[right][b][color=ed1c24]SOMEWHERE IN SPACE // THE [i]MILKY WAY[/i] A WEEK AGO[/color][/b][/right] "Captain, we have a letter for you." A deckhand reported almost as soon as Lakras took her post in the morning. For stars' sake, she did not even have a glass of water yet. She sworn that some positions on the ship would be better filled by a repurposed combat droid than an ensign fresh out of the academy. [color=ed1c24]"I'll get to e-mail once I properly wake up."[/color] she grunted. "Ma'am! It's not an e-mail. A republic post cruiser found us, it is an actual letter. Looks important, too." the hapless human explained, which actually did the trick as Lakras was now wide awake. [color=ed1c24]"Show me."[/color] Honest to Stars, paper envelope. She didn't think the republic PS delivered anything other than parcels containing something that could not be made in situ wherever it was addressed. To think that somebody would use their service to pass along information in this day and age... She flipped the paper in her hands, marvelling over the pretty illustrations on it. The address was written in actual handwriting. Was some oooold friend trying to catch up with her? For that matter were they mentally stuck in that age and unable to use a computer? Only then did her senses finally registered [i]what[/i] was displayed and written, rather than [i]how[/i]. That was a ranger insignia on the envelope, and the name on the return address was [i]hers[/i]. [right][b][color=ed1c24]AHCH-TO ORBIT // THE [i]MILKY WAY[/i] PRESENT DAY[/color][/b][/right] Lakras reflected on the feelings she felt when Leia bloody Organa herself signed the paperwork transferring herself and her ship from the regular units to the Rangers proper. The Zabrak Captain was elated at the time. She has been volunteering for ranger related missions for years, and has been on first name bases with several of them. Having a corvette at their disposal was a huge morale boos wherever the rangers went, and more than once they have saved their hides when the defecation hit the ventilation. She always wanted to join, ever since she found herself to be force sensitive. She was given a chance to join the Jedi of course. Feh! Old men wearing robes, droning about spiritual stuff, blinded ty their faith that only the light side of the force was to be practices. Such limited mindset, and where did it let them? Almost to extinction. No, Lakras was a firm believer that the force was to be understood and responsively utilized in it's entirety, and if she fell, it would be her lack of integrity, not some amoebas in her cells at fault. Oh, the wounds on her pride now. Lakras frowned as she looked down the viewport on the aquatic world below. Of course her first official mission was to take her ship and go assist a bunch of Jedi with whatever they needed. Could they not at least meet on a desert world where she could feel slightly more at home, and perhaps not judged for telling them 'no.'? [color=ed1c24][i]Oh well, let's get on with this. The sooner they are aboard, the sooner we can leave.[/i] "XO, you have the bridge. Shuttle crew, boarding and departure in five minutes."[/color] She announced, and went to grab her blades before heading to the shuttle bay. [right][b][color=ed1c24]AHCH-TO // JEDI TEMPLE[/color][/b][/right] It felt miserable and a bit threatening to be in these walls once more. It brought back memories Lakras would rather stayed buried. She hurried through the halls, having left her guards at the shuttle. She was summoned to a meeting room to hear where they were to go, and hopefully what to do once they got there, but one never knew with these cryptic bastards. She could not wait to be gone, the stares she was getting already... [color=ed1c24][i]Yeah that's right, Zabrak Jedi reject coming through. Spare a condescenting glance and move along,[/i][/color] she thought, picking up her pace - only to turn a corner and come a foot apart from a Twi'Lek blur who was seemingly in an even bigger hurry. Her instincts kicked in and she steeled her body, arms flying forward and up to cushion the impact. She learned the hard way that when she accidentally headbutted the common hominid, her horns could take an eye. Blinding some hapless Padawan was not the first impression the fresh Ranger wanted to make. [@Cyrania]