Decisions (Dragon and I)

[Aussie Legend]

The cold abyss of space was a somewhat beautiful sight, stars twinkled across the lifeless black sea that flooded the universe, accompanied by the many suns and planets that dwelled among thestars, breeding life constantly and providing for the strongest of creatures.

Survival of the fittest, life's game.

Eclipse sat silently on the bridge of a Raiders Coalition ship, staring out into the dark blanket of space. He had handpicked who would accompany him to this meeting, someone to monitor the ship while the meeting was underway and five Hutt soldiers, to ensure nothing troubling will occur.

The ship that Eclipse had chosen for this meeting was nothing special, there was a hangar big enough to fit his guests, that was all he needed.

Eclipse smiled, those invited to the meeting would be arriving soon.

 

[Gambler]

A small, rickety freighter rumbled out of hyperspace and stopped, almost seeming to fall apart in the violent entry. The mawkish colouring of the mixed and rusty plates did nothing more than hurt the eyes and keep the piece of junk freighter together. Barely. Rylith by name, this volatile piece of rumbling death belonged to Feron Nial, a simple soldier for the Sontrebren Crew. Said Cathar sat uncomfortably in a strangely out of place plush chair with a footstool and a head pillow. His body was tensed and he refused to talk to the younger Cathar next to him. His son, Jasiem. Both Cathar still felt awkward in each other's company ever since they met for the first time in the Outlander's Club a short while ago.

But Jasiem needed someone to fly him to this meeting.

Neither of them so much as looked at the other. Jasiem sat fondling the hilt of his knife, rolling it expertly around his knuckles. He wore his trademarked mahogany sweater with the sleeves rolled up, baring his gray furred forearms. He tried to maintain a cool, calm attitude in front of his father, but he was tense with anger. His father had walked out on his mother, leaving her to fend for herself after they escaped slavery. And then when he and his father reunited... well it was a bad day. Feron had barged in on his date with Samanya Mohatu, the son of Feron's closest friend, and beat the living hell out of his son when Jasiem fought back. It was a strange night with neither of them really knowing who the other was until Samanya stopped them. Jasiem's last words haunted them both.

"I will never forgive you, father,"

They stuck in the air, creating tension between the two. But that didn't matter right now. The two of them were invited to a meeting with someone from the Raider's Coalition and neither of them knew the true reason behind it. Oh, they were given the gilded message rife with political terminology and flowery lettering, but it didn't convey anything other than "Come and meet us here or die" though of course it wasn't so blunt. But the threat was implied between the lines. Normally, neither of them would have known that the other was attending, but Jasiem needed a ship, and his father was the only one he knew who could give him a ride for free. So here they were.

Ever so slowly, the Rylith went into its landing process, coming almost to a full halt as it entered the hangar of the Raider's Coalition ship. As they landed, Jasiem brushed to his feet with a slight pad of his booted paws, ignoring his father altogether. He sheathed his knife and quickly walked down to the small airlock and exit ramp. Feron was close behind though he made no motion to walk next to his son or even acknowledge the familial relations. The air of solemnity between them weighted heavily as they walked into the hangar. Immediately they noticed the guard. Jasiem spoke.

"I was called here for a meeting," He said ever so curtly, his father echoing the same words.

 

[Aussie Legend]

"Let them through, they are expected."

Eclipse's voice was calm and collected as he made an appearance before the two guests and lone guard.

"Welcome, I'm Eclipse, I'd like to thank you on behalf of the Raiders Coalition for coming."

He announced, attempting to sound somewhat pleased of their arrival.

"If you would kindly relenquish your weapons to the bench over there I would appreciate it" Eclipse paused, nodding toward the large bench to their left, before continuing.

"Oh and please, do not attempt to conceal a weapon, this droid's scanner will detect anything beneath your clothing made of metal or giving off an energy signiature."

Eclipse did not wish to waste time on bickering, if they refused to hand over their weapons, they would be killed, if not by Eclipse, then by the security turret concealed withing the ceiling of the hallway above them.

 

[Gambler]

Immediately Feron began to loosen his claws, unstrapping the bound links that were all but fused to his skin. Grimacing, he wrenched the first one off, exposing his natural hand to the world for the first time in twenty years. He threw the first one on the bench and began to work on the second clumsily with slightly awkward motions. Finally, after a couple brief minutes, Feron had both claws off and on the bench. Those were his only weapons since his second slavery. The slavers took everything else but were unable to remove the claws. So Feron's claws had stayed on him, constricting his hands for years. Now, his hands were exposed and awkward. Lacking the weight of phrik that he had become accustomed to. But he stpped forward, prepared for this meeting, weaponless amd slightly awkward.

Jasiem, on the other hand, could have removed his weapons with ease and placed them on the bench while his father was still removing his first claw. But he chose to wait. To wait until his father was weaponless and vulnerable. Then he meticulously remoced his weapon belt, his knife and pistol sheathed on it. Placing that on the bench with one hand, he shifted his weight, swinging his rifle to his other hand so he could unstrap it easily. When he finished, he turned by his father and looked at the man in front of them. He said nothing as he merely waited. It wasn't his place to speak yet.

 

[Aussie Legend]

Eclipse nodded toward the small droid beside him, which sprung to life and scanned the two men, emitting a low pitch beeping sound to indicate that the scan found no weapons.

Eclipse smiled.

"Excellent, follow me."

And with that, they left the hangar behind them and progressed through the corridores of the ship to one of the airlocks, inside a table and three chairs were placed neatly beside one another, making up their meeting room.

Eclipse moved before the table but remained standing, motioning for them to take a seat.

 

[Gambler]

Though neither of them truly felt at ease, both Feron and Jasiem took a seat after following Eclipse. Feron's shoulder's had to bend ever so slightly to fit him in the admittedly wide chair. Still, he was just too large for most chairs. Jasiem, on the other hand, didn't have any problems fitting his slimmer bulk into one of the comfortable office chairs. For a moment, Jasiem looked at his father, wondering who should speak first. He knew that Feron wouldn't speak first since he was more the silent giant type than the talktative killer. Turning his head, Jasiem leaned back in the chair slightly until he was completely comfortable. He gave the appearance of being at ease even though that was the farthest thing from his mind at the time.

"So, what does the Raider's Coalition want with us mister...." He trailed off questioningly, waiting for Eclipse to fill in the blank as well as answer the question. For in truth, what would the Raider's Coalition want with a member of Checkmate and one of the Sontrebren Crew? Maybe he didn't know that Jasiem was part of Checkmate. Hell, Jasiem himself didn't really believe that he could be accepted that quickly. Either way, the question remained.

 

[Aussie Legend]

Eclipse had not expected the young one to speak, but it brough him to the point of this meeting.

"I have called you here to make a proposition," Eclipse began, looking to the two guards behind him, who were ready to take action should Eclipse get an unwanted answer to said proposition.

"I would like to extend you both an invitation to join the Raiders Coalition."

He paused again, it was well within their best interest to agree to the offer, no doubt they had heard what happened to their former leaders when they had denied an offer from the Raiders Coalition. Not to mention this invitation had comes from Venator Furtficus himself.

"You will be welcomed into the Coalition and thus, the Hutt Empire, giving you solid connections with the dominant faction in the Galaxy."

Eclipse smiled to himself, it was quite an offer, he could of just killed them the moment they boarded his ship, but Venator had been kind enough to offer them a place in his Coalition.

They would join, or die.

 

[Gambler]

Jasiem was about to speak to refuse the offer. He was about to open his mouth with a sarcastic retort that would probably end up with him getting skewered through with wickedly curved blades and burnt by hundreds of bolts from a blaster pistol. His blue eyes lit angrily like a swirling vortex of icy fire. The heat battled the chill for supremacy ending in a nexus of anger. But right when he was about to speak, his father spoke instead. "And why should I join the Raider's Coalition? What benifits, besides my life are available? I came to Coruscant for a single reason; to find a friend I am indebted to. And I have found family on the surface. Which is why I joined the Sontrebren Crew.

"What you are saying is that your boss decided independently that we are to personally survive the destruction of the rest of the Crew? I heard about the explosion, but now I suppose we get to meet the group responsible," Feron smiled thinly, a flash of his teeth that was impossible to disern in his pitch black eyes. Not even his pupils were visible. He crossed his heavy arms over his chest and looked over the table at the still standing Eclipse. He appeared to be considering the offer, waiting on whatever else their 'guide' had to say. But in truth he didn't care. He would probably accept the offer and do what he did best; fight. It was what he would be doing no matter which side he joined.

"And who's to say that I'm even part of the Sontrebren Crew?" Jasiem retorted, his tone dripping with acid. He wasn't part of the Sontrebren Crew anymore. Not anymore. Now he was part of something bigger. Checkmate. Being a Black Rook certainly helped his not-so poor self esteem along the way. And he didn't even remember how he was chosen for such a prestigious position. "And what if the organization I decided to become part of has a different agenda? Let's say I take you up on your offer. Then they might kill me anyway. Why not say that I'm tied to the Raider's Coalition instead of being a member? I'll even give you my calling card."

 

[Aussie Legend]

Eclipse almost burst into laughter at what sounded to be demands, unbelievable.

"The benefits are beside the point, Feron, you will either accept this proposal and work with us, or you will die."

It was blunt, but effective. The matter of fact was, if they did not absorb into the Coalition like so many others soon would, they would die along with others who refuse.

"You are in no position to be making demands, either of you, accept the proposal to work for us, or die."

Eclipse signalled for the guards to raise their weapons as he finished his sentance.

The ball was in their court, their lives would either continue or end depending on what they say next.

 

[Gambler]

Jasiem gave a shrug, not really caring for the threat in Eclipse's voice. At this point he truly didn't care who he worked for. And he was sure his father felt the same way. But if Feron didn't feel that way... well it was another win for Jasiem. "I'm in," They both said in unison, an eerie echo of the other's voice. Jasiem shot a glare at his father who wasn't even looking at him. Feron was too busy wondering if he would ever see Kam again, but to Jasiem it looked like he was contemplating what he had just signed up for. The younger cathar almost sneered at his father, but thought better of it. His ribs still hurt from when Feron went berserk on him in that cantina when he didn't know who he was. WIth the slightest of winces Jasiem shifted his eyes once more back to Eclipse, wondering if there was anything left for them to talk about.

[OOC: So sorry for how long it took me to post and how short it is, but I've been busy <_< ]

 

[Aussie Legend]

((Thats fine, no trouble at all.))

Eclipse smiled and signalled to the guards once more, causing them to lower their weapons.

"Excellent, a wise decision." He began, clasping his hands formally behind his back.

"This meeing is adjurned, however, we are currently en route to the Coalition's headquarters, you will remain on this ship until we arrive."

((I suppose thats it, we won't rp going to the station.))