Opportunity Comes Blasting

[Chance Bonaventure]

The Iseno Sector; Planet Denon,​

Quadrant K-3389-L2,​

Vennik's Cantina​

The planet Denon was an amazing world, completely covered in urban sprawl similar to that of Coruscant. Most said it was second only to the galactic capital. Being so large, and having survived the centuries-past Yuuzhan Vong invasion unharmed, Denon had only flourished and expanded more so through the generations. It hadn't suffered from rebuilding or stagnation of being partially destroyed, encouraging rapid growth in both population and economy... which was the exact reason a recently established business holding for Starjump Enterprises had been organized. Having a booming economy, being a trade hub for several popular hyperlanes and having all the benefits of Coruscant without being the center of the galaxy - it was perfect.

Located in city quadrant K-3389-L2, the new building purchased for Starjump was near a somewhat dingy, but cozy, establishment known as Vennik's Cantina. The space was small, but filled to capacity with tables, chairs and various decorations. Numerous sentients were present, well into drinks, despite being late afternoon. When you lived on a planet that didn't sleep, apparently happy hour was anytime you wanted it. The patrons of the cantina were a combination of middle-class and low-class citizens, judging by the variance in clothing and expensiveness of drinks; but ultimately, they were something of a cheerful lot, with very few disagreements or arguments, all cloistered in their own little groups across the floor.

One booth, a sort of VIP treatment for those inclined, had been booked. The round table had four clean glasses arrayed around, and a single bottle of Merenzane Gold in the center. It was unopened, and obscenely expensive. On the other side sat a young man, dressed in brightly colored clothing that shouted rich and fashionable, though whether it was fashion the cantina locals appreciated remained to be seen. He sat easily, one leg over the other, his left arm resting comfortably along the booth chair top. His image was impeccable, nothing was out of place, from his well-groomed hair and beard, his oiled blaster holster, to his shined boots...

And as the first individual Chance Bonaventure waited for arrived, the entrepreneur sat forward with a ready grin and motion toward a chair.

"Welcome, welcome," Chance said, his voice smooth as he continued to smile. "Glad you could make it. I'm Chance Bonaventure, it's a pleasure to meet you, ...?"

________________________________________________________________________________​

[member="Kalen Genet"] | [member="Eliza Steele"] | [member="Kaidan Sroka"]​

 

[Eliza Steele]

Denon​

Quadrant K-3389-L2,​

Vennik's Cantina


​​The petite smuggler found the location of the meet up easily enough. She was here to find out more about the particulars of this offer of employment. Word had gotten to her through the Smuggler's Alliance that this businessman was looking for a group of highly capable 'free traders' as they liked to call themselves nowadays to form some kind of team for a job. The hope was it was a good one as the Captain of the Corellian Dawn always was in need of credits. And as along as the profits offset the risks, the Corellis was usually down for the gig.

Entering the lower end cantina, the brunette walked in with an air of confidence. She was dressed in her usual spacer outfit; tunic, vest, nicely fitted trousers with yellow blood stripes running down each pant leg tucked into knee high boots. A browncoat topped it off with a pair of leather gauntlet gloves folded into her gun belt that was slung low off her shapely hips. Her trusted DL-44 heavy blaster pistol was holstered on the right and tied off on her tone thigh. Of course she had other weapons upon her person, but they were hidden away.

Dark chocolate eyes spotted the potential employer sitting at a VIP table ready to receive four it seemed. [member="Chance Bonaventure"] sure was decked out fancy like. Not a wrinkle to be had nor a hair out of place. Oh and that cape...

"Steele. Captain Eliza Steele. Nice to meet your acquaintance, Mister Bonaventure," she answered with a professional yet friendly enough nod before taking the offered seat.

Eliza was sure the man was sizing her up one way or another. The female smuggler was a savvy businesswoman in her own right, and was known in the Alliance as a sweet smelling rose with deadly thorns. It was best not to test the fiery Corellisi... Her aim and determination was true, and even better with a drink or two.

 

[Kalen Genet]

"Your pistols, sir."

Kalen looked the security guard that had blocked his path up and down. He understood that it was common practice, in many cantinas across the galaxy, to have any visitors surrender their weaponry at the front. It helped to prevent any drunken shootouts. The general style of the cantina however, as well as various of the beings that were in it, made it clear to Kalen that he could probably get by without surrendering his weapon.

Besides, as many enemies as he'd made over the years? Surrendering his pistols at all was basically asking to get killed.

"No."

The guard stiffened, and stepped completely in front of the door. "No entrance," he growled. Kalen looked the guard up and down again. A burlier example of a Twi'lek than most, and one that didn't know Basic particularly well. No fighting, not right now. Kalen sighed, and produced an item from his pocket. A small, clear canister, full of precious Corusca gems. A small fortune in the core...a large one out here. "How about now?" he asked nicely.

The guard stepped aside and opened the door without further incident, taking the canister in hand. As Kalen stepped inside and the door slid shut behind him, he chuckled a little. "I wonder what he'll do when he goes to a broker and finds out they're fake," he mused to himself, continuing into the cantina. It didn't take long to pick out the man who sent the message; it seemed he'd been beaten there by another smuggler. Oh well. Can't win every race.

He quickly looked the woman over from behind, even while hearing her speak. Corellian, he was sure of it. The name sounded mildly familiar—it might have been due to some of the work he'd done with the Outer Rim Coalition. "You weren't on Saijo, were you, Captain Steele?" he asked, the extra emphasis on the captain rank only meant to be mildly mocking. In Kalen's opinion, anybody who put much emphasis on the title themselves was probably insecure, and he was all-too-happy to poke fun at those insecurities if they came up in a business discussion.

Then he looked over at the fancily dressed host, giving him a nod. "Avram Mesenshuk," he introduced himself, taking another seat at the table. Thus far, none of the people at the table knew his real name, and unless he ended up good friends with any of them (doubtful), he wasn't about to let them know it. "You look a bit out-of-place for the venue, Bonaventure. Enjoy taking time out of your day to slum around with the rest of us commoners?"

[member="Chance Bonaventure"] [member="Eliza Steele"] [member="Kaidan Sroka"]

 

[EllieEx]

Quadrant K-3389-L2
Vennik's Cantina​

Current Contract: Bodyguard​

[member="Kalen Genet"] [member="Chance Bonaventure"] [member="Eliza Steele"] [member="Kaidan Sroka"]
​

Voska could be seen walking through the cantina, The subtle sheen on the interior lights slid across his visor as his head turned from side to side, slowly scanning the patrons, while watching his HUD for any criminal history that might come up, reading up on bios, just in case.Nothing major came up, a smuggler or two, some thieves, maybe one murderer, his bounty was too low to be worth disturbing the locals right now, especially while his employer was meeting. He was about to go to the local band and make a request when one of his client's smugglers walked in and announced herself to his employer, mister Bonaventure. He turns starts to stalk the outskirts of the crowds near the stage, his cloak obscuring his armor and any weapons he carried. he continued, keeping a watchful eye on [member="Eliza Steele"] while he moved to get a better angle for the scanner. Some basics came up, smuggler of some sort, and not bad either. A prison record in the family history by the look of it, not much else to go off of, it looked like she knew how to keep her info secured. Then a second figure enters just as the scan finishes, one "Avram Mesenshuk". Nothing under that name came up, interesting. either it was a fake name or he was a ghost.. Voska never liked ghost stories.. facial scans brought up next to nothing either. he'll have to keep a better eye on this "Mesenshuk" character.

A slight spur like jingle can be heard from voska's loose rocket boots as he approaches bonaventure's table, giving a polite nod to the two smugglers as he passes by, stopping beside bonaventure's seat and leaning a little closer for just a moment

"Non of the patrons seem particularly threatening, sir" He then straightens his posture, keeping one hand rested on his belt under his cloak, just above one of his blasters. other than that, he keeps completely still, and quiet, as not to disrupt the meeting any further.

 

[Arekk]

https://youtu.be/8QvoUr2HphE​

​

Vennik's Cantina, Denon, Inner Rim​

"I've been shot more times than the family holocamera."
——————————————————————​

Kaidan barged into the cantina with practiced bravado, almost as if he owned the place himself. The fancy interior and its patrons enjoying drinks calmly by their booths was a welcome change of scenery from the usual forsaken drinking venues that he was used to, filled with druggies and ill-intentioned individuals alike.

His eyes scanned every inch of the establishment from the person behind the counter to the waitress going through each table serving drinks, he was never one to trust anyone for a simple reason: survival. When a man settles his eyes on credits and they come raking in like the Lithios rain? He's never going to want to stop wanting more and more and because of that they'll want all of it for themselves, it's a person's nature to be overly ambitious and greedy.

Kai swaggered through the daze of drunks as best as one could manage when surrounded by them. Thankfully the tides of vice shifted half-way through the crowd and he was able to eventually reach the VIP room where the rest awaited for his arrival. Quite the first impression, huh?

"Kaidan Sroka." The man's bassy voice echoed from the shadows, and from them, he materialized. Dressed in a pressed Lithiori black jacket and matching slacks, with his dulling jawline and short-length black hair, the smuggler stood with a confidence of an old stone wall. "Good to meet you."

[member="Chance Bonaventure"] ~ [member="Eliza Steele"] ~ [member="Kalen Genet"] ~ [member="Voska Naudir"]​

 

[Chance Bonaventure]

The Iseno Sector; Planet Denon,​

Quadrant K-3389-L2,​

Vennik's Cantina​

​

The first to arrive was Eliza Steele, who Chance knew through reputation alone. She was a successful Corellian smuggler, evidenced by her ability to overcome the odds from information available to the Socorran, and was an associate of another mutual fellow smuggler - Andan Solo. Given the friendship Chance had with the latter, he trusted Solo to be accurate in his suggestions for potential new associates. Another plus was Captain Steele's appearance, as she was certainly very easy on the eyes.

"Captain," Chance said with a smile, as he stood reached out to kiss Eliza's hand, before waiting for her to sit to do the same. "I've been told your glamor is second only to your piloting, and if that's true... well, you must be one of the best pilots in the galaxy."

Though hot on Captain Steele's heels was another of the invited guests, one Avram Mesenshuk, of whom Chance knew very little other than some reports of successful business dealings from mostly trusted sources. Far be it for the Socorran to not give another newcomer to the scene a chance, as everyone had started in a similar way. But so far indications were good that Avram would prove worthwhile an investment. Though his attitude would take some time to adjust to, if the sarcasm was any indication...

"Mister Mesenshuk, welcome," Chance said with a nod, as he reached out a hand to shake. "You know what they say: dress to impress, and along comes the rest. Sometimes it's worth stepping out of the crystal tower every so often, don't want to lose touch with the galaxy... but really, welcome."

From beyond the booth, the armored individual hired by Chance to be a bodyguard was doing his work. His presence alone, in that intimidating Mandalorian armor - Beskar'gam, if he recalled - was universally a symbol of a warrior to the galaxy at large; and in this kind of environment it was certainly enough to make several interested parties focus their attention elsewhere. The update from Voska was appreciated, as was his quiet candor.

"Excellent, keep an eye out, the meeting will begin shortly," Chance said in a low voice, glancing up to the individual beside him with a nod. "One last guest to arrive..."

And it wasn't long before the final individual appeared, somewhat suddenly from a darkened area of the cantina. Kaidan Sroka, by name, and a fierce humanoid by reputation. Exactly the kind of individual you wanted on your side in a fight. Though truthfully the same could be said about all present, which was why Chance had extended the invitations to have the sit down and discuss possible opportunities...

"A pleasure, mister Sroka," Chance said, before he leaned forward and clasped his hands on the table top. He looked to each arrival in turn, nodding to himself, as his smile grew and his brown eyes mirrored his internal excitement. "Thank you for coming. I know in this line of work meetings like this can be suspicious, but I believe it's safe to say that we probably know one another to some degree through our respective contacts. If not, we wouldn't be here."

Reaching to the middle of the table, Chance grasped the expensive bottle of Merenzane Gold. He expelled the cork, before pouring a generous amount into each waiting glass. This was certainly a show of grandeur and finery, a promise of what could be, for those present. The price of a single glass was typically beyond most sentient's price range without it being unreasonable to invest in more than once in a lifetime. But this whole bottle was for the gathered, providing evidence of a sizable fortune.

"We're all busy individuals, so I won't waste time," Chance said as he put the bottle back into the middle of the table, taking up his glass. He sipped the sweet liquid, which contained shavings of gold within. It was smooth, with a faint hint of fruit. "I've recently established a business venture. Starjump Enterprises. The company is based around providing shipping, delivery, acquisition and investment services, among other things."

Each knew what the 'other' was. They were all part of the underground networks.

"The difference with Starjump Enterprises however, is that it is backed by legitimate subsidiaries and allows us to engage in free trade with more security and less risk. How? Not important right now, not before being part of the business," Chance paused, as he sipped again. He looked to each individual in turn. "Now, this is where you all come in. The company is new, I have need of skilled individuals with solid reputations for getting the job done... and each of you were at the top of those lists, which brings us to any questions you might have for me.

"Understand I can only share so much detail to non-business associates, but I will be as thorough as I can for transparency before formal offers are made. So... are there questions so far?"

________________________________________________________________________________​

​

[member="Kalen Genet"] | [member="Eliza Steele"] | [member="Kaidan Sroka"] | [member="Voska Naudir"]​

 

[Eliza Steele]

Denon
Quadrant K-3389-L2,
Vennik's Cantina

"Captain," Chance said with a smile, as he stood reached out to kiss Eliza's hand, before waiting for her to sit to do the same. "I've been told your glamor is second only to your piloting, and if that's true... well, you must be one of the best pilots in the galaxy."

The kiss atop the back of her hand was a nice touch, though the spirited Corellisi knew [member="Chance Bonaventure"]'s type all too well. It was all for show to razzle-dazzle and make the mark feel admired, perhaps even soften them up for the taking. Well, that line of thinking wouldn't work on the petite smuggler, though the scoundrel could try... Eliza would only feel really appreciated once the credits as contracted were in hand, and maybe a little bonus to boot for a job well done. The latter is what she prided herself on.

"You've been talking with Kesselboy, haven't you? He forgot to add my aim is as sure too," Lizzy quipped with a playful wink slated for the Socorran.

As soon as she broke the ice so to speak, the others who were also contacted for the meeting started to arrive. Boy was the testosterone thick in here now.

"You weren't on Saijo, were you, Captain Steele?"

The brunette tilted her espresso-colored head to look over at [member="Kalen Genet"] who had strolled up. Eliza gave the sarcastic smuggler the once over with her dark chocolate eyes that could melt a man one way or another if she chose to.

"Oh a smuggler with a sense of humor..." Lizzy smirked, then added after a moment of thought. "Damn shame what those Shakurans did there, huh?"

The next smuggler to join the trio and supposedly the last was someone she'd never heard of, but [member="Kaidan Sroka"]'s rather bold entrance did perk her up. A lot of bravado in this one... Has to be Corellian. Steele gave him a nod as he took a seat at the table, then watched with interest as a man wearing Mandalorian armor walked up and spoke quietly to Bonaventure.

Eliza had worked with the clans of old, though never had seen [member="Voska Naudir"] around when she frequented Mandalore before it got blown up. In fact, she even had been given a suit of beskar'gam as payment for helping them out of a tight spot, but found it to be too restrictive to wear regularly in her line of business. And the helmet, well it made her claustrophobic... The only thing the Corellisi ever wore atop her head were goggles.

"Not so fast, Mister Bonaventure... I don't know about the other two here, but the how is important to me. I'm gonna need more details before I buy into your proposition and/or put my ship and livelihood on the line for you, transparency and all," Lizzy shrugged with lopsided grin.

 

[Arekk]

Vennik's Cantina, Denon, Inner Rim​

"I've been shot more times than the family holocamera."
——————————————————————​

"I'm just here for the credits. Can we skip the formalities and go into depth about how much I will get paid? If the price is right, I don't care about the rest."

Isn't that why all of these scoundrels had accepted Bonaventure's for a meeting? To discuss how much money was going to put on the table for their services or perhaps Kaidan was unavoidably wrong about these facts? He knew one thing: A job was a job, regardless of the risk, if the credits were worth every danger out there.

That's why you took this line of work, because of the dangers that includes are just part of the lifestyle and if you couldn't handle that, you couldn't do anything.

Kai sipped the exquisite and expensive liquid from the glass to saciate that wild thirst that had been damning him ever since setting foot on Denon, nothing like a strong drink to quench your very own polydipsia.

"Keep beating around the bush." The augmented smuggler slash scoundrel said once more while grimacing at the taste of the Merenzane Gold, locking eyes with Bonaventure and Steele. "The door's right there if it's too much to handle."

[member="Chance Bonaventure"] ~ [member="Eliza Steele"] ~ [member="Kalen Genet"] ~ [member="Voska Naudir"]​

 

[EllieEx]

Voska remained by [member="Chance Bonaventure"]'s side, keeping a watchful eye on everyone else, [member="Kaidan Sroka"] In particular. By the way he carried himself, the way he spoke to the man that was offering him a job, It gave voska the impression that he was both impatient, and overconfident. Chance was merely being civilized, and here was a smuggler who couldn't simply wait his turn and enjoy his drink..

"Kaysh layari" He muttered.

[member="Eliza Steele"]'s comment on the other hand, while also a little impatient at least she was trying to get information on the job itself. After all, you should find out what you're doing before negotiating prices, not the other way around. [member="Kalen Genet"] Meshen something hadn't spoken yet, but his previous comments told voska that he was playing along at least.
Voska would be in on the little game of civility and pleasantries, but unlike the others he was already on the job, and he hadn't been offered a drink. His job was to remain vigilant, not socialize, and his comment in mando'a may cost him.

 

[Kalen Genet]

"Seems to me like the how will be ultimately the same as in any other job we take for anybody else," Kalen replied relaxedly, taking a small sip of the Merenzane Gold. He was happy to be getting the real stuff for a change, compared to what other, more stingy employers had given him before. "We meet up with our benefactor or with his people, they load their stuff onto our ships off the record, and we ship it to its destination, still off the official records." He set down his glass, folding his hands together on the table.

"And, of course, we do it without getting caught by anybody who doesn't appreciate our free trade." He glanced at the other two on the table, ignoring Voska's muttered comment for the moment. "Still, asking questions can be smart, in our line of work. Credits might be king, but going into a deal without enough information is suicide." It was blunt, but it was true. If Kaidan had managed to get along as well as he had with minimal information, then he was a very lucky man.

Kalen didn't trust luck to hold out forever.

He turned back to Chance, facing the man down with a blank stare. "How many contracts do you have lined up so far?" he asked after a moment. "And, even if you can't tell us who they're with yet, or how you intend to provide us with more security than normal for this line of work, I imagine you can tell us who they might run us afoul of if things go wrong." Running afoul of governmental bodies was normal for smugglers. But, the planetary government of Naboo was one thing. Trying to make a shipment on Bastion and running afoul of the Sith-Imperial government was another entirely.

"Also, before I forget." He finally turned to Voska, his blank stare turned to a stern one as he looked at the warrior. "Ja'haili gar lalat, di'kut," he growled. And meant the insult; Mando'a was a language that enough people in the galaxy had some minor familiarity with, thanks to how common Mandalorians were, that it was unwise to assume that you could just speak it and nobody around you would have a clue what you said. "Try Togorian instead. Nobody knows that."

[member="Voska Naudir"] [member="Kaidan Sroka"] [member="Eliza Steele"] [member="Chance Bonaventure"]

 

[Chance Bonaventure]

The Iseno Sector; Planet Denon,​

Quadrant K-3389-L2,​

Vennik's Cantina​

​

Chance eased back onto the seat, as he cocked his head to the side. He listened as each potential associate spoke up, voicing varying opinions and some concerns. That was part of why the Socorran had whittled the options down to these particular sentients. Each provided a different perspective on a situation, from caution, to bravado, to practicality. And when working together, along with Chance's own daring, the group composed quite a force to be reckoned with. But like any new group there were rough patches to be smoothed over, like the exchange between Voska and Kalen, which was spoken in understandable Mando'a.

"I suppose I can simplify the how, Ms. Steele," Chance said finally, smiling. "Dummy companies, subsidiaries, an endless credit trail that takes up too much time to bother chasing down. That simple."

Still, there came a time in all business dealings where an edge had to be jumped from, as a sign of trust...

"Alright, I hear you," Chance said simply, as he sat forward and lowered his voice. "Let's lay it on the table. I trust each of you through reputation enough to share some details. Our clients require non-red kyber crystals, lots of them, but lack their own resource. That's where we come in."

Chance looked to Kalen.

"Mesenshuk is mostly right, save that we won't be loading officially with assistance from the 'provider'... more we'll be making a personal withdrawal, not necessarily under their supervision."

Smirking, the smuggler took a sip of the expensive drink, swirling it on his tongue before swallowing and looking to each individual in turn.

"I've sourced plans, patrols, access and have worked out a straightforward and subtle approach, using distraction. But understand, until we're all agreed, I can't go into those specifics... I've probably said too much already. But what I can say, is when things are said and done, we won't have been caught and we will all have a bunch of nice, clean, untraceable credits in accounts."

Raising an eyebrow, Chance looked to the group.

"But I need to know, before we go into details... who's in, who's out?"

________________________________________________________________________________​

​

[member="Kalen Genet"] | [member="Eliza Steele"] | [member="Kaidan Sroka"] | [member="Voska Naudir"]​

 

[Eliza Steele]

Denon
Quadrant K-3389-L2,
Vennik's Cantina


Eliza listened attentively to the other smugglers' thoughts on the vague opening statement made by the scoundrel businessman. [member="Kaidan Sroka"] didn't care much about the details just making the credits. Which if the Young Buck didn't wise up, he'd end up losing it all and maybe his life too. The Brash One seemed to get it more so. She hid a smirk when [member="Kalen Genet"] told the Mandalorian off, though probably not the smartest thing calling the armored and weapon-accessorized [member="Voska Naudir"] an idiot. Yeah, she knew enough Mando'a to catch the drift implied.

The brunette poured herself a glass of the fancy drink, then took a slow sip of the liquid gold as [member="Chance Bonaventure"] made the second part of his sales pitch. At least he was more forth coming like she asked, which pleased the businesswoman in her though still left a lot to be desired. Eliza had learned the hard way and was more cautious nowadays than she was in the early days of her smuggling career when Remy wasn't around to help guide his daughter.

Steele quirked a sienna brow up slightly when the Socorran told them he had clients wanting non-red kyber crystals. Interesting... Her dark orbs eyed the other two smugglers sitting across the table and the Mando standing next to his charge as if in a high stacks sabacc game before gazing back to Mr. Slick.

"Okay, I'm listening," the Corellisi nodded.

 

[EllieEx]

"Nayc uba" He laughs and tilts his head to the side, crossing his arms under his cloak and leaning against the wall.

"..Most aruetii have such hatred for the mando'ad these days, I would have thought our tongue was considered vile to your kind"

That was voska for you. He may have legitimately said "No you" to the man, but that was about as much confrontation as he was going to get.. for now.. While his employer was in a meeting anyway, it was just bad for business when a bodyguard unloads on his employer's business associates with a gatling gun through their cloak...

Quite frankly he didn't much care for anyone at that table at the moment, save for his employer who was paying him, and steele who was more interested in business than talking. Though, speaking of talking, it had just occurred to him that this wouldn't have happened if he hadn't spoken. People always have to chime in when a mandalorian breaks the social shell hmm? even when they weren't speaking to said people..

[member="Eliza Steele"] [member="Chance Bonaventure"] [member="Kalen Genet"] [member="Kaidan Sroka"]