Ask Discovering the Undiscoverable

[Trace]

Trace had been summoned back to the Taris academy to report to Champion Ethest. She knew that he was usually the one handing out externship tests from Taris, and that meant another test or assignment had arrived. She quickly thrown her things together, grabbed her backpack, and headed to the academy to receive her assignment.

She tried to put aside the anxiety she felt every time she had one of these tests. She was getting closer to graduating and she was so close to getting honors for the year. She also knew that too much of a misstep could rob her from that top tier.

She arrived at the office and was stopped just outside by a protocol droid that she knew was Ethest's personal assistant droid.

Name please, the droid said.

Tracela Neyir. I have an 11:00 with Instructor Ethest, she said. The droid thumbed some switches on its console and paused.

You have been checked in. Your project partner will be arriving soon and then you will both be admitted, it said, motioning toward a chair for her to sit and wait.

Great, group project, she thought to herself, but nodded to the droid and walked to take a seat in the chair. How bad could it be? It was probably someone competent, right? she thought to herself. Hopefully it would be a senior acolyte and not a brand new greenie or something.

 

[Darth Tempest]

It had been a few days since that party back at the Imperial Palace, and Vahliri opted to spend the remaining time on Taris at the local Sith Academy. The half-Sephi had maintained a sterling academic record back on Dromund Kaas, and the additional externship assignments out of Taris would only further polish that resume. Additionally, the assignment gave her something better to do than simply moping around.

Double-checking her datapad to confirm her appointment time, Vahliri gathered her belongings, slung a satchel over her shoulder and was out the door of the hotel where she was staying. The half-Sephi had opted to don her standard-issue Acolyte Robes for the assignment - something a bit more professional - despite the fact they were perhaps the itchiest robes she’d ever worn. The hood of her robes was left down, while her black hair was pulled back into a loose braid and draped over her left shoulder.

The half-Sephi arrived at the office building after a few minutes of walking, striding through the entrance before proceeding right along towards the office of Champion Ethest. Just like Trace, she was dropped by a protocol droid at the office entrance.

“Please state your name, ma’am.”

“Vahliri Kahtal,” The half-Sephi began, adjusting the satchel that was slung over her shoulder. “Here to see Instructor Ethest?” She watched at the droid typed away at its console before addressing her again.

“You have been checked in, Ms. Kahtal. Your project partner has already arrived - please take a seat wait to be admitted.” The droid gestured back behind Vahliri, towards a row of chairs against the wall.

Project partner?

The details of this assignment had been painfully vague, and the fact this was going to be a group project was one such detail that Champion Ethest clearly thought to leave out. Vahliri turned to face in that direction, fixating her honeyed gaze onto the Miralukan who was already seated.

She blinked a few times whilst staring at Trace, unable to deny the fact that the girl looked exceptionally familiar. A few more moments passed, and Vahliri was finally able to put her finger on it - realization slapping her right in the face.

Oh..

It was only then that Vahliri remembered where she’d seen Trace. Back at that party at the Imperial Palace - right in the middle of the half-Sephi on the verge of blowing a gasket before Ashla’s intervention, and had been witness to Vahliri dragging the Togruta off for drunken venting.

Hoping this wasn’t going to be awkward, Vahliri exhaled through her nostrils and began to make her way over to Trace - greeting Miralukan with a smile and small wave of her hand. “Hey,” She moved to take a seat next to Trace, shifting her satchel into her lap. “I.. Guess we’re partners for this assignment, right? I’m Vahliri.”

The half-Sephi only had about five seconds to sit down before the protocol droid approached them both. “Acolyte Kahtal. Acolyte Neyir. Champion Ethest will see you now - please follow me.”

@Phoenix

 

[Trace]

Trace sat in the chair, head leaning back against the wall behind her as she waited. Why was she always so early to everything? It was something she probably needed to work on, but she'd at least figured out how to keep herself occupied a long time ago.

Her partner arrived shortly after she did, though. Hmm, another prompt student? she thought to herself. That could mean that she was a nerd like Trace or it could mean she was a backstabbing gunner who would throw Trace under the bus to get ahead. Time would tell.

There was something vaguely familiar about the other girl as she approached, and from behind her blindfold, she frowned as she tried to place her.

Oh. Her reaction was exactly the same as Vahliri's had been. She was one of the girls around which so much drama had been taking place including the fight, no? Oh, this could be awkward, but Trace decided she'd try not to let things be too weird.

Hi, I'm Trace, she said, returning the wave to the other girl. Do you know what this is all... she started asking before the droid interrupted. ...about.

She rose and headed inside, quickly receiving the briefing from the Champion who seemed like he was in quite a hurry.

Here're your reports. ISB suspects a mole inside the dockyards is feeding information to the FWA. The two of you will find and eliminate him, he said, and then looked at them as if expecting them to take the folders and leave immediately.

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri was really hoping that this entire thing wasn’t going to be awkward. Much of that party was hazy in Vahliri’s mind, but there were nevertheless specific points that remained clear - and drunkenly dragging Ashla off to vent while on the verge of tears, was one.

The half-Sephi rapidly decided that if Trace wasn’t gonna make this awkward, she sure as shit wasn’t going to.

“Nice to meet you Trace,” The half-Sephi offered the Miralukan a sideways smile. Vahliri blinked a few times at the question, pausing for a moment before responding. She opened her mouth, only for the droid to cut in before she could answer. She rose and followed after Trace, deciding to give the Miralukan a shrug to denote that she didn’t really know what this was about either.

Vahliri stood beside Trace as the Champion gave them their very vague assignment details. The half-Sephi couldn’t help but blink a few times, glancing over toward Trace before back to the man who gave their assignment.

“..That’s it? Don’t you have any other details abo—“

“That will be all, Acolyte. Unless you’d rather be assigned to Academy sanitation duties.” He cut in.

Vahliri glanced back at Trace before proceeding to grab her stack of folders and make for the exit. It was only once she was outside that Vahliri glanced back at Trace, sighing. “Well that was very helpful.” She shook her head.

“I guess we head to the shipyards, then.” She shrugged vaguely before glancing down at her data pad, checking the fastest way to reach their destination. After a few moments she looked down to the folders in her hand. “Should probably go over these before we get there.”

Vahliri paused.

“Um..” She blinked a few times. “Can you..?” The half-Sephi pointed down at the stack of papers that would require physically reading to go over. The half-Sephi wasn’t entirely sure how the girl’s sight - or Malou’s for that matter - worked. She practically winced as the words left her mouth, trying not to be offensive with the question.

So much for not making this awkward.

@Phoenix

 

[Trace]

That had been one of the least helpful briefings that Trace had ever attended, and the two acolytes were basically kicked out on their butts after only a few seconds, left to try to scrounge through the reports to find anything useful.

Well, that was fun, she muttered. It didn't take long for Vahliri to start asking if she was capable of reading, and for a moment Trace just stood there. Then she "looked" at the files, moving her head much the way she would if she actually needed to use eyes, then "looked" back to Vahliri.

If I say "no" does that mean that you do all the reading for both of us? she asked, trying to keep a straight face as she said it.

Because then I'm going to go with "no," she said, her lips starting to crack into a smile she couldn't quite suppress anymore. She knew some Miraluka that got offended by the questions or the implications that they were blind, but if she were honest, Trace had never been able to find it anything other than a humorous trolling opportunity.

I think if I can see through your clothes, then I can read some files, she said, adopting what Ailis (@Arcangel) had asked her when they'd first met. She liked to let a little mystery perpetuate, but the smile on Trace's lips would leave Vahliri wondering just how true any of it was. Trace didn't clarify.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Suffice to say, Vahliri was less than pleased about how the mission brief had gone. She glanced back over her shoulders a few times, narrowing her eyes as she looked back at the office building they just exited from. “Dude was a prick.” She muttered loud enough for Trace to hear, shaking her head a few times before looking back ahead and towards the Miraluka. The half-Sephi kept her eyes on Trace, gauging to see if the Miralukan was offended by the question that was asked. Even if she had spent a decent amount of time with Malou, Vahliri was still largely ignorant to the finer details of how their ‘sight’ worked.

Vahliri blinked a few times when Trace spoke again, watching as the Miraluka’s lips slowly but surely starting to crack upwards towards a smile. There was a bit of relief there when she realized that her question hadn’t been the source of any offense, and the half-Sephi offered a faint smile in return. “I don’t mind doing the reading.” She shrugged.

And then Trace commented about being able to see through her clothes.

“..Wait, what?” Vahliri blurted out stupidly, blinking a few times with a somewhat dumbfounded expression plastered across her lips. Trace would have a front row seat as she stared blankly, while her mind was suddenly hit with a multitude of different questions. Did all Miraluka have x-ray vision? Had Malou been seeing her and everyone else that way, and just didn’t say anything? The half-Sephi squinted a bit, catching sight of the smile on Trace’s lips. It was an expression that hinted that maybe the Acolyte wasn’t being entirely serious.

After a few seconds, Vahliri’s lips curled upwards into a grin. “Is that why you’ve been staring my way?” The half-Sephi couldn’t manage to keep a straight face just then, flashing Trace a wink before she started to walk ahead.

A few minutes passed, and the time was largely filled with Vahliri quietly reading off information from the mission brief packet. Unfortunately for them both, it left.. Quite a bit, to be desired, in terms of the specifics. By the time Vahliri reached the bottom of the last page, the pair stepped out into the busy dockyard of Taris’ upper district - surrounded by a busy stream of dock workers and cargo ships in the process of being unloaded.

“Damn report doesn’t even give us a species or description to go off of.” Vahliri grumbled under her breath. “This entire thing is vague as hell. ‘Suspicious activity reported out of bay B12. Suspected FWA-operative posing as dockworker'. That’s it?” She looked ahead, narrowing her eyes at the crowd of quite literally dozens of workers that operated out of bay B12.

“Any ideas? ‘Cause all I got is ‘sit down and wait for someone to act shady.’”

@Phoenix