Grakkt Expectations [Open to Red Ravens]

[Cryax Bane]

The Golden Grakkt Cantina on Antecedent was well-known for offering many types of entertainment. Karaoke, cabaret shows, and the odd musical act all drew big crowds to the always hopping Grakkt. The place was packed at all times of day with rich gamblers who were thirsty for liquor, a break from the sabacc tables at the Dragon Palace Casino down the street, and perhaps some expensive company. But the Grakkt's most infamous attractions were the club’s beautiful, scantily clad human, near human and alien dancers. The athletic and graceful male and female figures commanded every inch of the club, gyrating wildly on poles situated on a large stage in the middle of the room and floating moving, hover platforms peppered around the club. The dancers could also be found in the Grakkt’s private rooms in the back of the cantina for those looking for more of a private affair with a dancer or five.

Sitting in a VIP booth in the balcony of the Grakkt, surrounded by his henchmen and ubiquitous security droids, Cryax Bane, the President of the Red Ravens Criminal Syndicate, absently watched a Rodian dancer twist herself into a pretzel around a slicked-up pole. It was quite the feat to say the least. The Chiss wasn’t here to ogle beautiful bodies, however. He was at the Grakkt to meet Paige Argous, one of the newest members of the Ravens. From what he’d heard about Miss Argous from Zeltron party girl and femme fatale, Dakita Calfur, Paige would feel right at home in a place like this. He had sent a Holocall to Miss Arduous with the time and location. For now, he drank a Cognac and waited for her to arrive.

[member="Paige Argous"] [member="Razer Sin"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

This was her second or third time on Antecedent. Paige couldn't quite tell which. She had been told by her friend Dakita a while back of a job opening at a group called the Red Ravens. The blonde had not given that offer much thought since then. They'd contact me if they needed me, she had decided. And they did. The job offer came from none other than the President of the Red Ravens, Cryax Bane. She was rather curious to hear the job description. Paige had not been able to pick up much in terms of combat or any other types of training since she got addicted to various spice. In fact,all it had taken was a particularly strong dose of Deathsticks to make her forget what exactly her life had been about before all the partying and drinking.

Anyways, she showed up at the Golden Grakkt Cantina as instructed, just as scantily clad as the dozens of dancers that were present in the cantina. Paige then managed to get herself to the VIP booth at the balcony, spotting the Chiss surrounded by some heavy security. Trying her best to ignore the armed and dangerous security force surrounding the blue alien, Paige walked up to the Chiss man, shooting him a friendly smile as she did so.

"Hi there, Mr. Bane." she greeted, placing her right hand on her hip as she waited to be addressed.

 

[Cryax Bane]

So Paige could weasel her way into a VIP room. The fact that she had passed his little test bode well. Another bonus, she was wearing what must have been a cocktail napkin in its former life until someone made it into an outfit. “Hello Miss Argous,” he grinned. With a flick of his hand, Cryax, ever-wary of being double-crossed, had his security guards search her for wires or Holo recording devices. Even though they had little fabric to search, they took their time and they weren’t as gentle as he would have liked them to be.

“Sorry about my guards,” he admitted. “It’s just a precaution.”

“She’s clean.” barked one of the stone-faced henchmen.

The Chiss crime boss gestured for the blonde to have a seat in the VIP booth alongside him then tented his fingers. “Miss Argous, I have a special assignment for a woman with your assets,” His red alien eyes moved slowly over her partially exposed flesh. “I’m sure you have a sparkling personality to match of course, but I’ll get right to the point. I need an agent to get me information about my enemies. I have slicers, of course, but only so much can be gleaned from data. The nature of this assignment is more, well, personal, if you get my meaning. You do get my meaning, right?”

Sipping his drink, he gave her a moment to let his words sink in and to process his question.

[member="Paige Argous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

"Just call me Paige." the blonde said, not really used to having anyone addressing her as 'Miss Argous'. Paige raised one eyebrow when, following the Chiss's hand flick, some of the security men came up to her to search her for any hidden devices. She rolled her eyes as they took their time in searching her, it becoming clear rather quickly that flesh was all there was hiding behind the little outfit she had on.

Giving one of the security guys a short glare, Paige then moved to seat herself facing Cryax. "Precaution, yeah, sure." she muttered before listening carefully to what the blue-skinned man had to say. Some sort of a mission to gather intelligence, apparently. She got the gist of what was being said, but she wanted to be sure Bane and her were on the same page.

"Oh? Personal?" she repeated innocently, her arms crossed infront of her chest, and clearly waiting for Bane to explain a bit more.

 

[Cryax Bane]

Her innocent act was cute. It would come in handy during the assignment he was about to give her. “Seduction, Paige” explained the Chiss, waving his hand at a plump Chagrian waitress so that he could order a drink for his guest. "First of all, you’re going to make it a point to meet one of the people on this list.” Here, he handed her a Holocard with a few names on it.

“Then, you are going to be everything he didn’t know he was looking for. You could be a girlfriend or a mistress, it doesn’t really matter. Either way you will have a special relationship with this person and feed me information on the side.” Bane gave her his most charming smile and nonchalantly produced a vial of glitterstim from his jacket pocket, his fingers toying with it. He set it down on the table in front of her.

“On that Holocard is the amount you’ll be making for the job. Let’s just say you won’t be disappointed.” Gesturing to the vial with two fingers Cryax added, “There’s also more where that came from. Go ahead, Paige. Have a hit on me. I can tell you want to.”

[member="Paige Argous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

Paige leaned back on her seat as she let Cryax get down to the specifics on what he needed done. The blonde reached forward and recieved the Holocard, scrolling through the data in it as Bane continued speaking. She only paused from looking at each of the names to glance sideways at the Chagrian waitress who had appeared to hopefully serve drinks.

As she continued to listen, the blonde understood why her Zeltron friend had recommended this job offer. What the Chiss boss asked of her fit into the category for assignments that she tended to be more successful in doing. Paige's interest peaked, though, when the blue man produced the vial of valuable spice from his jacket pocket. "Oooh, glitterstim?" she remarked, trying not to sound too eager.

Within moments of Cryax's invite, she reached for the highly-valued substance. Glitterstim was one of the most expensive spice available out there, and even with her party-hard life, Paige rarely got to see them. "Not bad, I think I'll take you up on your offer." she said with a bit more enthusiasm now. "Wait, so how exactly do you want me to feed back to you the gathered information?"

 

[Cryax Bane]

As expected, Paige hungrily snatched up the glitterstim. The desperate look in her eyes when she saw the crystal rocks was one he often saw in his glit-biter of a half-brother.

Cryax grinned and produced a tiny, flat metallic device the size of a child's fingernail. "You're going to wear this surveillance device. It fits right into the cartilage in your earlobe and will be surgically implanted in you by someone at the casino. It records and transmits an audio feed to me directly. I considered putting in a Holo device, but..." Here he shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly. "I figure your act will be a bit more convincing if you don't feel self-conscious about being watched."

“I’m specifically seeking information about plots against the Red Ravens and secret alliances, so make sure whatever you do, you try to be specific, names, locations, organizations, and the like.” Cryax reached out and gently brushed a hand along her cheek, then tipped her chin up to meet his glowing red gaze. “With your looks, Paige, I’m sure they’ll be very talkative.”
Soon the Chagrian brought drinks back to the table for the couple. Cryax clinked his glass to his new agent's and smiled widely. “To our new business arrangement.”

[member="Paige Argous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

The blonde curiously turned over the secretive device in her hands, not entirely sure about how she felt about having the thin metallic recorder and transmitter implanted into her ear. "Wow. So sneaky." she would comment, surprisingly as relaxed as Cryax on the whole deal. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Paige just had taken one of the strongest doses of spice available in the market. As the glitterstim really kicked in, she leaned further back in her chair, while Cryax leaned in to caress her face.

Emerald eyes evenly met the Chiss's red gaze, before looking sideways at the waitress who had brought them drinks. "Cheers." she said with a spice-induced dazed grin, clinking her beverage against her boss's. She would take a good long sip of her drink before speaking again, another question so that she could have a clear picture of what was to be expected of her.

"So when I get to Nal Hutta... who do you recommend I go for first? The guy at the very top?"