Underhanded Dealings

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Millenium Cantina
Kessendra, Kessel
Sometime at night

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Establishing contact with the seller had taken relatively little effort. Information on an ancient Sith artifact that was yet to be properly studied had come in the hands of Darth Avacyn, alongside an opportunity to acquire it. After the artifact was confirmed to be in her contact's possession and the two agreed on a price, all that was left to do was make the transaction. The appointment was set and a few days later the woman set foot on the planet of Kessel. It was to be a quick trip- land, meet with the seller, get the artifact, and return to Dromund Kaas. Granted everything went according to plan, at least. Though the artifact was very much real, the ease at which the deal was made kept Avacyn on her toes. If things went south, she'd be able to handle it, but the cleaner the meeting went the better.

The redhead didn't walk into the cantina unprepared, either. Through a simple application of the Force the scar adorning her left eye was masked, as though it had never been there. She wasn't keen on being recognized and would look to keep a low profile. She was well aware of her noteriety and infamy, depending on the individual. In case their use would become necessary, her pair of lightsabers were hidden inside of her red leather jacket. It was worn over a simple white t-shirt and with a black pair of jeans and boots. Though her state of mind was very much that of Darth Avacyn, the features with which others could identify as a Sith were well-hidden.

The cantina itself was fairly crowded, as was to be expected at this hour. At many of the tables cards were being played and on her right Avacyn noticed a number of private rooms. Per the seller's instructions Avacyn went to sit at the bar, which was situated right across from the entrance, and ordered two glasses of red wine. "I'm waiting for a friend," she explained. According to the seller, the bartender would know what that meant and 'point her in the right direction'.

[member="Vyri"]​

 

[Vyri]

Vyri was aware she had walked into the job without all the details. Something about the twitch to Mac’s right eye, it always gave away when something questionable was being held back. She took the work regardless. It wasn’t as if any of them could be picky, they needed the money and she was the best at their little gig.

How hard could it be anyway? This wasn’t a ship. Just an artifact.

Just an artifact, she repeated to herself, shaking a feeling from her gut and skimming the room from her stool at the bar. People walked in and out of the doors in an erratic flow, but it wasn’t the faces she kept peeled for. It was a phrase.

“I’m waiting for a friend.”

She resisted the urge to snap her head around, the voice coming from just a few seats away. She ran her finger over the lip over glass in a mindless manner and tilted her head. Her hair parted like a curtain, revealing a set of blue eyes that skimmed the source of the phrase in a detached manner.

She scratched her ear and sat back, letting a stream of brown hair fall back into place.

Well she could be up against worse.

Vyri hadn’t been given much, just a phrase to follow and the instructions to jack the object before it changed hands. Heavy inflection on the before. Vyri bit her lip as the feeling in her gut only grew.

The bartender took his time removing the polishing cloth from the glass, finally pointing out the direction the actual recipient of this deal was suppose to follow. Vyri waited until the woman was up and walking to look her way. Well. Show time. She knocked back the rest of her drink and stood up in her wake. A thick canvas jacket cut for a much larger frame masked most of Vyri’s form. She liked to think she was as nondescript as the next guy walking on through. It didn’t well for business to get noticed as you follow someone’s trail, so she left ample space and even let the woman drift out of her sight. For some reason she always knew just where to look when the moment called for it.

She glanced sharply to the right, catching a flickering glimpse of red slipping through a private back door. Just before the gears could slide it fully shut, Vyri raised a hand and willed it to jam. Handy little trick, that. All of her crew could do it with varying success, but Vyri had no trouble keeping it open as she walked across the crowd and slid on through.

She released it upon entry, a slight hiss signaling its closure as her eyes blinked to adjust to the dimly lit hall.

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

The two glasses of wine were never served. Instead, the bartender told her that her 'friend' was waiting in the room she now walked towards. The lock of the door clicked open as the woman approached it, causing it to slide open. She presumed it was the bartender's doing but ultimately that mattered little, and so she had little reason to look over her shoulder to check. A black cloth hang from the ceiling to separate the three meter long hallway and the room itself, allowing the people inside to retain their sense of privacy even when the door was opened for a moment. She pulled the cloth aside to let herself into the room.

On the other side awaited three men, casually enjoying their drinks and playing cards at a large, round table. On the table itself were various bottles, one drink more exotic than the other. A blue-skinned twi'lek with various kinds of gold rings decorating his lekku had a suitcase standing next to his chair, a detail that made Avacyn draw the conclusion that he was the one to make the deal with. He was flanked by a green-skinned twi'lek that looked significantly younger and a human who she estimated to be around his fifties, sporting partially greyed hair and a similarly greyed stubble but still quite physically imposing.

"Ah, the customer is here!" the assumed leader of the trio exclaimed upon Avacyn's arrival. "I do hope getting here wasn't too much of a hassle- please, please, have a seat and help yourself to whatever you'd like." He outstretched his right arm to point at the chair on the other side of the table, inviting their guest to sit down. Avacyn obliged to the former, taking a few steps forward and pulling the chair back before sitting down.

"It's much appreciated, but I'm looking to fly back home early tonight." In reality, the Force wouldn't allow her to feel even the slightest bit of the alcohol. Still, the redhead wasn't interested in letting the transaction take any longer than necessary. "I've got the credits," she said as she took out a credstick from the left-hand pocket of her jacket, placing it right in front of her on the table. "But first, I'd like to take a look at what I'll be buying." Avacyn's eyes traced down towards where the suitcase was, though from where she was sitting it was out of sight due to the table.

[member="Vyri"]​

 

[Vyri]

​Hell, Vyri wanted to know what she was stealing. But she resisted the urge to peek through the curtains as she listened in and scanned the hallway she was trapped outside in. I mean really, talk about going in blind. He couldn’t have even given her a floor plan? Vyri was officially winging it.

She took a deep breath, shaking our her hands as she released one final curse under her breath. Right. She had this. Business as normal.

How she’d be stealing the object was obvious, it was why he hired her at all, really. It was the getting out that would be tricky. Something was off with the people in that room, and she wouldn’t be lingering around to figure out what it was. She needed a clean exit. Her eyes skimmed the wall erratically, landing on a trash chute built seamlessly into the wall across the hall. She grinned.

It wasn’t exactly clean, but it would do.

“Yes, of course. Are you sure- of course, right. Levo, the artifact.”

Vyri pressed against the door jam as she listened to metallic clank of a suitcase being placed on a table. Vyri’s heart skipped a beat, the only instructions she was given ringing loud and clear through her mind.

Grab the goods before it changes hands.

And with no further thought, she did what she did best and propelled herself into the situation. The black cloth was peeled carefully back, great pains taken to make the surprise of the moment be the suitcase suddenly flying through the air towards her face. Yeah, she really had to get better at that. The knock out risk was getting real.

She snatched it before the force could propel it through her nose, her hair falling out of her face long enough for her to register every set of eyes on her.

And then she was scattering, acutely aware of the turmoil kicking up behind her. A clean exit was all she needed. It was only one, two, three steps and a leap before she was being ricocheted down the chute head first.

The chute flap swayed wildly in her wake. The suitcase banged loudly down after her.

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

A nagging feeling that something simply didn't feel right started plaguing Avacyn when the suitcase was pulled up onto the table and when in places like this, that always meant trouble. Even though it had been more than a decade ago since the woman had personally been in such a place, it was a lesson that one only had to learn once to never forget it. Behind calm and collected demeanors there too often was a high level of distrust until the deal was completed.

And the moment the suitcase was placed down onto the table with a thud, it all indeed went very, very wrong.

Before the artifact inside could even be revealed, the case suddenly shot out of the hands of the twi'lek and flew past Avacyn. In that moment the redhead could feel a slight tug in the Force and its source was a presence behind the curtain. The sound of somebody running could be heard from behind her and without hesitation, she shot up from her chair.

"Get her! It was a setup!" the assumed leader of the group barked, though Avacyn felt there was no point in attempting to tell them they were wrong. Pushing away the chair as she turned on her heel, she dashed after the thief, both to catch whoever they were and to get away from the group of men. If it came down to it she would have no qualms about putting them down, but she wouldn't do so needlessly. That was something to be dealt with later, though. Right now, the woman cared more about the artifact and the one who took it.

Passing through the curtain, Avacyn caught only a glimpse of the person she pursued as she went down the trash chute. Without a second thought she ran up towards it, lifted the flap, and hopped in.

Today would serve as a reminder of why she didn't attend these kind of deals in person any longer, now that she could simply send others in her stead. This was the last time.

[member="Vyri"]

 

[Vyri]

Vyri landed hard in a pile of bar junk. She let out a curse, sharp pain lancing through the fingers caught up in the suitcase handle. What the hell was in this thing? No time to dally, seemed someone had followed down the chute. Ballsy. But okay. She tossed out the suitcase and hauled herself over after it, the drop to the ground not bad considering the damn thing was hovering.

The chute doors wooshed open just as she grabbed at the suitcase. She lingered long enough to catch a glimpse of red hair being propelled out. It wasn’t exactly who she expected to follow her, which made the twisting feeling in her gut churn all the more. Alright! New plan.

Run.

Vryi darted down the alleyway, squinting against the neon lights as she broke out into a Main Street. She faltered, trying to orientate herself. Her speeder was... left!

She glanced over her shoulder, turning left into the crowd as she did so.