Either on top of their game or yesterday's news

[Lilla Syrin]

“You're just a little gravel maggot!”
― Mawhonic

Lilla knew little practically about the Republic. She understood a lot from the history books — given she’d been schooled on the Governess’ Academy on Tatooine. There she’d studied both the theory of politics as well as the history of them.

But since joining the Republic Remnant, she’d heard plenty of hearsay and rhetoric about the Galactic Republic in its latter years. Some blamed the Jedi. Others blamed the military. But most pointed the finger at the politicians.

Lilla was never going to take sides on that debate. The past was the past, and she was here to serve the present — not decide who was most at fault in years gone by.

Which, perhaps, was the main reason she was here in the Colonies. On Hok, to be precise. It was a strange planet — one side was a desert wasteland that reminded her of home, while the other half was surrounded by pure darkness.

Its principal export — apart from pod racers — was crystals, and given Lilla’s previous experience in negotiating with miners, guilds and corporations, she suspected this was another reason for her selection.

So she guided her ship to the appointed docking bay of the spaceport, wondering who would be there to greet her, and what the mission was — given she’d been given no firm details as yet.

[member="Thalia Kaia"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Thalia had been the leader of the world known as Hok for a good decade. In that time she had been involved in many a deal, at this point she was being aproached by a member of the republic remnant. She would be waiting on the space port floor for the representative, it was pirates she needed help with at this time

(Sorry for the short reply I gotta go to work)
[member="Lilla Syrin"]

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Spoiler

No worries - it keeps the story moving long nicely

As Lilla gained clearance from the authorities to land, a message on her screen gave her a hint as to why she was here. Yes, she was a native of Tatooine, so familiar with deserts.

And yes, she knew crystals and mining. And furthermore, she had some experience of dealing as a negotiator. But she now suspected it was for none of these reasons she was here.

For, of late, she’d had plenty of run-ins with pirates. And the extra layer of security she’d just been subjected to was standard procedure when piracy was an issue for a planet.

While all pirates were law-breakers — despite their potential moral standpoint, stealing was stealing — they came in variety of shapes, sizes and outlooks.

Some were mass murders, willing to sell their own children if the price was right, and they had no mercy for anyone who stood between them and their next credit. Ruthless.

Some lived by a loose pirate’s code that prohibited killing prisoners, or targeting the poor or the needy.

A third group were in he employ of a government or a major corporation, their role to disrupt the trade of a rival — but allow the paymasters to absolve themselves of any direct involvement.

And the final group saw themselves as freedom fighters, smugglers that operated for a cause. Lilla wondered which sort she would be helping to eradicate today. As she mused this point, she exited her ship, sauntering down the lowering ramp, her Jedi cloak flowing behind her, and her saber dipped to her belt.

Her hair was up today and her fresh faced appearance gave her age away. She was a Jedi Knight, but she was still young - looking no older than twenty, possibly in her late teens.

[member="Thalia Kaia"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Thalia would have had her fill with pirates, she had been trying to run them off of Hok for over six months. She had tried every route, diplomacy, bargaining, and even brute force. This senator had finally given up and called for help. Her blue hair became the thing she was most known for so today she would have it tucked away inside of a cowl. This was a necessary security measure for she had had many assassinations attempts recently

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

 

[Lilla Syrin]

The Jedi glanced around, there was no welcoming committee – which pleased her. She did not like to stand on ceremony, and public displays were not her thing at all.

So, she momentarily closed her eyes and connected deeply with the Force. Dropping her natural guard, she reached out to sense emotions.

Her eyes were drawn to a woman wearing a cowl. There were no significant emotions at play – but she sensed this was the person that was expecting her and the woman was frustrated. Maybe because she did not want to call on the Jedi, or perhaps because Lilla was her last resort?

It mattered little to the Jedi Knight. She would do her duty for a government that was once part of the Galactic Republic and for now was independent – but needed aid. And Lilla was a Jedi, ergo she was here.

Lilla walked towards the woman, her stride purposeful and she wore a friendly smile on her face. Once she reached the woman, she bowed in a traditional Jedi form of address and introduced herself. “Lilla Syrin, Jedi Knight of the Republic Remnant Order. How may I be of service?”

[member="Thalia Kaia"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Thalia would smile as the ship landed, she would upon being greeted by the woman she would gesture for her to follow her. She would then weave her way through the city streets and alleys not staying in one direction two long before finally arriving at her destination, the back of a cantina, she would open up a secret door and lead the woman inside closing the door she would turn on a light, it was her current place of residence, "I apologize for the route we had to take just a safety measure, I am Thalia Kaia Senator of Hok. The reason you are here is because here on Hok we dont have very much but what we do have is crystals, and with crystals there comes piracy, piracy I cant rid us of single handed" She said removing her cowl

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla was pleased she’d identified the correct woman. It would have been embarrassing to have said what she did to the wrong person.

She followed her host, their route suggesting the woman was being especially careful — choosing a path that avoided areas that were too open. Clearly the streets were not safe — at least not for her travelling companion. All the while, Lilla used her Force connection to sense for danger — but she received no warning signal.

Finally, they reached the back of a cantina — which Lilla presumed was their destination. They accessed it from the rear — yet another safety precaution, Lilla mused.

If Lilla was surprised that her connection was a Senator, or that she was clearly at risk on her own planet, the Jedi did not show it. Instead, she acted as if this was an everyday occurrence…which in some ways it was. Lilla’s missions were rarely — if ever — straightforward.

And if she was in any way shocked to see bright blue hair, she hid this equally well. “Pirates?” Lilla echoed. “Sadly, I have almost too much experience of them — and so I can understand why I was chosen to be your point of assistance. Please, tell me everything about the that you know.”

[member="Thalia Kaia"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Thalia would gesture for the other woman to sit on the couch on one side of the room while she took a seat in her arm chair on the other. The lighting was extremely dim being only a few candles, this was another security measure for too much light would give them away. She would tell the woman everything she knew of the pirates, she had deduced the location of their base, it was on the night time side of the planet, there they were illegally mining the crystals Hok was so famous for. She told her of the upwards of 15 attempts on her life as of late, she knew that the pirates had to be stopped for they were very dangerous

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla did as she was instructed, and took a seat facing her host. Some might wonder at the level of security and secrecy, but not Lilla. As a Jedi, she'd seen enough corruption and determined assassins to know that no site was impregnable.

And then she listened, as Senator Kaia shared what she knew of the pirates. She held back with questions, allowing the politician to explain fully without interruption. Once she was sure her host had finished, she asked for some pertinent facts, relating to force size, known accomplices and if there was evidence of a link between the illegal mining and the attempts on the Senator's life.

Once she'd gathered as much information as she could, she reflected for a few moments, before asking, "So, do you have any specific instructions? Any order to my efforts? Anything I'm not permitted to do?"

It was always good to understand the boundaries.

[member="Thalia Kaia"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"I want these pirates gone, I do not wish them dead if we can save from having to do that. I would like the persecuted as much as we can, however if we must kill some then we must. Other than that I have no instructions, tho we may want to wait until the morning, that is when the pirates sleep. For the most part that is."

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla listened and checked off the requirements one by one.

Removed but not dead — at least given the choice. That would be the Jedi way anyhow, but not the most easy option either. But Lilla wasn’t a member of the Order to do what was easy — she was only prepared to do what was right.

And they would strike in the morning. That gave Lilla time to formulate a plan.

“One final question if I may,” she asked. “Am I going alone or did you want anyone to come along with me?”

[member="Thalia Kaia"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"I would like to accompany you unless that would be a kink in your plan, you will find my knowledge of this world as well as my weapons and combat knowledge very useful"

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla smiled. “No kink, none at all. And you’re correct, your local knowledge would be invaluable. My only concern is your protection. I cannot stop you engaging the pirates directly – I’m not even sure I would want to. But that means I will find it difficult to ensure your safe return. I am sure you are happy with this admission, but I wanted to be sure before we headed out.”

“And my final question – my ship or yours?”

[member="Thalia Kaia"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Thalia smiled gently and would say "I would say yours, the pirates know mine"

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla nodded at Thalia’s words and for the first time was in charge. And with that responsibility came the acceptance that, regardless of what her host said, her wellbeing was the Jedi’s concern.

She stood to leave and, using the Force, checked the area outside of the building they were in. Lilla had been using Force Sight for long enough now to be able to sense through walls of this thickness. There did not appear to be anyone outside worthy of note and the Force was not warning her of any impending attack.

So, Lilla headed out, with Thalia accompanying her. The Jedi took a direct route to her ship. If they were being followed, they might as well give their adversaries as little time to act as possible. Arriving unscathed, Lilla headed for her ship.

It was an entirely unremarkable vessel – outwardly appearing like any other small freighter that had too many light years on the clock. But its exterior belied its internal workings and – under the bonnet – it was state of the art in terms of what it could do.

Lilla immediately headed for the cockpit and strapped herself in. “Now,” she asked, “Where to precisely?”

[member="Thalia Kaia"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Thalia would follow her with a scarf pulled over her face and hair, upon reaching the ship she would pull it off and say "We will head southwest toward the nightside of the planet"

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla set the coordinates and once they were en-route, she relaxed and appraised her companion. “So, what makes a politician take such a hands on role in tackling these pirates?”

It was a question that she had meant to ask since they’d met and now she felt comfortable in asking it.

[member="Thalia Kaia"]