The door slid open once more, and there was Ko, a mug caf in hand and a cigarra hanging from her mouth. She offered a groggy mumble by way of greeting before yawning and taking a seat opposite Cinia.

The room was dark, but Ko could see fine. Ryloth's punishing sun meant that much of its animal life was active primarily in dark or twilight conditions, and the twi'leks were no exception.

There was a pause as she indulged in the habits that made her fit for sentient consumption this soon after waking up - took a drag from her cig, flicked some ash into the ashtray (these Syndicate folks really do think of everything, she thought dimly), exhaled, had a drink of her caf.

Now feeling a touch more alert, her eyes flicked from Cinia to Curyan then back to Cinia again. A light went on in her head and her eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Wait. Ya never been earlier 'n me before." Even when hung over, Ko's work ethic never let her be anything less than punctual. She tended to show up with at least a couple minutes to spare. "What's goin' on?"

Sera would have left nearly an hour ago, but she'd gone through her bags - checked and rechecked them. She decided to clean her rifle and sidearm, and then her boots looked too dull... Sometime during her third check through her gear and a third clothing change (what sort of fabric weave was going to be best for the climate, anyway? Check the Holonet...) she'd realized how much time she had wasted. Grabbing everything in arm's reach, she shoved it into a bag, slung it over her shoulder along with her gun, and hopped on the back of her swoop, taking out for the CTE main offices far above the speed limit and not coming close to giving anything near a damn.

She hit the briefing room just after everyone else, windblown and just a bit dusty, and looking for all the world like she'd planned the entrance.

When Jeos came in, Curyan grinned wide. The man was just so fun to poke at.

"Su cuy'gar, burc'ya," he opened with. "The way you were drinking at that party, well..."

He trailed off, leaving the rest implied. Sera and Franci's entrances were met with mere nods, though there was no hiding a look of slight relief at the presence of the former. She was, at least, someone whose competence he could verify first-hand. The rest of them... he had nothing to go on but talk.

Ko greeted each newcomer in turn.

"Mornin', Dinas."

"Hey." The blonde Ko vaguely remembered from Employee Appreciation night, though her name, if Ko ever even knew it, escaped her at the moment.

"'sup, Sparky." This, for Franci. Ko grinned as she said it. It seemed as appropriate as anything.

Then the boys started their little tiff. She didn't know much Mando'a, but the tone and body language made the nature of their discussion pretty easy to guess. Goddess, I haven't had enough coffee for this shit. The twi'lek kept her peace for a moment, enjoying one more drag off her cig before she just couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey. Hey. You two done with yer lil' lightsaber duel? Me and tha other grownups was hopin' to get some work done on this job..." She leaned forward, palms resting on the table, eyes narrowed in irritation. "...so if ya need to go have it out at tha playground or somethin', let us know now so's we can drop ya off."

Jeos Dinas wrote:

"I had my reasons and you know it, vod."

"If you've found mirjahaa, good for you," Curyan shot back, "but don't expect me to approve of your method for doing so."

He didn't look at Franci--there was no need to. Instead, he glanced at the Twi'lek. "I did nothing but greet him. Besides, I have yet to hear anyone speak of this mission."

Ko wrote:

"'sup, Sparky."

Franci grinned broadly "Hi"

Jeos Dinas wrote:

"Hey, you."

Franci grinned and started to say 'Hey yerself' when Jeos and the the other man....what was his name?  Cur something...Looked like they had a big problem with each other.  Then Ko...Franci remembered her too.  Scolded both of them.

It was all she could do to keep from giggling and she didn't even have a detonator to keep her hands busy.  So she folded them in her lap and looked down.

Jeos Dinas wrote:

"Don't."

"Utreekov," he muttered, but quietly enough that nobody could hear him. The Twi'lek was right, even if she was being extremely sarcastic about it all. There was no point in letting his distaste get in the way of what they would have to do... even if he felt that Dinas would struggle in doing the same. Someone had to be mature.

At conversational level, he said, "Right. Fine. What are we actually doing, then?"

Oh, was this whole situation giving her a headache. Between Ko's sarcastic irritation, and the two men's fuming anger, she had started to feel almost sick. Franci and Sera, thankfully, weren't throwing overtly negative emotions out, maybe just some mild confusion or hesitation or anxiety. But she couldn't really tell, with the other three in there. This is what Verad had warned her of when she had gone to him for advice on this mission. The most dangerous thing in a mission like this wasn't your enemies, but your friends. He had actually suggested her instigate a confrontation before the briefing, so she could see who her problem members were going to be, and if it could be resolved at the start. She was relieved, though not that surprised, that she didn't even have to. They had done a fine job of it themselves. And from Jeos and the Mandalorian too. The ones with the fighting background and the code of ethics and honor. That was still a bit of a surprise.

She continued to sit there, sipping from her bottle, ignoring anyone's questions, and resolved to wait out the possibility of another confrontation for a while longer.

Franci looked up and smiled at Jeos. She was almost getting used to his moodiness and chalked it up to the healing process. What the other fellow did to make Jeos angry, she couldn't figure out and all in all, didn't much care. She'd be on Jeos' side either way. Her natural good nature couldn't be suppressed for long so her grin took in everyone as she spoke up.

"I recognize all of you from the party but I'm bad with names.  I'm Franci, Franci Smith or you can call me Sparky. she giggled "and when they give me my supplies back, I'll be able to demolish just about anything."

People were making introductions... Sera listened, committing names to memory although she had always naturally been better remembering names than faces. Luckily, the group was varied enough that she likely wouldn't have any trouble separating who was who. I knew that redhead looked familiar, she thought with an internal groan. That's the firebug...

"Sera Vespasi," she said, speaking up after Ko's introduction. "Pilot and, uh..." She floundered in coming up with further job description. Her eyes flickered to the blaster in her hand, her weight shifted the rifle on her back. "Consultant."

Curyan took note of all the speakers in turn. There certainly seemed to be a wide variety of skill-sets represented. Mechanics were, of course, always useful; demolitions was probably a sign that the mission ahead would involve sabotage of some kind. He noted that Sera spoke little of her uncanny ability to get into Sith prisons, but he didn't blame her for holding things back. Besides, it was highly unlikely that would come into play, this time.

"I think I've at least been introduced to all of you," he said, "but in case you've forgotten, it's Curyan Orvocono. Close-combat expert... and  'information extractor,' if it comes to that."

The rather feral grin that followed suggested ominous things for whoever the group might have cause to interrogate.

Hearing this, Jeos raised an eyebrow. He had expected it, he supposed. The woman had been seated at the front of the room and seemed a bit absorbed in her own thoughts. From his own experience heading missions, both for the Syndicate and the Republic, he was all too familiar with the anxiety that came before a mission where you were in the leadership spot. He assumed that might be why the woman was drinking although he did seem to recall her from the party at the Jewel. She had been at the bar with Ko. Maybe she just really liked booze.

"I know you're a Zeltron..." he began. "But should you be drinking like that this early?"