"Well, good evening, Humble Hermit." The voice of the Donna was as smooth as spider-silk;
"I hope I'm not disturbing you."
On Coruscant, far away, Ivory Stroud was seated at her desk - feet propped up, swirling a glass of murky golden-brown liquid in a small glass. A
cigarra, smoke curling toward the ceiling of her office, was pinched lazily between two fingers - brought to her lips now & then for a pull.
Viz winced. She’d not expected the Donna
herself to answer.
“Good Evening, Donna. “Disturbing me” is subjective at the moment. How can I be of service?”
“Well, I’m aware you’re doing some work for us… in-fact, I have some information which may prove useful to you.” Ivory smiled coyly - invisible through the comms channel - but Viz might have been able to detect a note of amusement.
“The item in question, in fact.” She paused long enough to take a sip from her glass of bourbon and shift in her chair, reaching out to tap the holo-screen in front of her.
Useful didn’t begin to cut it. Viz was just plain curious. This thing had Nar Shaddaa in a hustle, and though she may be first on the scene, she wasn’t sure how long that would last. As an Associate of the family, she’d been hired to take this one specifically, she wanted to know why.
“Do tell”. She urged.
“Have you ever heard of a substance called Trihexalon?” Ivory asked - assuming that Viz had not. The substance was once a thing of myth - a murderously effective bio-weapon capable of melting anything organic it came into contact with. Most beings in The Galaxy would have never even heard of it, much less been familiar with its properties.
Viz had not.
“That sounds deliciously deadly.” Stilza interjected into the mic and Viz hit her own forehead, punching her back down. She needed The Donna alone, without interference. She cleared her throat, continuing on from the interruption. .
“I mean, I have definitely never heard about it. Please tell me more.”
“Trihexalon is-...well, was an extremely dangerous substance many, many years ago. The substance in question is not, exactly, Trihexalon vapor… but the chemical makeup is similar.” The Mafiosa Queen took a pull from her
cigarra; exhaling twin streams of smoke through her nostrils like some terrible beast newly woken from its slumber.
“The compound, known as Trihexaphaline, is a simple analogue - a new recipe of an old bioweapon. It remains in a liquid state until it is exposed to oxygen; is tasteless & odorless, and reacts to anything organic.” She paused for effect, violet eyes narrowing,
“Violently.”
“Any vials you find should be of a metallic nature - you are to deliver at least one vial to me, and you will be paid very well. I must warn you, though, Viz… This substance, as you might expect, is under heavy guard. Under no circumstance are you to allow one of these vials to be opened or damaged. Do you understand?”
Viz took a deep breath and held it in her cheeks like a puffed fish. The persona’s chattered excitedly, but all she could say was
“that won’t be a problem.” She paused and let the air out, thinking of the massive thing near the R&D.
“I… do you have any intel on who is running this operation… er… ma’am?” She cringed. She was so embarrassing. Still, the less she knew the better, but on the other hand, the more she knew the more effective she could be.
“It took some digging, as they’re not directly connected with the site, but we did manage to ascertain who’s likely funding the research program. It is a company based on Coruscant, in fact: Canopy Defense, Incorporated. It’s a small Defense contractor specializing in the manufacture of chemical & biological compounds. It’s likely they’re employing mercenaries as their primary means of Security. Nar Shaddaa, of course, is the perfect place for a black site.”
Ivory paused, swirling the bourbon in her glass as she leaned back in her chair. The Family’s sanctum deep beneath
The Star Lounge on Coruscant had no windows, but Ivory glanced out a false window designed to appear as-if she were looking across Coruscant’s skyscrapers. Through the video feed, she watched the hustle & bustle of countless millions coming & going through Coruscant’s atmosphere.
“If you need support, you may contact me - I have an associate present who may be able to gain access to their internal networks, but I’ll require a hard-line connection. I’ve also provided an extraction for you - a speeder, and an armed escort should you require it. Be very careful, Ms. Harridan… Complete this job for me, and there will be many more in the future. Any questions?”
Viz nodded grimly, aware that her future in the family rested in the finely manicured hands of this woman. She couldn’t afford to slip up, especially if she wanted the larceny aspect of her career to develop more than the making-junk-out-of-scrap-for -low-ballers aspect to, which was the main course of her current existence as such. Working for the family not only paid better but would help her out of her backwater existence. She had enough talent, she just had to demonstrate it.
“No ma’am, no questions. I’ve got a swoop, but what could possibly go wrong?” Everything. Literally.
“I’ll line you if I run into problems, but I’m not going to bother you if I can take it myself. ‘Bout ready to dive in here right quick.”
Ivory smiled to herself, impressed with the woman’s sense of initiative. The small jobs Viz had done for The Family on Nar Shaddaa before were nothing compared to the test she was about to undertake; she was being given a chance to prove her worth or die trying.
“Very well, Ms. Harridan. I wish you the best of luck.”
And with that, the line went dead.
(Joint Post completed with
Viz Harridan
)
Viz Harridan
Lirka Ka
Cato Harth
I went ahead and made a roll, in case you would like to do dice. If you would not like to play this way, just keep writing.