The Shakedown Run

[Celiana]

I heard a ringing and having fallen asleep in my Library last night I figured it was my personal computer. Waking up I opened up the comm call. "Hey Celiana I've got a favor to ask...By the way you look cute." "Zara...morning doll. What's up? Got a newbie for me to work with?" "I swear Celiana, it's almost like you've got the Jedi foresight to an art..." "Nah you're just predictable Zara. What's her name?" "Lealia Anathema, Mirialan bounced around a bit and done a bit of bounty work but from the looks of it there's more to her. She's got uncanny luck...."

Chuckling I said, "Zara you know I don't believe in luck... anyways send her to Voss I'll send coordinates to my home and meet up with her. Then I'll give her a shakedown run with me I needed to make a trip to Eshan anyways.." "Anything I should know about that Celiana? Eshan is home for you isn't it?" "Aye, it is. I've a promise I need to keep and this is the time to go..."

"Alright Celiana, I'll send her your way. Try to keep your hands off her though...I know how you are with cute girls..." "Zara I'm offended, besides you and I both know I'm all Aria's and yours on occasion..." Giving her a sweet smile I closed the connection and got dressed. From my experience everyone needed weapons and I had quite a few. Soon as this new girl showed up I'd load her up with proper kit and we'd head off to Eshan...

[member="Lealia Anathema"]

 

[Lealia Anathema]

Lealia had spent very little time on Voss. It has mostly been the last place she happened to pick up a bounty. After that, she'd decided to stay a while. She's stopped to get a drink somewhere and happened to cross Zara. After some discussion and a few more drinks, a deal was struck. Lealia would get some training, and Zara got free booze. Either way, they both won.

Guiding Zara's ship down toward the surface, Lealia passed into the sinkhole. The area was beautiful. It wasn't at all what she expected when the word 'sinkhole' was involved. Carefully setting the ship down on the platform, the Mirialan took a couple deep breaths before making her way out and toward the house. She nervously twiddled her fingers and bit her lip as she took in the surroundings. Maybe she'd be able to find a place of her own like this some day. For now, a small apartment would be enough.

Zara hadn't said much about Celiana, but she seemed decent. In hindsight, she could be walking straight into some kind of trap. She was already there though. If it was a trap, they already had her, so trying to get away would just be pointless. Oh well. All she could do was hope Celiana wasn't someone who was just going to kill her for the hell of it. It was time to just take the plunge. Dropping her hands to her sides and letting go of her lip, she took another deep breath and calmed herself.

 

[Celiana]

I got a notification on my security system as a ship landed outside the actual hangar. That'd be Lealia then, the transponder recognized the ship as Zara's and after triggering the hangar bay doors to open up I kicked on the power unit to a load-lifter. I was dressed down very casually currently. Olive cargo pants and a very threadbare grey croptop tied along my ribs to show off a bit of skin. Using The Force I lifted several crates of various gear onto the lifter. Calling out to the new arrival I said, "Hey! Care to give me a hand here doll?" As she came around I noted that she was a Mirialan and a cute one at that... James would have a field day with this if he found out...best keep this to myself then. I didn't care to lose a new ally to lack of gear either so once we got loaded up I'd start kitting her up.

"So doll, Zara tells me you've done a bit of bounty work. Care to work with me on a shakedown run? I'm not looking to take in any bounties where we're headed but there's the odds that you'll find something interesting. We'll be heading to Eshan which you'll find is my homeworld. There's going to be a few things I've got to take care of there and you'll be along to learn what you can. Is that clear?"

There'd be a fair amount of free time on this flight and I wasn't expecting any problems on this run either but it never hurt to be prepared. After we got loaded we'd be off I'd already packed for this trip and had my armory stocked and the last of the supplies were finished being loaded right now. Hopefully this girl had brought her own clothes but if not I had plenty. I was eager to be off so I hoped we'd be done loading up shortly...

[member="Lealia Anathema"]

 

[Lealia Anathema]

Lealia wasn't sure what to make of the woman. She seemed alright, but lying and deception were not very difficult to pull over the eyes of someone you didn't know. Trusting another stranger, the Mirialan approached to give the woman a hand. "Yes, ma'am. Glad to help where I can."

After helping to load everything, Lealia grabbed her bag of belongings from Zara's ship before meeting back up with Celiana. "I don't think I've been to Eshan before. What's it like?" Her nervousness was gone by this point. She felt much more at ease. If Celiana had wanted to kill her, there was already an opportunity. What was the point of being nervous now?

Lealia continued to look around, this time more excited than anything. She studied everything she could without approaching. She wanted desperately to take in everything around her, but this wasn't really the time. They had to be going. "How long are we going to be gone?" Her voice was relatively low for her excitement, but it held none less of the emotion. "Are we going anywhere else after Eshan? Are we coming back here after?" Realizing she was probably asking too many questions and getting on Celiana's nerves, she bit her lip to stop herself from asking anything else. "Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself." With a small smile, she reached her hand out, "Lealia Anathema. I'm assuming you're Celiana? If not, I'm going to be really embarrassed." She flushed lightly and chuckled nervously.

 

[Celiana]

Chuckling at her line of questions I addressed each in turn. "I am indeed Celiana though to be fair I wouldn't have put it past Zara to send you somewhere completely different to mess with you and test your resourcefulness. As to what Eshan is like...Gods and Goddesses I was lucky to be born there and have it remain my home. It's beautiful, deep freshwater lakes, orchards of Cherry Blossoms and peaches, some truly magnificent shipyards towards the cities, and marvelous forges. All in all I consider it paradise personally. How long depends really but at the very least two full days maybe more as for going somewhere else after Eshan that depends as well. But likely we'll be coming back fairly soon after."

Triggering the boarding ramp to open from my forearm datapad it began to descend and I walked aboard gesturing for Lealia to follow along. As she came aboard I triggered the ramp again this time sealing it back and looking around I walked leisurely to my cabin. "Aries, plot a course to Eshan with the landing zone by the lake last landed I last landed at. Then make sure sure The Morrigan is secured and locked to the ship and begin take-off procedures and make the jump at the earliest possibility." The holo-projectors winked into existence and Aries came into view dressed...provocatively she'd taken to the whole Echani Goddess thing maybe a bit too favorably...

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/5c/89/9a/5c899af592f963144ed107f14ea27659.jpg

"Course plotted Mistress, The Morrigan is secured. Engaging take-off and jump protocols. Hello there..."

Clearing my throat I gave the AI a look and she smirked before winking back out of existence. Turning to Lealia I said, "you can crash in any of the spare bunks here or chill here in my quarters for the ride there. My quarters will be the most comfortable and there's a very comfy leather couch that you can snag. You're welcome to the use of my refresher and shower as well, I'm kind of in the midst of working on the crew showers and refitting them but basically make yourself at home and relax for a bit. I'll get started on food and such shortly. By the way how do you feel about swimming? I ask because one of the things I need to do on Eshan is actually underwater and I'll need to dive for it and I'll need a dive partner. I've got the gear and everything but I need to know you're comfortable with swimming and diving if you'll be going with..."

With that I felt the slight lurch as the ship entered hyperspace and I dropped my gear bag and headed into the kitchen area of my quarters and kicked the burners on engaging the ships' PA system to let some music play for a bit as I cooked...

[member="Lealia Anathema"]

 

[Lealia Anathema]

Lealia glance taking in everything she could about the ship. "I think I'll just stick around here if that's alright. Thanks for bringing me along." She took her bag off her shoulder and placed it next to the couch. Reaching in, she pulled out a leather bound book tied with another piece of leather. "As for the swimming, I'm pretty good at it." Quickly, she started to jot down her thoughts and observations. Sitting down, she flipped through some of the other pages, not paying much mind to Celiana. Her mind was preoccupied by her earlier notes and fleshing out details of them. Her shoulders relaxed a bit as she heard the music. It calmed her a little and helped her to focus. Before long, her mind wandered as she looked around, her thoughts drifting to another world.

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Laughing slightly I said, "Doll I never just bring people along. They work with me and earn what they make." Letting the butter and seasoning mixture warm I tossed two chiken fillets stuffed with cheese and ham into the mix and lowered the heat. Looking at her I said, "Come with me dollface. So Zara told me you've done some bounty-work in the past, she also said you have a thing for blades. But all I saw on you was two." Coming to the armory on my ship I keyed in the code and the doors opened revealing weapon modification benches, lockers, and crates stacked in the corner.

Looking back at her I said, "The question isn't how many blades you have, what length or what type, but how capable you are with them. Same with any weapon really, so here's what I'm going to do, I'm going to give you several different weapons and you'll take them all. Consider it a plus of working with me, keep in mind though that every piece of gear I give you you will use on this trip. Even if only to acquaint yourself with how they work."

I still had crates full of the DC-17m blaster rifles along with several crate of power packs and energy cell rounds loaded into magazines. Pulling a DC-17m rifle from the crate along with several energy cell mags I laid them on a table. Walking back over to one of the equpiment lockers I pulled out a pair of pistols, one was a blaster pistol and the other was a normal slug-thrower. Pulling several clips of ammo from the locker I laid those on the table too. Then turning I looked up and grabbing a handle pulled the sliding rack of bladed weapons from the ceiling. Pulling several sheathed blades from the rack I laid them in front of her and then pulled a combat harness from the wall.

As the array of weapons sat in front of her I said, "Consider these an investment, I never just give gear away and if I have given it to you you'll be using it either on this run or your own ventures in the future. These will be yours to do with as you will and I expect that you'll maintain them."

Pointing to the lot I said, "This is what you've got to work with."

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/03/ea/10/03ea102b012b9ef238da561eb385a30c.jpg(blades)
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/8d/4f/e8/8d4fe8d4a7ad4578b92dd6c78a0161dd.jpg(daggers 2)
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/ae/c3/4a/aec34a290ec230968be782147a48f727.jpg(Sword)
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/d1/bc/fe/d1bcfecbe32e8a8da5ae50031f6f817c.jpg(Blaster Pistol)
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/20/fa/27/20fa2751d8ad94830480b883714b888a.jpg(Silenced Pistol)
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/99/8c/8a/998c8a165856782ff54fa6c137e80f5b.jpg(Blaster Rifle)
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/1c/32/4d/1c324d9550c1d07a08d3a06effd81640.jpg(Harness)

Turning back to her I said, "Pick a pack off the wall and it's yours. After dinner we'll see how good you actually are with blades and if this mission goes well then you'll always have work available to you from Zara. I'm the one who vets who works with her and me. Now then, food."

Heading back to my cabin and the attached kitchen I realized that the chiken was nearly done being lightly fried. Pulling some rice out I dumped two portions in the rice cooker and then pulled plates and silverware out. The whole journaling thing I got, gave you room to organize your thoughts. As for her just taking the couch that was osik, the people that worked with me got the luxuries I could afford and there was no way in hell I was going to have her sleep on the couch. She'd be sharing my bed with me as it stood this was probably Lealia's first actual job working with a partner and I knew Zara had an eye for talent. Also my bed was much more comfortable than any of the others including the couch.

The rice was beeping telling me it was done. Tossing some seasoning in I stirred it around and then dished up a plate for Lealia and one for myself. I waited for Lealia to come and grab her food before I just dug in....

[member="Lealia Anathema"]