Galaxy's Edge Space Bar

[Terenia]

Dalik watches Sorin for a few long moments before responding. "Apologies...Sorin," she says with a bare smile. "I've spent many years alone, with only the company of my computers and my host. Social etiquette is sometimes lost on me." Her smile turns rueful. "It doesn't help that each species has its own rules. If I were to simply start conversation with a Hawjabran I would almost immediately find my life in danger. Humans, on the other hand, find a lack of conversation rude."

She swipes away her holoscreens, the little green lights blipping into nothingness. A quick glance over her shoulder confirms that Jorek is nowhere near her...though her eyeebrows lift in surprise when she sees where he is. Why, by the Kandrona, would he, of all people, approach a War-Prince? she wonders. Not for the first time, she wonders if he has any sanity left to him. As she watches, a second Andalite approaches, and Jorek favors this new creature with a handshake -- a handshake!

Unable to continue watching, Dalik turns back to Sorin and forces another smile. "How did you come to be here, then? You are human, correct?" She glances at his forehead.


William takes Al's rapid-fire introductions in stride, though by the end his expression is bemused. "You are...an incredibly odd individual," he allows. Then he smiles. "I think I like you for it. As for these Yeerks, I--" He cuts himself off, frowning. "What do you mean, you do not identify as organic?"

[Leona]

The simple sound of an unexpected voice was enough to spark a paranoid mind, but a voice in her head caused the redhead to freeze up for a moment. Memories of a time she'd been controlled by a voice inside her head had her heart suddenly racing in panic. Those emerald eyes glanced quickly about the bar, seeing who was near her, if any eyes were on her. She recognized none so none should recognize her, right? But just because she didn't recognize a host didn't mean they couldn't recognize her... Paranoia was all that could described Leona's thought process before mentally screaming at herself to think.

The andalite speaking to her seemed to be the only one paying her any attention. The blonde from before, shouldn't have been surprising, andalites were rarely themselves. At least from what she'd seen. Shaking herself out of her mental stupor Leona seemed to find her voice again. "Umm, sorry. This place is getting crowded, makes me claustrophobic."

[Forlin]

<If Andalites congregate here, I wouldn't know,> said Forlin with a shrug -- a very human-like shrug.  His body language was often just like a human's.

He extended his hand, and Forlin shook it.  <I know what a handshake is,> he said in an amused tone.  <Colloquial English is not lost on me.>  He could very well speak English, and Forlin would understand it just fine.

This Yeerk--Jorek--defied his expectations.  He would have expected more hatred, or maybe fear.  Perhaps the Yeerk wanted to infest him, and was trying to play him so that he could put himself into his head.  But Forlin would be anticipating that.

Something, however, made him wonder.  The Yeerk had not introduced the human he resided within.  <I'm pretty curious about Yeerks, myself.  And your host, what is his name?  Is he voluntary?>  He hoped he was...he didn't relish the idea of talking to someone that kept their host as a slave.

He had found out about the Yeerks on Earth because he'd found an escaped Hork-Bajir.  He kept Kali Notur safe at his place.  She had told him various things about the Yeerks.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Salem, at first, doesn't notice the knife flying through the air-- once he turns back to Rathien, his eyes follow Rathien's up on instinct. He reacts somewhat clumsily, slapping it aside with the butt of his Shredder so that it clatters to the floor nearby. He can feel his ears reddening, though he supposes, bitterly, that he should be proud of the speed of his Shredder draw there.

He does, however, catch enough of what Rathien says to bark out a sound that's halfway between a chuckle and a... purr, almost, and he runs his eyes sensually along what he can see of Rathien's shoulder. "Mmm. Just where to sink them." At the mention of Thienal, the noise turns to almost a snarl. "One can only hope," he mutters darkly. "That little weasel."

He pushes himself to his feet, smirking, his ears burning even more as he realizes how effectively Rathien has just played his emotions. Nobody's ever been able to push his buttons quite like Rathien has. It's a lot of the Ildari's appeal.

He sighs. How, after a near-stabbing, is it still this hard to peel himself away from Rathien? "Excuse me for a bit, guys," he says, and strides purposefully towards Al.


"Oh!" says Al brightly, grinning. "I'm an artificial construct. A being built by others. A collection of moving parts kept alive by the Pemalite equivalent of electricity and clockwork." His tone is casual, as if he were merely discussing the weather. "What you see isn't the real me. There's not an organic bone in this body. I can project light and force so that I look and feel like a person, but my real body is underneath this."

He holds out his arm for William to see and dims the hologram until it becomes transparent. Underneath, his robotic arm is clearly visible-- the combination of metal and white plastic, the strange, alien, almost doglike shape.

"Hey," says Salem, walking up to him.

"Hey!" Al says happily, grabbing Salem's arm and pulling him close. "Let me introduce you to my friends. This is..."

"Al, later," Salem says tolerantly. He glances at Jeffrey and William as he tries, unsuccessfully, to escape Al's embrace. "Did you see where Myitt went?"

"Outside," Al replies. "Looked a little green."

"Thanks," says Salem, pushing Al away and stepping towards the door.

"Salem," says Al, grabbing Salem's arm and speaking in an exaggeratedly friendly voice, "If you take advantage of her drunkenness to turn her towards the forces of darkness I will plant my robot boot so far up your ass you'll be sneezing metal shavings for a month." When Salem frowns at him quizzically, Al smiles sweetly and flutters his eyelashes.

As Salem stomps towards the door, at a loss for words, Al turns back to William and Jeffrey. "Sorry, don't mind him. He's had a rough week. He's normally much friendlier." He catches sight of his arm and laughs. "Oops!" he says, shaking his wrist and turning the arm back to full opacity.

"Barkeep!" he says, catching the bartender's eye, "Chocolate milk for the redhead there." He tries to catch her eye and gesture towards a nearby stool.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin scans Jorek's human features impassively.  <I'm perfectly content with my water for now, thank you.>  He sips a bit more through his hoof as if to make a point.  <You don't want anything.  Really.>  Ossanlin's tone is cynical.  <Why in the four moons would a loyal Imperial walk within tail-strike range of a conscious military Andalite?  Do you have a death-wish?>

Ossanlin watches the other Andalite approach and falls silent.  He seems young and uncomfortable.  A quick scan upon closer consideration shows the young Andalite has no utility belt and thus no weapon, badge, or communicator.  Ossanlin commands his ARC to scan Forlin, though the projection over his right eye is no help at all.  The young Andalite has no active file.  He'd have to interface with the Tyrennian's computer later and search his name for matches.  <Greetings.  I'm...>, he pauses for a quick glance at Jorek before continuing, <...War-Prince Ossanlin-Rethin-Sephirel, Captain of the Dome Ship Tyrennian.>  He falls silent as he listens to the exchange between Jorek and the newcomer.  Forlin seems very strange for an Andalite.  Not only does he seem to share Ossanlin's open-mindedness (wholly uncommon for his race), he's actively engaging a loyal Imperial Yeerk in conversation.  His general mannerisms and overall bearing seem to be very odd for an Andalite as well.  Combined with the lack of an active file and the lack of any sort of combat supplies, Ossanlin's left wondering how this particular Andalite has ended up out in the farthest corner of the Galaxy.

[Shenmue654]

"Just a suggestion," Keshin remarks, as Salem gives Keshin his spiel about bounty hunters. Keshin's eyes widen in surprise as Rathien throws his knife directly behind Salem's head. Joanne's sharp eyes are the only reason he even caught that Rathien wasn't aiming for Salem's head. Keshin shoots Rathien a dirty "Do you think that's ****ing funny?" look, but he doubted the other bounty hunter would pay any attention to him whatsoever.

Salem then leaves the group. Keshin follows the direction that Salem was going in--- Towards his possible assailant, Al, and the pirate--- And shudders. Whatever those three could potentially concoct together would not be good for anyone. Hopefully Salem can keep Al in line, but Keshin sincerely doubts that one.

<<I don't think the entire Andalite navy could keep Al from doing whatever he wants, Kess.>> She was right.

After Salem leaves, Keshin eyes Rathien with a somewhat dry, irritated expression. "Could you try for five seconds to not pester people in your threatening way, or is it just in your nature? Like a compulsion. Because you were five seconds away from murdering half the Bar." Keshin takes in a deep breath and another sip of drink--- Frankly with the feral man, he'd need it--- And says, "With that said...are you in on this thing of Salem's, or out? Did you hear enough to get the gist of it? I may think you're crazy, but you're crazy and good. And Salem needs all the help he can get. I don't doubt that the fate of the Yeerk-Andalite War is irrelevant to you...but it might impact the bottom line of a lot of people. Including me. It might be worth your while to help him, as well."
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The Bartender briefly faces Jeffrey with his monotonous stare and slides a drink over at him. Jeffrey catches it with one hand and sips it. He smirks as Al goes off on a tangent about the Bartender's complete lack of a name. "Might as well call him El Psy Kangaroo and be done with it," says Jeffrey, shrugging. "You never know with these magic freak types."

Jeffrey watches with some interest as Al identifies every person he knew in the Bar at a rapid-fire pace. There were a couple people that Al clearly wasn't familiar with--- That strange red-headed girl and the new Andalite that had just wandered in. Jeffrey stares for several straight minutes at the bright red of the girl's hair and the green of her eyes. He couldn't help but be reminded of his own daughter. He smiles slightly at her, unable to stop himself, and then turns back to Al.

"Sorry, I'm fond of gingers," he says to Al. Salem comes by, exchanges a few words with Al, and then leaves. Jeffrey rolls his eyes. "What do you suppose got up his butthole? I gather that the pessimist Yeerk's a friend of yours, but still."

[guitarhero01234]

For all intents and purposes," Sorin says, his gaze shifting around the room, "yeah, we'll say I'm human. I have a feeling that'd make things less complicated, at least." He gives each of the Andalites in the room a nervous glance. "I guess it wouldn't be too dangerous to say that I'm here to pick up some ship parts."

"So you're a Yeerk, correct?" He lowers his voice a little. "If I may ask, what's your alliance? It'd be useful to know whether you have reason to kill me or not."


Guppy takes Myitt's hand and stands up with her. "Won't hurt to ask around, right?" He thoughtfully gnaws at his lip. "I can probably do the talking, if you want. What exactly are we gonna need?"

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Rathien turns his head to glance at Keshin out of the corner of his eye and smirks.  Once again, it's not a terribly nice smirk.  He slowly slides out of the booth, whipping his left hand toward his knife on the floor.  He jerks the hand back a bit and the knife flies up off the floor and into his hand.  He quickly stows it back in his sleeve and slides into the booth in front of Keshin.  It would take a keen eye to have noticed the strong tensile filament that the Ildari had used as a sort of whip to grab the knife with.

He sighs, shaking his head a bit, point ponytail swaying a bit with the motion.  "I thought you were more-intuitive than that, my dear Keshin.  I've never once been close to murdering half the bar.  I considered it once, I'll admit...just to get rid of him a long time ago."  He jerks his thumb in Salem's direction before continuing.  "But I hate collateral damage.  I covet precision and finesse.  But a lover's spat is what it is, I'm sure you're aware."  He pauses, running his tongue over a fang in thought before continuing.  "I don't prize money, Yeerk.  The money is just a way to keep myself alive.  What I prize is difficulty.  The best hunts are the hardest ones, regardless of payout.  The harder the hunt, the better the release when you pull it off.  Especially if that death if arbitrated by Fate."  Rathien closes his eyes for a moment as if savoring something before opening them again.  "If anyone's going to kill that ****, it's going to be me.  So I suppose I'll have to keep him alive for now, regardless of his own death-wish of a plan."  He shrugs lazily.

[Leona]

It seemed the andalite who'd triggered her mini panic attack hadn't stuck around long enough to hear her explanation when she'd finally come out of it. It appeared his interest had been drawn to another of his own kind. Leona simply shrugged it off, she preferred to go unnoticed anyhow. With so many trigger words floating in the air the redhead felt almost dizzy trying to pin down who was saying what. A quick chug of the liquor she'd ordered was given in an attempt to calm her nerves. The talk of yeerk and controllers she did her best to casually ignore, but when she heard voices saying things like 'redhead' and 'ginger' the panic she'd been fighting flooded Leona with renewed force.

They're talkin abou' me! They know! No, there's no way. Anyone who would recognize me is dead... Mostly. They don' know, there's no way they could know. Can' go back... Would rather die... They won' take me alive! Those emerald eyes darted about the bar in search of who'd spoken the nickname she'd come to find synonymous with her hair color. Did they know who she was? Or rather, who'd once been in her head? As the panic began to boil over her right hand moved to instinctively rest on the dracon beam hidden in the large pocket of her hoody.

Fearing what she might do if she snapped completely Leona abruptly shoved herself away from the bar as a chocolate milk was brought her way. In her rush Leona practically fell off the bar stool, knocking it over as she stumbled to stay on her feet. Panicked green eyes looked for an opening, choosing flight over fight, the panicking human rushed through the first door she found. Finding herself in the bathroom, she didn't care which gender it was for, Leona took several slow deep breaths with her back firmly pressed against the door. Slowly forcing herself to release the death grip on her dracon beam, Leona realized just how badly her hands were shaking as she withdrew them from her pockets.

[Shenmue654]

Keshin watches as something moved out of the corner of his eye and the knife Rathien threw is suddenly back in the Ildari's hand. Keshin stares quizzically for a few minutes. <<Did you catch that?>>

<<Kess, don't be stupid. I saw the exact same ruddy thing you did. Too fast. Seems this ****'s bag of tricks goes all the way to the bottom.>>

Keshin listens to Rathien's baffling rant about hunting, and skill, and Fate. It sounded just as odd as it ever did to him. "And that is why we will never be buddies, Rath," says Keshin, spinning a finger around his ear. "Killing people isn't a thing that should ever come off as a thrill. It's a job. A job we are both good at, but a job. Unless you're my host, in which case you lost touch with normal people back in 1998."

<<Don't knock it if you haven't tried it.>>

"As for including yourself in the venture..." Keshin gives Rathien an awkward look of tacit approval. "Thank you, I suppose. Although even if it were possible, I doubt I would try to kill the person I love most." A faint, wistful smile crosses Joanne's face at this thought.
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Jeffrey peers over to the side as the young ginger that he was watching tenses up and nearly chokes on fear. She darts towards the men's bathroom and runs right inside. Jeffrey's lips curve down into a frown. Little lady isn't watching where she's going. Wonder what set her off.

Jeffrey stands up suddenly and puts a hand on the bar, looking over at Al. "Uh, sorry mate but something's bothering me," he says, jerking a thumb in the direction she'd gone. "Shouldn't take me more than a couple minutes."

Jeffrey walks at a brisk pace towards the bathroom and then raps gently on the door. "Hey honey, are you okay? Nobody's going to hurt you in this dump, I'm sure. I know a freak out when I see one. My girl had 'em all the time. I'm a friend to people like you, hon." Jeffrey's eyes glow yellow with the use of his powers, but his expression is all concerned parent instead of giggling maniac. She was someone's daughter, somewhere, right? That had to be why he cared. 

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Rathien's expression suddenly goes dark and dangerous as he looks straight at Joanne's eyes.  "You don't know what happened."  All the frivolity and lasciviousness now absent from his tone.  Anyone who knew anything about him would know this was how he got moments before executing a kill.  "You don't trust people any more than I do, but when the person you let in betrays that rare trust, it has consequences...espe cially if you're a murdering bastard."

The throwing-knives are back in Rathien's hands again in the blink of an eye.  "So I advise you not to dig where you're not wanted, lest you find yourself sucker-shot and dumped on a planetoid in the middle of nowhere without warning or reason by the 'person you love most.'"

[Leona]

Slow steady breaths, one after another Leona forced her focus on just breathing. Her heart rate was finally starting to slow, and her head clearing enough to think straight. Just as she was starting to feel moderately sane again, a soft knocking on the door behind her caused the young redhead to jump with a startled squeal. Though her heart was instantly racing again, the kind words from the other side of the door prevented another full on panic attack. Though she couldn't put her finger on exactly why, Leona found the stranger's voice oddly reassuring. It was an uncomfortable sensation to say the least, especially for someone who typically trusted none of what she heard, and only half of what she saw.

"People like me don' have friends..." She muttered to herself as though it were a profound truth she couldn't allow herself to forget, regardless of what anyone said. She was beginning to feel more comfortable though, comfortable enough to notice the urinals on the far wall. "**** my life." She sighed under her breath. Even if she ignored the man on the other side till he went away, someone was going to find her in the men's room sooner or later.

Finally the door opened, the young women taking only a second to look over the stranger on the other side. "I'm fine." She insisted a bit too quickly. "And in the wrong bathroom..." She added, pointing it out before anyone else could.

[Shenmue654]

"Are you threatening me?" says Keshin, raising an eyebrow. He smiles very slightly. "Over a minor comment about your trader? Really? You know it wouldn't be worth either of our time to do so. It would just incite more chaos to no end, and one or two of us might die. And in my case..."

Keshin shakes his head. "I can't kill the person I love most, regardless, and it wouldn't be in my favor to do so. You're right--- I don't know what happened between you and him. In fact I never will be able to."

Keshin stands up and says, "I'm going to go do something while Salem's distracted. If you feel like it, let me know when he comes back." Now was the time to deal with the other issue on both of their minds...Ossanlin. Ossanlin and his proposition. He had turned it over multiple times since the Andalite had spoken, and he still couldn't understand what the War-Prince had been talking about. He had acted like they had...known one another in some greater fashion. Yet the only interactions they had ever had had been in violence, even counting the most recent. And yet he had offered to do something they had longed for since the moment they had received the burden of Joanne's disease. Nothing about this made any sense. 

<<But we're in agreement then? If Ossanlin could really do it, than we want him to? ...that damn blue box could be our only chance. I'm...I'm so scared of losing myself, though. Turning into someone else!>>

Keshin's thought voice was soft and full of reassurance. <<...I know. But if he says that won't happen if we nothlitize as another person ...I think that we can trust him. On that, at least. I've been thinking about it.>> Keshin didn't want to admit that something about his vertigo earlier had actually been what changed his mind. He was glad, and not for the first time, that only the Yeerk could read the human's mind and not vice versa most of the time.

Keshin walks with some trepidation up to where Ossanlin is in the Bar. He ****s his head in surprise when he sees that Ossanlin is engaging with...what has to be an Imperial Yeerk. Although he didn't look thrilled with that, as expected. "Talk about an unusual pairing," says Keshin as he saunters into view, smiling slightly. "I do wonder what the occasion is. With that said..."

Keshin meets Ossanlin's main eyes directly, with a serious and forward expression entirely unlike the one he had a few seconds ago. "...that thing you wanted to try to do? ...I think we might be open to it, but we need to talk about it. Do you have a moment, or should we come back at a better time?" Keshin glances slightly over at the young Andalite who had arrived. After all, it was rare that an Andalite frequented the Bar.
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Jeffrey smiles at the young woman that he sees. She looked stressed, but she had the same kind of beauty and life to her that he saw in his own daughter. He had to wonder what could have set her off. The place actually seemed less screwed up than it was before. "That you are--- But you don't seem fine to me. Not one bit honey. Why don't you tell old Jeffrey what's bothering you? He doesn't bite."

[Terenia]

William's eyes widen when the hologram drops, and he finds himself staring at Al's arm long after it reappears. His first reaction is horror, but it's quickly ushered out by fascination, and he leans in, inspecting the apendage. "You're entirely mechanical!" he exclaims. "Why...you must have cost a fortune. How are you capable of intelligent thought?"


Dalik laughs. "So not human, or at least not entirely human, but you don't want to elaborate," she surmises. "Fair enough. This doesn't seem to be the sort of place where people reveal too much about themselves."

She pauses before answering his second question, ****ing her head as she considers him. "Do you always ask Yeerks their alliance expecting a straight answer?" she asks. "Choose your answer, 'human'. I could tell you I'm a faithful servant of our Emperor, helping him succeed. I could tell you I despise our Empire and want to see it destroyed. Or I could say I'm a free agent, with little interest in alliances." Her faint smile broadens. "Or I could confuse you entirely and tell you all three are true."

Shrugging, she waves a hand to catch the bartender's attention. "Regardless, I have little interest in hurting you. I'm not here to kill anyone."

[Myitt]

Jorek grips Forlin's hand, and he only releases the Andalite's grasp when Forlin mentions his human host.

He simply smiles at Forlin and doesn't deign to answer.

To Ossanlin he turns his attention and replies, "No, quite the contrary, War-Prince Ossanlin. I very much enjoy being alive. Does it surprise you that I want to engage in cautious, but friendly conversation?"

Jorek bounces lightly on his heels, like a giddy child, the knowing smile still plastered on his face.

"Of all the things I could want from people in this bar, I certainly wouldn't be so bold as to go begging from an Andalite, not least of which one who is held in such high renown. In the Andalite military, and in the Yeerk Empire." At this, he glances down at his fingernails idly, digging dirt from under one.



Myitt gazes blearily around the shipyard, wiping at her eyes.

"We're going to need metal," she murmurs, letting go of Guppy to inspect the closest hull of a ship.

As far as what else they might need, she is silent, running her hands along the cold metal of an abandoned Bug fighter.

Then, "Hey, Guppy, over here. We need to tear a hole in this ship." The grin in her tone of voice is all too obvious.


At Dalik's mention of the Yeerk Empire, Jorek glances curiously at his host, Cameron. Eyes narrowing briefly. Lips twitching into a shadow of a frown.

Then he is all smiles again, beaming at Ossanlin and Forlin in turn.