Galaxy's Edge Space Bar (archive)

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Salem gave Thordon a sidelong glance, then seemed to shrug. "That's also admirable. You might like the Kindler, back where I'm from. Or the Pemalites. They were very peaceful too. Wish I knew what'd happened to them. I was in the middle of a good conversation with one of 'em."

As they walked towards the lake, Salem attempted to make small talk. "So what's your story? That Kess said something about this being where misfits and rebels go to relax, so I'd guess you're not from here."

[Myitt]

Corliss says nothing, lost in the gravity of Efaen's statement, as Efaen moves to rejoin herself with Terenia.

This, of course, was not a huge surprise to Corliss--but he was glad that Terenia would have the chance to dictate what would happen when Tamora and Zorish arrived.

If they arrived. 

He glances down at his personal comm link with a sense of dread.

[Darth Revan]

Thordon responded, "None of us are from here. I myself originate from a planet called Anarion. I attempted to travel to an unknown planet and somehow ended up here in a different universe. What brought you to this place?"

[Terenia]

Trey purses his lips, flushing slightly at the way The Director quickly moves to calm him. Just like a scared little mouse..., he thinks sardonically. Then again, perhaps he would not be so emotional if his entire existence weren't hanging in the balance.

"Sorry," Trey apologizes, not entirely sure why he feels guilty for The Director upsetting him, "I guess it's just...a lot to take in."

---

Terenia feels the rippling currents that indicate Efaen's ear has broken the surface of the Pool. A bit confused as to her hasty return - she had thought that Efaen would try and milk her freedom for all it was worth, maybe even kill her and Corliss outright - she quickly enters her host. The first thing that she does, before she even fully connects to Efaen's motor functions, is flip through her memories of the past fifteen minutes or so.

<The Empire was here!?> She sputters suddenly, gaining full control of Efaen and looking at Corliss in shock, <And you let her shoot at them? With the ship that Visser Three has registered as being in my possession?>

[Myitt]

"We were fired upon," Corliss says testily.  "Would you rather your ship and all of us within it were destroyed?  They've left us alone, it appears they're preoccupied with some other mission and aren't even here for any of us.  You forget, Terenia, that a slew of Imperial forces is just as much a threat to me as it is to you."

[Terenia]

Terenia shakes her head, still slightly overwhelmed by how much chaos has managed to occur in such a short amount of time. As she digests it, along with Corliss' words, she is hit in the gut with an emotion that is altogether foreign to her. It takes a moment for Terenia to place the feeling. Guilt. Not the sort of guilt that comes from killing another person, but the guilt that comes from the ability to empathize with someone.

<Of course,> she says a bit awkwardly, the anger gone from her voice and replaced with a strained sort of embarrassment, <I'm sorry. I didn't mean...I have this tendency to make everything all about me, if you haven't noticed.>

[Myitt]

Corliss lowers his arms, which had been folded tightly at his chest.  He smiles slightly.  "Yeah, never would've noticed that one, love," he says with a laugh.  As he walks, he steps towards the controls and the main viewscreens.  "Mike and I are loath to go out there, but we reckon there's no other choice.  The troops have stopped firing, so I'm really more concerned about leaving your ship here unattended.  After all, they could very well figure out who owns it, or Myitt's fighter, or the Skimmer for that matter.  It'd take a lot of time and energy, but who knows exactly which one of us they're after?" 

He runs a hand along the panel metal, gazing out the bug-eye windows.  "Maybe I'm just being paranoid.  They seemed to have the genetic signature of who they were searching for, at least judging by the advanced scans."  He shakes his head.  "No wonder Myitt's always so twitchy in this place.  I guess it's sort of necessary, being in the open and on the run."

[Terenia]

Terenia's main eyes follow Corliss' while her stalk eyes look at the hatch uneasily, her desire for self-preservation kicking in. <Wouldn't it be safer to stay in here until everything is calmed down for sure?> she asks.

<<Respond to him, not the situation,>> Efaen says suddenly, speaking up from nowhere.

<<What?>> Terenia snaps.

<<Are all humans this inept? What did Corliss just say to you?>>

<<He said that he didn't want to go out.>>

<<And?>> Efaen presses.

<<And...and that...>> Terenia flails, having been too lost in her own thoughts to pay full attention to his words. After an awkward second or two Terenia cheats and peeks into Efaen's memory, <<That Myitt is always on the run. They have reason to be paranoid.>>

<<Right.>> Efaen says.

<<So what?>>

<<You are not the only creature in the galaxy, Terenia. You know nothing about this person...this Yeerk you suddenly are developing feelings for->>

<<Am not!>>

<<-and you know next to nothing about the proper way to approach such a situation.>>

<<So what, you're giving me dating advice now?>> Terenia sneers. Efaen falls silent, the smugness in her thoughts saying much more than words. The entire exchange takes less than thirty seconds, during which time Terenia's main eyes remain locked on Corliss while she tends to the voices in her head.

<It must be hard,> Terenia says to him at last, although the words sound stiff and awkward and she can sense that Efaen is doing the mental equivalent of throwing her arms up in exasperation, <Being on the run all the time.>

[Myitt]

Corliss makes a 'tsk' sound against the back of his teeth, looking at the floor.  "Suppose it would be safer in here, for now."  He pauses.  "We do have a home, a life, as it were," he says.  "A purpose, guess that helps.  Better than most can say, those who are excised from normal Yeerk society."  He glances up at her, then seems to change the subject.  "Isn't there any way those tracers can be removed from your...your, I dunno, systems?  I'm no nanobiologist, but proper Andalite tech must have a remedy?"

[Terenia]

At the mention of Andalite techs, Terenia's face darkens, her embarrassment fading into something a good deal more sinister, <This body is not going near those bastards. Maybe they have the technology, but if they don't you can be sure they'll treat her like a lab rat until they figure it out. Worse, because most lab rats are replaceable, so if they die they at least get some peace. Andalite test subjects are few and far between, so they must be kept alive.>

She shakes her head a bit, pulling herself out of dark memories, <Perhaps there is a way,> she allows, <but I do not know of it. The tracer is run by nanotechnology, I am fairly certain, so there should be a way to at the very least deactivate the nanites, but any attempts to tinker with the technology could easily result in...less than desirable reactions.>

She approaches Corliss, eager to change the subject away from the futility of her situation, <Your purpose. Fighting for freedom, and all. It sounds so very...grandiose. The sort of stuff I would talk about when I was in training on the Andalite world, before things got bad. When I still thought I could make a difference,> she shrugs, <when I still cared about making a difference, I guess. Tell me, does it make it any more bearable? Are you...happy? Doing what you do?>

[Darth Revan]

The Director took a drink, "Nah, it's alright. Humans often take things too personally. It's in yer blood, nothin' you c'n do. So, what is your plan then? Ship crashed, no army to speak of. How d'you plan to resurrect the Yeerks to glory by yer lonesome?"

[Midnight_Huntress]

~Silver~
Silver gave a slight frown at this. "Do you trust him?" she asked him. If there was a reason to lie about his name, it couldn't be good.

~Keiko~
She sipped her drink as she finished her food and looked around the bar for a moment.

[KitsuneMarie]

Elayne looked to Mar. "As to privacy, we could always step outside. Also, I should still have a ship here, if one of the last several fights or crash landings didn't destroy it." She shrugged cheerfully. "But, if so, I don't mind having something to repair."

She turned her gaze to the Bar, taking a quick accounting of its occupants. "Some new faces here. I wonder if any of them have interesting stories." Or are pilots from my timeline, she added internally before shaking off the thought with a frown. Of course not. The chances of that are ridiculously small. Besides, why would I want to leave here until Mar, Trey, or Myitt does? It's not like there's anything especially wonderful waiting for me out there. She grinned to Mar to lighten her own mood. "You don't have some kind of Highest sensor for that, do you?" she teased.

[Myitt]

"'Grandiose'?" Corliss repeats with a smile.  "I don't believe I'd call being a soldier and a convict 'grandiose', but I understand what you mean.  It must all sound rather exciting, like something out of a Star Wars film.  Rebels and Empires and all that."  He considers for a moment.  "Let me put it this way.  It's much easier to go about risking your life and the lives of those closest to you when you're doing so to free people, to prevent their cultural extinction, rather than when you're fighting to enslave them." 

He watches Terenia move closer, and he swallows.  "In that light, yes, I'm rather happy about this little career move.  The downsides are of course plentiful, most importantly being how difficult it is to build and sustain a working society that is at the same time difficult to detect.  Have you ever tried growing tomatoes in ferrous oxide subterranean soil?  It'd be easier to grow them in a bloody vat of lava.  Thankfully humans are quite good at surviving in bleak conditions.  I honestly don't know what we would've done, without the alliance of our human counterparts." 

<Great, glad to know it.  A thousand times better than Greenpeace, yeah?  Give me the medal already, your Majesty,> Mike jokes.

[Darth Revan]

In response to Silver's question, Parker tapped his helmet. Bringing to light that he had it on, he hoped that it would answer her question for him. He watched Thordon and Salem leave. Once they exited the building he signed to Silver, "This is fun; however why don't you come over here? I doubt we are the only two people who know how to sign." Even though he was becoming more adept at signing as he continued his wordless conversation, he still felt it was less effective than just speaking. Also there was a greater chance someone could eavesdrop than if they just talked in close proximity.