Silver and Dust

[Riamah]

Deciding to take her leave of the main gathering, Ra ended up having a drink alone at the bar there. Leaning against the counter, she ran some of the faces she had seen through her mind. Remembering their names and placing where she had met some before, one face and name stood out to her.

She had not actually ever met Noah but had heard of him from the Metal Lords. Specifically from HK. A message had been given to her at one point on the chance she ever ran into him.

That chance was now and she went in search of him. Finding him was going to be a little more difficult than she imagined though, but find him she did.

The security command center was bustling with activity and she had to avoid getting knocked into and over a few times. By the time Ra reached who she wanted to speak to, she was probably starting to look a little beat up and worn down.

What had started as a semi-formal outfit was smudged with dirt and wrinkled in a few places. The way she carried herself was something else though. Here was a woman that was confident in who she was and her position. Though she only named one government, she did belong to others. That one probably would hold more weight than any of the others.

"Excuse me, General Corek. I am Ra'a'mah Numare of the Metal Lords. There is a message I have for you from somebody we both know. Is there a place we might be able to speak a little more privately?"

[member="Noah Corek"]

 

[Noah Corek]

[member="Riamah"]

Noah sighed as he began to sift through the particularly large amount of reports that were being compiled from the events that had transpired during the summit. First a Senator Ella Nova had been outed as a Sith Lord, then the same Sith Lord had tried to attack the summit. Thankfully the attack force that had been sent had been crushed easily by not only Noah's troops but the arrival of the Mandalore and her Death Watch.

He ran a hand through his hair before he heard the voice behind him and turned to see the red-headed woman. She was shorter than him, not surprising since most people short of Wookiees and other species were. He eyed her critically, trying to discern if she had any weapons or not and when he was finally convinced she didn't he spoke. "Numare you say? I remember the name from my time with my Metal Lords. You're some sort of merchant yes?"

When she mentioned having some privacy Noah was a bit on edge. Spending over thirty-two years in the military, with half of that time being with some sort of special forces unit, one tended to look over their shoulder almost every second. Noah mentally shrugged though, no one was stupid enough to try and attack twice in the same day. Motioning for her to follow he led them to a small indescript room that looked to be a meeting room.

Walking over to a nearby wet bar Noah poured two glasses of Corellian whiskey and handed one to Ria. "So you say you've got a message for me from someone we both know?" Noah asked as he took a sip from his drink.

 

[Riamah]

"Lead of the Merchant Fleet actually. HK approached me at one time and well, changed my life. Gave me an opportunity to travel that's for sure."

Keeping things professional between them, Ra maintained a distance. Close enough to shake hands, but no closer. She was also being friendly and polite in her tone to him.

One thing Ra had learned was how to read people. Maybe not great at empathy, she could still tell Noah tensed up when she suggested some privacy. However, he agreed to the request and motioned for her to follow him. Leading them away from the command center and into a simple meeting room. It met the requirements of being private, but it was also still close enough to his security to allow him some comfort.

Accepting the drink he held out to her, if he toasted or held his glass up in the motion of one, she would join him and then take a sip of the drink.

"Yes, this is the message I have for you. Though I never expected to actually ever pass it along.

"HK sends his regards and hopes that the Pyre has not forgotten about him or his children. There are some Protectorate designs he might have plans to update if you still have access to factories that could produce them.

"That is the message he wanted me to give you if there was ever the chance to meet with you."

[member="Noah Corek"]

 

[Noah Corek]

[member="Riamah"]

Noah continued to sip on his whiskey and smiled when Ria mentioned the Merchant Fleet. "Ah yes I remember. My company, Hekler'Kok Defense Industries use to do a lot of business with the Merchant Fleet. Now a days we do business with the New Republic. Add that to the fact that I'm also head of SOCOM for the New Republic and I honestly don't have enough time to run my company or hammer out trade deals." Noah chuckled and then raised his glass to take another sip and that's when Ria mentioned HK.

Setting his glass down on the table Noah chuckled as he looked towards the ceiling. "HK-36. Now that is not a name I have heard in many years. Don't know if he told you about us but me and HK we're pretty good friends during our days in the Pyre. Served together from Hoth all the way to the fall of the Pyre about ten years ago. From there we served together as contractors for the Alliance, sometimes as business partners and so forth but we stopped talking oh five years ago."

When Ria mentioned the fact that HK had some updated Protectorate a grin came over Noah's face. It'd been awhile since he had seen Protectorate ships in the sky above planets, troops garbed in Protectorate armor and carrying Protectorate weapons. "Ah the feel of nostalgia I'll get seeing those ships roam the skies again. So how can I contact the old bastard?"

 

[Riamah]

Back when the Republic was just getting started, Ra had assisted them in something. Her promise had been to have trade between the Metal Lord's Merchant Fleet and the then-budding government. HK had been present at that meeting and approved of her choice then.

"In my years with the Metal Lords, I did some of my own research into the past. When HK learned of it, he gave that message. Then, he well fell asleep. Put himself into one his dreadnaughts and went away. So once in a while, a message will come from him or his ship. So the old droid sleeps but keeps watch through the Metal Lords. I have no idea where to find him."

Before they had settled down above Denon, the free droids of the Metal Lords had wandered the galaxy through unused and forgotten hyperlanes. She could go look to find HK, but he could be at the other end of the galaxy and she would look forever.

"I could pass a message onto him if you wish and see if he responds."

Sipping at the drink, Ra wondered if he would reply to any message from Noah.

[member="Noah Corek"]

 

[Noah Corek]

[member="Riamah"]

Noah took a seat in one of the many chairs around the table and chuckled as he picked up his drink and began to sip from it again. "I'm not surprised that HK did something like that. He always had the flair for the dramatic and would do things over the top alot. He had a tendencies to vanish for days at a time, well we all did but the boss put it with it because we were unorthodox but we got the job done." When Ria mentioned that she'd get messages from him or whatever his ship was he began to nod. "Typical HK. Vanish and yet try and stay on top of things even though no one knows where he is at."

Noah smiled when Ria mentioned a message she could send to him. "Yeah tell the old bastard that he owes me for that rifle that he broke. I believe it was about two thousand credits if he wouldn't mind wiring it to my bank account, he should know the account info to route it to."

Noah began to look Ria up and down, he interests were purely speculative. She was a mystery to him something that didn't occur often. He knew about her mercantile career as it was a very successful career. "Tell me about yourself Ms. Numare. I know about your career as a merchant but not much else."

 

[Riamah]

What he said about HK was true and she couldn't help but chuckle when he mentioned a rifle he broke. She was totally positive credits weren't an issue for Noah, but she did nod.

"I will certainly pass that along to him."

It was nice to learn more about her friend and meet some of the people he had called companions before they had met. That vanishing act was something new to her. So when Noah mentioned he had done this before, she assumed there would come a time when HK would reappear. There were times when she really missed the old droid. At one point in her life, she would have run from him in fear, now she considered him a friend.

Noah then asked her to tell him about herself and that he was aware of her being a merchant. There was so much more about her, but she was at a bit of a loss on where to begin.

"Well, I grew up on a world that well...I don't remember its name actually. Somewhere in the Core though. Eventually, I found myself on the streets of Coruscant and was picked up by a man that opened the door for me becoming a merchant. Started out small time and moved up to where I am now, I suppose."

It was an answer that did not at all touch on her ability to use the Force. At one point in her life, she had kept it secret because of her calling and alignment. Now she did not keep it hidden of secret, but still, not everybody knew of it. So Ra did not mention it in her brief tale of herself.

"There might be more to it, but that is a starting point. How about you? Other than your connection to HK, I know nothing about you really."

[member="Noah Corek"]