Private On the Finding of Pilots and Friends

[Leea Pandac]

Relieved to step out of the rain, Leea barely had a moment to collect her thoughts before she was swept away by the crowds. If she had cared to listen, the Mirialan might have made the observation that the sound of sentience was deafening. Instead, she tuned the seething masses of life out as she turned her eyes upwards, to the signs on the walls and floating in the air. She had a datapad with directions, but the kindly Chiss had quite eccentric handwriting and Leea found it difficult to decipher some of the notes. Nonetheless, she knew she was at least in the right place, or so she assumed. After all, who wouldn't land their starship at a spaceport when expecting to meet someone? Probably not something I want to know the answer to.

Holding the datapad up, Leea smiled to herself as she recognized the vague shapes of the letters. Allowing the crush of people on all sides to carry her towards the far end of the hall, she found it far more difficult to extricate herself from it. Needless to say, there was a great deal of pushing and pulling, squished toes and tentacles, and a shattered valuable or two. Along with this was the cacophony of indignation and quickly spoken apologies as Leea desperately fought against the tide.

Finally squeezing between two squat Gen'dai who filled the air with all manner of expletives as she shoved past them, Leea found herself able to breath properly. The side passage was less travelled, it seemed that this was a less popular section of the spaceport, perhaps it was a bit more on the illicit side. She had been somewhat concerned about the criminal element involved into the job offer, but Leea had decided it was better to have a job, even if it could bring her into direct contact with less reputable beings, than to have no job at all. Especially in this galactic economy!

The handwriting had gotten worse it seemed, Leea wandered around the spaceport at least twice before finding a sign that looked remotely similar, that didn't lead to a refresher. She had passed the entry before, assuming it was a club or something when she saw a Bith enter while walking by the first time. Now she realized it was a dock and she quickly entered. Perhaps the Bith was here for the job too? Do Bith make good pilots? How many others are the-

She rounded a small bend and the ship came into view. It was nothing huge, like the destroyers or cruisers she had served on before. But it was larger than anything she had trained in. Never been too cautious about that stuff before. Why start now? She began to walk towards the ship, still too absorbed in admiring it to notice if there were others waiting to answer the rather unique job offer.

Talohn Atar

 

[Talohn Atar]

It was a Barloz, to be exact. A cargo freighter of sorts. though from the looks of it, it's been modified with an arsenal of weaponry and armor plating to be fitted for combat. It's a well cared for ship, to be certain. There would be two beings outside of it. One of them is a cathar, who she would have likely gotten a picture of in accordance with the job offer. He's busy using a blowtorch to reweld some metal plating onto the ship. He's dressed in what you'd expect, really. A simple brown leather jacket, with a white shirt, jeans, and a pair of black leather boots. He's got a kusak heavy blaster in it's holster on his hip, ready to be drawn in case of trouble.

The second person is atop the ship. A droid, covered in orange and yellow paint. It's human sized, but it's structure is extremely complicated, for certain. From the looks of it, the droid is so flexible and moves in such an organic manner that it could probably do yoga if it wanted to. It bears an uncomfortable resemblance to assassin droids in it's build. Meant to do acrobatics quick maneuvers. It's safe to assume this is the droid she heard in the voice ad. The droid is currently doing the same as Talohn, using a blowtorch to reweld some sort of radio antenna onto the ship instead. They haven't seemed to notice her yet, but she's in the right place.

Leea Pandac

 

[Leea Pandac]

Leea was glad to see the familiar faces working on the ship. After watching the holo numerous times on the flight to the world, the Mirialan reckoned she could recognize the ship owner's features in a crowd. After hearing the droid's somewhat homicidal tendencies, she was unsurprised to find it was very similar to an assassin droid design. She thought it was a fairly aesthetically pleasing shape and colour.

The owner seemed regular enough, in a passing glance, she probably would have assumed there wasn't much special about him, aside from the big gun he was carrying. Leea didn't have any weapon and wore similarly unassuming clothes. Indeed, she was garbed in grey streetwear that would have appeared unremarkable on all but the most extravagant or backwards of worlds.

Not wanting to be caught gawking, Leea shook herself and stepped towards the freighter. Raising her voice to be heard over the general din of their labours, she called out, "Hey, are you Talohn? I heard you're looking for a pilot."

Talohn Atar

 

[Talohn Atar]

Talohn looks up from his work, though the droid pays her no mind, not having a care in the world as it welds that metal. Talohn, pausing for a moment to unstrap that water bottle from his hip and take a long drink, finally speaks up after setting the water bottle aside. "Indeed I am." He chuckles nervously. "Sorry about that mess of an ad, by the way. So, you're a pilot then? Any previous careers? Or are you fresh out of some sort of training?" He questions, gesturing to the ramp of his ship. "Come on inside, we can talk over lunch if you want. We have some leftover stew. Do you like hot chocolate by chance? I don't do coffee." He says, now making his way up the ramp and into the ship. Seems the rest of the talking would be in there.

(sorry for short post)

Leea Pandac

 

[Leea Pandac]

"Thanks, something in the food here just doesn't agree with me. And hot chocolate would be a nice change of pace." She followed her potential employer up the ramp and into the bowels of the starship. To say the ship was large was itself an understatement. It was no space trawler or battle cruiser, but it was a large ship, and it was made all the larger by the Mirialan's realization she might be piloting the thing. Then again, it shouldn't be too hard, just not as agile as a fighter, but we shouldn't need it for that sort of thing.

"Very nice ship. How long have you had her?" Honestly, Leea did not know enough about starships to say definitely whether this was a good ship or not, but it looked better than others she had seen, and so she made what judgement calls she could. Although the fact they were welding more plating on the outside suggested it might be a little worse for wear.

Leea gave a nervous smile when asked about her previous piloting experience, trying to keep her voice steady and calm she replied, "I've had about 100 hours on sims, scored highest in my group." Of course, those were fighter simulators, and my group was three people in my age bracket. But hey, my instructor said I had promise...

Talohn Atar
(No problem)

 

[Talohn Atar]

The ship is certainly spacious, she would find upon entering. Such is expected of a converted cargo ship. The main area serves as a sort of general purpose area, split up into four quarters. One corner of the room is a kitchen where they make their food, and the corner adjacent to that side of the room is a sort of living room area, even has a booth built into the wall with a table that has a holographic chess game, along with a holonet television of sorts. Then there's the third corner, a medical area that's decently stocked with supplies. It even has a bacta tank built into the wall. The final corner is an absolute mess, though from the looks of it, with the parts and tools scattered about on the large tables and racks, it's the workshop, where Madlad and Talohn make and fix their gear.

From this main room, one can access the cockpit from the far end. Then the sides lead to the four different rooms, all of them for residential purposes. Monari's room is decorated with all the tech and junk she's collected that she personally likes, along with all the other amenities She would need. Talohn has made sure she's got everything she needs in the room. Though it's a bit messy, with toys and tech spread around. It's easy to tell which one is Madlad's room. It's covered in weird carvings of code on the wall, she might even spot some in ancient sith. Creepy. That room doesn't contain a bed, exactly. It's more of a metal table with a recharge station upon it, that also serves as an operation table for repairs. Talohn's room is messy, souvenirs on shelves, weapons of various sorts leaning on the walls, bed unmade, an empty bowl of soup sitting beside a holopad laptop that has some sort of turn based strategy game still playing on it. His room screams 'I am 20 and have no idea what I'm fucking doing'. The final room is barren, with a neatly made bed. Looks like it hasn't been touched in a while.

The kid, Monari, seems preoccupied with working on a tiny pen, some sort of tech judging by the toos she's using. But she takes a second to wave.

"Feel free to look around, just don't go into the droid's room." Talohn says as he takes a stew pot out of the fridge, placing it on the burner. He then starts making hot chocolate, getting out the powder, and three glasses. A pot of milk is also being warmed up on the burner it seems. "So you don't have uh...actual flight experience? Well, I believe in learning on the job. Kid, you wanna get this job? Get in the cockpit, and fly us through that nearby asteroid field without a scratch. You pull it off, job is yours. Sound like a deal?"

Leea Pandac

 

[Leea Pandac]

It was an intriguing tour and Leea, though preoccupied with the sheer monstrous size of the ship, tried to memorize each of the rooms and their occupants. The last thing she wanted, assuming she got the job, was to open the wrong doors at a bad time. She was enheartened to see the variety of the crew, but also the state of general disarray. The nagging concern this was a highly professional and coordinated job, lessened considerably although it did not entirely evaporate.

As they past Monari, Leea returned the wave with a smile, hoping they would come to be friends. Certainly, she hoped to be on good terms with everyone on the ship, although she had reservations about the droid. Its room had been odd to say the least; the various runes and carvings on the wall of its rooms had no meaning to her, but the uncanniness of its personalization put her a bit on edge. Talohn's room helped to emphasize his reality as a regular person, which gave Leea no small amount of relief. Seeing the little tinkerer reminded Leea of a question she had been pondering for quite some time on the flights here.

"Did you manage to get the creature to the airlock?" It was a question edged with a tinge of humor, the Mirialan hoped to break some of the ice and become a bit more familiar with the individual she would be working alongside, or under... she was still a little uncertain on how the piloting would work as far as command heirarchy. She was accustomed to the rigid structures of military groups but had grown up on holovids of spacers usually having a more of an egalitarian view on leadership. However, it did not make too much of a difference to Leea. She was here to fly a ship, and that she would do.

As Talohn started preparing the stew and beverage, Leea bobbed her head in acknowledgement of his warning. There was a childlike wonder in her eyes with his apparent nonchalantness about the hot chocolate. The young near-human had assumed that the Cathar had been jesting, or at the very least would have used some substitute, but there sat a jar of powdered chocolate. The treat had always been a luxury in her family growing up, Leea could count the occasions she had been able to enjoy the real thing on one hand. Realizing she had been staring, Leea shook herself lightly, a movement that could easily be mistaken for a shiver. She was pleased when it seemed Talohn had not spoken too much during her little reverie. However, the question that followed all but removed the delicacy from her mind.

Leea gave a wan smile to the question of her experience, her cheeks taking on a slight gray tinge as she blushed. Releasing a breath she had been unconsciously holding, Leea exhaled slowly and quietly in relief as it seemed her inexperience was not an automatic excluder. As the taller humanoid continued though, Leea quickly felt her breath catch. This test was a bit more extreme than she would have anticipated for a first flight, but then again perhaps that was on purpose.

Putting on as confident a tone as she could manage, Leea replied, "Sounds fine by me. When would you like to start?"

Talohn Atar

 

[Talohn Atar]

It was obvious Talohn was on the more well off side of the mercenary population, considering he's got real chocolate. He pours the powder into that mile which is warming up on the stove. He freezes as she asks him about the horrid creature. "Uhm..uh...no. Speaking of." He taps the datapad on his wrist, pulling up a communicator. "Madlad, when you're back inside, make sure you weld the vents shut." He chuckles nervously. He then goes back to stirring the hot chocolate into three different cups. He proceeds to do the same with the stew, pouring it into three different bowls. He then proceeds to carry the hot chocolate and stew bowl over to Monari, and place it on the workshop table beside her. She giggles as he playfully ruffles her hair.

With the child fed, he heads back over to Leea, picking up their food and drinks along the way. He places the hot chocolate and soup down on the table, and gestures for her to sit down before doing the same with his food across from her. "We can do the test after you eat. Can't do such things on an empty stomach." He chuckles. "Tell me about yourself while we eat. I'd like to know the person who will be flying my ship. More than just skill specifications. Where are ya from and all that." He smiles. "I spent the first years of my life on cathar. Not much of a surprise, I know." He has the slight catharese accent. "Careful with the stew by the way, I might have gone a bit heavy on the spices. Has a sort of peppery kick to it."

Leea Pandac

 

[Leea Pandac]

Leea took the none to subtle hint as Talohn spoke with his droid. So, keep the vent in the cockpit closed... not to mention my room! Maybe there would need to be a hunt for that thing. Or use some poison gas in the vents. That's a bit messy, though, hard to get the smell out.

The Mirialan smiled to herself; Monari was an interesting child. Unlike anything she had seen before, not that she had much experience in the greater galaxy and its myriad of species. Wonder who the mother is? Perhaps a question for another time. Probing into close familial matters was a bit personal for a first meeting.

She followed the Cathar as he brought the food and drink over to a table. "Thank you." She replied both to his decision on the test time and his generosity. Settling into a seat, she sipped at the hot chocolate, savouring its rich and exotic flavour. Allowing it to sink in for a moment, she cradled the cup in her hands, shifting her fingers to avoid the hottest parts. She nodded about the stew; she'd get to it soon enough.

"Makeb, that's where I'm from." There was a pause, and Leea took another sip of her drink while she tried to decide what to say next. Finding her words, the near-human placed her cup on the table and spoke, her hands moving animatedly, "Haven't been there in a while though. I was signed up in the local militia pretty young, fifteen sixteen-ish. After that? I don't know, something happened, and suddenly I was being deployed proper. Kind of just thrust into the galaxy."

This thought seemed to catch her attention, and Leea dropped her gaze to the stew. Thoughtfully, she pulled the bowl closer and lifted a spoonful of the food. "Yeah, that's kind of the interesting part. Well, except for the battles and the sides. I've been put into five different armies in the past year. I didn't know the names of half the planets I ended up on." She felt her hunger dissipating but knew from experience it would be back once she sat in the pilot's seat. Leea poured the spoon's contents into her mouth and immediately felt the spice she had been warned about. Fortunately, she didn't cough, but her eyes watered, and she breathed heavily out her nose as she managed to gulp the spicy morsel down. Repressing another cough, she wheezed slightly as she continued, "I decided- I decided I was done after a close call on some jungle world. Ended up here."

Allowing her emotions to settle, the young sentient began to eat her stew with more tenacity. In between bites, she asked, "So how did you end up with this? Seems a pretty far throw from Cathar."

Talohn Atar

 

[Talohn Atar]

He nods, listening to her experience. "A bit young to be going to war for sure. I've never really been in any wars. The mercenary crew I joined when leaving cathar did their best to remain neutral. We mostly chased down criminals and such." He takes a bite of that very stew she just wheezed over, not even fazed by the spice. He then proceeds to take a sip of hot chocolate. "These days, I'm with the enclave. Mandalorian group. Good folk. It's always nice to have fellow mercs to fall back on." He sighs a little, pursing his lips. "I'm sorry about what you seem to have gone through. War is where the old and the angry trick the young and the naïve into killing eachother."

When she asks him about how he ended up so far from cathar, he chuckles a bit. "When I was a kiddo, in My catharese tribe, I craved...more. Looked up at the stars. The typical story. When I was...I wanna say...19 or so. Mercenary crew stopped in our village. Landed there with a corvette. Biggest ship I'd ever seen. I said goodbye to my parents, and convinced the mercs to take me with them. They taught me everything I know. I went off on my own at around 26 I think, did merc work on corellia for a few years before I got chased off the planet for an...incident." He coughs.

It's just then that the metal footsteps of that ever intimidating droid can be heard entering the ship, clanging on the metal floor. The terrifying yet lean creature of a droid speaks as it passes them to head over to one of the workbenches. "Personally, I believe Talohn left cathar because he's had a craving for Lethan, red twi'leks, ever since he was born. Poor bastard has a sickness." The droid states, rummaging around in a box. At that moment, Monari speaks up. "Droid's got a point."

Talohn peers between the two. baring his teeth a little. It's a bit intimidating due to those large incisors. He could probably rip off the average person's hand. Though it's obvious due to the way his eyebrows are positioned that this is an expression of confusion, not rage. His gaze flickers between the two. "Wha- why? What do I do to deserve this? Yeesh." With a shake of his head, he looks back to Leea. "Anyways-uh....sorry about that interru-" His words are once again cut off by metal footsteps approaching the table. Leea would find that droid towering over her in her seat, it's gaze set on her as it peers down with that single glowing white camera lens esque eye. "Head about the test..... I find motivation is always key." It says in a dark tone. God that's ominous. Just before she can come to the conclusion the droid is about to do something monstrous, it puts three beskar ingots on the table. "This is your pay for the week, in advance, if you pass."

Talohn pinches his brow. "Please don't scare people like that."

"No." The droid counters simply, heading off to disappear into it's room.

Leea Pandac

 

[Leea Pandac]

Leea shrugged at his sympathies. It was something she had picked up from other 'veterans' in an attempt to come to terms with what had happened. The wars had been a part of her life, no real chance of changing that. Without them, she wouldn't have ended up here at this very moment. The Mirialan tried to avoid thinking about what could have been, there was too much pain following the road of 'what if.' Nonetheless, Leea agreed with the sentiment. More importantly, she appreciated his concern, even if it was perfunctory rather than sincere; she had learned the two were often difficult to tell apart.

Now aware of what to expect, Leea began readily partaking in her stew. Savouring the exotic flavour, it was quite different from the rations she had basically survived off of for years, she would occasionally take a sip of the hot chocolate. As the beverage cooled though, she began to take drinks more often, lest it lose all of its warmth. Talohn's story was far more impressive, reminding Leea of holojournals she had read back on Makeb. She listened with rapt attention as the history unfolded.

As he concluded Leea was about to question for further details when the echoing thump of the droid drew her attention to the tall robot. It spoke and the near-human blinked, momentarily uncertain what to make of its claim about Talohn's tendencies. Before she could decide how to respond though, Monari added her corroboration and Leea glanced towards her host and caught his shocked face. She held back a question, though she desperately wanted to ask what the impetus was for that particular display.

It turned out the droid had not finished though and Leea turned to face it as it came to her side. As it spoke, Leea found its dead and emotionless tone disturbing, let alone the content and implications of its message. Kriff this thing. This was a situation too close to an interrogation she had been trapped in and Leea fought her instincts. She barely managed to contain the urge to fall back in her chair and roll away from it. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the droid placed the ingots and disappeared, leaving Leea in a near breakdown. Heart pounding, veins pumping with adrenaline, she slowly turned her head, centimetre by centimetre until she faced forward.

Raising a shaky hand to the metal ingots, she tapped it with a raised eyebrow and words left her mouth in a low, hoarse, whisper. "Is that... usual for him? And what is this?"

Even as she spoke, Leea began to see the humour in the situation, although it was a bit much for her nerves. She tried to smile, knowing that she would get better at taking this. And who knows, maybe the droid will need to be dealt with if it goes rogue. Just need to remember to keep a pistol under my pillow. Something that works on droids, as well as whatever that thing, is in the vents.

Talohn Atar

 

[Talohn Atar]

"Unfortunately it is normal for new crewmates. It is Madlad's personal belief that if you can face him down without running, you're brave enough to face battle. Other than that, he meant no harm." He sighs ever so slightly. "If you're gonna be in the crew, you should probably know the truth about Madlad. I made him when I was 19....20 years old? Either way, I fucked up the mental processing so bad that it circled right back around to making my creation sentient. Just as alive as you or I. He's no average droid, he's just as alive as you or I. Did every sentience test there is, he passed them all with ease. Along with the glitch that made him sentient came a terrifying amount of bloodlust. He could give a sith a run for their money. Don't worry though, we are in no danger from him. Though in hand to hand combat, don't watch him fight if you want to keep an appetite." He sighs, sighing a bit.

When she asks what the metal is before you, he raises a brow. Picking up one of the ingots, he holds it up so it shines, reflecting the light from the bulb that's above the table. "This, Leea, is genuine beskar. It's my job as part of the enclave to track this stuff down. But I get some jurisdiction in regards to what I do with it. Since I'm a bit low on credits, this beskar will be your pay. Told you this job pays well." He states, placing down the ingot before her again.

Leea Pandac

 

[Leea Pandac]

As the Cathar explained, Leea began to calm down enough her hands stopped shaking. Not exactly stopped, but they shivered only slightly. At least she was able to continue carefully eating her food. The flavour was definitely not growing on her, but it was interesting and that was enough to keep her mind alert. She did not want to be surprised by Madlad again, even with Talohn's assurance of her safety. In between spoon fulls of food, she queried, "That means you've had it around for six or so years now? Why didn't you get rid of the droid when it started showing... well bloodlust?"

She eyed the metal with no small amount of interest. She knew what beskar was, hell half the galaxy knew the way the Mandalorians bragged about it. It was hard to go anywhere in the galaxy without running across a mandalorian mercenary or exile that sported some piece of equipment coated or made of the stuff. Yet for all that commonality, the material was still practically a legend. The Cathar was quite right, this was a well paying job. Between the payments being in a highly valued material, there were the perks of being in a crew to consider. Safety, a ship to live in, relatively cheap galactic travel. "Does the ship have a medical bay, or does someone here take care of that? I imagine you get injured pretty often in the field?" She began to scrape the final bits of the stew out of the bowl with gentle motions. Leea was not a big fan of scratching metal on metal.

Talohn Atar

 

[Talohn Atar]

"Because I've run the tests. For all those bloodlusting tendencies....He still feels compassion, friendship, brotherhood. He's stuck by my side faithfully since the day I made him. He's got flaws, but at the end of the day, he cares and has our backs, yours included. You can question the droid's sanity, but not his loyalty. "Plus, it's wrong to just...throw away another sentient being, mechanical or not. He'll grow on you, I promise." He states reassuringly. She may notice over by the workshop, the child and the droid are conversing about circuits just fine, the child not seeming scared at all.

"Ship's got a medical bay." He states, pointing to the kalto tank they have installed in one of the corners of the room, beside it being a table with all the assorted medical needs. "We do need a doctor though. The injuries aren't too often thanks to beskar armor, but it's certainly bad when something is actually powerful enough to break through it. I'll be getting a bigger ship soon. Talking with some contacts. It'll be big enough for us all to have our own rooms and more. Going for corvette class, it's gotten a bit too cramped in here."

Leea Pandac

 

[Leea Pandac]

"That seems reasonable." Leea had not given much thought to droids as sentient beings. Perhaps it was an oversight on her part. Maybe. We will see.

The Mirialan shook gently from side to side as she finished the last of the food in her bowl. Good, if anyone gets hurt there's a better chance of getting care. Leea was not trained in medicine, at least beyond the basics of fieldcraft that was more intended to help a person survive an injury long enough to reach a corpsman. She hoped it wouldn't be necessary, it had been a long time since she had used those skills. It had been a long time since an ally had been injured in combat, rather than outright killed.

Really? This is cramped? Leea was still adjusting to the sheer size and here was Talohn suggesting that it was getting small! She nonetheless gave a mute smile and nodded. "Might be a bit more difficult to fly compared to this though?" She recalled a conversation with a fighter pilot during a campaign on a desert world.

The pilot had been quite confident in the little atmospheric fighter and claimed she could handle a starfighter with little difficulty. But anything larger than a medium freighter was far beyond anything she knew about piloting. The larger craft required a different style of flight. Leea had been hoping to follow in that pilot's footsteps, or ion trails as the pilots had put it, but it had never really worked out. But now it seemed Leea had the opportunity, and sentient promised herself she wouldn't mess it up.

Placing the empty bowl onto the table, she gave a careful nod. "I think I'll be ready though." She made a mental note to start reading up on manuals for corvettes in case she would be expected to fly one solo. Noticing the other two working together she whispered a question, "Do they usually make jokes at your expense like that?" She assumed it was a joke, though perhaps a moment or two more of thought might have led her to the idea it was truth rather than fiction.

Talohn Atar

 

[Talohn Atar]

Talohn shrugs. "We all give eachother shit. It's part of being in a family. Don't worry, you'll get used to it." He says reassuringly. He notices her food is done, and nods slightly. "Seems you're ready for the test. Come on then." With that, eh stands up, leading leea to the front of the ship. The front is a typical cockpit with two seats, with all the assorted buttons and knobs, with a few high tech touch screens and holograms from denon that show off fuel and speed levels. Overall, it's certainly nice and roomy, obviously heavily customized by the owner.

Talohn sits beside her. Though instead of telling her what to do, he waits to see what she does. "Oh yea, start switch is the chair lever beside your left hand." He points out since that's an unusual ship design choice. But he then goes silent. This is her test. the chance to show him what she's got. The asteroid field is easily in view outside of the hangar he's currently landed in. Time to see what she can do.

Leea Pandac

 

[Leea Pandac]

As they stepped into the pilot cabin, Leea was surprised at the many colorful screens and displays. Within the cockpit, switches and knobs seemed to surround the pilot and co-pilot chairs. Very quickly the aspiring pilot found herself somewhat lost. Her eyes roved as her mind desperately racked her memory to identify the particular controls she would need. Occasionally, she turned her head, trying to make it look like she was somewhat confident and taking in the sight.

As she sat into the pilot chair, a surprisingly comfortable affair compared to the more restraint filled variant required for fighter pilots, Leea instinctively reached for a nonexistent center stick. After a moment of fright, she realized this ship had a control yoke, much more like driving a grav vehicle than a starfighter. Her feet did find the accustomed controls, but they were somewhat further away than she would have preferred. She gazed over the chair, finding the adjustment controls a few moments later. With a grunt and some pushing, Leea felt the chair was in a comfortable position. She settled into the seat and pulled the safety webbing until it was tight and secure. It felt odd to her to only have one restraint, rather than several. It's just not quite as safe huh...

The Mirialan reached for the switch as Talohn Atar explained its unique location. "Thanks." She replied off-handedly, her mind focused on the task at hand. Flipping the switch, she brought both hands to the yoke and listened to the engines come to life. This vessel had a far deeper, stronger rumble to it than the fighters she was accustomed to. Leea had no doubt the engines were capable of backing the sound and she reminded herself to take it gently. Her brain began the pre-flight check, belatedly she remembered this should have been done before she hit the ignition and her cheeks took on a gray hue as she blushed. Is that a fail right there? Did he notice? Maybe I should tell him right away. What did I think I was doing? This is foolish...

Leea shook her head, willing the thoughts out of her mind as she took a breath. A calm veil fell as she resolved to continue and succeed. Forcing her conscious mind to stop, the veteran allowed her muscle memory to take over. The controls were in slightly different places than she was used to, but it was close enough that she only needed to occasionally glance and doublecheck her movements. Concluding the preflight she glanced towards her potential boss and suggested, "You might want to let the other two know to take a seat or something. This might get bumpy."

Allowing a few moments her eyes locked outside the viewport. Watching the asteroids slowly hover by, the Mirialan began to feel the tempo of space. It was an experience she had never had before, indeed none of the training runs had been in a real fighter and perhaps that had been the difference. Like some internal computer, she felt like she could tell where the asteroids were and where they would be a few seconds later. "And here we go." With a tentative pull, the craft lifted from the platform and began to hover for a moment, jerking slightly now and again as Leea adjusted her grip on the yoke.

At last comfortable, or as close as was possible in her adrenaline-fueled state, Leea nudged the starship forward until its bow left the hangar and the rest soon followed. As it drifted towards the asteroid field, the young pilot glanced again at the intended target. Empty space just beyond the field, a terrifying sight to one conditioned to flying ships without hyperspace capabilities. To be lost in the depths of space, doomed to a slow death by any number of unpleasant methods, was something she had remembered fearing deeply. But now her mind was that of a machine, without emotion or care beyond the simple mechanics of moving.

Begin. The word entered her mind unbidden even as she pushed the throttle and twisted the controls to put the ship in a gentle, if rushed, curve around the first asteroid. Nosing the craft upwards she traversed the rocky surface obliquely. Passing it, she found several smaller flotsam in her path and she twitched her hand slightly to put the craft back into a more manageable acceleration. Zigging through the moving stones, Leea threw the yoke sideways as a small rock flew by. A sense warned her of something unnoticed and having learned from her battles to trust the instinct, she pushed down, dropping the ship into a steep dive. The Mirialan dared not take her eyes off the view, and could not tell if anything had been there, but it hardly mattered now, seconds later.

The time passed swiftly, and Leea could not pierce the fog surrounding her memories. As the ship pulled through an unnecessarily complex spin, she found they were in clear space, asteroids all behind. It was only after the feeling of elation rushed through her, when Leea realized she was panting and her brow had knitted into a tight knot. Haven't felt this since that time on Dubrillion. Feels.... good. Her blood was on fire and she felt like her whole body was ready for anything. Her senses seemed on overdrive, she could almost taste the synthetic material that covered her chair, and the stars outside the cockpit glowed luminously like great motes of light. She smirked to herself, almost forgetting she had a person beside her and that she was actually here on a job.

Barely managing to conceal her surprise, though she failed to restrain the flinch that burst from her. Words tumbled from her breathless lips, remaining only marginally comprehensible, "Houw wa-as that-t?"

 

[Talohn Atar]

Talohn sits there, calm as can be the entire time as she weaves through those asteroids, even with a few narrow misses, he doesn't even flinch. After they're finally cleared of the field, his gaze turns to her as she asks the question, and he simply responds with a grin. He reaches out to pat her shoulder. "Follow me, kiddo." He stands up from his seat, not even dizzy from what they just went through somehow, and he makes his way back into the living area.

He leads her to the empty guest room, and gesture to it. "This'll be your room, for now. Don't get too comfy. You'll likely have a bigger and better one when the new ship gets here. For now..." He holds out the stack of beskar that was offered earlier. "Welcome aboard, Leea. I'd give you some armor....But I am bound by creed not to give non mandalorians stuff like that. Hell, even the beskar is pushing it a bit. Though, if you ever feel the want to join a clan....I could pull some strings."

Leea Pandac

 

[Leea Pandac]

It took a long moment of uneven breathing for Leea to find the strength to stand and follow. The Mirialan beamed tiredly in response to Talohn's grin. She was surprised at how drained she felt; even so, the self-proven pilot felt confident and indeed overjoyed at her accomplishment. It appeared that the Cathar was far more accustomed to this sort of thing, being seemingly unphased by the cosmo-acrobatics. It impressed Leea, even if she had suspected he would be ready for anything she could handle.

Somehow surprised, she was all too glad to see the room now officially given over to herself. The scenario reminded her of times in the past, hazing or tests conducted to prove if she was ready, oftentimes these would end with her induction to a room or bunk of her own. This was different though, perhaps more personal. This wasn't the perfunctory actions of a greater war machine, it was the simple gesture and generosity of an employer, maybe to become an ally or better yet a friend. Those are in short supply. The taller sentient warned her not to get comfortable, that would be a tall order for the veteran more accustomed to the confined personal space of field quarters.

She accepted the beskar, and although the metal had some monetary value she could comprehend, it was the social value that struck her as he explained a small part of the Mandalorian belief. "Thank you. I will... consider it." The young woman barely managed to restrain herself from hugging the fuzzy bounty hunter, though one of her arms began to rise in the motion. Awkwardly, she pulled the hand up behind her head for a moment before dropping and extending it for a shake.

Come on Lee, think of something to say. You've finally found a place and now you're bloody well tongue-tied? Managing to blurt out some more, "I hope I'll live up to your expectations and... trust." Then, as if some final piece dawned on her, worriedly asked, "Are your friends okay? That might have been a bit rough."

Talohn Atar