Faction The Last Leg

[Kairon Rees]

Atera, Western Cluster

"What do you mean, this isn't the drop off point?" Kairon asked incredulously. He was stood on the loading ramp of his ship, The Quintessence.

Jinneti, his rodian contact didn't smile. There was a subtle shift in his demeanor that suggested a smug smile.

"[Did you check the job order?]"

"Yes! New Lemmie, Atera. Which is where we are right now!" Kairon replied. Behind him, a heavy container was being dragged down the ramp.

"[That is the nearest city yes, but did you check the coordinates?]"

Kairon bristled. He hadn't "Where?" He demanded.

"[Thirty kilometers outside of the city, east.]"

"You want me to carry a damned class four hyperdrive out through scrap central? Past every scrapper and salvager and jawa that'll happily gun their own mother down for this unit? I'll need a small army!"

"[Expenses you should have considered when you took the job. Can I remind you of the break clause you signed?]"

Kairon stepped forwards. He jabbed his finger into the middle Jinneti's chest, but he knew he was over a barrel on this.

"I will...go and see if I can find some job hands and mercs in town."

OOC/ It's a dangerous caravan run through salvage yards. Introduce your character, join the crew for a small adventure. More here.

 

[Angelus Hafey]

Atera, Western Cluster
Spaceport

On Him: Hat, DL-67, DLT-11, Pocket Scattergun


"This is just some cruel joke."

Said the calm yet clearly aggravated voice. A dark brimmed hat laid on top of the gunboat from left side engine, himself drug into the monster of his own spacecraft to find and rectify the problem. Before him was one of the Collector Coils responsible for ensuring his gunboat, the Victor-wing, did not turn into a radioactive mess. It had been a problem highlighted before takeoff, something that should not have affected much to an HRU or Human Replica Unit for short, but it apparently caused enough circuits to overload that it forced a landing.

A landing...on this strange planet.

Already having been taken for an almost literal ride at the Spaceport, he paid almost all he had left to keep himself booked for the next week in effort to pinpoint what possibly shorted it out. Only a full day had passed and he figured out the main problem to rectify the Collector Coil overloading, the problem now was getting a new Collector Coil, the size of ones forearm, back to the starship. Either from purchase which be difficult or finding one. Slipping out from the engine compartment, the droid resembling a human grabbed a rag and wiped his brow, placing a hat back on when a conversation from a bay over reached its sensitive ears.

Now what was going on over there?

Adjusting his outfit, he dusted off some of the grime and walked around the more or less, open spaceport around them. Picking up his DLT-11, he slung it around his back and kept moving forward with both hands in the rather sturdy tailored jacket. Rounding a nearby corner, he let those hazel eyes of his overlook a nearby human as his analysis determined there was a good chance the voice came from him. Speaking up, the gentle calm voice would speak, his attire strange but he seemed...capable. The stance though, almost looked like an ominous figure, a foretelling figure.

"I cannot help but overhear your...dilemma. People wish to gun for you...I am a gun that needs hired, a mechanic more like. I got a Collector Coil out and if this is the fastest way to try and earn some towards it, so be it."


Tag: Kairon Rees

 

[Dalton Lane]

Kairon Rees | Angelus Hafey

Angelus Hafey was not the only one listening in.

When you were in this business it was best to keep an ear to the ground. It was never obvious when a job could land in your lap. After all, they didn't all just walk through your door like a neatly-wrapped present, sometimes you had to do a little bit of work to find it. He watched as Hafey offered a hand to the smuggler being karked over by the Rodian.

Weighed it a bit.

Would this be a good paying job? Still unclear.

"I dun' mind lending a hand if the pay be good." Finally called out from the side as Lane pushed himself off the crates and towards the duo. "We need a heck o' a lot more than three people, if we wanna survive dem dunes though."

Just good survival sense really.

Especially lugging a piece of crap component like this? It would draw way too many eyes on them. Even if they managed to keep it out of sight, how many more ears had listened into the conversation just now and weren't as goodly samaritanical like Hafey and Lane? Could already see half a dozen shifty folks merging back into the shadows.

Probably going off to tip off their local bosses about an opportunity hoping for a boost in rep.

"Might be worthwhile to check the local cantina, eh? Get at least some more warm bodies to cover all the angles." The cantina wasn't too far off anyway. The local establishment was a just off the main road and to the side. A perfect meeting place for people who were either disembarking or about to get off this dusty ball.

If there was anyone worth their salt, it would be presumably there.

 

[Kairon Rees]

"I dun' mind lending a hand if the pay be good."

Kairon winced. He knew that this was all coming out of - what was already - a slender margin. He hated spending money.

Behind him, his two loading droids had set the container down just beyond the loading ramp. A slender cathar woman, carrying a blaster on each hip and a wild look in her ears, stepped between the droids to catch up.

"Hear we're doing a suicide run? I'll be at the cantina drinking until the fun starts."

Mai didn't even wait for a response before jogging away from the three discussing the job. If there was any good to come of is, it would be that perhaps the cathar stowaway might not make it back onto his ship this time.

"There'll be pay," Kairon said through gritted teeth. "Hard credit chits when the job is done. Nothing in advance and I ain't bringing your body back if you don't make it."

"The name is Kairon," he added with a slight tilt of his head. "And unless the two of you know any more folk round here then yeah, I guess we see what's sober and armed enough at the cantina."

At the cantina, Mai was already at the bar and was drinking straight from a bottle of whisky. At least with two others in tow this wouldn't look quite so desperate.

"Got to haul cargo out east of town. Looking for more gun hands to keep it safe?" he announced.

 

[Angelus Hafey]

On Him: Hat, DL-67, DLT-11, Pocket Scattergun

Another voice cut in and he glanced over to the rather unshaven man. He seemed well armed, or at least sturdy enough to note die within a few hits. The thing he examined most was the other mans hat, something he appreciated of great design from afar. The man also spoke with a lot of sense, they would need many more than the ones they got...not to say out loud he was not human but it was good to enforce the idea.

Letting his careful eyes watch the loading droids come down, he noted the hyperdrive they held but noted the other being near the loading ramp. A Cathar lady, whom he listened for a few moments for and examined carefully the blasters on her hips. Tipping the hat towards her, he did not even get a word in when she ran off to drink at the Cantina, something that was to be noted most likely for later. But a suicide run though is what got his processors considering if this was a good job to be on.

The words though he heard got his attention back on the job. Credits. The name also got passed through, the name of Kairon whom he imprinted onto his own memory core. Pulling out an angled pipe, he would place it onto his mouth and while striking a match, spoke before lighting his pipe to smoke.

"Angelus Hafey. I whole heartedly agree with the man with a distinct hat, Cantina is a good choice. I only just flew in yesterday...so I know no one."

Blowing a bit of smoke in the other side of his mouth, he threw the match down and smashed it with his left boot. While only a human replica unit, the smoking was more or less just a habital trait that was placed in the droid. Whether or not it did any major function was still unknown. Slowly starting to walk, he would walk with the trio towards the Cantina, letting his pipe smoke as he enjoyed the process of "enjoying a smoke."

Kairon Rees Dalton Lane

 

[Dalton Lane]

Kairon Rees | Angelus Hafey

Kairon's proclamation didn't set the whole bar aflame with interest sadly.

Most of the sentients looked up for a moment, before going back to whatever they were doing. This was to be expected. After all, you won't find the most enterprising individuals in a backwater bar drinking their problems away. Still, a handful of sentients reared their faces and stepped up to the metaphorical plate.

This wasn't what Dalton was concerned about however.

As Kairon questioned the would-be contractors Dalton stepped up closer to the two original members of this posse.

"Moment you mentioned cargo... couple of shifty looking fellows slipped out of the room." He'd say softly as to not frighten away the handful of gunholders from taking the job.

"We will have to be even more cautious, wouldn't be surprised if there was an ambush forming for us."

Probably not in town. Too risky. But once they hauled the cargo out of the spaceport and the reaches of town? It would magnify their chances of being put in a bad spot. Dalton had surveyed the surroundings of the town when he came here. Open planes with several hills surrounding it. Put a few snipers there and it would be a fodder shooting competition.

 

[Kairon Rees]

"We will have to be even more cautious, wouldn't be surprised if there was an ambush forming for us."

"Yeah, yeah I saw that," Kairon replied.

It looked like this was it. It also looked like they had made the route even more dangerous for themselves. Kairon's skill had always been in measuring up the value of goods on the market - or black market - and making shrewd decisions about his work.

That applied to now - when his crew ran legal and less legal routes - just as much as it had when he had been a pirate with a reputation for brutality in deep space. That was a different life, but some lessons had carried over.



Jinneti had managed to find a Truck and a driver but it seemed that was all the additional help he would get from the rodian.

Kairon stood behind the driver's canopy with a set of macrobinoculars in one hand and a rifle leaning against his leg. Mai, his cathar trouble maker actually came along. She seemed to be asleep curled by the back of the truck.

"We got a salvage yard to get through first. If we go quick enough the jawas might not notice what we're carrying and lay an ambush," he called out. The truck accelerated down a dirt road through the salvage. On both sides were the bones of old ships and speeders that had been stripped down and left to rust away.


OOC/ feel free to introduce whatever you want as this goes. Looks like just the 3 of us.

 

[Dalton Lane]

Kairon Rees | Angelus Hafey

Dalton managed to find two hires that seemed to know what they were doing.

Somewhat.

Mostly they knew how to hold a gun, point and shoot. Which was... well, as best as you could expect around these parts. Dalton didn't catch their names because he didn't particularly think they'd live long enough for their names to matter. One was a bulky Devaronian (probably better in a fist fight) and another was a Zeltron (better in a dance battle than a real battle).

"Shared my spare revolvers with the two." Dalton informed Kairon as he held onto the edge of the car. The ground was rough here, it was a wonder the truck wasn't breaking apart as they rode.

"They ought to be at least marginally helpful."

Dalton sounded skeptical.

Said skepticism didn't evaporate as their truck escaped the edge of the salvage yard without attracting any spare attention. Wisely the outlaw didn't say chit about it. No point in jinxing your good luck-

HOOTINIIIIYYAAA

Well, that's new.

Dalton squinted over his shoulder... and just in time too, as two buggies burst out from the salvage yard and began to chase their car. "Oh, kriff me, this day won't end." He didn't immediately return fire. Better to conserve ammo, while ducking the slugs being launched their way. It was a matter of lining up the shot without getting too nervous...

Pop.

One down... way too many to go.

 

[Kairon Rees]

Kairon felt quite exposed to an attack from behind the truck. He had to use the cargo container itself as cover. It meant putting the valuable goods in the line of fire, undermining the entire point of this trip.

"Next time I will read the small print," he muttered under his breath. Unfortunately he had no choice but to deal with the weasly little rodian who had put him in this situation.

Mai had a different technique. The cathar remained curled, seemingly asleep, on the flat bed and remained entirely ignored.

Kairon fired at the nearest buggy. The truck was accelerating and was not a stable platform. He struck pieces of frame and body and failed to have an impact. The buggy accelerated hard and pulled up alongside them.

Mai yawned. The feline stretched out as she stood up. Both blaster pistols were drawn in a flash and a hail of blaster bolts rained down on the buggy, killing the driver. It veered away, out of control.

"Thanks for joining in!" Kairon called out sarcastically.

 

[Dalton Lane]

Kairon Rees

"You seeing what I am seeing?" Dalton was hiding behind flimsy cover and reloading. It was the only reason he saw it. Some distance away, around the bend, was a ridge. It was thin, fragile and part of him wasn't even sure if their car would make it over the ridge. It served as a natural bridge over the canyon.

With a bit of luck?

"Keep 'em busy, if I don't kark up my aim we can take them all out at once."

Dalton thought this was suicidal.

It required putting faith in a guy he barely knew, but he picked up the contract and got himself into a pile of chit. How long would they be able to outride the Jawas? He wasn't sure and didn't wanna try their luck on it either. So trusting that Kairon would put enough suppressing fire to keep the heat off of him, the smuggler clambered over the railing of the car.

Just in time for them to ride on the rocky natural bridge.

It gave him a beautiful (frightening) view of the depth they could fall to.

"Kriff me." Dal cursed before refocusing on the bridge itself. As he dangled there he grappled for one of the few grenades he still had on him. This was going to be a one in a million shot.