| abstract
| - A tall Corellian strolls into the garden and looks about idly. Carrying a guitar with a strap hanging on his back, he wanders over to a nearby fountain, off to one side and beneath the scattered sun and shade of a overhanging tree. He settles himself down and begins to tune the instrument. He is more taken with his surroundings and doesn't seem to notice the people milling about much. Skeezix wanders into the garden, his eyes tracing the western horizon quietly, a datapad held in his right hand. Kian spots Paul with a corner of his eye and shoots a curious glance at him; his eyes turn into a cheerful, but also a mischievous hue. Paul, his eyes focused on his instrument, finishes with the tuning and begins to play. He handles the guitar well, his hands moving over the strings with surprising speed and skill despite their size. The piece is a classical guitar piece - mostly finger picked and lightly lyrical. It matches the mood of the park, bright and sparkling like the sunlight reflecting off the fountain next to him. Gabrielle lilts her head to one side, her gaze sweeping over the boy "How old are you?" Kian cocks his head a bit to the side and narrows his eyes against the sun as he looks towards Skeezix. He follows him with his gaze for a moment, then looks to Paul again. His feet don't reach the ground and he swings them a little... Casually, he enjoys the warm, bluish afternoon, and the guitar, too. Skeezix slowly moves towards the water's edge, yet the sound of the guitar disturbs him for a moment. Even though he turns slowly, his cape blows up in the breeze to accentuate his movement. He blinks, surprised, as he eyes the player. Kian tears his gaze away from the musician, then sends it up to Gabrielle. With a sprite's smile, he nods at her, and twitters, "I was twelve... But why do you want to know?" His eyes become a question themselves, too. Paul blends into a new piece, this one a little more mellow and relaxed in it's tempo. It must be a piece that he knows well, because he gaze lifts from his hands and he casually begins to look around the park, taking notice of the people around him, but his hands continue to play on without flaw. He spots Kian and the redheaded woman first and blinks in recognition of both, though he is suddenly stumped as to where he has seen the woman before. He grins as Kian childishly swings his legs and shakes his head curiously at the kid. Gabrielle: You see before you a young human female, standing easily at 5'9". Alluring emerald eyes sparkle from behind a fan of bronze lashes, twin jewels set in a softly aristocratic face. Her slender well developed form is garbed in a pair of close fitting khaki slacks and a soft silk shirt of mint green. The slacks are tucked into soft polished brown leather boots, a matching belt cinched about her waist. Her copper hair, is bound neatly in a braid that runs down her back, ending just past the waist, stray wisps framing her face sweetly. The gold flecks near the center of the iris intensify the sparkle in her eyes. A smile plays on her full red lips complimented by the soft rose hue on her cheeks. Her movements are calm and lithe like a jungle cat's and she carries herself with demure confidence that is belied by the constant mischievous sparkle in her eyes. Skeezix smiles slightly as he listens to Paul's playing for a moment, then finally manages to pick out Gabrielle from the crowd. His smile brightens slightly as he begins to walk over towards her. Gabrielle listens to the music as it's gentle tone drifts through the park, it's volume soothing over the sound of the fountains. She lifts her hands, clasping them loosely in her lap "Just curious. Twelve eh? And not all alone I hope." Kian pulls his knees up to his chest and wraps his hands around them, and yawns. Then catches Paul's grin and throws it back to him, twitching his nose at that. "Hey there," he calls with a young voice that is still bigger than himself. Kian closes an eye and looks quizzically at Gabrielle. "You hope?... In vain, I'd say." He chuckles in that curious, almost alien way, happy and in the same time sad. "Like everybody else, I am all alone." Paul smirks as Kian recognizes him and tosses off an even bigger grin in return. "Hi," he responds brightly, "You get that rest that you needed?" he teases lightly, in response to Kian's comment of the other night. As the General meets Gabrielle's gaze, he nods slowly in greeting. "Gabby," he says, "It's good to see you." Kian blows a runaway strip of red hair off his brow, and smirks, soberly, at Paul. "Aye, did I," he chirps. "A good rest it was. I think I'll have to repeat that, so good it was." Paul watches as General Calhoun approaches the redhead, and then he recognizes her, only she looks quite different than the last time he saw her. Paul chuckles at Kian's comment and replies, "Yeah, sleeping is one of my favorite hobbies," he notes wryly, "I sure do miss it these days." he notes with something of a wink. Skeezix: The man before you stands to about 5'11. He is bulky, agile and carries a determined look in his vivid blue eyes. He is young, looking to be about 26, his short brown hair just starting to show age. He is currently dressed in a pair of extremely well pressed khaki pants and shirt, each bearing an overwhelming sense of military perfection. The collar of this man's uniform is snapped tightly around his thick neck and gives yield to a beautiful, flowing green cape that falls down his back and lies inches from the floor. Upon each shoulder he carries a shining silver star, and farther up his left shoulder, a bright red New Republic flame burns. a five-pip red insignia has been pinned upon his right breast, and five rows of gleaming medals line up on his left. A jet black military belt is wrapped around his waist and gives way to an old, worn out holster carrying some type of pistol within. His military grade combat boots shine vividly, reflecting the objects around him as if they were made of glass. Gabrielle draws her attention from Kian, expression brightening as she catches sight of Skeezix. Her face grows warm, a highlight of rose dusting her cheeks as she returns the nod "Always a pleasure to see you General." Her eyes belie a twinkle that she covers with formality "Did the meeting go well?" "Of course," Skeezix replies. "We'll be having a fresh shipment of weapons brought to Kashyyyk within the next week." He winks as he adds, "Thanks to being awake." As Paul idly watches General Calhoun talking to the woman, a frown comes over Paul's face, as if seeing the man made him remember something disturbing. He drops his gaze to his hands for a moment to steady their pattern, there is a slight jangle, barely noticeable, as he slips up ever so slightly. Kian puts on his most innocent face and raises his open, bright eyes at Skeezix. "Oh, a *real* *general*?" he chirps in awe of a doubtful genuineness. Kian cocks his head and there's an inspired small smile. "Have you been to any *real* battles?" his chirping goes on. Gabrielle nods absently, looking at Kian, lips tugging carefully into an amused smile as the boy speaks up. Kian still manages to notice Paul's strange gesture, and he flickers his eyes, curiously, but says nothing, his attention still fixed mostly upon the general. Skeezix takes a moment to look over towards Kian, a quiet smirk crawling over his features. "Matter of fact, kid," he comments, "Just got back from one about a month ago." Paul stops playing for a moment and then begins to play again, more quietly and this time it is a piece that is a lot more sweetly melancholy and sad. He watches the General for a moment and then pays more attention to his hands, his expression becoming more fretful as he plays on. Kian opens his eyes wide in a surprise that is either real or extremely craftily faked. "Wow!" he goes soprano, "a real battle? With starships and all? Was it on Etti?" Skeezix's smirks even wider and replies, "Now if I was there, do you think I'd be allowed to tell you, kiddo?" Kian's eyes fill up with something that is more than just plain naughtiness. "Hey," he chuckles carelessly, "as you say, I am just a kid... I'll forget it by tomorrow anyway." He winks at general, sort of conspiringly. His voice, still high-pitched, becomes of a more serious, businesslike tone, all of the sudden. "Besides, I don't know about any other NR battles in the last few months except for that on Etti." He radiates a winning smile. "There's not much to guess." Skeezix's smirk fades into a mere grin as he replies, "Perhaps you should join enlist with intelligence." Would that be honesty, or a hint, no one may know as the General looks back to Gabrielle, his grin holding upon his face. Gabrielle emits a low musical chuckle and winks at Kian "No other battles that you know about." Her gaze shifts to Skeezix, eyes dancing with mischief and she stands, dusting her slacks carelessly. Kian grins too. "Perhaps I already have." And for his bright, frank laughter that follows, it is hard to say if his words were serious or just mockery. Skeezix perks his eyebrow as Gabrielle rises, his grin once again slyly changing into a smirk. "So, how'd your day go while I was busy haggling, Gabby?" One ear tuned to the conversation and tuned to his music, Paul continues to play the piece, and it sounds like he is changing it subtly, pausing every so often to try a different chord pattern or a different fingering, and then running through the piece again. His expression is still somewhat troubled, but his curiosity is also getting the better of him. Kian makes a smug little face, the sort children often do to hide whatever needs to be hidden, and glances up at Gabrielle. "You're leaving already?" Gabrielle tucks back a stray tendril of hair behind her ear, as she shrugs "Relaxing is the best way to describe it." She looks at Kian, her face dawning slight surprise "Well, no...I've just been sitting there for a while, thought I'd stretch." She grins. Skeezix chuckles slightly and comments, "Right," in response to Gabrielle. "Let me guess, you're already packed and ready to head back to Kash?" Kian ponders on Gabrielle's reply, his brow furrowed and sincerely puzzled. "Um... stretch? How? Why?" Paul begins to watch the General more carefully, curiously, a plan hatching in his eyes. He also keeps darting looks toward Kian, and a funny little grin comes across his face as he begins to question certain assumptions of his, taking in the kids appearance more intently. Kian: The long, ruffled and fluffy red hair of this tiny human boy hangs like a split curtain over his white brow and the wide blue eyes, sparkling brightly with a mixture of curiosity, candor and lust for life. The small, sooty nose, covered by a galaxy of freckles, sits in the middle of his mischievous, yet still innocent young face like a black button, just waiting to be pressed and make the child's full, serious lips smile, the strong, pale blue vein pulse between his eyebrows in the beat of his heart. Kian is clad in an old pilot's suit that has seen much better days, its sleeves ripped, the knees of its baggy, oversized pants torn and the laces of the low, worn-out boots lost. A wide cloak of an imperial royal guard, trimmed at the bottom and the sleeves into a baggy, knee-long scarlet tunic is girdled at the boy's narrow waist by a standard utility belt. There's a plain black pouch hanging across the child's lap, and from the pouch, an old, ragged wookiee doll grins at you. Kian scratches his nose with the tip of his index finger. "Um..." he thinks loudly, in a doubtful voice, "you need to stand up to relax?" Gabrielle shrugs at Skeezix, and smiles "Well not exactly ready, but I didn't have much to pack up in the first place." She chuckles looking back to Kian. "No, I was stretching my legs from sitting all morning." Skeezix laughs lightly and replies, "Well, I've not heard a word from Skywalker ever since the party, any how." His jovial mood suddenly seems to dampen slightly as he adds, "And the shuttle is still on her way." Kian nods, still having obvious difficulties with understanding that. "Can't you stretch your legs *without*..." he stops here and looks at Gabrielle sheepishly, but also struck by a revelation. "Oh... I see... of course you can't. Sorry." Another feathery chuckle, and he's quiet again. Skeezix looks down towards Kian for a brief moment, quirking his eyebrow in a hint of confusion. However, he shrugs off his confusion and looks back up to Gabrielle, remaining quiet for the moment. Kian suddenly glances at Paul and for a short moment, the grin as if copied from Paul's face, appears on his own, and there's a hint of deeper knowledge in his eyes, but is hidden so quickly that it might have been just an illusion. Still, he nods, lightly. Gabrielle arches a brow slightly, a confused flicker briefly flashing in her eyes. Skeezix mutters something to Gabby, followed by a brief shrug. Kian then looks back at Skeezix and Gabrielle, smiling the same sunny, ignorant smile as before. "Well, you see, there's a better way of stretching legs than standing up... I think." Paul catches the quick grin and the flash in Kian's eyes and his own narrow in humor for a moment and he seems to nod in response, or perhaps he is just bobbing his head in tempo with the music. His gaze returns to the General, however, and grows more discontented as it does so. Gabrielle nods trying to gain understanding of the boys words "And that would be what?" Kian blinks. "Well... ever tried that?" he giggles, and folds his legs into a lotus, swiftly and smoothly. "As stretched as they can be," he decides and wiggles his feet a little bit, to accommodate them. "It's a good drill for muscles, too." Kian scratches his hair, messing them up further. "As for standing up, I don't know... It's much much harder to stand up correctly than do this." He wiggles his feet again. Gabrielle's eyes twinkle brightly as she laughs, shaking her head "Oh, well no. Can't say I've tried that. Perhaps someday." Skeezix snickers and, jokingly adds, "Perhaps we should include that in our basic training package?" Gabrielle shakes her head again looking at Skeezix "No. Hard as I try, I can't picture Captain Coreen attempting that." At the words basic training, Paul's fingers definitely jangle on the strings and he looks down at his hands abruptly, cursing softly under his breath and starting the piece again. Kian unwraps his legs again, as effortlessly as before, and smirks both to Gabrielle and the general. "You think it's a joke, huh?" he twitters with a hint of mischief alighting on his nose. "Well, you won't know till you try it." Skeezix laughs heartily, "Not many can, Gabby. Not many can." His chuckling dies down and he averts his gaze, looking off towards the north. Gabrielle blinks back the laughter, and looks down at Kian "No, not funny, just the thought of a colleague of mine, attempting such a feat." She smiles warmly at the boy. Kian rolls up his nose and quirks an eyebrow, an undisturbed smirk on his lips. "Oh,... I think I know what you mean..." Instead of chuckling, he makes a curious gesture this time: he puts his hand into the fountain water and ripples it. "Is he holding too much water, or what?" The song cycles again and again, until Paul finally nods to himself, as if satisfied with it's voice and he begins to play something else a little more lively, as if to cheer up the somber mood left behind by the previous piece, even though he seems to be the only one affected by the sad tones. He watches Kian run his hands through the fountain curiously, his eyes flicking around the garden to take in the movements of the various people strolling through the park. Skeezix watches Gabby leave and shrugs, turning towards the east. With a quiet sigh he begins to walk off in that direction. Paul watches the General walk off and starts to rise, as if he were going to follow the man. Skeezix leaves the beauty and peace of the Coral Gardens. Skeezix has left. Kian leans back on the bench, unmoved by everyone's sudden departure. He gazes into the fountain, peacefully. Kian raises an eyebrow and sends Paul another calm, thoughtful glance; the sort of a gaze that both studies and sends a message. Paul gives Kian a quick glance and then a grin and notes idly, "See you around Kian." It is the kind of farewell said casually, but also hints at a promise. Kian swings his feet a couple of times, and nods. "See you. Around." With a light giggle that gets lost in the fountain's murmur, he closes his eyes, leans his fiery head back on the bench and starts enjoying the sun in his face. Paul watches the kid for a second longer, his mind questioning his assumptions and his conclusions. With a quick shrug he swings the guitar over his shoulder and heads out of the park. You leave the beauty and peace of the Coral Gardens. Calamari Coral City -- North Coral Avenue An extensive thoroughfare, the road, made of smooth pearly white sea rocks with irregular hues of pink, glistens under the warm rays of the sun. Residential buildings that seem to have sprung from the very depths of the dark blue oceans tower into the sky. However, these structures, made of a pale blue almost translucent material, are not nature's ingenuity, but that of the Mon Calamari. Cataracts of leaves, rustling in the cool breeze, flow from large trees providing plenty of shade. Many citizens walk to and fro, either to disappear into their dwellings or to quickly pause before a fountain and refresh themselves with its sparkling waters. To the west, you catch a glimpse of coral hills which lure you to take a stroll through the Coral Gardens, and coming from the south you hear the distinct sound of water rushing against cold stone, a pleasant call for you to head into the city's center square. Toward the north is the spaceport. -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => Skeezix => Verin Spotting Skeezix up aways, Paul bursts into a run after him and calls out, "Ah, General?" Skeezix turns on his heel and, quite startled, snaps back, "What?" When he finally notices that the man isn't a hostile, he relaxes visibly. As the General stops moving, Paul slows down his pace and approaches him walking normally. The guitar is now strapped across his back and as he draws nearer he extends a hand saying, "Hello General, I'm afraid we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Paul Nighman, and I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time?" Skeezix grasps the man's hand firmly and nods, "Yeah, Shenner told me about you." He leans back upon his heels and asks, "What's up?" At the mention of the girls name, Paul frowns slightly. "Well sir, that's exactly what I'd like to talk to you about ... Shenner." Growing interested with that, General Calhoun nods, "Okay... what's up?" His expression grows a little more guarded and hesitantly responds, "Well I don't know exactly what she may have told you about me ... and how we know one another," his voice trails off slightly, as if not wanting to elaborate unless he absolutely needs to. Skeezix nods slowly, "Go on.." You say, "Well, she's been through an incredible amount of personal upheaval in the last few weeks, and I am concerned that she is making a decision that is a potentially a rash one, and one that involves you," he replies succinctly." Skeezix perks an eyebrow and eyes Paul suspiciously. "What do you mean?" he asks, drawn into the conversation a bit deeper. Paul regards the man somberly and then continues. "She hinted to me last night that she was thinking seriously of joining the army section of the New Republic, which was not something she was thinking of until just the other day, after she and I had something of an uncomfortable conversation." The words uncomfortable and conversation both sound like they are polite synonyms for something else entirely. Skeezix folds his arms over his chest and asks, "So tell me, what happened in this conversation, Mr. Nighman?" Paul manages to keep his gaze steady and then in a calm voice he replies, "Paul. Well, essentially Shen believes that she is in love with me." He pauses for a moment and takes a seemingly casual breath. "I personally find this hard to accept as anything more than a crush - she hasn't known me for very long, she's only just recently come out as being female, she has been through several rather harrowing experiences, and I'm possibly one of the first men to ever take the time to teach her anything or even be nice to her." He swallows lightly and his eyes flicker with some undefinable emotion. "But I do care about her and didn't want her to get hurt ... so I tried to talk to her about it, but as you can probably guess, that is not an easy topic to discuss and in the end she was very upset." He looks away for a moment. "I only just realized recently that she must have been more upset than I knew ... because when we parted, she seemed alright, but now that I'm here, I think she was just putting up a brave front." Skeezix replies, "Well, you aren't the first to be nice to her.... but the decision she makes is hers, no one else's. If she needs to fill her heart with something, and she wants it to be my Army, so be it." Paul's eyes narrow slightly and he replies, "I'm not saying that she can't choose for herself, I'm asking you to take into consideration the fact that she may not be making a perfectly rational choice here, and it may not be a choice that is in her best interests." Skeezix nods slightly, "I'll talk to her about it. Personally... I don't want to see her go into the Marine Corps or... anything like that." Paul almost blanches a bit at thought, but recovers nicely. He nods and getting the sense that he will get no more out of this man he replies, "Thank you. I would appreciate that. I know that she was originally talking about going to Yavin along with Jessalyn Valios," he notes with intent, "so perhaps if something could be arranged to accommodate that placement?" Skeezix shrugs and repeats, a hint of annoyance in his tone of voice, "I'll talk to her about it." At the tone of annoyance, Paul senses that any more pressure from him, and the man would most likely try to talk Shen -into- joining the army. So, he merely nods tersely in response. "Well, thank you for your time General," he says in measured tones and then he starts to turn as if to leave. Skeezix nods curtly, "We'll do whatever's wisest. "With that, he turns towards the north and walks off, his gait brisk, steps long. Paul watches the man stalk off and wonders what the General would consider "wise". Somehow he seriously doubts it would be the same as Paul's opinion on that matter.
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