Shadows of the Future

[Sayd-Jai]

He pointed to the watch.

When I flew into the system I dropped a small satellite in orbit. It doesn't do much, but it will give you a location reading, he said.

Tapping a few fingers on his, he pulled a holoprojected three dimensional map of their current location, and then zoomed out to show her the nearby major locations. Her former home was clearly marked and he had zero doubt that shewould be able to find her way back there with the use of the map. Finding her way off the ship, however, was a whole different matter. Fortunately, they hadn't gone in far.

He motioned for her to follow him and then led her back out into the hangar. A flick of a button attached to his glove turned off the active camouflage netting he had pulled over his small ship. He went over and pulled the netting offso she could see thatthey would be in moderstely close quarters when they left, but they wouldn't be sitting on top of each other. There was plenty of room for them to maneuver.

You should be able to find your way from here. I will be waiting.

When she got back there was more he was going to have to do. Nothing of harm, of course, but still essential. Basically she needed to have all of her measurements taken so her suit could be made. By the time they reached Harrin it would be ready for her, but he had to take the measurements in order for it to be so. Sometimes he wished he traveled witha tailor droid. It would make some tasksa lot less awkward.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Ah, the watch. It would be her faithful companion in all things it seemed. That was fine, so long as some EMP didn't wipe the system out. She watched as Shadow tapped his fingers and showed her the map. She knew where she was at, actually. That would make things easier than she expected. He didn't really have her that far from Cliffhold, anyway. It'd take about an hour, at most, for her to get everything and be back on the ship. She'd have to drop her last rent payment off, though, but not a problem.

She took a look at the ship as they walked towards the hangar. Tight fit, but not too tight. It'd be fine ultimately, at least for the trip to... Wherever he was going to assign her. She would have to ask a bit more information on that later. But for now, she gave him a nod and quickly began her way back to her studio apartment.

Luckily, no one tried to kidnap her this time around. She made it back to her place easily. She had a large backpack that she took out of her closet. She carefully folded one formal gown. Then, she decided to throw her photos, holos, and a couple family heirlooms into the bag. That left her with enough for a couple pairs of clothes, at least enough to last her until she could get more clothes from wherever.

With that, she dropped a small credit chip off at the office before jogging back to the ship. No point in wasting any time.

Luckily, the jog back was easy enough. She didn't have any people. The meeting dudes probably had people after her, but she was quick enough to get out of the city in time. A while later, she returned to the ship. She walked back in through the hangar, watching for the man called Shadow. I'm back.

 

[Sayd-Jai]

He'd been watching her approach for quite a while. In all honesty, it had only taken him a few minutes to get the ship ready to go, though he'd poked and prodded at where the Diathim had messed with it when he'd first flown into the system. Not being a top notch mechanic meant he couldn't do a lot to fix it, but some was better than nothing in his book. At least he was able to get some of the loose parts reattached before they came flying off. It was a miracle they hadn't done that when he'd entered the atmosphere in the first place.

Either way, he'd stood in the shadows, watching her. The ship didn't have much in the way of power, so he didn't have to go far to find a good shadow to hide in. When she came wandering back in he stepped out of the concealed darkness and motioned for her to join him at the ship. When she did, he pulled out a measuring tape. Yes, an old fashioned piece of equipment, but probably the most reliable piece of measuring equipment one could ever find. It always gave the same measurement on the same thing and there wasn't any wonder of just how precise the internal computational device was.

Spread your arms and stand still, he said, motioning for her to raise them. I have to take your measurements.

He waited for her to comply, and then proceeded to do so. He did everything including bust size, because it was necessary for her armor to fit her properly. As strange as that might seem. Some people wore clothes that weren't perfectly fitted to their bodies, so asking for their clothing sizes would be utterly useless. He had no doubt that she probably knew most of her exact sizes, she seemed the type, but he wanted to take the measurements to make sure. And no, he wasn't handy, even when he was taking her inseem measurement. Not that she wasn't attractive or anything, but he desperately tried to avoid any form of relationship with operatives. Even despite his belief that to fix their species they needed to basically make a new one.

Alright, that should be good.

Entering the information on his watch, he looked back at her.

Anything else before we leave?

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

The ship did a good job of being dark enough to provide some spook for anyone who didn't know what was going on in it. It was interesting, at best. But, it did what it had to do. Anthea sure wasn't expecting her day to go like this, but she ended up getting a hopefully steady job. Not something that most people in her profession would have.

Once she saw Shadow, she simply followed him to where she requested her to go. Although, the woman perked a brow as he pulled out the measuring tape. That was... Not what she was expecting, at least not yet. She gave a nod and held her arms out. She assumed it was measurements for the organization's equipment. Made sense. She didn't really say anything, even though he did get every part of her body measured. Literally every part.

No matter. He said that was good and she relaxed her arms and subsequently, her body. She stretched slightly. Then, he asked if there was anything else before they left. She simply shook her head, "Nope." There would be no look behind, no regret of leaving her homeworld. She was ready to go. She had been for a while. With that, she decided to head to a seat to sit down and buckle up. "Let's go."

 

[Sayd-Jai]

Good. Load up, he said heading up the ramp.

The ship was a custom job, pretty clearly one of a kind as well. It had a small central area with a lounger and a cot, but it didn't have a ton of room. He mostly used it when he was going around recruiting, or if he needed to make a small solo trip as part of his duties as crown prince of the Icarii. He did not use it for actual mission work. They had specialized YT freighters that filled the role of infiltration.

He sat down in the pilots seat and started the pre-flight. Not extensive on a relatively small vessel, but he sealed the hatches and started up the repulsors to lift them off and turn them about. When he was satisfied that things were under control, he retracted the landing gear and looked back to make sure she was seated and strapped in. When he was satisfied he kicked the engines to full and shot out of the hangar.

Hang on. It's gonna get bumpy. The Diathim are overly attracted to ships so I'm going to make a small jump immediately after we breach atmosphere.

Like clockwork, he punched the hyperdrive as soon as they breached. The stars barely elongated before they reverted back to pinpoints. He tapped asay to plot their course and then threw them into hyperdrive again. Jumping that way was dangerous, but a necessity considering the damage they had done last time. He didn't have the luxury of immediately landing and being able to fix everything right away.

Once they were in hyperspace again, he spun around to face her once more.

I'm taking you to the planet Harrin. It's on a major hyperlane and is a trade and industry hub. You'll have a software job that'll start two days after we get there so you can get a little acclimated.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Anthea made herself cozy in the seat as she examined the cockpit area. It was a nice ship. Small place to live during the travels and so forth. It got the job done, she assumed. It worked well enough to kidnap her, torture her, and then recruit her without her knowing where she was. That counted for a lot, at least if that was his typical recruitment spill.

She nodded when he looked back and then spoke through her mind. She figured as much. She had come and gone out of the atmosphere several times. Diathim were interesting creatures, even though half of her heritage was Diathim. At least she didn't inherit the full-on fetish for ships that many of her kind had. Thank goodness. She expected he'd have a plan to get out without too much of the Diathim issues.

And it was pretty bumpy but they made it out fairly easily. JAnd then he spun around and began to speak to her again. Harrin, eh. Software job. She'd just be a regular ole' citizen. Kind of, anyway. At least during part of her time. Plus, two days to get acclimated. She could do some shopping, then. She had to replace a bunch of clothes, too. And get some furniture set up in her place. Unless there was already furniture there, at least.

Sounds like a good plan. Do you just drop off and leave or what?

 

[Sayd-Jai]

Harrin is an extremely busy world so I'm going to drop you off at night outside your new residence, he said.

In other words, he wasn't going to be sticking around. She was going to need time to become acclimated to her new home. Plus if he was hanging around it would draw undesirable attention. Otherwise he would have to go in as himself and most of his species was remaining hidden so even that would draw attention. Plus he would then have to tell her who, and what, he was which was more or less out of the question. No, she needed to be settled in before he started showing up.

I will come back in a week or so to assess your combat skills and train you if you need it. I know you have ezceptional slicing skills, so no need to worry there.

With her in the confines of the ship he barely even needed to turn on any lights. She glowed enough to give light to the space and allow the modicum of sight needed to function. Fortunate thst their combat suits offered full coverage or her heritage would have disaualified her from becoming an operative. Giving off that kind of radiance would expose her on most nights to anyone with even a touch of perception.

He spun back around to examine the console and their trajectory. While he didn't have any doubt of them getting where they were going, he also didn't really have any further questions for her that needed to be voiced. Perhaps when it came down to training her he would, but for now he was content to let her either rest or ask questions of her own. Whether he answered them or not depended on the substance of ehat was asked. Some things had to remain unsaid.

You can use the cot if you want, or remain as you are. I'm going to stay where I am.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

She nodded. She hoped it wasn't too busy at night - otherwise, it might be a bit interesting. She had a love and hate relationship with her glow. It was awesome because she had a very small electric bill. It sucked because as someone who has to sneak, your skin glowing can be a huge hindrance. Luckily, she had managed to avoid most of that through body suits and such.

But you can't walk into a gala in a suit. And you can't get into a place. On assignments like that, she tended to be the distraction - dazzle everyone with her aura and her glow, and someone else gets to do the fun stuff. At least she got free stuff out of it - food, dresses, dates.

She gave him another nod. I'm sure you probably know most my skills. She said as she leaned back in the chair, getting comfortable in it. If he knew her entire life story, literally played through a holo, he probably knew what she needed help on and what she didn't. Her combat skills were okay but not the best. She sliced and when she had to assassinate, she did it secretly. They'd be asleep in bed. A glass of water with a certain type of powder. Maybe take a few days so it seems more and more like an accident - just a case of illness.

Anyway. She shook her head at his last question. "I'm fine here." She couldn't really rest, anyway. She was too jittery and still sore from the mental torture.

 

[Sayd-Jai]

I know you have talent, he said, his own way of agreeing that he did know.

Well, he knew as much as one could know from the fact that she had a perfect record. Not one of her marks had survived, though she had often taken quite some time to kill them. He surmised that she probably used different methods for different situations, which was smart. Still, he personally didn't think it wise to take a long time to make a mark. She was working for people with money. People with money had contingency plans that would often involve an assassin to kill an unsuccessful assassin. She was good enough to avoid that, but she'd been risky.

He leaned back in his seat, his eyes studying her from the safety of his helm. She was curious about him. Though she was very good at hiding that fact, he could tell that she was. She wanted to know what was beneath the mask. Unfortunately for her, the only way she would find out was if he was killed or captured. The latter was unlikely to happen. The former could happen anytime. There had been close calls before. Some Sith were quite good at fighting. Even some Imperials could get lucky. It was a risky business.

I'm sure you have questions of me. I'll answer the ones I can, while we have time.

It would be a while before they made it to Harrin so there was certainly plenty of time for them to talk. Undoubtedly she was going to ask who he really was, but that would be a waste of time. Then she'd probably resort to probing questions meant to lead him into accidentally divulging who he was, or what he was. Either one of them would cause problems if she knew. But at the very least, he would make an effort to answer questions. He owed her that much since he'd tortured her.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Anthea settled a bit more into the chair. She checked her buckles to make sure that they were not off. She wasn't really expecting anything to happen but... She knew she needed to be prepared. The bad, crazy stuff always seemed to happen when she wasn't ready for it. But, he confirmed that he knew most about her. Or at least, that is what she took from his answer.

He asked if she had questions so she simply perked a brow. Did she? She perked a brow as she crossed her legs as she was deeply in thought. What kind of questions could she ask that he would tell her? She knew some things were off limits, like his name. Probably anything that could directly tie to him. So maybe it was a little too deep of a question. He may not answer it but she would still ask.

How'd you end up in SPECTRE?

Maybe that wasn't the best question, but it was the biggest one she could think of. He seemed like he might be the leader. At the very least, the lead recruiter. He knew her life, he knew her story, and he tortured her in a way to test her into seeing if she had what it takes. She liked it, in a twisted way. It was a good model to recruit, after all. With that in mind, she followed up with another question. How many others are there in SPECTRE?

He might not know, in truth. He said they were scattered. It might be better if there wasn't an exact count. Are you human or another species?

 

[Sayd-Jai]

It's a family thing, he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Truthfully, that didn't tell her anything since she didn't know who he was. It was part of his family history, though. They had started the organization as a secretive way to fight back against those that had harmed them. It worked, too. A lot of Icarii had fought as part of SPECTRE over the years. He was just the latest in a long line of royals to take part in the war. Not that he had a problem with it. Some people might reject the idea of going into the family business, but he had embraced it. Killing the darkness was too enjoyable.

When she asked how many of them there were, he looked down at his hands and started counting. There were a few, but he didn't know how many exactly without thinking it through. With their numbers scattered across the galaxy, some of them were easy to forget about in the short term. It was a good problem to have. The more people they had fighting in the shadows the more impact they would have. Of course he could have just asked COPR for the information but that was cheating. She could have done that herself if she had wanted to.

There are about thirty of us, give or take. Some of them I haven't seen for quite some time. As for the other question, I'm not human, though I obviously resemble them in stature.

He did not enjoy the thought of being called a Human, so he was certainly going to tell her that he wasn't one. Besides, there were so many different humanoid species in the galaxy that she would never guess what he was. Given that his species were believed to be extinct, it one hundred percent guaranteed it. He also kept his mind wrapped in a protective shell against mental intrusions so she wasn't going to get anything that way despite her skills in the Force.

In some regards I resent humans, though I can't judge the entire species by the actions of some of them.

[member="Anthea Valaros"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Anthea perked a brow. That was... Vague. But, made sense considering the secrecy of the organization. As expected, he wasn't going to tell her much of anything. He knew everything about her yet she would most likely never know anything about him. She didn't exactly like that arrangement - he had too much control over her through a past she tried to hide as much as possible. He used it against her in her testing. Why wouldn't he do it again? She supposed she had to... Trust him, with the information. That made her nervous.

She needed to cover her tracks more. Make sure there were no traces of her past on the HoloNet, or anywhere that could be traced back. Maybe she could delete the files out of the government's systems. She probably wouldn't be coming back to Diathim, anyway. Cliffhold was barely her home, anyway. She just used it as a place to rest her head, to sleep, shower, and work. The rest? It didn't honestly matter that much. The more she thought about it, the happier she was that she was leaving. A fresh start, a fresh job, fresh everything. She'd be leaving her life behind her. And moving forward.

In either case, she nodded although he probably wouldn't see her nod, when he answered her next question. Small, elite. Made sense. Fair enough was all she said in reply.

In ways, he hated humans. She couldn't blame him there. Maybe it was just because they were the most populous of the many species across the galaxy that made them seem to be the center of most of the terrible things. Not that she was saying humans were terrible. Those humans always had humans against them. But she could see it. I think most people, even humans, have done awful things. But, they have also done good things. She shrugged, not caring that much but just venting her opinion. With that, she leaned back with a yawn.

So, what if I find a different planet or something to move to?

 

[Sayd-Jai]

Yes. As I said, I will not judge them all for the sins of the few. They are the most numerous species in the galaxy, after all, he said in her head.

Spinning about, he checked their trajectory, and then did a status check on the ship. Everything seemed fine, and he had made an effort to hide the vessel when he had landed, but there were other people out there as good as him at covert operations. They could very easily have figured out where his ship was when he had gone to grab her. They could have tagged the ship with a tracker. The hull scan came back clear, though, so he didn't feel too worried about it. They should be fine.

You can live where you want, it's just easier to start you out in a safe house. Some of the ithers still live in their original homes.

She lived in a place that wasn't large enough and she hadn't developed a good presence to use as an alibi. Her previous home was not good enough. If anything it was a dangerous place that would have ultinately led to her getting outed and then killed. Harrin was relatively safe and high traffic. A mediocre job would let her blend into the background to the point where nobody would second guess what she was really up to with her life. It was those details that kept them alive.

He leaned back in his seat and let his head rest against it. Sure, he may not be looking at her, but he was paying attention still. Downside was that if she chose to speak verbally he wouldn't be able to hear it. She seemed keen to speak to him the same way that he was speaking to her, though, so perhaps he needn't worry about it. Time would tell. He was a bit tired, though. If she didn't ask any further questions, he'd probably take a nap.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

She nodded as she pulled her legs up onto the seat, crossing them. She leaned back on the chair at that point and closed her eyes. Fair enough, she replied telepathically back to the man driving the ship. She watched as he messed around with the different devices on the ship - seemed to be checking it. Probably making sure no one had hitched a ride through a camera or tracker, some sort of thing like that.

Heh, that's brave. I don't think I'd ever willingly live back at my place if I had this kinda thing going on. Too easy to get noticed.

She knew it was dangerous to be in her town - that is why she usually got jobs outside of it. Either the various moons or surrounding systems. She had only taken a couple of jobs on Iego itself and even then it was not in her own town - it was in neighboring ones. She wasn't about to risk getting caught in her own town with a corpse!

In either case, she herself actually began to feel a bit tired. Maybe a nap would be a good idea. He seemed to have gotten relatively quiet and she had no further questions to ask of him. They really had nothing else to do until they arrived in Harrin, where her new life would begin. What a day...