Ask Nar Shaddaa Swelling Tides

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Doing what, Key-Oh, would do." The pleasant and young charming voice of the ship's AI responded innocently and obediently. Then the Shinigami's wings suddenly shifted downward, and the large thrusters along them boosted hard, quickly kicking the ship up and away from the entrance of the Hollow. Most of the things inside the ship were already locked down, and didn't go anywhere, but there were a couple things that wouldn't be so lucky...


Gremlin did his best to activate his magnetic pads in time, but was taken too suddenly by the quickness of Shini's ability to control the ship. His little body would be unable to resist falling back into the darkness down the hall of passenger quarters while yelling with an excited, "WOAH~!!" before he disappeared with a loud clunk. Kyo's face would slide off his hands, and then his forehead would suddenly be thrown against the holo-table with a thwack that echoed through the lounge. "GAH!!" He'd cry out, finding himself in the middle of a crude awakening.

Seela would most likely have a difficult time keeping her balance with the ship's gravity as the nose of it pointed up and accelerated towards the outer top of the Hollow, then the entire ship dipped to the left and began to "drift" around the crown of the celestial object. Gremlin hollered once more as his yelp faded into the refresher. Kyo grunted and whimpered as his body would be thrown further to port, smashing against the curve of the couch's back and wincing loudly in pain. "G-!" He'd tried to bite down and endure it as he braced his hands and feet against the couch and holo-table. "SHINIII!! STAHHHHP!!!"

"Yes, Key-Oh." The ship would come lurching to a halt as the wings reset to a level position and the thrusters powered down just enough to hover the Shinigami next to the upper side of the Hollow. Everything inside would receive one last jerk before finally being set straight once again. The panting boy would glance over to Seela to make sure she was alright, then looked down at himself. Upon realizing his bare chest and abs were exposed to the lavender Twi'lek he would blush hard and lower his head to hide his face with his bangs, but they'd been thrown so far aside that only a few strands fell in front of his bright blues.

"A-are you alright?" He'd try to catch his breath and respond calmly to her, while his right hand pressed against the little bump on his forehead from where it knocked against the table. A thousand little lights like scattered diamonds glistened through the windows, starlight reflecting off the tiny bits of dust and debris that floated around the Hollow. "Sorry about that, Shini wasn't exactly installed by a professional..." A throaty 'hmph!' came over the speakers as the AI interjected, but kept her opinion to herself. The slightest hint of a smirk perked up on the corner of Kyo's lips, then faded almost as fast as it came. The boys azure gaze would then look to the girl's wounds, his brows furrowing toward the bridge of his nose as he made a slight frown and looked back into her pearl gems. "You look a little hurt, was that from the ship?"


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Out of the blue, Seela found herself flying across the space, hitting the wall beside the cargo lift shoulderblade first, before again being tossed across, catching herself on the corner of the wall facing the couch, her shoulder straining at the sudden pull. Fortunately, Seela was expecting the next jerk of the ship, so she only went half the distance to the table, on her hands and knees. Seela looked up at where Kyosuke had apparently been rudely woken up, and winced at the bump already forming on his face.

"I'm so sorry, I have no idea why the ship did that... I just said to do what you usually do when you arrive at this location... I really wanted to let you rest, I'm so sorry! That must have hurt a lot! hum... I think I saw your little droid fly in... that direction."

Seela pointed to the hallway leading to the quarters.

The girl had totally forgotten her own injuries, needing to process everything else first, so she looked looked confused for an instant, before following Kyosuke's eyeline to her wrists and shoulder, and remembering.

"oh, uh... no, those are actually from when we were plummeting to our death only held up by a cord... but, uh, I think we might have something more important to deal with right now! Just before the ship went bantha shit crazy, I heard some weird clanking coming from below... I tried to ask Shini, but I don't think she... they? like me, because I never got an answer... What if it's Master's people trying to board the ship?!?"

Seela was left kneeling on the ground again, twisting her hands anxiously.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Kyo tried to help the girl steady herself as he slowly and carefully made his way across the couch toward her, but wasn't sure whether it was something she needed or not. Instead he moved his gaze to the window and stared out at the massive space rock that floated through the void. "Ah, well that explains it. I usually check the perimeter manually, since all the interference from the Hollow and the asteroid belt tends to mess up the scans. And that's pretty much how I fly so..." He looked at her with a slight shrug and hint of a smirk. "So you should probably buckle up if it comes to me having to pilot." He then gave off the slightest of a chuckle that was more like a, 'heh', and turned his attention to the stairway.

"Thanks for letting me sleep, and healing me up a bit..." The boy did his best to hide more of his timid expression, his fingers gently running circles across his newest bruise on the forehead. He gazed around the lounge, wondering where his little buddy had gone while he thought about her inquiry regarding the sound she'd heard.

"As for the noise... Maybe it was the droid, or..." He pushed the edge of his fist to his chin and thought for a moment, insinuating that he meant his repair droid, Imp, and not Gremlin. "Well, we can check the security feed from the bridge, but..." Kyo paused for a second, thinking about the fact that he never really had to worry about people being onboard unless they were bounties locked up in the brig. That wasn't really something he felt the girl needed to see for now given where she came from.

"Shini, how many lifeforms are currently onboard?" He waited a moment and held his curious gaze as he gave the ship's sensors a chance to sweep the upper and lower decks. After a few moments the AI would respond through the speakers.

"Two lifeforms are currently onboard. Key-Oh, and Sea-Luh." The youthful voice chimed in. The ship still remained hovering above the crown of the Hollow as Shini awaited the next command.

"There, see? It also could've just been a subsystem blew out down there in the commotion or something. I'll check it out once we get you taken care of." He turned his chin toward the bridge, somewhat surprising himself with the fact that he was choosing to help the girl over checking the Shinigami. "Shini, continue normal patrol pattern for current location, but slow and easy."

"Understood, resuming perimeter check." The ship would then resume its course with a much slower pace. Kyo shook his head with a soft smile as he turned his gaze back, then narrowed his eyes at the wounds on Seela and dropped the expression.

"Before we get to those... Is there anything else I need to know about your ex-master, and that thing around your neck? I've heard rumors about extra precautions some would take..." He pointed to the silver shock collar that they hadn't been able to get off Seela yet.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

As much as Seela liked her latest companion, she was really starting to doubt his sanity. Between his piloting ways, and the fact that he said he often swung from his grappling gun... Yeah, who was she kidding! Hopefully She would survive this!
She could have been relieved that he didn't seem concerned by the noise, but considering her latest realisations... yeaaah...
At least the ship confirmed it wasn't someone trying to get them. And why wasn't the ship petty with him? After all, he offended it too!

Yeah, this was becoming worrying how Kyosuke didn't seem to worry about anything, right now! A subsystem blowing out couldn't be good on a ship, right!

Seela unconsciously took a half step back when she saw Kyosuke's eyes narrow, unsure of what it could mean for her safety. She was instantly suspicious when he started asking about Master and the collar.

"Well, my wrists can wait until you check your systems, I think... Well, I could probably tell you his exact sexual preferences according to his moods, but I don't think it's really what you want to know, uh? Aside from that, all I know, is that Master is important, powerful, and has lots of suspicious friends... And that people tend to obey him regardless of being slaves or not. People that please Master consistently get rewarded, and people that displease him... disappear after the first time... I wasn't really told anything about my collar. I've learned it can shock me sometimes, and it hurts. There's different shock strenghts depending on the occasion, controlled by remotes that Master and my handler hold... I wouldn't put it past Master to indeed have some sort of failsafe in it, maybe even a tracking thing too, Master is a very smart man! It would be wise to maybe scan it before removing it, to be sure, I'm pretty sure you have things that can do that here..."

Seela didn't really know how she felt about removing her collar. Yes it had hurt her sometimes, but it had also offered her protection many times! Belonging to Master meant that others couldn't hurt her to the point of leaving lasting damage, or to keep her from working the following day! Being Master's favorite meant that she was even more protected, the clients being forbidden to do anything that would leave marks, even just bruises! Seela had seen more than once, patrons of the club being escorted out and banned for touching her against Master's wishes.
The girl couldn't remember a time she didn't wear some sort of collar. She had worn a leather one while growing up on Nar Shadaa, a jeweled choker type one during her training on Nal Hutta, and she had worn this one ever since Master bought her, years ago...
A collar meant safety, it meant that no one other than her owner could touch her, or hurt her... Being collared was proof that she belonged somewhere, with someone... It meant that she was Master's... If she didn't have that, what would she become?

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Kyo slowly and discreetly pulled the ripped chest areas of his black shimmersilk shirt together, trying to cover up his exposed chest with the wide-split fabric while he turned his red face away to cover his dark blush. There wasn't nearly enough of the material remaining to fully make himself decent, so he felt he had to keep one hand on the cloth to pinch it and hold it together right above his heart. He tried to calm his rising nerves, not sure what was coming over him. Something hadn't been right since the...

The boy shook his head and tried to push the recent memory away. If this runaway had a tracker, or a bomb - whatever it was, inside her then he needed to get it out right away. "Shini, skip the perimeter check, put us down in the Hollow - but smooth, please." Purpose began to swell within him, he gave a nod to her, then leaned forward and let his other hand rest on her back, just below the collar.

"Understood, Key-Oh." The ship's wings would tilt back for a moment, easing up the Shinigami's forward inertia before the portside wing would straighten back out and cause the ship to begin pivoting to the starboard side. Within moments the Shini would then have the starship coasting back toward the Hollow's entrance.

"Hold still." He let his eyelids fall, then held his concentration for a moment as he focused his Sense in on the collar and the area around her neck. It took him a few moments to guide the essence around the negative emotions he felt there. There was fear, faint, but ever present. There was also a strong sense of disgust, and pain that just sort of seemed to be there. Overall there was a level of submission wrapped up in the object and the girl's connection to it that he found himself pulling away. Kyo stopped himself, his fingertips still resting on her back as he slightly scrunched up his cheek bones and looked at her with a curious gaze. 'What exactly have you been through?' He thought to himself, not sure she'd want to discuss any of that for now.

Kyo took in another breath, the light in the room dimming as the Hollow once again blocked out the starlight and returned the lounge to a dim pale blue glow. His palm gently touched back down onto Seela's skin once more, and he closed his eyes while he focused again. This time he brought up the light side, swirling it around him as he let it flow through him and to Seela. He focused on positive emotions, trying to calm the girl and wrap her in it's warm embrace. This time he avoided the collar, guiding his Sense down into the areas around the neck to check for anything that might be unnatural or foreign to her there.

It didn't take long to discover the implant that resided in the back of her neck, not too deep beneath the skin. Kyo took in a calm centered breath and slowly opened his eyes. "Okay..." His palm gently lifted, followed by his fingertips as he'd pull his hand back to the couch and the black shimmersilk blanket that still covered one of his legs. "I think I found it. The interference around the asteroid belt should keep us hidden well enough-" 'but someone might've tracked us to the system...' he decided to keep that last part to himself, no need to worry her further. "-but we should still get this out of you as soon as possible." His eyes were locked onto hers with a sense of urgency yet control. It gradually seemed for a moment like he was beginning to come out of the shyness -- if it weren't for the fact he was still blushing madly and continuing to cover his chest with the torn parts of his shirt.

"Shini, start a full ship diagnostics once we land, I wanna know if there's any damage to any of the ship's systems." Kyo finally realized he could just pull his cloak in front of himself, moving his hands into his cloak pockets so he could push it closed to cover up a decent portion of his torso, though it didn't exactly cover the top of the chest or the lower abs. Still covered up more than the torn shirt though.

"Understood, self-diagnosis queued for arrival." The pleasant voice replied obediently. The ship would continue to turn and face the Hollow's entrance, then gradually began to push inside toward the lower tunnel. More exterior lights would flick on around the hull, slowly arching back and forth to illuminate portions of the dark tunnel around them.

"GREMLIN?" Kyo raised his voice toward the back hallway, and paused as he listened. He was pretty sure he heard the faintest cry for help come from the droid, but wasn't sure. "Will you go check on him? The tools I'll need are below deck, so either meet me back here or down there if I'm not back before you." With that he would give a gentle and supportive pat to her shoulder before he'd carefully get up, let the black silky blanket slide onto the couch, and gradually began to make his way toward the stairs to the lower deck across from them.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela usually didn't really like being touched, even less so when it was unexpected, but for some mysterious reason, she realised she didn't mind it right now... She would need to think about that once she was safe.
Seela then got a sense of... something? someone? Having their attention turned towards her, with a feeling of... curiosity? She didn't really understand it or where the sensation came from, Seela somehow just... knew things? She tended to not really question it, since it usually helped her in some way.
After a few moments of this, Seela felt a warmth that was becoming familiar lately, like the warm light of a sun on her skin, or the fluffy blankets she would sometimes get as rewards... It felt... nice? It was very peaceful, comforting even. Seela there and then decided that she very much liked this feeling, and wanted to feel it more!
Just when Seela was going to try and grab the warmth, it went away, and Kyosuke spoke. Seela internally pouted, but listened to what he said.

Found what? Get what out of me? oh, OH! The implant! Right, don't want that in longer than it has to!

Well, it would seem her companion had found some strenght to overcome his shyness, afterall!

Well, now it's just not fair! Why was the ship so mean to me, and it's all obedient and pleasant to him??? Really, it doesn't make any sense!

Seela flinched a bit when Kyosuke raised his voice, slightly taken by surprise. Usually, when voices were raised in her vicinity, it would lead to bad things for her... Seela didn't like raised voices... meant someone was angry, and angry people meant pain!
Seela was about to sppiral down in her toughts of fear and pain, but was interrupted when Kyosuke started talking in his normal tone again, seemingly very calm. Seela realised that he hadn't been angry, but that he was just trying to be heard by his little droid friend.
Reassured, Seela nodded at his request, slightly wondering what kind of tools would be needed to remove the collar and the chip. presumably a blade of some kind to take the implant out, at least...
Seela stood, keeping an eye on Kyosuke to make sure he wouldn't need help getting around, before cautiously padding her way towards the hallway where the little gremlin went flying.

Seela briefly tought about asking the ship to lower the music's volume, but being wary of the ship's potential reactions, decided it wasn't worth it. Seela closed her eyes, like she would sometimes do when navigating a crowd, and try to feel for the little dude.

"Gremlin? You okay? Make some noise if you can!"

Seela would walk past some sleeping quarters, with the doors closed, and went for the first open door she could find.

"Gremlin? are you in here, buddy?"

Seela found herself in a very clean refresher, confirming her beliefs that her host was according importance to cleanliness and order in his space. Seela then heard what sounded like muffled unhappy screeches coming from the corner, presumably coming from the little droid. Seela dearly hoped the little one wasn't damaged too much from his flight, as she quite liked the little dude. Plodding toward what she realised was the vac tube, Seela couldn't help but let out a surprised laugh at what she saw.
There, with his little legs kicking, and screaming his definite annoyance, was Gremlin, with his little head seemingly stuck in the hole...

"Aw buddy! That's absurdly funny and adorable! Anyway, here, let me just... Here we go!"

Still giggling a bit, Seela managed to get Gremlin out of his predicament, and decided to keep him in her arms as she walked back out of the refresher, towards the lounge area.

"You okay, little guy? Anything broken? I'm sorry the ship went crazy and you had to experience such an unpleasant situation! If I had known that Kyo usually piloted like a maniac, I would not have told the ship to do what he does... I'm so sorry!"

Yeah, it was game on between the ship and Seela, now! And if there was something Seela could do, it was throwing petty passive-aggressive jabs! Seela was quite determined not to lose to a damn rude ship!

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Seela...
Gremlin's little legs flailed desperately while he was stuck. His little whines and whimpers could be heard muffled and echoing in the vac-tube where his head was pinned. He'd release a cheerful series of chirps once finally pulled free, snuggling up in the girl's arms as she rescued him. At least his bestie was pretty obsessive about keeping everything neat and cleaned.

A familiar sensation would be noticeable to Seela once she reemerged from the refresher, seemingly coming from the unlit room across from her that had eerily opened its door since she was in the hallway last. A faint hint of the warm comforting light side dwelled noticeably within, but then something else seemed to poke through like the tip of a needle. Like a lingering scent of a sinister essence that brushed along the back of her neck and whispered something incoherent that would echo almost silently at the edge of her mind.

If she chose to focus in on the source of the dark side at all she would then feel a strong lure of something intangible that seemed to beckon her. The echo would whisper again in her mind, almost like it was trying to compel her to step into the unlit chamber, gradually muffling the noises around her and slightly numbing her senses as it would try to become the sole focus of her attention.



Kyosuke...
The Shadow braced his left hand against the wall as he nearly stumbled onto the middle landing step of the stairs. He let out a slight wince and a sigh of relief, knowing it could've gone much worse. His right palm rested against the main wound at his right side. 'Well, at least she knows some first aid...' The boy then turned down the half-way step of the stairs and began to make his way into the equally dim-lit lower deck. The music played here as well, but he could've sworn he heard something clank and clatter down the hallway that was aft of the cargo hold. "Imp?" Kyosuke paused and poked his head into the room, gaze scanning the dark hallway. Nothing. No response. "Hm... wonder if it was you she heard down here. If that is you..." He decided not to worry about it for now. Imp usually hid from everyone, including himself.

Without dwelling on it too much, Kyo resumed his mission and continued down into the cargo bay. He stretched his limbs out a little as he walked across the room, back popping along a couple spots as he arched it and tried to straighten his posture. The cut tensed at him a little bit, but then gave in and let him walk in peace. The cloak's edges fell around him, once again letting his chest and abs open to the rest of the ship. At least it was just Shini down here though, he didn't have to worry about Seela seeing him all indecent for the moment.

Kyosuke peeled the cloak off and tossed it to the side onto some duraplate crates that were secured to the corner near the portside escape pod. He then took in a deep breath and pulled back the right side of his shirt, stretching and flexing more of his muscles as he carefully stripped the shirt off and tossed it next to the cloak. "Mff..." 'that's better...' He took a moment to brush his palms and fingertips across a few of his sores, pressing the pain around in such a way that it kind of numbed the irritation he was starting to feel from them. 'If only it was just me here again... then it wouldn't matter if I wore something or not.' He blushed at the thought of Seela being around while he wore only his briefs or a towel, then shook his head and tried to get it out. 'At least she's proven to be pretty helpful, and it's not like I could just leave her either...'

'Stay on target...' The flustered boy slowly pulled the silky cloak back on, being careful not to reactivate any of his wounds as he slipped his arms through the large baggy sleeves and left it open for now. He then let out a sigh and gently patted his cheeks, slightly embarrassed that the girl had to keep seeing him so timid and flushed. The shy Knight released a quick sharp breath with a heavy huff, then puffed up his cheek for a second before he calmed his expression. 'Ok. Something that might be able to take off that collar, and something to make an incision...' He didn't really like the idea of having to cut the girl open, but he wasn't about to just try pulling the implant out of her with the Force. With a reluctant shake of the head he then began to rummage through a couple of the drawers attached to the engineering workbench, which was in the portside corner against the aft wall of the cargo bay. 'Just hope they weren't able to track us here before we made it into the belt...'


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela was walking back to the lounge, when she felt a creeping cold, syrupy sensation coming from a newly open door. Already being colder than she'd like, and feeling somewhat weirded out by the sensation, Seela shivered, shook her head, then cuddled the little droid a little more, before hurrying her steps to get away.

"I bet that was the first time you got stuck in there, uh? But that can't be the first time you found yourself stuck in a unusual predicament! And I would put credits down on the fact that most of those times were because Kyosuke did something stupidly unsafe... and the other times, I would think you got yourself in trouble, because you seem to be quite a curious being..."

Once in the lounge, Seela noticed the blanket was on the floor, so she let the droid on the ground before going to fold it neatly and put it on the couch. After that, since Seela was unsure of what she should be doing, she elected to just go kneel in the corner by the couch, out of the way, and wait.

When in doubt, find a place to kneel and look pretty...

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

It took only a few moments for Kyosuke to gather a handful of tools, which he'd set neatly across the top of the engineering workbench to keep them organized as he collected what he though he might need. 'Alright, this should do it.' He then held his right fingertips out toward the lower corner where he left his torn-up shirt, and pulled the shimmersilk shirt through the air. The garment flew effortlessly into his hand, which he would then use to begin collecting and rolling the tools together in a tight bundle.

He thought he'd heard some kind of talking upstairs, but through the music it was a little too muffled to make out. 'She must've found Grem. Hopefully he's alright.' He then turned his gaze to the aft hallway that led to engineering. 'Hopefully Imp is alright too.' It was the wacky droid's favorite place to hide, but Kyosuke didn't really have the time to search for him or the energy to chase him around either. "Shini, lower the cargo lift to the lower deck."

"Understood, Key-Oh." Shini's voice took a moment to respond to him, due to the fact she was already piloting the Shinigami and scanning their proximity while she kept a few other important subsystems running. The young Knight would then turn and wait at the lift, where the hull section of it had resealed when they took off from Nar Shaddaa. A few moments later he'd be on the cargo lift, rising up into the upper deck with his shirt rolled up in his left arm around the tools he'd obtained. As he stepped off the lift and began to head back to the couch next to Seela he would use his right hand to pull his armorweave cloak tight under both sides of his arms, trying to keep it wrapped around his torso like a bathrobe.

"Hey buddy, glad to see you're alright." Kyo gave a nod up to Gremlin, who hopped up and ran over to his bestie, clearly happy to see his wounded friend up and walking around. Seeing the droid ready to pounce up to his shoulder, the boy extended his palm to stop Grem. "No, no. Not yet." There was a very faint chuckle from him that lasted less than a second, and a light whine from Gremlin that turned into a shrug and a nod before he began to scamper alongside Kyo while they made their way toward the girl. As he got there, Kyo would lay the shirt down onto the holo-table, then gradually unroll it so that a few small mechanic tools of various shapes and sizes sat somewhat neatly in it. At the far end of the assortment were a pair of knives, one slightly larger and more wide than the other. "Alright Seela, this is gonna suck, but if you really want to be free, and safe, then we gotta do this..." He'd pause and give her however much time she needed to steel herself, if she even needed any at all. "You ready?"


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela had been resting for a few minutes when Kyosuke appeared with the lift, and a cloth bundle. She fluidly rose up to her feet, and waited curiously. She could have stayed on her knees, but she figured that if she was to become a free person, she might as well try to stop behaving like a slave! Slaves knelt before free people, free people had to be made to kneel! Plus, Seela felt a bit uncomfortable having him tower over her too easily. It just highlighted the power imbalance a bit too much for her taste...

Seela couldn't stop herself, she devolved into a fit of giggles, when Kyosuke started apologizing for the process suckiness. Like, didn't he even think about the fact that even just an hour as a slave sucked hundreds of times more that this tiny incision would? Kark, he was adorable!

Seela did her best to regain her composure quickly, not wanting to offend her host. With a final sigh, she shook her head, and addressed the youth, pointing to her scarred lekkus.

"Those sucked major bantha ass. Removing my implant? I'll barely feel it! Removing the collar is probably going to be weird, but it has to be done. I'm more than ready! Where do you wish to get settled to do it?"

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

The boy's bright blue eyes wandered across the girl's scars. He tried not to imagine who or what it was that could've done such a thing, not wanting to get riled up and seek justice against the one who did this to her. A deep shaky breath drew into his lungs, where he held it to calm himself so that he could remain balanced for what he was about to do to her next. 'I'm sorry, those look painful. We'll hunt down whoever did this and--' He shook his head, realizing he was about to slip down that train of thought again. Instead he kept silent about it, unsure of what to say to comfort her in the moment. "Right over h-" Kyosuke nearly finished responding to Seela about where to settle before the AI suddenly chimed in.

"Sweep of the lower chamber is complete. No ships or humanoid lifeforms detected." Shini reported with a satisfied tone. The Knight turned his azure gaze to face the forward viewport of the Shinigami, where a cavernous opening in the celestial object sprawled out before them. It looked like there was enough room to land a couple ships the size of his there, though the whole cavern wasn't exactly lit up to see its full confines. The beams of light all around the Shinigami's exterior slowly shifted and swept across the cavern, barely illuminating various areas of the nearly pitch-black den.

"Good, Shini. Take us through one of the other paths and check out the upper hollow, then land us in there if it's clear." Kyo returned his attention to Seela and the tools on the holo-table, taking another deep breath as he realized he was going to need to steel himself for this as well.

"Understood, Key-Oh." The ship would pivot its wings independently of each other again, much more controlled this time so that nothing was thrown around. The large cavern outside the transparisteel windows would rotate around them as Shini raised the bow slowly and slightly so that the ship's interior gravity could still hold everything steady without any issue. Kyo then began to make his way into the couch, using his right hand against the top of the backrest, and his left hand along the bottom of the black cushions to steady his wary frame while he gradually crawled further towards the corner of the couch using his knees.

Gremlin slowly made his way toward Seela's feet while his bestie began to settle into his seat. The curious droid would then look up at the lavender girl's pearl eyes while he softly whimpered up at her, and he'd gently give her little begging pets to her shin with one of his little footpads to get her attention. He'd make it as clear as he could that he wanted to be up in her arms again, mostly because he wanted to be there to support her through what she seemed she was about to go through, but also because he actually seemed to be comforted when she embraced him.

Kyo had his eyes closed, his left forearm rested against his left thigh, while the fingers of his right hand gently rubbed the bruise on his forehead. His feet were square on the floor, shoulder-width apart. His cloak had slightly fallen open, but it barely exposed any of his chest, and didn't seem to be something he was actually worried about at the moment. 'Alright... if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna have to pull myself together enough to get her through this. It doesn't matter if she sees my body right now, she saw way more during the orgy she sprung on me anyway.' The young man's eyes flashed up to Seela's, a flicker of light gleaming across the surface of his bright blues. His expression and demeanor were no longer soft and shy, having become something much more controlled and dominating instead.

"Alright, let's get this done. Come here." The suddenly confident Knight gave a relaxed yet commanding pat on the top of his thigh to the girl, then gradually formed the hand into a point at the floor in front of him. "Get on your knees between my feet. Face the table, it'll be easier for you to take this and me to do it if you can brace yourself."

He then gave a slight offering and commanding gesture to the silky blanket Seela had folded and set aside on the couch. "Use this blanket on the floor as a cushion for your shins and knees." He clenched down on the back of his jaws for a moment, flexing the muscles that ran up the back of his cheeks as he considered which of the tools he was going to use on her collar first. He would then wait for the girl to get into position before he pointed at the long thin mechanical tool at the far left of the unrolled shirt. "When you're ready, hand me the long thin one there at the end with the curved tip. Then lower your chin and hold your head-tails out of my way while I check to see if we can even get your collar off in one piece."


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

A few moments after Kyosuke's response to Shini, Seela internally smirked, schooling her face so that all that could be seen was pure innocence and worry, before adressing the man.

"Hum, Kyosuke, maybe we should wait until the ship isn't flying? Tinkering with my collar and removing the implant are quite delicate tasks, and I'm pretty sure we can't really afford to be jostled by the ship's flight if we want to avoid an explosion..."

eheheh, thank you Shini, for the opening for that jab!

Seela was about to make her way towards the couch, when she felt Gremlin's little pets on her leg. Curiously, and also because that little droid was just way too cute for his own good, Seela bent down, and took the little one in her arms, happily taking the opportunity to cuddle him a bit.

"Hey, little guy! Gah, you're so cute!"

As she made her way towards the couch, Seela noticed that Kyosuke's demeanor changed. Seela didn't really have any wualms about the shyness and blushes, but knowing that the manseemed to have centered himself and be more focused on the tasks at hand reassured her quite a bit.
Then, with quite an assertive attitude, came instructions. And Seela's mind seemed to go hazy a little. Without really remembering the process, Seela found herself following the orders mindlessly, finding herself just about to kneel in the spot he pointed.
Seela was quite surprised at the effect Kyosuke's words seemed to have on her, and how her body seemed to act without her control for those few seconds. Was she really so deeply conditioned that all anyone had to do was to speak firmly enough and she would find herself obeying without question?
Maybe in reaction to those toughts, Seela's movements halted briefly, thinking about how blankets don't belong on the floor, so she should disobey and just kneel there, but she had just decided to start acting like a free person, and free people like their comfort, so maybe she should take the blanket? But then she would still be following Kyosuke's orders like a mindless slave...
Shaking her head, she took the blanket and knelt on it, facing the table, where Kyosuke had neatly arranged numerous tools and blades.
Seela closed her eyes and took a few breaths, trying to ground herself, and realised that normally, kneeling by someone's legs made her feel diminished, or vulnerable, small and insignificant. Kneeling by Kyosuke, she didn't feel that. Sure, there was still that part of her that wasn't fond of people towering over her, but aside from that, she didn't feel... unsafe, or objectified, or scared. Instead, she felt a bit of that familiar warmth from earlier, tho a bit fainter, and she felt as if Kyosuke's very presence was all around her, embracing her, and made her feel... Seela didn't have a word for the feeling, and the confusion shook her out of her toughts. She had been asked a question, right!
Reaching up, Seela brought both her lekkus over her shoulders, in front of her, then grabbed the tool Kyosuke described, and reached behind her to hand it to him.
Was she ready to stop wearing her collar? Maybe not. But Seela was more than ready to not have to worry about her head exploding, or being found by Master, and so with a deep breath, Seela nodded.

"Yes, I'm ready!"

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Kyosuke watched Seela closely as she picked up Gremlin and got into position, having no idea of the implications of his eyes while they studied her form. Staring at the curves and lines of another's body was something he'd never really done before, and he still didn't understand what it was doing to him or what he was even doing. "Good." He'd respond as she obeyed and got down in front of him. The young man tried to remain as sensible as he could given the situation. There was likely a bomb in the runaway's back, and he was gonna have to hurt her to get it out of her.

A few moments later he'd curl his finger over her shoulder to beckon her hand so she could pass him the tool he'd requested. "Good." He'd say once more, tone slightly lower as he leaned forward at the same time. He tapped his palm up against the bottom of the handle so she would know he had it, then gently took it into his grasp and leaned toward her neck a bit more. His head would dip down slightly so he could see the lower edge of her torque as he slid a fingertip from his other hand along the bottom of it, searching for something he might be able to reach with one of the tools to set her free.

"A device like this must have some sort of manual release, probably hiding somewhere it wouldn't be noticed so easily." His voice was calm and steady, breath warm and soft against the edge of her back and neck if she allowed him to get an eye up under the collar. "Hm. Don't see it on this side." He'd then gently tap on her other shoulder next to her pair of lekku. "Move these." This wasn't so much a command as it was an empathetic request, focused and respectful.

The young Knight would give Seela a chance to comply, though it wouldn't stop him from gradually sweeping his head back and to the other side of her head. He'd take his thumb and pointer, once again sliding them bit by bit across the collar's top and bottom. His bright blues squinted and narrowed as he felt the slightest bit of a difference in the torque's material. "Wait... I think I found it." He'd lean slightly closer, gently bracing his knees against her sides and his elbows on her upper back. His head would draw closer if she'd let him get this far.

"Yup." He'd bring the tool closer, and tilt the tip of it against the shock collar's nearly unnoticeable release mechanism. With a refined precision he'd bear down only as much as he'd need against Seela to pop the tool into place, deactivating the collar and effectively unlocking it. Kyo would then let out a sigh of relief, and pull his body back away from her slightly to give her a little space. His gaze would remain down at her and he'd stay silent for a few moments so she could take the moment in.

He wouldn't take the collar off, he'd look down at her instead with an expecting expression, waiting to see if she was capable of removing it herself.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela focused on the warmth that she now started to understand was Kyosuke, sinking in the feeling of calm in called forth. Seela could have fallen asleep just like that, which said a lot about how at ease she felt in Kyosuke's presence. The twi'lek found herself feeling a burst of warm fuzzyness everytime the man praised her. She wasn't sure what the feeling was, and why it happened. She felt something similar when Master rewarded her in the past, but she tought it was only relief. Relief, because in pleasing Master, she got away from a potential punishment. With Kyosuke, Seela knew there wouldn't be punishments like Master's, so the feeling couldn't be relief? hm, food for tought.

Seela could feel how focused Kyosuke was on releasing the collar, each touch of his fingers light and precise, careful. She could also feel him leaning over, feel his slow breathing on her skin. Seela was pushed in some sort of a trance, a meditative state, and she didn't hate how it felt.

Then she felt it, the CLICK of the release mechanism, and the front half of the collar pivoted on its hinge, leaving the collar open, waiting...
Seela was fully alert now, fully expecting Master to appear out of a corner. She braced for a hit, for some sort of shock, of pain, her eyes tightly closed in anticipation.

Seconds passed, with nothing moving, just the THUMP THUMP of her heart, the blood rushing in her earcones.

Still expecting to somehow see Master appearing, Seela opened her eyes, and scanned the surroundings. When she confirmed that nothing had changed, she lifted shaking hands slowly, haltingly, towards her collar, struggling to believe this reality.
Still fully expecting something to happen, Seela took a deep breath, held it... and touched her collar... Flinched...

Nothing. No shock. No pain. No blow...

Biting her lip, Seela squeezed her eyes shut, gripped the collar in her hands, and... tensed. Her mind told to remove the collar, but her body just... didn't move. Gritting her teeth, Seela tried again.
It should have been simple, with the collar open, all she had to do was move it a few inches, and it wouldn't be around her neck anymore! Seela wanted this collar off, right? She needed to get it off, so that her chip could be removed! And Seela definitely wanted the chip removed!
So WHY was she struggling? Was she really so broken that she couldn't even remove her collar, when it sat open on her neck?

Why was the collar STILL THERE?!? Why couldn't she remove it? It made no sense!

Seela frustratedly shook her head, refusing to be defeated by an open collar. The girl straightened her spine, squared her shoulders, and centered herself, taking slow deep breaths. Asserted her grip on the metal, hands no longer shaking.

Seela then removed the collar from her neck, numbly putting it down on the floor just in front of her knees.

It was done. No more collar. The familiar weight around her throat was gone.

Seela knew, in some corner of her mind, that she should be elated. That she should feel elated, relieved. Proud. The physical symbol of her slave status was gone.

All she felt was numb...

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"How does it feel?" Kyosuke calmly set the tool down next to him on the couch, then went to extend a hand toward the lavender Twi'lek's neck and shoulders. He then stopped himself. He wanted to comfort her, but... 'That took her a moment to overcome... maybe she needs a little more time.' He withdrew his hand, letting it rest on his thigh for the moment as he looked down at her. He wanted to give her as much time as she needed. This was a sensitive moment for her, something that seemed like she'd been waiting for most her life. Something that seemed incredibly important to her.

A slight smile tipped up on the corner of Kyo's lips as he felt a flutter in his chest. He was doing some good in this galaxy, finally helping people again. It had been awhile since he'd done anything this liberating, not that he was doing this for himself. His azure gaze searched her eyes, trying to gauge what she was feeling and how she was doing. 'I'll do what I can to help you get passed all this... However long it takes.' Gremlin also looked up at Seela from her lap, a brief curious coo from his robotic speaker as the little droid continued to check on her. "Do you need a moment before we continue?"


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela was pulled back to the present, when she heard Kyosuke ask a question. Pushing all the toughts and feelings she just had down, deep down in a box in a dark corner of her mind, with the other things to be processed later, she slowly blinked, and rolled her neck. A few satisfying crack resounded, and she sighed, gingerly touching her throat.

"It feels... I dunno... weird, I think? There'll be a bunch of shit to unpack later, I guess."

Seela couldn't help but smile at the cute robot. Such cuteness shouldn't be legal! She 'booped!' The little guy on the top of his "head"? Then gave him a big hug.

"GAAAH, too cute!!! I can't resist!!!"

Regaining her composure, and slightly blushing at her own behavior, Seela shook her head.

"No time like the present, right? Besides, I really really want that thing out of me!"

Putting Gremlin back down, Seela brought a hand to her nape, and touched just under where the collar would have sat, quickly finding the little bump under the skin.

"It's just... here, I can feel it just below my fingers. "

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Good, the sooner we get this done the better." Kyo leaned just to the left side of Seela as he picked up the tool and placed it back on his torn shirt across the holo-table. He was gentle and caring as he placed his other hand on her back to support himself while he leaned next to her so she could focus on her recent release. Meanwhile Gremlin's little feet had been kicking around while Seela squeezed him, a soft and joyful cheer as he nuzzled his head against her. "Almost free..."

"Upper chamber clear. Landing in -- the Usual Spot." Shini would chime in, completely oblivious of the situation the two were going through and unaware of what they were feeling right now. The Shinigami began to gently cruise toward the back of the cavern, slowly turning itself 180-degrees before gradually setting its landing gear down in the Hollow. "Performing queued diagnostics."

Kyo pulled the fine thin knife off the right side of the shirt, having softly swung his body back around her other side to reach over and get it without making any commotion. He moved back to where Seela reached back and pressed her fingers against her implant. "Okay. Brace yourself, and let me know if you want me to stop at any point."

The tip of the blade would gently set down against the back of her neck. The Knight took in a deep breath to remain centered, and allowed the runaway to do the same. Over the next few moments he would do his best to make a clean incision along the implant's edge. Once he had enough progress made he'd then lean back forward over Seela and wipe both sides of the blade on the ruined shirt before setting it back.

"Alright, just keep holding still as best you can..." He then took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused in on the implant in her. After a few more moments he inched the device out of her, gently pulling on it with the Force to remove it, letting it float just over and in front of her left shoulder before he used the ethereal essence to set the implant on the shirt. "Not done yet..."

Kyosuke then let out another big breath, before he would then place his right palm on the newly opened wound he'd cut into her, and gradually began to guide the Force back into the incision, willing to give some of his own life energy to seal the wound.


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela chuckled at Kyosuke's worry. If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was how to take pain!

"No need to worry your pretty little head, I can handle a lot more pain than that without flinching! This is pretty much nothing!"

And so, Seela's bearing didn't change, her face remained calm, and her muscles barely gave the smallest twitch while the blade started cutting.

Feeling the implant slide out of her was probably the wierdest feeling Seela had ever had. Not pain, nor pleasure, nor pressure. Just... weird.
While Seela was busy puzzling over the weird sensation, the implant floated over her shoulder, and landed on the table. Seela would probably have freaked out at least a little, but she didn't notice it.
Just as Seela was about to get up to go get one of her shoes to smash the implant on the floor, Kyosuke said he wasn't done, which made Seela stay still instead. She then felt Kyosuke's "warmth" somewhat pool around what she guessed was the incision he just made, and the small amount of pain go away.

"What did you just do? What was that? Are you done? Can I finally smash that thing?"

The question came in rapid fire from a confused and curious Seela, now thoroughly distracted from the collar's absence around her throat.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Nngh... Not yet..." The young Knight's shaky blue eyes dimmed and his body slouched to the side. "It might explo- hhn..." He released a very weak breath and dipped further to the girl's left, palm barely bracing himself against the edge of the couch cushion in time to keep himself from falling. The dizzy young man didn't even realize the upper right side of his body had slumped onto her left shoulder.

It was then that the pain of her cut he'd healed had begun to take hold on his mind. "Hhng!" Kyosuke clenched his teeth and shut his eyes with an uncomfortable expression stretching across his face. His right hand reached back, slightly trembling as he'd place it in exactly the same spot he'd cut her.

Gremlin let out a small whine as he watched Kyo go through the pain, looking up at his bestie, then back to Seela who seemed to handle the pain better than the young man did. Kyo spent the next few moments trying to catch his breath, still pretty lightheaded from using one of his weaker powers while he was still pretty exhausted. 'I probably got just enough left in me to take out that implant and protect us if it does explode...'

"I just wanted... to make sure the wound was closed... in a timely manner... without having to... cauterize you too..." He let out a few more heavy breaths, panting a little worse than when they'd just got done swinging across that gap back on Nar Shaddaa. "Let me..." He took a few more breaths, not sure what it was he was leaning on as his blurry vision slowly started to refocus. Gremlin continued to look between the pair periodically, trying his best to understand what they were going through while he released a quiet whimper that seemed confused and worried.

"Let me deal with the implant... Just in case--" Kyo turned his face to lock his gaze with hers, little beads of sweat starting to trail down his frame. "Just in case it... You know..." Trying to insinuate it might blow up on her if she tried to smash it. Something he was not about to let her do if she tried, though he wasn't really sure he was in a condition to even stop her right now if she really wanted to do it. His gaze would drop back to the floor as he lost the strength to keep his head up and facing her. "Just... Just give me a minute... nnh..."


@Ahryia

 

[Seela]

Seela felt the warmth fade quickly, and then Kyo's weight as he slumped on her shoulder. That was definitely worrying, and pushed all her questions to the side of her mind, for a later reflection. Seela quickly pivoted to catch Kyosuke's shoulders, and make sure he didn't fall further. The man made a good point about the implant possibly exploding. Logicaly, that wasn't something you wanted to happen inside a spaceship!

Then, she just had to make sure the chip wasn't inside when it exploded! Seela had a plan! She was just about to explain it, when Kyosuke answered her questions, in a way.

"That was a tiny cut! I was nowhere near the risk of bleeding out! It would have closed just fine on its own in a few days! I have no idea how you just healed me, but that was straight up stupid!! I'm sorry! But... you're seriously injured, and visibly that trick took a lot out of you! Right now, your body needs all the strenght, energy, and whatever magic mojo it can get to continue to function! You might not give a porg's shit if you die, but please, don't let me stranded like that! At least drop me off somewhere before you decide to kick the bucket!"

Seela was flabbergasted at seeing Kyosuke still trying to do whatever it was he wanted to do in his state... stupidly stubborn! This man had no survival instincts! It seemed that she would have to take charge for now, if she wanted to have any hope of getting somewhere in one piece!

"Stop! YOU will be going to BED, where you will be resting! You will stay in that bed for at least four hours! I will temporarily borrow your droid to take the chip outside, at a safe distance from the ship, then come back in. Then, safely from inside, Shini can shoot the implant to destroy it. Shini might hate my guts, but I am quite sure she will agree with me on wanting to keep you alive! Anything you wish to say before I help you get to your bed?"

Seela felt something she couldn't quite identify, but she liked it. Free people stood their ground, right? She had just done that pretty well, right? Maybe she could live as a free person, after all!
Seela felt satisfaction after speaking her mind, and making a stand. She had made logical decisions, expressed them, and held her ground. She was impressed with herself!
On that note, Seela stood slowly, grabbing the blanket from the floor and the pillow still on the couch (somehow it didn't go flying?) with Kyosuke's arm around her shoulders, her own at his waist to help support him, and adressed the little droid on the ground.

"Hey Gremlin! Would you mind showing me to his bed? Then I'll need your help getting rid of this implant for good."

@AdventCore