First Steps

[Callen Shaw]

Nar Shaddaa - Callen's Apartment - Morning​

Callen sat at the table in the dimly lit apartment. He had a good time with Serie last, a very good time. He had woken up early before sunrise, never being a late sleeper, and was staring at some paperwork spread out on the table. He had made a decent living in the Cartel so far, but he had made those above him even richer.

It was time he formed his own crew. The Toasted Twilek gang, where Callen had got his start was all but dead. It had died alongside Blythe when she had gotten herself blown up. She had left the bar to some Sith who had let things go. It was a shame but Callen will build something bigger, better.

It all started with gathering a small group of people. His thoughts went to the racer from the night before. She was fast, had good instincts. She obviously was a survivor. Whether she had other experience or not, Callen could take that and mold it into something. It wouldn't be easy to free her from her owner. He ran a small swoop bike gang in the district. He and Callen had clashed over small turf wars in the past and they certainly were not on good terms. It would not be easy, but he had to figure something out.

Serie stirred on the bed across the apartment. He wasn't sure what had driven her here, but Callen was glad she was though he had no doubt she would be back in some dusty temple in no time doing whatever Sith did. He poured coffee into a cup and walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Good Morning." he said smiling.

 

[Serie Fond]

Serie did not want to wake up. She stretched and shoved her face back into the pillow before she heard the sound of coffee brewing. She lazily opened her eyes to see Callen pouring a cup before closing her eyes again and trying to go back to sleep. That was until he sat on the bed and she felt her body slide ever so slightly against his as his weight settled in the bed. She sighed softly as he told her good morning and she flipped over and stretched again, then sat up slightly and rested her back against the wall.

Good morning to you. Thank you! What time is it? How late were we out last night? Sorry, not trying to play 21 questions I promise.

She asked before realizing she was channeling an interrogator at the moment. She closed her eyes again and enjoyed the hot coffee. She needed to wake up first before she tried having a conversation without coning off as a less than pleasant person.

 

[Callen Shaw]

She groaned quietly as she fought waking up. It was an adorable little tantrum but she finally rolled over and sat up. Apparently, being a morning person was not an entry requirement to become a Sith. "We were out until about midnight, and it is now..." he said looking at the clock on the nightstand "8:30".

He handed her the coffee and put a hand on her leg, squeezing lightly before standing. "Not sure what you mysterious Sith eat for breakfast, but us criminal degenerates eat eggs and bacon. Is that alright with you?" he said already walking to the kitchen. The apartment was a good size, but still only one room. Callen liked the apartment open.

He pulled several bowls out and started cooking breakfast for the two of them. "So what's on the agenda for day two of your little get-away?" he said glancing over at her still sitting on the bed. He half expected her to walk out the door and for them to never see each other again. Which was fine, they had a good time but that was about it. Still...he found himself not wanting their time to be over.

Regardless, he had work he had to do today. He plated the food and place it on the bar attached to the counter. He took a piece of fruit from the bowl he had cut up. "And breakfast is served."

 

[Serie Fond]

Well if nothing else, he seemed much more of a morning person than she did. Taking another sip of from her cup she set it on the nightstand next to the clock and rubbed her eyes before fully sitting up and stretching one last time.

Finding a pair of his sweats that were clean but just hanging on the dresser and finding a tank top to slip on she checked herself in the mirror. She quickly adjusted her hair to look like she hadn't just rolled out of bed before hearing him ask what she had planned for the day. She snapped back from the mirror and sat back on the bed like nothing had ever happened.

No plans so far. Just sort of letting myself be led wherever the wind blows at the moment. Why do you ask? Have something in mind?

She asked as she reached for her cup of coffee and took another sip before making her way across the apartment. While it was just a studio, at least it wasn't cramped.

She was pleasantly surprised to find him making breakfast. She tried to hide it but she was thoroughly impressed with him so far, and a guy that cooks was always attractive.

Well, this certainly is alot better than the last time I was in a kitchen.

She joked, although she was pretty sure he wouldn't get it, she still couldn't resist the urge to try and laugh off the rather sore spot on her conscious.

@Raydo

 

[Callen Shaw]

He smiled as she walked across the apartment and sat down. "Sounds like there is a hell of a story there." he said taking a drink from his own cup of coffee. He didn't press further, content on being patient with getting to know the woman better.

"Well, I am free tonight. I have a meeting with some spiced out swoop gang leader. It's actually about that girl last night at the races. He doesn't know what he has, he just sees the credits flowing from her races. I plan to take that away from him." he said as he ate his food.

Most of the time he kept his plans to himself, but all of this was likely below people such as Serie. Regardless, it was nice to talk about them. "Unless you wanted to tag along?" he offered after a pause as he glanced over at her. "The guy is an ass, but I wouldn't mind the company. Maybe I'll even get to see some of the space magic.." he said letting out a quiet chuckle. In seriousness, he knew the Sith who good warriors, the backup could prove extremely useful.

"You don't happen to have a blaster, do you? If you pulled out one of those...what are they called? The light swords your people use there will be a stampede of people trying to kill us to collect on the Jedi Bounty." Callen was vaguely aware of the differences between the two groups, but it still wouldn't stop someone desperate to get rich, which was just about everyone on the mood.

"You in?"

 

[Serie Fond]

Series eyebrows pulled up slightly at his comment. She was pretty sure that everyone and their brother within the Sith had heard about the kitchen incident at this point, and her name was in everyone's mouth lately. For better or worse that is. She didn't feel like explaining though at the moment and was glad he didn't ask about it more.

As he explained his plans for the day, she ate along with him, pausing every so often to cover her mouth as she chewed. She still was a little self conscious about eating in front of people, no matter how old she got. She hadn't given the slave girl from last night a second thought, but apparently Callen had. Going as far as to want to get her away from her current owner, whom he was at odds with. She was waiting for the request to join him to come though, as she felt like he hadn't brought it up for nothing.

Well, seeing as how I'm already available I don't see why not. I usually am pretty good at getting stubborn people to agree with me ya know? Even without "space magic".

She said with a smile before grabbing the last piece of bacon from her plate and throwing it in the dishwasher. She wasn't about to go somewhere without her lightsaber though, call it paranoia, but there were some things she just never did.

You mean lightsaber. And it stays with me. But I won't get us jumped by all of the smugglers moon I promise. It'll stay out of sight ok? I doubt I'll need it though, were just going to have a nice chat with the guy anyways right? Worst that could happen is he pisses me off.

She said with a slight giggle at the end. She certainly hadn't lost her confidence in the ordeals she had faced more recently. If anything, it had somewhat strengthened her idea of her not being someone to mess with. Not many people in the galaxy had been in the amount of fights she had, nor seen as many victories either, and she was learning to accept the good with the bad as time went on. Acceptance was perhaps the last lesson she really needed to learn. She then realized she had been lost in thought and had almost ignored his last question.

If that's alright with you, I'm all in Mr Shaw.

 

[Callen Shaw]

"Oh I am aware of how persuasive you can be." he said grinning

He had struck a nerve with the lightsaber comment. "Lightsaber. Thats it!. And I wasn't suggesting leaving it behind, only that..." he said pulling a blaster from one of the cabinets that had been turned into a mini-armor and placing it in front of her. "this is how we solve our problems here. You can take that one if you don't have one." he said though he could never imagine walking around not armed here, although he couldn't really imagine having magic powers either.

He was a bit nervous bringing her. There was a fine line between being bold and being suicidal and the Sith, in his experiences seemed to tread that line tightly. This was Callen's home. If things went to shit, he would be left behind the pick up the pieces or, more likely, get killed. Serie always had her temples to go back to. He didn't show any of his anxiousness, or at least hid it to the best of his knowledge. He wasn't exactly sure what powers she held.

"I would be honored, Miss Fond." he said in a mock sophisticated voice as he finished clearing his plate and slipping on a jacket. He would wait for Serie to get ready and they would head out.

Everything looked worse during the day on Nar Shaddaa. There were no pretty lights to hide that this place was truly a dump. They returned the warehouse district they had come to the night before but this time was dropped off in front of a warehouse with several armed guards out front.

"This is where the fun starts." he said to Serie as they stepped out of the cab and began walking towards the warehouse.

 

[Serie Fond]

Serie could tell he was a bit nervous about her bringing her lightsaber, but she was pretty resolute about it and he had probably been able to tell. While she didn't feel like she would need a blaster, not mentioning the fact that she had pretty much no experience with them, shed probably be more dangerous to Callen than whoever was shooting at them. Of course, that was all dependent on if things turned sour, but she wasn't anticipating that it wouldn't. Trouble had a habit of following her.

Quickly getting ready she followed him out and down to the landing and a few minutes later they were arriving at the warehouse district again. Difference between this one and that one was instead of race enthusiasts flocking the area, there were armed guards.

She was the opposite of intimidated however as they exited the speeder and approached the warehouse. She had been involved in some fairly big battles, against a myriad of creatures and beings from one side of the galaxy to the next. Street level private security was well within her comfort zone.

Hey you said it not me! If I sense anything off I'll let you know.

She told him telepathically. One fun trick she had learned a long time ago to make sure she could communicate with her allies without anyone hearing what she was saying. Although it probably would be a bit of a jarring experience for him to just hear her voice in his head, so she gave him a soft look and wrapped her arm around his as they opened the doors to the warehouse. Hopefully he didn't have a negative reaction to it and would see the benefit of it she hoped.

In the meantime though, she opened up her sense to everything around them. She knew he didn't get along with these people exactly, and wanted to be ready to take care of any threat before it actually became a threat. She breathed deeply for a second and smiled thinly at the men standing around the warehouse, her eyes flickering from one to the other. Right now, even though she looked as calm and docile as could be, she was ready to react at a pin drop.

So which one do you need to talk to again?

She asked him again, telepathically, wanting to know ahead of time which one it was they were there to speak with, just in case she needed to do some mind tricking or whatever needed to be done. She felt like she was here for support, and because having a strong sensitivity to the force like she did, life was alot easier. Almost like running through a game with cheat codes on, or having played it a few times already. She thought it almost unfair to not have it. And it also was the source of her ever growing superiority complex concerning force sensitives and non force sensitives in combat.

 

[Callen Shaw]

He turned to jab back at her comment but he realized she hadn't actually said anything, but he had certainly heard her. He shot her a confused look but he was reaffirmed by her expression. He was reminded that this woman was dangerous. Could she read his thoughts too? He would need to be careful. He hated to admit that her being dangerous only made her more attracted to her. He sighed slightly as she grabbed ahold of his arm.

They approached the guards, one of the large men stepping forward as they approached. Callen wasn't intimidated by these thugs. He strode confidently and spoke in a controlled tone. "I'm here to meet with Nalek." he said the guard before gazing back over at Serie as if he was no longer interested in guard.

Moments later they were ushered inside the large warehouse. The building was full of crates and shelves but there was a clear shot to the middle of the large space. There was a large table with several people around it. From this distance, it was hard to tell what exactly they were doing, but as they drew closer it became apparent that they were play cards. Callen smiled slightly. They were too far away to be heard, but Callen spoke quietly "The one in the cheap black suit." he said "He is a gambling addict. We are likely to leave with the girl and the whole warehouse given his reputation."

They approached the table and as they did Nalek looked up at him. "I was surprised to hear from you Callen. You decide to come work for me?" he said before adding "I'm sure we can set you up washing bikes." he said which elicited a chuckle from some of his men around the table. "Thats a kind offer but I am afraid I am going to have to decline for now." Callen replied as he took a seat at the table. "I am here to do some business, but first I guess you wouldn't mind if we joined the card game you got going on." he said pulling a chair out for Serie and sitting down himself without asking.

He laid a pile of credits down on the tale and chips we slid to him with cards being dealt out.

 

[Serie Fond]

Serie eyed up everyone in the room as they entered. She had s nonchalant and uncaring face on, trying to look as apathetic as she possibly could. If nobody recognized her yet, then good chance they wouldn't, and she could just play the dumb escort girl. As long as everyone in the room thought she was just some dumb pretty face, things would go pretty smoothly she felt like. Plus she might actually get them to be happy about losing, as long as they thougjt they were getting something else instead.

She sat in the seat Callen pulled out for her, making sure she was moving with unprecedented amounts of grace and poise. She smiled softly as her eyes narrowed at the man Callen was speaking to, not noticeably but even she couldn't control every unconscious facial expression.

Oh I love card games! Are you playing Pazaak or sabaac? Someone told me once I was a natural at Sabaac.

She said smiling brightly at the man across the table. There were multiple things going on in that one sentence however. Even though she was faking her enthusiasm about card games, no one would be able to tell the way she sold it. And she had known they were playing Sabaac, which was exactly why she wanted them to think she was excellent at Sabaac and maybe not so much at pazaak. Mostly because it was way easier for her to cheat at pazaak. She could anticipate and predict every card that was about to be drawn, which was a considerable edge in a game where everyone is racing to try to achieve a score of 20 without going over.

She kept her dainty smile on and accepted the cards thrown her way. She kept focusing on the other men seated at the table, switching positions in her seat so she was sitting facing Callen and looked over her shoulder to Nalek sitting across the table from them.

I can tell you which cards are coming next, and whether or not you or him are going to bust before either of you draws. Just let me know when you need it.

She told him again telepathically, doing nothing more than turning her head back to look at him before looking down at his cards like she was in deep thought trying to Figure out if he had a good hand or not. She already knew what Nalek had, so would just need to wait and manipulate the game whenever it was needed. She had to suppress a smile at how enjoyable she thought this was going to be, cheating these idiots out of everything they own.

 

[Callen Shaw]

Serie played her part flawlessly. Nalek and his friends didn't give the woman a second thought after the brief round of laughter at her comment. They dismissed her as a dumb tag along Callen had brought. Callen almost laughed at the performance, it seemed a bit silly knowing her a bit better.

He still wasn't sure how he felt about her talking in his mind, but it would make this task much easier. Suddenly he was glad they had gambled on races the night prior instead of card games. He winked at her, acknowledging her words in his mind.

The card game proceeded. Callen played aggressively, losing on purpose but making the games look close with the help of Serie's abilities. As Callen went further and further into the hole, Nalek's confidence only grew. They had laid their trap and now, with the help of Serie, they would spring it.

Callen was just about out of chips. "You don't have much else to loose. Well..." he said looking over at Serie giving her a smiley smile. "..Credits atleast."

Callen gave a fake but convincing grimace as he looked down at his cards. "I'll bet my claim to levels 467 and 468" he said looking up to meet the gangster's eyes. Those were by far his most profitable territory. If he lost those, Callen would essentially be starting from scratch. Nalek laid his cards down on the table and scratched the unkept stuble on his face. "and what do you want me to put up?" he asked. Callen paused to think about it for a second, already knowing what he wanted. "I want the slave girl, the racer." he said leaning back his chair, slipping an arm around Serie.

The man looked confused. With a week's earnings, Callen could have bought 10 such slaves. "Deal." he said looking at Callen with hard eyes.

And so the cards were dealt, this time he would use Serie to crush him.

 

[Serie Fond]

Serie had to mentally bite her tongue when the man in the black suit seemed to assume she was a pleasure slave. If it wasn't for the fact she knew she was going to helping Rob him blind she would have probably caused a scene right then and there. Instead she just casually played with a strand of hair, twirling it in her fingers like she wasn't paying attention whatsoever.

The truth however, was she was planning on what to do to beat the cards. She could tell that the man was using some sort so shifter in the shuffling machine to give himself an edge. Obviously she couldn't point it out without everyone realizing she was a force sensitive however, so she would need to improvise.

She rather abruptly made a long deep sigh and stretched her back, letting her arms very slowly over her head as she did so. For that split second that the men would be staring at her chest, she flipped the shifter off as the cards were being shuffled, and then very carefully, reshuffled the cards in an order that would have Callen at 17 and his opponent busting on his first draw.

With that out of the way, she relaxed again and nestled herself under Callens arm quite comfortably leaning on him and waited to see how angry Nalek was going to be when he busted and probably assume the shifter had broken mid game. Of course he couldn't point it out without everyone knowing he had been cheating all along. She smiled knowingly at him before shifting her attention back to the table. She was having way too much fun with this already.

Just stand and he'll bust after his first draw. He doesn't have a negative card that will be enough to counteract the bust. Say hello to Mrs slave girl Mr Shaw.

She spoke directly to his mind again. She could tell it might be a little unsettling for him, but she kinda liked that to be honest. While she wouldn't abuse it, she could see herself just jumping into his head at random times just to mess with him. Mostly because she could and she figured it would get on his nerves just enough to have fun with it. Hopefully at least, she thought to herself. She was just trying to have some fun, besides the amazing amount of fun she was having getting one over on the jerk face that was Nalek of course.

 

[Callen Shaw]

He ran a finger down Serie's arm, slowly stroking the soft skin there as she once again spoke into his mind. He was getting used to it but was still nervous about trusting the woman he had just met. He was about to risk everything he had built at a chance of freeing this girl.

Regardless of his nervousness, he thought she was genuine helping him for now. Besides, it was too late to back out now. He was all in, the thrill of it caused his heart to quicken in excitement.

He passed it back to Nalek who gave him a predatory smile like he knew he had just won. Callen struggled to keep his cool, calm expression as the card was dealt and flipped over. Nalek's face went from victorious to confused to disappointed to furious all within a handful of seconds. Callen breathed out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. They weren't out of the woods yet. Nalek was just as likely to attack them then and there, even if Serie was as good as Callen assumed her to be, it would be a challenging fight.

Callen stifled the prodding comment on his tongue. It may actually have been the smarter move to provoke the man to violence now while he still held his secret card in Serie, but he stopped himself.

They starred daggers at each other before Nalek finally broke. "Bah!" he exclaimed. "She means nothing." he said waving a hand. "Anyways she was more trouble than she was worth." he said acting like it didn't bother him.

Several tense moments passed before she was brought out. All the while, Callen had a lazy relaxed smile on his face. He leaned down and pretended like he was playfully whispering in Serie's ear. "You are amazing." he spoke into her ear before settling back in his chair.

"There." he said throwing his hands out in a disgusted manner. "Now, get out of here." he said throwing the cards he was still holding down on the table and storming off.

Callen stood, offering a hand to Serie, who was still playing her role flawlessly, as she stood. They began to leave the warehouse. This wasn't over, far from it. This was the first shot in a turf war that promised to be bloody. Both men had a good deal to lose and were on the verge of making it.

He motioned for the girl to follow. Her name was always announced as Natalia at the races, though Callen was unsure if that was her actual name.

 

[Serie Fond]

Serie sat alongside Callen as the few tense moments passed between the two men staring at each other. She almost wished he did try something right then and there and she could sense Callen did a little bit too. Probably because she was right there, and more than ready to start shaping the man's limbs off one by one with the force, but obviously that wasn't needed just quite yet.

She licked her lips and smiled daintly at Nalek one more time as she stood and accepted Callens hand up. There was a moment where she giggled as he complimented her. She didn't feel like she had done anything that amazing. If anything she felt like this was rather underwhelming. She hoped that maybe things would be a bit more exciting the next time. And she was fairly sure there would be a next time. This was just the beginning of Callen and Nalek little war, and she was curious what the next move was going to be.

Really not a problem at all. If anything it was just a nice little past time.

She said smiling and then turned to look at the slave girl following them. She didn't seem like anything special, by the looks of her, but she knew how awesome she was as a racer though. Serie had grown up on tatooin e where slaves were very common, but she still never thought any less of them as brings because of it. Just because one was born to a lower social status, or ones parents sold their child into slavery, what did it really matter? She knew not to judge based on one's social status, but instead the beings actions. How they interacted with her let her know what sort of person they were. So far she could tell this girl was humble, despite her obvious skill, something she didn't understand. Most of the racers she had seen looked quite boastful and proud beings, she was just as polar opposite as could be though as she shyly followed behind them.

Come on up here and introduce yourself already, don't be rude. She snapped at the girl, morning for her to fall in next to her. She wasn't being mean for no reason however. She wanted to see how the girl responded to how she was speaking to her. If she drew further into herself or lashed out would let her know a bit more about who she really was than something as silly as an introduction.

 

[Callen Shaw]

The trio exited the building, somehow managing not to get shot in the back on the way out. He chuckled as Serie brushed off the compliment. Perhaps it didn't seem all that special to someone who was constantly around it but to him, her powers were quite mystifying and only added to his growing interest in the woman. He really knew nothing about the Force other than it made its followers extremely powerful.

Serie spoke harshly to the girl motioning for her to join them. Fallen raised an eyebrow. He hoped it didn't sour her mood towards the offer she was about to receive. The girl obliged the command, but there was defiance in her eyes, a fire that Callen had seen so many times on this world. That fire could be used for great things if only channeled correctly.

They made it outside and away from the warehouse where Callen thought they were no longer in direct danger. He turned towards the girl. “You won me a good amount of credits last night on that race.” He said grinning. The girl looked down expecting him to be like her former masters. He paused as he decided to roll the dice one more time today. This could backfire and he would have started a war with nothing to show.

“You’re free.” He said. The girls head snapped up, eyes wide with shock. That was certainly not what she had expected. She shifted, unsure what would happen next. “You can do whatever you want, go wherever but I have an offer that you should consider before deciding.” He continued as they climbed back in a taxi and left the district. “I want you to come work for me. I'll pay you of course and I can get you set up with a small apartment. The first order of business is going to be dealing with that asshole back there.” He said throwing a thumb over his shoulder back towards the warehouse.

She agreed her hate for her previous owner quite obvious. “Think it over tonight and let me know for sure in the morning. Once you're in...you're in.” He said seriously before he took back his relaxed posture again.

He turned back to Serie. “Thanks again for your help. You helped me start something here that is going to throw the whole quadrant into chaos. Hopefully chaos that makes me a lot of money.” He said grinning. “You know, we could do some pretty great things if you stuck around? Think about it, maybe? He asked.