The shuttle wasn't too crowded, and the two women didn't have to struggle to find a place to sit. Many other beings of many backgrounds shared the route from the residential district towards the economic centers of Denon's primary business headquarters. Most seemed dressed for work, wearing various dull-colored uniforms signifying them as being a part of some company or other. A few appeared to belong to the Corporate Security force that the Authorities of Denon maintained as their police guard. An appointment within a division of CorpSec was the job Larz Blackheart had offered to Sentiri. Despite having his own personal mercenary group, having a liaison inside CorpSec was his way of having a controlling factor within an executive power outside of his own influence. Sentiri knew that she was being used as a power play. But as long as Blackheart maintained his end of their bargain, she didn't care.
The city flew by as the airshuttle lumbered through traffic. The transit was slow going as the vehicle stopped several times along the route to pick up and drop off other passengers. And while Sentiri might have taken the time as an opportunity to take in her new environment, there really wasn't all that much to observe. Building after towering building passed by, each littered with advertisements. Despite the colorful displays, the Chiss woman quickly found the sensory overload to be as monotonous as endless fields of grass. She hoped ground level would be slightly more interesting; or that there were specific locations that held her interest. But she doubted that she would want to stick around the planet any longer than necessary.
The Twi'Lek at her side seemed content to take the ride in silence, muttering to herself a few times. Sentiri didn't disturb the woman. Her own mind wandered as she tried to find any interest in the surrounding city, but nothing stuck. Her stomach grumbled and she regretted oversleeping. Blackheart didn't seem the type to offer a meal while they chatted. With luck, their meeting would go quickly and breakfast could be found nearby.
Three-quarters of an hour later, the airshuttle slowed and came to the stop where they needed to disembark. Sentiri stood.
"Here we are. The 'pentad.' When the Corporate Authorities of Denon gained power from the previous government, the five leading members of the Authorities set up an economic center for them to have an area where they could easily convene. So they each setup a local office and connected them all with a central courtyard and tower." The clearing where they had been deposited by the shuttle was the courtyard space. Rare glimpses of plant-life dotted duracrete and durasteel landings and platforms with parsed out benches and tables. Five entirely unique buildings rose around the courtyard. But the elevation of the courtyard itself gave the impression that they were quite high up in the air. The tops of other skyscrapers could be seen peeking above the courtyard's horizon in every direction.
"The central building is below the courtyard," Sentiri said, indicating lifts towards the center of the clearing that had nowhere to go but down.
The Chiss navigated them over to a sleek, black-glass building. The panels were entirely opaque, and the way it curved upwards made the structure seem like it absorbed the space around itself. The architecture wasn't inviting, and yet, somehow, the tower had a gravity that was attractive.
Sliding doors silently opened and they entered into a space much darker than most other lobbies Sentiri had ever seen. A secretary, dressed in a black uniform with electric yellow and green highlights, greeted them.
"Welcome. Director Blackheart is expecting you in the conference room." Instead of indicating a room or direction with a physical gesture, alternating white lights flashed down a corridor in a repeating succession. Sentiri got the hint they were expected to follow the lights and moved on through the building. Everything was barely lit. The building seemed to lack windows despite all the glass paneling on the outside structure. The flashing lights were the only indication that they were moving forward, but the corridor and lack of defining features made walking through the space deceptive. Knowing what little she did about Blackheart, Sentiri could easily assume that the optical illusion was intentional. After following the corridor for a difficult-to-determine distance, they inevitably arrived at a door that had a lightly glowing frame. The frame pulsed in a faint blue hue and Sentiri continued to gather the hint to continue. Approaching the door caused it to open.
Inside, alone, sat
Larz Blackheart.
