Chapter 2: Forges of Ithyari

[Rogue 4]

"Ooooh what a tempting offer." Layla replied, tapping her lips idly as she pretended to think. "Will we get to have all sorts of awesome fun time?"

[Drake 53]

Tak grinned. "What other kind of time is there? Of course!"

[Rogue 4]

She smiled brightly. "Well then of course!" When she was sure nobody was looking she smacked him teasingly on the rear, winking to him before heading down the ramp.

[Drake 53]

"Hey!"

Tak laughed as they walked across the floor of the docking bay and into a corridor that led to the spaceport proper.

"Okay dear," he said, slipping into a new role. He pushed his glasses up on it nose. "What around here would you like to do first?"

[Rogue 4]

"Well my love," Layla began, holding onto his arm in a manner that would clearly show their familiarity. Her darkly-dyed hair was pulled up into a tight, unflattering bun, her face missing any colorful makeup that would make her stand out as the human woman she was portraying. Her basic was accented, just enough to take the slight Zeltros influence out of her voice. "There just seems like so much to do, I wouldn't know where to start."

[Princess 35]

Nima paused after she unbuckled her harness. She took a couple deep breaths. "Easy Secura, you can do this. Natri'amor isn't going to sell you into slavery again, he's a good and honorable Twi'lek. It's just a cover story to explain why two Twi'leks are on an Imperial planet. Relax."

[Drake 53]

Tak leaned in close to her and whispered into Layla's ear. "We could go find ourselves a private room and have some naughty fun...but that wouldn't be very Imperial of us." Standing upright again and returning to his normal voice, he said, "Well, let's find our way out of this spaceport and into the House."

He smiled and gently patted her hand affectionately before they made their way out of the spaceport and into the grandiose main chamber of the Planetary House.

[Rogue 4]

Nat unbuckled his harness and walked to the forward part of the shuttle, his mind a mixture of swirling thoughts and emotion. I'm sure everybody figures that I'm always cool and collected...they would be surprised if they knew just how nervous this part of a mission makes you. He took a deep breath, reaching a hand up to calm a stressed lekku. Just take a deep breath, and try not to think about how the slightest of errors on your part could doom everyone. Blaster bolts, I just did....

He opened the door to the cockpit, the door sliding in on itself as his hand depressed the button, and he saw Nima sitting in the pilot's chair. She looked nervous, taking deep breaths as if trying to relax, and he wondered if she was having similar thoughts to his own. "Nima'secura?"

-----

Layla smiled, her eyes lingering on his beautiful face. The two of them, dressed up--or down really, as they were must have looked like a couple of lovesick nerds. Newlyweds even. "Yes, I've heard the house is very beautiful, if we can ever find our way out of this spaceport traffic."

[Princess 35]

Nima jumped. "Natri'amor! Is it time already?"

[Rogue 4]

"I did not mean to startle you. We have a few moments," Nat said, walking over and sitting down in the copilots chair that Jya had vacated a few moments before, and swivelling it around to face her, his honey eyes scanning her expression. "I wanted to make sure that you are okay with this arrangement."

[Princess 35]

Nima's green eyes filled with tears that she blinked back. "I'm just remembering before. I know that I can trust you and that this is just a cover story, but this is bringing back bad memories. Memories of punishment and dancing. Stuff that I've worked hard to get past."

[Rogue 4]

Nat nodded his understanding. "Our people have a very horrible, greedy tradition, and I hope that one day that will change. But for now, these people look down on us because we are nonhuman. They despise us, even though we are just as good as they are--better than those who would treat another being in such a manner. They look at us for our stereotypes, our flaws, refusing to see the reality of the situation. Nima, I am truly sorry about what happened to you in the past, but this...this is the only way for us to go unnoticed. I am no more comfortable with it than you are."

[Princess 35]

Nima blinked. "You're absolutely right Natri'amor. I can do this. I escaped before and you're right, they're only going to see what they want to see. Let's do our part to help the squad out." Her eyes went blank and she looked down at her lap for a minute. When she looked back at Nat there was a totally different look in her eyes. Her fiery sarcastic side was locked deep inside of her and she looked guarded. When she stood, she moved with a grace that she'd rarely used around her friends.

[Rogue 4]

Nat was completely surprised by this transformation. He had yet to see any of the squad effectively go undercover and he wondered if this was what it was for them every time. "Amazing," He remarked, just audibly, rising to his own feet.

[Princess 35]

Nima ducked her head. "Whatever pleases you sir."

[Rogue 4]

Nat placed a hand on her shoulder, looking pointedly to her. "You really can do this, Nima'secura. Let's just hope that I can play my part."

[Princess 35]

Nima stared into his honey colored eyes. "You can do this Natri'amor. I trust you."

[Rogue 4]

And I trust myself...in an X-wing cockpit, making acquisitions and running drills...but this is an entirely different game alltogether. Nat thought, with an absent twitch of his lekku. But Nima is counting on me to do this. She trusts me, and I refuse to let her down.

"I will do my best. I doubt anybody here speaks Twi'lekki, or lekku...if I am acting in the wrong manner would you mind letting me know so that I can fix it? You are the knowledgable one here after all."

[Vergere 1]

Brier spoke softly to Captain Tunon away from the others for a few moments as the others left the shuttle in pairs. "So I'll be in range; comm me if you need me there immediately. I need to see if I can weasle some more information out of the boys on planet. And if you need to scram and I'm not there, don't worry about it. I'll be fine - I have contacts here that can either make sure I return to the group or, if worst comes to worst, get me off planet. I've been in much more unsavory places than this."

Although Aeric made sure that Brier understood that he didn't like her working solo, he also understood that she wasn't in his squadron, and that she had another job to be doing too, and was trying to keep them all safe and informed.

She nodded as they wrapped up their conversation. "Remember. Comm me if you need to. Or if I find out there's a trap somewhere I'll do my best to make sure your squadron is made aware. Take care, Captain." She smiled softly before grabbing her things and making her exit, casual and unconcerned as she walked with a brisk step, paying no mind to anyone who she had been with on the shuttle. Brier looked confident as she walked, and that in itself made the Imperial people around think twice about taking her on or causing her trouble.

[Princess 35]

"Of course I will," she nodded. "If I start having a coughing fit, you're being too kind, too much of your self. Just remember, act like a space pirate."

[Rogue 4]

Nat raised a brow at her, curiously. "They don't actually act like they do in the holodramas, do they?" Being that he'd never been a spirate before, he only knew what he could remember of Pirates of the Corellian System holodrama that had been released a few years before.

[Princess 35]

Nima giggled. "No. You're not going to be swigging down lum or being some space swashbuckler. Just act like an on the run pilot, struggling to survive. You'll do most anything for a credit except sell out your strange code of honor. Even though I think that seeing you down the lum would be quite interesting." Nima adjusted her outfit to best show off her body, she did it automatically from years of practice, without even noticing.

[Rogue 4]

"I'm certain you'd find that quite amusing since I'm not normally big on drinking." Nat agreed, trying to soak in the details of his new role. As Nima spoke, Nat tried his hardest not to notice her hands working across her body to fix her already sparse outfit. "And... how should I treat you?"

[Princess 35]

"You should treat me like you would a pet Geysor performing on a street corner. Remember your livelihood depends on making a good amount of money off of my sale." Nima realized that Nat was staring at her. "Oh, sorry." She blushed. "Wearing these clothes is like second nature to me. I didn't realize the effect that it would have on everyone else."

[Rogue 4]

Nat turned away in embarassment. "I appologize." It kind of disgusted him to have to treat Nima in such a way. She was a brilliant doctor, and a wonderful person, and here he was about to treat her like a pet Geysor?