Chapter 1: Baptism By Fire

[Rogue 4]

Layla regarded the Captain curiously, but stood attention and responded,"Yes sir."

She hadn't actually be thinking about playing the sim...she had actually been hoping to cheer the Captain up some. Because of her species ability to sense others emotions, they often sought out ways to make people happier--mostly because of a selfish desire to be happy themselves. Last night his emotions had overwhelmed her, but today...he was numb. "I promise not to enter that scenario."

[Drake 53]

Takeshi Beskar, as he was known to all but one, grabbed his device from the holoprojector, left Arlan to his dreams and wandered off to check out his sleeping quarters. He went in and found the lights off. He heard Jaim Adarra breathing heavily in his sleep so kept the lights off. The door closed and Tak's eyes almost immediately adjusted to the light change. Altered genetics...a handy thing he thought. He spotted his possessions next to his bed. Looks like Teroch was way ahead of me.

With a nod, he left the room and went off to find breakfast with a hope that this meal would be better than the last.

Edited June 22, 2007 by Drake

[Chickenman 9]

"Thank you, Officer Nasrin." His face softened. "Thank you."

He checked his wrist chrono. "Enjoy your breakfast and report to the auditorium at 0800." He left without taking a bite of the breakfast Layla had brought. He hadn't noticed it.

[Rogue 4]

"Yes sir!" Layla sighed as he left. That hadn't gone like she had thought it would, and the man who'd just left was a shell of the man she'd met the day before. It was more than a little frightening.

She looked down and realized that he hadn't taken the offered food. "Stang...good thing I'm hungry..."

Picking the trays up, she headed wearily over to the cafeteria and picked out a table. She placed her trays down a little far from herself and collapsed into the seat, arm resting on the table and head resting wearily in the crook of her arm.

Edited June 22, 2007 by Rogue

[Drake 53]

Takeshi walked into the cafeteria and found that the selection of breakfast foods was marginally better than his earlier meal. He took some kind of egg with a side of over-done bantha bacon and half-burnt nerf sausage. The only thing that looked rather safe was a Bantha Breakfast Biscuit that was drizzled with some blue sauce. Tak grabbed a drink then took his tray and went to find seat.

He spotted a rather distant-looking Layla Nasrin at one table. He started over but then paused. She looks like she doesn't want to talk to anyone right now. But...she needs my help. Layla is wounded on the inside maybe even more than she realizes. He continued over to her.

"Good morning, my vod'ika." He said, cheerfully. "Mind if I join you?"

[Rogue 4]

Layla jumped, lifting her head from the table to look up at him. "Well, thst depends what vod'ika means. If it's a word with a nice connotation, then feel free to join me. If It has a bad connotation though i'm afraid you'll have to go sit with the Red Squadron scrubs."

[Drake 53]

He smiled, "It means 'little sister'." He sat down across from her and began eating. "You look like osik...err, crap. Did you sleep okay?"

[Rogue 4]

'Glad you noticed..." She saw the flames rising into her vision again and shook her head to clear them out of there. "I didn't sleep too well at all actually...."

[Drake 53]

"It doesn't take pheremones to sense that something is bothering you, Layla. This...pain you feel about your past is damaging you more than you may realize. And don't tell me that I don't know or I don't understand because I've been through this same thing. When my clan was killed, I nearly let my pain and hatred consume me. I was a shell of a person and nearly got myself killed on more than one occasion because I didn't care about my own safety...only revenge."

He sighed and sat back in the chair. "Sorry for continuing to bring this up but I want to help you to channel that pain and control it. If you would be open to it, I would like to teach you some martial art styles and focusing excercises that have helped me overcome my past."

[Rogue 4]

"Tak..." Layla ran a hand over her face to wake herself up. "Listen, I appreciate what you're doing, but I it was just a nightmare. I'm fine, really I am--I've been fine for the past four years. I got past it...it just keeps getting brought up again."

She picked some food up with a fork, and examined it. "And I'm not after revenge...if I was I'd be running a suicide mission on Tyrena, not here. I just need to survive, to take care of Sena, and to do my part to make sure that the kind of stuff I went through doesn't happen again...and being here is my best shot at making that happen."

[Drake 53]

Takeshi looked at her and nodded. "Of course. Well...my offer is always open if you ever need a distraction or something to do while you're banned from flying."

[Rogue 4]

Layla smiled warmly at him. "Well then, I might have to take you up on that."

[Chickenman 9]

Aeric tried unsuccessfully to rub sleep from his eyes. A quick shower had helped snap him out of his gloom, and now he was going over a few last minute notes before speaking to the squadron.

The door hissed open and Captain Slade entered the officer's club.

"Morning, Lieutenant Tunon."

"Brevet Captain," corrected Aeric.

"Yes, my mistake. Listen. I was wondering if your squadron would be interested in a little...friendly competition this afternoon."

Aeric raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"A squadron vs. squadron run through the simulators. Red versus Blue. Let's see who is the better squadron. What do you say?"

Aeric shrugged. "I'll run it by my squadron. I'm sure they'll say yes."

Captain Slade gave a sinister grin. "Excellent. I'll see you this afternoon."

"Good luck."

"I won't need it, Captain Tunon."

[Rogue 4]

Nat walked in as Captain Slade was leaving. A long shudder ran down his lekku as he watched the man leave.

Then he turned to Aeric. "I have a feeling I just missed something interesting, sir."

Edited June 22, 2007 by Rogue
Drake has a dirty mind an an accusing mouth

[Chickenman 9]

"You could say that. We've been challenged to a sim battle. But that's not important right now. CorSec's report on Flight Officer Nasrin just came in this morning."

[Drake 53]

"Excellent." Takeshi smiled and then finished off the rest of his breakfast.

"Do you know if we have anything planned today or just more sim training?"

[Rogue 4]

"We're supposed to report to the auditorium at 0800." Layla responded. "I'm not sure why. Probably to announce positions or something."

***

Nat frowned. "Good news or bad news?"

[Chickenman 9]

He handed it over. "See for yourself."

[Drake 53]

"I see." Tak looked at his chrono and said, "It's 0700 now. Anything you want to do for an hour?"

[Rogue 4]

Nat took the datapad. "This is from four years ago...a Zeltron woman was seen fleeing the scene of an arson of a buisness warehouse in Tyrena city. Her DNA was found on the tools used to set the fire. Security cameras later caught her stealing a light frieghter from a personal hanger resulting in breaking and entering and theft charges, the latter of which was recently dropped by the Madra family that had filed them. The next morning a Corellian citizen named Deign Argos filed assualt charges against Layla from an attack that occured the night before..."

His lekku was writhing. "So all of these charges occured in the span of one night."

***

"It is? Blaster bolts, I promised I'd call...Sena's going to be upset..." she sighed. "I dunno, whatever you want to do...I don't exactly have my head in the ball game this instant."

[Chickenman 9]

"And since she won't deny it, that means all of these charges are probably true."

[Rogue 4]

Nat frowned. "Perhaps it's time to have another chat with her then? Although...something doesn't sit right about some of these charges."

Edited June 22, 2007 by Rogue

[Chickenman 9]

"I know. Something's wrong. But if Layla doesn't speak up, I'm afraid we might have to turn her in."

[Ender 8]

Jaim woke up and dressed a few minutes after Takeshi had left. This whole waking up when it wasn't yet daylight thing wasn't going to be good. Especially with the caf as bad here as it was.

Groggily, Jaim half-staggered into the cafeteria, took a bit of breakfast against his better judgment, and sat a few tables away from Takeshi and Layla, enough to hear their conversation without drawing attention. He found it interesting, those two making friends. Especially with Layla's record, which was longer than even his own.

Finishing the last of what he still didn't consider to be food, Jaim got off and walked to the two of them. "Either of you care for more caf?"

[Drake 53]

Takeshi looked up to find Jaim standing next to their table. "Hey roomie. And no caf for me, thanks."