The Jester & The Dead Woman (6 months Prior)

[Luster]

Geonosis

A jewel in and of itself suspended in the vast empty void. When seen from orbit it was a breathtaking sight, it's skies almost devoid of clouds revealed a surface an array of oranges and browns that were clearly visible above and below an elegant ring system. These massive orbiting bands reflected their star's light in bands of white, brown, red, and even purple. But that was when seen from afar where the observer was not exposed to it's dry winds, sandstorms, and not under the unforgiving sun.

What made it such a jewel, in reality, wasn't it's physical beauty or it's climate, it was the planet's location and past. Located on the border between the Galactic Alliance and Mandalorian occupied space, far out in the outer rim, Geonosis is and was for the most part overlooked by the galaxy at large. Just like it's neighbor Tatooine it has been influenced by Hutt cartels for milenium, and when not controlled by anyone but Geonosians it has always been a place for people wanting to disappear or to conduct business without having to worry too much about prying eyes...... for the right price of course.

And that was exactly why Belleza Te'sul was there, to make money by transporting goods -most likely spice- from the planet to the Fondor, as specified by the buyer who had employed her. And it did not matter to her what she was carrying as long as she made money. It could be guns, spice, or even slaves and she would haul it if the price was right. The right price being rather high for a simple smuggler but she had a reputation for being fast and effective as well as dead..... which gave her a leg up in terms of avoiding unwanted attention, and she reminded her clients of that when they became a little more frugal with their payment.

But for now she has to wait while the deal was finalized.

She takes one more drag from her cigarette before dropping it to the ground and putting it out with her boot. brushing a lock of red hair out of her eyes she sighs and leans against one of the landing struts of the Stellar Wind and looks around the hangar. It was rather large, able to have easily fit four Homage class transports, but only contained her ship and a small shuttle on the far end away from her. She shuttle, which belonged to her employer, was guarded by a pair of Rodian mercs, one who looked a lot like a very sneaky sith spawn that was now very very dead. The lookalike cast a glance in her direction prompting her to smile and give a little wave while muttering "In your dreams lizard boy."

The Rodian, not knowing of her contempt, looked back towards the open door to the storage area where a pair of humans were avidly discussing something. More like arguing based on the body language, short chopping gestures and made by the shorter and older of the two that matched the rising amount of red in his face. Tho other man, a tall man with a head shaved clean of any hair, was not necessarily calm but was by far much more composed, only moving in small amounts and smoothly shifting his weight while to pointed to either the crates they were standing next to or at her. If anything bad was going to happen it would be because "Fondor"-as she had taken to calling her employer- did something stupid to anger the bald man, so she caressed the blaster at her hip just in case. But with another few words and a flick of the bald man's wrist in her direction Fondor grudgingly picked up a case and handed it over before turning back to the main bay.

"You" He said pointing to her as he hurriedly walked towards his shuttle. "Start loading and get moving. The faster you deliver these crates the more you make."

"I hope you're willing to pay what I earned." She said as he ascended the ramp followed closely by the two mercs. The shuttle took off on short order leaving her alone with her work. She straightened herself out and strode over to the open ramp to her cargo bay. ""Druid!" She called up the ramp"We're on the clock"

Druid would set about loading the ship, lifting those crates would be easy for the goliath. As the TG-77 started down the ramp it looked at her and asked "Where?"

"Over there" She pointed to the storage area, which was still inhabited by the bald man, odd.

 

[Kreeps]

Jester was satisfied with his most recent deal. This little angry man wanted to cut the agreed upon price in half. That honestly had to be a joke. Jester was the only man in The Galaxy with this Spice and the assets to make it. They had agreed that the man would pay 2 million for 200 crates. That was 10,000 a crate, and it was a damn good price. Each crate would sell for a minimum of 30,000 and a maximum of 300,000. Jester was doing this guy a favor. Hell, he was hooking this guy up, and he had the gall to haggle. If Jester had been a more impatient man he would have shot him, but he couldn't sell everything himself. He was gonna have to put up with bantha fodder like this until he could set up a more reliable network, but for now, the credits were clean and he was a repeat customer. Jester crouched down and opened the hardened briefcase the man had given him. 200 ten thousand credit chips. Beautiful. A flight to Geonosis, and a fresh 2 million creds for his stash. It was worth the trip and the argument for sure. Besides, dealing with shifty 'businessmen' was all just part of the job. The same job that just might have made Jester the richest self made 22 year old in the Galaxy.

Jester reached into his jacket and pulled out a thin, exotic, hand rolled cigar and lit it. He took a nice puff of the delicious, slightly fruity smoke into his mouth and blew a thick cloud out of his nose. Every time Jester mad a lot of credits, he had a cigar before doing anything else. It was his own little way of celebrating success. He crouched back down and locked the briefcase back up before standing it on his side nest to him, continuing his smoke. He closed his eyes and let his hairless head rest against the wall as he smoked, reveling in the flavor of the cigar and the feeling of ecstasy he got whenever he made millions. There was nothing better. He was a busy man, so he reveled in the small breaks that he got. Cigars, drinks, games of Saabac, sleep. Those were his ways of unwinding in an otherwise restless and hectic life.

He took a few more puffs, still enjoying his break, before he opened his eyes again. Same hangar, the crates were still there, except there was a large droid on its way over to pick them up. Jester took another puff then glanced over at the ship at the other side of the docking bay. A Homage Class transport. a solid ship for smuggling. This one was nice too, visibly upgraded. A fine ship. It was large, so it could definitely take the cargo it needed to move and it was tough as nails to boot. Not a bad choice for a smuggler at all. As Jester was checking out the vessel, something, or someone rather, caught his eye. A young, but older than Jester, red headed woman was leaning up against the hydraulic supports of the loading ramp. She definitely looked like a smuggler. I wonder if I'm the only guy that can spot a smuggler from a mile away? Jester thought as he took another puff off the cigar.

"Hey! Droid! Is that your master over there?" Jester asked the hulking droid.

"Yes sir." the droid said in that polite tone all droids have.

"When you get over there tell her to come speak to me." Jester said in a flat tone. The droid should obey, and Jester was always on the hunt for new smugglers to augment his booming business.

 

[Luster]

Druid slightly lowered one leg and pushed up the other one, tilting it's body in an approximation of a cocked head that most humanoids recognized as an inquiry or curiosity. But it asked no questions, didn't even respond to the order -which it chose to see as a request- and moved closer to the collection of crates. Extending it's left arms and flattening the broad pad it used for a hand it pushed the the arm under one of the crates on the top and easily lifted it before turning around and heading for the ship. Belleza for her part had been just about head up the ramp and grab the only repolser sled she had in order to take the crates from Druid and stow them on board when she saw the bald man briefly speak to her droid. That kept her boots planted firmly on the hangar floor, not because of the oddity but because she would need to ask Druid what the man wanted. Though she could guess, he looked like a business man, professional even missing his eye and that had mainly to do with his composed and business like demeanor. Most likely he was telling Druid to be careful, but if he wanted to talk business she would humor him.

The TG-77 made it's way back to her carrying the crate at the same stately pace it always used. Stopping in front of her -subsequently blocking her view of the man with the crate- Druid knew what she was going to ask. "He wishes to speak with you mistress."

"Did he mention why?" She asked in the off chance it had.

"No" Druid's rely was curt but that was just him sliding back to it load lifting days.

"Well did you ask?" She knew it didn't nore never would, Druid had stated many times that it was not her personal assistant, and she liked that about the droid. It offered no answer and remained silent, almost staring at her in a manner she too to mean 'what do you think?' She siged and offered a smile to the droid. "Why did I make you the strong silent type? It's ok just take that up and stow it, I won't be helping out for a while."

In the time it took Druid to move the crate between her and the man she wiped the smile off her face and replaced it with the stern expression she always wore, but this time with a hint of a raised eyebrow. The man seemed to be studying her as she approached possibly analyzing her movements and attitude to get a better feel for her, but if he was undressing her with his eyes -which didn't seem to be the case based on his expression- he was going to be Bantha fodder. She stopped about six feet from him, close enough to make the point that she was talking only to him but far enough that he couldn't lunge at her. "Yes?"

 

[Kreeps]

Jester watched as the woman approached. He continued calmly puffing on his cigar, enjoying the flavors, still on his break. The woman took her time walking over. Jester studied her as she approached. He saw her give a smile to the droid, but she erased it just as fast as it had appeared. Not the smiling type either, just like Jester. She had a certain way of walking, maybe a swagger would be the right word. Her was was stoic and stern, all business from what Jester could see. Respectable in his eyes. He was the same way for the most part. She wore the comfortable, rugged, practical dress common among smugglers and pilots. A utility belt with tools and a blaster pistol worn openly on her waist. The most striking feature about her was her bright, fiery red hair, from the tone it looked natural. She was pretty good looking in spite of her simple dress and stern expression, but Jester could have cared less about that. He would have wanted to speak to her even if she was a wookie. Jester was nearing the end of his cigar now and he wanted to savor the last couple puffs. Just as the woman stopped a healthy distance away from him he blew out a cloud of thick, sweet smelling smoke.

Her 'greeting' was only one word. "Yes?"

What a social butterfly... Jester thought as she spoke her simple interogative 'greeting'. Jester, being the sly creature he is, just had to meet her question with another question.

"So how's business lately?" Jester said casually. If she didn't feel obligated to introduce herself, neither did he. For now he would think of her as "Red". Besides, this wasn't a social call. Jester continued dragging on his waning cigar as he waited for a reply.

 

[Luster]

He was nonplussed by her bluntness, or if he was he was hiding it well. He certainly look and acted relaxed if a little arrogant but that didn't mean he was at ease. His good eye revealed a whirring mind full of thoughts and he met her gaze with the intensity of someone looking for something, trying to find an angle, definitely not undressing her. She knew that starting the conversation the way she did would be considered rude for some, but those kinds of people would never set foot on a planet like Geonosis or Tatooine or heaven forbid Nar Shadaa. Most in this business were comfortable with the rough and tumble sort and she'd just have to take the small risk of offending him, no matter what she was going to play this one close to the vest.

The past was not going to repeat itself.

His question didn't really catch her off guard so to say, and she didn't expect him to make a move until she had. So for now she decided she would humor his small talk and try to make him tip his hand so to speak. "I'd say my business is going just about as well as yours." She glanced over at the case that contained his payment and flashed a toothy smile, part humorous and part predatory but nothing friendly about it. "Quite a sale. I charge quite a lot for something like this but something tells me you are the real winner here."

 

[Kreeps]

Jester observed the smuggler as she spoke. She had obviously been in the business a while. She knew how to play the game, there was no doubt about that. Most inexperienced people Jester could read like a book, but this girl that air about her. She had those natural defenses that only the most hardened develop over the years. She spoke just enough to not seem suspicious, but not so much as to give up too much. Jester could respect that no doubt. He liked to think he was the same way, though one can never really know how others perceive them. The smuggler gave about as good of a comeback as Jester would expect after judging her character so far. Just enough, but no too much, maybe a little light flattery to make the other person feel special. In this business it was essential to both command and give respect, a concept this girl seemed to understand.

"Doing pretty well then? I'd call this one a draw. Your current employer just got a hell of a deal, but the bastard still wanted to try and talk me down. Aren't those types funny? Almost like they want to talk themselves out of a bargain. I hope he won't try and pull the same move on you. A stern no seemed to work fine for me." Jester let his signature half smile pull at his lips, a sly counter to the smile the girl had shown just seconds earlier. His attempt at seeming humble, yet respectable simultaneously. Personable, yet distant. The underworld way of speaking that everyone from his neck of the woods was fluent in.

"Negotiating's a bitch isn't it?"

 

[Luster]

"Only if you don't know how it works." And she did know. The key to negotiating, or dancing with words like they were doing now, other than starting bids or positions was strategic small talk. Unfortunately for Belleza she hated small talk, but she put up with it when she smelled profit and opportunity and baldy reeked of it. He knew how to haggle -though if what he said was true he should have milked the older man for a lot more money, she would have- he knew at least somewhat how to get a feel for someone, and he knew how the game was played. If he was offing a job more than likely she would take it, but there was no sense in telling him that. What she was interested in, what really mattered with some employers, was his ambition.

"So just why did you give him a deal? I for one insisted on getting paid what I'm worth, not that he liked that thought. But that's what happens when you want the best, you pay for the best." It was another risk, maybe one that would tip her hand, but she needed to know before going on. It wouldn't be worth it if she spent to time feeling him out only to find out this guy was only a small timer who hit it big just this once. And even if it was risky, she'd already said it so now was not a time for second thoughts.

 

[Kreeps]

Jester couldn't help but give another one of his signature smirks at the girls comments. Jester knew how to negotiate just fine. They had agreed upon 2 million and he got 2 million. what pissed him off is that the guy tried to talk him down in person. A deal is a deal. On The Smugglers Moon verbal contracts are life or death and people that tried to go back on such a contract often ended up dead.

"Are you familiar with the concept of wholesale? Look at it this way, if I went out and sold these crates on the street, I'd pull in at the bare minimum 6 mil. If i took it to the Core I'd make 60. But that could take days, maybe even weeks and put my neck on the line with the law. I leave that up to him. While he is struggling to maintain his profit margin and risking his life and freedom, I'll be making another sale tomorrow for the same amount he would make total. Despite getting a smaller amount up front, I get a larger amount in the long run. And while he might make 6 million off the crates I just sold him for 2 million, he'll bring back 3 million next time, and by then I'll have made 100." Basic Spice economics. Sell more faster, you make more faster. Price per unit drops as quantity increases.

"After all, time is money." Jester added to top off his little lesson in criminality. If she didn't think he was serious before, she sure did now. Maybe he would have another cigar, just talking about credits made him want one. He reached into his trusty jacket and slid out another of the long thin cigars and sparked it with a lighter. The lighter itself wore Jester's logo, a brand name of sorts. Each of the crates was full of large jars of Glow bearing the same signature. A corporation of crime.

 

[Luster]

"Quite literally in my case." she said letting her smile spread ever so slightly.

That was more than enough to tell Belleza what she needed to know. She knew the basic rules of sales and what he was saying made more than a some sense. Like he said if she had a product that she could continuously sell because she always had it in stock then there would be no problem with selling it lower but much more often. That was common knowledge for any decent trader, what really interested her was that he more then let on -blatantly stated in both words and flashing that symbol on his lighter that matched the crates- that he was already in the business of continuously moving his product and that he had a lot of it to move. And while he may not be willing to move it and sell it, she would be. That sounded a lot like a job offer to her, maybe it was time to lay her cards on the table....... or at the very least flash them.

"This kind of reminds me of growing up on Nar Shaddaa, you have to take risks in order to survive. While we may only be talking about money to you, money is life and I'm willing to risk mine for it." If he didn't catch her offer and act on it she was going to drop this conversation faster than a Hutt falls on Malachor V. He wouldn't be worth her time if he didn't and besides the longer she stood here to chat the less she would be paid for this run. Now was the moment of truth.

 

[Kreeps]

Jester continued smoking his cigar as he listened to her speak. When she mentioned Nar Shaddaa he almost choked. Almost. Another kid from the Smugglers Moon eh? A human at that. Did he know her? There was a chance of it. He had globe trotted around Nar Shaddaa for the majority of his life. That was quite a coincidence. Now Jester just had to give her a job. No question about it now. If she had grown up on The Smugglers Moon as well then he most likely had literally a world in common with her. Meeting another human who had grown up on Nar Shaddaa forced him to smile.

"No shit? I grew up on Nar Shaddaa too. Goddamn, now I gotta come out and say it, you wanna start making some real credits sister? Tell you what, finish your contract with this guy, get your cut, then contact me and we can work something out. But shit, what part of The Moon you from?" Jester was wearing a genuine smile now. He couldn't help it. Another Nar Shaddaa native. It had been too long since Jester had spoken to a fellow street kid, and judging from the way she spoke of The Smugglers Moon, she definitely was one. For some reason that actually made Jester happy, like counting credits happy, or drinking 10,000 credit champagne happy.

 

[Luster]

That...... was unexpected. Not only had he come out and said it he was also from the moon, most likely a street kid otherwise he would not be in this business and he would most certainly never make a deal himself if he was born into money. But still it was good that it was out in the open and even better to have another victory under the belt of Belleza Te'sul. Relief and pride both overwhelmed her and she let out an honest to god laugh, as sound she hadn't heard from herself for a long time. It was so alien in nature that Druid even paused before taking the third crate up the ramp in order to make sure everything was alright before continuing. But those feeling were subdued quickly by memories that came forcibly to the forefront of her mind, specifically of the two people in life that had betrayed her. She needed to keep her cool, he was still more than an unknown shared heritage or no.

"New Vertica" she said with some joy remaining in her face and voice "Then mom and I moved to Ko Hentota for a couple of years before......." Her voice trailed off and lost it's mirth as she struggled to find a way to say that her ungrateful sith spawn, slug loving, witch of a mother sold her into slavery. She had to fight hard in order to keep a straight face while a lifetime of horrid memories flashed before her. But if there was any one good thing that her past had caused, it was to motivate her to never have to face poverty again. "Before we were separated. So a job huh, what are we talking about? A few contracts here and there or something a little more long term mister.....?"

 

[Kreeps]

Jester was still pretty happy about meeting another person from Nar Shaddaa. It seemed like she was too at first, but once she got to the part where her and mom 'seperated' her happiness seemed to disappear. Probably some bad blood there. Jester wasn't going to pursue it now, if she started working for him they would have plenty of time to talk about their shared home world. She wanted to get back to business and off the subject of painful memories and Jester certainly couldn't blame her for that.

"The name's Jester. Jester Korvun. I don't think I caught yours either. No we aren't talking about a couple contracts here and there at all. I'm talking about a career. If all goes well and you're cut out for it, a very long and lucrative career." Jester said with a smile. This girl was another kid raised in the planet sized slum that was Nar Shaddaa, living in a constant quest for money, just like Jester. He could help her there. If he could have his way, every street kid from Nar Shaddaa would be rich. Lord knows they deserve it.

"I'm from the Promenade Slums by the way. You know the dirty little shacks below the Hutts that nobody likes to talk about? But I've been to New Vertica and Ko Hentota a million times." He had to at least let her know out of fairness. He liked to give people as much as they gave him, so long as they were honest about it.

 

[Luster]

She was glad he steered the topic away from her past, she didn't want to talk about it and neither did he past the Nar Shaddaa coincidence. It was better that way, he didn't want to push too far to fast either knowing that it would do more harm than good. Then he got back to business and called himself Jester, she wondered if that was a nickname or alias since a number of beings in this type of transaction went by one -and it really sounded like a fake name-. But that did explain the logo on the crates and the lighter, it was always fun to work with-or for in this case- someone with a sick sense of humor. So she flashed a little smile of humor and relief as the first few sentences came out into the open. A few contracts would keep her afloat but business was hard to come by when most of her regular clients thought she was dead, a double edged blade death.

"Alright mister Jester, I'm Belleza Te'sul captain of the Stellar wind. That fine specimen of engineering currently loading your product over there is Druid. Druid the wind and I are all at your service, for a hefty price of course. I'll let you know right now no one has ever caught me nor will they ever do so, especially considering most people think I'm dead." She gave him a surreptitious little wink.

 

[Kreeps]

Jester listened to Belleza's interesting comment. So people thought she was dead? That's interesting. There had to be a story behind that little tidbit of info. Jester pondered whether or not he should ask her about it. He might as well, a 'dead' smuggler would be useful whether she told him how she did it or not.

"Well I'm glad to have you on my side Belleza. I already spoke to your droid as you know. But what really grabbed my attention is the people think you're dead. You look pretty alive to me, there a story behind that?" Jester had to ask, though he could respect it if she would rather keep that kind of information to herself.

He was still smoking one of those pungent, fruity cigars of his. Enjoying every puff. It wasn't often he got to just relax, smoke and have a conversation that was for sure.

 

[Luster]

That just wasn't my lucky day." She muttered thinking back to Jordi's betrayal, the pain slowing her speech. The memory of him begging for mercy as she broke his bones, the tears in his eyes as she opened the airlock. It was still painful, no matter what how mad she had been. Taking a deep breath she purged those images from her mind and looked straight into Jester's good eye.

"I must have pissed someone off big time. They unleashed bounty hunters on what should have been a safe trading spot as well as informed the GA where I was. The GA had a ship waiting to turn me into debris and they scored a couple of hits. I limped around a moon and blew up, nothing larger than a mouse droid left." Again she was taking another risk, well that was normal she took the risk of finalizing a few of trades and ended up losing out in the end....... Or did she really win. The risk was about potentially blurting out what her secret weapon was, and she had to keep from turning around and glancing at the large plate bolted to her hull.

 

[Kreeps]

Jester listened to Belleza's story. Her tone of voice changed noticeably, just like when she spoke about the end of her time on Nar Shaddaa. Jester wondered if he had pushed a couple buttons with his questions... Maybe he had. It was too late now though. She hadn't given him much to go on, mostly an outline or a summary and less of a story. Not that he could really blame her. She didn't like to talk about Nar Shaddaa or her 'death' just like Jester didn't like to talk about his father. Or lack thereof. Actually scratch that, Jester hated talking about his father. If it wasn't biologically impossible, he would just tell people that he really didn't have one. But he did, and Jester knew that son of a bitch was out there somewhere. Maybe he was long dead like his mother, maybe he was drunk off his ass in some cantina, maybe he was a bounty hunter or some rich business executive. Jester would probably never know. He was probably dead anyway, and if he wasn't and Jester ran into him someday, he would kill him. He would kill him for all of the nights Jester wondered where he was. He would kill him for all the times Jester hoped he would ride up on white horse and take him outta of the shit hole he grew up in. He would kill him for giving up on Jester and letting him grow up completely on his own. Letting him raise himself, feed himself. It was probably better that way. Everything in Jesters life had lead to him becoming the man he was today. He was a 22 year old billionaire. One of the biggest spice producers and traffickers in the Galaxy. Maybe that wouldn't be so if his dad had been there.

"Damn... It seemed to work out for you in the end though. Having the law think you're dead can be a hell of an advantage in this business. I'm kinda lucky because every law enforcement agency and rival out there thinks my name is fake or a nickname. It's not." Jester tried to change the subject to his ironic but fitting name to get off the one that obviously was uncomfortable for his newest smuggler. At the end of his sentence he let off a light laugh. It was kinda funny, but not really. Jester was surprised at how well he had gotten to know this new associate in so few words. He glanced back at the cargo he had delivered. the droid still had a hell of a lot of work left. Two hundred crates isn't an amount to shake a stick at. It had better get used to it because once Belleza started working for him, 200 crates would be a light load.

 

[Luster]

The fact that his name wasn't fake did take her by surprise, but the laugh at the end was obviously fake and nor felt echoed in his heart. Maybe he thought she'd find it funny, maybe it was more of a scornful expression, and maybe it was an attempt at changing the subject. She didn't know, it was still hard to focus on the conversation while her past kept coming up. Then again this was an opportunity to press for information, maybe her only chance for a while. She hadn't exactly been forthcoming with information be he knew her name, her place of birth, her "family problems" to a degree, and that she escaped death by playing dead. All she knew was his name, homeworld, and a little about his business. Normally she wouldn't press for more than that and a look at her client's personality but just now she couldn't hold back her curiosity.

"It's your actual name? Well just like my death that has to cause your enemies to stop and scratch their heads while you grab 'em by the balls." She forced a smile to match her words and managed to make it look genuine, or at least she thought so. By now Druid had moved a number of the crates and there was one directly on the floor that was not buried under two or three more, so she sat down on it and propped herself up with her hands. "You don't seem to be too much of a joker either, that has to be doubly confusing for anyone that is trying to figure you out. Oh and these enemies of yours, anyone I know?"

 

[Kreeps]

Jester was a little mesmerized by the droids repetitive motions. Pick up a box on it's giant durasteel arms, slowly lumber its way to the ship, pack it in the cargo hold. Wash, rinse, repeat. He snapped out of it just fast enough to hear Belleza speak. On the subject of his name, it wasn't an unusual response. Yes, his fiend mom named him Jester. No he wasn't a joker. Despite that, he liked to think that his entire existence was some kind of sick joke, and his business was a seedy flavor of dark humor.

"Yep, it's my real. name. I have no idea what my sad excuse for a mom was thinking. She probably wasn't." With that reply he let Belleza finish her piece. Seemed like she had some questions for him now. Fair is fair.

"Enemies? The Galaxy. That was a joke. See? I can sorta do it." Jester said in his attempt at humor. He threw in a smile with it. One of his real ones. Maybe she would find it funnier than he did.

"But in all seriousness I have a few. I don't know if you're familiar with Grodda? Fat, smelly slug? Controlled the Nar Shaddaa spice trade? Me and him had a... dispute so I settled it. Now the Hutts would love to get a taste of my blood. Then the law of course. I'm sure you know plenty about that. Hell, just a couple days ago me and a buddy of mine barely escaped CorSec." Jester wondered if she knew Grodda, and if she knew that the bastards fat body was now rotting in a grave somewhere in Huttspace with a bolt from Jesters old blaster in his slug brain.

 

[Luster]

He was opening up a little, which was good since not doing so would ensure mistrust between them and sharing too much would be a sign him not having the greatest discretion. Though really she had tested him in that area multiple times throughout the conversation and he had never failed to hold up to her, admittedly high, standards. He mentioned his mother, his words dripping hate that mirrored her feelings for aspects of their her past, yet another thing they shared. Then he cracked his awful joke, it was just so silly that she couldn't help but smile in reply to his attempt at at least trying to lighten the air between them. She sat back and pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and she listened to him go on as she pulled out her own lighter and inhaled.

"Aren't they all fat and smelly?" she asked, smiling around the cigarette as she put the lighter in it's pouch on her belt. "I used to be............. employed by a Hutt on that rock, not a pleasant experience either. I can't for the life of me remember his name, probably better that way since he's most likely end up on my personal hit list." She held up her hand assuming she may get an offer, many potential costumers had offered to help her get rid of someone in lieu of payment. And if this guy was serious about hiring her on long term he may take to seeing that he had to look out for her, which he didn't! "A list I am capable of handling on my own, mind you. It has actually shrunk since my untimely demise. Death does have its perks."

 

[Kreeps]

Well she certainly knew about Hutts. They were indeed all fat and smelly. It was pretty amazing that a race of pure disgusting scum could have become so powerful, but it was probably their scheming, greedy ways. She seemed to hate Hutts too, but really, who didn't? When she said she was employed by a Hutt she followed it with a long pause. Jester wondered what she did. Maybe she was a spice mule like him? No, that wouldn't justify a long pause, she would just say it. Maybe it was something more sinister. After seeing the way the Hutts would take advantage of pretty females of every species back on Nar Shaddaa he would prefer not to know, so he wouldn't ask. She held up her hand when she mentioned her personal hitlist. Seemed she expected him to play white knight for her. Yeah right, handle your own shit. Never trust someone else will personal business.

"Hey I'm a business man not an assassin. If you need someone dead for non business reasons, handle it. Murder tends to draw heat I'd rather not deal with." Damn straight. Even if this girl was pretty and seemed cool, Jester wasn't gonna put his neck on the line to kill some dick from her past that gave her a hard time. That was her problem. Jester would handle his, she could handle hers. As long as they both made plenty of credits he was sure she would agree. the only time Jester would kill for an employee was when it affected the Cartel or it's profitability. Other than that, handle your own shit.