the cockpit to spool the engines up again, all the while grumbling and muttering about the situation at hand.

--==--

Sam hitched her shoulders as she leaned on Val. "I'm holding up. Aside from that, though, I'm about to collapse," she admitted. With her friend's assistance -and a little help from the shotgun- Sam managed to get into the ship's belly and limp clear to the crew quarters. She was exhausted from the journey, and once near the lounge, limped in and flopped on the couch. She was careful to keep her dirty feet off the furniture. Ellie was a slob, but she'd have a fit if Sam dirtied up her favorite couch.

"Ffff.... I need to shower and change," she groaned as she rubbed her face again. She set that thought aside and looked up at Val, and smiled thinly at her friend. "Anyways... Thanks. For coming, I mean. You really are a lifesaver, you know that?"
 

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Val smiled at Sam, a small moment of peace between all the chaos. She leaned down to give her another reassuring hug.

"You're my friend, Sammy, I'm not gonna leave you hanging."

She withdrew and glanced down at her for a moment, realizing that she had been through quite a bit.

"You should rest for the trip. You'll feel a lot better by the time we're there. We need you able and ready to kick ass, remember?"

Val grinned at her friend, making light of the situation. She patted her on the shoulder and walked out of the crew quarters, making her way over to Elliot. There were many things she wanted to learn from Sam, but she knew the Cathar was far too stressed to bug with interrogation. Val slumped down into the passenger seat beside Elliot, glancing out at the storm that was raging outside.

"It'll be a bitch flying in this.."

Val had flown in worse, but that didn't make it any better. She glanced over at Elliot.

"So how do you know Sam?"
 

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Ellie laughed. "Uncle Jamall taught me to fly in far worse, hun! We'll get out, just you watch!" she replied with a mile-wide grin. The wolfess eased the ship up and off the pad and boosted the shields, then fired up the engines. The ship roared up towards the sky, and within a minute, had sliced out of atmosphere and into the stars above.

Once out of atmosphere, the wolfess plotted a course for Taris and set the autopilot. She unlocked her seat and swiveled to face her new guest. She mulled over the human's question for a moment, then opted to answer truthfully. "I'm Sam's foster sister. Her dad took me in when I was little, after my own dad passed on. I guess you could say the Mohatu's 'rescued' me - my mother was an abusive bitch, but they gave me a good life here, and it was amazingly fun growing up with 'em. I've known Sam and our family most of my life now. I can't imagine -not- knowing them!"

She smiled and kicked her feet up on the center console. "What 'bout you, Valena? How do you know Sammy?"
 

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"Foster sister? Damn, there's more to this family than I know.."

Val shook her head, grinning. When Elliot asked how she knew Sam, Val had to ponder back.

"Ah, I trained with Kam in the Order.."

She paused there. It hit her abruptly what had happened to them. She had to take a moment to clear her throat, keeping emotions at bay. She hadn't seen Kam in ages, and the only thing she knew was what was displayed on the Holonet. Val looked up, smiling apologetically.

"I...I trained with him and we became friends. He introduced me to Sam. I'm surprised I never ran into you, though."

She thought back and vaguely recalled portraits that may have included Elliot in them.

"Anyway, Sam and I became fast friends. I love that girl. I just...I just never knew about any of this.."

Val trailed off slightly, finally facing the matter at hand. There was no doubt that Elliot knew more, but she knew she would be overstepping her bounds by asking. She simply glanced up at the wolfess, her eyes betraying her curiosity. No one liked being completely in the dark, but Val was too respectful to ask.
 

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"I'm surprised, too," Ellie admitted, "I'd have thought I'd have bumped into you at the hospital by now. I've been in there every few days to check in on Uncle Jamall and Kam. Jamall's doing well, but... It's still looking bad for Kam. I'm just glad that they're in a military hospital now. ****ing press was circling like vultures, I was gettin' ready to start strafing them. Parasitic douches."

She hitched her shoulders and glanced off into the stars. She folded her arms under her chest and sighed heavily. "Anyways... Hate to say it, but it really doesn't surprise me that Sam kept things from you. She keeps things from everyone, even her best friends... But not from her sister."

Elliot turned her gaze back to Val and smiled faintly. With a swish of her tail, she slapped a control panel and caused the cockpit's soundproof door to hiss closed. "I can tell from the look in your eyes that you're curious. You wanna know more about Sam, huh?"

The wolfess leaned forward and plucked up a half-empty glass of cola. She took a sip and swirled the remaining soda and a few mostly-melted icecubes around. "I could tell you, and considering the circumstances, I really should. If you're gonna face Sam's demons with her, you deserve to know, I guess. But I need you to make me a promise before I so much as tell you about all her piercings, let alone her past."

Looking at Val as seriously as she could, Elliot said, "I need you to promise that nothing I tell you is shared. Ever. Not with your significant other, not with any of Sam's friends or family, not even with whatever god or deity you worship. It needs to stay locked up, and if Sam ever tells you, you need to pretend that you never heard it before. I need you to promise that you'll keep these secrets... Well, secret. Okay?"
 

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Val was silent for a long time after Elliot laid out how secretive she had to be. Her curiosity was overwhelming her, but the more mature side of her chained it back. She smiled warmly at Elliot.

"I would never tell a soul."

She looked away from Elliot, staring ahead of herself.

"However, if it's that big of a secret, I would rather hear it from her when and if she's ever ready to tell me. I respect her too much and feel like I would have gone behind her back if I hear it before she's ready to divulge it."

Val nodded at Elliot.

"I'm sure we'll uncover it some day, or never. However, it'll totally be Sam's call."

She stretched and leaned back in her seat. Elliot gave off the same warm vibes the rest of the Mohatus had. Val had instantly felt comfortable around them and Elliot was no different.

"I...haven't had the chance to visit Kam. I've been beating myself up over it. My life has been completely insane lately. On top of that, I have a kid I'm trying to hide from everyone."

Val realized she was blabbering, chuckling to herself. She shook her head, running a hand through her hair.

"It seems like my friends have a habit of landing in the worst kinds of disasters all the time. Myself included, mind you."

She nodded to her left arm, the entire limb bearing scars.
 

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"...Heh. Wise call. Guess you really are as smart as Sam makes you out to be," Ellie remarked with a smile. She tucked her paws behind her head and leaned back into her seat as Valena explained her situation, the canine nodding in understanding and even whining sympathetically as Val showed her badly scarred left arm. "Geeze, what is it with you girls and your left arms? You got yours all scarred up, Sam lost her left arm! Dunno if she told you, but her entire left arm is cybernetic. Most of her shoulder bones for that side, too."

She braced herself for a moment as the ship jumped into hyperspace. It rattled briefly and groaned, then made the jump. She sighed in relief. "Phew! Cockpit's gravity generator occasionally gives out when this tub goes to lightspeed. I think it's a faulty power coupling, nothing to really worry a-"

Ellie cut herself off as the cockpit lights flickered and died; the only illumination in the cockpit came from the control consoles and the light streaming in through the windows, courtesy of hyperspace. Gravity failed, and she floated up into the air above her seat, along with all her soda. "...Bout," she finished, folding her arms across her chest and glaring up at her ship's front screen. "Crap. Guess I spoke too soon."

She sighed and 'spun' to face Val. "Right, uh... Yeah... I got nothin'. No explanation. We can either float around here, orrr we can relocate. Your call. Personally, I love floating around in zero-g. So freeing! So comfy, so... Eeek!"

The wolfess yipped in terror as her soda floated right up and caught her right in the butt, soaking through her pants right where her bodysuit -didn't- cover. She flailed and pawed frantically at her rear, squirming and rolling through the air in the process. "Cold butt, cold butt, cold butt! Not good for my karma! Oh CRAP it's effin' cold!"
 

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Val gasped as she was lifted into the air. She had gone through this when first learning to fly a ship, but that had been many years ago. Val squinted to see through the darkness, completely confused. As Elliot firmly stated she had no idea what was going on, Val had to crack a smile. At this point, they were simply two silhouettes and voices. The Jedi remained in the air, tilting backwards to flip in the air.

"I dunno...this is kind of fun. As long as we're not all about to die, I don't see why-"

As Ellie began screeching about the soda on her butt, Val had to burst out laughing.

"Serves you right for driving a tin can that's worse than the shitpile I fly!"

Val floated up and bonked her head on the roof of the ship, resulting in an audible grown. As she attempted to 'swim' away, she felt Elliot's tail swipe across her nose, causing her to sneeze explosively. The action sent her flying back again, bumping into the opposite end of the chamber.

"I feel like a kid again!"

She began rolling around in the air, hanging upside down. Val looked down towards the opposite end of the ship, grimacing as she folded her arms while upside down.

"Something tells me Sam won't be as thrilled about this as we are..."
 
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