Ask Business as Unusual

[Darth Tiamat]

Chardaan

So far, so good.

The heads and shareholders were now running the numbers, determining if the investment by their redheaded guest and master engineer was worth their credits. Tiamat knew of course, they were getting a pretty nice payout and she would make back what she paid within a few short years as her engineers overhaul the shipwright presently. The path engine was a modern miracle of hyperspace travel, tested and rebuilt to overcome the dangers it posed centuries earlier, with it now making hyperspace travel for large ships safer and quicker, cutting costs, increasing profits, especially for those importing goods from the far reaches of the outer rim.

She sat silently in her chair, red locks of wavy hair draped down her cheeks and over her shoulders. She wore what made most comfortable in the galaxy, civilian attire, saving her formal armor and robes for business that resided in the Empire. Her affiliation did come up of course, but with the advances in technology, saying no to something like this, one has to put aside political alliances in order to better understand how this technology would change the galaxy. Regardless, they were at the stage of the meeting where she wanted to be: long silences and negotiations.

Not alone on her side of the table, she did bring another with her: Nakoa Singh. She first met them at the coronation for Altair and found them mildly amusing, to that it wasn't so over the top that for someone who shared her interests, she hoped they were able to pick up a few things from this business negotiation.

The men that sat across the table from her finally looked up, seeming relieved as they received the numbers from their accountants, and slid over the datapad for signatures.

"Congratulations, it is a deal, you are now the new head of Chardaan Shipyards." the dark-haired man said as he waited for Tiamat to sign. The woman grinned, giving Nakoa a quick glance as she signed away on the documents.

"I should also congratulate you all on this deal in return, I reassure, I hold my promise to continue to revolutionize hyperspace travel." she said before rising to her feet and exchanging handshakes, "I will be in first thing tomorrow to oversee the transition."

The woman would leave with her young companion, the doors closing behind them before she was finally able to let her shoulders relax and breath in deeply. "I didn't think they were going to budge on the percentage and that would have been it, no deal." she said softly to Nakoa as she checked her holopad, notices of incoming files were popping up as files were already being sent to her to review. "They seemed really hung up on that and the Empire, but I always try to keep my work as independent as I can, or none of this would have ever gotten this far." she shared with Nakoa.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa'd had little to say for much of the negotiation process, sometimes piping up to point out some detail or other in Tiamat's favor. While he hadn't sat still by any means, frequently changing position and generally fidgeting, he still paid close attention. His interest was genuine; this wasn't the first time he'd ever been to a meeting for business purposes. Dressed accordingly in civilian clothes with a matching blazer slung over the back of his chair and his hair tied neatly back, it was a stark contrast to how they'd appeared on Eiattu.

When Tiamat glanced at him, he'd been carefully watching the dark-haired man and the woman on that man's left. Nakoa glanced at the other Sith after she signed, the hint of a grin on his face. "Thank you for your time," he said evenly during handshakes and goodbyes, then departed with Tiamat. Amber-gold eyes looked down at the holopad. "Very hung up," he agreed, slinging his blazer over one shoulder and stuffing his right hand into a pants pocket.

"Wise, I think. You figured out the technology." He was referring to both hypergates and the path engine. Any businessperson in their right mind would want an in regardless of other concerns, Nakoa thought. Still, something felt off. "Still, something feels off," they quietly voiced aloud. Nakoa retrieved a chew stick root and clamped it between his teeth, gnawing the end pensively. "Mm. Thanks for bringing me along. It's good to learn these things."

His eyes narrowed slightly at the holopad, looking for a moment like he was annoyed by something. Then he put a pair of tortoiseshell glasses on and it turns out he just couldn't read the holopad's tiny contract print. "What's the significance of this?" they asked, pointing to a particular bit of the deal's details.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Tiamat gave Nakoa a curious look when they mentioned something felt off about the deal. Her brow slowly narrowed in thought as she paused from the incoming holopad notifications, her senses reaching outward, listening to the whispers that resided in the shadows. She had no reason not to trust him, instinct clearly pressing them to be on alert. Her eyebrows rose when they thanked her, something she did not often hear when it was genuine, "Its a skill often overlooked, not everything we encounter will be ended with the blade." she said, feeling the unconscious need to justify her reasoning. All too often she would receive funny looks or even scowls by other sith for her path.

She glanced at the small print of the contract and Tiamat highlighted and brought up the section, "The death clause. In case if something were to happen then the contract would be terminated and everything will return to the previous CEO." the woman explained, "Its good for the next three years, then I can name beneficiaries to take over." Tia continued, "Just never had one who was making me wait, its unusual, but not necessarily unheard of." The woman shrugged, not seeming bothered by the clause, as for her it was standard procedure.

"We should go celebrate, any food restrictions?" she asked as she turned off her holopad and slipped it into her bag after pressing the button to the lift. "I am absolutely down to celebrate with some curry." she suggested stepping inside the lift to take them down to the ground level. Though that feeling Nakoa had was starting to grow on her, even making her shift uncomfortably; her cheery demeanor fading into a sternness, a deadly concentration as the lift beeped going down no further. They would have to step out into an usually quiet lobby, to where the redheaded woman was already gathering the Force, "We may have to wait on -"

An explosion rocked the building, sending flame and debris flying through the room, not leaving the woman or Nakoa anytime to put up a defense as they would be thrown from their feet.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

"Most things aren't," Nakoa agreed matter-of-factly. To his thinking that's just how things worked, an observable truth. That Tiamat was explaining something 'unusual' didn't seem to occur to him. He moved along to the contract, leaning slightly to better read the highlighted section. "Ominous, but pragmatic." It did make some sense, although he wasn't an expert.

"Curry's good." Nakoa blinked, unused to someone asking after their diet. "No dairy." Tiamat's change in attitude may or may not have been noticed by the Wrean. It was hard to tell since he seemed vaguely interested in some detail of the elevator's blinking controls and his neutral expression seemed stuck between bored and grumpy, although in truth he was thinking about delicious shrimp curry. His foot tapped aimlessly against the floor. As they exited the lift his head cocked toward the woman gathering the Force.

Then the world exploded into sound, flame, and debris. Nakoa flew, tumbling across the floor, bouncing off a plastic shrubbery, and finally sliding to a stop against the lobby desk, smoking gently and bleeding in several places. With a growling groan, he stumbled dizzily toward his feet, blinking repeatedly and shaking his head. "Spróxte ólous tous planítes tou sýmpantos ston kólo mou!" was the first string of words out of his mouth once he'd caught his breath, although neither of them would be able to hear much more than ringing right after that explosion.

Amber-gold eyes looked around for Tiamat, interrupted by a bout of coughing from the smoke. He dropped low and covered his mouth with the shredded remains of his blazer. Oh, there she was, draped haphazardly over a chair like a smoldering blanket and likely likewise disoriented. He also saw a pair of armed humanoids approaching from the lobby entrance hall through the smoke. Since he didn't think throwing bizarre descriptors at them would work, he opted for gracelessly chucking a stapler he found on the floor.

He'd need a bit to reorient before he could wield anything more substantial than stray office supplies.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Her ears were ringing, her head throbbed as though it had been jiggled around wildly in a can. Though it took her a moment to realize she probably was thrown around by the explosion, pushing herself up awkwardly, her lungs burned when she took a deep breath beginning to realize what had just happened. Her feet didn't catch her and she went down onto the floor as she tried to make out her surroundings, looking down to see her ruined clothing, blood soaking from the debris that pierced her skin. She was able to spot Nakoa, remembering suddenly they had just wrapped up a meeting, her once blue eyes now burned with the shimmer of gold as she watched a stapler gyrate through the air toward a pair of mercenaries, one with green skin, the other blue, which didn't matter to Tiamat.

She was going to kill them and kill whoever thought this was a great idea.

The green one quickly caught the stapler and chucked it back at Nakoa, both moving in unison as they raised their blaster rifles to aim and begun to fire at the pair. Tiamat quickly scrambled behind the welcome counter, quickly trying to decide if whoever these guys were, did they also know her and Nakoa were Sith?

Well, there was one way to know for certain as she grounded herself, the Force twisting under her command as the floor seemed to pulse, throwing them off balance and the woman grasping them both by their throats. They seemed to be caught off-guard, releasing their rifles and clawing violently at their throats. The chill of the darkside followed her like a master leading her hungry hounds to their meal. Her golden eyes shared a moment with each of their gazes, eyes rolling into the back of their heads as Tiamat reached into their minds, digging with disgust as though she had touched something filthy. Their noses begun to bleed and soon both would fall limp as Tiamat found what she wanted.

Nakoa would hear a crack echo before the woman released the men. Their bodies falling to the floor as she took in an deep breath and let out a sigh. "Remind me to make an amendment to that clause, about assassinations." she combed her fingers through her hair to brush it behind her shoulders.

"We're not done, we find the others." she added.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

And so Nakoa got smacked in the shoulder with a stapler. This did nothing to improve his brand-new foul mood. Nor did the incoming blaster bolts he had to scurry behind cover to avoid, swearing under their breath the entire time. The Wrean shook his head to try and clear it and get some focus. After a moment he popped up around the other side of the desk, a ball of flame flickering in the palm of his hand and a wild grin on his face-

Oh, they were actively dying. Okay then. Looking dejected, he let the fire go out and stepped over to one of the bodies after Tiamat dropped them. He kicked it out of spite. "Take that." As a matter of fact, he hadn't heard their necks snap because he was thoroughly deaf and only noticed Tiamat was talking because her lips were moving and he could vaguely make out her voice through the Force-forsaken ringing in his ears. "What?" he asked more loudly than intended or necessary.

Nakoa stuck his pinky in his ear and moved his jaw around, trying to get the ringing to stop. When that didn't work he grumbled more curses into the air and rolled up what was left of his shirtsleeves. "Gonna assume it's time to go a-killin'," they said through coughs, pulling the blaster packs out of the two people's rifles and shoving them into his pockets. Next was one of their comms, actively buzzing, which he held up to his ear. With an intensifying scowl, he offered it to Tiamat instead. Still deaf.

Fed up with the smoke, he waved a hand and cleared the way to the front door. "Where to?" Not like Nakoa knew where they were supposed to go next, but he did recognize what it looked like when someone got their brain turned inside-out and assumed Tiamat had an idea.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Tiamat frowned seeing he was digging at his ear, which explained the yelling as it became clear to her that he could not hear a thing except for their own inner ear ringing. The woman took the comm, listening to the chatter coming through on the line. She nodded her head in the direction knowing he will follow, clipping the comm to the front of her shirt. She paused, noticing the burn holes from shrapnel and the tint of blood that had begun to seep through, more so disappointed in having to throw out expensive clothing.

Her gold eyes narrowed with annoyance but refocused her mind quickly as they headed for a landing dock where they would have access to speeders. From there, Nakoa and herself could reach the rendezvous of the mercenaries and their contractors, who were tied to this shipyard. Climbing up the stairwell and reaching the door, the woman placed her palm against the sealed door, using the Force move through the wires and circuits and release the lock. There was a snap and the door swished open quickly and Tiamat headed for one of the speeders, waiting for Nakoa to enter before taking off.

It wouldn't be necessarily a long trip for the two; Tiamat's speeder driving was as impressive as her spacecraft maneuvering as she weaved between other craft and buildings to get to their location. The image she pulled from the mind of their attackers had surprised her, but even more infuriated her. Coincidence had it been Nakoa to mention something about the clause, but she knew it was the Force foreshadowing what was to come. Luckily death would not have either of them today, and instead would have the sacrifices of those who started this entire ordeal. Though what really got under her skin was the fact they were at satellite location for the shipyard, another building they owned.

Tiamat landed the speeder, but they would find their first obstacle as the place seemed more heavily guarded than usual.

"Halt, we are on lockdown, no one is to enter or to leave, there was an attack on one of the other locations." the guard said, raising his blaster rifle.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Throughout their speeder trip, Nakoa was very clearly actually grumpy. The main differences in expression from their natural resting grump face was a certain degree of tenseness and how far their lips were downturned. No discontent was voiced, but he was very still during the parts of travel he didn't briefly fear for his life. Tiamat's outflew most of the Empire's combat pilots but some of those passes were really close to impact.

Luckily it was a short journey, during which Nakoa had been stewing on his frustration. The Wrean was hungry, had his scheduled activities interrupted, a nicer set of clothes ruined- he didn't have that many of those just yet- and some up-jumped mercenary group were trying to kill them. Amber-gold had pupils narrowed to feral slits and skin was shifted ever-so-subtly toward silvery undertones by the time they'd stopped before the guard.

Oh good, an outlet!

"Halt, we are on lockdown, no one is to enter or to leave, three baubles stumble through soprano sonorously," the guard said, raising his blaster rifle. Then he looked confused, eyes glazing over and gaze looking nowhere in particular. Nakoa's eyes were locked on the man as, rather abruptly, he began to convulse. The guard choked and gurgled, foaming at the mouth and flopping to the ground. There in the dirt they shivered and shook, complete nonsense occasionally escaping their lips through the layers of thick saliva, eyes rolling back into his head.

His companion understandably didn't know what the fuck was going on, rushing out from behind the guard booth to check on his coworker. They were basically best friends, spending every work today together, and he'd never seen his best buddy collapse like that. "Hey, uh, wha-?" Nakoa stepped out from the speeder, a burst of the Force yanking the second guard toward him and scattering his rifle to the ground. Neck drawn to hand, Nakoa flexed to lift the man from the ground and pin him to the speeder's side.

"Hey." Nakoa was met with stunned silence. "Hey!" "Wha-?" "Tell me everything you know about what's going on or I'll peel you like a banana." Nothing in his tone indicated he was joking.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Tiamat watched unflinching as the guard seemed to look and sound like he was having a mild stroke. His words losing their meaning as they were tossed together before he collapsed to the ground in convulsions. Her eyes flickered to Nakoa who focused on the one guard, before going to the next one that seemed absolutely mortified his friend was having a medical emergency. Tiamat hopped out of the speeder as Nakoa pulled the second guard to them, threatening for information.

She watched the man for a moment as he fumbled around for his words, also focusing back on his buddy who laid unconscious by now. The Force twisted around Tiamat as she touched his mind, "You should tell him what is going on." she said, her words dripped with the Force. The dark woman looked around the dock, waiting to see if any other guards would make their appearance.

"I should tell you." he repeated the command, "There are aggressors attacking the shipyards, we're here to protect from anyone else who want to destroy them. They came earlier to negotiate a deal, now they getting revenge."

Tiamat's fist curled tightly as she felt her nails dig deeply into her palm; this was a new level of business betrayal she was experiencing, she expected something like this from the crime families, but she guessed corporate goons like this one was no different. "Nakoa, tell him to go home. We need to re-negotiate a deal." she said walking to the entrance, and using the same trick to unlock the door.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa sneered irritably, resisting the strong urge to strangle this guy. From the sound of things, Tiamat's 'business partner' was completely full of shit. He clicked his tongue when he was told to let the man go home, but this was her circus, so whatever. "You want to go home and rethink your life," Nakoa intoned, eyes widening with focus. "I want to go home and rethink my life." "Take your stupid friend." "I will take my stupid friend. Gods, he's so dumb."

Moving like a zombie, the guard wobbled over to his unconscious best buddy and started dragging him away by his feet, staggering like he was drunk. "C'mon, you dumb idiot." Nakoa stared after them. "Whoops." Then he shrugged and followed Tiamat toward the entrance, grabbing one of the rifle power packs along the way.

Now with several in his pocket, he palmed one of them while Tiamat unlocked the door. "Hey, keep that door s-! Oh nnooo," A door guard got out right before a power pack smashed into his helmet harder than student loans for an arts degree. "Oh god, all I see is glass and blood!" he cried out, panic-running into the wall and then falling the floor, writhing in pain. The other two guards nearby presented weapons to fire.

The power pack cracked one of them in the groin just before Nakoa ducked behind cover.

@GABA