Decor and more.

[Mu Satach]

Mu entered into the main office of her new home and looked around. Junk was piled to the ceiling in several places. She walked over to the desk and shoved a pile of bills off onto the floor, plopped down in the large cracked chair and kicked her boots up on the desk. Lighting up a cigar she relaxed for the first time in hours, perhaps years.

"Well kiddo..." she spoke to only to the dust particles floating in the air, "you finally managed to hustle your way into a state of semi-respectibility." She inhaled deeply, "What would daddy say about that? tsk tsk tsk" The vertibrae in her back cracked as she leaned back in the chair.

Lazilly she pulled out a holoprojection of Cloud 9's blueprints. Her eyelids dropped a bit as she focused on the different levels, mentally making notes of areas to inspect and watched the smoke drift through the electrified glow hanging in mid air above her.

[Molly Black]

Stepping over broken crates and trash, Molly made her way into the bar she was to serve at. It didn't look like much now, but it had potential. From looking around the place you could almost hear the roar of many voices talking, hear the tinking of glasses being tapped in cheer, see the ghostly outline of patrons who had once filed in here.

and would again.. The air had the musty smell of somewhere long shut up and the lingering odor of spilled alcohol. It needed a thorough cleaning..

She hopped up on the bar and over it, heading to the opened doorway that led to the offices of the proprietor. She caught a glance of herself in the mirror and hoped that she looked the part, her skirt was short, her button-down shirt was tied in a knot, showing her navel and she had on heeled baby doll shoes. If she wasn't barmaid potential she had no idea what was..

Knocking on the open door she cleared her throat.. "Umm hello? I'm Molly, I have an interview?"

[Mu Satach]

Mu's eyes slowly slid towards the door and narrowed.

"The place just went under a change in ownership. I'm afraid we don't have any current job openings. Come back some other time kid."

[Molly Black]

She just stood in the doorway and blinked. Molly Black had been through just about enough of people pushing her around and telling her "no'. She wasn't leaving without a job.

"Obviously you need employees. The place is a mess. I have experience. I work hard, am dependable and.. very stubborn. I don't care about who owns the place, I just need a job.. and I am not leaving here without one..." She folded her arms across her chest, leaned a hip against the doorjam and crossed her ankles, obviously not going anywhere.

"So you going to interview me, or shall I just go find a broom?"

[Mu Satach]

Mu let a few silent moments pass then clicked off the holoprojection unit and motioned to an oil stained chair across from her.

"Have a seat," the ember's from her cigar glowed in the darkness, "and tell me what brings you to this little slice of heaven."

[Molly Black]

With a grin of triumph, Molly took the offered seat, crossing her legs and resting her hands on the arms of the chair. She immediately lifted her hands to find them covered in.. mystery moisture. Wincing, she wiped them on her skirt, figuring she would be dirtier before the place was made respectable.

"I am recently arrived, actually. A change of scenery was required and I heard that the facilites of the City in the Clouds were under new Administration and would be reopening. So here I am.."

The rest was all details.. Best to stick with a bit of the truth.

[Mu Satach]

"A change of scenery..." Mu let the words roll off her tongue slowly and began tapping the desk lightly. "And what prompted that change? You running from something? Some... one?" her fingers stopped. Her voice cut across the air between them and Mu's eyes pierced deep into Molly's soul.

[Molly Black]

She could honestly say no, she wasn't running. Not anymore. Kasajian had seen to that, and now Molly owed the woman everything. Including information that would be easy to obtain with this job.

"Running no. I just happened to leave Coruscant after a guy beat me up. He won't have the chance to do it again.. The cop's..got him." She smiled and tapped her toe in the air. The truth was so much easier than inventing a lie to explain her reasons here.

[Lili Von Wolfson]

Lili quietly creeped down the hallway towards Denny's office. She had convinced Denny to give the girl an interview earlier in the week and was surprized to hear the new owner speaking with her.

Lili's eyebrows scrunched together confused.

I wonder, Lili's fingers tapped her lower lip as she listened and thought to herself. I've got to find out this new owner's weaknesses, but I must be vewwy carefull. I don't want to end up like Denny.

Lili's mind flashed to her recent visit to Denny O'Thange in a medical unit at Dr. Barton Henning's offices. He was barely alive with a fractured spine.

Definately must be careful.

[Mu Satach]

Mu tilted her head slightly towards the door and hallway without breaking her gaze on Molly.

"What skills do you have other than sweeping?"

[Molly Black]

She grinned, clearly knowing she had it in the bag now. "Are you kidding? I've been working places like this since I was old enough to mix a Sin Suicide without killing someone." She laughed.

"Experience I have lots of.. no worries there."

[Mu Satach]

No one would fight for a job like this unless they had alterior motives. But Mu had never been one to stop a dishonest wage from being made. At worst whatever antics the girl had planned would make for some interesting entertainment, at best... well... her personal pet projects always were in need of some <i>thing</i>.

"What I need most of all right now is someone to tend bar in my absence and alert me to when things start to go awry." Mu sat back and relaxed in her chair. "My <i>other</i> businesses require my attention from time to time and I don't want anyone spoiling the pretty paint job I'm going to be paying for to transform this oil stained pit into something spectacular."

[Molly Black]

"Absolutely." Molly nodded, her dark curls bouncing around her head.

She wasn't slow witted. She could sense that the woman was being evasive about her other businesses. Molly didn't care. She didn't want to know, not right now at least. All she needed to know was that she had the job, which it was sounding like she did. The actual running of the bar would be childs play to her. She hadn't been lying, places like this had been her daycare as a kid. It was what she knew, simple as that.

"I'll keep her running for you. In fact, with the right few girls.." She peered over her shoulder out the door, thinking on the place as it would be soon.

"This place could be very lucrative, Miss.. How shall I address you? Boss?"

[Mu Satach]

"Boss is fine," Mu started digging through the stacked items on her desk. Papers, maps, odd looking knick knacks until she found what she was looking for, structural blue prints of Cloud 9.

"Now, here's what I had in mind for the place." an electronic image hung in the air between them. From what she could see from touring the place earlier Denny hadn't concerned himself too much about health or legal codes of the city. Frankly the amount of credits it was going to take to bring the place up to code and buy the place a bit of respectability was enormous. "Avoid the upper rooms at all costs for the time being. I don't know what they were being used for, but the stench is the most pleasant thing about them. Your first assignment will be to get an exterminator crew come in and burn those rooms out and might as well give the whole place a good squirt of poison to kill anything else scurrying about." As if on cue Mu spotted something sliding along the back wall.

The blue prints and designs swirled showing an elaborate well stocked bar back lite by a blue glow. Black lacquered wood with a white marble and mother of pear inlaid design. Clean white dining tables with smartly dressed servers around a stage and further out along the walls nooks for private dining.

"These are only for the bar, dinner and dining areas. I still need to get someone in here to plan out how to revamp the gaming areas and those noisy vid machines are the first thing to go. I know they bring in a lot of cash because every sucker in the galaxy can't resist dropping a credit in one as they pass, but it gives the wrong impression of the place. We're not trying to be the Cumulus, but Cloud 9 is no longer going to be the death house dive of level 122. Let some other enterprising sucker take that roll."

[Molly Black]

Molly leaned forward, trying to picture the wreck of a bar she had passed through looking something like it did in the plans. It was going to take a lot of work. She was in for some long hours, especially as it seemed her somewhat reluctant boss wanted her to get things rolling soon. She heard a suspiscious scratching sound above her head. She peeked up but, whatever it was was not about to drop imminently, it was on the next floor up.

"I see what you mean.." She shifted back in her seat again.

"It all looks swell. If a bit expensive.."

[Mu Satach]

Mu picked up her cigar and grinned. "Port town has nothing but possibilities. Plenty of decent hard working folk around these parts need a place to relax and enjoy themselves but can't afford the upper levels. Weary travelers need a clean place get a little action and entertainment. And tell me, Miss Black," she inhaled deeply on the cigar. It's red tip flared in the dim light, "what draws more unwanted attention from the authorities? A rundown death trap that screams nefarious activities within? Or your friendly neighborhood bar and grill where the house special is always available at a <i>generous</i> discount for the local wing guard?"

[Molly Black]

"Yeah we wouldn't want the authorities around.." Molly was only half in jest. She was not exactly here to wait tables for the fun of it. She needed the job to report to the Black Sun. The last thing she needed was a bunch of do-gooder watch types staking out the place. The sort of things she was supposed to be keeping her eyes and ears on require a certain..atmosphere.

"So when are we shooting for opening?"

[Mu Satach]

Molly's reaction confirmed what she had sensed before. This girl really didn't want the authorities poking around in her business any more than Mu did. <i>"Perfect."</i>

"As soon as possible. I've already got the contractors hired come in for the <i>front</i> section. They can start as soon as this place is burned clean. I've worked with them before. They're good and fast. I'll contact them and let them know you'll be overseeing the refit, they shouldn't give you any trouble. If they do, just ask for a guy named Smitty. He'll take care of you."

Mu poked around on her console a bit. Her security camera's had snapped a pic of Molly without her knowledge and Mu's computer was running her image against her personal intel database. While it silently searched, Mu swiveled her chair around and opened a drawer behind her. "If you've already got a place to stay, leave it," Mu chucked a bag full of credits on the desk in front of Molly, "and get a better one. That should be enough to get you set up fairly well."

Mu started muttering to herself, "Riff raff always seems to follow people to work from home. I don't have time to play with every knuckle head this side of Ord Mantell."

Mu spun back around to face Molly and began punching information into a data pad. "Questions Miss Black?"

[Molly Black]

"Not a one, Boss."

Molly tried to hide her dismay. It was just usual for her luck to turn for the better and it had done so quite a bit lately. Hadrian had rescued her from certain doom, and had even avenged her somewhat tarnished honor. Kasajian had then come to play benefactor to the both, making the record of what happened to Molly's previous landlord just dissapear like so much prestidigitation.. POOF!

And now? She had secured the exact job she needed and found that if she was honest with the Boss Lady, it may just all work out in the end. Koo-koo kachoo... Feeling like a mercenary, but not having the guts to decline her first order from her new boss, Molly slid the - somewhat heavy, bag of credits off the desk. She shoved them into a pocket, frowning at the bulge it made in her hip. She'd get the new place, and surprise Hadrian.

She pushed up from the seat, belatedly remembering the slimey feel of the arms. Once more she smeared the mystery muck down the sides of her skirt. "Actually I do have one question before I pop out to go find the new pad you have prescribed..."

"You spoke of the front like it would be handled differently from.." She looked around conspiratorially, then lowered her voice..

"The back..?"

[Mu Satach]

"Molly, Molly, Molly..." Mu finished tapping on the data pad and stood up, "everyone needs a little privacy now and then." Walking around the desk met up with her new partner in crime.

"Especially those who are going to become our <i>favorite</i> customers. First we open up for business a while. Let the gang get a good feel for the place, establish it's harmlessness to the fat cats. Then once things have settled into a groove we'll invite those special customers to experience pure <i>Bliss</i>. A private little enterprise for the select few who meet our strict dress code and membership plans. We give them privacy and in return, we'll know more about what happens on this little floating barge than anyone else... we'll know when and where to be and where not to be at all times. "

She stood walked Molly to the door, "Provided we never betray that level of trust our clients will come to depend on us for." Mu watched Molly's eyes carefully.

[Lili Von Wolfson]

Lili hearing the ladies inside the office begin to move towards the door began to silently slide her way back down the hallway hoping beyond hope the new boss wouldn't hear her.

[Molly Black]

"Sounds like a spiffy place, Boss." Molly smiled. This was exacty what she needed. She had no intentions of reporting on local scum, no regulars that would cost them their reputation for privacy. Bliss, Molly could already tell would turn into the place where the elite, the kind of elite with secrets to hide, would attempt to gain entrance and that was her goal..

Kasajian would be pleased..

"Well I'll get that new place and show up tomorrow bright and early. I'll find Smitty, no problem. Thanks for the interview. I won't dissapoint, you made a golden decision today, boss!"

She beamed another smile, then stepped over a bundle of trash blocking the way out, her heeled baby-doll shoes sliding in the muck. She quickly righted herself, gave a nervous little laugh and waved.

"See ya.."

[Mu Satach]

"Oh and Molly," Mu smirked slightly. "Tell that no count singer to hire a decent band. One that can drown out her voice."

[Molly Black]

Molly froze in her tracks. How the hell did the woman know that she knew Lil? She turned back.. "Umm, I will.."

Molly exited the back hall emerging opnce more into the main area of the bar. She rounded the corner to exit and nearly screamed when Lilli popped around in front of her. "What the heck are you doing, Lil? I thought my interview was with Denny? Why did the place go under so quick..?"

[Lili Von Wolfson]

Wide eyed, Lili grabbed Molly by the arm and drug her quickly towards the back stage area far far away from the boss's office.

"I... I, I, I, don't know." she fidgeted with her fingers. "It was like any other night. I was on stage, people were happy and then... and then <i>she</i> burst through the window in the upper room and then it was... " her arms flailed around her gesturing to the decimated club. "In one night!" She started nibbling nervously on her thumb. She glanced around, "Ok, well it wasn't much to look at before but still..." Lili slumped. "Molly, she scarwes me. Denny's in bad shape, <i>real</i> bad."

[Mu Satach]

Mu, pleased with herself for causing a little mischief with her new hire walked back to her desk and looked at what her search showed up.

<i>File Not Found</i>

Her eyebrows furrowed together a bit. She cross referenced a few other public and not so public databases she had tunneled into both on in the core and Cloud City. <i>Nothing,</i> not even so much as a wisp of information regarding the lovely Miss Molly. Not even something as simple as a baggage claim check.

An eyebrow arched upward, "Intriguing," she murmured to herself. Just then her comm beeped at her.

"Hey hey good lookin!" It was Smitty.

She flicked on the holovid, "Smitty, I have a riddle for you."

"I hate riddles, but for you darlin' I'll suffer. Lay it on me."

"How does a cocktail waitress travel across the galaxy from Coruscant to here with out a trace?"

"What do you mean, <i>no trace</i>?"

"I mean no travel papers, no customs check, nothing. Everything about her is a ghost. She doesn't exist."

Smitty thought for a moment, "Think she's an Imperial spy?"

"Nah... those guys are so uptight there'd be a mile long detailed artificial history if that was the case."

"Then she's gotta be Black Sun, and if that's the case keep me outta whatever's goin on. I'm on their mucky muck list as it is."

"Can't do that, she's going to be working with you on the Cloud 9 remodel."

"Why you crank me like this?"

"Keeps you honest with me."

Smitty looked visibly hurt, "Mu... I thought you knew me a little."

"Nobody knows anybody, not really. Look, her name's Molly Black. You'll find her here tomorrow. Is the <i>Night's</i> new nav computer installed yet?"

"Yeah yeah, she's all ready for you, that's what I was buzzin you about."

"Good, I'll be by later." Mu clicked off the vid before he could say another word.

Standing up she walked to her office windows and looked out. Across the way was a blitzing garish neon colored sign advertising the Holiday Towers. <i>"Black Sun,"</i> Mu watched the ad cycle through it's images of fine dining, gaming tables, entertainment shows, <i>"no wonder why they're so powerful. They seem mighty quick at placing their people around."</i>

Mu sighed, she was going to be walking a mighty fine tightrope with Molly. Too little or too much information regarding Mu's private dealings would draw unwanted attention from the Vigo's. And too much attention from anyone was significantly not in Mu's best interest. But the real question was how much info would be just right to keep the Black Sun from shining in her direction?

Mu began to absently knaw on her lower lip.