[Kessep] Walking on Water - (Akana)

[Riary]

13 months before Earthfall

Riary could hardly believe that in her childhood she had hoped to one day live on Kessep. Then again, perhaps her current situation wasn't quite the life she'd always dreamed of. In the childish fantazies she'd once had, Riary was the trophy wife of a rich merchant, spending her days at the spa and her nights out with her amazing husband. Somehow the reality was that, instead, she was a servant to the woman she once wanted to be.

From the outside looking in, her old fantasy life wasn't anything like she'd dreamt. Her boss was never home... Always out on gods only know what planet doing whatever it is that merchants really do. The woman Riary would have once traded places with was left behind with a young daughter and nothing to entertain her but his money. Perhaps, Riary was beginning to realize, life on Kessep wasn't quite what she'd dreamed.

Today was a day just like any other aboard the Quincy Manor floating estate. It had taken her nearly 3 months to get over the sea-sick feeling that was the norm here. Now, 7 or so months into her employment on Kessep, life had become fairly routine, or so it seemed. As long as she kept Melinda fed, the house clean, and Mrs. Quincy happy, then life ran as smooth as it could for a mere household servant. For now, Riary made her way to the kitchen to do the dishes, just in case Mrs. Quincy should feel that the 4 dishes in the sink were 'piling up', like she had last week.

[Akana]

Akana didn't have anything against Kessep. It was always nicer to visit than Ortho, though any extended period of time on an all-water planet tended to make her crave land, or even space, for a change of scenery. But on a whole, Kessep was a joy to visit, compared to some of the -- no pun intended -- backwaters planets she'd had assignments on. Their were fluffy beds, excellent cuisine, and vanity be damned, great shopping.

But the assignment came first, and Akana needed a bit more information. She already knew that an associate of her target was away on business, and that his wife was also not currently on the estate. They had a nanny for their child, and undoubtedly, if she'd been working there as long as the files indicated, she had to have come into contact with the target at some point. His son played with her employers child on playdates, and the two families occasionally had dinner together.

So Akana needed just a bit more information. But that wasn't all -- if it was, information was something that could be obtained without necessarily having to meet anyone. It would also be a message. They wouldn't know it at the time, but Akana's contractor wanted it to be apparent to the target's close associate that there were... serious consequences to opposing his plans.

Clearing her thoughts, Akana walked to the estate's gateskeeper, and asked the guard to allow her to ring to the mansion itself.

[Riary]

Elbow deep in dish water, Riary couldn't help but give a small growl when she heard the gate system buzz. Of course... she thought bitterly, Now there are visitors. Quickly, she reached for a dish towel to dry her hands as she rushed to the small video screen that would connect her to the gateskeeper. The loud buzz was extremely annoying, and would continue to go at 2 second intervals unless she answered it. Mrs. Quincy would throw a fit if Riary didn't have it answered soon.

Oh, wait, she reminder herself, she's not home. Suddenly Riary wasn't in such a rush after all. Melinda wasn't asleep so there was no need for her to rush to stop the buzz. Absently, she pushed her hair back behind her ears before turning on the screen. Most people that visited didn't bother ringing. The guard knew each and every name so 'why should they have to bother ringing.' At least someone on this planet still had manners. "Hello," she said to the woman on the other end. "Quincy Manor. Can I help you?"

[Akana]

Akana pretended to be caught adjusting her hair, giving a small, embarrassed smile. "Oh! Hello. Are you Mrs. Quincy?" She flashed a more natural smile. Inwardly, she didn't feel much at all: things were going according to plan, and that was as much as she needed. Akana's emotional spectrum wasn't exactly extensive -- there was a cool sense of satisfaction, and opposite that, irritation.

"I have a couple questions for you about a business associate of your husbands, if you don't mind? If now's a bad time, I can certainly come back later." The lie came out smoothly enough: it was now or never. "I'm an assistant to Mr. Coldridge," she said, as if this should explain things. Mr. Coldridge was close business associate to Mr. Quincy.

[Riary]

When the screen clicked on, Riary was vaguly surprised that she didn't recognize the face on the other end. The woman on the other end assumed that she was Mrs. Quincy, although Riary couldn't guess why. After all, Mrs. Quincy never answers her own calls... Then again, since Riary had never met this woman before, it made sense that she'd never met the the family either. It wasn't until the woman mentioned Mr. Coldridge that Riary began to really wonder what was going on.

"No, sorry," she said, when the woman was done talking. "Mrs. Quincy is out right now. I'm just the nanny. Unfortunately, I'm not sure when she or Mr. Quincy will be back..." Riary's eyes wandered off to where Melinda was playing in the corner. She had knocked her head on a toy, but seemed to be fine. "Um..." she muttered, trying to regain her focus. "If you'd like, I can take a message for them and have them contact you..." Deep down, she knew that wouldn't actually do much. The Quincy's didn't make time for others...

[Akana]

"Oh! My apologies." Akana showed the girl a warm, embarassed smile. She quickly nodded, as if not eager to waste any more of the young woman's time. "Yes, a message would be perfect!" She sorted through her bag, until she had a day planner. There wasn't actually anything written inside of it -- it was just a prop -- but that would be impossible to tell from the girl's angle, let alone over the intercom video.

Flipping through a few blank pages, Akana settled on the one marked with that day's date. "Right, sorry about that, here we are..."She cleared her throat, then pretended to read off the small pad. "Mr. Coldridge would like to tell Mr. Quincy that, despite their worries, the new client they had both agreed not to endorse has proven to be quite lucrative." Akana looked up briefly. "There isn't a name, of the client, sorry Miss."

She looked back down. "It also says that Mr. Quincy would be wise to come around sooner, rather than later, because it'd be best to be driving the profits rather than be caught under their wheels." Akana winced a little as she read, as if recognizing the quality of the message. "He also wishes Mr. Quincy a nice year in business, and sends his regards to Quincy's wife and child." She paused, flipping the planner closed. "Sorry that was so cryptic, who knows why these men do the things they do... maybe having too much money makes you a little given to displays of mystery."