Fiendin'

[Ryley Maevis]

Belgaroth​

Scrapyard​

3 pm​

​

After a long moment of debate with his partner in crime, Reevin, Ryley had grown too restless to sit still. He carefully throttled his overracer forward, closing in on his drug dealer's scrapyard home. Once he was close, the sound of blaster fire rang out, taking him by surprise, and a few bright red beams flew by not far from his head. He looked in the direction from which they had come and spotted a man shambling towards him through the scrap metal, blaster pistol in hand. Ryley boosted forwards to avoid getting shot, but the blasts kept coming. They continuously whizzed by all around him, and one shot managed to slice through the side of his shirt under his right arm. He hadn't realized he had been singed for a moment until his side flared up in a burning pain. This resulted in a hasty decision to aim his speeder towards the man and tested out the vehicle's blaster. Sure enough, a long green beam zipped forwards, managing to catch the man's arm, spinning him around. Ryley kept whipping ahead until he spiked the man on the front of his overracer. With a splash of blood, the man had been transformed from Belgaroth's only spice salesman into a dirty carcass, cruising through the air before he landed with a crash into the scrap metal sea. Ryley stared at the corpse, expressionless. He might have felt bad if the man hadn't caused so much destruction in his life. He glanced back to see Reevin's reaction. The boy had a horrified look on his face, and hopped onto his swoop to speed away. Reevin had a tendency to be a little queen compared to Ryley, and he was likely heading home to try and forget what he had seen.
Ryley, on the other hand, took advantage of the situation. After retrieving the man's pistol, he wandered into the hut and picked up a decently sized package. Walking back outside, he strapped it to his speeder and could tell that it would be all the cargo the thing would be able to handle at once. He then hopped on the overracer and gunned it in the direction of Belgaroth's only spaceport. He was fiending for the spice too hard to have any room for much judgement, but knew that the consequences for murder wouldn't be too favorable, and he couldn't stick around for long. He believed a little vacation would be in order, to give him time to consume all the free spice he had just acquired and avoid getting busted. He wouldn't be gone for long, he figured, but it would be safest to go off the grid until things cooled down. Hopefully there would be a ship at the spaceport whose pilot wouldn't mind him hopping aboard for a ride. He didn't like to think of what might happen if someone discovered what had happened that day and traced it back to him.

Belgar Spaceport​

3:30​

Ryley brought his overracer to a slower speed when he reached the spaceport. It was a quiet day and not many ships were around. This is how most days were. Not much people had any reason to be on a planet like Belgaroth. Everyone who knew of the planet knew it for one thing only: its endless oceans of jagged, junky scrap metal. He slowed to a stop for a moment as he watched a noisy spacecraft lift off, ascending into the sky before whisking off into space, quickly disappearing in the distance. He then lowered his sight to scan the ships that remained in the port. It seemed like his easiest option might have been to just sneak onto one of the ships, but that would mean parting ways with his Neutron Pixie, which would break his little junkie heart. If there was a ship he could bring his vehicle on with him, he would probably not be able to afford the cost to board. Ryley continued prowling along, praying that he would get some sort of lucky break and get the hell out before the law came looking for him.

[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

Liam was sitting in the dingy cantina of the spaceport in Belgaroth, sipping on a cheap drink he couldn't afford. That was all right. He had done the owner a favor by getting rid of some local muscle that was bothering the old man and his establishment. Easy job, easy couple of much-needed credits for necessities like food and fuel for the beat up vessel he was borrowing from his vod from Dxun. Darkgear clearly remembered it, the gleam on his armor and helmet from the malfunctioning neon lights on the bar, his Mandalorian Heavy Pistol clearing his holster and the three fatal shots for the three troublemakers. A trip to a dumpster later and that was that.

He was seated in the corner booth now, his helmet on the table in front of him, revealing a pair of storm grey eyes amid the tangle of scar tissue that was his face. The mercenary's booted feet were also propped up on the table, relaxing a bit as he took a sip from the glass in hand, exhaling at the sensation of the cheap alcohol burning his throat. Liam came to this floating scrap heap to salvage some parts for the trash can he was borrowing. It may not have been in the greatest condition, but hey, it was free.

Can't beat free.

Darkgear thought to himself, setting a bit of a schedule for himself in his brain. An hour more on Belgaroth and he'd leeave back to Dxun, probably. The jungle was calling him.

[member="Ryley Maevis"]

 

[Ryley Maevis]

As Ryley putted along the spaceport he only saw a few crewmen here and there walking around, carrying crates to and from their ships. One group was unloading a good amount of trashed metal parts to add to the planet's never ending supply of junk. He approached one of these men to ask about the possibility of hitching a ride out to the stars. The man stingily offered to help for a ridiculous price, and told Ryley the overracer wouldn't fit on the massive ship. Ryley moved on with a dampened spirit. He never saw a pilot-type looking figure in the port, so he headed towards the next place he had a chance of finding one. Turning away from the port and cruising down a short route through the small city, he quickly arrived at Xot's Megabar. This is where his mother Marla worked, but to his knowledge her shift didn't start until after Belgaroth's twin suns set. Still he cautiously looked around when he stepped inside the place to avoid being questioned in case she did happen to be there. It appeared she wasn't and he paced through the bar, glancing around at the folks who sat and drank. He couldn't resist one last Belgar brew in case he really would end up leaving, and hopped up to sit at the bar. Willa, his favorite bartender and secret crush, spotted him right away and walked over with a grin. She went out of her way to see him too, since she had been working the tables and booths instead of the bar today.

"Good afternoon, Ryguy!" she greeted sweetly. "What can I get for ya?"

"The usual," he answered. She walked away and returned in no time with his most frequent order. It was a fizzing blue concoction with an absurd chemical compound that he didn't have to drink much of to start feeling good. The best thing was, he never got charged for it because of his connections and friendships in the business. "Thanks, Willa." He gave her a little wink and immediately took a few sips. Any regrets he had about the course of his day began to fizzle away.

"Anything else you need, hun?" she asked.

"There is something, actually," he told her. "I'm looking for a pilot who could lend me a ride. Hopefully one with space for the overracer as well. Think you could ask around for me?" One of the things he loved about Willa was that she never questioned Ryley when he made these unusual requests. And as a bartender, she was great at catching information and gossip from the Megabar's patrons.

"Sure thing, I'll see what I can do." Willa then moved on to serve the other customers and figure out who in the crowd may be a pilot who could assist Ryley.


[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

"Oy, lady! Gimme a water."

Liam held up a glass in his gloved hand, signalling the young and midly attractive barkeep, speaking in his rough Dxun accent. The Mandalorian threw her a wink and a smile. She gave him a glance over, her eyes searching his armor and the beat up helmet on the table. The glass was grabbed and a question was thrown his way along with a smile.

"Nice armor. What do you do, if you don't mind me asking?

Darkgear shrugged, patting his helmet and speaking.

"I'm a soldier for hire. Ya know, guard duty, fightin', whatever pays the bills."

For some reason, this seemed to perk her interest.

"I bet a merc like you travels a lot."

Liam smiled, showing his pearly whites through the tangle of scars.

"Yup. Got that right. I came here for some parts for my ship, actually. But yeah, I get around a lot."

Her eyes seemed to light up, as if a question was being answered.

"Sounds interesting. I'll be back with your water, boss."

The barkeep walked off, with Liam's eyes following her and checking her out simaltaniously. He kicked back again, waiting for that drink...

[member="Ryley Maevis"]

 

[Ryley Maevis]

As Ryley drank and the blue fluid saturated his throat, he took bigger slurps. He glanced over his shoulder to see where Willa was at, spotting her speaking with a man in the corner booth. He noticed the helmet, and grew rather interested. Was this his guy? Willa left the man and spoke with another customer before returning behind the bar to fill a glass with water. When she walked by Ryley she didn't say anything, but gave a grin that said she was on to something. He smiled back dumbly in thanks, but it probably came across as "This brew is hittin' me hard!" because of how much it relaxed his facial muscles. The blue drink had a way of doing that. It always got him a little aroused, too. He tilted his head in a slight daze and watched Willa's butt as she brought the water to the corner booth.


[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

The nameless staff member brought the glass of water to Liam's booth, earning a smirk from the handsome Mandalorian mercenary.

"Thank ya, sugar. Ya got a name or justa pretty face, eh?"

The broad smiled thinly. She probably heard that all the time in this cesspit. Still, no harm in trying.

"Willa."

Darkgear leaned forward, still with that cocky grin etched on his face.

"Pretty name for a pretty dame."

It was clear that this Willa wasn't particularly impressed by his flirtations, but to be fair, the seasoned lady killer wasn't really trying. As she departed, Darkgear's grey eyes squinted at the water. Dirt and mysterious substances floated about in the glass. Nothing to worry about. He took a swig and smacked his lips. Refreshing.

[member="Ryley Maevis"]

 

[Ryley Maevis]

Once again Willa returned to the bar, this time speaking to Ryley.

"What would you like to settle with the drink?" she asked. Ryley wasn't sure if this was fact or myth, but it was said that if the blue drink was consumed alone without any food it could burn through your stomach lining. Willa always looked out for his well being in this way, even if she was often serving him the more potent options.

"Hotcake'll be good."

"Here you go," Willa said when she returned a couple minutes later, sliding the plate before Ryley. "Guy in the corner booth there's got a ship, I guess. Sounds like a mercenary. You should talk to him."

"I will," Ryley responded. "Thanks, Willa."

"Sorry, but I'm dying to know, Ryley," she said after a pause. "Why are you trying to leave?"

"It's a long story, Willa," he answered. He felt a warmth that was becoming too uncommon, a feeling that came from Willa showing that she cared about him. "I'm just making a little trip. I'll be back soon."

"I'd hope so. What does your mother think about this?"

"She doesn't know, and I'd prefer if it stayed that way. Trust me Willa, I'll be back in no time. I just need to... deliver a package."

"You have my word. Just be safe out there."

"I will." Ryley nibbled down his hotcake as Willa moved on to serve the others. He hoped he hadn't gotten himself into some big mess, though killing an illicit spice merchant probably didn't usually have the best outcome. He would play it as safe as possible from here on out, and maybe prevent things from getting too bad. He glanced back at the corner booth again, praying that this man would be his ticket to the stars.


[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

Darkgear drained his water, debris and all, and set the empty glass down gently on the table. Well, it was about time to go. This scrap heap of a planet was appealing and all, but the mercenary wanted to get home and visit his parents real quick like before his next job. After considering the empty glass and the grimy table it sat upon, Liam got up, picking the cup back up along with his helmet, which went under his arm. The seasoned soldier for hire walked up to the bar where Willa returned to after serving some other customers. He set the glass down and a few credit chips with it. Not much, but it was all he could spare, and she had done a good job.

"See ya around. Tell the old man to take care now."

Liam was referring to the owner, whom he had done the job aforementioned for. Darkgear nodded to the barkeeper and glanced quickly at a kid that was at the bar too, downing a hotcake. The boy looked like crap. Probably a spicehead.

The Mandalorian stepped to the door and put on his helmet, twisting his head from side to side before stepping towards the door. He left the bar then, wallet empty, taking his first step to the actual shipyard, where his ship was...

[member="Ryley Maevis"]

 

[Ryley Maevis]

Along with the increased sex drive, the blue drink also always seemed to make Ryley enjoy his hotcakes extra thoroughly, so he barely noticed when the mercenary man walked up to the bar. He did a double take to look at the man again, but this was very delayed and happened after he finished munching down his meal. He only caught a glimpse of the man as he stepped out of the bar.

"Thanks again, Willa!" Ryley said as he slid off the chair and forced the weight back onto his feet. "I better go before I lose my chance. I'll see you soon." Willa returned him a farewell and he fastwalked across the bar to the door, careful not to stumble around like an idiot. Outside, he located the man walking towards the spaceport. Swiftly hopping on his overracer and starting up the engine, Ryley hovered on over beside the man.

"Excuse me, sir?" he began in the most polite tone he could manage. "Would you happen to own one of those ships at the spaceport?"


[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

Darkgear turned to his side slowly, a hand quickly but inconspicuously fingering the grip on his blaster. It was the boy from the bar on a red...speeder or something. What the hell did he want? The spicehead was probably gonna try to rob him or some chit like that. Liam thought about putting a bolt right between his eyes for the fun of it. Nah. The kid was just that-a kid. Plus, he was polite. That merited at least some refrain from the mercenary's itchy trigger finger. But it didn't mean he had to be polite.

"What's it to ya, kid?"

His helmet gleamed, his visor particularly intimidating in the fading light of the planet, one hand still ready to clear his gun out of the faded leather holster if anything happened.

[member="Ryley Maevis"]

 

[Ryley Maevis]

The look of hopeful curiosity left Ryley's eyes when the man spoke. He had never met a single pilot that he could remember who was capable of talking nice. Still, Ryley kept up the polite tone in his voice.

"I need to get off this planet," he told the man plainly. There was a look about the man that said he had seen a lot, and he probably wasn't a perfect citizen either so Ryley felt somewhat comfortable saying this. "I would appreciate it so much if I could catch a ride out of here. I'll pay as well as I can." He glanced uncomfortably at the man's hand at his side, detecting his tensity.


[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

Liam gave a double over of the kid and thought for a second. He would pay whatever he could, eh? He had room for the little urchin, but the question was if he could pay enough for the Mandalorian to ignore the disgust and dislike that he had for spiceheads like him.

"How much you got?"

His hand still hadn't left the grip of the blaster.

[member="Ryley Maevis"]

 

[Ryley Maevis]

Ryley thought for a moment. He was willing to spend most of his money on his escape, but realized that he had something else that would be very valuable for the man if he had any involvement in the black market.

"Would a thousand creds do it?" he asked, unsure of how much the typical cost of passage was. "If that's not enough, I know where you can pick up at least twenty grand in goods that wouldn't cost you a thing."

[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

Liam raised an eyebrow in his helmet. 20,000 credits? Damn, that was a lot of money.

"How could I get that money, runt? A thousand credits ain't gonna cut it."

He stopped and continued to stare at the spicehead, level of interest dependent on what the kid said next.

[member="Ryley Maevis"]

 

[Ryley Maevis]

Ryley felt intimidated as the helmeted man stared at him. For all he knew, the 20,000 estimate was off by a long shot. The thing he had in mind must have still had sufficient value, or so he had assumed.

"There are stacks of unopened spice packages not far from here," Ryley informed. "A hut full of them, just waiting to be taken. The guy who lived there was killed today. If you'd like me to help you load them all onto your ship, I promise they'd turn out a very decent profit. Trust me, it's some high quality product in there."

Now Ryley just hoped that the man would be interested. If he was really unlucky, the man would realize the contents of the package that was strapped to the back of his speeder and turn him in right there. Now Ryley understood that he had set himself on a rocky course, and that his survival would depend on a few risky decisions from time to time.

Sometimes when Ryley consumed heavy quantities of spice in the past, he came in contact with what he thought was some sort of god. Now he was praying to that god that his escape from Belgaroth wouldn't be cut short.

[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

Darkgear snorted in derision, almost insulted by the prospect of selling drugs like some low down hood. He spoke with anger, his tone conveying lethal rage.

"I'm a professional soldier, kid, not some thug off the street. Sellin' speed and makin' more people into pathetic vermin like you is beneath me. Let the spice rot there."

With that, Liam took a look at the guy. A spicehead, sure...but how old was he? He was just a kid. Something in the rugged soldier's heart gave a little pang to him, urging him to show some kind of mercy.

"I'm gonna regret this...", he thought.

"1,000 credits. I want 'em right now. You dump whatever spice you have on ya right now. You don't do that chit on my ship. You drop some spice on my ride and I'll drop you into a hyperspace lane. Got it? We're leavin' right now."

Impatiently, and slightly upset at himself for allowing his feelings to override his common sense, the mercenary stepped off towards the starport, not waiting to see if the kid was coming too.


[member="Ryley Maevis"]

 

[Ryley Maevis]

"Yes, sir."

It had been a while since Ryley had referred to someone as 'sir'. He was so scared by the man's response that he immediately kicked the package off his overracer. Throwing a big box of perfectly good spice into the dirt. Now that was definitely a first. He then grabbed his wallet to take out the credits, and when he looked up, the man was already steps ahead on his way to the spaceport. Ryley slid up beside him, reaching out to hand over the money as they went along.

"Thank you for helping me."

He was dreading the thought of having to leave his Neutron Pixie sitting around at the spaceport, but didn't dare ask if the ship would have room to carry it. He didn't like being snapped at, and knew he would have to turn things around if he was going to endure space travel with this guy. They certainly hadn't started off on the best note.

[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

Darkgear snatched the credits out of the spicehead's hand, counting it quickly before shoving the money into a pouch on his belt. 1,000 credits. Good money. He looked behind him, shaking his head in disapproval at the box of spice sitting on the dirt. At least the kid listened to orders. And that 'yes, sir'. He liked that. Maybe there was some hope for this boy yet.

The two kept moving, Liam silent for the short walk over to his borrowed ship.

They finally made it to the decrepit vessel, a rusty freighter that served only one purpose: to get from Point A to Point B. Moving underneath the loading ramp, Darkgear typed in the code on a keypad. With a load creak and a groan, the ramp lowered slowly, revealing an empty cargo hold. The Mandalorian pointed a thumb at the inner ship and spoke.

"Put your vehicle in there and make yourself comfortable. There's only one cabin, and I sure as hell ain't bunking up with ya."

He stood outside the ramp, making sure he did what was instructed....

[member="Ryley Maevis"]

 

[Ryley Maevis]

Ryley surveyed the rust bucket of a ship when they arrived. When the ramp lowered, he saw it as a bridge to leave his past life. That meant either he would be heading to a new planet to start over without any spice to lean on, or the creaky old thing would crap out while they flew and he would literally die. He didn't really care what happened, not having much concern for his life at this point.

Following instructions, Ryley gently floated the Pixie into the cargo hold. This was a great relief for him, as the speeder would be the only piece of home that would stay with him. Not that he was super fond of his home in the first place. Still, the memories with his scrapyard family took up a good chunk in his heart.

Stepping outside the hold, Ryley couldn't help taking a good look at the world he was about to leave behind. He probably wouldn't miss the place--it really was just a giant dump. He had seen Belgaroth's true ugliness from mountaintops when he explored with Reevin, and he was seeing it again from the ship. Maybe he would miss the people he was leaving, but for the moment his emotions of attachment were still desensitized by the drink. His spice abuse had also detracted from these feelings. He was ready to move on and didn't rule out the possibility that he could return in the future.

[member="Liam Darkgear"]

 

[Liam Darkgear]

Liam made a show of cleaning and checking his blaster while the kid packed up his speeder. He hoped that he wasn't making a mistake, taking this spicehead with him. Still, he knew he was giving this kid a chance to change that all, to turn his life around off of this floating dumpster of a planet and make it worth something. If not...

The mercenary walked next to the kid as he looked over the planet by the ramp. His last glimpse of home from the ground for a while, no doubt. The Mandalorian took off his helmet, showing his scarred face, beard, and single grey eye watching Ryley with mistrust.

"Name's Darkgear, by the way. Welcome aboard the Outer Heaven."

He gave a grand gesture to the rusty ship, his movement and voice dripping with sarcasm.

"We're leavin' right now. I can't handle this chithole any longer..."

With that, Liam stepped up on the ramp, slapping the kid on the back with his cybernetic arm rather hard. The boy had potential to reform, that's for sure...and who knows, he might come in handy in a plan that was just a thought right now for the mercenary.

[member="Ryley Maevis"]