After Action Review: Smuggler style

[Kairon Rees]

​

Spoiler

[member=Rusty]
[member="Dirks Hutchinson"]
[member="Eliza Steele"]
@Alicia Frost
[member="Judah Dashiell"]
[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]
[member="Rekha Kaarde"]
[member="Doctor Azure"]
[member="Evelyn Vanlyth"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Kaia Starchaser"]
[member="Kad Tor"]
[member="Jamie El-Eison"]
[member="Robb Killian"]
[member="Corvetta Salvo"]
[member="Ebony Blackheart"]

Location: ANS Freedom, Speadhead class, flagship of the Alliance 3rd fleet
Time: Immediately after Merchant Fleet strike

Following the successful strike, the smugglers and their mixed collection of spare Alliance fighters had jumped out of the system. They had left behind a number of TIE fighters – stranded without hyperdrive – and an expanding cloud of detritus where the two crews had been. Far from a military outfit, there had been a constant chorus of whoops and cheers across the battlenetwork as they headed back. Upon arrival, the naval officers thanked for their time and wired them the appropriate funds. As a way of thanks, they explained that the officer’s mess had been dedicated to welcoming to band of misfits home.

No prim officers graced the hall now. The more expensive decorations had been removed, and several bar staff stood waiting, concerned expressions on their faces. A few marines had been posted nearby, just in case any unacceptable behaviour broke out.

Kairon sat at a table with his crew and [member="Rekha Kaarde"] and the Sullustan officer who had come with them. The entire right side of his face was covered in black marks still, where his console had burst into flames. He wore a simple t-shirt, as his left forearm was carefully wrapped in bandages having been badly burned.

The crew of the Quintessence hadn’t met the others had Hangar 3. Instead they had been ferried over to Hangar 1 on account of the ship being too damaged to make a safe landing. The Alliance had promised to fix the ship up without charge.

Kairon’s mind was buzzing with a mix of elation and worry. On one hand they had pulled off the mission. After being subject to torture at the hands of the Techno Union, it felt empowering. As if this showed that a simple man like himself could stand up against the tyranny that held so much of the Galaxy. On the other hand, whilst he knew the Grace had returned with all hands, he still didn’t know what state Mal was in. They’d spoken over the holonet a couple of times in the weeks since he’d last seen her at Theed, but she’d been very vague about what she was doing.

With a wink, Kairon slid a handful of credit chits across the table to his newphew. “Go and get the next round, my arm hurts!” he said. It wasn’t a free bar, but damn did officers get their booze for cheap.

 

[Rekha Kaarde]

[SIZE=12pt]Rekha sat across from [member="Kairon Rees"] she smiled brightly proud of what had been accomplished, she wasn’t use to sitting in the back seat pulling the triggers, she was usually behind the wheel flying.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Her green eyes had that bit of shine to them tonight that told of her happiness, “Thanks Kairon , you should come out to the bar one night I’ll buy you a round” Rekha had done her happy dance in the turret once the field had been cleared.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]She sighed just a little it was always hard coming down off the high, “So, what’s next cupcake?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Everyone was cupcake to her.[/SIZE]

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal felt 50 pounds lighter when she and [member="Rusty"] walked into the mess and it wasn't just because she had shed the armor. The Quin wasn't in the hangar when Gracie touched down and from the chatter on the coms, they had taken a fair bit of damage. She was visibly relieved to see the crew in the mess, but the cold hand of dread still circled her throat when she saw Kairon bandaged up.

She was happy, they had pulled off something amazing that few in her shoes would be able to boast of. So why did she feel like this, like she was trapped behind some societal convention that they had to pretend like Naboo hadn't happened? She swallowed the lump in her throat to be alone with him, to fix him up and to check every inch of him for bruises, cuts and scrapes. Instead, she calmly walked over to his table, uncertain all over again. They had been so oddly standoffish before they flew off on the mission. All business. It felt oddly cheap, as if she was ok to be seen with on Naboo where they were strangers but in the company of other smugglers and crazed pilots, they were nothing more than business acquaintances. She felt she probably wasn't drunk enough for this conversation but she was already at the table when she realized Jarrick was also there. Sitting next to [member="Kairon Rees"].

"Congratulations! We did it!" Her words did not match the sentiment in the voice which felt awkward and weird. She noticed they were fresh out of drinks so she mustered up some enthusiasm for fleeing the scene, pointing to the bar.

"I'm gonna go grab a round of drinks for everyone."

Smooth, Afredane.

She swiveled on her heels and made for the bar, picking up [member="Kaia Starchaser"] on the way to buy her a drink for her exceptional shooting and tug driving skills.

 

[Rusty]

While the Captain went to get drinks, Rusty made himself comfortable at an adjacent table. It wasn't that he didn't want company; on the contrary. The Captain had a bug up her butt, and he figured there were better than even odds that the culprit was the guy sitting there in the bandages. The Shard wasn't angry or anything, just perplexed. The Captain had come back from her meet up with [member="Kairon Rees"] walking on sunshine and maybe a little bowlegged. Her mood had soured almost as soon as they arrived, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how.

That, however, was a secondary concern. Gertrude had been a good girl, and she deserved some special attention.

He sat her down on the table which, to its credit, held. The Shard opened her feed tray cover and locked her bolt to the rear. He placed a scrap of cloth over his fingertip and ran it around the inside of her ample chamber. When he pulled it back out, the cloth was crusted with carbon scoring.

"Looks like someone's been a dirty girl," he muttered. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Kairon and the Captain could wait.

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

She’d seen the datacrons, this was her father’s gig, his beginning. She was turning more and more into him, a few chapters behind, wasn’t she? That was… they had their talk, they cleared the air. This was a good thing. She liked the way her father was, she liked the way her life was. It made her feel… she didn’t know. Whole? Flying with people who were after the same things in life you were? It was a nice feeling. Freedom of the skies, saving the galaxy, helping the Alliance. It was all very Rebellion-Era. It was great.

After the trip though, she really had wanted to get back to the Wandering Star, her home, her sanctuary.

She didn’t have the life for a military ship, but this crew? The Smugglers, the Merchant Fleet of the Alliance? She could roll with these people. Keep the skies free and clear and help others find their way. She was feeling… happy! Charged and happy. Her own ship was with the Hope locked in a path and manipulated by her droid.

When [member="Malia Afredane"] grabbed her, Kaia couldn’t help but smile. “You know how to fly, Cap.”

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Thanks, [member="Kaia Starchaser"] you can drive a hellava tug." She ordered three fingers of whiskey, neat. She smiled at the young girl, noticing just how young she seemed to look now that they weren't charging into what should have been a suicide mission. She tossed back the drink and ordered another one.

"You do this stuff a lot?" She gestured around the room as if that motion alone was enough to convey the meaning she was driving at. Did Kaia and the Alliance end up on crazy assault missions with regularity or was this shot in the dark kind of thing. So to speak.

She ordered a bottle of bourbon for Kairon's table, figuring if they were gonna drink the officer's booze, go for the good stuff. The bottle tucked under her arm, she grabbed her whiskey and several glasses stacked to take back to Kairon's table. She motioned for Kaia to come along and she was feeling braver with her shot of courage warming her belly. She set the glasses on the table with the bottle, near to where [member="Rusty"] was sitting with his best girl. Mal clapped him on the shoulder and gave it a squeeze, a subtle little sign that she knew she was a hot mess right now and she recognized his giving her space about it. It was one of those human things she had a hard time explaining.

She turned back to the table where everyone else was, motioning with her glass in her left hand.

"Kaia, this is Captain [member="Kairon Rees"] and the crew of the Quintessence."

She looked over to [member="Rekha Kaarde"] and the Sullustan, extending her hand in greeting.

"Hi, I'm Mal, of the Wicked Grace."

 

[Robb Killian]

I karking missed it.

Three months flying solo, earning a meager wage hunting bounties across the outer rim, and Robb had made to return to the Lost Cause crew just in time to miss the action. He'd been relieved when Kairon's transmission had popped up with an invitation to rendezvous aboard the ANS Freedom, Robb sure as hell needed to work. The spacer shook his head in both frustration and trepidation as he strode into the officer's mess, it was time to shake off the stagnation of the past few months.

Robb scanned the scene as and frowned to himself as the feeling of unease sat in his gut like a stone. He recognized a few faces, namely [member="Kairon Rees"] and his crew, but beyond that he was a stranger to this lot. Plenty of new faces. . . and no sign of the guys.

Kairon seemed busy, so Robb did what felt natural; he grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered a drink. Perhaps his friends would show up later.
The spacer pushed a credit chit across the counter at one of the bartenders. "Corellian Whiskey, please. . ." He paused and considered his choice for a moment, speaking up again as the bartender made to fetch the bottle. Ah, right. Corellia. "Better make it a double."

The bartender nodded and went about his business.

Robb's drink came promptly. He swirled the liquid around in his glass, the contents of which may well be a rarity by now, before raising his class in a silent toast.

 

[Kairon Rees]

Kairon watched Mal out of the corner of his eyes as she headed for the bar. In his mind he had pictured a welcome overflowing with joy, as he picked her up and spun her around as they laughed at what they had achieved. Instead their greeting had been brief and relatively formal. Of course to do that, you would have had to have actually picked her up, he thought to himself. He had a good point, but he was feeling greatly uncertain of himself now. Their last farewell at been all too brief. Oh well, liquid courage time. On the steps of the Theed museum, he’d left it to her to broach the subject like a coward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARhk9K_mviE

Smugglers didn’t tend to start a party slowly. Already one crew had put some loud music and started shouting along to the simple chorus. Another crew had set out a sabacc game on a table in one corner of the mess. Par for….

“Nice to meet you Kaia. This is Rekha and Boo...Bojanga, that right?” Kairon tried to politely introduce the pair when Mal started making introductions. He finished off the last third of his ale, figuring an empty glass was a good excuse to stand up. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a familiar face.

“[Your pronunciation is almost acceptable Kairon, pleasure to meet you Mal]!” Bojanga said, shaking her hand.

“You understand any Sullustan Mal?” Kairon asked as he slid his chair back from the table and stood up. There were a lot of species who didn’t speak basic particularly well, on account of their vocal physiology, but they tended to understand it perfectly.

Kark karkety kark, he thought to himself as he took a few steps around the table to Mal, slightly more terrified than he had been when the Quin’s console set on fire. With his empty glass in his burned left hand, he tentatively attempted to casually place his right arm around her waist.

[member="Robb Killian"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Kaia Starchaser"]
[member="Rusty"]

 

[Rusty]

Rusty looked up from his work in time for Kairon to make a move.

It took all of his willpower not to wolf-whistle. That wouldn't have been appreciated at all. It looked like a couple of younger folks had the same idea, but he silenced them with a glare. No one glares quite like a Shard with a heavy weapon.

He had wiped off most of the loose carbon residue, but there were still several places where the stuff was caked on. The weaponsmith always kept a cleaning kit on hand-literally. The fingers of his right hand concealed several different cleaning picks and brushes. In this case, a brass straight pick was necessarily. It popped out of the tip of his index finger.

It wasn't long before the room was filled with the rasping sounds of metal scraping against metal. Flakes of caked-on residue started flying everywhere as Rusty attacked Gertrude with the skill and precision of a droid, albeit one that had been hitting the digital stimulants pretty hard. His hands were a blur, and it didn't take long for his table to look like the victim of a volcanic ash storm.

[member="Kairon Rees"]
[member="Robb Killian"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Kaia Starchaser"]

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Not a word but you have my thanks for bringing this grouch back in one piece, if a bit singed." She shook Bojanga's hand and smiled genuinely.

She relaxed into Kairon's side, leaning into his shoulder, her glass changing hands. She glanced up at him with a mix of relief and concern as she didn't want to fuss all over him and make other people uncomfortable but when he made the subtle acknowledgement of putting an arm around her, her neurotic mind relaxed and she decided to just go with the flow. She turned into his side, so that she was more perpendicular to his stance, her left arm wrapped around him in a partial embrace.

"What did you do to yourself? And what happened to the Quin?"

Her tone was a little more mocking now, the easy nature of the smuggler he got to know on Shaddaa much more evident. Maybe she was learning how to be comfortable around him or maybe 2 glasses of whiskey was beginning to loosen her up. Either way, for the time being, she ceased to be so uptight about showing her affection for Kairon in other company.

[member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Robb Killian"] [member="Kaia Starchaser"] [member="Rusty"] [member="Rekha Kaarde"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Robb Killian"]
[member="Rusty"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Kaia Starchaser"]
[member="Rekha Kaarde"]

"[If you could teach the grouch how to stop swearing at his copilot that would be acceptable as thanks!]" Bojanga replied, laughing in that strange way sullustans did.

"He said you're welcome!" Kairon replied quickly. A broad grin appeared on his face as she turned in and placed an arm around him. Instead of answering her question he just smiled for a moment. He'd been worried that something was wrong between them, or something had happened, or perhaps even that she would see the gesture as overly possessive. As she placed an arm around him, his heart fluttered.

"You might remember me mentioning a few power issues with the new hyperdrive," he said, remembering himself. "Well the Quin was knocked up to hell on account of a few TIE Defenders who showed up. As we made the jump feedback loop set the console on fire. Just a few burns!" he said, keeping his tone light. Bacta was a godsend, but it didn't prevent the healing flesh all across that arm causing him great discomfort. Part of him desperately wanted to ask if everything had turned out alright with her family, but he decided that was best saved for later.

His expression turned to one of confusion as the rhythmic noises started behind him. Kairon briefly peered over his shoulder to note what Rusty was doing, before shaking his head. He leant his head down towards her, keeping the soot covered side of his face away and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Is he doing that to make a point to you about the sabacc table?" he whispered conspiratorially.

Wait, was that actually [member="Robb Killian"] at the bar?

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal sneaked a peek at Rusty and shook her head, chuckling at the inference.

"No. The threat is that he'll break my hands. That is him being meticulous and attentive to his favorite thing in the entire galaxy."

Mal sipped her whiskey, enjoying the music, looking around at everyone. There was a jovial atmosphere creeping around the room and Mal felt her spirits lighten up a bit.

"So you know most of these people? Rusty and I keep to ourselves most of the time."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Robb Killian"]
[member="Rusty"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Kaia Starchaser"]
[member="Rekha Kaarde"]

A pair of junior Alliance officers appeared in the doorway, looking aghast. A marine stepped forth, placed a hand on one of their shoulders and said a few words. The pair disappeared quickly. Kairon chuckled.

“No, no actually I don’t,” Kairon said, furrowing his brow as he looked at the man in the bar. “Used to be a Smuggler’s Alliance actually a few years back but it all fell apart. Still see the odd one of them every now and again. I met Bojanga and Rekha not too long before take-off. You all and the Grace get through relatively unscathed?” he asked.

“Thought saying that…hang on a second…” he said a few moments later, disentangled his arm from Mal. “Robb? Robb!” he called, certain it was the old crewman from Corvetta’s ship. He took a few steps towards the bar.

 

[Robb Killian]

Robb concluded his toast and downed the deep-amber liquid, content to let the drink warm his insides as it eased its way into his system. The spacer closed his eyes and savored the taste. A touch of home, fire,. . . and perhaps a little regret. Robb winced and mentally shook himself free of the oncoming funk. Not the time.

The bartender replaced Robb's glass without missing a beat. Good karking service here. It must pay to sit at the "big table." Robb nodded at the man and slid another chit across the counter-top.

Robb sat there, sipping at his drink thoughtfully for a time, enjoying the din. I wonder if. . .

“Robb? Robb!”

Robb perked up at the mention of his name, and peered over his shoulder to see none other than [member="Kairon Rees"] flagging him down. Robb spun off his seat and, taking his drink with him, went to meet Kairon.

The man looked about the same as when Robb had last seen him, plus a few new scrapes, scratches, and burns. Robb reached Kairon and, smiling, touched two fingers to his temple in a mock salute. "Been a while, Kairon. . ."

Robb offered his free hand, to shake.

". . . Though it appears you've had no trouble keeping busy."

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"] [member="Robb Killian"]

Oh good, he hadn't gone and embarrassed himself. He gave the offered hand a firm shake and performed the necessary introductions: "Mal-Robb, Robb-Mal. It has been a while! Last time I saw you we were breaking someone out of a Cor-sec jail I reckon?" he said. His mind went back to those terse negotiations, back when the Alliance looked after their own. Things didn't change, there was always another wretched crime lord squeezing everything they could out of their kind. He supposed they did change for the worse, that whole world was no longer habitable.

"You know, I saw Corvie a month or so back, said she was flying alone. I didn't hear your voice on the battlenet, who were you flying with?"

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

Hauling in from Bespin had never felt more stressful than this past week. Aside from the crazy layover at Anoat that led to nothing but trouble, Corvetta had been making sure to avoid whatever was causing the massive comm disturbances from Galactic Southwest. Whatever was going on down there, she wanted no part in it. Smuggling was getting too tough these days as it were. And very, very lonely.

A run-in with Kairon a few weeks back had reunited her with an old Smugglers' Alliance buddy, and he had pinged her to come help out with some new jobs this way. Something about salvaging and restoration, though she had no idea what he expected her to do on the latter part of all this. But these were the coordinates, and she had been allowed through despite all uncertainty on her end. Must be the right place. Hopefully her ship was not being robbed of all its tibanna gas drums right now.

The skinny pilot's subtle aurora of hair dyes shimmered as she swayed into the mess hall, blue eyes determining by the demeanor of those in the room that she had apparently missed the smuggle party--whatever it was. There was Kairon, as could be expected, but she was not familiar with the rest of the bunch. Big galaxy, to be sure, but smugglers kind of made a name for themselves in the underground after a while. Either these were relatively new to the game, or Corvetta was losing her rep. Perhaps a little bit of both.

Actually, there was one other character in here that oddly caught Corvetta's attention. She waved to the others but carried herself silently behind this particular individual's back. It's been a while... Nervously, she tapped the man lightly on the shoulder and then stepped back, still uncertain about his identity--and not wanting to get a smack for encroaching on his space should he be a grumpy sort. But she would swear there was nothing faulty with her eyes. Not to mention, she could have sworn she had just heard the name 'Robb' uttered before she entered. With hesitance, she murmured that familiar nickname she had given a very similar-looking guy a long time ago: "...Killer?"

[member="Kairon Rees"], [member="Rekha Kaarde"], [member="Malia Afredane"], [member="Rusty"], [member="Kaia Starchaser"], [member="Robb Killian"]

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

She had to catch up. So much went on because of her lazy writer. Once Friday (Friday gotta get down on Friday) rolls around, then his paper was finished and so was his poster. It’d be a good weekend of posting. But right now, Kaia was at the Smuggler’s review. It was a good time, so far, and she had received a compliment from her cohort, of Malia. That was always nice. Sure, Kaia preferred to be in the sky, but not everyone could always be flying, even if the Warden tried.

Being probably the youngest here, and still wet behind the ears in the ways of the world, Kaia was being careful. She was sticking to familiar faces and watching everyone come and go. She smiled as Malia introduced her to Kairon. She hadn’t met him before, but she was fairly confident he was the one who was running this whole group. “A pleasure, Captain Rees.”

All these people had so much history, it was great to see. These were really the ones who kept the spacelanes free and clear! It was a great feeling to be around them. She wanted to learn more, but she wasn’t going to push. She just wanted to learn. If Kira Vaal showed up, that was about as close to a connection as this crew had that Kaia had experienced, unless she went back home to the Treader. But she preferred the space between, when the Alliance was ready, perhaps the home ship would join them.

Perhaps.

But for now, she'd be a bit of a wall flower.

 

[Robb Killian]

Robb offered Kairon's companion a friendly nod and smile in acknowledgement , then redirected his attention to Kairon.
"I flew solo for a while, just to stretch my legs a little." Robb remembered the job on Corellia well enough, though he remembered the pretty Corsec officer more. "Man, Corellia was ages ago. . . back when the SA was up and running." The spacer rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged before replying. "But enough about that. Looks like you guys got yourselves into one hell of a m- . . ."

A tap on his shoulder distracted Robb momentarily...

"...Killer?"

...But the familiar voice made him spin on his heels, practically spilling his drink in the process.

Corvy! Robb's offered his friend a wide smile and, with his free hand, pulled her into a friendly one-armed embrace. "Been too long, Ms. Salvo."
Realizing the hug was getting to be a little on the long side, Robb released his friend and took a step back, so as to welcome her into the group's conversation. The spacer cleared his throat before continuing, "Corvy, you know Kairon, and this is his. . . friend, Mal."

[member="Kaia Starchaser"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Malia Afredane"] [member="Rusty"] [member="Rekha Kaarde"] [member="Davik Tren"] [member="Kohai Drenn"]

 

[Rusty]

Seeing as how everyone looked to be congregating around the Captain and Rees, Rusty figured he ought to join the party. Though reclusive by nature, the Shard had been chewed out by the Captain on more than one occasion for being a wallflower. It was hard being a Shard in polite society; most everyone assumed that he was there to serve drinks. That's what droids did, right?

Well, the last time someone had made that mistake, it had led to an altercation, with a blaster being pointed in the Shard's face. Rusty had field stripped the weapon, and most of the arm holding it. He didn't know if there was more than one way to skin a cat, but he did know that most organics stopped giving him lip after he removed all the skin below the elbow.

He found a good stopping point on Gertrude, put her back together, and stood on the Captain's other side at a respectful distance. He didn't say anything yet, but maybe this conversation thing would happen after all.

[member="Robb Killian"]
[member="Kaia Starchaser"]
[member="Corvetta Salvo"]
[member="Kairon Rees"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Rusty"] [member="Robb Killian"] [member="Kaia Starchaser"] [member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Malia Afredane"]

"Corvy, you know Kairon, and this is his. . . friend, Mal."

Kairon picked up on the pause, deciding he may as well state the obvious up front. For a moment he considered using the word 'partner', but recalled some of the confusion the word had caused them both in the past.

"Mal captains the Wicked Grace, we're together," he said with a warm smile. "This is Rusty who flies with her," he said waving towards the droid. "Did you want to introduce Gertrude?" he asked with a sly smile. "Corvetta used to run the old Alliance," he added.

Some sixth sense altered him to danger. He turned away from the group to see that Asmus' ears had pricked up. That was concerning. It generally meant he'd spotted something to chase. This group seemed to hold Kairon in reasonable esteem and he'd rather not have his nephew embarrassing him. If anything he'd describe the boy as omnisexual. There was no appreciable standards to his selections, beyond 'willing', as far as Kairon could tell. Neither gender or species were an issue. When they came into port the boy always seemed to put every effort into preening himself and marketing himself as the dashing smuggler. It was surprising how much success he found with the act.






Despite how thrilling the day had been Asmus was bored*. Everyone here seemed a old, and in some cases really rather dangerous. It seemed he was destined to a sour end to the day his stuffy uncle finally let him get involved in some action deliberately.

His eyes turned to the girl from Mal's ship, the one with the interesting tattoos, and gave her a quick look up and down. Alright, perhaps this wasn't the worst party he'd even been to. Running one hand through his long, fine hair, he slid back from the table.

"Get you a drink... Kaia?" he asked as he sidled up to her.


*Kaia has permission to npc. Bio in Kairon's.