Just Askin' an Assassin

[thegreatbeyonder]

"Do you ever ask for a name?" Arian pondered, speaking directly to Laguz all whilst ignoring their remark.

Stepping through the door, and into the world outside, the world of Coruscant did little to breathe life. The Jedi have always said, that even encased in metal, that the world below still lives. How does a world itself live? Certainly it might contain life, but last he checked a rock did not live. As the thought passed through his mind as he began to wade through the crowds, the courier had nearly forgotten his companion's existence.

It only took a few minutes, and soon his ship came into view. A light freighter, generic details, and nothing out of the ordinary; a spacer's vessel.

Turning towards Laguz, "Here we are." He spoke far to casually for what their task was supposedly all about.

[member="Laguz Vald"]

 

[Laguz Vald]

"There a reason I should?" Laguz shot back, boring xir gaze into the back of the man.

"Boys like you end up in a ditch sooner than later, and you don't get a gravestone in the ditch. No use remembering your name then, yeah?" the merc mused out loud, following him nonetheless. If this little errand panned out, xe might yet change xir attitude towards the man, but for now, a cold shoulder would do just fine. Xe had very little idea who xe was really dealing with here, and at least a modicum of caution wouldn't hurt.

"Nice. The latest model of the Tin can is out, I see.You guys get all your tech from the junkyard, or do they order this special just for you?"

Despite the venom dripping off xir words, the merc regarded [member="Arian Lenar"] with a stony countenance, peering down on him through slightly narrowed eyes.

"You'll want to tell me where we're going right about now." A smoother, lower voice this time, yet somehow far more threatening than the half-playful sarcasm xe'd been throwing about before.

 

[thegreatbeyonder]

"I meant those you've killed; although I suppose you already answered that," he quipped.

Disregarding the remark towards his starship--a remark not uncommon to a spacer's ear--Arian rolled his eyes and stepped towards the loading ramp. "I don't think you get it, I have no idea where we're heading, my navigation computers are wiped before and after every mission. My employers decide which destinations to download, and thus once we leave atmo' I'll have an answer."

That all probably seemed overly complicated, even from an assassin who thrived in the art of disguise. Oh, it was overly complicated, but it was overly complicated in its own intricate way; it was meant to be too complicated that it'd spell as amateur to unwanted, prying eyes.

Of course, Arian himself never really understood it from that point, but then again he wasn't a guy who asked a lot of questions. That is probably why he was in the position he's in; he was too dumb or apathetic to ask dangerous questions, but smart enough to get the job done. By all means he's the "perfect soldier." Oh, how he hates being reminded.

No matter. They had a mission to do, and Arian was just about done having small talk with the alien.

[member="Laguz Vald"]

 

[Laguz Vald]

The only thing xe offered by way of reply was a patronizing tilt of xir head, a slight smirk playing at the edges of xir lips, but never quite reaching xir eyes. It was tough to tell in the half-light of Coruscant's underbelly, and the expression was gone in the next instant.

"And I'm supposed to believe you've never tried to figure it out on your own?" Laguz scoffed, quirking an eyebrow at his retreating back as xe grudgingly followed up the loading ramp. "Hacked the nav to bypass the wipe? Copy the info? Trace the algorithms?" Xe could go on, of course, but the line of [member="Arian Lenar"]'s shoulders betrayed what sort of answer xe would receive.

Well, the Universe needed people like him as well. Not everyone could go around asking questions. A good mook is still a mook, though, and Laguz didn't like working for mooks. Xe was too old and too experienced for that chit.

"Tell me how you contact your employers, boy, and I'll talk to them myself," xe spoke calmly as the ramp closed behind the mismatched pair, leaving them to stare at each other in the dim light of the airlock.

 

[thegreatbeyonder]

"Maybe I'll figure that out when I get promoted. We work in cells, and the leader of my cell is the only one with direct contact... And then again, I'm only assuming it's direct." Arian began explaining the nature of his employers, but only from a limited perspective as he is to them but a nameless soul in their service. Likely they contacted his leader, and asked them to put their 'best guy' on the task at hand.

Whether or not he was truly their best remained to be seen. A few milk runs doesn't make you elite, and even his background was not particularly honourable enough to be noted in his dossier. No matter, he continued talking to his new companion. "All I know is from rumors, and the rumor is that the folks behind the Couriers are a just a bunch of businessmen, or politicians that don't like the way the galaxy is. A lot of people don't like the way the galaxy is," he chuckled; at the remark, but it was completely true. Who didn't have a problem with how things worked, and who won't?

If their job was to make the galaxy a better place, they'd all have to act quickly as it was constantly changing on a day-to-day basis.

Arian entered his starship, presumably with a certain assassin tailing him on board. The interior--although rather clean--was not anymore aesthetically pleasing than the exterior of the starship. There was enough to tell it's a somewhat newer vessel, and that Arian probably doesn't have any sort of a connection with it; which tends to be odd for veteran spacers who often prefer one ship over another. Sitting down in the pilot's seat, he gestured to the empty co-pilot's chair next to him. "Take a seat, make yourself comfortable," he said as he began flicking various switches in preparation for launch.

[member="Laguz Vald"]

 

[Laguz Vald]

The merc let out an exaggerated groan at another admission of [member="Arian Lenar"]'s incompetence. At this point, xe was just about willing to give up on the man completely, but experience reined xem in; even the worst of the worst could be transformed into assets with the right pressure and a game well played. Xir best option right now was to go with the flow of whatever operation his higher-ups had in mind and see how it turned out.

Didn't mean xe'd let xir guard down a single inch, though. The fact that xir potential employers were going to such lengths was unsettling. Impressive, but unsettling nonetheless. Were Laguz in their place, xe'd do exactly the same, of course, but that only meant that they were not to be trifled with.

Spoilsports. Laguz did so like to trifle with people. Oh, well.

"No chit. Can't make everybody happy, so might as well take care of your own ass, I say."

Right on cue, the man offered him a seat, and the shifter plopped down with a lopsided grin. One hand on his thigh — for the knife — the other casually hooked over the back of the seat — to facilitate the formation of a chokehold noose, should the need for it arise — and feet firmly planted on the floor. All in all, Laguz was ready to react at a moment's notice if Arian tried anything even remotely suspicious.

Which, given all the secrecy and seaking about up to this point, wasn't entirely impossible.

"Well? Step on it, boy."

 

[thegreatbeyonder]

"Reeelaaax," he pressed down on the thrust, the engines roared to life. "Do I need to spell it out for you? A ship isn't just some tool, you gotta listen to it; hear it breathe." Shortly afterward the power was enough for Arian to lift off, the hull ascended slowly at first before picking up pace as the gravity compensators kicked in to make sure none of them felt ill as the G's came straight for them.

It didn't take too long before they broke atmosphere, the planet behind them became smaller and smaller to the eye. It was quite a marvel to see how quickly a starship could move throughout the galaxy. Hyperspace was cool and all, but realspace is where it's at! "Well, it won't take too long. Unless the tracker fell out during takeoff. That happened once, almost got me burned." Arian seemed awfully casual about the situation.

Then again, his apparent incompetence was piling up each time he opened his mouth.

Oh well. Sometimes you just have to look dumb... Or maybe he really was dumb...

[member="Laguz Vald"]

 

[Laguz Vald]

"Oh please. Clearly you don't go out enough and interact with actual breating things, boy. Get yourself some ass, I guarantee you it'll cure you of this… whatever this is." Xe waved in the general direction of the ship as a whole as the creaking tin can took off, and Laguz was half convinced that they would explode before they even made it out of the system.

By some miracle, the thing survived, and despite himself, the merc had to grudgingly admit that [member="Arian Lenar"] wasn't a completely crappy pilot.

That was before the man spoiled the illusion by opening his mouth once more, of course.

Resisting the urge to slam his forehead against the control panel, the shifter made an offhand remark about 'exploration' – which could involve, but wouldn't be limited to: scanning, planting bugs, slipping between the cracks, and sabotaging the ship – and stalked out of the cockpit to allow xemself some reprieve from the mook.

Any more time spent in there, and Laguz could swear that xir compentence levels would start taking a dip. Laziness and stupidity were infectious, xe was sure of it.

With one last shudder, the mercenary slithered down the hallway, sprouting additional sets of eyes and other assorted senses in order to facilitate xir assessment of the laughable excuse for a spaceworthy vessel.