Shroud of Silence

[A®heim]

"We have entered lower Ryloth orbit. Sensor stealth systems and ECMs at optimum efficiency. Proceed with launch protocol."
The bay doors on the SDE-1 groaned and shuddered before sliding slowly open. A few moments later, a lone shadow slid from the bowels of the hanger and began its decent towards the planet's twilit surface. The Rishii-class was significantly dwarfed alongside the stealth destroyer, but its contents were no slight matter.

The cargo bay of the dropship was dark. Dimly lit only by a small, red cabin light and the similarly colored soft glows of two visors. One of the visors turned slightly to face the other. Phae spoke quietly. We will be landing shortly. You remember the simluations; get out, find your partner, and then you're on your own. From what I've reviewed of this Arc character, he's no model Republic citizen. I trust you've read them as well...I'm still not sure why they would send you to such man, but I suppose if anyone could unlike such a beings potential, it's you.

The craft rumbled slightly as it entered the atmosphere, the cabin light flickered, threatening to die out for a moment. It did not. ETA to drop zone.

A PA in the cabin crackled and the voice of the pilot, the only living being on the entire ship, came through the static. "We'll be arriving shortly, 00. Another nine or ten minutes at the most." The voice cut out shrouding the dark room in silence once more. Impermeable, tense, silence.

[Grawn]

Arc stared into space as he sat at a cantina bar. His red eyes looked lazy and unattentive as the drink sat untouched before him. Corellian and strong, just how he preferred them, but for some reason he wasn't quite ready to down it. A odd thing for a bounty hunter like him. Perhaps it was the fact that this is basically how everything started with him. And ended.

At a cantina with a drink and staring into space as his mind thought up whatever was of interest at that time. Clearing his throat and straightening the edges of his long blackish duster coat as his gloved hand reached for the drink. Lifting it, he downed the contents with a few gulps and hid the shivers that wanted to go throughout his body. Tasted like bantha dung, but was sure to make his sleep soundly tonight after a few more.

As he placed the drink back down, he tapped the bottom of the glass container on the counter to get the attention of the bartender in the backroom. The place was near dead so the noise was hard to miss and the burly man walked out.

"Arc Laud?"

Arc's eyebrow raised. This would be interesting. The bounty hunter nodded and the man retrieved a slip of paper from his pocket and placed it before Arc, then went back to the backroom. Arc frowned as he didn't even get him a new drink, but he picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it, his eyes scanning it.

A summons. Apparently someone wanted to meet him outside the city limits. The bounty hunter chuckled as he inserted the note into his coat and leaned back into the stools backpad. This had one of two possible outcomes. Arc making money or Arc shooting at something trying to kill him. Either way, the bounty hunter thought, It would better then this place.

Standing up, Arc placed a credit chip worth his tab on the counter and slapped the counter to catch the bartender's attention as he left. Just as he stepped out of the cantina, he pulled out a pair of orange crimson reflective shades that he put on. People often gave him odd looks for his particular eye color and while he couldn't care less, he placed them on for the sake of mystery.

Getting to Ryloth's surface wasn't particulary hard. The city was underground since the planet was divided into a "to hot to live" and "to cold to live" zones, the most habitants of Ryloth living in between in a sort of twilight strip. All you had to worry about were creatures looking for a meal, but unfortunately for Arc his trek was boring. Reading the coordinates on the note, he checked it with the readout he got on his shades as he clicked a hidden button on the side of them.

"Well, this is it", the bounty hunter muttered.

[A®heim]

"30 seconds til deployment."

Thank you, pilot.

The bird-like Familiar turned it's head again to regard his younger sister. It had been his duty since the creation of the new models to personally escort them during the delivery, a duty he willingly accepted, but that didn't mean he never get a slight pang of loss at that inevitable moment of-

The craft rumbled and shook, VTOL engines rotating to provide the vertical thrust required to maintain a steady hover. "We've arrived."

Departure.

Difficult times lay ahead of you, 12, as do many wondrous experiences. This is what you've been running the simulations for, though none could possibly prepare for the outside galaxy. The protective egg of PF has cracked. This is why you were created, why all of us were created; for this moment. Your rebirth as a Familiar begins... The twilight flooded the bay as the hatches slid open. Atmospheric analysis readings flashed in the lower corner of his display informing him of the change in composition between the filtered air in the dropship and that of the world beyond. ...now.

"Fuel reserves at 60%, we can't stay long."

Phae's stare went distant for a moment as he addressed his internal comline again. Understood, we'll only be a moment. His vision refocussed on the draconic figure before him. You have the coordinates for the rendezvous point. Travel to that point and begin life anew. From the moment you leave this craft, you are on your own: all comlines will be broken and re-encrypted for both our security.

The first of the Familiars nodded towards the open hatch before them. Good luck to you, sister.

[Grawn]

Arc stood in silence for what seemed like forever. Where the hell was his contact or assassin or whatever the hell wanted to meet him? The bounty hunter began to pace in a circle, his gloved hands behind his back. Just as he began to think about heading back, believing this all a joke, when he heard a weird sound.

He turned around to see what appeared to be a droid fly towards him. Not a droid he'd ever seen before, however. It had more of a lizard body with wings that glowed with a green light. The bounty hunter watched in interest as the thing flew up to him and looked him in the eyes, still flying with what he assumed was repulsers.

The two beings stared at each other a bit. And then Arc decided to ask what it was. Apparently the creature was curious as well.

"What are you?"
"Are you Arc Laud?"

Arc smirked.

"Yes, I would be Arc Laud".

"Excellent! My name is REA-12 and I have been assigned to you by my superiors," the dragon-droid thing said, lowering itself to the ground before Arc.

The bounty hunter's red eyes looked over the droid thing. He never ordered anything like this. Unless he had been drunk, but that was unlikely, he looked at his credit account before he wento the bar and this thing looked pretty expensive.

"Um..I don't remember asking for a droid. Do I know your 'superiors'?", Arc said, crouching to look over the droid. The visor on the head looked up at him and he could see through the green glass at the photoreceptors tune in on him.

"I am not a 'droid'. I am a-" the droid began but then a noise switched Arc's attention to two men. Doned in black leather, both with blaster pistols, the two approached him with a ugly smirk.

"You Arc Laud?", one asked and brought a sigh from Arc.

"No. This is my master, Rad Aluc. Can he help you with something?" REA-12 said just as Arc opened his mouth. The bounty hunter stayed silent, looking at REA-12 who only nodded at him.

"Oh", the dumb thug said, looking at his partner confusedly, "Sorry, we were supposed to kill some guy by your Masters descripti-" was all he got out before his head exploded in a shower of gore.

The partner's jaw dropped as Arc leveled his pistol at him and fired another round, hitting him straight in the chest and dropping him to the ground. The bounty hunter placed his guns back in his holsters and looked down at REA-12.

"REA-12, was it?", he asked. The droid nodded and Arc held out his arm. "Hop on, I think we'll get along just fine. Nice distraction".

The familiar hovered upwards then landed on Arc's shoulder, the man surprised how light the metal thing was.

"I specialize in negotiations, however, I dont feel those men were going to be very civil," REA-12 responded.

"Well, Reya, you'll notice I'm more of 'aggressive' negotatior myself as you get to know me. So tell me more about yourself as we head back into the city, its dangerous out here."

Reya, REA-12 thought, realizing this man had given her a new name. She rather liked it. Despite the fact she would probably never see any of her brothers and sisters again, she took comfort in the fact that the man she was given to didn't seem to the ruthless killer his file made him to be.

From his shoulder, she began to tell him her basic functions and designation as they both walked into the city, a budding friendship starting to grow.