Risky Business

[Maya Zhou]

​

Inside a conference room, Maya gave her skirt a tug. It was a long, clingy thing, and the hem seemed to close around her ankles, making it difficult to walk. The high heel shoes made it harder still. Her face had been scrubbed clean, and her hair had been brushed back into a neat style. It was a bit much, if you asked her.

“Imma kill Bren for making me wear this get-up.” Maya grumbled quietly to herself as she waited for her contact to arrive. But the truth was that she really did need his help. Sure, she wouldn’t go offing him any time soon… so she silently settled for slightly maiming him upon their reunion.

Here at Taluna Mining Corporation headquarters, which adjoined Nickel One, the two-man smuggler crew had set their sights on selling a bit of spice. It was due to Brensom’s contacts and knowledge of the inner workings that got her inside the complex. Today she was called Macy Lowe, and was acting the part of a mild-mannered secretary. Though she had been hired onto the executive team, thanks to a bit of clever resume fabrication, she had no intentions of even finishing out her first day.

Hidden under the table there was a briefcase. Inside, it appeared to be empty… but in fact it was full. The lining of the case had been carefully slashed; just enough to slip her packages inside, and then the openings were then closed up tight. Though she hadn’t met her client in person yet, she’d received a good tip from one of his co-workers. It seemed that one of the top execs here at Taluna had a taste for spice.

“Ms. Lowe, I presume?” A man’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “How is it I can help you?”

Maya threw on a pleasant smile and invited the man to sit.

It was at this moment that she wondered exactly what [member="Brensom Galeran"] was getting up to. But, it was now time to deal…

 

[Brensome Galeran]

Brensom whistled along to a tune in his head, boots kicked up onto one of the many consoles on the bridge of the 'Gongju,' Zhou's own ship. There he waited patiently for the return of his new partner in crime. After all, it seemed only right that Maya complete the drop, since everyone and their mother on these rocks knew Bren's unforgettable features.

So here he was, relaxing whilst on the job, in a rather spacious ship at that. During his brief time on the cargo-hauler, he often found himself wondering how that girl could take control of such a large vessel by herself. The thoughts never took the form of a question, as the pair had been occupied with the planning of their spice-deal as of late.

He shifted his gaze around the bridge, taking in the little details that could let him know more about his brand new business partner. There were many empty food containers and cups. Bren took from this that Maya had been alone on this journey from quite some time, atleast that's what he gathered from the mess. He couldn't complain though, the cabin he had been given was the first proper bed Bren had to sleep in quite some time.

Now, all he could do was wait and hope that his only remaining contact at the Roche facility had come through on their agreement.

This seemed like a sweet gig if Bren had to be honest, he scooted further down into the chair as he pondered the idea of taking a nap.

"I could get used to this smuggling' stuff." The recently employed rook began to shut his eyes, before a transmission cut through on the very console his boots were kicked up onto.

The noise startled Bren, pulling his legs back immediately and looking for the source of the noise. It seemed to be that Maya's communication system was picking up a warning signal from a Silver Jedi party nearby, probably a Ranger marine division on a training mission if he had to guess.

He leaned forward to adjust some settings on the console, searching for a clearer transmission of the signal. After a little bit of work he'd dial in as clear as he could get it, but what he heard wasn't what he expected at all.

Galeran's face grew pale at the words of the warning signal being transmitted, the silver jedi at Nickel One had encountered Sith forces in rather large numbers. This wouldn't be a concern for them, if they weren't docked at the facility directly next adjacent to Nickel One. This was bad news, it was bad enough Bren couldn't go with Maya to assure her success, now there were Rangers and Sith to deal with? Brensom pushed himself away from the console, moving quickly to the viewport of the bridge to inspect the station guards outside. People still moved through the scanners at the first security checkpoint normally, giving him the idea that the news hadn't reached everyone yet. There was still time for him to move and warn his partner of the impending danger.

But he knew he'd need some kind of weapons if they were about to be in the middle of a war between two factions. He turned away from the viewport, snatching up his bombers jacket from the back of his chair. If he recalled correctly, Maya told him that there were a few weapons stored in his cabin, probably the property of whomever used the room before him.

He just hoped Maya would be able to hold up her end of the deal.

[member="Maya Zhou"][

 

[Maya Zhou]

“Got some stuff I’d like to move,” Maya said, getting right to the point. She wanted this deal done, and she hoped that the businessman sitting across from her was keen. Glancing away, she scratched the spot just behind her right ear, as if it was a secret signal. “You know, some spice. I heard that you’re in the market.”

“And may I inquire as to where you heard that?” He asked, leaning back in his chair, fingers casually entwined.

“Not important,” Maya answered, and cleared her throat. Sure, she could easily have thrown Bren to the wolves, but she wouldn’t do that -- unless the money was good enough, then maybe. “You in or are you out?” She pressed, fixing the man in a cold stare.

The smuggler woman meant business; she even had the attire to prove it.

Slowly, the executive’s sneer turned into a genuine smile. “I could have you arrested,” He returned and offered a joyless laugh. “But, I’m willing to deal – if the price is right.”

A wicked grin curled Maya’s lips, and she brought the briefcase up into view.

Meanwhile, outside the conference room, there were hushed tones and worried voices. Men and women in business suits were beginning to flee to the exits, unsure of whether or not this was a wise choice. They didn’t know what was waiting outside the mining complex. But, according to the broken-up transmissions they had received, things inside were not good – and bound to get worse. A moment later, a woman’s voice came over the intercom, informing all personnel of possible intruders.

The credit chips were on the table.

Eyes wide, Maya’s hand slid across the table and scooped the creds into her pocket. “Time to go,” She said, more to herself than to the executive. She shoved the briefcase at him and took a quick glance out the conference room window. “Just my karkin’ luck.” She muttered, trying to get a good look down the hallways.

The executive was already on the move, case in hand. The lines of his face were deep with worry, and Maya even spotted a bit of sweat forming on his brow. Was the spice in his possession already making him twitchy? No, this was not a simple raid of the mining facility… that much she had to guess. Patting her hip, she was startled to find the smooth fabric of her skirt – not the holstered blaster that was usually there.

With her client already out in the hall, Maya moved to follow suit… unsure of what she would find.

[member="Brensom Galeran"]

 

[Brensome Galeran]

Things were going from bad to worse, pretty quick too.

The guards at the checkpoint were overpowered quickly, urging Bren to make a B-line towards the exit of the hangar with his heavy blaster tucked into his belt line, plus an additional blaster rifle wrapped in cloth strung over his shoulder to keep hidden from the Antarian Rangers and station guards.

However, what he encountered at the security checkpoint was not any additional amount of guards, nor rangers..It wasn't even a squad of Sith soldiers, which was soon expected in Bren's mind.

Karkin' spiders?!

That was Galeran's first thought when the sithspawn creatures suddenly appeared, ravaging the security checkpoint into a frenzied chaos. Bren had taken the chance once he saw it, bolting towards the exit as the guards and civilians perished. His pace was quickened at about every corner he took, only seeing more and more of the creatures come out from the grating below and pull down the miners and corporate workers alike.

So far, he was getting lucky during the picking of these spiders' next meals.

Everyones luck runs out eventually.. Brensom's gaze was taken away from the other contracted workers being attacked by a spider that had rounded the corner he was planning to take. It 'stood' in-between himself and his destination to the corporate offices, hunched onto of a security guard's corpse. Nasty things, the creature that was, the disgust that came from the spider completely took Bren's thoughts away from the gore around him.

Thats just the thing, it was a creature. He'd have no remorse crushing it.

Just as the spider prepared to receive its next meal, Bren, on a silver platter, the smuggler would bring his boot up in front of him in a leaping manner, making contact directly to the middle of it. He used it as a sort of stepping-stone to get behind it, before turning about and lifting the blaster rifle off of his shoulder and heaving it down directly on top of the sithspawn, crushing it in two precise back-to-back blows.

Bren took a few steps back, breathing heavily after the brief period of physical exertion. A smirk would still rest on his face as he pointed the rifle at the dead beast, bloody stock nudging the bashed plates of the spider.

"I hate spiders."

A door opening to his direct left took him out of his brief euphoria. He'd cock a brow as he looked over to the source of his interruption, but his eyes went wide instead at the sight of three black-armored soldiers stood there, weapons raised.

Moments later, Galeran was on the run again, with blaster bolts at his heels at that. After avoiding several more confrontations within the corporate offices, and getting lost two times over again, he'd make his way to a corridor that seemed rather familiar in the duo's 'gameplan.' Brensom glanced around after coming to one of the doors, acting as if what he was doing was still illegal during the mess of suits running about in a frenzy for their escape pods. He'd then tap the door console, sliding into a room full of..well, meeting rooms.

"Maya? Is that you? Bloody hell I can hardly recognize you in that skirt!"

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

Even behind the doors, she could hear shouting and screaming. Kark, this didn’t sound good, not at all. Her hand was already on the door knob, ready to twist and pull… but the commotion outside made her pause. Patting her pockets, or lack there-of, she cursed under her breath. Dark eyes frantically searched the room; there were truly very few options for make-shift weaponry here. She could run out with a chair, but that would probably a bit more cumbersome than she wanted. Rummaging through a nearby desk drawer, she did find a pointy letter opener.

Glancing down, Maya just knew that this skirt would do her no favors, especially the way it restricted movement. Using the letter opener, she used it to open a slit in the side seam and then she gave a great tug, ripping the front section away. Now, the frayed fabric of her skirt hung above the knee, but it would make running that much easier. On her way back to the door, she kicked off her high heeled shoes and picked up the fire extinguisher that hung on the wall. It would work in a pinch, she figured.

Finally pulling the door open, she skidded out into the open corridor.

There was a stairwell at the end of the hall, closed off with emergency doors. It’d be a quick way out, but as she took a step closer, the sound of something pummeling into the other side made Maya jump away. There was scratching and screeching, something begging to be let in.

“Nope!” Maya shook her head and turned tail in the opposite direction. As she rounded a corner, she saw the outline of a tall figure. Eyes wide, she held her letter opener up in the direction of the man. But she lowered it again when she saw that it was [member="Brensom Galeran"]. His comment about her tattered skirt made her eyes narrow.

“Very funny,”She muttered, and held her hand out immediately for a weapon. “I’ll take that blaster pistol, if ya don’t mind.” More screams from upstairs, Maya’s eyes turned upwards for a brief moment.

“What the kark is happening here?” She glanced over at Bren, "I'm guessing there's trouble, or else you wouldn't be here to save my hide, right?"

 

[Brensome Galeran]

Bren stopped on a dime when Maya held the letter opener to him, 'threateningly.' A smirk began to crack across his face at the thought of her using a friggin' letter opener to defend herself against Sith and spiders. He pointed to it after relaxing his body a bit, offering a quick chuckle.

"Think that there butter knife will do anything?"

He reached behind the belt line of his pants, pulling out the blaster for her. He released the grip and grabbed it by the barrel, handing it to her so she could grab the firearm by it's grip.

"Well..Rangers, Sith."

Brensom went to casually unroll the cloth that the blaster rifle was in, removing it and inspecting it before pulling a spare ammunition cartridge from the pocket of his bomber jacket.

"Oh, and spiders." He looked to her and offered this last piece of information. He hated saying the word, every time he just thought about the mess of limbs trying to crawl at him.

Disgusting.

He looked up to where the source of the screams were coming from, scanning to the area he had just run from. He moved over carefully as he gripped the blaster tightly, checking around the corner. It seemed as if a jolly group of Sith soldiers were advancing down the same corridor.

"Couldn't leave you behind now, could I? I hardly know how to pilot that big SOB you call a ship, and you also have the credits from this little deal I set up."

The screams got louder from upstairs, meanwhile their advancing Sith friends were getting closer, he could tell by their armor plates clanking together as they marched through the facility. He looked back to her, honestly expecting her to have an answer. He remembered some of the corridors and how the corporate building panned out, but it had been quite some time since he had been back here. Bren could help them get back to the Gongju easily, if he could just remember where exactly they were.

"So..Sith or spiders, lass?"

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

As she stashed the letter opener into the waistband of her skirt for safe keeping, she glared over at Bren and may have muttered something under her breath about buttering his bread. Her hand reached out, snatching up the blaster as Brensom offered it up.

Rangers, Sith, and spiders?

As her smuggling counterpart started to check around the corner, Maya stayed close to the wall, her back pressed against it. A slightly satisfied smile crept onto her lips as Bren stated that he couldn’t leave her behind. It was odd working as part of a team again, Maya had to silently admit. The temptation to up and leave Bren to fend for himself was there, she couldn’t deny it. But, the credits would serve her much better if she was alive to spend them. The key there being that she needed to get out of here and Bren happened to be important to that goal.

She needed him, too… not that she was actually going to say it.

The sound of footsteps and rustling armor was growing closer. Maya groaned, wrinkling her nose. These sorts of decisions were not easily made for her. Sith or spiders? Could it really get worse than that?

“If those are the only options,” She grumbled, “Then I’ll take spiders over Sith, any day.”

Spiders were gross, which was a reality. But, they weren’t force-wielders… unless these spiders were some kind of sick experiment. Well, she didn’t really want to dwell much on that thought. Maya concluded that their best option would be in the opposite direction of the approaching soldiers. She didn’t know these corridors well; in fact, she’d already forgotten which direction she’d originally came from.

The screams were getting louder. Those poor executives, suits and briefcases couldn’t defend well against this sort of thing. Swallowing hard, she pointed at a random hallway – what might have been more of a service route.

“Uh, this way? Quick, now!” She started off, “You know how to get to the ship?” Maya asked, looking over her shoulder at Bren, dark eyes wide and questioning.

[member="Brensom Galeran"]

 

[Brensome Galeran]

He'd slap the charging bolt of the blaster rifle, priming the weapon and enticing an audible 'wirrrr' from the firearm. An 'uh oh' expression appeared on his face as he looked down to it in his hands.

"Well, haven't heard one of these make that kinda noise.." A flashback of the image of him bringing the weapon down onto the previous sithspawn he ran into popped into his mind, causing him to role his eyes at himself before taking off after Maya.

Bren' nodded, before looking to their immediate right and stopping Maya with a quick tug on the back of her top. "Here," he stated, placing the blaster rifle to the side of a door that was almost concealed by the frame it rested in. The man quickly went to the control console, doing his best to guess the randomized set of numbers that acted as its protection.

"Behind this door," he tried another set of digits to no avail, "-is the main passage way that'll lead right to the docks. Easiest way for anyone to get in, out, or through the complex. At least I think-"

In the middle of his third try, the door opened from the other side, revealing absolute chaos. In the main passage way, there seemed to be an excess of blaster fire and combat from between both directions. So much blaster fire in fact that it practically illuminated the side of the door the duo was standing at.

"OOooo- Not that way!" Brensom attempted closing the door, but after several stray bolts skipped through and slammed into the wall behind them and failing to close the door, he'd crouch down and grab his rifle to stride across the doorway and down the direction they were headed just before.

"So yeah! We'll have to take the long way! I think it's the fourth right and then..." The man sort of trailed off as they ran, thinking hard on the layout.

[member="Maya Zhou"]