Private 1313

[Aola Shala]

It was incredible how different Coruscant was, just by going further down the levels of the planet. Aola sat by a window in the public transport ship, which was slowly descending down the levels of one of the large tubes on Coruscant. Beside her, stood her friend Uktauss, or as she called him, Tauss, a large and very muscular Gamorrean. They met not long after Aola escaped her slave master, helping each other in a dire situation. Tauss has been the only person so far, that Aola had thought about somebody else, then herself, causing them to form an unusually close and loyal bond to each other.

While Aola didn't have many happy memories as her life as a slave, it did teach her many different languages, as per order, since many different types of customers visited her past slave master's stronghold. So she's able to completely understand her friend and even speak, which she did sometimes when she didn't want others to know what she said. Hearing the robotic voice of the droid pilot announced the arrival of the Aola and her friend's station and exited the tram ship.

As they went through the busy street of the underground city in Coruscant, they got a few looks from a couple of people passing by. It wasn't often that seeing a Twi'lek with a Gamorrean of all aliens and this one looked absolutely terrifyingly strong as it carried a large vibroaxe in one hand, resting it on the shoulder and a large crate on the other shoulder. Tauss made some grunts and squeals as they continued their route for the meeting point. "Common Tauss, It's gonna be fun. Where's your sense of adventure?" Asked Aola with a grin as she looked over her shoulder at her large Gamorrean friend.

Arriving at the bar's entrance, Aola looked at her datapad to check if it was the right place, before entering it. The loud music sent rippling through the air, sending vibrating shakes through the floor as the two entered the club. It was filled with all manners of people and yet, all eyes around the pair, seem to be on them at the moment. Seeing a Gamorrean along with a young Twi'lek girl, was such a weird and rare sight to behold. However, Aola ignored the stares as she was used to people staring when she was with her friend and scanned the area before finding a booth guarded by two men.

Walking up staircase, she headed for the booth and was stopped by the guards for a few seconds, before the pair were let through. Sliding in the booth while Tauss stood beside Aola, the Twi'lek sat face to face with the potential buyer of some smuggled goods she and Tauss had nicked from some rich collector's transport ship before the content could arrive at its destination. "You got the goods little girl?" Asked the Rodia eager. "Of course I do Veeto," said Aola with a smirk and her arms folded behind her head, content with herself in job well-done.

"Gimme, let me see!" Said the Rodia, leaning forward in the booth, placing both hands on the table. "wow wow wow, not so fast Veeto. Where's the credits?" Asked Aola, also leaning forward, cutting off Veeto, which made Tauss grunt warningly to the two guards, trying to take the crate from him. Veeto looked from the young Twi'lek punk and her scary large friend for a moment before nodded to one of the guards.

It didn't take long before the guard returned with a suitcase, which he snapped open, showing a single small chip, placed centre inside. "5000 credits, as per agreed on. Now the idol" demanded the Rodia, which Tauss opened the crate, showing the idol inside. Veeta's eyes went wide, seeing the shining idol inside of the crate.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

This was not exactly the type of job that Shai was used to. But with the pirate's life came some new stuff she never did before. Sitting by a booth behind what was clearly some rich Rodian crime boss, Shai sipped at a beer and ashed her cigarette. Calmly and sneakily blending in, she kept her eyes on him and his goons as she waited for confirmation on something she was paid to get. Some low life would be coming along and delivering an expensive idol and she was asked to relieve the Rodian of its burden.

Finally the 'low life' arrived...and Shai was shocked. It was a young girl backed by probably the most intimidating pig she ever saw. Immediately her plans were mixed up and her hand shifted from the concussion grenade she had in her satchel. While she really wanted the money and that idol, she didn't want to potentially kill or seriously hurt a young girl in the process. So she went through her limited selection as she listened in on what the girl had to say. Eventually she settled on a tear gas canister. She leaned forward a little and carefully activated it under the table before skidding it across the floor under the booths towards them. The grenade went off and sent multiple people around the table into a coughing fit. Shai slid her goggles on and placed a rebreather in her mouth as she rushed into the dissipating cloud. She got to the idol and grabbed it from the crate, slipping it into her satchel while reaching for the briefcase full of credits. As she grabbed it, a green hand took hold of it and fought to hold on. She looked up at the Rodian with puffed eyes as he tried to stop Shai from running off with everything. With little other option she drew her pistol and whacked him over the head with the grip before stumbling back.

As people scrammed and tried to get out of the gassed building, Shai struggled and pushed through them to get to the exit. The Rodian and his thugs recovered and with a hoarse voice he shouted at his guards. "Blast her!" he ordered before coughing further. His goons did as they were told and drew their pistols, though with their eyes still burning their aim was sorely lacking. Several bolts hit innocent bystanders or collided with the wall and roof. Shai glanced back to see if the girl was still alright before proceeding to push through the crowd.

Aola Shala

 

[Aola Shala]

One moment she was so close to getting paid and 5000 credits happier and then the next moment, freaking tear gas went off. Coughing violently, not expecting this of all things, to happen, the blue Twi'lek managed to get a sort of blurry look at the perpetrator. To make matters worse, she was going for her and Tauss's credits besides the idol! Tauss released a squealed and dropped the crate looking a bit confused from his little Twi'lek friend to the furred woman getting away with both things.

While The Rodia screamed for his guards to blast her, Aola quickly went to the railing and out of the tear-gassed area, coughing and gagging. Looking at her friend, "well don't just stand there, get the credits, Tauss! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine" Coughed Aola yet again. Due to how tall Tauss was, the tear gas hadn't reached his head yet and with a loud squeal, almost warcry, the Gamorrean jumped over the railing, landing with a loud crushing tree-point-landing, actually managing to crack the marble with his weight.

With terrifyingly fast speed, the Gamorrean just charged through the screaming and panicking crowd like they were nothing, charging directly for Shai.

As Aola was about to follow her friend and finally got her coughing under control, she felt something cold poke her at the back of her head. "Where the kriff do you think, you're going? Do you think you can just pull a stunt like that and have your friend get away with both my credits and Idol?!" Accused Veeto, Aola holding the Twi'lek girl at gunpoint.

"You stupid nerf herder, she gassed me as well!" Cursed Aola. "No matter, I'll just take my credits back and the idol you gave me and rid me of tree annoying problems!" Said Veeta in a scold pressing a button on his wrist.

When Shai looked back at the girl, she was instead met with a charging mountain-sized muscled out Gamorrean with both hands on his two-handed vibroblade axe. Though that was in his way got either knocked down or slammed to the side, by his massive frame. To make matters worse, the entrance was completely blocked by goons who worked for the Rodia.

Standing at gunpoint, Aola had to think fast as chaos just broke out, now that the guards slowly started to gain their eyesight back, but a group of the Rodia's goons by the entrance also started to blast at Shai and her friend. Aola had to wait for the right moment, to break free from getting a hole in her head.

And that moment came when Tauss literally grabbed a table from the club and threw it, knocking the men over and a bunch of innocent people, but in doing so, blocking the path for the exit. Tauss decided to seek cover and ripped another table up and turned it towards the blaster fire. The sudden throwing of tables in the club seemed to distract Veeta enough for Aola to break free by running for the railing and vaulted over and landed safely on the dance floor.

"Shoot them both!" screamed the Rodia with shaking fist above his head as he started to fire at Aola.

Fleeing for her life, Aola dashed for a tipped over table, but while running she had a clear view of the thief. Changing path in the midst of running, Aola punched a button of her wristguard and the whipcord launcher blasted whipcord around Shai's legs. If the attack was successful, it would cause her to lose balance and fall behind another tipped table on the floor.

Sliding over the floor and in behind cover right beside Shai, "Hi there, do you always bring the excitement with you or is this just a one-night-stand?" quipped Aola with a grin, aiming her blaster directly at Shai's head. Tauss had started to fire back with some random blaster rifle that he had taken from one of the goons trying to flank the behemoth of a Gamorrean.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

As Shai looked behind her, her heart sank. The brute of a pig was coming right for her and flailing tables around like they were nothing. She managed to avoid getting absolutely obliterated and continued to push forward. However her plans quickly needed to change when she saw more goons ahead of her, trying to shoot at her. She was running out of options.

With little choice she ducked out of the crowd and went for an overturned table, though her arrival would be a lot less graceful as her feet were caught by a whipcord. She slammed into the ground with a loud grunt, but she didn't let that stop her from drawing her pistol when she noticed someone holding her at gunpoint from the front. She looked up as she held her pistol at the ready...then blinked in surprise. In front of her was the girl who got caught in the gassing. Shai couldn't help but smirk at her comment, giving a light chuckle. "I try to keep the good times rolling." she quipped back with a wink, before glancing behind the girl. She quickly changed target and fired past the girl to hit a thug sneaking around them. "Sorry about the tear gas. Figured it's less awful than a concussion grenade." she spoke as she wiggled her feet to get loose and sit upright. Her pistol returned to the girl however Shai doubted she'd have the courage to actually make good on the threat.

"Now before you go shooting me and taking back your money, how would you like to make double what this mudscuffer wanted to give you?" she offered over the gunfire coming at them. She pulled the briefcase closer from where she dropped it and slid it to the girl. "I got thirty thousand riding on this job. I think you can agree ten each is better than five for all this trouble." she offered her. She lowered her pistol and flashed a grin. "Whaddya say, kiddo?" she asked, holding her right hand out to her while resting her pistol on her shoulder with her left hand.

Aola Shala

 

[Aola Shala]

Funnily enough, as Shai changed target to shoot a goon, so did Aola and at the same time as Shai, pointed her blaster pistol at the Shistavanen, "no harm, no-fault. All part of the work environment" replied the Twi'lek with a grin, grabbing a flash grenade that had landed right beside them and threw it back over their cover.

"Double you say?" repeated Aola intrigued, out loud and rubbed the end of one of her lekkus, thinking the proposing over. On one hand, running away with Veeta's credits and the idol would be an incredibly stupid idea, given the connections that Rodia had. Buuut, then again, the nerf herder wants to kill her as well. However, going along with this crazy woman beside her would both be very dangerous but also really stupid, given that she has no idea how trustworthy the woman is.

"Gimme one second," Asked Aola, as if they were getting ready for a night out in the city. Aola popped her head up from her cover with Shai, "hey Veeta, would you be willing to double the credits Veeta?" Asked like she was having a normal conversation with the Rodia. Seeing every gun pointed at her face, Aola just managed to pull her head back down, before their table cover actually shook a little from the amount of blaster fire hit it.

"I think that was a no. And firstly, not a kid. Secondly, me and Tauss are in" agreed Aola, holding her hand out for Shai to shake it while still holding her blaster pointed at her, hey one could never be too careful. Once they shook hands on Shai's offer and Shai agreed not to call Aola kiddo, Aola would lower her blaster from Shai.

Looking in the direction of Tauss, the Gamorrean actually managed to hold the goons and Veeta pinned down. "Tauss" yelled Aola, to get her friend's attention. No response. "Tauss!" Called Aola again, but the sheer noise from the firing of all the blasters made it very difficult to talk with people that weren't directly beside one another.

"TAUSS!" Yelled Aola finally with a surprisingly powerful voice. Tauss finally heard her and replied with a loud squeal. "WE'RE LEAVING" yelled Aola in response, who just received a lot of squeals and grunts from Tauss, "QUIT YOUR WHINING, YOU WILL GET PLENTY OF FIGHTING ANOTHER TIME!" Yelled Aola back and actually started to argue with her Gamorrean friend in the midst of a hefty firefight in a club.

After a bit of complaining and arguing between the two odd friends, Tauss finally gave in to his small blue friend and picked up the large table he had used as cover and used it as a shield. Within seconds was Tauss by Aola and Shai and started to shield himself and Aola and Shai out of the club and down the street. Slowly walking down the street, Aola used the moving cover to return fire upon Veeta's goons and Veeta who now was following them through Coruscant's underground streets.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

The girl asked for a moment to Shai's surprise, but she merely shrugged and sat back against the table. "Take your time." she quipped as she rested her blaster on her lap, casually lighting a cigarette. An ear perked up and she looked up at the girl with a raised eyebrow and a smirk as she watched her ask the gangster for double. The thuds she felt against the table and the overwhelming number of blaster shots coming at them was more than clear enough of an answer. She chuckled quietly at the whole situation and just how ridiculous it was becoming.

She blew the smoke out and held the cigarette between her teeth as she picked up her blaster. Once again their barrels were pointed at each other but luckily the girl agreed...on a specific condition. With her gun still pointed at her gut, Shai reached out and gave her hand a healthy shake. "Whatever you say, kiddo." she teased with a smug wink.

She was about to ask if they had a plan to get out, but the girl was one step ahead. With a bit of an argument she managed to secure a way out. Shai wasted no time hiding behind the table as they made for the exit. For some extra distraction she holstered her pistol, clipped the briefcase to her belt, and started hurling several different grenades around the place. As soon as they got out of the building Shai pulled a detonator from her -almost- empty satchel and hit the button. A violent combination of tear gas, smoke, concussive explosions and flames filled the bar. The gangsters still inside were screaming from panic and pain, but luckily they managed to avoid being burned alive. "Follow me, I got a ride out of here." she said to them, taking the lead and guiding them to a speeder truck parked nearby. She hopped in behind the wheel and quickly got it started up. "Hey buddy, the back is open!" she called out to the massive Gamorrean. As she started to drive she opened the window between the cockpit and the back for Tauss to join in on the conversation. Quietly and sneakily they disappeared into the traffic of Coruscant.

Once they were finally safe and relaxed, Shai flicked her bud out of the open window and glanced at the two strangers. With a smirk she unclipped the briefcase from her belt and handed it to the girl. "There you go. Just in case you feel like celebrating after all this." she quipped with a smile, taking a turn and flying them to where she had parked her ship. "The name's Shai." she introduced herself, placing her goggles on her forehead and shifting to look at the two of them. "And who might you two be?" she asked them calmly, glancing back at the way ahead of them.

Aola Shala

 

[Aola Shala]

Shai had recived a quick deathstare from Aola when she called her kiddo, but just as soon as it was there, just as quick, disappeared it again.

"WAAAAAOOUH! So long suckers!" Cheered Aola loudly as she at first returned fire just to make sure, before returned to her seat, holstering the blaster. Tauss released a couple of gurgles and grunts, seemingly cheering on with his best friend. Looking over her shoulder to her best friend, "I told you, it would end up being exciting, didn't I?!" Grinned Aola, before turning back to face the front. Holding the chip with the credits, looking at the little thing that would provide so many credits, "don't mind if I do!" Grinned Aola with an adorable smile, pocketing the chip for later.

"Aola, and this is Tauss" introduced Aola with her thumb first pointing to herself and then her friend over her shoulder. "Oh man, Veeta gonna be so mad, I Kinda wanna prank call him" joked the Twi'lek as she placed her feet up on top of the glove compartment with her hands behind her head. "Oh we're nobodies really, just a couple of innocent spacers" answered Aola with a glint in her eyes, smiling. She was clearly lying.

"What about you, furball?" Asked Aola cheekily with another smirk, tilting her head a bit, which caused one of her lekkus to slide down her shoulder. Hey, if Shai was gonna call her kiddo, she was sure as not gonna call her furball.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai chuckled at the girl, seeing her so happy over what she considered pocket change. "Pleasure to meet you two!" she quipped as they introduced themselves. Aola mentioned prank calling the Rodian and Shai laughed along. "If you do, I wanna join in! I love messing with guys like him. He's way too far up his own ass for where he is on the food chain." she commented with a snicker.

She glanced at Aola as she heard her nickname. "Haven't heard that one in a while." she quipped as she got comfortable. "I'm a gun runner, but every now and then it gets a little repetitive, you know. So I take simple jobs like these to shake things up a little. You're gonna flip if you think Veeta's big time. The peeps wanting this idol are a lot more high profile than Veeta will ever be." she explained casually to them. They finally arrived at the top levels and Shai drove them to her ship's landing pad. "Come on up. I got all kinds of poison on board if you two feel like celebrating. You ever been to Mustafar?" she casually asked her as she walked up the ramp.

By the entrance she petted her droid and walked through the cargo hold. "That's Baby. He's my helper on board and saved my backside more than once." she introduced him casually. The little droid beeped happily but sprinted off with a scream when it saw the massive companion behind Aola. The ramp closed up behind them and Shai made her way to the cockpit. "You know how to fly, kiddo?" she asked her with a smirk, more and more tempted to press the teen's buttons just to see what she'll say. "Yo big guy, make yourself comfortable." she spoke over her shoulder, pointing at the empty passenger chairs behind them. "Set a course for Mustafar. I'll get us underway." she spoke as she started firing up her ship. In no time at all they were in the air and Shai was guiding them upwards. She couldn't resist taking some risky spaces between incoming ships as she flew with a smirk. She jumped them to hyperspace as soon as they cleared atmosphere and then left Baby to take command of the controls.

"Follow me." she said as she made her way to the ship's mess room. Once there she lit a cigarette and pulled a beer from the fridge. "You two want anything?" she asked them as she leaned against the kitchen counter, taking a puff of her cigarette.

Aola Shala

 

[Aola Shala]

"We know there are bigger times to take jobs from, but with Veeta, we were keeping a low profile most of the time as his jobs wouldn't get the attention of major players. Well, most of the times." explained Aola, leaning back in her seat as they headed for the top levels of Coruscant. Huh, same ship design as my own noted Aola in her mind, looking at Shai's ship as they flew to the landing pad.

Getting out of the vehicle, the Twi'lek along with her companion Tauss followed Shai towards the large ship. While walking, Aola moved one of her lekkus around her shoulders and neck with one just dangling down her back. Upon ascending the ship's ramp, they were introduced to an adorable little droid. With a cheerful smile, Aola waved and was about greet the little bugger, but never got the chance as it screamed bloody murder, seeing Tauss. Looking over her shoulder at Tauss, "you scared him away" said Aola, to which Tauss just laughed in gruntles as the two continued to follow Shai.

If stares could kill, it would have killed Shai on the spot as the Twi'lek gave the woman a death stare, "yes... and I'm even better than crashing on purpose" replied as she sat down in the chair at the front beside Shai. Though she quickly went back to herself as they left the planet and she felt a bit hungry. Tauss had taken a seat behind with his large weapon by his side as he started to examine the many different buttons and switches.

However, before Tauss got to press any of the curious buttons in the cockpit, he was being pulled by the arm by Aola, "come on Tauss! No, you can't press those buttons!" explained the Twi'lek as she started to slowly pull the massive Gamorrean out of the cockpit. It looked rather comical, seeing a Twi'lek pull a Gamorrean at the size Tauss was in. After a bit of stubborn pulling back and forth, Tauss eventually gave in to his small friend and both entered the mess room.

"Tauss loves a beer, I'm gonna pass," said Aola as she wasn't much of a drinker unless it was a special occasion. Growing up a slave made her very paranoid at the start of her freedom, though she has mostly gotten over her paranoid, but she still not completely comfortable drinking. While Tauss took his bear and started to chug the liquid down, Aola planted her ass on the sofa, crossing her legs as they were placed on a table.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai glanced over her shoulder to watch as Aola pulled Tauss along towards the kitchen area. She had to admit that it was rather funny to watch this little girl dragging around a beast that could easily rip her to bits. She was definitely curious as to where the hell these two met. A few moments later they were in the kitchen and Shai handed Tauss his beer before taking a swig of her own drink.

She followed Aola and dropped into the seat right next to her. She laid her head back, kicked her feet up on the table and sighed with a large smile. After taking another puff of her cigarette she opened one eye and glanced at Aola. Calmly she flipped the cigarette around and offered it to Aola. "You smoke?" she asked her as she brought her bottle up for another drink. "I'm dying of curiosity here. Where'd a kid like you meet up with him and learn to fly? Grew up with smugglers or something?" she asked her with a smirk. "And you, big guy? What's your story?" she asked Tauss as she turned to look at him.

She sat there, calmly enjoying the moment of peace with her new associates while enjoying the pleasures of a smoke and a beer. But it really didn't take too long at all before her eyelids started to droop more and more without her even noticing. After a few more moments...she fell asleep on the couch. Her beer bottle sat on her lap and her cigarette dropped from her fingers onto the floor. Baby was still in the cockpit, tending to the ship's systems while they were all still in the kitchen. Quiet and gentle breathing quickly turned into soft snoring as Shai passed out completely. Arguably one hell of an opportunity for her new compatriots...

Aola Shala

 

[Aola Shala]

Raising a hand as a "no thank you" when Shai offered her smoke. Aola never got into the whole smoking and drinking really and it took a long time for her before she even started to like alcohol, which is why she only drink on special occasions. Tauss, on the other hand, did not shy away from taking the bear and chugged the content of the beer in one go, releasing a powerful burp. The burp caused Aola to cheer for a second, before looking at Shai as she started to ask a question.

"I'm not a kid damnit" huffed Aola annoyed, pointing her finger at Shai, "I'm 18 years old!" giving Shai a shove, though it wasn't a very powerful one. However, when she started to think on Shai's question, the Shistavanen didn't exactly receive a straight answer, but rather one with humour involved "oh you know. Gangs can't take a joke, poke one gang, cheat another and the next thing you know they send the cops after you. you get chased half-way through the city! And get this, I get thrown in jail. At least this big fella helped me out, isn't that right Tauss?" Explained Aola, causing Tauss to grunt and giggle with a laugh.

"Oh here and there. You kinda have to, when you steal a ship" grinned the light blue-coloured Twi'lek, answering yet again with humour. "Tauss was a bodyguard for a slimeball Hutt crime boss. Let's just say, Tauss was the only one to leave the slimeball's stronghold" translated Aola as Tauss explained in various squeals and grunts.

Aola thought about asking Shai about herself, but Aola got a bit lost in her own thoughts, thinking back to how she actually escaped as a slave from the hell she grew up in. Shaking out of her own thoughts, she noticed the furball felt asleep, prompting the girl to move a hand in front of Shai's face and started to wave a bit. When no response came, Aola looked at Tauss who just took the opportunity to empty Shai's refrigerator of beers. With a mischievous grin, Aola placed an index finger on her lips, making a "hush" motion to her friend.

Aola got up from her seat on the sofa and started to search everywhere for a marker. It took a few minutes as quiet as she could, started to rummage through Shai's stuff. After a bit, she triumphantly and finally found a marker and silently, sneaked back to where Shai was sleeping. Tauss, on the other hand, was halfway through Shai's stock of beers and just stood and watched.

With a knee on the sofa, Aola leaned in over Shai as she with the tip of her tongue out the corner of her mouth, she started to draw on the sleeping Shai. Call it childish, call it unoriginal, but Aola had fun painting Shai's fur black, having it look like a moustache. Then she also painted her some angry looking eyebrows. It was really hard not to giggle, looking at Shai now. And just to top it off, Aola let some of the marker's black paint be smeared in Shai's hand, causing everything the woman touched, to leave a handprint.

With quick silent steps, she returned the marker to the drawer and returned to her original seat, beside Shai and acted as if nothing had happened. However, she did take one of her lekkus and started to tickle the woman until she either woke up or tried to wipe away what tickled her. Quick as a mouse, she managed to pull her lekku away and act as if nothing was wrong when Shai woke up.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai listened closely at the girl's story, cackling away at her explanations. "Kid, ain't that the truth!" she quipped as she snickered away. She translated for Tauss, though Shai understood him pretty good. But she didn't mind at all. "Given what I saw today, I think it's fair to say you got lucky with him." she said with a big smile as she glanced at Tauss. She wished she was lucky enough to have a brute like that looking out for her. She might actually have to go through with that idea of getting another droid for that exact reason...

The conversation died down as Shai fell asleep. And sure enough, she was sleeping like a log as Aola went about her little prank. However the reaction Aola expected from her tickling might not have been what she expected.

Shai started lightly swatting at what was tickling her, but when Aola tried once more the hand she filled with ink suddenly came up and delivered a hard smack across her blue face. Shai, properly startled, jumped back from her seat with wide eyes as she drew her pistol. Though she quickly calmed down and holstered it again as she noticed who was sitting next to her. "Kid! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she commented loudly as she took a few deep breaths, trying to relax from being startled. Though she squinted slightly at Aola's face before pointing at it. "The hell happened to your face?" she asked her before noticing the black ink on her hand. She blinked in surprise as she stared at it then back at Aola. "Ummm...why's my hand full of ink?" she asked her with a raised eyebrow, now wondering what the little troublemaker was up to.

She didn't even notice Tauss and the pile of bottles close to him...

Aola Shala

 

[Kragr Krayt]

Upp xD

 

[Aola Shala]

Aola didn't expect to directly get decked by Shai so the punch just connected with her, sending the Twi'lek to the floor, "ouch!" released Aola, holding her hands to her nose and mouth, "what did you do that for?!" Asked Aola more surprised than actually angry.

Shai would suddenly feel a powerful and insanely strong hand grabbing her by the throat as she got lifted into the air. Tauss held the Shistavanen with an iron grip, pulling a combat knife at the length of her lower arm, holding the pointy end at her throat. Furious squeals and grunts came from Tauss, as Shai would feel the airflow started to disappear as Tauss tighten his iron grip.

Realizing luckily quickly what was about to happen, Aola acted, stopping her friend from killing Shai over a silly mistake, "Tauss no!" was all Aola said, to calm the Gamorrean down and let go of Shai in the air. Walking over the Twi'lek, he started to caress and check the girl for any injuries, showcasing him as a caring protector over Aola.

"I'm okay buddy" reassured Aola with a smile, "I didn't break anything" added the Twi'lek with a smile, before getting up, "sorry about Tauss, they're a very literal people" apologized Aola with a sheepish smile, feeling her sore nose. Okay, this got kinda awkward now... it was just a silly prank that turned into something quite serious as Aola could feel Tauss's protective presence behind her, watching Shai.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

Things escalated very quickly when Tauss wrapped his hands around her scrawny neck. Shai's eyes went wide and she immediately tried to pry herself free from his grip as she was lifted off the ground. She tried to punch his hands or scratch at them to let him go of her neck, but nothing was working. She was about to draw her gun when she noticed Aola through the stars forming in her eyes. Thankfully he let go and Shai immediately stumbled back as she coughed and took heaving breaths.

With one hand on her neck she looked at Aola with wide eyes. Still gently rubbing her neck, she glanced over at Tauss then back to her. "Sorry, Kid...Didn't exactly mean to hurt you. I'm just not used to strangers poking at me while I'm asleep." she apologised with a small smile. "Didn't mean to hurt her, big guy. You can relax." she said to Tauss as she finally let go of her neck. She looked back to her hand that was still pitch black from some sort of ink...then realized she was rubbing at her neck with that hand. "The kark is with all this ink? And why's your face full of it?" she asked her again before walking off towards the refresher. She stood in front of the mirror and had did a double take. She had a moustache and angry eyebrows drawn onto her! "The kark is a moustache doing on my mouth?!" she called out from the refresher before starting to laugh heartily.

She peered out from the doorway at Aola with a grin on her face. "Did you do this?" she asked her with a chuckle in her voice. She shook her head lightly and returned to the sink to try and scrub off the ink. It was quite the endeavor but it finally got off, albeit with her tank top getting utterly soaked. She finally emerged with the drawings almost completely gone, though there was still a faint remnant left. "I'm getting another shirt, be right back." she said as she walked past them towards her quarters. A minute or two later she returned with a fresh t-shirt on and looked around...finally noticing the pile of beer bottles.

"You serious! You drank all my beer!? Not cool man!" she called out in disbelief, eyeing Tauss with an annoyed look in her eyes.

Aola Shala

 

[Aola Shala]

"yea well, I guess it was my own fault for not being fast enough" admitted Aola with a grin, though she still stroked her sore face from the slap. Tauss made some low grunts, but gave Shai a nod, but stayed by Aola's side for now. Now that the misunderstanding was over, Aola remembered and saw her art done on Shai and she started to giggle at first, trying to keep a laugh back.

When Aola heard Shai's outburst "The kark is a moustache doing on my mouth?!" she lost it and released a light yet a joyful burst of laughter in the room she was in. She almost lost balance where she sat, but managed to keep herself seated. When Shai slapped both hands to her mouth and started shaking her head, not the least believable headshake when Shai popped her head out. All Aola got out of keeping her laughter back, were low grunts of laughs when she saw the still remaining moustache and angry eyebrow.

Tauss just released a loud burp and with a squeal of small laughs, before he sat down in the sofa. Then she remembered that Shai had slapped her and the fact that Shai herself said that she had ink in her face. It made a weird mix of colour, seeing the black ink on light blue skin colour as Aola got up, "is it okay if I borrow your bathroom?" Asked Aola, and if she got the green go, she would enter the bathroom the wash off the ink on her face.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

It really didn't take a genius to figure out Aola was behind it. But Shai wasn't angry at all. In fact, she hadn't had a prank like that pulled on her in a long time. What did tick her off, though, was the fact that the damn pig drank all her beer. "Yeah kid, feel free!" she called out to her as she went to get another shirt. "You need a fresh shirt or something, ask away." she continued.

But once she got back, was time to get to the bottom of the crime.

"Dude come on! Restocking that's gonna be a pain! You're helping me restock." she scolded Tauss, though her tone was anything but angry. "I won't mind if you ask, big guy. Just lemme know if you want something, I'll hook you up!" she explained to Tauss as she turned to go back to the cockpit. After checking up on Baby she returned to the mess room and leaned against a wall, lighting another cigarette. She waited for Aola to get back before she sat down next to the two of them again. "Gonna be another hour until we hit Mustafar. And thanks to you two, I'm not falling asleep again." she quipped with a chuckle as she relaxed next to them.

Eventually the ship came out of hyperspace and Shai was in the pilot's seat in no time. "Okay kid, make sure the shields are up and keep your eye on the scanners." she ordered her as she set a course for a specific area and steered the ship carefully. "This is Shai, requesting clearance for landing." she spoke into the comms...and a few moments later she got a message back, giving her an all-clear. She smiled as she looked at the forested planet ahead of them. "They say this place was overflowing with lava and stuff like that a couple centuries ago. Can you believe that?" she commented, glancing at Aola.

She focused back on the way ahead of them and guided the ship to a fortress located against a mountainside. A rather familiar emblem decorated several ships and banners. After shutting the ship down she looked to Aola and Tauss. "Stick close and relax. I'll do the talking." she said to them before getting up and making her way towards the exit with the idol in her satchel.

Aola Shala

 

[Aola Shala]

Tauss stubbornly continued to refuse to help her restock, but not give a reason for why as he sat down in the sofa. Aola continued to wash her face and an area on her left lekku as some of the ink after getting smacked, landed on the lekku. After cleaning herself up, Aola returned, having coiled one of her lekkus around her throat, like a scarf and planted her blue booty in the soft cushions of the sofa.

Aola just poked her tongue out at Shai, followed by a grin as she leaned back to relax, waiting for their destination to arrive. "Aye aye, cap'n long snout," said Aola teasingly, giving Shai a mock salute, before seating down and checking shields and scanner. Not like Aola knew how these things worked. "You're joking, right? How the hell do you do that?!" Asked Aola in disbelief as she looked from Shai to the planet ahead of them.

Sure, Shai could do the talking. The trip down to the planet's surface was relatively smooth without trouble and Aola along with Tauss followed Shai down the ramp. While walking, Aola would keep a lookout for anything that might think to jump them and also just to see the nature around them. She had a doubt that this really would have been a pure lava planet, seem unrealistic for it to be that only a couple of centuries ago.

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

She glanced at Aola with wide eyes when she mentioned not knowing how to activate the shields. "How the hell don't you know that?" she asked her with a hint of worry in her voice. "Just...flick those switches and keep an eye on that monitor. Move the power around as we need it." she explained quickly, pointing at the switches she needed to use. It was far from that easy, but it covered the basics. As long as they had some shields up, it would help if things go south.

Thankfully nothing serious happened and they managed to touch down without an issue. Two guards approached them and Shai quickly showed them the idol. They motioned for them to follow and Shai flashed her two companions a wink as she led them into the massive stronghold.

"See kid. No problem. It's just a matter of talking to their boss and getting the cash, then we're off. And by the way, try to play nice. Black Sun is a solid business partner as long as everything goes smoothly. Though...keep your blaster off safety. Just in case." she spoke softly as she walked, keeping her eyes forward as they walked through a long hallway. After a few moments they entered a large room with a few men sitting around the table in the middle. They all glared at the new arrivals but Shai merely gave them a wave and a smirk. "Hey guys! Wazzup!" she greeted happily, earning more sneers from them. "Do you have it?" one asked her. Another pointed to her two companions. "Who are they. Extras were never part of the deal." he said coldly, but Shai merely waved him off. "Don't worry about them, they're friends of mine. Helped me out quite a bit with the job when it went bad. As for the idol, depends on my creds. Where's it at?" she answered simply, folding her arms as she grinned at them.

One of them waved at a guard, signalling him to place a briefcase full of credits on the table in front of them. Shai looked at it, then at Aola and Tauss, then finally pulled the idol out of her satchel. She placed it on the table, smirking as they stared with wide eyes. "Pleasure doin' business. I'll be taking this." she quipped as she took the briefcase and slid it off the table...only she accidentally clipped the idol. It slid off the table and hit the floor, its head breaking off with a sickening snap. Shai stared at it for several moments then at them. "Umm...sorry?" she said with a nervous chuckle. But they merely started to reach for their blasters.

Shai glanced around then quickly tossed a flashbang into the air. It went off, knocking almost everyone off balance. With ringing ears and teary eyes she grabbed Tauss and Aola, running for the exit. Blasterfire soon followed, zipping past them as she guided them out.

Aola Shala

 

[Aola Shala]

Aola kept an eye on the guards and everyone else that they would walk by. She knew of the crime organisation and also knew they were bad news, paid well though. Aola poked her tongue at Shai for telling her to play nice, play nice, hmpf she thought minor offended. However, she did have her hand by her blaster as she wasn't feeling a very friendly stare from any of the guards or people they would pas in the hallway.

With that said, Tauss did gather a lot of looks, especially with his giant vibroaxe over his shoulder. Some even stepped to the side, actually a little scared of the massively buff Gamorrean. Entering the large room, Aola eerily felt right back at her time as a slave with the Hutt... she did not like this and suddenly felt very small and scared. Taking a step back, to stand by her big friend, leaning into him for comfort, while still keep her eyes trained on the people at the table.

Feeling a bit more secure with her large friend right beside her, Aola took a step forward again, feeling a renewed bravery, though she remained silent. When they briefcase full of credits was shown, the Twi'lek teenager's eyes went wide. That was a lot of credits for such a small idol!

Everything felt like slow-motion, after Shai accidentally clipped the idol, making it fall and break. Being quick on her feet, Aola reached for her blaster and just out of reaction, she fired to shots, stunning both guards that stood in the opposite end.

Dashing out, Tauss squealed a mix of confusion and annoyance, "you're right, this is way too much heat for some stupid idol!" Agreed Aola with her friend as both dashed with Shai. Returning fire at the guards behind them charging after the trio, Tauss grabbed an unlucky guard who just entered the corridor confused. With one single throw, Tauss threw the screaming guard at two other guards by the exit area, knocking both out.

"And THIS is why I don't do business with these organisation," said Aola with annoyance out loud as she kept on firing stunning shots at the chasing guards.

Thankfully the trio managed to shake the guards for now, though it would only be a matter of time before they caught up to them if Shai, Aola and Tauss didn't leave the planet. Finally arriving at the ship, Aola stopped beside Shai and held her blaster aimed at where the guards would appear when they caught up. Just to make things worse, ships in the distance would be seen, coming directly for their position.

Shai Maji