Take A Right Past Ansion

[Saria Messoa]

Saria sat back waiting, tapping the pistol on the side of her belt nervously. Her life had taken more spins and changes than she had dreamed were possible lately. One second she was leaving home jobless with just a ship and a wishful thought. The next she was running cargo with Koda, the next they were shanghaied and were pirates now. Saria was a pirate now, she guessed.

Across the bar she was waiting in, everyone here looked like pirates, outlaws, and such. The type of people you should fear. They had scars, tattoos, were unshaven, badly washed, and a lot of mean energy off them. Saria had none of those things, except a single, new tattoo on her fore arm.

She subtly turned her forearm to glance at it once more, hoprefully without drawing too much attention to herself. The Dragon's tale started just shy of her wrist, it slithered up to near her elbow in a curl to strike. Thankfully, the red swelling had subsided already, it looked natural--or as natural as it could look on her. Saria didn't think she would like it, but the more she saw the dragon, its design, the more she liked it. Maybe tattoos weren't so bad, she thought to herself.

Saria turned her arm back normally, adjusting her long sleeve, loose-fitting green blouse and the sleeveless black blast vest over it. She hated the vest, it totally ruined her look, but Saria also liked living, and it was good for that. Plus it helped her to blend in better with the locals--and at least it matched her black skinny jeans.

She wasn't here for a social visit, if that were the case, Saria would have gone to somewhere better cleaned and less filled with deadly people. She was here for a job. Someone had hired her, and they were about to go on some raid to wreck--well somewhere, they hadn't gone into details. But they pay was good, and she needed the money to put food on the table and spare parts on the Boon.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]​

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Kurayami found himself yet again, at a bar, trying to relax and clear his mind. Namana nectar helped to subdue some of the harsher things he had experienced. Or at least it normally managed to help. Tartarus and the events that played out there were still fresh in his mind, some of the memories were blurred and out of order, others were sharp enough in focus that it almost felt real still. As the bottle of drink was brought to him he removed the helmet from his flight suit, placing it on the bar next to him. The repairs on his armor afterwards had taken some time, so once it was done he was restless. He wanted to be back out there doing something. Anything.

An idea popped into his head, raiding. Maybe somewhere in the sector? But who and what? He wanted to steer clear of major corporations if he could given that they tended to protect any transports rather well. Maybe just hit something that was wrecked, so more of a salvage mission at least that is what he could explain it as if questioned by any outsiders. He had heard mention of a couple of pirates being spotted, cargo haulers that were somehow roped into the life. He chuckled as he thought back on the pirate crews he had flown against as part of Aquila squadron back in the day. Hell his modified version of his old A-Wing was what he had brought. He wasn't insterested in cargo or credits, but if he could help some lesser known pirates get their names out there...well, it could prove helpful in the future perhaps. As he tried to find ships listed as missing nearby on the holonet, a young woman who seemed out of place caught his eye. He had sent a message out about a wreck near the Ansion system that he was interested in hitting. This may be the woman who had responded.

Standing he picked up his helm from the bar and checked to make sure that his MSD-32 was in place and loaded. He hoped it wouldn't be needed, but during meetings it was always good to have a back up plan. His lightsaber hung just behind the holstered pistol on his left hip. Upon reaching the table of whom he believed to be his companion, he took a seat across from her a smirk playing over his features as he spoke.

"So, looks like someone got the message at least. Or I would assume so given you don't seem to be the type who would frequent such places normally. Now I know the details are sparse, but so is what I found. Not even sure what the cargo was or exact coordinates. Shouldn't be too hard of a find though. It's been missing for a few standard days, last known transmission was near Ansion. Tracing the signal they put it within a few clicks of the smaller hyperspace lanes. So that is where we will start. Exact details about the cut, but if you do well I promise it will be more than fair, if you are still interested."

He leaned back in his chair sipping at his drink as he awaited her response.

[member="Saria Messoa"]

 

[Saria Messoa]

A stranger approached Saria, saying that she didn't look like someone who would frequent this type of establisment. Her cheeks burned a rosey color with embarrassment. She had done the best she could to try and look like a natural. She would have to try harder, "I stick out that bad, huh? I'm Saria."

He gave her the details about this job, which were more than she had when she took the job up. She hadn't been doing this job for very long, but still this wasn't too much info either. She didn't really know how she felt about that. It was pretty scary just thinking about getting into a shoot out with someone to take what they had, and she didn't like the idea of taking something from someone else. But this was the path she was on, she needed the funds and that didn't leave her very much of a choice.

She nodded, swallowing, "Ok. Sounds fair to me."

She slid out of her seat with the booth in the back and smoothed her vest out, "I guess I should take you to the Boon then."

She walked out the bar, leading him into the dim-lit night. The night life had already begun to come out. All of her life, Saria had been told to stay away from folks like this, and here she was mingling with them. She guessed that made her one of them now. The very thought made Saria wince. She led him to the modified YT-2000 that served as her banged up ship. It was very aged, and it had showed. Several of her parts of her hull were patched up with welded-on metal scab-like plates. The top gun had been clearly replaced with a more modern and deadly quad blaster cannon turret. The front props jutting out along the cockpit had retrofitted laser cannons hidden in it.

"Well," Saria said with a shrug and an anti-climatic wave of her hand, "here she is."

Once they were both on board, she began tapping through the pre flight checks. The Crusty Boon soon was off the planet in orbit, waiting for their next set of instructions and the jump to the next system. She looked to the stranger, motioning for him to take control, "What's next?"

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]​

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Kurayami hadn't meant to embarrass the poor girl. He just had a certain way of knowing just what to say, but no sense of when it would be a good idea to do so. He shook his head, chuckling slightly, ass the smirk turned into a more genuine smile when he addressed her.

"My apologies, Saria. It's less that you look out of place. More the pensive aura around you. You not only looked pensive, but there is an air of tension that radiates from you in the Force. Something you learn to pick up on as time goes on, and trust me once you get used to these establishments you learn they aren't always as bad as the reputation might suggest. I'm Kurayami by the way."

He had honestly wished that he could have told her more about the mission itself, but he was still a bit unsure as to how dedicated she was. Not that he had trust issues per se...because he did, but it was more the fact that he knew nothing about this young woman. Could he have tried to read her more completely through the Force? Sure, but that would be a bit awkward. For now he'd keep his sense open but focus more on how she reacted to certain things and how she answered questions.

"Do well enough on the run and I'll consider taking a much smaller cut. I'm not in this for creds, I just need something to do that isn't paperwork. The Boon, well then please lead the way ma'am."

He finished off his battle of namana nectar and slid the helmet on, motioning for her to lead the way to her ship as he sealed it to the suit. He tried to remain close behind her, which took a bit of shoving as the crowds were rather dense right now. As the approached the pads he looked around trying to figure out which ship was hers. Just to see if he could pick it out, before he had a chance to look over all the ships present he saw her motion towards a YT-2000. He had owned one long ago, one of his first ships after his time with the squadron was a beater of the same model. The way she pointed out the ship and her tone of voice made it seem as though she were embarrassed to be the owner.

"Corellian, gotta say seeing one of those beats brings back some memories. With a little work, you'll have a beautiful and reliable ship on your hands. That we can talk about later though."

He followed her up the loading ramp and into the cockpit, taking a seat in the co-pilot's chair. While he did he pulled up the control layout on the holonet, it had been over a decade since he had last flown one of these and he wanted to make sure he was able to get them out of a tight spot if need be. As they entered orbit above the planet, she motioned for him to take the controls. He set the coordinates for the first jump to take them to Ord Mantell. After that it was a short jump to Ansion itself. This would also give him a bit more of a chance to give her some more details.

"We aren't going to hit Ansion straight away, we'll make a stop nearby at Ord Mantell, get together a more detailed plan of how this is going to go down. All we have to go on is that they were cargo freighters. No known escorting ships, so it would have been considered a safe job. However, I don't know how this ship could stand up against possible raiders. Guess there is only one way to find out."

He nodded as he pushed the throttle forward, relaxing in his chair as the stars became nothing but streaks outside the canopy as the ship jumped to lightspeed.

[member="Saria Messoa"]

 

[Saria Messoa]

She filed his name away, careful to memorize it. The last she wanted was to make him mad by calling him something wrong. It would be an awkward way to end a partnership in the middle of a firefight. He said that places like this weren't as bad as their reputations claimed they were. Saria didn't know about all of that, but she would have to take his word for it. To a farm girl like here from a conservative town with just one bar, these sorts of places were pretty intense.

"Thanks?" she said arching an eyebrow in confusion. She didn't know if being pensive was a compliment or just a statement of fact. "I am a bit of a thinker, I guess."

Kurayami said he could take less if she did well. She sort of hoped so. He seemed like a nice guy already, and he didn't feel bad, like the rest of this place did. He was, after all, nice enough to take a green horn like her under his wing. She couldn't imagine why someone would give up a secure and safe job like paperwork up for getting shot at. It was respectable work, and she was sure it paid fairly well. It must have been some pretty horrible paperwork, she decided.

He had some nice things to say about the Boon. That was nice to know and feel. She had worked hard to keep it up and going against all the odds. When she bought it, the Boon was just shy of falling to pieces, and Koda had literally saved her life by showing her how to repair some of the more dangerous malfunctions, and giving her the ability to stick around. Now the main problem was funds to keep it up and running--and make repairs that she badly needed.

"Thanks," Saria said.

He mentioned raiders and Saria felt her stomach flip. She hadn't thought of them being attacked either. The Boon hadn't been attacked before, at least not while she owned it. She swallowed and tried to hide her anxiety at the thought. She didn't really know what the point was though, if he was a Force user and able to see her thoughtfulness. He could probably see it all if he wanted to.

"Well, I guess we will just have to find out," she said at last, trying to sound more optimistic than fearful.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]​

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

He noted the shift in her mood as he complimented her choice of ship. Honestly though it was a great choice as the YT series tended to be easy enough to repair and maintain, though given the state of the Boon currenty he figured it would be a fair bit more difficult. If anything went seriously wrong he could fly while she made repairs to at least keep them from getting vaped by a fighter or some other raider ship. Kurayami nodded towards her to let her know he had heard her thanks.

"No need for thanks, just the truth. As a long time pilot I've flown everything from interceptors to freighters, and the YT series really are great once you get them worked out how you need them set up. This one may require a bit more TLC to get it back up to just requiring the basic maintenance, but thankfully parts are easy enough to adapt. Seeing how much work you have put into this ship already, I can keep us out of trouble if we have to do emergency repairs, plus you know where everything should be."

The mention of raiders being a possibility changed the feelings that emanated from the young woman. Made him wonder just how long she had been doing this, though gauging by the ship, either she just lost her main and had to buy a new ship, or she was just starting out. Either way the run should net her more than enough to do what she wanted to and get the ship up to par in terms of work. He hoped it wouldn't come down to an engagement but if it did then they would have to go from there.

"Look, it's nothing to be overly worried about. Raiders ships usually aren't made for a fight. They might have a few heavy cannons, but mostly they want the cargo in one piece, so chances are it would be ion based with a couple lasers if things really went sideways. Maybe a few starfighters to harass any opposition, but overall not the most advanced designs. Hell, half the ones I have seen were held together mostly by good faith that the parts would stay put. I may not like having to kill, but if it comes down to it...well they'll be sorry that they started something."

It looked like they were about to the first destination, Ord Mantell. After checking that, he sent a quick message to Nubia StarDrives, asking to send a transport to pick up his fighter from where it was currently sitting. After sending the transmission he took his time to browse the holonet for any other mentions of possible activity around the area where they were headed.

[member="Saria Messoa"]

 

[Saria Messoa]

He knew more about ships than she did, of course, and he didn't really have a reason to lie, so she would take his word for it.

"Thanks," she said, "I bought it as I was leaving my homeworld, pretty much in this shape. It was all I could afford, really. I've put most of the upgrades on her as I can pay for more, but repairs themselves are pretty pricey too. I'm not the best mechanic, but I have learned enough to keep the Boon moving for now."

He must have noticed how she felt about the idea of being in thick combat. Saria winced internally. She was never that good at hiding her feelings, part of that was being empathic, she had learned. Another reason was she was always an open person. Expressive by nature with a gentle heart, Saria could hardly keep what she felt close to her chest. She was a horrific Sabbaac player, even if she could usually tell what others were feeling, she couldn't hide her own emotions. His words eased the tension she felt, even just a little.

"Thanks," she said at last, fiddling with console, "I suppose we would be an even match then for anything like that."

One of the lights on the console blinked, indicating they were coming up on Ord Mantell. More advanced ships with better hyperdrive units could have probably pulled themselves out as close as they could be. If nothing else, they probably had a safety feature that would allow them to stop just outside of the gravity well to keep from getting vaporized. The Boon's hyperdrive was so aged, it had to be manually dropped out of hypersace as close as possible. She pulled them out of hyperspace with the pull of a lever, as the blue streaks reverted back to star pinpoints, the Boon gave a jarring jolt. The inertial damperns were aged and in need of replacement as well, so the transition was less than smooth.

The rotten planet of Ord Mantell loomed before them, a junk heap if there ever was one, littered with refuse and garbage from the various worlds that could deposit it here. Saria began pressing buttons on the console, bringing the sensors and shields back on line. She wasn't about to start taking chances now, they were going into some dangerous territory.

"I am not picking up any ships in our immediate area," she said looking the read out over, "But we have a landing site we can easily reach from here, I think I can set us down there without drawing too much attention to ourselves if you feel we need to do some digging planetside."

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]