Veils

[Miss Blonde]

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=wpnsn1pGaqk

Location: Golden Nautolan Casino Back Storage Facility


Blood never really comes off of concrete once it settles, you can scrub and scrub all day but that ugly brown stain will always be there to remind you of that one inescapable fact. That one day we are all going to die, and that one day that could be your blood upon the ground, set there to mold and become a rusted shade of brown.

And that was partially why a meeting was chosen there between The Underground and the Red Ravens, as a reminder of these things. It wasn't anything personal or even trying to threaten one directly, it was there so that a point could be made without ever having to go into unpleasantries vocally. That if you were to cross the people selling you guns, then you should begin to imagine what it would be like for one to slit your throat and pull your tongue through the gash so that your blood could add to the ever growing stain beneath you.

The storage facility was dark, very dark. For the guests arriving from underground when they would walk in the front door there was a solid path of light that stretched along for a good thirty meters, along the path brown splatters of some dark substance specked on the ground until it reached a single circle shaped table with a tablecloth on it. There were a few chairs there and sitting at the table was a woman in a Red Dress, the Vice President of the Ravens in the flesh. It wasn't every day you had a galactic celebrity such as [member="Jorus Merrill"] enter your casino and do business. Therefor the proper safety precautions needed to be taken, not for the safety of Jorus, but for the safety of the Ravens.

He was fabled as a dangerous man, rumors of his abilities spread through the galaxy like wildfire. Some said he could fly, others said he could shoot lasers from his eyes, whatever the case was the stories were there and he was dangerous. Which was why everything but the path and table was shrouded in darkness. For in that darkness lay dozens of security droids and personnel, all armed to the teeth ready to attack at a moments notice. Patricia didn't want the man to see just how afraid of his reputation the ravens were.

So Patricia sat back at the table, her legs crossed as she wore a tight form fitting red dress, and awaited the arrival of one Mister Merrill.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

Dark didn't mean a thing to his eyes - one cybernetic, the other a plaeryin bol. Both looked natural. The plaeryin bol had its own senses, and the cyborg eye could see well into the infrared, to say nothing of low-light filtering. But knowing about Garter's backup and caring about it were very different things. He didn't have backup or the beskar shotgun that had impacted the nuts of emperors. He had a Tenloss Ambassador on each hip and that was that, and feth, her wore that much to parties.

He also wore the Corellian Bloodstripe, gold second class, on his trouser seams. Earned in a situation much like this, but fancier, less friendly, and even more unbalanced.

He took the chair.

"Miss Garter, I'm Captain Merrill. Nice place you've got here. Vancamur still serving those tomo-spiced ribenes two levels down?"

 

[Miss Blonde]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Patricia smiled when the man took the seat, her lips lifting as the corners of her mouth formed a genuine expression of being pleased. The man certainly was handsome, and she was aware of his eyes. In fact a specific employee of theirs had done said damage, but that was a story that was a long time ago in a very far off land. But there was no need for Mister Merrill to know that.

"I'm afraid I don't get out much these days. Two kids and a husband eats up most your off time, ugh you know?" she said with a slight giggle at the end.

Her body language shifted a bit as she became a bit more formal, placing her hands on the table folded together with her fingers steepled together. She eyed the man with that smile still on her face and spoke to him.

"So I'm not one to dance around the point. What's your vice? Guns, drugs, droids, missiles, technology meant to kill?" she asked him in that calm voice.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

The mention of a family didn't seem to register, just slid off like water from a nuna's back. Jorus had been married for quite a while, and had a nine-year-old daughter. He wasn't inclined to giggle.

"I've got no use for spice, and I don't let my people use on the job. We've got steady supplies of arms and ships but we can always use more. You mention missiles like you've got something unique to offer, and I'm willing to bet you've got access to the kind of components that outlaw techs could use to give our ships a bit more of an edge." He smiled; it didn't quite reach his eyes. But then again, it had been a long day. "I'd start talking Isotope-5 if I wanted to be tied to your supply lines, but it's better for both of us if I'm not. So let's talk munitions and let's talk components. Sell me on what you have to offer."

 

[Miss Blonde]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Isotope-5 eh? So that was perhaps what this meeting was about, it was a very rare substance after all and it was only located on Makeb. Perhaps throwing some in this man's direction would be profitable and he would make a great contact to have in the galaxy if they stayed on his good side. Though he didn't want to be tied up with supply lines, that was understandable. Though she could just give him a bulk offer and if he needed more just call, that could all be worked out later though. But the woman pondered for a bit before answering Jorus.

"Well we have quite a bit of stock. Munitions wise we have some fun shotgun shells, and my personal favorite." Patricia snapped her fingers and the sound of robotic limbs approached the table and a DD-S1 set a few shotgun shells down and a 5.56 bullet. Picking up the bullet she showed it to Jorus letting him get an eyeful

"This is the Sith Killer. Armor piercing, incendiary, comes in any caliber slug. And the best part is when it makes contact with a lightsaber it explodes into shrapnel aimed at that lightsaber jockey's face. Good for killing Yuuzhan Vong, force users, pretty much most things living." Patricia said with a smile.

She set the slug down and picked up a red shotgun shell.

"This is the Pack O Punch again armor piercing and incendiary and can shred through speeders. Pretty standard and fun round, operates on super heated tungsten carbide same as the sith killer. she said then quickly snapped her fingers for the droid to bring forward something a bit more explosive in nature.

A small data pad was set down and a image of a very large missile displayed on it.

"My personal favorite and on sale for a million a unit at the moment. The Red Revenge Cruise Missile seven hundred kilogram war head, eight three t three missiles. Lay waste to armored columns, buildings, anything you want. Fired from a submarine or land, it's a fun little thing. But these three products barely scratch the surface on what we have to offer. We are leading with some of the most cutting edge technology, Augmented Reality Systems, On and off the battlefield. Whatever you could want we have." the woman said in a confident voice

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

"All right, let's see here..."

He held the ammunition up to the light, examining the workmanship while processing the details she tossed in. As she wound down, he placed the rounds back on the table by the holoprojector.

"I'm interested in the ammo. Ten thousand rounds of this Sith Killer, five thousand of the Pack O Punch. We generally work with eight-gauge, see," he explained, "but we have enough twelves to run a few field tests. If this fits what we're after, if our people like it, we may be back asking you to manufacture an eight-gauge version through one route or another.

"But let's talk more about this augmented reality. Do you have anything for...navigation? Capital weapons targeting?"

 

[Miss Blonde]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

"Done." Patricia said then had her droid assistant add what Jorus said to the order's manifest.

"The Augmented Warfighter Visor good for star fighter pilots, can track the trajectory of objects, speed, distance, pretty much anything you need to know. I'm not sure when it comes to capital guns as I know these operate on line of sight. But they are bred for operations on the ground. They have a connection to the holonet and can be shaped to fit any visor." Patricia was handed a pair of sunglasses and she pushed them forward to Jorus.

"We have these in contacts as well but they are a lot more fragile." she informed the man and hoped these met his standards.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

"This is nice," Jorus admitted, cycling through the modes inexpertly. The controls were intuitive enough to pick up smoothly, more or less. He looked around, watching the interplay of lights and data. "I could see this being solid for defensive weapon operators, though I'd imagine something like this is vulnerable to EMPs. I'd hate to have my gunners reliant on it. Still, so long as the holonet connection can be disabled or hardlined to the ship's network only, I could see these being useful. I'll take...four hundred to start, as a pilot project. Let's avoid the contacts option for now. I don't want electronics in my people's eyes if something goes wrong.

"What else comes to mind? What do you think would be useful for my associates? What else do you have to offer, hm?"

 

[Miss Blonde]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Patricia looked to the droid and the machine quickly nodded it's head, the four hundred pairs were added to the manifest and Patricia was pleased by this. Taping her finger to her chin she pondered over that, goodness there was just so much cool stuff to offer his people, but she would be practical with it.

"Wasps." she said with a smile and pressed a few buttons on the datapad in front of them and soon a image of a canister and miniature robotic wasp came up.

"Little stinging wasps that swarm your enemies and sting them. They are non lethal but they are good for distracting or getting enemies to stop shooting at you. Limited production on them but they are good to have."

Patricia then snapped her fingers again and a submachine gun was placed in her hands. There was no clip in it and the magazine well was open to show the weapon was clean and unloaded. Patricia flashed the man the well so he could see it was empty.

"This is the lil monster, but this it fires a .38 special. But it's not what I wanted to show you, this is." Patricia pointed to a odd looking sight on it.

" The Augmented Shooting Tool." She said with a smile.

Flipping a switch it powered on and a small holo screen projected out the side of the weapon. Standing up she stuck her arms out as if she was shooting around a corner with the weapon.

"Shoot around corners accurately." she said then sat down.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

Jorus looked over each of the offerings in order. "I have some associates that'll be interested in these wasps, and I wouldn't mind giving this augmented shooting tool a try. As for the submachine guns...well, my Wookiee friend's been looking for the right sidearm. Let's call it forty of each as a test run. If my people like'em, we'll be back for more."

His focus remained on the augmented reality lenses, but then his focus at the moment was definitely on a handful of related projects, and the Warfighter Visor was the most relevant piece so far as those projects were concerned. The visors might or might not find a place in the final product, but at this stage it was the closest thing he could find.

He stood and offered his hand across the table. "I think that'll about do it, Miss Garter. Thanks for your business."

 

[Miss Blonde]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

The droid again nodded at the man and Patricia smiled softly then it seemed the man had filled up on what he needed, but she could sell him on one last thing she was sure could catch an eye or two. She slide forward a small medical brace looking device and then shook the man's hand.

"Two hundred of these on the house." she said to Jorus and then promptly stood up and sighed contently.

"As soon as your credits are wired you'll receive your gear. Everything is here, and you can pay with my droid here." Patricia said with a smile and began to walk away into the dark her high heels clacking with each step against the concrete. But they stopped about a good ten feet away

"Oh I almost forgot Mister Merrill one of our operatives heard about our meeting and he gave me a request. He said he was a friend of yours, he says thanks for the new arm on Aurum. Anyway ta." Patricia began to walk behind her security droids and all that left was Merrill to pay the bill with the droid

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Patricia Susan Garter"]

That parting line nailed him to the wall, which was probably the point. He paid the bill mechanically, doing his level best to process the implications and potential futures involved. The ultimate question was -- did this change everything? Or could he just walk away? His vendetta against Parker -- in hindsight he could admit that's what it had been -- had helped define his life at various periods, just as much as his piloting or even his family. It had been a good while since the massacre at Aurum, and longer still since James Parker took his eyes. At some point, without negating the possibility that Parker would take a swing at him or more, he had to be willing to walk away if he ever hoped to call himself a Jedi truthfully.

So walk away he did, doing his level best to stay aware. A distracted man was a dead man on Nar Shaddaa.