Private Caliban Cove

[Ayumi Pallopides]

Greah Dobson

Upcity and Denon by extension were changing. THanks to many aspects... Dominique for one and the advancing of the technologies at they were using. THey had been able to slowly introduce from the abyss surface to the highest levels improvements and reforms. Sections of the city planet that were thought abandoned, polluted, lost were being worked on. Renovated, improved, reinforced in ways that laid the ground work for them to be able to do a lot more... and even expansions below the surface of the planet... new bunkers, new tunnels, pumps for water and living creatures were planned. THey were going to use all of Denon including the skies as the skyline districts were being built and introduced. Hovering district cities that would be a monument to their efforts and work while showcasing to those visit much of Denons new life.

It helped of course that she had cultivated much as well as allowing early on the The Market of Whispers to come. The invisible market paid a premium for their privacy and for a chance to have a physical location they could operate if only to their selective clients. The small sum they paid funded a lot more. Her mind was distracted as the chirp came on the comlink and she activated it with an eye flick. THe interface displaying just at a comfortable range. She had a tour coming by, investors and others. To the island today... it was a way for them to show off what was being done and get people to give their credits to a cause... mostly investing in the future of Denon. Dominique might think idealism and it kind of was but... she also knew the tinge of problems. The tattoo on her lower back and previous failures now being corrected attested to that.

Ayumi rolled over in her lounge chair. The villa on the island was beautiful. All imported and cultivated jungle plants with white marble buildings. THe tours they gave also doubled to show the new educational reforms. Attract the children to show them what you could accomplish working in the planets interest. She stood up and walked as the sun came through the filtered dome shielding of Denon. They were still processing and cleaning the air after all so to not see the pollution a fake and filtered sky giving them sun with white clouds. It was meant to invoke emotions. She moved hands through her hair while she entered. The form of Zahira there by her side quickly as the bodyguard and personal attending biot never technically let her out of her sight.

"Another one was found." She said it and stood there in the suit, looking every bit as professional as one could. With long hair, pale skin and dark make up over a strong form loaded with mixture of weapons and advanced systems to let her function better then most armies she had seen. "We'll deal with it, all of them are potentially dangerous." She said it looking in a mirror as she debated what to wear. The slip of a prismatic dress that would shift with her mood, or try out Dominiques brand of nanite clothing... impressive she had to admit as it did eliminate the need to worry about messing it up if it could repair. Ayumi looked at the destination came up on ehr interface where she was going to have to go and look. One eye flicking to the pedestal holding the holocron. Sharp edges but....

Herr thoughts trailed when she picked on. "Well these will not do. Prep the ship and we'll head out to see. There is a chance someone is just name dropping to try and get attention." She said it as she debated more. Zahira moving off to prepare the ship for them to go. She would send a message to Cato about something perrsonal. Upcity and the work on Denon was going well.. they had skilled individuals involved who would see her goal through and make sure the corporations understood that healthy workers produced more then the sick and dying... which made more profit in the long run. "I will prepare the ship for Spira." The biot said it as she moved and Ayumi looked over again but grabbed her bag. "Spira is a good place to hide if you are trying to get into a crowd."

"Did you say something?" THe biot asked from the other room as the former senator moved. Her force presence suppressed to near impossible to sense by most. It helped she used the force sparringly with dance or movement then overt displays. The woman finished when the ships shuttle craft came to the landing pad. Cato would be able to handle what was here and the touring... she could with Lirien and Seryn oversee Mystique for the time being when she was away. The shuttle went into the skies quickly as she was on board. Her vessel there as they docked and jumped towards Spira and its sandy beaches, throngs of people, resorts and casinos. The perfect place to hide.

 

[Greah Dobson]

The shuttle's landing strut kissed the tarmac with an almost polite sigh. Spira's sunlight hit Greah like a verdict — hot, clear, impossible to argue with. The planet rolled out like a postcard: white dunes, swaying palm-leaves that shimmered with faint bioluminescence at dusk, rows of low-arc resorts, and tourists who wore their leisure like armor. It smelled like salt and sugar and a species of flora that made Greah think of far softer things than she was used to.


She stepped down into the terminal, boots leaving dark prints on the pale stone. Her hair was still slicked back from the trip, water catching the light like black glass. The world around her moved in slow, sunlit beats — a different tempo from Nar Shaddaa's neon panic.


Alexis was there in the doorway of Gate Twelve, uniform crisp at the collar, a commuter scarf tied with casual precision. The in-flight band pinned at her lapel glinted when she laughed — a small, private thing reserved for Greah.


"You actually came," Alexis said, smiling. Her voice was bright but threaded with worry. Duty had her for another shift; there were passengers to shepherd down the jetway and a schedule to keep.


Greah shrugged, the motion almost nonchalant. "I came. Spira looked like a good place to get swallowed up." She scanned the crowd — families with dune-runners, a couple arguing over beachwear, a group of merchant-players lugging a crate of souvenirs. "No one here knows my name. Hopefully they don't want to."


Alexis stepped closer, hand ghosting over Greah's forearm. The touch was casual, intimate, an anchor. "You could have stayed," she said. "I could've gotten shore leave. A day off. Two. I tried."


Greah's mouth curved, small and crooked. "You tried. That counts for something." She tilted her head, looking up at Alexis. For a beat, all of Greah's predator edges went soft. "You're on duty, boss. Go do your job. Don't worry about me."


Alexis studied her — the bruise on her knuckle peeking from a sleeve, the way her shoulders held the leftover tightness from the mission. "You're not thinking this is permanent, right? Blocking transmissions doesn't mean burying your head. If Linn finds you here—"


"Linn won't find me," Greah interrupted, not sharp but steady. The old reflex — promise, command — pressed behind the words. Then she forced her voice lower, human. "And even if she does, she won't be the reason I run. I'm not running from her anymore. I'm running toward something quieter. For a minute."


Alexis's hand tightened around Greah's. "Quiet isn't a bad thing." Her thumb brushed Greah's cheek, careful, reverent. "Just... remember we made this choice together. Call me if—" She stopped. The thought of Greah alone flaring into danger thinned her breath. "Call me if you need me, okay?"


Greah's laugh was half a sound, half a release. She leaned in and kissed Alexis — long enough to be a promise, short enough to be efficient. The kiss tasted like salt and the faint spice from the ship's galley. When they pulled apart, Greah's eyes were wet, not from crying but from the pressure of holding everything in.


"Okay," she said. "I'll call."
"And don't try anything stupid," Alexis added, returning the tease, fingers curling in the collar of Greah's jacket like she was tucking something precious in.


"You mean like fight a mech guardian alone?" Greah quipped, letting the joke sit between them.


Alexis rolled her eyes but smiled. "Exactly like that." She straightened, took a breath, then stepped back. "Duty calls. Don't get lost. I'll be back on this shift in twenty-eight hours. If you still want me after that, I'll take the next transport and be at your door."


Greah nodded. "I'll wait."


Alexis hesitated, then pulled something small from the pocket of her coat — a worn paper token, a silly little charm they'd picked up on Nar Shaddaa months ago — and pressed it into Greah's palm. "For luck," she said. "And for remembering who you are."


Greah clenched the token into her fist, fingers closing around smooth edges. "I'll keep it."


They separated finally. Alexis melted back into the flow of crew moving through the gate, slipping into the professional smile and practiced nods that hid a private calendar of worry.


Greah watched until Alexis disappeared into the boarding crowd. Then she turned toward the arrivals hall, toward the bright posters advertising seaside excursions and coral clubs. She still felt the urgency of a hunted life at the back of her neck, but the beach called with a small, ridiculous promise: sand between toes, sun on hair, a place where her muscles could unclench for a time.


She shouldered the bag, felt the weight and let it be a thing she could choose to carry. At the concierge desk, a clerk in a coral-print shirt offered her a greeting that smelled of courtesy and commission.


"Short stay, miss?" the clerk asked, bright and businesslike.


Greah's answer was softer than she expected. "Yeah. One week. Send any transmissions addressed to Greah Dobson to a black hole." A small lie, and the clerk didn't blink.


"Name?"


"Greah." No last name. No title. The omission felt like medicine.


The clerk typed. "We have a seaside bungalow available at the Sunward Pearl. Ocean view. Private deck."


Greah pictured the deck: wood warmed by sun, a small table, a place to set a blade and a drink and nothing else.


"Book it."


The clerk smiled — the kind of smile that worked anywhere. "Welcome to Spira, Miss Greah. Enjoy your stay."


She left the terminal with a small suitcase and the paper token burning against her palm. Outside, the wind smelled like salt and distant fruit. Children called out to one another, an animal barked, and a hover-surf board screamed joyfully over the dunes.


Greah took a deep breath and walked toward the shore. Behind her, the city of tourists thrummed, indifferent and new. Ahead was sand and sun and a week she had a right to steal — even if, somewhere in the back of her skull, a war drum still beat.


She didn't look back. She didn't need to. Today, Spira would keep its secrets. Today, she would let herself be small, if only for a little while.

 

[Ayumi Pallopides]

Greah Dobson

The first thing one noticed when they came to Spira was the smell.... it was more then the sights the more permeated as sea salt coated almost everything. The sun drying it and giving the air a moisture to it but it wasn't thick and heavy like a jungle. It made the air hang with the scents... and then you noticed the white sands, the beaches and resorts. The people were a mingling of everything.. from vacationers who were here after saving for possibly all of their lives to get a taste of the VIP treatment.. to wedding guests and hosts to business trips that saw entire teams doing team building.. there was even if you got to some places timeshares.. buying into as maller property with hundreds of people.

The more private hanger bays though were in areas designed to give all of this. With almost floating bays on the water or smaller islands. The attending workers who were checking in the people who arrived broke off as one came to stand in front of her. "Lady Ayumi, you have returned." He said it as the outfit he wore was a mixture of professional but also incredibly suited to the beach. "Yes but only for a short stay this time, just a little business." She said it with a smile as her hand came out with credits for the docking fees and a handful of days. Getting a nod while she was escorted with her own bodyguards who would protect her.

"That is fine, we have the records of your last visit. We can have the beach house ready for you when you arrive." He said it with a grin and she moved a hand pulling out some more credits. He nodded as she was walking. A speeder set up so that she could be driven around the world or wherever she needed. The driver looking at her when she got in. "So where to?" SHe thought about it. "I am looking for someone." She said it and the driver gave a nod of his head as the body guards took in their own positions. "Don't worry Lady Ayumi we'll take care of that." He said it as the speeder took off. Her eyebrow raising for a moment but she wouldn't doubt they had general records.

"Actually this one is different. They are using a name to get some acclaim." She said it and the driver looked in a mirror at her. "Oh them." He seemed to be thinking about it. "I don't know if I would recommend it, since they showed up their media attention locally has been pretty loud." He didn't say he wouldn't drive her as the speeder adjusted but she liked that he was informed and could give her a general idea. The bodyguard were adjusting something and came away with a datapad. "The information we have retrieved." Again something she could like.. they kept files on potential problems if the one came to them to try and do something.

"This will do nicely." She said it looking at the information as she scrolled through it. Allowing herself a moment and there wasn't a lot before they started claiming and talking. Their background was on one of the lesser renowned resorts and then a bar and before that they had been traveling on a ship. "Should we be ready for a fight?" The one guard said it looking at her as Ayumi leaned back spreading out her arms. "I doubt it... but there is a danger in claiming to be part of my family worse trying to use it to have fame or make profit. My uncles and aunts are not as forgiving as I am." She said it as they were going towards the entertainment district.