[IC] Star Crossed: a Star Wars Story (BlueSky44 & Morose)

[BlueSky44]

Things were a bustling bit of activity, as Jarothe was expecting company. A Jedi was going to be stopping by in order to look over some ships that were going to be potentially sold to the Grand Army of the Republic. So he was in his office, rummaging through a few things, ensuring that he had all of the information needed for the exchange.

Shakka was off to the side, remaining fairly quiet, more or less just watching him bustle about. She wasn't entirely sure what to really do or say. At the moment, she was standing near the desk in her usual place. After all, she wasn't typically saying or doing anything unless asked, that had kind of been her life since she had ended up being sold off as a slave, and had been with Jarothe Colbol for a few years at this point. This wasn't exactly where she wanted to be stuck, though she was a bit curious as to the Jedi really, then again, with the war, it wasn't entirely too surprising that they'd be showing up to look at some of the ships that Jarothe had.

She was used to the company, since typically she ended up acting more or less as a servant whenever there were any visitors in the area. So right now, she was just keeping off to the side, waiting to see how things would play out.

"Remember, do not speak unless directed to, this is important after all," Jarothe said towards her instantly, having cleared everything away and sat down at his desk again.

"Yes sir," she responded, before there was the sound of someone coming through the doors.

"The Jedi you've been expecting has arrived," the man said, looking towards Jarothe.

"Good, lead him in then.

[Morose]

Newly minted Jedi Knight Raynor Blake had no idea at all why he had been chosen for this assignment - and he had a bad feeling about it already. He had argued with his former master, Master Mozh, that he wasn't meant for this sort of thing - that he was more of a warrior than a spy. But as most conversations with Master Mozh went, Raynor somehow found himself doing exactly as Sevrina wanted him to do anyways. That was how he found himself here at Colbol Corp, wearing his nicest robes (the stuff they kept around for ceremonies or meeting with politicians in the Senate).

He had been waiting outside of the room, and Jarothe's helper came out, motioning for him to come in. Raynor sighed, before doing his best to look positive and upbeat.

"Mr. Colbol, it's an honor to meet you," Raynor said, coming into the room, his robes billowing lightly behind him. His blue lightsaber was attached to his belt. He extended a hand. "My name is Raynor Blake."

[BlueSky44]

"The pleasure is mine," he responded simply to Raynor with a smile, before shaking his hand. "Welcome, now we might as well get right down to business here. We have several different ships that I can show you, it just is a matter of heading down to the hangar to show yo exactly what sort of ships we have. It is much simpler to show you then to go through all of the specs on paper of each one."

This sort of thing sometimes could be a bit boring to her for the most part. But unfortunately, she couldn't really just leave, though that would be nice though. She was remaining fairly quiet and off to the side, more or less just sort of waiting to see how things were going to play out.

"If you'll follow me, we'll head that way now to get started, if you need anything, feel free to ask, and let me know if you have any questions about any of the vessels that we have. You, come along too," he said, and with his last sentence he motioned for Shakka to follow along after him, as Jarothe started to lead the way out of the room.

[Morose]

"I'm afraid the Council insists that I look through the specs as well," Raynor said sympathetically. This was, perhaps, one of the reasons why he had been selected for this mission - he was rather good at lying. It wasn't something most Jedi were known for, the ability to conceal the truth, but Raynor seemed to have a talent for it - as if he were the favorite of some long forgotten god of lies. "If it's not too imposing, I would appreciate a room for the night - as it is getting rather late and I would hate to rush through examining your beautiful ships."

This was more of a formality, the last thing he had said - the Jedi Council had told him that arrangements had already been made for him to dine with Mr. Colbol that evening, and that it would be expected for Raynor to spend the night due to both the late hour and simply the social rules that the upper elite of the galaxy operated by. "I'm afraid I didn't catch you name, miss?" Raynor then said, following Jarothe out of the room, but his gaze went to the Twi'lek. Slavery was illegal in the Republic - but some corporations did their best to find ways around it, coming up with new words that really meant the same thing - sentient beings being treated as property, as animals, being forced to do things against their will, and receiving no pay for any labor performed.

[BlueSky44]

Jarothe nodded his head, "No worries, I can get you everything to go over if you want them," he said to Raynor, still leading the way along. "And we already have a room prepared for you for if you wanted to stay for the evening. So that is not a problem." He was rambling a bit as they walked along.

She was a bit surprised when Raynor spoke to her. Shakka was used to more or less being ignored by everyone who worked with Jarothe, and not really anyone had ever actually really took the time to ask her name. She glanced for a moment towards Jarothe, but he didn't seem to be paying any attention at the moment. "...My name is Shakka... In my language it means lightning," she said somewhat quietly to him. Typically she wasn't usually referred to by name by anyone, especially not usually the clients or whatever that Jarothe worked with.

Usually, she was just ignored, kind of more or less a fly on the wall if she was needed for anything. It was a little weird for her to have someone seemingly ask her something as simple as that still. Her attention turned back towards Jarothe, as they ended up by the hangar. "Since it is getting a little late, we can just look at them for a little bit, nothing too specific to show, and in the morning go over everything more in depth. Though I can ensure that you have the specs for all of the ships before then to go over them. Well, anyway here we are, feel free to wander and look around to your heart's content in here."

[Morose]

"Good to meet you, Shakka," Raynor said. He found it a little weird that she had explained what her name meant in her language, which he assumed must have been Twi'leki. She struck him as the socially awkward and shy type, so he didn't give her the nickname that instantly popped into his mind for her, based on the sound of her name and its meaning - Shocky. It wasn't quite right, but there was definitely something there.

At any rate, they reached the hangar and Raynor turned his attention to the ships. He doubted there would be any specific evidence of Colbol Corp breaching the contract they had with the Republic here - any real investigating he was going to do would have to wait for that evening. But he needed to keep up appearances, so Raynor walked on up to one of the smaller ships. "She's beautiful. Can you tell me about her?" Raynor asked, motioning at the ship. "How fast?"

[BlueSky44]

"Oh, uh, nice to meet you..." she sort of muttered, very much unsure of what to do. She basically just did what she was told, never really starting up a conversation with anyone unless she more or less was specifically spoken to by Jarothe. Or more of when she had been specifically told more or less not to talk unless she was more or less told to. Shakka figured that she should probably go back to being exceedingly quiet unless she was spoken to or directed to again.

"Ah, that would be our take on the ARC-170 starfighter, it isn't the fastest starfighter out there though. With an acceleration of 2600 g, and speeds up to 44,000 kilometers. They are fairly sturdy vessels, and to make up for it's lack of speed against other, faster fighters, it has a lot of shielding and quite a bit of firepower behind it despite it's size," he said simply, walking over to the ship now.

[Morose]

Raynor personally preferred ships that were more like glass cannons - ones that were fast and quick, able to undertake mind-bobbling turns, like the Jedi vectors of old. He always liked the idea of a ship that was made purely for a Jedi, one that required the Force to operate with any skill - and the drama of having to use a lightsaber as a key appealed to him. Unfortunately, the ships they needed to acquire had to work for the majority of their forces, the Clone Troopers - and Raynor was pretty sure the odds of a Force sensitive Clone existing were hardly any better than a benevolent Hutt performing a dance routine.

"Right, tough little thing - I know we'll be wanting something similar to the 170 starfighter, but do you have anything with a bit more speed? Even if it's a pain to fly it, a Jedi should be able to manage it." He then glanced at Shakka. She was being incredibly quiet. In the back of his mind, he was working out a way to free her. He hated slavery - just like every other Jedi. And at least here, it seemed he was being given a chance to do something about it. "Miss, are there any you'd recommend in here that I take a look at especially?"

[BlueSky44]

Once again, she was fairly surprised to have Raynor address her in general. It was weird, and she wasn't entirely sure about whether or not she should answer the question. She glanced over at Jarothe for a moment, more or less asking if she should answer, and he simply nodded his head slightly, though his facial expression said that he didn't expect much of an answer from her. "You probably would want the Delta-7 starfighter, the whole ship was essentially designed to be used by Jedi. It's faster and more nimble then just about every other ship we have."

Jarothe seemed a bit surprised that Shakka seemed to know anything about what ships they even had. "I'm a little surprised you knew anything about the ships," though he also sounded a bit annoyed that sd he seemed to know much of anything about it.

"I um... Pay attention..." was her only response to that.

"Since when? You've never even acknowledged that sort of thing before. And I seriously doubt you had any prior knowledge beforehand."

"Thought it might be a little helpful or something..."

[Morose]

Alright, as much as Raynor claimed to be annoyed by this entire assignment, he did love ships - especially hearing about ones that were practically ideal for Jedi. The description reminded him of his dream ship, the Vector (as mentioned previously). He wished there was a real opportunity to try some of these ships out, take them out for a spin, but he needed to keep a close eye on Jarothe - and dining with him that evening was going to be one of his main chances to get a feel for his character. Plus, Raynor needed to focus in general on the mission - he needed to find proof of Colbol Corp breaking their contract (and his unofficial secondary mission - finding a way to get Shocky her freedom).

"Why wouldn't she have prior knowledge?" Raynor asked Jarothe, playing dumb. "Surely you hired your assistant for her skills and knowledge of this field, no?" he suggested. He was curious to see how Jarothe would play this off - if he would admit to breaking the laws of the Republic and enslaving an innocent person, or if he would lie to a Jedi.

[BlueSky44]

Now she was wondering what Jarothe was going to respond with. There also was the curiosity about just what Raynor was wanting to accomplish here. Since she wasn't entirely sure if he was trying to get him to admit to anything or not. Then the question in her mind still was why, as a lot of people tended to avoid the question entirely with regards to her situation.

Jarothe thought for a moment before answering. "It isn't necessary for her to have that knowledge. The need for that typically is reserved for the sales members, our ship designers, and myself of course."

Shakka could tell that he carefully crafted his answer, and considering it only resulted in a moment's hesitation made her wonder if it was rehearsed for this sort of situation. "I just learned a little from everyone talking around me... Not a lot..."

[Morose]

Raynor wished for a moment that he hadn't referred to Shocky as Jarothe's assistant - it would have been nice now to ask Jarothe to define the nature of her employment specifically, just to force him to admit what he had done. But pressing this further could jeopardize the investigation. Raynor knew that he would see Shocky freed, but he had to be careful as well. If Jarothe knew his intentions, it was possible he would send the Twi'lek far away from the Republic Core, making it all the more difficult to help her and dooming her to a lifetime of slavery.

"I see. You must be very pleased then that she's such a quick learner - perhaps enough to even consider one day promoting her. You are very lucky to have such talented staff," Raynor said graciously. "I understand you're a very busy man, so if it would be helpful, I would not mind if she shows me the ships - the Delta 7 in particular - as to allow you to handle any other business before we dine tonight."

[BlueSky44]

There wasn't more she could really say at the moment with regards to things. Jarothe looked to be about to say something about that, when another person came through the door into the area, and hurried right up to Jarothe, before whispering something to him. He had a bit of an annoyed look on his face, before he ended up looking at Raynor and the annoyed look disappeared, "We might just have to do that then. I have to go deal with an urgent matter for the moment, shouldn't take too long though, if you'll excuse me. I'll have someone come get you afterwards."

Jarothe whispered something else to the one who had come up to him. He just nodded his head before leaving. "Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything." With those parting words, Jarothe left the hanger.

Shakka looked at Raynor an just sort of nodded her head a little. "The Delta-7 is just over here if you wish to take a closer look at it..." she ended up saying to him, leading the way over towards the ship. She was not used to doing this sort of thing, but she was a little more relaxed without Jarothe around, so that was definitely something at least.

She still wasn't too sure what Raynor was up to, he did strike her as a bit odd, but she thought nothing of it. Though she did have a feeling that Jarothe likely was going to ask security to more or less keep an eye on them (well more likely her probably) in order to ensure they stayed out of trouble.

[Morose]

Thank the Force, Raynor thought to himself, as it seemed Jarothe really did have something else to attend to. He knew that it was unlikely Jarothe would leave the pair of them entirely unattended in the hangar, but perhaps he could still coax some information out of Shocky - if she really accompanied Jarothe more or less everywhere as Raynor suspected, she likely would know about Jarothe selling ships to the Separatists. "Of course," Raynor said, bowing his head to Jarothe as Jarothe made his excuses and left.

Raynor followed Shocky in the direction of the Delta-7. He wasn't lying when it came to his interest in this ship - if this was was going to last as long as Raynor's old master suspected, then he'd rather be piloting a ship in combat that was suited for a Jedi, rather than some standard issue operation that Jedi and Clones alike could use. "Can I look inside?" Raynor asked, when they reached the ship. "I'm curious how the controls are set up - not all Jedi are humanoid, so having something more accessible for all sentient species would be nice."

[BlueSky44]

"Well, not too sure why you wouldn't be able to look inside the ship or anything, that probably is a normal sort of thing..." she commented. The ship wasn't too far away from where they had initially been. It was a pretty decent ship in her opinion, and from what had been discussed about it, it had been designed specifically with force users in mind, so that was something right? She didn't know a whole lot about the specifics of the ship, only the vague details of what it was designed for and all.

Hearing his other question, she just sort of shrugged. "I'm not sure what sort of things you mean... I also only know more vague things about the ship, not necessarily specifics about the controls. Though I don't see why you wouldn't be able to alter the interior of the ship to be more broad in general in who could potentially use it when it comes to the different species across the galaxy. It all depends really..." Yeah, she wasn't entirely sure what to really think or say anymore at this point.

[Morose]

"Well, not all species have the same number of appendages - or any at all, really," Raynor explained. "It would be good if a pilot from any species could fly one of these readily, without having to rely on the Force to move all of the controls." Of course any Jedi worth their salt ought to be able to do that, but Raynor could envision scenarios where there were much more important tasks to focus on with the Force than simply piloting the craft.

"What sort of astromechs are compatible?" Raynor asked next. These were all details that the Republic would really be interested in, and he wasn't going to come out and ask Shocky straight up if she was being held against her will and if Jarothe was corrupt. No, for now he had to play the part of the Jedi rep, not the investigator.

[BlueSky44]

"I'm sure if you asked, you probably could get the interior altered to fix that sort of problem. As for the astromech, it can incorporate just about any unit. It is fairly compatible with almost all units that you can currently find..." That was something she did in fact know. There were more then a few different ways to go about doing that sort of thing, however she was trying to just stick to the facts about the ship that she did know, otherwise she likely would get in trouble, and that was not something that she wanted to have happen.

However, Shakka was a bit curious about the Jedi Order. When she was younger, her little sister Voyla had been taken away from Ryloth by the Jedi, only a few years before she ended up in slavery. Maybe it would be alright, there shouldn't be a problem about it. Raynor also was sort of the first person in a while who actually seemed to act somewhat kindly to her, so she figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. "Um... If you don't mind me asking, how is it being a part of the Jedi Order? I'm just a bit curious..." she said a bit quietly.

[Morose]

Raynor understood her curiosity about the Jedi Order; people had questions about it all the time. Despite being protectors of peace in the galaxy, most of the Order was shrouded in mystery and misinformation. The Jedi were poorly understood by the general populace, with some even doubting the existence of the Force. "I've never known anything else," Raynor said to Shocky. "I don't remember what my life was like before - the records tell me that I'm from Nar Shadda, but... My memories begin in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant." He shrugged slightly. It didn't bother him, not knowing who his birth family had been. The Jedi were his family.

"I like being a Jedi, though - it gives me a sense of purpose. Serving the Republic, the innocent people of the galaxy... I think it's what I was born to do - my destiny," Raynor clarified. "When I hold my lightsaber, I feel the weight of all of that responsibility... but I couldn't imagine anything else... I'm sorry, I don't know if that answered your question - did you have something more specific in mind?" he asked. He had a feeling Shocky was looking for something, and he doubted he had addressed it, whatever it was.

[BlueSky44]

"Oh, uh no... Nothing more specific or anything, was just a little curious...." she ended up saying. She wasn't sure really if she even should mention her sister being with the Jedi or anything. At least right now. No, that was better left not really spoken about yet. She did know a little about the planet he was from, knowing his family probably weren't the best people around whoever they were.

Her mind shifted back to the ship and what Raynor was actually there doing. She didn't want to stay off the topic for too long, but truthfully she had basically said all the information she easily knew about the ship, so she decided to ask a somewhat vague question really. "Do you have anymore questions or anything?" she asked, leaving it a bit open ended, though it was only vaguely hinted at the fact of going back to the previous conversation about the ship, but leaving it open to any question really.

[Morose]

"Always," Raynor said with a chuckle. "But they are questions that are difficult to answer and I will have to uncover the truth myself," he said. "Thank you for your assistance so far, Shakka," he then added. He looked at her, before turning his attention to the ships, and then lastly to the guards who remained to keep an eye on them. He couldn't ask her details about her employer, nothing beyond the vague. His earlier questions had almost been too bold as well when it came to trying to get Jarothe to admit he was practicing slavery.

"I do hope you'll dine with us, tonight," Raynor said. He was worried that if he dismissed Shakka entirely, Jarothe would ship her off to some sector far outside of the Republic's reach, dooming her to a life of slavery - again. It wasn't right what people like Jarothe got away with - they seemed to think that their wealth made them untouchable and beyond the law.