A Farewell to Arms

[Armand Temi]

Ding

Ca-chik

Click... click... click...

"E chu ta!"

Dak had just lost all of her day's wages on Galaxy Gluttony, her favorite slot machine at the Dragon Palace Casino and she now needed to find some type of free entertainment to occupy herself on a Friday night. Good going, laserbrains, Dak thought as she skulked around the Red Raven's headquarters looking with envy at all of the well-dressed citizens of Ancedent - some rich and some shady - all having fun and drinks and food on the Casino floor. Starting out their evening with a full wallet.

Then she spied Krevin her new Twi'lek bodyguard-with-benefits, on loan courtesy of her boss, [member="Cryax Bane"]. Krevin was a yellow-hued Twi'lek, muscular and a great kisser. The Twi'lek was currently assigned to security duty on the sabacc tables which at the moment only contained an intoxicated Rodian and a couple of humans.

"C'mon, it's time for you to take a break," she said taking him by the hand.

"I can't," he answered and jerked his head toward the sabacc dealer who laid out the next hand to his only patrons. The Rodian whooped and ordered another drink from a Holowaitress. "Gotta keep my eye out for skifters."

"You work for me now, pateesa. You do what I say," she said smiling and running a finger up his chest. The Twi'lek glanced back at the dealer and patrons again and said, "Ohhh-kaaay, but it has to be a quickie."

Giggling and dragging the Twi'lek along, she looked up at the ceiling at the many security cameras. It gave her a thrill to think that one of Bane's cronies was probably up in that camera room watching Dak corrupt the young Twi'lek into leaving his post for a few minutes.

Dak normally parked her ship in the public docking station on Antecedent. She wasn't special enough to have her freighter rub hulls against the yachts and gunships in the private docks of the Casino. Already man-handling the Twi'lek, Dak pushed him up against the hatch of her ship and went up on her tiptoes to kiss him but she was momentarily distracted by the noise of another ship unloading a few spaces away from her B-7. Otherwise the dock was completely empty.

Dak put her finger to the Twi'lek's lips to quiet him and snuck around to the other side of the ship to spy on the pilot or crew-member who was now outside of the ship. She could tell by the footsteps. She saw a well-built man with dark short hair. He had a garbage bag in his hands but Dak could tell by the size and the shape that it was extremely probable there were weapons in the bag. No one was allowed on the Dragon premises without proper authorization and this stranger looked highly unauthorized.

"You there!" she shouted. "Where you going with that?" She walked quickly towards him, not running up as to scare him away or have him immediately pull a blaster on her.

[member="Davik Tren"]

 

[Davik Tren]

Davik had quickly pulled the dark bag over his shoulder and walked down from the ramp of his ship. Karking things are heavy... They 'ought to be as well, as the republic didn't like to spare any quality when it came to arming their agents. His employers hadn't told him much besides the drop off, which was supposed to be a yellow crate somewhere on dock 7A... If only he could find the damned dock there would be little issue.

"You there! Where you going with that?"

The voice had broken the calm droning noise of starships above, and Davik felt a tinge of fear gather in his stomach as he heard footsteps approaching. He turned to face the one who addressed him and was not very surprised to find a feminine figure coming towards him at a brisk pace. Her voice had sounded off clear as day and it appeared as though she had a possible follower with her, being a somewhat thuggish looking Twi'lek who was giving him a less than friendly glare in the darkness of the spaceport.

"Umm... Hello 'Mam! Just transporting some goods to the transport lines.... It's a bit more urgent than you might realise, I should really be on my way or the tram might miss this last shipment!.."

Davik began to slowly back away and turn his back to the girl and continue down the duracrete platform towards a pile of crates. There weren't supposed to be any guards on this deck... Just as well that he was carrying a sack full of T-998C Blaster Rifles straight from Kuat...

[member="Dakita Calfur"]

 

[Armand Temi]

As the human turned around, Dak was momentarily rendered speechless by his good looks. She glanced down again at the bag he was carrying and noticed it wasn't a garbage bag as she had thought but was more of a carryall. Could be anything in there, honestly. Wow, she was kind of harsh on the guy for just doing his job. He was really cute - too cute to be some type of nefarious miscreant, Dak reasoned. This train of thought continued in her head as the pilot retreated down the platform. The Zeltron slicer just stood there, twirling her hair and admiring the view.

All of a sudden Krevin came out of nowhere behind Dak and strode up to the pilot, clamping a firm hand on the pilot's shoulder. The click of a blaster could be heard echoing through the cavernous docking station.

"Easy there, cowboy. Do you have a transport permit?" asked the Twi'lek with a sneer.

[member="Davik Tren"]

 

[Davik Tren]

Davik felt the cold and heartless barrel of a blaster on his shoulder and this stopped him cold. The last thing the young spacer was trying to accomplish was to get killed on the Republic's credits. Of course it was the blasted Twi'lek as well, most likely just some hired arm candy for the woman whom he accompanied. As the muscle interrogated him for a "Transport Permit", Davik cursed silently to himself, as he hoped it would not have to come to this. He slowly slipped open his flight bag and took out a datapad.

"Tarik Vaas, at your service... Got some fungus coming from Ryloth by special order..."

The credentials on the document marked him as a transport employee from Galactic Exotics. Everything else was just jargon about the order and where he was permitted to drop of the cargo, with the only planet listed being Antecedent.

Hope the Reps haven't cheaped out on this....

[member="Dakita Calfur"]

 

[Armand Temi]

"See, Pateesa. He's cool," said Dak. "Now let's go!" She really wanted to get back to her ship and get the Twi'lek out of his clothes.

But when Krevin heard there was Ryloth fungus involved and from Galactic Exotics no less... well poor Tarik Vaas didn't stand a chance of seeing that cargo through to wherever the drop was on Antecedent. And Dak could just kiss her evening of heavy petting goodbye. The Twi'lek's eyes grew wide and he greedily grabbed the bag from the humans hand. He sniffed the exterior of the bag and his face clouded with confusion.

With the blaster still trained on Vaas, Krevin dropped the bag at his feet and motioned for Dak to open it. She squatted down and unzipped the bag. The bag contained blaster rifles and most of them looked brand new.
She looked back up at Krevin who's face was a portrait in extreme disappointment.

The Zeltron couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry Krev, you can't eat those. But I think [member="Cryax Bane"] may just take you out for dinner for finding our new friend here." Krevin smiled back and growled, "Let's go." The burly Twi'lek slung the bag over his shoulder and pushed Vaas towards a door marked Casino Entrance.

[member="Davik Tren"]

 

[Davik Tren]

Davik slowly put his hands up slowly and began to walk in front of the blaster that was held level with his back. The door he saw had a brightly lit entrance which marked it as another Casino on this world that held so many... Nothing special...

Whoever this Cryax is... He better not make a bad day even worse...


[member="Dakita Calfur"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Krevin led their prisoner through the Casino. Even if he wanted to try and escape now the heavy security detail on the Casino's first floor would have made this nearly impossible. Dak tried to be helpful by saying things along the way like: "Can we put some stun cuffs on him? How about shock manacles? Can I whip him?"

The Twi'lek bodyguard ignored her and brought the three of them to what was known as "the interrogation room." Krevin activated a comlink on his sleeve, calling for the young Red Raven President [member="Cryax Bane"]. Dak wasn't sure if Bane would show up himself or if he would send his lieutenants. She looked around the room expecting it to be a torture den with blood-stained walls and IT-904s but it was a simple room with grey painted walls and utilitarian furniture. Krevin forced Vaan into a folding chair and tossed a pair of stun cuffs to Dak.

"Here. Do the honors."

She smiled. "It would be my pleasure." She roughly applied the cuffs and stood back admiring the prisoner. She suppressed the sudden urge to slap his pretty face and looked back at Krevin. "Where's the stun button?" she asked. Krevin held it up out of her reach. A security guard entered the room, grabbed the weapons bag and said, "Bane is on his way."

[member="Cryax Bane"]
[member="Davik Tren"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax Bane, President of the Red Ravens Criminal Syndicate was a busy Chiss, but not too busy to stop by the casino's interrogation room to get his blue-skinned paws on a captive that one of their smugglers, [member="Dakita Calfur"] had nabbed at the Antecedent Spaceport. On his way, he grabbed his favorite toy, one he commonly used to intimidate the rabble.

The Chiss crime boss strode into the interrogation room, sharply dressed in an elegant and expensively-tailored pinstriped suit that seemed more fitting for a Chiss Quarterly model than a Wildspace thug. His glowing red eyes narrowed at the captive stun-cuffed to the table before him. In his hand he gripped an electric nail gun. Around these parts, the Chiss was known to send lobotomized bounty hunters back to their benefactors with six inch durasteel nails sticking out of their skulls. He made a show of putting the nail gun down on the table, just out of reach of his cuffed prisoner, of course.

The man at the table was young, probably around Cryax's own age, and his face didn't ring any bells. He looked down at the bound smuggler with a tight smirk on his face. "So, what have we here? I heard someone was smuggling weapons to the Republic right under our noses. We own this dirtball, ebeucot." he said, slipping into a Cheunh insult as he did when angry. "Explain yourself."

[member="Davik Tren"]

 

[Davik Tren]

Davik did not dare make any attempt to struggle, in fear of the thuggish twi'leks attitude with that buzzer. This is going swell... Davik felt a slight twinge of fear as the door slammed open to reveal the blue skinned mastermind of this organization. He was a young man, like the spacer, and he held a determined and almost playful gaze. He felt his hands flinch away as an electric nail gun was slammed onto the table in front of him. Davik had heard the rumors like everybody had in this sector, but he never really considered the fact that this could actually happen to a man of his prowess.

"Well... I thought I might drop by and drop off some top of the line weaponry to such a grand and imposing figure as yourself! You are... Mr. Bane I assume?"

[member="Cryax Bane"]
[member="Dakita Calfur"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax raised an eyebrow at the smuggler. Did the man think that his blatantly obvious attempts to flatter the Chiss would actually work? Not karking likely. Although Cryax did quite like being called a "grand and imposing figure" he had to admit. Ok, so maybe flattery did get you everywhere with Cryax. Regardless, he believed in showing no quarter when it came to making a statement about those who crossed the Ravens. He picked up the nail gun and deliberately weighed it in his hand, inspecting it with his glowing red eyes.

The snarky Chiss raised his head to the captive smuggler and grinned widely, "Ballsy move, my friend," he said. "Next you're going to tell me that Hoth has melted, right? Cut the kark and admit you were caught red-handed by my girl here with the face like a coloring book." He swept out a blue-skinned hand indicating the Zeltron who quite frankly could use a bit of help putting on the spackle in the morning. "I might even go easy on you."

"And yes, I am Mr. Bane of the Red Ravens," he said. "And you are?"

[member="Davik Tren"] [member="Dakita Calfur"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Dak was about to pass out with boredom because there was no torturin' going on up in this so-called "interrogation." Then the Chiss President made a snide comment about her appearance.

"You should talk Bane. Last time I looked in the mirror I didn't resemble an Ortolan," she spat. Her Twi'lek bodyguard widened his eyes and made a chopping movement at his neck so Dak would stop running her mouth and insulting the one near-human in the room who could actually kill them both right there on the spot and no one else would bat an eye.

[member="Cryax Bane"]
[member="Davik Tren"]

 

[Davik Tren]

Davik eyed the nail gun as it was lifted into the air with little effort from the Chiss. He had heard of Cryax, most everyone had, and he had also heard of the morbid things that became of smugglers on Antecedent. The young spacer flexed his arm a bit and felt the odd fleeting sting as his skin rubbed against the obviously electric tendency of the cuffs. The situation was a bit tense, however he could tell that Cryax may not be incredibly inclined to put a bold through each of his eyes, if he watched his words.

"Well... I gave your associates a name that was.... Less than true. Davik... Davik Tren, at your service, Sir. And I will admit that your hamfisted thug over there caught me. The girl was nothing but nice!"

[member="Dakita Calfur"]
[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax cut his eyes sideways to the Zeltron. On the one hand, she did manage to catch someone in the act of sending guns to Republic moles. On the other hand, she needed to watch her karking mouth around her boss. That was in the Holo handbook she'd been given on day one with the Ravens. He'd deal with her insubordination later. First, he had a task for her.

"Dakita," barked the Chiss with an irritated glare. "Slice into whatever database you can, Republic or otherwise, and get all you can on this Davik Tren. NOW." He turned back towards Davik with a smile. "Mr. Tren, we'll soon find out if you're telling the truth or not. Until then I think you need to start giving me a few good reasons why I shouldn't nail you to one of our sabacc tables to show the galaxy what the Red Ravens do with those who smuggle arms to our enemies."

[member="Davik Tren"] [member="Dakita Calfur"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Emboldened by the fact that the Chiss didn't go completely ballistic over her comment and put the nail gun bolt through her head along with the prisoner's, she said, "You got it, Bossman."
She turned to leave and looked over her shoulder and winked at Tren. "I'll find out all of your dirty secrets, alright." She slammed the door behind her.

He had called her "nice." Nobody had called her nice, not in a long time at least. Slutty, rude, greedy, thieving, depraved and sadistic. But not nice. She felt momentarily sorry for Tren, sitting there all innocent-looking about to get roughed up by the paranoid and controlling Raven President. But sympathy didn't last long around the Dragon Palace Casino. If Davik Tren survived the night, he would quickly learn that to be true.

[member="Davik Tren"]
[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Davik Tren]

A bead of sweat ran down the smuggler's back at the mention of the fact that he currently held no cards to save his life... Or so the crime lord though perhaps. He just hoped that this one bit of information had not already been discovered by the agents of the Ravens prior to his arrival. He knew where the weapon shipments were, and these were not simple blaster rifles, but explosives as well as heavier blasters and other war faring materials for any republic or rebellious activity that the Republic had planned to fund on Antecedent. Perhaps... Just perhaps it could save his life....

"I honestly couldn't think of a reason... That is of course if you want to leave the Republic armory here untouched and with easy access to every agent or potential rebel on the surface of your fine capital city. Hell, I'd say there would be enough to outfit a small army in the warehouse... You finding out WHICH warehouse depends on how highly your willing to pay for it. I'd say a suitable bid would be, say... My safe release?"

[member="Cryax Bane"]

[member="Dakita Calfur"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax rocked on his heels with a smirk on his face, listening to his smuggler captive try and wheel and deal with him. He couldn't blame the guy. The crime boss himself might have done the same in his shoes, which spoke to a resourcefulness and cunning about the man. The human wasn't trying to play the macho martyr like some of the dumb thugs that graced this interrogation room and ended up with a six inch durasteel nail right between the eyes.

Cryax sighed and pulled up a chair so that he could sit across from the smuggler on more of an even playing field. Just two guys having a civilized chat. He deposited the nail gun on the table. Again, just out of reach. "Look. You and I both know that you're hardly in the position right now to do any kind of bargaining with me. So get that right out of your head. You'll be giving me the warehouse location." Here he traced his fingers lightly over the grip of the nail gun. "Whether willingly or not."

Aside from his fondness for nailguns, Cryax was also known around Wildspace for being quite a risk taker, and this time would prove no different. "Mr. Tern, you don't strike me as the Republic type. How much do you like credits?" he asked his red eyes gleaming. "We have positions open in the Red Ravens for someone like you." The Chiss stopped there and let his words sink in.

[member="Davik Tren"]

 

[Davik Tren]

Davik leaned back into the chair as the Chiss sat down in front of him. The gamble had appeared to keep him alive just a bit longer, and if not that it would be his captor's on good intention. The nailgun, however, was still very close at hand and always within reach of Bane. At the very mention of a position within their organization, the young spacer was taken a bit by surprise. Not moments before, he was awaiting the verdict on whether or not a bolt would be shot through his head, but now he was being offered... Credits?..

"I've been known to be influenced by them... What kind of position are we talking here?"

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

"I don't like labels," said Cryax with a sidelong grin. "We're looking for talent in many forms, piloting, smuggling, bounty hunting, wetwork." At the last word he raised an eyebrow. "We like our Ravens to wear many different hats." Cryax rocked back in his chair and scratched his chin. "I have a good feeling about you, Mr. Tren. You seem like the ambitious type, and ambition is an attribute that's highly valued around here."

Cryax then stood suddenly, picking the nail gun up off the table, and heading towards the door. "We may not be choir boys like your friends in the Republic, but consider working for us, Davik. You'll be a rich man. All I ask for in return is loyalty. Loyalty to me and loyalty to the Ravens. The rest. It's all negotiable." The crime boss smiled widely.

Then Chiss nodded to the stone-faced security guards who hovered nearby. "He's free to go." With that he left. A number would be sent to Davik's Datapad. The number of Bane's executive assistant. Accompanied with one simple message, "Call me."

​

----------------------------End Thread----------------------------​

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[member="Davik Tren"]