Private Plants vs. Humans

[Mirah Mackali]

​

The Green Thunder set down on Florn.

It was a jungle world; one that few would have ever chosen to visit for fun. But Mirah thought it would be just that – what with its dangerous flora, the kind that killed people. Just the thought of finding one of these man-killers was enough to put the botanist in an unusually good mood. She'd had a run of back luck lately, but things were about to change today. She had a feeling.

Of course, she could have landed her ship in the jungle proper, but she'd learned her lesson. Don't keep her ship or samples too close to the action. Last time that happened, she'd ended up nearly losing everything. So, she was going to play it safe this time. She'd trek into the jungle with a pack and the supplies she'd need for taking samples. Once she had the plantling in a greenhouse pod for transport, she'd come back to the ship – her mobile lab – and get to work.

As she loaded up her stuff, she took one last glance at the information on her datapad.

This world was notorious for weird plants. There were even rumors that one needed special implants just to set foot here and survive. She narrowed a skeptical gaze at the screen and huffed. What if it was true?

Mirah was not in the greatest of shape; she couldn't run to save her life. Her shoulders hunched a little and her expression soured again, like it usually did. She had a blaster, but she needed both hands free to collect samples. What she needed was someone else to sacrifice... ahem... assist with this mission.

“Hey.” Mirah called out, standing at the foot of the ramp. “You!”

Maybe someone would answer. “Who wants to make some money today?” And then she felt the need to clarify. “Nothing weird!”

Hadion Fare

 

[Hadion Fare]

So. There he was. Flying through the maelstrom outside of Kessel. Pew pew! The Hutts. And the local Miner's Guild. AND the Empire were all after him. But with a maneuver he picked up from a gorgeous Trandoshan on Kashyyyk, he was able to slip between them all and see them destroy each other in their own crossfire. It was pretty epic. Totally epic.

The story was out there now, and the patrons of the local cantina looked somewhat incredulous, but that did not deter one Hadion Fare. NO SIR. He just sat there smuggly enjoying his odd concotion of the bars cheapest liquors, and soaking up the attention the story had given him.

"You mean to tell me...that you think Trandoshan's are hot?" Came the first question of his fellow barflies. It seemed like he was a little on the tipsy side because his voice pitched up incredibly high on the word 'hot'.

Hadion took the last gulp of his drink. "Darlin' if you ain't done a Trandoshan during a Kashyyyk thunderstorm and lived to tell the tale...you ain't lived!"

The door busted open, and someone yelled in. "Hey scumbags...there's this chick outside talking about some weird, freaky-ass job that she has for someone..."

Most of the responses the declaration got was dismissive handwaves, but Hadion looked overjoyed. "If you are talking freaky-ass...I have just the ass for the job!" He said with a grin, and a quick saunter out of the bar, "so long ya varmints! Keep the next round on ice...coz I might be buying." His hands came up into finger guns as he pretended to shoot all the people he walked past.

Stepping out into the muggy envionment of Florn, Hadion shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. He hated this planet. Flowers sucked. The sooner he got a decent job, the sooner he could get the fuel he needed and get his ship out of the impound.

Within moments he had found the clearly 'not from around here' woman, and with a deep bow he introduced himself. "M'lady...I am Hadion Fare...entrepenaur...thespian...pilot...weaver of magic nights under the stars...and the weirdest mother lover you have meet in your life...I hear you have a job for me."

| Mirah Mackali |​

 

[Mirah Mackali]

A few guys passed her by, each of them casting narrow-eyed glances like she was crazy. “I said nothing weird, okay?” Mirah said again to their backs. But as they ambled on towards their destinations, the botanist remained by her ship and tossed her hands up in the air for a moment. This was a bad idea, wasn't it? You couldn't just ask for help and expect that someone was going to come.

She let out an annoyed grunt and started to shove items into her pack: a couple canteens, snacks, tent, sleeping bag. Then, she hefted it all onto her back and picked up the silver case next to her that contained her plant specimen containers and equipment. With her back turned to the whole of the spaceport, she jumped at the sound of a voice.

Spinning to face the source, a man that had just introduced himself as Hadion Fare, she gave a winning smile. She listened as he rattled off his various titles, each stranger than the last. And a grimace formed on her face when he came to 'weirdest mother lover.'

“Gross,” she muttered, cringing.

Mirah stood there quiet for a good long moment, trying to figure out if she really did need to enlist the help from this weirdo. “Uh,” she stalled and craned her neck to see around the man's broad form in order to gauge other interest in her job offer. There was none. With a deep sigh that made her shoulders hunch forward, she looked to Hadion.

“Yeah – fine, whatever.” Was the response she gave him. “Look, I need someone to escort me into the jungle so I can collect some samples. Think you can handle that?” Mirah asked. “Mirah Mackali's my name – and stay away from my mom,” she added, for good measure.

Hadion Fare

 

[Hadion Fare]

That face. He was...somewhat taken aback to be honest. Hadion stepped back half a step with his hands up in defence. It looks like she had been partaking of the juju juice already. He wasn't sure that he time for crazy chicks, but if she paid good...then crazy might just be worth it.

"Gross?" Hadion mocked, "don't knock it till you knocked it."

Going into the jungle didn't sound like his idea of a good time, and this one seemed more inclined to be snippy and uptight. Maybe he could soften her up with the good ole' Fare charm?

"Look...Mirah...nice name by the way," he said with a smile that said oooooooh-yeaaaaah, "if your mother is anything like you...you are going to have to work pretty hard to stop me."

He sauntered past her, hands going to hips with his long jacket tucking behind his thumbs.

"So you want to go plant shopping on Florn. Honestly doesn't sound like my forte...I am a pilot. Best in the whole damn galaxy. So unless you are paying really good...I might have to pass."

| Mirah Mackali |​

 

[Mirah Mackali]

Mirah suppressed another shudder. She listened and may have shifted her weight from one foot to the other as he complimented her name. The botanist never knew just what to do when people said nice things. And was he giving her yet another compliment? Or was he just trying to say that her mom must be pretty hot. Ugggh. She shook the thought away completely.

Hadion had answered the call with all sorts of swagger and strange charm, but he was hesitant to actually take the job. Mirah looked around the spaceport again – no one else was milling around like they wanted to take some random job. A pang of nerves hit her, and she tried not to look too desperate. She searched for the right words: wow, cool, a pilot? Great, well, I don't need a pilot right now, buddy. No, that wasn't going to work.

She let her hard gaze soften, even if just so she didn't scare him away.

“I've got money,” she said, trying to look nonchalant. “Lots.” That may have been a bit of an exaggeration. “And if we get the plants I want – I'll even hire you to transport them to the lab for me. Just make sure I don't die today.”

Mirah lifted her chin slightly, looking up at him. “Deal?”

Hadion Fare

 

[Hadion Fare]

"Lots, huh?" He muttered. His tone sounded as though it dripped with disbelief.

Looking out in the wilds of Florn beyond the port, he felt himself shudder. This planet gave him the willies. And not the wet kind.

Internally, Hadion took stock. He had been running up a pretty huge tab at the Cantina. That would need paying. His ship was impounded. Those fees were only getting worse every day. It wasn't like these trees were dropping job opportunities everywhere. This might be his best bet. Still. He was no sucker, except on Taungsdays.

"How...much is lots?" He said, tone shifting in Mirah's favour.

Head turned over shoulder he peered at her uncertainly. At least she wasn't looking like a crazy person anymore. When she wasn't trying to scare a rancor she was actually alright. Kinda.

"Coz when I hear lots I am thinking 10 thousands credits...is that what you are thinking? If so, you have a deal. Besides, I am pretty much unparalleled with blaster in hand. There was this one time I challenged an Ardennian to a shoot out. All four of his blasters were still holstered when I dropped him...yeah."

| Mirah Mackali |​

 

[Mirah Mackali]

Mirah maintained a nonchalant expression, letting him work through the prospect of credits. Some people were just easy like that, she supposed. The rattle of credits was enough to sway them. But like most mercenary-types, the amount was usually high. This Hadion Fare was no exception.

“Fine,” she agreed finally. “You'll get a share of it when the job's done, and the rest when my plants have been safely transported to the lab...” Then her voice grew mumbled and quiet, “And-I-can-pull-that-kinda-credits-outta-my--”

The botanist cleared her throat loudly.

For the moment, she ignored his bragging – however, she did note it in the back of her mind. And she certainly did hope he was just as good as he said. Mirah stepped over to her own ship and locked it up, then turned back to her new traveling companion. Just get the plants, get out of the jungle, and get off this world, easy... right?

“Alright, well,” she started, sparing him a less threatening glance. “Let's get going. We're headed pretty deep into the jungle, there's a very special plant I want.” Her dark eyes glinted as she turned her gaze towards the tropical foliage visible beyond the spaceport. As they left the ships behind, there was a market sprawled out down the dirt street. For her own part, Mirah was good to go, but she looked over at Hadion.

“If you need any last minute essentials...” she nodded her head towards the market vendors.

Hadion Fare

 

[Hadion Fare]

A smirk took hold of the smuggler's face. She had agreed to a big pay out. This was his lucky day. All he had to do was walk her through the forest and get some little pretty flower thing? BAH. He had this in the bag already.

Shifting his shoulders, he considered what he would need for a walk in the woods. Shoes? Check. Blaster? Check. Prime physical specimen? Check. Testosterone and all the libido one could pack into a sentient being? Check, check and check.

"So long as you have a tent for us to share if we get stuck out there for the night...I am going to call myself ready as I will ever be," he finally replied with a grin, and a wink.

Sauntering over to the edge of the platform, Hadion jumped the 4 inches to the ground. The surface was softer under foot than he had anticipated. Spinning about on his heels, he called out to Mirah. "We got everything you need right here," he said with arms open wide, and not a hint of humility. He went to step backwards, but his boot had wedged itself into the ground where he had landed and his momentum sent him falling unceremoniously to his rear end.

Within a second he had bounced back up, and was dusting himself off. "Minor setback! Let's go!"

| Mirah Mackali |​

 

[Mirah Mackali]

Mirah rolled her eyes when Hadion mentioned sharing a tent. But really, she hadn't even thought about that. What if she didn't find this awesome plant before nightfall? Oh great. A bit of anxiety prodded at her, but she decided to ward it off for now. Cross that bridge if and when she needed to.

As they approached the edge of the platform, she watched as Hadion made a rather bold proclamation, his arms open wide. But as he misplaced his foot and went over the small ledge and onto his backside... a grin appeared on her lips (a real grin, not a scary one). And she may have even stifled a chuckle. Did she find it slightly endearing? Maybe. Did she find it funny at his expense? Definitely.

“Right,” she said, her tone of voice a touch lighter than before. “Let's go.”

After walking for a few minutes, she glanced sidelong at Hadion. He had a sturdy frame and looked like he was in alright shape. So, she handed over one of her sample collection cases. “Carry this,” she said, and added, “and... don't drop it.” Instead of saying 'please,' a tiny flicker of a tight smile took its place.

Mirah figured it'd be best to let him in on what she was trying to find; two pairs of eyes were better, after all. “Sooo,” she started as they approached a dirt trail that snaked its way into the jungle. “I'm looking for this plant – it's carnivorous. And it's awesome.” She pulled out a small datapad from her pocket and displayed an image. “Well, it looks like this... but way bigger. And it's supposed to have some pretty wicked vines for grabbing prey.”

Hadion Fare

 

[Hadion Fare]

Man, this chick was tense. Nothing like a challenge to invigorate the wild side! Hadion grinned from ear to ear as she entrusted him with some storage type thingy-majiggy that was a little bigger for any plant he would care to keep - which was honestly none. He thought about pretending to drop it. You know, one of those "Whoa, watch out" moments? Yeah, it would have been a classic. But a classic mistake. This Mirah gal did look like she played those games.

But was she softening?

OF COURSE, she was only hanging out with Hadion Mother Lovin' Fare.

"Whoa. A carnivorous plant?" He said as his pace slowed and eyes darted this way and that, "you saying there's veges out here that ain't vegetarian?"

Hadion looked at the thingy-majiggy in his hands in a new light. It was big. Really big. Like, your foot could fit in there easily, and probaby part of his leg. And this thing had vines, what? Prehensile vines?

Glancing over his shoulder, Hadion felt a lump forming in his throat. He swallowed, and it didn't leave.

"Yeah...that plants...is wicked cool," he lied.

| Mirah Mackali |​