Greed and Hound

[Aver Brand]

A gray shuttle touched down in the spaceport of Cuipernam, small and unassuming. A figure emerged with the hiss of the loading ramp, dressed in what appeared to be plain civilian clothing and a rather fine leather cloak. Nothing to see here, move along.

A dash of sensor-deflector spray on the inside of that coat, and the detectors let her pass without a single peep. Nevermind that she was carrying enough weaponry to arm a small insurgency. Or that she was wearing armor that laughed in the face of grenades. The mercenary – or the projected overlay thereof, anyway – smiled sweetly at the customs officer, and disappeared outside.

One speeder rental later, the woman was flattened against the machine, body alive and in tune with the beast humming beneath her. The rolling plains were a yellow smear; the wind howled beside her, as if trying to drown out the roaring of the engines.

Wasn’t long, now. The display of her datalogger was steadily blinking her dot closer to her destination: East Bumfrak, Middle of Fethin’ Nowhere.

Aver pulled to a harsh, dustcloud stop, vaulted grinning off the cooling speeder. The outpost was trying very hard to look innocuous, but to a death-dealer, the hidden weaponry still screamed red and obvious. She considered it for a beat.

Well. Nothing for it. She rang the bell.

[member="Cerbera"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

The compound was silent.

Eerily so.

Until it was not.

When the 'bell' rang cameras switched their focus towards the lone soul on their doorstep and studied it intently. Authentication was asked by a smooth voice through the external comm feed and was, presumably, given as agreed. Only then the doors swung open to give entry to the interior.

Two Qo'saarai Tuk'ata were standing there waiting.

One of them had a deep scar running through his left eye and had burns set in his arms. Like he had been either warding off fire or dove deep into it himself for one reason or another.

Scarra took one look (literally) at [member="Aver Brand"] before nodding.

"Siqsa awaits you. Follow." Demon in Sith and the voice growling as a remnant of humble beginnings.

 

[Aver Brand]

Among her many companions was a creature of lean, powerful muscle, strong jaws, and intelligent black eyes. Standing, it would likely look much like the Tuk’ata that comprised the welcoming committee.

Aver grinned a private smile and followed the uplifted beast with a nod. Quietly, she assessed that Puppy was still the coolest. And more badass. Duh.

As they moved, the merc recorded and analyzed the corridors – the visible and hidden defenses, the layout, the materials. Good stuff. Whoever’d built this place knew what they were doing. Always a good trait for a potential business partner to have.

Miss Brand was a big fan of competence. And if it came in a hot package? All the better.

[member="Cerbera"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

Corridors turned to staircases turned to a lift turned into a hall.

It was a storage facility, a large subterranean one at that, but its purpose was unclear. Crates upon crates put together on racks with automated droids and workers walking around, but soon that gave away for another staircase, another hallway and finally a door at the end of it. It was there that Scarra (the Tuk'ata) stopped and waited for Aver to catch up with him.

"You may enter." The scarred one said, signaling the door, before letting her through.

Instead of joining her Scar stayed at the end of the hall.

Almost naturally applying a patient guard stance that gave maximum comfort and minimum effort of energy.

 

[Aver Brand]

Place was interesting to say the least. Much bigger than what the above-ground metal box implied, too. She’d scrutinize the footage later for any revealing details – right now she had more important things to focus on.

The blast door slid open at the command of the tuk’ata, and Aver stepped inside. The VF made her look rather innocuous.

She was not.

“Nice digs,” the merc said by way of greeting. Despite the impassive faceplate, her smile was evident by tone alone. “Nice pets.”

[member="Cerbera"]​

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

Cerbera looked up from her work - flimsiplast and a datapad to boot.

Amusement briefly flashed across her lips before she gestured for her guest to sit.

"Thank you, darling," She cooed with a soft voice. "If you want to lend one or two, I could possibly be convinced." Part of the entire experiment, it hadn't been difficult to continue the progress of uplifting later on. If there was one thing that Cerby believed in it was trying to make those lesser better in one way or the other. The Tuk'ata were a species with a lot of potential.

It was only natural to continue making them greater.

"I would have loved to visit Nadir, but sadly I am packed with work to do, thank you for coming to visit instead." A bright smile that did not quite reach her eyes followed through, but that was par for course.

"To business then?"

Throughout it all her voice remained soft, gentle and to the point. It even had a quality of sing-song running as an undercurrent through it.

 

[Aver Brand]

She accepted the proffered seat. Easier to rest her hand near her weapons that way. Easier to duck to cover, too. People underestimated the advantages of chairs all too often.

“Thanks, but I have one myself. I’m good.” Aver didn’t elaborate. This whole song and dance was… just that. Formalities, pleasantries – the sort of shet that she tried to blow through as fast as possible. Time is money, and time’s a wasting.

“To business. I understand you craft unique, highly potent strains of spice and other drugs. Nadir invests in potential, and you have plenty of it – we’d like to help you realize it.” She reached into her coat, slow and careful to prevent any alarmed mishaps, and extracted a datapad that she extended to [member="Cerbera"].

“You’re a busy woman. I appreciate that, so I won’t waste your time blathering. Look at the numbers and facts, and tell me if that’s not a profitable partnership in the making.”

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

A finely-shaped eyebrow rose in mild curiosity, but was soon lowered in turn.

Cerbera doubted this one had a Qo'saarai Tuk'ata, it was presumably something lesser - perhaps a regular Tuk'ata. Which were pleasant creatures, enjoying the rip and tear, the sharp teeth grinding, but they had their limits. Evolution was a thing, as was the upwards mobility of uplifting. But that was neither her business nor her concern, they all deserved their own little pet projects.

"To business then." Her eyes scanned the datapad. Fast, too fast, seemingly pouring over and absorbing the information by a factor three faster than most regular humanoids had any right to.

If she hadn't been green, Cerbera might have been seen for a Fondorian.

No scales, otherwise maybe a Falleen.

"Your records are kept well, I am impressed, darling." The silence of the machinery was filled by her voice once again. "Usually the capacity of killing and wanton destruction are favored heavily in this business... but the appreciation for proper bookkeeping gets overlooked."

Pitch yellow looked up.

It was difficult to gauge what went on beyond them.

"What do you wish in return, other than my spice."

 

[Aver Brand]

“I’m efficient,” was Aver’s only response. Her eyes, obscured by the helmet, strolled freely over the lab. Plenty of expensive equipment, none of which the merc was familiar with. Her tools were guns and knives and grenades, not test tubes and syringes.

Well, that last one came handy sometimes in the business, though she’d never used it herself. Aver preferred a personal approach. Death was, quite often, the most intimate contact she ever shared with people.

“Your future spice?” The merc chuckled, returning the datapad into her coat. “The market is always evolving, and we need to evolve with it to stay on top. You keep experimenting, like you obviously enjoy, and Nadir gets to sell your fancy new stuff.”

A beat, a grin.

“Exclusively.”

[member="Cerbera"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Aver Brand"]

Head tilted slightly.

The expression was blank but there were two emotions running counter against one another within her. The first one was amusement evoked from the boldness, the second was annoyance for the waste of time - Cerbera was aware that some individuals liked to 'barter' around for a deal. Begin with an outrageous bid to try and get as high as possible, instead of simply producing the result that was mutually agreeable from the get-go.

A waste of time truly.

But something that the Sith Lord could accept, when the business was good over all.

"First bidding rights with timed exclusivity that will give you the chance to get your foot into the market." Cerbera countered easily without much inflection. The cooing was gone, as was the sing-song, it was cold and unfeeling. Just a steady cadence that betrayed little in the realm of empathy.

 

[Aver Brand]

Ah, there it is.

The arctic tone she’d been waiting for. No doubt this particular inflection – or rather, the lack of it – was brought to bear when [member="Cerbera"] wished to intimidate the other party. At this point, it was reflex, just as it was to the merc herself.

Clearly the woman was too smart to think she could put the fear of anything into Aver.

“Works for me.” The criminal rose from her chair, looming over the scientist. “If there’s nothing else… I’ll have my people draft a contract and send you all the other fussy details.”

A hand, then, offered palm-first for once.

“Pleasure doing business. You ever need anything, you know how to reach me.”