A thousand colors bloomed before her, racing along paths that dipped in and out of the ether in strange and twisting patterns. Blues and yellows skipped away from every footstep, splashing along the walls just to return when next barefeet touched upon deck plate. Purple danced along with her fingers above her head, the slow motions almost lazy as she danced with them, swaying and bobbing along to a tune only she could hear. To everyone else the ship was simply a box of durasteel and cable, but to her it was so much more. For Sena, it was a wonderous world full of color and sound that was there just for her. The cabling just below her feet sung with the data it carried, a potential of video from across the galaxy that could be anything from the face and voice of a friend to one of the holonet programs that always delighted her so. Joy was everywhere if one was but to seek it out, and of course she rarely had to try.
This was her home, a galleon of the stars that carried her and her makeshift family to many places of wonder. Verra always insisted that she stay inside, remain within her room, but how could she when there was exploration to be done? Her heart yearned to see what could be seen, to feel the winds of strange worlds on her face and listen in to the people of them. This one in particular called to her, whispering from far below of cold secrets and mystical treasures hiding beneath layers of ice. All one had to do was gently peel them back and it would all be there for them. At least, that's what she believed and had made up in her mind, imagination running rampant from the few stories sister had told her of the planet. Anchorage sounded to her like a wonderful place, even if it was supposed to be anything but. Thousands of aliens and humans alike, all gathered in one city that belonged to no one… It was like the stories of the old independent worlds before the Republic.
She could see like no other except her sister and their friend, a thin veil of blue silk hiding eyeless sockets that still peered through anything and everything. To her left as she turned her head, she saw their chef Mr. Grel already preparing the evening meal. Everyone called him Five-Toes because he was missing one, but she thought it was a little mean even if he insisted otherwise. The smell of the food called to her, and though she was tempted to come say hello to see about getting just a little nibble early, she also knew that he didn't like that much. That, and the familiar shape of a gizka was lurking nearby. Admiral Piff was once again trying to sneak into the kitchens, a sharp warning between pursed lips to get its attention was just enough to let it know she was watching. It scrabbled along down the hallway further, ducking down into one of the smaller maintenance hatches presumably to nibble on some cabling, but she knew that Piff was a good gizka and didn't do those kinds of things.
The adventure continued, a swish of color from both her sundress and the long single-braid of hair over her shoulder as she peered around a corner to see what might be awaiting. Since everyone was out and about, it was just her for now, and that meant that the conference room was hers to tap into the holonet. Verra didn't like it, said she needed to be careful, but she had also made it so very easy for her to understand and get what she wanted. A large remote sat on the table, her name on it in big stickers indicating it was hers and for the screens. Just the press of a button did what she wanted, recorded shows coming up right where she had left them.
At one side the rodian cowered as if under imminent threat of death, and on the other Clu prattled on and on about the same moron that seemed to have impressed half the bar. Regardless of how she had put on, she
did recognize the guy as a threat to the crew should their paths cross, however there was just one minor detail that seemed to be lost in the midst of all the rest. Yes, she knew his reputation quite well. Who in their right mind immersed themselves in the environment of pirates and mercenaries such as Anchorage without at least knowing the major players? Solace had Clu to thank for a few of the more obscure ones, but this guy… He stuck out like a lit lightsaber in a stormtrooper barrack. A good deal of the information on him was likely pure hyperbole, but it painted a picture clear enough that when it came down to it you just had to ask yourself one thing. Do you really want to risk it?
So far, she had done well enough for herself, her sister and this crew by answering a pretty firm "Fuck that" to said question. It was all the same for Viron Jek. If there was one thing she was good at, it was puffing out her chest to look tough and talk shit anyways, and it seemed that Clu might have forgotten that for a moment. Speaking of puffing out her chest, her cybernetics caught something of interest passing by, snapping a few pictures into digital memory as a remarkable looking Twi'lek blew a kiss and a wink her way as she left the bar. Red was most definitely not a common color on them, and she was almost tempted to force-sight to see just how far that red went, but she restrained herself and returned her attention to the topic at hand.
"Look Clu, I get it." She held a hand up to stop him, the glint of her armourweave catching the neon strobe of the cantina for just a moment.
"If we run into the edgelord, we'll play it nice and easy. However, we're still not exactly up there on the ranks and that's personally where I like to be. Yeah, climbing up the ladder and gaining notoriety is cool and all, means bigger paychecks and more legitimate contracts, but I would rather not deal with assholes like that."It was a rather firm position she held, and had always stuck by. The Gray Mariners had a bit of a reputation already, partially from the fabricated background of her alter-ego, but also from their previous actions. It was a bit of a balancing act that she wanted to keep in the delicate state that it was, not too willing to jump into that extra bit of risk. Most, if not all, of the crew was wanted by the Empire. Herself and Kabal perhaps more than the rest, as the bounty had long since changed to proof of death rather than any attempt at bringing them in alive. For her it was that whole mess with the moff nearly ten years ago, a real pain in the ass that the imps seemed to be capable of holding a grudge like none other. The little gremlin though, oh that was a mess. It was one of the few times they had to trade shots with other ships, and very nearly made her regret letting him on. The little bastard had a skill though, and unlike most who are simply skilled at what they do, he
enjoyed what he did.
Not too far away at the table with her was Kabal, adding in his own two credits to the conversation. Big was a bit of an understatement, but she wondered to herself if he was already thinking on how to take down Jek. It was hard to tell, the Ubese had been a mystery for almost as long as the republic knew them, and strangely her force-sight had never quite been able to perceive what he was beneath that suit.
"Yeah, he's a bit big, but not our problem. He's a reaver, and reavers gotta reave. That puts him in direct opposition to the Empire, and if we just sit back and let him do his thing, he'll get what's coming to him eventually. Besides, the dude just ups and disappears from time to time."About to continue, she felt the soft buzz of the communicator in her ear alerting of incoming messages. Sable had seemed to have found himself a bit of entertainment in the cargo hold, yet another stowaway. Looks like they would need to reset the incident calendar in the conference room. It was one of those things that they just had to accept when traveling in such a large ship, inevitably there would be people sneaking on board to try and cheap out some transit to another planet off the shithole they had been stuck on. She didn't blame them, Miraluka had a natural wanderlust that inspired her to travel and left a strange unsettling feeling when she sat for too long. Or maybe that was the deathsticks again? Either way, she knew eventually she would have to intervene, so tapped the communicator to transmit so she could give her instructions.
"Copy Sable, do the usual. Subdue and keep her restrained until we get back to the ship. If she cooperates and willingly surrenders herself, then we can negotiate some kind of travel arrangement. If not I'll put a blaster bolt in her myself when I get back."
Listening in, Sena couldn't help but see a misunderstanding waiting to happen. She could already see the auras converging on the cargo hold just down the hallway, and heard the passing steps of four of the other crew. Sir Elbas was down there at the moment, peering through the walls she saw his outline standing in direct opposition to another. That one was interesting, and almost immediately it was clear that she was the stowaway. Aside from the shape of the person, there was a strangeness to her aura, tainted in a way like her sister's but not quite. Things were getting tense now, Sharp had joined in with weapon drawn. At least as she watched Buure was trying to de-escalate, but it wouldn't take much.
She got up from her seat, smoothing down the front of the flowing dress she wore, the pleated skirt swishing with every motion as she took one more look out into the hall. Good, no one else seemed on the way, though she was sure that Airus would be coming as well. Today, she was going to do the thing! It was always left up to Verra or Airus to take care of things like this, but she knew she could as well. Yes, a firm nod and confidence was all she needed to set off into the hallway.
++Sena, no. Go back and watch your shows.++And of course her sister had felt her resolve to help out, speaking to her over their bond and trying to convince her to return to her room or at least the conference room. She pursed her lips and huffed, a little disappointed for the moment and about to do just that when she decided to be just a little more firm on it. Most of her time was spent in her room or on the ship in general, it always being too dangerous to go out on her own, and even when it wasn't she had to stay close to sister or Airus. No, this time she was determined! Mop-deka padded on by as she clenched her fists and nodded, seeming to think that perhaps it was directed at him and pausing to stare up at her. He always seemed so sad, so she did what she always did. First check his spray bottles to make sure he had all the water he needed, then a quick check of the small pouch at her hip. A sticker. That always made mop-deka look happier, and this time was no different. A small rainbow decorated the insectoid head of the former battle-droid, a series of beeps sounding his acceptance as he continued his routine.
++I'm going to help~++++We've got it covered, honestly Sena.++++I want to help, I can talk to people too!++++She could be dangerous though, you don't know who this is. Just let Sable and Airus deal with her and we'll talk when I get back, okay?++++Hmmm… I'm just going to say hello~++Further protest was pretty much ignored as she skipped along the hallway, barefeet just barely kissing the durasteel as she made her way down towards the cargo hold. It wasn't far, and already she could see the standoff without any effort peering through walls or doors. The lights were off though, and that was weird. No one could see anything without the lights, so without even thinking about it she hit the light switch at the door to turn them on to full. There! Now everyone could see, and no one would accidentally trip on anything. She didn't need the lights of course, and could see everyone just fine, but still. In front of her were the people from the crew that had come to look, and there was the other woman.
Now, she was no expert in such things, but seeing the guns pointed at her and the way she had been cornered it seemed to Sena like she might have been hiding and afraid. Certainly there were hints of it in her aura, whether it was fear of being shot now or just the normal fear of discovery was beyond her, but she was determined to do her best to solving the problem before her. Without even waiting for the others to react to her presence, that of the near-identical image of their captain except with long multi-colored hair and a brilliant smile, she took a step forward and introduced herself.
"Hello! I'm Sena, what's your name?"