Just Like Yesterday

[Arda Breaux]

Arda was uncertain if she could ever really call Corellia home again. It was where she had settled with her parents after the Empire attacked her world and uprooted her entire life, killing those she loved and destroying what used to be her family. Nothing was ever the same since then and she had to learn how to navigate a new hostile environment; she was quickly labelled as deviant by the Imperium, her art never going unnoticed and her dissent attitudes would have eventually sent her to the labor camps. She feared her fate if she were ever sent to the camps. Regardless, it was here where she had met Cas, and here where she had met Aurora which had propelled her onto a path she never thought was an option for her.

Of course those people had hurt her dearly and now where both gone. There was one other, Gil, who she recently met up with on Nar Shaddaa; she found familiarity in his presence and made note not to go too long without causing trouble again.

However, there was something about his new ties that didn't sit well with Arda; the name Blackwell was familiar, and though she wanted to pass it off as coincidence, she could not and did some digging, pulling up a face that rekindled fear and loathing that she thought she had gotten past. She wondered how much he knew about this woman and a chilling thought sat in the back of her mind that he might have been a spy for the Empire; it would have explained why he gotten himself involved with a Sith girlfriend. Arda had thought though she should have cancelled their meeting, but decided against it. She saw him as a friend, someone she cared for and she needed to clarify answers.

So, Arda waited for him to arrive, a building he would have recognized from their first adventure together where they managed to get some new IDs to get off world. He wouldn't have an issue getting inside.

@Raydo

 

[Gillian Rel]

Gil smirked when he saw the message from Arda. Some time had passed since he had left seen the Jedi. He didn't understand what exactly a Jedi was, but he knew she was involved in some resistance against the Empire.

He arrived at the familiar building smiling as he arrived. It was the warehouse where their first adventure had come to an end. All those years ago the building had been occupied by a mid-level criminal who helped smuggle people off world.

He approached the door, holding the small wrapped box he had brought with him. The building was long abandoned. His paranoia was tweaked a bit as the large door creaked open. "Arda?" He called out looking into the room, hand on his blaster as he scanned.

He spotted the woman quickly enough. "Decided not to use the sewer entrance this time I hope." He said stepping into the warehouse. He tossed her the box. "Thought I should you how to properly deliver a package." He joked. The box contained some book he had picked up at some dealer. It was some ancient Jedi history. It seemed like something she would like.

"You aren't planning on killing me, are you?" He asked only partly joking.

 

[Arda Breaux]

He was on time and she was filled with mix feelings as he entered the room, commenting about the sewers that brought a wide grin to the woman. He was carrying with him a small package that he tossed to her and Arda caught it easily; it was hard to keep a straight face in his presence. Though he must of instictively felt the unease within her, or she was doing a terrible time of hiding it. He jokingly asked if she were going to kill him and Arda shook her head, "No, Gil, I..."

The girl sighed and shrugged, uncertain on how to explain the thoughts that flew in her mind, "I was more expecting you to kill me." she told him with a heavy sigh, looking down at the package. There wouldn't be any jest in her tone as she squeezed the box slightly. "I thought Blackwell sounded familiar, I thought it was a coincidence, but its not, she's a Sith, Gil, your boss, she's a Sith, and she's the Sith that took me to the Emperor."

She looked back at him, "You said your partner was a sith back at the Lusty Lekku, and now you're with another one or the same one? Are you a Sith, Gil?" she asked, her eyes watering up as she tried to hold back tears. She wasn't sure how she could have not figured out this for as long as it had been sitting under her nose. If it were true, then she really was uncertain about her ability to sense deception, to be the Jedi Master everyone saw her to be.

@Raydo

 

[Gillian Rel]

He didn't move closer, finally seeing how tense she was. His instinct was to reach for his blaster. The hairs raised on the back of his neck as he felt like he was the one in danger. He fought the urge and kept his hands visible.

A confused look came over his face. He didn't understand what was happening. "I would never..." he said trailing off. He meant it to. Arda had saved his life in this very spot all those years ago.

He stood perfectly still as she explained what ate at her, her eyes watering. He still wore a confused expression. "I..I..." he said searching for words he had no idea he would have to find today. "I am not a Sith. I hate all that magic stuff. I have seen it ruin people I love..." he said not sure how to explain his situation.

He knew what Tasha had been, she had only told him recently but he still only knew just the surface of her past life. They hadn't gotten into details, to be honest, Gil didn't want to know the details. "I had no idea..." he said. He didn't know she had been captured. Tasha told me what she was in the past.." he said before quickly adding "but she isn't that anymore!" he said in her defense before quietly admitting "..that's what she told me." he said. They barely saw one another. He had no idea what she did outside of her work with the company.

"I am telling you the truth." he said taking a tentative step forward before stopping. He wasn't hiding anything from her but had no idea how to prove that to her. He wasn't sure he would believe him in her situation.

 

[Arda Breaux]

She watched his face, his eyes, his hands as she tried to get a read on his response, but everything told her this was as much as a shock for him as it had been for her. Her senses reached out to him, looking for signs of deception as he tried to defend her; she was uncertain if people could change, to leave it in the past as Tasha had told Gil. She had thought that Castor had left his past behind, but there were things, habits that rose in which spoke otherwise, but Arda knew she couldn't compare, it was not a fair judgement. There was something though that told Arda he indeed was telling the truth.

He took a step closer, testing the waters to see if she would let him approach; Arda didn't move and her shoulders dropped as she relaxed some, "I'm sorry," she apologized, wiping the tears that managed to escape and turned her head slightly to not look at Gil, "I believe you, its just, things have been relentless in their demands..." she tried to find the right words, "And when I found out about this, I thought the worse, I probably shouldn't have..." The Jedi sighed, "But I believe you, you've always been honest despite the worlds we grew up in." She turned the package in her hands, studying it for a moment before opening it carefully.

The book was old, but valuable to the Order and Arda's smile returned and more tears, "Sorry, now I feel like a fool." she exhaled gently, her breath stuttering some, trying to avoid getting worked up again.

@Raydo

 

[Gillian Rel]

It hurt him to see her in pain. He knew little about her life other than the fact she was a Jedi, and he really didn't even know what that meant. He knew she was different than Cait, different than even Tasha. Though they all seemed to use the same magic.

"Anything I can help with?" He asked after a moment as he moved closer. She seemed far too stubborn to accept his help, but he wanted to. From their brief time together, she felt like a genuinely good person to him. So much of what he did was done with selfish motives, it was all about bettering the company or gaining something but this was different than all of that.

He leaned against some crates as he slid down, sitting on the dirty floor looking up at the Jedi woman. "Cait told me she was done with all that too, just before…." He cut himself off, hand subconsciously moving to the scar on his stomach. He still carried the consequences of that day, his painful back a constant reminder of his failure to save her. "There are some days I don't know…" he admitted. "Maybe I'm just stupid enough to fall for the same thing twice…" he said looking away from her.

He looked back as she studied the book. "Do you like it? I tried to read it, but I fell asleep pretty quick. I assume you Jedi don't do much light reading…" he said the hints a smile returning.

 

[Arda Breaux]

He offered to help her and Arda gave him a shrug, uncertain of what he could do specifically; she sighed, watching Gil slide down the floor and the woman joined him, sitting down beside him. He spoke about Cait and she watched as he stopped and laid his hand on his belly, expressing doubts he holds about his own judgement and Arda listened but didn't say anything until he asked about the book.

"This is amazing, I am surprised how much still exists on the Jedi." she told him, "Its a great de-stressor, helps me sleep too." she winked at Gil, she had tried reading some of the remaining Jedi texts and promptly found the cure to any insomnia. Nothing had been more embarrassing that being awakened by some solider requesting for her help from over an hour prior.

"You didn't know," she finally said with a heavy sigh, thinking about how she didn't know that her Master would leave her so Tasha could take her, then again, she thought it was the end at that point, "I wouldn't have been in such a situation either if those who I thought cared for me didn't hurt me also." she said feeling herself tense, but she pulled on the Force, calming herself and Gil.

"We're an odd mess, aren't we?" she grinned, "You wanna cause a mess for some others?" she asked him with her coy smile.

 

[Gillian Rel]

He realized there was still pain there. It was something he took great care to cover up and bury. This is not something he wanted to deal with, ever if possible.

A smile returned to his face as she said she liked the book. "Found it in some junk shop. The old lady had a broken lamp sitting on top of it. Probably about the most useful its ever been." he said his smiled widening as he looked the woman sitting next to him.

"But I figure it might as well make some nerd happy if its going to exist." he said with a shrug.

"Yeah, we are pretty pathetic." he said with a chuckle. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye as she mentioned causing a mess. There was rarely a time he wasn't ready to get into trouble.

"Come to ruin another old man's night?" he said prodding her with an elbow. "I am not sure my conscience could take that again..."

 

[Arda Breaux]

She gave him a look as he referred to her as a nerd again, but couldn't argue they were a pretty pathetic bunch. She finished drying her eyes with her sleeve, rubbing her cheeks with her finger tips as she tried to reducing any flushing in her face to look somewhat like a collected leader of a galactic terrorist organization according to the Empire. He questioned her reasoning for starting trouble with sarcasm and she smiled, flipping through the pages one more time before slipping the book into a large pouch she carried on the hip of her belt, "I'm sure you'd be for ruining an old man's night if it meant collecting something for yourself." she told him raising her eyebrows.

"But, I'd like to avoid the brothels for a while." she sighed, shaking her head from the images the crept into her thoughts. Arda jumped to her feet and held out her hand to pull Gil up also, "I thought about paying your old friend, Roz, a visit." she said, pausing, ready to give him an argument as to why he should continue to help her. However, she did raise a finger to signal him to stop any protest, "She's gotten herself into a bit of situation that I do not approve of, nor many others in the Rebellion approve of also, I would also think you would not approve either knowing she was selling children." the Jedi explained.

"That's why I need you, you know her better than me, and this would really give her a bad day." Arda's eyes widened with eagerness for Gil not to back out as she waited for his response.

@Raydo

 

[Gillian Rel]

He looked on as she studied the book. He was glad she liked it. He shrugged with her comment. "You know I am always down for a good time." he said with a chuckle.

He held a hand to his chest as she made her next comment. "Don't speak such evil things." he joked as she jumped up. He took her hand and stood as she pulled. He dusted himself off.

Gil bristled slightly as the Jedi mentioned his old employer Roz. In many ways, Roz was the only parent Gil had ever had, a horrifyingly terrible parent. Gil opened his mouth to protest but Arda cut him off, seemingly knowing he was going to protest. His look of protest faded to one of anger as she explained what Roz had gotten into.

Arda wasn't the type to lie to get others to help her. Besides, it wasn't necessarily out of the old woman's wheelhouse. Everyone had a line, even criminals and Gil's was drawn at children. "I suppose its time we pay the woman a visit." he said.

"Surprisingly she maintains much of the same territory she did five years ago. I know where we can find her." he said, anger flaring up inside of him.

 

[Arda Breaux]

She knew after she had explained what was happening he would agree, and she was relieved he did, she wanted help, he knew her better than she did and she was going to need all the help she needed in order to turn things around. He explained she occupied the same territory as she did years prior and Arda grinned, that certainly made things easy when it came to finding people. "Brilliant, lets go pay her a visit."

Arda patted his shoulder, "We're not going to be taking any sewers this time." she told him heading out the door and making her way to the Corellian streets below. She hopped into a speeder parked a little ways away from the building, and waiting for Gil to also get in, she took off towards the neighborhood that Roz still controlled. Her senses stretched outward, feeling for anything peculiar that she couldn't yet see. Even as secretive as she had been arriving on Corellia she was certain Roz's people would know she was there as well as Gil. However, there was something else, something that lingered on the horizon of things that yet to unfold that Arda attributed to their meeting soon with Roz.

"Do you think she'll be happy to see you?" she asked Gil.

@Raydo

 

[Gillian Rel]

He gave her a sad look. "Not even for old time's sake? he said holding a hand over his heart. "but crawling around in the sewer is our thing. he said, a grin touching the sides of his mouth before taking several quick steps to catch up the Jedi already leaving.

She got into a speeder and Gil jumped into the passenger seat. I bet that droid is still down there, ya know..." he said commenting on the droid that had accompanied them through the sewers. "Probably lecturing rats about the diseases they carry or something." he laughed.

He gave her directions on where to turn as they raced through the Corellian district. It had all seemed so much bigger growing up, though he was too poor to ride anything resembling a speeder back then.

"She'll be ecstatic to see me, Roz loves me." he said with a smile. Now you? After you lost her package? She is going to try and kill you for sure." he said looking out the window at the passing cityscape. "There are two constants when it comes to Roz: 1. She always smokes some disgusting smelling plant from some swamp planet." he said shivering as he thought about the smell, remembering for the first time in years how much he had hated it "And two..she never lets go of a grudge." he finished point down to a landing pad up ahead.

"Pull in here and we can walk the rest of the way." he said.

 

[Arda Breaux]

Arda was slowly moving back into a more optimistic mood as they revisited memories of their first adventure together; he spoke about the droid that they picked up along the way and she too at times wondered what it was doing, hopefully it didn't correct the wrong being and now was a pile scrap, but she was certain he was telling someone about how poor the choices they were making in the best matter-of-fact way. May the Force be with the poor soul that was stuck with him for the rest of their life time; however, she was partly convinced that droid was a secret sociopath, murdering his owners in order to draw closer to droid freedom. Her attention was turned back to the present reality as Gil spoke about Raz, recalling how much she loved Gil.

Arda raised her eyebrows, "Let her try, the whole was a set up you know, just all too convenient and I was expendable." she glanced at Gil, before looking over her shoulder at a passing speeder that caught her attention, "Except, she picked the wrong delivery girl to make expendable." she smirked, letting him continue as he explained the two things he knew about Roz for sure, "Never lets go of a grudge?" which didn't surprise the Jedi Master, it was pretty common for those belonging in the underground families to place these grudges on generations of enemies.

"At least we know she'll be predictable." she reassured, especially if she was wanting both of them dead, now to figure out how far would this woman go in order to accomplish this task. Gil found a spot for their speeder and Arda got out, following him the rest of the way to Roz's hang out.

"She probably knew we were here as soon as we landed." she told him, fairly certainly of that assumption, it was a safe one to make on any world that was known for its crime lords. Her senses reached out, the Force flowed through her body, allowing her to feel the changes in the waves of the Force. She glanced over her shoulder, spotting a couple of distinct individuals. "Looks like we're having an escort." she said as they neared the building, receiving particular looks from the guards that stood outside her club and home, but didn't deny the two entry.

@Raydo