All in the Game [Red Ravens Dominion of Aduba III]

[Armand Temi]

Location: Locru's Central Saloon
Objective: Befriend the elephant

Dakita Calfur was passing by Locru’s Central Saloon after a day of doing some spice running for the Ravens on Aduba-3. She hadn’t started her semester at the University of Coruscant yet but was very apprehensive about beginning her academic career. What if she wasn’t smart enough? What if she flunked out and Malvern sent her to some awful Bumblekark planet like the one she was on to do, I dunno, accounting work for the Ravens? The criminal syndicate had a stranglehold on this dull agricultural world, and Dakita wanted to jump in her freighter as soon as she could to get off this planet!

But all of the internal stress was enough to make a Zeltron want to drink. I mean, it had only been a couple of hours and already her second liver was missing alcohol. As she bounded in, all smiles and ready for a kriffing party, she spied a Cragmaloid taking up, not one but two tables. Of course, she ordered her own drink first and then strode up to him, tilting her blonde head down to see if he was awake, passed out, asleep or even dead. Probably passed out if the number of bottles on the table was any indication.

The Zeltron slicer didn’t want to startle him, so she put her pink hand on his rough greenish arm. “Hey there big guy,” she said, gently prodding. “Are you okay?”

She looked around, but the servers went about their business, not really giving a kark about the patrons. Clearly Locru’s was the kind of place that didn’t bother throwing out the riff-raff or cleaning up bottles from an alcoholic Cragmaloid.

[member="Genu Kudd"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

"And since if you are small enough and fast enough a starfighter is really the only one who can keep up with and target you.. Very nice."

She commented approvingly, eyes moving over the ships. They were slick, she'd certainly give him that. The Ravens had a stealth ship in their manifest as well, though it was anything but standard. It used almost none of the go-to stealth systems, so that anyone looking to stealth break would almost certainly fail. It was also a pain in the shebs to construct, and took proper maintenance.

Attention left the ships as he pulled her in against him. Nice ships or not, she prefered this view without a doubt.

"If you made them, I'm sure they will be more than good enough. Even if they are detected, there's no real reason for anyone to look for me on an ArmaTech ship."

A bonus to being.. not secretive, she'd not kept him a secret, but discreet.

"That sounds lovely."

Put a new ship through it's paces, relax in about the most romatnic setting possible with her beloved Drahr, and then perhaps put him through his paces, time permitting. This last thought had a hint of her characterisitc wicked grin playing around the edges of her mouth.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

--------------

"Then of course we can help you come up with the credits to bail out any necessary companies, we're already picking up or investing in a few."

"Using our own money?"

There was a hint of snarl in that.

"Of course. We are criminals. People think you're a criminal don't they? All those politician jokes. And you haven't kept your hands completely clean, but you're no criminal. We're much better at it, and we're always profitable. So what you have to ask yourself is this. Do you want us seeing you as nothing but a target when we're already proven you can't stop us, or do you want to be part of the family, part of our well oiled machine, making sure everyone makes credits, because that's what real criminals do Byrec. We're quiet, and we're profitable. Choice is yours."

"I-. It's no choice. No one else has come with any relief efforts and.. And if you're right, if this gets us protection, from you and everyone else, if this means you keep things running smoothly.. I'd be a fool to say no. What's in it for you?"

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Location: Aduba III, Spaceport HQ
Allies: [member="Mizike"]

What the bleeding kark?!?!

Setzi shielded her eyes from the sudden bright disco lights emitting from the womp rat and the little crystal which sat atop of it. And then the crystal itself began to flash red, blue, green – all bright and vibrant colors but shining directly in her eyes like a laser pointer. She had never been to a fancy nightclub with strobe lights but she imagined that this light display would resemble a dance floor.

Her concentration broke, and the Force hold loosened on Snickers. But she knew that Khaleel really wanted that crystal. It’s why they started this wild nuna chase in the first place. She ran over to a nearby starport shop that sold farming and fishing supplies (being a farm planet and all) and grabbed a huge net off of the shelf. With eyes closed, she used the Force to guide her over to the crystal and the womp rat and continued enhancing the speed and strength of her attack until she was able to toss the net over the two of them.

There. Captured.

 

[Genu Kudd]

Location: Locru's Central Saloon
Objective: Converse without throwing up

Grnu felt the touch of a soft hand and it startled him, he had been deep in thought, and he always thought better when he meditated, his meditation chant sounded a lot like snoring, but that was only because so few people knew him. The soft touch was attached to a hand, which was attached to an arm and so on until he spied the beautiful face of a pink lady, a Zeltron if he remember correctly, Yes Zeltron, that was it, they were pink, and smelled kriffing awesome all the time. She was talking, he clearly heard words, that was the unclear part. " Do be a dear and speak basic. My head throbs a bit.." He tried to smile and as he sat up he had to swallow hard to keep the copious amount of alcohol in his stomach.

" You are the prettiest little pink girl I've seen in, well a long time." He sat back in the chair and smoothed out his shirt, the chair groaning loudly under the shifting of his massive frame. " You can join me if you like." He made a hand gesture towards one of the empty chairs. " Just don't sit there, my friend was sitting there. He was he had to go to the, well somewhere. He was going to finish telling me about his federation. It sounds fascinating." He wanted to stand and hold out her chair, but every time he thought about it, the floor started to spin, it was obvious that this saloon had a problem of some kind or another, he would need to think on that as well. But that was for another time, he was talking to the pink lady, with the lovely arms and the most amazing perfume on. " My name is Genu, what do your people call you?" He said the last part a little slower and a bit louder, in case she didn't speak basic well, he hoped that she did, or this conversation would be very complex indeed.

[member="Dakita Calfur"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

"Well, then lets get going while there is a lull in activity around here so we can make the most of our time." I said, giving her a light hug and a kiss before helping her into the cockpit of the stealth fighter. The Sleek design, and familiar controls allowed even an inexperienced pilots to fly the ship fairly well. I took a lot of the design from the StealthX and I wasn't afraid to say so. It was a nice basis for stealth ships, and everyone knew basic X-Wing controls.

I climbed into the other fighter and pulled on a headset to communicate with her. Well, just for now. Once we got flying I would rely on the Force Bond we shared to communicate. "Alright babe, the controls are modeled off the X-Wing so you should be pretty familiar with them, or at least recognize them, all the stealth systems are passive except for the sensor jammer, and the aquatic capabilities don't matter for the trip we are taking." I smiled to myself, finding her in the Force and sending her messages of affection and endearment as I powered up the small fighter. Once everything was green and the fighter was ready to go I commed her one last time before silence and Force only communication. "Ladies first, love."

 

[Armand Temi]

Dakita laughed and it sounded like a chorus of bells. “I am speaking Basic, silly,” she said, sliding into the seat across from him. She signaled a waitress to bring another round of drinks although the Cragmaloid probably didn’t need any more. But the Zeltron slicer wasn’t really one to tell anyone else how much to drink or what substances to abuse. He was a big boy… a very big boy and he could take care of himself.

Although he seemed a little bit sad and it tugged at her heartstrings. She had a soft spot for the broken and downtrodden like herself. Dakita wasn’t a social climber or even a competent criminal at times. Her main skill was slicing – she was good at that but the rest? It was why she was sent to planets such as Aduba-3.

“My name is Dakita,” she said, looking around for the Genu’s friend. Hm, strange. She didn’t see anyone else, near the table when she walked in or even now. Oh well. The Cragmaloid said she was the prettiest little pink girl he had ever seen. That was music to her ears and exactly the type of compliment Dakita needed to as a pick-me-up.

“You are the sweetest, saddest Cragmaloid I’ve ever seen,” she said and putting a finger on her chin thought for a moment. “In fact the only Cragmaloid I’ve ever seen.” Another pause and then, perhaps unexpectedly:

“Would you like to go out on a date with me sometime?”

[member="Genu Kudd"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

"You do not need to tell me twice."

Chiasa commented with a quick grin. She could get into the ship herself easily, but she liked that he thought to help her. And it wasn't like they were really still courting. She was already his, he'd already won, and yet he didn't stop making an effort, his affection didn't slack off, and this was good, not only because she enjoyed it, but because her feelings for him ran just as permanent and just as hot.

It didn't take her long to run through a quick check of the systems and familiarize herself. There were one or two she wasn't entirely sure of, and did not intend to activate while still in Dracos vessel, but the whole making it go and steering and such, the important bits, were pretty standard.

She half-listened as Draco spoke, paying more attention to the sound of his voice, the familiar rumble and rise and falls than the words themselves. Though the aquatic bit did catch her attention. That was fun.

As he reached out for her in the Force, finding and catching hold, his presence rushing in to fill the familiar spots he always occupied when they connected this way, she couldn't help but sigh once in almost relief. His physical presence was good, his force presence, the Bond they shared was even better. She met his emotions with her own, the link communicating better than words ever could, though not for lack of trying.

An impish grin split her face at his last words, and her response was sent non verbally, curling their way through his mind, twining around him.

~Try and keep up~

The hangar bay was open, or open enough, and Chiasa had never been one for taking things slow and figuring them out. It was kind of a pattern. You went and learned on the way. Always full speed. No surprise there, she was Starbird after all, she threw herself into the unknown and trusted enough in herself that she would learn to fly before she hit the ground.

With a roar of engines previously only idling, her ship surged forward, rising and twisting slightly to fit through the opening hangar door and into the black beyond. She didn't currently have a destination, she was going for the sake of going. Flying for the joy of it. If he had somewhere in particular he wanted to be, he would surely show her soon enough.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

She burst out of the hangar and into space, her ship moving deftly out into space and moving quickly. She was a much better pilot than me obviously, especially seeing as I was mediocre at best. I hadn't expected to be her equal in this at all. Being what someone might consider an average pilot and she was already preforming better than I had intended to be able to. I gunned the engines and let them surge the fighter out of the vehicle following her. I had planned to do something on Aduba IV in a little while, but we had plenty of time to ourselves first. The stealth systems made detecting the vessel very difficult, even with its engines not in stealth mode. The passive stealth were more than enough for a liesurely flight in a system currently home to a large number of Red Ravens and the fact that we were in unaligned craft.

She effectively flew circles around me, all the while with our connection through the Force, I could feel her joy about just being out here flying, no eminent danger or pressing immediate risk of life. Just flying the little craft with me doing much less fancy flying behind her. For now it was enough to know she was having fun with me trailing, keeping her safe. There was no reason to shorten her fun. We still had plenty of time together before the sun faded on Aduba IV's temperate region.

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

Honestly Chiasa hadn't known that Draco was.. Well he wasn't a bad pilot. He was probably slightly above average. She'd just sorted of assumed that with his ship designing and testing that he'd be better. Not that it was any sort of disappointment, it just meant that she was more mindful, that while pushing the ship to see what it could do, and it was a quick little ship and responded to her directions swiftly enough, she made sure to stay near him, not to race too far ahead or play with the stealth settings. She'd no wish to actually lose her Drahr after all just because she was a little more suited to aerial acrobatics.

~It is good Viyi'ee, the speed and maneuverability balance, it is hard when they do not. Shooting through the sky but slow to react and adjust, more chance for accidents, or slow but precise, frustrating. This is better.~

She throttled back, ship looping gracefully up into an arc, coming back to rest almost beside Dracos ship, wings a few metres apart, nose of her craft a few handspans further back than him. Their bond allowing her to play this new game of matching him very nearly exactly. Otherwise flying this close would be far too dangerous.

~Now where?~

She knew he'd wanted to planet hop to Aduba IV, this was fine with her, he'd let her have her fun, and now he could take the lead.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

She fluttered around, zipping through space with a grace I just didn't have. Piloting wasn't my strong suit. Not everyone was an Ace Pilot, and not everyone was capable of everything. What I could do though was impress my Star Bird. If I had only mastered one thing, it was making her happy. If I had master two skills the other was close combat. Both skills were drastically different from flying a starfighter. Through our bond I could feel her satisfaction with the craft and kept good track of her through the Force. She skipped around me, basically flying circles around me, and I was impressed. I didn't know how good she was at flying, as i had never really seen her fly, and well, I was a little disappointed that I wasn't skilled enough to impress her like she was impressing me now.

She swooped back around and pulled her craft alongside mine, pulling into a loose formation. Normally it would be a little dangerous to fly this close to each other, but I trusted her and I could keep a straight line and could feel her through the Force, anticipate her movements as she could anticipate mine.

<Aduba Four. I have a little surprise for you there. Just tuck in and follow me.> the Force Bond allowed us to communicate fairly well through telepathy alone, and I was pretty good at it to begin with.

I pulled the little starfighter towards Aduba IV, knowing she would follow closely, urging the sleek craft towards the edge of the receding day side of the planet.

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

Tuck in and follow me.

A surge of pleasure and general willing compliance was the response he got. It amused her sometimes, when she thought about it, the emotions he inspired in her. Her. The Crime Lord. The Manipulator. Who could swap masks and switch between fire and ice as the situation required. Who could have almost anyone dancing to her tune. And then Draco came along, and as much as she'd resisted and counted him off to start with, as much as she'd seen him only as a useful tool, a means to an end, he'd managed to break through her walls and now a phrase from him that he thought nothing of, used offhandedly had her melting. In beside him, close, safe. Yes, she could and would do this.

Since matching herself to Draco did not take much work, in fact came naturally, her attention was free to fixate on what they were approaching. Appreciative yellow eyes roved over the line dividing dark from light. It wasn't a view she got to enjoy often. Once she'd been too poor to spend much time in the air, and then she'd been too busy.

Draco made her slow down and look at things she technically saw quite often in new ways. It was one of the many things she loved about him. He not only gave her permission to stop and enjoy things, he set up things so she did. A picnic. Who did that outside of holos? And yet here they were, and there was nothing contrived or staged about it. It was just honestly a thing he thought would be enjoyable, and he was likely right.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Our two little space craft zipped towards the planet, not worried about anything. Out here, in space, on a neutral world, there was no need to worry about anything beyond ourselves. She followed closely as I led us towards the little band of receding daylight on Aduba IV. We would have a little time to ourselves before sunset, and then we might have some more time to ourselves depending on how busy she was. I had told the people at ArmaTech that I was taking a number of personal days and wouldn't be back for a while, leaving my time here, rather open ended. It left things open to develop for me as they would. That was how our first date had been planned and it had gone very well.

Slowly we descended towards a small green patch on the planet, turning out to be a hill looking towards the setting sun, warm, near the equator, but not humid or hot. Temperate would be the climate I would describe. Temperate in Autumn. The leaves on the trees had just started to change color, the flowers were still there, the grasses were still green. The little hill was a grassy knoll overlooking a wilderness of wildflowers, streams, and other such scenery. Once I landed I got out and went to where she landed nearby to help her out of the cockpit and onto the ground of the little planetoid. "Do you like it Mesh'ika?"

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

Chiasa was not generally a nature lover. She liked the austere sereness of the the impassive desert, like those of Ryloth, for all that she did not feel the need to return. She'd been in a jungle, it had been terrible. This though.. It had struck her as pretty while they were descending. Once she was out of the ship, his helping hands still on her, she leaned back into him while studying their surroundings with wide eyes, taking the time to honestly stop and look, to really see, to figure out what she thought of it.

And it was beautiful.

Visually stunning, colourful, free and natural without being inaccessible and intimidating. The sun felt good on her skin. The scent of the flowers, and the air, so clean and clear compared to either Nar Shadda, Antecedent or a ships filtered variety rounded out the sensory overload. And all along, on top of all that, was Dracos presence.

She turned, looking up at him, flashing him a sharptoothed grin, hands rising to find either side of his face and pull him gently but insistently down to kiss her. This was her answer to him.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Her kiss was sweet and passionate, and had I not been holding off on a surprise like this since our first date together I might have succumbed. Instead I held her for only a moment before withdrawing from her lips. I smiled down at her, looking into her bright yellow eyes. For a moment I thought to myself how much had changed since I had first gazed into her eyes. Everything had changed around us since then, but not her. She only grew more beautiful each time I looked upon her, and I only fell more in love with the little tiger striped Twi'lek. "How did I get so lucky with you?" I asked playfully as I with drew a little further moving towards my own little stealth fighter. Inside I pulled a small basket from the storage compartment, refrigerated and wrapped in a little throw blanket.

"I thought we could have a picnic and watch the sun set together. We still have a little time before the sun goes down, and this is supposed to be a nice little spot to watch it." I opened up the little blanket and set it on the ground on the little hill we had landed at. The basket was filled with fruits and sweets, with honeyed ham and a half loaf of bread inside, but I suspected we wouldn't focus much on the food I had brought a long. A few Observer probes had taken up watch, keeping an eye out on the hill top, but one was focusing on us while the others patrolled elsewhere.
[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

"Lucky? I'd just assumed you'd done something very bad in your last life."

Came the whip quick reply with a playful wink. Apparently Draco was very focused currently, he was usually much easier to distract from whatever he was doing or had planned. This was all right, the near future was still likely to hold much time spent in close proximity with her Viyi'ee, and this was enough.

"It is a very nice spot."

She agreed, looking around once more before helping to straighten out the blanket. Dracos presence alone was enough to quiet almost all of her habitual wariness, that he'd taken the extra step to bring probes and set them to work furthered this. They were noted and then immediately dismissed. Chiasa was after all used to varying security measures being in place around her. Blanket spread and basket set down, the Twi'lek gracefully dropped to her knees, sitting back on her heels upon the blanket. When Draco settled himself she would shift to be closer to him.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"How could I have done something terrible and still deserved you now?" I asked settling in next to my beloved. She had no flaws as far as I was concerned, though she sometimes didn't act like she believed me. I put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me, looking out over the flower and grass covered valley with outcroppings of trees and the setting sun. With my other hand I opened up the small basket and pulled out a handful of small fruits, offering them to her. "Here, these are supposed to be sweet." I told her, holding them for her to pick at them at her leisure while I hugged her closely, tilting my head to have it rest against hers slightly.

As the sun continued to sink I just sat their, my stomach too uneasy to eat. Being in such proximity to her again, anxious about whether she would mind waiting to discover the surprise I had in store for her at a later date. In truth it was simple, and the romantic setting was meant to draw attention away from the simplistic gifts and offerings I gave her. The gifts themselves were simple, but the meaning behind them meant more to me than anything I could buy her. As the sun started to sink beneath the horizon, about a quarter obscured I turned to her. "Mesh'ika, for all my life I have lived without you. I cannot imagine my life without you anymore. I hope that this will not be a rarity for us, this spending time together, courting, or dating, I guess." I had to pause for a moment. I looked deep into her eyes, seeing all the fire and cold they held, the strength and respect they commanded. "I love you, and I will never let you go."

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

A flight in prototype stealth fighters to an absolutely perfect picturesque setting with the arm of the man she loved most in the galaxy around her and he was patiently and selflessly holding fruit for her to pick at from the basket he'd packed himself. This, her education unconventional as parts of it might have been, was treatment reserved for royalty. And as much as she was very good at facing the world as an indomitable ruler, a leader, there was always the small incredulous part of her, the child who'd been sold off, that kept her from just accepting this as something she deserved. Every time he did things like this it still struck her as a surprise, as something she wasn't quite sure the galaxy had meant for her, that maybe she'd stumbled into someone else's story, that maybe her Viyi'ee had stopped at the wrong castle.

But then her life had also been made of of seeing opportunity and taking it. She knew she loved Draco, and she knew he loved her. The how and why of it might have been beyond her, but she knew that it was. And that she wanted it to continue being. That she would do damned near whatever was necessary for that to be so.

And in this exact moment.. Nothing was necessary. For a brief moment, her thoughts could slow. Stop. Focus simply on input. Scent, sight, touch, taste. The warmth of her Drahr beside and around her. To just stop and be.

She could feel the slight anxiety from Draco, but the love and affection she'd felt from him earlier kept her calm, complacent. Willing to wait until he wanted to reveal whatever it was he wanted to reveal. As the sun began to sink and he began to speak yellow eyes turned once more to him, head tilting slightly towards him. When he fell silent again she nuzzled in beneath his jaw. Lips pressing a kiss on the more sensitive skin of his neck. A show of how and what she felt, more meaning and nuance in that simple gesture than in most speeches, before attempting to find the correct words to communicate even the broadest strokes, the shallowest pools of the ocean that were her feelings for him.

"I did not live without you Viyi'ee. I existed. Waiting. Sleepwalking through a life that did not really matter to me or engage me. You.. You wake me up. You show me what is and has always been and I have never seen."

A quick flick of one orange hand at the setting sun. Sunsets had been happening on thousands of worlds for thousands of years. Millions. More. And yet when had she ever stopped to watch one?

"Whatever is needed to make sure we have this time, it will be done. To be apart from you is to hold my breath. I can only survive for so long without air."

The hand that had gestured once more found it's way to his cheek as she studied him for a moment. Searching his storm grey eyes.

"I never wish to be let go."

Solemn tone was lost as quickly as it had descended, her mood mercurial as ever. Yellow eyes dances, and fangs were bared in a grin that was decidedly feral.

"Nor will I let you go. You are mine as I am yours Viyi'ee. I love you also."

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Hearing her speak calmed my nerves, as she often did when she reassured me she had either not discovered I didn't deserve her love and affection or that she didn't seem to care about this belief I had. With her devotion came my own reassurance. I would be there for her for as long as she would have me, and I would be whatever she needed me to be. For all my life I had been alone, surrounded by others, but not anymore. I had sought after others with little effort, I had been sought after, but her. She was different, even still, after having spent time with her, having known her, she was still an enigma, a mystery I was working to uncover, and with each answer I found, I fell more in love with her, and found new pathways to new mysteries to uncover about her.

Her hand on my cheek, gazing into my eyes, I could see into her soul, and feel her affection through our bond in the Force. I found myself lost, and I could not tell if it had been seconds, minutes, or hours that I gazed into her fiery yellow suns. "No. I will never let you go Mesh'ika." I leaned into kiss her, putting my hands around her waist and drawing her in, silhoutted against the setting sun in a field of blooming flowers. The wind was crisp, but not cold, but my cheeks flushed with warmth at her touch and my blood ran hot. Never again would she be alone. I would be by her side, in spirit if not in body long after the last breath escaped by chest and my heart had long stopped beating.

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]