Upping the Ante

[Kael Rose]

The Fuzzy Ewok was neither Fuzzy, nor full of Ewoks, but there were drinks, and the band had a few Wookiees in it. Wookiees could be mistaken for really large ewoks with enough whiskey in your gut.

Not that Kael was that far down the line yet.

He'd had a couple drinks Corellian Whiskey. Nothing fancy like Whyren's Reserve, but something to get the juices flowing. It was good to unwind after a long day with Feyra. Going over the Bothan's operations, ensuring he knew exactly what the Hutt wanted from him, getting an inventory of their supplies, doing a census of their remaining crew, reinforcing their weak points with his men. It was a bunch of gorram work, but he'd only be here a few more days until the Hutt sent someone else to head up operations. He knew enough to get things going, but he was no guy to run operations on a full time basis.

Right now he was waiting for one [member="Tegan Katarn"]. See if he could recruit her in the business, get the Hutt another good worker. She'd work with him for a while, then probably run her own little crew like he did. First she had to show up though, she might have been more a drfiter. Never know. Either way this whiskey was entertaining enough on it's own.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Kael Rose"]

There were two kinds of people in the underworld: the paranoid and the dead.

Katarn prouded herself on being the former rather than the latter, so she had arrived at the area an hour before the scheduled meet was to take place. She sat in the shadows, on a roof nearby with a good vantage point on the bar itself and the various roads that eventually led to it.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Rose, because she didn't trust most people around. No, this was about his boss's boss's operations on Teta and what it meant for the underworld at large -- it wasn't ever pretty when a new face started making waves, taking out old faces and names, the oldies liked their stability.

"Kark it." She whispered slowly as the clock ticked and she saw Rose enter the bar. Ten minutes later she herself appeared on the doorstep of the... Fuzzy Ewok, right.

"Rose." Tegan greeted him, while walking up and sitting down - back to the wall and eyes on the room. "How are the drinks?"

 

[Kael Rose]

[member="Tegan Katarn"]

It wasn't too long before the Lorrdian he was looking for haded through the door. She didn't waste any time, heading up and taking a defensive position. He recognized what she was doing, and there were probably a dozen or so others in the bar who did. This one seemed a place for the criminal type, but not everyone in the bar seemed the type to recognize positioning like that.

"Strong enough at least." Kael said and waved the bartender. "Get her a drink, whatever she wants." The Besalisk nodded and as the Lorrdian ordered he'd get what she asked for, or start mixing it together. Kael would wait until she had her drink then finish his cup of whiskey and wave over another.

"So you did pretty well yesterday. It wasn't the best of jobs and you didn't know the crew, but you still did well." His next drink came, but he didn't touch it for now.

"I was wondering if you were available on a more permanent basis."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Kael Rose"]

She did touch her drink.

A sip from it and she let it churn for a while. It was a way to ponder about what he was saying -- in truth Tegan had been expecting something like this, but she hadn't considered that he'd be so blunt and quick about it. There were layers to this, the girl liked Rose at the end of the day.

He was competent, knew how to lead and keep his head cool in a firefight.

But it wasn't about him, at least not at the end of the day.

"How much you paying?" That wasn't the main concern either, though. Tegan wasn't expecting him to cheap out on her, he'd pay her well for the job.

It was all about Rekali and the amount of longevity his business had. If she tied himself to his cause, that meant something for some people and it could mean a permanent mark on her record, depending on how he did his business. But she wasn't gonna just say that straight, gotta work towards it.

 

[Kael Rose]

[member="Tegan Katarn"]

"Salary is pretty variable." Kael responded. "You'll get a monthly stipend which isn't luxurious but pretty sizeable. You'll be expected to do the little things, like hold territory and report 'business opportunities', but the real money's made by doing odd jobs." Kael said and pulled out a datapad, showing some of the different shares people made yesterday among the larger op. "So like yesterday, we had a lot of jobs. Lot of guys just bodies to hold the main assault and distract for us, but the biggest money was with us, most dangerous stuff right? Because you're a merc the Hutt'll only pay you so much. You didn't really make much less than the rest of the guys, but they have little things like ammo stipends and they get a hazard stipend that increases for every body lost. It's not the entire share divided among the crew because that promotes a little too much cutthroat but it's a nice little bonus at the end of the day."

"You can take whatever jobs you like, but I'll try to get you on my jobs. Usually dangerous and usually pay well. Sometimes I'm just negotiating with someone for spice or guns though. The Vigos don't really leave their territory and the Hutt can't negotiate every deal, so there are about half a dozen guys that he trusts to negotiate like that. He's expanding though, stretching out here and some other worlds, and he's looking for more people that can do that. I think we could market you for those jobs pretty easily." Kael scrolled through and found a job he took. "This is a job I've got in two weeks. Heading to Naboo in search of some spice ingredients. As you can see it's pays well for just a trip and making sure a deal doesn't go south."


Kael took a sip from his drink as he gave the Lorrdian some time to mull it over. Ask questions. He had some rules about negotiations, like a little buzz was okay but a little drunk was not, so he tried to keep things going and not go through his whiskey too fast. He'd let her look through the jobs and what they needed and what they payed, and sat ready for whatever she might ask. Most talent had questions after all, and didn't want to jump into something too soon.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Kael Rose"]

Tegan listened quietly to the sales pitch, because at the end of the day that was what it was. She didn't see any lies or misdirection coming from him -- and if it had been there, she'd have seen it as clear as day -- but there were other questions, other concerns that had to be answered. It was as simple as attaching her name to the Hutt's... it could mean something.

Something to someone in the underworld.

His enemies would be her enemies. She'd have to protect his interests and kill when he asked - that in itself did not concern her overly. No, she was more worried about the long-term longevity of the organization.

So many crime organizations rose up these days. It was because of the instability left in the wake of the One Sith and the Republic, people had little trust in governments, they needed money; needed food, and housing and medicine, job stability was a joke these years and the refugees streaming in...

No, it weren't good times.

"Alright, be honest with me." Kael knew what she could do, but this was a test in itself. Those who didn't want to be honest were prone towards certain signals and body language when they were made aware of scrutiny. How did Kael react to a buzzword like 'honesty' and the sort? It could say a lot. "How long do you see this organization lasting? Does it have a certain stability on it? It's not the Black Ties, obviously, otherwise we wouldn't even be talking."

"But still."

 

[Kael Rose]

[member="Tegan Katarn"]


How long? What an interesting question. The Lorrdian would detect a bit of surprise, as he didn't expect job security to be the concern of a mercenary. He figured he'd have to convince her against being a drifter, not that this was a place she wouldn't have to be one.

"I don't know." He said then took a sip of his whiskey. "I'm not an . . . executive or an analyst. But I think " Kael stressed the word, that it was his opinion, and what authority his opinion was hers to decide. "that he'll be around a while. He's making move I think are smart. Fortifying on a world that most governments don't think profitable. Absorbing little things here and there on other worlds. Not looking to gain a quick buck by helping the Sith or dumping everything in one play. All that stuff has a cost way I see it. Whether it's the Sith wrapping you around their fingers or vanishing once you've gathered too much attention. Like the Ties. They might have given the Republic a good fight, but what happens if the GA decides to wrangle 'em up? Will the Sith help then or run?"

"Way I see it he's ambitious enough to grow and smart enough not to cut corners. Stuff always happens that you don't expect, but I think we can weather whatever comes."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Kael Rose"]

The silence was slowly being fed on by Rose's words.

She let him talk and listened to his body language. There was honesty in the little things, a little bit of curiosity, a whole lotta surprise right after the question was posed -- nothing to be done about right now -- but all in all it seemed that Rekali the Hutt had his ducks in a row when it came to his business.

"Yeah." Words drawled from behind the cup, the soft amber liquid trickled down and smoothed while she thought. The decision had been made already.

Made when the op. had run good and Kael showed himself to be reliable.

At least as reliable as criminal operators went these days.

"It's true then?" Tegan finally said. "He a real Rekali?"

Rumors were running wild about this Hutt. His name popping up here and there, it was presumably one of the reasons why Katarn had signed up in the first place. Brand name recognition was a fine thing every once in a while.

 

[Kael Rose]

[member="Tegan Katarn"]

Kael snorted and took another drink.

"Story is he's the son of a Hutt who was possessed by a Rekali." He said as his throat felt a slight burn. "I don't know if all that is true, but he's a Rekali. Has this big lightsaber axe thing in his office, and has this spikey old-style beskar'gam on a Hutt mannequin too. It's . . . strange admittedly. A lot of the lower level guys joke that it's just a way for him to get Mando tech and materials, like he managed to get me this sweet Clan Rekali disruptor, and I kinda thought it too, but after meeting him in person?" The enforcer paused for a moment. "Well, he has an air to him that you won't see in other Hutts. He's definitely more a manager than a soldier, but you can tell he's not afraid to get his hands dirty."

"I wouldn't pick a fight with him. Fighting a physically active Hutt just seems annoying. Larger and stronger than any near-human, thicker plating, doesn't really care about you punching or pushing 'em. It sounds like a slog." He said thinking out loud. Didn't care about things like Jedi Mind Tricks or Pushes either, not that either were really in Kael's sphere of influence.

"So I take it you're down?" He asked, figuring she was on board, but it was best to get a yes or no before ordering her another drink, and reporting back that he hired some good talent. Not that he'd do that until after tomorrows hangover anyways.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Kael Rose"]

"Words of wisdom, that." She raised her glass and saluted, before wetting her lips again. If there was one thing you learn in the gutter it was to avoid Hutts by all means necessary.

Words reached her through the fog of time, a story related to a little, tinsy tiny kid about the best ways to kill a Hutt. Wasn't choking 'em, that's for sure, getting in that kind of position was usually not worth the trouble. Naw, better ways, but a Mandalorian Hutt was an entirely different story.

"Yeah, count me in."

Tegan replied after only a moment more of thought.

Wasn't much else to think about, really. The answers had been given, they were to her satisfaction and for now this would have to do. Might change in the future, but who knew?