Signs and Portents: Mirror On the Wall

[Adia Issoris]

It was a long haul from Vortex to Doldur, and hyperspace was the dull lull before the terror of action. Adia set an alarm on her wrist chrono. She'd sleep for ten hours, two thirds of the trip. There wasn't very much that could be a threat in hyperspace, but they'd need need to be wide awake to sneak onto Druckenwell in a Y-Wing. The industrial planet would be well defended, but it wouldn't be the first time Adia had dropped a craft unpowered to sneak under a defense network. She'd flown the Y-Wing in a simulator, and was aware of most of it's quirks and capabilities.

Adia's sleep was dreamless, and not entirely refreshing. She wanted a shower. Adia always wanted a shower before a mission. Periodically, she ran a systems check, which always came out green.

There will be plenty of time for things to go wrong later. She reassured herself. The ten minute proximity alarm sounded and roused Lianna and Daria. Adia waited for the pair to come around completely.

"We're nearly to Druckenwell. I didn't think it wise to try and get near Miranda in a Y-Wing. We'll find another means of transport here." Adia said.

"Something with at least three seats." She added.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

The Jedi had programmed herself to come out of the trance at the sound of the proximity alarm. It took a moment to familiarize herself with the surroundings as her senses returned to normal. Her eyes were hazy and cloudy, the sounds of the engine seemed like they were immersed in water, her body felt listless - Except for the arm wrapped around Daria. She didn't remember doing that ...

Becoming more alert now, Lianna nodded in agreement and couldn't wait for her feet to hit solid ground. Her mind was rejuvenated through the dreamless hibernation trance, but the effects of sitting in one position for hours on end managed some strain. Stretching her legs was a most welcomed thought since they felt like jello.

She rolled her shoulders and outstretched her arms as much as possible to wake her muscles. Flexing her shoulders, arms and neck pumped new blood to such tired areas and aroused her completely. "How are we going to sneak our weapons in this time, Adia? We're going to need them."

When they infiltrated Imperial Center, weapons weren't an issue to visit Lianna's mother. With Miranda's life in danger, they had to bring them if they were going to fight another Force Adept.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Years on the run had prepared Daria for such sudden awakenings. Minutes after the alarm sounded, her mind was lucid and with this clarity came the awareness of stiffness and aching all through her body. She flexed and stretched her limbs as best she could, working away some of the numbness.

Although Daria was a stranger to Druckenwell, she knew of the metropolis world due to its association with BlasTech Industries – infamous for their development of the E-11 blaster rifle, the weapon of choice for the Empire's Stormtroopers. On such a world, acquiring a weapon would have been easy, but laying hands on a weapon that would prove useful against a Force user was another matter entirely. If they were going to succeed, they needed their lightsabers.

[Adia Issoris]

Adia immediately pulled most of the power from the craft, giving it a hard shove with the sublight engines. Druckenwell was not the most heavily defended planet in Imperial space, but it wasn't without defenses. Fortunately, Adia had dropped the Y-Wing as close to the planet as possible into the main shipping lane. It had been a risky move, but it had paid off. They were only a few kilometers from a massive bulk freighter. Concentration washed over Adia as the small craft began to tremble in the freighter's engine wash. There wasn't too much that could get a reading through the massive energy output. Adia thumbed the button to fire the tow cable. She held her breath, steadying her movements and rhythms against the wash, and fired. If her shot was off, the magnetic grapple would be fried by the freighter's engines. The cable pulled taught. Adia's shot had found good purchase. They were a scant hundred meters behind the massive craft. The former Hand fed more power to the shields, as they were nearing the atmosphere.

"It's going to get bumpier." She warned the two Jedi.

Daria paled a little. Air flared up against the small craft's shielding, and began to tremble violently as the combination of brick-like aerodynamics and massive thrusters threw the small, unpowered craft around. Daria's hands grabbed the back of Adia's headrest to steady herself. Halfway down, Adia released the tow cable. The Y-Wing tumbled in freefall. Adia gradually fed the engines more power as the craft flopped toward the surface of Druckenwell.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

Lianna wasn't too sure what the plan was until the tow cable was fired. Up until this point, she figured Adia was going to use the freighter for cover and with its mass, the power of the Y-wing would be well hidden from sensors. But no. Adia had to go that extra step and cut all power ... just to be on the safe side.

Even belted in, the Jedi was being tossed from side to side as they hit the atmosphere. Poor Daria had nothing. With great strength, Lianna hugged Daria close to her as the full force of the planet's gravitational force slammed against the Y-wing. Soon as Adia released the fighter, the Jedi released her friend and breathed a sigh of relief. "Is everyone ok?"

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria was shaken. Whether or not her trembling had been from anxiety or the rocking of the ship was unclear. Though the sky still flashed past the Y-Wings view-ports at an alarming speed, both Lianna and Adia seemed surprisingly calm, and their apparent lack of panic set the blind Jedi a little more at ease.

“I will be, as soon as we're on solid ground.”

[Adia Issoris]

The craft had long ago hit terminal velocity. Five thousand meters above the surface, the repulsors began to whine loudly. The craft kicked against gravity, squishing the trio into their seats. The craft began to stabilize, and, 500 meters above the a rundown warehousing district, was under full control. She pulled up a map as they set down in an abandoned cargo yard. Rusting hulks that used to be shipping containers littered the terrain. Some still stood intact, others had collapsed into rusty ramps.

It smelled dusty outside, Adia noted as the canopy rose.

"Lianna, wipe the navicomputer." She instructed.

"We can hide the Y-Wing beneath container scraps.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

Daria removed herself from the bomber seat and Lianna quickly got to work, her fingers dancing along the console. It was simple enough to delete the information stored. Anyone that wanted to steal this ship better have an astromech droid at their disposal. Otherwise, they would be flying blind without any starcharts listed in the ships database.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria crouched amongst the rubble as Lianna went to work. Her head was lifted, a look of concentration spreading over her features.

“Where are we? I can't feel any signs of life...”

[Adia Issoris]

"This part of Druckenwell is mostly warehouses. This specific container yard is more of a scrap heap now." Adia explained to Daria while removing her small bit of luggage from the empty bays. She removed Daria and Lianna's cargo, too. "I doubt there is anyone within a kilometer." She added.

Daria looked a little vexed.

"It will probably be razed soon. Land is in short supply and high demand." Lianna said as she dropped to the ground. Adia had already found a suitable piece of corrugated metal scrap to start covering the Y-Wing with. She grunted loudly and tossed the hundred kilos of degraded container siding onto the back of the craft. The scrap landed with a crunch, a clang, and a screech as it superficially scratched the Y-Wing's thick armor. With Lianna and Daria's help, the bomber was hidden in ten minutes, looking little more than a series on containers collapsed onto another container.

"It might be several kilometers before we reach some sort of public transport." She warned. Lianna nodded, and Daria simply wanted to be more in her element, which was nearly anywhere else.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

"First things first, though." Lianna set Daria's cargo next to her. "We need to get into civilian clothes. We were in too much of a hurry to change before."

And too busy arguing with Daria, trying to convince her to not come. The Jedi still held concern for her friend's safety, but she still remained comforted by her presence.

Lianna stripped off her outer and inner robes and folded them on top of crate, not caring about modesty. They were several kilometers away from anyone walking in on them, proven by Daria's extraordinary senses. She opened her suitcase and put on a pair of loose fitting black slacks and patterned blouse that fanned at the elbows. She tried to get her hair tied up in some fashionable sense and was thankful that Adia interceded. The former Hand actually did a nice job pulling her thick hair into a barrette with a few strands out of place, making it look as if she were disheveled on purpose.

With a small tap on the side of the suitcase, a hidden panel slid open that was big enough for two lightsabers to be stowed. "I can keep our lightsabers out of sight in here."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Once done with helping Lianna, Adia was kind enough to assist Daria in dressing. The crowning piece of the disguise was a pair of contact lenses, which gave the illusion that the red-head was an average human citizen. With her own robes stowed away, the Jedi Knight produced her lightsaber. The hilt seemed a little too large for Daria's grasp and was scored all across its surface. For a simple cylinder of metal and wires, it contained so much history and importance, all of which was unspoken yet surely understood by Lianna.

[Adia Issoris]

"I had been thinking about the lightsaber problem and modified mine." Adia said. Her saber still rested in her thigh holster, which she had strapped to a more modest pair of pants. She had added a new line from the power cells, and another switch. However, the boots changed, and her top was augmented with her long jacket, which she wore open. It's ablative weave could repel most hand blaster fire from five meters or more, but it weighed nearly 15 kilos. Adia placed a blaster on her left side, in a shoulder holster and one slung over her right hip. She looked like a shrouded hourglass of doom.

Satisfied with everyone's dress, she grabbed her suitcases. Daria and Lianna did the same. Adia led them to the nearest transport station. While the buildings were decrepit in the immediate area, the situation improved quickly as soon as they cleared the cargo yard's perimeter.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

They had to walk a kilometer before any signs of life were spotted. It was mostly construction crews milling about on their lunch break. The air hung with the smell of coffee and micro cooked meals. Lianna's stomach growled in protest. They had walked a lengthy distance in an hour, hauling their luggage with no break for food and water. Soon as they entered the area, all eyes were set upon them with confusion and curiosity. Two women in suits and the other dressed for war were easily out of their element in this hardhat area.

The trio ignore them like the rodents they were, their air of Imperial superiority oozing from the way the carried themselves. Adia was looking around for someone in charge to cut down on interactions and people who would remember them besides 'those uptight bitches that came through'.

A stocky man came waddling towards them. He was pudgy in face and had these beady eyes with iris for slits. By his cheap suit and well polished hardhat, it had to be the head 'rat'; the foreman for the workers.

He squatted into a wave, which caused his oversized belly to poke through his untucked shirt. "Hello laides. You guys are out of place. Guessing, you're all a bit lost?" His voice was a tad higher then his bodyweight should have been and his breath reeked of onions. Lianna curled her nose at him and looked to Adia as if this man wasn't worth her time.

The foreman looked at the luggage they were carrying and frowned as understanding finally synapsed in his brain. "Bit of car trouble?"

[Adia Issoris]

Adia moved forward before he could get too near to Lianna and Daria. She looked down, a half-head taller than the foreman, who's figure seemed to be her opposite. Adia crossed her arms and her jacket fell open a little, which exposed the ranking plate, signifying that she was a Captain in the Imperial Navy.

Instead of answering the foreman's question, she pulled out her identification. Her Imperial Navy identification was side by side with her Imperial Security Bureau identification that granted her the full resources of the Empire. It was not completely uncommon for ISB agents to have dual commissions. He paled under Adia's stony gaze as she flipped the identification case shut and put it back in her coat.

"We need transport to the nearest speeder rental." Adia said with absolute authority in her voice, an oppressive monotone with a touch of Coruscanti accent. He looked at her dumbfounded.

"Now." She quietly added, with a little menace.

"R...r... right. Right this way." He said, huffing a little as he turned and waddled off toward a company speeder. It was a common SoroSuub used as a general transport for companies, cabs and goverment agencies. They were simple, reliable and cheap to operate.

"Open the cargo hold." Fumbling, the foreman did so. There wasn't much in the back, just a suitcase and some emergency gear. Adia placed her suitcases and then Daria's and Lianna's neatly inside before shutting it.

"Keys." Adia said, extending her open hand. The rotund foreman was so nervous that he dropped them as he reached forward. She deftly snapped them out of the air. She let Daria and Lianna into the empty back seat before opening the passenger door for the foreman. Adia opened the driver's side, and promptly slid the seat back a good ten centimeters. She pulled the speeder back onto the road they had been walking on.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria sat silently for a while, her eyes turned towards the view beyond the speeder windows. The tension in the cab was thick. She could feel the foreman's anxiety, rolling over her in waves of fear. After a time, she sighed and looked back towards Lianna.

“We're going to be late,” she breathed. The accent she spoke with was remarkably similar to Adia's well-spoken Coruscanti. Though she had only spent a brief time on Imperial Center herself, Daria had grown accustomed to adopting false identities in her time traveling the Galaxy. The nondescript tone of the Coruscanti upperclass had, on many an occasion, allowed her to slip by local security unnoticed.

The driver seemed, if possible, to stiffen even more at Daria's complaint. He began to mumble an apology but cut himself off at the sight of his passengers emotionless faces.

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

Lianna lazily looked at her chronometer and sighed deeply with a frown. "She's right. Is there a quicker route to our destination?"

Her voice was sharp and cold. The foreman sank deeper into his chair, trying to hide his scowl. This side trip into town was going to put his own men behind schedule, and he knew that Captain Harker would be by tomorrow to check on progress. Maybe if he had his crew work double time tonight, that would catch them up, but he would still have to account for the overtime ...

"Well?"

The dark haired woman's voice snapped him to the present. There was no mistaken the annoyance. "Yes. Yes, Ma'am. Take the next right and I'll lead ya through the neighborhood. We'll miss a lot of traffic this way."

[Adia Issoris]

Adia obeyed the directions.

"Tell me two blocks in advance." She instructed and began to drive faster. She did not want to be in this car with this man any longer than neccessary. Her guise, even less so. The repulsors whined loudly as Adia belted the government vehichle. Daria braced a hand against the door arm rest. In a surprising display of coordination, Lianna merely crossed her arms and looked a bit more sour than before. The car seemed to float around her. She did not seem annoyed at Adia, but that they needed to be in a hurry. Their unwilling passenger gasped as someone blew a stop sign. Adia tucked around the rear of the speeder with scarcely an inch of error.

"Next turn?" Adia asked, unphased.
"Uh... uhm... right, two, uh one block."

Sure enough, There was a rental agency. Adia pulled in normally. As soon as she felt the speeder was safely out of the way, she stopped. She got the door for Lianna and Daria. Both seemed rather focused and grim as Adia retrieved the luggage. By now the foreman had waddled out of the speeder, and stood next to it, like a confused puppy.

"Your Service to the Empire is appreciated. Go about your business." Adia said with finality.

"Oh, uhm, thank you." He replied. Adia said nothing, but narrowed her eyes a little.

He scrambled into the speeder again. Adia could see him take a deep breath before even touching the controls. She adjusted her jacket. The trio went inside. Adia was more tactful this time. It was the middle of the day, so there weren't any other people there, aside from the staff. Very fortuitous, she thought. Adia walked up to the counter.

“Ahh...” the clerk behind the counter said, her brain adjusting to the uniform and what it might mean, “...yes, how can I help you?” she added nervously.

“I need to rent a midsized speeder. It's for personal purposes.” Adia replied, and smiled softly.

“We have an SoroSuub V36 or OP-5C.” The clerk said, relaxing a little. "The OP is twenty five credits per day and the 35 is twenty two."

“The OP-5C will be fine.”

“Oh. Ah, I'll need an ID and either a banking chit or a credit chit.” Adia provided a civilian ID, and her credit chit. It would more than cover any casual costs. The clerk came back in a minute, both items in hand, and a key for a speeder.

“Everything is fine, Miss Sulay. It's the grey OP, right out front. You can drop the speeder at any local branch, but please let us know if you're going off-of continent. Have a pleasant day.”

“I don't think that will be a problem, but thank you.” Adia smiled pleasantly. She picked the luggage back up and headed out, Daria and Lianna in tow.

"Well then." Adia said, bemused.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria felt more at ease now. She could see – sense – other lifeforms around her. However, that didn't mean that she felt calm, by any means. She was not so confident as to assume that their guise was impervious. Their deception could be uncovered at any moment. Frowning faintly, she looked towards Lianna, taking some comfort in the warm aura around the Jedi Knight.

“Which way now?”

[Lianna Mal Pannis]

She had felt Daria's presence focused on her and looked at her friend with a minute smile. "Soon as we board our speeder, we'll probably take up residence in a hotel to discuss our itinerary."

Lianna looked towards the tall redhead leading the way with luggage in tow. "If that is all right with our guard?"

In other words, Adia please lead us and not get us into trouble.