Shadows of the Past (Open)

[Cailst]

Jacob was on vacation for the first time that year. The opportunity had allowed him to go to the shore of some lake on the other side of the planet. There, a nice cabin awaited him where he could relax for about a week. There were other people that travelled to the vacation spot over the summer. As fall approached, most would leave and return to Iziz as it got rather cold during the winter despite the lake.

All the stereoisomers could leave his head for a while as well as racemic mixtures, phenols, inhibitors and all the other parts of his job could take a rest. Swimming by the lake, hiking, tennis, star gazing, golf, exploring, and other fun activities would be what he would be doing. A chance to purely enjoy Shalharra's creation rather than to spend hours manipulating it without results.

As he continued along the rails, he glanced up at the sky. Dxun was clearly visible. One of his former endeavors was to place all sorts of chemical weapons over the planet. The goal was to serve the king, Jagged. Of course, he was removed and the Republic seized control. Much of his work had been ignored and was now useless as the Republic went straight for the jugular instead of meandering through the death traps of Ambria and Dxun.

His help was useful in the palace when it was stormed. Many republic soldiers had died amidst the gas and automatic darts. However, Onderon was doomed and it had all gone up in flames. Fortunately, so did the records. And that's what allowed him to live a normal life working for some pharmaceutical company. Being able to impart life rather than death was nice though the sting of defeat was still a pest.

However, he wouldn't let that stop him from having a good time in the mean time. His train ride would be overnight and he was going to get a mid afternoon snack. So he got out of his seat for a moment and started walking to the dinner car.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

joshua was sitting eating when he saw a man come in so he asked you want to sit and eat josh was wondering if he make an friend

 

[Cailst]

"Of course, that's why I went to this car," He said.

Jacob wandered over to the seat closer to the other man and sat down. The seat was a nice vinyl and plushy type that allowed much relaxation. He then grabbed a menu and began looking through it for something good to eat. Naturally, they had a lot of good things but deciding which would be the best would be difficult. Given that he was on vacation, cost wasn't too much of a problem. Plus, his job was high paying.

"So where are you from?" He asked since while he knew most people that went to his particular vacation spot but he hadn't met this one.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

corasant josh said so whats your name he thought why is he here

 

[Cailst]

"My name is Jacob, what's yours?" He asked.

He then put his eyes back on the menu in the search for the perfect food. Since the train did go through a lot of lake resorts, a lot of fresh water fish was on the menu. He enjoyed fish and putting some good sauce on it. Several species of pike were on the menu. Certainly, they would make a good meal. However, he hadn't ordered a drink first.

Upon hearing some waiter's footsteps, he figured what drink he would get, water with lemon as was his custom.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

josh said his name was nick he saw the waiter was coming josh said ill pay for you
so where are you from

 

[Cailst]

"Well, I'm from Iziz. I've been living there for a little more than twenty years. What brings you to Onderon?" He inquired.

While a little more than forty years old and originally from Xenvaer, he identified with Onderon far more than he would with Alsakan. He had spent his adult life on Onderon and that's where he learned a good many things. Fortunately, retaining a fairly youthful body was one of them. The right diet kept him looking about thirty rather than what his actual age was. The money from work did help as some drugs and foods were rather expensive.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

O I’m on work and leisure you asked nick aka josh

 

[Cailst]

"What sort of work do you do?" Jacob asked.

It seemed that this Nick person would either be some sort of worker at the resort. Or that he might be some scientist working in the area. Other than natural beauty, there weren't many resources in the area. However, there was a chance that there was some endemic species that might live there.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

o I'm a biologist I'm here to study the animal species you

 

[Cailst]

"A chemist for a chemical plant nearby, what species?" He asked.

He found it a bit strange that some biologist would be there but it wasn't unreasonable. While the vast majority of Onderon hadn't been settled, it had been explored and most species were known. However, perhaps the biologist had discovered something interesting about some endemic species near the resort.

As he was talking, he was beginning to drink his water with lemon. The nice cold water poured down his throat with a nice pinch of lemon in it. It was perfect.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

josh thought shit i doint know any species i i i... thats when a waiter came and asked what would you like to eat josh said thank god in his mind i would like the steak you asking jacob

 

[Cailst]

"I'd like your pike with lemon sauce," Jacob said to the waiter. "What was the species that you study?"

Jacob had seen some strange look on Nick's face before the waiter arrived. This man seemed somewhat strange. Still, he might be open to one of Jacob's ideas. He would simply have to start asking the right questions to find out.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

never mind that what do you dojosh asked

 

[Cailst]

"I've already stated that I'm a chemist though I like to stay informed about many topics. You seem to be acting very strange, is something bothering you?" Jacob asked.

He had not a clue what was going on with this strange young man. Nevertheless, the man might be helpful in some ways. He just had to find out what exactly was going on and see if it would fit any goals of his.

Meanwhile, he saw the steak and pike being carried by a waiter several tables down.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

"Ok I'm not a bioloigest I'm a assassion I'm being sent to guard a guy I'm nervous" Thats when the food came

 

[Cailst]

"A what?" He said in utter disbelief. "Who could you possibly be guarding at a resort?"

The biologist was stretching it but believable. An assassin was ridiculous. While it had a war 15 or so years in the past, Onderon was peaceful and not even that many murders happened. And revealing to some random stranger seemed even more ridiculous. Perhaps this man would not be able to help Jacob.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

"You heard me I have no idea what I'm up aganist

o ya my real name is joshua cratin"

 

[Cailst]

"So you're some random assassin who likes going to resorts?" Jacob continued to say incredulously.

While his name was believable, him being an assassin was still pretty ridiculous. Maybe the kid wanted attention or liked to see how believable he was. Who knew?

As that was going on, Jacob plunged his fork and knife into the pike. The delicious taste of fish was soon to enter his mouth. Water was already in his mouth, ready to ease the passage of the meat into his stomach.

Looking outside, he saw the last range between the train and the resort. The range was rather high meaning that in the last few mountains, he would be able to see the entire area of the resort and many of the glittering lakes in the distance.

 

[Joshua Cratin]

Yes if you put it that way. Josh said as cut into the steak