Blood on the Sand

[Araceli Loxley]

Security on Tatooine was surprisingly tight, Araceli Loxley reflected as she looked out the window of her small hotel room. Well, to call it a hotel room was remarkably charitable. It was barely the size of a studio apartment, with a bed and a table that served as both a desk and a dining room. The room was not what Lady Araceil Loxley was accustomed to, nor was Tatooine, which was basically a useless backwater as far as she was concerned. She frowned to herself in the dull reflection of the sand-scrubbed window. Useless, except insofar as a rather promising new silicate that could be created from a certain type of sand found on the ball of dirt.

It was her third night there, and the night of the meeting with her contact. The contact had been forwarded by a colleague on the Board of Directors, who had heard about it from Force-knows-whom. But her colleague on the Board had vouched for it, and presented her with the scientific records from the company's research labs. It all seemed to be in order, so now all that was necessary was to go to the cantina, nail out the contracts with some negotiation, and then return triumphant to Druckenwell to inform the board.

Yes, Araceli could feel the way to the CEO's chair almost paving itself in front of her.

"Lady Loxley, the speeder," came the chime from her comlink. She glanced away, then picked it up and flicked the channel open. "I'll be right there." For the meeting, she chose a pair of dark brown, form-fitting slacks tucked into shin-high boots, and a short-sleeved tan tunic tucking into them. She wore a blaster on her hip because it was Tatooine, for heaven's sake, but she also had a bodyguard for the trip who, she assumed, would meet her in the speeder. Over this she threw a brown hooded cloak to keep the sand out of her eyes.

Climbing into the back of the speeder a moment later, she took her datapad from her aide. "What's the security situation like at this Cantina?"

@[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest found himself in a speeder, on his way to pick of some CEO. His job as protector of Tatooine has him going back to his roots. Bodyguard. He knew little on the woman except for her name. @[member="Araceli Loxley"]. CEO of some company of importance. Oh his way to pick her up he ended up checking on his armor and weaponry. Crossbow, Saber(s), Shield, and Belt. He should be fine, and by extension the random CEO.

Man I should -really- start reading up on these people..

He watched as Loxley climbed her way in. He tilted her head at the girl, simply stunned by her question. Did she forget what planet she was on? Or had she never been here before? He ended up laughing, shaking his head slow as he looked out the side window. "It doesn't matter how many guards we have. In any Cantina on Tatooine you're life's gonna be at risk. This is why I'm here, along with some others. You won't see them, which is a good thing." He turns his blue gaze back to her, resting his hand on the side of the door. "Just don't be fidgety and get your business done quick. We'll be out shortly."

 

[Araceli Loxley]

"Quite," said Araceli, her tone as dry as the desert outside. "I don't suppose this is like a civilized planet, where the establishment doesn't mind if a guard comes through for a sweep. No, here the bartenders are probably armed. With any luck we can mine this planet for the silicate I'm here to talk about and never set foot on it again." As the speeder moved into traffic, she pulled on a black, wrist-length glove over her left hand, tugging it tight around her wrist before sealing the clasp. With that hand, she slapped the glove against her other, bare palm. "Ah well. Thank you for that."

She had her other glove on in plenty of time before they reached the cantina. Lady Loxley emerged into the dry evening and crossed a dusty courtyard before ducking into the only-marginally-cooler cantina. Her eyes took a moment to adjust before she glanced down at her datapad to see the face of who she was meeting, then scanned the room. She found the table in the center of the room and for a moment she felt slightly uncomfortable. She glanced over her shoulder before pushing her cloak back from her shoulder before sweeping it off and going to sit at the table.

"Loxley," she said by way of introduction, sitting down at the table. Little did she know that as she did, a number of armed men were readying to strike...

@[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest shook his head slow at the female. What was it with the rich and hating on the poor again? The Zabrak frowned at the lack of an answer forming in his head, so he turned his gaze out the window. "We're almost there. Actually, I think we ar-" He turned his gaze only to see the girl leave. A disgruntled groan emerged from his throat, and he reached over to pick up Deus, his blade.

The Knight worked his way out of the speeder, shaking his head still. So impatient to get off this planet.. He stood by the doorway, leaning on it casually. Watch and wait. Watch and wait.

I'm already bored, maybe no one will come.

@[member="Araceli Loxley"]

 

[Araceli Loxley]

The first clue that something was amiss was when the lights in the cantina flickered, then went out, while Loxley's contact was in the middle of explaining why this particular silicate, made from this particular sand, had these particular conductive qualities that were beneficial for astronav computers.

The second clue was when the contact's eyes flickered, almost of their own accord, to the left of Araceli's head.

The third, of course, was when, after throwing herself on the floor a split-second later, a blaster bolt flew through the spot where Araceli's head had been. She jammed her hand under her cloak and rolled along the floor as another pair of blaster bolts stitched where she had been. "No blasters!" shouted the bartender, reaching under his bar for a slugthrower. He was quickly cut down by a hail of blasterfire from one of the half-dozen assailants stationed throughout the cantina.

@[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest reacted instantly at the first shot. His form, along with several others within the room itself, burst out for the assailants. The four Templars cut down their foes due to sheer surprise alone, but with the surprise gone the remaining Assassins had no issue with turning their fire on the exposed Tempalrs. Who ever these guys were they knew how to deal with Force users, and two of the Templars were instantly shot down. Krest gritted his teeth out of sheer anger, intending to get revenge right then and there. But he had a duty to uphold.

He burst beside @[member="Araceli Loxley"], Deus out and shining. He deflected a blaster bolt fired at the two of them as the last two Templars engaged the assassins. "Welcome to Tatooine miss. We're leaving now."

 

[Araceli Loxley]

"Not so fast," Loxley spat as she wrested her blaster from the holster under her cloak. She ducked behind a booth on the outer wall as a hail of blasterfire struck the wall over her head. Superheated sand exploded into tiny fires, then burnt out and ash rained down on her. Normally she'd be bothered but she was too angry at the attempt on her life to care about her appearance now. "I need to confirm who these people are working for!" she shouted into Krest's ear above the the din of the firefight. An assassin caught a bolt in the head and went down. Loxley leaned around the corner and squeezed off two bolts at the man down the short hallway. They missed, but forced him back into cover.

"Lockdown this cantina so we can have the bodies removed!" she shouted.

@[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest kept to the defensive beside @[member="Araceli Loxley"], a frown on his face. What was it with people and wanting to -stay- in a fight? Well, he couldn't do much else. He waved to the remaining Templars, roaring above the blaster fire.

"Get all doors sealed down. Hunt who ever is left and bring them, dead or alive, back here. Preferably alive!" A blaster bolt went a bit too close beside his ear, earning a startled grunt from the Zabrak. The next shot was promptly knocked back into the assailant, causing the man to drop over. What ever weaponry these people were using, it wasn't meant to stun.

With the last man being the one who ducked behind cover, Krest took off, his saber held in both hands. The man shot wildly around the corner for him, but all his shots were knocked to the side, or missed entirely. The purple flame of Deus flashed downwards as the gunmans hand was removed, but the sword didn't cauterize the wound. Instead, the man bled. Krest took advantage of it and dragged the man back to the woman who wanted to know who these men were.

"Now, tell the woman who it is you're working for, and we'll see about stopping the bleeding. You don't have a lot of time left by the looks of it, so talk fast."

 

[Araceli Loxley]

Loxley was not a fan of blood and gore, but she couldn't question Krest's methods. They were exceptionally effective. He dragged a man over to her as she straightened and holstered her blaster. The man gurgled, leaving a trail of blood across the dusty floor in his wake. Lady Loxley folded her arms over her chest and waited; the man wheezed and tried to sputter something. Loxley was unimpressed. She turned to Krest and smiled. "Well done. I think he's trying to speak."

She leaned down and brushed her hair away from her ear. The man whispered, then coughed blood all over her ear and neck. Loxley stood up and cleared her throat. "Right," she murmured, then nodded at Krest. "You can kill him now. I have what I need."

@[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest rubbed the side of his head for a second, then brought the man back, thrusting his blade through his heart. It didn't take long for the assassin to die, and Krest flicked his blade clean, sheathing it. He looked over to @[member="Araceli Loxley"], frowning some.

"What did he say exactly?"

 

[Araceli Loxley]

Loxley pursed her lips and picked up a discarded napkin. She folded it over and dabbed at her face, wiping off the man's blood, and then turned back to Krest. "Perhaps it's better if you don't know," she answered, walking over to the cantina's bar to make use of the mirror behind the bar. When she had wiped as much blood as was reasonably possible off, she dropped the napkin and turned back to Krest.

"Although with what you've done I suppose you have as much right as anyone. He confirmed my suspicions. A rival of mine on Incom's board of directors was behind this. He set me up to take this meeting in hopes I wouldn't survive it and his way to the CEO's chair would be paved for him." She smirked and reached across the bar, picking up a bottle of Whyren's reserve and pouring herself a slug. She took a drink, gasped as it burned its way down, then held the bottle out to Krest. "Want?"

@[member="Krest"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest waved a hand lightly, pulling the drink from her hand to his. He sips from the straight from the bottle, seemingly unaffected by any burning. He sets the bottle down, frowning to himself, looking around the bar. "I hate it when people take their business like this and involve people that shouldn't. Thank's for that."