3110/Moving Forward

Moving Forward
Date of Scene:	28 September 2015
Location:	Faraway Galaxy <FG>
Synopsis:	Juno seeks the counsel of Kyra Hyral, and implores her to pass along a message to the Union on her behalf.
Cast of Characters:	428, 626

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Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
Juno Eclipse had indicated to Kyra Hyral that she wanted to meet, and so an encrypted transmission had been sent to the MSV Rafflesia with coordinates, a time, and a date.

It's now that time and date. The Rogue Shadow idles in silence amidst a beautiful nebula, using the ambient gases to hide its signatures. Finding the ship by any sort of sensory equipment is almost impossible; after a certain distance into the nebula, it's up to improvisation and visual cues.

She's here, though, and she waits patiently. Actually, Juno herself is killing time by inspecting a few of the ship's systems -- she's stripped down to a tank top and her black pants, scuffed black Imperial boots, and a fully-laden tool belt with all manner of things thrust through it, with an access panel thrown off its moorings and the Rogue Shadow's innards exposed for Juno to pick through. She's sifting through the wiring and examining the physical connectors, apparently making sure that nothing's actually corroding or exposed.

Engineering includes the most basic of remedies, like "make sure it's plugged in," or "make sure the connectors are connected..."

It's there Kyra will find her whenever she docks with the larger transport, a small hydrospanner clenched between her teeth and wholly absorbed in her task as PROXY mans the sensors.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Visiting Juno always meant a game of 'find the spaceship' for very obvious reasons. Kyra herself had gotten pretty accustomed to reading and interpreting the sensor and navigational data of the Rafflesia over the past few months. Gradually she was learning the ins and outs of spaceship operation through it would still be a while before she disengaged many of the auto-pilot functions the AI of the ship ran. But in the case of the Rogue Shadow, it was all on Kyra herself to spot the ship, the masking abilities of the Rogue Shadow too great for the Rafflesia to detect via it's usual sensor suite.

    The usual skirt she sports has been exchanged for jeans, which are a little bit more zero-G friendly and less prone to flipping up in awkward positions as a skirt might. Her bandoliers filled with equipment remain an ever-present fixture on her body, criss-crossing her chest. Finally, it wouldn't be Kyra without her moogle hoodie. Fortunately, in space, she can wear the hood down far more often.

    Juno will feel the distant thump as the Rafflesia docks with the ship. Moments pass as Kyra herself boards and seeks out the blonde pilot. It, of course, does not take her long to locate Juno. Despite the obvious task focus, Kyra announces her presence with a cheerful: "Hi Juno!"

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
And there is her expected guest. Juno reacts not at all when the ship lurches at the boarding dock, aside from easing a tangle of wires back into the open access hatch. By the time Kyra finally makes her appearance, the pilot glances over her shoulder with a wave, but it seems to be a gesture asking for time -- 'a moment, please.'

It only takes her a moment to arrange the rest of the wires back into the ship, carefully plucking the hydrospanner from her teeth and replacing it on the already-laden toolbelt.

"There you are. I was beginning to wonder if I'd hidden a little too well this time," Juno greets the white mage with a grin. "Glad you could make it, in any case. I figured you might want to do your job--" That is to say, Be A White Mage, "--and I also wanted to talk about something else, too."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Though the gesture is pretty nuanced, Kyra can recognize it immediately. It isn't a shooing motion but more of a promise that in a few minutes, Juno will give her a proper greeting. Kyra realizes she must've interrupted her in the middle of something and while she doesn't feel bad about it, she doesn't press her own distracting self beyond creeping a little closer. She tries to peer over Juno to see what she's doing, rewarded with the unexciting view of wire rearrangement.

    "It's hard getting around and finding things when you don't let the computer do it." she says, then looks a little embarassed, "Well...it is for /me/ at least. I doubt you have those problems! But hey, all that extra time spent searching let me be extra sure I wasn't followed. Not that anyone has a good reason to follow me anyway. They-" she probably means The Empire "-have no idea that I'm actually coming out to help you. If anything, /most/ people think my role has been limited to words of encouragement on the radio and I've put in effort to have people keep thinking that way!"

    Speaking of doing her job, "How have you been holding up, by the way? Health all good?"

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"You're getting better with the sensors, but if it were that easy to find me, I might as well go back to Corulag and turn myself in." Juno pullls a sour expression, briefly. "Still, I should teach you a few things about how to find things with your eyes. It's not good to rely on sensors /too/ much, just as it's not good to go without them too much, either."

Juno shrugs; one sinuous roll of a shoulder, distracted. "Maybe not. I wouldn't assume anything, though. The Empire has eyes and ears everywhere, and even if they're not actively following you, I wouldn't assume that they aren't aware of your comings and goings. It's part of the reason why I choose a different rendezvous point every time. Better to have them underestimate you, if at all possible, and any of their Confederate allies."

"And I don't think for a moment I'm out of /those/ woods, either." That is to say, she's fairly certain there's still a long list of Confederates who wouldn't have any qualms about turning her in for the bounty.

Folding her arms, she leans against the bulkhead behind her, shrugging again; this time with a careless toss of her head to clear her hair from her eyes. "As well as can be expected. I haven't noticed anything particularly off, if that's what you're saying, but I have a fairly high tolerance for being out of balance and sleep-deprived."

It's the natural state for most TIE pilots, you know," she asides. "The Empire fosters a constant state of hunter's anxiety. They say it makes for better pilot performance, but I have a hard time believing that. Anyway, it was useful to me; it's increased my tolerance for... 'roughing it,' shall we say."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Actually, that's what I've been doing to find you." Kyra says, embarassed still, "I don't know how to program the sensors very well but I do know how to watch video feed. In fact, I watch /lots/ of video feed. Staring at the outside space video feed is how I was able to find your ship."

    She laughs nervously, "Better to have them not know I'm here at all. But you're right about one thing. The Confederates don't expect me to sneak around like this. They'd expect me to travel in a group." She follows this up with a quick shake of the head, "Oh yeah, I don't think anyone's going to forget traitors anytime soon. You're right to be careful because the moment your guard slips is when they'll swoop in for that bounty." Kyra makes dramatic arm flaps to emphasize her point.

    Evenly, she nods, "So no mysterious headaches or anything that would indicate some kind of advanced stage of Vader tampering? Not that I could really identify those conditions-" As if to illustate, she does cast a basic Scan spell on Juno. The white magic Scan spell is a simple way of checking the generic health of the target and would tell Kyra if Juno was still suffering under any "status effects" such as persistant poison.

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"Whatever works, I suppose." Juno rolls one shoulder in a shrug, glancing down the corridor before turning her attention back to Kyra. "Sometimes that's the best way to find things; to trust your eyes. For example, you can't see the Rogue Shadow unless you play a game of 'spot the difference.'"

She smiles, flatly. "I don't intend to be easy prey, no. I'm not going to be dropping my guard any time soon. It's exhausting, but it beats being dead. Or worse." Yes, worse. She's fairly confident Vader can do things to her that would make her /wish/ for a clean death; a traitor's death.

"No mysterious headaches, or anything else alarming." Juno raises her arms and shrugs elabourately. Everything scanned comes back clean; there's certainly nothing wrong with her, aside from the usual complement of exhaustion, but she's proven she's quite good at pushing past that. "Of course, do you think I'd even know it if he managed something like that? Vader's good at what he does."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "You really can't." Kyra agrees, "That's why it took me so long to get here. I hope I didn't worry you too much with the waiting." Kyra moves around now so she can get at least to the side of Juno. She half expects that they're going to walk somewhere on the Rogue Shadow instead of standing around.

    "Or worse." Kyra agrees. "I don't like thinking about what might be an 'or worse' out of Darth Vader."

    Kyra falls silent for a few seconds so she can study the results of her Scan spell. "Everything checks out, then." she both agrees with Juno and confirms via her magic. The exhaustion isn't surprising since Juno has previously explained at length her arrangement with her former Sith. Although Kyra didn't like the idea of anyone shirking sleep, in this case it was merited and unavoidable.

    "Hmm. You know, I'd like to think you would be able to feel something slightly 'off' perhaps, but unable to put your finger on it. You have a strong will and even if someone managed to subvert it I believe your subconscious would give you little 'tells' that not all is right."

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"That's the idea." Juno grins, folding her arms and rubbing absently at one forearm with the opposite hand. "If you can't find me that easily, I doubt the Empire can, either. I know how they work; while I can't exactly foretell their every move, I can anticipate a good deal of how they're going to react to given things. I spent enough time in the TIE racks aboard a Star Destroyer. As long as I can stay one step ahead of them... that's good enough for me."

That good cheer sobers, lost in an instant. "No. No, you really don't. I was his prisoner for just a short while, and that was enough for several lifetimes, for me."

"Maybe," Juno concedes, to the issue of Force tampering. "To date I've displayed absolutely zero Force-sensitivity, though. It's possible I might never know if he were trying to do something... but maybe you're right. Maybe I'd notice after all." She shrugs one shoulder. "Enough about Vader, though. I don't even like to waste time thinking about him."

She leans against the bulkhead somewhat casually, watching Kyra. "Actually, the real reason I called you here was to discuss somethign else... if you've got a few moments, anyway."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra seems a little bit more at ease now, between the good-ish bill of health and Juno's clear determination that she can stay one step ahead of the Empire. Worry that she didn't even know she was carrying with her as she embarked upon this impromptu Rebel hunt disappates with this news. "And Garen can kind of sense them coming, can't he? With the Force, right?" Kyra guesses, carefully skirting around the unpleasant issue of being a prisoner of Vader. She hadn't meant to dredge up the memories of Juno's captivity and clearly avoids talking further about the subject.

    "Yeah. I'm honestly kind of just trying to be optimistic here. You'd know more about how the Force works than I do." Kyra says sheepishly. "But I do meant it when I say you have strong will." The white mage taps her fingers together, looking away for a moment. "Yeah, enough about him! So....yeah, what IS it that you wanted to see me about?"

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"Galen? Well, sometimes. I'm not really sure how that works, and he's never really described it in a way that makes much sense to me." Juno shakes her head, resettling her fingers over the opposite folded arm. "At this point, my nerves are so frayed, I'd be able to sense them coming long before they saw the Rogue Shadow. I've been keeping an eye out."

The pilot glances over her shoulder again, as though to ensure there isn't anyone about, and finally glances back to Kyra. "You're part of the Union, correct?" One brow raises, fingers drumming out on her forearm. "I'd appreciate it if you could talk to them for me. More specifically, I'd like to arrange a meeting with one of your officers. I want to join the Union."

"Our options are winding down. We're running out of places to turn, and I think it would be for the best. Even if we can't do anything for the Rebels, we could concentrate our efforts /somewhere/. There's still good we could be doing, with some direction. On a completely selfish note, we could use the support right now." Gesturing, Juno indicates the rest of the ship. "We're not exactly an entire Empire, here. And I think it's obvious that I can't depend on the Flotilla. Yes, we'd be depending on the Union, at least a little... but we'd be able to do work for them that would require a light touch--" That would be Juno, "--or even a heavy one." Like Galen's lightsaber. "I'm not certain whether public association would be a good idea, but surely there's something that could be arranged."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Yes, Galen, I meant Galen. Sorry." Kyra quickly corrects herself. "Mmm. Still..."

    They both get really quiet as Kyra waits. The sudden wary glance over Juno's shoulder makes her stiffen-who else could have snuck on the ship? Unless they came with /her/ and Kyra was pretty sure she was alone on the Rafflesia, save for the muted AI running the ship. "Yeah, as an ally. I don't have rank and I'm not part of the command structure. But if I asked, I think they'd listen to me." Her eyes widen just a little at Juno's admission, "Especially for that."

    Evenly, she nods, listening as Juno explains her conclusions for this move, which Kyra's pretty sure she had to weigh carefully given her past history and real possibility that she would be made to stand for her crimes. She's quiet for a long time.

    She knows exactly what kind of nonpublic association could be arranged but she wisely does not mention it. Sure, she's reckless in most places but this one thing she was not, especially now that she could see the benefit to her friend. "I could drop them a note, yes. As for that kind of association, I don't know, the officers would have to make that call but I really hope something could be agreed on! Because openly associating with the Union would bring you a lot more trouble. Then again, the Union would in turn be able to openly defend you. But! Like I said, that's not my call."

    She grins, "I'll drop them a note."

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"It's easy to confuse them." Juno waves a hand, dismissive. "It's an important distinction to make, though. Garen's part of the Confederacy. He's an Imperial agent, although I don't recall the specifics of his particular Empire. It doesn't matter, now; all I know is that he'll be after Galen or I if he should find the opportunity. If not for the Confederacy, than for his position with whatever Empire it is he serves."

She had never really paid attention to the specifics. Now, she doesn't really have a need to, other than to mark him as a hostile entity.

"Openly associating with the Union would only attract that much more trouble from the Confederacy. I've already got my hands full dealing with them, considering the Empire's Confederate affiliation." Both hands raise, and Juno rubs at her temples, somewhat exasperatedly. "It's a mess, but it's not an insurmountable one. Just a difficult one. If I can dodge Vader breathing down my neck for a little while, or any of Vader's lackeys, then we've got a real chance of making some progress."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Yeah." Kyra agrees. "He'll be after you all the same, just as the rest of the 'feds. I get the feeling they take traitors super seriously." Kyra says in a sober tone.

    Again she lapses into that thoughtful silence before eventually nodding. "I agree. You've been doing well so far but a little extra help on the sly couldn't hurt, right? So do you want them to contact you directly? I can pass on some contact information or I can tell them to go through me to arrange a meeting. I also bet Lowri might want to know?"

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"I think they take the kind of bounty Vader's offering a lot more seriously than personal loyalty," Juno retorts, dryly. "At least, I'm sure there's plenty of them that could be convinced to withdraw whatever goodwill they might have had for me in exchange for an absurd sum of Galactic credits. I've seen the kind of sums Imperial middlemen are offering. In a way, it's almost flattering."

She shrugs, leaning back against the cold bulkhead. "It couldn't hurt. I'd prefer direct contact, as long as you can reinforce the need for secure channels. I'm not about to reach out to them, only to have some enterprising bounty hunter piggyback on the signal and find the Rogue Shadow. Yes, please let Lowri know, although I imagine she's not far away. She's been helping me keep an eye out for the Empire and Confederacy alike, although..."

"That's part of why I want to move forward with this. I can't depend on her indefinitely; it's not fair to her, and it galls on me -- I've always been an independent sort of person." She grins. "Pass on contact information, or I can arrange for -- or receive -- a set of coordinates, if they prefer to meet in person."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Oh yeah? You're getting a lot of money put down your bounty?" Kyra laughs, "I can get the appeal. It's nice to be wanted, right? Even if it's for something awful like /that/."

    Kyra pulls out her phone and starts drafting something up on it with a single thumb as she cradles the device in her hand. "I'll let them know. If they bite, then we can set up a direct, secure channel between you and them for negotiations. I bet they'll want to meet in person though but...don't be surprised if we don't get a response right away. Some stuff happened recently that was rough on some of the Union's officers. Lowri, on the other hand, I bet you'll hear from her soon."

    Juno will definitely hear from Lowri soon. Kyra is very certain of that.

    Her thumb stops abruptly, swipes down across the screen to scroll, then stops again. "And it is done."

Juno Eclipse (428) has posed:
"Have you seen the Imperial bounty posters? The numbers are ridiculous. I think it's the principle of the thing, at this point; although I know that Galen's the real target. They can't afford to let a traitor Inquisitor run around unsupervised, now, can they?" Juno raises a brow, expression skeptical. "He might well talk, and that would be bad for the Empire."

Her expression suggests she's okay with the maximum amount of inconvenience to the Empire; undermining the establishment at every turn has become something of a life's pursuit for her, where once she was content to leave them alone.

The pilot ultimately shrugs, waving one hand dismissively. "I think I can understand life getting in the way of plans, Kyra. I'll be content if they have any interest in negotiating with me at all, but I'm not exactly expecting a priority one transmission, here. Thanks." She blows out a sigh, bowing her head for a few seconds. "That's a weight off my shoulders. At least things can be set in motion, now."

"Stay as long as you like," Juno adds, with a smile that's not unkind. "I think we're fairly safe, here; nothing's going to brave the nebula. There aren't many pilots who like to rely on their eyes. Even the smugglers are wary out here... I can at least offer you something hot to eat and drink before you go."

It won't exactly be restaurant fare, but at least Kyra will have something nice to eat out of it before she decides to head back to civilisation -- and for Juno, some company that isn't a polite but psychotic droid...