The Foundation of Trouble

[H3xle]

Taryc felt more naked than the times she had tumbled with lovers while actually being naked. SHe was walking through a massive space station, and she was sans armor. She also wasn't wearing a uniform, despite being officially employed by Firemane. Instead, Taryc wore spacers leathers and carried a bolter in a thigh holster. The spacers leathers were both far less armored and far less revealing than she was used to, having worn a skin tight armorweave almost daily for the past decade and change. She was also without her sword, which sat in an armored locker at a Firemane office in Alliance territory.

As she walked through the hallway in the Community sector of The Foundation, she noticed the people around her. She was here looking for answers, some key to a history she thought long perished. All she had to go on was that a former Primeval agent was in the Outback, and it was both her personal quest, and her official duty now, to pursue any such agents and remove them. Taryc moved through the station, trying to figure out where her next move would take her. The Outback wasn't the largest area of space, but it was large enough for her to be stuck now.

Her stomach grumbled as she passed a Corellian bar and grill. She paused, stopping in the wide hallway, and looked at the place, and the people around her. Mentally shrugging to herself, she headed into the cantina and sat at the bar, waiting to be served.

[member="laira vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira sat inside the Corellian bar and grill, a change from the cuisine she normally ate on her ship, and despite its heavy and greasy texture Corellian food had great taste. That was, real Corellian food. This was a cheap knockoff using alternative meats and grains, and so while it had similar tastes it wasn't exactly the same.

As per her usual, Laira Darkhold as she went, was sitting in a booth that had once been private until two spacers slid in opposite of her. She was acting like she was interested in their stories about dangers they had flown through or around, brushing fiery red hair out of her face when it drooped into her eyes.

She wore a white shirt with probably one too many open buttons, the sleeves rolled up around her elbows, a black vest tossed over he shoulders left open, and a pair of trousers. Rather than a conventional weapon on her hip, she wore a Deathrattle sonic blaster and knee tall black boots. Somewhere in one of the pouches on her belt she had an anti-recording device to keep her from being recorded. Just a little thing she had picked up as she started to work more and more as an information gatherer, and less and less as a smuggler.

She glanced at the newcomer as was her habit, to dart her eyes and quickly inspect and assess new people in a room. She already knew there were a few dangerous individuals in the restaurant, and at first glance this woman wouldn't cause anyone to assume she was dangerous. Yes the black haired woman would turn heads, even causing Laira to realize she had a contender for prettiest girl in the bar, but people wouldn't jump straight to most dangerous woman alive.

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[H3xle]

Taryc placed an order for food that promised to taste moderately like Corellian food and a house brew that promised to hold ingredients that could be traced to Corellia before the cataclysm. She didn't really care, she needed food, but she had also come in because she felt drawn here. The bartender served her the drink in a tall glass with a handle. Taryc took it and turned to look at the people. She leaned back against the bar, propping one elbow there as she nursed the brew. Her eyes alighted on the normal scum and villainy that could be found in such watering holes. In shadowy booths, smugglers and information brokers plied their trade. Others likely held rookie law enforcement trying to bust them, but doomed to fail. Everyone had weapons on their hips, this was the Outback, after all.

Taryc let her eyes go unfocused as she let the restraints off of the burning ember within her, her center and connection to the force. She cast it out, letting it guide her unfocused eyes. Absently, she took a draw from her drink, slowly turning her head. Something was here, drawing her on. Whether it was related to her mission or not remained to be seen, but it had Taryc's attention. Her food came and she thumb printed a payment before picking it up. Her attention drifted to a table with a buxom woman talking to two standard issue spacers. She couldn't pinpoint which of them drew her attention. She brought her food to a nearby booth, sliding in and eating while she kept an ear and eye on [member="laira vereen"] and her companions.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Yeah, we've flown some stuff out in old chiss and remnant space a while back, during the reign of the One Sith. Dangerous work out that way you know, takes a skilled hand and a convincing voice." Or anyone with a permit to ship that way, the One Sith were always looking for good smugglers back then to ship their more private projects. "How about you, ever been out that way."

Laira nodded, only half listening to the two spacers telling tales about themselves and what dangers and adventures they had been on. "Oh, that's interesting." One of the men looked past her and she could only assume he was getting an eye full of the other girl in the bar. Yeah, there were always some bar flies around, but normally new meant different, which equated to better to a lot of spacers. "No I've never flown out that way. I think Dantooine or Irn is the farthest that way I've been. I normally stay over here, between Silver and Alliance space." The redhead answered when the two spacers asked. "You know, Bothawui born human, sticks relatively near home. Only ever pulled a few runs out towards old Crusader and Prime space."

Laira turned and waved over a waitress, a server droid in this case. "Can I get a jawa juice with a wedge of lemon." She grinned knowing one of the men opposite of her would pick up the tab. "Never had a reason to run out that far for work. Plenty was stuck right here." The men returned the conversation to how amazing they were convinced they were, something Laira was decidedly not impressed by. Having been raised by a Mandalorian, that type of machismo was ever present where she was from, so it didn't strike her as particularly attractive, then again she didn't really know what she found particularly attractive beside a zeltron dancer she had met once.

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[H3xle]

Taryc ate her food slowly as she observed the bar, her focus continuing to stray towards [member="laira vereen"]'s table. She paid a bit of attention to the conversation at that table, particularly when Prime space was mentioned. This search couldn't be that easy, that she'd be drawn to the agent in a bar by some mix of her hunger and the force. She finished her food and her drink slowly, then motioned for another from the waitress. She took her second drink and slipped from her booth and sauntered over to Laira's table. She turned a chair around and sat on it, saluting the people there with her glass.

"I couldn't help but overhear some of the stories you're telling. Mind if I buy the next round and not have to eavesdrop?" She said with a smile to everyone at the table.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira perked up at the new arrival to the booth, a distraction from her to be sure. The princess enjoyed the attention most of the time, but she didn't mind having some of it eased off of herself. "Oh of course sweetie, you don't have to sit over there all on your lonesome. You can squeeze in beside me if you like." Both the men seemed okay at this prospect, happy to have another woman showing interest in them and paying for their drinks was a nice change of pace.

"These two were just telling me about their adventures out in chiss space and flying through old One Sith territory, wondering if I'd ever flown to the Unknown Regions. Unfortunately, I've never made it that far out, sticking to the slice for the most part, with a couple runs out into the old Crusader space. How about yourself? Why don't you tell me about some of your adventures." Laira batted her eyelashes coyly at the raven haired figure that joined them, brushing her own fiery red locks out of her face and straightening her posture to appear as attentive as possible.

She was actually interested in why the dark haired woman had taken a sudden interest in the trio. Perhaps she had just needed a moment to build her confidence to approach them? And if so, which of them was she interested in and why?

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[H3xle]

Taryc took a draw on her drink as she listened to [member="Laira Vereen"] explain it.

"These two were just telling me about their adventures out in chiss space and flying through old One Sith territory, wondering if I'd ever flown to the Unknown Regions. Unfortunately, I've never made it that far out, sticking to the slice for the most part, with a couple runs out into the old Crusader space. How about yourself? Why don't you tell me about some of your adventures."

She took a moment to think quickly. She'd been trained as an inquisitor, which involved some agent training and undercover work. However, she hadn't really come hunting undercover, just not as conspicuous as she would have been in her beskar armor and flaming sword. She didn't have any cover story prepared, so she decided to go with the truth.

"I'm Taryc, and I've led a fairly boring life." She said, her voice conveying that she meant her words to be sarcastic. "I started life as an inquisitor for the Primeval. They fell, and I thought better of being an evil queen." She continued, glossing over everything she'd done while part of the Primeval. "Since then, I've worked ships as security to get from system to system, doing bounty hunting work from the core worlds to the outer rim." She added, putting a slightly better shine on what had been her vendetta hunts against Primeval agents and Sith. "I fought at Atrisia as part of Draco Vereen's force, battling side by side with him against Sith and their bounty hunters. I fought at Kaeshana, again at the side of Draco and the Galactic Alliance. Both of those were...exhausting, to say the least. I've since joined on with Firemane." She said, giving a short history of her most recent actions towards redeeming herself. She obviously had no idea she was sitting next to the daughter of Draco. "Now, though, I am working a more private investigation..." She looked to each of the people sitting there in turn, then looked at the one who had mentioned they'd worked in Prime space, Laira. "Had you ever had dealings with the Primeval?" She asked innocuously, turning her full attention and a beautiful smile on the buxom lass.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"I'm afraid not miss Taryc. I didn't leave Bothawui until after they were dissolved." Laira, scooted a bit closer to the woman so that the redhead sat at the edge of the booth close to where Taryc was. The two men were trying to stay apart of the conversation, but content to allow the two women to hit it off and soften each other up. "Oh, I'm sure that's not how most people would describe you, right boys?" They nodded throwing out compliments at the raven haired woman, before tossing a few towards Laira about how perfect they were. Laira blushed slightly and put her hand out in front of Taryc.

"You know I was at Kaeshana supporting the Alliance in space. A proper pilot you see, I was gunning down yinchorri and TIE's left and right." Whether or not she made Ace in her first engagement was yet to be determined. Her kill count could be quite high, but it was almost entirely unconfirmed. Though she didn't remember her father mentioning a Taryc fighting alongside him. Her father probably didn't think anything of it, his clan consisting of a number of men and women that fought beside him. Laira made a mental note to delve deeper into that just in case there was anything her mother might want to know. "I heard some Mandalorians were supporting them on the surface. I think I've heard of Vereen, are you friends? I could always use a friend who is friends with Mandalorians." She settled in, genuinely interested at this point to hear what was said about the situation.

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[H3xle]

Taryc listened intently, and watched Laira's face as she spoke. Eyes didn't dilate, nor shift in a manner that would tell of lying. She hadn't been with the Primeval then, and she wasn't the agent she had been hunting. Within her mind, she debated just walking away. She had a mission, and she didn't want to let the agent go to ground before she could pick up their trail. However, she didn't have any clue further than this station, and it had been a disgustingly long trip to get to the Outback.

A subtle shift came over Taryc as her shoulders relaxed minutely and her smile became a bit more genuine.

"Piloting is a weakness of mine, I couldn't fly into a gravity well if I had a head start." She said jokingly, smiling at Laira. "That was some hard fighting, I'm glad you were able to get out when the abandon call came through." She said, she felt that anyone who had fought the imperialists at Kaeshana was instantly likable, which only added to Taryc's fun.

"I heard some Mandalorians were supporting them on the surface. I think I've heard of Vereen, are you friends? I could always use a friend who is friends with Mandalorians."

"Aye, Draco and I are friends, though I've never been to dinner with him and his family. I've been to Alderaan once, did some training with their Knights. He's settled in a bit, doesn't go tromping around the galaxy as much as I hear he used to, so I usually only ever see him at the important battles like Kaeshana." She paused and took a sip. "As you can guess, I'm not through with my tramping around the galaxy yet. Too much to see, too much to do to be tied down at home. You all know how it is." She said, smiling back at the boys, remembering that they were there.

[member="Laira Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira grinned happily, making mental notes throughout the pleasant conversation with the former Primeval member. "Oh my, well maybe we can work on that weakness sometime. All you need is a good teacher, the right ship, and a little practice." She glanced down at the table and looked Taryc up slowly as she returned her gaze to meet the woman. Stormy grey eyes not all that different from her Father's searched Taryc for any semblance of dark intentions, not really relying on the Force. "I'm glad too, I can't afford another ship. I spend too much on clothes and food as it is, there is no way I could squeeze in ship payments."

The redhead felt like she wanted to get a good picture with the woman, Taryc, to send to her mother just to see what her reaction would be to seeing who all called Father 'friend'. "Oh, I've seen pictures of Alderaan's beaches. They make me want to vacation there and just lay out on the sand with someone, sun bearing down on me. Now just to find someone that can afford the rent." She'd done just that every summer of her life, spending time on the Apalis Coast sometimes with family, sometimes with friends. These days she rarely returned to the Core, only when summoned by her parents. "Anyways, what brings your investigation to Underground space?" The princess had the distinct desire to get to know the woman better, perhaps even attempt to become friends with her since she had precious few real friends and if that meant she might also get to go on an adventure she was just fine with that.

"Oh, he tried to tie you down did he?" Laira blushed at the realization of her double entendre, turning her cheeks almost as red as her hair. One of the men saw her blush quickly ordered a third round of drinks to be brought to the table even though they had only sipped on the ones in front of them. "I mean, you two just wanted different things and now he has a family, or was it he had a family and you didn't want to mess with that?" Was it possible she had found an old girl friend or ex-lover by complete happenstance? Her father and mother always seemed happy, very affectionate when she saw them so it had never occurred that Draco could have cared for anyone outside their family in any romantic way.

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[H3xle]

Taryc sipped at her drink, focusing more and more on just Laira, with the occasional glance at the boys to keep them somewhat involved. She had the slight feeling that she was being pumped for information, but she couldn't for the life of her imagine why. The eyes looked eerily familiar, but Taryc had never been one to stare into a persons eyes unless she was interrogating them, and so had only a passing memory of what Draco's looked like. They seemed to be a similar shade, but it was a large galaxy, and they were nowhere near Alderaan. At the mention of finding someone to afford the rent on the beach at Alderaan, Taryc's mind went down, and she couldn't help be look at Laira in a similar manner to what the men at the table were doing when they thought neither girl was looking.

"Anyways, what brings your investigation to Underground space?"

"Vagaries of the force..." She answered honestly, after a moment of thought. "I...uh...I tend to feel like cleaning up former Primeval agents is part of my penance..."

There conversation turned back towards Draco, then.

"Oh, he tried to tie you down did he?"

That caused Taryc to snort her drink partially up into her nose with laughter. 'Draco! With her?!?'

"Ow..." She said, noticing the girl blush at her double entendre.

"I mean, you two just wanted different things and now he has a family, or was it he had a family and you didn't want to mess with that?"

"Oh, no, no, no. Draco and I were never interested in each other that way. He was long married and with children when I first met him, I'm sure." She said, still chuckling at the thought. "No, we were battle buddies, but nothing else. He was there when I went to the Mandalorians looking to help where I once hurt them. We fought side by side, but I don't think I've ever seen him outside of his armor with normal clothes on. Let alone naked or in any sexual way!" She shook her head. She had no problem with Draco as a sexual being, he just wasn't that for her. He had been off limits from the get go, and Taryc had just never even entertained the thought of having him as anything else.

[member="Laira Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Oh," Laira said, as though that part of the conversation had been getting juicy and abruptly ended with the confirmation that neither her father or Taryc had ever been involved. However after a moment's consideration her grin became a coquettish smile, letting her grey eyes soften as she looked to the older woman. "So you're single then. I'm sure one of our friends here is happy to hear it." Her expression didn't exactly read that she was ecstatic about the concept, but was clearly intrigued. Mostly Laira just enjoyed the attention she was receiving and didn't mind stroking her new companion's ego in return.

"Vagaries of the Force hmm," Laira mused letting Taryc look her over without complaint. "Well, I must say that the Primeval's former agents clean up very nice. Very pleasing to the eyes." The redhead rested her chin against her palm and propped her elbow upon the table, letting her eyes list lazily over Taryc and the man closest to her, flashing both a smile to feign interest.

"Is there anything you need help with." She noticed both men shift in the seats as if to signal they were more than willing to help in whatever way they needed. "Perhaps you need a distraction or a pilot in your investigation." Laira wasn't so bad at gathering information, having posed as a waitress and finding it was very easy to pick up information, plus she wasn't so bad with the technological side of spycraft. She could cut and codebreak doors, slice a little better than a novice, and knew how and where was the best place to plant listening devices, as well as countering such technology.

"Maybe the boys could draw attention away from us and meet us somewhere later. Perhaps a planet known for its beaches, like Naboo or Alderaan." She had no intention of meeting back up with the bar rats who had flocked to her when she sat down, but it was a good way to make use of them and not have to be around for rejecting them. Never knew how smugglers who had worked for the Hutt's would react to bad news. "And I could fly you around wherever this adventure takes us, give you a hand."

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[H3xle]

"Single is a way to put it..." She said with a wicked gleam in her eye. She looked to the boys for a second, but otherwise, her attention was on Laira. "...free is another, and the way I'd prefer." She chuckled softly.

"Vagaries of the Force hmm," Laira mused letting Taryc look her over without complaint. "Well, I must say that the Primeval's former agents clean up very nice. Very pleasing to the eyes."

Taryc relaxed into her seat languidly and arched an eyebrow at Laira. "Well, when you quit doing crazy evil poodoo, you tend to have less blood to clean up." She chuckled again, only thinking afterwards that it might have sounded a touch creepy, if one hadn't actually been in the position to do said evil poodoo.

"Is there anything you need help with." She noticed both men shift in the seats as if to signal they were more than willing to help in whatever way they needed. "Perhaps you need a distraction or a pilot in your investigation."

"Distraction?" She grinned wickedly for a moment, then nodded as she slipped back to business mindedness. "I could always use a capable pilot who's easy to get along with. I don't know where my hunt will take me, but if you've got the time, I've got the cred to hire you." 'For piloting...' she thought to herself, her eyes locked onto Laira's 'Anything else would have to be pro bono...' She quiped to her own mind.

"Maybe the boys could draw attention away from us and meet us somewhere later. Perhaps a planet known for its beaches, like Naboo or Alderaan." She had no intention of meeting back up with the bar rats who had flocked to her when she sat down, but it was a good way to make use of them and not have to be around for rejecting them. Never knew how smugglers who had worked for the Hutt's would react to bad news. "And I could fly you around wherever this adventure takes us, give you a hand."

Taryc caught on to the proposition fairly quickly, and turned to the boys with a languid smile. Her mind qorked fairly quickly. She didn't want to send them off to Naboo, the Galactic Alliance knew her well, and if these yahoos caused any trouble while looking for her it could dampen the pay she'd been getting by freelancing for them. Alderaan was a slightly better choice. Draco would be more likely to understand the need to shake off yahoos by sending them chasing across the galaxy.

"If you boys are able to make a bit of a scene and let us slip out without anyone else noticing, we'll meet you on Alderaan for some beach fun." She bit her lip lightly as her eyebrow quirked with her grin and she leaned forward. "Does that sound like something you could do...for us?" She asked, reaching out and lightly raking her fingers down Laira's arm until it was out of sight below the table.

[member="Laira Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Aww, single isn't so bad. Keeps your options open while we are young. I'm doing much of the same myself." Laira quipped, subtly teasing her bright red locks of hair with her fingers, keeping the mood light and flirtatious for the time being. "It certainly seems like you've turned over a new leaf." Then again many Sith ladies weren't so hard on the eyes so it wasn't exactly the best litmus test to preform.

"Capable. I suppose that's sort of a compliment," The redhead frowned, very obviously poking fun at the raven haired woman she was speaking to. "Even though I did make Ace with the Alliance in my first combat mission." While true it was her first combat mission, it wasn't like she didn't have thousands of simulator hours and time in the cockpit. The only thing she hadn't done before Kaeshana was killed someone, and now that was done and over with. "I'm between jobs right now, so some companionship and some credits would be welcome for a while." She had plenty of supplies, with her new friend paying for food and fuel they could go just about anywhere they wanted and Laira could infiltrate just about anywhere. Even after flying over Kaeshana it was only a few flicks of a switch to adjust its appearance and sensor signature to something a little else.

Taryc seemed to understand that it was about time to make use of the two men and shake them loose before they became a liability. The two girls seemed capable, even if they both stood out a little bit. In Laira's experience men tended to take notice around pretty women, but didn't normally consider them security risks. As a waitress she could collect good tips and gain information not spoken anywhere else. When Taryc's hand gently made its way down her arm beneath the table, Laira blushed, dropping her own hand down to take hold of the other woman's hand and keep it from getting too personal, letting it rest on her thigh. "Alright boys. You two just need to start a ruckus after we leave and make sure everyone knows you are leaving tracking down an agent headed for the Core. Then just head that way and we will follow when we can. Can you handle that for me." She batted her eye lashes daintily sliding a comlink code across the table to the one she'd been making short glances of eye contact with. "Just ping it when you get to Alderaan, its just a beeper." And would ping Alderaan's security system to put eyes on the two, keep them from getting into trouble.

They two men nodded, more than happy to help the two girls to the best of their ability. One of them spoke up, "Yeah, no worries. We'll pick up the check and meet you gals that way. Get a cabin out near the beach and hang out."

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[H3xle]

Taryc's hand would have stopped of its own accord. Would she tumble Laira if given half a chance? Yes, yes she would. Still, this now was more about leaving unfollowed than it was about getting in someones pants, but Taryc let her hold her hand while pretending to not notice the blush.

'Ahhh, this one flirts hard, but takes it slow...' She filed that in her mind.

Then she rose with Laira, letting the boys see them holding hands before slipping out of Laira's grip to do a quick tap check of her weapon. She straightened her vest, then winked at the boys with a smile and a nod.

"We'll have to find a way to make it up to you..." She said, then turned and began to leave the bar. She moved confidently, and did not check over her shoulder, trusting Laira would be coming. If she had stopped to think about it, she would wonder why she moved so quickly to grab a ride out of here, as she had just arrived and hadn't picked up a trail. Still, instinct was usually fed by the Force, and Taryc had learned that despite most of the galactic populace looking out for themselves, she could trust the Force.

Once they were a few steps out of the bar and away from the door, she paused and looked back. Then she looked at Laira.

"Well, that was fun." She said, smiling. The heavy flirtation had dropped, revealing something much more business like, but still with a mischievious glint in her eyes. "Taryc..." She reached out her hand, offering a more formal introduction before they got under way towards Laira's ship. The ruckus from the bar behind them grew louder, though nothing had yet flown out the door after them. The boys seemed to be champion bar brawlers, or at least instigators.

[member="Laira Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira slid out of the booth behind Taryc, letting the raven haired vixen hold her hand for just a moment as they moved to leave together. She didn't speak to them, only offering the boys a wink as she walked behind Taryc out of the bar. "It was fun. Sometimes it can be annoying having them cling to you, but they'll be a good distraction. Hopefully those two will make whatever Primeval Agent you are looking for think rumor is they've left for the core while they are at it." Sometimes in the realm of espionage the best way to make a target relax was to give the impression they had escaped free and clear. With any luck having two rambunctious and boistrous bounty hunters looking for them in the core and telling others that's where the agent had scampered off to would make the target relax as they got ready to move.

The redhead grinned as she took the offered hand. "Laira Darkhold." The princess's posture and tone had not really changed. Yes, the heavy flirtation had dropped from her companion for the time being and Laira had the capacity to be professional, but that was boring. "The fun doesn't have to end." She wrapped her arm around the small of Taryc's back to walk with her towards the docking bays dropping her eyes to the floor. "Let's do business first though and get to know each other a while. What can you tell me about who we are looking for? Description, name, occupation, anything at all we can use to lower the search parameters." Laira had a few fun toys for following people on her ship, her favorite were little Mindshackle and Droidshackle scarabs that were only about the size of a coin. They could range off and follow perspective targets for a few hours to start crossing names off lists, the Mindshackle ones perfect for temporarily disabling everyone in a room and the Droidshackle ones could be hid on Mouse Droids and maintenance droids to record and move through secure areas.

It had been a while since Laira had trained for the role of an intelligence officer, but she enjoyed that kind of work and had some training at infiltration, building listening devices, bugging rooms, and slicing which could all come in handy with her new acquaintance. She turned towards the docks and strode up to a bay that held a single, aged Rekali-class that looked like it had been rebuilt from parts by an expert mechanics shop. It was in no way stock or with Mandal Hypernautics options. "This is her, the Far Runner."

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[H3xle]

Taryc shook Laira's hand and nodded with a smile.

"His name is Darian Pavos. He was an inquisitor for the Primeval like I was, though of a different type than me." She responded, then thought for a moment. "It's been a few years since I saw him...almost a decade. He was tall and thin then, long black hair that he preened over. He was better at infiltrating than fighting. His thing was to get close to a leader by giving actually sound advice, leading to a major uptik in profit or battle wins. Then, he'd set them up to be taken down by Inquisitors like me. I'm much better at fighting than infiltrating..."

She spoke as they walked towards Laira's berth.

"This is her, the Far Runner."

"She looks nice..." Taryc said as she looked over the ship. She didn't really know a good ship from a bad one, but she hadn't felt any more subterfuge from the lady than was typical for people meeting randomly in the Outback and hooking up to do quasi-legal operations. She doubted the name she gave was real, but her pride in her abilities had been fully honest. "...Far Runner...is the name because you travel the galaxy or because you're trying to keep away from something?" She asked. The words, which could be taken as a recrimination, were said with a soft voice and a smile. She was merely curious, though everything she asked tended to come out like an interrogator.

[member="Laira Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira led the woman up the ramp to the closed and locked bulkheads before keying in the passcodes. The door unlocked audibly but didn't open for a moment. After about sixty seconds the door opened revealing a simple engineering droid on the inside. The droid stepped out of the way and took a side door to another compartment of the ship below decks without so much as a word. "He doesn't like visitors. Ignore him." she said waving a hand out to the common room, answering her companion's question, flashing her a coy smile. "Because I travel a lot and its fast. Get comfortable, its going to be just the two of us for a while."

The room was small, not the size of the gallery on a YT model, with just a table and booth seating and enough open space to move around without bumping into anything. There were doors to either side and directly opposite of the pair of women, and a ladder going to the dorsal turret set into the wall of the common room. There was some clutter around the walls, tools and spare parts, but not much as though it was an attempt to keep tidy. Laira slid into the booth leaving just enough room for Taryc to slide in beside her, grabbing up a datapad left on the table and started tapping. "So, Darian Pavos. I doubt that will ping, and if he's good he'll get alerted if someone does a specific registry search for him or his known aliases. Human, male. Can you give me a height range, maybe a rough age range? How long he's been in hiding?"

The redhead started tapping buttons on the datapad, slowly working through the data her companion had already provided. "Once we get decent search parameters, we'll get a list of residents matching those parameters to work through. I'll send out some spy scarabs to track down the people of interest on the list. Then we will go through the line up till we find your man." She pushed the datapad over to the raven haired woman for her to fill in the parameters. Laira crossed her legs and toyed with her flaming red hair waiting on her friendly companion.

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[H3xle]

[member="Laira Vereen"]

"Hmmmm..." she said, subvocally as Laira said they'd be alone. It was a reflex, really, to the flirting they'd been doing. She followed along, and smirked at the sassy droid, but otherwise ignored it. Taryc took a little time to get to the booth, looking around at the ship with a smile on her face. Then she slid in beside her host and winked. "It's a beautiful ship. Thank you for helping me out."

"So, Darian Pavos. I doubt that will ping, and if he's good he'll get alerted if someone does a specific registry search for him or his known aliases. Human, male. Can you give me a height range, maybe a rough age range? How long he's been in hiding?"

Taryc nodded, then turned inward to think about it.

"Once we get decent search parameters, we'll get a list of residents matching those parameters to work through. I'll send out some spy scarabs to track down the people of interest on the list. Then we will go through the line up till we find your man."

"Spy scarabs?" She asked, intrigued, though followed it up with some answers to the questions she'd been asked. "The last file the inquisition had on him, he was five feet, eleven inches tall, roughly two hundred pounds. He would be in his late thirties or early forties right now. He was likely assigned to this area by the Host Lord, so before the fall of the Primeval. At least seven years, I'd say. He's been trying to make contact on some Primeval channels, that's how I know he's in the Outback." Taryc took out an odd piece of tech that looked like a datapad. If she had seen Primeval tech, it would definitely look exactly like a datapad built with their asthetic. She turned it on and got through her security screens before passing it over. "Those are the channels that Primeval government agents used, and it has the last decryption algorithms they ever put out..." She said, trailing off. "The problem I ran into, which spurred me into this hunt, is the encryption changed. I don't like what that may portend, so I wanted to bring him in and see what has changed."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Well, what can I say? I have a real dame in shining armor complex and you look like the kind of damsel I'd like to know better." Laira grinned happily as the woman slid into the booth beside her, more than comfortable around the ravenhaired woman close to her.

"Yes, spy scarabs. Little things about two centimeters across, flat, fly on repulsors and small enough to avoid casual notice. Look like a roach unless you get a good look at them." She nodded at a box across the room and adjusted herself to be turned towards her guest better, her shirt still having perhaps one too many buttons unclasped than a princess should. The redhead gestured with her hand, "Yes, neat little things. They go out and follow all the people on the list we compile," Laira walked her fingers along the edge of the table, moving them toward's Taryc's arm in what she considered to be seductive behavior. In truth, she wasn't quite sure how seductive it was, it certainly wouldn't work on her if some person she just met did it.

"Get into everything," Her voice had dropped almost to a whisper suddenly, her fingers touching the upper part of Taryc's arm, eyes looking down. Then, just as quickly her voice returned to normal and her eyes flicked back up to meet Taryc's gaze. Sometimes it was a fun game, she was still trying to decide if she liked Taryc really, though she certainly appreciated the attention after several trips alone and where her part time compatriots acted like she was average company at best. "And then when they've marked as many people as we can off the list, we go looking for your man. Until then, we wait here for them to come back." She smiled. It wasn't the best plan, but since Laira had no clue who she was looking for, it was probably the fastest way to cross names off the list. Especially if the boys at the bar had done their job. If they had, hopefully he would assume he had given any hunter's the slip and had a few days to disappear somewhere else rather than rushing to get off the station as quickly as possible.

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]