Howlin' For You

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

The iridescent shine of hyperspace etched lines on the large transparisteel viewports. The journey had been long and trying, the bulky transport hauler had a predestined path to follow and did not move or budge from it for a single, lone bounty hunter, but that was fine to him. It gave him more opportunities to study his target - Bith, former scientist for some big megacorporation based out off the Corporate Sector... pretty respected one too, but you know how Corporations get when they get screwed with.

Just gotta look at Roche to give ya an answer.

Said Bith had stolen valuable data for some kind of research project - some kind of satellite, missile defense packed with laser tech something something high tech, something. Truthfully Elijah had zoned out soon after, only to refocus when the actual mission parameters came up:

• Capture the Bith or execute him. More money if he was alive, though.
• Secure the data and make sure no copies exist.
• Bring it all back.

Easy enough. Pretty much a milk run, but ya know what they say about milk runs.

They don't exist.

Elijah was sitting back in the common area. Atrium for the passengers of the ship to come together, relax and watch the scene of hyperspace. A gorram structural weakness is what it was, but what did he know? His armor marked him as a Mandalorian, but amidst wookies, twi'leks, even a Hutt with his entourage, half a dozen humans and other sentients... his appearance wasn't as astonishing as it could be.

Now where did that Bith go...

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The fringes of space failed to impress the former Supreme Commander of the Galactic Republic Navy. She had seen just about everything one could imagine seeing in space. Intense battles, nerve racking chases. Near miss collisions. All of it. The woman had been aboard the grandest of Star Destroyers to the smallest of starfighters. On the ground she had served as an agent and infantry.

Her time with the Republic had seen her serve alongside of Genevieve Lasedri. The now corrupt leader of the Republic gone mad, holding the capital of Chazwa under an iron fist. She never liked the woman. They were constantly at odds with one another and agreed on absolutely nothing. It seemed now her gut instinct had been right all along - The woman was a lunatic hell bent on turning the Republic into another imperial state.

Kayleigh was immensely thrilled to be away from all of that nonsense. Nowadays she held no glory backed title, no rank or serial number. She was just, well, Kayleigh. The woman wore a rather plain outfit, a tan short sleeved top with a black vest and black pants and matching boots. Her armor was tucked away in her room, no need of it here. Same with her rifle. Her pistol hung loosely from a holster saddled to her hip, as was usual.

In the atrium sat a number of folks, some chatting with one another, others sitting by their lonesome. There was plenty of space for such a crowded ship, perhaps due in part to the openness of the space, rather than tight corridors and low ceilings. The mandalorian sitting in the corner drew her eye for a moment. She'd known a few of them in her time, most notably Strider and Anija during their peace talks between Mandalore and the Republic. She had kept in contact with Strider up until recent, and was unaware of the man's untimely death. Still, she had always been friendly with the lot of them, and had sincere respect for their culture.

The brunette made her way through the small gathering of folks and took up a seat not immediately next to, but close to [member="Elijah Rekali"]. A warm smile and a quick bob of her head was sent toward the man in the armor.

"Hi there."

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

Where are you... The HUD picked out individuals from the crowd, little snippets of information hanging next to them. Most of it came down to 'Not interesting' which wasn't surprising at all... civilians weren't all that interesting most of the time. At the most a couple of fines, maybe drunk and disorderly offense somewhere, public urination, but nothing that would rack in a fat bounty. The visor kept sweeping by, until they finally found the da-

"Hi there."

Elijah froze. His visor kept looking out in a specific direction, but the helmet shifted an inch. Almost as if he was listening intently to what was being said to him, he considered it for a moment.

Could just ignore it. The mission came first, the bounty, if he let his focus slip now he might lose the target again, but ignoring the voice could mean raising undue suspicion and that was the last thing that he needed right now. So Elijah sighed, before looking over and seeing the girl for the first time - recognizable, he knew her from something, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. A frown appeared.

"Hi?" a soft static slipped in between the syllables. The external audio feed of his armor crackled as the volume dropped to a conversational tone. There was no need to shout.

"Can I help ya, lass?"

 

[Mariya Pyne]

If Mandalorians had one predictable feature, it's that they rarely had words to spare if there was some task at hand. Generally that task involved something of a less than fortunate day for the recipient of said task, as it usually involved pain or otherwise unwelcome handling of their person and belongings.

"Your armor." She gestured with a few nods of her head.

"Mandalorian. Newer in style. A few years old. Helmet looks a bit different than the usual. Personal flair to standard design is my guess." Each pause in her voice was broken only by the next statement. Kayleigh had a bit of interest in the designs of Mandalorian armor. Their smiths were things of legend. Granted it was nothing new, and countless thousands wore it. Even off worlders could acquire a suit of it if they knew where to look. Those were few and far between though.

"A bit scuffed. Some chips and grime." She smiled again. "It's been used. Likely saved your hide more than once." She turned her head towards the crowd that [member="Elijah Rekali"] had been observing. "Likely also been the end of many others." She was making a lot of assumptions, but those assumptions were based on real experience serving beside the pure bred Mandalorian people. Quite some time ago Strider had practically pleaded with her to leave the Republic in favor of joining up with him. She'd always declined, feeling her place had been with the Republic she had lived under since childhood.

"You're looking for someone. You're too quiet. Focused. Observing. So who is it?" Kayleigh had a soft spoken voice, but one that was confident and authoritative. She had commanded the military of the Republic with a calm demeanor and was well respected, though she was no fool when it came to reading people's body language and subtle signs.

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

A soft rumble followed with short intermezzos of static in between. After a moment she would know it for what it was... laughter, Elijah was amused at the simple, straight brazenness the girl was displaying. Perhaps if he could have linked her face and talk to the Supreme Commander of a few years ago he would have realized the reason, but as it stood... a little nugget of respect formed itself for the nameless woman. It ain't every day that a girl walks up to ya, starts picking out the details of your armor and then boldly asks about your bounty.

"Maybe I am just naturally reserved?" Elijah replied, but his visor shifted back to the crowd he had been looking for.

There he was. The gorram Bith - slippery guy. Eli had tried to catch him before he could get on the ship, but at the last second the scientist had dodged his grape shot, which suggested a certain level of force sensitivity. Forcers. He hated hunting forcers, those were the worst.

"Him." a shake of his head in the direction of the target. "Bith. Flanked by the three big Herglics."

Elijah looked back. "Why the curiosity?"

Suddenly the idea dawned that this girl might be competition. Pretty face had distracted him from the possibility, but now that it was there at the back of his mind, he started to make plans.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Naturally reserved. Those two words literally defined Mandalorians. But no, it wasn't that. She may not have been a Forcer, but she still had a gut feeling that told her he was after someone or something in particular. It intrigued her. Most bounty hunting work was actually pretty legal and ethical. Someone owed money and didn't pay, or they had stolen from a prominent figure or government. Some were potentially murderers or other various unsavory types. There was really only a small handful of illegal bounty hunters, and those generally comprised of thieves operating under the ruse of bounty hunters.

Kayleigh kicked her feet back, leaning her head against the back of the wall, crossing one leg over the other to rest one foot atop the other. She needn't explain why she painted him a bounty hunter, as the next breath and gesture signaled to her the mark of his. A lanky Bith fellow that looked to be a bit too smart, even for his rather bulbous alabaster head. Kayleigh wiggled her nose, narrowing her eyes to get a better look at him.

"Him, huh? Hmm." Oh, right! He asked why she was curious. "No reason of any importance, really." She'd always found bounty hunting to be a bit of a gamble that offered more risk than generally it did reward. The two biggest reasons she'd never picked up on it were that she found fixing ships to be more enjoyable and far less dangerous, and that requiring armor to pump oxygen into one's body during physical activity in place of a missing lung was not always practical.

"Most see it as a sport. Some see it as a means to skirt the law. Few see it as just a job. I see it as interesting. What's his story?"

[member="Elijah Rekali"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

He wasn't exactly convinced, but at this point what was he to do? Shoot her in the face and go claim the bounty? Naw, too much noise, attention and at the end of the day it was a pretty face, not a girl to kill if he could help himself. If she was a competitor, he would find out soon enough and then he would deal with it somehow, maybe.

Could always give her the bounty. Ha, good joke.

"Him? He used to be a leading scientist. Guy stole some hush-hush experimental project he had been working on." the Mandalorian shrugged, before switching view modes. Possible security systems, visible weapons, escape routes... anything and everything was meticulously scanned and cataloged for the upcoming show.

"So they want him back, alive if possible, and whatever he stole."

Elijah leaned back in his seat, telling himself to relax. It wasn't go-time yet, so he might as well enjoy some small talk to get his mind off of things.

"So what's your story, miss I-Approach-Mandalorians-For-Casual-Talk?"

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Oh! Right. I'm sorry. The name's Kayleigh. Kayleigh Tyven." She would have offered her hand to shake, but she'd never met a Mandalorian who was keen on the sentiment, so she simply continued on.

"Not so much a bounty hunter. Never really saw the attraction. Retired active duty military." If he didn't know who she was by name, she wasn't going to proclaim the title. Occasionally that sort of thing put a target on one's head that needn't be there otherwise. She was aware of the bounties on Republic personnel. Being retired, perhaps that voided the bounty, though she was still not entirely convinced.

"I'm familiar with a few of the Mando'ade. Did some work with the Hound of Keldabe, among others."

What she wasn't entirely familiar with was their language and pronunciation. She could have butchered the word, or its' usage. She tried to be professional and grammatically correct out of respect.

Kayleigh gestured with her head towards the man. "Is the Bith armed? Or just good at hiding?" Judging by his looks, he seemed pretty dang harmless. He was lanky and non-menacing at best.

[member="Elijah Rekali"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

There was a reason they often did not offer a hand to sake. This reason came in the way of their gauntlets, micronized Mandalorian iron that was infamous for its ability to crush bones, metal or any other material simply by pressing down with moderate strength - crushgaunts. So it wasn't surprising that hand shaking wasn't exactly a thing they often did, still.

"Pleasure, Kayleigh Tyven." Elijah tasted the syllables as they rolled from his tongue. So that's where he knew that face from. He would have said something about it, but she didn't seem keen to shout her credentials out into the world... so why bring it up in the first place?

All he knew now was that he was speaking with one of the few sane individuals the Republic had been graced with in the past. With names like Genevieve and Harkinson it wasn't that difficult, Eli supposed.

But still.

"The Hound was a worthy warrior." perhaps a bit too focused on booty, but Rekali wasn't gonna hold it against Garon. A man who had grown as old as he had in this line of business? Formidable indeed, his assassination... weakened 'em all.

For a moment Elijah looked back at the Bith, before shrugging.

"Ain't the Bith ya gotta be worried about. Rather the three Herglic bodyguards he's got around 'em." they could be neutralized, of course. But while he was busy with them the Bith would get away - that was a concern.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The woman sulked a bit, remembering his untimely death. "Tragic. He was a good friend. A good person. Senseless really."

Kayleigh had always liked Strider. He was a good man, a bit of a pig with the ladies, but had a heart, treated her well, and was respectful and honorable when it really counted. It was too bad the galaxy had lost a man with as much sense as he. There was a minute or two of solemn quietness before her eyes wandered to his bodyguards. Three? That seemed a bit...Excessive for a scientist. They were rather brutish themselves.

"Might I see the bounty posting?" She wasn't interested in stealing it, simply wanted to make sure it was legit before making some kind of hair brained offer at helping. Kayleigh didn't care about the credits, but the lives of the other passengers that were not involved she wanted to ensure were not harmed in any way, either through crossfire or hostage taking. If that meant she had to help, well, then so be it. Kayleigh might have left the military, but her sense of duty had not faltered.

[member="Elijah Rekali"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

Elijah's opinion of Strider was muddy at best. An old man who was more interested in perverted pursuits or a worthy warrior who had been able to keep up with the best of them despite his age? It was a difficult one to sell, but at the end of the day his opinion didn't matter. Garon had been a decorated Field Marshal, spilled his blood for Mandalore and had rallied the armies more times than he could count - that was what mattered in his death, everything else was fluff and that was the end of it.

A cocked head followed as the Mandalorian pondered her request. From one moment to the other she was shifting his opinion; either a really, really curious individual or a competitor, but what competitor would be so blatant about it? No, something else was at play here and Eli wasn't sure that he liked one bit of it.

"I suppose." he'd reply carefully, before raising up his left arm. It held a basic, integrated commlink that doubled as a makeshift PDA of sorts. It held most of his appointment, the data he collected on his jobs, even had intermediate slicing software installed... for the right opportunity. A swift manipulation of the controls followed, before a small hologram projected itself in the air.

The Bith's face with the bounty price underneath it. Some more information was spread out, ticked in the air, but Elijah was once again focused on his prey.

Last time he had lost sight of him he had to talk his way out of a metal refinery. That hadn't been pleasant at all.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The woman looked over, carefully reading the contents of the briefing and double checking the man to ensure he was in fact the correct target. That wasn't to say she believed that Elijah may have the wrong guy, but a precaution simply for the sake of precaution. When she finished studying each line of the bounty she leaned back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other once more while her hands cupped the back of her head, resting against the wall.

"Interesting." Kayleigh was now certain that the bounty was legal. That was priority one, to ensure this was not a hit or anything less savory. Secondly, the man aboard the ship was the same man on the briefing, judging by the small scar on his chin that identified him rather quickly. And finally, she was certain that the Herglic body guards would absolutely stage a protest to the Bith's capture, hence why they were body guards to begin with. That meant that innocent lives were potentially at stake here. Herglics weren't exactly known for their calm demeanor and passive attitudes.

"Like I said, I'm not a bounty hunter. Not interested in the credits. But I also don't want to see unnecessary lives caught in the crossfire either."

Her head would gesture to the numerous folks simply chatting among themselves, a child or two playing on the floor. "What you're doing is legal, so by that, you tell me your plan, I'll help, and make sure you get your guy, and nobody gets needlessly harmed in the process."

[member="Elijah Rekali"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

Legality was a muddy issue, really. Because there wasn't much of a Galactic Law or anything. It used to be different. Used to be that the entire civilized Galaxy was under the jurisdiction of the Galactic Republic or the Galactic Empire, but those days were long since over. The GR of now didn't control more than a little dime of the galactic dish and the One Sith might be the big boys now, but at the end of the day they still controlled only a marginally large portion of the Galaxy.

'Cause the Galaxy was huge.

The point was... the word of the Captain of the ship was the only law that they really had to worry about. Which could mean a whole bunch of things for them; either the Cap' was sympathetic to the job, a hater of it, something in the middle... but Kay provided a good point. If they minimized or even avoided any civilian casualties...

It could just increase their chances that the Cap' wouldn't make a huge issue outta this.

"You ain't gonna ask for a cut while offering ya rifle?" Any other man might have simply hoped for the best, but Elijah was a Mandalorian first and a profiteer second - it wasn't honorable to establish a contract of assistance without finalizing the content of said contract first.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The woman shrugged. If she was interested in making profit she would hardly consider her job as a mechanic and occasional pilot to be a step in the right direction after having left the service of the military, even at its' highest post. "Nope." She said cordially, almost entirely un-phased by the notion of being paid to not let people die. "You were gonna do what you were gonna do before I offered myself, were you not? And even if I declined now, you'd still do what you were set out to do." She offered him a friendly smile and cast her arm out towards the surrounding families.

"They were involved from the get go, just as much as you or I, or that Bith. Therefore, I see no reason to ask for payment when my job would be the same before or after my offer was made." The situation was pretty black and white to her. She'd have helped protect the folks from whatever danger ensued in the perceived fight regardless. The only question in her mind would have been witch side she'd have likely aided without the knowledge that Elijah had just imparted to her.

[member="Elijah Rekali"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

A shrug followed. Casual, relaxed, eased into the movement itself - he had tried to offer her payment, she wasn't interested, his moral obligation was thereby executed and finished.

"If ya say so, miss."

His own visor swept across the surroundings she was trying to show him. The kids, the parents, the lone and the crowds of sentients. Innocents, as she said, people who didn't deserve what could have happened had she not stepped in. Because that was one thing that Elijah did not kid himself about.

Had she not involved herself in the situation it would have ended in blood. Maybe he would have paid off a regular bloke to walk over with a concussion nade, maybe find a high vantage point and start beating into their position with his launcher. Area of effect attacks in general, things that would have gotten innocents either killed or worse.

A frown appeared behind the visor. Why did he feel guilty about that? He shook his head, before looking back at her.

"Got a new plan now." with her around... yeah, this could work, maybe. "Bith is a spooker, runs instead of sticking to his guard when situations get hairy."

Which is all fine when you were in an urban environment, but in an enclosed area? Different story altogether. The cargo hauler had a finite amount of spaces the alien could run.

"One of us engages, draws the bodyguards in and away from the crowds. Other one corners the running target."

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh thought for a long minute. The bodyguards were hardly anything but intimidating, however her armor would make her substantially more suspicious. On the other hand, should she leave the bodyguards to the Mandalorian, the entire prospect of avoiding civilian involvement may very well go out the window. In the end Kayleigh figured she still had the combat expertise to outsmart the Herglic guards despite being both outnumbered and outsized.

"Very well." She started, "I'll handle the guards. Just make sure he doesn't get away, and try not to kill anyone in the process."

That left but a few details left to iron out. "When?" Seemed like a good first question. "And, if possible, I will draw the Herglics out towards the cargo hold. I'll draw my weapon, feign an attempt on his life, and when the three try and come after me, I'll run back through the hall, and you chase him down, sound good?"

[member="Elijah Rekali"]