Careful Who You Steal From.

[Dezoti]

[member="Leoria Beviin"] was a new name in the slicer world. Or maybe she wasn't. Thinking about it, Krest doesn't know. That wasn't his sort of thing after all. Which is why he hired her. On Coruscant the Zabrak landed in his public transportation, stepping off with the crowd of people returning back home after so many years of the Sith oppression.

And what perfect time to steal from the Assassins. An explosion in the underworld after the GA freed the world was oddly suspicious, and it was something the Zabrak wanted to check out. The upperworld was the battleground after all, and it was right under the Sith Temple. But before he could go investigate, he needed to meet up with the slicer.

To the nearest bar he went, the very same he had told his slicer to go. They had a job to speak about, and some ground rules to go over. With what he wanted to get, Beviin would have to make sure to be discreet.

 

[Leoria Beviin]

His message had not surprised her. When it had pinged, and she had checked the sender, Cademimu had been her first thought. That had been were they had first met, their initial introductions more like a comedy of errors. But together, they had pieced together Leo's place in the mission, and acted accordingly. He was one of the few Crusaders who she had interacted with, and so it made sense that he would be the one to debrief her. Anticipating a lengthy message, or a hefty file, she was startled to find a short message.

Her jade eyes narrowed with confusion, before widening with curiosity. Meet him in a bar? she mused, the corner of her thin lips hitching into a small smile. It sounded like an interesting adventure, regardless of whatever it was he wished to discuss. And she knew the bar well. Though it was a far cry from luxurious, it held a charm that many of the other establishments lacked. At the very least, it did not reek of anything other than alcohol, which was a true step-up.

Outfitted in simple slacks, a dark short sleeved shirt, and a light vest, she attracted little attention as she eased herself through the door. This bar was better lit than others she frequented, and she hovered in the doorway for only a short time until her eyes adjusted. It was from that vantage point that she also scanned the crowed for the man.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

Krest simply sat at a nearby bar, sipping at a glass of straight whisky. It had been some time since he enjoyed such a drink, but he figured it wouldn't be for much longer. Wouldn't be long until [member="Leoria Beviin"] made her way in, right? Wait. The Zabrak didn't know what she even looked like. A sigh of annoyance escaped his lips as he rested his fingers on his brow. How could he be that dumb? And not send anything else in the message other than the bar?

He turned to scan the crowd.

A lot of people commingling of various races, genders, and heights. And she could be any of the woman he could see.

"Ah.. Shutta."

 

[Leoria Beviin]

A moment passed, and then another, Leoria growing less and less confident with each. She felt a bit clumsy, and more than a little awkward, as she was asked to move out of the way by three separate individuals. It seemed that perching in front of the entrance was not the best decision that the girl could make. After scooting a few paces to the left, and nearly tripping over a man's large, poorly-placed foot, Leo was prepared to give up. Krest had contacted her, after all. It was not as if she had no way of reaching out, and asking for a bit more information. Would it be impolite to message him, and ask the basic question of what do you look like? Mentally kicking herself for letting such important details go without being discussed, she decided that yes, it was probably a bit impolite. But it was also more than a bit necessary, as she could do no more than blindly grope in her current situation.

Yet as she turned to leave, she caught the eye of a red-skinned figure. His blue eyes stood in sharp contrast, as blue as a pool of water, and just as painfully clear. Leo held his gaze for a moment, transfixed, before she recognized that the man seemed to stare back at her. Likely it was a coincidence, and they were merely two strangers in a bar, but it was the best lead she had had all evening. And if talking with a stranger potentially saved her from the awkward describe yourself to me message she would have to send otherwise, it was a fair trade.

Casually, perhaps too much so, Leoria sidled up to the man's table. "Krest?" she asked plainly, without any sort of fanfare. If the man did not respond, or look at her strangely, she might be able to turn the question into some sort of cough, and move on as if nothing had happened.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

It wasn't often a woman would stare at him. Not that he was bad looking or anything, but y'know, he wasn't the creme of the crop anymore. He was.. Aged. So yeah, as [member="Leoria Beviin"] stared at him, he just stared back. It took a moment before it hit the Zabrak that this might not be someone memorized by his looks, and Leo herself. It didn't take long before such thoughts were confirmed.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Krest. You Leo?" Another quick drink to cover his awkward introduction to staring. But he did set that down as he stood up, offering a quick handshake. "If so, pleasure to meet ya. Sorry for not giving out all the information, I didn't think this all through very well."

 

[Leoria Beviin]

She wondered if any other words could have brought her as much joy. A smile, equal parts satisfaction, relief, and good manners, greeted the man with as much gusto as her handshake. "Leo, yeah. The pleasure is mine." She took a few steps backward, and dropped into the chair opposite the stranger. Not stranger, she reminded herself gently. They had met before, though only virtually. Yet even as he spoke, she struggled to place the voice amidst her jumble of memories from that day. Back then, Krest had been hyped on adrenaline, and who knew what else. His words had been tainted by the battle he fought, coming across as sure-footed, and even cocky. Leo had a difficult time imaging that the same man sat across from her, watching her over the brim of his drink.

We're all a little different online, she thought, with some amusement. Said amusement was not enough to relax her completely, but it took the edge off. "It's not a problem. You didn't give it, but I didn't think to ask either. No harm, I found my way here." Then, that good-natured smile growing sheepish, she added, "eventually."

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

He somewhat mumbled into his glass at the last bit [member="Leoria Beviin"] said before taking his own seat across from her. Thankfully he was already red skinned. Another hasty drink went down his throat. That seemed to calm him down from his initial embarrassment. Then right to business. He offered the girl a friendly smile before setting down his whisky and going right for the talking.

"As you know I asked you here to steal some stuff from a group of shadier people. The information is on how to make super soldiers, and the people we're taking it from are Assassins. They left this planet and blew up their base not long ago, but I imagine there's some sort of information still locked there. So all we have to do is sneak into the probably trapped and destroyed building, with some beasties left behind." Krest was blunt about it, but to be fair the Zabrak wasn't really the talker when it came to strangers. Don't beat around the bush when someone might not understand what you mean and all that. Which was a paranoia for him.

 

[Leoria Beviin]

Straight to business then. Though her smile never wavered, her eyes dimmed just the slightest bit. For one reason or another, she had enjoyed the light-hearted banter, regardless of how short it had been. It was true enough that the man had not invited her along for small-talk, but she had appreciated it nonetheless. The direct approach drove a wedge, identifying her as the employee, and him as the employer. It followed the familiar pattern of her other deals. Just business.

The blonde only half-listened to the man's speech, too preoccupied by her own silly thoughts. But the term super soldier cut through the haze, and snapped her back to the reality with the force of a smack to the face. "Super soldiers?" she echoed, brow furrowing with concern. That doesn't sound good. In the wrong hands, anything with "super" in its name could be bad news. She sat back in her chair, and as it creaked beneath her weight, she sorted through the rest of his proposal. "Doesn't sound too bad," she answered finally, truthfully. It certainly sounded safer than launching into the fray, the way she had a few times prior. And the plan was far more appealing to the slicer than being dropped in the middle of a battle. "Yeah," she concluded, "I can do that."

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

A sigh of relief escaped the lips of the red man as [member="Leoria Beviin"] assured him of her capabilities. Krest had no doubt she could handle it, he was just more worried on if she would. Everything he said was basically nonsense to most. But the woman before him wasn't so easily spooked by the notion of alchemic monsters. Or maybe she didn't know that's what he meant. Anyway.

He'd take another sip as he leaned back in his seat, nodding once to her. "Alright, sweet. You want a drink? We're not due to begin till night, and it's only midday. Might as well get to know each other more, right?" Or something? There were hours to kill, and he wasn't really sure how to do that. Asides from the normal drink and fight routine.

 

[Leoria Beviin]

Just as she had adjusted to his professional manner, he changed on her once more. He adopted a more casual nature without any sort of warning, sending the green-eyed girl reeling. She shifted uneasily, gaze scanning Krest for any clue as to his thoughts. But he only watched her, expectantly, but lazily so. Something in the way he studied her, occasionally drawing from his glass, told her he didn't mind the pause. And though she had half a mind to scold him for the "sweet" remark, she found she did not particularly mind that either. It did not feel condescending, and though it was too early to know for sure, she figured he had not meant it to be either.

"Sure, that would be nice," she managed after a moment. Fortunately for her, a waitress bustled past at the same moment. Leo flagged her with a quick wave of her hand, and without hesitation, merely asked for something fruity. Such an order could be dangerous in some locations, but this bar seemed trustworthy enough. Whatever she was served would most likely be edible. "So," she began, turning back to Krest once the waitress had disappeared from sight. "Getting to know each other."

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

"Right, yeah." There was another pause as he sipped at his drink, adverting his gaze to the bar once more. He suggested the idea, but he wasn't sure how to go about it. When was the last time he chatted with anyone in a bar, let alone a woman like [member="Leoria Beviin"] ? Too long. And he clearly sucked at it. Well, always a good time to swallow pride. Which he did when he cleared his throat, returning the blue gaze to the green.

"Yeah, I don't know what to say or do. I suck when it comes to talking to people."

 

[Leoria Beviin]

No, he was nothing like the Krest she had spoken to on Cademimu. She found that strangely endearing, and it worked to comfort her nerves. "No, you're fine," she assured him, her smile widening. "You're not alone, believe me. I'm also bad... at... people." Bad at people. Her joy was replaced by horror as she realized what it was she had said. And when it did, she could not help from slapping her palm to her forehead. "Tits," she mumbled. "That was stupid."

With expert timing, the waitress plopped a tall glass in front of her. The ice clinked sweetly in the glass, but there was nothing dainty about the way Leo grabbed the glass, brought it to her lips, and drank deeply. The liquid, a shade of pink similar to her flushed cheeks, was disgustingly sweet. Despite that fact, she downed half of it before coming up for air.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

There was a blink, followed by a chuckle. Which turned into laughter. Here he was, all stressed out for not only did he suck at talking to [member="Leoria Beviin"] face to face, but even over the com when he was high on Adrenals he was terrible, yelling at a girl he hadn't even met. And now he learned she was just as bad at it as he was. His laughter of course wasn't meant to make fun of Beviin.

"Sorry, I just.. I don't know. It's conferting to know I'm not alone in this."

 

[Leoria Beviin]

The man erupted into laughter, simple, polite chuckles giving way to something deeper, something heartier. Her blush grew deeper, cheeks now a good shade lighter than the strawberry flavored drink she choked down. Slowly, hesitantly, her eyes found his. Those crystal blues danced with good humor, but they were also wide with another emotion. It took her a moment to recognize it as relief. And when he shared that she made him feel comfortable, she felt some of her own tension seeping out through her boots. Deep crimson still dusted her cheeks, but she set down her glass, and leaned forward a bit in her chair. Crossing her arms atop the table's worn top, she gave a short laugh of her own.

"It's okay, don't apologize. You're definitely, definitely not alone." The pair fell into silence, a void quickly filled by the chaos around them. Beings of all shapes and sizes spoke in tones that spanned octaves and volumes, coming together to form a sort of haphazard symphony. Some spoke in hushed tones that were lost to the roar of the crowd, their heads bowed closely together. Business, Leoria guessed silently. Others howled with laughter over enormous glasses filled with frothy liquid. Pleasure.

So which was this? The lines were blurring a bit for her, as Krest was certainly not her typical client. "So," she began slowly. "What is it that you do? I mean, besides fighting in battles and robbing assassins?" As if that wasn't enough to keep a man busy and paid, she thought weakly, mentally kicking herself.

[member="Krest"]

 

[Dezoti]

"Actually, I smith." To add onto that, the Zabrak reached to his side and pulled free the dull blade on his hip. The rounded weapon was set upon the table, glistening in the light. Asides from it's lack of an edge, the blade was incredibly well crafted. Not a single dent nor blemish adorned the silvery weapon, and to those who knew swords, they could tell the amount of time and care put into the task.

"In fact, if I'm not robbing Assassins or fighting in wars I'm bare chested in a smithy smacking away at some molten metal. There is no better feeling than to start and finish a weapon with your own hands. Every imperfection is yours to know, to plan out for and prevent breakage. This one I kept for myself, more of a reminder of my past and an oath to the future." He spoke with a half smile, as if reliving the good parts of his past. But he seemed to snap out of it, pulling up his cup to take another longer sip. "So.. Uh.. What about you? When you're not disrupting coms or hacking broken computers, what do you do?"