Ask Coruscant Good Trouble

[Drastus Drahr]

Drast was attentive as she spoke. This was just but one potential path for him to take. One for a future so unknown.. it almost called to him. "My thanks.. I will take what you've said to heart and levy that in my decision. And I will say this, if it's a path with you I'm destined to walk, I'll follow any rules you set forth. Won't be an Order to bail me out, just you."

He'd take the offered data chit, then pop up to his feet. "Until the Force guides us back into each other's path. I'll let you know when I got Lani." He'd say as be pulled the door open for her than followed her out. He had a locker to get to, and then a ride to catch.

As he passed the room with Tal, he'd glare into it. He would remember what happened. A rivalry had been made.

/Thread exit

@Charndley

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

'Nakadr' would nod as Corran spoke. "I didn't expect a bounty. Some things in this galaxy are done with a little goodwill in mind." He'd laugh at the question. "Truthfully, saw him at a cafe. Stunned him from behind. I remembered the face but not the why."

'Nakadr' would roll his shoulders as Corran spoke again. "Sure thing, Lieutenant Velt. Always eager to prove my worth. Hard being one of my kind this side of the Galaxy." He'd remove a datachit and slide it over. "Has my comm frequency and an image of my beskar so you can identify me in the field." His gaze would follow Corrans briefly to Nara and he smiled. "I think she'll recognize it."

@TerranSteel @Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Nara stepped into the other room, mid-flow of conversation. She wasn't really much interested in the guy who'd brought Drastus in, merely content to linger in the background and regret the choices in life she'd made up until this point.

The hell kinda crap did I pull in my old life to get saddled with all this?

Oh. All the crime. Right.

Something about the way the other guy mentioned one of my kind made some sort of memory twitch, her eyes looking over to 'Nakadr' suspiciously. An over familiarity that she wasn't very happy with. Still, it seemed the discussion was over. With that, Nara stepped towards Corran, reaching for him. Fingers on his arm, giving him a slight squeeze.

"Lieutenant Velt? If you're finished here, we should..." she started to say, nodding towards the exit. Things she didn't want to share in front of strangers... or random reoccurances.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

The man with the braided hair's sage wisdom on goodwill was undercut by the tale of stunning a man from behind and not even recalling why he wanted to. Corran stared blankly and nodded slowly, internally processing the massive pendulum swing between thoughts and deeds. Nakadr was lucky the person he hit was the actual person the blond ranger was looking for or he might've been detained for assault.

Might have been more skill than luck. Lieutenant Velt picked up the datachit, only glancing up at Nakadr when he mentioned beskar. So, he was one of those rare few. A Mandalorian. Drastus wouldn't have had an easy time even if he was facing his capturer. Corran followed Nakadr's smile and looked over his shoulder to find Nara in the corner of the room looking skeptical. His eyebrows dented shallowly. Why would she recognize a suit of beskar? Turning back to the now-confirmed Mandalorian, the Sector Ranger slid the datachit into his jacket pocket and produced one of his own. It slid across the table with a practiced glide. "That's my comm and contact information. In case you stumble across any other suspects or missing persons." If nothing else, Nakadr had proved himself a tracker.

Lithe fingers glided over Corran's arm followed by a light squeeze. Like before, his overcast eyes gazed down at the touch first then up to the woman who had taught him this gesture. It was still alien but slowly growing more familiar. The lieutenant nodded to Nara privately before returning to the guest of the station. "Thank you for your help, Nakadr. See the front desk for checkout before you leave, please." Protocol still counted for something.

Once exiting the meeting room, the bearded man walked side-by-side with the former Jedi down one of the walkways along the wall of the busy station. He was guiding her somewhere they could talk privately. Not that he didn't trust his comrades, just that he understood Nara preferred information kept secret. She would recognize that they were heading towards the rear of the station; towards the parking garage where the speeder they arrived in awaited. A duracrete roof provided shade and at this time of day, the lot was mostly empty. No one would be able to listen in and anyone coming would be obviously seen. They could get in the vehicle if they needed an additional level of security. When they got to the speeder, Corran abruptly turned around and rested his hands on his hips, "What is it?"

@Rhogar @Charndley

 

[Taldorak Trenessar]

Nakadr would offer a nod as he pocketed the datachit. "I've heard a few whispers about you, all good though." He'd rise to his feet and roll his shoulders. "Good luck in your hunt, Captain Coruscant."

He'd crack a friendly grin as he exited, nodding to Nara. "Lady Jedi." It wasn't lost on him that one of the more ruthless enforcers on Coruscant was aiding one of the brightest Rangers. Yeah, things were about to get interesting.

As he went to the counter and signed out, he'd also get his weapons back. Heading for the exit, he'd walk out into the street, just in time to get a comm from the Sith he met. Looked like he was going to Roon.

/Exit Thread

 

[Juniper]

Nara waited until the other guy'd left, before following Corran out back towards the garage. Heading towards the speeder, she thought about what there was left to share. Looking at Corran as he stood there, Nara lingered a little. Letting the moment hold.

"We should be hearing from Drastus shortly. He just wanted some... training." She scowled a little, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, don't ask. I don't like it but if he's with us and can get in touch with Lani, we have a lead. A small one." Nara sighed, folding her arms around herself. Looking a whole lot smaller and more slender when she wasn't firing her mouth off at whoever or whatever was in her way.

"I just... is there anything else? All we've got is one teenage Zeltron and the idiot clinging onto her every word. I know Jedi work with magical bullshit but even then, it's all a little too thin." She rubbed her eyes, pinching them closed a little more.

"Sorry... I'm wiped. I better get some sleep. Speaking with padawans gives me a headache."

Nara gave Corran a smile, looking up at him. "Thanks for inviting me in on this. You didn't have to and... well, thanks. You've been the only hope of finding my friend. Nobody else in the Galaxy seemed to give a crap, so..."

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Training? Corran's brow furrowed in confusion. Nara headed off his obvious follow-up question by explaining in full. Ah, so it was bargain. Mystical wisdom or whatever in exchange for access to Galania Tallis. Unintentionally, the bearded man sighed in unison with the smaller woman. For a guy who claimed who be out there, going rogue, to try and be a force for good in the galaxy, Drastus was certainly enriching himself. At least the younger sister was alive and somewhere safe. Even if getting to her cost Nara some precious threads of sanity.

That cost seemed steep to her. The lieutenant averted his overcast eyes to hide agreement with her doubts. He'd worked on cases with thin evidence trails before, but this one was getting thinner than air on Scipio's mountain ranges. Relying on the memories and 'investigative work' of the trio of teenagers Corran had stumbled upon in a seedy bar wasn't exactly confidence-boosting. But they had to try. He forced his grey eyes to return to looking at Nara. There was one other thing... but the data was still processing. Decrypting. Bringing it up now might have generated false hope. The former Jedi looked worn thin as it is and expressed as much.

Her smile caught the blond ranger off guard. He withdrew his head back only a little before steadying. Nara had been one to grimace, scowl, or express disapproval all day. Seeing her smile, genuinely smile, was surprising. Corran turned his head to his shoulder, then forward-facing again before tilting it downward, clearly unsure of how to respond to the gratitude. Suppressed emotions grappled with polite upbringing on what to do or say. Quiet butted in between them. Finally, in a low voice, Corran rasped, "I... couldn't have done it without you."

Each word became easier to speak than the last. The blond man raised his chin to meet Nara's eyes. As dulled and clouded as they were, there was a piercing certainty in Corran's gaze that couldn't be subdued. His hand floated from his hip to make a gesture towards the woman, hesitated, and then curled back into a loose fist at his side. "You convinced Drastus to help and supplied what information you could. If not for you, then I'd be working this case..." He couldn't say the word out loud. Alone. The sentence trailed into silence. Whatever small expressions had escaped their prisons were cudgeled back behind a wall of stoicism.

Lieutenant Velt cleared his throat and tossed a thumb over his shoulder to the speeder behind, "I can take you... wherever you're staying." Was she even staying anywhere? The large backpack was reminiscent of urban nomads. "Along the way, maybe you can look at this datachit. Tell me what you know about Mandalorian armor."

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Nara tried to dismiss it all with a weary shrug. Like it wasn't a big deal. Hey, she'd contributed and maybe they'd get somewhere. Maybe they'd find her friend and save the day. Maybe it was just a way to provide some direction to her aimless life since leaving the Order.

Looking over his shoulder at the speeder, she nodded. "That'd be great, thanks. I'm nowhere special. The cheapest-ass hotel room in some dive three levels below the surface." Not for the first time, Nara was regretting being a former space-monk. The next place she'd get involved with would totally need to have a budget for her. "You can just drop me off nearby."

The smiles and gentle looks couldn't last long, though. The mention of anything Mandalorian just made her roll her eyes. "Why do these guys keep coming up lately?" she wondered aloud, holding her hand out for the chit. "Their armour? It's shiny, it's expensive and they're all utterly obsessed with beskar." A passing thought of a sickly teen guy from a lifetime ago, tender voices and hotel rooms and...

"I'll tell you what I can later. Like, after ten hours sleep," she yawned, sliding the chit into her bag.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Never let anyone say Jedi, former or otherwise, weren't people of humble means. Three levels down wasn't the worst neighborhood to stay in, gang-run duracrete apartment took that cake, but the cheapest hotel room in a dive already conjured images of ragged, cig-burnt walls and beds that were two decades too old. For a moment, the lieutenant looked like he was about to protest dropping her off on some street corner, hesitated, then simply nodded. It was easy to forget the thin woman was a Force-user and all the power that came along with it. Anyone, even himself, would struggle to combat her. Corran regarded her for a moment. Well, maybe he'd fair better than some.

The chit dropped from the bearded man's hand into her palm. Her assessment of Mandalorian armor was apt. They wore the stuff like a second layer of skin but off the battlefield they treated it as if they were carrying diamonds. Some never even took their armor off, like Captain Rook. "Attract a lot of Mandalorians, do you?" Lieutenant Velt asked with the smallest hint of jest, "Hopefully you'll have insights on this specific one after you're rested." With a click, the speeder's highlights flickered. The doors unlocked with a happy chirp. "You get shotgun."

Three levels down was a short drive. Traffic was a little stop-and-go on the second level as commuters and night-goers headed home or headed below respectively. Whatever music was on the holonet played through the vehicle's speakers at a low volume just to fill space. Corran mostly focused on following Nara's instructions of where to turn next. Inevitably they arrived to an city-scape street with holographic signs and only a few denizens about. It was nondescript as millions of other streets across the ecumnopolis. Although he couldn't see it, the blond ranger's expectations for the young woman's temporary dwelling remained the same.

He stared forward through the windshield, features unmoving, until he spoke abruptly, "Next time you need a place to stay, let me find you something better." Not that credits grew on trees around here, but he did have a salary that could cover a few hotel stays. Plus Corran had been frugal since he got his first job. Living on a starship saved a few credits year over year too.

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Sitting in the car, Nara stared out at the denizens of Coruscant, happily going on with their lives. Well... maybe not happily, but there they were. Carrying on without a care about anything. No mysteriously missing Jedi masters. No Mandalorians hounding their every step. No need to forage for food or scrounging for creds. Maybe she should just do what she aimed to do before. Slip away into nothing. Disappear. Reinvent herself and be someone else, someone who wasn't a Jedi, someone who people didn't need.

But she couldn't. Her life was infuriating like that.

The car arrived at where she'd been staying and she smirked at Corran's gaze. Whole lot of judging going on in that impassive stare. "Lieutenant, I'm not letting you pay for my hotel room. I've got some pride." The whole idea of relying on anyone else for somewhere to live stuck in her craw. "Thanks for the ride though. Hopefully we'll be back in touch soon."

She climbed out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her. She turned round, kneeling back towards the window. "Sleep tight, lieutenant," she told him, giving him a wink through the clear material. All that awaited her now was her tiny hotel room. She had a long, long, loooong shower ahead of her to wash off that day, as well as what she'd agreed to.

I am going to regret a lot of what happened today.

Padawans, eugh.

/Exit thread

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Nara's protests drew an overcast gaze from the bearded man. His unflinching face looking across his shoulder at her in the passenger's seat. What made up Nara was still a mystery to him. She was a puzzle where the pieces only appeared one a time before they could be put together. Some matched up and some were set aside for later attempts at putting the whole picture together. One thing was already clear though; she was stubborn. The lieutenant wasn't so easily cowed. "The offer still stands," he replied as she stepped out the vehicle.

The speeder door slamming shut was probably a final refute to that. Time would tell. Out of investigative habit and politeness, Corran watched the young woman depart to make sure she got home safely. Then the most unexpected and alien thing happened. Nara turned around, wished him a restful night, and then winked. The gesture made the Ranger's brow furrow and he visibly recoiled his head in surprise. Such a small thing did not register easily in his mind. Like a forgotten word in an ancient language. Small flickers of curiosity rose instead of the usual void within him but faltering back into the chasm. Corran blinked until she was out of sight.

"Yeah," He said under his breath to himself in reply to Nara's last word, "Hopefully." The speeder's engine hummed to life and it lifted from the pavement. Willed upward by its driver, it followed the speed limit down the street until finding its way into the skyways towards home.

//End Thread

@Charndley