Fromikeable, Ash, and 2 more like this
Post by Meira on Jul 11, 2019 7:29:38 GMT -5
”Cigne has dropped from hyperspace. Comms are online and ready.”
Viatrix did not move at first, but kept her gaze fixed down toward the arena below. The match was coming to an end, with her own combatant standing tall over her opponent, ready to strike the final blow. When it came, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause. From the private balcony where she sat, the gathered guests all chuckled and clapped, their attention turning from the arena to one another. Viatrix put on her warmest smile, turning to the man sitting next to her.
“As always, you have chosen well, Ambassador. What is this now, nine… ten?”
”Lucky thirteen!” exclaimed the man.
“I’m sure luck has nothing to do with it!” Viatrix replied, her hand touching at his upper arm in a friendly, familiar gesture. “If you will please excuse me, I will go see to the refreshments.”
The man nodded, his attention turning then to the other guests who were waiting their turn to congratulate and shmooze the Ambassador. Viatrix extracted herself from the crowd with a fluid grace and faded from the collective awareness of the guests, slipping through a discrete door at the side of the private suite. Beyond that door, a short service corridor brought her to a control room of sorts. Here, a number of Viatrix’s employees surveilled the arena and the surrounding area. They kept tabs on all recorded video and audio and logged any possibly useful information for Viatrix to review later. As she moved through the room, Viatrix nodded to Kiala, her lead assistant and analyst. Another door brought her to her own private office. It was a simple space with a desk and chairs for guests. A sideboard ostensibly provided spirits for mixing drinks, but also concealed a clever communications array. This, she activated, Stepping back slightly as the device powered up. A screen rose on the wall, and a holovid camara popped up as well to capture her image.
“Put me through.” Viatrix said, knowing that Kiala was waiting to connect the comms. After a moment, the screen flickered and then displayed the common room of Cigne, the transport she had provided to a select group of individuals. A quick glance at a chronometer readout on the screen confirmed that this was the appointed time. Viatrix lifted a veil to cover her hair, loosely wrapping it to cover her nose and lower face. She was familiar with one of these individuals, but not the others. With a gesture, she activated her own camara.
On the far side of what the galactic map defined as “the core”, Cigne had just exited hyperspace. It was quickly brought into a stable orbit above Farffin and awaited the scheduled comms linkup with Prazhi. As it did, an automated message played over the ship’s comms, reminding passengers to make their way to the ship’s common room to await further instructions from their employer. In the center of the room, a projector descended from the ceiling. From it, a faintly blue light flickered, adjusted, and then resolved into the projected image of the woman who’d brought the three passengers together. One knew her by name, but to the other two, this was the image of Duquessa.
“Gentlemen.” she said, her voice coming through digitized at first but smoothing out as the link and signal strengthened. “I trust that your voyage was comfortable. Please, once again accept my gratitude for the services that you will be providing. As you can see, Cigne has brought you to the planet Farffin. Positioned as it is, mingled within so many Republic controlled planets, it is quite out of my individual reach for action.” Viatrix gestured and an image of the planet appeared beside her own projection. As she spoke, it cycled through several views to show the planet’s relative position in space, and then zooming in to display locations of starports and other areas of note.
“Today, your mission is to retrieve a painting that was stolen from me.” Farffin disappeared then, the image replaced by a framed painting of what might be an idyllic coastline landscape, were it not for the inferno that raged in the sky above it. “Lament was purchased at auction and was meant to be delivered to me on Prazhi, but never arrived. This man,” the imaged changed again to show a male Zeltron, “is Declan Tos. He was tasked with the pickup and delivery of the painting, but absconded with it and the first half of the payment that he received. After some research, I have determined that it was Aegarr Sterro who convinced him to break his contract.” The image changed again to reveal the Farghul Aegarr. The long, feline face was complete with expertly maintained whiskers and a number of gold earrings pierced through each pointed ear. His smile sneered out at the passengers, cunning and mischievous.
“Aegarr and I have been acquainted for some years, and we share a rather… spirited sense of competition. I am quite convinced that he considers this painting more of a trophy against me, than a prized piece in his art collection.” Aegarr’s image disappeared, leaving only Duquessa visible now.
“How you decide to retrieve Lament is at your discretion. I can say that, should you pique his interest, Aegarr is a fan of games of chance and might let you attempt to win it away. But be warned, he sees all gambles as a challenge and has been known to twist the rules whenever he can get away with it. If you happen to come across Declan during your mission, I would consider it a personal favor that you remind him -in whatever manner you deem appropriate- of the consequences of breaking my confidence. You will, of course, be compensated for your added efforts. Cigne is at your disposal throughout your mission. If you have further questions, please use the designated channel and my people will help in whatever way they can. Thank you, Gentlemen. And happy hunting.”
The signal terminated, Viatris removed the veil and shut down her comm station. Returning to the control room, she found Kiala waiting. Her assistant confirmed that the dessert refreshments were already being served and that the Ambassador was ready to begin talks on expanding the training center to include a tour center. Thanking the woman, Viatrix moved back through the service corridor, donned her warm smile, and emerged back into the fray.
Viatrix did not move at first, but kept her gaze fixed down toward the arena below. The match was coming to an end, with her own combatant standing tall over her opponent, ready to strike the final blow. When it came, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause. From the private balcony where she sat, the gathered guests all chuckled and clapped, their attention turning from the arena to one another. Viatrix put on her warmest smile, turning to the man sitting next to her.
“As always, you have chosen well, Ambassador. What is this now, nine… ten?”
”Lucky thirteen!” exclaimed the man.
“I’m sure luck has nothing to do with it!” Viatrix replied, her hand touching at his upper arm in a friendly, familiar gesture. “If you will please excuse me, I will go see to the refreshments.”
The man nodded, his attention turning then to the other guests who were waiting their turn to congratulate and shmooze the Ambassador. Viatrix extracted herself from the crowd with a fluid grace and faded from the collective awareness of the guests, slipping through a discrete door at the side of the private suite. Beyond that door, a short service corridor brought her to a control room of sorts. Here, a number of Viatrix’s employees surveilled the arena and the surrounding area. They kept tabs on all recorded video and audio and logged any possibly useful information for Viatrix to review later. As she moved through the room, Viatrix nodded to Kiala, her lead assistant and analyst. Another door brought her to her own private office. It was a simple space with a desk and chairs for guests. A sideboard ostensibly provided spirits for mixing drinks, but also concealed a clever communications array. This, she activated, Stepping back slightly as the device powered up. A screen rose on the wall, and a holovid camara popped up as well to capture her image.
“Put me through.” Viatrix said, knowing that Kiala was waiting to connect the comms. After a moment, the screen flickered and then displayed the common room of Cigne, the transport she had provided to a select group of individuals. A quick glance at a chronometer readout on the screen confirmed that this was the appointed time. Viatrix lifted a veil to cover her hair, loosely wrapping it to cover her nose and lower face. She was familiar with one of these individuals, but not the others. With a gesture, she activated her own camara.
On the far side of what the galactic map defined as “the core”, Cigne had just exited hyperspace. It was quickly brought into a stable orbit above Farffin and awaited the scheduled comms linkup with Prazhi. As it did, an automated message played over the ship’s comms, reminding passengers to make their way to the ship’s common room to await further instructions from their employer. In the center of the room, a projector descended from the ceiling. From it, a faintly blue light flickered, adjusted, and then resolved into the projected image of the woman who’d brought the three passengers together. One knew her by name, but to the other two, this was the image of Duquessa.
“Gentlemen.” she said, her voice coming through digitized at first but smoothing out as the link and signal strengthened. “I trust that your voyage was comfortable. Please, once again accept my gratitude for the services that you will be providing. As you can see, Cigne has brought you to the planet Farffin. Positioned as it is, mingled within so many Republic controlled planets, it is quite out of my individual reach for action.” Viatrix gestured and an image of the planet appeared beside her own projection. As she spoke, it cycled through several views to show the planet’s relative position in space, and then zooming in to display locations of starports and other areas of note.
“Today, your mission is to retrieve a painting that was stolen from me.” Farffin disappeared then, the image replaced by a framed painting of what might be an idyllic coastline landscape, were it not for the inferno that raged in the sky above it. “Lament was purchased at auction and was meant to be delivered to me on Prazhi, but never arrived. This man,” the imaged changed again to show a male Zeltron, “is Declan Tos. He was tasked with the pickup and delivery of the painting, but absconded with it and the first half of the payment that he received. After some research, I have determined that it was Aegarr Sterro who convinced him to break his contract.” The image changed again to reveal the Farghul Aegarr. The long, feline face was complete with expertly maintained whiskers and a number of gold earrings pierced through each pointed ear. His smile sneered out at the passengers, cunning and mischievous.
“Aegarr and I have been acquainted for some years, and we share a rather… spirited sense of competition. I am quite convinced that he considers this painting more of a trophy against me, than a prized piece in his art collection.” Aegarr’s image disappeared, leaving only Duquessa visible now.
“How you decide to retrieve Lament is at your discretion. I can say that, should you pique his interest, Aegarr is a fan of games of chance and might let you attempt to win it away. But be warned, he sees all gambles as a challenge and has been known to twist the rules whenever he can get away with it. If you happen to come across Declan during your mission, I would consider it a personal favor that you remind him -in whatever manner you deem appropriate- of the consequences of breaking my confidence. You will, of course, be compensated for your added efforts. Cigne is at your disposal throughout your mission. If you have further questions, please use the designated channel and my people will help in whatever way they can. Thank you, Gentlemen. And happy hunting.”
The signal terminated, Viatris removed the veil and shut down her comm station. Returning to the control room, she found Kiala waiting. Her assistant confirmed that the dessert refreshments were already being served and that the Ambassador was ready to begin talks on expanding the training center to include a tour center. Thanking the woman, Viatrix moved back through the service corridor, donned her warm smile, and emerged back into the fray.
