Special Delivery

[Eugen Aker]

Among the small traffic of speeders and starships entering the airspace of Lothal City, there would be Arisa and Yusana flying in aboard her personal transport for all her lowkey affairs, a customized YT freighter. Lothal was GA country, but the Jedi didn't want to make a show of it as she spoke with the resistance groups working out of the frontier world as they struck out against the First Order next door.

After passing through all the usual protocols with local air traffic control, she would park her freighter down on a reserved landing pad within the city's main spaceport, then wait. One of the resistance groups was supposed to reach out to her at this very spot once she made planetfall. Beyond that, she had no other idea what to do there. They were all a secretive bunch, even with her, a Jedi Grandmaster.

"Our contact should be showing up within the hour according to our last call," she told Yusana as she powered down the freighter. "Hopefully they won't keep us waiting long. I'll throw on a pot of chai in the meantime if you want some."

She rolled her shoulders then rose from bucket seat for the kitchenette out back in the lounge area. In no time, she would have the tea boiling, soon filling the air of the freighter with all sorts of spicy aromas.

Her usual tea of choice was white tea with a dash of honey, but as of late, she had developed a taste for the rich blend of milky spiced black tea. She could probably blame that on her increasing interactions with Galidraani as of late. This particular blend had been recommended to her by Countess Winsclav, a purveyor of all sorts of fineries.

She had no clue if her new Echani companion would care for it much, but Yusana always seemed to be a good sport. There was more than enough for Arisa, Yusana, and whoever may finally join them inside when they did appear.

[member="Yusana Fenni"] [member="Yiu Amar'ra"]

 

[Yusana Fenni]

"This planet's under the protection of the Galactic Alliance, isn't it?"

Yusana remained seated in the co-pilot's seat, waiting for the Jedi to return from the stern of the ship before turning back slightly to acknowledge her presence once again with a small nod. By now the Echani was used to space travel, but it was these lulls in waiting for people to show that always made her uneasy. Back on Eshan, you could ambush people this way, or at the very least catch them unawares. But I suppose the glory days of the Echani are far behind now. We must turn to the future, and face the present at hand. Personally, Yusana had never worked directly for the Resistance or the Alliance, but she's had enough fortune to have at least worked side by side with them in tracking down bounty hunters and other small-time targets. Not exactly HVT's, but people who nevertheless would have been a thorn in the Resistance's side.

"You certainly know how to make your tea", she Echani continued as she took a light whiff of the soft but tangy aroma beginning to fill the ship. "On Eshan, tea drinking was a ceremony. Perhaps you'd like the ritual." In the cacophony of smells she could make out chai, yes, but also a few other spices the Je'dai threw in - some more exotic than others. Although Yusana wasn't a sucker for fineries herself, that didn't exclude her from enjoying the little savories that came her way from time to time. And besides, calming and fragrant tea now seemed to be some sort of omen for things more sinister to come.

Yusana then turned forward to look outside again, leaning back into her seat with her arms crossed in front of her. This was a new world to her - definitely not on the stereotypical smuggler's usual run to wherever.

"Tell me, Jedi, who exactly are we to meet here?"

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Yiu Amar'ra]

Hidden amongst the thronging crowds of Lothal City's busiest spaceport, Yiu inconspicuously makes her way through the multitudes. She was finding that her small frame, which she once held in contempt, proved especially advantageous for this kind of work, where she could move around largely undetected. Sure, Lothal was a Galactic Alliance-held planet, but the threat of the First Order loomed ever closer, it seemed, day after day -- and one can never be too cautious in such unstable times.

Navigating the spaceport was easy enough. Yiu had been doing so for years prior, and knew her way around the area like the back of her hand. Still, she double-checks the coordinates she was sent prior to approaching the ship -- the careless mistake that she made a few months ago walking into the wrong ship, and the ensuing skirmish, weighing fresh on her mind. The coordinates confirmed, she slings her bag over her shoulder, and approaches the ship.

She would be meeting Arisa here, that she knew, along with some mysterious second person. The exact details of the mission she had not been enlightened on, but she was supposed to lead them back to the resistance cell, where they would all be debriefed on whatever business the two parties had. Apart from that, Yiu had some business of her own: with her she brought a small cache of weapons, recently secured from a highly regarded arms smuggler. She meant to show them to Arisa and gauge her opinion on the weaponry. Despite the other's abilities in the Force, one could never do wrong with a trusty blaster; in the Outer Rim, especially, blaster fire causes far less of a stir than force-wielders do.

Raising the transmitter she wore on her wrist to her face, Yiu tersely states, "It's Yiu. I'm here," before reciting the code word for good measure.

Arisa Yune Yusana Fenni

 

[Eugen Aker]

"It is," she answered Yusana, taking her seat in the lounge with a steaming mug of Chai. "Though who knows for how much longer."

The cracks were beginning to show in an organization that had started a war off against the First Order with a very inflated sense of self while underestimating an enemy much stronger than previous foes. They had suffered dearly for that the gross miscalculation, leaving their border worlds in the south ripe for the taking.

Yusana complimented her preparation of the chai, which elicited a small smile. "Thank you. That's interesting. Tea ceremonies are very important in Atrisian culture as well. Perhaps we could share rituals once I swing through Kiribi again."

Her home planet was close to Eshan, both on warm terms in a relationship that stretched centuries and millennia. There was a large Echani enclave on Kiribi, with several prior heads of state within the KSU able to claim Echani heritage.

"There's a resistance cell that operates out of Lothal," she informed Yusana after a few sips of her tea. "We're here to make contact with them and help make some assessments. Also, you may call me Arisa, or Yune."

Yusana's brusque manner contrasted sharply with her delicate features. Very much like an Echani, who communicated primarily through body language rather than spoken word.

Arisa wanted to say something else about titles when the comlink in her back pocket came alive with a buzz. She set down her mug and fished out special comlink to connect with the one other person it was made for.

She made a small O face as she recognized the voice of the woman. Yiu Amar'ra, one particular resistance fighter that gave her stomach knots while in her presence. She would already start to feel them now as her counterpart rattled off all the proper codes, which Arisa would respond to in kind.

"Looks like they're here. Please stay," she said raising a flat palm toward Yusana and she stood up from her seat.

As she made her way to the hall of the landing ramp, the cyborg would interface with the ship's sensors for a feed outside.

She was treated with an E/O feed of a young woman who was almost the spitting image of Sorel, a fellow Jedi and former friend who had disappeared off the face of the galaxy. Yiu seemed nice enough, but every time her eyes had fallen on her face in their first encounter, she couldn't help but think of the errant Jedi Master who had meant so much.

Arisa took a moment to compose herself, pushing all discomfort to the back of her mind. This woman was also Force Sensitive like she, so she didn't want to put off her counterpart with troubled thoughts that would be hard to explain to a stranger.

Composure restored, she finally opened up the ramp.

"Hello there," she said simply as she came face to face with Sorel's doppleganger.

[member="Yusana Fenni"] [member="Yusana Fenni"]

 

[Yusana Fenni]

As was recommended, Yusana remained seated where she was; trusting enough to let her host conduct business as was necessary. This world was not one she was familiar with, and she had no problem admitting that. Clearly Arisa knew her way around, and considering the covert nature of their little waiting game here, it would have been best to leave her to her own devices. The Echani took the time to look out through the cockpit windshield, noting Lothal's architecture and the manner in which its commuters conducted itself. It was busy, to be certain, much like the Core Worlds of Taris of Coruscant.

The Jedi Master's own ship was remarkably well-maintained in and of itself, and Yusana had long noted its own busy whirling and buzzing of its computer systems. Arisa'd gone to the back now, no doubt to greet their contact. As her footsteps disappeared behind her and into the ship's stern, the Echani simply closed her eyes and began to meditate.

The Galactic Alliance. A democracy in theory but nonetheless a dictatorship with an ideology behind all its bravado. Even among those who claimed to serve the Light, candor was a surprisingly rare trait in this cold, heartless galaxy. Sincerity was a luxury most simply could not afford.

Yet, the Echani trusted Arisa. There was something in her that seemed sonorous enough to be seen through to the end. Even if this all turned out to be pure ideology, perhaps she'd get at least a good fight out of it.

[member="Arisa Yune"] [member="Yiu Amar'ra"]

 

[Yiu Amar'ra]

At Arisa’s greeting, a slight smile graces Yiu’s normally stoic features. She respected the woman a great deal for the measures she and her organization have recently undertaken against the zealotry of the tyrannical First Order. Their threat was felt all over Lothal; it was evident in the tensions that have dominated the planet’s once stable ambience, a quality that Yiu had only briefly experienced in her first year of living here, but one that she missed nonetheless. She had fled from Jelucan to escape this tense landscape, only to find herself right in the middle of another.

Her preference for a peaceful life notwithstanding, Yiu was nothing if not a fighter. She would not flee again, not if her life depended on it – she was tired of running, and as for any semblance of stability that existed in this tumultuous galaxy, it was bound to be disturbed eventually; such are the conditions that plague it. Rather than be a passive victim, her fraternization with the growing resistance movement convinced her to take on an active role in bettering her little slice of universe. Even if her efforts prove to be futile, at least she can say she tried.

Recovering herself from her musings, Yiu greets Arisa in kind and follows her into the ship. The aromatic scent of freshly brewed chai elicits a true grin, rare for her these days. She fondly recalls her childhood memories on the Amar’ra homestead, where at the end of a long but productive work day, her mother would brew a restorative tea for the both of them. “That smells delicious,” she remarks, her eyes falling on the pot. She takes a seat, her eyes roving from the teapot to all over the interior of the ship. It was spacious and elegant, and the warmth generated from the boiling tea lent the ship a comfortable, homey feel.

Yiu’s wandering gaze at the unfamiliar figure standing among them: a pretty, yet strong looking woman, not one to be underestimated, as her proud demeanor conveyed. “I’m Yiu,” she says, with a respectful nod of her head. “I understand you’re an accomplice of Arisa’s.”

[member="Arisa Yune"] [member="Yusana Fenni"]

 

[Yusana Fenni]

"Yusana. Yusana Fenni", the Echani reservedly replied in kind.

It wasn't unusual for Yusana's kind to remain cautiously conservative around those outside their culture. Rather than some xenophobic expression however, it was a way to avoid misunderstanding, or not to give away more than what had to be made known. And in like spirit, a meeting for what was starting to smell more and more like a covert operation for no less than the GA had to imply some secrecy, not to mention discretion.

Now before her stood two humans, fair and attractive and as vitalic as both looked, she knew much of the potential volatility of their kind. The galaxy's history painted a bleak picture of humanity - just as susceptible to corruption and taint as they were likely to be the first to rise up against injustice. An interesting species, to say the least. And now with two of them here, the Echani knew she'd be in for something interesting. A small smile etched itself on Yusana's pale face, with its sharp features, piercing white hair and her heavy-set green eyes.

"I understand we're here on official business", Yusana continued with that little sly smirk and a lightly ironic tone of voice, highlighting a sense of humorous irony in what she was getting at. "A meeting this secretive can't be just about another name on a wanted list or some relic from the past. Why are we here?"

Yusana then turned back to Arisa, continuing, "I recall you mentioning earlier that Lothal City might not be under GA control for long. Does this have anything to do with that?"

[member="Yiu Amar'ra"] [member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

[SIZE=9pt]"Thank [/SIZE]you," she told Yiu after she remarked on the aroma of the fresh chai she had prepared. "There's still half a pot, so please help yourself if you care for a drink."

[SIZE=9pt]After exchanges between Yiu and Yusana had been made, the Echani turned back to Arisa about more questions about their purpose on Lothal. Arisa took her seat again, leaving plenty of space for Yiu to join her at the booth. She pushed the current unease she felt about Yiu to the back of her mind as she thought about the mission at hand. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"Like I said earlier, we're here to provide some assessments on some new equipment being funneled to the resistance cells working out of Lothal."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Desperate Rebels plus shady gun runners didn't make for the best mix, so she would ensure they weren't getting conned by any bad deals. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]"Lothal, and the entire tail arm of the Hydian way risk being overtaken by the First Order at this point. They quite nearly cut off the Galactic Alliance before at the [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Battle of Skor II[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]. As the FO continues its rapid expansion, it is very well likely that they will come into conflict with the GA again, and when this happens, this region will be a prime area for attack. So then Lothal and other planets need to raise their defenses and create contingencies. What we're doing today is part of that effort."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]The basic overview of their task provided, it now fell on Yiu to actually tell them what they were actually supposed to be looking at today because Arisa didn't really have much of a clue.[/SIZE]

[member="Yusana Fenni"] [member="Yiu Amar'ra"]