A Way Out

[Subject 37]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

”That shouldn’t be a problem.” Jorg said with a smile.

If they could lessen the cost It would help. They really did only have a limited amount of money, and if they were going to make it...wherever they were going then the more money they had the better. Of course, perhaps they’d be able to find temporary work on Nubia, but the faster they got away the better.

”I think we’ll take a bit of rest now if you don’t mind.” Jorg shifted slightly, as one of his men spoke up. ”Been a while since we’ve slept.”

Things had been stressful lately, to say the least. They did need their rest, but it was also another tactic.

She had asked quite a few questions, and no doubt she would spend some time pondering them over. Jorg knew that, he had done enough interrogations to know the process, he would have to make sure that she was a bit too distracted to completely ponder everything else over.

How would he achieve that? Conversation of course, she asked questions. Now he would do the same.

Jorg stayed as the rest of his men filed out, searching for what would be their bunks.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Excellent!"

Kayleigh smiled and gave a nod to the others as they began to take their leave.

"Sleep well, gentlemen." She said with a chirp. "Let one of us know if you need anything."

The quarters wouldn't be anything ornate or glamorous, but they would suffice for sleeping and well enough for comfort during the trip. Besides, if they were all disembarking at Nubia for other destinations they would hardly have much time to spend bunking aboard this particular vessel anyway. Kayleigh had served on quite a number of ships ranging from the grandest star destroyers to the smallest fighters, she was used to cramped spaces and the life of a soldier.

Turning back to Valyn the woman stood, making her way towards the far wall where atop the counter sat a caf' machine. Reaching up to the cupboard she pulled down a single cup, before turning her head back to Jorg. "Would you care for caf?" She'd ask, before taking a cup down all the same.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

Jorg didn’t really have time to object before she was pulling out a second cup.

Caf had never really been this thing, he’d always preferred a nice stim to keep himself awake. Still, there was no need to be rude, and thus he would drink it all the same. He shifted slightly on the hard bench, moving so that he was a tad more comfortable and so that he could study her while she prepared the drinks.


”How long have you been a freighter captain?” Most didn’t start out as a Captain, and she was fairly young from the looks of her.


From what Jorg knew someone her age was more likely to be a mechanic or a gunner rather than a the Captain.


Age was an odd sort of factor when you talked about freighters and their crew. Usually it was the oldest and most experienced that got the job as Captain. Of course that didn’t meant she wasn’t qualified for the job, it simply sat as a small curiosity, and a way for him to find out more about her and this ship.


An important thing since they’d be on board for a while, at least until they reached Nubia.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Setting down one of the cups to the side of the counter top Kayleigh slid the other beneath the caf machine and began the sequence of brewing the hot liquid before turning around, the palms of her hands against the top of the granite counter for support, one foot crossing over the other. She flared her nostrils just barely as if debating what kind of information to give away in the moment.

"I've had this gig for about seven months. I'm also the primary mechanic when we're docked. We've got a few handymen on board but anything generally important I typically see to when it's safe to do so." The woman shifted herself down a bit and hopped up onto the counter so that she could see both Jorg and the Caf brew away. "Grew up learning how to fix all kinds of ships, mostly old beaters that folks wanted to stretch the life on, YT models and such, but some newer stuff too. Eventually became a contract mechanic for the Republic's Navy."

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

He tried not to flinch when she said ‘Republic Navy’, luckily for him he’d been taught how to stand up to torture and interrogation.

His lips did thin slightly though, as if she were bringing up a somewhat unpleasant memory for him. The Sith after all, had been his employers for the last few years, both in truth and in his lie. He hoped that was the reaction that would see. ”Republic Navy, Huh?”

Jorg smiled.

”Must have been busy the last few years.” The war had taken a heavy toll on both sides, not just in humans but also on starships. ”I know the factories on Coruscant were practically running twenty four seven.”

It had been the same for every planet in the One Sith.

His former employers had not been the best when it came to the running of their Navy. The One Sith had only ever won a single space engagement with the Republic, and even that had been more of a draw than anything else, brought about because the Republic had simply faltered in a moment of precision.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

She leaned back a bit, her head resting against the hull, laughing at the remark about being busy. "You could say that, yeah." Her eyes drifted from the man to her feet, where she looked on quietly for a few moments. She had been happy to serve the Republic during that time, but that phase of her life was well behind her now, and likely for the best, given the trajectory the Republic was on. Lasedri, her political enemy had staged a coup shortly after Kayleigh had resigned as Supreme Commander, and in almost the same breath Ali Hadrix had caused quite the mess of her own.

"The Navy was an experience."

One that nearly got her killed on more than one occasion, and one that saw an assassination attempt on her. The memory sent a chill down her spine that she quickly shook off in exchange for a better memory. "But this is a good life too. Much less hectic than before. Much less dangerous too, in comparison." Sure there were pirates now and then, or people looking for free passage, but a stow away now and then or some foiled raids were a drop in the bucket in comparison to full blown war.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

He nodded appreciatively. His roll was an ex cop for the lack of a better term. Coruscant Security was nearly military, but not quite, so he was supposed to understand what she had meant. Couple that with the fact that Coruscant had been invaded more than once by one faction or another he should know all too well what danger felt like.

”Has it gotten any more dangerous?” It was a question of genuine curiosity.

There had been many Sith Lords within the One Sith, and as soon as the government had fallen they had all vied for some sort of control, power. Warlords, from what he had been told, were now common within the core, roving Sith having taken it upon themselves to set up new governments on small pockets of planets.

”What with the Sith now broken up.” All those fleets had to go somewhere. ”I imagine it can get a bit hairy.”

Briefly he wondered if anyone he knew was a part of one of those vagrant fleets.

It was likely, given how many units he’d worked with during his tenure in the One Sith Stormtrooper corpse.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Certain routes are more dangerous than others, but that has always been the case." Pirates rarely discriminated when it came to raiding ships, be it a cargo freighter or passenger shuttle. "Luckily for us I've been flying long enough to know the safer routes, and when to avoid others." She smirked, "And when occasionally we do stumble into pirates? Well, we're well enough armed that if they tried to board, they would find it hardly worth the trouble."

Kayleigh wasn't just a pilot or mechanic. She was also a fine soldier. Despite her handicap, the armor she had tailored to her compensated for her missing lung when in skirmishes. Commanding a star destroyer came as naturally to her as leading a team on the ground. It was why she was widely recognized during her tenure with the Republic and had eventually been made head of the Navy, preceding her successor Gir Quee, and the disgraced Ali Hadrix and Suravi Teigra that followed.

"We've little to worry about unless a Sith Lord gets aboard." Those were some nasty folk that Kayleigh didn't tango with. "Thankfully there aren't many lingering around anymore. At least not any looking to raid ships like this."

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

That was true enough. Why would a Sith Lord care about a freighter when there were more important things to conquer? "Have many of them become Warlords?"

He was referring to the Sith of course.

The collapse of the One Sith Government marked the end of an era for many powerful Sith Lords, but it also marked an opportunity. He and the others had heard rumors that most of the now defunct Dark Council had taken up residence in one part of the core or another, carving up a slice of the One Sith Fleet and taking it for their own little dominion. It was typical really, what else would you do if you had the power and strength to take what you wanted by force?

For Jorg though...he didn't see the appeal.

The Alliance was clearly on the upturn now, even a Stormtrooper could tell that much. Why try to carve out your own territory and be a big shot? Why take the risk.

He certainly wasn't going to, though in truth he actually had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. Neither he nor any of the others had a plan after they got out of the core, they just knew that they had to go before the Alliance started turning their attentions towards the little guys instead of the ones at the top.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"I couldn't tell you, really. A number of them though."

There wasn't an accurate count because Kayleigh hadn't the slightest of ideas of how many there were. "They tend to wear a lot of obscuring masks and such. After a while, they all look the same."

Kayleigh scooped up both cups of Caf once they had finished, "Anything in yours?" Kayleigh had become accustomed to drinking it straight, given the lack of amenities while on board various star destroyers in the midst of combat, though the ship was well enough stocked now. Still, she almost preferred it strong and straight to the point nowadays.

"Anyway, they tend to don threatening looking armors, make themselves look bigger and scarier than they are, even the recruits, or whatever they're called."

Kayleigh was hardly concerned with that space magic stuff.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

"That's what they've done for a thousand years." He said with a smile. "Maybe longer."

He shifted slightly. "It's nice to be out from under them."

Jorg actually meant that too.

The Sith did not make for very good, or predictable employers. He would always be a Soldier, a stormtrooper through and through, but...the Sith just weren't good to work for. He had often been terrified of his own commanders killing him for simple failures.

"They were none too pleasant to us." He said quietly, almost a bit too vaguely.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh took his silence on the question to mean he didn't care. She quietly strode to the man and handed him the cup before sitting back down on the opposite side, setting the cup down to cool a bit before taking any sips. The piping hot steam rose up like a small smokestack from the cup. She had burned her tongue enough times already to have learned her lesson!

"I can imagine."

Leaning back she smiled, "I've always been on the opposite side of that end. Though my experience with Sith has thankfully been minimal. I've mostly encountered ground troops and pilots. Suppose I was either luckier or smarter than them, since I am sitting here now. Perhaps a bit of both." All things considered she was an incredibly humble person, never taking things for granted and always trying to look on the bright side. Some days made it easier than others.

[member="Jorg"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

Jorg smiled. "Probably smarter."

"Prettier too." He gave her his most winning smile.

He was supposed to have been CoreSec, so a little animosity with Stormtroopers was to be expected.

Jorg remembered a dozen times that he'd had it out with a CoreSec officer over one thing or another. Usually arguments about jurisdiction. CoreSec hated anyone that got in their way, especially when those people were better trained.