Pulchritudo

[Natalie LaForte]

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*WANTED*

FEMALE MODEL FOR PRIVATE ENDEAVORS

PAYMENT OF 5000 CREDITS + ADDITIONAL TRAVEL EXPENSES

CONTACT melody@imf.com FOR MORE INFORMATION

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Natalie would be lying if she said that this wasn't her who posted this advertisement. For now, she was going under the guise of her A.I companion, although she truly wanted to present this idea to her board of directors to encourage them and show them that she isn't the child who set this company up around 6 years ago. Now, she wanted to show them that she had redeemed herself, not just financially, but from her dark past of supplying weapons to the Sith Ascendancy, who was now going under the title of the Sith Empire, but in actual fact, they were mostly the same. The same twisted dementors still ran it as they did when she was 16.

Fashion had been a hobby of hers from the age of 12, and since she majored in Art, with her final collaboration being focused on fashion and its gradually changing influence on culture and how we view our identities, but that's a story for another day. Now, she was looking for a model who would be willing to give her professional, or unprofessional, opinion on what could go up on the runway. Currently, Natalie was working in solitude, she believed that surrounding herself with idiots who had no knowledge on the topic would prove to be unproductive.

That's also the reason why she was in a basement in Mygeeto, hoping somebody would respond to her advertisement.

[member="Stephanie Swail"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Cross legged, hair braided back, fingers swiping through the Holo-Net. Stephanie Swail had little else to occupy her time away from Silver Jedi duty now, and training with Master Kitra. She had no real friends, no real social life. Nothing to distract her from the life of a Jedi Padawan. So, when the lights went down and the moon came up over Voss, she took herself away to her small ground floor residency and browsed news and social media across the galaxy.

Seeing what exciting Pod-races were coming to a system near hers. Seeing who was visiting planets in the Silver Jedi sector of noble standing. Seeing how the war against the darkness was going.

It hurt to see First Order propaganda seeing the loss of Ossus and the dissolution of many systems to the West. The Jedi had tried so hard to repel the Order, but they had the upper-hand. There was nothing to be done now to fix it, bar look forward to the next battle and next –

Stephanie saw something and flicked back up.

*WANTED*
FEMALE MODEL FOR PRIVATE ENDEAVORS
PAYMENT OF 5000 CREDITS + ADDITIONAL TRAVEL EXPENSES
CONTACT melody@imf.com FOR MORE INFORMATION

Now, she was no model, nor had she ever seen that side of life. But 5,000 credits and travel? This could be something to broaden her horizons. Make new friends, see the galaxy, bolster the Jedi and be a…poster girl for their efforts?

Cocking her head in thought, she shrugged and keyed in a reply to the address provided.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have seen your advert for…

…she stopped. What did “private endeavours” even mean….? She shook her head and continued.

…a model. I am eager to know more if you can let me know?

I am based out of Voss currently.

Many thanks,

Stephanie Swail

Sent.

Would it matter she was a Padawan of the Jedi? Maybe she didn’t need to say that just yet. It would probably just get lost in cyber-space anyway. She continued to browse and waste more of her night.

[member="Natalie LaForte"]

 

[Natalie LaForte]

Stephanie Swail... where have I heard that name before? Natalie could've swore that she was-... just another name on the deep web. In fact, a quick holonet search only brought back basic information, with nothing other than a photograph that was probably from years back. Regardless, the rest of the 'candidates' for the position who had signed up were only interested in taking Natalie's money and running to deep space with no intention of coming back. This was the last one she could be bothered looking at before closing the entire thing down and spending the rest of her foreboding years in a lesser vampiric state, wasting away for decades to come wondering why people were so mean.

Actually no, if she was going to spend 5000 years in this god forsaken galaxy she was going to make it count.

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To: [member="Stephanie Swail"]
From: Melody (melody@imf.com)

Dear [STEPHANIE SWAIL]

We are very excited that you have responded to our advertisement on such short notice.

Please be aware, candidates can be vetoed by our Directorate at any time during their employment process.

Information for posting [017];

Title: FEMALE MODEL
Payment: 5000 CREDITS + TEMPORARY RESIDENCE + TRAVEL EXPENSES TO [MYGEETO]
Additional information: IMF is looking for a temporary employment contract with a female model. Species required non-specific. You will be working with Chief Executive Officer Natalie LaForte in developing and critiquing creations made by herself. Models will be expected to be present at the studio 8 hours a day with a 1 hour break per day.

If you are interested in this job posting, please head to our Mygeeto branch, where you will be directed further.

Please keep all receipts, digital or on-hand and you will be re-imbursed upon arrival, regardless of whether you are hired at a later stage.

Thank you!

-Melody (melody@imf.com)
The best bot
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[Stephanie Swail]

The message had come at the right time, for Stephanie was close to falling asleep watching the news about the First Order again. She was fascinated and annoyed equally at their war-machine creeping across the stars. If only she was more powerful she could do so much more to stop them and salvage peace.

But, first, model work was the question.

Her eyes flicked down the message. 8 hours a day? Mygeeto? How long would this take? Come on, Steph. Stop over-thinking. Just follow your gut instinct. You will have time for this and more. With a satisfied nod, the Padawan logged off.

The small transport snub was flown from Voss with a Ranger taking Stephanie to the Outer Rim world of Mygeeto to the address provided. With her Hapan gowns, braided hair and soft kiss of make-up to bring out her features, not that she was confident at all, Stephanie played with her Force Spinner to calm her nerves. The Ranger would wait for her return to take her back to Voss and also make sure this was a safe meeting.

Reading and re-reading the message on her com-pad until the ship came down and Stephanie disembarked and walked across a long walkway into a large building complex that reached high into the sky.

She glanced up, holding her satchel tight, and walked through to the front lobby where she asked for a ‘Melody’, with the messages to show as proof of her meeting. The protocol droid acknowledged and turned back to the bank of terminals while Stephanie stood, sighed, and waited.

[member="Natalie LaForte"]

 

[Natalie LaForte]

Little did Stephanie know, Melody wasn't a real person. Well, it was real, just not in a flesh form. And given that Melody hated piloting droids, there was little to no chance that she would be meeting with it. However, the person behind Melody would certainly be present at one of IMF's smaller Mygeeto branches, although she was more interested in keeping this a secret so whenever the droid began searching for the hidden job offer that Natalie had put out, it was almost immediately shut down and in its place the raven haired girl would appear.

"I'm assuming you're... Stephanie? What a pleasure to meet someone not trying to take advantage of me, although I hope I'm not jinxing my optimism." Smiling and then proceeding to the door on her left and walking out to see Stephanie face-to-face in the small reception. "I'm sure you're wondering exactly what you need to do for me to hire you, and the answer is exactly; nothing. Well, nothing for now. For now, I'll transfer the up-front payment, the temporary residence fees and any travel expenses you have if you leave the receipts on the counter. Once you're done that, head on through the door at the back, it's an interview room. I just need to ask you some questions before we can get started."

"Finally, do you have any questions?"

[member="Stephanie Swail"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

With the arrival of her host, Stephanie turned, smiled and extended her hand for a shake, listening to the instructions and requirements.

”Thank you so much, sounds good. I have a transport for me outside so no costs incurred thankfully,” she smiled.

She glanced around the reception area, feeling laid back and happy to answer any questions; to a point anyway. Would her way of life cause a block to any potential progression? Was the life of a Jedi due to be just that and that alone?

”No questions from me, happy to move on when you are.”

[member="Natalie LaForte"]

 

[Natalie LaForte]

Natalie laughed before attempting to grab her hand but pulling her own away from it, awkwardly laughing and then walking towards the interview room.

"Sorry you just... looked like somebody. Also, I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you.. religious, in any way? You won't be discriminated against because of it, it's just a pre-requisite incase there's any potentially harmful materials or depictions used in the outfits you'll be trying on, while on that note, you're not against killing of non-sentient and semi-sentient species for sentient use, I'm assuming. Again, we need to know if we need to synthesize materials to create replicas for you."

"On that note, I believe in transparency with my employees and contractees, so I'm just putting this out there that I'm a converted former Sith and as you can see, I have no interest in going back to that life. I've built a successful business on the back of my mistakes, and at the very least I thank you for considering the offer."

While she didn't know that [member="Stephanie Swail"] was a Jedi, she could tell that at least partially she was force sensitive, so it felt appropriate to bring this up.

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Stephanie laughed with the girl – she didn’t even know her name! – at the awkwardness of that initial first meeting, but soon felt comfortable.

She listened, nodding now and then, shaking her head a little as things didn’t crop up that mattered to her in pursuit of a new, daring hobby. However, the Sith part caused her to double take. It was clear there was a cloud of darkness in the air, but she didn’t think it was from a former Sith.

”I have encountered Sith in my years, and while I am lucky to have escaped with my life, I believe everyone has a chance to be redeemed from the darkness. If you have found it, my faith is in you to maintain such a path.”

Trying to give a confident smile, it was clear truths needed to be aired.

”I am a Jedi Padawan with the Silver Jedi Order. I guess if we are being honest, and if it will affect my being here, then you need to know.” She shrugged. ”I don’t even know your name.”

[member="Natalie LaForte"]

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"Oh I do apologize. I supposed I did use a fake name on that job notice, well, not fake. I won't get into the specifics of it. I'm Natalie, Natalie LaForte. To answer your concern, it won't. And to be honest, interacting with the people I used to have conflict with will probably assist in my redemption to sanity. Assuming you have no issues with th-.. oh just screw it. You're hired. You're the only one who's stayed for a conversation longer than five minutes."

Natalie would bring her body closer to Stephanie's, offering to shake her hand.

"I will admit, it will be.. difficult to see if I can sustain this, though I don't see why I wouldn't be able to."

Well, there was a reason. Natalie used to black out in her days in the Ascendancy, and during those... blackouts; well, bad things happened

[member="Stephanie Swail"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

She got the job? Stephanie smiled, a little nervously, unsure of what world she was getting into. Yet, beyond the cloud of this Natalie girl, there was something else. An inner peace – a desire for good. To be somebody. To do something.

Her hand went back out and took Natalie’s to shake.

”It will be ok,” her voice went a little more soothing and also definite. ”You have taken the right steps to opening yourself to a bigger, better and more rewarding future. I am happy to play a part it in.”

Following a content sigh, Stephanie looked around again, a little nervous. Was this a test? Was she really cut out for this? There was something about Natalie that made her feel she was here for a purpose.

”There’s no conflict between us, either now or tomorrow or the day after. You’re my boss, after all, I guess?”

Another silly chuckle.

It was nice to meet someone else who could smile back and not judge her.

[member="Natalie LaForte"]

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"I sure am, and don't forget it!"

Laughing to herself, perhaps a little too much. Waving her hand as if she was speaking to some mysterious force that Stephanie could not see, she wasn't, of course. That would be a little too weird, even for the raven girl. Overall, Natalie did like [member="Stephanie Swail"], almost like the mother who never supported her in highschool, or the brother that she wished had been born so she could have somebody to confide her deepest secrets in and wouldn't be judged by her silly sister Carina. But of course, the woman looked too young to be her mother, and unless she was doing very good cross dressing would not qualify as a man.

And Natalie didn't want another sister.

"That'll be all for now. Just be here tomorrow for... 4 O'Clock."

Natalie turned away and smiled to herself, proceeding to approach the elevator she appeared out of minutes ago.

 

[Stephanie Swail]

”Four. Got it. I’ll be here.”

The Je’daii were right in some ways. Light. Darkness. Balance. It was all about balance. A Jedi crossing paths with a former Sith and no hostility. Just ranks and duties given to them because of their faiths and beliefs. It was a funny thing that the Orders were more at war than the people doing the fighting.

Natalie was already heading back, a spring in her step.

”Thank you, again!” Stephanie called out.

With a smile, she turned, feeling good about herself. Good progress made. Now, back to being alone in her room on Voss where she had lots to think about and lots of confidence to find before whatever loomed ahead tomorrow…

…could a Jedi really help by being a model?

.... just one of the many questions running through her over-active mind.

[member="Natalie LaForte"]