Eternal Opportunities

[Kay-Larr]

This was a dangerous time. And while [member="The Amalgam"] was working on Zakuul's security forces, Kay was busy seeing to it that whatever spies and saboteurs for her enemies were dealt with in a variety of ways. They needed to be kept on their toes. They needed to be rooted out, captured and expelled. Or worse.

And that meant the hiring of assassins, bounty hunters and the like. She had already taken the initiative, hiring some of her valued friends. But she also needed to hire strangers. No doubt those that visited her were being watched, not only by her own forces, but by her enemies as well.

[member="Baruuk"] was one such assassin that she reached out to. Her message to him was sent through one of the Scions. The religious leaders of Zakuul had decided upon themselves to take up some of her duties.

The message was simple. Some credits were offered to pay for transport to Zakuul for a meeting. A promise of many more were to come should he arrive. According to Jareth, the assassin would arrive quickly. Directions were given with co-ordinates for The Spire in Zakuul City. There was also an appropriate time frame for him to drop by. Hopefully he wouldn't cause the Empress to wait.

No one makes royalty wait.

 

[Baruuk]

Baruuk was meditating in his temporary hidden temple on Rattatak when his datapad beeped. He glanced at it dismissively, assuming it was just another job from his usual contact, code-named "Dread" by his own request. For what reason was beyond Baruuk, but he was happy to oblige if it would shut the Twi'lek up for once.

But to Baruuk's surprise, the message that beeped wasn't from Dread. The Padj turned his head for a better look at the sender, labeled only as "Empress Arenais". Baruuk tilted his head to the side, his meditation officially interrupted. He spoke vocally though he was the only one in the small make-shift temple. "How the--" He had ensured he was nearly impossible to track down, Dread being the only one that knew of a way to contact Baruuk. Apparently he had somehow attracted the attention of royalty though, and even more impressive, they had found a way to contact him. Baruuk prided himself on being nearly impossible to track, so for somebody to contact him any way besides through Dread was quite the feat, and worth looking into.

The message was simple. An invitation, some credits for public transport to Zakuul, and coordinates for a meeting. But the fact that the message came through in the first place was still baffling to the assassin. He couldn't allow any loose ends, but he also couldn't pass up opportunities for work. He wasn't very far from Zakuul, conveniently, so it wasn't a very long trip. Baruuk hated public transport, but it was usually his only choice of travel between systems.

As he stepped off the shuttle, he took a quick look around the area to gauge the population and structures. It was a relatively large city, but many people seemed scared, as if they knew a war or something was eminent. Baruuk could feel fear from many of the larger groups, but kept his head low and kept walking. In his times going to large cities, the Padj had learned to hide the signature glow of his eyes, making him even harder to pinpoint in general.

He came to a side alley and made sure to slip in unnoticed. He pulled his pack off his back and began changing into his assassin gear, placing his lightsabers at his waste with a slight click. He hid the pack and back-up clothes in the alley, then made his way silently up buildings and across rooftops towards his destination. Nobody would see or hear him until he wished it, and that's how he liked it. He came finally to the given meeting place, crouched across a road on top of a building to watch the entrance. He would enter when he was ready, and only the contact would know it.

[member="Kay Arenais"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

No one makes royalty wait. Yet apparently [member="Baruuk"] didn't mind doing so. According to her security forces that had tracked him electronically as soon as he had entered the system, Kay had been informed. That gave her enough time to get ready and head to the designated meeting place.

But when she had arrived to the building, he wasn't there. Kay's escort of Eternal Knights kept a fervent eye on the surrounding area. The meeting place was secured ahead of time. Now it was just a case of monitoring it.

"He must be unsure of things....Let's go inside. If he doesn't show up within the next hour, we're leaving." That'd be enough time for her to fix herself some tea and do some research on other possible candidates.

Good assassins and hunters were hard to find, but not impossible. Kay had plenty of resources and contacts to help her with that.

 

[Baruuk]

Baruuk watched with a grin as a woman with quite a lofty escort entered the building. She had hesitated at the door for a moment, looking around before entering. Perhaps she had expected him to be there before her, but it didn't bother the assassin much. As long as she was there, he had an opportunity for some easy money. He stood slowly, judging the best time to make his move, before leaping from the top of the building and landing silently beside it. In an instant, he was across the street and moving silently towards the door to their meeting place.

With his mastery of Sith Sorcery, Baruuk slipped in the building without the guards even noticing his presence. He moved towards the feel of a powerful force user in the building, assuming it to be the contact. He entered the room silently, still undetectable by normal means, and watched from the shadows as the woman that had entered a little earlier tapped away on a datapad. After a few minutes, Baruuk finally decided to cease his hiding, lowering any and all concealment of his presence, ready to finally speak to the being that managed to send him a message.

As soon as he allowed himself to be sensed, Baruuk spoke, but yet didn't speak. To any that the message was not intended for, his speech would have sounded foreign and incomprehensible. But to [member="Kay Arenais"], his words were clear as day, though sounded alien and distorted as if using a modulator. "Are you the one that found a way to summon me directly?" The voice seemed to take up the thoughts of any who listened, as if the words were coming from their own mind, but not of their usual mental voice.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay narrowed her eyes slightly as she felt an intruder draw near. Whether or not it was [member="Baruuk"] she wasn't certain. Yet the presence was dark. She recognized the coldness of it and how it brought an electrifying chillness to the air. Still, she paid it no mind at the moment.

The Eternal Knights that guarded her were Force Users themselves and had been heavily trained to give her their utmost loyalty. They'd fight to the death willingly if it meant saving the life of their Empress. They too could feel the change in the air, so their guard was raised.

And then Baruuk made himself known, signalling the Knights to brandish their shields and ignite their lightsabers. They encircled their Empress, ensuring that she was protected on all sides. Kay on the other hand didn't even flinch. She just continued to type on her datapad. The assassin's voice was heard within the confines in her mind, to which she casually responded as though she was just at a luncheon or working in the safety of a library. "I am. I was given information that you were one of the best. Of course there are many to state such a claim. But normally they are just bolstering their inflated egos with made up legends." She finally looked up from her datapad. "So, where do you stand on this?"

Of course Kay planned on testing the man with a job or two before she'd decide if he was worth investing in.

 

[Baruuk]

Baruuk smiled at the casual tone in the woman's voice. She was confident, if nothing else, even in the presence of possibly the most mysterious and dangerous assassin in the modern galaxy. He stepped out from the corner, around the grouping of guards and into the center of the room. When [member="Kay Arenais"] stopped speaking, Baruuk waited a moment to answer, observing the strength of the guards and the Empress herself. They were all worthy in their own sense, but all excluding the Empress herself paled in comparison to Baruuk.

"I lay no such claim for myself. I have no need to, for recognition is often the death of a true assassin. I am still impressed that you found me either way, though." Baruuk walked to one end of the room, leaning on the wall as he spoke, not looking at the formation at the desk. "While I don't see any of your guards as even a threat, it would be nice if you would order them to stand down, out of courtesy more than anything." Baruuk chuckled quietly to himself. "I have no reason to kill you." After a quick moment, he added, "Yet."

"Besides that, though, I'm sure you aren't planning on leaving me in the dark as to why you went through the trouble of tracking me down. I prefer to keep my business short, so the sooner you tell me why I'm here, the sooner I can get the job done and get back to my... experiments." Baruuk said the last part with a tone that you could almost hear his smirk. As he seemingly relaxed against the wall, he held up his hand, lighting a flame at the tip of his finger with the force and sending it out in different designs and patterns, entertaining himself while he waited for a response and possible job offer.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Well [member="Baruuk"] had an ego. That was for sure and certain. She could see it in the way that he moved and in the manner in which he spoke. A simple snap of her fingers and her Knights stood down in unison.

The idle threat was well noted. He wouldn't be the first to make such a mention, whether it was just spoken to give her reason to fear him or otherwise; Kay once again summed it up as the usual behaviour of such an assassin, most especially the type that is hard to track down.

"I have my methods to find who I need to find." Kay stepped to one of her Knights and took a dossier from him before walking over to Baruuk and holding it out to him. "The First Order have been sending their operatives here to infiltrate and gather intel for their various terrorist attacks against the good people here. I'd like you to track one of them down. Save the executing until the operative is identified. We wouldn't want you to kill one friendly to our cause. Succees in this and then I'll have something else for you. One that will be far more worth your time."

 

[Baruuk]

Baruuk took the datapad that the Empress handed him, reading it over briefly. He looks up at her, attempting to read her as she spoke. When she finished, he gave a smile behind his mask, an unseen change to any outside. His altered voice rang through her mind once again. "Security at first, eh? I suppose I can do that. At least for a while. I don't waste my talent or my time, so if you point me in the right direction, I will find your intruders, and probably faster than your other operatives I'm certain you've already hired." With that, he walked over to the desk and the guards, placing the datapad on the desk lightly, and began examining the guards curiously as they stood.

"You have quite a disciplined troop here. Only a couple show any hint of fear, and it's hard to detect at best. I'm impressed, Empress [member="Kay Arenais"]. Very impressed." He walks back over to her and touches her on the shoulder, to which the guards ignite their sabers. He lifts his hands as if surrendering, then makes sure all of the guards can understand him. "I mean no harm right now. I was just curious." He looks back at the woman, grinning beneath his mask and again only allowing her to understand him. "I haven't had this much fun in a while, and it's only a meeting. You people are intriguing, so I'll stick around a little, scout the area out for intruders while I disguise myself as one of your people. I'm sure I could pass as one of your guard if I had to, though I doubt that will be necessary. In the meantime, you rest your pretty little head in the safety of your palace, and I will get the job done." He reaches out a hand to her, noticing the guards on alert at his every movement. "And don't worry. You won't even notice me here."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Security? Not quite. She saw it as [member="Baruuk"] hunting down enemy spies. Given that those spies were from the First Order, they weren't so easily caught. Their rigorous training made them the best in the Galaxy with what they do. There was a reason that the First Order was the powerhouse that it was.

Kay laughed softly as the assassin tested her guards. She couldn't help herself as she found it quite amusing. His comments were ones that she agreed with. "Thank you. My knights had been trained well. And as you can see, they are incredibly loyal. Given who you are, it is easy to guess as to why they'd be a bit on edge."

She bowed her head as he agreed to scope things out for her. Hopefully he'd be successful. Her next mission for him would be far more dangerous, and within enemy territory. "Thank you for taking this on." As for staying in the Spire? Yeah, she wasn't about to just hide herself away. She had people to see and things to do.

Kay took hold of his hand, giving him a firm shake. "Good luck on your hunt."