The Ghost Among Us

[The Upright Man]

[Final Thread]
[Theme]

The Red Ronto, again. He remembered being here not too long ago, and as he moved through the dimly lit cantina, he brushed his fingers along the leather of seats. He remembered the smell as it wafted through the ventilation slits of his helmet. The green miasma of smoke in the room was suffocating, and for all its atrocious acts it did upon his nose, once again, he swore he could taste something sour. Must have been something in the air.

He remembered the Red Ronto for its patrons listening to ancient smazzo loud enough to burst the ear drums, but tonight it was deathly silent. Eerie almost. The Red Ronto could be found squatted inside Brink Station, which orbits the Chiloon Rift. Perhaps the single most dangerous flying-turf in the galaxy. Behind Upright towered two Herglics, light-machine slugthrowers clutched in their hands. They made them look like a childs toy, but in Uprights hand, well, hands more like it. Those 'light' machine throwers were heavy business.

He took a seat in a booth, and felt the itching desire to reach under the table and activate the tranquility shield, but when he finally submitted and moved to do so, he only found his finger pressing against a piece of chewing gum. Guess they couldn't afford them he supposed. He pulled back his hand and lit up a deathstick, and he waited, patiently.

- [member="Isaac Ideus"] - [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] -

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

The encrypted message had been, well, cryptic. Even after it was decrypted. The Twi'lek immediately suspected a trap. This presented her with a dilemma. It seemed so obviously a trap that she was surely supposed to figure it out and then.. what? Try to flex her muscles perhaps, call the Red Ravens in en-mass and descend upon the place. And the logical conclusion of that was explosives or plagues or any sort of nastiness to wipe out a large swathe of the Ravens muscle in one fell swoop. So the smart thing to do would be to ignore it.

But.

This was not a subject on which the Twi'lek had much of a sense of humour. The wound was still raw, and she wanted blood. To use it in something as crass and common as a trap.. Besides, it might be seen as weakness or fear if she didn't respond. What then? Could not ignore it, could not utilize the manpower available to her. There was only one acceptable answer. Only one response.

She would go. Alone.

She trusted that she was more capable than most realized. They saw her Diplomat mask, as she wove words with a skill that always got her exactly what she wanted, often without the other party realizing. They saw her Dancer mask, the toned body displayed just so to please the eye. The did not see the Survivor. The did not see the girl who'd walked into the desert alone and lived. They did not see the predator. Someone had taken away something very valuable to her, and now they tormented her with it. Brows knit together and jaw tightened.

"One! Two!"

The simple call had the two R.I.C.O units at her side, flanking her. They'd proven themselves, and between them and her own bag of tricks, she intended to have a.. discussion, with whoever had sent that message. After sending a quick message to Declan that she would be out, the Twi'lek primed her Ship to go, it was still stocked from her last voyage.

--------------------------------------------

The Red Ronto. She'd been in more than enough places like this in her life, she could have lived without adding this one to the list. It stank, and it was suspiciously empty. All except for one man and his two bodyguards. She paused in the entryway. Ostentatiously so that her eyes could adjust. In reality she was both placing where she'd seen the man before and seething at his presumptuousness. To send that message and then be waiting here with Herglics just like-

She bit that thought back. This wasn't the time. She didn't know what his game was yet, there was surely more to it than just the slugthrowers. Her R.I.C.O's could likely act just as if not more quickly than they could.

The funeral.

That was where she'd seen him. As the enormity of that slight when compounded with the others hit her, the Twi'leks face became absolutely expressionless, a sure sign she was in an absolute rage. She moved surely over to the booth, ignoring the Herglics.

"I do believe you asked to meet."

Even, steady.

[member="The Upright Man"] [member="Isaac ideus"]

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Isaac had felt alone.

This was not an unordinary feeling, but it resonated with him more meaning than before. The death of his friend and mentor had left him in a great malaise, like walking through a soupy fog that shows no sign of letting up. He had taken a few oddjobs in the Outer Rim in an attempt to clear his mind. He had been away from the syndicate for months, and he was sure that some thought he was just a shadow on the wall who came and went like many others before. Regardless, the time away from the grime of criminal wheelings and dealings had proved therapeutic.

Sitting down on the grass of a random park in a nameless city on some non-descript planet in the evening, Isaac laid his head back and stared at the stars. A small boy and his elderly Grandfather followed suit behind him, and the three of them gazed at the nighttime sky.

His pocket buzzed. Retrieving his messenger, he read the device. It was protected by an encryption that only Lysle Rigger was privy to..

--
So, your friends dead, and I'm betting you're looking for answers.
Come to the Red Ronto, out by the Chiloon Rift. I have all the answers.

Sincerely,
The Upright Man
--

He stashed it away. He was done with that part of his life. He looked back up at the sky and his mind wandered elsewhere. Suddenly, a light leaped through the sky.

The boy cried out in excited curiosity: "Look Grandpa! A star just fell from the sky."

"That is not an ordinary star my son," he replied. "That is the tear of a warrior."

"What warrior is it?"

"A lost soul who has finished his battles somewhere in this galaxy. A poor soul who could not find his way to the lofty realm where the great spirit awaits us all."

Isaac pulled his messenger back out and stared at it.

The Red Ronto, huh?

_________________________________________​

FLASH CUT -- THE RED RONTO at BRINK STATION in the CHILOON RIFT

This desolate hell-hole was where this "Upright Man" wanted to meet? Isaac shook his head in disgust. He had been here before, on his last mission with Lysle. This wasn't a coincidence. Chills ran down Isaac's spine as he walked up to the door. He idly fingered his pistol concealed under his jacket, reassuring himself for the tenth time that he hadn't forgotten it. He sighed, and swung open the door. It was empty, except for two figures.

"... I thought we were meeting alone."

[member="The Upright Man"] [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[The Upright Man]

Droids, how unreliable. Those were the first thoughts to drift through his mind when Chiasa entered. His grey eyes, hidden behind a pitch black visor blemished by an upside-down crimson triangle, slowly looked upon the woman. He remarked aloud, "Just as beautiful as the first time I laid my eyes on you." Upright ashed his deathstick onto the table, then pulled it back to the ventilation slits of his helmet and drew from the deathly concoction. She moved towards him, with the lithe and grace of a dancer, and the hard resolve of a diplomat. He was fond of her, to put it simply.

Chiasa said, "I do believe you asked to meet." Upright turned in his seat, looking over his shoulders at the two massive Herglics that had defended the Dragon Palace Casino more than half a dozen times, and been a common sight in the upper echelons of power. "It wouldn't have been them, so yes, I did ask you to meet. Take a seat." He offered his hand out and motioned to the booth.

Slug marks dotted his chestpiece. It was clear he'd been in more than a handful of shootouts since his sudden appearance in the Outer Rim. It was rather odd that someone had appeared, just as someone had disappeared, in a manner of speaking. That they knew more than most, even more-so than the President of the Red Ravens, Cryax Bane. From all accounts, he recalled that Sigourney was not too happy of his appointment. Then again, when was Sigourney ever happy? Rarely, that was the answer. Very rarely.

The door flung open, Isaac called out, "I thought we were meeting alone." Upright craned his neck and looked at him with a sense of familiarity, and the stirring of his heart. Not of love nor lust, but kinship, in a way. "You never replied to my message, I didn't think you were coming." He waved his hand, "Then again, I did message Sigourney. She did reply, but she just thought I was some hokey pokey thug looking to harm the feelings of the wrong people. I may be brash and bold, but I'm not suicidally stupid."

Upright looked back to Chiasa, "I would understand why you may not recognise my friends, you're fairly new, at least new in the eyes of Isaac and I," he looked to Isaac, "But surely you remember these two Herglics." The two long-time bodyguards of Lysle Rigger. They'd been by his side on an almost twenty-four hourly basis ever since the Dragon Palace Casino was first under construction, and the Red Ravens were just a city-block gang of thugs looking to stir trouble with someone long out of their league and depth. The Black Suns had paid dearly. They would pay dearly again, if Upright still had any say. "Come, take a seat, have a deathstick."

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

The body language... The speech pattern...

The rage was replaced by.. What? Nothing. This was too much. The Twi'lek distanced herself from her own feelings and emotions as she analysed the scene before her and the logical conclusions. She took the seat that was offered, operating more on autopilot than any conscious decision. She had seen him before, which meant he had seen her. Lots of people had seen her. It meant nothing. When [member="Isaac Ideus"] entered however, she was thrown slightly more off balance. Isaac was a Raven as well, so in theory could have received a similar message if it was a trap, but that it should be only him.. He was a veteran, of that there could be no denying, but he'd been one of the old guard. What loss would it be to Cryax or herself if he was killed? She would notice and regret it certainly, the man had proven himself time and time again, but he was a solitary sort. The one who would have truly missed him was..

And there was that thought again, the suspicion that was slowly solidifying. Surely not. It was damned near impossible. Wasn't it?

The casual reference to Sigourney, a woman most of the new Ravens hadn't even heard of. The easy way he referred to himself and Isaac as a team. At his prompting she studied the Herglics a little bit closer. She was no human, to whom all aliens might look alike. These weren't just two Herglics hired to ape the ones who'd so often stood in the Dragon Palace Casino, these were them.

"Dan nurkeslua!"

The Twi'lek choked out, ignoring the proffered deathstick to throw her arms around [member="The Upright Man"] and hug him fiercely for a moment before drawing back and seating herself again, hands folded on her lap. The slight flush of colour on her cheeks was the only evidence of that moment of weakness, the Twi'lek was once again composed. The Galaxy changed and she changed with it.

"What do you need?"

If he'd called her here, he would have a reason. It was telling that she didn't question him, simply immediately moved to business, prepared to help.

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Isaac listened to [member="The Upright Man"] speak as though the two were acquaintances. Calm on the outside, his mind was working furiously trying to understand what he was hearing.

"I would understand why you may not recognise my friends, you're fairly new, at least new in the eyes of Isaac and I," he said. Isaac's eyebrows rose in disbelief. He had seen this person once before, at Lysle's funeral. But Isaac had been recruited by the Red Ravens when they were little more than half a dozen criminals doing illegal smuggling and operating money laundering schemes. For the life of him, he couldn't remember seeing him once before.

"But surely you remember these two Herglics." The dark-clad figure gestured to the two Herglics that Lysle had hired as bodyguards. They were more for looks than anything, the clumsy sods; Isaac didn't have any recollection of them actually doing anything particularly well.

His mind was blank, this enigma's possible identity eluded him. Was he talking to a ghost?

Chiasa's enthusiasm was amusing, although Isaac was well and truly confused as to who she thought she was speaking to. But, it eased the tension in the room and Isaac cautiously took a seat across from the masked mystery man. Accepting the death stick, he retrieved a lighter and lit it. "So..." he said, blowing a cloud of smoke across the table, "how do I know you?"

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[The Upright Man]

The hug was unexpected, though it was welcome nonetheless. He offered a single arm around her and pulled tight, not wanting to drop his deathstick in his other hand. What they said about them was true, they sure as hell were addictive. Chiasa pulled away and asked, "What do you need?" Upright nestled back into his seat and looked at her briefly, "Well I need a gunner and a co-pilot." He turned his hidden gaze onto Isaac, and saw that the man was visibly confused.

His friend took the offered deathstick and took a seat. "So..." he said, blowing a cloud of smoke across the table, "How do I know you?" The small wonky crimson triangle on his faceplate began to blur, enlarge and form a pixelized smile. It then vanished and returned to its triangular form. "I didn't die. It was just convenient that everyone thinks I did, Cryax included. Logan knows I'm alive, Sigourney too, she was the one who had the surgeons operate on me while I was frozen. Not that it was much work, I was shot once. Then again, men have died of less. You two are the only others who know, so keep it quiet."

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Isaac nearly choked on the fumes from his death stick". There, in front of his face, was a picture of Lysle. It was hardly what he was expecting to see, but now Isaac was wondering how he failed to put the clues together.

"I had a feeling I was talking to a ghost..."

He stared at the now faceless mask in sincerity. A cheeky grin crept from the corner of his mouth, and he soon burst out laughing in disbelief. "Bloody hell, I don't know what to say. It's a damned relief to see you're still here, mate-- you've got a co-pilot for the rest of your life."

Ah! Isaac scrambled to his feet and went to the bar. He returned with three pints filled to the brim. "What's a celebration without this stuff?" he asked, placing the glasses on the table. "Don't worry," he said turning to Lysle, "I've brought you a straw."

[member="The Upright Man"] [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

"Whatever you need."

It was a brash statement though it was delivered calmly. Not one the Twi'lek would normally be caught making. To anyone. It was too open-ended, too much could be asked. Too much was promised without knowing what was being promised. There might not actually be another living being who would hear those words from her. But Lysle. It was complicated. Self-centred, vain beast though she was, in the depths of her heart she would admit that if she owed one person, it was Lysle. If she hadn't heard of the Red Ravens, of him.. She remembered poignantly not having a home. Not having credits to her name. Knew the sorts of things she'd likely have had to stoop to. It was not a good Galaxy to be Twi'lek female, alone and broke in.

He'd never once called her on it. Never. She didn't think anyone else had noticed, but he wasn't the kind of man who didn't pay attention. He would have noticed the Twi'lek who had literally just shown up one day and pretended she belonged. And he never said anything. He let her. Left her to prove herself and succeed, or fail, on her own merit. Because of him she had sky-rocketed to Vice President. How many were left who would have known her as anything but a power? That was important to her. Appearance were important. Appearances were everything, and he'd let her craft her own.

She didn't question his decision to keep the information close to his chest. To tell Cryax.. Alone he was trustworthy enough for a given value of trust, but since she'd not had the chance yet to arrange for the.. meeting, with him and her associates.. No. He was.. Not himself. Her brows briefly furrowed at that but, it was being dealt with, and she'd ensured it wouldn't happen again. Had asserted her claim to her territory. As long as her uneasy allies wanted her at their side they'd have to stay away from Cryax and the Ravens.

She looked at the pints [member="Isaac Ideus"] brought over. Not usually her style these days, but the occasion did seem to call for it. She reached for one and raised it, one brow arched and a faint smile on her lips.

"To [member="The Upright Man"], mays your enemies only learn it's so when they're staring down your blaster."

Even if he wasn't after revenge, the Twi'lek still was. Never forget, and never forgive. Though one might appear to do both.

 

[The Upright Man]

Isaac nearly choked on the fumes from his death stick, "I had a feeling I was talking to a ghost..." Upright shuffled slightly in his chair, "I've always had a card to play, and I still do." A cheeky grin began to form on Isaacs lips, and he began to burst out laughing in disbelief. "Bloody hell, I don't know what to say. It's a damned relief to see you're still here, mate-- you've got a co-pilot for the rest of your life." Isaac scrambled to his feet and went to the bar.

Chiasa spoke up as Isaac had gone, leaving the two alone for a moment. "Whatever you need." Between now and when she first entered, it was the only time he had ever been alone with the woman. There were so few he brought into his inner circle, Isaac was perhaps the only one he truly trusted beyond a doubt. Cryax may have been his prodigy, in a way, but even he did not fully trust the man.

Now was the time to see what metal this woman had. She was the Vice President of the Red Ravens. Upright once held that chair, and everyone knew what he accomplished being 'second-in-command' while it had lasted. President and co-founder Sigourney may not have been very active publicly, but she did a lot behind the curtains. Lysle was the frontman, he was the face of the criminal underworld, now it was turn for Chiasa to step up to that plate.

"It's good to hear that, darl, I need that right now." Isaac began to approach with three pints filled to the brim. "What's a celebration without this stuff?" he asked, placing the glasses on the table. "Don't worry," Isaac said turning to Upright, "I've brought you a straw." Upright scooped up his drink, taking the straw with a hidden smirk. "The helmet isn't required, I just don't want anyone seeing my face. Not even here." He turned and glanced towards a security camera that was installed in varying corners of the darkened empty cantina.

Upright began to sip from the straw, placing it gently between the slits of his helmet nearest his mouth. He began to speak as he finished, "I've got a high-priority target I want taken down. Geneviève Lasedri, Prime Minster of the Galactic Republic." Upright twisted his wrist and activated his wrist-mounted datapad, a hologram of the woman snapped to life. "I've been tailing her for a while now, gathering the few resources I can. I have a hitman, but this is a big job that could cost more than just creds."

The hologram of the woman was replaced by a wanted poster of a Keshiri named Lily Rose, previously known as the bounty hunter 'Luminous.' The price for her was high in Republic space, and Mandalorians, and Protectorate, and Sith, and even Raven. A former Mandalorian who had begun a killing-spree against her own to earn herself a reputation and credits, she took a few assassination jobs in Proectorate space, later became the Royal Guard of Darth Mierin of the One Sith until she turned-cloak and just about everyone wanted her at that point.

"This is our sniper, she's got a lot of heat on her arse, we need that heat off her. I could contact some Ravens to get off her tail, but that might cause some diplomatic backlash with the Sith. Easy way to go is faking her death. I know a man, Watkin Tudor, he's a bit looney since he spent some time on Tatooine. That planet will fry your brains. He can fake a murder, one of you will need to find him. The other will need to come with me to the Republics capital. We'll start some basic scouting, suss out the joint and figure what routine the Prime Minster has each day. From there we just collect the equipment we'll need for the job."

"Now you want to know what you get in return for such a high-risk job? Sure I could tell you what to do, but I'm not Vice President anymore. And seeing as I am dead, my credits will be cut evenly between you two. You'll become trillionaires overnight, and the Dragon Palace Casino will be signed off into both of your names."

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] [member="Isaac Ideus"]

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Isaac listened intently as he nursed his pint. A hit job? No problem, but to do in the Republic's Prime Minister? Calling her "high priority" was almost laughable-- she was nearly untouchable. He continually switched between the beer and the deathstick, studying the face of the dangerous but beautiful "Lilly Rose" as it appeared from Lysle's wrist. She must be damn good if Lysle employed her.

So Isaac and Chiasa were presented with a fork in their proverbial road. Chiasa technically could pull rank on Isaac, but not today. Tatooine sounded awful, and the Galactic capital was a place Isaac had never been.

"Chiasa is too well known. She'll be recognized in Coruscant. I'll come with you to the capital" he said, turning to Lysle but being cautious of prying ears. "So I guess that leaves us with only one thing left to do. Get off this bloody rock!"

With that, he leaned back in the booth. He took sip from his beer and smiled.

[member="The Upright Man"] [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]
[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]