I'm Lookin' for a Fast Ship

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

Taeli sniffed as she neared the cantina on Nar Shaddaa. She really hadn't been looking to come back to the Smuggler's Moon, but she had a job that needed doing and she was looking for a low-key smuggler that could help her.

Entering the establishment, she immediately edged around two men brawling in the entrance, bets being tossed around. She looked incredibly out of place in her expensive tunic and skirt, her glasses perched delicately on her nose, and looking at the drink menu, she sighed heavily. No tea . . . typical.

"What do you want?" the Rodian bartender said in Huttese.

"A glass of blue milk," she replied in the same language, and she could sense the surprise rising from the Rodian. Slapping some credits on the table, untraceable of course, she accepted the blue milk and chuckled a bit as her sister was known for getting this from what she had heard.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

Talani was sitting in her usual booth in the back corner, with a full view of the cantina. Upon seeing Taeli she dismissed the two dancers that frequently kept her company. She had a feeling this girl was here to do business. The dark-haired woman definitely didn't look like the sort to be found in a cantina like this. The Chiss wondered what exactly would bring such a person here. Talani doubted this would turn out to be one of the jobs she usually was hired for. Smuggling spice and weapons didn't seem to fit with this potential client, if her looks said anything about her personality.

"Need something, miss?" Talani called across the bar, waiting to see if Taeli would approach her. [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Need something miss?" someone called, and Taeli looked up to see a blue-skinned Chiss calling for her attention. Her attire said smuggler, which as exactly what Taeli had been looking for. Getting off her stool, she moved down the bar and sat down next to the Chiss.

"As a matter of fact I am," she said, taking a sip of her blue milk. Corvus was right, it certainly was pretty good, although not as good as tea in her opinion. "I'm looking for someone with a fast ship for a little job."

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"And does that job happen to involve me going somewhere that I don't belong?" Talani inquired with a smile. She had been right, this woman before her was a potential client. The Chiss took a sip from her glass of some kind of dark liquor and studying Taeli for a few minutes. The woman looked like she should be a professor of some kind, or a business woman. What exactly was it that brought her here?

"What is it you need me to do?" She asked after a few moments of silence. [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Oh just a simple pick up and delivery trip," Taeli replied, smiling. "I need someone to transport some specialized equipment from the port here to a location out further in the Outer Rim. Nothing too dangerous or anything, just the machinery is delicate and I would like the delivery done . . . quickly. 60,000 credits up front, and another 100,000 upon a successful delivery. How does that sound?"

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"Sounds like you've got yourself a smuggler. Now where am I going?" Talani replied, smirking as she heard the amount of credits being offered. She had no idea who this woman in front of her was, but if she had money like this to toss around, Talani had a feeling they could become good friends. The woman wasn't bad looking either which made Talani curious about where her interests lie when it came to who kept her company at night. [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Have you ever heard of the Styx system?" Taeli asked, not suspecting many had. It had been an isolated system that was mainly a gas giant, but it had played host to an old Imperial Research station from the Sith Empire. Taeli had since begun establishing a brand new research station in that system that was to be a new and secret anti-matter facility.

"I'll come with you on the trip as well, provide the coordinates and all of that," she continued saying.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"I might have heard the name a few times. Give me the coordinates and you can play navigator. I'll make sure I get us there quietly and in one piece," the confident young smuggler assured her as she downed another glass of liquor. The blue-skinned female smirked as she thought about how much potential fun this job could result in. "Well are we gonna sit here all day, or are we gonna leave?" [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Let's be off," Taeli said, getting up and finishing the rest of her milk. "Give me the hanger where your ship is and my people will deliver the shipment to it."

It was going to be an interesting flight, but she would be sure to avoid mentioning she was a Force user. It wasn't really relevant to the situation, and it would pay to deal with that sort of thing later on. Getting the station in the Styx system up and running was more important, it needed to be done quickly and quietly of course.

"Oh, your upfront payment," Taeli said, handing the young Chiss her credits as they left the cantina.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

Talani smiled and took the credits as they were handed to her. She gave Taeli the location of her ship before leading the way to it. It was a hangar not to far from the cantina itself so the walk to get there wasn't very long. She ushered Taeli onto the ship once they got there and began making preparations for the flight. She glanced over at Taeli every once in awhile, more so to make sure she didn't touch anything she wasn't supposed to, and maybe glancing at her body once or twice. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"If you're checking me out, you need to be a bit more subtle about it," Taeli replied, settling herself into the copilots chair as the Chiss woman went about the firelight check. "But if you're making sure I'm not touching anything I shouldn't, I do have my own ship that I fly. No need to worry about me hitting the self-destruct button or anything."

The cargo, the components for an anti-matter containment system, had been loaded onto the ship and secured snuggly as this parts moving around would not go well later on.

"So what's your name?" Taeli asked, setting the coordinates to the Styx system into the navi-computer.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"Talani, and I just don't generally like it when other people mess with my ship," she replied, glancing over at Taeli once. She checked everything one my time before taking off once Taeli had entered the coordinates. So, maybe hitting on this girl wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, but then again, Talani liked a challenge. "So you know my name, what's yours? I bet it's something pretty." [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Taeli," she replied, quirking an eyebrow at the Chiss woman. Leaning back in her seat, she pulled out her datapad and started scrolling a few things she had been reading beforehand. Pity you couldn't access the Holonet while in hyperspace, she would need to figure out a way to change that someday. The woman's Force signature told her that she seemed interested in her, and Taeli would play along with the flirting if it came to that, but she had more things on her mind and a certain someone she was still waiting to hear back from.

"So what got you into the smuggling business?' she asked, looking up into the blue vortex that was hyperspace. The jump to the Styx system shouldn't take too long, Nar Shaddaa wasn't too far away in the grand scheme of things to it.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

One of Talani's hands drifted up to touch the scar on her face as she heard the question. It brought up memories that she knew she would never be able to forget, but damn it would be nice if she could. She sighed and leaned back in her chair a bit, trying to think of a suitable answer.

"I guess you could say, I grew up as one. Only life I've ever known really," the Chiss replied after thinking for a few minutes. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Fair enough, fair enough," Taeli said, noting the look of remembrance and the touch to the scar. Apparently it had not been a happy time, learning her craft. Taeli understood that all too well, given what she had been through in her time in this galaxy after leaving Lorrd the first time. "Bad memories huh?"

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"Bad doesn't even begin to cover it," Talani mumbled in reply, temporarily losing her cheerful demeanor. She spent the next few minutes silently staring out the window and steering the ship. She had lost her urge for conversation for a few moments. The memories assaulting her mind were far from good. One of the flashbacks was harsh enough to make her flinch, though she tried to hide it. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"You should probably see someone to help with those," Taeli said, catching the flinch. "Either paid psychiatric help or go to Nam Chorios to seek out a Theran Listener. They can help with bad memories, but that's just a suggestion and don't need to take a stranger's word for it."

Settling back into her chair, she would the silence stretch now and go back to her reading. If the girl had a question, Taeli would answer of course, but she was quite content to spend the flight in silence to read. Oh, and then an idea popped into her head and she started typing on the holographic keyboard her datapad projected.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"No one wants to hear about my life and my memories, trust me," was all Talani said on the subject before once again lapsing into silence. So far it seemed that was how the entire voyage would be spent. At one point Talani set the ship on autopilot to go grab some food, but for the most part she stayed in her own chair, lost in thought about something. There was no more flinching away from unseen forces, but it was clear that something still bothered her. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

Typing away, she smiled a bit as another idea came to mind. Yes, she had so many projects to get done and she had forgotten about her meeting with Solan about expanding to the Kesh system. How the bloody heck had he taken that system, and why? He wasn't one for actually ruling anything, he was too goofy and loose to really be taken seriously as a ruler.

"So what's your ship's name?" she asked, finally breaking the silence as she finished typing out the idea for a new weapon idea.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"Doesn't have one, why you have a suggestion?" she asked, snapping out of her silent reverie and looking over at Taeli. The Chiss never really saw a reason to name her ship. Especially being a smuggler. If her ship had a name and it got well known it could make things harder for her. When asked for a name or such when trying to land somewhere she always gave a random one. Easier to hide that way. [member="Taeli Rae"]