The Assassin, the Jedi and the Wardrobe Update *

[Adia Issoris]

*(Open to NON IMPERIALS)

Adia’s lightly modified Lambda class shuttle dropped out of hyperspace above Umgul, a world famed for it’s casinos and blob racing. The former Hand had been to Umgul before on a few different assignments. She felt comfortable enough with her knowledge of the place. She knew which hotels were heavily bugged and which were not. Most of them were somewhat bugged. Minerva was a common enough name, and Adia wasn’t a familiar face unless you were top level Imperial brass or a Moff. She had switched the transponder during travel to something nondescript. It now read as a retired Imperial shuttle sold to a “Jannisori Tino”, which Adia had full identification for. So did several other COMPNOR and Intel agents. For the sake of temporary disguise, Lianna had tried on a few simple pieces of Adia’s clothing. While she was only 5 cm smaller in the waist, she was 13 cm smaller in the shoulders and in the hips, and Adia was another 10 cm taller. Everything fit comically, and they gave up after two tops fitting easily over the rags Lianna was wearing.

After she booked a room, she’d come back to the shuttle and get Lianna. But first, Umgul control.

“Umgul control, this is shuttle Tino’s Tidy. Requesting a berth in the City.”
“Tidy, do you have a prior arrangement with any of the resorts?”
“No control. This was a spur of the moment trip.”
“Understood. Transmitting cooridinates to your Navicomp. You’ll only have 25 hours before the rate quadruples.”
“Thank you, control. Tidy out.”

“It looks like we have time to shop before we need to find a room after all.” Adia said with a slight smile while she eased the shuttle toward the green, white and blue planet below. Umgul had extensive, foggy forests.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

She sat in the co-pilot's chair in stunned awe. Lianna's mouth had crept opened, slightly agape, from what she was looking at through the view port. There were so many ships buzzing around the planet like annoying mosquitoes, waiting their opportunity to land and strike. Never before had Lianna seen so many types of ships either. Usually the Jedi only saw the same hum drum freighters that were held together by patchwork and luck. They were here too, but also some of the most expensive personal yachts were present. Even one of those massive cruise liners that could hold thousands of sentients was seen.

Lianna felt terribly out of place and looked down at the beautiful royal blue blouse covering her pitiful attire, wondering if this was such a good idea after all.

The fabric felt smooth between her fingers while she played with it and tried to remain focused. She was finally going to meet her birth mother. Of course this was worth it. Remaining true to the Force and her training, she could accomplish anything. And, she had Adia.

"Good," she finally replied and looked over at the Assassin. "Though I do wonder how is it possible that the rates for a hotel could quadruple within a day. Seems so ... unbelievable."

[Adia Issoris]

“It’s not the hotel rate. It’s the rate for the dock. The casinos and the Duchy have an arrangement for spur of the moment visitors. You can dock for one day at a very reasonable rate while you look for a hotel. I expect we will be bombarded with hotel offers as soon as we step off the ship.” Adia said while she eased the ship toward the birth. There was no need for hot headed flying, but apparently someone was in a big hurry on the way out.

“Krasst.” She muttered and banked the large shuttle moderately left while a pleasure yacht shot past. While not the most maneuverable craft, the Lambda class was very stable in the atmosphere, and that was all the excitement.

“I have another ID. You’re now Lianna Renn, my cousin. I go by Adia, my middle name. Your luggage was misplaced on the way out the door.” While they had gone over this on the several days journey through hyperspace, this was part of ingrained Imperial procedure, which she had politely warned Lianna about. Lianna still looked a little overwhelmed from the descent. Considering the planets she had visited on the outer rim, this was not surprising at all. The ramp dropped to an immaculately clean landing pad that seemed to sprout out of a pine forest.

Adia looked like a hundred thousand credits. Her red hair cascaded to her shoulders, wrapped in a tailored dark green blouse and her black slacks clung to her hips and waist, but grew a little looser on the way down. The black, low heeled boots shined neatly.

Conversely, Lianna's outfit was terribly awkward.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

A timid narrowing of her eyes was the only indication of Lianna's feelings of inadequacy. Her wild unkempt hair was brushed out as best as Adia could do, and the oversized blouse covered her body down to her knees, leaving her torn and tattered boots visible. She looked like hell. The pad workers were giggling rude comments to one another, but she let the cruel words roll off her shoulder. The Jedi had to at least act the part of a rich cousin, though her manner of appearance said otherwise. She tried to mimic Adia's confident manner and relax her features, willing the tension away. The later was easily accomplished, acting if she was upper class was not so. Her movements were too rigid and unnatural, so Lianna fell into a more comfortable pattern of being on guard, alert of everyone around her. That seemed to fall in line of Adia's presence better.

They hadn't walked one meter off the shuttle before the holo-displays popped up, begging for the pair to book reservations at their respected hotels. So many bright images could make one go blind, and they talked over one another so much that Lianna could barely understand what the hotels names were or where they were located. How could any tourist make sense of this? It was horribly overwhelming and the Jedi stepped closer to the Assassin for support, much like a daughter would in uncertainty.

After they passed the length of the pad, the advertisements stopped, much to the comfort of Lianna's senses. This was the first 'loud' planet she had been to, and her instincts told her that it wouldn't get much quieter until they left. But then their destination was Coruscant, a planet one hundred more times packed with beings ...

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, silencing that train of thought. There would be time to worry about Coruscant later.

Adia had already flagged down a hover-taxi and was already inside. A burly, beer bellied human had the door opened and was waiting on Lianna. He did well to smile politely at the young woman, but his mind was just as callous as the other workers. There were very few moments in her life where she had been judged like this but with wealth all around her, of course it was going to occur constantly.

Sighing softly, she stepped into the taxi.

[Adia Issoris]

Unlike Lianna, Adia was used to the noise pollution. She was on Coruscant often, and before that, among hundreds of thousands of clones.

She instructed the corpulent taxi driver to head for Lakeside Shops, the second largest mall in Umgul City. Adia was more familiar with it, having run a security detail for the Balmorran Senator years prior.

She watched the driver’s eyes float from the lane to Lianna, and the path of the speeder deviated more than she cared for. With sudden violence, she bashed the wire mesh separating the front from the back. The taxi jerked left for a moment before righting itself. The driver’s heart nearly expired on the spot.

“Watch the lane.” Adia said with disgust, and sat back with her arms folded across her chest.

Silence filled the cab again, and the driver nervously committed his full attention to getting to Lakeside, except for the occasionally glance at Adia that was only met with stony green eyed glare. When they arrived, Adia tipped him what would be considered the bare minimum of acceptable. She had a role to fit in to, and to do otherwise would attract undue attention.

She looked Lianna over against the background of the tree-lined lake. The main indication of the mall was the “glass” statues that served to collect light and send it down to the underground structure that also ran beneath half of the lake. The topside was a mix of open-air shops and park. The main entrance overlooked the lake, and was a mix of classical columns and modern transparisteel that crept out into the lake by only 25 meters. Enough space for a wide walkway and overhang.

“I think we should start with shoes.”

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

Lianna hadn't registered what Adia had said. She was too enthralled by the architecture. The Jedi couldn't recall seeing such beautiful landscape that was actually constructed from today's society's hands. The planets she visited were barely built up. Many of them were smaller settlements with one or two larger cities, and the native structures were hundreds of years old with kilometers of natural landscape in-between.

The holovids she spied every so often did not do the modern cities justice.

"Lianna?" Adia's voice cut in again. "Shoes?"

She blinked and felt her cheeks flush ever so slightly. As appreciative as Lianna was to the new surroundings, she knew better then to become so absorbed in them that she failed to notice what was occurring around her.

"I'm sorry," she offered an apologetic smile. "Shoes it is."

Her eyes drifted from one side of the walkway to the other. None of the shops seemed to be selling shoes on this floor. Fortunately, a directory was close by and Lianna walked towards the black circular structure that flashed with red and blue lights now and then. Upon approaching, a handsome human male appeared and welcomed her to the mall. Then a lengthy description of the mall ensued ...

"Stop."

It complied, literally stopping in mid sentence.

"We're looking for a shoe store."

It processed that information and Lianna's image before answering. "There are several stores here depending on the type of footwear needed. For adventurous sorts, there's the Umgal Trading post, specializing in boots."

Lianna half wondered if the directory said that on purpose because of ones she was wearing. In all honesty, she couldn't remember when the last time she had replaced them. It had to be over five standard years ago.

"For sports fanatics, there's Kenjak's. It doesn't matter if you're into Blastball, Rugby, or need something to work out in. Kenjak's has the perfect style for you.

For the casual citizen, we have Simply Elegant..."

As the holovid continued, Lianna looked to Adia for approval. She was flying blind and the last suggestion made sense to her, but perhaps the Assassin knew of some place better.

[Adia Issoris]

Adia let Lianna get the full-run down on the shoe stores. While each description of each store included a fancy fly-through, Adia preferred the more traditional ¾ view.

“Map.” The holoprojector complied, bringing up a 3d map of the entire publicly accessible mall. “Footwear. Bipedal, female: casual, adventure, and formal. Each applicable store’s space lit up, labeled itself with its name and distance in meters. The entire complex was nearly a kilometer and a half in diameter at the widest of the oval, and had three levels of shops.

“One of the pains of even being mildly cosmopolitan is stupid amount of clothing you’re expected to own. Fortunately for you, I’ve already figured out how to distill things down to something manageable.” Adia explained as she led Lianna to nearby Simply Elegant, a casual department store with an exceptional shoe department for almost every bipedal. Lianna’s eyes were wide again at the array of choices. On the outer rim, you had general boots and maybe specialized shoes for climbing and various types of inclement weather.

Adia immediately went for low-heeled, classic, “practical” footwear and ended up with six different pairs of shoes. They were different sizes, so they found that a 24cm shoe fit best.

“You’ll end up keeping three. We’ll do the shopping for today’s outfit here.” Adia said as the saleswoman finished her sale and honed in a minute later.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

Three pairs of shoes? Lianna was thoroughly confused as to why anyone would need more then one pair. A question for another time since such a comment made from an affluent customer would undoubtedly make little sense.

As if that wasn't enough, the Jedi did a double take at the amount the shoes had cost. 450 credits? She stifled a gasp and merely smiled at the cashier. If footwear cost that much, buying an outfit was going to be even more expensive.

When the pair was far enough away from prying ears, Lianna turned to Adia, who was already rummaging the racks for something suitable. Simply Elegant was a department store and had more then just shoes to offer consumers.

She walked up to her companion and spoke in a hushed tone, "I appreciate this, but you mustn’t spend this much on me. I could never repay you for the kindness."

[Adia Issoris]

"They'll last for years." Adia countered politely. "Besides, this isn't really my money." She said with a wink and a mischevious smile. Lianna still looked like a fish out of water, but didn't say anything as she was dragged into the women's clothing department. Adia didn't really tell anyone about it, but she had an eye for color and cuts. She had been the distraction on a mission and had taken it very seriously at the time. She discovered she didn't mind dressing when the occasion called for it, and it gave her a needed edge for some ops.

Lianna followed but maintained an air of bewilderment. "Don't look at the tags." Adia said sternly, but smiled immediately afterword. She placed a set of different color blouses next to Lianna's face, one by one, examining the way the color interacted with the girl's hair and skin and eyes. A few of the colors she put back up for a second glance. She repeated the proccess with set of nice brown pants, finding a shade that satisfied her fashion sense. She escorted Lianna into the dressing room, and instructed her to try on the various sizes of pants and shirts before she closed the door behind.

"Remember to take your time and make sure you can move, and remember that the fabric is stretchy where it needs to be." While not a cat suit by any means, the clothes were fitted. It would be a sharp contrast to what the girl was used to.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

Lianna looked between two of the shirts that hung on the hook, one red and one blue, with an uncertain look. She really didn't understand how the Assassin nailed down what were the proper clothes. It seemed an odd ritual, placing the clothing back and forth against her skin, but who was she to argue. Everything about this venture was foreign to her.

"Go on." Adia encouraged and Lianna reluctantly began to strip off her clothing. Not out of modesty but out of doubt. Perhaps even a bit scared to see the final result.

Being rid of Adia's oversized clothing felt good however. Swimming in the sea of fabric was not pleasant and had caused her to walk awkward all day. Finally she was down to the white tank top and randomly selected the blue shirt.

"Top needs to be taken off too."

The Jedi looked at her quizzically.

"For the proper fit."

She sighed and did so, now bare from the waist up.

The shirt was snug at the waist and chest. The sleeves billowed from the shoulders and fell just short of reaching her elbows. The brown pants were far more form fitted then the shirt. It felt terribly confining, though oddly comfortable. She was able to stretch her legs out and sit and remain with the ability to breath.

After some coaxing from Adia, Lianna turned around to face the mirror and immediately stiffened in surprise. Years of bulky robes and clothing had hidden an attractive physique. Her frame was slender but her body maintained a certain amount of muscle mass that had been built up over years of training. It only added to her beauty. Every curve of her body was accentuated by the cut of the clothing, especially how the v-line of the shirt dipped down to reveal her breasts in a tasteful manner.

Lianna crossed her arms shyly, "I'm not so sure about this."

[Adia Issoris]

"I am." Adia said as she looked Lianna over carefully, but made note to save shopping for evening dresses for last.

"You're in better shape than your sister, but no one will really notice. Turn around slowly." The young Jedi looked rather unsure, but turned around. The clothing fit to Adia's satisfaction. She was pleased with herself for finding clothes quickly. The cut and color was ideal, and Lianna looked stunning, if somewhat reserved. She handed Lianna her pair of black shoes, decorative belt and brown quartersocks.

"Good. You'll blend in well enough today." Adia straightend the collar on the shirt and smiled. She just had to get Lianna comfortable with the new clothing.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

"I suppose," she grudgingly agreed as Adia snapped off the price tags so the items could be purchased.

Lianna sat down on the bench and took her time putting on the socks and shoes, allowing a few short minutes to look at herself in the mirror again.

It still felt as if she was looking at a stranger. Her unkempt hair was the only aspect left that was recognizable, yet she had a feeling that would be taken care of shortly. The clothes exuded money but her hair screamed peasant. Her sister would never be caught with such long and wild hair.

"You're in better shape than your sister ..."

She hadn't thought much about the comment but now her own thoughts had turned curious; actually thinking of herself as a sibling instead of an orphan.

"What does she do?" Lianna asked while clasping the belt in place, "My sister? You didn't go into great detail when we were on Bakura."

Perhaps Adia did that to protect her. Maybe Lianna wasn't ready for further truths to be revealed. Just finding out that she was a Tarkin was overwhelming enough, but the Jedi had to know. She was going to be impersonating her twin after all. That still didn't sit right with Lianna, but there was really no other way to get on Coruscant without arousing suspicion and to see her mother.

[Adia Issoris]

“Miranda is in public relations. She’s the smiling face of the Empire. She has more pull than she should.” She explained as they walked through the checkout. Adia’s tone was slightly irritated for the last sentence. Not at Lianna, obviously, but at her sister’s clout being completely overblown. Pure politicians: ugh. When the Emperor ran things, she didn’t even understand why they had PR, much less why COMPNOR was as active as they were. The Emperor was right, always. But Adia wasn’t so sure anymore. She handed the tags to a cashier and after engaging in brief small talk, the pair was on the way.

That doubt was why Lianna was alive. While not as powerful in the Force, Adia simply outclassed the young Jedi in combat. It had been strange. She felt as if she were going through the motions instead of genuinely wishing death upon Jedi.

KILL HER! Adia’s hand tingled, and the blaster in her boot twitched.

Her eyes narrowed fiercely at Lianna for a moment, and then softened again.

“Do you want to get something to eat?” Maybe she just needed some food. They hadn’t eaten since the “night” before. The food court wasn’t too far away. It stretched out underneath the lake.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

Lianna had felt it again. The same flash of danger that had woken her up on Bakura when Adia tried to leave quietly. She sensed that her internal struggle was still raging and Adia had moments of doubt. This was not unexpected, and the Jedi had placed much of her faith siding with the Assassin.

She reached out and squeezed the hand that had contemplated shooting Lianna. "A good idea. We haven't eaten in some time." She didn't want to make a big production, only reinforce that Adia wasn't alone and that someone believed in her.

Exotic smells touched Lianna's senses and her eyes lit up. There were quite a few new aromas that made her curious and her stomach anxious for a decent meal as they descended down under the lake and into the food courts There were dozens of tiny restaurants stretched along the lake. Alien and human cuisine surrounded her and at that point, as hungry as she was, the Jedi hadn't a clue what she had a taste for. Meals were often acts of charity or bought by the meager means Lianna could scrounge up. The best meals she ate were the ones when she hunted and cooked for herself.

She lifted a hand over her eyes, moving some of her brown hair out of the way to get a better view but was distracted by the scene above. Native fish could be swimming above her that were as close as her head at some points, depending on the walkways chosen. The rippled shadows of the water reflected off her face as a school of shaia trout shot passed her, causing her to smile.

[Adia Issoris]

Lianna had noticed her impulse. The impulse was not her own. While she overrode the dangerous part, the urge to despise Jedi took longer to fight down. When she had first killed Jedi, it wasn't out of any partictular malice. Order 66 simply meant to eliminate traitors of the Republic, and 66 just happened to designate Jedi. As they became more and more rare, she found she hated them more and more. She just did. Adia let Lianna take her hand, but dared not react until her nerves had cooled, which seemed to coincide with their arrival to the food court.

The smells of many different foods for many different species wafted up. Unlike the mall, they were segregated by species preference. The carnivores were on one end and the herbivores on the other, and the omnivores were catered to inbetween. On the absolute farthest end was the exotic stuff no human would want to touch, but considered sanitary enough to have in the building but... away. Adia's sharp sense of smell picked up enough of that scent to stay firmly in the omnivore section.

Lianna was distracted by the school of trout. The only way she would have seen something like this would have been in a science expedition. To be underwater and not be wet would be a new concept. She waited for Lianna's eyes to settle, but it made her realize how little she had ever stopped to smell the flowers. Nearly 60 years had been filled with duty and almost nothing else. Adia found herself smiling, too.

She led Lianna to a vendor serving fresh Naboonese cusine, which was usually simple but spicy. It used a fair amount of garlic, tomatoes and a sharp cheese, served on flat breads or in wraps. Since she knew what she wanted already, Adia ordered a pair of steak wraps with tabouli, lettuce, tomatoes, other veggies and the sharp cheese.

"But you can get whatever you'd like." Whatever it was would be a welcome change from the rations they had eaten on the long jump from Bakura.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

Her eyes wandered over the meats and toppings offered. Everything looked and smelled delicious and Lianna was having a hard time deciding on what to eat, though her grumbling stomach kept insisting that she should choose something soon.

"Can I try one of those please?" Lianna had found a small dish of dumplings and was curious to what they tasted like. The vendor happily cut up a piece of the food and speared it with a toothpick for the Jedi to take. Slowly she chewed the sample, making sure that the spices were not too hot for her taste buds and there weren't any odd aftertastes.

"Mmmm!" The dumpling had a variety of vegetables inside that had been seasoned with garlic and ginger. The wrap itself had a bit of a bite, but that was because of the chili pepper. Overall, it was very appetizing.

She covered her mouth with her hand and swallowed the last bit of food and ordered that for lunch, along with a glass of water. Adia had the same and paid for their meals. Lianna still felt awkward that she could not contribute any meaningful credits towards this day, regardless of how wealthy her companion was. It just didn't feel right, but Lianna was sure to be scolded if she brought up the issue of money again.

Adia found a table next to one of the lower portions of the lake. It dipped down five meters and curved back up, allowing visitors to watch the sea life swim around in their habitat while they ate. The ambiance did make for a pleasurable eating experience.

A few minutes into their meal, Lianna noticed that two fairly attractive human males had found their table interesting. They were to their left, whispering who knows what to one another but they were definitely the topic of conversation since they kept turning around to watch them eat.

She licked a piece of lettuce off her lips and dabbed herself clean, looking across the table at Adia with concern. "I think we've attracted undo attention. I'm not sure how though."

[Adia Issoris]

"Because you're very attractive, and I'm not hard on the eyes, either." Adia said evenly. The assassin looked some indeterminable age of about 30. Her body still had all of the bounce of youth and was obviously fully matured, but still unlined. She concentrated, filtering out the hum of the food court. She could make out the verbal confirmations of oogling.
”I bet the redhead is a total animal between the sheets.” The other smiled.
“Yeah, she looks like she could crush your head with her legs.”
”But what a way to go.” Both laughed. It was the typical obnoxious stuff of male humans, but wasn’t meant in a malicious fashion. Men’s sex drives were generally uncomplicated and lust-based.

“They probably will steal glances here and there but nothing will likely come of it. Neither one is drunk, so we’re not in any real danger of anything. It’s normal.” She explained.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

Her inept understanding of social customs made Lianna feel foolish. Such normal glances had been misconstrued into something unwarranted. Years of living out in the Rim had molded her into being suspicious of everyone because of her nature. Any glance in her direction always meant trouble and it was best to leave as soon as possible just to be safe. It never occurred to her that some of those glances could have been innocent.

This incident only compounded what Lianna had been feeling since deciding to come with the Assassin to Coruscant. She was naive to a fault and that might end up getting them killed the closer they moved towards the heart of the Empire.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'm not sure I can do this, Adia."

[Adia Issoris]

“You’ve only been doing this for a few hours.” Adia said with a soft smile.

“It takes practice, Lianna. It took me a few years to not march everywhere. Some of the practical jokes at Intel were absolutely horrible then, but now are pretty funny.” Lianna didn’t look wholly convinced.

“I realize it is a radical change, but you’ll adapt. You already have better interpersonal skills than I started with. The mid-rim and the core are different than the outer rim, and it takes time to adjust. Besides, sometimes the easiest place to hide is in plain sight.”

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

"Perhaps," she sighed softly. Adia made sense but what she learned in several years, Lianna had scant months. There were still other problems with this plan. "But I still distress that my inaction, or action depending, will put you at risk."

Her voice lowered, not wishing for the rest of their conversation to be heard by passerby’s. Adia had picked a remote table and there wasn't anyone near but one couldn't be too careful. "And as much as I've tried to rationalize it, this doesn't sit right with me. Lying my way through the Core Worlds to see my mother by pretending to be the sister I've never met... I..."

She looked away, ashamed at her weakness, "I .. just don't know, Adia."

Doubt had clouded her mind since accepting this venture. It continued to gain strength as they reached closer to the Core worlds and practically solidified when Lianna saw herself with her new attire. All of this newfound attention in the food court frightened her.

Doubt and fear. Two paths that led a Jedi on the road towards the Dark Side of the Force. Such a fate was not worth claiming a lost heritage... Was it?