Private Ready or Not

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily was clutching at straws and she knew it, but her search had to start somewhere, and why not on the planet where her whole life had been turned on its head. Faldos was where she had met Malum, she wondered how her path might have differed if she hadn't. Would she have sat atop the roof of the pilgrims rest, shovelling ramen into her face and watching a cargo ship being loaded with supplies for Bailiff Station?

Probably not. Though, she imagined with her skillset there was a tiny possibility she could have been, she was, after all, a thief and a good one at that.

She'd been here for a week already, under the guise of a social visit to some unnamed friend while she took in the food at the local restaurants. That had been the thing she had missed most, sampling different delicacies on the planets she visited. There was a buzz about her, a thrill of excitement for the adventure that lay before her, even if it meant that Malum would likely completely lose his mind and never let her out of his sight again.

Lily cared little for the danger she was about to place herself in, not for any arrogance or belief that she was immune to it, but simply because she was doing what needed to be done. She slurped the last of the soup from the bowl directly, before dropping back into the ship. Her natural talent for staying hidden, amplified by her tattoo had made it easy for her to listen in to conversations between the spaceports hands and determine the ship would be leaving in the next hour.

All she had to do was stow away, easier said than done, perhaps, but she was an expert at that too. Dropping the bowl into the galley as she passed, she checked she had everything she needed before disembarking the Pilgrim’s Rest and sealing her shut she headed into the cool night, towards the cargo ship where she would find herself a perfect little hiding spot amidst the many crates.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

As was usual the streams of vessels moving from Faldos and up to the station in orbit was constant and steady, even if said vessels weren't forced to dock at the Bailiff for inspection or to deliver something then they still had to pass by it in order to leave the system. A symbol of the Inquisition's authority and presence on the world, as though the outposts and checkpoints every few blocks and in front of every government building weren't enough of a constant reminder all on their own.

The will of the Lord Inquisitor existed in almost every corner and corridor, down every alley and across every street, a looming presence that was made physical when one peered up to see Bailiff station above. Yet the station was no simple watcher, it was still in need of material and personnel alike after all. Whether it be supplies, recruits, officers, or other such cargo, the supply line to and from the station was essential and a few hangars and portions of the spaceport had even been dedicated entirely to that purpose.

As such it wouldn't take long for Lily's chosen vessel to begin the journey towards the station in orbit, tucked away amidst crates that were as varied as they were numerous. Technicians would come and go throughout the short trip but given that all cargo had already been accounted for there was no real threat of the stowaway's discovery mid-flight. It would be when the ship reached its destination that the danger would arrive.

The trip was short, with the cargo ship soon enough finding a place in one of the hangars that dotted the station. Once the landing gear and docking clamps were attached properly the unloading would begin in earnest, a mixture of workers and a few heavy duty droids would start pulling crates out onto small repulsor carts. The work was busy and active but in said activity lay the potential to blend in just enough to slip through and escape the hangar into the rest of the station.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily felt for the first time in a long time, like she was back where she belonged, tucked away in the shadows of dozens of crates as the work began in earnest to unload, she moved along the cargo holds edge hovering close to the landing ramp keeping out of sight until a large replusor lift, stacked high with crates passed her.

Using it for cover, she dashed from her hiding spot dropping off the edge of the landing ramp and tucking into the shadow of the ship where she could get a better assessment of her surroundings.

The hanger was a bustle of activity, making ut easy to slipmthrough unnoticed, light on her feet, and using crates and general movement of the cargo around her slshe made her way out of the hangar. It would be herebthat would be her biggest issue. She didn't exactly blend in with the personell on board.

She had a lan though, find an access point from which she could get a map, and then find her way into the ventilation systems.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

The hallway outside the hangar wasn't too dissimilar to the usual stations and other such installations, in fact the design would be very familiar to anyone that had set foot within a facility of the former Sith Empire. Stark walls with the occasional light and branching hall would encompass the majority of it. Groups of workers and droids were more dispersed here, moving about with purpose and destination rather than actually pausing to work on anything.

Being spotted would be easier but the occasional archway and unused hallway would provide just enough cover in a pinch. Not far down the hall from the hangar would be another opening, what appeared to be some sort of cargo hub as it were given the multitudes of crates and equipment to move them that occupied most of the wide open room. A warehouse of sorts really.

This would be the first place where guards could be seen with Inquisitorial Troopers manning a few select elevator and hallway entrances around the room. The traditional means of entering the station further appeared to be all be guarded. Thankfully amidst the hustle and bustle of new cargo being brought in and old shifted around, no one seemed to pay any heed to the occasional terminals that littered every few columns of stacked crates. Devices meant for inventory no doubt but also ones meant for helping with the flow of goods and overall logistical upkeep.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily kept to the shadows where she could, tucking into alcoves and trusting her tattoo to protect her from eyes that might swing her way. For those that did look, it would be like their eyes could quite focus, they would slide away from her. Tucked into one of these alcoves, she marked the location of the guards mentally, chewing her lip in thought. She could teleport to the other side of the door, but teleporting with no real sight or understanding of what waited on the other side was stupid, even for her.

No, for this she would have to rely on the oldest tricks in the books of breaking and entering. Slipping into the warehouse she made her way cautiously to one of many terminals in sight. Glancing over her shoulder to be sure she wasn't being watching she began to access it, it wasn't encrypted, why would it be, there was no real damaging information here. A manifest of cargo, designated locations and movement times.

Careful not to become to absorbed and loose sight of her surroundings, Lily skimmed through the locations until she found the command centre. the good moving there were limited, after all what did you need in a command centre besides people and small equipment. The would be where she'd need to go, but somehow, she didn't think she'd be getting there in a box. Getting close though?

That she could do.

She stepped away from the terminal, moving to watch the movement of crates again, noting that the heavy lifting was being done by droids who were mostly unsupervised. That made life a little easier, simple programming for movement of good meant getting out of a crate before it reach its destination would be easy so long as she could see her surroundings.

One more check of the terminal to confirm the next round of good moving into the station, and she weaved her way through the crates till she found what she needed. Carefully opening the lid Lily climbed inside, and pulled the lid back on, jamming it open with on of the datapads inside, granting her a peephole a few millimetres wide.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Between the hustle and bustle of the logistical work and her own tricks, Lily was able to slip to and from the terminal without so much as an extra glance in her direction. The workers and technicians seemed exceptionally busy at the moment and not in any way that implied that this was the usual state of affairs. Most of the cargo that they were working with, at least at the moment, consisted of weapons and equipment as well as supplies and armor. Nothing too out of the ordinary but the sheer amount as well as the somewhat frantic nature of their work did make it seem as though they were hastily preparing for something.

It almost seemed as though they had just been told to ready themselves for a war.

Thankfully the droids held no such panic nor extra attention in their work, simply lifting and moving crates as was needed and ordered by their technicians. The crate that Lily had stowed herself into was no different in that regard and it was soon picked up by one of the loading droids and moved to an elevator alongside some other cargo destined for the upper levels.

Two workers and another droid stepped onto the elevator as well before the gate around it closed and it began to ascend, with the peephole being able to provide vision of the pair as one of them checked something on his datapad and the other fished something from his pockets and slid it into his mouth. "Nervestick already Jovalles?" The worker with the datapad asked with a chuckle as the other shrugged.

"I need something to take the edge off. Only three hours in today and already we've had to load and unload a dozen fething freighters. Since when were we even producing so much crap anyway?" The disgruntled worker idly gestured back to the crates behind them but neither man turned as they continued, the droid simply letting out a few beeps here and there. "Well orders from on high came down and everyone's been whipped into shape. Some of the Troopers say that the Lord Inquisitor himself put in the order for it all. Something about a 'crusade' or whatever."

The other worker noticeably tensed at the mention of their superior and glanced around a moment before he responded. "That guy gives me the creeps. Does he really wear a mask like, all the time? Think he needs it or is it just a Sith thing?" His coworker shrugged and kept typing away on his datapad. "No idea. I heard a rumor one time that he doesn't actually show up sometimes and just sends a double in his stead, with a mask and robes like that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference all that much. So that might be the reason."

"So...is he here today then? Like, actually him?" This time the droid responded first with a series of affirmative beeps and clicks. "Oh you've got to be fething kidding me. And we have to deliver all this stuff with him around? What if we drop a crate or something and he cuts one of our heads off?!" The worker with the datapad finally looked away from it and gave his coworker a nudge with his elbow. "Hey remember the last time he came down to logistics for a visit? Like, just to visit and make sure we were all working fine? Just do your job and he won't care. Now eyes up and mouth closed, we're almost to the command level."

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Shit.

He was here?

Lily chewed her lip nervously, listening to the conversation between the pair, her heart hammering in her chest. If he was here...if he caught her.... no, she bit down on that fear, swallowed it and took a deep breath. It didn;t matter, she had to try. She had to do something to find Iskey's family. Consequences be damned, she'd faced worse odds in her life and survived to tell the tale, and this time she had more than street smarts and quick wit on her side to help her.

First, she had to trust her instinct, that the crate would be moved to another storage location on the command level. A supply room of sorts she would guess. From there, she could figure out her next move. She shifted carefully within the move as not to disturb its contents of make the weight shift so much the droid carrying her might notice and peered through the gap she'd granted herself as the turbo lift opened. She extended herself in the force, listening for a shift in mood, a spark of suspicion, anything that might give her away as she skimmed along the minds of those they passed telepathically.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

The tension of the workers was palpable even before Lily reached out through the Force, their body language evidently anxious as the droid followed behind them with the crate that served as her hiding place. The officers and staff of the command level were more relaxed but no less busy than their counterparts in the lower levels had been, with ensigns and technicians moving around and talking amongst themselves in a flurry of action as the workers and droid moved by them.

Some of the officers were excited, mainly the lower ranking ones, and often seemed to be talking about 'coming opportunities to prove themselves' while the technicians and more senior staff were too busy making sure that the flow of resources and duties throughout the station was running smoothly. Everyone was noticeably on their best behavior but the actual presence of their Lord Inquisitor was vague and not present.

At least, not anywhere near the storage room that Lily was unintentionally brought into. "Just set it right there, the staff can get to it whenever. We've still got three more levels to deliver to." With a little beep of acknowledgement the droid set down the crate amidst the shelves and other such containers before dutifully following the two workers out of the room. It was a cramped little thing, just meant to hold datapads and emergency equipment such as welders or extinguishers, but it was barren of any other activity for the moment and close enough to the alcoves that line the halls of the station that a quick peek outside wouldn't draw too much attention.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily sat still as a statue after the droid left, listening both in the force and with her own ears till she was certain all she could hear was her own heartbeat and the soft hum of activity beyond the store room doors. With a grunt of effort, more from the awkwardness than actual weight of it, she lfited the lid free from above her head, climbing out of the container and setting it back into place.

Past Lily might have stolen one of whatever was in the crate just for the sake of it, but Malum had made sure those days were long behind her, besides, she had more important things to do today. Silent steps brought her to the storeroom door, the handle of which she twisted slowly till it clicked open and she moved to peer through the gap she had created. It seemed for the most part clear, so she pulled the door open a little wider, seeking a sense of her location.

She was on the command level she knew that much, but where would she get information from here without being out in the open? She chewed her lip nervously, she couldn't disappear like Malum could, he'd not taught her that trick. Perhaps she would be able to find a uniform she could steal to allow her to blend in.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Seemingly for ease of access given the constant influx of personnel and staff, many of the doors and halls had labels which would give some indication of direction and purpose. While there wasn't an obvious map to be found it was clear that Lily found herself in an area of the command center which bordered the officer's quarters given the room names around her. One which stood out in particular was that of the Lord Inquisitor's office itself, a lone door at the end of the long hallway with seemingly no other connecting rooms whereas the other end of the hallway led deeper into the command level.

Towards the Inquisitor's office there was little to no signs of activity aside from the occasional cleaning droid moving over the floor in front of it, the other end of the hall serving as the main focus it seemed. Duos and small groups of officers and ensigns could be seen moving about, discussing matters at hand with clearly no worry about any eavesdroppers.

There were mentions of fleet movements and compositions, readying the most outlying outposts in case of retreat, even talks of cutting off hyperlanes to slow advances. There were plenty of other topics as well but all conversations died down as the intercoms across the command level sudden clicked to life. :"All command personnel report to the command center for briefing. All command personnel report to the commander center for briefing.": And just like that the flurry of activity shifted to movement alone as talks died down into hushed whispers amidst the resounding marching of boots heading towards what must have been the center of the level.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily flattened herself against the wall as the announcement cracked through the speakers above her head, tucking herself out of site of the sudden flurry of movement, none of them noticed the store room door had been left open, their focus was entirely on following orders. Only when the sound of boots died away further down the corridor did she dare to look out again.

There was no way she was this lucky, was there? An empty corridor with a clear path to the Lord Inquisitors office. It smelt like a trap, but how could he possibly be able to place a trap for her when he not only had little idea who she was, besides another wayward cousin of Malum with some telepathic abilities, but also how could he possibly know that she would even dare come here.

She inched her way out of the storeroom, checking her surroundings as if expecting someone or something to jump out from behind a door, but there was nothing. She allowed herself the briefest smile of triumph before moving for the Inquisitors door. Her hand poised over the doors controls when a tingling sensation ran up her spine. If she touched the controls and they were sensitive to finger prints, or perhaps rigged to alert its usual occupant when someone uninvited entered, everything would be over.


She took half a step back and surveyed the door. Her fingers tugged what appeared to be a silver baton from her waist and she took a breath forcing herself to relax. She could do this. she had to do this. Lily didn't need to see the whole room to teleport just behind the door. A final glance over her shoulder and the corridor folded around her in a twist of grey as she vanished from sight.

And reappeared just inside the door of Darth Strosius 's office.

 

[Darth Strosius]

The station took on an eerie silence and calm without the activity of the staff and personnel, the halls brightly lit and clean but somehow so very dreadful and pitiless at the same time. An odd yet potent dichotomy of the potential threat that the silence would be broken whilst at the same time a grim potential that it might last forever with no interruption at all. Neither option would be particularly comforting. It would easily put any on edge, especially those that were not meant to be there.

When Lily managed to navigate her way into the room, thankfully not having to bother with whatever security systems were in place to keep it secured, it too held a stillness that was all too unsettling. Unlike the hallway however the office was dark and rather bare of objects or architecture of interest, a viewport that made up the rear wall being the only source of light to illuminate the desk that occupied the rear center of the room. Comfortable looking yet fairly unremarkable set of chairs were arrayed around the black desk, three in front and one behind it.

The only difference between them being that what must have been the Lord Inquisitor's chair rose up slightly higher, the back support forming a dual pointed silhouette that would rest either behind or just barely above the occupant's head. The desk itself was a mixture of a darkened metal and glass, as well as a plethora of displays and controls that would be common for any commander's seat on a bridge to serve as their terminal. There were what appeared to be incense burners in each corner as well, made up of the same dark metal as the desk but these ones being far more ornate in their design, however they were inactive at the moment.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily didn't move the unnatural stillness in the room set her instantly on edge, her eyes scanning every shadowed corner, like a deer who'd caught the scent of a predator. The office was surprisingly unremarkable, it lacked the lavishness or decorations that she had come accustomed to seeing among the sith. She was certain that the distinct lack of personal touch was adding to her uneasiness. When her eyes could produce no threat she took a step forward and froze again, as if waiting for a tripped trap to fire off.

Another step, and then another until she dashed to the otherside of the desk. Her eyes watching the door for a moment, straining to listen. She had no idea how much time she had, the more she paused, the less she would have. She shook herself, setting the silver baton down on the desk, the phrik ringing slightly as she did. She settled herself in the chair eyeing the terminals in front of her, unsure for a moment where to start before settling on the one most centred, and began to flick through the information at hand.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Thankfully for the young interloper, there would be no trap or alarm to trip it seemed. For most the location and the typical occupant of the office were more than enough to keep most prying eyes and ears at bay, something that evidently the Inquisition must have been counting on. Were it not for their currently frantic state then perhaps the room would indeed have been more guarded and formidable but with so much activity there was simply none that could be spared at the moment it seemed.

The chair was rigid yet as comfortable as one might expect, clearly not as used as often as one might think. The terminal in the center accepted her touch without much resistance, displaying what must have been a somewhat live overview of the station in terms of ship traffic. Dozens were still arriving and leaving either to load or unload cargo, sometimes both, so much so that the display was somewhat dizzying.

That particular display was easily dismissed however and instead brought up a log of inbound and outbound manifests of what must have been the aforementioned ships. Most were either going to or from Faldos or Formos with a handful being sent out to various other scattered outposts and installations. What stood out however were three freighters which had apparently left the station two hours earlier, all having the same unnamed destination. It was simply a set of coordinates, all approved by the Lord Inquisitor himself rather than the control tower like all the rest.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

More manifests, none of them with anything of particular interest, all with destinations one would expect. She shifted in the uncomfortable chair, forgetting herself for the moment as she read, tucking her leg up underneath herself, scrolling endlessly until she found something that made her shift forward. She pulled up a map on a second terminal entering the coordinates to find them oddly...empty.

Whatever was there, the Lord Inquisitor had gone to great lengths to hide it. She slid a datastick from the inside of her pocket and slid it into the slot, copying the details as she dug a little deeper, so engrossed in her work she forgot that she was alone...that she had no look out...no one to watch her back or warn her when trouble was coming.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Despite the initial layers of blank and misleading data with enough persistence one could find records of multiple freighters coming to and from those seemingly empty coordinates, usually once every two weeks. Such frequency in transports hinted at some sort of installation or base that was being supplied and yet there was no such thing listed. Finally though Lily would be ably to find the earliest, and seemingly the first, record of a vessel moving to those coordinates.

The Star Destroyer Indomitable had left Faldos a few weeks ago, made a brief stop at Jutrand, and then had made haste to that set of coordinates before being subsequently reported still stationed at the Bailiff despite its absence being obvious. It had never left those coordinates, instead seemingly still located in what appeared to be a rather turbulent nebula that only one narrow hyperlane seemed to have penetrated.

"Ah, I knew I should have pushed for those motion sensors to be installed sooner."

All at once the terminal clicked off as though an unseen hand had switched the power off, the room filling with a chilling presence as a figure stood in the doorway with his arms crossed behind his back. Darth Strosius, illuminated by the lights of the hallway behind him, leered at the woman sat in his chair and took a step inside. "You look...familiar." He noted as he closed the door with a subtle twitch of his wrist and stepped forward. "You're related to the Marrs in some way are you not?"

He cocked his head to the side, his curious tone taking on a sinister note as the incense burners suddenly flickered to life to bathe the room in the scent of wood smoke and herbs. An oddly calming scent given that the masked man was peering at her like a predator would do to its prey. "Has Malum sent you into my den hm? One little infiltrator. He seems to have forgotten who I trained under..." The Lord Inquisitor mused, almost to himself alone, as he extended a hand forward as the chair slowly started to raise up into the air. "A shame that you have to pay for his insolence...but oh well."

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

The datastick vanished, slipping up her sleeve the moment the first syllable left his lips, as her other hand snatched the baton back up from the table. Her eyes darted once to the corridor behind him, her heart in her throat.

Feth.

Fethohfethohfeth.

The door closed as he stepped inside and Lily felt her mouth go dry, her gaze flicking around the room for another exit, maybe an air vent? Even if she could find one, there was no way she could make it to one in time.

She could teleport...

His words snapped her gaze back to him, a defiant glare replacing fear, even as the incense burners flickered to life.

"Malum doesn't send me anywhere." She spat back at him, furious that he would make such a suggestion, like her cousin had any power over her whatsoever. "I came here because I wanted to."

She jumped slightly as the chair moved beneath her raising her a few inches from the floor, she promptly slid from it. "Can't say I'm surprised you'd jump to that conclusion though. You'll take any excuse you can get to hurt innocent people."

Another flick of her gaze to the door as she slowly began to gather the force around her. She could travel back to her own ship...it would hurt but...

The more she stood in front of him, the more she stared at the damn mask, the more she saw the moment Iskendyr looked at her, his realisation turning into disgust, disappointment and pain.

Anger bubbled in her chest.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Is that so?" Now his curiosity was very much piqued. He had expected that Malum would try and undercut or undermine his operations in some way, more than likely in some attempt to avoid or invalidate the coming Kaggath that he had issued, but if he hadn't made such a command then a new question arose.

Why exactly was she here? There was but one way to find out he supposed.

She easily slipped out of the chair so he simply set it aside with a wave of his hand, his other crossing behind his back as his lightsaber began sliding down his sleeve. He could sense some anger and power starting to stir within the woman before him and he had no intentions of being caught on the back foot if she were to lash out before he did.

"Innocent?" Darth Strosius chuckled, a dark humor and malicious mirth present as he spoke. "Clearly you mustn't know me very well. If they find themselves at the end of my ire and blade, then they aren't innocent." It was a simple statement made with enough vitriol and determination that he almost spat the words out. "Take for example, someone sneaking into a military installation and trying to steal information there."

The hand behind his back suddenly lashed out to the side, the crimson blade hissing to life as his already outstretched hand crackled with lightning. He leveled the blade towards her but still made no move to approach, as though testing to see her reaction. As though he was toying with her.

"So, pray tell, if you're not here on Malum's behalf then why are you here? Speak quickly and honestly and I might reconsider your punishment."

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Run.

That should've been her first instinct, it had always been her first instinct when caught. Escape. Run. Live to fight another day, but what had that gotten her? Besides keeping her alive, she'd done nothing but survive her whole life, live from one day to the next, never taking a moment to care about others, to do something more.

Iskendyr had been her future. He had given her something more to look towards besides survival and this masked man...this sith, had taken that from her. Her inaction had taken it from her. "Right, because the grandchildren of your enemy carry the sins of those who came before them." she replied sarcastically.

Her eyes flicked from the crimson blade to the lightening crackling in his hand. Her mouth went dry, a flicker of fear passing across her face, only to be replaced by determination as she set her feet in a defensive stance, thumb depressing on the phrik baton, extending it into a quarterstaff with hiss.

"Go fuck yourself." she spat in response.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"You mean the infiltrators of a foreign and unknown power that just so happen to be related to someone that had so recently proven herself an opponent to the Sith?" He cocked his head to the side, his tone dry and pitiless. It did well to disguise his interest more so than anything else however, for what use would she have of the Raaf children?

"It is my duty as Lord Inquisitor to safeguard our Order from such threats, no matter where or who they come from. If they choose to use children as their pawns then so be it." Of course he had no real need to justify his actions but he was very curious as to what the woman's response might be, for it would aid in determining why exactly she had come and why she seemed to care about his actions regarding the Raaf children.

A simple bleeding heart or 'moral' concern wouldn't be enough to propel her into her current position so there had to be more to it. And he intended to find the core of the issue, even if she wasn't going to back down and comply with his demands. "How eloquent." He noted with a slight incline of his head before he suddenly sprang forward.

Darth Strosius lashed out at the quarterstaff with his lightsaber, seeking to either simply bash the weapon apart or simply occupy it as his free hand was thrust forward. It seemed as though he was going to try and grab her by the throat but without warning lightning arced between his fingers and was unleashed at her long before he ever got within range to get ahold of her.

Lily Rhodes