Ask One Plus One Equals Three

Terra Lanris

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Omega wasn't the worst place that Terra had been to, but it was... pretty much what you expected. After the mass outbreak of AMS within Syndicate space, many criminals had begun to shift their way toward facilities that were more secure. That was how Omega had gone from being a relatively small and - to some - pointless asteroid outpost to one of the major outposts for Crimson Dawn's activity.

Terra's joining of Crimson Dawn was a... recent change, and one she still wasn't sure was correct. Her shipping and chartering company had been struggling, and she certainly had the experience in thieving and "questionable" activity that she'd had no trouble getting a spot. In fact, one of her childhood friends - a member himself - had helped secure her a position as one of their agents.

"Agent" sounded so much better. The Crimson Dawn was as much a trader of the immaterials like information and bribery as the physical. So she told herself she was an "agent" and she knew she was lying to herself.

She had landed near the Afterlife and she could hear the pounding music before she actually reached the club. She had a meeting scheduled with the club's owner and flashed the information to the bouncer outside. He didn't take her pistol, and she couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. It meant she might get shot inside... but also that she had a gun to shoot back? A plus?

She was led through until she finally arrived at the woman in question. A woman whose club was reputedly struggling as much as Terra's shipping business... which meant opportunity for everyone.
 

Astria Jerriko

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The thumping music of the club was nothing but far away white noise to Astria as she sat alone at her private table, eyes fixated on her phone. She was reading the latest income reports for Afterlife and the images displayed on the screen produced nothing but annoyed grimaces from her.

Things were stagnating. On good days the club barely put a toe into the black and on bad days, well.. Astria had become quite adept at ignoring those, but she knew it was something that couldn't be done forever. Eventually she needed to make a move, she'd just been waiting for the right opportunity. It seemed that now was the time.

Plus, she might have been getting just a little desperate.

When Terra arrived, Astria nodded her head slightly in greeting and motioned for the Tiefling to take a seat across from her. The bouncers that had lead her here would quickly depart back to where they were stationed - well out of earshot of Astria and Terra. Putting her phone away, Astria eyed Terra intently as she sat down.

Most people don't have the foresight to schedule a meeting, Astria said dryly, which might make it hard for Terra to hear it as the compliment it was intended to be.

Motioning to an N-Series droid nearby, Astria would have it bring over two glasses of amber colored liquor. One for her and one for Terra, if she wanted it.

Exactly what kind of business are you here to discuss? Astria asked before taking a drink, her gaze planted firmly onto Terra.


@Phoenix
 
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Terra Lanris

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It's good business, she said. And business was what she was in for. She wasn't all about killing or the other things that many of these psycho orgs brought down. She wanted a business that ran smoothly and efficiently. That meant having things that ran on time and things that were set up in stone.

Terra tossed a glance over toward the droid that moved toward her, her tail flicking ever so slightly. She didn't have a problem with droids, but she sometimes had a problem with types she didn't recognize. In this business, protocol droids were as likely to be assassin droids as not. But... Astria didn't have a reason to kill her either, right? Maybe she was just on edge, but it was kind of dumb, wasn't it?

Combined assets. You've got a place to sell items and I've got ships to bring those items in, she said. Those items didn't need to be detailed as "stolen."

If we find a way to pull together some muscle and gather an "acquisitions" branch, we could have a thriving business, she said. "Acquisitions" through thievery and pirating could be excellent business. She didn't have patience for dancing around the issue. She took the glass and quickly downed... most of it in a single go. Tiefling's tolerance for alcohol was well-earned, and Terra was no exception. She could drink men twice her size under the table owed to her double livers.
 

Astria Jerriko

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Astria didn't interrupt Terra as she spoke. She simply sat there and listened, sipping idly at the liquor in her glass. Astria's expression would remain neutral and stony, not betraying the whizzing gears of her mind as she mulled over the proposition the Tiefling had brought her.

At a thousand credits a bottle, Zeltronian burboun is generally a sipping liquor. She said, her voice the same deadpan tone that it normally was. The faintest ghost of a smirk had creased Astria's lips when she saw Terra down the glass nearly in one go. She motioned to Jarvis to bring over refills. Do not be nervous, it undermines your proposal.

Leaning back in her char, Astria raised her chin slightly as she looked down her nose toward Terra. The idea of combined assets wasn't a terrible one, but there were details they would need to go over. Contracts were more Jarvis' wheelhouse, being an N-Series droid and all.

You've seen most of the extend of my muscle, Astria said with with a reluctant shrug. Do you have any leads on acquiring more?

Pondering her own question for a moment, Astria drummed her fingers on the table idly as she let out a sigh. Droids might be easier to procure than sufficient mercenary numbers. Cheaper in the long run, too.

Pulling a thin cigarette case out of her pocket, Astria would offer Terra a smoke before putting one into her own mouth and lighting it. The haze of smoke hung around the two of them, small plumes billowing softly from Astria's nostrils.

Thoughts?
 

Terra Lanris

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Terra bit back a comment about investing that 1000 into the club rather than a single bottle, but decided that might also undermine her business proposal as well.

You need more Tieflings in your bar. When we drink, we don't mess around, she said, looking down at her empty glass that was filled moments later by the droid. Bourbon or otherwise.

Lotta people ran here after AMS came through Hutt space. People who used to be part of other gangs. Smaller gangs. Some even from Crimson Dawn who've been sitting around doing kriff all for the last few years while the other Syndicates beef up and prepare for... she shook her head and rolled her eyes ...whatever they're preparing for. Open war with the Republic was not what the Syndicates were built on, but if the Consortium wanted to rip itself apart, that was more space for them to expand into.

Terra reached out and took the offered cigarette with a nod. Thanks, she said, lighting it up and puffing as well.

Hm, droids, she said thoughtfully. Could work. I've always found droids good for grunt labor, but they lack the conniving minds that can get real profit, she said.

Gang officers in command of droids for the general grunt work? she said.

She pulled out her datapad and set it on the table. Eclipse has had an uneasy agreement with Crimson Dawn for a while, but they're not making much profit now either. We could try bringing them in. They also have a line in the droid business. A foot in the door, she said.
 

Astria Jerriko

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I do not think even they know what they are preparing for, Astria said, her nose curling like she'd just smelled something horrible. She had a particular distaste for most outside of the Crimson Dawn. They move their dejarik pieces without looking at the rest of the board.

Taking a long drag of her cigarette, Astria crushed what remained of it in a decretive circular dish that sat on the table. A thick tuft of smoke billowed from her nose before she finished the rest of her drink.

I think you're onto something in regards to the Eclipse. They might even be more desperate for credits than we are. A rare spot of humor from Astria, not something that Terra should get accustomed to.

Pulling out her phone, Astria flipped through a couple hundred emails before finally finding the one she was looking for. Despite Afterlife not making nearly as many credits as she would like, Astria's information trading wasn't suffering nearly as badly. There was little that happened on Omega that didn't pass through her emails at some point.

A few weeks ago I was informed a local group of Eclipse had scraped enough bodies together to establish a small base on one of the lower levels of Omega, She said before air dropping Terra the email that contained most of the details. Rumor has it that there are two people vying for leadership. Duros brothers, Verang and Byssk.

Astria would wait a few moments while Terra read the email to ponder the situation a little further.

From my limited dealings with them, Verang is the much more.. business minded of the two. Byssk thinks the answer to all of life's problems is to shoot in the face. While that may have been the answer to a lot of life's problems, it was now way to start the kind of enterprise Astria was envisioning.

I think we have two options. Find Verang and strike a deal, or kill them both and assume full control. Astria would study the way Terra reacted to the second option, curious to the type of criminal she actually was.

Unless you can think of something better.


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Terra Lanris

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Terra looked at the email that was passed over to her, thinking for a long moment about the implications of this. The Eclipse were going to be a mess to deal with if they were fighting each other, and she wasn't sure about the ability to just... seize control of everything either.

She chewed the inside of her lip for a moment before taking another sip of bourbon and pushing the datapad back toward her partner.

We should cut a deal with Verang for now and remove him from his position at a later date. Blackmail or force him out as soon as we have the "loyalty" of Eclipse, she said. It'd be hard to keep them in line without some sort of familiar leader... for the moment.

I guess we should get started, she said, pushing to a stand. She wasn't sure if Astria was more of a "sit on the sidelines" or get her hands dirty type, but depending on that answer would tell Terra a lot about her.

And don't think of double crossing me, she said, for the first time her eyes becoming hard. She was no stranger to this business, and she knew they were already planning to betray their "upcoming" partner. There was no honor among thieves, and she'd be a fool to trust someone she barely knew. It was why she'd kept most of the details of her own company to herself.
 

Astria Jerriko

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Astria's nostrils flared ever so slightly in offense to Terra's last comment. Standing to her feet, she narrowed her eyes before speaking.

A person is nothing without their word, She said icily. The partnership has already failed if we do not have at least a sapling of mutual trust.

Astria may have been a criminal, but you do not survive one hundred and five years in this business by fucking over your business partners. At least not the ones that are actually useful.. or could actually do something about it. In time, Terra would come to realize that Astria wasn't the type of common thug one usually associated with the Five Syndicates. She was something else, something.. better.

My intel says Verang generally hangs out at some dive a couple of levels down. Astria remarked as she lead Terra toward a back entrance of Afterlife where she kept her personal airspeeder. You can drive. Might as well see what kind of pilot you are.

Slipping into the passenger seat, Astria pressed a few buttons on the center console to set the GPS to their destination. Reaching into the glove compartment, Astria took out the DG-34 blaster pistol she kept there and placed it into a chest holster hidden beneath her shirt.

Settling into her seat as the airspeeder took off, Astria would stare straight ahead while asking Terra a question.

How long have you been with the Syndicates? Information about you was surprisingly limited.
 

Terra Lanris

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And yet, that's what we're doing to what's-his-Duros-face, she said. The other woman may have been offended, but Astria would soon realize that Terra was as fiery as most of her people.

Glad to know you're not planning that for me, she said. Or so she claimed. The fact was that Astria could say it, but Terra would be an idiot to take it all at face value. At least not until they knew one another far better.

Terra snickered as the other woman mentioned seeing what kind of pilot she was. Hopefully we're not going to be in a scenario where you need to see my fancy flying right now, she said, but was more than happy to drive. She slid into the drivers seat and threw the vehicle into drive, taking off immediately toward the location mentioned.

I joined relatively recently. I've been working on my own for the last couple of years. Before that I was with a small group on Corellia, she said. It was enough to say that. No one had ever heard of most of the small gangs on Corellia.

I reached out to an old friend in Dawn, she said.

You seem well connected even for someone in Crimson Dawn, she said, guiding the vehicle smoothly through the lanes and toward their destination, pulling into one of the landing docks.

Her tail flicked slightly as her hand reached down and double checked the charge on her blaster. Not that she wanted to use it, but better to be sure than not.
 

Astria Jerriko

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I've outlived most of my contacts, Astria said with just a hint of humor. Another joke, or at least her own style of humor. But there is always another waiting just behind them. My web runs deep because I've had more than eighty years to craft it.

It was one of the small yet numerous benefits to being such a long lived race. Astria may have only been a middling scoundrel for the Syndicates, but she'd already been around for longer than most of the people in it.

As Terra pulled the airspeeder into the landing dock, Astria slipped out of the car with determination. It had been awhile since Astria had actually left Afterlife to do work for herself, usually hiring mercs or bounty hunters to do it. It was a good feeling, if she were being honest, being back doing things like she did when she was younger.

Just a hint of advice, the denizens of this particular bar do not really like it when people speak Basic. Astria said to Terra as they made their way to the bar and inside. Duro would work better, but everyone around here speaks at least a little Huttese.

The inside of the dive bar was exactly what one would expect just from seeing the outside. Everything was old, a little rusted. It smelled like a strange mix of musty and sweet, like moldy wine. Taking a seat at a table that overlooked most of the bar, Astria motioned for Terra to join her.

I spoke with one of Verang's lieutenants during the car ride over. Apparently he's more paranoid than usual.

Taking her cigarette case out again, Astria would offer Terra another before lighting her own. We might have to do some bitch work before we get what we want. She said dryly, ashing her cigarette into a small cup on the table. Our position of leverage is weak.

After a few moments, the contact Astria had spoken to motioned towards them from a more secluded part of the bar. An invitation to wherever Verang was hole up.

Putting out her smoke, Astria would stand up and head over. Hopefully things went according to plan and they weren't walking into some kind of gundark's nest of a trap.
 

Terra Lanris

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She twisted her mouth up at the mention of not being able to speak basic.

I speak no Duros and I understand more Huttese than I speak, she said. That could make things... awkward.

She didn't miss the mention of working for eighty years, but she thought this may not be the time to ask about that. She didn't know what species Astria was, but it was something deceptively long lived.

She moved inside and took a seat, annoyed at feeling like she couldn't speak. Her fingers drummed momentarily on the table in annoyance before she stopped, took a deep, quiet breath, and tried to steady her nerves.

Then maybe we should have gotten more leverage first, she said, taking the offered cigarette and taking a long, calming drag. Or maybe we should have just killed them like she said, she thought to herself.

I hope you speak better Huttese than me, she said just before they were led toward the back room.

And who are you two? What's your business here? the Duros asked almost before they were even in the door. He looked fidgety and impatient, and Terra immediately got tweaker vibes from him. Was the stress getting to him?
 

Astria Jerriko

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You really need to learn to speak Huttese. Astria said, before reaching into her jacket and pulling out a small ear piece. Translator, so you can at least understand what we're talking about.

As they made their way back to Verang, Astria's mind hung on what Terra had said just a few moments ago about getting more leverage. Obviously it was too late to do that now, but there was no reason they couldn't.. invent some.

<Calm down, Verang,> Astria said in near perfect Durese. The language was a common spacer's tongue, and Astria had been around for awhile. She knew more than a few languages. <I spoke with one of your men earlier, I'm Astria Jerriko and this is my associate, Terra.>

Verang looked visibly rattled, though Astria wasn't sure it was entirely because of his brother. She knew the signs of someone absolutely torched on spice. Judging from the beads of sweat on the Duros' massive forehead, this was probably the comedown stage. Astria couldn't help but wonder if the man was out of his drugs and afraid to go find more. Or maybe he was out of money.

<We're here to make a proposal for our mutual benefit.> She said matter-of-factly. <We both want the same thing. You as leader of Eclipse and your brother.. out of the picture. With a stable Eclipse, Terra and I can offer your gang employment.> Astria paused for a moment to give Verang time to take in what she was saying. <Our business is expanding, but we need muscle. And you need credits.>

It was fairly obvious that even through the spice haze Verang recognized the opportunity that had just been dropped in his lap. The rusted gears in his mind were churning away and Astria remained quiet to give the man time to think.

Your deal is interesting, Verang said, his voice a little shaky from the withdraw. But I can't commit to anything until Byssk is gone.. or dead.

Astria understood what was being requested even if it wasn't explicit and it didn't bother her. She'd killed many people throughout her life for one reason or another. Sometimes removing an obstacle through force was the only way to achieve a goal.

<We will be back and can discuss terms then.> Astria said simply before reaching into her jacket and taking out a small vial. She eyed it for a moment before flipping it to Verang. <Work for me and you'll have access to that kind of spice whenever you need it.>

Turning from Verang, Astria jerked her head towards the door for Terra to follow. When they were away from the backroom, Astria dropped her Durese and returned to basic.

I was hoping to avoid it, but there's not many options if Verang only wants blood. Heading outside into the street, Astria sighed a little. Byysk is also on this level and shouldn't be hard to find, he's probably in the base I mentioned earlier. The hard part will be getting through his men to get to him before he dips off world or we end up riddled with blaster fire.

Heading off towards the base, Astria was tossing around ideas in her head about how to approach things. How do you feel about trying your hand at assassination?


@Phoenix
 

Terra Lanris

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Yeah, Terra didn't speak Durese. She could get by in Huttese if she had to, but not Durese. Still, she listened through the translator and didn't love where the conversation was going. She couldn't say she was shocked by it, but that didn't mean she liked it. She knew what she was getting into... crime syndicates operated on either violence or reputation of violence.

Astria asked her if she wanted to try her hand at assassination and Terra bristled for a moment. Couldn't they... hire people for that? Just because she had killed before didn't mean she liked making a habit of it... but she also knew she needed to move up in Crimson Dawn. She needed to be feared, and she needed to be able to get her hands dirty.

It doesn't look like we have much of a choice, she said. It wasn't like this was some advanced killing, though. They weren't going after some well-guarded politician. In Terra's experience - and she did have experience - it could be as simple as walking up to someone on a street or driving by and emptying a blaster into them. It didn't have to be pretty, and it wouldn't be. This was the real world, not a holomovie.

He's not going to be expecting a move. I say we just wait for him to go out to dinner or whatever crap he does and make it quick and simple, she said. He was bound to go out eventually. Power didn't serve very well if you had to hide in your own base all the time.

She motioned toward the speeder and started driving them to the base, stopping in a hover near the base but not right outside.

You do a lot of assassinations? she asked.
 

Astria Jerriko

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Depends on what you consider a lot, Astria said with a bit of a smirk, exiting the speeder and eyeing the outside of the base and noticing a row of swoop bikes parked outside. They had blood pack symbols on them. Also depends on your definition of assassination.

Leaning against a wall, Astria's attention was drawn to the a Duros who came stumbling out of the base, clearly drunk off his bald blue ass.

Be ready to go. We will need to get the fuck out of here as quickly as possible. Excuse me one moment. She said, turning to look at Terra before starting to walk towards Byysk.

Astria's stride was swift and determined. As she approached Byysk, the drunken Duros barely even noticed her. Drawing her gun from its holster, Astria simply walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

<What do you want?> Byysk said, starting to turn around. He wouldn't be able to get all of the words out before the barrel of Astria's blaster was pointed directly at his forehead. With as single pull of the trigger she sent a bolt straight through Byyk's brain, blowing the top of his head off with a small splatter of blood.

Taking out her phone, Astria would snap a quick photo of her handiwork. She would send it to Verang through a secure app that would scramble her phone's address so it couldn't be used for blackmail later.

Hurrying back to Terra, Astria would dive back into the speeder as other Eclipse members had just started to come out of the base having heard the blaster shot.

Get us far away from here. Verang has received his proof. She said, just a touch out of breath.

Despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins, Astria sunk into the passenger seat of the speeder, the same emotionless and stone faced expression she usually sported settled on her face.


@Phoenix
 

Terra Lanris

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Terra found that answer vague and unconvincing. She also took it to mean that Astria had murdered a lot of people over the years.

Terra didn't actually leave from behind the wheel as Astria got out and went to do the business they were here for. It was ruthlessly efficient, and Terra really couldn't argue. A single shot to the face at close range left the man dead on the street and Terra brought the speeder up next to her.

She didn't even slow all the way to a stop as the other woman dove inside and the moment she was satisfied her partner wouldn't fall out, she gunned it away down the street.

Don't have to tell me twice, she said. She glanced into the rear mirror as others started looking at the body, but no one managed to start pursuing until they were already around the corner. Besides, Terra was a better pilot than any of them.

She hadn't even done the shooting and she could still feel her heart racing, the thrill of the job and the danger ever-present.

I guess that's our first step down, she said. Many more to go...

//Thread
 
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