Private The Madness of Circumstance

[Severus Barran]

TAGS
Yuri Maji

THE MADNESS OF CIRCUMSTANCE
I

​

Corporate Sector, Imperial Central,
Coruscant, Deep Core Territories (903 ABY)

<"Any word yet?">
<"Nothing yet, Lion. Best to presume he's being held at another blacksite.">
<"Alright, then I guess we should check activity around the nearest public squares.">
<"Copy.... Warmask - out!">
​

'For feth's sake.', the young Dantooinan muttered behind a coffee-cup, upturned towards his lips at the time, approaching just in time for the outburst to conclude. Yet despite the rising desperation in his gaze, not a single interruption to his cover-pattern behaviours had been expressed, and not a single passer-by would notice; neither the rising irritation, nor the fact he was relaying to boost the signal-strength of the young Novanian's scanner, and to an extent so oblivious that not even the diners at the tables around him even cared to notice. Barran could help but feel like a raging inferno beneath the surface, regardless of the calm and collected front he was putting forth publicly, but his uncle had taught him enough about fitting into the background to know he was perfectly fine, making no sudden movements as he meshed into the setting itself.

'Huh?'

But something, or rather, some-one was bringing the young Lion close to snap his head to one side, to make sudden movements he was not advised to make, not even in exfiltration back to the Little Outpost. Human high-culture had prevailed too much by then, and far too much for such an individual to fit in for very long, a good thing then that the distant presence was sticking to the crowd like glue, on the underclass side of the speeder express-lane at that. Whoever this was, they were certainly the farthest thing separated from the greenhorn majority, and just like Barran's growing clique, this fellow was also every part the consummate professional.

Its not every day you see his sort in Coruscant these days.
Shame, perhaps I might have come to work with a few of them otherwise.​

Having caught a glimpse of the unexpected presence in transit, Severus was lucky enough to catch the direction in which the young Shistavanen warrior was headed, and much to the young Half-Goidel's surprise, he noticed that the direction was leading directly toward the Protectorate safehouse. As much as the young Lion wished to let it slide on grounds of paranoia, and as much as he knew that the safehouse's proximity would help to answer whatever questions arose from this impending counter, he knew this matter could not be left to anyone else, made acutely apparent with a gut instinct that urged him forward in the spirit of curiosity.

Slow and steady, stick to subtlety.
​

Stepping out after carefully pushing his chair in, leaving more than enough for the bill and checque alike, Severus sauntered over to the crossing-lights with periphery kept firmly on his walking commute, keeping his posture and breathing alike in check. Hopes had previously met with outcomes of mistaken identity, but Barran's gut was urging him to commit this time, promising reward for the risks incurred in the endeavour, but the crossing was the easiest part. Severus had to appear like he belonged, but the only way he could continue to do so, as much as he disliked it, was to appear like he was already off for the day, making a shortcut to a condominium that others imagined to be somewhere beyond the near-vicinity of the safehouse.

Thus the cover-image would need to be seen doing things he would never do on duty, but not so extreme that it broke his cover, and not something that hindered his attempt to reach the one he suspected he aleady knew. However, fortunately for the face beneath the plain-sight cover, he knew that lighting up a cigarra would fulfill exactly that, closing the gap between himself and the suspected ally as he reached into his coat's inner-pocket and that of his formal-dress trousers, lighting up accordingly with one spare kept tucked in above his ear. Only then did the nearing man ahead slightly turn his head to get a closer look at the one tailing him, but Severus, in his polite, though direct manner of instruction, had to mutter,'Eyes front, please. Friendly gestures await, though. You're in good company now.', in the hopes it offered at least some modicum of reassurance.

'Straight ahead, we have a two minute walk - purple door enters to safety.... Its good to finally meet you, Mr. Maji.'

 

[Yuri Maji]

Walking along the upper levels of Coruscant wasn't something Yuri generally did, especially when clad in full armour. Luckily his poncho helped to hide most of his kit, and his helmet dangled loosely from his belt to help keep his profile low. But even then, someone like him wasn't a common sight in the upper levels. He chose to stick to the lesser traffic as he attempted to find his ship.

Normally he would have hopped a taxi or organized some kind of transport to avoid notice... but normally, he would also be several levels below the surface. It just so happened that the delivery job landed him higher than he was used to, and the curiosity of the enormous cloudcutters won him over. Despite the odd looks he received, it was a quite pleasant walk.

Or would have been, were it not for the feeling of someone watching him. He kept his eyes forward and played it off. Cops wouldn't be on him so quickly, neither would any bounty hunters. His modest bounty was relegated more to the Outer Rim than the Deep Core. Regardless, he was in no mood for a tail. A spare glance at a nearby diner's window gave him a fleeting image of who he suspected. Human, neatly dressed, looking like just about every other pretentious schutta one would find so high up on Coruscant. It was only when he heard a faint, metallic click that he turned his head to look at the man, hand already hovering over War's grip.

'Eyes front, please. Friendly gestures await, though. You're in good company now.'

"In my experience, that's a lie." He remarked, bringing two fingers to his lips in gesture to a cigarette. His posture relaxed somewhat, though he was still on guard with the overly friendly stranger. Once he received a smoke, his vambrace's flamethrower sparked a flame to light it, though it allowed his other hand to come underneath and hold his wrist blaster at the ready on the man.

'Straight ahead, we have a two minute walk - purple door enters to safety.... Its good to finally meet you, Mr. Maji.'

Yuri let the smoke roll from his nostrils as he glanced at the man. How the hell did he know his name? "Ya don't smell like a bounty hunter. So you better start talkin'." He muttered, the distinct 'hiss-and-click' of his wrist blaster echoed as it primed. Just loud enough for the stranger to hear it.

Severus Barran

 

[Severus Barran]

TAGS
Yuri Maji

THE MADNESS OF CIRCUMSTANCE
II

​

Corporate Sector, Imperial Central,
Coruscant, Deep Core Territories (903 ABY)

'Heh! Fair enough... Just let the Trandoshans pass us by first-alright.... Here goes-'
​

Inhaling with full awareness as to how things ended up with the legends of their families, the young Lion was fully aware of the dangers that went with ripping off that particular bandaid, but Severus was sure enough time had passed to lend both families their fair deal of closure, thus remained confident in his choice to reveal himself. By then, the safehouse was but a minute away, but Barran smirked to know the ones inside would not be needed, almost too happy to reveal,'Before I explain my reason for approaching, I'll just start with a name I'm sure you'll know.... I'm Severus Barran, and history binds our paths together.', safely assuming Maji would know (at least enough of-) the intricate lore of yesteryear.

The only factor that would ring as uncanny in Maji's ears was the fact something distinct was missing, and with Goidels having left their lasting mark on the Galaxy already, the lack of Woadish or Tuathan accent would be quite glaring indeed. One downside to being raised on the matrilineal homeworld, as much as Barran quite preferred it that way, was the surprise in learning of half-Goidelic ancestry in his blood, made all the worse when impersonations spewed forth in imitation of an accent that seemed alien to his ears. But despite the difficulties it was likely to present, both in assuring proper self-identification and calming tensions, the young Lion had already passed that point of no-return, thus all that remained was commitment to the whim and prompt of his own destiny.

'Now, as for the reason, you won't believe this, but our AOs have seemingly overlapped. For you, it would appear you're here hunting, though for me, I'm here rescuing - and I'm willing to bet that our targets' identities are entirely different too.'

 

[Yuri Maji]

A soft snort escaped Yuri as he cast a glance at the Trandoshans walking past them. Another curious sight on these levels. The man went on to explain who he was, and he was entirely correct with his presumption. Yuri's gaze turned back to him with a curious look as he took another long pull of his cigarette. "Barran, huh? Funny... ya don't sound like one. If I remember correctly, y'all are supposed to have that funky accent." He remarked with a smirk.

Severus went on to explain his reason for approaching Yuri out of the blue while also trying to be as vague as possible. Clearly he was "on the job" if his appearance and mannerisms were the case. Luckily for him, he had guessed wrong on Yuri's reason for being there. If there were credits to be made, and possibly some friends in high places, Yuri wouldn't mind tagging along. He knew the stories of the Barrans, and those other Gowrie characters. His mother often spoke fondly of their shenanigans and even a few operations that she didn't mind sharing. He even managed to scrounge up some old helmet footage in his mother's personal files on the freighter's terminal.

She refused to talk about the later years, though. Something about Ilum she didn't want to talk about.

"Well, I probably got some good news for you..." He began, taking one last drag before stomping the bud under his armoured boot. "Ya caught me at a damn good time. Just finished a job and the schuttas shafted my pay. So, if you're needin' an extra gun, I wouldn't mind rolling with you. See why Ma couldn't shut up about you lot." He remarked with a chuckle, deciding to slide his helmet back on. "So, where's this purple door you were braggin' about?" He continued with a synthesized voice.

Severus Barran