Shores: Homecoming (Closed)

[Monfrox]

Brit’s expression turned solemn at Tormak’s words. Did you fight for the Alliance? Were you here? Those were not happy memories. Rarely were they in times of war. But he seemed genuine, and she really didn’t feel like getting up to clock him in the jaw.

“Yeah, I did. Corporal Tanicass Vosk, 61st Mobile Infantry. Formerly Rebel Alliance, currently New Republic. Twilight Company. I was here for a week and a half. The Imps showed up on the eleventh day…” She leaned back, now cradling the rifle on top of her arms. “And for the record, I’m a lower-class orphan from Serenno. Not Corellia.”

She said the information just as much for him as for Sandy and the others so they could understand her cover story too.

[Giovenith]

Had Giovenith been a bit more of a smartass, she might have been tempted to point out that Sandy, while technically a doctor, was not "that" kind of doctor. But luckily, she was a good girl. She perked at Sandy being fully on her side in terms of helping the pirate party, but that sliver of good mood ended when they came upon Marisi.

Instantly, her brow screwed up in sadness. People, no matter who they were or what they looked like, always looked so small, young, and vulnerable when they were under some blankets asleep or in pain.

"I'm not a doctor," Giovenith admitted, gently reaching across to pat the alien's hand reassuringly. "But I know a lot about healing people. We're going to help you and make you feel all better, okay? No more ouchies."

She was so sorely tempting to immediately blow her smoke, even with the energy drain, but knew better than that. Wanting to do something immediately though, the godling excused herself to retreat backward and find a nook where no one could easily spot her, before producing a thick, plush blanket and a proper pillow from her pockets. She waited a bit longer to make it feel realistic that she had pulled them from somewhere more physical before returning.

"Here you go," she said, comfortingly with a smile. "These should be much nicer than that old stuff." Giovenith carefully reached over to help replace the old blankets without disturbing the patient too much.

[Northwest Slobovia]

North Hangar
Echo Base, Hoth
Mid-Summer, 20 ABY, Maghrl's Timestream

“Yeah, I did. Corporal Tanicass Vosk, 61st Mobile Infantry. Formerly Rebel Alliance, currently New Republic. Twilight Company. I was here for a week and a half. The Imps showed up on the eleventh day… […] And for the record, I’m a lower-class orphan from Serenno. Not Corellia.”

"You are a Rimmie! That's what I thought!" Tormak seemed pleased with himelf, but even happier with Brit. "Somebody who understands what it's like out here. I'm from Kestos Major, but you've probably never heard of it. It's off the major hyperlanes, kinda near Bothawui."

Amanda caught Brit's cover story and nodded at it: she'd taken a buddy's ID and name and was using them now. Smart, unless she ran into somebody who knew the buddy.

Pirate Ship

"Here you go," she said, comfortingly with a smile. "These should be much nicer than that old stuff." Giovenith carefully reached over to help replace the old blankets without disturbing the patient too much.

By the time Giovenith got back to Marisi, her shirt had been rolled up, exposing her lower ribs. Her left chest and abdomen were one huge bruise, and her lower left chest seemed oddly sunken. The tube from the pair of saline bags ended in a huge needle, which was stuck into the middle of the sunken area and taped down with medical tape; the tube was completely full of something red.

Sandy was moving a non-contact thermometer over the bruise, nodding at the temperature readings, and occasionally mumbling, "Uh-huh!" and "Mmmm...".

He put the thermometer back in his medical kit, and then smiled at Marisi. "You're looking good! Your lung is healing nicely; we should be able to take the chest tube out in a few hours. The medicine is working well, too. Your ribs will take a while to heal, but soon we should be able to wrap you up so you'll be able to walk. I'd still recommend lying down as much as possible." He pulled Marisi's shirt back down, and helped Giovenith replace the old bedding with the nicer blanket and pillow.

Marisi nodded, though her face betrayed not understanding a lot of what Sandy had said. "Can you put me in my bed now?"

"In a few more minutes. I don't want to lift you too soon, and hurt your ribs and lungs again." Sandy patted her hand. "I know it's not very comfortable on the floor, but the risk of moving you is just a little too high now." Marisi's reply was just an unhappy look. Sandy gave her a sympathetic look. "I know. I'm sorry. Soon." He ended with nodding vigorously for a few seconds.

Sandy rocked back onto the balls of his feet, looking up at Feen. "A, uh, different subject, but one that may be important soon: can Tormak fly this ship?"

The Sullustan shook his head, his face a mask of uncertainty. "Not well. With the problem with the flux motivators, maybe not at all."

"But if he needed to?"

"Yes, maybe. But he could crash into the ground or the cave roof trying to get us out of here."

Sandy's face twisted. "I see." He seemed lost in thought, staring just over Feen's right shoulder.

[OOC: Brit hasn't heard of Kestos Major, because I made it up. There is a world called Kestos Minor near Serenno, though.

[Monfrox]

Brit steeled her expression as Tormak went off on his tangent. She got the impression that he thought he was winning her over. He wasn't. Despite everything, Brit was still technically a New Republic active duty soldier, and that technically made her the extent of the law enforcement on Hoth at this very moment. She didn't want to be buddy buddy with him, but it might serve to her end for now.

"Why are you here?" She asked him bluntly. "Why come all the way out to Echo Base? There's nothing here. Has to be better places to do pirating in the galaxy."

[Giovenith]

Giovenith noted the ship talk but found little she could contribute to it. Instead, she decided to focus on the goal she had discussed with Sandy just minutes ago, of helping the pirates achieve a better life so that they would no longer have to hurt others. Taking a moment to adjust Marisi's blankets to a more comfortable position, she ventured:

"Can you tell me about yourself?" she asked. "Why are you here, do you like your life? Wouldn't you rather be doing something else?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

North Hangar
Echo Base, Hoth
Mid-Summer, 20 ABY, Maghrl's Timestream

"Why are you here?" She asked him bluntly. "Why come all the way out to Echo Base? There's nothing here. Has to be better places to do pirating in the galaxy."

Tormak's face briefly registered confusion at the change in topic, and he took a couple of seconds to reply. "We needed to repair our thrusters, and Ketav knew about the caves here. This is a big cave, and we didn't expect to find anybody in it."

A new thought occurred to him. "Maybe I had it backwards... Are you showing them the old Alliance base?"

Pirate Ship

"Can you tell me about yourself?" she asked. "Why are you here, do you like your life? Wouldn't you rather be doing something else?"

Marisi groaned. "Anything else! We're Soli's slaves, that's why we're here." Her eyes refocused on Sandy's face. "...or your slaves? Why are you...?" She trailed off as she tried to get a look at Amanda, who was coming up the ship's aft ramp.

Amanda heard enough of Marisi's questions to guess the rest. "Because we're nice people. And because we are nice people, you're free. You're not Soli's slave, or anybody else's."

While Marisi struggled to make sense of what she'd heard, Feen let his mouth hang open, then recovered. His tone was joyous. "You bought us from Soli and you're setting us free??"

"Soli's no longer your problem." She pulled out their identi-chips from her pocket, checked which was which, and handed the IDs to them, reaching down to hand Marisi's to her.

Sandy interrupted Feen as the Sullustan was just starting to speak; Sandy knew what Amanda meant, so he forestalled the obvious question. "You'll need to go someplace to have those, ummm, adjusted to say that you're free. Bespin will do fine for that; Calrissian's operation isn't entirely above board, so you should be able to find--" Sandy wasn't sure of the right word. "--the right sort of person for that there.

"You'll need money as well, and I have an idea about that. There's a crate of power converters in the hangar; I think some of them should be yours. Somebody on Bespin probably wants them. And if not, just head coreward on the Trade Spine until you sell all of them."

He looked hopefully to Giovenith and Amanda; the latter asked, "Tormak can fly this junk pile?"

Feen shook his head, but Sandy waggled his hand. "He'll have to do."

Amanda nodded firmly, and spoke the same way. "If that's what you want, then I'll take care of Soli."

[OOC: The babblefish would have explained the meanings of Bespin, the Corellian Trade Spine, and coreward.]

[Monfrox]

Brit looked at him and remembered that the best lies were close to the truth.

"Yeah. They wanted to come out here and do some documentation. New Republic picked me since I was not only a veteran of the battle, but due for rotation within the company anyway. So they stuck me with that professor-type and his assistants. After all, wouldn't look good to have them wander around and get eaten by a wampa. Gave them the tour up to Echo Base from where I was sent out on day eleven to what was Perimeter Outpost Delta." She said to him. "So what, you in the middle of a job or between jobs?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

North Hangar
Echo Base, Hoth
Mid-Summer, 20 ABY, Maghrl's Timestream

Brit looked at him and remembered that the best lies were close to the truth. [...] "So they stuck me with that professor-type and his assistants. [...] So what, you in the middle of a job or between jobs?"

As Brit spoke, Tormak whispered, "Professor?" and looked over Brit's shoulder into the ship. He seemed to be thinking about something, but Brit's final question caused his gaze to leap to her face. "Welll, maybe you could tell me: am I between jobs, or is this the end of the road for me? Or is my next job slave for a smarty-pants Corellian?"

[Giovenith]

"We don't believe in slavery," Giovenith echoed Amanda's sentiment. "We think that it's evil. We would never, ever make you our slaves, even if we were enemies, which we're not. We want to help you guys."

Thinking of something that she could pull from her pocket without drawing too much questioning, she produced a small handful of peppermint candies, offering a few to Marisi. She smiled.

"They're sweets," she said. "They won't help you medicine-wise, but maybe they could cheer you up a bit?"

Amanda's remark about Soli gave her pause. Knowing Mrs. Bela, it wasn't unlikely that "take care of" in this instance meant a good deal more than a firm talking to. Now, Giovenith was not a pacifist, but she was aware that situations in harsh environments could be complex... perhaps slavery, evil as it was, was a viable economic option to people from impoverished backgrounds in this word. But then again, did it matter? After all, if something wasn't an excuse, should it be relevant to making decisions?

After a careful moment's thought, the godling decided that this wasn't really her call to make. Turning her gaze back to Marisi, she asked quietly, in an almost whisper: "Do you want Amanda to hurt Soli for you?"

[Monfrox]

“After all I’ve done, that’s the last thing you should be worried about.” Brit replied. “Like I’d let some civvie from Corellia start taking up slavery. No, I’m the long arm of the New Republic law out here, and that’s not happening on my watch even if she wanted to do it. Speaking of law…” Her tone turned accusatory. “Should I be worried about bounties placed on you and your crew? I can always find out later so best to come clean now. After all, you don’t wanna lie to your new combat veteran buddy now, would you?” She flashed a knowing smile.

[Northwest Slobovia]

North Hangar
Echo Base, Hoth
Mid-Summer, 20 ABY, Maghrl's Timestream

[Brit's] tone turned accusatory. “Should I be worried about bounties placed on you and your crew? I can always find out later so best to come clean now. After all, you don’t wanna lie to your new combat veteran buddy now, would you?”

"Bounties?" Tormak couldn't imagine why anybody would suggest that, so he laughed like it was a great joke. "Take a look at our ship! Do you seriously think we're big enough fish for anybody to put prices on our heads??"

Pirate Ship

After a careful moment's thought, the godling decided that this wasn't really her call to make. Turning her gaze back to Marisi, she asked quietly, in an almost whisper: "Do you want Amanda to hurt Soli for you?"

Marisi lifted her hand to take the candies, winced, and put her hand back down. "I don't care." Her voice was tired, almost whiny.

Sandy spoke gently. "Alright, let's get you into bed. You can't have anything else for the pain just yet, but once we get you into bed, I can give you something to put you to sleep. That is, if you want."

"Please. It all hurts. The shot made it hurt a lot less, but..."

Sandy looked up at everybody else to get their attention. "Let's--"

Feen caught Amanda's eye, tone bitter. "You can kill her for all I care. Or sell her into slavery. That would be better. Her choice was 'work for us or die'; you can give her the same." Amanda's reply was a stony nod.

Sandy tried again. "Let's slide her on to the old blanket, and the carry that into bed. Mind her head and back as we move her."

Getting Marisi into bed wasn't that difficult, though Sandy's part was limited to supporting the center of her back as the other three carried her most of the way towards the bridge, into her cabin, and then into bed, though "cabin" and "bed" were much less than Feen's words implied.

Along the sides of the ship were four cabins, two on either side, but they were little more than niches with heavy curtains, wide enough for a cot-sized bed and an equally-narrow place to stand. Metal cabinets lined each end of Marisi's niche, and one was under the bed. No personal touches were visible.

Something much like a seatbelt dangled from the bed, and Sandy helped Marisi buckle in. "You'll be in such deep sleep you could fall off the bed if the ship shakes."

Sandy pulled a syringe from a loop in his medical pack; it was already filled with a milky liquid. He took Marisi's arm, found the big vein, and held the needle over it. "Relax and count backwards from 100, please."

After taking a deep breath, Marisi nodded. "100, 99..." Sandy slid the needle forward into her arm, and pushed the plunger in. "98, 97, 9..." Marisi went limp, her eyes closed, and Sandy laid her arm on her chest before covering her with Giovenith's blanket.

As Sandy hoisted his pack on, Amanda turned to him. "I thought knock-out shots were only in... you know."

"It's a, uh, fentanyl, umm, relative-- derivative."

"So why do you--? Oh." Amanda was silent for a second before continuing in whispered French. "For me or for...?" She cocked her head toward the back of the ship.

Sandy shrugged. "Didn't know if I'd need it at all."

He and Amanda walked side by side leaving the ship, then split up. Crossing the open area behind the ship, Sandy reached Tormak and Brit first. He leaned over to whisper to Brit in Modern Greek. "We have a plan. We're going to turn the two aboard ship loose, along with this guy. And, um, tie up the other loose end. Any opinion?"

Tormak watched Sandy whisper intently, trying to make out what Sandy was saying. He shifted nervously as Sandy finished and turned to wait Brit's reaction.

Soli called to Amanda as she saw her approach. "Oh, you remembered me. I'm touched, really!"

Amanda ignored her sarcasm. "Feen says you're his master."

"Has the deal changed? You want them and Tenko too? You still haven't answered how I get out of this alive if I deliver them to you."

[Monfrox]

Brit looked at Tormak, unsure if she believed him but let him think she did for the moment. He could be telling the truth, or he could be trying to play it up. Of course, Brit knew that if you pissed off the wrong people, it didn’t matter. But Sandy came to her and whispered into her ear. She nodded in thought for a moment. What he said about Amanda ringed in her mind, and she knew what would happen if they let her have her way.

“I’ll take care of it.” She nodded, sitting up and standing. “You can take him in then. Where’s the other one at?”

[Northwest Slobovia]

North Hangar
Echo Base, Hoth
Mid-Summer, 20 ABY, Maghrl's Timestream

“I’ll take care of it.” She nodded, sitting up and standing. “You can take him in then. Where’s the other one at?”

"On the other side of the snow speeder." Sandy jerked his head in its direction; the top of Amanda's curls were just visible above the canopy roof.

"Take... me... in?" Tormak's voice quavered. "I don't like the sound of that."

"You should. I'm going to untie you. We have, uh, something for you to do." He reached down to grab the wires binding Tormak's ankles, and leaned back to drag him from propped up against the wall to lying flat on his back. "Roll over."

"Hey! I barely know you, and I'm--"

Cutting him off, Sandy intoned professionally, "Based on previous experience, I'd say you still a bit of dull headache around your temples."

With a half-sigh, half-hiss, Tormak complied. "Understood." He didn't need to be stunned twice in one day.

Sandy knelt on the center of Tormak's back, putting most of his weight on his left knee while he loosened the knots Amanda had made in the wire. Sandy stood up, and backed away quickly. "You can get the rest off from there."

As Tormak finished untying himself, Sandy spoke, hand on the butt of his blaster; he hoped Tormak didn't get any stupid ideas. "We're giving you, Feen, and Marisi a new start. One of the green crates holds power converters; we'll split them four ways with you guys, and the three of you can split the ship three ways.

"Your ship needs immediate repairs to its flux motivators. Bespin is close, and you-- the odds favor Bespin being able to fix them. They'll probably buy the power converters; they're always desperate for stuff there. They might be able to treat Marisi as well. After that, you're on your own. But stay legal, ok."

Tormak cocked his head one way as he looked at Sandy, then cocked it the other, trying to judge the historian and the situation. "OK, you went with good cop. I like this deal! That's a good price for Tenko, so... he and his crew are supposed to operate out of Delphon." Sandy feigned a skeptical look, so Tormak when on. "Yeah, I know, I know, but that's what I heard."

Sandy nodded reluctantly. "I hope that's right."

Behind the Snowspeeder

"Has the deal changed? You want them and Tenko too? You still haven't answered how I get out of this alive if I deliver them to you."

"That's no longer an option." She drew her stunner, and checked that it was still set for stun.

"You fucking bitch!"

Amanda set up like she was taking target practice; she had a good stance and a solid double-hand grip on the oddly-shaped butt of her gun. She spoke with conviction. "May Jesus have mercy on your soul."

Pirate Ship

There was little more Giovenith could do for Marisi: she was fast asleep. A quick look around didn't show much recognizable on the poorly-maintained ship, though it was impossible to miss the man-shaped bundle lying behind the pilots' seats on the bridge floor. It had two big brown stains; one roughly half-way up; the other probably near a shoulder.

Feen came up to her. "Thank you! Freedom and gifts, thank you!" He beamed at the godling for a moment, then a trace of puzzlement crossed his face. "Are you waiting aboard so you can come with us to Bespin?"

[Monfrox]

“Relax, would ya? Stress gives you wrinkles.” Brit said to Tormak as she left him with Sandy.

She strode over to the snowspeeder, wondering why Amanda was there. Probably just keeping an eye on her, or perhaps grilling her like the others were.

“You fucking bitch!”

Now an insult like that wasn’t exactly unwarranted in this situation, but Brit didn’t like the tone of it. She stepped lively.

“May Jesus have mercy on your soul.”

Brit liked that even less. She came around the speeder and saw Amanda with her gun to Soli. She acted instinctually, as she was trained, and without hesitation. Before she knew it, her blaster rifle was slung over her shoulder and she had grabbed Amanda’s arm and started to push it up and away from pointing at Soli.

“Stand down.” She told Amanda in a professional tone.

[Northwest Slobovia]

North Hangar
Echo Base, Hoth
Mid-Summer, 20 ABY, Maghrl's Timestream

Before she knew it, her blaster rifle was slung over her shoulder and she had grabbed Amanda’s arm and started to push it up and away from pointing at Soli.

Amanda was fixated on her target, and didn't notice Brit's approach in the slightest. But as Brit's fingers closed on her wrist, she flinched and fired, turning away from Brit. Amanda's stun bolt was somewhat off target: rather than catching Soli squarely in the middle of the chest, it grazed her shoulder.

“Stand down.” She told Amanda in a professional tone.

Amanda tried to break free of Brit's grasp, but was far too weak to do so. She stepped in closer to Brit and ducked, in what might have been a hip throw, but if so, her form was awful, and Brit was unmoved. "Let go of me!" Amanda hissed. "This is what we agreed!"

Soli stared up at them with glassy eyes.

By the Hangar Wall

Tormak jumped at a sound. "Was that a blaster shot??"

Sandy expected Amanda to carry out her notion of justice about now. "It sounds like it."

"That's it! That's all I know!" That got a more accepting nod, so Tormak relaxed a little. "I see how you Corellians got where you are now."

"It's, umm..." Sandy made circles with one hand, seeking words while he thought over Tormak's mention of 'good cop', and Amanda's earlier precis. "Let's just say it's better for everybody that you accepted what we offered."

"Yes!" He hurriedly looked around, trying to decide how to move on. His eyes settled on the line of green crates. "Yeah, so... we should test the loot before taking shares. It's been out here for years, and I don't want to get stuck with scrap. I'm going to ask Feen about getting a little fuel." He started for the ship at a jog; Sandy followed at a walk.

[Giovenith]

"No, I'm just..." Giovenith sadly shook her head to Feen. "... taking everything in. And tired. Don't worry about me, and like I said, you don't have to thank us about freedom — it's what we were supposed to do." She gave a sad but polite smile at him.

This moment was soon interrupted by the sound of Amanda and Brit shouting. The godling perked in shock, and snapped her head over the source of the commotion in time to see the struggle between the two.

Oh no, her stomach sank. Oh come on, was this really what they needed? "Sandy!" she called, urgently. "Brit and Amanda are fighting!" With that brief warning, she bounded off toward the other two women. Giovenith reached toward her pockets but stopped just in time, cursedly remembering that their had had to keep their abilities on the down low. Normally she would have disarmed and separated the two using paper, but that wasn't an option right now, so it seemed she had to do this the regular way.

"Stop it!" she yelled at the two in her squeaky, desperate but slightly angry tone. "Both of you!"

Now Giovenith may have been supernatural, but was still, physically speaking, a smaller girl. Knowing that there would be no good result for her in trying to physically separate them, she decided to force the issue by wedging herself past them to stand in front of Soli.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded. "What's going on?"

[Monfrox]

What they agreed? Who agreed to let her shoot Soli in cold blood? Brit felt a bit off as Amanda reacted, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. But then she tried to get physical and threw herself into Brit. The trooper felt her hip connect with her stomach and recoiled under the blow, but her feet stayed firmly planted. She looked up and locked eyes with Amanda for the briefest moment as her mind quickly set into motion a few specific gears. Her eyes glassed over as she whipped Amanda around and pushed her back onto the speeder's hull. Her free hand instinctively reached for and grasped the grip on her A-180 blaster pistol sitting in a holster on her hip.

Stop it! Both of you!

Before she could draw the pistol, Gio intervened. Brit relaxed her grip as her mind was drawn out of that gray auto-pilot. Her eyes had the light back in them as they refocused. This was Amanda, not someone trying to kill her. She drew a deep breath in and let it out through her nose, like a bull.

What are you doing?! What's going on?

Brit stepped back and let herself off Amanda. She took a few steps back, but kept her right foot pointed out in front of her to steady her stance as she watched Amanda intently. It was no secret. She was sure that both Gio and Sandy could catch on that Brit's opinion of Amanda was less-than-stellar, and she believed the feeling was mutual at times. Even still, she told Sandy she would take care of it. She clicked the commlink.

"Sandy, I've got things handled. No one's hurt." She reported. She looked to Gio and Soli, and then back at Amanda. "You know. I'd tell you I understand, but I really don't. So how about you start explaining why you suddenly changed your profession to executioner, hmm?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

North Hangar
Echo Base, Hoth
Mid-Summer, 20 ABY, Maghrl's Timestream

"Sandy!" she called, urgently. "Brit and Amanda are fighting!"

Sandy turned to look towards the snowspeeder just in time to see Amanda smashed against it. "No!"

Tormak's response was equally eloquent: "What the hell??"

Sandy's hands started in abortive motion, one reaching for his stick in his pocket before he realized that he'd show too much extending it, and the other briefly resting on the butt of his blaster. There was no way he could hit anything from here. After a confused couple of seconds, he reached a decision, and turned to Tormak. "Let her take care of it. Go, get fuel! I'll... deal with this too."

The pirate hesitated; Sandy gave him a push and followed him to the base of the ship's ramp. After looking back a few times, Tormak disappeared into the ship.

Brit stepped back and let herself off Amanda. She took a few steps back, but kept her right foot pointed out in front of her to steady her stance as she watched Amanda intently.

Amanda turned to look at her opponent, stunner still in her hand, but pointed down to the side. She risked a momentary glance at Soli. The Bothan had barely moved despite the violence near her, and her eyes didn't track any of the people around her. Amanda stepped over her, and kept backing away along the side of the ex-snowspeeder, keeping her eyes on Brit, and rubbing her right wrist with her left hand.

"Sandy, I've got things handled. No one's hurt." She reported. She looked to Gio and Soli, and then back at Amanda. "You know. I'd tell you I understand, but I really don't. So how about you start explaining why you suddenly changed your profession to executioner, hmm?"[/quote]
Still slowly backing up, Amanda thumbed her comm stud, speaking French. "Ignore that, Sandy. You'll need to look at my wrist, and Rambo over here can no longer tell friend from foe. Be ready."

Sandy's whispered voice came over the comms. "Right. Giovenith, the others are all in their ship. Do what you have to. I'll, umm, give you-- let you know when they start to come back out."

Sandy looked down and let his shoulders slump. This isn't going to work. He let both castings of the Anathilosis fade; both he and Marisi would just after to manage without it, and he needed to conserve ousia in case bad came to worse.

After looking into the ship and seeing that Tormak and Feen were talking, Sandy cast the Wolf's Ears on himself and walked to the top of the ramp, where he could see and hear everything in the ship and by the 'speeder.

[Giovenith]

Me? Giovenith cringed. Sure, she had broken up physical fights before, but none quite this serious. Still, it did seem up to her. She took a deep breath before kneeling down next to Amanda and carefully taking her wrist into both her hands. Thinking quickly, she pulled some gauze from her pocket and, while covering it with her hands and holding it to her mouth to pretend to bite into it to tear it, blew some of her glittering purple smoke into it before quickly wrapping it around Amanda's wrist. The mist seemed to sink into the lawyer's skin with a cooling sensation that sapped the pain away and slowly, dully, but surely, began to return its proper movement.

With that seemingly taken care of, Giovenith scrunched her brow and looked up at Brit with a deep frown.

"Brit, why would you do that?" she pleaded in a slightly angry but still measured tone. "I don't know what Amanda did, and I don't know what you've been through recently, but we're not soldiers under your command, we're your friends. You can't just do stuff like this!"

[Monfrox]

There were a lot of things she wanted to say. Things that would help, but mostly not. But Brit bit her tongue, knowing full well that the prying would not stop. Instead, she walked over to Soli and quickly hoisted her up onto her shoulder.

"I've got the Bothan. I'm bringing her to the ship." She said over the commlink.

She gave Amanda a look, eyeing the blaster still in her hand. Part of her wondered if she was looking for an excuse to drop Brit like a bad habit. But she looked to Gio, and realized that her presence complicated things for the both of them. Either way, she turned around and left the pair without another word and taking Soli with her. Her expression was nonplussed, but she wasn't angry. Just annoyed. This would all be sorted out later, though.

[Northwest Slobovia]

North Hangar
Echo Base, Hoth
Mid-Summer, 20 ABY, Maghrl's Timestream

Instead, she walked over to Soli and quickly hoisted her up onto her shoulder.

As Brit reached for Soli, Amanda gently pulled away from Giovenith. She started to bring her stunner to bear at Brit, whispering to the godling, "It's set for stun."

She gave Amanda a look, eyeing the blaster [...]

...now pointed directly at her. "Put her down and we'll talk."

[Giovenith]

"Are you two really going to play tug-a-war with guns over a person?" Giovenith said, louder, with no small amount of exasperation as she got up and marched between the two, again. There was confusion in her gait, but this was visibly outweighed by frustration. "I know she's a slaver, but jesus christ, she's not a toy you both picked up at once! It-"

Giovenith abruptly stopped, apparently at a loss for words. She pressed her hands together and brought them close to her face, closed her eyes, and breathed heavily, seemingly blocking everything out. For the first time in a long while, the godling made an effort to actually stop, center herself, and begin to run through things rather frankly in her own head. Interestingly, she found herself sorting through most of her memories of her time at the Building, reviewing many of her previous challenges and confrontations, thinking about how many of them ended. Which was to say, not well. She thought of Bran, Torii, Yoshi, even Marcus to some extent... all the tragedy, all the dysfunction, all the outbursts that came from them as a result, and all of her trying to settle them down and reason with them... and look how well all of that had turned out.

"Okay, you know what?" She finally opened her eyes and separated her hands in a dismissive motion, tone much more direct than before now. "No, we are not doing this."

The godling flung her arms down to her sides and, faster than either could respond, a paper projectile shot out and knocked the stunner from Amanda's hand while another, in a show of rapid force, roughly pried Soli from Brit's arms and dragged her a few feet out of reach before setting her unceremoniously on the floor. (A bit hypocritical given her earlier complaint, Giovenith knew, but she felt it had to be done.)

"I was going to wait till we got home to talk about this, but with this? No. Yes Brit, we can all tell that you've gone through something horrible. No, we don't know what it was, no, we don't understand it, but frankly, it doesn't matter."

Giovenith was speaking loudly while pointing a finger at the former soldier, louder than she normally ever spoke outside of cheering. Despite this, she didn't seem out of control or hysterical with rage, far from it actually. Her posture remained still and erect and her tone was measured but final, and the tense stance of her limbs served as a slight reminder of the powers she had just demonstrated to all three women present and could likely demonstrate again.

"I am tired of all these people who think that because they've gone through some shit that that means that they get to just do whatever they want," Giovenith continued. "And that they don't have to listen to anyone, answer to anyone, think about anyone else, or explain themselves to anyone that they don't think "understands." Because you know what? It's not anyone else's job to understand. No matter what you've been through, it could be the craziest freaking story in the whole universe, it still doesn't give you permission to run around, yell at everyone, grab and hit people, make your own rules, play the silent treatment, any of it!" Her voice grew louder and peaked in shrillness toward the end as she grew more intense, making a frustrated swooshing motion with her arms.

There was a moment of silence as she breathed heavily again to cool down from the peak of intensity. She wound back somewhat before continuing, though remaining firm.

"We've, all, been, terrorized," Giovenith emphasized practically through gritted teeth. "Not just you, or anyone else. Do you really want to ask me what I've seen the gods do? Have you ever asked Amanda what she's been scarred by, or Sandy?" She gestured toward the lawyer behind her. "Or Willow? He screams in the night now too, and he still won't even tell me why, the whole reason he's not here right now is because he's been legally forced to see a pony mental doctor and the doctor said this snow and ice could trigger him!" She gestured broadly around her before pointing again. "Were you ever planning on getting around to asking him how he's been feeling, see if you could understand what he's been through? Or is it everyone only ever just thinking about themselves and their own feelings, as usual?"

She stopped again, this time longer and with deeper breathing, seemingly done with the main rant. A minute passed, then another, before Giovenith turned away and walked over to pick up Amanda's stunner from where it had clattered, gently picking it up and inspecting it for any damage before calmly walking it back to its owner.

"Don't touch her," she said gravely but quietly, in reference to Soli. It wasn't certain whether she was talking to Amanda, Brit, or both. "Let's just... let's just bring her back to Sandy, and figure out what to do from there. He's clearly the only one out of all of us who has any sense right now. He should be making these decisions." She kept her gaze hardened but directed at the ground.

[Monfrox]

Brit had stood there, shifting her weight. Her blaster rifle securely across her shoulder and her blaster pistol still tucked away in her holster with neither of them making more of an appearance than they already were. In a different time, years ago, she probably would've broken down and cried. Spewed apologies as freely as the snot running from her nose in the inevitable bawling from such a scalding tirade. Or maybe she would've ran off without a word otherwise, kicking things or tearing something up in a fit of childish rage. Instead, she watched Gio as she bit chunks out of her with her words over and over until she about tore her head off with the last spiel.

And yet, even under it all, she didn't flinch. Maybe this is what she had planned on happening after Slate and her gate trips. Maybe Gio the Goddess had needed her to hear the words from Gio the Godling. Time was funny whenever there were things like this, though. And even if that were the case, she knew that this wasn't something that would be solved in one scolding. It'd take time. A lot of time. Brit knew she was frayed at the edges. She tried to keep it in check, but it bled through. It wasn't her fault, but it was her responsibility to take the blame for her actions. That was not lost on her. But she didn't want to do this here, and things knotted up in her core as she watched Gio hand the stunner back to Amanda.

"Fuck this, I'm done here. You want to go ahead and execute unarmed prisoners in the name of justice, fine. Whatever." She said in a tempered and exhausted tone before she turned around and stepped off towards the ship. "Nice ram, Amanda." Were her last parting words.

[Northwest Slobovia]

North Hangar
Echo Base, Hoth
Mid-Summer, 20 ABY, Maghrl's Timestream

"Don't touch her," [Giovenith] said[...] "Let's just... let's just bring her back to Sandy, and figure out what to do from there. He's clearly the only one out of all of us who has any sense right now. He should be making these decisions."

That caught Sandy by surprise; he flinched and his voice came over the commlink, quiet and in Greek. "Uh, no, leave--"

"Fuck this, I'm done here. You want to go ahead and execute unarmed prisoners in the name of justice, fine. Whatever."

Amanda shot back, "Oh, and what did you do in the name of 'just following--'".

Sandy cut his wife off with a scolding tone. "Enough, Amanda, enough. Don't be a sore winner." He followed that with a frustrated sigh and a glance into the ship. "Put Soli back where she was. Tormak and Feen think she's dead. Feen is ecstatic; he even tried to wake Marisi to tell her. Tormak is pretty happy about it too. Soli's apparently a crack shot with the ship's guns, but a bad boss and a worse person.

"So, leave them thinking that. Correcting them raises too many questions. Move her back, and quickly."

Amanda nodded her acquiescence to Sandy, and turned to Giovenith. "Come on, let's put her back." They lifted Soli a few inches so that Giovenith's birds could get under her and carry her back to the snowspeeder.

As they watched the birds move the Bothan, Amanda whispered, "Keep an eye on Brit. She's probably a better shot than I am. If her hands move towards her guns, do what you need to keep her from getting them." Her tone softened dramatically, becoming sympathetic, her expression matching her tone, eyes sad. "Willow still wakes up screaming, despite what Cadance and Morpheus did? And you don't know why? I think Sandy and I know. Talk to us at home."

Sandy looked into the ship again, gaze tracking something in the ship. "They've found a pump and some hose. They'll be out soon to check the converters." He then reached into one of his parka pockets and got out his stick, which he extended to staff-sized then held it casually.

Getting Soli back where she was didn't take long; she hadn't gone very far. Amanda noticed that Soli was starting to become alert, and used the combat knife to cut off a strip of Soli's jacket to make a gag. After silencing Soli, she put the Bothan's hat down on her face, covering it.

[Monfrox]

Brit’s feet carried her off to the back of the ship while thoughts raced through her mind. She spotted Sandy, but made no effort to start a conversation. She wasn’t going to talk about this, and probably not for a long time at this rate. Amanda kept calling her Rambo, and now Gio had given her the third degree. A distance was forming between her and everyone else, slowly but surely.

Brit sighed, resigning her attitude and her energy. She was tired. She hadn’t slept at all in days. The night of the jungles in the Pacific and Vietnam had robbed her of the ability to sleep at night. Maybe she could get a few winks if she had a Claymore mine perimeter, maybe. But she never told anyone. Never told them of anything that was happening to her. She wasn’t sure they’d understand, and now she was certain that they wouldn’t. Well, fine then. If they expected her to play the role of the unhinged and damaged veteran, she would. But she would do it on her own terms. After all, the glaring difference between her and Amanda was that she didn’t fool herself to think that everything she did was justified. Her hands were stained with blood of both the innocent and guilty. She had accepted that long ago, and she also accepted that she would most likely be going to Hell once her time finally came.

Brit walked into the back of the ship with a neutral expression on her face. She looked to Feen, recognizing his species from her deployment to Sullust, before looking at Tormak.

“Those power converters are no doubt frozen solid.” She told him. “We took welding torches to ‘em to thaw ‘em out when I was stationed here. You may have to do the same.”