First Reply It's All Fun And Games Until...

[Max Wayne]

Planet: Coruscant
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"You know buisness is buissness, ahhaha" Gatto said laughing almost in time with the gentle flapping of his wings as he floated gently in the air behind his desk. For a Toydarian Gatto was decent, of course he was only ever motivated completely by credits, but he hadn't unfair or unkind to Max. Max even suspected that he had a soft spot for him, but like he said business was business and no matter what he felt towards him credits came before anything else and Max was no longer the safe bet. The 'incident' last week when he discovered his 'power' had made many of his usual business vanish and Gatto was running out of leads to offer him.

"I know," Max groaned rubbing his temples as he looked up into the cold dirty ceiling of Gatto's shop. He was the local parts dealer, selling used parts for both ships, flyers, and swoop bikes. Well on the outside anyway. In reality the main income that Gatto earned was as a job broker. Individuals looking to hire all kinds of talent came to him and he found the individual they needed. Normally that meant Max got some good slicer work, but after become a little less invisible than he had been in the past the work was quickly drying up. "But I need the credits..."

"But..." he started before stifling his comment as he scratched his hairy chin and making a groaning sound from deep in his throat. Floating above the desk, Gatto came closer to Maz and whispered. "There is a ship looking for a temporary crew."

Max perked up at that idea. While he normally didn't look for work that took him off Coruscant, his current circumstances didn't leave him in a position to be picky. While he did primarily work as a slicer, he had picked up many useful skills in repairing droids and computer systems as well, which he guessed would make him useful on a ship. The added bonus would be he could be offworld while the heat from the local authorities to identify the person who electricuted a sandwich shop cooled off. Maybe if he was gone long enough they might even forget about him, especially since no one had died.

"Ok..." Max sighed out softly. "What's the job?"

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Standing outside the space port watching the many different ships land and depart from the massive hole that lead to the many different levels of the lower city, Max tried to prepare himself for whatever was coming in this job. The job Gatto had offered him had very few details. Actyually no details at all. Just that they needed a crew with different and varying skills and that Max was going to be working with the droids and might need to do some slicing later. Nothing else, but that it paid a hefty sum of credits when done, so Max had agreed.

The only other detail provided was that for the position Max was filling he needed to bring his own droid in addition to the ones that would be present on the ship, a weird request, but one he was willing to accommodate if he could. It would have been a barrier in the past but Gatto had offered a decent price on an old BD unit droid along with his finders fee for the job itself. Normally Gatto took the fee out of his payment, but since he was leaving the planet he wanted it upfront before telling him where to go, and Max had just enough credits to make it happen. Hopefully the ship was providing food, cause after packing up all his possessions in his bolthole, he had nothing left. He couldn't blame the Toydarian, Max had no reason and nothing to come back to Coruscant for any longer. It might have been his home, and the only place he had ever really known, but there wasn't anything here for him anymore. No family, few friends, and lately fewer even clients to earn living. Maybe moving on would be for the best.

"Well Blue" Max said to the little blue BD Unit droid with the designation BD-2U, that he had decided to call blue rather than the formal name. "Looks like you are my new friend and we are about to start a new adventure together."

The little unit chirped in what Max assumed was agreement. In fact it was the first noise Blue had made since purchasing him from Gatto. After taking him home Max saw why hew had been given such a good deal. While the droid had been upgraded with modern hardware, most of his operating system, memories, and programming had been stripped and destroyed. It would take a lot of work to restore the little droids functionality and Max suspected that he didn't even really possess a personality anylonger. So it was nice to see him actually engaging with him. Max would just need to brush up on his droid language skills and begin the process of reprogramming Blue.

"Guess we should wait here till our employers come and get us." Max said as the pair stopped at the spot Gatto had told him to wait. "Wonder who else will join us?"

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

Max Wayne

Coruscant was a place that could never be tamed, no matter how hard the Alliance tried to. The planet had the breath of life in it, and it could not be stopped. The Alliance knew this, and they knew that the planet would always be that way. That is why they encouraged their military to try to find the foots of the problem rather than those caught up in the system. Adonis was particularly good at this, given his rough upbringing in absolute poverty. The difference between the view on Coruscant and Jakku were vastly different, however once you went down the levels enough, the sense of community was the same. You helped those out who helped you and if you didn’t have anything, you’d do what it took to make ends meet. Angelis had come from a long line of proud fathers, but the post retirement life of a soldier on Jakku was anything but glamorous, so his father would do what he had to do to put food on the table.

Those skills and survival instincts are what lead Adonis to befriend the Toydarian, Gatto. The grumpy man was someone who sold parts, but moonlighted as a kind of information broker for the locals in the area. He was a good man, but he was greedy, and that was a weakness Adnois was able to exploit. Using subtle Force mind tricks wasn’t going to work, so he got him where it hurt, the credits. Adonis would always remind him that if he wanted to he could tip the Alliance off to his little side project, but he chose not to in exchange for information about less than legal activities that happened. That and Adonis was tech savvy and sometimes needed to buy upgrade parts that were more modular and universal the new ones provided by the Galactic Alliance.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Adonis asked with a pointed tone. “Get to the point or I walk, Gatto.” He put his hand on the counter in front of him and leaned in a bit, grasping the credit chip he had offered. He stared directly into the merchant’s bulging eyes . Gatto fell back a little bit, his wings flapping harder, showing he was a bit flustered.

“I’m not telling you who is behind the job, just that he’s investing in the help of a child and it’s enough that if you wanted to put your nose in it, you might be able to make sure the kid gets home safely. He’s a good kid…”He paused for a second, seeing that Adonis had released the credit chip from his grasp. Gatto snatched the credit chip before the soldier changed his mind. “He takes stupid jobs, but he’s a good kid. I think he’s like you.”

Gatto exchanged the credit chip for an information chip telling Adonis, where to locate the meeting point of the mission. With hat, Adonis turned around and left the building, heading back to his hostel in Alliance territory. Though Angelis was confused by what Gatto meant by “like him”. Did he mean Force Sensitive? Adonis hadn’t disclosed that he was connected to the Force to Gatto. Did he mean he was an army brat? Did he run away from home? Either way, it meant Adonis was invested in this person now. Thankfully the soldier was on shore leave for a few weeks while they moved his garrison around and got them and the ship they were stationed on patched up and ready to go.

________________



Taking what little supplies he needed, mostly personal protection, and a backpack with a change of clothes, the corporal set out to the listed meeting spot. He was not wearing anything that would give away his military standing, anything besides his demeanor that was. He couldn’t help it being raised by a military father, he would carry himself with a certain attitude that would read military, or at least ex-military, but on a shady job on Coruscant that could go either way. He had on a light hooded sweater, which covered his bulletproof plating, and some non-descript pants. On his person he also had an Alliance grade blaster tucked away in case he needed it.

Approaching the meeting spot, Angelis took a moment to reach out with what little control of the Force he had been trained so far. He could feel the presence of a few different Force sensitive beings there. He saw the young man before him and figured that was who Gatto was referencing. How did that Toydarian know though? That was a question for a different day. He needed to focus on making sure this kid was going to be alright. Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention, Adonis stuck back a ways, keeping an eye out for trouble and making sure he would be there if anything happened.

 

[Max Wayne]

As Max waited, he fell back into the old habit of people watching to keep his mind busy. He hated waiting, it felt like a complete waste of time when there were much better things that he could be doing than waiting for someone else, but people watching helped fill the mental space and kept him from fidgeting too much. The spaceport at least offered a wide variety of different characters for him to watch, unlike his usual haunts which seemed to have the same cookie-cutter style of people. Sure the lower city was filled with many different species from all over Coruscant and the galaxy, but the story of everyone in the lower city neighborhood that Max lived in was usually the same. They were poor, underappreciated, overworked, over-stressed, and just doing whatever they could to survive. While this part of the spaceport was in the lower city as well, it was connected to the surface by a massive tunnel that seemed to bring down with it not only different kinds of ships but also different types of people all here for different reasons.

There were the gang members. Thugs that gave off the air of aggression and violence. This far down from the security forces of the surface, they didn't bother to be discreet. They wore their gang colors, were boisterous and loud, and generally just made a spectacle of themselves. No one watched them however and Max made sure he didn't look in their direction for more than a few seconds at most. Anyone paying too much attention to them would find themselves at the business end of a mean blaster in a dark alley later, which was a price he didn't want to pay for just a moment of entertainment.

There were those on legitimate business, bring goods and supplies to the lower city. Many of them were contracted by the government and carrier their own government provided security. Down here few businesses had the influence and credits to bring down large supplies, which left the people to be dependant on the government to keep them stocked with the necessities of life. They were given security forces, individuals who were paid to make sure nothing got stolen rather than to enforce the law, which meant statues that stood around doing nothing but scowl and watch the gang members with suspicion.

They were two groups of the same coin and well boring... but they also made up the overwhelming majority of the people in the spaceport, and worst of all they made Max nervous. Who was his new employer that they wanted to meet here? The more legitimate ship would have birthed in the upper levels of the massive spaceport tunnel, but then again legitimate ships looking for a crew wouldn't have used Gatto to find them. Government ships would never hire Max. He was on paper, uneducated, unqualified, and untrustworthy. Nothing in his record would scream good candidate to a ship looking to hire anyone, even if it was just temporary. Hopefully, it wasn't the gangs, he was more likely to simply be spaced after the job than paid. Even if he didn't have a single credit left, he would run if his new employers even smelled like one of the gangs. He might have been desperate but he wasn't that desperate and he didn't want to know what it would be like to suck on a vacuum.

Just as Max was about to look down and tell Blue they were going to split, he felt an itch at the back of his brain. It had been happening more and more since the "incident". Flashes of information that would come close to his consciousness, but remained just out of reach. Something here had changed, but he just didn't know what. Snapping his head around he quickly scanned the area looking at as many faces as he could to see if any of them triggered that tingle in his skull. So far he had only been able to successfully figure out what this itchy feeling meant. He had been desperate, after not eating again for a few days, his body needed sustenance if he was going to survive when that feeling hit him. It was an irritation, almost like a maddening idea that he just didn't understand. It brought with it an impulse that had driven him down an alleyway he had never gone down before, which in turn had lead to a kind old woman struggling with carrying her bags. Even though Max was weak with hunger, he still helped her. He couldn't just stand by and watch her struggle. After helping her, she had insisted he stay for a meal, despite being hungry Max had tried to leave knowing she had just as little as he did and didn't want to deprive her later, but she would hear nothing of it and fed Max. It was the best food MAx had ever had in his life. He had eaten things he didn't even know existed before then, and it had fueled his body enough to get him here. Maybe this "power" wasn't the curse that Max thought it was.

Now, this itch was telling him he was being watched. Someone was close. He didn't feel threatened though, more just observed at this point. No one in the crowd seem to stand out, and unlike with the kind old woman, no one seemed to draw his attention either. He really needed to get a handle whatever this power was if he was going to stay sane. Maybe if he knew how to control it, it would be useful rather than terrifying.

"Are you Max?" a strange voice said pulling Max's attention from the crowd. The voice came from a man whose face seemed to be made of shape angles and deep frown lines. Not kind or friendly, defiantly a face that had seen hardship and done terrible things, but his eyes didn't hold the same evil as the gang members or hardened criminals Max had seen before. "Gatto said you would be here."

"Yes sir," Max said politely, trying to hide his nervousness and uncertainty. He didn't need his new employer to fire him for being unsettled.

"Good" he said curtly. "We will be going soon. The ship is loaded and ready, just waiting for you and our other new hires."

Max just nodded and waited as the itch in his mind grew stronger and a worry seemed to settle into his stomach. Maybe this wasn't a good idea, but he didn't have any other options that he could see.

Adonis Angelis IV

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

Shifting through the crowd around him, Adonis made sure to not hang around in any spot too long. At one point he pretended to take a personal call just so he could get closer to Max. The soldier wasn’t sure how any of this would play out. The hustle and bustle of the spaceport was almost numbing to Adonis. He could hear the voices of so many people, and his newfound powers in the Force made him reach out in a small bit to all of them. It was a power he hadn’t been able to harness to its full potential, but it had a strange way of coming out when he didn’t ask for it to. He felt many different emotions and thoughts of people every time he darted his eyes. It was hard enough for him to channel the powers but turning them off seemed to be difficult as well.

Adonis ducked into a darker corner for a moment, just out of sight of most passersby. He needed a moment to relax and focus his energies. He took a drink from a water fountain before splashing a bit on his face. He felt the tendrils of the Force dying away finally. He was able to focus oncemore on what he came here to do. Swinging back around into the spaceport’s bright lights, he trained his eye on Max again. This time he was being approached by an older man, someone who reminded him of a junk trader he met back on Jakku. He knew there was no way it was the same man, but he could tell they were similar enough, gruff, old, set in their ways..dangerous. He did not need the Force for that one.

Trying not to be to conspicuous, Adonis made his way over to the two of them. His brown eyes meeting with the eyes of the older man, sizing him up a little as he did. If this turned to violence, he wanted to make sure he had the upper hand. Though he also wanted to make sure he didn’t get clocked as Alliance military at the same time. The likelihood of this man knowing anything about Adonis’s military background was extremely low, but never zero. As the soldier knew, most of the local gangs and violent offenders were aware of the push by the Alliance to have their soldiers handle things head on. “You two must be my companions for this job huh?” He said, letting his presence finally be known to both of them.

“What is your name? Gatto didn’t mention any muscle like you being hired?” The tone of the older man got a bit more defensive. He eyed Adonis up and down himself, taking note of if he could see any identifiers or any giant weapons, of which Adonis had neither.

“Adonis Angelis IV, Gatto told me that you guys might need another man for the job since you’re keen to hire those a bit…younger.” He motioned to Max and his droid. “Just think of me as an insurance policy on Gatto’s favorite droid.” He said with a wink to Max. “Though as talkative as that Toydarian is, he did fail to mention exactly what it was we were doing.”

Max Wayne

 

[Max Wayne]

"That is because I paid that flying rat to keep his mouth shut," the man said, his rough voice pulling Max back to reality. He hadn't realized he had been staring at the human-shaped brick wall that had joined them until his new employer had spoken. The man was... huge. He was definitely not someone Max wanted to mess with, but at the same time friendly. That itch in the back of his skull also seemed to make him feel this man despite his size was not a threat to him, the opposite actually. His words also conveyed that he wasn't here to hurt him, but rather protect them. Or maybe just the droid.

Max looked down at Blue skeptically. The way Gatto had talked about the droid and the low price he had offered it to him for, had suggested that Gatto was glad to be rid of him. But then he sent muscles like that to guard him? Was he supposed to return the droid? Max had already started to fond of the little guy and really hoped that he wasn't expected to return him after whatever this job turned out to entail. In fact, he had already started to plan out programming in his head that he could use to upgrade blue.

"It doesn't matter," the gruff man who still hadn't told them his name, said with an almost snarl in his voice. "We have to get going anyway. YOu might as well join us, you can keep the kid in line and make sure he doesn't get killed." That made Max snap his head up and look at the old man. How dangerous is this mission? Should he run already? Once he was aboard the ship how could he get away if needed? Max suddenly had the feeling his survival might actually depend on this Adonis guy.

"Follow me the ship is this way." With that, the man was off heading deeper into the spaceport. He didn't wait for them to follow, just marched off in the direction he had come from.

"Come on Blue," he said to the little droid kneeling down to pet him on his metal head as the stranger left them. "We have to find out what our new boss's name is and hopefully what exactly he wants us to do."

"Ummm..." Max stammered as he started to the other new hire, as they both followed their new boss, Max making sure he kept a safe distance from his strange employer. "Name is Max, nice to meet you, Mr. Angelis."

Adonis Angelis IV

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

Adonis nodded his head forward as the mysterious benefactor started moving, following close behind. It was still hard for the soldier to flesh out the situation. He prided himself on his ability to discern danger. However, growing up on a remote planet like Jakku, it was harder for him to know the social queues of people that were more acclimated to modern planets. As they started walking, Max introduced himself. He seemed respectful in his demeanor, likely taught at a younger age to be nice to people he just met. Something that was good in normal social situations, but a job like this wasn’t really a normal social situation.

“You can just call me Adonis. Good to meet you, Max.” Instead of a formal handshake, Adonis just looked down to the droid he made the joke about earlier. “You look a little young to be a dad, this must be your friend.” The two of them continued with the older man, Angelis made sure that they stayed a little ways back in case anything happened. “Nice to meet you too, Blue.”

While they continued closer to the ship the soldier was getting a little more nervous, so he decided to pry a little more to get an idea of who he was ‘working’ for. “So, now that you know our names, I think it’s only fair we get to know your name…” He let his voice trail off as he finished in hopes he would receive an answer. He made a mental note of where he hid his blaster incase things got hairy.

Max Wayne

 

[Max Wayne]

Max normally wasn't as friendly and respectful as he seemed to be today and he wasn't totally sure what was up with him. He was usually mouthy, snarky, and on occasion rude, all while being friendly, personable and kind. Max was self aware enough to know most of his sass was a defense mechanism, a way to keep people at a distance to prevent himself from getting hurt, but something about this man made all those defenses want to relax. Without even knowing him for more than a few seconds, he knew this soldier in disguise was a safe person. Even that itch in the back of his head seemed to relax.

'OK, so potential friend' Max thought to himself as they followed their employer. He hadn't had one of those... well ever. It could be a good thing. Maybe. If Max didn't mess it up like he always did, or this job didn't kill either or them or both of them.

"Sounds good, Adonis." The name felt a little weird at first on his lips, instinctively wanting to keep using the title of 'Sir' from his years of growing up in foster homes rather than use an older person's name.

Looking down at Blue, Max couldn't help but laugh at Adonis's joke. Maybe he was a little like a dad to the Droid than just a friend. After all he was going through the process of teaching it how to function, helping it form a new personality after its previous owner had wiped it all away. "He is a good little friend," Max finally said as Blue began to chirp happily at being included in the conversation. "Still just getting to know him but Looking forward to it."

When Adonis asked about the older man's name, Max couldn't help but be relieved. He didn't want to be the one to ask, he had a feeling it wouldn't have gone over well if he had, but he definitely wanted to know as well. This whole thing was just far too mysterious for Max's taste, but he was to desperate for the work to back out now. If Adonis could be a buffer and ask the questions that Max couldn't afford to ask, maybe they could learn something and at least know what they were walking into.

"Humph" the sound the old man made was something between annoyance and amusement. "Suppose you got to call me something," he grumbled out as they turned into a docking birth. "You can call me Cord. It's a good a name as any I suppose."

The ship docked in its birth, was a mass of garbage. Not literally garbage of course, in reality it was a ancient freighter with a large empty spin between the bridge and crew quarters in the front and the engines in the back. The middle was huge empt space designed to accommodate a series of those massive shipping containers that many companies used ship good between worlds. Currently this one was empty, allowing Max a full view of just gow run down and uncared for this one was. Max was worried if the ship was even space worthy, how long till a hull breach occurred and they would all suffocate?

"That is what we are taking?" Max asked not bothering to cover up his disbelief and worry. "Is that thing even space worthy?"

"Humph" the sound Cord made was identical as when Adonis had asked for his name, annoyance and amusement. "It is perfectly safe, and exactly what we need for this job. Now get aboard."

Adonis Angelis IV

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

Adonis breathed a sigh of relief as Max lightened up a little, it wasn’t often that the soldier got to meet people younger than him. Especially in his time back on Jakku, and now his time in the military, most of the people around him were older than he was or the same age. Back on Jakku he didn’t get a chance to play with other children or even see them. His father wouldn’t take him to the city when he went to get supplies, insisting it was safer to say in the confines of their hut. Which would sound absurd when you would think about it, but by the time Adonis was able to walk he was being taught how to defend himself.

“He’s going to be a good friend to you, I can feel it. Just make sure he doesn’t get shot.” Adonis gave a small chuckle as the droid scurried and let out a gleeful chirp. Blue was an older model he could tell, but no one needed a top-of-the-line droid to make a good companion. Angelis had come across many BD units being bought and sold as salvage and scrap back home after he reached a more mature age. He could tell this one had been modulated and likely wiped which would be a good starting point for Max.

‘Man this guy is grumpy.’ Adonis thought to himself as he found out the mysterious man’s name. Cord didn’t ring a bell to the Alliance soldier after he scanned his memory for any shady beings he had heard of in the past. Perhaps ‘Cord’ was giving a different name to stay more secure as he knew he likely couldn’t trust Adonis. That was fair because he knew he couldn’t trust him either. “Alright let’s not leave him waiting.”

As the group wrapped their way through the many different ships docked in the port, Adonis audibly gasped when he saw the mess of a freighter they were going to be using. It was obvious that this was either stolen or a disposable ship for Cord because no one in their right mind would use this for more than a single mission without worrying it would be considered space debris upon reentry. There’s no way that this thing had been inspected by any military in far too long. Adonis gave a small chuckle when Max called out what they were both thinking. ‘I like his attitude.’ He thought to himself.

As they boarded the spacecraft, the soldier was afraid the loading bay was going to give out when he took another step. He felt it creak with every step. He would be terribly upset if he were killed on this mission and it wasn’t even by the bad guy, just his sad excuse for a ship. “Alright, go find your quarters and meet back here in fifteen.” Cord said before gesturing where they would find their quarters. “No showering or eating before I brief you on the mission.”

Adonis did as instructed, finding a bunk for himself and set his bag down. He turned to Max, “You look hungry kid, I think I have some chips somewhere in here.” Adonis rifled through his bag for a moment before pulling out a small back of snacks and tossing them to Max. “It’ll be our little secret.”

Max Wayne

 

[Max Wayne]

As they boarded the so-called "ship", which was a generous designation for this rust bucket that had been strapped to a massive rocket, Max tried to walk carefully. He didn't trust anything not to break at the slightest touch. Not that he planned on touching anything more than he had to, it looked like the ship was not only old and uncared for, but also dirty. He might have lived in the slums of the lower city, but he was never dirty. His bolthole was small, not very attractive, but always clean.

After the grumpy Cord had left them to find their own space, Max followed Adonis out of need not to be left alone. This ship freaked him out more than he wanted to admit, and despite his usual independence and pride, he wasn't ready to be left alone. Besides if he fell through a deck plate, having a massive soldier type nearby would be handy to pull him out. He wasn't surer how much help he could be if the reverse happened, but he would do what he could.

Before they made it to the bunk area, Max spotted a small row of astromech droids. Four older models powered down and in standby mode. Despite their age, they appeared to be in good working order, obviously much better taken care of than the ship they inhabited. That confused Max though. These astromechs would be excellent slicers, maybe not as good as him, but with four probably faster. That and why had Cord requested that Max have another droid as well? What was this mission?

The crew quarters were not private at all, rather a collection of bunks on either side of a hallway leading to the refresher, and not much more space than his bolthole in the lower city. Like the rest of the ship, the thin mattresses that lined each of the bunks looked old, worn down, and very uncomfortable. He couldn't complain though, it was probably more relaxing than half the foster homes he had stayed at growing up, and about the same condition as his own bed. It was a lifelong dream of his, that when he made enough credits the first thing he would buy was a comfortable bed. He had almost saved up enough before this dry spell in work had drained away all his savings. Maybe after this job he could... no he needed to stop thinking like that. He didn't know where or what he was doing after this job. Still, he hoped where he ended up that it had a nice bed.

After Adonis picked one, Max selected the bunk across from his and arranged his bag so all his possessions and Blue could be tucked beside him while he slept. It was an old habit, he always liked to have his few possessions close by when sleeping in a shared space with strangers. He had learned that even so-called friends would take advantage of him if he wasn't careful. He didn't think that fit with Adonis, he seemed... honest. Which also confused him. Why was Adonis here? He didn't look like he needed the credits as desperately as Max, he didn't seem like the kind of guy who took shady jobs like this at all, and if that tingle in his skull meant anything he wasn't here to turn them in either.

Before he could say what was resting on the tip of his tongue, Adonis mentioned chips, and his stomach loudly and involuntarily growled at the mention of food. How long had it been since his last meal? One day or was it two? Looking down at his slight frame, he had to guess two. He had been losing weight again, something he needed to fix right away. "Thanks," Max said sheepishly as he carefully caught the small bag before it hit the deck Carefully and slowly he opened the bag. He didn't want to look too eager, despite his stomach's demands to rip it open and consume the whole thing in one shot. Before taking a single ship however Max offered the open bag to Adonis. "Would you like some?"

"So," Max began as his quietly munched on a chip, enjoying the rich flavor, while trying to make the bag last as long as possible. He didn't know if there was food aboard the ship and if this was all he was going to eat he needed to make it stretch while still leaving enough to share with Adonis. "Why.... umm... why did you join up with Cord?"

As he waited for a reply, Max could feel the ship begin to vibrate as a loud groaning sound spread throughout the whole deck. A loud rumbling soon followed as the whole floor seeemed to lurch for a moment before settling down as Max assumed the vessel settled with the exit of the atmosphere. 'So this ship flies at least,' Max though to himself. Maybe they weren't going to die. "Looks like we didn't explode. Maybe thats a good sign or maybe its just waiting to be a surprise for later."

Adonis Angelis IV

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

As Max opened the simple bag of chips Adonis had purchased from the automat a day or two previous, Adonis took a closer look at their surroundings. He was thoroughly surprised that the amount of dust that was bound to every visible surface somehow wasn’t enough weight to bright the old ship crashing down by itself. Reluctantly, he then looked over toward the washroom and noticed the grimy durasteel interior. Adonis figured the shower could not be much better off, and he could practically smell the mildew. The now visibly grimacing corporal weighed his options and easily concluded he was better off if he just did not shower. Adonis was quite a clean man, but something about the idea of showering on this ship just sent shivers down his back.

Max’s first question brought Adonis back to his current reality. He snapped his vision back toward him with an arched brow, “Eat while you can, I don’t think I’d trust any food anyone else gives you on this ship.” He joked. “Anyways, you look like you need to eat more than I do... Don’t worry, I ate earlier today at the cafeteria.” Adonis realized as soon as the words left his mouth that he had replaced them with his foot. In no way did eating at a cafeteria sound like something someone non-military would say. Hopefully Max wasn’t paying that close of attention. Either way the undercover Alliance soldier figured he had two paths he could take now. He could either disclose his actual identity to Max and risk his reaction, or he could keep up whatever appearance he had left.

“Sorry, that’s what we called restaurants back on Jakku.” Was that the truth? No. Although, it was not necessarily a lie either, because they didn’t really have restaurants on Jakku, so it didn’t matter what they were called. Adonis was not terrible at lying, but he preferred the truth, however this time he felt the need to lie. Max would hopefully chalk it up to awkward first encounters and not press too much harder into it. The reasoning wasn’t that the soldier thought Max would turn him in, but that he figured the less the kid knew they better, incase Cord found out then he wouldn’t be implicated.

After, thankfully, Max changed the subject. “The same reason you did.” Adonis answered as he gathered his backpack up and closed it again. He carefully sat it against the wall and his ‘pillow’ if that’s what it could be called. “I love flying first class.” It would seem it was perfect timing as he said that, because the ship let out a cry for help and jumped forward as it attempted to take off. Adonis instinctively went to make sure his blaster was still secured as nonchalantly as possible. If Max noticed, he might have taken it as another hint he wasn’t quite who he said he was. It didn’t matter though, as Adonis didn’t want to have the blaster go off and lose a foot, or worse, hit Max. After assuring himself it was secure and getting his bearings back, he looked over toward Max and his friend Blue. “Are you two alright?”

Before Max would be able to answer, Cord’s voice crackled weakly over the old comm systems. “You two, meet me in the cargo hold, I’m going to give you the detail to you about what you will be doing for me.”

Max Wayne

 

[Max Wayne]

As Max followed Adonis to the cargo bay, he allowed his mind to process a few details that he had been collecting since his arrival at the spaceport. He had quickly learned growing up to keep his emotions in check and allow his mind to file away details in his subconscious and not react in the moment. His emotions usually made him make stupid decisions in the moment, but if he stored details away for later he was able to properly analyze them without the heat of the moment colorings his opinions. It didn't always work, in fact more times than not he let his feelings get the better of him, but he was getting better at it.

First thing that came to mind was that Adonis was far more than he was pretending to be, which made sense. No one in their right mind took a job like this and laid all their cards out in the table, and if they did it wasn't this early in the game. Adonis had military training of some sort, if not formally something pretty close. That had been obvious in his demeanour and walk when they first met. What clinched it was when the ship lurched into orbit, he hadn't braced himself from falling like Max had, rather he had gone for a hidden weapon. It wasn't the way a killer or a thug would, but more like a protector. Despite what he said he wasn't on this mission to make some quick credits, he had another objective. He wasn't exactly sure what that objective was yet, but if Gatto had offered the details to him he had a feeling it wasn't to hurt him in anyway. And that feeling in his head also made him want to trust this man.

Second was the mission itself. This wasn't the usual Slicer gig. The ship meant they were after something big, probably some shipping containers. The ships age meant it wasn't expected to survive, this was a throw away vessel. Which meant either it was a sacrifice somewhere along the way, or it was going to be slagged when they were done. Lastly Cord was a liar and far more dangerous than he was pretending. Unlike Adonis, Cord was setting off all kinds of alarms in his head. If this mission was going to last long enough for them to get sleep, he wouldn't be doing so without having set Blue to security mode. No one was getting close to him without him knowing. He wasn't sure what he would be able to do if Cord decided to turn in him, but he had a feeling his new "power" would come as a surprise.

"Guess we finally get to find out what the big secret is..." Max said to both Blue and Adonis, trying to sound more amused than nervous. "Hopefully it's not that wants us to retrofit this garbage heap. I don't think there are enough credits in the galaxy to save it."

"Finally," Cord grumbled, which seemed to be his primary emotion. "Let's get started."

Cord reached down and activated a portable holo terminal. The device was modern and powerful and did not match the ship at all. In fact Max guessed the device was Alliance Military grade, brand new, and top of the line. It's shiny clean chrome finish was almost abrasive in its contrast to the vessel it inhabit. As the hologram came to life, it cast a faint blue glow in the room projecting a system that Max didn't recognize.

"This is one of the Alliance Navy's main resupply station depots," Cord said finally sounding excited, leaving all the grump and gruff that Max now associated with him to be replaced with anticipation and something akin to joy in vice. "With the Alliance Navy doing some major restructuring of its defensive positions and the fleets recent need for repairs, this depot is fully stocked and lightly guarded. They are currently behind schedule, leaving many Alliance personnel on extended leave rather than being recalled, and forcing them to hire more than the normal number of civilian contractors to make deliveries and get back on track. Which gives us the window we need to reach our target. I wasn't able to contract access codes, but this ship has an outdated transponder that I was able to modify to be almost similar to an authorized vessel. It's not perfect, but enough to get us close before they start shooting. Close enough to get to these five cargo containers."

As Cord talked the system zoomed in into a set of five containers in a distant stationary orbit of the supply station. They were by themselves, and on the opposite side of where the main activities of the other ships. From what Max could tell they were only defended by the stations automated defenses, and the ships in the system would require some time to get into effective firing range, rather than an instant response.

"Ok," Max said with some trepidation in his voice. This was big and this would put him much more on the wrong side of the law than he had ever gone before. What could he do though, he needed the credits and he was now trapped in this vessel. "What do you need us for?"

"Max, I need you to use this terminal to help coordinate the Droid in slicing the containers security locks." Cord said matter of factly, more like he was ordering a sandwich, than taking about committing a high crime against the Alliance. This wasn't just normal theft, this was stealing from the military, and they tended to take things more seriously than civilian corporations. Cord didn't seem to care though. "We don't have time to break each security lock one at a time and will need to do complex slicing on all five containers together and synchronized from here."

Cord turned his attention to Adonis next, some of his positive energy slipping away to his usual gruff. Cord obviously didn't like or trust Adonis, but he had allowed him to come in this job for a reason. "Since you decided to be our extra muscle, you can be in the loader mech and help the Droid connect the containers to the Ship after Max breaks the locks. If we do this right, we can get the containers out of the system to my buyer and scuttle this ship before the Alliance can catch us and there won't be anything to lead them back to us."

Adonis Angelis IV

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

Adonis was quite excited that their conversation was cut short before he put his boot in his mouth anymore. The two of them had a quiet walk to meet Cord in the cargohold. Adonis knew that he couldn’t outright arrest the geezer for wanting to commit a crime, especially when not coming forth as military immediately. He would have to have enough evidence on him to actually get a response from the Alliance. This meant that he had to commit to whatever it was they were doing until an actual crime had been committed. For all Adonis knew, this could be taking place on a backwater planet where the Alliance wouldn’t even be able to help and he would likely would have to take Cord down himself.

As the two of them arrived, the hairs on the back of the soldier’s neck stood up on end. There was a sudden wave of anxiety that washed over Adonis, giving him a queasy feeling in his stomach. There was no question that whatever Cord was doing was illegal, but he now felt like there may be someone watching the two of them, watching Cord. Perhaps Cord was also just a middleman, paid out of someone else’s pockets. That could explain why he was so uneasy about Adonis joining up with them. These questions were pushed to the back of Adonis’s head as Cord spoke of their plan.

‘Great, treason…’ He thought to himself as Cord droned on about the plan. This was not a good look for an Alliance soldier to be caught in the middle of a crossfire between the military state he worked for and some backwater fence who was attempting to steal millions of credits worth of military equipment. There had to be a plan in here somewhere, something to salvage this. With everything in his body, Adonis knew that he should make his move now. Arrest or not, Cord could not be allowed to steal anything from the military. It was not just Cord’s life on the line here, if he actually pulled it off and Angelis couldn’t stop him, the solider would be right up there with him and Max. They would be tried for treason against the Alliance and whatever other crimes they would throw at them.

If either of them had looked at Adonis’s face, they wouldn’t be able to sense the unimaginable guilt that was racking his every thought, though he did look rather focused. He could either try his hand now and risk the life of Max, or he could potentially betray his post. Unluckily for Adonis, he was not a trained soldier. Sure he had the moves and he could shoot the ear off of a gizka, but they hadn’t indoctrinated him fully yet, he viewed person over country, and was already prone to making stupid mistakes that often got him in trouble or hurt. He quite easily decided he could never live with the guilt of getting an innocent boy killed, even if he would be partaking in the highly illegal activity. There had to be a different solution here though, and Adonis would be racking his brain to try to find it.

‘Treason it is…’ he huffed in his own head. By this time Cord had given his entire spiel, which Adonis had only half listened to. At this point it didn’t matter what the crime was, he couldn’t pull out now. “Are you sure this is going to be worth it?” He asked, cocking his gaze toward Cord. He used some of his gruff to hopefully put a little fear in the man. “I mean I don’t know about you, but I think the Alliance might want to get back however many millions of credits worth of stuff you…we steal from them.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “They’ve blown up ships for less.”

“Are you saying you aren’t up to it, Mr. Angelis?” Cord snapped back, tilting his head. “Are you scared of a few Alliance ships?” Cord let out a chuckle with his last sentence, hoping to put a little sting to Adonis’s ego.

‘More than you know, jagoff.’ He pushed his anger to the side for a moment. “That’s not it at all.” He turned his look over toward Max. “Are you sure the kid can actually pull this off?” He didn’t want to have to throw Max under the bus, but he also didn’t want to get a blaster bolt through the face. All the while he kept racking his brain for a solution. There had to be another way to get out of this.

Max Wayne

 

[Max Wayne]

'So... we are going to die,' Max thought as he listened to Adonis and Cord talk. He didn't know how he knew this, but he did. Deep down in his gut, he felt it. Cord had gotten a disposable ship with the express purpose of scuttling it after the mission, and he had hired himself a disposable crew. Maybe it was that one sentence that made Max realize this was a doomed mission. 'There won't be anything leading back to us' Cord had said. He didn't want anything the Alliance could follow back to him, which to Max also meant, no witnesses. Gatto had sold him a death sentence rather than a way to pull himself out of his situation. Not that he blamed the Toydorian, he probably didn't even know what the job was either.

Max needed a way out, and he needed one now. He didn't want to die, and even if he lived didn't want the heat that came with committing such a massive crime. He was no angel, Max had committed petty theft, sliced into a few places he shouldn't have, shifted a few credits here and there out of rich people's pockets, but nothing on this scale, and nothing against the Alliance directly. Didn't they still just shoot people for crimes like this?

While Adonis and Cord were still distracted, Max leaned down to Blue and whispered instructions. He needed information if he planned on not dying, and that meant a lay of the land. What other secrets did Cord have laying around? He obviously had no clue about what he had in his possession right in front of him, a military-grade holo com with what Max guessed was a secondary AI function was more than up to the task of coordinating a slice on the order of magnitude that Cord was proposing, he didn't need Max at all. He could have used a preprogrammed activation module and bang job done. The only reason would need Max was to be the disposable fall guy. If he died, the Alliance would think they got the guy and write off the cargo as lost, if they captured him they would have the slicer in hand who did the job and was lying about accomplices to save his own skin. It even made the ship make more sense, not only disposable, but it looked like something even a street rat like Max could find enough credits to buy. Which meant Cord had a way off this ship, an escape of some way to leave Max and Adonis their fate. So Max sent Blue to find it. The little droid would map and record everything on the ship, and if anyone asked he could say he sent Blue to check the structural integrity of the ship, which wasn't a complete lie since Blue would do that as well on his little mission. Max watched as Blue trodded off on his mission before turning his attention back to the conversation above him.

"He better be," Cord said, his voice taking on a new menacing tone, as Max stood up to catch the tail end of the conversation. "If he isn't I'll throw the kid out the airlock before the Alliance gets close enough to catch us."

Max's eyes widened at the open threat. He had already figured out Cord meant him harm, but to hear it so openly set his nerves on edge. "I'll get it done," Max said defensively adding a little whine to his voice for effect, he felt the need to defend his skills as well as make it look like he still planned on doing. If he found a way to escape he intended to take it as soon as possible, he just needed to figure out of he could trust Adonis. His instincts might have been telling him Adonis was safe, but he wasn't sure he could trust him. After all, he had just thrown him under the bus and gotten him threatened with spacing. Guess time would tell. "This is going to be easy as long as your astromechs aren't in the same caliber as your ship. If they fall apart it ain't my fault."

"Better make sure they are working then," Cord sneered before turning to Adonis. "You better help him out or you'll share his fate." Without anything else, Cord left the cargo bay, likely heading for the co-pit.

"Pleasant man" Max muttered half to himself as he walked over the holo com. "Must win plenty of congeniality awards for his winning smile and approachable personality."

Max leaned down and started fiddling with the controls on the com unit. It was locked down, of course, requiring Cord's access codes to open, but it didn't pose much of a challenge for him. Despite the hardware being top of the line, its operator wasn't as smart and his encryption was easily bypassed. He quickly slaved a subchannel no one would notice to Blue's communication frequencies, then buried it under a ton of coding. Now he at least had a way to communicate that Cord didn't know about or had the ability to stop. It again made him wonder how this man was pulling this off. He must have someone big and powerful helping him, Cord didn't strike him as a criminal mastermind.

"Don't kill me for saying this, I don't want to go out an airlock," Max said standing up to look at Adonis, his voice a little shakier than he would have liked as real fear and nerve bubbled to the surface. "If I had known what this job is I wouldn't have taken it, I don't want to steal from the Alliance. But don't worry, I'll do my job and get it done. I am pretty good with computers and security systems."

Adonis Angelis IV

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

As Adonis and Cord had their riff, it was evident to Adonis that Max was doing something behind Cord’s back. Perhaps the both of them were looking for a way out of this situation. Without drawing attention toward Max, Adonis turned to clear his throat and saw Blue scurrying off into the distance. There was something up the youngster’s sleeve. Quickly, the soldier was realizing that this situation was getting out of hand, so much so that Cord was openly making threats to the two of them. Disrespect was something that never sat right with Adonis. If it weren’t for his military training, Cord would have been shot dead then and there. However, murdering someone outright wasn’t going to be the answer today…yet. Even though Adonis’s trigger finger was itchy, he would have to play this out a little longer.

It was then that Max’s energy shifted. Adonis could tell that this kind of job wasn’t quite to his range. The boy couldn’t have been older than twenty, which was still only three years younger than Adonis himself. The two of them were rather young to be taking on the Alliance for a scuffed old man like Cord. The plan was starting to smell fishier and fishier to him, he didn’t need the Force to feel that. This was a blessing and a curse, because this meant they likely wouldn’t get to the actual theft before something happened, but that also meant that danger could be much closer than previously assumed. As Cord left the conference room, Adonis gave him a quick middle finger while his back was turned. There would be no remorse in spacing this man if it came down to it. It’s a dog-eat-dog galaxy, and Adonis was no one’s lunch.

“That troll’s got as much personality as a rabid nerf.” He offered back to Max’s insult. The soldier would brush off the veiled threats of death, however, and refocus on the matters at hand. It was clear to him now that the two of them would have to work out a solution together. The mission had gone too far off kilter for it to be corrected, and sooner than later a plan would have to be hatched. While the two of them were alone, Adonis figured now would be a good time to make at least part of his plan clear. “Also I apologize for throwing you under the bus back there, I just can’t have him doubting me.” He let his voice trail off a bit before continuing, “Though he doesn’t seem to be confident in anything except his ability to open an airlock.” Trying to ease the situation, Adonis gave a small chuckle.

When Max opened up about his hesitations, Adonis was a little more assured. There would likely be no way that he would turn Adonis in now, as both of their fates were sealed. Cord didn’t seem like the type to keep witnesses to anything, let alone the murder of an Alliance corporal. “Don’t worry, I didn’t think you were the high treason type.” Adonis patted Max on the shoulder. “I’m not really either.” He whispered. The soldier then motioned toward his hidden blaster, then looked back toward Max. “I’m sure you’ve picked up on it by now, but I’m not exactly here to carry out any crimes at all.” He was hoping Max wouldn’t react outwardly enough that anyone who might be watching would pick up on it.

“Has Blue found anything that might help us?” He whispered again, leaning closer to Max to make it appear he was simply reading the com channel with him.

Max Wayne

 

[Max Wayne]

"I get it, the guy is a total creep and would probably kill you first if he thought you were going to betray him. I think he is afraid of you and doesn't see me as a threat." Max confessed. He honestly didn't mind being thrown under the bus, he understood the situation. Cord was going to kill them, just not yet, so if Adonis could hold that off for a few moments longer they might actually get out of this situation alive. If that meant that Cord had to have his attention of him, so be it.

As Adonis confirmed that he wasn't interested in actually doing the job they were now stuck doing, Max quickly reached down and activated a scrambling field on the com unit. He didn't want any listening devices that might have been installed aboard the ship to hear them talking, especially now that they were confirming they were going to actively work against Cord. It would give them a few minutes of privacy. Even if Cord had another slicer aboard the ship, or his patron was monitoring the vessel, it would take them a few moments to even realize that anything was wrong, then longer to overcome their own scrambling signals.

When Adonis put his arm around him, he felt the comfort and warmth there that the other man was offering him, while he was attempting to cover their conversation. It made Max feel safe. Very few people were able to make him feel like that so quickly, in fact, it was only his last foster father that had actually made Max feel like he was cared for and protected. It was weird that he felt this close to someone that was a complete stranger. He didn't see Adonis as a father figure, more a friend that Max could trust. "You can talk freely, no one can hear us for now," Max said wanting to reassure Adonis, but not actually wanting him to pull away either.

"So," Max began a little confidence and bravado showing up in his voice again. "Let me guess who you work for before you tell me." He paused a moment trying to look older and more grown-up than he felt, before showing his deductive reasoning skills by stroking his chin. At that moment he wished he had a beard, he would have looked older and wiser with a small beard, but his smooth skin would have to do. "You're not Alliance Intelligence, you didn't know what this mission was before boarding the ship. AI wouldn't do that. You're not the security service, those guys wouldn't give a flying bantha about saving my skin, they probably would have spaced me for just taking the job. That leave social services, which is unlikely cause I turned eighteen last month, or Alliance Military." Stopping for a moment Max scanned the other man again, taking in his stance and swagger, as well as some of the things he had said before now. "Navy right?"

Looking down at his datapad, Max quickly checked on Blue's progress, the little droid was fast, much faster than the astromechs. He had already managed to scan the forward section and was now in the main spine heading for the engineering section of the ship. "Looks like the ship has a hanger, with an old U-Wing parked in it, and in much better shape than this... thing," Max said as he gestured to indicate the vessel around them. "At least we have somewhere to go if this bucket springs a leak, cause there are no escape pods in their housings anymore."

Max had to guess that the lack of escape craft had been on purpose, if Cord intended to kill them by leaving them on the ship when he scuttled it, he wouldn't want them to have a way off. Just as Max was about to say something else to Adonis he stopped, looking at the screen wide-eyed. "Well that's not good," he said feeling a shiver running down his spine as the data ran past him. "I think I know why Cord is so confident. He isn't alone on this ship, Blue scanned three others aboard the shuttle."

Adonis Angelis IV

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

Adonis gave out a sigh of relief after Max forgave him for his previous actions. He didn’t want to have any bad blood between the two of them if they were going to make it out of this alive. Plus, Adonis found himself enjoying Max’s company. There was a mutual respect and trust between the two of them, although he figured being in life threatening situations may do that. Still hwoever, there was a synergy between them that he could feel. If anyone was going to be able to escape this blasphemous excuse for a ship, it would be them. No matter his age, Max had already proven to be quite a skilled slicer. Something that Adonis admittedly fell short on, he could usually put electronics together, but truly understanding how they worked was not his forte.

Still with his arm there, Adonis listened to Max go through his thought processes as to his true identity. He chuckled a bit as he stroked his chin. Though he was young, Max was wise, and as no surprise to Adonis, he had indeed picked up on what the soldier had let slip. That alone would have been enough to cross off Alliance Intelligence, if he were a spy, he sucked at his job. The rest of the results were right on the head too, except for the last one. He let Max finish before giving him another pat on the shoulder and letting go and taking a single step back.

“Army, actually. I’ve done too many ab workouts since joining for you to mistake the two.” Adonis didn’t actually know why people in the army got so upset about being confused with navy officers, but he heard a lot of jokes in his platoons about the Navy so he figured he’d go with it. “And I owe you an apology, here I was calling you a kid, when you’re actually a full grown adult!” A cockeyed smile indicated the little bit of sarcasm in his tone.

“Corporal Adonis Angelis IV.” He stood straight as he spoke, a reflex the military, and his own father instilled in him. He would have gone full salute if the situation were any less dire. “Gatto is something of a friend on Corusant. I don’t get him shut down for being an infobroker, and he gives me information about Coruscant. He wanted me to tag along to keep you safe.” Adonis wanted to make sure Max knew Gatto did not send him knowingly on a suicide mission. “Glad to actually meet you now, Max…” He paused in case Max wanted to give any other names, or just stick with Max. Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention, Adonis adjusted his posture to look more casual again, wanted the two of them to look like they were still doom and gloom about their job if Cord were to pop back in.

Adonis was extremely impressed again at how well Blue was doing, and how quickly Max and Blue were able to assess the situation. If there was a ship in the hold, that was likely their only way out. Neither Adonis nor Max would want to keep this ship if it were even going to be an option. Although, if anyone would be able to fix this up, it might have been Adonis. Nonetheless, he had no need for a ship or any time sink that would cost way too many credits. So, once again, it seemed the U-Wing was their best bet. “Okay, so we need to decide if we act now, or wai-.” Adonis paused when Max’s eyes grew. As Max looked at the information, Adonis knew what was coming: more bad news. Just what the two of them needed right now.

When Max caught Adonis up on the news of the others aboard the ship, Adonis could only nod his head and kiss his teeth in frustration. Although, he could still appreciate the comedy of the situation- why wouldn’t they run into another snag in their plan? They were just figuring out what the plan was and already had to recalibrate. “Well, I have a blaster, but I can’t really guarantee I can take down three people unless I have something bigger.” He could figure there wasn’t an armory on board considering his surroundings. Perhaps, though, there would be some lockers somewhere. People this invested in crime usually didn’t just carry the weapons on their person. “Are you any good with a blaster?” Adonis didn’t want for Max to have to fight, but it might be impossible to avoid. “Try to find some footlockers, they had to bring guns if they expected me to be able to protect you.”

Max Wayne

 

[Bastian smith]

Max Wayne Adonis Angelis IV

Bastian pffered money for a job to help throw a couple of unnecessary people out an airlock. He got the feeling he would get the same treatment. He knee cords type a backstabber droid rolled by the eight foot tall echani-vexx was confused the droid wasn't supposed to be in this section of ship.

Standing up the ancient darksider stretched and then picking up the droid with one hand he could sense the two he had sense they walked on he hid his ancient force signature before they got on. As he walked towards them he unhid his force aura it quickly filled the ship an aura that screamed predator and screamed something very old and hungry. He was unarmed not that he needed any weapons for most of the people on this ship the lightsider might be a bit of trouble though not that he planned to fight them though.

 

[Max Wayne]

"Sorry," Max smiled at Adonis when the man corrected his guess. He didn't know the two different corps of the Alliance Military were ar such odds, figuring they were one big happy family. "I didn't get to see your abs to know the difference. Next time maybe show those off so people don't guess wrong."

When the data came up to show them how messed up there lives suddenly becoame, Max wanted to throw up. His head hurt and his stomach actually rolled as his brain ran over the entire situation, trying to reorient itself to their new situation. Their situation was already really, really messed, and seemed destined to only getting worse. Actually could it get worse? Max had just managed to get Adonis to admit who he was, they had come together and formed the start of a friendship, outlined the beginnings of a plan against a man who didn't bother to hide the fact that he planned to kill his hired crew at the first earliest convenience. Still they now had a way out, and just needed to get the details of their escape organized. Max was going to live... that was until the galaxy decided they didn't have enough against them and threw another challenge in their way.

"I umm," Max started to say, his voice a little shakey again, despite the confidence that he had been feeling only a moment ago. "I've never actually ever held a blaster, let alone fired one. Is it difficult to aim?"

Max had seen any number of thugs in the lower city firing off there blasters, of course they seemed to be just shooting off wildly without any skill involved, rather than a trained soldier like Adonis. Most of them hit everyone or anything but their intended targets, or luck intervened and let them hit their target. Max didn't want to be like them, especially if he was in a situation that he might inadvertently hit his new friend and potential protection. "I really don't want to accidentally hit you, or anyone that doesn't need to be hit." Besides Max had a feeling that his new power would kick in if it came to a fight.

As if on cue, he felt a shift in the whole environment of the ship around him. It was as if something terrible, unexpected, unwelcome, and just plain awful had stepped into his world and was about to make everything worse. Whatever it was, the whole flow of his world seemed wrong somehow, and he just wished it hadn't happened. Things were already complicated enough without whatever it was stepping in and ruining his day further. 'Now what?' he thought to himself, as a cold sensation washed over his whole body and ending at the tips of his fingers, as that feeling that had changed everything got closer. 'Just go away!'

Looking down at his hands, Max could see small little energy sparks building under his skin. The more anxious he felt, the more the energy built. If something bad happened, Max didn't think he would be able to control it. "Maybe we should get out of this cargo bay," Max finally said to Adonis, as he took deep long breathes to try and calm himself down. "I don't like this place, and I have a feeling something bad is going to happen if we stay."

Adonis Angelis IV

 

[Adonis Angelis IV]

Well, that was that. If Max had never lifted a blaster up before, it would be irresponsible to have him try now. Being a well enough trained soldier, Adonis would be able to take care of both of them anyways. He just needed to find a better gun first. There would have to be a footlocker nearby that would have something. If all else failed, Adonis did still have the Force on his side. He would just have to hope that whoever was helping their dear friend Cord didn’t have knowledge in the Force as well. While he was learning quickly with the Jedi, he still hadn’t maintained a firm grip over many powers outside of the push and pull lessons. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get out of here alive. I’ll deal with the guns, you deal with any security issues we come across.” This wasn’t going to be an easy assignment, but Adonis had faith the two of them would be able to come out of it alive.

It was now set in stone, they were actively working against their demise and Cord himself. The typically gun-ho Adonis found himself feeling a little perturbed at the situation they were in still. If Cord had any higher ups, Adonis and Max might find themselves in his benefactor’s crosshairs. The Alliance didn’t typically do much to help get their soldiers out of personal issues, citing it was often more dangerous for an official military to get involved with the likes of criminals. Even if it were to save a soldier. However, if Adonis was acting as military and happened to start any issues with a foreign power, he could even face criminal charges. Still, he was too stubborn to listen to that, feeling as though stopping evil in the galaxy was beyond any government or politics in general. Whatever they got themselves into they would have to deal with together.

“So then, we have a plan. We need to stay as inconspicuous as possible, but we need to try to find something to help us take down the three people separating us from getting off this pile of junk.” He kept his voice confident, not wanting to instill any fear in Max. If he hadn’t even held a blaster before, it was likely this was his first or one of his first high pressure, life or death situations. “Or, if you feel more comfortable, we can try to sneak our way out, but I have to worn you, I'm not very good at sneaking.” Max would likely have to slice into the security to grant them the ability to leave, which would bring the attention of Cord and his allies anyways. It would be a matter of speed to get out of the ship before they were able to train the guns on the outside to blast the U-wing out of the sky.

As soon as Adonis said that, a shiver slithered down his spine. He could feel the same dark presence Max did. There was a sudden air of dread that sifted into the cargo bay, turning Adonis’s face to a grimace. He didn’t want to stick around to long enough to find out what the source of the evil was. The sinister presence wasn’t the only thing that Adonis noticed however. There was a subtle shift in the Force, a tug at Adonis’s stomach, and it was coming from Max. The fact that Max was Force sensitive added a whole other context to their current mission. If Max were able to harness his Force abilities, he would be able to defend himself better if push came to shove. It gave Adonis a sense of relief, and a sense of hope. The galaxy could always use more good people who knew how to use the Force.

“I agree.” He paused, giving another look around the room. He was unable to shake the uncomfortable feeling they weren’t alone. “We need to get to that ship as soon as possible. I’m done with these creeps.” Adonis’s tone was a little more worried this time, a crack in his composed demeanor. He took his hidden blaster from his belt, setting it from stun to kill in preparation for their objective. They probably didn’t have long until Cord and his grunts got through their security. It was time to put both of their abilities to the test.

“Adonis, Max… we see you.” The warning rang over the comms on the ship. This time the voice didn’t sound like Cord, it sounded much grittier, like sandpaper on your skin.

Max Wayne

 

[Max Wayne]

Sneaking around Max could do, he had grown up in the lower city of Coruscant which meant he had learned young and early how to fit into small spaces and get around unnoticed. Blue was already sending him a rough layout of the ship which meant he had a map, and the com unit could probably fill in the rest of the details for him with its built-in scanners. Reaching down to the unit again, Max set about downloading any information he could about the ship and where that u-wing was located. The one good thing about this ancient flying trash can was its modular design. It was simply built with straightforward corridors, service systems running in parallel, and basic modular designs. Nothing aboard this ship was beyond what Max was already familiar with, and he would easily be able to slice past its rudimentary security systems.

"We..." Max started to say when the voice boomed out across the com system, breaking all of Max's train of thought.

“Adonis, Max… we see you.” Max wanted to yelp with both surprise and fear as the new voice sounded over the com system bouncing off the bulkheads of the cargo bay, but he was able to hold it in instead. The voice was grating and caused Max's ear the twinge uncomfortably. 'Maybe there is a fault in the PA system,' Max thought to himself instead, rather than concentrate on the fear that was well in his chest.

Quickly looking down at the comm unit again, Max realized that whoever was talking to them had overcome his jamming signal, reactivating the internal surveillance system, and much quicker than Max would have guessed. This new player to what game they had been pulled into was much smarter than Cord. Maybe it was Cord's boss, the mastermind behind this whole messed-up situation.

"I'm sorry," Max whispered to Adonis, making sure the other man could hear him. "It looks like whoever this is, they have undone my jamming."

Max wanted to kick himself, he should have set up a rotating adaptive jamming signal. He hadn't thought Cord was smart enough to overcome the more basic one he had quickly set up. He didn't even think the droids aboard were up to the challenge, well not this quickly anyway. He thought he would have more time. He needed to be quicker, he needed to be smarter. Adonis was counting on him to take care of the security systems and computers aboard this rust bucket, and he didn't want to disappoint his new friend or worse get him killed because Max wasn't smart enough.

As Max was about to suggest to Adonis that they make a break for it, Blue made a chirping sound on their private channel. "Well that is interesting," Max said aloud more to himself than to Blue or to Adonis. BLue had sent him an update on the ship's schematics. It looked like there was an airlock nearby with not only space suits for two, but also what appeared to be a weapons locker. "Umm..." Max mumbled softly. "I think I know where to go from here." Max handed out his datapad to Adonis which showed the airlock, hopefully, the surveillance system wouldn't catch on to what he was showing Adonis.

Adonis Angelis IV