Slicer's Loop

[Ra'a'mah]

Ra'a'mah was drawn to Coruscant time and again. It was where she had spent a few years of her life and she returned to her former haunts. The restaurants, cantinas, school...the places she was familiar with. Something different drew her here this time.

Her former job with the intelligence of the Dominion still netted her information. Most of it was trivial, but sometimes something good from it. News reached her of an auction, looking over what passed onto her, she followed her intuition and she knew she needed to be there. In this auction was a computer. Now what was on that computer she didn't know, she wasn't a slicer, but Ra knew she could find one on Coruscant.

She acquired this computer and took it with her to the planet. Ra knew people below, both from her time living here and her when she worked intelligence. These people got into contact with others and word was circulated that a slicer was needed and Ra just needed patience now.

Arranging a private room wasn't too hard and Ra had interviewed a few people that were willing to take on the job of unlocking this computer. None had seemed just right though and she kept looking. Another one walked in the door and Ra looked up from her datapad. Her naturally gold eyes assessed the woman and she stood up to greet her.

"I am Ra'a'mah Numare. To keep things simple, please just call me Ra."

Wearing what she considered her business attire, the only weapon visible was a blaster at her hip. Too many people didn't trust people that openly wore a lightsaber, so the double bladed hilt was in her cloak and not on her. Up her arms though were two small saber hilts, two knives in her boots and a spiked ball at the end of her braided hair.

[member="Katria Vekarr"]

 

[Katria Vekarr]

It was never her first choice to seek employment on Coruscant. Not if she wished to keep her head off of a bounty hunter's collection HUD.

And yet, here she was, winding through the bowels of the city planet to accept (and hopefully complete) a job that barely scraped into her skill set. The way she moved, to the trained eye, she carried a mix of displeasure and confidence as she navigated the dark and often unsavory alleys of the lower city.

The last time she had been down there things got ugly.

Hugging the rifle at her back more tightly to her frame, eyeing the occasional set of eyes that followed her movements, her gait stiffening as she hastened her pace. There was something to be said about confidence in an environment you knew, and then the lack thereof in an environment that spelled death at the wrong end of a blaster or vibro knife. Something that she had come all to uncomfortably familiar with since she began her career.

It wasn't until she cleared the final corner near where she'd be meeting her client that she finally relaxed her posture. Noticeable to the keen eye, but missable by most of those who watched her move through the crowds and finally into the establishment in question. One that didn't quite seem completely suited to her attire, but when you dressed the way she did there was little in the way of surprise if someone thought she was looking for a good time.

Adjusting her jacket, pulling it down off her shoulders and hooking it on her belt, she moved crisply to the room where she saw a rather distressed looking man quickly retreated. His gaze lingered on her, eyeing her up and down from her somewhat revealing top to her fitting pants, before she cast him a glare and adjusted the rifle at her back just enough to make him jump.

There was just something about these street urchins that made dressing comfortably almost regrettable.

She lingered on the thought until she entered the private room and her eyes fell on a woman in what she could only describe as business attire.

"Ra, huh? You don't look like the type to hire urchins," she mused as she looked the woman up and down. She was quick to admit to herself that this woman was an attractive level of confident, but just as quick to balance that thought with a reminder she was here on business.

Sliding the rifle on her back to rest the stock on the floor, she leaned against it and laid interested eyes on the woman across from her. She was quick to note the computer sitting on the table, but that was a question for later.

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Ra'a'mah]

The woman that walked through door proved interesting right away. She looked both comfortable and confident, Ra liked that about her. In a way, she reminded Ra of herself and she respected this other businesswoman on the aura she projected.

She wore a light green top, dark jacket and form fitting pants. A gun was brought with her, but set down and leaned on like she knew how to use it.

The comment about hiring urchins actually brought a small smile to her face. There had a been a time in her life where she was a wild street urchin on these very streets. A man had taken her in and taught her how to be a businesswoman and how to make a life for herself. For just a moment, Ra wondered if this woman had such a person or if she had learned on her own. The thought and smile faded and the neutral business façade was replaced on her face.

"Appearances can be deceiving I suppose. What do looks matter if the job can be accomplished anyway?"

Maintaining a neutral cover over her Force, if this woman could pick up on that, Ra would appear to come across as an apprentice level in power. Having learned to keep it hidden, it was how she always projected herself when she wasn't at home.

[member="Katria Vekarr"]

 

[Katria Vekarr]

It hadn't taken long inside the room for Katria to get a reasonable feel for the woman she was about to do business with. She had some mystery to her, but if she was being frank she preferred it that way. It was all too often, especially with the criminal world, that employers were lacking in the area of subtlety.

As quickly as she'd made that assessment, and met with welcome intrigue, was the smile that crept onto the other woman's lips in response to her greeting. Immediately she knew this woman had a side to her that invited the type of phrasing she was apt to use, something that prompted a smirk of her own coming to her lips.

It was an act that would have spiraled her mind into a variety of darker and otherwise filthier thoughts until the other woman spoke up and made her opinion known. And it was a response that complimented the woman's confidence in a way that made Katria hold her smirk.

"A job's a job," she breathed as she adjusted her weight against the rifle and twisted to stretch her back for a moment. With a rather audible pop in the lower lower back, she contorted her face and relaxed her body back into the posture it had been previously with a fairly relaxed expression on her face. "But a pretty face never hurt anything."

As she spoke her tone took a softer shift from the previously curt and casual and she flashed an amused glance over Ra's figure. When the moment had passed, however, she snappily pressed herself for composure and tilted her head towards the table and the computer on it, the job becoming more apparent as she slowly felt herself slipping away from the job at hand.

"What am I getting paid to do here, Ra?" She asked, her tone dropping all pretense of casual or calm. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could decide whether or not this woman was actually her type.

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Ra had done her best to put Katria at ease by just being herself. While this was business, she was that before anything. Motioning to the chair across from her, Ra resumed her seat.

"Please take a seat. I promise not to bite."

Her naturally gold eyes watched as the woman moved in her stretch. There was the sound of her back cracking and the brought an eyebrow up in response. After that though, she did appear to have relaxed a little more and said a pretty face never hurt anything.

Returning the smirk with one of her own, she had to admit she liked her sense of humor. Back to business though when Katria asked what she was getting into.

Taking a hold of the computer, Ra put it between them.

"I got this at an auction and have no way of getting to what is on it."

[member="Katria Vekarr"]

 

[Katria Vekarr]

Now relaxed, the tension she had felt coming down from the docking station to the meeting gone, she moved easily into the chair offered to her and set the rifle beside her against her thigh. She typically felt at ease with a weapon close at hand, though it was not often taken as a business savvy enterprise. But if she was honest, she was far from the typical business type.

Anything to get the job done, was the simplest solution.

Before long she'd registered the other woman's smirk, her questionably flirtatious retort and the computer being placed between them on the table. While the woman was quick to move to the business at hand, there was a calmness about her explanation of acquisition that raised a brow on the young mercenary's face. Either this woman wasn't exactly what she posed to be, or this computer was more valuable than it was advertised.

"Given it's model," she mused as she looked over the device in front of her, considering how it's exterior could be deceiving of it's complex interior. Sure she was a capable slicer but something told her, nagging at the back of her mind, that this was more complicated than she first figured. "It should be fairly simple."

Leaning back in her seat, shifting her attention to Ra and letting it linger there for a moment, she waited for the woman's response and allowed herself a few moments of thought about just what she might find on this woman's mysterious acquisition. Either way this job was going to be an interesting one.

 

[Ra'a'mah]

She respected the woman's choice to keep her weapon close. Ra was the same way and even though she could use the Force, she still preferred to have a physical weapon on hand.

The woman took the offered seat and looked at the computer. The exterior appeared be of something modern, made within the last few years. The auction implied the information on it was far older though. Even they didn't know what exactly was on it though or so the auctioneer claimed.

Indicating getting in shouldn't be a problem, they now needed to agree on a fair price. Ra had no real idea what something like this should cost, but hoped they could come to an agreeable amount.

Picking up the datapad for a moment, Ra made a quick note on it and pointed the stylus in the direction of Katria.

"What would a job like this cost, on the high and low end. I hope we can reach a price we both agree on."

Setting both items down, Ra sat back in her chair, ready to begin the traditional bargaining for a price of the job.

[member="Katria Vekarr"]

 

[Katria Vekarr]

Price. That was a dangerous game, and one Katria was all too wary of. Every job had a payout, ever merc had their preference, and it was something of a curse having to discern a reasonable price at the risk of infuriating their employer.

Or so that was how her father taught her.

Looking over at the woman as she left the data pad where she could access it, she found it difficult to get a proper read on how willing the woman was to part with her credits. Though, if the information was true, purchasing a computer like the one in question from an auction raised the question as to whether or not this woman was as flexible as most those types were.

Caution gripped her as she leaned forward to take a closer look at the datapad, glancing up at the woman now and again as she did so, then picked it up along with the offered stylus with a single motion. It was a standard issue with very little in the way of extraordinary and seemed to resemble the types of pads purposed solely for transferral of data.

"If you want it done without evidence, the starting rate is ten thousand credits," she breathed as she tapped the stylus against the side of the datapad. "Otherwise you might as well be asking me to crack into it with the equivalent of a code ronto."

That said, with a mild inflection of smugness, she placed the datapad back against the table without making so much as a single stroke to finalize any transactions. Instead, with visible interest, she waited to see what the other woman's response might be to such a bold assertion.

While she was practiced in caution, she wanted to prove she had the edge required of someone in her line of work. Even if it wasn't her main area of expertise, one had to receive proper compensation for any work they did.

 

[Ra'a'mah]

At the mention of price, Ra could feel the wariness of Katria and rightly so. It was touch and go at this point, both parties would want to feel they were getting the upper hand and better end of the bargain. Still moving with confidence, it was a little slower than before, Katria picked up the datapad Ra had set down. There was no real hesitation in the movement though.

Ra patiently waited to hear what Katria had to offer on a price. She didn't mark anything on the datapad and set it back down on the table. If you could believe it, Ra actually found the price reasonable and nodded. She also made note of the tone in the other woman's voice.

Giving her a slight smirk, Ra's eyes would show she had some respect for Katria.

"Agreed, Ms. Vekarr. What do you say of half now and then the other half when you done?"

Tilting her head slightly, Ra picked the datapad up again and made another note. This was on the price quoted and only that.

[member="Katria Vekarr"]