Tales of the A'rem - Second Report - Kirana

Client – Count Resedris na’Valiker
Location – Onderon
Contract specifics – 2 day stay, A’rem member is to serve as the primary entertainment for the Count’s guests at his birthday celebration. Primary function will be dancing and singing, any further actions will be left to the discretion of the A’rem member. Pay will be 750 credits per day. Bodyguard will accompany the member to the location; Local A’rem agent will remain on station with the ship for backup and possible quick escape; bodyguard is known to be over-zealous in his duties.


How much longer did she have to wait? Kirana remained silent and pondered that question inside her dark, rigid bondage. Her being here wasn’t really her bodyguard, Bloodclaw’s, fault, well, not all of it, though she was certain the thugs that had been brutally slain when he had come to her defense would think differently. If they were alive, of course; only some Force-sensitives came back after death, and Kirana had felt not even a tingle of Force-sensitivity in any of the attackers that night, so the chances of seeing them again were not good. Well, some of them were still alive, but they would need at least a week or two in a bacta tank to walk straight again. Even then they might never have full use of their motor skills, and would probably have some speech impediments. Bloodclaw had that effect on people, more often than not. She had been in the same situation before, more times than she cared to admit in her twenty years, in fact, but since the very first one, when she had met Bloodclaw, things had turned out in their favor. She sighed, easing herself what little she could manage in her rigid prison, closing her eyes and trying to ignore the nasally, droning voice playing over and over in her ears, a dull and really mind-numbing attempt at brainwashing, and thought back to how wonderfully things were going a few hours ago.

It had been a celebration like any other Kirana had ever attended. The wealthy nobleman had been delighted that she had accepted his offer, and had hardly haggled over her payment. When she had arrived, there were the usual pleasantries, and then she had been hastily fitted for a beautifully expensive and extravagant dress that he had insisted she wear, followed up with what, in her opinion, was an over-abundance of makeup, covering nearly her whole face in some way that was probably tied to a local custom she probably she have read up on. The celebration itself was scheduled for at least a full day, and from what she understood, typically ran for two. Once the party had begun, Kirana had done her thing, acting as arm candy for her client, and then dancing and entertaining the guests, all the while Bloodclaw, her bodyguard, a giant among Wookies, his fur snow white but for the reddish colors around his feet, hands, and mouth, stood watch around the perimeter of the massive, open hall. The hours passed, and she was enjoying herself, and probably had a few potential new clients ready to go for future engagements.

The chaos had begun sometime in the early morning hours, maybe around two or three, when everyone was feeling the euphoria that comes from a mix of liquor, caffeine, and lack of sleep. Kirana had been drinking just as heavily as anyone, but thanks to her talents with the Force, her body remained completely uninhibited. She sensed the danger before it happened, and shot a warning look at Bloodclaw moments before the attack.

It had started with an explosion outside the room, more than likely the house guards being dealt with, and then the doors to the hall had burst open. Blasters fired into the ceiling to put fear into the crowd as the group had come in, no less than a dozen of them, all wearing helmets and body armor that looked almost like what the local police force wore, but in a completely different color scheme. Bloodclaw went into action immediately, wading into the men with his massive power hammer, affectionately named ‘The Force’, with reckless abandon. They were obviously unprepared for the giant Wookie, but they were not alone. More men spilled into the hall, battling more bodyguards, as the nobility ran. Kirana couldn’t make sense of what exactly they were trying to accomplish. When she saw stun blasts coming from some of the newer entries into the room, she assumed it was some kind of kidnapping or ransom scheme in the works. Those usually drew the attention of the Jedi, if for no other reason than nobles tended to appeal to their senator friends. Kirana had concentrated for a moment, sending Bloodclaw a telepathic message to ‘hold back’, their signal that she was about to do something rather stupid to find out what exactly was going on.

Kirana had finally decided to join in the panic around her, running this way and that, and thankfully right into the waiting arms of one of the soldiers and his stun baton. It hit her right in the chest, and despite the momentarily thrill at the electrical shock stinging her skin, she had let the darkness consume her instantly instead of fighting it. The entire situation hadn’t lasted more than two minutes at that point.

Kirana had drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point she had felt herself being carried, and then later she saw a brief glimpse of several men’s boots as she and another woman lay on the floor of a speeder. Then she was being carried again, though with a particular chill against her skin, telling her that she had been stripped down. Why did that always happen? Couldn’t they ever leave her clothes on when they captured her? She typically dressed in ways that were quite pleasing for practically anyone in the galaxy, so it was indeed a mystery. That little bout of consciousness had ended when they had shot her up with something to keep her unconscious. She fought the urge to use the Force to clear it from her system in order to keep up appearances.

The next time Kirana came to, she had felt her restraints, and by the Force, were they strict; it was almost as if they knew she was trained to use both the Force and a lightsaber; or perhaps they may have just had a really kinky and perverted idea of a first date, and like getting stripped, it wouldn’t be the first time for her. Most of the stuff she felt on her had to be custom made; you just didn’t see this kind of gear in every sex shop on the block, and especially not crafted out of high quality leather instead of cheap synthetics. Perhaps she was dealing with a real collector of exotic specimens both beautiful and dangerous? Or, maybe a jilted client who had a revenge fantasy they needed to play out? Somehow, she doubted her true situation would be as exciting.

Finally taking stock of her position, she realized that were it not for the Force, she would only have her sense of smell and touch to rely upon, and even they were useless, as she could really only smell the pleasing scent of leather, and could only feel that same leather as it restrained her, well, that and the pleasantly warm air around her; the headphones her captors had over her ears were now playing a steady drone of white noise to cancel out anything she could have otherwise heard, apparently their brainwashing message was only an hour long, and a thick, padded blindfold covered her eyes, strapped securely about her head. Instead of leather, she tasted rubber, and from the fullness of her mouth, she was currently the proud owner of a very large ball gag; she couldn’t help but wonder if the color matched her eyes.

Kirana shifted, just a centimeter or so, because that was all she had been allowed. With what she could feel on her skin, and her expert knowledge of bondage equipment, much of that knowledge having come from real world, non-consensual, experiences, much to her displeasure, she might add, she was currently sitting upon, and attached to, a metal framework. Around her neck was a severe posture collar, forcing her chin upward, and preventing her from making any movements with her head at all. Her arms were clad almost from her shoulder downward in leather gloves, soft, but with plenty of straps to hold them in place, though her hands were encased in thick mittens, and balled into fists, and held behind her back by attachments at the straps, keeping them firmly secured to the frame. Her breasts were bare, wonder of wonders, and pushed up and out, due in part to the way she had been positioned, but also due to the rigid corset that encircled her midsection, and was narrowing it by a quite a few inches; had they planned that out or had they just risked crushing her insides because they hadn't known better. As she shifted back and forth, she could feel the ribbing within it refuse to give.

Further, as she continued her downward analysis of her position, Kirana rolled her eyes beneath the blindfold. Of course, just for the extra shame points, she was filled up, in front and in the back. The shaft filling her pussy felt like rigid plastic, maybe a good six to eight inches in length, and if she didn't miss her guess, there was metal along its surface too. The plug up her ass was of similar make, somewhat shorter, though of greater diameter, though tapered so that it would be harder for her to eject it, not that it would be a problem of course, but the metal suggested electrical play. Kinky. Silently hoping they'd start delivering the shocks soon, just to break the tedium, Kirana considered her footwear. The boots reached all the way up to her mid-thigh, with a line of laces running their entire length, but also a series of leather straps securing them to the framework, leaving her legs spread. They were indeed high heels, though of a more peculiar type...ballet heels, pressing tightly around her feet, pointing her toes into the floor and pressing them almost painfully together.

Her boredom continued to grow despite having a very clear picture of how she was bound, but thankfully she sensed people approaching, hearing their footsteps a few seconds later, echoing on stone walls. Kirana could have creamed herself right there. Finally, something was going to happen! And it might even be torture! No, no, she had to contain herself, had to play the part...

She smelled some overly strong cologne approaching, and he had at least three others along with him. Kirana felt a slight vibration in the floor, signaling that they had entered the room with her, and her heart raced, certainly not from fear, no, she was getting excited; their might be torture! No, no, play the part! She wiggled her head, in reality trying to shake it to clear her thoughts and get into the act, and moaned into the gag, wiggling her mitten-encased hands.

Cologne-guy was right in front of her, with two others behind him to either side, and the third off to her right. The headphones were lifted from her head, the air cool over hear ears, making her scream excitedly into the gag, still unable to really move, but Kirana did remember...she was a frightened captive, after all.

“Feeling a bit frightened, are we, my lady?” Cologne-guy asked, venomous contempt, and an unmistakable undertone of satisfaction clear in his voice. Funny…she didn’t remember the voice; had she done something to him in the past? It wasn't out of the question, certainly; she had stepped on quite a few toes over the years. Kirana felt his breath on her face. “Do you even have any idea where you are now? No? That's not surprising, my lady,” he snarled. Okay, so he had a beef against nobility; so did a lot of other people.

But, a picture was beginning to form in Kirana's mind. She shook her head as best she could, shouting into the thick gag ball in her mouth, tugging at her bondage. Cologne-guy replied with a low, smug chuckle. “Oh, I won't be letting you go, not for a long time, if ever. The other captives I could care less about, but they'll turn in a good profit, so, hey, bonus for us. But you...oh, you and I have a lot to discuss, Lady Borleasa.” Oh, so that was it. Kirana would have kicked herself had she been able to; she should have seen it before, it was so obvious! A decoy...that's what they'd hired her for, and they had never once mentioned it to her. Well, wasn't that interesting? Well, not really; she would've done the job regardless, but there would have been a much higher fee involved, and the fact they hadn't let her in on the plans rankled her sensibilities; still, all was not lost. Torture was still on the table, and eventually there would be a reckoning; nobody pulled blinders over the A'rem's eyes like that and got away with it; at best they'd be blacklisted, at worst, well, governments had been shaken to the core on more than one occasion in the history of the A'rem after this kind of thing.

Cologne-guy's hands suddenly snatched her breasts, squeezing them tightly, shooting pain all through them. Kirana cried out, jerking against the straps that held her, shifting against the intruders within her; oh, what a thrill! “Listen to me when I'm talking, bitch! I intend to make you answer for each and every ally I've lost because of your tyranny! How many hundreds of people have died because of your refusal to abdicate and allow the people to rule themselves? How many have you unjustly imprisoned?”

Boy, he was worked up. As Kirana feigned agony at the continued twisting and crushing of her breasts, she tried to recall the name she apparently was going under now. Borleasa...hmm...a tyrannical noble, repressing the populace...nothing came to mind on that front in this sector. She had heard the family name before, though, and as best she could recall, they were staunch supporters of the Republic, mostly fair in their dealings. The current head that came to mind was a Natisi Borleasa, probably the most prominent political figure on the planet...who just happened to be of about the same build with dark hair and a resemblance to Kirana that could probably be heightened through a generous helping of makeup. Great...there was one mystery down.

The pressure on her tits let up, but each on received a sharp slap that echoed in her ears, leaving both globes stinging and throbbing. Cologne-guy stepped back. “Let's get started properly, shall we gentlemen? The clamps.” Oh, that sounded delightful!

The guy off to her right approached, the sound of clinking metal coming with him. Drool spilled down her chin and spattered her breasts as the two men took a rough hold on them; she screamed and struggled, and did her best to make it sound like she was terrified instead of excited. At least they seemed to buy it; that was all the mattered right now. She felt the pair pressing a new device around her breasts, feeding her tender flesh between a pair of metal bars that curved to better fit around her chest. Once these were in place, they secured it to the framework by passing a strap around her bound arms and the rear support, and proceeded to tighten the frame, crushing her breasts between the bars.

Kirana squirmed and screamed, but the pain coming from her crushed tits was incredible; oh, how she hoped the electrical stuff was not far behind! With the new addition to her bondage secured in place, leaving her tits swollen and in pain, Cologne-guy brought his hands to her chest again, this time rolling her nipples between his finger and thumb. She squealed, playing up the indignation to the hilt, though she wondered if anyone had noticed the flow of juices from between her legs yet. Once her nipples were hard enough for his tastes, she felt an incredible, biting pain latch on to each one, crushing each nipple with a row of tiny, tiny spikes. Oh, thank the Force, they had used the saw-tooth clamps!

“As you've no doubt noticed, bitch, you've got a couple of visitors in those holes of yours; I have to admit, I was a bit surprised they went in so easily; been whoring on the side, have we?” If she wasn't in fact what amounted to a whore, albeit a very high-classed, highly paid, and highly trained whore, she might have been offended, but she managed a quick wiggle of her head and a high-pitched, defensive sounding grunt. He laughed, as did his buddies. “You can't hide the truth, so don't even bother. Your new hardware, and those you've been enjoying previously, are wired. We want to hear you scream and beg, like those you've oppressed for so long, and believe me, we will hear what we want. Flip the switch.”

Her anticipation already at a high, Kirana heard the whine of a portable generator and a moment later electricity arched through her nipples, enough to be painful, but not enough to stop her from screaming, though it wasn't with agony; oh no, it was with pleasure. The shock lasted only a second or two, ending just as suddenly as it had begun. Kirana panted and sucked air around her ball gag, became keenly aware of the sweat the covered her body, which was hot under all the leather. Oh, how she'd missed these kinds of sensations...exquisite!

Without warning, another blast of electricity shot through the ass plug, her body reflexively straining upward. No sooner did it end did a similarly short and painful shock pass through her pussy, right over her clit. Kirana screamed and writhed, willing herself to hold back her orgasm; it could be a lot better, no, it would be a lot better with more pain. “That's absolutely wonderful,” Cologne-guy said as he gave her a moment to recover. “We'll have you turned into a trained slut in no time at this rate, bitch. Won't you love that? Up the power; again!”

A series of electrical bursts shot through Kirana, stronger and longer than the first series. This time it was more circular, hitting her left nipple, then her pussy, then her ass, and finally back to her right nipple. She screamed into the gag, biting into it as the hot pain seared into her, her body somehow managing to move up and down her intruders perhaps a centimeter. When it had ended, she panted for air, her pussy dripping, her body desperate for orgasm. Stubbornly, she wouldn't let herself come; it would be better! More pain, more pleasure!

“I could go on for hours...in fact, let's try that, shall we? Hit it up on random; and you, go get us some drinks,” Cologne-guy said as Kirana recovered. She bit hard on the gag to hide her smile. As one of the guys left the room, the shocks resumed, the first a long, painful blast straight into her pussy that tried its best to sabotage her attempts to build her orgasm to a mind-blowing level, followed by shorter, but more intense shocks into both nipples. Kirana writhed and screamed and begged, for more, of course, although her captors assumed she wanted mercy. She lost track of the shocks after they had made them random, but couldn't miss the pleasure all of them, especially Cologne-guy, felt at watching her suffer; she almost didn't need the Force to feel that; she could feel their eyes glued to her body.

Kirana wasn't sure exactly how long they were shocking her, but the whole time she was writhing in absolute pleasure. She worked her pussy around the plug there, squeezing it and rubbing it with her limited range of movement just enough to further stimulate her clit. She panted and moaned into the gag, sweat covering every inch of her, dripping from her tortured form to mix with her pussy juices. She sensed a change in Cologne-guy's intentions, so she had to move now; with the last powerful burst of electricity going into her ass, Kirana cried out one last time, letting the orgasm wash over her and take her fully. She screamed and cried tears of joy beneath the blindfold, biting at the ball in her mouth as she pulled with every muscle she could, as if trying to break free. Finally she slumped, well, that wasn't the right word for it, as rigidly as she was bound, but the sentiment was the same, into her bonds, breathing heavily through her nose and sucking air in around the gag. By the Force, that was amazing!

“Wow...she...she got off on it,” one of the goons said from behind Cologne-guy, his voice filled with disbelief. Finally noticed, had they?

“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” said the one to her right, who had apparently been controlling the shock device. “I'm just surprised she held out that long, and didn't piss herself. That's not normal.”

Cologne-guy snorted. “She's probably not even human; nobody as vile and contemptible as her could be normal. Isn't that right, bitch? You like getting fucked with an electric dildo, don't you?” Kirana merely moaned a response, squealing when he slapped both of her crushed and clamped tits. “That was just round one. We've got a bunch more to go. This time, I wanna see your eyes; I want to see just how deep the hurt goes.”

Boy, he really was making it hard on her to maintain her act, wasn't he? Still, she wouldn't mind some more fun...but then again, it was about that time, based on what she sensed approaching. Too bad; she was having fun. Cologne-guy quickly undid the straps holding the blindfold to her head, and a bright, stinging light filled her vision. She blinked her eyes several times, her vision finally clearing, allowing her a first look at Cologne-guy. He was human, pretty well built, with a rough face and a few days worth of stubble built up. He had a large scar along the right side of his face, looking like a severe burn that was never properly healed. His dark eyes were filled with hatred.

“So, are they serpent eyes?” the other goon asked.

Cologne-guy stared into Kirana's eyes, then jerked back in surprise. “The hell? Hey, her eyes are blue! They're supposed to be green!”

“Impossible; it's got to be a trick of the light,” said the man to her right, who stepped over and stared down at Kirana. He was older, and had a rather refined look about him, maybe nobility. “No, you're right...this...this isn't her! All that makeup she was wearing...she's a double!”

As the revelation started sinking in, there was a dull roar from somewhere above them, and a tremor that shook the room. The lights flickered, and a warning klaxon began to sound, echoing throughout the facility. That would be Bloodclaw; he always knew how to make an entrance, especially when Kirana was being threatened. A panicked cry sounded from a comlink at Cologne-guy's belt, but before he could answer, it was cut off by a terrified scream coupled with a sickening thud, and a wet sound, punctuated by an enraged roar from Bloodclaw before it cut out in a hiss of static.

“W-what was that?” one of the goons asked, his voice filled with terror. Smart man, being terrified of the wookie murder machine bearing down on them.

With a nudge from the Force, Kirana undid the buckle on her ball gag and popped the ball from her mouth, letting it fall to the floor. “That was Bloodclaw...if you would like to avoid hospital time or the morgue, I suggest you surrender to me right now. He won't be long.” A faint, echoing scream of unbridled terror came through the door to emphasize her words; nice timing.

Cologne-guy whirled around to look at her. “How did you-? The hell with that!” His hand dropped to the blaster on his hip, his eyes glaring at her with more venom than he had first shown her with his voice; from the emotions she felt coming from him, she had basically cock-blocked his revenge scheme.

Before his blaster could even clear its holster, Kirana had already envisioned the next few moments, and with but a thought, a burst of Force energy exploded outward from her in all directions. Her captors went flying, crashing into walls and tables. Going with them were most of Kirana's bonds, flying away from her body from the same burst. She rose elegantly to her ballet-booted feet as the frame was crushed below her, the intruders sliding from her wet holes easily, and stood straight thanks to the corset, though her gloved hands were now free of the mittens and the posture collar was gone. The boots and corset were no problem, really; she'd been trained in them enough, and in fact she could very nearly run in the boots if she tried hard enough.

“It's not too late,” Kirana said, watching as the men tried to pick themselves up. “I'm pretty easy to get along with, so if you all just throw your blasters down and surrender, we'll go easy on you; really.”

“S-she's a Jedi!” the older, noble-looking fellow stammered, going clumsily for his blaster, too shocked to react.

A snarl came from Cologne-guy, the blaster in his hand, leveled right at her chest. They never surrendered, not even when she was nice to them. Ah well, such was the will of the Force! Raising a hand, more for show than anything else, Kirana brought forth a shimmering field about her. A trio of blaster bolts from the goons and their boss hit and sizzled against it, rendered harmless by the protective field.

Shaking her head, Kirana raised her other hand, wagging her finger. “Tut, tut! Bad boys!” she said with a girlish giggle. All four men in the room lifted into the air, their weapons ripped from their grasp. As one unceremonious mass, Kirana flung them all through the closed metal door, which burst off its hinges and landed further down the hall, along with the flailing bodies of the men who tumbled and rolled before coming to a stop in four groaning heaps.

Hands on her hips, Kirana followed them out in a more elegant fashion, tiptoeing through the destruction with an amused grin on her face. She looked to either side of the hall, seeing a line of a half dozen cells along either side, each with a shimmering forcefield over the openings, and each with at least one, sometimes as many as three, women inside, each wearing disheveled clothing, some of them from the party, all staring at her with shocked expressions.

“What?” Kirana asked, looking at them with a grin. “Oh, right, I forgot! Silly me!” she giggled, reaching up and removing the nipple clamps. The pain that rushed through her as the blood went back into her already sensitive and tortured nipples was amazing. She could have came right there, but she instead held her grin and tossed the clamps away as she walked through the mass of injured men, toward a control panel on the far end of the hall.

She stopped short, however, sensing what lay beyond, the mass of rage that was dead set on saving her. She sighed, shaking her head, covering her face with her hands. “Oh, Bloodclaw...no...”

Just after she said it there was a terrible crash against the heavy door in front of her, the entire thing deforming inward. Thanks to its new curvature, there was an opening at the bottom of the door, and through it pooled fresh blood. She backed up slowly to the wall between two of the cells and peeked through her fingers, wincing as another blow landed on the door, sending it flying inward. It actually bounced off one of the forcefields, the women all around her screaming in fright, before it crashed to the floor, rolling atop one of the goons, who cried out in agony as the heavy door settled upon him.

Her dear big brother, that nigh unstoppable Wookie murder machine stepped through, roaring fearsomely. His massive form was mostly coated blood red, his eyes a reddish haze that reflected his anger. The Force, his massive mining hammer was in his grasp, its enlarged, oversized head dripping with blood and gore, humming as the gravity generator recharged to full power. Behind him, Kirana could see several slumped bodies, or what remained of them, and quickly looked away. Bloodclaw roared again, stalking forward as the dazed Cologne-guy tried to pick himself up from the floor. This could get a lot uglier if she didn't hurry, because Bloodclaw was already glaring daggers down at the guy.

“Hey there, big guy! I'm safe now, see? No need to grind them into goo!” she shouted, waving her hands to try and draw his attention away.
The giant turned his head slowly toward her, blinking his eyes, utter a low, threatening roar.

Kirana grinned. “I’m fine! Just some bruises and minor burns, but there’s great news! I got off this time! Isn’t that great? You held back long enough this time! Did you leave any of them alive up there?” She watched him pause, breathing heavily, finally shrugging and grunting a reply. “Just a few, huh? Well, that’s better than none. I think we got into the middle of a conspiracy here.”
Sensing the hostile intent from Cologne-guy, Kirana casually flicked her finger. As he screamed in a pale attempt to mimic Bloodclaw’s battle cry, drawing a holdout blaster from under his shirt, the dildo that had been shoved up Kirana’s ass thwacked loudly against the back of his head. With a groan, his blaster clattered to the floor and he fell face first after it, his eyes rolling back in his head.

“Huh, imagine that,” Kirana giggled. Bloodclaw had raised his hammer to strike, but after she stepped in front of him to lord over the fallen man, he growled and backed off. “Well, let’s clean up and head back to the palace; I’ve got a bone to pick with the guy who hired me.”

Turning, Kirana was enveloped in warm, moist bear-hug. She froze, squeezing her eyes shut as the blood-soaked fur fell over her, leaking it’s contents all over her. “Ewwwww…oh…I think I’m going to be sick…” Bloodclaw rumbled something. “What? Oh, yeah, yeah, I’m glad to see you too…” By the Force, it was gross! Why did he always have to hug her after a killing spree?!

* * *

Several hours later, back at the count’s palace, Kirana and Bloodclaw, both now cleaned up, Kirana wearing her A’rem robes, with the wide-sleeved white top and wide-legged red bottom, her feet back in white socks and sandals, stood quietly while the Count and the woman she had been filling in for discussed the matter with the military commander in front of them. All of the survivors had been rounded up soon after they’d made their way out, and all the prisoners had been freed. They were heroes…again…well, mostly…there was a pretty big mess, and some of the captives had had an adverse reaction to Bloodclaw. That meaning that they had passed out or went into a panic when they had been let out of their cells.

Finally, the commander and his subordinates left, leaving the four of them alone. Kirana smiled pleasantly, though she had a healthy dose of wrathful words lined up for the bastard.

Before she could speak, however, Natisi Borleasa, her almost-double stepped forward, taking Kirana’s hands. “I can’t thank you enough for your bravery, Miss Callisti, and you as well, Bloodclaw. You’ve done a great service to the Republic, and to my world by stopping that man’s plot. When Resedris suggested hiring you, I was skeptical, but your head mistress insisted that the two of you were the right people for the job, and, well, I couldn’t agree more.”

Kirana smiled, but honestly felt a little confused. The head mistress had given her the job, saying it was too simple to screw up, like they had so many times before, but the way the woman talked, she had expected the results they’d left behind. This whole thing just seemed odd…it had turned out too well. There hadn’t been a mad escape at the end of the bloodshed, there was no massive explosion, and, to top it all off, Bloodclaw had somehow gotten there after she had managed to get herself off. He always showed up too soon! No, something had to happen…there had to be something else…what had they missed? Were they…really going to bet off the planet without raising hell? What a…wonderful change!

“I’m so happy that you’re pleased with our work,” Kirana managed, still clasping the woman’s hands.

“If you would be so inclined, Miss Callisti,” Natisi said, a darker smile crossing her face, “I would consider hiring you for your…other talents. Once Resedris showed me your full profile, why, I was surprised. I think you would enjoy some time in my…clutches. Please, I insist, five thousand per day.”

Looking back to Bloodclaw, Kirana raised an eyebrow. Her big brother shrugged, rumbling almost casually. She gave a quick nod; of course she was well aware of what could happen if this very important galactic figure were to do something Kirana didn’t approve of. They’d have their big incident and mad escape from the planet, just like normal. How could she pass that up? Kirana freed a hand and slipped it inside one of her sleeves, retrieving a datapad. “My lady, I would be honored to entertain you. Shall we discuss the contract?”