<div class="floatleft">(http://25.media.tumblr.com/3db4ae734cc561f3b9638f19985c66ce/tumblr_mnkl18ydJs1rkcdc7o1_250.png)</div><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Character name:</strong></td><td>Layla</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Location:</strong> </td><td>Aboard the shuttle, then entering onto the landing pad</td></tr><tr><td><strong>With:</strong> </td><td>New arrivals, Diah</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Doing:</strong> </td><td>Arriving on The Cooler</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><hr/><br/>Layla opened her mouth in a silent groan as she slowly regained consciousness. Her head throbbed, but she was still able to think clearly. The screeching sound of the pod opening seemed to shock her senses, and her eyes were drawn to the suited guard in front of her. The guard commanded her to remove her clothes, and the human prisoner made no attempt at resistance. During her trial, she had often thought about her future. Before, it had frightened her, but now she found herself strangely at peace. As she took her first step out of the pod, she found herself holding her head up proudly.<br/><br/>With her clothing gone, she raised her right hand. On her fourth finger was a diamond ring that had cost her a sizable chunk of her vast wealth. She had purchased it as an investment, and she hoped it would one day pay off. She knew that the new environment into which she would be thrust had no currency, but there were always other things for which she could trade. "May I?" She asked, plainly. The guard was quiet, primarily because Layla seemed strangely at ease. He nodded and led her to the gelatinous pool. "Let's hope the suit is comfortable then." She smirked, still maintaining her sarcastic sense of humor.<br/><br/>The feeling of being surrounded by the goop filled with her a strange combination of impulses. It was, all things considered, not unpleasant. As she was removed from the pool, she found herself covered in a suit resembling transparent latex. It fit tightly around her buxom curves, and it even matted down her thick pubic hair. She grinned, happy that, for once, forgetting to shave had paid off.<br/><br/>She took one last look at the guard as she stepped into the rotating cell. He seemed almost robotic, and she wondered if he was even a real creature. He seemed to be<em>too</em>complacent. Layla wouldn't put it past the government to have robotic henchmen to go through the weekly routine of dropping off criminals. Whatever the case, she doubted that the man had a very pleasant family life.<br/><br/>Her eyes shifted to the window, but she found herself quickly growing bored of the view of the arctic wasteland. Her arms clutched around her stomach. "I guess being 'big-boned' will pay off as well..." She smirked, understanding that she was far from skinny. Layla had always been competitive. It was her drive to improve her situation that had always led her decisions. To her, The Cooler was merely a new beginning. She had started out with little in her life, and yet she had risen to become rich and powerful. She did it through hard work and determination, and she rarely whined or complained about her situation. She planned on approaching her new life in the same way. She wanted to rise to the top, and she would claw through the snow to get there.<br/><br/>The short wait felt longer than it was, but, eventually, the shuttle landed on the barren planet. The cold wind scratched against her skin before she even realized that the door was open. Favour points sounded just like what Layla needed, and she wasted no time removing herself from the pod. Suicide was never an option in her mind. No matter how rugged her new home was, she was determined to conquer it. After all, she had been through hell before...<br/><br/>She followed the pack and gathered around the central speaker. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse at the woman. Her strange skin, bald head, and facial birthmark were unforgettable. In the past, Layla had actually hired Diah to help complete a string of slave dealings. The two had achieved mutual profit, but Diah disappeared from the radar shortly after their partnership. Layla later learned that she had been caught, and she forgot about her. It amazed her to realize that she actually knew people on the planet, and, in a way, it grounded her as well.<br/><br/>People who judged Layla by her appearance may have assumed that she was inclined to cold weather. After all, she was packing a few extra pounds. They didn't realize that she had grown up on a desert-covered planet that maintained a normal temperature of around 47 degrees. She had been raised in this baking weather, and the cold was something that she had never grown accustomed to. Once the crowd seemed to fade away from Diah, Layla made her way toward her old acquaintance.<br/><br/>"It's been a while, Diah." She said, her Tritian accent was unmistakable. It held a jazzy tone, and it was musky, yet refined. "I guess I made the same mistake as you, huh?" The two had both been slavers, and Layla had always held the belief that slavers could relate to one another. She stood in front of Diah, and she couldn't help but explore her pinkish body. Layla had always been a bit crude, and that fact was probably not unknown to Diah. "Put me to work." She said, bluntly. "Whatever needs to be done, I'll do it. Don't give me something easy." She wanted to prove her worth, and she understood that Diah seemed to hold some sort of sway on the planet. She hoped that the alien still held her in high regard. Layla had held no part in her arrest, and she had always held up her end of their bargains.