Scouting the ACA

[Lira Dajenn]

Lira sat in the cockpit of her J-1 Class interceptor, snuggled in tight to the small seat with the ship itself tightly locked into a huge hyperdrive ring. She opened one eye to catch a peek at the controls of the ship, spying that she was only about five minutes out from Chroma Zed. With a yawn, and a slight shrugging stretch Lira managed to right herself in the Interceptors cockpit, kicking a small lever as she pulled herself up.

Luckily said lever controlled only the air conditioning.

She frowned slightly, then righted herself completely in the seat, taking Her flight jacket off herself and throwing it on before quickly strapping herself into the chair. The exit from hyperspace would be quite sudden and jarring, with the Interceptor detaching almost immediately. Those were the protocols for the ship she herself had written, and it ensure pilot safety.

Of course, it wasn't that they were expecting trouble.

Far from it.

Chroma Zed was the closest planet the ACA had to the Republic, a faction that as of yet had remained completely and totally silent towards the Republic, something that they had found oddly suspicious. So to act as scouts, she, newly ordained Knight of the Jedi Order, as well as more experienced Jedi Knight [member="Ryan Korr"] had been sent to scout of the ACA and find out what they could learn.

Of course that required some degree of subtlety, something that as of yet Lira was unsure if Ryan possessed.

Her teaching under Marcello, Ben and Hal had taught her there was a time and place for everything. Ryan however seemed the more...forceful Jedi, with his ideals being rather staunch and forthcoming. While she respected that, Lira thought that perhaps it was not the best on a scouting Mission. She frowned slightly then shrugged.

The J-1 Dropped out of hyperspace with a sudden jerk, several thousand kilometers away from Chroma Zed or any waystations, far enough not to be detected. “Ryan, you make it?”

She immediately called out to her partner over secure comm's.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Meanwhile, Ryan Korr knew next to nothing of his mission partner, nor whether there was some deeper reason for their scouting of the ACA, an act that seemed to be stretching their resources thin when they were already embroiled in a war with the One Sith.

Ryan's Shrike-class Interceptor emerged from an uneventful hyperspace flight.

"Roger, Knight Dajenn, this is Knight Korr," he replied, frowning at the informal use of his first name by the younger Knight. He spotted her sleek J-1 fighter as it detached from its hyperspace ring. "On your left."

The red-haired Jedi pursed his lips as he stared out of the canopy at the view of Chroma Zed. He'd visited the planet once before on a diplomatic mission to the CIS, back before a public relations disaster and leadership changes caused their relabeling. He'd been trying to convince Sophia Walsh to rejoin the Jedi. He sighed through the nose. Failure always tasted bitter.

"What's our approach? You have the con, over."

[member="Lira Dajenn"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

“We'll hit the Northern Side of the Planet. ETA Fifteen Minutes.“ Of course, business business business.

Couldn't talk like a normal person either. She rolled her eyes slightly, then took hands of the J-1's controls. Her ship was considerably faster than Ryans, and she wished he had decided to take one as well, the trip to Chroma Zed would only be a few minutes, but it would be half the time if they both had been flying her vessel.

Plus it was a point of pride.

Locking the Hyperspace ring into place Lira shot off at the appropriate speed, making sure that Ryan went even with her in his ship. She scanned through controls and sensor readings from her ship, trying to log anything important that was incoming. Minutes passed, and eventually they found themselves nearing the planet.

She contacted air control on Chroma Zed and fed them a story of needing supplies and fuel, giving them identification codes that corresponded to Republic Trading Company as well as a false name and transponder frequency. Having no need to be suspicious Air Control forwarded them through and pointed them towards a Spaceport located in the northern section of the planet.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Ryan liked his Shrike interceptor. It was comfortable.

And old.

Exactly the sort of inconspicuous fighter a moderately well off Republic Trading company would have flying escort.

"Copy."

He maintained radio silence as they drew toward the spaceport. Tutelage under Marcello was not one full of windy conversations, though they had had their fare share of introspective philosophizing. He'd grown used to silence, especially in space. The company of another Jedi was not unwelcome, but honestly what would they talk about? The weather on Tython this time of year?

Snorting wryly, he settled the Shrike gently into bay A-441 of the North Chroma Zed Spaceport. The canopy hissed open and the Jedi Knight extracted himself, wearing atypical robes and tabard. He breathed in the smell of the surrounding hangars. Fuel and grease assaulted his nostrils in a familiar way.

Korr looked over to [member="Lira Dajenn"]'s fighter.

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

Lira opened up the cockpit of the interceptor, her head swirling around for a few seconds as if trying to spot something. Her eyes found Ryan only a few meters to her left, and she nodded slightly. Pulling herself from the cockpit Lira made sure that her lightsaber remained well hidden.

Instead of her usual plain white robes slashed with color she had on a simple pair of pants with a blue blouse, her hair was tied up into a ponytail and her lightsaber was hidden away in a cloth slot within a black flight jacket that had been given to her when the J-1 had been introduced into minor production for the Jedi Order.

It looked like a Republic Officers flight jacket, the kind that a nostalgic freelancer might wear.

With a nod to Ryan Lira headed towards the door of the Hangar Bay. Her ship closed behind her and the the locks sealed into place. When Ryan reached her just as she exited the hangar bay Lira cast a glance around the spaceport.

“Two Clicks South, there's a building controlled by ACA. Head office sort of thing. We head there first.” Ryan would know that, he had read the brief, but Lira decided to reiterate anyway.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

"Sounds good."

The tall man, scarred features inscrutable, folded his hands inside his robes and kept pace with his companion as they headed for the Head Office. Seemed they were in for a walk. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Snow-white hair tumbled from her head. Paired with the pale skin, he would have marked her for an Arkanian, but they had milky-white eyes. Hers were a vibrant summer green.

"So..." Ryan began, smirking quietly to himself, "Are you another sufferer of Padawan Shatterstar's advances?"

[member="Lira Dajenn"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

Her eyebrows shot up in response to his question.

Not because of what the question was, but because he said it. Everything that she had heard indicated that Ryan Korr did not do small talk, and that was very much a small talk question. For a moment Lira eyed Ryan, not quite sure how to respond.

She had never heard of Padawan Shaterstar, which was a ludicrous name for a person, nor had she ever been advanced upon by any of the other Padawans. Of course, it helped that she had stayed away from most of them after their little adventure on Korriban where she had discovered most of them to be a bunch of wet blankets.

“Never even heard of him.” Lira said as they cleared the spaceport and entered Chroma Zed proper. “Why? Have you been advanced upon, Knight Korr?”

She shot him a grin.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Events such as watching your closest friends get slaughtered by Sith, getting kicked out of the Order, suffering an Embrace of Pain and being trained by Marcello Matteo were not exactly conducive to a congenial personality. It was something Ryan was actively working on.

Ryan Korr did not do small talk because Ryan Korr did not want to be friends. Ryan Korr did not want to be friends because he did not want to watch friends die.

But, after more scars and battles than he had any wish to live through, Ryan Korr was looking for a reason to keep fighting. He couldn't find one that made sense without friends, even if friends died.
So. Small talk. Ick.

They continued to walk through the magnificent vista of Chroma Zed's northern city. A river cut through the city on their left, flowing down from the mountains which loomed before them in the distance.

"No I don't-" he paused, "Now that you mention it, when I first met him he was doing handstand push ups in the Ossus Temple courtyard. At night. With his shirt off."

[member="Lira Dajenn"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

Lira looked over to him with an amused smile, bright green eyes holding a touch of a look that said 'I told you so', before gazing back towards the street ahead of them. They were making quick progress towards the head office, in the distance she could see the massive office building that was the headquarters.

It was a Corporate Alliance after all.

“Perhaps you should befriend him.” Lira continued to muse, her words very nearly lost in the crowd that was now all around them. “He sounds like a very...”

She paused for a moment as she stopped, a pair of ACA guards walking by then, both droids, both scanning faces. Lira wasn't well known throughout the galaxy, she'd never been on a diplomatic mission or caused an international incident, but nonetheless she pulled Ryan aside and away from the passing patrol, giving him a hug as if they were long time friends, or perhaps more. She did her face, and pulled his away from the direction of the droid.

“Excitable fellow.” She finished as the droids clanked passed them.

Casting a glance towards the guards, she released Ryan from her embrace and turned away, motioning for him to follow along again. The Headquarters were only a mile away now.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Though slightly caught off guard by the sudden hug, Ryan was quick on the uptake. He turned his head so that half his face was hidden in Lira's mane of white hair. She smelled like roses.

They broke apart after the patrol passed.

Thankfully, Ryan was not what one would term excitable. He took the hug as nothing less than what it was, a ploy to hide themselves from the guards. Any other thoughts would be foolish. Besides, the green eyes that showed up in his dreams belonged to another.

They resumed walking.

"Be that as it may," Ryan continued as if nothing had happened, "I'm afraid he's not my type."

The gurgling of the river beside them provided an infinitely more peaceful backdrop than the fading clank-clank of the droid patrol.

[member="Lira Dajenn"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

Lira let her eyes drift over what lay before them. The Corporate Office rose up several stories higher than any other building it's smooth glass surface poking into the air to overlook the rest of the city. She frowned slightly, noting that there was only one visible entrance in the front of the building with two guards standing at either side.

“Oh?” Lira said absently as she surveyed the building.

There was an alley way on either side of the building, looking small but large enough for she and Ryan to squeeze through if they tried. The trouble would be in getting into them unnoticed. Her gaze turned towards the guards, perhaps they would have to distract them somehow.

“Let me guess.” Lira said as she turned away from the building and towards one of the dirtier streets running off of the intersection after the bridge. “You like the wild types. The rabble rousers, the rebels, the girls who cause trouble.”

She gave him a grin, knowing that such personalities were diametrically opposite from Ryan himself. Then she looked into the filthy streets.

Her eyes started to search for something, street kids. Down on their luck teenagers and younger who were looking to make a quick few credits. One couldn't ask for better distraction.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

"It's almost like you can read my mind."

The tall Jedi tucked his arms inside his sleeves in typical Jedi fashion. Storm-grey eyes moved between his white-haired companion and the building they were to infiltrate.

Ryan realized that the woman had somehow turned the conversation on him. He knew no more of her than he had at the start of their walk. Blasted socializing. Useless.

His roving eyes alighted on a gang of kids playing shock ball in the street several dozen meters to their right.

[member="Lira Dajenn"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

Lira shrugged “I'm a very talented Jedi.”

She said the words quietly, as not to be overheard, then she spotted the group of Kids that Ryan had seen as well. She grinned slightly, and then dug into her pocket. From it she pulled about a hundred credits, enough to pay a few of the kids to move their little game out into the open, enough to send that ball somewhere else.

“Oi!” She called to the kids. Almost immediately a few of them scattered, one stupidly ran towards her and Ryan.

Her eyes opened wide, and with the reflexes of a cat she caught the young lady by the scruff of her coat, holding her in place for a few seconds before she managed to yell at them to calm them down.

“Hey hey hey! Relax!” The kid struggled for a moment, throwing a punch towards Ryan. “Wanna earn some easy money?”

The girl stopped flailing, her eyes grew big and she looked up at Lira.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Ryan grew momentarily anxious. Some of the Jedi in the Order had unusual... methods. He relaxed as he saw Dajenn offer the girl credits.

Hmm, what are you planning?

Obviously it had to do with a distraction, but what? Would the child pretend to puke? Call for help? Pick their pockets? Throw rocks? Whatever it was, Ryan hoped it wouldn't blow back on the young one, for more reasons than the headline: Jedi Get Young Girl Arrested.

Retaining a slightly skeptical air, Ryan contented himself with observing [member="Lira Dajenn"]. The mission had been her idea. And her title as Knight was so new it squeaked. Watching her win her spurs was enjoyment enough. As he'd said, she had the con.

[member="Lira Dajenn"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

The girl stared up at Lira for a few more moments, eyes bewildered in skepticism.

“Easy, money. One Hundred credits to play a little game of cat and mouse.” The kids wouldn't be in huge amounts of trouble, they were just kids after all, plus from what she had seen they were rather good scrambling. Street kids always were. “Take your best shooter, and hit the shockball right next to those guards.”

She pulled the girl out of the alleyway for a few moments, then pointed towards the office building.

The guards were tough looking, like they could take a bite out of steel, but they were also slow, not to mention that this would look like a game that went awry, innocent childish things, not a crime in the least. “Don't hit em, but startle em. Hitting them will get you lot in more trouble.”

The girl looked skeptical, but Lira palmed her half of the one hundred credits.

“Half now. Half when me and my friend get done with our business.” She glanced at Ryan. “You can wait for us here in one hour.”

An hour should be enough time.

The girl looked down at the credit chits, and slowly gave Lira a Nod. She called over to the others in their group. A few of the boys set on wide grins, others frowned slightly, but a hundred credits bought some fun stuff for a group of six kids, and they all went along with the plan, running past Lira and Ryan.

“Those guards will be distracted for a few moments at least. When they are we slip into the alley. Get ready to move fast.” Lira walked passed him. The plan wasn't perfect, but it was fast and would get the job done.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Ryan nodded, stifling a smile as he followed her with long strides.

"An interesting use of Order assets," he looked over his shoulder as a stout looking miscreant blasted the shock ball toward the guards, "but effective."

Korr's gait lengthened as he swiftly moved toward the mouth of the alleyway.

Sudden shouts came from the children and he could hear the growls of the guards in annoyance.

Ryan drew in a deep breath, letting the well of the Force seep into his body, reinforcing the physical. With the Art of Control lending him temporary preternatural speed, Ryan accelerated. His form became a blur to those still stuck in time and space. To him, all temporal things slowed.

He didn't stop once he was inside the alleyway until half-way down it. At last his footfalls slowed to a walk and he glanced at [member="Lira Dajenn"] with a raised eyebrow.

[member="Lira Dajenn"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

Lira had copied Korr's movements almost exactly, she had become a blur and run on Ryan's heels. The two Jedi had slipped into the alleyway without catching the attention of the guards, or anyone else. Lira herself came to a sliding stop, halting just a few feet in front of Ryan who looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

She gave him a look back, then a slight wink.

“So let me guess.” She continued their earlier conversation as if they hadn't just gotten slipped a pair of guards, walking passed Ryan and towards the back of the building where she hoped to find some sort of service entrance. “This Shattersun, he stealing all the rebels from you?”

Rounding the corner, Lira found exactly what she was looking for.

A door sat in the very center of the back wall, a single camera above where they came covering its approach. She frowned slightly, and slowly made her way over towards the camera, hugging the wall so that they weren't seen. When she got there, she crouched for a moment, then jumped. A single touch to the Camera and a slight spark flew.

Inside of the building the monitoring station would catch a slight flicker, then a return to the normal image.

Mechu-deru, the control of machines. That was Lira's specialty, that was what she knew. To put it simply, Lira with a simple touch had told the Camera to take a picture, then save that picture as its incoming feed. A very simple thing to do manually, an even simpler thing to do with the force.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

A flash of fierce emerald orbs full of untamed fire. A vision of a lithe, sun-browned form rushing through the jungle. A lurch of the heart.

Brows drew low over hard, distant eyes like storms on the horizon.

He remained silent as Lira worked around the camera. After she had finished, he stepped out of the shadows of the alleyway and approached the door. He tried the handle. Locked.

"Nothing like that," he said at last, hoarsely.

Dropping to one knee, Ryan eyed the handle and extended a palm to hover just above the surface. He closed his eyes and let the mundane drop away. When he opened his eyes again they glowed a white-blue. The Force Sight afforded him a sort of crude x-ray vision through the now transparent door. There was no one behind it. Good.

Focusing intently, he manipulated the locking mechanism of the door with fine-tuned telekinesis until at last there was a click and the door swung open, seemingly of its own accord. Ryan's eyes reverted to their normal color.

"What about you?" He asked, coming back to his feet. As he stepped past the threshold he stopped speaking physically, sending her words through projected telepathy instead. "Rebel or Choir Boy? Or do you adhere to the Old Codes?"

[member="Lira Dajenn"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

Lira slipped into the building after Ryan, immediately inside they found blank white corridors leading four ways. Two of them led deeper into the building, the other two ran lengthwise down the side of the wall. She frowned slightly, then pointed to one of the two hallways that led deeper into the building, using the force as a guide.

A voice rang through her head, causing goosebumps to crawl down her spine.

She shook slightly, hating the sound of voices in her head but knowing why it was necessary now.

“I prefer the bad boys.” Lira said beginning to slink down the hall, moving quite quickly, but still clinging tightly to the blank white that surrounded all of them. “You know, the ones that rebel against authority and are in a band.”

She grinned at him, then continued further into the building.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

"Oh do you?" Ryan mused cryptically, scanning the hallway. Weird. He should have felt presences by now.

He frowned, extending his senses until they engulfed the whole of the building. Yes, troubling, but not any immediate threat. Perhaps a portend of the future. A trap?

Odd, but I can't feel more than a dozen or so life forms. Out on Holiday?"

[member="Lira Dajenn"]