Slavery Is So Yesterday!

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

Nar Shaddaa

If one wanted to rescue slaves, THAT was one of the places to be. There was Tatooine of course, but there were more Hutts and others to stop you there. And who needs that???

Not Lori!!

Armed with a small blaster tucked in her waist, and her jetpack on her back, she was ready to go after one of the nearest slave camps. Her goggles rested on the top of her head. But right now she wasn't quite close to it. The camp was a good few kilometres away. Lori was standing in one of the outpost merchant tents, looking through some engine components while her ears were listening for a few choice phrases that she figured she'd come across.

There had to be slavers in the merchant tents? Right? Surely they shop too.

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Dressed in a dark brown casual jacket with light amour underneath, Abigail pulled up her hood as she made her way towards her destination. It was a set of merchant stores adjacent to each other. She had caught word that one of the merchants was involved in the selling and kidnapping of people who were then to be sold as slaves. A horrible yet expensive business, which attracted many people you wouldn't exactly want to meet, yet she went there anyway.

She tucked her hands in her jacket before she approached one of the first merchant tents she saw. It was relatively busy for this kind of 'shop'. Who knew, maybe she would find something here.

(Woopsie, posted 4 days ago but forgot to tag you: [member="Loreena Arenais"] )

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori glanced over to [member="Abigail Meredydd"] as the older woman walked into the merchant tent. Her hood was drawn up, which usually meant that she was hiding her face. But from who? Slavers? Bad people? Most around here from what she saw were bold, just like she was. Lori didn't hide her face. Even when wearing her goggles. Most didn't recognize her or could care less. It made her glad that her parents kept herself and her brother out of the spotlight. Otherwise it could be very dangerous.

She wandered on over until she was beside the woman, but did her best to make it appear as though she was searching through a box of toggle switches and see if there was one that could be used on the jet pack that sat on her back.

"These are all cleaned so well. Hands smaller than mine must have worked on them.
I hope that they got paid well for it. Wouldn't you say so?" Yup, that was her bad way of trying to gauge whether or not the woman was a fan of slavery. Lori wasn't so good at this kind of intelligence gathering yet.

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail rose her eyebrows under her hood in confusion as a girl suddenly stood next to her, asking something about switches of some kind? She slightly turned her head so that she could have a small look at this girl. She was very young, which surprised Abigail even more. Why was a kid in here asking about people getting paid well?
It was only when Abigail took a second to listen to words spoken that she realised there to be a not-so-subtle hidden question.

Without revealing her face, she responded. "But of course, they need to earn money for their services, just like everyone else should."

She remained silent for a second before she added something, yet this time her voice was whispering.

"Yet I hope you were wrong about them having hands smaller than yours. This kind of labour isn't meant for a child. And also not for you."

She quickly yet subtle looked around her.
"Why have you come to me. Do you need help?"

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

That first phrase that [member="Abigail Meredydd"] uttered was enough to let her know that the woman was against slavery too. That was a good thing.

Lori raised a brow as the woman also stated that cleaning toggels and other components at a shop wasn't an ideal thing for her either. Did Abigail think that she was too young for work? Or did she know who she was and was the type to figure that Princesses couldn't or shouldn't do anything but look pretty and have tea parties? That of course was a long shot. Lori's parents did well to keep their children out of the spotlight in case they became targeted. That gave Lori and her twin brother [member="Caedyn Arenais"] lots of freedom of movement.

Now came the questions. At first she didn't know how to answer them. It wasn't as though she needed rescuing, afterall. "Me? Not specifically. But there's a lot of people around here that have lost their sense of freedom. I was going to help them find it." And then another thought came to mind. She had no idea who this person was. "What's your name?
Are you hiding from someone?"

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

"You? Alone? With all respect, although that is indeed a good cause, isn't that a bit.. dangerous?", Abigail asked surprised. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't believe the girl could do anything, but she just had to make sure this wasn't just some overconfident kid about to end up dead.

Abigail then grabbed one of the items in front of her and pretended to be inspecting it to avoid suspicion.
"My name is Abigail and no- I am not hiding from anyone. Neither am I a someone you should fear, so rest your heart. I hide my face so that my presence here and any actions I might carry out won't be traced back to me or the people I know."

Abigail then slightly turned her head towards the girl before she returned one of the questions.

"You now know my name, so what is yours?"

Interesting, this girl seemed to have the same intention as Abigail. The older girl looked quickly yet calmly over her shoulder, to see if they had attracted any unwanted attention, but they appeared to be fine for now.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori put down the toggle and moved onto a bucket of nozzleheads, deciding to go through them while she listened to [member="Abigail Meredydd"] .

"Sometimes going alone is safer. No one suspects it." Not that she had actually done so alone before. The last time that she had freed slaves, she was teamed up with a few others. And it was great! It was thrilling!

"Good to meet you.
I'm Lori." Of course she didn't give out her whole name out of percaution. There could be some bad guys wanting to hurt her parents, so she avoided giving people the benefit of putting two and two together.

"What kind of actions are you thinking of doing?" Subtlety was not one of Lori's strongsuits yet.

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail chuckled silently as she girl fired yet another question at her.

"You want to know an awful lot about me. That's kind of making you look suspicious", she replied, debating whether she should tell [member="Loreena Arenais"] why she was really here.

It was rather obvious the girl was hinting at the fact that there was slavery going on on this very planet- and quite a lot of it too. Yet Abigail wasn't entire sure whether or not to trust the girl, as the girl was a bit too eager to know Abigail's intentions. After giving the girl another glance from underneath her hood, Abigail decided that this girl was most likely here because of the same business Abigail was, so she could probably be trusted.

"Well, Lori, I am here to check whether or not these people with hands smaller than you are actually getting paid well", she eventually whispered. It wasn't the entire truth, but it would let Lori know what Abigail's main intentions were and that she could be trusted.

Of course, Abigail already knew that the kids working here were not being paid at all and that they were slaves, slaves who she sought to set free.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori smirked a little at being labelled as suspicious. If only [member="Abigail Meredydd"] knew of the pranks and such that she liked to pull. But that was just on the people that she liked. For those that she didn't like, she tended to build traps.

Slavers were people that she didn't like.

"Well, let's say that we do it together.
Two sets of eyes are better than one. I could take the high ground." She motioned to the jetpack she wore. "Built it myself, you know. I call it Ol'Sparky. It took me a while to figure out the circuitry for it. And the welding brought out some fantastic flame colours! It flies like a dream though, as long as it's not too windy. Have you ever used one before?" Oh she was rambling on purpose. It created a bit of a cover for them, she thought.

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail let out a short chuckle as Loreena ranted on about her jetpack.

"Okay okay, I understand you have interesting jetpack", she replied with a smile. "And no, I've never used one before. I prefer to keep to the shadows, and that won't work if I'm flying through the air", she chuckled.

"And as far as the 'checking' goes. Are you sure you want to do that?", she asked as she lowered her voice. "I appreciate your eagerness to help people, but these here aren't the common bandits. These are dangerous people, powerful people. Are you sure you want to get mixed up in all that?"

Without waiting for an answer, because Lori's eyes told her more than enough she motioned to her own hood.

"First of all, you're going to need a little more concealing clothes. These guys have contacts everywhere, and you don't want to get stabbed a few years from now because some idiot recognises your face. That and you definitely don't want any loved ones - if you have those- to get involved. Lots of reasons for hoods", she said as she pointed up at her own hood.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

[member="Abigail Meredydd"] had a point. She was much more visible in the air. But that would be a tactic to use too, wouldn't it? She could cause a distraction and get people to watch her flying while Abigail did her thing...

Lori chewed the inside of her cheek a little as Abigail mentioned getting a hood and needing it. She motioned for her to follow as she left the booth. It wasn't until they were more or less on their own that she spoke up in a tone of voice that hopefully only Abigail could hear. "Good idea. Maybe some kind of mask or something could work too. I don't want people to know who I am. My family gets in enough trouble as it is..."

And they get into plenty!

Maybe too much.

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Abigail nodded.
"Good, that is a wise decision. Out of curiosity I would ask you who your family is if they get into 'enough trouble as it is', but it is safer if we keep that information to ourselves- at least for now."

Unconsciously Abigail then pulled her hood a bit further to ensure no-one could see her face. She was aware of the troubles she could bring a certain group of people if she messed with the wrong people- something she was probably going to do very soon.

"Well, let's see if we can find you a mask then. Have a look around, but don't show any interest in the mask you want to buy. If you see a worthy one- walk further and tell me instead of buying it", she told the girl. "I will buy the mask for you, that way no-one can ever link it back to you."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori nodded to [member="Abigail Meredydd"] . It was better for her to keep quiet about her family for as long as possible.

She chewed the inside of her cheek a bit while she walked, sort of looking around. She adjusted her jetpack a little too, all in a bid to look as disinterested as possible. There were multiple booths, but not quite ones that could sell masks. Hmm. If only she had her Mando kit made, for then she could have a helmet which would hide her face perfectly!

But we can't be lucky all the time.

Lori continued along until she spotted one, turning her head towards it and slowing her pace a little. She then continued on and whispered to Abigail. "I like the dark blue one with sparkles. It's sort of costume-like, but the eye slots are big enough for my goggles to fit on and it won't restrict my vision."

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

"Sparkles", Abigail chuckled. "Of course, just give me a minute."

With that Abigail left Lori's side and wandered over to the booth selling the mask Lori had found to be the best. She carefully picked it up, giving it an extensive look, both to ensure it was a good piece and to fake interest in it. Eventually what she assumed to be the merchant appeared next to her, a big grin on his face. From under her hood Abigail couldn't quite make out the species, but luckily for her he spoke galactic basic- albeit a bit spotty.

"Yes. Good mask. Very strong. Protect face and give view-", the merchant started, but he was interrupted by Abigail as she wasn't exactly interested in hearing the man go on about a mask for ages.

"Yes yes, I'll take it. How much?", she calmly asked. Having looked over the mask, she had to admit it was a good one and it would probably be quite costly, but it should be affordable for Abigail. Or at least she thought.
When the merchant named his price, the hooded woman scoffed in response. Not only was the price he asked way more than the object's worth, Abigail didn't even have that much with her anyway. Not even close.

"No way. We both know this thing is probably worth like 25% of that. And that will be my offer, 25% procent of your ridiculous price. Mine is pretty fair"

The merchant, annoyed he had found yet another bartering customer, threw his hands up into the sky.
"You make poor!", he exclaimed in an act to get more money out of his customer.

Luckily for her, Abigail had been in these situations before- and she wasn't exactly going to be scammed again.
"You'll still be better off with 25% than with nothing. But if you refuse...", she replied, after which she put the mask back down, stepping a few steps out of the tent. "Goodbye mister"

Abigail could almost feel his frustration as the man called her back and gave her the mask for the price Abigail had offered.
"Thank you kindly", the hooded woman spoke as she turned on her heels and left the booth.

Hiding the mask under a piece of cloth, Abigail first moved in the opposite direction of Lori, only to then move back to her in a circle.

"Hey, look what I've got", she whispered.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

As [member="Abigail Meredydd"] broke off to go pick up the mask, Lori continued on. She didn't want to seem suspicious and there were bound to be some that wondered if the pair were shoplifters. So she just kept her hands on the straps of her jetpack and kept on walking, humming a tune to herself.

She was nearly at the end of the market by the time that Abigail caught up with her. Lori grinned. "How much was it?" She had some credits on hand and wasn't about to let the woman pay for anything for her.

Mask. Check!

Jetpack. Check!

Partner in 'crime'. Check!

"So where should we go first?"

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

"It was way too expensive, but I managed to get it for 25%, so it was only around 400 credits. It looked decent enough, so it will be worth the buy", Abigail replied. She looked over to the credits the little girl had in her hand. "Oh, that's not necessary", she said as she put both her hand in the air. "See it as me paying for your services", she chuckled.

"As to where to go, I'm working on that now", she continued. "Just give me another few seconds and it'll come to me"

Abigail wandered past a few more booths before she held her hand in front of the girl beside her. After closing her eyes for a few seconds, imaged flashed in front of her, revealing not much but just enough- as it usually did.

"Alright, we seem to be looking for an old warehouse, in.... that general direction", Abigail whispered as she slightly nodded to their left.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori gave [member="Abigail Meredydd"] a smirk. Paid for her services? Getting paid for a little adventure sure was silly. She half wondered if it was something that she could've made a career on. Hmmm. "Well thanks! That's very kind of you!"

She put the mask on. It was a little big. But after adjusting her goggles overtop, the mask was held in place. At least it was something that she could grow into. And no doubt she looked like a goof!

Her brows furrowed as she watch Abigail do....well, something or other. Was she listening for some kind of sound? Certain words? Lori just watched her as she did...whatever it was that she was doing.

Her eyes blinked beneath her goggles at the mention of a warehouse. "Ohhhh....I've done one of those rescues before. Good thing I have Ol' Sparky!" She gestured to her jetpack and began heading off in that direction. There was a nearly giddy bounce to her step.

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Abigail couldn't help but chuckle as she watched Lori struggle with the mask, which seemed to be a little too big.

"Hey, look at that, this one will even still fit you after you've grown a bit", she chuckled. "An investment in the future"

Lori caught Abigail slightly off guard when she suddenly took off. Abigail watched the girl wander off for a few seconds before she quickly rejoined Lori at her side.

"Well, you seem awfully exited for something this horrible", she said as she shot the girl a soft smile. She didn't really mean anything with it, it was more just some small talk as they made their way towards the warehouse. Abigail figured that she'd better use all the time she had for some innocent and light-hearted banter, because everything could very well take a dark turn once they made their way inside.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori planted her hands on her hips, tilting her chin up slightly in a bit of a superhero pose. All that she needed was a cape! And a bit of wind to whip it around for dramatic effect.

As [member="Abigail Meredydd"] caught up with her, she looked over, nearly tripping over the uneven ground. But of course Lori caught herself, and Abigail's arm as she regained her balance. "I've done a rescue in a warehouse before. With some friends!
Some slavers held some kids and parents inside of some cages in there. So while a couple of us made a distraction at the door, I flew up to the roof and went through the skylight! It was great!! All the guards were taken care of and all the people were freed. We saved the day! I wpnder if that's what'll happen here too? Only there's less of us to try to do it."

She wondered if the plan would still work, or if they'd have to come up with something else entirely. It all depended on how many of the enemy they were dealing with.

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail quickly looked over at Lori again as she felt something tug at her arm. It took her a second to realise the girl had almost stumbled over, but then after that second she let out a small chuckle as she listened to Lori talk.

"Very impressive. I'm sure there's a lot of people proud of you for doing that", she said sincerely, impressed that Lori had done something this dangerous and difficult before... especially considering her age.

"But," she said as she gave Lori a smirk from under her hood," do try to make sure that the Great Lori, Freer of Slaves, doesn't get beaten by an uneven floor." Her tone was light, and to further indicate that she was merely making a friendly joke, she briefly pulled her hood away, so that Lori could get a short but good look at who her companion was and how she looked..
..And she did it so she could wink at Lori after her joke, before pulling the hood down again, so that it was once more hiding her face and identity.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]