Private Pirating Pirates

[Xyoz Maji]

Being a pirate was pretty great. Freedom to fly around, provided he didn't get caught. And so far? The Nameless hadn't been caught. Hell, the crew helped steal a damn casino. A casino. Xyoz let out a chuckle at the thought, his orange glowing eyes focused on the glow of hyperspace just outside the bridge. A moment of just smiling and enjoying past exploits before the stress of the next would kick in. Stealing from pirates. Slavers, the like. Didn't matter who, but the idea of there being slaves? It didn't sit well with him. From the broken memories he did have of his past, before the tomb, he'd seen chains.

His grip tightened on the armrest of his seat, causing the metal to creak. Right. He took a breath, letting the anger wash out with his exhale before he slumped deeper against the leather. At least the chair was comfortable. "How much longer until we drop?"

"<Ten minutes, or so. Want me to go wake her?>" Right. Shai Maji . Xyoz did his absolute best not to just sit up and nod like a fool. His grin and the tail wagging though? That wasn't hidden.

"Absolutely! Er, yes. She might be hungry. We have any food? Oh, and hot chocolate. Make some ho-" Xyoz paused as Tefehr gave him a look. The bemused, saving this for later to make fun of you, kind of look. The Sangnir just cleared his throat and waved a hand. Nothing more needed to be said before he made even more of a fool of himself.

"Just, ah, tell her we'll arrive in a bit if she wants to get ready."

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai was still in two very extreme minds over Xyoz. On one hand, she still resented him from simply disappearing out of her life after she was convinced that they would be thick as thieves for a very long time. But on the other hand, she still had an enormous soft spot for him, especially in the state she found him. She felt a lot of those old feelings with him still, though she wasn’t going to entertain them. Not right off the bat.

Shai was completely knocked out in her quarters with her face buried in a stack of pillows. Her door was locked, a safety measure in case Xyoz thought he could just sneak in without her knowing, though the buzzer worked loud and clear.

She stirred awake from a surprisingly proper sleep, no nightmares or anything to plague her. She was almost tempted to simply roll over and sleep further instead of actually getting ready for their grand plan.

Almost.

Hitting Maw was one thing she would make room for, no matter what. And after Nirauan and Coruscant, she had it out for them. That was why she dragged her dear old ape of a commanding officer along for the ride. Some time to catch up and not fuss over all kinds of issues. Though how Kranak and Xyoz were going to get along was something she couldn’t predict. Especially if it cane out that Xyoz was kind of her ex...

Dragging herself out of bed, she slipped into the shower and geared up in her armour before she exited her room and made her way to the bridge.

”Sup guys...” She yawned, coming to a halt next to Xyoz. ”Is Kranak up yet?” She asked as she looked around. ”I’m gonna find some food. And caf or something...” She mumbled as she turned to go find the mess.

Kranak Vizsla Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

Kranak Vizsla ? Oh, right. That lumbering giant Shai Maji brought along with them. He did his best to hide his disappointment. In truth he just wanted to spend more time with Shai. Try to right his wrongs. How he left her, them. Even though he knew he didn't deserve a second chance, he was going to do everything in his power to get it. But another Mandalorian? The first time he and Shai met had her trying to kill him.

A repeat of that wasn't exactly going to be welcome. But, Shai was here. Xyoz was all smiles as she wandered in. She was here! Lumbering ape or not, she was here!

"Probably still asleep. There's likely something to eat in the mess. And there's some hot choco..! Late.." He let out a heavy sigh and slumped into his seat as Shai disappeared around the corner towards the mess. Just like that she was gone. Then again, she wasn't much of a morning person. Though it wasn't morning. He pondered the worth of such ideas as he turned his gaze back towards hyperspace.

She was here. He'd try his best, no matter what.

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

A
P R O M I S E

Location: Hyperspace, Aboard The Nameless, Enroute to Maw Territory
Local Time: ---
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Primary Objective: Hunt Mawite Convoys With Shai
Secondary Objective: N/A
Equipment: Loadout 2 (Minus Primary and Secondary, Retained Pair of Westar-35c Pistols)+ Goran’s Stand, No Medical Backpack
Tags: Xyoz Maji | Shai Maji

The giant had only dozed off for a few hours in the small quarters Shai had provided aboard The Nameless. He wasn’t tired, but he figured he’d get some rest before they set out to hit the Maw. The Alor’ad had made a promise to his second in command that he’d be there and help her take revenge from the Brotherhood of the Maw. The day had come, and here he was, by her side. Though he would have liked it better if they had a full on vode company. The crew was composed of aruetiise. Non-Mandalorians, outsiders to The Way. But he did not mind, at least not for now. If Shai trusted them enough to have them as her crew, then that meant he could trust them in return.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor under dimmed, orange fluorescent lights, Kranak was in the process of running an equipment check on his weapons, beskar’gam and gear in his quarters. It was about the fifth time he went over his kit. Kranak being Kranak, he hated to leave anything to chance if he could help it. His ritual before embarking on a mission was to check and recheck his kit until he was satisfied. He was obsessed with making sure everything was in working order.

Series of metallic rasps resounded in the small quarters as the giant set about carefully sharpening the ancient relic of a greatsword with a high grade whetstone. He took great care of his gear, but even greater care for the ancient weapon that had once been wielded by legendary warriors of old, over the centuries. It had slain many foes, beasts and aberrations alike. It was a prized relic of his people. And now, he was its current wielder. He was deemed worthy of the honor to be bestowed and entrusted with the ancient battle gear by the Buir herself. He took great pride in wielding the weapon in service of his people. He would make sure to leave the ancient relic in good shape for the next legendary warrior to wield it. That was among his duties that came with carrying this great beskad.

Satisfied with the status of his kit, the giant reached for the sword’s empty scabbard and sheathed it. The greatsword slipped into its scabbard with a satisfying clack. The giant then stood up, and reached for his helmet set on the neatly made bunk bed before him. The obsidian black visor flickered to life as soon as the giant slipped on the helmet, glowing with a vibrant white. The helmet immediately pressurized itself with a short, sharp whine. Better safe than sorry, Kranak assumed. Only on rare occasions would he remove his helmet, let alone his beskar’gam. It was his second skin. He would not feel naked without it if he wore something else, but he would feel its absence on his flesh, and in his soul. He loved his armor. It saved his life from many dangers, many life threatening situations. On several occasions, he would have lost limbs, or worse, died if he wore anything other than his beskar’gam. <”Beskar protects.”> Kranak muttered to himself as he strapped the sheath to the left of his long black kama, over his left pistol holster. He would then pace towards the door to his quarters. He would try to find the Mess Hall and get something to eat, start the day strong with a breakfast and a cup of caff or two, before eventually heading to the bridge. They were still in transit to their destination so they ought to have some time to get something to eat.

The door before him swooshed to the sides, retracting into their housings as they allowed passage for the giant. He leaned forward slightly to not hit his head on the door frame. The doors were made with the standard height of standard humans and beings similar to humans in stature. The giant did not fit into that category, though the durasteel hallways were better. He didn’t need to duck his head while he walked, passing several crew members on his way. Some of them gave him quizzical looks as he walked past them with his head high. They probably were not surprised to see one of his kind. Their boss was, after all, a Mandalorian like the giant. But they obviously did not know him, nor was he someone they had worked with in the past, so he welcomed their understandable intrigue.

The giant stopped next to a Twi’lek crewmate that had halted and scurried to the side on the hallway to allow Kranak passage. He lowered his visor to meet her gaze. <”Where can I find the Mess Hall?”> He said in a soft tone. He was aware how intimidating he could look to aruetiise. Her eyes had widened at the sight of him. He was a gigantic, armed and armored Mandalorian Ori'ramikad afterall. His buy'ce featuring the distinct lines of a human skull --Executioner Pattern-- didn't help, either. “I-I-It’s on deck five. The staircase is a few bulkheads to your front. Just keep going forward, you won’t miss it.” The Twi’lek said. She was startled by his stature at first, but she seemed to feel more comfortable in his presence thanks to the Alor’ad’s kind demeanour. The giant gave a slow nod of his head at the Twi’lek. <”Thank you.”> His left hand casually grasping the grip of his sheathed greatsword, he walked past her at a slow pace afterwards with his back straight and his head held high. His heavy, armored combat boots softly clunked on the durasteel floor as he made his way to the Mess Hall.

The giant sat down alone at one of the unoccupied metal mess tables in The Nameless’ chow hall alone after he put down the stainless steel, segmented food tray and a large caff mug, filled with hot, black caff. The segments were topped off with his breakfast; scrambled Nuna Eggs, four Roba Sausages with brown dwarf gravy on them, a few thick slices of Noryath Meatbread, and some vegetables along with it. He tossed back his long black kama before he sat on the metal bench by the table. Grasping the sides of his helmet, the giant slipped off his buy’ce and set it on the table to his left. The visor’s vibrant white glow faded slowly into obsidian black, shortly after he took it off. He’d eat his lor’vram fast. He didn’t want to be late for today’s mission briefing. He didn’t know where Shai was, or whether she was still asleep or not. She and her second in command of The Nameless had the details. He would make his way to the bridge as soon as he was done getting some breakfast.

 

[Shai Maji]

Despite her tired state, Shai managed to hold her snicker in until she was out of the bridge and on her way to the mess hall. She was definitely going to raid their hot chocolate storage... the perks of having an ex that regretted everything. He got everything onboard that she would enjoy... and she could get some revenge and make him squirm. Perfect setup, in all honesty.

Eventually she ended up in the mess hall, after forgetting the layout of her own ship, quite surprised at seeing Kranak already munching away on his breakfast. "Sup." She mumbled as she wiped at her eyes and rummaged through the place to find the hot chocolate. Soon she joined him by the table with her own breakfast and a steaming mug of hot chocolate. "We just exited hyperspace, by the way. Now it's just a matter of finding the target." She explained before she slurped long and hard on the hot chocolate to wake up.

Piece by piece the breakfast disappeared into her gaping maw until the plate was utterly cleared out, only a few streaks of sauce remaining. "Thanks for comin' along, by the way. It means a lot. Plus being stuck with my ex on a trip like this isn't always the most fun." She admitted with a snicker, taking another long sip of her drink. "Those Maw kriffers have been a headache for a long time. I've actually been tempted to take the clan and go after them, get behind their lines and just disrupt everything. After Coruscant... I wanna get back at them." Her voice grew much darker as she looked up at him. "I mean it, Kran. Thanks for comin' along." With one last gulp she finished her drink and rose from her seat, giving him a hard slap on the back without any thought of actually hearing his reactions. "Check you on the bridge, chungus." She quipped over her shoulder as she sauntered off.

Soon she arrived back on the bridge and stood next to Xyoz. "Hot chocolate wasn't too bad, thanks for that." She muttered with a wink. "Scanners pick anything up yet? Don't wanna miss these kriffers." She asked up as she stared out the viewport.

Kranak Vizsla Xyoz Maji

 

[Xyoz Maji]

Xyoz was still pouting in his chair by the time Shai Maji came back. Soon as she did, he perked right up. Hell his tail even started to wag, which wasn't too subtle on his joy. Especially since she liked the hot chocolate he picked out. He flashed a toothy grin before trying to play it off all cool, like he knew she'd like it. Sadly his tail broke any illusion he was trying to put up, even if he didn't seem to notice the betrayal.

"I figured you'd like it." Oh, right. Scanners. He hurriedly glanced to his first mate, panic obvious in his gaze. Once more he didn't think about using a scanner. Tefehr though? The wookie just gave a thumbs up and a nod, confirming that they'd at least already started a scan.

".. Er, nothing yet. Shouldn't be too long though. They got a patrol out this way, n' that's what we're plannin to hit." He paused, glancing past her towards where Kranak Vizsla was, brow raised. "So.. Wanna tell me anything about your giant friend I might need to know?"

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

A
P R O M I S E

Location: Hyperspace, Aboard The Nameless, Enroute to Maw Territory
Local Time: ---
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Primary Objective: Hunt Mawite Ships With Shai
Secondary Objective: Make Good On Promise
Equipment: Loadout 2 (Minus Primary and Secondary, Retained Pair of Westar-35c Pistols)+ Goran’s Stand, No Medical Backpack
Tags: Shai Maji | Xyoz Maji

”Sup.”

The familiar voice of his ori’vod, accompanied by her armored footfalls, greeted him as the giant began gobbling up his breakfast. “Su’cuy.” He greeted her in return after taking a sip from his caff. He spooned up the last of the scrambled Nuna Eggs as he watched Shai rummaged through the mess hall’s kitchen for something. After a few moments, the Shistavanen vod joined him at the table with her own breakfast, and a large mug of steaming, hot chocolate. <So that’s what you were looking for.> The giant mused with a smile as he kept his gaze at his friend. She had a particular fondness for that heavenly sweet and hot brown liquid; he knew as much, as he saw her and Alora drink hot chocolate often, back on the Kom’rk in their bunks in down time.

For some, it would be a strange choice for a hot beverage to get started with the day, especially coupled with her choice of breakfast, somewhat similar in nature with that of his. Aruetiise would consider it ravenous, but not for vode. They didn’t give a damn about whether a meal or a drink paired well with one another like some aruetii gourmand; as long as the food was nutritious and fulfilling…

”We just exited hyperspace, by the way. Now it’s just a matter of finding the target.” She explained before she slurped long and hard on the hot chocolate to wake up.

Acknowledging her heads-up, he gave a curt nod of his head in response to her as he picked up his pace and began finishing the remaining meals on his food tray, faster than before. It was only a matter of time until they found a worthy vessel to strike, he assumed. It wouldn’t take too long to find patrolling Mawite vessels and the likes now.

They finished their breakfast around the same time. The giant took a few moments to clean up the sauce on his food tray with his last remaining slice of Noryath Meatbread as Shai savored her hot chocolate as she spoke.

”Thanks for comin’ along, by the way. It means a lot,

“It’s the least I can do, ori’vod.” He said with a hearty smile. He had sworn to her on his honor, shortly after the events that had transpired on Barbatos, to help her settle scores with those who had wronged her. He had made a considerable promise to her, which would see him join a number of theaters of conflict across the galaxy alongside her, being at her side in her crusade for rightful vengeance to fulfill that promise. This small operation was just the beginning.

”Plus being stuck with my ex on a trip like this isn’t always the most fun.” She admitted with a snicker, taking another long sip of her drink.

“Hah! Well, I’m glad this won’t be such a boring experience, then.” The giant quipped at her in response after taking a big sip from his mug of caff. He didn’t know much of her love life, and didn’t care for much either. It wasn’t his business to meddle with that, after all. That was her business, her privateness. But he was now intrigued about who her ex might be.

At the time the Alor'ad was under the false assumption that the ship and its crew was Shai's, with her being the Captain. It was obvious she had joined similar operations such as the one they were about to undertake occuring in the past. That much was made apparent from her admittance; it was also apparent that her ex held a considerable ranking position in the ship’s crew, then. He was her second in command, perhaps? All would be made clear once he got to the bridge to get the details for the operation, he assumed.

As if with the flick of a switch, her jolly, quipping voice was now replaced with a grim tone as she continued to speak.

”Those Maw kriffers have been a headache for a long time. I’ve actually been tempted to take the clan and go after them, get behind their lines and just disrupt everything. After Coruscant… I wanna get back at them.” Her voice grew much darker as she looked up at him. ”I mean it, Kran. Thanks for comin’ along.”

He gave a slow nod of his head in silent response as he watched her drink the last of her hot chocolate with one last gulp and stood up. He felt her hard slap on his backplate soon after she circled around the table, before heading out the mess hall’s entrance. His beskar backplate clanged as her beskar hand slapped him on the back. With a grin, he gave her a glance over his left shoulder pauldron in response.

”Check you on the bridge, chungus.”she quipped over her shoulder as she sauntered off.

“Damn it, stop calling me that!” He said after a hearty chuckle in response as she walked out the mess hall. Shai’s and Alora’s quipps during missions or in social situations never failed to make him laugh, or smile at the very least. Whatever that “chungus” thing was supposed to be, that thing and the giant was in stark difference. He was heavily muscular in build. There wasn’t an ounce of fat in his body. Although he wasn’t so fond of being compared to a fat, furry being, he welcomed the jokes; it was just harmless, brotherly banter after all.

The giant wiped his mouth with a napkin before he put on his buy’ce. He rose from the metal bench and walked at a brisk pace to catch up with the Shistavanen vod, on his way to the bridge of The Nameless.

”Hot chocolate wasn’t too bad, thanks for that.” She muttered.

“I figured you’d like it.”

”Scanners pick anything up yet? Don’t wanna miss these kriffers.”

The giant stood a few meters behind Shai as she stood next to another Shistavanen. <So that must be your ex, then.> The giant thought as he gave the Shistavanen a once-over from behind his white glowing visor. He watched the Shistavanen shoot a glance towards a wookie behind a console in mild panic. The wookie gave the Shistavanen a thumbs up, stating the scan of the sector was underway. It appeared they hadn’t picked up anything, yet.

“.. Er, nothing yet. Shouldn’t be too long though. They got a patrol out this way, n’ that’s what we’re planning to hit.”

In panic on a few occasions, the Shistavanen was dithering, clearly. It was understandable for an aruetii to experience intimidation and the likes in a Mandalorian’s presence. Shai’s? Moreso. But it felt like there was something more behind the unease of the Shistavanen. He wasn’t exactly sure what happened between the two of them.

Whatever might have transpired between the two of them, he just hoped that the relationship between his ori’vod and her ex didn’t get in the way of today’s mission. He wasn’t worried about Shai being the problem, no, but the other Shistavanen? He was a new factor the giant would have to take into account. He did not have any prior experiences with him at all, let alone a minor operation like this. The giant didn’t know what to expect from him when they would eventually come under fire by the Mawites.

Hoping for the best possible outcome, the Alor’ad casually grasped the grip of the sheathed ancient relic with his left hand, with the other hand placed on his right hip as he patiently began waiting for today’s targets to reveal themselves to them.

”So.. Wanna tell me anything about your giant friend I might need to know?”

His initial response to his inquiry came in the form of a curt upward nod after he shifted his glowing visor towards the Shistavanen. <”You can call me Kranak,”> He said in a solemn tone. <”And who might you be?”> He asked in mild intrigue in return. Although this wasn’t exactly the time to exchange pleasantries, it would prove beneficial to at least know what to call the Shistavanen.