In'hahn
{Talon}
[Encryption Level: X]
[Request Passcode:] *****
[Voice Verification Required:]
[Video & Voice Entry:]
"Welcome, Chief Warrant Officer Sabosen'iak'alani."
The little droid recording the scene blipped happily as it came alive. Small and round; it was the size of a grapefruit with a heavy silvery shell, probably created to withstand a good beating. Quite a number of holorecorders were strongly built for heavy abuse. It churred softly and began to count down a timer that had been priory set by the young chiss woman who stood in her chosen combat gear. A slim-fit pair of gray slacks with free flowing blue fabrics and a hooded top that showed the mid-drift. An armored shoulder pauldron upon one shoulder, the other was left bare. A pair of gloves with various straps and buckles mimicked the upper leatheris arm bits.
Striding away from the droid that squeaked and seemed to eagerly bounce into the air, ready to record; the woman moved herself before a bulky looking training droid. Slender fingers shifted and moved to the pair of vibroblades that were neatly sheathed against her back. Wrapping her fingers about the grip of each blade a quiet exhale escaped her. Last evening… Overwhelming… All of it. She wasn't even sure where to begin her thoughts or even words.
Yesterday afternoon there had been yet -another- fire within engineering. Plasma leak, which in turn sparked a fire… The Hyperion was in a wreck. The past four days they had been working non-stop with the ship, trying to get her back together. One thing after another; the ship was in utter disarray- but at least the hyperdrive and reactor was in better shape, and the rest of the crew could continue where she left off. But then again… The Hyperion wasn't with them now- or maybe it was better to say that they weren't with the Hyperion. But the Hyperion wasn't the only thing that wasn't with them.
Frustration played along her fine features as she positioned herself before the training droid. All of it was so overwhelming. Slowly exhaling she closed her eyes and attempted to center herself. Meditation; wasn't something that she really, well… Did. She wasn't Jedi, a force-user; yes but… To call it 'meditation' by the traditional sense wasn't really what she considered. Maybe, though- she needed it… But then again late last night had proven to distract her thoughts. Opening her eyes again the glowing crimson pulsars fixed upon her target.
Without further hesitation she rushed forward, one blade moving to her front in a guarding position; the other to the side and slightly behind as she bolted forward. Bare feet padded lightly against the floor as she found herself recalling her discussion with Enoch a couple of hours prior to. He had asked her why she still kept her blades sharp, essentially. To which she informed him that she couldn't ultimately waste talent. Fluid steps brought her toward the dummy, and with a clean swipe she drove the non-guard blade into an arching motion. The vibroblade loudly snapped upon impact with electricity. Shortly after the guard-blade shifted and moved as if to parry a strike before jabbing into its midsection again, another loud popping sound of electricity.
Yesterday afternoon the Captain approached her after the fire; requested her presence for a classified task… One she would learn shortly after would make her inner-engineer absolutely tingly- and that was putting it lightly. Captain Vladimir Broskivich, Arbiter Nyomi, and a Jedi Master she had affectionately taken the nickname of 'Master Beardington'; Master Jai-din Sortek had found themselves within a Republic shipyard. The amount of ships themselves had caused her to become so excited that she dropped into the native tongue. But it was the breathtaking ship of meshed-technology that had taken her breath away the most.
The Nova Talon; Queen of the Stars and Battle Valkyrie… She was beautiful. The ship was a melting pot of technology; from Republic to Gree to even Csillan tech. A dreadnought class ship of spectacular beauty, hellacious firepower and streamline technology; everything that would cause any engineer to have a wet dream. To put it flatly; she had had a shipgasm when she first laid eyes upon the ship itself. …And she felt incredibly honored when she found that Broski had based the designs of her hyperdrive and reactor from the Hyperion, for his own. …She had already been honored to have been named his Warrant Officer.
A soft breath left her as she thought of it even now, but she shook her head; silver strands licking across her features. Focus. Droid. Now. Glowing scarlet hues narrowed and she struck out again with a flourish of her blades, one strike, two, three, four, five… Consecutive one after the other, picking up the speed and strike method each time she lashed out. Her breathing became harsher by the moment, streaming past her lips as she attacked, parried, dodged, moved. …Like her sister, she was a perfectionist.
They had taken the ship back to the Hyperion, she thought of the little thranta class ship that had become the Marran's home; how bad of a shape it was in. It made her sad when she thought about it, even Astra Alasha had said that she found it sad to be leaving it. But Broski was right when he stated that they had to keep their home safe; and the chiss knew it. Risking the Hyperion in such a way was too much of a danger. This all in mind; the crew, the marines {those who could go}, the Marran themselves all gathered what they could in the way of personal affects and had transferred ships. Many were sad to see the ship return to Carrick.
She remembered watching the Hyperion as it departed. It brought a bittersweet smile to her lips as she struck out again with her twin-blades. Ducking beneath the droid's arm she stabbed it, the loud snap from the vibroblades filling the air with an electric charge that caused the hairs along the back of her neck to stand on end. She followed through with the next attack. As she drew the blade back; she frowned finding herself considering the rest of the evening. They had left for the exosystem after hours of transfer, it was a surprise to see how detailed and how poised the crew really was when it came to transferring.
The trip through the veil; as it were- the barrier between the exosystem that was careening for their own galaxy; had been tense. So many of the Marran had been brought aboard the bridge to help out even with some of the simplest of readouts; crewmen were everywhere and everyone had a task. Even Nyomi, Sedryn and Corlus were at a station as she came upon the bridge from engineering. She looked to Captain Jaynai, her chief. The woman was visibly upset… At first she had wondered why; how could anyone be upset over such a thing. But then thought; Change. Simple. Clear answer. Change. Even she struggled with it.
Perhaps she had been callous when she had thought the woman just overreacting over the situation. No, the Hyperion was what she knew; probably what she had known for months now. And to have all of that ripped out from beneath her? She sighed at the thought as she took three steps to the right and struck out again with the vibroblade. SNAP. Hues narrowed; while so many others disliked her- and with good reason… Aka, liked her. She respected her. She knew Jayn's record; she knew what had happened- she had read up on it. A woman so shattered, so broken by the Empire that she had become a shell of this amazing captain.
She had turned against them for it was the right thing to do. And how did the galaxy repay her? …A broken mind. So many broken souls and so little way to repair them. She wanted to believe that Jayn could overcome it; but the flame was dwindling for that hope. Recalling the request for dismissal several times over; and then Jayn turning to her afterwards and praising her once more; stating that she was someone more suited; someone she approved of as a replacement… Did Jayn approve of well… Anything? Hell… An alien? The sheer amount of respect that was there between the two; whether anyone else cared or not.. To her, she would always feel honored to prove herself unto the captain.
If Jayn, a racist, speciesist, ex imperial could look past what Aka was and respect her… Why couldn't people accept others in the grand scheme of it all? In the end… Jayn had been taken to the brig; and the title of Chief Engineer Warrant Officer passed unto her. She could only hope that she could make her predecessor proud of her. …And while everything was so very overwhelming; there was no time to linger upon such thoughts. However; she would make it point to visit Jaynai, it was the least she could do.
"Blueberry."
She chuckled softly; perhaps… Just perhaps she would replace "Gemini". The amusement fled from her as she refocused upon her task at hand. Her footwork elegantly glided her across the training room as she shifted into a strafing movement. One foot delicately placed over the other, one over the other, one over the other. In time she stepped as if in some sort of fluid dance. SNAP. Again the blade clashed.
Zai, she had come to her; congratulated her. She was trying, maybe? She said so at least. The chiss wanted to believe this, and while she disliked holding anything against anyone… The words had stung, severely; she wanted to forgive. But after the shade said that Jayn belonged in a prison; it brought all of that back to her and she couldn't entirely believe Zai. Much like her sister; Zai was a creature of deceit. …To be locked away in some forsaken cell… It made her shiver. She hated the thought, despised the thought. Aka had just been promoted and within a single day- and for Zai to approach… It just… Everything was so overwhelming.
Again she felt that weight. Chief engineer. Warrant Officer. Her sister's mental state. Her relationships with friends, with herself, and with Corlus. Everything weighed. The only fallback she had at that time was Corlus it felt like; but she didn't want to trouble him any further than she already had. A shuddered breath left her as she recalled Sedryn's talk with her just the day before; of how things were going between the pair. Her grip shifted upon the blade, drawing into a reverse grip upon her main hand. Drawing the blade close to her gauntlet she lashed out, striking a vertical blow across the neck-area of the dummy. The static charge again filled the air. POP!
She had left him and Zai within the corridor; upset and frustrated… He followed naturally. Assured her. Kind. Sweet. Supportive. She was realizing how much she did care for him. Spending the prior night with him; discussing everything from civil wars, to language barriers, to the state of the Hyperion, her promotion… To even… Her own relationship with him. He had informed her that he no longer wished to go on the date with the nameless woman that he had mentioned before. Aka, at the time hadn't minded- they were casual. But… It was becoming something more… Wasn't it?
He made that clear when he stated that he wanted her as a let'ukeser, a mate, and he could not comfortably accept involvement with another woman. …She had in return, accepted. The thought even now as she kept her blades sharp, made her so… Incredibly… Happy. It had been so long, she realized; since she had been this happy. Finally… Life was… Starting to piece itself together, despite the chaos and overwhelmingness… Between her life with Corlus and her life within the Republic Navy… It was -finally- becoming something she had always wanted. Breakfast aside… But he really did make a damn good breakfast.
"Reach for your dreams, walk the stars, and life life to the fullest."
SNAP. The blade glanced across the dummy once more as her dance of blades continued. She thought of Yuloru, what the young woman had asked of her. And while she said she would not promise on the fact that her former career prevented her from making a 'promise'; she did give the woman her word. …She would keep the request close to her heart. She wouldn't betray what was asked of her. She and the young woman walked two different paths; but she had hoped that the padawan would find her dreams, walk the stars and live her life.
…And she would hope that even Nal would be able to find her own dreams and live her life. Whatever higher being there was; she hoped unto them that Nal would find her path. As it stood the young chiss walked one so dark, that even she felt she could not reach at times. Nal… K'sicen'i… Her precious sister, so shattered. Her thumb ran along where the promise ring would normally set; it had been taken from her when she had become a project. …The reminder was still there; what she had told her twin… Her… 'Isika'… Her 'sacred brush'… The painter, the artist. Nal was… Precious to her. She always had been.
The patter of feet drove the chiss forward, quick, nearly silent steps brought her toward her intended target. Her feet shifted, her knees bent, muscles coiled; the former agent launched herself forward into a fluid leap. Somersaulting over the dummy in a fluid display, she landed lightly upon her feet. Drawing her blades into a reverse grip she drove them both backwards into the training dummy fiercely. Her breath leaving her in raspy notes, hues falling halflidded, as she gasped for breath.
Peering over her shoulder she found herself staring at the bench that she and Enoch had spoken at. She knew how fragile even he was, but he was trying his hardest… Trying to be there for a fading mate, one had become ultimately a ghost of her own life. And she? The sister of that waning spirit. The very thought frightened her. She didn't want to lose her sister like that… Not like that. Upon the field, she could accept… This.. This was not something she wanted to accept. But time would tell, time would heal… And she could only hope that it would.
The droid beside her began to blare out its warning; training was done; and her shift would be coming soon. She still had to set up the dinner that Enoch requested of her with Nal. Perhaps they could start piecing together her broken little warrior-poet.