Public Desert Dash

[Wedge Draav]

What a feeling, to win.
​

Wedge pulled hard, banking his podracer as he crossed the finish line- nearly twenty five seconds before most. For one, having a human win was one thing, but another to have him win by so much, that was a little much. His podracer was hot- power supply was nearly shot, and the engine was red hot. He climbed out of the podracer, watching it fail on it's repulsors and fall to the ground.

Wedge pushed up his sunglasses, smirking.

He was stopped by another racer, who just pulled in. A Sullustan and his crew, who came in hot at Nej, throwing down his gloves and fumbling in his pocket for something. Wedge sighed, looking at the crew holding their tools, approaching. He pulled out his sidearm, and put it on the Sullustan's head that was in the pilot's seat, looking at his crew.

"Got your attention, huh?" He said, the barrel pushing against the other pilot's head. His crew stopped dead center. Wedge looked around, then to his handgun.

"Alliance pistol, Alliance shades, Alliance pilot. Everything clicks, yeah? Let's all walk away."

He said with a grin, pulling the blaster off of the now-wet-with-sweat Sullustan's head, smiling as he walked by the bookie table, snatching his winnings off the table. A lot. A fair amount, at least, three montos of pay worth. He stepped away from the garage, letting the junker droids pick at his podracer, with a thumbs up. He got what he needed out of it- and besides, he took the podracer off a dead guy anyways, and the X-wing engine came from a crew chief who was behind on his payments that looked the other way from a destroyed X-wing.

He made his way to the concession area, tucking his pistol back into his waistband-

And his eyes went wide, when the first thing he saw was the Sword of the Jedi herself, Valery Noble .

"Shit."

His 4-day pass said he was going to Dantooine. Not here.

Technically, he wasn't supposed to be here. Wedge grit his teeth, realizing that if she said anything, he'd be in big trouble.

Uh oh.

Who was she talking to?

Pal Veda

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover
Weapons: Blasters

"I can't say I know him," Valery had to admit. The name was somewhat familiar to her, but she was certain that she hadn't met him before. Turning back to the smuggler, Valery listened quietly and with her full attention, though her expression began to shift a little. She wasn't bothered by him pointing out that people within the Alliance occasionally played a part in criminal activities, nor did she care about the way he felt about the Jedi or Sith.

There was something else that caught her attention.

"You're making a lot of assumptions," she began. "You don't have to tell me that removing the head of an organization here isn't the end of it. But nothing will ever change if we don't gather information about the various players, their levels of involvement, and the wider structure of what they've built. Even Hutt Empires have crumbled before." Valery paused for a moment and raised her glass to her lips for a sip from her drink.

"But you're right about the Empire. It's my main focus." Her role within the Alliance was once formed as a response to destroy the Brotherhood of the Maw, and now many of its survivors were part of this new Empire. Her task as Sword of the Jedi continued.

"The bounty on my head isn't anything new, and it doesn't stop me from getting close to my enemies. But I could use good pilots for certain specific tasks." she tilted her head and waited curiously for his answer. But while she watched him, Wedge Draav appeared and Valery spent a brief moment looking his way.

He seemed and felt awfully nervous, considering they hadn't met before.

Pal Veda Wedge Draav​

 

[Pal Veda]

Veda listened intently and considered her response. Maybe he should order another drink. He noticed Valery’s attention shift momentarily, and he followed her gaze.

Wedge Graav looked nervous. Probably because everything he had done in the last five minutes was either illegal, against regulations, or both. Standing there in sight of one of the Jedi Order’s highest ranking members, fresh off of a podrace in Alliance gear, probably loaded on some illicit substance or another. This could be entertaining.

”You know what I want.” He turned back to the Jedi. “And now I know what you want.“ Veda didn’t like working on credit, but he didn’t need credits, and he was a big picture guy, after all. The payout at the end of this tunnel would be worthwhile if he delivered. He didn’t particularly trust the Alliance or its Jedi representatives much more than he trusted the the Arconan gunslinger that tried to shoot him in the head after his team got double crossed a week before. But something about this particular Jedi put him at ease. Yeah, you dope, she’s an attractive woman with literal mind control powers. Still, this arrangement could work. Worst case scenario, if she tried to screw him over, there was no shortage of bounty hunters searching for that million credit payday. They would not hesitate to give him a cut for information he could provide on her. Probably that Arconan that just tried to kill him. He hoped for both their sakes that it wouldn’t come to that.

“This is a dance. I get it. Let’s start slow, and we’ll see where the night leads.” He retrieved a handheld data pad from his pocket and typed in a few commands before sliding it across the table. “Here’s the appetizer. Info on the passenger I just flew in to meet our Hutt friend running this joint. I think you’ll find it interesting.” An unhappy representative from a neutral system that the Alliance had been courting, flying halfway across the galaxy to meet with an arms dealer. She could put the pieces together herself. The first step to taking down the Hutt and a new target to keep an eye on in case he was planning to sabotage the Alliance’s growth efforts. “As for a pilot, well, I’m the best damn pilot out here. That flyboy Graav over there may give me a run for my money in an X-wing, but that’s a young man’s game. I’m talking getting from point A to point B without being detected, boarded, or blown out of the sky.”

Veda let Master Noble chew on that for a moment before adding, “After you see what I can do for you, we can revisit the issue of compensation. I think you’ll find I’m worth it.” He glanced back over to see Graav hadn’t moved. “If those terms sound good to you, why don’t we invite the winner over for a drink and have a little fun with him?”

Valery Noble Wedge Draav

 

[Wedge Draav]

Up(pers) and down(ers)s
​

Pal Veda was 100 percent right.

Wedge sheepishly sunk into a chair, slapped a credit chit on the counter, and was dead silent, thinking he was acting cool. However, behind his sunglasses, the Glitterstim was reaching the apex of his high-

And that high was great!

So Wedge couldn't help but be in fear, seeing Valery with someone, some scummy looking guy (at least dressed cool, Wedge wanted his jacket.) and a body full of happy-drugs. He was in fear for his reputation, clearance, pay for the next six months, and rank.

But his body betrayed him, cracking a wide grin. A wide, stupid grin. But also scared. Scared-grin. He fumbled for the drink he asked for, which realized, it was two, and he grabbed both glasses with one hand, and stuck both straws in his mouth, sucking eagerly.

Everything tasted great, everything felt great.

Drugs are pretty rad.

He thought to himself, but also inadvertently said out loud.

Valery Noble l Pal Veda

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Undercover
Weapons: Blasters

Now he was talking.

Valery looked him in the eyes and that smirk from before returned again. This was, indeed, a dance but she felt like the cards were mostly in her hands. Even without his intel or piloting skills, she was confident that she'd find a way to complete her mission eventually. It'd maybe require her to find someone else to help her, and it'd definitely take more time, but he wasn't the only good pilot with intel in this Galaxy.

But he wasn't getting Alliance clearance from someone else.

"I can work with this," Valery commented after he slid over the datapad. "It's a lead I'm going to follow and if I can count on you as a pilot, you'll have my word that I'll see about fair payment in exchange." This way, he'd get his chance for Alliance clearance, and she'd have a good pilot and source of intel to rely on for this particular mission. Turning her eyes away again, Valery spotted the pilot again.

"I accept your terms, and let's call him over, hm?"

Pal Veda Wedge Draav​

 

[Pal Veda]

This was supposed to be a quick and easy job. Spend a couple days relaxing on Tatooine waiting on this meeting to wrap up, then fly his patron back toward the core. The last thing he expected was to run into the Sword of the Jedi at a racetrack and strike a deal that would have him providing intel on his employers. Fortune favored him today. And on most other days.

Now that business was done, Veda turned to the pilot double fisting drinks at the table a few meters away. “Hey Wedge Draav !” he yelled across the room. “Why don’t you come over here and let me buy the winner a drink, eh?”

Veda only knew Draav in passing. The Alliance pilot came around the Outer Rim on occasion, mostly to race and get obliterated on drugs and alcohol. He had a reputation as an arrogant hotshot. Incredibly reckless with no filter. But Veda liked him. He was certainly entertaining. Veda could tell Draav was already loaded, which would only make this more fun.

Veda handed a few more credits to the server droid as it passed by and requested three drinks this time. “Come on flyboy,” he yelled again, “I’ve already got another ale on the way!”

 

[Wedge Draav]

Purple Sun
​

Drugs.

Usually made things a lot better-better, better.

So, when he joined the pair at the table, at the behest of the smuggler, Wedge was trying to play it cool. However, one blitzed out of their mind on glitterstim was hard to hide. He nervously looked between Pal and Valery, who were rapidly changing colors and shape.

He stared a little harder at Valery, who currently was purple, had two heads, and sparkly skin. He gulped nervously, turning back to the smuggler.

"Hello, I'm Wedge Draav. I just won the race. I'm really happy to be here tonight. Thank you for having me."

Valery Noble l Pal Veda