Private Mission Complete: Chasing Echoes

[Milla Kryst]

Riamah

After jumping to Lorrd, Scar quickly put in more coordinates, anything closest for Silver Jedi space as it's been the safest for her. She also disabled her public comms and designed an audio message to go directly to Ra'a'mah. It had almost been a week since they were last in contact. The message read out as; "This is Scar. I have the requested item. Send Coordinates." Truly she didn't know what she had, for all she knew she had some archaic vases or statuesque symbols, but she did her best. There were no other leads and she both nearly froze and suffocated for this junk. She didn't waste anymore time, as soon as the message was finished, she laid in a course for Silver Jedi space. R5 disengaged from the turret systems and returned back to the crew quarters to dock back into its little station. Scar mostly spent her time just sitting, and thinking about the whispers that played in her head. When she found the device inside the pedestal, the whispers beforehand seemed to get to her. Random voices telling her to keep it...

 

[Riamah]

During the week apart, Ra had just been taking care of her normal business. It was rather boring and mundane things but all a part of the business. Setting a paper down, her comms went off with a message from Scar. Listening to it, she nodded even though the other person wouldn't be able to see it.

Sending the coordinates as requested, she did not verbally reply back and kept the radio silent. Once these were sent, she quickly wrapped up what work she needed to and left.

Gathering up her cloak and weapons, she double-checked to make sure everything was in place. While she had told Scar what she was really going after, it wouldn't take much searching to find out what it was. Hoping the hunter wasn't planning on double-crossing her, she waited at the appointed location.

Any additional payment would be provided at the time of the hand-off.

Milla Kryst

 

[Milla Kryst]

Riamah

Once Scar got the coordinates, she didn't waste any time. Although she did sit on standby until the coordinates came in, she one last thing to do. Unfortunately, this meant Ria'a'mah would need to wait just a little bit longer for her important item. When she was finished with her little errand, she headed straight for the coordinates. Scar wrapped up the item in a bag, tying it to her belt, making it look like another part of her ensemble. After touching down at the coordinates, Scar made a demand. All that was sent over the encoded transmission was "cantina," meaning they'd meet in public. This might be seen as a change of plans for Ria'a'mah, but like the woman said, she couldn't prove she wouldn't just kill Scar and take the item, so they'd have to work on Scar's demands if Ria'a'mah wanted the holocron.

When she cleared everything with the dock masters, she set out to the nearby cantina. Meeting in public was the easiest way to make the transaction and guarantee Scar wouldn't be killed as soon as everything was handed over. Or, if Scar thought her life was in danger, she could just reveal the price heavy item and every dirty thug would want to sell it on the black market. She hoped Ria'a'mah would already be there, but if not, she would just approach the bar for a drink, idly scanning the room until her contact was there.

 

[Riamah]

So many of her transactions had taken place in a public location. When Scar requested theirs happen in one as well, she did not even bat an eye. Arranging for an area to be secured for this, Ra walked into the cantina and took a seat in a booth near the back.

Ordering a drink, she watched the door. The additional funds were ready to be paid over once she had the item in her hands. Taking a sip, she noticed when the hunter walked in. Even though she had needed to wait, she wasn't impatient at all. Delays could be easily explained by logical means that had nothing to do with the other person making an extra stop.

Barely standing up when Scar entered, she hoped her small movement would catch the attention of the hunter. If it didn't Ra had told the bartender to expect the person and send them her way.

Holding a hand out when Scar approached, she shook the hand if it was offered in return. On the chance it wasn't, she would motion to the other side of the table and sat back down.

"I hope everything went smoothly?"

While it wasn't phrased as a question, it would be clear in the tone she used that it was.

Milla Kryst

 

[Milla Kryst]

Riamah

Walking in, it seemed her armor was well known, as the client immediately saw Scar and motioned them over. Oh right, Scar remembered why, her armor not exactly being common and the reputation, oh boy, the reputation. It was both good and bad. Scar walked over to Ra'a'mah and awkwardly offered a handshake. A very, very short hand shake, as she wasn't used to shaking hands, and unsure if the shady business was really all about class. Before sitting down, Ra'a'mah would notice a large leather sack tied to Scars utility belt, which obviously wasn't meant to be there. After Scar sat down, they took a moment in dead ailence to look around the cantina, watching for any wandering eyes, before awkwardly looking back at Ra'a'mah Numare.

"Nothing expected actually occurred, so the business was safe, I'm thankful you didn't send any counters against me or any other syndicates came looking for me. But it did go as planned. Pirates, or scavengers, wanted to pick apart what I found. Typical. But they were too far out by the time I was done. If you're asking if I have it," Scar paused, waiting to watch the clients reaction, which was very important, "if I do, I'm not handing it over. I may not know absolutely what it is, but I know it's worth, and my life in comparison is a joke. If you want it, it's on my terms. I will keep our end of the deal, but if I don't walk out of here, you'll never find it."

 

[Riamah]

The recognition from Ra was more due to them having seen each other on their first video call. Noticing the rather weak handshake, she chose not to comment on it. There was a chance this hunter just wasn't used to this aspect of a business. If she had known what Scar was thinking about this being something shady, she would have tried to show her it wasn't anything of the sort.

Once they were seated, drinks were set down on the table between them, and then they were left alone. Waiting until the server was gone before she asked her question, she listened as Scar answered her.

She felt it was good that nothing major happened while the hunter was out doing the job. Scavengers were common enough and it seemed that the people Scar was afraid of never showed up. Then it got serious. It seemed like there was going to be another demand of some kind.

Picking up her drink and leaning back in her chair, Ra waited for what it was. That was not yet provided...Taking a sip, she set her glass down and looked at what she hoped were the eyes under the helmet in front of her.

"What are your terms? I need to know what they are before I can agree to them. If you are concerned about dying, you can relax. I have no intention of harming you now or ever if I can avoid it."

On the battlefield, if they ever met and were on opposing sides...that would be something different. Leaning forward, she reached a hand out to try and grab the wrist of Scar. She might have moved faster than she anticipated and she felt the arm of the woman under her palm.

"Look, I'm not going to allow any harm to come to you while we are doing business. I give you my word."

Milla Kryst

 

[Milla Kryst]

Riamah


A shiver went up Milla's spine when the woman grabbed her wrist. Her emotions flared as she was afraid, no one had touched her since she was still a slave under Scars rule. She was still a slave, and she wore the face of the man she once called master. It elicited a lot of emotions and memories to her, which made her retract her hand out of shock. She tried to compose herself, but it was so hard to. The tough guy facade seem to fall as she fell into her meek, fragile state. Clearing her throat, she tried to speak, "p-please, don't.... touch me." It showed that Scar took the touching personally, as they were breathing hard in their chest, "okay, so... you'll get it. I think, we agreed on twenty-five thousand up front, and another seventy-five thousand when the deal was done. Well, your word, it means nothing to me."

After she breathed, trying to calm down, she looked over to her wrist device, punching in some keys before a datadisc was ejected. She took it out, and pushed it to the other side of the table towards Ra'a'mah. "On the datadisc is routing information," Scar also reached down to grab the bag on their utility belt, then also sliding it to the other side of the table as they spoke, "this is the proof that I found what you wanted. If the item I found isn't what you wanted, you have all the money in the universe to track me down and kill me, anyway." In the bag was a Force Disperser, an ancient one at that. Scar had no idea what it was, but it definitely had some of that 'bad sith juju' about it. "As soon as you approve the transfer on the datadisc, coordinates of the item will be sent to you, and it'll be yours to do with as you want. But as soon as you touch the datadisc, I'm leaving. This is how the deal is going to go, no negotiations." Ra'a'mah was going to have to realize that there was only one way for this to go. Scar was going to make off with a lot of money, and guarantee their own survival, because they couldn't trust this business person. This would be Ra'a'mahs only chance, and Scar wasn't going to debate it. Ra'a'mah wouldn't even be able to see what the transaction was until it was too late. The question being.... is the holocron worth all this hassle?

 

[Riamah]

It was a good thing Ra had taken lessons on being an empathic person. Because of these, she was quickly able to pick up on the spike of emotions from Scar. Withdrawing her hand after lightly touching the other's wrist, her eyebrows lowered slightly. Listening to what was said, she tilted her head when she heard that her word meant nothing. A flash of irritation filled her that was almost anger.

"If you had done any looking up of me, you would know the value of my word."

Even though this was business, her voice was flat and did not carry much emotion. Let alone the almost anger she was feeling. Perhaps her eyes glowed a little brighter but they were already a bright, glowing yellow due to her race.

These changes were not something Ra had considered and did not like them.

"Before I take this chip, what are the additional changes? As you have stated, you don't trust me. So you say, you have found the item I want. How do I know this? What proof can you offer me?"

Keeping her tone level, she also kept her hands off of Scar. While the hunter had said the proof was in the bag, Ra did not take it. She wanted to hear it from Scar in her own words.

Milla Kryst

 

[Milla Kryst]

Riamah

"My life," Scar said. Scar was obviously, visibly nervous to the tension of the situation. Scar looked around again, before slowly looking back at Ra'a'mah, "I have no allies, I have no support. I'm hated and wanted by all law enforcement, and worst yet, I'm a personal enemy to all Mandalorians. My proof is my life, because the price it would take to have me hunted down to the ends of the galaxy would cost you a dime in the bucket. Whether they kill me or not doesn't matter, it's the fact you could make my life a living netherworld of pain and suffering." Scars fists balled up on the table as the arms pulled close to Scars chest, "the proof that I have found your key to the galaxy or whatever you may wish to call it, is in the back. It was found alongside it - a relic of the old - I don't know much about it, but rumor is they were used to hide auras. It probably hid the item from looking. That's the problem with forcies, they all look with their third eye and all that garbage.... only a non-forcey can actually see what's in plain sight."

"Your word means nothing because no ones word has ever meant anything to me, and not one little business transaction with the threat of my life being on the line isn't going to change that. I don't care if you're upset. The fact of the matter is, if you kill me, the jig is up. You'll never find your precious toy. You'll automatically get the location of the item when you approve the price, you'll see the price in the datachip before you approve the transfer, but I will leave when you pick it up. If you approve the transaction and then kill me before I get away; firstly those credits just get lost to the void, ending up being owned by the very bank that protects them. Secondly, that would be a waste, and as a business person - which you claim to be - should understand wasted profit."

Still while nervous, Scar dropped the attitude and abrasive behavior, "you have nothing to lose. Literally nothing. Not even the toy - you can hire a bunch of people to track my whereabouts, and in time, you'll get what you want. But as long as you've wanted that toy, all the way to today, are you really willing to wait that long again? When you could have it today, in a few hours? I have everything to lose. Literally everything. I'm not even questioning you, or wanting more information. I said I'd do it, and I did it. I stayed out of the extra stuff because both knowing and not knowing could kill me, but it's easier to not know because then there aren't any ties. But this was dangerous, and I'm lucky a bunch of pirates were the least of my troubles."

Even though Scar dropped the attitude, this last statement showed a lot of tension in their voice, even through the voice modulator, "now pick up that datachip and make a decision. Get it today, or wait another good chunk of your life. There's no telling if you'll have to go through all of this again." Scar was definitely ready to get up and go, but they were giving Ria'a'mah a courtesy. An amount of respect, since they hadn't gotten them killed.... yet. But Scar could have made a drop off with the Datachip and never saw Ria'a'mahs face. This was Scars word, and it was commendable, even if it might have been foolish.

 

[Riamah]

When Scar finally broke, she listened to everything the hunter said. To meet a person that was wanted by so many was a bit of a surprise. There had been times in her own life where Ra had been wanted by people. She had turned these into an advantage and remained free.

Nodding as Scar continued, she lowered her eyebrows a little when she mentioned an additional ancient relic. Leaning back again as Scar gave her opinion of Force Users. While Ra had not actually displayed any ability to her, it was poor that she just assumed she could use it. It wasn't false though. Keeping this to herself, she lifted up her chin slightly when Scar said nobody's word had ever meant anything to her.

Wanting to raise a hand to stop the hunter from continuing. Staying still, she listened to what was said. She was very likely going to get swindled for even more than what they had agreed on previously but sometimes things were worth it. Having this holocron had been a dream and desire of hers for many years. Being this close to closing in it was as close as she had ever been. She wasn't going to let this slip through her fingers again.

So far pretty much everything Scar had said was true and she couldn't dispute the logic she used. Even if it wasn't entirely accurate. The hunter had never asked for many details from Ra and was accepting her word on some things. There was a bonus there and when an ultimatum was given, she held a hand out to Scar.

"I'd like to do further business with you at some point."

Not expecting Scar to accept the hand, she would be surprised if she did but it was there to shake for a moment or two. Either way, Ra gave her business partner a nod and picked up the bag and datadisk.

"What you want, you will be given. We know how to contact one another again in the future."

Milla Kryst

 

[Milla Kryst]

Riamah


Milla stood up as it seemed Ra'a'mah was convinced of the forced decision, prepared to leave, but saw the business woman reach out her hand. Out of only a gesture of good faith, Milla hesitantly reached out her hand. But as nervous as she was, she found confidance, and gripped Ra'a'mahs hand sternly, giving it one firm shake, and releasing it. After the business womans final words, the masked hunter nodded and said "you have my number. And even if I lose it, I'm sure you have the capability to track me down. Until we meet again." Although Ra'a'mah probably didn't know, but Milla was gouging for credits for both a retirement and a new life, and this may or may not have been enough to propel her to her dreams, although it didn't matter, really. Milla would keep her 'number'.

Milla turned to leave without another word, ignoring any pleas or calls, as her heart was racing and she no longer felt comfortable here. Not to say the business woman made her uncomfortable, but staying too long in one place was a death sentence. Milla was out the door of the cantina and gone.

On the chip was noted a transaction for one-hundred thousand credits, and the receipt would show that Ra'a'mah Numare had just purchased Scars old hunk of junk GX1 Short Hauler, listed as 'sold for scrap'. Sold to miss Numare for scrap, as it was noted for its struggling capabilities to not only start its engines, but keep oxygen sealed. The sly devil left the holocron on their old beat up ship on Ithor, and sold it for scrap to Numare. But, at least she had what she always wanted.