station72 | [open] we could strike the chord

CHARACTERS: Anyone who wanted to go to the vigil!
WHERE: Royal Street Gaming Parlor.
WHEN: DAY :031
SUMMARY: Concordia honors the dead. Hosts honor the dead, or maybe just do a little 007ing. As in snooping, not macking on hot ladies. ~~We hope.~~
WARNINGS: TBA.

This is here for any and all of your mingling needs. Start your own top-levels, harass each other, etc etc.

Here is what we know is happening, courtesy of our fearless mods:

The hosts will be few in a throng of relatively peaceful people. Most people in attendance are younger (30s and below) and a proportionally large number of them have some kind of physical modification, though most are relatively low-profile mods. There's also a small contingent of androids in attendance.

A low platform has been erected in front of the Royal Street Gaming Parlor and the speakers for the vigil either stand on it or, as is the case with some more high profile appearances, they speak across an extranet connection via a holoscreen projected onto the Parlor itself. For the most part the speakers are small time: a few workers from a small local chapter of Mind Life (accompanied by a few skittish looking androids), a beta block councilwoman, a Mother and Sister from a nearby Church of Lirinity. Most of them have nothing more than words of support and condolence.

Somewhere close to the middle of the vigil, Seong-Hye Ngazi, the Public Security Commissioner for Concordia, speaks via extranet connection. She seems somber, competent, but also confident, and speaks about condolences for the losses, regret for the circumstances of the attack, and Public Security's dedication to finding the party responsible for the attack.

Otherwise: it's your fairly standard memorial gathering. Poems are read, some tears are shed, there are some people with signs and a small contingent of rabble rousers on the fringe of the gathering that quickly get chased off by Public Security, etc. You're welcome to create and interact with your own NPCs if you feel so inclined!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The crowd doesn't exactly make Pidge uncomfortable, but she's become oddly used to the vast emptiness of the castle. It's like mood whiplash. So she skirts the edges, trying to keep her eyes and ears open. There's a lot to learn about this planet and her new "friends". She can't afford to just shut herself in her room, as much as a part of her would like to do that. Ahsoka catches her eye (and there's a bit of a tug from her symbiote), so she detours slightly, leaning against the wall and peering up at her with a curious expression. ]

Kind of a weird place to take a nap.

I'm not asleep.

[Her tone is slightly reproachful -- its a ceremony for the dead, after all. And though Ahsoka had not thought about it much before, death felt incredibly final all of a sudden. She didn't understand the phenomenon, but the dead did not appear to return to the Force this far out into space. At least, not in a way that she could sense.

In that, a part of her felt even more inclined to make certain that the dead were honored. Her eyes remain closed as she speaks -- this mind and voice are new to her, so she tempers her tone.]

That would be disrespectful.

I - yeah, it would it be.

[ Pidge feels a bit awkward, as if she's been rapped on the metaphorical knuckles. She frowns and glances toward the front of the crowd. She sort of feels like she should say something, but she's not sure what. ]

Sorry for assuming.

[ That... works? Maybe? People are hard. ]

[It takes just a moment for Ahsoka to cool her nerves, and she instantly feels bad for having been so haughty when she feels Pidge's discomfort across the symbiote. It was a childish reaction from her.]

You don't need to apologize.

[Her eyes slide open and glance down at Pidge then, and she unfolds her legs while letting her arms fall back to her sides.]

Did you just wake up?

If by "just woke up" you mean a few days ago, then... yeah. I guess so.

[ She frowns and rubs a hand through her hair. This is still strange, even if she's managing to adjust fairly quickly. Helps that she's already been tossed into universe-spanning nonsense before. ]

Still feels kinda weird.

[ A pause and then Pidge reaches up to offer her hand. ]

I'm Pidge.

[A few days ago. Right, she remembered something about that. But she had been so distracted that she had not recognized it for what it was.

She doesn't bother offering an explanation.]

I'd say you'll get used to it, but I don't really have that answer.

[She was used to it. Her tether to the Force was similar to how the Nest behaved, though her connection to the Force did not feel quite as physical as her connection to the latter did. Its impossible for her to have any other measure.

Ahsoka leans forward and offers her hand in return, clasping firmly.]

Ahsoka Tano.

Nice to meet you.

[ She manages a smile. It's not a fabulous, wide open one, but it's still a smile. More polite than anything else. She leans back against the wall and tilts her head to peer up at Ahsok as she talks. She's been hearing that line a lot, actually. ]

I don't know if I'm ever going to want to get used to having other people in my head. It's... weird.

[ It's safe enough to chat here. Right? ]

Not so weird, where I come from. Invasive and rude, but not uncommon.

[The smile she offers is brief and wry. Its an odd place to talk -- but she had been there since the early hours, and as long as they are quiet and not disruptive...]

Most of the Nest has been respectful of the connection. I would not worry too much.

I mean - I've run into telepathy before.

[ Once. Unless you count the Lions. ]

I've just never had it on all the time.

[ She frowns and shifts her weight from one foot to the other. ]

It just feels a little weird. That's all.

[Ahsoka offers her a sympathetic fall of her features and glances at her knees briefly in an attempt to consider how Pidge might be feeling. It doesn't take long to understand -- that was one of the benefits of the Nest.

When she lifts her chin again, she recalls a memory.]

When I was young, we were taught to close our minds by focusing on one thing. That way, even if someone tried to force their way inside, all they would find would be some grass, or a mynock, or something equally silly.

[She glances back down to Pidge.]

Might help.

So... kind of like meditation? Except... not?

[ She might as well try it, though. She takes a deep breath and lets her eyes close as she tries to focus on something. Maybe peanut butter. She's really not sure if it's working, though, since there's no one really around to read her mind right now. Except Ahsoka. ]

[With Pidge focusing on peanut butter as hard as she is, perhaps she doesn't see the way Ahsoka is smiling. She can't relate to the image, but since it sits front and center, she gets a sense of what she is trying to portray.]

"Peanut butter", huh? Never heard of it.

Oh!

[ Pidge starts just slightly and looks a bit sheepish. ]

It's an... Earth food. It's made out of peanuts. It's not my favorite food, but I like it, and I eat a lot of it, so I guess it was just the first thing to pop into my head.

It worked. That's what matters. It won't always work here, but -- well, it feels better to have some defense.

[They could sit there and contemplate the existence of peanut butter, but Ahsoka's own mind is elsewhere. She glances back to the speaker.]

All of this destruction -- would you say that's familiar to you as well?

Kind of. Unfortunately.

[ Pidge frowns. She's still not sure if she's used to the idea of fighting a war, either here or back 'home'. ]

I'm supposed to be fighting a different evil empire right now and we already know they've done some terrible things. So... I guess I'm used to it. It's not really something I think about.

[open] we could strike the chord

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