First Reply Don't Let Your Guard Down [NFUs Preferred]

[Delila Castillon]

Ralltiir
​

Back to bodyguard work, yet again.

Since leaving the military, odd jobs were the way she scraped by. Mainly by making long-haul runs in space. Yet considering the ship she used to have access to was no more - her little vessel Solitude didn't hold much. Maybe valuable, small items but that came with their own inherent risks. Salvaging vessels for valuable and rare metals within their computing systems had also been a boom lately, quietly drifting alone in old Levantine Space, finding ships long forgotten to time.

Yet she still liked to keep her skills up on the military front. Bodyguard work. Mercenary work. Recently exploration work with the Starchaser family. It kept her sharp. Focused. With a galaxy in turmoil, it was important to stay sharp. Especially when one was alone with just a monkey-lizard for company.

Like every good bodyguard, she was quiet and observant. Her contact had just landed on the platform and she waited patiently for their disembarkation, for their orders. She had an overview during the hiring process ; her experience as a General in the Rebel Alliance had been what sold the client on her ability. Not to mention her time as a guard for the royal family of Alderaan once she had left commanding soldiers behind.

Blue-green eyes left the shuttle and looked at the buildings around them, the rooftops, trying to spot signs of danger. The client didn't mention what threats may come in their direction - so everything in her eyes was a threat until she learned otherwise.

 

[Lysandra Organa]

With a hiss of air, the boarding ramp of the Royal Emissary lowered. Surrounded on all sides by a retinue of guards and handmaidens, the Princess Lysandra was barely visible as she disembarked from the ship. She had been sent to Ralltiir to see to her family's financial affairs. It was a task which she did not relish, but nonetheless felt duty-bound to complete.

Peering between the bodies in front of her, Lysandra's eyebrows rose. "Is that the bodyguard you hired?" she whispered to Roland, her chief of security. To her, the aging red-haired woman didn't look particularly imposing.

"Yes, Your Highness," he replied. "She comes highly recommended."

As far as she knew, they didn't anticipate trouble. It should have been a simple transaction. Yet her security had been beefed up regardless, apparently under direct order from the king. "What's her name?" she asked.

" Delila Castillon ."

As the princess and her entourage approached, they fanned out just enough to give Delila a view of the person she had been tasked with protecting. She was a short and slight figure, barely out of her teens, swathed from head to toe in white shimmersilk with her long blonde hair intricately braided. Her large blue eyes regarded the redhead with scrutiny, though she hid her skepticism behind politeness. "Captain Castillon," she greeted the older woman with a slight bow. "You are to accompany me to the Darpa Hotel."

 

[Delila Castillon]

"Captain Castillon," she greeted the older woman with a slight bow. "You are to accompany me to the Darpa Hotel."

Delila nearly lifted an eyebrow at being called Captain. An odd title to give her, perhaps the woman was going off her status as a spacer in the recent years. It didn't matter to the redhead, plain 'Castillon' was what she was used to, and it would have been just fine. Yet she was smart enough not to insult the client, nor correct them if it wasn't a life-and-death situation.

A small bow out of respect to the young woman, figuring a handshake was out of the question. The blonde just had that look about her, do not touch, written all over.

Her blue-green gaze caught sight of the security director, a subtle nod in his direction. Delila was unsure who to ask for more information, of if she would even be granted more - concerns such as potential enemies or hostiles towards the young woman. Or, Delila mused, the girl may be of the paranoid type and merely preferred security.

"Of course Your Highness. Please, lead the way."

Delila moved to the side, indicating she would follow a half step behind.

Lysandra Organa

 

[Lysandra Organa]

"Of course Your Highness. Please, lead the way."

With that, they set off. Lysandra, who was used to a constant changing of her guards every time she arrived on a new planet, made no attempt at conversation with Delila. There was little point in making friends when their time together would be so short.

Roland led the way, with Delila following close behind. Her chief of security relied on route guidance to know where to go, but they were soon out of the starport.

The streets and skylanes of Ralltiir were bustling with activity. Speeders raced overhead and well-dressed pedestrians milled about. Roland moved to hail a transport, raising his hand to signal to one of the numerous droid drivers passing by. Lys waited patiently, feeling the sunlight on her skin. The weather was pleasant, with a balmy breeze. So far things were going well, and there was nothing to indicate trouble was afoot...

Delila Castillon​

 

[Delila Castillon]

Delila was content to be background noise ; seen and not heard. Her head was constantly moving. A subtle movement, one designed not to draw attention. She was taking in the tops of the buildings. The janitorial droids. Traffic patterns in the air as speeders whizzed quickly by. So far everything seemed normal, a typical day on a rather wealthy planet.

Roland moved to hail a transport, raising his hand to signal to one of the numerous droid drivers passing by.

Quickly, Delila moved behind Roland and pushed his arm down, surprise all over her face. Roland looked equally surprised - and angry.

"Why have you not arranged private transportation for Her Highness? Are you trying to get her killed? Public transport? Anyone can fly by and pick us up. This is a major breach of protocol. I pray Her Highness is not paying you handsomely for such incompetence."

A little harsh, sure. Yet Dells wasn't going to be blamed by the royal family if one of their members was assassinated. Roland seemed to be basically begging to have someone come and kidnap the woman. It was a surprise to her the woman had made it this long with such incompetence surrounding her.

Lysandra Organa​

 

[Lysandra Organa]

The suddenness of Delila's outburst prompted the other guards to close ranks around Lysandra. The diminutive princess couldn't see much of what was happening even if she stood on tiptoe, much to her frustration.

Though he was initially surprised and annoyed at the redhead grabbing his arm, Roland's expression quickly relaxed as he realized there was a misunderstanding. "It's quite all right, ma'am," he said, turning his palm over to reveal a small device used for sending out signals. "Just for show. Transportation has been arranged."

A speeder pulled up alongside them. It was a sleek and elegant thing meant to carry only the wealthiest of passengers. While it had no weapons, its speed and agility made up for its lack of defenses.

"Shall we?" Roland asked, gesturing to the open door of the speeder.

Delila Castillon​

 

[Delila Castillon]

"My apologies Your Highness, Director."

Skepticism remained across her features despite the apology. It didn't seem wise even for a decoy - the general populace would still be far too close to her intended protectee. What if one of the taxi's were a ruse and it ended up being a speeder bomb? Crazy as it might seem, such a thread couldn't be ruled out. Insiders always leaked information, especially for the right price.

Entering the speeder next to last, Delila realized she would just have to be quiet for now. Quiet and observant, least she wanted to come off as a total idiot. The redhead didn't need to be seen as not doing her job and given she was only privy to their most basic of protocols, there were going to be some missteps along the way.

Settling into the speeder, gaze was affixed out, searching for anything suspicious.