Galaxy's Edge Space Bar (archive)

[warren_bearclaw]

"Texas Hold'em?" Al asked. He thought for a second, sorting through his memory banks. "Ah. Turns out I do know that one. We're gonna go nothing wild, left of dealer starts." As he dealt the cards, he explained the rule differences for Jackson's benefit.

"Oh... oh, okay." Jackson mutters as he learns yet again how to play from Al. And he'd just gotten used to the old version.... The game began, and as might be expected, he didn't do too well on the first couple rounds. Everyone was very focused on the two cards in their hands, and the five on the table top. Charlotte and Al really knew what they were doing. He tried to tell what kind of hands they had by watching them for a few rounds, but it wasn't working too well for him, either. Al flipped the last card in the river; it was the ten of hearts. Jackson barely managed to hide the surprise he felt from expressing itself... he had four of a kind, of a pretty high card. Inwardly nervous, he pushed forward a high stack of chips. Carson folded, as did Antonio. Charlie looked him in the eye, squinted, and saw his bet. It was Al's turn....

[Gaz]

Morgan had heard Rayker's comment, but wasn't sure how to respond. His only reply was "Thanks".

After standing around for a while, Morgan decided to get some repair work done. He had a large box of equipment brought out  to work on repairs to the hatch, which had been acting up recently.

[Shenmue654]

"So your system for gathering potential victims is...I take it rather different than that of the average Yeerk," states Mar with a grin. Judging from Fiona's description, she's definitely not normal. At least by the standards of this place. "I will state right now that I am not available. Not out of some hubris but because I do not know how much of this form is stable or even functional. And if your kind gathers memories my memories would probably drive one mad."

Mar then gives Corliss a cursory look and says, "So you were interested too?"

[Stephquiem]

"Quite different." Fiona shakes her head. "Their way would give me a constant headache I think." She shudders. "And I'll keep that in mind." It's probably a bad idea to warn potential hosts anyway. "You wouldn't like what happens to your conscious mind, anyway."

[Myitt]

<Oh, here we go, then,> Mike mutters.  <I haven't been in a row with a girl in a long time, before these last few days, mate.  You're on your own.>

Corliss glares back at Efaen.  "It was wrong of us not to seek your consent," he admits.  "Really, I am sorry about that.  But you don't understand, my host and I...we aren't like you and Terenia, the control really isn't one way.  That's the whole point of our little band of idiots.  Rejecting the total control of the Empire.  Are you so jaded with propaganda and Imperial hatred that you really have such a hard time believing that?"

He glances at Mar, registering his comment, but his attention is far too wrapped up in the Andalite girl in his face. 

"Where is Terenia?" he manages to add, suddenly concerned. 

---

Myitt smirks as she maneuvers her friend's body toward the blinking red lights of her semi-cloaked ship.

"Computer, decloak.  Open exterior hatch," she calls, and the Bug fighter shimmers into view.  "Ramp extension, please."  The ramp unseals itself from below the big circular hatchway, gently settling itself onto the gravel. 

"What are we fighting for?" Myitt repeats.  Her tone is pedantic.  Almost bored.  "I suppose you could say it's something as trite-sounding as freedom.  Freedom of races enslaved by our people.  Freedom of our own people from an outdated and hateful dogma.  Anyway, most of us just couldn't stand making other sentient creatures suffer for our own freedom.  Lift up a bit, please."

She inches backwards up the ramp, careful not to drop her friend's body.  Thinking about why they were fighting...it had become such a part of their lives, Myitt and her host hardly gave it much thought anymore. 

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Al ****ed his head and looked from Jackson to Charlie, then to his own hand. He had a pair of tens and a pair of Jacks; not exactly a great hand, considering the tens were on the table. Charlie was probably bluffing- Al was starting to get a sense of her play style- but Al couldn't figure Jackson out. The guy was definitely learning his way around the game quickly. He glanced at his pile of chips; not as big as he was used to, but more than he'd started with. It was always nice to play the game against people who actually knew what they were doing; most people where he came from had never heard of poker.

"Sure, I'll call," he said, pushing forward a stack of chips to match Jackson's.

A few seconds later, he had to let out a groan as he watched Jackson take his chips. He laughed and continued trying to make small talk as he gathered up the cards, shuffled, and dealt the next hand.

"Apparently whatever's got you guys down is a bit of a sore subject, so I'll leave it alone, but what brings a group of fine officers like y'all to a place like this anyway?"

***

Salem's arms were beginning to tire, and he knew he had the lighter portion of Justin's body. He was fairly impressed that Myitt hadn't requested a rest. Then again, she seemed intent on pushing through this. He could understand that; physical exertion as a method of dealing with emotional loss.

Is that how I think? Jeeze, I sound like a stuck-up Andalite doctor, he thought.

He nodded in response to Myitt's explanation as he slowly helped her carry Justin into the Bug Fighter. "It actually sounds good, the way you put it. A fight's not worth it unless there's an ideal there worth striving for."

He glanced around the Bug; he'd never actually seen the interior of one before. "That seems to be the problem with the Yeerk Empire; that willingness to take what belongs to everyone else. It's what... well, what the idealistic Andalites see as the reason for continuing their war. Actually, I used to be in a similar situation. Long, long time ago"

[Myitt]

"Hmm.  Perhaps you should tell me your little story, sometime.  In here," Myitt breathes, leading the way into a sterile little gray metal corridor off the right-most of the two rear cabin doors.  It's instantly warmer in here, and a couple of sealed doors lead off to Myitt's right. 

"Let me put it this way," she continues.  "It's much better to fight for something you believe in, to fight for a better way for your people, than it is to fight and watch your friends die in the name of slavery and greed.  Hang on."

She carefully hefts Justin's weight onto her knee, pressing a hand against a black square panel next to one of the doors.  The panel glows red, and dim, globular overhead lights come on, making the whole hallway much brighter.

The door unseals, revealing a very small room with technical equipment.  A large, clear box, made of some kind of plexi-glass, takes up almost half of the space.

"Help me get him in here," she huffs, inching into the room. 

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Salem grunted as he helped hoist Justin's body into the clear box Myitt had indicated.

"My problem's always been that I can't keep sight of such a... lofty goal without more immediate gains," he said as he gently set Justin's body down. "Anyway, in my experience, nobody fights a war, especially a prolonged war, if there isn't at least someone who believes in what they're fighting for. That means there must be Imperial Yeerks who truly believe in what they do. It's perspective. You just see yourself as disillusioned. How bad can Yeerk enslavement actually be?"

He turned around as he spoke, taking in as much of the ship's interior as he could. "Nice ship," he muttered offhandedly.

[Myitt]

Myitt helps Salem gently set the body down in the clear box, and speaks to the shipboard computer in a rapid Yeerkish sentence.

The top of the box snaps on, glowing a dull green and emitting a soft hum.

Myitt sighs, looking down at the body, out of breath and suddenly exhausted.

"Thanks," she murmurs.  After an awkward pause she steps back out into the cabin.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

"Of course," Salem muttered as he moved past Myitt and back towards the door. He stopped for a second in the hatchway, feeling like he should say something else, but when nothing came to mind, he shook his head slightly and stepped outside.

[KitsuneMarie]

Tora stands at the foot of the ramp, watching the dark interior of the ship from her vantage point. When Salem emerges, she gives him a small nod. "Thank you for your assistance with Hadrin and Justin."

[warren_bearclaw]

Al ****ed his head and looked from Jackson to Charlie, then to his own hand. He had a pair of tens and a pair of Jacks; not exactly a great hand, considering the tens were on the table. Charlie was probably bluffing- Al was starting to get a sense of his play style- but Al couldn't figure Jackson out. The guy was definitely learning his way around the game quickly. He glanced at his pile of chips; not as big as he was used to, but more than he'd started with. It was always nice to play the game against people who actually knew what they were doing; most people where he came from had never heard of poker.

"Sure, I'll call," he said, pushing forward a stack of chips to match Jackson's.

A few seconds later, he had to let out a groan as he watched Jackson take his chips. He laughed and continued trying to make small talk as he gathered up the cards, shuffled, and dealt the next hand.

"Apparently whatever's got you guys down is a bit of a sore subject, so I'll leave it alone, but what brings a group of fine officers like y'all to a place like this anyway?"

((("Charlie", or Charlotte, is a she, by the way....)))

Jackson jumped to his feet, pumping his fists triumphantly, and cheering as he saw that he had won that hand. Oh, this was so much fun! He had won! And against his teacher, too! It may have been just one time, but it was so exhilarating. Jackson grinned as he sorted his new mound of chips, while Charlotte sat back and smiled, shaking her head. She had that withheld look of disappointment in her eyes, but it would go away the next time she won a hand, which would be really soon for sure. It took Jackson a second or two to notice and really hear what Al had asked.... What had they been so bothered by earlier?

“Well, we came here following this guy that pretty much ruined our lives. He had some grudge against Earth for one reason or another, and after he discovered trans-dimensional travel, he began his own little reign of terror. To make a long story short, he blew up, irradiated, wasted, enslaved, and ransacked the Earth from several different timelines. For  the last... eighteen years?... the eight of us have been hunting him down, trying to stop him for good. Each of us had set out separately to bring him to justice, and after we figured out we were all on the same side...” As he said this, Jackson looked at Carson, who held up his hands in mock innocence. “... we joined up and have been hunting him together ever since. And it's been one helluva a ride, but it's over now. We got him. Just an hour ago or so, we executed him. None of us were sure what to do with ourselves now that our sole purpose for the past two decades is over. But thanks to you, we're going to be okay. We've got a lot of living left to do.”  As sad as it seemed, this poker game had helped Jackson re-realize something; life was enjoyable. Wasn't that what they had all set out to defend? “And you know what the funny part is? I don't think I remember your name. What was it again... Salem?”



Rayker stood quietly near by Morgan after he'd muttered his thanks. He had expected more of an answer from the captain, but he wasn't going to worry about it. Morgan very well may have had a longer day than he had been having. It didn't seem likely, but it was possible. After a couple minutes, Rayker began walking. He headed to nowhere in particular; he just simply walked. Unintentionally, he was following the tree line around the clearing the bar was in, winding his way slowly towards the back of the bar. Lennan followed him from about thirty yards back. The Sergeant would be alright after a while.

[Terenia]

<Terenia is none of your concern,> Efaen snaps, <and you would do best to forget about her. I came here only to tell you this: we will not be joining your band of corrupters. I will not make myself a traitor to the war effort by joining a Yeerk cause. You say that I do not understand your rebellion, yet your leader was eager to accept me even once he knew that I did not approve. How is that rejecting the involuntary capture of hosts? Or was he just that eager to ensare another Andalite?>

Efaen huffs bitterly, her tail quivering as she adds, <If you touch this body again I swear by whatever you creatures find worthy that your head will be rolling across the ground.>

[Shenmue654]

Mar purrs in an odd, unsettling way. The subject clearly interests him. "Well...mmhm...we could try it, I suppose. You could infest me in some terrifying corner or another and we could see whose will would win out in the end. Unless you are body-limited and can't do it unless your current shape dies. Honestly..."

Mar lays back against his chair, arrogant to the last. He glances around the Bar absentmindedly. "...I'm getting terribly bored of this place. All of my current projects are occupied and doing exactly what I'd expect them to. I need something unique to occupy my time."

[Stephquiem]

Fiona stares at him. Something's niggling at the back of her mind--self-preservation, maybe. Though whether it's her own sense of it or her host's, she couldn't tell. Whichever it is, she's starting to feel uneasy. Very unusual.

She leans against the bar, affecting a carefully neutral expression. "Unfortunately, I'm limited to Fi until she dies." She sips at her drink. "And I'd prefer that not happen somewhere so..." she looks around. "Uncertain, shall we say." She pauses. "Of course, if an opportunity presents itself, I wouldn't say no."

Fiona eyes Mar. "I prefer not to warn my potential hosts ahead of time. My main advantage is the element of surprise. And that most don't realize they can fight me off and win if they try hard enough."