VIDEO | OPEN | evening of Saturday, week 55

[last_ofthe_jedi]

[Here's Luke's happy but travel-wearied face. Behind him is a small, dim view of the living room in the apartment that he and Kaylee share, for those who know what it looks like.]

Hey, everyone. Kaylee and I just got back into town.

We're pretty tired from the trip so we're probably going to go straight to bed but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who volunteered their time and help with the wedding. Uh, Kaylee will probably give out the more specific thanks to individuals because she kept better track of that than I did. [Luke gives a little laugh at himself. Let's be honest, we all know he was too busy killing monsters.]

But you're all appreciated, more than you know.

Wes, you can bring the droids over whenever you like. Uh, though, preferably not in the middle of the night. [Because Luke knows that with Wes it's a good idea to specify.]

Uh, let's see. [He rubs the side of his face tiredly as he thinks.] I'll try to stay up for another hour or two so I can get caught up on anything that's happened these past two weeks. Feel free to get a hold of me if you need to.

Oh, and one last thing. [Luke smirks proudly.] The honeymoon went completely and totally uninterrupted.

Comments

Video

[kettchmeifyoucan]

[You mean he can't get rid of Threepio right now?]

I'm suitably impressed.

But... you missed some pretty big stuff here.

[last_ofthe_jedi]

Uh-oh. [Luke's smirk fades and he shifts a bit on the sofa to get comfortable.]

What kind of big stuff? Is everyone okay?

[kettchmeifyoucan]

No.

[There's no good way to put this.]

Nem's dead.

[last_ofthe_jedi]

[Luke lets out a breath of surprise and his brows furrow.] Oh no.

How? When?

[kettchmeifyoucan]

[Wes's face is the dreaded "completely serious"]

Thursday night, at the solstice ball. Gunshot.

[last_ofthe_jedi]

[Luke knows that face. It's scary.

He slowly shakes his head.]

An assassination, I assume?

[kettchmeifyoucan]

Looks like. There had been rumblings of unrest beforehand.

We tried to be ready.

[They weren't]

[last_ofthe_jedi]

Blast it. [Luke rubs his eye wearily.]

That's a difficult thing to be ready for.

I'll head into the sheriff's office tomorrow and see if Sybil wants me questioning people. Were you there when it happened?

[kettchmeifyoucan]

Right back to work for you.

I was there. Pepper'd asked a couple of us to keep an eye out.

[last_ofthe_jedi]

[Luke nods.]

Then I might need to ask you some questions, too. Let me talk to Sybil first and I'll probably contact you later in the week.

[kettchmeifyoucan]

Well. You know where to find me.

[Video]

[pepperspray]

[Pepper's expression, solemn except for an initial flash of a smile that's small and wry, suggests that while she hates to be the bearer of bad news, she's going to bear it all the same.]

You're both very welcome, and I'm glad you were able to get a well-deserved break.

That said... you've come home in the middle of what's currently a small crisis and has the potential to grow larger. Nem was assassinated at the Solstice ball on Thursday night.

[last_ofthe_jedi]

[Luke smiles when he sees Pepper but that smile soon fades when she discloses said bad news.

He lets out a long sigh and rests his forehead in his hand. Wow. That's... really not good news.]

... He was a native, wasn't he? [Meaning, Nem wasn't originally from a pod on the ship, meaning he's not coming back. Ever.]

How's everyone handling it? [Luke's seen how a community can sometimes handle a death like this, the death of a leader, and he's seen how it can wreak havoc.]

[pepperspray]

He was, yes. And... people are handling it about as well as you might expect.

[More detail, apparently, is not something Pepper's sharing over the comms.]

My main concern is that Nem was one of the driving forces behind the support for those of us from the Ship. People investigating will have to be able to both prove their utility and work with the locals without his moderating influence. My other concerns are that things may not be over yet.

[last_ofthe_jedi]

[It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this incident is reeking with politics. Luke frowns and considers switching the current feed over to a private channel. Then again, he doesn't want anyone to get the feeling that he's doing any anti-government plotting or else he might never get cooperation from anybody. Luke's been in the plotting-against-the-government business long enough to know how this works.

From now on, or at least for a while, private conversations concerning this issue will probably have to take place in person.]

Understood. I wasn't planning on working tomorrow but I think I should head into the station anyway. Sybil might put in a good word for me with the locals since I've worked for her for a while now.

And I think you're right. This sounds like the beginning of something much bigger.

[He's about to tell her that he'll let her know when he discovers anything but-... maybe saying that on a public channel is a bad idea, too.]

I'll, uh... see what I can find out. [He hopes that's vague enough but also reassuring at the same time. This is hard.]

[pepperspray]

Good.

[Pepper nods briefly, as if ticking off a box beside Luke's name on a mental checklist.]

I'll likely be on the move a lot over the next few days, but if you get word of anything you think I should know, or think people I know should know, come by Callahan's and see me.

And Luke? Be careful.

[video; locked]

[girlworthfighting]

[Mulan doesn't respond right away, as she can't exactly match his exuberant attitude, and she has other things on her mind.

So, a little later...]

Is it safe to assume that by now you've heard?

[last_ofthe_jedi]

[Of course by now Luke's come to terms with the fact that he'll be up later than he wanted to be. He answers the call quickly.]

Yeah. I've heard.

What's been done with the investigation so far?

[girlworthfighting]

The woman who shot Nem was captured, alive. Hopefully that will lead somewhere because otherwise right now, there isn't much.