Operation Stardust: Assassin's Creed

[Ner Giza]

Anoat City, Anoat, Outer-Rim Territories​

Well this Order of Kouhun couldn’t have picked a more out of the way place than Anoat, in the Twi’lek’s humble opinion. Some obscure world on the Ison Corridor between Hoth and Bespin Systems. She had to do some pretty fancy negotiation to even get 99 to agree to the trip. Something had gotten his circuitry in a tangle against her, and she didn’t know what it was this time. The trip to this sector had taken forever and it was only made longer by the droid’s unusual noncompliance. Curiously enough, now that she thought about it, every time the KLT-99Z unit grumbled around at her, Aurelian always seemed to get really busy.

Well they had made it to Anoat thanks to the up to date coordinates provided by the alliance on Savareen. At least they didn’t have to worry about where to begin their search, Anoat City was the obvious choice. No doubt the Assassins’ lair would be in the warren of sewers beneath the city. A subterranean dweller by birth, she was under no illusion that it would feel like coming home.

“99, stay with the ship and keep an eye on things. Leave a com open if we need anything”, she said while powering down the ship save for those systems the droid would need. Security codes would lock down the ship and keep it safe from, well, honest law abiding citizens. It would have to do. She turned to her partner and teased, “I still say just walking into the first bar we find and asking for the Order of Kouhun was a great idea.” Hopping up out of her seat, she prepared her gear, securing her weapons under the cover of her poncho. In actuality she couldn’t think of a better way to get them both killed. No, this would take some finesse and patience. Hopefully they would be able to convince the Order to join the Alliance after their search was concluded.

@Lazy Swordsman

 

[Aurelian Keth]

Aurelian had not been happy. He had very obviously not been happy. He hadn’t hid it from his crewmate and he had even got snappy at Ninety-Nine which in turn led the astromech to be short with Ner’Giza which fouled the Twi’leks mood. A vicious circle of not being very happy. The scholar had not wanted to come on this mission in the first place, negotiating with assassins was not exactly something he found very tasteful. More to the point, the man had wanted to stay back at the base for a few days to focus on his studies.

His reticence, or as some might say childish petulance, had passed while in Hyperspace and he turned his focus to the mission at hand. Command had charged the duo of smugglers to attempt to track down, and open talks, with the Order of Kouhan. Assassins but at least they weren’t just violent cut-throats, they specialised in causing political discord and other underhanded methods such as blackmail. Aurelian guessed that made it a bit better than being simple assassins but they were still murderers. However it had been decided that the Alliance required their assistance. The only reason the scholar had agreed to this mission at all was because diplomatic assignments where few and far between but always preferable to missions were he would definitely have to hurt someone.

‘Although our commanders did make it clear during the briefing that he would have to get aggressive if talking turned out not to work. It was unfortunate but he would do what he must.’ he thought to himself as he glanced over at Ner’Giza.

He smiled faintly. “That is always your approach my friend. However I recommend a little caution. Lets first see if we can find somewhere that smugglers and other underworld entrepreneurs may gather and take it from there.” he suggested. “I believe locating and fitting in with such places falls more into your line of expertise… just please don’t pull a gun on someone unless you have to. Let’s avoid a sequel to our Tatooine assignment, hmm?” he asked but in good humour, he had poked fun at her incautious nature for years. Their last Alliance mission had just granted him more fuel for his jokes.

Patting the droid on the top of his cylinder as he passed Aurelian grabbed his pistol, the DH-7 which he'd picked up having regretted not having a stun setting on their previous assignment, and slid it into his holster on his right hip. Once the weapon was secure he grabbed his vibrosword and sheathing it on his left. He was wearing another his new custom "armour" which he'd made since the Alliance mission on Tatooine. They kept pushing him to just take a set for himself full time but a barrier existed within the scholar’s mind which made the difference in borrowing and owning a set very different. It would be like throwing away his last resistance to being a soldier, although he wondered if that barrier had collapsed long ago.

Descending the ship’s ramp he waited for Ner’Giza before smirking faintly. “So where first, my Captain?”

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Ner Giza]

Whatever the droid’s issue might be, she suspected it would blow over eventually. More than likely he was pining away over a certain news anchor on the galactic network. “If you get bored, 99, just throw on some old news feed”, she suggested in all sincerity as she descended the gangplank. The little droid didn’t even dyne to reply other than to retract the gangplank, almost before she was done with it.

The two foot drop was nothing really, and as she landed easily enough she grinned. His words soon made her blanch for she hadn’t been her most dexterous on that day in question, in word or in deed. Her shoulder came up as she tilted her head to the side sheepishly, refusing to give more reaction to his teasing. When he was right, he was right! No sense belabouring the point.
“Well, I was thinking we should go book shopping”, she replied moving up alongside him.

Clearing her throat, she looked out of the hanger to the collection of buildings rising to either side. A city like this would have its usual markets and unsavory places where ‘business’ was conducted. The citizens here appeared to be taking advantage of every opportunity to hawk their wares by clustering about the docking bays. It only made sense, less time involved in making a quick exchange of goods. Several crafts in the hanger were occupied with the matter of commerce today. Waiting until a shipment of cargo under the watchful eye of its crew passed on by, she stepped out to explore the city.

He was also right about her knack for moving through such places. What other reason would a couple of smugglers have for coming than to make deals? It would be the more natural way for them to move through the city until they found what they really sought. While it didn’t matter what sort of excuse for cargo they used, his propensity for collecting lore was as good a hook as any. Populous enough to go unnoticed, it was not likely to be an issue unless they drew attention to themselves.

“We should vacation here sometime”, she commented dryly as they walked deeper into the area. While there was quite a lot of activity going on, the atmosphere had a certain tenseness to it that begged a prudent person avoid making eye contact, keep their head down, and move along. Her eyes caught what looked like blaster marks scored along the side of a building and she smirked getting a feel for the place. Unsurprisingly it lacked an obvious police force, a definitie requirement for a good smuggler’s paradise.

Her eyes trailed down the wall to see a cantina named, ‘The Tasty Mynock’ and she tapped his chest grinning. “Look Alec”, she said using his false identity, “you believe in fate, right?” Withdrawing her hand she made to move across the street toward the cantina while remarking, ”Let’s see if they are as good as advertised, hypserspace makes me hungry.”

 

[Aurelian Keth]

When Ner’Giza didn’t respond to his teasing the man began to chuckle in amusement before responding to her. “Book shopping?” he repeated with a raised eyebrow as he give an exaggerated looking around the area. “I’m sure this is truly a land of great readers.” he replied sarcastically.

Still smiling he followed the Twi’lek as she led him from the hanger into the street proper. Taking a moment to look around he stopped and scrunched his nose as the smells of the city assaulted him. “You know Orron III wasn’t exactly Zeltros but at least I never felt like my nose was going to burn off while growing up.” he noted, not bothered to hide his distaste.

Stalls where everywhere around the city hawking their low quality goods as citizens tried to eke out a living. His expression turned sorrowful as he considered the amount of poverty that must exist here. As they moved through the dock area it became obvious that many of these stalls were not ran by lawful individuals.

His mind went back to what his partner had said earlier about books and wondered if that perhaps wasn’t such a poor idea. There was the possibility that some illicit trader in forbidden texts existed on the planet. Perhaps sellers of illegal artefacts beyond the control of Imperial archaeological regulations. “Maybe we could find something worthwhile here. Still the mission comes first. If we survive the next 24 hours then I’ll think about it.”

Following closely behind the Twi’lek they moved deeper into the city. Rolling his eyes at her comment he shook his head. “Can’t be much worst than your usual choices.” he noted thinking about their “luxury” visit to Taris, thanks to a mixture of a lack of funds and the rampant racism that aliens faced they had been forced to go into the rather horrible crime infested lower levels. He’d been quite thankful for Ner’Giza’s blasters and his own vibrosword that day.

Coming up short as she got his attention he frowned at the sign and grimaced. “Fate and your stomach are not the same things.” he replied drily. “Oh and it’s hyperspace makes you hungry?”

Stepping into the Cantina the man was assailed by the smells that were horrible in different ways that the one. He cringed at the thought of eating the food that this place served. Glancing sideways at his partner he had no doubt she’d love it.

 

[Ner Giza]

‘You never know’, was her usual reply when he showed skepticism at the onset of a search for more scraps. She had noticed that so far it was the out of the way places that had provided him with the best finds. Talik had just smiled and shrugged as by now he knew what she would have said anyhow. He was right, their main priority was more than enough to occupy their time

When he tweaked her about he usual choice of vacation spot, she laughed. Life was quite a bit different for non-humans in quite a lot of places. Taris was a nice place, for the upper class; it was hardly her fault the good people on that world didn’t feel she ought to have access to their luxury. ”You can be in charge of booking us accomodations then, in case we have to stay over”, she said while stepping inside to inhale the atmosphere of the Tasty Mynock. It would be miraculous if they could make contact within a day’s time, let alone strike up a profitable alliance.

The first thing she noticed, unlike the usual dive, there was no music playing. ”You think the band’s on break?”, she asked while looking for a likely seat. Her heart sank when she saw some people crowded around what she could only assume was a Dejarik game. No doubt they were over there gambling. She didn’t really want to sit anywhere near, in case tempers flared, but it would likely be a good place to listen in on. The idea was to get a feel for the place and they wouldn’t do that by hiding in the corner.

Ner’Giza nudge Aurelian and said, ”What do you think about that table there, maybe you can take on the winner at the Dejarik table?” She was hopeless at the game and usually tried to beg off when he felt the need to instruct her on it’s finer points.

 

[Aurelian Keth]

“A weekend in the libraries of Ossus you say? Got it, I’ll book us some quiet reading rooms as soon as we get back.” he quipped. Not that he had any real plan to go to Ossus, he knew exactly what resided there.

Looking around at the quiet room the man sighed softly at the idea of there being no music to distract him from whatever horrendous food his partner ended up ordering. “Probably too early. Live music might not be set up until peek times, this place is a bit except for the Dejarik group over there.”

At her suggestion he sighed. “I prefer Shah-tezh or Chess to be honest, I mostly play to keep Ninety-Nine happy as well as to pass the time. It’s about all there is to do aside from reading on the Hunter. Let’s take a seat over there anyway.”

Sitting down at a table at the edge of the gaming group, Aurelian sat facing them making it obvious that he was watching. One of the group, a tall human male, looked over and nodded before turning his attention back to the match.

“What the hell do we do n-.” he cut off as the man behind the bar came over with a datapad.

“What can I get you folks?” he asked, surprisingly polite given the area and rundown look of his establishment. “We have some warm food and our drink selection is available.” he added handing over the datapad which displayed the current menu.

“Just a sonic screwdriver for me.” he requested which the man simply nodded to before turning his attention to Ner. Aurelian was a little surprised that the man hadn’t mocked him for his drink of choice, he’d somewhat got used to that in these sorts of bars.

As the bartender, and likely owner of the establishment, waited for the Twi’lek to order he casually asked “So what brings you to our planet? I can tell from your accent that you’re off-worlders. We don’t get much visitors to be honest.”

Aurelian felt that familiar sensation, like a soft whispering buzz, that told him to take a chance. It came in many ways, most often when in danger, but sometimes it was a gut feeling to take a risk. His instincts said it was one of those times. “We’re both arthropodologists, we’ve stopped here for a rest on our way to a planet in Wild Space. We’re looking to study the Indoumodo kouhuns of the region. Ever heard of them? Fascinating creatures, extremely dangerous but potentially very useful.” He stated as plainly as he could. Unfortunately the bartender didn’t seem to have much of a tell as far as Aurelian could tell.

“Sorry sir, not one for bugs myself.”

The entire time however he noticed the tall man from earlier had glanced back towards them before looking away as he saw Aurelian notice him. Aurelian glanced back at Ner'Giza to see if she'd noticed anything, although she'd have to wait until the bartender left before saying anything.

 

[Ner Giza]

She wasn’t as adverse to a nice quiet vacation as he might think, though she rolled her eyes so he could get a little bit of a rise out of her over the remark. Their activity level had taken a considerable jump since joining up with the greater Alliance and some time to indulge in a good novella sounded just her speed. Following him along to the table, she took the opposite seat so that her back was to the Dejarik table. “I’m sure 99 appreciates it”, she finally replied once she got settled. His mention of keeping 99 happy prompted her to ask if he knew what was bothering the droid of late. As she leaned forward however, he began to speak and then the waiter arrived silencing her for the time being.

She hadn’t been kidding about food, and readily her eyes went to scan the datapad as the man laid it on the table.

”Roasted porg on a stick, and the house spice brew”, she said before pausing. ”Make that two bracers of porg”, she amended. That was to avoid the inevitable for she knew once Aurelian got a whiff of her meal he would cast those eyes of his at her till she shared. That was not so much of an issue, she was raised that food was to be shared and a certain generosity was just part of her nature when it came to food. Since they were not having to ration themselves, she figured to eat full measure.

Ner’Giza pushed the data pad toward the waiter before leaning back in her seat while Aurelian explained who and what they were doing here. She found the question rather nosy for a place like this. Most people didn’t want to be up in the business of others from a general sense of self preservation. To her credit, despite how she focused upon the man, she didn’t frown when she caught his reaction to the word kouhuns. She cleared her voice entering the conversation for the first time.

”Oh I understand how you feel. But that is a common feeling. Spiders, never could cozy up to them a bit. The Indoumodo Kouhuns, however, is a very resourceful little predator. His body is sleek, not spindly like a spider but built for stealth and cunning..." Her voice trailed off as though embarrassed, even letting her cheeks flush slightly. Her hand came to her chest and she laughed nervously, ”Oh excuse me. I tend to get carried away sometimes, but the little assassins are truly my passion.” If that didn’t make the man squirm, nothing would.

 

[Aurelian Keth]

The bartender simply nodded at the Twi’lek and taking the menu back he assured her the food would not be long before walking away. Aurelian glanced over at the crowd but they all appeared focused on the ongoing Dejarik game. Aurelian turned his gaze back to his partner and sighed “Little assassins? Really Nera?” he whispered with a shake of his head, crossed between annoyed and giddy with terror. He’d fought gangsters, criminals, smugglers and bounty hunters over the years but he had never been stupid enough to tangle with an actual Guild of Assassins before.

Still shaking his head slightly the screwdriver was sat down on the table beside him and Aurelian thanked the Bartender but the man, previously having been quite friendly, simply walked away. The scholar glanced at his surroundings before leaning in towards Ner’Giza “I’ve got a bad feeling Nera, have you noticed anything?”

He left his drink untouched for now, too busy observing the Dejarik game which he could just about make out through the crowd, and didn’t talk to his partner until after her food was brought over. The proprietor of the cantina walked away wordlessly, although he did leave a glass of water for the woman. “Do you think your food selection angered him?”

 

[Ner Giza]

The waiter’s change in demeanor only cemented her suspicions about him being much more than solicitous. She sniffed when her partner’s drink was delivered and hers was not. In response to Aurelian’s comments she sighed knowing that her words had been risky. She was lucky that all that happened was the cold treatment. ”He knows something Alec and was awful nosy about our reason for being here”, she whispered while leaning her arms on the table to wait.

From time to time she drummed her fingers and wet her lips as though the slight were getting to her as she observed the room. By the time the waiter came back with their food, she was certain he was hunting those porg himself. For certain her feigned thirst had turned real and her hand went immediately forward to take her drink in hand. A quick sip and she pursed her lips at Aurelian muttering once the waiter had gone, ”Yeah, he’s got an attitude going on. Brought me water instead of my spiced brew."

The porg was really worth the wait, and as she ate she casually remarked, ”Help yourself, no telling when we will get the chance again”. Turning over the brazed meat on the skewer as she chewed, Ner’Giza considered their options. Nothing was really going on here, the conversation was bland at best with even the game being nothing more than a friendly pass time among its participants. They weren’t even gambling. ’So much for stereotypes’, she thought.

Laying down the now empty skewer, she picked up the second one, two still remaining untouched upon her trencher. Gesturing toward Aurelian with the meat she said, “You know…”, her words came a bit slow and ceased when a feeling of queasiness rose in her stomach. Passing it off as having waited too long to eat she attempted to complete her thought. ”...if nothing turns up here we can always…”

Her words abruptly ceased and she fell face forward into the trencher, and though she had finally put two and two together her consciousness faded completely.

 

[Aurelian Keth]

As he listened to the woman Aurelian began chewing his lip and ran a hand through his air, clear tells to his nervousness. “Hmm…” Pushing his drink away feeling paranoid the man glanced at the food as it arrived and turned his nose up at the offer from Ner’Giza to take some. “Ah no, I’m good. Maybe you shouldn’t either. I’ve a bad feeling about this.”

As usual when food was concerned his partner ignored him. “We should leave after this. We can scope out the area. I think we’re on the right path, I can feel it, but we’re missing… something.” he continued. His instincts told him this place was where they had to be but they must have missed the signs and it was getting dangerous. They could fall back and regroup. The Alliance had given them some time to get the mission done but there was a deadline, they should tackle the puzzle of tracking down the Order after gathering some additional information.

After letting his partner eat in silence he began to grow impatient and turned his attention to the match going on over in the corner to distract himself. However something was odd… weren’t the pieces in the exact same place as they’d been when the pair first arrived? Everything felt wrong and the scholar had learnt a long time ago to trust his feelings.

“Nera we should go-” he cut off and turned as his partner began to speak over him, her words coming out slow and slurred as if drunk. Ner’Giza’s eyes seemed to cloud over and suddenly her head flopped forward to hit the table.

‘It is them.’

Aurelian leapt to his feet but before he could take any action the high pitch of a blaster firing sounded out behind him and blackness took him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Unknown Location, Anoat, Outer-Rim Territories​

The rebel woke up with a sharp pain in the side of his neck. His heart hammering in his chest as he sat upright, noticing a man backing away swiftly with an adrenal in hand. ‘Huh, they must have used a drug or something to wake me up. Feels like I got nailed by a stun bolt… I guess I should be thankful it was only set to stun.’ Glancing to his side he saw Ner’Giza was lying on the ground, coming back to consciousness much slower than he probably due to the drugs she’d consumed.

Aurelian stood slowly, shakily, as he blinked at the faintly lit room. As he moved he felt strangely unburdened and glanced down to notice, with little surprise, that his gun and blade had been taken. Still his limbs hadn’t been bound so he was capable of moving at least. Frowning he looked up and saw that although the room they had been brought to was sizeable it was clearly industrial. The floor beneath his feet was some sort of grate, pipes ran across the wall and he could hear the faint sound of running water in the distance. There was no windows possibly signally that they were in the sewers. Aside from the rebels and the quiet man who’d awoken them, who was now withdrawing to stand next to the wall, there was three other figures only a few feet from them. Dressed in dark greys and black, two of them wore cowls hiding their features while flanking the last figure. It was the tall human male who’d nodded to Aurelian when he’d first arrived at the ‘The Tasty Mynock’.

Seeing him properly he saw the man had long grey hair, was at least in his late 40’s but still seemed strong of body. Unlike the others he wore a simple set of brown armour, something any mercenary might own.

“So tell me. What is your interest in my… what did she call them? Little Assassins.” he asked with a cold smile at the Twi’lek who had begun to properly awake now.

Clearing his throat Aurelian tried to decide how to respond. They had either lucked out completely or where about to die. It was hard to say.

“I warn you. You stand before the Order of Kouhun and our judgement has not yet been made in regards to your trespasses. I would choose my words with create care.”

Aurelian give a polite bow. “Sir, we meant no disrespect. In fact we came seeking your Orders services.” he said as eloquently as he could with his head still buzzing as he tried to recover from being stunned. “We represent an Alliance of likeminde-”

“We know exactly who you represent.” the man interrupted again “This Galactic Alliance of yours. Yes we know much that may surprise you.Tell us, both of you, why should we help you?”

The man did not seem to be angry despite his earlier words, although perhaps the rebels had not so far had the best opening he seemed willing to listen to what the pair had to say.

​

 

[Ner Giza]

Cold...her body shivered and her fingers clenched going through the floor…no that wasn’t right. She flexed her fingers while the sensation of her face being pressed through metal grillwork became recognizable. A draft of coolness moved beneath her body and she panicked thinking she was in a slaver’s cage suspended in the air; she jerked immediately awake.

In her mind she had. Outwardly she barely shifted as she was just coming out of the effects of the drug. She could hear footsteps echoing with a dull metallic ring which only added to the illusion of her being suspended high in the air. The whole world was swaying and she just wanted it to hold still. Mynock teeth, she was so thirsty… was that water she heard and where was Aurelian?

Daring to open her eyes, the illusion began to dissipate being replaced by the sights around her. No, it was a room. A bit of warmth to her side contrasted sharply with the chill from the grated flooring and she knew she wasn’t alone! Her hand flattened out releasing its grip on the grating and she pushed her face up off the floor. It was a cell, she realized hoping they had locked them in the same place. Even as she began to push herself up to sit, trying to pivot round from her prone position, she heard a strange man’s voice speaking.

“So tell me. What is your interest in my… what did she call them? Little Assassins.”

Ner’Giza turned over, finding her balance enough to sit, and her head rolled slowly round to take in the sight of her partner. The voice spoke again, his words more distinct and full of menace forcing her to raise her head to view him. The effects were quite negative on her stomach and she swallowed to rid herself of the rising acrid taste filling her mouth. Fortunately his voice pulled her into a greater sense of clarity permitting her to put things together. She realized the owner of the cantina had dosed her porg and now they were right where they needed to be. He was part of the order, in what capacity didn’t matter, but at least closely enough allied to be an informant. Oddly she felt no sense of elation in being right about the man.

Aurelian took the lead, he sounded in control of his faculties and there were no noticeable wounds she could see. ’He hadn’t eaten’, the inane thought ran through her mind, ’I hoped they didn’t rough him up too badly’. Examining his movements for any signs of pain, she regretted the horrible gamble she had taken. He could have been killed, they both could have and might very well still. It was only when the man interrupted her partner’s answer that she was able to pull her eyes from Aure to focus upon their captor.

The self proclaimed assassin was incredibly tall, she noted, or maybe that was just because he was standing. The dim lighting of the warehouse obscured the man’s companions, but gradually her eyes became more adjusted till she could see two similarly clad figures standing in the background. So his use of the plural was more than just figurative. She didn’t suppose in their current state, at least hers for she had no idea how long Aure had been awake nor what condition he was enduring, that the man really needed backup.

His remark about knowing exactly who they were teased her mind and gave her reason to consider carefully what she would say. The whole point of the mission was to woo or threaten them in to providing their unique set of skills for the Alliance. The barkering of information was prime on that list of desirable assets and as such… well that was a two way street.

”We are an untapped market, and our mission is to invite you in”, she went silent letting that statement hang in the air as she crossed her legs to steady her balance. The room had finally stopped swinging but her mouth tasted like a bad fungus. She wet her lips before continuing. ”That is to say, the Alliance is made up of an extensive network of factions from all over the galaxy. That we need you is obvious. Our cause has many needs to fill”, she said with a sigh.

Her hand came up to wipe at her face, a slight grimace crossed her features as the grease from her porg was smeared across her hand. She let the hand fall to her lap and then got to the point. ”Consider all these people moving about the galaxy and the information to which they have access...it's a whole new means of gathering knowledge from which you may profit”, she paused to lean forward slightly and was amazed she did not topple over. “The Order of Kouhun is not the only one who knows things; the Alliance knew right where to send us to find you. If you were already among our ranks, already had access to our lines of information, my partner and I would not have been sent. I would say we share needs that are mutually beneficial.”

It was about all she could say, but would it be enough? They hadn’t been given any terms to present to sweeten the deal, so a renewable resource like their network of operatives, something that had the potential to provide immeasurable opportunities for the assassins to exploit...she hoped it was enough to at least open negotiations with The Order. She looked to Aure hoping they lived through this long enough to read her the riot act.

It was then that the tall man moved back to confer with his compatriots and she took the opportunity to ask her partner, "Are you alright Alec? Did they hurt you?" Before he could answer however the man turned round, perhaps drawn by the sound of her whisper. His eyes narrowed and he held up his hand to forestall whatever discussion he and his fellow assassins were conducting. "I assure you, your master is unharmed. Our methods are not without fore thought." He spoke quietly to his associates, who bowed before turning to walk away, then he addressed them once more.

"Come with me. This 'opportunity' intrigues me and I would discuss it further in more accommodating environs." His focus turned to Aurelian and said, "Your slave will be well tended, given opportunity to cleans herself, while you and I discuss this further, hammer out the terms of our agreement." Turning, he began to walk across the room as though they would obey. In truth what other option did they have? It rather left her amazed at how readily he had accepted her explanation. Only her chagrin at her earlier lack of discretion however, resulting in them being captured and put so very much at risk, enabled her to hold her tongue when the man assumed she was Aurelian's property. It was more than annoying, even here among assassins she was obviously less than the humans. Climbing to her feet, her mouthed clamped shut, she would wait for Aure and make sure to walk three paces behind him!

 

[Aurelian Keth]

He stood silently as his partner spoke, recovering enough to organise her thoughts, even as full strength and control returned to his limbs. He was surprised at Ner’Giza’s confidence and even how persuasive her word sounded, at least to him, he was used to the Twi’lek thinking too much with her blasters. He managed to hide his smile though, he didn’t want to interrupt the good run she was on. Aurelian was usually the well-tempered one, the one who spoke their way out of situations however as the assassin began to refer to him as Nera’s master he lost hold of his anger.

“My partner is no slave!” he snapped however as the assassin spun around the man immediately regretted his outburst. He knew the Order wouldn’t hold Imperial prejudices, he knew enough about them to know they recruited from all sorts of worlds and the ancient organisation predated the rise of the Empire regardless. This far from the Core they were quite possibly more alien than human when it came to their membership. However Aurelian’s rather tactless method of informing their captor had been a poor choice. He gritted his teeth, he tended to be quite proud of his control but he lost it easy when it came to his friend.

“I see.” the tall man responded icily, clearly annoyed by Aurelian contradicting him.

Clearing his throat the human bowed slightly. “Apologies I am… a little unsettled by the current situation, I hope you understand.” he added diplomatically in an attempt to fix his mistake. “She holds as much authority to negotiate as I do for these negotiations, it would make a great deal of sense to invite her to take part in our negotiations.”

The assassin seemed to consider for a minute before nodding, although not entirely mollified he seemed to accept both the apology and explanation. “Fine. Both of you Alec and your associate…” he trailed off clearly expecting a response.

“Her name is Supisy, sir...” Aurelian responded, his eyes still averted downwards in a stance of contrition for his earlier failing. He trailed off giving the other man an opportunity to introduce himself, call him Assassin seemed a bit too silly.

The assassin smiled, showing a few too many teeth, before responding. “You may call me Prudii.” he stated, his voice glimmering with dark humour. “Now come Mr Alec and Miss Supisy.”

Aurelian shot his partner a glance and then, with a shrug, he followed the Assassin out of the room. As they walked behind the man the two cowled assassins followed behind, clearly watching to see if either of their ‘guests’ made a wrong move. Whispering softly the scholar leant over to his fellow rebel. “I’m fine. You? Oh… that name he give, I think it was Mando’a but I don’t know the language well enough to say what it means. I don’t think it was a name though, a noun perhaps.”

“Quiet.” snapped one of the assassins from behind them causing Aurelian to go silent once more.

The pair where led down the corridor, the walls lined with the same piping as was in the room, Aurelian was now convinced that they were in the sewers, a maintenance area perhaps. Not decommissioned ones at that, the water still flowed and the machinery in the first room had sounded active. If he had to guess the rebel would say that this wasn’t a hidden base or anything of the sorts, rather it was likely just somewhere close to the Cantina where they had initially taken them to evaluate their worth. He trembled to consider how close to death they had likely come.

After a few silent minutes of travel Prudii raised a hand bringing the group to a stop. “From this point onwards I am quite afraid that we will be blindfolding you. A safety precaution for us all, I am sure you understand.” he stated. Without waiting he gestured to the two assassins behind them to move forward and take care of it.

Aurelian shot a glance at the pair behind them, closer than they had been previously, and even in the dim light he could make out their shape. The one behind him was huge, bigger and broader than Prudii, too large to be a normal human. However his clothing was so complete in it’s coverage that he couldn’t see an inch of his flesh, even his eyes where shielded by some sort of visor. The one behind Ner’Giza was similarly dressed but much smaller, only around Aurelian’s height. Her clothing was also a much closer fit and revealed her to be a slender woman. Unable to see much more before the blindfold went around his eyes.

“Stay still.” snarled the Assassin as he roughly tied the cloth around his eyes. To the side Aurelian could hear the female speaking much more gently, and even kindly, as she did the same to Ner’Giza.

‘Bloody typical! Why can’t I get the nice woman assassin instead of the Wookie wannabe.’

The pair where guided around corners, down halls, the floors changing under their feet from metal grates to cement to shallow streams of who knew what and more. At first Aurelian tried to track their progress but eventually give up trying to mentally keep track of the path through the maze that the Assassins were leading them through. It was worthless without a good understanding of their starting point anyway. It was at least an hour before they came to a stop. The noise of the trickling water had long faded away and the smell had become much less repugnant. The air had also warmed to a pleasant and comfortable level.

Aurelian felt himself pushed down into a chair as the blindfold was pulled away. He and Ner’Giza were sitting in what looked like, for all intents and purposes, a plain corporate meeting room. They had been sat down onto plain office chairs and at a plain durasteel conference table, across from them Prudii was sitting with his hands folded on it’s surface. The room was equally bland, simple steel walls with neither paintings nor windows to the outside. The area was lit up with cheap, quietly buzzing, lights overhead.

‘Well… I didn’t expect this.’

Perhaps sensing his amusement the Assassin smirked. “Now let us begin when you are both ready.”

Aurelian cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table, as he had got into the habit of doing while sitting in lectures at University. “As my partner said. We believe our Alliance would benefit greatly from a business arrangement with The Order an-“

The Assassin cut him off. “I assure you Rebel that I don’t much care what we can do for you, not right now anyway. I care for what you can do for us? After all I am risking much by even speaking to you. What if my people anger the Sith factions because you fail to keep our dealings with you a secret? Perhaps I should simply sell both of you to the Imperial Republica? Or better yet extract some information from you both that could prove very valuable indeed.”

 

[Ner Giza]

Hearing Aurel’s outburst denying her perceived status as property cause her heart to leap within her chest. To her credit she didn’t stand there grinning from ear to ear, however she did let a slight smile cross her lips as she lowered her head and looked at the floor. He was always cautioning her to discretion and remaining calm, he was never going to hear the end of this.

His calm seemed to recover for he cleared his throat and lay his apology before the man. Still, he did not retract his contradiction of the Assassin making it plain that they were partners. She could see it was with reluctance the man acquiesce to a countermanding of his directive, to being forced to reevaluate his own assessment of her role, but thankfully he did. It boded well for her gamble that he would want to deal. For a man who must be used to beding others to his will, such an easily obtained reversal of his orders meant that he was very interested indeed.

Upon hearing her partner give a code name in pace of her own, she bowed as though acknowledging a formal introduction. Supisy though, she found his choice amusing for it meant mysterious woman in her own tongue. She was sure in his mind the name was in stark opposition to her nature. ”It is a pleasure to meet you, Prudii”, she said upon rising. After a stolen glance with her partner, she filed out of the room as ordered.

Ner’Giza didn’t fail to notice their honor guard falling in behind them and when her partner leaned in to speak she nodded her head to his inquiry. It seemed Aurel was not the only one who was creative when it came to names. She was about to say it might be some sort of title but their escourt shut her up quick.

The last effect of the drugs faded as they got moving and she got a clearer picture of where they were being held. Assuming these were the sewers mentioned in the briefing, she didn’t get the sense that they were very deep within the planet. It was not until they stopped and were informed of being blindfolded that she was shocked. The robed figure who stepped forward spoke to her kindly taking great care not to restrain her lekku as the blindfold was tied into place. It was not to be the last surprise for once they arrived at their destination, she found herself in what looked to be the boardroom of some corporation complete with a long metal conference table.

She looked at Aurelian as he cleared his throat content to let him take the lead. Although he liked to tease her about being the captain, it was not part of the dynamic of their partnership. Unfortunately before he was able to state their proposal Prudii cut him off and making threats. This part of the negotiations was more comfortable ground for the woman; it was all about the haggling and keeping the upper hand.

Lying her forearms upon the table, she faced the man across the table. He was doomed to lose for he had already shown his hand to her; the man wanted what she had to offer and in the end he would fall in line. ”I believe I failed to mention, honorable Prudii, this is a once in a lifetime deal. And while it will not be as valuable to the Alliance, having to engage the services of others than your esteemed Order, our deaths will be as nothing to the Alliance in the long run. The Rebellion will adapt and make due with what they have, like always. The desire for freedom is a much more potent motivator than mere riches. It will continue because the people have no alternative”, her voice was slightly instructional but calm, her mannerisms poised and conferring respect to the man without any hint of arrogance.

She bowed her head and sighed, ”Unfortunately, failure to make this deal will revoke our invitation. My partner and I knew this before setting out, but our commitment”, and she moved her hand to lay her fingers upon Aurelians’ forearm as if in silent farewell, “ is to our cause and we are prepared to die so that others may live.” She removed her fingertips from his arm and folded her hands before her.

“We were chosen because we have no sensitive information that could be forced from us through torture. Mere messengers, envoys of friendship, not an asset to be exploited. You see, we only know what we need to know. Your involvement would be a secret shared by only a select few.”She smiled and then quoted the man his own words. “A safety precaution for us both, I am sure you understand.”

Prudii frowned as she spoke, and part of her wanted to back down, give into fear of the man and the horrible situation her brashness had created. Instead her resolve kicked in and she didn’t even so much as lower her eyes as she awaited his decision. His laughter was the last thing she expected.

”Very well, little miss not a slave. I will come with you and work out terms for our future relations with your leaders”, the man said before turning to Aurelian. ”Are you sure this mysterious woman is not for sale?” Clearly the man had at least that much understanding of her language. Her cheeks flushed and her mouth gaped open but she had become utterly speechless.

 

[Aurelian Keth]

He blinked in surprise. Ner’Giza’s speech had been a detailed and thorough explanation of the benefits of an alliance. Aurelian wasn’t sure which surprised him more, her aggressive approach or the fact that she actually engaged in the talks at all. His partner was a good talker, he’d never deny that, and her looks certainly had never hurt any bartering they’d done in the past. Largely however she was more of a haggler than a diplomat, more suited for back-alley dealings and black marketeering.

‘Although I guess this is a bit of a back room deal isn’t it?” he thought to himself with no little amusement.

The second shock came soon after as Prudii seemed to instantly accept the arrangement. Aurelian darted a glance at his partner who looked equally surprised. Had the Order been this desperate to make an agreement with the Alliance to begin with?

“Well… good.” What else could he say? Things seemed to be well in hand, he decided to just let Nera finish things off, and she’d done a stellar job so far. He wondered if the Resistance had a Diplomatic Corp, she was doing a better job at the talks than she usually did at smuggling. Not that the scholar would ever say such to her out loud, he valued his life too highly for that.

Aurelian simply smiled at the assassin’s stupid question. “You’ll have to take that up with her.” he replied with a polite smile.

Folding his hands on the table he simply waited for the formalities to be finished up so they could get moving. They’d have to figure out somewhere to bring the man of course, it’d be the height of stupidity to bring a third party back to Savareen. Maybe they could contact one of their off-world cells and ask them to make the arrangements, just in case the Order tried to track their communications. He sighed internally, being a member of a resistance movement against a galaxy spanning Empire was turning out to be rather stressful.

 

[Ner Giza]

Ner’Giza blinked and looked to Aurel, the expression on her face was one of disbelief. Shaking her head with a slight smirk upon her lips, she turned to face Prudii. ”Very funny you two. Now if we can get to the finer points”, she posed the words as a question but she really wasn’t asking for permission to change the subject.

Arrangements were made, using Aurellian’s suggestions, for the leader of the Kouhun to meet with a negotiator of top clearance thereby preserving the secret of the Alliance base on Savareen. With their involvement in the mission complete the two returned to the base hoping for a small respite before being assigned their next mission.

[end thread]