Business Dealings on Haruun Kal

[The Classiest Hobo]

Haruun Kal

Dynni "D" Dabos had seen backwaters. She'd seen dark holes in the wall where everybody had a blaster on the door, and dank slums where you couldn't take five steps without kicking some strung out druggy laying in the gutter. The bounty hunter would like to have thought she'd seen some of the most miserable and out-of-the-way places there were. Then she'd been given the coordinates for this meeting spot in Haruun Kal, along with express request that she sweep the site for any sort of observers or bugs so that she and her prospective employer wouldn't be overheard. So despite the fact that she was so far out in the jungles that she was pretty sure there was native wildlife that wasn't in this clearing, she'd done as requested. After all, she needed the credits, and pissing off an employer wasn't a good way to get a job. Dynni had done as asked. She found - nothing. Which wasn't all that surprising given that she was out in basically the middle of nowhere.

The cargo bay of "The Daft Punk" was where she relaxed for the time being, with a set-up for her to be pinged on her comm system whenever the ship's sensors picked up anything approaching her location. The entire bay had been refitted in a fashion - very akin to her home back on Zeltros years before. That is to say the entire area was decorated with lights, hologram projectors of veil dancers positioned in two corners, a large display screen for vids, various narcotics stashed under a large couch, and a bed far too large for anyone save a Hutt to ever find a use for by themselves. Of course there was also the sadly rather empty weapon racks and cases along one wall and the workout equipment on the other, but even those things had been - redecorated. Of course there was a time when she'd done this to distance herself from painful memories. Now she did it out of personal amusement and for something nice to come back "home" to after a tough hunt.

Eventually her sensors pinged her that something was getting closer and with a smile on her face, with the helmet tucked under one arm, she had stepped from her ship, and waited patiently at the end of the cargo ramp for her new contact to arrive.

 

[Srota]

Haruun Kal, a depressing place, really. Not suited to much life beyond those beasts that had evolved to live there, and frankly, in his mind, The Compere barely considered that life on the planet was living at all. It did have its uses, however, ones he planned on developing, in due time, of course. They still had much more work to do, especially on Bespin and elsewhere in the galaxy. Plans were moving, deals were being made, and the time had come for the Exchange to pick sides once and for all. But that was neither here nor there, for now. He had landed far away, for the meeting could not blow back on the Exchange, and in fact, contact had been made under one of his many identities, Karl Krieg, an agent of The Sons of Chaos, a small mercenary group that few would have ever heard of, primarily because it did not exist except on paper. As always his guard was present, the young Akk Dog pup, Ajax, though the creature would not actually be present at this meeting, it could too easily be tied to him later.

Stern command was given to the akk dog, who trotted up after him to the edge of the forest. There, the reptilian dog settled in to await his master's return. The Compere was dressed simply, a pair of camouflaged pants and black tank top. On his belt was his new machine pistol, should anything go wrong, not that he had expected it to. He made his way towards the ship, and waited for the woman to speak once he reached the bottom of the ramp.

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Tall, muscular, a bit worn-looking to be honest, and carrying a gun at his waist. Karl Krieg had contacted her over a secure line, had kept their conversations prior to the meet-up to the point, and had chosen their meeting at this far out and distant place. She'd never heard of The Sons of Chaos before, but the way that he had spoke of them when she could get a few words from him she had deduced they were a mercenary outfit of some kind. Karl Krieg looked like a man who'd seen a lot and could probably handle himself in a bad situation. Whoever these Son's of Chaos were, Dynni was willing to bet they probably had a few more people like Krieg in their ranks. And you only outsourced like this if you didn't want to be attached to the operation or if you thought it was too dangerous to go risking your own people for the mission. Dynni wouldn't really start to make her name by backing out of tough contracts, though, and they'd paid for her silence so it seemed like she was in this one up until something struck sour with her. The bounty hunter didn't say anything as the man approached.

Clad in a similar fashion to him, with camouflaged trousers, the armor leg-guards and boots, and a khaki shirt tucked inside her belt some part of her felt like making a joke of how they could almost be twins. But she was here for business and the man had been talking good credits. So with crossed arms she regarded the man with a calculating eye. Even if her broad smile didn't show it, she analyzed him with each step, and began to file away each bit of information she could ween from the simple observation. Not much, but it was still something that could be used. It wasn't until she watched him put his first foot on the ramp that she finally spoken up.

"So you're Karl, right?" Her smile grew and she immediately offered a handshake - though he would notice the casual way her other hand rested on the revolver at her waist tucked safely in its holster, "Glad you could finally make it out here. When you said you wanted somewhere you couldn't be overheard - man, you carried it to the extreme." Her laugh was light and playful, a call-back to her first professions, "Hope you made it out here all right?"

 

[Srota]

He laughed a bit internally as her hand rested on the revolver at her hip. Oh, she certainly seemed cautious, which would be a good quality for what they needed in an agent at this time, for right now they needed anonymity. "Yes, I am Karl, and you are "D", right?" He stood before her casually, declining the handshake with a bow of the head, "Apologies, I don't do handshakes." He said simply, before continuing on as though there was nothign odd about that. "As for why we picked this place, lets just say that I was already in the area. There's a lot of interesting creatures here, we often use this place for training."

Turning he began to walk, moving away from the ship and over twards the center of the clearing, "Anyway, come with me, please." He would walk away, turning his back on her, "We at the Sons of Chaos have heard rumors about movements on Rishi, the times, they are changing, and frankly we think that it is time those karking hutts were pushed off that world." He turned to see if she was following before continuing on. "What we would like is to hire you to initially investigate more of the events on Rishi, then report back to me. Once that is done, you will then be given another assignment. You will be paid half a million credits every month until the time which your missions are finished, how does that sound?"

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Dynni wanted to make a comment about the handshakes but kept her mouth shut in a simple smile. Who was she to question her new employer's eccentricities? With one hand still resting on her revolver and the other with a thumb hooked inside her belt, Dynni walked after Mr. Krieg the moment he instructed her to. She still stayed silent while he talked. She'd heard of Rishii. A tropical kind of world, home to the Rishii (appropriately), and the planet for which the Rishii Maze had been named. Dynni had never been, herself, but it'd be easy enough to get there she wagered. Of course her jaw nearly fell to the ground as she heard the price: half a million credits a month? Just to start observing things? Gears whirred and Dynni was visibly contemplating it as she stood staring off into the tree-line. You didn't pay half a million a month unless you were really rich and spendy, or the job was really dangerous. The Zeltron regarded Mr. Krieg with a quirked brow.

"What kind of job are we talking about? I mean, observation is well and good, but what am I looking for?" In a way she didn't actually mean to be threatening, the bounty hunter began playing with the hammer on her revolver, but never fully cocked it, "With that kind of money, I'd stalk a Sith Lord if you asked. So am I looking to off somebody? Stuff 'em away for a little bit? I'm not going to ask why, but I'd like to know some details of what I'm going to be needed for before I go in. Half a mil is a lot of money, after all."

 

[Srota]

The Compere, or rather Karl, laughed, and whistled. Things seemed to be progressing as he had intended, he could let ajax come out of hiding now. Suddenly a rather large reptilian dog came bounding out of the jungle to Karl, who smiled and knelt down, reaching out a hand for the Akk dog. "Well, now, as for what we want you to do there, for now, observe and report back to me what you have seen. We want eyes and ears out there for now before we determine how best to help upend the current state of affairs there. After all, we are the sons of Chaos," he said with a grin. Standing up, he patted the dog on it's head before turning to her, the reptilian making a protective growling noise at her. "Down boy. She's ok." he ordered the Akk Dog, which promptly knelt in a sitting position, though it looked less than pleased to do so.

"Do not worry about the money, you will earn it soon enough. Because eventually the next portion of your mission will involve you taking a side in the conflict. Until then, lay low, keep an eye open, and do not get involved, unless you absolutely have to. Do I make myself clear?" He said sternly, sounding almost as though he was a teacher or a training a dog.

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Dynni reacted to the dog in much the way one would expect of a bounty hunter dealing with a misbehaving pup. Rather than scowl or frown, or even snap at it, she simply tightened her grip on her revolver in case the small beast's master decided to 'let go of its collar' as it were. But for the most part her eyes settled on Karl. A smile just like before came to her lips but now there was a glint of mischief and playfulness in her eye. He likely wouldn't notice the effects of the pheromones, at least likely not until they had faded if he paid attention afterwards. A Zeltron's pheromones were no miracle truth serum or brain-washing drug. Those who came under its influence couldn't be reasonably expected to do anything to out of character, like something such as convincing somebody to jump to their death, or to kill a loved one. But when it came to simple questions and seeking out small bits of information? As Dynni had once heard, there was a reason the Exchange and groups of that nature hired Zeltrons. Her posture still as unthreatening as before, Dynni eyed Karl up and down casually as if simply taking in his form, and then finally spoke.

"You keep talking and not saying anything." She laughed, "I get the idea already: I'm watching somebody or something, and then you'll want me to start doing more after that. But the question is who am I watching? Its a big planet and a bigger galaxy. Things are going on all the time and there's a lot for a girl to see and hear when she sits down in a cantina looking for a nice drink. You're going to need to give me some more details than just that."

For some reason, a naggling in the back of her brain told her that maybe this Karl fellow wasn't who he said he was. Real mercenaries and bounty hunters, the kind of folks who did this sort of thing to put food on their table and fuel in their ships like she did, would have already known what it was she was asking about, and would have been able to give it to her. She wasn't asking for relations or reasons. All she needed to know was who it was that she was going to be watching and just what it was they were expected to do (or not do) that she had to watch out for. Yet Karl struck her as somebody who was further back from the action. He may have been one of the hands-on types once but had spent long enough overseeing operations to forget or simply lose touch with the finer points of an operation on the ground.

 

[Srota]

"Karl" smiled a bit, this one certainly was no fool, not an easy one to play at least, she certainly had been forming some correct ideas about him, though she would have no idea how correct she was. "Very well, I suppose you can be trusted that much, we have received word of certain rumors that something big is going down on Rishii, though we have no idea just what it is. That is why we are sending you to learn more before we make a decision as to where to proceed. I'd like you to find out what you can about these happenings on the planet and then report back to us details. The only other thing I can tell you is that I imagine the Hutts are involved, that's as much as I know or can tell you. Satisfied?" He added the last word harshly before kneeling beside the akk dog, softly petting the animal while he awaited her reply.

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Dynni's expression changed and she regarded Karl far more cooly than before, with a quirked brow, and as always one hand resting ready on her revolver. So it seemed he wanted to be authoritative. Feel like he was the boos and in charge. Dynni found her ideas of the man quickly turning less pleasant. Like for example, she was willing to bet he had a tiny -

She stopped herself.

Being at least somewhat professional was how she was going to get to keep this job, she told herself, and she always liked having more credits in the bank. Plus 50,000 every month for sitting around on Rishi waiting for the Hutts or somebody else to do something worth reporting back about. Of course she'd take the job. There was just the matter of some minor negotiation to settle first. After all it wouldn't do for others to get the idea that the Dynni "D" Dabos took a paycheck at first offer. She had a reputation to keep after. So with those pheromones still filling the air around her for as maximum an effect as she could bring to bare on such short notice, she threw Karl her best half game-winning half seductive smile, and put just a certain sort of shift to her hips with her free hand resting there now. The tough girl with the guns was the sort of appearance she was trying to amplify in hopes that it'd work.

"Crystal. But I hate to break it to you, my ships low on fuel." She pouted, "So maybe you could give me ten thousand up front this month? I promise I'll earn it and the rest before the month is out."

 

[Srota]

He chuckled, ten thousand, it was a lot to be sure, at least to start, but then again, he had spent more money on less useful things. But still, he didn't want to seem too needy, " Five thousand down up front and five thousand upon arrival on Rishi, I think that is more than reasonable. Besides, I hardly travel around carrying ten thousand credits on me at any time. Five is the best you will get now, but you will receive the other five thousand upon your arrival. You have my word, and there are few things in this galaxy more reliable than my word." With that, he extended his hand to her, a gesture that should she take his hand, would indicate that she had accepted his deal at long last.

 

[The Classiest Hobo]

Dynni quirked a brow at the man in front of her, crossing her arms, and pouting all the harder as if in a last-ditch effort to convince him, "Few things? I'd say a credit is until you can prove otherwise. But fine, I guess you have yourself a deal." And her eyes settled on his offered hand, "I thought you said you didn't do handshakes?"

Idly shifting her weight onto one foot, she glanced back in the direction of her ship.

"So you got any local contacts I need to know, or am I going to be on my own once I set foot on Rishi?"