Job gone wrong

[Xin Boa]

OOC: Each post must have two halves. Present and past, in that order.

Now

Xin didn’t have time to answer the question. He surfaced above the water once more and spotted what he was looking for. His legs kicked hard push downstream, he had to get some distance from the others to give him the time he needed. He turned for the sides of the tunnel and managed to slap a hand against the path that ran alongside the rushing water.

Even for a strong swimmer the current tugged as his fancy clothes and threatened to pull him back into the water. They were now thoroughly ruined; a waste of credits. It had all been for nothing. With a groan he pulled himself up out of the water. His body wanted him to lie down, recover his strength. There was no time for that. Xin got up, sodden feet slapping against the rough concrete. He reached for an orange, plastic pod on the wall and yanked it open. He ran back to the side of the water and threw the safety rope in. Hopefully they would all grab on or else he would have to outrun them to the next one. He didn’t think he had the energy. Of course they weren’t metaphorically out of the water yet either. This tunnel ran deep underground from the city to carry away excess water from the artificial lake. They were still being hunted and had to find their way back up again.

“How is this even my fault!?” he shouted out, answering a question with one of his own.

---

Several hours ago

This was one way to arrive in style. The barge bobbed gracefully over the expanse of the artificial lakes. The setting suns kissed the reflective horizon and the cities would bathed in dull orange light. How any credits did this take? He wondered. To build such an enormous body of water, just to then go and build cities on it for air-breathing humans. Each of the cities was like an elegant mushroom shape that stretched up in graceful arcs from a narrow base.

Xin had been dressed as fine as he had even been in his life. An elegant doublet and robes of shades of mauve. The fabric felt smooth against his skin, barely any weight on his shoulders. He didn’t like it one bit. He preferred heavy and worn spacer clothes. Garments with pockets. Wouldn’t fit in at all here like that though. The gala was an event for the rich to gather and bet on the high-octane water sports that would take place across the lake. A human slaver by the name of Wyn Tourne would be having his annual gambling session with others from his trade. They dealt in hard, untraceable currency rather than anything digital that could be followed by the authorities.

Xin and his band were here to try and lighten the weight of their guilt and riches by the end of the night.

 

[Alisha'ven]

Now

"You know karking well why it was your fault!"

The aggrevated cry came along with the sound of splashing water. Alisha'ven was soaking wet, her lavender dress plastered to her shapely form, the skirt tangling along her legs with an ever frustrating cling. Ugh, it had been hard enough to have to wear the gorram thing, much the less swim in it.

Annoyance went carving across her cerulean features, her lekku quivering and twitching at the ends at her growing ire. The safety ring gave a splash in front of her, sending salty water across her cheek. If there was ever fire in her eyes, it was then. Large lavender eyes went flashing up at the sodden Nautolan, the Rutian grabbing a hold to be tugged along to the concrete edge and the sole reason why they were on this position in the first place.

A number of curses befell [member="Xin Boa"], the sweet drawl she had before replaced by a spit fire. Once she managed to get close enough for Xin to potentially lend a helping hand, Alisha wiggled her drenched body up, skirt getting all over the place. It was the frustration that had the Twi'lek stumble to her feet, precariously balancing herself, eyes leveled straight at Xin.

Half crutching and moving to straighten, it appeared that the Arceaneau Trade Representative was about to level more than a glare at the aquatic smuggler.



Hours earlier...

"Nothin' but piss pots and ass kissers." The soft drawl of the Arceaneau Trade Representative fell from under a half breath, wide Lavender eyes panning at the approaching entertouge of several high ranking officials. Full lips went twisting into a half pout, the former exotic dancer and smuggler smoothing the flat of her tongue across her pearly teeth.

With her history, this event was purely Alisha drawing the short straw of the lots between her and Aeri Vyn. It was either this or a run at Vineta, which was more of the classier version of Zeltros. The lucky schutta managed to snag it. Now Alisha was stuck having to dress up and mingle so she could discuss business with Wyn Tourne.

A slaver. The thought brought mild distaste to her mouth. Feth, I need a drink, she thought to herself. Scanning the growing crowd, Alisha went searching for the closest bar. It made sense why she'd be here; if there was anyone who could glean information while having a bit of fun, it was Alisha. Behind her coy smile and provocative gaze was a calculating individual who had used her wiles to sort out the men and women who would be easy to manage or not.

To some, one might say she didn't change occupations by much, but this time it was her choice. The string of roonstones at her neck were her own,framing the curves of her bosom like a fleet of ships. They matched well with the silver head band that framed the smooth azure crown of her forehead. The lavender dress was a sheet of slink that did less for the imagination than it hid, the deep plunge at her back along with the vee of at her decollete revealing more of that cerulean skin.

Alisha was bait and she knew it. But if you had it girl, flaunt it

There was already a congregation by the bar. Good, maybe one of these patrolling mynocks will buy me a drink!

 

[Nej Tane]

Now.

The suit alone was the buy-in for this job. In theory, this was a solid plan. Was. WAS. That was until, through a combination of events, it was entirely [member="Xin Boa"]'s fault. At least, that's what Nej was going to tell everyone. Speaking of the suit, he didn't know any tailor, dry-cleaner, or space-wizard that could get saltwater out of a suit. The smell alone ruined his suit, he wagered. He surfaced, getting a nice view of the blue Twi'lek. He nodded in the water, approving of the image before climbing up to the concrete with the others.

"Alright, let's all talk about how this is entirely Xin's fault and no-one elses. Xin, say you're sorry."

Then.

Dapper. Hair combed. Shaved face. Cuff links. Nice watch (fake). Nice designer tie (fake). Nice designer suit (fake). The shoes were polished to a shine (hard to fake shoe shine). Nej looked over at Xin. The plan was easy. Cause a little ruckus at the tracks- then swoop in and rob the winnings. Robbing the lifestyles of the rich and the heinous. Nej's suit was jet-black. Damn near onyx-colored. He looked over at his green-skinned friend, smirking. He pocketed a single hand, thumbing the plastic blaster in his waistband. Not much metal on it, only could be picked up with hand-scanners. Not that these people would hand-scan their esteemed guests, now would they?

"Want to play a game? I bet I got stickier fingers than you."

 

[Delila Castillon]

[ Now ]


Swimming in said dress was nearly impossible. Heels were lost. Perfectly applied lipstick gone. It felt as if she was being flushed down one large toilet tube. Toilet contents were probably mingled in the water. Best not to think of that portion of her float down the tunnel.


Working parallel to the "shore", Delila was able to run around against the duracrete. It was a task to get out of the water, stopping to pull at the straps of her dress, dangerously close to flashing the rest of the crew. There was no need to give that away for free!


"Its Squidly's fault. Always is."




[ Then ]


Despite not liking the high life, Delila was good at it. Once her in life she was Delila Castillon-Solo, loving wife to an up and coming Corellian lawyer. In her ex-husband's quest to make a name for himself there had been numerous galas, balls, charity events. While it had been some time since her marriage, Dells liked to still think she could blend in, despite a bit of a rusty edge to her skills.


High heels clicked along the polished floor as she walked along. A few heads had already noticed her revealing purple dress, her standard staple. Delila considered the garment lucky,easy to hide her blaster in and the only one she owned in reality. Blue orbs took in the mingling crowd.


"Some real winners in here." She murmured, mainly to herself. "Let's go see who's who."

 

[Sal Katarn]

{Now}

The stall door slammed closed. Katarn slumped onto the toilet seat. He clasped a hand to his shirt. Soaked fabric, warm with his blood. Sal groaned and lay his head back against the wall. A Felucian drum circle beat a thundering cacophony in his skull.

Green ellipses flickered closed.

How’d he end up here?

Oh. Right.

{Then}

The tumbler smacked back onto the bar. Katarn slid off the stool, cursing. He grabbed a cloth from the bar and held it against his drenched shirt. A waste of Whyren’s Reserve.

“What I get for rubbernecking.”

“Katarn,” hissed a reptilian voice, smooth as molasses.

He closed his eyes briefly.

“Yeah.”

“The principal-“

“Yeah.”

Sal looked back toward one of the tables. Wyn was still there, tossing dice. Didn’t know why the Trandoshan was gripin’, but Giles was the sort that didn’t much like silence none. What was it he’d said? Whinging. He’d said Sal whinged about the job. Whatever that meant. Gave him a lecture on how important "old Wynnie" was to the Kajidic and the Guild's operations.

“Look here, old sport.”

The Trandoshan had pushed up his goggles. Things were getting serious.

“You can’t just go wagging off in the middle of the job, just because- bloody score. Are those roonstones?”

“Yep.”

“I say… Well, carry on old chap.”

Damn hypocrite.

[member="Xin Boa"] | [member="Alisha'ven"] | [member="Nej Tane"] | [member="Delila Castillon"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Xin Boa"] [member="Sal Katarn"] [member="Delila Castillon"] [member="Nej Tane"] [member="Alisha'ven"]

Now:

Starburst-blues cracked open and a groan left a pair of lips. "Gorram-feth-chit sticks," that mouth of hers swore a few more things in huttese. Palm pushed against her aching head. After Sage, she'd promised herself she'd never get drunk off her arse again. Sure she'd slipped up a time or two. She was karking twenty-one!

But still. This felt. Different.

Where the feth was she?

A narrow slit of light pierced through the dark-box she seemed to be in. Hands felt around. Something wedged into her back. Took a moment for her dazed eyes to adjust. The trunk of a speeder?

"Aw, feth."

Then:

Unlike the others, she remained very much tucked into the center of the barge. Far, far away from the water. So much karking water. She was starting to think the cost of that left coupling hadn't been worth it. Of all the places Wyn Tourne had to house his gambling expo. To her credit, she managed to keep the look of terror off her face as she crossed the threshold of the barge and onto some built-in floating city?

I'mmadie. In these stupid heels. Without my toolbelt.

It wasn't that she was uncomfortable in these clothes. They just reminded her of a past she'd rather forget. Fingers tugged at the black dress that would remind Xin about his freebie-grab not too long ago. Well, they would've reminded Xin about it if he hadn't been gawking at the might-as-well-be-nude twi'lek chick they'd picked up. Blues rolled. The redhead was smoking too.

"I'll hit the sabaac table," she grumbled and moved in that direction.

 

[Formorta]

Now

'kisssssss, hissssssss', her breather mask continued those sounds over and over again as Formrota swam under the surface, she should have just stayed in the barge. The whole events that led to her position seemed stupidly coincidental, but that was in the past now, nothing could be done about it. Underneath the water her powerful arms had no trouble fighting against the current, her red eyes darting around looking for the others in the crew.

Soon the familiar look of legs came into view 'Time to surface', her head excited the water next to [member="Xin Boa"] and not far from [member="Alisha'ven"], [member="Nej Tane"] and [member="Delila Castillon"]. "What i miss"? the voice being slightly muffled by the mask.

Then

Spoiler

Formorta was not one to wear formal attire, but was able to put up with it for the sake of extra credits and other valuables, though she would NEVER be caught wearing any overly flamboyant dress. So for this little get together the masked assassin had put on a suit. She paid no mind to the buildings in the distance, sure they were all nice and looking, but it was nothing to gawk at.

Her plan, play some games, mabye catch a cheat in the process and scare them out of money, also con some people into am "arm's" wrestling contest, that was always a blast, telling them she paid what ever price if they won, the only handy-cape was she could use all her arms, though most people did not know that exact number.

Tonight was looking like it may actually be fun.

 

[Nadir]

NOW

drip drip drip

Wasn’t ever a sound you wanted to wake up to.

Sputtering, Khthul yanked his head out of the toilet, spraying the wall with water. He stumbled to his feet, patting down his pockets with frantic claws.

“Shet.”

Cthahy was gone. So were the rest of them. Bastards.

Least they didna take his smokes, though. Wasn’t a wretched crook in the galaxy who’d take the cigs off a drowning man. Though apparently there were wretched crooks enough who thought drownin’ a quarren was the best way to go about killin’ one.

“Eheheh…” Khthul stuck a laserbrain between his fangs. “SHET.”

No feth-damned lighter.

He glanced down on the white tiles – maybe it’d fall— oh. Right. drip

“Yer bleedin’ on the floor,” the gunslinger helpfully offered to his neighboring stall.

THEN

There were two kinds of bait in this world. One, to snag the wandering eyes of grubby, entitled blood-credit millionaires. The other, to fire off a couple of gunshots at an appropriate moment; cause a right mess, with paranoid crimelords and their ten different kinds of security running about.

He ain’t been any kind of eye-candy even in his younger years. These days, with his sagging tentacles, wrinkles ‘round the eyes, and a miasma of cigarette smoke sticking to his green skin, Khthtul rarely drew any glances that weren’t confused or disgusted.

Suited him just fine. Didn’t have to stuff himself into one of those pretentious numbers, with cufflinks and bowties and jack all space to hide a gun.

Or ten.

His way in was the service entrance – a couple of quarren friends ran a top o’ the line seafood company. Tonight, he was nothin’ more and nothin’ less than a delivery man.


[member="Xin Boa"] [member="Alisha'ven"] @Nej Tane [member="Delila Castillon"] [member="Sal Katarn"] [member="Kinsey Starchaser"] [member="Formorta"]

 

[Xin Boa]

Now

"Look!" Xin started. He pointed towards the twi'lek with his index finger and gave both Dells and Nej a glare that suggested now wasn't the time for chiming in. Alisha didn't seem to be slowing up so finger became an open palm. "This was a bust, couldn't you tell? Job was karked from the start. I didn't do anything to undermine it..." he trailed off in a tone to suggest that some of the others had in fact done that. "...but it was going down and this was the best way out. At least best I saw."

He looked around the group and did a quick head count. It might have been the best way out that he could imagine, but they were still short of several members. Xin visibly deflated and dropped to his knees. Only then did he notice the neat blaster hole in his shirt. That had been close. Hadn't even felt it as he'd jumped down the chute after the others. It was the goods that were supposed to have come out of the city this way, not the group.

"Where did you all last see Kinsey and Kthul?"

Then

The gambling deck was spread across three floors. Each floor was the height of three decks on the type of ships Xin usually travelled on. The outer wall was entirely glass, windows arching away from the floor to give those that suffered a nice dose of vertigo. Offered an amazing view of the lake and the extreme sports that were about to start below. It was the water-side equivalent of pod racing to start.

"Keep those blues opened," Xin murmured as he crossed Kinsey's path. He might have noticed the slinky dresses but he certainly wasn't gawping. When Xin was on a job like this his duty was to keep his big eyes peeled for trouble. He had a good sense for danger and was usually the first to spot when a job was going south. His last crew had considered him a lucky charm until the day he got caught and put away for two years. First up he needed to do a quick head count of the guards. The goods were stowed away in a secure vault for now, but soon each of the slavers would show the others what they had brought to gamble before they were held by a neutral party in a separate vault for the gambling. That was when they needed to effect the switch.

"Drink first, then tables," he said to Nej

The nautolan moved to the bar and ordered something for himself. Funny how in high societies the men worse more and the women less. Perhaps an archaic tradition, just like the nobility that ran this city. What was the point of all that working out in prison if he couldn't show off his arms and many tattoos? Besides, he preferred likes his girls in worn spacer gear just as much as a formal gown.

 

[Alisha'ven]

Then

It was a good thing that the Nautolan fell to his knees; made it easier to aim. Two meters. One - and by the time [member="Xin Boa"] had come to the realization that he'd been shot, he was well on his way at learning that the fuming Twi'lek could give a hard right hook. Hit a man when he's down? When you were pissed to high heaven that the end results now had a potential break in a delicate peace, yes you bet the sodden Rutian was about to lash out in fury.

"You gorram son-of-",

Fist curled, cerulean arm swung back five klicks and then shot forward, aiming to nab the Nautolan on his lower jaw.

At the very least she was giving them a show. Not that Alisha cared about that. She didn't know them or owed them anything.

The Rutiian had not been part of the job.

Instead she had been part of the neutral party to ensure the safety of the goods. That's what Arceaneau was at its core. Neutral. The bridge to try and talk back the use of slaving and instead prove other profitable ventures.

Xin Boa and his little shindig managed to not only ruin the party, but had set in motion a war instead.

---

Hours earlier…

Well we have the trying to hard but obviously not the real deal. Alisha let her wandering lavender gaze traverse across the men by the bar and near the entrance. Her first thought was on [member="Nej Tane"]. Being where she had been the Rutian could tell when knock off clothes made the man. Since this was a high roller event for those closest to Wyn Tourne, Alisha expected to see some of the slaver gang who wanted to mingle but look presentable. Was he part of Tourne’s group?

“Like a fish out of water,” came the low murmur. She gave a cluck of her tongue, hips swaying left and right coming right the bar top.

Speaking of fish out of water, there was a Nautolan nearby. He got the same appraisal as the man before. Nothing of interest until she came to his shoes. No, the shoes where a dead giveaway.

Something did not match the other…

“Hello Ms, Ven.” Hearing part of her name caught her attention. A few would know her; the Rutian was part of the neutral congregation used to keep the pile of valuable goods for the winnings.

Turning past the pan of an Aquaish, Alisha caught the gaze of a tall BH-7X droid.

“Your presence will be requested at the suite in an hour.”

“You're so sweet.” Her drawl came, giving him a gentle tap of his arm.

“I'll be there, don't you worry sugar.”

 

[Nej Tane]

Then.

Drinking. Good for him, good for you- good for business. He tapped his foot on the ground, and nodded. Didn't take much for Nej to start drinking. Especially when he got to drink- and then get rich by the end of the night.

Now (briefly).

Nej recalled the exact moment where it all went wrong for him- and where Xin was wrongly receiving the blame for royally screwing everyone. Not that Nej did it on purpose.

Then again.

She was stunning. Hapan, or some humanoid like it. Angelic eyes. Cheekbones. Wonderful features below the neck, too. Nej was just too polite to linger on them. She also had a great ass. Nej ran a hand through his hair, and practiced his winking in one of the many windows, before sliding up to her. He slid on the bar, until he sat next to her. Unfortunately, as Nej opened his fat mouth, he was talking to one of the galaxy's most notorious crime syndicate money-launderer's wife- albeit she was flirting with Nej as much as he was with her.

Nej got three drinks. Two for him, one for her. He watched Xin from afar.


Now.

"All things considered, it wasn't that bad of an outcome for us pissing off a few crime syndicates." He smirked a little when the Twi'lek went to smack Xin, but Nej intervened. His forearm came up lightning fast, deflecting her punch. Say what you wanted about Nej and all of his shortcomings, he was probably one of the finest shockboxers in Hutt space, and it came in handy in space.

"Now's not the time to get fussy lady, we're down two and up nothing, so we better get the hell out of here without punching each other, yeah?"

 

[Sal Katarn]

{Now}

A voice from the other stall.

Eyelids fluttered. Sal grunted. Damn squidhead was awake. And talking. Katarn grimaced. Couldn't do much else 'sides sit there on the seat for now. Not like he had the strength to knock the fella out again.

Hopefully he'd shut up of his own accord, or mosey over and end it already.

Where was that karking Trandoshan?

{Then}

Giles kept talking from the other stool, but Sal'd stopped listening.

His emerald gaze panned across the room, stopping when it settled on- what was her name? Kark. Sal's lip twitched. Some Suit was over there, kissin' the ring. Liable to get burned, playin' with fire.

Underneath his shirt, Katarn felt the bronzium amulet around his neck grow warm against his skin. Rarely a good thing.

Sal finished wiping off his shirt and set the cloth down on the bar. Wyn caught his eye from over at the table, nodded gently in the direction of the launderer's wife in a way Sal'd come to know meant "take care of it." Katarn quirked a brow, blew out a sigh through his stubble, then ran his fingers through his mop of lank, greasy hair.

Guess it wasn't the Suit's day.

Nudging Giles as he passed, Sal nodded in the direction of the couple. The Trandoshan blinked, then smiled toothily, forked tongue snicking out in that creepy way of his.

Too bad. Easy on the eyes, no denyin', but the boss didn't take kindly to fornicatin'- what was it Giles had said? Ne'er-do-wells. The hired gun mosey'd on over to the pair and stopped just behind the Suit. The wife paled when she spotted Sal's loomin'. He laid a hand on the fella's shoulder. [member="Nej Tane"].

"Her dance card's full. Best move on," he rasped in a voice that sounded as though someone'd taken sandpaper to his vocal chords. Not far from the truth.

[member="Alisha'ven"] | [member="Xin Boa"] | [member="Kinsey Starchaser"] | [member="Khthul the Elder"] | [member="Delila Castillon"]

 

[Formorta]

Now
Forormta quickly swam over to the shore, pulling herself out of the water, the suit being completely drenched and soaking wet, her body slightly shivering from the cold. "I should always wear a wet suit", looking at the shore it seemed as though Boa was getting his ass handed to him by a very pissed off Twi'lek, who could blame her, there group did just kind of ruin the entire event, if Formorta was in her position, she might have just killed Boa.

As Tane step into the fray to pull the Twi'lek off, less she remove some of boa's tendrils she piped up about what to do now, "So, whats the plan now, wait for the others or high tail it out of er". She made sure to keep an eye on the Twi'lek, less she try something.

Then

"Next time don't try and cheat" Formorta stood up and walked away from on of the tables, just catching the dealer cheating, forcing him to give up his credits lest have a target painted on his back for the rest of their life. She was now up a tidy sum, but since the place delt in hard cash, there was only so much she could carry, and what was the point in getting heaps of cash if you don't spend it.

The scared woman walked to the bar, "Ill have a martini, shaken, not stirred", Leaning against the bar she spied [member="Nej Tane"] a meter away flirting with some dressed up Twi'lek, only to then be confronted by another man, what was it with people and liking Twi'leks, what made them so attractive to men, 'guess I'll never know'. She picked up her drink and walked a bit closer to the three, interested in how things played out.

l [member="Sal Katarn"] l [member="Nej Tane"] l [member="Khthul the Elder"] l [member="Xin Boa"] l

 

[Delila Castillon]

[Now]

"Last time I saw Brown Hair I was trying to fix her breasts."


Delila was still disappointed about that. Kinsey needed to broaden her horizons a little, which included showing a bit of skin. It would have helped with the assignment. The Twi'lek went to swing on Squidly but she was sadly blocked by some guy called Nej. Disappointing her opinion. Squidly could use a solid punch.


"As much as I support punching Squidly, I support leaving this tunnel more. We better saving the hitting for later on in the day."


[Then]


Brown Hair was moving towards the Sabacc table. She would never win or persuade someone to let her win looking like that. Not in here. Delila moved quickly, working to move towards [member="Kinsey Starchaser"] before the girl could get too far. The older redhead had made some good progress and reached out to take the girls arm, slowing her down.


"Hey, Kinsey...Can I give you some woman to woman advice?" Dells motioned to her own breasts. "Tape or push up bras can be your friend. In the mean time you want to win at Sabacc? Might want to flaunt what you got hiding in there."


Dells motioned to Brown Hair's chest, hand getting dangerously close.


"I can help."

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

Now:

Palms pressed up against the base of the speeder trunk's door. A grunt of frustration left her lips, feathered strands of auburn hair puffing up in the burst of hot air. Hands dropped, fingers scrabbling around the cramped space. Had to be a basic toolkit back here. They came standard in most speeders. She was a gorram independent spacer-chick. She could get herself out of this.

Hopefully.

Maybe.


Then:

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered to Xin. Hand gripping the back of a chair as an arm tugged on her other. The younger girl was tugged around looking toward Delila Castillon. That BA soldier-chick who she'd blasted a bunch of droids with not too long ago. Starburst-blues widened considerably as the woman's fingers motioned to her chest.

And the words.

Kinsey had been a wild teen. She'd practically grown-up in bars and clubs and became an ace at using the fake ID. And getting free drinks from just about anyone. Her smile was contagious. She certainly hadn't been shy. Wasn't shy. But with that life came consequences. Ones, she'd hope to forget. And of course Delila knew nothing of the young girl's history. Fingertips pushed the redhead's hand away.

"Thanks but no thanks. Been there done that. I could win playing sabaac with a flat chest, lady. I'll stick with the demure amount of cleavage currently showing. But if you want to flaunt those things." Blues traveled down to red's busty-ness, index finger pointing to the general area. "Go right ahead."

Sliding one step over, she lowered herself into the open sabaac table seat, flipping auburn hair over her shoulder.











[member="Delila Castillon"] @Formorta [member="Sal Katarn"] [member="Nej Tane"] [member="Alisha'ven"] [member="Xin Boa"] [member="Khthul the Elder"]

 

[Xin Boa]

Now

Xin didn't have the energy to dodge the speed of the strike. He closed his eyes and braced as the blue fist came for his cheek bone. This was going to hurt. He felt a rush of air, but not the blinding pain he'd expected. Xin opened his eyes slowly to see that Nej had stepped in with a block just in time.

Adrenaline surged through Xin and even managed to buoy him above the exhaustion. The nautolan was suddenly very angry. He shot to his feet.

"Hey! Let's nobody punch anybody right now!" He called loudly. He was wide eyed and wagging his index finger. "Look, I just saved your backside. If they'd caught you acting as our inside woman they would have..."

Something in her expression told him she wasn't following his line of thought at all. Xin had dozed off a little in the briefing but she had to be the inside woman. Blue skin, apostrophes in her name. Alisha'ven. That was...no. wait. Had it been a Chiss? Ali'the'lona. That was it.

That sudden surge of anger could be seen evaporating and leaving Xin all on his own to fight this battle. He silently cursed its cowardice. He quickly replayed the last hour in his mind. They'd been flirting and he'd just assumed she was the mole, but had she actually said anything to confirm that? If she wasn't the insider then he had just unceremoniously pushed and u suspecting woman down a narrow chute into the overflow pipe.

"Oh feth." Xin visible shrank away. Not dealing with that problem now seemed the best course of action. "Dells is right. Got to get to the surface and find Kinsey and Squidly the Elder." At least they were in one piece for now. He untucked the blaster he had stolen from a guard and checked it was still working. At the very least he hoped it would be a deterrent against the furious twilek with a tasty hook.


Then


Xin caught sight of a second twi'lek talking to some of the contingent they were interested in. Was she the contact? He tried to recall the picture they'd been shown in the briefing on the Addrogaddo and found the memory to be hazy. He'd nodded off during that part of Wesseq's briefing. Kinsey and Dells were heading for the tables. There seemed to be a slightly heated exchange and the redhead was reaching to...oh.

Before he could observe how that played out he was drawn to Nej and the crowd around him. Those were some of Wyn's men. Xin wasn't sure what he had done but this was attention they didn't need.

"Hey, shall we go watch the first race?" Xin called as he approached, deliberately not using a name to address Nej. He shot the others a brief and disinterested nod.

 

[Alisha'ven]

Now

Whatever form of sweet vindication would be blocked by the sudden snap of a hand that took her fist onto its firm grip. Angry lavender eyes swung over to focus on a new outlet for her anger. It might not have been Inari the Reviver who granted her the blessing for some sense of satisfaction. Maybe it was Aatrox. The God of deception and assassins sounded just about good enough right about now.

The fist that took her own belonged to none other than [member="Nej Tane"]. A shock boxer of little fame, so one could excuse Alisha'ven for not being quick to pick up on who the scruffy face scoundrel was. What she did know is that despite [member="Xin Boa"] suddenly shrieking like a panicked man about calming down -- Alisha was having none of it.

Poor Nej might be quick with his hands; but was he quick with his feet? The sodden dress made it difficult to aim, but having do deal with handsy spacers in the past after months out in the black made Alisha more than nimble enough for a slight twist and a lift of a knee. A very directly angled swing for the type of jewels that this shoddy group were certainly not after.

Didn't matter if at another time Alisha would have considered him quite a looker. Sure, his clothing was all second hand, but aint no one set their hands on her without her invitation. [member="Xin Boa"] might have gotten a few free eyes butt that was before the fool got her into this blasted situation in the first place.

It was through the ruckus of Alisha aiming or Nej's nuts that the cry about an insider woman or what not floated over the Twi'leks head. She was too busy seeing red. Someone was getting hit, like it or not.

---

Hours earlier

The first strings of a catchy beat began to play, drifting across the poop deck and down below for the guests to enjoy. Alisha said a quick goodbye to the droid and sat herself down on the barstool near the bar. The clink of glasses and low murmur of guests enjoying the start of their evening slowly began to meld with the music.

ugh, this was already beginning to bore Alisha. What to do? First a drink that was high on the hard spectrum of alchohol content. Then... Well there were a few options. Their host made sure to include sabaac tables, races, pazzak, and a number of private suites for a more refined and private events. Really, an excuse for folk to get beyond the flirting game some took here. Others, well, were for the high end gambling tables that were invite only.

A Chiss woman in a similiar lavender dress went past Alisha, pausing to speak with a Rodian in the back of the bar. A thought came to her, something Danger had told her a while back. Apparently Chiss were fully grown at age 10. This one was supposed to be eleven. So young. There was just something wrong about that. Looked about early twentys but was eleven years old.

A heavy snort and the buxum Twi'lek swung her attention back to the bar. "Alright... what does a girl need to do to get a drink round here?"

 

[Nadir]

NOW

No reply.

Maybe his friends had done him in after they’d tried drownin’ him. With any luck, they were more competent at killin’ non-swimmers.

Tentacles wriggling in displeasure, Khthul shrugged his coat back over soggy shoulders and pushed his way out.

Turned out the door of the neighboring stall’d been broken down by what looked to be a sad pile of bleedin’ human.

The quarren smacked his lips, pried a deck from his pocket, and drew the top card between clawed fingers.

“Imma ask yah nice only once, boy – gimme mah guns,” he grunted and flicked the razor-sharp Demise at the bastard.


THEN

Shifting from the kitchens to the main floor was a piece of cake. A fat credit chit, a pointed tentacle, and some underpaid waiter was more than happy to hand him his clothes.

Granted, they didna fit like they used to – belly an’ all – but he’d snagged the spot behind the counter right quick. Something to do with his eye for cocktails. And don’t even get him started on the flair he could pull off. He was flippin’ bottles and slicin’ lemons mid-air in no time. Got a right crowd going.

Red eyes flickered over to the mess [member="Nej Tane"] was doing his best to make. Squidly Junior’d stepped in, but the husband’s goons were already eyeing the man. If the fether’d keep it in his pants for a change, everyone’s job would be so much easier.

"Alright... what does a girl need to do to get a drink round here?"

“Right on, ma’am,” the quarren shifted to the new customer. Blue twi’lek. Nice jugs – ‘cept Khthul was old enough to keep his gaze up.

“What’ll a fine lady like you be havin’ tonight? Alderaan Twist? Durindfire? Mm, no. Ye look like a woman who can hold her drink.” A pause – he ran precise claws along the wide array of spirits at his disposal, eyeing [member="Alisha'ven"].

“A Meltdown, then? Or a Sonic Servodriver, if ye wanna start this party with a bang?”

 

[Delila Castillon]

[ Now ]


"Oh, I'm Dells now?"


A quip about his host of nicknames Squidly rotated through to try to get under her skin. It hadn't worked but he still seemed to try from time to time. Delila didn't have much time or patience for the in fighting currently occurring between the group. It was becoming abundantly clear why she preferred to work alone more often than not. Old age had given her patience for some things but not for idiotic actions. Delila preferred to think it was the soldier in her, the woman disciplined to get the job done and worry later. Anything else was unprofessional.


A slight roll of her blue-green eyes before turning her back on the trio. She would set off on her own, heading down the tunnel to look for a ladder to the surface. Should be spaced fairly intermittently throughout if she had to guess.


[ Then ]


Amusement drifted through her. The kid was feisty, perhaps a little too much. Reminded her of herself in a way which could spell trouble for Brown Hair down the road. If the young girl was anything like herself it was going to be a lifetime of lessons learned the hard way.


"Best of luck Brown Hair."


Delila would watch the girl go with a silent chuckle before drifting away on her own. A waiter was rotating by with some type of alcoholic drink designed for the event. It was blue and a little frothy, going down a little too smooth. She was slow to head to the first event. She had her reasons, those not clamoring to the event often and less at stake, were more willing to talk.

 

[Xin Boa]

Now

Nej had clearly thought the physical encounter was over. He took a swift kick to the happy sack and he didn't take it well*. Apparently everyone was going to ignore him or blame him. Only Formarta seemed to have an interest in making a decision on what the next steps were. Anger bubbled up inside and there was a thwuuck as the stolen blaster was drawn from a soaking wet pocket. He didn't even know if it would fire.

There was a bright flash of light and sparks drifted down from the curved roof of the tunnel above. Turned out it did still fire.

"Enough!" he called out. "We get to the surface and see if we can get the rest of our crew. There are two more of our people down the end of this tube. Poor bastards have been stood there with nets waiting to dredge out the loot we lost." He didn't say they would get their colleagues back. That depended on the situation they were in.

"You clearly aren't who I mistook you for and I'm sorry for that, but you can either stop throwing punches..." his point was accentuated by Nej retching on the ground. "...or I can stun you, leave you here to be found and see if that lot decide you were the mole after all."

It wasn't much of a threat, but it had all made it seem as if she was working for them. That in itself would lead to unpleasantness.


Then

Xin could see that the situation was more tense than he'd seen from a distance. Without waiting he threw an apologetic nod towards the enforcers and tugged Nej out of there from the back of his tunic. He kept his arm around him as they returned to the bar.

"Not your fault, but those are the people we don't want paying us attention," he whispered. He have Formarta a look as if to imply she watch over Nej for the time being. Xin caught a glimpse of the group on the mez floor above. Soon they would be showing off their stakes and sending them to the neutral holdings. That was when they needed to strike, take the dirty money and drop it down into the overflow tunnels. "I'm going for a walk."


* Punishment for vanishing!