Coruscant Do Unto Others

[Lorcan]

Working on Coruscant was usually a pleasure for Lorcan.

He knew parts of Coruscant like the back of his hand and he knew the people who lived there, schemed there and those who just existed there. Lorcan also knew that anyone who claimed to know all of Coruscant was a liar. The planet was a city on top of several hundred different layers of cities and each layer was different from the last in a myriad of ways.

So he knew quite a bit of Coruscant but there were always things to learn.

Like how one of his previous informants from back in his days as a cop had managed to find himself some kind of safehouse near the very lower levels of the old Jedi Temple, the one that got destroyed during the rise of the Empire. Lorcan would have been all gung-ho about going in alone if it weren't for that location; he didn't know a damned thing about the area so he'd asked for a partner from the rangers who knew something about Jedi.

Command had responded by giving him an almost literally karking baby as a partner.

She was so green she might as well glowed in the dark like some of the battery mushrooms you could grow this far down from the surface layers of the city. Sat in the speeder he had taken from the impound lot to make getting to their destination easier, he eyed her sideways for a moment.

"Alright Rook, I'll bite." he declared with a deep frown, "I ask for someone who knows some shite about Jedi and they saddle me with you. Now we're on our way to play twenty questions with a dick-holster named Toegin so I really don't want to have to ask anything more than this; why you?"

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia was always eager to take new assignments and her Sergeant was just as motivated to see her out in the field working with other Rangers. However, the down side was Thalia was still the Rookie and there was a senoirity preference for cases. It did not matter too much to the girl, but it was this assignment she was not feeling too confident due to the fact it had been passed on by several other Rangers. When reading through the paperwork and notes so far on the case, there was visible confusion on her face as to what was the big deal until she spoke his name out loud: Lorcan.

Rangers around her began to snicker as they tried to pretend they were not eavesdropping on the conversation, but it was clear this was not an ideal case for anyone. With a frown, Thalia still accepted the case.

When arrangements were made, Lorcan gave her instruction on where to meet him and now she rode in the same speeder that she was certain he took from the impound. As soon as Thalia got inside the speeder, she could tell this guy was tense, he also seemed rather irritated; however, that could have been his natural state, but his irritation was directed to her as indicated by his tone and his question.

Thalia frowned, she could have told him the truth no one wanted the case, but instead she shrugged, "Maybe its the Force or something." she smirked, glancing at him to see if she couldn't get this guy to loosen up. "I'll try to remember to bring my resume next time if you're doubting my skills." she reassured as they approached the former temple location.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

The Force?

Yeah right, more like the dorks back at HQ were trying to give the Rookie her first taste of what it meant to be working with him. The short answer was that it took more than what most of the people within the damned office actually had. Thalia at least looked like she had some street smarts to her so she might not bristle and get annoyed at him for something as stupid as cursing and 'ruining good PR work'.

As if that kind of stuff ever actually impacted what they did on a daily basis.

He snorted in amusement.

"Reckon it'd be short, rook." he tossed back immediately, "Where you from? Your accent's bugging at me, feel like I've heard it before but can't place it."

There were notes of Nar Shaddaa in there and that was interesting. How the hell someone like her had come from that neck of the woods, gotten some Force knowledge and then made it all the way into the Rangers. He checked his weapons as he parked up a short distance from one of the many "back door" entrances to the ruins of the old Jedi Temple.

This one was literally a hole in the wall made by grenades and the like on the cheap.

"Keep your weapons handy rook and take them off stun." he instructed her as he did the same, drawing his blaster pistol and turning off the stun setting, "You ever shot someone in the line of duty yet?"

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Her smiled widened as he guessed her resume would be short and then inquired where she was from; that was a tricky question for her to answer, she grew up in a mining colony and then spent much of the rest of her life jumping from world to world. "No where, at least no where I can truly claim that was my home. Been all over the galaxy, but I am starting to favor the core than I do the outer rim." she explained glancing at the Ranger before her attention took her gaze to the environment around them. She reached out, not physically, but with her senses; it was a surreal experience that she kept working to get used to, it always seemed overwhelming until she focused on a specific thread.

It was when they neared the old Jedi temple did her senses seem to pick up different sensations; they seemed more intense and yet she could feel the heaviness of the souls lost nearly two decades earlier. Lorcan parked the speeder and Thalia hopped out, checking her weapon as he suggested, switching from stun to lethality and followed him to the entrance. He asked if she ever shot anyone yet as a Ranger. She glanced at him with a quirked brow, "I didn't have to be a Ranger to shoot someone." she said climbing inside the narrow hole.

"Have you ever been in here?" she asked him in a low whisper, climbing through the tunnel until it opened into a wider, albeit crumbling hall.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

She preferred the Core to the Outer Rim?

"Supposed to be better the other way around if you got the credits for it." he mused aloud with a smirk, "But since when did a Ranger's salary get you anywhere in life right?"

Ah so she wasn't some useless little twit. She had, at least, shot someone in anger before. That was good but she hadn't killed someone in the line of duty yet. To his mind that was probably worse; if only because killing someone as a Sector Ranger acting in an official capacity meant that you answered to someone other than yourself.

And superiors tended to want to know why you were either leaving a corpse or dragging in a warm body to hog a cell.

"Only to score with wannabe historians coming from the upper levels." he answered honestly, looking around as he slowly eased himself into position at one side of a doorway, "Take them somewhere 'steeped in history' and it's worth two dates and dinner at least."

He waved Thalia onwards with him into the next room, a meditation room that had been trashed in the past. Some time long ago in the past if the skeletons were any indication. There were three, two clad in the useless parts of old white armour (the useful parts had been robbed years ago) and then one without a skull dressed in robes.

He tapped the robed one with his boot.

"Imagine that... Jedi slumming it on Coruscant with the rest of us rather than their jungle paradise."

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Wow...

Was the only response she could think of when he revealed the other times he has been here. It was suddenly very clear that Lorcan did not have a filter; she guessed that was one reason the others did not get along with the Ranger. Though, certainly if she were a scuzzy guy looking to score, she guessed she would do the same also. He went through the door and gestured for her to follow also; she climbed atop of the rubble and down the other side into a new room. She was taken aback by the skeletons and shells of bodies that once fought here. Thalia frowned as he tapped the boot of the fallen Jedi.

She couldn't even begin to imagine what had transpired here, in what many historians described as not necessarily too long ago. "Jedi Master bones probably didn't like the humidity." she hummed following him through the room. Her fingers brushed against the wall, feeling the gauging created by a saber.

Thalia looked around, a feeling stirred deep inside her and soon she could hear yells, blaster firing and the hum of a weapon. She closed her eyes and went to catch up to Lorcan, gasping as she felt something warm burn through her center. However, when she looked down, there was nothing, just the deteriorating room, the skeletons, and Lorcan. "Did you...?" she paused looking around the room and she shook her head again, "This place gives me a bad felling." she said, feeling a bit more startled.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Lorcan wasn't really paying much attention to the history of the room he was in. In fact the only reason he hadn't taken a bit of a kick at some of the remaining pieces of armor was because he didn't want to make too much noise. The rat they were chasing down wasn't known for his bravery in the face of the unknown after all and he was superstitious besides that.

Hells the bloody idiot set up shot in the ruins of a Jedi Temple because someone had gotten it into his head that the ghosts of the Jedi forced people to be more honest here.

"Never met one; I imagine they're all stuffy with sticks up their arses the size of womprats." he admitted bluntly before adding, "You ever met one Rook? Am I close to the mark, you think?"

Looking back at Thalia from the door, Lorcan eyed her oddly for a moment before his eyes hardened slightly.

"Look Rook, the guy's set up shop in the ruins of some Jedi's statue around what used to be a freaking fountain." he eyed her with a frown, "You gonna get all religious on me?"

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia caught the look from Lorcan knowing immediately he was not feeling the things she was experiencing. She broke her gaze from him as she heard whispers, hurried talk, an urgency while listening to Lorcan explain to where their contact was hiding. He asked if she were to get religious on him and she frowned, "No, I'm good." she said taking a deep breath, "Lets go." she said stepping ahead of him, seemingly as though she knew where she was going.

She left the room, but the whispers continued, she would admit it was hard to focus on the task, keeping silent as she looked for the statue that housed their target. The Force was a blend of pain and peace of the past, the present felt empty, but heavy with the scarring of the deaths of the Jedi purging by the Empire. The room had exited into a hallway and that hallway entered an even bigger one. She did not bother with anymore conversation with Lorcan for the moment and let out a long exhale, feeling her own motions slow, her step lead her into a flash of Force from the past. The halls were alive, no graffiti decorated the pillars or scorch marks from weapons blackened the walls. There was light and warmth, a peace and as she stepped again, it disappeared once more. The whispers remained.

"The fountain is at the former entrance, lower level..." Thalia whispered as they approached the atrium.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

He didn't remember telling the rookie which direction the fountain was in but he supposed she might have done a bit of research on the ride over to the old Temple so he didn't say anything. Of course he did, however, make sure to watch as she walked past him and then ahead of him.

Lorcan watched her walk ahead and considered it for a moment before shaking his head and following.

She seemed to be walking a little bit funny, as though she was trying to listen to something but as far as Lorcan could tell there wasn't anything to actually hear. If she had been a xeno with above-human hearing he might have been a little bit more wary but she was as human as he was (probably) and didn't have anything special or mechanical on her. She was probably just being cautious but there was a difference between being cautious and listening out for every farting mouse.

"I know." he replied with an odd look at her, "You sure you're not coming down with something? You look shook, rook."

Still, he readied his blaster and made sure that it was set for stun for the moment before looking back at the rookie.

"Blaster at the ready - if he tries to run, you bag his arse."

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

He asked her if she was feeling alright, and Thalia nodded, "Maybe I am a little superstitious of this place after all." she said flatly, glancing over the ledge down at the former fountain once more. She then looked at Lorcan, her focus on the objective reflected in the sharpness of her gaze. Pulling her blaster, Thalia switched it back to stun, taking note that their contact was a runner. Though if he were as suspicious about this place as Lorcan said he was, she would not be surprised if he already knew they were here.

She followed Lorcan down the stairs, carefully avoiding knocking any debris from her path, the whispers were growing louder as they approached the hideout. She couldn't sense their origin, they certainly were not coming from Lorcan, they were not her own thoughts, possibly could be the thoughts of the guy they were here for, or perhaps from the spirits of the past that were still trapped in the stone walls of the abandoned temple.

Thalia fell back a few steps, taking cover behind a fallen pillar, blaster readied and aimed in case he decided to shoot past Lorcan in his attempt to get out of this place.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Lorcan wasn't going to give her anymore stick for it because they weren't exactly going to get much of a chance to. Their whole reason for being here was just around the corner after all. With Thalia in place and his own weapon already set for stun, Lorcan had no qualms about speaking up.

"Victor!" he called out, false cheer clear in his voice, "It's Lorcan! Wanted to see if I couldn't have a little chat with you about something I've noticed, eh?"

There was complete silence for a second.

"Lorcan?! You rat bastard, you'll never take me in!"

Lorcan rolled his eyes as their prey, someone Lorcan had known for years, ran from his hiding place in the hollow of a broken pillar. The sandy-haired man was filthy but he didn't look to be armed as he raced away from where Lorcan was taking cover. Cursing, Lorcan took off after the man, chasing him across the debris-laden floor of the Temple's main hall.

"Victor just.... karking... stop running!" he grunted as he dashed after him, "Rookie! Take the right corridor - he's making a break for the landing pad!"

The old landing pad was literally the only landing pad for the old Temple still attached to the Temple. Though 'attached' was always something Lorcan thought was due to change any minute given how cracked the duracrete was.

Spoiler: Victor

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia watched and listened as Locran called out for their contact from his hiding spot. It was like as though someone came through and rattled through the trash to wake the rat. She heard him reply and a feeling told her to be ready for the man to dart from his hiding spot; she jumped out from her hiding spot as Victor took off and Lorcan followed, but his instructions echoed through the chamber and Thalia followed down the right corridor.

She reached into the Force, picking up her speed and senses as she navigated through the abandoned halls. She could hear the footsteps from the others echo through the abandoned temple, but she was going to make sure Victor could not get away. There was a passion that stirred within her, one that she wanted to prove herself to this cop that no one seemed to like and she was more than just a Rookie.

Stumbling into an adjacent hall, she paused, looking and listening as the shadows seemed to overtake this area, no light shown inside. It was almost like instinct, familiar to when she first felt the irkling when she was trying to overcome the Jedi Knight and she felt herself move before she could necessarily process it. She grabbed a handful of fabric as she stepped out of is path, pulling Victor to the ground. He was slightly taken off guard by the Ranger's reaction, but was ready to fight nonetheless; Thalia threw her weight on him, digging her knee into the center of his chest.

"Where do you think you're going? Didn't you hear? We needed a little chat." she said as he struggled, but the more he struggled, the harder she pressed.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Lorcan had to admit that he knew that Victor would run - but the last time he had seen Victor the smaller man had actually put on quite a bit of weight and had been a sloth made human as far as he was concerned. The fact that that same man was now damned near flying down the halls of the old Jedi Temple was not lost on Lorcan, but what he found strange was that it just all seemed so incredibly amusing to see the rat-like man sprinting.

"Victor slow down ya daft bastard!" he called out as he closed the distance, pouring on as much speed as he dared, "This is only making this conversation worse!"

Victor shot him a dirty look over his shoulder.

"I know the kind of talks you give, Lorcan!"

Alright so maybe having a reputation amongst some of the local fences was a bad thing. Lorcan went to respond when Victor spun slightly and flung something at him. Staggering in pain, it took Lorcan a few moments to realize that the rat-like little man had thrown a knife at him and it was stuck in his chest armor.

Catching up just as Victor was wrestled to the ground, Lorcan frowned a little bit as Victor paled.

"I threw a knife at you!"

... that seemed like a really dumb thing to shout out when you were captured by two law enforcement officers and it seemed even Victor realized it because he immediately started trying to bang his head against the floor. Lorcan tugged the knife out of his armor.

"Yes, well, luckily for you, Victor, you throw like a girl." he glanced at Thalia, "No offense. Thalia, you got any cuffs on you? If not I'll have to shoot his knee out."

Of course it was a bluff but... only a little bit. Lorcan didn't actually have any cuffs on him.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia's slightly widened as she saw Lorcan pull the knife out of his armor, commenting on the scumbag's throwing skills. She dug her knee a little deeper to make him stop hitting his head on the floor as she reached around her utility belt to pull out some zip ties for his wrists. "Shame, I do." she said grabbing his bony wrists to tie them together. The woman stood up, pulling him up with a handful of his shirt so he would be sitting up also.

"I suggest you answer his questions, you may not know when I may not have something he requests." she warned and took a step back, giving herself some space from the guy. Which was a welcome reward, given he did not smell the greatest. Thalia folded her arms across her chest looking up and down the hall in case of any other unwelcomed guests showed up. She was not too certain who this guy was or who he was connected with, keeping her on her guard, her senses spreading outward from her. The static she picked up from residue of the past that coated the temple seemed to interfere, but not so much she couldn't decipher when they would need to take cover or find an alternative.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Victor was secure.

Finally Lorcan could get what the hell he had actually came here for. Stepping away from Victor for a moment, he stood beside Thalia and made a show of drawing his vibroknife. While Victor was looking at the blade, Lorcan spoke to Thalia in a whisper that only she would be able to hear.

"You're good cop." he told her quietly, "Don't worry - I'm not going to actually make good on any of what I'm about to say, alright?"

Stepping away from Thalia, he threw the vibroknife. It landed in the stone between Victor's legs, not too far from something that the weasel-like man rather treasured. When Victor whimpered and was about to say something, Lorcan grabbed him by the face and shushed him.

"Shh shh shh... no no no... you don't talk yet." he bluntly informed the poor man, "You talk when you know what I want to know. And what I want to know is this; who's bringing in the 'supplement' shipments to medical Warehouse sector 1314?"

Victor shook his head rapidly.

"I don't know man - honest!"

Lorcan tutted.

"Come on; that's banthafodder and we both know it. Victor you slimy little shit! You either tell me what I want or I'm going to make you half a man!"

The fence shuddered.

"Nah, nah you've got it all wrong!" he looked to Thalia instead, "Come on luv, you know I'm telling the truth right?"

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Lorcan turned back to her, speaking softly as he began to remove the vibroblade, keeping the rat's attention, her eyes flickered to the man on the floor as he reassured he wouldn't make good on any of his threats. However, as he flung the blade, she was almost certain he was about to make good by pure accident. Though it seemed to work, the man was a coward, weak-willed, motivated by things that were minuscule to what others found in this galaxy. Thalia took a step to the side, giving her clear view of Lorcan's interrogation techniques.

He begged and pleaded that the cop had it wrong before turning his attention to Thalia. His tone completely changed as he set his eyes on her, trying to charm his way out of telling Lorcan what he needed. She reached into the Force, focusing on Victor, searching for his intention, "I'm the wrong person you should be sweet talking." she spoke, her eyes narrowed as she folded arms across her chest, "Would be a shame to lie, even more of a shame that you'd be linked to a number of bodies that could fill this place up...including your own. Though..." Thalia knelt down, getting eye level with the rat as she picked up the vibroblade that still stood in the stone between his legs.

"I thought it was looking pretty empty..." she shrugged examining the vibroblade.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Huh.

Looked like the Rookie had some stones eh? Smirking a little bit, Lorcan adapted to the shift in the dynamic he could feel when he was seeing her messing around with the knife. He patted Victor's cheek slightly as he gestured to Thalia was his other hand.

"Look Victor, you seem to think you can charm my friend here but that just ain't the case." he teased him, "You heard the news right? About Force users going rogue again? Calling themselves Sith?"

Victor froze in place and Lorcan grinned wider and turned back to Thalia.

"See Thalia, Victor here wasn't always a waste of space. He trained as a Jedi for a bit before he got hooked on some chems and ended up dropping out." he explained, "Such a shame, right?"

The fence stared at Thalia for a moment before glaring at Lorcan.

"Kark you Lorcan, that's bantha fodder."

Sighing, Lorcan raised his hands.

"Honest! I'm the least of your worries right now you washout Jedi."

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia kept not only her eyes focused on Victor, but also her senses as Lorcan took over, explaining the current events of the Force using world. The rookie Ranger was not unfamiliar with the news or the sensations she had experienced while encounter the ones who called themselves the Sith, however, she was surprised by Victor's reaction and even more by Lorcan's explanation about Victor's past. She looked at Lorcan quickly and then back at Victor, her senses expanding, Lorcan was telling the truth, Victor denied it.

"What?" her eyes narrowed onto the former Jedi, "He's right and you know it." she told Victor with a stern tone and for a moment she felt relieved that there were others who denied their ability to use the Force, but for him to spiral down into spice was a reminder of what could have been for the girl and she felt a spark of anger on how he would waste such an opportunity.

"Do you want to go back? To the Jedi?" she asked him and glanced at Lorcan as she awaited the response from the fence.

@Nefieslab

 

[Lorcan]

Ah it seemed that the Rookie had a few buttons to push and one of them seemed to be things relating to the Jedi and the Force and maybe even the Sith. He wasn't entirely sure which part got her all bothered but what did he care when the result was the same? Lorcan sighed a little bit and Victor swallowed thickly.

The fence tried to wriggle out of the cuffs and Lorcan smacked him round the back of the head playfully.

"I saw that." he chided before pointing to Thalia, "Answer the woman please Victor. I've got to take a speeder back to HQ with her and I'd much rather not be smelling your brains on the bottom of her shoes."

Victor scowled before shaking his head and spitting towards Thalia.

"The hell would I go back there? They're a bunch of lazy failures." he declared, "I'm just looking out for number one; and so far I'm not seeing a reason why I should stick my neck out to tell you guys anything."

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

There was a moment of small satisfaction to see Lorcan smack the guy in the back of the head, but the fence did not take to it lightly, and spat toward Thalia. She couldn't stop herself as her fist met his jaw before he could spout anymore nonsense about not having the information Lorcan is needing.

"I did not like that answer." she said and then looked at Lorcan, "Did you like that answer?" her gaze then fell on the Fence as she readied herself for another cheek response from the guy.

"I'm sure the Jedi will not like that answer either. For someone who thinks of them as a bunch of lazy failures, you sure are meeting those standards, you might want to set that bar a little lower, or is being in your own grave too low for you?" she hissed, "So here is your choice." she told him, patting his cheek to focus his gaze on her.

"Your choice is you either tell Lorcan what he wants, and don't lie about it, I'm very good at catching lies." she warned, "Or...I pack you up and send you back to the Jedi and their wizard council with a list of charges so you never set foot in any place except a cell surrounded by preachy monks."

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@Nefieslab