Everything's Kay

[Gray Raxis]

Gray was waiting around the hanger of the Justice Shipping headquarters on Socorro. He had sent a message to [member="Lady Kay"] to meet him there. He was wanting to meet the delightful woman for several reasons. She was the new Minister of Diplomacy for the Free Colonies. She was the sister of James Justice. She had recently had a rough situation were she was fired from her job of being a senator and needing work. But the most important reason was that she was a nice person to speak to and someone Gray wanted to make friends with. He had wanted to get to know her for some time now and figured now was as good a time as any with Stardust stuck at her home on Naboo in a hover chair while she waited for her legs to get stronger after her surgery.

Gray was wearing his casual clothes of a gray button up shirt, blue jeans, and leather boots. His blaster pistol was strapped to his right leg with his saber Whisper hung next to it as always. He was standing around near his ship The Wolf Fang that James had custom made and given to him for several reasons. He waited for Kay to show up and changed his mind on what he did while he waited. He got sat down cross legged with his arms resting on his knees and closed his eyes. He began to meditate on the force as he had made a habit of always doing when he had spare time.

 

[Kay-Larr]

((LOL What a title!))

Kay got the message and found it a little strange as it was so out of the blue. But there were a lot of people with questions about her previous employment, and given that she was getting to know a new government and structure, it would be in good form to meet up. The reputation of [member="Gray Raxis"] however was similar to her brother's, as well as Lord Mythos. Not quite the best, but they were both really good friends.

Kay arrived with both of her bags. They carried all of her clothes and small amount of belongings that she had left. Her K1 series droid, Mrs. Nesbitt rolled along behind her, humming a merry little tune. Upon seeing Gray sitting there in the distance meditating, she shrunk down her Force signature to that of a small tree nut. Then she continued towards him, bowing her head once she approached him. "I got your message. Since I have...well, plenty of free time on my hands, I came straight over." Kay was dressed like a merchant. Nothing special, just plain and comfortable.

 

[Gray Raxis]

[member="Lady Kay"]

Gray felt a tiny signature approach him and then heard a feminine voice speak to him. He opened up his eyes and saw Kay standing there with her bags, her droid, and wearing comfy clothes. He smiled to her as he stood up. He said, " Well glad to see you showed up. How would you care to go to a tea house and get to know each other a little bit? I wanted to talk to you about a few things as well." He held a hand out to take her bags for her so she didn't have to carry them. He didn't know what his reputation was like, but it was likely wrong. People seemed to get the wrong impression of him a lot for some reason.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay blinked in surprise. "A tea house? I would love that, actually. I could use the change of atmosphere." She gave [member="Gray Raxis"] one of her bags, the one that she had most of her clothes in. It wasn't heavy or too bulky. It just had a few bits rolled up so that they would fit better. She was an expert when it came to packing. As for what he wanted to talk to her about, she could pick out a few topics that she'd guess that he'd ask about. Ultimatum did a very good job in keeping bad things about her off of the holo-net. "Would it be alright if Mrs. Nesbitt came too?" Kay gestured to her droid.

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray took her bag with a smile. He listened to her and then said back, " Of course. Someone has to keep Key company after all, and the k1 series sure do seem to love talking to each other. So which would you prefer going to. Voss or Naboo? I know of a good place on each planet. Oh and feel free to take one of the room for yourself while we are on board my ship. Better than carrying everything around all the time." He held an arm out so she could go first. Gray did have manners after all, even if he didn't seem like it.

Gray dropped the ramp to his ship when they got to it so Kay and Mrs. Nesbitt could enter. Key began to beep happily over the com system in the ship as soon as they got on board the ship. Gray chuckled and said, " Someone is overjoyed to have company on board the ship. I swear buying that little droid was the best decision I ever made. So want to meet up in the living area once we get the bags into which ever room you want to use? We can start talking there if you like."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay offered [member="Gray Raxis"] a smile. "Many thanks. And given that the last time that I was on Naboo it was being attacked by the Mandolorians and the Techno Union, I think that Voss would be a better choice. As long as you don't mind..."

She approached the ship and stepped up the ramp, with Mrs. Nesbitt following quickly behind her. Key's beeps were met with equally excited beeps. "Oh, go on and visit, Mrs. Nesbitt."

Kay looked over to Gray and nodded. "Yes, the living quarters are fine. Just give me about five minutes." Another small smile as she was starting to grow more comfortable with her brother's government. It was certainly a more relaxed environment, something that she hadn't been used to these last few years.

After finding a room to sleep in, she dropped her bag on the bed, taking her other bag from Gray so that it too could be plopped on the edge of the bed. Then she opened them up and started to unpack, loading up her bits of clothes into the small dresser.

Almost five minutes on the dot, Kay came out of the room and wandered around in search of Gray and the living quarters.

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray smiled and nodded to [member="Lady Kay"] when she asked for five minutes and took her bag back from him. He went to the living quarter and started to rummage around his kitchenette's provision cabinet. He looked at the different drink options he had in there. He had bottles of water, bottles of whiskey, bottles of scotch, bottles of brandy, and some bottles of Naboo red wine. He had a lot of booze in there it turned out, and was wondering if maybe he was drink too much since he had started working for James. It was highly possible he had picked up his employer's terrible habit.

Gray grabbed a bottle of water and a bottle of whiskey. He got a glass and put ice in it. He then walked over to the circular bench with a round table in it and sat down on one end of it. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and set the bottle onto the table. He took a sip of it as he waited for Kay to show up. As soon as he noticed her enter to room, he said to her with a smile as he raised his glass, " Hey Kay." He chuckled a bit at the rhyming pun then went on, " Care for a drink or maybe a dry ration? I can get you whatever you want from what I have on the ship." He seemed to remember he had forgotten to do something. He pressed the com system's button on the wall near him and said into it, " Key I almost forgot, but can you take us to Voss? Please and thank you!"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Well she didn't get too lost, that was good. Nor did she go anywhere that she wasn't supposed to. Everyone had places on their ships that they didn't want others to go into.

She headed over to the small table and sat down, folding her hands on top of it so that she wouldn't fidget. It was times like these when she really missed her satchel. James promised to get it back for her. She just had to be patient.

"Some tea please. Or water. And a ration bar would be great. I haven't had one since this morning." Well that was a bit of a lie. She hadn't eaten since last night for a few reasons.

After [member="Gray Raxis"] had given his instructions for the ship to depart, Kay leaned back in her chair a bit. "So....what is it that you wanted to talk about?" She had a few guesses in mind.

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray heard what [member="Lady Kay"] wanted and got up. He didn't have any tea on board the ship, but he did have water. He walked over to his rations cabinet and started to hunt down what she had asked for. He said as he did, " Well there was two main things I wanted to talk about. The first was your opinion on the recent events involving Alderaan. The other thing is a bit of a proposition for a job. We can talk about them in whatever order you want to, or just not talk about them at all. It is up to you." He grabbed a bottle of water and then went looking for a the ration bar. He said as he went looking for the bar, " Oh by the way, how have you been lately? Considering recent events and all." He found the bar and went over to the table. He set everything down in front of her and smiled. He went over to his seat and got sat back down.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Yup, he asked them. All of them. And all at once. As he looked for the ration bar, Kay just clenched her jaw and stared at her hands. "...I don't...want to talk about Alderaan right now..." Clearly that was a sore subject to get into. When [member="Gray Raxis"] sat down and asked her how she was, she shrugged her shoulders a bit. "I'm okay...I've been through a lot worse. I'll get through this too."

It wasn't the first time that she had lost everything. Nearly ten years ago she became a widow and had to hide for a while. Even now she's still hiding from her husband's killer, and keeping herself from using the Force for as much as possible. Lately it angered people when she told them about it, so it was better to just keep all of it to herself.

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray could feel the rise in emotions that erupted inside of [member="Lady Kay"] at the mention of Alderaan. He didn't realize it was that much of a sore spot for her, but he also didn't know the reasons behind her firing either. She wasn't as chatty right now as you might expect such a friendly woman as she was to be. He guess he should have waited to get into the main subjects, but he was never one to delay things too much if he didn't need to. Of course it seems he needed to here.

Gray smiled to Kay and said, " Don't worry Kay, you have people who care about you. Things might get rough, but you will never be left alone through it." He took a drink from his glass of whiskey. As the glass clinked back onto the table, he added, " So I got a gift for my girlfriend Stardust awhile back. Three tailring eggs and they hatched for her. She was so happy about it. Have you ever seen a tailring? The babies are adorable." He hoped the change in subject would help ease some of her more negative emotions right now. Last thing he wanted was to make her feel upset.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Never be left alone? Well that was thankfully true. When she had to leave her office/home on Commenor, the first thing that she did was head off to the mountains. A couple of days later, both Ryn and James found her in a rock enclave. At least they didn't find her the day before. She was a crying mess on that day. And ever since then she had been with her adopted family, still feeling a bit lost and fighting the urge to just hide somewhere and be alone for a few years again.

Kay took the ration bar that [member="Gray Raxis"] had found for her and started to eat it. The change in subject gave her a bit of something else to think about. Thankfully she hadn't been able to see the holo-news lately. "Tailring eggs? No, I can't say that I've ever heard of them. Are they a type of songbird?"

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray chuckled at [member="Lady Kay"] comment about them being a songbird. He got up from the table saying, " Songbird? Nope, they aren't a bird. I have a datapad around here somewhere and I can show you a picture of them. Think of a little dragon that is the right size to ride on your shoulder." He went to look for the datapad and found it after a short time of looking. He pulled up the information on the tailrings and set it in front of Kay to look at. He said, " Here we go. Pictures of what they look like. They are actually native to Socorro and spacers love the little things. They are good companions and eat this space parasite that can severely damage your ship. Spacers will wear the rattles on the end of their tails as good luck charms some times."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay had a sip of water and then looked to the datapad. Oh boy was she way off when it came to guessing. She laughed a little at her own expense. "I've seen some of those on my many travels. I just never knew what they were or where they came from and given that I had some large bounties on my head at the time, I didn't feel that I should go and ask. Stardust will certainly have her hands full."

Kay couldn't imagine having one of her own. Mrs. Nesbitt can get into her own troubles at times, just like herself. She didn't want anyone to come to harm in order to hurt her or break her.

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray chuckled at [member="Lady Kay"] comment about Star having her hands full. She was right about that completely. The three baby dragons were definitely keeping Star busy while she was stuck in her hover chair after getting her new legs. Gray said after taking a drink from his glass, " Oh she is very busy with them right now. Probably a good thing too since she got her mechanic legs replaced with a whole new set of legs made using her DNA. She finally has real legs again, and the both of us have been very happy about that. The only problem has been she is confined to a hover chair right now while she goes through medical retraining to get use to them again. She is a lot more unhappy about that than I am. I think it is good she is being forced to actually stay put for a bit. She keeps getting herself into trouble.... Well we both tend to get ourselves into trouble. Course she has been doing a lot of shopping lately while being on medical leave."

Gray thought about all of the stuff Star had bought lately, and it was quiet a bit. She had gotten a speeder bike and she couldn't even use it right now. He had thought about saying something, but it was her credits and she was so excited about it that he couldn't bring himself to say anything after all. He remembered something though on the mention on recent events. He said, " Oh I just remembered but I got some good news. I was promoted to CEO of SocMin Fed by James. And as my first act as CEO I wanted to ask if you would help me with a matter. You will be compensated for your time and efforts as well. A paying job if you will. Interested in hearing about it?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded as she listened about Stardust. She was there with her on Naboo when the Mandos and Techno Union attacked the peaceful planet. It wasn't a pretty sight. But it was good that Stardust was getting good care. As for getting into trouble, Kay was an expert. Even now,while she was here, she was pretty sure that somewhere, someone didn't like what she was doing. Which wasn't much of anything at all.

She ate another bite of the ration bar and washed it down with more water as [member="Gray Raxis"] continued to speak, trying to focus on him instead of on herself.

Kay blinked in surprise as he offered her a job. "Congratulations on your new position. And..given that I could use some credits to pay back my brother, I'll listen to your proposal. Thank you..."

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray took a drink from his glass and found it empty when he was done. He smiled to [member="Lady Kay"] as she agreed to listen to the offer. He grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured himself a second glass of the liquid. He corked it back when he was done and put it back onto the table. He said as he picked up his glass, " No, thank you for agreeing to listen to my proposal. I got SocMin Fed a phrik mine and a stygium mine, which is why I was made CEO. Well I want us to next get a cortosis mine for several reasons. Part of the reason is so Star can repair her arm without having to pay a ton of credits to do so, but mostly because cortosis is valuable. We can sell the stuff or even use it for ourselves. I looked around and decided to go with the planet Bal'demnic because it has a lot of cortosis on it still. I want to get a mine from the planet in our control and use locals to mine it. Cortosis requires special mining equipment and refinement techniques. The locals already have all of that, so it makes things easier on us. Plus the system is close to the Roche system which we have our phrik mine at."

Gray took a drink from his glass. He had some more to say, and he didn't want his throat getting too dry. He said as his glass clinked as it touched the table top, " The native people are called the Kon'me and you might know something about them from your time in the senate. The Republic has a history with them after all from back during the clone wars. The local people are mistrusting of outsiders and I would rather do things peacefully for this job. That is where you come in Kay. Your diplomacy skills are needed to try to convince them to let us operate there and work for us. You would be key to the plan and I will be there as the CEO as well as to act as a bodyguard for you just in case. So those are the details, what do you say?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Roche. Just the mention of it dampened her mood again. Kay wasn't there when the attacks happened, but she knew of them and gave the Mandalorians all of her credits to help broker a peace deal. Whether that was all for naught remained to be seen. But it didn't matter anyways. She had no control over the situation anymore. She lost all of that power when she was fired.

But she continued to listen. [member="Gray Raxis"] was right about the Kon'me and it was good of him to do his research first before going in blind. And now she understood why she was brought in. Her links with the Republic was still well known and strong.

"I will do as you ask and do my best to obtain an outcome that will benefit both sides. We'll need to hammer out some details of which I can bargain with, for I don't want to overstep my boundaries. Any payments should go straight to James. I owe him...."

 

[Gray Raxis]

Gray took another drink from his glass as he could feel some negative emotions come off of [member="Lady Kay"]. He sent a series of small positive and calming emotional waves at her through the force. He listened to her and was glad to hear she was on board. He was also glad to see she was taking this job seriously. Too many people didn't take Gray seriously because he liked to joke around. He never could figure out why people tried to judge someone based on how serious they were in life, especially when it was the serious people who didn't truly understand how serious situations actually were if you asked him. He set his glass down and smiled at her.

Gray said after thinking over the details of the job, " Well you can do as you need to do to get the rights to the cortosis mine. All of SocMin Fed's resources are available to you to use. Getting this mine is important to the future of the company as well as Justice Shipping in general. As far as payment goes, I can tell you that James will refuse the payment. He won't want your credits until you are back on your feet completely. Just use the credits you get here to make some investments and get a stream of credits going. Any ways, my point is this will be good. I do look forward to our business together, as well as future business together." He smiled to her and raised his glass up for a toast. He really did know James wouldn't want her credits for this job without asking him. The man was a degenerate in every way except when it came to the people he cared about. He would do anything for them and its not like he needed more credtis anyways. He didn't know what to do with the ones he has now as it is.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay listened as [member="Gray Raxis"] went on about what was expected of her. It seemed simple enough. She wasn't an outsider. She was someone that could be trusted. Hopefully.

She raised her glass as he did and gave a bit of a smile. Her mind was too busy thinking. She already owed James a lot and this will only add to the pile. Her shell company was gone now, that tactic unusable for a time. There had to be another way that she could restart her slave-freeing efforts. The ideas would come to her in time.

"Thank you. I will certainly do my best and make sure that it doesn't cost you much. If I still held a high position on Commenor, it'd be easier. But I'll make do with what I have. At least with a title, it will carry some weight and give myself more credibility."