Citadel visit (for pathfromdarknesstogrey)

[eumenis]

Furiosa has been hesitant to invite anyone from the Nexus to her home, and it's not so much because she's afraid of trusting the more pleasant people she's met there. A few of them she would be happy to see more of, really. What she worries about is what happens if they get stuck in the Wasteland, because she knows the kind of harshness she takes for granted is more than some people from wealthier, healthier worlds could bear. That, and there seems to be a tremendous technology disparity between her home and many others.

Dia, she thinks, is tough enough to handle the Wasteland, but that doesn't mean she'd enjoy it. Still, they've spoken to one another enough, and she's grown reluctantly fond, so after a handful of warnings about wild storms and toxic earth, she gives in and asks her to come sometime. If she wants. You know, whenever she has a spare moment...

The gate from the Nexus to the Citadel opens up into the deepest garage, one set below the surface of the sand. It's cooler down here, and every now and again Furiosa will find someone sleeping off sunsickness or just plain shirking work in the corners. She herself tends to do everything but shirk work, so Dia is more than likely to catch her up to her shoulders in an engine when she arrives.

Comments

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

It's admittedly a combination of the Force, and the fact that she's been to the ass-end of her Galaxy and back that Dia's likely built up an immunity to nearly every sort of sickness that a human could be infected with. Plus, she's strong.

Still, they've talked enough that the Sith Exile has certainly been more than a little curious. As such, she's wearing lighter clothing than Furiosa's probably used to seeing her wearing, though for the moment, the hood's down as she steps through the portal.

"A.. garage?" She spoke up, to announce her presence and try not to surprise Furiosa with her sudden appearance.

[eumenis]

Hopefully that powerful immunity will serve Dia well when she visits the Wasteland, too. Contagion is uncommon, simply because people live far apart and tend to die of thirst and exposure more often than not, but there are plenty of germs around.

Furiosa emerges from under the hood of a large truck when Dia speaks, looking surprised, then pleased. "Hey. You look pretty shine in that."

She herself has a smear of motor oil across one cheekbone, and goggles perched on her forehead. She sets the spanner in her hand down and pulls a battered glove off of her right hand. "Yeah, this is the low-level garage. Mostly we keep salvaged vehicles and guest cars here. The good stuff is higher up."

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

Indeed there probably are, but she's robust and it's hard enough for her to get sick as it is. But from what Furiosa's mentioned, this Wasteland of hers is a desert world, and while Dia tends to prefer more temperate, average climates, there's a simple, easy fact about it:

It still ain't Hoth.

It's why she's dressed the way she is. The long kilt and light top both allow for her body to breathe and adapt to the heat, though she probably still stands out, even then, with how pale she is, in addition to how she's clothed.

It's also a bit of a novelty: Dia comes from a world where most vehicles and speeders hover about a foot off of the ground. Seeing wheeled ones that aren't antiques in some kind of collection or museum was something of a first, as she moved to close the distance between them. Stepping lightly and moving silently.

Dia wasn't doing that out of any caution, mind you, that was a habit that was hard to break. She nods to Furiosa's statement, "Makes sense. Waste nothing, use everything. Particularly when your resources are so bloody scarce." She was also looking around a little, curious about their surroundings and subconsciously marking the locations of their exits (including the portal behind her) in her mind. "Even judging from this garage, I'm guessing this place is pretty sizable, too."

[eumenis]

Furiosa hasn't asked about Dia's pallor yet. Doesn't know if it would be rude; after all, Furiosa is used to desert-dwellers, men and women who spend hours upon hours in baking sun. Her perception of what's normal and what's not may very well be skewed.

Anyway, she thinks the stark almost-white-on-almost-black is kind of pretty.

"It's pretty big," she acknowledges. "Almost a thousand people now. Three buttes, and we've got seven ground-dwellings now. Mostly big tents." Still better than the ex-Wretched had during Joe's rule. They can't feed everyone on the ground much better than starvation rations, but they can keep them watered and sheltered, and that's huge.

The rest will come in time.

"You want to see the rest of the garages? Or the gardens?" Evidently whatever Furiosa was working on can wait.

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

Admittedly, Dia was pale even before using the Dark Side's methods for control over the Force affected her, it's only made her paler, and pretty much unable to tan. Fortunately, she's since left the Sith Order before it could get worse. It also helps that she hasn't really been planetside that much recently, at least, until she arrived to the Nexus to actually commit herself to doing repairs on her ship (which, admittedly, she still isn't in any hurry to do).

Still, she's rolled with compliment, and is pretty relaxed. The usual presence of her Lightsaber is on the back of her belt, this time, with it taken apart as the two component sabers. At a glance, it might look like part of the belt or the outfit's design. Hiding them away in plain sight.

Mostly because, while she won't admit it out loud sometimes, having them is a comfort, especially in a strange land. Even if she plans to avoid using them if at all possible, since such weapons would make her out-of-the-ordinary presence all the more obvious.

"How about we start with the gardens? I'm certainly curious to see how you've got things set up here." Dia says after a moment of thought, "But I do wonder--even in a community like this, will my presence raise questions, or should I avoid being seen?"

She can certainly do it, and has before, but she wonders, should she?

[eumenis]

Furiosa has yet to see the Lightsaber in action. She's likely to be very impressed indeed, if the occasion ever comes up. Weapons here, Dia will find if she asks or looks around, are primitive by her standards. Projectiles, incendiaries, a few flamethrowers. Furiosa herself carries a semiautomatic pistol in a holster on her belt. She's better with a rifle, but that's not a thing one casually carries around the corridors.

If she knew Dia had weapons on her, she wouldn't blame her one bit.

"The gardens are the prettiest part anyway," she says with a wry smile. "And you'll likely get some odd looks, but you're with me. No one will question that."

Furiosa doesn't always make use of the intense influence she has within this place, but she's aware she has it.

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

If she hangs around Dia enough, she'll see the flashiness of the lightsaber eventually. It's possible Furiosa's at least heard of Dia's weapon, if she'd heard about the fighting ring thing that kidnapped a number of people a few months back. Dia wasn't shy about using her lightsabers in her match (or later presumed escape).

Still. The weapons help her feel safe in unfamiliar territory, even if she's become much more relaxed about everything she's been doing. Finding her own sort of peace while she deals with repairing her ship (having the time to have peace, relax, and deal with things immensely freeing).

"I suppose that works then." She nods, and gestures for Furiosa to lead. Dia moves silently, light sandals letting her move lightly save for the occasional shifting brush of her ankle length kilt. "So your former leader, did he build it, or simply take it over?"

She couldn't help but be curious, such a citadel reminded her of a retrofitted temple or building, particularly with how she was looking around as they moved.

[eumenis]

She's heard rumors of the fighting ring, but thought nothing of it. Gastown had its Thunderdome for a while, and they got the idea from Bartertown. Fighting for survival is maybe unusual in the Nexus, but she imagines its common in many adjoining worlds, not just hers. What she doesn't know is who was involved, or what they fought with.

That's a far cry from the peaceful gardens they're headed to, though.

Her lip curls derisively at the mention of Immortan Joe. "I wasn't here back then, but the stories say he took it over. Which begs the question of who built it, and I don't have that answer. But supposedly, Immortan Joe brought his road army here and had the place under siege for days, until he found a way to climb up and get past the defenses. Everyone thought he'd died inside, fighting...so when he turned up alive and victorious, he earned some mystique. They figured he'd come back from death."

"He encouraged the story. We have a grave marker for him now, though." She encourages people to spit on it.

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

Honestly, if they had asked and offered to pay her, she wouldn't be nearly so salty about it. The actual matches she participated in were fun and invigorating, new challenges to overcome. But instead, she was kidnapped and locked in a box.

Admittedly, she accepted her fate calmly, but it wasn't something she was fond of. Being kidnapped and locked up never is.

Dia does, however, note the reaction to her question, "Interesting. It certainly does raise a few questions, particularly the 'how' and the 'why', for me at least." It's easy to guess, because of Furiosa's reaction that her former leader: Not a nice guy. "Encouraging the story's useful enough. Especially since it was apparently inspiring to the masses."

She then shrugs slightly, "But I'm seeing it from an outsider's point of view, and how it can and has been used before from my perspective." There's a great number of Sith who've made similar statements, particularly in situations that were difficult to prove otherwise. Hell, Dia's debated faking her death before, to throw her former Master and his new apprentice off her trail.

But then the Nexus happened and rendered that point moot.

"How long has this new council been in charge? I've gotten the feeling it's not been terribly long by most standards, from what you've said before."

[eumenis]

Abducting people for any purpose is quite rude. Furiosa, having experienced it herself, would take no issue with Dia's displeasure.

"Well, the location is ideal," she says with shrug. "Judging from the atlases and maps we own, we're on top of a massive underground water source. It might even be the largest aquifer left on the planet. My guess is once the water wars started, people began looking for reliable sources and doing their best to keep them for themselves. That doesn't answer 'who', though."

"And Joe was a very skilled manipulator. He knew exactly what he was doing with the story." Furiosa discourages most of the ones going around about her battle prowess, but she doesn't mind when the pups whisper about her tearing the warlords apart with her metal talons.

"A little over a year, since the revolution on the Fury Road," she tells Dia. "No, not long at all."

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

Quite rude indeed. She's calmed down about it since, the moment having passed and gutting the guy who did it would be pointless now. That said, punching him in the stomach with one of her mechanical hands would still make her feel better in a petty sort of way.

"It makes sense. Build on top of the water source, and you not only control it, but protect it as well. Leading to giving plenty of reason to establish a sizable force here, as well as the ability to sustain it." Especially now that Furiosa's group is getting the a system of farming going.

"Wow, it was less time than I thought it was, too," Dia admits with some surprise in her tone, "You're doing a decent job for just starting out, I'd say. But this is, admittedly, coming from someone who's not cut out for leadership and knows it."

[eumenis]

"Yes. The only trouble is the amount of machinery and expertise it takes to draw the water up out of the ground. I live in fear that something will break beyond repair and we'll all be desperately thirsty until we figure out how to replace it. It's unfortunate, but since the place was built before Immortan Joe set up here, we're not completely sure how the pumps were set."

It's one of the problems she's trying to remedy. "If you run into any master plumbers, send them my way."

She laughs then, and gives Dia a gentle, friendly shoulder-check. "I'm not sure I'm cut out for it, either. I fuck things up less when I repair engines. But we do what we have to. And thank you."

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

((As per usual, sorry for slowness, work's an unpleasantly exhausting b-word))

The laugh is echoed with one of her own, it's a short laugh, followed by a genuine, amused smile. It was nice, to relax. Not be hidden under six or seven different layers of herself. "I'll be sure to do so. Though I'm not precisely in the market for a plumber myself, I'm sure the Nexus will provide, knowing how that typically works." Dia also shoulder checks back, mostly because the idea of it amuses her.

"Alternatively, I'm sure the library has some kind of schematics or something." She assumes, by virtue of being a mechanic, Furiosa can read those. Dia's learned, somewhat, but it's still difficult (and requires more help from her Droid than she readily admits).

"We are, in general, nothing but adaptable. When we 'fuck up' as you've put it, we, if nothing else, learn from it."

[eumenis]

((Mine, too. It is craziness.))

Furiosa can't remember if she's ever heard Dia laugh before. She thinks not, or at least if she has it's been soft and subtle. She likes the sound, anyway. Laughter is too rare in her world, and quite possibly in her friend's, as well. They'll have to make the most of the opportunity while she's visiting.

"I may be that lucky," she says. "To have the Nexus deliver expertise to my doorstep. I'm sure I'm not deserving, but that never yet stopped me from taking what I need when I can get it. That library, for one thing, is absolutely shine." She still can't believe they'll let her take books away just for the promise of bringing them back later. The Sisters have been reading them as voraciously as she has.

"Hmm. I suppose that's a fair assessment. Fuck up, fall off the Lancer's perch, dust off the cuts and get back up and go again."

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

Dia doesn't laugh often, this is true. Her life has had her end up on the more serious end of the scale, simply for the fact that she has to keep herself from drawing too much attention when out in public, or it's a job that she needs to take seriously. Mercenary work is Serious Business, particularly when you're hired as a guard or hired to take someone in (or down). To say nothing of the fact that Sith Business tends to be Serious Business as well, unless, well.

You're a little more unhinged than most. Dia had her issues, but she liked to think she had a more than tenuous grip on her sanity.

"I haven't been to the library, though I could probably stand to go. I imagine since it has a little bit of everything from literally bloody everywhere, I could find out some useful things on how to finish repairs on my ship." Or maybe how to fix that damned Holocron. Why was that one so important to her Master? She needed to know. Who's it was. And what information was stored on it.

"Exactly. We learn from our mistakes and our successes. Even if the mistakes can be bloody frustrating at times." She shrugged, "As long as I survive, I'm generally good enough to go on."

And given what she's survived, Dia's more than willing to take anything on. Although this would not necessarily be head on. She's still an Assassin, which is one way of saying that she fights smarter rather than harder.

[eumenis]

"It's big enough, it must. I've been told to be careful not to get lost in it. Apparently a lot of books in one place causes some kind of bending in reality?" Furiosa looks perplexed. She pays attention to what she's told about the Nexus, but quantum physics is a little beyond her understanding. She scratches her head with the back of her metal knuckles. "I'd rather not find out what exactly that means, firsthand. But the information is too good to not use."

She gives Dia a lopsided smile. "If you want to meet there some time, I'm game."

"Well, there are plenty of mistakes a person can make without surviving," she adds. "But I haven't made those yet."

I apologize profusely for taking so long to get back to this.

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

"It wouldn't surprise me. I've seen plenty of things with less of an explanation that can bloody warp reality." Quantum physics also happen to be pretty far outside Dia's usual pilot's seat. She understands when reality isn't right in a certain space, but it's the how and why that typically escape her. "But you're right, it could be an interesting visit for us both, I think."

"Indeed there are. We've both survived quite a bit to get where we are, and I'm bloody well going to keep it that way."

no need!

[eumenis]

She's quiet a moment, calm but pensive. "You know, my old teacher Miss Giddy said once she wondered if time hadn't been broken or bent in the Wasteland. There were terrible wars. Nuclear weapons that killed billions of people and damaged the land. I guess it's possible."

She shakes her head. "But that's too big for me. Better focus on fixing or fighting what's actually within my grasp."

"What about you? What do you do, back home?"

Re: no need!

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

"It wouldn't entirely surprise me, given what you've mentioned about this place before." Admittedly, she's also no nuclear physicist, but in her experience, enough raw power can do funky things to the fabric of reality. Temples of the Sith tend to be proof of that, particularly older ones that contain terrifying weapons, or experiments that make other Sith wary.

"And indeed, focus on what you can, and work your way from there. It's all I do, for now, with a few long term goals that I plan on accomplishing once I've got every bloody thing else settled." A wave of her hand, and then a sigh.

"That's complicated." Dia explains while they walk. "I was initially trained as an infiltrator and an assassin. But I was betrayed and left for dead by my former Master, and I've been a mercenary ever since then, since I can't go back to the Empire, and as far as the Republic is concerned, I'm a bloody fugitive for being a Sith, even if I'm not allied with them any longer. So I've been making the best of a bad situation by staying on the fringes of civilization, at least, until I found the Nexus."