Ask Nothing's Simple

[Trace]

Trace had opened her mail at the academy on Taris and as her fingers ran over the ink, her heart skipped a beat and then several. The letter spoke about what "she and her horned friend" had done in the underbelly of Denon. Of the power that they kept to themselves and sought to corrupt.

But things got much worse. The fact that whoever this was had known all this and managed to track her down was bad enough. What was much worse was the references to her parents living on Taris. Though not a direct threat, the message was clear so far as she was concerned.

A few parsecs away, Altair would have received a similar letter detailing his exploits with his "blind friend." It would go on to stalk about his family on Bandomeer.

In a moderate amount of panic, Trace had reached out to Altair in an attempt to sort this out. After a quick call to her parents to ensure they were safe, she had traveled to meet Altair, hoping the two of them could get to the bottom of this... thing before anything horrible happened.

Was this the ISB? Was it some disgruntled Sith? A weird cult? A terrible prank? She didn't know, but she'd have been lying if she said she weren't panicking just a bit.

 

[Altair Din]

Rage. It was all he felt when he read the letter. His hands were trembling, fingers curled into fists. Had he brought a threat down on his entire family? Should he call everyone? Imani was the first one to pop into his head. With her contacts at who knows where she worked, he knew she could track this down in an instant. The downside was that it would cause all around panic and this entire thing could be nothing more than a bluff. His information was trackable if anyone looked through school records or through his social media, after all. Even then, it would take some digging, and that nagged at him.

By the time Trace showed up, she would catch him pacing back and forth. His tail flicked back and forth in deep agitation and the anger was clear on his face. He was mad at himself for being injured when they fell, he was angry they didn’t track down the fugitive then and he was angry at them both for not reporting the entire discovery up the chain of command.

“I’m gonna kill this fucker,” Altair growled as he glanced up at her. It was rare for the tiefling to get genuinely furious, but anything regarding his family made him see red instantly. He went to punch a wall but held back and simply slapped it instead. He knew he could easily put his fist through most surfaces.

“We can’t go in blindly again,” He said, but then he paused, clearing his throat as he looked at her, “No..no offense,” He muttered awkwardly before he continued, “We need a plan. I couldn’t find no information on any fugitive or a nexus or anything like that on Denon. Legit, no info at all,” He shook his head, “Shit makes no sense. Somethin’ obvious like a nexus would have some kinda buzz around it, right?”

 

[Trace]

Trace could feel his frustration even before she entered the room. It left a distinct scent in the Force, and she couldn't blame him for it. She had her deluge of emotions that she was contending with.

She walked in, sensing the movements in his tail, which she assumed meant he was upset. It certainly wasn't happy feeling, and her own emotions mixed with him, feeding silently off one another as they paced about the room.

Not if I kill him first, she said, not in argument but in agreement. They were of one mind as to the fate of this threatener.

His comment about going in blind and the subsequent apology would have garnered some witty comment at any other time, but she was far too upset right now for jests.

No info on the prisoner. On Denon. Access to information about us, she recapped out loud. They've gotta be Sith, right? ISB maybe? Who else would even have a concept of what a nexus is? Or be held in secret and be able to get information about both of us? she mused aloud.

If we're going to be hunting one of our own, we need to be careful. Do you... I don't know, have any off the record assets or anything? she asked. She really wasn't hopeful, they were only teenagers, after all.

I have some money from my family, but that's about it, she said. It was a couple thousand credits, but not enough to fund what could turn into a major counter-intelligence operation. She started trying to dig through her mind of the things she'd learned in the academy.

I think we need to go back to Denon first. Maybe we can track down a lead on this fugitive. Assuming that's who's behind this, she said. There was no guarantee that it was even that person.

And we shouldn't use our comlinks or datapads anymore. At least not for discussing this stuff. They might be... tapped into or something, she said.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair thought for a moment. Assets? The hell kind of assets would kids at the academy have? The tiefling blinked a few times before he looked at her sheepishly, “I…well…I got some shady connections,” He said without elaborating much. He had an entire social circle he knew from getting different kinds of drugs and herbs. Even if he didn’t engage in the harder stuff usually, he certainly knew people that knew others that meddled in things not exactly legal.

“Depends on what we’d need,” He shrugged vaguely. He wasn’t really the planning type, so this was not his forte. Her comments about not using datapads or comlinks caught his attention, “I can get us some burner equipment,” Altair said quickly. He almost considered asking Imani, but he knew she’d get very suspicious of what he was up to.

“I…don’t know if it’s a Sith behind this,” He said quietly, “A Sith wouldn’t have qualms with the nexus being corrupted,” Altair had no other suggestions. She was right in that they would have to return to Denon. He couldn’t help but look at her, quirking a brow.

“Is there a reason you ain’t wantin’ to report this?” He had his reasons, but he wanted to know hers. Regardless of her answer, he grabbed his bag and extra sets of weapons if needed and began to walk out. He didn’t have his own ship, so his plan was to simply find some crook willing to ferry them to Denon for a premium price.

 

[Trace]

She thought about his shady contacts, and although she didn't really have any concept of what that meant, it seemed like the kind of thing that would come in handy.

Good and good, she said, including his statement about burner equipment in her assessment. Unless the "corruption" is just our presence there as acolytes, she said. After all, the nexus was corrupted long before the two of them arrived. There was also a distinct possibility that this person was just coo-coo-ca-choo.

She was notably caught off guard when he asked why she didn't want to report it. She considered what to answer for a moment, trying to formulate some less than honest answer, but after a few moments decided to just be honest with him. Honesty may come in more important than normal if they were going to get out of this alive.

If we report it, you and I will never be able to go there again. The other Sith will... do something to it or secure it or claim it or... something, she said. Even if it was no longer an Imperial world, she didn't trust those higher up not to take anything found by their subordinates and find a way to seize it for themselves.

Someday it may be useful to have a location like that that no one else knows about, she finally said, deciding it was the best way to explain it.

Are we going to... steal a ship to take to Denon? she asked, hilariously jumping straight to the extremely illegal rather than just the questionable. We shouldn't take an academy ship and civilian transports aren't really going in and out right now, she said. Going back to get her parent's ship would be too slow and would raise too many questions of its own. She needed to get a ship... maybe when she graduated.

 

[Altair Din]

“Steal?” Altair asked with a grimace, “I was thinking we just pay some shady dude for it. You said you had money, yea?”

He was beyond surprised that she suggested stealing as the literal first option. Wasn’t this the same girl that lectured him for not having read the mission brief? Altair said nothing about it, leading the way out of the dorm area. His goal was to visit some of the sketchier districts on the planet where some of the cantinas drew merchants and traders from all over the galaxy that traveled all over the place. Surely they could convince one of them to take them on as stowaway.

It wasn’t long before the two were in a dark and grungy lower level corner of the city. There were neon lights and drunkards all around. Altair’s appearance did a great job at keeping people at bay, though Trace would have people leering at her that didn’t quite realize she could tell what was happening.

Altair pointed to a seedy looking cantina with a broken sign, “Might find somethin’ there,” He said as he walked over and flashed his fake ID. He looked over at Trace, suddenly realizing he hadn’t even asked if she had one…

 

[Trace]

Right, she said with a nod. Yes, that was probably better than stealing a ship. Yeah, I do. Hopefully enough, she said, having no idea how much a shady passenger trip cost. Probably not that much, right?

Ultimately, she followed him down into the pits of the planet, and she could feel the people leering at her. She could feel the lust in the air and she could sense debauchery everywhere. The scent of spice hung in the air, and she silently thought to herself how uncomfortable a place like this made her feel. But she was a Sith, and Sith didn't get the luxury of being prissy. At least not at her level.

They made their way down to one of the cantinas and he easily flashed his ID card. She didn't have one of those, and she paused for just a moment, debating turning back versus.... With a quick wave of her hand, she reached out to that ever-present ally, the Force.

You don't need to see my identification, she said quietly.

I don't need to see your identification.

I'm welcome to go inside.

You're welcome to go inside.

And with that, she slipped past him and through the door, turning toward Altair and shrugging. No one's looking for us down here and he's not strong-willed enough to report us, she reasoned, pushing her way inside.

Where should we start? she asked. A quick glance around the room would reveal a handful of likely candidates. A trandoshan sat quietly in one corner of the room, smoking... something. Everyone seemed to steer a bit clear of him. In another corner a group was huddled. Perhaps in their late twenties or early thirties, they seemed to be rather enjoying themselves, but the keen observer would notice the staff were extra-attentive as if this group had some sort of importance. Finally, there was an older gentleman, looking almost out of place but dressed in a rather nice suit who was on the second floor, watching what was going on within the bar. The second floor was not as crowded, but also no restricted from patron access.

Of course there were other patrons milling about as well, but most looked to be of the far less... sober sort or too young to be doing much more than just partying.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair could only grin as Trace used the Force to let herself in. His grin only widened when she justified what she did, “Look at you bein’ a bad girl,” He quipped to her, appreciation bleeding into his tone. The tiefling looked around at all the patrons, deciding right away that the Trandoshan’s body language suggested he had no desire to be bothered. The party group looked the most promising, but Altair was also wary of the gentleman up above that kept glancing over. Altair could spot what looked like some keys half dangling out of one of the group members’ pockets.

“Can you go chat ‘em up so I can swipe a key?” He glanced at her, shrugging vaguely, “Stealin’ saves us credits for later,” He rationalized as he gestured her forward. Altair stepped away to the side to make himself scarce and as if he were just heading towards the bar. A few people glanced over at him curiously, but most didn’t react at all. One of the plus sides of shady districts was that the people were far less concerned about what race or origin someone was. It was all about what job or credits you could offer.

The huddled group was a mixture of races, the loudest one a Rodian that was throwing back shot after shot. Next to him was a nautolan that had the keys. They were joking and laughing but spice running jobs that had gone awry in the past.

 

[Trace]

Her cheeks turned a shade more red and she tried not to smile as he made his comment, noting the appreciation that bled into his tone as he said it. Yes, well... it was practical, she said, clearing her throat momentarily.

As he told her to go chat up the others so that he could steal the keys, she nodded, seemingly not caring that he was planning on stealing from them. It seemed like a good plan to her.

Okay, yeah, I can do that, she said with a nod, though he would notice from her tone that she was perhaps not quite so confident in her ability to do this as her words would imply.

Nevertheless, she pressed on, trying to put on her best suave mindset as she made her way over. Her looks compensated for what she may have lacked in being smooth as she approached the Rodian.

Did I hear you're a spice runner? she asked, trying to affect her best ditzy, star-struck drunk girl vibe. She wasn't sure it really worked that well, and if Altair heard it, he'd probably think it was subpar, but she used the Force to... lighten the Rodian's mind. Combined with the alcohol he was imbibing at a gratuitous pace, most of her work was already done for her.

Meanwhile, as Altair snuck around to the backside, he would find an actually star-struck drunk girl that was fascinated by him. Wow, are those real, she asked, walking up and blocking his path as she reached out to try to touch his horns without asking.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair walked deeper into the cantina as Trace did her thing. He let her do all the talking, and from the looks of it she was doing a decent job playing the role - at least that's how it appeared. He stopped when some random girl came across him and he could tell she was a little buzzed. But damn she was hot! Altair gingerly stepped back when she went for the horns, but he didn’t move away.

“‘Course they’re real, babe, but you’re gonna have to work to touch ‘em,” He flashed her a wink. And so he found himself completely distracted from what he was supposed to be doing. Beautiful women were always going to be the bane of his existence. The girl was all too thrilled for his attention, and Trace would see Altair suddenly chatting up the girl instead of doing what he was supposed to.

“So what’s your name?” The Rodian, now impacted by the Force spell, was particularly interested in Trace, “Ain’t seen you around here before. What you hiding under that blindfold?” A few of the other men began to laugh. He patted the empty seat next to him, “Come take a seat, I’ll buy you a drink.”

 

[Trace]

Trace didn't have to "look" to see that Altair had been... sidetracked. Oh you've got to be kidding. Come on, she thought to herself. Now she was going to have to flirt with the drunk Rodian, wasn't she?

She mentally sighed and moved forward with it. Though he did offer to buy her a drink, so that... wasn't too bad. She slid into the seat, smiling widely as she leaned in against him. The smell of alcohol was very strong, but... actually, he seemed like maybe he wasn't so awful. Maybe things could have been worse and a few free drinks as well.

You can't ask a girl a question like that! she objected, putting a hand up to her mouth in faked astonishment. I haven't had nearly enough drinks to answer a question like that, but you're on the right track, she said.

I'm Trace, and I'm new here. What's your name? she asked.

Meanwhile, across the bar, the woman Altair was talking to jutted out her lower lip in a pouting face as he told her she couldn't touch his horns.

Come on, pleeeeease? she asked. I've never met a... she paused, realizing she had no idea what kind of species he was ...guy with horns before. I bet they're a lot of fun.