[Freg's List]Looking for Crew, Have Money, Will Pay

[Catherine Romanov]

Catherine was quickly introduced to the interior of the ship. She was not disappointed by what she saw. Despite the small area they had within the ship, it gave off a cozy & homely vibe which pleasantly surprised her. Flint also mentioned that their fellow crew-mate, the girl with the chestnut hair ,[member="Kitt Solo"] was the mechanic. Cat looked forward to meeting with her. Hopefully she was friendly.

And it was time. Flint settled into his seat in the bridge, motioning for her to do the same. Cat snuggled down in her seat, making herself comfortable before giving the cockpit a quick glance around. She nodded as she sighted the familiar mass of knobs, buttons and levers. She then proceeded to flick on and off several switches, followed by a firm grip of the throttle, which she slowly pushed forwards.

The stillness was broken as the engines came alive, humming softly at first, before taking off into a loud droning sound, growing louder every second, as the engines began to warm up and reach its peak. The ship's holo-com then buzzed with the reply of the control tower from the spaceport.

"Detroit Nexu, this is Coronet City Tower, you are cleared for takeoff. Have a safe flight, and a good day."

Catherine answered in reply "Coronet City Tower, this is Detroit Nexu, Departing now."

She turned to glance at Flint before saying "Here we go! Prepare for takeoff."

The engines blared ever louder, as the Nexu lifted off the ground slowly but steadily, exiting the confines of the spaceport, before rocketing away out of Coreilla.

[member="Flint Michigan"]

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

"Dearest Flint,

Believe it or not I used to helm my own little crew as a rare goods supplier to some very particular customers. Usually Hutts. As I am at best a temporary member I would hate to fill up one of the more permanent positions. I am, however, an excellent cook.

Best Wishes,
Sasha."



[member="Flint Michigan"]

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"] [member="Catherine Maxwell"]

An 'interesting' night involving apple pie

She grinned across the table at her new boss, finishing her own steak. "Tastes even better that you saved it from refresher fluid. And the synthsteak was tasty." She savored the last bite of her own pie letting the fork linger in her mouth before setting it down with a more serious expression on her face.

"Thank you Flint. This job came at the perfect time for me. Though I'm sure you'll be hearing me cuss up a storm on most days. Just don't crash her and we should be okay."

What were the chances of that happening, right?!

"Any rules I should know about? Do we have a curfew or somethin'?" The corners of her lips curved slightly upward. She was serious about knowing his expectations even if the example she used was for fun.

Present Day

Deep in grease and hanging halfway through an open floor panel she eyed the distance to a seat with crash webbing as Flint made the airborne announcement. A woman's voice filtered down the corridor from the cockpit. 'Bout time someone else showed up to entertain the Captain. She grinned and continued working, hanging a bit more haphazardly as the ship went airborne.

 

[Flint Michigan]

Somewhen over the rainbow

Despite being slightly weirded out by the use of "Dearest" instead of "Dear" Flint mustered up a reply.

To: @[member="Sasha"]

I'm sorry, but I can't really dedicate resources right now to hiring a temporary worker, especially considering the number of workers who have applied for the same position full time. I'm sure a man of your skills won't be on the market for long, but I'm not in a position to take you off it myself right now.

Have a pleasant day

-Flint Michigan

An 'Interesting Night' With Pie!

"Hey, no problem. Least I can do for a nice mechanic that can cook a heck of a pie." He said, before throwing up a grin at @[member="Kitt Solo"]. "And I'm strong. I can take a few harsh words here and there." He said, before she asked about the 'rules' and put up a small grin.

"Curfew? Crap, I don't look that bad do I?" Flint laughed. "Rules. Hunh. Well, I'm not gonna throw a book of obvious 'corporate policy' type crap at you, I'm sure you're smart enough to realize the simple things. Aside from that . . . " He said as he crossed an arm, bringing his other hand to scratch his chin. "If you drink the last beer out of the conservator you have to replace it with a twelve pack. You can't say anything bad about me or the rest of the crew, unless it's funny or true. Aaaaaaand." He said, thinking a bit more as he looked around. "At least once a month, I get have a piece of your cinnamon apple pie." His grin widened as he headed to the conservator and pulled out a couple of bottles of Corellian Ale, offering to toss one to the mechanic. If she'd accept he'd toss one over, if not put it back in the conservator.

"Any 'rules' you'd like to put up Kitt? I'm open to suggestions."

Present Day

Flint held his breath as he watched the mandalorian [member="Catherine Maxwell"] pitter and patter through the typical array of buttons, making her checks and priming systems before grasping the throttle and slowly pressing it forward, the engines priming in a slow and powerful hum. Despite the ready and roaring ship she waited a moment, until the dockworkers signaled that they were clear to leave. Catherine returned the message before looking at Flint excitedly, telling him she was taking off. His heart admittedly raced a bit, as he was unsure of what sort of approach she'd take, but Flint was quickly relieved as they rose slowly from atmosphere.

"Take us around the system Cat."

 

[Catherine Romanov]

The Detroit Nexu rocketed out of Corellia's atmosphere into interplanetary space. Catherine reduced their speed to a somewhat more steady pace, plotting out their next move. Countless stars filled the bridge viewports to the front of them, twinkling occasionally, like mini diamonds in the sky.

It was then that Flint asked to be brought round the system. She happily obliged. The Corellian System was the most important one in the sector. The system contained the Five Brothers, and was most commonly referred to as the inhabited planets - Selonia, Corellia, Drall, Talus and Tralus.

Cat tapped a couple of buttons, and with a wave of her hand, open up the holographic map of the Corellian System. She tapped into a few individual entries, plotting their coordinates for the journey ahead. They would continue cruising with the same speed, until they pass the Corellia Space Station. after which they would leave and warp to the space of Selonia via FTL travel.

It was then that they would have an hour or two to themselves, for fun or what not.

@[member="Flint Michigan"]

 

[Flint Michigan]

Though Flint was ready at the co-pilot's seat to take control at a moment's notice, he found he didn't need to. Catherine brought them out of atmo just fine, and didn't lose control once they escaped the harsh pull of Corellia's gravity. Once they were clear of any stray debris or other spacers she'd start calculating a hyperspace jump and sending them to Selonia. The jump went off without a hitch, which left them free to head around and check other things about the ship.

"Well, you've got a good grasp of taking off and getting to hyperspace, at the least. Care to show me how you do manning the laser turret? We can't fire in hyperspace obviously, but we've got a sim or two you can practice on." Flint said, wondering if she'd seen what the turrets looked like on the outside of ship when she came in. If not well, she'd find out about them soon enough.

[member="Catherine Romanov"]

 

[Catherine Romanov]

Catherine followed Flint as they headed to the turrets. She had seen the extent of the damage of the ship back then at the hangar, and hoped that the guns fared better and had a better share of luck. Her hopes quickly crumbled as she went over the weapons. Out of the two dual laser cannon turrets, only one was fully operational. The other had just the right barrel working right. The concussion missile launchers were just as bad, only one of them still worked, resulting in them being left with just that one tube to fire from.

She said "Oh boy, oh boy!" Glancing towards Flint, she continued "Will [member="Kitt Solo"] be able to fix this?" Moving over to the gunner's seat, she navigated through the control panel bringing up the training simulator. The sim began to project a fleet of enemy fighters into the black, effectively turning it into a virtual warzone. She yelled "Oh kark! Is there a difficult setting on this?! Oh nevermind, found it!" She then began to adjust the number of targets to a somewhat more manageable level. "That's better." Grabbing hold of the joystick, she steadily and accurately pinpointed the target positions, sending simulated laser blasts from the working turrets and the occasional missile streaming towards the virtual targets. It wasn't all that long before she managed to clear out the targets, proceeding up the difficulty scale and completing the sim. Cat then replied "Well, that's that!" grinning at Flint.

[member="Flint Michigan"]

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

[SIZE=10pt]That Interesting Night[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]"Nice, huh?" Twin chestnut-brows lofted [/SIZE]mischievously[SIZE=10pt] as she caught the cold ale. "Flattery will certainly help you toward the once a month pie." She grinned and popped the top off the ale, taking a refreshing swig. "And no," she said thoughtfully, "I think you covered the basics with the...rules."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She took another sip from the bottle then stood, grabbing the dishes and heading over to the san-station.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]"Anything else I should know about you or be prepared for, Captain?" Her back was to him as she asked the question, working through the dirty plates and forks.[/SIZE]

 

[Flint Michigan]

That Interesting Night

Flint headed back to the table, but Kitt seemed keen on getting his dishes for him, taking them over to the san-station for him. "Thanks Kitt." He said, as she started runnin the water and cleanin off this and that, askin if she should know anything else about him. Flint finished a good swig of his Corellian Ale before answering.

"I don't know. Served in the navy as a pilot for a while, so that's where I got my experience. Pub and Sith Empire, before it disbanded. Left both with a sour taste in my mouth. Enjoy running around the stars more than plantin my feet on the ground so I'm here. I'd take pirates and raiders over politicians and wizards any day. If you want to know anything specific you can ask, and if I don't tell you it's personal. Sure I've bored you with my story enough though." He said with a smile and another swig, before leaning against the wall near the sanistream, looking at [member="Kitt Solo"] from her right.

"You got any cool mechanic or pie-makin stories I'd like to hear about Kitt? Promise I'm a good listener."

Present

"I'm hopin she can, but we'll need to do a few jobs to get her the parts first." Flint answered about Kitt repairing the turret. Cat was quick to get in the seat and get the simulation started, though she turned it down to start, moving up difficulties as she got more acquainted with the system. She continued through pretty easily, before giving Flint a triumphant reply and grin as she completed course after course.

"That's good. Let me mess with a few nobs here." He said, reaching over and switching some of the settings. The sim was previously acting as if she were firing a normal dual laser turret, and with normal sensors. The Detroit Nexu currently had neither. "That was what firing a normal Dual-Laser Turret is like. This is what you'll be dealing with until we get some repairs." He said. The sim would only register half damage now, and the sensors would only tell [member="Catherine Romanov"] where ships were coming from in a smaller arc to the forward of the ship, she'd be completely blind in the back aside from using the good ole 'natural eye to find targets. He didn't expect perfection now, because he knew the conditions she'd be firing in were crap. This 'test' was all about adapting to circumstance, and buying as time as possible in case they had to jump to hyperspace in a firefight.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

With the newly input restrictions into the simulation by Flint, Catherine got ready to give it another try. This was going to be a tough one. With only half the damage registered, she was going to have to work doubly hard to destroy all the targets this time. With the sensors only up for the front, she would also have to use own her intuition for sensing targets at the back. With a tap of the button, she started up the sim. With the targets popping up as fast as before, but with only barrel to find from this time, it was going as smooth as the first. She had to swivel her seat to the back as well, to periodically detect targets from the back. She missed several targets, due to the time limit expiring before she could successfully hit them all. She managed at get least 80% of the targets. She shook head, sighing "Well that didn't go so well".

[member="Flint Michigan"]

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

That Interesting Night

She cracked a grin in Flint's direction but something troubling flashed within the depths of her myrtle ellipses. She could feel the weight of Flint's negative emotions ripple through the force at the mention of wizards. "You're not boring me, Captain. I wish I could say I was surprised to hear that you went from one major-galaxy power to the other but these days...I'm more surprised to hear of someone sticking with one group."

She frowned, thinking of her own circumstances and departure from the Fringe High Council.

"As for my own stories," her frown turned into a short laugh, "I used to be an active bounty hunter. Don't give me that look, it's true." She finished the last dish and picked-up a spare towel to dry her hands. "I caught one of the most dangerous and smart-arse sith lords in the galaxy. I've fought in wars and faced dragons and other creatures nexus have nightmares about. But do you know what I always went back to?"

She finally faced him, leaning her hip and shoulder against the same wall, crossing her arms. "Hydrospanners and elbow-grease. Maybe it's 'cause it reminds me of working with Pa since I was old enough to hold a tool, but it's comforting, especially when everything else around me is out of control."

A small shrug rippled through her shoulders but she couldn't stop her own curiosity in asking the next question. Of course she had no idea about how personal it was.

"I take it you don't like wizards very much. That apply to all force users?"

 

[Flint Michigan]

That Interesting Night

"Funny how things end up like that as time goes along." Flint said as [member="Kitt Solo"] expressed her lack of surprise at people flipping major galactic powers. Kitt soon brought them to happier conversation however, giving a laugh before saying she used to be a bounty hunter. Flint raised a brow before Kitt waved him off, insisting she had. Kitt told of Snarky Sith Lords, wars, dragons, and 'creatures'. Probably some nebulous Sithspawn by the descriptions of it. When she turned to face him however she said that her love was in mechanics, not blasters and net guns. Brought her some peace, the way flying the skies made Flint feel better. Hmm. Between my service, her bounty hunting, and our 'fallbacks' perhaps we aren't that different. Flint thought to himself.

"It's good to have something like that to fall back on. Something that keeps the mind workin, lets you forget about everything else." He reassured, with perhaps more experience and understanding than he would have liked. Her shoulders perked a little as her eyes lit with curiosity, before she asked the question. Flint thought for a moment, giving a noticeable pause as he thought on how to answer the question.

"I can't say I've met all force users, but none of the ones I have met have given me reason to like 'em. Don't matter if it's Jedi or Sith, they all seem to think the rest of us are their tools, playthings." He answered, trying not to delve too deeply. It'd been a happy night with a new hire, didn't want to ruin that with sour conversation.

"So ms. Bounty Hunter Mechanic woman, I am curious. How did you capture a Sith Lord?"


Present

Despite the challenges Cat did well, switching angles to find backside targets every once in a while, double hitting starfighters to ensure they were taken out. She didn't get all of her marks, but Flint didn't expect her too. She adapted well, and probably would've bought them good time in a firefight. It seemed that they had their security, and Cat had done well as a pilot too.

"Nonsense Cat. When you got an old piece like this one you're not aiming for scores or kills, just buying as much time as you can. Go ahead and come on out of there, we're good on that part of the interview." Flint said. "We'll be comin out of hyperspace soon. Just run us through the docking procedure and we'll be done." Flint said as he headed back over to the cockpit with [member="Catherine Romanov"] not far behind. If she could land the ship, well, Flint would only have one more spot to fill.

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

That Interesting Night

She gave out a strangled laugh. Didn't like force users. Check.

She'd stick with the don't ask don't tell policy.

"Sith lords aren't that bad if you've got a few anti-force bubble lizards and some knock-out drugs that are easily slipped into beverages." Her grin widened. "And add in some pre-op research and a bit of luck and you're golden. Details beyond that are a trademark secret that you might hear one day, Boss. Maybe after you buy me a few new ship parts."

She winked.

She sensed pain bubbling beneath Flint's surface that matched his tone in his description to forcers. Being a Master Empath had its perks because she also sensed now was not the time to push the topic further. She pushed off the wall. "Whelp, I think I'll go unpack and try to get some sleep before tomorrow. Gotta relish the alone-time in the room while I can."

A grin.

"I hope you don't have any plans to go out to any drunken raves at Shulah's tonight, Captain. I'd hate to get a call to have to come pick you up."

 

[Catherine Romanov]

A few minutes ago

Catherine followed Flint back to the bridge with a sigh of relief. She totally thought she had flunked that one. Seated back down in the pilot's seat, she prepared the plane for approach. The ship would be coming out of hyperspace in just a few minutes now.

Present

The white stretched stars returned to their original shape as the Detroit Nexu came out from hyperspace. Selonia lay in plan sight, not too far away. The gigantic ocean world was dotted with numerous islands throughout the planet. But that didn't seem to faze the Selonians, as they had built an elaborate network of linked underground tunnels to circumvent the lack of land. With no proper space station on the planet's surface itself, Catherine had to find an appropriate place to land at the shipyards. As she approached one of the many orbital shipyards that surrounded Selonia, they were hailed by the Selonians on the coms.

"This is the Selonian Orbital Defence, state your intentions."

Placing a hand on the coms, activating it and sending a reply,

"This is the Detroit Nexu, we are for business purposes, we come in peace."

After a brief report that they were here for business purposes, they were given the green light proceed. Catherine cruised the freighter slowly into the shipyards, bringing her in slow and steady, initiating docking procedures. When the Nexu was fully secure, the docking mechanisms secured them in place, hissing as it fastened itself to the ship. With the ship secured, Catherine powered down the engines. Turning to glance at Flint, saying,

"Welcome to Selonia."

[member="Flint Michigan"]

 

[Flint Michigan]

That Interesting Night

Flint wasn't enough of a people person to notice the strain in her laugh. [member="Kitt Solo"]'s secret was safe and unsuspected.

For now . . .


Flint smiled in return to Kitt's wink. "Okay. If I'm not cool or tough enough to hear your cool bounty hunter tricks that's fine. Not like I'm planning on dealing with any Sith Lords anytime soon." He said, as if could control such a thing. Sith Lords had a nasty habit of popping up around places. Pushing herself off the wall Kitt excused herself for the night, but not before throwing a smile and a couple of jokes his way.

"Good night then Kitt. I'll do my best not to get too drunk." Flint said grinning as he left her to business, thinking too himself I could have done sooo much worse than that.


Present

Flint observed silently as the Mandalorian engaged in docking procedures, safely docking them with one of the orbital defense stations around the planet. Despite "no experience with freighters" she landed them without any hitches and kept her cool, though the mandalorian always seemed a bit happier than should be normal. "Peppy" wasn't a standard description of a security worker, but Flint didn't care. He saw what he needed to, and a ton of enthusiasm to boot.

"Well Cat, everything ran pretty smoothly there. I think you're the kind of lady I'd like on my crew, if you're still wanting the position after seeing me and my ship."

[member="Catherine Romanov"]


The Very Near Future

Flint had been wandering around the parts store Sprocket to Me for a little while, heading there early not only to appear professional, but because he actually had some shopping to do. Kitt had sent him a list of things the ship needed sooner rather than later, so he figured he'd kill two birds with one stone. In time he spotted a blue skinned woman with red hair in a tank-top. His applicant [member="Tiam Bai"] or just another Pantoran with similar fashion sense. The chances of the latter were notable, but Flint wouldn't risk passing her by on an offchance someone dressed the same way. Heading over towards her he introduced himself.

"Hey there, I'm Flint Michigan. I believe we exchanged holomails?"

 

[Tiam Bai]

Tiam had been waiting patiently by Sprocket To Me for this supposed meet. Pale yellow eyes flicked back and forth, watching citizens wander by. She had no idea who exactly she was looking for. Just some man named [member="Flint Michigan"] . Could have been anyone really. Tiam had in mind the man was probably some old geezer, especially with a name like Flint Michigan. Sounded like he just crawled out from underneath the farm house.


So she was mildly surprised to be approached by a man who still thought it was the era of boy scouts and poodle skirts. Perhaps she hadn't been too far off from the mark to begin with.


"That's right. " Tiam clasped his hand with her own in greeting. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm actually surprised you came all the way out here."

 

[Flint Michigan]

Flint shrugged at Pantoran's greeting. "I guess when you travel for a living after a while you just stop counting the lightyears. That and out of all my applicants you have the most interesting resume." Experience in the shipping industry was valuable to Flint, especially if the woman had any contacts for work. He could teach most anyone how to fly decent, and there was always a supply of overzealous men compensating by becoming a walking armory, and a good mechanic was the first thing he found on his list. But a 'box monkey'? Those didn't fall off of trees.

"But I'm not exactly sure how to test you. I can have a security man show me how he uses his weapons, a pilot show me how she flies, a mechanic look at my ship and find faults in it, but I wasn't prepared with an interview type for a lady of your skills. So tell me flat. Why should I hire you?"

[member="Tiam Bai"]

 

[Tiam Bai]

[member="Flint Michigan"]



Tiam arced a fine eyebrow. Most interesting applicant? Must be one real vanilla crew Mr.Boy Scout had going on for himself. Ideas raced through her mind, what to respond with. It had to be useful. Something that would get her hired. Credits paid the bills after all. After a long moment of silence, pale yellow eyes came to look the man square in his own.


"Because you need me. You basically just said so yourself."

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Tiam Bai"]

Flint waited as the pantoran thought for a moment, a longer one at that, presumably contemplating what she wanted to say. Then she just came out and said it. It seemed he needed her.

"Most interesting or most unique doesn't mean most valuable Ms. Bai." He said, putting up a grin. "But that confidence? Pretty convincing." He said, though he still wasn't sure exactly what the Pantoran's job description was. "How bout I take you to the ship, letcha meet the crew, and show us what you'll be doin?"

 

[Tiam Bai]

[member="Flint Michigan"]


"Most unique doesn't mean most valuable? Tell that to rich idiots who chase the rarest of the rare." Tiam flashed a brilliant smile and nodded. Fair was fair. Box monkey didn't have an exact description. She supposed it could vary from ship to ship. Either way, she knew her job well and was unconcerned. It was conveying her knowledge to the crew in an effective manner was the concern.


"Lead the way Mr.Michigan."