Fellowship of the Moonshine (Cain)

[Poludnica]

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She was not very picky about hotels but the ruin in Nar Shaddaa's Corellian district didn't even deserve to be called 'a hostel'. It was rundown, filthy place full of various rodents and bugs Golda couldn't even name. Probably some of those buggers already developed space flight. Her room contained only a bed, one chair and a table that looked like not being cleaned in weeks. Leaving this place was probably the healthiest choice but there was business to be done. She got a contact to a dealer who could sell her an exotic drug from outer rims for one third of the normal price. Coruscant was in the center of the Republic so such things were in demand as not many smugglers were able to get them to the surface without being caught. Golda could though not very big amounts and only for selected clients. Still it were credits and her son needed to eat.

Golda left the hotel and went to a small, shady bar where another of her contacts should waited. She had never met this man before but one of her ...colleagues suggested to hire this enigmatic figure as deals on this moon easily gone bad. The woman had run into troubles last time and didn't want to risk her life like that again. Having someone to watch her back would be reasonable , if a bit uncomfortable. She liked to think of herself as lone wolf rather than a pack runner. On top of that Golda was getting restless and nervous like always away from Coruscant.

The only thing she was given to contact the mercenary was a number, so Goda sent a message with time and place. It was likely the man wouldn't appear but the meeting was taking place in a bar populated with freelancers looking for work, though it was better to have someone recommended. Otherwise she wouldn't know if the mercenary she just hired even knew how to use a blaster.

The bar was small and crammed with various people of different species. Many eyes briefly focused on the tall human woman in a leather jacket and simple, if a bit tight pants. Golda didn't want to draw any attention to her feminine side while on Nar Shaddaa, to easy to end up as a Hutt slave girl in this part of the Galaxy so her choice of clothing was rather plain. Her gaze swept across the room, so many people...It would be nearly impossible to find a single mercenary she didn't even know by name. Golda did say what she would wear and how one may recognize her... how many young human women with braided hair visited this joint anyway? The girl once again let her eyes wander from table to table, at least two other blondes with long hair. Oh joy...

[Cain]

((Sooo sorry it's taken so long to get this post done. My recent promotion has kept me fairly busy))

The curtains billowed as wind and starlight streamed through a vacant window into the pitch black apartment of Ygles Resh. The faint glow from outside cast a spotlight on the corpse of an old man, laying face down amidst countless shards of broken glass and flecks of splattered blood. Away from the light was Lucias, tucking away several of the old Corellian veteran's datapads into his robes. Lucias didn't know exactly why his employer wanted these datapads, nor did he care. Lucias had no interest in politics, or even money for that matter. His draw to the underworld of Nar Shaddaa was driven more by boredom combined with a slightly morbid curiosity about the world around him than anything else.

Resh was just his latest playmate. With the power to the apartment having been cut, the old man was hardly able to put up a fight in the dark, and went down all too quickly. It was disappointing for Lucias, who was having quite a bit of fun playing with his new friend until he went and died.

With a sigh Lucias climbed back out through the window and scaled down the side of the apartment complex to the street below. Upon returning the datapads to his employer, Lucias was informed of another job in the Corellian district. He had employed a smuggler who was to make a trip to the core. The cargo to be smuggled was an exotic drug to be delivered from the Outer Rim. To ensure this Exchange went smoothly, he wanted Lucias to look after the smuggler. They were to meet in one of the Corellian district's more seedy underworld cantinas. None of this was a deterrent for Lucias.

It wasn't long before Lucias received a simple message, detailing the time and place of a meeting with his client. He knew the place, it was a cantina he'd been thrown out of many times before. Evidently they didn't take very kindly to squatters using the space behind the bar for a morning nap. The likelihood that Lucias would be recognized by the bouncers was high, as he did tend to stand out in a crowd, but it couldn't be helped.

As soon as Lucias approached the door he was stopped by a hulkish looking, neckless man in a small shirt that clung for dear life to contain the muscles underneath. He immediately recognized Lucias' dusty robes, unkempt white hair and of course the black cloth blindfold covering the scars around his eyes. "You," he grunted, "you're not welcome here, brat."

Lucias frowned, "I'm only here to meet with someone. I don't plan on staying long."

"That so?"

"Quite," Lucias replied in a sunny voice, putting on a pleasant grin and tilting his head up in the direction of the much larger man, "I won't cause any trouble, I promise. Just give me twenty minutes."

The bouncer raised an eyebrow, "Fine. But if you're not out in twenty minutes, I'm coming in there to drag you out myself."

"Thank you," Lucias cooed with a big smile, slipping passed the mammoth of a man and into the bar.

The scene inside was a jumble of sensations; sound, smell and the Force. Lucias carefully analyzed them all. His senses swept over each of the patrons around him, most were jubilant and carefree if not inebriated. Finally Lucias came to a woman at the bar who felt uncharacteristically apprehensive. He didn't hesitate to approach her, climbing up onto a stood beside her as he typically did, with his feet up on the seat and crouched low.

"Looking for someone?" he asked casually, not even turning to face her.

[Poludnica]

With gaze locked on a glass of suspiciously looking blue liquid, Golda weighed her chances of getting this task done. It was the last chance today, other two failing horribly. While her mind raced, she absentmindedly let her finger trail the stained counter, making few grains of salt to fall on the ground. Voices raised in the bar which alarmed the woman. Her head whipped, only to see a speeder race going on. Nothing of interest but it brought memories of Zel again, he liked this stuff. I want to go home... Flashed in her mind, only for a moment but enough to suck out all happiness from that memory.

Rosy lips closed on an edge of the glass when someone next to her spoke. Surprise made Golda to choke on the drink as her entire frame jerked. Quickly, grey eyes fixed on the intruder. The first thing she noticed was a blindfold which immediately made her think of Miraluka but other things didn't add up. The next thing was grey hair, not Echani white but grey which completely contradicted youthful face of someone her age. Maybe a human, maybe just a part of one. Nar Shaddaa was a place of so confusing things....Was he blind? If he was blind how he had managed to get here? Golda shook her head, trying to reel from feeling of surprise, bordering shock.

”Maybe, are you someone I am looking for?” The woman asked cautiously. Could he be the assassin? A..blind assassin? What kind of trickery was this if the man couldn't even see her. Nervously, she placed the glass back down, fingers trembling. Another roar rumbled through crowd when the race's favorite reached the finish line first but this time it didn't make her to look away. All Golda's attention was now focused on this mysterious man. A small frowned formed in between fair brows, but it was doubtful he could see it. ”Are you here for someone?” She added, her voice was as usually soft and gentle, with a tinge of melancholy, now termbling slightly from growing anxiety. One would never suspect a smuggler to speak so timidly but Golda couldn't really do much about it.

[Cain]

The emotions in the cantina ebbed and flowed like a rising and falling tide as the attention of the patrons were collectively glued to the speeder bike races. Even for a Jedi the wash of sensations in the room may have seemed like little more than white noise, but when one comes to depend on such senses one learns to discern each of the individual notes from the harmony that is the Force. The clumsily projected thoughts and feelings of the many patrons around Lucias flooded his senses, though he had little trouble keying in on those of the woman seated next to him.

”Maybe, are you someone I am looking for? Are you here for someone?”

Lucias' face lit up. He could feel her anxiety and even hear the doubts that bubbled up to her surface thoughts, "Mm, indeed I am," he began with a smile. It wasn't the first time he'd been received so underwhelmingly, and it likely wouldn't be the last, "You needn't worry about me, I promise I'm more reliable than I may appear. I was sent by a mutual acquaintance. I hear you need protecting."

His last assignment had been horribly disappointing, but this time Lucias was optimistic he would find some fun people to play with. The apprehension that wafted off the woman next to him alone hinted at just how much fun was in store, "You can call me Tenkai." Lucias said with strange enthusiasm. Tenkai was the alias he'd adopted after first coming to Nar Shaddaa; a relic from his old home, "Shall we, than?"

[Poludnica]

Confusion didn't leave her face even when the man reassured her that he was the contact. A blind assassin? That was new...The soft smile appearing the man's lips didn't put Golda's doubts to rest. Especially after few recent failures in hiring someone competent. ”Yes, I need protection. An ex partner of mine is making today his last deal on Nar Shaddaa. I need him killed. His cargo, few crates of high class moonshine, highly illegal on many Republic worlds is a bonus.” She explained as briefly as it was possible. Golda was tired, tired of this all Jaffa business. What previously had been merely a reaction to thread the little furball posed turned into full blown vengeance. Feeling she had for the first time in her life that manifested so strongly. She wanted him dead and his cargo stolen. ”But I don't want any collateral damage, no other victims unless you count in his guards.” It was better to make such things clear at the beginning tlo avoid nasty surprises....Like last time and a time before.

Her gaze trailed off to the glass again as if she was looking for answers at the bottom of it. ”I know you said you are capable but...you seem so young and uhmm...” Golda didn't really know how to word it and not offend. God only knew she had enough enemies. Instead the woman pointed at the blindfold only then realizing the assassin wouldn't even see it. She sighed in frustration. ”Your eyes don't seem fine.” Golda finally blurted out, turning slightly red on her cheeks.

It was not new for her to feel awkward in interpersonal relations, but this time it seemed to hit a ceiling. She cursed herself inwardly for the foolishness and lack of professionalism. Again...