Heaven Knows

[Sal Katarn]

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Upper City​

​

Multi-tiered towers jutted high into the city scape, their tops round as clam shells. A unique facet of Taris architecture. But Sal Katarn wasn't here to admire the landscape.

He tugged at the armor weave beneath his rugged black poncho. The armor bit into his armpit, chafing awfully. A reoccurring problem with new gear. Getting used to the new kinks and itches would take time.

The drifter stood on a public balcony overlooking the city, peering through a pair of binocs down at his quarry below. Few enough bystanders on the landing pad.

Didn't rightly know what she was doing on Taris. A little digging was all it took to uncover her notoriety. Seemed as though the name "Ticon" rang a few alarm bells the Alliance. They wanted more intel on her. Sal was willing to oblige.

Just here for the scenery, or looking for a few contacts in Mandalorian space?

Last update to her dossier showed her as a Republic asset. A friendly, sort of.

After the whole thing with Lasedri, nobody seemed to be sure on where they stood with the Republic. Ticon might have been Lasedri's lapdog, but Sal didn't particularly care. He and politics didn't get along. Every time he came near it, the stuff would try and get him killed.

But then, the same could be said for most people in his life.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

It had to be done

Taris was the middle ground, a sort of no-man's land between Republic and Mandalorian space. The sprawling city-world claimed allegiance to no one and nothing, maintaining itself as a hub of neutrality for any passing through. And it would have been idea, had Keira still held a loyalty to both of the aforementioned governments and powers. But she had left the Republic, instating herself firmly as one of the Mando'ade, finding yet another family within the clans, adopting the name Verd as her own just as much as Ticon. It hadn't taken much of an adjustment to make herself at home among the warrior culture, and she found that she fit in better there than she ever would among the politicians and other bureaucrats of the Republic.

Why exactly she stood on a landing pad in the Upper City was entirely variable, and she was mixing both business and pleasure. Her last excursion here had been in the name of the Red Ravens, and that itself was years ago. To return loyal to a people she had once called enemy was strange enough by itself, and taking those bonds to heart while she had so easily discarded much of the same in the past was something different altogether. Now she was finally allowing herself to be anchored in something, whether a family or a cause. It was something new, but the sort she didn't entirely mind, and she was able to find comfort in those bonds forged, drawing solace and strength where they had once been an annoyance.

Two pairs of little feet pattered up to her, hands tugging at her sleeve. Grinning, she knelt to scoop up the twins, pulling them both close to her in a tight hug. "You guys can't run off on your own. Where's your dad?" "He's over there!" It was Reid who answered, pointing behind her, and she ruffled his hair with a smile. "He was walkin' too slow." Taking a smaller hand in each of hers she pressed a kiss first to the top of Kaya's head then Reid's. "Yeah, I'm sure he was." Standing, she waited for [member="Slade Zambrano"] to approach, looking him up and down with a crooked smile when he did. "Been too long since we've been together as a family. I miss it." Taking a breath, she exhaled slowly. She had even gone so far as to wear her wedding ring, something that was a rarity for the purposes of practicality. It was a true sign that today was meant for nothing more than spending time with those she cared about above all else.

But then that sixth sense pricked at the back of her mind, a quiet whisper surfacing that warned her to be on her guard. Even today it seemed she wouldn't be left alone. Ah, hell.

[member="Sal Katarn"]

 

[Sal Katarn]

Little kids ran up and clung to her, affection clear from the way the woman held them close, though Sal couldn't make out their expressions through the binocs. An out pouring of love from family or friends, didn't need to see expressions to tell as much from the way she stooped to cherish them. Sal caught himself counting targets, trying to determine whether any of 'em had weapons and if they were combat age. He grunted.

When had he started listing children as combatants? Probably around the same time they started shooting at me. Blasters didn't care how old the hand was that held 'em. And a bolt from a man would put you in the dirt just the same as a bolt from a kid. You can shoot, then you can kill. Not like Sal wanted to kill anyone, least of all kids, but it paid to be cautious and he had seen more than a few hotshots gunned down by children in his line of work.

Still, if blaster bolts started flying Sal didn't plan on sticking around long. The mission parameters were clear: observe and report. Given how the last one of these had gone, he'd come more prepared for the op to go sideways instead of trusting the odds. Luck was a fickle queen, 's why he two-timed with Prudence.

Katarn continued watching, waiting. Things'd develop on their own.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Slade Zambrano]

[member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Sal Katarn"]

Slade was off trying to get his crap together, they were having a family day on Taris and his wife [member="Keira Ticon"] was actually taking care of the kids for once. It had been a few years since he had last shot up and being on a world like Taris there was dope pretty much everywhere, he could smell it. So taking one large drag from a cigarette he put it out and threw the remnants on the ground. After giving himself a little motivational talk he stepped out wearing a casual suit and smiled at his wife giving her a quick kiss on the lips as a response.

"You know now that you think about it, we never have had a family day. Unless you count that time where we had to drive me home from the bar. But never mind that, let's just have fun." he said with a dismissive and almost uncomfortable tone.

Then his eyes fell on her daughter and he smiled pushing his face against her forehead and giving a kiss playfully teasing his little girl.

"Whose daddy's favorite mistake? You are, yes you are!" He said as he tickled his daughter.

Once the sensation of needing a fix passed he looked up to Keira and smiled at the woman once more, despite his claims of the entire kids thing being a mistake there was nothing in the world he'd rather have right now. Maybe drugs by a close second, but he was going to make sure he didn't return to that person who hurt his wife. He'd be upstanding citizen Slade!

"So what's on the agenda today?" Prepare for a fun filled day of montages and slow motion.

The thought made slade only slightly sick.

 

[Keira Priest]

"We talked about not smoking around the kids." The remonstration was muttered under her breath so the twins weren't able to hear. "So much for trying to quit, huh?" Keira had tasted the smoke on his lips, though the faint miasma of cigarettes clung to him regardless. Of all the vices he maintained she supposed that was the least harmful. At least he'd given up the harder drugs altogether. "At least try and pretend like you want to be here. This means a lot to the twins, and to me." Their lips brushed together again, much to the protest of their children that had up until then observed their interaction with a muted curiosity. The two were nothing more than the kids they appeared to be, even if their parentage would suggest otherwise.

Kaya reached up towards her and she knelt to pick up her daughter, looking to Reid with a crooked smile. "I bet your dad would love to give you a piggy-back ride." The boy's eyes grew wide and he ambled over to Slade, looking up at him with a broad grin and bright eyes. "Will you? Mommy said you would!" His twin sister giggled at her brother's antics, "Can I have one next?" "We'll have to see about that." This was the simple existence she had never really had a chance at, the opportunity presenting itself years late, though she still cherished it just as much as anything. Everything she had missed in her life, everything that had been lacking, was now entirely present. Perhaps in a slightly skewed light, but present nonetheless.

Again that sensation of being watched manifested, and she bumped into Slade to get his attention, the look in her eyes communicating she was entirely serious. "Reach out through the Force. Tell me if you feel someone who's getting too curious for their own good." His abilities within the ethereal may have been far more limited than her own, but if he was capable of anything it was sensing the presence of others. ​"I think we might have tag-along. If they get too friendly let me deal with things." If there was one thing she had learned over time, it was the necessity of having at least one weapon on her person at all times. She had three, all concealed from the naked eye. It paid to come prepared, or at the very least, it saved lives.

Extending her awareness outwards, she touched on the mind of this observer, speaking to him telepathically should that crudely forged connection remain unobstructed, "I know you're there. I feel you. Why don't you come out?" Hopefully he would be so kind as to save her the trouble.

[member="Slade Zambrano"], [member="Sal Katarn"]

 

[Sal Katarn]

An all-too-familiar voice spoke directly into Sal's mind.

"Great," he grunted, glancing at the tailring perched on his shoulder. The reptavian cocked his head, as if to say 'what else did you expect, tailing a force user?'

Katarn grunted. "Yeah. S'pose you're right."

Tucking the binocs back into a pouch on his belt, Sal started toward the turbo lift that would take him down to the level of the landing pad.

Mentally, he replied to the woman, "Sure thing."

Didn't take but a minute for Sal to make his way over to the same platform as Ticon and her brood. Katarn's steady footsteps slowed to a halt when he reached the start of the narrow neck that led to the landing platform. The wind ruffled brown hair shot through with gold and made the rough black poncho flutter around Sal. The half-breed's hands rested easily at his sides. With the tailring perched on his shoulder, he posed an altogether odd sight.

"Here's far enough," he said, voice hoarse as ever.

[member="Keira Ticon"] | [member="Slade Zambrano"]

 

[Keira Priest]

When the stranger came into sight her stance shifted, and after a moment Keira realized that he wasn't a stranger at all. Rather, he was the man she had met in a bar not too long ago. But perhaps 'met' wasn't exactly the right word. They had made each other's acquaintance when he made the decision to sit down next to her, and things had only escalated from there. At some point he had ended up with a shotgun in his face, and she had to talk her older sister down from ending his life then and there. Altogether, not an atypical night out for her, and she was surprised to find that he had been the one tailing her. Most weren't so avidly pursuant of a failed courtship, but then, she knew that wasn't his purpose in being here. No, he wasn't superficial enough for that, by her judgement.

"Who is that?" The question came from Kaya, and she smiled down at the girl, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "Don't worry. He's just someone I know." But the two could likely sense the rising tension, damn their Force sensitivity. "I don't like him," Reid huffed, arms crossed across his chest from where he stood near his father. At that she couldn't help but laugh quietly, smiling in his direction. Right now she was inclined to share the same sentiments her son held. Gently she nudged Kaya towards her brother, "Go with your brother and dad for a bit. I'll be fine, I promise." It had taken all of her restraint not to draw a weapon when [member="Sal Katarn"] first approached, and it took that same self-control not to do so now.

Slowly she turned to where the not-quite-stranger was waiting, progress halting once they were within proper conversational distance, assuming he allowed her to close the gap. For a moment she only studied him, unable to suppress a crooked smile, shaking her head in some form of exasperation. "I'll offer a piece of advice: if you're going to tail a Force sensitive, bring a ysalamir along next time. That way you won't be sensed if you get too close." Of course, many would be able to feel out the void in the ethereal caused by such a creature, but he could figure that one out on his own. "I would ask what you want, but something tells me you wouldn't be inclined to share too much. Is it really so important that you felt the need to follow me all the way here?"

[member="Slade Zambrano"]