Private Second Date U-Haul

[Niysha]

For a brief moment, Niysha considered how she wanted to respond to that. "Honestly" was the best possible answer, but she also needed to join In in lightening the mood. It was impossible to do the slow lean in, wiggling her eyebrows and giving saucy bedroom eyes, but she did her best approximation while missing the half of her face that would let her do that whole routine. "I'm afraid I'm one of a kind~"

She maintained that nonsense for approximately two whole seconds before busting out in a quiet giggle. When she was done, she took a deep breath and let the conversation return to seriousness. "In all honesty, I don't think there are any more like me. The ones like me tend to not become Sith. I'm kind of a special case."

Adekos had picked her out because she was quiet, smart, and could probably survive in a power-mad market. And there was no one like Adekos except...

Niysha was a bit quietly morose for a moment, burdened by her thoughts. Had her eagerness to leave, to cut ties entirely with the order left more potential apprentices who were exactly like her without a port in the storm? Was that even her responsibility, to shelter quiet, smart apprentices that would be ground to dust beneath the Sith warmonger factory without a godmother to shelter them? Did she even care if it was? The answer to that last question haunted her far more than she liked.

Snap back to reality. "By and large, Sith have far more money than any of them should. Embarrassing riches. Normally they throw them away without a second thought, and accidentally tip in excess just because they don't understand the value of money. Occasionally, however, they don't pay." She stopped and held up one finger authoritatively. "Do not argue for your pay. Ever. That's so obvious I almost don't feel the need to explain it, but I am explaining it and I need to make it so clear that your ears bleed don't ever argue with a Sith." Her grip on In's hand got a bit tighter. "The customer is always right when they can shoot lightning and break your neck with their mind."

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

And, hey, that was fairly familiar territory as well. Sounded like a Hutt. Even if you were in the right, even if you had written word, if a Hutt thought they could run out on the bill - they would. And if you tried to call them on it, they weighed a metric ton of solid muscle, had more money than you would know what to do with, and were functionally incapable of forgetting slights. Every transaction was a gamble, rolling the chance for fabulous wealth against the chance that you'd simply be left out to hang and worse - that you should be thankful for that outcome.

"I suppose my wandering Home for Wayward Women With Intense Emotions'll have to wait, then." In sighed theatrically. "I've still got my hands full with just the one."

In leaned back again, maintaining the slightest bit of contact with just fingertips. "I'm not planning on following you unless you call for me to do so, but... if I do. I'll keep my head down, my operations discrete." In promised. While she'd like the opportunity to see what was going on beyond the Blackwall and make a buck off of it, she didn't want it so bad as to stress Niysha out. And honestly, business had been pretty good lately! They weren't swimming in credits, but their needs were taken care of enough that getting Niysha that shuttle wasn't a wild suggestion. Speaking of.

In tapped her knuckles on the table. "Wanna go have a look at that shuttle, see what's up with it?" She propose cheerfully, shaking her empty coffee up.

 

[Niysha]

Right. In wasn't planning on dealing with Sith. This whole thing was just performative, at this point. Niysha took the chance to back off of the entire topic and count her blessings that, for the moment, In didn't have any intention of trying to run the Blackwall. Staying out of Sith space and out of contact with any Sith but the most harmless one in the galaxy was the safest possible thing to do. And no, she wasn't being possessive at all. In Rhan wasn't her territory, and she was objecting to the entire idea because it was unsafe for any living person to interact with Sith, not just because another Sith talking to her girlfriend was personally upsetting.

Another thing to unpack later, then.

Niysha finished her caff and put down the cup with a quiet, hollow 'tok.' In was moving the two of them along, so she graciously accepted the distraction. "Yeah. We need to go see if it's haunted, or used to be a spice house, or someone got murdered in it." She took a moment to stand and police both of their cups, still rattling off more things that could be wrong. "Realistically it's probably just stripped down and the cannibalized parts sold off separately. The hull didn't look damaged, so it follows that the whole thing was gutted."

After a few moments, Niysha noticed that she was in a very negative mental space. After she dropped their caff cups into a disposal bin, she took a moment to breathe and quiet her emotions. Bottled up and pickled for later, all of that panic, frustration, and shame would make for exceptional ammunition when she needed to bring the heat.

When she turned around and returned to the table, Niysha bent down to give In a quick kiss on the forehead, then exhaled one last time. "Alright. I'm good."

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

A quick kiss, free of context. In accepted it with only mild question, canting her head to the side inquisitively - but there was no need to ask why a kiss was. She'd barely doubted that Niysha wasn't good, and if anything the zero-context that she was only RAISED concerns. But. Hometown talk. Rules, boundaries, Niysha probably had some bad memories pulled up. In decided to leave it at that and smiled, leading her partner deeper into Yeddim station.

"Honestly, I'm hoping for murdered owner." In remarked idly, scrolling the datapad to do some research. "That scrubs out. I'd have to get some kind of expert to look into a haunting, and let's be honest."

In gave Niysha an askance look, raising her eyebrows. Her expression was flat, unreadable. "Niysha. I have zero reason to think that you're capable of evicting a ghost from a ship, if ghosts turn out to be real. Zero justification for thinking you can handle ghosts at all." In stated plainly. "I also have the utmost confidence that you know more about ghosts than everybody on this station combined, just because you are who you are." The Pantoran woman tapped Niysha's arm with a light flick. "So when you casually open your mouth in a moment and mention some offhand ghost trivia about how they don't like shuttles or you could get rid of them by changing the floormats or something, I just want you remember that moment every time you try and convince me you aren't some borderline omniscient hyper-genius."

She offered the datapad back. smirking. "How do you wanna play this if it's worth buying? Haggle ten percent off the sticker price, pay in cash and go home? Or really fleece the joint? Looking at the financing rates they advertise, we're completely within our rights to be aggressive."

 

[Niysha]

At no less than four different points during In's rant did Niysha feel the acute need to interject precious facts into the discussion. Yes, she did know more about ghosts than anyone on the station, and she could probably resolve one through force or finesse. But both of these things would have made the ship more expensive if she brought them up during negotiations. She had a basic understanding of haggling, thank-you-very-much.

When In lathered as many tiny touches of passing affection on her, Niysha affixed her face with a neutral expression to match. "I have no particular need for honesty, In. Whatever angle you want to take, we'll take that angle and I'll do my best to support it." She retrieved her datapad and put it away in her bag, following the Pantoran off deeper into the station. "The seller doesn't need to be aware of the relative ease at which we can resolve any problems, and in fact it might be better to play them up. I'm not terribly good at inventing narratives wholesale, but I'll do what I can to support your strategy."

Between rants, Niysha took a moment to consciously return her vibe to 'chill' from 'guarded and a bit tense.' She'd have to remember that home brought out the worst in her in the future; In only deserved her best. When she was capable of smiling again, she offered her partner one. "And for the record, it's normally less funny and somehow even less dramatic than just changing the furniture. Lingering spirits are frequently invisible to normal people and need to be contended with purely through the Force, so exorcisms often look very unimpressive."

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about." In laughed. "What AREN'T you good at?"

As they approached Kagor's Supply - what appeared to be a fairly generic 'catch-all' store, In took a moment to prepare. Mostly, this meant making sure her blaster was in sight and secured, taking her headwrap off, and adjusting Niysha's appearance a little to make sure they both looked spiffy and free of station dust. "If my instincts are right about this place, they sell basically everything on loan or layaway programs." In speculated. "Lease you a ship with a predatory interest rate, repossess it and your assets when you default or just sell you off to the Hutts. Fully half of these 'we sell everything' places are that exact scam. The rest tend to be struggling family business on thin enough margins that they can't turn away any potential revenue stream. A couple generations of that and you wind up selling shuttles alongside cattle and tibanna." In explained quietly.

She flicked some fuzz off of Niysha's shoulders. "If it's the first kind, we rip 'em off as hard as we can. No holds barred." In explained. "They're basically an economic parasite on the station - we burn 'em and go. If it's the second..." She shrugged mildly, looking a little guilty. "We haggle down a bit from sticker price and I'll eat the difference to help out an endangered species." In explained. "After we have a look at the ship and see if it's worth buying."

"That's the game plan. But I'll follow your lead." In allowed a grin to sneak onto her face. "This is your shuttle, after all. I'm just your loving sugar momma, here to support you." The Pantoran woman giggled. "And help you kick the tires on your new skipper, of course."

 

[Niysha]

So either a mom-and-pop shop that provides everything, or loan sharks with extra bells and whistles. It was pointless for Niysha to navel-gaze over how she would've handled this without In being present; obviously her method of interacting with mercantilism was slightly different in a vacuum, but she wouldn't even be in this situation without In's presence in her life. She wouldn't have needed a small, personal, hyperspace-capable shuttle to stash in/on a rugged old medium freighter without In, either. Her partner was present, and that meant that however this might go if she hadn't been was pointless speculation.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do," the Miraluka replied as In finished explaining her thoughts. "But I do feel it's probably a better idea for you to take the lead in negotiations. I can give it my best shot, but I'm not particularly business savvy."

It took her a moment to parse that response. Her lips pursed a bit, and seconds later she was futzing with her hair while she wandered through In's actual meaning and intent. "...But this is my thing. This is something I wanted to do, and doing it my way is more important than doing it right." After a moment, Niysha gave a nod. "I understand. I'll give it my best shot."

For what had to have been the half-dozenth time in recent memory, Niysha was quietly frustrated that she didn't ever ask Lord Adekos for more lessons on business. Considering just how many times she, In, or both of them had been faced with economic trials, it would've been real nice to have some kind of sagacious salesman training. She could fake it through aura reading and generally sensing people's emotions, but all of that was clumsy nonsense compared to actual skill.

Niysha set her jaw, fluffed her hair, and fixed her blindfold, then turned to face In. "Alright. Let's give this a shot."

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

Kagor's Supply certainly did not instill confidence with In. Less a warehouse and more a junkyard with aspirations, what had probably once been an auxiliary starport on the bottom of Yeddim station had been converted into rough storage for all manner of bric-a-brac and junk. Sure, the nicer, larger, big-ticket items were up front and on display for passers-by. The shuttle they'd come here to look at was given a prime place of honor near the front gate, the cockpit covered with waxy writing that advertised how flexible they were on financing options, credit, and the like. In had no doubt that the swanky little shuttle had about a half-dozen little trackers and disablers hidden in the frame in case somebody tried to run out on one of those agreements.

Framing the shuttle was a motley collection of speeder bikes, family vehicles, scooters, and droids. Some of them weren't in horrible condition, at least at a glance. In wandered down the row looking thoughtful, making her way towards the shuttle.

The rest of the yard was a disaster. Piles of miscellaneous scrap advertised by component and gathered by cost, bins of loosely-associated parts with handwritten signs, racks of pipes and poles and lumber. Pallets of gathered relief rations, water rations, and parachutes likely intended for some crisis they'd never arrived at. In had been expecting a proper resale specialist (predatory or otherwise) but Kagor's Supply looked more like a hardware store with a side-hustle.

A ramshackle building built into the corner of the former starport like a tumor served as the lead office, and from it came the irritated squeals of an Ugnaught followed by the very, very mild protestations of a Nemoidian woman. The latter emerged a moment later, looking a little flustered. She took a moment to adjust her business-casual khakis and blouse before power-walking across the yard towards the only two customers present.

"Good morning! Welcome to Kagor's Supply!" The saleswoman greeted warmly, her hands clasped together. She was visibly nervous despite her sunny disposition. "I see you're here about he Sojurner? A very popular item, I do not expect we will be able to hold onto it for very long!"

In smiled, crouched near the folded wing of the shuttle. "Oh, I'm just here for support." She promised, waving her hands and laughing. "You'll want to talk to my partner. She's the real brains here."

The Nemoidian turned to face Niysha, smiling. Her smile became slightly strained as she tried to hide her surprise. Could... a blind woman even pilot a shuttle? "Ah. Uh. Of course. We welcome all customers, regardless of disability or lifestyle. Hello, customer! My name is Yunna Xlib - welcome to Kagor's Supply. You are interested in the shuttle?"

 

[Niysha]

In Rhan was sort of an expert on spacer things. Niysha was no slouch, either, but within a rounding error In had lived her whole life on hyperlanes. It was truly uncommon that she'd be wrong about something, so Niysha freely offered her the benefit of the doubt when it was very obvious that this was a completely normal supply shop without any amoral mobsters or desperate grandmothers.

Within the Miraluka's comfortable range were two droids, less than half a dozen Ugnaughts, and one... Duros? No, Neimoidian lady approaching the two of them. Duros were extremely common on rustbucket stations, and at times it took Niysha a moment to distinguish between them and their few subspecies. With Twi'leks it was much easier - just count the lekku - and with humans it was nigh-impossible. So many human subspecies were distinguished entirely by minute colorations, and those obviously didn't show up in their aura.

The ground itself was full of junk, as expected, but the definition of "junk" was far less specialized than she'd expected. This looked to be a small junker dealership stapled to a spacer outfitter. With that perspective, it made complete sense; any ship that docked with Yeddim on their way to someplace else might have use for an extra swoop or two, and as self-evident, larger ships might need secondary transportation of their own. Parts, supplies, and occasional full-form hardware, all in one place. Successful business idea.

The woman, Yuuna, was the sort of person that Niysha had to take extra care to examine closely, lest she dismiss her completely. The Force-blind, unexciting masses were easy to tune out, the distinctive aspects of their auras sharply muted. Yuuna Xlib had no grand destiny ahead of her and didn't get any more bad feelings than probably anyone else she'd ever talked to, which meant that she was a dull blob of muted tones standing right next to In Rhan, the most exciting and attractive woman Niysha had ever seen. Poor lass never stood a chance.

Otherwise, her aura was very normal. She wasn't even particularly greedy, which Niysha supposed was exceptional in its own way for a Neimoidian.

"Interested, yes, but this will be my first craft," Niysha began. In, who had spent weeks listening to her talk, might have detected the affected nervousness in her voice. "The price is right, and my friend here is a dab hand at repair, so I figured why not give it a shot?" She left one hand behind her head, rubbing the back of her neck in mild anxiety as she turned her face deliberately to look at the Sojourner on display. "It's... it's a really big investment, though. I don't normally see that many zeroes."

While her spirit animal was probably some kind of panicked ground rodent, Niysha was always very deliberate in everything she did. She hadn't read the Force to navigate this conversation, but she had absolutely gone in with a plan. And right now, that plan was being mildly pitiable, inexperienced, and in need of a gentle hand. This woman was relatively normal, and relatively normal people tended to be quite receptive to pity... and unwilling to intentionally and maliciously harm anything that engendered it.

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

"Of course! It is a very large investment, and you'll want to be assured of your..." Yunna trailed off, realizing she'd been about to repeat a word. "...purchase. Of it." She concluded vaguely, glancing at the shuttle with her brow furrowed.

"It's got nice thrusters." In volunteered from behind the Sojurner. "They new?"

Yunna flinched as though she'd been struck, blinking rapidly. "Ah! Keen eye, my hopeful customer! Gently used, I'm told, very gently indeed. The shuttle was purchased by a wealthy merchant for his daughter to use." She explained cheerfully. "Shame what happened to her. Shame. But! Her family loss is potentially your gain!" After an awkward pause, Yunna clasped her hands soberly before herself and bowed a little. "I like to think it is what she would have wanted..."

"I bet." In tried not to snicker into her wrist, still crouched behind the shuttle. The Pantoran woman ran her thumb along the interior of the thruster, checking the residue, then slid beneath the shuttle. With a bit of effort, In pulled herself beneath the vessel - manageable mainly due to how skinny she was. "Got some damage on the underside. Ion burn. We'll want to check the electronics."

"Of course." Yunna agreed cheerfully.

"They took her alive, right? Might've fried the life support. We'll want to check that, too."

"I would have insisted if you hadn't brought it up!" Yunna chirped, slightly strained.

"Also the lander pads are aftermarket - why?" She asked curiously. "The Sojourner only hit open market last year."

"I can only speculate, honored friend to my hopeful customer!" Yunna apologized cheerfully, sounding a bit terse. "But such speculation would doubtlessly be much less informed than your own!"

"Mm. How's the marzal vanes? No side-fumbling on the waneshaft?" In asked from beneath the shuttle.

"Effectively eliminated, I've checked myself! We have an industry standard ten point inspection process, and a new droid just to handle such things-"

In popped her head out from under the shuttle, smirking. "No such thing as a marzal vane." She snickered. "This shuttle's hot as hell, isn't it?"

Yunna stammered slightly. "I-I-I! We haven't even checked the life support yet!"

"Not what I meant~!" In answered in singsong, slipping back beneath the chassis.

 

[Niysha]

Ah, In was on her own thing right now. That was probably fine; Niysha didn't really have any issue playing good cop to her girlfriend(?!)'s bad cop. From this close and with enough concentration on the moment, it wasn't hard to pick up the swirl of raw anxiety coming off of poor Yuuna Xilb's aura. Even if she hadn't, a first-year apprentice who just received some percussive correction to the side of his head by an instructor would've been able to sense her desperation.

So, with the Neimoidian on the defensive and In on the attack, Niysha decided to take the middle ground. After all, they weren't planning on literally robbing the place, to her knowledge. "I wasn't planning on having to cycle the transponders for my first ship, but we play the hand we're dealt," she replied with a tone that didn't quite imply a sigh. "I believe that's something that we could handle on our own, though it'll take some time. I'd like to know if the previous owner had any acquaintances or family that might object to me flying it instead, but that's likely not information you asked for."

Crossing her arms, the Miraluka shifted her gaze towards the shuttle itself. She hadn't been lying about her inexperience gaguing the value of spacecraft; since nothing inside was actively haunted, cursed, or otherwise overtly evil, there wasn't a lot she could actually identify no matter how deep inside the thing's guts she could see. But that was a fun angle: Niysha knew it wasn't haunted. At all. And there was now the implication on the table that someone had died inside.

"Miss Yuuna? I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Niysha," she offered a hand for a shake, then indicated to the shuttle by inclining her head slightly and furrowing her brow behind her blindfold. "...Has anyone noticed anything weird about this ship? Gauges behaving bizarrely? Reading a charge when the whole thing was unpowered? Maybe someone heard a knocking?"

There was absolutely no ghost haunting this minor designer boutique's last-year shuttle. But Niysha sure had a lot of experience with spirits and knew exactly how to invoke thoughts of them in others.

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

"Only what might be considered consistent with the manner of the ships acquisition." Yuuna murmured, giving the shuttle a mildly annoyed glance - or perhaps the Pantoran underneath who'd found the ion damage. "The worst of the damage to the wiring has already been replaced - at no small cost to Madame Kragor, mind!" She pointed out eagerly. "As well as some of the secondary systems that showed unacceptable signs of damage."

"Mmmm, aftermarket parts again." In noted softly, clucking her tongue. "Tricky, that. Sales listing didn't disclose that. Ages the shuttle, effectively. Worth a discount."

The Nemoidian woman's fluster bordered on visible annoyance. She gave Niysha her full focus. "We took the shuttle out for a triangle jump after our repairs, for diagnostic purposes." She explained. "The logs are still stored in the console, if you'd like to have a look. The only irregularity that is outside of standard acceptable deviation is that the fuel consumption is slightly higher than expected, and higher-than-average noise when utilizing the atmospheric engines."

She paused, giving In an expectant glance as the skinny woman slid out from under the shuttle and got to her feet. "What?" In asked with a mild grin. "I don't have a problem with that. Not my ship. Who doesn't love a nice, throaty engine, either?"

 

[Niysha]

And so she was passing from out of her depth to annoyed. Niysha noted the shift and considered her approach. In was already putting this woman on the back foot, but Niysha wasn't entirely sure how to close out on that before they reached the point of aggravated price-hikes and the whole thing went up in smoke. Yuuna Xlib probably wouldn't and likely couldn't do that, but it was still something Niysha didn't want to discount.

For a long moment of consideration, Niysha physically stared at the shuttle. As always, this was a conscious tactic to show her engagement, rather than a structural requirement. "How much work do you think would be required to get it flying, Miss Yuuna?" Her tone had changed the slightest bit - from 'overwhelmed' to 'gently thoughtful' - though it didn't seem to be much affected by the general catting match that the other two were having.

"My friend told me to expect to have to do some work regardless of what condition it was in. I'd like to know how much you'd expect, given its current condition and the repairs that Madame Kragor has already made?" She'd wait for a second opinion from In... but at this point, Niysha probably didn't need to do anything more than angle her head vaguely in In's direction to get her to pipe up with counterpoints.

A few of the Ugnaughts were having... some kind of gathering. It wasn't clear if it was a commune, a huddle, a chant, if they were on break, talking shop, or whatever else. Niysha didn't understand their language, so there wasn't much hope of sussing out the context. She didn't sense hostility, though, except from poor Yuuna Xlib, whose day had become significantly rougher since she met In. For the moment, that implied that they weren't about to be mugged by a small army.

Her poker face was exceptional. She didn't even smile at her own accidental, internal pun.

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

Yunna gave In an exasperate look as the Pantoran woman opened her mouth - entirely pre-emptively. In shrugged, smiled, and closed it again.

"It can fly now." The Nemoidian woman asserted firmly. She then gave the gathering of Ugnaughts a slightly furtive look and leaned in a bit. "This model was a custom job. Nonstandard. Modified, or maybe a prototype stolen in development." She explained quietly. "Madame pulled out most of the customizations for resale and replaced them with standard parts. Same for the ones damaged in the ion blasts." Yuuna explained intently. "I am only telling you this because she already suspects something amiss where there is nothing and I would very much like to make a sale."

Yuna straightened up and and flipped open a keycard, opening the shuttle door. The interior lights clicked as they came to life, the inside of the shuttle smelled strongly of disinfectant and cleaners. "Please. Step inside, and have a look around. It's been recently cleaned. The cockpit chair, I found to be quite comfortable. You may look at the logs, if you like. Test the instruments."

"Mind if she fires up the engine?" In asked idly. "I'd like to hear it run."

"Of course." Yunna agreed, climbing into the shuttle.

 

[Niysha]

Without bashfulness, Niysha followed the other two women into the shuttle. She took it in as she did all things: all at once, from every angle, bereft of the context and fine details that might come from differences in coloration. It was a shuttle, so the cockpit was very small, without enough space for two and barely a proper divide with the main cabin. Niysha took a seat in the provided chair and ran her fingers over a few controls.

She spotted the bits that she had a decent idea how to identify on most ships (and had gotten a bit of coaching from In in the Dancer over the last couple of weeks). Her fingers flicked over the core power switch, main cockpit power, and backup power in three little clicks. She turned down the cockpit lighting immediately, the space filling with a quiet bwoooo sound in response. After a moment, her hands rested on one of the larger levers above her head and the main console.

"Please inform any workers outside that they should clear away from the engines," Niysha commented quietly, then waited until she knew there would be no droids or Ugnaughts fried by her actions. When the coast was clear, she pulled hard on the main engine ignition. There was barely a choke before the sublight engine roared to life. To give In plenty of time to check, Niysha left it going for a solid twenty seconds before powering it down again.

Lever, dial, click-click-click. The Sojourner powered down once more, and the Miraluka stood to join the other two women in the cabin area. For once, whether organically or in affectation, Niysha held one of her elbows with the other arm in a staggeringly adorable display of shyness. "Hope I didn't forget anything. That was the full test, right? What do you think?"

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

The engine sounded fine enough to In. It didn't have the smooth purr that a model this recent and this swanky should, but she figured it'd be a relatively easy fix - given a little time to figure out what the Ugnaughts had replaced with genetic parts and some providence to find suitable replacements. All in all, the shuttle wasn't a bad in investment by any means. Especially when one took into account that they were in the middle of nowhere. It made more financial sense to go to a more populated hub and find something where there was more variety, but...

Niysha so rarely asked In for anything. How could she not spring to her feet when Niysha actually did?

The Pantoran woman sat down at the table in the small galley, looking annoyed as she tak-tak'd away at her datapad. "Your sticker price is frankly ridiculous. Half of the bounty hunters in this area are going to be looking for the business princess that got pulled out of this aftermaket nightmare machine." She commented dryly. "We'll give you half of what you're asking for. If it's a prototype, the manufacturer might pay us to haul it back to the core for 'em. We'll do you the favor of hauling it back to our ship itself so the slower bounty hunters don't come after your shop."

The Miralukan accessibility feature In had installed on all of their screens once Niysha had made her aware of them was very useful. Notably, the electronic signals were visible through as thin a material as the datapad itself. In had typed out the sticker price -%15 where Yunna couldn't see it, but Niysha likely could.

"Frankly insulting." Yunna scoffed, though she didn't seem terribly offended. If anything, she was pleased that negotiation had begun - signalling a hopeful conclusion and sale on the horizon. "The shuttle works fine. You take umbridge with parts, but acknoledge that it flies well and find no issue with it besides principle. I won't be bullied." The Nemoidian declared. "The young lady here is my customer, anyway, by your own admission. And I respectfully offer her a five percent discount for her patience and understanding in this somewhat rocky sales experience. A courtesy to signal the goodwill of Kagor's Supply.

 

[Niysha]

Non-verbal communication was something of a specialty of Niysha's. She was no Lorrdian, but considering how loudly people tended to communicate with their actions, their emotions, and their spirits, it wasn't hard to pick up on secondary messaging. She didn't need all of that to understand In's intent here; all she needed was a couple of months having known her and some basic logical reasoning.

Haggling tended to be compromise. One party would set a number, the next would insult that number. They would then continue moving the needle until they'd both arrived at a total that they found roughly inoffensive. Niysha wasn't great at haggling, but she understood the basic purpose, so she understood that - after a "5% discount" - suggesting 15% would lead them to compromise at 10%. A small discount for a machine in remarkably good condition and the slight mental strife of the saleswoman.

Niysha didn't open her mouth until she knew what she was saying. "The goodwill of Kagor's Supply is noted and exceptionally welcome," the Miraluka replied with a warm, humanizing smile. "As it's such a large investment, you'll understand my hesitation. I'm not terribly good at haggling - or flying, or fixing ships - but there's one thing I do know quite well."

As of recent? She'd had a lot of practice in- "Sensors and communications operation. I've been flying co-pilot with my friend for quite a while now, and I've had plenty of time to appraise myself of the basics. I noticed, over there-" Niysha indicated to an organized pile of starship parts, "-you have a Maji Iornworks M.I. package. I worked with one a few months back. If we were to pay up front for both the Sojourner and that scanner system, would that be a substantive enough investment to merit a consideration of fifteen percent?"

Niysha was not currently and had never been a Jedi, but she likely would've talked circles around most Jedi "negotiators."

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

Yunna looked torn on this. On one hand, it was a considerable payday. On the other... "I will have to discuss this with Madame Kragor." She explained as gently as possible, her tone placating and even a little apologetic. This close to the finish line, she was no doubt entirely willing to forgo further haggling just to have the shuttle gone and credits in-hand. "But I do not think she will be entirely displeased by this offer. If you'd like to wait here..." Yunna motioned to the galley, which already happened to have Niysha's girlfriend waiting in it.

Yunna then departed quickly, wringing her hands. In greeted Niysha with an affectionate kiss and nudge, her grin audible. "Not bad." She purred playfully. "We'll make an honest spacer out of you yet."


Yunna returned twenty minutes later with a stack of paperwork and an anxious smile - good news in hand. The price had been agreed upon, the parts as well - the shuttle WAS a bit hot, after all, and as exotic as an executive shuttle was this far out? It was likely only a matter of time before it'd walked right out of Kragor's Supply. In wondered, watching the sensor suite being loaded onto the shuttle for conveyance back to the starport, if they could have leveraged for free installation.

She wouldn't have TAKEN it, of course. She already had to rip the cute little shuttle apart to make sure there weren't any bugs, trackers, or mynock eggs hidden in the frame. But it would have been fun to make the saleswoman sweat a bit more.

When all was said and done, documents signed and credits exchanged, In slipped into the back of the shuttle and made herself comfortable. She motioned to the cockpit with a wide smile. "Go ahead and take us home, captain." In chirped gleefully. "Or for a victory lap. Your choice."

 

[Niysha]

One of the small blessings of having no eyes was that normal species tended to think you had a fantastic sabacc face. Niysha's quietly anxious giddiness at what might have been her first major, big-ticket negotiation was mercifully hidden from conventional sight as she gave a gracious bow and gentle smile to Yuuna Xlib. "Of course, Miss Yuuna. We'll be right here."

She didn't even bother trying to hide it when she felt In bap their hips together, giving a big, bright, grin that might as well have been a floodlight to the sky compared to her normal range of expression. "I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop."

When Yuuna returned to confirm it had not, indeed, dropped, Niysha and In loaded her brand new premium-grade multispectrum sensor package onto the little junker shuttle she'd managed to weasel out for almost fully half-off its retailer price, closed up the ramp, and already had their first heading. In lazed about like the queen of Naboo, and for once, Niysha took the helm.

She took a minute to turn everything back on. Click-click-click, dial, lever. The sound of the engines roaring to life, the hum of the ship following suit... she idly wondered how long it would take for the two of them to become so second-nature to her that she stopped noticing their presence, and began to notice their absence. As the Sojourner lifted off from a small junk dealer inside a nowhere junk station for the first time under her control, she only flew it as far as the exterior hangar field and a few hundred meters out before turning to halt her momentum.

"Just give me a minute, In. I can fly alright with just the console, but I need to..." Niysha's voice trailed off, as did her consciousness. She wasn't a small speck in a greater galaxy this time. More relevant in the moment, she was a single organ inside a greater body. Her purpose as the will of the ship was to determine its heading and guide it on that path, but without the other organs, she couldn't accomplish much. Without the engines, there was no flight. Without the reactor, the whole body died. Without the sensors, none of them would know where they were. Without the wings, no amount of thrust would move them to their destination.

One organ amongst many. All beating as one in the Force, rather than bound together by it.

As she always did, she fell back into herself. Niysha wasn't sure if it'd been ten seconds or half an hour. Normally, this sort of thing was relatively fast. "...Much better." She shifted the engine to medium throttle and steered the ship into a path above the top of Yeddim Station. As she did, her voice was as steady as ever. "Obviously the front viewport doesn't do anything for me, and we'll need to replace the consoles with something a bit easier to read, but neither of those things really affect me."

Without even an instant of hesitation or uncertainty, the Miraluka guided the lightly-used Sojourner on an extremely smooth path across the currents of the Force that only she could see. "I've had a few people assume that I'd have trouble flying, but many of the best pilots in galactic history have been exceptionally strong in the Force. I'm quite comfortable walking the trails they pioneered."

In Rhan

 

[In Rhan]

In smiled and relaxed, watching Niysha light up. It was subtle enough that you might miss it if you didn't know what you were looking for - the way she leaned into her words, the energy in her hands and the way she forgot to turn her head towards your voice. In had become familiar enough to recognize it. Niysha was a guarded person with nonstandard tells, but she HAD tells. And her joy was plain to see. It made every credit worth it.

In discarded the fantasy of browbeating Yunna down another few percents. It would have delayed this joy, and that wasn't acceptable.

Reclined in the galley, In stretched her legs out and made herself cozy. It was hard, letting somebody else pilot after so long being the only hands on the yoke. Really hard. But not something she couldn't adjust to. Besides, wouldn't it be fun to give Niysha the full deluxe treatment, and mince around her shuttle like an eager stewardess while Niysha took victory laps? In bookmarked that idea in the same part of her mind that handled buying wine and tending the lilies.

"I think we still have a couple of your viewscreens in storage. We can get more." In promised readily, calmly. "We could probably replace the window with something more solid, too. You don't need to see out. Maybe see if we can commission a full-sized screen for your fancy sensor array." She proposed. With a blacked-out cockpit, it wouldn't look entirely unlike the ship itself was flying blindfolded - and that was a cute idea.

"How's it feel? Must be nice - you're practically giddy."