Private Into the Abyss

[Dacian Quee-Paddox]

Leb'reen, Ryloth

"Uh...pardon me," blurted out Dacian, narrowly sliding past a husky twi'lek through the alleyway.

Booze reeked out of the passerby's clothes, which both comforted and irritated the young noble all the same: everyone he had passed in the streets so far had smelled the same. Intoxication seemed to run in the warren city's blood. I'm not sure this is not what Dad had in mind when he said to go out and see the galaxy....but I'm sure he'd appreciate my reasons. One of his friends from House Paddox followed closely behind him. Jens wasn't exactly the strongest one around, even onboard the Stellar Endeavor, but he was among the most alert and cautious. Traits for which the younger Quee was all too happy to have in a friend this evening. Dacian cast a furtive glance at his Jens.

"Is she still behind us?"

Jens curtly shook his head, "Not from what I can see. Don't know if she's skulking somewhere behind us. There are too many places to hide."

Too many shadows, not enough light or mirrors..she could be two meters away and we wouldn't know it...

"We're almost there," said the young captain, "when we get in, maybe we catch her then."

The two rounded a corner and ran right into the sweet, herbal stench of the local liquor flooding out of a local tavern. The pair of offworlders quickly shuffled through the swinging doors and abruptly veered hard right and stopped to spy the doorway they had just passed through. But no-one followed them through, at least at first. A minute later, and a pair of brawny twi'leks in construction uniforms followed by a slouched officer worker wearing a brimmed hat sauntered in. The three of them quickly moved straight to the bar, sat down, and ordered a brace of drinks. Dacian let out a sigh of relief. It would seem we're safe...at least for now. The young captain slowly waded to a counter manned by a lithe green-skinned twi'lek female who quickly flashed a brilliant smile at Dacian's approach and flicked one her lekku over her shoulder.

"I wasn't sure I'd see you again Dace!" beamed Seela.

"I was serious, you know," said Dacian quietly as he drew near the bartender.

She turned her head slightly to the side while keeping her gaze fixed on him, "Same as last night?"

Dacian nodded.

"And your friend?"

Jens slowly ambled over, "Whatever he's having."

She raised an eyebrow, "Do you have similar tastes?"

"He's been here before and knows what's good," explained the other man, "and it's my first time here. I'll trust his judgement."

She quickly returned with a pair of large mugs filled with amber liquid that had a faint, sickly sweet odor. Dacian eyed both of the glasses carefully before gently pushing one over to his friend. Jens took it noiselessly and turned around to survey the rest of the establishment while he drank. Dacian leaned in closer.

"So, as agreed..."

The man slid a cred chip over to the Seela, which the twi'lek quickly pocketed.

"I've learned more," she said quietly, "and with that, I want one other thing."

Dacian hesitated, "What's that?"

"I want to go with you."

That's not undoable...But the thought of bringing onboard someone he barely knew for such a voyage made him uneasy. He doubted that she'd be a security threat, especially when she would horribly outgunned by his ship's crew and the House Guardsmen already onboard. He could make sure she was searched before coming onboard to make sure she wasn't bringing with her something dangerous too. So why did it bother him? He didn't know, and that frustrated him. She noticed his silence and grabbed ahold of his hand.

"There's not much of a future for me here. But it sounds like nothing else, I might get that chance with you. Just one voyage. You can drop me off at the end wherever you may be. I don't care if it's even more backwater than here. It'd at least be something different, and I could say that I've some interesting stories."

He sighed. I can explain this to them. They'll understand, even if they're not happy about it. I'm sure of it.

"It'll come with stipulations then," said Dacian quietly, "I'll have to have you searched before you come onboard, and you'll have to stay out of the way if anything dangerous comes up. There will be times that you'll have to do what me or my crewmembers say. But with those restrictions, I can give you some bonuses. I can promise you your own private cabin though - better than most berths on the liners around here. I can also promise you gear and equipment for anything that we may do, and I'll let you even keep some of it when we're done. When does your shift here end?"

She glanced at the holo-projector by the door, "Two hours."

He nodded, "All right, when you're done here, come to landing pad Three-Alpha."

Seela slowly smiled, "Thank you Captain Dace. I think you'll be impressed by what I found...."

He suppressed the urge to grimace. I sure hope so...

 

[Dacian Quee-Paddox]

She began to pour out about how often and hard she tried to gather the information he was seeking. For a moment, the younger Quee's mind briefly wandered to conversations he had with his father. He could sense a similar feeling of wanting to impress and gain approval from Seela as she talked about all those she had talked to. It was a saddening and sobering thought - that somehow he had already managed to find himself in the pedestal position that he had so often given his father. The thoughts saddened him somewhat, not because of Seela, but because of himself. It's not about you right now...it's about her. He held his tongue until she paused, waiting for him to speak. He considered his words carefully, despite fully knowing his own inexperience in handling such delicate matters.

"It sounds like you've put a lot of effort into this..."

Why do I feel like I'm about to give a performance review to an office worker? But he didn't know any other way except to ape the conversations he'd seen and saw with his parents. His thoughts were briefly interrupted by a crashing sound and some raucous laughter in the background. Well, that part isn't exactly like an office...

"...and I appreciate those efforts, especially juggling a job like this-"

"Dace," interjected Jens forcefully as he tugged on his captain's sleeve, "we have a problem."

Dacian's mind spun as he tried to shift gears. The man turned his head to Jens gaze and instantly found the source of the other man's concern. That "crash" was the start of a scuffle breaking out behind him. That in itself wasn't concerting - it was one of the rougher establishments in already seedy town. The two construction workers that had followed them in had managed to start a slugging match between themselves, and in the process, they had managed to knock down the office worker who had come in with them. The wide-brimmed hat had fallen off the worker to reveal a decidedly unmausculine face. She began to stagger up from the dingy floor and caught Dace's eyes in the process. Dacian's heart nearly stopped as her eyes narrowed. Not good, not good at all. Dacian abruptly turned back to Seela.

"We've got to go. And you need to come with us. Now."

Seela cocked her head to the side and repositioned one of her lekku, "This is pretty sudden."

"There's someone here we don't want meet again, and someone that you should definitely not meet," said Dacian, "if you're coming with us, we're going now. If not, I'd recommend you move out of city or lay low for a really long time."

"That bad?"

"That bad," repeated Dacian, offering a hand, "unless you want to get kidnapped and interrogated. Come, let's go."

She frowned but accepted his hand. The noble scion gingerly guided her around the bar counter and turned his eyes to search for Eris, their near constant shadow over the last few weeks. The brunette woman was scrambling toward them, trying to push her way past some of the tavern's patrons. A quick glance at Jens showed that the other man was already fingering the holdout blaster concealed in his jacket. It better not come to this...we'll be done before we even get started... The trio's quick walk turned into a trot as they barged out of the tavern's swinging doors. They abruptly turned hard right into a back alley to try and break their pursuer's line of sight. But Eris wasn't fooled for long. They could hear staccato-like footsteps rapidly approaching. The trio walked faster into the dark streets.

"Who is she?" asked Seela.

"We know her only as Eris. I'll tell you more once we get rid of her," said Dacian.

But how? Shooting their way out of it was technically an option, but that would draw far more attention to them then he wanted, not to mention that it'd be illegal. His father surely wouldn't approve of that. He guided them blindly through another narrow side street before randomly selecting another abrupt turn.

"We want to get to the space port?" asked Seela.

"Yes."

"Let me take the lead then," said the twi'lek, "I know these streets better than anyone. But first, could I stop by my place first to grab a few things?"

"She won't be expecting that," said Jens.

Dacian nodded, "That may be a way for us to lose her, especially if we wait inside for a little bit. Can we do that Seela?"

She nodded, "It's a little small for hosting company, but I don't mind if you don't mind."

"It'll have to do."