Private Catching Stars

[Ishani Dinn]

"C'mon, girl. Aren't you lonely? I can tell you're lonely. It's written all over your face."

Ishani's teeth bared white in the dark. "Stop following me, you drunkard."

"Drunkard? You were drinking too, drinking strong shit! I can smell it on you from here!"

Ishani balled her fists at her sides. Despite her best efforts to get away from him, this man had been tailing her ever since she left the bar. Unused to dealing with this kind of attention, she had let it slide for far too long, and now he wouldn't leave her alone.

She was almost at the hangar, almost at her ship, but she couldn't go in as long as he was stuck to her like glue. The thought crossed her mind that she should lead him somewhere nice and quiet, rough him up a bit, and see how he felt about following her then—but Ishani wasn't a particularly good fighter even on a good day, and if she led him down a dark alleyway somewhere she was just as likely to get jumped herself. This was just that kind of town.

As her hangar bay came up, she made a decision. All right, Ish. Remember, you've got the Force. Unless this guy turns out to be a Sith Lord playing an act or something, he's no match for you. She unlocked the door to the hangar and walked inside.

"Is that your ship? Holy shit! What is it made out of, some kind of—"

Using the Force, she stunned him into sudden unconsciousness. His body fell to the floor with a loud thud. Checking to make sure he was out, Ishani sighed in relief. It had been a long time since she'd used the Force for anything like that. She was almost surprised it worked...

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

Hilal walked around the spaceport looking for anyone who any freighter who could take her back to Kersti. She had bought the components to construct her Flamethrower from Bespin. Of all the things to construct for her armor, the flamethrower so far was the easiest thing to buy. It did cost Hilal a chunk of her credits though which was irritating. "Another financial setback," she grumbled blowing a strand of hair that was hanging from her face.

The good news though was that Hilal was pretty much set in terms of having the necessary items needed to start putting them together. The Beskar was forged and shaped, the helmet as well as the programs that she created was updated and ready to go. What's left was the fun stuff, integrating the weaponry. "If I can just find a cheap freighter to take me home," Hilal mumbled. "I can finally get to work on the final touches of my magnum opus."

Okay maybe it was too early to make declaratives but this had to be the most ambitious Mandalorian armor to date. No one made armor this extensive..... right? Just then Hilal's thoughts was interrupted by a man getting pushed to the ground. "What the...." The young woman took out her Blaster Pistol and approached the area.

"Hey what's going-" She pointed her pistol only to nearly drop when she saw a ship..... no a large group of crystals clumped together.

"HOLY CHIT!" Hilal shouted her floored by what she's witnessing.

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

The alarmed voice of a witness prompted Ishani to dart around the corner, hiding herself among some storage crates. She realized only afterwards how foolish it was—hiding would just make her look even more suspicious.

That voice she’d heard was now shrieking. Ishani winced. They sounded young, and obviously female, and they were unlikely to leave now.

Gritting her teeth, Ishani stepped out of cover. “What’s going on?” she asked, feigning shock and ignorance at the sight of the downed man. “Who is that? What happened?”

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

What the hell was going on here? First a man randomly collapses and now a woman with blonde hair and green eyes just appeared from the boxes acting dumbfounded. Hilal raised an eyebrow towards the woman gazing at her with suspicion, this had to be weirdest turn of events of her life. "I dunno," Hilal said approaching the unconscious man and checking his pulse. "I was just walking through the spacesport and the next thing I know some guy gets blasted awau like a Mynock out of space maelstrom."

Though the man was alive, he stank of alcohol, Beer from the smell of it. Hilal's nose scrunched up, chit this man just pissed all over himself as well! Guys and poor hygiene go hand in hand like a Sith and mass murder. "Is this guy your boyfriend?" She asked gagging and steeping away waving her hand as she did it. "No offense but he looks like he slept in a vat full of booze and smells like he came out of a Wookie's ass!"

She then turned her attention towards the Crystal ship. "Say," Hilal said. "You mean to also tell me that you didn't notice that crystal ship right behind ya? Look at the size of that thing? I wonder who's the big wig who bought it?"

Hilal chuckled. "I bet it's one of those stinking Jedi." she said. "They preach about humility and simplicity and here they are purchasing ultra-expensive ships to rub it in to the little guys and gals!"

She shook her head. "Just look at that thing!" She said. "It just reeks of creativity and self-righteousness. Still I'm curious to know how it powers up."

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

The girl looked at Ishani weirdly, but didn’t ask questions. She did, however, prove very chatty, with a colorful vocabulary.

"Is this guy your boyfriend?"

“No, absolutely not,” Ishani immediately replied, barely keeping the disgust out of her voice. Before she could offer any further explanations, the girl kept going, trash-talking the Jedi and prattling on excitedly about Ishani’s ship, the Vixen. It was a little hard to follow her train of thought, as she switched topics as fast as the beating of a hummingbird’s wing.

“... It’s my ship,” Ishani said when she could finally get a word in. “And I’m not a Jedi. This is not my boyfriend.” She pointed to the unconscious drunkard lying on the floor. “I think he must’ve wandered in here by mistake. That or he was up to no good. Say, I’ll tell you what—if you help me get him out of here, I’ll let you take a look at my ship, just as long as you promise not to mess with anything. How’s that sound?”

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

Judging by the sound of her voice the woman just as disgusted as this piss filled mess than she was. "I'm just asking," Hilal said before her eyes widened with shock. "OH REALLY?!" The young woman said a smile formed on her face. "Oh forgive my curse laden insults you know as a Mandalorian I tend to get carried away when it comes to Jedi!"

She only met one during her travels and she was everything that Hilal expected. Prissy, self-righteous and all that chit. "So this is your ship!" Hilal chuckled. "It's very impressive but kinda impractical, I mean understand going for coolness and all but with those bright you'll be lit up like a Life Day tree."

Hilal shrugged. "Still," she continued. "I've never seen a ship so distinctive..... I have to see how it functions!"

Just then Hilal heard a groan, the drunk man stirred causing Hilal to sigh. "Oh yeah forgot about this joker," The young woman grabbed the drunk man in by the collar forcing him up. "Hey!" The man shouted before being seeing the barrel of Hilal's blaster.

"You see this chit?" Hilal growled. "This will be the last thing your blubbering will see before I melt your face off! Hell, It's probably for you anyway since you make Veknoid look like a supermodel!"

"W-what do you want?!" The man blubbered before Hilal kicked him down south.

"For you to get the fuck out of here!" Hilal yelled as the man cried out in pain. "I can't!" The man cried. "You kicked me in my-"

"It's going to be a hell of a lot worse if you don't get up!" Hilal screeched. "I hope you have kids because if you don't get out at count of three, you won't be able to have any more!"

"I-"

"One!"

"I.... oh chit!"

The man ran off clutching his groin while Hilal gave a satisfied smile. "There problem solved." She turned to the woman giggling. "I wasn't going to kill him or anything just gave them the ol Mandalorian Intimidation routine. Name's Hilal of Clan Vizsla and I'm really excited to see your ship!"

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Upon learning the ship belonged to Ishani, the girl somehow became even more bubbly and excited. After dealing with the drunkard in a swift and efficient manner, she introduced herself as Hilal of Clan Vizsla.

“Ishani Sibwarra,” Ishani gave her name without much fanfare. Truth be told, she no longer had any titles or allegiances to accompany it. She was only Ishani. “Right this way…”

She led the girl aboard her ship. The interior was just as crystalline in appearance as the exterior, though it was not see-through. Hilal was full of more assumptions than questions about the Vixen. “The lights can be turned off,” Ishani explained, and with a wave of her hand she did so, plunging the vessel into darkness. In open space, it would be visually almost invisible. Waving her hand again, she turned the lights back on and also changed the color of the ship, streaking orange, yellow, and purple through the crystal walls.

“Most of it is made of an alchemized material called isinglass. It looks delicate, but it’s as strong as durasteel.” Since Hilal was a staunch Mandalorian who had already demonstrated anti-Jedi views, Ishani wasn’t sure how she’d react to the idea of an alchemized ship, but she had asked to see how it all worked... "Other than that, it functions pretty similarly to any other modern starship. Just with the addition of an optional Neurocrown."

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

"Ishani Sibawarra....." Hilal said committing the name to memory. "That's a lovely name," Hilal held onto the edges of her skirt trying to straighten it as she eagerly followed Ishani to her ship. The young woman looked around the massive rooms her eyes glistening with awe while Ishani explained the components of her ship.

"Sooo is the ship powered the Force?" Hilal asked while Ishani waved her hand causing the entire ship to go dark. I mean there are some ships that require a Force Sensitive person activate.

Contrary to her attitude, Hilal didn't hate all Force Sensitives. Just those stinking Jedi who always have their heads up their ass and the Sith for destroying the Mandalorians forcing them to be scattered all over the Galaxy. Ishani seemed to be a nice girl, a nice girl with a large ship made of.....

"Insinglass?" Hilal raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of that material, is it rare?" Perhaps Hilal can integrate this Insinglass into her weaponry. If she knew how it worked that is.

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“No, it’s powered by an engine and requires fuel, like any other starship. It’s just easier to control certain parts of it with the Force, I guess.” To be honest, Ishani didn’t really know how the thing worked. She’d bought it off some Sith back in her acolyte days, many years ago now, and didn’t stop to read the manual.

“Isinglass,” she corrected. “I guess it is rare, although I do know how to make it. It requires knowledge of alchemy, and Force sensitivity and all that.” She scratched her nose, wondering if she should just come out and offer to sell Hilal some. Anything to make some cash, y’know?

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

"Wait....." Hilal turned to Ishani when she said that she wasn't sure about the full components of her ship. "You don't know if it's fully controlled by the Force?" She asked planting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow. "How can you not know Ishani? It's your own ship, what happens if it breaks down and you don't know how to fix it?"

Hilal would always read the manual twice no, ten times to see if piece of tech was working properly. The young woman often thoroughly inspects weapons and vehicles multiple times to see if their in great condition. If any of them breaks down in the middle of a fight, the Hilal would be in danger. She continued to gape at Ishani flabbergasted that she didn't have a good grasp of her ship. "I mean it's good that you've built your own material." Hilal said. "In fact I'm envious that you managed to do so, I can only take scrap and try to make it into something useful. But to truly create like you is a step above the ordinary."

She wished that she could be better than she already was. Hilal was just a street rat just getting by tinkering other people's work. With her armor, it'll be the first time she's created something from pure scratch yet there was always somebody who can turn dirt into diamonds and Ishani accomplished that. "Sorry," Hilal said shaking her head. "I just got carried away, you didn't sound too confident in your response and I just assumed."

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Wait... You don't know if it's fully controlled by the Force?"

Uh.

"How can you not know Ishani? It's your own ship, what happens if it breaks down and you don't know how to fix it?"

Uhhhhhhhh...

"Sorry. I just got carried away, you didn't sound too confident in your response and I just assumed."

Ishani stood there, her eyes sort of glazed, not sure whether she should actually be disappointed in herself or if Hilal was making a big deal out of nothing. Eventually though, she recovered and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not an engineering expert. I didn't make the ship, but the person who sold it to me had the, uh, the recipe for isinglass, and I asked him for a copy. So I know how to make the material, but I wouldn't know how to put it all together to actually make a ship, if that makes sense." Hopefully it did. "Something more simple, like a weapon or armor, I could do that..."

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

Hilal wasn't satisfied with Ishani's answer, even if she was no engineering expert she needed to be familiar with her ship. "I mean," Hilal looked at the one of the Isinglass knocking on it to test its durability. "You need a through look through your ship," she said. "This is no speeder, if your ship just gets randomly shut down in the middle of space, what will do? Do you know how to do the most basic repairs?"

The young woman huffed. "Ishani," she said. "It doesn't matter if you haven't built the ship or not," she said. "Taking good care of your ship is the first thing you need to do when you're space faring. In fact."

She approached Ishani and grabbed her hand. "Come on!" She said. "You and I are going to look around this technological enigma together. I can even show you a few things about tech!"

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“I don’t really travel that far beyond the pale?” she replied. “Usually there’s a mechanic within comm distance where I fly. But yeah, I can handle basic repairs...” Why did Hilal care so much? It wasn’t her ship, or her life.

“This is no speeder, if your ship just gets randomly shut down in the middle of space, what will you do?”

Ishani shrugged. “Guess I’ll die.” Her flippant tone was meant to be joking, but it came out sounding rather fatalistic, even apathetic. Like she didn’t care whether she lived or died.

She did not expect Hilal to grab her hand and start dragging her around her own ship. “Okay, hang on—let go of me,” she said, pulling her arm from the girl’s grasp. “I thought I was the one showing you around. Remember what I said about not messing with anything? That includes poking around in the inner workings of my ship—which you do not understand any more than I do—okay? I get that you’re curious, but cool your jets.”

That said, Ishani led the way to the engine room. Like the rest of the ship, it was made out of the crystalline isinglass—but beneath that facade, more industrial elements were visible. A hyperdrive, circuitry, fuel lines, all of it was neatly tucked away under isinglass panels in the floor and along the walls.

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

Hilal had to roll her eyes when Ishani sarcastically that she would die. It was pretty pathetic for her to think that in times of crises, if Hilal said something like that, she'll still be that crying 5-year-old girl wondering where parents went. All Hilal had in her life was her clan name and her determination to succeed. She was the little hyperspace drive that could trying to use all the mockery and insecurity she felt for being small and scrawny as motivation. It took every fiber of her being to not yell at Ishani. Hilal's agitation was worsened by the way she yanked herself from her grip.

"Just trying to help." she muttered looking over the engines and the hyperdrive. "A Corex 0.52 Budget Hyperdrive," she mused. "Not bad Ishani, it's a bit laggy when it comes to making jumps so if you're trying to evade merc starfighters and the like, you'd be taking a lot of damage by the time it blasts off. But for the average freighter it's pretty reliable as the name says: It's on a budget."

Hilal scratched her chin. "I've worked on similar Hyperdrive models myself," she said. "I've even rerouted its circuit board so it would consume so much of the ships energy just to make a jump. The best Hyperdrives rely more on their internals rather than the ships."

The young woman continued to look around the place her excitement starting to fade. "Soooo," Hilal said. "This Inglass is just..... decoration?"

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“A hyperdrive speed rating of 1 is still considered fast, right?” It wasn’t. Everyone and their mother had a Type 1 hyperdrive, it was the norm. 0.5 was fast nowadays. She just didn’t see the point if they were going to be traveling faster than light anyway.

“I guess it would be nice to not have to use as much fuel,” she muttered. Fuel was expensive, after all.

“I mean, the whole idea behind isinglass is that it’s pretty while still being super strong and resilient. But yeah, sure—it’s for decoration.” She loved the unique look of the ship, it was the main thing that convinced her to buy it.

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

Hilal looked at Ishani blankly before shrugging. "It's..... average," Hilal said. "Run of the mill really. It's nothing fancy but if you want a hyperdrive that packs a punch then you should get a Series 401 Hyperdrive Motivator."

The young woman's mouth salivated the moment she said that. "Chit," Hilal said. "That is the cream of the crop when it comes to Hyperdrives, it can guide you through Kessel Run as smoothly as if you were doing casual drive on some Sorosub Speeder on Dantooine."

They were pretty fucking expensive as well, Hilal wanted to save up some money so she could afford one but given her current financial state she'll be an old woman by the time she'll be even halfway be able to afford it. "That's kinda disappointing," Hilal responded when Ishani said that the glass was for show. "I was wondering if they have other uses though?"

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Well, I’m not overly concerned about speed or travel times,” Ishani replied after Hilal’s ramble about hyperdrives. Some of the best times of her life had been spent aboard ships with her loved ones, entertaining each other on a journey that might take days.

Hilal seemed to have deflated, no longer as impressed or interested in the ship. Ishani shrugged. “Anything that would be made from transparisteel normally could be made from isinglass instead. It’s tough as well as beautiful.”

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

It wasn't that Hilal is not interested in Ishani's ship quite the opposite in fact. It's just that she expected more from the glass, maybe she set her expectations too high for something that so beautiful and esoteric. It seemed that Ishani looked like she hated Hilal judging by that bored look on her face. Blah! It looks like Ishani is just like the rest of them, just bored of Hilal and only keeping their distance from her. Okay maybe it was Hilal's paranoia getting the better of her. The voices in her head telling Hilal that she was just a little girl in over her head when it came to being a Bounty Hunter or just to talking to people but sometimes..... her instincts were correct.

"I mean trust that," Hilal said looking around the ship. "The layer is very thick, it could serve as another layer for the armor I'm building."

Not that Ishani cared though.

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Oh. Uh... so you would be interested in using isinglass yourself?" Ishani asked, a little cautiously. "I could make some for you. Wouldn't be that expensive, either." Ishani already had the materials for it, and she was willing to be reasonable about the price.

Hilal Vizsla​

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Current outfit

Hilal blinked before smiling. "Of course!" She said. "If they're affordable though! Beskar is the metal of my people but it's pretty rare and very expensive." She didn't feel like elaborating what it took to get her hands on enough to form her armor but perhaps with Insinglass, it can make the process much faster. Who knows? There could be hidden properties in the Insinglass itself, Hilal needed to experiment to find out though.

"Let's what you can do!" Hilal said with eagerness in her voice.

Ishani Dinn