Common Charm

[Kay-Larr]

Just outside of Hutt Cartel space, and in between that and Commenor stood the Kwenn Space Station. For a time it had been taken over by pirates, until a joint task force of Commenori soldiers and members of Kay's staff had liberated it. The pirates were removed and the station was repaired.

Given that Kay had supplied a lot of credits, ships, men and supplies, Commenor was now part owner of the station. It was a little safe haven in otherwise hostile territory. She had never been there, had never seen much of it, and now that the repairs were finished, she was eager to see what she had invested in.

Kay didn't take The Free Lady to get there as this wasn't a diplomatic trip. And given that there were still slavers and pirates that wanted her in chains, she wasn't about to go in that region of space announced. So she took a couple of guards with her and the trio dressed in plain clothes, looking more like smugglers than a Queen with her guards. There wasn't much of a plan. She just wanted to check it out and then come back home before she was greatly missed. It was a good distraction for her as her wedding ceremony planning, the coronations, the promotions, all of that was taking up far too much of her time. She needed a break. One of her friends had said that she was a slave to her position and Kay was trying to do everything that she could to prove him wrong.

She was dressed in her incognito outfit so that she wouldn't be so easily recognized. She was armed, but not overly so. A blaster was necessary in this area of space.

As she walked into one of a few bars nestled in the station, Kay's guards left her side and made their rounds while she went to the bar and sat on one of the stools. "Commenori brandy, please." She wasn't going to order her favourite tea. That would give it all away. When the bartender gave her her drink, she pulled a few credits out of her pocket and slid it over to him. Kay held it in her hand and made no move to drink it just yet. Instead she turned around on her stool and eyed the people inside.

 

[Jim Pehico]

Jim had been at the bar at the Kwenn space station, for quite a while. Work as a smuggler had been going pretty slow lately and he decided that tonight was going to be fun. He decided to go to one of the many dive bars at the space station, after all it's previous owners were pirates. Jim walked up to the bar and sat down.

"Lum on the rocks, shaken, not stirred." He said casually to the bartender.

a hooded woman had came in escorted by 2 others, Jim usually wouldn't pay this group any mind however the woman was beautiful, plus the two men were far to stiff to be friends of hers so he deducted that they were guards of sorts. On a space station full of scum and lowlife, such as Jim, he wondered who in the galaxy would need guards. However, Jim brought his attention back to her physical beauty.

"Maybe I'll be getting lucky tonight," he thought as she sat 2 seats away from him. Her guards had left her and Jim found that to be convenient, how was he supposed to romance her up if they couldn't let them be at peace.

"Commenori brandy, please."

Jim was just about to offer to pay for the woman's drink, but as he was examining the woman, she was wearing a wedding band. Jim was not usually the one stopped by the sacredness of marriage, however he's trying to better himself as a person. The bartender got her drink out before his.

"Excuse me, barkeep, but what does a lowly scoundrel have to do to get some lum around here." The bartender muttered under his breath.

Jim then went back to thinking about the woman. She was the only one drinking, the two men accompanying her were too busy doing their own thing. Jim was thinking about what could possibly be so important about the lady, when the show changed on the viewscreen from sports to the Queen of Commenor, Jim had no interest in watching some rerun political speech and the volume was far too loud, it was messing with his train of thought. Without looking up, Jim asked the barkeep to change the channel. Jim decided the best way to answer his questions was to be friendly towards the woman, besides you can never have too many friends in the universe.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Jim said while getting up bringing his lum "it's too nice of a night to be drinking alone. I should know, I had been planning on doing the same thing myself." Jim said showing off his signature smirk and sitting down next to her.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was not yet married, nor was she even given an engagement ring. What she had on her finger was a decoy. It was better to try to symbolize that she wasn't available, than to risk leading anyone on, even when she was pretending to be someone else.

She heard her own voice pop up from the screens behind her, and her body stiffened a little. Kay was glad for the hood, for the outfit in general. It hopefully hid her well enough. She took a small sip of her brandy, moreso to hide her face a bit as her own was displayed behind her. Thankfully the channel was changed back to sports and she breathed a little easier.

Her attention was soon diverted to [member="Jim Pehico"] as he sat down beside her. She leaned back against the bar while he spoke and nodded her head while she responded. "I agree. It's why I came in here instead of just sitting in my ship. People watching can be fun sometimes." Kay didn't expect anyone else to approach her other than the bartender and her guards. Or perhaps a drunk. Jim didn't seem to be at that level yet. "Are you passing through? Or are you a resident?"

 

[Hadrian Bjormund]

Whenever Mac had the time off from his duties to [member="Lady Kay"], he would often frequent Kwenn Space Station. Situated between Hutt and Commenori domains, it made for a nice spot to escape Commenori jurisdiction and meet with those who lived outside of the law. Mac was seated in the back of one of the few bars in the space station where he was having an intense and hushed conversation with Tarro, an old "business" partner of Mac's. He leaned over to the Tognath bounty hunter who sat across from him in the dimly lit section of the bar. He was trying to be discreet as the information he was about to reveal should not fall into the wrong hands. Mac just hoped that Tarro could be trusted. The two spoke in Huttese, primarily because Tarro didn't speak Galactic Basic.

Spoiler

"Thanks for meeting with me, Tarro."

The Tognath cocked his head slightly at the giant mercenary that sat across from him. "Why have you contacted me, Mac?" His air respirator made his words raspy and ominous. Though he was pleased to hear from Mac after a year of silence, no emotion could be heard in his voice. A dangerous voice for a dangerous hunter.

Mac looked around him carefully, making sure that no one was eavesdropping. Little did he know that Kay happened to be in the same bar as he was. He whispered in Huttese. "I've been...busy." Mac didn't want Tarro to know about his allegiance to Lady Kay, it would just complicate things. "I caught wind of a hunting mission and I need your help. Three million credits for finding a daughter." Mac discreetly slid a chip across the table to Tarro. "This is all the information I can find on her, there is not much. All I have is a picture taken some time ago and a name, Rae-Anna. Bakura was the last place that anyone has seen her."

Tarro listened with the blank, unnerving face that was provided by his mask. Even without his breathing apparatus, Mac would wager that Tarro was extremely hard to read. He tilted his head down at the chip on the table, his eyes hidden beneath prosthetic lens. He reached out and slowly took the chip that contained the information. "You always were a chit bounty hunter." He was a man of few words and fewer emotions, at least visible emotions.

Mac knew Tarro long enough to know that his sarcastic response meant yes. And what Tarro said was true, Mac scratched his beard as his thoughts went briefly to the failed attempt to kidnap Lady Kay. "Remember Tarro, this is not a standard bounty hunt. No harm should come to her." Mac stressed this point especially. Tarro was the best tracker and marksman that Mac has ever seen, but Tarro's detached personality left little empathy in him.

Tarro's pale skin wrinkled around his prothestic lenses, the only indication that he was smiling underneath his respirator. He let out a quite, chilling chuckle as his only response. His laugh always unnerved Mac somewhat, but Mac knew that he had gotten his point across to his former friend. The continued to sit in the bar and catch up on a year's worth of events.

 

[Jim Pehico]

Jim has always been a good liar, he could easily make some sob story, maybe even get her to buy him a drink or two but that wasn't who he was anymore. Jim said "Passing through, I've been here a couple of days, waiting for a... friend of mine." Jim didn't know if she was any type of law enforcement. Though this was less likely since the station resided in the outer reaches of Hutt space, it's better to be safe then sorry. He had actually been waiting on a smuggling job, one that seemed to have most likely been cancelled. His contact hadn't messaged him in several rotations and Jim was actually planning on leaving right after this drink, however he decided to entertain the lady with the hood further.

"So I gotta ask," Jim said smirking. "What's with the hood? I mean your indoors!" Jim said half playfully, half rhetorically. Jim then sipped more of his lum.

"But seriously, if you have your own ship, your own guards, why come to this dump of a space station to people watch?" Jim asked, slurring his words now. Jim does not have a filter when he's drunk.

"Don't worry," Jim said smirking "I'm great at keeping secrets." Jim said raising his glass to her.

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Macoda Haberon"] was not spotted by Kay yet, as he was too far in the back. She was distracted anyways, too much so to have her eyes venture into every nook and cranny of the bar.

She had a small sip of her brandy and smirked as [member="Jim Pehico"] joked about her hood. But then she raised a brow as he mentioned noticing her guards and wanting to know just what she was up to. Not to mention that he was great at keeping secrets. Right. Like she could trust or believe him.

Kay looked him over for a moment and gave her shoulders a shrug. "My hood? I'm having a bad hair day." A lie. And she was a horrible liar. There was no easier book to read than her face, though that didn't stop her from trying every once in a while. "And I didn't just head over to this station to people watch. We were passing through, needed to refuel, and I wanted to stretch my legs a bit and take in the view of different surroundings than what I'm used to. No secret in that, nothing strange about it."

She had another small sip of her brandy. "So you've been waiting a couple of days for a friend? Do you have a habit of being early, or are they just late?"

 

[Jim Pehico]

"My hood? I'm having a bad hair day."​ The lady said, it seemed to be that she was almost definitely lying. everyone has a certain tick when they lie, look away, they fidget, they twitch. Her's it seemed was her whole face giving it away.

"Holy kark," Jim thought to himself "Her whole face gave it away." Jim was never a betting man, but he could always read a poker face, but her's? Her's was translucent.

Her lies continued "And I didn't just head over to this station to people watch. We were passing through, needed to refuel, and I wanted to stretch my legs a bit and take in the view of different surroundings than what I'm used to. No secret in that, nothing strange about it." ​Jim was a bit fuzzy due to the lum, but her? She was hopeless. Jim bet that she couldn't convince a Gungan to give her emergency powers on a good day.

"Uh-huh." Jim said skeptically. Her lies intrigued the mustachioed man even more. Maybe she was a secret agent, or a Jedi. Jim's never met a proper Jedi before.

She continued after a sip of her drink. "So you've been waiting a couple of days for a friend? Do you have a habit of being early, or are they just late?"

Jim thought about it for a second, "Well I came here early to enjoy the sites of this magnificent station." Jim said slightly sarcastically.

"But yea, I fear my friend may have ran into the wrong people on the way here." Jim said slightly sorrowful. It would help sell his story.

Suddenly whistling came from Jim's com. It was his astromech, R2-3Z. "Yes I do realize, I told you I was gonna be done 30 minutes ago. Just watch the ship for a bit longer, 3Z." Jim began whispering and turned away from his new friend. "and make sure to let me know if some government types dock."

Jim turned back to her "Sorry, he's got a very anxious personality." he said sipping on his lum. "So where were we?" he smirked.

[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Macoda Haberon"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Being a bad liar wasn't entirely a good thing for someone rooted in politics. But it had it's advantages as well. It meant that she was trustworthy. If she wanted to keep something quiet, then at times she just wouldn't answer, or change the subject entirely.

[member="Jim Pehico"] seemed to have seen through her a bit though. His skepticism was noticed. As was his sarcasm. This station looked better than what she had heard it was like before it changed hands. Less pirates, less illegal activity and no slaves.

As Jim's com came to life, Kay shifted a bit in her stool. If he was a bigger and tougher looking man, then she might of double-checked for her blaster. But no. He seemed harmless enough.

His whispering was overheard however. She raised a brow. So what was he up to?

Jim soon turned around. Kay followed his smirk with one of her own. "Just getting started, actually. Your friend might have run into the wrong people? That's a shame, though not unexpected near Hutt territory. So what are you running from? If you're trying to hide from government people, then you've obviously done something to get people angry. Care to dazzle me with an outlandish tale?" Maybe if she stroked his ego a bit, he'd divulge a bit more detail. Either that or more lum would help.

 

[Hadrian Bjormund]

Mac continued to talk to Tarro, ordering a glass of water for himself. It was a rare opportunity to catch up with a friend from his former life outside of the law, he had little free time anymore, especially with his promotion to Head of Security coming up. He wondered what Tarro would think about him going straight. A cute waitress brought Mac his drink and he kindly thanked her. Mac took a sip of his water, he never had a problem with alcohol, but he hasn't touched it ever since he was captured by Zygerrian slavers while he was drunk. Tarro didn't order a drink due to his obvious breathing apparatus.Mac continued his conversation with Tarro in Huttese, making sure that no one else heard him, "One last thing about the Rae-Anna case, no one is to know about this. This is top secret, I only told you because we are friends and I need your hunting skills."

Tarro cocked his head again at Mac and replied through his mask. "Don't worry, I don't want competition." Mac wasn't worried about Tarro revealing this to anyone, he wasn't known for having a loud mouth nor was he known for asking questions. That, and despite Tarro's cold personality, he had always done right by Mac as a reliable, brutally efficient, partner.

Mac couldn't help but smile at Tarro's response. It felt good to see the bounty hunter again. "How's the old boss?"

Tarro shook his head, "I wouldn't know. I left shortly after you disappeared on Commenor. No good captains after you left, raids weren't as profitable and became more dangerous. I went back to hunting." Mac was a little dismayed to hear that. He had always liked the old Basilisk who acted as the investor in Mac's former crew, maybe he should contact him sometime and catch up.

Mac looked up from Tarro to look around the bar. His gaze passed over a small hooded figure and a mustachioed man, but he thought nothing of them.

Spoiler

[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Jim Pehico"]

 

[Jim Pehico]

"Damn eavesdroppers." Jim thought to himself. "She must be an undercover government agent."

Jim began to spin a tale for her. It was the first thing that came to his head.

"Alright look, So I'm actually a secret agent for the Commenori Government. The queen HERSELF assigned me the mission of making sure no Hutt cartel came back to this station." Jim gave her a shush sign. suddenly a sleeveless Weequay grabbed Jim by the shoulder, turned him around and punched him in the face. in the right lighting you can see on his right arm a tattoo emblem of the hutt cartels. A couple other thugs got up and joined him.

"So you're the rat that has been on the station for the past week. Alright boys let-"

Jim got up nose bloodied. he reached into his pocket and held the comlink. "Hold it right there. the second I push this comlink and the whole area get's flooded with Commenori soldiers." He said hoping they'll buy his bluff. they slowly started backing up.

"That's Right." Jim said confidently. "Now I'm going to -" Jim was cut off by his droid whistling over the com. What are the blastin' odds.

The other thugs went over to Jim quickly and grabbed him and began dragging him to the exit. The sleeveless Weequay pulled out his vibroblade.

"Good night ladies and gentleman, enjoy the rest of your night." The Weequay said and bowed as a few in the bar cheered, happy that a government agent is going to be killed. As he was being dragged out, Jim looked into the hooded woman's eyes hoping she was going to do something, anything at this point.

[member="Macoda Haberon"]
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay's jaw dropped slightly as [member="Jim Pehico"] spun a really outlandish tale. Really, really outlandish. She was about to bust out laughing, when the Weequay grabbed him and punched him in the face. "Hey! What gives?"

She got to her feet and put her drink down as Jim started to have the situation under control. Started to. That all ended quickly when his droid spoiled his bluff. Already he was being dragged off. Kay caught that look in Jim's eyes. He was pleading with her for help. But what was she going to do? Lower her hood and reveal herself as Queen? She had a bounty on her head! And she was not liked in this corner of the Galaxy.

She looked over to her two guards as they were on their way towards her after the first punch. Kay took out her blaster. "Well...let's go save him. I don't know who he is, but he doesn't deserve what they have planned for him."

Of course her guards didn't allow her to go first. Instead they almost blocked her as they brought out their blasters and began opening fire on the Hutt Cartel minions. The first one shot the Weequay square in the back, while the other guard picked a shot off at another's shoulder, causing him to let go of Jim's arm. The first guard moved quickly to shoot at another thug that held Jim while the second guard covered for him.

Kay on the other hand could hardly see. She looked behind her to see if any thugs were coming up from behind, just in time to have a big brute wrap his arms around her tightly. She couldn't bring her blaster up to aim at him. Remembering her sparring lessons with [member="Macoda Haberon"] , she brought her left knee up and kicked back hard at the brute's knee, causing his kneecap to dislocate. If Mac was paying attention at all, he might of recognized that method of defence. Once she was let go, she turned and fired a stun bolt at the thug and narrowed her eyes to see if anyone else was going to try something stupid.

 

[Hadrian Bjormund]

"... I have my eyes on a bigger prize." Tarro whispered to Mac as they continued their conversation. The bounty hunter's voice was especially menacing whenever he was close to his prey. Mac leaned over the table, curious to hear the unfortunate victim of Tarro's next hunt. "The Queen of Commenor, Kay-Lar. Thraxis has put out a large bounty on her head." Tarro's voice quieted down to less than a whisper, keeping Mac on the edge of his seat, his heart starting to race. Mac saw the Tognath smile beneath his mask as he whispered, "and she is in this room."

Mac's stomach dropped. But he had no doubt that what Tarro had said was true, his reputation preceded him after all. But before Mac could say anything, if there was anything he could say to deter Tarro at all, a fight broke out in the bar between the loud mouthed mustachioed man that he had seen earlier, and a couple of thugs. He heard Kay's voice call out from the loud sound of blasters firing, he gave one look at Tarro who must've heard it too, and both the pirate and the hunter leaped up from the table. He had to get to Kay before the hunter did.

But Tarro was much faster. With one quick motion, he had pulled out a short knife and leaped onto the back of one of [member="Lady Kay"]'s guard, stabbing him between the shoulder blades. At this point, the whole bar erupted into chaos with patrons and fighting each other over spilled drinks and gangsters fighting each other over turf. Mac thundered after the hunter, unholstering his axes, but there was no stopping Tarro at this point. Once he got a scent, he was ruthless in pursuing it. Tarro remained light on his feet and seized Kay from behind, grabbing a load of her hair and pressing the blade to her neck as he forced her outside of the bar.

"TARRO!"

Mac and the remaining guard ran outside after the two. Upon hearing the door of the bar open behind him, Tarro turned around with Lady Kay in hand, the knife pressed to her throat. "Tarro don't be a fool!" Mac cried out in Huttese, but he knew that Tarro was anything but a fool. This gave Tarro pause as he was surprised at Mac's objection to him killing Kay, and wanted to hear what his friend had to say. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill her."

The remaining guard raised his weapon at Tarro, he evidently didn't understand Huttese or what was going on for that matter, but Mac did. He motioned to Kay. "Meet your client, the mother of Rae-Anna". Kay probably didn't speak Huttese but she would definitely recognize the word "Rae-Anna". "Kill her, and you can kiss your three million goodbye." Mac pulled the number out of his ass, but he figured that Kay would be more than happy to pay three million right about now.

But Tarro was relentless. All of a sudden, everything clicked for the hunter. The desperate look in Mac's eye that he was trying to hide, his knowledge of the hunt in the first place, him recognizing the Queen of Commenor. He smiled beneath his mask again and replied in Huttese, "You know what I think Mac? I think you have gone soft." As he said the words, he pressed the blade slightly into Kay's neck, drawing a trickle of blood, just to get a rise out of Mac.

"Kill her and I'll show you how soft I've gotten."

But Mac's threat only illicited laughter out of Tarro. He had no intention of killing Kay. He was a calculating bounty hunter if nothing else, and he knew when to pick his fights with his "friend" Mac. This wasn't one of those times. "Five million credits for Rae-Anna". It wasn't a demand, it was a statement. Before Mac had time to answer, Tarro shoved Kay into the guard and disappeared around the corner. There was no time to celebrate. The fighting in the bar had now spilled out into the station and he had no idea where the mustachioed man had gone. Mac switched out of Huttese.

"KARKING HELL KAY!"

 

[Kay-Larr]

The incident between [member="Jim Pehico"] and thugs from the Hutt Cartel was only the start of it. Fights broke out all around them. Kay was trying to make her way to Jim, but she had to dodge drunken punches and kicks that weren't intended for her, but for some of the others. So much for liberating the station. It seemed as though pirates and the like still had control. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here afterall.

That statement was further proven to be true when she thought she heard the voice of [member="Macoda Haberon"] over the crowd. She lowered her hood. "Mac?" Shortly thereafter, Tarro lept at one of her guards and stabbed him in the back. Why did he go after her guard of all people? Then it hit her. She was recognized!

Kay quickly turned to see Mac running towards her. She started to go to meet him, but Tarro had grabbed her hair and brought the knife up to her throat, pushing her out. Was she being used as a hostage? This was one scenario that herself and Mac had yet to practice in a spar. A knife at the throat was difficult to get out of without risking getting a major artery cut. She would have to wait for the right momet to act.

Tarro whipped her around once Mac had yelled at him. Kay didn't speak Huttese, yet it seemed like a negotiation was going on. Her brows furrowed as she heard her daughter's name. What was going on ? What did she have to do about this?

She shut her eyes tight as the blade cut into her skin, feeling the trickle of warm blood on her neck. Kay's body froze as she tried to keep her neck as still as possible. She didn't even swallow. The only movement was her breathing and the goosebumps raising on her skin.

Laughter rose as the negotiations continued. Then Kay was violently pushed into her guard. Her hand went up to her neck after she recovered her footing. Mac yelled at her in Basic, causing her to just stare at the floor as she waited for the chastizing to begin. "I'm sorry Mac! I wasn't looking for trouble. This station was supposed to be safe!" She switched topics. It was better than getting a lecture. "Where's that other guy? The one with the mustache? Did he escape?" She didn't even ask about Tarro yet. There was a chance for that later.

 

[Jim Pehico]

Jim was being dragged by the Cartel thugs when suddenly blaster fire erupted the sleeveless weequay had fallen ontop of his body and the other 2 thugs dropped him, and Jim hit the floor hard, knocking him unconscious.

suddenly he was awoken by a yell.

"KARKING HELL KAY!"

Jim thought about who Kay could be. He's never heard of a smuggler by the name. he shimmied out from under the body of the weequay. and he looked up. It seemed to be a Tognath holding the hooded lady. He thinks he might have a concussion, He was reaching for his blaster when the tognath pushed the woman named Kay into one of her guards and disappeared as the chaos from the bar spilt into the station.

"I'm sorry Mac! I wasn't looking for trouble. This station was supposed to be safe!" ​Kay had yelled over to the man. Jim was wondering who this man mac was supposed to be. Jim's night had just gotten a lot more interesting.

"Where's that other guy? The one with the mustache? Did he escape?" Jim may be a scoundrel but he was an honorable one at that. He got out from under the body and walked over to the queen, amidst all the fighting.

"I'm sorry I missed the fight. The sleeveless bloke landed on me and seemed to knock me out cold. How long was I out for?" Jim said slightly embarrassed while looking at the chaos that surrounded him.

"And who's this?" Jim said looking at the man. "And who was that?" Jim said looking towards the direction the Tognarth man disappeared to.

Jim looked over to the woman. "Now, seeing as that I owe you my life, you deserve the truth. Believe it or not I'm not actually a Commenori agent, I am just a lowly smuggler, I was waiting for a shipment of spices from my 'friend', illegal in the Commenori sector." Jim said full heartedly.

Suddenly the woman's guard slapped a pair of cuffs on Jim's wrist. These cuffs were special though, issued to Commenori police.

"I was right!" Jim thought out loud, "I could tell you were a government agent." Typically an accusation like this would receive some attention from the patrons but they were still too busy fighting amongst themselves.

Jim looked back at the guard. "So, mate, how long is the typical sentence of smuggling spices in this sector?" Jim said slightly sarcastic. He wondered how long it would take Jim to break out of a Commenori Prison. Jim then got his train of thought back on track, He thought of any bargaining chips he could use. His thoughts turned towards the Tognarth assasain. Jim always enjoyed a good deal.

"Look how about this," He said to Kay before she could respond to his arrest. "That Tognarth will probably figure out what ship you came on, and same thing for your buddy," He said looking over to Mac. "Now I promise you safe passage back to your throne and I will no longer smuggle anything into this sector ever again if, and only if, you swear not to send me to prison, for the crimes committed against your planet." Jim said with a smirk. That's his greatest deal that he made in a long time.

 

[Hadrian Bjormund]

Mac ignored the mustachioed man entirely. He wasn't done chastising [member="Lady Kay"], not in the slightest. He shoved the guard aside and grabbed her by her hood, dragging her away from the bar fight. She may be the bloody Queen of Commenor but she wasn't on Commenor anymore. This was Mac's turf now, hopefully manhandling her would get that point across. If it didn't then his scolding certainly would. Mac was furious that his allegiance to Kay had been revealed to Tarro who would take full advantage of his newly found weak spot. Had he really gone soft on her? Mac pulled her up and stood her on her feet, still keeping a firm grip on her.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW CLOSE YOU WERE TO BEING KILLED?!? YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN A WARM CORPSE ON THE STREET HAD I NOT BEEN THERE BY CHANCE! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??"

Mac was not talking about coming out here under disguise. In fact he fully understood Kay's need to escape once in a while, he wasn't Darlyn Excron after all. But if [member="Lady Kay"] was going to do it, she needed to be smarter than creating a scene and exposing herself over the life of a loud mouth smuggler. Where was that karking smuggler anyways??

He turned to see the mustachioed [member="Jim Pehico"] totally spill his guts to Kay. Did this smuggler not know when to shut up? "Take those karking cuffs off of him." Mac turned to the smuggler with a biting tone, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but you aren't in Commenor Space, something that her highness here," Mac pulled on Kay's arm like a parent would to a misbehaving child. "Should do well to remember."

Mac turned to Kay, "Lucky for you and everyone you would've left behind should you have been killed, I know the bounty hunter. He was a friend of mine by the name of Tarro and he was trying to collect the same bounty on you that I tried to collect. Luckily we reached a deal which I will talk to you about later." Mac said the last sentence between his teeth.

 

[Kay-Larr]

So [member="Jim Pehico"] was a spice smuggler. Well that explained it. He mustn't of done it for very long however, as he spilled the beans rather quickly. This man only lived for himself. Some people were just like that and could be dangerous.

Kay raised a brow as Jim tried to strike a deal while her guard arrested him on the spot. How was Jim supposed to keep them safe? He could barely look after himself...

[member="Macoda Haberon"] dragged her off before she could answer. Kay didn't resist him as he scolded her. She winced a little at his grip, but other than that she just stared down at the floor while he let out his anger. He was in the right to be pissed off at her, but Kay was so sure that she had taken enough precautions in what was supposed to be safe territory, that she didn't plan ahead in case it wasn't.

Mac soon let out his guilt trip after dragging her back to Jim, confirming her identity. Why did he have to do that? If anyone was listening...

Her eyes went up to Mac then as he spoke of a bounty hunter, one that was his friend, and a deal that was struck. Rae Anna. She had heard her daughter's name during the negotiations. So what deal was struck? Mac wouldn't give her daughter away, would he? No. Family was too important to him. But he was seething in anger right now. All that she wanted to do was to go back to the ship that she arrived in and go home. "I didn't intend for this to happen, Mac. I wasn't trying to jump into danger. I just wanted to see my investment for myself. I didn't think and I'm sorry. I won't venture out like this again..." Mac had been the one to claim that she was a slave to her position and couldn't do anything outside of that. Now he was proving it.

She looked to Jim as Mac had him released. "You don't have to smuggle spice in order to make a good living in Commenori space, you know. It might be what you need to survive out here, but not there. But if those goons think that you work for us, well...you already know how much danger such a lie puts you in. So you'll have to come with us before they--"

Her words were cut short as she suddenly realized that the fighting at the bar had stopped.

Everything was all quiet.

Everything except for the sounds of guns being cocked that is....

 

[Jim Pehico]

He tried to process what he had just heard. Kay? Bounties? Guards? "Her highness"???? Jim thought about it, though slightly buzzed, and probably concussed it didn't take an idiot to figure out that Kay was the one and only Lady Kay, bloody hell, He knew he owed him her life, but he had just admitted a crime to the queen of Commenor.

"Bloody Hell" Jim thought. That was an issue. The seemingly former bounty hunter told the guard to release him. Jim was starting to see the dynamic between the two. Suddenly the cocking of blasters being aimed at them was not a good sign.

Jim raised his hands. The bar patrons had either grown tired of fighting or pummeled the person they had been fighting, and brought their attention to Kay, Mac, Jim, and the guard. This was not good. Jim had about 10 seconds to whip up a story,

He whispered into the now exposed royal's ear "Don't take this personally."

Jim walked up slowly with his arms raised to the group of angry patrons.

"Gents, please!" Jim said to the bloodthirsty mob. Jim had sold spice to many of these people before. Most of them typically ignored Jim When he was at the bar, he was known on the station as "The Iron Liar."

"This isn't the Lady Kay that we all love to hate. Hell, most of you guys have seen me before, I'm no government agent I'm just a spice smuggler, I've sold to some of you before!" Jim said as some of the patrons murmured in agreement.

"So why would a spice smuggler, who delivered illegal spice into Commenori territory, want to help 'her highness' out!?" Jim said with a slight hint of disgust.

"Besides what kind of idiot would Lady Kay be to come to a space station where at least a third of the population hates her karking guts." Jim gave a little chuckle, and continued spinning his web of lies.

"This isn't Kay, this is K period, Her first initial. She's my spice dealer." Jim exaggerated a laugh.

He then looked over to the guard and Mac ."These two? that's one of her bodyguards and a bounty hunter she hired." Jim said looking over towards the two. He hoped Mac wasn't exactly a recognizable figure.

"You might be wondering about the Tognath. Well he was hired to kill K. not Lady Kay." Some patron's got a funny look in their eye, Jim noticed this and continued.

"She works for a Hutt on Nar Shaddaa, you don't want any of that business." Jim said exaggerating an eye roll.

"But honestly, I feel really silly about this." Jim stated followed by an embarrassed laugh.

"Look, let me escort my dealer back to her ship, and to make it up to you fellas, the next round's on me, what you say about that?" Jim said shrugging and giving off his signature smirk. His story lined up quite well, this possibly could be his greatest lie ever.

[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Macoda Haberon"]

 

[Hadrian Bjormund]

Mac's ears had pricked up at the sound of several guns cocking. He looked from [member="Lady Kay"] as they were slowly surrounded by patrons of the bar who had undoubtedly heard what had happened. He pushed Kay behind him, shielding her completely with his large figure. Mac clenched his jaw, there was nothing he could do at this distance with his axes, he allowed everyone to get the drop on him. It seemed like this situation had gone from bad to worse. He wasn't at fault for Kay getting them in this mess in the first place, but Mac took the blame for letting the situation deteriorate this much.

That is until [member="Jim Pehico"] whipped up a quick and rather convincing lie to smooth the whole situation over. It was an awkward lie, but it worked its magic over the patrons. Mac slowly took his hands off his axes as he realized that Jim might be able to just talk his way out of the situation. He nodded when he heard Jim mention his name. Mac was indeed a recognizable figure around these parts, but his reputation was that of a mercenary which only served to strengthen Jim's impromptu lie. Mac was somewhat assured when people began to slowly nod in agreement.

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Unknown to both the group and the patrons, Tarro was tucked away behind a stack of crates at the end of the corridor. His trusty sniper rifle was resting on a crate as he trained his scope on to the head of the patron that was nearest to Kay. Tarro was now invested in Kay's safety and watched the scene unfold through his scope like a silent leopard that was ready to pounce, his finger resting on the trigger, waiting for the slightest hint of trouble.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay didn't resist as [member="Macoda Haberon"] shoved her behind him. Instead she just stood there, her blaster in her hand with her finger on the trigger, her brows furrowed as she thought about the situation that she put herself in. All that she wanted to do was to take a look at the station, but instead trouble found her again, resulting in the death of one guard, and some sort of deal between Mac and Tarro that she wasn't so sure that she'd like. Her small moment of selfishness had instead given her grief.

She listened to [member="Jim Pehico"] as he spun his lies. It was rather convincing. But would the others believe it? What kind of a spice dealer couldn't look after herself? Perhaps the kind that just tells others what to do, and hires goons to do her dirty work, smugglers to move her goods. All of that was entirely possible.

And that's what made the lie work. The patrons reholstered their weapons and went back into the bar to order their free drinks.

Kay would have to make up for this, she knew. And more than likely her scolding wasn't over. She remained behind Mac, waiting until he had given her the all clear to move. But really she was kicking herself for being such a fool.

"I have customers waiting. Can we go now?" She deepened her voice, tried to alter it slightly to play the part that Jim had set up for her.

 

[Jim Pehico]

Jim began following Kay Mac and the Guard towards the hangar. The guard still had an astonished look on his face. Jim laughed.

"You're impressed by that? You should've seen me in my prime." Jim said reminiscing.

Jim then picked up his comlink.

"Easy, buddy, you will not believe the story I'm going to tell you." The droid then began whistling frantically. |

"Bloody hell, 3Z you had one Job!" Jim exclaimed in the mic. Jim brought his attention to the 2.

"So it seems that my droid was charging, someone scrapped part of my engine, my ships not going anywhere. for a while, and as for the bar, I have no where enough credits to pay for all of those drunks. So can me and 3Z catch a ride? I'll hire someone to fix my ship up and deliver it to me on Commenor. Assuming that's where we're going."

[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Macoda Haberon"]