The twi’lek smirked at Vetru’s insistence that she not touch anything. Chuckling quietly, she raised her hands up to her shoulders with a bemused expression to show that she had no such intention of touching his ship.
“Don’t worry, won’t lay a finger on her. Cross my heart.” She said, tracing one of her index fingers across her chest for emphasis.
Wren followed him up to the ship, sweeping her eyes over the vibrant hull.
“Oh, she’s gorgeous though.”
---
Vetru shot her a sideways glance, smiling out of the corner of his mouth.
"It's alright, you already earned the ride!" he laughed. The ramp hissed closed behind them. The inside of the ship was not as crisp and clean as the outside. Dull bare metal walls and warm lighting made it almost murky. When you were smuggling there was no benefit to bright white walls and crisp lighting that highlighted the hidden compartments.
Enneye twittered loudly as it bobbed in the air beside them. Its lens turned rather pointedly to look at Wrenarias.
"Yes she's coming with us Enneye," Vetru said, accelerating his pace towards the cockpit. "You even get a room…" he added, waving to the door to the left of the cockpit. Two cabins were sat just behind and to either side of the cockpit. In a larger crew they would have been for captain and pilot so they were next door should there be an emergency.
"Where are you heading?" he asked, dropping into the pilot's seat. Three were arranged in a triangle, pilot at the front.
Vetru flicked several switches above his head. There was a low thrum before a high pitched whine. The engines stalled. He moved all the switches back to their starting positions.
He picked a different order of switches and the vessel came to life.
"It does that," he muttered.
---
She paused long enough to peek her head into the room that Vetru pointed out as hers, then moved to follow him into the cockpit. The little Droid, Enneye, hovered alongside them, catching her eye. Wren had an affinity for droids and was quite fond of them.
While he struggled to get the ship's engines running, Wrenarias moved to take one of the open seats and buckled in. Judging by the misfire, this was going to be a rather bumpy lift off.
"You know… I could take a look at that once we're off world. See if I can keep it from doing that?" The offer was genuine and she grinned slightly from behind the pilot.
"Or, y'know, I can just sit here quietly and twiddle my thumbs."
She didn't say where she was headed, because she genuinely didn't know yet.
---
Vetru pulled back on the stick. In contrast to the stuttered start the engines purred as it smoothly lifted away.
"Na, I like it this way," he replied. With his right hand he angled the ship away from the world, his lift danced across the controls and started the navicomp on its calculations.
Nothing bleeped at him. At least not yet. If am ambush was coming it would be before he had the time to make the jump.
---
Wren held her breath as the ship lifted away from the rock of a planet, subtly gripping the armrests of her chair. While she loved machinery and cybernetics, she had a distrust for pilots she didn't know. Call it a survival instinct.
"So… why exactly did you have a guild bounty Hunter on your tail?" She asked, trying to keep her voice as casually conversational as she could.
---
"Is a very good question," he replied. "Not that I've kept entirely clean exactly. More that..i don't remember anything bad enough to deserve being chased all the way out here, you know?"
He hit two buttons and the ship beeped back at him. A small light flashed yellow. When it went green they could jump.
"You know…people normally ask why I like it that way…" Vetru sounded slightly disappointed that she hadn't.
---
She chuckled quietly, shaking her head. "Guess I figured you just like the drama of it."
"Makes it harder to steal too." She mused, glancing around the cockpit.
"Where are you hoping to get to? Won't be long until another Hunter comes looking."
---
Vetru looked mildly crestfallen that her second guess was spot on.
"Well...yes…" he muttered under his breath.
His console lit up. The holographic image of another ship appeared to their right. Vetru looked indifferent.
"Might be the rodian. Might be another Hunter. They've locked on, but they're not going to get close enough."
Vetru placed his hand on a heavy silver lever. As he eased it forwards the engines roared. The distance between themselves and the pursuing ship extended.
"I'm going to Sullust next," he said.
---
Wren looked to the holo-image of the newly appeared ship, frowning slightly. While Vetru might have been confident of their escape, she wasn’t as convinced -- not with how the Azimuth had performed so far. The ship had plenty of personality, for sure, but it seemed as likely to leave her pilot stranded as soaring away to freedom.
“What at Sullust?” She asked absently, watching the distance between the two ships intently.
---
"Don't look so worried," he laughed. "Look!" he reached across Wren and tapped at a bank of back-lit buttons. The number of kilometers between them was brought up in a large holographic. The other ship was not gaining.
"Red ones always go faster," he chuckled. "Since the Alliance collapsed Sullust has a lot of industry under the surface. And volcanoes. Lots of those."
