They were here.
A pity they were going to die. None of them would survive this, assuredly; even if she had to twist the final stragglers neck herself, none of them would live to tell the sad, tragic tale of the Eclipse company, killed and forever lain forgotten in the sparse, empty, murder-filled junkyard of Korlus.
At least, however, not who did it. It was better to let the scene tell itself; after all, the tragedy speaks for itself, though as one would tell a fairy tale, this particular story would only seem horrifying to those who cared about Eclipse, or its' members. There were few of those people, though she had little doubt it would catch headlines. After all, Eclipse was a high-end mercenary group. A whole company of them dying warrants their coverage, even if it is on a notoriously murderous planet.
One cannot help but wonder why Korlus is not called the Graveyard Planet instead of Junkyard. It was far more befitting, but then she remembered the people in power. Who cares about a planet like Korlus? No one, not even the scum of the galaxy care about it. It is a wasteland of junk and murder, filled with decaying corpses left out to rot like a piece of meat.
Few things littered the planet more than junk, bodies, and the fresh smell of rotten eggs; the passage of chits, the muffled sounds of death, and the screams of the fallen, perhaps. Today was no exception. Today would be remembered, perhaps not in the history books – no murder in Korlus ever went recorded beyond numbers; if you were important, you simply did not go to Korlus. If you did, you had as few braincells as the average yahg or vorcha.
It was pitiable, then, that the yahg were little more than offshoots of salarians; nothing more useful than any of that species, though at least the salarians had many uses to them, just as the vorcha had their own uses, yet the yahg were nothing much beyond a racial offshoot. Still, the point stood; if you were important, you simply did not go to Korlus.
Then again, she was here, just as a Warlord used to be here; she had it on good authority – namely the authority of credit chits – that the equipment she needed was here. Convincing Eclipse was no easy feat – or rather, not unless you didn't flaunt around your credits in some vaguely tantalizing way at them. Otherwise, your point moot, and your existence insignificant.
She preferred the Blood Pack; unlike Eclipse, the members of Blood Pack were, at the very least, none-questioning. They did what you asked of them, no questions, so long as payment and blood were given in plentiful amounts. However, this needed as speedy of a recovery as possible, and Eclipse were the only mercenary group trustworthy.
The Blue Suns were almost as trustworthy as a volus businessman, or a cutthroat asari, with as much brains as a pyjak on Red Sand, though they could, vaguely, operate basic machinery. It was a wonder even that was possible, as they seemed much too intent on getting the bang for their buck.
Too bad both of them were about to get a rude awakening; one that neither would forget, for entirely different reasons.
Staring at the mirror for nearly an hour was tedious and arduous, but she had to work her magic first and foremost; looking your best often meant garnering the attention of those around you just as much as it meant their guards were let down a little more. At least, it had always been true since the start and it was unlikely to change now; even with different species, they often found another attractive just as much.
Finishing up here, she gathered the long-sleeved cheongsam laid bare upon a hanger and easily slipped into it; it was designed with floral patterns adorning the front rather abundantly. It mattered little how the dress looked; the function was more important. Namely the long sleeves and nonrestrictive bottoms.
Slipping on the remaining clothes, she took her time getting ready as there was no true rush beyond the desire to get this over with. When she finished, she hurried on out of the bathroom and moved into her bedroom, grabbing the few extra things she needed.
Two wrist and ankle bracers, one omnitool, and lastly a simple breather that covered the nose and mouth extremities with ease; hiding a breather would be needlessly difficult, so instead she simply hung it around her neck until she stepped out into the rank air and put it on.
If anyone asked, she simply didn't wish to smell the rank, disgusting air of Korlus. This was true enough that it was neither a lie, but neither the full truth, though Eclipse wouldn't question it; she was paying them far too much for them to care, at the very least. When Resk stepped out of the ship, she secured the breather mask to her face and moved quickly to meet with the Eclipse Company Leader, whoever that was, for this designated mission.
When she arrived to meet him, he raised an eyebrow but shifted to greet Resk.
"You the benefactor of this little excavation shit or somethin'?" The salarian responded, keeping a finger on the trigger. Resk smiled at this and answered quickly.
"Of course; do you see any others around here dressed as elegantly? I am no fool," she started and heard him sneer in response but continued, ignoring the salarians sneering face, as much as she would like to shove it in a garbage dispenser and leave it there for a few weeks, "and I trust Eclipse is not, either. So yes, I am your 'benefactor' if you will. Are you here to escort me to the place?"
The salarian, indignant as ever, merely nodded in response and pointed her towards the direction and lead her on, where she followed. "Alone? Are you sure that's a wise decisio-"
"Not alone," the salarian cut in, "couple snipers are here as well. Don't need to draw too much attention, else the Blue Suns'll go gunning for you really quickly. Wouldn't want the main reason for us to be here killed, now would we?"
The number one thing she noticed about the man was his color; dark green. The walk was an uncomfortably silent one, and she could feel eyes on her. It helped none that Riccardo would be here in a few hours, either; as much as she trusted Riccardo with the cult business back home, she wouldn't trust him alone.
That was for certain.
"What's your name?" She quipped, looking at him inquisitively; it was good to know the names of those on your death list, after all. He looked back at her, a disinterested look in his huge, oval eye, but one thing stood out above all else, even with the skin color.
He only had a single eye.
"Name? Why don't you tell me yours first?" He quipped back, glowering back at her; she merely smiled in response, though silently again wished to shove the salarians face into a blender and leave it there.
"Me? Well.." It didn't take long to think of a name to fabricate; why use her real or corsair name, after all? "you can just call me Xiao. Now, yours." She glared pointedly and playfully at him, trying ever more to appear the harmless person she tried to portray.
"...Ulysis, but most just call me 'Karma.' Ask me why and I'll tell you the same story I tell everyone; the boss thinks I'm 'good karma' for the big jobs the Eclipse does and makes me the bodyguard," Ulysis let down his scowl for a moment, glowering at her smile, "but only Eclipse can call me Karma. You just refer to me by Ulysis."
"Of course, 'Karma.' I'll be sure to remember to call you that," Resk smirkd at his irritated expression, "and never forget it."
Much of the way there was filled with small talk, here and there, Ulysis gradually opening up and talking as they went along, and everything was slowly going in her favor. Get him to open up, she thought, and he'll let his guard down when it was time to move. That time, Resk knew, would be soon. Soon indeed.
Then she could leave this forgotten wasteland behind and never return here.