Going in a Nice Little Circle

[Gray Raxis]

Gray knew things were not going to go well today. He had a nightmare wake him up, then he spilt hot tea all over his lap (again), and then he zapped himself when he was messing with a power cell. It had just started off so well, so of course when he came to Sluis Van to look into a potential job he would have some guys think they could mug him. He was wearing his gray with dark blue trim shirt and pants, leather trench coat, and then on both his hand and feet his pieces from his armor. They didn't even ask Gray for his money. They just jumped out of nowhere, pulled out knives and began to brandish them in the air. There were three of them in total. Two in front and one behind him.

Gray drew his blaster pistol quickly and shot the two in front of him. They went down immediately, street thugs tended to not wear protection after all, and the one behind him charged. Gray stepped slightly to the side and caught his arm as he thrust at him. Gray locked his arm around his charger's arm and then shot them point blank. He dropped the dead man and holstered his gun. He straightened his duster out and stepped over the bodies.

Gray was on his way to a high class joint that was known for having dealing going on all the time. He wasn't in the best of moods right now, but he could still force a smile if he needed to. He had gotten there faster than he thought and opened up the door leading into the place. He hoped he lucked out tonight and found someone willing to hire him on for a decent job.

[member="Lierra Umdal"]

 

[Lierra Umdal]

Business meant...flexibility. It meant showing perseverance in scouring any number of planets to discover new opportunities and events concerning the growth of one's success. It meant having the will to negotiate with the more undesirable citizens of the galaxy simply for a better bargain. Most of all, it meant not believing in limits. For those trusting the limits of their abilities would indefinitely cause their own destruction in only a matter of time.

With this in mind, Lierra would waste no time arriving at a selected restaurant somwhere in the inner workings of Sluis Van, ready for a most unorthodox meeting. It had quite the refined taste, comfort, and just the right amount of elegance to attract the more wealthy and powerful figures of the area. It was here that she would be greeted by a large, rather robust man with a distinctive, scruffy beard, wearing formal attire to complete the look. Followed by three lackies, he was no doubt an influential individual among the city. After brief introductions and quite familiar hand gestures, the two would be seated and placed towards the back of the building, accompanied by the dim lighting and serene touch decorations of surrounding them. Best of all, no interruptions to distract the the group from meeting a final and concise goal.

What began with a calm discussion concerning the details of a particular contract soon turned sour and frightening, even. She could feel the anger in the man's voice and body, eventually slamming his fist down in denial and raising heads from several directions. Though already having heard much from her sources, she could see it all directly in his eyes. The frustration, the dominating personality, the crimes his lot had committed that no one dared question.

"My offer still stands" she would reply in a manner as calm as possible. Although silence would take control for a moment, she was relieved to see the client lean back and somewhat change his tone. Relieved, perhaps to the point that she'd miss the man quietly and slowly reaching for a dangerous object, hidden and attached to his right thigh.

[member="Gray Raxis"]​

 

[Gray Raxis]

[member="Lierra Umdal"]

Gray found the place to be just as classy and fancy as he was lead to believe. He was also finding that it wasn't really the kind of place you just walk into without any reservations, as the hostess came to find out what he wanted. The hostess came up to him and said, " Sir, how can I help you? Do you have a reservation or care to make one? There is currently a three day waiting list on any reservations."

Gray could tell she was lying about the time on reservations. She just didn't want him in here because he wasn't dressed up for a place like this. He was more dressed for a cantina than a nice restaurant. He looked around the place quickly when some whale of a man made a sudden scene. It got the hostess' attention, but he saw a note of fear in her face when she looked that way. He also noticed the guy had three goons with him and the object of his wraith was all alone. He smiled a bit as he said, " Oh there they are. I am part of that party over there." He slipped a few credits into the woman's hand and brought a finger up to his mouth as he past her.

Gray walked over to the table with the woman and the angry boar. He smiled as he came up and said, " Sorry I am late. Had a pressing matter to deal with." He noticed the motion of the big man and knew what it meant. No one, especially a big guy like that, moved their arm that way unless they had a weapon on them they were pulling out. He added after he noticed, " So gentlemen, who here was it that wanted the gun? I would be more than happy to show them how it works, personally." He pushed back his duster and revealed it to all of them at the table. His hand was on the hilt as well, ready to draw at even a hint of aggression.

 

[Lierra Umdal]

A brief moment of tension at the table was ended by the arrival of a new, more rugged client. She would squint her eyes, questioning the man's motive and displayal of weaponry before quickly coming to her senses. "I don't believe that will be necessary" she would state with a slight smile. He appeared to be nothing short of a traveling gun for hire, perhaps a bounty hunter or successful smuggler? Though looks could be deceiving, as always. Nevertheless, at least someone was looking out for her during these rather risky meetings, be it droids straight from the assembly lines of Emeritus, or a complete stranger passing by.

His presence calmed her nerves to an extent, at the least. Though she suspected no different behavior from the large and ignorant man sitting towards her front. "Assassination attempts...what would be next, blackmail?" she would think to herself quietly all while offering only a stern look towards him. Lierra gracefully accepted a glass from a nearby employee, waiting for the rest of the table to be served as well. Surely no business could be without its pleasures as well. Placing the glass on the table and taking up a more confident pose against her seat, she would turn her gaze to the wanderer.

"Now, as I was just saying, we cannot have further understandings until Mr. Ordani here agrees to lower his quite...unrealistic demands." After offering a quick glance of annoyance towards the beast, she would turn once more. "And you are Mr...?"

[member="Gray Raxis"]​

 

[Gray Raxis]

[member="Lierra Umdal"]

Gray watched the men stand down at his little show of force. He was glad for that, because a shoot out in a nice place like this could get very expensive. He ordered a whiskey when the waitress came by. He pulled up a seat and sat down next to the woman at the table. He pulled his blaster out of it's holster and set it in his lap. You couldn't really draw as well from a seated position after all. He listened to what she had to say and smiled at her.

Gray said, " The name is Gray. Gray Raxis. How about you darlin'? I would love to learn the name of such a pretty thing as yourself." He winked at her before he turned his attention over to the big man on the other side of the table. He gave the man a stern look despite the grin on his face and said, " And I hope you show such an attractive lady some respect. Everyone needs to be friendly and agreeable here, because I'm in no mood today for games. I already dropped three guys who tried to jump me before I came here, and I would rather not drop three more before I leave."

 

[Lierra Umdal]

The showing of aggression combined with already mounting frustration caused Mr. Ordani to make his move. Two, quickly signed documents, crammed into a file were shoved her way before the man made his abrupt exit. The three attendants soon followed closely behind. Silence filled the diner once more until the doors closed, offering relief to all. "It appears my official business here has concluded." After placing the contract safely into a small pack, she could relax knowing the worst part was over.

"You are flattering Mr. Raxis. I'll give you that much. My name is Lierra Umdal, and the pleasure's all mine." Holding the glass close to her face, she would then gesture towards the weapon hidden inside his coat. "Although he was nothing but a brute and a savage, I must say...those were quite bold actions you took. Not just anyone would walk into a fine establishment looking for trouble. Surely a man such as yourself must have an agenda of some sort, Mr. Raxis?"

It was merely an effort to gain a small amount of insight on the life of this powerful gun-slinger.

[member="Gray Raxis"]​

 

[Gray Raxis]

[member="Lierra Umdal"]

Gray was glad when the boar signed the papers and fled the place with his tail between his legs. He hadn't wanted to cause any trouble, even if his words said otherwise. He holstered his gun as his whiskey showed up. He took a drink from it as the lady spoke to him. He smiled at her when she finished, " Well its not flattery if it is true. Call me Gray by the way. Mr. Raxis just sounds.... odd. I came here looking for work, and it is usually not a good idea to go anywhere unarmed in my experience. Such as this fine establishment. I heard a rumor about deals happening here a lot and figured someone might need some help from a merc such as myself. So how about you darlin'? What are you doing here?"

Gray took another drink from his whiskey. He relaxed in his chair as he waited for her response. He had an idea of what just happened, but he would rather hear what it was from her.

 

[Lierra Umdal]

"Oh, I assure you, Mr-" She stumbled for a moment, letting out a small laugh before continuing. "Gray...I assure you, I did not come unarmed." She motioned to two large, orange-colored and humanoid droids waiting close outside the doorway. Both held what seemed to be dark blaster rifles in hand, waiting for the approach of their master. "Merely unprepared for this type of personal attack, I suppose" she admitted reluctantly.

"And as for my purpose being here, I am a representative from the offices of Emeritus Industries. I am sent to different locations around the planet, and at times, among the rest of the galaxy, in search of securing and maintaining agreements to keep the company alive. As you have just seen, we are sometimes force to deal with less than desirable clients. Emeritus has indeed fallen upon hard times."

As if shrugging off her doubts, she continued pleasantly. "So, work you say? I've yet to personally request anyone to accompany me on any higher risk mission, but after seeing your confidence in play, I must rethink my strategies. Just what exactly are you looking for, Gray?" She leaned in with her face placed promptly upon a fist to question.

[member="Gray Raxis"]​

 

[Gray Raxis]

[member="Lierra Umdal"]

Gray took a drink from his whiskey as she spoke. He could tell she was good at what she did, but lacked some experience with the kinds of people like that hippo from earlier. He set his glass down and smiled at her as he said, " Well you need to be prepared for a fire fight when dealing with less honorable types. They won't exactly play nice, and a hint of a threat goes further with them then a promise of peace. It isn't a bad idea to have someone watching your back any time though, be it on the battle field or in the private room of a seedy bar." He took another drink of his whiskey before he added, " And I'm looking for any kind of work I can get. I do body guard work, protection of assets, and pretty much anything you need someone good with a gun or explosive to handle. I do tend to avoid jobs that are illegal in nature though. A shady I'm okay with, but out right against the law is asking for trouble. And a freelancer doesn't need to add to their troubles."

Gray studied the woman for a moment. She was pretty calm considering everything, and that was a good sign. Some people tended to fall apart at the threat of death or an armed stranger suddenly showing up at their table. He didn't know what she was up to, but he was more than happy to hear her out. He smiled at her and waited to see what she said next. His mood had improved from earlier as well, so that was good news.

OOC: Sorry for the late response. This one got lost in a flood of activity I had.

 

[Lierra Umdal]

She pondered for a moment before turning back in confidence. "Very well....I have a job to complete in a couple of day's time. My company has requested for someone to seek out a wealthy Neimodian merchant, supposedly holding information valuable for droid construction. Seeing as these designs would be quite popular among our clinetele, we have reason to believe our known enemies may...interfere, with such a meeting. I wasn't going to go originally on account of my inefficiency in combat, but seeing that you're able to accompany me, I may be yet be able to go out that far."

Folding her hands back, as if in a rather hopeful state, she would ask "Are you interested in joing me in such a venture? For the right price, of course."

[member="Gray Raxis"]​