Private In a tall glass with Ice

[Mairéad Solus]

Location: A nameless bar near the Coruscant museum
Objective: a drink, calm down
Tags: Dominik Borra

Spoiler: Equipment:

Velmorite bladed lightsabers
Knife on ankle
Ladies Watch
FDS-4F blaster pistol
Marzanna
Datapad

The mission at the museum had gone well, her and Marcella Fiora had somehow managed to relieve that museum of the Zygerrian slavers charter. But then Marcella and several others had been called off for other business with Ivory Stroud . It was to be expected, they were important people, so now she sat here, pleased that she was beginning to make a name for herself but also a little on edge about the high value stolen document in her bag. It felt strange to have done that. "Nada de esto hubiera pasado si no te hubieran valorado, ¿quizás esto es todo?" she muttered to herself with a smile, her firsr few months in the Family were already progressing well. Alone, but happy, that worked.

She had the itch to look at the document again so she asked to see a private booth and was quickly ushered in by one of the staff, the slid the curtain shut behind her and she put her glass down. Slowly unfurling the Zygerrian document from her bag and looking at it on the table. It seemed huge out of its grand surroundings at the museum. She began to read the words, words that had damned millions of sentients like herself to a life of slavery. She muttered the words quietly to herself in zygerrian as she sipped from her drink and shook her head. She would burn this eventually.

 

[Dominik Borra]

Dominik entered the bar a while after Mairéad Solus had. After the escapade in the museum, he was a bit tired, but she slunk away to this nameless bar instead of heading back to her home or headquarters. So, seeing this a good opportunity to talk to her about something that he had seen on both Lyran IV and here on Coruscant, he followed her. He had watched her get a private booth from outside. He walked in like he knew where he was going and headed for the curtained-off area.

Not only did he disagree with stealing the slave charter, of which it wasn't really his business anyhow, but she... He needed to clear something up with her. And, despite the nature of his future discussion, he began to think happy thoughts.

He parted the curtain and sat down across from her like he was supposed to, like she had been expecting him to. She wasn't. The slave charter was out on the table but he didn't look too closely at it. His eyes, hard, were focused on hers as he closed the curtain again. His face was serious and direct, and he sat a moment with no words being spoken.

When he could see in her face that this wasn't a social call he opened his mouth. "We need to talk, Mairead. About your sabers. About you."

Below the table he held his Heavy Pistol from the Mirrorverse, and pointed at her. His finger wasn't on the trigger yet. The Force would tell her nothing of his intentions or whether she was in danger, his non-murderous happy thoughts a shield against Force warnings. Decades of practice and experience told him he was doing it just right. All she would get would be his face and his words.

 

[Mairéad Solus]

Location: A nameless bar near the Coruscant museum
Objective: a drink, calm down
Tags: Dominik Borra

Spoiler: Equipment:

Velmorite bladed lightsabers
Knife on ankle
Ladies Watch
FDS-4F blaster pistol
Marzanna
Datapad

As she read, mumbling to herself in Zygerrian and sipping her drink she noticed the curtain pull and another associate walked in, Dominik Borra , she didnt know him well, having only met him a few times, but fighting alongside someone could make quick connections, good or bad. She looked up and gestured for him to take a seat, she had come for privacy and quiet but she figured he would be no trouble.

His face though, and his body language was very deliberate, he was considering her, about what, she had no idea.

"We need to talk, Mairead. About your sabers. About you."

"Care to elaborate?" she asked, now very curious, she rolled her aquisition back up an placed it away, oblivious to the fact the man already had a gun on her. "What do you want to know?" It was hard to know what to share, she had her slaver past, and now she had her criminal future with, the other stuff in the middle.

 

[Dominik Borra]

"Care to elaborate?" she asked, now very curious, she rolled her aquisition back up an placed it away, oblivious to the fact the man already had a gun on her. "What do you want to know?"

He took a slow, deliberate breath before speaking. His eyes didn't leave hers. She wasn't playing games, she simply seemed curious. That meant she didn't know about his disposition towards Sith and Darksiders(and with all likelihood it was true), or didn't quite care to think past the implications of what he did truly mean. He still watched her hands though, paying attention to anything she might pull out in his periphery.

"Their color." He said simply. "I spotted them on Lyran and at the museum. And you use the force, tutored under Star. I want to know what side you're on. What you use. Where you got your sabers." He didn't state them as questions. These were statements. Demands.

 

[Mairéad Solus]

Location: A nameless bar near the Coruscant museum
Objective: a drink, calm down
Tags: Dominik Borra

Spoiler: Equipment:

Velmorite bladed lightsabers
Knife on ankle
Ladies Watch
FDS-4F blaster pistol
Marzanna
Datapad

"What side i'm on?" heart heart began to quicken and the air in the booth noticeably chilled. Had she said or done something to upset someone, she instantly played back in her head all her dealings with Marcella Fiora and Ivory Stroud , had her eagerness to please and over familiarity with the bosses been misinterpreted. She wondered what rank Dominik was? She had assumed he was like her, but did that even matter. She had to say something to ensure her position was clear "What side am I on? I'm on yours, the Family..." her anxiety about this apparent challenge to her loyalty was evident.

She needed to calm down and just be honest, whether this was a test or not, she had no reason to feel nervous. "Yeah, I use the force, mostly cold stuff really, I could show you?... if you want?"

She wouldn't do anything rash like using the force right now, just in case it was misenterpreted. "And I made my sabers myself, my first teacher showed me how, but I haven't seen her for years."

As she thought more and she got over the fact that she had been caught off guard by Dominik, she began to calm down and thing more rationally, the air temperature had stopped dropping, although it was still chilly in here. She looked at dominik, regaining her composure. "Can you just level with me, what is this about? I know I'm still quite new, but as far as I am aware I have not done anything that would warrant you asking whose side I am on?"

 

[Dominik Borra]

Mairéad Solus Got nervous at that question. He felt the room chill and his finger slid onto the trigger. He knew she was still new at this, but being able to change something like temperature was damn deadly if you got creative with it. Like freezing the fluid in his brain, or the blood around his heart. Wouldn't need to make an ice spike or create walls of ice with that as your weapon. He took mental stock of his body but couldn't sense anything wrong, no pain. Just the air chilling.

He shook his head. She wasn't getting it. How much did he have to spell it out for her? "I'm not talking about The Family, kid. I couldn't care whether you are skimming credits or were a double agent right now. I'm talking about The Force. Light and Dark. Power or peace. Jedi or Sith or whatever else is running around now." He let out a tense breath. "And since I had to spell it out that much, in case you don't know the difference, do you use anger to fuel your abilities? Or happier emotions?" She mentioned an absent teacher. Made them with red, a not-so-nice teacher then. Darksider. Didn't help Mai's chances.

 

[Mairéad Solus]

Location: A nameless bar near the Coruscant museum
Objective: a drink, calm down
Tags: Dominik Borra

Spoiler: Equipment:

Velmorite bladed lightsabers
Knife on ankle
Ladies Watch
FDS-4F blaster pistol
Marzanna
Datapad

Her shoulders relaxed and she suppressed a grin as she realised her misunderstanding of his question, this wasn't about her loyalty after all, it was still a strange vein of conversation but it was less concerning. And less likely to her her shot, she assumed.

"Well, I'm not a Jedi, and I'm not a Sith, I'm just me, my first teacher called me a witch, I like that term so use that." she considered his other question about her emotions. It was quite a personal question and one she was vaguely annoyed that he was asking, every person had things about them that they wished were different.

"Before I answer, please consider our line of work, if you saw me shoot someone with a gun while angry, would you even give that a second thought?

My powers get stronger when I am sad or angry, I don't know why, and I don't like it, but it's who I am."

She let our a long sigh and reach for the cigarra case on the table, taking an Ivory and lighting it. Mairéad took a long drag then slid the case over to Dominik Borra in a gesture that invited him to take one. She thought of the first time her powers manifested and the deaths of those poor slave girls. It still made her sad, but it was such a regular memory she had learned not to allow her powers to run away every time she thought of it.

"My first teacher told me my emotions are a path to the dark side, so whatever you want to call me, I don't care.

If all this is because you saw my red lightsaber, it's red because the crystal I used to focus the plasma beam is synthetic. Its just a tool, I'm not going on some quest to get a real one when my teacher could just make these."

She looked at Dominik, trying to gauge his response from his body language, sometimes she wished she could read people's minds, that would be useful about now.

 

[Dominik Borra]

He listened to her. He wasn't jumping to any conclusions and he was disciplined enough not to shoot unless he was sure someone needed to die. A witch, huh? As far as he knew that was a whole different kind of manipulation of the force, but they hardly produced positive things. Dark, twisted, abominations. Not as corrupting as the Sith, but not a good bag to be in either. And it was only a slip to go from Witch to Sith. The right push. Like ambition to climb up the ranks of an organization, for starters. Whether she followed their code and structure or not, the Darkside of the Force and how powerful of a draw it had was nothing to sneeze at. It had literally felled empires and governments because one wrong person had a connection to The Force and gave in. Watching empires fall didn't scare Dominik much. It was more frightening when he was in the empire though.

She was headstrong, he gave her that much. She had to be, growing up a slave and getting out of it. She wouldn't take anybody's chit, that was for sure. But she wasn't quite getting what he was saying. She didn't seem to have much basic teaching of how the Force worked or hadn't cared to listen.

"Witch or Sith, same basic side. Not too much difference." He said simply, glancing down at the cigarra case. He wasn't a smoker, even casually. He almost looked away from it and dismissed it entirely. But taking a cigarra, even if he wasn't going to use it, would be a sign that he was friendly, on her side. At the moment he wasn't entirely on her side. He'd try to persuade her away from the dark side if he could and take more drastic measures if he couldn't, but the more comfortable she was with him the better. His left hand picked up a cigarra and twirled it around his fingers, right hand below the table.

"Shooting someone in anger and using The Force in anger are two entirely different things. The Force is not just a fancy tool you get to use. It's a living thing and will pull you in directions, making you want things you didn't before. Your emotions certainly are a path to the Darkside, and if you lean on that sadness and anger, that is what you're whole being will become. Sad and angry. The Jedi have the best idea around of how to handle that pull and limit the number of bodies you pile up in your conquests for power and status. And going into a place like The Family is going to push you to lean on anger and fear. It's better than most crime syndicates out there but it's still in the ballpark."

Mairéad Solus ​

 

[Mairéad Solus]

Location: A nameless bar near the Coruscant museum
Objective: a drink, calm down
Tags: Dominik Borra

Spoiler: Equipment:

Velmorite bladed lightsabers
Knife on ankle
Ladies Watch
FDS-4F blaster pistol
Marzanna
Datapad

Mairéad was a little irritated at what was beginning to sound like a lecture on herself, but she would try not to show in.

The Force is not just a fancy tool you get to use. I

"I'm going to have to disagree with you there, I won't go into lengthy arguments you have probably heard before, but it can be tool, for those that aren't afraid of it. When I first learned my powers, I was terrified and that is what made it so hard for me to keep control of them. I spent years wandering alone because I didn't feel safe around other people." she remembered that time, always afraid that if she lost control she would once again fall into a spiral of despair and her runaway powers would once again harm the innocents around her. She reached and clipped her cigarra case shut, she noted his hesitation to take one but appreciated his open gesture, he was trying to handle this from a good place, as was she.

"I appreciate your concern, I don't understand it, but I appreciate it. Stardust is helping me detach my power from my emotions, but she does not want remove my strength, so it is a slow process. The force does nothing to get me where I want to be within the Family, so you needn't fear my ambition" Mairéad shrugged and drew on her cigarra, she understood that the Sith fell to the darkside because they sought greater and greater power believing giving in to the force would grant them that. She could not see Amy way the force would do that for her in this life beyond keeping her safe and giving her tricks that others might not have.

"I have very little experience of the Jedi, and to be honest, from what I have heard, nor would i want to. With their violent protection of their position of power, and their distain for anyone who won't submit to their teachings, they are not much different to the Sith themselves." She gave a little smirk as she spoke, maybe it was her experience with the more militant Jedi who had previously tried to hunt her down, but she genuinely believed this.

 

[Dominik Borra]

Mairéad Solus ... really didn't get it. The force really wasn't a tool. Sure she should be comfortable with her powers but it wasn't like a gun or a hammer, and of course the Force could help you get what you want in The Family. But if she honestly believed such things... maybe she was safe. For now, at least. She wasn't some power-hungry Sith. She just had a connection to it and was trying to live her life despite it. Maybe it could work out that way. He wasn't sure how, he had heard enough stories from Sith themselves about how the Force gave them power and they wanted more of it, though always under the guise of something else. Peace, freedom, security, order. And all it brought was war, slavery, death, and chaos. He hoped, for her sake, that she could somehow dodge that pitfall.

Dominik had been pretty stern and heavy with her so far. He decided to take a breath and lean back in his seat, making sure his gun was still below the table. "Sorry if I came off preachy. I just... you could say I've had some bad breakups with force users in the past, and I haven't gotten a good impression of anyone carrying red." He gave a tiny chuckle before rubbing his eyes and nose with his free hand. "It's been a long day, hasn't it?"

 

[Mairéad Solus]

Location: A nameless bar near the Coruscant museum
Objective: a drink, calm down
Tags: Dominik Borra

Spoiler: Equipment:

Velmorite bladed lightsabers
Knife on ankle
Ladies Watch
FDS-4F blaster pistol
Marzanna
Datapad

you could say I've had some bad breakups with force users in the past

Her eyebrow raised at this statement, was interested in her and scoping her out. "Bad breakups? Colour me intrigued" she laughed and relaxed. "But no, the red saber is just because its a cheap crystal, I haven't bled it or whatever it is the Sith like to do with theirs, one day I'll get a new one."

She let out a long sigh at his comment that it had been a long day, it was true, she was tired, but it had been good fun and allowed her to get to know the Family a little better, including some of their proclivity for impulsive thefts of revered documents it appears.

"So, are we good?" she smiled at him, she didnt like the idea of having another family member breathing down her neck waiting for her to slip up, she hoped she had answered his concerns about her methods and intent.

 

[Dominik Borra]

"Bad breakups? Colour me intrigued"

He chuckled as she laughed. "Yeah, well, that's why I have a fake eye and arm. You could say me wanting to be done wasn't taken very well."

"We're good, Mai. We're good." He said as he brought his gun out from underneath the table and put it in his shoulder holster beneath his coat. He didn't make a large show of it, wasn't making a point to her that he had a gun on her or anything, but he wasn't trying to hide it either. He was simply putting it away, and what she took from that wasn't really his concern.

Then he got up from the table and as he grabbed the curtain he stopped. "And I wouldn't spend too much time ogling over that charter. Just do what you want with it, it's a hot item and you need to stay cold for The Family." He would give her a smirk from over the shoulder, and leave.

​

 

[Mairéad Solus]

Location: A nameless bar near the Coruscant museum
Objective: a drink, calm down
Tags: Dominik Borra

Spoiler: Equipment:

Velmorite bladed lightsabers
Knife on ankle
Ladies Watch
FDS-4F blaster pistol
Marzanna
Datapad

"She sounds lovely" Mairéad said with a sympathetic sarcasm, she knew what it was like to be abused, she would bot press him more. As he drew the gun out from under the table she gave a subtle raise of her eyebrows couples with a slight knowing smirk. Clever boy, taking prudent steps to protect himself, she would not hold it against him, but wouldn't forget it either, if they ever ended on a path towards being enemies she would be sure to be ready for any such tricks.

"And I wouldn't spend too much time ogling over that charter. Just do what you want with it, it's a hot item and you need to stay cold for The Family."

"Stay cold? Now that I know I can do my friend"? she raised her glass to him as a gesture to say a friendly goodbye, if he watched long enough she would see the liquid in the glass frost over at her command to emphasise her point. Then she would watch him leave, thinking about everything he had said. She didn't get the charter out again, of all the things he had said, that part was certainly true. She would finish her smoke, her drink and then head back to her ship for her return to Denon.