Collan, Nightshade, Nill, Nim, Trax: Raid on Horuz

[Nim Naja]

The look was obvious to the Lorrdian and she smiled to the girl. "Sweetheart, we're flying by the seat of our pants here. Feel free to chime in anytime. I'm Nim by the way."

Ooc:" Sweetheart" is meant in a friendly manner, it isn't patronizing in any way. Nim works in a diner, it just comes naturally

[Keshani]

She looked at the man who had not yet introduced himself and the woman who said her name was Nim.

And suddenly she felt the urge to throw up.

She wished she hadn't opened her mouth. The crushing pressure that she felt at the thought of others depending on her came rushing back.

Caring about others got you killed. Allowing others to care about YOU got THEM killed. Neither was acceptable.

Her motto that she had built as a buffer to protect herself over the last few months rang back through her head and the urge to vomit intensified.

"It's just that um....I'm sometimes kinda good at getting around places I shouldn't be..."

She finally answered with a shrug, her demeanor such a stark contrast to the attitude she was giving moments ago.

"And my name is Demaria.", she said quietly in Nim's direction, although there was a flash of something that could almost be interpreted as guilt in her eyes as she said it.

[Niil Spaar]

Niil looked at the map, then back at Demaria with an intrigued look. "So . . . okay, what would you suggest, Demaria?  If you've got an alternate route that could give all of us an edge, then we're all ears.  It'll have to be pretty quick, though; we've probably got a few companies of troopers barreling down on us as we speak.  Oh yeah, the name's Niil, by the way."

[Keshani]

She shook her head. "No...I didn't mean that. Just that I may recognize some things as we go."

She gestured to the map. "We never saw a map of this place and they didn't exactly give us time to look around but I do know some things I'm not supposed to about some side routes and stuff. That's all."

She shrugged again, clearly feeling awkward and out of sorts. "Sorry I can't do more."

[Niil Spaar]

Niil grinned.  "That's a hell of a lot more than we know about this place."  To the others, he said, "I'm for the first route, but only because I don't like the idea of being bottlenecked.  A few of us should put on some trooper armor if we're going for that.  It has a better chance of getting us past the checkpoints.  But if we're going that route, we've got to get that armor on now, and PDQ."

[Collan]

Collan gave the Lorddian infochant a raised eyebrow. Let her see the amusement at her comment. Even Collan could see she and Trax had something going.

"Trax, Niil, and I should wear the armor. We need to decide now though or just get moving."

[Trax]

Trax had been lost in thought as the others planned.  The combination of Nim's confession to him added to the suggestion some of them dawn the trooper armor had his mind reeling and his anger rising.  There was no way he was going to dress up like one of the bastards that was responsible for killing Mariah.  He'd take his chances blasting every single one of them on this station first.  He was about to snap at Collan for even suggesting it but he managed to check his anger.  Then after a few more moments he calmed himself and broke his silence.

"Look, it's not that I'm opposed to tying anyone up," he shot a sideways glance at Nim, and there was a brief playfulness in his eye before addressing the group again.

"But I'm not putting on that armor.  Even the primary route avoids checkpoints and sooner or later, we won't be able to talk our way out.  Besides," Trax now turned to Demaria, the look on his face was one of genuine concern and his tone noticeably softened.

"I'm willing to bet one of us would rather risk fighting the whole way then spend another second in restraints."

The man paused before continuing.

"And we might be able to free up other slaves along the way.  And if they're anything like the wookies that just left, they'd rather fight and die if it means they can take a few imps with them than spend another second in forced labor.  The extra chaos wouldn't be a bad thing.  Or we might even gain a few more allies to help get us to our destination."

[Keshani]

"Look, it's not that I'm opposed to tying anyone up,"

The man who had originally shot the power cable out of Kesh's hands spoke up jarring the teenager out of her own thoughts.

But instead of giggling or showing any type of amusement at this comment the teenage girl seemed to withdraw even further inside herself, physically taking a few steps away from the man and hunching her shoulders over and fists clenching.

The comment about betting that one of them would rather risk fighting the whole way instead of spending another second in restraints just served to intensify the emotions running through the blonde haired girl.

She was sitting in the chair, legs and hands tied as he moved toward her. She was unable to move, to fight, to get away. she was helpless........

She was trembling a bit as she stood there and backed away further (not even consciously being aware she was doing it).

Lost in her own little world the teenager said nothing.

[Collan]

[ooc: harshing my ANH buzz, Ken! ]

Collan shrugged. It was a fair point. And it freed them up to keep moving faster. Still, it was a decent idea.

"Let's get moving then. I don't want to be here when a whole legion shows up."

[ooc: we ready?]

[Nim Naja]

Nim looked to Trax and pouted.

[Trax]

When Trax caught Nim's pout his eyes almost pleaded, don't make me do that....  But before he could say anything he noticed Demaria shrink away.  What had he done?  What had he said?  The rebel was deeply mortified that something he'd said or done had provoked such a strong reaction.  He briefly thought about trying to apologize, but if he was the cause of her reaction, any attempt to apologize or empathize would likely not be met well.

He looked back at Nim, the concern and confusion on his face obvious as he motioned towards the girl.  What did I do? she could read the question on his face.

[Niil Spaar]

Niil shrugged.  "All right then, we'll forget about the trooper armor and get motoring.  I think the primary route's our best bet."


OOC:  Ready to move.

[Nim Naja]

Demaria had clearly already seen much in her young life; Nim didn't think anything they would say could be of much comfort. They were all strangers and it'd take a great deal of time to trust them, if she ever did. She gave Trax a small sympathetic smile and shrug. He'd have to understand that communicating and socializing normally with the girl wasn't going to be easy. But there was a mission and they needed to be able to speak freely regardless.

Nim was disappointed in the charade being turned down, if only because she was looking forward to being a uncooperative prisoner. She was much better with playing a role than with blasting her way through things. She unslung the rifle and held it ready, pointed in a slant to the ground.

"Your lead, Trax."

[Trax]

Trax looked from Nim to Demaria.  He would have to find out what he'd done or said that caused her reaction and apologize for it but they didn't have time.

"Demaria." he said a little louder than normal trying to snap the girl back to attention.

"We need to get moving, are you ready?" he asked, his voice returning to a more normal volume.

[Keshani]

She didn't respond right away, as if she didn't realize her name had been called.

But after a few moments she seemed to realize that Trax was talking to her.

"Let's go.", she answered, her hand tightening on the blaster that she still held (not having any holster to carry it in)