Here to Get the Job Done

[Liliette Viesel]

"Well, I don't exactly have any other matters to deal with now." Approaching the hanger that had been her original destination, she could see the ship that had been meant to take her back to her employers, still ready to go. How long would it be, she wondered, before someone investigated the now abandoned ship, especially after the senator fiasco.

"Any mentor's better than none, I suppose." She had little stake in the matter, no real way of knowing how behind she could possibly be in terms of control over the force. After all, it was just a tool she had but a vague idea of how to sort of use.

Looking up at him, the grin had her almost immediately back on guard, her fears being confirmed momentarily. "Woah, we're what?" The whole idea of Liet agreeing to this apprenticeship or sorts was so she wouldn't have to go back. "O-or we could just leave them alone?"

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

A few moments of silence followed as the Voidwalker strode through the hangers. He'd offered the toll man a simple dataslit to confirm a false identity, and one of the many hanger doors grumbled open. Within was a rather sleek ship about the size of a frigate. It was black as the void, and the engines attached to its aft end looked far too large to accommodate such a vessel with any degree of success. The cloaked man waved a hand forward, and the vessel's gangplank hissed down to the floor.

"You leave them alone and they'll do this again. They might even come after you specifically." The cowled man responded with a shake of his head. Lilliette was uneducated on the Jedi Order, but she was going to have to learn quickly. There was no better way to show her what they represented than producing results.

The vessel rumbled with life as Voidwalker stepped aboard. It was a rather utilitarian ship, with two rooms for living, a meditation chamber, a listening room, a hub, and the cockpit. The cowled man made his way over toward the latter.

"You know where they are?" He asked as the ship lifted from the deck. "We need to pay them a visit."

[member="Liliette Viesel"]

 

[Liliette Viesel]

Following along, there was a twinge of envy that came with seeing such a vessel. Disproportionate or otherwise, the ship certainly looked like it'd be worth a pretty fair sum on any market, something Liet had only previously encountered on other thievery excursions. Being on such a ship without any poor intent, was odd, almost unnatural.

"I'm well aware they could come after me." The tattoos adorning her face would see to that. Her concerns didn't lie in those in charge, rather the people she was leaving behind. She wasn't sure she could face them, knowing that she'd potentially be running off to bigger and better things, while they'd still be there like flower seeds on concrete.

"Thustra hosts their main source of leadership," she said with a relenting sigh. "This is only going to cause trouble for the other people living in that area."

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"Depends on how the problem is solved." The Voidwalker pointed out. He was well aware of the way gangs tended to go about their business. If you succeeded in removing one, another would often take its place. If you failed in cutting off the head, then their boot would only come down harder on those nearby. It was the circle of retaliation, and it never ended well. If there was an open market, there would always be someone looking to cash in on the opportunity.

They would just have to make sure the market remained closed.

"Thustra? Never been." He grinned beneath the cowl. "Always up for some adventure though. Strap yourself in. This'll be a bit of a trip." A few short moments later, and the vessel had entered the exotic realm of hyperspace, the arrival time sitting somewhere around two hours.

"In the meantime," the Voidwalker whirled about in his chair. "Mind telling me just who and what you are?"

[member="Liliette Viesel"]

 

[Liliette Viesel]

"Then how do you propose handling it?" There were plenty of ways she could see this going horribly wrong, too many people who standed to lose too much. Acting against them would only incite more pain, especially for those who were only guilt of association.

"It's not much to look at." She admitted, sinking into a chair, fiddling with the safety belt until secured and then leaning back in the seat. The time in transit would be good for resolve, hopefully.

"There's not much to share." Another shrug seemed the only appropriate reaction. "They call me Liet, I did what these people told me to, that's really about it. You're the real mystery here."

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"The ones on the top I jail. The ones on the bottom I scare into more respectable work. The ones guilty by association take up the power vacuum and replace it with kinder methods and far less virulent product. Cutting down a crime syndicate is a difficult process. You have to go about it slowly, otherwise the whole thing collapses and just causes more chaos," the Jedi Knight explained. His arms folded about his chest as he regarded Liet, his head tilting somewhat as she explained her interest.

She wasn't wrong. He had gone to every extent in order to hide his identity from the populace and those he interacted closely with. It was a good way to keep yourself safe when you weren't on the job, and he was going to have to teach her the value of anonymity very soon.

"Don't underestimate yourself. It does you discredit, and a lack of confidence brings about greater mistakes," he explained as he turned back about to face the light of hyperspace. "I'm the Voidwalker. I'm a member of a virtually extinct arm of the Jedi Order, and we don't share much on the first date."

The vessel rumbled as it neared its exit point. "Or in this case, on the first mission. You stick around long enough and I'll explain things further."

[member="Liliette Viesel"]

 

[Liliette Viesel]

"And in the meantime, what's keeping anyone else from swooping in and taking over? There's people there that can't defend themselves. They'd be easy targets."

This whole secrecy wasn't something Liet could say she was a fan of. Could she blame him? No, that'd be foolish. But trust went both ways, especially when she was technically betraying the only thing she'd known for several years.

"It's not a lack of confidence, it's just the truth. There really isn't much." The time most would spend developing interests, growing into themselves, had been traded for piecing together lost memories and the skills that'd gone with them. Beyond that, there'd been seldom opportunity for self expression, free thought itself being being a risk to express.

"And does this virtually extinct arm of the order take people on their first mission only hours after meeting them?"

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"Us," came the rather simple answer. Whatever good humor had laced the Voidwalker's words faded in favor of somberness. As the vessel approached the planet in question, he fell oddly quiet. To Liet, it likely looked as if he'd lost himself in his own thoughts - that was only partly true. His mind stretched out far into the ethereal realm of the force, picking up on every little shift and eddy within its currents that surrounded the planet. He could not pick out those they were hunting from here, but he could get a feel for the world before they ever came to land.

It felt wrong.

Unwieldy.

"In the past, yes," he finally answered. "Consider it a test of sorts. In years past, the Shadows would take padawans out to see if they had the mettle for the missions to come. This is something similar." The shuttle began to rumble as it broke through the atmosphere. "Only this time we're solving a personal problem too. Where am I landing Liet?"

[member="Liliette Viesel"]

 

[Liliette Viesel]

"Just us?" That wasn't asking for trouble, unless of course the Voidwalker could clone himself. If he could fake teleport, she didn't put it past him. When he didn't respond, she assumed he'd lost interest, focusing instead on the task at hand. She figured she'd do the same, trying to figure out just how any of this could end well, especially with just the two of them.

The farther the ship moved towards the surface, the more she was wanting to bail. Sure, this needed to happen, but she wasn't the one who wanted to do it. There were several times she could've imagined herself just punching her now-former employers, tear the horrible little organization to shreds, but that was before she'd seen first hand what they were willing to do.

She wouldn't wish their wrath on anyone.

"But isn't mixing personal with professional just a bad idea in any situation? There's a spaceport over there," she unbuckled the seat, standing to point in the right direction. "I can talk to the guards, get us inside, but other than that, feel free to do all the talking." The less she was actually involved...it probably wouldn't matter, anyway, but letting him take the lead just seemed like the best course of action in general.

[member="The Voidwalker"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"Not always," the Voidwalker informed. There was a hint of amusement to his words, though Liet's fear was rather palpable. It filled the cabin of the ship like a malignant aura; the girl wanted to run. He could understand, of course, but such things could not be allowed. Not yet.

"Personal often opens doors in the realm of the professional. It's all about who you know, and rarely about your actual skills. A good reputation will get you farther than the value of what you create in the world of business. It's the same when it comes to crime." He explained as the ship settled down in one of the nearby hanger bays. The vessel rumbled as its engines dwindled down to a low thrum. It was only then that the Voidwalker went rummaging about in one of the many lockboxes scattered about the cockpit.

A simple purple cloak was retrieved.

"Put this on. Once we're in, you'll want to wear the cowl. It'll hide your face." He explained as he thrust the mass of runecloth into her hands.

"Lead the way."

[member="Liliette Viesel"]

 

[Liliette Viesel]

"Maybe, but by doing so you can also put those close to you at risk."

"Thanks." Wrapping the fabric around herself, she steeled her nerves for the adventure at hand. It should be simple, right? Just act like she was reporting in from her mission and let things fall into place from there. Putting it off wouldn't do any good.

The spaceport itself wasn't much to look at. Most hangers were left in a state just barely good enough to function and nothing more. Activity was minimal, there being no bustle of people scrambling to make good departure time, no pilots discussing how they should catch up with a few drinks at the local cantina. The staff that did occupy the space kept their heads down, risking only sideways glances in between their work as if drawing attention to themselves would spell out trouble.

The twosome only encountered any real resistance from one, a Sephi on the small side of things, nearing middle aged and hoping to climb as far as he could in this little organization without putting himself in danger. "Well, what do we have here?" He asked, sneering down at Liet yet keeping his distance from the taller figure with her.

"H-he's hear to talk to the boss." She cursed the shake in her voice, continuing on maybe a bit too quickly. "I-i don't know what's going on, really. I'm just here to escort him." A momentary bout of inspiration hit her. "If you have a problem with it, you're welcome to ask-"

"That's quite alright." The man gave a nervous laugh, now all too happy to let them be. He was a bit of a pathetic man, really, still calling out well-wishes even after they'd already passed. That being said, it was better than dealing with a trained army. Or worse.

She pulled the cowl over her head, adjusting it here and there to match her peripherals and casting a sideways glance at the Voidwalker. "That could've gone much worse."

[member="The Voidwalker"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"It usually does," the Voidwalker offered as they were let past. He'd regarded the Sephi male with a disdainful scowl and a furrowed brow, not that the man could have seen his expression. Voidwalker had very little love for criminals, especially the ones that crawled through the cracks like rats. There was no honor in what they did; nothing offered to society. Their intentions and way of life mirrored those of the Sith almost to a T, but then that was to be expected when it came to an individual being's nature.

The easy way was the common way.

"Take a deep breath and calm yourself," a steady hand was placed upon Liet's shoulder. "You're doing well. The force has broguht us here; trust that its will shall show us the way. Everything has already been predetermined. Understand that, and you'll never fear anything."

For a moment, the shadows about his visage faded for just a moment. A thin smile could be seen through the inky blackness before it too was swallowed up by the void.

He came to a halt outside the indicated room.

"You should announce me. It'll give us more clout."

[member="Liliette Viesel"]

 

[Liliette Viesel]

"Easier said than done." The gesture was appreciated, comforting, even, but not quite enough to wipe away that sense of dread that had metastasized as they continued on. "You'll have to forgive me, but your theology doesn't exactly hold any meaning to me, not now, anyway."

Continuing on, there wasn't much opposition to be had the majority of the trek to their objective. It was an area in which most were content in keeping their head low, their fear keeping them grounded in obedience. Liet wouldn't try and deny that she'd have the same mentality if not for the Jedi. She still had it somewhat, the temptation to turn tail as real as ever, but with it, recognition that things were beyond her control at this point. Whether she had a hand in it or not, there was little doubt that this Jedi was going to take on her employers. All things considered, siding with him only seemed just a bit suicidal.

"You weren't supposed to come back with a person." There was hardly a chance at an introduction, the leader of this establishment greeting the two with a cool gaze the moment the door was opened. Liet took an unintentional step back, nearly tripping over her own feet before she could gather herself and summon a voice.

"There were complications." At the very least, she couldn't be accused of being a liar. She stepped aside, letting the Voidwalker take center stage for this one. "I'll let you two work this out. This is the Voidwalker."

[member="The Voidwalker"]