The Adventures of a Healer and a Viking: Pirates, Part II

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Deep breathing shifted to something more shallow as the healer began to re-enter the waking world. Sleepy-eyes fluttered open and she found herself nestled against the hulk of a man. She knew those hands that were around her now could snap necks snd break bones like snapping twigs. All he had to do was squeeze his arms a bit and he could crush her. But now?

He was a gentle giant; a snoring giant.

Frex, was she a fool for getting so close so fast? He didn't even know her last name. And the worst part was, she didn't know if this was like her. Would her original have done something like this?

No. No, stop that. What had Jaxton said? You're just as much a person, an individual, even being a clone.

Hips shifted and back stretched as she went to slip free from his arms. Quietly. Slowly. Gently. It was like playing jenga with limbs. It made sense to let him sleep if she could. His body had been through a lot and was most likely still recovering.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Val did indeed continue to sleep.

As it turned out breaking free from the hospital and running away from medical treatment wasnt such a good idea for recocery. Sure Taheeras healing had helped, but his body had nearly been torn to bits back on that little world, and thus as Taheera attempted to slip free Val kept sleeping.

Though that didn't mean a sleeping Val was so willing to release a readily available source of warmth.

As Taheera tried to slip from his grasp Val tighted his grip and shifted, loudly smacking his lips as he half turned and pulled her on top of himself, arms still tight around her as he wiggled slightly, as though trying to draw in more of her heat.

He then made a comfy soft sighing noise.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

For crying out-

"Bantha-poodoo," she whispered. Huffing, she tried blowing the chestnut hair that had splashed across her face from his acrobatic roll, clear. One arm was pinned at her side and the other was free. As she stared at the ship's ceiling, she wondered for a moment if he was just messing with her. But she couldn't see his face. And by the way he was breathing, she imagined not.

She could wiggle, too.

Legs lifted and she planted her feet on either side of his torso. Knees were up in the air. Would give her some leverage. Free hand went over to try and loosen his grip as her back arched and her hips cocked into the air.

Maybe a small tickle on his arm would do the trick.

Still, she worked in small, measured movements.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

It was at this point that Val did in fact wake up. Her prefuse wiggling and shuffling about on top of him was enough to make at least one of his eyes pop open. He frowned for a moment, feeling Taheera press against him while simultaniously trying to slip out of his grip. An eyebrow perked slightly, though it was interrupted by a sudden loud yawn.

"What." He began. "Are you doing?"

His mouth closed.

He really had no idea what she was doing, to him it seemed as though she were doing some odd form of yoga that he had never seen before. His fingers gently ran across her skin as he let her go, not wanting to keep her from her odd morning exercise.

Strange girl.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

She sighed before flopping back against him. She rolled over and slipped free. "Trying not to wake you. Mission failure" Eyes rolled. She smirked. "You get very clingy when you sleep, you know that?"

This frexing man.

She looked at him a moment,his form wrapped in blankets and tousled manbun hair. "You should try to go back to sleep, if you can. I can wake you when we're five minutes out."

Grabbing a fresh shirt, she would wander out for the refresher room.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Going back to sleep was unlikely at this point, he was pretty awake. "I get cold."

Val answered as she flounced out of the bedroom and headed into the refresher. He could hear the door seal shut behind her, and for a moment he considered the situation. He could still feel certain bruises on his skin, an odd bit of pain here and there, but the gash on his side was completely gone. For a moment he allowed his fingers to trail over where the wound had been the day before, feeling the soft skin. Eyes inspected his chest, searching for any hint of a scar.

There was none.

"Alright." He said with a frown, so he hadn't added to his already quite large collection of scars, that was something.

For a moment more he lingered in bed, and then slowly he stood. His bare feet hit the cold floor, toes curling almost immediately as he did so. A frown pulled at his lips as he remembered that he hadn't taken any shoes with him, or socks, or...well any other clothes at all. Val grabbed the shirt off of the chair where he had thrown it the night before, slowly wandering out of the bedroom and into the main cargo-hold that connected everything in the ship together.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

The room filled with a warm moisture fog as the sanisteam went. Bare-shoulders rolled. Eyes traveled downward to just below her bikini line. Fingers lightly traced the circular scar there. It looked like a sun tattoo gone completely wrong with blurred edges instead of rays. It was a reminder of many things.

Eyes squeezed closed.

Th sanisteam turned off and the healer dried off, pulling on a fresh set of black pants and light gray shirt. Fingers worked knots from tangled and damp strands of chestnut hair as an alert signal rang through the ship. The refresher door swished open and she stepped out.

They'd exited hyperspace.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

As she stepped out of the refresher she would bump into Val, standing there with an easy smile. "Well that was rude."

He paused for a second.

"You didn't even invite me." The smile turned into a smirk. "We could've conserved water."

Before she could answer Val turned away from her and headed into the cockpit, if she followed him and peered out the viewport she would see exactly....nothing. What loomed before them looked to be a simple asteroid field. There was no sign of a base, no sign of a shadowport, nothing at all that would indicate a base of any sort. Val didn't seem all that perplexed however, instead moving towards the comm-station and punching in a few numbers. There was a pause, and then a sudden garble as the comm-relay latched onto the signal.

"This is Valkyrien Aurelios, I'm looking for Thres." His voice carried over, and then he looked back at Taheera with a smile.

This would take a few moments.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

A finger lightly poked him in the back. She was quick on his heels as they entered the cockpit. "Oh please. I can barely fit into that small sanisteam which means you...," voice trailed off as she looked out of the viewport. Fingers gripped the back of the co-pilot's seat.

What in the bantha's butt...

Fingers began strapping a holster around her hip and leg. Eyes darted to the power cell on her blaster. Voice whispered back to the Viking. "What have you gotten us into Mister Aurelios?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"It's a shadowport." He said simply. "Wouldn't be very Shadow if it was out in the open."

There was a long, nearly five minute pause. Val didn't look concerned however, his eyes simply settling on the comm-array in front of him as he waited for someone to get back to him. The static rang out over the speakers for quite some time, seemingly droning on and on until finally, another voice rang out. It was low, husky and more of a growl that sounded as though it didn't come from any sort of Humanoid, but rather an alien.

"Val?"

It garbled. "It's me Thres. I need some information, a place to land, and some clothes."

Thres was a Hutt, an outcast Hutt in fact. He had been thrown off of the Grand Hutt Council nearly four centuries ago and had come to the outer rim to establish his own little haven. Thres was perhaps one of the only slugs in the galaxy that Val would describe as trustworthy, having operated The Eerie for night on six decades. Val had first come to know him nearly thirty years ago during a more...interesting time in his life, the Hutt owed him a favor, and thus this was the perfect place for him and Taheera to go.

"Welcome aboard."

A signal panged out and the droid immediately pointed the shuttle towards one of the larger asteroids in the field.

Val looked smugly back at Taheera.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Don't get cocky, flyboy," she grinned at him and holstered the blaster at her thigh. But there was a hint of worry in her green orbs. Shadow port people weren't always known for being honest. What was the saying? They'd just as soon turn their friends in for a fistful of credits.

Imagine what they'd do to strangers.

Pretty soon the looming asteroid took up the entire view of the plated glass. Through the shadows, a hangar finally came to view. A hangar of sorts. Still looked like natural rock from the crater but she could just make out a few other lights from other ships docked there and moving droids.

Very clever.

Lips pursed and she slung a small bag over her shoulder, lightsaber hilt tucked inside. It wasn't always the best idea to be known as a Jedi or a force user in these parts. She trusted Val but she'd still play it cautious.

"Whelp. Here we go."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

If he was at all worried about where they were going Val didn't show it. He stood from he cockpit and wandered towards the back of the ship, holding onto the ceiling as the vessel shook slightly, The Eerie's gravity grabbing hold of them. He frowned for a moment, toes curling against the cold metal. He would be glad when Thres threw him some shoes, though hopefully The Hutt a pair that actually fit him somewhere on his station. "There we are."

Val said as the ship shook one more time and came to a landing.

"Stay behind me." Val told Taheera quietly. "Thres isn't a threat, but it's a shadowport, and that means there will be more than a few...unsavory types running around."

The Hutt kept most everything under control, but there were elements that couldn't quite he helped. Pirates, mercenaries, half a dozen murderers. You took the good with the bad, and at the end of the day Thres was just trying to make a profit. Val didn't exactly like it, but the Hutt was friendly enough with him and would never harm him, some of his clients though...they were entirely different. The ramp fell down and Val wandered forward, a large Hutt already waiting right on the hangar deck.

"Val!"

"Thres!" Val greeted the slug with a warm smile.

"Thanks for taking us on so fast." He nodded towards Taheera. "This is my associate, we're looking for some pirates, likely came through here a few days ago and paid in Aurodium?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

She forced her arms to relax at her side instead of tightening at her holster. She stepped to the side of Val as she was introduced. Chin tipped slightly in the direction of the...hutt. Val and the hutt seemed friendly enough. Myrtle-ellipses swept their surroundings, checking for exit and entry points. Weapons. Threats.

Training always kicked in.

She sensed different things. The people that passed them. The empath couldn't always turn it off. It was mostly a mixture of mistrust and greed.

The hutt bellied forward and gave a throaty laugh. "Why didn't you tell me you had such lovely associates?" His tongue dipped low over his chins and bulbous eyes focused on Taheera, as if he could taste her.

The healer worked hard to keep her face straight. Gross.

"But we can discuss further details about your questions in my office." Bulbous eyes finally broke from the healer and drifted to his shoeless feet. There was another throaty chuckle.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Val nodded.

The less he could say about the Aurodium out in the open the better. The trio made their way through the halls of the Eerie rather quickly, Val taking Taheera and gently tugging her closer as they passed a band of mercenaries, red hands painted on their armor. He frowned at them for a moment, but kept moving. There was a sense of tension in the air here, as though some big news had just hit everyone here. The frown stayed don Val's lips until they passed into the turbo-lift.

Val lead Taheera to the back of the lift, which was thankfully industrial sized, and quickly tucked her into the corner behind him. It was clear the Viking was rather protective of her, and his eyes set on The Hutt to ensure that he didn't get any ideas. Eventually there was a loud beep, and they struck the right floor.

"You'll find some clothes on the table. It is difficult to find shoes for a man your size, but you're lucky there were some Besalisks around."

There was a sigh of relief as the Hutt slithered forward into his office, immediately rushing to sit behind his ornate desk. Val followed after him, giving a glance towards Taheera to ensure she did the same. He made a b-line towards the box on the desk, propping open the metal lid and immediately unpacking everything. What he found wasn't exactly his style, heavy boots, a long leather coat, some pants, and a blaster pistol. He looked up at the Hutt who simply shrugged, but Val gave a sigh and quickly donned the clothing.

He didn't seem to partake in the idea of modesty, stripping down to his skives before quickly dressing once again.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

A tick went off at her jaw. She wasn't used to being...protected like this. Part of her wanted to elbow Val in the small of his back to get her out of the corner of the lift. But the other part of her knew what he was trying to do - knew his intentions. And more than that, she knew they didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

So, she put on her best scowl and kept it on even in the Hutt's office. She wanted to look tough and hopefully it wouldn't look like she'd just swallowed some sour juju fruit. Eyes strayed to Val's form before settling back on his so-called friend.

Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth and all that...

"Let's get down to business. There was a group like you described here just about two standard days ago. Violent type. Moreso than usual." Reaching into a jar, the Hutt's little hand snagged a floating, beetle creature and slithered it into his mouth. Slurping and munching.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"I figured." He said as he drew on the jacket. It was heavy, not as heavy as his jacket, but the weight was enough to guess that it likely had some form of armorweave laced into it. He made note of that and then slipped the blaster into the holster Thres had provided him.

Val didn't like the weapons much, but when on Coruscant.

"Paid in Aurodium." It was a statement, not a question, but the Hutt nodded. "Where were they headed?"

The Hutt grinned for a moment, and then pulled up a small map. One might have expected this to be the moment where Thres tried to extort something from Val and Taheera, but instead of doing so the Hutt simply pulled up the information and waved for Val to come closer, a wide smile spread across the slugs face, and then he began to speak as though he were immensely proud of himself.

"They're headed for the Core, towards a ship re-seller there with the intent on buying a fleet to retrofit."

Val perked an eyebrow. "You know this how?"

"The reseller is my cousin."

Beautiful. They knew where the pirates where headed, they knew what they wanted, and...well they knew that if they got it the situation would turn into a disaster. A reseller that was related to Thres meant...well big ships. Star Destroyers, Frigates, Cruisers, anything that Galactic Governments had tossed away over the last decade or so. This was big...he turned to Taheera, the frown on his face very much telling.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Surprise flecked across her brown. She totally expected some sort of extortion from a hutt, even a friend. Huh. Shoulders relaxed a bit more in relief.

Well, that went easier than she thought. Good. It was a nice change.

"We should go." She stood. "Thank you, Thres. This information is invaluable." She almost said 'it was nice to meet you' but held herself back. That wasn't a tough thing to say on a shadow port. She made her way toward the door, ahead of Val and back toward the lift.

Luckily, she wouldn't see it if a certain Hutt's eyes drifted innocently to her retreating butt.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Val gave the Hutt one last nod. "Consider us even."

The Hutt seemed pleased by those words, as if it had been exactly what he'd wanted to hear. Val lingered for a moment more, scooping up a small pouch from inside the box where his clothes had been. He tucked the bag into one of his jacket pockets, and then gave The Hutt one last nod before turning away and following after Taheera into the lift. As soon as he stepped inside he turned and pressed the button to send them back down to the hangar.

This little part of their trip had gone quickly.

"I have the coordinates for Thres' Cousin." He tapped his pocket. "It'll take us three days to get there, which means the Pirates may have already completed their purchase by the time we arrive."

He paused for a second. "If that's the case...we may have to find a way on board the ships they bought."

That would be...difficult, to say the least, but easier than infiltrating a locked down camp. Star Destroyers were massive ships, and the pirates wouldn't have enough men to crew them right off the bat, that meant it would give Taheera and him a window to do some damage on whatever ships The Pirates had purchased. That was of course worst case scenario, but...well at this point Val was trying to prepare himself for anything they could encounter.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

She frowned.

"Three days?!" There was only one rodian in the lift with them. She wasn't too worried. She paced between the lift walls. "We're already a few days behind." She paused at the lift doors as another floor dinged by. One hand massaged her temple. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like they'd be in the worst case scenario.

"We should buy charges here. Detonators. Then, we'll have them if we need them."

With a final 'ding,' the doors swished open.

One hand tightened around the strap of her bag. She had credits and she intended to use them. "And why did Thres help us, without asking for anything in return?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Well it'll take them three days to get there." Val pointed out. "Then they'll have to negotiate the deal, then they'll have to transfer the paper work, etc."

He smiled at her. "We'll be able to make up some time, don't worry."

She was right about one thing though, they should buy detonators here. The Eerie was a veritable haven for all sorts of black market items, including explosives. He shifted slightly as they exited the lift, his hand gently coming to rest on the small of her back. This time it wasn't to urge her forward, rather it was to quell the wandering eyes of those on the deck in front of them. They stared at Taheera, and quite obviously they really only wanted one thing.

The very tall man besides her stopped those looks instantly.

"He owed me." Val said quietly. "About thirty years back I saved this station from a coup."

That had been an...odd day. "I'll tell you all about it back on the ship...for a kiss."

He looked at her with a wide grin.