First Impressions ( Kalia )

[Aldo Zarkot]

Nar Shaddaa
Upper City

Aldo finished off his third glass of Corellian wine, the bitter taste feeling like heaven in his mouth, he let out a rather large, but pleased, sigh as he handed his glass off to his assistant Baron. The nightlife passed before his eyes as his large groundlimo weaved through the buildings to their destination. His head was already beginning to feel light and the hangover from the night before was starting to fade into nothing more than a memory. Not an hour ago he had been a sweaty mess as he was putting the finishing touches on his D-1 Prototype suit that he was ready to start testing on. He really did not want to be out on this evening, but he completely forgot that he was throwing a party for the recent grand opening of Zarkot Industries on Nar Shaddaa.

Originally he had wanted stay on Coruscant and expand the business even further, but the recent uprising of the stupid A.I. Omni, had put quite the damper on those plans. Everything had been destroyed there, his high tech security systems had been hacked in seconds, which he thought impossible. He created those firewalls himself, tested them himself, they were supposed to be unhackable. Not only were they sliced, but Aldo had been locked out of his own mainframe, all of his business numbers were lost. Well, they would have been lost, but Aldo detected it just in time to transfer all the files he would need to his own personal computer. Of course he had to put all of it on a large flash drive, destroy his old computer, and rebuild a completely new one with brand new firewalls. He had watched how the A.I. had hacked his mainframe, studied it, and he believed he had found a way to at least combat it.

Those were problems for later, though, he had other things to attend to tonight. Not only was he going to be throwing a party for everyone who was involved in Zarkot Industries, he had also invited along a few of his competitors and investors to take a look at some of his new EMP blasters to help fight against the Omni. Of course, they did not work, but he had to get his hands on a certain someones computers to get a closer look at something he was creating. His D-1 Prototype was missing one key component, a way to blend Duraliam and Lanthanide together in a certain way to make the armor more lightweight. This whole party was a front just to hack into his computer and steal some files.

"Sir, we will be arriving at the Jedi Masters Suite soon."

Ah, yes, he forgot he had invited this Jedi woman along with him. She was a sweet lady, older, but still very cute. Aldo somehow convinced her to come along to this little party with him, if not for her looks, but to say he had a Jedi date would be a way to boost his reputation amongst his peers. While he did not fancy her age, he quite enjoyed her Jedi talk, it was cute in its own little way. He did not know many Jedi so he did not want to pass up a chance to go on a date with one. Well, maybe she did not think it was a date, but soon enough she would. "Make sure my miss Vondiranach is treated with the exact same treatment as me. Whatever she asks for, give it to her, no questions asked." Aldo waved his hand and he was given another glass of wine. He finished it in one gulp and then felt the groundlimo stop.

Stepping out, he did not have any of the signs of a drunk, he was a functioning alcoholic and this was not his first hoorah. He popped in a piece of gum that neutralized the smell on his breath, the creation of his own, he needed it so that people did not know he was drunk as much as he was. Shutting the door behind him, he made his way up to the suite that he had been told to meet the Jedi woman at, he was wearing a very nice suit. His hair was done nicely, his beard trimmed, he was looking rather dapper this evening. Reaching up, he knocked on her door, putting a smile on his face and getting ready for what was about to come.

 

[Abaigeal Burke]

Throwing open her closet Kalia searched for something appropriate to wear to the party tonight. She wasn't used to going to these sort of events or at least having to dress up for an event. Normally she was wearing her Jedi robes or jeans. If she could get away with it Kalia would wear her jeans everyday as she did whenever she went off on leave or on a mission. Nobody ever really expected her to be a Jedi which worked in her favor sometimes.

Kalia was honestly surprised that he had invited her to come along with him. She was happy to go with Aldo as it would give her the opportunity to mingle with people wouldn't otherwise get the opportunity to meet. He was also quite interesting himself a child prodigy and CEO of a company at such a young age. He wasn't the type of person she was used to hanging out with. This couldn't possible be a date as she figured he was used to woman younger about half her age but honesty in her opinion age was just a number. Kalia felt and acted most of the time as if she was still 22. Didn't matter though she was going to have a great time regardless.

Thumbing through the dresses in her closet she looked for something to wear. Pulling out a red dress she looked over it for a few seconds before shaking her head and placing it back in her closet and grabbing a green one which she tried on. Looking herself over in the mirror for a few minutes she sighed and went back to the closet one more time in which she picked up a one sleeve blue gown that she had never worn before.

Glancing over at herself in the mirror she smiled and nodded it was perfect for this type of thing. She kept her hair down as she felt it looked better that way than up. The slight curly in her hair made it so that the length was a little below her shoulders. Just as she had finished putting her lip stick on Kalia heard a knock at the door. Slipping on her heels she went over to the door to meet her escort or date. She wasn't too sure as of right now.

Upon opening the door she saw Aldo standing there waiting for her right on time. "You look really handsome,"she smiled reaching behind her to the side table in order to grab her purse. "I'm ready to go whenever you are." This was going to be one interesting night.

 

[Aldo Zarkot]

When she opened the door Aldo was quite taken aback by the way she looked in a dress. He had only met her once, she was in full Jedi garb, and he did not find her particularly beautiful. But wearing the dress she was in made her look quite astounding, and it showed on Aldo's face, he could almost feel himself blush. She complimented his looks and he quickly regained himself, he was not a man who was so easily deterred, he had been around beautiful women his entire life and she was no different. Though, he had to admit, the fact that she was a Jedi increased her look in his eyes.

"You look absolutely astonishing." Aldo said, returning the compliment with a smile, and holding his arm out for her to take hold of as she mentioned she was ready to go. "I must warn you ahead of time," Aldo started as they were walking through the hotel down to the lobby. He hated silence and he refused to be part of it, even when he was alone, he liked to have something to talk to. When he was younger he would talk to himself, but by the time he was six, he crafted his own droid who was still with him to this day. "The people at this party are a rather stuck up bunch. You'll feel as if they are judging you from the moment you step foot onto the Yacht, but pay no mind to them, they are just old and decrepit. They have nothing better to do than sit around and flaunt their credits." It was true, Aldo disliked most of the people who would be there, but it was important to network. If one thing rang true, people loved a genius, especially a wonder kin child prodigy who created an empire when he was only fifteen.

Reaching the limo, Aldo opened the door, and he grabbed her hand to let her into the vehicle. "Don't mind Baron," Aldo said, referring to his butler who would be sitting in the car with them. He was part security, part butler, but he was paid to be around Aldo ninety percent of the time. "He tends to stare, but only because he wants me to find a woman to settle down with, he thinks I am lonely or something." Aldo laughed as the two of them sat in the limo and began their trip to the personal transport vessel that would be taking them to his Yacht, which was located in space, above the moon planet. "I don't suppose you drink?" He asked, pressing a button, and a personal bar was lowered from the ceiling offering a vast array of alcoholic beverages.

 

[Abaigeal Burke]

Smiling she took his arm as they walked out of the hotel. She knew how to take a compliant by now without turning a bright red. She figured as much regarding the party but that was alright with her. Kalia knew how to handle herself in a group of old and decrepit people whom enjoyed judging others. The council was always judging her by what she did, how she acted and the company that she kept. Kalia knew that those at the party would be judging her for being with him. Honestly she didn't care what they thought of her. She was going to make sure that they both had a good time tonight. "Thanks for the heads up. I think I'll be ok," she smiled shaking her head slightly. It kind of reminded her of what Zak had said a long time ago about high society. They were all stuck up and cared about nobody but themselves. If he could see her now he would just laugh and shake his head.

Climbing into the limo she scooted over a bit to give him room to get it. Staring didn't bother her as she was sure that he was only doing it to keep Aldo safe. Kalia guessed Baron was his body guard or something. "I'm sure he just wants the best for you." She wondered a little if that was true. Just what he made need was a good woman to ground him and challenge. Kalia wouldn't be surprised if he was a little lonely. She doubted many people could do that after all he was a genius.

She wasn't a big drinker but that didn't mean she didn't know her wines. Kalia had a glass of wine with her dinner on most nights. "Sure, I'll have whatever your drinking." She was pretty sure he fancier something she had never even heard of before. "Thank you for inviting me and giving me a reason to dress up. I have never been to a party quite like this before. Council events don't even compare except for the people standing around gossiping about each." She had better things to do than worry about what so and so was doing. She was actually a little excited to see what it was he was working on. She had a thing for blasters and technology. Her love for that steamed from her history of growing up around smugglers and pirates. They taught her the value of these things and how to use them. Why this kind was better than that and so on. She was much more than just a Jedi Master. Few people knew that about her. It was sure to peak out a little tonight.

 

[Aldo Zarkot]

When she said she would be having what he was having he instantly changed his mind on what he was going to be drinking. He had his eye on a fancy rum that had been aging for awhile now, but seeing as she did not seem to be much of a drinker, he opted for a wine instead. He did not want to out himself as an alcoholic so early on in the night, so he grabbed a wine from Kashyyk, a special wine that tasted great but was pretty potent. Pouring two glasses, he handed one to Kalia, and slowly started to sip on his own. Red wine was his favorite, he was not big on sweet wine, so it had kind of a bitter taste to it but it was still good none the less. Even someone who did not like whine would enjoy it.

"You mean to tell me you don't get invited to parties all the time?" Aldo said with a bit of shock on his face. Of course he guessed it was because she was a Jedi, he did not figure they had much free time to go on little adventures like this, but if Aldo was to be the judge of what people did she would have been invited to every gathering he had. Maybe not by his side, but at least invited, she was easy on the eyes. She was innocent in her own little way, but Aldo had a feeling she was not as innocent as she seemed, especially considering she was a Jedi Master. "I find that hard to believe." He smirked and took another drink of his wine before setting the glass down and crossing his legs.

"Baron doesn't know what he wants for me," Aldo said, bringing the conversation back around to him. He glared across the limo at Baron who shook his head and averted eye contact. "He thinks I spend too much time in my lab. Things don't get done by taking beautiful girls on dates all the time. Not that I mind it, I enjoy it, but it is hard to come across someone who doesn't get offended by my long hours and little sleep." It was true, Aldo spent most of his time either in his lab or pitching ideas to potential investors. Running a huge company like his was no easy task, it did not allow for lots of free time, but it was part of the reason he liked it. If he was not constantly working, then he would be constantly thinking, and there was no worse place in the world than inside of his own head.

"So, I am curious, how does one become a Jedi Master exactly? From what I hear it is a rather hard feat to accomplish, and yet here you are, and you seem relatively stable. Not like some of those preachy Jedi who constantly tell me that I am going down the wrong path or blah blah blah. No offense of course."

 

[Abaigeal Burke]

Accepting the glass from him she smelled it before twirling the wine in her cup a little and smelling it again before taking a sip. Kalia was sure that it looked weird but she had been taught this was how you taste a new wine. The guy who showed her this technique had been no wine expert himself but it seemed to work for her. Instantly she recognized it as something from Kashyyk that she had before. "This is from Kashyyk isn't it?" She asked just to confirm her thoughts on what she was drinking. Kalia liked wine contrary to popular believe.

"Well, not parties like this. Most of the parties I end up getting invited to happen at a cantina not on a fancy yacht." It was true as most of the people she hung out with were not high society. They were just average people trying to make it in the galaxy by transporting things across the galaxy. Every time they stopped in her neck of the galaxy they would all get together and party. Kalia hoped whatever they were doing now a days it was legal but she never asked as in this case she really rather not know. In her eyes they were good people whom had taken in a scared nine year old many years ago. "There is also the occasional Knight and Master ceremony but those aren't parties. It's old Jedi traditions that can last for hours. They are really outdated too. I only go to pay my respects to the recipients because they have worked really hard plus if they are my student which many times they happen to be I get to participate in the actual ceremony."

The way he spoke of Baron sounded like her brother. He always told Kalia that she worked far too much and should stop and smell the roses from time to time. There was so much that needed to be done and she really enjoyed what she did. When she wasn't tending to her Jedi duties she fixing up her old ship which seemed to need a new something or other every day. Kalia liked to keep herself busy. "That sounds a lot like me," she laughed a little. "I think the only time I do sleep is when in space on my way somewhere or at my desk while working on my latest proposal. I'm sure one of these days you'll find the right woman whom won't be offended by your sleep schedule and may even get you away from the lab." She wouldn't say it but she was pretty sure the girls he went out with were just attention whores and only interested in his money whom when find out can't have either are offended.

"I think I'm stable because I don't let my position go to my head. It might also help that I didn't grow up at the temple and have some real world experience. The Jedi that like to preach drive me crazy because honestly we are all not like that. Some people go about life in a different manner and as long as that's not harmful to others whom am I to judge? I'm not a god or anything."Taking another sip of the wine she realized that she had gone on some sort of tangent and wasn't answering the question. "It takes years and years of training and dedication to the order to get to where I am today. I started out as a Padawan where I learned under a Master. He taught me the basics such as how to use the Force and of course my light saber. We went on tons of missions together doing anything from being the clean up crew after a disaster to fighting Sith. I also would pour over the archives in my spare time learning all I could. Once my Master felt I was ready I became a Knight in which I not only was free to go on missions by myself but I could also train Padawans of my own." Kalia paused for a moment to take a sip of her wine before continuing. "After years of dedication, service and knighting half a dozen Padawns the order decided to Master me. Even though I'm a master now I continue to learn something new everyday. I don't know it all nor do I pretend to even though most come to me when they have questions or problems. I still go on missions from the order of course but not nearly as often anymore."

Kalia paused again twirling the wine a little. She needed to watch how much she drank as the last thing she needed or wanted to do was to get a little tipsy and be known as the drunk Jedi Master when that wasn't her in the slightest. She had done enough talking about herself for now. Really she rather hear more about him and what he did. "What do you do in your lab for all those hours? What are you working on or is that top secret?" It was for her known knowledge really it wasn't like she would go sell it to the highest bidder. She honestly was just curious in what he did and his work.

 

[Aldo Zarkot]

Normally, Aldo would not have been paying attention to a word she was saying, but he had always been interested in the Jedi. Growing up, he often fantasized that one day he would be whisked away to receive Jedi training, but that day never came. In his mind he could not comprehend how any normal person could retain knowledge or learn new things as good as he was without being a Jedi. So he forgot about his dream of being a Jedi and focused on more important things, his legacy. So when she was talking about what it took to be a Jedi, he was genuinely interested, sipping on his drink and soaking up every word as their limo approached the ship that would be taking them to the Yacht.

"Seems like a lot of work for something with so little recognition." The limo came to a stop and he waited for the driver to come around and open the door. He finished off his glass of wine and sat it down where it would be cleaned by the people who took care of their limo. "I myself enjoy receiving recognition for my work. But then again I am a textbook narcissist, so that might the problem in the first place." He chuckled at his admission of his own faults. He could care less what people thought of him, he knew what he was capable of, that's all that mattered. Door opening, he scooted himself out of the seat, standing by the door with his hand outstretched for Kalia so that he could help her out. He may have had an ego the size of a moon, but he knew his manors.

Walking to the ship, he brought the conversation back to what he did in the lab. "A little bit of this, a little bit of that, mostly tinkering with weapons and armor to improve it," They walked up the docking doors to the ship where they would make their ways to their seats. Even his transport ship was decorated to the max, looking much better than some entire ships. The ride would not take long, they would dock on his Yacht, where they would make their way to the party. It had already started, about thirty minutes prior, Aldo was a sucker for showing up fashionably late. "I am working on a new project, a prototype...."

"Sir, is it wise to speak of it?"

Aldo waved his hand at Baron who did not want him to talk about his project. "Relax, Baron, what is she going to do? Steal my plans? Break into my building and grab the armor? Not even a Jedi could get through my security, the Galaxies best slicers would never be able to hack into my system before being locked out, and even if they did get through all of that, I am the only one who knows how to create the armor, and the schematics are locked away tightly in my head." He tapped on his head and grinned as Baron gave him a look of warning before Aldo ignored him and continued. "I call it the D-1 Armor, it is a prototype as I said, but I am making breakthroughs. If done correctly I will be able to craft an armor that even the Mandalorians would be jealous of. The perfect combination of protection, weaponry, flight, and artificial intelligence. A breakthrough in my field." He was very confident when he spoke, his creation being his current pride and joy, he was excited about it being finished.

The Yacht approached their view, and they would be docking soon, Aldo stood up and prepared to exit the ship. "If you would like, I can show it to you."

"Sir, I must recommend you..."

"I don't pay you to recommend anything, Baron. Kalia, my dear, have you been sent by anyone to come here and sabotage me? Is this entire thing a ploy of the Jedi to steal a prototype that isn't even functional?" He was asking rhetorical questions, he knew she was not here for his armor, hardly anyone even knew about it. Especially the Jedi, they had other things to deal with. "Baron, if you'll excuse us, my guests are probably getting antsy." Smirking, he put his arm out for Kalia to latch onto again, he wanted everyone to see the woman he was walking into the room with. He was ready for the jealousy in the eyes of men, the longing of women to be on his arm, he enjoyed every bit of it.

The doors to the Yacht opened, and they were met by a large crowd, everyone dressed in very expensive clothing. Aldo and Kalia stepped out and the entire crowd turned and acknowledged Aldo entering the room. People clapped, people tried to talk to him, but Aldo forcefully walked through the crowd. Offering slight nods and promises to talk to them later. All the while he kept his arm latched around Kalia, not wanting her to get lost in the crowd, at any moment any of the men would have stopped him and talked his ear off about their future plans, ideas, boring stuff Aldo did not care about. "Told you," Aldo said through the side of his mouth as he continued to walk through the crowd. "All a bunch of brown nosers. Just keep smiling and waving, I will sneak us away from them as soon as I can."

 

[Abaigeal Burke]

Kalia wasn't a Jedi for the recognition as you barely got any at all. The thank your she received from the people whom she helped was enough though to make up for all that. There were also the perks she received from helping those people. They seemed more willing to work with her once she saved their butt which was good as sometimes she needed help getting supplies to fix her beat up old ship.

When he spoke of his project she listened intently. As a young girl she used to tinker around with weapons on the ship because she found space travel so very long and boring. It was a way to occupy her time, mess with the crew and it was a little fun too. She didn't do it much anymore but that didn't mean it peak her interest. She could tell by the way he spoke about his project that he was very excited about it and proud of what he had done. Which she expect of course who wasn't proud of themselves when they did something new? Jedi were not immune to such things.

When he offered to show it her she smiled and nodded. "I would love to see it." She was positive that it was amazing even if it wasn't yet completed. She had heard of Zarkot Industries long before she met him but not at the Jedi Temple. It was from her adoptive smuggler family as they raved about the technology and how they wished to get their hands on it. Who wouldn't want that stuff? People would line up to buy it from you if you had it. Kalia though had left that lifestyle far behind her when she joined the Jedi Order as the two didn't mix very well.

She could see Baron's point about not showing her but if he wanted to share his work what harm was there in that? Kalia was about as trustworthy as them came. If he was looking for someone to confide in she was a good choice. She wouldn't tell a soul about a little trip to his lab. It would just be their little secret if he did end up taking her. Anyone who asked would just hear about the fancy party.

The moment they exited the transport all eyes were on them as she figured they would be. What she didn't realize that there would be so many people here. Which now that she thought about it shouldn't have surprised her. What was a nice change of pace was that they were not here for him but instead for Aldo. The only glances she received were from the woman looking like they wished to claw her eyes out to get to him. The glances from men were less malicious thankfully. Instead of mingling with the crowd as she would have at other parties she stayed latched onto Aldo as she knew he didn't want to mingle. He was only here for show and because it was his party.

As they swept through the crowd she could only smile and wave as people kept trying to stop them in order to talk to him about something. After awhile she was losing count of how many people he told that he would talk to them later. As overwhelming as all this could be he seemed very composed so she had to give him credit for that. She knew most people to not be as patient as she was when it came to things like this. "No worries," she spoke softly. "I figure you need to play host for awhile. When your done though I can make us disappear." She could cloak them using White Current and make them invisible for a time. They could than leave without a trace. Not right now though as this was his party and he couldn't just disappear on his investors the moment he arrived. "First though I think little showing off. Wouldn't you agree?" Kalia knew he liked showing off who didn't? The way he walked made her figure they were headed towards someone that he actually did want to speak with but she couldn't be sure. This was his party though so she would just go with the flow. As she scanned the crowd she didn't see any faces that she recognized as of yet which was a good thing seeing as they would probably be uninvited guests.

 

[Aldo Zarkot]

"You can do that?" Aldo whispered when she mentioned making them disappear. If so, that would be insanely awesome, and he wanted her to do it right then. But he supposed he had to make a little speech, it was his party after all, and everyone wanted the guest to say something. So he walked over to a little stage that had been set up for the live band, which had yet to start playing, and he let go of Kalia's arm for a moment. He walked onto the stage and everyone turned to listen to what he had to say. Nervousness set in over him, he hated large crowds, but he was good at putting on a brave face and going on. Of course booze helped, but he had not been given enough before he came up there.

"Welcome to the party everyone. I know we are all excited to be here, the grand opening of Zarkot Industries on Nar Shaddaa was a huge success, and it is all thanks to everyone here. So on behalf of myself and everyone who was involved, I want to extend a big thank you to every single one of you, without you Zarkot Industries would be just another company. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, and enjoy yourselves tonight. Open bar, live bands, and great people." Aldo smirked and began a clap, as did everyone else, before he came down from the podium and stood next to Kalia. "Alright, do that vanishing thing, and head for that door over there." Aldo pointed to a door that was only accessible with a retina scan of Aldo's eyes.

 

[Abaigeal Burke]

Disappearing was only one of her many abilities. She was rather proud of the way she could do it as many Jedi couldn't or when they did could only hold it for like a minute before appearing again. The best of the best could hold it for hours but Kalia wasn't there yet. She was still working on that didn't plan on giving up trying. She loved a good challenge. What she currently could do was hold it for about fifteen minutes before reappearing again which would give them just enough time to get to that door and inside. Nobody would be able to see them or sense them the only thing they would see if they were paying attention was the door opening and closing.

Nodding she took his hand and took a deep breath trying to concentrate. In order for this to work he needed to be touching her or he would still be visible to all his guests which would not be good. Focusing on the Force and the ripples in it she waited for a minute searching for a ripple. You needed a trained eye in order to see the ripples and even at that you could only see them every once in awhile. They were hard to grab onto and when you did have it even harder to hold onto. Finding one she reached out with her mind to grab it and pull it around them. Once she was sure that she had done it Kalia walked with him to that door he mentioned.

Now she could more than likely bust down the door but there really was no need for that when he could easily open it which would gather less attention. Nobody would know that they were gone which was the way they both wanted it. Besides this ability took a lot out of her as it was. She hadn't tried doing something else along with it. That was just another thing to try later of course. Once they got inside she would be free to let go of the current. "Your turn,"she grinned looking to the door.

If he wanted to see more than just her disappearing act Kalia could muster up some other neat ability.