World Tree MUSH

  There are plenty of ill-reputed planets that line the major hyperspace route known as the Hydian Way. One of them is the desert planet of Tattooine. With two suns, the place is miserably hot, full of shifty characters, and home to a major podracing circuit. It's also full of all sorts of people who deal in mechanical goods. Most of them are shifty, too! The parts that can be found in these back-lot markets aren't always easy to find anywhere else, though.

  So it is that Juno Eclipse is actually... out with the Rogue Shadow in a dusty, sandy yard of Tattooine's largest spaceport, and the place most visitors to Tattooine go. It's hot. It's brutally hot. The old general is slumped on a stool in the shadow of the Rogue Shadow, head bowed down and a damp towel draped over the back of her neck. She's stripped down to a black halter top, cargo pants, and combat boots; even that feels like it's too much.

  Starship parts are strewn on the ground in front of her, a few access panels removed from the Rogue Shadow's hull. Clearly she's in the middle of something, here. PROXY putters nearby, shuffling parts around and keeping things orderly in seemingly content silence.

    Funny, how scorching deserts and locales that feature pod racing also tend to attract wizards. Semantics aside, Li-Ming isn't far. She would be forced to admit, if asked, that she's unashamedly curious about the diversity of life in this realm. Dimension? Reality? She hasn't settled on terms yet. That they reflect personalities and motives she's familiar with is oddly comforting - the 'aliens' here are just people. People just trying to live, for the most part and she finds it rather easy to accept.

    She avoids the loudest purveyors and panderers, browsing through the displays of wares where the keeper is more reticent or surly. Not much of the technology means anything to her and that's fine; she's mostly killing time out here in the weirdly familiar heat of the desert sun. Suns. Anyway. It's time to move.

    So, determined that the time is right, she breaks into a brisk pace toward where she'd promised to be. Mooring for ships will always seem odd to her when it doesn't involve water. Flight isn't such a strange concept even on Sanctuary, though progress in that field has been stunted either by willful suppression or by the grinding pressure of otherworldly influence. She's heralded by the slight, melodic jingling of her armor before she's ever in sight and then, pausing to let a tiny wheeled droid pass, she steps out into the open.

    "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I normally keep accurate time but there's just so much to see here!" She's way too excited about this dump. Also way too unbothered by the sun. She's not even visibly sweating. Witch.

  "I'm going to be grounded here whether you turn up or not." There comes a shrug of one blaster- scarred shoulder. Juno doesn't look up at the sound of a familiar voice. In fact, she doesn't even raise her head. Planted in the sand by her boot is a bottle of water. Sand's already started to drift around it, dispersing in a puff as she picks it up to take a long drink. "There is."

  "As for me, I've seen it before. I've seen it all before. I hate the desert," she says conversationally, "and I wouldn't be here if I didn't need a few obnoxiously specific parts for the ship." Her voice drops a few degrees, although it isn't too confidential, nor concerned. "I've got a possible job for you. The First Order wants to build a certain outpost. I need some help in making sure the building project never finishes." Those blue eyes finally lift to Li-Ming, and they're the only thing about her that isn't heated. They're cool as flint or ice and, as they often are, unspeakably weary. "Sound like something you could work with...?"

    Eyes roll up to regard the ship. There's already so many things Li-Ming has to learn about before she even begins to crack the texts regarding spacecraft. A boot scuffs lightly at the ubiquitous sand and she brings her gaze back to Juno. Of course, she doesn't hold it against the older woman for disliking this environment. She's only had to live in something like it part of her life, though the reminder makes her jaw tighten ever so slightly. That's an entire story, though. "I do confess I find the unrelenting heat to be an uncomfortable reminder of the past."

    Her right hand waves as if to scatter the thought and send it away for the time being. "Yes, you'd mentioned this outpost." She draws nearer, circling carefully and without really thinking about what it seems like she's doing. She's very intently studying the surroundings. Voice lower once the gap's closed a bit more, she finally brings her gaze back to her host. Of sorts. "I'm willing to hear the details, at the very least." Her tone isn't quite as guarded and her amber colored eyes almost twinkle. She's not nearly so cold and cool; her malice quite easy to read even through her calm demeanor.

    Someone who doesn't let go easily when she's wronged. Or others, though her past displays may undermine any notion of altruism that may have guided her.

  The Rogue Shadow looms silently over the sand. Durasteel alloy ticks in the heat of Tattooine's binary suns. Its lines are predatory and sleek, dark; the impression only underscored by the dark viewports of its cockpit. Its 'wings' are short in proportion with the length of its body, from stem to stern, but they're broad enough to offer shade.

  "I just don't like it," Juno states, tone dismissive. "I spend most of my time aboard starships, where I don't have to suffer ridiculous temperatures like this." She finally pulls herself up to sit upright, sweeping an arm across her forehead and huffing a sigh. Despite her lightened clothing in concession to the heat, she's still wearing a blasters at each hip in their holsters. "You should stay in the shade if you can. I'd invite you aboard, where it would normally be cooler, but I've got diagnostics running on the engines right now. All its systems are disabled."

  In other words, the two women are screwed for climate control. Better get used to staying in the shade.

  Juno cracks the water bottle open again and taking another drink. "Did I? Good. Unfortunately, I can't really tell you the details, because I don't have them. I know where to get them, though. I've found a contact that can offer more information. I want to take you with me to meet him. We'll find him on the planet of Malastare, in the city of Port Pixelito. His name's Shyre. Berkellium Shyre. Good man. Good Rebel. Valuable informant. He can give us a better idea of where this outpost is and what kind of equipment and personnel it has. If I'm lucky, he'll also have the names of the base's important officers."

  Tossing the water bottle to land neatly in a pile of fine sand, Juno rolls one shoulder and then the other, reaching up to crack her neck first one way and then the other. Letting her arms drop, she returns to her pile of starship parts, sorting through the organised chaos as she explains.

    Deciding to be a little less... Odd, the young wizard looks up at the ship. Really looks, though still she doesn't /really/ understand all the principles that make it work. Some basics such as materials and electricals make sense. "Mmm. Indeed. However, I have circumstances such as these to thank for who I became, in a way." She steps aside to the shade and, wrinkling her nose at the relatively small difference in air temperature anyway. "Then here, allow me."

    Hands lift, the sand scrambles around her and the air temperature sinks. The effect spreads to encompass most of the ship and it's scattered parts. The twin stars beating upon everything with their radience doesn't let up but at least it's something. Entropy will have its way elsewhere. The surroundings will heat up a bit more. PROBABLY nobody will notice!

    "Then I'm eager to get underway to meet this man. Is there anything I can do to help?" She could start doing even MORE magic but who knows how that could go wrong?

  Those blue eyes lid at the sudden demonstration of magic, because suddenly the ambient temperature is bearable. Juno sighs in relief, straightening, and rests her hands on her hips to survey her orderly mess of starship parts and the gaping hole in the Rogue Shadow's hole.

  The question earns a glance from the old general. She sighs, shaking her head. "Sorry, but no. I'm afraid I just need to clean up this mess, first. I'll contact Shyre once I've gotten back up to the Salvation. We won't be going there today; I still have preparations I should be making, but soon."

  Juno stoops to gather up some parts, carrying them over to the ship and setting them down beside the open hole. Taking up a welder's mask, putting on a pair of heavy gloves, and picking up a torch, she gestures for Li-Ming to sit if she wants. There's a chair, at least, that she had left behind. It's a little rickety but it should hold the sorceress. "Well, if you've got questions of any kind, I suppose now is the time to ask them."

  "Heh. I'm something of a captive audience until I get this work finished."

    Just a soft, steadying breath as Li-Ming commits a reserve of power to maintaining the slightly chilled area of effect. Mmm. "There, I suppose this shall remain my contribution toward your effort, then!"

    With that, she accepts the seat as invited. She trusts the seemingly brittle chair enough. No need to fret! "Mmm. Very well, though if you'd like me to hand you anything, please ask!" She adjusts her weapon belt and explores the limits of the chair's structural capabilities by leaning back in it a little.

    "Questions, certainly. Are you seeking others out for this affair? That man in the armor? Though I see no need to unjustly expose that tiny child of his to any of the danger such a raid presents." She can think of others, certainly, though as she gives it thought she wonders, "Though perhaps it's simpler if I go alone?"

    It may not be the smartest thing to do. It's just what she's used to doing. Plunging headlong into certain death. Being the speartip.

  "A contribution I appreciate," Juno asides, with a twist of her mouth mostly meant to be amused. "It would take too long to explain what I needed you to hand me. Faster that I do it myself, and it isn't as though I'm incapable, anyway."

  The chair holds, although it does dig into the sand a little awkwardly, and it might lurch off-balance just a little bit.

  "Perhaps. I'll have need of the Rogue Shadow for an operation like that, so it's possible he could leave the little one behind aboard the Razor Crest. I have no doubt that I'll have need of his blaster, though, and his beskar armour." Din Djarin. She had begun to wonder if he actually had a name, or if it was something he had left behind. Her slight smile is a little self-deprecating. "I may be a general, but I'm afraid I'm not made for front-line combat."

  Ah, but she does have bits and pieces in her past. According to Gideon, she used to be an Imperial. The very thing that she seems to go to such zealous length to fight against. How, then, had she come to be on the opposite side...?

  "I should do something about that Imperial presence in Mando's world, too. The idea of the First Order and the Galactic Empire teaming up is a ghastly one." Her smile is sour. "That Imperial slime Moff Gideon does have good sources, I've got to grant him that. He was executed for war crimes in my own world, so at least we don't need to worry about //two// of them."

    There's a wave of Li-Ming's hand and the airflow adjusts slightly. Should keep the sand out of Juno's work a little better! "Fair enough!" She wobbles a little unsteadily as the chair settles in but she manages to keep her head out of the sand! She's probably cheating /somehow/ but it's impossible to tell!

    "His would be a welcome addition, though what I'm likely to do will not be a palatable thing even for a stoic like your Mandalorian friend. "I don't believe there's any shame in that, though you're hardly in your dotage. Do what you believe is the proper course! I'm hardly in a place to tell you what is best."

    There's the matter of our pasts having been brought up. She considers being the one to touch on that, though her own... reveal? Quite a bit more tame than Juno's, certainly. It's rather hard, for her at least, to question mere words over actions. Still... Juno's bringing it up herself, in a way.

    "I believe we should all do something, speaking of that matter. "Speaking of ghastly, that man knew surprising things about us all." She settles a little into the seat and looks up, her hair swaying softly in the gentle breeze she's conjured.

    "It seems you were more unsettled about his revelation concerning you than anyone else." Not exaaaaactly a question. More like a prompt.

  "Your methods aren't always palatable to me," Juno points out, patiently, "but I stopped feeling sympathy for them decades ago. They've taken a lot from me, over the years, and caused untold suffering all across the galaxy." She shakes her head, and there's something dull and tired in those blue eyes, like the crash after stimulants start wearing off. "Dismantling the First Order is all I have left."

  The old general heaves a deep sigh. Pale, pale blonde hair frosted with silver flutters in its wake. "Well, it's more that I'm a pilot, not a soldier. It was never a focus of mine." She's too tired to even get prickly about the insinuation that she might be old. An exhaustion lurks just behind her every movement; the shadow of her blue eyes.

  Juno starts stuffing starship parts back into the ship. The torch raises to start welding pieces back into place, mask illuminated in harsh blue-white as the torch spits sparks and sputters. It's bright, but the device is almost silent, so she can hear Li-Ming just fine. When she pauses to flip the mask up and eye her work, she glances over. "My position in the Rebel Alliance is actually quite a bit higher in the hierarchy than my rank implies. It's true that I'm a general, but I'm more than that."

  "I was present for the Rebel Alliance's formation. And my signature is on the treaty that formed it." Her chin raises, incrementally, Imperial accent crisp and clear. "If I were ever captured by Imperial sympathisers, I know a lot of dangerous information that would be a threat to a lot of people across the galaxy. I dislike knowing there is somebody out there who knows this much about me. Mando said to assume that this man knows everything. Don't you find an assumption like that chilling? I do."

    "Fairly spoken," Li-Ming simply agrees, though of course she feels no need to defend anything she's done. "What little I've seen and gathered through my own means bears that out. They held the power to destroy worlds and wielded it with spite and to strike terror. They deserve their fate." However gruesome it turns out to be.

    "Yes, there is that. Operating these ships seems to be a discipline all it's own. Thus far, though, I hardly think you've been a liability." Rather than dwell on that she goes on to listen. The hiss of that welder marks a space of silence until Juno pipes up again. "So."

    "You're a critical member of an organization seeking to eliminate a threat to the entire realm, or the wider conglomeration of realms as I've come to understand this Tree. You wouldn't be the first I've seen lead such a movement from the front." The matter of Gideon makes her sit up a little.

    "Though yes, with that context I suppose it would be much more disturbing. You're potentially valuable to a man that I very much believe we failed to destroy. I almost wish he'd looked into me more. It would do me some good to be rid of the lurking threat of the killer my former masters have sent against me." Bit of a leap, perhaps, to think that those matters could cross paths but he already found out quite a lot.

    "I suppose it's that much better, then, that you have company while unable to freely travel!"

  That the sorceress uses the tactics that she does seems not to be a problem in and of itself. There are presumably good reasons why Li-Ming does what she does. Juno hasn't raised very much fuss about those tactics. That suggests that she's either turning a blind eye, or that if she herself doesn't condone it, she at least understands it, and passes little judgement on it.

  A thick-gloved hand reaches up to tilt the welder's mask up. Juno ignores the smear of grime it leaves as she wipes the sweat from her brow. Even with magical assistance, it's a hot day in the desert, as they always are on Tattooine.

  "Actually, it's quite common to pilot ships, especially light transports. Interstellar travel seems a rather common trend in my home galaxy." Her gaze flicks sidelong, expression sliding into a faint frown, before her eyes flick back over to Li-Ming. Juno's expression smooths as the other woman makes her observations. She closes her eyes and gives a careless shrug, torch dangling from her hand.

  "That's all correct, more or less. I have the added bonus of knowing intimately just how ruthlessly the Imperial institution protects its interests." Something goes very still and very cold in her eyes. When did her fingers start to whiten, gripping that torch? "They'll do anything."

  "Anything."

  Juno sobers, sighing. This time it's a resigned, tired breath. She eyes Li-Ming sidelong, warily. "The fact that he knows my name at all is terrifying to me, and I'm not afraid to say it. He's a loose end, now. I want to deal with him, but I'm not nearly a brilliant enough chess player to compete with the likes of him. He's brilliant. And he's evil. Absolutely evil. That man is living proof of why I give my life to the Rebel Alliance."

  "I don't buy his supposed crash, either. As friend Gideon has pointed out, I was a captain of the Imperial Navy before I helped form, and joined, the Rebel Alliance. I have a lot of experience with TIE fighters. The first thing any self-respecting pilot learns is to never leave anything to chance. If you think there's the slightest chance that there's something wrong with your machine, you eject. It's saved my life more than once. I'm certain that he ejected, somehow, even if we didn't see it. I'd be willing to consider you if you wanted to help me take Gideon out, too. Something needs to be done about him."

  She eyes Li-Ming. "Well, if I can help you out with that, I'd be happy to. I know a thing or two about paranoia."

    "They're like the various cults I've encountered since I first pursued the fallen star. This Empire - or even the First Order. Different segments of this strange universe, I take it? Regardless. They'll do everything including dying for their cause. Reap them as viciously as you can and they'll never stop, only briefly wavering if at all. All for the sake of furthering the cause of a monster." She snorts with contempt and maybe a little disgust, then waves her hand to stir the breeze about a little. It may help a tiny bit more, though it's likely just her hands not wanting to be idle.

    "I checked. I don't know what mechanism exists to extract the operator of such a vehicle or how it works exactly. I suspect it's little to do with using something to cut through it's hull, though." A shoulder lifts in a half-shrug as she considers what she saw. "There was no body, though I suppose there's some small chance he was extracted. Their remaining holdings on that planet would be the first place I would check."

    Though of course even she understands he could be gone from that planet entirely if he is in fact alive! "Agreed. That man will cause great harm to others in due time. I have little doubt."

    Finally, she sighs and scuffs a boot through the sand again. "Paranoia, perhaps that's the word for it. I don't know for a fact that I've been condemned, though my first true mentor was dealth with in such a fashion. Part of what Gideon neglected to say or possibly find out is that I didn't just leave the Yshari Sanctum. I destroyed it when my master tried to stop me. I only suspect that by leaving him alive, I gave him all the reason he would have needed to send someone. They haven't struck yet and it's been months!"

    She relaxes a bit into the chair, "I suppose the've either enjoyed the show thus far and approve or they're anonymously cowering between their duty and their doom." She grins. Is... is that supposed to be a joke?

  "Something like that," Juno agrees, flicking a hand as she turns and takes up her torch again. A pass of her free hand throws the welding mask back down over her face, locking into place with a dull clunk. She busies herself with a bit of detail work as Li-Ming explains, but she's listening, despite the quite hiss of the torch.

  Mention of the TIE fighter's systems earns a shrug. Juno reaches down for a part before she continues her work. She doesn't turn to face Li-Ming as she answers, and the light of the torch lights up the hull and her mask in staccato bursts. "While they're supposed to be equipped with an ejection seat system, the reality is that most of the time they don't work. They're designed to work whether the unit is in orbit or in atmosphere, but the mechanisms are so cheaply made that they have a tendency to fail, more often than not."

  They've saved her life on more than one occasion. A fact Gideon was all too happy to insinuate with his announcement. Juno huffs a sigh, something in her posture looking exasperated. "No body? Damn," she mutters. "Damn. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy, though. If I could only fight him on equal terms; if I could divide him from his allies and get him into a dogfight..." The mask lowers. "I'd win."

  The statement is either a confidence born of decades of knowing her own skill, or Juno is an outrageously arrogant woman. Her simple assessment doesn't seem to indicate which the case is.

  "Oh, I'm quite well aware I was condemned for leaving the Empire," Juno observes mildly. "I saw a few news articles on the holofeeds not long after Galen rescued me. Not pretty. I was right pissed off, at the time." She tilts her head a little, setting down the torch and taking the mask off, tossing it to land beside the torch. The woman dusts her hands before stooping to retrieve her water bottle. She takes a long drink before continuing. "I know that feeling. We haven't had any major Imperial activity lately. Most of the time we live life looking over our shoulders, expecting Imperial retribution at every corner. The First Order has been fairly quiet, lately."

  Is that last supposed to be a joke? Juno eyes Li-Ming a bit sidelong, head tilted at a sharp angle as though she were uncertain. Her expression is more or less flat, though. Only the whites of her eyes suggest any particular sense of unsettlement.

    "Not the slighest piece. Of course, someone could have just come along to claim the remains." Li-Ming tone suggests she doesn't believe that even a little. Just acknowledging that it is in fact possible. "Still, an organization that places so little value in their people that they're willing to just throw them away when they fail? I see why they're apparently so popular." Sarcasm.

    She looks down, "If what I suspect is actually true, they'll have sent the person responsible for Isendra's death. At the very least, I'll have justice out of them. Or they'll best me and Malthael will conclude his extermination of all life on Sanctuary uncontested."

    At least, she supposes that the upshot is the situation won't spread through to the wider worlds of the Tree. Her hands wring over one another as she considers that. Perhaps that's being overly optimistic.

    "Sorry, that's hardly your problem to worry about."

  "I seriously doubt that. In my world, Gideon's record is extensive. It also takes pains to illustrate what a cunning and devious mind the man had. He was a chessmaster of the highest order, and he was ruthless enough to use that skill." Juno slews her jaw from side to side, reaching up to rub at one side of her face, leaving a thoughtless smear of oil. "I know. I don't really understand how the Empire can have the kind of control it does, either, but I still have an obligation to stamp it out."

  She reaches up to adjust the welding mask, eyeing Li-Ming thoughtfully. There's a thread of empathy there. Juno's no stranger to tough situations. Her life has been one tough situation for the past thirty-five years. "If there's anything I can do to help you with it, let me know. I'm afraid I'm a bit distracted and haven't familiarised myself with the details, but it's the least I can do. You've been helpful."

    "Of course. I agree that the man is most likely very much alive, scheming and doing his absolute best to reach your friend's child. Men like that move slowly so there will be some time to prepare. Perhaps by then we'll have caused enough damage that we'll force him to rethink. Any time we can buy that will allow us to catch up will be valuable."

    Tough is tough and the Li-Ming smiles, "I do appreciate the offer! I do. Having something to do while I puzzle over how to reach my foe is the best I can hope for, for now." She sits up in the chair, dusts a bit of sand from her boots with a puff of cool wind, revealing the motes of frost she's conjuring to chill the air.

    "Still, my opinion is we don't allow this Gideon character to dictate the pace. We assault his holdings and his allies, make it as painful as possible to associate with him and hope he'll step out of his lane out of fury or desperation. It's a lot to hope for, I suppose."

  "I'm all but confident of it." Juno's agreement is simple. She shakes her head slowly. "I have a feeling he isn't going to bluff so easily, but there's no harm in trying. It does set back the First Order's efforts. That is a satisfactory goal enough by itself, as far as I'm concerned."

  She eyes Li-Ming, something like approval in her regard. "I agree. We can't afford to ignore Moff Gideon. An honest effort to dispatch him will be dangerous, I feel, but necessary." She frowns. "I'll see what I can find out. Shyre is a good informant, and he may be able to find something for me. I also have rebel contacts I can ask a favour of." Her voice is tired again, as she puts her gear back into place, turns, and sets to shovelling parts back into her ship. Every so often she stops to weld things into place. "We'll simply educate him in the matter that every time he behaves aggressively towards us or towards Mando and The Child, he can expect retaliatory action from us, at the very least."

    "No, likely not. He'll just have to look on while we deprive him of valuable assets. Maybe his hand will be forced, perhaps not." She stands with a stretch, "So then. I think we have the barest outline of a plan. Some progress! Assuming you'll be leaving sooner rather than later to reach your contact, I'll remain nearby. I'd very much like to ride one of these ships." Probably simple enough, though having someone who shoots lasers and slings conjured rocks and fireballs about might be a bit trying in close quarters. Pressurized close quarters. She can be trusted to behave though! Right. Right?

  "I don't know how long it's going to take Shyre to gather the information I need, but there's no harm in talking to him sooner rather than later." Juno glances over her shoulder at the sorceress, shrugging. "If I vouch for you, he won't mind my bringing you along. He'll be happy to share what intel he's found if he knows you're at least willing to temporarily align your goals with the Rebellion's."

  More of the Rogue Shadow comes back together again. Juno is quick and efficient in a way that suggests she knows every square inch of this ship inside and out, intimately. "You're welcome to ride along aboard the Rogue Shadow. I've room for plenty of passengers. Besides, it wouldn't be quite fair to force you to find your own way to Malastare. Some of the travel agencies are hyperspace robbery."

  She'll have to be trusted to behave. Juno's just going to have to take that chance. If not, Li-Ming might be exiting the ship via airlock. The old battle axe stopped taking other people's guff decades ago.

  In other words, stuffing these two into close quarters might be Interesting.

    Li-Ming offers a nod, "That's fine. I understand that things like this take time. I don't know that I can be vetted all that well except by your endorsement though if you prefer I can keep to myself rather than risk contact with your informant."

    It's supremely annoying to her, watching someone else work while she remains useless off to the side. When she realizes this she shakes her head at herself and only barely stifles a chuckle. "Thank you. Though money..." She produces a gold coin stamped with the face of a child in an elaborate headdress. "It seems the exchange rate here is somewhat odd." The coin is left in her hand as she contemplates tight quarters with the surly general.

    Can't be any worse than having a thousand year old enchantress berating her to confess having feelings for someone or anyone. "You'll have to pardon me. There's one thing I won't be able to control and should it happen... I can only apologize in advance. Nothing... Physically dangerous, I assure you."

  "There shouldn't be any concerns on that front." Juno's tone is nonchalant. Setting the torch aside, she reaches into the starship's open hull with both gloved hands to pry at something. Whatever it is, it's stuck; she has to brace a boot against the hull, hauling backwards until the line of her back is taut as a drawn bow. It's with a metallic pop that it finally pries free, sending the old general stumbling backward with a grunt. She tosses the piece aside, and it comes to rest in a drift of sand.

  Whatever it is and whatever it does, it's clearly charred and much-abused. Prodding at it with a boot, Juno frowns at the charred bits, sighing through her nose. "What a mess," she mutters to herself, before pitching her voice to carry back to Li-Ming. "I've been part of the Rebel Alliance for over thirty-five years. My orders come directly from the top: I answer directly to General Leia, and I have her trust, just as she has mine. And I've known Shyre for nearly as long."

  A hand flicks dismissively at the glint of gold coin. "Keep it. Converting to credits is a headache that isn't worth the hassle." It may also involve straying too near to Imperial infrastructure for her comfort. Li-Ming's value is less in monetary contribution and more in reaving a path through Imperial interests.

  At the sorceress' caution, Juno flips her welding mask up, arching a brow. It's a silent prompt to continue, with a thread of how bad could it be? After thirty-five years of slogging through galactic civil war, her standards for what constitutes 'trouble' are a little... skewed.

    Again, realizing her annoyance at being useless, Li-Ming stands clear as Juno works on her ship. Really, though. She should just find a manual and be an absolute menace pointing out things that may or may not be 'by the book'. As if she's ever completely followed 'the book' unless it was chained shut and screaming doom to all comers. "As I said, if there's anything I can do to help, I'd be happy to." Honestly! Just let her do something other than sit! Or pace, as she starts to do.

    At least she's keeping the temperature down still. "What part is that, anyhow? It looks rather... Tried." She wants to say neglected but for all she knows they're supposed to do that. Or look like that. "Longer than I've even been alive. You've nothing to prove to me, of course. I trust that you're capable as well as loyal to your own. Well connected as well." She slides a boot through the sand. "I can only accept that your people can gather all the information needed without issue. If not, I'm sure everything will be fine."

    At least nobody's souls are on the line, right? As for the coin, she purses her lips. That should be enough information as to the value of her currency in this market. She hasn't really put her mind to understanding how all the economies of this multiverse interact and since she can seemingly pay her way on merit alone there's been no incentive to thus far!

    "Ah. That matter... I hesitate to use the name but-" A laugh reverberates through the chamber and the sands swirl into the form of an elderly man - the departed shade of a being not so unlike Li-Ming. "Of course, the young fool refers to me."

    The shade sketches a bow that might be considered polite or perhaps even mocking, so great is the exaggeration. "Zoltun Kulle, famed and feared wizard, greatest of the age." He shoots Li-Ming a look though the gesture is somewhat hard to read given the entity making it is constructed of roiling sand. "Perhaps still. This whelp wields my secrets and doubtless walks my path, though it's doubtful she has the stomach to pursue true immortality."

    Li-Ming, through this, almost trembles with rage though strangely she doesn't strike out. "Nevertheless. I will be of no trouble to you, General. If you have need of true wisdom, you need only to seek it. Wherever this little girl finds herself, I can also be of service. For a price."

    The sand collapses and that peal of mocking laughter returns, gradually fading out with each beat.


"... Sorry. He is normally absent unless he wants something though I assure you I made sure he was very dead." Now? Now, there really isn't a whole lot she can do about him, it seems. Though she's hardly just going to come out and say so.

  "I appreciate the offer, but the Rogue Shadow is my responsibility. It's also my home and my livelihood, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't trust anyone else to work on it." Juno shakes her head, glancing over her shoulder. "And it would take too long to explain to you what I actually need. Just relax. It's hot."

  Her attention turns back to the ship, as though puzzling out how to put this mess back together again. Whether Li-Ming is pacing behind her or not doesn't seem to matter. The older woman's focus has slipped back into a miasma of starship engineering and economical problem solving and it takes a few seconds for words to actually percolate through. What part is that?

  "It would probably take too long to explain that, too." Despite the statement, Juno's mouth twists in something approaching mirth. "It has to do with the ship's shields, which probably explains why I've been noticing more problems than usual lately." She glances over to the abused part. "Should've replaced that half a year ago, but you do what you have to do." The Rogue Shadow is an expensive date.

  The old general glances up to Li-Ming again, lips thinning as she considers. "Well, I can't say I can argue with any of those things. My connections aren't as keen as Shyre's, though. That man must know everybody in the Rebel Alliance. It's impressive, and a little unsettling. It shouldn't take too long to gather everything up."

  In the time it takes a figure to pop up from the sand, there's a quiet, mechanical ratcheting sound and a whisper of leather -- the sound of Juno's blaster in hand, trained on the figure. Will it do anything? Probably not, but it does make her feel better. She'd never gotten behind all that Force nonsense. That was Galen's bag. Give her the solidity of a blaster in hand any day of the week.

  When it's clear the creature isn't actually hostile, she slowly eases the weapon back to its holster. "If you are, I'm putting you both off at the nearest spaceport," Juno grumbles. She may be unsettled by that strange creature appearing like that, but if she is, she hides it reasonably well. "We'll see. Stay out of the engine room and stay out of the cockpit, and we'll get along just fine."

  There's a short pause.

  "...Perhaps."

    Okay, so Li-Ming was mildly annoyed at feeling useless despite being told twice now to keep hands off the ship. She took to pacing, trying to give her restless energy an outlet since magically cooling an entire landing bay apparently isn't intensive enough.

    "Of course, you know better than I." She really has no place tinkering with such things but it's all just so interesting. Moving about the stars physically? Traversing the hostile environment of space? Seeing things with one's own eyes? All things that she's only ever achieved through hours of intense focus and utterly empty meditation. It's hard not to appreciate the mountains of effort and learning it took to do these things that she's only really experienced vicariously.

    The manifestation of a prior foe makes her scowl. She stares hard at the back of Kulle the entire time he's speaking, though she doesn't rise to any of his baits. She just takes it all on the chin despite being visibly angered by the ghost.

    "He was an evil man but he does not lie; much of what I know is thanks to his works. Archived in the libraries of the place I grew up." She probably doesn't even have to say that such a man's work would probably be forbidden or at the very least restricted. "Still, I don't much care for him. However, know that he is no longer able to cause harm." At least, she seems to believe that but now there might be something to that mention she made before of no longer sleeping. With something like that lingering about who could?

    "...Perhaps." It's her turn to blow a sigh before she kicks at the sand and sits back down. "I don't believe I have any other baggage laying in wait. At least, it would be a surprise to me as well."

  "Yes. That's why you don't need to touch anything." Juno's response is a little spikier than it needs to be, but she's sensitive about this particular ship. It isn't just hers. In fact, she hasn't referred to it as her own at any point; it's either 'the ship' or called by its proper name. "If you want to learn starship engineering, there are much easier things to teach yourself the principles on than this. This ship is one-of-a-kind. No one else touches it." Argh. Grrr. Spiky old campaigner, isn't she?

  The sand-creature is eyed warily one last time before Juno shakes her head and flips the welding mask back down. She adjusts her gloves and takes up the torch before attacking that open access hatch with gusto, reassembling the ship piece by piece. The pile of starship parts is slowly dwindling as she listens to Li-Ming's explanations, intermittently lit up by the harsh flickering of the torch, though the tool isn't too loud to hear the sorceress over.

  "Fair enough." Juno lowers the torch again, flipping up her mask to eye her work carefully. "I'm still putting you both off at the nearest spaceport if I decide either of you are a threat to this ship or to me." Yeah, she was actually serious about that. "I haven't yet approached Mando about any of this, but I don't expect he'll have a problem accompanying the Rogue Shadow. It's just the kind of job for him."

  "If that 'friend' of yours is such trouble, though, I don't see why you don't simply cast him loose." Juno rolls her shoulder in a shrug before slapping the visor back down and patiently fitting more parts into place. It's coming along. She's nearly to the access hatch itself. The torch flickers. "...Hmmm. If you want to make yourself useful, there actually is something I could use your brand of assistance with."

    Hands up, along with a look that an impetuous youth might pay an overly strict elder behind their back, Li-Ming simply replies, "Of course. I haven't touched a thing!" She has been watching, though.

    "Oh, I have tried. It tends to be less productive than needlessly destructive, however." Goodness, even this wizard knows some degree of restraint. Or at least she recognizes futility when she sees it. Eventually.

    Just when she'd finally decided to relent and leave Juno's ship be, she blinks in mild surprise when her assistance is actually requested. It takes her a moment before she finally offers, "Very well. What is it?" She can't pretend she isn't ever so slightly annoyed by the shift in attitude but she did offer to help. She'd feel foolish not to at least hear the general out on this matter!

  "Climate control." Juno's smile is thin, and it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "This ship has been sitting under Tattooine's binary stars for a few hours, now. I've had all systems shut down, and that includes the engines, life support, and climate control systems. I'll be bringing them back up in short order, but the inside of that ship is like a blast furnace. I imagine the cockpit is an oven."

  "If you can cool the inside of the ship off, consider it passage for a ride. I'll take you wherever you want to go, before I start the business of tracking down the Rebel fleet, gathering whatever intel they have, and then tracking down Shyre." Juno makes a thoughtful sound as she seals up the last of the access hatch, before stepping back and all but flinging the visor off. It's too warm for gear like that. "I'm ready to get underway soon, but I'll have to run a few diagnostics, first, and I can't do that until the ship cools down."

  She could just go in there and get it done, which is what she'd do if Li-Ming weren't around, but if she can get magical air conditioning there is literally no reason not to do that!

    Li-Ming starts, caught off guard by that. "Climate..." There's a soft snort, then boistrous, genuine laughter. "Understood! Though I should warn that I'm going to do that slowly." Hey, even a wizard from a relative medieval backwater can understand thermal expansion. Still, she steps up her conjuration and almost immediately the air takes on a brief, intense chill.

    Her hands spread and motes of frost can actually be seen before the desert heat eats them right up.

    "My former master would protest vehemently at this sort of display. He would rather I do nothing, allowing this power to waste as others are forced to suffer." She scoffs, curling her fingers to guide the conjuration through the ship's living spaces. Best to cool the vessel as evenly and gradually as she can, she reckons.

  "That's fine. I still have to make sure things here are sealed up properly." She eyes the hatch, waiting a moment for it to cool before running her fingers over the seam. Everything looks like it's more or less where it ought to be, and the seal looks like it's holding firm. With a satisfied slap of a palm on the hull, she picks up her tools and turns to face Li-Ming. "Best never to cool down or heat up a starship too quickly, anyway. Good way to crack the hull like an egg."

  She blinks at the sight of those motes of frost, eyebrows arching as though impressed. She's listening, though, and once it's cooled down a bit from the blazing heat of twin suns, Juno turns to lope up the cargo ramp, beckoning for Li-Ming to follow.

  Inside is a compact but trim little ship, with a tiny seating area, crew quarters that have their door firmly closed and locked, and a straight line leading forward to the cockpit. The seating area is gestured to; a comfortable booth-style bench wrapped around an oval table. All of that is shoved against a wall to leave the central deck plating, and cargo area, open.

  Juno stows her tools where they belong, dusting her hands and reaching up to resettle silvering hair at the nape of her neck. "You're welcome to stay aboard as long as you feel the need, as long as you don't mind that my first priority is the Rebel Alliance, followed by whatever support Mando may need from the Rogue Shadow. There are modified sleeping quarters through that door." A metal door that looks like it was added later lies off to one side of the cargo bay. "Rations are in a cupboard in the sleeping quarters, but let me know if you need to eat, and I can find us a cantina. I tend to save the rations for hyperspace."

  Letting her head ease to one side, Juno grimaces at the resulting loud crack; but the grimace looks like it must feel good, too. She eases her head to the other side to repeat the process. "Right. I'm going to go get in touch with the fleet, and see if I can track down where the Salvation's gotten to. Make yourself comfortable."

  Just don't, you know, touch anything important.