Last time: Kait did some ship shopping.
Now: Cien gets her new robes.
Chapter 18- The Seamstress
Cien looked up and down the street to look for traffic before continuing across the roadway. "It's that seamstress there across the street." She gestured as the sign came into view.
"You bought these robes for the conference you're going to?" Kait asked.
"Yeah, I figured I'd feel more comfortable in robes, and they seemed thematic for the event." Cien replied.
"Thematic?" Kait asked.
"Yeah." Cien answered. "Kyr's word. I'm going there because I'm three thousand years old and actually studied at the temple they excavated back in my time, so we figured I might play the part a little bit."
"How?" Kait asked, confused.
Cien shrugged, "they're just the kind of robes Sasha or I might wear as Force users, so if I'm going there as a former Sith then something appropriate for that."
"No." Kait said, still confused, "Op mentioned you were three thousand years old but how does that work?"
"Op said I was three thousand years old?" Cien asked, slightly annoyed.
"No, I mean he sort of did but…" Kait said, trying to defend Op. "He said something like that but he phrased it better than me."
"Oh." Cien said, only slightly miffed. "The ship I was on was trapped near the event horizon of a blackhole, and we had to spend three months trying to escape. By the time we did, about three thousand years had passed."
"Wow." Kait said, finally understanding that. "That must have been some culture shock."
"Not as much as you'd think." Cien said as she led the way toward the seamstress' door.
Kait's comlink made a chirping sound, and she looked down at her belt. "Oh, I need to take this."
"Everything okay?" Cien asked.
"Yeah, just work stuff," Kait said, "contact for our next assignment, I think."
"Alright, we shouldn't be too long," Sasha said. "We can meet you back out here."
"Okay." Kait said, pulling the comlink off her belt and stepping away towards another shop next door.
"It's kind of cute how she said 'our' without batting an eye." Cien observed in a teasing way.
Sasha hissed in laughter at that. "Yeah it is. Now shall we?"
"Yes." Cien said, opening the door and stepping through.
"This kind of reminds me of the shop on Municke," Sasha observed as she entered behind Cien, still pushing Lana's stroller. The little one looked around in awe at all of the colors.
"Even has dresses in the window. Though not the dress." Cien remarked to Sasha with a smile.
"True," Sasha chuckled.
"I can fix that, if you desire," a small Zabrak woman said as she appeared from the back room.
Cien slowed and looked at the seamstress as she felt a strange presence about her. She glanced at Sasha before responding to the store owner. "It has already been taken care of, thank you."
"Ah, but what about for her?" The Zabrak slowly raised her hand and a toddler sized dress danced towards them through the open air, held aloft by the Force.
Sasha froze in shock as she watched the dress move towards them. Lana looked on curiously as she cocked her head to the side. She had not expected this woman to be a Force user. Her hand twitched slightly near her lightsaber that was thankfully hidden by the stroller handles. The feeling of darkness that had been subtly hiding far back in her mind suddenly pulsed and she furrowed her brow at why now.
Cien's hand reflexively went towards her saber as well but she didn't take hold of it.
"Uh… I think we are okay," Sasha said, still staring at the dress. "We just came to grab her stuff." She pointed to Cien with her thumb.
The Zabrak woman set the dress down on the counter carefully, keeping her hands visible. "Sure, sure." She paused, "have… have we met before? You seem familiar." She said towards Sasha.
Sasha stared at the woman for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. Sorry."
"My apologies." The Zabrak replied.
"Who are you?" Cien asked with an arched eyebrow.
"I forgot again! My master would be so disappointed in me." The Zabrak woman shook her head.
"Master?" Cien asked, her hand moving a little closer to her lightsaber hilt.
"Of course! I'm only an apprentice seamstress. My name is Xad'ra Em. And you are…?"
Sasha raised an eyebrow at her name as it sounded strangely familiar, but she couldn't place where from. So she didn't say anything or answer the question. The feeling pulsed again.
"Cien Xiv. You're an apprentice 'seamstress' who uses the Force?" Cien asked. She recognized the name Xad'ra from their correspondence over the last week about her new robes.
Xad'ra raised an eyebrow at Cien and flourished out the garment. "How else would you get such flawless seams… and hidden pockets." Xad'ra smirked.
Cien looked at her for a moment as her hand relaxed, slightly, and moved a little away from her saber. "You were able to finish my order, then?" She asked.
"Sure, sure! All finished and fit for an empress," Xad'ra replied.
Sasha flinched at that as she glanced at Cien, who didn't notice Sasha's reaction. The distant, dark feeling pulsed again.
"Very well." Cien said with a slight smile, if tinged with a bit of bemused darkness as she stepped deeper into the store and up to the counter where Xad'ra was. "What did the cost come to for the order?" She asked.
"Same price I quoted you before. I never go back on my word. However… if you would like to add matching robes for the adorable youngling, it would only be an extra thirty credits," Xad'ra said, winking at Lana.
"Maybe another time when she's a bit older," Sasha said with a slightly perturbed chuckle.
"Very good, well… very well. I can never get that phrase right." Xad'ra folded up the robes and placed them neatly in a bag. She used the Force to hand the bag over to Cien. "Until next time then."
Cien took hold of the bag through the Force and pulled it into her hand. "Yes, until next time." Cien said, taking a step backward. She pulled the credit slips out by hand, and used the Force to pass them over to the counter.
"I have to ask," Sasha spoke up after a moment as Cien walked back over to her. "Are you a survivor of 66?"
"Aren't we all?" Xad'ra replied, taking the credit slips with her hand instead of the Force. "Everyone except you, Empress."
Sasha stared wide eyed at Xad'ra before slowly taking an uneasy step back as she suppressed a shudder, shooting a quick glance at Cien. Her hand was hovering over her lightsaber in case she needed to spring into action to protect her daughter and expecting sister from this mystery Force user. She also felt the strange, lingering feeling in the back of her mind slowly turn from a mere feeling into a presence, as if someone watching her appeared far behind her, when the woman said Empress. She had thought she had imagined it on occasions over the last couple weeks, but this time it came back stronger. But she couldn't place where this sudden fee- presence came from either. It wasn't coming from Xad'ra or Cien, but it was almost hovering around Cien and several kilometers away at the same time. Either way, it was making her anxious. This whole situation was.
"Very true." Cien said, with a dark smirk, not outwardly noticing Sasha's reaction. But she could sense her anxiety starting to build. She hid her concern for now, guessing it was due to the seamstress. "Though I am no longer an Empress. Who is your 'master', seamstress?" She asked.
"They have gone by many names over the centuries. Today, they are simply Ronon. Tomorrow, who knows. I sure don't," Xad'ra chuckled and raised her hands at the unknown.
"Cien, we should go," Sasha said, in a quieter and almost quivering tone.
Cien looked at Xad'ra darkly for a moment. At the very least her master was not Ikari, which was the only concern after she had mentioned them. The only other Force user she knew of who would know her former station in life. But suddenly this new threat seemed quite evident. "If you know me, you know that I am not one to be trifled with. Whoever your master is, whatever power they think they may have, let our paths stay separate for your sake and theirs." She said in a low growl.
"As you wish," Xad'ra said as she struggled to suppress a giggle.
Sasha turned the stroller and promptly left the shop without taking another glance at Xad'ra, but she did lightly tug at Cien's sleeve as she passed by on her way out.
Cien focused on Xad'ra in the Force, trying to get a read of her. Trying to understand if she was the servant to some other Sith Lord that had somehow survived, and was a threat to her family. She sensed nothing of the sort. There was darkness, but not directed towards her family, and it was suffused with light. There was warriness, and sorrow, but not the feeling of a hunter inspecting prey. No ill intentions towards them, no malice. If anything she felt a sense of friendliness, not necessarily towards her, but to her family. Something about it reminded her of Wynnie, for some reason. "Thank you again for the robes," Cien said after a moment. "The quality of your work is quite evident." She said as she nodded at Xad'ra and turned to leave the store.
Xad'ra smiled and wiggled her fingers in a wave. As soon as the shop doors closed, Xad'ra wiped her face with her hands, her playful demeanor replaced with dark sorrow.
As soon as Sasha was outside, she visibly shuddered and let out a very uneasy breath. She pushed the stroller with a hurried step as she headed away from the store, trying to shake that still lingering presence in the back of her mind as it slowly backed away even further.
Cien was right behind her as she caught up with Sasha. "Well. That was odd." She observed.
"You could say that again," Sasha agreed as she kept her gaze forward.
Cien was quiet as she walked with Sasha, even though she was having a little bit of trouble keeping up.
After a few more steps, Sasha slowed to a stop as they were now far enough from the shop. She glanced back at Cien. "Sorry, I should have kept a more reasonable pace."
"That seemed like a reasonable pace." Cien said, thankful they were coming to a halt. "Did you recognize her?" Cien asked Sasha curiously.
"No, I didn't," Sasha said, shaking her head. "But… she gave me a really strange feeling. Or something about her did. Or something did. I'm not sure."
"Me as well." Cien said, "but I don't think it was threatening towards us." She finished simply.
"No, she didn't seem threatening," Sasha said, looking down at the stroller. "But something just didn't feel right either." She paused. "I admit it did make me a bit overprotective when she kept trying to get us to get a dress or robes for Lana."
"That is understandable." Cien nodded, "though based on the general feeling of her thoughts, I think she genuinely just thought Lana was adorable." Though she made a mental note to have Kyr thoroughly check the robes for trackers or any sort of hidden devices, just in case.
"Yeah," Sasha said, a little subdued.
"Hey guys." Kait said, walking over with a box in hand. "There was a doughnut shop a few doors down. I know it's a cliche since I'm a cop but I thought they would be a fun treat on the way back. Want one?" She said, opening the box of pastries and displaying them for the other three.
"Sure," Sasha said, reaching over to the open box and grabbing a pastry. She took a bite of it and was thankful for the tasty distraction from the weird shop encounter they just had. "These are good."
Cien took one as well and bit into it. It had some kind of cream filling imprisoned in the sugared exterior and the coating of frosting. Her eyes lit up as she bit into the pure sugar. "Thank you." She said around a mouthful of pastry.
"You're welcome." Kait said with a smile between them. "How'd the robe shopping go?"
"It was… interesting, but Cien got her robes," Sasha said as she finished her pastry. She then looked to see that there was still a couple of doughnuts left. "Can Lana have one?"
"Absolutely, I got a dozen for all of us to share." Kait said, offering the open box again for Sasha to take one. "Interesting in what way? Was the shopkeeper weird or something?"
"Yeah, a little." Cien said noncommittally.
Sasha grabbed one of the doughnuts and knelt down to give it to Lana. She had picked one that she hoped would not be messy, but it was filled with red jelly that spilled out as Lana took a bite. Sasha sighed as she straightened up. "So how did your call go?"
"Good, just the local contact from our next assignment being a little anxious for our arrival." Kait said as she closed the lid.
"Where are you guys going this time?" Sasha asked, curiously.
"Gordana." Kait replied, "there's a gang of pirates operating out of that sector and they were wanting some help trying to deal with them. Should be interesting, I've not really dealt with something like that." She said with a shrug.
"That does sound interesting," Sasha perked up. "The only advice I can give about pirates is they are greedy and will do anything for money. So be aware."
"Hmmm, " Kait said with a growing smirk. "Maybe I'll see if we can get a bigger expense account for this one, then."
"Will you guys still be able to meet us on Coruscant at the end of the month?" Cien asked as they started walking back towards the landing field.
"Yeah, we specifically took that week off. Op is excited to go back to Coruscant, and I've always wanted to visit." Kait said enthusiastically.
"We are excited you guys can join us," Sasha said, smiling at her. "That is going to be such a fun trip."
"Op talked about visiting the Jedi temple, have either of you been back there?" Kait asked.
"I've never been." Cien answered.
"Not in so long. It'll be weird going back, but I'm excited," Sasha voiced wistfully.
"I'll be curious to see it. That and I know Coruscant is supposed to have a good clubbing scene." Kait said with a smirk.
"Oh really?" Sasha asked, intrigued. "That would be fun to check out."
"We also mentioned the idea of going to a ballet or something along those lines so we could torture Kyr and Viran by making them dress up." Cien said as a suggestion. "I… honestly don't know if that would be torture for Op or not."
"Only if we dress up," Sasha teased as she shot a smile at Kait.
Kait laughed somewhere between a giggle and a chuckle at that, and Cien looked between them, slightly confused. Sasha laughed too at that. She noticed Cien's expression and smirked.
"We dressed up for the guys on Caranas. It was quite the show," Sasha explained.
"Oh, was this when you guys went to the nightclub?" Cien asked with a smirk of her own, remembering Sasha's description of the incident.
"Yup," Sasha nodded.
"I need to find a maternity gown, then." Cien groused, but smiled as she looked forward to seeing Kyr in something formal and how much he would squirm in it.
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