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| - Jessalyn steps wearily into the crew quarters, a datapad clutched to her chest, her face pale and her eyes wide and bright with tears. The sole occupant of the place at the moment appears to be a complete stranger: a redheaded youngster parked uneasily on an unclaimed bunk, clutching a battered guitar case as though it were some kind of talisman. As soon as footsteps herald an arrival, the redheaded kid shoots a green gaze up, wide-eyed and wary. Jessalyn leans against the wall, finally drawing her gaze into the room and peering carefully at the out-of-place person sitting on the bunk. She composes herself as she takes a few steps inward, still holding onto the datapad tightly. "Hello," she says in her quiet tones. You sense Shenner looking at you. ".... hi," comes a cautious reply. Shenner To most if not all passing glances, this individual could be summed up as 'young male human', and certainly the walk, stance, and mannerisms seem like those a brash young man would have. The short, spiky cap of dark red hair, with a brief little comma of a forelock over the left side of the brow, is masculine in look, as is the lean, angular build and tallish height. But if this is indeed a human male, it is one with uncommonly delicate features, dominated by large, luminous, and sharply intelligent green eyes... and a closer regard may well reveal to the observer that this human's voice is a shade _too_ high to truly be a young man's tenor -- in fact, it sounds more like a young woman's contralto. This human is clad in blandly unobtrusive garb, the kind you might expect any common laborer or traveller to have on: a simple white tunic with a turned-up collar; a heavy, padded vest of dark grey, with multiple pockets; breeches of a slate- blue hue, tucked into scuffed but serviceable calf-high boots of a neutral tan suede. Over all of this is worn an overlarge brown flight jacket, big enough that it tends to obscure the utility belt at the waist -- and anything that might be stashed in it. Jessalyn's smile is brilliant in her otherwise unremarkable face, lighting her rainforest green eyes as she takes a few more steps closer to the bunk. "Are you okay, dear?" She tilts her head slightly, brushing a stray lock of hair from her eyes. The kid seems to bristle a little at the 'dear', and a blush briefly creeps along pale cheeks as the youngster says hastily, "Yeah... yeah, fine. He send yah? The, um..." And the stranger finishes as if not quite certain of the appropriateness of the word, "Jedi?" The bright tearful eyes blink with surprise. "Jedi? You mean Luke?" She looks around as if expecting him to appear out of thin air. "You know him?" She moves to sit on the edge of the bunk, her body tense with worry as she studies your face, not threateningly, but with a sincere concern and compassion. The youngster with the guitar case shifts a little, tensely. "I dunno his name," comes a rough reply. "Tall blond guy. Wears black?" Jessalyn's eyes shine as she chuckles. "That sounds like him, except for the tall part," she remarks with some amusement. "How do you know him?" Shenner answers nervously, "He, uh, kinda just brought me up here. From the... planet." Jessalyn's spine goes suddenly straight. "Just...?" Her mouth opens with surprise. "You mean he's back? And he's.. he's all right?" This last sentence wavers slightly, betraying a normally well-concealed emotion. Brow furrowing under that brief curl of a forelock, the kid says slowly, "Well... yeah." And the kid pauses at that, as if unsure how much else to say. Jessalyn breathes a soft, relieved sigh, glancing downwards, before composing herself and glancing back at the youngster. "I'm sorry, forgive my manners." She smiles gently. "I'm Jessalyn Valios." A slender white hand is extended. The kid's mouth shifts tautly, and the green gaze -- darker than yours, but perhaps that's simply due to fright, and the contrast with that still-pale face -- flicks to the offered hand. But the kid does lift one in reply, and take and shake yours. ".... Shenner." . Jessalyn shakes the offered hand warmly. "A pleasure, Shenner." She settles back, folding her hands in her lap. "So Luke brought you here. Do you know why?" Shenner's hand quickly returns to wrap around the neck of the guitar case, as the kid rolls one shoulder in a shrug and eyes you searchingly. "He thought I wouldn't be safe on the planet," Shenner begins, tone and expression clearly adding the unspoken, 'How much of a story do you want here, lady?' Jessalyn is taken aback slightly, and a small frown touches the corners of her mouth. "I see," she says, inadequately, and shifts her weight where she sits on the bed. "Well, Shenner, I hope you'll be comfortable here. If you need anything, just let me know." Her own tone reveals her unease and feelings of being unwelcome, and she instinctively moves back. "I'm okay," the kid says quickly. Too quickly. That, and the quick riveting of that green gaze on a nice neutral spot on the far wall, suggests that whoever this youngster Shenner is, Shenner is extremely frightened. Jessalyn blinks again. Her brows knit over her eyes and she tilts her head, studying the young face before her. "What's the matter, Shenner?" The voice is gentle as she shifts to look at you more directly, noting the fear and obviously perplexed by it. Shenner's pale face slowly darkens in a building blush. The kid swallows, not meeting your gaze, but sliding a glance at you sidelong and perhaps trying to figure out if you can be trusted. Finally: "Um... this'll sound stupid, but.... you guys... _are_ the Rebels, right?" A hand flicks up from the guitar case, gesturing vaguely as if to take in the ship, its crew, and the fleet it's flying in. "Rebels?" She says the word as if it is one she had not heard in a long time. "Oh, my. Well, yes. You could say that. The New Republic, which was founded by the Rebel Alliance." Her green eyes narrow slightly. "But the war has been over for more than two years, Shenner. We're a legitimate government now." Shenner still doesn't look at you, and the kid's expression suggests embarrassment warring with lingering fear. "Was gonna feel _real_ damned dumb if I'd just gotten my rump hauled onto an Imp ship," Shen mutters. A gentle hand touches yours where it rests on the guitar case, followerd by an equally gentle and understanding smile. "I can understand that concern," she murmurs. "But you're safe here. You have my word." Shenner finally does look up at you, and the kid still seems tense, but perhaps on some level the gentle treatment is working, for Shenner then offers gruffly, "I, uh... I saw... Luke. Have a fight. I kinda got in the way." Her eyes close as her expression flinches briefly, but when she opens her eyes again, her composure has returned. "Yes, the princess said he was in danger," she murmurs quietly, then looks at you. "I should thank you if it was your interference that helped bring him back safely." The cropped dark head shakes vehemently. "I didn't do nothin' much," Shenner mumbles. "Just tried to tell him to move, is all..." Jessalyn shrugs her slender shoulders, and pats your hand once more. "Well, whatever the case... I'm glad you're both safe." She glances at her chrono, frowning. "It's late," she murmurs. "I bet you're exhausted after your adventures, hmm?" Her voice has an air of authority and gentleness that's almost maternal, and her gaze is warm as she reaches out brush the lock of hair from your eyes. "Think you can rest?" Shenner admits tinily, "Yeah... um... I'm kinda tired, this all happened real quick, yah know?" Jessalyn nods, her brows lifting. "I can imagine," she chuckles. "I wonder if Luke always acts so quickly on his decisions." She shakes her head in exasperation. "Only a few days of knowing Luke Skywalker and he's already baffled me more times than I care to count." �Razi This Horansi you see before you is a Kasa horansi. He stands at about 8'10" tall (2.5meters) when fully upright and straight. His fur coloration is snowish white with horizontal black striping along his exposed portions, those being his head and arms. You can see two incisors in the front of his muzzle as he looks upon everything around him with his deep, hazel eyes. Raz' has two tri-angular ears with tufts of furr behind them ,the right one having a nick in it,and his body striping continues its pattern on his head as well. Overall he has a broad neck that joins into his thick, black striped chest. Continuing to his chest and arms, he is very well built and muscalative, his arms looking very well proportioned to his size and having retractable claws on them. Razi is Clad in a one-piece black jumpsuit. A multitude of pockets, both visible and hidden, make the garment more than functional. Silver stitching trims the collar and cuffs. A narrow silver stripe runs down the outside of each pantleg. The silver logo of the NRI is attached to the point on the right side of the collar, the New Republic insignia to the left side. A stripe on the upper part of the left sleeve shows the rank of Captain. What shows even through his uniform are his powerful legs, they seem very capable with his hindpaws that have what looks like verry large claws that are retracted at the moment. And last is his tail, it is about 5' long and has the same horizontal black striping as his body and it sways constantly. (OOC reference, he is basically an upright siberian tiger). Shenner goes even paler. "Luke Sk... um... well, he... was pretty damned distracted, I guess he wasn't thinkin' much, just kinda told me to c'mon, and that creature mighta come back any second. The Espos too." The longest string of words the kid's uttered so far, and they burst out of Shenner in a sudden rambling rush. Jessalyn looks startled as she tries to assimilate this rush of information. "Creature? Espos?" She waves her hands, chuckling wryly. "Why don't you tell me the whole story after you've gotten some rest, hmm? You look like you need it!" She gets to her feet, brushing her hands over her trousers. "I'll come check on you in a few hours. I want to go talk to him myself." Shenner mumbles, more or less in the direction of the guitar case -- still being stolidly clutched at -- "Okay." Razi drapes his arm off the side of his bunk as he sleeps. Jessalyn smiles again, and rubs at the bruised side of her face absently. "Good. See you then, Shenner." She ruffles the kid's hair before turning to leave the room. You sense Razi looking at you. Razi coughs abit and sits up in a bunk slowly, blinking his eyes several times. "ugh... Shenner jumps a bit at the movement from the sleeping crewmember across the way, skittishly, and at last adds plaintively to Jessalyn, "Should I, uh... sleep here?" Jessalyn stops at the doorway and glances back. "This is the most comfortable place, I'm afraid." Razi yawns and looks around the room and nods to the two. The kid with the guitar says hastily, "I-I-I just don't wanna take somebody's bed, see..." Razi says, "don'tcha have yer own bunk?" Jessalyn smiles warmly. "You won't. There are plenty of beds. Now get some sleep!" she insists in a mildly scolding tone. Razi looks to Jessalyn and nods slightly Shenner, at the awakening of the Horansi, looks up at him; the kid's head shakes, mutely. Jessalyn nods to the Horansi as well, and explains, "Shenner is our guest here." Razi chuckles "well, I don't anyone gettin uppety if ya took a bunk Razi says, "ugh...wake up brain...I'm talking in tongues" Razi says, "a guest ehh? well, guess I'll have to be on my best behavior then."
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