Petra Arkanian

Petra Arkanian has been in an out of the bar for a few weeks now. She's met some people, and had some conversations that are forcing her to look at everything she's taken as par for the course with a new light.

For one: The teachers. They were so careful all the time. The instructors stuck to their topic to the exclusion of all else. There were no friends between the students and the teachers, though, of course their were favorites. There were some kids that the teachers obviously thought were better than others. The classes. There was nothing covering the normal topics that regular students would learn. Everything centered around the game, and eventually around life after the school. Occasionally students just disappeared, their destinations listing their homes. They'd iced out- they couldn't make it. New waves of launches arrived eery few months, kids that now looked so tiny as to be unbelievable. Anger began to blossom in her thoughts as she looked at all of those kids. Most of them wouldn't make it to the final commands. Some just there to fill in the spaces- placeholders. And yet they were having everything taken from them. Family, regular experiences. And everywhere, the faces of the teachers. Former fleet commanders, none the best that humanity had to offer, and none that cared what they did to the kids they brought.

And yet, Petra still wanted command. As she and Bonzo continued to clash her game got better. The isolation of the army served one good thing- she got plenty of practice at skills that kept her apart. The respect she gained was won though grit and work. She was a dead shot in the battleroom, and accounted for herself well enough.

The order to stay away from other soldiers continued to build her isolation.

"I'm Dink."

The voice broke into her thoughts. She's in the game room playing a solitary game, and had managed to shut out the rest of the room. Petra's avatar dies as her attention is diverted to the voice that is speaking to her.

"And you're Petra, Salamander Army." It's no surprise he knows her. There's only so many girls here in the school and even though there was little to distinguish her, the boys always knew.

"And what's it to you?" She shoves away from the game, her arms crossed. There's a belligerent look in her eye, and she takes a step forward looking him up and down. The boys always wanted to test themselves- just because she was different.

"Nothin. Figgured we should talk." Dink is shrugging. "You no buy into this crap more than anyone else. Someone with sense shouldn't be ignored."

"What you mean?" They slip into the slang of the school. It's now that Petra notices that their corner of the game room has few people in it.

"Them teachers- you no like them more than anyone else." Petra rolls her eyes as he says this.

"Like I'm dumb enough to say somethin, ain't you got something better to do then talk crap? You like ice that much?"

The boy laughs. "They don't care if we shits on them. Just win that's what they want neh?"

He makes sense. "'sides it an't like you got nothing to loose, being bugger bait for loony Bonzo Madrid." Petra rolls her eyes.

"And you with Rose de Nose, ain't anyone loonier than him."

Dink grins at Petra.

It's a start.

It has been three months since Petra joined Spider army.  In that time little has happened.  She has made no friends in the army, though she did meet one boy from another army called Dink Meeker.  It was in her nature to ignore others, and considers her time to be special.

Petra earned a reputation of being good, but lacking experience.   She follows orders, but always spoke out.  Her sarcasm is biting and tends to put put others on edge.

Spider had just lost a battle because Luther had sent them to a badly defensible position.  Petra had tried to tell someone, but she'd been told to shut up and do it. 

Upon returning to the barracks Petra threw her towel onto the bed.

"Idiots!  Who in the hell sends the whole army where there is zero cover?  Is incompetence the only thing Luther knows?"

The crutches dug into her armpits as Petra navigates the hallways of the hospital. Her leg was encased in a cast from knee down, the left over of her accident with the kid and bike. Such a stupid accident.

A black car blocked the cross walk, and Petra glares at it for making her life just that much harder to get to the cab that she had called to take her home. The door opens on the black car and a man gets out in one fluid notion. Petra feels more than sees the side arm under his coat. She doesn't think twice, and dives sideways, her broken leg hitting the floor hard enough to make her head whirl with pain.

No guns go off, and she looks up into the face of a stern stranger. Behind him a face she does know exits the vehicle and looks down on her.

"Help her up." The man in black picks up the cruches and offers Petra a hand, which she takes.

"I'm don't suppose you're going to let me get into my cab are you?" The face just smiles and gestures mockingly to the car. "You know, they'd kick you out of office if they knew how much of a bastard you are."

Peter doesn't say anything, just smiles as the car takes off. 

*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm going back." Petra is trying to make her argument, but her leg is propped up on a chair, making her argument that much less compelling.

"They recognized you, which means if you want to continue to live there, you're going to have to come out as the real you, and that's not a risk I'm willing to let you run."

Peter sits across from her at a desk, doing paperwork while they talk. After a moment he looks up to see her simply glaring at him. Her arms are crossed across her chest, and she looks more like a sulky child than a child-genius who participated in the annihilation of an enemy race that was technologically more advanced.

Petra watches him sigh and put down his papers. She's aware of what she looks like, but at this point doesn't care. The leg didn't hurt as much as a majority of the things that had happened to her, but it did hurt, and she was tired, and more than a little annoyed at being faced with the one person she would rather never see again.

"I have a job for you, if you're willing to take it." Petra instantly shakes her head.

"No."

"You can't tell me you're happy at your paper shuffling job."

"I'm not going back to the military."

"Your nightmares are still happening aren't they?" Petra looks away from Peter, and bites her lip. "I heard about how you lost your first job." She'd punched a male co-worker who had haplessly stepped to close to her when she had her back to him, then kicked him while he was on the ground. He'd ended up with a black eye and brusing across his chest before someone had pulled her off of him.

"You're not going to get any better unless you deal with it- and you can't do that outside of the Hegemony. " Petra's mind flashes to the bar- if she wanted help, there were psychologists there who wouldn't have to keep an identity secret. "However, if you take the job I have you'll get to actually use your skills, and I'll provide someone to help you start dealing with it."

Peter stands and moves towards Petra, going to lay a hand on her shoulder, but she flinches back. "Let me help."

She shakes her head and he sighs again and moves back to his desk.

"I've frozen your bank accounts." This makes Petra sit bolt up, glaring at him.

"This is bull Peter. I don't work for you, and you don't own me." Peter ignores her and points at the door.

"I've had a room set up for you so you can think over my offer."

"I don't need to think, I need you to let me go."

The door opens and is held for Petra to leave.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What's the job?" It has been three weeks. Unlike her forced captivitiy with Achilles, Peter wasn't her enemy. He didn't want anything from her, and deep down Petra knew that. What he wanted, was to get her help. The nightmares still happened everynight. She woke up screaming more often than not, and her side gun had disappeared. Petra has a feeling that it was taken on purpose. No matter how much he might trust her, Peter had to look after his own people.

"Working with my military intelligance teams analyzing data for possible threats. It's right up your alley, and you don't have to do anything you don't feel comfortable with. You'll still have to go in under your fake name, but I will have someone who will know your whole story that you can see to start dealing with the PTSD."

Her eyes stay fixed on him. He was the Hegemon, of course he knew about what her last skrink had said, what the dianosis was. It doesn't make her like it any less.

"Fine. But I want to be able to come and go as I like." Peter nods to this. "And my money back." Again, he nods.

"And I want to leave. Now." He doesn't look surprised as she adds this particular request. He picks of a set of papers from his desk and holds them out to her.

"Welcome to the Hegemony Lara."

Petra steps out into what could only be described as an perfect scene. On one side is a wide valley, most likely carved by a glacier in some distant past, the other stretches down to an ocean without a hint of pollution marring the perfect blue green water. The sky is a slightly different shade of blue, but dotted with familiar white clouds.

Petra Arkanian steps out into this scene, looking upwards at the sky then around to the view.

Petra sits in the shade of the lake outside of the bar watching the sunrise. How pleasant it was for winter to have faded, no need for a coat outside any more.

She shakes her head, she had something to do. She holds up a sphere in her hand and closes her eyes, whispering.

I wish that Boba Fett will live through his return to his universe.

She keeps it simple. No need to tempt fate by asking for more then life. She has the feeling that Fett will make his own luck from there.

Standing she brushes grass off of her pants and returns to her room.

Pet's dreams have been fairly chill lately. They are still nightmares, but since her wish one particular fellow hasn't appeared. She hasn't woken up screaming. She hasn't wanted to kill herself as much from sheer exhaustion.

But last night seemed to be different. Every time she closed her eyes a man appeared in her dream, and by the end of it, Bonzo was dead, Kit was dead, everyone Pet knew and loved in the bar... just not her. She watched unable to do anything.

Such dreams are things that force you awake screaming.

Thus leaving her very, very tired and very, very pissed the next day.

For the first time since apologizing to Enzo and Guppy, Petra is to be found outside of the confines of her room. Namely, outside, standing before the cave with the Triangle above it.

She looks very speculative. For once, she does not have a visible fire arm or any other visible weapon at all on her person.

She is frowning.

It has been a long week. Petra has spent most of it unconscious, completly unaware of the passage of time. She lays in a bed tucked under homemade quilts. Food is forced into her, and her bandages must have been changed recently. The only thing missing is a thing of flowers by the bedside.


Though Petra seems completly unaware of the time elapsing, for Bonzo, he has felt every second the clock ticks. When he sleeps, food is left by the bed. No books, nothing but the cold stone walls and the bed and the food exist in his room. He never sees who brings the food, though it can be safely assumed that it is the hound or the badger.

At night, terrible dreams come. Dreams that he never could have experienced, dreams that do not seem to be hooked into his subconscious. They come from a strange view-point, a female view-point. Always, he is fighting against odds that he cannot win. The exact setting is fluid. Sometimes his dream persona does not even seem to be male...

A very slender young colonel stands near a helicopter, watching the troupes in front of him marching. He eyes them critically, not seeming to focus on any particular soldier. Something seems lightly off about the colonel (other than his age) but those breaking military decorum should find it hard to pinpoint what exactly is off about the officer.

Taking a step forward the young man flags down one of the sergeants and points to a particular troupe of soldiers and asking a question.

The sergeant glances that way and answers his question but frowns. The Colonel shrugs and smiles and answers quickly, their voices hard to hear in the din created by all of the activity. After just one more comment the Sargent goes to the troupe and calls out a name, "Private David Strange! The Colonel would like a word!"

Petra enters the room she shares with Peter and sighs with relief when he was not there.  Things were too confusing right now.  There was no doubt that her heart belonged to Bonzo, despite the complications there but she owes Peter so much more than this.  He had taken her in when she had no where else to go, gave her a new name, a new face, a new life.  She was still able to do what she was trained to do, but on terms she could agree to now.  The invasion of Korea had been a ruse, a feint that Peter had attributed to a nearby country to get Korea talking about joining the Hegemon. Troops never moved and no one died. 

 Kit had followed her home and jumps up onto the bed to find a comfortable spot to lay down. 

 Behind her, the door opens again, and Peter’s arms enfold her and she twists just slightly to look up at him.  “Your cat is back.”  Petra cannot help but smile, it was more than distracting for a few people how the cat would disappear for days at a time, then reappear looking no worse for the wear.  She had once heard some of the soldiers call it a demon, but the reputation kept the cat from being interfered with, which fit well for Petra. 

 “He just wanted to go out.”  Petra turns and kisses Peter.  It was expected.  Now was not the time to deal with the confusing scene with Bonzo.  She was with Peter now, and no matter what life she had in Milliways, this would be her one here.

 All talk is suspended for a moment till they break away, “If my spies had the ability to disappear that that cat had, the world would already be united and the colonization effort going much better.”  Petra has little to say to that.

 *~*~*~*

 As she lays in bed that night, sleep escapes her.  The room is dark, and Peter is sleeping beside her.  But she cannot help but wish it was Bonzo.  Was there no way out of this situation?  Maybe… it would be better if she just stayed away from the Bar.  Be careful going through doors.  Milliways cannot force her anywhere, and lately, it has kept itself to the same doorway, and out of the way meeting room that Lara-as-Petra has every right to enter on a frequent basis.  If she just stayed away…. Maybe things would become clearer.