Public Denon State of Mind

[Amea Virou]

A Gozanti-class freighter touched down on the planet of Denon at seven minutes past midnight. By the time its owner had stepped out from the docking bay it had been little less than another fifteen more. In the streets the rain fell accompanied by the insistent static of low-grade monitors sold at a price grade above their true value and stereos blasting the best beats from the previous decade.

Everywhere you looked you were as likely to find a smiling face as you were to find a scowl. People slinging goods and others more than willing to take what they needed. This sector had never been known for being anything other than rough, but perhaps that’s why people kept coming back. There was a greater measure of peace to find in a place where you already knew who would stab you and what set them off than in a place where they waited for you to turn your back at them before they struck.

The owner of the Gozanti-class stopped their journey by the Nexu Claw’s noodle stall, the one stall in the market rated least likely to get you anything worse than a case of food poisoning. Or so they themselves admitted on the Holonet. The El-Train above whirred past as she slowly began to bob up and down with the rhythm of the beat on the worn-down plastic radio on the counter.

I got so many rhymes I don't think I'm too sane, life is parallel to Hell but I must maintain~​

“You like the classics, hm?” The bearded man behind the slop counter asked with an amused grin. “Used to know’im before he went big, you know.”

“No kriff? Dirty Baas has some of the more compelling imagery in his lyrics. Love his old stuff.” The woman said and pinched a piece of noodle between her two chopsticks. “Shame he sold out.”

“Mhm, although I guess it’s inevitable.” The server placed his arms on the counter and leaned in to talk to the woman. “The corps will always need a new poster boy. Put that big ‘self-made’ title on people as if it had ever been that easy.”

“As if.” She nodded and raised the noodle cup in gratitude before she backed off and took a seat under the designated eating area. The rain had drowned the seat a long time ago, but the table was still good for use. She put the cup down and looked out across the crowds passing her by.

“You are… Somewhere out there.” She said and took another bite of her food. “Any moment now.”

Or rather, so she hoped. For all she knew, her contact had become otherwise occupied.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

A couple seats over, an Ithorian swiveled her way.

"Y'know," he said in Corellian-flavored Basic, "there's this crazy thing on the market. iBorg Moro sapience uplift nanotech. Infect a nuna, you've got a real smart nuna. Infect a semi-sapient and you get a sapient. I took it and got, you know, decently better at dejarik. I'm not a dealer or anything, don't get me wrong. It just sounds like there's never been anyone with a greater need for sapience uplift than the absolute dumbass who stood you up."

He grinned out both sides of his neck.

Amea Virou

 

[Yula Perl]

A couple of seats the other way, a Zeltron slid deftly into position.

“Y’know, he’s tried that pitch on three other people today. At least.”

She leaned in with a sleazy grin. Yula had spotted a familiar head of blonde hair from across the port, and now she knew why.

“Hey Stace. How you doin?”

Amea Virou Jerec Asyr

 

[Relan Dredec]

I ALWAYS HAD TO LIE TO MYSELF TO GET INTO IT. BELIEVING THE LIE WAS THE FIRST PART OF TELLING IT​

He lost a lot of money on a fight, recently.

Placed his money on the wrong person.

He did that recently again- though it cost him far more than money.

Again, Relan was on his own, burned for what he did. It was what he was good at. They needed a scapegoat, an agent was an easy choice. He didn't hate them for it- in the end, he would've done the same. It was the reality of spies, intelligence, and being an agent. One minute you're the gift to the Alliance, the next, you're disavowed, and on your own.

So there he was, on Denon- looking for his next job. He was a shifty looking guy, sure. That's what made him so good at it- the sneaking, the snooping.

But now, he just had to survive until he found his next stroke of luck.

 

[Zole]

Zole hated the heavy rain. No matter how well waterproofed her implants were it always made her slightly nervous that moisture would get into the circuitry. It was irrational.

She was aware that she didn't always make rational decisions. She was addicted to spice, body modifications and the adrenaline rush of dangerous work.

Zole didn't like the rain, but she liked the deep fried nuna wings they sold off the streets here. She was aware that they were also bad for her.

The mirialan cyborg perked up at a passing mention of iborg. Quality implants. She slowed as she passed, but decided not to join the conversation.

 

[Lilash "Jade" Covegra]

Before the quake, Jade would have not believed a world such as Denon could become more chaotic than it currently had been. The streets had always been dangerous and people were always desperate, but now it had turned to a level she had not seen before. Infrastructure had yet to return fully despite the efforts of those who held the resources to help, and homelessness was still on the rise. Jade herself was forced to find a new home, for her underground apartment had been buried beneath the rubble of the complex that stood towering above it.

Yet such a small fish in this expansive pool would have as much luck as any poor citizen without two million credits to rub together. Right now, she was hidden away within an abandoned and half-demolished basement that she had managed to discover. Her 'home' disgusted her, but she held no other options besides that or the street itself to inevitably be stabbed on.

The only thing now she still had pride in was her knowledge and the clothes still on her back, as ragged as they now were.

Deciding to venture out onto the streets, she stumbled upon the noodle shop that she recalled from passing mention. Letting her hunger drive her, she took a seat at the counter and took an order. Her eyes wandered to the other occupants beside her, namely the conversation being had by the two humans and the Ithorian. Information from the most unlikely of places was sometimes of the most use, so she simply sat and ate nearby, for now.

 

[Amea Virou]

“Jerec!” The woman exclaimed with the glee of a daughter who had just seen her father figure. “Come here, you!”

There was no time to react, no time to push her away. Amea’s arms wrapped around Jerec with a tight squeeze that only got tighter as that other voice crept into her ear drum and sent her all the same signals as it always did. Eyes opened, she let go of Asyr to turn and look over at Yula.

“Miss Perl!” Amea looked positively terrified for a second before a warm smile spread on her lips and wrapped the Zeltron in a tight hug as well. “I’m fine.” Amea’s mood dropped for a second to give that lie away before it picked right back up again. “Running jobs out of my ship, seeing the galaxy with my girl.”

An unfamiliar face popped into the background. Rough, rugged, definitely someone who had seen the worse the galaxy had to offer. Amea gave him a quick look before she turned back towards both Jerec and Yula only to see yet another familiar face pass by.

Terminus. A job well-done with a bonus added for the mercenary that stepped into view. It was a good work memory.

“I work information. Gathering it, sorting it, and selling it for the right price. Sometimes on my own, sometimes handing it out for free when the opportunity is right.” She chuckled at the newcomers as well as her old friends. “For example, did you know that an Imperial subsidiary is moving thirty crates of weapons disguised as artwork, right as we speak?”

“Which Empire it is doesn’t concern me, but it’s most definitely happening, and if someone were to strike at it they would most likely find themselves a good opportunity to make their fortunes.”

Yula Perl // Jerec Asyr // Lilash "Jade" Covegra // Zole // Relan Dredec

 

[Jocelyn Pavaliah]

From other side, cybernetics picking up the conversation even with the unceremonious slurping, eyes snapped to the group. She wasn't in her best digs, looking like she had come off a spice binge maybe a day ago, and quietly pondering hitting the vaporizer in her pocket again to really get the juicy details.

Or at least make her skull stop feeling like it was about to pop.

Her head pounded like a rancor on a bender, limbs felt sluggish, ultimately deciding against the second tap. Instead quietly listening for the time being. If it weren't for the neural processing upgrades, she might have shut off the high-sense systems a long while ago. But the conversation felt like it was dragging it's feet on a hyperlane and she wanted to kick it down the way.

"Imps like records, and they black-box ninety percent of their biz. You hit the re-marked stuff, they can't come knocking for it so easily." She mentioned off-handedly, waving her . "Buyers aren't hard to come by for artwork either."

"Ought to take the talk off the street, or get some noise going." The older woman snapped, going back to the noodles before her.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Jerec laughed out both sides of his neck and accepted the hug from Amea Virou . "Hey," he said to Yula Perl over Amea's shoulder, "not my fault I'm constantly surrounded by incredible women and really stupid guys."

The hook, the job, would have made his eyebrows rise if he'd possessed eyebrows. He approximated. Jocelyn Pavaliah 's warning, however, made him realize they were far from alone. He noted both Relan Dredec and Zole - merc/enforcer types, operators if he judged it right, and close enough to catch the edge of the conversation. So was Lilash "Jade" Covegra , a Selonian-ish alien who looked...

...well, like you could flip a coin for the odds of her being a femme fatale. Yeah, privacy was sounding pretty good right about now.

"Before we get comfortable somewhere else," he said to Amea, waggling his non-eyebrows at Yula, "what's this about your girl? You mean you have a kid these days, or you shacking up?"

 

[Amea Virou]

“I like the way you think.” Amea flashed a grin at Jocelyn. “The problem was never the seller so much as the acquisitions themselves. And hey, the client paid but never showed up to gather his intel, so...”

Her attention set on Jerec and Yula, mouth agape for a moment with a look of surprise.

“Wait, didn’t I—” She blinked. “Talyc haran, I swear—” She exhaled with a laugh. “Yeah, the latter. Me and Evelyn have, uhhh ‘shacked up’ for a few months now. Taking it slow, handling any baggage as it reaches the surface. I mean, mostly mine, but we deal with it, I guess.”

Jerec Asyr // Jocelyn Pavaliah // Yula Perl // Relan Dredec // Zole // Lilash "Jade" Covegra

 

[Lilash "Jade" Covegra]

Jade poked at the bowl of noodles that was still too hot, letting it cool a little as she stirred it. The conversation continued, and her ears perked up as it fed into more disreputable topics. As they considered to take it elsewhere, she let the conversation continue uninterrupted, though she was unable to contain herself thanks to her inability to be unnoticed, and spoke openly.

"For a noodle shop, I might have been lead to believe it was a meeting spot for criminal activity with what I hear." The Jenet chuckled, still staring at the noodles. "More appropriate location to discuss gossip, as the Ithorian has pivoted towards." She noted as her gaze rose, pointing a utensil at Jerec.

Her eyes wandered to Amea, the self-proclaimed Information Broker. It seemed the two of them were in the same market, though it was clearly her who held the greater information. Jade had heard there were Imperial subsidiaries that interacted with Denon, but to such detail was something that was out of reach to her small operation.

Did it annoy her? Mildly. Though her curiosity was driving her insane in the chair, wondering how Amea could have stumbled on such information.

 

[Relan Dredec]

SOMETIMES I WONDERED HOW FAR I WOULD GO.
​

The way you look at it, Relan had been sitting at the bar for ten minutes, or nearly 30 years.

The noodle bar- that is.

Relan didn't drink.

His eyes flicked upwards, looking towards the people gathered. The agent in him never stopped- he never could turn it off. He was able to piece together the conversation, the words. From his position, he could read lips, he could make out bits of the conversation. He had no vested interest in them, though his mind did tell him to go further with them, investigate just a bit more.

He couldn't resist, couldn't turn away.

So, his eyes cast towards the group.

Cold, analytical eyes started looking, searching, scanning.