Rumor has it

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

That's when the Tusken sharpshooters came in. One could catch the slight glint from their scopes when one would look just right. All was quiet, save for the gust of the wind, the shift of the sand as dust devils sailed across the canyon. Dusk was fast approaching, and the sky would be painted in indigo, muted orange, and crimson hues. A spot light flickered to life, panning right over the speeder that brought the youngest Kuhn twin to the blast doors of the Arceneau Stronghold.

A rough voice cut through by the nearby loudspeaker. Older, and simple in words. Weathered one might say. It was Flynn. " Halt. Who goes there?"

Back inside, a summon from security would announce to Danger and Alric that a speeder was on approach. The signal smoke dispatched, and that it was confirmed to be Erkard who used it.

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Rose looked over to Erkard, Erkard looked over to Rose. For a few moments they simply sat in the speeder, both of them expecting the other to speak. Finally she let out a loud sigh, her head sagging. "I always have to do the talking."

The Lizard let out a noise that could very well be considered a chuckle.

"Hi!" She started awkwardly. "Umm, My name is Rose Kuhn, this is Erkard."

The former Sith Knight looked down at Erkard for a moment, casting a weary glance over to the Noghri before giving her attention back to the spotlight. Her hand came up to wearily block the bright line, trying to get a good luck at the figure that was actually talking to her. "I'm here to see Danger Arceneau. She's a...friend of my fathers."

That was the most she was willing to put into that description, come to think of it that was the most that her father had put into it too. She frowned slightly, though quickly shook the thought from her head. First she had to meet the woman, then...then she would address all the other things that she had thought about.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

There was a long pause.

Almost a full minute passed, tension rising thick much like the approaching darkness. Finally, the loud hiss and creak of the large blast doors would swing open. The hum of generators and hydraulics would usher in the speeder and its two occupants. The spotlight grew dim, and in its place would illuminate the inner courtyard. A large looming droid would lean perched to the right, staring down with aqua green eyes. He was as tall as the blaster doors itself, clearly used for security purposes.

The low murmured sounds of other inhabitants within the fortress came after, a few staring at the young woman. Tusken Raiders would dot the overhanging cliff edges; blending into the shadows much like the desert's own. This was a heavily fortified location, that much was clear. Were Rose and Erkard to step into the fortress, they would soon come upon the figure of a man slowly walking towards them with an easy but purposeful gait. He wore a wide brim dark hat, and an ankle length duster over desert clothes. His face was ruggedly weathered, tanned like hard bantha leather, with glints of silver at his temples and nape.

"Miz Kuhn." the low base of his voice would state her name plainly. He spared a glance at Erkard, but didn't do much beyond that. They knew each other well, but that wasn't what this was about. They all knew it. At least, all but the youngster with the bright red hair that reminded him of Danger years back.

He tipped his hat, giving a nod.

"Welcome to the Stronghold."

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

She nodded. "Thank you."

There wasn't really much to say, not that came to her mind anyway. All she could think of was what was ahead of her, what she had to do. Things were strange right now. She didn't know where she stood here, what authority she had, if any. She knew that Erkard was on her side, she knew that she wouldn't be harmed here, but other than that she was completely clueless.

"Is Miss Arceneau here?" Rose asked the man who had welcomed her, being sure to carry a respectful tone. "I would like to speak to her."

She didn't say now, but the inflection of her tone strongly implied it.

Rose had not come here to rest, she had not come here to clean herself off or seek shelter, she had come here for two reasons and two reasons alone. To ensure that her father's new friend wasn't a monster, and to get a map. That was it. The less time she spent here the better, especially with all these eyes on her.

She felt slightly trapped.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

Flynn would study her a couple of more seconds, a pensive stare that would appear unreadable to the younger twin. Finally with a nod, he tipped his hat again.

"That I can do," he told her, and with a half turn, spun on the heel of his boot to start the slow gait up past the pourstone buildings of the courtyard up towards the hanger. It wasn't said as much as implied that she should follow him. A nudge from Erkard would transmit that, and the shorter Norghi began to walk. A few more curious stares would watch them trek up towards the cliffside section that would lead towards the warehouse, dormitories, and storage.

Thick bushy brows would peer at the remaining men, and with terse words would make the command clear. "Get to work,"

They were quick to get back to their duties, and now there were less pairs of eyes upon the younger redhead. At least, that she could outright see. The holosecurity cameras following her movements were another story. They were connected directly to the suite at the top of the canyon, where they fed their feed onto a series of holoscreens for the view of the elder Tetan.

The turbolift camera would pan next, which Flynn activated for the door to slide open.

"It'll take you straight up to the Boss, Miz Kuhn." a man of few words, but what he said was enough to convey all she needed to know.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

She was here. He felt his heart pound in his throat, his head began to swim, and his eyes listed from one side of the room to the other.

Alric looked at Danger, then towards the closet in the corner of the office. He frowned for half a second, then slowly began to make his way over towards the door. He stopped half way, standing in place for half a seconds as though he were thinking of something. Then he turned back around, his footsteps carrying him quickly over to Danger in an odd sort of awkward walk.

"Good luck." He kissed her cheek. "Don't let her scare you."

A smirk touched his lips, and then he dashed off to the closet.

It took him only a few seconds to reach, his large legs carrying him swiftly as she shut the door behind him. A small hole within the door gave him a good view of the room, and like a child watching a scary movie Alric waited in secret.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Rose Kuhn"] [member="Alric Kuhn"]

For a moment, Danger was caught at the rather childish nature the fully grown Tetan was exhibiting. There was a perfectly suitable security room for him to be able to sit at in relative comfort and be able to listen in and view to his heart’s content. Instead, he would choose to hide in a closet like a youngling playing hide and seek.

She briefly felt the brush of his kiss, and gave him a rather comical expression of bemusement thereafter. She had no chance to ask what he was doing, for a few seconds later, the incoming call of the ascending turbolift would relay the approach of Rose Kuhn.

As there really was no need to make a show of things, Danger took a deep breath. Anyone coming up to her suite would know that they would be required to have a reason, so it wasn’t as if this was a surprise. A thought came that perhaps she should move to the office. Or where should she stand? Awkward.

It was as if it was her first time conducting a meeting. Should she approach it so? Things were far more easier when it had come to talking to Saffron or Ashiin. Really anyone of the girls. However, the sound of the turbolift sliding to a halt told her she ran out of time. The subsequent hiss of the door sliding open would reveal one of the few folk in the “Verse that could set Danger on edge.

“Hello Rose,” wide green eyes would fall upon the younger woman. The corner of her mouth would quirk in mild amusement.

“Reckon you had an easier time finding me than your pa."

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

She didn't say anything, she didn't even breath.

Rose had of course heard of this woman before, it was Danger Arceneau, the Trade Queen of the outer rim. She was famous in her own right, and had made more money than even her father. She was well known across the galaxy, even in the circles that Rose had previously ran in. The younger redhead frowned slightly, her lips pulling down as she tried to think of the implications of all this. She remembered the stories, the tales her father had told. Had it always been Danger? The friend that had saved his life?

Probably.

Her head shook a milimeter, dispelling the idea as unimportant.

"Hello." Rose said wearily, carefully, her tone a strong and confident lie. She didn't quite know how to go about this, didn't quite know what to say. She couldn't just interrogate this woman, ask her the intentions she had with her father. It was clear she wasn't after his wealth, or anything of that sort. Nor did she seem unkind or mean, in fact, if Rose had to pin an emotion to her it would have been trepidation, careful. Almost as careful as she herself was being. "In the message with my father...you mentioned maps."

She decided to speak of something else, to point to something first and decide what else to say later.

Safer that way.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]


"That I did," Danger's smile lingered, but she recognized the stance Rose had. The shift of her hip, the way she held herself. Danger hadn't been in this business of networking for over thirty years to not recognize the signs of cautious wariness. Of a desire to keep things as sterile as possible.

She could respect that.

Turning on her heel, she began to turn, "They are survey's done by several hyperlane charters and explorers. Navigators that have gone from one side of the 'verse to the next. Even beyond," she'd tell her, weaving the story into conversation to keep the younger woman calm. Distracted. When one had something to fill the silence, they felt better. Danger was a pro at that. A slight crook of her finger would encourage the younger woman to follow her at her pace.

"One Miz Blake sold me her charts of Companion Esk," that was talking about one of the outer satellite galaxies. "Along with the Kathol Rift. The Maw.... ain't no place I haven't had folk wander off too one way or another." she would step into the wider living area where a large carved desk lay. The room was circular, carved into the very stone of the canyon, polished smooth so as to see the occasional crystals in the grain. Tusken Raider paraphernalia, a few scattered leather brown fedoras. That wasn't even including the mounted blaster rifles and slug throwers on the wall; the kind that didn't just look pretty but were fully capable of being used.

Her desk was organized chaos, some sheets of filmsi here and there, a few datapads with datachips. Even a small holographic Dejarik table by her dataarray. "Is there a particular sector you itchin' to go to?" came her first question, full hips encased in dark breeches would round the far end of her desk, moving towards the drawers.

"Or you've a mind to play Devanarian Roulette and see where the first one takes you?" there was a crooked grin and an arch of her brow then. To those who would see her, she'd seem the perfect easygoing Danger Arceneau. While the manner would be familiar, the makeup free, wild wavy hair, and ordinary beige blouse and pants were not. Contradictory to what the 'verse thought of the Trade Queen; odder still perhaps to a young girl's remembrance of her childhood tales.

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

She followed along with the womans words, taking a few steps forward.

There was something about her that made Rose enthralled. Perhaps it was the way she spoke, the way she carried herself, or that small smile. Either way she found herself wanting to trust the woman, wanting to trust what she was saying. It took her aback at first, but perhaps it was justified. Her father trusted her, cared for her, maybe even loved her. Was that was why Rose wanted to trust her? Or was it the woman herself. She frowned slightly, following her slowly around the room.

A part of her longed to live in a place like this again. It wasn't fancy, but it was a home, that much was apparent. After a year of camping, living in Inn's, barns, and a dozen other makeshift home she longed for an actual bed that she could call home. Her lips thinned at the thought, tossing it away and removing it in place of something else. She still had business to attend to, and she wasn't quite yet ready to head back to Empress Teta, to home.

"I just go wherever I feel like." She answered truthfully. "As long as the coordinates are good."

That wasn't to imply they wouldn't be, just a few times she had made a jump to hyperspace and...well let's just say it was a good thing the Momentum was such a fast ship. "I think this is the first time i've been anywhere I'd planned to go."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

Danger sat down on her chair, flashing Rose a lingering smile as she gestured for her to take a seat in the open chair.

"Mmm... most don't quite consider Tatooine their destination of choice," she would joke, scooting up towards her desk, full curves swaying with the slight bounce under her blouse. Her attention would draw over towards the holoarray, and a quick press of her button would flare the holodisplay to life. Wide green eyes would flicker over towards Rose.

"The Bazaar might be here, but she'll " Her attention would drift back to the screen, fingers tapping a quick beat against the holographic keys. "And she's always changing.... ain't no two places alike."

A few more taps of the keys. It was strange, honestly. Maybe she was talking as much for herself as for Rose. Only those who knew her well would be able to see the fine tremor in her hands, the tension down her spine. She was nervous.

Had she read her letters?

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Rose didn't sit. It was an odd, unknown mimicry to the first time that Danger had met her father. Both of them stubborn, both of them refusing to do what was beckoned of them. Instead she stood, looking at the woman with a studying expression, as though she were watching something of interest. She wasn't as observant as Alric, perhaps not even half as smart as him, so she didn't notice the slight tremor in Danger. She simply watched the woman, out of her own interest.

"I didn't come to Tatooine for the Bazaar." She didn't know anyone that would.

Perhaps visiting the planet was an experience for some, but for her it was simply a way to set the path, nothing more.

"I cam for you." Her tone was even, calm, perfectly neutral. "Because of the message my father had sent. Your letters, because I wanted to know more about you."

There was a slight hitch in her tone there at the admission. Rose hadn't known how to approach it at first, but it was better to get it underway. Perhaps it would be costly in the end, a mistake. She didn't want to appear rude to the woman that her Father called and old friend, but part of her was still protective of her father, and her mothers legacy.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Danger could practically feel the tiny hairs rise at the nape of her neck. It was as if a chill ran down her spine, her stomach sinking for a brief moment as if caught in a freefall.

Well that was awkward.

It wasn't her forthright way of saying things; Danger could respect that. it was hearing aloud that still struck her by surprise. But more than that, it was the rather thorny realization that one crouching Tetan just likely became aware that she'd been writing letters to his daughter. Without his knowledge. It took all she could to not glance at the direction of the closet then. In the meantime, her fingers would pause their stream of keystrokes, rising to hover in the air for a moment.

Quietly, Danger would tilt her head back, and arching her brows in seemingly mild surprise, she contemplated for a few moments. Her forefinger would give a light rap against thew wood of her desk, as if mulling things over. Then, she lowered her arms upon the arm rest, and went leaning back against her chair.

"Well then," her soft drawl would float over to the young woman. "What do you want to know?"

This... might get tricky. [member="Rose Kuhn"] could very well ask anything. And to be frank, there were some questions she didn't know the answer to, nor really had an inkling what to really say. A part of her told her she had this, had it right in the bag. Conversation was her game. Yet another would remind her that this was one of the few folk in the 'verse who could very well cut her to the core with a few words.

Just what was she opening herself up for?

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Rose looked at the woman, pondering for a moment.

There were lots of questions she wanted to ask. Lots of things that she wanted to say. A few things came to mind almost immediately, all of them about the present, about what Danger and her father were doing, about their situation, about what she wanted. They were all important, but something else crept into her mind. It was something from her childhood, a curiosity that had never quite been explained, something that she had always wanted to know. Her lips thinned for a moment, and her hand wrapped around the back of the chair she stood in front.

"How did you and my father meet?" It was something that Alric had always avoided.

Of course the reason was quite simple, but Rose didn't know that.

The story of Danger and Alric's first meeting, at least the real one, was quite...aggressive. It had been back when Rose's father had been a different person, when he had done things differently. Rose would never have expected it, and the little girl who had been told the stories of Danger Arceneau and Alric Kuhn would never have believed it. After all, no good story began in that way.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

Was Alric actually listening to all of this? Was he getting a laugh at it?

Talk about putting me on the spot, Danger internally mused. There it was, the first question. By all accounts it wasn't that dangerous, but the answer well... It was complicated. It was just a matter of how exactly to word it. Her fingers would halt their small rap upon the table, and she gave a slow blink. After a second she couldn't help give a low chuckle. But was it due to nervousness or mild amusement was anyone's guess. Those who knew her as the Queen of Trade would likely believe more of the latter than the former.

"Your father owned BlastTech at the time," she finally told her. Which was the truth. "I wanted to buy it." indeed, that had been the reason why she had the man escorted to her VIP office at the Expo. Right after the auction. That had been when they had been formally introduced.. .

"So I made an offer for it." aware that the younger woman would not sit down unless it was of her own inclination, Danger would instead ask, "Care for some water?" a nod towards the bar would bring forth the query. While she did have a decanter on her desk, she couldn't quite offer that to Rose.

She highly doubted Alric would be keen on having his daughter fall into anaphylaxic shock.

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

It sounded correct.

Rose had never actually known her father had own Blas-Tech, though it didn't seem impossible. She had known of his owning Titan, Astraeus, and now his new corporation, so it didn't seem out of this world that Blas-Tech would be owned by him as well. She frowned slightly however, feeling that such a meeting was rather anti-climactic, it also didn't explain why he had later gone to Tatooine and they had shared their adventures. Sure her parents had fallen in love through a business meeting, but Danger and Alric hadn't fallen in love...had they?

Her eyes narrowed for a second and she shook her head. "Then why did he go to Tatooine?"

She continued with her line of questioning, wanting to get to the bottom of that.

it was still childhood curiosity truth be told, but it was now mixed with finding out more about Danger herself. The Trade Queen was a master of conversation, but Rose had learned how to talk from her father. She knew very well how to manipulate the conversation to her own means, how to twist and turn things to where she wanted them to go.

Perhaps that would help here.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

Danger found herself in a dire need for a drink and a smoke.

She didn't like personal questions. It made her uncomfortable. More so when it dealt with a man that had been a large part of her life one way or another, in his presence or not. Top it off that it was his daughter asking the questions, well... now that was a heady cocktail one wasn't too keen on drinking.

So her hand would move on towards a slim platinum case on top of her desk, "Your pa had it in him to give me a piece of his mind," her thumb would depress the small button and the cover would flip open. A line of brown cigarillos would reveal themselves, and Danger would pluck one out for herself. Rose didn't ask for water, but she figured she was dead set on asking questions. No matter.

Tucking the narcotic between two fingers, Danger would close the cigarette case with a snap. There was a rather rueful expression and hint of mild amusement on her face as she would continue, "He got riled up somethin' fierce."

The case went clattering on the desk with a slight toss.

"Next thing I know, he's stepped foot on Tatooine." She brought vice to her lips. A tiny box of matches, the quick scratch and flare of fire, and then the scent of sulfur would join the one of tobacco and spice. Rather old fashion, but it got the cherry tip of her cigarillo burning bright with a deep drag, spicy white smoke filling her lungs and steeling her nerves. Much better. She shook off the match, smoke swirling from its ember head before tossing it onto the ashtray beside her.

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

That didn't sound like her father.

Alric had never been angry with them, that had more been their mother. She had yelled sometimes when Lily and Her had been a bit too rambunctious, but their father had always remained calm and collected. It was something that she liked about him, what endeared her to her father. He was a calm statue in an ocean of storm. It was nice, and not once had Rose experienced her father as the angry, stubborn, and sometimes idiotic person that had come to Tatooine looking for Danger.

Despite that, she believed the woman.

She knew that her father had been younger then, and Danger had no reason to lie to her now.

"When did..." She trailed off for a few moments. "Did you know he was alive?"

Her eyes looked to the floor. "When they were gone?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

Here was the hard part.

Just how much information should I relay? Danger could lie, say she didn't know if Alric and Silara had been alive and soften the blow. The idea that a perfect stranger from Rose's perspective would know that her parents had been alive all this time while she had no clue to their location or if they were really living would be... well... one step forward and two steps back.

She had told Alric before that she didn't approve of his method. Of how he had kept the girls in the blind. That isn't what you do to family; that hadn't been the man she had once known. It was a sore topic of conversation, but one that Danger had already expressed her opinion on. It irked her. But most of all, it had disappointed her.

Danger would study Rose, taking a deep drag of her vice, cheek sinking deep. There was no need to look at the closet, she was sure that Alric was already sticking his ear to the door and catching every word he could. Taking the cigarillo from her lips, she blow a stream of spicy white smoke up to the ceiling.

Her lids lowered, and she let her gaze linger on the glowing tip of her cigarillo. "I knew they didn't perish when the holocall came out." she would confess. If anything, Rose deserved the truth of that.

"Your father contacted me shortly after. Through a mutual acquaintance." her lips grew thin, and she would flick the ash upon the tray. No sense in bringing up the fact that her father and she at the time hadn't spoken in nearly twenty years.

"Asked me to look after you both." she brought the narcotic back up to take another hit. She needed the nicotine. "I found out about his return the same as everyone, though." she added the rest with a rueful twist of her lips. "Always was one for entrances, that one."

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

She had known that.

Rose didn't know how, but she had.

Perhaps it had been a small inkling in the pit of her stomach, a notion that had hinted at that fact. There was probably more to it, probably more than she could find out, yet she knew that she didn't want to. Her lips thinned. Rose knew very well that some things...some things should be left secrets. She was sure that if it was important, that if she was supposed to know, her father would have told her. There was confidence in that thought. She knew that her father would never keep the important things from her, not anymore anyway.

Suddenly she looked up at Danger. There was a wondering in her eyes, a small question, she had intended to ask this from the start. "What..."

Rose trailed off.

Did she want to know the answer to this? It had been a year since her Father had come back, nearly a year since she had left. It was ample time, time enough for all of them to have gotten some measure of closure, she herself included. That was what her trip was about, that was why she had gone in the first place, hadn't it?

"Exactly..." Again she trailed off, forcing the words. "Are you and my father?