Report to the Marshal

The Players: Sarna, Lincoln

Marshal's Office

The Marshal's office in Tier is located not terribly far from the commercial district, but far from being a centerpiece of the area. It is tucked among a few warehouses that are used for market storage and is rather non-descript, the only way to really identify it as any sort of official building is by asking the locals. The thick durasteel doors separate the interior and exterior, within which can be found what one might expect on a Rim planet. A pair of cells with appropriate restraints and security fields, a desk that is linked to a console for accessing news and report filing and a rather comfortable chair that looks like it may have seen better days. The ceilings are low due to a reinforcement layer found there and the walls are thick to the exterior turning the area into a pseudo bunker. A security door leads further into the offices, into an area that serves as the living space for the Marshal.

In the living area, a simple layout exists with three rooms none of which are large. The first leads into a living area where a sofa and chair exist for comfort sitting along with a vid screen. Cooking apparatus and storage is located in the corner. The next room is the sleeping area where a rather large bed and dressers that need straightening exist and the third serving as the personal area.

Obvious exits:

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

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

Lincoln

A human male, tall for his species at around 6'2" in height, the frame of the individual is lean. His eyes are a vibrant blue and dark hair peeks out from beneath a wide brimmed hat that shields his features. He has a well lined jaw and a few crags on his features that show experience being outdoors, a rugged look. He is dressed in rather plain clothes, a vest with a few items upon it such as energy packs and a comlink. His pants maintain the rugged look and at his hip hangs a badge or sigil of some kind that is bronze in color and looks to have a hint of officialness to it.

(Liam Hemsworth is the motivation for the look with a sort of 'cowboy' feel in the clothing)

Sarna

         A young human female of average height who appears to be in her late teens. Her face is rounded with youth, yet the large hazel eyes flecked with green and gold that dominate her features are intelligent and confident. Her long, wavy dark hair is worn unbound, allowing it to fall to her waist. A white, cowled cloak covers her shoulders and falls to her polished brown hide boots. A pair of layered tunics in contrasting earthen brown tones are covered by a rust-hued tabard that's cinched at her narrow waist with a broad obi and a leather belt lined with pouches for storage. A holster for a blaster hangs at her hip, while the hilt of a lightsaber is clipped to her belt. On her legs she wears a pair of white, tight-fitting trousers tucked into her boots.

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

It had been an eventful period since the incident in the spaceport. Lincoln had gone about his day doing the normal work he does, dealing with issues of sorting out disputes between vendors, the occasional petty theft investigation but nothing to the level of what had happened before. Now, the Marshal finally makes his way to the office to enter reports but rather than doing such he finds himself sitting staring at the viewer screen with a far off expression and furrowed brow.

He does not realize that he is talking to himself, speaking under his breath while doing so. "This is way over your pay scale Lincoln, so why are you still thinking over it?"

With a soft swishing sound, the door from the Ward Bazaar slides open, and standing there is the girl who's caused such a fuss for everyone. Sarna glances over her shoulder before slipping inside, her eyesight adjusting from the bright sunny day outside to the dimmer lighting of the Marshal's Office. When she spots Lincoln at his vidscreen and takes a deep breath, her hands clenching at her sides. "Sorry to bother you, Marshal," she says lowly. "I hope it's not a bad time." At her heels, Vee-Four emits a high-pitched beep of greeting, always glad to see a keeper of the peace. "I thought you might have been hearing some rumors," she adds with a sidelong look.

Looking up from his desk, Lincoln turns the chair some and rotates to look at Sarna, his eyes drifting over her from head to toes before glancing at Vee-Four. "You could say that. Quite a few rumors." He waits just a moment longer then the man gestures to the chair on the other side of the desk from him. "I think, Miss, that it might be best if you sit down. I'll get a pot of tea going and you can start at the beginning." He pauses then adds, "And I do mean the beginning." Another turn of his chair and he turns on a nearby burner with a pot resting atop it.

"Right." Sarna tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and goes to the chair, sitting down in a slow but fluid movement. She rests her hands on her knees while Vee-Four takes a look around the office assessingly and comes to rest near his Master's feet. "Well. The beginning would be... crazy long," she starts with a flip of her hand and an upward roll of her eyes. "I mean, my life... it's complicated." Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she looks around the office, taking in the details of the room, her gaze lingering on the old, beat-up chair and then the marshal himself across from her. "I ran into that Telgossian in the Plaza a few weeks back. He asked me for help collecting a bounty. He was having trouble locating the target, so I said I'd help him out, for a small cut, of course."

As Sarna settles herself into the seat, Lincoln spends a few moments straightening the desk up some, a task that really he should do more often. Data chips and papers begin put into drawers and stacked more neatly. When she begins to speak he settles in with elbows on the desk, eyes glued upon the young woman. "Which would explain why, upon first meeting, several people believed you to be a bounty hunter since you were assisting him," Lincoln fills in more for himself than anything.

Giving a modest shrug of her shoulders, Sarna half-smiles coyly. "Something like that. But it was only a one-time deal. I caught the guy for him, and no harm came to anyone, though he pissed himself scared. I got fifteen percent of the bounty." Then she draws a breath and her expression changes, a rare hint of worry knotting her brow as she folds her arms on the desk and leans forward to meet the lawman's gaze. "But he didn't approve of my methods. He acted as if I had choked the guy to death with my bare hands. It didn't make any sense to me at the time."

"Did you?" Lincoln asks levelly, eyes and gaze not fluctuating. "Kill him that is?" The question is as emotionless as the man can manage while speaking and in the lingering silence the soft whistle of the tea kettle reaching temperature pierces. After a blink of his eyes, he breaks gaze with Sarna and turns to get the kettle and a pair of cups setting to pouring the drink. Turning back, he places one in front of her. "Go on."

"What?" Sitting back in her seat, Sarna looks flabbergasted at the very suggestion, her green-gold eyes going very wide. "No! Of course not!" Her heart pounding in outrage, she's silent as the marshal gets up to retrieve the tea, and she clenches her hands on her knees. "No," she says more calmly this time. "All I did was... was this." She sits up and looks down at Vee-Four, whose cone-shaped head pivots to meet her gaze as he gives a questioning beep. She nods to the little droid, then her eyes slide shut and her hand lifts to turn in a minute motion in the air.

With a tiny squealing beep from the droid, he begins to lift from the ground, his singular wheel spinning in place and ocular sensors blinking from blue to yellow. He hovers there in the air, unable to escape from the invisible grasp around him, and then for effect, a dribble of oil oozes from his lower chassis to splatter on the floor.

Sarna opens her eyes and then frowns at her little friend. "Okay, that part of the re-enactment was not necessary," she scolds him.

Lincoln keeps himself in check, the display something certainly not seen every day but he manages to settle himself back into his seat with the tea cups set between the two of them. "First, understand that I have to ask all questions that may be important, so please don't get upset with them," his voice is quiet as he says that. "And there is a difference between killing and murder. That said... I could see how that.. trick?" He pauses, taking a breath and sip of his tea.

"I could see how that trick could cause some to be upset. Based on what I heard at the starport and pieced together... I think there's a deeper level of things going on, yes?"

Gently, the droid is returned to the ground, and Sarna frowns as she grips the edge of the desk in front of her. "I'm not upset," she says, reigning her emotions in, remembering all the admonishments to be calm and patient from all her past lessons. "I just learned a lesson that day not to let other people see my abilities." She swallows hard at that admission, though, and then wraps her hands around the cup of tea. "I didn't hurt anyone," she repeats. "And I didn't mean to upset anyone. I guess. But the hunter said he had an offer to make me -- a choice. I met up with him to hear him out, after he sent people after me to make the request. Turns out the choice was either help him hunt down and kill other people like me, or die myself."

Vee-Four whistles sadly and she reaches down and pats his head as if he were a pet. "My droid has the whole incident recorded, if you don't believe me," she adds. "One of his henchman didn't like his threats. Said he was breaking the deal. So she helped me escape the scene."

"Did he indicate why he was looking to hunt other people like you?" Lincoln asks as he sets his tea cup down having sipped at it while Sarna was speaking. "And was the individual he recruited you to locate also ... capable of abilities?" The pair of questions comes as Lincoln finds himself staring, not studying and he blinks back his focus and readjsuts it to a more professional expression. "When I had spoken with you before... I had offered protection as best could be managed. That offer still stands."

The girl's lips screw up into a frown as she considers her answer, blinking a few times as she meets the marshal's gaze. "I don't know if the man had powers or not. I don't think so? But it didn't even occur to me at the time, so I didn't ask. I thought it was just a regular bounty." She runs her hand over her mouth and closes her eyes for a moment, remembering back to the scene on the beach, and how horrorstruck she'd been when she realized Malideus's true intentions. "It sounded to me like he was some sort of a religious zealot. He has the same powers, you see, but thinks he and the rest of us are cursed for it. If you're not hunting them down, you don't even deserve to live."

"That is a rather grim view of life. That you are cursed and the only solution is to seek to kill others like you because they are cursed," Lincoln comments softly again half to himself but also to Sarna. "So if I may? This is what I have in front of me. I have a young woman who, based on what you've said, is a bit out of her element. You took a job and in the process of said job, this man... Malideus? He discovered you are capable of certain things and has given you an ultimatum to either assist him in seeking others like you and killing them, or dying yourself."

Nodding her dark head, Sarna leans forward, relief obvious in her voice. "Yes, that's exactly it," she replies fervently. "As far as Malideus knows, I'm offworld, but I wanted to clear the air. I know how rumors are around here. Maybe it's best if I do find a way off Valentine's World." She glances around the office again and takes a quick sip of the tea, finding her mouth suddenly dry. "Listen, as worried as I might be for myself, I feel that the Enclave needs to be warned about this guy if they don't know about him already. They offered to take me in, but I'm not sure they want someone with a hunter on their tail."

"Hmm. Well, I will be straight forward I don't meddle much with the Enclave. I've never had issues with their people that I've encountered, the few times someone claims to be from there. That to be said, I can't vouch for them either," Lincoln admits softly with thought. "Now if this Hunter believes you've left the world on a ship, odds are he won't be doubling back for some time so you have a window to think and piece it together. But in my experience? If someone wants to recruit you to their cause or side or what have you, they usually give the ultimatum and then apply pressure for awhile." The Marshal grins, a small blush hitting his cheeks. "See, if they're trying to recruit you they don't want you dead. So they'll extend themselves as far as they can to get you until they believe you're a direct threat to them."

"I don't much about the Enclave myself," Sarna admits, glancing away and chewing on her lower lip. "Everything is different here than where I come from. Still, room and board and three square meals is nothing to easily dismiss..."

That last piece of advice draws her attention back to the marshal in time to catch the blush and she chuckles lowly as she sips from the teacup. "That is a good point. I have a feeling he'll probably at least try to make the offer one more time before he decides I'm better off dead."

"At least once more. Killing someone, well that's the one thing that doesn't have a do over," Lincoln comments quietly and then takes a deep breath. "You really hit it on the head there. A square meal. I'm going to go on a limb and say you haven't eaten today if not longer. What say we hop over to the cafe around the corner, get you a bite and then see if we can find your Enclave contact and you can feel out that situation?" He pauses and then adds, "Listen, you're welcome here as long as you need to sort things out."

Brightening, Sarna gives the older man a broad smile. It's as if he can hear the rumbling of her empty stomach, and she's certainly hungry if her eager reply is any indication. "I think that's the best idea I've heard today," she agrees. "Thanks, Marshal. You're a real hero. And hey, if you ever need a deputy..." Winking slyly, she stands up and holds out her hand to shake on it.

Lincoln stands up as well and take's the woman's hand in his, shaking it some, "I'll keep that in mind. Just... don't spread rumors about taking in strays, yeah? I have a reputation to uphold about being a hardnose lawman." With the shake, he tilts his head towards the door. "Come on, let's go get you some food. And yes, the Droid can come too."

Sarna traces her lips with two pinched fingers, effectively zipping them shut. "I won't tell," she promises, smiling again as she heads towards for door. "Come on, Vee! It's time to eat!"