Name in the Sky

[Srina Talon]

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C O R U S C A N T​

"Name in the Sky"​

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Location: Coruscant - Galactic City - [Absolute Clock Tower]​

Tag: [member="Voph"] | [member="Anne Markel"]​

In the lowest levels, in the abyssal urban depths of the ecumenopolis that was Coruscant, it was a rare thing indeed to see sunlight. For the inhabitants of the baroque and gleaming cloudcutters, skytowers and newly made superskytowers—the latter reaching as far as the eye could see—the sun was something taken for granted, just as were the other comforts of life. The jewel of the galaxy had been heavily repaired since the Sith had rained all manner of destruction down on the overpopulated world.

Srina stared out from the balcony of one of the diplomatic acquisitions that the Core Imperial Confederation had lent them for their temporary stay. They had observed all of the requirements that the Confederate ally had made, upon their arrival, and the Exarch was rather relieved that they’d only glanced over her personal effects. It wasn’t as if she planned any harm for Coruscant. Hardly. She respected what it was that the High Chancellor was trying to do for the once bruised and damaged planet.

This place always filled her with a sense of déjà vu. Silver eyes, pierced with starlight, took in as much as they could while she eyed the dark spaces beneath the walkways. There were places, hundreds of stories below, that she remembered running through blindly. Looking. Chasing ghosts….Ghosts, whispers, and visions, that lead her to [member="Darth Metus"]. Her Master. His presence soothed her visions to a point where they were finally manageable. Finally, she wasn’t losing her mind.

A soft wind blew the gossamer curtains that trailed the open doorway of the great tower. It wasn’t 500 Republica, but, it was still very nice. She would have to thank the CIC properly.

“Voph…”, she called softly, through the open air, as she expected that the Miralukan wouldn’t be far. He was often quiet, she had observed, but very nearly her shadow these days. “Has our friend arrived?”

It wasn’t as if she could blame him. The white-haired Exarch had half of her face hidden by a pearlescent mask. It was expressionless. Empty. Beneath the softly painted porcelain lay bacta soaked bandages that was slowly repairing the damage that had been done to her face on Kuat. She had been spared death, likely a painful one, by Voph, but that didn’t mean she’d escaped unharmed.

The litany of dressings that were hidden on her body beneath the pale traveling dress that she wore to conceal it all told a story of misfortune. The young woman would have healed better, faster, had she not poured every drop of focus into stabilizing her fiancée. He was still unconscious. Trapped in a tank of bacta that he could not be released from, until, some of the damage to his internal organs was mended.

For that alone, she could not stop, she could not stay idle.

There was work to be done.

She pulled away from the light and a wave of moonlit hair floated thoughtlessly behind her. Srina had searched long and heart for a resident of Coruscant that might fit the details of the mission. She required some street savvy, familiar with the lower levels, and easily paid to keep anything she heard or saw to herself. There were a few pieces of technology, unofficially, that Srina required. Officially she was searching for an old Holocron that had been lost since the Great War, that ended, all true war. Her Master required it. So, she would find it. “What was her name?”

Silver eyes flickered. “Anne?”

Yes, it was Anne. [member="Anne Markel"]. It was such an assuming name for a seemingly charming and stubborn individual. Srina found herself found of it. Too often did those in the galaxy have names that were entirely unable to be pronounced, unless, one jammed their knuckles in their mouth and tried to talk around a fist. Only then, might it the close. “We will need to ensure she is armed appropriately to be our guide. The remains of the Red Corridor after the Sith attack are…”

“Unseemly.”

Truth be told, it had been unseemly beforehand. Now? Now that the Sith had ripped giant warships from the belly of Coruscant? It was worse. Many places, especially the tall towers, were lovely and well-maintained. The lower levels were better. But the Red Corridor? No.

No. Not at all.

There would be a porter waiting just outside the entrance to the diplomatic residential tower for Ms. Markel. It appeared human, human enough, but it was actually an HRD that Srina had brought along to blend in. It was a hidden soldier that would keep their rooms secure when they were out. When the smuggler arrived, she would be ushered to the hundred-and-seventy-first floor without delay.

The daylight was fading, but Srina, and Voph would wait.

 

[Kyyrk]

[youtube]https://youtu.be/rMOSTOSyNz8[/youtube]​

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Location: Coruscant, Galactic City, Absolute Clock Tower, Sunset​

Equipment: In signature​

Tags: [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Anne Markel"]​

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Coruscant. Voph had been here before. Once himself, once by...supernatural means. It reminded him of home. Well, the only home he remembered. Not that he would call Nar Shadda home these days. But for a time, it was where he and his beloved family had lived. A smile twitched about the corner of his lips as he reflected on the memory. His Wife, the first to teach him much of what he knew now. And the infant son he so dearly longed to hold in his arms again. It was a happier time then. Simpler. Before the wife took ill. Before the son grew up. Before the war.

Voph heard his name, and his attention snapped back to the present. Though his head was still bowed at his kneeling position, he could still see Srina turning towards him. "The underbelly of the colossus always is." Voph looked up at Srina, his pale face contrasted by the hood around him. Like her, Voph did not escape Kuat unscathed. But unlike the pale Exarch, Voph did not hide. The long pronounced scar that ran from his chin to his forehead had been earned years ago, after an attempt on his life. But now, it was covered in an array of healing burns, and smaller scars. Scars were nothing to fear for a being like him. They were a pride. A mark of a survivor.

And yet as he looked upon Srina, part of her face hidden behind the mask, he felt a pang of regret stab him. She was wounded as well, and might have been killed were it not for Voph's defense. But it hadn't been perfect. Those wounds she suffered were his failure. Not hers. And her husband... Voph had been to weak in the aftermath to assist, which only served to weaken Srina further. But she seemed to be recovering well. And Voph was not ashamed to admit, were he to be discovered, that he'd kept such proximity as he had to both watch over her physically, and to secretly bolster her resolve. Her delicate nature was fit for the arenas of combat, to be sure, but war? War was something else entirely. Being forced to watch those you care about suffer, and possibly die, was something that Voph would not wish upon anyone.

"Even in the days of prosperity, there will always be a rogue element."

Voph stood quietly, his robes draping around him from the position they'd bunched up on the floor as he knelt. His new sabers, forged during his recovery as a way to keep his mind occupied, rested in sleeves sewn into the shoulder blades of his robes. "But no, our contact has not yet arrived." Voph glanced over Srina's shoulder towards the city below for a moment, then turned back to Srina. Voph pulled something from his belt. A blaster. He held it up briefly, for Srina to see, then tucked it away. "Should she come unarmed."

Voph's brow furrowed as he watched Srina. Were he a different being, he might have asked her to remove the mask so that he could inspect the bandages underneath. But being Miraluka had its advantages. "Your wounds seem to be healing nicely. In spite of your best efforts." Not that he could say anything. Were Prenn to find out he'd survived a bomb, and was already back out in the field... He forced his mind to focus on the present. If only because someone was coming...

 

[Anne Markel]

'Coruscant Underworld'​

Time - Then​

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Oh, Coruscant, the planet of cities which stretched as far as anyone could see. Skyscrapers stretching both vertically up.. and down. While from above, this planet gleamed as this mirage of hope and business in the galaxy, likewise, like an iceberg.. the real size of the world laid out of view. Nevertheless, that underside is where Anne made her living, and her life. Robbing, stealing, smuggling, and then stealing again for the hell of it just because down there.. there was no law, or an effective one as of that. However, for Anne this planet was no longer going to stay as the 'city prison' she knew it as for long. Today, she had her big opportunity to get off world, finally.

Moreover, it was early morning in the Coruscant underside, vendors were just opening, and most cantinas down in the underworld were only simply getting ready to serve their 'breakfast' portions, saying it was early was an understatement. Nevertheless, it was 'go time' as to say as Anne made her way out of her old ragged apartment fully geared up with her tight jumpsuit and leather jacket. Along with her new blaster pistol she had only received a day ago from one of those underworld black market vendors.. real trustable folk to say the least. Now, before she was to meet with her 'employers' she had some business to conclude down in the underworld, of course not necessary.. but who was Anne not to back down from something.

Anne arrived at the meet up point.. it was a small warehouse in the underworld, the typical black market spice warehouse, typical stuff. However, it was starting to appear strange on how nobody was around, it was as if.. it was a- "Welcome Anne! I see you have arrived.. To sad we ca-" In that moment the silhouetted figure would be shot in an instant, Anne was not in the mood nor had the time to here the typical monologue from these underbelly gangsters and bounty hunters who came after here.. she had a date with destiny and simply needed to mark some things off her metaphorical 'bucket list'.

As Anne collected some credits from the dead bounty hunters body she smiled, realizing.. this was the big change for her. She's finally putting down the old Coruscant dog and moving on in life, getting rid of her old ties and connections on this forsaken world. With no haste at all then Anne looked up after collecting the credits and any other valuables of the hunter's corpse and left for the exit, finding his speeder, left behind. "Well.. I don't believe he will be needing this baby anymore" Anne with that started the engine and took off for the rendezvous area, Coruscant, upper city, absolute clock tower.

'Coruscant, Absolute Clock-Tower'​

Time - Now​

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The speeder had finally touched down at the designated landing area for the 'smuggler' to arrive, Anne of course ditched the keys in the stolen speeder and holstered her pistol heading for the structure. She of course made sure to fix herself up, cleaning up her hair as much as she could and dusting her old leather jacket off. While, she might've been a bit new to all of this, she was no amatuer and knew how to conduct a proper interview with people.. maybe no 'royals' but, hey, charisma is the key they say.

Anne gladly followed with the humanoid droid to the turbo-lift which took her to the meeting room, being in awe of the machinery and cleanliness of the simple elevator.. compared to what she came from this was simply golden.

Finally, the Smuggler arrived at the floor, she was simply in aw of the room, while it might've not have been the biggest and the best to the 'royals'.. this was everything to this poor smuggler girl from the under city.

Anne would approach [member="Voph"] and [member="Srina Talon"], nervous of course, however, those nerves were only around sence well.. these two could possibly change her life forever.

"Greetings.. I apologize for the wait.. I had, a bit of an encounter before my journey here, Nevertheless I thank you for your audience"

It was painfully obvious she was really trying to move out those large words, really trying to 'fit in' to say the least or make a good picture at least.

"I have to ask however, what did you two need with a.. well, me?.. my contractor didn't entirely inform me on the details" She asked in confusion of this, however not intending to seem rude.

 

[Srina Talon]

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Location: Coruscant - Galactic City - [Absolute Clock Tower]​

Tag: [member="Voph"] | [member="Anne Markel"]​

Mercurial eyes fixated on the hooded man with an expression that would be entirely unreadable. Had he retained his sight, in the traditional sense, he might have even been troubled by it. Something had changed within the pale woman since Kuat. Whereas she had always retained her own form of justice, a sense of morality all her own, anything that made her approachable, rather, anything that made her human seemed to have died. Her Master had lost his life, temporarily, exchanging it for her own.

Her fiancée, husband, was in a coma. Sleeping, peacefully—But so far from her that she could not hear his mind. She could not see his dreams, she could not feel him, and her it left her world was trapped in darkness. Her desires were selfish. Yet, she would see him restored. No matter the cost.

“The current bearing of this world is meaningless. Even before the Great War the lower levels of Coruscant were known to be a godless place. Casualties of this transaction should remain minimal, provided, none choose to stand in my way.”

The voice that fell from the ivory creatures’ lips did not belong. It was elegant, certainly. It was everything that one might expect from an Echani, though, there was a layer of steel wrapped around it. Gone was the woman who had spoken passionately about finding non-violent means to deal with the Inquisition of the New Republic. The softness that had been left in her heart, perhaps, due to her impending marriage with a Jedi had all but eroded away.

Srina frowned, almost imperceptibly, when it was noted that their guide had yet to arrive. She nodded her head at the weapon that Voph briefly presented. It would do. For now. If they needed much more than a few blasters the Exarch of the Confederacy had feeling their travels would result in a blood bath. The High Chancellor wouldn’t like that, though, she could make a case that she was doing the ruling power of Coruscant a favor. Taking out the trash. Removing, the undesirables.

The white-haired female looked away when Voph commented on her injuries. He, more than anyone, knew of the still mottled flesh that lay behind a mask and layers of silk. Srina took his words in stride. She did not like to be reminded of her weaknesses, nor, her failures. Not when the price of advocating for peace had taken that which she loved most. “They will mend in time. I cannot do nothing. I will not—”

Her words were cut off when the HRD they had left to collect their new friend announced her arrival. The robotic frame, customized, to appear organic was brief. Her stare would remain piercing whilst they surveyed this [member="Anne Markel"], lovely, with auburn hair and eyes of melted chocolate. Srina had always been severe, to a fault, and brushed past the apology as if it had never existed. If she minded that the woman late it wouldn’t be apparent. Instead, she moved forward, her footsteps soundless, while she circled the slightly shorter female. “She will suffice.”

Those words were Voph. Permission, for him to arm her, as well as a signal that the mission would continue onward.

“We require a guide through the Red Corridor. There are two objects I will not be leaving Coruscant without. The DarkNet has been advertising an auction where the first will held, obviously, for sale. I have the entry for the auction, but we will require your knowledge of the undercity to find out the coordinates of the meet. The second item will be with one of the patrons of the auction. It is a datacard that holds software that cannot be found anywhere else in the Core.”

“We will be liberating the datacard from the owner’s custody against his will at the conclusion of the event.”

It seemed simple enough. The Exarch brought her hand in the air and touched her holo-comm and from it sprung a projection of the items she was looking for, the lot number, and the image of the cellular engineer and scientist. It listed timeframes, clues to the location of the auction, pricing, and a fairly comprehensive list of the security measures they may encounter. It would be clear that whatever the end goal she had, research and manpower had been preemptively involved. Mostly, by less than legal means. “For your services, you will be paid most generously. Your silence is a requirement. We never left this room. We were never at the auction—and we certainly won’t leave anyone alive to contradict that statement.”

It was easy for Srina to hide in plain sight. While she did, technically, stand out—Echani women were all the same. Most of them looked so identical that even the closest friends sometimes had to take a second glance. She also, would be withholding her given name. “You may refer to me, for now, as Omnia.”

It was the name of her Sith persona that her Master had bequeathed her. In this, it was fitting.

The information in the projection changed. From there it formed a series of numbers. A lengthy series of numbers. It would take the eyes a moment to adjust, to realize, it was the payment that Anne would receive. Perhaps, there were too many zeroes on the end for such a simple operation? No. For this? There was just enough. “You will be paid half now, should you agree, and half when the job is complete.”

The hologram flickered out.

“Accept or decline, Ms. Markel. It is your choice…But you must decide now.”

 

[Kyyrk]

Location: Coruscant, Galactic City, Absolute Clock Tower, Sunset
Equipment: In signature
Tags: [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Anne Markel"]

Voph's brow knit together with concern. He could see the Exarch's visage well enough. But he could see more than what details her face betrayed. Voph shared more with the Echani people than his ghostly hair. He shared their keen sense of other beings. The way they moved. The way they talked. Voph wouldn't admit it, but he was worried about her. Deeply. He knew all too well what it was like to lose things. A planet. A people. A loved one. It was the heart of Voph's being. His very drive to do good for those around him. To ensure that everyone within his reach would never suffer as he had.

This was why he had kept himself busy lurking near the Exarch. He could feel her pain. And he could embrace it far better than most. Voph turned as Srina did, looking towards the doorway. So this was...Anne. He watched her quietly, the cloth wrappings over where his eyes should have been providing a...disturbingly piercing gaze. In spite of his blindness, it seemed as though he could see right through Anne.

He folded his hands at the small of his back as Srina briefed the girl on their objective. He towered over them both, easily a foot taller than Srina, the next tallest. His build was that of a bruiser. A fighter. A warrior. His blindfold framed by loose strands of white hair, the scars across his face hinting at battles and campaigns Anne could only dream of. But there was...more... The man seemed to radiate...strength. Resolve. Valor. Before her stood...not a man, but a General. One who had seen more wars than his otherwise youthful features would suggest. And yet underneath it all, there was a cold edge to him. Professional.

He glanced towards Srina, internally wishing she'd mentioned the codename to him before, but...well he'd not found himself in the position he had held before for no reason. "The girl is armed already, Omnia. She'll not be needing our support." Voph turned to look at the girl. "Once we are within the auction, I will be able to ascertain the location of our target, and ensure he does not...escape."

Voph glanced to Srina for a moment, then turned back to Anne. He bowed stiffly, introducing himself by a code of his own. An old name. Spoken in an equally old language. "Dvasia." Unlike Srina, Voph did not have the luxury of using his Sith Title. Not when such was already ingrained into his being. Besides, he had forsaken Darth years ago. Truth be told, he did not know why he clung to such an...infernal name. But he could wonder of such things later. For now, there was work to be done...