Private The Talon and the Snare

[Makko Vyres]

MAKKO

Kira Veylan

Makko sat in the dim lamplight of his hotel suite, just outside Naboo’s bustling spaceport corridor. Moonlight spilled across the polished floor, tracing the spines of datapads spread on the nearest table.

There were leads and fake breadcrumb markers he’d leaked to bait her in. A few hours of work for someone who understood how the Denon underworld worked. Then the patience for the information to move to his target. His senses remained primed, every nerve taut with anticipation.

Predators rarely showed their claws before they struck. The “Red Talon” had been targeting those in the circle of leadership within the Republic. It was only a matter of time before they targeting someone he knew and loved.

He didn't even hear footsteps. Through his implants he felt the security measures he had set out disabled one by one.

This could have been him, he realised. He had fallen far after Cora's wedding. He had been young and naive and hadn't truly realised that the mob boss on Denon wasn't giving them respect for anything other than to take advantage of his skills. He would have ended up addicted and on a short leash to a Denon crime lord.

His gaze went to the window. The moonlight revealed a figure in silhouette. They were lean, all angles and steel. He could see the outline of claws before the window started to open.

Makko waited until she had both feet on the floor. She was shorter than he had imagined. That wouldn't make much of a difference if she was cybernetically enhanced.

"The Red Talon," Makko said, voice even and steady.

"Don't do anything stupid. I'm not fighting. Unless you force me to."

He could call on reinforcements if he needed to. For now, he wanted to find out who was pulling the strings. Makko was pragmatic, not idealistic. He had a few metres between himself and the assassin. It didn't feel like enough now they were in the room.

He had the Force to guide him but her reactions were likely enhanced.

"Excellent work on the SG motion sensor. Those are normally tricky."

 

[Kira Veylan]

//: Makko Vyres //:

It was difficult to ignore the Echonet when it rambled on about the constant shifting of powers within the galaxy.

A planet annexed here. A government folding there. A hostile takeover elsehwere. All colliding in an ebb and flow system that worked despite the number of cogs that ground against one another alongside the numerous crossed wires under the polished and presentable cover plating. But even what passed as baseless rumors still held some detail of truth behind them.

Even before she had followed the little tidbits through the net, they were confirmed as falsehoods.

Checked within a different department assigned to her intelligence gathering to scour over anything she happened to bring in while she made her rounds. Along with anything her eyes had seen before deciding if they needed to scrub the memory. This though? The intent was clear enough.

It was meant to draw her in.

No doubt a trap. Or at the very least a scheme of some sort. An attempt to extort credits? Information maybe? Even looking over the information for a hundredth time didn't yield anything more than a location when it was all put together. A daring location for a meet up no less with her ongoing meetings to test the Royal blooded and political leaders that resided on Naboo.

The thought of a boring evening settling in again as she stared at the man inside the room.

The defense systems served as an early warning in their own way. As much announcing her arrival in the same way simply tripping them would have. Well. At least for this individual.

It wasn't difficult to notice another runner when your brain was plugged into systems. Giving you a different set of senses to work with while your shell just sort of existed on autopilot for a while. He was definitely better than any run of the mill Denonite net runner at least. Where she was a war machine, he was a slicer.

That alone made this a potentially interesting encounter.

A single bladed claw whispered into place. A quiet snick of the lock being coerced out of place as the bladed claw returned to its sheath. Her plain claws digging into the frame to carefully peal the window back as she slid inside. Eyes tentatively active and scanning the room intently in the moonlight to find a strange but familiar heat signature sharing the space.

Only when her boots finally touched the floor did he speak. Confirming the first heat source wasn't just a decoy. Her body still as the grave as she listened.

Whether teasing or honest, her clawed hands rose offering peace.

Gears and servos going quiet as her arms fell to her side.
"Preem. Won't fight. Can't promise the stupid part. Subjective."

The slight glow of her eyes settling on him squarely.

"Fractal States database hasn't done you justice." It only felt right to let him know since they were trading greetings. "Strange, since they don't like you."

Sparce information was available beyond a certain point for his habits and hangouts on Denon. But seeing his face finally to compare it against the memory filled in the missing data they had pieced together. His compliment didn't draw a smile from her. Instead, intensifying the glow of her eyes.

"They are tricky. But a favorite of the market. Enough times picking through them and its just–" Her clawed fingers scraped together like they were supposed to snap. A dull resonating humm filling the air as she frowned. Moving on as she silenced the noise.

Her fingers pointing to the back of her neck. "Easier for us though."

It wasn't often she got moments to chit chat freely. Work demanded efficiency. Her augmentations brought questions. But he was augmented too. And he had invited her.

"So, if you are not fighting–what are you doing?" Keenly aware of him now, she began towards what passed as a kitchen area.

Appearing to be at total ease in the situation.

 

[Makko Vyres]

MAKKO

"I suppose I want information. A Jedi Knight doesn't make threats, but I guess...something like that too," he said. He watched her reaction closely.

Makko didn't imagine that would land well, but he hadn't brought this meeting about to make friends.

"Hmm too obvious on the lead," Makko reflected. His tone became more casual again, each word slipped into the next. The Denon accent slipped back in without him noticing.

"Fractal State have old information. I was very little to them. Now I am a Jedi Knight."

He imagined she would move quickly. He kept judging the distance between them. Three strides and a swing of those claws. Shearing off an arm with his lightsaber wouldn't stop the severed claws from continuing their path. She'd lose an arm that could be replaced, he would end up with metal claws in his throat.

If she went for him, he would have to meet her. A jedi had to defend, but here that would mean a single strike that aimed to kill. He hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"You've been bothering people in high places on Naboo. I have people close to me there. I want to know why you're doing this."

 

[Kira Veylan]

//: Makko Vyres //:

"There are plenty of you that do. But I'll entertain it." She managed a glass from the cupboard. Using a single claw to engage the tap before shutting it off and taking a drink.

Was refreshing not to be wary of the water.

A nod sent his way at the lead comment. "Not really obvious. Wasn't just my eyes."

A clawed hand thrumming gently across the kitchen counter.

His lengthy silence however was something she knew well. Measuring. Calculating. Trying to assess danger and options. As much as it was annoying, she had to respect the integrity to see her as a threat.

She was a walking war machine even relaxed.

"True. But they should update at least." Another slight tilt of her head as she took a seat on the bed. Water in hand still as she surveyed the room before addressing his question. Details falling into place about the why that she hadn't plugged in prior.

Amusement tracing a ghostly faint line of a smile as her hand with the water extended to point at him. "Ah. Never mind. I understand the lag."

Taking another sip before speaking.

"Corazona von Ascania's knight. This makes more sense." Examining him a bit better now that all the pieces had clicked into place.

Content that he had at least figured out what was going on in the background. Dissapointed that he hadn't bothered to dig a little deeper.

"A task I've been assigned by someone worried about them. But–" She set the glass aside after another sip. "You all weren't on the list to visit. Yet. I was curious though. Planned to evaluate the protection details."

 

[Makko Vyres]

MAKKO

A nod sent his way at the lead comment. "Not really obvious. Wasn't just my eyes."

Makko watched every movement as she walked around the kitchenette. He didn't seem particularly alert where he sat. He maintained a relaxed posture.

Makko was nothing if not a survivor. He wasn't going to let his guard down around an assassin. That wouldn't be her fault really, giving her the opportunity would be his.

If Fractal State hadn't been keeping records then that was a good thing. Big Nasty Jeenu may have given up on the idea of keeping his own tame Jedi. Makko wanted nothing to do with Fractal State again.

"Corazona von Ascania's knight. This makes more sense." Examining him a bit better now that all the pieces had clicked into place.

He couldn't help but tense just a fraction, but when he spoke his voice was calm and even.

"Evaluate the protection details? You clearly understand why I might want you to be quite specific right now," he said.

It was as close to leveraging a threat as he would go. Makko couldn't tell if she was suggesting his wife was in real danger.

 

[Kira Veylan]

//: Makko Vyres //:

Kira kept herself from smiling.

Naboo was frustrating. It was peaceful despite the atmosphere those with power kept close at hand. But this interaction felt more comfortable for her. Familiar. Easier to navigate.

Fun.

"I cannot share details of the who. That would compromise the goal. But–" Clawed hands coming to rest in her lap as she looked him in the eye.

"You are already providing information by acting. I can share from my end to show intent." Her eyes never straying from him as she blinked one eye and then the other.

"In the spirit of cooperation." Claws overlapping one another now as she adjusted herself.

"Actions by a group called the Black Sun Syndicate. Have prompted interested parties to, test security measures and advise." Blinking in that unnatural way to keep an eye on him still.

Her posture not betraying anything besides relaxed calm.

"A third party to measure and advise internal security. Like myself. Against criminal threats that do not follow decorum."

 

[Makko Vyres]

MAKKO

"So... Assume for a moment that I am a little dim," Makko said quietly.

He managed to offer the words with a hard edge. It didn't matter that he was often a little slow on the uptake.

"Are you suggesting that what you do now is going to guide someone to make a real attack?"

A real attack on people he loved. People he would defend to the end.

"Or someone is just going to up security?"

Based on the record he'd managed to dig up, he didn't expect to find out that she was a simple tester of personal protection.