Meet the New Brass [Red Ravens]

[Cryax Bane]

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“Play in the dirt. You get dirty.”​

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Location: Antecedent, Dragon Palace Casino, Club Lush, VIP Section​

Theme Song: NIN, Came Back Haunted​

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It was an eventful evening at the Dragon Palace Casino on Antecedent. Drinks in hand, the wickedest of thieves, swoop bikers, mercenaries, pirates, thugs and dark Force-users this side of the Outer Rim were restlessly amassed in the VIP room of one of the Casinos many nightclubs, Club Lush, waiting to hear an announcement from the new President of the organization, Cryax Bane, the young Chiss man most knew as the former Ravens Secretary.

When Cryax had first joined the Red Ravens, he was a nearly-homeless street rat slicer. On the surface, he seemed like a geeky Chiss kid who knew his way around an encrypted firewall. However, what most didn’t know, except for a few like Lysle and Sigourney who refused to judge a book by his cover, was that underneath it all, Cryax was a brilliant strategist with an analytic mind and a pyschopathic gift of complete dissociation from the violent acts being committed around him. Especially because he himself wasn’t doing the dirty work. During his few months with the Red Ravens, the Chiss had tirelessly worked behind-the-scenes during the Red Ravens' galactic war with the Black Sun, and he helped make sure the group stayed three steps ahead of their adversaries. Putting his neck on the line over and over again, he'd been captured and tortured on Kessel, and although no one could see it yet, the ordeal had changed him, slowly twisting his psyche in the weeks that followed. Over time, Cryax, had inexorably been woven into the very fiber of the organization without much fanfare. Until tonight. This evening, the unlikely Chiss crime boss had decided that one of his first jobs as President was to give the Ravens a little show. If Cryax was going to be the figurehead for one of the biggest crime syndicates in the galaxy, he hoped that this public relations stunt would eliminate any stirrings of concerns about his leadership abilities.

For his first act, Bane stepped in front of the motley crew and flanked by two Mirari bodyguard droids, made his way into the center of the room. With a curt nod of his head, Raven henchmen hauled in a human man with an electro collar around his neck, wrists stun-cuffed together, and a murderous glare in his eyes. The thugs roughly shoved him down on his knees in front of the Chiss who merely smirked. His red eyes trained maliciously on the man, Cryax addressed the crowd.

“The man on his knees before you is a bounty hunter we caught gunning for [member="Lysle of the Hydian Way"] on the edges of Wildspace. We’re going to show his benefactor what the President of the Red Ravens does to the amateur scum they keep flinging at us. Unfortunately these assholes never seem to learn.”

Cryax suddenly put out his hand, palm facing up, and a droid marched over with an electric nail gun, handing it to the Chiss. Cryax advanced on the man, as quick as a snake, yanking him up by the collar and placing the nail gun right to the man’s forehead. “Let’s just consider this an nerf herder tax.” He unceremoniously pressed the trigger on the nail gun, and with a thunking sound, a six inch steel spike bore into the other man's skull, right between his eyes, lobotomizing him instantly. The bounty hunter slumped to the floor, twitching and drooling and as he was hauled away. In that moment, it was apparent to all watching that in that last gesture of merciless release, Cryax Bane killed off his former self completely.

After a moment of silence, Cryax clapped his hands together and smiled at the crowd. His second act was going to be a more celebratory affair. “Rest assured a Holo of that little scene will be sent to whoever placed that bounty. Now that that business is taken care of, I have some good news for everyone. As most of you know, Lysle has some long term business in the Fringe and has named me de facto President until he returns. As my first duty, I’d like to announce some promotions in our ranks. I have, with Lysle Rigger’s blessing, named [member="Logan of Little Coruscant"] as the Red Ravens Vice president.” With a blue-skinned hand he gestured to the long haired mercenary. “And filling my former position will be the man most of you know as [member="Ice"]." Cryax next turned to Ice with a nod of his head.

“So, Ravens, raise a glass. Tonight we drink not only to new leadership, but to the very future of our organization!” Here, he lifted his glass high in the air. “To the Red Ravens!”

[member="Daxton Bane"] [member="Xalus"] [member="Lok Jorunn"]

 

[Jennifer Blanchard]

Jenn was pretty excited. Sure, she had the retainer but that didn't matter right now. She had a new job, a place to live that wasn't moving. Even if she kept herself moving a lot, it didn't really make that much of a difference. It was more a place to belong on top of just a job. And that was plenty fine for her. Making her way into the casino where she heard @Cyrax Bane, the new leader of the Ravens were, she looked around. Simple.

She wanted to see the man who brought her here, and get to know the rest of the crew. Wearing a white dress that may be too short for most places, she felt fine here. Aside from her datapad being away. A smaller, more advanced comlink kept her connected to the HoloNet, but that... well, it didn't feel like home.

Listening to the blue-skinned slicer, now president, as she grabbed a drink, she rose the glass and drank.

Was this home now?

 

[Puppet Kyrios]

Asteria watched the Chiss as he made his, shall we say, violent speech and found herself also raising her glass of Wikinia wine. "Here, here!" She had brought a whole wine case to the party because she knew very well there would be none unless she did.

After the speech, Asteria congratulated Ice on the promotion, or whatever it was, then walked over to a corner where she knew no one would bother her unless they found out where she was or who brought the weird wine.

[member="Jennifer Blanchard"] [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Jen]

Another night at The Dragon Palace was up and blasting, music loud as always and the constant noise from the huge crowd shimmering through the tight atmosphere in the club as countless men and women and those in-between -of various alien races mind you- danced around in Club Lush. One of the many smaller nightclub sections within The Dragon Palace, an establishment that had been constructed through the spending of around 2.9 billion credits. A manifestation of the wealth the Red Ravens had gathered since their creation. Or rather the wealth owner of this establishment had gathered...

And tonight was a night of celebration, that was at least what the intention of it all was according to the information about the event that Jennifer had picked up on the CryptNet some time back. Some of the core leadership positions in the faction had been changed around since the owner of The Dragon Palace, Lysle Rigger, had stepped down from his position as President while he was 'taking care of business' in the outer rim. But yes, celebration was the keyword to tonights party. New leaders, new goals and soon a new year. Rather well timed one could argue.

Despite her age Jennifer was a member of the Red Ravens, a fact that had mattered not to the former leader of the Ravens. His philosophy, at least according to Jennifers comprehension of it all, had been that as long one had the abilities needed by the Ravens one could become a member. And she did not doubt for a second that such a philosophy would continue to shape the infamous syndicate. However a hint of concern had sprung forth in her as the news had been delivered around and eventually heard by Jennifer herself. After all, she had been... Well, good friends was probably an overestimation of the relationship between the former president of the ravens and herself. Even for Jennifer who otherwise -at least according to herself- had it easy with becoming friends with almost any who crossed her path, had found it hard to figure out the facade, the metaphorical mask Lysle wore at all times. He had simply been hard to learn to know. But still, she considered him a friend, perhaps even a fatherly figure of sorts.

This was exactly the reason for Jennifer's minor concern when hearing about the change of power within the syndicate. Before the change she had easily been able to get some of the good jobs as a mechanic, take a whole lot of favors when needed, etc.. He had trusted her as much as the man now was capable of trusting others. The uncertainty, the not knowing part, not knowing whether she would be able to continue this life style she had grown to like, see that, scared her a little. Jennifer disliked uncertainties and would rather have the facts laid out as they were so she could analyze them and come up with a plan for how she would deal with life then. At least to some extend. Luckily for her however the top position had been transferred to Cryax, a chiss who she had also grown close to in a family like way. So that was comforting, she thought him easier to figure out as well. Or at least she had thought so. Now she was not so sure anymore how much she actually had known about the chiss, how much she had actually figured out about him. The actions taken duing the Chiss' speech at this party had, quite frankly, shocked her.

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Jennifer had been seated by one of the various booths within the VIP section of the club as Cryax had raised himself from his seat and made his way towards the center of the room. The booth was reserved for those of the... Ah okay, who was she kidding, any Raven could sit there as long as they were not the average grunt or simply had an intelligence higher than that of, again, the average grunt. Actually as long as you weren't a grunt gangster you could probably get to sit by the table. Usually Jennifer didn't pay extremely much attention to other booths or tables when she was with the Ravens in places that was their own. And especially not when there was no apparent danger to them. So it was only natural that she had missed the electro collared human bounty hunter who was pushed towards Cryax as he stood in the middle of the room, preparing to talk.

After all she was way too busy lighting her cigarette and looking over the holomenu on the table, attempting to find a proper bottle of whatever sparkling substance that was on fashion these days for them to drink in celebration, preparing for it to be served once Cryax returned from his speech. It wasn't really the silence, as silent as a nightclub now could be, that had made her look up as Cryax prepared to speak, no it was the whispers who had made her curious, usually that didn't happen. What was there to whisper about? Had he put his suit on wrong or something?

Of course the reality was a bit more frightening than the other scenario. Jennifer had temporarily stopped her champagne browsing as the electro collared man had been forced down onto his knees infront of Cryax. She even caught herself holding her breath as Cryax started to speak to the masses, a cold aura felt around him which she for one had never experienced before. And she, like the rest of the assembly fell dead quiet as the sickening sound of bone cracking was heard, the body of the electro collared man seen falling onto the ground with a six inch steel spike pierced through his skull. At this moment you would probably have been able to hear a pinhead fall to the ground. The silence that followed seemed to last for minutes, shocked at the act the chiss who many had seen more as a white collar sort of criminal than a brute, had committed.

And just as sudden as the silence had begun it was vanquished, some brute had yelled out what one could mistake for a warcry, himself followed by the rest of the common thugs' shouts and energetic applause for their new leader. Out of fear or actual awe... That Jennifer did not know, she sat entirely still for a moment or two, simply staring at the chiss as he continued to talk, raising his glass.

She blinked rapidly, her head turning back towards the holomenu by the table, as if pretending that what had just happened had never taken place. Now, ermmm.. What champagne to choose? Desperate to try to appear casual before people would notice her discomfort she called out to a woman who stood close by in a white dress, raising the holomenu to face her.

"Ermm.. Hai!" She yelled over the music who had slowly started to return, booming through the nightclub. "Do you have any suggestions for what we are going to drink?" Jennifer asked, as if presuming that the woman had been previously been seated in the booth.

[member="Cryax Bane"] :: [member="Jennifer Blanchard"]​

 

[Ice]

The night was to be one of celebration and merriment. New leaders had risen to take the place of those that had matters to attend to elsewhere to the point they could no longer properly lead the growing syndicate. Ice had to admit, that he was surprised to have been chosen for the secretary position. He hadn't been with the Red Ravens all that long. Granted he already had previous experience in this spot, and even had history with the new president. But the promotion was still a surprise nonetheless.

He watched the crowd as they enjoyed themselves. Truly, the entire club just seemed alive with excitement. His eyes snapped back into focus as he noticed Cryax making his way to the main floor for his speech. He too, followed. Knowing full well he had a small part within the announcement. Taking his place a short distance behind Cryax, he was a bit confused when a main in chains was brought forth and forced to kneel down in front of Cryax. His sense of danger was instantly aroused, and he couldn't help but feel his hand instinctively fall to rest on his pistols at his side.

Soon words began to leave Cryax's mouth and he knew from the tone it wasn't going to end well for the prisoner. Honestly Ice should have seen the next events coming. Any new crime boss was going to have to leave a major impression right away to consolidate his power and authority over the group, lest he lose it. But he didn't. Ice had worked with the Chiss on many projects. Hell, the first time he met the man, he was a drooling nerd gawking over dang near every woman that came around. Since then, he was the man that Ice had negotiated entrance into the Red Ravens with a mutually beneficial business contract. After that, he had helped bust the man out of prison, and then go on into battle with him.

Despite the many events, he had certainly matured some. But it didn't seem to Ice that he had bloodthirsty. So when he took a construction tool and fired a steel spike into the man's head, Ice flinched. His face didn't show any expression. But he did find the whole thing rather disturbing. And maybe it wasn't even the execution itself, but more so the cheery way he acted after the fact. He may have gone by Ice for a good reason, but this was just cold. And for it to have come from Cryax. Most unsettling. Still, probably not best to keep a newly minted psychopath waiting.

When he heard his name, Ice stepped forward with a nod and a smile and came to a stop next to the man that had just totally destroyed the perception Ice had. He raised a glass and yelled in conjunction with everyone else. "To the Red Ravens!!!" Finally, he finished by downing the drink that was in his glass in one big gulp.

Maintaining a smile he turned toward Cryax and shook his hand. "Thanks again for the promotion. I'll be doing my best." A few moments later. [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] had approached him to offer her congratulations. He graciously accepted them, and gave his thanks in turn. Watching her head to the corner, he thought it might be good to join her. He was never really one for big crowds anyway. And getting out of the spotlight and back to the shadows with a friend sounded good right about then.

[member="Jen"] | [member="Jennifer Blanchard"] | [member="Cryax Bane"] | [member="Logan of Little Coruscant"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Waving off the applause humbly, just like he'd seen Lysle Rigger do, Cryax turned and grabbed a napkin off a nearby table. Dipping it in a nearby ice-bucket he wiped the bounty hunter's blood off his blue-skinned hands as if it were just a simple wine stain. Looking down at his expensively-tailored suit, he was also pleased to see that it had been spared. Then he enthusiastically returned Ice's handshake. "You deserved it Ice. Now that the Black Sun are in their death throes, we're gonna put that final nail in the coffin, aren't we?" He grinned, a little too pleased at his own inappropriate pun.

Now that his speech was finished, the newly minted crime boss circulated around the room and greeted all of the Ravens, trying to make as much face time as possible with the men and women in their ranks. He wasn't familiar with all of the Ravens just yet, but he spied Jen in a booth with Asteria Starcatcher, who he knew because she'd found him lying in a rockpile on Kessel during his escape. "Ladies," he said to them with a nod, patting Jen on the shoulder. "Always good to see you Jen. How is that pharmaceutical project coming along?" he asked her cheerfully, oblvious to her shock at his uncharacteristic behavior during his speech. Then to Asteria, he smiled widely and leaned in closer to her. "We're so glad to have you with us, Asteria." Cryax was still especially grateful to her for the part she'd played in his rescue. Especially because she'd also suffered many injuries that day.

He hadn't seen Jenn Blanchard since, when and where did he recruit her again? Was it the Corporate Sector? Events were starting to blur together since Kessel. "Jenn, hope you're getting oriented with us quite nicely. Have all your Cryptnet passwords and security clearances and all that? Good, good."

Once the Chiss made the rounds, he sat back in one of the larger booths, surrounded by henchmen and droids who stood back a few paces to let he and his guests breathe, and made himself accessible to anyone who might want to talk business. He was content to spend the night scheming or just to watch the other Ravens mingle. Right now the only thing on his mind was enjoying the fine drinks, the Holo dancers, and the company of the other Red Ravens.

[member="Asteria Starcatcher"] [member="Jennifer Blanchard"] [member="Ice"] [member="Jen"] [member="Logan of Little Coruscant"] [member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

Despite having all but grown up on a sprawling city-world, crowds still weren't Jalek's cup of tea. Or at least, not ones comprised of criminals he hardly new or trusted, besides the fact that they were allied with or working for the Red Ravens. The numerous gangs that controlled Taris he could handle, along with the odd violent confrontation here and there. But this was something new, and he wasn't sure how much he liked the formal environment. It was a bit too uptight for his tastes.

But still he was there, in a suit nonetheless, his shaggy red hair as neatly combed as it would ever be, the majority of his tattoos covered save for those on his hands and neck. It was an outfit and situation that he never imagined to find himself in, but it wasn't as if he was there simply because he had to be. No, there was certainly something of interest that intrigued him, or rather, someone. Specifically, the blue-skinned, crimson eyed, raven haired slicer that had been his first gateway into the organization, [member="Cryax Bane"]. Their relationship had been tumultuous and tension filled since the beginning, and he had a feeling that things would be even more highly strung with the impressions that had to be made. That didn't mean he had to go along with things.

Jade eyes searched the crowd for the one familiar face, lighting up once they spotted him from a distance, though he didn't make his way over right away. Instead he took his time, even mingling with a few individuals before he eventually wove his way through the ever thickening crowd to the table where Cryax sat, two glasses of whiskey in hand. He set one of them down in front of the other man before taking a seat himself, acting nonchalant about the entirety of it, as if it were just another one of their ever frequent meetings that had multiplied within the past few weeks. But he knew it was more important than that, as the Chiss would most likely want him to make a good impression. Unfortunately, he'd chosen the wrong man for the job. Dressing in a suit he could stand, but add in the rest of it and he was starting to expect too much.

Another moment of sipping his drink passed before he finally spoke, a faint amused smile on his lips. "Sorry about missing the show, Blue. I was a bit preoccupied elsewhere." He didn't offer any more explanation, leaving the rest of it up to Cryax's imagination as for what he'd been doing before finally deciding to attend the party. A number of ideas came to his mind when he spoke it, all of them involving the other man, none of them mentionable in a setting such as this, which only served to amuse him more.

The few he knew vaguely as belonging to what could be considered the inner circle of the Red Ravens were otherwise unfamiliar to him, and he decided that introductions would be made in their own time. Of yet he wasn't too concerned with their presence, but more so what a certain Chiss would have to say about not only his arrival, but the fact that he'd actually bothered to dress in a suit for this occasion.

[member="Ice"], [member="Jen"], [member="Asteria Starcatcher"], [member="Jennifer Blanchard"]

 

[Jen]

Jennifer had at first attempted to hurry up [member="Jennifer Blanchard"] -the women in the white dress- with her answer once she had seen Cryax move towards her and the rest by the table. As if to have an excuse for talking little with him. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as the chiss had approached her, or them rather. At least his words indicated a plural of "ladies", she hadn't noticed [member="Asteria Starcatcher"] at first, mainly because Jennifer had never seen her before, but a friend of the Ravens was a friend of Jennifer and of course there was the other Jenn as well, although Jennifer, herself, didn't know of her either. Nonetheless she offered the chiss a quick smile as he had stopped by the table, though not entirely sincere, the smile not even coming close to that of her usual broad and heartwarming ones, it faltering as quickly as it came instead.

"And you as well. Congratulations." The congratulations was meant earnestly, however the first part of her sentence, the response to that it was always good to see her, she for a moment doubted. Her voice a bit lower than usual as she spoke. She wasn't afraid of Cryax, she could very easily distance herself from all the criminal activity around her, often being able to completely ignore a Raven henchman that was beating up someone right infront of her, the violent aspect wasn't exactly by its own what was troubling her. It was rather perception of Cryax that had been altered drastically that had scared her. And just as most beings who had adapted a culture of settling down, she too disliked change, especially when it came all of a sudden.

She had expected or always thought Cryax was one of those who would always remain 'civilized', one of her last ties to how real and proper people treated each other. She had known just after a few weeks with the Ravens that the criminal culture would change her a lot, and cold hearted or emotionless was titles she had not wanted to associate herself with. Even if she could be like that, but that was another matter entirely. It would just take some time to get used to, it was after all a big [SIZE=11pt]responsibility[/SIZE] he had been given, she could see the advantages in playing rough. Ah? Perhaps it all been a show, a display of power?

She let the thought simmer in the air, not wishing to delve on it until other signs of insanity would show in the Chiss during their conversation, she would surely be able to spot them, right? Until then she would just treat him as the version of Cryax she had always known. Quickly she followed up on her sentence as she realized she had been asked a question: "Ah.. Erm.. It seems to be doing well, yea. But I am working on..." She responded, her face finally turning towards him, yes he seemed completely normal, his old self. She counted in her head before continuing to speak: "Four? Other things as well. Got a surge of inspiration as of lately." She seemed to cheer up a little even if the chiss was too ecstatic to notice.

"Oh. And... Got an idea for a champagne?" She finished tryingly before Cryax started to walk off, gesturing to the holomenu in her hand, attempting to get a last look at the chiss' features in order to guess on his actual condition or state of mind, she didn't want to ponder upon it later, she just needed to get it out of the way while possible. Jennifer considered this a small talent of hers, the guessing part, and her guesses often proved right. Unknowingly to her however it was one of the many small gifts the mystical force provided one with. Her sensitivty was so vague however that it almost didn't count, only giving her the dimmest of insights and didn't really help either that there was one answer that she did not want to hear.

[member="Cryax Bane"] :: [member="Jennifer Blanchard"] :: [member="Asteria Starcatcher"]​

 

[Puppet Kyrios]

Asteria tried to ignore everyone coming over, but she couldn't help but smiled slightly at Cryax's comment, and the memory of finding him with an astromech for a bodyguard and one heck of a knee injury, "To think, I wasn't even a Raven then, only a fresh recruit for the Nova-Valhalla Federation." Asteria's face became grave again as she took another sip of the wine.

Asteria noticed [member="Ice"]'s hesitation and motioned to the seat beside her, smiling tiredly, but friendly like. "Come on, newly appointed Secretary, don't be shy. Let me get you something." She poured him a glass of the Wikinia wine and slid it towards him, "Is either that or you order something and I pay."

Asteria replied the young one's request for suggestions, "I would recommend the Wikinia white wine, girly. One of the less strong wines, and my personal favorite. Brought it myself since I'm the only one here who likes it." She gave her a weary smile and poured the young one a small glass of the wine to try it.

A few minutes later, Asteria suddenly leaned forward and placed her hand on the table to steady herself. She mumbled an apology, embarrassed, "Sorry, just a little tired, didn't sleep well last night." She was going to add again, but didn't. She didn't want Ice, or anyone in general, worrying about her.

[member="Jen"] [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Garza]

Now that was one eventful speech.

The opening act was one that I would remember for a long time. Most used a blaster or even a sword or lightsaber to kill those who had trespassed the line of safety. Now it was very clear to those who were watching, that this man meant buisness. I had remembered the Chiss when he had first been captured. Rather sane man. Kept his wits about him, he did. Now his eyes were filled with a fury that only a mad Sith could rival. Sadly that was me. I had rather been stuck in the shadows for a while. Emerging every so often. But it was here that I find where I can move about almost freely.

During the speech, I had stayed back watching the others as they began to move. Weaving their way to talk to Bane, his real name now known to me, as he had become part of the leadership. Nonetheless, I smiled as the Chiss finally was on his own. Taking a glass of water with me, I moved to sit down at the other side of the blue skinned man.

Tappingthe table with my knuckles, I smiled very lightly, as I motioned to sit with him, "It seems to been a long time since we last met Cyrax." Smiling a little brightly "If you don't mind me joining you, I could offer you my real name?"

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

Sitting in a dark corner, Daxton shuffled a set of tarot cards and began to deal them one at a time on the table before him. Sipping from the glass at his side, his eyes studied the cards before him with an experienced eye before gathering them again for another shuffle....

 

[Cryax Bane]

Kicking his boots up on the table as he typed away on his Datapad, Cryax sent Jen a text message that simply said, "Daruvvian champagne. got a real kick 2 it" As he turned to smile at her from across the room, he finally noticed the unusual way the half Ryn girl was looking at him. Was it apprehension? Suspicion? Fear? Whatever it was, it wasn't a complete surprise to him that even his closest friends wouldn't recognize version 2.0 of Cryax Bane. After Kessel there had been signs of a downward spiral for quite some time. During those sudden flashes of uncharacteristic rage, one time so uncontrollable that he'd smashed his Datapad against the wall and had to have it replaced. Or during the Red Ravens Makeb operation, when Cryax eviscerated a warlord in the dark during a blackout. The only person around who might have been able to attest that something was wrong was his former girlfriend, and although she'd implored him to take a vacation, even their trip to Chroma Zedd didn't help to mellow him out.

His new position only multiplied the stress he'd been feeling, and his new-found power only added some paranoia into a dangerous mix of already irrational emotions. One of the first things Cryax did when his new contract with Lysle was signed, was order a change in all of the programming of the Ravens security droids so that they would first and foremost pledge their obedience to his commands. There would be no traitorous grabs for power happening on under the watch of the Chiss's glowing red eyes, especially after he'd publicly burned the effigy of his former self.

When Jalek Sathora approached the table, he noticed that the familiar tattooed man had actually deigned to show up in a nice suit. That was a start. Cryax's body language, however, was not welcoming, and when the other man handed him a drink, Cryax simply smiled tightly as he took the glass. "I hope whatever it was that made you skip this was worth it," he growled under his breath.

Then without another word, he promptly ignored Jalek, turning instead to the tall silver-haired Raven warrior approaching the table. With a wave of one blue-skinned hand, the Chiss motioned for Darren Shaw to take a seat. He'd known the man since he'd first started working for the Ravens and although they hadn't been very close, he suspected now that he was the man's boss, they'd be seeing alot more of each other. He smiled tightly at the man and said, "Sure, take a seat. Let's have a chat."

[member="Darren Shaw"] [member="Jalek Sathora"] [member="Jen"]

 

[Jennifer Blanchard]

Being part of a legitimate enterprise was still new, and as stated previously, a bit scary. Jenn wasn't one to hold to drinking to get through social situations, but at this place? Yeah, it seemed to be the best way to go about it. She didn't have faces for most of the people here, and only really worried about HoloNet handles.

She was blanking a bit. Blinking she heard the call from [member="Jen"] and made a note to focus up a bit more.

When @Cyrax Bane came ahead, she nodded. “I'm getting there, its a bit... something. Not used to working with a group, tpyically its make it to where I can find something useful, sell the information, and do it all over again. I've got my clearance now though!” She smiled.

Right, the other girl, the [member="Jen"]. That was what Cyrax called her. Walking over to the booth, she bit her lip. “So, I didn't mean to completely space before. I'm Jenn, Jenn Blanchard.”

 

[Jen]

As Asteria recommended the Wikinia white wine Jennifer's before reserved smile disappeared. She wasn't too much into the brands of the various wines of the galaxy, so when she had asked for help she had actually sort of meant it. Luckily however she was starting to get to know a lot of different kinds, so that was always something! "Ah thanks a lot." Jennifer said as Asteria poured her a glass, her eyes scanning over Asteria for just a second. No she definitely didn't recognize her. "Haven't seen you before, what's your name again?" Jennifer very plainly asked, raising the wineglass to under her ryn nose to give it a quick sniff, a sharp yet quiet whistle like noise heard from it, letting in the alcoholic odors.

She didn't have the time to take a sip however as she was interrupted by the sound of a classic cantina tune suddenly playing. There was no band present however. Jennifer quickly looked down, twisting and turning in her seat as she stuck a hand into one of the many large pockets in her fancy mechanic trousers, the sound coming from one of them. Somewhere.

And true enough, with a grin she grasped her beat up heavyduty datapad and tossed it carelessly onto the table, giving it a few quick tabs to reveal the message from Cryax, the cantina tune long gone. "Daruvvian champagne. It's got a real kick." The message simply stated, Jennifer glanced back towards the holomenu to see if she could spot it before sending the chiss a reply "PotassiumPotassium, will try it." It was perhaps a silly response, but she couldn't get that damn chemistry joke out of her head. Hopefully Cryax would understand. Also, with that she had decided that nothing major was wrong with the chiss, ignoring it all for now. Trying to ignore it at least.

But now it was finallly time for wine tasting, she brought the wineglass up to her lips and took a sip, nodding approvingly in Asteria's direction, turning a moment later as she heard an unfamilar voice. It turned out to be the women in the white dress, the one she had asked about the champagne choice. "Ah it's alright. Oh? Really?" Jennifer asked as Jenn revealed her name, a wide grin appearing on her face: "Good to meet you Jen, I'm Jen." She offered her another grin, her eyes catching a glimpse of Jenn's lip bite just a moment afterwards, a brow raising on her features in a questioning manner: "Nervous or something?"

[member="Jennifer Blanchard"] :: [member="Cryax Bane"] :: [member="Asteria Starcatcher"]​

 

[Jalek Sathora]

The unwelcoming, even cold, attitude hadn't been all that unexpected, and so Jalek was unfazed, simply leaning back and taking everything in stride, as he usually did. This wouldn't have been the first time his presence wasn't well received, by [member="Cryax Bane"] or anyone else, so to say he was used to it would be an understatement. But another thing he was used to was the constant back and forth that all but encompassed their relationship and had since the beginning, so a number of snarky replies came to mind at the remark, though he didn't voice any of them just yet. For now, he would be content to observe, and there was plenty of that to do. Still being unfamiliar with anyone within the organization besides the Chiss he'd become rather well acquainted with, there were certainly people to watch.

So he remained silent, the only sign that he'd heard anything that had been said being a crooked smile on his part as he took another sip of his whiskey, amused at the uptight attitude Cryax was presenting. Eyeing the man that had sat down on the other side of the crime boss he otherwise didn't acknowledge his presence, as his own wasn't in return. Sure, the silver-haired man might have been attractive, but he was more interested in the Chiss at the moment, as he had been almost since their first meeting.

A shock of red hair through the crowd caught his eye, as did the white hair near the red-headed woman. They appeared to be Ravens as well, gauging by the looks of things, but he didn't make any assumptions just yet. So far those three had been the only others to catch his attention, but he was certain that more interesting prospects would appear in time. After all, he belonged to one of the most notorious criminal syndicates on this side of the galaxy now, and with that came interesting company to concern himself with. This would be his first chance to mingle with the other members of the organization, whether it was for good or for bad.

Only then did he reply to the comment that had been so obviously directed towards him, the same smile still on his face as he set his glass down in front of him, resting his tattoo-covered hands on the table in front of him. "I don't think I missed all that much. I still get to see your face, after all, and that's more than enough for me. And, considering I am your boyfriend now, I deserve a bit more credit than that, I think. You can act like you don't like me all you want, but I have plenty of evidence to the contrary." He didn't bother to conceal his typical sarcastic and flirty attitude that was always directed towards Cryax, not much caring how the others would react. If anything, it would only add to the already interesting atmosphere, so in his mind, not much could go wrong.

[member="Darren Shaw"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

Chiasa did not like sudden and profound change in hierarchy. This was in fact something of an understatement. She'd had a very clear understanding of the Ravens. Lysle was the boss, the embodiment of the Ravens, there was very little he could have asked that she would not have done. This was of course made easier by her never having spoken to the man, that way she couldn't be disillusioned in any significant fashion. Apparently there was a woman over him, Chiasa had always stressed the apparently. Having a man as a boss was one thing, other women were either below her, dismissed or competition. And then there had been everyone else of varying degrees of usefulness. Lysle had been the Ravens though.

Cryax was.. Well she'd been fond of him in any case. Again they'd crossed paths only a few times but her impression had been of a puppy in a wolf den. Smart certainly, probably brilliant, but possessed of more affection and goodwill towards the universe as a whole then the average Ravens killer. In short she had judged him to be a good man. She had been secretly tickled to see him with the beautiful Mando, it had been one of the few times a good person was given good in return by whatever ineffable force ruled the galaxy.

Recently though..

The Mando was gone, and some delicate digging into that had Chiasas hackles up. It was a potentially dangerous situation which she'd not heard discussed. Now he was in charge and casually using power tools for things they had not been intended for. The Twi'lek was neither pleased nor impressed. Oh this sort of chest thumping had it's place, but she wasn't generally far off the mark in her assessments which meant the Chiss had changed rapidly and was possibly erratic and unstable.

Running an elegant orange finger down the stem of her glass she picked it up and took a sip.

This bore watching.

She had liked Cryax, but he may well have become a threat to the Ravens, the insidious sort that most would not notice. They were a criminal organisation, brutal was expected. Mad though, that was bad for business. As long as they prospered that was fine, if his new behaviour looked as if it would drag them down with it however..

She arched on hairless brow as she set her drink back down with a precision that still spoke of finality.

 

[Ice]

[member="Cryax Bane"]

Ice smirked at Cryax's joke. The action itself may have been much, but he could at least appreciate the dark humor. Quite honestly, even Ice had moments like that...the humor part anyway. "Sooner the better if you ask me Cryax. Those guys have had their day. They need to move over and make way for us now." He meant every word. He had engaged the Black sun twice now. And generally speaking, both times they seemed to rely heavily on either allies or automated defenses. Seems they didn't have hardly any actual people willing to stick their necks out for them among even their own ranks. As he walked away, Ice turned back to Asteria.

[member="Asteria Starcatcher"]

Ice smirked as she offered to get him a drink. He graciously accepted and took a seat next to her. "Thank ya much. The wine is fine. So what did you think of the speech and our new head of state?" He was curious to pick someone elses brain and see what they thought on the....festivities. Swirling the contents of the cup around and taking a whiff, he soon took a sip as he awaited her reply.

 

[Cryax Bane]

Multitasking on his Datapad at these types of functions was not something Lysle Rigger was known to do, but Cryax Bane was a different animal altogether. Typical of most slicers, he was usually sending and receiving a flurry of messages while still managing to hold a coherent conversation with those around him. Where face-to-face talks might have been another crime lord's style, Cryax was a creature most at home in the digital realm. When he received the quirky little message from [member="Jen"], he didn't get her joke, so he sent her a simple, "wut?" Then he fired off a message to [member="Ice"] who was chatting up Asteria Starcatcher, "wzzp, need 2 talk aftr pty abt keira" Cryax's messages were typed so quickly and with so much text speak they were often too cryptic for some of the less tech-savvy Ravens, but he knew Ice would get the essence of it.

Across the room the Chiss spied [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] looking at him warily, much like Jen had. He sighed. He understood their concern, but what did they expect? His calendar was about to be filled with drinks, dinners, and endless negotiations with the most dangerous people in the galaxy. Sith leaders would eat him alive if he didn't show that he could match their cruelty and bloodthirstiness. Which reminded him, he needed to text Lysle Rigger about being further briefed on current alliances. Perhaps after that, he'd do a little damage control with Jen and Chiasa. Where some Ravens would need an iron hand, others would need a velvet glove. He'd have to learn to find that balance.

Still typing away, Cryax looked up from his Datapad to square off with [member="Jalek Sathora"] who he'd been noticeably avoiding for a couple of minutes. "Look," he said in a low voice. "Cool your jets, man. Why don’t you circulate for a bit? Have some drinks and meet some other Ravens? Trust me you don't want to sit here listening to me yak about business all night." Gesturing to his personal computer, he gave the red-haired Morellian a warning glare.

 

[Ice]

Pulling up his datapad, he did indeed read Cryax's message as if there was nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever. "Np! Do we need to break away now? The party can wait if it's important." In less of a hurry, he typed out most of his words like "normal" people would. Ice had only momentarily looked away from Asteria as he awaited her answer, but quickly went and refocused on her when the message was away.

[member="Cryax Bane"] | [member="Asteria Starcatcher"]

 

[Jen]

Almost as instantaneously as the message to Cryax had been send he had returned one. Yea, for an avid user of the holonet and all of its services the fact that such a person lived in a luxury casino only meant that much more use of it, what sort of casino would provide their 'guests' with a bad connection to the HoloNet anyway?

She glanced down towards the screen of her everyday datapad, letting out an amused grunt before quickly tapping the screen to send a reply: "u shud L%k ^ a chem txt file lol potassium = K ^.^" She replied, being just as loose when it came to writing messages as most others. Unless it was programming, of course.

[member="Cryax Bane"]​