Eclipse Ch. 05

Kaydia took a seat in the back of the speeder, just as she had arrived here. She fixed her make up while back there, occupying her hands to distract her from intrusive thoughts. Once they were about half to the restaurant, she turned on her communicator.

"It's done. Kiash, Klynt, their bodyguards, all dead." She wasn't exactly trying to hide what she was doing from Quinn, but she wasn't doing it openly either. He was there, it's not like any of this was news to him.

"Alright, the credits will be deposited into your account within the hour. How did it go?" The voice was purposely distorted, but Kaydia knew who it was.

"Not great, but they are all dead. Did you know Kiash had access to Zerrid An's security holograms?"

"I had my suspicions."

"And you didn't warn me?" Kaydia's voice rose, becoming a whispered shout.

"Hey, you want to hit bigger targets, you need to prove you can handle yourself even when the shit hits the intake valve. Which you have, so I'll have another job for you tomorrow."

"Another job? This is quick, even for me." Kaydia countered

"And it will be worth it. You're hitting a Vigo. Besides, you'll need to do all the legwork on this one. I can't know anything until it happens."

"Fine, send me the details for the meeting," Kaydia said before cutting off the communication. It seemed she and Quinn had arrived at their reservation.

The restaurant was a small sort of place, lacking the amenities that would have possibly earned it a 5-star rating but still possessing a quiet charm. The lighting was subdued as was the music, and the serving droids were grey and dark blue with a matte finish. The proprietor was a stocky Snivian, and he met them at the door. "Quinn, my boy!" he grunted, offering a blunt-fingered hand. "Good to see you. I've been so glad you were coming that a few minutes made it seem like you were an hour late."

Quinn, who had shed his disguise as he'd driven, shook the Snivian's hand. "Just a few minutes, though. Sorry to keep you waiting, Malri. Oh, where are my manners? Let me introduce my associate, Shadi."

Malri took hire hand and bowed his head over it. For on a distance, he could have been kissing it, but the wet snuffling sound he made left no doubt that he was smelling her. "A pleasure. A genuine pleasure. Please, follow me."

He led them to a small corner table, positioned so that two occupants could keep their backs to the wall discretely. Quinn drew a chair for her, then joined her at the table. "Here you are," Malri said, handing each of them a plasmaprint menu. "Joaca will be your waiter." He glanced at Kaydia. "Would you like to start with some wine? We have an..."

"I don't really have a palate for the stuff, Malri," Quinn commented.

Despite being barely a meter tall, Malri managed to look down his snout at the mercenary. "That's why I didn't ask you," he said, pointedly. "I asked your lovely associate." He looked back at Kaydia. "Ignore him. He is a barbarian, and you are clearly slumming by being in his company. May I recommend the Guerre Stellari '77? It is a bold rose wine, comparing favorably to the best of the Fortresse Cachee roses bottled by the famous Bright Black Swamp vintners of Riben II."

"That sounds lovely, I think I will take a glass," she said in approval, meeting his gaze. Truthfully she wanted something harder, but that was Kaydia, and she wasn't Kaydia right now. A high-class call girl doesn't down hard liquor on a date with a client, she sips her wine properly. It was almost funny. When she was a padawan she loathed all the rules the Jedi Order and had lain down for her to follow, and yet even as far removed as she was from the Order now, she still had just as many rules to follow. Sometimes more, as she balanced disguises and covers and instructions from her bosses.

She caught Quinn's eyes over their menus. Yesterday she was quite certain she determined his eyes to be green, in the dim lighting of her Velvet spire, however, glancing over now, she swore they were blue. What a pity. She was going to have to spend the entire meal gazing into them again, just to be sure. The thought drew a soft giggle from her lips, which was a welcome diversion from twitching fingers craving chemical release. She took his hand, to still her fingers. Shadi was an affection woman after all, so it was in character. It was nice when her wants and the needs of her persona overlapped.

Joaca approached the table with her wine and Quinn's drink. "Are you ready to order?"

"How is the Bivoli Tempari?" She asked, cognizant of how strange it was to ask a droid's opinion of the food.

"Highly recommended," The droid reported, as it was programmed to, no doubt. Never the less Shadi nodded her head.

"I'll have that then, and a salad."

"And you, sir?" the droid asked.

"The maarl quick-fried noodles," he decided, "with lemish sauce. Medium heat. With a side of steamed toklroot."

"Very good, sir," the droid answered, turning and wheeling away. Quinn watched it leave, then turned his attention back to the woman at his side. He regarded her in silence for a moment, then smiled.

"So. Did I manage discreet?"

She chuckled at the question, between sips of wine. "Hmm, something like that." A longer drink now, feeling his eyes on her and finding she didn't mind it so much. "So, is this how you celebrate a successful job? A fine meal at a charming restaurant? A fawning woman on your arm? Or am I special, somehow?" Her finger escaped his hand and traveled up his arm.

"Oh, I'd say you're special," Quinn responded. "I generally don't celebrate quite this lavishly. But then again, my last couple of jobs were with a trio of Nemoidans, and with some bug-thing I've never heard of before from beyond the outer rim." He sipped his wine. "Nothing against nonhumans, mind. But these four seemed to think that rubbing down with cologne was a substitute for hygiene."

He flashed her a quick smile. "Or was that the 'honesty' thing again?"

She scooted a bit closer, whispering in his ear. "Up for another job? I have a meeting with my contact tomorrow. It's a big one, and I know I am going to need the back up again." Her cheek brushed against his, and for a moment, she wasn't sure whether she was playing a role or not. Somehow the seductress and professional killer were one and the same.

This close, she could hear him breathing. A deep, slow inhale, just covering his shudder. "Yeah, I'm in. Gives me an excuse to hang around."

Just then, the droid arrived with two steaming platters. She sat back as their food was brought up, filling the air with a divine scent that made Kaydia's stomach grumble. She took several bites, moaning into the delectable food. "Wow, this is amazing, I can't believe I've been on Mustafar this long, and never came here before."

Quinn, for his part, added a savory bluish sauce to his plate of noodles and vegetables and seafood, then scooped up a mouthful with the traditional tongs. "Yeah. One of the nice things about my lifestyle is the opportunity to try new cuisine." He speared a toklroot and sucked the creamy flesh from the husk. "You can only eat milrats so long before you want to kill yourself."

His eyes lingered on her as they ate, just as they had the day before. She knew this because she kept looking up to steal glances at him. When was the last time she felt his giddy, nervous energy? The excitement of new possibilities. The concern in the back of her mind that every second together brought them closer to the moment in which they had to part, and her own desire to savor the moments together before then.

And perhaps Quinn had read her mind or had broadcasted that desire unconsciously through the force. "So... at the risk of getting all honest again, you in a hurry to get back? Because I know a little hole in the wall bar with an amazing house band. Might be nice to get a couple of drinks and relax a little."

"No, hurry at all. I have no obligations until..." She checked her communicator, "Tomorrow at 1100 hundred, local time." And now here she was, risking being honest. That she had no intention of leaving his side if he didn't make her. That the thought of spending the night alone depressed her and made her hunger for Inertia. That this life didn't leave much room for friends or dating.

Was this a date, now? They were seeking out excuses to spend time together, beyond the scope of their professions. Maybe he was just being nice, no need to read into it any more than that. Or maybe he was just trying to get into her bed. Well, she didn't mind those intentions.

She finished her food with one last pleased sigh as Malri came back to check on them. "Good I hope?" the Snivvan.

"Absolutely divine. You will see my face around here much more often. Even if things with Quinn here go sour and it gets awkward." She exulted, nudging Quinn as she teased him. She drained her glass as the proprietor laughed.

"Can I tempt you with dessert? We make a wicked Marsh-Root Soufflé." He advertised. She shot quinn and intrigued look.

"What do you say? Share it with me?" She pleaded, fingers tracing his knuckles as she bit her bottom lip.

"I'd just about have to share it with you!" Quinn laughed. Did she imagine the flush on his cheeks, as he turned towards her again? "The serving sizes here are faintly ridiculous!"

"I like to think of it as a serving size that encourages togetherness," the Snivian countered. "And besides, it's hardly my fault that humans have no metabolism to speak of."

"Right. I bow to your superior evolutionary adaptations. Bring it out." With a little bow, the Snivian departed. Kaydia chuckled alongside him, amused by he banter. She might have worn the Shadi skin, but she knew this was her, the real her, coming through now. It wasn't an act to gain some leverage or accomplish her task. That she wanted this, for herself. For her own happiness.

Happiness. What a strange concept. Was someone like her even allowed to be happy? After everything she had done? Perhaps she could be given a brief respite to the loneliness and hatred that consumed her. Revenge could take a night off, couldn't it?

"I've got to ask," he began, turning his attention back to her, "what brought you to Mustafar? Business?"

She put on a smile and a mask once more as he broached the subject, "Something like that." She wished she had gotten a refill on her glass of wine now. Something to occupy her hand and take attention away from her. Suddenly those eyes on her felt like they were peering into the depths of her soul, discovering the dark and distasteful secrets that made her who she was today. Scarlet, Black Sun assassin. "Sometimes life takes you in strange directions," She added, unhelpfully. As if she were casually discussing the decision to open a business, or take on a new profession. As if she weren't talking about killing people for money and drugs.

"Oh, life certainly takes you in strange directions," Quinn agreed. "I, for example, was raised on Ando Prime by the Order of Dai Bendu. One of the few humans ever admitted to their rule, and only because I was taken in as an orphan. They raised me to be a quiet, peaceful aesthetic and scholar." He grinned. "Look how well that turned out."

"How about you?" Scarlet asked, throwing a question back at him. "I'd think my reputation would keep people far away, and yet here you are, looking for excuses to stick around. Are you always this attracted to danger, or do I in particular just make you stupid?"

"Well, I've always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie," he confessed. "And I'm terribly careful in my day job, so I have to find my danger somewhere." This time, he was the one to brush her hand with his fingers. "And you've made me stupid since the first time I saw you..."

Blue. His eyes were definitely blue. And what a shade of blue, as he spoke of her making him stupid. It had been quite a while since someone had done the same to her. She felt the electricity in his fingertips as they grazed her skin. She was often touched in her job, and not always welcome. It came with the territory, naturally, and she always put up a delighted face no matter how disgusted she felt. But when was the last time she wanted to be touched, and truly relished in it?

The droid arrived at that moment, bearing a light soufflé topped with something resembling purple meringue. "Your marsh-root soufflé," it announced, setting it on the table. "May I be of any further assistance at this moment?"

"Yes," Quinn said. "You can go away."

The droid interrupting their private moment was most unwelcome, even as it brought over the dessert they had ordered. As sweet as the soufflé smelled, it paled in comparison to rediscovering feelings she long thought dead. She couldn't agree more as he told it to go away, neither one bothering to look away from the other. Never the less, she dipped the spoon into their dessert and brought it up to his lips. She watched with interest as he opened his mouth for the spoon, and wrapped his lips around it as she pulled it back. His pink tongue darted out to collect the purple crème that stuck to his lips. She couldn't help but wonder if he was a good kisser.

"You remind me of this boy I used to know," She confessed between bites, an authentic smile and feeling of happiness coming over her features. "Back before I was in this life."

"I'm gonna hope," Quinn interjected, "that this is a good thing."

"He was rather handsome, and a few years older than me. Oh, I had such a crush on him," She couldn't stifle the nostalgic laugh as she thought of him. "What was his name...?" She took a couple long bites as she tried to remember him. "That's right, Kazak, the Iridonian. Hmm..." She nodded sincerely, as memories flooded back, "He was my first kiss. We were in the same, ummm...training program." She tried explaining away, hoping he didn't press for more details. But why would he?

"An Iridonian, hm?" He thought about that for a moment. "Not quite my thing, but they do have a reputation for being constantly horny..." After a moment with that joke hanging in the air, he shook his head ruefully.

Despite the corny joke, Kaydia laughed, shaking her head. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear about all that, huh?" She gave Quinn an apologetic look. "See, this is why I have that no honestly policy."

"Nah, didn't bother me." He shrugged a little, then cut the last bite in half with his fork and offered it to her. "I just hope it turned out better than my first kiss. A pretty brunette who attended the same school I did, and who actually went into the same line of work. It... ah... didn't work out so well." Eyes that had gone a little distant and misty at the memory turned hard, and his jaw set. "I thought we were in love. Right up until the moment when she framed me for murder and then tried to kill me to cover up her involvement in a drug smuggling ring. It's the kind of thing that kills a relationship, y'know?"

Kaydia accepted the last bite as he offered it, rather enjoying how the evening was shaping up. Certainly not ready for it to end, as their meal concluded. As she savored that last bite, he spoke of his first kiss, and his first love, obvious hurt in his expression as he recalled it. He forced a laugh. She took his hand once more, in a way she hoped was comforting, but truthfully, she didn't have much experience in offering comfort. He laughed, a fake laugh she was well familiar with.

"What, you mean you two couldn't work things out after that?" She teased, trying to lighten the mood. Truthfully, she felt a bit of jealousy at his story. Not at the mention of the pretty brunette who broke his heart, but at the admission that they were in love, or at least Quinn thought they were. She wondered what that was like, and lamented that fact that's she would likely never know. She wondered if it were ironic that the prohibition against love was the only part of the Jedi Code she had managed to uphold, even now.

"Well, I was going to make you pay for dinner, after that joke about Iridonians, but not after hearing how your first love broke your heart with lies and attempted homicide. So dinner is on me."

She paid for their meal and hooked her arm in with his, as they walked out. It looked the same as yesterday, as they moved through the Velvet Spire together, but it was different today. It wasn't an act put on for onlookers, but a desire for closeness, the culmination of connecting with him over dinner. "You can get the drinks. Tell me more about this bar you are taking me to."

"Tell you?" Quinn grinned. "Well, it's a little place called Munden's. Usually a quiet sort of place, out near the edge of the environmental dome. Not the best part of town, but the owner - a semi-retired merc named John Gaunt - ensures that the local toughs play nice." A pause. "The ones that the Black Sun doesn't keep in line, that is." He opened the speeder door for her, then walked around and climbed into the driver's seat. "I think you'll like it," he said with a smile. "There's far more to it than meets the eye." The engine purred to life, and he pulled out into traffic.

*****

The bar was, as advertised, in a run-down part of the city. One lit with a ruddy glow from the perennial lava fields beyond the environmental dome, and strewn with the signs of lax police attention and struggling humanity. Quinn didn't seem particularly concerned as he parked the expensive speeder in front of the squat stone and concrete building with the simple sign "Munden's", however. He merely opened the door for Scarlet and locked the speeder after she stepped out. Offering her his arm, he escorted her inside.

The first thing to notice about the bar was the pulsing beat of the music, a slow-tempo electronic thing backed by synthesizers and the occasional horn. That was the first thing, because the interior lighting was dim. The second thing to notice was the mass of different xenosentients that patronized the bar. Humans and near-humans, Togruta and Ithorians and Zabrak and Kel-Dor and Bith and others too exotic to recognize easily, all mixed easily or hunkered at their tables and nursed their drinks. There was a dance floor, and a few dozen people circulated on it, but most of the action appeared to be drinking.

Kaydia liked the bar. It had a rugged warmth to it, that she found she rather preferred to the sterile swank of the nightclubs she usually visited, when she spent her evenings riding out the high of Inertia. Couldn't conceivably be called glamorous, but authentic, in a way that made it seem superior to the high-end clubs. It wasn't a place where wealthy brats got stoned out of their minds until the crowd was filled with blank faces and empty expressions. It was far removed from the life she lived as Shadi, and she rather liked that. It made her feel more like Kaydia, even if she still wore Shadi's mask.

Still, she knew she was out of place here, like this. She knew from the eyes that drank her in and stole second glances. She probably should have slipped out of the Shadi persona before they got here. Just like he had slipped out of his alias before they had dinner. Eh, whatever, it was fine. As long as he went home with Kaydia, at the end of the night...

"Hey, Quinn," waved the bartender, a lean brunette man wearing a button-down shirt and black vest. "And who's this?"

"Hey Gordon," Quinn answered. "This is Shadi, an... associate of mine."

"A pleasure, ma'am," Gordon responded, then looked back at Quinn. "Your regular?"

"Nah. I'm trying to impress her with my good taste. How about..."

"A little late for that," Gordon grinned. "She seems to have met you already."

"Ha. Ha." Quinn answered, deadpan. "Spiced pulkay, and a shot of Corin whiskey. And whatever she's having."

"I'll have the same," She offered, as Quinn put in his drink order. They were served quickly enough. It seeming being on the arm of a regular had its perks. She clinked her shot glass with his, and downed her whiskey, chasing it with a long drink of the pulkay. She could feel the alcohol working its way through her system already, building towards a nice buzz that left her lightly flushed. The music hammered through her, to the point she was feeling it as much as she was hearing it. By the time she was done with her drink, the urge to dance was too powerful to resist.