Public Calling All Smugglers

[Aeshi Tillian]

Arkyn Rane

"Not that they can't be fun," Aeshi admitted with a shrug, "But they're religions, first and foremost, you know. Not necessarily anything beyond that."

She took another sip of the drink. "And I don't care much for religion. As for what else there is..." She paused for a moment to count on her fingers. "Gand Findsmen. Zeison Sha. Disciples of Twilight. Cereans have one...?"

She trailed off for a moment. "More or less, we get called Wardens of the Sky. We're more... a philosophy or way of life than an organization. No councils. No real rules. Just a general stubbornness and trying to keep the space lanes safe and free."

 

[Arkyn Rane]

Aeshi Tillian ​

She said that as if being a religious fanatic was no small thing. Arkyn was sure there were a few alright Jedi, but it wasn't as if she was about to go searching for them. Then again, with her luck, she'd probably bump into a Jedi on her way to the loo.

Gand Findsmen? She hadn't met very many Gands, and certainly not any 'Findsmen'. Zeison Sha sounded like a sneeze- no way she could take them seriously, and Disciples of Twilight sounded too much like a cult for her tastes.

"More or less, we get called Wardens of the Sky. We're more... a philosophy or way of life than an organization. No councils. No real rules. Just a general stubbornness and trying to keep the space lanes safe and free."

Keep the space lanes safe and free? She had to drink to that. She drained her cup dry then settled back in her seat. "That's a lofty goal. Downright impossible." She grinned. Arkyn had made a living doing the impossible. "Lets say I'm interested in being a 'Warden'... how do I join up? Is there some sort of training?"

She could fight and shoot and fly just fine, but she knew next to nothing about the Force. Everything she'd done thus far in her life had been instinctive.

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Arkyn Rane

Aeshi shrugged again, relaxing a little more into her seat, now that she could neither sense nor observe anyone paying too much attention to them. But still, she kept her drink consumption on the lower side. She wanted both her head and her thinking to be clear. A Hutt's party came with more traps than an Imperial trade lane.

"Impossible, sure, but plenty of us scattered around." At least, she thought there was. Other than her and the Starchasers and the Merrills, she didn't know how many others there might be around.

Even when she was in a big spacers place, there was no way to identify another Warden if they weren't close enough to feel through the Force or if someone didn't reveal themselves.

"We do what we can, where we are, more than anything else," Aeshi considered for a moment. Was there training? More or less, as far as she was aware. "And some training, yeah. Mostly on the Force. There are some martial arts since, traditionally, we don't use guns aboard ships. For... obvious reasons, I suppose. Otherwise..."

Aeshi just shrugged. "There's no real training program or anything."

 

[Arkyn Rane]

Arkyn had reached her level. She had a nice, level buzz, and felt completely relaxed. She hadn't forgotten that Vorga wanted her dead, but she wasn't much worried about it. He probably knew she was here by now, but he'd be a fool to try anything on Gorba's turf. Besides, she had a plan.

A great plan.

"We do what we can, where we are, more than anything else," Aeshi considered for a moment. Was there training? More or less, as far as she was aware. "And some training, yeah. Mostly on the Force. There are some martial arts since, traditionally, we don't use guns aboard ships. For... obvious reasons, I suppose. Otherwise..."

Aeshi just shrugged. "There's no real training program or anything."

Training in the Force was exactly what she needed. "Very obvious," she said with a laugh, "but I've met my fair share of maniacs who might do it." Martial arts training piqued her interest as well. "I'm no kung fu master, but I've been in a lot of brawls over the years. At least until I left Nar Shadaa." She settled back into her seat, reclining into the supple leather. "Let's trade comm codes. I have a bit of business to attend to, but something tells me this Warden training is exactly what I need."

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Arkyn Rane

"Oh, it's no kung fo or teas kasi," Aeshi reassured Arkyn. "That's not always the most effective in low and no gravity environments. Brawling is a much better skill set for what we do."

It was more... refined brawling. Brawling with intention and control, perhaps. But it meant a lot of throwing punches.

She slid a small chip with her code from her sleeve and across the table. "This will get you in contact with my ship so we don't have to keep using public channels like last time."

 

[Arkyn Rane]

Arkyn accepted the chip from Aeshi Tillian and slipped it into one of the many pockets of her overcoat. “I’ve taken enough of your time, I think.” Her roguish grin had never left her face, settling there as if her permanent expression. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to see a slug about a slug.”

She stood up in one smooth movement, her balance still stable, if a bit wavy. The drinks were really settling in now. Another dealer approached her, but this had hari leaf. She grabbed a handful of the little pre rolls, stuffed her pockets, and sparked on up. The pungent smoke wafted from the tip of the hari stick, joining the heady mix of sweating bodies and spice and alcohol.

Her plan to get rid of Vorga was simple. Hutts didn’t abide disloyalty, and Vorga had been stiffing the Consortium on payments for years, as well as using his pirates to steal, cut, and resell Gorba’s own spice shipments from at least three ports in the Outer Rim. Back when she’d been in the life, before she won her freedom, Vorga had kept her close. She had been his omnitool, her mix of street-wrought and unknowingly Force enhanced skills allowing her to excel at nearly any dark deed he asked of her. She’d seen his books, seen his coffers…

And she had proof, hidden in R5’s memory banks.

Armed with courage both real and liquid, she made her way up to the penthouse to request an audience with Gorba the Hutt himself.