A New Day, Same Wicked Grace

[Malia Afredane]

"Not too early. Rusty may not need his beauty sleep but I sure do."

She chuckled as she finished another glass of the good stuff, waving at Zaur to bring her another one. She was in that spot where if there was gambling to be had, she would be sitting down with mean streak and chip on her shoulder. However, there were no card rooms and so she could get blissfully drunk without Rusty needing to intervene in her fun. He might have to carry her back to the ship like a sack of produce but she'd be relatively unharmed.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Rusty"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]

OOC/ broke posting order, but off to bed now!


“Ah, in which case this round is on me,” Kairon said, sliding a chit into the middle of the table. If you couldn't be friendly, or at least polite, there was no point trying to do business as far as Rees was concerned. “We should make sure our Cathar gunslinger doesn’t drink too much actually.”

“She can sober up!” Jarrick countered.

“Yes, but I can’t deal with a hangover, being shot at, and Mai’s tongue when she’s in a foul mood,” Kairon grunted. “So, is this your usual line of business? If the Grace is a freighter, I assume you’re another set of smugglers struggling with war time border control?”

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Pretty much. I prefer something small and easy to maneuver. It cuts down on my costs. I make enough to live. And [member="Rusty"] makes sure I keep breathing. I'd like a bigger ship but uh, well Gracie suits me right now."

She accepted a fresh drink, and toasted everyone to a new job, before she set it down and reached for more snack mix or whatever the heck was in the bowl in front of her.

"So what do you boys fly again?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

“I’m running a version of a KDY Space Master called the Quintessence, called the Harlequin before we stole her,” Kairon replied. He didn’t mention that he’d stolen it from his family’s own trade company and had been planning to sell it and return to a life of violence amongst pirates. His empty-headed stowaway nephew had saved him from that path, in the end.

“Eighty metres, holds modular cargo pods. Got some tricks up her sleeve and top quality sensors. Her main defense is that customs hate dealing with her. When I rack up forty cargo pods across her, customs have to open up and inspect every single one, on account of them generally being difficult to scan for some reason! On most days they just wave us through,” he said with a smile, before taking a long swing from his glass of ale. He was quietly proud of his battered old freighter. She was nothing special, but she was home.

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal whistled at the model of the Quintessence, the glass still in her hand, elbow propped on the table. She nodded approvingly.

"Those things are beasts. I looked at a refurbished one once, but they were asking way more than I was willing to pay. It was nice retrofit, but some of those restorations are all for show. You sink your money into buying what you think is a solid ship and figure out quick that it only looks good. It might run like spit but then it's already too late."

She grinned as she thought back to one the first times she was on the smuggler's moon.

"I won the Wicked Grace from a sabacc tournament here a few years ago. She's a retrofit 3-Z. She's got her quirks. The old ones always do. So who all is coming on this little escapade?"

Her whole crew was sitting on one side of the table, but they talked like there were missing compatriots. She wanted a headcount so they would have their things straight. Although, this was probably something she should have thought of before getting drunk.

[member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Rusty"]

 

[Rusty]

There was a lot to be said for keeping the Captain at least partially sober until business was concluded. To that end, Rusty had bribed the bartender to keep the really strong stuff back until the night's business was concluded. The bartender didn't mind. He made more money that way, and it was far from the most underhanded thing he had been paid to do.

The bodyguard just hoped they could get business wrapped up so they could get her the real stuff before they ran up too high a tab.

 

[Kairon Rees]

Jarrick had already excused himself and was heading through the door as Rees waved in his direction. "That's my second, he was a Warrant Officer in the Eriadu marines. He's as dependable as they come, often worked border patrol back in his days so knows a thing or two about boarding a vessel. If he can find her, I've got a third gun. She's more of a passenger than crew I suppose, but pretty handy in a tight spot. Got four on the ship, but my nephew's too wet behind the ears to get stuck in. Could handle some comms work I suppose," he added with a shrug.

"I'm assuming you play for high stakes if you won an actual ship?" he asked with a chuckle, whilst his free hand signalled the bartender for another round. It had been years since the old smugglers alliance had drifted apart. War had intensified across the galaxy in that time. He was rather enjoying taking a bit of time out for a few drinks and some company, all he'd had recently were his books.

[member="Malia Afredane"]

 

[Malia Afredane]

"I used to. Don't really get much a chance to play anymore," she chuckled with a sidelong glance at Rusty. " Rusty here stepped in on a sabacc game gone bad once and he's been with me ever since. Gotta keep Gracie flying and so I save my creds instead of blowing them on all on a hand full of cards. The yoke is nicer to my fingers than the Queen of Air and Darkness any day."

She wasn't about to divulge her gambling problem but most of the time, if a spacer liker her was playing for ships, they were playing for a living. Admittedly, it'd been a few years now, but she would occasionally play against a table by herself, either on a long trip or if she could coerce Rusty into a game. As long as they were playing with chips and not money, Rusty was willing to let it slide.

"A life time ago, I was a Republic Naval pilot. Ran supply lines and cargo ships. Just kept on doing it. Someone is going to need to stay on your ship while everyone else storms the castle. I'm sure the kid will do fine."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

A lifetime ago…a collective intake of breath as even a crowd of hardened pirates expressed their shock at what he did to…

“I’ll be honest I take less risks since my nephew came aboard. Not that I was ever much for cards!” Kairon replied with a forced smile. That was one way of putting it. A lifetime ago he…Kairon shook his head suddenly and pushed aside a mental image of carnage he had wrought. “Doesn’t bear thinking about the amount of hassle I’d get from my sister if I put him in a tight spot. I could point out that he’s nearly an adult anyway now, but he could be thirty and that argument wouldn’t wash,” he explained, before taking a long drink from his glass. The rate of consumption was at the point where it started to accelerate now.

“My family is in honest trading and I used to be in that line too,” he added. “I’m not much of a pilot; Asmus is actually better than me. I’ve always been better at cranking through the numbers and valuing goods. Republic navy training though, that must have been tough! Ever train on a snubfighter?” he asked, shifting the conversation away from his own past quickly.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Nah. You gotta want to be a fighter pilot and while I was blessed with the skills, I was lazy as hell."

She laughed at the memories of her time in training, just doing enough to get herself through and remain in someone's good graces. Her eye caught the time and she sighed as she fished another cred out of her pocket and dropped it on the table. It was getting late and she still needed to get the information on the target. Ideally, she'd like to have it over to ...uh...what did he say his name was? Ka...Kai...[member="Kairon Rees"]. Wooo, that was close.

"Well, I should get back to Gracie, touch base with my contacts and see who we're gonna drop in on. If I get answers back quick, I'll send them over. Either way, we'll see you gents in the morning."

She stood up easily, no wobbles that would outwardly betray her level of inebriation, but she knew she was getting fairly tipsy. She couldn't feel her lips. In the old days before Rusty became her constant shadow, she would have wandered over to a table and jumped right into a game. The thought was tempting, but she curled her fingers and remembered she liked being able to feed herself and hold a glass.

Once they were outside, she nudged [member="Rusty"] with her elbow to get his attention, although it probably wasn't necessary as he was literally right next to her.

"Hey, can you run that check on the target? Your connections will probably be faster than mine."

 

[Rusty]

"Sure, Captain," Rusty said.

The Captain could still walk on her own, which was nice. People got weird ideas when they saw him carrying her like a sack of potatoes. On the other hand, she could still walk on her own, which meant she could find a card table. Or someone with dice. Or one of the hundred other things she could do to get her fix. Honestly, it was like trying to convince a youngling to go to bed. You could send them off in the general direction, but there were a hundred different things in between here and there to distract them.

"Just as soon as we get you to the Wicked Grace."

Once the Captain was tucked in her room with a bottle of brandy and a holographic sabacc game that was thoroughly single player and had high, if completely virtual stakes, he went back outside. His contact, as per usual was not there. Not physically, at any rate. Just the usual detritus of a back alley near a spaceport, complete with a scrap of flimsi stuck to the wall by what appeared to be a piece of chewing gum. There was nothing written on it, just a ragged edge where the sheet had been torn. Rusty took a minute to examine the ragged edge, then headed back to the ship.

The target was on schedule, though they anticipated minor delays before it got to Tatooine. They had one more stop planned, and the crew had been approved for a night's shore leave. They'd almost certainly not get everyone back in time.

That was good enough for him. He strode back up the Wicked Grace's ramp. Judging by the whooping and hollering, the Captain sounded like she was having a good time. That meant she was still onboard, which meant he could lock the ship down for the night.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

.

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Rusty"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon checked his chrono. More time had passed than he’d thought. “Yeah, good point,” he replied in his gruff manner. “I’ll see you both in the morning then,” he added with a nod as they departed. His route to the door passed the bar and he stopped to call the man over. After a brief conversation he left with a bottle of red wine of surprisingly good quality – given the quality of the bar itself.

As he sauntered back towards the Quin he made a mental note to try and get out of his ship more often. Asmus had commented on his sullen attitude with increasing frequency recently. Just a short period of conversation over a few drinks with some strangers had reminded him how isolated he had been recently. I’m not getting any younger of course, he thought to himself. His childhood had been spent on a pirate ship in close confines with a crew of desperate and violent individuals. It wasn’t like he had friends left over from those days.

As the second of the Bad Karma he had made no friends. There was a firm reputation forged by fear, but none aboard would have dared tried to approach him as an equal back in those dark days. When something had finally brought him out of that world, he had found himself quite estranged from his wealthy family. Brought up a pirate from the age of eight he had never felt at home there either. Only his stupid, stowaway nephew had stopped him returning to his old ways. Such a stupid boy, but the only person in the Galaxy who held a modicum of respect for him. And so he was left there in this half-way house of smuggling and seclusion. The old Alliance was gone, he just had his crew.

And my books, he thought as he stepped into his quarters, having avoided his crew on the way through his ship. To see Kairon dressed for business with the lower elements would not prepare anyone from his own quarters. A desk carved from a rich mahogany took up most of the floor against one wall. The adjoining wall was entirely taken up by cabinets that held a vast array of books, securely held by precisely stitched elastic bands and patterns glass doors fixed by magnets. On a freighter where space was at a premium these displayed a remarkably self-indulgent attitude. Despite being a pirate for most of his days, he had been raised in opulence and some part of him still clung to those simpler times. And sometimes, for business reasons, it was useful to be able to mingle with different tiers of society – especially when you had goods to sell discretely.

Rees took a moment to pull open the glass cabinets and retrieve a book. He laid it down on the table, next to the bottle of wine and went to fetch a glass. Quiet classical music started to play and he poured himself half a glass.

“I do need to get out more,” he reminded himself. When there were no friends or family, there were always books.

 

[Malia Afredane]

She was surprisingly pleasant far earlier the next morning than she anticipated, but the brandy was left virtually untouched as she played. She sobered herself up, drank water and tried to at least get some sleep so she wasn't a complete mess for the job. She knew [member="Rusty"] didn't sleep, so she banged on the door of his room as she passed on her way to make a caf.

"Rusty, what's the scene look like? Who are the crew?"

She wanted to get the information over to [member="Kairon Rees"] as soon as she could. He seemed like a decent enough guy, well decent enough for a thief and smuggler as it were. She wasn't getting the vibe that he was out to screw her over and that was as good as friendship among the fringe. She rarely got the opportunity to socialize with anyone other than Rusty. Even if it was just a round of drinks, it was someone else telling stories and making her feel a little less alone in the stars.

"Rusty?"

He hadn't answered yet, but sometimes he was slower than she was getting going.

 

[Rusty]

True, Rusty didn't technically sleep. But his body needed to charge, and his mind needed to cycle memories, just like any other.

When the Captain started knocking, he was just in the process of rebooting. There was a reason he didn't do this once the job started; waking up for him was something like a drunk coming off a bad bender.

"Huh? Wuh?"

The sounds of confusion were intermingled with other, less wholesome sounds and all manner of banging and clanging.

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Rusty"]

Kairon crossed his arms over his chest as he stood back. Looking over the array of weapons they had compiled on the dining room table, he gave a satisfied nod. He reached forwards and picked up his favourite scatterblaster and started to check it over. Jarrick started to do the same with his chosen carbine.

Rees had always preferred the slightly heavier weapon. It could clear a corridor easily enough and at close range cut a man in two. If that wasn’t enough the stock was solid enough to crack a man’s head. The captain looked across the table, to see his second disassembling and cleaning his carbine in a professional manner.

Some part of him noticed movement behind him and he threw out an arm. The cathar lithely stepped aside and carried on heading for the exit.

“Cat!” he called after her.

Mai froze on the spot. “Don’t call me that; I hate it,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“I know, that’s why I said it. We need you today,” Kairon explained.

She looked across the assembled arsenal and raised an eyebrow. “Not in the mood today,” she replied after a few moments.

“Not in the mood for caring. Get your guns,” Kairon replied curtly.

“I’ll do as you say when you decide to pay me!” she replied quickly.

“Excellent, can you have the last three years of board ready by lunch?” Kairon asked, as he screwed the gas container into the scatterblaster and checked the reading. There was an awkward silence and the pair locked their gazes.

Mai gave in first. “Fine,” she huffed, before heading back towards her quarters.

Whilst the cathar made barely a sound as she left, Asmus made plenty. He stumbled into the kitchen, bleary eyed. The youth headed straight for the cupboards and started sorting through the supplies for food. He never seems to stop eating, Kairon thought.

“Heard hell froze over!” he shouted, before gulping down a glass of water.

“Aye?”

“Yeah, heard you were having drinks with a woman. Human one. Your age,” Asmus said with a broad grin.

Rees looked to Jarrick, who responded with an apologetic shrug. “Business partner. Hell is sharing this freighter with my hilarious nephew and I don’t see any ice. Get some caff down you and get ready,” Kairon replied gruffly. “We’ve got work to do.”

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Come on, [member="Rusty"]. I need that intell to Kairon."

She managed to get her caf and even found a couple of cereal bars stashed in the galley, dunking it into the steaming mug before devouring it. She had skipped dinner the night before and she was starving. She couldn't handle a big meal before a job, but she would be down for a nice dinner afterwards. Maybe that Kairon fella wouldn't mind...

Stick to Gracie, Mal. She quickly dismissed her impure thought. Captains tended to avoided getting tangled up with each other. It only lead to complications. Hell, it had been a while since she had even had the company of someone. Still, he had a nice smile.

She pulled out her datapad while she was waiting and scrolled through her messages. The top was from Rusty. He sent the data the previous night while she was playing sabacc. Always prepared.

She sent the information off to [member="Kairon Rees"], and finished off her cereal bar. Her weapons were on the table, ready for inspection. Rusty never let her get into a situation unless he was sure that her weapons were clean and ready to fire. He was just a little anal about that but it meant he could count on her to back him up. That was definitely something she could appreciate.

 

[Rusty]

Rusty trudged into the galley, his bare metal feet clanking on the floor. He had on pants, more out of habit than anything, but his scarred metal chest and arms were bare. The Captain was one of the few people he trusted to see him without the cloak. She knew what he was and didn't give a [bleep], which was nice.

He was still a little groggy, to borrow the organic term. In reality, it was more like something along the lines of a computer when it first started up, slow and unresponsive. He grunted to the Captain by way of greeting and started inspecting her blasters. There was some grime in places, and one had a spring that had slipped its anchor, but they were back together in working order and back together in no time.

"Morning," he grumbled eventually. "We still on schedule?"

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Far as I know. Lemme give Kairon a call."

She took her caf and the intell report to the cockpit, sliding into her seat. She dialed up the Quintessense, and waited for the connection before she called out a greeting.

"Morning, anyone up over there?"

She looked over the intell again, putting together a quick plan before she transmitted it over for discussion.

"Figured we could get ourselves sorted and have an idea of what's going down before it all blows to hell."

She swiveled around to look at Rusty still moving slowly. Apparently, she was the only one raring to go this morning.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

Rees closed his eyes, taking a deep breath that filled his lungs before slowly exhaling it through his nose. This was a bad idea. Pulling down a ship, breaching her hull, subduing the crew. It was all too close to the past. How could he be certain that, put into that situation, he wouldn't get a taste for the old ways.

Because of them, he thought, looking across the table. Asmus, still eating breakfast, was reaching for a weapon. Alert as ever, Jarrick slapped his hand away without even looking. The nephew was his responsibility, the soldier was his calm sense of discipline. They were his anchors to keep him for setting off down the dark path again.

He finished strapping a simple prices of body armour to his chest. The front plate an armour of kinetic foam and armourplast to deal with most impacts. To his thigh was his handcannon loaded with an anti-blaster round and two concussion rounds. He kept a holdout blaster on his left thigh as a last ditch weapon.

The general living space behind the cockpit of the Quin had a single fixed terminal which started to beep. Leaving his scatterblaster on the table Kairon headed over to it and took the call from Malia.

"Morning, good to see you," he responded to her first question.

"Morning," added his nephew, who had appeared at his shoulder to look at the screen with remarkable speed for the hour.

"Go man the ion turret," Kairon instructed sternly and Asmus started climbing the ladder, grumbling all the way.

As she suggested going over the plan, he waved over Jarrick and grabbed a data pad. He loaded the ship schematics and info for review.

"Yes, let's," he replied. "First thing, disabling their ship?"