Having a Word, or Five, Or...

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

Location: Bane Innovation, Nar Shaddaa

Erud'ryz'ladre had been in many situations which would have caused others to lose control of their bowels. She had had to deal with persnickety old billionaires, keep bratty heirs and heiresses out of harm's way, and, recently, protecting her criminal boss from enemies who had no qualms with shady dealings.

And yet, this simple request on her day off caused her to feel almost...nauseous. Mr. Bane had requested a meeting with her, and the Chiss could not figure out why.

It didn't help that he requested it to be held in his office. His office.

Her boots echoed off the floor as she walked down the hall. The building was sleek, modern, and chic -- the complete opposite of what she was used to. Even at the Academy, the place was efficient, often times resulting in a lack of decorations in favour of utility. And everywhere were individuals clicking away on datapads and devices and talking about algorithms and-- well, doing everything that screamed "techy". It was all very uncomfortable, and did nothing to relieve the tension she was feeling.

Finally, the woman made her way to her employer's office. Nodding her head rigidly at the secretary, Dryzl stated, "My name is Erud'ryz'ladre. I have a meeting with Mr. Bane."

After a moment, the secretary looked up from the screen and nodded. "Please leave any weapons on my desk. You can have them back after."

Wordlessly, she removed both of her pistols and turned the safety on before handing them over. Taking a deep breath, the Chiss recomposed herself so that only a Force User would be able to tell how perturbed this request was making her feel. Then, smoothing down her two-piece suit she normally wore on duty, she stepped forward and knocked firmly on the door before poking her head in.

"Sir?"

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax Bane stood at the window of his sleek, modern office on Nar Shaddaa, admiring the view. Admittedly, the view mostly consisted of neon Huttese advertisements blinking through the haze of smog clouds, and the strutting of hookers on the promenade, but the view was his damnit. On the streets of Nar Shaddaa, one could be hopelessly surrounded by throngs of humans and humanoids, yet very much alone, and Cryax appreciated the sheer organized chaos of the planet. Although the Chiss did not grow up on the Smuggler's Moon, coming back to Nar Shaddaa felt like coming home.

A woman's voice behind him pulled him from his reverie, and he turned away from the pane of synthglass, his glowing red eyes flashing to the owner.

Smiling widely, Bane spread his arms and proceeded to give [member="Erud'ryz'ladre"], his personal bodyguard and fellow Chiss, a familial embrace. As he came closer, the smell of liquor on his breath was unmistakable.

"Ritot ch'eo visot," he said, and gestured for her to have a seat in one of the brand new white Correllian leather office chairs. "I'm so glad you could make it." The crime boss crossed to his liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and two tumblers.

"Drink with me, Dryzl."

It wasn't a question or a suggestion.

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

The Chiss stepped inside the door as Mr. Bane turned to look at her, his pleasant mood simultaneously making her both at ease and worried. But no emotion was displayed on her face.

Not even when Mr. Bane gave her a hug.

The woman stiffened slightly in the embrace, being unaccustomed to such displays of familiarity -- and with good reason. Oh, he's been drinking again, Dryzl thought with a mental sigh. Unless the other Chiss had finally learned how to hold his liquor, this was going to be an interesting meeting, indeed.

Sitting down in one of the seats, she gingerly took one of her tumblers, eyeing it apprehensively. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Dryzl did not drink; in her opinion, liquor was like holding a giant neon sign for the universe to send trouble. Nonetheless, she took a small sip to placate her employer before setting it back down.

Back straight, hands folded, and face blank as she looked to the other Chiss, Erud'ryz'ladre wasted no time with minced words. "If I may ask, sir, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

 

[Cryax Bane]

It was good to see Dryzl kicking back with a drink in her hand. His fellow Chiss were known for their cool, aloof demeanor, and on the job it was appreciated, but it was nice to see her let down her hair, figuratively anyway. He had put her through alot of chit over the past year, and he felt close to his bodyguard. Dryzl had gotten a peek behind the curtain, and was privy to sides of him that were previously shuttered to the public, especially after that night on Syrvis when she refused to leave his side even when he slept with The Rancor. Repeatedly.

“There isn’t any one thing in particular,” he admitted. “I mostly wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all the work you’ve done for me in the past year.” Bane refilled his glass almost to the rim. He added with a chuckle. “I know I’m not the easiest person to keep safe.”

His gaze turned towards the window, glowing red eyes traveling over the sky, as if he were expecting an imminent arrival of battleships. Absently lost in thought for a moment, his fingers played over the rim of the crystal tumbler in front of him.

“How do you like working for me Dryzl?” he asked her, his eyes still glued to the stars. "Has it been a rewarding experience?"

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

The question startled her, and Dryzl was glad Mr. Bane was not looking in her direction.

In truth, the Chiss was used to many things, and had worked under many people. And while a few had praised her ability to keep them alive...oddly enough, no one had asked if she liked it. Oh, sure, a drunk ward here and there might ask why she did what she did, but the woman's feelings were, generally, never considered.

Not that it bothered her. But the simple fact that this man, a crime lord and slicer extraordinaire, would deem it important to ask her thoughts? Well, whether the intended effect or not it put her on guard -- perhaps it was a trick question, where one wrong word meant certain demise? After all, "don't ask, don't tell" was a popular slogan for her employer's....associates. And the Chiss had seen many, many things which would not only be detrimental, but would never be purged from her mind (no matter how much the woman wanted them to be).

After a long pause, Erud'ryz'ladre realised she still hadn't answered. What should I say? The truth? The truth just might cost her her job...but it might make it more secure, too. The truth, then. It wasn't like she had anything else to lose.

"To answer your second question...No," Dryzl replied, her tone crisp and professional. "I have seen many things under your employ which I have never witnessed before -- and not in the good way. As you said, you are a difficult man to keep safe and it does not help that you insist on getting intoxicated at the worst moments, sometimes. The people who want you dead far exceed the people who want you alive, it seems, and you do not always appear to want to change that."

She took a breath, and her voice softened slightly -- though her posture remained the same. "But even with that, I do not regret working under you. Do I need, as they say, bleach for my mind? Oh, yes. Very much so. But as far as being my employer, you are not as bad as some of the male -- and a few female -- nah Swerr I have had to protect."

Her testimony done and her heart beating erratically in her chest, Erud'ryz'ladre felt like she was back in the Academy, on the day after she got her scar -- and covering for her friend. Only this time, she was telling the truth.

And might get fired for it.

Oh, dear.

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax turned back towards Dryzl, his smile slowly faltering. He wasn’t an idiot, so he knew that the shoe most likely fit, but he was so used to obsequiousness from his employees, her blunt criticism took him by surprise. The show is over. Time to take a bow. His luminous red eyes turned cold.

“I’m a criminal, Dryzl, not a politician. It isn’t my job to make people happy. It’s my job to take. To take as much as I can from everyone I can. That’s what criminals do.” He swallowed audibly and looked down at his drink, his eyes in a faraway place.

“People like me deserve to die,” he admitted. “We make the galaxy a miserable place. We prey on the weak and exploitable.” The crime boss let out a sharp jagged laugh, and sipped his whiskey. “There are some that might swear that I used to be a good person, but I can assure you, I’m not.”

His jaw was tight with displeasure as he let their red eyes meet again. “So tell me, Dryzl, if you’re so unhappy with the job, why do you keep working for me?”

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

Erud'ryz'ladre would have become even stiffer if she could. As it were, she could have already been picked up and used as a fire poker.

The experience might have been much more pleasant.

She saw Mr. Bane's smile falter, his demeanour becoming much colder -- she was not scared, per se, but she was even warier than before. Dryzl had crossed a line, a line with which there was no going back. Small breath in, small breath out. Recompose. Begin. "Sir, you asked my opinion. As an employee of yours, I am honour-bound to give you my honest answer," she said almost reproachfully. "My apologies if I've offended you, sir."

Her red eyes met his, and she almost blanched at the expression -- or rather, lack of expression -- in them. But she persevered. "The reason I continue to work for you, sir, is because if anything, I have become acclimated to your...deeds. And, as your bodyguard, your extracurricular activities are of no concern to me unless they involve your personal safety. ' Csan veo ch'an'cun'i rot'sah. K'ir veo cart bapun, ' as my father used to say."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wry smile touched her lips. A wry ghost-of-a-smile, a smile that wouldn't have been noticed without attention being paid; a smile, devoid of humour; but a smile, nonetheless. It occurred to her, then and there, that two things were happening. One, she was most likely going to be fired, but the Chiss was at peace with that. After all, there was nothing she could do to save her job -- that shuttle had left realspace.

Two, she was never this chatty. Ever.

"And, it is pleasant to speak in Cheunh somewhere other than Csilla."

Perhaps it is this alcohol?

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Bane shrugged. "It wasn't a trick question," he admitted. "I wanted an honest answer, and that's what I got. I respect you for that, Dryzl." Bane gave his bodyguard a tight-lipped smile, when she talked of her father and his sagely advice. He himself had grown up without a father, and his mother Cidaxi did her best, but between sociopathic brain circuitry and a lack of a guiding male hand, the Chiss crime boss just didn't have a fully functioning moral compass anywhere in his blue body.

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"] deserved better. She was an excellent, loyal bodyguard. Dryzl was the only other Chiss besides his mother that he felt quasi-close to, especially given the intimate situations they had been put in during the Red Ravens operations. If she stayed in his employ, her days were likely numbered, and he blanched at the thought of having to make a Holocall to her family informing her of a horrible "accident."

"But with my deepest regrets, I must tell you that I am no longer going to be needing your services."

It was for her own good, really.

Spoiler

apologies for my belated reply

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

((lol no worries))


[member="Cryax Bane"]

Ah. She knew that was the whole reason for this meeting. And now, the metaphorical Pryss-creature in the room had been finally addressed.

The Chiss looked down at the now-empty glass which had materialized back in her hand. She stared at it for a bit, suddenly aware that the termination of her employ to Mr. Bane saddened her. As she'd said before, many of the escapades which the pair had gone on were by no means entertaining, but... Dryzl wouldn't admit it, but the past year had been the most exciting since she'd first departed for the rest of the galaxy. The bodyguard was by no means suicidal, and liked living to see the sunrise, but even she liked to "live on the edge" every now and then.

However, Erud'ryz'ladre was also a soldier programmed to obey unless under extreme situations, and really, bodyguards were in high demand nowadays -- so it wasn't like she would be unemployed for long. And things could have always been worse, could always be worse.

Even so, there was something nagging at the back of her mind, so, setting the glass back onto the desk, Dryzl looked back up at her --former -- employer. "I understand, sir. But, if I may be so bold, I would like to inquire into the reason for the termination of our contract." She chewed the inside of her cheek, attempting to pinpoint what, exactly, she had done. After all, her contract was always the same: she'd protect the ward, and service would only end when the ward decided she was no longer needed or if she died. Simple, really. And if there was one thing she learned, it was that Mr. Bane would nearly always be in harm's way.

Perhaps my skills were simply not sufficient, then? A logical reason, and a perfectly acceptable one, too. The Chiss knew she was not experienced enough to be considered a bona-fide expert bodyguard, and it would be folly to assume otherwise. Ah, well. I will hopefully find out soon enough.

 

[Cryax Bane]

Dryzl looked upon her former employer, as if she were dishonored by his announcement. He frowned and averted his luminous red gaze. After all the times that his long-suffering Chiss bodyguard had put her life on the line for him, and all the times, he made it increasingly more difficult by drinking, drugging and taunting his enemies into attacking him, he did feel that he owed her some kind of explanation. The question was how could he explain motivations he could barely comprehend? He was standing on the edge of something brilliant and terrible, with no words to fully explain it. The only thing that he knew for sure was that he had to take a leap into the abyss. Alone.

"It's nothing you did, Erud'ryz'ladre," Cryax insisted, eschewing Dryzl's Core name for her given one.

"Your work for the Red Ravens has been exemplary, and I am happy to give you recommendations if you need them. If you need any further elaborations, I'm afraid I can only give you a few words that my father once said to my brother."

"Eihn vah bapun ch'at ch'uscah ch'at en'castehah csah vez," he said in their shared tongue. "Vim Ch'ah tan'rah Ch'ah cart tsaco ch'at ch'uscah."

[member="Erud'ryz'ladre"]

 

[Erud'ryz'ladre]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

​Oh.

So it wasn't anything she had or had not done. She did not mess up or make herself a fool.

Rather, her former employer was going to do something, something she sensed was big. And it seemed he felt he had to do it alone, or at least without her. The fool, she couldn't help but think. Without her by his side, who knew how much danger he would be in!

And those words... They worried Dryzl. Metaphorically or literally, Cryax Bane was going to "die" and...what? Become someone else? Become something else? And all for what? If the young Chiss woman had been anyone else, she would have refused to leave, even on punishment of death. But she was not someone else; she was Erud'ryz'ladre, freelance bodyguard and a trained soldier. And she did not like to disobey orders, no matter how much she disagreed with them.

"I do not understand what you mean, sir," Dryzl told Mr. Bane truthfully. "And I do not agree with your decision to release my contract -- especially if there is a great chance of danger in the near future." She sighed through her nose. "But I will not contest it. You have made your decisions, and I have the feeling I cannot stop you if I wanted." The Chiss stood up and straightened her suit. For a brief moment, she studied him in silence, her gaze unreadable. Then, bowing, she said, "It was memorable serving you, sir."

However....

Erud'ryz'ladre paused at the door, turning back long enough to say, "Rah vah bapun len, Brenda csarcican't cart cseah." A reference, to her first job with him; and a promise, too. One which she would uphold, should Mr. Bane decide to collect on it. After all, it was the least she could do.