Galaxy's Edge Space Bar

[Terenia]

Yeden watches Keshin, head tilted slightly, curls cascading to one side. He looks almost boyish as his eyes flicker to the comm link, then back to Joanne's face. A slight smile appears on his lips. "It has been a good long time since I've had worthwhile entertainment," he concedes, though his response borders on snide and he keeps a healthy distance between himself and Jorek as he stands, brushing off his t-shirt. He gives Jorek a distasteful look. "And I can hardly see our conversation going anywhere productive."


Ardania stares at Mar with unblinking main eyes, stalks watching as the War-Prince disappears on his ship.

<I...may, admittedly, need some time to fully understand that,> she finally says, sounding a little stunned. Beneath that, though, is a hunger. An eagerness to understand and dissect and catalogue Mar...whatever he is.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Al shakes his head, still staring up at the thrumming Hope Drive. "Dude, I hope you know what you're doing."

"Me..." Salem stops, swallows, and tries again. "Me too." He turns to give Al what he hopes is an encouraging smile, only to find the android's back retreating towards the bar proper. So he's not happy about this. Good to know.

Doing his best to shut out the somewhat-overwhelming sensation of the drive, Salem strides the rest of the way into the ship. He rummages through a pile of exotic detritus for a few moments before emerging with a scepter-like object, about the length of his forearm, with an electronic control pad at one end and a big, faceted bulge at the other. He punches the control pad, frowns, and then spends a few more moments cursing to himself and rummaging through the pile. When he finally emerges with a greenish, glowing cylinder, he slides an identical cylinder out of the control-pad end of the device, letting it clatter to the floor, and slides the new one in with a click. He punches the control pad again, nods to himself, and heads back to his place under the hope drive.

He keys in a sequence of some sort on the control pad, and aims the bulb-end of his scepter up at the Hope Drive. A bubble of air around the drive shimmers and shifts, and a barely-perceptible force field snaps into place around it. With a thought-speak command, the ship's clamps release the drive, which shudders slightly and drops a few inches before being caught by the antigravity force field. The dust that drifts down around it, seemingly unaffected by the antigravity, shines in the same unseen light as the Hope Drive itself. Salem slowly guides the scepter towards the floor, and the Hope Drive drops with it, right out of the space in the ceiling. As it drops out of its rectangular compartment, it trails its effervescent, wispy tentacles, which stretch and break like cotton candy, leaving the ends to sway gently in the breeze, reminiscent of cobwebs hanging from the ceiling of Salem's ship.

The compartment in which the drive had been housed was, at one point, the same 'dark gold' color as the rest of the ship's interior, but now it's covered completely in the same effervescent, ethereal 'fizz' that makes up the Hope Drive itself, as though the thing had grown in place. Indeed, dust drifts lazily downward after the drive, sparkling in a nonexistent light.

Salem closes his eyes for a moment, takes a deep breath. He lets go of his 'scepter,' which continues to float in place. Steeling himself, he jumps up onto the drive-- it seems completely unaffected by his touch. Though Salem's face is a grimace, there is no obvious physical change. Salem reaches down and grabs the end of the thick black-and-white cable, still connecting the compartment above to the Hope Drive below, and begins to pull. The cable, too, seems to be partly covered in the minuscule beads that make up the drive, as though they've crept up it over the years.

For a few moments, nothing happens, but finally, there's a crack like breaking styrofoam, and several feet of cable come free from the drive all at once, along with a small cloud of brilliant dust, swirling and glowing as though in a sunbeam. Salem loses his balance and tumbles backward off the drive, cable still in hand.

For a few moments, he simply lies there, on his back, staring up into the space the drive had been. Already the unseen light that seems to shine on the remains up there seems to be dimming in fits and pulses.


Al enters the bar and looks around. His face breaks into a smile, and he calls towards Morgan. "Eyyy, Morgan," he says, in a melodramatically-thick Italian accent. "It's-a me! Alfredo!" He shoots a wink at Keshin-- they seem to be engaged in something pretty intense over there-- and steps into the bar with a smile on his face. The bartender looks at him quizzically, but Al shakes his head. "I'm staying sober for at least a few minutes. Let's just start with a large iced motor oil and go from there."

[Gaz]

Morgan looks over from his reading as Al comes up to the bar. "How's it goin?"

Julian was next to him polishing his competition sword, which he insisted on carrying with him at all times. Either he liked being dramatically prepared, or didn't want to leave it out of his sight. Morgan was certain it could be both.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Al grins. "As well as can be expected for an upbeat android in a smelly hellhole. And the bar that hellhole is currently parked at," he says with a wink at the utterly-nonplussed bartender. He smacks Morgan jovially on the back as he sits down next to him, and gives a low whistle when he sees Julian's sword. "Pretty piece of iron you've got there, Julian," he says appreciatively. He looks from one to the other. "So what've my two favorite Myths been up to since we last saw each other? Quietly staying out of trouble like good boys?" He bats his eyelashes innocently.


Salem stands up and dusts himself off, his back pointedly to the all-consuming extrasensory hum of the Hope Drive. He reaches around and grabs the scepter-like device. He pulls on it for a few moments, leaning in the direction of Ossanlin's ship, until the entire mass of glittering bubbles that is the drive glides above the grass behind him.

As he trudges forward, he tries to concentrate on anything-- his footsteps, the setting sun, the swaying of the trees in this impossible little planetoid's light breeze-- anything at all to get his mind off of the sensation of the drive behind him. Even so, by the time he finally skids to a stop in front of the open hatch of the Mirage, the drive has become a dull roar of static, an inexorable tide battering against his mind.

He closes his eyes, breathes slowly, and tries to clear his mind of the sensation. This is so much harder than he'd anticipated.

Finally, he clears his throat and calls into the ship, "Special delivery!"

[Gaz]

Julian nodded. "Back at home this beauty has won me quite a few tournaments. Wouldn't have thought the sport would be popular much these days, but it took off running."

Morgan chuckled. "Trouble has a way of finding us, it seems. Decided to leave the cargo business and picked up a job as head of security on a space station. Had some leave coming and---"

"You mean they MADE you take the leave," Julian interrupted. "You need to relax, my friend. Meet some people. Mingle. It won't kill you."

"Julian is intent on playing matchmaker," Morgan commented as he shot Julian a glare.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin rubs his temples as he begins the process of downloading and encrypting Mark III Dome schematics onto the self-terminating chip.  Of course life consisted of shades of gray.  But this is about as 'gray' as Ossanlin has ever gone.  High treason against his own people...well...per haps not.  After all, in the past reality, he'd actually stolen his ship and defected along with a number of his own crew.  In a way, this is almost more difficult.  Less clear.  If one thing could've been said about Rogue Element, it was that he'd never been surer of his allies.  Of course, the thought of never seeing the Homeworld again...of never seeing mother and father...of never seeing Siruvan had been almost intolerable.  He blinks his main eyes and shakes his head.  There it was again...

Well, if this reality would have him walk the path of blades upon the heights, he would do so with the utmost grace and composure.  About halfway through the process, Salem's voice jogs him out of his reverie.  The external camera shows him along with the strange, foam-like device.  It almost looked like a study in what technology might look like under water.  It was also significantly larger than he'd expected.  <Enter.  We'll have to rendezvous with the Tyrennian.  I assume you don't object to riding along?>

[Shenmue654]

"Good," Keshin says, standing up from his chair. "This will definitely catch your attention. And, I'm sure, entertain you. We'll do it outside near the entrance to the Bar, off at an angle where we can't be seen. I'm fairly certain that, in all of your travels across space, you will not have witnessed such a show." Keshin smiles thinly and then heads for the door to the Bar, exiting into the perpetually lukewarm-yet-cool night air of the place.

Joanne's voice bristles and scrambles at the edges of Keshin's mind. <Kess, we ****in' can't, I swear ta god. Those bastards are Councilors for sure, if they find out the Empire will know! And we don't know what they will do! We have Ossanlin's offer. We can't--->

<We can. I can position us well. Joanne...what exactly has being in hiding all of these years done for us? What exactly has doing whatever keeps our freedom done for you? We are getting too close to death. This might be the only opportunity I have to show them outside the sight of any Visser, any party that could possibly interfere and take advantage. I have to try for my own sake. Whatever connection there is between us, and Ossanlin, whatever it is he remembers, we don't remember it anymore. Can we actually make a bet on what could have been rather than what is? We are betting with our very lives, and we have something to sell that no one else will ever have.>

Joanne falls silent. <...thought we were trying to trust him. You convinced me.> The hurt was etched into her voice, but it didn't reach Keshin's body. He stood outside, waiting. <You wanted it. To get rid of it. To use the Cube. We'd be free. We wouldn' need to take stuff like this anymore. We could do whatever we wanted. If we show them it, we might lose that chance.>

Keshin was silent. He didn't have the ability to justify what he was doing. Keshin would have liked to say that he saw the obvious right in front of his face: that the options were either obtaining and using a cure, and fading into obscurity- or with careful negotiations obtaining enormous wealth and power for the both of them. It was likely that that was merely a flimsy justification, though. He was simply a liar. And liars take whatever opportunities they are given.
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Mar smiles at Ardania and stands closer to her. "I imagine so," he says. "Ask me whatever you'd like. I would be happy to indulge your curiosity to its limit." He gestured outside. "After all, this is a place that, while it answers no questions itself, seems to welcome curiosity."

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Al laughs warmly in response to Morgan' and Julian's banter. "You might have to show me a few moves at some point," he says to Julian, leaning his chair back. "I can do a few neat things with swords, but nothing... like, tournament-worthy. I'm not sure swordplay is something I could or would pick up, but I'd love to see a master in action."

He laughs at Morgan. "Heh. A workaholic, eh? Had to be forced to take a day off for your own good? I think you're a man after my own heart. Only my addiction is alcohol. I'm not sure if there's a word for that." He grins at his stupid joke. "Julian's right, though. It'll do you good to take a load off for a while. Sit down. Hang out. You can tell me all about your time on this space station... but I think only after you've let your... er... horns down for five minutes, and stop worrying about your work." He smiles brightly at the pair of them. "Do either of you dance? We could start there."

He turns to watch as Keshin leaves the bar, and a look of concern crosses his face. "They seem... worried..." he says aloud, inviting Morgan and Julian to follow his gaze.


It takes Salem a few moments to master the shock of apprehension and excitement that goes through him at Ossanlin's mention of visiting the Tyrennian. He hadn't been expecting that.

Forcing his face into a neutral expression, he says, "Um... no objection at all." He's sure it's come across as being a little too enthusiastic, but even now, even in this situation, the technical side of him can't help getting excited at the prospect of visiting the cutting-edge masterpiece of a Mark III Dome Ship. And he's heard so much about the Tyrennian through the years.

With some effort, he manages to drag the massive Hope Drive aboard the Mirage, only bumping the walls a few times as he does so.

He grits his teeth and says, maybe a bit too loudly, "Tell me where to stash this thing." What he'd really like right now is to be anywhere away from the drive.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin trots a bit closer, looking at the device with all four eyes.  His eyes flash blue for a moment and he quickly determines that the thing is almost otherworldly, and Salem truly believes it's the actual Hope Drive, so Ossanlin has no reason to doubt it.  <Good, just...leave it here in the lounge.>  Ossanlin finally manages to tear his eyes away from the thing.  His head feels almost achy...he shakes it a bit as he makes his way up to the flight deck.

<You do have an andalite morph, yes?  You'll have to use it.  I've brought humans on the ship before, but if your face is known as a criminal, it might bring up questions I'd rather leave in the dust.  I want this to go as smoothly as possible.>  He starts the warmup sequence on the Mirage's engines and retracts the hatch, sealing them both inside the ship.

<Once onboard the Tyrennian, we'll take the item straight to the science lab so we can package it for Z-Space immediately.>  He glances back at Salem with his stalk eyes.  <We'll use a terfin cypher.  I assume you're familiar with the technology?  It'll shunt the capsule out of phase into Z-Space, when it does, it will immediately transfer one-half of the retrieval cypher to each of our translation chips.  In other words, neither of us will be able to readily, or reliably, retrieve the capsule without the other.>  He pauses, shrugging slightly.  <Or to be more-specific, without the other's translation chip.>

[Gaz]

"Anytime!" Julian replied. "It would be nice to have someone to practice with. Gotta keep the skills sharp for when I hit the tournaments again."

While Al spoke towards Morgan, Julian was nodding. "See, Morgan? I'm not the only one telling you to ease up. It's been a few years now, and it's time to stop being so rigid."

Morgan was silent for a moment as he stared at his drink. After taking a sip, he said, "Haven't done any dancing since my wedding. But I'll gladly tell you about the space station."

[Myitt]

Jorek sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Internally, he wonders aloud, <<Why bother with this farce? I've got better things to do.>>

<<Because you're bored,>> his host, Jonathan, intones flatly. <<Isn't it obvious?>>

Jorek eyes Yeden, then nods at Keshin's back. "Shall we, then?" He peels himself from the booth, straightening his crisp black uniform and playing a bit with his gelled dirty blonde hair. He leans over and claps Yeden on the shoulder in a friendly gesture, then follows Keshin out the door.

"Well," says the Councilor, boots crunching on the gravel. "This had better be good, Keshin. Taking us out of sight to see your little magic trick is already making me grouchy. Not to mention wasting my time. What have you got that's so shockingly entertaining?" He sets his hands on his hips and peers curiously at the bounty hunter, utterly unconcerned.

[Shenmue654]

When Keshin sees Jorek follow him in moments, he swallows. His gut's suddenly twisted in a knot. This would be nearly the first time any Imperial official --- who was still alive to tell the tale, that is --- had actually seen Joanne's..."ability." Keshin tries to block out Joanne's cries of panic and grits one of his hands into a fist.

"Watch," Keshin intones calmly.

Keshin levels out his breathing and focuses on the overeager, powerful, painful pulse of energy that writhed its way constantly through Joanne's body, hungry for cells to consume and convert. He had never adequately determined what sort of mutation it was or how it had happened, to any extent. Joanne certainly hadn't either. What he knew about it is that it was a ravenous and raging creature, and that this little stunt would most likely put both of them completely out of commission within an hour. In their last use of this in the GESB, they had very nearly died. Nonetheless, Keshin pushes the pulse upward from the ground towards Joanne's hands, opening them. The ground just underneath them makes a crackling sound as what look like white-hot sparks of lightning pulse up her legs and body. Keshin grits his teeth at the pain of the process. They used to scream, many years ago. Their outfit was designed not to singe upon contact, but the same couldn't necessarily always be said of Joanne's flesh. If they didn't move or release it, they risked being quite badly burned. Truth be told they'd probably be burned regardless.

Keshin suddenly darts, like a blur, directly behind Jorek in less than a second. "Here." Keshin then reappears in the original spot Keshin was standing, again with barely a black-brown blur to indicate the movement. It was hard to follow. "Here." Keshin winces one eye shut and shows Jorek Joanne's palm. Little arcs of energy are traveling up and down it and around Keshin's arm. "....I can fire it, like Palpatine..." The arcs briefly travel rapidly in circles, as if he were going to throw it outward. "...but it's better direct, like a....more effective taser..." Keshin grips Joanne's fist and closes the effect. The light dies down and fades. He tries hard to keep his balance, but it's a struggle. He needs to keep enough control and breath in her lungs so that he looks like he can control it better than they actually can, these days.

<My god what the **** have you done, Kess.>

[Myitt]

Jorek watches - or tries to - with complete surprise. Whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't this.

"How?" he asks, eyes narrowing. "It's no technology I've ever seen, or heard of."

<<Like a superhero,>> Jonathan comments.

Jorek ignores him and steps forward, observing Keshin's barely controlled calm. "You're trembling," he remarks.

[Shenmue654]

Keshin looks at them firmly, trying to get his twitching and shuddering under control. Dammit. He takes a deep breath and says, "...I don't know. My host was, apparently...actual ly born like this. Some sort of one-in-a-million mutation, as detrimental as it is spectacular and useful. I've never had anyone study it, because the risk would have been too profound. I'm in the turelek business in large part to the service of that...condition." The condition that is burning, burning, burning us on the inside. Like cooked meat. That's what it feels like. Keshin continues without skipping a beat this time. "My only question to you gentlemen is..."

Keshin points a hand to his chest. "...is whether you see it as something you're interested in. You previously wondered aloud whether I had anything to offer you...and that's it. The ability to utilize, control, and potentially duplicate...that. Well, that, and my prodigious skills in the assassination and/or acquiring things department."

[Myitt]

Jorek's eyes are lit up like a kid at Christmas. And he shakes his head, and laughs, smiling at them.

"Amazing," he says with admiration, walking around her, a hand to his chin. "No wonder the rumors about you were so prolific. Yes, we might just have a lot to talk about, Keshin. Quite a lot. And the pay is good, good enough to keep you alive and comfortable. If you'd allow my medical ship to examine you, there may be a way to...abate the symptoms, if not provide a complete cure."

<<But where's the fun in that?>> he says to himself. Jonathan doesn't bother to answer.