Drifting

[Gillian Rel]

Gil sat in the crowded warehouse, watching the four thugs fight each other. If he closed his eyes, there wasn't that much different than Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa, except maybe the distinct lack of Hutt smell, which was a big plus in Gil's book.

He didn't have to sit down with everyone else, having enough connections/credits to sit up in one of the boxes that had been built above the makeshift arena.

He was by himself tonight. He needed to get away from everything for a bit. Think about what he was going to do next. It was not often one got the chance, or in Gil's case, forced to start over. There were more stakes, he still had people that depended on him. Tasha might have told him to forget about everyone else, think about only himself but he was far past that in his life. That wasn't who he was, nor would he ever. It would probably get him killed one day but it should have already, so everything now was just bonus time.

He took the last drag from a cigarette before extinguishing it and picked up the glass of amber colored alcohol beside him.

He pulled himself of his own thoughts and focused on the scene below, letting himself be distracted for just a little bit.

 

[Katra Bell]

Katra's feet hit the duracrete floor, beating out a tap-tap-tap as she snuck through the back corridors of the warehouse. She could hear the rumble of a crowd distantly, all too busy cheering and heckling the fighters to notice her slipping through one of the security doors and shutting it behind her. Unlike them, she wasn't here to watch the fight - but she was here because they were watching the fight. Taking advantage of both the crowd and their distraction, she had decided that it was a good opportunity to explore the upper levels of the warehouse and see if she could find anything worth mentioning.

She was now winding her way through the back storage rooms, peeking in crates and trying doorknobs as she went. She had pocketed a few odds and ends that looked like things she could trade later, but none of the doors she had come to had given up anything but cleaning supplies and dust. She grumbled to herself in frustration as yet another door refused to open for her. Kriff these locking mechanisms. They weren't as impenetrable as the advertisements claimed, but they were still more than she could break into without a real toolkit. And since her tools were a mismatched assortment of techs scrounged from reject bins or lifted off unsuspecting maintenance workers, she was stuck with the already-unlocked or unsecured rooms for now.

The next door she tried was one of these, sliding open with a soft hydraulic hiss. She stepped into the room ahead, only to freeze when she realized it was occupied. She held her breath, backing toward the door as quietly as possible and hoping the man in front of her hadn't noticed her arrival. Her eyes fixed on him, she didn't notice the uneven dip in the flooring until too late. She stumbled backward, hissing as her shoulder collided with the wall. Well, there went her hopes of making a silent departure.

 

[Gillian Rel]

Of course he heard the door slide open, his had already on his quickdraw blaster when he turned to see the girl who was already stumbling backward into a wall. She was either the Galaxy's worst assassin or one of the least smooth criminals he had seen.

He raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Hello." he said evenly, hand still on his blaster. He had been in too much shit recently not to be paranoid but he knew a street urchin when he saw one, he had been one.

"I hope you didn't come here trying to rob me, I am afraid that would be a mistake on your part." he said eyeing her with a hard stare. He knew not to underestimate such a girl, especially if she felt cornered.

They stood for a long handful of seconds "Well either leave or sit down. There is food over there." he said pointing the tray that had been brought to him earlier. She looked half starved. He could already hear Tasha's voice, chastising him about his bleeding heart.

If she chose to say, he would point to the seat next to him. "and what can I call you?" he asked.

 

[Katra Bell]

Every muscle in Katra's body seemed to tense at once, her fingers twitching toward her vibroknife when the man's hand landed on his blaster. He didn't draw, though, which was good news for her because her fight and flight reflexes were too busy battling it out for her to move even if she wanted to.

Her face showed her confusion when, instead of yelling or firing on her, the man greeted her calmly. Still, she met his stare with matched intensity, wrinkling her nose at the suggestion she might be here to rob him. "If I wanted to pick your pockets I'd wait till you were out there," she mumbled, nodding toward the crowd below.

And then he did something that shocked her more than it should have. He offered her food. It only took a moment for her hunger to win out over her wariness, and she hesitantly took the seat he gestured to. Before he could withdraw his charity she snatched a piece of fruit off the tray and took a bite. "Katra," she said in response to his question. "A name for a name, what's yours?"

 

[Gillian Rel]

"Oh is that what you would do?" he responded with a raised eyebrow. He had survived his childhood due to his pickpocketing skills. Though from the looks of it, she probably had too. He expression turned to a smile as she took a hesitant step into the room.

Street kids never turned down food, it was just the way things were. You never knew when that next meal was going to come. Gil had spent countless nights feeling that unending pain in his stomach that came from hunger.

She sat down but looked like she would bolt at any second. He didn't blame her, he would have felt the same way. No one gave things away freely, there was always a hook. "Oh and I thought the food would have bought me a name." he said as she took another bite. He sat for a moment in silence. "You can call me Gil." he said turning back towards the fight.

"So you find anything interesting tonight, Katra?" he said, assuming she was here stealing, that's what he would have been here doing. This event was the perfect amount of money and a low level of security that would make it a dream for some bottom of the barrel punk. He relaxed slightly, hand moving back down to the armrest of the chair. He crossed on leg over the other as he relaxed more into the chair. He listened for her answer as he turned back to the fights. She could try and steal from him, but it would be a mistake on her part. There were easier, and better targets than himself here.

 

[Katra Bell]

Katra nodded, then narrowed her eyes at the stranger. "I would. But if I were serious about it I wouldn't have said so, would I?" She knew better than to discuss pickpocketing with a mark, especially a mark who knew as much about it as this man seemed to. He had the bearing of someone who'd lived harder than he let on, someone who grew up watching their own back. Not unlike herself.

Despite herself, she gave an undignified snort at his comment about buying a name. "The food buys you the pleasure of my company, sir," she quipped between bites, giving the man - Gil - a wry smile in thanks. She shot him a sideways look as he turned his attention back to the fight. Her eyes caught on his pointed ears, traveling down his face as she tried to glean any information she could just from looking. His face was not gaunt, but bore the angles and shadows of a life spent with less. Again, she was reminded of herself - she didn't have a mirror to look at, but her fingertips pressed against the hollows of her own cheeks as she studied him.

His question pulled her from her musings suddenly. She thought over the findings in her pockets - a few spare parts and a coin etched with a symbol she didn't recognize. "Might've done," she answered carefully, "but not what I was looking for." She allowed herself to relax slowly, taking a gamble on the hope that he wasn't waiting for her to let her guard down, and followed his gaze down to the fighters. "What about you? What did you want to find here?"

 

[Gillian Rel]

"Let's hope the company is worth it then." he said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. He took another drink for the glass of whiskey at his side before setting it down on the table.

"A shame." he said as she said she hadn't found what she was looking for, whatever that was.

"Some peace and quiet." he said not looking up from the fights before finally adding "I haven't found what I am looking for yet either." he said looking back to the girl, smiling, the joke obvious, at least to him. "I am just here to blow off some steam, get away for a bit." he said, returning his gaze down to the fight below. "Though I will be honest, the fights are much more interesting on Nar Shaddaa." he commented.

Perhaps it was the fact that the organizers of this event didn't want to risk the Imperials getting involved, but there had not been a single death in any of the fights. The fights on Nar Shaddaa were often pretty bloody affairs. It made them exciting, and these fights rather boring. A man fought much harder when his life was on the line, and not just credits.

"But you never told me what you are looking for," he said looking back up. "Finding things is a skill of mine, perhaps I could help." he said. "Unless you were simply looking to sucker someone into giving you food, then I guess I already helped you find that and my previous statement still stands."

 

[Katra Bell]

Katra grinned, finding herself surprisingly at ease considering the situation. Despite being a stranger, something about Gil's manner was familiar enough that she could relax, at least a little. It was a welcome feeling, not one she was well-acquainted with but she certainly wouldn't mind getting used to it. She shrugged at his comment. "I think I found something better anyways," she replied quietly.

She humphed playfully at his joke about peace and quiet. "What's Nar Shaddaa like?" she asked, looking at him curiously. She'd never been off Coruscant, and stories of other planets were among her favorite things to find. "Do they fight smarter there, or just harder?" Watching the fighters, she had noticed that for the most part their techniques were rather lacking, fighting with brute force instead of true strategy. On her own turf she could probably beat one of them.

She looked down at the food in her hands, turning it over and over as she tried to decide how much to tell him. Although he felt like someone safe, or at least someone who wasn't looking to hurt her, she knew better than to trust him just yet. "Secrets," she said finally. "I was looking for secrets."

 

[Gillian Rel]

"A shit hole." he said with a grin, but its home. "Home always seems just a little less shitty, but also just a little shittier than everywhere else." he said taking another drink.

"Everything is a bit more out in the open, its a wilder place. No pesky Imperials to worry about." he said. In reality, the slums on Coruscant were just about the same as the slums on Nar Shaddaa which were just about the same as slums on any other planet. Poor was poor.

The fights continued down below, but Gil found himself more interested in the girl next to him. His gut told him she had...something. A spark? Potential? That always got his attention. There was a time he had overlooked the potential in others, but if you were going to build anything that would last in this Galaxy, it had to be built on those who had potential.

"Hrrm." he said thinking. "Secrets." he said pausing as he took another drink. "At random or something particular?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He was bored with the fights and feeling generous maybe if she played her cards right he would offer to help if she wanted it. Or maybe she was just here for food, Gil had been there before in his life so he understood.

"Before you answer, let's make it interesting. Want to bet on the next fight?" If I win, you cut me in on what you are working on." he said pausing producing two hundred credit chips "You win, and you get two hundred credits." he said. The credits were a small thing to him, but looking back on his own life on the streets, two hundred credits would have been a game changer for him.

If she agreed he would lean forward and point towards the two fighters. Both were human, one was a bit smaller but looked like he was faster, the other was slower but looked like he could take the head off a Wookie if he hit him right. "Pick your fighter." he said

 

[Katra Bell]

Katra had to grin back at Gil's humor. Something about this stranger put her at ease, or at least, told her she could lower her guard. Slightly. "Do you miss it?" she asked, tilting her head to one side in curiosity.

In the lull in conversation, she found herself studying him again. This time, though, she was less focused on his features and more on his manner. He had a confidence about him, but it felt practiced, as if his easy conversation was a veil over... something, but something she couldn't name. She glanced away, eyeing the platter of food again. Her empty stomach was fighting with her don't-push-your-luck instinct and she didn't know which was winning.

Looking back to him, she answered his next question as vaguely as she could manage. "Not random secrets, but not particular ones. A secret to keep and a secret to sell." She would hazard a guess that Gil understood the value of information better than many of the spectators here tonight. It was lucky she had stumbled upon his box and not someone else's.

She raised an eyebrow at his suggestion. She had bartered before, certainly, but she didn't often find herself with anything worth betting that she'd be willing to lose. His terms, however, intrigued her - and two hundred credits was an awfully tempting wager. She watched the fighters closely, studying their tactics, then spoke. "My bet is on the small one," she answered.

 

[Gillian Rel]

"I am back on business enough to not miss it, unfortunately." he said looking back towards the girl. If he was honest, he would be happy to never go back. If it wasn't for having to go back occasionally to tend to the Lusty Lekky he wouldn't.

He smiled at her answer. It was the same type of vague bullshit answer he would give to someone. "Bars are better for that type of thing." he said. "Alcohol is a hell of thing." he said taking another drink.

She picked a fighter, not surprised when she picked the smaller one. She probably saw herself in him, an underdog. There was something about rooting for the underdog, but when that person isn't yourself and credits are on the line, it always better to go with the smart bet. The underdog was the underdog for a reason. "Interesting choice." he said as the fight began.

The small fighter was fast, dodging in and out quickly landing blows and avoiding taking any damage as he started to chip away at the larger man. Gil relaxed in his chair, seeing the path the fight was taking. Of course, anything could happen but it was definitely going to end in the first round.

The fight lasted another thirty seconds, the smaller man dancing around before one punch caught him and dropped him instantly. "That didn't like pleasant," he said taking another drink. He took the credit chips and placed them back in a jacket pocket. He turned towards the girl. "Well, it looks like we are partners for the moment. So find anything worth my time?" he said.

With Gil's experience, they could likely make more money than the 200 hundred credits she could have won whether she saw any of those credits would depend but only time would tell.

 

[Katra Bell]

"What kind of business?" she asked. She didn't know why she cared, really, but some part of her just wanted to know this stranger. She shrugged internally. There was no harm in learning what she could about the man, especially when it didn't mean having to reveal much about herself. Information was information, after all.

"Bars might be easier," she replied, "but you can never really trust what you hear there. And there are better secrets than whose wife is sleeping with who." In her experience, bars mostly held personal secrets, family miseries and wandering loyalties. There were much more valuable secrets elsewhere.

She figured her choice of fighter would be predictable, but she hadn't picked him because he was the underdog, or even because he reminded her of herself. She had picked him because he fought smart, tiring his opponent out while landing flurries of quick blows before dancing back out of reach. The bigger man could take him down, to be sure, but only if he could catch him first. And it didn't look like he would.

The downside of this strategy was that the small fighter was tiring himself out, too. One miscalculation was all it took for him to find himself laid out on his back, looking stunned. Katra tried to keep her face from showing her disappointment as the credit chips disappeared back into Gil's pocket. After a moment, she withdrew something of her own - a coin she had found tucked away behind a small, loose slab of duracrete. It was etched with a symbol unfamiliar to her.

Reluctantly, she placed the coin on the table. "This is probably what you'd be most interested in. Do you recognize it?" She had no idea if he would, but he was more likely to know something about it than she did.

 

[Gillian Rel]

He eyed the girl for a moment, and letting out a quiet laugh. "I guess you could say I am in the entertainment business, among other things." he said. It wasn't anything that would be worth anything to anyone. He wasn't exactly sure what his standing was with the Sith, but no one else had come after him after Cait had attacked him. Her attack was likely more personal. He was just another face in a very, very large crowd on Nar Shaddaa.

He raised an eyebrow at her comment. "Is there though? You can learn a great number of things from people's..." he said trailing off as he thought of the word "..Infidelities"he added, tapping a finger on the rim of his glass before taking another drink. "Intoxication can lead people to discuss far more than they would ever let on in a place like this." he said gesturing towards the rest of the room. "People are guarded here but you take away that guard and give them a subtle push in the right direction..." he said before shrugging slightly. She could take or leave the advice. He knew personally the wealth of information that could be gathered when someone was under the influence, or in a passionate moment.

The fight ended and she placed the coin down on the table. He eyed the coin for a moment, not picking it up. "Should I? he asked raising an eyebrow. Maybe it was something specifically significant to Coruscant. He wasn't one for academics, though he had stolen artifacts from time to time as he moved him through the criminal ranks. "Why don't you tell me what you know, and we can go from there." he said, eyeing the coin once more on the table.

 

[Katra Bell]

Katra smiled to herself. Gil was as cagey about his background as she was about hers. "You sell forgetfulness," she said after a moment. "People pay you and you hold their secrets when they get too heavy." Her voice was sure, as if she was stating a fact rather than making a guess. She just knew, without any reason for knowing.

She understood his point, especially in the light of her understanding of his business. "Maybe not better secrets, then. But different ones. I look for secrets to sell, usually. People don't tell me things, anyway, I just see." She pointed to a gruff-looking Rodian. "He's here to bribe her" - she nodded toward a tall human woman standing on the other side of the crowd - "probably so she'll keep quiet about something she knows." The two had been keeping eyes on each other for several minutes, and the Rodian had slowly been moving through the crowd in the human's direction. "People think they're invisible in a crowd, but they're not."

She shrugged in response to his question. "All I know is, it's old and someone hid it where they thought nobody would find it. Behind a loose bit of duracrete in one of the back rooms. Must mean something to someone, maybe too valuable to keep in a pocket. I don't know the symbol, though. It doesn't look like any money I've seen. Might be a token for something."

 

[Gillian Rel]

"You make it sound more mystical than it actually is." he said finishing his drink. It was really just a byproduct of his business. The vast majority of information gained was pointless, or not worth the time or effort to follow up on but every once in a while it did provide a bonus.

He listened as she spoke of the coin. He had held off to see if she knew anything about it but she either didn't let on or didn't know. It wasn't surprising. It did look old, but it was valuable because of its age, but what could be bought with it. "The symbol.." he said pointing to intersecting swords "Is the sigil for a mercenary group known as "Blades Edge". They are very good, very expensive. They are a bit of a superstitious bunch as well and give these tokens out when someone does something to save one of their own. " he said. It buys you one favor from the group. One person killed, one item stolen, one task."

He finished off his drink and set the empty glass down on the table. "So either the person you stole this from is very lucky or very skilled. So you could keep it, it may come in handy one day." he said moving his hands as if they were a weighing scale. "Or you could sell it. Like I said, the group is extremely expensive. Or you could do one of a hundred other things..." he said.

"So. What will you do with it?" he asked looking back up at her.