#captain claribel

[violettesiren]

5 I want to tell you, beloved, the poetry given us in the bread, the bed, the song, the audacious spring, the sweet weeping of the child awaking to the day.

It tastes of winter earth, of distance the name that covers us with its mantle. In my hours of shadow and of tears it is a lily that lights my desert.

For all these reasons I love you. The way you talk, your eyelids, your stature, the grace of your gentle movements

as you lay you body down like a river. When the sea closes me within dark night, it is your voice that captains my ship.

from Love Sonnets by Claribel Alegría

[the-mechanized-crossover-event]

The Mechanized Crossover Event Works

Now that authors are revealed, let’s do a rec list of the works!

Please leave comments for these wonderful authors!

And All The Devils Are Here by LadyDragonKiller

Fandoms: Welcome To Night Vale, The Mechanisms

Summary: There was always a time when supplies ran low or panels got dented beyond repair or somebody shot a hole through one of the fuel tanks. In those times, Nastya would sigh, put up a “0” on the “- Days Since Tomfoolery” sign, and go talk to Brian about the nearest suitable place to land.

That sign hadn’t gotten above a “10” for as long as Nastya could remember. At least it saved on the amount of number signs that had to be made.

Beyond the desert haze, a few minutes walk away from the landing site, was a town. Low-slung houses clustered around a marginally taller city center, though none of the buildings were particularly large or impressive even there. However, there was a large radio tower stuck smack-dab in the middle of town, and another on the far side of the settlement. Neither had any signs of disuse, and Nastya wondered at the necessity of having two separate towers for such a small community.Maybe there were a lot of radio enthusiasts about.

Painted World by PrydonianAlchemist

Fandoms: Howl’s Moving Castle, The Mechanisms

Summary: The Mechanisms stop somewhere new and Raphaella has a small encounter with a slightly strange shop owner.

libraries by Koschei_B

Fandoms: Welcome To Night Vale, The Mechanisms

Summary: Ivy wants to see the local Library. 

A Tantalising Door by RamdomReader

Fandoms: The Magnus Archives, The Mechanisms

Summary: In which The Toy Soldier encounters a door and meets Michael. 

A Pocket Full of Posies by Claribelle

Fandoms: Wooden Overcoats, The Mechanisms

Summary:  Rudyard Funn runs a funeral home in Piffling Vale. It used to be the only one. It isn’t anymore. Rudyard remembers a time when the dead stayed dead, however his latest client has taken to getting up every time he turns his back. As he rushes around trying to find a missing corpse, a group of tourists keep getting in his way. Jonny d'Ville is an immortal space pirate. He says he's the captain. He's only the first mate. Jonny is having a terrible time. He woke up dead in the middle of Piffling Vale and now an undertaker has taken to hunting him down. To make matters worse, his crew keeps killing him so they can stay in the village longer.However will these two men survive?

The Toy Soldier's Adventures In Faerun by Rosemarycat5

Fandoms: The Adventure Zone, The Mechanisms

Summary: Only one of the Mechanisms every really interacted with any of the tragic figures who made up the crew of the Starblaster.

But before it could do that, the Toy Soldier found itself in a place full of bright lights, games, horror, and wooden mannequins. This is that story.

Meditation For A Moon by laughs_in_distortion

Fandoms: Doctor Who (1969), The Mechanisms

Summary: It seems the only time you have to stop and think, is when you've just about run out of it.

[aly-the-writer]

Was going through my character pics and decided to post some that I like.

[outoftowninac]

THE SUMMER WIDOWERS

1910

The Summer Widowers was billed as a musical panorama in seven views.  The music was by A. Baldwin Sloane, words by Glen MacDonough with some songs composed by Burt Green. It was directed by Ned Wayburn with scenic design by Arthur Voegtlin and Costume Design by Melville Ellis. The production was produced by Lew Fields, who also starred as Otto Ott. 

The term “summer widowers” refers to husbands left alone when their wives went on vacation without them. In 1910, one Toledo husband made headlines by bringing his wife to court to prevent her leaving him behind!  There was even a novelty song about the situation, the husband of the song very happy to be a summer widower. 

The setting of the musical is in and around Atlantic City, New Jersey, and New York City.  The show called each of its scenes ‘panoramas’. 

The Seven “Panoramas”

The Boardwalk in front of the Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel, in Atlantic City

A Street in New York

Salve di Moia's delicatessen shop and fancy grocery

Beach at Atlantic City, and a scene in the surf

Third, fourth, and fifth floors of the St. Vitus Apartments

Lobby of the Folderol Gardens

The interior of the Folderol Gardens

Composer Alfred Baldwin Sloane was one of the most prolific writer of musical comedies around the turn of the 20th century. Sloane wrote the scores for no fewer than two dozen Broadway musicals between 1896 and 1912. His biggest hit was “Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl” (1910), but none of his songs found lasting fame. He died in Red Bank NJ in 1925.

Lew Fields (Otto Otts) was born Moses Schoenfeld in January 1867. He was an actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager, and producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber. He also produced shows on his own and starred in comedy films.

In addition to Fields and a cast of nearly 200 (!), the ensemble included ten year old future first lady of the American Theatre, Helen Hayes, as Psyche Finnegan. 

Irene Franklin (Clarabell Clews, Otto Ott’s prospective daughter-in-law and the perfect lady detective) began her stage career at the age of six months when her parents carried her on stage in a production. She appeared on Broadway at age six. She debuted in vaudeville in 1895 and was named Most Popular Woman Vaudeville Artist in 1908. She was married to Burton Green, who was also in the cast as a pianist, and had contributed songs to the score. Franklin died at the Actors Home in Englewood New Jersey in 1941.

Vernon Castle played Oxford Tighe, American Agent for Eyzzzsst, the new Hungarian cordial. He is probably most famous for his partnership with his wife, Irene (not Franklin, but Foote). The couple met in 1910 around the same time as The Summer Widowers was gearing up. Vernon arranged an audition for her with Lew Fields, who hired her as a dancer replacement for The Summer Widowers, her first professional appearance.  

In addition to Irene Castle, after opening night, Margaret (aka Daisy) Dumont joined the cast as Fritizi Fluff, an absent-minded prima donna. Dumont would later find great success as a foil for the Marx Brothers. 

In addition to Oxford Tighe (Oxford tie) and detective Claribel Clews (clues), other clever character names included Captain Kodak (a photographer), Winnie Wildwaves (a diver), Salve De Mora (an aria from “Faust”), Tom Noyes (a pianist), Virginia Ham (a performer), and Sandy Beach (lifeguard).  

Vernon Castle opened the show singing “I Never Know How to Behave when I’m with Girls, Girls, Girls,” surrounded, of course, by a tantalizing bevy of girls, girls, girls. That song was not by A. Baldwin Sloane, but by Harry Carroll. Carroll was born in Rosenhayn, New Jersey in 1892 and began his career playing piano in movie houses on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City while still in his teens. 

In 1914, Carroll wrote “By the Beautiful Sea” while in Brighton Beach NY, but it might easily have been inspired by his days in Atlantic City. 

"Summer Widowers" Very Busy 

"Summer Widowers" sets a fast pacemaker for itself in its title. The first setting is a section of the Boardwalk in Atlantic City in front of a mammoth hotel, with visitors and wheel-chairs (1). One of those vehicles has elliptical wheels to bounce and tumble the rider.  

(1) Wheel-chairs are not to be confused with mobility devices of disabled people, but Atlantic City’s famous rolling chairs of the Boardwalk. 

The spectacular set design also featured: 

a moon that winked and cried 

airplanes that flew out over the audience’s heads, 

a three story building that features 9 apartments occupied by 100 people 

a working elevator 

a temperamental Murphy bed 

tap shoes that emit sparks 

animated cheese on a deli counter

sausage links that turn into a pet dog

The final spectacle is back at Atlantic City, on the beach alongside one of the big piers, from which bathers dive into what looks exactly like a real surf.

The Summer Widows premiered out-of-town at New Haven’s Hyperion Theatre on May 26, 1910. It moved on to play the Broadway Theatre, New York City, where it ran for 140 performances before launching a tour (above photo) with some cast changes. 

ATLANTIC CITY 

The shear size of The Summer Widowers likely cut down on the show’s options for out-of-town tryouts. However, in June 1909, a year before The Summer Widows opened, Lew Fields and Lee Shubert were asked to leave Nixon’s Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City by owner Erlanger and the producer of the show playing there, Florenz Ziegfeld. The curtain was held while police escorted Mr. and Mrs. Fields and Mr. Shubert from the premises.  According to one newspaper, it caused quite a ruckus on the Boardwalk. Ziegfeld later claimed that it was in retaliation for Shubert (an associate of Fields’) doing the same to them at Shubert houses.  

The first panorama of The Summer Widowers is set on the Boardwalk in front of the real-life Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel. It was built between 1902-1906, making it very new in 1910.  "Blenheim" refers to Blenheim Palace in England, the ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill, a grandson of the 7th Duke of Marlborough. Churchill himself visited the hotel in 1916. It has been seen in several films and television shows set in Atlantic City. It was demolished in October 1978.

The fourth panorama of The Summer Widowers is set at the Beach and in the Surf of Atlantic City. As the 1910 photo above testifies, bathing costumes for both men and women were much less abbreviated than they are today.  Guide ropes kept non-swimmers from being carried away by the undertow. 

[rabbittstewcomics]

Episode 329

Comic Reviews:

DC

Batman 118 by Joshua Williamson, Mikel Janin, Jorge Molina, Tomeu Morey

One Star Squadron 1 by Mark Russell, Steve Lieber, Dave Stewart

Superman: Son of Kal-El 2021 Annual by Tom Taylor, Clayton Henry, Steve Pugh, Steve Buccellato

World of Krypton 1 by Robert Venditti, Michael Avon Oeming, Nick Filardi

Marvel

Amazing 80.BEY by Cody Ziglar, Ivan Fiorelli, Rachelle Rosenberg

Captain America/Iron Man 1 by Derek Landy, Angel Unzueta, Rachelle Rosenberg

Death of Doctor Strange: Blade by Danny Lore, Dylan Burnett, Mike Spicer

Devil's Reign 1 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Marcio Menyz

Giant Size Black Cat Infinity Score by Jed MacKay, Carlos Villa, Brian Reber

Marvel's Voices: Comunidades by Terry Blas, Yehudi Mercado, Alex Segura, Daniel Jose Older, Julio Anta, Juan Ponce, Desiree Proctor, Amparo Ortiz, Claribel Ortega, David Betancourt, Leonardo Romero, Nico Leon, Edgar Delgado, Paco Medina, Adriano Melo, Alitha Martinez, Francisco Herrera, Vanesa Del Rey, Gustavo Duerte, German Peralta, Enid Balam, Julius Ohta, Wilton Santos, Caio Majado, Mauro Fodra, Alba Glez, Sean Parsons, Jose Marzan Jr, Victor Nava, Oren Junior, Felipe Sobreiro, Cris Peter, Erick Arcinega, Bryan Valenza, Dono Sanchez Almara, Federico Blee, Dijjo Lima, Fernando Sifuentes

Star Wars: Crimson Reign 1 by Charles Soule, Steven Cummings, Guru eFX

X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic 13

Spider-Bot Infinity Comic 2

Dark Horse: 

Daisy 1 by Colin Lorimer, Joana Lafuente, Anita Vu

Image

Lady Mechanika: Monster of the Ministry of Hell 1 by Joe Benitez, Beth Sotelo, Michael Heisler

Archie

Holiday Magic Special by J. Torres, Micol Ostow, Michael Northrop, Dan Schoening, Arielle Jovellanos, Gretel Lusky, Matt Herms

Boom

Buckhead 1 by Shobo Coker, George Kambadais, Natalia Nesterenko

Buffy: the Last Vampire Slayer 1 by Casey Gilly, Joe Jaro, Joana Lafuente

AWA

Crimson Cage 1 by John Lees, Alex Cormack, Ashley Cormack

Vault

Lunar Room 1 by Danny Lore, Giorgia Sposito, DJ Chavis

AfterShock

Tales of Mother F Goose by Frank Tieri, Joe Eisma

Comixology

Memoria GN by Curt Pires, Sunando C, Mark Dale

A Tale as Tall as Jacob OGN by Samantha Edwards

House OGN by Phillip Sevy, Drew Zucker

Additional Reviews: Hawkeye ep4, Retrovirus OGN, Prince and the Dressmaker, Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier, Hunters s1, Pulp OGN, Eat and Love Yourself OGN, Trigger Mortis, Monolith

News: George Perez, more details on Batman/Catwoman JPL tribute issue, Garfield fighting game, new collection format, Eight Billion Genies from Charles Soule and Ryan Browne, Tom Taylor goes DC exclusive, Kieron Gillen writing Immortal X-Men, Captain Carter comic by Jamie McKelvie, Netflix cancels Cowboy Bebop, Naomi s2, House of Usher cast, Surfside Girls optioned by Apple TV, details on next Disney film: Strange World, Supercorp, next Grand Design projects

Trailers: Sonic 2

Comics Countdown:

Crossover 10 by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Avon Oeming, Nick Filardi

What's the Furthest Place From Here 2 by Matthew Rosenberg, Tyler Boss

Good Asian 7 by Pornsak Pichetshote, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Lee Loughridge

Mighty Morphin 14 by Ryan Parrott, Marco Renna

Inferno 3 by Jonathan Hickman, Stefano Caselli, R.B. Silva, Valerio Schiti, Adriano Di Benedetto, David Curiel

Superman: Son of Kal-El 2021 Annual by Tom Taylor, Clayton Henry, Steve Pugh, Steve Buccellato

Swamp Thing 10 by Ram V, Mike Perkins, Mike Spicer

Batman 118 by Joshua Williamson, Mikel Janin, Jorge Molina, Tomeu Morey

Amazing Spider-Man 80.BEY by Cody Ziglar, Ivan Fiorelli, Rachelle Rosenberg

Batman '89 4 by Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones, Leonardo Ito

Check out this episode!

[princessaziraphale]

Ok has anyone thought of a Good Omens Mickey Mouse Three Musketeers au?

Hear me out:

Crowley as Mickey, who is absolutely smitten with Princess Aziraphale (Minnie). He and his two good friends Newton Pulsifer and ‘Sargeant Shadwell’ (Donald and Goofy). Crowley, Newt, and Shadwell get recruited to be Aziraphale and Lady Anathema (Daisy)’s personal guards by Captain Gabriel (Pete). However, Gabriel thinks they all suck and only recruited them so he could send three thieves to kidnap the princess and take the throne for himself. Things go wrong when he tries to have his most trusted Advisor Madame Tracey (Claribelle) throw Shadwell off a bridge, only to have them fall in love. Newt had long run off because he was terrified. He had been planning on Crowley drowning in Holy Water, only Newt reappears (with help from The Them and Shadwell) to save him. There’s a final epic battle and Gabriel gets locked away for life. Crowley and Aziraphale eventually get married, and live happily ever after.

The end.

[mesherosetmonstres]

ship tag dump

[aly-the-writer]

Name: Claribel Fyre

Other Aliases: Voidhound, Claire Ellias (probably birth name), Clari Nuncio

Species: Human – Cybernetically Enhanced

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

Birth Planet: Dromund Kaas

Class: Smuggler - Gunslinger

Starship: The Enterprising Blurrg

Alignment: Neutral-Light Side

Affiliation: Republic due to Class story events but attempts to remain neutral

Connections

- Izar Nuncio – Husband – The Captain originally meets Izar Nuncio on Hutta before she embarks on her ill-fated delivery on Ord Mantell where the two exchanged holofrequencies but their respective work kept things from progressing any further than talking for some time. The two marry at some point during the Zakuulan Occupation, although Clari doesn’t adopt the Mandalorian customs practiced by her husband.

-  Istavan – father – Cipher Two of Imperial Intelligence, otherwise known by his aliases of Istavan Fyre or  Kren Ellias. From an early age it was expected with both her parents working with Imperial Intelligence that Clari would follow a similar path and so the Cipher trained his daughter to become an Imperial field agent as well as allowing Keeper to oversee her education when he was on assignment. The two’s relationship became increasingly strained as a result of these expectations, the two haven’t spoken to one another since Clari ran away to Hutt space as a teen and began her career as a criminal on Nar Shaddaa.

-  Valirek Silver – friend and employer – Clari and Val met on Taris where they aided one another in their respective goals. The Jedi kept in touch with the smuggler, beginning to hire her on behalf of the Rift Alliance and to help him deliver aid supplies to people that the Republic had officially abandoned.

- Locke Dalsa - friend - Locke and Clari met shortly after she’d made her way out of Imperial Space, meeting on Hutta while he was still employed as an enforcer there. After losing a bet and shooting competition to the other teen, and establishing a friendship when she came back to get him when the resulting job went south, the two of them conned their way into enough money to get a shuttle to Nar Shaddaa. They’ve remained close friends and frequent partners over the years.

[aly-the-writer]

☂ for Claribel ♟ for Aydin

Hello Nonnie! :D I got the stories you requested, although, Aydin is apparently worse at the “friendly” thing than I thought.

Despite my claims that Tusin is myusual Outlander both your requests ended up being written with someone else inthat role. For the first one Clari is the Outlander, inthe second one Jedi Knight Dak Izma (Aydin’s boyfriend) is.

Without further ado I give you “An Idiot’s Array” and “Arcere”.

☂ for Claribel

An Idiot’s Array

“Captain, you’re sulking,” Lanasighed, trying not to pinch the bridge of her nose again that day. With Koth’s crew workingon the Gravestone things were looking better around the place – or at least thelights no longer flickered wildly and the Captain wasn’t compulsively checkingon the life support systems every hour.

The Sith had every faithin Koth’s abilities and that of his crew.

“I am not,” she huffed at Lana beforegrimacing and inputting which deck she was going to into the elevator controls,“Okay, maybe I am – a little.”

“What is on your mind?”

“Besides Valkorian?” she joked justas the lift ground to halt and the lights flickered ominously. “Uh…thelift isn’t supposed to do that, right?”

Lana frowned andtapped her com, “Koth, there’s something wrong with the lift to the hangar bay.”

“Yeah, uh, aboutthat. We were rerouting power and we seem to have cut it off somehow.”

“’We’?” Tora’s voicescoffed in the background.

“How long’s it gonnabe, Koth?” Claribel asked.

“And don’t say three minutes,” Lana added.

The smuggler laughedat that, sitting down to lean against the wall – a ship this big, especiallyone without a handy manual from its builders, it would be a while. Anotherreason to miss her Blurrg – she knewevery circuit on that stupid ship.

“Don’t know, but we’llwork on getting you out of there soon as we can,” the naval captain was saying.“Hang tight.”

If Lana were anyoneelse but the ever composed Sith Lord that she was she might’ve groaned. Insteadshe glanced at the Captain who was busy searching the multitude of pockets onher vest for something.

“Here we are!” shegrinned, pulling out two dried pallie bars and passing one to Lana.

The Sith eyed the food,“This wasn’t in carbonite with you was it?”

“What? Noooo, I atethose before we got to Asylum,” she snorted. “I restocked when I was outlooking for Tora.”

Lana sat down acrossfrom her, unwrapping the snack bar. It was a childish sort of treat, overlysweet but the smuggler didn’t care much for subtle flavors so that was to beexpected. “You are bothered by having Valkorian in your mind, aren’t you?”

The smuggler scowleda little, “You know, when people deflect with jokes you’re supposed to letthem. That’s the polite thing to do, Lanaaa,” she drew the name out teasinglybefore taking a bite of her snack.  “I’ma smuggler, I’m supposed to be annoying Hutts and cheating folk out of theirmoney at the Sabacc table not the galaxy’s last hope of salvation. I never wanted to be depended on, I didn’twant to get trapped being the only one who stood between hundreds of peopleliving or dying.”

Lana studied heragain: “You involved yourself in a lot for someone who doesn’t care.”

“Never said I don’tcare,” she grumbled, propping her knee up. “Just don’t want the responsibility.If I did I wouldn’t have run off when I worked out that I was being groomed tobe a Cipher and what that meant.”

“You don’t talk muchabout your Imperial background,” Lana murmured – it was only after Yavin she’d discovered thatClaribel had Imperial connections. Had she not spent her days in SithIntelligence working closely with the woman’s father – the infamous Cipher Two –she may not have believed it.

She gave a slightshrug, “Not much to say. I didn’t want the life so I smuggled myself to Huttspace and used the skills I’d been taught to disappear. Got some blasters,stole a ship, crashed it, made a lot of really stupid decisions, bought the Blurrg, and the rest you should know. I’mjust a gal that got lucky with my gun and unlucky with where I was. You want tosave the galaxy you get a Jedi, not a spice-runner.”

Lana tried not tolaugh – the ridiculousness of the statement, “Clari, you can’t really believe that, can you?”

Seeing the greeneyes looking thoroughly unimpressed with her.

“Force preserve me,”she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She’d seen the signs of thesedoubts on Zakuul but the revelation about Valkorian being in residence in thesmuggler’s mind had distracted her. “You realize you already have saved the galaxy? Or at leastthousands of lives. On a number of occasions?”

Green eyes narrowedat her.

“The pirate fleet forCorellia, the battle over Rishi, and Yavin.”

“Didn’t save anyoneon Ziost.”

“There were Jedi onZiost who failed as well,” Lana countered. “Clari – you can do this.”

The brown hairedsmuggler opened her mouth to refute the statement but the lift hummed intomovement again. The door opening to an apologetic looking Koth.

“You two okay?” heasked them.

“We’re good,”Claribel nodded before looking to Lana as she got to her feet. She glanced atKoth then back to Lana, “I know thereare people who could do a better job of saving the galaxy, Lana, but you’ve gotme so, I guess, we’re going for an Idiot’s Array.”

Without giving time forLana to answer or to explain the statement to the confused looking Koth theCaptain vanished around a corner, probably making for the market or cantina totry and get information on her oldcontacts and see if she could get messages out to her former crew.

♟ for Aydin 

Arcere

The footstepsapproaching drew him out of his meditation, at first he thought it might beSenya but there was no Force signature to indicate the approaching individualwas his mother or any of the Jedi or Sith that the Commander had drawn to hiscause.

Even with the threatof Zakuul removed by his claiming the Eternal Throne many of Dak Izma’s powerfulallies had opted to remain with the Alliance rather than return to theirrespective factions in the outlanders’ ongoing war between Republic and Empire.

The silent strangersettled down across from him, a long jacket or robe brushing the ground withthe movement.

He hadn’t sensed any danger from the stranger, whichwasn’t as comforting as it might have been when he opened his eyes to find aMirialan turning a vibroknife over in his hand, bright red eyes pensive. Withthat species it was possible the red eyes were natural not the influence of thedark side but knowing who this wasdidn’t assuage any more fear than the lack of bloodlust directed at him had.

If he had to guessthis was Aydin Olasee.

The man wassomething of a mystery, though his name signed off a large number of reportsdelivered to Lana and Theron, he was rarely at the base for long in the past.Something that he’d overheard Lana apologize to the Commander about…

“We haven’t beenintroduced,” the accent was the clipped tones of the Imperial capital. Thesmile was friendly – too friendly. “Youare Arcann, are you not?”

“You already know the answer tothat,” he replied – keeping his eyes on the blade.

The spy gave a softsnort, “Well, maybe. I’m called Aydin.”

Arcann glancedaround, outside here was the grassy area where the Commander’s personalstarship usually sat but was currently absent. Other than the Jedi Master ValirekSilver, seeking the same sort of solitude he had come out here for, it was rareto see anyone out here without them having a specific task to carry out. Rightnow no one was about besides the two of them.

He thought he caughta flash of red in the doorway – Theron making sure no one was being murdered?That seemed…unlikely given the Republic spy’s feelings towards him.

“I asked about you – Val claimsthat you have ‘healed yourself of your suffering’, Caderasays you saved him from Vaylin, Dak tells me that he rather haveyou where he can watch you while you atone, Lana thinks you’re useful. Therongave me a non-answer, which is practically spy speak for ‘I don’t know’, or he’sstill annoyed about the time I sliced his mail to send Hylo and Oggurobb lovepoetry. Not really sure which.”

“I there a reasonyou are talking to me?”

“I came out to see ifI needed to kill you because I don’t know you and considering what you’ve done,who you were I don’t like the idea ofyou at Dak’s back.” All the faux-friendliness dropped and with it Arcann finallyfelt he presence of a potentially murderous intent.

He looked away –considering what he’d done to the Alliance, to the Core Worlds he had no rightto even desire trust. Still there was something different about this threatthan the others that had been laid before him.

“You are verydevoted to the Commander.”

A soft laugh andglimpse at what lay behind the façade vanished beneath another lazily friendlysmile, “That would be a way of phrasing it, I suppose.”

“I am watchedalready, Master Spy. Your Commander has chosen to trust me for now, that is allthe assurance I can think to offer.”

“Trust me, Dak’s trust not going to help you winany confidence,” the spy drawled. “Between dating an Imperial Spy andrecruiting your father’s personal butcher Dak had disqualified himself from everbeing considered for any measure of good judgement long before you decided tocause problems.”

Arcann frowned – notsure what this man wanted.

Aydin switched whichhand held the knife lazily watching, studying him. “Do you remember them?”

“Who?” the inquirywas guarded.

“The innocent ones –the ones you couldn’t rationalize but killed anyways because that what wasexpected, what had to be done. The hope of approval, orders, expectations,whatever pressure pushed you to do it.”

Arcann grimaced andlooked away from those red eyes suddenly too like the color of blood, thinkingof the five worlds that he had allowed Vaylin to bombard, “I can’t rememberthem all – there are too many.”

“And redemption?”

“Impossible. Not forwhat I’ve done.”

“Huh,” the noise soundedalmost impressed, the Mirialan watching him with a curious expression.

His brows furrowed –unsure how to respond to that, some in the Alliance had promised him redemptionwas possible, others claimed that nothing he did could help and that theCommander should have killed him.

“You’re not what Iexpected,” the spy confessed after a moment before he sheathed the vibroknifeinto his jacket. “Although if you were anything like what I expected I wasgoing to shoot you, so there’s that.” Propping his knee up a bit he leaned hiselbow against it and set his chin in his palm.

“Do you usually tellpeople when you’ve planned to murder them?”

“Only about half thetime,” he grinned brightly. “And planningis hardly the same as trying. If I was going to actually kill you I’d have waiteduntil Dak was around. You’re a powerful Force user, I’m not a sniper so I’dneed help or a lot more motivationthan ‘you ran my boyfriend through after locking him in carbonite’.”

Despite himselfArcann laughed – the motivation given was plenty of reason but something else entirely had changed the Mirialan’smind. “Do you tell lies to everyone?”

The Mirialan grinnedbrightly, “Almost everyone, yes. Never Dak. Not usually my friends.” He hoppedto his feet in a smooth motion before adding: “Maybe try smiling more often?People will think you still want to kill them you go around with that grimexpression of yours all the time.”

[aly-the-writer]

The Bounty

Fandom: SWTOR

Pairings: Bounty Hunter/Smuggler (SFW)

Characters:  Male Bounty Hunter (Izar Nuncio), Female Smuggler (Claribel Fyre)

A holocall that occurs between Izar and Clari at the start of Chapter 3.

“Ten million credits?” the woman on the portable holo cackled. “Damn, Nuncio, it’s almost enough to make me decide bounty hunting is worth it.”

He took his eyes off the blaster he was carefully disassembling and cleaning to glower a little: “You know I’m innocent, don’t you?”

“Not of blowing up that Jedi you’re not,” she pointed out, a smirk playing across her lips. “I saw the charges, there’s a bunch of inflated ones but there’s enough of them that are real that if you get bagged alive you’re gonna end up somewhere nice and cozy, probably with a lot of SIS hospitality.”

“I heard you annoyed another Moff – without Jedi help this time too,” Izar sighed instead, leaning back in his seat and reaching for his cup of caff.

Technically he knew he should have caught her and turned her over to the Butcher. They’d both still been small time when she’d had that bounty set on her heels. If not the Butcher than the rather sparsely detailed one from Imperial Intelligence that Mako had dug up should have tempted him.

Still there was business and there were friendships and he knew which one he valued more.

Though friendship wasn’t quite the right word. He’d fallen hard when he’d met her but he wasn’t sure about the gunslinger’s feelings towards him.

“It’s apparently a talent,” came the shrug. “Not liking how much attention I’m getting from your side of the line these days. Can I go back to being a two-bit smuggler with an attitude problem?”

“That ever change?” he teased.

She smiled back and lifted her glass to him in a silent salute.

“Hey, Captain? We’re getting close,” Corso’s voice signaled the end of their chat.

Besides, his own crew had to be getting them close to the coordinates on that Imperial Summons. Which he was not going to tell the smuggler about because she’d call him ten kinds of idiot and threaten to shoot him in the foot the next time she saw him.

With Clari’s temper she probably would too.

“Well you heard him, I gotta go,” the green eyed woman pulled her hair back into its usual pony tail.

“Fly safe, Captain,” he smiled to her.

“Always do,” came the grin before her brows creased in worry – was that worry? He’d not seen her look concerned like that before, not about anyone except her brother anyways – “Izar, look out for yourself, okay? Just…be careful.”

“I will be,” he promised her before he’d even really thought the words through.  “You too, Clari.”

[aly-the-writer]

Of Ghosts (Pt 3)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4  | Ao3

“Master Silver says that they will be arriving within the hour,” the blond Sith commented as she came to stand beside Theron who was eying the red-stained valley below.

Korriban was unsettling for non-Sith already – was in some ways unsettling for Sith – but Theron had had his thoughts occupied by his own problems even before the Jedi’s vessel had set down on the desert world two days before.

The spy nodded, his jaw clenching a little with his nerves. “…did he say anything after Yavin?”

“No, but he didn’t need to for it to be obvious that he loved you,” Lana clasped her hands behind her back as she did when she thought.

She considered the other Sith Lord in silence…she couldn’t claim she had many friends – the Empire wasn’t that sort of place – but Nox had been one of the few she trusted implicitly, and whose trust she knew she had earned. Although she could’ve done without him earning them Ravage’s ire with his whispered jokes during the Council meetings. (She suspected her impression on the older members of the Council might have been better if her seat as Minister of Intelligence hadn’t been next to Nox’s.)

“He doesn’t drink spirits often, you know-” she spared a wince at the phrasing, she could practically hear the Pureblood’s voice interrupting about how he ate them instead: “-but he dragged me along when we returned to the Empire to find a bottle of whisky, something nice. I thought it strange, he bought a very expensive, high quality alcohol and then immediately had it stored in his vault. He claimed he didn’t need it for another six years but he needed to know it was there.”

She studied Theron’s expression – knowing that its stillness was because he was drawing on his early Jedi lessons to try and sort through the information. “He did miss you, Theron, but Yavin was never the end for him. He loves you. That will give him the strength he needs for this.”

“Why are so many people needed for this ritual?” Theron asked.

“Dak and Aydin aren’t. They’re here to protect us from the wildlife and anything the ritual stirs up. Captain Fyre and her husband are strictly extraction and transport for Tusin, we needed someone we could trust. Your presence isn’t necessary but will probably help provide a focus.”

A Corellian XS-stock light freighter was coming in for a landing – the ship familiar enough to both of them they recognized it even before the bright green Blurrg in a top hat painted on the ship’s belly became visible.

The Enterprising Blurrg belonged to the last member of the team that had originally gotten tangled up in the Revanite mess. The smuggler Captain Claribel Fyre, she’d been brought in to fly the original Korriban strike team and when things didn’t add up she and Val were the ones Theron had reached out to.

It didn’t take long for the smuggler to show up down the ramp, leading Tusin down by the hand, concern showing on her face. They’d gotten Tusin changed from the prison uniform, so he was wearing simple black robes with the hood down – the sort that he’d worn for as long as any of them had known him. It made him look more Sith again, but the blank expression and the lack of personality still stood out.

The Mandalorian warrior from the holocall the first time he’d woken stood at the top of the ship’s ramp watching, but not making a move to come down, his helmet still securely in place.

Valirek smiled to them both as he approached, gesturing to where Theron was approaching as he said something to the Pureblood. Tusin’s eyes landed on them both, at least he seemed to recognize them all.

“Keep the credits, Val,” the smuggler was telling the Jedi as Theron and Lana came into earshot. “I paid off Clan Cadera already, but Iz and me aren’t going to take anything for this job. This one’s on me but it’s the last time you get any free flying, got it? Having Jedi friends is too expensive.”

Val smiled, he knew what they all knew – the woman had never been all about profit like she claimed she was. “If you insist, Clari. And thank you.”

“Yeah, well, y’know,” she shrugged – before looking to Theron. “Take care of him, okay, Shan? I’m not sticking around for the Force nonsense, I have a pick up on Ziost. Probably won’t be around Republic space til there’s a new Chancellor after this so you fly safe too.”

“We’ll do our best, Captain,” Theron smiled back. “You and Izar take care too.”

“Do our best,” she smiled before clasping Tusin’s arm, green eyes sad before she turned and headed back to her ship, Aydin trotting over to speak with her and her husband for a few minutes before they were back aboard and taking off.

Val waited for the Blurrg to be back in the sky before looking to Lana and Theron, “When should we begin this?”

“The sooner the better,” Theron replied, guilt pricking him as he kept his eyes off Tusin. It hurt to see him in this condition.

“Lana?” Valirek asked quietly.

The blond nodded, “I am ready, Master Silver.”

He nodded, “Tusin, will you please come with me?” he asked the Sith, leading him towards the tomb that Dak had been keeping cleared of wildlife for the last few days. He was speaking to the Pureblood, explaining the process behind the ritual they were going to perform and its purpose – giving the Sith a chance to protest if they were wrong and this shell-like version actually did feel any sort of wants.

The Jedi knight was perched on one of the stone slabs outside its entrance, a wide brimmed hat that looked suspiciously like it was from Val’s Rishi pirate disguise on his head to ward off the planet’s intense sun. “Things are clear inside,” he told them, “You want me in there or guarding out here?”

“You and Aydin can remain out here unless you sense something go wrong. If something’s going wrong get Theron out, moving the rest of us will be too dangerous once this begins.”

Dak saluted to them before adding: “May the Force be with you.” It wasn’t until the group was already past him in the mouth of the cave that the knight added in a mutter, “We’ll certainly need it.”

Theron glanced back, wondering if there was something the Force-users weren’t saying, but it wasn’t as if he could push any for answers. Lana would share what she thought was needed, if Valirek wasn’t saying anything then he felt it necessary to keep it secret.

He stayed out of the way as Val and Lana finished arranging the items around the altar. Bits and pieces of items that made no coherent sense at first: A battered shock collar, a light saber, a mask, pieces of a broken holocron… Souvenirs from Nox’s life he realized, recognizing a brightly colored Orobird feather he’d drunkenly braided into Nox’s hair on Rishi the night before his capture by Revan’s supporters.

He remembered the man complaining that the blue-green feather clashed terribly with his skin color, but he’d left it in the whole night. The next morning he’d overheard Lana cautioning the Dark Lord against permitting him too close as the Pureblood and Claribel had prepared to find Torch. Valirek had been given another task in light of Mandalorian’s infamous dispositions towards Jedi.

Theron blinked and shook his head, the faint smile that had come unbidden fading – he couldn’t do anything to help Tusin now, the least he could do was pay attention to the ritual not day dream…

The Sith Pureblood was helped onto the altar, laying in its center so still that Theron might’ve mistaken him for dead if not for the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Valirek and Lana were kneeling in front of it now, both assuming the pose that Force-users were taught when they meditated or were going into a trance. Val reached out first, his hand upturned. Lana took his wrist in one hand and the air in the cavern grew heavier, more dangerous. The hairs on the back of Theron’s neck stood up, and his skin crawled with goosebumps. Sith Sorcery. Old, and dangerous.

In the light of the torches that had suddenly gone dimmer he could see the Jedi grimace but his focus remained unbroken – the touch of the dark side likely physically painful for the Barsen’thor rather than just the edgy discomfort that Theron felt even Force blind.

In the center of the ritual blue-black lights had begun to spark and dance, completely obscuring Tusin’s form.