Private A New Breath

[Milla Kryst]

After a long week of working, Milla was finally able to take a break. She had no jobs planned after, so she decided to find a place to rest. Having no home or base of operations, she wanted to actually sleep in a bed, and not the cot on her ship. She called ahead to a less-than-average hotel on the world of Onderon to reserve a room; no reason to take an hour trip to a world only to not have a room available. Onderon was somewhat quiet and out of the way.... an established world with some luxuries and civilizations, but not a capital world. At least, Milla didn't think so.

After landing and making the bit of walk and ride, she finally found the hotel, and then to her room. Just outside her door she stopped, resting the forehead of her helmet against the door. She was almost too tired to even open the door, being on the move constantly for over a week... the only time she had to sit down was when she was piloting her ship. Nearby, an Aqualish left their room and looked over at Milla. She had that feeling that she was being stared at, but it didn't help she noticed the Aqualish had stopped just outside their room. "Yeah? What are you starin' at," Milla said, turning her helmet to look at the alien, "frag off!" She said angrily, sighing as she pressed the door control, opening the door and walking in.She shut it behind her and leaned her back against the door, still tired.

The room was barely bigger than a bathroom and a bedroom, with the smallest kitchen possible. It was truly just a pitstop kind of room, but it did have a video communication device with it.

Riamah

 

[Riamah]

When he walked into his room and closed the door behind him, he might notice there was a message waiting for him to listen to and watch. At the moment, Ra needed a person that wasn't too well known but also one that was known to get jobs done. Going through an old roster of contacts she had picked up over the years, she felt she had found the perfect person in Scar.

If he opened the message, he would see the blue outline of the hologram, the setting was an office around her and the face of Ra speaking.

"Hello. I am Ra'a'mah Numare and have a business proposition for you."

Lifting up a hand, a small pyramid-shaped device could be seen.

"There is one of these I am searching for. Please contact me if you are interested."

With that, the information was given on how to contact Ra and the message ended. It seemed very straight forward and Ra hoped the commission would be accepted. All she could do was wait for the call to be returned.

Milla Kryst

 

[Milla Kryst]

Taking a breath to calm down and finally rest, she realized rest wasn't exactly going to come easy to her. But it never really did.... noticing the notification that there was a message, she took her helmet off to breathe more clearly as she sat down to watch the holovid. She peered at the pyramid-like device, thinking it seemed familiar, but obviously it wasn't something she ever paid much attention to if she couldn't remember. If anything, she may have only had familiarity of it through rumor in passing. Either way, it seemed simple enough.... mostly. Gab the item, take it to this Ra'a'mah, job done. But.... in a minute. She shut off the holovid and proceeded to get comfortable, removing her suit so she could bathe and rest. It was already night time, so it should be no surprise that any response would come in the next day, anyway.

After all was said and done and she woke up for the new day, taking the time to put on her armor, securing her helmet and setting up a communication through the video com. Using the information given to her, she 'dialed' to this employer, to inquire more about the job. Scar didn't mind how long until the employer would be available, as she had the rest of the day off anyway, so once it popped up, Ra'a'mah would see her lounging on her couch.... well, of course she would, she paid for this room, so she's going to sit on the couch she paid for. Still, she greeted professionally, "greetings, I'm Scar Berenk... I hear you have a job for me?"

Riamah

 

[Riamah]

Days and nights sometimes became a blur in her life. What was a day for her was a night for somebody else. Luckily it wasn't in the middle of the night for Ra when her potential employee replied to her message. It was almost time for Ra to get off for the day after planning the next business trip that would take her across the galaxy.

Answering the call, the redhead would be seen clearly and in color. These days they didn't have to deal as much with the blue and grey of holograms and everything was in color. Sitting back in her chair, around her would be seen the office she sat in along with some items she had picked up during her travels.

"A pleasure to talk to you, Scar. I am Ra'a'mah Numare."

Sadly she didn't actually possess a Holocron to show Scar and she had to rely on a hologram to show off. However, it was shown in great detail and it really would be difficult to make a mistake when picking up the actual item.

"This is a rare Holocron. The purpose of the one I want to acquire is business-related. It contains a record of his business practices and how he ran his facility. All of this was millennia ago so finding the correct one might be difficult. I might be able to help with that a little though. It's last known location was a place called the Home. If you can find where that can be found, then there's a good chance it'll be there."

Leaving off the fact she could also learn how to project Force fantoms, it was a detail Scar didn't need to know.

"How much do you charge for a mission like this?"

Just a simple question. Leaning back in her chair, the floating image went away and now Ra waited on the answer.

Milla Kryst

 

[Bao Quayan]

(ignore)

 

[Milla Kryst]

Milla twitched as she heard the word 'holocron,' a bit of a naughty word. Immediately, she though of any and all potential adversaries and pursuers, specifically Force Sensitives... namely, Jedi. Even worse would be if any Sith or Dark Siders were exceptionally active in any of the places she had to go, becoming a target for a Force User is not fun, and she doesn't have the skill to fight them off, in general she didn't want to become an enemy of them. What's worse, is she would start having anxiety about her employer. Why would they want a holocron? Business like these don't end well, but then again, there hasn't been a lot of business for holocrons in a long time, either. Milla crossed her arms as she thought for a moment...

"Before we go anywhere with this, I need guarantees. Holocron business is dangerous business, especially with the employers. I need to know my neck won't be slit right when I hand over the item. They are a dangerous business because they get assassins and Force Users attentions, and it's not like you want the entire galaxy to know you have one, or I'm transporting one. So I need more than a word of promise that you won't have me killed afterward." She paused for a moment as she looked down, taking one more moment to think, "I can do it," she said after raising her index finger from her arms, "but I want a new ship... The one I got is old and falling apart. Don't want me to spontaneously combust on the way to meet you, do ya? It doesn't have to be big, doesn't even have to be bigger than the Hauler I already have. You're a big business woman, right? I'm sure you have some contacts that have a boat or two. With the right guarantee you give me, and the ship, I'll trust you enough that I'll do the job. I think we can negotiate the pay, I'm not gonna make you do a max withdraw after buying me a ship, but I'd like at the very minimum a hundred thousand credits. If I get any targets painted on me for this, I need to cover my ass, and I bet you wouldn't put money down to protect me. That's the deal."

Before she finished, she thought about the location that was suggested to her, but it didn't add up. Either it was a trick, the person didn't know, or she was remembering incorrectly... "Finally, you said the Home, right? Last I heard that was a big mining asteroid, had some issues with the Sith a long time ago. Scavengers still like to roam the area for any old tech or collectibles, or use it as a meeting spot. Yeah it's kind of known, but I also heard it blew up. So unless you're talking about a different place, someone fed you the wrong intel."

Riamah

 

[Riamah]

She had stated her reason for wanting the Holocron. It was for business. By all records Ra could find about this particular one is the man might have been a Sith Lord, but he didn't have any real interest in the fight between Light and Dark. He had recorded his business practices and maybe a few other interesting things on the Holocron. Those would have to be discovered later. Ra was a businesswoman first and Force user second. This item was a combination of both.

Listening to the demands and requests from Scar about what she needed. There wasn't much Ra could give to the hunter than her word. Money talked though and this was something she would have to consider when making this bargain.

"All I can give you in my word that I won't kill you or have you killed when you hand it over. However, look at my record of business transactions. You will find they are clear and that is what this is. Business. I can provide you with an unmarked ship and one that can fly anywhere. There will be no governments attached to it. Just personal ownership and it will be in your name. I can send you a selection of ships and you can have your pick."

While they were connected, a stream of data starting appearing next to Scar that was a list of ships and what they could or couldn't do. Feeling any of those would meet with the requirements wanted, she moved onto the next part of the demands.

"I agree that amount is reasonable. Before you leave, you will get half of the payment. That will cover the cost of transportation for you and almost any additional great you might need. After you have delivered the item, you will receive the other fifty thousand. The ship will be yours to keep and I will not deduct the price of that from the monies paid."

Nodding when it was pointed out Home was destroyed, that was true.

"Correct. The facility that was there belonged to the person that created the Holocron. I know it has been destroyed but these kinds of things quite often find a way to survive. Not that I'm positive this is the case. Who knows? Perhaps it was destroyed as well and no longer around. My intuition tells me differently though. Go there and investigate. If you can't find what we are searching for, what have you lost but a little bit of time? The ship is yours to keep and half of the agreed payment. You can walk away and wouldn't have to worry about me coming after you. In that, you have my word."

A simple search and pickup shouldn't paint a target on the hunter's back unless said hunter spread the word to others about what was going on.

Milla Kryst

 

[Milla Kryst]

So, the Home, destroyed a long time ago, and Milla was just supposed to go and find a holocron in the wreckage... No, she was being way too paranoid. It just seemed too good to be true, to go and search an ancient and abandoned wreckage from generations ago, and even if she failed she would be able to keep the ship and cash. On the other hand, this could be a real break for her, from running little errands and stretching her neck out for crappy jobs to maybe actually getting a life out of this. Her paranoia was thinking her actions caught up to her and she would be punished as a slave, but nobody knew.... otherwise her thoughts should have been thinking about Scars history and bad jobs, since she was essentially wearing his face. But she didn't, she was too concerned for herself. There was a lot of risk in the job, but it wasn't anything new. It was really nothing new, it's just the same risk of death this time came with a breakout for her own life, especially if she could get more contracts from this person.

"So all you can give me is your word, hoh?" She leaned back, letting her arms hang as she tilted her helmet. On the viewscreen, she wasn't exactly looking downward, but Ra'a'mah could tell Scar wasn't looking at the viewer for a moment, "you realize if I do this, your word could literally mean nothing in this day and age, right? And I'd just become another pawn taken out of the game of risk." She paused, but before Ra'a'mah could respond, Scar spoke up abruptly. "Yeah, alright.... we'll do it your way." She leaned in, raising her hand to look through the list of ships offered to her, "CorelliSpace has a Gymsnor-3 Light Freighter, I'll get that. Have it dropped off at Ithor, I'll find it. But I only start when those funds enter my bank account," with the latter end of her statement, she started to send her credentials over to Ra'a'mah through the same transmission that the other information was sent to her.

"Sorry to jump this on you so suddenly, but I'm going to need another twenty-five thousand credits. You shouldn't need to ask why, but I'll tell you anyway; that's aaaall Sith Imperial space. Need I say more?" Scar watched to see Ra'a'mahs reaction, Ra'a'mah could tell this was the deal-breaker. To find a Sith artifact, in Sith controlled territory. Not only was Scar stretching her neck out to this random woman, but also to the Sith. "Twenty-five thousand, plus the fifty-thousand upfront, no questions. Drop off the ship at Ithor, and no radio contact unless it's an absolute emergency. Should the locals come knocking on my door, I should be able to handle them. I understand you want me to handle this without any aid from you nor contact, but I don't want you contacting me, either. Kind of makes a good alibi fall apart if I tell the authorities I'm picking something up from a local bounty friend and some higher up business exec starts ringing my wrist comms. I will contact you when I'm ready for the trade off."

Riamah

 

[Riamah]

Of course, she couldn't actually do it, but it might appear to Scar that Ra was staring right through her. Looking behind the helmet and under the armor. It wasn't that she was trying to intimidate the Hunter but it might come across that way. Listening to the agreement, she leaned back again and nodded at the new demand.

"I understand entirely, Scar."

Giving her a slight and professional smile, she pressed a couple more buttons and Scar would notice the additional funds in her account. There were no questions asked. Pulling out another pad, Ra ordered the ship for the Hunter and that would also show on the data stream in front of Scar.

"There I believe that takes care of everything?"

Though it wasn't entirely a question, it sounded like one. The demand for radio silence was a little unexpected but she would agree to that.

"Trust goes both ways. I trust you will acquire what I am wanting and will wait for you to contact me. If my trust is misplaced and you just disappear, there is nowhere you can hide that I cannot find you."

This was a statement of truth to Ra and though it was a threat, there was no heat behind her words.

Milla Kryst

 

[Milla Kryst]

The mask seemed to stare back at the womans response, beforehand Scar was just curiously having second thoughts about this whole job. But now, disappearing? "I'm no pirate," Scar nodded, "sometimes life isn't so easy out here for everyone in the galaxy. Breaking deals doesn't keep you alive out here. You'll get this item, or I'll be dead." Before Ra'a'mah could respond, Scar reached over and ended the communication. She sat back, thinking about the job for a moment. More or less twiddling her thumbs as she took a pause to think, before standing up and inputting some data into her wrist communicator. This wasn't going to be an easy job and she didn't really have any guarantees, but it was the kind of job she was looking for to get out of this line of work. It wouldn't give her a retirement, but it certainly would push her closer to her goal. Unfortunately, this was a mission for more skilled mercenaries.... probably an actual mission for the real Scar Berenk. But she put the helmet on, so now she has to act the part. Finishing up in her little rental room, she decided it was time to head out.

Riamah