Not on my ship

[Malia Afredane]

[member="Sempra the Hutt"] [member="Thrukk Gulpdar"] [member='Rusty'] [member='Kairon Rees'] [member="Sidara Vercopa-Vhett"] [member="Narasa Kelori"]

Mal didn't like leaving Rusty on the ship, though she knew why he stayed behind. Shards were obscure and their droid chassis did nothing to help ease the minds of those who immediately saw them and thought assassin droid. Jarrick was first off the ramp, then Mal, Kairon and Sidara.

The palace was nice, for a Hutt, and Mal knew well enough from time on Nar Shaddaa that if you get an invitation to a Hutt's palace, it is an honor. In order to show the proper respect most of the time, her naval training kicked in and her posture and movements became more rigid and precise, like she was addressing a superior officer. She smiled just a bit, pitching forward at the waist in the expected protocol for these situations. She straightened and accepted a glass of what she hoped was a bourbon. A sniff and sip proved her wrong but the rum was still quite good. She didn't want to be rude, so she let her eyes play over the assembled flesh, but looked back to Sempra, with a charming grin.

"The generosity of your Highness is great indeed, but I could not rob you of such jewels."

She returned his toast, sipping the rum again, letting the bite of the alcohol ease her apprehension.

"And to yours. I am pleased that we performed to your satisfaction. I hope that we can continue to enjoy a profitable business arrangement."

 

[Sempra the Hutt]

While she tried to hide it Sempra knew an act when it was displayed. He scratched his chin for a moment and merely observed the good captain for a while.

"If my chef has failed to satisfy your need captain. I will have him flogged for his failures." he added and turned to hand over his chalice to a waiting slave. He considered being a poor host, was a terrible thing. And he relied on that his chefs knew what his guests preferred. Given the small fortune he had paid for this purpose he held no qualms with correcting the staff. A sturdy looking Nikto guard bowed at his words and turned to head down tot he kitchens.

Sempra then glanced at the screens positioned in front of his throne and his eyes narrowed.
"You will do another job for me know. It is a simple delivery to the core worlds. It should not cause you much headache." Sempra nodded toward [member="Thrukk Gulpdar"] to present the details.

.[member="Malia Afredane"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

Kairon kept a few paces back and to the side of Mal, arms crossed over his chest. Whilst he idly chewed on some snacks he'd taken from a nearby tray, he had refused anything to drink. He scanned their surroundings as Mal talked, taking note of where the main enforcers were stationed.

Flattery only got you so far when the remains of the last smuggler had only just been mopped from the floor. He was certain there was still a dark streak across the ground where they had dragged the rodian's body away.

For now he stayed silent. He wanted to hear what would warrant bringing them out here to discuss. Hopefully not all personal invitations ended in such an unpleasant manner.

 

[Narasa Kelori]

[member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Sempra the Hutt"] [member="Rusty"] [member="Malia Afredane"] [member="Sidara Vercopa-Vhett"]

When Thrukk had decided to "clean up" Sempra's mess for him, Narasa had looked away before the mess could really be made. The sounds were more than enough for her appetite. This was one of the reasons she didn't deal with Hutts except very, very much in passing. Not only were their methods crude, but their tolerance of failure-- and, sometimes, even their tolerance of too much success (paranoia, much?)-- was slim and the punishment for disappointment final. Narasa didn't work well in those situations. Her lip curled faintly, and she hid it in her drink as the next set of victims-- er, guests, were called.

The Zabrak leaned back in her seat, one arm resting on the bar as she watched the conversation between Sempra and his new pets. She felt no compunction in staring, face blank but eyes keen; everyone else was doing it anyway.

My, my. Narasa took a slow drink from her glass, barely glancing away from the action to do so. Sempra was laying the flattery on thickly today. Narasa had never had direct conflict with Hutts before, but she'd been warned by enough traders and smugglers in her time about what behaviors to watch for in the overgrown slugs. The 'offer' he was making to this crew wasn't one they would be able to turn aside lightly, not with all of that butter on top; any attempt to dissuade him would slip right off.

It was impossible to tell from this distance what the smugglers' captain thought of the offer, especially with her back basically to Narasa. Good luck, she thought, eyeing the woman. Sempra had complimented her wits; Narasa wondered if she had enough to accept the job and move on with her life with a minimum amount of trouble. Even if Hutts were a slimy group-- and she meant their personalities as much as everything else-- the safer bet was to take the job, get it over with, and hope to keep your head down. Maybe even make it a little rocky so that he lessened his opinion of you, but let you go. Not enough to fail, but just enough to disappoint him into not wanting to use you again. No, now that was getting complicated.

 

[Azula Tindara]

[member="Narasa Kelori"] [member="Sempra the Hutt"] [member="Malia Afredane"]

Thrukk had barely connected his arse with his chair when he realised he was being called on again to provide details. “Reit, reit,” he sighed to himself as he heaved his bulk back up and sauntered across the open floor.

The datapad in his hand looked ludicrously small. He held it in his organic hand, whilst his brutal mechanical claw noisily tapped on the screen. The shadow he cast entirely engulfed Malia as he stood over here. Nearly three feet taller and about as wide as she was tall, he leant down to offer the datapad.

The manifest contained a range of cargo containers. There was nothing out of the ordinary for a typical run. Some weapons, some illegal goods, some medical goods with restrictions on trade that were often circumvented by smugglers.

“Reit ‘en,” Thrukk said. “Twos main deliveries tae be gart. Uir contact at Carida will meit ye at th' spaceport. Only one container fur Alderaan. Dornt open these as they're environmentally sealed. If ye tamper wi' it, th' medicine will spoil an' ye willnae be gettin' paid and Sempra will be put oot. On Alderaan yoo'll need tae lain at th' coordinates mentioned in th' dossier. Yoo'll hae wee welcome party awa' frae pryin' eyes. Payment is doon thaur,” he said, pointing towards a number at the bottom of the screen.

It was around the right number for the job. That should have raised a few questions on its own. Normally the Hutt came in low and needed to be convinced upwards.

 

[Malia Afredane]

[member='Thrukk Gulpdar'] [member='Narasa Kelori'] [member='Sempra the Hutt'] [member='Kairon Rees']

Mal took the datapad from the massive henchman, looking over the figures and back up to him. There was nothing that immediately stood out as anything but a usual run. The money was nice, but to Mal it looked just as the previous job had. It was slightly higher than most Hutts were paying. Either Sempra was different than the others or he was buttering them up for something bigger down the line. She smiled and passed the datapad over to Kairon to take a look at. She could speak for Rusty and Sid. Kairon's people were not hers. There was nothing she would object to, but she didn't want to make assumptions for Kairon. When he nodded his approval, she looked back up to Thrukk, handing him the datapad back.

"Your offer is most generous. I believe you have a deal. We can be loaded up and on our way at your leave, your Highness. We can enjoy more of your hospitality while the cargo is handled."

She was more relaxed now, her posture and tone still respectful but less rigid and formal. She did not want Sempra to misunderstand her or believe her ungrateful for his attention.

 

[Narasa Kelori]

[member="Malia Afredane"][member="Kairon Rees"][member="Sempra the Hutt"]

Everything seemed to be going according to Sempra's plan; the Hutt hadn't so much as twitched the wrong way during the conversation. If something went wrong, it was likely there would be a tell of some kind. Narasa had to say this had been an interesting experience thus far; if nothing else, it gave her the chance to analyze Hutt expressions. To be honest, there wasn't much there, but there might be and, well, Narasa lived in hope.

In her peripheral vision, she saw the datapad change hands from the captain to the person who seemed to be her second in command, and their agreement carried clearly to where Narasa sat. Had the captain perfected that stage voice on purpose? Probably. Hutts liked being referred to as royalty and conducted the majority of their business publicly in their "court"; that screamed "drama queen". Those who worked with them would have to play to the spectacle, at least while in their presence.

 

[Azula Tindara]

A broad grin split across Thrukk's face, revealing a row of huge flat teeth, lightly stained from his smoking habit.

"Weel 'en looks loch we can aw gie back tae our drinks. Cargo will be prepared fur loadin' overnecht. I'll meit ye at pad seven in th' morn," he proclaimed loudly. Then loading over the slender smuggler he added with a conspiratorial wink: "Make 'at mid morn."

The bulky houk decided his job was done for now and sauntered back to his table. He slapped one massive thigh as he sat down for one of the twi'lek slaves to park her rump again, before waving one of the servant droids over for another round of drinks. Sometimes he loved his work for the Hutt. Bounty Hunting required lots of thinking and chasing people to the arse end of the Galaxy. The atmosphere of Sempra's palace suited him to a tee. Here people were respected for how dangerous they were. In civilised portions of the Galaxy he was generally met with suspicious at best, but more often outright disdain.

 

[Kairon Rees]

Despite Sempra's praise, Kairon's nerves were on edge. From beneath his furrowed brow and long hair, his eyes scanned their surroundings. He hadn't planned on an overnight stay, even if they stayed on the Grace with blasters to hand. Looking around the room he saw so many nefarious individuals slinking around in the shadows. He doubted the massive houk was the greatest threat here; he seemed to type to give you fair warning before taking action. There were bounty hunters in the shadows who could likely put three holes in Kairon before his hand could even reach the blaster at his hip.

He shared a quick look with Mal, as they backed out of the circle of onlookers and found a relatively well lit booth. Another pair of slaves followed them, and for a moment Kairon was concerned they were going to be thrown at them again. Instead he realised they were carrying trays laden with food. He politely accepted a mug of ale, but merely sipped at it.

Leaning over to Mal and Jarrick he whispered: "I assume we're going to stay as long as it seems polite?" A band had started playing now and it seemed that all business had been concluded. Perhaps he was being a coward and the others would be keen to stay around and enjoy the hospitality all night.

[member="Narasa Kelori"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Sempra the Hutt"]
[member="Sidara Vercopa-Vhett"]
[member="Rusty"]

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal made her pleasantries and bowed again to Sempra before she wandered through the crowd and was sure to enjoy the food and drinks offered by the slaves. They really had excellent choices of some of her most favored dishes so she was sure to show her appreciate to Sempra whenever his eye catch hers. Once they had moved to take a seat, she looked around at the company. Sid was off at the bar, inquiring about Corr no doubt. She nodded to Kairon, an easy smile on her face as she enjoyed the music.

"Yeah, we will stay as long as Sempra wants us to. But if they want to load up tomorrow, there isn't enough room for all of us tonight on the Grace. Either we stay in the palace here or we go back to the Warden this evening. Depends on how keen they are to keep at least me here in sight."

Mal was letting the liquor loosen her inhibitions just a smidge, but she knew she still had to be a little guarded. She and Jarrick seemed to both be vigilant of the place, the strict military training was a little hard to get away from most of the time.

[member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Thrukk Gulpdar"] [member="Narasa Kelori"] [member="Sempra the Hutt"] [member="Rusty"]

 

[Rusty]

Oboard the Wicked Grace, Rusty was preparing for war.

He couldn't contact the Captain or the others, not directly. If needed, they had an emergency commlink, but it was too risky to use unless absolutely necessary. If they did call, however, he was ready to go.

Gertrude was out and ready, battle box loaded with AP frangible rounds by her side. He had enough high explosives to leave a permanent scar in the bedrock where the palace used to sit, as well as a few crates of thermal detonators. If things went to close quarters, he had a 12 gauge and a few boxes of his patented AP12 ammo on standby.

Now all he had to do was hope it wouldn't be necessary.

[member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Thrukk Gulpdar"] [member="Narasa Kelori"] [member="Sempra the Hutt"] [member="Malia Afredane"]

 

[Narasa Kelori]

[member="Malia Afredane"] [member="Rusty"] [member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Sempra the Hutt"]

Narasa watched the group disperse through the crowd at Sempra's dismissal, first tracking the movements of the captain and her first mate, and then the other crewmen who had come with them. Eventually, her gaze drifted back to the seated captain. Malia-- that sounded like what the announcer had said-- seemed to be enjoying herself, but Narasa couldn't tell the nuances of her expression from here. It could just be very good acting. There was something about the set of her shoulders and the way she held herself as she sat that said she was cognizant of the fine wire she had to walk while she was here. The almost conspiratorial way her second-in-command leaned in to speak to her gave further support to Narasa's belief that although they were doing a job for Sempra-- and were being paid handsomely for it-- they were not necessarily in the Hutt's pocket. Her fingers drummed against the counter, her drink forgotten.

She really shouldn't get involved.

But she was here for work.

She didn't know them.

But she rarely ever knew anyone she worked for when she was just hiring on; she always had to have a conversation with them to sense if they fell to the right side of her moral scale. And she must have done Hutt runs at some point, though she couldn't say which ones. Sometimes it was just better not to ask.

The Zabrak sighed softly, eyeing the member of Malia's crew who had come to talk to people at the bar. Narasa watched his body language, but he seemed focused, in spite of his casual pose. Right then. Her green eyes moved back to Malia. Right to the source.

Narasa abandoned her seat and casually wended through the crowd, breezing around a disagreement that looked like it was going to rapidly get out of control if someone didn't break it up. She snagged a drink from a passing tray just before she reached the captain's table; it would give her something to do with her hands.

"May I join you, Captain?" Narasa asked, a grin easing across her face. "It seems like you'll have a bit of a wait before you need to take off."

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Please, have a seat."

Mal gestured to the open space opposite her at the table. Jarrick looked a might wary but he had that look all the time so Mal often couldn't tell if he was wound up or not. Sidara was over at the bar, mingling around, the smoke from her cigarettes following her around as though the copper hair was the cap of a giant chimney.

"I'm Mal, Captain of the Grey Warden. This is Kairon and Jarrick, who sail with me from time to time. What can I do for you..."

She trailed off, her eyebrows raised and an expectant look on her face for the newcomer to fill in her name.

[member="Narasa Kelori"] [member="Rusty"] [member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Narasa Kelori]

After she sank into the indicated seat, Narasa rested her drink and arms on the table, cradling the cool glass between her hands. She nodded at each of the crewmen as [member="Malia Afredane"] introduced them, casting a quick eye over them for initial appearances; if this conversation lasted past the table, she would have plenty of time to get to know their faces.

"Narasa," she offered readily. 'From time to time' implied a crew picked up by mission or personal preference; maybe it would be a worthwhile conversation after all. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Palace, so forgive me if this isn't the way things are done here. From the way that exchange," a red hand surreptitiously gestured at the throne and its sluggy inhabitant without her palm ever leaving the glass, "Just went, it sounds like you're running a larger-sized cargo vessel; have to, if you're moving a substantial amount of goods for him. I happen to be... at loose ends, at the moment, and I was wondering if you could use a spare set of hands for the delivery."

Okay, maybe that sounded odd when said in a Hutt's backyard, but Narasa was being honest and direct. Every word from her mouth had been the absolute truth, so she couldn't do much more than that. How did someone convince a complete stranger of their trustworthiness?

[member="Rusty"] [member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

"Pleasure to meet you Narasa," Kairon replied when she offered her name. He saw the slightest shift in Jarrick's posture. The veteran clearly hadn't, but Kairon could the difference between smugglers and bounty hunters and Hutt enforcers readily.

A moment later he smiled and nodded when Narasa explained she wasn't used to the Palace. That made another one at least.

Kairon opened his mouth and the quickly snapped it closed when she finished making her proposal. Not your ship, he reminded himself again. The notion occurred to him that she was being placed by the Hutt to keep tabs on them, but perhaps that was far fetched.

[member="Narasa Kelori"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Rusty"]

 

[Sidara Vercopa-Vhett]

Sidara's inquiries at the bar about Corr weren't as productive as she wished. Either someone wasn't being forthcoming with information or Corr had just vanished into thin air. None of it made sense to her.

She ordered a drink from the bar droid and decided to not push her luck. If she was too forward, it could be counterproductive to her plan. She patted her pants pocket for the fresh pack of cigarettes and pulled it out. She lit one up and scanned the bar for sight of Mal. At least if she couldn't find Corr she could do some work in the meantime for her friend.

Sid found the table her friend was at and made her way through the crowd. She quietly pulled up a chair so that she didn't interrupt conversation and sat. At least this job would get her mind off of her missing husband.

[member="Kairon Rees"]
[member="Narasa Kelori"]
[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Rusty"]

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal listened to Narasa, her fingers curled loosely around the glass. Narasa needed an escape plan. Considering the way that the Hutts dealt with failure, she was probably stranded here when a captain failed to impress the Hutt. However, Mal had been in enough dive bars across the galaxy to recognize when someone needed an out. Mal was a woman, she had a Mando woman with her and she spoke to the Hutt. It meant Mal had authority and that she would gauge other women on a level playing field, and not immediately assume that she was just a piece of flesh.

"I'm always interested in people who can fly and are trustworthy. What's your deal, then? What can you do?"

Sid had rejoined them now, drink in hand and cigarette in her lips. She could tell Kairon was jumpy and on edge just from his posture, but Mal remained cool and focused on the young Zabrak.

[member="Sidara Vercopa-Vhett"] [member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Narasa Kelori"] [member="Rusty"]

 

[Narasa Kelori]

[member="Kairon Rees"] 's open mouth earned a flicker of a glance from Narasa, but the real one to impress would always be the one hiring, so Narasa brushed off whatever had caused his aborted attempt at speech. Mal seemed direct enough, which reinforced Narasa's initial impressions of her. When [member="Sidara Vercopa-Vhett"] joined them, Narasa glanced up at her briefly, but was respectful enough not to interrupt [member="Malia Afredane"]. She had wondered when the final member of the present crew would return; Narasa expected another two or three people were back on their ship as well, if it were a larger crew. At Mal's phrasing, a deeper smile curled Narasa's lips.

"I can fly," she replied, a tone of pleasure and certainty in her voice.

Narasa wasn't particularly a braggart, but she was confident that she flew better than most pilots she met. The only thing an unknown vessel did was slow her learning curve; she still picked it up quickly enough that she had, on occasion, been called a liar when she had claimed to have no previous knowledge of a vessel. Flying was her hobby and her profession and her love; pretty much everything else she did was tangential to that.

Before Mal could take offense at her brevity-- some captains were touchy-- Narasa slid back into a more professional expression and tone. "Piloting is my main skill, but I know my way around an engine room. I've filled pretty much any roll you can think of in a merchant crew at one point or another; flying, moving, fixing, guarding, appraising-- whatever you need, I can offer. I don't come with any bad habits that would be a burden to you; I'd just like a lift and the chance to work for some credits." Narasa leaned back and lifted her drink, a brief grin crossing her face. "As unreasonable as that seems given where we're sitting."

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal looked over at Kairon who seemed fairly on guard and doubtful of everything in the palace. If this was a test by the Hutt, best to just get it over with. If it wasn't, then it was giving someone an out from a Hutt palace. If she was a Hutt plant, she was outnumbering herself anyhow and Rusty was bound to keep an eye on her.

"Well, I could always use another pilot in the rotation. We'll check you out, of course. But consider this a conditional hire. The Grey Warden is a YZ-2500. You'll have your own cabin and we'll work you into the schedule after you get used to the controls. I'll have you shadow our pilots for a little bit. I'd stick close to us, but if you want to wander the hall, there's a 3-Z in the hangar that is our ride back to the Warden. If you're not around when we getting loaded and ready to go, we don't wait."

There was a polite smile as Mal extended her hand.

"Welcome to the Grey Warden."

[member="Narasa Kelori"] [member="Sidara Vercopa-Vhett"] [member="Kairon Rees"] [member="Rusty"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]
[member="Narasa Kelori"]
[member="Rusty"]
[member="Sidara Vercopa-Vhett"]


Loading up the cargo went without issue the following morning and they were soon away on a trip to the core that would take at least two days – if they were to stay well away from the intervening patrols. Getting into the core these days was becoming more and more difficult. The patrols were there for the One Sith, Republic and Mandalorians to keep their borders safe, but they’d happily enough embargo a smuggled cargo too.

Kairon crept through the doorway, ducking under the bulkhead, to enter the cockpit of the Grey Warden. As he’d expected Mal was at the helm on her own at the moment. She looked relaxed as the cerulean light of hyperspace bathed in a soft glow.

“So, I was thinking,” he said quietly as he eased himself into the chair beside her. “I’ve been keeping myself out from under your feet since that rather childish tantrum I had about the correct manner of stacking Tibanna cylinders. Was thinking perhaps I could come back on up to the front row again sometimes, maybe do a bit of flying with you from time to time?” he asked softly. Kairon was glad he managed to catch her up her briefly. Soon would be one of the times the whole crew was up and awake at the same time to share a meal.


OOC/ sorry, my fault this has been slow! Moved us on to space so we can get on with dealing with the conundrum!