Private Burning Rocket Fuel

[Asmus Janes]

"Fuck me she actually took the whiny shit bag back and they made babies!"

Kairon winced. He would have immediately admonished the cathar for swearing if his cheeks hadn't been in the firm and determined grip of a toddler.

"Language," he eventually said with a harsh glare.

Age had not mellowed the chaotic stowaway-turned-occasional-crew member.

"Hey you," went Mai towards Kaile. She seemed entirely disinterested by the tiny human. Instead she glanced towards the Rangers to see if she could slip away.



"Look I'm not really trying to do anything off my history Flight Officer," Asmus said. He had been quite reticent to join this conversation but now he was losing his patience. He was more assertive than he had once been.

"I can go and fetch you a bunch of medals if you'd like but those could be stolen too. Know a few faces still in the Alliance but I've kept a low profile after what happened in First Order space. But what I really want to know is why can't my uncle take off right now?"

"He didn't have the appropriate paperwork signed off for his cargo."

 

[Kaile Vera]

And of course, Mai would make such a crude comment off the get go. Some people never change.

"Hey Mai, how you doin'" Kaile attempted to say hello, although it appeared that the Cather had a specific plan in mind. With a jerk toward her direction, and with the Alliance pilots distracted by Asmus Janes , Mai did what she did best and slinked off before anyone else would pick up on it.

Kaile arched an eyebrow over at Kairon, as if questioning what was going on. He shook his head and instead fixated his attention on Bix -- who was now giggling as she played with Kairon's scruffy beard.

"That Asmus's mother let you leave Eriadu is a feat," Kairon told her. Kaile gave a half laugh, glancing over to Asmus every now and then to see if he was okay. They were talking low amongst each other. If she wanted to, she could use the Force to enhance her senses. Part of her wanted to. They weren't sure what they were going to expect here -- especially with Mai slinking off like she did.

Was there something more going on here?

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus was wearing a look as he walked back to the Quintessence. He smiled, but there was strain in the corner of her eyes. He paused to compose himself and drew his hair back over his ears.

"Kairon..."

"Asmus."

"What are you shipping that they claim you don't have paperwork for?"

"Does it matter?"

"I think it does."

"Man has a right to fly. Doesn't matter what..."

"But even if it didn't," Asmus interrupted. "What exactly are you carrying?"

Kairon raised his gaze from Bix and looked to Asmus and Kaile and back again.

"I..."

Bix slapped a hand across his mouth before letting him go. Kairon looked embarrassed.

"... Am shipping Power Death Droid Dolls."

"Like...from the show? Why the..." Asmus started, but Kairon was getting it all out now.

"I picked them up at the last stop. They're safe. They're good. But from a factory that doesn't pay to be certified so...so I could drop them in the core for a good profit."

For once, Asmus was stunned.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile couldn't help the twitch at the corner of her lips. A fleeting glance was given to Asmus Janes , whose stunned expression was the last straw that broke the proverbial gundark's back. Kaile began to laugh.

Asmus and Kaile were well aware of the craze the Power Dead Droids kids show had on kids. It was one of the ones Bix was interested in besides Greeny, that they had to monitor she didn't get too sucked into it.

All this, for Bootlegged Power Death Puff Droid dolls?

"Make sure Bix doesn't find one; she'll latch onto one with her teeth," Kaile joked, but her gaze also went towards the direction Mai slinked off to. Witha faint nod towards that direction, Kaile asked quietly, "So... where is Mai goin'?"

 

[Asmus Janes]

"It's not about the... dolls... it's about a man's right to fly without being harassed," Kairon replied. His voice was gruff, but when Asmus had to bite his own lip to keep his expression under control the battle was done. He knew it was going to be an uphill struggle from there.

"Mai will go and get drunk after two days stuck here in quarantine," Kairon explained.

Asmus rolled his eyes.

"Kairon, what's it gonna cost to dump the dolls."

"Not gonna. Its about more than..."

"But if you did?"

"Four thousand."

Asmus sighed. Not a huge sum, but enough that Kairon was going to be stubborn about it. Perhaps he could convince Kairon to sell it somewhere that the legislation didn't apply, but then he would barely be making a profit. Better than a loss.

He was glad to be seeing the Quintessence crew again. He wanted Kairon and the crew to see him and his family. But he would rather be back in the air and having Kaile prove her mettle with the Wook than dealing with such tedious paperwork matters.

The two rangers were still near their vessels, discussing the matter of Asmus' identity.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Asmus Janes

Leaning in close to Asmus, Kaile murmured, "Ya know, why don't I try and rustle up some buyers for them dolls? Might find someone willin' to cough up what he spent on 'em, or at least make a tad bit of profit to ease his mind."

In the meantime, Asmus could keep on smoothin' things over, and with any luck, they could get this whole mess sorted out. "Perhaps y'all can chat 'em up and ask for another day, give us some time to sort things out." It's a start, after all. Not to mention, it would be easier for Kaile to try and broker something on the side than wait and see if Kairon will dump his load or if the two Alliance officers will let this slide.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus drew one hand through his hair. The gesture allowed him to rub his temple freely and frown at the floor.

Kairon actually laughed.

"Look like your mum when you pull that face," he said, knowing it would only irritate Asmus just a little more.

After so many years of Asmus causing problems, Kairon was starting to enjoy himself despite the trouble he was in.

"Those are both great ideas," he admitted to Kaile. He offered a relieved smile and headed towards the Rangers.

"Hey there," one said. They weren't hostile, but friendly, but there was a little more respect to their tone.

"Look, I'm going to talk to my uncle. We're going to find him somewhere to sell his cargo inside the trade boundary," Asmus said.

"We haven't got the time to escort him to another location and confirm that though."

"We'll keep the trackers on, get a certificate of sale and send it your way," Asmus countered.

"We'll think about it. But it's getting really hard to verify your ID."

"I know it is," Asmus said. "A lot of things got burned after the First Order betrayal. You could let me fly that and show you?" he laughed.

"Oh yes, give a stranger access to my ship."

"They're old," Asmus observed. "A-series was even before my time. Though I started in a two-seater Y-Wing."

"Carriers get the new ships."

"Not us out here."

"Newer isn't always better," Asmus said. "Carriers can spend all their time on maintenance on the C-series release. So...give us a day to talk this through?"

"Twelve hours."

Asmus offered a firm nod and returned to Kaile and Kairon to pass on the news.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Asmus Janes

While Asmus went to try and see if they could get a bit more time, Kaile took the time to activate her ocular contacts. For the briefest of moments, her chocolate browns eyes would give a soft glow. Kairon noticed it immediately, while Bix was used to it by now. They were mummy's special eyes.

"I'm searchin' if'n there be a place 'round here that be keen on takin' that load of yours," Kaile explained, while Bix was all too happy to start tugging at Kairon's ears now.

A slight furrow to her brow and the electric glow of her eyes faded. "Need a bit more time. There's all kinds of jammers 'round here." she turned to look at Asmus, watching him rake his hand through his hair as he came striding back.

Dangit, did he look good enough to eat, Kaile thought to herself, mind wandering. No, no, focus. Do not focus that we can have Bix hang out with Mai and Kairon and the Asmus and she could go get reacquainted on top of that sonic washer again...

"Well? What they say?" she asked.

 

[Asmus Janes]

"Twelve hours," Asmus said. There was no point in beating around the bush.

"That means I can probably stretch to sixteen by being nice."

He put the emphasis on the word 'nice' as he made eye contact with Kairon. It was hard to be genuinely annoyed when the old grumpy spacer was trying to keep Bix from grabbing his beard.

"As long as I come with, I think they'll trust you to sell them to one of the sectors around here and not cross the trade lines."

Kairon smiled from one corner of his mouth and Asmus knew he was thinking about cheating his way to more profit.

"Aaand if I give my word that means I'm sticking to it," Asmus added.

"Alright, alright," Kairon relented. "So if those two fascists are leaving us along. What have you both been up to?"

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile gave a glance over at Asmus Janes ; what have we've been up to? Considering that their last gig ended up with Kaile shot in the stomach in former First order territory, neither were really looking at bringing that up.

"Not much, spend most of our time on Eriadu. Asmus's ma and pa do their best to try and get as much time with Bix as they can," The tone the Lorrdian used conveyed that most of those attempts required more than a few reminders on what was okay with Bix and what was not.

"Figured we do some travelin' and take Bix off world and explore for a bit," She added, the trio starting to move towards the ramp of the Quinn. She could have Asmus take over and talk to Kairon and keep Bix busy. Meanwhile Jay quietly followed behind, his tall klunky black figure looming over them.

"I'll see if I can find more information regardin' who is here local. You guys have Bix?" said toddler was busy pulling at Kairon's cheeks again.

 

[Asmus Janes]

"I'll see if I can find more information regardin' who is here local. You guys have Bix?" said toddler was busy pulling at Kairon's cheeks again.

Kairon looked at Kaile in abject panic. It took him a moment to realise that 'you guys' included Asmus. He was not being left alone to mind a toddler.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Kairon agreed with a nod of his head.

The sudden spark of cold fear was enough to put any thought of protest at selling without a profit out of mind. At least he wouldn't be down a big loss.

"Come on you," said Asmus, reaching over to pluck Bix from Kairon and set her on the floor. He had to stoop to hold her hand as she headed into the ship. The young girl didn't seem phased by a strange ship when she was with them both. His fear that she would struggle with new places if they didn't travel beyond their beach house wasn't being manifested. She seemed to feel safe and loved.

"Wow, it's been a while," said Asmus as they entered the living area of the Quintessence.

It struck him like a brick. He had left home far too young and had almost grown up on the ship. Bix broke free of his hand and rushed straight for the corner sofa and tried to climb up.

 

[Kaile Vera]

"Wow, it's been a while,"

Kaile took a moment to stand next to Asmus as he held Bix, the trio taking in the living area. It had been years since Kaile had stepped foot within its interior. The last time she'd been here... she'd had thought she'd never set foot on the Quinn again. At that time, wracked with all her emotions, the former SIS agent truly believed that it would be best if she never reached back out to Asmus Janes again. That he would be better off and safe, much like Kurt Meyer . Even as heartbreaking as it was to lie to Asmus and that she'd be in touch, she'd done it.

And spent years in wretched longing for him.

"Some things never change," Kaile murmured, reaching over to snake an arm around Asmus's back to give him and Bix a side squeeze. "Been a while."

Her eyes would sweep over the living area, before glancing over at Kairon, "Where are the Twins?"

 

[Asmus Janes]

"You were here for just a week," Asmus muttered under his breath, just for Kaile. It felt like it had been much longer than a week, given the impact on his life.

"Where are the Twins?"

"Mmm? Oh. Recharging after doing the work loading..."

"Toys!" Asmus interjected.

"...our profitable cargo," Kairon finished.

"Toys?" went Bix.

Unlike Kaile's room on the Messa, Asmus imagined there was very little left to mark it as his. Most of his stuff had been cleared back to his parents.

After filling in for a rag tag rebellion fleet in an aging Y-Wing, Asmus had joined the academy of the Alliance in the Outer Rim.

"This is where Mummy and Daddy met," Asmus told Bix.

Technically that had been a bar, but close enough.

 

[Kaile Vera]

"Toys?" went Bix.

It had begun. Asmus Janes should have known better, but in his amusement that his uncle had been smuggling Power Death Droid Dolls, he had forgotten that Bix may construe it as there were toys for her to play. Not uncommon since Asmus's mother and father did that on the regular whenever they came to visit.

"Toys!" Bix gave a squee of delight, fisting her hands and shaking them. Then came the chant. "Toys! Toys! Toys!"

She was expecting to be shown a toy -- or toys, plural.

With a level look at Asmus, she told him "All on you now. I'll get to searchin' for a connection." she pressed a kiss on his cheek.

"Best get her one, you started it." she laughed, before grabbing her backpack to set up on the galley table. In a few minutes she'd have her datatablet out and connect a few other boxes that would crypt and decrypt access along the holonet for the blackmarket.

 

[Asmus Janes]

"If you have a box you can spare shell quietly play with them for hours," Asmus told Kairon. "And if you can spare a cold beer or two. .."

Kairon looked from Asmus to Bix and back. Asmus offered a shrug.

"Mum kept everything out of sight from me and remember how that turned out?" Asmus said asked rhetorically.

She had been strict and veered him away from anything vaguely tempting or fun. What had followed was several years of rebellion, thinking he was a space pirate, drinking, spice and trying to bed anything that breathed.

He didn't know what kind of person Bix would be, but he was looking forward to finding out.



Soon Bix was sat on the floor by the table with several new toys being watched by Kairon. Asmus took a seat beside Kaile and placed down two open bottles of beer.

"They mentioned something about a TG3? A trade boundary I think we have to stay inside? Might be we need to stay on the ship for one round trip and get on our way?"

Not that they'd decided what their next stop might be.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Asmus Janes

"Thank you, sweetie," Kaile shone Asmus a bright smile, leaning over to kiss his cheek in gratitude. At the mention of the trade boundary, Kaile arched a brow. Smuggling talk and the like wasn't the sort of work the former SIS agent typically used to work in. It was either long term embedded missions ground side or working on a ship for classified missions. The smuggling life was not familiar to her as it had been for Kairon and Asmus during his time with them.

"I take the war between the Alliance and the Dark Empire is what is gettin' folk antsy," Kaile murmured, having heard the news about Empress Teta being taken over by the remnants of the Maw.

"That and then some, but it is making work for folk like me plenty of credits for the discerning individual," Like Power Death Droid Dolls. Kairon added, "Would make more than a decent amount of credits on those." he sighed a bit forlorn as Bix went on to play with the toys.

Pulling up her datapad, Kaile slipped in a small datastick for her encryption key and went to work. Every now and then, she glanced up at Kairon and Asmus, "I'd be careful you stay away from the Core Worlds, even if it is tempting to smuggle items to and fro. I hear there is plenty of recovery efforts over by the Centrality that might be safer for folk who need items just as bad."

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus shot Kaile a sideways glance. Kairon was going to be gruff about the whole ordeal, but he would quickly get over it. He managed to convey that with a single glance.

Bix had picked up one of her toys. Asmus couldn't remember the name of the red one. In the cartoons it tended to get angry before its head exploded in a comical fashion. Its head would always be intact again for the next scene.

Kairon looked down at the toy in his lap.

"She wants you to play," Asmus explained. "Good luck with your knees on the floor."

Asmus left Kairon's knees to it and leaned over to look at the screen.

"Anything withing a short jump that will.."

But before he could finish a yellow droid doll was dumped on his lap and he had to go and join in.

 

[Kaile Vera]

"Should have been careful before you spoke, Asmus," Kaile joked, giving a glance over towards the two men who were now very actively participating in what appeared to be a tea party between the various Power Death Droid dolls.

With a chuckle, the Lorrdian returned her attention back to her datatablet. After taking a few minutes to run the various encryption programs, she was able to get access through her previous handle Kiki K.

After a few minutes and a couple of 'no, definitely not this one' murmured under her breath, Kaile let out a heavy exhale and then said, "Okay, I think I have someone."

However, kaile gave a slight grimace.

"The pros... they'll take them at cost with a few hundred credits of profit for you...."

She licked her lips and then looked at Asmus.

"The con...well...I think... this might be... one of your ex's..." if she recalled correctly who Asmus had some flings with during the five years they were separated.

Totally hadn't been stalking him at all.


Asmus Janes