Every Step You Take

[Marzena Vaas]

The news of Marzena’s brush with death on Lanteeb had spread across the news outlets on the HoloNet, she hadn’t even looked at her datapad in days due to the flood of messages she had received. The media men and woman had a formidable presence in Lantibba City after her concert, and a few may have seen her board a First Order Shuttle with General Vaas, but their trail had come to a dead end shortly after. Images of her departure had never reached the masses, and there was certainly cause to be curious about that fact, but the methods of the First Order were not hers to question. At any rate, it had secured her a few days of peace.

The actress and singer had made it a point to avoid her apartment on Bespin, for she knew that there would be reporters haunting her high rise. She had grown quite accustomed to the company of [member="Ludolf Vaas"] during her time on Dosuun and it made the task of coming home to an empty flat highly unappealing, but it was time to return to her normal life. It was a strange sensation to know that her name had spread like wildfire across First Order space, and her popularity had seen a heavy increase... all due to one concert. The performance itself had been something of a disaster; but Marzena had been pleasantly surprised to receive an outpouring of support from her fans.

Now Marzena was back aboard her First Order transport en route to Bespin, accompanied by the familiar presence of her Stormtroopers... but there was an unfamiliar presence there as well. A stately figure dressed in rather intimidating red armor, she’d seen the man once before, just as she had been leaving Lanteeb. She knew little about him, other than the fact that he was highly trained, and sent along to provide additional protection. Marzena’s dark eyes shifted towards him, and she hoped that perhaps he would indulge in a bit of conversation, as her troopers never did. Traveling was boring, and she needed something to lighten the mood and distract from the unease in her mind.

“Do you have a name?” She asked, it seemed like a silly question, but she knew that most troopers went by an odd assortment of letters and numbers.

[member="Keyan Mastigar"]

 

[Keyan Mastigar]

Guarding military commanders was a cake walk for him, but celebrities were something else. Instead of just assassins, he had fans, reporters, and various other citizens that made his job somewhat difficult. Of course most of them just wanted an autograph, or a picture, but then there were the really crazy ones that tried to bumrush the guards, and Keyan wasn't having any of it. While escorting Miss Choi from her dressing room in the arena, he set his force pike on the lowest setting and started jabbing the reporters through the stormtroopers, the guard was appalled at how many people didn't understand the phrase "Get the hell out of the way" anymore.

Outside the arena was a different story, since it was open Keyan was observing the area by the second for snipers, but at least the crowd died down as most of the citizens in the street were too busy to care and the reporters had lost their trail. Once they had reached the place the shuttle had landed, the guard knew they were home free, so when they all boarded he took up position near the exit as they journeyed to Dosuun, the capital of the glorious First Order.

Afterwards he had been assigned back, on a shuttle that was heading for Bespin. It had been rather uneventful for him, listening to the monotonous sounds of the shuttle and the stormtroopers shuffling every now and then, until the woman he was guarding took an interest in trying to engage in conversation. Now Keyan was no stranger to social interaction, but he had never done it while guarding because most of his duties were snobbish people, arrogant of their position.

She had asked if he had a name, which was not a difficult question so he answered in light voice "Yes Ma'am, my name is Keyan Mastigar."

[member="Marzena Choi"]

 

[Marzena Vaas]

The corner of Marzena’s mouth twitched ever so slightly when the man addressed her, but she nodded calmly and let a slight sigh escape her. Since when did people start calling her ma’am? As far as she was concerned, that was the way to address a much older woman... and she was certainly not that old. However, no matter the age, it seemed that many women had an aversion to that title... even if it was considered polite and respectful.

“First, please don’t call me ma’am.” Her dark eyes narrowed just so. “You may call me Miss Choi.”

She folded her hands in her lap, and took a deep breath. It wouldn’t do either of them any favors to get off on the wrong foot. Marzena certainly didn’t want to sully her new bodyguard’s opinion of her, so she let a soft smile unfold on her face.

“Second, it’s nice to meet you, Keyan.” Normally she would have addressed him with his military rank, but as she didn’t know what it was, she felt safe to address him informally. Their transport touched down in Cloud City’s, it was just a short walk to her high rise from there. Marzena rose silently and attempted to look out the viewport; she could see the blur of a crowd.

“I honestly haven’t a clue how these people knew to find me here today.” She shrugged, “The crowd looks like it’s under control, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Marzena stood back as the ramp lowered, she would let her guards go out first.

Meanwhile, hidden among the crowd of people waiting to welcome Marzena back to Bespin, there was a tall man with dark, intense eyes. His gaze was set upon the First Order transport, and he instantly knew it would be nearly impossible to get close to the star. Edain Lee’s obsession with Marzena had only intensified since the news of her concert on Lanteeb. It had affected him so deeply that he had chosen to leave their home world of Dargul, and now he was in the process of setting up residence on Bespin... For now he would simply watch and wait, just the thought of seeing Marzena in person again was enough to satisfy him for the time being. He was a patient man, there was no need to rush things.

[member="Keyan Mastigar"]

 

[Keyan Mastigar]

Keyan could feel her annoyance and frowned under his mask, he did not mean to offend her as it was his job to be professional as a guardsman. "Of course, I meant no disrespect, I'm just trying to be professional is all." He said, softening his usual "Shut up and guard" demeanor, he was sure she would appreciate that.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Choi." He responded after she greeted him as the transport set down, he then faced the boarding ramp as she gave a confused remark about the crowd outside, which he could already "see" through the Force. The ramp lowered and the guard signaled for the stormtroopers to move ahead of him, he would need to make sure to stand near Miss Choi if they went into the crowd.

Keyan moved down after the stormtroopers, surveying the crowd, there were a couple of shady looking individuals but he could not judge their intentions off of looks alone, a spice dealer could go all fanboy if he enjoyed music. He stopped at the bottom of the ramp and waited for the celebrity so he could guard behind her while she walked

[member="Marzena Choi"].

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Marzena ran her fingers through her long, dark hair and quickly dabbed on a bit more of her signature red lip color before appearing at the top of the ramp. The fans waiting erupted into applause and cheers when she finally came into view. Her steps were confident and graceful as she made her way forward, pausing every now and then to greet her well-wishers. It was important to work the crowd, and she truly did appreciate the support from her fan base. However, she wouldn’t linger here for too long. Along the way she signed a few autographs, shook hands, and even received a lovely bouquet of red roses... her favorite flower.

She looked over her shoulder to Keyan, and she nodded silently to him, signaling that they would be moving on now. The Stormtroopers worked with the security forces already in place in the landing pad to keep the fans at bay as Marzena continued on her way. On the way to her high rise they passed by a number of the singer’s favorite boutiques and restaurants, she was already making plans to visit them after she got settled. She clutched the bouquet of roses close, and she smiled slightly as she brought them up to smell. As they continued towards her building, the group attracted many stares; people occasionally paused to watch them pass by. A woman escorted by Stormtroopers and one guard in red... they were an impressive sight.

“We’re here.” She said looking back to Keyan as they came to a large high rise, and moved towards the lift to take them up to her flat.

[member="Keyan Mastigar"]

 

[Keyan Mastigar]

As Keyan escorted the singer to her high rise, he took the opportunity to examine the areas they were walking through for possible threats or escape routes incase, and also for him to learn a little bit about the planet while he was there. The guard had never really been anywhere near the Outer Rim, mostly in star systems located in the Expansion Region, fighting for the Empire on numerous battlefields and escorting officials through destroyed cities, but now he had the ability to expand his view of the galaxy and see things that nobody else had ever seen.

He noted that the main lifestyle here on Bespin seemed to be luxurious yet productive, as evident by the large crowds of well dressed people, clean streets, fancy restaurants, and large buildings, but behind all that were people working day after day mining Tibanna gas and maintaining the floating city with Ugnaughts working on pipes in dimmed alleyways.

When they reached the turbolift, Keyan let her push the button for whatever floor she lived on then had the stormtroopers surround but give her some personal space as he himself stood at the front of the lift, just incase an unknown threat was waiting to ambush them once they stepped out.

[member="Marzena Choi"]

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Marzena moved out of the crowded lift and continued on to her door, she could hear the slight clattering of armored footsteps behind her... it was strange, but it was also somewhat soothing. She entered her access code and opened the door, but looked back towards Keyan before moving inside.

“You may come inside.” She said nodding to him, but really, she hadn’t wanted to go in alone.

The interior of her apartment was pristine, her assistant had been one of few people aware of Marzena’s return, and ensured that everything was clean and in order. It had been a few weeks since she had been back, as she had been doing a bit of traveling before arriving on Lanteeb. The living room was furnished with high end modern furniture, it wasn’t the most comfortable, but it looked nice. Marzena normally felt at home here, but today the space felt cold and empty.

“Have a seat, if you’d like.” She motioned towards the couch as she set her bag down on the table. “I figure we’ll stay here for a little while.”

It would be a good night to visit her favorite restaurant, but deep down she knew that she was looking for a distraction. She felt restless, and the thought of being cooped up at home was not very comforting at the moment. Marzena turned and looked to Keyan, musing silently that he looked very out of place in her flat, almost like a piece of art that just didn’t match the décor.

“Do you always wear that armor?” She asked, tilting her head slightly. It wasn’t a problem, but it did seem like a bit much... but then again, she was certainly not familiar with such things.

[member="Keyan Mastigar"]

 

[Keyan Mastigar]

Keyan ordered the stormtroopers to stand guard out in the hallway before he himself went inside of the flat.

Looking around, he realized he was in one of his rather personal hells that sprouted from when he was a slave, since when was sitting on violently colored bricks considered "modern"? Only the military and the poor had the luxury of sitting on hard things, he was sure that he could stand for a few hours and still be more comfortable than on that couch.

So, when she offered for him to sit down, he silently refused by standing ridiculously still, facing her like an unmoving statue.

He continued to do so until she asked him another question, about if he always wore the crimson ceremonial robing and similarly colored battle armor underneath it all. It sounded like a polar question, but he figured she would want to know why, so he took a few seconds to collect his thoughts then answered.

"Almost always, I have it on while I'm on-duty or if I'm not resting just in case something happens." He said straight-forwardly, not even moving his head.

[member="Marzena Choi"]

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Marzena was a bit taken aback when Keyan declined her invitation to sit, and she listened as he explained that he did wear that armor almost all the time. Well, she couldn’t say that it looked very comfortable... but she figured that it was probably like second nature for him. As silence fell between them again, she looked into the blank face of his red helmet and frowned slightly. It felt strangely unnerving that she couldn’t read his facial expressions, and it almost seemed like having a conversation with a brick wall.

She left Keyan standing there alone for a few moments as she rounded the corner into the kitchen. Marzena took a quick glance in the fridge and pulled out two bottles of sparkling water, she should offer him something; it was the polite thing to do. However, she wondered if he would refuse her second attempt at hospitality as well. Surely he would have to remove his helmet for just a while, enough time to enjoy his drink...

“Here, I thought you might like something to drink.” Marzena strode back into the room and pushed the bottle into his hand.

She moved to the couch and gracefully lowered herself down to have a seat.

“So,” she started casually, “I’m guessing that you don’t normally spend your time guarding celebrities?”

[member="Keyan Mastigar"]

 

[Keyan Mastigar]

Keyan was conflicted, he was supposed to guard the individual, not sit around and talk while drinking, but on the other side he could feel the boredom emanating from her, and quite frankly, he was parched. So, he took the drink without any issue and set down his Force Pike before unclasping his robe and lifting the helmet off his head then placing it down next to his pike. He was left in red and black battle armor with a bulky heavy blaster pistol sitting in a holster around his waist, on his face was leather mask adorned with jewels that only covered his eyes, or lack thereof, above all that was a rather untangled mess of black hair.

He looked rather awkward just standing there, so he actually took a seat as she asked him another question, this time his face contorted slightly in thought before he answered "No, I never have." and took a drink.

Oh kriff, he was civilized.

[member="Marzena Choi"]

 

[Marzena Vaas]

Edain Lee stepped casually into the lobby of Marzena’s high rise; he stood near the door for a moment, his dark eyes gazing around leisurely. His reached up and gave his suit jacket a slight tug, and then ran a hand through his slicked back hair. He had seen the singer enter the building with her armored men, and he was feeling good now that he had confirmed where she was living. Edain was especially elated that he had already made an appointment with the building’s leasing agent, and he finally stepped towards the reception desk.

There was part of Edain that felt he didn’t belong here, but there was another part that knew he was not doing anything wrong... he had a reason to be here. No one could stop him from leasing an apartment, as far as they were concerned he was just another source of income, he wouldn’t be turned away.

As he waited, a smile crept across his long face. Marzena had accepted his bouquet of roses; he knew that they were her favorite. He’d held out the flowers with hopes that she would take them, it didn’t even matter that she’d taken them without even paying him a passing glance.

He imagined that Marzena had placed the flowers lovingly into a vase, and that they now adorned her living space. Little did he know that they currently sat forgotten on her kitchen counter.
-------------
Marzena smiled and sat back comfortably, pleased that she’d finally broken through to her new guard. It was true that she made a habit of imposing her will upon others, at times coming across a bit too strong. But such was the way of a woman that was very used to getting what she wanted. She watched with interest as Keyan removed his helmet, her eyes immediately found the leather mask that he wore beneath. Marzena blinked a few times, momentarily distracted by the jewels that adorned his mask, she’d always had a weakness for shiny things.

Well, now she was thoroughly confused. The man had just removed a helmet to reveal that he was also wearing a covering over his eyes? She nodded as he answered her, and she refrained from bombarding him with even more questions. Though, she was quite curious, she didn’t want to be rude. At times it was a difficult to walk the line between interest and prying. For now she figured that she’d done enough of the work in their conversation, and would open things up to Keyan.

“Is there anything you need from me to make your job easier? Or anything you’d like me to know?”

[member="Keyan Mastigar"]

 

[Keyan Mastigar]

Keyan could sense her gaze towards his leather mask when he removed his helmet, most people started asking him questions when they saw it and he was amazed at her self control on the topic. He raised a gloved hand and slicked back his hair, which was literally the military equivalent of bed head. The guard took another sip of his drink, obviously a little uncomfortable without his helmet, but he would learn to adapt to it being off while on-duty in the meantime.

He thought about the couple of questions she just asked "There's nothing really to make my job easier. As for the other, I just want to let you know because I could sense you looking at the mask that I'm a Miraluka, I wear the mask because I have no eyes and can see through the Force, it's a tradition of my race to create their own mask and adorn it with jewels of their choosing." He said, letting the gundark out of the room.

"Now let me ask you a question, is there anything I should know or do to make your protection go along easier?" He asked, if she was going to ask these questions, he might as well. Besides, he was sure he would be guarding her a little while, so it would be better to know things beforehand.

[member="Marzena Choi"]

 

[Marzena Vaas]

A Miraluka? Marzena couldn’t remember ever having encountered anyone like Keyan before, so she was thankful for the explanation. With her curiosity satisfied, she nodded her head a couple of times. How one could see through the Force was still unknown to her, she’d had little dealings with anyone that was force sensitive. In her eyes it was all a bit mystic and far too foreign to understand.

“I understand,” She said simply, “Thank you for explaining.”

She noticed that Keyan still looked a bit uncomfortable, but she figured that it would just take some time for him to get used to her ways. He was probably far more accustomed to fighting and going to battle than engaging in conversation with someone like her. And then all of her questions were met with one of his own, she remained in thoughtful silence for a moment as she took a sip of her water.

“Well, I do find myself traveling quite often. So, you will need to accompany me off world at times. I attend a fair amount of social gatherings, perform live, and sometimes appear on HoloDramas. There are many late nights in my line of work. All of that probably sounds dreadful to you, doesn't it?”

Marzena shrugged slightly, not sure what else to offer in the way of information. Before Lanteeb, she’d never really been in any real danger, and she wasn’t sure what the future held on that front. Of course, she’d only just arrived back home, and she wasn’t expecting any visits from General Vaas for a few days... but she figured that she would let the General dismiss Keyan when the time came.

“Do you want to go out for a walk around Cloud City?” she asked, figuring it might be a good thing to show him the places she liked to frequent.

[member="Keyan Mastigar"]