Chasing The Wheel

[Preliat Mantis]

A lot of things were happening on the wheel. People moving. Force being used. Preliat sat in a bar, a middle booth in the corner of the room, alone, with his helmet on the table. It was toward the bar, and could be put on in a flash, in case the needed arose for that to happen. Westar-34s at his side, he was fully prepared for anything and everything.

Smoke rolled out of his mouth, a trembling hand fumbling with a cigarette. His...condition was acting up. Flashbacks, nightmares. You name it. It happened. Preliat glanced upwards, the smoke rolling upwards. He dropped the cigarette, and looked to the redhead coming in. He motioned over a waitress, and then spoke to her briefly.

The waitress approached the redhead, and brought a clear glass of Tihaar1.
"From the Mando at the booth, lady."

Preliat leaned back, spreading his arms across the backs of the booth, and let the cigarette rest in the ash tray. He didn't really care about if she accepted it, looked at him, or not, really. It was a game of chance, and you never won if you never played.

@[member="Ventasia Terana"]

 

[Ventasia Terana]

Places like this...needed to blown apart do they were smaller. The Wheel was such a hassle to navigate, and sifting through so many other bodies only made the experience more irritating. After moving about aimlessly, she finally gave up, throwing her arms into the air before walking into the very next bar she laid her eyes on. It wasn't exactly an upscale place, but neither was it a dive. Bottom line is it was good enough to a get a drink. As she moved to find a seat, she was unexpectedly intercepted by an oncoming waitress, a drink on a platter that held to her. In all honesty, she would've taken the drink, had it just simply been from the establishment itself. Ventasia grabbed the glass and eyed it before glancing towards the back booth, a pair of eyes watching her from afar.

Her expression remained the same as she sauntered through the bar, stopping at table the man sat at. A small chuckle escaped her lips before her fingers released the glass, letting it drop and smash against the ground. She bent over at the hip, placing her hands on the table for support as she eyed him. "Keep your swill. I want information. Seen an armor-clad guy walking around with too many weapons? Or an overly innocent seeming dark-haired?"

Well, she usually did get straight to the point.

@[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

@[member="Ventasia Terana"]

He was stoic, until a smirk came across his features when she dropped the glass. Clearly, he didn't seem too upset about the offer getting rejected, though the waitress behind her who had to clean it up, was.

"A guy with a lot of guns? Yeah, maybe. Girl with dark hair? Needle in hay, sweetheart. But I'll tell you what I do see..."His crushgaunt-adorned hand slowly went up from resting on the back of the booth to pointing at her."A redhead girl that looks like she shouldn't have dropped that drink. I'm assuming that since you're asking questions, I can be asking questions too."His hand slowly went back to it's resting position.

"What do you want a stupid code, miss?"

@[member="Ventasia Terana"]

 

[Ventasia Terana]

Well, it obviously was a cheap drink. Good thing she didn't down it, considering he didn't care one way or another.

Her eyes narrowed at him as she remained hunched over the table. "Your asking about some code, I'm asking about people. If you don't know, or if your just going to play coy, then say so and quit wasting my time. You'd know if you saw an armor-clad man. And you'd notice an overly innocent girl running around here." She leaned in a bit closer, her tone lowering. "Either tell me where you've seen them, or skip to end and ask me whatever you actually want to know. And no. I won't go on a date with you."

Talk about great people skills...

@[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

Preliat gestured to the empty seat. Mandalorian or not, the fact that his stare was about as empty and soulless as they come made it clear to Ventasia, that, no, her little tough girl act wasn't exactly going to be working on getting something out of him.

"I'm not saying it's a common habit of Mandalorians, but for people on Ordo...it's rather rude to be a queen on the first encounter. So...this is, odd, coming from the Mandalorian...but..sit down, calm down, and have a drink, and maybe we'll talk. Otherwise you can continue to walk around and smash glasses and be hot-headed. And I don't think you want to pass up on what I know, now do you?"He smiled, more of, grin really. Preliat didn't smile a lot anymore, actually.


@[member="Ventasia Terana"]

 

[Cedric Dorn]

The door opened to the look of a surprised man, her target. Diana grinned inwardly as the man reacted to her presence there. Before he could draw a blaster however or pull out a knife Diana had him on the ropes. With a press of her palm forward Diana threw him against a wall, then immediately bounded on top of him pulling a knife from her sleeve and pressing it against her throat.

Not very Jedi like...but she was playing a role. “The Code. Who has it?”

The man began to stutter, barely able to speak. Diana frowned, and waited for her answer.

 

[Pa'Kar Sang]

"Damn."

He had lost the two to an apartment complex. They had gone inside, while he was stuck, forced to watch from the outside. With a grimace he looked around quickly, attempting to find a place that he would be able to observe from, in case he was needed. It would be a pity should he be, after all, the boss did say dead, well...If she was a force user. The thought crossed his mind and a smile came to his face behind the helmet and black, emotionless visor. His ordinary life had taken quite the turn in the last couple months, though weather or not his was for better or worse only time would tell. But for now, he thought it was a good thing.

His attention was brought back to the apartment complex. The sound of glass shattering from the apartment. Inside, with @[member="Diana Moridena"], the man whom she threatened had been silenced before he could reveal anything of the Code. A projectile had bore a hole right through the side. The man was dead now, his expression full of fear. From the window, bits of glass were broken and moved aside as the Mandalorian crawled through. Looking at the body and back up to the woman holding the knife, he knew she hadn't killed him, at least he hoped she hadn't...Because making a bullet hole with a knife in the side of a man's head would be an incredible, yet terrifying fate. A sigh came from the man's helmet.

 

[Popo]

Popo heard the door to his office open and close. He didn't bother looking up as he assumed it was his aide, Soric. When the newcomer spoke, however, Popo's eyes shot up to see who approached his desk.

The Hutt sat in his plush, velvet, Hutt-style chair behind an equally massive and ornate desk. He didn't sit upon a platform or dais, but the desk easily made it look like he did. In truth, he really was just that massive. The office was fairly posh, but in a tasteful way. Hardly a throne room by Hutt standards, but by human standards... well, Popo didn't care, really. It worked for him as an office and if a few pesky bipedals thought it was a throne room then more power to them.

The massive Shell Hutt listened to the newcomer, who identified him as someone called Sin, with cold, hard eyes. Those intelligent enough to know how Hutts did business were smart enough to avoid them. Those who thought they could outsmart a Hutt learned the hard way just how wrong they were. The rare few who were smart or lucky enough to successfully outsmart a Hutt either disappeared or 'disappeared'. Hutts don't like losing face in view of the competition and usually didn't stop at getting even.

For Popo, the question was what category did this bipedal fall in?

"What could you possibly offer me?" the Shell Hutt asked. He scratched absently at his chest, the thick, durasteel armor scraping silently from the friction. "And, if I deem you worthy to serve me, what is it you desire in return?"

@[member="Romeo Sin"]

 

[Romeo Sin]

Sin knew he had to be vigilant, and not back down from the huge slug. With the question the hutt offered he stood straighter. Through his faceless mask he observed everything the hutt did looking for tales of emotion and give always. "Death, secrecy, and whatever else maybe asked of me. You're death should you choose to double cross me." He said with utmost confidence he could kill him if needed be. Walking towards the platform, he realized it was a desk. "I in return need information, meetings to be set up, things of this nature." He spoke with his soft, and cold tone.

"I hear theft is game you play as well, this isn't something I'm new to either. I could easily take that which you want. ." As a Vahla Sin was naturally a theif, flexible to the very core, he was capable of almost anything. He figured with his mask, he had the advantage of his own secrecy, then he realized the hutt had given away an emotion. Scratching his chest. "As now I see you want something, and you want it bad," he said with a even softer tone, he was laying his hands o the hutts desk. " and its agitated you, that none have brought it into your hands yet." He stopped watching the hutt called @[member="Popo"]

 

[Popo]

Popo simply stared at the man before him, his eyes blinking in the sarcastic gesture of Hutts. The bipedal thought he had an advantage on the Hutt because Popo had scratched at his chest? Sure, it was a habit, but it denoted nothing. Hutt's were naturally covered in slime and, since Popo wore armor unlike most Hutt clans, the metal chafed at times.

Popo would let the creature think it had an advantage for now. That would simply mean the Hutt would catch Sin unawares at the best possible moment.

"Theft? You are mistaken. I do nothing illegal here," Popo stated neutrally, looking pointedly at the man's hands. It was a silent gesture that was very easily readable. It meant 'get your hands off my desk, you dolt'. Popo expected Sin would get the message. "I'm in the business of... acquiring specific items for clients, yes, but only an ignorant fool would call it 'stealing'. Simple robbery is child's play."

Popo dropped his head close to the desk and within a foot or so of Sin's mask. The man carried himself like he could easily defeat anyone. Popo was not pushover.

"You're obviously a petty thief," the Hutt stated, his voice deep and resonant enough to vibrate the wine glass on his desk. "Why would I want to hire a petty thief when I have far more profitable avenues for income?"

@[member="Romeo Sin"]

 

[Romeo Sin]

Anger aroused inside Sin, he was nothing common. With his anger building he called to the force to do his bidding. "I am not a common thief!" He raised his voice thrusting his hand forward he ripped the door to the room off , and crushed it in a small ball of fragments of wood and metal. "Call it whatever you wish, I do not care, but in the world of reality, its theft. You'll hire me because your people are below me, they do not amount to me, they can not do the thing I can do." He spoke again.

"Shall I show you more of what I am capable of? Do I need to crush your best man? Hiring me would make me your best man." He continued then stopped. He watched the Hutt as his anger built more. The hutt was trying his patience, and he had very little left. "I grow tired of accusations, what his your call Popo the Hutt?" He finished waiting.
@[member="Popo"]

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana dropped the man to the floor almost as soon as the bullet went through his skull. Blood splattered her face and shock ran through her eyes. Before he could answer Diana had seen the man die before her own eyes. She took a step back from the corpse and a scowl appeared on her lips. The Jedi didn't like death, she had seen it before of course but that didn't mean she was used to it. A small tingle ran up her spine and Diana immediately looked through the window where the shot had come from.

She frowned, and then inspected the apartment.

Some might have said it cold, looking through a deadmans things, but Diana didn't care. If this code got into the wrong hands it could mean the death of millions of people, and she couldn't let that happen. She began to use her Psychometry within the room, searching for things that could leader her to the code. Eventually she stumbled upon a datapad used by the man. As soon as she touched it she caught visions of a financial transaction, a meeting between two men, she heard only two words.

“Code...Casino.”

She Smirked slightly, being a Jedi Was Fantastic.

 

[Popo]

Popo watched his office door as it was picked up and crushed before his very eyes. The only emotion Popo felt was simple annoyance, nothing more. The door was made of Wroshyr wood from a tree native to Kashyyyk. It cost a great deal and its destruction irritated the Hutt Crime Lord. The replacement would not be cheap and would take some time to both retrieve the materials and have the replacement wood hand carved by skilled artisans.

As the man ranted on, Popo turned his attention back to Sin's ravings. The Hutt had only half listened as his mind was distracted by the destroyed door, but he got the general gist of things. The bipedal thought he was a big shot and had a chip on his shoulder. Probably had daddy issues and a plethora of other sob stories to go with it. Popo had better things to do than deal with yet another punk trying to talk big and get brownie points with the Hutt Cartel.

Still, though, Popo figured he could use this particular braggart. He'd give him a job and see what would happen. Best case scenario, the bipedal would get the job done somehow. Worst case, the punk would get himself killed. It was a win-win situation for Popo.

The Shell Hutt leaned back and calmly pulled a paper from the stack on his desk. Sliding the report sheet to the edge nearest Sin, he picked up a progress report folder dossier from the paper stack that outlined the Tenloss Corporation's dealings in the Vergesso system. Apparently, from first glance, they had a new weapon system in the works.

"Bring me the complete data for the RA-1 Ranger Armor manufactured by Hekler'Kok Defense Industries. The report there will tell you where to find it," Popo said absentmindedly as he started to review the report. "Bring the data to the Tenloss Corporation office on Vergesso and do it quietly. You get caught or someone follows you, we don't know you. Payment is forty thousand credits plus personal expenditures and minus the cost of the door you destroyed. Non-negotiable. You get the job done to my standards, there will be more contracts with substantial pay later."

@[member="Romeo Sin"] @[member="Noah Corek"]

 

[Romeo Sin]

Sin grinned under his mask. It wasn't perfect but enough. "Take all the money, use it to pay for two doors double doors." He bowed before the hutt. "None the less, it share be done as asked. Good evening Popo, stay well." He simply said mockingly and walked away. He had a job to do now. He walked passed the chunk of door he destroyed and the doorless opening. Leaving Popo angry.
@[member="Popo"]

 

[Benny]

((OOC: Would've appreciated if you asked before roleplaying in my space station but it's whatevs.))

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana searched the apartment for a few more moments after she had made her first discovery, hoping to find anything else of value. Of course when she found nothing the Jedi Knight wasn't all that disappointed, given that she already had her lead. The Code was somewhere in the Casino, or rather payment for the code was somewhere in the casino. From what she could find whoever was picking up the payment, and then she would have the code.

She frowned slightly and then turned to the body of the dead man.

Diana had never wanted the man to die, had never wanted him to be hurt. She was threatening him sure...but it didn't mean she wanted him dead. She stepped over to the dead man and inspected his boy, slowly crouching by him and sliding his eyelids shut. A look of profound sadness fell on her face. She wiped away any of her fingerprints and other identifying markers within the apartment and then spoke one last thing to the body. “I'm sorry.”

She whispered the words and then stood up, turning around and and leaving the apartment. Once she was out she made a call to the stations security force, they would be alerted to the body and hopefully take care of it.

 

[Ventasia Terana]

It's a good thing this wasn't an act, and just how she was. Otherwise, she may have folded and taken a seat. But instead, she remained standing, simply shaking her head at the man.

"You know, you irritate the hell out of me. It's obvious that you don't know the first thing about me, and that's a perfect scenario. You say you have something I want to know, so speak up. I'm not interested in your invitations, or having a drink with you. It's really simple. Either you know something, or you don't. Either way, if your trying to make some sort of deal, then quit being coy and get on with it." Ventasia was straight to the point. No need to beat around the bush when others were hunting for the same thing she was....and potentially ahead of her.

@[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

@[member="Ventasia Terana"]

"The deal is, you sit down, calm down, and listen. You obviously don't do a lot of that. I don't have to do anything for you, I hope you know. And as a matter of fact, I do know something, something big. And that something is something that could potentially get your fucking head chopped off by a lightsaber or something along those lines. See, what you're trying to get, is what a lot of people are after."At this point, he leaned forward. His mood, and the aura around him changed from a sort of in-control to a more aggressive and violent one. Definitely the Null-hockey player coming back to the light. He wondered if she ever saw any games.

"And I'm really interested in it, and so are a lot of other people. So, sit down, or leave. Doesn't really matter which one you do to me, ge'tal alor di'kut.1". He said, pointing one hand at the door, and the other at the seat at his left flank.

1.
Red-headed idiot, elegantly put.

 

[Ventasia Terana]

Oh...he was pushing all the right buttons... But not in the way one would think by that comment.

As he leaned forward, she noticed a change in him and his tone. He became more...primal, one could say. Ventasia always could push someone, and even now that seemed to prove true. Her lips curved into a mischievous grin as she chuckled a him lightly. "First off, it's pretty obvious that your not interested in my company, and I damn sure don't want yours. But you want something from, and might have something I want in return. So how about we just lay our cards on the table If your trying to strike a deal, then say it already. Secondly.." Her grin quickly dissipated as her her hand jumped from the table, reaching up to grab his wrist. She wasn't the fastest in galaxy, but she should've been more than fast enough to gain wrist control of someone who wasn't expecting such a bold move. "That sounds like something I should blow you away for saying. Try it again, and I might just do it. Got it?"

@[member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

Preliat grinned for a moment, and then stood up. He was a big brute of a man, a true Hockey player back in the day. Which, was about two years ago. Not that long, but long enough. Using the grip on his wrist, he yanked her in, his armor preventing any real tight grip. He looked down at her, and then to the flamethrower- which just so happened to be located on his wrist. He smiled at her, looking at it, and then her. He also removed a Westar-34, gently (even in this situation) tucking the silver barrel under her chin. He leaned forward, centimeters separating their collective mugs from each other.


"Got it. Now, would you like a drink that doesn't involve you smashing onto the floor...because honestly, the whole 'blowing me away thing', doesn't really suit you when you don't have a firm grasp of your opponent. Now, please, have a seat, and we'll talk. Minus the guns and the grappling."He said, raising his eyebrows, which, in the dim light the small amount of scars and nicks and cuts from his hockey days could be seen. Preliat was dangerous, that much was obvious. About as dangerous as her. So why didn't he shoot her?

He liked her hair. Plus she was kinda cute.


She also almost broke his arm.

Still cute though.

But his arm hurt.

@[member="Ventasia Terana"]