Spice Up Your Life (DireW)

[Poludnica]

The colorful Humani was far from home and out of her element. She was used to claustrophobic space ships and large cities, living agglomerations. Empty, rolling grasslands felt alien, threatening but even there Miri could find something familiar. A casino. Hutts loved their decadent entertainments which provided the Humani with nice income. Drunk men were easy to manipulate, didn't really hold to their money. It was her hunting ground and a bit of a thrilling challenge that kept boredom at bay. Not to mention showing up on Junta with nothing to give her family would be seen as a failure. Her mother didn't have expectations anymore from the youngest child that brought only a bad luck. And Miri constantly was trying to prove them wrong.

With this strong resolve, Miri entered the place that lacked glamor of Nar Shaddaa Promenade. It suited the planet, rather backwater place which had only spice to sustain it. Small time traders and businessmen gathered to play cards and watch half naked girls shaking their skinny backsides on the spacious stage. For a moment the woman wondered if it was really a casino or just a go go club with card tables. No matter – Miri wasn't phased by such things. It wasn't the shadiest bar she had been to, not at all.

Confidently, the Humani walked over to the bar, looking for single men who could for starters buy her some nice drink. Her own funds were rather limited, last of them she had spend on a nice, violet dress that hugged her rather generous curves in a gaze drawing manner, if only by sheer livid color of the silken material. Miri looked down at her garb, as if making sure the credits were well spent. At least no one would ignore her...

Hm...This one is too old....Ugly...Are those tendrils? With disappointment Miri noted that there was no one even mildly interesting. Fair, blue eyes, framed by a coral make up indifferently slid from one person to another, seeking a chance to at least get a free drink. She began to regret coming to Ylesia, the planet was boring, despite spice that flowed in there. Miri pursed her lips, finally stopping her gaze on a lone man tucked farther away.

How did I miss him? He didn't look better than most of the men around, even if couldn't be called a holo star. Oh well. Miri's lips spread in a beaming, charming smile as she stepped closer to the man, basically shoving herself into his lap, which didn't pan out this well and the Humai found herself
hitting the floor ungracefully.

”Ow...” Miri mouthed, wondering if the bad luck followed her to this backwater planet. Apparently.

[Dire Wolf]

Ylesia was a wretched little world who's main trade was slavery. It was a barbaric, detestable practice that had no place in the civilized world. Preacher had no opinion on the subject beyond that, and even at that his feelings on the subject weren't particularly strong. His mind was far too consumed with the task at hand, which was surprisingly good natured compared to the operative's usual line of work. The man's handler had contacted him with a picture of a smiling teen girl with a rose in her hair, told him to capture and return the girl to her new parents. Who were presumably Sith Aristocrats or some other high ranking individual.

It was fairly safe to assume that the girl had either run away and been picked up by slavers, or simply just kidnapped from her home. The reasons for her capture and subsequent induction into slavery was inconsequential, but what was important was where she was. Which was why Preacher found himself in the corner of a dingy little casino that had been known to be the hub of slave transactions. The man had decided to dress the part of a wealthy Republic senator from the core worlds. A black dinner jacket was unbuttoned over a white shirt, and between it a holdout blaster was held in a shoulder holster.

Before the man knew it a plump little humani had attempted to flop herself down on his lap, but instead found herself on the floor. Amusing as it was, Preacher's face was a stoic mask as he reached his hand down to help her up. Preacher had attempted to stay inconspicuous, and having a fat gypsy flop to the ground after attempting to sit on his lap was a very strange way of staying anonymous. "Lets start a bit slower. My name is Jerad Sindaron, and yours is...?"

[Poludnica]

The plump Humani felt sharp pain spreading from her rather round bottom up to back and spine. Stingy tears began to gather under colorful eyelids as crimson flush of embarrassment blossomed on her alabaster cheeks. The confused girl looked up, letting herself to spout few curses in her mother tongue. The man she had chosen for a target looked nice, didn't really fit in with the poor crowd around. His clothes betrayed wealth, even if looked more casual than fancy but still one had to have money to get them. Exactly who Miri always wanted to find and coax credits from.

Maybe it was her lucky day and Flux had been merciful – the man didn't remotely resemble old, obese rich gluttons that often just wanted to pay for intimacy. This one looked young, early thirties at most. Without being aware of that, Miri smiled to the handsome stranger before taking the offered hand.

She pulled herself up, brushing down her vivid colored dress from any grains of dirt that might get caught in the material. ”My name is Miri.” The blond said cheerfully, looking at the man with genuine interest and honest appreciation. The Humani was always very open about such thing and rarely could hide emotions. She was able to lie of course but much preferred to just show what was on her mind. The girl's soft, oval features were often like an open book.

The cushioned seat were pleasantly comfortable, though Miri wasn't used to such things this much. Born and raised on a housing vessel didn't make for silver spoon childhood. Sinking in the plushy cushion, nestling her curvaceous, ample frame against the wooden surface of the chair's back. Miri was aware that her looks didn't fit slender, skinny holo dancer type but it didn't really bother the young woman too much, at least not on rational level. She believed to be comely enough to pass for moderately attractive, hopefully. The insecurities were often peeking from just around corner but maybe couple of drinks would ease all the fears.

”So Jarad, what are you doing here?” Miri asked happily, folding her hands together in a lady like manner.

[Dire Wolf]

"Pleasure to meet you, Miri," the man said with a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Perhaps she wasn't as entirely fat as he had originally seen, but she certainly wasn't a holovid actor the woman looked almost as if she weighed as much as him. be The ghost of a man hardly had to think on his answer to her next question, as it was not only his cover but partially the truth. Hutts were shrewd and not to be trifled with. SAI wanted as little reason for the Hutts to be upset with them as possible. "As for my business, I was sent here to retrieve someone of great importance to my employer."

What he forgot to mention was that, should diplomacy fail, Preacher's martial prowess will come into play. It may not be right away, but he had stolen bigger things from more powerful men for less reward on earlier operations. If need be he would shoot his way out, but the mere firepower that this particular Hutt had at his command was staggering. Survival for either party was a fool's hope at best, even with the infiltration expert's extreme abilities.

A pair of brown eyes looked past the woman for a moment to view a pair of well dressed men enter into the same back room that other equally well off men had been retiring themselves to for the entire night. The hutt's game was rather secretive for one reason or another, and while Preacher had the correct documents to validate his status as a slave owner... he had no clue where the auctions were being held. Until now.

Those eyes settled on the bubbly blonde humani afterwards and kept on wearing that little grin, "and why do you find yourself on this horrible little rock? Its not business, I hope..."

Preacher didn't care a lick about the woman, but the tone of his voice and his eyes would scream that he did.

[Poludnica]

”Pleasure is all mine.” The woman didn't really know what to make up of the man. He was nice...and that was that. Miri knew only there were vaguely two types of men she picked up, uninterested ones or those that all too eagerly joined the game. This one didn't fit any category, he seemed polite but not really all this taken by her. Maybe he was gay...Oh dear. Miri sighed silently – he certainly was with her luck. ”Who is this someone?” The Humani asked curiously, a bit bored by now, slouching in the plushy seat.

That wasn't really suspicious, his business though the way had worded it made her thinking. Way too much. Miri let her gaze to slide up and down the man's frame. No, he didn't look particularly dangerous. Fit and rather slim but not too much, rather average. Not a person the Humani would instantly suspect of stirring troubles.

”Not much. I am a singer, I want to find some decent work.” Miri explained with a shrug. She couldn't really lie so often clung to half truths which made this much easier to deceive people. The Humani was a singer after all and knife thrower. When it was available, she would rather work show gigs than stealing from drunk men but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Absentmindedly, the girl turned to see where he was looking, catching a view of a nicely dressed guy that entered the VIP back room. Miri nodded knowingly, now sure she had deciphered the odd guy sitting before her. She turned to catch his gaze, holding it with sympathy.”Listen, if you like men, I will understand. My people don't really judge it. My third cousin married this one guy from Coruscant. I don't mind it. ” The plump Humani sighed, shaking her head. This was just bad flux for her. He was just overdressed for this casino and constantly watched some men with interest, without sparing her much of this artificially polite attention.

[Dire Wolf]

Preacher had been called many things by women; a prick, d**che, a**hole, and even "amazing" once, but never gay. A single brow quirked upwards when she went on to say that she didn't care if he was gay or not, and he found himself wondering just where that came from. Had he put out a gay vibe? Now, Preacher didn't care about such superfluous things as masculinity. Homosexuality tended to stand out, even if its a mere footnote, when compared to heterosexuality.

Even still, the man let out a half chuckle and shook his head once, "I'm not gay, no." She probably assumed that from his casual glances in the direction of the door, which had some fairly nicely dressed men regularly entering. "As for this someone, well, she was sold into slavery after her father refused to be extorted into giving the kidnappers credits." Fortunately the overarching goal and premise of his mission wasn't classified, but all other details were.

"A singer, though," he began to give her a little bit more attention, "I think you may be able to help me. I need to get through to that VIP entrance, and can't exactly do it without your help, I think.

"Want to help out a scared little girl?"

[Poludnica]

The man didn't seem overly worried or surprised by Miri's idea and only chuckled at it. Something the girl read as very indifferent reaction – does it mean she was right and he just didn't want to admit or...With a growing suspicion, the plump Humani leaned back, gathering her fair hair behind her ear. A coy smile ghosted on her lips as the man admitted he fancied women much more. ”Then why are you constantly looking at nicely dress guys?” Miri asked, a hint of challenge rang in her words though her expression changed immediately when the true purpose of his presence was voiced.

For a moment the girl's features were marred with worry but then Miri leaned slightly forward, looking around in a rather conspicuous manner. ”So...you are a bounty hunter then?” She asked, dropping all seductive pretenses – in a mere heartbeat the previously bubbly girl turned into cold, calculating professional.

So...He wanted help. Miri tapped her chin thoughtfully, pursing glossing lips she chuckled lyrically. ”Depends, how much is it worth to you?” The Humani asked with raised brows betraying she was far from an innocent girl she had pretended to be. Her gaze trailed off to the VIP section as mind worked feverishly to access potential gain and loss. Miri couldn't really avoid violence in her life, living on Nar Shaddaa had taught her this much but preferred to stay away from it. Ever since her cousin had been killed...

But this man wasn't someone close to her, just another guy to con, even if handsome and rather appealing but still...His fate didn't really bother Miri much and a promise of credits was very enticing. Part of her wanted to help the girl, truly. Especially the fact she supposedly was a singer, like Miri but years of living a thief's occupation taught cynicism.

[Dire Wolf]

"I'm a bounty hunter, yeah" the looked down at his drink with a smirk, "and its worth quite a bit to me, actually. You'd be doing an honest five percent, I think. I'll give you seven." A few moments after speaking he brought the cool glass to his lips and took a moment to savor the bitter liquid there. It was funny just how quickly the woman dropped the seductive cantina wench act to replace it with one of a cold professional.

He knew when someone was putting on a show. You can't con a con man, after all. After a few moments he placed his drink down on the table before looking up at the blonde woman before him. Perhaps fat was an inadequate word to describe her, as she seemed to be more curvacious than obese or even overweight. Her entire persona seemed to radiate a certain kind of awkward warmth, but perhaps this could be useful. Every ounce of her was the opposite of intimidating. This was certainly useful.

Originally his plan had been to wait for one of the men allowed in to leave, subdue him, and discover just how they identified those that belonged in the back room. There were no retinal or finger print scanners, nor was there was no list or obvious verbal communication between the guards and men behind the camera. Of course the obvious answer was to simply return with a full compliment of Sith special forces operatives to eradicate everything with a pulse, but that was a less than optimal option. The Hutt Cartel wasn't an organization that the Empire enjoyed enraging, so extreme care was to be used up until the last possible second.

Those deep blue eyes lifted back up to Miri's face with a subtle hint of sarcasm within them. A small smirk was worn on that otherwise bored and uninterested face of his, and he pressed his weight against the back of his chair. One hand held his drink while the other pressed a few rough fingers against the course stubble on his cheek. Playful sarcasm dripped from his voice as he spoke, and gave up the facade of a cold professional just as she took it on. "As for the men, what can I say? Those Harmani suits just get me all kinds of hot and bothered."

[Poludnica]

”Hmm...” Miri pursed her lips slightly and let her gaze linger on the glass of alcohol the man emptied. Something didn't really fit together in this puzzle. He eagerly admitted to being a bounty hunter and off the bat offered a piece of the bounty. Not many of that profession she knew did that so readily. And that smirk...Miri didn't really like it but had no rational argument not to believe him. ”You are way overdressed for a bounty hunter.” The Humani smiled generously, looking over the man's attire. She was certain he was rather fit under all this garment, which would give justice to his supposed profession.

”Let's say I agree, but you have to pay up front.” The woman folded her arms. Whoever the man truly was didn't really matter as long as he paid. ”And then I will lure out the guards.” Miri said, smiling comely to the man. She wasn't a fool – in the Galaxy full of con men one had to see the money first. The girl shifted in her seat, feeling the bounty hunter's gaze. The Humani pulled few strands of fair hair from her face. Her small, perky nose wrinkled slightly. Something still didn't feel right about all this.

”But maybe you could buy me a drink first.” The small girl suggested playfully, gesturing pointedly at the empty glass. She let out a short laugh hearing his statement about the suits which only reaffirmed her belief her impression of him liking other men was a false assumption. Miri still though wasn't really convinced if he was someone her type. His face had this indifferent and bored look that didn't really make it attractive but eyes were of deep and rich blue. Quite appealing if not framed by this overbearing chillness of his expression.

[Dire Wolf]

Preacher let out a little chuckle at her words, "pay up front? I wasn't born yesterday, Miri, but I can understand where you're coming from." The man retrieved a two hundred credit chit from his pocket and set it down between them. The credits weren't his, but rather that of the Sith Empire. They considered a small amount a necessary expense and so long as he logged it in, or at least told his superiors, they wouldn't bat a lash. Once she had taken it he leaned into his seat to finish off the rest of his drink in all of its pleasurable burning glory.

"That's two percent. You'll get the other five the moment I have the girl in hand," he called for another drink, this one considerably tamer than the last. He had no intention of getting inebriated in the slightest, as he was on the job and it would require his full attention. A little alcohol would be required to blend in with the environment, however, even if he was a little overdressed. A second drink came for the plump woman that sat across from him moments later.

"One drink, Miri. Then we need to get to work. There's an auction going on in there," he motioned towards the door with his head, "and that girl is on the block."

[Poludnica]

Without haste Miri's pale fingers closed in the chit. Carefully, she weighed it in her hand, turning it. The woman's bright blue eyes trailed the money chit, confirming it was indeed two hundred credit. Well, that was easy. With a generous smile, the curvilinear girl placed the chit in between full breasts gathered tightly by the corset of the nice dress. ”Now we can talk.” The Humani admitted and patted the credit chit that was now safely hidden. A silent warning crept in the back of her head that it all had been too easy. The man seemed very eager to part with his credits, and up front as well.

Something wasn't right here...But Miri shrugged it off. No risk, no fun. Her stare trailed off toward the VIP section. Idly, she played with the newly arrived drink before downing it. The bounty hunter did the same. Could he even shoot properly after drinking? ”Just don't burn a hole in me.” Miri said lightheartedly, considering the grim quality of this statement.

”If it's a girl they had a fun with in one of the backrooms, I am afraid you may be too late.” Miri gasped while burning alcohol made its way down her throat. ”Hutt Cartel goons often try the merchandise before selling it.” The Humani admitted, though the statement left her slightly saddened. It could be questioned from where a simple girl knew such things but for Miri it was very personal interest. The sudden mood shift ghosted on her features before the girl played it off with a short laugh. There was no point in brooding.

With a mischievous wink Miri stood up and gave her steps a wobbly quality to give an impression of being drunk like a space pig. The curvacious woman glided toward the two guards, thankfully both of them near-humans. Without much of hesitation the Humani leaned against a tall Epicanthix. ”That is some gun you have...” She started, showing with her posture and gestures a restrained interest of a slum girl close to losing her innocence in a den of depravity.

As most simple males, the guards fell for it, seeing no threat in the small human woman that only drunk too much. Almost too eager to abuse her state, the guards agreed for a free fortune reading. Miri led them to the table and took worn looking cards. ”The cards warn me you are a stud!” She squealed happily, adding to the facade of a foolish airhead that found herself too drunk for her own good. Fanning herself with couple of cards, the blonde send an inconspicuous wink toward her new friend, urging him to slip into the VIP room.