Florrum, a barren wasteland planet soon came into view through
The Solar Nymph's viewport. It's brown and white contrast surely made an impression on the smuggler and his wife, Clairis, who sat in the co pilot seat while Velero sat comfortably in the pilot's seat, maneuvering The Solar Nymph closer to Florrum. After turning the autopilot on, Velero had heard something coming from the ship. Whatever it was, it was something foreign. Maybe a stowaway, or critters that had entered his ship the moment before takeoff? With a little more analysis, Velero declared that it came from the holding bay. The smuggler stood up suddenly, hand on his blaster. He looked to his wife.
"I'm going to go check the cargo hold. There might be something or someone on board. Stay here while I go and see what it might be." His tone flowed like water, as if nervousness was not a thing for Velero.
"
Well, hurry back! You know how hard it can be for me to pilot this thing!" His wife said, before her husband had taken off to investigate the holding bay for any intruders.
All seemed normal to Velero. All the crates were organized neatly, no signs of leaks anywhere. Maybe it was just his imagination? No, it couldn't have. There was someone on board and the smuggler was going to catch them. He turned around and headed right back to the pilot's seat, but not immediately. He wanted to make sure the rest of the ship was clear, just in case there would be no surprise waiting for himself and Clairis.
...
The medical bay was clear, the main room was clear, and everything else. The one place he forgot to check was where his wife was.
Maybe they evaded me through my whole search and went straight to Clairis? With that thought in mind, Velero speed walked back to the cockpit. If the enemy tried to evade instead of attack, chances were they were not armed at all. As he neared the cockpit corridor, Velero could clearly see a figure peering in and looking at the viewport of the ship. The smuggler could already see the desert landscape of Florrum where ship wrecks and other treasures awaited on the surface. There he and Clairis would not look through the ship wrecks, but a pirate stronghold long since forgotten. Intel showed that the pirate stronghold belonged to some old Weequay named Hondo Ohnaka. Velero could see it now. Credits, weapons, and ammunition beyond compare. He could sell most of it through the black market on Coruscant, or give it to Jedi and Sith organizations who might need the extra firepower to intimidate their enemies. There was one setback though. The stowaway. Velero quickly walked over to the figure and put his hand on the person's shoulder just as they were about to turn around and possibly head back to the cargo hold.
Velero stared into what seemed to be a boy a little shorter and skinnier then Velero. The smuggler's eyes narrowing deep into the boy's face. Before the smuggler could finally speak, he already heard excuses coming from the stowaway. They were all things heard before, like getting paid before they landed, etc. Velero didn't care what the boy had to say until he mentioned work. Velero released his grasp on the young boy and stepped back a bit. He looked behind the stowaway and realized his wife had already landed the ship in front of Hondo's Stronghold and was now looking at Velero and the boy.
"
Well, honey, are you going to say something?" His wife's voice filled the awkward silence in the ship.
"
Yes, I am." The smuggler gave a heavy exhale as he spoke. "
You say you want to work, right? Well I will give you work. See that big 'ol building right there? That stronghold belonged to a pirate whose name was well known throughout the galaxy hundreds of years ago. My sources tell me that there are treasures here that can make a man wealthy beyond anyone and anything in the galaxy. But, there was also a mention of booby traps. So since you already made it to my bad side and I feel too merciful at the moment to shoot you dead right here, I want you to be first to head into the place and scope it out for me and my wife here. We will be right behind you the entire time. If you make the job out alive, then you get a cut of what we receive. Deal?"
The offer sounded generous and the intimidation would surely persuade the boy. In all honestly, Velero wasn't mad at all and his wife wasn't mad either. They both knew that this boy probably had no home, so a cut of the share would probably get him someplace nice in the outer rim. Plus to only Clairis's and Velero's knowledge, there were no booby traps inside the stronghold. Velero just used that to scare the kid, that's all. After Velero gave his offer, he waited for the boy to speak on whether he accepted or not.
[member="Sebastian Thel"]