Fistful of Swoon

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"Was plannin to," back of her hand scuffed across her nose. The teen was still getting used to taking orders from others. Grabbing her pack, she shouldered it on. Blaster was already strapped around her thigh.

"Grits. Stay here and keep the ship on lock down. Prepped and ready." Comm stuffed down into her pocket.

The droid razzled a response as if frustrated at being left behind. Fingers came up to straighten the Alliance emblem on her jacket before waking down with the Jedi woman. Naomi felt a bit on edge just as she had the night before the First Order showed up and same as when they found her Pa had died. The teen never had the luxury to believe in superstitions or put much thought into things like the force.

"Where's this meeting supposed to take place?"

First steps off the ship and she already missed it.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

"Main government building." Aela said plainly, mostly because her gaze was focused on the half a dozen individuals in the hangar.

None of them looked particularly threatening or bad, in fact most of them didn't even wear guard uniforms. Yet somehow she still felt like something was off. Her lips thinned for a moment and she adjusted the strap of her pack so that it sat a bit closer to her.

She didn't think her lightsabers were necessary just yet, and thus she didn't take them out. Yet if something did go wrong she wanted to be able to pull the weapons free at a moments notice. They were located on top of her clothes, one tucked away in the side pocket where she could simply slip it free and use it. Her gaze slowly drifted towards the other end of the hangar bay where a man dressed in uniform seemed to be waiting for someone. "There."

Aela said pointing him out.

He was likely there to guide them.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Hazel eyes snapped to the man. "You ever get bad feelings bout things?" The teen muttered and pushed her shoulders back a bit straighter. Time to be professional.

Fingers tucked cooper strands of hair behind her ears. Their stroll was leisurely and relaxed as they approached the guard. Best to play it off as such even if they felt anything but.

"Excuse me, sir. I'm Naomi and this is Jedi Master Aela Talith with the Alliance. We were hoping you'd be our guide to the peace treaty discussions. Can you show us the way?"

Time to see if the Jedi master title pulled some weight 'round here.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

The man inclined his head.

"Of course, This way Master Jedi."

Oddly enough the man didn't even seem to acknowledge Naomi in the least. He glanced at her for just a split second and then turned his attention back towards Aela who he seemed to know was the senior party. She frowned for a moment, though didn't say anything, mostly because she didn't want to cause an international incident. They were here to be diplomatic after all and throwing a tantrum about rudeness wasn't going to be getting them anywhere.

"Will Count Baral meet us?" She asked the man.

"No Ma'am. As of three days ago Count Baral has been relieved by the Council."

She shot a look towards Naomi that said. I didn't know that.

"I see." She responded quietly.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Naomi jammed her hands into her official Alliance jacket pockets. She couldn't help the slight scowl that eclipsed across her freckled-face as the man ignored the pilot completely. The teen huffed at her copper-hair but didn't say anything. Lips set into an even thinner line as the jedi gave her that look.

This wasn't good.

Head swiveled on her shoulders as her short-legs pumped to keep up with the other two. The few folks she saw seemed to be hurried and hurried to getting to their ships. That was...odd. Taking out her comm, she brought it to her lips and whispered to Grits.

"Grits. See if you can access the flight logs of the city for the past four days. I want to know who's been in and out."

There was a beeping warble on the other end as affirmation.

Comm slipped back into her jacket pocket. The teen jogged lightly to catch back up with the other two, having lagged a bit behind. Didn't wanna be overheard. Turned out the main building was walk-able from the landing-pad they were stationed on. It had a large, spherical dome and arched into the murky and grey sky. Their guide motioned Aela forward toward the front door but smoothly slid in front of the teen's path.

"You'll have to wait out here."

"The blazes I will," Naomi quickly drawled. She wasn't the one that was supposed to be all-political correct-like.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

Aela made a motion with her hand.

It was generally bad form for someone who was a diplomatic guest to be swearing at the people whom they were meeting, though the Jedi Master could understand the girls reasoning. They were two strangers on a world with no one else to know.

"She'll come with me." Aela said plainly. "She's more than just a pilot."

That was a blatant lie, not something that Aela was really known for doing, but her time within the SIS had taught her how to sell a cover story probably better than most people would even imagine. She stared the diplomat down, his eyes falling on her as if he were waiting for something more. "She's my aid."

The man glanced at Naomi, then slowly nodded.

Easy as that.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

She couldn't help the open glare at the man. Wait until Wilson heard about this. He'd laugh and tease Naomi the rest of the day but it'd be worth it so they could compare stories on difficult people.

Humph.

The spitfire redhead nodded to the Jedi master and followed them inside. Hand eased away from where it had drifted, near her blaster. Still, a large part of the small town girl was intrigued by what these political talks would look like. Ain't never been exposed to anything like this.

Their small party was lead through a set of ornately decorated halls and to a lift at the back. It was partly glass enclosed, looking out of the back courtyard with its weaving garden paths and fountains. A stark contrast for the rest of the planet.

Naomi's head craned around as they got inside. Ah. There it was. It was because this part of the building was covered in a large, greenhouse type dome.

"Our stop is on the sixth floor," the guard shot the teen a slanted look. "Try not to smudge the glass."

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

The bad feeling in her stomach was still more than present.

She had no idea what this place would hold for them, though her senses told her that something was simply...off. Aela couldn't have really explained it save for saying that it was something to do with the force, but that would hardly do in the moment. She frowned for a moment as the diplomat insulted Naomi, though she said nothing in response. Her instinct was to defend the girl, but she had to be diplomatic, meaning she couldn't make enemies this early on.

Instead she simply shot the man a look. "Respect goes both ways."

The Diplomat glanced at her, his features tightening for a moment until he finally nodded his head. A moment later the elevator stopped and they were escorted out into a hallway. Eventually the man brought them to an empty conference room.

"Please wait here."

Aela frowned, but nodded her head.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

The teen's fists balled tightly at her sides. Face remained in a scowl as their liaison left. Arms crossed and she huffed, slouching down into one of the conference room chairs. It was clear the pilot would never be a dignitary.

"I don't like this," she grumbled. "Do all your peace negotiation talks go like this?"

Hands were thrown up in the air.

A beep resounded from her comm. Hands lowered to dig the device from her pocket. Hazels studied the screen. "This is weird," she breathed. "Reports of a massive amount of ships leaving from the star port two days ago. And before that....logs are erased."

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

"No." Aela admitted. "This is unusual."

Very much so in fact. She wondered briefly if it was something to do with...well everything else that had been happening here. The Economy wasn't failing, and the world was caught in a trade war with the nearby systems things hadn't been going well. She frowned for a moment and then slowly put her backpack on the table.

She opened up the top of it and pulled out one of her lightsabers. Aela quickly slipped the blade onto her hip, hiding it beneath the folds of her jacket. "The planets economy is failing."

Aela explained.

"Still, that many people leaving..." Something was wrong.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"Yes. How odd," a dark voice suddenly filled the doorway. Just as Naomi's head snapped up, she felt a foreign pressure on her chair as she and the chair went flying back to the conference wall. Two large beasts shuffled into the small room, standing on either side of the tall man.

Massassi.

Course, Naomi didn't know the name of these two beasts. "How fortunate we are that you joined us, master Jedi. And your...colleague."

Her hand went for her blaster but she found herself suddenly pinned to the wall. Hazels widened in fear for the first time.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

Her eyes glanced over towards Naomi who had been thrown against the far wall.

As soon as it happened her lightsaber snapped into life and a veil of the force surrounded her. She felt a sudden press, and then a burst as the force she had pulled around herself pushed back against the nudge that the Sith had thrown towards her. She scowled, the loud thrum of her lightsaber filling the room.

Instead of answer, instead of saying anything at all, Aela rushed to the side.

Her lightsaber went flying to the side, smashing through the large window pane in the corner of the room. He free hand shot out towards the SIth and the two Massassi, throwing them just a few steps and forcing the man to drop Naomi back to the ground. Before the girl could argue or say anything Aela grabbed her.

Then she bounded through the now destroyed window.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Fingers twitched at her sides, every fiber of her being fighting against that invisible hold hocus-pocus man had on her. Hazels darted wildly and helplessly around the room as the blonde Jedi burst into action. A moment later, back slid down the wall and booted feet hit the ground. Just as quickly Aela was at her side and tugging her along toward....

They were six floors up!

The teen wasn't afraid of heights in a spacecraft! She wanted to argue or hesitate but instead her lips parted and a yelp escaped her throat as she went tumbling over the edge and out, air rushing around them. Arms scrambled to wrap around the Jedi woman in a death-grip that would leave bruises.

This woman was mad! Would that be the redhead's last thought?

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

Generally jumping out of windows was never a great idea.

The force could be used to cushion ones landing, and in fact she'd heard of Jedi jumping and surviving falls from entire skyscrappers. She herself had never done such a thing, but she knew the general idea of just how that could actually be accomplished. The Jedi master braced herself, her arm wrapping tight around Naomi.

"Hang on!" She called just before they struck the ground.

Both of her palms suddenly flattened and then pushed out.

The force buffeted before her, pulling against the ground and then suddenly pushing up. The wind pressed against her, slamming against the both of them and carrying them slightly up and then down towards the ground once more. Eventually they landed with a soft thud.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"I'm a'holdin!'" The teen hollered, arms wrapping tightly around the Jedi master, one leg even curling around the woman's torso as she ended up clinging to her back as they were suddenly pushed away from the ground. Then went back toward it. Teeth clenched. But the arrival was surprisingly gentle.

"Holy moly," she muttered, arms still clinging to Aela. Leg lowered from around the woman's torso and tentatively touched down on the pavement. A moment longer than that, she finally released her death grip completely.

"Holy moly," she breathed again, head tilting to look back up the way they'd come. "Now THAT is some serious space wizard stuff."

The head of the Sith suddenly appeared in the broken window.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

Aela turned.

"No time to talk." There really wasn't. As far as she could tell the situation was now this; the world had fallen to some One Sith warlord, a man who now likely controlled the Government, Police, and Military. That explained why Trade negotiations fell apart and it also explained why the representative had been so hesitant to speak about anything. This was a trap, or at least the makings of one. Aela bit her lip and let out a curse.

She had retired to Wroosti, she wasn't supposed to be fighting anymore. "Run."

Aela told Naomi.

"Go go!" She stood and dashed forward. "Into the streets."

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

Short legs ran, burning to keep up with the Jedi. Red hair whipped behind her. She could hear shouting behind them but didn't look back. A hand swiped a beanie hat off the cart. Fingers quickly tucked up her red hair beneath.

Rusty red had never been a subtle color for blending in.

"There!" She yelled and pointed. There was an alley to the right smacked between two restaurants. Looked like it was mostly empty and went back deep. Hands dug it her comm.

"Grits," she heaved. "We need a pick up!"

A series of beeps and twats.

"Whaddyamean you had to sneak off the ship?!"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

She frowned for a moment, trying to pin-point just what their situation was.

Things honestly didn't look very good at the moment. It seemed that they were trapped between a rock and a hard place. They apparently had no ship, the entire government of this planet turned against them, and they had no way of reaching out to the Alliance. Even if they did it was unlikely that they could get anyone out here within the next day or two.

War with the First Order was tying up a lot of resources, and she found it highly unlikely that anyone would be able to reach out, especially with enough forces to subdue this world. Aela frowned for a moment, glancing towards the streets. "They'll start patrols soon."

She said quietly.

"We have to find some place to hide." Slowly she glanced around, searching for an abandoned home or building.

 

[Naomi Carolina]

[member="Aela Talith"]

"Track our signal. And be quiet about it!" She whispered harshly into the comm, the redhead giving a fierce nod to Aela. Hazels searched around. There, at the end of the alley was a set of doors that led down into some sort of cellar. Usually in cities like these, cellars connected to others and it could work to their advantage. They might even find some sort of underground maze.

"There!" The pilot pointed and sprinted toward the doors. Going heel first, she kicked open a rusty-latch, then bent down and pulled the door up so it opened. Steps descended below into the darkness.

"Go, go." She looked beyond Aela's shoulder at the entrance of their alleyway. "Grits is coming. We'll be right behind you." Feet shifted as she muttered beneath her breath. "C'mon, c'mon."

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Naomi Carolina"]

"Go first." It was not a question.

She was the senior member of this little trip, not to mention she was also a Jedi Master and one of the foremost experts in combat that existed in the galaxy.

"Go." Not a discussion either. "I'll wait for your droid."

She gripped her lightsaber a bit tighter.