Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Nudimsu]

The goats were gone. That's all he could think of as he returned to the Turtle a few hours later. The hangar smelled...horrible. Goat feces, goat fur, just lots of goat everything. But he could just it open to air out. And just when the Hangar was starting to smell better too, there we go, making it worse.

As he returned to the ship, he moved over to the caf machine and flipped on some switches to prepare the machine. How long would their caf supply last on this planet? Sure, there was what they served in the mess hall in the morning but that lacked the proper flavor. These were rather good beans. Not the most expensive ones, but you often could meet budget with good standards in these matters. Dark flavoring, soothing aftertaste.

He looked in the fridge to see a bottle of some milky liquid, fresh from the source. "Suppose we now have a renewable supply of creamer." said to nobody as he did a loud, exacerbated breath and grabbed it.

[Senya Tirall]

"I rather like the creatures, these 'goats' as you call them," Lana said as she entered.

Senya followed having shed her robes and said, “No, they smell and get their stuff everywhere and I am sure one ate some of my clothing.”

[Nudimsu]

He looks at the 'Songbird' and Lana and stares at them for a moment before reaching around and grabbing two more mugs. "I do not mind a goat. Maybe I could be convinced to even enjoy some goats. But that is not what we currently have. We have, as I have learnt the term of earlier this morning, a tribe of them."

He stops and looks over at Senya for a few moment. "You're much more attractive than I thought you would be under those robes." He nods and begins to pour the two other cups and prepare them as they both liked it. It was sort of routine by now, what with how long they traveled together. He could now say that he knew nothing Senya other than her caf preference, her ability to carry a tune, her motherly nature, and her daughter is an emotionally unstable but powerful Force-User.

Also she had dark hair. The mystery of Vaylin's hair had yet another clue. "Don't misinterpret this is me flirting, please. Just in my experience, when someone hides their face regularly, it is usually due to some scars or something else wish to physically hide of their appearance. You, on the other hand, look perfectly fine on the surface."

[Senya Tirall]

"That is kind of you to say, Nudimsu, thank you," she said with a nod. "I get the feeling though that you are working up to something?"

[Nudimsu]

"You presume too much of my intentions, Songbird." Nudimsu said bringing the caf over to the two of them before grabbing his own. "If Lana has not told you yet, then you know the situation you have found yourself in, seeing as you have disrobed and removed the pretense of your anonymity. I also have assumed you not to be a fool, despite knowing very little about you. You know I want some understanding as to what has occurred over the past few days, some understanding about your daughter's intentions, and, in return, I wish to convey my own intentions to help you survive whatever your hopes to do, in whatever way I am capable of."

He paused before sitting. "I don't need to know why you did your actions; I worked that out most of that on my own once it was revealed to me. I am, in fact, touched that the two of you would trust me and the crew with both your safety for as long as you did and think not telling us was the best course of action. So, I hope you take my compliment of your appearance with the intention it was given, and then give me some of the answers I wish to seek from you. As one should wisely do when trying to obtain an ally in their fight."

Nudimsu paused speaking and sipped his coffee before placing the cup down and standing up. "So, how about we start things in the formal way you humans do." He nods and extends his hand out to her. "Hello, my name is Nudimsu, Captain of the freighter The Turtle. Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting today?"

[Senya Tirall]

"Senya Tirall, a Knight of Zakuul in loyal service to Emperor Valkorian of Zakuul, the Eternal Empire," she responded.

"I apologize if my daughter accosted you."

[Nudimsu]

"A pleasure to meet you, Senya Tirall. I cannot say I know where your home is, but I welcome you to my ship regardless. And do not fret, children can often have their tantrums." She wasn't one to shake hands. Likely due to the military training. Neither was he, to be honest. "She did not harm me, in the end. Instead, she seemed to enjoy the fear she caused in me."

He nodded. "Oh, and it worked; I am still afraid of her. I was trained to resist what she did to me, and she made my training seem like a minor inconvenience for her to step over. So, while I cannot sense the Force like Lana or you have most likely, as it tends to be genetic, I can recognize the raw power she has and the threat we face due to it." He took a deep sigh and sat down, grabbing the cup as his hands shook ever so slightly before they settled. "Why does she want you?"

[Senya Tirall]

“I think she thinks I abandoned her… it’s partly true but not how she thinks. I tried to save her from what Valkorian did to her but she chose him over me and never forgave me for leaving when the children turned against me,” she said grimly.

“I am not sure I can even forgive myself, now.”

[Nudimsu]

"Ahh, so you bedded the Emperor of your planet. I can see how that would make things difficult for you to be involved in their lives as only a soldier. For whatever it is worth, you truly my sympathies on the matter." He took a sip of his caf and stared at her intently. It was the first time he had the chance to examine her signatures without being blocked. Seeing the movement within them would make even the sternly Chiss feel bad for the poor mother, even if they would never speak or show it. Rejected by all of her children from a woman who was so seemingly desperate to be in their lives; such a wound could never truly heal.

"I wish I knew the words to help you in your feelings of loss and weakness, but I have never been much of a empathetic speaker, as you have no doubt discovered in our time together. Therefore, I hope my sympathies have been conveyed to you to be genuine." His eyes continued on her as he thought of what to say next. "However, we cannot change the past and we must live with our mistakes and failures and strive to learn from then and move beyond them." His face remained stoic as he spoke, not changing in the tone. "So I must ask you, then, that we are to do with the problem we now face? Do you feel another attempt at reaching out is viable, or is our only solution to eliminate the problem?"

[Senya Tirall]

"Maybe, Vaylin is not the same girl, she is ruthless and without mercy. I think she blames me for whatever her father did to her... or maybe just because I left. I honestly don't know her anymore," she admitted.

"But I have to face her."

[Nudimsu]

He listened to her speak and saw her sway, watching the heat off her face. He gave her a moment after she spoke while he gathered his thoughts and responded. "It would be easier to simply assassinate her." He states this in a matter-of-fact tone, not changing his voice or face as he sips his caf again. "Sniper rifle shot in the head can make it quick and painless; make sure she won't see it coming or have a chance to react. Explosives to ensure the job is done. Puts you less at risk and use with assurance that she will no longer be a problem. Could potentially throw the pirates in a sort of disarray from the action, as it would be their presumed benefactor making a sudden and unexpected exit from the equation. Could maybe allow us a chance to push them off and defeat them."

He nods to himself. "Yes, that would be the better chance for us to survive. Much easier than to simply rely on than a 'maybe'. I would not ask you to be involved, either; no parent should have to plan their child's murder. Hands could be clean of the whole affair." He stops moving his head and stares at her once more. "I wouldn't do it without your go ahead, however."

[Senya Tirall]

She just looks at the Chiss with a dark look and said, "No."

[Nudimsu]

"I understand." Hard to fake that look. Nudimsu quietly spent a moment at looking, removing the few remaining doubts that there was something else to this from his thinking. He then gave a look at Lana, and then his eyes shifted to Senya before he spoke again. "Then I will consider that option off the table and not bring it up again." His tone did not waiver in the least, but he could tell that pressing the issue would not benefit anyone. Besides, he didn't like the thought of planning a assassination either.

Even if it was the best solution.

"The next best option is to get her in a place where you can converse with Vaylin without her killing you. Likely would have to capture her to do it, but also not have the Empire or Republic heavily involved, either. Pirates would have be distracted as well."

[Senya Tirall]

"Yeah we are working out a plan, but it will be a longshot," she said honestly. "Even a pre-emptive strike may not be enough."

[Nudimsu]

"Well, I am no master tactician; just because I know what we need to do, does not mean I can plan how to do it; was never on the level of a Mitth Family." He shrugs and thinks, slumping his chair and stirring his caf cup a little. "Vaylin really does not care in the slightest about the pirates, either. She slaughtered 3 of them in front of me for a small slight. She'd kill the entire enterprise if she wanted to. Probably will when this all over, seeing she views them as nothing more than savages with her planet's tech. All that means is we can't manipulate them to get to her, other than removing them from play." He shrugged and sat back up. "Is there anything you can think of, Senya, that would get her to make a move to another location on this planet? Besides you, of course."

Nudimsu then pauses his actions. "Also, who else do you have on this? Assuming we does not just refer to Lana and yourself."

[Senya Tirall]

"Vaylin is a focused, if she wants something then she will go after it with unbridled tenacity, but she cares for no one, which means the pirates could be allies, unwitting even," she responded.

"She looks down on outlanders, it's typical Zakuul behavior."

[Nudimsu]

"Well, I can't say I am not familiar with the sentiment. I used to look down upon you humans for a long time, after all." Nudimsu stared at them, squinting his eyes. "Best bet would be the Chiss leader of the pirates. If he's smart, he will have already seen his inevitable fate and has some sort of plan to keep the ships and eliminate your daughter. He may not be successful with that last part, but perhaps he can be convinced to alter it to simply capture her. That does leave the Immortal and Syrian."

[Senya Tirall]

"The Immortal? That's a rather pretentious name," she said. "How do we make contact with the Captain?"

[Nudimsu]

"I was hoping today to infiltrate the Pirates thru a lead and get some intel on them. Should your daughter keep her word, she won't tell them about me. Once there, I can at least attempt contact with our intentions."

[Senya Tirall]

"That's dubious but will probably work, Vaylin won't care about them," she responded.

[Nudimsu]

"This whole affair is dubious." Nudimsu took another sip of his caf. "Unfortunately, when you're caught in a ambush, you have no choice to play in the conditions your adversary has set. Just have to hope the Force is on our side, I suppose. That and the pirates are gullible fools."

Nudimsu places his cup down and sighed a little. "Now, to my previous question: who else knows about you and is aiding this task? Less is better, naturally; cowards can easily make a move against us for the potential of safety or comfort."

[Senya Tirall]

"Tethys a Jedi, someone named Aphr and a man named Prince Galen Panteer, I expect it won't be long before many more know," she responded.

"Which is fine, I am done hiding."

[Nudimsu]

"Appreciate your resolve. That may be the key to stopping all this." He gave a firm nod at her statement

"I know Galen. He..." Nudimsu stared at Lana for a few moment. "...Helped me meet Lana. Tethys I vaguely remember from her helping Garth crash my ship a few years ago. Anya I only met yesterday, though I suppose that if she knows, thwt would also mean that the other red Twi'lek would know about you too. Darth Bellious. She fancies herself a manipulator, and she might be a good one, I don't know. Could be a asset to get the pirates to move how we need them too. Lana likely knows her better, though "

[Senya Tirall]

"So basically assume everyone knows," Senya replied.

[Nudimsu]

"If they don't today, assume they will know by the end of the week. Sith love to gossip." He nodded in thought before lookin at Lana. "Present company excluded, naturally."