False Flags

[Long Gone]

Death wasn't something that had come on swift wings for the former Senator of Alderaan and Chief Executive Officer of Incom Corporation - no, that was nothing more than a false flag for her to secretly return home in order to get her life back on track. The influences she had been under had become cumbersome to her personal well being and the blackballing by the good old crime lord who was overseeing the Galactic Republic was even worse on her confidence and emotional state of mind. That was a while back though and things had started to turn around for her - for the most part. The High Council had oversaw her rehabilitation and getting her back on the right track - her family had been supportive through the whole ordeal but all the while, she felt a piece of her heart was missing. She missed the political arena, she missed the rush of the industrial sector - she missed all that she had worked for. The politics on Alderaan paled in comparison to what the Galactic Republic had once thrown infront of her, and it's industrial sector was crippled when the One Sith and the Yuuzhan Vong ripped through the planet like a lightsaber through flesh. It left her wanting, it left her feeling a massive void despite the leaps and bounds she had made in her emotional recovery from the sway of an unknown dark lord. It just wasn't the same.

She had found time when she wasn't serving on the High Council to watch the political eruption within the Republic, the typical discord amongst the Senate and then the abrupt acquistion of private assets by the Republic. It made her think of her old company and the friend in which she left it in the care of - [member="Kelly Perris"]. She sat on the balcony of her private quarters within the city of Aldera - well what was the former city being rebuilt still - her darkened eyes would stare down at the contact information before her. Her finger would hover over the holocomm button for a moment, hesitating slightly - last she left him with the thought that she was gone forever, into the Netherworld. Now, she'd probably take him by shock and surprise - maybe even anger him slightly. Her eyes closed briefly as she inhaled slowly and deeply, pressing the button to connect to his personal frequency.

On the other end, it would ring through - a private connection being requested.

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

It was late, but that he was still awake wasn't much of a surprise. Despite some turmoil, his life was steady, on a firm foundation, and it kept him occupied. His average evening was taken by a solitary dinner and some 'light' reading. Adapting to this different level of corporate and financial terminology that he might have further understanding of the deepest workings of what he sat on top of. Translated reports in the layman's tongue were insufficient - if he gained that acronym-based lingo as a younger man, he could adapt to this. Normally, this reading would have been done hours before, but a dinner with his parents and planning with them to bring the whole family together in several months' time had taken those hours. So there he was, in his private apartment, perusing the day's details when his comm started to chime softly.

"Who's calling at this..." then he looked at where the call was coming from, and his brow furrowed. Who could possibly be calling him from Alderaan, at this hour, on his private, personal frequency, no less? He could only think of Faith, but shook his head. She was barely an acquaintance, she didn't have this information, and his only connection to her was through... Lessa. He stared at the private connection request, rubbing at his forehead. He sighed, then accepted the request. "...This is Perris. May I ask who's calling?"

He bit his tongue, holding back the urge to make a firm, biting mention of the late hour.

 

[Long Gone]

Alyesa chuckled softly as she sat at the clear desk - looking down at the holo of Kelly in well, worse shape than she expected. Then again, she had to consider it was probably way later than expected on the other end and he was winding down from a busy day running the company that she re-built from the ground up. That was the past though, her future was brighter and she had other endevours and things in mind. There were rumors mulling around about her mother making a big announcement regarding herself and Faith - she could only speculate what it would be. Her holo would shimmer to life before him - there would be no theatrics or dramatics, and she would be clad in a simple white dress with a sheer sash over it.

"My, my, Mr. Perris - how the evening finds you in a rough state." She chuckled softly. "How is the life of CEO?" She mused softly. Of course, she wouldn't expect the same response in return - maybe she'd get lectured or yelled at, but it'd be worth it just to get things back on the right track with him.

[member="Kelly Perris"]

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

The face that appeared before him could nearly stop his heart. If anything, his breath caught in his throat, mouth agape by a scant two centimetres, eyes fixed on the image with uninterrupted blinks. If the glass on the sidetable had been in-hand, it wouldn't be more than a shatter of pieces that once held whiskey. The idea of tears welled up in the ducts, as every bit of everything he thought he'd worked through and laid to rest came once again to the fore. Those early days had been hard, not due to the curve of learning, but the pain of loss of this young, brilliant woman he had formed a fondness for.

"Lessa..." he said, eyes closing, head tilting down, as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "...Lessa," and he looked up to the image of her once again, "...gods, Lessa."

It was like looking at a ghost, one he had almost entirely believed to be factually possible, but dead people don't holo. He blew out a long breath, a deep crevasse forming in the middle of his forehead, where his brows gathered in.

"Don't you dare do that again. Don't you dare," sure there was anger, but that anger was weak, watered down, "and don't call me Mister. We're not... you're not... I thought..." and he cracked into laughter, "...oh, ohhhh, damn it all. Damn it all to hell. How are you, Lessa? How're ya doin'?"

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

 

[Long Gone]

Alyesa took a breath and let it out slowly.

“I’m not a ghost for sure, and you’re not dreaming.” She smirked. “Let’s get that established first.” Her hands would come up to rest upon the desk as she listened to him, her smirk leveling out as she bit the bottom of her lip. “Second, allow me to explain…” And so she would – she’d explain how there were certain influences that she felt she was under. A sway of darkness that kept her in check and perhaps even made her make decisions that were not her own. The choice to pull back from the Galaxy was one that was joint – of her own and the High Council of Alderaan, in order for her to take her rightful place.

“I’m sorry I did that to you.” She knew his feelings for her were strong and her feelings for him were just as strong – if the heights of Netherworld only knew. “I’m fine, just getting some things together here at home – we finished the new palace and are working on the finishing touches for New Aldera City.” She paused for a moment, taking a look out her open balcony doors. “You should come home and see it, I think you’d be impressed what I’ve managed to accomplish in my time out of the spotlight.” Her amber-hued gaze reverted back to the holocam.

“Maybe we can catch up? I’m sure you can make it past the new security measures just fine – oh and be mindful of the shipyard.” A hand rose up from the desk as she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, winked and pointed at his holo. Yes, she had been a busy woman since she last spoke to him.

[member="Kelly Perris"]

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

He still couldn't believe his eyes, but after listening to her explanation he was able to re-establish his previous tired calm. When she said she was sorry, his brow knit softly, as if it were nothing. It wasn't, but he'd forgiven her already. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was that she felt she had to keep it from him, but he didn't want to interrupt as she continued to speak, watching every minor alteration to her expression, following the turn of her gaze as she looked away. When she suggested that he visit, the surprise in his face was hard to deny.

"I'd be happy to, I'd be glad for it," he responded, but he looked at her, questioningly, "but... shipyard?"

He felt certain that he knew what she meant by it, but didn't want to assume. He knew what was said about assuming, and had said as such a handful of times himself, in his life. If it was what he thought, then he'd have to call his father in the morning. Such news would make the old man so very happy.

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

 

[Long Gone]

Alyesa chuckled softly. "Is it so hard to believe that in all the hustle and bustle of a war, that people overlook a shipyard? It isn't uncommon for facilities to lay dormant and abandoned for hundreds of years." She gestured towards his holo. "The offices of Incom Corporation were relatively dormant for several years before I managed to pick up the pieces, well to an extent." A light shrug would roll off her shoulders. "Beyond that, we have facilities on Borelias and other places that people don't exactly go searching for." Alyesa leaned back in her chair and let off a light sigh. "I am rebooting Alderaan Royal Engineers and keeping it within the Organa Family."

She gestured towards Kelly. "Alderaan needs economic stature once more, it doesn't need to sit by and wait for the bureaucratic process of the Republic any longer - we have to pick up the pieces and make it strong!" She exclaimed.

[member="Kelly Perris"]

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

His brow crinkled, his mouth curved, the corners reaching for his blues when she confirmed his fresh suspicions; a hand obscured the new, small joy for a moment as the implications of her every word turned over in his mind. The hand closed to a fist, still poised by knuckle to his lips, and he regarded her so very fondly.

"In doing this, you'll make an old man happy," he said, after some moments, "my father, he never thought he'd see the day."

A.R.E. was one thing, but the prospect of going home was one Tadel and Osira had seemed to almost have given up on. They were thankful for the brunt of proximity to family, out here in the southwest, but home was home. Even the pilot-turned-corporate man could only be taken away from it. There was no taking it out of him. He settled into the back of his chair, lacing his fingers over his abdomen. Then he looked to her, lips taking to speech.

"Lemme take you out," were the words that came, "proper. Like I should've done before."

If he ever could've put aside his convictions, then. It was only now that his conscience wasn't in the way.

"Not the two CEOs, not the princess and the ol' pilot, Lessa. Just a man, a woman, you and me, and a little time. Wha'dya say?"

[member="Alyesa Organa"]

 

[Long Gone]

Alyesa raised an eyebrow at the notion.

Kelly wanted to start courting her? Now this was a curious notion. Alyesa turned a slight crimson behind the holo as she looked away for a moment and then back to the holocam and then away again. This was like being a teenager all over again – except she wasn’t and well, she didn’t have a mother to interfere with her decisions. Yet, she did. She was sure that if Arianna found out she was being courted in some fashion by Kelly then there would be some sort’ve intervention? Perhaps. It was innocent right? Maybe.

Alyesa looked back at the holo, tilting her head to the side, eyes narrowing a bit. “Fine, but we have to be a bit discreet about it – we can’t just be out and open about this type of things, you know?”

[member="Kelly Perris"]

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

He would have chuckled, but this was serious. His intentions were pure - long, long gone was the playboy pilot of his younger years. Here was a man that wanted a companion, plain and simple, and was far from shy about the pursuit, whatever manner it took.

"Who out of either of us has the time to be anything other than low-key and discreet?" Having the money didn't equal having the time unless he wanted to burn the candle at both ends, and that stopped being something that had little consequence, many years ago. "You set the pace. The stakes are higher for you, princess."

The emphasis was out of fondness for the woman on the other end of the line, and his soft smile spoke as much. Her background amongst their people had no weight in his decision to do this. Oh, he had respect for the royalty of his homeland, but they were still people. Titles never changed the core facts. His hand went to his chin, and he looked off for a second, in thought.

"While I have you on the line, mind if we change tack for a moment?"

[member="Alyesa Organa"]