Private Zero Pressure Smuggling

[Kivah]

Tag: Sidonia
Location: Gala
Ship: Reaper Kai
Gear: Goggles, Jacket, Udyr Biosuit, Lightsabers, Autoblasters x2

Like most Cathar, Kivah hated the Mandalorians. It wasn't anything personal, she even got along with a few of them, but when your homeworld has been subject to their rule, and bombings, and occasional 'hunting party,' going on generations, you start to build a chip on your shoulder. Kivah had returned the last time the Mandalorians had bombed the forest she'd grown up in, personally stamped out the embers. So when an associate of hers had asked her to take advantage of her old ident chip to run a sensor shroud into his friends on Gala, she was naturally grumpy. More so than usual. But she let him talk her around, the credits were good, his people did need the shroud to convert a new smuggling ship, and the drop-off was a shot hop from Cathar itself. Which to Kivah was the only reason to even visit Mando space.

The trip in went easy, she cut in from galactic south, bypassing that stupid arm the Mandos had conquered out to the Sith Holy Lands, and staying in unclaimed territory ever since leaving Etti IV. Gala was reasonably built up and civilized, so she wasn't aiming for a clearing, or worse, following some idiot's heading through mountain passes to find a lake a thousand klicks from anywhere. Her local credentials let her touch down in the capital's spaceport with minimal fuss, the bored looking official doing a double take when he saw her. Probably didn't see many Cathar, especially one with her size and build. Or maybe it was the dark skin-tight biosuit she wore as armor, she only tossed on her jacket after paying the docking fee and kicking him off her ship. The jacket hid her sabers in their sheaths under her arms and she buckled on a pair of auto blasters and a few reloads as well. They were a bit much most places, but she'd stand out more in Mandalorian space if she wasn't visibly armed. If anything, she figured they were a bit understated in a land where people went around with missile jetpacks and other weapons coating every inch of their armor. But having them also gave her something other than her lightsabers to fall back on should the need arise.

Hefting the crate stuffed with all the little bits of tech and wiring needed to fit a freighter with a sensor shroud out of its hidden compartment, Kivah lifted it to her shoulder, made sure everything else was back in place, and walked down the Reaper's ramp, leaving instructions to the in-built co-pilot to watch the ship. As if he ever didn't.

It was as she was heading out of the landing zone and to the port's taxi stand, that she noticed a slight bristling on her tail. Head cocked, she gave it an experimental flick to feel the slight stiffness running its length. Changing plans, she made a quick stop at the rental lockers where she stashed the crate in exchange for a magnetic key. After that, she hailed a speeder to take her into the city to a little dive cantina she was supposed to do the hand off at.

The Drunk Ronto smelled like its namesake, and Kivah found a seat in a round booth near the back where she propped herself up as if she hadn't a care in the world before ordering a drink and settling into wait.

 

[Sidonia]

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Tag: Kivah​

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Sidonia had noticed her long before Kivah ever stepped off the ramp.

She didn't approach at the port...she didn't need to. Places like that were for watching, not acting. Crimson Dawn always acted in the shadows. Though they were part of the Mandalorian Empire, working in alliance within it, it also didn't...the relationship between the organization re-established completely on a more personal basis of Sidonia and Aether. At least, that was how she had become the Matriarch of it. She had been trying to find allies, find people to support the organization's cause since she took over, and it was through this search that she learned there was a lot more that called upon a leader than she had originally thought.

And that was why the sight of Kivah had sparked intense curiosity.

By the time Kivah reached the Drunk Ronto, Sidonia was already there.

She didn't blend in; she never did, and never tried to. Light blue hair fell clean over her shoulders, striking against the dim, stained interior of the cantina. Her black dress, elegant and severe, trailed behind her like a shadow that refused to be left behind, the fabric catching faintly against the grime of the floor. Silver heels clicked softly when she moved, utterly out of place in a room that smelled like spilled liquor and bad decisions.

At the bar, she sat with effortless poise, one leg crossed over the other, a glass resting lightly between her fingers. She wore no armor, had no visible weapons. Power didn't always announce itself loudly; sometimes it simply was, and the room adjusted around it without understanding why. Her gaze found Kivah easily, studying her through the reflection of a cracked mirror behind the bar.

Sidonia let a few moments pass before deciding. And then she rose. from her seat.

The soft rhythm of her heels carried her across the cantina floor, unbothered by the noise, the stares, or the subtle shifts of attention that followed her movement. Conversations didn't stop; but they changed. When she reached the booth, she didn't hesitate. One hand rested lightly against the edge of the table as she leaned just enough to be present, just enough to be felt.

"Waiting on someone," Sidonia said, her voice smooth and measured, cutting cleanly through the haze of the room without ever needing to rise, "or hoping they find you first?" Her eyes flicked briefly toward the weapons hidden beneath jacket and posture, then returned to Kivah's face.

She slid into the seat opposite her without asking.

"Because if it's the latter," she continued, settling back with quiet ease, crossing one leg over the other as if this were a far more refined setting, "this isn't the place for it." She let a small pause settle in before continuing, "You made an entrance whether you meant to or not. And in a city like this…" Her gaze held steady, sharp beneath its calm. "…attention rarely comes alone."

Her tone sounded more hushed as she uttered her next words, "Tell me, should I assume you're here for business, or trouble?"

 

[Kivah]

Tag: Sidonia
Location: Gala
Ship: Reaper Kai
Gear: Goggles, Jacket, Udyr Biosuit, Lightsabers, Autoblasters x2

Kivah had been studiously ignoring the overly dressed lady at the bar. A woman like that was either emotionally drinking away relationship troubles in the first place that served alcohol she found (not likely given the lack of tears), trying to make themselves a target, or was so confident that she didn't believe she had to worry. Like the darling of some Mandalorian warrior can. Any one of them would make staying below notice trouble for Kivah and had her silent alarm bells ringing. Still, she lounged back in the booth, one arm casually resting along the top of the seat's worn padding, acting and looking as bored and disinterested as anyone coming off a long haul, mostly full drink in hand.

Then the poised woman stood and made her way directly to Kivah. Frack.

And from her words, it sounded like she knew Kivah was waiting for someone to show, double frack. Make that triple frack as she sat down.

Kivah's mouth twisted in a snarl of dismissive disdain as the woman continued speaking, having now invited herself to sit at Kivah's table. "You're the only one looking for trouble," she replied, a bit of edge seeping into her gruff spacer's accent. "As for the rest of it, you can shove it. Am I meeting someone or waiting to be met? That, and everything else you said sounds ridiculous. This isn't the place to be meeting a friend?" She scoffed, disbelief and scorn evident in her tone. "Who are you trying to be cool for?"

Having made it evident that she wasn't going to be awed or pushed around by insinuations, Kivah waited for this stranger to either make her move or kark off. Saying she wasn't there to make trouble was the only peace offering she was going to make, everything else about her made it clear that she wasn't the type of person to back down a micron if trouble did start. She also didn't play the innocent, denial and accusations were a fool's game and gave the power to the person being asked to believe them. Kivah would rather force the burden of evidence onto this woman. She could be law enforcement or just another con artist playing a confidence game, the smart play was the same and meant giving nothing away.