Attack on Esharra

xyryn · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:17 am Post subject: Attack on Esharra

Xen’ya was enjoying playing the mandovial with the small group of Kreetles when the figure in a black duster entered.

“Is there someone with medical skills here?” he asked, just loud enough to be heard over the music. In the dim light of the Lucky Despot, he seemed to be a hue unusual for a human, almost the color of granite.

“Why?” Xen asked in answer.

“Just a … minor injury,” the human answered. Something in his voice, the tension in his stance, gave significance to the pause. The human stood still, not fidgeting, and Xen was reminded of the self-control of the High Inquisitor.

“I need someone with medical skills,” the man iterated.

“There’s no one here with ‘em, but I can call the Kiva,” she offered.

The human nodded and Xen slung her mando to her back, pulled out her comm and placed her call. She left the stage as she heard xyryn answer. After a quick conversation with the Kiva, Xen turned to find the human had stepped up behind her.

“Sir, the Kiva is on planet, but I have to go get her.”

“That’s fine. The patient was attacked in front of the spaceport and is now in the medical center. Please be quick,” he answered with a nod. He turned on his heel with an almost military precision and left.

Xen turned to the stage, “Hey guys, I have to go. Sorry.” To a chorus of agreement from her band mates, the slate gray Twi’lek ran up the steps and out. She headed toward the spaceport and slowed her run only when passing a small formation of troopers. She didn’t want to be stopped on suspicion.

As she approached the ‘port, her comm announced an incoming call from the Kiva. She answered but continued to walk as she talked. Unconsciously, she tilted her head down, spotted the burn marks and blood on the sand. “In front of the spaceport he said; bet that is no minor injury” she said to her friend. As she described what she was seeing, she noted a datapad beside a disturbance in the sand amidst the bloodstains. On impulse, she scooped it up, reflecting that no one would be investigating since no one was paying any attention to the all-too-common signs of a fight.
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"It is. Deal with it."

xyryn · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:17 am Post subject:

Xen’ya followed the Kiva into the med center, then wished she hadn’t. It wasn’t the smell of burned flesh that got to her, it was the sight of it. Her memory kicked into override, and the was seeing again the bodies of friends and mentors she had to collect after the return to the earthquake-destroyed Temple in which she had gown up. Xyryn’s voice, telling her to get more bacta out of the Kiva’s bank deposit barely punched through to her consciousness.

Xen greatfully left.

When she returned with her arms laden with jars of bacta, xyryn was still peeling crisped and blackened flesh off the nearly unconscious Esharra. Xen saw the empty bacta jar beside the Kiva and replaced it with an opened full one. A human woman was holding a straw and a jar of what must be water to Esharra’s lips, and Xen had to take a second look at the human who looked like, yet unlike, Safia Storm. The man in the duster was still there, hanging back but obviously not willing to leave while he kept a suspicious eye on the stranger female.

As Xen studied the male, her lekku started to ripple in amusement; yep, this guy reminded her … strongly … of the AitchEye and for good reason. She turned her attention back the bed, where the Kiva was still peeling necrotic skin tissue and replacing it with a slather of bacta. Aside from exchanging bacta jars, Xen felt useless.

So, she sat against the wall, and considered the possibility that this attack was rebel against Imperial, or if it was related to those other attacks which seemed to have nothing to do with the Galactic Civil War. Deciding that was useless speculation, she cast about for some other way to while away the time while the Kiva worked. She remembered the data pad.

Opening the pad, Xen started experimenting. It had games, so she played one, but the ways of dealing death were typically unimaginative. She poked around in other areas.

“Whoa!” The exclamation was startled out of her as she read the screen she had opened. “Once you have obtained the sample from Esharra, go to the following coordinates.” Xen did a rapid comparison with her own data pad‘s maps. If this was talking about Tatooine, then that had to be Mos Mazi.

Xen pretended to continue playing games, but now she watched xyryn. The Kiva was using her healing, but hiding it from both humans as best she could. If Xen hadn’t been sitting on the floor, she wouldn’t have seen the flashes of the tell-tale green glow.

When the body of Esharra looked like a pink, glistening blob of bacta, and the lavender Twi’lek sat back on her heels, Xen went over to her. As she handed her friend an energy bar, she began twitch-talking, telling of what she had found. It was both habit, and not knowing if the Kiva wanted these two humans to know about the data pad’s contents.

The Kiva acknowledged, but turned her attention to the Human woman whom she addressed as Sofia. When they spoke of one Serek, the human male became interested. This intrigued Xen, and increased her curiosity about the human woman. She would follow the woman…but no. Xyryn was asking Xen to locate a gurney.

So, Xen did. When she came back, the male was telling the Kiva that she was to not report to him through channels. The woman was gone. With a twinge of regret for lost opportunity, Xen helped xyryn transfer the once-again unconscious form of Esharra onto the gurney … as the male left cautiously.

Then, the two Twi’lek cut the bottoms out of a few boxes, placed them carefully on the gurney to disguise that they were moving a patient, and the journey to the Nocturnus Hospital began.
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"It is. Deal with it."

xyryn · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:15 pm Post subject:

Xen’ya wasn’t sure how she had acquired quite so many companions, they just seemed to join in the hunt while she waited for Agent Synn in the Lucky Despot. She felt as if she were in a posse and grinned at the thought. Now, they all stood looking at the jewelry store which sat on the coordinates from the data pad. With a shrug, the diminutive Iago Boom bounced up to the closed door of the establishment, and knocked.

The door opened and three armored figures, carrying boxes, looked out at the company. Xen almost laughed. Everyone looked startled and suspicious at the same time. Her amusement only deepened when Iago started talking.

“May we come in?” he asked.

“We’re closed,” said one of the armored figures.

Without pause, Iago responded, “May we come in anyway? I need to get something for my pregnant wife. It won’t take long, I promise.”

In the startled moment after that ludicrous announcement, Xen slipped into the doorway in the time-honored manner of the door-to-door salesman. Apparently, one of the armored figures didn’t honor door-to-door salesmen, and hit her.

So, Xen hit back.

That’s when the situation went haywire. Everyone else seemed to start shooting at once. In moments, she and her opponent were trading blows on the porch. People were running every which way, the sound of weapons was everywhere, and Xen didn’t duck the rifle butt fast enough. When she came to, Morgania was talking with the one who had been so handy with the rifle. From the voice, her erstwhile opponent was female. Oh, well.

Xen tasted blood, and felt woozy, but she stood and slipped back inside the store. She had a feeling that those guys in armor had not been thieves, and she wanted to see what was in this building. Iago and Corman were checking the boxes that had been dropped in the fight, but Iago followed her inside. The two of them started tossing the joint, but it was Corman who found the computers.

Corman started accessing one of the computers, and Iago wandered off. Xen vaguely wondered where Agent Synn and his trooper were…maybe chasing the two other armored guys? As Xen watched over Corman’s shoulder, she suddenly stopped his search.

“That! That is the stuff we want! Can you pull hardcopy? Download disks or something?”

Corman’s fingers were flying. He muttered, “Printouts. Someone else is trying to access this.”

As the machine started spitting out flimsy, he added, “Hey, this is talking about a murder.”

Xen was startled. “Murder, they didn’t murder anyone…just took pieces or blood.” Then, remembering the burnt body of Esharra, she added, “Well, they tried.”

The flimsies continued to spew from the machine, then Corman announced, “That’s it. The rest is gone. That other guy was fast. He wiped the rest.” After checking the stack of flimsies, Corman added, “But that’s most of it.”

Xen’ya folded the stack into several smaller bundles and stuffed them in various pockets. She could still hear the voices of Morg and the rifle-butt woman out on the porch.
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"It is. Deal with it."

xyryn · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:34 pm Post subject:

Xen’ya slipped out past the two in discussion on the porch. She spotted Iago and went to him.

“Where is Agent Synn? I need to talk with him,” she asked, looking around. She spotted the two Imperials, Agent Synn and his assistant, at the top of a small hill.

Iago grinned and pointed. “Look, Xen. This has been fun, but I think I’ll round up Corman. We have places to go and things to do.”

Xen ran over to the two men standing on the hill. “I have data; they appeared to be taking DNA samples from a lot of people.”

The two Imperials, looking every inch Imperial and in charge, looked at her. The Twi’lek couldn’t help but be impressed for the Intelligence agent had always presented as mild-mannered, and he was now an imposing stranger. Synn responded, “I am not interested in a lot of people. I am interested in what was done to Esharra, an Imperial employee,” he stated, then added under his breath, “and my friend.”

“Uh oh,” thought Xen’ya. Out loud, she added, “Do you want the hardcopy? With the data?” She looked around, the others were too far away to overhear, “Or should I turn it over to the Kiva to give to the High Inquisitor?” She hoped the agent would take what she felt were targets burning holes in her pockets.

After a brief pause, the Intelligence agent responded, “Your kiva will give the information to the Inquisitor?”

“Of course!” Xen bristled at the hint that the Kiva could not be trusted.

“Then, that‘s fine.”

Xen gave a mental shrug, and went back to the porch. Morgania gave her a quick glance, as the rifle-butt woman finished what looked like scanning him. Then, the woman and Morg exchanged insults, and the woman left.

“I kept her busy long enough?” asked Morg.

Xen nodded and grinned. “Yes, I got data … it indicates that this is a rather large operation. I need to get them to the Kiva.”

Morg frowned. “Can you keep me out of any reports? I’d rather my name didn’t come up. It might reduce my usefulness.”

Xen felt a sudden itch on her curiosity bump, but only answered, “Of course.” As Agent Synn came into hearing distance, she added, “It has been requested that this stay out of channels.”

“I think that is a good idea,” stated the agent as he joined them on the porch. Morg agreed. Xen's curiosity strengthened; too many people wanted in on this, but appeared to not want the fact known.

The two men eyed each other in the way that Xen had come to expect of dangerous males meeting potential opponents. The Twi’lek thought that was a bit silly … if one was facing a sentient threat, it was better to not let that threat know you were on guard.

“And just what is your interest in this?” Synn asked Morgania.

Morg brought out his ID, handed it to the Intelligence man. “Esharra is a friend of mine. I’ve known her a long time.”

Xen tuned out the conversation between the two men as they established that both worked for the Empire. She plotted her return course to Nocturnus, decided to not take the shuttle since she didn’t want to make herself a sitting durni. The only remaining portion of the task the Kiva had set for her was getting the printouts back to the Kiva.

After Xen read them, of course.
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"It is. Deal with it."