Ask Coruscant Partner Up, Buttercup

[Luna Chu]

The day was starting as it normally does: Luna sitting in the police chief's office. She had been in that room more times than she could count on her fingers, toes, someone else's fingers, and someone else's toes. Chief Kanou paced back and forth behind his desk with his hands behind his back. "Ms. Chu, today I'm deciding to finally do something about you." Luna took out her lighter and lit a cigarra "You kicking me out? You know you need everyone you can get." She took a quick puff, blowing the smoke back towards Kanou. "You're absolutely right, I can't kick you out, not right now that is." Luna arched her eyebrow in curiosity "You see, we have a new girl coming to town, and she is going to be your new partner." Kanou looked at his watch "In fact, she should be here any second." It wasn't necessarily shocking information to the delinquent, besides, she's been wanting a partner for awhile.

"Was that suppose to be bad informa-" before she could finish, the chief continued "If you fail to train her properly, I can kick you out and she'll take your spot." Luna's eyes widened, she immediately sat up and took her cigarra out of her mouth "Huh?" Chief Kanou smiled "On top of that you're coming back up to the surface levels" The upper levels of Coruscant was generally the easiest post, since little to no crime ever occurred there. However, Luna wasn't the type to sit back and have an easy day; she slammed her fist on the table "excuse me?!" Kanou stopped pacing and placed both of his hands on his desk, leaning forward towards Luna "Oh, and you're back on the day shift." Luna stomped her foot on the ground and rose up from her seat "What the fuck!" she shouted. The two would begin arguing back and forth, throwing expletives and disrespectful hand gestures towards one another.

All the other individuals in the department watched through the glass walls of the office. Luna's arguments had become daily entertainment for them; they would place bets on who would swing on the other first: Chief or Luna. The whole sha-bang would end as Luna stepped out of the office, flipping the Chief off "Fuck you! You can kiss my ass!" Right as she was about to slam the door Kanou quickly responded "I don't like used obje-" his voice was cut off with a loud thud. Luna turned away from the door and looked around the room at her coworkers "You all enjoying yourself?" she asked angrily, flicking her cigarra into a nearby trashcan. The group would slowly go back to what they were doing, grumbling while doing so.

Tags: @lizziie

 

[Rei Bijou]

Rei's shiny new badge was almost as shiny as her newly polished glasses. It had only been a week since she'd strut across the graduation stage and had the metal insignia pinned to her jacket, and now she was walking into a police station in that same jacket, but with a hell of a lot more nervousness in her wringing hands. There wasn't really anything in particular causing her nerves, just first-day-on-the-job stuff.

The heavy, rhythmic echo of the heel of her boots followed her down the empty tiled hallway and was instantly muffled to nothing as soon as the floor transitioned into the plain, brown pattern office carpet. The distant chatter of office workers was soon replaced by silence, and one voice in particular calling out, asking them if they were enjoying themselves. What was going on?

Rei pushed open the door that led into the office and was met with the collective gaze of the room. They only lingered there for a second before returning to their jobs, but it was enough to spark a few more nerves in her.

"Chief Kanou?" Rei made her way through the room, passing by Luna on the way, and pushed open the glass door into the police chief's office. "I'm Reine Bijou. The-"

"Ah! Miss Bijou, come in, come in," interrupted the man, still a bit red in the face from his shouting match with Luna. A bit of the color drained out, and Rei was left wondering what she'd missed. Since the woman was already in the room, she just shuffled in a bit more, then stood behind the chairs in front of his office desk and rested her weight on one of her hips. "We're so glad to have ya. We can use everyone we can get." Rei managed an awkward smile in response to that, but wasn't sure what to say or if she should even reply to that.

"But, enough with the small talk. You have an impressive transcript from the ranger school and a pretty clean record. A bit of a slump at the beginning of high school... but no criminal records. Good. Good. Maybe you'll be a good influence on her."

"Excuse me sir, but her?" Rei had no idea who the police chief was referring to, and she briefly glanced out the glass office windows into the greater room. Was she going to be partnered up with someone? Her suspicions were validated soon after. "Yes, my bad. I'll be having you working together with another one of our officers here. Her name is Luna Chu. She's..." Chief Kanou trailed off while he tried to decide the nicest way to describe the pain in his ass. "She'll be training you. The two of you will be assigned to day shifts on the surface for the length of your training."

Day shifts? Rei repressed the disappointment in her facial muscles and kept her neutral smile. Surface level though... she wasn't too mad about that. There would be less of the grimy crime of the lower and mid-levels, and hopefully more of the exciting, high-profile stuff she'd been daydreaming about for a few years now. She could just imagine busting a casino heist, or stopping a high-speed speeder chase through the airways. "Oh, okay. Where is she now? When do I get to meet her?"

"She's right outside... MS. CHU!"

tag: @Altaria

 

[Luna Chu]

While everyone dispersed, Luna couldn't help but notice some stranger in their space. "Does this bitch have a fucking pin on her jacket?" she thought to herself. Before she could say anything, the girl had walked past her and into the office. Luna's jaw dropped "No fucking way four eyes just walked past me like that." She wouldn't consider herself a rocket scientist, but it was quite obvious who her new partner was. Chief Kanou glanced towards Luna for just a second and winked. A scorching fire bursted within Luna "I could fucking kill him right now, it would be so easy. Take a half second to draw my iron, put two in his dome through the glass, and sprint my way the fuck out of here..."

Bursting her violent thought bubble was the Chief calling Luna in. She entered and immediately flicked him off again. "So, Ms. Bijou, this is your partner Luna Chu. She's been in the force for a year now so she has quite the experience." He looked towards Luna with a grin "If you have any problems during your training, please do not hesitate to inform me Ms. Bijou." Luna motioned the girl to come with her. "The only problem she'll have is seeing you cry yourself to sleep when your wife shows you that video of her getting her back broken in by some Pantoran dude she was with down in Uscru." Kanou's grin immediately disappeared as he was at a loss of words. Luna made her way out of the room and held the door for Rei, but continued with her attack "It was a great video too, my recording skills are getting better. Let her know I'm free next weekend for another girl's night out." The door would be closed with another slam; Luna put some extra force behind it than usual, but somehow the door still refuses to shatter.

"So new girl," Luna put her hand out "Luna Chu, good to meet ya. Don't worry about what just happened, he's really the only one I treat like that. Before you ask though, his wife did not fuck some Pantoran dude; it was a Twi'lek. Anyways lets take a walk." She'd lead the girl out of the space back into the hallway in which she came from. "So tell me about yourself choom, like the basic shit: where ya from, hows' ya family, relationships or relationship struggles, why you joined, any interesting events, or you can just ask me a crap load of questions. Nova ass glasses by the way, must have cost quite a few creds." The whole time they walked, Luna was looking Rei up and down. Well, there wasn't much 'up' due to her being short. The brand new badge was also an eyesore, but everyone had to start somewhere. They would eventually make their way outside the station in the bustling streets of Coruscant, level 3321 to be exact.

Tags: @lizzie

 

[Rei Bijou]

Luna - her new partner, apparently - entered the room, and just as soon as she did, the tension in the air became palpable. Clearly, the chief of police and this woman did not like each other to any degree, and it didn't take much to figure that one out. Rei's reaction to the exchange was a little underwhelming, though. Her eyebrows raised and her eyes looked a bit taken aback, but she wasn't so dumbfounded as to stand around like a deer in the headlights.

"Rei Bijou, likewise." The woman followed Luna through the open door and down into the hallway, ignoring the looks from the other workers in the room as the two of them made their exit. Luna began talking again immediately after they left, asking Rei to tell her all about her life and who she was. It was a lot to process, but she couldn't find a reason not to. Why the hell not?

"Um, well, I grew up middle class. Mom was a librarian and Dad was a local politician turned engineering professor... at the same university. It was pretty much expected I'd go into academia like them."

They stepped outside, and Rei zipped up her jacket before continuing. The weather controllers had set the temperature down ten degrees or so for one reason or another, so the air had the faintest echo of a bite in it.

"They weren't exactly pleased when I told them I'd applied for the NR ranger school, so I moved out right after graduation." She said it nonchalantly, but if Luna was the perceptive type, she might catch the slightly bitter undertone. Like she wasn't actively moping about it, but there was definitely some unresovled conflict between her and her folks.

"Okay, your turn. What's your story? And what's up with you and the Chief?"

tag: @Altaria

 

[Luna Chu]

"Guessing you grew up here. That's cool... I guess." Rei didn't give her a lot of details to work off from, besides the extra bit about her parents. No one really brings up something like that randomly, at least, if they were contempt with their situation. Although Rei may have said it nonchalantly, the act of bringing it up was so out of place; She didn't even explain why she wanted to be a ranger.

Luna would lead Rei down the busy street while answering her questions. "From Ord Mantell.. moved here not too long ago. I did some dirty work to scrape by." She didn't wanna mention how she was a stripper; not because she was ashamed or anything, in fact, she loved her job. It just would've been awkward to bring up, especially in an introduction. "Always wanted to make a name for myself. Looked up to different legends like Preef Callo, Bast Emblai, and some other popular gunslingers. Joining the Rangers was just a way to put my foot in the door."

Attention was something that Luna always craved, and she herself knew it. She's typically loud and obnoxious; her presence is most definitely felt when she's around. This probably explains her early career choices. Luna deals with the problem by smoking them away.

Before moving onto the Chief, Luna took out her lighter and a pack of cigarra's, lighting one for herself. She would hold out the pack for a moment in case Rei wanted one as well. "As for the old bastard back in that office, well, we just don't see eye to eye on how things should be done." Luna put the cigarra into her mouth, inhaling the toxic chemicals into her lungs before exhaling it all out. "He's been trying to kick me out for awhile, but can't afford to do so due to our low numbers. However that all changes with you." Luna stopped right before a crosswalk and turned towards Rei. "As long as you do fine, then I'll keep my job. So don't mess this up, you don't want me to be on the other side." Luna stared directly into the iris of her new partner while in silence. It didn't last long though, as she quickly broke out into a laugh. "Just kidding you Gonk, now let's head up top."

Luna would lead the way to the nearest planetary elevator, which would bring them up to level 5110. During that time Luna would've asked any questions that Rei had. Upon stepping out they were immediately blasted with the sun, it wasn't too hot, but spending too much time down below can make it feel a bit funny feeling the actual sun. Cars and other vehicles would buzz around, the streets were unfathomably crowded. "Not much happens up here, so there should be nothing to worry about. Some people love getting this shift, but I dread it. Although I have you now, so consider this a play-date." Luna's eyes latched onto a nearby street vendor "Ooh! He's selling Porg Kabobs!" she pointed towards the stand and rushed over to grab some for herself.

Tags: @lizziie

 

[Rei Bijou]

Rei listened attentively as Luna started talking, glancing over to her now and then as they continued their way down the busy street. Otherwise, she kept her eyes on the street around them, conscious of how eyes made their way to the shiny new badge pinned to the outside of her jacket. After a few minutes, Rei grew a bit uncomfortable and instead moved it to the inside of the leather garment. She took the offered cigarra to soothe her frayed nerves and lit it with her own lighter which she procured from her pant pocket.

Luna made her comment - or what Rei perceived to be a warning (a threat?) at first - and Rei proceeded to choke on a cough, taken aback by the other woman's sudden seriousness. Clearly, Rei was nervous, and she didn't seem all too soothed by the cigarra held firmly between her index and middle fingers. She managed an awkward laugh, at least, hoping to cover up the first-day-"i don't know what the hell to expect"-nerves.

The two of them made their way over to the level elevator with about one hundred other people, and Rei took several long hits before crushing the cigarra under her boot and joining Luna on the crowded lift. During the trip, she tried to make small talk by asking about various office- or job-related topics, like who the cool people were and who had a stick up their ass.

"Oh?" When they finally shuffled out of the elevator and onto the streets, Luna was almost immediately distracted by a porg kebab vendor. Rei followed, of course, but passed on the kebabs herself.

"What do hate so much about it? That there isn't much to do?" Rei asked after Luna successfully acquired her porg kebab. "There's gotta be stuff up here, right? I mean, all the banks, expensive high-rises, casinos..." She could probably name a few more. Maybe it seemed like there wasn't much going on up here, but with most of Coruscant's wealth sitting on the surface, there had to be more than meets the eye. She knew her old hacker group used to try and hit some of the places up here, usually after more organized, well-funded groups had. She didn't really have much of a part in that, even if they did mostly focus on the scummiest corpos.

"I mean, we're more than just street cops, right? We could pick up a case! There's probably a hundred schemes going on this second."

tag: @Altaria

 

[Luna Chu]

With unchewed food in her mouth, Luna attempted to respond "No one is dumb enough to attempt a big crime up here. There is a whole republic fleet right above us" she pointed towards the sky before continuing "even if there was a scheme, all of that occurs below us. We want to stop the heist before it starts, not during it."

Luna's eating would be interrupted with a woman's shriek in the distance. "Well maybe some is dumb enou-" her words couldn't escape her mouth as she observed rockets flying into the air. The large crowd would enter into a state of chaos, with people trampling over one another to get away. Luna tried to weasel her way through the crowd to see what was happening, but people kept bumping into her. Irritated, she pulled out her own weapon and started to fire into the air to get people away from herself. As the crowd dispersed away from her too, the aggressor came into a view. A large shirtless brute of a man stood on top of a repulsor lift vehicle, firing what seemed like wrist rockets out of his hands. "Fuck it's a psycho!" Luna exclaimed to Rei. The perpetrator attention was caught on Luna after she had fired in the air; large extended blades ripped out from his forearms as he charged towards her position.

She began to fire onto him while running towards cover. A few of her shots would land, but seemed to have little to no effect. "He's chromed the fuck up! Got anything new girl?" After she spoke she proceeded to roll out of the way of the psycho's charge.

Tags: @lizziie

 

[Rei Bijou]

Luna was right, but Rei couldn't help but pout a bit about it. She wanted something exciting, or maybe even something a bit danger-

Before she could even finish the thought, the sound of panic and screaming filled the air. Immediately her eyes locked onto the source of it - a man balancing atop one of the various nearby vehicles who was, as Luna yelled, "chromed the fuck up." Blades ripped out from under his long sleeve t-shirt - "Aacklay blades?!" - as he leapt down from the vehicle and began charging toward Luna.

"Fuckin' hell!" Rei immediately unholstered her weapon and fired a round of shots at the charging man, keeping her eyes steadily trained on him with both of her hands clutched tightly around the grip. "We've got to get everyone out of here, or him away from the crowd!" She fired another round, trying to make a dent, anything, on the pyscho in front of her.

"HEY YOU BASTARD! OVER 'ERE YOU LUNK OF DURASTEEL!" As soon as the dude's attention was drawn, she would dart in the direction of the nearest alleyway, hoping to use her smaller frame to her advantage while also getting him away from the crowded streets.

tag: @Altaria

 

[Luna Chu]

While Rei shot at the crazed lunatic, Luna was doing her absolute best to avoid getting her guts sliced apart. The man's attacks were uncontrolled and violent, he flailed his arms around wildly at her. Luna backpedaled as fast as she could, sidestepping and ducking underneath his swings. She'd keep this up until she tripped over a street curb, falling right on her behind. Luna looked up towards the man who was attempting to strike downwards. She spread her legs as wide as she could; the right arm blade struck inches away from her crotch region. "I'm a bit too good at that.." Luna thought.

Luna would throw her body backwards in a roll, planting her hands on the ground to perform a backwards somersault. As she rose up she extended her right leg as much as he could; her foot connected with the man's chin, but it barely affected him. "Fuck fuck!" Luna held up her foot and bounced around, it was probably fractured after hitting the metal chin with full force.

Fortunately, Rei managed to redirect the psycho's attention, leading him to an alleyway. Luna took a moment to capture her breath "I really hope she has a plan." she uttered. Luna gradually worked herself up to a jog to catch up to the two of them. Reaching into her jacket pocket, Luna pulled out a gas grenade. If blaster bolts barely affected him, then she might as well try something else.

Tags: @lizziie

 

[Rei Bijou]

"Fuck, fuck, fuuuck..." Rei could hear the sound of thundering metal footsteps chasing after her, and she knew that her only advantage at that moment was that she had a way bigger headstart toward the alley than the psycho. Thankfully, she did reach the alleyway before him, and Rei immediately began dodging dumpsters and random trash and debris as she continued her way down. "Maybe this was a bad idea..."

Rei glanced up toward the sky but found her vision muddled by a plethora of fire escapes. An idea formed, and she pulled her fusion cutter out of her belt as she quickly took a left and scampered up the ladder, hoping she could get out of sight before the psycho caught up to her.

tag: @Altaria