Locked Up Abroad

[Zyrias Pax]

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While Zyrias’s escape from Canto Bight had been fortuitous for her, she realized that once she stepped foot back onto one of the grimy levels of the Coruscant underworld, Detective Reese had somehow increased the heat on capturing her. Whether he’d issued a Galactic City APB or had bribed her own friends to turn on her, she found herself being followed.

Or worse, being chased.

It had to be his influence, right? Nothing else had changed in Zyri’s life since the Canto Chameleon left the planet where she earned her nickname. Kur’s Dozen kept her well protected. The First Order had not taken her through any type of training yet. It did not take a genius to deduce that the common denominator here was the older gentleman who attempted and failed to capture her as she boldly committed a crime right in front of him. Perhaps he was just that competitive.

When she was finally nabbed at Mok’s Cheap Eats, just quietly drinking a pint - a place she’d always been welcome, even sheltered - the teenager found herself on a prison barge above Coruscant, which was odd in and off itself.

Was this where they kept the worst serial killers? Or criminals they meant to extradite? Did they experiment on prisoners up here because it was outside of jurisdiction?

In a too-large jumpsuit that billowed off her skinny frame, Zyrias asked a hulking Delrakkin, “What is this place anyway? Why are we all the way up here?”

He just shrugged his scaly shoulders and grunted out, “Overpopulation, I guess."

[member="Terrek Reese"]

 

[Terrek Reese]

Prison Barge: Coruscant Queen
Suspect transfer: [member="Zyrias Pax"]:
Authorized by: Terrek Reese.

It had been months since the encounter on Canto Bight, and now the Coruscanti Detective Terrek Reese had been recovering from his bout between the Force User from the First Order. He had now been on his way to the Coruscant Queen a barge high in orbit often taking in prisoners, and shipping them out planetside. And this time he was finally taking in the Teenage Terrorist. He sat uncomfortably on board the shuttle that had been from the surface to the barge, clearance codes had already been taken. Now all that there was to do was wait. The transport had docked with the barge, Terrek slowly stood up as he was patted down by local security, and then was instructed to wait outside.

They had informed him that they would be bringing in the prisoner shortly. He could hardly wait, the sooner that Zyrias was transferred to him the better. He paced around the room slowly waiting for the guards to arrive. He tried to sit down in one of the chairs, but seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours. How long would it take till the guards had brought him his prisoner?

 

[Zyrias Pax]

In addition to the gross prison jumpsuit that she wore, Zyrias had been stripped of her favorite blue wig. Her hair had grown in a little bit and almost resembled the blonde wig she’d worn on Canto Bight, but due to a shower in the female freshers, her silvery locks were damp and unstyled. And now she was sharing a cell with a lizard humanoid. They basically ignored each other which was fine by Zyri.

After a long moment of silence, the Delrakkin said, “This barge is called the Coruscant Queen.”

“More like the Coruscant Slave.” The teenage criminal walked over to the transparent duraplast door, skimming her fingers over the surface, feeling for anything she could digitally manipulate, but the surface was completely smooth, any opening mechanism either on the other side or retina-scan controlled. Maybe if she got the attention of a guard…?

Oh good one was coming over.

He wordlessly opened the cell - retina scan - and grabbed her roughly by the arm. She glanced back at the display on the outside of the door, studying it for any visible ways to tamper with it and then turned back to the human guard.

“Aren’t you going to cuff me?”

He only snorted and shoved her along. His physique was such that there was no way she’d be able to overpower him, not without a weapon. He did have a stun gun on his holster.

Zyrias was finally taken to a windowless room. The door opened via retina scan again and she was promptly deposited inside.

“Impressive,” she said with an amused grin, eyebrows raising. “I knew you were behind this. No champagne this time, eh?"

[member="Terrek Reese"]

 

[Terrek Reese]

Terrek had waited patiently as Zyrias was escorted from her cell to the room he had waited in. He was filled with a nervous dread that had crept into his very being, whether she would try to get out of this one again he did not know. He could only assume that the girl was not without her tricks. Just in case though he had kept his blaster ready just in case either on the stun mode or if worse came to worse blaster setting. However, he did not wish to harm the girl. After all, she was still a kid, he still held onto some hope that maybe she could change, that she could choose a better life than that of a terrorist for a hopeless and meaningless cause.

Seconds had felt like an eternity, the room standing still as if time had no meaning. A drop of sweat had gone through his face in his nervousness. He had silently waited to pace around as if he had nothing else better to do. Then finally the door opened and she had stepped inside, she had looked very different not as radiant and cocky at the club, but had looked like the prison barge had toughened her up, he could see her real hair was short almost like that of a man's haircut, but instead of blonde it was silver and it had started to grow to a more ladylike style.

As she spoke it seemed that her cockiness much to his displeasure hadn't faded away. If anything it seemed she hadn't learned. Despite the triumphant look on her face, Terrek's was anything but that it had carried a stern and cold look. It was as if he was a disappointed Father who had arrived to bail his child out of Jail. Either way, he stared at her and spoke just as cold. "Save the cocky attitude Zyrias. I am transferring you personally to the planet below. I have managed to secure your transfer to a more secure facility."

[member="Zyrias Pax"]

 

[Zyrias Pax]

She enjoyed unsettling the older detective. This was the kind of social amusement Zyrias craved being the reckless extrovert she was.

“I guess you didn’t sign up for this kind of babysitting, huh?”

The room was furnished with two metal chairs and a flimsy table. The teenager kicked the chair idly and sat down on it as if the act of sitting was the most laborious task in the entire galaxy.

“Why such a secure facility? Am I that dangerous Detective Reese? No one was killed in that Canto Bight bombing by the way. And let’s face it that casino could have used a renovation.”

But a layer of fear could be clearly seen underneath all of the bravado. She’d heard frightening rumors of the Coruscant prisons, especially the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. Needless to say she did not want to end up there.

“Why not just leave me up here?”

Maybe because it would be much easier to break out up in the skies where transports arrived and departed with frequency? Especially if she’d already figured out the retina scan system and could somehow hack into it.

[member="Terrek Reese"]

 

[Terrek Reese]

Terrek still showed a slight hint of annoyance as he gazed into Zyrias clear blue eyes. Still, the girl hadn't changed and wondered if the young woman would ever be rehabilitated. He still had some hope, but with each day like this he saw her, he had started to doubt that. As always the system wouldn't help her and he doubts that he could change her himself. As far as he could tell he was here as nothing more as an escort to take her planetside. He looked at her shaking his head. "I am in no mood for games Zyrias. I have come here to transfer you off and down to where we could deal with you."

He could tell that behind that ego she was afraid. He had hoped that she could be transferred to someplace where she could actually get help, and he would do all in his power to do that. The young woman deserved better than to be released over, and over never learning. He started to lead her out, checking with the guards to make sure the paperwork was in order to head planet side. All the while keeping the conversation with the woman. "As you know yes you are. Innocent people could have gotten hurt. I had to take you in."

As they walked to the Hanger, Zyrias asked why not just leave her up on the barge. He had invested too much in his chase to lose her, he didn't want her to go running off. Especially if he was here. "I invested too much into you. I chased you from Coruscant to Cantonica. I am not letting you get away from, not if I can help it."

[member="Zyrias Pax"]

 

[Zyrias Pax]

Zyrias slumped in the chair like a truant high schooler. In terms of rehabilitation? The Tatooine native was just getting started on her criminal career. She’d need something obscene like electroshock therapy to change her wayward brain waves.

But she was listening, scratching at her arm like a junkie would.

“You gave me your card back on Canto Bight. Why? Unless you wanted to help me.”

She followed him, but did not try anything funny. Traveling was the best way to escape - there would be so many pauses, so many unscheduled opportunities to exploit. Nothing ever went as planned or at least that’s what the chameleon had learned within her short life.

“Don’t you still want to help me?” she said, looking up at him as they were in the hangar. “Locking me away won’t do any good. I’ll either escape or become an abused shell of my former self. You know that, Mr. Law Enforcement Man.”

[member="Terrek Reese"]

 

[Terrek Reese]

She had a point, as they stood in front of the shuttle that Terrek used. She had made the point, he still held onto the hope that she could be saved. That was part of the reason he gave her his card, and within all honesty didn't think the place was doing much good for her. She needed a place where she could actually get help, deal with the issues that she was facing deep within, to finally conquer her demons and be a member of society. There was still a chance for her to turn back, and deep down he believed that he had to.

Before they entered he saw her scratching her arm, curious if she was doing it needing her next fix, or maybe out of nervousness he couldn't say for certain. He was certain that it was the former. But as she spoke once again she had been right once more. She would only escape for him to chase her again, he sighed in frustration and spoke once more the frustration becoming more evident in his tone. "What would you have me do then! Take you in myself, perhaps show you my home take you in as my own and change your act myself!? Is that what you want?" He said pushing up his glasses and giving her an irritated stare.

[member="Zyrias Pax"]

 

[Zyrias Pax]

Zyrias was so caught off guard, she just stopped and stared at Detective Reese. Normally to these soft hearted types of cops, rehabilitation meant going to a juvenile home or one for girls-only maybe, but to offer up his own home?

“You would really do that?” she asked with a mixture of caution and elation. Then her next words were said with a patina of skepticism.

“And what, pretend I’m your daughter? I already have a deadbeat dad on Junktown. I don’t need another one.”

Then she sighed and shifted from one foot to another. The last time he’d seen her on Cantonica, she’d been glammed out, hair styled, lipstick, false lashes even. Now she looked like a scruffy kid, and this embarrassed her more than she cared to admit, but Zyrias did not know why. It was strange why she wanted to look attractive to him all of a sudden, but then again, she’d been drawn to the man as they sat side by side at the casino the night that she’d set off a bomb.

But she knew inside this was the best offer she’d gotten in a long time to keep her out of trouble or at least facilitate a quick escape if Detective Reese had more sinister plans in mind for her.

“Okay, I guess. I mean, I ain’t got nothing to lose either way. As long as you don't lock me up in your basement or something."

[member="Terrek Reese"]

 

[Terrek Reese]

Terrek stood there in silence, not a word was spoken by either them for a few seconds with Zyrias fixing him a weird stare. Terrek could only return with an expressionless one letting his frustration subside, and at the shock of his words realized what he had said. He had outright suggested of not arresting her and even offering to take her in and turning her life around. He surely must have been mad indeed to think of something so bold as this. But in all honesty, he had grown to care for the girl and even though that with the right help she could be changed. She could be a member of society, where she didn't even have to resort to these ways.

Now, this girl, this woman looked at him with the strangest stare, and even spoke as if he would really do that. It was as if she was even shocked herself by what he had even suggested. He did not speak even as she suggested that she would be his daughter. The memories of a past life flashed before his eyes, if only briefly. He barely resisted turning away from her when she said that, and only let her finish what she had to say before replying trying to forget what she had just said, or at least hide the emotion in his tone with one of pure stoicism.

"I have seen how the system works... Sending you into the system won't help a girl like you, the most cases I have seen only makes them worse. I do not want that, if you do all you ever will do is get out and do this all over again. So yes instead of prison I will take you into my home. On one condition." He paused holding his finger up as if to silence her before she had any time to retort. "You cease this nonsense and clean up your act young lady."

[member="Zyrias Pax"]

 

[Zyrias Pax]

Zyrias raised a skeptical brow. While she wasn’t sure if Detective Reese actually had children young or grown, he sure gave off the impression he had been a father before. But there was one problem with that.

“Ughhhh. Okay I’m gonna tell it to you straight. That stern father thing isn’t gonna cut it with me. I’ve been taking care of myself since I was eight maybe ten? I don’t need a lecture.” Before her skin crawled right off her bones, she closed her eyes and breathed in deep, feeling the anger subside into mild irritation.

“I just need a place to stay for awhile.”

While some might find it demanding that Zyrias was still trying to call the shots, her self sufficiency was something she prided herself on.

“The last thing I want to do is feel like I’m a prisoner in someone’s home. I might as well stay in here, Reese.”

In a way she was bluffing. His crib - unless it was some kind of house of horrors - would be one hundred times better than any prison on Coruscant or a even a flophouse in the Underworld. Would she settle in for a bit and take a break, hiding from her benefactors and not having to eat the moldy cheese and stale bread from a prison “kitchen?” Or like an addict would she hear those subtle whispers calling to her to head to the streets in search of fun - fun equaling trouble of course? When those hushed words became a drum beat, it was so hard to stop herself.

"Do you have any kids that live with you?"

[member="Terrek Reese"]

 

[Terrek Reese]

Terrek sighed holding a couple of fingers to his nose in irritation at the girl who didn't take to kindly to how he was treating her. He said to her pushing up his glasses. " You really are in no position to make demands. Especially when Im trying to help you. " He said.

When she had mentioned if he had children that lived with him. He can feel a pang of heartache within his chest and looked down to the floor saying sadly. " I did have a family once.. A wife and a little girl close to your age really. They both were killed during the Alliance invasion of Coruscant." He said taking a deep breath long stretches of silence started to take hold but said no more as they got in the shuttle. "Now are you coming or not young lady?"

The trip from the Coruscanti Queen down to the surface was a smooth travel. Terrek managed to make arrangements with some of his colleagues. Either bribing them or telling them and most understood. Within hours she didn't seem to have a record at all. Stepping into the small underworld apartment which still had remnants of the reuse family such as family holos. Toys here and there from years ago. Terrek looked to the young woman. "Make yourself at home."

[member="Zyrias Pax"]

 

[Zyrias Pax]

“Oh gosh that sucks,” Zyri said, not sure how to comfort the older man. If anything she could sympathize given her own turbulent upbringing but she didn’t like to show weakness so she gazed down at the durasteel floor of the prison for a moment and back up.

If anything this news made their journey to the surface of Coruscant very quiet and free of conversation.

Zyrias didn’t know the Detective Reese had cleared her record. Maybe later she would find out but for now she made herself at home, still it was clear the pair was tired. The teenager curled up on his couch, watching a holomovie, silent and a bit on the surly side. It was clear she was exhausted and didn’t even ask for anything to eat, only sipped a glass of water.

But once Terrek retired to bed and the horror flick about a Glok monster, the recovered prisoner tried to sleep on the detective’s sofa, but it grew cold in the apartment despite him giving her a pillow and a worn out blanket.

Around midnight, with the lights of Coruscant still brilliant through the windows, she slipped into the bed with Detective Reese. For warmth, she told herself.

***Morning***​

Getting a teenager up sometimes proved to be the hardest thing in the entire galaxy, but Zyrias’s stomach rumbled like a rampaging rancor. She was already dialing the number to Hunger Hyperlane to order breakfast - eggs, bacon, and galactic grits.

[member="Terrek Reese"]

 

[Terrek Reese]

Terrek remained quiet exhausted that he didn't even say a word as soon as they got to his home. After telling her to make herself at home, he retired to his bedroom to where he opened a classic bottle of Corellian Whiskey and drank. Kept drinking for several hours till he felt drunk enough to pass out in his bed. He slept but at times could feel someone was there. Either way, he didn't pay attention his consciousness drifted off into the sea of sleep and soon he didn't remember anything at least for a while.

The next morning he awoke, naked in his bed the bed a mess. He started to wonder what happened when he was drunk during the night. Feeling a hangover at first he struggled to get out of bed, and slip on a pair of pants as he walked to the living room to find the young woman was trying to order food. He grabbed the menu from her hands and spoke in a groggy tone. "Nope... We aren't doing that. We are going to try something you may haven't done in a long time. If you want food you're going to have to learn how to make it."

He said tossing the menu from her hand onto the table as he moved to his small kitchen. Trying to cure the hangover with another shot of whiskey, he gestured her to come into the kitchen and gave her a stern look indicating she had no choice.

[member="Zyrias Pax"]

 

[Zyrias Pax]

She heard Detective Reese’s footsteps behind her, so as the menu was snatched from Zyrias’s hand it didn’t surprise her or make her jump. She wore a pair of his boxers and one of his tees; both hung off her skinny frame.

Her eyes widened, lofted brows amused at the suggestion. Cook??? The teenager nearly didn’t understand the command.

A ripple of husky laughter emerged from her makeupless lips. Zyrias watched the menu flutter to the counter and then tsked as Detective Reese had another shot of whiskey.

“Hair of the dog? I have something better for you. Buuutttt we’ll have to order it. I can’t make it,” she remarked with a smirk. Either way who was she to tell the older man he couldn’t have a drink for breakfast? Her own father would have a sip of Dry Tat Wine before he’d head from Junktown to Mos Eisely to buy, sell or bargain for the day. Of course, at the end it was always something much stronger. But maybe that’s why she felt this pang of sympathy for the man who cradled his whiskey in the morning like a lover would.

Skipping to the fridge, she drew out a pitcher of water and poured Terrek a glass. “This will do you so much better, Detective.” It was probably the most mature gesture he’d ever witnessed her perform, signaling that there was something inside the hard-bitten teenager that suggested empathy or even the ability to care.

“What are we making then?” she asked, hopping her derriere up on the counter to watch him prepare their breakfast.

[member="Terrek Reese"]