Wraith and Shadow Part I

Posted on Fri Jan 29th, 2021 @ 12:49pm by Ambassador Ashahna Dalmai

Mission: Episode 2 - The Empire Rises!
Location: Lartelu, township

A loud hiss, and the blast of warm air was the first taste of Ashahna to the latest Outer Rim world she had been summoned to, Lartelu if she remembered the name correctly. A pretty name.

Then... the scent, grass and fields. A natural, earthy scent that came in the wake of the warm air that brushed over her skin. The slightest rustle of the window blowing over tall grass. Light, from a natural and brilliant sun now shone in the distance with a slit of light shining through the negative space of the two struts that held the cockpit of her ship from the main hull. The rest of the hull of the YT-2400 ship Solar Streak shading her crimson skin from the warm sunlit as she glanced beneath a large and wide brimmed hat that was perhaps a bit too fashionable for such a simple place, certainly it was the most elaborate thing on her.

The Togruta having opted to forego her more familiar and flowing dresses for practicality, as she wore form fitting tan coloured pants tucked into high boots. The pants coming up to a simple button-up orange top with black collar and cuffs with several buttons undone to take advantage of the breeze, the sleeves rolled up while around her waist was a belt like apparel with a hard piece of metal that wrapped around her side, holding a number of little bawbles that hung from it satisfying. The entire ensemble serving to hug her form rather pleasingly, and perhaps a bit more risque than elegant but one had to make sacrifices for practicality’s sake.

Flicking one of her lekku over her shoulder, she began to make her way down the boarding ramp and reached down into her pocket to procure a pocket data slate. The soft whine of the ship’s servos almost forgotten as she scrutinised the map that had been provided to her by her client. An old associate named Tezirr Iezka, apparently her old acquaintance was in need of some particularly hard to find baubles in this region of the Outer Rim. He had the good sense to call her up, he had many good traits, especially when it meant more currency in her pockets.

She turned her eyes to look around, the field she had landed in rested outside what could have been tepidly called a township with various dome-like buildings and moisture vapourators dotting the otherwise pristine landscape. A farming world. She mused, that much she could tell when she came in on the Solar Streak to land. She had to say the planet looked better from the ground than from orbit, from there it seemed little better than that filthy dust ball of Tattoine. But from the ground, it was certainly a thing of quiet and serene beauty.

Some of her old masters would have probably loved it here.

That was a mistake.... as she felt that same cold chill in the very edges of her mind. A chill that had been growing stronger and stronger ever since that first attack days ago and seemed to just stablise a day or so ago. A chill that grew pronounced whenever her thoughts turned towards her past. The Force was unsettled, yet now if she avoided that little patch of cold that flared up she couldn’t help but feel it was far more... stable.

Perhaps that was the wrong word for it.

It felt more like a vast sea that in times past was always disturbed in some way by the wind. Not excessively, more like the breeze on a lake. Tiny, regular motions. Then, it was roiling, no doubt at the same time Jinn’s boy had sent that comm out to warn whatever remained of the Order’s number.

Now... it was glacial, silent... peaceful.... serene.

More peaceful than she ever remembered feeling.

She pushed the line of inquiry out of her mind, shaking her head as she looked towards one of the vapourators, forcing her to begin quietly wondering why they were needed on such a temperate world. Moisture wasn’t exactly lacking after all. She supposed it was probably some local being proactive and selling the far more moisture rich air to some dust ball or perhaps even more arid place on the planet. A clever business venture, all one would need is the capital for the vapourators. A ship to transport them off world, even less it was something local.

She felt eyes befall her, and then slowly turned to look at the source.

A trio of young men in the distance, farmers by the look of them, barely even men. She gave a smile that some could consider coquettish, but she was going more for sly. Her notice seemed to scare the man-boys off in good order. Far too young for me anyway.

Still, it had been a while since she tried farmboys, or farmgirls for that matter. She’d have to see if there more suitable examples later. She looked towards one of the domes, and then back at the map. Her lips pursing as she glanced around, following the map. The dome buildings growing more numerous, the people likewise as she seemed to come towards the main strip of the town, a strip that was little more than lined buildings with little in the way of proper paving. Some of the locals looked at her, clearly unused to a Togruta, or perhaps one that wasn’t so well dressed. Others merely ignored her, another spacer no doubt that they wanted no business with. That at least told her she was on the right track, if what she was thinking was the reality that was.

She meandered for a time, and eventually she came to an open passageway to a building that seemed to stand apart from the others. A tad larger too, but far from the largest. By all accounts it looked almost like the “town” itself was formed as a series of spokes that came to a central ring of a sort, the one towards one of the bases of those spokes. The muted light within, followed by the scent that assailed her noses told her many things. Cantina and spacers.

“Oh, very befitting a lady, Tezirr.” She grumbled. Sometimes she wished she wasn’t so capable of being right. With a sigh that was a bit more than excessive, she reached to ensure her little derringer blaster was right where she needed it, a quick two burst weapon that was just small enough to avoid a pat down, hidden just at the base of her spine in the back of her belt . If not, the DC-15 in her boots would do, a bit messier, but it’ll make her point. Of all the sithspawned places to do business. She stepped into the opening with a grumble, and as always she drew attention, this time from a series of regulars at the cantina that were quick to look her over. A bunch of farmers and spacers. Her lips pursing as she narrowed her eyes at them, her message made they turned away. Not wanting to test their mettle.

She continued into the cantina, lit by various slit windows along the top with mesh over them to diffuse the lighting and give the main floor a sort of dusky ambience to it. It was a cantina like any, various concave booths carved into the wall with tables flanked by benches that were actually decently padded. Each booth having a proper window that could be opened and closed accordingly. The floor itself was a rough looking wood that was surprising. The centre of the room formed for three curved bars forming a complete ring with a bartender at each serving a regular. The scent of various (and no doubt cheap) liquors pervading her nose. She wondered if there was an outdoor area for this place, the outside at least was pleasant.

She slipped her hands into her pockets, the natural sway of her hips with her hands in her pockets giving a hint of a calculated swagger. Just enough along with that glare to give the impression that she was not to be trifled with, at least by those of weak fortitude. Spacers were like that, little mynocks that were cowed.

To her delight, there was an outdoor area, adding a certain skip to her step as she proceeded that hint faster towards her goal. Deftly darting around server droids and the odd local until she climbed up the three steps that came to a sort of patio like area with a lace-like covering over the top that didn’t block out nearly as much of the light as the rest of the place. The view that met her beyond the patio which played host to about six or seven different tables, only about a third of which were occupied was more of the vast grassy field that reached out into the horizon beneath a vast canopy of blue with mountains looming in the distance looked for all the world like spikes trying to pierce the sky. Each one capped with white snow from what she could see, some even managing to pierce the sky as the clouds in the distance around them concealed their peaks.

She felt the warm wind brush against her face, her hands slipping out of her pockets as she placed them behind her back. Her chest puffing as she took a deep breath of air, blowing the breath out again.

Yes, this would do very nicely. With that, she headed towards one of the unoccupied tables, slipping within a strategically placed chair that gave her the best view as she threw one leg over the other. Her fingers threading with one another as she placed them over her lap, stopping only for a moment to hail down a server droid for a drink. Hopefully there was something respectable on the menu.

Now... she just had to wait for Tezirr.