Session export: Legal aid
Corinna moved through the Palimpsest with a hurried air about her. Every surface in the Star Courier that served as her mobile office had been claimed by some artifact or knickknack, and she didn’t want to knock anything over, as her geejaw Echo was so fond of doing. But she had a passenger to meet.
In the common area, Ellisyn Kendis sat in the one chair not covered by the research director’s possessions, all coiled muscle and restless energy. Her wine-dark hair spilled over one shoulder, giving the woman a certain allure to Corinna. She looked like someone else she’d met…
“Ms. Kendis,” Corinna said as she entered, robotically pushing a pink hand out to the Firrerreo. “Dr. Corinna Magarin. Thank you for accompanying me on this dig. Saleucami promises to be very interesting, but I’ve heard the red tape can give even the most tenacious scholar a headache.”
Ellisyn’s eyes traveled along the various trinkets and papers that covered every open surface around the room. She let out a small chuckle. It reminded her of her old office back when she actually had regular clients. It had been years since then, but thankfully only half of one since she last practiced law, so hopefully this Corinna woman would have something easier for her to warm up with.
When the door opened to reveal the Zeltron in question, Ellisyn stood, buttoning the top button of her suit jacket in one fluid motion as she extended her hand to shake Corinna’s. “It’s my pleasure, Dr. Magarin. Thank you for trusting me and my practice.” Elly wasn’t sure why exactly the business needed to be done at the digsite but she wasn’t one to question some time away. “I’m sure I’ll be able to cut through whatever red tape is in your way.”
“Of course. You came highly recommended,” Corinna said, squeezing against a shelf to sit at the chair behind her desk.
“It looks like you could help with security, if needed, too.” The observation regarding the woman’s height and musculature may have come across as blunt, even rude; Corinna had that tendency. She meant it in the most complimentary of ways, though. “Not that I expect any issues beyond the bureaucracy, mind you.”
Highly recommended? By who? She wondered to herself. She took a seat across from the woman and crossed her legs, fabric pulling tight. She had forgotten how much less mobility she had in suit pants. “Thank you for the vote of confidence but I’m not a fighter. I just enjoy the gym, maybe a little too much. I will, however, be able to assist with any bureaucracy that shows up. Tell me, Dr. Magarin, have you had any trouble with digs in the past?”
Corinna eyed Ellisyn up and down, taking her in. Someone with that form surely could fight…better than her, at least. She could fill out that suit well, at least.
She wasn’t used to people dressed so formally, though it made sense for a lawyer. Sure, she’d wear her robes for lectures and in supervisory capacities on research trips. But now, in simple leggings and a tank top (her unofficial uniform for long space trips) she felt underdressed. Then again, she didn’t exactly feel like she fit in at the best of times.
“Oh, not so much. I’m usually in the Outer Rim, so most of my problems can be solved with a timely transfer of credits to the right person. And the Wayfin-” she paused, clearing her throat as she remembered she didn’t need to use that cover in present company. “The Shadow Academy has significant powers of persuasion in the right environment. Saleucami, with its overfunctional government, represents an outlier in that regard.”
Elly noticed Corinna’s eyes wandering and decided to do the same, though she could only see the woman’s tank top at that point. Any time she had gone to meet a client she had dressed well, even that time she had ended up on a farm. She decided to do now what she had done then and began to remove her jacket, slinging it over the back of her chair. Left in her vest and shirt, she rolled up her sleeves and responded.
“Bribes and bullying?” She asked bluntly, very aware of how the brotherhood took care of their problems. “I know how they do their business, and I’m very glad you came to me instead.”
She had never been the biggest fan of the organization. Although she couldn’t be too mad. Her first case in opposition of the brotherhood, mainly Taldryan, got her two kids that she loved and adored.
“It’s the way of the Galaxy, I’m afraid. Especially when scoundrels and ruffians smell credits to be made in the black market antiquities trade.”
Corinna sensed Ellisyn’s discomfort when she brought up the Shadow Academy. It surprised her; she figured the woman for a member, or associate at least, given the colleague who recommended her. But what she said was true; without the might of the Brotherhood backing her, she would be forced out of most project sites. And, unfortunately, greased palms make many puppet governments work. She’d made her peace with the messier parts of her work, especially given she actually wanted to discover things and publish original findings rather than lecture overgrown teenagers with spice hangovers at some fourth-rate Mid Rim university for the rest of her life.
“Ah. I’d figured you regularly represented members of the Brotherhood.”
“My usual clientele usally can’t afford me,” she admitted. “I do a lot of probono work for those less privaliged than you and I. But every now and then I need to take a case that will keep the lights on. Like yours, Dr. Magarin,” Elly explained further. “I’ve represented members of the brotherhood before, usually in civil cases, and I’ve represented plenty of in opposition to any of the Brotherhood’s many divisions.”
.
“That’s admirable, Corinna responded with a sort of appreciation she usually reserved for an interesting footnote. “Most people with your obvious talents focus only on renumeration.”
Her eyes shifted down to her datapad, scrolling through permit applications she’d already attempted and failed to file remotely. Settling on one, she turned the screen to face Ellisyn across the cluttered desk.
“Well, here is where we stand. Three overlapping jurisdictions. Two appear to date back to a Separatist era land use code. And one is an agricultural cooperative that seems to believe the excavation site falls within heir irrigation easement.”
She looked back up at the musclebound, professional woman. “As though that could compare to the potential for knowledge and powerful, hidden artifacts.”
“I wouldn’t say my talents are obvious, Miss Magarin. You haven’t seen me work just yet.” Elly watched and waited as Corinna scrolled on her datapad, all the while she thought about her past cases, back when she used to help people. Back when she had value.
“Do you have any plan to compensate the owners of the land or are we trying to leverage the state to seize the land from the cooperative? Are there crops on the plot in question already?”
“That’s precisely the sort of question I was hoping you could answer,” she said after a pause in which her black eyes lingered on the rolled sleeves barely containing the other woman’s overdeveloped arm muscles. “I’m a scholar. All I know is I received a tip from my associate in the antiquities trade, vetted it, got excited, and planned this trip. It’s turned into much more of a headache than I anticipated. I just want to get my hands on y-” Another pause. “Get my hands on the artifacts. Before someone files another form.”
“It’s not a question I can answer, Miss Magarin. If the land is being used by the co-op I do believe it would be morally correct to compensate them for the land as opposed to trying to force them off of it. But my morals are not yours. They differ. You, Miss Magarin, hired me to get you the permits needed and cut through any ‘red tape’. How we go about that is entirely up to you.”
Ellisyn’s lips twitched into a smirk for just a moment. The woman before her didn’t scream innocence but that wasn’t grounds to assume just how Corinna would want to go about things. It wasn’t the lawyer’s place to make the call, but given the Doctor’s wandering eyes, Elly had a hunch she’d be pushed into making the calls anyway.
Corinna considered this for a moment, tapping one tattooed finger against the edge of the desk.
“Compensate them,” she said, as though the alternative had never seriously occurred to her. “I’m not in the business of displacing farmers. Whatever the cooperative needs to feel good about a temporary easement, we can arrange it.” She paused, then added, with what she hoped was professional neutrality and suspected was not, “I trust your judgment, Ms. Kendis. That’s rather the point of having you here.” Her eyes drifted, briefly and involuntarily, to where the other woman’s smirk had just been, and she felt the tips of her pink ears go slightly pinker. “So. What do you need from me to — to proceed. With the permits.”
Usually this was the point where Elly would go to stand, listing off the things she needed in order to get started. But the woman had nowhere to go. She was on this ship with Corinna until the digsite and she hadn’t exactly been given quarters. So, she reached for her bag and retrieved a datapad. It seemed she’d have company as she worked.
The lawyer went into it assuming there wouldn’t be a number too high as far as compensation for the farmers went, so she didn’t bother asking. “I shouldn’t need anything other than the name of the excavation company, your information, and a projected timetable. We can always file for extensions if needed but I’d prefer avoiding that as to not upset the farmers. I’d also appreciate a workspace and wouldn’t mind knowing how long it will take to arrive.”
“Of course,” Corinna said, nodding. “I can have everything sent over within the hour.” She stood and looked around the cabin, focusing on the digital chronometer mounted on the far wall. “We only have a couple hours left before we drop out of hyperspace. You’re welcome to join me in my quarters while we work.”
She paused a moment before realizing how her words might be interpreted. “I mean, my room has a desk. A proper one without all this,” she said, gesturing vaguely at the scholarly debris surrounding them. “And it’s quieter. The engine coupling doesn’t quite penetrate through over th—” She cleared her throat. “We might be more comfortable. You don’t have to.”
Elly raised a curious, teasing brow when the invitation was first offered. She chuckled after Corinna began to backpedal, explaining what she meant by her words.
“A clean and quiet workplace sounds perfect, Miss Magarin. I’d love to join you,” Elly said before standing. She brushed some wrinkles out of her shirt, a smirk on her lips. “Lead the way,” the lawyer said, trying very hard not to be too amused by the scholar stumbling on her words.
From low orbit, the ochre planet of Saleucami looked like a ball of rust. The craters that pocked its surface were too many to count. Not that Corinna tried—she’d spent the final few hours of the journey collating documents for Ellisyn, feeding Echo, and taking a short nap.
Customs waved the pair through with minimal resistance, but Ellisyn peeled off almost immediately after landing. Off to the regional cooperative authority’s administrative offices, surely. Corinna had watched her go perhaps a little too long, mouth slightly open. The attorney reminded her of someone. It was uncanny, really.
The dig site she had in mind was 40 minutes from the port, past the co-op’s outermost fields. The terrain buckled upward into a ridge. While Ellisyn handled the paperwork and bureaucracy, Corinna spent most of the afternoon absorbed in the work of preliminary survey. The scanner readings, soil samples, and marking of grid coordinates prevented her from worrying too much about the fate of her project. Even if the attorney was unsuccessful this time, the information Corinna was gathering now would serve her well next time she tried. And she would try again.
She was crouched over a promising seam in the ancient stone when a low rumble caught her attention. A dust cloud in the distance appeared to be a speeder. Elly returning, she hoped. As she raised a hand in greeting, she noticed three hooded figures materializing from the shadows on the other side of the ridge.
The remainder of the trip to Saleucami was a breeze for Elly. Corinna, despite her disorganized workspace, was able to get all the documents she asked for quick enough for the lawyer to review and build a case with. While she waited, she noted the lingering glances of the Zeltron and returned one or two back to her.
Her business at the administrative offices was as quick as her goodbye. As much as the Kendis disliked the brotherhood at times, it was nice to be able to leverage the amount of credits they had.
The trip back was the most dreadful part. Ellisyn didn’t mind public transport but it was quite boring, and without Corinna there to keep her company, things began to feel stale. Being a lawyer was all she wanted to do, and it was satisfying, but she couldn’t help but want to do more than just sit around. Which is why she was grateful to finally be approaching the coordinates Corinna had sent over to her.
Elly departed the taxi and watched it speed away as she trailed her eyes along the landscape looking for the scholar. She saw the woman raise her hand and raised her own in return. When Corinna’s eyes left her, Elly turned her head to see what had distracted the woman.
The moment she saw the three figures, she darted down to Corinna’s side. She understood that the woman was proficient in the force but at the end of the day, she was just a scholar.
With gear weathered from the sun, mismatched armor plates, and a particular sort of body language, the three men looked more like opportunists than any kind of professionals. Corinna had seen their type before, especially on planets like Saleucami that attracted archaeologists and other antiquities dealings. The locals rarely saw any of the renown or, more importantly, profits that emerged from such pursuits. So they tried to take it by force.
The opportunists acted quickly. When the center bandit nodded, the left flanker reached for a blaster pistol while the right one broke into a sprint toward Corinna’s equipment cases.
Instinct taking over, Corinna drew her lightsaber before the opportunist’s blaster cleared its holster. Her azure blade snapped to life as she fell into the opening stance of her preferred Vaapad, angling the left side of her body to face the attackers and lifting the blade above her head in a high guard.
“It appears you’ve arrived right on time, Ms. Kendis.”
A rather hearty growl escaped the Firrerreo’s chest as she came to a stop. She ignored the Scholar’s words for a moment and assessed the situation. Corrina had a lightsaber, she would be able to deflect blaster bolts from the man with the blaster while she took down the seemingly unarmed man.
“Don’t get shot, Magarin,” was all she said before darting off towards the equipment to cut off one of the bandits. Ellisyn was grateful to have left her jacket on Corinna’s ship, but still she felt the resistance of her dressier clothes all the same. That mixed with her lack of equipment would’ve worried her if not for her recent trials. Now she didn’t care. She wanted to fail. She wanted to hurt.
With all of her momentum, the lawyer tackled the bandit, sending the pair of them tumbling down. Despite having the wind knocked out of him, the brigand was able to unsheathe his knife and allowed the momentum of their second tumble to plunge the blade into Elly’s side.
The blaster bolts flew gracelessly at Corinna, the flanker firing with a certain frantic energy. A reaction to the lightsaber, Corinna figured; most people in the Galaxy had probably never seen one, after all, especially a poor soul from Saleucami. The first shot screamed off her blade and landed in the ridge face above them, raining down a spray of pale dust. A tight arc of her blue blade deflected the other, sending it to the dirt at the shooter’s feet. It was enough to make him scramble backward, buying her a moment to track Ellisyn.
She almost called out when she saw the knife come free from its sheath and the scoundrel bury its blade into her. Almost. Instead she allowed that spike of shock and fear and anger move through her physical form and empower a charging strike with her lightsaber. This was the beauty of Vaapad.
Corinna closed the distance between them in three bounding strides. She slashed and the plasma blade made short work of the man’s surely salvaged armor. He slumped to the ground unceremoniously as the Force Disciple leapt to Elly and the other bandit struggling on the ground, her muscles supercharged by amplification from the Force.
A sharp howl of pain passed through Elly’s lips as the surely unkept blade slid through her shirt and into her flesh. The fiery rage that lived deep inside Elly, inside a once locked box that now lay constantly open, burned bright. The pain of the wound, the concern for Corinna, it fueled her.
The pair stopped tumbling with Elly atop the scavenger. She sat up, her legs pinning him down as she began to swing into his waiting jaw. The man had been trying to reach for the blade but his hand fell to the ground limp the moment the lawyer’s fist connected with his face. But he wasn’t unconscious yet. She wasn’t done yet. She kept on swinging. Once, twice, three times more. Only stopping after his lip had cut open, after her knuckles were bare, split, and covered in both their blood. She looked over her shoulder to Corinna, her chest heaving and a devilish smirk on her lips.
The center bandit, the leader and broadest of the bunch, immediately hightailed it when he saw the quick work Corinna and Ellisyn made of his comrades in arms. Corinna caught only the dust cloud in her peripheral vision. A pragmatist, if nothing else. They’d have to deal with that complication later; it was just as likely he’d alert others and come back with a larger group than just leave the pair to their business.
Corinna extinguished her blade, clipping the bronzium hilt back onto her belt before dropping to a knee beside Ellisyn. The wound pulled at her attention through the Force before her eyes even found it, a disruption in the strong current of life emanating from the surprisingly ferocious attorney. It wasn’t fatal, though. Corinna let out a breath she didn’t even realize she’d been holding.
“Let me—” she started, then looked at the man still breathing beneath Ellisyn’s knees. Something shifted behind her black eyes. Her hand wrapped around her lightsaber again in a calm but quite cold impulse to end his life.
She felt a hand on her wrist. Ellisyn’s.
She stopped.
For a moment, she simply looked at the mountainous woman lying on the ground, her heaving chest, split knuckles, blood that wasn’t all hers, the smirk she found slightly hypocritical. Still, that iciness in Corinna’s chest melted incrementally.
“…If you insist. I suppose I can tend to your wounds, first.”
The lawyer gave Corinna’s wrist a soft, knowing squeeze. Elly had watched her mother and aunt kill without hesitation, she knew that some found it to be the only answer. But she appreciated that the Zeltron stopped.
With a hefty groan, Ellisyn pulled herself to her feet, her once white shirt stained red at her side. “Hopefully that doesn’t scar too bad…” She mumbled to herself, looking at the knife sticking out of her side for just a moment before turning her focus on Corinna.
“Forget about that, are you hurt?” She asked, taking a half step closer to the woman to do a quick once over.
“I’m fine,” Corinna said, blinking. She already placed her hand on the Ellisyn’s side near the site of the wound. “I’m not the one who got stabbed.”
“If you remove the blade when I give you the signal, the Living Force can…well…make sure you go on being a living force.”
Ellisyn looked down to Corinna’s hand, the warmth of it a stark contrast to the cooling blood. Usually a wound like this would heal in around an hour but frankly she wanted to avoid the scarring if she could.
“I’ve had worse,” the lawyer admitted. “Do you wanna do this here or somewhere you can focus?”
“I can focus here just fine,” Corinna said matter of factly, her black eyes already fixated on the blade sticking out of the Firrerreo. The unconscious bandit still slumped beneath the hulking woman posed no threat. “Don’t move except to remove the weapon. Only when I tell you.”
She dropped to her knees beside Ellisyn and inhaled deeply, settling into her usual meditative state. The currents of the Living Force eddied at the edges of her awareness, becoming more and more real to her with every breath. The two women’s emotions ran strong, flavoring those currents. To be expected. The aura of the wound beneath her hand, though, felt sharp. Disruptive. The current stuttered and caught there, ceasing to flow properly. She opened her eyes, looked into Elly’s, and nodded.
Elly removed the blade without hesitation, and Corinna pressed both hands flat against the opening. Warm blood poured against her palms, but again she closed her eyes and reached with her mind.
The Force had always been a rejuvenative pool to her, fully accessible at any moment to refill depleting energy reserves, depending on her ability to simply focus on its omnipresence. Now she directed it not inward but outward, nudging it into the body she touched, following the shape of the energy. The torn muscle, the ruptured blood vessels, those places the body’s own systems needed succor to work harder.
The healing cost her, as it always did. She could feel the drain almost immediately, a heaviness settling into her shoulders. Corinna’s own breathing slowed and deepened, this time from necessity rather than meditation. The oppressive Saleucami heat and the ridge’s ambient sounds fell away. Only the wound, the blood, and the Force remained.
A minute passed before the bleeding fully stanched and the muscle fully knit itself together, the natural process compressed from days into a few moments. The whole process generated a supernatural warmth between her palm and Ellisyn’s body.
Corinna opened her eyes again, blinking several times to readjust her vision to the bright afternoon light. “There. That ought to do it.” She looked up, now realizing her close proximity to Elly’s face. “You’re going to be sore. And I’m going to need a little rest. But you are, as far as I can tell, not currently dying.” A pause. “A preferable state of affairs.”