Private Moonlighting

[Alkor Centaris]

Open Space near the Copero system,,
Unknown Regions
​

He brought the freighter in slow, careful to mind the clearance that his proximity sensors loudly hummed in his ear about. The dusty old Corellian YT-1400 was an unassuming model, perfect for quick runs across the hyperlanes but hardly suited for a scuffle. That was why Alkor chose it.

People knew Alkor Centaris as a killer. Someone who thirsted for blood or went looking for a fight would have picked something faster, maybe with a bit more firepower. All he wanted to do was fly under the radar, and most times, he didn't even get flagged down.

This was one of the rare times he went looking for trouble. The person of interest on this particular venture was someone who he knew from his time in the Confederacy, and someone who got out and lived to tell the story. She lived so well, in fact, that she was one of their most wanted criminals, and her retinue of friends had become notorious as freedom fighters and terrorists (depending on who you asked).

It was neutral space, outside the borders of the nearest Galactic superpower, where they agreed to meet.

When he first made the call to her, Alkor was skeptical that she would give him the time of day. He'd been one of Isley's closest, most trusted men. He sat right next to the heart of the Confederacy and watched as the corruption spread.

Certainly, she had feelings about that.

Alkor had feelings about it too, now. As he secured the airlock and connected the landing gears, the Corellian dusted off his coat. "Wonder who's home," he pondered aloud. It wasn't a small ship, so there was certain to be more than just Scherezade deWinter aboard.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Copero. Scherezade had never been there. Her body had been, but it had been Madalena who'd inhabited it at the time. As far as she could remember, this was the first time Scherezade had even traveled to this part of the galaxy. While she couldn't say the experience of being there within itself exhilarated her in any way, the knowledge that she was currently so close, only a few hours away, from her promised homeland, the one she did not dare go to, did not pass unnoticed.

Sighing, the Sithling focused back on the datapad in front of her. A copy of the message Alkor Centaris had sent her floated on the screen. If there was someone she would've guessed would never in a thousand years have a reason to contact her, it was certainly him. She had helped him bury a certain crime that had been committed while both of them were among the Confederacy, and… Now that she thought about it, she hadn't actually seen him since.

Under normal circumstances, she would never had a reason to accept the invitation to the meeting. After all, his reputation preceded him, and he had worked closely enough with her sister as well. But there were other variables to consider. The man had not been seen for so long, and he hadn't been seen doing any Confederate activities for even longer than that.

That, all on its own, was enough to place a seed of curiosity in the cat.

Her initial plan had been to go alone. Grab one of the stealth ships, do a quick in, do a quicker out if things went sour, and basically hope to stop hearing the music that drifted in her soul, beckoning her to continue just a little bit more north. Everyone else had been against it. Within moments Scherezade was suddenly on a bigger ship, full of personnel. Why? Force if she knew. If the smurfs were going to think that the Agents of Chaos were invading them, it wasn't her problem. Unlike her sister, Scherezade had no qualms about touching ground just for a fun Tuesday afternoon massacre.

"Any of you follow me and he doesn't almost kill me, you're fired," she announced with a cheerful tone to those who were closest to her once the ship had landed. Gears were already moving, and soon the ramp would open. "Any of you don't show up if he does almost kill me, you're fired," she added, just as cheerfully.

And just to see the concerned faces and a few beads of sweat, she made a big show of removing her comlink, and dropped it on the ground, just as the ramp opened enough for her to wiggle through and disappear from their sight.

Scherezade had no choice about them coming along to the planet. But she'd insist on maintaining the choices of who went with her where.

And just to annoy her forced voluntary babysitters just a touch further, she closed her eyes, announcing her presence in the Force like a silent and deadly fart. It didn't actually smell, but any Force user worth their money within a large enough radius would know a Sith was there.

And if they'd met that Sith before…

Things could be getting very fun indeed.

 

[Alkor Centaris]

He had put the job of enforcer behind him, but notoriety followed Alkor wherever he went. He changed his attire, left civilization behind and went to traverse the outer rim for several years, but the whispers never stopped. Sometimes, an eye would fall on him and he had to dodge a stray blaster bolt.

Most days, not so bad. The problem was that flying on the Rim didn't pay the bills. All the Spacers made money on the lanes that ran coreward, pushing legal goods and contraband alike. He was here because the Agents of Chaos were well known for having connections that were less than legal by the Galactic Standard.

Those were the same kind of people who would hire a guy with a mark on him.

He felt the presence and stopped. The Sith felt far stronger than they last met. She had delved deeper into the darkness. Alkor had that moment to reassess his decision. He wasn't afraid, but after his last soiree into trusting Sith...

No. Best not to compare the two. One was a megalomaniac, the other wanted utter chaos.

"This way," one guard gestured for him to head down a long coordidor, to a room isolated from the greater part of the ship.

"Much obliged," the Corellian exile smiled.

The guard shifted uncomfortably.

He was used to that, though.

Scherezade deWinter