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RP: The Wayward Old Wounds (Pre-episode 4)

Syaoran

Retired Staff
Unfamilliar Room

Janelle opened her eyes to find herself in a room that she did not recognize. The walls were an off-white, and there were bright lights above her. She was in a comfortable bed, but there was a distinctly sanitary smell in the air and everything was prim and proper, it seemed that she was in a hospital. Everything was a bit fuzzy though, and it was hard to think clearly, but that was because of whatever medication Janelle had been given.

Before she had too much time to wonder about her situation though, a woman walked into her line of sight and spoke softly in Trade. "Oh, you're awake." She was rather tall for a woman, over six feet at least with a dark complexion that clashed with her amber eyes and blonde hair, by human standards at least. If everything on her was natural, she was probably a tall Minkan, or an Abwehran, the more lithe but muscular figure hinting towards the later.

"You've been out a couple of days." the woman checked Janelle's pupils, and a few other vitals and then smiled. "But it does not seem like anything is wrong with you." She gave a soft not at this, but her smile soon faded. "You are currently at Waypoint Trade station. Some men from the Schirmherrschaft, the police, are going to talk to you. You're not in trouble, they just want to know a bit about you since you did not have any identification on you."
 
The swimming sensation in her head only worsened the harder Janelle tried to quiet it. Had she been a bit more lucid, she might have been grateful for it, however, as it was the primary reason that the disorienting panic deep in the pit of her stomach was only a distant, barely recognizable flicker rather than a tidal wave.

She was somewhat aware of something of a reflex within her uncooperative muscles, like some form of spring-loaded trap that went off at the slightest touch, urging her to leap from the bed and bolt for the door, shoulder-checking straight through the strange woman if she had to. However, in her stupor, and from the way the sterile white walls of the room kept blurring in and out of focus, she only managed to sit up on trembling elbows, only to shy back away from the woman as she leaned in uncomfortably close, barely noticing her examinations.

"Waypoint...?" The single word came out in a long, drawn-out slur, and it sounded far away, even inside her own head, as if she were listening to herself speak from the end of a long hallway. It took a few seconds for her to realize what the word even meant, let alone what it implied, and to make sense of what the woman was saying to her. As the shreds of comprehension slowly started to piece together, forming a half-completed puzzle in her mind, she blinked a few times and tried to rub her eyes with the back of her hand. Her arm felt like dead weight, and it took a considerable effort for her to even lift it.

Waypoint Trade Station.

She didn't recognize the name, but she did remember that she had been going somewhere. Was it here? Had she arrived? If so, how had she gotten here?

------

The young woman's bleary eyes closed for a moment as the muscles in her angular face began to stiffen slightly, coming back from the slack, vacant expression they'd had moments before. Her face was gaunt, not quite to the point of emaciation, but beneath the unhealthy-looking veneer were the strong features of youth. High cheekbones flanked a tall, slender nose, crowning a diamond-shaped face that was not without an elegant, if coarse, beauty. The sheets bunched about her trim figure hinted at a build that once was athletic and lithe, now thin and brittle from malnutrition.

Within a few seconds, her eyelids lifted again, revealing a pair of focused dull green irises as she managed to bring herself to a sitting position, her head turning to scan the room. A lock of long auburn hair brushed across her shoulder as it rotated, coming to rest silently across her chest.

"...Halna?" Janelle continued in an interrogative tone that was both direct and uncertain before turning her face back to the nurse. Those green pools fixated on her with a pleading, almost desperate gaze, and yet if the nurse was observant, a steely, fierce intelligence shone through for a moment. "The ship, I was on a ship. What happened?"
 
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Hospital Room - Waypoint Trade Station

"Do not strain yourself." Spoke the nurse as she offered another smile to Janelle. "I'll let you get your bearings before we call them in. As for your ship, it has sustained some damage but it hasn't been repaired yet. I'm sure that will all be sorted out once everything is done, however." She pulled out a bed tray and positioned it in front of Janelle before placing a glass there and pouring some water.

"Drink slowly, it'll help with the dizziness." She then made her way over to a clipboard and jotted down some information, probably about the change in Janelle's condition. "Do you know where Waypoint station is? It's ASE-006, you're in Abwehran Star Empire space."
 
Janelle's shoulders fell slightly upon hearing the news regarding the ship on which she'd arrived. Those muted green eyes dropped from the nurse's face, barely regarding the water pouring into the glass vessel before her with the barest of attention as the flicker of hope that had been in them was choked to an ember.

She lifted the glass with a bit of effort to steady her quivering hand, raising it to take a tentative drink, obediently following the nurse's suggestion. The cool liquid seemed to invigorate her slightly as she took the first small sip. Her eyelids drooped closed as the glass drifted an inch away from her pale lips as they parted with a quiet, dry clicking sound, and no sooner than she had the time to breathe a soft sigh of satisfaction it seemed that thirst got the better of her good sense. In seconds her eyes were open again, fixed solidly on the glass of water in her hand as she resumed drinking, somewhat slowly at first, then with increasing, ravenous fervor as if unable to control herself.

The glass was very nearly drained when the nurse continued, informing her of their location. Janelle's trachea visibly jumped in her throat like a transmission that had missed a gear in its shifting progression, and she sputtered quietly, narrowing stopping herself from spewing the water all over herself. Her eyes shot up and locked on the nurse once again, all traces of disorientation shoved rudely aside by disbelieving shock.

"What!?" she started, her mezzo-soprano voice cracking under the sudden force, and she was thrown into a violent fit of coughing that sent a torrid rush of blood to her head, flushing her previously pale cheeks to a fiery shade of red, soon followed by the rest of her visible skin regaining more of its color. The visage was eerily like that of a ghost materializing before one's eyes, resurrecting itself back to the land of the living. "Abwehran space!?" she said half-demandingly as the coughing subsided, fixing her stare back on the nurse once again. "How in the holy hell did I get here?"
 
The woman put a hand gently on Janelle's shoulder to try and eas her. "Relax...what should I call you?" There was only the slightest of force behind her arm trying to encourage her lay back. "We do not know how you came here Miss, but the Schirmherrschaft will help you figure out what happened, as long as you are honest with them." The nurse then moved her hand and stepped back. "But that is for after you recover, for now, is there anything you'd like to eat, or maybe like to know?"
 
Janelle flinched away from the nurse's touch as quickly as if she'd prodded her with a burning torch, and her lips curled back to bare a set of yellowed teeth in a cautionary snarl, like that of a caged and confused feral animal forced on the defensive against an unknown threat. However, the brief flash of confusion in her eyes made it clear that while the contact was entirely unwelcome, the patient seemed as startled by her own reaction as the nurse likely was.

After a few seconds' hesitation, she eased a touch, reluctantly allowing herself to be guided onto her back once more, letting her head sink back into the pillow. "Janelle.." she replied with a half-certain upward inflection, the ferocity churning just below the surface of her voice returning to the depths of obscurity once again. A long, disquieted sigh escaped through her nostrils, her eyelids drooping halfway over those strange, haunted green eyes. "Call me Janelle." She reached behind her head and pulled her long hair from behind it to rest over one shoulder, her unfocused gaze looking partially at the nurse's face, and partially through it as if she weren't there. "I'm starving, actually," she continued tiredly. "I'll take anything you can offer."

Her gaze focused slightly, and for a moment it seemed like the woman was going to ask something further, but she evidently decided against it, judging from the way her parted lips suddenly pressed back together and stayed that way.
 
The nurse was surprisingly unfazed by Janelle's reaction to her touch, or at least she was good at hiding it. Whatever the case, it was clear that this nurse was used to this kind of situation, that was probably why she was assigned to Janelle.

"Well Janelle, we have a few options, but honestly I'd recommend the soup, it'll be easy to digest but it's pretty filling. The guests say it's the best-tasting thing that non-Abwehrans can eat on the menu. I'll bring some right back" She smiled and then stepped out of the room to get what she said.

After about three minutes, the door opened once more, however, it was not the nurse, rather it was two men in suits and one of them showed a badge. "We're with the Schirmherrschaft, I know we haven't been called, but re really do need to speak with you, and quickly.

The one who spoke pulled up a chair and sat at the foot of the bed, his white hair contrasting his dark skin. He folded one pair of his arms as he leaned forward. "You are in the mood to talk right?" Though he asked, his demeanor did not seem like he was asking a question but pushing a statement. His partner that stood behind him with his 4 arms folded and a serious expression did little to soften the matter as well.
 
A small, acquiescent nod was all the response Janelle gave the nurse, clearly happy with anything she could put in her stomach at that point. She allowed her eyes to drift closed once again, listening to the nurse's footsteps fade away into the quiet white noise of the hospital outside. Her little outburst had sparked a dull ache behind her eyes, and were it not for the promise of something to eat soon, she might have tried to go back to sleep right then and there, if for no other reason that to simply "fast-forward" this entire confusing ordeal.

That was when the door opened again. Her eyes opened and shifted to the entryway expectantly, only lifting her head from the pillow just enough to keep from straining them too much, but when she saw the two smartly-dressed Abwehrans enter, her shoulders came up from the bed to match as she scooted her backside towards the wall behind her, eyeing them warily.

She listened as they made their curt, pseudo-introduction, the suspicious, get-me-the-hell-out-of-here-already glint in her eyes never fading. From the look on her face it was clear that she was acutely aware that their question only had one correct answer, and that there wasn't much she would be able to do about it anyway. In response, she only gave them a slow, unblinking nod.
 
The detective in front pulled out a datapad and looked through the information briefly/ He did not even give Janelle another look as he processed the information and only when done did he turn his eyes up to look at her once more. "We have quite a few questions we would like to ask you, Miss."

The man sat back in a more relaxed manner now and looked straight at Janelle, his gaze softened slightly, trying to show a soft caring side to coax her into answering. "I suppose the first and most important questions though are; What is your name and do you have your registration for the ship? Your arrival was somewhat unexpected since you did not broadcast it, so we'd like to check these things. Along with that can you tell me how you got here? There seems to be some system errors in your ship."
 
If it weren't already obvious, the discomfort in the young woman's shifting eyes was even further accented by the way her throat bobbed a few times in rapid succession, as if she were trying to swallow a piece of unpleasant food that obstinately refused to be dislodged from her esophagus. She appeared to be trying to push herself deep enough into the hospital bed's mattress so as to be enveloped and hidden entirely from view.

"...Jacobs," she replied in a curiously uncertain tone. "Janelle Jacobs..."

She paused for an uncomfortably long beat, very obviously hoping against hope that the security officers would conveniently forget that she had only answered one of their questions. When it became apparent that it wasn't going to work, that weird tremor in her trachea returned as she struggled to find her voice again.

"I don't have the registration... at least I don't think I do." she continued, the hesitant tone now mixed with faint hints of defeat, worry, and perhaps even desperation. A few more seconds passed, her eyes going glassy and unfocused. Finally she shook her head, giving up what pieces of information she could. "It's the Concordia Veil, a Jinsoku cargo runner. The hull number is F-seven... something?" An oddly puzzled look flashed across her face, as if she was surprised to hear her own words before she went on. "I was trying to get to the Halna system. I didn't mean to come here. The last thing I can remember is the alarms... then I woke up here."
 
The two detectives look at each other when they hear Janelle mention that she does not have the registration. They look back at her though and Janelle would notice a slight change in their tone, a bit more hostile. "You do not have a registration? Ts a rather bold thing to do Miss Jacobs, especially when you're traveling across faction territory. " He stroked his chin as his partner tapped at a data pad behind him.

"And to the Halna system in fact? Miss Jacobs, what would you happen to be trying to do, taking a ship you don't have the registration for to a place like the Halna system?." The man in the back spoke it seemed like he had looked something up. "That system has a moon known for criminal presence after all."
 
Janelle's eyes shifted back and forth between the officers with increasing speed, the palpable air of tension surrounding her thickening. For a few seconds she appeared to be at a loss for words, her jaw hanging slack as if it had disengaged from her brain as she lay there, caught between a look of terror and disbelief.

Soon enough, however, the wheels evidently spinning in her head seemed to catch traction all of a sudden. Her jaw snapped shut, those faded green eyes locking resolutely on the one that spoke. "Now wait just a minute," she said in a tone so cool that it sounded as if the dazed woman in the bed had suddenly switched places with a completely different person. "Just what are you implying? I already told you I didn't mean to come here, and damned if I have a solid clue how I wound up in this position.

"I picked up that ship from impound at Dawn Station. I signed for its release and everything. All the red tape's done. If you're accusing me of stealing it, then your beef is with the Yammies, not me. I didn't do nothin' shady." Her speech was gradually starting to take on a somewhat cruder accent, certain syllables laced with hints of frontier, backwater settlements. Her eyes were now completely focused and full of vivacity, despite her body's somewhat withered, atrophied appearance, as she looked back and forth between the officers. "Now, is there somethin' specific y'all want, or are you gonna just make vague accusations?" She raised her hands, palms out, eyebrows crawling so far up her forehead that they nearly touched her hairline. "Ain't like I'm gonna jump out and run off on you anyway!" she snapped, rapping her knuckles sharply on the railing alongside her gurney.

The irritation burned on her face for a few seconds more, and then it was once again replaced by that strangely befuddled look, and she sat there dumbly appearing startled at the words that had just come out of her mouth.
 
The detectives were unfazed by Janelle's response, their gaze still stern and calculating. Again, the man who was seated was the first to speak up. "If that's the case, then we'll call Dawn Station and look into it. We understand that you did not intend to come here but that's why even more than normal we have to investigate this."

It looked like the detective in the back was about to speak up, but the door opened to the room and in stepped the nurse from before. "Excuse me? The patient is not yet ready for questioning." Spoke the nurse as she gave the detectives a stern look. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave until she can be cleared for visits from the doctor." Her words were heavy and carried quite a bit of weight to them.

The two Detectives fell silent and then the one in front stood up and began to walk out. "We'll be here when she is ready to talk." They both walked out, but not before giving Janelle a serious look.

Once were out the nurse moved over to Janelle and placed the bowl of soup on the same tray the water was on. "I apologize for that, Abwehran's are very strict on piracy and anything that even looks like it. Your situation must have them concerned."
 
The very moment that the second detective was out the door and out of sight, Janelle exhaled all at once in relief, seeming to deflate like an overextended balloon. Her head dropped back to the pillow as if it were a stone, but she didn't close her eyes. They stayed pointing up toward the ceiling without focusing or lingering on any one spot of the mostly featureless white surface, flitting this way and that with minute movements, like the twitchy flights of a microscopic hummingbird.

Although she was relieved, and clearly more than a little grateful for the nurse's intervention, it wasn't hard to see that the detectives' line of questioning had made her nervous. Very nervous.

"I'm not a goddamn pirate," Janelle muttered in a quiet voice that was probably meant to sound stern and resolute, but instead came out sounding a little more like that of a petulant child who had just heard an antagonistic peer call her a nasty name. For a few moments she ignored the soup, seemingly forgetting that she was even hungry, but eventually her hand absently began hunting around for the control that would activate the motors and servos that would lean her bed upwards a bit further.

After several blind, fumbling attempts, her hand found the button and pressed it, allowing the bed to lift her to a higher angle, and looked at the steaming bowl of soup before her, then at the nurse. "How long am I gonna have to stay here?" she asked.
 
"Don't worry about what they say. They're just looking to fast track their careers with a big case. If you're not a pirate I'm sure the truth with come out." She pats her on the shoulder. "Ashow long you'll be here...you just have to do a few test and if you're okay you can be discharged today." She then grabbed the data pad once more and tapped away. "However if we're talking about when you can leave Waypoint, that will have to be after the investigation is done. I, unfortunately, have no control over that."
 
Janelle's face and shoulders fell even further, dismayed by that last bit of news. "Great," she muttered in a grumpy half-pout, half-sarcastic snipe at no one in particular. "Phenomenal."

She reached for the spoon next to the bowl and picked it up, blowing across the top of a small sample of the soup before testing it with the tip of her tongue. When it seemed that she was satisfied that the concoction wasn't going to blind or paralyze her, she began to ladle spoonfuls of it into her mouth, barely giving herself time to swallow one bite before the next one found its way in, as if she hadn't eaten in weeks.

She made no further effort to speak to the nurse, either lost in her thoughts or too caught up in feeding her empty stomach to worry about anything else for the moment.
 
The Next Day
Waypoint Trade Station Hospital


Janelle had finished her examination and was cleared to leave, however, the police had not shown up again, but it was unlikely that they had given up on her.

In fact, once she left the hospital, there was a black car out from. The back window rolled down to show a middle age looking Abwhran nightwalker, with jet black hair. "Ms. Jacobs, I would like to speak with you." He extended a hand out the window to show a badge from the Schirmherrschaft. A moment later the door was opened and the man slid over to the other side of the vehicle to let her in, he had just assumed she would step in.
 
She wasn't sure what time it was, or even if there was a day-night cycle here, for that matter. Janelle had hoped to get some kind of hint as to that once she stepped out into the street in front of the hospital, but everything just looked... gray.

Gray, that was, except for that stark black car awaiting her. She felt her spine go rigid when the authority badge was flashed at her, and without conscious effort her eyes darted both ways, behind her, and even up, assessing her surroundings and any possible escape routes. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with these guys again, as she was certain she would find herself trapped in minutes, once again at someone else's mercy. Her legs seized for a split second, wanting to carry her as fast as they could in three simultaneous directions, but rationale quickly won out over instinct. Where was she to go? She barely had the vaguest of ideas what star system she was even in, let alone the specifics of the street layout of this strange station. No, running would be foolhardy; they undoubtedly knew the layout of the immediate area, and had undoubtedly played this game with the locals many times before.

Even though the defeated look on her face gave away her acceptance of this hard truth, she wasn't about to step into an unfamiliar car with a strange man just because they asked her to. She stepped just close enough to the car to make her voice heard without having to shout, and folded her arms resolutely under her bosom, remaining outside on the sidewalk in plain view of everyone who happened to be passing by. "What do you want?" she replied quietly, peering into the dim interior of the vehicle. "I already told your buddies inside everything I know."
 
There were people out and about within the station, so Janelle did have a few witnesses to whatever happened in front of the hospital. It did not seem like the man in the car was about to use violence, however.

"I can understand why you would be on guard, but I assure you I'm not here with ill intent." The man spoke up with a firm, but gentle voice, the kind a father would use. "We looked into your claims and they hold water, as your kind like to say. You don't have to worry about being thought of as a pirate, for now." He then patted the seat beside him. "Rather now I want to speak with you about a job...I think it's something that can benefit us both."
 
A job? Janelle thought, nonplussed. She was now almost more confused than she had been when she woke up in a hospital light years away from where she thought she should be.

She turned her face to the side slightly, narrowing one eye at the man inside the car, and remained outside for a few seconds, still unsure of what to do. She was just about to walk away when her curiosity finally overtook her. Her shoddy plan had already been dashed to pieces, if one could call it a plan to begin with, and she was utterly at a loss as to where to go from here; in truth, she was now not even sure she knew why she'd gone on this insane wild goose chase to begin with. If nothing else, it didn't seem like she would be any worse off just hearing the man out.

Reluctantly she slid into the offered seat, her suspicious gaze never leaving the stranger, and her legs coiled up ready to spring in any direction if the smallest thing were to startle her. She didn't say a word, only waited for the offered proposal.
 
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