Private Beat Cop Strip

[Iris Arani]

"Actually, DireX." No bugs. Iris already scanned for those herself now that the paranoia was there. She found her own seat in a chair close by, bringing her knees to her chest to get comfortable. She hummed, just a little. Should she have a tracker in her own stuff? Might help, especially if one of her lightsabers was taken again. Then again, they weren't sentient anymore so no need?

Eh, she didn't linger on that train of thought.

"I'm not doing this alone. I have allies. Friends in high places. The Senate, really. Someone I trust like I would another Jedi. I'm not here to take it slow. I've been doing that for the past couple of months targeting low level thugs. Drug dealers that companies like DireX let roam free for bribes. So I'm going to get evidence."

Marissa Shoda

 

[Marissa Shoda]

Marissa's eyes went wide the moment the words left the girl's mouth. She remained stunned in place for a good few moments before she ran a hand through her hair. "Girl are you cr-!" Her rising voice cut out with a distorted buzz, causing the officer to reach up to her throat and grimace as she looked away.

She massaged her throat for a few moments before finally looking back at Iris with a good few grains of embarrassment in her eyes. "Are you crazy? The DireX? The minor ones, sure that's easy, but the top ones? You're wasting your time." She scoffed as she stood up, pacing around a bit. "You can have all the friends in the galaxy if you wanted, but you know what? A blaster bolt don't care about any of that. All they need is one lucky drop on you and you'll end up in a sewer with a bolt in the back of your head." She scowled as she paced around, massaging her neck.

Taking on the DireX was the one thing everyone wanted to do... but actually doing it was suicide. Even now, in their weakened state with their war against Darkwire, they were merely more dangerous. Paranoid to the point of lunacy.

"If you want my help to take them down... I want a guarantee from you. Best case scenario, I lose my job. Worst case scenario, I get a target on my back. I need you to promise me that, if any of those happen, the Alliance will cover my six. I ain't gonna help you just so I end up begging on the streets." She was deathly serious as she spoke. It sas painfully obvious that all of her frustration and tone towards Iris was born out of fear and hopelessness.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"I'm not wasting my time."

That was probably the most frustrating part about.. All of this. People telling her she was wasting her time. People giving up before they even tried. People failed, sure. But if people gave up just because someone else failed, that's how the Corpo's would keep winning. And yet, whatever frustration was building pretty quickly faded. Right. Iris had the luxury of this not being her home. Of not having targets, family.

Maybe that's why she wasn't wasting her time. She had nothing to go to waste.

"That I can promise. I'm not asking you to risk your life for me, but if something does happen I'll get you out."

Marissa Shoda

 

[Marissa Shoda]

Marissa could see that Iris wasn't going to give up on this. She was going to blunder ahead in this endeavour, come hell or high water. It was admirable, she couldn't deny that. But it also made her wonder what Iris had to lose in this pursuit. Marissa still had her family. Even if her parents harshly disapproved of her job, she still loved them and didn't want to put them in danger.

It was a lot easier when you didn't have anything to lose.

Marissa realized that it was probably the root of her issues with the Jedi. They came to her planet, stuck their noses into problems in some heroic attempt to magically fix it all, then simply bailed when it didn't work out for them. And in their wake, the innocent and weak were caught in the crossfire and people like her and the rest of her precinct were left to deal with it, corruption and all.

It was too late to back out now. All she could do was hope that Iris Arani, Jedi Padawan, wasn't as spineless as the others that have caused more trouble on Denon in the past.

"Me and my parents." Marissa spoke up. "I can guarantee you that there ain't no such thing as not risking my neck if I help you. I'm gonna end up on some kind of list. And running with you is like lighting up a massive beacon for the entire city to see once things get hairy." She walked over to the kitchen area and poured herself a glass of water.

She took a deep breath as she thought over it all. She had to make her peace with all of this. Her duty was to protect and serve, not to cover the asses of criminals. This was the right thing to do. No matter how bad it could get, it was right. All she could hope for was that she wouldn't end up as some kind of statistic on another Alliance list.

"You ever been to Naboo?" She asked out of the blue with a much calmer voice. "I talked to this other Corpo the other day, dude's Denon born and raised, but he moved his entire company head office to Christophsis. He told me about Naboo... massive flat areas and hills covered in grass, jungles with all kinds of wacky animals, these weird, long-eared aliens living in underwater cities... I can't even imagine what that must look like." She poured herself another glass as she turned to look at Iris with a smirk. "If this little crusade of yours works out nicely, I wanna go see for myself what an entire planet full of grass looks like." She quipped, finishing her glass before she moved over to her charging datapad.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Her parents.

Yeah. Iris nodded. That much she could promise. She didn't like the idea that just helping would put a target on Marissa's back, but having help was really the only way forward. She couldn't do this alone. Wouldn't. Not this time. She shook her head, though. Naboo? No, she'd only been there once to visit a friend. "Crusade.. I don't know if it's a crusade. I just want people to feel safe."

That's what mattered to her. More than anything that's what mattered to her. No one should feel unsafe in their own home.

"If we're going to make a beacon, I hope that's the signal it gives off, anyway."

Marissa Shoda

 

[Marissa Shoda]

Marissa was taken back by Iris' casual shake of her head. "You're joking, right? You telling me that you got a ship and funds to go wherever the hell you want, but you never went to what sounds like the prettiest place in the galaxy?" She quipped with a shake of her head. "You got your head way too high in the clouds, girl." She remarked. It was certainly a casual remark for someone naïve, but it carried a lot more weight to it on Denon.

Only the rich and privileged could afford to have their heads high in the clouds on Denon.

"Crusade.. I don't know if it's a crusade. I just want people to feel safe."

"If we're going to make a beacon, I hope that's the signal it gives off, anyway."

"Yeah, you and me both. Honestly, the day you don't have to worry about getting your speeder stolen outside of someone's apartment building is the day the sun shines on the Slums." She commented with a laugh. It was hard not to be a pessimist. With this kind of thing, after the life she led, the thought of a free and prosperous Denon was simply too hard to believe.

Though that wouldn't stop her from trying and helping this spoiled Jedi.

Marissa sat down on the couch again and leaned her head back for a moment. "The day I can go to Naboo, I'm dragging you along. Seriously." She teased as she spared a glance before her head leaned back. Though, rather unintentionally, a soft snore began to rumble from Cricket as sleep overtook her...

/End Thread

Iris Arani