An Awkward Time for Heisting

[Mara Kellarov]

Somewhere in Sith Space...​

​

Several months had passed since Mara and Evoros had been together, taking part in a mission that had been almost botched early on. The duo had managed to succeed in the end, but it had led to a heated argument once they were in the confines of a Collective safehouse. Mara was no fool, and she had already begun piecing things together as they journeyed back.

One that was filled with a tense silence throughout. And while Evoros preferred silence in most instances, that hadn't been one of them.

Mara had built a temporary dam throughout the mission, and it was ready to burst every moment they got closer to to their destination.

And it hadn't happened immediately either. There was enough time for the pair to shower, change clothes and get settled. Only then did Mara finally 'explode' and begun confronting Evoros. It was probably a record with how quickly it had descended into her yelling. Evoros was ever stoic; much as she could be anyway. The walls she had spent years built up were able to withstand the emotional salvos Mara had thrown at her. Long enough until her fellow Agent was tired, both emotionally and mentally. Making her susceptible in accepting a false apology that made things 'normal' again, at least for that night.

But then the morning followed, and Evoros was nowhere to be seen. She had left a brief message, informing Mara that the Collective had contacted her with a solo mission. It was a lie.

And then there was nothing...

Mara attempted to contact Evoros, but there was never an answer. And eventually the number itself was disconnected, that was the final nail in the coffin for Mara.

Evoros had left her.

For the next couple months, Mara enclosed herself both physically and emotionally. She discarded any messages from the Collective, and whatever semblance of friends she had within the organization were ignored. Mara and Evoros had similar backgrounds, on opposing sides maybe, but they were both trained Agents. Evoros had always been a lot more guarded than Mara, but her disappearing act had begun a process that gradually shifted Mara into a similar mindset.

Mara began building up walls so she'd never feel as distraught as she had upon realizing Evoros had vanished. The only thing that stopped the final wall was a happenstance that had led to her current situation. She had found a crew, small but sizable enough to handle a decent freighter and smuggling operation.

Her right hand; and co-pilot, had been the first to cross her path, which was quickly followed by the rest. They were a ragtag group that had managed to form a small 'family' of sorts, settling a place within the last of Mara's mental walls, before she could completely enclose herself.

Their latest target brought them into Sith Space. It was an opportune time as their ship needed repairs, and they weren't going to need it for their heist. But what they weren't counting on however, was the fact their ship got flagged as suspicious by Port Security. More so, no one would've guessed who would be ordered to investigate.

[member="Evoros"]​

 

[Nina Vi'dreya]

Evoros was an avoider. Were she less stubborn, the fallout with Mara would've pointed out the glaring flaw in evading her problems--only she wasn't, and it didn't. No, instead she took her tendency for deflection and made it worse.

She had avoided giving Mara real answers, even knowing that those answers were all but confirmed in the other agent's mind. She had avoided truly apologising for a nearly ruined mission that was unequivocally her fault. And the moment she could, she had taken off, avoiding Kellarov herself rigorously until her ticket out of there had surfaced.

A job. The last job she would need. She'd have enough to finish her own little investigation, maybe live somewhere nicer, dress nicer. And it came with relocating to Sith space--far away from Mara, from everything.

Evoros left without saying goodbye.

It was wrong--one of the few bad things she had done lately, in fact, that really plagued on her conscience. Even in the months that followed, the surgical precision with which she crafted a new face, manoeuvred herself into the Sith Empire, a crawling guilt remained in the back of her mind, misplaced. And still she ignored it. Evoros was too close to her goals, and damned if she let her feelings get the better of her one more time.

------​

​

"Vi'dreya? Some people landed in docking bay 6B couple hours ago, security doesn't recognise the ship. You wanna go check that out?"

Yvonne Evoros didn't particularly care for her new boss. Nina Vi'dreya, on the other hand, liked him well enough, because she liked everyone. "Yeah, happy to. Do they know anything else about 'em?"

"An older guy and a wookie, they went into the city. And a...what d'you call them, Devaronians? One of them, but they're not sure where he went."

She fumbled as she put her equipment away, leaving the room with all the grace of a drunken spider. "Right away, sir."

At least three people, likely more, only two accounted for. This was one of those times that she wished she had chosen a more subtle manner for her undercover counterpart. Evoros moved semi-quietly through the hangar, noting the freighter that stood alone in the middle of the bay. She had done her research on spacecrafts well before trying to pass herself off as a pilot, but the only thing noteworthy about this one was how run-down it seemed.

Maybe if she hadn't been so occupied playing the part of someone less alert, less paranoid than herself, she would've noticed a while later, when she wasn't alone.

[member="Mara Kellarov"]​

 

[Mara Kellarov]

It was certainly not the crew's first rodeo, and definitely not going to be their last. While Seth and Nashyk were busy in the city, Jax had remained behind on watch. The Devaronian was surprisingly adept at hiding in plain sight, even despite his reddish-orange skin and prominent horns.

He had remained at a virtual kiosk, idly browsing whatever goods it had on offer while he kept a lookout for anyone and everyone that passed by. It was then that he caught sight of a human female walking through the starport, stopping as she assessed the direction she needed, and headed in the area of where their ship was.

Now if Jax had a credit for every time his intuition was right...he'd probably still not be as rich as he liked.

He went to alert the others when his commlink beeped in his ear, cutting him off.

"Yeah?"

"It's Seth, Nashyk and I have gotten what we need. We're heading back." Jax could just about hear the Wookiee in question let out an affirmative growl in the background.

"You might want to hurry up then, we may have a situation on our hands..."

"Understood, anything major?"

"Not sure, it's one human...but you never know." You could never underestimate situations like these, especially if just one person could raise hell and bring a lot more trouble down upon you. "I'm going to intercept."

"Be careful Jax, we'll get there as soon as we can."

The Devaronian was on the move within seconds, following where the mysterious woman had gone. He turned the corner, and sure enough, he saw her head towards Docking Bay 6B. Jax let out an annoyed grumble, fingers dancing along one his holsters before pulling back.

Now was not the time for an itchy trigger finger.

Instead, he quietly and quickly followed, managing to slip into the hangar just before the large doors could close after Nina's entry. From there he remained in the shadows, watching and waiting as the woman examined their ship from afar. The moment Jax was able to see an opening, he took it and slipped from the shadows. Footsteps light and careful as he approached the woman from behind.

"Well lookie here, seems I found a rat." He pressed the barrel of his blaster against her back, leaving a hand free. "Ah ah! Don't even think about it..." Jax began to pat Nina down quickly, checking for any weapons and removing them from her person upon finding any.

[member="Nina Vi'dreya"]​

 

[Nina Vi'dreya]

She had a few heartbeats to make a decision by the time she sensed the footsteps. Bad start--as herself she would've caught on faster. Method acting had its costs. Those few moments ended far too quickly, but she had decided by the time she felt the gun press against her spine how Nina would react to such a thing.

"Sir, I'm--" pure discomfort rippled from her movements as the stranger behind her searched for weapons. She had only a comms device in one pocket and an unconcealed blaster at her hip that frankly, neither Evoros nor Vi'dreya would have been quick to use - neither face was much of a marksman. Still, she was far from happy at having them removed.

Then again, wasn't it more interesting this way?

"Sir, I'm with Port Security. I need you to put down the gun and show me some ID." Harmless as she looked, the boldness in her voice seemed a laughable display of either arrogance or forced confidence. Internally, it was pure arrogance - this was the same old, same old of mercenary work. She could've gone without the ambush, but truth told, she'd missed the action.

That said, she was going to be pissed if she died so close to retirement.

[member="Mara Kellarov"]​