The Wheel of Fortune

[HK-17]

"Its size makes it appear closer than it is.
But the Wheel's reputation does not rest on its size.
There are other constructions in the galaxy larger, more awesome...
The Wheel is a monument. A monument to pleasure, to risk, to greed.
And, to those with the need or the desperation... It is also a monument to life and death."​

The Queen moved through the thick crowds with relative ease. Her distinctly foreign appearance brought the wandering gaze of many a man and woman. Her skin-tight leathers atop a dark pink tunic, and furs around her the collar of her jacket. She moved with grace and elegance afforded to royalty, but she was not royal-born. Two icy blue ears peered out from her lengthy white hair that she wore with equal grace. Though not all eyes were upon her, some stared dauntingly into the two hulking titans that moved with her. As tall as trees, and with four arms as thick. The twin Mynerysh guards held tightly onto bladed vibrostaff's, and wore winged helmets and a purple cloak that draped down from their shoulders. They were looking for someone, rather, a droid. A human replica droid; [member=Destiny].

 

[Popo]

Within his office atop the spire of the Wheel, Popo sat and reviewed various files and papers on his desk. He preferred the hard copies over simple datapads most others used, mainly because they felt more... material. More real. Most were just reports from his many installations and facilities, others from his underworld sites and connections. Many more were revenue statistics, both legal and illegal. So far, things were looking well for Tenloss, which meant they were working very well for Popo. He sipped at his wine as he perused more reports, a pair of tiny glasses perched atop what passed for a Hutt's nose.

Meanwhile, things elsewhere on the space station moved along...

-----------------------------------------------

As [member="The Queen"] walked along, moving through crowds, Wheel Security kept tabs at various checkpoints. Most were assigned to the gateways of the station's few sections while others patrolled the streets. The population of the Wheel knew well enough to steer clear of the men and women of the Security teams, though not out of fear. They were there to maintain the station and keep everything intact and stable, which meant if trouble reared up they wouldn't hesitate to bulldoze anyone in their path to get to the fighting or problem site. Considering that the Wheel often had its fair share of troublemakers, this was a semi frequent occurrence and one that most didn't desire to experience first hand.

Up above were mounted scores, if not hundreds, of holocams. Each watching a different section, all sections overlapping. This station was, at it's heart, a casino in space. This meant that like casinos everywhere, all things were watched very closely. Technicians kept an eye on the station from a control room within the spire itself while a very special computer system gave them a distinct edge.

The HWK-I system kept watch, it's cold eyes peering through the various cameras at all it could see. In an instant, it could match a face to a name and an identity. The more human the individual, the faster it could match the name to the face. While it needed a name to match the face initially, once that was done it was a simple matter of reapplication.

If anyone started trouble, it easily kept tabs on them and kept everyone it saw stashed away for identification use in the future...

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

Destiny sat within one of the Wheel's many casinos. All around her lifeforms, both biological and machine, bustled around in this room where fate decided fortune. She sat at the bar staring at the full drink in front of her, some poor fool bought it for her thinking he might get lucky, but it's hard to get drunk when you are mostly machine. The smell of sweat and perfume registered in her nose. Her ears isolated stories of underdogs becoming rich, and fools losing their life savings. She tasted the air, light shavings of metal, dust and debris from planets near and far, low concentrations of various chemicals all combined and inhaled into her mechanical respiratory system (there more for appearances than function.) She downed her drink in an instant, to the surprise of those around her, before moving toward one of the casino tables. She needed money, bad, and this would be easy pickings.

 

[The Cartographer]

​

This was a very dangerous place to be. A public venue, isolated in the vacuum of space. Too many eyes, and no easy way out. But Bael was desperate. He had tried to help a friend. Because of this, he was now being hunted. Though he had plenty of credits and resources, he wasn't ready to face this, least of all alone. He was going to need help. That was why he had come to the Wheel. He had heard from various credible sources that [member="The Queen"] would be here. She was a powerful woman who knew how to take care of things. If anyone could help him, it was her.​

​

Bael kept the hood low over his face. He hadn't allowed any of his guards to come with him. That would be too noticeable. He managed to blend in quite nicely with the crowds of people, and when he saw The Queen pass by, he followed her. He didn't make it conspicuous, however. He would wait until she stopped or sat down before he approached her, and even then he would be careful.​

[member="Popo"]​

[member="Destiny"]​

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

Straightening his yellow tie he patted down his buttoned shirt as he momentarily thought he should have brought his jacket to match his attire. The thought only last for a moment before he checked his cufflinks and marched through the crowds with his assistant in tow. Moving through the crowd his smile turned to a grin, eyes darting around as his hand raised to wave off another plea from his assistant. The poor soul thought he could impress his new employer, sadly though Seto was not a man to be easily impressed. The young Du Couteau though admired 'The Wheel', it was not just a large station but perhaps a symbol of greed that had defined Seto since his birth. Casinos were his natural habitat, bringing out the side of Seto that simply enjoyed these kinds of thrills to wipe away the dullness of the life that was forced upon him back home. Seto though nearly smacked into the person in front of him and was about yell but his eyes caught a striking woman. Her eyes piercing azure eyes and her own white hair and complexion simply compounded the intensity he felt when he looked at her eyes. The bulking guards just added the volume of control and grace this woman,[Member="The Queen"], had in the room.

The young Du Couteau master looked away, grudgingly accepted the fact he knew too well from just her sheer aura and presence he was significantly at a lower class than her. Seto was just several leagues below this woman. Fingers running through his black part of his hair he moved away and headed towards the Casinos. Seto realized that he had lost his grin when he saw her, instead he noticed that he was indeed trembling and a worried look was plastered on his face. Narrowing his eyes he began to calm himself, the Casino was in front of him and he was once more in his natural habitat. On the tables and wheels or slots, everyone was equal and nothing was fair. His smirk slowly coming, tugging the corners of his lips. His poor assistant had lost himself somewhere in the crowds but the young Du Couteau heir had no interest of seeking him out. Lazily though he looked around, to at least say he didn't try to look for him, he spotted a young looking woman,[Member="Destiny"], striding over to a table after quickly downing her drink. Raising an eyebrow perhaps he could find her table interesting, worthy of a gamble for him. His feet quickly took him to the table the woman was walking towards and his hands reached down to ready his credits.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*as Destiny reached the table she noticed a relatively young male had bee-lined for the same table as her. Attractive by any standards, he had piqued her interest*

Destiny: *to @du couteau* "hello there, who might you be?"

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*as Destiny reached the table she noticed a relatively young male had bee-lined for the same table as her. Attractive by any standards, he had piqued her interest*

Destiny: *to [member="Seto Du Couteau"]* "hello there, who might you be?"

OOC: a bit rushed, had to deliver a baby

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

The table glistened with the chips, and the cards enticed Seto ever so much as he itched to play the game. His eyes torn away from the table and instead focused on the woman he had decided to follow to this table. A playful smile shined on his lips as offered a small nod, "Du Couteau, Seto Du Couteau is my name," He introduced himself to her, as his hand went straight for his tie knot to make sure it was straight. "Well then gorgeous what do I need to gamble to know your name?" Seto asked, trying to be charming. Looking for her response his eyes stayed trained on her.

Gesturing towards the table, "Gambling to get something from nothing?" Seto asked, his eyes focusing in on her for her response. Truth be told Seto knew it sounded like a stupid question, but had known people to gamble away everything to simply get rid of everything.

[Member="Destiny"]

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Destiny analyzed what the gentleman across the table said and did. He seemed very respectable... yet, somehow there was an almost dangerous, or moreso impulsive air about him. She, well, she liked him, or the idea of him. His attempt at charm was somewhat lost on her in terms of effect, though the intent was obvious and she kind of liked it. None of that mattered though, she had something to do: she needed money and he seemed willing to place big bets on an impulse. She could possibly use this to her advantage.*

Destiny: "Nice to meet you Seto. Can I call you that? My name is Jennifer Drew, you can call me Jenny if you like, and I had a little alcohol so I feel brave enough to try my luck with a little gambling."

*She of course wasn't trying her luck much at all, there was a certain element of skill to this particular game and with her complex analysis capabilities after only 2 to 3 rounds of play she would be able to gamble with relative certainty. Hopefully [member="Seto Du Couteau"] would have luck on his side, she had plans that needed him to stay at the table.*

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

Seto raised an eyebrow, but nodded once, letting her use his first name was no issue. Though Seto wondered about this Jennifer Drew, not her name but she did not exactly react the way he had expected. I don't believe she anywhere near drunk Seto mused but shrugged mentally. Credits to burn and a thrill awaited for him at the table. "Well then Jennifer, being brave is nice but also being lucky helps," He explained. Being smart too, but he left that detail out as he waited for the dealer to pass out the cards.

Fingers moving around his credits he offered [Member="Destiny"] a small smile as he looked at his first hand. Calling instead of raising he wondered perhaps if she was planning on making it big on just one table, if so Seto eagerly awaited the moment when she would win. There's always a thrill to watch others win against the odds, so Seto knew he should stay at the table with her for as long as he could. "Better keep your wits about you," Seto said, offering a quick wink at her.

 

[Ciara]

Ciara was adorned in her battered, shadowskin clone pilot flight suit. Taking the framework of the clone pilot flight suit, custom forged cranial plates of duranium were emplaced within the standard plastoid composite armor to provide additional protection, fully encasing the helmet and providing a partial vacuum seal. The entire helmet was coated in shadowskin, a matte black finish of light and sensor absorbing material, as was the rest of her outfit: Ciara wore a light shadowskin flight suit which provided unrestricted mobility unlike standard flight suits. The flightsuit only provided a partial vacuum seal with the matching helmet and its fibromesh composition only provided a minimal amount of protection. Underneath, Ciara wore a standard Clone Trooper black body glove, which was able to regulate body temperature to comfortable levels despite physical exertion and disperse kinetic energy from potential physical trauma. On top, Ciara wore a custom made shadowskin bomber jacket, which was lined along the collar with the luscious pelt of a Nexu.

Ciara peered curiously into the confines of the Wheel. Although Ciara was habituated to the lifestyle of gambling one, such observing such luxury was unprecedented. The shady bars, back alleys and underground gambling pens were pale in comparison to the Wheel. But there was the familiar sense of greed and vanity that pungently stained the atmosphere. Regardless of the visage, the innate corruption and primordial imperfection of man’s character remained the same. Ciara took a deep breath of the heavily filtered air, and still, almost suffocated on the stench of desperation. Despite being a skilled gambler, gambling was a source of personal aversion: these elitist and egotistic dregs of society gambled in their own desperation, greed and enjoyment, while Ciara gambled with her life at stake.

Disgusting pigs.

Ciara resumed her stride with the flow of the busy crowd, quickly pacing past the nearest security checkpoint and searched the area for any computer access points or consoles for her to utilize to hack into the security network. [member="Popo"]

Before she could continue her visual search, Ciara's holodatapad emitted a soft ping which echoed inside of her helmet. She switched her external comms off before bringing up the message on her heads-up display. As the HUD booted up, a white horizontal line cracked the center of the HUD before erupting into a translucent white screen with the image of a single cerulean feather twirling around in a circle in the center. A single envelope icon appeared in the bottom right corner with the subtitle "Message: Contract - The Queen." Ciara opened her datapad and selected the corresponding icon in the bottom right corner of the datapad. She typed the following message to [member="The Queen"] in response.

"Salutations. The terms?"

 

[Dalvod Senroe]

Dalvod had chosen to fly to The Wheel he hadnt been in a cantina in a while now.After what seemed like forever exploring he finally decided to go to the Cantina.Walking in a group of people immediantly stared at him "A tusken?" one asked "Why is there a tusken here?" the people stared at Dalvod."Erm..." he stared and then said "Im not a Tusken you alchaholic moron..." the man stared at Dalvod "You sure look like one...you know what? you can go die in a pit..." the man said.Dalvod hated the fact that everyone stared at him so he quickly said "Well...I am actually a senator..." Dalvod lied.The man then said "Prove it..."."Do you want my gaurds to blow you to bits?"."Alright,alright I believe you...".Dalvod then asked for a drink from the bartender and began drinking he saw a man who stood out.A man in a tie he didnt look like the drunken men in overcoats and T shirts.He stared at the man as he drank simply confused

Seto Du Couteau

 

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

The Wheel. If Mos Eisley was a wretched hive of scum and villainy then The Wheel was its far prettier older sister; it may have looked good but it acted just as bad -- if not worse. Klay had been here before, usually to meet with nobility looking to engage in discreet opportunities. If a pirate needed anything: An odd job, a crew, or even a ship; you could find what you need through connections on The Wheel. Where money flows, business arrives. Of course greed had its double standards. You might find an opportunity or become one yourself; that meant rule #2: Everyone lies. Don't trust anyone, not even their name.

Taking a small shuttle the pirate known as Mad Klay had escaped Obredaan after being marooned due to a mutiny. The shuttle wasn't much of a ship, he needed a bigger one and the last time he found a good deal was here. Perhaps it was too much to hope that the same man who sold him the Importune would still be around ready to give up another ship. Nonetheless this was a space station, that meant you needed a ship to get here which meant someone knew where to get one.

The pirate made his way to the Casino where he noticed a hooded figure (@The Cartographer) following [member="The Queen"]. Whoever this guy was they had some nerve; rule #3 was that you don't raise suspicions on The Wheel lest you deal with their pesky security system. It didn't really matter -- at least that's what he thought, moving toward the bar area.

"Get me drunk.", he said to the Bartender droid; it began to procure the house special a strong whiskey. Klay downed it quickly, the dry taste scratching against his throat as the alcoholic fluid went down hard forcing him to exhale in a pleasureful sigh. He noticed not too far from him that [member="Seto Du Couteau"] was flirting with [member="Destiny"] and lead to a few thoughts. "Rule #4 , the prettier they are the more trouble they'll be." These sets of rules weren't his own; he remembered hearing about them as a kid when eaves dropping on smugglers and ship captains that made port of call back home.

 

[Catalys Maijora]

Objective: Watch the Queen
Location: The Wheel

Catalys was sent across the galaxy once again; this time to The Wheel when word went out that [member="The Queen"] was heading there herself. What was one of Anja's warlords doing out there? Well that is exactly why Executor Merat Av'Ara ordered their Agent, Catalys Maijora, to find out. The agent was a veteran of tracking, kidnapping, and making hasty escapes more than once but above all he was better known for being untraceable. He did capture two Jedi, a shipwright, and an infochant in his time amongst the galaxy. Tracking The Queen was something else entirely, however. If anyone knew how dangerous she was and how intelligent she could be it was Catalys; he spent a lot of time researching the various warlords and allies of The Primeval -- the one that caught his attention the most was her.

The Wheel was bustling with nearly 300,000 people looking to get lucky in one way or another. Despite being relatively new, Catalys was well aware of the reputation this station had. It was home to not just greed but some of the most powerful individuals the galaxy held, a haven of secrets and information, dealings and monetary gain. It was a business that catered to business. A key advantage the agent has was his disinterest in enjoying himself. He was attracted to the job and the only thing he loved more than following through was his determination to survive.

"Follow The Queen. Find out what she's doing and report back; confront her only when necessary.", Catalys was holding a small Holo Transceiver in the palm of his hand, the person on it was Executor Merat giving his final orders. The agent nodded before disconnecting the transmission and placing the unit back in its secure holster. "On it.", the agent said to himself quietly before heading back around the dark corner he was in and towards the general vicinity in which The Queen was seemingly enjoying herself. The agent approached the entrance , still wearing his armour, and that probably wasn't too unusual as bounty hunters and mercenaries likely passed through here for information and employment; or for private security purposes as hired guards for VIP.

Leaning against the corner just beyond her line of sight, Catalys slowly watched The Queen and waited to follow if she decided to move to a different location.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

[member="Seto Du Couteau"]

*Destiny gave a quick smile across to Seto. She had a small pile of chips and she called. No point in risking anything too early, can't make money if you lose it all early.*

Destiny: "I'll leave the wit to you, Seto."

*She winked at him and let the bet go around the table.*

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

Moving his cards between his fingers he expertly performed a trick for his own amusement as he threw in his bet before lazily looking around the other players. Seto learned to ignore constantly looking back at his hand, he often found it annoying to do so, he felt it made him look nervous or anxious. Instead though he picked one of his cards and rolled it around his fingers, playfully allowing the other players a glance at one of his cards. He smirked, perhaps it would backfire in the next few hands but at the moment he had little care about the credits he would loose. Making a statement though, that lasted longer than the mere credits he could win from the others.

"If I may ask Jennifer, what is your line of work?" Seto asked [Member="Destiny"], he offered a small grin as he called the next bet, "I would guess an accountant?" He also asked.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Destiny glanced around as the cards began to appear doing complex calculations in her head to determine the odds of her winning or losing any specific round of bets. When she was asked about her line of work she took a pause before smiling at the accountant remark.*

Destiny: *[member="Seto Du Couteau"]* "I wouldn't be much of an accountant gambling all of my money away now would I? Guess again."

*She went back to examining the odds. She would make her move... soon...*

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

Looking at the rest of the players at the table he looked around the casino floor, a steady stream of beings entered but he quickly returned his attention to the table. Seto mused on [Member="Destiny"]'s response on her not being an accountant, truthfully he knew quite a few that did gamble everything for a chance of earning something more but she was gambling for something entirely different than the rest of those around them. He kept his grin as he called the next bet as he placed his left hand underneath his chin and gave a thoughtful expression.

"Well then, perhaps a slicer or even something not exactly considered an office job," Seto said, musing a tad.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*One more hand, there was a 93.62% probability that the next hand would be a near guaranteed win for her, she needed more chips to make the total she required though. She had to risk this on a mere 70% probability of winning. She placed forward more than a third of her available credits on the bet.*

Destiny: *[member="Seto Du Couteau"]* "Closer, I'll give you one more guess."

 

[Aleksandyr Gaillard]

Klay took a second drink from his glass before walking over to the gambling table; overhearing her last statement.

"You're trouble.", he said in a slight mutter before taking a vacant seat just across from her and motioned his hand for he dealer to buy him in. The man procured chips for the pirate, although he'd have to wait til next hand.

Klay maintained a rather neutral facial expression, despite his tone of voice saying otherwise. "You see her?", he gestured to [member="The Queen"] by nodding his head in that direction. One of his twin blaster pistols was slightly visible but perhaps only a trained eye could notice that he was armed.

[member="Destiny"] [member="Seto Du Couteau"]