Contract 032: Apophis Undomiel

Contract Bureau Offices
Arcona Citadel

"Right...well, I give you credit for the boisterous entrance, Protector" Talos said, only half-jokingly as he motioned for Apophis Undomiel to rise.

"Err..thank you, sir. Wait no! I mean, I'm sorry, sir. It's just that Celevon told me about this place, and I've been debating on whether to request a contract for a few days now. And this is, uh, I think my sixth time trying to get up the nerve to walk into this office--" Apophis ranted.

Rolling his eyes in the general direction of the concealed Celevon Edraven, the Galerian Aedile held up a gloved hand for silence.

And when the Protector kept prattling on, Talos half-clenched his fist and Undomiel suddenly fell very quiet.

"That amount of inane talking is never required here, Apophis" Erinos explained softly. "Only reading" the Shadow Disciple finished as he tossed the Journeyman a thin holo-file.

Undomiel caught the file deftly and Talos began to think that not all hope was lost until Apophis proceeded to merely stand there, the file in hand.

"Here's a tip...open it and read it" Talos growled.

"Oh, right!" Apophis said, color flushing his cheeks as he flipped open the file and began to read.

:: Contract 032 ::
Assassination, A-Class

*Target: Lukal Tegeron
*Age: 56
*Species: Yaga Minorian (Human)
*Characteristics/Advantages:
-Genius level IQ
-Debonaire
-Cunning
-Handsome
-Easily inspires loyalty
-Guarded (as Selen's premier Information Broker, Mr. Tegeron has hired a cadre [10] of thugs to guard him at nearly all times)
*Occupation: Information Broker
*Affiliation: Selenian Underworld
*Location: Ring 7, Estle City.

Ahh..Lukel Tegeron. The guy has been a player in Arcona for as long as I can remember...and I've been sworn to the shadows for going on 8 years. Of course, Lukel Tegeron isn't one of our "public" assets, meaning that what he deals in, namely information, is highly illegal. Over the years, Mr. Tegeron has been quite a thorn in Arcona's side and the only reason that he hasn't been killed before now is because his Information Network helped save Clan Arcona four years ago during the Ninth Great Jedi War.

Alas, the man's usefulnes has finally run its course, a conclusion that the Summit has quite hastily come to when DIA assets discovered that Mr. Tegeron brokered a deal with the Antler Men, a slaving organization that your recruiter, Celevon, and our Proconsul dealt with...a slaving organization that has been proven to have ties with the Death Walkers and The One Who Is The One (TOWITO).

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to track down and silence Lukel Tegeron. Good luck, Contractor Undomiel

:: END DOSSIER ::

"Uhh..sir Aedile?" Apophis said when he had finished reading the file.

Talos, who had crossed behind his desk, looked up at the Protector, his silence an indication for Apophis to continue.

"Umm, sir. It's not that I'm not accepting this..but, it says here that the target is guarded at all times by 10 thugs. Which is fine, I guess, except that I'm just a Protector. And this is my first contract."

Talos gave a genuine soft smile at Apophis before laying his concerns to rest:

"This is true, Apophis. Lukel Tegeron is guarded...but not at all times. Every day, at 1930 hours, Lukel Tegeron pays a visit to one of Estle City's more premier brothels. He goes there unguarded and remains there until 2100 hours, without escort the entire time. That would be your time to strike."

Realization, and relief, dawned on Undomiel's face. "Ah, I see. Ok, that makes me feel much better. Thank you, Aedile, sir" he said, before bowing again and walking from the office.

As soon as the door hissed shut, Talos looked up at Celevon, who had been stationary in the corner the entire time, and conveyed a simple message with his eyes:

"Follow him"

Edraven merely dipped his head in understanding and slipped from the office.

Apophis Undomiel walked out of the Commissioner’s office muttering to himself distractedly as he read and reread the details of the contract that the Commissioner had just given him. “I just had to listen to Edraven and help out. Why couldn’t I have just kept my mouth shut?” The Protector muttered, disgusted with himself and the Jedi Hunter. “[Expletive Deleted] is far too damned manipulative for his own good. Even if he doesn’t realize it himself. First he convinces me to do something to prove myself both as an Arconan and a Galerian, by participating in one of then odd jobs while others plan the rescue of our Lord Consul. Meanwhile, he..”

At that precise moment, the very person he had griped about walked right past him, saying as he walked further away, the amused smirk present in his voice, “You really should attempt to be more aware of your surroundings, Apophis. Not taking note of what’s around you, or who could be lurking in the darkened corner of the room could get you killed in missions such as these.”

It wasn’t until Apophis was in his quarters as he grabbed his gear after putting on his black tactical clothing that Celevon’s comment, as well as the direction he walked from, really clicked in his mind. The Protector yelled swore repeatedly as he realized that Edraven had been in the room with him and Talos that whole time and he hadn’t noticed. After several moments where he cursed Edraven aloud, he had begun to mentally berate himself. This continued as he holstered his pistol on the tactical thigh holster Celevon had provided him with after the completion of his Security contract, along with the pistol and about four or five clips. Thankfully, he had been allowed to keep the VibroCombat Knife after he had been kicked out of Soulfire due to his unannounced leave of absence and lack of communication with the team. He walked out of his quarters, only to run into Edraven again. Apophis mentally growled and gritted his teeth before politely asking the older Journeyman where the Armory was located. Moments after he received directions from the still smirking Jedi Hunter, the man walked off to whatever mission he was off to get done, wearing some odd looking armor that slightly resembled the mark two clone trooper armor that he had seen holoimages of when he had researched the Clone Wars and Jedi Generals in particular. The only problem was that the entire thing was black and dark silver.

Apophis shrugged and began to walk towards the armory, when he suddenly stopped and turned around with a grin in his face. The young Protector quickly jogged to Celevon’s rooms and took a look around before he crouched and began to pick the lock. The effort was rewarded with a soft click. Apophis quickly entered the quarters and quietly closed the door. He had only been in this room twice before. The first time had been immediately following his requested transfer into Arcona. After he received directions to Celevon’s rooms, he had burst in the door and attempted to yell something, only to awake hours later in the medical wing to learn that Edraven had instinctively attacked to someone kicking his door open. A very stupid mistake, as he now knew to never attempt again. The second had been while Edraven had been away. Feeling slightly mischievous at the time, he had found and hidden every one of the blades the older man always wore concealed on his person. He winced as he recalled the harsh tongue lashing and threats to certain parts of his anatomy if he were to ever enter the man’s rooms again. He already knew where the man kept everything, but a handheld box placed on one of the reflective metal tables (where the man’s weapons normally lay) caught his immediate attention. He opened it to reveal a note. Under it was four items: a vial, a syringe, a small dagger with a 4 inch blade atop a sheath, and three stacked 1,000 credit credit chips. Now curious, Apophis opened the note, which read:

Apophis,

I knew you wouldn’t be able to control yourself, so I left a bit of a gift for you while I was at it. Since I planned for you to enter my quarters, you can consider this a permissible entrance. The vial is Sedative H4b, which is very powerful and knocks out whoever is injected with it within seconds of it being administered. So don’t go be a di’kut and accidentally shank yourself with it. An added note is that it will not be traceable in the bloodstream after two to three hours. If you don’t know what the syringe is for, close the box and leave my rooms. The three thousand credits are for whichever [Expletive Deleted] your target has eyes for, along with a full syringe of the sedative. You may keep whatever is left of the sedative, as I don’t think I will have use for it anytime soon and I wouldn’t want it to lose or gain potency depending on the quality of the mixture. Also, you may consider the dagger an early promotion gift. The sheath is meant to be strapped to your wrist and concealed under a shirt sleeve. It’s very easy to draw, as you’ll notice that there is nothing there to keep it in place should you suddenly need it. The material where the blade is to be held is tight enough that it will be held in place no matter how much you move or import physical force against it. Good luck in your mission, Protector. Spill some blood for me.

In Darkness,
Celevon Edraven

He headed towards the armory whistling as jaunty tune, satisfied with his thievery. Once he arrived in the armory, he requested several ammo boxes as well as a silencer for his new pistol (which he still had no idea of what model it was) and was embarrassed to have to show it to the Quartermaster, if he was remembering the name of the position right. Once the heavily-built and tall man handed him several boxes of ammo, as well as several more clips, Apophis paused as he attempted to figure out how to phrase his next request. The man saved Apophis the time, by sneering out, “Well? Do you need anything else or do you plan on sitting there staring at me for the rest of the day?”

Apophis flushed as he blurted out, “Could you tell me what Blaster Carbines or Assault Rifles that I’m able to request?”

The burly man snorted as he turned to his computer terminal, while Apophis began to pull out his I.D. when the man barked, “Name.”

Apophis sighed, now more annoyed with himself than he had been earlier. “Apophis Undomiel. Pin Number 12020.” He handed his I.D. to the Quartermaster before the man could ask how his name was spelt. The man grunted at him and waited a few seconds before handing Apophis a printed list. Apophis thanked the man and walked out of the Armory. That Quartermaster certainly snarls a lot, Apophis thought to himself as he went to put the print-out in his rooms while he made sure to study the holophoto of his target more thoroughly.

~()~

Luscious Lady (Pub & Brothel), Estle City
1900 Hours

Apophis had been in this place for fifteen minutes now, to make sure that he didn’t arouse suspicion. The service here was awful. He had ordered a light ale almost as soon as he arrived and was served mere minutes before. To further avoid suspicion, he made sure to show excessively flamboyant acts and make them believe he was a homosexual. The first woman who had approached him with a predatory gleam in her eye asking if he wanted to spend some time with her had been dismissed with a downward glance and a casual mention of her lacking the right equipment to satisfy him. After several minutes, the bartender asked him. Apophis apologized, saying that he was in a relationship at present. Likely the reason why the man had taken so long to bring him his drink, Apophis mused to himself. While he wasn’t really gay, he could admire beauty in any form as he had been taught before his parents’ demise when he was ten. So it was easy to pull off the impression. Give any man in the place a long stare before shaking his head before returning to having a look around.

Apophis had only taken a few sips of his ale when his target walked in. The holophoto he had been shown didn’t do the man justice. He also fairly reeked of sexual frustration as he strode to the bar and ordered a whiskey in a smooth tone. So Tegeron can disguise the tension in his voice and hide his facial responses, but not his body language. Interesting. Apophis thought to himself as he lit a cigarette and moved to put his lighter in his pocket, when the man suddenly turned and spoke to him.

“Could I have a cigarette? I accidentally left mine at home and was already outside when I realized I had forgotten them.” The intel on the man was more than accurate, Apophis thought while the man asked this with a charming smile.

Apophis said, “Certainly,” as he pulled out his pack, slid a cigarette slightly out of the pack and offered it to his target. When the man opened his mouth to speak again, the Protector lit his lighter before he could ask.

His target lit his cigarette (held between the index and middle finger of his left hand) and exhaled the smoke before he spoke up again. “I haven’t introduced myself. Forgive me. My name is Lukel Tegeron. And you are?”

The Protector grasped the offered handshake in a purposely light grip as he introduced himself with a hastily thought up alias, “Brandon Alveras. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tegeron.”

His target chuckled lightly, offering up another of his charming smiles (which Apophis was now beginning to believe were trademark) as he said, “Please call me Lukel, Mr. Alveras. I get enough of the mister stuff while I’m at work.”

Apophis smiled in a friendly way as he deadpanned, “Only if you call me Brandon.”

“It’s a deal, Brandon. Thank you,” Tegeron said the last two the bartender who returned with his drink and an enthusiastic greeting to ‘Mr. Tegeron’, before he continued his conversation with ‘Brandon’. “Are you new to these parts by chance? It’s just that I’ve never seen you around before and I thought I knew almost everyone in Estle City.”

Apophis pondered for a moment, before he responded (once he remembered having seen members wearing clothing similar to him speaking about the ‘Army Corps’). “I was just transferred here about a week ago from my former residence.” Seeing the silent question, Apophis explained, making it up as he went along. “I’m a Corporal in the Arcona Army Corps, Cavalry Division. My fellow troops from my former squad were displeased with me for whatever reason and I requested to be transferred to a new location to be stationed at. The rest, as they say, is history.”

The man nodded, accepting this. “I suppose that explains the clothes. I saw a group of people down the street from here dressed similarly and thought it was some odd new fashion trend I hadn’t heard of.”

Apophis laughed, not expecting the man to indulge in a bit of gossip. “Not in the least, Lukel. Those are the newbies,” He paused again, seeing the questioning glance again and explained. “That’s what we in the Army Corps call the recruits who just graduated basic training. They were given liberty to go out and celebrate. I was offered to join them to familiarize myself with the area.”

The middle-aged man nodded in understanding before he got up from his barstool, “As much as I regret having to cut this short, I just noticed a business partner come in and I need to discuss something with him. It was a pleasure to meet you, Brandon.” His target lied through his teeth.

Apophis returned the lie as the man walked towards an empty booth. “The pleasure was all mine, Lukel.”

Another fifteen minutes passed before he noticed his target giving the woman sitting on the booth to his left several glances. He struck up a conversation with the strikingly beautiful woman beside him, regretting that he was acting as a homosexual man for only a moment, before pointing out that his target was giving her ‘the look’.

The woman (whose name was Maria) laughed once she noticed who he was talking about. “You mean Lukel Tegeron?” At Apophis’ nod, she calmed her laugh somewhat and continued, “I think he’s admiring you, rather than me. He’s a closet-case homosexual, which is odd for his age. I guess he does it to not damage his reputation and to keep appearances. He comes in here and keeps an eye on young men who are drinking and seduces them with his silver tongue before he leaves with them to an upstairs room and has his wicked way with them.”

Apophis’ eyes went wide and his jaw dropped before he regained his composure (inwardly, he was panicking), quickly came up with a plan and responded to the woman’s explanation as he purposely gave the older man what could be considered as an admiring gaze. “How much do you charge for the full deal?”

She smiled at him falsely. “500 credits.”

Apophis smirked at her as he ignored the obvious lie. “Then I’ll make a deal with you, Maria. The lecherous man looks good enough that I can ignore the age difference. If I give you my word to give you a thousand credits before I leave, could you go and tell him that you think that I’m interested in him about two minutes after I enter the bathroom?”

She responded immediately. “You give me the money beforehand and you can consider it done.”

In response, Apophis took one of the 1000 credit chips out of his pocket and placed it in her offered hand as he kissed it before heading to the bathroom. Barely three minutes later, he felt a hand touch him on his mid-rib area and slowly trail downward after he heard the door quickly open and shut. A voice whispered lustily in his ear, “You never mentioned that you supported the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, Brandon.”

Apophis inwardly smirked as he responded aloud while grinding up against the man’s hardened member. “That’s the point about DADT. Who told you?”

“Doesn’t matter. How about you and I get a room where I can satisfy that itch you seem to have, minx?” His voice seemed dry now that he had succumbed to his desires.

Apophis mentally grimaced as he grabbed the man’s hand and led him out of the bathroom and up the stairs in answer. He was glad that he had tucked his shoulder length platinum blonde hair into the collar of his shirt and put in a pair of green contact lenses in (as well as filled the syringe and hid what remained of the vial of sedative in his room) before he left the Citadel. The syringe itself was tucked into the left sleeve of the black tactical shirt he wore. The man had been kissing his neck as he pushed Apophis towards the bed when the Protector had pulled the syringe out of his sleeve and jabbed the needle into the man’s neck, releasing the sedative directly into the man’s bloodstream. Edraven certainly wasn’t kidding when he said the sedative was powerful, Apophis thought, amused when the much older man suddenly collapsed to the floor. Apophis removed the man’s clothing (which were neatly folded and placed on a chair nearby the bed) and tied him to the bed, gagged him, and waited about fifteen minutes before (while he took out a small vial of spit he had on hand for several months from one of the more annoying members of his former house and poured it on the man’s still hardened member and spread the saliva all over it) he pulled the dagger Celevon had gifted him with and repeatedly plunged it into the man’s chest, careful not to get any blood on himself. Once he was satisfied and entirely sure that the man was dead, he made his clothes look like they had been hastily thrown on and ran down the stairs, out of the door, and down the street.

Once he was out of sight, Apophis removed the color contacts, unbuttoned his shirt (after straightening it), and let his blonde hair fall down towards his back in waves before he pulled up the Commissioner’s comlink frequency. He giggled before clearing his throat as he waited for the Aedile to answer. Once he heard the distracted “Yes?” he immediately spoke while he shivered slightly. It was noticeably absent in his voice as he said. “Lukel Tegeron now lies dead. His death won’t be attributed to us in any manner. Though there may be an investigation started and quickly ended with the brass at the Army Corps base camp here on Selen. It will end once they discover that Brandon Alveras isn’t a member, and/or doesn’t exist. If you need to debrief me on the mission, sir, it will have to wait until after I’ve had a very hot shower. Don’t be surprised if my skin has been scrubbed raw when I arrive. Over and out.”

:: Contract Review ::

Technical - Wow. For your first contract, Apophis, I'm impressed. Throughout the entire length of the contract, I found only minor grammar errors, such as tense confusion, and not using proper puncuation. However, as these are so minor as to have not disrupted my reading experience, I'm not going to deduct points. However, I do challenge you to see if you can find the errors (Celevon can help) and make a note of them, so that they don't creep up again when you request your next contract.

Finally, the only other technical error that I want to point out is "paragraph length". As I found out the hard way when I was a Journeyman, you can write a great piece of Star Wars literature but if you don't take the time and separate your paragraphs, people often won't see what a masterpiece is before them because all their brain will register is a wall of text. For the most part, you did well in putting spaces inbetween your paragraphs, except they started to get longer as you got towards the end, and I began have to re-read sentences to get a detail or two, or to see Apophis' thoughts.

Other than those two things, you did very well!

Story -So Celevon finished reading this before me and I think every other minute, my IRC PM message went off, with him trying to talk details with me. And I had to tell him to be silent, so that he wouldn't ruin the surprise for me. And what a surprise it was! Let me start off by saying, you've been holding out on me, Apophis! Your contract's story was very good; your words painted a beautiful picture of your target, your character, your surroundings, and the tension associated with..well, tracking and ending a man's life.

I will admit that while your graphic descriptions of the sexual encounter in the lavatory originally caught me off guard, I found it almost..refreshing (no pun intended). You didn't hold back and your contract was gritty, but not to the point of a pornographic story. Working to find, seduce, and kill a man would not be an easy thing to do, be you a Protector or a Dark Adept, and your writing brought that out perfectly. And I was very, very pleased. So well done!

Conclusion - Therefore, it is with great pride that I bestow upon this contract, 032, the grade of 'Excellent', and award Protector Apophis Undomiel the amount of 3 points that comes with said grade. Congratulations!