Ask Outran No Longer

[Corran Velt]

Aboard the Sector Ranger Mobile Headquarters ship Lighthouse
Meeting Room 02, 1900 Hours Shipboard Standard Time​

Lieutenant Velt had sent a request to meet to her personal terminal earlier in the week. Something to make it not look urgent. To the recipient, nothing would seem out of the ordinary. As mentor and fresh recruit, they met often. To study laws, regulations, and codes of conduct. Practice non-lethal take-downs, blaster drills, and investigative thought-exercises. An extra hour slated into her schedule could have been anything. Corran had called it for something of much more consequence.

Meeting Room 02 was one of many such rooms aboard the Lighthouse. It was not an interrogation room or a jail cell. Designed to accommodate everything from interviews to professional, private, discussions, the rooms held a single table with four chairs around it. In the middle of the table were various connections for datapads. Two such devices sat side-by-side on the side of the table where Corran stood. There was only one doorway in or out. Everything else about the room was grey and steel - a testament to the ad-hoc structure of a ship made for war but utilized now for administration and policing.

For his part, the blond ranger had styled himself in the usual rigid style. His jacket was secured up the collar. Undershirt tucked into practical pants that they themselves were tucked into polished boots. A close-cropped beard adorned his face. Eyes once sky-blue were overcast to a dull grey. Only small flicks of blue dotted here and there; impossible to witness unless up-close. Here he stood, on the side of the table with his back to the door, awaiting the arrival of someone he had gone great lengths to recruit. They had much to discuss.

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

As she walked through the administration wing of the Lighthouse, Rylee noted just how quiet it was at this time in the evening. There was still the odd ranger milling about, but most aboard the ship would likely have clocked off, gone to the canteen for dinner or retired to their quarters. Ranger Asuchi on the other hand had been requested to meet her superior officer, Lieutenant Velt in one of the meeting rooms. It was nothing out of the ordinary, they'd met up on a whim plenty of times before, so the Pantoran thought nothing much of it. Corran probably just wanted to run through laws on freighter licences again before dinner or something.

Rylee knocked on the door to Meeting Room 02 before entering, a sign of the discipline instilled in her during her time with the military back home. Unlike when she was working in the field, the Pantoran was wearing attire more fitting for Sector Ranger office work; a white blouse tucked into a black pencil skirt with black tights and a pair of black heeled shoes. Her ID badge was pinned to the breast of her blouse and she was carrying two small bottles of juice; a little pick me up for the pair of them after a hard day's work and to tide them both over before dinner that evening. Whatever the lieutenant wanted to talk about, she hoped it would not take too long because there was a meal in the canteen with her name on it.

"Did somebody order a Pantoran Hot?" she said with a smirk, striding into the room, placing a bottle of the juice down on the table and gently sliding it across in Corran's direction, "Sorry, forgot to bring the side order of wings. Looks like I won't be getting a tip."

Lt. Velt had his back to the door, clearly having been waiting for her to arrive. Rylee simply pulled out a chair and plonked herself down, twisting the cap off her drink and taking a sip. "So what can I do you for on this fine evening lieutenant, sir" she said before giving a playful salute.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

A knock on the door signaled the time had arrived. Rylee had retained the punctuality of her military career. "Enter," replied a monotoned voice. The Pantoran strode in with two bottles of juice. He didn't even look at her as she made her way to the opposite end of the table. Her usual quips causing no eyeroll or sigh of annoyance. Overcast eyes only followed the gliding of a container of juice towards him before returning to the datapads. Unlike Rylee, the lieutenant did not take a seat and remained standing at his full height.

"Your background check came back, Ranger Asuchi," the blond ranger began, picking up one of the datapads and reading the contents, "It's immaculate. Several commendations in combat. Salutes of valor from your squadron. Winning the Pantoran Military pageant for charity. It's hard to doubt that you were an exemplary soldier and officer." He paused for a moment, then set the first datapad down. This next part he could do from memory. "Since joining the Rangers, you've continued that trend. Rescuing the crew of the Guidance, and myself. Providing invaluable service during the Kath Hound investigations. Participating in the Utapau evacuation. That's only the start of a promising career." Grey-cloaked eyes remained steadily on the Pantoran. No glimmer of pride shown in them but no malice either. Just... nothing.

Wordlessly, Corran picked up the second datapad and pressed a few buttons as he spoke, "I took the time to look through some of your old missions. Just out of curiosity. Lots of fancy flying, high speed, high aggression. In my own experience, that's your calling-card." Memories flashed like the blaster fire in the dark. Rylee shooting two pirates dead in the mess hall of a down carrier. Quick-drawing the a fleeing smuggler in the back. Her physical swiftness on the bridge of the Guidance. For awhile, Corran's attention was kept entirely on the datapad screen. His gaze moving from one side to the other, then resetting, as if reading rapidly just as information appeared.

Finally, overcast eyes glanced up to the former fighter pilot. "There was one mission that stuck out to me. ORSG Deliverer-2. Captured by raiders of unknown affiliation. No survivors. ORSG Deliverer-2 liberated with cargo content listed as 'lost in action.' Freighter too damaged to return to Outer Rim Shipping Guild. Scrapped and proceeds given to the company. Sound familiar, Ranger Asuchi?" Lieutenant Velt's tone was even, flat, and indifferent. As if asking about the weather.

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Rylee tended to be quite chipper and joked around a lot. Having been part of a tightly knit squadron in her previous career, her colleagues had almost felt like family and that institutionalised comradeship would likely never leave her. It was why, although she was now "the new girl" in the Sector Rangers, her character did not change. However, it dawned on the Pantoran very quickly that something was not quite right here. Lt. Velt had always at least tolerated her behaviour, whether it was arrogance, narcissism, even disobedience at times. He would occasionally joke back with her but would normally roll his eyes or shake his head disapprovingly, but this time she got nothing. Everything about him was not who Rylee was used to seeing - not the man she had befriended.

Corran's voice was monotone. His face was expressionless. He remained standing, rigid, whilst she made herself comfortable. The man did not even turn to look at her when she entered the room and when he finally did, his eyes just looked... empty. Their striking blue colour was not matched by the dwindling fire behind them. Taking another sip of her drink, Rylee's own golden eyes squinted slightly at him, a visible sign that the lieutenant would be able to tell she knew something was up and was trying to figure out what. The way he was looking at her did not give the impression they would be revising freighter licencing laws this evening.

Lt. Velt began talking. It was formal - very impersonal - though nothing she was not used to, but that was back when she was in the military, reporting to high ranking officers. This was not the way Corran usually spoke to her, even if he was a stickler for process and policy. The inflections, the tone, it was all different. He began by explaining that her background check had returned - it was all good news so Rylee's mind was still trying to figure out what could possibly be the issue. The lieutenant began listing off her achievements with the rangers thus far. Normally she would have chipped in with a joking, self-congratulatory comment, but not this time. She would let the man speak. The former Squadron Leader had been in situations like this before. Better to wait and see what was being leveled at you before talking.

The blonde haired man, now sporting a beard, then began to talk of her service record, her old missions completed in service to her homeworld of Pantora. She was a pilot by trade, of course there would be plenty of fancy flying, but the comment about aggression stuck. Her "calling card". The words he used made it clear he was leading up to something, but what that was she would find out soon enough. Lt. Velt then brought up ORSG Deliverer-2. It was not a ship she remembered by name alone but his description matched that of countless similar that would likely have been found on the service records of Rylee and her squadron. The Pantoran's brow furrowed and her stomach started to sink. She had a feeling she knew where this conversation was going and she did not like it, but for now, she had to wait, she had to know what this was all about. Why he had really called her here.

"We intercepted a lot of ships in my time there lieutenant, you can't expect me to remember the name of every single one" she said. Her tone remained civil and conversational. She did not display any hint of annoyance at the question. Rylee would remain calm and play things cool for now. "But yes, I certainly do remember having to report dead crews and missing cargo. We were in the Outer Rim, plenty of pirates operate out there and the Pantoran Assembly had us patrol the sector to report on things and maintain order. There's very few rangers out there doing it, if you recall..."

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

It was often hard to tell what was defiance, hubris, ignorance, or cunning when it came to Rylee Asuchi. She had mastered all the interpersonal skills of a soldier to survive pressure from officers and grumbles from the enlisted. Her calm could have been out of strategic patience, to draw out what really was at play here, or playing oblivious to avoid being pinned down to anything specific. Corran observed her with unmoving features during her whole reply. "Yes. I do recall. Your squadron was deployed quite often and often pretty far afield at times," he said placidly, referencing their first meet.

"As for your other launches," Lieutenant Velt started again, glancing down at the datapad in hand only briefly, "Do you remember the RSCS Longrow? Seized by pirates. No survivors. Cargo 'lost in action.' WTCS Herald. Captured by pirates. No survivors. Cargo 'destroyed in combat.'" An overcast gaze searched Rylee for any visible hint of reaction.
"BVSS Solar. Pirates. No survivors. Cargo lost.
CLLS Duchess. Pirates. No survivors. Cargo lost.
MMTS Tempest. Pirates. No Survivors. Cargo lost
HTSS Longrider. Pirates. No Survivors. Cargo lost."

On and on the blond ranger went, listing off ships repetitiously. His voice never wavered or elevated. It remained even and uninterrupted. A factory assembly line laying out her squadron's recorded past. Finally the datapad rejoined its twin on the table and Corran raised an eyebrow to the woman he recruited. "There's a pattern there. Too frequent to be discounted. So I looked into it myself." At first, it could've been chalked up to Asuchi's penchant for quick and fast aggression against hostiles. Military forces didn't have to take prisoners, after all. They did no investigative work, built no cases. Problems were removed with blaster fire and that was that. It was the cargo that struck the former space trader.

Raiders captured ships for what was in their holds. Things inherently valuable or to resell their goods on the black market. They'd risk any short of their lives for the ships they worked so hard to ensnare. All that cargo destroyed? It was either reckless on Rylee's part or something wasn't as it seemed. "Some of those transports were big bulk haulers. Yet when their cargo was destroyed, there was no panic-buying on Pantora. No rush to purchase medicines, foodstuffs, clothing, or even luxury goods. Prices remained steady. Public financial reports from the shipping companies displayed no urgency. The supply lines appeared unimpeded." Corran walked up to the edge of the table, using it as a barrier between the two rangers. He slid the second datapad towards Rylee. She'd be able to see all the information for herself, if she so chose.

None of the skills of investigation or training in combat led Lieutenant Velt to his conclusions. It was his job before the Sector Rangers that provided all the hunches. A former space trader didn't pin Rylee with clues and evidence, but with logistics. His jaw shifted from one side to the other, as if chewing stone. "What happened to the cargo, Ranger Asuchi?"

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Something about this conversation was taking Rylee back to years beyond her time in the military. It was Corran's placid response to her comment about the lack of rangers operating near her homeworld. If she had made a criticism like this to her superior officer in the Pantoran army, a criticism of the organisation she worked for, the response would have been a ferocious defense of leadership and strategy. The way her mentor had responded reminded her more of school, being spoken to by a teacher or one of her parents. It was more even-handed and accepting, yet there was still a little bite at the end of it. He had spoken of how far afield the Pantorans were sent on patrol. In truth, this had nothing to do with Rylee or her squadron, she was simply assigned to a patrol and expected to scout the areas outlined to her by headquarters. It was the part that came next which gave the woman greater cause for concern.

The lieutenant reeled off a list of ships. A very long list. Every single one met the same fate. All captured by pirates. All the pirates ended up dead. All the cargo was lost. He kept reading for what already felt like hours but it must only have been about a minute. At hearing all the names, the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach grew. She knew where this was going. Her initial hunch from his mention of ORSG Deliverer-2 appeared to be right. The only thing was, she still did not know exactly what Corran was going to say about this. Rylee tried to keep calm, remain composed, continuing to listen, but silent for now as she let Lt. Velt say his piece.

Corran was totally right. The pattern was much too frequent to be a coincidence. Rylee herself knew this. She had known it prior to agreeing to join the rangers. The vigilante justice she had brought against the pirates in that sector would not have gone unnoticed forever and Lt. Velt had offered her a legitimate way of channeling her energies and doing good for the people of the galaxy. He had given her a way out, a life line, and Rylee had taken it because she knew things had gone too far. She had to get out of the cycle she herself had created in her grief over Chari's death.

The bearded lieutenant turned the conversation specifically towards the cargo. He was quick to point out the lack of disruption in the supply lines despite the fact all these ships had been hijacked. Pirates would have made off with their ill-gotten gains and either used it for themselves or sold it on the black market. If the cargo truly had been lost there would have been a surge in demand on the other end as the goods would never have arrived. Then the question came to her direct - cold and impersonal.

"There's no point in me pretending I don't know where it went" she sighed heavily. Rylee did not once look at the datapad he had thrown down before her, choosing only to watch his face, "You're a skilled detective, you've clearly done your research, and you would know that there was some disruption to the supply lines. Space trading companies do not just write off shipments and their intended customers do not forget about what they have ordered."

The Pantoran sat forward in her chair. Lt. Velt would be able to tell from her body language now that her hot-shot pilot persona, all that confidence, was not there anymore. It had been replaced by vulnerability. Though he might not have known it, but Rylee respected Lt. Velt. He was a decorated and highly professional man. He was thorough, he was precise and even though she made jibes to him when he was trying to teach her things, she appreciated his ability to abide by policy and procedure, because she too had been trained to be that way during military service. It had only been in recent times when things had gone off track, after Chari died. She was only even with the rangers because of Corran. The purple haired woman with the golden eyes did not want to lie or hide things from the man she considered a friend.

"The cargo was reported as lost. The shipping companies would send new shipments to fill customer orders... The cargo, we... I... took it back to Pantora with me. There were people at home that really needed help. Poor, starving people, and all I wanted to do was help them..." she said. Her eyes, still focused on Lt. Velt's face, actually started to tear up. Rylee had not expected her to descend so far, so quickly. Maybe it was relief that someone had found out this secret. Maybe it was fear that she did not know why Corran was bringing this up, and what he intended to do, but the usually cool, flashy, Ranger Asuchi was crumbling before his eyes.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

There was no outcry. No gnashing of teeth. No furious rebuttal. The woman's outer layer of bravado shed off of her as she sat forward in her seat. Corran's features remained as granite but his thoughts were processing what he observed. Rylee's headstrong pride had vanished and that alone confused him. He thought that was her. He'd rarely seen anything else but bright flashes of confidence and military retorts. This person beneath the surface was unarmored. Despite that, amber eyes still met his without hesitation.

Gut instinct, honed with years of investigative experience, was certain the cargo had been absconded. What happened to it after being taken from the holds was less obvious. There had been a few theories. Split up among the squadron to augment their pay with loot. Sold on the black market with credits hidden in Hutt Space banks. Maybe even retained as personal belongings. What Ranger Asuchi claimed was something he hadn't even thought of. Charity.

A cause so selfless that it didn't seem honest. Silently, without expression, dulled eyes took in all of the Pantoran's unspoken admissions. How she sat. The changes in her face. Tears welling in her golden eyes. Corran stared into those eyes and to Rylee he would seem like he was teleported somewhere else. His being remained but his presence gone. Those golden eyes. Wet with grief. White strands of hair curtaining her face. She said their love had been manipulation. A calculated mechanism to protect herself. A falsehood. A lie.

Why did the women in his life always lie?

Lieutenant Velt blinked back to the room. His barely lit eyes were now darkened. Shadowed with distrust. "Tell me the truth," he commanded in a grave tone. Rylee had hidden all this from him. Slaughter and theft. Deception from the start. She had a chance to come clean at Outpost Blue. During her background check. He had to dig it up and pull the muck of her past to the light. If she had gone to such lengths to hide it all, why did she think Corran would accept a false confession so easily?

"Why did you do it?" The blond man's voice was as empty as an ice cavern. Cold, devoid of all life and warmth. His stare unmoving and concrete.

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

A single tear rolled down her blue cheek. It ran down over the golden marking on her face that symbolised status back on her homeworld and then dropped into her lap. Rylee's bright eyes did not leave Lt. Velt's face, but if she had begun to crumble already the reaction she got from him almost broke her. The look in his eyes, that had seemed so different on first seeing him that evening changed again. Darkness overcame them when he looked at her. His next words confirmed what his eyes portrayed - he thought her a liar. A lump began to form in the Pantoran's throat as her heart leapt into her mouth. That sinking feeling in her stomach gave way and she felt as though a dagger were being plunged into her chest.

"I'm telling you the truth!" she cried, tears now forming and falling more rapidly. Rylee may have neglected to tell Corran about this part of her past, but she had not lied about anything she had told him about it. What he had uncovered was a secret known only to Rylee and her squadron. He may have felt deceived, which the former Squadron Leader could understand, though even then, the woman's intentions had not been to use him specifically for personal gain. She had been genuinely trying to turn herself down a better path than the one she had found herself on. The only thing she could think to do, to even have some way back now, was to tell him everything.

"Doing this job, you must have seen, must know just how many horrible, violent and nasty scumbags there are out there. People who prey on innocent, unsuspecting people who are just trying to get by in life, trying their best to make ends meet, provide for their families, their loved ones... The people we killed - they were all criminals - they..." her throat felt like it was closing up. She was about to tell the lieutenant something that nobody, save for her squadron, knew. This time the Pantoran had to break eye contact. On the memories resurfacing she raised her hands to her face and actually started sobbing. There wasn't anything controlled about it, and it was a far cry from the woman that Corran saw day to day. From behind her hands, desperately trying to wipe away the tears, she continued talking as best she could. "Criminals murdered somebody I... somebody I loved and never got the chance to tell..."

Rylee looked from behind her fingers, felt around to see if she could find a tissue to help with the waterfall of tears, but struck out and did not suspect that the lieutenant would show her any sympathy. She was now scared that whatever she told him, no matter how true, that he wouldn't trust her, but the only option she had left now was to try.

"He... was on patrol when bounty hunters opened fire on his ship... they were fleeing, being chased because they had sprung a dangerous convict from a nearby prison facility and were trying to force their way out of the sector. I wasn't there to help him, to save him... if I had been maybe I could have changed things..." she sobbed. It would have been clear to the lieutenant that this was in fact, genuine pain. Whatever he thought of Rylee for not telling him about all of this, she was not so cold and calculating that she could fake these emotions. The loss of the boy she had loved had filled her with great remorse. She could not have saved his life, no matter what she thought, and she never had told him how she really felt about him. Rylee would regret that for the rest of her life.

"After he died... something changed. I couldn't just sit there and watch these villains get away with what they were doing. Patrols would arrest many of them, but there are so many criminals in the Outer Rim its impossible to stop them all. Jailing them wasn't enough... Chari died because those murderers helped another criminal escape... We... all felt the same way... so we decided to do something about it..." sniffed the Pantoran, her eyes now red from crying, "Outside campaigns we would be assigned patrols... like the one where we met. Headquarters would inform us of any suspicious or criminal activity and I would instruct my squadron to intercept the ships... All of them, the ones you named..." Rylee waved a finger at the datapad Corran had thrown down. "We would breach the ships... then terminate the crew... We thought it was all they deserved... they killed and they stole from traders, they deprived and extorted the less fortunate... it did not matter to them who they hurt... and we figured it was doing the galaxy a favour..." at these words, she felt an overwhelming sense of shame. It was of course, not her place to be the judge, the jury and the executioner. To take law into her own hands and stoop to their level.

"When we secured the ships... we took them back home to Pantora. We did not fulfill the orders of the shipping companies because headquarters would have impounded the cargo and the ships as evidence and we knew there were people suffering who really needed what we were suddenly able to provide..." she said, and for the first time since she started sobbing, the vulnerable woman looked up at the man she hoped she could still consider a friend, tears still stinging her eyes, "You might not believe me... but it's the truth, Corran..."

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Rylee's outbursts were a torrential storm. Long pent up and finally releasing into the world she chose. Her tears flowed and justifications bubbled out of her. Waves and wind slammed against Corran but he was an endurable edifice of an empty man. Unmoved by her displays of emotion. She unintentionally clawed at wounds still unhealed, forcing visions of another woman who wasn't here. Who would never be here. Her golden eyes cried too. They mattered little when he was exiled from her sight - already replaced. The blond ranger had heard countless motives for unsanctioned killing. Jealousy, stress, insanity, ideology, resources, and his personal favorite, revenge. He knew the scum of the galaxy in all their worst forms but the Rangers were not executioners. Sometimes they had to kill, to save themselves or the lives of others, but not at first instinct. The Pantoran's reasoning was one Corran had heard over and over. They were worse than us and so we murdered them.

Lieutenant Velt had heard enough when sobbing woman seated before him covered her face. The guilty always tried to shield themselves from consequences. He reached behind his back grab the stun-cuffs hidden away on his belt. What the Pantoran Assembly would do to a soldier who technically completed their mission but gave away already 'lost' cargo was unclear. All he knew was that Ranger Asuchi needed to be detained, escorted to the brig, and dropped off the proper authorities on her homeworld. His sympathies for a woman he trusted had ran dry. There was almost nothing that could be uttered to prevent -

Corran's grip froze on the stun-cuffs. Clenched but unmoving. The words echoed deep within his hollow being. "...Somebody I loved and never got the chance to tell..."He mouthed the words silently, "...Tell them goodbye." One by one, fingers loosened around the cuffs and the hand glacially returned to his side. Tension drained out of his shoulders and hostility vented out of the room. Rylee was tortured by the only emotion he could understand. Pain. Real pain.

The tale was one of common circumstances, cruel twists of fate, and two futures destroyed. One in the icy grip of death and the other forced to live with their passing. The Pantoran confessed everything. Why it started, how they did it, and dark convictions. A revenge enacted over and over again but the pain remained. The towering tsunamis of emotion crashed again and again with unrelenting force against the empty man's edifice. It all was so... familiar. In his youth, after the murder of his father, or 'accident', a teenage Corran had rushed off to Mon Gazza to seize his own revenge. It ended in him blooded and beaten and no closer to his goal. That same sense of loss led him to the Sector Rangers. The pain of a lost lover was a more recent lashing.

Amber eyes rose from their shield to meet his overcast stare. The dull eyes lit up to their usual blue for only a moment, an afterglow of a firework in the night sky, before receding back to their grey pallor. Corran realized he couldn't detain her. They were too alike.

His hand silently rose to his face, eyes closing gently. Fingers slid across the scar that ran up the middle of his nose. A quiet sigh escaped him and grey eyes opened once more. "Have you done anything like this since enlisting with the Rangers?" Corran asked, his voice a quiet rain. The edifice had cracked. Instead of the frigid ice, his aura had weakened to a tired breeze. Rylee would see the change as the man awaited her reply.

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

The Pantoran's reddened, tear filled eyes now remained on the lieutenant. He sighed, running a lone finger across the scar on his bearded face. Rylee was unaware that Lt. Velt had gone for his stun cuffs having been weeping into her hands, so consumed by guilt, grief and panic. She felt like her whole life was crashing down around her. Despite not having seen this action however, the former Squadron Leader knew full well that her mentor in the rangers was a man who played by the rules and was under no false illusions that he would most likely have her removed from the organisation and locked up for her actions. But in among those feelings of pain there was something else, something new. Rylee did not want the lieutenant to lose faith in her, to feel deceived or betrayed, for them to have bad blood between them. It was an additional layer of shame upon everything she already felt in that moment.

"N-no..." she stuttered, for perhaps the first time the two had known each other, "I... I chose to join the rangers because... I wanted to make up for what I'd done. Over time, I came to realise it was not right, that it was not going to bring Chari back, that I needed to stop and channel my feelings, my thoughts, my energy into something where I could still make a difference, but in the right way..."

Wiping the tears from her eyes, smudging what remained of the eye shadow which now stained her cheeks, the purple haired woman crossed both arms around her ribs, in an attempt to somehow console herself, fearing that she was now alone.

"You were my salvation... when you offered me a chance to join the rangers, you gave me an opportunity to leave the past behind, stop the viscous cycle of revenge attempting to quell the grief that I felt... the grief that I still feel in my aching heart..." she sniffed, squeezing her arms around herself. She looked tired and broken, unlike any previous times the pair had met. "If you've ever wondered why I insisted on you teaching me... it's because you are a model of how a person can stand by their convictions, whilst still having the restraint and self-discipline to abide by the rules. I thought you could save me... and now I realise that you must think me a traitor, a liar, a fraud... I swear to you Corran, the second I told you I was enlisting was the end of it and I..." The woman choked up again, new tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "My intention was never to deceive you... I just... how was I meant to tell you?..."

Letting go of herself Rylee slumped forwards in her chair, sobbing uncontrollably once more. The Pantoran's life was now in the hands of Lt. Velt. If his demeanor had changed, she had not seen it in her state of sorrow. She could only hope that he would have mercy, but was not expecting any at this point.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Corran's colorless gaze gave no indication of his thoughts. Rylee usually carried such imposing swagger that her current state made it seem like someone else entirely sat in her chair. The stuttering, the stream of tears, and the vulnerability. The Unknown Regions were more charted than this side of the former soldier. Although she did not know it, she had found a clearing in the twisted forest of lieutenant's psyche. Rylee had already seen the need for change. Joining the Sector Rangers to seek redemption and chart a new path was once step better than what he did. Seeds of sympathy began to nestle among the vines and rocks of his own doubt.

A quiet echo of remorse reverberated in the hollow man's gut as the Pantoran smeared the tears from her eyes and made herself smaller. That feeling bounced off the dark rocks of his conscience before fading away. He had started down this path and had to see it through to the end. Corran's features remained a machine, unflinching and blank.

Salvation. That word almost made him scoff. Almost. A word so foreign that it must have been said in Trandoshan. The blond man had encased himself in a sunless cavern of his own making. After the torment of the past few weeks, he wasn't even sure he could save himself, much less anyone. Yet Rylee went on. Citing virtues that were unrecognizable to him. How could such a flawed, mortal man be seen this way? Chief Hudson and even his own lover had measured Corran and found him wanting.

Ranger Asuchi curled herself into a ball and sobs began anew. To see someone so proud brought so low. These emotions felt real, even as they battered off the cracked edifice of the stone-faced man. Thieves, cutthroats, and black market dealers had all attempted to beg and cry their way out of consequences. But when faced with real, true remorse, Corran was disarmed of what to do. He tilted his head downward, shadows covering his eyes.

With rigid movements, Lieutenant Velt's hand slipped into the inside of his jacket, near his heart. It retrieved something from an inside pocket and a cloth handkerchief appeared in front of the crying woman. He could never endure the tears. "You could have told me from the start," Corran said in a dry rasp. The hand that had delivered the handkerchief gripped the back of the chair that sat opposite Rylee. He took a seat and the disciplined, rigid form shucked off. Lieutenant Velt slouched, actually slouched, in a rare display of his exhaustion.

Before the Pantoran sat a man who truly looked worn down. Weathered, beaten, and on the edge of defeat. Yet he clung on. Empty eyes stared at a blank spot on the table. A short inhale was followed by a lasting exhale. "I'm not going to detain you, Ranger Asuchi."

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Rylee sat there, bawling into her hands. At this point she looked a state. Her hands, her face, and even parts of her clothing were covered in a mix of tears and running makeup. Her eyes were red, her throat was hoarse and she just looked haggard. Those golden eyes peered up over her blue fingers to see an unexpected, but welcome sight. Lt. Velt dangled his cloth handkerchief before her. In her state of vulnerability, the Pantoran looked at him, uncertain why, after everything she had just said, he would do her the favour of offering his own handkerchief. Not wanting to look a gift Fathier in the mouth, Rylee gratefully accepted it and began to mop at the tears that still fell from her eyes. She became self-conscious using his handkerchief, realising that it was becoming stained with the deep blue and black colours of her makeup. It was somehow symbolical. The usual, confident, swaggering Ranger Asuchi had been washed away with the tears and left behind this raw, exposed, vulnerable woman that now sat before Lt. Velt.

"I've been living with this pain, this grief and the guilt that has come with it for years..." she croaked, sniffing as she continued to wipe away her tears, "I was scared... I still am scared that you wouldn't believe me if I came clean. I know after everything you've learned you don't have any reason to trust me, to even want to have any association with me, but those things I did... I really did have good intentions. I thought I was helping people... making the galaxy a little bit safer... providing aid to people who were truly suffering... making sure that... Chari's death was not for nothing..."

Her purple lips were quivering. She looked so sad. Rylee recalled that the last time she was in this state of emotional turmoil was the night she heard of Chari's passing.

"I have a good heart, lieutenant... I will do anything to prove it..." she said, sighing into Corran's handkerchief as she wiped what must have almost been the last of her makeup from her face. Her eyes were all puffy from crying and even her breathing was a little shaky. Looking over at the lieutenant. He had now taken a seat, but unlike any previous time they had spent together, the blonde haired man was not sat in his usual professional, disciplined posture. He was slouching. He looked absolutely exhausted. Rylee wondered what was going through his mind. She could understand if he was disappointed, angry or hurt with her, but for the first time during this meeting it felt like there was something more at play here than met the eye. The man looked plagued, but whether it was all because of Rylee, the Pantoran could not tell.

What the bearded ranger said next came as a true shock to the broken woman opposite him. He was not going to arrest her. Confusion appeared in her sore eyes.

"You... what?" she asked in disbelief, "You... aren't?" Of course, Rylee did not want to be locked up and the key thrown away. She did not want her life to be over, but her mind was now full of questions. After everything she'd explained, why would a man like Corran Velt, a consummate professional, decide not to detain her?

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Helping people. Making the galaxy a bit safer. Aid to those suffering. Avenging Chari, this man's death. Good intentions. The road to Hell was paved with good intentions. Those excuses had been repeated one way or another but trillions of beings over the course of the past 100 years for the things they did. Preef Callo even cloaked himself in noble ends as he shot people to death on galactic holonet. If the lieutenant had the energy, he would have chastised those choices. Ethics were not his strong suit. The law was his guide and the actions of Rylee and her squadron were questionable at best.

Yet he understood the three emotions she spoke of first better than any others. Pain, grief, and guilt. More so than the bare-faced woman seated across from him likely realized. How convincing they could be as they enwrapped their chains around your limbs, pulling you into the watery depths. So deep where sunlight couldn't reach. Down there, right and wrong were impossible to discern. Corran pressed on his temple with two fingers before settling them on the table edge. "You're going to prove more than the character of your heart," he finally said with a fatigued rasp.

Dulled, blue-grey eyes stared down the Pantoran woman. Lieutenant Velt's whole body screamed sapped and weary. His square shoulders slouched downward. His arms slung loose, only held up by the table. Breaths were shallow as his broad chest barely rose and fell. It was as if metric ton of invisible durasteel weighed down on him. But his eyes. His eyes contained an endurable quality even if they had lost their noted vibrancy. Corran raised a finger from a curled hand and pointed it at Rylee, "We all serve time for the mistakes we've made. Some go to prison. Some bear it in exile." The man's iron gaze squinted for a brief moment. "Others make amends through service."

It was not a new offer unique to her. Others who wished to change or break free of their past had been extended the same opportunity. A former ganger from the underbelly of Coruscant. A mob-doctor who wanted to break the chains of her youth. Himself. The accusing finger curled back into the fist seated at the edge of the table. "You'll make up for your mistakes by working as a Ranger. Following the rules to the letter. Bringing in evidence, capturing criminals, and providing aid and justice where you can." Officially, if anyone ever found out, it would be the usual parade of excuses. Sector Rangers needed more manpower, turning away good recruits, she'd done good work, no evidence of wrong-doing. None of those really mattered to him in his decision. Corran understood pain and the drives it championed. No one had offered him a hand at a second chance. He would for Rylee.

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

So there it was. The lieutenant had decided that her fate was not to be locked in a jail cell but to repent for her crimes through service. Rylee felt immense shame. This was not only a black mark on her record, it was a black mark against her as a person. The man who looked at her from over the other side of the table no longer looked at her the same way and she would have to work a thousand times harder to prove that she was not the person he believed her to be now. It was a mistake, caused by the grief of losing someone she loved, but one the Pantoran would still have to live with. Just because Lt. Velt now knew, did not make the guilt and the pain go away. There was no relief. In fact, Rylee only felt worse about herself and what she had done. It had now affected someone else that she had not intended. Her friend.

"You won't regret giving me this chance, Corran... uh... Lt. Velt... sir..." she sniffed, stumbling over her words. Rylee wanted the man opposite her to understand that she was not only talking in a professional capacity, but in regard to their friendship too, hence why she had used his name but then reverted to his rank, thinking he may not appreciate her attempt at trying to speak to him on a personal level. Looking at those overcast eyes, she had no idea what he truly thought of her now. "I promise that I will repay this debt to you... you have my word, for whatever it's worth to you now..." she said, not knowing if any of her words meant anything anymore.

Through all the pain, one good thing seemed to happen. Lt. Velt's second chance gave Rylee an opportunity. It was an opportunity that she was determined to take. The Pantoran would make the effort to do just as the lieutenant had said. Follow the rules to the letter. Bring in evidence. Capture criminals. Provide aid and justice. And she would work with him as much as possible to do it. To her mind, for her to achieve this goal, there was nobody better to learn from than Lt. Velt. After all, she had insisted on him tutoring her before for a reason.

"I'm... sorry about your handkerchief" she said, holding it up. It was covered in her makeup and tears. "I'll have it washed and returned to you for our next study session..." This was a HUGE assumption, but one the Pantoran designed so that she knew where she stood with Lt. Velt after their meeting this evening. She needed to know if he was still invested in her, or if he would be casting her aside as part of her sentence. The last thing she wanted now was for him to shut her out and to be denied the opportunity to prove to her friend and mentor that she kept her promises, repaid her debts and was worth knowing.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

The lieutenant's eyes lifted upon hearing his first name. Empty as they were, they still met the red, puffy, golden ones opposite them. Addressing a superior officer casually in a more-than-serious meeting like this would have been ill-advised to say the least. An immediate correction would have been expected to maintain authority for a review of such unethical conduct. Two things stayed Corran's hand. He simply didn't have the strength. Gigantic chains of guilt, doubt, and self-disdain bound him. And the other... Rylee was a friend. They had met before any chain of command existed between them. The Pantoran even saved his life. Those duel forces kept him seated and unresponsive to her stuttered plea.

It would be a lie to say that this whole affair, the background investigation, the discovery of the missing cargo, confession of crimes, and the sobbing surrender, hadn't wounded the blond man. It just felt muted among the rest. A stab wound next to a gaping whole in the chest. Rylee's word retained a questionable value, like Republic credits on Nal Hutta. Not zero, but unsure of the bargain. Her word was all she had left to spend anyway. Corran would have to take it and hope their value would rise with time and promise. "I'll hold you to that, Ranger Asuchi," he gestured tiredly to the ship around them, "The whole organization will hold you to that."

The former soldier held up a handkerchief smudged with mascara, eye shadow, and tears. It had been a simple cloth he kept on him for just basic tidiness throughout the day. Now it held all the visible regrets of a whole person. Corran blinked at it for a beat before huffing in amusement through his nose. He gave her a small wave, "You don't need to apologize for that. It's what it's for." Having it cleaned and returned was an unexpected offer for such an insignificant thing. A kindness not quite expected.

What Ranger Auschi followed that offer with actually made the slouching lieutenant sit up a little. Next study session? When confronted with their crimes and facing consequences, people often shrunk in the face of their accusers. To avoid things that made you feel bad was to be sentient. Corran himself was a living example; he avoided nearly everything that mentioned or hinted at the past few weeks if he could help it. That proved harder than first wished. Yet Rylee was not crawling away with profuse excuses. She was getting back up and trying again.

"Are you... sure?" Lieutenant Velt asked with a subdued, quizzical look, "I won't go easy on you. And I won't judge you for working with other units or Rangers."

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

It was strange. Despite Lt. Velt looking utterly exhausted, drained and who knew what other emotions regarding what he had learned about Rylee that evening, and although the Pantoran herself was equally tired from the emotional weight of the subject matter and feeling very sorry for herself, a conversation about a handkerchief seemed to return the atmosphere in the room towards a more normal state. The lieutenant did not laugh, but her offer of cleaning it for him elicited a huff of amusement from him. Rylee blinked, a little shocked, but retracted the wet cloth, folded it up neatly and placed it on her lap. She had not been joking, even if the blonde ranger found it funny, he would receive his handkerchief back in pristine condition.

Her mention of the study session got an even bigger reaction from the man who had seemed so cold for the majority of their time in Meeting Room 02. He sat up in his chair. This shift in body language was easy enough to read. He was giving this serious consideration. The female Pantoran sat there across from him, her knees pressed together under her pencil skirt, her hands folded over the handkerchief that now sat in her lap. Her golden eyes, surrounded by sore and puffy lids, watched the bearded man opposite as she waited for final confirmation. She fully expected him to dismiss the idea of future lessons outright. But he didn't. Lt. Velt asked her instead if she was sure she wanted to continue.

"I'm absolutely certain, lieutenant" she said, her voice still hoarse from all the crying, "I believed that you were the man who could set me on the right path again and that has not changed. If anything this conversation here today has only strengthened that opinion... I don't want to be transferred to a different unit, I will take whatever you throw at me and I will prove to you, that Rylee Asuchi repays her debts, keeps her promises and is above all else, a good person worth knowing... I will clear my name, make no mistake about that..."

Those golden eyes met Corran's blue ones. Though his seemed sunken and grey, there was a renewed fire behind hers. The former soldier was not just going to roll over and let this destroy her. She would do what all warriors did. Fight. This struggle may not be on a battlefield, but it was something she was determined to overcome. Besides, in any normal situation, Rylee was not about to let Corran Velt get out of teaching her that easily.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Oaths meant a great deal to Corran Velt. Where laws were decided upon by committee, legislatures, monarchs, autocrats, or governors, oaths were sacred pacts between people. Their own personal law that was only maintained by their individual virtues. There had never been a promise he made that ended up broken. Rylee was crafting her own oath to make amends for the secrets she'd kept. Corran's gaze remained transfixed on her, observing any tinges of doubt. Second-guessing of the promises being made. Impressively, hesitation was no where to be seen. Golden eyes lit anew with visible determination.

The bearded man tapped the edge of the table with his index finger, weighing the the scales between what she swore and what she'd done. Corran had seen that look before on the Pantoran's face. If her personal honor was in question, her stubbornness was not. Rylee's pride wouldn't let her back down from this. The lieutenant signed through his nose, "You set yourself on the right path, if what you said is true, Ranger Asuchi." Being cast as a rescuer for the moral choices of another was uncomfortable for him. Especially given he couldn't even save his personal life from falling to ashes around him.

A first test was required. Something beyond the return of a clean handkerchief. Strength seemed to begin gathering to the man as his shoulders squared and he sat upright. Standing was still to tall of order. Corran's face remained placid and expressionless. "Okay. We can still work together. I can see you won't be dissuaded from that." If she wanted to continued down this path after her serious stumble, then she'd have to choose the pace. Lieutenant Velt's jaw shifted to one side and then the other before settling right on. "Next study session. Where would you like to start?"

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Rylee looked visibly relieved when the lieutenant confirmed that they would remain working together. She had not lost everything that night. This little spark would hopefully set off a fire that allowed the Pantoran to blaze a trail back to the path of the righteous. By this time in their conversation, Rylee was starting to get a little bit of her composure back having stopped crying. It was likely she would probably start again as soon as she returned to her quarters that night, but for now she had to try and put on a brave face. The expressionless look that Lt. Velt had on was bothering her now as well. The purple haired woman knew he must have disliked what he had learned about her, but to seem that distant all of a sudden? That didn't add up. Though the pair were friends and had spent a fair bit of time together, there were other rangers, other people around that would have had more of a history, more of a relationship with Corran than she did at this time. If they had done something, she might have understood this level of indifference, but with her? A relative newbie? There was more going on with Lt. Velt than met the eye, but she would try to see what that was later, now was not the right time.

"Hm... I'm thinking maybe we could try a more practical session" said Rylee, shifting a little in her seat to get comfortable, "Why don't you give me a refresher lesson on non-lethal take downs and apprehending suspects? I want to prove I'm serious about this... plus I wouldn't be surprised if you felt like knocking seven shades out of me in the training room anyway. I deserve it."

The former Squadron Leader bit her lip and chewed on it a little, leaning back in the meeting room chair. She wasn't sure if Lt. Velt would agree to this or not, but she figured there was no better way to start proving how she had already changed, by willingly learning - or in this case refreshing - skills that were required to do the job by the book. Surely, she thought, Corran could appreciate that.

@TerranSteel

 

[Corran Velt]

Lieutenant Velt's face remained entirely stolid; as unmoving and expressionless as durasteel once cooled from the furnace. As impassive as his features were, his stomach churned like meat being grinded to paste. The very concept of being physically close to someone, even for hand-to-hand training, much less a woman, gave the same feeling as food poisoning. His gag reflex almost forced a change in his face, but Corran bit down hard on his bottom teeth with all his strength. Any more pressure and a molar might have cracked.

Professionalism still demanded a response. The blond ranger gave the weakest shake of the head he could muster, "I don't hit people like that when I've been disappointed. Refresher training for..." He paused, trying to speak words that refused to arrive, "...that would be good to review. Just not tonight. We can perhaps plan a time in the future." Corran could have trained tonight. Even on an empty, rebellious stomach. The gym and physical training course had become his escape. He'd head there right after the majority of crew had retired to quarters. After a meeting like this one, he'd rend his muscles apart. Rylee was still likely to force a slot in his schedule. His stomach grinded again in protest. If he was lucky, she might offer some other training or field mission.

As much as Corran wanted to be, they weren't quite done here. The second datapad that contained all the gathered incriminating evidence in one place sat within reach. The lieutenant hefted it from the table as if it was made of solid iron. His thumb pressed a few buttons, the blue screen illuminating his grey face, before sliding it towards the Pantoran again. If she looked, a command prompt would be clearly displayed. DELETE: YES - NO

"If you really want to change your course, then it can't be under coercion." Blackmail and intimidation were the command methods of brutes. Fear of her actions suddenly being released if Rylee did not comply would drive anyone to promise anything. Change could only truly be enacted by free will. The internal desire powering through shame, guilt, and hesitation. With the evidence scattered once again to the solar winds, every action Ranger Asuchi took would be done without the shadow of threat. Faded eyes examined her as they waited.

@Bex

 

[Rylee Asuchi]

Rylee's brow furrowed when the bearded man opposite responded to her suggestion for their next meeting. For some reason he really struggled to get his words out. Considering that he had so readily agreed to continue working together - despite what he had learned - the Pantoran found his sudden inability to discuss this particular topic bizarre. Sure, the pair had not yet practiced non-lethal take downs together, but what reason was there to postpone it? She had only been trying to prove that she was being serious about having changed her ways.

"Okay well, if you aren't happy with that choice right now perhaps we start with something else... I'll go away and have a think about it and message you in the morning" she said with a slight sigh. Rylee felt as though it did not seem to matter what she did now, every decision she made would be the wrong one. The Pantoran did not know the lieutenant was deeply troubled by other events in his life and could not exactly ask under the circumstances, and so she would just have to go with the flow, see how Corran wanted to continue with her tutoring instead.

Her doubts about whether she could get anything right were only exacerbated further when the blonde haired ranger picked up the datapad containing the evidence of her misdeeds and slid it in front of her again. The man from Commenor had initiated a command prompt asking whether the user wished to delete the files. He believed that she would never truly change if blackmail and coercion were what motivated her to make her promises. The Pantoran's golden eyes, still sore from crying, squinted at the datapad, then back at Lt. Velt. He may well have been trying to offer her a chance at a clean slate without any malicious intent, but given that her integrity and trustworthiness was already being questioned by him, Rylee's back went up.

"... I have no intention of incriminating myself more than I already have, Lt. Velt. If I delete those files and erase evidence, I'm only digging myself a deeper grave. As much as I would prefer not to have the specter of coercion looming over me, I would sooner you start to respect me again... if you ever did to begin with" she said, looking glum, "If I am no longer to be trusted, surely you should decide what happens to these records, not me."

With that, Rylee shoved the datapad over to his side of the desk again. She did not know if this was some sort of test or not, but if it was, the Pantoran did not appreciate it. Her sense of self-worth had already been damaged once this evening, she was not going to willingly damage it further by tampering with evidence right after she had sworn to abide by the law. She believed it was the right thing to do.

@TerranSteel