Pirate Hunting; Tortuga Station

[Jada Raxis]

​

She was three days into the expedition. A recent raid near Dagobah had prompted her to come out of her hiding, and seek and destroy. Pirates, they were her worst enemy. Only the lowliest life forms in the Galaxy preyed upon the weak in space. It was a travesty.

Her Jast 1 cut the stars at the speed of light. She reached down and flipped a series of switches as the stars streaked by. The super fast freighter slammed to a halt, inertial compensators straining as she jolted back to real-space.

Up ahead was Tortuga Station. A very old and secretive den of scum and villainy. She intended to infiltrate that den, and bring to justice the beings that had committed such a gross atrocity.

She flipped another lever, sending the vessel to full burn. She leaned back in the seat, pinned by the G forces as the small Freighter dipped, weaved and then engaged its drive core full blast. A stream of white Ion radiation trailed her like a tracer bullet as she rocketed in to port.

The engines had been dialed down to burn dirty, leaving a radiation plume that would look like a damaged Pirate vessel.

She'd even scrubbed her own transponder, and rigged it broadcast a fake ship registration.

"Tortuga Control this is Ardent Hunter, requesting permission to dock."

"..."

"State yur business Hunter. We don't see you anywhere in our approved registry."

"I have spice."

That will get them interested. Greedy slugs.​

"...."

"Ok come on in."

She did a fist pump, as best she could. The newly minted Ardent Hunter blazed into the docking bays on the bottom of the massive station....

 

[Gray Venasir]

Ah, Tortuga Station, a place for pirates, lowlife, drug-addicts, certain mercenaries, and just the general scum of the galaxy. So it was of course kept secret from those who didn't know about it, and those who weren't supposed to know about it, like the authorities. People came there to get of the radar, sell their ill-acquired goods, drink their thoughts away, buy certain illigal stuff, or spend their money on other things.

So of course Gray was among the people permitted on the station. He was nothing like the rest of the people there, far from it. But he was a smuggler, he brought them things from time to time, some things that weren't completly legal, but not so bad that it would make a big difference if the scum on this station had them, or if they were destroyed. Usually, he oppossed people like these, but he had a use for this station: it was perfect for getting information. That was the main reason he traveled there, other than to get away from people that were after him. The information one could get here was good, and it would be hard to find it other places.

The way Gray had found out about this place, was through a pirate he had dealings With. Gray had smuggled alcohol to him, so he could sell it on the black market, and in the process, Gray had been told about the station, and how to safely get permitted there. Once there, he had quickly learned how to behave so as not to be roughed up, thrown out of there, or killed.

But sometimes, Gray had wanted to get some of the People there out of the way. They weren't the Worst of the lowlife that existed, but some of them were bad. He just wished they could have gone through the wrong door, and come to an airlock and be blown out into Space. But it looked like that was too much to hope for. Still, now that he was sitting in one of the cantinas on the station, he could name at least two of the others in the cantina that he wanted this to happen With.

[member="Jada Raxis"]

 

[Melody]

~

~​

Ruby​

​

"Quiet isn't in my nature I'm afraid" the stoic woman said proudly as she exited a smuggler vessel her and her companions had used to board the vessel, then beginning a light jog to the Dark Star cantina. "Besides, I doubt this cesspit will care if a few white coats go missing." Flanking her were a series of conspicuously similar looking individuals, each with matching haircuts, plain armoured suits and teal coloured hair.

"The 'white coats' as you call them will be of no use to me dead."

Ruby smiled, glancing down at her transponder and replying with a pointed tone, "It's a good thing they won't be dead then", then swiftly hanging up on the elusive figure on the other line. Observing her surroundings, it was clear whatever slicer had given her the intel was either lying or never had any intel to begin with. What she had assumed would be an easy abduction was now beginning to complicate itself a lot faster than she had anticipated, spotting several guards who would probably win by brute force if the worst did indeed come to worst.

Still, the thought of simply using her grunts as cannon fodder began to pass her mind. That's the only reason she brought them anyway.

As the thought crossed her mind, she passed the threshold into the Dark Star cantina, then immediately being hit with the scent of various liquors which she was all too acquainted with. Booze. God the thought clung to her brain like glue, prodding and reminding her as she paced towards the obvious target she was looking for; a woman in her late 40s, obscenely coloured platinum hair and a general sense of snobbishness about her. She too appeared intoxicated beyond belief like many others here.

In a swift motion the ruby haired human dashed to her direction, placing a syringe roughly where she thought the correct blood vessel was on the woman and pricking her back. "I think you should come with me." then grappling the scientist's torso with her right arm and dragging her out of sight into one of the small alcoves of the cantina.

~ [member="Gray Venasir"] - [member="Jada Raxis"] ~

 

[Jada Raxis]

[member="Gray Venasir"] [member="Melody"]​

The Dark Star Cantina​

It hadn't taken her too long to find her way here. She had only the symbol of the Grey Claw Pirate crew to by on her hunt. She strolled through the door, clad in a black jacket over a white tee, spacers trousers and boots. The young warden didn't carry a blaster. Too dangerous, and she didn't believe in them. No her weapons of choice were on her hands, shock gloves, a shock boxers weapon.

She swept aside several drunken rodians, neutralizing them in the chaos of the bar with a light touch. Voltage knocked them to the ground, and she was able to be sly and slip by with a concerned look.

She made it to the barkeep, and slammed down a single hundred credit chip.

"Evening."

"Well well! Good evening miss....?"

"You can call me miss Kel. Miss Jor Kell. Tell me have ye heard about the Grey Claws?"

"Hmmm."

She slapped another credit chip down and grinned ear to ear.

"Tell ya what, you get me a drink, I slap a few more of these babies down and maybe you get convinced this is in your best interests."

The Rodian bartender grinned now, or at least what approximated to a grin in their species. He spoke is Hutsee.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

She spoke back, matching the dialect in a low voice.

"I'm sure it is."

"I'm not interested in creds, tell me can you drink?"

She grinned again.

"You're on."

Lights blared, and music kicked off. Unbeknownst to her she;d just become the next contestant on the stations reality Holovision Drink Off contest.

"Chit."

 

[Melody]

~

~​

Ruby​

​

"Well that was easier than expected..." whispered the human to herself as she crouched, lowering the now sedated Astia to ground level. Raising her left arm, she spoke confidently to the other members of her squad via the transponder; "Target acquired, prepare for extra-..." but before she could finish her sentence, a wave of energy seemed to overcome the rest of the cantina's patrons. Great. The music was turned up louder. Even better. And then an enthusiastic, energetic voice announced the drinking contest. Fantastic.

Loud grunts, snuffed out by the blaring music, came from the alcove as she struggled to lift the surprisingly heavy scientist, placing her arms just underneath her neck and knees, and with as little care as possible, she made a dash for the door, bumping into several intoxicated customers and creating a great amount of confusion as her exit incited the rest of her accomplices to follow suit, creating even more disorientation. It seemed among those bumped and shoved to their hides was a pirate more sober than the rest, who swiftly grabbed the scrawny teal hair colored woman, thumping her into a nearby wall.

"Watch wher' you're karking goin'!"

In the high energy atmosphere there was little to stop Ruby's subordinate from being bashed around some more, not that she particularly cared anyway. A cursory glance backwards spotted what she assumed was her allies, joining her in a sprint to the cargo ship they departed from minutes ago, intent on leaving this place for good.

"Get off of me you scum!" The petite woman, in comparison to the hulking pirate yelled, landing a blow in the man's jaw, stunning him and leaving just enough time for her to stumble towards the exit and dash towards her companions.

~ [member="Jada Raxis"] ~

 

[Jada Raxis]

[member="Gray Venasir"] [member="Melody"]

DARKSTAR TAVERN
DRINKING CONTEST

Some times ya win some, sometimes ya lose.

She guessed she was winning, but she could never really tell. Between shots her vision swam and she growled. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a spice stick. It'd been a long time since she touched the stuff. She mainly kept it for a reminder of her past transgression and to build her willpower in staying sober.

But the young Warden was throwing everything away this night.

She was amped, and that spice smelled soooo good.

Plus it'd help her ward off the effects of her acute alcohol poisoning. So she sparked up, letting loose a cloud of garish toxic smoke. She smiled, brain blitzed and leaned back as the stimulant began to counterbalance the depressant feeling of the booze. Her competitor slumped down onto the table, and then fell out of his chair, hitting the deck in a sideways sprawl.

"Yeahhhhhhh!"​

The crowd cheered and she stood, giving them a small bow.

She'd quite forgotten her original mission by now, and how she even got here.

Blitzed out of her mind she glanced left to see a woman and some companions drag a burly fella out. She punched someone on the way out.

"Taht might be worth checkin!"

She bounced, shoving her way through the crowd in pursuit of the woman.

Why? Why not.​

"Ey you!"

 

[Melody]

~

~​

Anaya​

​

"I'm coming now don-.." her message was cut off sharply by a familiar voice on the other line.

"You have precisely 5 minutes before this vessel departs."

Before Anaya could get a word in, the communication was cut and she was interrupted by a voice calling her attention. Out of fear, suspecting it to be the pirate who had assaulted her moments earlier she continued a sprint down a broad walkway, littered with ruffians threatening to impede her escape. Rather than potentially incite a riot make enemies with everyone else on the station, she glared back having only advanced a few meters to spot a brunette, slightly taller than herself. In the brief respite she managed to adjust her eyes once again so that she could see - and think - clearly enough to analyse the situation.

She was outmatched if she picked a fight with whoever this was, that much she knew. And if [member="Jada Raxis"] had more allies on the station? The entire operation could be compromised.

"Y-.." she paused, initially sounding timid. Raising her volume so that the she appeared more threatening than her silly attire - a plain white and grey armoured tunic and vibrant teal hair cut just below her hairs - would suggest. "Yes? If you haven't realized I'm on an important mission here!"

Her right arm, now bruised from the initial attack and aching slightly, reached down to the right hand side of her costume. Anaya was well aware that there was no blaster present, but as she pivoted she paused so that the 'holster' would be concealed, though her awkward demeanor made it look more like a short cowboy than an intimidating thug.

"And you're not going to stop me..."

~ [member="Jada Raxis"] ~

 

[Gray Venasir]

The drinking contest, how could Gray forget those, only now being reminded by the music and lights. It was a long time since he had been present during a drinking contest now. Months, at least. He had been part of it once, but could not remember how it went after the... he couldn't even remember how many shots he had taken before everything went blurry. But the day after, he had woken up in his ship with a horrible hangover, and some clothing that seemed to belong to a woman on one of the chairs. It might actually be a good thing that he coudn't remember what had happened.

The competitors in todays contest were good, but it was hard to see much because of the crowd. But he saw that it was a fairly young woman, and an older man. It was hard to tell who was leading, as it always was in these contests.

But in the end, it seemed the woman had won, as her opponent blacked out and fell to the floor. It had been a good match. Longer than the last one Gray had witnessed. But now, the real Challenge came for the Victor: the aftermath. How well would she take the enormous intake of alcoholics? Stumbling? Rambling? Right out fainting?

I'd better check on her, Gray thought. Too many times had he seen both winners and losers of this contest fair pretty bad. Getting into fights, being robbed, one time even killed. This really was a pirate heaven. He made his way over to where she had stood, but she had already started making her way towards the exit. Then he heard her yell to someone. She really was drunk now. "Easy now," he said when he had walked over to her. "Looking for someone?"

[member="Jada Raxis"] | [member="Melody"]

 

[Jada Raxis]

[member="Melody"] [member="Gray Venasir"]

Alas poor Gray would catch the wrath of a Drunker version of Jada today.

She grinned and raised both hands, now super raring to go.

"I think you need to be more careful n' me bud!"

She launched a lazy swing at him. A feint really. The spice felt good, and trying to punch his daylights out felt just as good.

Who said bar fights weren't fun?

She lost sight of Melody in the crowd.

​

Gotta finish this quick...​

 

[Gray Venasir]

Seems the drinking was worse than it looked, and it seemed this woman got hostile when drunk. Not a good thing. She could end up hurting herself.

"I said easy, damn it," he said while dodging the punch. Gray did not want to hurt her, nor start a big commotion here, he had seen how they usually ended.

But if she was determined to fight, he wouldn't just stand around taking punches. The smartest thing to do would probably be to incapacitate her, but this wasn't a Place to be smart.

"I was only trying to help, but if you don't want it," he was about to take a swing at her as he said this. But then it hit him that it wouldn't be smart to punch the drinking champion of the day. That could really turn this Place to a hell-hole real fast. So he stopped his arm as it was in the air, hoping she wouldn't escalate this any further.

[member="Jada Raxis"] | [member="Melody"]

 

[Jada Raxis]

[member="Melody"] [member="Gray Venasir"]

Jada's jaw dropped a bit. She'd been shockboxing for years and expected the punch would land fair and square. Regardless she pulled back her fist, not realizing just how tipsy she'd become.

"Naw by all means c'mon."

She didn't wait for the response. Just reached out to snag a handful of his jacket and tried to take off after the big fella that had dragged the younger chicky out of the bar....