Session export: Other Side of the Pond
With the conflict against the Collective done, monotony returned.
Back when Adele had been with the Ember Flame, she had been busy and useful. Here with Arcona, she was neither of those things. Her days were now spent in a predictable cycle: hours of training, meditation and then food. Then there was more training, after which she would wander the bars of Port Ol'val, drinking herself into enough of a stupor to keep her from seeing the ghosts that haunted the corners of her vision and keep the nightmares away. Then it would be up early the next morning to train in an attempt to sweat the alcohol out of her system.
Her routine was not completely set in stone, though. Occasionally Anselm would join her, either for training or a quick meal. Unlike her, he seemed to be thriving in his new surroundings. What’s more, he was way too ebullient about the fact that they were now free of their father and their former life.
She usually left those visits burning with rage at the unfairness of the situation, along with a deep guilt. Her brother was safe from their father’s assassins here. That should have been enough.
Maybe it would have been, if she was a better person. A better sister. A better daughter. Maybe she could have done more to prevent this whole series of events from occurring. But she hadn’t. She’d failed, just as she’d failed at everything else that mattered.
If her brother’s safety meant having to exist in this purgatory, then that’s what she would do. It was at least something. A single way to be useful.
Adele’s body was sore as she emerged from the sparse set of rooms that she now called home. Despite the soreness, she felt refreshed from her shower, and ready for a night of drinking herself into oblivion. The front door of the building let out onto a narrow side street, which intersected with a larger thoroughfare that remained busy at all hours. The shadowport never slept.
Adele kept her head down, making her way toward her first stop, The Tipsy Twi'lek, by rote memory alone. On her second night in Port Ol'val, she’d broken the arm of the first pickpocket who’d tried to rob her. It had been enough to convince the others that she was not a mark. And given that fact that no one else here knew or cared who she was, there was little point in looking around.
Which meant she was surprised when a familiar voice hissed at her from the shadows of a nearby alleyway. “Pssst! Princess!”
She stopped short at the words, causing the Bothan who was walking behind her to run into her. He grumbled a curse which she returned with a glare. He took the hint and moved along, leaving her to investigate the lone figure that huddled in the alleyway.
“Fellner! What in all the hells are you doing here?”
He was a tall man with a wiry frame and a mop of greasy black hair that hadn’t seen a comb in at least a year. Narrow green eyes peered at her from a sharp nose, giving him a rodent-like appearance. He was a freelance smuggler, though he worked with the Ember Flame often enough that he was a regular presence within their holdings.
What’s more, he looked nervous. So much so that she didn’t know whether to be pleased to see him, or suspicious.
As he glanced around nervously, she couldn’t help but to add, “Did Father send you?” It was impossible to hide the hopeful note in her voice.
Why did they always run? It was only delaying the inevitable and making his work more difficult than it needed to be. As he navigated the mean streets of Port Ol'val in his landspeeder, Bril Teg Erinos idly thumbed the comlink held in his free hand. He’d received a tip from one of his informants that the recent disappearance of a cache of decades old weapons once used by the Dajorra Defense Force was connected to the illicit activities conducted by the Blind Man, the ruling Summit of House Qel-Droma.
Although Bril’s status as the former Quaestor of Galeres, Qel-Droma’s sister House, likely could have given him leverage for an audience with Qel-Droma’s ruling elite, he suspected his lack of familiarity with both Wyndell Tyris and Revs would hamper his efforts to handle this through official channels. So, he opted to do what he did best: to investigate on his own.
That investigation led him to Port Ol'val where, after applying the right amount of pressure on some of the locals, gave him a name: Fellner Taz. It hadn’t taken Bril long to find him, but the bastard had taken advantage of Bril’s attempt at diplomacy by lobbing a thermal detonator at him. Although it was far from an ideal way to learn that he could use his pyrokinetic powers to smother the flames of the explosive, he’d still have to thank him for that later.
Fellner had been in such a hurry to leave that he’d dropped his comlink, and that was all Bril needed to find him in the maze that was Port Ol'val. With as attuned as his senses were to the energies of the Living Force, the latent signature present within the little communication device led him to its owner like a moth to a flame. And that flame burned brighter the closer he got.
Bril parked his speeder in a public lot and slipped his helmet on before venturing the rest of the way on foot. A man clad in mostly white Mandalorian armor was sure to capture the attention of passersby, but he wasn’t one for stealth. He didn’t need it.
Fellner’s attention snapped back to her at the mention of her father. He took a step backward, raising his hands as if trying to physically ward off implications that would cause him unnecessary trouble. “What? No!”
Adele raised an eyebrow at his response. To his credit, Fellner recovered quickly, running his hand through his greasy hair. “No, nothing like that. Mama Taz always said, stick clear of family troubles that aren’t your own, and Mama Taz was a smart woman. Sure, I heard something about your family troubles, and I also heard something about the bounty on you and your brother. But it isn’t my family so it isn’t my business.”
Adele pressed her lips together at the mention of a bounty. She knew her father had put a kill order on her brother. But had he really put one out on her too?
Fellner didn’t seem to notice her sudden discomfort. He’s retreated further back from the mouth of the alley, his eyes constantly darting from her to look at the street.
“I see,” she said after a deep breath. She would unpack that little nugget of information soon enough. “So then what do you want from me, then?”
“Look, Princess, I’m in trouble. I took on a job for some quick cred, running some antique weapons to a dealer. Mama Taz always said, running old and clean weapons are the best ways to become rich, and Mama Taz was a smart woman. But these weapons, they weren’t as clean as I was led to believe. Now I got a Mando in white armor on my tail.”
Adele crossed her arms over her chest and studied Fellner with a stony look. Long enough that he began to fidget under her gaze. “So you didn’t do your homework. I’m still not seeing how this is my problem, Fellner.”
“Look, I heard you and your big brother’s got some kind of sanctuary deal going with the Blindman. You’re paying him, right?”
“Maybe.”
“Sure, sure. I get it. Playing your cards close. Mama Taz always said, mind your business and no one will mind you, and Mama Taz—”
“Was a smart woman. I know. What’s your point?”
Fellner paused and grinned, clearly pleased that Adele had heard of her. “I figure you and your brother need money. So I’ll give you a tenth of the take on this job if you get me to my ship and protect me from the freak in the white armor.”
Adele narrowed her eyes slightly. The idea of a fight sounded enticing. She’d been needing to blow off steam, and the training dummies were not helping in that regard. And the knowledge of a potential bounty on her and her brother gnawed at her. She needed more information. For the moment, Fellner was her best source. They could talk and run at the same time. “I’ll do it for half.”
Fellner looked wounded “Fifteen percent.”
Adele shrugged. “Good luck getting to the docks on your own.” She turned to leave.
“Okay, okay! Twenty five!”
“Fine. Twenty five. And you’re carrying a message to my father when you leave.” She didn’t trust any of his capos to let a message from her through. With her out of the way as her father’s second-in-command, it presented the other capos with an opportunity for advancement. But she was certain she could get this mess sorted out, if only she could talk to him. Fellner represented her best chance for that at the moment.
The smuggler paled. “Do I have to?”
“Do you want to get off this rock.”
Fellner groaned. “Fine. Mama Taz always said to know when you’re over a barrel. We’ve got a deal.”
“Great. Come on.”
Adele once again turned to leave, but Fellner hung back. “Aren’t you going to call your brother first?”
She scowled as she looked back over her shoulder at him. “Why would I do that?”
Fellner shrank back under the weight of her glare. “Well, I just figured, you know, since he’s so good with the fire and the fighting that he’d be able to go toe to toe with that Mando freak.” Adele gave a low growl under her breath, prompting Fellner to talk faster. “It’s just that everyone knows that you handled the business and leadership stuff. Since you’re better with the talking and the diplomacy and all that other stuff. But this is a Mando, and Mama Taz always said—”
“We’re keeping my brother out of this,” Adele said in an icy tone. “Come on if you’re coming. Or find your own way. Pick. Now.”
Bril Teg Erinos was a hound who’d caught a scent, and nothing would deter him from locating his target. He opened awareness to the Force a little more while focusing on Fellner’s energy signature. Every living being was imbued with a portion of the Living Force’s divine flame, but where those lacking the ability to wield it appeared as tiny motes of flame, those who could possessed flames that burned larger and hotter.
Fellner had joined up with someone who burned brightly – another Force user, no doubt. An Arconan? He wasn’t sure, but that made things more complicated.
They moved quickly, forcing Bril to transition from a brisk walk to a sprint. The heavy armor didn’t appear to impede him in the slightest and, with the occasional augmentation of the muscles in his legs using the Force, he raced through the winding streets of Port Ol'val with preternatural haste.
And this continued until he saw two figures wreathed in artificial light hurrying down a wide street crowded with landspeeders waiting in a line to access the distant spaceport.
Got you.
Bril knew if he allowed his quarry to reach the spaceport, he’d likely lose him forever. He could track Fellner as long as he remained on the asteroid-turned-city, but he would be unable to do so if he traveled too far beyond the limit of his senses.
He hurried forward, shouldering past a group of surly-looking men conversing amongst themselves on the sidewalk.
“Watch where you frakkin’ goin’!” One of the men shouted, but quickly averted his gaze when he noticed the lightsaber hilt fastened to his belt. Even amongst the denizens of Port Ol'val, as removed as they were from the Dajorra System’s capital, the symbol of Arconan hegemony carried weight.
Once Fellner and his escort were firmly in his sights, Bril extended a gloved hand toward him, reshaping the myriad threads of the Force to ensnare him in an invisible grip; once he had him, he yanked, ripping the man back toward him.
“I tried to talk to you, but that didn’t work. Maybe you’ll understand this better.”
Adele set a brisk pace, quick enough that they were moving more quickly than the press of foot traffic, but not so quickly that it was obvious that they were on the run. She kept her head up, scanning the crowd for the Mando in the white armor that had Fellner so terrified.
The situation was tense, but Adele felt her spirits lifting for the first time in awhile. It might only have been a quick trek to the spaceport, but it felt good to finally be doing something. And earning a bit of credit as well.
To his credit, the lanky smuggler managed to keep up with her, and even maintained a running dialogue as he did so. He was in the middle of repeating one of Mama Taz’s aphorisms when he suddenly stopped short, a look of confusion on his face.
Suddenly, he was yanked back, as if snared by an invisible tether.
Adele whirled and saw the Mando in the white armor, standing with his hand extended. Fellner yelped as he flew backward, his cry matched by the shouts of surprise from the people behind them as they jumped out of the way.
She cursed under her breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a skinny old Twi'lek, selling space cabbages from a cart piled high with them. That would do.
She extended her hand and the space cabbage cart vanished, reappearing in Fellnew’s trajectory a moment later. The smuggler collided with it, sending vegetables flying.
“My cabbages!” the Twi'lek screeched.
Amusing as the ploy was, it didn’t stop the smuggler’s progress. In fact it didn’t even slow him down.
This time, it was Adele that vanished and reappeared in Fellner’s path. As he ran into her, she grabbed him, teleporting them both to the roof of a nearby building.
“Fellner,” she said through gritted teeth, keeping a hold of him in case the Mando tried to reel him in again. “When you kept calling him a ‘Mando freak’, was that your way of calling him a Force user?”
“Well, yeah! Wasn’t it obvious?”
“No. It would have been obvious if you would have just called him a Mando Force user!” Adele snarled. “Great. Fantastic. I knew this was going too well.“
Through his visor, Bril watched with narrowed eyes as the blond woman extended her hand toward the passing cabbage cart. And in the blink of an eye, it vanished, only to reappear in Fellner’s path. Then, before he could react, she was right next to him, grabbing him and blinking away again.
He’d seen this power before. One of his own masters, Ruka, had used it in one of their training sessions, though not as effortlessly as this woman seemed to. So, this was who he’d sensed earlier.
Dipping into the reservoir of Force energy coiling within him like a tightened spring allowed the Zabrak to launch himself off the top of a parked landspeeder, which he used as a springboard to propel him high enough to land a few feet from the bickering duo. Without missing a beat, he greeted the blond with a stiff front kick meant to send her skidding backward across the duracrete roof.
Their argument was abruptly interrupted as the Mando suddenly appeared on the roof. Aided, probably, by a Force assisted jump. Fellner squeaked at the sight of him.
A whispered warning from the Force, accompanied by the impression of impending danger. It afforded Adele a few heartbeats to react. She leaned backward, her forearm connecting with his leg with a heavy thud, pushing the kick off target. He was already shifting his weight in reaction to the block.
She dropped and lashed out with her own leg, aiming a sweeping kick at his knees.
Fellner took advantage of the Mando’s preoccupation with Adele to run, diving through an access door to the building below.
Count on a smuggler to have great reaction time and survival instincts when faced with danger.
The sweep landed true, knocking Bril off his feet and sending him crashing to the floor. But instead of landing as his assailant expected, he posted his left on the ground to catch himself in a one-armed handstand. A quick twist salvaged what remained of his sidelong momentum for a retaliatory strike, his long legs spreading wide as he spun on one hand with the intention of kicking her twice.
Whether the blows landed or not, he righted himself immediately afterward and fell back into his stance. “I don’t think we’ve met before,” he said. “Whoever you are, you’re making a mistake by helping him.”
The Force rushed into her muscles, giving her the burst of strength she needed to jump from her crouched position, backward and up into a back-flip. One of the kicks connected, heavy boot impacting against her armor.
She landed on her feet, perhaps a bit more heavily than she’d have liked. A casual onlooker might not have noticed the temporary loss of balance, but an expert most certainly would.
“Probably,” Adele replied as she fell into the Nexu stance. “But he’s an old friend, and I’ve already agreed to help him.”
She had no illusions that whatever Fellner was up to, it was probably highly illegal and possibly morally questionable. Weapons dealing was never a clean business. Why else would he have attracted the Mando’s attention?
But if Fellner could get away, there was a chance, albeit a slim one, that she could find a way to resolve the situation with her father. Reclaim her place. Reclaim her brother’s place. Undo some of the damage from the myriad mistakes she’d made.
But the Mando was standing in the way of that.
And there was no doubt that the Mando was good. Certainly better trained than her in his physical technique. She could feel her heart beating faster at the thrill of being able to face someone with such obvious skill.
She grinned, feeling alive for the first time in weeks. Win or lose, she was going to make a good showing of it.
“Honor demands I see this through.” She made a beckoning gesture, slipping into effortless Mando'a. “Shall we dance?”
She was a Mando'a speaker? That fact alone piqued his interest. Maybe she’d spent time with Mandalorians? Or was one herself …
“As much as I would enjoy fighting you, I’m afraid I cannot let you distract me from mission,” he replied in fluid, albeit accented Mando'a before letting his eyes drift to her feet just before he faking a low kick meant to bait a reaction out of her. Then, he thrust one first forward, spewing a torrent of white flames from his beskar vambrace.
Hopefully that was enough to distract her long enough for him to make a break for the access door behind her.
She took a step back from the low kick. A moment later, she was bathed in heat as the brilliant white flame washed over her.
Fortunately for her, her brother favored flames as his primary weapon. A lifetime spent dueling with him for the amusement of her father and his lieutenants left her well prepared to deal with it. She was accustomed to getting burned.
Her heat resistant armor dealt with most of the discomfort as she vanished, only to reappear behind him to aim a strength-augmented punch at his kidney.
Whether the blow landed or not, she swiped a hand through her hair to smother the smoldering parts. Her violet eyes were filled with annoyance. ”Another firebug? Am I the only one who didn’t get fancy attack powers?”
Bril muttered a curse beneath his breath when she disappeared again. The ability was as troublesome as it’d been in his training sessions with Ruka. No. It was doubly so now that there were actual stakes involved.
The blow struck true on his lower back, earning an audible grunt from him. Were it not for the thick durasteel plating of his armor, it would have done some serious damage. Bril whipped around with his elbow aimed at the side of her head, and the other hand tucked against his midsection, palm facing her.
A wave of telekinetic force ballooned outward from his palm, intent on throwing her off the rooftop. If his ploy was successful, it would buy him enough time to venture down the hatch in pursuit of Fellner given the paltry distance between him and it.
Adele had expected a response like that, so she stepped backward, avoiding the elbow aimed at the side of the head.
But she had not anticipated the wave of telekinetic force. It slammed into her with a loud THUD and sent her flying backward.
It nearly sent her over the edge of the roof. But she managed to catch it with one hand, her body slamming into the wall.
“Ugh,” she groaned. Her armor had absorbed most of the force of the blow, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
Beneath his helmet, the corners of Bril’s mouth pulled into a grin. “See you around, lady,” he said in a self-satisfies tone before turning and leaping down the hatch.
Tucking his arms tight into his chest to avoid banging them against the metal interior of the metal chute, he descended quickly. The darkness of the access tunnel gave way to the bright lights of the room below just before he came out the other ended, falling from the ceiling with enough speed to warrant him slowing his descent with a perfectly-timed Force push. He landed on the floor with a muffled thud before springing forward and vaulting over a display case housing several expensive-looking chronometers and necklaces.
The crunch of shattered glass beneath his feet and the bewildered look of the store’s occupants were a clear enough indicstion that his target had smashed through the place during his escape. Following the trail of damaged property and the glowing beacon in the Force, the young Jedi raced through toward the store’s rear exit, careful tk avoid running into anyone as he went.
────── [ ⏣ ] ──────
Inside the port, now, he moved through the busy crowd of people quickly in search of his target.
Adele clung to the ledge, waiting for the stars to clear from her vision. Just as he muscles were starting to complain, she glanced downward and let go. Gravity took hold, but only for a moment. She vanished, reappearing a few feet above the ground.
She turned to look down the street. She could sense her opponent at the edge of her perception, a bright mark on the battlefield.
“I’ll see you sooner than you think,” Adele said with a wry grin
—–@—–
“Kark… kark…” Fellner panted as he tore through the shadowport at a full run. MamaTaz had always said to keep up with his cardio. But now, with his lungs burning and his muscles screaming, he began to wonder if perhaps he should have worked a bit harder at it.
But how was he supposed to know that he’d be chased down by a blasted Sparkfinger freak?
Almost… he was almost to the dock, though. Hopefully the Princess had bought him enough time. All he had to go was get to his ship… get to his ship and get the hell off this blasted rock….
“Going somewhere?”
Fellner heard Bril before he saw him, stopping to whirl around in a panicked search for his pursuer. The Mandalorian Jedi materialized from the crowd like a white-clad phantom.
“This is the end of the line,” he said while crossing his arms. “Don’t make this any harder on yourself, alright? I don’t want to be late for my family dinner.”
Fellner quailed as Bril appeared before him like a vengeful spirit. He backed away, hands raised in a placating gesture. “Have mercy, Mister Jedi, sir, please!” he said in a tremulous voice. “I’m just a humble trader, trying to put food on the table for his Mama and kids! I didn’t mean to do anything that would offend you or yours, I promise! Mama Taz always said, never cross a Jedi, and Mama Taz was a smart lady! The bomb was just an accident, I swear! I didn’t mean nothing by it! And look, you’re as sweet as rain, no harm done by it, so please let me go!”
This guy sure liked to talk. His attempts to dissuade Bril from bringing him in elicited little more than a scoff from the Jedi.
“Your opportunity to negotiate ended after that ‘accident’ with the bomb,” he replied, taking a step forward in an effort to back Fellner up toward a moored freighter. “I will give you a chance to tell me about the woman who attempted to help you flee. Who is she? And what business does she have in the Dajorra System?”
When the Mando stepped forward, Fellner Taz took two steps back. That continued until the hard exterior of the freighter’s landing gear pressing against his back kept him from retreating anymore.
“Look, I don’t know anything, alright? And even if I did, I couldnt tell ya! Mama Taz always said, never rat out a friend, and Mama Taz was a smart lady!
"Besides, if you want to know about her, ask her yourself.”
Bril followed Fellner’s gaze to the other side of the hangar where the irritatingly persistent blond was standing. “We were just talking about you,” he said.
Although his target attempted to slink away once he directed his attention to the other Force user, Fellner soon found himself locked in Bril’s telekinetic grip.
Adele raised her eyebrows at Bril’s words, as her eyes slid from him to Fellner. She vanished, appearing a moment later standing between the two of them.
“Talking, hmm? Is that a novel concept for you?” Adele gave him a confidence smile that held a razor-sharp edge.
But she kept her stance relaxed, her hands at her sides.
Fellner, meanwhile, squirmed against the invisible force holding him in place. “He was wanting info about you, Princess.”
“Ah. I suppose we skipped introductions,” Adele said, casting an irritated glance at Fellner at the use of her old title. “I’m Adele Valreyes. And you are…?”
“Quite the contrary, actually,” he countered. “Your associate here would recall that I tried talking with him first before he lobbed a thermal detonator at me.” Bril spoke about the incident with an aloofness that belied just how frustrating it had actually been. Why did people always try to blow him up?
“Well, had I known that I was in the presence of royalty, I wouldn’t have thrown you off a building,” he said, only partially mocking. “My name is Bril Teg Erinos.”
“Hmm. I could see how that would be a conversation ender.” She gave Fellner another narrow-eyed look, one that made it clear they would be discussing the matter in depth later. Fellner had the good grace to look sheepish. “Maybe if you’d started by talking instead of attacking me, this could have gone differently”
She let the jab about royalty pass without comment, as she was not in the mood to discuss her personal drama with him. But his name rang a bell of familiarity from things she had come across in her research. With little else to do, she’d been spending her empty hours reading up on this clan that had taken her and Anselm in.
“Erinos, hm?” She switched back to her flawless Mando'a. “One would think an Erinos would have better things to do than bully cowardly smugglers.”
As she spoke, her posture remained relaxed. But she watched him closely. Not just his eyes, but his body as well. He’d falsely projected an attack with his eyes before. Now that she knew it was a tactic of his, she was more prepared for it.
“You’ve done your homework,” replied Bril in Mando'a. “I choose to ignore House Qel Droma’s involvement in illicit activities as long as it remains on Port Ol'val.”
He paused to gesture toward Fellner again. “He broke that tenuous truce when he showed up on Selen. I need to know where those weapons are.”
“Oh wow. How very magnanimous of you. I’m sure the Qel Dromans appreciate the fact that you allow their activities to continue.” Adele’s tone carried a mocking edge that mirrored Bril’s earlier tone.
Adele shifted slightly, balancing her weight evenly on both feet. She observed his reaction as she did so. “And you know, I would have been much more inclined to believe you had you led with an explanation, instead of throwing me off a building. But as it is? Well. For all I know, you’re only now choosing to talk because you realize I’ll be harder to bully than a single cowardly smuggler. So. Do you have any proof you are who you say you are?”
Bril didn’t say a word. Instead, he removed his helmet, causing his caf-brown locs to cascade down past his shoulders. Then, with the holoprojector built into one of his beskar vambraces, he pulled up a holorecord of his service for the Clan, specifically for House Galeres.
“Ah.”
Adele’s outward expression did not change, but some of the competitive fire in her eyes died. There might have been a brief flicker of panic, but it quickly vanished behind an icy wall. “Well. That does clarify some things. But my initial argument stands. I gave this man my word that I would get him off Port Ol'val. Can you make due with just the weapons, or do you want your pound of flesh for the thermal detonator?”
“I’m not the revenge type,” he replied, folding his arms over his chest after clipping his helmet on his belt. “The weapons, and he can’t step foot in the Dajorra System again.”
Bril’s eyes drifted to Fellner at the end of his sentence, which he punctuated with a disapproving glare. “If you do, I’ll know, and you’ll regret it.”
Fellner paled beneath Bril’s glare, but Adele simply nodded. “Fair enough.”
But it wasn’t. She had the feeling that Fellner would not be feeling disposed to delivering her message to her father after this. Irritating, yes, but she would simply have to risk it. So much depended on being useful to Arcona. The clan of Force users talked a good game about their egalitarian ways. But Adele suspected that the moment she or her brother became a hindrance to the clan, they would be abandoned.
If it were just her, she wouldn’t have cared. But her brother seemed to be thriving for the first time in his life. She would not endanger that, or him.
She turned to look at Fellner, and switched back to Basic. “Where are you docked?”
“W-wait, what?” Fellner stammered. “What’s happening?”
“You’re going to be taking us to your ship and handing over the weapons you picked up from Selen.”
“Wait, hold on! We had a deal! And Mama Taz always said-”
“Our deal was to get you off of Port Ol'val. But I said nothing about your cargo.” Adele crossed her arms over her chest.
“That’s bantha poodoo,” Fellner whined.
“Really, you should count yourself lucky that you’re getting out with your hide. He,” she hiked her thunk at Bril, “is pretty miffed about the thermal detonator, and I’m pissed that you left put some pretty crucial information when we were striking our deal.”
Fellner squirmed against the telekinetic fist that held him in place. “It wasn’t like that, Princess, I swear, I-”
“Adele,” she snapped. “It’s just Adele now. So. Are you taking us to your ship, am I going to have to find it?”
Fellner stood with his mouth agape, his gaze darting between her and the stone-faced Bril. “I… you… but…” After stammering a but more, he sighed as heavily as his invisible bonds would allow. “Fine.”
Bril released his telekinetic grip on the smuggler once he finally acquiesced. “Good choice,” he said.
–
Later, once he’d offloaded the weapons onto an unmarked repulsorcraft owned by the one of his contacts, Bril watched Fellner’s ship make the show climb out of the hangar.
Adele was standing next to him. “This is a more … amiable conclusion than I originally anticipated.”
“Same. I suppose we both could have done a better job using our words initially,” Adele replied. Despite her conciliary tone, there was an edge to her voice. She stood with her arms crossed, frustration and irritation written on every aspect of her being. “Still, the fight would have been a good one. You’ve got excellent form.”
He nodded. “So do you. Maybe we can have a proper spar in the future. You should visit Selen if you haven’t already. When you do, I’ll come and find you.”
“Hmm. I’ll be sure to visit soon, then.” Fellner’s ship vanished out of the hangar. The smuggler hadn’t been too pleased about losing his payday, but Adele was having a hard time mustering must sympathy. Even if it meant she was losing the opportunity to get a message to her father.
She shook her head before turning her attention back to Bril. “Yes, a proper sparring session would be good.” She glanced at the repulsorlift that was now laden with illicit weapons, it’s payload covered with a tarp. She could see that Bril was eager to be off to restore the stolen property to its rightful place. And she was feeling the sudden need for a drink. “If you have time, maybe we can grab dinner next time you’re in the port. I’m gradually learning all the good places to eat.”
After a bit more smalltalk, the two said their goodbyes and parted ways. As she watched the repulsorlift trundle away, Adele shoved her hands into her pockets. For a brief period of time she’d enjoyed having some sense of purpose. Something to do, even if it was just protecting a smuggler. But now? It was back to gray boredom.
“I really have to get a hobby.” Perhaps. That was a problem for future Adele. For tonight, she would train. Perhaps it would keep her from getting thrown off a roof next time.