A Tout Le Monde

[Bad Wolf]

The Deraphin class cruiser was the transport for Ayla Vin, Jack had called in a favor, she was given a birth on the small battle ship and her fighter stored in the very small hangar bay the ship had, which was to say not much of one, the trip didn't take long and had her over the Home world of Tarn-Vedra in a matter of hours, she was allowed to take her fighter to the planet and had been given coordinates for her to land at, she would be escorted by Kael's personal Einharjar troopers into his office on the planet, the Male Vedran was an imposing figure 6'6" crimson skin, burning eyes, black uniform, his office was just as imposing the Commonwealth flag hung on the back wall, model ships were stored in a Transparisteel case on the far wall, he was seated behind his desk looking over a data pad.

 

[SoloWing]

The Commonwealth Homeworld. Alya had heard of this place but never fully expected to see it in her lifetime, much less stand before one of the Triumvirate. The idle part of her mind entertained the notion of just pulling out her blaster and shooting the man. That's what her instructors under the Sith would have wanted, but she was no longer their lapdog; what they wanted didn't impact her in the slightest. All she could do was look out for herself from here on out.

Herself and Edel.

Instinctively, she moved to salute the admiral. She only slightly stumbled over her introduction. If you wanted to get technical about it, she wasn't a lieutenant any more and that was the title she was accustomed to using. The realization ripped a large hole in her soul. She had fought for that rank through blood, sweat and tears. Now... now it meant nothing. It might even be a death sentence.

She brushed those concerns aside; reminded herself to stay focused. There was still a mission to complete: "Alya Vin, reporting as ordered, sir."

I'm here to complete my treason against the Empire. She silently finished the introduction in her head.

 

[Bad Wolf]

"Please sit, agent Vin." Kael returned the salute and motioned to a chair across from his desk for her to sit in. he leaned forward looking at her his eyes blazing, his crimson skin shining in the sunlight of the planets sun as it pierced the window of his office.
"Did you enjoy your trip? sorry if it took longer then expected, I had not been informed who the field operative would be sending my way, I assume you have the Data cube though."

 

[SoloWing]

The hoops that she was required to jump through to get here had been less than efficient, but you didn't insult the person who held your life in their hands.

For a brief moment, Alya was tempted to reveal that she knew everything but decided against it. Once she was finished here, there was still a matter of making her way to Coruscant to complete the second half of the shipment. It would be a lot easier to disappear on Coruscant than in an Admiral's office-- especially if the Admiral didn't like that she knew what he knew.

There were entirely too many temptations in play. The back of Alya's mind noted sourly.

"The trip was... sufficient," Alya replied noncommittally. Her hand drifted to her side pocket and she produced the required item. "considering that it managed to get this to you."

 

[Bad Wolf]

Kael gripped the Data cube through the force and moved it from her hand to his, he plugged it into the console on his desk and viewed what was on it, only sampling a little bit of it before he shut it down and popped it back out.
"You have done well Agent Vin, as I understand it you also have two other stops to make, I can alleviate your travel time quite a bit if you wish."

 

[SoloWing]

Alya was unable to stop an eyebrow quirk at that news. Two stops to make? That tidbit surprised her more than the display of force powers. The only other parcel that she had for delivery was the data pad that was supposed to go to Coruscant... unless whoever she was supposed to see on Coruscant was going to give her something else to deliver.

Suddenly, her dismal career path took a turn to become even worse. Alya Vin. Glorified messenger girl.

"That would be appreciated, sir. Although I'll have to ask your indulgence for one moment-- I was unaware of a second stop on my itinerary-- where else am I to go?"

 

[Bad Wolf]

"A space station, you're to meet with a man by the name of Par'jilla Brevin, as for your trip to Coruscant that won't be necessary, what you were to deliver to their can be left here and delivered by another agent, the officer in charge of this mission has already briefed me on the current situation." Kael chuckled, he couldn't exactly read her mind but he could feel her unease and tension, but precautions had to be taken, this was after all a former imperial storm trooper that Jack Kincaid had recruited, obviously if the Marshal and Field operative for the Intelligence Agency saw potential here then so could Kael and possibly the Mandalorians.
"You can leave the second package with me, you ships nav computer has been uploaded with a Rendezvous point and is prepped to leave when ever you are."

 

[SoloWing]

From Plan B to Plan C in one fell stroke. She should have expected it, really. Any guy who could bomb Citadel station had to be pretty quick on the uptake. Still, this was just a minor setback in the grand scheme of things. As long as Edel held to the plan, then they'd be alright.

"Understood." Alya nodded to frame her response. She retrieved the data pad from her side pocket and extended it to Admiral Force User. "I shall be on my way, then."

First the Commonwealth and now a mandalorian. What was next, an ewok?

 

[Bad Wolf]

Her fighter had indeed been prepped, refueled, the nav computer updated and her emergency supply kit was restocked, just in case, A soldier saluted her as she came close.
"Ma'am, your ship is ready for departure, have a safe trip."

 

[SoloWing]

"Thank you." Alya responded to the mechanic. "I'll need it."

She went through the pre-flight checklist, found all of her diagnostics in the green, and set to launch. As soon as clearance was given, she had left the hanger bay behind and had begun moving farther out into the recesses of space.

The back of her mind noted that she still hadn't come up with a name for the ship. It might have been a bit unconventional, since most people didn't name fighter craft. But as of right now, this ship was all that she had. Somehow, naming it just seemed appropriate. But just what to call it still eluded her.

She'd figure that out later. Alya fired up the navicomputer and her ship launched forward into hyperspace. Its destination: wherever the Admiral had in mind for her.

 

[Bad Wolf]

Hours after jumping to hyper space, Ayla had probably feel asleep as the journey had taken some time, and she'd been going for the better part of a week at this point, the ship shook as it came out of hyperspace, a space station with several large ships, 2 of which were easily 17km or more in length, her comlink came to life.
"This is Highlander station to unidentified fighter craft, please Identify yourself and state your business."

 

[SoloWing]

The solitary journey through hyperspace left far too much time for Alya to reflect upon the life choices that had brought her to this point. It was funny how quickly everything that you valued; everything that you'd fought for, could be stripped away. In the end, all it did was demonstrate a lesson on the vanity of life.

When she wasn't pondering that there was the future to consider. Admiral Force User hadn't given her a package to deliver-- that she was aware of-- which meant that they weren't going to be using her as a delivery girl. That meant that there was something else that they wanted from her. She could think of several possible things but nothing concrete.

She had been a lieutenant under the Sith so there was hardly any classified data that she was privy to. Likewise any codes or clearance she might have had must have been revoked following the Citadel bombing and her going AWOL. That eliminated a large chunk of her value right there.

An answer to that question eluded her, forcing Alya to turn her focus towards other things. Naming her ship was one that seemed to take an inordinate amount of time. No matter how she looked at the vessel or what irony she went for, nothing truly felt right to her.

Until, at long last, a stroke of brilliance hit. Alya found herself laughing at the simplistic irony of it all. The more she looked at it, the more she found herself liking the title. It might have given some pause or cause some second looks, but that hardly mattered in the long run. The name fit her past, present and future. It was a winner.

She had just finished keying the name into the transponder when her console indicated an imminent reversion to real-space. Excellent timing, that.

With spirits that were higher than they had been earlier that week Alya keyed up the comm. gear and broadcasted a reply: "This is The Bad Hand piloted by Alya Vin, I'm here to see Par'jilla Brevin on bequest of Admiral Kael Tavlek, requesting permission and clearance to land."

Her life had basically been one bad hand of pazaak. Given her current situation, that felt like a fitting name for the ship-- especially considering who it was that had dealt the hand to her.

 

[Bad Wolf]

The line was silent for what felt like an eternity, finally the same voice came back on the line after about 15 minutes.
"Clearance authorized, bay 3, a security detail will meet you to escort you to the Al'verd's office. Welcome to Highlander Station Ayla Vin pilot of the Bad Hand." The line went dead and soon she was greeted by a wing of fighters, who would escort her into the proper landing bay, where a small group of mandalorian Commando's were waiting, it was only 4 Soldiers in full armor, none of them had weapons drawn and they stood at attention in formation waiting for the ship to land, and it's pilot to exit.

 

[SoloWing]

The flight in and docking went smoothly enough; soon enough Alya was clambering over the side of her fighter's cockpit and dropping lightly to the ground below. Regardless of all else, she took just a moment to stretch and work some life into her limbs. Her bones were letting her know that she had spent the better part of a week in those tight confines. It felt good just to move once again.

She didn't keep the detachment waiting too long, however. It wouldn't do to make too ill of a first impression. Alya turned away from the fighter and to the group of assembled mandalorians. This was company that she'd pretty much never wanted to be in again. But... such was what it was. Prejudice would do her no good here.

"Hello." It was an awkward introduction, even to her ears. She gave them a polite nod. "You lead, I'll follow. I'm ready when you are."

 

[Bad Wolf]

The group took up position around her and started marching through the station, they took an elevator to the top deck and got out heading down another series of halls and corridors finally stopping outside an office, the door opened and let her in, it was a small office, with a single Holo transmitter in the middle, and a desk at the far end of it, the room was barren except for these 2 items. The Holo transmitter came to life and the image of an elderly cyborg in formal naval officers uniform popped up.
"Greetings Agent Ayla Vin, I am Prudii Al'verd Par'jilla Brevin, it was brought to my attention by an outside source that you might be a valuable asset to our organization." The Cyborg looked at her his cybernetic eye glowing even in the hologram.

 

[SoloWing]

... So now they came to the crux of the matter. Alya studied the hologram with a level, critical gaze. A thousand questions filled her mind. What possible benefit would they be looking for? What benefit could be worth destroying her life and career? Her mind turned these thoughts over but nothing came up to answer the question.

The man's title caused her some small measure of concern, as well. 'Shadow Commander'? That hardly seemed reassuring. But they were past the time of doubt and theory. It was time to get to the facts.

"Su'cuy, Prudii Al'verd." Alya began with a proper salute. She then abandoned Basic to continued in the Mandalorian tongue. It felt foreign to her after foregoing the language for so long. "While I appreciate the assessment, I am in the dark as to your organization or what you want of me. Perhaps it would be best to lay our pazaak hands on the table and begin from the beginning. It may expedite these talks."

Her career had already been destroyed. The secret of her heritage might as well be destroyed with it.

 

[Bad Wolf]

"Agreed, Join me on my ship." Par'jilla responded in Mandoa and then signed off, the door opened and the 4 commandos were there to escort her back to her ship, but they didn't take her to her ship, instead they took her to a shuttle that would fly her over to the Endless Dawn, which was the Flag ship of this little battle group and 1 of the 2 Super Dreadnaught.

 

[SoloWing]

Another run around. Alya was starting to wonder if this was ever going to end. But there wasn't much that she could do aside from follow after the other mandalorians and let her thoughts ponder what she'd just learned.

This journey just wouldn't end soon enough for her tastes. She needed answers, not more miles on her flier miles. She calmed her thoughts and let patience take hold. Answers would come when everyone else was satisfied. Until then, patience would have to do.

 

[Bad Wolf]

The shuttle left the station, and less than a minute later was landing in the starboard hangar of the Endless Dawn, the 4 commando's with Ayla said nothing to her during the flight, and as soon as the shuttle door opened they exited and escorted her to the commander's office, the Commander was an impressive man, he was an elderly man, with several obvious cybernetic enhancements, he leaned heavily on a bone cane, and smoked from a bone pipe, he turned to face Ayla as she was escorted in, Speaking in mandoa he motioned towards a chair in front of his desk.

His office was obviously an officers, office, it had a painting of a planet's horizon with a sun coming into view on the other side and a large ship coming into view in the forefront, there was a book shelf with several books in varying conditions on it, a chess board sat on the desk, a computer was on the other side of the desk opposite the chess set, sitting in the center of the desk was a silver decanter and 2 silver cups.

The commander spoke in perfect Mandoa, his accent was almost impossible to place, having spent almost your entire life aboard a starship meant you had little to no accent to speak of.
"Sorry for the run around Agent Vin, I had to make certain you were the person I had been told about, and indeed you are, this operative apparently speaks highly of you, and so I'm interested, please sit, enjoy a drink, it's Corellian Brandy." Par'jilla sat down across from her and poured a glass of brandy, followed by a second glass of brandy, he held out both glasses to her, a sign that neither glass was poisoned nor did he have any intention of harming her.

 

[SoloWing]

Alya accepted both the seat and the brandy, although she took only enough of a sip to be polite. It wasn't a snub on her part. She had a strict policy of not drinking on a mission; while this wasn't a mission, per se, it was close enough. She was probably going to need her facilities intact in the coming minutes.

Her gaze turned to the man proper. He had the look of a man who had been through the meat grinder and lived to tell the tale. That told her all that she needed to know: this was not a man to cross.

In sharp contrast to the Shadow Commander, her mano'a was less than perfect. Not having any occasion to actually speak it in a few years had done a number on her diction. While it was certainly legible it was also far from perfect. Nevertheless, she matched his language as best she was able.

"Thank you." She said in reference to the drink; then continued: "If our operative is a mutual acquaintance, then I have to give him equal credit. That was quite a splendid infiltration on his part. Splendid aftermath as well."