Blood, and Other Tough Stains

[Meira]

She'd never been to Circumtore. She hadn't been anywhere except Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa before the Archeri screwed her life up. But they had, and now here she was. She'd not yet been back to Nar Shaddaa. After resting up on Mandalore with Jayec, he'd brought her here. It seemed the Exchange had moved in, filling the power gap left when the Hutt Cartel collapsed. She had to hand it to Faine, the woman didn't let a near galactic extinction level event prevent her from taking advantage when she saw a chance. That was why she was the boss, Ylva figured.

The ringworld was a crowded mess, full of refugees from various Hutt worlds. The Exchange was, in fact, the only real organizing factor in the chaos. Ylva moved through crowded streets, taking it in. For her own sake, she kept away from the biggest areas of congregation, and wore a jacket with a hood to keep the chance of immediate recognition low. As Jayec had told her, there were likely a lot of people out there unwilling to see past the "mind controlled" aspect of her infection.

When she'd heard Simone was on the ringworld, she attempted to send him a message. In that attempt, she'd found her Exchange account to be entirely locked out. That she'd been black listed wasn't a surprise, but that she was still black listed didn't seem to bode well for her. It took some time, but she eventually found her way to the area more directly controlled by the exchange. Jayec had told her to find Hertz, that he'd take Ylva to see Faine. Hertz was waiting by one of the security doors as Ylva approached. But a glimpse of a familiar pink frame gave her pause. Turning, Ylva saw Tomasso finishing up with an incoming delivery and waving the driver away. Ylva paused, considering for a moment, and then turned toward the Zeltron.

"Tomasso." she said in a loud whisper, standing around a corner and out of sight of Hertz.

The Zeltron looked up at hearing his name and glanced around. When his eyes landed on Ylva, he almost dropped the datapad he'd been holding. Ylva saw the hesitation in his eyes as he debated heeding her beckoning hand. But that only lasted a moment before he set the datapad down and moved around the corner to join her.

"What are you doing here, bos-" he winced, "...Ylva." He recovered, but it wasn't lost on her.

"I'm supposed to meet with Faine. Figure out what they're gonna do with me, I guess." she replied, looking him over. He seemed thinner, and a bit wan. "How are you holding up? You and the rest?" Tomasso shrugged, his discomfort apparent. Not really possessed of the time to let him squirm, she pushed on. "My comms access hasn't been restored yet. Will you tell Simone I want to see him?"

"I... Yeah. I mean... I can." Tomasso ran his hand through his hair, eyes looking anywhere but at Ylva.

"What?" she asked.

"I just don't know if he'll want to see you." he finally managed.

"You just tell him, ok? I'll worry about the rest." Ylva put a hand on Tomasso's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He only flinched a little before she gave him a gentle nudge to go back to what he was doing.

"Hey, Ylva." he said, turning after taking a few steps.

Ylva looked up, waiting for what he'd say. Instead of speaking, however, Tomasso rushed quickly back to her, throwing his arms around her middle and squeezing her tight. Ylva stood, arms away from her sides, unsure of what to do for a moment. Letting out a breath, she wrapped her own arms around the man and squeezed him back.

"Go on, ya baby." she said, pushing him away.

Ylva allowed a few moments for Tomasso to go back to his work before coming around the corner and approaching Hertz directly. His hand very obviously moved to rest on his sidearm when he saw who was approaching. Quickly, he shooed those around him away so that only he stood near the security entrance as Ylva approached.

"Arms out." he said in a gruff bark. Ylva complied, keeping her empty hands well away from her sides. She stopped a few paces from him, turning slowly so that he could see she was unarmed. He approached when her back was to him, checking quickly under her coat to confirm. "Orders were to come straight to me. Not go sight seeing and interrupt personnel in their duties." He said, glancing pointedly toward where Tomasso was moving away with the delivery he'd received.

Ylva had to resist the urge to snap back at the man. She remembered Jayec's words to her when he'd dropped her off. He'd implored her to just do what she was told. He'd been at least somewhat confident that Faine didn't want to just kill Ylva outright. But she knew she would be walking a thin line with most everyone else for the foreseeable future. Best not to push her luck before seeing Faine. And so Ylva bit her tongue.

When Hertz saw that she wasn't going to respond, he grumbled something under his breath and motioned toward the door. He keyed in the entry code and told her to walk. Making her walk ahead of him, Hertz only spoke to tell her when to turn, and then when to stop when they reached Faine's office. Hertz knocked on the door, staring Ylva down while he waited for the response.

[Neology]

[googlefont="News Cycle"]

Lidah frowned at her datapad, dragging appointments in and out of her projected schedule with an opal-capped stylus. No matter what combination she tried, she was coming up short on time somewhere else. Somethings could not be cut – check ups on her new liver, consultations with in vitro specialists – those few who would make the trip to Hutt space. Making further extra time to humor a pair of rogue Arkanian geneticists who seemed to be seeking safe haven and a new lab. The rumor was they’d engineered some kind of super baby going on forty or fifty years ago and the sole surviving specimen was now some Jedi of no discernible reputation. How they came to know of her particular needs, Lidah frankly had no idea. Then there were millions of credits in ongoing construction on Nar Shaddaa, Black Sun terrorists running about the underpopulated streets with shoddy rockets, and ... Relocating her inner cadre of almost-friends and family-by-choice. It was this last reason that prompted her to turn the datapad off and set it aside. Lidah answered the door herself, dismissing Hertz with a nod. The security chief lingered indecisively then, reluctantly, made an “it’s your problem now” hand gesture and backed off. ”Madame Wolf. I thought we might have lost you to one of those amorous mercenaries. Don’t tell me you’re only here to give your resignation, I won't hear it.” Lidah wafted back into the office on a cloud of enormous satisfaction. With Ylva found, that left only Jazen still unaccounted for – and she could do without that particular lost shaak for a while longer. ”How are you? Ready to return to work?” Digging distractedly through a pile of plastic printouts on her desk, Lidah produced several relevant articles with a triumphant “aha!” ”In your absence, I’ve assumed ownership for the Janitors in all but name. It may be best to get that straightened out first. Of course, the business wasn’t worth much during the occupation but you’ve got some back pay and damages coming as well – I intend to take responsibility for what was carried out in my name. “Finally, we have a new contract of employment. I’m opening to discussing terms so don’t worry about signing it yet.” Lidah balanced one hip against the corner of her desk and watched her friend expectantly, hands folded to keep them still.

[Meira]

She couldn't help it. Ylva glared right back at Hertz as he knocked on the door. There was nothing else to look at anyway, and she'd had just about reached the limit of her ability to keep her mouth shut. Then the door opened, and Lidah Faine was standing right there. Ylva's head turned quickly to see her, surprised that the woman had come to the door herself rather than call from her desk or whatever that they could enter.

She and Hertz exchanged looks that spoke enough that words were apparently not needed and the man left without a word. Ylva watched him go, just a bit of a smirk on her features, then turned back when Faine spoke. Amourous... huh? Faine turned, walking back into the office and Ylva was obviously meant to follow. She stepped into the room, the confusion only growing on her features. This wasn't going at all how she expected.

"I... no, I wasn't looking to resign." Ylva said, looking around the room.

”How are you? Ready to return to work?”

"Huh? I mean... Yeah, I guess. I just-"

Lidah found something and exclaimed, stopping Ylva for a moment. She set them down on the desk, explaining. At her words, Ylva sank into a chair, her eyes fixed on the documents. She knew that the Janitors -what was left of them- had started working directly for the Exchange when Ylva disappeared. She was thankful for it, knowing that the men that remained hadn't lost everything, that they'd still been taken care of. It was something she didn't fully know about Faine when the two had first signed their contract, but it was something she quickly learned. Faine took care of her own. Ylva nodded at the explanation of what had to be done. But then looked up sharply.

"A new contract?" she asked, brows pulling together. "You... you do know it was me that fucked everything up, right? They told you that?" Ylva gestured with her thumb over her shoulder toward the door to indicate the rest of Faine's employees. "Jayec told me people are still pissed at those of us that went Archeri. And, I mean, I get it. So you being so cool about all this is just throwing me off a little."

[Neology]

[googlefont="News Cycle"]

Lidah paused to read a few details at the end of one of the documents, expression abstracted. She made a few soft, encouraging noises as Ylva confirmed her readiness to work and sank into one of the tufted chairs. ”Of course I know, dear.” From her tone of voice, it was clear how ridiculous Lidah found the idea of her not knowing almost anything. Much less something that concerned both her business and her personal life to such a degree. Yet Ylva seemed not of a mind to glaze over the details. Admirable in a way, though it didn't please her to dwell on her own experiences during the Crisis. Her smile turned fixed as she set back in her own elaborately winged office chair. ”I know that you caused quite a bit of trouble, from Nar Shaddaa all the way to Bothawui. And I have some very detailed reports if you should care to read them. I don’t recommend it, however.” Explicitly itemized pain and trauma – Lidah was ever the type to torture herself just so. For that reason, she knew very well how pointless it was. ”Listen to me. This began 14 months ago with your associate Mr. Mauve in Big Gheddi. We knew nothing about the Archeri at that time, only that there was a new spice on the market rumored to grant Force sensitivity to the untrained. To put it bluntly, we needed to know if it worked. Fast." The trouble that would follow such a thing boggled the mind. In Renata's hands or even in the Republic's. "Thel, who accompanied you, was an unsuitable subject. I am not of a mind to punish you for taking the risk instead. “But Mr. Veth is right, in part. While you had no control over your actions, your personality bled through in ways that others will remember. Your … Exuberance – while usually quite charming – was  kind of terrifying when plundered and turned to those ignoble ends. “So. How would you feel about travel? Just for a while. With the way things are looking out there, I’m sure the next disaster will be along forthwith.”

[Meira]

"Yeah. 'Course they did." Ylva mumbled, readjusting in her chair.

She shook her head almost immediately at the mention of seeing reports of the things she'd done. Ylva could remember the main details, and that was hell enough. She didn't need to elaborate on what genocidal maniac meant in terms of actual numbers of people dead. She got the idea.

”Listen to me."

Ylva's eyes moved back up from where they'd been staring at the corner of Lidah's desk. Faine had settled down into her chair and began to recount the very beginning of it all. At least, the beginning for the involvement of the Exchange and all its subsidiaries. She felt her shoulders tense at the mention of Mauve. That bastard. But even he had no idea what the hell was going on. None of them did, until it was too late. She nodded in recognition at what Faine was saying. But, even knowing that it was true, it was little comfort in the end.

The next statement elicited a bark of humorless laughter from the Zabrak woman. Go big or go home. Excellence in all things. If a job was worth doing, it was worth doing right. All those damn platitudes, cliche as they were, had been the cornerstones of the business she'd built. And they were the very same charges that brought the whole thing crashing down. Someone would probably find that poetic -Johan maybe, he seemed like the thinker type- but Ylva just found it infuriating.

"Travel?" Ylva echoed the word back, the confusion back front and center on her face.

Travel where? She'd never been anywhere else except Nal Hutta. No... that wasn't true anymore. Ylva's jaw flexed. Under the thrall of those damn Archeri, She'd more than doubled the number of planets she'd been to, committing actual war crimes every step of the way. But then, now with the crisis over, focus was coming back to home. Maybe it wasn't a terrible idea.

"Yeah." she said, her hands scratching her nails along the tops of her legs. "Probably best." she added. "Umm.. Where? I can't pilot though, so... I could get a droid, I guess. Did you have something specific in mind?"

[Neology]

[googlefont="News Cycle"]

”Wherever you are needed. It would not be altogether unlike what Thel and Io’an already do for me. Except, ah … You would enjoy somewhat less operational freedom.” Lidah wrinkled her nose. It was a bad comparison – no one could look at Vance or the slicers and say well, obviously they’re being punished. Yet she couldn’t sentence a friend to anything truly terrible, even if it was within the ambit of her power to do so as the Compeer. Ylva was innocent. Just … Also inconvenient, at the moment. Mme. Wolf would be safer anywhere but home. ”You’ll receive one mission at a time and you will be provided with whatever funds and accouterments as are required to complete it. Not much in excess, for the time being.” Now that was a possible limitation Ylva might run into eventually. The boys never had so much imagination when it came to having a good time on company credits. Not that Lidah was complaining. ”For your first job – and I am sorry for passing this on to you – ‘Forte’ must be found. I’d send Thel, but … Well, I know Thel would kill him. And anyone else, Forte might run.” Lidah exhaled through her nose. She glanced at the roof of her office, a much put upon expression thinning her lips into a bloodless line. ”Judging by Forte’s actions during the Siege, I must assume he thinks there is some sort of … Connection, between the two of you. Now, I’d leave him hanging in the wind, were it up to me – but his reputation is buried in even deeper Bantha shit than yours. This is his last chance to make amends. That being seen to make this happen will help you begin to climb out? That's a bonus.”

[Meira]

"Wherever you are needed..."

Ylva nodded, left hand reaching up to scratch just below the horns at the back of her head. It made sense. If she kept her nose clean, stayed busy and out of the way, maybe all the shit would blow over after a while. And honestly, there was a part of her that was relieved. Ylva had always been a driven person. Ever since they'd gotten out from under the Hutts' tails, she'd been determined to be her own boss. But there was a weight that came with self-employment. Everyone had their chains, she supposed. What mattered most was who was holding the other end. For years, Ylva held her own chain. But the events of the Archeri crisis had taken so much out of her. Was it so bad to hand it off? She glanced up at Lidah as the Compeer explained the new circumstances of her employment with the exchange.

Nah, she thought. She won't jerk me around.

When Lidah spoke Forte's name, Ylva's chin jerked upward. her violet eyes widened and hardened at the same time. Caught off guard and instantly on the defensive, she could feel the muscles of her limbs tightening. With conscious effort, Ylva calmed her body, taking deeper breaths. She tried to hide it, though she didn't know why. Lidah was the kind that simply knew things. There was no hiding discomfort from her.

"Well, there was." Ylva replied, pointing at her head with one finger. She'd all but forced that connection on him. She didn't remember specific details, but she remembered the drive to... spread. The damn fungus used her own memories against her. She might have never noticed that the scrawny kid had a thing for her, but the fungus noticed, and had her using that against him. She played off his desire to be some kind of savior, and he ate it all right out of her hands.

"I can't... ya know," Ylva lifted both hands up, wiggling her fingers, "anymore." When the spire burned, whatever had been in her burned away as well. She was, thankfully, only left with the faintest memory of that pain. But even that was enough to wake her up in a cold sweat most nights.

"I guess he didn't go back to the Jedi then?" Ylva raised a brow, watching Lidah more out of the periphery of her vision rather than directly. "I didn't get a lot of the brain shit with the infection. It was mostly just throwing shit around for me but... Remy did." Ylva swallowed, then pushed the pain aside. "He told me Forte's name was actually.... Jazen? He'd been with the Jedi. There was more but I can't remember. He was kicked out? They can't go back after that, right?" Ylva knew exactly jack shit about the Jedi. But what she did know is they were a bunch of tight assed sticklers for rules and she couldn't imagine someone like Forte being welcome among them.

"He might not run from me but, I don't know if he'll be happy to see me either. Can I have some back up?" Ylva was going to do the job, that much was already decided. She was ready to do what she needed to get back to some semblance of normal. But she wasn't about to go be a martyr to do it. She wasn't the suicide mission type. Too damn pretty for that shit.

[Neology]

[googlefont="News Cycle"]

”Well, there was.” Lidah leaned back in her chair and made a small dismissive gesture with her hands. Not quite disagreeing entirely, but communicating that Jazen’s later infection with the plague was beyond the point. His mistake had come before that and she was still coldly furious about it. ”While still of sound mind, Forte went against my direct orders and, as a result, Mr. Yarloc had to cover the gap in our perimeter with less than half the time to prepare. He was nearly killed.” Lidah forced herself to smile, sharp and joyless. ”Now, here we are, the danger quite over ... And the spineless little shit can’t even drag himself here to apologize.” She ground her teeth, listening without fully processing. Of course Ylva’s attunement to the Force had faded, or she would have sensed it when she came in. ”So you’ll go get him for me. And if he refuses – I’m so tired of his excuses – Wait. What did you say?" Jedi. Ylva had definitely said Jedi. Lidah mouthed the word, line of thought rapidly changing. Her posture went stiff in her seat, the humor and trust she’d shown during this visit vanishing in a blink. ”He made a series of unfortunate decisions and then, as now, refused to take proper responsibility for them. We took him in as a favor to a friend. I would appreciate it, Ms. Vuk, if you took special care to keep this information to yourself.” Her hands flowed across the keyboard in front of her, waking the terminal. She resisted the urge to search company records for this ‘Remy’ – just barely. Best wait for Ylva to leave before she grappled with how best to take care of that particular leak. ”Right. The Jedi do not take people back – certainly not after a life of crime like ours. You may take Io’an with you if you wish." Lidah dismissed her guest with a nod, shifting her attention back to the screen in front of her.

[Meira]

"Wait. What did you say?"

The room suddenly felt like the temperature had dropped ten degrees. Ylva's eyes widened slightly at Faine's reaction. She'd never seen the woman react like that. Lidah had always been the definition of calm, cool, and collected as far as Ylva's memory could figure. But here, right before her eyes, Lidah completely changed. Gone was the relaxed, smiling woman. She'd shifted to something almost robotic. Her words were short, and to the point. And one point in particular stood out clear as day. This fact about Forte was to be kept to herself.

Feeling something like a scolded child, Ylva nodded her head emphatically. "Hey, no problem. None of my business anyway." she said, a nervous smile on her face in a poor attempt to lighten the mood.

It didn't seem to work. Lidah said she could take Io'an -that's his name! not Johan- and that was the end of it. With nothing more than a nod, Ylva was dismissed. She sat, a little rattled, in the chair for a moment before standing up with a bit of a start and moving toward the door. "I'll just... yeah." she said. When she reached the door, she paused and then turned back around.

"Hey." she said, clenching her jaw for a second before continuing. "Thank you." There were more words, specifying what specifically she was thankful for, but they were many and emotional. Faine was obviously busy, and done with this conversation. And Ylva wasn't exactly interested in a weepy heart to heart anyway. But she needed to say something, and all the things she needed to say essentially boiled down to that. After another moment, she nodded and then turned back, closing the door behind her as she left.

At the end of the corridor, she found Hertz standing around, still looking surly. When he saw her, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and grunted. Ylva raised her chin in a quick gesture toward him. "Where's uh..." Dammit, what was his name? "Yo...nan?"

Hertz looked at her like she'd grown several new horns since he'd seen her. After a moment, something seemed to come to him. "You mean Io'an?"

Ylva snapped her fingers and pointed toward him, nodding. "That one, yeah."

"In the pit, I expect. Why?"

Ylva didn't bother asking what "the pit" was. "He and I have orders." she said. She also didn't bother explaining those orders to Hertz. None of his business anyway.