{{ urbania's void - chapter 26
...the restless party of slumbering (day twenty-eight / +28)
The barabel stood in the middle of the rough ring of people in the dim apartment. Some sat at the dining area table, some spread out on the couches in the living area, some littering the walls with their tired bodies.
Gadell and Zekk relayed everything that happened to the two of them. Jaina told the part about herself, Alema and Lowie. Jag and Kyp took turns telling the group how they ended up on the Urbania, sent to check on the progress of the others. And Tesar was now finishing up the events that occurred with his group. The room fell into a heavy silence as they all thought about the task ahead of them.
Tesar had affirmed the fact that Jacen and Tenel Ka had been taken into Mircas Tower. Tahiri, Tekli and Tesar had seen their unconscious bodies being brought in, through the casino and into the turbolift.
"The casino...?" Alema blinked.
Tahiri looked to Tekli and Tesar, who nodded to her. The blonde drew in a deep breath and began to speak. "Ryled Mirdele, the owner of the Urbania, lives in the Mircas Tower. The tower used to be where all the laws and ways of the city were decided. It was the main building; the palace of the Urbania and Mirdele was the king. After his children died... he went... sort of insane..."
"How many kids did he have?" Kyp inquired.
"Two."
Jaina threw out the next question. "How did they die?"
"No one knows." Tahiri shoved her hands deep into the large pockets of the Quadripdici uniform she was still wearing. "After they died, he made all of the advisors and councils and such move their operations underground --- to the bottom half of the spacestation, under the city. You know, where they actually plot the course of the station and all of that technical stuff. There was unused space and the councils and advisors used it well. Now the underground is where all the Urbania's... well, where pretty much everything is planned out."
Gadell arched an ebony eyebrow. "Does Ryled still have a say in things?"
Tahiri tilted her head and nodded slightly, her eyes locking with the Hapan Admiral's in the dim light. "Yes. They make contact with each other. The underground will call up to him and give him a rundown of everything they've worked on and he'll give them a yes, no, or his favorite line --- 'What in the kriffing shavit are you talking about?' --- we had to hear that one a lot."
Tesar picked up when Tahiri stopped speaking, "We were assigned, as Eiji, Gren and Zenta, to bodyguard him for awhile. He was an entertaining man, albeit a little crazzzzzy." Tesar slid his back down the wall and crouched on his haunches. "That tower is evil. He turned it into a madhouze."
Tahiri and Tekli nodded absently, in agreement.
"What do you mean?" Jag leaned forward, crossing his arms over his chest.
"After the advisorz moved, Ryled had free reign of the tower -- all for himself. He re-did roomz, turned them into bedroomz which were all decorated completely different; re-did whole floorz, turned floorz into different thingz. There are certain floorz where people can rent out roomz for nightz, like innz. There are floorz with gambling, floorz with Duel Ringz, clubz, restaurantz --- it'z like a whole city in itself."
Tekli spoke up, her soft voice shattering the silence Tesar left when he fell quiet. "It's what the Urbania is bound to become."
Tahiri drew in another deep breath. "Even more corrupt, horrible and lewd than it already is, the insanity of that tower seeping out into the streets like a disease..."
Jaina bolted upright, throwing her arms in the air, "And my brother and one of my best friends are in there! We need to go..."
Zekk pushed himself off of the counter and paced around the crowded room. "We know we need to get in there, but we can't just saunter up to the door, get inside, find Jacen and Tenel Ka and be like 'HEY EVERYONE -- WE'RE ALL SECRETLY FROM THE GALACTIC ALLIANCE AND WE'RE HERE TO RESCUE OUR FRIENDS! WOOHOO!' ...seriously."
Jag agreed. "We need a plan."
"A damn good one." Kyp ran his hand over his mouth.
Lowie rumbled.
Zekk nodded in response. "We are going to have to split up. And we can't go in looking like --- we'll have to use our---"
"Can we not use our Mindmaps for this?" Tahiri cut in timidly. Her voice grew stronger with every word after that. "This is going to take a lot of concentration to get in there and get them out... not to mention keeping our eyes peeled for any signs of Raynar. And there's enough going through our own heads... we don't need a whole 'nother person's thoughts with it. Especially in that place..."
"She's right." Tekli crossed her legs under her as she shifted her small body on the couch.
Jaina sniffled. "Then we'll get together some disguises and bring our Mindmaps along, just in case. Is that alright with everyone?"
Everyone chimed in their agreements.
"And as much as I hate to say it, we can't rush. We might have to stay there for a day or two." Jaina sighed.
"Just steel your mindz and expect the worst." Tesar spoke solemnly.
All eyes turned to him except Tahiri and Tekli, who stared absently to the floor.
"Why?" Jaina's voice was a hushed whisper.
"Because that iz what we'll get. I promise."
Silence reigned for a few moments.
Zekk conquered it. "Then let's decide who is going where with who, when and how."
The group planned into the night and as the middle rolled around, they decided sleep was a thing they would probably need the next day.
Tahiri spread out on the sofa, with Tesar curled up at her feet while Tekli rested her head on the other arm of the couch and closed her wide eyes. Kyp and Jag took the two chairs beside the huge wall of glass, trying to get comfortable enough to at least rest their eyes.
Zekk motioned Jaina to the room Jacen had been using. Her and Alema said they could share the massive bed and Zekk nodded, giving them the go ahead. Glancing into his own room, he shook his head to himself. It was the exact way it had been the night Jacen went in to talk to Tenel Ka.
For some reason, he didn't want to disturb it.
Lowie grumbled from behind him.
Zekk turned his head and saw Lowbacca, his paws on his hips. Gadell was beside him, with his arms crossed, a slight friendly snicker on his face.
His green eyes sparkled as he chuckled, "Alright, you big dope. If we have to."
Lowie crumbled to the carpeted floor and rolled on his side, daintily tucking his paws under the side of his face, using them as a furry place to set his head. He tucked his knees to his chest and closed his eyes, forming a big furball in the middle of the airy room.
"Works for me." Gadell muttered, chuckling.
Zekk let out a short laugh in agreement, then the two crawled to the ground and sprawled out, using Lowie's back as a pillow.
As everyone fell into a restless slumber, the room Zekk didn't want to disturb was about to be disturbed by someone else.
Out on the balcony stood a man. He was pressed up against the glass of the refresher's balcony door, peering inside. A female voice hissed from his comlink.
"Tenk! It's the room beside this one!"
"Alright. Open this door and I'll get to it from here!"
His sister didn't cut the audio transmission as she opened the door. Tenk could hear her roll her chair over and speak into the microphone that fed into the main system of the Urbania.
"Sector E-9, Klecttrinn, door number A29."
Tenk heard a click and effortlessly, the door in front of him slid open. He released a quiet giggle and slid into the refresher, flipping the off switch on his comlink. Padding over to the main door, he pressed the button and it opened, revealing a hallway. Peering around to the right, he saw the open room -- the dining and living areas. He saw all the people, he saw them all asleep.
His lips upturned. He recognized all of them personally, except for three of them. The two sleeping in chairs and one of the ones on the wookiee he only recognized from holos. His head spun to the left and he saw the open door to the next room. As he slipped around the corner, his eyes instantly landed on the nightstand. What he came here for sat atop the smooth surface.
Tenk swept them off, into his hand and pocketed them before dashing back to the refresher and out onto the balcony; where a scruffy, blonde Alderaanian picked him up in an air speeder.
"Ready to have some fun, Thul?"
"I'm always ready," Raynar grinned, throwing the speeder forward, away from the Klecttrinn.
Tenk pulled the stolen Mindmaps from his pocket and studied them in the multi-colored light from the speeder's control panels.
One, a warrior who fell in battle at too young an age.
Two, a former Queen who fell from murder too long after her time was already up.
And three, a young lady, tainted and violated, not by choice, but by force.
Added to the Mindmaps they already had back at the Mircas Tower... if this wasn't enough to drive Jacen Solo and Tenel Ka, not to mention their 'rescue party' insane; Tenk, Nexus and Raynar had no idea what would.
Gadell's azure eyes opened, slowly but surely. He knew he had only slept an hour or two so far, and it was difficult. Lowie made a nice pillow, but the hard, cold floor didn't really make a pleasant bed. The Admiral stared over to Zekk, who was lying on his side facing Gadell. Strands of jagged black hair sliced dark marks into his cheeks and moved up and down with his breath.
Smiling slightly, almost laughing at Zekk's mellow state, Gadell sat up. He winced as his neck and back cracked simultaneously. After recovering for a few moments, Gadell rubbed his eyes and snapped his tongue against the roof of his dry mouth.
Waaaaaater.
Nodding at his own incoherent thoughts, Vessau stood shakily and stumbled to the kitchen area grabbing a glass from the counter. His tilted the pitcher of water towards his glass and it began dribbling onto the countertop as his eyes wandered to the balcony. There was someone out there, seated in a chair.
"Oh kriff---" Gadell caught himself spilling water all over the counter and dismissed it as irrelevant as his eyes bolted back to the balcony.
He saw a mess of blonde hair.
Grabbing the half-full glass of water out of the puddle on the counter, Gadell meandered past the sleeping bodies in the living area and emerged out onto the balcony, pressing the button to shut the door behind him.
"You okay?"
Tahiri Veila breathed a sigh as she stared out to the urban sprawl ahead of her. "I'm not sure."
Gadell stared down to Tahiri, who was seated in a chair with a gray blanket wrapped tightly around her slightly shivering form. He couldn't tell if she was shivering because of the cool artificial breeze, or if she was frightened or worried. He knew her about as well as he knew Jaina or Alema or Kyp... just on a professional level. He knew he had to dig to a deeper level with Tahiri.
They were assigned to be in the same group for the next day's mission, after all. And if they were going to get anywhere with the disguise they had planned, they had to be ready.
"If we're going to get anywhere on this crusade into the Mircas Tower tomorrow, I suggest you and I plan a few things out. Talk some things over." Gadell took a deep breath and switched the water glass to his left hand, reaching out his right past Tahiri's face where she could see it. "You with me?"
She finally turned to look up at him, their eyes meeting. Gadell swore he saw the glint of faded tears trailing down her cheeks, but he didn't pay attention to them. He was fumbling around in the emerald shade of her eyes.
Tahiri took his hand and let him help her out of the chair, then she wiped her hands on her pants, a quizzical expression on her face.
Gadell realized the condensation from the water glass he had switched out of his hand had caused his hand to be wet and cold. He scowled. "Sorry."
A giggle escaped Tahiri's lips, much to Gadell's surprise. He leaned forward on the railing of the balcony beside her and sighed, his breath shuffling pieces of charcoal hair in front of his eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I... I guess I'm just worried."
The breeze blew the strands of hair from his eyes as he turned his head to the right, watching her as she spoke.
"Jacen and Jaina have been like a brother and sister to me ever since the Myrkr incident. And to hear what happened to Jacen, and what he did to Tenel Ka... it's... it's scary." She paused, her mouth working soundlessly around what she wanted to say next. "It's so easy to tell how they feel for each other. Corellian Hells, everyone knew how they felt about each other before even they realized it. And to know that they're in that mindbending tower -- who knows what's happening to them right now." Tahiri turned her head towards Gadell and lost her breath for a moment, as she tripped over the calming blue of his gaze.
He nodded, as if to let her know to continue. He was listening.
"And Tenel Ka... you and her have grown so close. You... you have to know what I'm feeling right now." She swallowed, her throat revolting from the dry air. "It's like I'm---"
"It's like missing a sibling." Gadell nodded. "I know."
"I should stop, this is just stressing me out. I'm sure they're fine. Right?" She paused. "Right...?"
"I'm sure they are, Tahiri. Come on, this is Jacen and Tenel Ka we're talking about." A sly smile crossed his face. He was worried about them too, he was definitely worried. But he didn't want Tahiri to get more worked up about it than she already was. Setting his glass down, he grasped Tahiri's shoulders, gently shaking her. "Now, we should get some sleep. You should definitely get some sleep. We're gonna need it for tomorrow."
The lights from the city below seeped upwards, casting diffused shadows on their faces. Gadell could see the faint lines on her forehead, the scars she received from the Yuuzhan Vong. He knew Tahiri was a strong woman. She'd been through so much. And to see her this upset put him on edge. He attempted to reassure her again.
"I'm sure Jacen is flitting around right now -- 'HEY! HEY TENEL KA!' ---" Gadell put on his best Jacen expression, one of aloof happiness, " --- 'HEEEEY! WHAT DO YOU SAY WE GET OUTTA HERE?! THIS PLACE IS DAAAAAANGEROUS!!' --- "
His expression suddenly fell insanely solemn and morose and his voice jumped a few octaves higher, " --- 'OH JACEN. I THINK YOU ARE RIGHT. THIS PLACE IS EVIL, I CAN SENSE IT.' --- "
The Jacen expression returned, " --- 'EEEEEEEEEEEVIL!' --- "
The Tenel Ka expression, " --- 'FACT.' --- "
Tahiri had her right hand clutched over her mouth as she giggled madly, her other hand waving in front of Gadell's face, motioning for him to quiet down. After their laughter faded, Tahiri arched an eyebrow. "And you're saying I'm the one who needs the sleep?"
Gadell nodded, still chuckling. With his sudden outburst, he had surprised even himself, but besides cheering Tahiri up, he did it to reassure himself. "Yes. I should get back to sleep. Lowbacca makes for a splendid pillow, if I do say so myself. But the floor is cold. And hard. And 'EEEEEVIL.' --- "
Giggling again as Gadell spoke the last word in his Jacen voice, Tahiri glanced out to the city before looking back to the tall Hapan Admiral. She tugged at the blanket around her shoulders and slid it off, shoving it into Gadell's chest. "Don't say I never gave you anything."
A genuine smile crossed his face as he wrapped his arms around it, the soft fabric calming his nerves a bit. It wasn't a huge, cozy blanket, but it was enough. And the thought behind it was definitely enough to make him grin. "Thanks."
"Anytime." Tahiri squeezed his shoulder on the way back into the apartment and picking up the water glass, Gadell followed. He crept by the sleeping bodies and slid into the kitchen area, accidentally setting the glass down into the sink a little too hard.
Lowie jokingly rumbled a curse in Gadell's direction.
Gadell hissed back with the same tone, "Sorry, you big furry hutt."
Gently kicking Lowie on the way by, Gadell fell back onto the floor, curling up under the blanket Tahiri had given him. He nuzzled his head into Lowie's back and closed his eyes.
Just as he did, he heard Zekk hiss. "Where'd you get that blanket?! Gimmie some!"
The Admiral just snickered, and then rolled over, laughing at Zekk's endless string of curses.
Minutes later, everyone was asleep again. This time none of them awoke until morning.
The day the Mircas Tower infiltration begun.
| 