Blue is the New Black

[Zatten Black]

I rested my forehead on the back of Kadrak's, and squeezed my orange-skinned lover around the waist. So she didn't remember, then... The day we'd been on Csilla had been the time I'd met Cryax. I'd mentioned nonchalantly that my name could get me killed, but I hadn't been attacked in the few hours we were there.

Zeltros, though...

"We have been to Csilla, but neither me or Cryax did anything to piss anybody off that time... I just flew us out of there so we could get to Coruscant faster."

I looked up at Cryax, and sighed again. There was everything to suggest that he was trying to kill me, but something held me back from killing him, or even roughing him up. I'd known him, and even trusted him with quite a bit, for almost as long as I'd been with Kadrak. I grinned evily, and raised an eyebrow.

"If you find the bastard before I do, you better let me at 'em... They're gonna die... slowly. And they'll tell me who hired them, before they do. They'll be fethin' begging for it."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Maybe Csilla was out, in terms of planets of origin for the would-be assassin. Unless someone managed to discover Zatten's family lineage in such short a time and arrange everything, the chances of that were slim. Something told her that if it was the Chiss that wanted him dead, he wouldn't be sitting here talking to them just then. The only other option, or at least the other one that made sense, was Zeltros. As far as she was aware no contact had been made with anyone there, but that didn't mean much. That was the planet he'd been exiled from, and from the way he talked about things people there had many a reason to want him dead.

"How about Zeltros, then? That's the only other one that stands out to me, and next to Csilla, it makes the most sense. The only question is who, but that should be narrowed down easily, once we take a look at the security footage." Kadrak smiled again. "Zeltrons tend to stick out in the crowd. And if they didn't decide to come here in person, then their hired hand should be simple enough to pick out. One of the downsides of a place like this is that anybody who doesn't belong is easy to spot."

Glancing to Cryax again, she merely shrugged at Zatten's last statement. "I might like to have a work with them. I don't tend to let people off too easily when they try to kill anyone I'm close to. Especially not a particular Zeltrochiss." She squeezed his hand again. "I'd say that this is hopefully an isolated incident, but I don't think it will be. As much as I hate to say it, I think this is just the beginning."

A pause, and more of a thoughtful smile on her part. "Hopefully the beginning of the end for them."

[member="Zatten Black"], [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

A big Pau'an goon who was obviously one of the higher ups on the Dragon Palace's security staff finally arrived in the med bay and tapped Bane on the shoulder, making the Chiss jump sky high. He had the security Holocam footage that Cryax had requested it and once it was in his hands, the crime boss crossed to Kadrak and handed it to her. "Here," he said to his Zabrak friend. "Maybe this will help solve the mystery. This has footage from a few different locations, the entrance, the casino floor, the bar. It's bound to have something useful on it."

Then he turned to Zatten, "How are you feeling there, Black? If you need to stay a few days here on Antecedent while we figure out who you've royally pissed off this time, I can comp both of you for a few nights. What do you think? You can look at the footage upstairs and call me if you find something?"

He still wanted to know whether Zatten would back him in a possible impending war, but he supposed it wasn't good form to press the issue now that Zatten was healing from an attack on his life. So for once, the Chiss kept his mouth shut.

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Zatten Black"]

 

[Zatten Black]

I looked at Cryax, and nodded with a sigh. He was right, even if every instinct I had was screaming for me to get the hell out of here and go kill somebody. At least I'd still have Kadrak with me.

"Yeah, you're right. We should stay for a bit before I go flying into anymore traps. Let's see who spiked my drink."

I glanced back at Kadrak, for some kind of reaction, and squeezed her hand.

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Zatten Black]

((Had to search a bit to find this, so re-tagging [member='Kadrak Jalaan'] [member='Cryax Bane']))

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

The almost resigned tone that Zatten spoke with drew a smile from her. That was the first time she'd heard him speak like that after any mention of being able to stay somewhere free of charge. Then again, it could just as easily have been his still recovering from all that had happened, so she squeezed his hand in return and turned her head to gently kiss his neck. "I think that would be the smartest thing to do. However much either of us want to get out of here and go gunning for someone, it's hard to do when you don't know who you're looking for in the first place."

Glancing to Cryax she studied him for a moment, not quite ready to go back to the carefree, friendly attitude she usually harbored with friends after how he'd acted earlier that night. It wasn't that she suspected him of having any involvement with the poisoning. That was far from the truth. But she wasn't one to so easily forgive those that crossed her or anyone she cared about. "We'll call you, sure." An almost smile. "But I think you'll know just as soon as we do if we find something."

Once more she looked to Zatten, squeezing his hand again. "What do you say we go take a look at this? Your blanket forts will have to wait."

[member="Zatten Black"], [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

The next morning...

As the Red Ravens President could get anywhere in the casino without needing security clearances, Cryax simply held his red eye up the retinal scanner on the terminal next to the suite he'd given to his friends for the evening. The door opened with a hiss, and the Chiss entered without so much as a 'good morning.' He was agitated, anxious, and hadn't slept a wink due to the downward spiral of paranoia he was feeling over the attack on Zatten Black. If it was that easy for an enemy to poison the liquor at the casino, what kind of chance did his presidency stand? Especially if he went around insulting the karking Mandos and everyone else in the galaxy like he was signing his own death certificate.

Cryax marched into the bedroom and sat down on the end of the bed where his friends slept. Swigging directly from the bottle of liquor that he'd brought along, having had it tested by a security droid before consuming, he furrowed his brow and leveled a question at the couple. "So, did you find anything weird on the Holos?" The Chiss sat on the bed, blinking his glowing red eyes at them, waiting for an answer as if his behavior were completely normal.

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Zatten Black"]