Sands

[Tor Icehammer]

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Tatooine couldn't be any more opposite to what the young Gurlanin was use to. The cold weather of Midvinter had him use to anything below zero, so here, where it was on the complete opposite side, had him thankful his adoptive father taught him a few tricks on how to stay cool. A soft mist was around him as he took what little moisture was in the air and made it a small coat to keep his temperature down.

He wandered through the streets of Mos Isley, yawning once as he did. He had come here for a job, not that it lasted long. Beat the champion of some underground fighting ring. Wasn't an issue for him in the slightest. For now, he was bored, glancing around for something of interest.
[member="Kitty"]

 

[Kitty]

Kitty was very thankful for the stranger who was able to help her off that force forsaken planet. Unfortunately his solution was just a temporary fix to the navigation system and now she found herself stranded in her least favorite system Tatooine. She actually hadn't ever been to the planet herself but had heard plenty enough rumors for it to become her least favorite. 'A hive of scum and villainy the likes of which could rival Nar Shaddaa to quote some of them directly. Though supposedly it was worse as it didn't even have the structure and predictability of the ruling gangs. That wasn't even the worse part either. No the worst part was the heat. At least the temperature at Nar Shaddaa was reasonable. With her abundant amount of fur covering her body heat was not something she coped well with. Yet here she was staring out the cockpit window of her Phasma class infiltrator at the ugly sandy planet below.

Kitty recalled an infamous fictionally quote saying 'I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.' Kitty couldn't agree more and she wanted to edit in 'and it's impossible to get out of fur.' There was no choice though. The question now became where the heck was she going to land the ship. Or rather where the heck was her pilot droid going to land the ship. Her ship was state of the art and proprietary technology the likes of which would be a dream come true for many of the occupations those below chose to engage in. The easy solution would be to land in the outskirts and just keep the ship cloaked. Complication was she was pretty sure she'd die of heatstroke before getting anywhere near to a settlement. She didn't have any speeders or anything on board to help out. The cargo area had to be converted into a specialized cage for herself. She could hire security to guard her ship but it's just as likely they'd work with anyone trying to tamper with it and get double the credits out of it.

"Oh wait. I'm so dumb." Kitty commented to herself.

"You're just now reaching this conclusion?" Her snarky pilot droid responded. Kitty glared at the droid. She'd long since accepted the cursed assembly of mechanics and electronics to be a necessary evil. Buying a new droid or reprogramming wasn't an option. It would take far too long for it to memorize the specialized knowledge she required.

"All we need to do is you drop me off right at one of the space ports and then just take the ship back into orbit and remain cloaked until I call you over to pick me up."

The droid was quick to respond. "I have to admit for how many times we've already done that I can't believe it took you this long to figure that out. Are you getting dumber? Should I try contacting Krest or your parents, are you not feeling well?"

Kitty didn't let up on her glaring. "I thought I made those contacts forbidden to you? Just land the ship at the nearest spaceport."

As the pilot brought the ship down Kitty prepared as much as she could. She wore a purple tanktop and some blue denim shorts and her two lightsabers at the hips. Her ship took off and Kitty was left alone in the hanger looking very lost. Where the heck was she supposed to go now? She could already feel her insulating fur taking the heat and ramping it up to very uncomfortable levels.

[member="Tor Icehammer"]

 

[Tor Icehammer]

Well. That was indeed pretty interesting. Tor's attention was immediately grabbed by the purple tanktopped, lightsaber sporting cat lady walking out of the spaceport. He casually scratched his chin, watching her curiously for a moment before shrugging and stepping right up. There wasn't anything else to do just yet. He waved, offering a friendly smile. "You look like you're about to melt. You okay?"

Furred creatures use to the cold needed to stick together. Not that he'd say that aloud given his current form. For now, he'd just watch [member="Kitty"] .

 

[Kitty]

Her gaze kinda just glossed over everything in front of her not really comprehending what she was seeing like her brain had just shut down. It was embarrassing for a sith assassin, but you know what she wasn't trained to deal with these sort of things. There were more important things to focus on like developing survival, stealth, and combat skills. Broken ships could easily be solved with credits.She should just ask someone for directions. Was that guy waving talking to her? Kitty looked behind her and around double checking he wasn't talking to anyone else.

Her first thought was 'He's pretty cute.' and her immediate after thought was 'He's probably trying to scam me.' She couldn't fathom any other reason a cute respectable looking man with a charming smile would have for being here and trying to grab her attention. He stood out from the crowd probably just as much as she did. It didn't matter though she wasn't as foolish as he no doubt assumed her to be. Hopefully she could at least get some useful information off him. As usual passively using her art of the small technique she had her force presence reduced to that of every other person. It usually had the effect of force sensitives thinking she was a poser, which is exactly how she wanted it.

Offering her own smile back to the tall presumably human she replied in an soft voice with the appropriate lost undertones. "Hey! Yea, the weather here is suffocating. I don't even know how the furless can put up with it. Would you happen to know where I could pick up some quality navigation hardware and maybe someone good who can install it too? The one on my ship stopped working and I'm stuck on this fur hating planet."

[member="Tor Icehammer"]

 

[Tor Icehammer]

A grin spread across the young mans face as he gave [member="Kitty"] a thumbs up. "Ah, stranded? I can help with that. I'm a pretty good mechanic. Come on, I'll show you the shop you need." Tor immediately turned to leave, then paused, glancing over his shoulder to her for a moment. She must of been pretty warm, on such a hot planet. With a chuckle he waved his hand, turning his attention back to the walk.

"I can help you stay cool, too."

With that movement of his hand the wind whipped up around her, what little moisture that was in the air starting to cling to her in a small frost, just as it clung to him. That handy trick was something he was pretty happy he learned. "So, what's your name?" Small talk, right. Keep the conversation moving. She was already plenty interesting to look at, but would she be interesting to talk to?

Tor certainly hoped so.

 

[Kitty]

And that was probably the worst answer he could have given her. Since he was obviously a competent mechanic who was trying to scam her in some way he wouldn't relinquish any information about a mechanic that maybe she could actually trust. No doubt he'd try to figure out some way to steal some of the technological secrets on her ship. At least she could get the needed parts reliably though.

The man was about to start showing her the way but then paused. Her guess was maybe to discuss payment for his services before hand? Even from their short time together Kitty quickly picked up that either he wasn't a con man or he was a really really good one. No instead he said he could help her stay cool and instead of beginning some sort of negotiation he just up and did it. It being using the force to gather the moisture around and use it like a cooling towel. Kitty raised her arms up as if the moisture beginning to cling to her was toxic. The assassin was in genuine shock and fear. One of the down sides of using the art of the small in such a way is it limited one's own perception of the force. She wasn't capable of getting a reading off him and wasn't willing to risk her own to do so at the moment. She couldn't see a jedi being able to put up with this planet and there weren't many sith capable of being genuinely charming as he was. Her guess was he wasn't involved with either. Especially since she had never in all her travels seen a trick like that.

Kitty's relaxed demeanor quickly returned and she followed the man very grateful for the small relief from the heat. "Oh, uh Kitty. Thank you very much for your help. What's your name?" She asked. Small talk wasn't her specialty but she could keep it going for long enough to get what she needs and get off this cursed planet.

[member="Tor Icehammer"]

 

[Tor Icehammer]

"Tor Icehammer, after my father." It was a little on the nose now that he thought about it, Icehammer. But the look of confusion that showed up was because of [member="Kitty"] 's actual name. It was.. Far more on the nose then his could ever of been. Why did she actually call herself that? Opting that it would be rude to ask that he kept his mouth shut, nodding his head to her thanks. "You're welcome. It's just around the bend up ahead."

They were going deeper into the market now, the hustle and bustle of the port city clearly seen under the midday second sun. Their destination? A stall near what seemed like a scrap yard. He'd been told of it just the day before, and it should have the parts she needed. Behind it was a Gamorian, their green arms crossed as it snorted towards the pair as they approached.

"[What do you want.]" He spoke exclusively in his own tongue, glaring between the pair. Not the kindest soul it seemed.

"Ah, this lady here would like to buy a part."

"[No kidding. Which?]"

 

[Kitty]

Tor's reaction to her name was expected, she got it a lot. Despite this she had yet to come up with an easy and believable way to explain it. The truth was a little too complex and personal to share with someone she had just met. So far her go to response was 'My parents were high when they named me.' It didn't exactly explain everything but it did the trick for the most part. However Tor did not inquire about it which was a nice change of pace.

Kitty noticed her unique and colorful appearance was gathering a lot of attention and the last thing she wanted to do was get lost especially as things got more populated. She stuck very close to Tor. Her nose scrunched from the very distracting and unpleasant stenches overshadowing any good smells that might be out there. It stressed her out a little but wasn't anything she hadn't dealt with before.

Tor led her to a Gamorian and Tor opened the conversation. Though now the eyes were turned on her. "I need a uhhhh, navigation equipment." Kitty realized in that moment just how unprepared she was as she fumbled over her words looking for an answer. They needed specifics on variables she didn't even know how to identify. It was like every kind of navigation equipment was like a unique puzzle piece. It only fit a certain way and you needed to know what the other pieces were to see which is the right one for you. The Felecation didn't have a choice. She'd have to take a small risk.

Kitty gently grabbed Tor by his arm and led him away from any prying eyes. "I don't actually know what I need. I don't really know any of this stuff and I don't want the wrong people seeing what I'm about to show you. It's expensive stuff." Kitty pulled out her datapad and loaded the schematics of her ship. Specifically she brought up the errors that was so detailed it even included by what means the navigation and communication systems had been damaged. Of which the damage was caused by the blaster fire of a pirate ship. It was even able to identify the model of the pirate ship and it's weapons. "I don't know what most of this jargon means. Could you help me out?" She asked while handing him the datapad with one hand and placing her other hand casually on her hip. She played it off as a dramatic maybe flirtatious way to hand someone something but in reality she wanted a hand near one of her lightsabers in case he decided to do something...that could be detrimental to his health.

[member="Tor Icehammer"]

 

[Tor Icehammer]

For a second, just the smallest of moments, the thought that [member="Kitty"] might actually not need a ship part and was really a con artist herself trying to lure unsuspecting good natured people into a trap crossed his mind. How could she not know the parts she needed when she made it clear earlier that she did? He scratched his chin as she spoke to the Gamorean, though to his surprise she snatched his arm and dragged him away.

A sigh of relief escaped him when she pulled out the schematics of her ship, and the part she needed replaced showed up on the diagnosis screen. Well, at least she wasn't a con artist. Though he did blink curiously at the rather.. Flirty way she handed it to him. She had seemed anything but at first, but he decided not to think on it. He nodded once to her question, taking the datapad carefully and scanned through the pages as needed, but never anything more.

Once he got a good idea on what exactly it was, he handed it back and turned to the pigman, waving. Within moments he had named off the exact part, which earned a surprised snort from the seller.

"[That's going to cost you quite a bit.]"

"Nah, don't worry about the price. Just get the part." The Gamorean shrugged and went to get the part. Shortly after, he came back, holding it aloft. Tor stepped right up, no hesitation in his body as he dumped the credits needed to pay for it. Had he known Kitty for long? Not at all, but that's just how he was. Asides, he had his reasons. With the part in hand he turned back to the feline, casually tossing it in his grasp.

"And here we are. Now, about that payment. I need a ride off world. I'll fix your part and install it, and you'll take me with you to what ever other planet you go to. Once we get there, we'll go our separate ways. Sound fair?"

 

[Kitty]

Kitty looked at Tor curiously for a moment when he let out a small amount of held breath. If she wasn't reading him wrong he's had at least some reservations about her. She supposed on this planet nothing should be assumed safe.

Kitty watched carefully as the man looked through the information. She didn't know a ton about this stuff but she could easily tell when they were looking for something specific or they lingered in an area a little longer than usual. He showed none of these behaviors though and also demonstrated his knowledge with how efficiently he found the information he was looking for. He went back to the Gamorian and requested the part she needed. she was then visibly surprised when he paid for the part with his own money. A part she knew would likely cost a lot.

At this point she highly doubted he had any ill intentions. It was still quiet possible but her instincts were more often than not, right. She was growing to like him. She doubted he could fathom just how big of a favor he was asking her though. Her ship was her home. It held many secrets both personal and technological. Almost any room of the ship you could find stuff black market traders and information brokers would pay a fortune for. On top of all this it was the location she was at her most vulnerable. Confined to her cage during hyperspace the only one to watch him was her pilot droid and someone of his skill might be able to figure out a way past some of the security measures like the lock on her personal quarters. She was also a little skeptical on why he was fine with going to any planet but it wasn't as huge of a concern as it probably should be to her.

Kitty stood and thought for awhile her tail slowly swaying back and forth reflecting her deep thinking. It would be nice to have someone other than her cruel droid to talk to and she was always up for a bit of fun. He'd also already displayed discernment with the datapad and was unlikely to purposely do anything damning on her ship. And she liked him. He was cute so, ok. "Sounds more than fair." Kitty said with a very warm smile. She went back to the spaceport she was called from and had her droid land the ship. Like everything else so far she'd observe his reactions to the ships unique architecture. When he got to installing it she'd continue their small talk as he worked. "So why any planet? You get into some trouble here or something?" She asked with a half teasing tone.

[member="Tor Icehammer"]

 

[Tor Icehammer]

Wait. Was that too much to ask? Tor stood there awkwardly as [member="Kitty"] seemed to think about his request as if there was something wrong with it. He hadn't thought about it before, but.. Oh. She probably lived there. He, a stranger, just invited himself into this woman's home for a long period of time in exchange for some minor work. He laughed nervously, glancing away to scratch his chin.

"Ah, actua-" He had started to say something when she spoke her acceptance. The young shapeshifter blinked in surprise, then smiled, nodding. If she was okay with it, he wouldn't question her now. He followed her back to the spaceport, still idly tossing the part in his hand. When she called her ship and it came into view? He didn't seem to care. It was less that he was fine with what it was and more he just didn't seem to know one ship from another.

As soon as he got board he made his way to the broken system, getting to work on fixing it immediately. "Heh, nothing like that." Tor laughed, glancing to her with a grin before turning back to his work. "I just want to explore the galaxy. I've been hitching rides to different planets when I can." The frost on both of them had faded once they got on board. It wasn't as hot as the planet thankfully.

"What about you? Why are you traveling?"

 

[Kitty]

Exploring the galaxy huh. That seemed a little unlikely. Then again she knew a certain dragon doing the same thing. She wondered how Twilight was doing. The galaxy was a very large place. She supposed that could make it harder for some people to find their place. In that regard she supposed she was lucky. Even now she had goals. Continue developing her company and tracking down and using slavers for her research and development.

Tor's question snapped her out of her thoughts. Why was she traveling huh? Telling him some of the truth seemed like a fun idea. She'd yet to see him really surprised yet.

"I'm an assassin. And I use the money to fund my security company which sells products and services to defend against assassins." Kitty bluntly said. She did nothing to hide her amused grin making it pretty clear she was expecting a reaction of some sort.

[member="Tor Icehammer"]

 

[Tor Icehammer]

Tor blinked. Slowly. An Assassin? [member="Kitty"] was an Assassin for hire. Well, that was certainly a surprise, and it showed on his face as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, uh." What did you respond to that? He wondered. There wasn't much he could say, but her expectant look only made him laugh. There was no way she was lying, why would she? "You've got me at a loss Kitty. An Assassin using the funds to make an anti assassin company? Talk about ambitious, though I guess there wouldn't be anyone better suited for it."

It wasn't much longer for him to finish fixing the parts she needed fixed. So he was going to take a ride with an assassin? Could be worse. She could of kept it a secret and killed him when he was done. Though, that still seemed like a possibility. "So, what now? We heading off world?" He dusted his hands off as he pulled away from his work. It was done. Now, what would she do?

 

[Kitty]

Kitty got exactly the reaction she was looking for but at the same time he surprised her. He didn't put on a touch act in preemptive self defense. Heck he didn't seem threatened by her occupation at all. He didn't accuse her of deceit at all instead taking her words as the truth. That was probably the most surprising part. Most people expected assassins to be super edgy and unsociable which to the detriment of their job usually were. Kitty was an oddity due to her unique take on the sith way. She was warm and friendly at one point and killing someone at another. If she had to summarize his reaction in one word it'd be genuine. From their interactions so far he's probably the most genuine person she'd ever met. It was refreshing and strange at the same time. She almost wanted to accuse him of lying.

Tor went back to work and Kitty could tell he was a little lost in thought this time. Well at least he wasn't an idiot. He finished up and asked if they would be taking off.

"Yup. I was only here because I was stranded. I don't want to have to contend with this heat any longer than I have too." Kitty said in her usual sing songy emotionally open and dynamic voice. But then she grew a little more serious. "Unfortunately I won't be able to enjoy your company for the majority of our flight though. I don't look like it but I'm a felecation and have a condition where I can't cope with hyperspace in anyway. I am restricted to my cage while traveling and my pilot droid takes care of, well piloting. You can do whatever, but for obvious reasons my personal room will be off limits even though I won't be occupying it."

With that Kitty went to her room and locked away her lightsabers and putting on some disposable clothing. Normally she'd just sit in her cage naked for the transformation so as not to ruin any clothing but normally she didn't have a guest either. Locking herself in her cage she instructed her pilot droid to set course for Naboo. She'd have time to chat with Tor for a bit before the stress from hyper space proved to be too much.

[member="Tor Icehammer"]

 

[Kitty]

Kitty got exactly the reaction she was looking for but at the same time he surprised her. He didn't put on a touch act in preemptive self defense. Heck he didn't seem threatened by her occupation at all. He didn't accuse her of deceit at all instead taking her words as the truth. That was probably the most surprising part. Most people expected assassins to be super edgy and unsociable which to the detriment of their job usually were. Kitty was an oddity due to her unique take on the sith way. She was warm and friendly at one point and killing someone at another. If she had to summarize his reaction in one word it'd be genuine. From their interactions so far he's probably the most genuine person she'd ever met. It was refreshing and strange at the same time. She almost wanted to accuse him of lying.

Tor went back to work and Kitty could tell he was a little lost in thought this time. Well at least he wasn't an idiot. He finished up and asked if they would be taking off.

"Yup. I was only here because I was stranded. I don't want to have to contend with this heat any longer than I have too." Kitty said in her usual sing songy emotionally open and dynamic voice. But then she grew a little more serious. "Unfortunately I won't be able to enjoy your company for the majority of our flight though. I don't look like it but I'm a felecation and have a condition where I can't cope with hyperspace in anyway. I am restricted to my cage while traveling and my pilot droid takes care of, well piloting. You can do whatever, but for obvious reasons my personal room will be off limits even though I won't be occupying it."

With that Kitty went to her room and locked away her lightsabers and putting on some disposable clothing. Normally she'd just sit in her cage naked for the transformation so as not to ruin any clothing but normally she didn't have a guest either. Locking herself in her cage she instructed her pilot droid to set course for Naboo. She'd have time to chat with Tor for a bit before the stress from hyper space proved to be too much.

[member="Tor Icehammer"]

 

[Tor Icehammer]

Once again the young Felecation took Tor in surprise. She.. Needed to lock herself in a cage? A frown immediately took over his features as he watched her leave. He didn't have anything to say, not yet. He needed to think. He certainly didn't want her stuck in a cage the entire time. But, by the time she came back he hadn't thought of anything. All he could do was sit by the cage as she locked herself in, looking rather annoyed with the idea.

"There isn't anything else that can help? You don't belong in a cage." He scratched the back of his head, really trying to think of something, anything that could help. Still, nothing. He let out a sigh, leaning his back against the cage. "That's pretty unfortunate condition. I'm sorry you have to go through it. I'll stay here with you, if that's alright. It's bad enough you're in a cage, I don't want you feeling alone on top of it." He glanced over his shoulder to [member="Kitty"] , offering a smile.

 

[Kitty]

Aww that cute. "Believe me I do. If I wasn't in this cage specifically designed for me I'd tear this ship apart and our remains would be scattered to the solar winds."

As if the earlier comment wasn't cute enough he wanted to keep her company too. "I appreciate it but I feel more bad for not being able to keep you company. I'm going to be in a rage and won't care either way. You could always chat with me droid though. Fair warning they have a habit pressing peoples buttons for fun."

Before long the stress overcame her rational mind and Kitty morphed into the form of a very large cat, that one that tried it's darnest to rip Tor to shreds if he was stilling hanging out near her. Her rage would be equally torn between trying to claw Tor and shredding the darn cage bars that kept her from him. They were made of alloys several times stronger than durasteel though and would yield.

Eventually they would exit hyperspace and it would take an hour for Kitty to calm down and return to her usual self though still in the form of a giant cat. Her droid the only one who knew how to release her from the cage would let her out as soon as she was calm. Kitty went to her room to shift forms and get changed, probably in the same clothes as before. They were her most comfortable options. As she was doing that the droid was landing the ship on Naboo away from any official spaceports using it's advance stealth technology to avoid the authorities. This was her favorite planet because of how beautiful it was and the people were so nice too. When she was still an acolyte though she was bored and had the most wonderful idea of robbing a very wealthy and high security bank. So yea she wasn't actually suppose to be on this planet.

Kitty came out with her clothes on and her lightsabers at her hips. She didn't really need anything else for her surveillance. "Well I guess this is where we part ways. You have exploring to do and I have a mark to kill." Kitty said somewhat disappointed. Having fun on Naboo was far more enticing right now than another kill for a little credits. Well actually it was a lot. Kitty tended to only take the hard jobs that few assassins were capable of pulling off. She'd been trained by the leader of the sith assassins and doing this her entire life, she was more than capable.

[member="Tor Icehammer"]

 

[Tor Icehammer]

"Don't worry too much about it. I like being around you." He flashed a grin, though got up as she morphed into her cat. He scooted away from the bars as one of the massive paws came through. Ah, so [member="Kitty"] was a shapeshifter too? He shook his head, chuckling. Of course she was. He yawned, once, before he shifted himself, casually taking his true form as a wolf and plopped down in front of the cage, one eye lazily watching the raging cat.

Really, he was looking for a away to try and help her stay calm. Why must this be so tricky?

He wouldn't leave, staying with her the entire time just watching and waiting, until finally she stopped. His ears flicked forward once she did. It took that long for her to recover? Tor tilted his head, glancing to the droid as it let her out, then when she was gone he shifted back to his 'people' form, stretching his arms overhead. "Actually. If it's not too much, I'd like to spend more time with you and get to know you." He flashed a smile. Assassin or not, she was both cute and kind.

"Course, I wont get in the way of your business. Just, I'd like to meet up with you when you're done." Sort of. He'd probably end up following her just for something to do, but he wouldn't tell her that aloud. Might be a bit creepy, even if he was doing it to try and keep her safe in case things went south for her.