May The Invisible Hand Be With You - (Star Wars CK2-Style Quest)
- Thread starter Dr. Snark
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- star wars canon what canon tsundere dice ck2 quest actions have consequences all the credits all work and no play makes ciaran a dull girl best sister capitalism ho! despairing qm teetotaller society member gotta catch 'em all insanity looting off the rails sage dice approaching spicy sheev tsundere asajj
I can picture the scene: Darra holds Riphath at sabre point and declares "your waifu or your laifu". Because as things stand I don't expect Riphath to get to keep her and remain an Abyss Watcher.
Which could be a very dangerous decision to make, Darra left with the knowledge Ciaran was a criminal mastermind, Riphath knows a hell of a lot more, I don't know if he knows about the Sith Lord thing but he's definitely not in a position to truly walk away and not be pursued.
Having his fellow Abysswalkers hunt him would be bad enough, heaven help him if Asajj or Ciaran herself come after him.
NexysDhyArchen
Throne Breaker
Ciaran pulling a Darkseid and sitting on Riphath's couch when he comes home needs to be an omake.
- Location
- somewhere over there.
- Pronouns
- They/It
Honestly I feel even worse for Darra than I do for Rip. He knew what he was getting into. She's by all indications just a good person with a rigid moral code who after this will have been, so far as she knows, taken advantage of twice by people she really trusted, people who helped her when she was at some of the worst points in her life. Hell, three times if you count all the stuff with the bombing. Assuming her and Rip don't somehow manage to work this out, she's probably going to be a paranoid wreck.
- Location
- somewhere over there.
- Pronouns
- They/It
Eh, narrative convention says that she'll find out. Sure, it's possible he keeps it secret but that doesn't really take advantage of the scenario that's been set up, having a very principled and clearly good woman and a man from the criminal organization she ran away from fall for each other.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Tiny little teaser for the next parts, which I'm working on.
Crushing Squeeze of Tython said:
- Location
- somewhere over there.
- Pronouns
- They/It
"Which one?" is both the best and worst possible answer to that.
- Location
- america
fuck narrative convention
if a secret agent cant keep his secret then what fucking good is he.
- Location
- Middle Europe
someone that can't hit a droid in a tight corridor?
When did Rip become a Stormtrooper?
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Well, there's this thing called counterintelligence. Throw in that the counterintelligence agents are a Jedi Knight and a Jedi Master and thus can be expected to cheat with the Force. Tack on that Riphath started working for the Watchers as a medic, and has since improved his physical fitness, combat skill, and Force abilities but there has been zero spy training?
Honestly it would be more unbelievable if he managed to keep them from finding out once they started looking.
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- Location
- Leeds
I can do worse. "You'll need to narrow that down."
DB_Explorer
Purveyor of alternate realities.
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well the basic conceit behind a story is it occurs when something abnormal happens. Mission goes wrong? Story. Secret Agent gets found out? Story. Small time
"I know your secret."
"Hey, that thing about me liking my beer warm was just a joke! Why do people always take those things so seriously?!"
Alyuna
/ᐠ-﹏-ᐟ\
- Location
- Emerald of the Equator
Hello, I'm new to the forum and I just found this quest 5 days ago. I don't know much about star wars but this quest is very entertaining to me and it makes a great story for me to read.
Since I just binge-reading this quest, I think I just skipped some important story arc about Darra in anything between turn 19 and turn 20...
In [Interlude: Threats all around], I know that Yoda and Darra were having a conversation at the end of the interlude just before she's gone missing. What happens to her after that? She just comes out of the Jedi temple in the temple bombing arc, it surprised and confused me.
Oh, since we lost Darra, can we lose any other heroes? or any of the Abyss Walkers?
Since I just binge-reading this quest, I think I just skipped some important story arc about Darra in anything between turn 19 and turn 20...
In [Interlude: Threats all around], I know that Yoda and Darra were having a conversation at the end of the interlude just before she's gone missing. What happens to her after that? She just comes out of the Jedi temple in the temple bombing arc, it surprised and confused me.
Oh, since we lost Darra, can we lose any other heroes? or any of the Abyss Walkers?
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- Location
- Middle Europe
For first welcome to SV!
You probably missed some threadmarks. Basically players dun goofed + low roll + strict Darra's moral code = she know Ciaran is Criminal boss lv 9000 and hate us. She also got maimed and only recently she got a high-quality cybernetic replacement.
For your second question... I think it would take high stake mission + hero on it + crit failure on roll to do that to us. Snark Is pretty good QM and he knows salt would flow in that case... But if we know why and accept that so salt wouldn't kill/hiatus/other terrible things this thread.
Alyuna
/ᐠ-﹏-ᐟ\
- Location
- Emerald of the Equator
Thank you,
I want to know more about Darra's missing and her return to the Jedi temple, and who maimed Darra?
Her missing is mentioned in the early [Prologue Mandalorian Connection], and I think missing her story when she is in captive? or missing? or gone silent? until her return to the Jedi temple. Well, I appreciate anyone that can tell me about it and which threadmark I missed.
and about the recent development in the story
Darra and Rip should elope already... I can't handle the drama but I wonder what will happen if they do elope
Small Nerd
Meganekko
- Location
- Out There
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The story of Darra is more in the prequel quest, which I think is linked to in one of the intro posts on the first page of this thread.
Killerflood
Corporal Cannonfodder
- Location
- Saṃsāra
Here's the whole story on the Darra fiasco (which is last thread):
I made a plan with an oversight where Darra was included on a mission to eliminate some Black Sun Scum given to us by the Hutts ("But her bonus!!" "But nothing!") . This was not smart due to her morals, that I had forgtotten she was given to us to watch over us by the council, and the fact that that turn's disaster roll was a natural 100. (What happened to disaster rolls anyway?) Not to mention that at first glance we had failed that mission. (Teron was nice enough to change it so that Darra's bonus didn't count as a penalty but that did jack shit for the end result.) So in the end Darra "went missing". (See ran away to the Jedi because she now had some juicy gossip!)
As for her being maimed, that came from a mission where she went along to deal with a certain Grant Omega where she fell to him. In canon she died. Here, we had sent some Abyss Watchers (not the force-related kind) to make sure he died. They managed to save her and she just wound up paralyzed from the waist down. We gave her some nifty cybernetics which required maintenance. Getting back to the Jedi she no longer had that maintenance so she was no longer able to be as active as she used to be hence some more resentment.
EDIT: I have been corrected. She was not paralyzed waste down. She was just maimed in one arm and leg.
In the end this whole disaster ended with the Jedi now knowing we were up to
This would be bad for both parties as:
- Ripath would now be considered a liability and no matter how much he's liked by the quest his threat to our organization would see this new threat being eliminated in some manner. Not necessarily by death but unless we have some manner to make his life a living hell should he squeak, he will need to die. There's a reason that the joke of him never being able to retire is only done in half-joking tones.
- Darra would be devastated that the guy she'd eloped with (and thus who she left her Jedi family for) was actually an Abyss member. Either her trust will be shot and she would very likely Fall from that or she would simply Fall to hatred and swear revenge for Ripath on the Abyss causing us to have to kill her.
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And that's done. All three 'Omake Index' posts are now fully updated through Page 721, courtesy of @Jakobstj:
Two questions for @Dr. Snark:
Finally, I added @Stealthy's accounting book to the Index as well, as an 'Info Post' (under 'Canon Non-Story').
Two questions for @Dr. Snark:
First, as Jakobstj noted, I'm pretty sure this omake should be marked 'Canon' and moved to right before or right after the first Foundry Assault.
Second, you didn't respond to this omake to mark it as either canon or non-canon. I've added it to the 'non-canon' list due to the lack of threadmark, but can you confirm one way or the other?
Finally, I added @Stealthy's accounting book to the Index as well, as an 'Info Post' (under 'Canon Non-Story').
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
The information I had, which I'd been writing based on, was that she had hemiplegia which required replacing both limbs on her right side. I think I mentioned something about neural bridging too to accomodate for that.
Interlude - Cheriss and Galvin's Excellent Extraction
Dr. Snark
Exactly As Planned...Probably
- Location
- Right where I want to be
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Courscant
Near Galen Erso's Apartment
Okay Cheriss, you can do this. All you have to do is convince Doctor Erso to come work with us over the next few days, make sure no one notices he's gone until it's too late, and presto! One genius. Relax. Just think about what Ciaran would do.
She would have several teams prepare for this mission by staking out Doctor Erso's apartment to see who was keeping an eye on him, have a Seeker team slice into the security systems, and have a Gurlanin or two on hand to act as decoys.
...I'm in over my head, aren't I?
No, no! You can do this. You are going to make this the best covert extraction in the history of uh...covert extractions? ...E-even though it shouldn't make it into the history books because it's covert-
"Hey beautiful, are we doing this or what?" Galvin said over Cheriss' earpiece. "You've been standing there for the past half hour, and while I've been enjoying the view we should get the show on the road."
"R-right! Of course!" Cheriss said to herself out loud, attracting a few odd looks from passerby. "Mission: Start!"
"That's the spirit! Now then, I don't see anyone that secret agent-y around at the moment so I think you're in the clear."
"Good to hear," Cheriss replied as she began to stride more confidently towards the apartment building where Galen was staying. "You are staying out of sight, right?"
"Of course. I'm practically invisible! One sec - yes, I'd definitely like the brandy. Sorry about that."
"I-is everything okay?"
"Yeah, of course babe! After all there's no better place for me to hide than in a crowd, right?"
"R-right! That sounds exactly like something Ciaran would do!"
"If she was here she'd be serving me the drinks and I wouldn't realize it until it was too late. Anyway, you there?"
"Y-yes..." Cheriss said as she reached the door. "U-uh...I'm really doing this aren't I?"
"Yep. Knock em dead!"
Okay Cheriss. Stay calm. Think about what Ciaran would do. Do not lose your cool in front of one of the smartest men in the galaxy.
------------
While Cheriss was gathering herself, Galen Erso was in his study/bedroom, working on a small personal computer on an energy plant design that he had been working on in an effort to relieve the stress of staying on Coruscant. The design itself was hardly that complicated by his standards, but being able to work on something helped keep him in good spirits despite his issues with finding a stable career during the war. Even so his mind started to drift towards his wife and daughter-
His train of thought was interrupted by a cup of recaf being gently set next to him. "It's been six hours, Galen," Lyra gently chided as she hugged him from behind. "Didn't you tell me you were putting that design you were working on on hold for a while after Krennic turned you down?"
"I did, but you know me. I have trouble leaving well enough alone when it comes to things like this. And I'd rather do something productive with my time given the chance." He blinked as something came to him. "I take it Jyn's asleep right now?"
"She is, but-"
Their conversation was interrupted by the barely audible sound of a knock on their door. Galen and Lyra looked at each other, wondering if they had heard that before the knocking sound came back, this time louder and borderline incessant in frequency.
"Were you expecting anyone?" Lyra asked Galen as he got up.
"No, I wasn't," he said as he opened the door to the sight of what appeared to be a young Togruta woman, her hand held up in a fist to knock on the now open door as she froze up with her eyes visibly widening. Galen tilted his head slightly in confusion. "...May I help you, Miss...?"
"Cherisssairsmynameitsnicetomeetyoudoctorersoimahugefanofyourworkyourcontributionstothefieldofcrystallograpahyareamazingandiwellitsnotimean"
She continued to babble incoherently before Galen cleared his throat, causing her to jolt in place.
"......May I help you, Miss...?" Galen asked slowly, trying to restart the conversation as the Togruta managed to barely compose herself.
"C-Cheriss Sair. I-it's nice to meet you in person, Doctor Erso. I...uh...I'm a really big fan of your work - i-in crystallograpahy and things like that. Your thesis on the application of kyber crystals in the field of energy production is, uh...I'm sorry, am I making this weird? I am, aren't I? I'm really sorry! I-I didn't mean to!"
Galen could only stare in confusion as the young woman in front of her seemed to be having a meltdown from just talking to him. "Well I...appreciate your compliments, but...is there something you wanted?"
"Y-yes! Yes there is! Uh...I mean...if I could have a few moments of your time? Would you mind? I-if not I can always-"
"I'm not sure now is the best time-"
"Galen," Lyra said as she moved up alongside him. "You should at least let the poor girl in before she dies of embarrassment. It can't hurt to at least talk to her for a little bit, right?" she said, looking at Cheriss with a gentle smile on her face.
Galen glanced at Lyra before looking back at Cheriss with a matching smile on his face. "...That seems fair. Come in," he said, gesturing inwards as Cheriss' head rapidly bobbed up and down before she followed the couple in, sitting down on a nearby chair and starting to fidget nervously.
"Would you like a drink?" Lyra called back as she moved into the kitchen. "Maybe something cold to help calm your nerves?"
"That sounds great, thanks!" Cheriss replied as Galen sat down across from her. "Now then I...think you were saying something about my work with kyber crystals earlier?"
"Y-Yes I was! I was impressed by your work on it I mean the idea of kyber crystals being particularly useful isn't new given how the Jedi use them in lightsabers but your ideas about how they could be applied in an engineering context are absolutely fascinating and I'd love to see some of your work on that am I being too forward again I'm sorry I get like this whenever I get excited and uh...y-yeah..."
She visibly blushed in embarrassment as Lyra brought in a cup of cold water. Barely even registering it, she grabbed it, chugged it down as fast as she could, and set it back down again as Galen and Lyra looked at her quizzically. "I uh...sorry...I feel like I've been talking too much..."
Galen smiled lightly. "It's fine. I can't say I'm an expert at reading people but I can tell you're more enthusiastic than anything else." Nodding to Lyra as she set down the cup of recaf she made earlier next to him, he faced Cheriss as Lyra walked away, though she shot a look of curiosity at the Torguta before she left. "That being said, I can't say I've heard of you before. Though judging by what you were talking about earlier, I take it you're an engineer?"
"Yes! I, uh, do work with droids and things like that. I uh...I think I'm pretty good at it all things considered..." she said as she smiled nervously. "I can't say I've done anything that new with droid engineering, but I'm good at improving on designs I'm given and things like that."
"Interesting," Galen replied as he took a sip of recaf. "Now if you don't mind me asking, what brought you here? If you wanted to trade notes there's always the holonet."
"Right! Why I'm here! Yes! Uh...well that's...a bit complicated actually..."
"How so?"
"Well...I'm here on behalf of Lady Ciaran. You uh...you know about her, right?"
Galen's eyes widened as he began to realize exactly why Cheriss might be here. "Of course. Her philanthropic efforts are admirable, and I've heard nothing but good things about her work through the Silver Cross. Do you work for her?"
"I do, but on more...er...private stuff that I'm really not allowed to talk about. Like, at all. I...uh..." Cheriss visibly gathered herself, clutching the sides of her chair for support. "Do you want a job?"
The room went dead silent.
"...I beg pardon?" Galen asked incredulously.
"I uh...I heard from some friends of mine that you haven't really been able to find any work because of the war and all that, so...I wanted to give you the chance to work with me. And Lady Ciaran. And uh...yes."
Galen leaned back as he processed what he was hearing. True, he had considered trying to find work within Council space, but every time he did his prospective contacts had a habit of not responding to any messages he sent. Not to mention that he was still fairly certain he was being watched by Republic Intelligence.
But...he could do good there. It was by definition work for a polity that was actively trying to stay out of the war. And working for one of the galaxy's most celebrated philanthropists and peacemakers. It was too good to be true.
"What would you want me to do?" Galen asked quietly.
"Materials research, medical research, engineering work - purely civilian I assure you - that sort of thing...basically we'd just want you to be Galen Erso," Cheriss explained, her voice noticeably more confident than before.
"And what are you offering?"
"Honestly it's more like what I'm - or more accurately Lady Ciaran's not offering. For someone like you Lady Ciaran would pull out all the stops. You want a nice home on Taris? Done. You want a decent lab? She can get you the best equipment money can buy and stored in a facility secured by Fry Industries tech. You need a team? You'd be provided with the best people she can find, and who would report to you directly. Your work and reputation already precede you, so the formalities of the hiring process could be skipped. A-and...." Cheriss glanced away shyly. "F-for what it's worth...i-it'd be an honor to work alongside you, Doctor Erso. I-if that means anything..."
"I..." Galen shook his head, trying to process what he was hearing. "...I think I need a minute."
"O-o-of course! I know this is really sudden and everything so uh...yes. Just let me know if you need me to confirm something!" she called after him as Galen moved into another room where Lyra was waiting, Jyn quietly sleeping in her arms.
"...So?"
"...I don't know. What she's told me is too good to be true."
"I heard. But...there's something...not right about her."
Galen glanced back in the direction of the main room nervously. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure but...something about her feels...strange. I can't quite put it into words but it feels like she's not quite there. Or something like that. It's just-"
"Um..." Cheriss said nervously as she leaned in from the doorway nervously, startling Lyra and Galen. "Sorry for eavesdropping but...I can explain that." Cheriss looked at Lyra. "...Can you sense the Force?"
"Yes. Though only barely, and I cannot use it like a Jedi can," Lyra replied warily.
"R-right...well...this is why," Cheriss said as she reached for her midsection...
Galen and Lyra's eyes widened as a panel opened up, revealing a crystal cluster gently pulsing with light sitting in the middle of incredibly complex machinery that made up the rest of the body. "I'll reintroduce myself," Cheriss said, her 'mouth' moving as the crystal pulsed with energy.
Jyn stirred slightly in Lyra's arms as she blearily looked at the crystal. "Pretty..." she mumbled before she fell asleep again.
"My name's Cheriss Sair. I'm a Shard...and yes, that crystal you're seeing is the real me. This body helps me get around and not draw attention to myself," she explained before closing the hatch, and as Galen and Lyra looked at her again they both realized just how normal she looked despite her robotic body.
"T-that...that's incredible..." Galen said as he recovered from his shock. "The complexity...the receptiveness to your commands...avoiding the uncanny valley...how did you build that?"
"I had help. And after that, quite a few blank checks."
The room went silent for a long moment.
"This...position you're offering. Would my wife and daughter be able to come with me?"
Cheriss tilted her head in confusion. "Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't they?"
Galen was silent for a long moment as Lyra looked at him concernedly. "...Then I-"
Suddenly Cheriss froze on the spot, her eyes widening. "Oh no," she said quietly, clearly terrified.
"What's wrong!?"
------------
"Yeah of course. Why wouldn't they?"
"Uh babe, I don't mean to interrupt when things sound like they're going well, but my eye thing is telling you that there's a pair of RepInt goons headed right for you."
Cheriss froze up. Oh no I didn't expect this did I get picked up by a bug oh nonononono-
"What's wrong!?" Galen asked.
Not even registering his response, Cheriss glanced around the room, noticed a closet, and immediately darted into it, slamming the door behind her. Before Galen could even register what was happening he heard three rhythmic knocks on his door. Glancing at Lyra nervously, he slowly made his way there and tentatively opened it up to see two men standing there, looking just a bit too normal...
"Galen Erso, we have some questions for you. May we come in?" The taller man on the left said in a tone that indicated he was not asking for permission.
"O-of course," Galen said nervously, letting the two men in and sitting down as they continued to idly move around, randomly inspecting things.
"We received word that there may be a Separatist spy in the area, and we wanted to make sure you were safe," the talkative man said as he moved to sit down across from him, the other man continuing to idly look around.
"Well as you can see, I'm perfectly fine," Galen calmly replied.
"Of course. But as you know we have to be certain about these things," the tall man said as he leaned forward. "Have you seen anyone acting suspicious lately? Anyone hanging around your apartment for a bit too long or anything like that?"
As their conversation continued the shorter man moved into the room Cheriss was hiding in, continuing to idly glance around. Inside the closet Cheriss deactivated some of the programs designed to make herself seem more organic that would have caused her to blow her cover like fidgeting and making noise. At the same time she started to charge up something in her frame she had installed for just such an occasion, though she hoped she wouldn't have to use it...
The tension in the apartment began to build as the tall man leaned forward. "Mr. Erso, are you hiding something?"
"Why would I be-"
Galen's eyes widened as he saw what he could only describe as a blur of fluorescent color dive through his doorway, opening fire on the man interrogating him. Every shot missed, but it was enough for Galen to quickly dive behind his chair and take cover as he heard a "whumph" sound followed by a string of cursing that a part of his dazed mind hoped Jyn wouldn't overhear.
Meanwhile the shorter man had heard the sounds and started to rush towards the main room only for Cheriss to make her move, darting out of the closet as a panel on her hand retracted to reveal that the inside was visibly coursing with electricity. Before the agent could react, Cheriss' hand slammed into his neck, the electricity coursing through his body before knocking him unconscious.
In the few seconds that everything had taken place the tall man had drawn his blaster pistol, returning fire against the man now taking cover behind a counter. The agent ducked down and waited for a moment until the fire stopped, then stood up and readied for a charge-
Only to see that his assailant had vaulted himself over the counter and opened fire on him again. This time with the shorter distance a couple of stun rounds hit his torso, knocking him out cold.
Meanwhile Galen wondered what exactly he had done to deserve this-
"It's all right sir," the man called out in a voice that was trying a bit too hard to be suave, "The cavalry has arrived! You're welcome."
Galen moved out from cover to see what he could only describe as a Zeltron in the most outrageously offensively ostentatious clothing any sentient being could hope to wear with the biggest and most self-confident smirk on his face that he had ever seen.
"What."
"Doctor Erso, is everything-" Cheriss started to say as she rushed into the room, Lyra shortly doing the same carrying a now very awake Jyn. "Galvin! You came!"
"Course I did, babe. That guy didn't stand a chance."
Galen and Lyra looked on confused as Cheriss visibly swooned for a moment before coming back to her senses. "U-uh, right! So, uh, hope you don't mind but you're hired. Right now. I suggest you get your things," she said quickly to Galen, who was stunned for a moment before nodding and running back into his study, quickly downloading everything off of his personal computer into a storage unit and starting a full wipe of its systems.
As he got back into the center room, he saw Lyra drag out a bag as she nodded to him, Jyn looking around confused but staying surprisingly quiet despite everything happening.
"Rightfollowmethisway" Cheriss said rapidly as she moved out of the apartment alongside Galvin, quickly followed by the terrified and deeply confused Erso family. As the unlikely quintet of people made their way through the streets of Courscant Galvin made a call...
------------
Gulan Terrek was not a happy Bothan right now. Having to run intel support for the Devastation attack, the Sith thing, and everything else happening meant that he had a lot of work on his plate - and worse yet work that he couldn't really foist onto Cün since most of it required a personal touch.
As he bemoaned all the work he had to put up with he heard a tone from his console indicating someone was trying to reach him. Groaning, he switched it on. "The hell do you want!?"
"Heeeeyyyyy, Gulan, buddy, pal, how's it going?" Galvin said to him as a holoimage of him came up, and Gulan noticed that he was visibly moving quickly. "Enjoying yourse-"
"What. Did. You. Do."
"Now listen, it's not that important. I just need a way for my ship to vanish from Coruscant's sensor grid, you follow?"
Gulan groaned, knowing that this was unquestionably going to turn into a massive headache for him. "You know what? Fine. Fine. Fine. I'm not even going to tell the boss about this, because from the sounds of it she's going to be hearing about this mess pretty damn soon anyway."
"S-so...uh...we good?"
Grumbling under his breath Gulan punched in a few buttons on his console. "Well lucky for you we've been setting up a few deniable assets just in case someone like you screwed up like you apparently did. You're going to want to keep your ship hidden in the traffic before making your way out through sector J-19. A few 'sensor malfunctions' will happen and your ship will just be lost in static."
"Sweet! You're a lifesaver, Gulan!"
"I hate how literal that probably is."
------------
As everyone boarded the Galvin Thorn and its namesake charged towards the pilot's seat in a suitably dramatic fashion befitting a dashing rogue such as himself, he noticed a worrying amount of airspeeders heading his way and his comm unit blaring "This area is under C-SEC lockdown until further notice-" but that was as far as the message got before Galvin switched it off, deactivated the landing gear, powered up the shields, and pushed the ship's thrusters to maximum. The Galvin Thorn quickly started hurtling forwards at breakneck speeds as C-SEC speeders came up behind it and began to open fire with ion rounds. Even so, the shots merely bounced off of the ship's shields, and it became very quickly apparent that the speeders just couldn't keep up with the Thorn's superior speed.
Galvin grinned as he left the C-SEC speeders in his dust. He had only piloted his namesake ship a handful of times, but every time he was reminded just how much of a thrill it was to fly. The only ships he knew that could reliably keep up with it were its sister ships from Sienar, but aside from that nothing else stood a chance. Without even bothering to slow down Galvin pulled back on the stick as he reached the sector Gulan had marked, and with that the ship began rapidly climbing into orbit. After setting the autopilot to do a few misdirecting jumps before heading to Taris, he got out of his chair and headed back to see the passengers of his sip.
Cheriss had a wide grin on her face, clearly enjoying herself.
Lyra was looking incredibly worried, holding onto her daughter tightly.
Galen looked like he wanted to be anywhere in the galaxy but on this ship. That was a problem in Galvin's book.
"Well you'll be happy to hear that we've managed to evade the cops and are now on course for the lovely planet of Taris," Galvin said cheerfully as he made his way over to the ship's stocks, grabbing a fancy bottle of wine he saved for special occasions. "So relax! Take it easy!" he said as he poured out bottles for Galen and Lyra, though both of them refused.
Jyn fidgeted in Lyra's arms before she pointed at Galvin. "Weird."
"Wait, what?"
"Weird man." Galvin stared blankly at the girl who couldn't have been more than two as she actively insulted him.
"W-Weird!? You mean 'cool' or 'great' or-"
"No. Weird."
"W-what!?"
"What about me?"Cheriss asked as she leaned forward slightly, not noticing that Lyra was desperately trying not to laugh.
Jyn pointed at her. "Pretty rock lady."
Cheriss was dead silent for a moment before letting out a high-pitched squeal. "So cute!" she said as she moved next to Lyra. "Can I poke her just a bit Shards don't have babies you understand and really this is the first time I've really been around someone this young and she's just so cute come on one poke won't hurt-"
Meanwhile Galen looked between the scene playing out in front of him and Galvin sitting down next to him, grumbling to himself.
"What is even happening..." Galen muttered to himself.
"Hey, I told you to relax!" Galvin said as he turned towards him, flashing a cheesy grin. "You've got a new lease on life, my man! Enjoy the moment!"
"I think I'd enjoy it more if I understood what was happening."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. At times like these, you should rely on an old Zeltron saying: Be excellent to each other, and party on!"
Galen looked at him with a flat expression on his face. "You made that up on the spot, didn't you."
"N-no, of course not! It's been a saying on Zeltros for decades, centuries even!"
Reward: Galen Erso extracted, leaving him wondering what has happened to his normal life
AN: Ironically this was hard to conceptualize, but once I got the base idea on paper...it basically wrote itself.
I will not apologize if any reader contracts diabetes from the parts where Cheriss is being too cute. That's your own problem.
Enjoy~
Near Galen Erso's Apartment
Okay Cheriss, you can do this. All you have to do is convince Doctor Erso to come work with us over the next few days, make sure no one notices he's gone until it's too late, and presto! One genius. Relax. Just think about what Ciaran would do.
She would have several teams prepare for this mission by staking out Doctor Erso's apartment to see who was keeping an eye on him, have a Seeker team slice into the security systems, and have a Gurlanin or two on hand to act as decoys.
...I'm in over my head, aren't I?
No, no! You can do this. You are going to make this the best covert extraction in the history of uh...covert extractions? ...E-even though it shouldn't make it into the history books because it's covert-
"Hey beautiful, are we doing this or what?" Galvin said over Cheriss' earpiece. "You've been standing there for the past half hour, and while I've been enjoying the view we should get the show on the road."
"R-right! Of course!" Cheriss said to herself out loud, attracting a few odd looks from passerby. "Mission: Start!"
"That's the spirit! Now then, I don't see anyone that secret agent-y around at the moment so I think you're in the clear."
"Good to hear," Cheriss replied as she began to stride more confidently towards the apartment building where Galen was staying. "You are staying out of sight, right?"
"Of course. I'm practically invisible! One sec - yes, I'd definitely like the brandy. Sorry about that."
"I-is everything okay?"
"Yeah, of course babe! After all there's no better place for me to hide than in a crowd, right?"
"R-right! That sounds exactly like something Ciaran would do!"
"If she was here she'd be serving me the drinks and I wouldn't realize it until it was too late. Anyway, you there?"
"Y-yes..." Cheriss said as she reached the door. "U-uh...I'm really doing this aren't I?"
"Yep. Knock em dead!"
Okay Cheriss. Stay calm. Think about what Ciaran would do. Do not lose your cool in front of one of the smartest men in the galaxy.
------------
While Cheriss was gathering herself, Galen Erso was in his study/bedroom, working on a small personal computer on an energy plant design that he had been working on in an effort to relieve the stress of staying on Coruscant. The design itself was hardly that complicated by his standards, but being able to work on something helped keep him in good spirits despite his issues with finding a stable career during the war. Even so his mind started to drift towards his wife and daughter-
His train of thought was interrupted by a cup of recaf being gently set next to him. "It's been six hours, Galen," Lyra gently chided as she hugged him from behind. "Didn't you tell me you were putting that design you were working on on hold for a while after Krennic turned you down?"
"I did, but you know me. I have trouble leaving well enough alone when it comes to things like this. And I'd rather do something productive with my time given the chance." He blinked as something came to him. "I take it Jyn's asleep right now?"
"She is, but-"
Their conversation was interrupted by the barely audible sound of a knock on their door. Galen and Lyra looked at each other, wondering if they had heard that before the knocking sound came back, this time louder and borderline incessant in frequency.
"Were you expecting anyone?" Lyra asked Galen as he got up.
"No, I wasn't," he said as he opened the door to the sight of what appeared to be a young Togruta woman, her hand held up in a fist to knock on the now open door as she froze up with her eyes visibly widening. Galen tilted his head slightly in confusion. "...May I help you, Miss...?"
"Cherisssairsmynameitsnicetomeetyoudoctorersoimahugefanofyourworkyourcontributionstothefieldofcrystallograpahyareamazingandiwellitsnotimean"
She continued to babble incoherently before Galen cleared his throat, causing her to jolt in place.
"......May I help you, Miss...?" Galen asked slowly, trying to restart the conversation as the Togruta managed to barely compose herself.
"C-Cheriss Sair. I-it's nice to meet you in person, Doctor Erso. I...uh...I'm a really big fan of your work - i-in crystallograpahy and things like that. Your thesis on the application of kyber crystals in the field of energy production is, uh...I'm sorry, am I making this weird? I am, aren't I? I'm really sorry! I-I didn't mean to!"
Galen could only stare in confusion as the young woman in front of her seemed to be having a meltdown from just talking to him. "Well I...appreciate your compliments, but...is there something you wanted?"
"Y-yes! Yes there is! Uh...I mean...if I could have a few moments of your time? Would you mind? I-if not I can always-"
"I'm not sure now is the best time-"
"Galen," Lyra said as she moved up alongside him. "You should at least let the poor girl in before she dies of embarrassment. It can't hurt to at least talk to her for a little bit, right?" she said, looking at Cheriss with a gentle smile on her face.
Galen glanced at Lyra before looking back at Cheriss with a matching smile on his face. "...That seems fair. Come in," he said, gesturing inwards as Cheriss' head rapidly bobbed up and down before she followed the couple in, sitting down on a nearby chair and starting to fidget nervously.
"Would you like a drink?" Lyra called back as she moved into the kitchen. "Maybe something cold to help calm your nerves?"
"That sounds great, thanks!" Cheriss replied as Galen sat down across from her. "Now then I...think you were saying something about my work with kyber crystals earlier?"
"Y-Yes I was! I was impressed by your work on it I mean the idea of kyber crystals being particularly useful isn't new given how the Jedi use them in lightsabers but your ideas about how they could be applied in an engineering context are absolutely fascinating and I'd love to see some of your work on that am I being too forward again I'm sorry I get like this whenever I get excited and uh...y-yeah..."
She visibly blushed in embarrassment as Lyra brought in a cup of cold water. Barely even registering it, she grabbed it, chugged it down as fast as she could, and set it back down again as Galen and Lyra looked at her quizzically. "I uh...sorry...I feel like I've been talking too much..."
Galen smiled lightly. "It's fine. I can't say I'm an expert at reading people but I can tell you're more enthusiastic than anything else." Nodding to Lyra as she set down the cup of recaf she made earlier next to him, he faced Cheriss as Lyra walked away, though she shot a look of curiosity at the Torguta before she left. "That being said, I can't say I've heard of you before. Though judging by what you were talking about earlier, I take it you're an engineer?"
"Yes! I, uh, do work with droids and things like that. I uh...I think I'm pretty good at it all things considered..." she said as she smiled nervously. "I can't say I've done anything that new with droid engineering, but I'm good at improving on designs I'm given and things like that."
"Interesting," Galen replied as he took a sip of recaf. "Now if you don't mind me asking, what brought you here? If you wanted to trade notes there's always the holonet."
"Right! Why I'm here! Yes! Uh...well that's...a bit complicated actually..."
"How so?"
"Well...I'm here on behalf of Lady Ciaran. You uh...you know about her, right?"
Galen's eyes widened as he began to realize exactly why Cheriss might be here. "Of course. Her philanthropic efforts are admirable, and I've heard nothing but good things about her work through the Silver Cross. Do you work for her?"
"I do, but on more...er...private stuff that I'm really not allowed to talk about. Like, at all. I...uh..." Cheriss visibly gathered herself, clutching the sides of her chair for support. "Do you want a job?"
The room went dead silent.
"...I beg pardon?" Galen asked incredulously.
"I uh...I heard from some friends of mine that you haven't really been able to find any work because of the war and all that, so...I wanted to give you the chance to work with me. And Lady Ciaran. And uh...yes."
Galen leaned back as he processed what he was hearing. True, he had considered trying to find work within Council space, but every time he did his prospective contacts had a habit of not responding to any messages he sent. Not to mention that he was still fairly certain he was being watched by Republic Intelligence.
But...he could do good there. It was by definition work for a polity that was actively trying to stay out of the war. And working for one of the galaxy's most celebrated philanthropists and peacemakers. It was too good to be true.
"What would you want me to do?" Galen asked quietly.
"Materials research, medical research, engineering work - purely civilian I assure you - that sort of thing...basically we'd just want you to be Galen Erso," Cheriss explained, her voice noticeably more confident than before.
"And what are you offering?"
"Honestly it's more like what I'm - or more accurately Lady Ciaran's not offering. For someone like you Lady Ciaran would pull out all the stops. You want a nice home on Taris? Done. You want a decent lab? She can get you the best equipment money can buy and stored in a facility secured by Fry Industries tech. You need a team? You'd be provided with the best people she can find, and who would report to you directly. Your work and reputation already precede you, so the formalities of the hiring process could be skipped. A-and...." Cheriss glanced away shyly. "F-for what it's worth...i-it'd be an honor to work alongside you, Doctor Erso. I-if that means anything..."
"I..." Galen shook his head, trying to process what he was hearing. "...I think I need a minute."
"O-o-of course! I know this is really sudden and everything so uh...yes. Just let me know if you need me to confirm something!" she called after him as Galen moved into another room where Lyra was waiting, Jyn quietly sleeping in her arms.
"...So?"
"...I don't know. What she's told me is too good to be true."
"I heard. But...there's something...not right about her."
Galen glanced back in the direction of the main room nervously. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure but...something about her feels...strange. I can't quite put it into words but it feels like she's not quite there. Or something like that. It's just-"
"Um..." Cheriss said nervously as she leaned in from the doorway nervously, startling Lyra and Galen. "Sorry for eavesdropping but...I can explain that." Cheriss looked at Lyra. "...Can you sense the Force?"
"Yes. Though only barely, and I cannot use it like a Jedi can," Lyra replied warily.
"R-right...well...this is why," Cheriss said as she reached for her midsection...
Galen and Lyra's eyes widened as a panel opened up, revealing a crystal cluster gently pulsing with light sitting in the middle of incredibly complex machinery that made up the rest of the body. "I'll reintroduce myself," Cheriss said, her 'mouth' moving as the crystal pulsed with energy.
Jyn stirred slightly in Lyra's arms as she blearily looked at the crystal. "Pretty..." she mumbled before she fell asleep again.
"My name's Cheriss Sair. I'm a Shard...and yes, that crystal you're seeing is the real me. This body helps me get around and not draw attention to myself," she explained before closing the hatch, and as Galen and Lyra looked at her again they both realized just how normal she looked despite her robotic body.
"T-that...that's incredible..." Galen said as he recovered from his shock. "The complexity...the receptiveness to your commands...avoiding the uncanny valley...how did you build that?"
"I had help. And after that, quite a few blank checks."
The room went silent for a long moment.
"This...position you're offering. Would my wife and daughter be able to come with me?"
Cheriss tilted her head in confusion. "Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't they?"
Galen was silent for a long moment as Lyra looked at him concernedly. "...Then I-"
Suddenly Cheriss froze on the spot, her eyes widening. "Oh no," she said quietly, clearly terrified.
"What's wrong!?"
------------
"Yeah of course. Why wouldn't they?"
"Uh babe, I don't mean to interrupt when things sound like they're going well, but my eye thing is telling you that there's a pair of RepInt goons headed right for you."
Cheriss froze up. Oh no I didn't expect this did I get picked up by a bug oh nonononono-
"What's wrong!?" Galen asked.
Not even registering his response, Cheriss glanced around the room, noticed a closet, and immediately darted into it, slamming the door behind her. Before Galen could even register what was happening he heard three rhythmic knocks on his door. Glancing at Lyra nervously, he slowly made his way there and tentatively opened it up to see two men standing there, looking just a bit too normal...
"Galen Erso, we have some questions for you. May we come in?" The taller man on the left said in a tone that indicated he was not asking for permission.
"O-of course," Galen said nervously, letting the two men in and sitting down as they continued to idly move around, randomly inspecting things.
"We received word that there may be a Separatist spy in the area, and we wanted to make sure you were safe," the talkative man said as he moved to sit down across from him, the other man continuing to idly look around.
"Well as you can see, I'm perfectly fine," Galen calmly replied.
"Of course. But as you know we have to be certain about these things," the tall man said as he leaned forward. "Have you seen anyone acting suspicious lately? Anyone hanging around your apartment for a bit too long or anything like that?"
As their conversation continued the shorter man moved into the room Cheriss was hiding in, continuing to idly glance around. Inside the closet Cheriss deactivated some of the programs designed to make herself seem more organic that would have caused her to blow her cover like fidgeting and making noise. At the same time she started to charge up something in her frame she had installed for just such an occasion, though she hoped she wouldn't have to use it...
The tension in the apartment began to build as the tall man leaned forward. "Mr. Erso, are you hiding something?"
"Why would I be-"
Galen's eyes widened as he saw what he could only describe as a blur of fluorescent color dive through his doorway, opening fire on the man interrogating him. Every shot missed, but it was enough for Galen to quickly dive behind his chair and take cover as he heard a "whumph" sound followed by a string of cursing that a part of his dazed mind hoped Jyn wouldn't overhear.
Meanwhile the shorter man had heard the sounds and started to rush towards the main room only for Cheriss to make her move, darting out of the closet as a panel on her hand retracted to reveal that the inside was visibly coursing with electricity. Before the agent could react, Cheriss' hand slammed into his neck, the electricity coursing through his body before knocking him unconscious.
In the few seconds that everything had taken place the tall man had drawn his blaster pistol, returning fire against the man now taking cover behind a counter. The agent ducked down and waited for a moment until the fire stopped, then stood up and readied for a charge-
Only to see that his assailant had vaulted himself over the counter and opened fire on him again. This time with the shorter distance a couple of stun rounds hit his torso, knocking him out cold.
Meanwhile Galen wondered what exactly he had done to deserve this-
"It's all right sir," the man called out in a voice that was trying a bit too hard to be suave, "The cavalry has arrived! You're welcome."
Galen moved out from cover to see what he could only describe as a Zeltron in the most outrageously offensively ostentatious clothing any sentient being could hope to wear with the biggest and most self-confident smirk on his face that he had ever seen.
"What."
"Doctor Erso, is everything-" Cheriss started to say as she rushed into the room, Lyra shortly doing the same carrying a now very awake Jyn. "Galvin! You came!"
"Course I did, babe. That guy didn't stand a chance."
Galen and Lyra looked on confused as Cheriss visibly swooned for a moment before coming back to her senses. "U-uh, right! So, uh, hope you don't mind but you're hired. Right now. I suggest you get your things," she said quickly to Galen, who was stunned for a moment before nodding and running back into his study, quickly downloading everything off of his personal computer into a storage unit and starting a full wipe of its systems.
As he got back into the center room, he saw Lyra drag out a bag as she nodded to him, Jyn looking around confused but staying surprisingly quiet despite everything happening.
"Rightfollowmethisway" Cheriss said rapidly as she moved out of the apartment alongside Galvin, quickly followed by the terrified and deeply confused Erso family. As the unlikely quintet of people made their way through the streets of Courscant Galvin made a call...
------------
Gulan Terrek was not a happy Bothan right now. Having to run intel support for the Devastation attack, the Sith thing, and everything else happening meant that he had a lot of work on his plate - and worse yet work that he couldn't really foist onto Cün since most of it required a personal touch.
As he bemoaned all the work he had to put up with he heard a tone from his console indicating someone was trying to reach him. Groaning, he switched it on. "The hell do you want!?"
"Heeeeyyyyy, Gulan, buddy, pal, how's it going?" Galvin said to him as a holoimage of him came up, and Gulan noticed that he was visibly moving quickly. "Enjoying yourse-"
"What. Did. You. Do."
"Now listen, it's not that important. I just need a way for my ship to vanish from Coruscant's sensor grid, you follow?"
Gulan groaned, knowing that this was unquestionably going to turn into a massive headache for him. "You know what? Fine. Fine. Fine. I'm not even going to tell the boss about this, because from the sounds of it she's going to be hearing about this mess pretty damn soon anyway."
"S-so...uh...we good?"
Grumbling under his breath Gulan punched in a few buttons on his console. "Well lucky for you we've been setting up a few deniable assets just in case someone like you screwed up like you apparently did. You're going to want to keep your ship hidden in the traffic before making your way out through sector J-19. A few 'sensor malfunctions' will happen and your ship will just be lost in static."
"Sweet! You're a lifesaver, Gulan!"
"I hate how literal that probably is."
------------
As everyone boarded the Galvin Thorn and its namesake charged towards the pilot's seat in a suitably dramatic fashion befitting a dashing rogue such as himself, he noticed a worrying amount of airspeeders heading his way and his comm unit blaring "This area is under C-SEC lockdown until further notice-" but that was as far as the message got before Galvin switched it off, deactivated the landing gear, powered up the shields, and pushed the ship's thrusters to maximum. The Galvin Thorn quickly started hurtling forwards at breakneck speeds as C-SEC speeders came up behind it and began to open fire with ion rounds. Even so, the shots merely bounced off of the ship's shields, and it became very quickly apparent that the speeders just couldn't keep up with the Thorn's superior speed.
Galvin grinned as he left the C-SEC speeders in his dust. He had only piloted his namesake ship a handful of times, but every time he was reminded just how much of a thrill it was to fly. The only ships he knew that could reliably keep up with it were its sister ships from Sienar, but aside from that nothing else stood a chance. Without even bothering to slow down Galvin pulled back on the stick as he reached the sector Gulan had marked, and with that the ship began rapidly climbing into orbit. After setting the autopilot to do a few misdirecting jumps before heading to Taris, he got out of his chair and headed back to see the passengers of his sip.
Cheriss had a wide grin on her face, clearly enjoying herself.
Lyra was looking incredibly worried, holding onto her daughter tightly.
Galen looked like he wanted to be anywhere in the galaxy but on this ship. That was a problem in Galvin's book.
"Well you'll be happy to hear that we've managed to evade the cops and are now on course for the lovely planet of Taris," Galvin said cheerfully as he made his way over to the ship's stocks, grabbing a fancy bottle of wine he saved for special occasions. "So relax! Take it easy!" he said as he poured out bottles for Galen and Lyra, though both of them refused.
Jyn fidgeted in Lyra's arms before she pointed at Galvin. "Weird."
"Wait, what?"
"Weird man." Galvin stared blankly at the girl who couldn't have been more than two as she actively insulted him.
"W-Weird!? You mean 'cool' or 'great' or-"
"No. Weird."
"W-what!?"
"What about me?"Cheriss asked as she leaned forward slightly, not noticing that Lyra was desperately trying not to laugh.
Jyn pointed at her. "Pretty rock lady."
Cheriss was dead silent for a moment before letting out a high-pitched squeal. "So cute!" she said as she moved next to Lyra. "Can I poke her just a bit Shards don't have babies you understand and really this is the first time I've really been around someone this young and she's just so cute come on one poke won't hurt-"
Meanwhile Galen looked between the scene playing out in front of him and Galvin sitting down next to him, grumbling to himself.
"What is even happening..." Galen muttered to himself.
"Hey, I told you to relax!" Galvin said as he turned towards him, flashing a cheesy grin. "You've got a new lease on life, my man! Enjoy the moment!"
"I think I'd enjoy it more if I understood what was happening."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. At times like these, you should rely on an old Zeltron saying: Be excellent to each other, and party on!"
Galen looked at him with a flat expression on his face. "You made that up on the spot, didn't you."
"N-no, of course not! It's been a saying on Zeltros for decades, centuries even!"
Reward: Galen Erso extracted, leaving him wondering what has happened to his normal life
AN: Ironically this was hard to conceptualize, but once I got the base idea on paper...it basically wrote itself.
I will not apologize if any reader contracts diabetes from the parts where Cheriss is being too cute. That's your own problem.
Enjoy~
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