Private A Street I Know

[Sylvia Virtos]

Meeting a new client
Hypergate Bar, Denon
Adean Castor

​

Denon had become a true home to Sylvia, the first of its kind. The Sith-controlled Bastion felt more like a prison than anything else growing up and it was only after reuniting with Ellie and settling down together that she stuck around in one place for more than a few days at a time again. The only exception was her time on Eshan, but the embarrassment and guilt over how that ended made her want to forget it ever happened in the first place. Regardless of Quinn's Sith ties, Sylvia still placed the blame squarely on her own shoulders. Ultimately, though, she had done the right thing. Today, she was happier than she had ever been and she could only hope that the echani girl would one day forgive her.

As though it was a sign from the Force itself to stop daydreaming, the sound of glass shattering pulled Sylvia out of her own thoughts. She looked down at the table in front of her, but quickly realized the sound had come from further away. "Wakey wakey, Sylv," she told herself in jest.

The Hypergate Bar was everything Sylvia wanted in a meeting location. It was close enough to her apartment, but not too close, and was just inconspicuous enough to not draw too much attention. They even had a decent drink selection. She had become a regular sight over the years, always occupying the same private booth. Not all of her business required such an amount of privacy, but she preferred to maintain only one line of contact to herself when it came to her work. Whether you were sent her way through a fixer or got in touch directly, the instructions would always be the same. Go to the Hypergate Bar and ask for the Rat. The staff would point you in the right direction.

And from the buzzing she heard coming from right next to her it seemed that someone had just done so.

The screen of the datapad that laid right next to her on the couch lit up. A message asking if a certain name was familiar to her was the reason why. She picked it up, quickly recognized the name, then sent a confirmation back.

---

She's on her way. //

thanks //

Need me to bring you anything? //

a bottle, ill let you know if my guest wants anything else //

I'll be there in a few minutes. //

perfect //

---

"Should give us enough time for introductions," the woman said absent-mindedly. The datapad was placed back where it came from and Sylvia went from leaning forward to kicking her feet up on a free space on the table. Her new client would be coming in through the curtains any moment now.

 

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Sylvia Virtos

One day, Adean was going to take up an earnest living. That's what she told herself, at least. Time and time again, just a couple nights ago being the most recent. She was going to quit with the deceptions, find some removed (yet not too backwater) world, walk into a tea shop, and ask for a job. And that would be it. Maybe one last lie to secure her identity and maybe a little theft on the way to get herself settled but after then, it'd be a life of hard yet honest work.

Of course, she'd say that and then almost immediately get wrapped up in another deception.

Denon wasn't her first trek into Alliance space, though her jaunt in Coruscant was even more thrown together than her situation now. A part of her hoped she'd have a better time maintaining cover here than she would posing as a senator's kid among a collection of senators. Here Adean, no, Marzan Daaé, would be far more at home.

The shattering glass had her questioning that sentiment as she approached one of bar's staff members. It'd be easy to turn around right now, with her having yet to give any name or other identifiers. She could turn around right now and go about her day, tell this Marzan fellow's boss that the contact wasn't available, or just avoid said boss entirely. But a moment longer of contemplation pointed out that she'd rather not risk the wrath of her assumed identity's employer, at least not until she had more information. So steeling herself, she continued her approach. "Excuse me, I'm looking for the Rat."

The employee looked her up and down with a scrutinizing gaze, pausing just long enough for Adean to contemplate making a quick exit before giving her brief instructions towards one of the private booths. She could still feel eyes lingering on her as she thanked the employee and moved on. Perhaps they had seen through her deception and were instead directing her into a trap. Or perhaps the contact she'd sought out had been known to cause a ruckus. Either way, it'd be her problem soon enough.

"Pardon the intrusion," the dark-haired girl started as she rounded the booth, emerald eyes maintaining a cool expression despite the tumultuous considerations she kept buried well below the surface. "I believe we have business."

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Adean Castor
​

The woman would be greeted by a not-quite-wave and a "hey," after which Sylvia casually lifted her feet off the table and back onto the floor. She remained leaned back into the couch's back rest as she did, clearly disinterested in being all that serious. Her casual demeanor did not shift, even as the new face spoke in a more formal manner. Instead, her response was one backed by an entertained grin.

"Pardon the intrusion..." Sylvia repeated, a playful and non-hostile tone loaded into the words. The imperial accent had proven impossible for her to shake, but sometimes it had its uses. The slight overdelivery of it here was one of them. "No need for the formality, bud. Make yourself at home." She waved towards the large amount of unoccupied couch space, following its curve around its rectangular shape. A ring glinted as she made the motion, the only piece of jewelry she wore- its position on the ring finger of her left hand leaving little room to speculate its meaning. "I hope finding the place wasn't too much of a hassle."

Sylvia herself was seated in one of the two corners, a backpack and datapad sitting next to her. "I do hope you weren't expecting the no-nonsense, gruff type." She had no hope fitting that description, being a twenty-something, hoodie-wearing, magenta-haired woman. "Name's Sylvia. What can I call you and- oh-"

Her introduction was interrupted by the same person that had acted as guide to the private booth coming in with a serving tray with a bottle and two glasses. "You're the best," Sylvia said in thanks before turning to her guest. "You want anything? It's on me."

Once the employee took off, she scooted forwards a bit to reach for the bottle before popping off the lid. "What was I... right, right, yeah. What can this chica do for you?" she asked while pouring herself a drink. Before putting the bottle down Sylvia looked over, wordlessly asking the woman if she wanted a glass as well.

 

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Sylvia Virtos

Adean was, perhaps unsurprisingly, taken aback by the level of casual she was met with from the magenta haired woman. She hasn't known what to expect going into the meeting, her imagination having very much run wild with ideas of a dimly lit establishment and guards dressed to the nines. When faced with perhaps the exact opposite of that, she found herself at a momentary loss.

"Oh, uh, cool," she managed to stammer as she slid into the booth opposite of Sylvia. Despite given leave to relax, her back made no contact with the back of the booth, her feet remained planted on the ground. Be it nerves or determination to to play her role well, she was a stiff juxtaposition to her magenta counterpart. And who could blame her? By all accounts she was in the midst of enemy territory.

She gave Sylvia another once over in an attempt to disguise extraneous nerves. The glint of her ring catching Adean's eye. Was it real or part of a cover? Either way, it was a detail she didn't feel would matter in the context of their business. "It was easy enough to find." She wasn't about to bring up the initial stress of navigating the ecumenopolis as a whole.

A right lipped smile pulled across her face as Sylvia went on. "That is a bit more in line with what I was anticipating," she admitted, sheepish. Should she have known better? Perhaps, but she worked with the clues (or lack thereof) she was given.

Adean's posture straightened further as they were interrupted by the employee bringing the bottle and glasses. Her eyes widened a fraction when offered the chance to order something. "Are you sure? Do you guys have like a milk tea?" She turned to the server to verify, an inkling of excitement forming when she was given the affirmative. Drinks outside of the necessities were a rarity in the sith academies, especially at her rank. In the more social settings, there was always the unspoken pressure to get something stiff, sophisticated. She wasn't about to miss the chance for a sugary favorite.

"Thank you," she said, looking between both individuals before the employee made their exit. With their retreat, it was time to return to business. "You can call me Marzan." The one thing Adean had noticably carried in with her was a datapad - not her personal one. No, that one was too precious to lose and as such remained snugly tucked away in the breast pocket of her jacket. With a brief shrug and nod to answer the other's unspoken offer of drink, she slid the unlocked datapad halfway across the table to be grabbed at Sylvia's leisure. "My employer is looking to acquire some items once stolen from them. While they have plans in mind for the extraction itself, someone of your particular talents would be an asset in overcoming security systems and the like. Further details are described in this datapad."

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Adean Castor
​

Parallel to the datapad being slid her way, Sylvia slid the drink she poured for her guest towards Marzan. "Don't worry, it's got like zero alcohol in it. Tastes great though." she explained, making sure the drink wasn't left a mystery. As if to prove there was nothing shady going on Sylvia took a sip of her own drink first. The sweet, fruity flavor made it a favorite of hers.

"Alright," the woman proclaimed as she put down the glass and reached for the datapad, "let's see what we've got." Before picking it up, though, she simply placed her hand on the screen and held it there for a moment, her eyes locked onto the datapad as well. Those sensitive to the Force would have been able to feel it shift just slightly for the duration, revealing it was not without reason. A nod to nobody in particular preluded Sylvia picking up the datapad and sitting back against the leather of the couch. "That was just a safety precaution," she explained, her eyes still glued to the screen. After a short moment of silence, an "ah" broke it.

"A rich fether stealing something back from another rich fether, classic." The woman continued to scroll through the different files, skimming for the important bits. "Custom-built security, mhm..." she said absent-mindedly while continuing to read. It would be a few minutes before she spoke again.

"I got the gist of it. Yeah, you can tell your boss I'm game." Reaching into her bag, Sylvia retrieved a data shard and placed it on the datapad before sliding them back toward Adean. "The shard's got everything you need to know from me. My rates, rules, a secure comms line, and everything else. I'll get to work once I get the green light." With her hand so close to her drink, she failed to resist the temptation and took another quick sip.

"And because some idiots in the past didn't actually read my rules, I'll be crystal clear- I don't work gigs where the average Joe gets hurt. No killing, either. That and my pay are non-negotiable." Sylvia knew she was more than good enough at what she did to make those demands.

 

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Sylvia Virtos

'Marzan' accepted the drink with caution, feeling more at ease to drink when Sylvia took a sip of her own glass. What little alcohol there was in the beverage lightly stung Adean's tongue. It was just enough to be picked up by one who didn't drink often though not enough to deter from the overall taste.

Her senses prickled like an itch, Adean resisting the urge to scratch her nose. The itch was strange, almost crawling somewhere beyond her skin. She was contemplating changing something about her skincare routine before Sylvia mentioned something about a safety precaution. Huh, perhaps it was more than just an itch.

The exact contents of the datapad were unknown to her. She was, after all, merely the messenger in this case. Very much tagged in for this job with minimal explanation.

"Wonderful, I'll pass this on to them," Adean plucked the data shard from its resting place, tucking it away in a hidden pocket within her sleeve. There wasn't a real attempt at sleight of hand, just an extra precaution should someone with sticky fingers pass her by. Even if this mission was something she had as little to do with as she was able, she still had the mind to access the shard on her own before turning it in. It wouldn't hurt to build a database of contacts should her dream of running away into obscurity not come to fruition.

"I'll make sure they're aware. I don't imagine those would present issues." More accurately, she didn't want to imagine those items being issues.

Taking another sip of the offered drink, she considered bailing right then and there. But she hadn't received the drink she ordered yet and it would be rude to order something and leave before it arrived. The itch she had felt was also nagging at her. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you referring to as a safety precaution?"

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Adean Castor
​

Whether or not Marzan's boss had any issues with her terms or not was quite frankly of no concern to Sylvia. There was enough work to go around, and her principles couldn't be bought. Either the other party accepted and she'd hold up her end of the bargain, or she'd lend her services to someone who would. That said, the preferable outcome would be to receive the go-ahead. Wasting a perfectly good afternoon on meeting with a client only for them to pull out wasn't Sylvia's definition of a good way to spend one's time.

The train of thought found itself interrupted, though. Marzan's question was a difficult one for Sylvia to answer, not because of any perceived need to hide the truth, but the difficulty of properly explaining it. She never was above trying, though, regardless of whether the person asking had any knowledge on the Force or not.

"Bugs, other nasty bits hidden on the datapad, that kind of thing. Ever heard of mechu deru?" she asked in return, though she didn't really expect her guest to. That expectation came through when she continued to explain. "Without going into a ludicrous amount of detail, it's the ability to sense, quote-unquote read, and mess with any kind of tech or machinery through the Force. I'm pretty bloody good at it, if I do say so myself." It was the one thing she felt like she could be unabashedly confident about.

After an exceedingly short moment spent staring at her drink, Sylvia reached for the glass and took a sip, its contents now about halfway drained. Upon putting it back down, she continued. "Been doing it for as long as I can remember. Self-taught for the most part, but I spent a short time learning from one of the very best too." The circumstances of that apprenticeship Sylvia would've much rather forgotten about, but the skills she had learned had been undeniably valuable. She occasionally wondered how Allyson was doing now.

 

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Sylvia Virtos

Saved from the awkward waiting game of her drink arriving, Adean felt a surge of excitement as the drink was brought to their table. Flavoured blue milk with orbs of sugary starch were a comfort long missed and eagerly partaken in.

"I've heard of it. Definitely sounds like a useful skill."

Listening to Sylvia's explanation of mechu deru rang some bells. The term had come up in one of Adean's many catch up sessions in the academy archives in which she buried herself in anything she could find on the force or Sith history and doctrine. Anything to help play the role she'd been assigned. The exact specifics of the ability were left unresearched.

A ping on her datapad pulled the Epicanthix out of her thoughts. Huh, apparently she had been meant to transfer the information right then and there rather than deliver it personally. Sheepishly, she withdrew the data shard from its hidden compartment, inserting it into the datapad for transfer. That probably didn't do any favors for her cover.

A different line of questioning peaked her interest, however, distracting her from any panic she might've felt had she thought too hard about her inexperience interfering with the illusion. "Self-taught? How?" The words came out before she could edit them. "I mean that seems like a complex ability to have taught yourself, even partially. It's to be commended."

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Adean Castor ​

---

A little strange, but oddly nostalgic, watching Marzan fiddle with the shard. Some years ago it had been Sylvia who had to awkwardly adjust to a new life away from the Sith, dabbling in not-entirely-legal business to put food on the table. Marzan was much better at carrying herself than she herself was back then, though. That by itself would get her far, of that Sylvia was had little doubt. Your image was almost everything in this environment, after all. Her own was just a little different from the norm, but an image nonetheless; young and a bit of a dork, but a savant-like techie who knows exactly how to fix your problems. Just because it really wasn't far from the truth at all didn't mean she actively made sure to maintain that reputation.

There was no role she could play better than herself.

"Dunno, it's just always clicked I guess. Never had the killer reflexes of a Jedi, or Sith for that matter. And trust me, I tried..." she admitted through her teeth. The endless and often painful lessons at the Sith academy had forced her to develop an at least passable level of skill with a lightsaber, but it had been a long time since she had used one. She kept her saber close when on business, but knew not to needlessly draw attention by waving it around out in the open.

"And most of the esoteric Force stuff goes over my head, but tech just makes sense to me. And I'm just a big nerd. That too," the woman cheekily added. "Everyone's good at something though. What's your big talent?" A spark of curiosity could be seen in Sylvia's eyes as she leaned back.