Anakin Solo (anakinsolo) wrote in starnomad, @ 2015-02-10 15:01:00 |
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While maybe it was not the best option for blending in Rikki could not deny the fact that putting on her nomad costume felt like coming home. Since relocating to the Skywalker residence she had no reason for the extra protection, the weapons hidden, or the vibranium that laced her boots. Her shield she had used through practice with the Solo boys but the rest had stayed neatly packed up, taken out to be mended in the privacy of the room they have given her. There would be no replacements, no gifts left by Black Widow. This uniform would be all Rikki had of home, of a life that she could never truly return to. And it fit her like a second skin. While it was not native, it was hers. It was how those in the undercity knew her, Nomad. Waiting till Mara was asleep was a matter of patience. As far as Rikki was aware Luke would not be home tonight. And jedi needed to sleep, especially those who were ill. R2 was another story but Rikki knew her way around the apartments with her eyes closed now. It was simple enough to jump the leash and make her way down towards the Solo apartments. Honestly she doubted Mara would have stopped her if she had explained what she was up to. While she was still not entirely certain the older woman trusted her it did seem that she at least tolerated her. That was something, right? The memory of how to get back to the Solo's was burned into Rikki's mind. The hour ticked on but she made good time. If they agreed to go along then the next time would be simpler. Rikki smiled slightly as she made her way to their apartments. There would be a next time if she knew Anakin. Jacen might be a more difficult sell but between the two of them she maybe had a chance of swaying the more stoic brother. Of course there was the issue of Threepio. "Mistress Rikki I must say it's dreadfully late, are you certain that you don't need me to contact someone to get you home." Rikki sighed, pushing her way past the droid. "I need to see Anakin and Jacen. Are they up?" Her breath always caught slightly as she entered the apartment. It was all just so... much. And it explained more about Anakin than he would probably like to know. Threepio followed after her, trying to usher her back towards the door. "No, they're sleeping, which is where you should be too young lady. This is more irregular!" As it turned out Jacen Solo was awake. Restless and unable to sleep, with half-visions that he could neither quite reach, nor come to any real conclusion with, he'd been sitting awake for nearly thirty minutes just staring out at the city and trying to figure out what the real answer to the entire situation was. He kept seeing things, half-visions of futures and darkness and it wasn't anything that he could take to his Uncle with any certainty. Especially not after what had happened at ExGal-4 when he'd followed a vision off and nearly gotten himself killed in the process. Threepio's moaning and whining caught his ears and he tilted his head. There was another presence in the house, someone that Threepio had known well enough to let in - at this hour? He unfolded his legs and stood in the darkness of his room. He slid the door open and stepped out of his room into the hallway and towards the main staircase. He stopped short halfway down it as he realized that not only did Threepio know who had been let in, he did too. Rikki Barnes? She was dressed - differently than he'd ever seen her dressed or really differently than he'd seen almost anyone dressed and she was awake at this hour of the night. "Rikki?" He stared and then remembered there was still a flight of stairs between them and he stepped down the rest of the stairs towards the main floor of the apartment. "What's wrong?" While she might not have the force Rikki knew when someone was watching her. It was a honed skill that crept up the back of her neck. And given Threepio was around and she seemed to be his greatest worry that limited just who it could be. Turning around Rikki looked up the massive staircase to see which brother it was. Jacen Solo stood in front of her, clearly awake and likely had been for some time. Just what was keeping this brother up at all hours? The question was at the tip of her tongue but she kept it back for now. She needed him awake at the moment and so he was. If anything it further solidified that she had made the proper decision in her head. Putting on a smile, Rikki waved slightly as he came down the stairs. She wasn't used to having friends that weren't used to her hours. People questioning why she was up just seemed, well it was curious. Not that it didn't make sense, it did. But sometimes Rikki forgot that these people didn't know her at all. It was so easy to fall into the comfort she had at home. "Oh good, you're already awake." her smile grew brighter as she greeted him at the bottom of the stairs. "That means I only have to wake up Anakin." Jacen's confusion didn't lessen with her words but it was difficult to not respond to the smile. He stepped down onto the main floor and directly addressed Threepio who seemed to be beside himself with the hour. "I'm so sorry Master Jacen. She just knocked and then insisted." "It's all right Threepio. Really," Jacen said. And it really was all right. He gave the droid a look. "Why don't you go see about some water for all of us okay?" As Threepio tottered off Jacen turned his attention back to Rikki. He hadn't expected her. Uncle Luke maybe or his mom or dad or Jaina returned home perhaps or maybe a former politician - although at this hour it would be rare and the oddest of favors that would bring them here. But instead Rikki. This mysterious, slightly cute girl that he didn't quite know why Uncle Luke was allowing to hang around. "Why do you need to wake Anakin?" If his brother was actually asleep then it didn't make any sense to wake him. And Jacen didn't know if he would be. He sometimes suspected Anakin spent as much time staring out transparisteel windows as he did at night. "What's going on?" "I figure he should probably be awake when we head to the undercity." Rikki offered, light in tone as she walked around him to head towards the stairs. He was going to stop her, she knew that. But if she had a correct read on the situation it wasn't going to be in any way that she couldn't use to her advantage. Curiosity was a powerful force and Rikki was intending to use that for all she could. Turning around, she took a step up backwards as she shrugged at Jacen. "Unless you want to carry him, because I'm not." Jacen turned as she did, a look of surprise on his face. "The Undercity?" He could think of no reason why they should be going to the Undercity unless his Uncle was sending them there for something... Information? It all seemed... A little sketchy and he took a step to step in front of her before she headed up the stairs to Anakin's room. There was no point in her startling Anakin if there wasn't a good reason. Plus his little brother had a tendency to fall into bed however he was dressed or not and Jacen was pretty certain he'd heard the showers running earlier. "Why the Undercity? Does Uncle Luke know you're here?" Rikki raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side as she looked up at him and forced eye contact. It was bravado in part but Rikki was on a mission and nothing got in the way of her mission. This mission just happened to include convincing both of these boys to follow along with her. Which honestly she didn't think would be all that difficult. Anakin and Jacen wanted to do the right thing, it's just neither of them had the focus on what needed to be done. Yes there was a war, but there were little wars going on right beneath their feet. And that was the point of jedi, wasn't it? To protect, to help. Just like a hero should. "Master Skywalker isn't in town." Rikki said pointedly, pressing her hand against his chest and pushing forward as she took another step. He could move or she could make him move with her. "He asked me to help train you before he left. There's no point in training if you're not going to use it to help people, and there are plenty of people who need help in the Undercity." Jacen stared again and he took an involuntary step backward at her push. There was no reason for her touch to have the effect it did. They'd fought before but something about this felt different leaving Jacen's focus switched from his unclear visions of the future to something very here and now. That something was a redheaded woman who seemed determined that she was going to take both him and his brother to the Undercity. "I don't think that's what Uncle Luke had in mind." Jacen protested. "Why wouldn't it be?" The question came from his younger brother and Jacen turned his head, a flush heating his cheeks as he realized how close he and Rikki we're currently standing - her fault - but Anakin was standing above the two of them now and apparently had showered by the fact that he was dressed only in trousers and a loose outer tunic that half covered his chest. Anakin took a step down from the top of the stairs. He didn't much look as if he'd been asleep either. Good, he moved. That was one point in Rikki's favor. If he was going to stand his ground he would have already done it, which meant that the work of convincing him wouldn't be half as difficult as it could have been. But before she could argue further there was another voice and that one snapped to Rikki's attention immediately and forced her to look up. Oh. Shit. Her cheeks flushed red for a moment as far too many memories wanted to bubble up to the surface. The brief flush on her cheeks was all that betrayed them. After the reminder Rikki's mind was able to focus on the differences. Anakin was skinny, smaller, he was still young even though really he was only a year younger than the Anakin she had known. But a lot had happened in that year. And then they had gotten to grow a little older together. She had to remind herself to focus on the differences. "Oh good, you're awake too." She managed to keep most of the tightness out of her voice, her hand dropping to her side as she looked back at Jacen with another smile. "And see? He agrees with me. It's two against one." Taking a step down she looked up momentarily again at Anakin only to drop her eyes quickly. "You should put a shirt on." Jacen looked back from his brother to Rikki and there was something radiating off of her too, but with Anakin standing there Jacen couldn't ask, and he didn't want to dwell on any of it. It was awkward enough to have the thought cross his mind that he was already regretting her hand having dropped. Which meant, focusing back on the thing directly in front of him - not the red-head, but that other thing. Jacen rolled his eyes, and waved a hand. "Of course he doesn't agree with me, nothing new there." Anakin glanced down briefly, apparently unconcerned at the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and he took a step down the stairs instead to meet his brother and Rikki half-way. Rikki's outfit was new, and he glanced at it. It suited her, and she looked - perhaps more confident than she typically did. There was something, and it wasn't a bad look on her. "I'm not disagreeing with you just to be difficult," he pointed out to Jacen. "I just think that if the Jedi are supposed to be protecting and supporting justice through the Galaxy, Uncle Luke can hardly disagree with us doing it in one tiny tapcaf on the planet of Coruscant. And - it isn't even violent, or it doesn't have to be, so you ought not have any disagreement with it either, really." "It's not that I'm worried about, although the Undercity isn't exactly a walk in the-" "Yeah, I know. I mean, it'll hardly be the only dangerous thing either of have done in the past year, and it's a hell of a lot less dangerous than an asteroid field at Dubrillion, or a moon at Sernpidal, or any of the things we've done more recently than that." Anakin crossed his arms over his chest. "Helping people, Jacen. It's what we're supposed to be doing. You can't argue with that." "If I can survive there, you can last a night." Rikki pointed out helpfully. Anakin was already completely on board. Granted she wasn't surprised, Anakin Solo had joined up with the Young Allies before he even really had a full idea on just what they were about. It was that same urge to help people no matter her circumstance that drove her. It was part of what had ended up attracting her to him in the first place. And right now she just hoped Jacen wouldn't take Anakin agreeing as a reason to simply be contrary. Instead she took a final step back, taking herself off the stairs completely. "There is a planet full of people who need our help." Rikki started, reaching out and pointing out towards the doorway. "And no one ever comes. But for maybe one or two people tonight, we can be there when no one else will." Her arms crossed over her chest, unconsciously mimicking the same stance as Anakin. "We've no right to do anything less. So you can stay, you can both stay, but that's where I'm going." "Me too," Anakin said. His eyes met Rikki's. He hadn't really been sleeping. He'd been trying, and possibly on the border edge of it, but he knew he wouldn't easily go back to sleep around. And besides that, Rikki was right. It wasn't fighting the Yuuzhan Vong, but the Undercity wasn't kind to anyone and Anakin knew that well enough. There was no harm in going down and helping if he could. And he didn't think Uncle Luke or Aunt Mara could really argue with it. He was pretty certain that Aunt Mara wouldn't - so long as they were really helping and not just going in and fixing things. It'd be a challenge. It'd be different than exercises that Anakin realized he'd probably failed in hind-sight even though he thought he'd fixed the problem. It'd be practice, and words were only words. Jacen looked at Anakin and then looked over at Rikki. They looked almost like mirror images of each other which caused him to frown. "It's not - I'm not arguing, Anakin. But I think we ought to at least tell someone." "Threepio," Anakin pointed out. "He's around here somewhere, right? And Besides Rikki's spent how many months in the Undercity. She knows it. And we're Jedi." He looked over at Rikki and gave her a quick grin. "I'll go change." And he turned on his heel and easily bounded up the top half of the stair case two at a time. Jacen looked frustrated. But he could hardly let Anakin go off with Rikki alone. "Fine. But I'm not helping solve bar brawls." The smile she gave Anakin was instinctive, happier for just a split second than she remembered being in months. Her body felt light and she quickly reminded herself to keep herself grounded. But for just a split moment it had felt like normal. Anakin would back her up, as long as he felt she had made the right call. They had been a team, moreso than she had been with anyone else other than maybe Steve. It wasn't true here but it could be the beginning of one. And maybe she shouldn't pull them out, she knew from Anakin that this was never something he had done. But Anya had shown her that teams were important even if it could be done alone. And the Jedi were fighting a losing battle right now. Anakin and Jacen both needed skills, needed training, and this was more in line with what they should know than just going in and practicing a set of moves in a training ring. So if she could do some good and bring them along for the ride, she was obligated to wasn't she? It was just like she had told Mara Jade. They had to help, even if it was not the most obvious course. But she softened and reached out to Jacen, resting her hand against his arm gently. "This isn't about bar brawls." she offered softly. "You want to be a Jedi to help people, right? Well, people need your help." Jacen glanced down at the hand on his arm and for an instant he didn't say anything. He still wasn't certain it was the best of ideas. But then again, Anakin was right that this wasn't battles, or violence - at least it didn't have to be. And while he'd been trying to figure out what the Jedi were supposed to do, peacekeeping and non-violent actions were at the forefront of everything he could come up with. In theory he couldn't actually disagree with what Rikki had said, or what Anakin had said in backing her up. And if it wasn't bar brawls, it wasn't violence - then yeah, there were people in the Undercity that struggled. He nodded, allowing the frustration to flow away as he did so. He took his other hand and put it on hers gently. "All right," he said. "Just no fighting." Her hand was softer than he expected, and he looked up to meet her eyes, dropping his hand to his side. "I'd best change into something a little more suitable as well. I'll be right back." Jacen's step was not as enthusiastic as Anakin's had been, but he did move fairly quickly back up the staircase, and it was only a minute after when he'd left when Anakin had returned dressed in brown trousers, a sandy tunic and undertunic, his cloak draped over his arms. His lightsaber was attached to his belt, his only visible weapon. As he stepped down the stairs he gave Rikki a grin. "Do you have a place in mind?" "Hey, I don't solve everything with fighting." Rikki teased as she let her hand drop. "I haven't even punched you once today." This was... the more time Rikki began to spend with Jacen the more she saw the brother that Anakin had remembered. While she saw the beginnings of what would grow into the man she knew and loathed more than likely was even really appropriate, there was another person there as well. A person that did want to help people, who was willing to listen even if he did not always agree. It was strange that someone so against violence would use it so freely for his own ends. But for now she let him go to get changed and ready for what the evening had before them. And all her thoughts of Jacen were stopped when Anakin stepped back into view. Really she needed to get a handle on herself, these glimpses and meetings turning her insides to knots. Granted Anakin's style choices in New York made a lot more sense now that she had spent time here. He would blend in, she wouldn't. Except Nomad wasn't entirely unknown in the Undercity either. And personally she felt that her outfit was way less strange than what some people wore as normal clothes here. So instead she returned his grin, holding onto the end of the staircase for a moment when her knees went a little weak. "I always have a place in mind." She teased before shrugging. "There's a place I worked at, they know me and they're well informed on the area. If there's someone that needs something, they'll know and can point us in a direction." Anakin dropped his cloak over a chair as he hit the main floor, in time for Threepio to come in with water and look at him confused. "Master Anakin," Threepio said. "Master Jacen said to bring water, and Miss Rikki here..." "Thanks Threepio," Anakin said with a grin as he reached out and took the cups that Threepio was offering them. "Here Rikki," he handed one over for her, and then he sat down on the arm of the chair he'd just draped his cloak across, casually watching her. This would be better than lying awake worrying about - well, his mother, his Dad, remembering Chewie, better than most of the things he ended up doing rather than sleeping. "Good, then if you have a place in mind, we'll be able to do more good maybe." Jacen had appeared on the steps again in a dark flight-suit, a belt, and his lightsaber. He'd washed his face and combed his hair, something that wasn't apparent unless you were paying very close attention to the damp hair just around the edges of his face. Seeing Anakin and Rikki he gave Rikki a shrug. "If you're determined to do this," he said. "We could still just have Threepio make us hot cocoa and go back to sleep." Rikki took the offered drink, focusing on Threepio momentarily instead of Anakin who was very much watching her. "Thank you, Threepio. I'm sorry I've caused you so much trouble tonight." The apology and the droid were easier to keep her head on task. He wasn't watching her for any reason after all. Why should he be? Outside of what she was taking them to do. There wasn't anything more to it than that. At the very least being thrown together meant that Rikki was getting at least a little better at controlling the outward effect that this idiot boy had on her. The mission, Rikki. She took a quick sip of water, letting that calm her stomach at least a little. The excitement of actually doing something again was wrapped around the torture of who she wanted to do that with. Because she would do something with Anakin. That something being the mission, Rikki get a hold of yourself. "That's the plan. It's a good way to get your feet wet." Setting the glass down when Jacen finally came back Rikki was nearly bounding on her feet in eagerness to head out. There was too much energy flowing through her veins to even think about his suggestion. "I didn't come all the way over here in the middle of the night to go to sleep." she laughed, shaking her head. "Besides, none of us were sleeping anyway. So might as well do something instead." Jacen looked over at his brother for an instant. "Why weren't you asleep?" "Why weren't you?" Anakin countered, his arms crossed over his chest. Jacen sighed. It was clear he wouldn't get any answers out of Anakin right now and he wasn't interested in talking about his visions with Rikki. Or for that matter Anakin. He was certain his brother would think them unimportant, and he didn't really want to share them with Rikki. He still wasn't entirely certain what she thought of the Jedi, and it was the sort of thing a non-Force sensitive simply might not understand. He looked over at Threepio. "We'll be back before morning." Anakin had stepped over to the front door and by the time Jacen had finished with Threepio Anakin was standing outside on the open air platform that doubled as a garden area. He stood by a planter filled with some rare Alderaanian flowers as he waited for Rikki and Jacen to join him. Maybe it was the air on the platform, or maybe it was just the fact that for the first time in weeks he seemed to have the opportunity to maybe do something worthwhile. He stared out, the criss-crossing of Coruscant's traffic lines were still consistent even at this late hour. If it would be something worthwhile and Anakin had to admit he just hoped that it would be. Anakin would try. No, he would do. It would be the best that he could give to this planet, and as Uncle Luke had used to say - by trying you will have success regardless of the outcome. It had been a statement that had felt easier to believe when the outcome was a training scenario, or sparring at the Jedi Temple, when the outcome hadn't been the loss of an entire planet, or a beloved friend. "Believe and you succeed." The words were offered to the Coruscant night just barely above a whisper and Anakin drew the Force around him for guidance in the evening. It felt right. It had from the moment that Rikki had suggested it, so as he felt his brother and Rikki behind him he turned and stepped slightly to the side to allow Rikki to take the lead. She knew the Undercity better probably than Anakin or Jacen did. |