I'm Lookin' for a Fast Ship

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Well I would recommend having multiple names and transponders, but every great smuggler has a named ship," Taeli said, smiling a bit. "It's something of a personal pride to smugglers that THEIR ship is the fastest or they did some impressive feat of skill and cunning. For an actual name for the ship, I can't do that. It's supposed to be yours, a smuggler's ship is their world after all."

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"Having a name is stupid. It's not a mark of greatness, it's a sign of arrogance, cockiness, and idiocy. When the whole galaxy knows your ship by name because you spend each night bragging about it in a different cantina, shouting it's name at the top of your lungs in a drunken stupor, you become well know and recognizable. Why would a smuggler want to be easy to recognize?" Talani replied, a little annoy by the 'all great smugglers have named ships' thing. She just didn't understand it. Yes her ship meant everything too her, so much so that she wouldn't risk giving it a silly name just so she could brag about how great it was. "I've never failed to deliver, that's my claim to greatness." [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Because being well known means more work," Taeli said with a shrug. "I'm not saying being well known in the major galaxy is good, but being known in the criminal underworld would be important for getting better paying jobs, wouldn't it? Booster Terrik and Talon Karrde are two very famous smugglers that had named ships, Terrik had a Star Destroyer after all. But each to their own I suppose."

Taeli went back to typing, wondering if the girl would work up the courage or such to ask more about Taeli herself, but that would remain to be seen. She was curious about the smuggler, she would admit that, she wasn't like normal smugglers. more cautious, which she appreciated as a trait after all.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"I'm well known enough in the underworld because I'm smart. I take clients that know a smart smuggler is better than an arrogant, boastful one. People come to me when they want a job done right with no mistakes. I'm good at what I do because I know exactly how to minimize risks. What about you? Judging by what we're transporting I doubt you could be labelled as an 'idiot'. You seem rather smart. Got any interesting stories you'd like to share? I'll give you a few in return," Talani seemed more open to talking now. It wasn't everyday that she met someone she felt she could actually hold an intelligent conversation. The girls that were employed in her cantina were nice to look at, but as far as conversation went, they were severely lacking. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Hmm, a good story about me, hmm," Taeli said, thinking about what story she could say that wouldn't give away what she was. "Let's see . . . Oh! I have the perfect story to tell. So, I fancy myself an archaeologist, happens when you go to college on Lorrd and your father is a professor of history there, but anyways. I went on an expedition, recently actually, to recover a some significant cultural artifacts and expand my own collection. Got a few new books and manuscripts from ancient days, and taught my little sister a few things about the field."

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"Me and you have very different opinions on what classifies as exciting," Talani replied with a laugh. She smiled for a few minutes as she tried to think of a story to share in return. "I hope you can handle sad stories, because most of mine aren't very happy."

The Chiss spent her time waiting for a response from Taeli considering what exactly she would be willing to tell the girl. She could talk about her days with the gang on Nar Shadda, or how she got the scar on her face. Honestly, Talani had plenty of stories to tell, but none of them were things most people wanted to hear. [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"You can tell me any story you want," Taeli replied. "You'd be surprised on the sort of things I've seen and heard."

One of the things about being with the Sith for so long, she could safely say not much could really rattle her when it came to a person's past. Once you've seen someone tortured by a Sith Lord, or a planet burning, or legions of corpses marching forth, one loses part of their surprise when they hear bad stories.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"Well no doubt you've noticed the scar on my face. Would you like to know how I got it?" Talani paused for a moment before continuing, not giving much time for Taeli to answer. "My father was a smuggler. Both of my parent's were actually, I guess you could say I've been a smuggler since the day I was born, though I didn't offically get involved until I was ten and my father began 'teaching' me. I spent three years as his partner in crime. He died when I was thirteen years old. He failed to deliver a shipment for a hutt, and no sooner had the words 'I don't have the money to pay for it' left his mouth did the blaster go off. I still remember how it felt to have blood and brain matter splash across my face. I was only two feet behind him. A shard of his skull cut my face and gave me this lovely scar. After that, I ended up in a gang controlled by said hutt. It was agreed that I'd get my father's ship when I turned 18, provided I do work for him once I had the ship back." [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Ah Hutts," Taeli said, distaste quite clear in her voice. She could speak Huttese, but she was not a fan of Hutts at all. Something about the way they acted, about their quest for greed and control of the underworld, just always rubbed her the wrong way. "I'm sorry for all the pain and grief that the Hutts put you through, do you still owe them any credits?"

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

At the mention of credits being owed Talani couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't a pleasant sound though, like her normal laugh was. It was hollow and forced sound. "If you ask them, they'll tell you I owe them my life. They could have easily killed me along with my father, instead they kindly allowed me to live. If I could buy my way out with credits I would have by now. Don't fool yourself Miss, I'm a slave without a collar." [member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"I truly do hate slavery," Taeli grumbled, crossing her arms. "It is one of the most degenerate things that civilization has ever created, and the Hutts seem to have perfected it into an art form."

The young Chiss's predicament just annoyed Taeli, to the point where she wanted to meet the Hutt that actually held this debt over her head. If there was one thing someone like her could do, it was deal with cretins.

"When we return to Nar Shaddaa, I want to meet the Hutt that is holding this . . . life debt over your head," she said, her purple eyes flashing behind glasses as the light caught them. "I think a pleasant chat is in order, but that's just me."

If she could help this Chiss in some way, well, her sister certainly wouldn't complain that Taeli helped someone because she could. It would need to wait until they arrived in the Styx system though.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"I don't know if that's a good idea... Let's just say there's more than just my own life that they're holding over my head. I appreciate what you're trying to do for me Miss, but I don't want to risk the things I would need to risk in order to gain my freedom," Talani replied, closing her eyes for a brief moment and picturing a young Chiss she only ever saw once every few months, if she was lucky. No one really knew that Talani had a daughter, and she preferred to keep it that way. If someone knew, they may try to challenge her employer, and that could cause harm to her little girl. She had already risked a lot just mentioning to Taeli that she wasn't the only one the hutt had threatened. [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"I think you'd be surprised at what exactly I can do to help your . . . situation, but the choice is yours of course," Taeli said. She hadn't mentioned she was a Force user yet, and the only thing that might identify her was safely hidden away in secret pocket of her dress. Still, she was looking forward to finally arriving at their destination. She had so much research to begin after all.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

The rest of the trip was spent in silence, at least on Talani's side of things. Thoughts of her daughter couldn't seem to leave her alone as she continued the job in silence, finally arriving in the system Taeli had requested. She stretched and turned to look at the woman who had hired her. "If you really wanna try to help me you need to promise two things. There's a little girl, a Chiss like me, who is almost constantly in the company of that Hutt. Her name is Zaitha, if you want to help me you need to promise me that no harm will come to that little girl as a result of your actions, and that she'll be freed a long with me. She's only about four years old." [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"I can promise I can get her to safety," Taeli replied, smiling a little as they landed at the Nightshade research station in orbit around Styx. The planet had once been a research site for the old Sith Empire, but now it was abandoned and the perfect place to develop the more secretive projects that Aurora would be working on. Workers were moving around the hanger, ready to start unloading the equipment from the ship.

"Care for a small tour while my men unload the equipment?" she asked.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

Talani nodded, smiling a bit at Taeli's reassurance that her daughter would be safe it Taeli confronted her boss. She followed Taeli off of the ship and glanced around the research station. Normally, things like this didn't interest her, but Taeli was an interesting person, which raised Talani's curiosity about what they were doing here. She stretched once again and waited for Taeli to start walking again. Wouldn't do get lost here, especially with her ship unguarded.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Get those crates to the labs and start unloading the equipment, make sure the containment shields are up for the anti-matter tests," she said, giving her workers orders for what to do. Turning back to Talani, she smiled and gestured for her to follow Taeli.

"So, this place is a state of the art research station developed by my company, Aurora Industries," she said, leading her down a pristine white corridor. "We're trying to be at the cutting edge of certain fields, while developing brand new technologies for ships, medicine, weapons, and so on. The station has several large labs, with adequate storage spaces, for the experiments. What you just delivered was the last pieces we needed to get the anti-matter research fully operational again, we're in the middle of relocating from our previous installation."

Exiting the corridor, they were walking over a large nature enclosure that was covered by a ray shield.

"We also have a spacious area to hold other living subjects, mainly for research and study of their behavior and to see if they have any properties useful in medicines," she continued.

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"You are one busy woman. So why go through the trouble of hiring a smuggler to transport your equipment? You said you wanted a fast ship, but there must be more to it than that. It obviously took you some time to find me, time you could have spend moving that equipment no doubt," Talani asked, as they paused over the large enclosure. Talani had dealt with enough people to know that not many people hired smugglers for things like this, or at least they didn't hire her specifically for such things. "Who are you hiding from, Miss?" [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Sar'Talani'Vek"]

"Would you want a secret facility full of experimental projects and prototypes being tracked by normal shipments?" Taeli asked, her eyebrow quirking up. "Operational security is essential to this site, so smugglers are the answer for getting needed equipment and supplies to here. If you're ever interested, I could always use a smuggler who can make runs here from time to time. Ah! I almost forgot!"

Rummaging in her pockets, she pulled a credit chit and her datapad. Placing the chit in the small slot on the bottom, she put the rest of the pay she owed the Chiss for this run on it.

"Here you go, 100,000 credits for a successful delivery, with an additional 25,000 thrown in for getting here as quickly as we did," Taeli said, handing the Chiss woman the credit chit. "Anywho, you could also say I don't want certain people with glowing red sticks to find this place. If you understand what I mean."

 

[Sar'Talani'Vek]

"Say no more. If you need a smuggler to help you out, I'll do it. And if you manage to free myself and Zaitha... I'll do it for free next time," Talani replied, accepting her pay from Taeli and smiling. If this woman managed to save Zaitha, Talani would owe her much more than a few free runs., but right now that was all she had to offer the woman. For the first time in a long time, she actually had some hope that she could have her daughter back. [member="Taeli Raaf"]