Coruscant

[Taaru Masako]

Seemingly pleased with the name, "Trusty" bends at the knees to allow Jet an easier mount up, letting loose with another "Wark!" as Jet settles her weight.

The horseclaw then rises to it's full height, blinking and twisting its head to and fro...seemingly asking for orders.

[Jet Almeara]

"Alrighty then" Jet remarked, either responding to the birds odd sound or musing out loud where to go from here. Dry sand was unfortunate not the greatest when it came to tracks...sure you made racks but they had a tendency to be blown away or fill in fairly quickly. Still she thought she was able to make out some depressions that looked like they might be tracks.

It seemed like as good of a direction as any and turning 'Trusty' around they headed off in roughly the same direction she had been headed when she ran across the bird.

[Taaru Masako]

"Trusty," though she didn't yet respond that name, certainly responded to Jet's implicit commands. Horseclaws were similar to other beasts of burden in their control, mostly because primitive user interfaces tended to translate and adapt to new media. But that's where similarities tended to end. Their training, mannerism, personalities, needs and other collective quirks were all their own, and Jet started to get a small taste of this with the peculiarities of the avian bipedal gait, so unlike anything with four or more legs.

Luckily, this unfamiliarity was outweighed by how easily Trusty traversed the dunes, her wide, splayed feet making easy work of the sucking sands.

The "trail" Jet had intuited and followed becomes more resolved as she continues. Cresting a final ridge of dunes, she sees definite footsteps going down the other side, alighting on an old, paved road, a true peculiarity. If anything, this hints at her location: Somewhere in the galaxy where repuslor-driven vehicles were either impossible to use....or too expensive to afford.

But the road isn't the only feature she sees. The burnt out husks of vehicles, black and scorched splotches on cracked grey, catch her eye immediately. Civilian vehicles are the most common, but here and there she can also glimpse the melted barrel of a gun turret and the matte colors of camouflaged armor. The road stretches to both horizons, and so do the skeletal remains of technology. Also peculiar is that these husks have, in part, been cleared to either side of the road, forcefully in some cases where gouge marks are evident. The road was still in use, it seemed.

She is dimly aware that something is kicking up dust in the distance, coming down the road. Echoes of sound....maybe music?..... waft through the dry air.

[Jet Almeara]

Jet was not entirely sure what she had expected as the trail became clearer and clearer but for lack of anything better to follow she continued to hold the course - growing somewhat more used to the oddities of her strange mounts gait, if nothing else could be said for it she was at least pleased with the speed in which they crossed the sands.

The road..was certainly not expected, nor were the remnants of whatever incident had occurred here. Guiding Trusty closer to several of the vehicle remains she gazed through viewports and windows though the dingy state of said things, somewhat weathered by the sand make it difficult to see anything inside. In any case she didn't think it mattered all that much, bodies or no bodies - it didn't make much of a difference to her.

The weapons said bodies might have on them would be welcome however Jet thought to herself as she noticed the dust cloud and ever so faintly, sounds. Sounds of the sort she would associate with people, or beings..not that such logical rules existed in this place, she'd opened a door and walked into a desert after all - but that didn't stop her own mind, long conditioned to making such assumptions, into thinking it.

She dismissed the idea of the weapons however after a few more looks showed only wreckage and she wasn't willing to take the time for a more thorough search with something approaching. Nor however was she willing to guide the bird back into the desert and let whatever beings were coming towards her pass by, given the point of her mission and where she was it seemed unlikely that things she encountered here would be pointless...so she turned the horseclaw towards the dustcloud.

[Taaru Masako]

It becomes quickly obvious that the approaching speck is some sort of vehicle, revealed by the glint of metal and the dust it was kicking up behind it. The soft whine of a repulsor was also evident as it grew nearer, mixed in with what was now clearly music being piped over some sort of PA system.

Echoes resolve into words around the time Jet realizes that the vehicle in question is an infantry fighting vehicle of some sort, hovering about half a meter off the ground as it navigates the wreckage.

"---Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
(woo woo, woo woo)

I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made --- "

The music abruptly stops, as well as the IFV, as it seems to realize Jet waiting at he side of the road. The remote gun turret, previously listing lazily to the side, suddenly swings into action, pointing straight at her.

This standoff lasts for about 30 seconds before he troop bays in the rear of the vehicle open up and disgorge its occupants: Half a dozen soldiers in armor unfamiliar to Jet exit, weapons at ready, their faces shielded from view by a gold, reflective visor.

They approach her in formation, spaced apart, with their sights trained on her. The pointman yells at her in a language she doesn't comprehend, though it is familiar. Receiving no response from her, the language switches to Basic, which she does understand:

"Get off the bird. Down on the ground and show me your hands!"

It is about at this point that Jet realizes that her hands are not her hands, belonging instead to a much younger woman and tanned a dark coffee brown by the sun. The clothes she was wearing but a moment ago are replaced by white robes and a headscarf, clothing more suitable for a desert nomad.

Suddenly, nothing makes sense.

[Jet Almeara]

Infantry vehicle...certainly not the type of vehicle she'd been hoping for, a nice civilian transport would have been handy...but it wasn't until the gun swung in her direction that Jet grew concerned...concern that quickly grew to a quiet panic when she recalled - for he first time in a long time - that she had neither weapon nor force with which to aid her, she could still fight sure, but bare fist weren't going to do much against the transport and it's giant gun. Likely not against whomever was inside either.

But it wasn't until the vehicle disgorged it's men, whom demanded she surrender that Jet's quiet but still manageable panic rolled over her mind like a sentient beast and took over, leaving her heart thudding in her ears, her breath coming in harsh sounds and her mind screaming one simple phrase 'Never..ever ..again' and images of the terrors that had accompanied her last imprisonment flickered before her eyes in a painful and gruesome reminder of that time.

Only that time there had been someone to save her...and despite all she'd gone through she'd always known that. And this time there wasn't. No one would come, everyone who had even remotely cared or been capable of doing so was dead and that thought crushed her just a little bit, set her on the verge of merely throwing herself at the men and their weapons, they would kill her and death would surely be better then anything they could have planned and her hands released te reins in preparation for that fateful leap.

When she noticed somehow through her panic that the feeling wasn't right and glancing down took notice of the changed oddly hers but not hers hands and the clothing that she'd never be caught dead in...and she remembered in a hazy sort of way where she was, what she was meant to do and her panic notched down just a touch - enough to think at the very least and enough to keep her from reacting in the manner she had been about to only a few moments.

It was still difficult, likely one of the hardest things Jet had found herself having to do in a very long time - to slip off that bird, raise her hands and do what these men were telling her. She was shaking and she told herself it was from the rush of adrenaline even if that couldn't explain the crushing feeling that still gripped her heart...and she hated herself for that even more then the shaking. She was Jet..she'd faced vong and force crazed lunatics, Jedi Master and sith lords both, she'd won back a planet, held together the dying remain of her order...and she was afraid of ..this. Six men, theirs gun and her inability to do anything about it. Grifter would be rolling in his grave..but at least she reflected he wouldn't have to come and save her this time.

[Taaru Masako]

"Spast, she understands Basic?"

"Or she's had a gun in her face before and knows how to tango."

Thick accents from two troopers in the back, the second one female by the sound of her comm-filtered voice.

"She looks like a native."

"Yeah...certainly dark enough for it. Go ahead, Bruder."

The pointman, clearly disconcerted by how smoothly things are going, stands still and wraps his hand tighter around the grip and foregrip of his rifle, setting the stock deeper into his shoulder.

"This doesn't feel right..... we should just shoot her."

"What the devil, Masako?! She's just a frightened child!"

"THIS IS HOW WE LOST LELLER AND CORALIND!" the pointman shoots back over his shoulder, barrel still trained on the girl, no older than 14 or 15, lying facedown in the sand, reins still gripped in her hand.

"Gefreiter" a voice over the IFV's PA. "Weapons green. Check the girl then check the bird."

Silence from the pointman, mulling things over or whispering a curse under the comm's threshold level.

He approaches slowly, shuffling forward, glancing at the mid and horizon's distances for the tell-tale glint of scopes. He focuses on the girl again.

"Yalaa, yalaa. Esmeh shoma chist? Ker'm alaware schir?" he asks, haltingly.

[Jet Almeara]

Jet wanted to kill someone. If she could only wreak some sort of violence on the people lording it over her right now with their guns then surely her heart would calm down and she'd be able to think straight again. If only she could have some sort of control over this whole situation then it would all be good again and she could go one with what she was supposed to be doing.

Of course wanting to do something - and being able to do something were two different things completely..and oddly enough it was the person threatening to shoot her that kept the still Jet part of herself from going ballistic in the attempt to break out of what she was starting to realize was a memory. A memory she had unwittingly become a part of. Even face down on the ground she recognized him and he further reinforced her recollection that technically she was still in the Chaser, not a prisoner...not in control but certainly still secure in her own lodging. It was enough to refocus her and allow her to let the memory channel her for the time being.

She remained still as he approached...Taaru or not he wasn't the Taaru she knew now and she really didn't want to get shot, she wasn't sure what being shot would be like in a dreamworld..but it probably wasn't pleasant..then again given that this was a memory then if he'd shot the girl back then it was likely nothing she did was going to change that now. Great.

She'd decided the best courseof action was just to shut-up for he time being because Jet had no idea what he'd just asked her and nearly as soon as he thought that she realized that she did know what he's asked..and further more before she could stop it from happening she found words pouring from the not her but her mouth. This entire situation was just...maddening really. And Terrifying.

"I am Shara sur Kerek...and I'm trying to get to my uncles camp" She gibbered out at the man because the he that was not her was also quite frightened and the part of this who thing that was still a very upset couldn't do anything else but mentally pray 'dear Taaru...please don't shoot me'

[Taaru Masako]

Masako puzzles over her answer, a different dialect than the one he'd been picking up over the months.

"What'd she say?" from behind him.

"Her name....its Shara. She's trying to get to relatives, I think."

"Prolly another refugee. Alari's have been tearing up settlements in this area....ancient cycles of vengeance or something."

"Cut the chatter, is she clean?" from the IFV.

Shara/Jet hears a murmur from the pointman that is unmistakable in any language, a muttered invective.

The pointman, standing about 6 feet away, drops his rifle on his quicksling and pulls a device from his combat harness, sweeping it over her briefly.

"ARGUS says she's clean. No residues."

"And the bird?"

A moment passes.

"Same."

"Let me talk to her."

"I don't think that's a good idea, she may be a plant to-"

"Oh give it a rest, Taaru!" the pointman is roughly jostled aside by the previously identified female, though her armor does a good job of hiding this.

She squats down on her haunches in front of the frightened girl and taps the side of her helmet. The gold visor resolves, revealing a warm smile on a simple face, not beautiful, but handsome and engaging.

<<I am called Heike. You can get up now. Are you thirsty?>> she asks in the girl's language, about as competently as the pointman. She offers the girl her canteen.

[Jet Almeara]

Jet was beginning to get the impression that this Taaru was a paranoid little cuss and he likely would shoot her if Shara...err she..herself?..Jet...whatever, who cares at this point, moved to quickly.

Luckily the avatar she'd apparently become seemed to have the same conclusion and slowly sat up as the more welcoming women took things over. Of course she was thirsty she'd been traipsing through the damned desert you'd think it would be obvious. Thankfully Jet's lingering irritation about everything that had transpired didn't bleed over because Shara - for siths sake was she smiling? It felt like she was smiling...- seemed rather grateful for the offer and accepted the canteen with only one small uncertain glance at the frightening man who still seemed uncertain of her.

"Yes, thank you" Replied the little Shara git whom Jet was feeling just a touch hostile towards given that she was the reason Jet was trapped playing this out as she was, but she'd settled a bit more as it became less apparent that she was going to be shot, tortured or taken prisoner right off the bat and was paying a bit more attention to what was happening.

[Taaru Masako]

"Durstiges Maedel, ne?" the woman grins broader as the girl drinks greedily.

She shoots a look over her shoulder at the pointman, and receives only a noncommittal grunt in response before turning and stalking back to the IFV.

In the meantime, another passenger had disgorged, wearing the same armor, but from his poise and confidence, clearly someone in charge. Unarmed, he approaches the woman and the girl.

"Can you introduce us?" he asks Heike.

"Um....yeah, I think so."

She turns to the girl again: <<This is Matthias. He is my....um....he is my chieftain. He wants me to ask you some questions. Is that alright?>>

[Jet Almeara]

That's right Taaru..just march on back to your vehicle and take your gun with you, Jet thought to herself as she watched him stalk off. She was somewhat disappointed that unlike the women he hadn't cleared his visor so she could get a look at this younger version...and she would have continued paying more attention to him then whatever was happening to Shara, if the girl hadn't had a sudden spike of nerves which drew Jet back to what was right in front of her...them..Shera. This was getting confusing.

Jet had started feeling a bit calmer when they'd let her...Shara..stand up again and Appraised the man walking towards them in her typical fashion.She decided that she didn't want to piss him off, not without her saber close by anyways. Not that she had a choice since Shara was in charge of things at the moment and Jet was nothing more then an irate passenger. Shara it seemed had come to the same conclusion, understandable really, even a dimwit could read the vibes this guy was giving off and someone with that amount of confidence generally didn't have it for no reason. Jet felt Shara' eyes widen a touch in fear at the thought of these questions - Jet couldn't blame her really, even Jet mentally tensed slightly as her thoughts swept towards the interrogations she had endured throughout her life. Her own memories flickering ever so briefly in her head before she mentally commanded herself to STOP imposing what was left of her will into the command so that it would stick before she dissolved into a gibbering panic driven fool again and missed whatever these man had to ask and Shara had to answer.

She'd decided that something done here had to be important or she wouldn't have been lead towards it and so despite her loathing of the entire situation she was going to ignore, as best she could, all the mental issues she had regarding what was going on and pay attention. Even if she didn't like it.

And Shara it seemed had wisely come to the conclusion back whenever this had happened that doing what the nice armored lady asked was the wisest course of action and though casting a somewhat frightened look at the rest of the assembled men gave a timid nod of agreement to this plan.

[Taaru Masako]

Heike turns to Hauptmann Dornier, evidently waiting for the questions he wants translated. But before he can say anything, she interrupts by tapping the side of her helmet.Dornier's visor cocks in one direction quizzically, then with sudden realization, he toggles his visor's transparency to reveal his face. What Shara sees is impressive, commanding, intense, and warm at the same time. But it could also be her inexperience with these foreigners...she cannot tell if his smile is forced or not.

Matthias asks his question and Heike translates:

<<You said you were heading to your uncle's camp. Who is your uncle? What is his tribe?>>

[Jet Almeara]

If Jet had been in control of this situation she surely would have been eying the man in front of them with extreme suspicion. Having been on both sides of situations like this experience dictated that it was typically the questioner who walked away in good form. The person being questioned? Not so much. Why couldn't she be playing the part of one of these soldiers? At least that was a role she wouldn't be throwing mental fits about.

Shara however seems to be a bit reassured when the man shows his face, falling for the seeming warmth on his face even as Jet decides it could be a trick to gain trust...she'd ordered Sagara to use such tactics before. It no longer worked for her very often, such was her reputation that most of the time no one believed the warm act anymore. But she could see it working for people like this Matthias. People wanted to believe in strong but fair and kind leaders and his bearing could certainly provide such things.

Of course it didn't much matter what Jet thought because she didn't have any actual say in what happened - so while she could rage in the background about what should and should not be said and done right now, Shara in the drivers seat remained blithely unaware of her ranting and continued to act out her part..and dooming Jet to do the same.

Shara studies the man for a few moments before listening as Heike translates his unfamiliar words before answering "He is Moamat sur Hygar ibn Talesh" She told them and then considering that perhaps they would be unfamiliar with the information she'd just given them decided to indicate the clan as they'd asked even though it was properly included in the name anyways "Hygar is his tribe"

[Taaru Masako]

Heike's eyes widen imperceptibly at Shara's answer, and she quickly turns her head to avoid looking at the girl.

In Thruvaran: "It's him. Her uncle is..."

Matthias doesn't betray a single emotion: "Yeah....lucky us. Ask her where his camp is."

Heike regards Matthias with a steady eye....whether unspoken words cross between them or whether she is composing herself isn't something Shara is privvy to.

Finally, she turns again to the girl.

<<Do you know where your uncle is camped?>>