A Company Man

[Sanis Prent]

I wasn't sure exactly what Sasseeri Reeouurra had in store for me. Two weeks on Cloud City had my head, well, in the clouds. On flimsiplast, I was Manager of the Cumulus Resort and Casino. A low six-figure income and regular hours. Count the money, pay the upkeep and the help, and make sure the proles drink, make merry, gamble, and leave plenty of credits on the table when they're shown the door. That part was on flimsi, at least.

Nothing with Sasseeri ever remained simple, fortunately. Keep an eye on an inbound ship and make sure it loses some cargo. Make sure a few friendly faces find that cargo. Buy people you can afford, deal with those you can't. I'd only had a taste of the Byzantine life that Black Sun demands in my gilded cage days on Coruscant. Now, I was being served the whole banquet. The half-blooded Cizerack had either given me enough tether to run with, or enough rope to hang myself. I wasn't sure which she preferred in the long run, although my own preference was obvious.

It was early afternoon, just before the heavy crowd would start to hit the Casino. I'd tended to the small tasks of morning and mid-day and had just returned to my skyline suite to change into evening attire. One task remained unfinished, still sitting on my desk on a datapad separate from the other work. I still hadn't assigned a name to the YZ-79 freighter that my generous employer had gifted me. I'd thought up a hundred names, and crossed out a hundred. Maybe it was a trivial thing, but it had occupied my mind more than the sum of the day's corruptions so far.

The door to my suite chimed before I could do anything about it, however.

"Enter."

[Kal Olorin]

I was feeling tired. It was a long trip in from Nar Shaddaa to Bespin, and I was pretty sure I was never going to smell right ever again after visiting the Hutt spa in Nal Traa for a walk through. Three extensive showers later I still caught the odd whiff on the air around me, but no one had said anything. They were all too polite, most likely.

I was without an escort - this used to be my place, so I was pretty sure I knew my way around. Now I was in charge of all of Sassy's casino empire, which now included one about to break ground in Alliance space, thanks to her new golden boy. Or boy toy. Or prisoner. With her the lines were a little more than blurred. For the moment, though, Sanis Prent was doing good work for the company. I rang the bell outside his suite, and glanced up at where I knew the security camera was hidden, giving Tragoni a little nod.

"Enter."

Surprised, a little, I found the door opening and I stepped through. "Expecting someone, Prent?"

[Sanis Prent]

"Yeah"

I replied inscrutably, but definitely didn't infer that it was Sassy's bag man. The price of playing the franchise game. Of course I was definitely not dumb enough to deal from the bottom of the deck in the boss lady's casino. For all I knew, she had it wired like a Life Day tree. I had no intentions on shaking things up.

"Enjoy Nar Shaddaa?"

I poured from a decanter of Corellian whisky into a pair of tumblers, passing one to Sasseeri's capo. I didn't have to wait for the colorful description, and the whisky was condolences if anything.

"I take it you're not here to count the till?"

[Kal Olorin]

"What? Oh, no. Thanks," I said, accepting the drink and raising it up in a small salute. "Congrats on the promotion, Prent. I can't say I expected it, but you seem to be doing all right."

I sipped the whiskey, and added, "Of course, it's only been two weeks. Good whiskey." I smiled. "I'm just here to accompany you on your evening walk through. Dinner first, though?"

[Sanis Prent]

I walked to the rack by my desk, pulling my evening jacket off a hanger and slid it on to complete my evening attire.

"You're a bit of a change from my usual dinner company, Kal. Don't expect to come up for caf later, I'm not that kind of girl."

Of course, when your peak hours coincide with traditional dinner rush, you learn to eat on an adapted timetable. I was already feeling it, and apparently Kal knew how the timing worked too.

"Got a recommended spot?"

[Kal Olorin]

I shrugged, finishing off my whiskey. "I usually ate at the walk-up bar in the middle of the slot machine floor. I'm a chicken fingers sort of guy though, we can go wherever you want. Nimbus has the best atmosphere, but Cirrus has the best chef. And Sasseeri always eats at Nimbus, probably because of the dress code." I flicked my shirt collar and tugged on my very nice leather spacer jacket, but it was still a spacer jacket so if he wanted to hobnob with the upper crust this afternoon I'd have to change.

[Sanis Prent]

"Cirrus, then."

Which suited me just fine. It was already a place I'd insinuated myself at early on. You don't take eating that well for granted when in a previous life you were heating protein packs with spice sachets over engine coils.

We took the executive express lift to the catwalk level, departing to take a stroll across the skyline that would lead to the North Tower that housed, among other things, Cirrus. Already the foot traffic was picking up as patrons were making their way to the casino levels. Hopefully it would be another banner day. I kept the chit-chat casual while we moved along.

"The local Moff has been taking a spit-wash to the place since I got here. Rübezahl, I think's the name. Used to be in holos or something. Anything I need to know about him? So far he's just cleaning the fresh layer of piss out of Port Town and bringing some new money into town, but I'd like to get a bird's eye view on the guy."

[Kal Olorin]

"Yeah, actually, I'm surprised the Moff is taking such a personal interest in the city, but ever since the Imperials took over things have been a little... different." I looked at Prent. "I would be more worried about the Baron Administrator." Nice pair of legs on that one though. Ms. Tagge was the sort that would eat you alive and you'd thank her for it and ask for more.

Or you'd be dead. Classy lady, Sanya Tagge.

"Fortunately for you, most of the ground work has been laid already. We've been operating under Imperial rule for over a year, all you need to is to keep the beast rolling."

[Sanis Prent]

I winced as he mentioned Tagge. Her name was certainly unavoidable here. Still, his 'steady as she goes' mantra made me feel a little wary.

"So you're not worried about any muscle moving in? What about that Cathar broad over at Holiday? Heard she was holding it down for one of the Vigos back in the day then went freelance."

We arrived at Cirrus after passing through the catwalk, and the Maitre D attended to our seating needs without a word needing to be said. The perks of this job were amazing. Led to our seats, we both took our places, and I kicked my chair out slightly as I straddled across it to sit.

"Seems a bit, I dunno. Loose end and all. Have you come at her before? Buy her out? Give her a scare talk? She's not an unknown quantity is she?"

[Kal Olorin]

A kid with a shiny new toy. Godsdammit he was enthusiastic about the job. Now, Prent was an accomplished smuggler and not a wide eyed college boy on his first assignment, but he was probably feeling a little itchy. Pinned down.

Looking for trouble.

"Arriana Rezner and Holiday Towers don't encroach on our business. We aren't friends, but she's certainly not an unknown quantity. If they start branching out, then we'll need to reevaluate, but things have been operating smoothly for years before you arrived." I raised an eyebrow, and looked at my menu for a minute. You don't mess with equilibrium, surely even a smuggler could figure that much out.

[Sanis Prent]

The don't rock the boat vibe was clear, and I took it in stride. After all, Olorin was still a Vigo, and even if he didn't pull rank, he'd kept Bespin a reliable bread-winner from what I saw. Guess the hustler part of me couldn't help looking at all the inner workings to see exactly when the game would get switched.

"Blood's expensive. Got it."

I nodded, giving a vague pass over the drinks menu before settling on a Togrutan Caipirinha.

"Plus I suppose the Empire won't tolerate much of that sort of thing on the surface. Fair enough, Kal. I'm a lover, not a fighter."

[Kal Olorin]

I grinned at that, and smiled up at the Twi'lek waitress who stopped by the table. "Eyeblaster on the rocks... and an order of that fried calamari to start. Nerd steak medallions, medium, mashed potatoes, and hold the mushrooms." I handed her the menu.

"Certainly, Mister Olorin." She turned her attention to Sanis, who placed his order, and after a minute we were alone again.

I looked out the large windows at the vista, the spires of Cloud City lit up by the afternoon sun. "So. Cumulus. I suppose I should be glad it isn't the Morning Star. Your last stay there was... memorable."

[Sanis Prent]

"I'm afraid I don't recall."

I spoke like the cat who ate the canary, my sudden forgetfulness carrying double meaning. It was bad business at the time, but somehow pretty funny once all the alcohol had worn off and the bodies were disposed of.

"At any rate, I doubt I'll have time for too many indiscretions. The docket seems to be stacked more than it isn't. As a matter of fact, I..."

My comm beeped, and I glanced down at it just as the waitress returned with our drinks. Taking my pink-hued cocktail from her, I glanced apologetically to Kal.

"...speak of the Sith, I gotta take this. Hang on."

Shifting my chair slightly, I kept the comm in private mode, ensuring that at least half of the conversation was discrete.



"Yeah?

Okay.

Seven-fifty. He'll try to low-ball it, but tell him that's going rate.

Well...

...no. No it doesn't work like that. If he thinks he can, he's perfectly willing to try. He won't get a better shake in Greater Javin.

No.

Because I don't know him from fucking Adam, that's why. I don't care who his reference is. If I like what I see, he can talk about a bigger piece, but he takes seven-fifty at face right now or I walk.

Explain it to him.

Look, I don't have time for this. Get back to me when he's got an answer."



I clicked off the comm and finally tended to my drink, sipping at the pithy concoction as I pushed aside the stalk of sugarcane lodged in as garnish.

"Imports." I explained in the cryptic sort of way that Kal would understand when out in public.

[Kal Olorin]

I watched the room while Prent took his call, only half listening to his side of the conversation. An'asta Oblis was walking through the restaurant, her glossy dark hair catching the light and showing off the deep red highlights within. She was in charge of the counting rooms, I'd promoted her myself about a year ago. An'asta was whip smart and almost as cold as Sasseeri when it came to business. No nonsense was tolerated in the bowels of the casino - she ran a tight ship. Tight... um. Yes.

She stopped and looked around, then caught my eye and headed toward us. "I have the numbers for this morning, sir." An'asta presented the datapad to Prent, and smiled at me. I popped a fried squid into my mouth and chewed, grinning back.

"How's the new management going, Oblis? Acceptable? Say the word, I'll get rid of him." I winked.

[Sanis Prent]

I swapped a knowing look with Kal, taking the numbers from Oblis as I did.

"He's...charming."

A'nasta gave the compliment with a mirthless icy accent, the sort of way that makes you question its sincerity. I grinned, leaning back to sip my caipirinha while loosening my collar slightly.

"Charming. See? Rapport building 101."

As she left, I glanced casually at the report. In the black, and with room to spare. I screen-locked it and set it aside.

"So I figure me warming your old office means your stock's rising too. Nar Shaddaa trips aside, of course."

[Kal Olorin]

I ran a hand through my hair, and nodded. "Having the best casino on Nar Shaddaa isn't really saying much, let me tell you." I chuckled, though still felt vaguely like I had a bit of Hutt aroma clinging to me.

"But yeah, I'm doing all right. Sassy does right by her people if you do your job right. I started off as a bodyguard and now look at me. Vigo." I drained my eyeblaster and the waitress appeared almost from thin air to hand me another. "Thanks sweetheart."

[Sanis Prent]

The thought gave me a little pause. I'd backed into this job as something of a stay of execution for previous deals reneged. Though I was making a fair wage, I knew how far in the red I went with Miss Reeouurra, and that she had me on the hook for a good while. Of course, I'd stopped considering it a hook at all. There was a future here. My future.

It occurred to me that this was the second time I'd been conveniently saved from my insolvency and black deeds by a Cizerack woman with a big pocketbook. Maybe I was absorbing the feline feat of landing on my feet somehow by osmosis.

Holding my drink up, I flicked a smirk to toast to our mutual good graces in climbing the golden ladder.

"Well then, here's to our benevolent employer. May we forever stay on her good side."

[Kal Olorin]

"Hear hear," I said, raising my glass and taking a sip. Sassy had a lot of sides and while they all looked good, most of them ended in claws.

Our meals arrived then, and I dug into my steak with anticipation. No one seared nerf medallions like Jotunah did in the kitchens of Cirrus. My first bite was not a disappointment, and I chewed slowly so I could enjoy the juices completely. "Did you hear the story of how my ship got stolen? Was about a year back. This green Ciz half-breed seduces Sasseeri, and somehow nicks my starship master key right out from the safe in the wall, without opening it. I didn't even know they came in green." I took another large bite. "Escaped into the black, and haven't turned up yet. Probably sold it for parts on Tatooine."

I winced a bit at the thought. "Anyway, we had to rework our ID badges after that, she had a partner who used a guard's ID to get access to the guest safes, stole some very expensive pieces. Was a real fucking pain to deal with the insurance paperwork."

[Sanis Prent]

I sat aside my cocktail as my seared Calamarian scallops on risotto arrived, taking interest in neither of them suddenly. I leaned forward a bit at the mention of a green Cizerack. No, you don't see them often. And you remember them when you do.

"Rai'raa?"

That was the name the boss lady dropped when I'd been sent to pick up her scent on Nar Shaddaa. I'd picked up another name.

"Or was it Amara Neyani?"

My eyes narrowed in respectful understanding of exactly how Kal and Sass had been screwed over.

"Whatever she's calling herself these days, I've got both eyes open."

[Kal Olorin]

"She's a piece of work," I agreed, cutting off another bite of steak. "I doubt she'll show back up around here."

Sasseeri had been upset at being stolen from, but I always figured she had another reason for wanting the other half-breed returned to her. After all, other than the ship it had been a pretty small time theft, and the ship was mine not hers, so she didn't really care all that much about it. Rai'raa's name hadn't turned up on any bounty lists, so unless the green girl waltzed into Black Sun's open arms, she was pretty safe from retaliation. Elevator footage had recorded Rai'raa and Sassy engaging in a pretty hot makeout session before moving to the penthouse, so I just let my imagination fill in the blanks from there.

Of course, the footage was deleted. There wasn't a copy of it in my personal files. Nope.

I ate another bite of steak.

[Sanis Prent]

"You figure she got scared straight about the big marks?"

I half-shrugged, turning my fork over in the risotto listlessly. The conversation was more appealing than the food at the moment.

"Maybe. She sure came at us pretty hard for that shipment we fronted as a honeypot, though. If one of the errand girls from the Kajidics hadn't caused trouble, she would've been an easy bag."

Something to file away later, no doubt. I wasn't in the people hunting business anymore. I contracted that out now.

"So, you been reading the Holos much?"

On to other topics, I queued up a news feed on the datapad. Finding the correct article (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?55336-We-All-Fall-Down), he slid it across to the Vigo.

[Kal Olorin]

I skimmed the headline, and nodded. "Can't go two feet in a spaceport without this being slapped in your face." I swallowed, hard, and winced a little as the too-big-bite slowly slid down my throat. I sipped my water. "My next stop, actually. The Eldest Brother is on the other side of the planet from Coronet, but they had some seismic activity that broke windows and shut down the adventure park, and I have reports that the foundation is cracked, and another one that says everything is fine. So, tomorrow I head out there. The only good thing is that it cut my Nar Shaddaa trip short." I ran my hand through my hair, and leaned back in my seat.

Was that a whiff of rancid seaweed? Stop being paranoid, Olorin. Blaze would have told me, and in fact she'd told me several times that I smelled just fine now would I let her get back to her paperwork? "I would keep your ears open for any similar activity here, though. Terrorism breeds terrorism, and if Corellia goes other formerly independent planets will follow suit. The former former former Baron Administrator had quite strong ties to the Rebellion after all."

[Sanis Prent]

I gave the barest of nods, finally turning to my risotto for a disinterested bite. Swallowing, I gestured a bit with my fork.

"There's probably some good money to be had in all the confusion over there. I mean, I'm the last guy to play politics, but if there's a bunch of extremists running amok, we probably can find a few needs to meet on the side. War's good money, right? I mean as long as it's not our war."

[Kal Olorin]

"It's not something for the dining room, but yeah, we're adequately positioned in the area." I raised an eyebrow, and scooped the innards of the baked tubers onto my fork. "Won't exactly help the tourist industry of course."

[Sanis Prent]

My response was a flippant shrug as I took another bite.

"They dropped a star destroyer over Coronet. Even if we don't lift a finger, I'm pretty sure nobody on Corellia is gonna be in the theme park sort of mood for a while."

Still, he was right. Best not to get too sanguine while out on the town.

"I get the gist though, don't worry. Here are the keys, here's how you steer her, don't crash her into anything, and put a full tank in when you bring her back. Relax Kal, I'll take good care of your baby. Just trying to see how the road looks up ahead is all."

[Kal Olorin]

He had a bit too much on his plate to already be looking ahead to see where he could go next. I chomped on the steak in my mouth, wondering if I had ever been that ambitious.

Nah.

It wasn't like promotions had just fallen from the sky onto my lap; I worked hard and did what was asked of me. Sasseeri had rewarded that with more and more responsibilities. Sanis had come in as bottom feeder scum and fallen backwards onto his ass into a prime location in the organization. Was I bitter? Maybe. I finished off my drink and wiped my mouth clean, dropping the napkin on my plate. "Ready for the walk through? Just go about your business, I'm not here to interfere."

[Sanis Prent]

I'd dutifully worked through the artfully-plated scallops and risotto as if it were a holo dinner. The Capirinha was just liquid dessert, a prelude to getting on with things.

"Sure thing. Let's take a walk."

Not having to settle a bill at the end of the meal made dining out easy. Company men just dropped a name, ordered, ate, and moved on. It was operational expense, the price of doing business. Kal and I pushed on from the restaurant, headed back to the Casino floor. Everything was well-oiled. I flagged down the pit boss, got the skinny on any high rollers in the establishment. It wasn't ever about being in the black or not. No casino stayed open by losing money. The game was all in the percentages. Tonight's take was eighteen percent at last count. Twenty was a better night. The margin easily fell within fickle luck.

It was an odd thing, being on this side of the house divide. I'd spent my entire life trying to game the system. Cheat it. Make an easy cred. Now, I was the guy who came down on poor schmucks who were in my old line of work. Still, living the other life gave you a hint of what to look for. The glance over a shoulder. Someone's posture stiffening a bit. There was an Ugnaut at the chance cube table ahead who was less interested in the game than having a look around. He was playing a different game, and it was one that myself and Kal were also playing.

I gave the newly-minted Vigo a tap on the arm.

"Kissic."

Taul Kissic was the Tibanna Local 315 boss. We had an...understanding.

[Kal Olorin]

"Interesting," I said, and I meant it. Taul Kissic was an old timer at the Tibanna mines (please don't ask me how one mines gas from clouds, I'm pretty sure they're more properly called extractors or something like that) and if Sanis had managed to finally get him to come around it either meant he was better than I thought he was, or Taul was more desperate.

Actually, yeah, with the Empire around, the Ugnaughts were probably getting buried with more work than they could handle, what with the increased demand. "What's the current situation there?"

[Sanis Prent]

"The Empire wants Tibanna." I stated as a matter of fact. "And they're openly appealing for roughnecks outside of the union."

Signing bonuses, perks, the like. The Empire was more careful about this game than they were seven years ago. No more direct nationalization, no more overt domination. They didn't want a riot in port down and parts below to shake their hold again. Instead, they gave the union space and recognized their charter. That didn't mean they had to like it, and now they wanted to shrink the union's pie and bring in freelancers to increase production.

Kissic saw us, and recognized us both. The diminutive alien waddled up with a gruff squeal.

"We need to talk."

Which we were already doing, but we all knew the sort of talking implied was for a back room.

[Kal Olorin]

I let Sanis take point to the back room. It was his joint now, not mine, and he picked a different room than I would have, but I didn't let it bother me. Much.

"What's going on Kissic?" I asked, once we were all behind a closed door. He was a standard sized Ugnaught, if a little thicker around the center than usual, but he still seemed to have all the right handsome Ugnaught features that drove the Ugnaught females wild. At least, I assume so, I really don't know how they procreate, nor do I ever wish to find out.

[Sanis Prent]

Kissic's irritation was fully unveiled now that we were out of the public eye. He produced a flimsi, which was pressed into Kal's hand.

"They're screwing us! The Empire's pushing for a fifty percent production increase, and they're running roughshod over the union to get it. They're moving in with scabs from a half dozen backwaters and they don't give a damn about the conditions or the safety or the quality, so long as they get their cubic meters!"

That wasn't great news. We had a nice cozy thing with the union. We wet our beak in their dues coffers, and in exchange we helped to strongly suggest that any work that happened in the miners districts happened through the union. Intimidation, a few beatings when that didn't work. In the end, anyone muscling the union either kowtowed and paid their dues for their ident cards or they left Bespin. Either option was good.

"So how does this change the calculus?"

I crossed my arms, already figuring out that it was a scale issue. A fifty percent increase was huge. Even with unaffiliated wildcat gas miners working the fringes, it would be ambitious. Kissic grunted and squealed in frustration.

"My crews are already running ragged. I can't keep them going at this rate by themselves because they'll push me out of the union chair if they don't get a kickback."

"All this means is that we have more offworld rubes to lean on until they get in line. Increase your member dues, fill the ranks. Meet the Empire's orders."

"Even if we get one out of every two, there's no way we meet this quota. The Empire's gotta come to grips with reality."

I'd become a complicit cog in the Empire's machinery. I cheated and conned wherever I could. Glancing over to Kal, I shrugged.

"The Moff put in a new production czar a month ago. I haven't gotten a feel for him yet, but we might be able to persuade him."

It was a dangerous game trying to exert influence upstairs. The Empire could always move to nationalize production outright like they had years ago when Darth Vader had taken control. That experiment ultimately failed for the Empire and they took a more progressive bent to things, but there was no telling when they might reneg on the whole deal with the workers. Milking union dues wasn't a massive revenue stream, but it was generally a reliable one, so it was worth protecting. The question was how much neck we wanted to stick out on account of it.

[Kal Olorin]

"Probably should feel lucky the Empire isn't bringing in slaves to do the work," I say. "Why not encourage the new workers, these 'scabs' to join the union and pay dues?"