New Shoes

[Morgan Evanar]

Open, but post a thread in RP discussion if you want to join in.

Sluis Van Shipyards
“We should probably get you a new ship.” Morgan remarked. They’d freighter-hopped clear of the Wheel a few days prior. Serenity was long-gone. Still, after being captured by the Inquisoriate, it was a relief to see Serena on her feet again. The doctors had cleared her less than a week prior, but she seemed her firm, brisk self again.

“Something anonymous but armed, maybe a YV-929?” Morgan suggested. He was a fan of Corellian ships. They were durable, easily maintained, and infinitely modifiable.

Sluis Van’s shipyards were incredibly busy. Shuttles moved passengers between the orbital stations that they were allowed to visit. Some were Imperial/workers only. Still, entire docking and cargo bays were rented to starship sales groups. Unlike Nar Shadda, if they dealt with a Sluissi salesman, they would be able to get a good ship in good order.

[Serena Laran]

"Something that large?" Serena raised an eyebrow as she looked over at her padawan. "I'm just used to a much smaller ship. But you are probably right. Serenity was small and fast, but had no weapons to speak of.

"In addition, our companions," she did not name the Wheel or the Jedi, of course, "will appreciate something with a bit more room." If she stayed with the convoy, that was.

She felt strong again, after languishing in the Challenger's infirmary for so long, but her face betrayed some of her recent experiences - a few extra crow's feet, and an impression that the skin under her eyes was thinner. Her expression was calm as Morgan steered them through the concourse, and then she put her hand on his elbow to stop him.

"I sold Serenity at a loss," she said quietly. "I cannot afford..." Serena took a slow breath. "Perhaps something smaller is better."

[Morgan Evanar]

They paused as foot traffic flowed past them, like two stones in a stream.

"Who said you're buying?" Morgan cracked a grin. Ultimately, his budget was limited. After all, he didn’t have a financial empire, just a small fiefdom. He had amassed a good amount of wealth during his slicing years, and didn’t spend much of it on amenities or toys. Instead, he’d played the stock and commodities markets to what used to be surprising success. Morgan often had inside information from non-market sources, coupled with an unknown Force affinity ended up netting a good-sized pile of money.

“I made plenty of money at my previous job. But when we’re done, I do need help with something.”

[Serena Laran]

Serena moved her hand down to his forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Of course." Her hand lingered a moment, and then Morgan put his hand over it as he turned and led her through the crowd, tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow. She smiled, and gave his side a nudge with her hand before retrieving it.

"So, a Corellian freighter." Serena looked around at the flashy displays designed to draw customers into the web of a specific group of salesmen. "I used to think that Nabooian designs were the best. Prettiest, anyway. It's sad to think that they don't produce many ships any more."

[Morgan Evanar]

"Oh, they really were. What rim kid didn't have a J-type model?" Morgan smiled. Serena nodded, but had not shared that experience.

"It's out of my price range, though." They wandered down, further from the more forward starship and part merchants to areas that smelled more of welds and work. Most of the ships were of Corellian origin, since they held a large chunk of the small freighter market. Some decommissioned Lamba T-4a shuttles were available, but their small crew requirements (1) ruled them out. Some TL-1200s, 3 S40K Phoenix Hawks in various repair, and several TL-1800s, probably because the owners were fed up with the garbage Portal Delta navicomps.

"Well, what suits your fancy?" Morgan asked.

[Serena Laran]

She perused the listings that she'd pulled up on her datapad, and shook her head slightly. "I am willing to trust your judgement, Morgan. I may be knowledgable about some things, but starships are not one of them."

Serena handed him the pad so he could get a good look on the specs of the specific vehicles before them.

[Morgan Evanar]

"Well," Morgan began, "if some of those TL-1800s have had that gods-awful Portal Delta ripped out and replaced with a decent unit, like a Fabritech, it's probably the best choice. It's the easiest open to operate with a single pilot, and while a little sluggish stock, that could be remedied. And they're dead reliable. Or we could have our friends back home replace the navicomp." Serena nodded.

The first T-1800 was a fair price. It still had the Portal Delta, but Morgan was convinced he could get it home anyway. Besides, they were in no hurry. The Sluisi salesbeing was very helpful, pointing out that the engines had been recently overhauled, and he could recommend a tech for refitting the navicomp if Serena so desired. The owner had traded it in on a YT-1930, wanting the better speed of the Corellian option. He continued to explain the features of the ship, like external cargo pod capacity, reliability, and roughly how many hours were needed before an overhaul.

When the salesbeing left, Morgan leaned against a bulkhead.

"What do you think?"

[Serena Laran]

Serena nodded, "I think it is a good choice. Its reliability is a big plus, in my eyes."

She stood in front of Morgan as he lounged against a bulkhead, disguising the speed and strength within his lanky body with the skill of a house cat. "With the engines so recently serviced it could be over a year before we need to take care of them again, and that is very attractive." The Jedi brushed a lock of hair from her eyes, a strand that had escaped her usually tight braids.

Morgan nodded, going over to talk to the salesbeing again, and Serena took his place against the bulkhead. She felt exposed here, where so many Imperials lurked just around the corner (figuratively speaking of course). She'd loosed color-crawlers in her hair the night before to subdue her distinctive red tresses, in hopes that her appearance would not trigger anything on the Shipyards security holos. Morgan had assured her that they were practically as safe as they were on the Wheel, but they both knew that wasn't exactly the case.

She tucked the loose strand of brown hair back behind her ear, and fiddled with the hood of the light blue cloak she was wearing over her modern clothing. The Force was all around and through her... She made sure the hood was still adequately covering her without making her look suspicious and took a deep breath as Morgan continued his negotiations with the Sluisi salesbeing.

She was a leaf on the river. Calm.

[Morgan Evanar]

"20,000." The Sluisi Salesbeing relented after Morgan taunted with offers of 19,000. It was a fair price. Both parties knew it.

"Deal." Morgan smiled. He knew that the Sluisi didn't really believe in negotiating a price, but had adopted the practice after years of dealing with outsiders who desperately wanted to haggle. The Sluisi had already made notes on what bottom price to sell at. Morgan reached into his pocket and pulled out 20 credit chits, each marked appropriately. With everything signed, documented and paid for, the Sluisi left Morgan and Serena to her ship.

The TL-1800 wasn't the prettiest ship in the galaxy, but the clustered engine array, centered, narrow cockpit and angular design gave it a very purposeful look.

"So, what's the name?"

[Serena Laran]

She pursed her lips at the question, surveying the decidedly lumpy looking ship. Since Serenity had been built, before the Clone Wars, ship aesthetic design had seemed to fall by the wayside in favor of other elements, like durability.

"Gaoth agus Domhain," she said. "Wind and Water." She placed her palm on the hull for a moment, trailing her long fingers across the surface. "Are we allowed to take possession now?"

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan grinned.
"Yup. Gaoth is yours. Well, they'll taxi it out to an external bay, but outside of that, she's ready to fly." He explained. Serena nodded. She seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. No, it was not Serenity but this ship was better suited to the difficult times they were in. She looked at Morgan.

"You said you needed help with something?" Serena asked.

Morgan reached into his jacket. He pulled out a cylinder. It was metal, but 4/5ths were covered in a rubberized grip that was more likely to be found on a swoop or speeder bike. It was flared near the top, just above the grip, and the bottom was low-power light emitter. Below the flared piece was a rotating switch that notched into the flared bit to turn on. He pushed the switch to rotate, but not join into the hand guard. The bottom lit up. Morgan pushed it all the way, the bottom turned off. There was a quiet hum, but nothing happened.

"I can't find the right crystal. Everything I've tried just... doesn't feel right." Morgan shut his fancy flashlight off.

[Serena Laran]

"May I?" Serena put her hand out, and Morgan placed the cylinder in her palm. Turning it over in her hand she nodded slowly. "It has a good weight to it. Not too light, and you've balanced it properly as well."

She smiled. "The crystal is the most important part, of course, but you've done well for your first attempt." Serena handed the incomplete lightsaber back to her padawan, and tucked her hands into the pockets inside her cloak.

She regarded Gaoth, and said slowly, "If she'll get us there... there was a cave I found years ago on Dhomanda A'lainn. It could be worth checking out." Also to make sure the Empire isn't making an example of the people there. She remembered telling them where she'd hidden for all those years. Between the drugs and the sleep deprivation she knew she had barely a chance to keep anything back, but she still felt shame.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan gazed at the space through the walls of the freighter where the navigation computer would be, as if he could see it through the bulkhead, and see it's hardware and programming interacting. He blinked twice.

"I will make it work." It wasn't a boast. It was a statement of fact. Morgan knew he could make it work.

[Serena Laran]

"All right then." She thought for a moment. "Our friends are expecting us back, but we should be able to let them know we are being delayed a few days."

Part of her wished Sol was with her - in fact she hardly had wanted to leave the Wheel to come here, for the irrational fear that he would have disappeared into the ether while she was gone. But she did want to share the planet she'd spent so much time on with him.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan nodded.

"So what's the planet like?" He asked. He'd talked to Rhianna about her homeworld, of course, but had never discussed it with Serena. Hearing about it from her perspective could be illuminating.

[Serena Laran]

"Beautiful," she said, almost wistfully. "The continent I lived on had great swathes of forests, and very little flat land. Valley meadows were ringed by hills and great mountains capped with year round snow. It rained in the fall and spring, and snowed every winter, and the summers were hot and wonderful.

"There were drier, more tropical or desert-like areas of the planet, but I did not travel to them. The tincéir, Rhianna's tribe, are families of traveling gypsies as you know, and they would travel between the caers, facilitating trade. No doubt they have seen much of what the planet contains, but there is no easy way to travel long distances. The Roghnófar Daoine who left to see other places rarely made it back to their home caer."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan rubbed the back of his neck.

"I've never really seen a forest." He remarked. Slicing had never taken him to anything with much of a view. Even on some of the nicer worlds, he'd mostly seen the inside of ventilation shafts and offices.

"We should probably pick up some rations before we go." Morgan added, contemplating masses of trees.

[Serena Laran]

She nodded. "I would like to bring some medical supplies as well, as a gift for the chieftain of the caer I lived closest to. But I knew well how to live off the land, should it come to that."

Serena winked, laughing softly at the look on Morgan's face. "I doubt we will have to hunt coiníní to survive, do not worry." Still, they had no idea what to expect in the region. The Imperial outpost could be reinforced, making a discrete arrival impossible.

[Rev Solomon]

Solomon slid into his seat in an isolated office just off the command deck of the Challenger, and the crewwoman who'd shown him in dutifully disappeared down the corridor. That left him alone with a comm monitor displaying some inscrutable encryption code over an Alliance seal.

"Accept transmission, authorization eight-two-eight tango theta niner rancor."

The encryption code gave way to a familiar face framed with fiery red braids. Solomon smiled broadly. "Serena. I was just thinking of you."

[Serena Laran]

She smiled at Sol - Solomon. "I hope I am not too much of a distraction," she teased gently. "Morgan says this is a secure transmission, but we'll have to keep it short. We are going to be delayed in returning by a few days. An opportunity for a side trip to... the planet I used to live on has come up."

Her eyes reflected some discomfort as she continued. "I was hoping you could relay that to the council so they do not worry."