Faction Where the Companiers and the Frees Meet (RTL)

[Aeshi Tillian]

YUMFLA
RIPPLING MYNOCK CANTINA
DOCKSIDE DISTRICT
Tessa Sedaire Mariah of House Marr @Free Traders @Merchant-Mariners @Other Leaguers Ardon Arkyn Rane Kaia Starchaser Pretri Mapore Cambria Zadira Porro Tanau Sinn Shak Nan'eth'illa Varen Ardos Kaia Starchaser Bane Darkclaw

Companiers.

Aeshi's lips curled momentarily at the sight as she slipped through the door. The fething merchant-mariners with their neatly pressed uniforms and their company logos and ships name embroidered on their jackets. Recent academy grads, she was guessing, judging by the lack of any sort of markings on their uniforms and their overall youthfulness.
The whole lot of them were already more than half-sloshed at that, judging by the pink of their faces and the burning on their ears.

The bartender, a distant cousin, just shrugged in and nodded her head back towards a far corner of the room. Aeshi gave half a nod and strode through the raucous crowd. She was here for the Captain's Coterie. They had made some good connections there, with two solid folks who had helped out. She'd reached out to some more folks, including the Circle of the Light Hand and Jedi Pilgrims, plus some Rangers she could... more or less rely on not to be total narcs. And the Wardens she knew.

Things had gone from dubious to downright bad. Sith over by Kal'shebbol. Maw Imperialists on Seswenna, Adras, and also Kal'shebbol. She did not envy Cotan Sar'andor trying to keep that intact.

It was time to act. They had gathered resources and made connections, but they couldn't wait too long. The League was mustering its strength behind the scenes, she suspected, preparing to unleash something nobody expected from them. Word on the grapevine was that the Mandos didn't think the League had a military.

Perhaps not a conventional one. But they had professionals. And you could never tell which ones they were. Invisible. Efficient. Feistier than a rancor. They just needed a bit of a nudge.

Loud, off-key singing rattled up from the far side of the room where the Companiers were starting some ballad about some Svivreni trade house. It grated against her ears and she flexed her fists, breathing deeply through her nose.

They would keep them from being overheard.

She kept repeating that to herself. It was the only perk to their being here. They must have been here on some sort of dare. This was Free Trader turf, except for the Tillians, but the Tillians' entire gross cargo tonnage barely netted half a fleet's worth for a single of the big Svivreni families. And Force only knew how many of those there were.

She had an idea in mind. And she needed some rogues and scoundrels to pull it off. It would be daring. They'd be outgunned and outnumbered, but they might just pull it off. If, and that was a big if, they could pull it together to begin with.

 

[Arkyn Rane]

Y U M F L A
RIPPLING MYNOCK CANTINA -- 'DOCKSIDE
TAG: Aeshi Tillian ​

---

Arkyn had waited till the stakes were high before she rolled five naturals straight-- three sevens and two elevens-- but held off on her sixth roll, letting the dice settle on eight. She lost a few credits, but the pots she'd collected off the merchant-mariners thus far was more than enough walking around money. The refresher was all but crowded with uniformed youths, faces ruddy and eyes glazed from heavy drinking. They were easy marks, even on a bad day. She'd finessed credits from nearly all of them at this point.

"All right lads and ladies, I think I've taken enough of your money." She tossed a handful of credits back in the pot as she backed away. "Here. Another round of drinks on me, eh?"

Wisely, she got going while the getting was good, vacating the premises to generally good-natured grumbles. Out in the cantina proper, the Companiers had joined together in a truly horrible song that sounded a lot like auditory vomit. She tuned them out as best as she could, eyes scanning the crowd. She hadn't come to the Ripping Mynock to con a bunch of baby merchant-mariners--

Ah. There she is.

She'd come for Aeshi Tillian. The woman had reached out to her for a meet, and considered Arkyn owed her for saving her life, she'd found time in her busy schedule to make an appearance. The Warden looked much like she had the last time Arkyn had seen her, back at Gorba's Palace, though less paranoid, perhaps because she wasn't surrounded by gangsters and thugs. Arkyn made her way over to join her, weaving her way through the crowd.

"Aeshi," she said by way of greeting, dipping her head. She took a seat with her back to the wall and immediately leaned back in her chair, reclining languidly with her sleek boots crossed and perched on the edge of the table. "Heard you got something cooking up?"

​

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Arkyn Rane

"Arkyn," Aeshi replied with a nod, although her eyes were still scowling past the other woman's shoulders to the academy grads. "Fething academy grads thinking they can go wherever the feth they want," she muttered, before looking back to Arkyn and gesturing to take a seat.

She pushed an open bottle of whiskey across the table, letting it slide across the surface.

"I always like to keep several pots cooking," Aeshi admitted, raising a glass to her lips. "Heard any of the gossip coming in from Terminus, Kal'shebbol, or over by Omwat?"

Aeshi leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, letting her eyes scour the room. The ones she didn't at least recognize were the companiers. "Maw and their type are digging into the Outer Rim. Damned Maw has a station over at Adras. And planets over by Terminus are going dark."

She glanced across the room again. "I think it's about time we start punching up."

 

[Arkyn Rane]

Y U M F L A
RIPPLING MYNOCK CANTINA -- 'DOCKSIDE
TAG: Aeshi Tillian ​

---

Arkyn grabbed a glass and poured her up a double-shot of whiskey, and knocked it back with nary a grimace. She preferred more exotic spirits, but she wasn't one to turn down free drinks.

"I always like to keep several pots cooking," Aeshi began, sipping from her own glass. "Heard any of the gossip coming in from Terminus, Kal'shebbol, or over by Omwat?"

"That's all I've been hearing." Arkyn poured another shot. Among other things. The galaxy was becoming a truly harrowing place. As if it was ever anything different.

"Maw and their type are digging into the Outer Rim," Aeshi said. "Damned Maw has a station over at Adras. And planets over by Terminus are going dark. I think it's about time we start punching up."

Arkyn grinned wide enough to show the whites of her teeth. "Aeshi darlin', that's the only way to ever punch."

​

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Arkyn Rane

Aeshi shrugged with a laugh, "I prefer to be punching from several thousand meters away and using a targeting computer, or at least from the top of a table or something, but I suppose your point is fair."

She threw another look over her shoulder. One of the graduates gave her a bleary wink, scowling before looking back to the table. Her hands were really itching now but she let out a slow breath and brought her focus back in. Dumb kids.

"I'm thinking we scout out the worlds going dark. Figure out what the feth is happening out there. Then look into rounding up some old friends and taking care of that station in Adras."

 

[Yula Perl]

Aeshi Tillian Arkyn Rane

"You know where the best place is to punch? The cajones."

Yula had thrown an arm around Aeshi's shoulders, free hand helping her nurse a frothing pint of ale. "We whipped the First Order back in our day, we can do it again." Nodding to the other woman in greeting, Yula wiped the froth from her lips with the back of her hand and released Aeshi from her hold.

"The Maw—those folks are different though. I was on Csilla when they, you know." Slipping into a seat, she made a vague hand gesture of an explosion. "No one seems to be stomping them out of existence, and not for lack of trying. They're mean fethers." She hummed thoughtfully against the rim of her glass. Being out of the core made her feel looser, more at home without the static of the Alliance and Imperial drama.

"Everyone always underestimates the motley group of spacers but-" She flashed a grin here "—my droids are yers. If I think the plan is worthwhile."

 

[Porro Tanau]

Location: Susevfi | Yumfla | Dockside District | Rippling Mynock Cantina
Tags: Aeshi Tillian | Arkyn Rane | Yula Perl

Porro had put his name in with the Rimward Trade League a short time ago. He still worked quite a bit with Sorr Kortu and Brinna Dara when they had jobs to do, but he had no longer accompanied them back to the Tion Cluster and their base on Lianna. The RTL seemed much more stable. And to be honest Porro wasn’t sure how long they were going to be able to hide from the Empire on Lianna. Sorr had focused most of his energy towards working within the RTL, but Brinna was still attached to Lianna. That was one stubborn woman.

While they were all on a mission on Dagobah, a message was sent out stating there was a plan of action for the RTL involving certain encroachments in the territory. Porro wasn’t sure if Sorr was going to respond and Brinna said she was going back to Nar Shaddaa to visit her boyfriend and then back to Lianna. So Porro hitched a ride on a civilian star cruiser to see what Aeshi Tillian was pitching and where he might be able to lend a hand.

Entering the cantina with Porro noticed the sense of merriment coming from the uniforms. He might check in with them before he left the cantina if time permitted. They weren’t exactly his type of party, but he rarely completely avoided a party. Moving further into the cantina he discovered a table with three lovely young ladies around it. This was much more his speed when it came to parties. Even if the talk wasn’t going to be solely about drinks, songs, and dances.

“Aeshi Tillian,” Porro said recognizing the woman who had called for this meeting. “I’m Porro Tanau. We haven’t met, but I received your message. Here to help wherever I can.” He nodded to Yula and Arkyn with a smile. “Porro,” he repeated his name. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”​

 

[Arkyn Rane]

Y U M F L A
RIPPLING MYNOCK CANTINA -- 'DOCKSIDE
TAG: Aeshi Tillian | Porro Tanau | Yula Perl ​

---

Aeshi looked like she was bristling for a fight. Arkyn couldn't say that she was against the idea-- it had been a while since she'd last been in a brawl, and the mariners were terrible singers.

"You know where the best place is to punch? The cajones."

They were joined by a sexy Zeltron that seemed pretty chummy with Aeshi. She reminded Arkyn of herself, which was as good an endorsement as any, as far as she was concerned. The woman had seen the devastation wrought by karkers like the Maw first hand-- Arkyn herself had steered far and away from anything even tangentially related to the Brotherhood. Except for that time on Empress Teta.

"I'm thinking we scout out the worlds going dark. Figure out what the feth is happening out there. Then look into rounding up some old friends and taking care of that station in Adras."

Arkyn hid a grimace. Hero-work was more often than not low-paying work, at least when it came to cold hard credits. Moral currency was good and all, but it didn't pay for extra concussion missiles or power converters, which she had a worrying tendency to overload with her wild flying. Of course, her coffers were pretty full now after her pirate heist, and she still had several corusca gems left to sell. She could afford a little low-paying work, at least for a while.

Maybe build up her moral coffers a bit.

"Everyone always underestimates the motley group of spacers but-" She flashed a grin here "—my droids are yers. If I think the plan is worthwhile."

"Just your droids, is it?" Arkyn eyed the Zeltron up and down, and knocked back another shot of whiskey. "And what about the rest of youse? That's a lotta' body to be keeping to yerself."

Someone else joined them then, a tall man called Porro Tanau.

"Cop a squat, Porro, and have yourself a drink." She poured herself another shot of whiskey and swallowed it down with nary a grimace. "The name's Arkyn."

​

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Yula Perl Porro Tanau Arkyn Rane

"Well, get us in reach of whatever nerfherding-son-of-a-bantha is running the empire and I'll give them a fist in the cajones," Aeshi replied, after starting in surprise as Yula threw an arm around her. She had almost tossed an elbow up, but the familiar pink skin and voice set her at ease momentarily.

"Porro, yeah?" Aeshi said, as someone else strolled up. "You were involved with that Dagobah business, weren't you?" She raised the glass in acknowledgment. "Good work from I hear."

"As for a workable plan--" Aeshi said, leaning back with a frown. "How did that prison plan work out?" She'd heard the gist. "But your droids are always excellent assets to have."

She rapped a metal knuckle on the table for a moment, considering. "We need to start getting information and start taking actions to let the galaxy we're still around, and we're still kicking. I can run some cargo to the worlds gone dark. See if we can get some links with whose locals. Call in a bunch of favors with the privateers. Get together an attack team to hit the Maw stations, split the prize money."

 

[Yula Perl]

Aeshi Tillian Arkyn Rane Porro Tanau

"And what about the rest of youse? That's a lotta' body to be keeping to yerself."

Yula laughed loudly, the sudden bark drawing a few stares from the academy kids in the nearest corner. If she noticed, she didn't seem to mind.

"If I could've taken down the Maw that way, would've already done it."

Another fellow had joined them, introducing himself as Porro. Aeshi seemed to know of, or at least of his work. Yula nursed her ale a little more, pulling back in time to answer Aeshi. "Messy, but ultimately successful. Reminds me, I need to buy Veino a round the next time I see him." The Jensaarai had answered her call to join a strike team for a very personal reason—the rescue of her younger sister from an Imperial prison.

Leaning heavily on the one elbow she'd propped against the table, Yula hummed. "Do we want them to know that we're around? The Maw's paying attention to big fish. Y'know, the Alliance, the Empire, the Mando folk. Under the radar might be the best place to be, for right now." She paused, considering her own words. Yula maybe have gone up close with the Maw, but Aeshi had a better handle on the zeitgeist of the system. War machines often underestimated the capabilities of gaining local support, not necessarily from elected officials, but from the everyman. "Eating away at those smaller stations could work. I'd like to get my hands on some of their gadgets, see what we're dealing with."

 

[Porro Tanau]

Location: Susevfi | Yumfla | Dockside District | Rippling Mynock Cantina
Tags: Aeshi Tillian | Arkyn Rane | Yula Perl

One of the human women gave a flirty statement about the Zeltron’s body, before inviting Porro to join the group and take a seat. He did so happily, nodding to each of the women once more and motioning for a waiter so that he could order a drink. His eyes looked over the trio that had assembled. Normally he would consider himself lucky to be in this company. But the flirt from one woman to another and the talk being about actions needed to be taken against recent outside aggression in the area, this wasn’t exactly the time to think of such things.

Aeshi had called for this meeting. She recognized Porro’s name and some of his work. “Dagobah wasn’t exactly my finest work. But yeah I was there and we got the job done. I’m guessing whoever told you the work was good was very results based. But, you can count on me to fill my role in this plan…whatever it might be.”

Aeshi seemed to poke fun at some mission that the Zeltron had been part of. By the sound of things it didn’t go well, but Porro had been in on his fair share of those missions, so there was no judgment. The Zeltron responded that the mission ultimately was a success and Porro could respect that.

The plan it seemed was to collect intel and take action to make sure that the League was not being ignored. “I don’t have a ship of my own yet. But I can fill any position you need. Glad to be part of any operation to help the League out.”

The Zeltron spoke up. Suggesting that instead of taking a stand they should stand down and hide in the shadows. “Sith are creeping in. If we just let them operate near our territory eventually they will turn their attention to our assets. The Maw carved a path through to the core right through the Alliance. They may have stalled out, but I don’t see them going away. They are still a threat. Maybe they reup their efforts against the Alliance. Or maybe they look for other sectors they think are weaker. I’m on board for answering aggressive actions with our own aggression. I’m in on the plan.”​

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Porro Tanau Yula Perl Arkyn Rane

"Yeah, I'll let him know you owe him a few," Aeshi agreed, shrugging. Someone had entered the door and lurked in the shadows behind the door. Something about it set her on edge, but they were too far away to ovehear.

After a moment, Aeshi frowned at the words, considering. "Unfortunately, it's the Final Dawn station. And they already know we're here. The League has attempted to push them out of the Outer Rim through various means."

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "It's an XQQ class. So it will take a hell of a siege or an infiltration. But that also means it's not really going anywhere. The planets going silence are worse, I think. That is something much bigger."