'Okay, I'll keep it shaved for you,' Loreley nodded and yawned, 'Uaw~, you tired me out.' She closed her eyes, embracing Teal from the side, as she drifted off to sleep.
At her mention of the dog collar, Dano is legitimately speechless. "I-... I'm... Mari? Look, I'm not sure that this is a hostage situation yet, I just want to find out what's going on here. You aren't against Cyrus, are you? Tell me why you're here." He looks at her, trying to project confidence, though her demeanor is throwing him off.
They nod. "Beware, though. There are creatures in the cave, and the Dark Lords can appear at any time. No one knows how or why they come here." Paz is led to the crystal caves, where, after fighting a large spider like creature, he's able to take a large amount, as do Briar and the mercs. As they leave, Paz hears the telltale sound of a lightsaber igniting.
"Well, it would be more suitable of a hostage situation if you tied me up." Other than blatant flirting she didn't plan on really going anywhere with, there was a point to keeping him guessing of what she may or may not do and keeping him speechless was a good way to avoid him doing any well thought decisions. "Against Cyrus? No. What I am against is enemies of the consortium. Namely the Black Suns. People want to call you rogue...but that's not really true, is it? You're still loyal to the consortium. Just not who runs it.Which is why you haven't went out of your way to actually attack us yet. Because you never really left the syndicate. Am I wrong?
Loreley yawned and gave Teal a little kiss to wake him, 'Hmm, that was nice, cuz. I better take another shower, we probably stink. Join me if you like.' She giggled, before scooting out of bed. She tip toed to the bathroom, naked as the day she was born and swaying her shapely hips, obviously in a good mood after their nap. The brunette stepped under the shower again, leaving the bathroom door open.
As expected, Teal joins her. Things continue for the next day, until on the third day Loreley realises that her meeting is in a few hours.
Loreley went to teal in the ships kitchen, 'Hey, I gotta go to that meeting with the prototype fighter project. Wish me luck. Bye.' She kissed her lover/cousin, before getting ready to leave, putting on her best uniform. Soon, the pilot travelled to the meeting point Grand Admiral Zenobia had given her, ready to show that she was the right woman for the job.
"I had a feeling. I also am not convinced it's impossible to get you on our side. You were chosen because of your skills and dedication and that hasn't changed. True, Zann is no longer around, but the consortium he helped built isn't weakening. It's getting bigger and more powerful with each move we make...aren't you curious at just how far we could go?"
At the door to the grand admiral's office, an attractive blonde secretary greets Loreley with a smile, asking her to wait a few minutes. A balding admiral exits, not acknowledging Loreley's existence, and the secretary tells her she can go in. Inside, in a comfortable and small office, Zenobia sits at his desk, smiling up at the pilot as he sees her. Across from him, in a chair, stands a tall man with blue skin and bright red eyes, wearing the uniform of a Vice Admiral. Zenobia stands. "Commander Rhinnus, good afternoon. May I introduce Vice Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo." He pronounces the difficult name with ease. The blue man inclines his head. "Commander. A pleasure." He speaks in a polite but highly guarded tone, with an expression that's impossible for her to read. "Please, no need to use that name. I'm called Thrawn, now." He holds out a hand.
"I suppose. I am interested in taking the consortium as far as I can, but Zann was like a father to me. He took me off the streets. Sure, he wasn't particularly kind, but he gave me a home. If I go work for his killer, what kind of man does that make me?"
Loreley smiled at the secretary, wondering if she knew Zenobia intimately, quickly standing at attention as the other admiral left the office. She stepped inside the office and saluted the Grand Admiral. 'Commander Rhinnus reporting, Grand Admiral.' She gave anothe salute to the Vice admiral, 'Vice Admiral Thrawn, the pleasure is mine. Loreley Rhinnus, at your service.' She shook the blue man's hand and looked up at his red eyes.
Dannan wondered what she should say. It's true, she wasn't the best at knowing how to deal with people, but he was still listening to her anyway which is honestly more than she expected from him. "It means that you haven't given up on the group despite your personal grudges....perhaps this may not be exactly what you want to hear, but much of the reason things ended the way they did and nobody complained was because of Zann putting himself before the group with his war on the imperials. He stopped trying to think of anyone other than himself. He told Mari he loved her, but was perfectly willing to kill her as soon as it looked like it would benefit him...people followed along so easily because they believed it was returning to the times of being a group for everybody. Your personal opinion of Cyrus aside, holding the factory that we need puts everyone else at risk...you said you didn't want to kill mostly normal people...it's exactly what you will be doing if we can't get the means to finish the Suns."
Zenobia smiles. "This is who I was yelling you about, Vice Admiral. Please, sit." He asks Loreley if she wants any refreshments, and then gets to business. "What would your evaluation be of the current TIE fighter line? Do you think that they're suitable for combat against the rebels?"
He thinks, seemingly moved by Danann's logic. "I suppose. I don't want people to get hurt unnecessarily. I just... It feels disloyal to not get vengeance."
"Damn, no dice." DT-L30 sighed as he realized a group of enemies had arrived outside. "Yeah, hopefully they are. Let's deal with those guys for now." He said as he holds both of his lightsabers.
He can immediately tell that these men are more skilled than those that attacked before. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they stab at DT and Xarrina with their pikes, remaining safely at a distance.
"Well...we aren't going to be opposing the entire imperial army, but in some ways, we'll still be carrying out his mission. There's some rather nasty people even among the imperials that the galaxy would be better off without....not everyone...but some of them...we can talk more on that later. We haven't given up the goals. The plan has always been prosperity. That hasn't changed. We're just being smarter about it....the way I understand it, if it weren't for the fact that you'd be working under Cyrus, there wouldn't be an issue with providing us with your help. correct? Then how would you like to work for me? I don't plan on turning my back on Cyrus, but having resources of my own without needing to rely on his at every step would be beneficial to everybody. Situation with Art aside, I like to consider myself a benevolent boss, I assure you. "
