Lianna City

The blood had congealed into a thick goop that deepened in color until it was almost black. The pained expression on the face of the corpse from the brief moment of terror she had suffered would be setting into rigor soon but Sinistra had not yet found what she was looking for. The dead kid on the floor, maybe 20 or so if she had to guess, had been a world class slicer. Sinistra's systems had been built by one too. It took one call and the back trace had been put into motion. A day later, she had broken into the cellar hideout of a young woman, who had been tipped off. Digital cat and mouse games never really held much appeal to her, even in her younger days. In her waning year, she had lost all patience for it.

The girl didn't plead, Sinistra had jerked her up by her hair and slammed a knife into her throat, dropping the body unceremoniously to the floor. She looked over the desk, the data chips laying around until she noticed that the terminal in front of her was finishing a program run. She didn't like the look of it at all but she couldn't really understand what she was looking at. Only that it had her name and her alias in it.

The reference seemed to point to files but she couldn't find them on the local terminal. A broader network search wasn't dragging anything up either but the sound of sirens broke her concentration.

"FRAK!" she shouted through the vocoder of the rather non-descript grey and blue armor she was wearing. Living among the former Mandalorians still had some advantages.

The cellar had one means of egress and the sirens were getting louder. It was highly improbable they weren't here to ruin Sinistra's afternoon. She fled the room, dropping a thermal detonator behind her before sprinting up the stairs and waiting for the boom. The explosion pushed her through the door, out onto the back alley as people fled the chaos, streaming through the cops who now had to secure the fire. The smoke covered her escape and she moved through the city easily, leisure stopping with others to watch the holovids of the explosion on the news.

The comline in her buy'ce pinged, her eyes looking to the side to identify the number. It wasn't familiar but it wasn't from Lianna either. She answered it, letting it play in her earpiece while she watched people move about their lives. Across her HUD, a warning flashed.

COMPROMISED. ALIAS DOSSIER AND LOCATION RECEIVED AT JEDI INTELLIGENCE.

The line went dead. Her breath caught in her throat. That was the program running. That little minx had transmitted her name and location to Jedi Intelligence. Who else had gotten it?

She turned, sitting down on the first swoop bike she saw and jacking it, heading for her safehouse. The clock had started again on the old game, and she had no desire to meet her adversaries here. On top of that, she wasn't as young as she had been. She was going to need every advantage to outsmart them after being quiet for so long.

Theo was waiting in the Rancor III, its engines were warm and ready. The red glow of the console in front of him showed all systems nominal.

The tight black, fitted coat he wore felt a little too stiff. At this point, he knew that his feelings didn't matter. Look good, and fly better than anyone else in the galaxy. He straightened his collar as a message flashed across his screen

COMPROMISED. ALIAS DOSSIER AND LOCATION RECEIVED AT JEDI INTELLIGENCE.

He inhaled. This is what he had been mentally preparing for. The past day had been preparation for the worst case scenario.

Game on.

He said as he exhaled. He cycled through the ship's systems once again. Shields, weapons, stygium cloak, engines, all read good to go.

Clenched jaw, he waited for his master to arrive.

Adelle blinked in the sunlight as she followed the elder Jedi down the ramp. Nightmares had plagued her on the way over so she wasn't thrilled about stepping out of the comfortable lighting of the ship's interior. Still, there was a job to be done. She took the proffered flask and smirked, though it looked more like a grimace. "Don't see why she would. We're nice people."

She took a swig then smiled mischievously. "Well, at least I am." She capped it and tossed the flask back. "Might wanna check with authorities first. Heard something about a local fire at the same time as the call when I did some digging."

Cut back to immediately following the transmission...

The swoop bike dipped and moved around traffic quickly but cautiously, as Sinistra watched her mirrors carefully for anyone following her or lights that would signal her stolen bike had attracted attention. In the meantime, she messaged her pilot, who should be waiting with the Rancor's engines running already.

Theo, proceed as if I'm coming in hot. When I say you go, you go. Do not hesitate, do not question, just fly.

She closed the channel and looked ahead at the wide avenue leading to the spaceport, the hub of transit for most of Lianna City. With the grace of a woman much younger than herself, Sinistra pulled her feet up onto the seat of the bike and paused only a moment before she jumped off of it, onto the roof of a near by building that was at least 4 stories tall. The bike hit the ground and cartwheeled, sparks showering behind it, careening into a barricade on the roadside and exploding in an impressive fireball.

She didn't watch it though. She was already running across building tops, shedding her Mandalorian armor, to reveal a rather dusty looking pair of cargo pants and tunic. Her hair had been braided down to her head under the bucket, and it was force crushed before being left on one of the various rooftops as she skimmed the skyline of Lianna.

The Rancor was waiting for her on the roof a office building, on a landing pad normally reserved for visiting clients. She could see the building a couple blocks away but the top was too much for a jump from this height. She would have to grab a lift from somewhere before her ruse with the bike was discovered.

[/b][/ul][/ul][/font][/font]*The pristine affect of Lianna City goes hand-in-hand with the perception of a planet that thought itself above the scale of conflict in the Galactic Civil War. Strategic leverage of Sienar Army/Fleet Systems' value as a negotiating chip with the Empire and the New Republic allowed Lady Valles Santhe to vie for independence of her homeworld - and to ensure the Santhe family's perpetuated influence in the representative democracy as an act of service to the Liannese people. A planet that can defend itself, by virtue of industry and economic means? Yeah, that is exactly the attitude lending itself to a capital city dressed in pure white duracrete from top to bottom.*

*The socioeconomic and political factors that had led the planet to its de facto status as a corporate-sponsored democracy are beyond the purview of most of its population, and this could not be more true of a man who stands at street level, looking at the facade of a diner as a real estate droid chatters away with details of the building's history. Bennett Voltar is not paying any heed to the vomit of facts and figures erupting from the mechanical voice beside him. Rather, he is looking through the panoramic glass window of the cantina. The last time he was here, this place was known as the Pinnacle Diner. Why did they call it that, he wonders. That's a good name for a skyscraper-mounted restaurant, not one that's on ground level.  Maybe that's why they finally went out of business.*

*Bennett, by education and profession, is a solar engineer. His portfolio included several high-profile projects from recent constructions in Lianna City. His energy design solutions, while perhaps not industrial award-winning, were nonetheless top quality among his peers and even some of the senior engineers. His name was accumulating recognition in all the right circles, and he was bound for promotion soon. A man who lives his life in modest amount of comfort, he has been effectively saving money for a few years, watching the stock markets and building his nest egg. And while the right person hasn't come along in his life for that yet, there's still plenty of time. He's only in his mid-twenties.*

*And then, some days ago, Bennett was paid a visit by the Sunbringer.*

*The real estate droid is rambling on. A slight smile curls up the corner of Bennett's mouth - not at what he said, but at a memory that has just sprung to mind.*

[/i]Pinnacle's white-glazed durasteel tabletops had bits of food stuck to them. Then up, out the window, as the mid-afternoon sun peeked in over the buildings of skyline far above with a golden gleam. Across the table, at the visage of the boy sitting across from him. He felt a cheeky grin spread across his juvenile face. He and the other boy were skipping school for this moment.*[/font]

[/i], Bennett!"[/font][/ul]*The other boy looked cross for just a split second, but then broke into a grin.*

[/font][/ul]*And both boys began to laugh, as a server droid rolled up to the table. The tray contained a pair of malted milkshakes, topped with a mountain of slag and a cherry to boot. The frosty glasses clanked onto the table in front of them and they tore into the beverages with reckless abandon, not a worry to spare about brain freeze, or the misfortune of their other classmates slaving through a lesson, or even a thought about the faraway future...*[/ul][/ul]

[/font] *Bennett laughs to himself.* "How did you know, back then? Where had you gone, all those years I was in higher education, Sunbringer?"[/ul]*A melancholy tone takes over his voice as he reminisces over the fondness, grows nostalgic over the sadness of the absence of his childhood friend. Just a few days ago, the Sunbringer had bid him farewell, just as he had done so many years before. Bennett didn't understand why he had to leave. Neither time. But Sunbringer had given him a task, had reminded him of what they'd promised to do, all those years back.  He would do it.  He promised.  Both times.*

*It all revolves around this building. Bennett smiles wistfully.*

[/font] *The real estate droid's question finally manages to catch his attention.*[/ul]

[/font][/ul]

[/font][/ul]
*Bennett nods, as an airspeeder at the droid's electronic beckon call swoops down from the traffic lanes above to hover beside them. The droid ushers him into the passenger seat, and moments later they are en route to the property management office. As long as he could, Bennett keeps his eyes on the building below, until they round a corner and it's swept out of sight.*

*Future site of the hub of the Verdant Star, LLC. Just like we always dreamed of, right, Sunbringer?*