Ask New Business

[Emryc Thorne]

The lounge was dark, thick smoke giving it a hazy finish as spice lined the air. There were bodies swaying and dancing to lofi beats, hushed whispers and chatter all around. Covax would know to walk towards the back where there were expensive lounge chairs and cushions lined. There were several men in suits there, all seated around an expensive table lined with glasses of whiskey and other pricey drinks along with cigars.

Covax would recognize Emryc as the man sitting at a seat directly across from him, the low lighting concealing the upper hemisphere for his face. Only his stubbled chin was exposed, along with fingers grasping a cigar that was joined by a wrist sporting a flashy chrono. As soon as Covax stepped closer, there would be a pause in the dialogue. The other men in suits closed up their briefcases and got up to leave, walking right past Covax.

Emryc silently gestured for Covax to take a seat. A strikingly beautiful twi’lek woman in a low cut, tight dress and high heels walked over to offer him a drink. Her eye flicked over in Emryc’s direction a few times, but the man didn’t spare her so much as a glance. The space was filled with the scent of smoke and Emryc's earthy, luxury cologne.

“I trust you’re going to tell me how you plan on making me more money,” That deep, familiar baritone rumbled calmly as he gently tapped the cigar against the ashtray.

@Taz

 

[Covax]

Covax suspected he would be getting a message from Emryc after the seeing Ezra on the beach. So of course when he did, he already had the Infiltrator warmed up. When he arrived at the given coordinates, he was not surprised to see the lounge at the edge of the rim well outside of ISC space.

The place looked and felt like a club in a noir holo. The low spice haze added to the climate and the feeling. The music filling the room, actually caused Covax to bob his head a little as he walked to the back of the room. Others might not have recognized the man in the corner, but the former mercenary could have picked that jawline out of a Ranger's lineup.

The pause was odd however. While it may have simply been the nature end to their conversation. To Covax it felt more like a power move, again from one of his favorite holos. The Vanguard turn Crime Boss gave the nameless suits a polite nod in passing. Then took his seat almost as quickly as his benefactor pointed to it.

Covax gave the stunning waitress a twenty cred chip. "Emryc energy and Gamorrean brandy please, keep the change." He asked with a smile. The human then lit a cigar of his own, a habit he got from Em. As well as the habit for dressing the part.

"Right to business then?" Covax asked. Drink in hand, he took a sip first. "Things are starting to come together. You were right about the moving to CSA space."

@Sreeya

 

[Aska Ryun]

Such smells, sounds, energies… It felt like it had been an eternity since the clone mercenary had experienced such things, entering the hazy lounge. Mercenary… With a tired smirk, the rest of her face concealed behind a hood drawn over her head, she pondered if she could truly call herself as much any longer. Time was an enemy that caught everyone sooner or later, seclusion being its sinister partner. Even with the once familiar weight of her pistol on her hip once more, she felt like a sheep in wolves clothing.

In truth, the only reason she had even answered the summons of her one-time employer was a restlessness that had only recently overcome her. A desire to return to a life of danger, drugs and beautiful women. It was an unexplained thing, and given the capabilities she had discovered the man known as Emryc possessed, suspicious all the same. Perhaps curiosity was just as much a factor of her arrival as her eagerness for the familiar but she couldn’t help but wonder if Thorne knew exactly what strings he was pulling.

”Heh,” Aska scoffed quietly. ”Of course he does. Sly fucker,” Even as she said the words, she knew she shouldn’t expect something so wildly unlikely, but she couldnt shake the feeling.

The chiselled chin, the cigar gripped between two muscular fingers. He was hard to miss if you knew who you were looking for. Slowly, Aska began moving towards Thorne but quickly cut off her path and slipped into a group of civilians sitting at the bar. It seemed Thorne wasn’t the only familiar face in the bar tonight, and now she was certain that the half-Sephi was up to something.

Keeping her hood drawn, the clone slid down the bar to get closer to the pair while trying to remain anonymous. Of course, Emryc would have known where she was long before she arrived but first she wanted to hear just what Emryc wanted from Covax before she made her presence known to her old partner. ”Still smells like shit,” Aska muttered under her breath with a smirk, her words masked by the music to anyone with the hearing of your average person. Though she had to admit, even being in the same vicinity of Shane gave a sense that maybe her life was going to return to normal after all this time.

@Sreeya @Taz​

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Background Theme
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If he found Covax’s choice of drink to be amusing, he didn’t display it one way or the other. He brought the whiskey to his lips to take a sip, gaze still trained ahead, “You had any doubts?” He asked Covax quietly about the move to CSA. The Corporate Sector was lucrative and free of any government jurisdictions.

Emryc’s gaze hovered above the rim of his glass and he appeared to be staring at nothing. Moments later, Aska emerged into the light from that direction. The faintest tug of a grin pulled at the corner of his lips as he raised his glass, “Glad you could join us.”

The half Sephi leaned forward then, his piercing silver gaze visible once more. He appeared slightly older than when they last met, but his slow aging meant he would look like this for a long time.

“A lot of things have happened,” Emryc explained, “Our mutual friend Gareth Gin appears to have escaped prison,” He said calmly, “He may wish to turn over a new leaf. Does he know anything that could jeopardize our operations in any way?” They both knew what Emryc was capable of, but Raze wouldn’t come out unless necessary.

“Second, the Core worlds are struggling economically,” He drew from the cigar, “It’s ripe time to set up operations in the poorer districts and even strike deals with some local diplomats. Their funding for local authorities is depleted and the people are desperate. Spice networks will thrive,” Emryc looked towards Aska, “As will trafficking,” He knew she was the less sentimental of the two and could do a job without morals clouding judgment.

He paused there to see what ideas they had to offer.

@Taz @Tulos

 

[Covax]

Unsurprising to Covax, the man was a stone. In fact he might be able to teach stone a thing or two. But deep down, somewhere under those chiseled featured and slightly unnerving gaze, he was rolling his eyes at the human's drink selection. Likely completely forgetting that it was by the Sephie's own suggestion when they first met that Covax even drank that particular brandy.

"Of course I had doubts. Hell, if not for the failed talked with Omega I'd probably still have doubts." He admitted. He didn't want to admit it, but he did. The human would then look into Emryc's smoldering eyes. He was used to his boss looking through him, but something in his eyes made the Vanguard pause. Then he heard it.

"Ha!" Covax blurted. "That fish smell is your upper lip." He then retorted. Leaping from his seat to take his long time partner into half a bearhug with his free arm, careful not to spill his drink. "You look....like shit." He said with a smile. Then Aska back down and took his seat once more.

Returning his attention then to Em, Covax could not help but think that the man looked more like Ezra's slightly older brother than he did hid father. Bastard ages like wine, while I'm aging like fucking Jetjuice. The human thought but didn't say.

The crime boss then raised an eyebrow at the mention of Gin. In truth he'd forgotten that the Miralukian was rotting away in a ISC prison. "ZF as he knows it is dead. Save for the Lower Five gangs. But I was planning on taking the cream of that crop and moving them to our new HQ, letting the rest flounder, unless Aska thinks we still have use for Level 1313?"

Covax took another long drink from his glass then as he waiting to hear his partner's thoughts. Then continued to Emryc's next question. "You might be surprised, but I've also noticed the shape of the core and mid rim. The holy war is taking it's tole and the galaxy. I have some ideas for our spice trade. Customized uglies (A resink of a Wit ship I can't find atm), we use them as mobile trap houses, maybe even labs that don't require us to have roots in the worlds we distribute on. Just open hyper lanes. As for working the political angle, your friend Julia Hipori can point us in some likely directions." Covax answered, and then followed Em's gaze toward Aska.

@Tulos @Sreeya

 

[Aska Ryun]

It seemed like some things would always remain the same. Despite his outward ‘good guy’ persona, Aska knew different of Thorne. She knew only sparingly few of his secrets, that was obvious, but it was clear to her from the beginning that his hands were never as clean as the people believed. Of course, she wasn’t given much chance to observe from afar. It seemed Emryc had no intention of allowing that and she had to accept it.

”My upper lip?” Aska joked, accepting the half hug of Shane with a sly smirk. ”Shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. Your whores always came knocking on my door when you left them unsatisfied,” the clone teased before sliding into the booth, plucking a cigarra from her pack.

Hearing of Gareth’s escape caused Aska’sa teeth to clench tightly. While the capture was relatively simple, given the backing of Thorne, it was an event that weighed heavily on her mind and was not a situation she wished to repeat. Fortunately, she was of the same mind as Shane.

”Gareth may have been a high roller in Zaa Fenn but he was nothing more than a brute,” Aska stated plainly, ashing her cigarra. Even so, she made a mental note to try and find him if nothing more than to keep tabs on the old Zaa Fenn boss.

Her being in the Outer Rim for so long, collecting and distributing slaves for their enterprise, had left her wildly unaware of galactic events on a larger scale. Covax handled most of the face to face dealings so when Emryc delivered the news of the state of the core, she was shocked. But even so, she smelled opportunity.

”If local authorities are dwindling, it seems there’s a hole that needs to be filled. A kind of… private security force. One who’s motives are pure on the surface but…” Aska paused, a devlish smirk toying on the corner of her lips. ”Look, people disappear every day. If we’re the ones in charge of… finding… them?” Not that they’d even be found. Not free, at least.

@Sreeya @Taz​

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc was silent through the banter between the two, quietly puffing on his cigar. He always had a chilled demeanor even among people he considered ‘friends’. He was mildly impressed at Covax proactively reaching out to Hipori and other people in power to grow his network. Aska had been handling things in the Outer Rim.

“And how do you plan on obtaining local government transponders?” He asked Covax, “Unless you have connections with Senators or steal some ships, your mobile bases would be flagged. You will need a cover for a merchant business to legitimately operate in Alliance or Republic airspace,” It was a solid idea, there were just some logistics hurdles to overcome.

“How much of a threat do the Hutts pose?” Emryc asked as he sipped from his whiskey. He only heard rumors about Nor'Baal the Hutt beginning to amass power again.

@Taz @Tulos

 

[Covax]

Covax made a mused but discussed face toward his companion. "Yeah, do we really wanna bring up your revolving door. You not only took my sloppy seconds, but every other stray that rounds the corner, or the block. Or by the force, even the next boat landing in the space port." He scoffed.

The towering human didn't fear or even care about the one time boss of Za Fenn, but he could see the look of determination suddenly take hold of Aska. Covax would have her back if she wanted to go another round with Gareth but he wasn't the priority. Not for Covax, at least not for the moment.

Hearing Emryc caused Covax to give a sigh of either disappointment or irritation, likely a little of both. Politics and greasing palms did not come natural to the former merc. He was batting a solid fifty-fifty when it came to sit downs and negotiations with those of any real power. "I'd rather hire a slicer then deal with your crowd of crooks, but sadly Terra Din has the better ones on her payroll. We can start looking into it, if you have a couple of suggestions on who might be more.....pliable?"

Covax looked to his old companion as she chimed in, "Look who's volunteering. Knew I liked you for some reason." Then back to Em. "I was focused on fucking up the Pykes and getting control of their spice operations. Low hanging fruit after the split with the ZC. We can refocus on the hutts, but thats a tall order with the resources we have at the moment."

He was not apposed to the idea of taking on the Nor'baal Desilijic and the Hutt cartel but that would take planning, troops, etc. More money from Em if he expected both the spice expansion and a war to happen at the same time.

@Sreeya @Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

There would be time for joking around later; Emryc’s constant stoicism had a way of making that clear. Shuffling in her seat, glancing towards the bartender and nodding for a drink to be brought over, the clone finally settled her attention to the group. Mobile labs jumping from world to world was an idea she couldn’t deny intrigue in but the half Sephii displayed the foresight he was renowned for.

”Stealing ships with transponders is an option but if we want to grow, we’ll be needing to snag more and more,” Aska pondered aloud to herself, twisting the cigarra between the tips of two fingers. ”Maybe what is needed is some informants. If we can have some inside eyes and ears, transmitting us codes as they’re changed? Seems a more permanent solution,” she continued plainly. ”,so long as we make it explicitly clear what happens to any who try to flip on us, of course,”

The mention of the Hutts caused another slight grimace. There were few species in the galaxy she loathed but chief amongst them was always the Hutts. It didn’t matter who led the Hutt families, they would always be a plague in her eyes. She had learned a long time ago that they were a force to be reckoned with but Shane and her had proven in the past that they weren’t invincible.

”The last time we took out a Hutt leader, we had an army of droids and a large team of highly skilled assassins and sharpshooters,” the cloned reminisced dryly. ”Many of which didn’t return,” Picking a fight with the Hutts prematurely was a death sentence. ”So long as we can operate on worlds the Hutt’s hold little to no influence, at least for the time being, then we should,”

@Sreeya @Taz​

 

[Covax]

Seeing his old partner signal for a drink of her own reminded Covax to do the same. Lifting his own glass in one hand and a single finger with the other. As their bartender came over, the human took the drink before it could be placed on the table and took a long pull from the glass before answering the questions posed to him.

"I'm working on the connections. Your old friend @Julia Hipori may have some ideas about people willing to work with us, for the right price. But just so you know, I have thought this out a little. After looking at some business models, a combination of your ship distribution company and a fledgling food truck vendor. I think I have come up with a solid plan." He explained before relighting his cigar then continued.

"Two different subsidiaries, one for the mining operation itself. Allowing up to legally work in ISC control spice worlds. Like Kessel and Ryloth. The second, a low rent distribution and transport service. Using uglies and old shuttles, low cost and risk." He paused to take a long puff of the cigar. "The best place for the hub of this double operation however, is Ord Mantell. Barren junk planet filled with scum, thugs, and pirates. But most importantly, currently under the operation of Mordeth the Hutt. Cousin to Nor'baal Desilijic and one of his Ringleaders. If we could gain control of her territory though, it would give us a perfect beachhead to push into not only the core, but mid-north space. Sith worlds, mando worlds, the list goes on. "

@Sreeya @Tulos

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc was mildly impressed. Clearly both of these crooks had done some growing up and actually thought out plans instead of waiting to be fed ideas. He gave a breezy wave of his hand as the twi’lek from earlier returned and poured them all whiskeys. Emryc had heard of Mordeth’s exploits, even going as bold as killing a Senator. However, she had been off the radar lately which could be good or bad. Nevertheless, it was Covax and Aska’s problem to figure out.

“Do the takeover, but do not let it be known externally,” Emryc said, “You will get much further if Mordeth’s allies believe you are acting on her behalf. Use her absence to your advantage and leverage existing allies and resources instead of starting from scratch without loyalty,” He lifted his drink to clink it against Covax’s. Emryc’s icy gaze flicked over to the other man, that same chilling and unsettling impact always lingering when anyone looked at the half Sephi at close range.

“Your actions regarding my…son,” There was a hint of distaste in his tone, “were noted,” He kept his gaze on Covax as he sipped from the whiskey, “The same courtesy will be extended to yours should a need arise,” He said simply. A double edged sword in that his son would be protected as a favor, but also that Emryc knew about his existence at all. Nothing escaped Emryc.

@Taz @Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

Despite her disdain for wanting to involve themselves in the dealings of yet another Hutt, it would seem that she was out voted. It didn’t matter, she supposed, as Emryc’s suggestion offered a different path from violence. If they wanted to establish a stronger foothold in the drug trade, it was inevitable anyway. Still, she couldn’t help but feel as though she had been unheard. The result of being away for so long, she theorized.

”Ord Mantell it is,” the clone sighed as she took the glass of whiskey in her hand, swirled the contents before pouring it back. Pulling the cup back, she gazed into it’s emptiness as she licked her lips. ”Your tastes for liquor haven’t dulled,” Aska offered Emryc as she placed the cup back on the table. Then the half-Sephi made mention of something that caught her attention. Covax had a son? What? The clone shuffled in her seat, shooting a bewildered side glance at the merc.

”Who the fuck let you knock them up?” Aska accidentally slipped before shaking her head and raising a hand. ”On second thought, I don’t wanna know. Congratulations, I suppose,” Covax and Aska had worked together a long time but in certain instances, ignorance between them served best. Emryc may have been a man with inside knowledge of near anything but that was the role of the puppet master. They both would have boots on the ground and such knowledge could be a liability. Hell, even simply having a kid was a liability in itself.

”I’ll go start prepping for our departure,” Aska stated as she stood from the booth. Whatever discussion there was to be had there, she wanted no part of. ”We’ll be gone by tomorrow morning,” Turning to Emryc, Aska nodded her head in reverence, careful to not utter his name or draw undue attention to the ISC president then turned to leave and start getting everything together.

EXIT THREAD​

@Sreeya @Taz​

 

[Covax]

With exception of the tiniest head nod, Covax would not have noticed Emryc's approval of the plan. He was getting better at reading the Half-Sephi, but that a progress measured in baby steps rather then a sprint. Still, it was progress.

The towering human gave an understanding head nod as Em gave the two his thoughts on their plans. He understood the idea. Why rebuild what was already in place it if was working. Mordeth had done a ton of work building up her network. If they could simply step in with better cash flow and product, it would be painless change of partnership. Push out the hutt put her number two in if possible.

As they all went to clink glasses. He could hear as much as see the disappointment in Aska's tone. However before he could address it he would be frozen by the glare of Em. He had that effect on people, and Covax didn't know if it was the Half-Sephi's connection to the force or if it really was just the simple effect of his chilling gaze.

Covax cringed then when Emryc mentioned his son, and in turn the shit show of a beach party. The very reason he was no longer without a weapon, ever. The word "noted" struck his ear like a punch. As alway Em left it's meaning to interpretation. Then the half-sephi mentioned the knowlege of human's new born and Covax's blood chilled.

"Wha...how...but I only...just." Covax suddenly couldn't put a sentence together. Remembering how drunk the kid got at that party. "Hopefully it won't be necessary, but thank you." he finally managed. Looking to Aska as her admitted her own ignorance to Covax having a kid. "Yeah, looks like you're an aunt."

Aska seemed about as enthused about Covax having a kid as she was about the hutt. He understood. Covax would have to make it up to her. He still had to figure it out for himself however. "No, stay. Lets close this place down on Emryc's black card. Then we'll get the gear and ship ready to go." Before either the Half-Sephi or the Clone could refuse, Covax snapped his fingers and called over the Twi'lek one more. "Another round for my friends, and keep them coming. Perhaps a couple of your friends and a gentleman for my associate here."

Aska had been out of his life for to long, Emryc almost never let his hair down around them. Tonight they would change that. The three of them were a syndicate at it was time they acted like it. As the drink arrived, Covax handed them out. "To new business."

//End Thread.

@Sreeya @Tulos