The One At the Sail

[Delilah Keyes]

Rordis City​

Nubia​

Second step in a series a dozen long.

Delilah Keyes had arranged a meeting with a particular man. He'd been far more difficult to track down, compared to the other piece of the puzzle she had just left on Nar Shaddaa. Rumors, threads of events, she'd had to piece them together to be certain that this one had the information she wanted. And then to find the man himself again? It was like he had vanished entirely. Sending out feelers through several avenues, eventually she'd managed to make contact, but it had already taken more resources than she suspected it was worth. Hopefully, she was mistaken on that, because without this piece, the rest of her plan went entirely tits up and she'd be back and square one. The information she had already gained was useless without the information she suspected he could provide to her.

The question, of course, would be what he wanted in return.

Why couldn't people just turn over what she wanted? It would be easier. Less satisfying however.

They had agreed to meet on Nubia. Core world and central, it fell under none of the influences of the major powers in the galaxy. Just the kind of world Del liked. The second largest city, Rordis was perfect. Big enough and busy enough to allow two strangers to blend in, but not as closely scrutinized as the planet's capital would be.

She could also appreciate the Nubians themselves. Hard working, yes, but just as equally hard playing. While perhaps not Zeltros (after all, what else could be Zeltros, if we're being honest?), Rordis was an urban sprawl dotted with industry and enjoyment entwined. Gambling parlors, cantinas, theaters, swoop and pod racing tracks, there was something here for almost anyone. Yet another reason an unfamiliar pair of faces wouldn't be noticed- there were after all, so many of them in this city.

Dressed in red and gold, as indicated in their last communications salvo, raven hair piled high on her head, Delilah had specified a particular location for their meeting. A middling class gambling parlor- busy, a front for certain illegal practices but still perfectly respectable on the surface. Well populated, because she never met a new contact in private, but populated by people who would ignore them as surely as they wished to be ignored.

She tilted her head slightly, studying the cards beneath her hands. She was seated at the farthest black jack table, several others gathered around as well, but so far none had approached her, and she hadn't seen the face she was looking for. Slender fingers slid the cards back down, and she lightly tapped the table beside them.

Hit me.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

It was the luck of the chance cube that Connor decided to actually turn up at Rordis City at all. There was no evident gain in meeting this...this person, Keyes, and there was certainly no recollection of the name being from his past.

The ties to the First Order were thankfully weakening, but it still hadn't made it impossible to link him from Avalonia and his personal equipment to his ship. Something he now needed to scrap to rid ALL his previous fingerprints from being accessed.

He was in the Core after his meeting with Miss Raaf, and the next stop was Miss Keyes on Nubia. The time and place had been stipulated, and it occurred to him that the Connor Harrison she wanted to meet would be one with history and something of worth. Whatever the hell it was didn't concern him, but he was interested to see how the galaxy thought.

Through the bustling industrial sector and then into the commercial side of things, where work turned into pleasure and business turned into profit as many beings made money and dozens more lost it.

The gambling hole stipulated as their meeting place was busy, so she wanted a crowd, but she also wanted a crowd that had a certain status, not the lower-level type of ones. It smelt of winners and losers, cascading between lights and music and chatter to keep spirits high when they were losing so much money. Even a few ladies bearing their flesh helped the patrons part with their credits.

Connor sat alone, watching the girl in red and gold with high hair.

She worked the table like a pro, but it was probably all for show. Connor worked out she used her charm to get places, and she was a gambler - the risk was as much the thrill as the payoff, and then if she lost she wasn't finished with them.

After a while, he stood up, looking a little out of place in the fact he hadn't really dressed the part, but he didn't really "get" the dressing up part; he was here for one reason only and that reason was sat playing cards.

He walked through the crowds and stood behind her.

"Trick is to quit while you're still ahead. Gamble too much and you will lose it all."

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

 

[Delilah Keyes]

"Well that's my secret, Mister Harrison," she murmured, not taking her eyes off of the cards as the dealer flipped them over. A small smile flickered across her lips, even before the cards were revealed.

Twenty one. Black Jack.

As the chips were swept in front of her, she turned her head to smile at him, her tone teasing and easily dismissed as bravado.

"I always quit when I'm ahead."

Despite his assessment, Delilah was not in it for the thrill. She was in it for the pay off, always. But different situations called for different versions of herself, and this was no exception. Better he think that the gambling itself was the draw. Better, always, to be under estimated, or to have ones motives assumed as one thing when they were actually another. So she took a moment, clearly undecided as to if this was 'sufficiently ahead' or not, before shrugging helplessly. Let him think she only stopped now because he was there to speak with her.

Trading in the pile for a smaller cluster of higher valued chips, she left a generous tip for the dealer before slipping off of the stool and turning to look fully at [member="Connor Harrison"]. Not exactly what she had been expecting from the holos she had seen. Once a golden child of the Silver Jedi, and then information so sparse from there. Beyond his connection to the First Order and the certain hints she had gleaned, she had no idea just what had brought him to where he was now.

And, frankly, she didn't care.

She was here to try and nail down certain information, hopefully at a price that would make the next step in her plan fruitful. There were other avenues to get the information she needed, but after the news of Skor and what had happened there reached her, well, this path was simply too much to pass up. Just one more piece in the long game.

"Do you drink Mister Harrison?" She asked as she stepped past him. "On me, for coming all the way out here to speak with me."

 

[Connor Harrison]

A wry smile crossed his lips. She played the cards well and handled pressure like a pro. All noted.

He watched the brief exchange of chips, credits and cards before she stood to full height. She was smaller than expected, and far more normal looking. What did he expect? He didn't expect...anything, really. She was who she was. He turned to walk with her, looking out over the casino as they walked and talked.

"Sometimes," he said. What was Connor's drink? Milk. How cute. "Whatever you have."

Drink didn't appeal to him right now, and he didn't see the point. He would do for the crowds, yes, and the company, but it led to illogical decisions and idiotic scenarios.

He guided Miss Keyes to a booth populated by two chatting men. They looked up at Connor who indicated over his shoulder with a thumb.

"Get out."

The men recoiled a little, smirking, but holding one hand up and taking their drinks, muttering something rude, as they edged out. The fire in his eyes made Connor look more dangerous than ever in the contrasting light.

"Ok," he slid in, "who are you and what do you want."

He started to read everything he could - physical look, the overt and covert movement and even how she spoke.

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

 

[Delilah Keyes]

Delilah was a chameleon. She adapted, changing to fit the situation as needed. It didn't damage her ego in the slightest to have him clearly need to take the lead. After all, it had nothing to do with her. So she slipped into the 'led' role for their move through the crowd without hesitation. And marked it off on her mental check list.

She didn't even raise an eyebrow when he ejected the two men from the table. Simply offered a small nod before sliding into the booth across from him.

Fingers tapped on the table, pulling up the menu with careful, delicate motions. Though her eyes were on the scrolling lines of drink choices, her words were for him.

"My name is Delilah," she murmured, glancing up at him for a heartbeat before returning to the menu. The blunt, borderline aggressive way he said it didn't bother her in the least, and for now, she let that come through in the casual, relaxed way she kept scrolling.

She paused, then tapped a certain line twice. Drinks ordered, she folded her hands in front of her on the table and brought dark eyes back to him fully.

"And as for what I want, Mister Harrison, what I want is information."

She offered him a small but genuine smile.

In fairness, everything she did was genuine. Or at least, looked that way.

"I am interested in hearing about your time with the Ren, if you are willing to talk about it. Doesn't need to be anything in particular, just.... whatever the spirit moves you to share." Her smile widened, ever so slightly. "And I would be interested in paying you for it, of course. Just a simple transaction, if you are amenable."

Their drinks arrived a moment later. Delilah had gauged his answer to her question carefully in her selection. A local cider. Barely alcoholic enough to get a child drunk, let alone an adult without significant over indulgence. Light, sweet with just the barest bite.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor sat in position, and looked at the girl as she introduced herself, laid out her plan and flashed her winning smiles one after the other.

He didn’t move, bar the slow turning of his finger in a circle on the thumb. He didn’t know the girl, nor had read anything about her in Connor’s journal before Maena, so there was a question straight away brought to the front of his mind.

The girl – Delilah – was confident, and she was spinning her charm to entice what she could. Why the Ren. What was her link. How interesting. While the Dark Sider had no quarm talking about a group of blind followers, he had to know why, to what end and why him.

Two beverages came, and Connor took it, raised the glass and drank…and drank…and finished it. He sucked in air quietly and felt the bite at the back of his throat, forcing him to straighten his neck to swallow it all down.

"Very well."

He stayed still, only his digits moving.

"Now my turn. Why Connor. Why him of all people. And why do you want information on the Ren. A girl like you,” he touched upon her mind to seek an aura, "could do far better than the Ren for business ventures.”

Connor couldn’t place what she wanted.

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

 

[Delilah Keyes]

The touch with the Force went unnoticed and unremarked upon. For everything that Delilah was, a Force User was not one of them, and he would see that immediately and without digging.

The way he refered to himself in the third person was not lost on Delilah.

Interesting.

There were a half dozen little ticks or verbal oddities that transpired in just a few moments, and Del filed away every single one. The motion of his hands combined with the otherwise utter stillness of his form, the way he murdered that glass of cider, the oddly aggressive quid pro quo of his response. 'A girl like you.'

If they reached a certain point in their negotiations (because Delilah had no illusions that this was already that in earnest), this one would not be asking for credits in return for information. She'd gamble on that.

She sipped lightly on her own drink, as if mulling over a response, though in truth she already knew exactly what she was going to say.

"I trade in curiosities, Mister Harrison" she said finally, putting her glass down carefully and tilting her head at him ever so slightly. She started with his second question. "Not much is known of the Ren and their habits. They keep to themselves like a cult, their secrets guarded jealously. I have.... contacts.... who would be very interested in an insiders view, you understand. It's a purely business decision, based on, shall we say, current market factors."

All of it was true. Not a single thing she said was a lie. Were things left out? Of course.

But not a single word was a falsehood.

Not because she particularly cared if she were lying to him. But because the truth was also the most useful answer at this time. She leaned back, watching him.

"As to why Connor Harrison," she paused, the weight making it clear that she had noticed the difference, and had deliberately chosen to use the name here, rather than 'you'. "Cults are notorious for loyalty within their ranks. It's one of the defining features. When I was looking for a potential point of contact on the Ren, it became clear to me, very quickly, that certain avenues would provide merely dead ends. I needed to speak to someone who was not beneath that heel. That name, naturally, floated to the top of my list."

She didn't say 'why'. She didn't think she needed to, the weight of her gaze settled on him. The Decimation, and the events on Skor that led to that- he was responsible in a way for all of those loyal First Order deaths. In truth, Delilah didn't particularly care one way or the other. A government that would murder it's own soldiers for following orders wasn't one worth following orders from, as far as she was concerned.

Then again, Delilah Keyes wasn't particularly prone to following orders, period.

The dice were thrown. It was merely a question now of how the numbers came up. Almost all iterations of the dice meant she won the long game she was playing.

Almost.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor didn't react, but felt no Force aura, no barrier. Nothing. Either she was wearing some illegal device or had a ysalamir fixed to her thigh, she was no Force user.

He mulled over her words.

He wasn't convinced, and he wasn't in the mood to be someone's source of gossip.

"What are you, some journo looking for a story to stir the Holo-net?" Connor let his lip curl ever so on the left hand side. "You didn't answer my questions to me standard. If you know the name Connor Harrison, then I suggest you forget what you think you know of that man."

With that, he leaned forward slightly on the table for the first time.

"I am not interested in feeding the likes of you military sensitive information so you can make profit. I don't know who you think you are dealing with, but a word of warning. Don't treat me like a fool."

The amber eyes stared at her. He was tempted to server some brain cells - split her head with a throbbing pain and leave her there. But she was sitting on something, and he was in a position to find out more.

"Tell me about yourself. Where are you from. What are you selling the Ren out FOR and to...WHO."

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

 

[Delilah Keyes]

The look in his eye, the tension in the muscles of his hand all screamed danger. Alarm bells rang, loud and blaring in Delilah's mind. She didn't need to be a Force User, well honed instincts were more than adequate. He had moved from the potential threat zone that most people occupied who came into her space at any given time to lit red and one step off from an active threat.

Despite that, she remained calm, still smiling as she watched him. Reaching out, she set her cider down carefully, more precise than the casual façade she wore.

"If that answer is not to your liking, so be it," she said, spreading her hands out in front of her. Her tone was relaxed, genial.

"Just as my sources are anonymous, so too are my buyers. It protects everyone, you understand." Herself included. Herself first and foremost.

"No hard feelings of course, if we can't do business," she continued with a smile. "But you understand, being no fool as you have stated, that I am in the business of buying and selling information. I don't give it away for free. And information about myself, well, that is a premium that most people cannot afford."

She stood slowly, keeping her movements casual but open. Though she had a hold out blaster and a short blade on her (where in a dress like that one might wonder), she made no move toward them. Every muscle in her body told the same story. I am no threat.

"I would never dream to presume about you, Mister Harrison," she said evenly, still smiling slightly. "Dangerous things, assumptions. Thank you, again, for meeting with me. But I am in the business of profit, and if you are unwilling to sell, then it seems that we have little more to say, and perhaps it is time we parted."

Delilah's first rule, for any interaction. Know when to hold them, know when to fold them. Quit when she was ahead. And any deeper in was, despite his initial assumptions, far more of a gamble than she was willing to throw the dice on.

She was perfectly happy to fold on this hand and walk away with nothing if the alternative was more than she was willing to pay.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

The girl rose. Connor stayed seated.

It seemed she was in the business of buying and selling. He was sitting on a great deal of forgotten memories and knowledge many wanted him dead for and others, like this one, wanted him alive for.

He looked up at her, a slight look of amusement to his face, the scar across his eye making the muscle twitch a little with the smoke in the air irritating the flesh.

"You walk away from me without telling me who you are and you're a dead woman."

His fingers clenched, and then relaxed.

"You play the cards well, but you failed to learn one rule. Don't play the game with someone you can't afford to lose to."

With his other hand, he indicated her to sit.

"Someone in your position sits on more power then they probably know. You'll need protection. You'll need a rock to take the fire when it gets heated. In return, I want information as and when you come across it."

He looked at her, unable to read what was going on behind the pretty face. Half the challenge was working it out.

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

 

[Delilah Keyes]

As far as Delilah was concerned, there was nothing amusing about the expression on his face.

If the goal was high rolling, she had just rolled snake eyes. That one situation where winning was no longer her concern, merely getting out with her skin intact became the imperative. It wasn't the first time she had been threatened, and she had no doubts that it wouldn't be the last.

Other than an utter stillness that washed over her, nothing else about the young woman changed. She didn't tense up, her smile didn't waver, and her dark eyes never left his face.

She did not sit as indicated.

"Tempting, Mister Harrison-" despite the smile, the glint in her eyes said that it was anything but. "But just as my offer did not ultimately appeal to you, alas, I do not find threats to be particularly motivating."

Her tone was relaxed, perfectly conversational. But Delilah already knew she'd made a mistake. The question was just what it would cost to get out of it.

Because what he was 'offering' was not an out. It was a further entanglement that she neither desired nor could afford. Trading everything that came her way for protection she didn't need.... ultimately, for protection *from him*? It simply didn't suit.

She went to take a step out of the booth and there she saw the coil of a snake preparing to strike and she stilled again.

"Counter offer. The rest of my name and I walk away. I will not darken your doorstep further."

He knew he as 'Keyes' from their initial communication, but that ultimately meant nothing and they both knew it.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

The girl was having none of it, and so in turn neither was he. Standing to match her, it seemed the meeting was over for them both with neither getting anything they could take and work on.

"Please. Stay. This is your arena, not mine."

Connor edged out and stepped down to be one level below Keyes and he looked at her with a nod of the head.

"I hope you find the right person you can buy off for the information you want to sell. I'm sure you'll find someone here in no problem with a few drinks and your dress sense."

He turned before reacting with a grin, but after a few steps he turned back, still walking slowly.

"And the threat wasn't from me, Miss Keyes, it was from the others you're bound to encounter."

[member="Delilah Keyes"]

 

[Delilah Keyes]

Either he was a liar, or incredibly naïve about how words had meaning once they left his mouth. Whichever it was, it was safer, in her experience, to assume the former.

It meant that she did not sit when he stood and gestured, because, until he actually left, she wasn't sure if he meant it. She kept that calm, neutral friendly expression on her face because she could not risk doing anything but. Someone who knew her well (no one these days), would have known just what that cost her. Wrestling down both fight and flight responses was something she had practice in, yes, but there was always a price. One she would indulge later, and in private.

She didn't react to his verbal jab. It wasn't possible to insult someone, after all, who took no shame in their work or the way they went about it.

Nor did she feel the urge to defend after his last remark. His opinion would have to matter to her, for her to need to claim that she could take care of herself, for his words to find purchase on her skin.

Instead, she inclined her head, still standing as she watched him. While her face was perfectly in tuned with the expression she wished to exhibit, those dark eyes followed him as someone might watch a venomous beast- was it sleepy, or coiled to strike?

"I will take your words into consideration. Enjoy the rest of your time on Nubia."

Safe. Neutral. Difficult to take offense to.

[member="Connor Harrison"]