The Opening Curtain

[EmKay]

Tachon was busy setting autopilot functions, inputting nav coordinates, and pressing go. Coupled with a notable lack of ethereal senses, he had no idea that he had now acquired a humanoid Gizka. Unfortunately for said Gizka, the Night Avril wasn't yet up to snuff on the level of most private vessels. Tachon had a few designs to completely overhaul the ship, but he never had the money or contacts to fund such a project. That was all only theory, however. If he could find a hole in the wall to hide in, it would be from some form of damage or poor craftsmanship. There were no secret panels, hidden doors, or other such nifty modifications. It was only slightly above standard fare for a FIrespray patrol craft. Which meant some weapons had been cut for a bigger cargo hold, and it went a little faster.

Once the settings were in and the ship was flying itself out-of-atmo and into hyperspace along the well-worn trade lane, Zur-Ksi made his way to a bit of a central room. It was usually just used as a hub for the rest of the ship with nothing notable about the swell of hall space. Tachon had put in a chair and a cot, for not sleeping and sleeping during long flights. If [member="Ruby Rose"] was anywhere nearby, he gestured for her to take a seat at the chair, and he took his own on the cot.

"It's not much," he said in a neutral, calm tone; evidence that he was more at ease in his own territory, "But it's home." he let his words hang in the air, not knowing what to say. He had grown accustomed to being by himself on such trips.

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"]

 

[The Angry Cheese]

After a few minutes of searching, he quietly growls to himself as he then stands up once more, heading over to the engine room, hoping against hope he can remain hidden from the crew (including any droids) of the ship. He knew that his module would not last much longer... It'll only be a matter of time until they find out he is here. Without thinking, he lets loose a single thought across the 'telepathic network' on the ship, allowing any Force-sensitives who are decently trained in the ways of the Force to hear his single thought.

Haar'chak! Jii meg narir ni narir?!

 

[Ruby Rose]

Ruby notices the presence of a third sneaking aboard the ship, he doesn't seem to have malicious intentions so she leaves him be for the moment. The last thing she wanted was for the Iridonian to go overboard at the thought of a stowaway she would let him know in a calm manner first.

Glad to see Tachon more at ease aboard his ship she drops down onto the chair, smiling lightly at her new travel companion. "I can understand that, its a nice ship, you take care of it, and it takes care of you, am I right?"

One thing about those who piloted their ships around the galaxy, they all loved their craft, that didn't change much no matter who you asked.

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] [member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"]

 

[EmKay]

"Indeed," he muttered. Something didn't feel quite right, but he shrugged it off as nerves from being in prison. He did give a soft grin and a nod at [member="Ruby Rose"]'s assessment along with his agreement.

"There's a lot I've wanted to do for the Avril, but I've never been able to." he mused aloud. He figured if they're in for a trip, they may as well have a conversation beyond the peculiarity of the ripples in hyperspace. He still felt uneasy though, and threw a glance around the adjacent corridors. He had no concrete clue that [member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] even existed, just that tickling at the back of his neck.

 

[The Angry Cheese]

[member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"]Soon, the module quietly fizzles out once he gets into the engine room. He looks down to his wrist when an internal warning system chimes off in his helmet. He frowns to himself, letting loose a muttered stream of curses in several different languages. Some would say he has a mastery of different languages, and is a multi-linguistic genius. But, the truth is... He just knows how to curse in Twi'lek, Chiss, Togrutan, and Mando'a. Not to say he can't speak Mando'a, just... back to topic.

He gives the module a soft slap, mostly out of frustration. Any minute now, the onboard security systems would detect him, and he could be found and forcibly booted onto the nearest backwater world, or worse: Killed.

His right hand slips down to one of his Wester-34's, while his left balls into a fist as a small flame appears in front of his flamethrower. A Mandalorian hopes for the best, but prepares for the nightmarishly worst.

[member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"]
[member="Ruby Rose"]

 

[Ruby Rose]

Realizing the change in the visitors mood, she figures its time to let her glorious host know about the guest before anything bad happens.

"Before we get too enraptured about what we've been planning on doing with our ships, I should tell you, theres a stowaway on board. He doesn't seem to have any malicious intent, but seems pretty defensive. How do you want to go about this? It's your ship after all."

Ruby rises to her feet, moving the Golden Bronze disk from her back over to her left arm, revealing part of its true nature as a shield as she walks towards the hallway in a relaxed manner, not wanting to give the uninvited member a reason to react in a hostile fashion.

[member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"]

 

[EmKay]

Tachon noted to himself to trust his gut more often, and let out a long, exasperated sigh. While [member="Ruby Rose"] stood, he took his forehead in his hands and wrapped his fingers around his horns as a human would run their fingers through their hair. Today was full up ups and downs, but one thing was for certain. This warranted investigation, and he should be mindful in multiple ways. His memories lapped like waves against that key teaching in his earlier life, and he leveled his temper. He wasn't actually sure where that placated emotion went, but it helped. The Iridonian also noted that this girl seemed to have an otherworldly sense. It reminded him of Jedi and Sith he'd seen, and it made him wonder which she was; but back to the matter at hand.

"For now, I should make sure he isn't planning on stealing my ship." he said as he stood and jogged lightly to catch up to Ruby. Never a dull moment.

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"]

 

[The Angry Cheese]

Quickly darting his gaze about, he decides to just move about the ship as much as possible, find himself a hiding place, or a safer, more defensible area. An engine room was not safe for anyone, for obviously explosive reasons. So instead, he paces around the corridors with one of his twin pistols drawn, the other hand balled into a fist and thumbing a flash grenade.

His gauntlet features an ascension cable,- which can also be used to capture people in a rope-like trap -a hidden holdout blaster, a vibroknife, and his trusty flamethrower. All of this is standard issue for most bounty hunters, but Mandalorians do not just carry these hidden weapons. No, they may as well be a living weapon, using their environment AND their body to win fights. He'll be ready for anything that will happen.

[member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"]
[member="Ruby Rose"]

 

[Ruby Rose]

Ruby started making her way down the hallway towards the third party on their ship. She had her saber in her hand, unignited, not wanting to start a fight over a simple misunderstanding. Not that there was any fear of getting hurt, she had confidence that she could defend herself, but she did not know what kind of reaction the other party would have and didn't want a firefight starting up on board the already launched ship.

"Come on out, we don't want to fight, lets just talk, we know you're there."

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"]

 

[The Angry Cheese]

[member="Ruby Rose"]

Having seen her pass below him, he drops to the floor behind the pair, blasters holstered. His crushgaunt-covered hands, however, are hovering over his ancient (Yet still highly effective) Westar-34 blaster pistols, who were manufactured way back in the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War. His armor, weapons, and stance should be obvious of what he is; A Mandalorian.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

 

[EmKay]

Tachon could have banged his head against the wall at the question. He got the concern, but the infiltrator was aboard his ship, confronting his for lack of a better term guest, and was asking if he could trust them. He rolled his shoulders and made a quick turn-around, though, to face this man. He was initially surprised by the armour-clad man, then a level of frustration washed over him at the situation itself. Rather than act rashly on his emotions, he clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth and spoke.

"And how do I know I can trust you?" Zur-Ksi echoed back.

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"]
[member="Ruby Rose"]

 

[Ruby Rose]

Ruby spun on her heels as the interloper drops from the ceiling, her emerald eyes boring into his helmets lenses as though she could see right through them into his eyes. This intruder was a rash one that was certain, sneaking aboard another's ship and demanding that they be the untrustworthy ones? At least the other two hadn't started blasting away at one another yet so there was that...

"Well, seeing as it is his ship," she nods at the Iridonian before continuing, "and I was invited along, so OUR word is the one we'll be trusting, not some random stowaway who snuck aboard. You don't seem to be here for any harmful reason or your weapons would be drawn. Explain yourself Mandalorian."

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] [member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"]

 

[The Angry Cheese]

When the question was turned back on him, he blinks. How could they trust him? He had snuck onto their ship, after all... Bah, nevermind. They're expecting his answer.

He relaxes his posture, his head pivoting to look over to the Zabrak as he regards the mercenary. A good, soldierly build and a no nonsense attitude; A great soldier. Then, the human. Average, from what he could initially tell, but he could also see that she was a natural, trained acrobat. She may even be a jetii.

"Sorry I had to sneak on your ship. Mine was stolen from me, and I heard about a good job that I could partake in."

 

[EmKay]

Tachon's posture relaxed in response to the Mandalorian's. The tension in the air eased palpably, yet the natural anxiety of the moment was still very present. It just was not as volatile anymore. He could feel himself being analysed. He was receiving the same calculations as he was giving.

At the same time, he wondered at [member="Ruby Rose"]'s words. She nearly seemed to be growing more irritated, but perhaps the denouement of the situation would affect her, too. With these contemplations humming in his mental background, he spoke.

"You apology is... appreciated," Zur-Ksi replied, shifting his feet to try and ease the tension pulsing in his neck "Can we all settle down, now?" he let the question hang in the air. Up until this point, it felt like everyone was going to get sucked out of a hull breach. In hyperspace. Now there may have been some sense to be made, and until they landed, he'd prefer civility.

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"]

 

[The Angry Cheese]

After his analyzing, he shrugs at the Zabrak, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall next to him. He may be on someone else's ship, and this may be a tense situation, but why should he not relax some? He continues searching the woman, including her shield... Why would she have a shield that looks like it was used in extreme ancient times? Feudal eras of legend, even. But, he notices that it has two gaps on either side... Weapon ports of some kind, more than likely.

"Aye, I don't see why we couldn't be friends."

[member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"] [member="Ruby Rose"]

 

[Ruby Rose]

Ruby relaxes a good bit, glad to see that the other two didn't open up on one another when he dropped down. She putting her saber back on her belt beneath her cloak while looking over the Mando, nothing too unusual about him, but what merc lets someone steal their ship? That part was rather interesting to her.

"Agreed, lets go take a seat and talk a bit. You said you were listening in on where we were going?" She glances over at the merc as she starts walking back towards the lounge

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"] [member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"]

 

[The Angry Cheese]

"What? I gotta find money somehow. And a viable reason to sneak on someone's ship, of course." He follows after her, noticing the lightsaber she places inside her robes. With a grin, he strides forward to catch up with her.

"Anyways, what's your name, jetii?" He asks her, gesturing down to where her lightsaber is likely at.

 

[EmKay]

Tachon followed behind the other two, letting them take their seats and perching himself wherever was left. Even the floor. He thought the idea of being friends with the mercenary was a little bit of a stretch, but as long as they were on speaking terms it was better than destructing the Avril from the inside out. [member="Ruby Rose"]'s question had its merit, but there was something that was gnawing at Zur-Ksi since it had been mentioned.

"And how did your ship get stolen?"

[member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"]

 

[The Angry Cheese]

Tracinya pivots over to the merc, (Tracinya's a bounty hunter, not a merc ) letting silence reign for a moment before answering his question with a single word, spat out with the most intense hatred Tracinya has ever felt. And Tracinya, being your classic Mandalorian, has a VERY short fuse.

"Hutts."

[member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"]

 

[Ruby Rose]

"Hutts," the Mando claimed, it wasn't an unexpected turn of events, that bunch of criminal garbage were responsible for all sorts of atrocities galaxy wide. From the simple criminals lords up to the plague on the galaxy that was [member="Zambrano the Hutt"] and his cult following. They deserved nothing less than to be purged, but they didn't usually lash out on a lone merc or bounty hunter with no reason...which begged the question.

"What did you do that has the Hutts after you?"

Its one thing to hate the Hutts, its another to knowingly drag someone they are hunting along with you, then again, maybe he could bait one out for her. If she could use him to lure one of those balls of muck out into the open it would be a great day.

[member="Tachon Zur-Ksi"] [member="Tracinya be Gra'tua"]