Private Friends In High Places

[Shai Maji]

Naboo/Theed​

Afternoon/Partly Cloudy​

This was a trip that Shai was looking forward to. With her induction into the Mandalorian culture complete, she could now get back into her usual routine of gun running, pestering legal authorities and just overall going about her morally questionable business. She still had a lot of money to make before she reached her goal, and her time with the clan robbed her of a lot of chances to keep bringing in money. At least now she didn't need to worry if someone attacked her. She could handle herself a lot better now compared to her previous twig self from two years ago.

Her ship touched down and she disembarked. In true fashion, she left her Mando kit buried deep in her personal quarters. Her build was enough of an eye-catcher for anyone who knew what she looked like, she didn't need more eyes on her with her hulking armour and T-visor. After finding and bribing the dock worker to keep his mouth shut, she waited patiently for her contacts to arrive. If all went well, the local government shouldn't be paying this area any mind. She was going to have some trouble on her hands again if they did notice. As she waited for her contacts, she adjusted her tank top and lit a cigarette. She glanced around the port, looking for anyone that might either be her contacts or trouble. The dock worker was nowhere to be seen, but she worked with the people before. This wasn't her first trade on Naboo, so she was fairly confident that he wouldn't rat her out. Baby chirped from the top of the loading ramp, catching her attention. "Relax, Baby. This isn't our first rodeo, especially on Naboo. I'm just hoping the guys aren't late. We got a lot of cash riding on this trade." she assured her droid's worries. It beeped in response and rolled away to go tend to the crates of blasters stored in her hold.

Though after a couple of minutes, she was starting to get worried. They had a set time and she hated running late with these orders. Naboo was hard on its security, despite her careful approach around them. This crew she was supposed to meet was supposed to be here already. She desperately hoped that something wasn't going wrong...

Stardust Solus Skirae

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

Things were still tensed, with the former queen just recently being murdered and the new one getting right to work, stardust being the councilor of war was given with the task of helping find this killer and she knew one way was to insure you listened in to who entered the ports. On this particular afternoon something had tripped suspicion and was quietly reported, these words came up to star herself who sat looking over the small report as she let a breath out

don't send anyone...let me sniff this out myself

She told the captain of the local authorities as she stood up and started towards her quarters she would use while on business here, inside was rather plain except for a armor locker, opening it revealed her mandalorian armor and her weapons which she started picking out and started getting her armor on her.

It took only ten minutes before she was out and started towards the port briskly, she took alleyways so her entrance wouldn't be to obvious. Coming upon the docks she pulled out a sata pad and looked at the description of the suspicious vessel, scanning each she spotted the one with a woman standing at the ramp and moved through the crowd quickly to get closer to the ship in question, coming upon the woman she pulled a westar 35 and took aim as she spoke

do not move or do anything at all...I've got some questions to ask cooperate and I'll leave wi thg out question

Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

As Shai waited for her contact, she heard movement behind her. She was about to turn around when a blaster primed and a voice spoke up. Slowly, she turned her head to glance at the voice. "Sis, you better..." she fell quiet as she noticed a WESTAR-35... and a Mando behind the gun. She shut her mouth as she contemplated her situation. She wished that she had something to identify herself with now... but then again, the whole idea was to avoid being identified as a Mando.

Luckily she wasn't entirely useless. "Nice gun." she perked up with sincerity. <"And very moist armour."> she switched over to Mando'a, hoping that it would help the lady relax. She took a chance and very slowly started to turn, holding her hands up to show that she wasn't a threat. <"I'll answer whatever ya need, sis. Anythin' to help out."> she continued, keeping her hands in the air. She desperately hoped that this lady wasn't trigger happy... and that her Mando'a was convincing, despite the really scruffy accent.

She studied the woman, trying to get an idea of who this Mando was. What the hell was a Mando doing on Naboo? <"Ya got a name?"> she asked carefully, looking into her T-visor.

Stardust Solus Skirae

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

Star didn't budge when the girl turned, she was confident being this close to the target, however she didn't step back as she tilted her head listening to the scruff mando'a being spoke. Taking a step back she put the westar up as she crossed her arms and looked into the hold of the ship

<good I didn't want to go shooting in the place right now, I'll cut to the point with no poodoo your ship has been flagged as suspicious words is it might be carrying some things that you SHOULDNT be bringing onto the planet

Star began to go past her towards the cargo hold but stopped short as she came back to the woman

< come right out with it and I'll let you off the hook, otherwise I have to go through a whole mess of buecratical stuff and all that. You have my word nothing will happen mandos word >

Reaching for her helmet she clicked her helmet and the lekku armor rolled up as she removed the helmet

stardust solus skirae, but call me star

 

[Shai Maji]

It seemed to work as the chick started to talk in Mando'a as well, explaining the situation. Shai blinked in surprise as she pointed to herself. <"My ship? Suspicious? Tha kark type of crap is that?"> she spoke up, following after the lady in hopes of drawing her attention away. She might be Mando but Shai still didn't like having people snoop around her ship. The girl then stopped and turned to face Shai, promising that nothing would happen if she came clean.

Shai folded her arms across her broad chest as she raised an eyebrow with skepticism. The Mando introduced herself and Shai looked her over. "Shai Maji." she introduced herself as she ran a hand through her mane. <"And uh... not to sound like a me but... what are you exactly? 'Cause I don't see a badge or anythin' on ya."> she asked rather bluntly, trying not to sound too harsh towards the woman. <"Like don't get me wrong, I like keepin' my nose clean as much as the next dude but..."> she tried to explain, but quickly realized the mistake she made. <"Ummm, that's if I had anything to, uh, hide or..."> she stammered with wide eyes, trying to fix her mistake but she only worsened it the more she spoke.

Finally she gave a sigh and slapped her forehead. "Okay, fine! You got me. I'm a gun running mutt waiting on my client." she admitted, running her hand over her eyes and down her snout. Looking at the twi'lek, she waited rather anxiously to see if she would hold up her end of the bargain.

Stardust Solus Skirae

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

Star crossed her arms in that sort of way a mom would when she knows her child is blatantly lying but wants to see what they could come up with. Tilting her head to the side she watched amused as the one before her told on herself before she finally admitted why she was here. Stardust nodded her head and glanced around before she spoke again

<my position is not important, you've got illegal weapons on this planet in the wake of the late queens death, you do understand that if someone finds out they'll likely throw you in a jail and let you rot there

Harsh? Possibly, but it was the full truth,

I won't tell anyone, however I've gotta know who your selling them to, I'll pay you triple what their gonna pay and I promise they won't come back on you
Shai Maji

 

[Shai Maji]

The tailhead casually dropped a bombshell on Shai with the mention of the queen's death, making the Shistavanen groan a little. "Uhhh... yeah. I can see how that might be a little sus." she admitted with a nervous smile. She fished out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep drag of it as she looked at the woman. The woman went on to promise again that she wouldn't snitch, which was a relief to the smuggler. However as the woman kept talking, Shai got a lot more interested in helping her. An eyebrow raised as a smirk spread across her muzzle. "Sis, I'm liking what you're flaunting here." she quipped before taking another long drag of her cigarette.

She let the smoke roll out of her mouth as she ashed her cigarette, turning to look at the ship then back to her. "Okay, you wanna know everything? Shweet. Come on. Though I hope you're not taking me for a ride here, sis. I'll be a little ticked off if you are." she quipped, her naive tendency to trust easily surfacing again. Walking over to Baby, she took the datapad from him and tossed it over to Star. "There's all your info. It's a type of gang... paramilitary type deal. I don't know what they are. All I know is they want guns and they got money. That's all I need." she answered truthfully.

As they talked, though, Shai's ears perked up. The sound of a speeder truck soon echoed from outside as it stopped a few meters from her ship. Shai quickly made her way over to her ramp to peer out, rather surprised to see a group of four thugs hopping out. "Yo, where's our shit?!" called out one of the guys. Shai blinked as she studied them and glanced at Star. "Speak of the devil." she quipped, her hand resting on the grip of her pistol. "Who are you talkin' to?!" the man spoke up again as his little group tensed up. Shai gave a shrug before casually drawing her pistol and dropping the guy with a stun bolt. <"Deal's a deal, sis!"> she called out as she hid behind a crate, returning fire as the remaining three either scattered or tried to get back into the speeder.

Hiding behind the crate, Shai was a little disappointed to see that her cigarette was done. She dropped the bud and instead slipped a fresh one between her lips as she patiently waited for the woman to take care of them. After all, she was the one with the armour. Once her new smoke was lit, she peeked out from around the crate and fired a few stun bolts at the thugs to keep up the pressure.

Stardust Solus Skirae

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

I keep my word...even if it's with the worst of enemies

Following the shistavanen into her Shiloh she caught the data pad and began to comb throughout the info, she already had enough a gang much less paramilitary was not a good thing to be having on planet, handing it back she nodded

<I cant blame you, I've been in the same position, but as some advice keep planet politics in mind before taking a job. Trust me it'll save your life.

The sound of a speeder truck caught her attention, her helmet was on quickly as the lekku armor covered them as she popped her neck and drew her westars and sighed, she wasn't hoping for any violence.

Quickly popping out she tracked the ones escaping and raised her hands towards them, lifting them up as she drew them towards the truck at high speeds, then with one hand she lifted the truck with the force and shot the engine before she sat it down and started towards it as security forces quickly responded and surrounded the truck

take them to the prison

She said and turned to where shai was hiding

<your ok to come out now, dangers passed

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai expected the Mando to drop the guys trying to run away, sure, but she didn't expect her to be a trained force user. Peeking over the crate, she stared with wide eyes as the twi'lek tossed the guys around then lifted the truck. Safe to say, she was a little confused. Baby came rolling in beside her and peeked around, giving a curious beep. "Good question. Curious to hear where she learned to use the Force." she commented as she glanced down at her droid.

Soon enough the fight was over and Shai got up from her spot behind the crate. <"Yeah no shit the danger's passed."> she commented as she glanced at the guys getting taken away. She came to a halt beside the woman and relit her cigarette as she looked her over. "Where the hell did you learn to use the force?" she asked simply as she rested a hand on her hip.

With everything done, she walked back into her ship and found the datapad containing all the info. With a shrug she caught up with Star and held out the datapad to her. "You need this for evidence or something? Just copy the info, though, I need the datapad back." she offered with a chuckle. "Okay... now what? We uh... gonna sort out the payment and stuff?" she asked as she glanced around, her left hand resting on her blaster's grip just in case she was being taken for a ride. "I sorta need that creds rather urgently. This thing's a pain in the ass to maintain financially." she admitted as she glanced at the woman out of the corner of her right eye. She was probably sounding a little combative, but this was a very awkward situation for the Shistavanen...

Stardust Solus Skirae

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

where did I learn the force hahaha that is a question frequently asked. Many many places shai, from jetii to dar'jetii to simply seeking the knowledge that lays hidden

Taking the data pad she looked it over, however she wasn't copying evidence instead she was transfering 250 thousand credits before handing it back to shai

no need, I'll just twist the story a little bit make sure your not mentioned and such, as for advice please keep planet politics in mind ok? Next time you try coming around doing stuff like this shai I cant just simply brush it off

She said and glanced around before she spoke

if thing give it to the ones that truly need it like say...those in sith territory

 

[Shai Maji]

To Shai's surprise, Star didn't take the datapad for evidence. Instead, she directly wired the owed money to her account. Shai smirked at the glance of it, thankful that the woman upheld her end of the bargain. However once the datapad was handed back and she saw the amount, her eyes went wide as her hand came up to cover her mouth in shock. Tears started to form and roll from her eyes as she stumbled back into the wall of her ship, where she slid down into a squat while still staring at the amount deposited into her account. She didn't even hear the advice the woman gave her.

Slowly her shimmering red eyes looked up from the datapad towards Star. Tears still rolling, she dropped the datapad and got up to throw her arms around the woman and give a heartfelt kiss before burying her face into her neck. "You got no kriffing clue what this means for me!" she cried into her shoulder as she gave her an affectionate bearhug, going so far as to lift her up and spin around in sheer unbridled joy. With a maniacal laugh she let go and paced around wildly, clutching the sides of her head and ruffling up her mane. "You got no kriffing clue, Star." she said through her tears as she smiled brightly at her. She took hold of her shoulders and gave a light shake as she squealed with glee. She looked right into her eyes for a moment as she tried to gather her thoughts. "Star. You just gave my mom back to me." she stated before giving another kiss and hugging her tightly once more.

After a few more seconds she finally let go and sat down on a crate to regain her train of thought. Her smile didn't waver and neither did the tears. "I don't know how to thank you for this or anything, sis. Like seriously. This... I don't know what to say. Or even do for that matter!" she explained as she picked up the datapad again and stared at the massive number. "You're not taking me for a douche here, right? This is real?" she asked frantically, just to make sure that this was indeed real.

Stardust Solus Skirae

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

She managed to get her helmet off, speaking only a few syllables before suddenly she was kissed! Stars eyes went wide as she blinked a few times as a arm went around shai as she kept blinking in surprise as she closed her eyes to clear her mind

wow how what do you wooooaaaaah

Now the six and a half tall twilek wasn't used to being picked up and spun like that, it shocked it and excited her as she was back on her feet as she blinked slightly dizzy as she held a hand up

hold up what do you mean? Is she enslaved or something like that because I'll gladly free of charge go get her

She blinked again at the kiss! Smiling a litting as she pulled a crate over and sat down unsure of what to say she reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder

you owe me nothing I do not expect anything back but I will not stop you. Yes it is real I do not go back on my word...its my way of living

 

[Shai Maji]

Star was understandably pretty taken back by her actions, but she didn't care. After what she did, there was very little she wouldn't do right now. She asked about her mom but Shai didn't give her any response as she displayed her gratitude. Only after sitting down and getting her thoughts back together, did she figure out what she was asking. "No, by the way! She isn't a slave." she she answered with a laugh. "She's in Coruscant prison. For five long years I busted my ass to get enough money for her bail. And you..." she choked up again as she put the datapad aside, running her hands over her face as she started to cry all over again.

She stood up and wrapped her arms around the woman again with a massive grin on her face. "Sorry about the kisses, by the way." she mumbled against her armour. "I just... I don't know how to say thanks. Like seriously." she spoke as she pulled back, giving a guilty laugh as she looked up at her.

"No jokes, though. You need me for something, anything at all! Just hit me up. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for this, no matter how much I wanna." she spoke as she sat down again, looking up at the towering twi'lek.

Stardust Solus Skirae

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

Star raised a brow, she didn't exactly like helping prisoners out but...if this one was going through all the trouble to get jobs and save up that much credits to pay the bail then...stardust could overlook it. Taking a deep breath she let it out and sinlmy smiled wrapping a dark around shai as she patted her back gently

bah it's fine, I'd of likely done the same thing you just did hahaha

She got a cheeky grin but it formed into a soft smile soon as she looked down at shai again as she spoke and rolled her eyes a little shaking her head but laughed a little

alright alright, I may not need it anytime soon but give me your comm codes and I'll keep them in mind if I ever need them

 

[Shai Maji]

Shai chuckled at her comment with a nod as she looked around for a moment. "Sure thing." she quipped as she got up again and ran her hands over her face, still coming to terms with the whole situation. She turned back to her and nodded to the boarding ramp of her ship. "Hey, can I buy you a drink? Like seriously, I can't just let you kark off after that without even trying to give you something back." she offered with a chuckle as she looked up to her with glittering eyes.

Whether she accepted or not, Shai would wrap her arm around the woman's back and usher her along out of the ship. "Baby! Take care of the ship, I'm going out!" she called out to her droid as she descended the ramp with Star and headed for the hangar's exit. Once outside she simply kept walking with confidence in every step, a toothy grin adorning her face as she walked with Star. At least she let go of her which might help a bit with public appearance. After all, she was pretty damn high up in the food chain. The last thing she wanted to do was give the woman a bad look by walking with an arm around her... at least having drinks never looked bad.

However after a few minutes of confident walking she came to a halt and turned to face Star with an embarrassed chuckle. "Okay, I'll be honest. I got no clue where the pubs are around here." she admitted with a cackling laugh, scratching the back of her head as she took a step back and forth. "You know any good places in the city? Just nothing too expensive, please? I don't wanna waste all the money you just gave me by chugging it away." she asked her, glancing down the street then back to her.

Stardust Solus Skirae