Dr. Lars Valli
"Dr. Valli? Your visitor is here, sir."
Ah, yes, he'd almost forgotten, with all the chaos of this situation with the G.I.N.A. prototypes. Still, he welcomed the chance to collaborate with a mind who might prove useful to him.
"Dr. Lokin," Valli Senior said warmly. "Please, come in, sit down."
He gestured away from his desk, toward a small grouping of tastefully expensive sumptuously upholstered chairs - not the norm for a mostly fairly modern and utilitarian space station - where he preferred to meet with guests... and of course the occasional favored client.
"I hope my son will be able to join us shortly. He was at a rather critical step of product development and was unable to step away."
As a rule, Volent carefully avoided the word 'experiment.' Lars Valli had decreed that. He felt it sounded too capricious and unpredictable. Volent didn't experiment. Volent got results, always. And the only result worth obtaining was a successful product brought to the market.
"I'm so pleased you decided to come visit our humble abode."
An upturned corner of the mouth - they both knew it was anything but humble.
"So tell me, Doctor - what brings you to our quiet little corner of space today?"
Corporate Affairs
Re: Corporate Affairs
Vector Hyllus
If the ride to Odessen had been stuffy and cramped, he hadn't noticed. He had spent the trip in the medbay, supervising Frenka's care. Certainly he would have left Huttsbane to the task if the Evocii had been able to simply be a husband and remain by his wife's side - but unfortunately, his tribe was in an intense period of change and he was continually being drawn away to assist with other matters. Vector hoped that the other man was comforted somewhat by his presence.
The Agent, he hadn't seen, though he knew she was a mixture of concerned and uncomfortable. She was elsewhere on the vessel, sitting among the Evocii. He imagined that she was telling them about the planet they were going to. How it differed from Rishi, particularly in climate and in terms of safety. Vector shook his head at his own desires. The much more likely scenario was that the Agent was sitting in silence observing everyone, rather than making her own opinions known. He could only hope that one day she would make more connections with people outside of work - good people like his friend Frenka's family.
Once the ship landed, everyone began spilling out onto the hangar floor. Families that had been split between vessels reunited joyfully as if they had been unsure that their luck had truly changed. Some gazed about in wonder - some in resignation. Nearly all the Evocii held blankets around their shoulders as barriers against the noticeably cooler Odessen air. But, they were safe. If the actions of these people they had fallen in with were any indication - the Evocii would stay that way.
The Agent was suddenly at his elbow, materializing out of thin air to stand millimetres away from his robes. His skin prickled with the excitement of having her so near, though he kept his face stoic and neutral. He had had much practice with this. It did not get any easier with time.
"I want you to stay with Frenka. Huttsbane has much to do and I think he would feel better knowing that someone they both trust will be standing by to alert him when she regains consciousness."
Vector was in agreement...until he recalled that this mission had occurred rather quickly in order to make way for the main mission. The mission to Volent. She was...leaving him behind?
"We...think it unwise for you to go alone." The bitter taste of loss was on his tongue as he made his protest, already knowing that he would ultimately do whatever it was she wished.
"I will be fine. Our people have gone ahead and I do not believe these new contacts would leave me behind. They are too trusting, but I am not. I will ensure my own safe return."
Her voice was even, though a touch forceful. He knew she meant what she'd said, but he considered how events could be well out of the Agent's hands at any given time. It may not be up to her if she lived or died, despite how she behaved. Vector opened his mouth to say as much, when her fingers touched the inside of his elbow, fingertips lightly pressing into him though her body did not move any closer. He caught his breath.
"I will return, my beloved."
These words were spoken so softly that if she hadn't been holding his arm, he would have thought he'd imagined them. He turned his head to look at her - and she was gone. Vector looked up at the throng around him and spotted her moving through the Evocii toward the other Imperial vessels docked in the hangar. He admired how the datpad screen illuminated her left cheekbone before he too turned away tend to his tasks.
If the ride to Odessen had been stuffy and cramped, he hadn't noticed. He had spent the trip in the medbay, supervising Frenka's care. Certainly he would have left Huttsbane to the task if the Evocii had been able to simply be a husband and remain by his wife's side - but unfortunately, his tribe was in an intense period of change and he was continually being drawn away to assist with other matters. Vector hoped that the other man was comforted somewhat by his presence.
The Agent, he hadn't seen, though he knew she was a mixture of concerned and uncomfortable. She was elsewhere on the vessel, sitting among the Evocii. He imagined that she was telling them about the planet they were going to. How it differed from Rishi, particularly in climate and in terms of safety. Vector shook his head at his own desires. The much more likely scenario was that the Agent was sitting in silence observing everyone, rather than making her own opinions known. He could only hope that one day she would make more connections with people outside of work - good people like his friend Frenka's family.
Once the ship landed, everyone began spilling out onto the hangar floor. Families that had been split between vessels reunited joyfully as if they had been unsure that their luck had truly changed. Some gazed about in wonder - some in resignation. Nearly all the Evocii held blankets around their shoulders as barriers against the noticeably cooler Odessen air. But, they were safe. If the actions of these people they had fallen in with were any indication - the Evocii would stay that way.
The Agent was suddenly at his elbow, materializing out of thin air to stand millimetres away from his robes. His skin prickled with the excitement of having her so near, though he kept his face stoic and neutral. He had had much practice with this. It did not get any easier with time.
"I want you to stay with Frenka. Huttsbane has much to do and I think he would feel better knowing that someone they both trust will be standing by to alert him when she regains consciousness."
Vector was in agreement...until he recalled that this mission had occurred rather quickly in order to make way for the main mission. The mission to Volent. She was...leaving him behind?
"We...think it unwise for you to go alone." The bitter taste of loss was on his tongue as he made his protest, already knowing that he would ultimately do whatever it was she wished.
"I will be fine. Our people have gone ahead and I do not believe these new contacts would leave me behind. They are too trusting, but I am not. I will ensure my own safe return."
Her voice was even, though a touch forceful. He knew she meant what she'd said, but he considered how events could be well out of the Agent's hands at any given time. It may not be up to her if she lived or died, despite how she behaved. Vector opened his mouth to say as much, when her fingers touched the inside of his elbow, fingertips lightly pressing into him though her body did not move any closer. He caught his breath.
"I will return, my beloved."
These words were spoken so softly that if she hadn't been holding his arm, he would have thought he'd imagined them. He turned his head to look at her - and she was gone. Vector looked up at the throng around him and spotted her moving through the Evocii toward the other Imperial vessels docked in the hangar. He admired how the datpad screen illuminated her left cheekbone before he too turned away tend to his tasks.
Re: Corporate Affairs
Padawan Dallyn
It was nerve wracking, moving the Ratatakki woman when she had such a tenuous hold on life, but Master Visper was right - she needed a bacta tank if she was going to survive. It seemed so surreal as they moved over the uneven ground, slowly inching closer and closer to the ship and her rescue. He'd let out a sigh of relief when she was dropped in. As though the bacta were now taking responsibility for her survival.
Dallyn found himself staring at his hands. They were stained deep red and felt stiff when he tried to move his fingers. Beads of sweat had left tracks of white across his palms and he noticed then that his robes were also stained with Frenka's blood. He could see how he'd grabbed at his robes, even, the hand print emblazoned across folds of fabric.
He should have found it alarming.
Instead, he'd simply moved to a wash stand and began rubbing the stuff off his hands. He watched it turn brighter red as it washed down the drain. The blood stains remained stubbornly embedded in his cuticles, but the most of it was gone, so he'd dried his hands and returned to stand near Master Visper by the bacta tank. Though he was looking at Frenka, he didn't seem to really be seeing her. After a while, he spoke in a low tone.
"Master Visper, what happens to a Knight if their padawan does not graduate? Hypothetically? I never heard the Masters talk about that in the Temple."
It was nerve wracking, moving the Ratatakki woman when she had such a tenuous hold on life, but Master Visper was right - she needed a bacta tank if she was going to survive. It seemed so surreal as they moved over the uneven ground, slowly inching closer and closer to the ship and her rescue. He'd let out a sigh of relief when she was dropped in. As though the bacta were now taking responsibility for her survival.
Dallyn found himself staring at his hands. They were stained deep red and felt stiff when he tried to move his fingers. Beads of sweat had left tracks of white across his palms and he noticed then that his robes were also stained with Frenka's blood. He could see how he'd grabbed at his robes, even, the hand print emblazoned across folds of fabric.
He should have found it alarming.
Instead, he'd simply moved to a wash stand and began rubbing the stuff off his hands. He watched it turn brighter red as it washed down the drain. The blood stains remained stubbornly embedded in his cuticles, but the most of it was gone, so he'd dried his hands and returned to stand near Master Visper by the bacta tank. Though he was looking at Frenka, he didn't seem to really be seeing her. After a while, he spoke in a low tone.
"Master Visper, what happens to a Knight if their padawan does not graduate? Hypothetically? I never heard the Masters talk about that in the Temple."
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Monkey Kitty
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Re: Corporate Affairs
Visper Averrod-Iresso
Visper just met Dallyn's eyes for a moment, her gaze searching.
"Well," she said. "I imagine the Council would have some questions for the Master. A padawan abandoning training is not a common thing, and no doubt the Council would want to make sure that the Master wasn't at fault through some error of training, failure of rapport, or neglect of duty."
She continued to hold his gaze. There was no accusation in her eyes, no condemnation, but her eyes were unflinching.
"I would anticipate, though, that the Master would be prepared to answer those questions. It is not the duty of the Master to force the student to stay on the path. Ultimately, that is for the student to decide. If the Master truly was not at fault, I would think the student could trust that the Master had the strength and poise to face that challenge. Wouldn't you?"
Visper just met Dallyn's eyes for a moment, her gaze searching.
"Well," she said. "I imagine the Council would have some questions for the Master. A padawan abandoning training is not a common thing, and no doubt the Council would want to make sure that the Master wasn't at fault through some error of training, failure of rapport, or neglect of duty."
She continued to hold his gaze. There was no accusation in her eyes, no condemnation, but her eyes were unflinching.
"I would anticipate, though, that the Master would be prepared to answer those questions. It is not the duty of the Master to force the student to stay on the path. Ultimately, that is for the student to decide. If the Master truly was not at fault, I would think the student could trust that the Master had the strength and poise to face that challenge. Wouldn't you?"