Private Alderaan - Low-Tech, High Reward

[Sentiri]

Crevasse City, Alderaan

Sentiri had been to some isolated places in her time. The Outer Rim was full of worlds that had never even heard of the HoloNet. More still had heard of the Net and had no access. Plenty others had access and didn't give a kark or pay attention. They just had a relay because some smug, off-world bigwig thought one should get dropped there. Why would a bunch of moisture farmers care about the stocks on Coruscant? But "Big Shot Mogul #763" needed to check their margins, and that was reason enough to plop an otherwise useless hunk of metal somewhere isolated.

The middle of the Core, on the other hand, was anything but remote. With hyperlanes numbering in the hundreds, interstellar travel distated by public transportation and the government-of-the-moment, and more subspace communication frequencies bouncing off of tens of thousands of HoloNet relays, the Core hadn't been considered remote in millenia.

And yet, there was Alderaan. Sure, the planet was well-trafficked, had plenty of import/export business. There wasn't a shortage of people by any stretch, although, one could argue that the population was well under some of its stellar neighbors like Coruscant or Denon. But the planet's relatively minimal HoloNet presence was negligible. Technology was a major import on Alderaan. However, that technology was used primarily for artistic purposes rather than practical ones. In fact, the only practical technology in abundance was anything related to keeping the planet as forested as possible. The native people prided themselves on their lack of computers and machinery.

The Chiss woman was no biophobe. But when she visited a place, she did like to have the modern amenities. Sentiri was a slicer after all. And the amenities included data access to the local Net, the interplanetary Net, and everything in between. That data access could get her in just about anywhere and she would never even have to leave her hotel room. Not that she'd stay cooped up like that these days. But still, the convenience was worth every credit.

Alderaan threw conveniences out the window. The capital city of Aldera was on an island in a freshwater lake. Seperated by several klicks was teh city where Sentiri had followed her lead: Crevasse City. Built into the sides of a series of gorges, the city was, like the rest of the planet, an artistic display clearly stating "look what we can do." And Crevasse City was in no way connected to Aldera, proximity be damned. The slicer would remember these things in the future and plan accordingly if she ever had to come back. At least the boutiques near her hotel had some cute things. Even if her lead didn't pan out, the trip would not be a waste.

Sighing, Sentiri took a sip of her T'iil leaf tea. It's not all bad, she told herself mentally. Enjoy the moment. Stop being grumpy. Have fun. She sat outside a little café, thumbing through her datapad mindlessly as she waited...

Ripley Kühn​

 

[Ripley Kühn]

Ripley pulled her hood up as she made her way through the streets. Alderaan may be densely populated and you could lose yourself in a crowd, but she had committed a number of petty crimes recently, and when she had landed in the terminal earlier that day there was a wanted poster hanging on the wall. She had ripped it off and tore it up of course, but she didn't doubt there were others floating around out there. Luckily, her counterfeited ID card had been enough to get her through customs, so her meeting still stood.

The contact had been surrounded in secrecy. Ripley was weary; most of those she had worked with in the past had been like family to her. However, they couldn't exactly assist her from prison, so she had been forced to scour the holonet in search of someone to work with. All she knew was the woman she was supposed to meet was a Chiss, and she had ties to the rag-tag band of outlaws that called themselves Agents of Chaos. This alone had intrigued Ripley- she figured since she had something on the woman that she was about to meet, maybe she was less likely to be sold out herself.

As she approached the cafe where she was told to go, she began to pull her hood back down, as it was obscuring her vision slightly. Her eyes scanned the area and quickly found the Chiss woman sitting at a table with a mug and a datapad. She assumed this had to be the one she was meeting- but still, decided to approach with caution. When she arrived at the table, she stood there awkwardly for a minute, before taking a seat across from the Chiss.

"You're the other slicer, I presume?" She asked, eyeing the woman intently.

 

[Sentiri]

The Chiss operative had just completed a job on Castell for the Agents of Chaos. The "Blue Forest TeleComm Company" front that the Blackguard had set up there would be a frequent station for Sentiri's work with the organization. Rather than stay after the initial phase was complete, Sentiri had done a little digging and hopped offworld. While Castell had its advantages in terms of data flow and operations, all Sentiri saw there when she looked around was work. If the woman had picked up anything from her emotional awakening, that one thing was the necessity for downtime. To someone observing Sentiri, that might seem hypocritical. After all, many of her hobbies were the same as what she did for work: slicing, programming, data retrieval, looking behind any digital/analog door she came across. Castell happened to be a playground that the Agents of Chaos would exploit for those exact purposes over the next few years. But still, Sentiri had a need to get out, be away from an obligation and pursue her illicit activities outside of an area of obligation.

Besides, there was still a nagging side project that needed following up: tracking down Rhéala Aleyv her former secretary, turned lieutenant, turned proxy leader of Sentiri's criminal element on Terminus, turned missing-in-action. And where had one of the leads been? Crevasse City on Alderaan. There were hundreds of potential leads. The problem with tracking Rhéala is that the woman only ever pulled the strings, she never made herself out to be the target. Despite the woman's physical beauty, she rarely made a lasting impression. So while there might be traces of her in a place, the traces could just be her controlling a situation remotely from somewhere else entirely. There was no way to know without checking things out. Since Alderaan was close in proximity to Castell, the jump had been an easy one to make, and she could easily make the excuse of "taking some personal leave." Not that the Agents really cared. They were pretty lackadaisical with the whole "service" thing.

Motion stirred Sentiri from her thoughts. She looked up to see a tall girl with dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and a familiar face sit across the table from her. Midday foot traffic strolled casually by along the side-street where the small café was.

"You're the other slicer, I presume?" She asked, eyeing the woman intently.

Sentiri set down her datapad, crossed her legs and folded her hands into her lap. "You must be... She-Wolf." It felt a little strange to speak aloud the moniker the girl used over the HoloNet. "Yes. I am HappyToBeBlue. A pleasure to meet you in the flesh. Though I met your face already back in Aldera, plastered on a wall in the terminal under a wanted ad." Sentiri considered the girl for a moment before a small approving smile started to creep onto her face. The Chiss woman remembered herself when she was just getting started with slicing. Determined to cause trouble everywhere she went. Sentiri supposed she had never grown out of her troublemaker spirit. Her parents had called it a phase before abandoning her. Sabosen'tir'inrokini called it a lifestyle. "Very nice. But let's find somewhere to sit inside instead. No need to attract attention before we've caused a ruckus. I could use a decent meal anyway. Pick anywhere you'd like. On me."

Ripley Kühn​

 

[Ripley Kühn]

When the Chiss mentioned her online alias, Ripley couldn't help but let out a slight giggle. Though she wasn't sure why, she felt it represented a care-freeness that was a breath of fresh air in their profession. Her own alias had been a nickname from when she was a child, given to her by her brothers for being the only girl in the family. She quickly put back on a neutral expression, not wanting the other woman to see her as rude.

"Yes, those posters are a pesky consequence of the ruckus I like to cause. Though please don't think that being a wanted criminal in any way makes me a bad person" She replied, the ghost of a smile dancing across her face. "Though I suppose you would know about people thinking you are a bad person, given your loyalties to a certain group."

She had heard all kinds of rumors about the notorious Agents of Chaos. They were labeled vastly, depending on who you asked- some called them freedom fighters and liberators, others terrorists and warmongers. Ripley had been skeptical when she found this information about Sentiri, but perhaps befriending a slicer with these connections could have perks.

"Come, I know of a low key place where people will pay us no mind" she said as she rose from her seat.

She started down the street towards one of her favorite bars on Alderaan, then turned her head back to make sure the other woman was following.

 

[Sentiri]

Sentiri considered the young woman's comments on her choice of allegiance carefully before responding. Of course, she had looked into the girl's past after the slicer's had made initial contact. The Chiss woman expected that Ripley had made the same explorative inquiries concerning Sentiri, as Ripley's knowledge of the Agents of Chaos suggested. The Chiss slicer knew that Ripley was not actually human, but a type of shape-shifter, a species that Sentiri had never before knowingly encountered. She also knew that the girl had trained briefly as a Jedi but had left for some reason. When the two had agreed to meet face to face, Sentiri had ceased letting her curiosity rule her. While she could probably have probed for further information, the fact that they would soon rendezvous on Alderaan meant that Sentiri had found a potential ally, and rarely did information hoarding on a person turn to anything else but adversarial prying.

But then, allegiance and one's sense of right and wrong were significant conversation enders should two parties not come to an accord. Sentiri was hopeful that the information Ripley had discovered on Sentiri had not deterred the girl. Since they were about to grab a drink and some food, Sentiri felt her hopes were well-founded.

"Everyone thinks they're a good person," Sentiri resolved as she stood from her seat and followed Ripley down the footpath off towards whatever bar Ripley knew. "Similarly, everyone has a different viewpoint on good and bad, right and wrong. Some viewpoints are slightly different, others vastly. I don't begrudge anyone their views. But I don't let that hold me back from mine either. Not everyone is as amenable. But what is there to be done?"

She was quiet for a moment as Ripley led the way through the streets of Crevasse City. The rhetorical question hung in the air. She stuck her datapad in a rather fashionable, or so Sentiri thought, brown, velvety handbag slung over her shoulder. Her pace and posture were casual, unusual to be displayed by Chiss. Despite being a full-blooded Chiss, there was something quite Human about the way she moved, though almost as in imitation like she had adopted the behavior. "My allegiance has changed many times throughout my life, almost always by my own choice. My views have changed many times too. I imagine they will both be in flux forever. As a shape-shifter, would you be happen to be appreciative of that?" The Chiss woman threw a knowing smirk at the girl. "As for the Agents, some of our views currently align, though admittedly not all of them. Beneficially, they're open to a certain variance in morality. As the name suggests, Chaos comes in many forms. Plus, their information gathering is top-notch. Hard opportunity to pass up. Plenty of ruckus ot be had, as you say."

Ripley Kühn​

 

[Ripley Kühn]

Ripley's face turned into a tight grimace as the woman spoke. She had always grappled with the idea of good vs. bad. There were many who saw her as the scum of the Earth for the slicer work she took on - interrupting corporations, hacking government systems, and the like - but the motivations behind her actions were what mattered. No matter what she did she wanted to help the people who deserved it, even if it hurt the other side. Did that make her a bad person? She tried not to think about the issue too much.

I don't begrudge anyone their views. But I don't let that hold me back from mine either.

This was a sentiment Ripley could appreciate. She herself thought in a very similar way. The Chiss continued on, and the words brought a sly smile to the Lopara's face. Yes, of course, she would have done her research too. Ripley had been meaning to break into her own files and find a way to erase them for some time but was horrible about procrastinating. Her feet continued moving - the bar was still a couple blocks off. The silence that followed made Ripley slightly uncomfortable, so she tried to think of anything to fill the void.

"How did you begin slicing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

[Sentiri]

Nostalgia tinged thoughts filled Sentiri's mind, and she thought back over two decades. The Chiss had been around enough humans to know when they considered to be indulgent. Indulging meant alcohol or drugs, food or sex or any numbers of vices. But for Sentiri, she felt a feeling similar to what humans described to her as indulgence when she got sentimental. A long time had passed since she had allowed herself to reflect. So sure, why shouldn't she indulge in a little nostalgia now?

A smirk crossed Sentiri's face as she regaled the younger slicer. "I took to computers early. They were... a way out, and a way in. My family life was not a good one. Absent parents. Entitled siblings. Too much privilege, not enough brain or strength or skill to back it up. Just money and power and status." She said these things with something almost like humor now, lacking the bitterness that usually accompanied her thoughts on the matter. It was as if she was looking back at a holodrama. Her cavalier attitude surprised her. Sentiri hadn't forgiven her family for their mistreatment of her. But their deeds seemed so far removed now from the woman Sentiri had become. Maybe she had finally moved on.

She mentally shook off the momentary hesitation caused by these thoughts and continued. "I reacted to who they were, and sought to be everything they weren't. They were social, I was antisocial. They were unskilled. I found a skill in slicing and spent all my hours perfecting it. They kept their records clean despite their dirty deeds. I got into trouble at every opportunity." Sentiri actually chuckled at that. What was in that tea earlier? "The way in, so to speak, was my first job as an investigator with a Chiss police force, maybe subconsciously trying to right the wrongs I knew my family had done."

Telling Ripley all of this felt... well the telling felt good. Sentiri had always been the guarded sort. Even her closest friends, the number of whom she could count with one hand's fingers, didn't know much about Sentiri's past. They knew what was in Sentiri's file starting when she had arrived with the First Order. Recent exile from the Ascendancy. But why? And how she got there? Those were things she kept to herself. And yet, now these thoughts were right at the surface of the Chiss woman's mind. She reigned her thoughts back to slicing.

"And, that job allowed me to put my slicing skills to use. Ever since, it's been a career and a hobby. And what about you? How does a Jedi become She-Wolf?" Sentiri was careful to speak the moniker without an ounce of mocking, for she felt no derision, only kinship.

Ripley Kühn​