Gun Running to Olvan [PM to Join]

[Riley Reese]

The bustle of the spaceport rang loud in the air, from the roar of ship engines to whine of loading droids. A giant hive of organized chaos. An armored figure watched the performance through the visor of her helmet, detached from but apart of the chaos. She let out a sigh as the urge to get moving with her assignment made her feel restless. The sounds of voices arguing caused her to turn and face her ship. There, beneath the Ashigara, stood two human males struggling to get the last crate of firearms onto the ship. Riley narrowed her eyes as she realized that the two were arguing with a Twi'lek about where to put the crate. Not her problem, her problem was waiting for her extra crew member that was due to arrive soon. Then they could get the mission underway.

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena wormed her way through and around small crowds of people from every corner of the universe. The woman she was meeting, Riley, she could see waiting for her just ahead. She seemed slight of build, but was armored from head to toe. What's she expecting, this is a blue milk gun run... Alena tapped the woman on the shoulder as she was gazing through her helmet at a pair of humans arguing with a Twi'lek about where to stash the final crate. Alena grinned, thinking the sight was funny. "Reese?" She introduced herself, stepping to the woman's side and holding out a hand. "I'm Alena Reckar, nice to finally meet you." The pair had spoken on several occasions before, but had never actually met. Alena was glad it was happening now, some company would be nice; it'd been weeks since she'd seen Wan Min.

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

Riley turned when someone tapped on her shoulder. She tensed for a moment before she realized it was Alena, the crew member she was waiting for. Hesitantly she reached her hand out and returned the greeting. "You as well." Her voice almost sounded dusty through her helmet. "It would seem we're almost ready to get underway. About time if you ask me." She turned and began to make her way up the ramp. The two men had finally found a place to store the crate and were making their way down the ramp. She glanced over at Alena. "So. I hope you're ready for this."

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena shrugged on shoulder, showing off the bag she had slung. "I've got everything I'll need, and my moorage is paid up through the week." She flashed a smile and nodded ahead. "Nice ship, definitely in better shape than mine. A quick jump to Olvan and the drop off shouldn't be too hard." Alena leaned closer to the other woman and lowered her voice. "How are you packing the weapons, just in case we get searched by a customs team?"

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

Riley gave a nod once she saw Alena's bag. Reaching over she hit the switch to close the loading ramp. She watched the ramp close for a moment before giving a slight grin under her helmet. "Thanks. I've put a lot of time into this ship. Defiantly a lot of improvements from its stock version." Riley glanced around the she before pulling the lid off one of the crates to reveal an assortment of astromech parts, ranging from support legs to housing modules. The rifles had been broken down and carefully assembled to look like astromech parts. Once at their end location, they could be easily reassembled and the remaining metal reused for other purposes. Shutting the lid and locking it tight, she turned and made her way towards the cockpit. "Each one even has a serial number matching the exact droid part it's supposed to mimic."

Once she reached the cockpit, she sat down in the captains chair and took off her helmet, setting it on the counsel beside her. She spoke without turning to Alena. "With any luck. No one will take the time to investigate them to closely. Or have a droid fanatic who can spot subtle differences." She let out a small sigh. Normally she never let people see her without any of her armor on, but today was an exception, she was going to have to trust Alena during this mission. She turned to face the other woman, her black and green cybernetic eyes locked onto Alena's. "So. Are you ready to go, or do you have anymore questions?"
[member="Alena"]

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena grinned as she looked over the contents of their shipment. "That's brilliant, I'll have to remember that." Whomever this woman was, she was smart; Alena liked that, it made the job more interesting, and safer. Alena followed Riley to the cockpit, setting her bag down behind the copilot's seat. Riley sat down and took off her helmet, revealing short-cropped brown hair and mismatched black and green eyes. Her eyes were pretty, and it took Alena a moment to realise they weren't organic. Riley looked much younger than Alena herself was, but she could tell the girl knew how to handle herself, and was likely better at it than Alena was. She smiled sweetly at Rilely. "Just one: Do you want some caf? I could really use some, and I make a decent brew." Alena nodded down at her bag. "I even brought my own supplies."

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

Riley couldn't help but give a small grin at Alena's praise. This was something she had been getting used to for a while, dealing with people was something she wasn't exactly used to. When Alena asked if she wanted caf, she paused for a moment. "Uhh...yeah sure." Without another word, she began to check the ships systems, making sure everything was good to go. With the board green, she grabbed a hold of the ships controls, the engines gave a low roar as they pushed the ship up and out of the hangar. Adjusting their course for a slow climb for orbit. Hopefully that wouldn't attract much attention. She drummed her fingers on the controls for a second before speaking." So. Do you always bring your own supplies to make caf?"

[member="Alena"]

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena smiled and nodded as the younger woman queued the ship for take off. She leaned over and opened her bag, pulling out a small self-heating pot and two small metal mugs. She set them on the console in front of her and turned the pot on, then retrieved water from one of the vessel's taps in the rear of the ship. When she returned, Alena prepped the mugs with caf and waited for the water to boil. "I like being comfortable, don't you?" Alena flashed another smile and winked as Riley brought the ship out of the hangar. The vessel shook beneath her seat. "You've got some powerful engines on this thing. Put it together yourself?"

 

[Riley Reese]

It was true, Riley did like to be comfortable on long trips, especially in her own ship. She fidgeted with her armor some, feeling slightly self conscious about herself. "Yeah. I like being comfortable on long rides." She quickly changed subjects when Alena mentioned the ships engines. "I upgraded them yeah. She's a little slower than a stock one, but she carries more fuel and has thicker armor. I also upgraded the weapons systems to pack more of a punch." The Ashigara finally broke orbit and moved away from the planet. Putting in the final coordinates, Riley activated the hyper drive.

Once in hyperspace, she looked down at the armor she wore. She didn't like people seeing all the prosthetics that she had. But then again she was trying to break that fear. Letting out a small sigh, she stood up. "I'm going to go check on the cargo. Maybe take this armor off as well."

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena caught the look of unease in Riley's electronic eyes. The younger woman was quick to agree with her, and Alena could tell Riley wasn't the type for one-on-one time. Alena wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible in her own home. She poured the two cups of caf once the water was hot, listening politely as Riley outlined the modifications she'd made to the Ashigara. Alena whistled over the rim of her mug. "Whew, I wish I could afford to make changes like that to the Arse End." She smiled as Riley sent the ship hurtling into hyperspace, then mentioned checking on cargo and stripping her armor. Alena leaned against the back of her seat and caught Riley's eyes before she left the cockpit. "You don't need any help with that, do you? That armor looks...intense." Indeed it did look fairly complicated. Alena herself preferred pants and a tank top, much simpler it was.

 

[Riley Reese]

Riley almost stumbled some as she left the room , but somehow kept her balance. Her words however, were less graceful. "Th..that's okay. I...I can get it." She quickly made it down the hall, her cheeks were now a bright red. Bypassing the cargo bay, she headed straight to her room and shut the door. After a few minutes of composing herself, she began to remove her armor. Underneath she wore an orange and black sleeves shirt with brown cargo pants. She rolled the ends of her pants up to her knees so they looked more like shorts. She didn't bother putting her boots back on, deciding she'd rather walk around in her bare feet like normal. It was then she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Without her armor on, she looked less like a warrior and more like the young adult she was. Letting out a sigh she left her room and headed back to the cockpit. The synthetic skin that covered her prosthetic legs and feet held sensors that told her that the floor was cold, but that didn't bother her. Quietly she entered the cockpit and sat down.

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena arched an eyebrow casually as Riley nearly stumbled her way out of the cockpit, red-faced and stammering. Alena shook her head sympathetically, reminded of Wan Min. That woman was as famously clumsy as she was massively intelligent. Both women seemed to suffer from social anxieties, a problem Alena herself had never known, but understood. Her issues rested with continuing a good relationship once one had started, which was often tougher than it sounded. She swallowed down some bad thoughts and memories with another gulp of caf as her hostess returned to the cockpit garbed in a sleeveless top and her pant legs rolled up to her knees. She was bootless as well.
As Riley sat down, Alena hid the expression of shock from being seen on her light blue face. Her red eyes flashed, however, as she blinked. She set her mug down and leaned forward, tentatively running her fingers over Riley's bare arm. Her skin was warm, but more firm than she expected. Alena looked the other woman up and down interestedly. "Your arms...and legs. All cybernetic?" Alena asked. She drew her hand away from Riley suddenly, not out of any negative feelings towards the younger woman, but rather out of worry that the contact may have been unwanted. "Sorry," Alena muttered, "It's just that...I had no idea." She looked away, it was Alena's turn to be red in the face now.

 

[Riley Reese]

Riley resisted flinching when Alena touched her arm. This was something that she was trying to get used to. "It's...I'm used to it. " Lies! She yelled at herself. Having all the cybernetics was what she was used to. "From the elbows down and my knees down. Plus a lot of reinforcements added to my bones. And the eyes to." She spoke in a low almost flat voice. Her gaze never left the swirling blue outside the window.

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena listened to Riley's overview of her prosthetics. She found them to be interesting. Alena wanted to know the story behind how Riley had ended up with them, but decided to wait until the younger woman knew her better. It couldn't have been a happy story, that much Alena knew. She knew more than her share of unhappy stories. Alena shifted in her seat, slipping out of her boots and drawing her feet onto her seat. "I noticed the eyes, Riley. They're pretty, I like them." Alena smiled kindly at the vessel's pilot. The woman had nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about, and Alena hoped to help her feel that.

[member="Riley Reese"]

 

[Riley Reese]

Riley gave a small smile at Alenas comment. "Thanks. I've had these cybernetics since I was twelve." She paused for a moment trying to come up with a compliment. "You..have nice eyes to"

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena smiled and nodded, "Why thank you. I quite like them myself." She lifted a delicate hand, showing Riley her pale blue skin. "My family is a mixture of Chiss and Human; I've got lighter skin and duller eyes than your typical Chiss of the Ascendency." Alena sipped at her mug once more. The silence that soon fell wasn't uncomfortable for Alena, she simply sat and watched Riley for a moment or so. She did worry that her hostess might, however and asked, "So...Riley, where are you from?"

 

[Riley Reese]

A distant expression appeared on Rileys face. "I'm from Nar Shaddaa. I don't know what planet I was born on. Considering I never met my parents." She cast a glance over at Alena. "Where did you call home? "

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena frowned, dipping her head in acknowledgement of Riley's clearly painful past. She decided to share a bit of her own, hopefully the young woman would take kindly to Alena's attempt to get closer. "Coruscant. Before...before the Sith took it." Alena downed the rest of her caf and set the mug down, then drew a bottle of tihaar from her bag. She poured herself a shot's worth and downed that as well. "My mother was a Mandalorian, my father wasn't. He was abusive, my mother abandoned me to him, and I spent my adolescence hating her for it." Alena poured herself a second shot, then tipped the bottle Riley's direction. "Care for some?"

 

[Riley Reese]

Riley accepted the bottle from Alena. "I'm sorry to hear." She took a small swig from the bottle. "Did you ever go back?''

 

[Alena Reckar]

Alena let Riley keep the bottle and sipped at the liquor in her mug. She shook her head at the woman's question, watching the blue-white light of hyperspace casting itself across Riley's soft features. "Couldn't. The Sith have that place on lockdown. They started murdering anyone who dissented. I've got a friend...her parents...didn't agree with the regime." Alena shrugged and finished her liquor. "Now they don't agree with anything anymore."

[member="Riley Reese"]