Cost of doing Business [Quinn]

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Rralwsston Qujinn...Perrssonal Prrotectjion Sserrvjicess."

Flopping back on the couch after inspecting the card again, she gave it a flippant toss to the caf table in front of her. Sitting across from her, Taurrifarr looked understandably torn between being perturbed, worried, and a little hurt.

"jYou don't need that, Taataani. What about me? About all of uss? Arren't we enough to keep jyou ssafe?"

She kept forgetting there was such a thing as machismo within Cizerack men, that was very careful to emerge and very stubborn to put down.

"Darrljing, mjy ssweet Taurrifarr...do jyou want me to djie jyoung of a brroken hearrt jif ssomethjing werre to happen to anjy of mjy men? Abssoluteljy perrjissh the thought."

She lazed a bit where she sat, stretching out her bare feet as she reached for the sajoi bowl, snacking on one of the creatures as she talked matters of security with her Arr'fai and confidant.

"jI could carrjy a blassterr. jI could learrn how. jI alrreadjy know how to fjight, a ljittle."

Taataani, biting off at the tail, held the severed bit of rodent between thumb and forefinger as she swallowed, emphatically shaking her head.

"jYou'll do no ssuch thjing! jI won't have jit."

Her top manservant's ears drooped.

"Taataani...."

The Meorrrei Rrou'fai sat up, and with an empathetic look, patted the side of the sofa near to her for her sweet Taurrifarr to sit beside her. He did as she asked, and she wiggled her tail around the small of his back, wrapping it over his lap to pull him a little closer.

"Therre'ss a lot jI assk of jyou. All of jyou. jI'm not afrrajid to put jyou to worrk, but jit'ss ssurre-Hell gojing to be dojing ssomethjing ssafe. jI'm not ssome rrou-rrou pssjychopath ljike Ieesshaauurri Rauurrssatta, and jI won't arrgue about thjiss anjy morre. jI love jyou, all of jyou. jYou'rre not gojing to be ssome...ssome...prrjivate arrmjy orr whateverr on mjy behalf."

Still, the matron considered the option to outsource. It had been suggested to her more than once. First, casual business acquaintances recommended possibly getting a bodyguard entourage. Next, associates in her own company suggested it, and said they were doing so. Then, her own daughters started saying it was a good idea. Taataani rebelled against them all. After all, who would hurt her? Well, she had no shortage of enemies, but enemies mad enough to try violence or actually try to kill her?

The whole thought made her uncomfortable. Maybe her ever-cynical young daughter Raifaani was right. This sort of thing was probably the cost of doing business once you were big enough. Taataani's empire had gone far beyond the cluster now. She was in a wider galaxy that may or may not play nice.

Giving Taurrifarr a kiss, she eased forward to grab the card again, passing it to him.

"Make the appojintment forr me, wjill jyou? Have thjiss Mjissterr Qujinn come herre to Carshoulis. We'll meet hjim togetherr, and talk to hjim togetherr, jyess? jIf he'ss no good, then off he goess."

Taurrifarr held the card in front of him for a while, and sighed, giving a reluctant nod.

"jI'll make the appojintment."

She kissed him again, giving his broad figure a squeeze. It wasn't the easiest thing she'd asked him to do, but she knew she could trust Taurrifarr to the ends of the galaxy.

[Rawlston Quinn]

== Coruscant ==
== <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://www.sw-fans.net/forum/ /><st1:PlaceName w:st=Menaari</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Plaza</st1:PlaceType>==

Rawlston moved ahead of his mark, looking through the crowds gathered to greet one of the District’s politicians. He was running for the 278<SUP>th</SUP> Circuit Judge positions and was working the crowd just days before the election.

Since announcing his intentions of running for the position, he had received death threats and hate mail from some of the more “shady” residents. It even went as far as a break in at the estate of this politician and a dead Ranat being left in his bed.

So Rawlston and his group were hired on to protect the politician and his family until the election.

Dressed in upper Corsucant suits, Rawlston’s team surrounded the politician, 4 in front and 4 behind him. Rawlston was in front, walking along the crowd. He was providing close support while the politician stopped to shake hands and kiss babies.

Though no weapons were in sight, Rawlston and his group were armed to the teeth. Personal Shield Generators, flash grenades and stunners were all hidden under their jackets and a waiting armored speeder was standing by to swoop in and snatch up the mark.

Rawlston looked past the people that were gathered. Most of them were supporters of the politician and they were waving, smiling and cheering. That wasn’t what Rawlston was looking for. He was looking for beings who were smiling, checking their watches or looking down at their jackets. So far, fortunately, they had come up empty.

Out of all his duties, this was probably the one that had the potential for the most disaster. If nothing happened, great, but if something went down, it would require precision and skill. They would have to protect their mark while searching for the attacker in a crowd of innocents. Spotters on the nearby roofs could call down information, but it left them open and uncovered for those deadly seconds.

The earpiece he had on beeped, indicating that they had an issue. He acknowledged and his hand went down to his stunner which was just inside the jacket. Movement to his left caught his eye and he reacted as a group of 5 men burst through the crowd and drew weapons on the politician. Rawlston and the nearest two agents jumped in front of the politician, activating their shields. The hail of laser blasts splashed against the shields.

The crowd ran screaming from the plaza, looking for any cover they could find. Rawlston had his stunner out and fired off three blasts in quick succession. One of the men fell to the ground. Around him, the sound of other stunners firing filled the air.

From above, the speeder dropped from the air and settle down in between the men and the politician. Rawlston pushed the politician in the speeder and it took off.

As it cleared the scene, the men realized that they would not achieve their objective and tried to bolt into the crowd. Sniper fire from 3 different locations blazed in, killing two more of the men while the other two were stunned.

As the plaza grew silent, local law enforcement arrived on scene. They approached Rawlston’s group, which had now gathered in a group. As the lead officer approach, he motioned for the other police officers to lower their weapons.

Rawlston smiled. “Hey Tavers, how’s the wife?”

Tavers just shook his head. “Why is it that where ever there is a random act of violence, you are always there?”

Rawlston shrugged. “Lucky I guess. There are three that are stunned. The other two are dead. Sorry”, said Rawlston unapologetically.

“Get out of here and see to the politician. Make sure you have a spare change of pants for him. He no doubtedly will need them.”

Rawlston laughed and turned back to his group. “Looks like our job here is done. I’ll collect payment and tomorrow we will meet back at Flarestar 1. Until then, go have some fun.”

The group nodded and turned to go towards another skimmer that had just arrived. It was their ride back to the politician’s house where they could change, collect their fee and then head out.

Looking around Rawlston saw that not one of the citizens was hurt. That was good for business. All the training that he put his group through was paying off.

== Hours Later ==

Rawlston stepped out of the shower. He had spent the last 30 minutes in a steamy shower, washing away the days activities. The politician had been exceedingly grateful and paid him the 30,000 credits, plus a 5,000 credit bonus. The transfer had already happened and he was back aboard the Flarestar, cleaning up. Wrapping a robe around himself, he settled down into the large chair at his desk. Datapads sat in a stack on his desk, awaiting his attention. Turning on his console, a holo listed as high priority sprang to the top of the list. Rawlston opened it with a smile.

As the holo played, he saw his wife smiling at him. She was holding their 3 year old daughter Callista.

“Hey Hon. Callista here couldn’t wait to tell you. She made a friend today at school. A boy..”

The way that Lilly said the phrase meant that she was amused but trying to take her daughter’s new friendship serious.

“Anyway, we miss you and hope to see you soon. Give us a holo when you can. As always, be safe.”

Rawlston sat back, smiling as he remembered being with them just a few days ago. If nothing came up, then he would meet up with them in a few days. Then they could spend a few days relaxing.

<O:p</O:pHopefully…

Rawlston moved down the list of messages.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taurrifarr tended to the task Taataani had tasked him to do, while she went about doting on a few of her younger cubs. Standing in the atrium of the Meorrrei's Haiee'rathee' villa, he tapped in the frequency, and waited for a pickup, unconsciously tidying up the nearest console table as he listened for an answer. The holo beeped for a positive connection, and a hologram of a humanoid male appeared.

"jI'm calljing forr a Rrawlsston Qujinn."

Setting aside an errant book on the console table, Taurrifarr faced the projector fully.

[Rawlston Quinn]

It took Rawlston a second to recognize the species that was in front of him. It was a Cizerack. Quickly he ran through what he knew.

He had never met one, but during his training he had spent time getting to know the species. The men were huge, but weren't geared toward much aggression. That is unless a female was endangered. The females ran the government, the men were the grunt labors. Halfbreed were not very well respected, though other species were even less respected. They were a long lived species, running about 150 years. Not as much as wookies, but definitely more than humans. The fact that one would call on him, put him on edge.

"I am Rawlston Quinn." The males ears twitched a bit, but Rawlston didn't know what, if anything it meant. "What may I do for you, this fine afternoon? I don't get many calls from the Cizeracks."

Rawlston hoped that mentioning he knew the species, that it would impress the Cizerack, but he couldn't tell one way or the other.

Plus, the accent with which they spoke took some getting used to.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Ja irra korra'nai, Mjissterr Qujinn."

Taurrifarr looked at the holo of the humanoid, and it didn't inspire a terrible amount of confidence. Nevertheless, he gave a polite enough bow of greeting.

"jI'm jinsstrructed bjy Rrou'fai Taataani Fai'sheea Igaarrai Meorrrei to rrequesst jyourr sserrvjicess on Carshoulis Prrjime at once. Can jyou arrange a meetjing wjith mjy mjisstrresss?"

He hoped there was some reason, great or small, to cause the human to refuse.

[Rawlston Quinn]

Rawlston looked off to the side to look at his intinerary. As luck would have it, he had an opening and his next job was close to the Corporate Sector so the Carshoulis Cluster was right on the way. Rawlston had heard of the riches that the Cizerak people had accumulated, dealing with bot the Rebels and the Empire. Rawlston was eager in getting some of that money. Also, he was curious. He had never worked with any Cizerak before and the chance was too much to pass up.

Looking back at the male Cizerak, he smiled.

"I look forward to the honor of meeting with Rou'fai Taatani Fai'shea Igarai Meorrei that I will transit to Carshoulis Prime immediately. I will be arriving in a ship named Starflare 1. I am well aware of the fate awaiting any smugglers or pirates that venture into your area. I do not wish to be mistaken for one. I shall arrive in 2 days. Would that be sufficient?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Two dajyss..."

Taurrifarr thought quickly of schedule openings, his tail twitching as he did so. Taataani was a busy woman, and he kept track of her many schedule requirements.

"Be herre at 10.15 hourrss on that morrnjing. Mjy mjisstrresss expectss punctualjitjy."

[Rawlston Quinn]

Rawlston mentally did the calculations. If they left in 6 hours, then they would get there with time to spare. Unfortunately, it meant that they would not be able to stop by Chandrila on the way over with the family to have some relaxation. Still, business was business and in this economy, one didn’t turn down a lucrative deal. If nothing came of this job opportunity then they could always stop by Chandrila in the way back to Coruscant.

“10:15 it is. I look forward to meeting her then. Rawlston out.”

Rawlston waited for the Cizerack Male to sign off before shutting down his console. He got the feeling that the Male didn’t very much care for Rawlston… no surprise as he was not even considered to be a half breed. The fact that he didn’t give Rawlston is name, meant that he didn’t think it was worth his time.

Turning the console back on, Rawlston pulled a list of associates that were available for him to use. He automatically dismissed Ragnark, the Gamorean. They only used him on worlds were violence and a show of force was necessary. On civilized worlds, having a Garmorean was usually counter productive. Likewise, Jin Fwa could get too rowdy so she would not be taken along. Vlak, the Duros was on another job, along with Riggs, Dorrian, To-Vuel and Grimm. Keval, and Cayle were taking the Silent Guard in for repairs. They wouldn’t be available for a week. That left 10 associates that Rawlston could use on this mission.

Typing on his datapad, Rawlston sent a message to the remaining associates to meet at the Flarestar within 2 hours. Most were with the ship, but a few had taken off for a bar. Getting them back would be difficult, but they all knew that a job came before getting rip roaring drunk.

The team consisted of Rawlston and the following:

Stradon - Male Cathar
Raltraa - Male Wookie
Rymar - Female Cathar
Sarah Crayston - Female Human
Xenica Tremayne - Female Human
Davin Hebrecht - Male Human
Viktor Sturmheist - Male Human
Zekial Zaarin - Male Human
Zaltin Euprhates - Male Human
Sayla Raal - Female Zabrak

Next, Rawlston opened a comm. to his wife. Seconds later she appeared smiling again, but this time without Callista. “What’s up honey?”

“We have a job opportunity in the Carshoulis Cluster that we can’t pass up.”

Lilly’s face went blank as she called up the information on the cluster. She was faster on the uptake than Rawlston had been. “They don’t care to much for non-Cizerack. Be careful.”

“I will. It may turn out to be nothing and then we can still go to Chandrila. Or it might be something big and we can buy Chandrila.”

Lilly laughed and shook her head. “I’ll settle for a nice dinner and an evening spent with you.”

"Deal. I love you.”

“I love you too. Call me when you find out.”

“Aye aye skipper.” The image of Lilly smiling burned in Rawlston’s mind as he shut down the comm. system. Then he stood up and stretch. There were supplies to gather, and a crew to brief, and weapons to check. Might as well start now, thought Rawlston as he headed for the door.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

The Meorrrei Villa - Haiee'rathee' District, Carshoulis Prime
Two days later, 10.00 hours


"Daanarri Meorrrei, come downsstajirrss thjiss jinsstant. DO NOT make Laiidaarro come up therre afterr jyou!"

The shaved-head male servant deposited refreshments on the table adjacent to the couch, and looked up to Taataani with a worried expression as his name was dropped. Taa didn't look to him, instead her blue eyes were fixated on the balcony above them, where she expected to see Daanarri appear in a flash of pattering feet to avoid the punishment she was liable to get.

Arruuko sniffled a little as he sucked on a candy, sitting in Taa's lap. Nestled in his nest of kinked hair was evidence of Daani's crime - a wad of gum. What an ugly thing to do to her brother!

"Therre therre ljittle Arruuko, mama'ss gonna get jit out, don't worrrjy."

Somehow. She pulled back some of the tangle, and with a brush very carefully negotiated the mess.

[Rawlston Quinn]

{{OOC – I hate it when you get a great post together, on the forum and press submit, and it says you weren’t signed in and then proceeds to erase said post so that you are left pissed off at night and just go to bed… hypothetically}}

I wonder if we can just blast our way out of here and go back to a world where we all aren’t treated as scum, thought Rawlston. He thought back over the last two days. They had left on time to get here early and really had no problems along the way. At the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Hydian Way</st1:address></st1:Street>, just past Bandomeer they were jumped by a pirate ship.

Quinn smiled at the thought that the pirates had mistaken them for an unarmed merchantman. The Flarestar’s shields had held through the onslaught. Then it was his turn. After a salvo from the turbolasers and three torpedoes had brought down the shields and damaged the hull, the pirate ship Blood Gutter jumped away. Quinn logged the transponder incase they ran across the ship again, he’d finish it off.

Yep, the trip was pretty uneventful and smooth… until they reached the Carshoulis Cluster. Once they crossed the border, they had been stopped five times by patrol ships. After being harassed by Cizerack, most of them went away disappointed, ears drooping. They obviously hoped that the Flarestar was a smuggling ship and have a chance to blast them. When they found out they had legitimate business on Carshoulis Prime, they let them go on their way. The half breeds were nicer, but still didn’t care too much for the humans’ presence.

As the Flarestar settled down on the Landing Pad, the ramp lowered to the ground. Quinn had decided to take the Cathars, Xenica and Zekial with him to meet with Rou'fai Taatani Fai'shea Igarai Meorrei at the Meorrrei Villa. At first he thought of taking Ralraa, but the wookie was pretty close to being dishonored every time they had been stopped. It was best to leave him on the ship.

As Quinn descended the ramp, the Cathars flanked him and behind them came Xenica and Zekial. They were all dressed in black dress suits, normally suited for attended the Galactic Ballet on Coruscant. At the edge of the ramp, a male Cizerack was standing… waiting. Quinn couldn’t be certain if it was the same one who had set up the appointment.

“I am Rawlston Quinn. I have an appointment with Rou'fai Taatani Fai'shea Igarai Meorrei.” Quinn hoped that he had pronounced the name correctly.

[Daanarri Meorrrei]

"NO!" Daani shouted from the top of the stairs, and then darted into the refresher and slammed the door. Laiidaarro could come upstairs if he wanted, he wasn't the boss of her!

And either was Mama. In fact, she could stay in here forever if she needed too. After a moment of making wrinkly nosed faces in the mirror, Daani tugged all the towels off their rails and tossed them into the bathtub. That would do just fine for a bed. She could catch birds from the window when she got hungry.

Nope, she was never going downstairs again.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taurrifarr wore a light seersucker suit to the landing pad to greet Mr. Quinn and his entourage. At least the human was punctual, although he made a curious expression at the sight of Quinn's entourage. He'd made no mention of others. Although, to be fair, Taurrifarr didn't ask. It made sense, he told himself. The man was a peddler of security services, and these were probably some of his employees.

The Meorrrei house Arr'fai extended a hand to the human in greeting. That was how it was done, wasn't it?

"Good morrnjing. jI'm Taurrifarr Meorrrei, we spoke beforre. jYou'rre on tjime."

His face framed with dark sunglasses to keep the heat of the late morning away, he glanced back to the Cathar escorts, and gestured for the whole group to follow. They followed the Cizerack host up a flight of white stairs to the side entry arch of the Meorrrei villa. All around were carefully manicured gardens, a few fountains, and other such niceties.

"We only have rrefrresshmentss sset forr two, jI'm afrrajid. jI wjill make accomodatjionss forr jyourr Catharr frrjiendss, excusse me."

He stepped to the side, gesturing to another male, dressed in a more casual silk tunic.

"Esscorrt Mjisstrresss'ss guesstss to herr."

[Rawlston Quinn]

Quinn shook the hand/paw of Taurrifarr. He felt the strength in the larger being’s arm. At the end of this mission, he might talk to some of the Cizeracks about joining his company. He knew that most liked to stay at home in their cluster, but there were always some who wanted to see the Galaxy.

Quinn wanted to tell Taurrifarr that refreshments wouldn’t be necessary, but the Cizerack people were very proud and he didn’t want to seem ungrateful. He nodded and said that he appreciated how considerate they were of his own people.

Taurrifarr led them up a flight of stairs and while Quinn was impressed by the aesthetics of the villa, he was also impressed with the detailed attention to protection that it provided.

The landing pad was lower than the upper level, giving any guards on that level an advantage of shooting down onto any intruders who might have landed. The stairs led away from the main entrance, providing more security into the main portion of the villa, while also delaying intruders from reaching their objective. The more delayed time, the more killing that could happen. And even though they were hard to see, Quinn guessed that many of the columns were reinforced to take heavy laser fire and there was probably a cache of small arms weapons and hand held explosives secreted away where the guards could get to it.

Taurrifarr stopped to talk to another servant, handing off the escorting of his group to this new Cizerack. The new guide led them into a good sized meeting room. Sitting on one of the couches was a female Cizerack that was Taataani Meorrrei. She had what had to be one of her young children on her lap and was trying to comb something out of its hair. It reminded Quinn of the time that Callista put gum in her hair to save it for later. He smiled at the memory. Then he approached the Rrou’fai. Not know the exact custom of greeting, he reverted to the traditional bow.

“I am honored to finally meet you, Rou’fai Meorei. I am Rawlston Quinn of Quinn Protection Agency. These are my associates, Strado, Rymar, Xenica and Zekial.”

Quinn pointed to each of his team in turn, introducing them.

[Arruuko Meorrrei]

With a yelp, Arruko squirmed in his mother's grasp as she tugged at a particularly resilient tangle.

“But Daanji sssaid that jif ssshe put waterrr on jit, jit would grrrow jinto a bjirrrd and the bjirrd would have wjings and jit could fljy me placesss and then jI would fljy all the wajy onto the rrroof and get my ball that went up therrre that Laiidaarro wouldn't get down because he sajid it was too hjiiiigh.”

As the words tumbled out of his mouth, his mother's man-servant glanced up once again, with an apologetic down-turn of his lips.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Oh damn...the appointment! And here she was with her paws full of cub trouble.

WHAM!

The door upstairs to the refresher slammed, causing Taa's ears to twitch. She cast a look to Laiidaarro, shaking her head gently to tell him not to worry about their current Daanarri problem. She'd sort that out later. Instead she gestured for Laiidaarro to come take her little man out of earshot of company. She gave him the brush, with the hope that her manservant would have better luck at extracting the offending chewable still in little Arruuko's puff of hair. Blissfully, it didn't take much to smooth that over...for now. There were no guarantees that she'd be able to have this meeting in peace.

"That'ss flatterrjing Mjissterr Qujinn, but jI'm harrdljy rrojyaltjy. Ssjit pleasse."

Of course, she wasn't standing to meet their arrival either. There was still a protocol for certain things, give or take. She gave a relaxed smile and gestured to the comfortable couch across from her, with enough room for all to sit. A carafe of water and glasses to match was set out, as well as a tray of various snifters of exotic liquor, should that be her guests' desire.

"Welcome to mjy home, errr, one of them at leasst. jYou come hjighljy rrecommended, Mrr. Qujinn. jI've been conssjiderrjing hjirrjing jyourr sserrvjicess."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Taurrifarr observing the conversation from afar. She had told him explicitly that he could sit alongside her when they arrived, but he'd chosen not to for whatever reason. She wasn't going to let it confront her either way. Reaching for a wooden box, she lifted the lid on it, and took a Serenno cigar for herself, gesturing for the others to do the same if they desired one.

"jI'd ljike to get a feel forr who jI'm hjirrjing. Do jyou have a rressume, bjy chance?"

[Daanarri Meorrrei]

Living in the 'fresher was fun, but only for a few minutes. When Laiidaarro didn't come stomping up the stairs after her, Daani cracked open the door and peeked out. She could hear talking downstairs - probably Arruuko telling all sorts of lies about the gum in his hair.

She stuck her head out the door and screamed at the top of her lungs, then slammed it shut again.

[Rawlston Quinn]

Quinn nodded and motioned for his people to sit down. He took the chair just opposite of Taataani and watched as one of her servants attended to the small child with the gum in his hair.

"If you would freeze it with ice, then it would come out much easier, with less loss of hair." He looked over at Taataani. "Believe me, I know it works."

He stopped short of telling her about his family. In his line of business, you couldn't be too careful. Instead he took a small datapad out of his pocket and handed it to Taataani.

"On here you will find my clients that have given me permission to list them as reoccuring clients. This represents 25% of my clients. The others have contracted with me to not disclose any agreements I might have with them and I am a man of my word. They are not in there. The most recent assignment was actually on the Coruscant Global News Holochannel last night. I have provided a link to the news feed at the bottom of the resume."

Quinn waved a hand at his people who were sitting by quietly. He knew they looked like they were paying attention... and they were. But they were also scanning the house for signs of an ambush and logging possible avenues back to the ship, should the way they came be blocked by attackers.

"My company employees at least 20 full time agents, all trained in at least 5 different combat techniques. They are all rated as marksmens on most weapons. We operate more than 15 ships, ranging in size from 2 person couriers to large freighters and even small capital ships. All have been modified for protection."

Quinn paused for a moment and smiled as the bathroom door opened, a small child screamed and the door slammed again. Man that reminded him of Callista when she was in a row. Then he continued.

"In the last 10 years, I have only failed 4 clients. Two because they did not listen to my plans for protecting them and ignored my orders. One, because they weren't honest with me about what we were up against... and one..."

Quinn paused again. "One because I didn't read the signs right and my client suffered. It was my first client."

The first job that Quinn took was protecting a business man who worked in a bad area of Coruscant. They were stopped by a gang of swoop bikers. The business man wanted to just give them his money and leave, but Quinn thought he could negotiate with them. They answered with laser fire that took off the business man's right arm. Quinn managed to down three of them and then two other agents swooped in and rescued them. The man lived, but lost his arm.

"He was injured but lived. It was my fault that he was injured and it hasn't happened since and it won't happen again."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Thank jyou forr the adv-"

Daani's scream cut her short, and her ears switched back briefly as she locked onto the sound of her misbehaving daughter. At the rate she was going, Taa was going to go after her with the belt herself.

She gave the human and his entourage a thin, polite smile.

"Excusse me a moment."

She rose from her seat, paused, splashed enough cognac into a tumbler from one of the decanters at the table to cover the bottom of the glass, and downed it in one go. Casually setting the glass aside, she made her way up the stairs to the refresher, giving the door three soft raps.

"Daanarri Meorrrei, jif jyou thjink jyou know what trrouble feelss ljike, jI'll gjive jyou a whole new meanjing jif jyou don't sstarrt behavjing rrjight now!"

She glanced back to Rawlston and company, putting away the anger in her tone, and continued.

"Arre we clearr?"

[Daanarri Meorrrei]

"Clearrr," she muttered, just on the other side of the door from her mother. Then she double checked the lock, and ran over to the window and threw it wide open.

She could just about reach the bayyossa tree that grew up right by the house if she jumped for it. Daani climbed up on the window sill, holding onto the frame and leaning out precariously to check the distances.

[Rawlston Quinn]

Quinn stood as Taataani stood, out of respect. He watched curiously as she went to deal with the child in the refresher. He was glad to get some insight into the every day lives of the Cizerack... and surprised about how much it mirrored all other species.

Quinn waited until he was sure that the situation was dealt with and then asked a question.

"What exactly are you looking for from me and my group?"

[Rawlston Quinn]

Just a light, gentle, non-oppressive bump... actually more of a nudge.. or maybe a rub.. yes, that is it. this is a gentle, oily, greasy, body rub..

like the time that boy stuck you in the back because he was wearing wind shorts.

[Arruuko Meorrrei]

Arruko hung limply in Laiidaarro's arms until the two of them were out of sight of his mother. Then, with a sudden frantic burst of energy, he squirmed out of the manservant's grasp and scurried ahead to an open doorway, where daylight spilled into the cool confines of the hallway. Outisde, the air was hot and fragrant, full of the scents of the flora that filled the gardens of the Meorrrei estate. The boy cupped his hands to his mouth and turned on his toes, shouting to the sky.

“Daaaanjiiiii!”

[Taataani Meorrrei]

With Daanarri more or less handled (although that was a tenuous truce at best), Taataani returned to the living room area.

"A thoussand apologjiess, mjy cubss arre ussualljy sso well behaved. jIt'ss jusst one of thosse dajyss!"



"What exactly are you looking for from me and my group?"

Sitting again, she addressed Rawlston's question in earnest.

"Arre jyou famjiljiarr wjith mjy companjy, MeorrreiCorp? A houssehold name herre jin the clussterr and elssewherre jin the galaxjy, though jI admjit therre arre marrketss we haven't tapped jinto jyet."

Her tail swished lazily as she explained.

"jI'm told that ssecurrjitjy jiss an jimporrtant commodjitjy when one becomess ssuccesssful, and afterr talkjing jit overr wjith manjy frrjiendss and colleaguess, jI thjink jit'ss jimporrtant to sstarrt conssjiderrjing jit."

Gesturing to her person with a hand at her chest, she shook her head.

"Not forr mjysself, though jI'd ljike to beljieve jI can ljive jin a galaxjy wjith otherrss wjithout worrrjyjing about all of that, but forr mjy famjiljy. jI'd be jusst devasstated jif ssomethjing werre to happen to anjy of them."

[Rawlston Quinn]

Quinn had heard of the company. MeorrreiCorp had its hands, or paws, in several different business ventures inside the Carshoulis Cluster and outside of it. Their reach went up and down the Hydian Way.

What Taataani said rang true of many businesses. One thing that all businesses had to pay attention to was security. Quinn had advised several CEO's on that matter and the ones that had chosen to ignore his advise usually ended up in the hands of maruaders, pirates, and scum.

"I can understand with your concern. Keeping ones loved ones save is paramount in our business." Quinn gestured up the stairs to where the little ones were. "But I must ask, why not use your own security forces? As I understand it, they would be quite capable. Do you question any of their loyalty?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Mjy ssecurrjitjy forrcess?"

She paused mid-pour from a carafe of water, her ears cocking in confusion.

"jI'm harrdljy the Emjirr of the Techno Unjion, jyoung man. Beforre jI arrranged forr jyou to come vjissjit me, the clossesst thjing jI could count on werre mjy own hussbandss."

She caught Taurrifarr hovering on the periphery, eavesdropping. He knew full-well that he was invited to sit and listen in earnest and participate in the conversation, but when she attempted to call him out, he suddenly made himself scarce, appearing as busy as he could with something.

She shrugged his aloofness off, and sipped some water.

"Mjy men, jI would neverr quesstjion thejirr lojyaltjy, jI love them all dearrljy, and thejy would do anjythjing forr me. But jI could neverr assk them to potentjialljy djie trrjyjing to prrotect me frrom ssome unhjinged competjitorr orr pssjychopath."

A sign of her discomfort with the thought of it, her hand shook a little as she sat her glass down. She finally did outright call for Taurrifarr with a wave, and he approached, bringing her case of stims without being asked to do so. He pulled one from the case, pressed it to Taataani's lips, and lit it for her. As she exhaled purple, spiced smoke, she patted the seat next to her for him. Her little ruse successful, Taurrifarr at last did join the conversation outright, though he still didn't say anything. She placed a hand on his nearest knee, giving him a comforting squeeze as she spoke to Rawlston.

"jI wjill ssajy, howeverr, therre'ss prrobabljy nothjing morre Taurrifarr would ljike to do than to be mjy prrotectorr and bodjyguarrd. jYou'rre herre, Mjissterr Qujinn, to make a betterr casse forr me."

[Daanarri Meorrrei]

She heard Arruuko calling, and narrowed her eyes. He came into sight below her, looking up at the second floor window where she was perched.

"Go awajy jyou ljittle ljiarrr!" Daani yelled. "jYou'rrre a babjy!"

Her little brother shouted at her, but she ignored him. She crouched down on the sill, and then leapt out of the window. For a breathless moment she felt like she was flying, and then she was reaching for the outstretched branches of the bayyossa that seemed a little further away than they had just a moment previously.

Daani didn't scream though, she wasn't a baby. The cub scrabbled at the big wide leaves, and managed to grab onto the tree, but the branches were thinner than she'd expected and didn't support her weight. Casting about with hands and tail, Daani went crashing through the tree top, twigs scratching her roughly.

At the last moment her tail wrapped around a sturdy branch and she managed to snag another one with one hand. Hanging upside down she was almost directly above Arruuko, about five feet above his head.

Gasping for breath Daani recovered long enough to stick her tongue out at him.

[Rawlston Quinn]

Quinn nodded as Taataani spoke. While most families would not hesitate to throw themselves in the path of a laser blast to protect their families, if one had money enough, they could pay total strangers to do it. Quinn had been doing this long enough that it was just a business transaction. Still, he had asked the loyalty question to make sure there wasn't an immediate danger within her household that she knew of.

Before he could take the job, however, he needed to hear what it was and the pay.

"What type of protection do you require, Rou'fai?"

Looking around, Quinn had already noted the many servants, who happened to be her husbands and at least 2 children. If this area was as secure as Taataani thought, then there would be no problem here. That possibly meant that they were going to travel... and the destination of their journey needed as much planning as the journey itself.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Daanarri'alaai! Na yethaa e' taahi!"

Laiidaarro eventually caught up to Arruuko, who led him right to Daanarri, just before she nearly killed herself with her ill-concieved defenestration.

"jYou rai'raa rrou'seeta! jYou'rre luckjy jyou djidn't hjit the grround!"

The shaved-headed manservant quickly reached up to hoist Daani back to the ground. At the same time, his tail flipped to the side, catching Arruuko at the arm as he tossed the boy a Don't even think about it! look.

"jYou crrazjy cubss, jyou know betterr than to act ljike a couple of raasha'kou'ss when jyourr mama hass companjy."




* * *



Taataani considered Rawlston's question. She honestly wasn't sure of detailed needs. What was too much? What wasn't enough?

"Prrotectjion forr mjy jimmedjiate famjiljy. Let'ss assume mjy hussbandss and cubss, and mjysself. All told, at mosst, twentjy njine people jif we'rre all togetherr."

She reached toward a lidded glass bowl, prying the lid long enough to pluck a chirping sajoi from the dish as she thought about other intangibles.

"jI trravel verrjy frrequentljy, and would need accompanjiment on bussjinesss trrjipss. Mjy famjiljy alsso tendss to trravel a lot, but mjy daughterrss arre ussualljy capable enough on thejirr own and mosst of mjy ssonss arre marrjied jinto otherr homess."

Rolling the white furred rodent around the contours of her hand, she ate the creature nonchalantly, and pushed the sajoi's protruding tail past her lips as she continued to think over logistics. Swallowing, she gave his question more consideration.

"jI have no trrouble hjirrjing jyourr companjy on rretajinerr forr long-terrm worrk. jI don't parrtjicularrljy plan forr dangerr, but jI'd ljike to be rreadjy jusst jin casse, jyou know?"

[Rawlston Quinn]

Quinn sat back, thinking about the arrangement. He disliked long term jobs for the most part because at some point they were caught up in a cause or his group got labeled as Rebel Sympathetic or Imperial Spy.

This, however was different. It was a neutral, for the most part, third party offering long term work at what would be good pay. Oh they hadn't discussed payment yet, but from what he had seen and researched on the Cizerack, they were definitely wealthy.

The issue was that most of his crew had family. Being gone too long from them wasn't good for the moral of his associates. He wouldn't want to be away from his family for long periods of time.

"Rou'fai, what we can do is operate a revolving watch. You would always have a set number of bodyguards with you where ever you go, but they would rotate out so that our other interests would still get attention. On particular assignments where you would be traveling then I would pull in more resources. Payment on such a project though, is never cheap. What were you looking at spending?"

Quinn already had in mind what it would cost him to pull this off, but he had learned to listen to what the client thought it was worth. If they had a say in the amount of money being charged, then they usually felt better with the arrangement.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She nodded at the suggestion.

"That ssoundss acceptable."

She looked to Taurrifarr, who shifted in his seat. He was still troubled. She gave him a prod in the ribs.

"Well...then assk hjim ssomethjing."

He leaned forward a little.

"Mjissterr Qujinn, jyourr bodjyguarrdss wjill no doubt have weaponss, jI know. jYou know morre about that than jI do. jI'm worrjied about jif ssomethjing bad happenss, and jif therre'ss a fjirrefjight, and ssomebodjy getss caught jin jit."

He shook his head.

"jI jusst don't want to have ssome trrjiggerr happjy man open up wjith a blassterr, jif thejy can ssolve the prroblem wjith thejirr own two handss, and jif that'ss the casse..."

He looked to his own hands in his lap.

"jI trrusst mjy own handss morre."

Taataani put a hand on his shoulder, looking to Quinn.

"jI'm ssurre Mjissterr Qujinn can handle hjimsself jusst fjine jin an unarrmed fjight. jIssn't that trrue?"

[Rawlston Quinn]

In Taurrifarr's remark, Quinn heard both fear and jealousy. He had found it typical of the male gender of most species. When they felt like they could not protect their loved ones, they were defensive of those brought in to do the job.

"I can certainly understand Taurrifarr's concerns. We are not a bunch of mercs, who shoot first and ask questions later. Our main goal is the protection of your family, not the destruction of yoru enemies. So the only time that we are pulling guns is when everything else has failed."

"As far as hand to hand combat, yes, we are all trained in various forms of offensive and defensive combat. Again, while we can kill almost anything within reason with our hands, our main weapons are our brains and diplomacy. We are a protection agency... not mercs."

Quinn looked from Taurrifarr to Taataani. "If you will, since this will be an on-going arrangement, I would like to train some of your husbands in the basics of self defense. Then they can see what we are about and how we work."

One of the things that kept Quinn in business is that he also trained people to be able to better defend themselves. It was his way of giving back and making sure that his clients would be safer, even after their contracts with him were done.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani's eyes turned to Taurrifar, who didn't have an objection queued up for that. He thought about Rawlston's proposal, and relented with a nod.

"But we arre to underrsstand..."

Taataani was quick to clarify with the security expert.

"...that jyou wjill sstjill handle ssecurrjitjy, and that thjiss trrajinjing jiss a djisstant ssecondarrjy prrjiorrjitjy, jyess?"

She still wasn't comfortable with her husbands having any hand in that sort of work, but if it would ease their concerns to be able to fall back on that in an emergency, so be it.

"Now, Mjissterr Qujinn, jyourr prrjice. What would jyou charrge forr the sserrvjicess jI need."

She was intent on getting his own quotation before she determined if that would be acceptible or not.

[Rawlston Quinn]

"It would most definitely be a distant goal to protecting you."

The main reason Quinn had mention it was to appease the hit that Taurrifar would surely take to his pride. Plus it would provide something to do during some of the down time.

"As for the price..." Quinn sat back, thinking to himself. He was keenly aware of his group watching him. They had never had a job like this. Usually their job was a set task at a set price at a set time. This was more of an open ended job that could quite literally consume his entire group. They would have to be paid for 24 hour survelliance, plus cost of protection, and being away from their respective families, and using their own ships to go back and forth.

Quinn came up with a price that on the surface seem overwhelming, but as you dug down, you saw where it was coming from. He had taken the average job, not the most dangerous and the average time he had spent with the client during that job. Then he multiplied that by the hours in the day and the days in a standard month.

"My price would 75,000 credits a month, broken down into a daily rate of 2500 credits. This would be for 24 hour protection with no less than 4 associates with you at all times on a revolving basis. Of course I would respect your wishes as to who you do or do not want to be around you and your kids."

Quinn tried to be as delicate as he could phrasing that phrase. He knew that the Wookie would probably not be a great fit if there wasn't any danger around; neither would the Gamorean.

"I can forward you the list of my crew so that you have some say in who protects you. Also, all my ships would have to have clearance to enter and travel around the Carhoulis Cluster."

Quinn looked at Taataani, waiting for her response.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

The corners of Taataani's mouth edged upward at her approval. That was a bargain. She was expecting a fairly higher quote. As it stood, Quinn looked to undercut the cost of local security by a fair margin. Under normal circumstances, she'd put a squeeze on whatever amount quoted, to see how low she could force an offer down. Since Quinn also put forth an option that would put Taurrifar at ease (or at least relatively so), she'd spare him the trouble of a counter-offer.

"Sseventjy fjive jit jiss."

Her brow knit a little at his last request.

"Passsage jin the clussterr won't be a prroblem, jusst asss long asss none of jyourr men have crrjimjinal rrecorrdss. jI wouldn't thjink that would be a prroblem though, would jit?"

[Daanarri Meorrrei]

Daani tugged at the grip Laiidaarro had on her arm, and then gave up, flopping to the ground and dangling like a rag doll from his hand. "jI am rai'raa!"

Her second-father dragged her along despite her limp body, and she screamed like a banshee, reaching out and grabbing onto plants and things as they went along, finally getting a hold of a sturdy enough plant to halt Laiidaarro, at least momentarily. "jI am an Admjirrral, ssjirr, and you arrre not to take me to the brrrjig!"

[Rawlston Quinn]

"Passsage jin the clussterr won't be a prroblem, jusst asss long asss none of jyourr men have crrjimjinal rrecorrdss. jI wouldn't thjink that would be a prroblem though, would jit?"

Quinn thought back over his crew. Even though most of them were free of criminal records, he knew that the Gamorean probably wouldn't be the best bet. "I don't see a problem with any of the ones that would be assigned to your family."

While this wasn't the most high paying job, it was consistent work and if Quinn could work the schedule correctly, none of them would get comfortable enough as to let their guard down. If nothing really happened, then it would be free money. Also, the fact that their ships would be able to travel around the Carhoulis Cluster meant that they might be open to new business opportunities.

"I guess with that settled, we should probably get a tour of the villa and meet your family and staff. It would also be a good idea to look over the ships that you frequently travel on so that we are familiar with their design and capabilities. After that we will begin to get a rotation for my staff."<!-- / message -->

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani gave a nod of her head to that.

"Of courrsse."

She made a slight gesture to her side.

"jYou'rre alrreadjy qujite well-acquajinted wjith Taurrjifarr, and jI'm afrrajid jyou've met a few of mjy mjissbehavjing ljittle oness - Arruuko and Daanarri."

She rose to her feet, and extended her hand to his own.

"Come. jI'll even sshow jyou arround mjysself."