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[Emelie Shadowstar]

There was some part of Emelie Shadowstar that genuinely adored the upper levels of Cloud City. The Tourist District with all it's glitz and glamour, Residential for all it's pompous lofts, and the Administrative where the two upper districts came to get down to work. Everything below was sacred to her on another level, but that was best left to the after hours if not afterthought. Starport, better known as Port Town was a second home to her, level where Emelie felt she could be herself fully when wrapped in the mutlicolor lights of Elysium.

Here though, on level 113, where the offices of Elysian Acquisitions stood, it too was home, just in a different way. The tranparasleel windows of the official offices looked over a small park where white collar folks could sit and have lunch. Emelie had made sure that her offices had a small balcony that opened to the fresh air provided by the plant live there, a small getaway from the recycled and refreshed. Never in her life could she recall a place so green. It was equal parts remarkable and pathetic all at once.

A long stemmed cigarra holder was held delicately in her right hand as Emelie leaned over the banister that overlooked the business park below her office. From her lips came a delicate puff of blue smoke that was evidence one of many vices the woman had. Tovash in the glass set aside to the small table to her side gave way to to tell-tale bit of ryll laced in the wrapped tab.

As much as Emelie enjoyed the fight, the chaos, right now, this place? Bespin? Cloud City? It was perfect. It felt like a short lifetime of struggle had come to a head that she hoped would never burst. It had been tried already, prodded and poked and stabbed at, and had proved resilient. That in itself felt different. Her crew, this crew, it was more rock-solid than anything Emelie had before. Maybe it came from the fact they were all one step away from fleeing into the stars but held fast instead.

She wasn't sure what made it work this time. The ragtag group that made of the Exchange on paper should never have been able to hold down anything, yet they did. It brought a smile to her lips. Emelie had always had an idea in her head that that a family could get more done than anything motivated by credits. Even if that family was dysfunctional. She supposed she had her grandmother back on Zeltros to blame for the concept, but gods it worked brilliantly there. So why not here?

Emelie drained the glass at her side, held the glass up against her lips enough that the block of ice numbed her top lip before she placed it to the side again. A few steps was all it would take it to refill, but she couldn't drag herself away from the peaceful view in front of her. Instead she took a long inhale from the ryll laced cigarra again and held it, eyes closing for a bit until she heard the footsteps behind her from the person she had expected. The exhale followed, soft blue puffs of smoke leaving her in gentle clouds that wandered off towards the greens below and vanished.

"So nice of you to make time for me," Emelie drawled. It was unfair, but she didn't care. The business of her employees was her business after all.

[Sadie K'Vesh]

Being summoned to the bosslady' office weren't the typical. Hell, if Emelie had ever wanted anything of Sadie, the fancy half-Zeltron would go and make her way to the Underworld and make demands there. But to go and make a call upwards, towards the pristine and fancy? Frak if it didn't have Sadie half nervous.

It hadn't been long since the Ubral Mairan had made port this time. Private as the place were, Sadie still felt uncomfortable running 'bout in a ship given to her by an Imperial Knight. Cloud City was an Imperial berth though, and that made it half stick as acceptable in her head. Vitt would have laughed, asked her why she hadn't gone and changed the ships' transponder codes to go and give the thing a new meaning, but it weren't like the Lancer-class ship were exactly of Imperial make to go and begin with. It would have done no good except to keep the Selonian off her trail, and for some reason that didn't exactly go and sit well, Sadie weren't sure she wanted to go and try and burn them bridges yet; probably on account of seeing what worse was lurking under.

Still, Emelie was her boss right and proper, and that meant when summoned into the shiny and silverline corporate damn offices of Elysium, Sadie couldn't help but show. Em's quip didn't exactly bring a smirk to her lips. Was like the bosslady was calling her out on the dreg she'd been involved with. Frak, she should have known what that meant.

"Yeah, well..."

Sadie paused with her feet standing just before the balcony, right where the plush carpet of the office went and met open air. She gave her boss a once-over. Didn't take none of that force nonsense to know the bosslady was on edge. Frak.

"Y' ain't exactly gone and called lately."

[Emelie Shadowstar]

She could feel her shoulders tighten with the Slicer's reply.

There was too much damn history between them, too many what if's. Their lives ran parallel and yet so off the grid from one another. Emelie didn't put stock into The Force like some of her responsibilities, but damn if it didn't keep making itself known and wave hello from time to time. Sadie and her father and mother and frak all else was too much a blip to ignore, even if she had wanted to. But that didn't have bearings on now, or here. She would let those mystics play with their nonsense and fates. Emelie refused to have it effect her.

"I've been busy."

[Sadie K'Vesh]

Sadie sure as frak wasnt' sure what brought out her cruel streak with Emelie, but it existed, and damn if she was ever one to hold her tongue.

"Since Vhi left, yeah I've noticed."

She felt kinda bad as soon as it left her and Sadie went and shuffled a bit where she stood and shoved her hands in her pockets. It were easy taking pot shots at Em, always had been. The bosslady pulled strings and tugged on bits and pieces to make everything align, but her personal life were a wreck. Not that Sadie was much better; only luck had come up front there. And if Sadie were right honest with herself... Well, the bosslady did kinda have that whole saved her life thing. Emilie didn’t make a big deal of it, though. Frak her for that.

”Y’ ain’t the only one...”

It didn’t need to be said, no doubt the network she’d set up for the boss let her be more than aware of the various places Sadie’s other employer had her running to and fro, but still. Acknowledging was all kinds of important.

Sadie sighed, far too heavily for her liking but enough to just seem frustrated rather than... aw, hell, it didn’t matter. Not here. Not now.

”So, why? Things down below ain’t to y’re liking?”