Clean Lawman, Dirty Thoughts

The Players: Sarna, Delphine, Lincoln

Marshal's Office -- Tier City: Valentine's World

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.

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With the word that the Marshal had been called out of town on business of sorts, Sarna has reclaimed the empty bedroom before anyone else has a chance, and even though it's early evening, she's already retired there, lounging on top of the bed, her head propped in one hand as she scrolls through news reports from the HoloNet on a datapad to keep her mind somehow occupied. The blue light reflects off her face as she frowns, then flicks it off and rolls onto her back. At the foot of the bed, Vee-Four beeps a single questioning tone to her, and she smiles up at the ceiling. "That's right, Vee, you get to go to the Droid Spa tomorrow. I did promise!"

The challenges of festival time were growing as the trade faires were approaching which led to an increase of both domestic transit to Tier City and offworlders as well. The local issues, Lincoln could leave to the handful of deputies but when large disputes arose he found himself called to address them and it had taken him to the mountain regions where some disagreements had arisen. Accusations of theft were very uncommon, but even more uncommon was the fact that evidence indicated it had happened. Although he had intended to stay out in the Mountains to resolve it, something had tugged him back to the city and so with the falling of the early evening he makes his way into his office/home not fully knowing what to expect considering the previous days of his absence.

After the strenuous nature of the trip to the Silke, Delphine has found extra meditation to be the best remedy from any residual affectations she may still suffer from. She is cross legged on one of the couches in the main room, arms resting on her knees. Several objects float around her including her shock batons and an extra hat that was hanging on another rack nearby. She looks serene but there is a weariness not usually seen in the youthful Acolyte's fair features.

Vee-Four emits a series of beeps that makes Sarna sit up straight, her eyes going wide. "What? Now??" She hops quickly off the bed, smoothing the blankets and fluffing the pillow once, before going to the door and opening it. There the ripples in the Force stop her in her tracks before she even sees the floating objects surrounding Delphine, but she smiles at the sight and shakes her head. It is still strange to know someone else who has abilities like hers, and she has to wonder what else they can learn from each other. She fights off her worry about the Acolyte's condition, and glances at the open front entrance as the wayward Lincoln returns. "Welcome home! I don't think we broke anything!" she greets cheerfully.

Lincoln looks a little road worn, having done some hard travel and walking along with the ride back to town in short order. He pulls off his jacket to hang it on the hook near the door, shaking it some with a small amount of dust coming off it. His reaction upon seeing the objects floating is shocked; which does not translate well considering his exhaustion resulting in him just standing there staring for a few moments before he blinks his eyes. "You sure? I think y'all broke gravity..."

At the sound of doors opening and then people talking, Delphine slowly comes out of her trance and the objects descend softly to the floor once more. Her seaglass eyes open and she looks on the returning Lincoln. "Sorry..." she says sensing his shock. "I normally wouldn't do that aroud...well, you know." She unfolds her legs and rises from the couch, and asks coyly, "How was your trip?"

Sarna laughs at Lincoln's declaration. It certainly wasn't the first time there'd been floating objects in his office lately. "How are you feeling, Lady Aurelia?" she asks the other woman. "Better I hope." When Delphine rises, the girl sits, crossing her legs in the armchair and hugging a pillow to her chest.

"I'm not entirely sure to be frank," Lincoln replies to Delphine as he starts to walk towards the bathroom area. He speaks while walking, unbuttoning his shirt to apparently hop in the shower but raising his voice to speak as he moves away in that direction. "There's nothing that should be concerning me, but I just have this feeling, y'know? That itch in the back of your neck that something isn't right. I was going to stay out there tonight, but after thinking on it I decided it best to come in, grab a few things and head out for a couple more days. Which means a bit more supply than what I'd taken with." The sound of water erupts as he turns it on and he calls back out. "What of you two, everything go well enough you made it back?"

Delphine picks up her impromptu meditation objects and returns them to their storage spots. "There were some hairy moments but...we are here, we did what we wanted to accomplish, and we made it back." Indeed, they almost all died but did they really want to tell Lincoln that? It sounds like he has enough to worry about. To Sarna she smiles warmly. "Much. Feeling quite myself now. "Oh!" she shouts towards Lincoln in the other room. "You had a visitor by the way."

If anyone knows about that itch in the back of their neck to tell them something is wrong, it's a Jedi, and Sarna arches her brows as she watches Lincoln disappear into the other room. "It went well," she agrees with Delphine after clearing her throat. "I mean, at least, we accomplished our mission, and no one died. So I call that success." Her smile turns mischievous as her green eyes dance with humor. "Oh yes, indeed. Someone stopped by to deliver your laundry and groceries, too," she says in a clearly teasing tone.

There's silence for a few moments, then Lincoln's voice speaks back up, "Yeah, my mother does those things for me. She tells me I'm too busy to take care of it." He may be an investigator at heart but it did seem to take him a bit to piece that together. "I was trying to think of who else would visit. What do you mean things got hairy? Did you run into a Wookiee?" The sound of running water still emanates from the bathroom.

Delphine exchanges a look with Sarna and nearly burst out in a girlish giggle. Instead she tries to stifle it. Her body shakes but her lips are tightly shut. Especially when there is the hanging silence and her cheeks flush making her look like a mischievous elfin creature. "Ha ha! No wookiees silly!" the Acolyte replies. "Just a rather angry ghost who wanted to absorb us into its collection of souls," she says with a spooky aspect to her voice. "She seems nice, your mom..."

For some reason it pleases Sarna that he didn't react with embarrassment to his mother's arrival, but knowing what she does about the people here, it shouldn't surprise her. The mothers rule the world. Her own laugh catches in her throat and she presses her fingers to her lips to suppress more giggles. "Oh yes, the ghost was angry, and hungry!" she adds dramatically. "Fortunately the droids were there to save the day." She wrinkles her nose playfully at Delphine, giving her a knowing wink.

The silence continues once again, when Lincoln finally calls out again there's confusion in his tone, "Did you say a ghost?" He asks it and then adds on, "And people wonder why I don't leave the planet..." A few more moments pass and then the water cuts off and he speaks once again, still loudly but no longer having to be quite as yelly. "She does a lot to help out, growing up since I was only a half, I wasn't always accepted by everyone." His talking continues and then he emerges from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. "With everyone else having large families and then there was just me, I think she always felt guilty and like she has to make something up to me."

"But we should let you wash the dust off...." Delphine was tempted to offer to help but that might be a tease too far so she just smiles to herself. She sits back down on the couch, tucking her legs up next to her, her feet still being bare. She takes a moment when she catches sight of Lincoln in the towel, she doesn't shy away from taking in all that view has to offer. "You're lucky to have someone who cares for you that much. Oh, she also got a bit of a wrong impression with us two and Siika being here together..."

Though she's unaware of it at first, Sarna's mouth drops open at the sight of the half-naked Lincoln, and she gapes for several seconds before managing to regain control of her expression, to some extent. She catches Delphine's look as well and sinks back into the chair, feeling like she might slide right onto the floor. "She was very kind," she says softly, reiterating the Acolyte's point, but stopping short when Delphine goes on.

Lincoln makes the walk from the shower area towards his bedroom, passing both women while doing so. If he is uncomfortable he doesn't seem to be showing it at present, even when he chuckles at the news. "Oh no, that's not the wrong impression. From her perspective at least. It is festival time, so people tend to be even more open and free around here than usual. So at the worst she thought I was entertaining you all, at the best she was probably hoping there was more going on." He disappears into the bedroom then and the sound of drawers opening can be heard. "I'm thinking though, if you are going to be here longer; which I definitely do not mind, you're going to need some kind of story."

"Well, any story should have an element of truth to it...." the Acolyte says, idly playing with a length of her hair. "Any ideas?" She watches poor Sarna seem to melt away for a moment and though she wants to spare her she also isn't done with the conversation about Lincoln's mother. "And she definitely thought it was more alright. Wanted to know which of us was Primus!"

"What... what kind of story do you have in mind?" Sarna asks, glancing furtively at Lincoln as he passes by without trying to seem as obvious about it as the older woman is. Her mouth opens and closes a couple of times as if she might have an idea, but she doesn't come up with much. She gives a shallow laugh instead and nods. "Yes, she seemed to think it was past time," the girl says. "Is that why she still takes good care of you, you haven't formed your... uh..." She waves a hand vaguely, not knowing what word to use.

"Partner," Lincoln replies back as he exits to the doorway of the bedroom, pulling a shirt on as he stands there, dressed in some shorts and speaking. "Yeah, that's the real push around here. To reach a point where you form that attachment." He shrugs and looks between the two women, "The simple stories are the best. If folks ask, just tell them that you're staying with me through the festival after I convinced you of the fun of it. You'll be able to come and go without raising suspicions of anything off. Most will suspect that anyway so just confirm what their mind wants to see." That's when he pauses and looks at Sarna, then to Delphine, then back to Sarna, "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Sounds good to me," Delphine says of the plan, stretching her arms out to the side. "Mmmph. Still a little sore from getting slammed when the venting stopped..." she murmurs referencing the women's trip to the asteroids. Then Lincoln questions Sarna and she gets a puzzled look, scratching the back of her head.

Giving Delphine a sidelong look at his version of their story, Sarna suppresses a smile and shrugs her small shoulders. "I suppose that works as well as any," she agrees, and gives Delphine a sympathetic look. "That was a rough one. I've still got bruises, too. Thank goodness for Boomer," she says with a relieved sigh. But Lincoln's final question makes her sit up straight and look at him, puzzled. "What? What was me?"

Lincoln tilts his head towards the bedroom, "You were in there, right?" He asks with a grin, "Don't worry about it, I'm not worried about you ruining the place." He then drops serious and looks between the two women, "Morning, before wandering off, let me know what you two are thinking for your next moves? I may actually want back up if things go badly out there. Like I said, something just isn't sitting right..." He shakes his head and then turns to head to lay down, tossing out, "Don't forget to sleep somewhere comfortable."

Delphine's expression turns to mock scandalized to intrigued. "Back up?" She looks at Sarna and gives an approving nod. "We could do that...it'll be a while before DLM-1 finds his master." Loud she calls after Lincoln. "Yeah...we can do that! Sleep well, Marshal."

One corner of Sarna's mouth turns up in an embarrassed grin and she glances away perhaps coyly. Then she curls up into the cushions of the armchair and adjusts it into a more horizontal position. "Well, there's only so many places to sleep," she points out, her guilt perhaps given away as well by Vee-Four who comes zipping out of the bedroom when he realizes its rightful owner has returned. "But I didn't disturb anything, I promise. Anyway, I'm fine here. You look like you need the bed worse than me." Though she might be teasing, there's worry in her tone as well, but she grabs a blanket and pulls it up over herself, before she perks up at the prospect of another adventure. She returns Delphine's nod eagerly. "Sure, we can be backup!" she agrees. "Sweet dreams."