Bad Luck

[Atlas Kane]

It was a rainy day out on Onderon. Thick storm clouds had formed early in the day and the thunder that was off in the distance had slowly approached until it reached this part of the city. The rain could be heard faintly outside the building, though the thunder drowned out all other noise whenever it hit, though it was fairly quiet inside. There were only a few lost souls, two near the bar, one sitting in front of a large projection screen, and another one seemingly sleeping on one of the tables. This was the case most of the time lately, ever since another high-tech cantina for bounty hunters had opened up close-by. The owner had already announced he was looking to sell the place, much to the dismay of the regular patrons, but life was life in these parts of the galaxy. Not everyone could be a great entrepeneur and succeed with their business.

Ahren had come here often in the last few days. The quiet nature of the place was perfect for his purposes. There were no distractions, the people here didn't question him or his activities and the food was decent and cheap. So he sat in front of the large display mounted to the wall, displaying the information and photographs of various criminals and low-lives. The Acolyte cared little about them, hunting for those people was the job of bounty hunters, not an acolyte of the Sith. He was doing research on Sith relics that were located on Dxun. His master had told him about a Darth that had once come to Onderon's moon of Dxun to find ancient knowledge, Ahren was here to see if there was still any left.

According to his master he could find information on the holonet, using the right contacts and more ... underhanded means there was plenty of information to be found. He was already pursuing multiple leads, only stopping here to clear a few more things with his contacts before actually going to Dxun. He had bought a ticket for a shuttle that would take him there, but it wasn't leaving for another few hours. So he spent the hours trying to find out more about potential leads and checking with his contact on Dxun, going through their plans for later in the day.

Behind him, completely unknown to him, the large projection screen displayed an image of him from only a few days ago when he checked in at a hotel on a space station near Alderaan. The Bounty said "Bring to Alderaanian Noble House Panteer, alive. Parents looking for lost son. Bounty: 1,000,000 credits." Anyone who walked in would see the picture of Ahren, the one million credits as well as the very same man sitting right in front of the screen, tapping away at a datapad completely unaware of his position.

[member="Astrid"]

 

[Astrid]

For all intents and purposes, she knew she shouldn't be here. It was a risky play, and one that could easily serve to ruin everything she had worked to achieve. Not what she had done, but what her mother and uncle had struggled and sacrificed so desperately to set into motion. If she were caught, everything would have been for nothing. On several occasions, she had reminded herself that she was here for a reason and she had a job to do. An important one. So, a mental kick here and there was sacrificial enough to put an end to straying thoughts, and it was a good way to keep her mind from wandering too far.

Or, so she had assumed.

It was all supposed to be easy. Get in, get out. No harm done, no problem at all. Right? Wrong. From the get-go, if it could have gone wrong it went wrong. Her landing had been delayed. And when she had finally made it to the surface, she had met with obstacle after obstacle. All of which had delayed her easy-come-easy-go project, only furthering the frustrations and unsettling discomfort that came along with being anywhere near Oberon.

If only she'd been wise enough to keep her assets within arms reach and not been so foolish enough to leave behind loose ends. Ends that now threatened to compromise and deteriorate the investigation. So, once more she kicked herself and spurred herself onward.

There was supposed to be an individual she was supposed to be in contact with, supposedly. However, the supposed contact had supposedly missed the supposed sarcasm when she had told him that she had supposedly had had the worst time possible in making it in time to the supposed meeting they had arranged. He hadn't found the humor in it and promptly called off the deal.

Astrid entered the building with all intent to sulk in a corner, have a couple of drinks, and leave just as quickly as she had come-- or rather, far swifter than her arrival had actually been. However, she was an opportunist and when it came to stare her in the face it was far to difficult to pass up. Upon entrance and a quick observational scan of the room, she had noticed a particular man sitting before an information display and behind him was a projection that mirrored him, like a long lost twin.

She studied the side of his face. Uncle had always said she had had a keen eye for minute details and it was a skill that he had often said that he envied in her. Putting that ability to work, the grin that grew from ear to ear was unmistakably pleased. Carefully, she drew her hood closer about her skull and made her way over to the solitary man.

"Care for a drink?" she asked, after she had approached him and had come to a stop just an arm length away. One hand toyed with the end of her long braid of woven raven hues and dyed blues. Gray eyes peered down at him from behind the shadows of the cowl, alight with genuine interest. Her eyes strayed momentarily to the datapad, and a brow lifted. "Or, are you looking for something in particular?"

Astrid stood unmistakably proud and tall beneath the various thick and worn leathers and heavy fabrics. There was an old satchel slung over one shoulder, held by one of it's handles with one hand. With only her face visible, she didn't overly stand out. It wasn't uncommon for someone dressed like her to make an appearance. It had been a key factor in her selection of where best to sulk.

On several occasions in the past, her uncle had brought her here and introduced her to an individual friend of her mother's family. Naturally, such an event was always kept on to undertones. She could only imagine what would have happened if her father had gotten wind of her ever stepping foot in such an establishment. After all, no life but a political one was worth living, at least in his eyes.

How strange it felt to be home again, and yet ... Relaxing.

[member="Ahren Panteer"]

 

[Atlas Kane]

Various images appeared and disappeared on the datapad, locations, people, creatures, and vehicles that Ahren wanted to commit to memory in case something went bad and he required a detail to get out of the situation. Luckily, his contact had been fairly generous with information about himself, Dxun, his associates and the various locations their plans would lead them to, so the Acolyte could study as much as he wished for. It appeared that there were some rather nasty creatures on Dxun, creatures that would be taken care of, should they bother the planned expedition, at least that is what his contact had promised. It was something that Ahren was thankful for, though he doubted the credibility of his contact's words. "Don't worry, should any flying bugger attack us, me and my men will take care of it. The beasties are easy game here on Dxun." he had proclaimed proudly, making it sound like they would be no threat, but Ahren knew better. Any of Dxun's beasts could easily kill a human wanderer, a pack of them could take on a group of adventurers and pose a real threat to them. He recalled the tale of a Sith Lord having to deal with the beast riders and their pets and even a Dark Lord of the Sith had some difficulties dealing with the beasts. He would have to- beep.

He received a message.

"Hello, friend. I know this is fairly sudden, but I must cancel our agreement. A situation has arisen that I simply can't ignore and it will leave me unable to attend our expedition. The money you have sent will not be refunded, as per our contract, but you may keep the other payments to yourself, as none of the expedition will actually occur. Have a good day and recommend me to your friends." The Acolyte simply stared blankly at the screen. That son of a Hutt, who did he think he was? And what contract, there hadn't been any contract between the two, only a verbal agreement to meet and transmit a portion of the payment up front. Did that Devaronian truly believe he could just drop Ahren's expedition and keep the money? Those were valuable resources given to the Acolyte by his master, resources not spent easily.

The Epicanthix gritted his teeth and started typing a response to the man, leaving his picture open on the side to see if he could recognise anything in the background that would give away his location, though as he typed away a stranger approached him. The woman looked like any other customer of the bar, unassuming clothes, mostly worn to keep one's identity hidden and blend into crowds easily, usually worn by those who didn't want to interact with others, but this one was different, whereas the others had very uncaring and sometimes aggressive ways of interacting (on the rare occaisions that they did), this one had a tone that actually indicated interest, much to Ahren's surprise.

The Acolyte did not care much for drinks however, and a stranger snooping around his things was also not a pleasant thought. He was already somewhat annoyed by the sudden "betrayal" from the Devaronian, now there was a suspicious stranger also trying to get information from him. This had been exactly why he chose this location, no curious strangers looking for conversation, most patrons had kept to themselves, but then again, he hadn't seen this one around before. "Why do you want to know?" he asked, flipping the datapad display-side down onto the table and leaning backwards in his chair.

[member="Astrid"]