Contact

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

Vissica fell out of her meditation a moment before the chime on her quarters sounded. She took a moment to gather her poise, righting upwards to a two-legged stance.

"Enter."

[Rolth Wygraant]

Captain Wygraant strode through the threshold, gloved hands clasped behind his back before he squared before the Knight.

"The probe to Nazzri was launched as you requested, my Lady. I regret to inform you that the Alliance security grid detected its approach and it was neutralized, as I warned."

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

The Selonian's tail slid along the deck, undulating once with a thump.

"Destroyed?"

[Rolth Wygraant]

Wygraant spread his gloved hands slightly.

"Unable to say. We've simply lost contact with it. It's more likely the probe would have been disabled, to give the alliance a chance to glean any useful information about where it may have launched from or what intelligence it has already gathered."

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

The news didn't seem to change the Selonian's expression in the slightest, though Wygraant was far from adept at reading such an alien face. Vissica's whiskers spread in array slightly, nothing more.

"Thank you, Captain. Prepare a shuttle. I will be departing shortly for Coruscant."

[Rolth Wygraant]

"Coruscant?"

Wygraant would suspect Lady Vissica took great delight in throwing him curve balls, if only she betrayed anything of the sort along that alien snout of hers.

"My Lady, the campaign on Mygeeto..."

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

"...is finished."

Vissica hooked her fingers under the bottom seam of her cuirass, anchoring her hands in that resting state.

"Their infrastructure has been crippled, and the ringleaders of the uprising have been killed. If further demonstration is required, bombard a city to its foundations."

The Selonian stepped past Wygraant, swiveling back before she left the room.

"I trust you are capable. Don't violate that trust."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Velm System

Another day had passed, and with their business on Contruum concluded with relative ease, Khera'Va'ss'io had moved on. His route was much the same as it always was; comfortable, predictable, and for the most part quiet. As the old Lupine cruiser burst from hyperspace into the Velm sector, s'Il watched from the viewport walkway, one hand on the railing as she took in the busy section of space before them. Velmor had become a bustling center of activity that boasted a large amount of trade, and the Alliance was a willing partner in helping the economy here grow and prosper.

Samus stood beside her, his own eyes trained on an invisible point far ahead of them.

She knew that he was still worried from the day before, and opted to address his unasked question.

"I will be well."

[Q. Samus Dage]

With his hands clasped behind his back, Dage took his eyes down to her.

"Is that so? I've seen you 'think' enough times to know that what that was... well, it wasn't thinking."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I was preoccupied."

A wave of her hand, and the Lupine let out a long breath as she half-turned to face him fully.

"It is nothing to be concerned over."

A voice from behind them interrupted, and KHER stiffly moved around his station to travers the expanse of the bridge, moving to stand at the bottom edge of the walkway stairs.

Captain, I am receiving a priority message from Nazzri.

A frown, and she looked past Dage to her ship's avatar.

"Priority?"

An Imperial probe was detected and neutralized as it crossed the border. The reserve forces there intercepted it.

She stood in silence as her thoughts returned to that first, initial contact. What had seemed inconsequential to her had apparently not been the case for Knight Vissica, and the Lupine couldn't help the frown that pulled down the corners of her mouth.

"Have they been able to find where it came from?"

Yes Ma'am. The Star Destroyer Decimator.

Her frown instantly deepened into a full scowl.

[Q. Samus Dage]

He too had turned to face KHER, and as he listened to the conversation there was a nagging feeling in his mind that whatever had happened to Lok the day previous, it was not too much of a stretch to think that an Imperial probe crossing the border and headed for Nazzri was connected. Somehow. At KHER's announcement of the probe's origin though, the lanky blonde could not help the crooked flash of a grin as his eyes shifted to the Captain once more.

"Your new friend missing you already?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The scowl remained as she looked up to Samus. A moment of silence, then she spoke.

"He is not my friend."

He at least put his hands up in a show of surrender, and the Lupine moved to step past him. She descended the stairs quickly, pushing past KHER on her way to the bridge's exit.

"I will be in my office; handle the transfer requests," came the final order as she disappeared through the door.

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

"ST-576, now clearing launch bay, setting approach for hyperspace entry."

The pilot and systems officer of the lambda class shuttle went through their pre-jump checks, communicating with the mother ship along the way as the shuttle moved past Mygeeto and the star destroyer. In the passenger cabin beyond, Vissica ignored the chatter. Her eyes slid closed as her face became completely impassive.

"Was your decision to renounce the Jedi born out of disagreement?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Fingers that had been furiously typing words on the translucent keyboard hovering over the aged wood of her desk froze mid-sentence. Eyes that had been narrowly staring ahead at the thin inset monitor suddenly found themselves staring through and past the letters glowing onscreen. Again. Again. For the third time she was disturbed.

"You are becoming meddlesome."

Unconsciously she bared her teeth.

"I am not here for you to simply bother when you feel bored of terrorizing others."

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

"I am not as capricious as you give me credit for being."

Vissica frowned at the insinuation, her small ears blading momentarily against her broad head.

"I respect the Jedi, or at least, I respect what they were. Your break with them makes me curious."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"My reasons are my own, and I have no desire to inform you of them at this point in time."

The brutish honesty displayed by the Knight was at least admired, and s'Il allowed herself to slowly lean back in her seat. The soft leather creaked under her weight.

"That I've received word of a probe coming from the Decimator tells me well enough that you are willing to bull past convention to get what you want."

There was no need to bring up the intended recipient of the message that she had been so furiously writing before the interruption.

"Are you worried that we will not meet again?"

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

s'Ilancy's confirmation was welcome news, and the Selonian's whiskers raised.

"I wanted to make certain that our link was real, and not a figment of dream and desire. The probe was tangible enough to accomplish this."

The Captain's next question was considered carefully.

"Am I worried we will not meet again? Yes."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"The Force does not always give us what we want. What we need, yes. But want? That is hardly an occurrence."

She fell silent then, as if struck by her own words. There was a moment of consideration, however it soon moved on.

"As it stands, I have a healthy enough notion that you would not be so civil as you are now if we were in one another's company. So please, forgive me if I do not rush to soothe those worries."

[Matatek Sel Vissica]

Vissica let the lecturing slide off her back. It was a desultory lesson, distracting from something else the Captain had said.

"Perhaps not. But we need not be adversaries, Loklorien s'Ilancy. You could come peaceably. Clemency comes only from the Empress, but if we were united in common purpose, it is possible."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I have no desire to be anyone's adversary; it is far too exhausting."

A hmph, and she closed her eyes. Thoughts washed over the words spoken to her, and the Lupine felt an inward sigh fighting to escape. She allowed it, but only accompanied by a question.

"And what sort of common purpose is that?"