Wanted: A Few Good Rumours (Part 3)

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

Kay had already assembled a great little team of specialists to help her with her mission to further disrupt the Hutt Cartel's slave trade. Each had their own talents, yet there was always room for at least one more.

In truth she wanted [member="Sempra the Hutt"] 's slave trade abolished completely, but knew that that was next to impossible. But each slave that she freed cost the Hutt credits, making the slave trade a costly avenue for him to do business. Maybe then he'll focus his energy on something less harmful to the Galaxy.

Kay stayed near her hired blockade runner this time, never using the same ship or crew twice. She had a bounty on her head and it has been proven that even while outside of Hutt territory, she wasn't entirely safe.

She stood out a bit from the crowd of smugglers and shippers, sitting on top of a few crates, cross-legged and sipping her tea. This time she was dressed in her comfortable merchant attire, with her satchel that was always present, resting just beside her. Perhaps the only thing giving away the fact that she was more than just a simple merchant was the beautiful tea cup that she sipped from.

http://in1.ccio.co/Z4/K8/EC/230950287110574789dp4DoKR5c.jpg

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

A recently accepted bounty had caught the attention of Xavka Duquo, making him curious enough to accept the contract himself. The bounty was for someone known as Lady Kay and had been posted by a Hutt, Sempra, after Kay had apparently began to interrupt his slave rings, costing the Hutt money, men and time. That had lead Xavka to where he was now, perched in the shadows above a spaceport, traversing the space between him and his target, the woman who had the target on her head, with the use of steel bars that were just bellow the ceiling and served to keep it supported.

Soundless the shadow among the shadows crouched into a stop, suspended high above Lady Kay, who was currently sipping from a rather nicely made cup, while sitting atop some crates. Reaching into the folds of the cloak he was wearing, Xavka removed a set of wires and began to loop then around the steel bar. Less than a minuet later, he dropped himself under the bar, preparing to act while being suspended by the wires he had just set. Closing his eyes he settled in to wait for his target to get into position while he was suspended and hidden from view of the security cameras and the hordes bellow.

A minuet later, his target based beneath him and Xavka allowed himself to drop after a quick movement of his wrists which dropped his blades into his hands. Falling through the air, Xavka dropped onto a male Rodian that had been about to attack Lady Kay from behind. Said Rodian soon dropped to the floor, dead, as he bled from the knife wounds in his neck. Turning to Kay, Xavka let a lopsided smirk grow on his face.

"One would of thought that having a bounty on your head would cause you to be more careful, my lady?"


[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

The sound of the drop, followed shortly by the gurgling sounds of the Rodian being drained of his blood caught Kay by surprise. She turned her head just as Xavka spoke and then turned her body so that she was facing him more squarely. "One would, but then there are others like you around that look out for those like me."

Kay finished her tea and then carefully wrapped it up before placing it in her satchel. She could've just stared at him while doing it as she could put her tea cups away with her eyes closed, but she didn't want to appear as though she was intimidating him. "You seem to know who I am, yet I don't know who you are. The port authorities should be here soon to clean up this....mess. So when they do arrive, it'd be better if they didn't see you as a threat, but rather a hero."

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

"Hm, you make a good point. How would I find you if you were to hide? I suppose that both have their downsides." He grinned a large, toothy smile; one full of pointed and slightly blood-stained teeth. "Now, as for making me look like hero, we have two options. One, you testify that he attacked you. Two, we run. So ... what shall we do?" He chose to bow out of this choice, leaving it up to Kay as a test of her character, a small test it may be but a test non the less.

Xavka slowly shook his head before Kay could reply and made an over the top show of hitting himself over the back of his head, being mindful of his Orat, his horns. "How rude I have been!" He smirked shallowly at the woman before him after his exclamation. "I have not introduced myself. I'Shuree tozu meni Xavka Duquo. A pleasure to meet you, my lady."


[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

The sharp and pointy teeth did not go unnoticed. The harm that those could inflict on someone wasn't hard to imagine. But Kay felt that if he truly wished her harm, then he wouldn't of just saved her life. And as he introduced himself, she bowed her head. "Pleasure to meet you, sir." No doubt he already knew her name, so she didn't give it out.

Now to respond to his previous question. "We shall do the former. It is the truth, after all. He came to attack and possibly kill me, while you jumped in and saved me. There's nothing more credible than the truth." Plus Kay was a Senator which had it's perks when it came to port authorities. Although she was hardly the type to abuse her status.

It took mere seconds for the port authority to arrive and Kay said everything that she said she would. The authorities didn't question it at all, but informed her that she should seek the safety of her ship in case such a thing happens again. "Thank you gentlemen, I will do just that. And my hero here can join me, if he so wishes..." She looked up at him and awaited his answer.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

As the port security and Lady Kay conversed over the cooling corpse of the would be assassin, Xavka made sure to fade into the background as much as possible and stayed silent. In his line of work as an assassin, being anonymous was the best thing possible and when interaction with others was unavoidable, keeping it to a minimum was the next best thing, there was no third best.
When Kay trailed off, her voice slowing to silence and turned her attention to his person, followed by the security officers, Xavka tilted his head to the side and considered the offer of a more private area for conversation. After being silent for a few moments, he spoke up in his rough voice staring softly before gaining strength as he exited his own mind.

"If the Lady allow it, I would be honoured to be able to join you." He bowed slightly to Kay before turning towards the security. "I must thank you gentlemen for your quick reaction to this situation. I fear that if I had not had the element of surprise to assist me, I would have been able to prevent the unfortunate result of the loss of such a pioneer against slavery, but I now know that if I had failed, you would have been able to succeed where I could not have done." This time he sketched his bow towards the guards. "Again I must thank you. Now, we may have to cut the conversation short for I have something to discuss with the Lady. Shall we ..." He trailed off as he gestured with a hand in a silent request towards Kay for her to lead the way towards her ship.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

A little flattery to the port authority never hurt. She smiled a little at this winning attempt. It worked like a charm. After nodding to the authorities, she led the way up the ramp to her hired blockade runner. From there she led him to one of the storage rooms which for now acted as a meeting room of sorts. Of course there was no table or chairs but there were crates. What was in them was anyone's guess.

Kay sat down on one of them and placed her satchel on her lap. She folded her hands on top and looked to Xavka. "Alright. No one should be listening, so we don't need to be formal, Xavka Duquo. But thank you again for saving my life."

She studied him for a moment before she continued. "How did you come across my would-be assassin or kidnapper? And you had told the port authority that I was a pioneer against slavery. I take it that you are against slavery as well?"

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Slowly and lazily meandering behind Kay, Xavka followed the Lady into her ship and into one of the storage bays that Xavka guessed littered the ship, even if in a small quantity. Copying the woman before him, Xavka too jumped up onto one of the man crates that were scattered around the room.. Stretching out with a sigh, Xavka allowed all of his coiled muscles to relax a bit, manipulation his body language so that it looked like he was completely at ease.

"Against slavery!?" The question was barked out in a bitter voice, tone matching pitch as both were rough. Turning, Xavka allowed Kay to see a small scar on the back of his neck, almost fully blended in with the other scars that littered his body in a web. "That's were I had my detonator carved out after I killed the gunsos-orana who called himself my Master." Spitting at the thought, the young Sith Acolyte, who viewed himself as more Dark Grey than Dark, turned back to face the woman he had hunted down.

"As for how I found you. I'm an assassin by trade." Her shrugged carelessly as he revealed this nugget of information. "All I had to do to find you was accept the bounty on your head. Right now a few spies are tracking your movements. It's how I and your would-be killer found you, you may wish to move soon M'lady."

Stretching again, Xavka leaned back onto his elbows, his yellow eyes fixed steadily on Lady Kay but only one eye actually seeing her, the other providing nothing but blank black space. "Now, I would like to enter negotiations with you, Kay." He smirked lazily, eyes half lidded. "After all, if your hitting back against the slave trade in any manner..." His smirked turned deadly as his bloodstained teeth were once again put onto show as he drawled out three more words. "I. Want. In!"


[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

Her eyes widened, not just at the sight of the one scar, but at the many. So that's his story. Xavka was a former slave with a taste for revenge against his former Masters.

At his warning about her being spied on, well of course it made her look around the room. "I have spies following me? And here I thought that I was being careful. I never hire the same ship or crew twice and I'm always on the go." Kay sighed a little. "I suppose that I should double my efforts and change what I thought was an unpredictable pattern. Thank you for the warning and for not...well, for not doing your job." And by that she meant for him not assassinating her.

She was slightly unnerved by his blood stained smile, yet very pleased that he wished to help. Even if she had to pay him for it, something told her that he'd do a great job, regardless. "How does 50,000 credits sound? Half when you arrive on planet and the other half after we beat the Jackals away from their would-be victims?" Her plan was simple yet complicated at the same time.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka chuckled slightly harshly at Kay's assumption of a random pattern being enough. While he by no means thought of her less for thinking so, to him it was a truth of the galaxy that there was always someone out there who could best you in anything, even in thinking ahead. "To my mind," he started slow, ignoring the issue of money, "the galaxy is split between light and dark. The light is populated by the people you see, Jedi, Sith, pirates, you see them and know of them. As such the light illuminates them, exposes them to the greater galaxy. The darkness, on the other hand, is populated by those you don't see. Spies that lurk in the corners, observing the every movement of some being. The assassin that slinks through the shadows, slipping into rooms and ends lives with a simple movement." He chuckled again as he pushed himself up and reached into one of the pockets of his trousers and withdrew a small package wrapping in foil.

"The light know of the light. The dark know of the dark. Neither really truly ever know of the other, of someone behind the other line. As such it is not unexpected that you do not know of those that follow your movements. You have a bounty on your head after all, it is helpful to many to know where their target is, meaning it pays well for those that know and can follow to speak up." He unwrapped the foil absentmindedly and withdrew a small stripe of Raw Bantha Steak. "What I'm saying is: do not assume that you are passing unnoticed just because you mix up what you do, always keep an eye out as you live in the light, you do not see those of the dark. Do not simply change ships and crews, sometimes stick around. You've never done so and it would throw a few off of your trail." He bit into the steak causing a small droplet of blood to leak from between his lips.

"Either way, sorry for the rant." He huffed awkwardly as he realised that he had lost himself in speaking again, rambling on and missing the point for a while. "25,000 on arrival, 10,000 on completion and 15,000 to be given to those that we manage to save. I feel like fighting of the Jackals may be a destructive fight and while I am nearly fully Sith, I still care for those that suffer the fate I did or come close to it. Is this agreeable with you?"


[member="Lady Kay"]

Spoiler

Like I said in the post, sorry for the rant. This is an idea I've had for a while and I wanted to see if I could write it from Xavka's POV as well as bring it up in a way that Xavka would.

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

((Ooc: It wasn't a rant at all. I liked it a lot. Very well put! ))

Kay fidgeted with the strap of her satchel as she listened to him speak of the various individuals that she couldn't see, or more so ones that she didn't notice. Of course she shouldn't be surprised. As Xavka had said, she has a bounty on her head and as such it made perfect sense that there would be spies everywhere. Information on her whereabouts were already profitable to those that went to the Cartel to collect. No doubt there were information brokers with files on her, as well as perhaps a gambling ring based on the bounty board.

"No need to apologize. It was very informative and I appreciate you opening my eyes and letting me know more about my situation. Thank you." She had stopped fidgeting by now and folded her hands on top of her satchel. "I agree to your terms and had planned on helping with the reconstruction efforts anyways. And should things get really bad for them, then I could relocate them to Commenor where they would be safe from the slavers."

Xavka may be a Sith, he may be an assassin, but he was also noble. And it was probably due to his job that he knew so much. "What are your plans for after this job is over? Do you have other employment lined up?"

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

"My next employment?" He leant back, leaning once again onto his elbows after snapping up the last bit of his meal, uncaring for the small drop of drop that trailed down his chin. "An agent of chaos. For where there is chaos, there is struggle. From strife a necessary urge if born, the goal of advancement, the aim to find a way to crawl out of the trouble chaos has brought. From that struggle, advancement grows, elevating beings to the next level of their state, causing them to grow in the eyes of the universe. Then peace reigns until advancement is needed and chaos comes around again, seeking those that have begun to decline."

He held the silence for a moment or two, his expression grim and serious. Xavka then threw his head back and letting out a series of roaring, barking laughs. "I'm sorry. Don't know what came over me." He slowly fell silent again, but a small grin was tugging at the corner of his lips. "If you are asking if I would be willing to work with you again. Then yes. Call and I'll be there." A small burst of chuckles escaped from him before he could supress them.

Pushing himself to his feet and tilting his head sharply, Xavka sighed as a sharp crack echoed in the enclosed space. "Well then." He took a deep breathe in before releasing it in an explosive sigh. "All that's left to do is for you to tell me where the raid is taking place. I would stick around, but I'm here without my Master's knowledge."


[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

She raised a brow at his poetic speech. She read between the lines on that one. She believed that he was speaking about his own advancements and training. One thing led to another. His laughter lightened the mood somewhat, despite the mission that she had hired him for. But she was more than pleased that he had agreed to work for her once again. Yet this job still hadn't begun. Who knows how he would feel afterward should their efforts fail.

As he stood, so too did she, placing her satchel over her shoulder. "Drussel. We're headed to Drussel. My sources tell me that the Jackals favour that planet as one of a few that they kidnap people from. So that's where we'll start. Who is your Master, by the way? This way if I cannot contact you, I can contact him and pass along a message. That is unless you care to keep this business partnership to yourself." She was a Jedi, a Senator for the Republic and wanted by the Cartel. All three things worked against her, two of which would put her high on the kill list for the Sith.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

[member="Lady Kay"]

Ignoring the words of Kay, Xavka bowed and turned to leave, long strides taking him quickly to the threshold. However, instead of leaving immediately he paused. Reaching into one of his pockets he removed a holocommunicator and placed into on a cargo crate to the side of him. He stayed silent for a little while more before speaking into the silence, not turning to face the woman he was addressing.

"You are a senator for the republic. You are a Jedi and I can very easily feel the Light surrounding you. I am sure that my Master would not agree to this meeting. Also, understand, that just because I am willing to work with you and ally myself with you, I will not reveal information on those I have given my allegiance to. Luckily for you, you are included in these numbers." He paused before turning his head to look over his shoulder at Kay. "That holocommunicator contains only one contact, the one for a second holocommunicator, one that I will keep. If you ever wish to contact me, do so through these. Please understand that I may not be able to answer all of the time." He smiled at Kay.

Facing forwards again, Xavka continued on his way, shouting a final two sentences over his shoulder. "Oen'mai'ul, M'Lady. May Amina protect you."


Translation: Oen'mai'ul - Good journeys.

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

As he had bowed and started to leave without answering her, she took a few steps to follow, but then stopped as he did. She listened to Xavka, nodding her head even though he had his back towards her. Of course she would respect his wishes for his partnership was just as much a danger to him as it was for her. But she was ever so thankful to have an ally like him. And no doubt she would need his expertise, his knowledge from time to time. Or maybe just his point of view to get her to see things in another way that could provide a solution to whatever problems that she might come across.

When he left the ship, Kay walked over to the crate and picked up the communicator, tucking it away safely in her satchel where she held others for her closest allies. As he looked, she bowed her head to him, not having the time to speak as he would walk off again, giving her some form of blessing that was no doubt a tradition of his people. "...Be safe Xavka."

It was amazing how many good people that she was coming across, even some of the Sith and Cartel had honour and integrity about them. Maybe the Galaxy wasn't in as bad of shape as she thought. Either that or she was good at attracting the right people to her causes. In any case, she turned and headed back into her ship, requesting that the pilot have them depart. It was time to get final preparations under way.