Galaxy's Edge Space Bar (archive)

[Myitt]

Corliss sighs as he approaches the door to the bar, pushing the big old wooden thing open and peering into the din. 

The place was busy...unusually so.  He saw quite a few new faces, and his first thought was to shirk back outside and away from the noise and unfamiliarity. 

He steps in hesitantly, nodding as he spots Tora.  That's right, he did have a reason for being here, after all.

Then he stops in his track while Terenia heads towards his Andalite friend, feeling very exposed.  Instead of approaching them he makes his way to the bar counter, a few seats down from them, facing Tora.  He sits down and orders a glass of redin from the taciturn creature in the human suit.  The bartender wordlessly goes about picking a bottle.

[KitsuneMarie]

Tora's attention is snagged by Terenia just as Corliss enters the bar, causing his entrance to go unnoticed by her. "Terenia," she responds tersely before asking, "What do you want?" Instead of remaining on her path to the door, however, she walks towards the woman. All hints of the smile she had been wearing, however morose, are now gone.

[Terenia]

Terenia opens her mouth to speak, but her words seem to get lodged in her throat when she notices Corliss passing by behind Tora. A small, choking sound is all that comes out, and it quickly devolves into a cough.

"I uh-" she tries again, suddenly feeling supremely off-kilter. Corliss' unexpected presence has left her mouth dry. Out of all the people she needs to talk to, she is most dreading her conversation with him. Terenia takes a second gulp of her redin letting the fire focus her mind.

"Tora," Terenia says at last, keeping her voice low, "I...I wanted to apologize for what you had to see earlier. I am certain that you hate me for it, and I do not blame you and I'm not going to try and change that. I just...I wanted you to know that I am sorry."

[KitsuneMarie]

Tora twists her neck to look behind her, trying to see what had caught Terenia's attention, all the while wishing for stalk eyes. As Corliss has already moved past her to the bar, Tora sees nothing but patrons she does not know. It is not hard for her to imagine Terenia making plenty of enemies for herself, however, so Tora assumes one of the strangers in the Bar must be the source of Terenia's interest.

She looks back to her in puzzlement as she begins speaking. "I do not understand for what you are apologizing. Is it for me having to see you kill your sister? Or for actually killing her?" She sighs and takes a seat on the barstool next to Terenia's, setting her mostly untouched glass on the counter. "Terenia, I know you may have no further interest in joining us, so you may find my comments irrelevant, but I am beginning to recognize that it may have been unfair of me to judge you as I did. I am protective of my friends, and when I saw that you and Corliss were close, I became suspicious of your motives, and of... the clarity of his judgment," she says carefully. Draping an arm over the counter as she watches her, she idly rotates the glass of redin. "In any case, there is certainly an untold story of trauma that must accompany actions like those you performed; I am unaware of any of the circumstances surrounding you or your sister's lives, so I withdraw my unkind remarks about you."

She gives her grim smile once again. "Unless, of course, I learn in the future that they were deserved."

[Terenia]

"I...thank you," Terenia seems mildly surprised, as if Tora's response is more than she had hoped for. Leaning back in her chair she glances in the direction Corliss passed, then returns her gaze to the counter in front of her, inspecting the many scratches in its surface. Tora's question rings in her mind. What am I apologizing for? She cannot really answer the question and when she speaks again it is accompanied with a taut smile of her own.

"I do care for Corliss," she says, choosing to address a different topic from Tora's response, "and...I had hoped that I could find a home among...among your people. But I do not -" Terenia takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly. This is harder than she thought, for some reason. She doesn't know Tora, and she does not like putting herself at the mercy of someone elses judgement. "I do not think that it is wise for me to go with you. You are right. You cannot trust me. I don't want to hurt Corliss, or Myitt, or anyone else. But if I am around them...they will get hurt. It is best if I go another way."

[KitsuneMarie]

Tora gives a short exhalation, and it is hard to tell if it is a laugh or a sigh. "Perhaps you are playing me for a fool, but it is actually comments like those that begin to garner my trust." She reaches for her glass and, forgetting that a foul-tasting liquid is inside rather than her usual Dr. Pepper, she takes a sip. "Ugh!" she exclaims, setting it down swiftly.

Wiping the back of her hand across her mouth, she sighs. "As you may already know, the Rebellion is full of people who have bounties on their heads -- many of them extremely sizable. It is home to traitors, murderers, and the fainthearted. Depending on who you ask, I could be considered all three." She presses her lips together with what might pass for a smile. "I gained a second chance there."

Folding her arms, she cautions, "Now, do not mistake my words for an endorsement of your candidacy, but I am willing to reconsider my opinion of you. I would not be surprised if Corliss and Myitt came around, as well."

[Terenia]

Terenia watches Tora's reaction to the redin with mild amusement, but the feeling does not last. She drops her gaze again, the emptiness in the pit of her stomach seeming to expand with Tora's comments rather than contract.

"Perhaps," Terenia allows, not wanting to get into the details of exactly why she cannot hope to find her own home amongst the Rebellion. She lifts her glass to her lips, closing her eyes and tilting the remainder of the drink down her throat. A deep sigh of satisfaction escapes her as she returns the tumbler to the bar counter.

"I suppose," Terenia says, her voice infused with energy from the alcohol, "you are correct at least in as much as the sort of company that exists within the rebellion. Though I doubt any of them are quite as bad as me, everyone has compromised their morals in this war. It is a necessary evil." Placing her elbows on the bar, Terenia props her chin on her hands, looking out across the room as the bartender takes away her empty glass and replaces a new one.

"The rebellion," she adds a little wistfully, "does seem to bring out the best in people, for all the traitors and murderers that it employs. I would hardly consider Corliss - or Myitt - bad people, despite what crimes they may have committed. You even managed to get an Andalite willing to work for a Yeerk." She lets out a halting little laugh.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

As Tora stood to leave, Al responded to her 'thank you' with an "Any time," and a confused smile. He watched as she went over to sit down next to Terenia, then turned back to Temrash, smiling.

"I'm typically pretty indifferent of a person's allegiance, as long as they're willing to have a good time. And around here that seems to mean drinking. Get you something?"

[Chad32]

"Get me the strong stuff, Bartender." Temrash said. "Not exactly sure what he gives me when I tell him that, but it's some good beverage. Seeing how our ships got banged up, and I called in a repair crew for mine, I'd let you use them. That is, unless you think I'd try something sneaky. They're the only repair crew on this rock, so I'm having them hang out here. None of them seem to be inside this building right now, though. It's four Humans and two Taxxons, and I wouldn't blame the Human controlelrs for not wanting to bring the taxxons in here, or leave them alone out there."

[KitsuneMarie]

Tora gives a discreet cough. "Most would not believe it. It can be a place of uncommon internal peace," she says, steering the conversation away from Andalites as quickly as possible. "But that is not to say that life at the Base is not often hectic, especially when our secrecy is compromised. You would not have believed the insanity when we recently moved our home--all of our essential data, equipment, and supplies, not to mention our many unhosted Yeerks." She raises her eyebrows. "You can understand why traitorous rebels are not tolerated. Our situation is already precarious enough."

[Epoch Strawberry Rhubarb Pie]

*CRAAASHsqueeekerplUNK*

This is the sound that signaled the end of the dilapidated bar door, the sullied slab of wood which, to myriad travelers, had thanklessly served as a comforting barrier from the outside world for-- well, for as long as many can remember. This in itself may be instantly alarming to the sundry patrons. However, what is more troubling than the door's untimely demise is what has now replaced it.

It is a man. Or, at least, it appears to be a human male, but the potential shock of each individual could be clouding any instantaneous decision on the matter. A being of unassuming stature, he glares through squinted, almond eyelids at no one in particular. This expression appears to cause several patrons nearest the bartender even more anxiety, as if he were targeting them with some unspoken accusation. To the figure in the twilight, however, this is a perfectly normal glance. He is lost in thought.

He remains for what may seem to the others ten minutes before he swiftly rotates on one foot and strides to a corner table. Surveying the rubbish-smeared top with several rapid eyeball movements, the man, indifferent, suddenly plops into a chair and slams down his forehead.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin looks again at Myitt, standing up to yet again hug her and Tara.  It simply seemed like the right thing to do...no amount of words could truly express himself.  He then turns to Mar and grasps his forearm in a gesture of friendship and camraderie, nodding.  

<I am far from where I want myself to be...but I suppose you two have shown me that friends can make unacceptable circumstances into those which are at least managable.  Thank you both...for showing me kindness.>  Ossanlin looks down at the ground, bending down to pick up his battle-harness.  <Just because I've been a coward in the past does not mean I must give in.  It would've been easier...the other way...but I've never been one to do things the easy way.>  He straps his harness back into place, the welcome weight returning.  

<Nevertheless, I could still use a drink...>  Ossanlin looks from Mar to Myitt and back.

[Aluminator (Kit)]

Al laughed when Temrash offered to let them use his repair crew. It was unexpected, to say the least. He was under the impression that Temrash was not on very good terms with Salem.

"Thanks for the offer, but we've got Fleckteon. Even if we didn't, I don't know how Salem feels about you at the moment. What exactly happened between you guys anyway? Or is that a sore subject I should drop?"

He was interrupted by a loud bang and the door falling off its hinges. He turned and watched as the man walked to a table and sat down, slamming his head down after.

"Not sure a bar's the right place for him at the moment," he said to Temrash with a wink.

***

Salem's search for Myitt finally took him back out over Tamora's grave. There, the computer found her- along with Ossanlin and Mar. Salem sighed and brought the ship to a stop, hoping they hadn't seen him. He couldn't very well talk to Myitt about Mar with Mar standing right there. He quickly backed the ship up about a quarter mile.

He noticed small blue letters displayed on his console, in the Atazin galactic language. They read We have something to discuss with you.

"What's up?" he asked aloud, though it appeared he was the only one aboard the ship.

The lettering changed, this time to read Many of us were lost in the fights.

"So you just grow more of you. It's never been a problem before."

Memories are lost. Information begins to degrade.

"That's what happens to most organic beings, you know. Our memories aren't perfect."

We wish to return to the greater collective.

"I would love to be able to get you back there, but you know I can't just... listen, can we discuss this later?"

After a moment's pause, the word Acceptable, was displayed on the screen.

Salem sighed again and glanced back at the display on the wall of the craft. He didn't know how long Myitt would be near Mar, and he didn't really feel like waiting. He began guiding his ship back towards the parking area.

[Terenia]

Terenia's brows furrow as she watches Tora's quick swerving of the conversation. It brings up a distant memory, one that had seemed irrelevent at the time.

"You..." Terenia hesitates, not sure if she wants to say what is on her mind, "you were the one to offer to show me where the grass stores are at the base." This alone is certainly not enough to accuse Tora of hiding her identity, but there are other factors that strike Terenia as odd. For one, the halting way in which she speaks reminds her of Efaen, Jennor and countless other Andalites she has known over the years. And then there is the outfit she was wearing when they first met, officially. A skintight outfit with no shoes...

"Tora," Terenia says, pushing her voice down to a whisper, her curiosity overcoming her grief for a few brief seconds, "are you the Anda-"

Her words are cut off, though, by the abrupt demolition of the bar door nearby. Terenia jumps at the sound, her stool clattering backwards to the ground. On her feet, Terenia reaches for her Dracon weapon automatically, but finds that she is grasping at air. Then she sees that the man in the doorway is not an Imperial, there to drag her back to Visser Three (or at least, not visibly so), and is not one of the other rebels, there to make her pay for her deeds. It is an unknown, and the man clearly has no interest in her. She lets out a gasping sigh of relief and reaches down to replace her barstool, the contents of her conversation with Tora momentarily forgotten.



Trey is still on his knees, leaning over the wounded Hunter despite the fact that the doctor has finished her examination. He finds that he is fascinated by this alien's similarity to a creature from Earth - he has never seen an alien quite like that.

His thoughts are interrupted when wood chips are suddenly flying through the air, one catching him squarely in the head. The dirty, bloody bandage absorbs most of the shock, but the barely healed gash underneath screams in protest and Trey lets out a yell of pain. A trickle of dark blood escapes the bandage, running down his cheek.

[Shenmue654]

Mar smirks at the fact that Myitt actually did what he said. Even though he was in a useless mortal body, the fact that he owned her was still in effect. In her current state she would be able to resist his commands, but he still believes he could use the situation to his advantage. "I thank you for your courteous apology, sweet pet. I suppose you will be following us?"

Mar then turns to Ossanlin and nods. A slight smile is on his face. "A drink would ease the nerves, War Prince. And I suppose I owe you some sort of favor for accepting my statements. Most beings accept nothing I say, true or not. Do not attempt to do something so mad again. You get yourself into enough blunders regardless."