Private The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie

[Kaila Irons]

The Red Ronin Club was one of those places that sort of just show up in your local town one day. A plot of overpriced land that's been for sale long enough that everyone forgets there's supposed be something on it gets bought one day, a guy with a suit surveys the area and then before you know it, A new building seemingly appears out of nowhere.

Worst of all? Sitting high up on the cliffs of Canto Bight, it was blocking what used to be a perfectly good view of the beach.

But to those with access? Those who could afford the jaw dropping entry fee? The Club had everything. Not just a club, though it certainly had one, staffed by exotic dancers and laden with sound proofing tech to keep the more gentile folk happy outside. The rest of the clubhouse consisted of the finest bath houses and healing spas on Cantonica, from large pools accessible to all guests, to private steam bathes and artificial hot springs for only the highest paying customers. Although, some of these were reserved for an even fewer number of guests: People who dealt with The Haxion Brood.

Today, Castor Crane was one of those people.

He was a man with connections, a man with power in Canto Bight. The masterminds behind the Red Ronin Club wanted those connections and that power on their side for future endeavors. Future Ambitions.

And so a meeting was arranged, to discuss "the future of business in Canto Bight" and how the club might benefit his operations here. He was invited to the club and given the mystical "Red Pass", a type of clearance for services and clubhouse access given only to a handful of individuals, all of which were either business partners in the club's more illicit dealings, or members of the peculiar order of assassins who were secretly housed in the hotel rooms here, many of which acted as "Private Security" for the club as part of their disguise. The peace was never disturbed in this club, because troublemakers didn't live long enough to make the news. And the people responsible would be ensuring the corpo's safety for the evening.

Although, they weren't the only killers here.

Kaila Irons waited in the lobby flanked by two commando droids provided by her business investors, marked in the same blood red for which the club was named, and wearing cloaks of fine pantora-silk, designed to keep their weapons out of sight and out of mind so as not to spook their guests when she passed through. Kaila herself was wearing a nearly identical cloak over what appeared at first glance to be a fine suit, although a discerning eye might notice the black bodyglove she wore underneath the jacket, or that her deep pockets had a little more weight than they should.

Still, she was ready to meet the finest and look the part, black lips pressed into a faint smile, long golden hair carefully straightened for the occasion, and smelling of a perfume that was equal parts sweet and spice.


Castor Crane

 

[Castor Crane]

​

Tags: Kaila Irons
Location: Canto Bight, Cantonica

"The Haxion Brood," Castor said to himself. He sat comfortably behind his desk aboard the CSV Meridian Drift, one of several Horizon-class star yachts reserved by the DireX Board when the ExOs needed to travel beyond the Etti IV ecumenopolis. Crane was idly fidgeting with a small model of the Meridian Drift, rolling the chromium-cast trinket in his fingers while his thoughts encircled the business of the day.

It was not beyond the Corporate Sector Authority to work with criminal organizations; in fact, they often hired their own competition, fielding the secret cell known as Code Zero with the galaxy's best hackers, assassins, and smugglers, all to keep them in Corporate pockets. It was effective to keep enemies closer than friends, and Castor hoped the Brood would be amiable to a similar arrangement with the CSA.

A voice broke Crane's concentration, coming from a slender Ettian woman who stood in the open door at the head of the office. "We'll be landing shortly, ExO Crane. Your shore party is ready in the docking bay." She was referring to attaché of N5 sentry droids and Espo officers who were accompanying him to Canto Bight. "Thank you, Eris," the man returned, dismissing his assistant.

Within minutes, the Meridian Drift was being serviced by ground technicians and prepared for its return flight back to Etti when the ExO's business was done. He stepped down the landing ramp, flanked by a pair each of security droids and security officers. The evening air was heavy with humidity and salt from the Cantonican Sea. From here, above the cityscape in the hills overlooking the ocean, Castor could see the city lights reflected on the waves. It reminded him of the peaceful evenings he'd spent with Artemis Tau, a fellow DireX Board ExO and personal friend. Perhaps Artie could make an impromptu trip to Canto after this Haxion arrangement was settled; she needed a good vacation after dealing with the recent groundquakes that rattled the Corporate capital.

Castor crossed the landing pad, moving toward an unmarked speeder that awaited him. Behind it was another for his security detail. "ExO Crane," a Trandoshan wearing jet-black finery said, "to the Red Ronin." It was more a confirmation than an order or question, which Castor acknowledged with a simple nod.

The ride from the hillside docks to the club was scenic but shorter than anticipated. When the pair of black speeders arrived, the Trandoshan stepped out first to open the ExO's door. Crane rose from the cab and adjusted his suit, a fine tailored piece sewn by a seamstress on Naboo. In the lapel, a crimson CSA pin rested against the fabric. Castor's cybernetic eyes contracted like the aperture of a camera as he looked upon the entrance to the Red Ronin Club. His face wouldn't show it, but he was impressed with the structure thus far and even more so with the subtle security details patrolling the perimeter. With Sixth Kin and their ilk in the poorer districts below, it never hurt to be cautious. Even small fish can nibble if you're uncareful.

Dutifully, Castor strode to the building and was welcomed into the lobby after a swift verification of his security's necessity. They fanned out as Castor approached the Haxion Brood informant known as Kaila Irons who awaited him.

"Miss Irons, I presume?" Castor said warmly. The cybernetic lights in his irises dimmed so as not to appear as intimidating. "I'm Castor Crane, ExO of the Corporate Sector Authority. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila carefully observed the quintet of men entering her establishment, who had been given no issue whatsoever once the men at the gate had been informed of who they were. At most, they would have been made to wait just long enough to quietly warn the owner that Corporate Police were among among the small crowd.

Crane was smart to bring his own security of course, hers was a new face in town and a few high profile Brood had probably been seen in her hotel once or twice before. But having lawmen hovering over her shoulders would make private discussion far more difficult.

Nevertheless, she would greet him and find a way somehow.

"Miss Irons, I presume?" Castor said warmly. The cybernetic lights in his irises dimmed so as not to appear as intimidating. "I'm Castor Crane, ExO of the Corporate Sector Authority. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"Likewise, likewise" She would say with an accompanying nod, speaking in a young but husky voice and distinctly imperial accent. Then she held her hand out to grab something, prompting the woman working the front desk behind her to hand a card to one of the two droids, who then passed it to their master's thinly gloved hand.

It was offered to her guest between two fingers, catching the light such that it's ornate trim and red surface would glint.

"Welcome to the Red Ronin Club, mister Crane. Where would you like to go first? We have lodgings upstairs and private rooms in the connected bathhouse, or private booths in the upper floor of our club in a separate building, close to the bar of course. Though I can have drinks sent to the other locations if you prefer to drink in a more personal setting"

"Or you just don't want to share with your... companions" Kaila chuckled softly, giving the organic security a practiced smile.

"But then again I suppose they can't drink on duty. Or can they? I can't say we've ever hosted Police here before. Our own security presence has been quite the deterrent, you see" She spoke with double meaning, hoping the ExO would understand her desire for a more private meeting later on. One without the long arm of the law hovering over either of them. He was a fellow cyborg, one with much more obvious implants than herself, so perhaps he was more inclined towards machine-like logic and pragmatism than most, as had been other cyborgs she'd met in the past.


Castor Crane

 

[Castor Crane]

​

Tags: Kaila Irons
Location: Canto Bight, Cantonica

Castor sensed Kaila’s discomfort with the Espos almost immediately, and when her explanation of the Red Ronin’s facilities was complete, he spoke to soothe her concerns.

“The Espos have only the DireX Board’s interests at heart, I assure you,” he said with a sinister warmth. Soon enough, she and the Brood would see firsthand that the Corporate Security Police were more of a tool used by the Board to control the Sector than it was an instrument of the law. “But, I am not opposed to meeting in a more personal setting if that would be more comfortable.” There was no condescension in his tone, rather a subtle expression of his understanding - Canto was new ground for Haxion, and the presence of law enforcement, no matter how pocketed, was undesirable.

He accepted the Red Ronin card, regarding the fuzzy reflection of his face in its shiny surface before reading it: an express pass that permitted the ExO access to the club’s exclusive facilities.

“How about someplace with a view?” Castor suggested. He pocketed the card, smiling. “My friends can find something quiet to do while we talk. Is there a lounge where they can enjoy the ambiance, preferably away from the patrons? Cantonicans typically dislike an Espo presence on their home turf.” What with Canto Bight’s local police and their unique dynamic with Sixth Kin, and now presumably Haxion Brood, it was best in most cases to leave law enforcement matters to the CBPD rather than maintain Espo patrols.

When CorpSec came down from their orbital station overhead, the locals knew something was up. Undoubtedly, there were already rumors and whispers stirring in the city below; Espos were one thing, but the CSV Meridian Drift meant business.

 

[Kaila Irons]

"Ah? more comfortable, yes"

It was good to know that he could read her between the lines, hearing words unspoken and intentions merely alluded to. It was equally reassuring to know that local law enforcement was already bought. So long as she could come to a mutually beneficial arrangement with the Corporate Sector Authority, she could move quite freely in the underworld.

"Well, if it's a view you want, I know a place. There are hot springs up on the mountain, we've tapped a few of them directly into our upper-most pools overlooking the beach outside. It's a good place to get comfortable, even if you don't plan on staying dry"

She chuckled softly, gesturing for her droids to meet with the Expos and security automata as she turned away.

"You two, close down the lounge bar and show these gentlemen in please. Make sure no one disturbs them"

"Roger, roger"

"Thank you SB-3" She hummed, leading Mister Crane deeper into the resort.

They would pass a number of people from all places, though only upper class aside from hired servants dressed in fine uniforms. There were however a few shady looking individuals, a loose suit collar revealing scars or tattoos alluding to the source of their wealth, to say nothing of the red-cloaked guards whose watched carefully from under their wide hats, thumbs in their belts so as not to draw attention to the blaster pistols tucked under their cloaks, sometimes in pairs. Often times they would nod to Kaila as she and Crane passed them by, giving them the appearance of disciplined soldiers more than the supposed contractors they were claimed to be.

Still, they would nod to Crane in kind, as they often did with high profile guests, reminding everyone that they were here for their protection as much as Kaila's business, and so the other guests seemed quite relaxed, as if the guards were not even there. Kaila led him passed large pools and artificial hot springs that had been separated into more private rooms awaiting customers with higher clearance cards, or private rooms from which more feminine servants sometimes left with their arms around whoever they'd been paid to serve for the moment, and of course a few scenic locations that had been altered to facilitate fine dining, serving both local aquatic dishes and exotic imports. It was quite a relaxing image Kaila had built for herself here, a stark contrast to the woman in charge, her line of work carefully hidden behind locked doors.

The upper most rooms were fewer, and often had better armed guards or even more of Kaila's droids guarding them. Sometimes when a door opened, odd smelling vapors would waft from deeper within.

But the room she led Crane into was not one of them. Above even this room, were ones reserved for Kaila and her trusted associates, the doors to which she flashed a personal key card. This one was black as obsidian, with golden patterns inlaid for the door to scan. The particular one she'd chosen led to an outdoor patio, sporting tables already prepared with drinks for the meeting, the champagne sitting in ice placed out so recently that even the tropical sun had yet to melt it, nor the steam rising from the seemingly natural hot spring under the roof's overhang, which had seen had a pool built around it. And of course, far below the cliff it was all built atop, the seas of Cantonica stretched out far as the human eye could see.

But best of all, it was quiet here, as they were completely alone.

"I trust the view is to your liking?" She inquired, sitting down at the table.

"And the ambiance too, I should think. Nothing but the distant sea, and the bubbling of this spring. I prefer it when I can speak freely with my guests, Although feel free to request anything you desire first. Drinks, other substances, perhaps. There are very few limits here"


Castor Crane

 

[Castor Crane]

​

Tags: Kaila Irons
Location: Canto Bight, Cantonica

The pleasure was Castor’s. He didn’t mind dismissing the Espos for the evening; they deserved a calm night after endlessly gallivanting across the Corporate Sector in the ExO’s stead, and it wasn’t as if Kaila intended to kill him - she’d had a half dozen opportunities to do so on his way here, and twice as many since he walked in the door. She wanted business contacts. Castor was happy to oblige.

“After you,” he said warmly, standing to follow the Haxion underboss.

His cybernetic eyes were a perfect complement to the carmine finery and cloaked attire of the Red Ronin’s ‘security,’ who all very much landed on Castor’s notice as more of a private military company than the mall cops he usually observes. Impressive, he thought. He wondered what Kaila would make of CorpSec’s Trauma Response Teams - militarized first responders that combined paramedics with a SWAT team. Perhaps he could convince the CBPD to incorporate a single Trauma Team into their precinct in the Casino District, but he doubted either they or the Brood would welcome such an offer from the DireX Board.

They preferred to handle trouble in-house, and he could respect that.

The first thing Castor did when they reached the penthouse meeting room was step over to the balcony and breathe deeply the ocean air. It had been centuries since the Corpos drained the last true ocean on Etti IV to make room for the Slab, a massive underground prison complex kept in a district all of its own. It was only on rare occasions such as this that the ExO could enjoy such a natural beauty, and for a brief moment, he felt a pang of regret for what his predecessors had done to the capital.

“This is lovely, Miss Irons,” Castor said, turning to face the woman with a smile. It was usually difficult to tell if the man was actually pleased by his facial expressions alone, but she would be able to tell that he was satisfied.

He nodded his thanks for her offering. “The champagne will do, but if you have anything Tarisian,” he said with a knowing smile -Taris being one of the Sith Empire’s fringe planets- “I’d love a bottle.”

 

[Kaila Irons]

"Tarisian ale?" she inquired curiously.

"Stronger taste than I'd have guessed, but we keep a few bottles"

Despite Taris being alliance territory these days, it was closer to Cantonica than most imports Kaila showed interest in, and the civilian world of business cared little for wars on the opposite side of the core anyway. And as far as anyone else knew, Kaila was a part of that civilian world far removed from alliance nor imperial entanglements.

At least, until today.

She waited until a servant had brought a few Tarisian drinks to pick from and then left, at which point Kaila's demeanor seemed to change from hostess to the enigmatic businesswoman that both the Haxion Brood and her spouse-to-be knew and loved. With little more than a flick of her wrist, the bottle was summoned to her gloved hand, pouring two glasses as she spoke.

"Now that we may speak freely, I can finally do this without causing a fuss" she smiled faintly, offering the man a glass.

"Normally I wouldn't let anyone see this, I tend to approach all things with caution, but I believe any beneficial relationship should be started honestly, wouldn't you agree?"

Kaila raised her own glass slightly before taking a sip herself, although they were notably small sips so as not to become too intoxicated before their business had concluded.

"Mm. Anyway, with this in mind, I suppose we should get down to business."

She leaned back against the railing, idly swirling the drink only to glance up from time to time, observing the man's expressions thus far. What she was about to say could evoke any manner of reaction from a business partner, perhaps even incriminate them both if things went wrong. Although she figured the ExO was used to handling... complicated scenarios.

"I work for Darth Carnifex . And his favorite wife, Darth Xyrah , has an interest in ruling Cantonica, and certainly in profiting from it's casinos, which would to the benefit of the Haxion Brood as well. I'm sure you know from experience how many criminal organizations the Kainate profits from, to say nothing of the corporate profits it still reaps from this side of the galaxy even after the empire's fall."

It was incredibly straightforward compared to her usual MO, but their due date was fast approaching and she hoped the involvement of her master would speed up the negotiating process. She did not wish to threaten the corporate sector however, merely persuade them of ways they might benefit from Imperial involvement rather than the cost of resisting it.

"Of course we would like to minimize collateral damage in Canto Bight and invasions are costly, so it's not our first choice. Instead, my dear Xyrah wishes to simply... retire, a number of government officials by varying means."

"What we wish to know is, what it would take for the Corporate Sector Authority to look the other way?"

She steepled her fingers, awaiting the ExO's price. Or more likely, many questions.
It wasn't every day the wife of the Sith'ari came knocking.



Castor Crane