The Shadow of Csilla
Shade had accepted stranger contracts in stranger places, although being paired with someone she had never worked with before always introduced a variable that no amount of preparation could entirely account for. She sat at one side of a small briefing room with her dark armor already secured, long black and silver braid falling behind one shoulder and crimson eyes fixed upon the holographic projection above the table. Another hunter occupied the room with her, apparently here for the same reason. Shade had acknowledged his presence when she'd arrived, but hadn't attempted to fill the waiting time with unnecessary conversation. There would be plenty of opportunity to learn what sort of partner she'd been given once somebody started shooting at them.
The figure rotating above the table belonged to Tavian Rell, a former private security contractor who had disappeared several weeks earlier with information belonging to his employer. The details of what he'd taken were apparently less important to the people paying them than recovering both Rell and the data intact. That explained the generous bounty and the restriction attached to it. Alive. Shade's expression remained neutral as the briefing continued through the known information. Rell had most recently been traced to a busy Outer Rim port, where he'd apparently acquired enough protection to make simply walking up and asking him to surrender an optimistic strategy. The employer wanted discretion where possible. Civilian casualties would complicate payment. Destroying the stolen information would complicate it considerably more.
"Alive, data intact, and preferably without turning the surrounding district into part of the expense report." Shade summarized once the briefing had finished, looking from the projection toward the other person who would be accompanying her. The faintest trace of amusement touched her expression. "I've had worse terms." She reached forward and collected the mission information provided to them, already considering what little they actually knew against everything they still needed to discover. Finding Rell was only the first problem. Getting close enough to take him without encouraging him to destroy whatever he'd stolen would require considerably more care.
Shade rose from her chair once there was nothing further keeping them in the briefing room. She had agreed to work this contract with another hunter, and she intended to treat him as a partner rather than an inconvenience until given a reason to do otherwise. Whether their methods complemented one another remained to be discovered. Her crimson gaze settled briefly upon him before she headed for the door. "Looks like we're working together." A slight smile appeared. "Let's go find out whether Rell intends to make us earn the credits."
Arco Nightfire
The figure rotating above the table belonged to Tavian Rell, a former private security contractor who had disappeared several weeks earlier with information belonging to his employer. The details of what he'd taken were apparently less important to the people paying them than recovering both Rell and the data intact. That explained the generous bounty and the restriction attached to it. Alive. Shade's expression remained neutral as the briefing continued through the known information. Rell had most recently been traced to a busy Outer Rim port, where he'd apparently acquired enough protection to make simply walking up and asking him to surrender an optimistic strategy. The employer wanted discretion where possible. Civilian casualties would complicate payment. Destroying the stolen information would complicate it considerably more.
"Alive, data intact, and preferably without turning the surrounding district into part of the expense report." Shade summarized once the briefing had finished, looking from the projection toward the other person who would be accompanying her. The faintest trace of amusement touched her expression. "I've had worse terms." She reached forward and collected the mission information provided to them, already considering what little they actually knew against everything they still needed to discover. Finding Rell was only the first problem. Getting close enough to take him without encouraging him to destroy whatever he'd stolen would require considerably more care.
Shade rose from her chair once there was nothing further keeping them in the briefing room. She had agreed to work this contract with another hunter, and she intended to treat him as a partner rather than an inconvenience until given a reason to do otherwise. Whether their methods complemented one another remained to be discovered. Her crimson gaze settled briefly upon him before she headed for the door. "Looks like we're working together." A slight smile appeared. "Let's go find out whether Rell intends to make us earn the credits."
Arco Nightfire