Reunions and Confessions

The Players: Haytec, Sarna, Siika, Delphine, Lincoln

Tipsy Trader -- Tier City: Valentine's World

Inside the Tipsy Trader, the stone walls are painted a bright turquoise reminiscent of the Great Western Sea itself. Around the perimeter of the circular room are alcoves with booths, marked off by tasseled, draping curtains in various competing colors that sparkle with embroidery and beads. Round, colorfully-woven rugs decorate the tile flooring and absorb some of the ambient sound created by the usually festive crowd.

The central feature of the cantina is the bar itself, circled with stools for patrons and boasting a display of exotic liquors in decorative bottles arranged to tempt the thirsty crowd. Above, the ceiling is flecked with patterns of light cast from several lanterns hung at intervals around the room. To the right of the entrance is a small stage with tables gathered in front of it where musical performers put on a show several times a day.

<O>ut leads to Ward Bazaar -- Tier City: Valentine's World.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

To say the cantina is a bit silent would be an overstatement; many of the locals are here drinking and smiling and laughing. But it is certainly on a lower scale than normal for the upbeat watering hole. Standing...floating by the bar is the cowled and cloaked figure of Haytec and at his side, clearly three tankards in is Vos'ayn, one leg raised to rest on the runner below the bar. Revealing a rather indecent length of thigh -- well perhaps on any other world. Here is Tier, it's likely admired quietly as most of the patrons have no reference for dealing with the duo presented to them. Vos for herself seems to be enjoying the setting and as for the odd droid, who is to say.

As the cantina door opens, a small whirring droid comes rolling in, his cone-shaped head pivoting back and forth as he takes a look around the rather quiet establishment, then warbles a note directed behind him. Sarna enters, wearing her white cloak with her dark hair loose and touseled from the breeze. She glances at her companion, the marshal, then motions for him to follow Vee-Four as well. "Yep, they're here," she confirms as she strides inside and heads for the bar, noting the occasional strange looks they are receiving but then putting them out of mind. "Uncle... Aunt Vos," she greets warmly. "Have you been enjoying looking around the city so far?"

Odd looks have been more abundant on Valentine's of late, which has made Lincoln's life a bit more busy. Every time there is someone who looks suspicious or out of place it eventually ends up at his desk. Whether it's a formal report or just rumors that come in from one family circle to another until it hits his own. This situation however, well, he was expecting it when Sarna had mentioned going out to seek her Aunt and Uncle, a relationship that he is in no position to judge even if he still is uncertain about it. Walking into the darkness of the Cantina, he lifts up the brim of his identifying hat to allow a bit more light to strike his features before following the girl towards her relatives, offering a polite nod of greeting towards each even if it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

The cowl turns slightly the only indication that the droid-being heard Sarna, but typical of him. Vos, however, pivots on heel and looks her niece up and down. "By the ruin girl...why do you have to look like a virgin all the time." she grins and gestures at her with the tankard. "We all know you have parts and bits that many would kill for..." she grins at the young lady and then shifts a gaze to the lawman. "You...worry too much." she decrees, taking a long pull from the tankard, and when she laughs it's a sound of the most pleasant tones. Like chimes in a soft breeze.

Fortunately for Sarna, up until now she's never really had to worry too much about being embarrassed by parental types, not in public at least. As she rests a hand on Haytec's shoulder, Vos'ayn's words make her cheeks turn bright red and she looks down at herself assessingly, then over at Lincoln with a weak chuckle before she manages to find her voice. "Aunt Vos, if you want to take me shopping for new clothes, I won't complain," she says in an attempt to deflect the subject, smiling at the woman almost coyly. She climbs onto an empty stool beside her uncle and nods to the bartender. "What are you having?" she asks with a glance around to the others.

"Funny," Lincoln comments almost dryly, "I've been told that a few times. That I'm a bit too serious for people around here. The again, I've also been told I'm not serious enough by my mother. So I suppose it is all about perspective." Somehow, through much challenge, he is able to keep a passive expression when Sarna's wardrobe is called out by her aunt. However, he eventually goes to join the others at the bar, sitting down and motioning towards the Bartender who by a long ways knows Lincoln's preferred beverage.

Vos grins at the question and points to the shelf behind the bartender. "I have started on the far left and working my way across, two wins, one not so and a eh." she proclaims. Haytec chimes in with his baritone voice. "She wont make the second row without a stimulant." his vocoder flashes as he speaks. "But, she has worked her tolerance up quite far...I keep track for her." Vos grins and hefts the tankard up. "Ruin and wreck...I will clear the damn wall one day!" she grins and takes another look at the marshall. "What say you gunslinger...is my niece not worth shooting a few towns up for?" an eye narrows and she leans forward slightly looking Lincoln in the eyes.

Amused, Sarna chuckles at Vos'ayn's ambitions. "I'm glad you're here to make sure she doesn't drink herself into oblivion," she says teasing and low to her uncle. But when she leans across to challenge the marshal, the girl tsks softly and shakes her head. "Auntie," she says in a singsong voice, tipping her head to give the woman an askance look and speaking through her teeth. "It's not like that. Right?" As her drink is served, she takes a sniff of the whiskey before taking a quick sip and looking over at Lincoln expectantly.

With his drink arrived, Lincoln lifts it up and pauses before taking a drink looking Vos right back in the eyes, "Depends on the towns I'd imagine," he responds dryly before taking a drink. Lowering the glass, he smirks slightly, "So you're niece tells me you're from... let's say not around these parts. What do you think of our humble little world?" He pauses notably and then goes on, "I've found that outsiders who visit here are often caught offguard by the free nature of the people and our views regarding one another."

Vos lets out a throaty laugh at her niece and the marshall. "I see...only if you could take the opposition." and then the words from Sarna. "My sweet sweet girl...if the thought hasn't crossed his mind...well." she drains the tankard and slams it down. "Next!" she yells.

Haytec turns to face the man speaking, his quad red-orange photoreceptors glow as he speaks. "Our origins are based in freedoms...the Nahrahm are fine." the vocoder flashes. "Not around here, is a wide definition..." there is a slight pause. "We sought freedom and found it...the alternative was burning everything down and seeing all opposing life writhe in pain and end in death...but that would be too far to the grotesque."

"Uncle Haytec is right," Sarna agrees when the droid explains their reasons for fleeing from home, even if these are memories she does not share. "I for one think Valentine's is a wonderful place, even if its customs are a bit different. And everyone has been kind enough to let me shelter here from that bounty hunter." She has to shake her head at Vos'ayn, sighing quietly and rubbing her forehead. Then, as if trying to assess if her aunt's words are true, she arches her brows at Lincoln as she takes another sip that burns its way down her throat. She squints against her eyes watering at the sensation, then slowly grins. "I promised I wouldn't read his mind, Auntie, so how would I know?" she teases.

Lincoln chuckles and looks over between Vos and then towards Sarna, "Oh, the thought has crossed his mind, but I also know that our traditions and way of living may not be... conducive to her upbringing. So there's a substantial amount of culture shock to navigate." His eyes drift then towards Haytec before back to Vos, "Whatever your reasons for fleeing, I am certainly glad you found this place, well, that Sarna did."

Haytec tilts his head to the side. "Fleeing...no seeking." he corrects the marshal. "I do not run...but you are wise to be cautious of us...we can be intense given motivation to be so." Honest is he and has always been. "And protective of Sarna yet not overly so...but vengeance in an aftermath is most certain." he adds eyes and vocoder flashing.

Vos grins. "Ah...my love." she reaches over and pats Haytec's hand, reaching across Sarna to do so. "You old romantic you." and she leans in and kisses Sarna on her cheek. "She knows we love her, in our own ways."

Sarna and her family are seated at the bar with the marshal, while the cantina itself is relatively quiet, considering the odd looks that the group is receiving from the locals. The girl catches the marshal's look towards her even as he speaks about her as if she's not sitting right there, and she makes a face at him. "I don't think the culture shock has been that bad," she says lightly. "Your mother was certainly charming and kind to us." His admission, however, makes one corner of her mouth quirk into an awkward smile and she tears her gaze away from him with difficulty to look at the droid. "Oh, uncle, if you are truly itching for vengeance, go find that Malideus Taliwood. The marshal was kind of enough to kick the bastard offworld for me." As Vos kisses her cheek, Sarna beams at her and rolls her eyes. "Of course you love me, I have never doubted that!" she laughs.

Lincoln just sips at his drink once again, smirking into it a bit at the displays between the family members. However, at the tail end he does chuckle softly, "I'd just prefer if you keep all vengeancing away from Tier and Valentine's... our people don't really get much into the ways of violence. Hell, we haven't had much reason too without the jealousies other cultures carry."

Haytec turns more fully on Sarna and shifts a gaze to the marshal. "Why do we need to hunt this Malideus?" Vos sets the tankard down and leans back against the bar, the Force swirls around her for a moment and her eyes become less glassy. "His name...sounds troublesome." Vos adds sounding far less tipsy than she was.

Relieved that the subject has shifted from less embarrassing matters, Sarna senses the ripples in the Force and glances at her aunt and uncle in turn. "He is troublesome. He's a Force User," she says in a low tone to the pair. "But he's part of some self-hating cult. His crusade is to destroy all other Force Users, apparently starting with me," she adds with a bitter chuckle. "I've sent warning to the Enclave about him. He's very dangerous." To Lincoln she purses her lips, torn between wanting to stay to defend Tier, or drawing the Regency's wrath elsewhere. "I don't want to see anything bad happen here," she assures him in a soft voice.

Lincoln finishes his drink, looking at the glass before gently starting to rise, "Troublesome is an understatement," he comments towards Sarna, managing a smile, "And I know you don't, and won't let it either. But with that in mind, It was nice grabbing a drink but there's reports of some kind of dispute happening up in the upper mountains I need to look into over the coming days, which means I need to get a few affairs here lined up." He pauses, looking at Sarna, "See you tonight?"

Vos smiles ever so slightly. "My love." she begins sliding an arm around Sarna as she addresses Haytec. "Please...let me summon a few hounds?" the look on her face darkens and yet bears a wicked mirth at the edges of her mouth and eyes. "Mayhaps three." she looks as close to askance in the direction of the strange droid and then turns to look at Lincoln. "Do you have holos of this corpse?"

Relieved that the subject has shifted from less embarrassing matters, Sarna senses the ripples in the Force and glances at her aunt and uncle in turn. "He is troublesome. He's a Force User," she says in a low tone to the pair. "But he's part of some self-hating cult. His crusade is to destroy all other Force Users, apparently starting with me," she adds with a bitter chuckle. "I've sent warning to the Enclave about him. He's very dangerous." To Lincoln she purses her lips, torn between wanting to stay to defend Tier, or drawing the Regency's wrath elsewhere. "I don't want to see anything bad happen here," she assures him in a soft voice.

As Lincoln rises to depart, Sarna shoots him a smile and taps at her lip meaningfully. "See you later, marshal," she affirms, wiggling her fingers in a wave goodbye. Vee-Four, heretofore quiet as he waits next to Sarna's barstool, beeps attentively at the mention of a holo. Sarna glances down at the droid, then smiles at her aunt. "Oh, we've got holos," she assures her as Vee-Four projects a flickering blue image of the leatherclad bounty hunter. "But I've never seen his face." Her posture stiffens at the mention of hounds, her expression becoming more grave. "Do you think that is really necessary?" she asks very low.

The Acolyte steps into the cantina, lowering the hood of her billowing white cloak. She pauses at the entrance. It'd been a difficult night for Delphine. She'd let her feelings show and things got messy. Working extra hard to present a neutral demeanor, the young woman moves out of the light of the doorway that silhouettes her form and into the darker shade of the establishment. Having been on a long walk she seeks to quench her thirst and heads for the bar.

The photoreceptors glow for a short time as Haytec considers the request and then the cowl turns to address Sarna. "Do you have anything with his genetic code tainting it?" at those words Vos'ayn stands up and gives an excited short applause of her hands. "A hunt...we get to go on a hunt!" stepping further away from the bar she turns as if putting on a display. "Oh what to wear...basic black...crimson red...aubergine?" the woman's excitement is unrestrained.

Delphine somehow manages to avoid Lincoln on his exit, as she is at the bar with her back to the door. She orders a refreshing fruit drink and slides onto a barstool. Then she manages to hear an electronic voice and slides her seaglass gaze down the bar to see Sarna and her 'family' seated at the other end. Taking a moment to compose herself, realizing to just ignore them would be incredibly rude, she rises and moves smoothly towards the trio. "May I join you?" she asks before taking a stool again. With a tone that suggests guessing in unneeded, she says, "Let me guess who you're planning to hunt?"

"I don't think..." Sarna starts to answer, perhaps wary of what she suspects the droid has in mind. She drums her fingers on the bar, then removes something from a pouch at her belt that she hands over to Haytec as her aunt begins her dramatic preparations for fashionable battle attire. "Wait. This. I helped him collect a bounty, and he paid me with this credit voucher." As the beautiful woman known as Vos'ayn puts on a show, drawing plenty of gazes and perhaps a few whistles and cheers of approval, Sarna thanks Vee-Four with a nod and the image of Malideus he'd been projecting disappears just as Delphine arrives. "Lady Aurelia," she greets cheerfully, oblivious for now to anything different in the Acolyte's manner. "I'm sure you're going to guess right. I was just letting them know we warned the Enclave about Malideus's little crusade."

Vos'ayn is all smiles. "Hounds...let loose the hounds!" she stops infront of Sarna and Delphine. "This is going to be soooo fun." she practically giggles. "An image should be enough...I am sure we can bait him."

Haytec rises ever so slightly. "I need to know what you know about him." there is a darkening to his tone. "What you observed, what his quirks might be...what draws his attention."

The Acolyte raises and lowers her chin slightly in acknowledgement of facts stated by Sarna. Per procedure, the Proctors were likely discussing the issue. Would they seek out Malideus as well? Delphine was unsure. She nods in turn to Vos'ayn and Haytec in greeting. "My lady...sir...So you're planning to go after Malideus? Does anyone have any clue as to where he went?"

Vee-Four whoops and beeps at Sarna's feet, and she holds up a finger to him as she nods. When she gives her report to her uncle, her voice takes on a confident and more mature tone than Delphine might be used to, and she she looks levelly into Haytec's photorecepots. "There's a reason he wears that suit. He's diseased underneath it. Perhaps without the Force, he wouldn't even be alive. He's from a planet called Telgosse, where Force Users are excised from society as cursed. His cult goes a step further and demands their destruction."

She pauses, acknowledging Delphine's words and reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. "Delphine has been a good friend. With her help we've kept him at bay. But I do not know where he went." When Vee-Four makes another intrusive sound, Sarna rushes to add, "Sorry! I didn't forget. Yes, the Telgossians hate tech. I think Malideus actually hates Vee-Four more than he hates me." She gives her loving uncle something of a sad smile at that and shakes her head.

Haytec turns in a very smooth movement and regards the Enclave Adept. "Its one galaxy...I have all eternity to hunt him." he turns and looks more to the two them and then breifly to the small droid. "He will present himself...or I will vent my disapproval on his homeworld." there is a cold electronic chuckle from the droid. "He is a bounty hunter...means he listens to those channels." the droid turns his head smoothly to Vos. "My love...wreak some force related havoc on his homeworld please."

Delphine manages a warm smile for Sarna as she expresses the Acolyte's role so far. She squeezes the younger woman's hand in return. She nods in agreement to Haytec until the talk of actions on Telgosse. "With the exception of this one cult of zealots, the Telgossians are peaceful, agrarian. Forests and farms that serve to feed their own people as they choose to remain separate from the galaxy at large...how much havoc are we talking about?"

"Uncle," Sarna protests as well, glancing at Delphine and then back to the droid. "It's not necessary to harm those not involved. I merely want to protect others from him. Please," she says the words serenely, but her eyes go wide and she goes to rest her hands on the droid's shoulders. "We can lure him out some other way." Once more she looks to Delphine, nodding in agreement and relief as the Acolyte expresses her concern for the Telgossians. "It won't be difficult, if that's what you want."

The photoreceptors glow briefly. "I will delay action against the planet...not forever." he warns. "You do not declare hostilites on mine and go untouched, you attack my family...I ruin theirs." he assures those gathered and Vos seems to pout and then adds in a sly tone. "Who knows....the planet could fall ill...." she shrugs. "Such tragic events have happened in the past."

Relieved, Sarna leans in and kisses the droid on the cheek. It's as much as she can hope for at the moment, and she nods at Haytec before glancing at Vos'ayn. "That won't be necessary, either," she says tartly, knowing exactly what the woman is insinuating. Turning back to the droid, she frowns slightly as she sighs. "I know you are protective, Uncle, but I am old enough to get out of my own trouble now, hmm? I know you raised me to be able to take care of myself, so there's no need to bring the wrath of the Starkers on a planet because of one deluded man."

"Yes, Sarna is quite capable of protecting herself," Delphine agrees solemnly. "And with you two here now, I'm finding myself redundant." She takes a sip of her juice and sets the glass back down. "I'm going to ask for a new contract. I think I've imposed on the Marshal for long enough. Who knows, maybe they'll send me where they thing Malideus is." Seaglass eyes darken a bit. I'd welcome a rematch."

Haytec rotates in the air and regards the Adept. "Interesting...are Enclave Adepts that fragile?" he drifts back from the bartop. "Vos, we have imposed long enough." he intones and looks at Delphine again. "If this is the Enclave...Neice, I will keep this display on file for future referance." Vos seems to pout but nods in agreement. "Neice, be mindful, if you need us call...but the Hounds will be sent."

The sudden change in Delphine's demeanor makes Sarna turn and blink in surprise. "What? No," she says. "You're not here just to -- to protect me. We're supposed to learn from each other!" She has to admit she doesn't like the thought of the Acolyte going up against the Selas alone, either, but conveys that thought through the Force to her friend. "What's going on, really?"

Sarna stiffens at her uncle's words and rakes her hand back through her hair. "Yes, Uncle," she sighs. "Aunt Vos. I will stay in touch. Thank you for coming to see me." She offers them a smile in an attempt to hide her ambivalence.

Delphine turns her head sideways to regard Haytec, a flash in those glass-like blue eyes showing insult taken but suppressed. What did Delphine care what these newcomers to the Cresh thought. She stands there and takes the critical words and looks in stride. "I go where I'm assigned. My request may be denied, depending on the Enclave's threat analysis. And they'd still like to meet Sarna, of course, if we can get her to leave paradise here."

To Sarna she adds, "If I must stay, then we can continue our work together. My path is unclear at the moment..."

Vos and Haytec head for the exit, conversing amongst themselfs. "I dont think we should count them out." the woman remarks. "Younglings are always fragile, recall some of the Jedi you encountered, they were practically children in their demeanor." she links an arm into his. "What shape they begin is not far from where they land." Haytec responds as the two vanish out the door.

Into the Cantina strides a young woman who hasn't been seen around these parts for a few days. Siika Gast, cybernetic techie of wonder, makes her way for the bar with a confident gait. Her hair seems especially beautiful today, and her skin is clean, as are her clothes.

"Bartender?" She rests a hand on the bar and grins mischievously. "One Valentine martini."

As the only family she's ever known departs from the cantina, Sarna watches the floating, cloaked droid and the evocative woman, her expression neutral until they've gone, but it brightens when she spots Siika's simultaneous entrance. She waves over as the cyber girl orders her drink, but turns to Delphine with a concerned expression. "If you must stay? I thought you wanted to stay! If you don't like our current arrangement, we could find board somewhere else. The marshal enjoys having us stay, if that is the problem." She frowns and picks up her drink to down the last of it, while Vee-Four chirps in excitement at the entrance of his girlfriend.

"Oh! Sarna!" Siika quickly pays for her drink, then scoops it up and walks over, sipping from the glass as she goes and working very hard not to spill anything. Easy, since her finger mechanics have boosted stability programming in them, helpful when working on droids and things.

"Lady Aurelia," she greets Delphine, and sets her drink down at an empty spot before crouching down to pet Vee's cone.

"Buddy, do I have a surprise for you." A wink.

Rising, Siika scoots into a spot and grins. "So, I just got back from Orum's Bastion. Made one hell of a deal there, and was finally able to upgrade the filtration system on my oil bath." She runs her fingers through her hair, showing just how healthy and in good volume it is. "There's nothing like a good oil bath. Does //wonders// for your skin and hair. Most people never try it, just for droids or whatever, but once you get used to the temperature which //can// be a bit scorchy at first, but, normal water baths aren't... well." She flexes her metal lined fingers. "It gets irritated."

"I'm just feeling..." Delphine can't say how she actually feels - in the way. "...restless." She turns to Siika and her warm smile returns. "That's fantastic, Siika. You look great!" she says with genuine enthusiasm. "This is part of it though. I really want to find Ravace! It's hanging over my head waiting to come crashing down on it. Have you heard anything back from that droid of his?"

Sarna squints one eye at the blonde woman and through the Force sends her a silent question, her brows furrowing at her. She doesn't understand what has suddenly changed, unless her family has so offended her that she'd lost her respect for Sarna. Was she so proud to disregard their friendship over that?

Siika's presence draws her attention away, and Sarna also admires her shiny locks and lovely appearance, grinning as Vee-Four warbles and swivels his head in excitement. "You're beautiful! I admit I've never had an... oil bath. I've been wanting to try out the bath house down the street, though. That could be quite a revelatory experience!" She waggles her eyebrows playfully and looks between the two women.

Mischief, mischief! Siika looks between the two women with a certain discomfort that hides behind the excitement that has been suggested. "Well. If... they have oil baths there..."

Still, the compliment has her blushing, and she takes a drink from the martini in an effort to hide it. Thank goodness for Delphine and her distracting question! Setting the drink down, she scowls. "No. I mean, part of why I made business on Orum's Bastion was to cover for my releasing DLM-1 there. You know, so it wouldn't look suspicious. I've been monitoring his movements and transmissions... nothing yet. But, he //is// calling out for his master. So, at least we know I didn't completely mis-wire him."

After a moment, Siika seems to have realized something. She takes another drink from her martini, before scooting out from the seat and reaching for Sarna's arm. "Hey. C'mere." She looks back to Delphine with an apologetic look. "Sorry, girl talk. I mean, you're a girl too, but, I mean, //we're// girls. You're much more of a woman." Siika grimaces, because that makes absolutely no sense, but she just offers an awkward smile before tugging Sarna along, looking for somewhere private where they can talk.

Sarna laughs in surprise as she's tugged along after Siika. "Oh, sure. We'll be right back," she says to Delphine, though Siika's reasoning for the private talk make the Jedi quirk a confused eyebrow at her. "What's going on?" she asks. It's relatively quiet in the cantina tonight, and there's plenty of open seats to choose from, so she gestures toward an empty booth away from other patrons. "Everyone is acting so strange today." She chuckles again and leans forward, folding her arms on top of the table to look at Siika levelly.

"I'm always strange," points out Siika, hoping it to serve as some reminder of normalcy. She then begins to grin mercilessly, leaning forward with her forearms upon the table. "So. I //have// to ask. Lady Aurelia, are she and the Marshal..." A suggestive gesture is given with her left hand. "You know. Shooting into light speed with each other?"

Instead of blushing, all the color drains from Sarna's cheeks at this most unexpected question and she quickly averts her gaze. "No," she says way too seriously in comparison to Siika's giddy question. But then something goes off in the back of her mind and she suddenly looks back up. "Did she tell you that's..." Sarna clears her throat. "That's her intention?" Her voice is a little too high-pitched and she rubs her palms over her thighs. Suddenly Delphine's strange behavior might make sense after all.

That was not at all the reaction that Siika was expecting. Her giddy, mischievous expression drains away, and with arched brows, she shakes her head. "No, she didn't say anything," comes a quick response. "I just... you know, the way she's made herself at home, and all..." One eyebrow arches, and she reaches a metal-lined hand across the table. "Sarna, what is it?"

"Oh. Are you sure?" Sarna sighs and leans her forehead against her crossed arms so that her face is hidden. She shakes her head back and forth before sitting back up and tossing her hair over her shoulder, growling in frustration. "The Lady isn't the only one who's made herself at home," she points out to Siika, her voice low and guilty as she finally meets the other girl's gaze, accepting her hand and squeezing it lightly. "I... uh... might... potentially... be the more culpable party."

Internally, Siika is moments away from chastising herself for being such a dingus. That is, of course, after an expression of surprise flashes across her face.

"Really!" Her eyes dance back and forth, feeling both embarrassed and happy at the same time. "I didn't... I mean I guess I didn't... I mean I //wondered// but... but then I wasn't sure if it was that you had a thing for Lady Aurelia, or if all three of you were... I mean, none of that is weird where I come from, but you know it is with different species and planets and cultures and stuff."

Her many emotions now become a smoky look, and she sets her face toward, eyes dancing. "So. How is it?"

Sarna cups her hands over her face and the color does come back into her cheeks this time. "I said /potentially/," she says very hastily. "Nothing has happened except... talking. I have nothing to report except that... uh, he smells very, very nice. And he doesn't treat me like I'm a kid." She glances across the cantina to where they'd left Delphine and sighs again.

"Damn," Siika curses, hoping she could have at least lived some true excitement vicariously through her new friend. "Haven't had anything 'twixt my nethers that doesn't run on power cells," she mutters begrudgingly. "Haven't noticed the smell, either, but honestly I smell enough grease and plasma sparks that I can't smell anything anymore, 'less it's really pungent."

Her eyes track Sarna's wayward gaze, and she lets loose a quiet sigh. Leaning back, her hands fidget with each other in an awkward manner. "I've gone and made this awkward, haven't I?" she says with apology.

Sarna gives a start at Siika's disappointment and she starts to laugh. "Sorry. I'm not exactly the most experienced, either," she chuckles with a self-deprecating roll of her eyes. "And it was already awkward. Now I just know... why... it's awkward." She bites her lip, uncertain how she can convince the Acolyte to stay now.

"I'm just worried someone might break me," Siika admits. There is a vulnerability to her tone, suggesting she's not this open and honest with just anyone. She does have twice as many breakable bits as most people, and behind the exoskeletal cybernetics that she tries to keep mostly hidden, she's far more breakable than most.

"Unfortunately, we can't force people to make decisions," Siika says, only half joking about it. As much as that would be a nice skill to have, it's simply out of the realm of reality to her, not to mention outside her morality cage. "If he's... interested, in either of you, he's gonna have to make that call."

Here, Siika folds her arms and smirks. "Now, where I'm from, you settle a situation like that one of two ways. A fight, or a triangle." She pauses. "That's what we call it when three people are together. A triangle. There are squares too, but usually it ends there. Gets pretty complicated when you get into the more complex polygrams."

It had never occurred to Sarna why the other girl might avoid physical contact of that kind, and the revelation brings a frown to her lips as she reaches over to squeeze Siika's arm. "Yes, I am aware of these kinds of relationships. We already know some of the Nahrahm are... similar," she notes. "Remember Kira? Oh, I know you do!" Sarna laughs and shakes her head. "I'm not going to fight, or form a triangle. Neither of those options are acceptable. So I'm hoping there's another option."

Delphine has remained quietly at the bar as the two younger women steal off together. She's actually relieved at first. She motions to the bartender and says, "Can I have another but this time some of that local vodka please?" The bartender picks up her fruit juice glass and makes her another drink, this time with a kick, and places it before the Acolyte. Her responses to Sarna's mental communications have been almost terse, certainly brief. But there's a heaviness to her aura - some of Delphine's lightness has left her. After a while, she turns her head towards where the others have gone, and sighs.

"Well, there's always a square." Siika's mischievous nature returns, and she hopes that the waggle of her eyebrows and the demure tone of her voice can help to lighten the mood. "Come on. We don't wanna be rude." She jerks her head back toward the table they had vacated, and moves to rejoin Delphine and her disregarded martini.

"Sorry about that," she says earnestly to Lady Aurelia. "Had to pick her brain on some girl trouble."

That teasing tone does make Sarna smile again, and she gives Siika a pointed look. "I'll let Kira know you're interested," she jokes in return, then nods and draws a deep breath in an effort to regain her courage. She follows Siika back to the bar and reclaims her barstool next to Delphine. "Not sure I was much help, but I tried," she goes along before waving over the bartender again.

The Acolyte is sipping her new drink, which is probably not a good idea though she can mitigate it's effects easily enough. Contracts in High Centre always involve alcohol after all. She looks up and smiles wanly at Siika. "Sure." The the next one draws out a little as she comes to realize the girl talk probably involved the current residents of the Marshal's abode."Suuuuuree....okay," she nods to Sarna before sipping her drink again. Or maybe Siika had some tale to tell. Either way, Delphine wishes she weren't here but pumps up her smile. "Glad you two could talk it out."

Turning her hand over, Siika engages the little wrist computer, and a holographic map of Orum's Bastion displays in faded blue. There's a little red dot flashing, beneath which 'DLM-1' is written in Aurebesh. "There he is," she says, pointing at the dot. "He's just roaming around. Has been for a couple of days. If he's not careful, someone's gonna try to detain him in the droid lost and found."

The bartender brings Sarna another whiskey and she holds it between her hands, looking down into it to avoid Delphine's gaze. Their easy camaraderie gone, she focuses on the mission update from Siika and leans forward for a better look. "So far so good, at least," she assesses. "It hasn't happened yet."

Delphine watches Siika's display intently, resting her mouth on her closed fist. "This great..." she begins to say but hearing that he could get thrown in some locker for eternity alarms her. "That can't happen!" She blinks and forms a frown of frustration. "I need to find Ravace. I need to find out why he calls himself the Envoy and why a Regency actor was trying to capture or kill him. The Enclave wants answers and so do I."

"Well, he is armed," Siika points out, as if //any// of them could have forgotten. "So, that's good. I'd honestly be more worried about someone trying to convince him to change masters, or worse." Here she grimaces and offers Vee-Four an apologetic look. "Fix him with a restraining bolt."

Looking back to Delphine, Siika frowns with concern. "You will find him," she says. "I mean, either this crazy plan of ours works, or it doesn't. Either way, he's gonna turn up again." She drinks from her martini, now looking between the two women with a thoughtful expression.

Vee-Four makes a mournful sound and Sarna chuckles. "No, she doesn't mean you, Vee," she reassures the little droid, bending down to pat his head. As Siika reassures Delphine, she straightens back up. "Siika's right," Sarna agrees. "If anyone can figure it out, you can, Lady Aurelia. I'll help as much as you would like for me to." She looks back at the hologram and purses her lips as she folds her arms over her chest, waiting for Siika to go on, but then realizes the cyber girl is looking at the two of them instead. "What?" she asks, blinking.

"Well let's hope it doesn't come to that," the Acolyte says with a sympathetic look to Vee-Four. "Even if it did try to kill us all." She slides her gaze over to Sarna and says sincerely, "Of course I want your help." Suppressing a pained expression she turns to look at Siika again when Sarna speaks to her, waiting curiously to see what their cybernetic friend says.

Returning to the bar was something that Lincoln didn't really want to do, but in the back of his mind he figured he would need to at some point and the sensation of inevitability washes over him as his eyes scan the location, spotting the table where the three women sit. A slight chew on his lower lip in thought, he watches them all for a moment before approaching the table. His blaster is pulled from the holster and set on the table and he pulls a chair over, turning it around to sit backwards on it, legs stradling the back. A second chair is drug over, letting the legs squeak across the floor before his hat is set upon it. Arms folding, he rests them on the back of the chair and sets his eyes on each of the three in turn, lingering the longest on Sarna and Delphine; almost staring at them each to await some kind of reaction from them in turn, before he looks at Siika, "Miss Siika, how have you been? My mother mentioned you when I spoke to her last, said you were rather amusing and wanted me to pass along her contact information."

Lincoln returns to Sarna's surprise, before Siika has a chance to explain the look she's given them. She draws a deep breath and takes a long sip of the whiskey, meeting the marshal's gaze levelly, before flicking down to the blaster he's placed on the table. "Lincoln... I wasn't expecting you back," she says with half of a smile, more unnerved than she'd like to admit by his unusual posture. When he makes the offer to pass on Kira's information to the cyber girl, her smile broadens and her green-gold eyes sparkle merrily. "Well, that's something, Siika!" she chuckles excitedly, and she can't help but smile at the marshal as she tucks her hair behind her ear.

As Siika's potential answer to why she was staring at her and at Sarna is interrupted by the entrance of Lincoln Abrams, Delphine shifts in her seat uncomfortably. But then to fall under that gaze, it's almost too much for Delphine and she has to look away, choosing to flatten her hands on the table right in front of her and stare at her manicure. She thinks about the white shellac lest Sarna pick up a stray thought. When Lincoln mentions Kira, she looks up with a smile tinged with a hint of melancholy. "How is Kira? I hope she visits soon..." There is a weight to her her wish.

Lincoln's eyes drift towards Sarna and Delphine, again in turn as he pivots some to look at them both. His fingers drum on the table and he remains quiet for a few moments. It must be the disposition he takes when dealing with interrogating people, or intimidating. After a moment he speaksk quietly, "My mother is well. She is concerned however, and honestly so am I at this point. So I am going to speak and you are going to listen." He looks between the two girls and then apologetically to Siika, "I'm sorry you have to hear this and to interrupt your discussion, but ..." A sigh leaves his lips and he looks at the two once more in turn.

"My people are polyamorous. Many do not believe in exclusivity of intimacy. This stems from a large difference in gender on this world," the explanation comes smoothly, as if he may have had to explain it before. "Several centuries ago there was a choice to be made. To have conflict over relationships and jealousies or to not. It was chosen not to, so a structure was set up. This is how I have been raised." He takes a breath, "It has been brought to my attention that I may flirt inadvertantly and lead some on. Those concepts do not make sense to me. There is no ... leading among the areas I grew up."

Lincoln looks to Sarna, "You must understand the nature of where I am from. That a lot of things you would consider abnormal or different, to my culture are the norm." Then his eyes go to Delphine, "And you must understand that in navigating these new interactions there is great challenge. What the two of you fail to understand is that how /I/ feel is secondary in our culture."

Up until now, Sarna had followed what Lincoln was saying; it was a conversation they'd had and she has no issues with what might be considered normal or abnormal depending on one's culture. Her uncle is a droid in a relationship with a human woman, after all. How much more abnormal could you get? She sighs almost dismissively, but the last thing he says catches her offguard and her mouth drops open. "What are you talking about? Of course how you feel matters," she scoffs. "In fact I'd say right now it matters more than what any of us think." She looks down at her hands, not wanting to look at either of them at this moment.

As Lincoln starts to spill the drama their talk had begun to unfold to all of them, Delphine at first raises a surprised brow at the forcefulness of Lincoln's demeanor, words seeming to burst out of the often stoic lawman. She folds her arms across her white tunic as she listens and feels like she's being lectured to for a while. But then he says stuff about him being 'secondary' whatever that means. "So, you're saying you have no agency in this? Is the matriarchy so engrained that it permeates into...." Delphine makes a small frustrated sound as she struggles to get to the heart of what Lincoln is saying. She folds her arms again and her normally smiling lips fall into a straight line and there's a bite to her tone. "But you made it very clear last night who you feel. And I've accepted that. So...?"

Lincoln lifts his hands some and shakes his head, "It is not that my opinion is invalid, it is that my opinion on the matter comes secondary to that of females." He explains, "And to infer that our ways are backwards, is the same as if I were to state that it is very confusing that the two of you have not sat down to discuss the issue between one another." He looks then to Delphine, "And yes, I did explain when you asked, which is the proper method. I did not realize you had yet to speak to Sarna regarding it. So we will discuss such things at present... and if it makes either of you uncomfortable I apologize. But let us be up front regarding tensions."

Sarna furrows her brow and rubs at her temple with her fingertips. "I see," she says slowly to the marshal, and it's clear she's working out the ramifications of what he's saying while reserving judgment. "I didn't quite realize..." She swallows and glances over at Delphine, clasping her hands together almost too tightly on top of the table. "I didn't know we had anything to discuss," she murmurs. "I'm sorry, Lady Aurelia. I didn't know I was..." Her slight shoulders rise and fall and she shakes her head from side to side. "If I've made you feel like you can't talk to me, I apologize. I suppose I should've been more upfront with you, but I guess, I... I guess I thought it was obvious to someone with your perceptions."

Delphine's eyes sparkle with moisture by the time Lincoln has finished. Then Sarna speaks and she can't contain her feelings any longer. She turns to face Sarna fully and reaches out to grasp her hands with both of hers. "Sarna Valios Starker. I am sorry. I didn't mean to shut you out. Nor do I try to intrude on people's private thoughts but of course I could see how you were feeling. I was worried about you, so I spoke to Lincoln to make sure he was being careful with your feelings." She sniffs back her emotions a bit, steeling herself to speak these next words. "Then something happened. I hadn't allowed myself to believe that I'd let mere attraction begin to turn into something else. You see...that's why I've felt I need to be reassigned. So that I'm not in the way. Because you're my dearest friend and I love you."

Lincoln nods his head slowly, looking between the two girls and smiling some as Delphine opens up and shares her feelings with Sarna, "This is why we conduct ourselves as we do. It is quite easy for misunderstandings to arise." He folds his hands then and looks at Sarna, "What I informed Delphine," not Lady Aurelia in this context, "Was that while I harbor feelings regarding many things at present. I feel I did not make it clear that I do care for you Delphine, although perhaps not in the intent you may have been desiring."

Delphine just nods and withdraws a hand, covering her mouth mouth and closing her eyes. "Thank you for understanding. "It's in the will of the Force, now. And The Enclave. Meantime...I'll stay elsewhere if that makes things easier for everybody." But then she looks at Lincoln and places a hand on his arm. "And thank you. I...I just need some time. That's all."

Lincoln shakes his head slowly, "I do not have a need of you to do such Delphine, unless that is something that you feel the need to do. You are welcome under my roof, and always will be." He nods to her then, "Time is warranted, but to contain that which you feel from those it impacts... it is not our way, and I do not believe it should be our way either."

"...... Triangle."

Siika, by now, has completely finished her martini. Her eyes look from one to the other, and a smoky grin has grown on her face. Her words are quiet, but confident and delivered with a 'told you so' tone that only Sarna might truly understand.

"I //knew// it."

Sarna briefly tries to meet Lincoln's gaze so she can try to convey her agreement with what he says. She opens her mouth to say something else to Delphine, but then Siika finds her voice and the youngest one at the table turns red to her earlobes and sits back hard in her seat. "Siika!" she hisses through teeth.

The young woman's blush and protest actually make Delphine smile and she gives Siika a fond look before squeezing Sarna's hand again. "It's alright," she tells Sarna. "We're not, now, are we?" Delphine really had come to regard the young Jedi as her closest friend and ally. Delphine hadn't been in one place with the same people outside of The Enclave in more years than she can recall. "And that's gotta be okay." She lets go of both Lincoln and Sarna and moves to stand. She leans over and gives Siika's shoulders a warm squeeze. "Glad your back. But I think I need to take another walk. There's a garden area I passed by earlier."

Lincoln nods to Delphine and her words before managing to give all a smile, "With that concluded, I am going to proceed with packing. I need to head to the mountains for a couple of days to deal with a situation that keeps creeping up. Of course you're all welcome to use my place to work out of."

An honest to goodness giggle comes from the trouble-making young cyborg. It's worth noting that the martini doesn't seem to have her sloshed beyond belief, but that's certainly not the topic of the hour.

"You go right on and tell Kira to contact me aboard the //Servant Mercy//," Siika tells Lincoln, meaningfully. Seeing Delphine rising, she does so as well, giving the Acolyte a reassuring smile. Perhaps now she understands, with cleared air, why she stole away with Sarna earlier.

Finally, her attention turns to Vee-Four. "As for //you//. I've got one hell of an oil bath to show you." She gestures for Vee-Four to come along, then turns her attention back to Lincoln. "Mountains would be nice," she says with a quiet lust for someplace clean of technology for a change, but recants such musings as there's work to be done. "I may slave chain my comm feed to your computer, but I'll be sure to install a tracking barrier, same as I have aboard my ship."