Ask They Find You

[Arla]

Per my new OP template, thread is death enabled​

It wasn't much of a secret that Crimson Dawn owned Omega Station. Sure, it wasn't official or anything, but it was the unspoken fact that everyone who came here needed to be ready to work with or for them. In this case, it was one of the reasons that Arla had come here.

The station was home to two organizations that she was interested in getting her feet wet with, one was the Bounty Hunter's Guild and the other was, of course, Crimson Dawn. A criminal organization that was difficult to put fingers on, wealthy, and dealt in Force artifacts? What was not to like.

Of course, getting in contact with Crimson Dawn was easier said than done. She had put around word at a couple of cantinas that she was looking for people who dealt in artifacts, but had yet to have any real hits so far. She now stood outside of her most recent attempt and leaned against the railing, looking out over the station. The absolutely dreadful station. All twisted metal and despair, no plant life, nothing to connect it to nature. She felt very far and disconnected from Dathomir out here. Perhaps more isolated than she had ever felt.

She shook the thought from her head as she turned back to catch a glimpse of a woman drawing closer. A mixture of metal worked directly into her body, it was a strange sight despite her travels in the galaxy. She had seen cyborgs before, but she couldn't really say that she was particularly used to it yet.

 

[Acklay]

Everyone wanted a slicer. Not everyone specifically wanted a slicer who was interested in hunting force artifacts. So when the call had been put out, Mars had approached it with caution. Without a name to the face that wanted her services, it was difficult to look into who this woman was. But she'd come to Omega, and for that reason, Mars had decided to meet her at the specified location. Curiosity killed the cat, they said, but satisfaction could bring information and opportunity.

"You came all the way to Omega to find someone like me," she began, her voice muffled from behind the namesake mask that cover her nose and mouth. "What is it you want?" Her voice was not accusatory or defensive; no, she just wanted to get straight to business.

Mars - Acklay - came to a stop a few feet away from Arla, her hands sitting casually in the pockets of her cargo pants.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla faced the woman directly, getting confirmation that this was someone who was looking for her and the woman hadn't pulled a blaster on her yet, which on this cesspit was probably a step in the right direction.

She was straight to business, and Arla immediately appreciated that. She wasn't someone to beat around matters either, and she decided to match Ackay's directness with her own.

You are Crimson Dawn? she asked, deciding to just say it outright. She wasn't interested in messing around with anything but the real deal.

I want to discuss an alliance. A business deal regarding the obtaining, trading, and purchasing of artifacts. Possibly in addition to other services, she said. There was something equally as blunt. The fact of the matter was that Arla was here to network as much as anything else, and whether or not the slicer was wise enough to see the potential... well, that was what Arla didn't know. She wasn't exactly a well-known name yet, after all.

@lizziie

 

[Acklay]

"Mhm." Acklay's affiliation with the Crimson Dawn was a lesser-known fact, but not something she entirely hid. She greatly respected Terra, and being in the Crimson Dawn gave her access to the resources that made hunting, trading, and selling artifacts possible. This, it seemed, was exactly what this woman wanted to talk about.

"If you're looking for exclusivity, I wouldn't hold your breath." She removed a hand from one of her pockets and braced her forearm against the railing, leaning into it. "What do you propose? And how should I call you?"

She was curious to hear what these 'other services' were; she was curious in general.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

No, I imagine anything exclusive is developed in time, she said. Nor did she, herself, have any intention of Apex being exclusive.

You may call me Venatrix, she said. It was the name under which she intended to operate in this part of the galaxy for the moment. She didn't want her true identity or ties to come out in the public eye yet, and a bit of space obscurity in her work was a good thing.

I have personal experience with artifact recovery and I also have my own interests in acquiring special items, she said.

But beyond that, I represent a growing group of individuals with experience in military action, target acquisition and... target removal, she said. "Assassination" was a word that people seemed to find a bit of squeamishness with.

The question is: what is it that you and your organization are looking for? she asked. Mars would be able to put together that what Arla was talking about was basically a Private Military Company that wasn't afraid to get its hands very, very dirty. Plus her own personal abilities to hunt artifacts and whatever power her organization could exert in that same vein.

 

[Acklay]

'Venatrix.' Acklay noted that and filed it away. There was about a fifty-fifty chance that the woman was using a fake name as opposed to her real one.

"Target removal?" Acklay repeated. What a corporate way of saying assassination, Acklay thought. 'Venatrix' didn't give her that sort of vibe, but who knew?

"The Crimson Dawn has a vested interest in artifact acquisition, 'business', and 'trade'," she answered, modifying her lingo to the sort of vague, corporate-esque speak 'Venatrix' seemed to be going for. "My personal interests lie in knowledge and assets." She wanted access to high-security protocols, dangerous dataplagues, and tech that made her job easier. She wanted money out of that. "I work with the Dawn to locate and secure artifacts for sale," she added, more specifically.

"In exchange for the services of your group," Acklay began, "I believe it would only be fair for the Dawn could provide priority for you or any of your contacts wishing to secure artifacts."

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla nodded as she listened to Acklay's explanation of what she was looking for. That all seemed to fit with Arla just fine. Apex may not have been a large organization yet, but she had her eye on growing it, and even now she had a growing list of contacts who she could call on if and when the situation was necessary.

And meetings like this would only serve to extend that list of contacts going into the future. Besides, criminals needed people killed and tracked all the time. That was well within Arla's purview.

That sounds like something that we can do, she said. If Arla was able to get first looks at whatever the artifacts were, too, then that was all the better. She knew that everyone was out for themselves, and she was no different. She certainly wouldn't sacrifice herself for someone else's organization.

Are you currently in need of assistance with that? she asked. It went without saying that even if Arla wasn't going to buy said specific artifact, a cut of the profits would be expected. Nothing went for nothing, but there were many artifacts hidden by Force-users for Force-users that you simply had to have someone of Arla's skills to acquire. Of course, the Nightsister also had no doubt Crimson Dawn had its own former-Sith or independent contractors on retainer for just that sort of thing. Still, extra hands never hurt.

@lizziie