Private An Unforseen Adventure

[Nora Laan]

The celebration for Nora's victory in the election was over. Now on this day that followed she had spent in her office holding one meeting after another and another and another. There were a number of positions to be filled in this new government for New Cov, and so she was conducting interviews and going through the portfolios of potential candidates. Some of the decisions were easy, while others were not.

And then there was another matter to take care of. During the celebration, Nora had come across a Captain that was worthy of her notice. The skills that he had offered were quite beneficial. However their conversation was interrupted as a woman from a much larger and richer corporation swooped in. New Cov had hefty coffers and a stable econony, however it did not have the backing of large governments. With the seperation of NCBC from ruling the government, Nora was quick to discover that for a lot of things they had to learn to stand on their own.

She needed a back up plan should this new era for New Cov backfire. And if they had suffered another attack, then she needed to ensure their survival. Yet it was difficult to trust foreigners, however pivotal they were. So in this case she needed to provide him a test. She needed to hire him for a job.

With the speed of a well practiced typist, Nora sent out a message:

~My dear Captain,

I was so delighted to meet you at the ceremony. You are a breath of fresh air amongst a sea of politicians. I have a proposal to share with you, along with some whiskey should you still be here on New Cov.

Are you available?

Nora Laan
Prime Minister
New Cov~

Tag: Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

Very available,

Time and place?

-Joran

The message was brusque and lacking in all the charm that had led to him getting a message from the prime minister of New Cov to begin with. It couldn't be helped. Joran was an acquired taste to be sure and better enjoyed in person.

His personality could not be wholly blamed for the inelegance of his message; his two day hangover made the normally dull light of his datapad blinding and infuriating and the less time spent looking at the screen the better. That very same hangover was also responsible for his still being on New Cov in a pitch black hotel room; So bad with the good an all that.

Joran Del-Finn, captain of The Perseverance, swung massive tree trunk legs over the side the bed, muscles and joints popping all over when he stretched.

Joran had come to New Cov not but a day or two ago after finding a way to get himself invited to a party celebrating the election of a new prime minister, the very same prime minister, who he was now set to meet with.

The decision to come to New Cov had been one of his finer ones it turned out as evidenced by that very same meeting. When he had arrived Joran came with nothing more than a mouth full of promises and the gumption to get someone to believe them. Someone had…someone’s actually, with Joran scoring a pair of tentative contracts that could see him score a heap of credits. He already had a meeting scheduled with one of them, a representative of Bacta-works, and ten thousand credits just for showing up for a meeting her could ultimately say no to, thought Joran had the distinct impression that ten thousand credits was very much the price for saying yes not for listening.

The other someone he had met was the prime minister herself, an attractive golden haired woman who had found his particular brand of bantha poodoo charming. He thought her charming in her own right. Beyond how easy the woman was on the eyes, she in their brief meeting had shown herself to be witty, clever, and surprising for a politician not overly serious. Joran was looking forward to seeing her again and not just because of the business opportunity she represented.

Sometime later someone on Nora's staff would inform the prime minister that Joran was waiting outside her office.

Nora Laan

 

[Nora Laan]

The time and place was selected. To her office of course and at his leisure. Her office being where she spent most of her time currently, and also where some of her whiskey collection resides.

Nora was dressed for comfort and business. At least while she was at the office and on the clock. However unlike her predecessor, she took days off. And during those days her formal attire was cast aside to something more common and freeing. Her golden-blonde hair held their curls very well after years of keeping to a similar style. And today was no exception.

A sly smile appeared as she was notified that the Captain had arrived. In anticipation of this, Nora had set out a couple of glasses and set them on the side table next to her liquor cabinet. The glass doors revealed all of the distinct bottles. Some were tall, some were short, some were a size inbetween. Some bottles were fat, some bottles were skinny and others were average. And nearly all of them had been opened at one time or another.

Sampling the whiskey wasn't all that she had planned for them. She had to ensure that there was some truth to his words. Cargo needed to be transported discreetly and he seemed to be perfect for the job. But first impressions can be false ones. Yet today she hoped not to be wrong.

Nora approached the door and opened it. Her smile brightened as her eyes easily found the Captain just on the other side of the door. "My dear Captain. Please come in." Glancing past him as the Captain stepped into her office, her gaze fell upon her assistant that was standing just behind him. "Sh'era, hold my calls please for now. "

Tag: Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

"Prime minister!" Joran greeted loudly when she opened the door, very reminiscent of their first meeting "you are a vision, truly stunning even on business days, a picture you are." Joran leaned down to touch his cheek to hers with a light kiss. It was an Alderaanian greeting he had been told. Very sophisticated for a sophisticated…and very pretty woman.

"It's a nice office, yeah?" He told her as she was finishing talking to her assistant. Joran's own office in the back of his pub was hardly as extravagant but nor was it meant to be, the two of them after all, were in much different business.

Look at that

Joran wandered over to the liquor cabinet where Nora had so thoughtfully set out a couple glasses.

"You mind?" Joran asked while not waiting for a response and opening the cabinet, selecting a medium round based bottle with a long skinny neck. "I ain't quite sure I ever have Utapauan before," Joran dropped a couple ice cubes in each glass and poured a couple fingers for each of them.

He brought Nora her glass and took a seat at the table or desk or wherever it was she had planned to sit to discuss the finer points

"I was very glad to hear from you, I was. Now I am very happy to just sit and enjoy some fine whiskey with you, love but I have the sense maybe, you have more you want to get of your chest…"

Nora Laan

 

[Nora Laan]

Nora took the greeting and compliment graciously as she placed her hand on his arm. Normally she would keep her distance from others, at least emotionally. But with the Captain it was different. She found herself to be fond of the gentleness of his touch, which was surprising given his size. Once he stepped in she closed her office door. "You are too kind. And please, call me Nora. When it's just the two of us there is no need for titles."

With a nod of her head and a knowing smile, Nora allowed him to pick out a whiskey of his choosing. The glasses and ice were placed there as she was fully prepared for this moment. And as he picked out a flavor, Nora settled in one of the pair of chairs nearby. Her eyes studied him as she wondered what part of the personality that he displayed was bravado and what was real. The liquor was sure to reveal that truth to her.

Taking the glass in hand with thanks, Nora took a moment to allow the ice to cool the liquid down a touch before she took a drink from it. Listening to his words she could not help but notice how perceptive he was. However she was not yet sure of how deep that perception went.

"I find myself very fortunate that you had not yet left New Cov. I do know that you have acquired other job offers and I have no means to cause you to lose business for yourself. That is why what I am offering for you is something for you to do when you have the time." Although Nora would be selfish if she could and have him work for her on a permanent basis; that was something that she knew was too much to ask. "You see my dear Captain, biomolecules are the rarest resource in all the Galaxy. Not too long ago Ilic City here was brutally attacked by a Sith Lord wanting control of our biomolecules himself. His efforts failed, but how long until the next attempt?" Nora now chose this moment to have a drink from her glass. "In order to safeguard our most vital resource, I need to move some of it to other areas. My predecessor has acquired facilities offworld, yet I fear any transportation of the biomolecules would be under threat. Do you think that you could....ensure that such valuable cargo reaches it's destination?"

Tag: Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

"Nora it is, love." Joran said with a smile.

This could hardly be going any better. There were many times where Joran's boisterousness put prospective clients on edge or turned them off of him completely. A man of his stature, confidence, and volume, was often intimidating to people unused to those things, or threatening to people who were used to them. Joran did not get the feeling that Nora dealt with men like him often but her reaction to him, namely her comfortability, made him think twice about that.

Joran sipped his whiskey while listening to Nora, though he made a pretty good show of swirling the contents of his glass or moving a stylus he found sitting on the table near him. Joran put on a show of half listening, of ignoring details, of making it seem as though all he cared to hear was destination and payment, after all that's what the customer usually wanted him to care about. The less questions pertaining to what he was hauling the better, it reassured some that he would not be interested in his shipment and therefore uninterested in figuring out if he was being paid fair, and thusly made him seem uninterested in keeping what he hauled for himself. In reality Joran took the information in greedily even if he understood less than half of what it meant.

He had no right idea what biomolecules were or what they did or where to find them. The bit about a Sith seeking to claim them by force was certainly intriguing.

That's going to cost

An off world delivery of something rare and precious that seemingly would be the target of hostiles if word got round that Joran had such things.

That too will cost.

"Aye, depends on how far, and which part of the galaxy you're asking them to be sent, depends on how many credits you pay up front and again how much upon delivery, and barring giving up my life, or my ship, for your…" he swirled his drink once more as he sought the proper word "…molecules, I can right guarantee they end up exactly where you hope them to,"

Nora Laan

 

[Nora Laan]

All the while that Nora was speaking, she was studying him while he listened. She studied both in how he fidgeted, and also in how little he spoke until it mattered. All of this gave her more insight into his personality.

Now when it came to price, Nora knew that there were any number of credits that she could offer him. She could even flirt and try to talk that number down. But no, something about him told her that he was used to such a thing from others. And with Nora being a Covie; she thought of herself as being very different than they were.

"Not to worry, my dear Captain. We will remain in neutral space and not head towards any of the warring territories." Nora gave him a sly grin before sipping her drink, wondering if he had at all caught on that she was planning on tagging along. "And as for your credits; one hundred thousand to get us there and an extra one hundred and fifty thousand upon arrival. I would not dream of having you lose your life or your ship over our biomolecules. It is not in your blood to covet such things. But it is in mine." The last sentence she spoke with such stalwart conviction of the same ilk that had helped her to win the election.

But if such a job is not to your liking, then there is no requirement for you to take it on. We can merely enjoy some fine glasses of whiskey together instead. Either way it is a win-win for the both of us."

Tag: Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

Joran finished his drink and poured another, the ice which he hadn't allowed to melt clinking against the glass,while Nora laid out her proposition.

A quarter of a million credits was one hell of a score for a single job. The bio whatevers must truly be as valuable as she says they are, or she likes him and means to sway him with an offer he'd be foolish to refuse, or this trip was going to be hell.

Joran couldn't wait.

If she was trying to be sly with her use of the word "we" and then mention of her willingness to risk her life for the cargo she was just not sly enough, Joran picked up her meaning straight away.

Joran took another drink, the liquor burned cool with a bare hint of sweetness underneath. "It'll be another fifty thousand if you mean to tag along, Love."

Joran was known to be a little protective of his ship, his home in most respects, and often didn't care for company aboard it. Yes, he took the occasional ferry job or provided safe escort to those who could afford his admittedly extravagant prices for that kind of thing, he did not keep crew aboard his ship save for a couple of droids but droids didn't count did they? No, Joran preferred solitude in space but he would again be a fool to let that stop him from a quarter million and Nora seemed the type of company he would not mind keeping.

That did not mean he would do two jobs for free. Transport the molecules and keep the new prime minister of New Cov alive and safe were in his mind two important and seperate things and so he would charge her for both.

"And I will take that fifty up front along with your deposit for the cargo haul. Normally, I'd charge for fuel and for this meeting alone but I like you prime minister, I really do" Joran raised his glass to her, aware that he had used her title and not her name.

Her name was for when they were drinking companions but in a negotiation, titles were appropriate.

"The only question now," he finished his second glass now, "is when do we leave?"

Nora Laan

 

[Nora Laan]

Touché. As expected he ppicked up on her meaning straight away. However the fee required for her to be a fellow passenger was far higher than what she was expecting.

Nora raised her glass in a bit of a salute before she took a drink. Swallowing it down was much like the feeling of overspending credits, three hundred thousand, no less! But such was business.Taking both fees up front was part and parcel of this kind of task, and there was little doubt in her mind that the fuel costs and everything else was included. Afterall she hardly expected that with such credits given up front, that he'd be paying for the rest out of pocket. She wasn't giving him some small weekly allowance. Instead she was giving him a good portion of Ilic City's monthly budget. "Agreed, Captain."

Now as for his question, Nora made it a point not to display any amount of eagerness. Although the thought of travelling through space with him was quite appealing. "We can disembark tomorrow morning. Unless that is too soon for you. I will have to do a bit of packing, as you can probably imagine."

Tag: Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

And just like that, they were in business.

Joran’s face broke out in a huge grin of genuine satisfaction. Three hundred thousand credits, not a word of argument, no haggling at all.

“No, tomorrow ain’t too early at all, Love.”

He could kiss her.

“Now what’dyu say to a nightcap, eh? I promise not to keep you up too late. Well, I promise to try.” He offered with a little cheek.

He might try.

In most instances Joran would be running for the door and to his ship not offering…asking…to spend more time with the client. It was not, however, very often that Joran gave any of his time, professionally, or personally, to clients like Nora, clients of a more…”civilian” bent. Yes, Joran owned a very legitimate shipping and hauling operation on top of several other, legitimate and legal business, mostly on Naboo which had become something of a home to him over the last years, but he, himself, Captain Joran Del-Finn, grew up in the shadier scenes of the galaxy. From Nar Shaddaa, to Tatooine, to thirteen-thirteen, Joran had made a life outside the law and thusly had lived a lawless life and dealt almost exclusively with beings of a similar disposition, except for when they were Jedi of course.

Nora though, he truly did like, she seemed quite sharp of both mind and tongue. She understated her strength but Joran could see it all the same when she spoke about New Cov and her commitment to its betterment. It didn’t hurt that she seemed to not mind too much his own…picadillos.

Joran pushed himself up from the table, walked around to where Nora sat and offered a hand to help her stand. Joran held out his arm so she could weave her arm through his and allow him to walk her out.

“I could always help you pack in the morning, love.”

Nora Laan

 

[Nora Laan]

Nora tilted her head to the side as she looked upon Joran from the corner of her eyes, with a small smile of her own. She liked that smile of his for it relayed pure joy with no restrictions. However her own smile played coy with her thoughts. As any politician would do, she held many a secret close to her chest.

But perhaps it was the whiskey making her not so hesitant to play into his cockiness. Or maybe it wasn't? Nora finished her whiskey and set the glass down on her desk. "And am I to trust that you are a man of your word? I suppose that there is only one way to find out." She offered him a sly wink, while her mind started to come up with a quite a few things that the man had up his sleeve. All of them were very appealing. However he could surprise her.

As he approached and held out his hand, Nora slipped hers into his before rising to her feet. She gave his hand a very slight squeeze and then released it to slink her slender arm around his well muscled one. The gentlemanly manners of which he took on did not go unnoticed. Yet his offer gave her cause to laugh. "You would help me pack, would you? You do realize that some of my outfits are rather...delicate. I treat them with the utmost care. But perhaps I could have you pick out a few of them?"

Nora led him out of her office. Her eyes flickered to her awaiting assistant. "Sh'era, please make the necessary arrangements for a special shipment transport slated to depart tomorrow morning. We have a new facility that requires some laboratory supplies and I have been invited to see it for myself."

"Yes, Prime Minister. Which vessel is handling the shipment?"

Nora turns her gaze to Joran, allowing for him to fill her in on the details of his ship.

Tag: Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

Yet his offer gave her cause to laugh. "You would help me pack, would you? You do realize that some of my outfits are rather...delicate. I treat them with the utmost care. But perhaps I could have you pick out a few of them?"

He'd made her laugh. That was good. He likes her laugh. It seemed the type of laugh one would not get sick of and it didn't hurt that while, yes, she was laughing at him, it wasn't really like that, she laughed with him and seemed to take his far too familiar approach with good humor and if he wasn't crazy she maybe even liked it, "Aye, it's the least I can do, if my very secret plan to keep you up well into the morning hours goes well,"

Now that may have been pushing the familiarity but to be fair she was the one who had brought up the idea of him choosing her delicates.

Joran would add that to the growing list of things he found intriguing about Nora, beyond her position, her wealth, her looks, her charm, she also had a fair bit of cheek to her.

"Yes, Prime Minister. Which vessel is handling the shipment?"

"Landing bay two forty six, a VCX-100, name of The Perseverance, there's a couple of lunkheaded pit droids that'll be eager to help with getting her loaded," he told Nora's assistant Sh'era.

"Lead the way," he told Nora with a smile.

Nora Laan

 

[Nora Laan]

His very secret plan was not so secret. His witty banter spoke as much. Normally she wasn't the type to overtly flirt with a near stranger, yet there was something about him that gave her cause to. It was almost as though he was some schoolaged sweetheart that she was reconnecting with. However that was an absurd notion. They couldn't of possibly gone to school together. He was not a Covie. But still she felt quite inclined to behave in the way that she was.

With the instructions given to Sh'era, Nora did indeed lead the way. With her arm slinked around Joran's, she led him to the lift that would take them in the lobby. Once inside it was in that moment that she quietly remarked with a knowing smile. "I look forward to seeing what this very secret plan of yours is. Oh but I know not to ask, for it is a secret. "

And on that note the lift door's reopened. Nora stepped through into the lobby. "My apartment is just a few blocks away. Now normally I walk it, but we could take a shuttle, if you'd like."

---

As soon as the Prime Minister was spotted, a small drone's camera began recording while it hid within the leaves of a rather bushy plant. The recordings were being transmitted live to someone somewhere nearby.

Tag: Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

"Too right. Good things come to those who wait," he told her with a smirk and a wink.

Joran was very much enjoying his time with Nora. When he had come to New Cov he had no expectation other than to make himself available for work. He'd never considered he might find a friend here too but life was full of

"Forget the shuttle, let's walk, yeah? I could do with a taste of New Cov if you catch my meaning."

Joran was eager to get back to Nora's place but not in a rush. Just having her on his arm was plenty good for the moment as they spent time feeling each other out.

The street was surprisingly crowded for the time of evening that the pair were leaving the office and crowded with folks who didn't all exactly look at home in this district. Shabby clothes and shoes, not at all the look of business folk or politicians.

Joran didn't bring his observations up with Nora, but he kept a sharper vigil on their surroundings as they walked. Call it paranoia or what you would.

Nora Laan

 

[Nora Laan]

Once outside another drone began recording the pair, transmitting it's data to it's owner, while another high above the street tracked the Prime Minister's guards and their movements.

The chess pieces were all in play. Now was the moment to strike.

---

"I'll warn you now that sometimes I can be an impatient woman." She chuckled softly, offering Joran a wink of her own. Was she serious or not? Only time would tell.

Nora tried not to notice the disheveled looking people that wandered the streets as they did. But it was difficult not to. It was easily noticed that they weren't Covie. Which made it all the more curious as to why they were here. That gave her a little feeling of unease and so she allowed herself to get a little closer to her companion. He was far more intimidating in stature as she was, afterall.

"Miss Nora! Wait! Your keys! Miss Nora!"

The sudden voice caused Nora to pause and turn her head to look over her shoulder, only to see her assistant running after them.

---

And then like a sudden wave, the disheveled lot moved. What at first appeared to be chaotic scrambling was instead a coordinated effort. Some of them moved towards Joran and Nora, while others moved to impede the movements of her guards from intercepting them and their target. The rest swarmed upon She'ra and grabbed a hold of her, lifting her off the ground and carried her to an awaiting speeder further down the block.

One drone followed the speeder, while the other up above the scene kept a close watch on it all.

Tag: Joran Del-Finn

 

[Joran Del-Finn]

Joran did not like the feeling he got from the crowd as they left Nora's building.

Should've taken the fething shuttle he thought.

A voice called out to the pair as they left. Nora's assistant had nearly caught up with them and was calling out to her boss. Joran turned his head just as the crowd surged in a way that was both awkward and unnatural while seemingly practised.

This was a fething disaster! Joran hesitated for the barest and almost imperceivable moment trying to take in the scene unfolding around him. He was Mandoade after all or he had been a lifetime ago. Years of training and years more honing allowed him a processing speed that most mortal men could not achieve and yet he himself was still mortal and was under real threat to be overwhelmed by this gaggle of riffraff, just like Nora's assistant was right now.

Joran took a half step in the direction of the poor girl. He had no idea how to help her. The mob already had her, there was literally no time for Joran to reach her even if it wouldn't require that he fight his way through a mass of hostiles and beyond that he could not and would not leave Nora to have to deal with this situation. It was true she had a couple of guards with her but they were just as overrun as he and Nora were.

"Kark this," Joran said, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a small holdout pistol. Joran fired a few blaster bolts into the sky and the mob around him and Nora thought better of advancing on them further but there was still no helping the assistant.

"Come on!" He yelled grabbing Nora roughly by the arm and beginning to drag her toward what he thought would be safety back inside the office building they had just left.

Nora Laan