Ask Keeping up Appearances

[Celeste Stythani]

Rattatak...

It's been roughly a handful of weeks since the Cauldron and the first tribes had been brought under their control. They had surely met resistance, but nothing they couldn't deal with. Kat and Celeste had both learned how to deal with the remaining Rattataki warlords and with every new tribe they met, they've learned more about both, their culture and their traditions. Most inhabitants shared the belief Celeste had started to confront them with: Slavery needed to be abolished, the fighting pits should be closed and they had to build up a better infrastructure. If Celeste hadn't been so persuasive, she would have encountered more protest, but with the help of the Force, she had manipulated the right Rattataki to ensure their loyalty for now.

Everett, as her new personal guard, was usually at her side when she started an outside mission, dealing with some self declared tyrants or local thugs who were still revolting against their new order, but today she was starting her day on her own, much to his dislike, but she had told neither him nor Kat what she had planned. She had told both of them that she was about to be picked up by somehow she had hired. She had called him an ally, just to soothe them, while she had actually no idea who this "Null" was. She had prepared a little backpack not only with some food and water for the journey ahead, but she had also brought her lightsaber, just in case. Since she had no idea who was about to land soon, she would keep up her fassade as always, not actually bragging about her dark background. Today, she was just Kat's adviser, armed with a set of virbo-knives and her usual blaster and clothed in her dark, newly made leathered dress that simultaneously functioned as light armour. She had already left the Cauldron and had headed towards the meager outback, right towards the coordinates she had sent to this bounty-hunter, impatiently waiting for him, not knowing what to expect of this little get-togehter. She had contemplated a lot. Maybe she should have just taken matters in her own hand instead of paying someone to do it secretly....

@AdventCore @Kyosuke Yamato

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Null was fully outfitted with his usual bounty hunting armor, completely concealed to most. He had a few various pieces of his hunting equipment on him, and aside from his vibrodagger and blaster pistol most of the extra loadout was stashed in the trunk of his jet-black airspeeder, which quickly flew through a low narrow path in the jagged mountain range. A small cloud of debris kicked up from under the sporty speeder as Null swiftly drifted it to a stop less than a meter from the ground, respectfully keeping the distance and velocity down enough to not hit his contact with any of it.

The deep bass of the grungy electronic music would slowly turn down while the bounty hunter turned his gaze to face the woman he was meant to meet. Then the enclosed cabin would unlatch with a soft jerk before it opened upward.

Null sat silent, his steady gaze still set on the woman who had been waiting for him as he remained securely strapped into his speeder's pilot seat. The Avian's engine purred with a low gutteral rumble while the man kept the well-maintained vehicle idling.


@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste had chosen their rendezvous point carefully. She didn't want anyone to see that she had clearly hired a bounty hunter and so she had chosen a desolate destination, hidden from anyone's sight. While she waited, she forced herself to breathe through, carefully preparing for suppressing her possibly cold, dark aura. She had no idea who that Null was and so she decided it would be best not to mention her rank. You could never be careful enough these days...

However, she did not need to wait long. After a few minutes, the sound of a speeder disrupted the quiet of the desolate desert. Her gaze remained fixed on the approaching man while she didn't move the tiniest bit. She had to close her eyes though, as the approaching speeder had whirled up some sand, but the air cleared in less than a few seconds and so she was good to go. She gracefully approached the speeder as its loud music started to cease and hoped inside, just the find the foreign man's gaze laying on her even if he was wearing that helmet.

By the way...why was he wearing that helmet? Helmets usually meant that the wearer had something to hide. At least that was her experience with it. So what was this mysterious stranger hiding? She wondered what he was thinking right now. For him, this was just a job, but coming from a woman in her new found position, this mission's goal could be seen as a rather odd request. She felt tempted to sneak inside his head, casually skimming through his thoughts, but she resisted, for the sake of this mission. She didn't want to upset a bounty hunter. He would be doing her dirty work, receive his payment and be gone again. Also, there was an admittedly tiny chance that he was Force sensitive and if he'd find out about it, she would have some things to explain and she had no interest in sharing any valuable information with a stranger. So she held herself back while leaning back in the seat right next to him, a slight smirk gracing her lips. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Null" she greeted him politely, offering him her hand, her usual business woman fassade activated already. She hated those games. She hated those stupid fassades and she sometimes hated to be professional. But it needed to be done...

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

This was not the usual client. Null was silent as he looked from the girl to the waiting hand, his head making small movements as he calmly glanced between the two. Then after the moment of hesitation he'd give her a respectful bow and tilt of the head as he took her hand long enough for a single shake.

"Likewise." His voice was replicated just a split second after it left his lips, hit the Shadowsilk along his face, and was replayed by his visor's integrated voice scrambler. Unlike most of the artificial tones from such devices his was soft and smooth, with just enough bassy volume to barely cover the hint of his true voice.

Once the greeting was done he'd move his hand from Celeste's to the navigation console, where he tapped a couple buttons to bring up a display of the nearby area. Then he'd give it a soft nod as he turned his gaze from the map back to her, expectantly waiting for her to plot the course or point out where to head next. Then he casually tapped another button on the dash to close the canopy back around them so the cool climate controlled temperature didn't all escape.

"Where to?"


@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Great, she thought to herself. He was just mysterious enough to make her quite suspicious for now. First the helmet, then the usual amount of time before he started reciprocating her gesture. She would definitely keep an eye on him. But for now it would be fine. He just needed to get the job done anyway. She still couldn't help but to smirk, because in contrast to him, she was rather open and chatty, so she was curious on where this might be going. At least he didn't seem like a threat to her and that was all she wanted for now.


She leaned back and studied the map, trying to locate the Cauldron and then also the direction of their target. "There. It's not that far but it might take us an hour, depending on your skills as a pilot" she teased him with a smirk on her lips, while pointing in the corresponding direction. She didn't want to annoy him in any way, but rather lighten the uptight mood. After all, they might be spending some time together and so she thought humor could be a good way to start. Now that the canopy was closed again, she could finally enjoy pleasant temperatures again. In the Cauldron, there was no actual possibility to cool the heated rooms down in any way and so she really appreciated being picked up in such a speeder. Celeste knew, however, that they would have to hide it, otherwise there might a chance that someone would try to steal it.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

Depending on his skills as a pilot?!

The engine revved hard, the entire cabin shook from the powerful roar, and Kyo's unflinching gaze stayed on the blonde woman who he believed had challenged his skills.

"Hold on." He calmly advised her to brace herself, then finally turned his focus to the front, and suddenly punched it.

The Avian shot forward at full acceleration, throwing both bodies back into their seats as the sporty speeder blasted above and across the ground while Kyo quickly shifted with each cry of the engine. A moment later they then suddenly and skillfully whipped through a small narrow mountain path with a long and blazingly fast drift. The entire speeder was tilted to the side at a steep angle through the drift, causing Celeste to momentarily be above Null in the dangerous yet flawless manuever.

Then he'd downshift and punch it again as they came out of the long curved path. The engine howled loud, both were slammed back again, and then they'd feel the intense forces rippling across their bodies as they bolted through a long open straight at full speed, remaining just high enough off the ground that they wouldn't be blowing up too much dust in their wake, and just low enough that they'd remain concealed by the vast network of mountains.


@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste was clearly challenging him, but she didn't expect such a direct reaction from the yet so calm, restrained mysterious bounty hunter. As soon as the helmeted man shifted his gaze back to the front and warned her to hold on, she however did lean back, expecting him to simply start speeding, but as he started with a whole bunch of wild maneuvers, she had to concentrate in order not to loose her professional fassade.

She was thrown right into the seat as he was starting to accelerate, just to find herself all over the places soon. She was relieved about being strapped into the seat already, because otherwise she would have found herself flying through the complete passenger compartment. She had to tense up every single muscle though, to keep herself balanced during their wild ride, trying her best to keep up the unshaken fassade. However, she couldn't stay fully neutral, as a smirk already began to play in the corner of her lips, while she had to admit that this ride was somehow thrilling indeed. She felt the adrenaline rushing through her veins while she was pressed into the seat yet another time. "Your speeder surely seems well-maintained" she admitted a little impressed, overplaying every other emotion. It was better to compliment him on his ship then to reveal that she had been indeed just a little overwhelmed. In addition to that, he surely had some skills. But she would tell him later on in the most charming way possible.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Thanks." The bounty hunter nodded, calm and steady as the speeder raced on. Eager to get out of the open, he glanced at the map to double check their heading, and then steered the craft toward a long straight path that was obscured between several quickly approaching mountains.

"Got a place we can park a few miles away?" Null casually aimed his head between Celeste and the path ahead while he inquired about their first destination. His bright blues periodically shifted back and forth behind the dark transparisteel visor as he vigilantly checked between her and the path.


@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste leaned back as casually as possible, still trying to hide her initiate astonishment. She might have underestimated him. At least that was clearly something she had to admit to herself and it did bug her a little, because she was used to being able to read people quite easily but something about this particular man was different. Something that made her curious.

As soon as he averted his gaze, she studied him critically, slightly squinting for a moment, but when he turned around again, she acted indifferently. She even forced herself to a little smirk, still trying to keep up her unbothered appearance while slowly starting to become a intrigued. "Yeah, I know a place. I've been doing some scouting, so I might just know the right place" she answered while shifting her gaze back to the holomap, starting to scroll a little. It took her a few moments but once she found the cave, she zoomed in, pointing her index finger towards it. "There. There is this one little spot, hidden from any sight because it's right inside this huge canyon and your speeder should fit right into in". Once she was done explaining, she playfully tilted her head to side and shot him a look which was way more assertive then before. She knew that it might take a while until they would reach the canyon, so she was very interested in getting to know him better. "So...Null. Tell me something about yourself. Have you ever been on Rattatak before?".





@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Well..." Null hesitated, considering how much information he should give Celeste. His purpose here was twofold, but he wasn't about to reveal his alternate motive to her. He glanced at the map to double check the route between them and the cave she pointed out. Then he slightly turned his head toward her, and gave her a faint shrug.

"I'm a bounty hunter." The man dryly stated with a hint of a jest, then returned his attention to the front. He intentionally left the rest of her inquiry unanswered, hoping to dodge the question of whether or not he'd visited the planet before.


@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

After she was done navigating by showing him the chosen cave, she was eyeing him attentively again. He was not only mysterious, but also secretive and this really started to pipe her curiosity. His initiate hesitation made her even more suspicious, but she tried not to display it in any way. He did seem to contemplate, trying to figure out what to say and then he suddenly did reply.

His response made her smirk first, but then it actually made her a little angry, turning her amused grin in an even slightly dangerous one. Her emotions actually started to boil up, but she still tried to keep her fassade, even though he did not only dodge her direct question, but he was also deliberately provoking her with his dry response. When he averted his gaze, her eyes remained fixed on the transparisteel visor. "This answer does not suffice. I am paying you, so I expect you to behave like you are hired. When i give you an order, you obey. When I ask you something, you reply " her tone shifted out of a sudden. The amusement was gone and all that was left was an icy tone and her usual authority. She didn't like to be questioned. She knew when to assert a certain amount of dominance so she wanted to set the tone straight from the very beginning. It was not the case that he was not up for some fun. No, actually she could be quite humorous, easy-going and charming, but this mysterious man had started to push her buttons and so her deep initial mistrust made her want to emphasize her position, not more not less.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Ahm..." Null tried to clear his throat quietly and nodded obediently. His guise nearly faltered at the woman's sudden demanding demeanor. It was a good thing she couldn't see through his helmet, or she'd see the bright blush that swept across his cheeks.

"Yes ma'am..." He tried to pull himself together as much as he could, nearly struck by his shy guy side from the unexpected response. The bounty hunter knew he should follow her orders if he wanted to stick around and investigate the developing situation on Rattatak.

"This is my first time here." The man responded about as professionally as he could given the situation. Hopefully his answer satisfied her enough for now, though he was sure there were bound to be more.


@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She could basically feel the tension growing inside the speeder. She wondered whether her question did come across so intimidatingly, but judging from his sudden cowed reaction, it did somehow. Throughout the last weeks, she had definitely put on a different kind of fassade which was even more vigorous and assertive than her usual. It did irritate her though that he, as a bountyhunter, was so easily flustered. She immediately thought that there was probably an interesting story behind it and she would definitely work on details later on.

What followed after was something that sounded more like a real response, even though his way of addressing her was extremely interesting. Ma'am. That sure was interesting. It really seemed as though she had got the tone set straight now and so she was simply raising an amused eyebrow at him while starting to smirk.

"Good boy", she then replied in a pleased manner when he gave her an actual answer, trying to tease him a little more, hoping to thereby start lightening the tense mood again. She leaned back again, examining the meager landscape in front of them but there was actually nothing excited about it. The way I which she has unintentionally addressed him made her wonder how old he even was and as she was still quite curious about him, she wouldn't stop here. "All right so first time here, I get that. But where do you come from? Where were you born and when?". Her tone still had a certain amount of authority in it, but she tried to articulate her questions more softly now.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

The unsteadied bounty hunter blushed even brighter behind the mask, feeling a strange proud yet bubbly sensation at how she pleasantly addressed him. He hadn't heard that term in at least five cycles, ever since his ex-Master exiled herself. It caused his chest to flutter, taking him back to when she used to treat him like he was actually still a boy.

"Y--" He nearly released a shaky squeak, then swallowed hard. "Yes, ma'am..." A hesitant breath escaped him, churning in the digital mix of his visor's voice scrambler. He cleared his throat and glanced at the map. They were making good progress, but it seemed like they'd be on their current path for about another dozen minutes or so before they'd reach the canyon. The cave was even further than that, meaning he'd be trapped much longer with this inquisitive client who seemed to be enjoying asserting her dominance over him.

"I was born on Nar Shaddaa..." Null had to be careful with the personal information he was beginning to open himself up to exposing. If Celeste had her subordinates investigate his origins then they would find that he grew up on the streets as an orphan, and so he had to make sure the complicated deception he was potentially about to be forced to weave would be able to match their intel. He'd start slow, taking it as calm and easy as he could. Step by step. Thankfully her current line of questioning didn't require him to actually lie to her. Yet.

"...Twenty-six cycles ago..."


@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste started to contemplate whether she should actually start messing with him just for fun. She didn't have evil motifs, it was rather the prospect of a little amusement which interested her. After all, he was only there for fulfilling a quick job while Celeste herself was there to control the situation if needed.

Her eyes intensely lingered on the bountyhunter who still seemed rather nervous. She could not only hear, but even see him swallow hard and this raised her interest even further. What was he hiding? She didn't expect the usual bountyhunter to behave that...submissive, so she was sure there something interesting was hidden beneath that transparisteel visor and she was very intrigued to find out what. For starters, his backstory would suffice, as long as his response would satisfy her though.


When he answered her, there was still a slight hint of uncertainty hidden inside his voice, and this tiny part let her tilt her head to the side, throwing him a rather warning look."Why so hesitant? Are you hiding something? You know, I could make you talk if I want to..." she replied sweetly, but there was still something assertive in her voice.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"It's more like... You remind me of someone." If this conversation were a match of holo-chess, Celeste would be in the lead. It wasn't clear to Null if she meant torture or using the Force to force him to speak, he'd have to investigate more on that later, but one thing was certain for now. He had to shift the direction of their conversation just enough to deflect her suspicion, and take the reigns into his own hands. He'd also have to tweak the truth just slightly to keep himself from totally lying.

"The person who got me into bounty hunting." His gaze slowly turned back to Celeste as though he were confiding in her, discreetly putting on a subtle show like he was telling her something intimately personal to establish a touch of loyalty. To build trust, even if that trust were built upon a deceptive truth. "I was pretty much her student, and she was my teacher."


@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Out of a sudden, the man seemed to have found his confidence again. It was not even just confidence, but it also seemed as though he was starting to open up. She assumed that on the inside he was still fighting to keep up his cool fassade, which had slowly started to crumble at first, while on the outside he managed to keep himself together for now. She was still more than intrigued to go on with her little unrelenting game of inquisition, but for now, she wanted to let him think that he had won. She could let him have this little success of thinking that she was satisfied with his answers for now, but the calm before the storm was deceitful.

"I wonder in how far I remind you of her. Maybe you would do me the pleasure to elaborate" she went on, her voice shifting to a more sensitive tone. Her empathy might have been a little deceptive, because it was still clear that she would make him talk either way. It was still up to him whether Celeste would have to squeeze the answers out of him or whether he would obey. However, by directing the conversation onto his teacher instead of himself, she would let him think that was safe from her questions for now.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Yes, of course..." Null couldn't exactly tell her that it was what she called him and how she treated him, but he didn't really have anything else he could really tell her either. At least she seemed to be easing into the new subject easily enough.

"Well--" The bounty hunter took a deep breath like he wasn't sure he wanted to say what he was about to say. The commanding blonde might take what he was about to give her as a jab, but hopefully he could come across with it just right so as to not seem like he was being rude.

"She also liked to be in control." He gave a soft shrug like he was trying to be apologetic, while also giving off the vibe that he thought it was true. His gaze casually went back and forth between the path and Celeste, unsure of which was actually more dangerous right now.


@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The blonde woman was very interested in his upcoming answer, not only because she thought that the actual response could be very interesting, but also because she wanted to find out whether he would give her another reason to be suspicious.

And yet again he started to stammer. Hesitantly he replied again, seemingly unsure about his choice of words. Not only the filler 'well', but also his constant pauses raised the suspicion that he was not only hiding something, but that he was also careful around her. Either careful because her demeanor came across way too dominant and intimidating or because this was not just the regular bountyhunter. The latter seemed more logical as bountyhunters were usually used to dealing with all sorts of clients and shouldn't start shying away so easily.

Nevertheless, his final answer made her smirk in the end. She couldn't even help but to chuckle a little as his response was indeed amusing. So his confidence was back after all, otherwise he maybe wouldn't have even dared to be that direct...that was indeed interesting. For a moment she contemplated whether she should react with a slight warning, as his statement was a dangerous assumption, but she then thought that she would let it slide for now. Sometimes she was simply enjoying to play with her prey and this man was starting to move in that direction if he wouldn't be careful. "I'm impressed. It seems like you have some knowledge of human nature" she admitted softly, but everyone who knew her would have noticed that this man was starting to play with fire. At least he seemed to have some experience with women like her...Good for him.

Celeste leaned back again, her eyes quickly shifting from him to the front. They were soon about to approach the said canyon, meaning that their final destination was not that far away."I hope your former...teacher has taught you well. The target will not be an easy elimination". She directed her gaze back at him, wanting to find out how he would react to these words of caution.

@AdventCore

 

[Kyosuke Yamato]

"She usually handled the conversations." Null shrugged and subtly stalled to have less conversation time as he pretended to check the map again. "But I've got plenty of experience with target elimination, so that won't be a problem."

Once they were close to the edge of the trail the sudden cliff edge would drop into a deep canyon. Null kept the sleek Avian smooth and even, though he didn't take the transition into the canyon easily either. The pair would suddenly fall fast, the pits of their stomachs thrusting up into their bodies at the rapid descent. He kept the speeder at a slight angle while he flew it down along the cliff edge, casually dodging random rock outcroppings as he tried to keep their presence hidden as much as possible.

"What about you?" Null glanced at Celeste then back forward, hoping to deflect the conversation further away from his past. "I get the feeling you're quite the fighter."


@LadyRen