Something Lost

[Gorba the Hutt]

Oh dear.

Orcus stared at his hand. The Idiot's Array. Three cards already locked in the stasis field. Only one way out now.

"Check."

The Shell Hutt stared back with yellow eyes, depths full of acidic avarice.

"Boska!"

He felt a sinking in his stomach as his bluff drowned. Scuttled before it even left the harbor.

* * *

The Sith Lord wore a frown. Out the doors of the casino. Off the planet. All the way back to Coruscant. A frown, a suit and nothing else. Naked without his lightsaber. True, it was only a weapon in the end, but its loss did not gall him so much as how luck could favor such a repugnant slug.

Such thoughts receded as he entered the doors of the Coruscant Opera House and took his seat in a private box. He barely glanced at the three other beings already seated. [member="Graze"] of course, cold and unreadable, but reliable as always. [member="Tyro Ventari"], his protege from the orphanage. Promising, but perhaps lacking the true thirst for ambition. And lastly, a pachyderm who dwarfed even Orcus. [member="Grundark"], a new addition.

The box contained specially designed seats. Enormous, by human standards, which made Tyro seem all the more like a child. It would be a wonder if his feet could even touch the floor.

Orbs of water floated in the center of the opera stage. A production of Squid Lake. An eerie humming vibrated through the air. A light smattering of applause filled the opera as the dancing Mon Calamari shifted in their glistening spheres.

"Pardon my lateness," Orcus said, the fathomless depths of voice barely above a whisper. "Detained by vice and misfortune. What scene are we in?"

 

[Tyro Ventari]

Tyro smiled at [member="Hion the Herglic"] as he walked in. There was prudence in being on time and for Tyro himself being on time meant he was late. Arriving early and making sure you were punctual was important to the youth, especially as he represented the Herglic himself in various dealings throughout the galaxy. Still he had to admit he kept awkward enough company. He was used to living about Aquatic species, having been raised on Manaan before the orphanage. However he wasn't used to be the smallest person in that room. That had come later when Orcus had taken him out of his orphanage and made him his apprentice. "The second act," Tyro said in a hushed voice. He knew where his master had been. "If you were going to be delayed you could have called in advanced. I cannot abide the thought of one of these uppity ushers giving you a hard time."

He bowed his head as he spoke and refused to look his master in the eyes. Tyro was a competent young man but he knew better than to challenge Orcus for the Alpha spot in the pod, even inadvertently. Then again even after a few years in the whales service he wasn't sure if that was even how his species worked. "A businessman lives and dies on the value of information." Tyro smiled a disarming smile "If you had informed me of what waylaid you master I'd have fixed the problem for you yes?"

 

[Grundark]

With a rather deep fascination Grundark watched the water ballet, in truth transfixed by the display on before him. He'd worked mostly in Hutt space, and well Hutts had about the sophistication of their slug ancestors. Their purpose in life was to consume and grow, credits, slaves, or just simple food it didn't seem to be any different to a Hutt. He negligently moved a hand towards the small one's face to hush him for a moment. It wasn't disinterest he was simply wasn't even really aware Orcus was bothered, he was simply sucked into the grace of the Mon Calmari movements. He vaguely felt his hand touch the boy's face most likely his entire face, or at least Grundark thought he was just a boy, it was hard to tell with humans they only grew so much.

As the act moved onward he found himself humming along with the core melody his trunk making the hum re-vibrate louder then intended. When the ballet moved into the next section he trumpeted his pleasure though his horn, clapping simply wasn't appreciation enough. Turning towards the others he realized he hadn't actually removed his hand from the poor boy's face and part of his shoulders as it turned out. Removing he attempted a guilty look which mostly looked like all his other facial expressions to anyone who wasn't a Cragmoloid. "Most excellent, I've never seen such a thing." Stopping suddenly as his eyes moved to the Herglic he realized their Master looked troubled, why hadn't anyone found out what was wrong? "Master, what troubles you?"

[member="Tyro Ventari"]
[member="Hion the Herglic"]

 

[Graze]

Eyes of the deepest blue swept the shadows behind [member="Hion the Herglic"] as he stepped into the opera box. Graze nodded to his employer, and, after judging the occupants safe, returned his gaze to the boy and pachyderm. Prior to the Herglic's entrance, they had appeared spellbound by the watery performance. [member="Grundark"] was still enraptured, but the boy's attention had shifted to the Darkwater leader. [member="Tyro Ventari"] spoke, and as he did so, an enormous mass of fingers and fat rose to cover his face, trapping his words.

Nearly black eyes shifted toward the pachyderm, menace spearing from their icy slits.

Such a security issue could not be tolerated. They attended such performances to wind down, true enough, but not to the extent of utter oblivion. An opera was simply not the place to do so. Keeping his focus on Darkwater Security's newest recruit, Graze addressed his leader.

"There have been few movements this performance, boss. It appears as though the political intrigues are running deeper than usual today. Were you met with any difficulties on your journey here?"

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

The Sith Lord paid little heed to the quibbling between his students. The focus of his attention was fixed on a box three to the left and below their own. A Gran sat there, watching the ballet with a stupid expression of polite amusement. Orcus clacked his teeth. The low humming grew in tone. The climax of the second act. The dancers moved in their bubbles, faster and faster. All eyes drew to the crescendo.

No one noticed the two Herglics who stepped into the back of the Gran's box, not even the Gran. They unfolded a massive bag. One stepped forward and brought his flipper down in a sharp smacking motion against the side of the Gran's head. The Gran slid sideway in its chair, unconscious. Its goat-like snout disappeared as the other Herglic stuffed the bag over the entire body, scooped him up and then threw the bag over one shoulder. The pair of agents departed the box. No one in the audience seemed to notice. Or care.

Orcus turned to [member="Graze"], a smile creeping wide across his features. "Political intrigue indeed. No difficulty, but my troubles are soon to be resolved. Hauum."

Looking very satisfied, the Sith Lord rose from his seat. "Come, we will visit the opera for a full production some other time, but that is not why I had you here."

He strode out the rear of the box, explaining as they walked. "Two days ago I lost a very dear possession to a Shell Hutt in a game of sabbacc. I, for one, do not enjoy losing. In the day since that unfortunate occurrence, my agents have located and apprehended one of this Hutt's employees. That is where we are going now."

Their destination, the Safe Harbor Orphanage, was not so very far away. However, Orcus failed to mention that the Shell Hutt had had an eye on Coruscant's underworld, or that the Shell Hutt was known to employ a small cadre of assassins, or that any such operation setting up shop in Coruscant's underworld would need to be quickly stamped out.

Assassins, after all, were bad for business.

[member="Tyro Ventari"] | [member="Grundark"]

 

[Tyro Ventari]

Tyro struggled for a second against the massive hand covering his face before the large creature finally relented. Sometimes he hated being the smallest person in a room. When humans were involved it was often the reverse and yet with these Goliath aliens he was a gnat. Then he heard Graze talk about security followed by Orcus and his own woes gambling. Great. The old whale had lost something of worth.

"You should never bet on an event whose outcome isn't already known to you." Tyro quirked an eyebrow. He wasnt talking directly this masters weakness, gambling, but the underlying message was there. "By employing information such things should be predictable. Only after consideration and with knowledge should we move. These Shell Hutts, what do we know about them? Large creatures in heavy armor surely yes? But do they have vices we can manipulate, what of their organization and structure? We should learn, yes, and plan?" He was no craven and yet his master nearly always chastised him for his plans and preparation. "I never advise against caution."

[member="Grundark"] [member="Graze"] [member="Hion the Herglic"]

 

[Grundark]

Standing up the enormous Cragmoloid wanted to complain, he couldn't of course but he still wanted to. With a huff through his trunk he followed his Master out of the box, at least he'd promised to take them back for a full showing. Listening to Tyro ramble off a dozen questions, or at least it felt like that to him Grundark decided he liked him. Albeit he completely missed the hidden message, but that was mostly because he understood deceit, sarcasm, and reading in between the lines less then he understood why tables were never adjustable to size. Making another note in his head he decided he'd make his own table, something that worked well with his trunk.

"So are we there to kill things, or just scare them into behaving? Personally I've never killed a Hutt before, be good experience to add to the list. Either way at least the ceilings will be the proper size." Looking over towards the shark face he pointed towards with genuine curiosity. "Is he going to eat the Hutt? I've seen a few races that eat there kills, very efficient."

[member="Tyro Ventari"] [member="Hion the Herglic"] [member="Graze"]

 

[Graze]

A thin tendril of amusement curled its way through Graze's chest. So the Cragmoloid wanted to know if his kills also became meals; interesting. He smiled slightly, his face spreading into a gaping maw of fangs and saliva that more resembled a threat than a demonstration of mirth. He always enjoyed it when new recruits asked him such questions. They always provided a distraction from his thoughts.

"Though I cannot speak for all Karkaradons," he said to [member="Grundark"], still smiling. "I can assure you that I have never quite acquired the taste for slug. I much prefer the hardier, less stringy flavor of pachyderm. I've found that demonstrations in which such meat is present do a much better job of intimidating one's enemies than a simple conversation. Wouldn't you agree?"

[member="Hion the Herglic"] | [member="Tyro Ventari"]

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

A deep belly laugh left Orcus' wide lips, though they scarcely opened. He wondered how the ex-gladiator would respond. Would a lifetime spent in the pits lead his hands to violence at a veiled threat, or did he have a sense of self-deprecation? Not many Sith could lay claim to the later. No, not many at all.

As for the runt of the litter...

Black eyes swung down toward Tyro. "Caution is indeed wise. Caution enough to know one's place, but if you so wish to lead this endeavor, then that can be arranged. A chance for Tyro, agent of Darkwater, to show his quality."

The chuckle that issued from the Sith Lord was anything but reassuring.

A large, sleek air speeder pulled up at the steps and a chauffeur opened the door. Orcus clambered in, the speeder groaning in protest.

The interior was fashioned from black leather, with a glass filled with his favorite wine already waiting. He scooped it up with one flipper and held it up to an open maw, savoring the smell as he waited for the others.

[member="Graze"] | [member="Grundark"] | [member="Tyro Ventari"]

 

[Tyro Ventari]

Tyro stepped into the speeder with his master and sat adjacent from him in a position of prominence at his side. The shark and elephant could flounder about jockeying for position across from the titanic whale. That was their lot in life. It was a spacious speeder and yet the youth knew it would be crowded and cramped by the time the entire party filed in. It was of no matter really and Tyro noted with malice in his head that being small did have some advantages. "[member="Darth Orcus"]," Tyro bowed his head politely. "It would be my pleasure to lead a sortie on your behalf to recieve the ill begotten gains of this foul slug."

Lifting his head he smiled up at his whale father figure. "Tell me my master, how much do you wish for them to suffer?"