(Untitled)

[corsec_jedi]

The wake for his father was three days ago, and Corran is back at One CorSec Plaza. He sits in his father's old office--one not yet reassigned--rather than at his own desk. In front of him, a dossier on Bossk, and a stack 8 inches high of old cases with his involvement in them

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[nodistresshere]

Iella Wessiri takes a deep breath and then releases it, striding through the division floor, nodding in return to those who greet her. She is a slight woman in her twenties, energetic and athletic, with blonde hair gathered into a loose ponytail. She wears an especially crisp green and black CorSec uniform. She carries the same accoutremonts as all of the other officers--stuncuffs, force baton, commlink, service weapon--along with a surprise or two (like the vibroblade in her boot, which has proved its worth more than once).

She walks smoothly, with purpose and a destination, headed straight for the office that the well-respected, well-known agent Hal Horn used to call his own. She pauses in the open doorway, looking in at the dark-haired man hunched at the desk, and then she raps lightly.

"Corran Horn?"

[corsec_jedi]

He doesn't look up. A ton of agents have dropped in in the last few days--well-wishers, mostly. People his father trained on some counts. People who, ironically, were preventing him from avenging the man they wished to so fondly remember.

So his voice is a little irritated and a little weary when he shoots back mildly, "Who's asking?"

[nodistresshere]

Suspicion confirmed.

Undaunted, Iella takes a step inside the office. "I'm so sorry about your father. We only met a few times, but every time, I came away more and more impressed." She almost smiles, but doesn't quite. "And charmed, to boot."

Iella is a practical woman. She has seen the steady stream of people moving in this direction over the past day and a half or so, and--given the tone--she has a general idea of the younger Horn's reaction to it. She doesn't linger on the condolences, as genuine as they are; she takes several brisk steps forward and offers her hand. "Iella Wessiri."

[corsec_jedi]

He looks up, and is rewarded with a pleasant sight in Iella. "Yeah, I'm sorry, too." He reaches up and shakes her hand, firmly but quickly, and returns his attention to his work. "What can I do for you today, Agent Wessiri?"

[nodistresshere]

"Well, I had been meaning to offer my condolences about Hal," she says, returning the handshake in the same spirit before releasing his hand. "I'd just been planning on waiting until the deluge of people flooding your door had slowed down."

She rests a hand lightly on the edge of the desk; a subtle sign that she isn't going anywhere any time soon. "But Gil asked me to introduce myself to you."

[corsec_jedi]

Corran smirks and leans back. Someone with a genuine sense of humor, not just here to talk about the 'old days'. And if Gil sent her... well, hell. Gil must have had a reason...

"Nice of you to wait." He thinks for a moment, then points at her with a spark of recognition. "Your toast to him was actually very moving. He'd have been touched. Thanks."

His eyes narrow slightly. "Gil's a good man, and an old family friend. Any reason in particular he sent you my way?" Either way, I'll have to thank him later.

[nodistresshere]

Iella smiles, a little. "You're welcome. I only wish I'd known him better."

That part is easy. What follows is not, as is evidenced by her momentary pause. Their boss, Gil Bastra, wanted to come with her on this, but she'd insisted on coming herself. Especially after Imperial Intelligence Liasion Kirtan Loor had expressed a desire to come along for the meeting, too.

She's wondering now if maybe coming without Gil was the right choice.

"Yeah," she says. "He's assigned me as your partner."

[corsec_jedi]

The spark in his eye fades a bit, and while his smile doesn't change, it somehow empties. "I'm sorry. I thought you said he assigned you as my new partner."

[nodistresshere]

"I'm not trying to be a new anything, Horn," she says, and her voice is firm but gentler than the use of his last name might make it seem. "No one can replace your father. But you need somebody to work with you and to watch your back, and I can do that."

She thinks she can, anyway. Gil, at least, had seemed confident that she could handle Corran.

[corsec_jedi]

He runs a hand through his hair, then looks Iella square in the eye. "Listen, Agent Wess--Iella. I'm sure you're a very good agent, and more than capable of being a great partner for someone. But it's not me." He drops his head and continues reading an addendum to a file concerning Bossk. "I don't need a partner. But thank Gil for me, and I'll see you around."

[nodistresshere]

Iella sits on the edge of the desk, as if he hadn't spoken.

Coincidentally, right on top of the next stack of files.

"When was the last time you stopped for something to eat?"

[corsec_jedi]

"I'm not hungry. Why is this relevant?" He looks up, and a sigh of exasperation escapes his lips.

And then his stomach growls.

He looks down with a scowl and mumbles "Traitor."

[nodistresshere]

"This is relevant because you're going to run yourself into the ground," she says, matter-of-factly. "Gil's being lenient. He's letting you work on this investigation when standard conflict of interest procedure says that he should do no such thing. He's not making you take bereavement leave. He's putting a lot of trust in you, and that includes trusting that you'll take care of yourself instead of working yourself to death."

Beat.

"Or, alternatively, he's trusting that if I'm your partner, I'll at least buy you a sandwich once in a while." She regards him, seriously. "Now, I'll make you a deal. You come with me, you leave the files here, and you get some lunch, take an hour or two break. Nobody thinks well exhausted and running on an empty stomach. After the break, we'll come back here, and I'll start going through these with you."

Iella lays her hand on the file that he's looking at, and her voice lowers as she looks at him, steady and quiet. "This is too much to take on alone."

[corsec_jedi]

The (slightly) younger agent doesn't respond for a moment. He doesn't even breathe. Finally, he lets out a long, held breath. Why do I get the feeling this is far from the last time I'm going to admit to myself that she's right?

"First off, I know he's being lenient. But he's letting me take the case because he knows he'd have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers. And secondly..." he chews on his lip for long seconds, eyes searching her face, sizing her up, not wanting to actually let the next sentence escape his lips.

"One hour. A lot of people wanted this case; I'm determined to get him in record time. Fair?"

[nodistresshere]

Gil had seemed utterly resigned to the fact that whether or not he was allowed to be, Corran Horn was going to be in the middle of this case, and it might as well be officially sanctioned.

Iella will take what she can get from this stranger. "Fair. It's a deal." She rises. "I know a place not too far from here that makes a mean nerfburger."

[corsec_jedi]

He watches her stand up, takes a deep breath, then rises from his father's chair. "Honestly, even roast gornt sounds good right now. A nerfburger might as well be ryshcate from here." He half-grins and walks with her to the door.

And right around there, deep inside in a place where he won't admit it officially for several days at least, he accepts that this lady stranger is his new partner.

It's coupled with a sinking feeling that she's going to be right instead of him. A lot.

Just this once, Dad, can my intuition be wrong?