A Lucky Encounter

[Arekk]

NAR SHADDAA​

Landing Bay 92, Near The Promenade​

​

The heavy rain poured down on the Smuggler's Moon as people liked to call Nar Shaddaa, city of crime and "opportunity" for many individuals that were less than friendly once you met them. The streets felt less secure within time although the Promenade was revamped heavily thanks to the presence of a new organization called The Hawk's Circle. Their soldiers and associates worked for a young Force Sensitive individual that more than disrupting everyone's business contributed for the well being of everyone that ran operations within his turf: That being the Red Light Sector and obviously the Promenade.

Landing Bay 92 was heavily protected by members of The Hawk's Circle due to being one of the main routes to smuggle weapons and spice in and out off-world. Incoming shuttles from nearby systems brought off-worlders to Nar Shaddaa and were scrutinized before being allowed to proceed within city limits, this being a security countermesure to avoid having enemies of the criminal syndicate setting up "terrorist" cells that have as a main objective to destroy this uprising organization.

The bright neon lights and obnoxious announcements coming from the advertisements all over Nar Shaddaa quickly invaded everyone's senses once they stepped out of the shuttles, attemping to draw their poor lives into low-life casinos and other places where people end up wasting away all their live savings on Sabacc.

One girl seemed to have brought the guard's attention whom in exchange sent all information through an encrypted Holonet channel back at this mysterious kingpin. She'd be followed without her noticing at all, keeping a keen eye out on this person. The Hawk's Den, a luxurious casino in the Promenade, popped up in everyone's eyes once you made it towards the center course of the city. It was the go-to place for anyone that stepped foot in Nar Shaddaa. If anyone needed information, that would be the right spot to go to and mingle with the right crowd.

[member="Katria Vekarr"]

 

[Katria Vekarr]

Nar Shaddaa.

The same familiar protests reached her ears as she watched the ship approach the landing bay she'd plotted course to. Almost like it had a sort of radar for the reckless things she tended to do, the verpine careened from one side of the ship to another trying to find some means of swaying her from making her final decision. And, as per usual, he retreated into the cargo bay as soon as the ships landing gear touched down. She would have been glad for the silence, if it wasn't typically followed by the trek through an utter underworld to her contacts rendezvous.

Flipping a few switches, and punching in the security codes for the ship, she pushed away from the pilot chair and console so she could make her way towards the docking ramp. It only took her a matter of moments, leaving her to watch in silence as she waited for the ramp to lower itself accompanied by the tell tale moans and groans of the scrap heaps collapsing frame. She was in working order, but for the sake of a frag she needed a lot of work.

After what seemed like hours, though in reality it was merely minutes, the docking ramp lowered and Katria began to make her way across the landing platform towards the "city of crime". Hugging her verpine rifle to her shoulder, though not enough to give off a hint of caution, she brushed past a thug or two and came upon the causeway that would lead her to the pavilion where she usually found the Hawk's Den. Rather than proceeding immediately, however, she paused and pulled out a small pad from her coat.

Three swipes, seven tabs and a inaudible phrase later and she was on the move again. This time with a much more confident and timely pace to her gait. Passing yet more thugs, clear to give them the right look of 'kriff off' as she did, she made her way up to and into the Hawk's Den. Her contact would be along if he wasn't delayed and, if she was lucky, she could have some fun while she was waiting.

At least when you're late for a rendezvous she didn't waste more time than she needed to.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk had already placed his eyes on this captivating woman entering the Hawk's Den with a pace that demonstrated confidence in herself. Weapons were not allowed inside the casino yet an exception was made for her, allowing things to become easier which she'd notice when other patrons would have to forsake their weapons to the establishment's security.

Her strut would take her towards the main hall of the casino which was beautifully decorated and a bunch of gambling tables filled with multiple alien species wasting all their credits to make a decent living.

He was on a balcony specially reserved for the most important people (Usually high-profile criminals) and affording one of the spots would cost you an eye. From there, the young warrior would have a complete overview of the casino and its most important hotspots. Katria would be able to notice the half-masked individual peering at everyone from above like a king over his peons.

Unbeknownst to the female gunslinger, two disguised Trandoshans followed her at a steady yet stealthy pace trying to collect all information available from this person. They were good at what they did and it'd be pretty difficult for Katria to detect them at once.

"Make sure she's attended well by our employees." The man whispered in the ear of one of his closest men present.

[member="Katria Vekarr"]

 

[Katria Vekarr]

Perhaps walking fully armed into a club wasn't the best idea.

Or so the thought would have been if she had even the slightest respect or trust for the bottom feeders who liked to jump the seemingly timid. She, however, was smarter than that and it wasn't like her to go anywhere in the cesspit of a city that was Nar Shaddaa's central hub without being prepared. Even if that meant disregarding the typical rules of an establishment like the Hawk's Den.

It wasn't until she was halfway through the main hall that she noticed a partially masked man observing the lot of the customers. And, from the looks of him, she couldn't have been more certain that he was the man in charge. A fact that made finding the right person to talk to about her missing contact just a mite bit easier. That was if he was the cooperative type. She didn't like taking her chances, and she definitely wasn't in a mood to lose any part of her body to some fool gambler.

Making her way around for a bit, minding her own and observing those who were all but completely lost in what they were doing, she found her way to a door that was just within view of the man on the balcony and leaned against the wall. To any of those who were unfamiliar with the trade of a mercenary or smuggler she'd appear to be simply lounging about in an awkward fashion. But to those with an eye for the underhanded tact of the criminal and business world? Well, she was practically waving a sign for the masked man to approach her.

It didn't help that her choice of attire was enough to make a timid man blush. She liked her clothes tight, fitting and with just enough show to keep the imagination running on overtime.

 

[Arekk]

As usual, Ar'ekk made his way down from the "Members Only" area to mingle with the regular crowd. He prefered to speak and hang out with those similar to him than having to deal with the filthy rich and their ill-gotten intentions, founding them unappeasing to even hold a conversation that had any sort of intelligence at all. They all revolved around splattering brains, collecting money and more and the young warrior wasn't interested in that anymore. A change of mind had been going through the crime lord's head the past few weeks but nothing had been decided as of now.

Walking by the provocatively dresssed mercenary, they clashed glances but he didn't utter any words to this person. There would be time to talk but first there were some other things to attend to. Nearby was Scourge, his own bodyguard and personal killing machine that rose in height as the biggest building on the Smuggler's Moon. In whispered talks, they plotted their next move regarding some upcoming smuggling operation which was nothing of anyone's worth to hear.

"Give everyone drinks on the house." Ar'ekk said to his second-in-command, waving his hand around.

The female standing against the wall stood there for a while now and he decided it was the moment to make a move, otherwise she'd spend the entire evening just hanging about in an awkward manner to the common eye.

"I didn't know we would be having such a beautiful visitor in The Hawk's Den. We usually don't see many around here." He said, making the introduction a little light-hearted and funny, being the latter the best trait of his personality which had turned stagnated and cold.

[member="Katria Vekarr"]

 

[Katria Vekarr]

It didn't take long for the young mercenary to notice the masked man leaving his post. In fact, as he made his way, she watched him before and after he'd left and reentered her line of sight. Like most, though merely an assessment, he was one to intermingle with the patrons of his establishment. However, as she watched, she noticed quickly that he was one to make conversation with those that she assumed matched a particular archetype; one that excluded the power drunk and money loving.

It was a notion that brought a small smirk to her face when she caught his eye as he passed.

She adjusted herself against the wall, then tilted her head to get a better look at the man while he discussed something in the privacy of near silence and waited until he made his way back over to her. How she'd known he was going to she couldn't quite say, though she could have attributed it to the range of choices she'd made upon entering, but as he came over she was careful to flash him a moderately inviting glance to match her already inviting appearance. After all, he wasn't that hard on the eyes.

If you excluded the mask.

"You don't say?" She breathed as she pushed herself up off the wall, letting him settle in front of her. Once those words had sunk in she slid the rifle off her back to lean on it and briefly stretched to get any kinks out of her back. "Might want to be careful none of the other women here catch wind of that, they might not take to kindly to it."

With a smug expression augmented by a subtle wink she relaxed her posture and leaned back enough to invite him to move closer.

"From the looks of you," she uttered glancing up at his previous perch then back, "you can help me... But what can I do to help you?"

 

[Arekk]

A confident smirk broadened upon his face once the gunslinger decided to introduce herself to the young warrior, wanting to know more of this person. There was something captivating about the way she handled herself and cautiously picked her words when speaking to others that told him he should keep digging more about her persona and what had brought such a peculiar person to a scummy place like Nar Shadda and specially, The Hawk's Den.

"I don't worry about other women, to be honest. Let's say I keep an eye on the prize instead." He replied back in a way you could only describe it as confident, trying to put himself above in the conversation. Mere casual chatter for Ar'ekk, having done this countless of times with femme fatales, cold blooded women assassins and other things she probably heard about already that occured in the underworld.

Ar'ekk stepped closer to Katria yet kept a reasonable distance from her personal space to avoid making things getting awkward. He liked the upclose approach and she seemed to be inviting him over to do so, which he eventually went ahead with. The young crime lord's voice was regulated through the half-mask and his breathing was louder than your usual human not wearing this type of thing on their face, making him sound slightly menacing to the common individual.

"Let me invite you a drink first. Then, we can talk more."

Signaling to follow along, Ar'ekk invited Katria over to a more reserved and refined area of the casino where they would be able to have some privacy and hold a conversation free of unwanted ears. A bunch of armed thugs protected this specific spot and one of the Nikto guards tried to confiscate the gunslinger's weapon. As a display of power, Ar'ekk grabbed the alien bodyguard by his throat and governed his ear who immediately backed away and seemed to have feared of losing his life for simply doing his job.

"Have a seat."

[member="Katria Vekarr"]

 

[Katria Vekarr]

Confident to a fault. It was an admiral trait in partners, an acceptable trait in business associates but she had to admit at the end of the day that it had her feeling a mite bit frustrated. He moved forward, exactly as she'd hoped he would, but as he moved he stopped just short of the space she had offered him. Outwardly she gave him a small but reserved smile, waiting as he spoke and granted her what she could only have considered a fairly acceptable compliment.

As he moved back away from her and started to move towards a private part of the club, she couldn't help but up her pace and lay a hand gently on his shoulder. A play on attention to the untrained eye, but as she gave a tug at his collar one who was trained could see that she had brushed her finger up to the back of his jaw to incite a sensation if he gave one. A test, really, but she wasn't going to outwardly admit it to the bouncers and guards around the club.

As they entered the private room, where she could see that it would only be them and a set of heavily armed guards, she noticed a guard refusing to allow her to enter. Instinctively she made a gesture to pad the rifle she'd hugged to her arm with the strap coiled around her bicep. When the young man reacted, however, she instead relaxed and retreated her hand at the display of power by her host. At least he wasn't going to be boring.

Once they were inside the room, and he had given her the invitation to take a seat, she laid her rifle against the nearest seat within a few feet of her grasp.

"I have a better idea," she breathed as she flashed a glance towards the guards turning away to keep their watch then pressed herself against her host. It was a simple gesture at first but, as she slid a hand to his arm and the other to his shoulder, she lifted herself up to bring her lips close to his ear. "I know you're not my regular contact, but you seem much more influential."

From where she stood, keeping herself close to the man, she leaned back and meet his gaze as best she could. Perhaps her approach had been unconventional given the abruptness, but from the look of him and the nature of the establishment he was ripe to offer her exactly what she needed. And maybe then some.

 

[Arekk]

Captivating. If there was any word to define the woman standing in front of the young warrior it would be that, plain and simple. She dressed provocatively yet fine enough for whatever occasion and remained to look splendorous. Something said that she was strong, intelligent and thoughtful. Wary of her sorroundings like a lioness in the jungle, protecting what's hers at all costs.

When Katria moved in closer to govern Ar'ekk's ear he couldn't help but lay his right hand strongly against her hips in an attempt to have some hold of her, a display of playfulness and some. They exchanged glances strongly as if they were inviting themselves to something else, so much could be told through a simple look of each other. Perhaps her approach was indeed unconventional but this wasn't the first time someone tried the same move against the him but there was a sensation she wasn't like the rest of the females.

"Influential. I like the way you call me." He played along with her, toying with the words that came out of her mouth. The half-mask had gotten in their way but she would be able to remove it quite easily, if that's what the gunslinger desired. Ar'ekk pressed Katria against him gently as his hand continued to strongly grasp her hip, his breathing growing stronger as time passed.

The lights instantly became more dimly lit to allow them a more comfortable evening, the temperature in the air turning up just slightly. Two of the guards remained outside and the door was closed, nearby was a bar that offered the most expensive drinks in the Smuggler's Moon. If there was something he liked to do the right way was entertaining his guests. But this one?

She was way too important to disappoint.

[member="Katria Vekarr"]