Private Money ain't cheap

[Riley Reese]

"Almost got it...." cybernetic fingers barely grazed the bolt, causing it to wobble as if taunting her. Said bolt was a runaway that had escaped into the smaller spaces of the shuttle. Now the escapee was cornered and close to capture. "Come on...." Fingers brushed the bolt just enough to roll it forward and.. "Got it!" Riley sat up on her knees, holding the rogue bolt in her hands. The small victories were sometimes the best.

The loose bolt made its way back with the others that held a hydraulic hose in place. Normally dropping a single bolt wouldn't be a problem, just one more thing to add to the list. A list that was a parsec long and growing. The mounting cost was another painful issue, enough so that their shuttle, and all its rogue bolts, was grounded due to lack of fuel. What the twins needed was a job, which was easier said than done considering how specific their job skills were. Mercenaries and medics were in high demand these days, but the pay wasn't exactly the best. Especially in the backwater planets they tended to find themselves in.

Riley entered the common room and sat down at the table. "Well, that's done. Almost lost a bolt to the ship." She glanced down at her cybernetics. They were definitely starting to show signs of wear and tear. They needed fixed, but they didn't have the credits for it now. Her attention turned back to Laura. "So, any luck on your end?"

Laura Reese

 

[Laura Reese]

Laura was busy combing through the holonet in search of something for them to do, just to scrape some cash together. Juggling her studies, duties and a job was going to be difficult, but it was a better alternative to simply sitting back home. So far she wasn't having any luck. Her green gaze lifted from the screen towards her sister as a smirk started to form. "Imperial tankers usually refer to something called the 'turret monster.' Basically a funky name for small things like nuts and bolts simply disappearing in the tank. I think we might have a 'shuttle monster' on our hands." She joked with a slight chuckle.

Upon enquiry of her progress, Laura sighed and slumped back into her chair. "Nothing whatsoever. Stuff I'm finding will barely cover the fuel, let alone the maintenance. Unless we want to jump into the middle of a warzone, we're gonna have to dig deep." She explained as she massaged her eyes. She only realized how long she was staring at the screen when she glanced down at the time in the corner of the screen, pretty much before Riley got to work on the ship.

She glanced up at her twin for a moment, studying the weathering on her arms. "You want me to spray paint them?" She teased as she turned to face her. "Don't you have any contacts or someone you can talk to? Don't mercenaries usually meet a bunch of useful people?" It was a rather ignorant question, but Laura was trying to think of anything that could get the job done. Rising from her seat, she gave Riley's shoulder a squeeze as she went to the kitchen. "You want some caf?" She asked with a smile as she started to prepare a mug for herself.

Riley Reese

 

[Riley Reese]

"Well this shuttle monster is consuming more then just nuts and bolts. Fuel seems to be its favorite thing." And consume it did. Within the past few weeks, the shuttle had devoured most of their funds at a frightening pace. Credits were hard to come by at the moment, at least for them anyway, and she'd be damned before she dragged her twin sister into a warzone. "I'm sure we can find something that can keep us away from a warzone. Maybe we cam find a different ship. A lot of old freighters aren't super expensive, probably less then what this thing is worth now. Mining operations are plentiful around here, so we could just haul raw ore." Sure it wasn't the best idea, but it beat some of the alternatives.

Riley shook her head when her twin offered to paint her arms to make them look better. "Thanks but no thanks. I just need to do some maintenance work on them, and....a lot of other repairs. This is just something I've had to deal with for a while." She almost had to bite her lip to keep from cringing when her sister brought up contacts. Yeah, Riley had a few and yeah, one of them had already reached out to her not long after they landed. One that so happened to be on this very planet. Riley gave a nod to Laura at the question. "Yes, I have contacts. Also yes to the cafe." As she spoke, she pulled out some black cloth wrap and slowly began to wrap her arms, starting with the palm of her hand. She had taken to wrapping her prosthetic arms up lately whenever she wasn't wearing armor. Even being free from Arko's grasp and living with all the physical replacements, she still felt self conscious about them. "So...about those contacts. I may have.... heard from one recently. He mentioned a job, not really sure what though. I really wasn't sure about reaching out to him, but given the current state of affairs..."

Laura Reese

 

[Laura Reese]

Laura smitked at the comment, though it wasn't exactly a laughing matter. Money was fine at home, but she tried to avoid living off her... their... parents' money as much as she could. "If we ever get around to it, I'd say we should definitely try and get something easier to keep running." She commented, glancing at her twin. Her sister was right, simple as that. But getting a new ship was going to be a problem if they couldn't get a job first.

While Laura brewed each of them a mug of caf, Riley commented on her contacts. The girl brightened up immediately at the prospect of a job. "Well?! Let's get in contact with him and get moving! At this point anything will do." She beamed with enthusiasm as she set a mug down in front of Riley and carefully lowered back into her chair with her own mug in hand.

"Way I see it, as long as it isn't in a warzone or something really bad like slave trafficking then we can handle it... granted, getting into a war might be a good idea. Will definitely give me some experience for my course." She admitted, taking a careful sip of the steaming brew. "But yeah... let's contact your guy and tell him we're interested in hearing what he has to say." She smiled at her twin with hope in her eyes

Riley Reese

 

[Riley Reese]

There were always worse options, and her sister just named two. Riley knew her contact wasn't into slave trafficking, but he was into something a little less....legal. "Okay, I'll contact him." She pulled a small holotransceiver from her pocket and set it on the table. After a few silent moments, the holo came to life as her contact on the other end answered. The clear image of a Besalisk came into view, his four scar covered arms were folded in front of his chest. His gruff voice came loud and clear across the holo. "Hello, who is this?" He paused for a moment as recognition set in. "Ah, Riley! I was wondering if you were going to get back to me. Was starting to think you'd forgotten."

"Darro, it's been a while. And no, I did forget about you. We've just been busy is all." Riley barely let any emotion show as she talked to Darro. This was business and she had to show her limited training on professionalism. The Besalisk raised an eyebrow. "We? Whose there with you? I didn't hear of you going into business with anyone, not since.." Riley quickly cut him off before he got any further. "I'm not really in business with anyone right now, just trying to make ends meet. Now you said you had a job, what is it?" Darro rubbed his chin as he studied the woman before him. Pushing whatever thoughts he had to the side, he gave a nod. "I do have work, like I said. Although I'd rather talk to you about it in person. I have a workshop just on the other side of town. I'll send the location, and don't worry it'll be worth your time." The image gree fuzzy for a second before cutting out completely. There was a few seconds pause before Riley looked up at Laura. "Well, what do you think?"

Laura Reese

 

[Laura Reese]

As Riley pulled out her holoprojector, Laura took her mug of caf and stepped away to remain out of the call. The last thing she wanted was to make her sister look bad on a business call like this. As the Besalisk came into the picture, Laura quietly sipped at her drink as she listened to him and Riley talk about a job. Overall, things were sounding good for them, though the lack of details was a bit of a concern for her.

When Riley finished up, the girl say back down across from her sister and set her mug down on the table. "Lack of details is a bit odd, but hey! We got a job. And that is good enough for me. Let's get the bits of the ship closed up and get over there." Happy as ever, she rose and gave her sister a quick hug before moving onto where Riley was still busy to help out. Not that she knew much, but she was still willing.

Once things were tied down and bolted back, Laura started the ship up and carefully flew them over to the other part of town, right towards where the Besalisk said he was. Inside, she had a bad feeling about the situation. She wasn't sure what it was, but she couldn't shake it. Though she didn't let it show. This was an opportunity for them, a chance to help her sister get some new cybernetics and for them to get a new ship. That was more than enough reason for Laura to stick with her sister through it all. "And... setting down now." She spoke up, lowering the ship until she finally touched down as gently as she could with the battered ship.

"Let's go meet this guy." She spun her seat around and got up, walking right towards the boarding ramp. Though, she paused when she reached it, turning to wait for Riley to catch up. "I think you should go first. I doubt the dude will be able to take me seriously." She admitted with a nervous chuckle.

Riley Reese

 

[Riley Reese]

Riley stood next to her twin at the top of the boarding ramp. Giving her a small smile, she patted her twin on the shoulder. "You can be more convincing than you believe you are." Her gaze turned back to where Darro was going to meet them. "With Darro....it's more about trust than anything. He kinda trusts me, in a way, so he should at least partially trust you." She started down the ramp, as a thought crossed her mind. "Or maybe it's fear. He might actually be afraid of me."

"Ah, there you are!" Riley looked up to see Darro heading thier way. An anxious smile plastered on his face, while his lower two hands rubbed almost nervousnervously together. "I'm glad you could make it. Uhhh....who..uh..who's this." He gestured to Laura, as his eyes darted between the two taking in the very similar appearance. "This is Laura, my twin sister." There was a moments pause as Darro took in the information. Riley swore she saw him grow a little paler. "I...was unaware you had a sister. That's good, just means there's two of you for the job....two of you..." The Besalisk collected himself before turning and motioning for them to follow. Riley could have sworn she heard him mumble "there's two of them" as he lead the way.

He lead them into the main office of the workshop. A small cluttered room that consisted of a single desk, several chairs and stacks upon stacks of junk. Darro dropped into a chair that protested under his weight, while his four hands began searching under stacks of papers, folders and who knows what. Finally, he found what he was looking for. "Ah! Here it is." He held up a datapad befbefore setting it in front of the twins. Riley picked it up and held it so both her and Laura could read from it. The first thing she noticed was the picture of several beings, all dressed in similar fashion. "What's this?" Darro leaned back in his chair, one set of arms folded behind his head the other resting on his chest. "Spice smugglers, call themselves the Mynocks. I know, not that creative of a name. They rolled into town a few weeks ago and have been causing nothing but problems since." Riley looked at Darro and raised an eyebrow. She knew the Besalisk wasn't exactly a model citizen. In fact, he used to run spice himself, along with stolen ship parts. Which would explain the workshop to be honest. "The use of spice around here isn't uncommon. Most of it is used for medical purposes, crude forms of it anyway. Others use it for pain relief from job injuries and such. All of it is in low doses or diluted to take away most of the side-effects. These Mynocks, however, are selling dirty spice that's been mixed with other substances. Highly addictive with nasty side-effects that have been causing major problems with the locals. The main problem is that we can't tell the difference between the useful stuff and this poison they're pushing. So, that's why you're here. We need these Mynocks to just....dissappear, of you get my meaning."

Riley looked over the data she had been given. These spice smugglers didn't really seem that organized, or large for that matter. Her gaze turned back to Darro. "Why not have the local authorities deal with it? I'm not saying I don't appreciate the offer, but they don't seem like they'd put up much of a fight given their numbers and lack of real organization." The Besalisk gave a nod of understanding. "Because most of the local law enforcement is paid for by the local mining companies. Their business hasn't been effected yet, so they see no reason to intervene. Your payment is coming from locals who are tired of it."

Riley bit her lower lip in thought. This was an easy job, the credits wweren't bad either. Well, technically any credits wasn't bad at the moment. Her thoughts were about her sisters safety. Her cybernetic eyes turned to her twin. "What do you think?"

Laura Reese

 

[Laura Reese]

Laura chuckled at her sister's remark with a shake of her head. "Me? Convincing? I doubt it. But hey, no matter what it is, as long as we get some work and money at the end of this." She spoke gently as she hung back a little to let her sister do the talking. The Besalisk soon emerged, immediately drawing Laura's attention to his nervous look. Maybe he was afraid of Riley. She was rather curious why. Did her sister really have such a reputation? She was obviously a good fighter... but was she that good that a random old contact was afraid of her?

The girl kept quiet as she followed after Riley and the Besalisk. She wouldn't even attempt to look tough, that would simply ruin any and all reputation Riley had. No, all she could do was pay attention and look for anything out of place. Darro led them to his office, where he took a seat at the desk and proceeded to explain the situation to them. The moment 'spice' and 'disappear' quickly had Laura's eyes widen and her heart beating just a little bit quicker. Was he hiring them as hitmen to take out this gang?

"What do you mean by 'disappear'? As in... take them out?" She couldn't stop herself from asking. She regretted it immediately, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

In a twisted way, they'd be doing the people of the area a favour by taking them out. Spice was bad enough already, but to sell cheap knock-off spice to the locals was extremely dangerous. She knew what kind of effects those could have on a person. But... the idea of actually going out to kill a gang, even ones as bad as this, didn't sit right with her. Was the money really worth the lives of a few gangsters who could maybe be helped or even recruited into a better life? The chances were low, but...

"What do you think?"

"We'll take the job." Laura blurted out almost immediately. She looked down at her sister and took a step forward. "We'll take care of 'em for you." She said with a voice devoid of emotion in hopes of appearing way more professional than she really was. Once it was concluded, she walked out with her sister and led her back to the ship for a moment of privacy. "What the kriff?! We're hitmen now?!" She asked her sister with wide eyes and hands in her ginger hair.

She finally didn't need to keep her composure anymore. "The credits are really good, yeah, and we do need the work... but really?!" She continued, stretching her arms out in front of her.

Riley Reese

 

[Riley Reese]

The job itself didn't surprise Riley, considering she had played this game before. No, what surprised her was how fast her sister responded. Her normal, calm and collected twin who liked to think things over, was now jumping at the opportunity for such a job. "We will? I mean...we will." She followed after Laura's retreating figure, leaving Darro scratching his head in mild confusion.

Riley was still thinking about her sisters response and the job ahead, that she scarcely noticed said twins mood change as soon as they boarded their ship. "Being a mercenary isn't exactly a....glamorous job. Sometimes people will ask you to do things that seem to border a morally gray area. Well, depending on what you'd call morally gray anyway." She picked up her blaster carbine from the table and began to check its readiness for the job. "A good number of mercenaries and bounty hunters make their own personal code of sorts. Something to keep them from going to far across the line." Moving from her carbine, she grabbed a few charge packs and attached them to her belt. "These spice smugglers don't really seem like a threat. Just pop a few rounds, maybe wound one of them, and they're more then like...to....start....running."

It was then that she saw the expression on Laura's face and realized the bitterness that she held in her words. Riley stood frozen for a moment, like a child who just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Her eyes went from Laura, to the carbine in her hands, then back to her twin. Slowly, she set the blaster on the table. "I'm a little dense." She tapped her fingers against her leg as she nervousnervously glanced around the room for a moment. "I take it you want to do this differently?"

Laura Reese