[240103.15 Crew's Encampment, ancient ch`Rihan....]
After the daily round of serving breakfast to the masses - which had Katara and a few of her 'volunteers' up at the crack of dawn - the barmaid once more went back to the tent that she shared with Rylan to look for the necklace that she had seemed to misplace. Mumbling quietly to herself, looking worried as to where the missing item could've gotten off to, Katara is startled from her search to hear an odd, tapping sound from the entrance to the tent....like someone gently rapping at the tent flap door....
Standing, Katara smoothes out the wrinkles from her clothes as she crosses to the door. Uniting the flaps, she pulls one back slightly to peek out at her visitor, and sees Vyynd tr`Khaine leaning up against one of the tent posts, smiling at her. "Jolan`tru."
Katara bows her head in respect as she answers, "Jolan`tru rekkhai... Rylan isn't here, if au wanted to speak with him."
"Na, I came to speak with au..." Vyynd nods towards her, "May I come in for a bit?"
Looking taken aback in surprise, Katara stands aside a little and motions for him to enter the tent, "Ie...? Au wanted to speak with me about...?"
"Ohhh, na much..." Vyynd graciously steps into the tent, and takes a seat on one of the field chairs inside. "Just about how au have been lately..."
"I'm fine rekkhai." She answers a little surprised, "Been keeping busy with the food line here..." she pauses, then asks with a worried tone, "Is there something wrong, rekkhai?"
Vyynd's face suddenly turns a bit worried as well, "Well...Ie, as there is a murderer on the loose...." he scratches the side of his head lightly.
Katara's eyes widen as she slowly takes the other chair in the tent. "A...um...murderer, rekkhai? When was this?"
Vyynd's worried expression deepens a moment, "Are au feeling okay? Na long term memory lapse or anything, ie?"
Wondering exactly what that inquiry meant, Katara nods slightly, "Ie...I'm fine... I just wasn't aware that..." she pauses, then sighs, "Rylan never told me about it."
"Ah..." Vyynd leans his head on his hand to the side, "I'm sorry...well, we recently had someone found wounded in engineering...and there were na signs of whom did it. And...it's just..." he sighs in frustration, "I've lost contact with io of my men...and t`Bahyk has gone missing. I can only suspect the worst..."
Raising a delicate brow slightly at this news Katara repeats quietly, "t`Bahyk's gone missing...." she bites down on her lip to think about that a moment, then looks back at him and continues quietly, "Well...I hope they're okay.... so, au came here to see if I was alright... or am I being questioned?"
Vyynd looks at her, his hands now folded just below his nose, glaring at the barmaid, "Reassurement of ninte well being, involves questioning....na?"
"I suppose so..." Katara's own eyes lower to stare down at her own hands, folded quietly in her lap, "But as au can see, I'm fine." she shrugs slightly, "I just....don't know why he didn't tell me about this, is all."
Vyynd shrugs his head to the side, "Probably didn't want to worry au, but I figure it is necessary to keep au informed, in order to assure au are cautious. Na to panic, or become...paranoid." he glances around the tent quickly, "But to be cautious....Security personnel are keeping watch over all parts...."
Katara nods, glancing back towards the box sitting on the low cabinet that she had gone through earlier with a slightly worried expression, "Ie, rekkhai. I know there's security personnel all over the camp. I'll be cautious..."
"Good then." Vyynd moves his hands down to rest his chin upon them, "So, how did au avoid hearing any rumors or such about the engineering incident? Au *are* the bartender...?" he looks at her intently
.
Katara once more focuses back on Vyynd, "Ie...but I've been busy with the food lines, which involves talking to the farmers and showing the other volunteers what to do with real food, and na replicated nourishment....and cleaning clothes...." she looks down at her hands again and sighs, "More slave work then bar tending..." casting a shy, sideways glance at him she admits quietly, "And I've been spending...free time...with Rylan, na socializing with ninte crew, who don't really socialize with me much in the first place." she shrugs again slightly, "I'm na an officer...only a civilian."
"Ie, well.." tr`Khaine scratches his chin then smiles at her sincerely, "Some might consider it a wife's work, and na slave work..?"
Katara laughs gently at that, "Wife's work...if io does those things for her mate...na a whole crew full of people."
Vyynd sighs, nodding "Ie, though ninte....'husband'...would be in charge of the crew...would he na?" as the girl sitting across from him blushed slightly at that remark, Vyynd continued, "Ah, it is a pointless debate...however, hann`yyu for taking care of the crew...au can be justly compensated once the ship is operational once more..."
Surprised at this suggestion, Katara repeats, "Compensation?" she shakes her head a little insulted, "I didn't expect compensation, nor do I want any such thing...." she sighs and looks away again, uncomfortable with the idea itself.
Vyynd's eyes grow wide, "Could it be...there is some insanely bizarre .... honor... in caring for the ship?!" he looks at the floor, scratching his head.
Once more the delicate brow rose slightly as she looked back at him, "I'm na caring for the *ship* rekkhai....I'm caring for the *people*. There is a difference, don't au think?"
"Ie ie, the people make the ship, the ship makes the people..." Vyynd laughs, standing up from the chair.
Katara shrugs that off, and continues a little quietly as she looks down to her hands once again, "Besides...every-io else has a job to do...I don't want to feel useless. I'm na educated like the rest of au, so I do what I can..."
"Ahhh, now that's where au are wrong...." Vyynd stops, and looks at her, "au already have a fantastic head on ninte shoulders, more then most officers seem to have even after the academy..... aaaannnnnd" he glances around briefly, "na one of the crew could mix such good drinks as au do." he smiles, nodding at her.
Smiling gratefully, she graciously accepts the compliment, "Hann`yyo rekkhai."
"Well it's true...." he shakes his head and adds, "na need to address me formally in situations like this, please...." Vyynd walks to the door, then stops to turn to her, "Well, anything to report?"
Glancing back to the box a moment, Katara answers a little sadly, "Only that I seem to have misplaced something... a necklace. If au see it laying around on the ground somewhere, I'd appreciate it if au would return it to me."
Vyynd snaps up at the girl, wide eyed, "Did au...notice...any-io around ninte tent? Last night?"
"Na..." Katara shakes her head as she stands from the chair, "Just me and Rylan. Na io else came by."
Vyynd looks around, then kneels and assesses the tent space, "Where were au sleeping?"
Finding this sudden behavior a little unnerving, Katara blushes slightly and motions over towards the sleeping covers, "Over there, rekkhai..."
"Ie..." Vyynd looks passed the sleeping area, "Fvadt...too trafficked in the morning." his voice grows a little louder in frustration, "*Everywhere* is too trafficked..."
Growing slightly alarmed at this, Katara questions, "I don't understand... what's the matter?"
Vyynd looks up, analyzing the tent structure and organization rubbing a hand passed his chin. "I am...missing something as well..." he answers the girl, "And some-io had been in my tent. If au see anything, tell me..." he gets up and pacing, flips the tent flaps open to kneel just outside to study the ground. "Na...na-thing but our tracks..."
As he's looking at the ground, a small pair of bare-feet walk by, and Vyynd's eyes immediately lock on the little girl who walks in a slow, shaky gait; staring off into space. Staring at the child's small form through thick strands of his own hair, watching the little one walk seemingly unseeing into the side of someone's tent, pacing a few steps back, then altering her course and continuing on. Vyynd ponders, *What of her? She's pacing... detached...perhaps....*
Vyynd's mind whirls out, surrounds the girl, and senses nothing.....nothing but a vision.......a vision which flashed into Vyynd's mind suddenly, painfully. Vyynd's body lies still, kneeling, halted in time......then a twitch, his entire body erupts in twitching. Falling onto his arse, he kicks backward, implanting his back into the outside ruffles of the tent Katara and Rylan shared, clawing lightly at his own head, whimpering.
Growing alarmed at his behavior, Katara kneels down beside the agent, "Rekkhai?" she gently touched his shoulder, "Rekkhai, are au alright?" Vyynd sits still once more, his hands covering his face. Not expecting the Agent to act in this way, the barmaid asks worriedly, "Rekkhai? Should I call for a medic?"
Slowly, Vyynd's hands move about, furrowing his hair between his fingers, "What...Pain...." he whimpers, to suddenly lunge forward onto his hands and knees. Vyynd reaches one hand out to the little girl's back, {{ girl.... }} he struggles, barely maintaining conscious thought, {{young io...}} he glares up at the girl's slowly retreating form.
Not wanting to leave the obviously distraught officer, Katara looks around and sees another walking by, "Au!" she points at the man, keeping a hand on the Agent's shoulder, "Get Rylan! Quickly, han`h!"
tr`Sorek stops to look down at the kneeling barmaid, then looks at the agent as Vyynd's hand stretched out towards the little girl who was wandering off. "Rekkhai...?" he questions, but as Vyynd did not answer him, he nodded towards Katara's hopeful and worried face, and tapped his com to open a line to the RS, then reported the incident before him. Waiting a moment for Rylan's quick reply, tr`Sorek again nodded to the barmaid, "He's on his way..." he smiled slightly at Katara, then continued on once more.
The little girl stops a moment, and slowly....shakingly...like a zombie... turns around to look at Vyynd with empty, expressionless eyes. Vyynd's voice cries out, high pitched, but very soft in actual volume, "liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle giiiiirrrlllll......come here, little io.....come heeeeeerrrrreeeeee....."
Katara looks towards the little girl that Vyynd called to, "Child?" she tried gently, "Come on now..." she motioned towards her, concerned over both the lost expression on the child, and the behavior from the agent.
With her blank eyes still locked on Vyynd's own, more thoughts and images of the scene filled her mind. Vivid snapshots that her young brain can't really comprehend. The little girl takes a shuffling, hesitant step forward at Vyynd's beckoning. tr`Khaine turns to Katara, almost speaking as a separate person, quickly and bluntly informs her, "She can't hear au..." then snaps back to the little girl, repeating out loud and in his mind to the little one, "Come on now...we will na hurt au... we cannot hurt au..."
Ry sprints from around the tent to hear Vyynd's last, and looks from tr`Khaine to the little girl, then to Katara as the barmaid slowly rose to a stand. Raising a brow at her, Katara answered him silently with a shrug. Placing a hand on his arm, she led him back a step and quietly explained what had gone on, as Vyynd and the little girl stared at each other.
As the pair behind him talked quietly, Vyynd rose to his knees, both arms stretching out to the little girl before him. "Come on now...come on... na need to be afraid of me..."
The child answers him silently, {{hurt...they're hurt.... help them....they're hurt....}} Over and over in her mind, the words emphasized with the images she saw...pleading with Vyynd silently to do something as she draws near enough for him to touch her.
Vyynd reaches out, and wraps his arms slowly around the girl. Holding her small form close to him, he calms her shaking body, then her mind. {{ I shall help them....we all shall help them.....aid me in saving them....where are they? where did au see them? remember....please....? }}
{{the tree....on the path... near the tree....}} The thought was immediately followed by the image of the propped up bodies and the chess board between them leaning against the base of the tree in question {{by the stream....beyond the path.... they're hurt...help them...}}the plea once more repeating itself in her mind.
Finding the location in his own mind, Vyynd then repeats to her {{ everything will be alright....do na worry about those two.....we shall aid them.....be calm for now....be calm.... }} Vyynd stands, laying a hand on the girl's head, he turns to see Rylan, "The stream....the tree..... there....." then suddenly Vyynd darts off, nearly flying off in the direction of the tree, down the path.
Watching Vyynd suddenly take off, Rylan calls out to him, "What the Areinnye is going on?!" as he pulls away from the barmaid and takes off after him.
Watching the males run through the camp, to enter the field beyond a moment later, Katara looks back down at the child standing silently beside her, and takes note of the lost, expressionless face. Gently taking the little girl's hand, Katara leads the child into the tent, and lets the child lay down to rest until her parents could be found.
[A few minutes later....]
Vyynd halts, staring upon the disgusting scene. With his fears now confirmed, his mind gained more rest then would be assumed. Ry, running up from behind tr`Khaine, suddenly comes to a screeching halt, raising a little cloud of dust to stare open mouthed at the scene before turning away from it all together.
Turning towards Rylan, Vyynd sighs, then quickly starts setting up a quarantine zone. As Vyynd begins marking off the area, Rylan calls for a team to report and assist the Daise to do a sweep, then pausing a moment, calls for the medical people to examine the scene when they've been giving the clear-ahead.
At the same time, Vyynd informs all the security personnel of what's been found, reporting tr`Beck and t`Bahyk dead, as he continues setting up his perimeter.
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