Stimulus Package

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Carshoulis Prime



"Madam Meorrrei?"

The protocol droid receptionist outside the office of the Chairwoman of Koensayr Meorrrei Galactic chimed in over the voxcomm, causing it's owner to switch her ears back in frustration in her office.

"jYess?"

"Your 4:30 appointment is ready."

"Mjy 3:30 jiss rrunnjing overr. Can jyou rresschedule them?"

The droid's visual receptors seemed to blink.

"Certainly Madam."

Switching the voxcomm off, Taa looked down at her 3:30 she was straddling. She reached forward and plucked the datapad that had been brusquely shoved in his mouth as a makeshift gag.

"Djidn't jI sschedule jyou forr ssome otherr rreasson, Kallum?"

She pressed her hands at his chest as she leaned forward, the claws edging out, threatening to break skin.

[Kallum Romanoch]

Tough love took many shapes. It was the costly kindness that snatched him from the jaws of justice. It was a long game of trials and suffering which transformed itself into opportunity. And presently, tough love left him as tender and bruised as a manhandled mootfruit. Getting the blance right took a seasoned hand, tempered with iron and lace, but when it came to turning shit into gold, Taataani Meorrrei was blessed with the midas touch. So much so that when three-thirty arrived, Kallum was smart, presentable, and punctual. What a difference an hour makes, he thought, pinned under the matron.

And under the matron, he'd discovered, was really not a bad place to be. It was a chance encounter which had flourished into a fruitful, if professionally ambiguous, partnership. In himself he'd discovered a certain knack for thinking on his feet, a crumb of organisation, even a shocking sliver of decency. Most importantly, however, was that by some quirk of fate he'd been plucked out of the crowd and lifted from the slums, stripped of his lies and somehow remained afloat. Kallum was, for the first time in his life, an honest man. It was a great feeling, even if it involved being sized up like a hunk of raw meat at a Cizeri buffet, but he was at least legitimate meat. His employer's playful tone was punctuated by a sharp prickle of claws. He grinned.

"You tell me, mam," he said, his voice hoarse like an old pod-racer, "Yer deh brains o' dis outfi', I'm jus' deh muscle... clearly."

He considered her a moment longer, then with a wounded look, added: "Aldough, at deh implication I was summoned fer reasons udder than me stellar company, I won't lie, mam... it hurts!"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Still firmly atop, she considered the implications of her employee's bruised ego.

"Oh, well, we could go on..."

she said, accentuating the word with a tightening at her thighs and a look of pure mischief.

"...orr jI could be merrcjiful and let thosse carrpet burrnss heal."

As if witholding mercy a little longer, she applied enough pressure for her claws to draw red, and as soon as the deed was done, her hands withdrew, crossing over her naked chest.

"Bessjidess, jI know therre'ss ssomethjing jyou want jusst asss much as Taataani, and that'ss Taataani's monejy, and jI have ssomethjing jusst perrfect forr jyourr sskjill sset."

Noticing a bit of her paramour's blood on a finger, she sucked on it.

"jYou'll possjitjiveljy love jit!"

[Kallum Romanoch]

Kallum inspected his wounded chest with a grumble, he rubbed gingerly at the crimson pinpricks while Taataani warmed up. When she dropped the M-word early into the game, Kallum's insides clenched then plummeted when she spoke of his supposed skill set. It was a subject upon which he feared their eyes would never meet, not that it mattered of course, for wherever he imagined his talents lie, the matron never failed to look elsewhere to unearth them. He propped himself up on an elbow and set his face in stone.

"Dis is beginnin' teh sound familiar," he muttered grimly, recalling his last assignment babysitting younglings, then with a sigh he braced himself, "Go 'ead, lay i' on me, yer makin' me a nerfherder, right?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Taataani paused a moment, getting a visual image of Kallum with dusty dungarees, grime-caked hands, and a wide-brimmed cap. She made a face, ears cocking at opposite angles at the absurdity of it.

"Not a fan of the bucoljic ljife, wjide open sspacess, and clean ljivjing?"

Standing, the matriarch eased into a full body stretch that ran from her toes up in a wave to outstretched fingers.

"Me ejitherr." she chirped, as she slipped a silk robe over her figure that previously occupied the back of her chair.

Now properly cinched, she gave a small hop, sitting atop her oversized desk as she crossed her legs.

"No, forr once, jI'm sserrjiouss. jI need jyou'rre experrjience jin, well..."

She played with the tuft at the end of her tail and met his eyes, her voice softening a little.

"...thjinkjing ljike a crrjimjinal."

The careful look on her face and the way she was slightly leaning forward lent a conspiratorial tone to her words. She let them hang on silence a moment, then backed off, straightening up and adding a few dismissive words.

"Nothjing outrrjight jillegal..."

She paused, thinking, her face screwing up a bit as her brow knit and nose wrinkled.

"...well, legal vjia crreatjive arrgument, let'ss ssajy."

This wasn't the easiest topic for her to discuss, and she tried another angle, stepping precariously into Kallum's world.

"Naturralljy, jyou'rre the top name on mjy verrjy sshorrt ljisst."

[Kallum Romanoch]

By the time Taataani finished, Kallum had abandoned his well-worn spot on the floor and was hunched in the corner, halfway dressed. There was a protocol droid stiffness to his movements, only in part to offset the sting of amorous injury, for the matron could spot a strop at a thousand yards. He shrugged on his shirt and addressed the wall in front of him.

"Creative argument is just anudder way o' sayin' bantha shit, yeh know."

When he turned to face her at last he was wearing an uncharacteristically plain expression, his arms folded across his chest.

"Dis is me sabacc face, an' I'll wear i' while yeh say yer piece, an' den I'll say mine. I'm listenin'."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Gone was his usual candor and swagger, and he was surprisingly frank. That was unusual for Kallum. Taa abandoned introspection, however. She was past that. No, it would do them both a world of good to just be out with it.

"jI'm lookjing forr a mjiddle man to jindjirrectljy ssuppljy the Rrebel Alljiance, and mjy jinvolvement can't be djisscoverred."

The plain-spokenness of her words went off like a bomb in the room, threatening to suck out all of the oxygen. She delivered the request without any of the charming delivery she normally wielded with expert precision. If anything, she looked vulnerable in her earnestness.

"jYou'rre rrjight. Bantha sshjit. What jI want to do jiss jincrredjibljy dangerrouss, not jusst to mjy ssocjial and fjinancjial sstatuss, but posssjibljy to mjy perrsson."

She took in a measured breath.

"Can jit be done?"

[Kallum Romanoch]

There was the briefest flicker of amusement which twisted his features askew before they snapped back into place. In the space between them, the air seemed to sizzle and crack, and yet the weighted silenced was suffocating. Kallum studied the matron across from him and saw in her a frailty he would never have believed existed. The relay of angry protests racing to the front of his mind pancaked against his skull.

"Frack me, yer actually serious abah dis, aren' yeh?" he uttered, his voice muted with disbelief.

"Why, Taataani?

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Such a short question, and so many answers. She'd been trying to sum that up for months; to justify a course of action she knew she had to take more and more every day.

"Do jyou beljieve that ssuccesss alone jiss jit'ss own vjirrtue? That jit'ss enough to excel at what jyou do?"

She had an out of body experience and realized she was going down untravelled philosophical terrain with Kallum Romanoch. She was dangerously close to pearls before swine territory, but she hadn't opened up to him this much by thinking he was simply a boorish creature. He had a surprising amount of humanity hidden beneath that dime store gangster image he tried to cultivate. Certainly more than most women of Taataani's station had, from her experience.

"When jI'm gone, what wjill be ssajid of me? That jI made a lot of monejy?"

[Kallum Romanoch]

"I won' say da'," he muttered, after a moment.

It was a small consolation to what was quite clearly a very grave and personal concern. Kallum was having difficulty understanding. Innitially, he assumed it all stemmed from a reckless thrill-seeking desire to take risks, and to that end he liked to think he had some hand in that, but deep down he knew there was more to it than met the eye. Taataani Meorrrei was never that simple.

"Forge' money den. Yeh go' yer 'ealth an' yer 'appiness. Dat's all da' matters in de end, right?"

His head dipped so he could examine her eye-to-eye, after a long searching look, he said:

"Yeh are 'appy, aren' yeh?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She nodded, though in a way that betrayed the fact she was hanging onto his question.

"jI have a sson fjightjing forr the Rrebelss."

She shook her head.

"jI've sspent the betterr parrt of a jyearr trrjyjing to convjince hjim not to. Unforrtunateljy, he'ss asss sstubborrn asss hjiss motherr. He'ss convjinced he'ss dojing the rrjight thjing, and the morre jI look at the ljife he'ss leadjing, the morre jI'm wonderrjing jif he'ss rrjight about that."

[Kallum Romanoch]

It was an unexpected revelation, and Kallum allowed the surprise to first sink in before opening his mouth. He eased himself onto the desk alongside Taataani and took a keen interest in the wall opposite.

"Dat's unusual... fer a male. Surprisin' da' 'e should even care," he said, his face crumpled in distaste, "I grew up surrounded by people 'oo gave a dren abarr nottin', an' life was good. Simple, even. Can' say I understand dose bleedin' 'earts ou' dere savin' deh galaxy fer people like da'. Still..."

He cast the matron a sideways glance, "Family's important."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

That was the heart of it, and Taa nodded.

"jI've sseen a lot of people ljike the oness jyou've sseen. Thejy'rre eassjy to be sseen. Ssometjimess jit takess a closserr look to fjind the oness who arre worrth jit."

She turned to look at him as they sat adjacent, giving him a lopsided smile.

"jI sshouldn't put on ajirrss to thjink jI can ssave the galaxjy, no. But jyou've sseen what jI can do jif jI put mjysself to the tassk. Majybe jin the galactjic sscheme of thjingss, that gjivess a pussh jin the rrjight djirrectjion."

She draped an arm around him.

"jI'm asskjing jyou to do a lot, Kallum. jI won't be offended jif jyou ssajy no, but jI'll assk that jyou be djisscrrete."

[Kallum Romanoch]

"Funny," he muttered, "I'm no' as angry as I thought I'd be... probably no' as angry as I should be..."

Under the matron's comforting touch Kallum stewed silently, recalling a time many years ago when Sorsha Kasajian had done exactly the same thing, it had been the gentle nudge to send him down a long narrow path into the criminal underworld. Young and impressionable, and surrounded by a cast of exciting colourful characters armed with blasters and credits, he had leapt at the opportunity. It had been a dream come true, and for a boy from the slums of Nar Shaddaa, a golden opportunity. Now things were different, so vastly different, and yet he was prepared to make the exact same mistake all over again:

"I'll do i'."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She could tell it took a lot for him to come to an accord. He rarely exposed his sensitive side, so she should be careful not to turn him away.

"Thank jyou, Kallum. jIt meanss morre to me than jyou know."

Placing a hand on his knee, she continued.

"And not a worrd of jit to even mjy own famjiljy. Thejy..."

She sucked on her lower lip a little, thinking of how to explain.

"...jI don't thjink thejy'rre rreadjy to underrsstand."

She shook her head.

"jIsn't that ssomethjing? Me telljing jyou thjingss jI can't even tell mjy own famjiljy."

[Kallum Romanoch]

"Nah," he shrugged, "Jus' go' one o' does faces, 'aven' I? Trustworthy, yeah? A champion o' integrity!"

After a beat, the corners of his mouth began to curl, breaking his somber mask. The levity was in itself a pretense, disguising the quiet swell of pride in his chest, the confession revealed the kind of trust alien to even the thickest of thieves. He plucked a small silver case from his pocket and flicked it open to reveal a neat row of stims, which was then offered to the matron:

"Yer just ahead o' deh times. You an' yer son. Tell us abarr 'im."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She took an offered stim, and allowed him to light hers and then his.

"He'ss ssmarrt."

She shook her head.

"Pssh, brrjilljiant, morre ljike. He hass a mjind forr math, forr sscjience, forr how thjingss worrk. jI rrememberr alwajyss buyjing hjim toyss to plajy wjith, onljy to fjind he wass lookjing underr ssome of the hoodss of the famjiljy sspeederrss, orr fjindjing out one of mjy daughterrss wass gjivjing hjim herr math homeworrk to do."

She leaned back a little, bracing with her other arm against the desk as she did.

"The ljife jI could gjive to hjim on Carshoulis would have been a wasste. Even though jI knew thjiss, jI trrjied to prretend that wassn't the casse, and jI gave hjim awajy jin an arranged marrjiage when he wass jyoung."

[Kallum Romanoch]

There was no mistaking the flicker of surprise. Kallum frowned, casting the matron a sideways glance. Sometimes, it was easy to forget about their differences, and then Cizerack culture would sprout up and slap him across the face, with its nude dining and arranged marriages. It was not the same woman who made that decision, not the same woman who associated with criminals and funded rebellions, and that much was telling in her tone of voice.

"Suttin' tells me yer boy wasn' deh sort teh stay tied down. Did i' all end in tears?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She exhaled purple smoke, leaning forward as she did.

"That and morre. jI gave hjim to the Matrrjiarrch of the Raurrssaatta famjiljy. At the tjime, we werre sstrrategjicalljy alljigned jin manjy bussjinesss venturress. Cirrsseeto's marrrjiage wass to forrmaljize that clossenesss between ourr famjiljiess."

She averted her eyes from Kallum.

"He wass terrjibljy unhappjy therre, whjich would have been bad enough, but jit wass worrsse. Ieesshaauurri Raurrssaatta, hjis mjisstrresss, wass crruel even bjy sstandarrdss jyou musst alrreadjy abhorr."

She shook her head.

"Majybe jI jusst djidn't ssee jit beforre, orr majybe jI jusst told mjysself jI djidn't."

[Kallum Romanoch]

"Yeh were in a difficul' position."

Kallum shrugged. The matron already knew his feelings when it came to the more extreme aspects of her culture, and he wasn't about to expound upon them to become an all-singing all-dancing hypocrite.

"Things worked ou' in deh end. Yer son's free now, yeah? Wha' 'appened?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She gave a small laugh, to offset the depressing reliving of past memories.

"Funnjilljy enough, jI had anotherr Narr Sshaddaan jin mjy emplojy at the tjime. Ssmall galaxjy, that."

She gave his thigh a squeeze.

"jYou mjight rrememberr Raifaani talkjing about herr ljittle tojy. Hjiss name'ss Ssanjiss Prrent. Back then, he wass a talented pjilot, but brroke and dessperrate. jI put hjim to worrk asss mjy drrjiverr, and when jI found out he had even morre talent, had hjim trrajin pjilotss jin mjy companjy."

She tapped a length of growing ash into an ashtray on the desk, and passed it on to Kallum.

"Once jI began to ssusspect the trruth about Cirrsseeto and Ieesshaauurri, jI decjided to make usse of Ssanjiss to ssmuggle mjy own sson off of Carshoulis. Therre'ss no Cizeri analogue forr djivorrce orr whateverr the terrm majy be that forrda use forr endjing a marrjiage, sso jI got crreatjive."

She took an exceptionally long drag on the stim, and blew two jets of purple out her nose.

"Once mjy sson wass out of harrm'ss wajy, Iesshaauurri had no wajy to prrove mjy hand jin hjiss esscape. And we no longerr had tjiess bjindjing uss togetherr."

The look on Taataani's face gave Kallum an absolute reminder that for all of Taataani's charisma and charm, she kept razor sharp ruthlessness well sheathed within the pleasant parts.

[Kallum Romanoch]

That gave him a smile. Kallum had discovered in himself a weakness for powerful women which, were not for a serendipitous encounter with the matron, would've surely seen him pickled and skinned. He gauged Taataani with a tilt of the head and a knowing eye.

"Sounds like yer were made fer dis outlaw business, mam. If yeh don' mind my sayin' so an' all," he said, looking rather pleased with himself.

"I'd like teh meet dis son o' yours. By deh sound o' i', 'e's as unusual as 'is ol' girl, an' dat's a complimen'!"

A column of smoke was jettisoned through a barely contained grin. There was a small part of him that was concerned at his lack of fight in the face of impending criminality; perhaps he was simply hardened to it, or maybe he was just going soft. A sudden thought creased his face:

"Listen, if I do dis, dere's no way I'm gonna be referred to as the "Middle Man". Yer gonna 'ave teh come up wi' a title worthy o' a man o' my considerable talents."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She contemplated his first musing, about her prospects in a future life of crime. She had to admit, when he framed her past experiences in that light, it seemed to resonate with old Huttese gangster films they used to make. Never go against the family, after all.

His request snapped her out of that mental image, and she mulled it over.

"Oh cerrtajinljy. How about Chjief Executjive Ljiasson? Ssound excjitjing enough?"

She put on a bit of extra pomp sounding out his potential honorific. Thinking, she tapped her stim on the ashtray.

"Of courrsse, ssometjimess lesss jiss morre. A ssmarrt-drresssed jyoung ssharrk ljike jyourrsself carrrjyjing mjy bussjinesss carrd? Leave jyourr cljientss beggjing to teasse out the mjyssterrjy. Taataani Meorrrei's man openss a lot of doorrss, no?"

She reached up, finger brushing under his jawline to tilt his head up for her appraisal.

"What do jyou want morre of? Fame and powerr, orr mjyssterrjy and allurre? jYou know jI can't rressjsst plajyjing drresss-up wjith jyou. jYou'rre alwajyss a deljightful prroject!"

[Kallum Romanoch]

There was a time, not too long ago, when Kallum would've taken grave offense at the prospect of being made someone's personal make-over project. Nowadays, it was just part and parcel of rolling with Taataani Meorrrei and her colourful managerie. In the end, he reminded himself, the result of all that enforced grooming had been worth it. It was why her latest statement had eyebrows scaling his brow.

"Mystery an' allure, eh?" he repeated, cigarette standing to attention on his lips.

Memories of secret agent holovids surfaced; images of snappy suits, expensive speeders, and beautiful women waltzed before him, drawing a thin smile across his face. Leaning back on his hands, he gave Taataani a happy shrug:

"Fame an' power's overrated anyway."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Glad he thought the way she wanted him to. Having a sign on his back that said TAATAANI MEORRREI probably wouldn't help either of them very much in the long run in this tricky business.

She gave him a knowing look.

"Ssometjimess wjissdom pourrss frrom jyourr mouth sso unexpectedljy. Mjind jyou, jyou have to clean a bjit of the accent off to fjind jit."

She finished her stim, ashed it, and plucked his own for seconds.

"jI'd almosst call jyou a djiamond jin the rrough, but then jI'd have to pop that ego all overr mjy sstudjy and make a messs of thjingss."

[Kallum Romanoch]

His weak smile knotted into a grimace.

"Madam Meorrrei, I am many things an' I pretend teh be many more, bu' wise isn' one o' dem."

It didn't sit well with him, being credited with something like that, it felt false like wearing another man's clothes. The smile returned as he reflected on the old girl's kindness.

"Yeh overestimatin' me, Taataani. Settin' yerself up fer disappointmen' like da'," he shook his head in pity, "Looks like I go' yer under me spell a' last."

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"Oh?"

She took on a sultry conspiratorial expression, draping an arm around his shoulder again.

"jYou ssajy jump, jI ssajy how hjigh? jIss that jit? jI ljike the noveltjy of jit, on a larrk."

Her tail looped around him, laying across his lap.

"jYou know, jI could make an honesst man out of jyou. Morre than jI have alrreadjy."

[Kallum Romanoch]

"Is da' a threat?" he asked, punctuating his question with an eyebrow arched.

"Y'know, maybe I could settle down... buy groceries... learn teh cook. We could buy furniture togedder. When yeh ge' 'ome from work, I'd be dere with yer daily holos an' yer dressin' gown. I'd gain weight. You'd 'ave someone younger on deh side. We'd drink 'ot choc'late wi' whiskey by deh fire an' rub each udders feet..."

Trailing off dreamily, he shot Taataani an inquisitive glance, "Wha' d'yeh reckon, mam? Would i' suit me, domestic bliss?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

"jI've had jyourr cookjing beforre, Kallum." She replied, a bit of apprehension on her face. Her expression turned a bit breezier as she gave a shrug.

"Orr jif the drrojid'ss not brroken, don't fjix jit, jI guesss. jYou can sstjill rrub mjy feet jif jI don't put a necklace on jit, rrjight?"

[Kallum Romanoch]

"Gladly."

His fingers folded over hers and guided the stim to his lips, in the silence that followed discriminating eyes lazed over her features. Once the last creaking embers were snuffed, he sat upright, affording the matron some personal space. His gaze followed a trail of smoke skyward.

"Ever fired a blaster, mam?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

She shook her head.

"Can't ssajy jI have. That'ss the ssorrt of thjing jI ussualljy pajy otherr people to do. Would jyou beljieve that vjiolence jissn't on mjy rressume?"

[Kallum Romanoch]

"Yeh migh' wanna change da', yeh know, considerin' dis new venture."

It had occured to Kallum that it was a facet of fledgling criminality the matron was unlikely to entertain, but considering the lone wolf circumstances of her latest project, it was in all likelihood a neccessary evil. He was curious to see her reaction. In for a penny...

"Yeh're alone in dis one, mam, an' if suttin' were teh go wrong an' dey came lookin' fer yeh... les' jus' say dey won' be like me. Know wha' I mean?"

[Taataani Meorrrei]

It was an unpleasant thought, and Taataani's smile disappeared. She'd taken the liberty of hiring security to keep her family safe during her travels, but she'd never thought about literally taking matters into her own hands. The very notion of being in the kind of lifestyle where you had to remember where your gun was, or what outfit you needed to wear to conceal it...

"Anjy ssuggesstjionss forr me? Ssomethjing powerrful, but not too bjig. Ssmall and cute, jI want to put jit jin a handbag."

[Kallum Romanoch]

"Merr-Sonn designed a tidy little piece a few years back called deh Model QT Quicksilver. Considered deh crownin' jewel o' deh classic Q-Series 'old-out blaster range. Deh Quicksilver is small an' ligh'weigh' and it's made from a dallorian alloy like deh ol' WESTAR-34's, so yeh won' burn yer well-manicured little digits in a lengthy firefight-"

Kallum cut himself off for an instant to reflect upon the absurd mental image of Taataani Meorrrei, Rou'fai of House Meorrrei and chief executive of MeorrreiCorp, cutting lose with a couple of trendy death cannons. And yet, as ludicrous as it was, the thought went happily hand-in-hand with her plan to play Quartermaster to the Rebel Alliance. Perhaps, he thought with an amused smirk, there was something to be said for the old phrase about having more money than sense.

"In short, expensive an' pretty, perfect fer deh discernin' fashionista wi' a 'ealthy bloodlust."