Log:Pandora's Box 2: Gotal Expectations
The first mark bears fruit!
OOC Date: May 24, 2016
Location: Nar Shaddaa's Corellian District
Participants: Zhu Yan (GM), Kasia Ciph, Kelnas, Arcadia
Long story short: Kasia finds a mark, Kelnas acts scary, the mark wears his brown pants.
The whole story:
Nar Shaddaa. For those looking for a more wretched hive of scum and villainy, they'd found it. It was a crappy day, rain pissing down and clouds making the mood even more dour. Cheer up!
Kasia's investigation had borne fruit. A Gotal called Trennik was one of the figures that had been spotted hanging out with a distinctive looking Twi'lek lady on multiple occasions, one with reddish pink skin and half a head-tail missing. Right now, he was conveniently in the Corellian district, moving to... somewhere without any sort of suspicion that he was being followed. Convenient, huh?
Having received a call from Kasia, kelnas had made his way to the Corellian sector and stood waiting on a street corner. crouched down on the balls of his feet, back against a wall, the Wroonian smokes a cigarette quietly, waiting for the moment it would seem for Kasia and her mark to appear.
Often times, Kasia stands out on Nar because of how she dresses and keeps herself, but she is capable of dressing down when the situation calls for it. Which means tousers, a knit shirt, jacket, and boots, and her hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail rather than anything elaborate. She's even mostly skilled her makeup. When word came in that one of her contacts had information, Kelnas was the first call she made, relaying everything to him and then heading out for it. She's got the hood of her coat up now to try and fend off the rain, which sort of works as she follows behind the Gotal at a distance.
Trennik didn't seem like he was in a hurry. Why would he? It was a normal day on Nar Shaddaa. He kept walking at a steady pace, checking shop windows, avoiding passerby glances, and occasionally checking his chrono. It was fairly obvious that he was killing time until... something. Who knows what it was!
Catching sight of Trennik and Kasia, Kelnas doesn't raise his head as he speaks into a wireless earbud paired to his comm. "I see him. Seems to be killing time. your collar, your play. we wait to see what he's doing? or do I short out his horns now?"
Kasia has kept a decent distance to prevent being spotted due to dawdling, which is probably good since Trennik isn't in a hurry. He looks in windows, she closes a little distance, he moves on, she slows down a bit. A game of yo-yo, except with people, and no string, but those things can be dangerous so possibly with the same amount of violence. "He seem like he's waiting for someone?" she asks, not having quite as good a look at him as Kelnas does. "Maybe give it a little longer, see who he's waiting for."
It wasn't the 'who' he was waiting for. It was the 'when'. Ten minutes before the hour, Trennik started moving with a bit more purpose. The act of looking around and dawdling became just that. An act. It didn't look like he knew he was being tailed, which could be chalked up to poor Gotal senses. But Gotal were notorious trackers, and their cones were excellent for identifying potential targets by electromagnetic signature alone.
Trennik was heading for an alley, one that looked abandoned. No crowds, like there were on the street. It looked like the perfect place in which to be trapped, whether you're being pursued or you're the one doing the pursuing.
Standing quietly, Kelnas speaks softly into his earbud. "Hang back a few moments kasia. That's a trap in the makings." Waiting for the Gotal to enter the Alley, the Wroonian follows quietly, hands folded behind his back as he goes and cigarette still hanging between his lips.
Hang back, he says, and so that's precisely what Kasia does. She stops at the window of a shop just on the other side of the alley, eyes on the window, even if she isn't paying much attention to what's on the inside. She's listening intently, both for the coms, and for general sounds of distress from the alley.
No signs of distress. No sounds of chaos or ambushing or anything of the sort. There is the sound of a raspy voice talking though. "Yes, I know." Pause. "I will be late." Pause. "I carry no credits for airtaxi fare." Longer pause. "I was told there would be pickup!" Pause. "Tell her I will be there in an hour." Pause. "I will bear that." Pause. "Bye." For all intents and purposes, Trennik was looking for privacy to make a call. Trouble in paradise?
Standing at the mouth of the Alley, Kelnas smiles slightly and calls out. "Might be I could help you with cab fare Bud." Hands still in his pockets, the Wroonian steps a bit further into the alley. "Just got a few questions for you."
Kasia edges a little closer to the mouth of the alley, but not so far as to reveal herself yet. Just enough to keep on listening, turning her head to look up and down the street, just to see if there's anyone showing any interest in the alley.
The Gotal, bless his heart, must have been buzzed from being around Nar Shaddaa crowds for too long. That or the background electromagnetism was too loud. Whatever Kelnas's intent, his sensory cones weren't picking up on it. "Ah. Yes. Thank you. Critical meeting. Must attend." His Basic was broken but quite passable. There was a faint glimmer of recognition on his features, as though he'd seen or at least heard of a blue-skinned man before, but it faded quickly, replaced with puzzlement. "Question?" he asked.
Nodding to the Gotal Kelnas smiles. "Twilek. Red, missing half a Lekku. You know her." it wasn't a question so much as a statement. Hand slipping from his pocket to remove the cigarette from his lips and let the smoke waft from his nostrils.
Kasia edges just a litte closer now, riiiiight up to the corner of the building but not around it, pretending to be leaning up against the wall casually, totally just hiding out under the eaves to try and avoid the rain. Honest. Well no, not honest, she's trying to listen to the conversation taking place above the sound of the city, and the falling rain. What snippets she can catch of it, anyway.
Trennik's expression visibly faltered. "Aaaah," he stammered. "Aaaaah, no, no Twi'lek. No Lady." To say he was nervous would be like saying the ocean was a little damp. And he was a terrible liar. "Cannot help you. Please go. Please go now." Okay. Not nervous so much as scared. Maybe the Lady was a bad boss. Maybe Kelnas's skull crushing reputation was catching up to him. Either way, the Gotal was lucky he was wearing his brown pants today.
Watching Trennik for a moment, Kelnas sighs and drops the cigarette quietly. Stubbing the cigarette with a steel toed boot, the Wroonian speaks softly. "Trennik, Listen. I've got no beef with you. You give me a name and a location,. and you name your price for it. By all accounts, she's a pretty scary lady. But she isn't here, and I am. So let's talk...it's less fun, but a lot more productive."
They knew his name! They meant business! Trennik had seen this holonet film before! "B-b-b-b-b-" he stuttered even further, backing up against the wall and finding nowhere to go. What was originally protrayed as a bona-fide Gotal hunter tracker badass was quickly being revealed as a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, and without the Clane-esque testicular elephantitis to make anything of it. "Lady has compound in Hutt district. Many ships. Work for her or die!" He sounded terrified. There was a funny smell coming from him. "Get me off planet. Get me off planet! No credits! No trace! Must escape!"
Nodding slightly, Kelnas smiles and nods. "I get you on my ship, you give me the information. Then you pick a planet and i take you there. One of the fastest in the galaxy. Deal?" touching his ear for a moment, he murmurs. "This is normally where a convenient sniper kills the mark, keep an eyeball peeled gorgeous."
Information was forthcoming, good. Kasia exhales a breath, but at the words from Kelnas, her gaze lifts to search the roofline, and really any point that might work for a sniper after someone in the alley. "Will do."
The only red dot visible was the big one on the storefront that could be seen far at the end of the alley. Admittedly, real snipers didn't use laser sights, but it was reassuring. Somewhat. But no, there was no lance of plasma, no discharge of energy, and no bang of a primitive slugthrower. Just Kelnas, Kasia, and a Gotal who's had a bathroom accident. He fished out a datacard and handed it over. "Coordinates. Manifests. One week old. Supposed to be getting new one today. This will have to do." He was calming down, now that he was sure he wasn't going to die today. "Has comm details. Call when done. I will disappear."
Nodding quietly, Kelnas takes the card and slips a handful of credits into the Gotal's hand. "Utrich. Works down in Gearhead. Tell him I sent you. You'll be safe." Turning back out of the alley, Kelnas begins rolling another cigarette as he wanders past Kasia.
Kasia waits until Kelnas has exited the alley safely before she turns from it, heading away from it. Doesn't hurt to keep her identity in all of this a secret, in case the Gotal changes his mind and starts feeling all chatty with a certain Twi'lek.
