Ask Coruscant Good Intentions: The Ghost Leak

[Corran Velt]

Nothing ever came easy with investigations. Corran couldn't help but dwell on the open-ended chase of trying to hunt down loose ends that didn't want to be found as he followed Lieutenant Aran out of the CCN offices. They could spend days or even weeks hunting down one journalist and could be a dead-end or worse; a splintering of more threads to follow. Add in the unstable ground of politics and a case like this was starting to feel weighted against them from the start. A beep from the male ranger's pocket interrupted that train of thought abruptly. Trys was the first to fish her device out. He followed suit and couldn't believe his eyes.

Senator Victola Maroo of Humbarine confessed to... everything. Premeditated Leaks to a specific journalist. Attempting to misdirect an investigation. All in the name of making the FWA more open and transparent. How the Senator spoke made it sound sincere. An honest confession. But so much of it didn't make sense. Why would Humbarine, a Core World, seem to be repeating the same talking points as small world senators? What was the motive for suddenly coming clean now - a change of heart? There was something else too. The slander surprisingly levied by Senator Maroo against the Sector Rangers. It sounded so familiar. Like he'd heard it before somewhere.

All of these suspicions did not lead anywhere immediately as the exacerbated outburst by Trys pried Corran's eyes from the datapad. Her gaze she leveled at him was withering. He pulled his head backwards slowly, like an animal recoiling into its shell, while slowly tucking his hands into his jacket pockets. Seeing the Sith Slayer so publicly vexed was intimidating. In a way, Lieutenant Velt felt guilty. It was his fault. He had somehow bungled the case and all their work seemed dashed against the rocks. When the female ranger walked off to smoke, Corran returned to his full height and removed his hands from hiding. Being out of the direct line of fire helped.

He stood a few steps behind the frustrated Aran. Unsure of what to do or say. Would he risk redirecting the anger of the Sith Hunter back upon himself? She lamented that the Sector Rangers were unprepared for serious threats... and that she wasn't a hero. Sky-blue eyes opened wide in shock. That can't be. The idol he envisioned clashed with a command by the idol herself. Clear those illusions right now. It was an order from Trys Aran. About herself. It was unthinkable to defy her.

Corran's hands curled into fists.

He did.

From behind her back, Trys would hear a voice as solid as steel, "You don't get to decide that." The blond ranger stepped in front of her, withstanding the cigara smoke and staring her down. Gone was the passive, shy young man. Before her now stood a Ranger Lieutenant, defiant and broad. "You don't get to decide if you aren't a hero. That title is bestowed upon you by others. To toss it aside so easily is worse than spitting in their face!" Something about he said that so pointedly made it feel more personal. Closer to him than the nebulous 'others.' A stern index finger accusingly jutted towards the street-wise woman. "And we all-" A blink-of-an-eye pause occurred as he quickly thought of a word to dodge the swear, "-mess up sometimes in the line of duty. Like this!" The index finger turned to his own face and traced the scar plainly. "I faced down a Sith in the basement of HQ as it burned. I failed then too. But I only attempted it because you proved it could be done." Intensity in Corran's shoulders began to slacken. His arm slackened and returned to his side.

A small inhale helped regain his composure. "We have to do things, Lieutenant Aran, no matter the slander or bile or disdain. Justice doesn't require the Sector Rangers to be liked. Just that we try."

@Sreeya

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was caught entirely off guard by the sudden tone shift from the other man. He had come across as an eager do gooder this entire time, and he acted closer to someone fresh out of the academy. However, right then he commanded the situation entirely and had her full, undivided attention. Her jaw tightened at his words, anger flashing across her eyes though she said nothing.

She had never wanted to be a hero. She signed up for this job just to get out of poverty. She was driven by the desire to see her son and others like him protected. When did all of that suddenly make her into a hero? Her gaze fell on the scar he pointed out, the shock difficult to keep off her face. Very few Rangers had squared off against Sith and had lived.

Trys slowly rose to stand, the cigarra hanging loosely from her fingers. She stared at Corran for a long moment, giving him a hard look.

“I want to try,” She said after a moment, “I just want to try for the right things. I never gave a kriff what the public thought about us, but the reality is that we don’t have the means to take on the Sith right now. I survived because I got lucky. You survived because you got lucky. Don’t ever think it was anything more than that, Velt. Don’t you, for one second, think we stand a chance when the Sith come in with a full blown invasion.”

She wasn’t sure where they would go from here, but it was cathartic being able to vent a little. It was especially so when it was with a fellow Ranger that faced a Sith before. It was a club very few were a part of, and it was a club no one wanted to be in. Trys closed her eyes and exhaled before smoking from the cigarra again.

“Where do you suggest we go from here? Rangers and CorSec here will be working on the Laxran missing file. We will need authorization to investigate Maroo...authorization I strongly doubt the Chief will grant.”

Trys blew out a cloud of smoke facing a direction away from Velt, “And call me Trys.”

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Corran's stare never wavered. Even under the withering power of the Sith Hunter's powerful gaze. It was too late to back down now. Determined eyes followed her as she rose from the curb. He braced himself for the worst. A tongue-lashing worthy of his strict captain back in the trader years. Insults to his character and maturity. Turbolaser fire in the form of scathing words. Although he didn't know Lieutenant Aran very much at all, rumors of her fiery temper and crushing demeanor were common. Normally, the blond man would have never dared. On this though, he wouldn't back down.

The worst never came. It was more like... understanding. Corran blinked in appreciative disbelief as Trys expressed her thoughts instead of a blistering counter-argument. Many of her opinions were ones he shared. Sector Rangers were equipped to face down street gangs or slavers. Sith warships and Red Saber warriors were entirely in a league of their own. He was even starting to wonder if even the New Republic Defense Force was prepared for something like them.

What to do next? That required some thought. Lieutenant Velt stroked his chin in contemplation and looked down at the pavement. She had made all good points. There wasn't much left for the pair to do officially on Corellia and without proper authority they couldn't look into whatever was off with Humbarine's senator. Former senator. But that approval didn't have to come from Chief Hudson.

Corran looked up to answer only to be mentally knocked off kilter by the Sith Hunter offering up her first name. It was a level of... familiarity that wouldn't have been possible in his wildest dreams. And yet here it was. "Uh..." he stuttered, "Trys. Right." Even saying it out loud felt wrong. A polite upbringing reminded the young man to offer in kind like a smack to the back of the head. "O-oh. Sorry. Corran. You can call me Corran." Did she even know his first name? He knew hers before even meeting her face to face. Lieutenant Aran was famous! But other matters besides budding comradery had to be discussed.

"Something stinks about Senator Maroo's message. It all seemed off to me. And where's the motive?" Lieutenant Velt began, "You're right that Chief Hudson wouldn't sign off on looking into another politician. But he doesn't have to. Humbarine is a New Republic world. Authorization can come from the Chancellor, Senator Oversight Committee, or even the New Republic Marshals. We're both citizens, after all." Trys was born on Coruscant and he on Commenor. Both fell well within the borders of the reborn government and had been signatories at the refounding.

"I talked with a number of Senators awhile back about forming an Anti-Sith task force along with getting some new equipment and support to the Sector Rangers. We just need to call up the Senate building, set an appointment, and we can see if we can get clearance to continue the investigation." Corran wagged a finger at her with a boyish smirk. "And without any FWA or ISC interference this time."

@Sreeya

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys looked away and quietly took a drag, exhaling out as she considered the options Corran presented. From his perspective it would appear as if she were tuning him out completely. Almost entirely involuntary, Trys had a very aloof and detached nature most of the time. It came in handy often as she disliked most people, but sometimes even her listening and parsing thoughts came off as rude dismissal.

After a moment, she turned to look back at him, a skeptical look on her face, “And what will we tell the Chancellor? That we have a ‘bad feeling’ like some Jedi? We have no basis or probable cause to even open up an investigation. Hudson or not, we still need a stronger case than some gut feelings.”

She had only recently heard about the formation of the Galactic Senate and the Republic split. It gave the Chancellor the autonomy he desired for a long time, but to what end? Trys rubbed her chin for a moment as she looked at Corran for a few seconds.

“If we want to pursue this, we will need to do a few things...off the record,” She almost hesitated saying the words. He was about as much of a boy scout as possible, and she doubted he knew how to ever operate outside of the rules. She half expected him to report her to HQ right there and then.

His words about an Anti Sith taskforce had caught her interest. While she had thoughts about it, she had never gotten as far as involving politicians. Trys took another drag and exhaled out, “It will have to involve beefing up the existing military forces and having them rally under one banner. Would you leave the Rangers to transfer to a military branch?”

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Awkward silence filled the air between the two rangers after Corran finished speaking. No immediate reply came. Trys just stood there like a stone monument; unreadable and stoic. Uncertainty took root in his gut. Had she even listened to his proposal? By all accounts the cigara was the only thing on her mind. The blond ranger stood there patiently, the boyish smirk slowly retreating into a neutral grimace, awaiting some sort of response. Uncomfortable seconds felt like minutes. Corran inhaled in preparation to say something only for Trys to look back at him. She had been listening and what she had to say wasn't supportive.

To say she was unconvinced about his plan was an understatement. "I thought, you know, given the circumstances, we could just ask and convince them," Lieutenant Velt said, noticing how naïve that must have sounded. Public opinion was not exactly on the side of the Sector Rangers. Politicians might consider the matter resolved with York basically out of their hair for the time being or other evidence presented itself. Or the cost of voters disapproving of giving a thumbs up to continued investigations by the Rangers too high. Corran felt like he was shrinking under the hurdles that kept cropping up.

Until Trys spoke the unspeakable. Off the record? He rose up to his feel height and opened his mouth to immediately refute the idea but stalled, clasping his jaw shut. Most immediately because scolding the Sith Hunter outright felt wrong and unprofessional. But also... because a dark seed, disgruntled and long buried, sprouted a tiny stem. A grim, thorny thing. It had been unwittingly planted years ago by Chief Hudson himself. How indifferent he was to the lives lost in defense of the Jedi in their endless war against the Sith. It had been watered by people such as Emryc Thorne - someone who saw, unlike Hudson - the plight of normal people. For the first time, Corran felt temptation. If politicians and the Chief himself got in the way of true justice, especially in the face of outright lies meant to destroy the Sector Rangers, then perhaps matters needed to be handled directly by those who knew better. Those who survived the consequences every day.

Lieutenant Velt shook his head slowly; denying this new impulse and Trys both. But this did not kill the sproutling within him. It would wait. "N-no. We can't put a case this important in jeopardy. Without authorization it could be tossed out on technicality or politized in the press." Too much was at risk to gamble it all. Especially for a low-life nothing who fled like a coward to the ISC than face consequences. To think Corran had liked Senator York once.

The question about enlisting in the military caught the young man off guard. "Military?" He echoed, visibly taken aback. A choice like that would have incredible consequences. Corran had initially joined the Sector Rangers in hope he'd get the opportunity to hunt down the people who (he believed) sent his father's trade ship hurdling into a star. Admittedly, things had gotten way off track from that initial aim. The Sith terrorist strikes. Five Syndicate expansions into the Core Worlds. The fracturing of the FWA and formation of the Galactic Senate. All of those things felt so important compared to his personal vendetta.

But it was his personal vendetta. On the other hand, a military commission would open up opportunities to truly bring firepower down on those who threatened civilization. It also would give him the opportunity to thumb his nose at Chief Hudson. Lieutenant Velt cleared his throat, "I... hadn't given it much thought. If ordered or called to, I would seriously consider it. But going in as grunt infantry likely wouldn't do the Republic - or me - much good."

@Sreeya

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys’s jaw tightened as he shot down virtually anything she brought up, but the hesitation around the active steps against the Sith when it truly mattered irritated her the most. She closed her eyes and exhaled as she collected her thoughts. Trys took a moment to draw in the cigarra and blow out smoke again. This time she didn’t care if it went his way as the frosty gaze in her eyes told enough.

“Don’t expect anything to turn out your way if you constantly walk around with the Ranger rule book shoved up your ass, Corran,” She said curtly, “We are fighting an unprecedented enemy, which means we have to take unprecedented measures to get things done.”

Trys took one last drag from the cigarra before shaking her head, “You can be out there getting shit done, or you can keep sitting in cantinas listening to another kriffing Chief speech about standing together after more of our brethren die.”

She turned away from him and began to walk away. She flicked the finished cigarra away, still managing to land it in a nearby bin.

“I know which path I’ll take. If I had to do it all over again, I would,” She said simply, referring to her run ins and near death experiences with the Sith.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

As dressing downs went, Trys's scolding words were endurable. Smoke wafted into Corran's nose as he stood unflinching in the face of her condemnation. He hated that smell. It corrupted everything it touched. Burnt lungs and repugnant smells. But the blond ranger did not move. The woman berating him was a hero - that wouldn't ever change. Seen and done things he envied in the face of unbeatable odds. Words harsher than this had shaped him from a selfish, rebellious teenager into the man he was today. Above all else, hearing out Lieutenant Aran's point of view or beliefs was a privilege. One did not always get to hear the thoughts of legends.

But hearing them and internalizing them were two different things. Each passing word acted as further reinforcement to Corran's already rigid beliefs. Stubbornness and virtue worked in tandem. Every insult against him brought up things he could bring against her. Going rogue and getting captured by the Sith; the very enemies she claimed to cleverly battle. Hiding away for immense time while others continued to serve without rest. How she broke rules to combat the Red Sabers and yet they remained stronger than ever. Lieutenant Aran trumpeted a galaxy where laws and codes meant little. Where the lines between chaos and order blurred.

The blond ranger could have retorted with all these things but refused. Trys was a hero despite her flaws and respect would not easily be surrendered over harsh words. He waited for her to take a few steps beyond before following behind her at an even pace. Following immediately may have been construed as a challenge or rising in anger against her. Lieutenant Velt felt little fury. He just disagreed. A patient, thoughtful voice broke the chasm of silence after a short while. "If we give up the codes of conduct, rules, and oaths we swore by, then I think we become just another Syndicate with different colors." Succinct and all that really needed to be said. There may yet come a time where the laws that defined the Sector Rangers became shackles. But not here. At least, not yet.

Corran jogged a little to catch up to Trys, going past her, before turning around to start walking backwards. "Come on. I'll take you back to Coruscant, or wherever else you want to go. Free of charge." He tossed a thumb over his own shoulder with a boyish smirk. The blond, young man turned back around kept on the path back towards the starport. Working with the Sith Hunter had been an experience. Unfortunately not a successful one and he was pretty certain she'd never want to see his face ever again. But he'd be star-struck for weeks to come.

//END THREAD

@Sreeya