Iron and Velvet

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Maris Fero"]

Vorzyd V

A small passenger ship came in to land at the VIP docking pad of the MezNez casino. The ship was recognised as belonging to the Boss, and so was instantly granted clearance to land.

However, in this case the Boss was not on board. Rather, it had been sent to collect Amara Zarides and bring her to one of their new bases of operation.

Amara stepped off the ship, looking around at the glittering spires and smiling slightly as she headed for the entrance. The blonde hair and slight build clearly marked her from her ‘sister’ [member="Enyo Typhos"] and yet they were close siblings forged from a terrible upbringing into this new era.

As she walked forward a pair of guards opened the door. A flunky had come out.
“Miss Zarides, the Boss said you would be coming. Allow me to welcome you to the MezNez and Efavan City.”
“You are allowed! Go ahead!” Amara said brightly.
He paused, slightly confused. “Uhh…?”
“Oh, that was your welcome? Well, it was good I guess. Might want to work on it. Sell me on this lovely city and location. Go work on that welcome…tomorrow you can reherse it with me. I’m sure the Boss would like you able to properly welcome guests. You know how she is about staff.”
The flunky nodded rapidly. He did know.
“There’s a good man, run along.”

Soon Amara was left alone…though not for long. She sensed someone else close by.

 

[Maris Fero]

There was a subtle art to wrong-footing someone, a practised skill to tilt their perception of a situation just enough to leave them dumbfounded and unsure of themselves and perhaps the universe at large. The Shrike enjoyed using such tactics herself when it came to spreading confusion or easing her path infiltrating were she should not be.

It all stemmed from a truth that appeared almost universal to Maris, in the depth every single position of power beneath the reinforcement of ego was a tiny voice of doubt.

I don’t really belong here, and someone will eventually notice.

If correctly approached that doubt could push a person to do most anything to avoid facing that belief. Confidence was merely the ability to overwrite the doubt, accepting fully that you were the only one with the absolute right on her side, and acting accordingly.

And so it was with some amusement that the watching raven-haired youth observed the arrival and interaction between Iron Fist goon and the blonde newcomer. Maris had gathered an idea of who to expect, loose talk revealed enough secondary information to suggest someone close to her mysterious new boss, someone Typhos cared enough for to use her private transport to deliver and precious enough to send protection to.

That had been enough to convince the revenant-pale ganger to slip her way out to the landing pad, shadowing the guard even though for the moment she appeared to have the freedom to go where she wished. It never hurt to practice her talents, and in truth, the cyborgs were far more of a challenge to evade than most of the thugs she had followed in the past.

There on the landing pad Maris had found herself what scant cover was available and using the natural talent she possessed the Shrike had disguised herself in shadows once again, willing those around to overlook her position.

I am no one, I am nothing, I am nowhere.

Only once Amara was alone did Maris untangle herself from the shadows of the refuelling pipework and wander toward Amara cautiously, moving slowly from the edge of the newcomer's eye line, better that than scare anyone.

“Hello, I’m here to walk you to your room, then we can look take a tour.”

Maris spoke with a warm smile, the faithful guide, the good girl. She was dressed in a fairly stylish ensemble, despite it all being stolen from various patrons luggage, of course. Her look today included a slim figure hugging pair of tight black pants, a short grey halter top with a gauzy material and a bolero jacket in matching black. She wore comfortable black sneakers with it to complete the look, midriff and forearms bare now that her wounds from before were all but healed.

“Welcome to Efavan. Ms Zarides.”

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Maris Fero"]

It was Amara’s policy never to give away too much of what she could and could not do. On the one hand it would help her if people underestimated her, but also if people overestimated her too. Either could work to her advantage.

And so, though she sensed someone approaching…someone with a glimmer of the Force, but not choosing or able to hide it…she did not turn. Instead, she studiously looked at the buildings around her, so when the young woman appeared she gave the slightest start and turned.

“Thank you, Miss, please lead on.”

The woman’s attire was nice but seemed out of place for the girl, as if these clothes were not her usual gear. Or perhaps she was biased because she knew Enyo’s ‘employees’ were more than likely used to wearing leather and armour than soft fabrics.

Amara’s own outfit was rather more utilitarian. A rather battered leather jacket and pants over a nice but faded collarless shirt. At her side she wore her blaster whilst her lightsabre was concealed in the small bag she carried.

“Maris, right? My sister mentioned that you’d be coming by. How’s things been going here?” she asked with a friendly smile.

The contrast between sisters would be apparent and obvious to all.

 

[Maris Fero]

Maris was surprised to see Amara start at her arrival. Although the Shrike considered her skills in stealth to be exceptional she had made a conscious effort to be noticed in her approach. Then again, the shard tower blocks of Efavan had taken her breath away when Maris first noticed them, it was possible the new arrival was more distracted than she had earlier supposed.

“This way, do you need me to carry anything?” she asked pleasantly, with a gesture toward one of the docking pad’s smaller side exits leading to the walkways suspended above the casino floor. It looks as if Amara travelled light, but a practised thief took any opportunity to size up a possible target’s means. Besides, it was a nice thing to do, she figured.

The Shrike chose not to reply immediately to Amara’s first question, simply offering a brief nod confirming that she was indeed Maris, her gaze flicking over Zaride’s again quickly, assessing her once again, noting the blaster and the unobtrusive mode of dress, lacking much in the way of embellishment or signs of wealth.

My sister. She looked nothing like Enyo, and in the briefest of interactions, Maris had observed she acted nothing like Enyo either. She seemed entirely different in aspect, though Maris had no siblings she knew of comparing the situation.

“Things have been - interesting,” it was really the most honest answer she had, she had been close to complete victory, then weeks later close to death and ignominy, then awoken to a power she never knew existed and found herself elevated above her peers. “But its all calm for the moment, the building is secure. -ish”

She added the ish as an afterwards, as in all honesty, she had visited every room on four floors so far without their owners knowing, the room she was guiding Amara too was at least near to her room and more secure than most.

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Maris Fero"]
Amara looked theatrically down at her small bag. “I think I have it covered,” she said with a grin.

Maris’ answer was very curious to Amara’s mind. It lacked the clear, blunt stoicism her sister’s goons usually exhibited.

“Secure-ish, huh? Sounds exciting, tell me everything, young Maris,” Amara said expansively as she walked with the girl inside. The irony of calling anyone ‘young’ would be entirely lost on Maris, considering Amara had just celebrated her second birthday not long ago.

They entered an elegant looking foyer filled with the usual patrons of casinos and specifically criminal front casinos.

“So, how’d you and my sister meet? Enyo is rather…taciturn with details as you can imagine.”

She was curious, but also trying to get a measure on the reserved girl beside her.

 

[Maris Fero]

One small bag, and a set of comfortable travelling clothes, Amara travelled exceptionally light. Not the kind of three-wardrobe filling luggage junkie Maris had recently raided. Either very rich or used to having very little.

Smiley too, Maris naturally distrusted people who seemed too content. Maris smiled a lot when she was at her worst; In some circles, Maris’ knowing smile alone had been enough to upset the balance of particularly nervous gangers.

“Yeah, the building is secure, some of the rooms are quite secure I suppose. Especially the ones with the boss’s men on the doors. But the Hotel rooms, the security is really only as secure as the domestic staff.” Maris turned to offer Amara shrug and a half grin, “I’m sure you can imagine a dozen ways to convince someone to let you into a room,”

It hadn’t been Maris’ chosen entrance point to most of the rooms. She had preferred more challenging routes, testing the hotel's environmental systems and maintenance areas for other routes around that avoided the halls.

There was little purpose in lying to Amara on the details of her meeting with Enyo in the long term, she might ask her sister, or may even have known some of the details already. Although it was unnatural to Maris, she decided to tell a version of the truth, perhaps that would offer more insight into Amara.

“I was on my way to make a move to end a five-way turf-war down in Lower-L -” she used the local name for the area, doubtful Amara would have clue as to what she meant, “I had been working on it for the best part of a year. Then that night I hear one of the gangs was making moved to ally themselves against me and mine.” the explanation was delivered in a fairly matter-of-fact tone, and to tell the truth since killing Herc Mallit she had more or less forgiven Enyo’s interference in that matter.

The two continued on toward one of the main elevators which ascended toward the hotel suites. The youth nodded to a few of the security goons on the way as she walked on, none of whom seemed very willing to hold her gaze for long. The youth seemed incredibly relaxed about the whole situation, walking through the den of vice as if she didn’t see the casino at all - in truth the gamblers below had lost much her interest already.

“ - You’re sister had arrived, I found out late, and she had aligned herself with one of my rivals. I went to go ahead anyway. I was going to try and parlay to get the Boss to join me instead.”

“She knocked me flat with the Force, but then put me on the payroll.” There was more than that, but the Shrike hadn’t the appropriate understanding to explain her nascent moments of Force sensitivity, or her dreams, or the feeling of rage. Or the face of Balo as he fell a hundred storeys to his death.

“How did you and your sister meet? The Boss is rather taciturn with details as you know.” the mimicked question was posed with a glimmer of amusement and an arched brow, she didn’t expect a real answer from Amara, but anything the blonde might reply could offer some extra information Maris craved.

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Maris Fero"]
Amara waved a hand airily. “I’ve never really had to enter a hotel room before, but I have conceived of seven different methods whilst we’ve talked. One of them involves an olive, a match and three CCs of mouse blood.”

She was speaking frivolously, partly because it was always better for the other person to think they were smarter and/or more skilled than you.

She listened to Maris’ explanation. Something clicked; Maris was indeed a gang member, raised up by Enyo for her Force and other skills. That is why she looked and felt like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Survival of the fittest must have meant this girl was tough, resilient, a fighter. Traits Enyo, and Amara, valued.

“Sounds like Enyo. She is a most persuasive person. Those who aren’t persuaded tend to end up dead.”

The last question showed the girl had a spark in her. Amara and Enyo were completely unlike, in look, personality and outlook. No doubt Maris also know at least a little of Enyo’s…condition.

She offered another airy wave, settling for the truth by way of some vast abstractions.
“The way most sisters do, being raised with her. She’s twice my age, but you’d never know it. We recently decided to have…heh…a change of careers, and here we are. Now, Enyo is much more the business sort, I have other pursuits, other interests.”

That’d be enough to satisfy Maris for now…she hoped. She wasn’t sure how much, if anything, the girl knew. Likely very little.

 

[Maris Fero]

“Huh” the bizarre suggested method for entering rooms had elicited a non-committal reply but the girl had managed to refrain from rolling her eyes or offering scorn in response so far. “I always stuck to nerf blood.”

“The Boss has a way with words yeah,” she agreed with a reluctant nod, but continued a moment later stretching the first word for emphasis, “buuuuut, she also has a laser sword and the ability to beat me down if I disagree too strongly.”

Raised together, twice my age.

The logic implied in the sentence seemed to make sense at first, but the longer Maris let the words play in her head the less sense it made. She gave the airy waving woman a harder look and paused before stepping into the elevator and selecting the appropriate floor from the panel.

“So how old are you then?” she asked flatly, expecting an answer in the mid-twenties or so, and prepared to argue the logic based on that answer if needs be. “What did the two of you do before now?”

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Maris Fero"]
Amara chuckled. “Now we see your inquisitive side, Ms Maris. All fine questions to ask, indeed, but some mystery must be maintained. After all, my sister does not approve of…inquiries.”
Amara didn’t really care too much about mysteries, but she wanted to be consistent with what Enyo might have said. It was better to frustrate Maris than tell her a dangerous truth or an obvious lie.

“Now I can’t obviously speak for my sister, but previous to coming here I’ve done a variety of different things, such as tightrope walking, grand theft starship, midwifing and art critiquing.”
All true…from a certain point of view. Yet as frustratingly vague as ever.

The elevator stopped and the door opened. “Ah…a corridor! Lead on, Maris,” she said brightly.

 

[Maris Fero]

Amara’s evasiveness was irritating, but understandable to the youth; Ordinarily, Maris would have been the first to offer nothing but lies, half-truths and evasions to anyone who had been as inquisitive in the Shrike’s business, but these were interesting times.

“She likes her secrets, true enough,” the youth agreed with a short nod, listening as Amara spieled off a list of vague accomplishments, some of which sounded vaguely interesting and one of which sounded positively excruciating.

“ - I’ve never been on a starship. Are they hard to steal?” the teenager added with a shrug, eyes flicking to Amara’s for confirmation as she asked though doing well to sound casual on the subject. If they were simple to steal she might get off this rock earlier than she had thought possible. But to where? When she considered it now a semblance of something that might be like loyalty to Enyo gave the youth a vague sense of unease - Maris was not used to owing anything to anyone.

The corridor opened up onto a long atrium hallway, the same route Maris used to reach her own room, of course. The passageway was wide and opulently decorated, gaudy statues of the leering gastropod Bogo the Hutt were still present cast in precious gold and chromium. Sun bathed exotic plants spilt from planters about the edges of the space. Although there were no living avians in sight the soft chirp and calls of rare birds were projected into the space from unseen sources.

Every few meters the walls were interrupted by intricate aquarium installations embedded into the structure of the corridor itself and stocked with multitudes of iridescent or luminous aquatic creatures, many of which were endangered species on their native worlds.

“Yeah.. you could call it that.” she nodded in confirmation and led on along the passage again glancing at Amara again with a raised brow to the tanks, offering her own clearly unconvinced sentiment “This is art too, they say, Ms Critic.”

“We are both on this hall. I’m at the very end.” it wasn’t clear if that was an invitation or a warning from the girl as she pulled to a halt before a forest green door to another VIP suite, ‘Viridian’ on the door, where her own door was marked ‘Aquaris’. “This is you..”

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Maris Fero"]
Amara cast a quick glance across at Maris, a small smile quickly suppressed.
“Oh yes, extremely hard, unless you have the right tools and skills you’ll crash into the ground and kill everyone within a block radius.”
It was perhaps not that dramatic, but she was subtly warning the girl not to do anything foolish. First time pilots learnt their craft in open, empty space for a reason after all!

“Pfft, who is they? All I see is the product of a zoo-ocracy where defenceless creatures are snatched from their homes for the amusement of the gawking masses. Art? No, it’s a disgrace!”
It was hard to tell if she was serious or not.

She looked at one of the Hutt statues though.
“This is better. I mean, a Hutt is disgraceful no matter its form, but this is moderately well cast. Some good detail on the tail. They say a Hutt’s tail is as distinctive as a human’s fingerprint. I’ve not studied Hutt tails before though, have you, Ms Maris?”

And so she was led to a room. “We’re right next door! We shall be such good friends I am sure, be sure to come by soon, once you’ve let my sister know I’m here. You’ll do that for me, won’t you?”

With that she swept open the door and went in. It was opulent with a theme of green and jade. Amara’s eyes studied the room carefully, then went to the bed and plopped exaggeratedly onto it, playing with her datapad, sending a message to her sister. She’d asked Maris to do it but it never hurt to be sure. Especially with the number of bugs she suspected in the room.