"Persuasion"
By: Kaysa Zenarr- Owner, Zenarr Inc.
Vrax [NPC] - Kaysa's sidekick
Location: New Plouton
Date: Saris 11, 3 ABY
***
"Vrax! Stop lagging and get your butt over here," Kaysa called back to the robust, light-haired man who was haggling with a vendor over something Kaysa couldn't quite make out. "Oh by the force, you're not eating again, are you?" she asked, rolling her eyes and laughing in amusement as the man scurried to catch up to her with a handful of candy. In all the years she'd known Vrax, she had never seen him without food for more than an hour at any given time.
He was predictable and that's how she liked it; it was the only reason she trusted him as much as she did. His behaviour was never erratic and he never gave her any reason to believe he would ever deceive her, and that was why he was her aide and occasional confidante. Kaysa was assured of Vrax's faithfulness only by the knowledge that he had always had his eye on her, even though she had made it quite clear from the start that he had absolutely no chance. In fact, no man did.
Kaysa had sworn off men and believed it was for the best. 'They're trouble,' she'd tell Vrax during one of their long talks as they strolled through Commerce City. 'All they look to a woman for is a warm place between her legs to put his...' It was always at this point that Vrax would clear his throat and interject, never letting her finish her thought, not that she needed to. He always got the point, and his blushing cheeks indicated that quite clearly to Kaysa. She enjoyed seeing him flustered around her; it was her speciality, after all.
Kaysa made a hobby of using her female prowess to get ahead, but she had one rule: she could seduce a man to get what she wanted, but she never gave herself to them unless it was absolutely necessary. She respected herself far too much to do such a degrading thing as that. She had lovers, that was for certain, but she was never with the same man twice and not for very long. Men always got far too attached and Kaysa wasn't ready or willing to get tied down just yet.
Kaysa pushed back a strand of brown hair from her face as she continued to stroll down the streets, Vrax finally catching up to her. Kaysa sighed as she looked around at all the same places she passed everyday on her walks. The same faces, the same customers squabbling with the same vendors...she was growing wary of the monotony, but she couldn't leave Commerce City. The day she arrived there, her business began to thrive better than she had expected. The smuggling business was a very competitive one, as many already knew, but Kaysa managed to survive. She was constantly having to deal with sabotage, raids on her shipments, and not to mention trying to evade the law at every turn.
Commerce City was the place to be if Zenarr Inc. was to survive. She could run her business in a respectable place, helping her pass it off as legitimate and meanwhile, rake in as many credits as she could doing what her business was really known for in the underworld: smuggling.
Greed... She fed off it like many feed off food and water. It is what drove her and made her the person she was today. She went to great lengths to make herself wealthy, and stepped on many toes and broke a few hearts to get there. No one had ever given her a break in her life, so it was only right that she showed the same lack of courtesy to others. She enjoyed being a smuggler and the perks that came with it, including being your own boss and keeping the majority of the profit to yourself, but the creds just weren't coming in fast enough for her.
The Empire was cracking down on smuggling, making it harder for Kaysa's men to successfully complete their runs. Everytime their shipments were late or not met, it was money out of her pocket, money she couldn't bear to part with. No, she wanted the security of knowing that she could sit back and relax while the money just kept building up in her account. A nice thought, but not a very realistic one.
"Hey, Kaysa, what's on your mind?" Vrax asked as he looked up at her curiously. "You seem so mellow today. Not your usual self, that's for sure."
"If I seem mellow, it's only because I'm bored with my life," Kaysa answered, stopping her slow trek and leaning against a wall. "I mean, I've come to the decision that I don't want to work for the rest of my life, Vrax. I've been doing this for almost 10 years and look at me...look at us! We still struggle for money and I can tell you that I'm not very happy. I mean, are you really happy, Vrax, and would you be having to follow around a miserable grouch like me everyday for the duration of your existance? That doesn't sound very appealing to me."
Vrax tried to hide the grin creeping across his face. "Of course I would follow you everywhere forever. We're a team, and a good one at that."
Kaysa smiled and punched Vrax playfully in the arm. He had become the closest thing to a friend she had ever had, even though he would have preferred it if they were more than that. She actually enjoyed having him around at times, even though he was overprotective of her. It was flattering, watching him defend her honour against a group of drunken men, but if she didn't step in half the time, he'd most likely end up dead. She could handle herself and assured him of that on many occasions, but he never backed down and she admired him for that.
"You know, Vrax, I've been thinking. What if...what if there were a quicker way to make a cred?" Kaysa asked.
"What do you mean, Kayse? You thinking of quitting? Of giving up Zenarr Inc.? You can't! You built that from the ground up, all by yourself. I won't let you ruin everything you've worked for," Vrax protested.
"Calm down, Vrax. I'm not ready to give up the business yet, but what if you and I had a little side project, just another way to bring in some extra credits?" Kaysa said, smiling at Vrax.
"Ok, I'm listening. What did you have in mind?" Vrax asked with intrigue.
"Well, you know how we used to pull those little cons back in the old days?"
Vrax laughed and nodded his head. "Oh, those were some good times, weren't they?"
"The best," Kaysa answered with a smile on her face as she reminisced. Her and Vrax had made quite the team back then, one distracting the victim while the other picked their pockets. Kaysa knew childish schemes such as those wouldn't work nowadays and they certainly didn't give a big payoff. No, the plan Kaysa had in mind this time was much more sophisticated and would take far more planning and forethought if it was to succeed. "Vrax, I think I know a way to make us really rich, and all it would take is for me to use my sexual appeal and brains, as well as your brawn and skill."
Vrax grinned as Kaysa mentioned getting rich...and he became even more intrigued when she mentioned sex. "Go on, Kayse. I wanna hear what that twisted mind of yours has come up with this time."
Kaysa leaned in closer to Vrax, looking around for eavesdroppers before continuing the outline of her proposal. "Well, there are alot of wealthy, naive business men lurking around this place, all of them just waiting to get duped, and by us. All we need to do is to find a very rich, handsome - he has to be handsome - man who's stupid enough to fall for me. After that I get him to marry me and write me into his inheritance. Simple, huh?"
Vrax furrowed his brow as he tossed the idea around in his mind. It seemed simple enough and could work, but he wasn't certain if Kaysa could pull it off. He wasn't stupid enough to vocalize his doubts, for he knew the penality for that. Kaysa could be vicious when crossed and even worse if her abilities were questioned. Vrax learned that quickly and it was the most valuable lesson he'd ever learned in his travels with Kaysa. "Well, it sounds like it has potential, but I don't understand where I fit into all this?"
Kaysa smiled mischievously as she brought her lips close to Vrax's ear. Her breasts brushed against his chest and he grinned foolishly. He closed his eyes as he felt her warm breath upon his cheek and inhaled deeply, taking in her sweet scent. He would have caressed her breast with his hand if he wasn't almost certain she would cut if with a vibrodagger in an instant. Vrax was, and had been, in love with Kaysa from the moment he saw her. She seemed so clueless of his feelings, but he knew she suspected. She would often touch him, look at him in ways that just made his feelings for her stronger. Her smile always taunted him, her lucious, pink lips drawing him, but he knew his own lips would never grace hers making them almost painful to look at. It was to be his curse, Kaysa so close and within reach, yet untouchable.
Kaysa tried to stifle her laughter as she informed Vrax of the final, most important part of her plan. She had no doubt he would agree to it, but even if he didn't, she had ways of convincing him. "Well, my friend, I'll need your talents to carry out the final chapter of my scheme," Kaysa whispered softly into Vrax's ear, her lips brushing gently against his lobe. "I need you to kill our unsuspecting victim." Kaysa let her words linger, giving them time to sink into Vrax's mind. She had never asked him to kill before, but credits were more important to her than any guilt he would feel. She knew killing was not above him, and with a little persuasion, he would be jumping at the chance to kill for her. Kaysa pulled back a bit, glancing sideways at Vrax and smiling at him. "After that, the creds are ours, Vrax. Think about it."
Kaysa stepped back and looked at Vrax with an almost ecstatic grin. She was beautiful, he gave her that much, but he was also certain that she was ruthless and almost evil. And he loved it. "What do you say, Vrax? Is it a go?" Kaysa asked. She placed her hand upon his shoulder and looked at him with almost hopeful eyes.
Vrax swallowed hard as a hot wave travelled down his body at Kaysa's touch. There was no way he could refuse her now; if he did, she would never forgive him and he would lose any chance he had of getting close to Kaysa. Kaysa...he would lust after her until his dying day and would do anything to see that smile of hers -anything at all.
"Vrax?" she asked again, tilting her head to one side as she waited for his answer. "Is it a plan?"
Vrax looked up at Kaysa. He placed his hand upon hers and gave a feral smile. "Yeah, Kayse. It's a deal."