Admiral Thrawn stands aboard the bridge of his ship looking at his data screen. On it showed a map of Vale. There was a red dot at the Tea Shop where Mercury Black was killed. Then there were two black dots, one at Junior's Bar, and the other at the alleyway where Ciel Soleil's body was found with a few others. Thrawn looks to the left seeing the lack of information on the whereabouts of the dead bodies. Behind him the door to the bridge opens and General Ironwood walks in with Penny walking in along side him.
"Thrawn." Ironwood greets.
Thrawn inclines his head. "General. I thank you for bringing Miss Polendina to me." Thrawn thanks. Thrawn then turns his red eyes to Penny. "Miss Polendina. It is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face. I have some questions if you'd be willing to answer."
Thrawn studies Penny's reaction to his request. Her body stance indicates slight discomfort, no, defensiveness. Her face is unchanged, still, and hides any answers. Her eye's however, the robotic pupils widen slightly. Perhaps she is uncomfortable speaking to a stranger or someone of higher authority. Perhaps she has something to hide.
Penny nods slightly. "I will answer as well as I can sir." Penny says.
Her voice holds false and exaggerated enthusiasm, potentially a side effect of her robotic nature. Her choice of words however are interesting. They are more natural, and human like. She should have responded in a more direct and proper manner due to a lack of understanding human norms. Perhaps Pietro's creation was learning quicker than anticipated.
"Good." Thrawn says. "As I understand it, this topic will be difficult for you to discuss. I intend to ask you about your friend and Teammate Ciel Soleil."
Penny's eyes widened slightly in surprise. She had not expected me to ask about Ciel. Her body shifts slightly, her stance relaxing slightly. Her facial expression shows hesitation, no, caution. A curious choice. Why would she be cautious when I spoke about Ciel. Why would her body stance relax. Was she hopeful that I may find Ciel's killer, or is she hiding something else, and now knows that I'm not aware of it. Or is her robotic mind trying and failing to mimic the right response to my statement.
"I understand sir." Penny says.
Thrawn studies her for a moment before he speaks. "Tell me, was their anyone Ciel spoke to when you last saw her?"
"No sir."
Thrawn nods to himself thoughtfully. "Where you aware of any intention from her for going to Vale?"
Penny nods. "She said she was going to purchase some school supplies."
Thrawn's lips compress slightly in confusion. He was aware that Penny hiccups when she lies, a design feature Pietro implemented to ensure his robotic daughter was honest. This implied that Penny was speaking the truth right now. Thrawn looks to Ironwood studying his reaction to the information. His expression shows confusion and frustration.
"That doesn't make sense." Ironwood mutters to himself. "Penny, did she say what supplies you were missing? I was under the impression that your team should've had everything you needed."
Penny shakes her head. "No sir. She didn't elaborate."
Thrawn ponders this for a moment before looking back at his data screen. Without turning to look at Penny, he speaks. "As I understand, you have started a relationship with the student Crimson Vrudas correct?" Thrawn turns to look at her.
Her body stance is slightly defensive again. Subtly positioned in a way that she could fight if she needed to. Ironwood seems to have not noticed. Penny's pupils are narrower possibly indicating caution, and her face expresses happiness likely from mention of her romantic interest.
"Yes." Penny says.
"I see." Thrawn says. Ironwood looks at Penny with confusion again, but looks to Thrawn. "Very well. I thank you Miss Polendina for answering my questions. You are free to leave." Penny seemed surprised by this, but gives a little salute smiling before turning and walking away. When the door closes, Thrawn turns to Ironwood.
"Did you figure something out?" Ironwood asks.
"Possibly." Thrawn says. "Though is like to look more into something. General, I require access to Crimson Vrudas' file."
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Blake and Anakin stand together on the deck of the boat feeling the salty sea air. Behind them several passengers are talking to each other, or participating in an activity. The ride to Menagerie was smooth so far, and was relatively peaceful. Anakin could sense Blake's fears and doubts, but also her trust that she was making the right decision to see her parents again.
Anakin wraps his arm around her in a soft embrace as they watch the waves in front of them pass by. Blake leans into the embrace, laying her head on his shoulder and letting his presence comfort her. Her cat ears under the little black bow twitch slightly, and she thinks for a moment. After a moment she lifts her head from Anakin's shoulder, and reaches up, untying the bow, and letting her cat ears free. Anakin looks at her curiously.
Blake gives a soft smile. "I won't be needing it for a while." Blake says, wrapping the black bow around her hand. She was regretting that her outfit lacked any good pockets.
Anakin shrugs. "I think you look better this way." Anakin says grinning. "I'm curious though. You have both human ears and cat ears. Do you hear out of both?"
Blake giggles at the question. She couldn't blame him for being curious. "Yes Anakin, I can hear from both."
Anakin nods thoughtfully. "That's sounds like it can be both very useful and very annoying." He says bluntly.
Blake nods laying her head on Anakin's shoulder again, returning her gaze to the small rolling waves. "I'm use to it. After all I was born with them."
"Makes sense." Anakin says.
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Lilly frowns to herself as she looks in the mirror. Her reflection showed that herlong blonde hair had brown tips to them. It was interesting, but confusing. She remembers being a natural blond. She wasn't against the new look to her hair, but it did confuse her. Ultimately she sighs backing away from the mirror, and looks to the counter making sure her towel was still there. From there she has her shower, and after a few moments returns from the bathroom dressed in a beautiful brown dress that she found a little while back. She had wished she had found it before the dance, but there was nothing she could do about that now.
In the dorm room Crimson was on his bed muttering to himself as he drew in his notebook. On the other side of the room, Rex was dressed in the same tuxedo he wore to the dance. He was seated at a desk working on what looked like a T shaped visor. He was sanding the edges slowly and smoothly, careful to not over do it.
Lilly approaches with a light smile and gently lays a hand on his shoulder. He stops sanding, and looks up at her with interest that widened with amazement. He looks her up and down, seeing the new dress she was wearing. "Wow, you look stunning." He says. "When did you get this outfit?"
Lilly chuckles at Rex's reaction. She then kisses him on the forehead. "Not too long ago. Me and a few of the girls went out shopping together for a night." Lilly explains.
Rex shrugs. "Well you have excellent taste." He says smiling. "Are you ready to go?"
Lilly nods. Rex puts down the visor, and the sanding block on the table before standing and dusting himself off. Rex washes his hands quickly and the two exit the dorm Leaving Crimson to his drawing. They walk along the hallway with their arms linked.
"So what were you working on back there?" Lilly asks.
Rex smiles. "Oh that? Anakin told me he'd be willing to help me rebuild my helmet. I was just working on the visor."
"Your rebuilding your helmet?" Lilly asks with interest. "Will you add anything to it?"
Rex shrugs. "I've thought about it, but I haven't decided yet."
Lilly nods accepting the answer. "Well I can't wait to see it when it's done."
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Not long after Lilly and Rex left did Crimson stop drawing. A few moments later and he heard the door knock. Crimson slowly stood from his bed and slowly walked toward the door. As he did, he thought about his past. He thought about the climb up the 77 steps to the top of the temple where he other students practiced lightsaber training. Where the duals took place. If one were to look over the edge they would see the academy shaped like a partly demolished wheel. Crimsons focus returned to the present as he reached the door.
Opening the door he saw the beautiful tool in front of him named Penny. Her shoulder length curled orange hair, and her wonderful red glowing eyes. Crimson smiles. Tonight he wouldn't be Crimson Vrudas any longer, and Penny would be his greatest weapon.