Private New Player

[The Fool]

​

Bounet Barge Casino,
Nar Shaddaa Orbit

Whoever says Nar Shaddaa's just a big dumpster of a morgue has never been up on the fancy, luxurious casino barges in orbit. And rightfully so; they don't let every other gremlin 'n' goblin up there to play. High rollers only. Whether it's a mad retiree nuking his retirement fund, spoiled rich kid on spring break from Coruscant University, nasty crime lords, hat-and-shades wearing politicians and suspicious lords and ladies to everything in between, the barge casinos didn't care as long as their credit chits came with a lot of zeroes behind.

Bounet was one such barge casino. One of the fanciest of the fanciest. Owned by Emmanuel Bounet, hustler from the gutters, now he's here type of man. The clear poor man's complex is evident in Bounet's exaggerated efforts in dressing this place as the highborn's heaven. Crystal chandeliers illuminating vivid lights twelve grand a piece, and that's with discount, polished floors which revealed the galaxy better than the most state-of-the-art 'scope could. Bottles of champagne popping every minute with the sound of a grand materializing in Bounet's pocket and exotic culinary you'd probably see only in another galaxy.

Safe to say, rough looking professional problem-solver slash investigator Roman Hayato didn't fit. Dark ankle-long coat, spacer boots and black shirt, the man was often confused for someone's bodyguard who got lost from his master. But a few more glances at his direction and one could figure out he wasn't looking for anyone lost but decisively heading at a specific location. A few grumbled greetings to a few security details and Roman arrived at his intended destination.

A private gambling room. Usually, he knew, they stank of cigars, lingerie and sex; not this time. This time it smelled of expensive perfume and...armor polish. Raven hair and glaciers instead of eyes greeted him along with the smug helmets of Sith-Imperial Legionnaires. What was it lately with him and his constant interaction with Sith? Bad streak, had to lay low. The near zero bank account said otherwise. Roman threw unamused glares at a few of the soldiers before staring into the abyss of her eyes. He tried imagining them as cash cows, for the sake of optimism, and took out a chip from the inside of his coat but not without triggering a few tightened grips of guns from the legionnaires.

"Yeah, I am not that stupid." he winced icily at the soldiers. "Here." Roman tossed the chip on the woman's table. "Detailed rapport of the Nar Shaddaa underworld, as you requested."

Valerya Tion

 

[Valerya Tion]

The Fool

Her gaze did not immediately go to the chip.

Instead they explored.

Stroking up, down, slowly and methodically taking in the sight of the 'shadowrunner' as they said. He was a handsome man, no doubt. In the way a rocky mountain was aesthetically pleasing with its rough lines. Chiseled ... frontiers and so forth. The silence continued as Valerya finished her cursory observation of him.

There was no rush in it, because Valerya Tion, Lady of Tion, had never rushed for anything in her life.

"You are quite the enterprising man, aren't you, mister Roman Hayato?" A finely sculptured brow rose up there. A quizzical expression. For a moment her attention was fixated with his mouth, before they continued the path to his eyes. "Have you considered a long-term association? I can always find a use for a man with your ample... assets."

Valerya smiled lazily in a shape that implied lots of things.

Only then did her hand reach out for the chip. Taking it in her hand and making it disappear without a trace. Somewhere hidden in the folds of her expensive dress, no doubt.

"Tell me of Nar Shaddaa. I want to hear it coming straight from your tongue. Oh, data and text has its uses, but you cannot argue that a meaty account has so much more to it?"

 

[The Fool]

He'd heard the story of the seven deadly sins a thousand and one times to recognize one of them standing right in front of him. Lust, indeed. Remaining stoic needed an extra effort in the form of a cigarette. The drag of nicotine eased his nerves, released his shoulders and gifted him with an additional boost of confidence in the situation.

"I don't do relationships." he said putting his hands in the pockets of his long coat. "Flings, here and there, sure." To clear any doubts about what he meant, Roman added. "Long-term isn't a phrase we use in our line of work." the investigator took another drag of his cigarette, glanced a few times at the legionnaires intently. Soldiers, despite common belief, had prying ears and really loud mouths given the right amount of liquor. Dismissing or retaining them was her choice, after which he would sit comfortably opposite of the enticing Sith Lady.

"The usual, as it's been for ages, is included in the chip - Hutts, Black Sun, other larger syndicates, fronts for shady corpos, all that." he said with a dismissive tone before clearing his throat. "The latest, now that's where it gets interesting. Your friendly Silver neighborhood has been gradually increasing its support to clearing crime and supporting the poor and the downtrodden. Shadows, they call 'em, you've probably heard of them. Jedi spies, assassins, not the usual bathrobe preacher. Caught them guarding some whack job Jedi healers going by the name of The Priests of Kalea, Sacred Lotus off-shoot." he shrugged and adjusted his coat's sleeves before it came to him. "Oh yeah, there's a mad man out in the streets. Nothing the streets had seen before in terms of vigilante. Goes by the name of Archibald...Slut? Salt? Sult?. Unlike the other vigilantes, he isn't wearing any cape. Shotgun instead. Splattered a whole block of junkies and dealers the other week. Made a big, big dent in Boggo the Hutt's business. Big bounty on his head but the man's a ghost." he admitted the last part. No infochant worth his salt had any clues on the spectral vigilante with a sawed-off. "Streets haven't been this red since..." Roman tried recalling another bloody 'season' in the history of Shaddaa but failed to. "...since ever."

The problem-solver dropped the stub on the floor and carefully smashed it with his boot. Probably what Boggo wanted to do with Sult.

Valerya Tion

 

[Valerya Tion]

The smile only grew more wolfish as he responded.

At one moment she tented her fingers. Then leaned her chin against them. Still watching him, taking another opportunity for a cursory look. He'd recognize the sheer blissful amusement at him lighting up another cigarette. Oh, Roman was acting it cool, but little Ro was trying to not be excited. Once Roman declined, the Lady of Tion actually pouted.

Who knew a woman past the age of twenty still did that.

"Mmm, perhaps that is because men in your line of work don't last long." A riposte offered casually, but with a wicked glint in her eye. "In light of that perhaps it is the wise thing not to over-promise your abilities."

Did she just insult-

Oh, yes. Yes she did.

There was nothing antagonistic about it. At least not to her, because this was simply part of the game. The back and forth. The relish of the moment. Watching how far she could draw someone from out of their comfort zone. It was brilliant. "Archibald Slut?" Filing that away, because THAT sounded absolutely hilarious. "I will have to look into that, I am sure."

Hand waving off mention of the Jedi.

"Yes, yes, those sad sacks of joyless vermin are everywhere. They don't worry me. But what about the Twelve Stars? What have you heard of them?" Leaning in there to apparently listen closer. The fact that it gave The Fool a ... let's say ... compromising view of things?

Well, either Val didn't realize or she didn't care.

"Is it true that they have dug into the Waterways? ...I suppose it's just a nickname and they aren't actually swimming about. Kinda an useless cult, if that was the case."

 

[The Fool]

"Ugh. Phrasing." he pursed his lips in a phony act of repugnance but then it caught to him. Coiling his head back in a mix of confusion and feinted offence, he said. "Did you just- Never mind."

And never did it mind him again as she slammed her tits on the damn table like an insatiable chimera demanding a fulfilling tribute to her hunger. He could carry a stone-cold glare in many a situations, as a former commando of a terrorist group he'd been put through hell and back, melted and reformed to withstand all sorts of challenges, but even he had to raise a surprised eyebrow and steal a stare at the revealing neckline of the Sith.

Roman never expected Lust, as he dubbed her in his head, to be a Sith. Elias Hobei, his old mentor at Force 12, had taught him of all the extremely painful ways the dark sided antipodes of the Jedi used to deliver their will and extract information. And painful they were. He just didn't expect blue balls to be this painful.

"Twelve Stars, huh?" Roman finally asked with a confident tone. In reality, he turned the words into meaning just a moment later when he cleared his throat and continued. Composure and all. "Your kind." he wasn't sure if that was an insult but Twelve Stars cultists did align their beliefs to the Dark Side. Another cigarette appeared in his dry mouth. Where the hell was all the whiskey? "They have. Hired a dozen muscles who kept on disappearing there before the rest of the moon anointed them as a 'hazardous employer' so, last I heard, they've been trying to get something there on their own. No idea what it is but apparently it's important to their...beliefs."

He released a cloud of smoke above and asked a question. "What's your interest with a bunch of whack jobs stuck in sewers?"

Tion sounded far more of a lovelier destination to enjoy than the Waterways.

Valerya Tion

 

[Valerya Tion]

Head tilted lightly with a shade of smiled amusement.

Oh, Tion caught his stolen glance, and the moment their eyes met? He'd know she knew. Nothing else came from it however. The stolen glance in itself was already a little victory. Coaxing the man out of his 'professionalism' for just a brief moment. Some saw this as Lust, but Valerya saw it as something entirely else.

It was control.

In fact... it was Gluttony.

The hunger for power over Men... and men. "Mmm, my kind, darling?" Smiling there as she sighed. The chest area rising and falling invitingly. The line of her neck offered just a bit more as she shifted. "Perhaps, perhaps, we will have to see."

Once The Fool asked his question? He revealed his limitations. Not that Val blamed him. Few people saw just how useful fanatics could be. Apply them in the right way and there was little you couldn't accomplish. For a moment Valerya simply watched him. Letting that question just sit there. Uncomfortably between each other.

Then again, the Lady of Tion seemed to enjoy making him uncomfortable, so maybe it wasn't exactly unexpected.

"Sometimes it is useful to expand your deck a little bit. If you know how to play Pazaak you know what I am talking about." Another streeetch and then she leaned back once more. The revealing line disappeared. Maybe it would disappoint him... just a little bit, inside of his core.

"You could show me their Waterways, yes? You could be my guide into their little enterprising kingdom here."

 

[The Fool]

He ought to cease any future employment from this Sith Lady, nothing good came out of wanting to bang your boss; he knew that. He just knew better he wouldn't resist. Views was too good and the cash wasn't anything to complain about. After surviving, laying low, on low budget Rodian fast food for a few months on Nar Shaddaa, he welcomed dining five-star five-course gourmet meals on the Bounet without worrying whether he'd gamble too much.

"Sure." Roman said and after a moment of silence added. "For a price."

Valerya Tion