Nutbush City Limits

[majpipsqueak]

[I'm a dork and wasn't paying attention]

 

[Ambria]

It was as she was rinsing out her hair from the bubbles of shampoo that she had that little... inkling... that things had changed. She slowly extracted the water from her hair with a squeezing of her fingers, the water turning off with a glance of her quizzical gaze. She felt confusion, annoyance, irritation, and the stirrings of anger that was tempered with a bit of wariness. Well that made her relax a wee bit, that could be any of the lifeforms in the area. Of course they'd see the ship and feel such things. She had.

She looked around for a towel, her brow furrowing as she looked for the opening to the cabinets "Oh for kark's sake. HEY TD, WHERE ARE THE TOWELS??" she called out, pushing on the cabinets. There has to be a trick to it somewhere, darn things... Just then one hissed open.. and she reached in to pull out an oversized towel, rivulets of water running down her back from the length of her hair "NEVERMIND... I found.. " the towel wound around her form as she coded the lock to open "... it.. " She looked from the opening of the door to the two strange men sitting there waiting outside the door, a loud squeak of alarm sounding in her throat as she closed the door as quickly as she had opened it. Metal man was there and some other scruffy looking guy, staring intently at the doors opening. Her heart was hammering wildly in her chest and she knew her eyes were round little saucers of freaked out surprise..

"I can explain?" she squeakily began, her heart rabbiting around in her chest while she affixed her gaze to the door. But could she? Could she really? 'Oh yeah, Ambria. Another great idea. Maybe you should have thought about hiding instead of "Oh look hi, you don't know me, but I ate your food and used your facilities and gee can I come along?" good going. We're dead.' In her fear, Petrie was tendriling along the wall, its vining arms leafing and extending to the door of the quarters. The whole side of the wall was covered in green veining shoots and leaves, curling and coiling toward the entrance of the quarters. Metal around the loo slightly squeaked while Ambria's eyes swirled in that marbling of crimson and green... "no no no no" she mewled to herself.. "get a grip.. just breathe.. we're okay.. we're okay..."

 

[EmKay]

Well, that girl certainly had a mouth on her. He averted his eyes while she was still mostly-nude but kept her in his periphery so he would know when it was safe again. He made no motion for his blaster. This appeared to merely be a child. The creeping plants along the wall, however, told an interesting tale. The Mandalorian reclined further in his seat, crossed on leg atop the other, and watched the plant creep its way along the metal surfaces and between the cracks. That... was different.

Ronan switched his view from the twin doorways of 'she's hiding here' and 'a plant is apparently in this room' to Raymond. The crook-headed gaze along with a palm-up gesticulation toward the hallway had about as much emphasis of "well, say something" as if the man had spoken. The Mandalorian hadn't needed to use his negotiation skills in a good while and he did not want to free up the rust on some scared kid who could apparently use plant-psychic-Force-powers.

 

[Raymond Mosses]

Raymond watched the scene with interest. The woman was young but knew her way around a curse word so not too young. It was hard to tell really but that did not matter. The vine reaching out along the walls was the more important of the two life forms that had invaded his ship. The girl was obviously scared and he was guessing the plant was just reacting to her fear. Ray had seen this type of power before. Was nothing new for him. He knew the force when he seen it and had seen plants and animals controlled by it to devastating effect. How this girl found her way aboard was a mystery. Why Thunderdome gave her the run of the place an even bigger mystery. But the woman was here and her green friend seemed to want to keep her safe from them.

Ray noticed Ronan looking at him and knew that was his cue. Time to turn on the Anaxi charm and utilize his superior negotiating skills taught him by the Anaxes War Collage. Yes he would just calm the woman and get her to call off Audrey or what ever she called the viney thing.

"Excuse me ma'am. if you would not mind to much calling off your tree. That would be great." Ray said slowly standing and watching the plant pulse and expand further down the hall.

"Hey, we are all friends here" ray said watching the door to the refresher and the planet.

"How about we just relax and put our plant friend away and have a chat?" Ray said slowly moving closer to the door.

"We are not going to hurt you, we are travelers on our way to River Deep Pub. Are you ok, do you need help? Ray said stopping a few steps from the door.

"So what is your name? Ray said softly towards the door of the refresher.

"I think we must have scared you just sitting here while you showered" Raymond stood still as not to provoke the vine now pointing its leafy tendril at him.

"My name is Raymond, It is nice to meet you" Raymond said opening his palm so that the woman and more importantly the plant knew he was not armed.

"Do you like Loman Ale?" I have a bunch of it down in the hold. We could get to know each other better over a drink."

 

[Ambria]

She was lost in her own head, trying to swallow down her fear as her aunts voice permeated 'you need to learn calm or you'll destroy everyone and everything around you' Her aunt wasn't really there of course, it was just the ghost of what she'd said every single time Ambria lost her focus. Bit by bit the mans voice... Ray... interjected itself into her brain. Somewhere she had closed her eyes.. and when she reopened them, the crimson hues were still mingled with verdant shards. She knew coaxing when she heard it, but it had that lack of.... something. Nevertheless, it quelled a bit of the fear that was rolling around within her.

She sat on the small seat that was in the refresher, the towel hugged around her, her hair still a wet slick down her back as she stared at the locked and closed door. Reflexively she swallowed a few times before she could speak.. "I'm.... I'm sorry.. " It was the words she'd said most of her life, most of the time to the Villagers that inhabited the village that had taken her and her aunt in so very many years ago. She didn't even know if he'd heard her for he kept speaking.. tree? What tree?? Her brows furrowed once more, her head tipping to the side as she made a face of .. 'what the heck is he talking about... tree?' OH!! PETRIE... oh kark. Her eyes rolled a bit in her head as she sought to reach to the plant.. deep breath taken in as she slowly let it out.. willing herself into a calm she certainly didn't really feel. She'd been trying for ages to learn to undo a lot of what she'd do when upset.. and tried to focus like she had seen her aunt do upon a surprising time or two. When she could feel the plant ebb away, she refocused her gaze upon the door.. unmoving from where she still sat.

"Ambria" she said so she could be heard on the other side of the divide "My name is Ambria" She got the impression he was trying to make nice, not just from the words but from the images that sort of flashed into her mind.. the slow movements.. the open faced palm. "I do not know what... Lohmahn Ale.. is.. " Quietly she cleared her throat "Are you.. Ray.. the metal man?" She didn't think so. She had the impression that Ray's skillset wasn't that of the Metal Man. The Metal Man.. he was for something else. Despite all of Ray's intentions, there was no way she was opening the door until she found out the intentions of the Metal Man. He was Danger with a Capital D, with the whole of him seeming to be cloaked in a shroud.

 

[EmKay]

This appeared to be going well enough. The plant was receding slowly but somewhat steadily, Raymond was making slow progress toward the door and sounded convincing enough. It helped that the two really did not want to hurt the girl. Ronan would if she had been an active danger, but any threat this girl, Ambria apparently, posed was not an immediate concern. It only took one of them to defuse this situation and it certainly was not him. He stood, picked up the chair, set it where it went, and waved to the droid Thunderdome. When he got its attention he jerked his head toward the stairs to the cargo hold and descended to where the speederbikes held their salvaged loot.

With a little rummaging, the Mandalorian passed various components found at the crash site to the R7 unit and with its help figured out what was useful to keep, what was completely junk, and what could be sold later. He also kept a few scraps of durasteel and duraplast to reinforce his armor where he was shot at a later time. He glanced a quick eye to Nik. He seemed fine, still strapped to that bike. If he did get shot, Ronan couldn't tell. A sharp whistle from Thunderdome told him that he should help to speed up repairs, so he grabbed a wrench and did something that he found some relaxation and focus in: working with his hands.

Meanwhile, the mouse droid lie in a saddlebag, beeping indignantly at being forgotten.

 

[Raymond Mosses]

Ray thought for a moment about what she meant by metal man then turned and looked at Ronan. "Oh no, I am not the metal man. Im the handsome one with the good hair." Ray said holding his position near the door. Ronan stood up and place his chair back then went down to the lower cargo deck. Ray turned back to look at the door then spoke again. "The metal man has gone down to the lower deck. Why don't you come out. Where are your clothes? why don't you get dressed then you can join me here in the mess and we can talk" Ray did not want to spook the woman any more than necessary. He also figured she would feel better not naked and splayed out for all to see but for that little towel she had wrapped around her. Not that he minded but he knew most women were prude about things like that.

"I am going to go back here and sit down again. You get dressed and join me when your ready" Ray said turning his back to the refresher door and sitting down.

 

[Ambria]

She heard movement on the other side of the door. Judging by the boots and the manner in which someone was walking.. and the feeling she got as that person departed.. it was the Metal Man. She heard amusement in your voice as you re-addressed her, her cheeks - unseen by you - rushing hues of scarlet across the pale spanse as you spoke of her clothes "They're in the quarters TD had said I could use" she fidgeted where she sat "I had not anticipated your return so soon.... " as if to explain why she was in the shower and summarily without apparel.

She listened to your movements and heard your words... and once she was satisfied that you were out of eyesight, she keyed the door open and whirled herself out of the refresher and into the quarters right next to it, the door keyed open and then hissing shut to be re-locked by deft quick moving fingers. With a sigh she let the towel drop to the floor and hung her head a moment... what a fine mess. At least he seemed reasonable. And nice. He said handsome but she had seen scruffy. He really did seem to think highly of himself. Maybe he was the Captain. Reasonable, yes. She knew the other man was not UNreasonable, he was just.... she felt he was hiding something. Don't ask her why she felt that way but she was rarely wrong and that made her wary. Maybe it was just the helmet he didn't take off. Was he scarred or injured? Was he part machine and that is why he still wore it inside? Or maybe he was hiding his identity. But why?

She was annoying herself with the many questions roving about in her head.. and with a shake of her head she got dressed. Simple clothes for a simple person. Cloth leggings and a cloth tunic (with all the appropriate but not necessarily necessary undergarments) and soft boots. Her still damp hair was tied in the back with a soft bit of hide.. no weapons upon her person as she opened the door and went to the kitchen.. or.. mess. She presumed the mess was the kitchen even though she didn't think she left it in a mess...

She allowed her now solidly green gaze to rest upon you.. and she fought the urge to fidget as she settled herself into a nearby chair, that blush still high upon her cheeks. "I'm supposing you'd like some sort of explanation.... " she began and then paused, to work down a near audible swallow..

 

[Raymond Mosses]

"TD said she could use?" Ray thought as the woman talked to him. she opened the door and ran to a nearby room and shut the door. Ray sat with his back to the whole thing letting the woman, Ambria, adapt and do things at a speed ok with her. Raymond did not like the fact that she had snuck aboard his ship. He did not like the fact that she made herself at home and cooked dinner or that she used the refresher. He really did not like the fact that she had taken one of the staterooms as her own. Most of all he did not like the fact that Thunderdome just let her in and it seemed invited her to stay. This was something he would take up with the droid later. FOr now he could tell the woman was in need and he could at least hear her out before throwing her off the ship to the wind dust and what ever barbed tail flying blind creatures awaited her. Besides, he had eaten some of the food the woman had made and it had been the best food he could remembered eating in a long time.

The woman came out of the stateroom she had taken over and walked slowly into the mess hall. Raymond said mess hall it was really just a side room off the main corridor with a fridge and table and cooker. he waited for the woman to sit then replied to her.

"Yes Ma'am you do. But start by telling me why you are out here in the middle of nowhere"

 

[EmKay]

With the combined effort of man and machine, the ship repairs down below were going well. Ronan deliberately kept his distance from the droid and make it a note to effectively work on the opposite end of the ship that Thunderdome was. As such, while the droid worked on the engines and swapping out the faulty power converter, the Mandalorian brushed up on the holding cell and made sure the force cage still worked. While the droid worked on some electronics under the cockpit, the Mandalorian made sure the manned laser cannons were tuned up and that the diagnostics reported back functionality as green and checked the pressure on the cargo ramp hydraulics. It was a near-choreographed dance around one another, but one that got the repairs done almost twice as fast.

Up above, the sounds of welding, soldering, doors opening and shutting, the hum of the laser cannons warming up and cooling down, and various other mechanical noises would be heard throughout the conversation. Some would be loud, some would be quiet, but it would be very apparent that there was a lot going on down below. Soon enough, the party would have to come upstairs...

 

[Ambria]

It was a curse, in her mind, to know the feelings of others. It made life difficult for her at the Village, for despite the outward niceties they would perform, she knew how they really felt. On the inside. So it was, despite all of the cool, calm, careful, and kind niceties Ray performed, she knew of the whirling inside him. She couldn't blame him. In fact, she probably would have been a lot more.... inflammatory. But that was the nature of her she had been trying to wrangle since she was a child.

She unblinkingly stared at you as you not really demanded an explanation. Not the explanation she thought you were seeking, but a different one that left her a wee bit offguard. She looked thoughtful a moment as if trying to decide how best to explain how she came to be in what she decided was the remotest part of the moon, despite all its flora and fauna - her thoughts interjected by very loud ship repairs. She wasn't sure if the metal man was repairing it or destroying it at this point, but that really wasn't any of her business. Well it was if we were taking into account she wanted to get off this moon, but... well... we weren't, were we.

She opted for just blurting it out.. and it came out a lot harsher than she intended "My aunt left me here" she felt the anger and hurt and betrayal wash over her anew, her insides tightening as her hands curled into fists in her lap, nails biting her skin. Thankfully, this time, there was no squeaking of squished metal or Petrie leaves winding their way about. See? She could contain herself into a singular ball of fury! Progress!! She allowed the semblance of a small smile to twitch her lips, before it faded away and she added... "...and I don't know why" the frown was back, perching itself upon her mouth as she continued to gaze at you. No guile in those emerald depths. No deception. No subversion. The raw pain at being abandoned was there, alive and biting.

 

[Raymond Mosses]

Ray stared at the women for a moment as the told him her aunt left her barley audible over the clanking and hammering down stairs. The was sadness in her words that could not be missed. Ray had his own issues with family but He had never been abandoned to die on a back water barely habitable moon. As bad as he hated his parents this woman's Aunt made them seem like model examples of parenting. Ray paused a second as he considered what best to say and how to handle the situation.

"That is horrible Ambria, Your Aunt should not have left you here by yourself." Ray said as compassionately as he could. He did not commonly show compassion to anyone and even less often felt it for anyone. This woman seemed to sincerely need help and Ray figured it would not hurt to give her a a hand up so she could get her feet under her.

"OK Ambria, I am not worried about you coming aboard and making yourself at home. The way I see it you were doing what anyone stranded on a moon alone would do if a big ship landed and left its door open." Ray said considering the mistake he made leaving the ramp down then continued. "We are going into town. A settlement a few hundred kilometers from here to try and sale my cargo. You are welcome to ride along. I just ask that you clean up the mess here where you cooked. We can talk about how long your stay will be once we get this thing moving again and sale this cargo. how does that sound?" Ray asked smiling at the woman.

 

[Nik Woverius Rillians]

That wasn't good. These were the last waking thoughts of Nik Woverius Rillians as his feet seemed to step into liquefied durasteel, which rapidly solidified to plant a kiss directly on his cheek. As blackness took the reins, broken dreams danced across the battlefield of dead brain cells and screaming neural pathways. He was floating, drifting across a sandy dune before being thrown onto the back of a dewback, the creature turning its massive head to look him square in the eye, opened its lipless reptilian mouth and let out the high pitched whine of a repulsor engine before it took off. Its loping gait was soothing in a way, like being rocked in a crib, except the bastard was moving so fast that snad being whipped of the dunes kept getting in his mouth and up his nose. He tried to move his hand up toward his face but the limb felt weak, powerless, as if his muscles had atrophied.

Nik began to wonder about that before a death ray, like the gods own judgement descended from the sky and struck the creature, which was now a very small AT-AT walker in the side. It returned fire at something in the marble black sands, the sky made of maddening sound. He managed but a glimpse of the object of its ire and looked into the gargantuan robbed monstrosity. Its eyes shinning with death and malice. His ride had pissed off some god, its skeletal angel of death called Roger Rogerson and a death brick that squeaked with glee as it meted out its masters judgement.

Wait until I get off!!

Nik sat bolt upright and hit the straps tethering him to the speeder, his hands were out before him shielding him from cosmic obliteration. "No Mr Rogerson! Shoot the tiny AT-AT! I'm just a passen..." his eyes focused then, the familiar sight of the Dancers cargo bay lighting staring down at him with mocking judgement. His hands fell back down and his whole body relaxed against the straps. "Thank kark for that..." with a practiced ease he should have been ashamed of, Rillians hit the clasps and fell ass over ears backwards onto the decking. He lay there for a second, untangling his limbs, and then put himself at the mercy of vertigo and stood up. The big V was merciful this time and he only had to steady himself for a moment against the speeder and take few calming breaths before standing on his own two feet like a big boy.

He stretched, the kinks in his muscles from what was clearly and uncomfortable ride working themselves out with the pop of joints and vertebra, and took the first step toward a beautiful new day. He got into the main corridor that linked the fresher, cockpit, galley and living quarters when he heard voices and the unmistakable sound of machine work. Nik opted for the work, his brain was a mix of static and broken fragments of thoughts he'd rather not be having. Machines didn't ask questions (mostly) and they didnt have faces to judge him.

The slip-ladder down toward the noise came up and he grabbed a rung and brought himself down it, the armoured body of the Mando was shoulder deep in the gutty works of the ships port laser cannon. Perfect, he may as well have been a machine for all the personality he showed. Then came the shrill, unmistakable sound of ThunderDome and it cut through his frontal lobe like a vibroblade. "Indoor whistles, please for the love of..." the droid twittered and beeped at him. "What do you mean a girl snuck onto the ship, ate our food and made a botanical garden?" more beeps, quieter now, as he plonked down next to a power relay and popped off the casing. "So she's up there talking to 'Lady Killer. Slayer of all the babes. Mr god damn I am so damn beautiful that women are just Intimidated by me and thats why I never get laid.'," the droid beeped in the affirmative as it set its cutting arm to metal and kicked sparks out onto the decking. "I'm real glad I'm down here with you guys." He said mostly to himself as he took a fistful of ancient cabled and began to yank them out of the bundle.

 

[Essada Termiss]

Essada grabbed hold of the Rodians arm and dragged him through to the back corridor and along to her own room. She reached out with her free hand and activated the wall lighting of the room, a faint red light seeping up from the bottom of the walls - an alien invasion to the rooms usual darkened state. Within moments, it had completely taken over and provided a certain ambience to the room. It also stained her light blue pigmentation, painting her features closer to purple.

"So, I haven't seen you around before." She seated him on the edge of the bed and triggered another panel on the wall by the dresser. A thin metallic bar ascended from the floor. Like all things, attempting to extend its reach as far as it was able. "What brings you here?"
"Work." The Rodian spoke bluntly. It had been a while since Essada had been in close contact with a Rodian, she had nearly forgotten the effect that their tone of voice had on her. most of their species vocal orchestra must broadcast in a certain frequency that created a pleasant itch in some of the sensitive parts of her lekku. She soaked it in until the loud thunk of the column locking into place snapped her back to her surroundings.
"Must be some pretty stressful work, if your first stop is come here." She already had a fair idea of the sort of work he meant.
"I didn't think talking was a big part of your profession." The Rodian retaliated, evasively.
"You're here for a service - stress relief and entertainment." Essada raised her leg against the pole, wrapping her leg around and allowing her hand to reach and remove her heel. "The best ways to relieve stress are to vent, in one capacity or another." She cycled around the object, allowing her to change which leg she had elevated and threw her other shoe into the corner of the room. "The service I offer is therapy - so why don't you start by telling me what kind of work you do."
"I'm an engineer. That's all." The Rodian spoke, catching her attention for two reasons. First of all, even through the tingle she was feeling, she caught his mistake. Saying 'that's all' was a phrase that betrays his statement. Like using the word honestly in any sentence. It doesn't add any meaning and automatically implies some level of inherent dishonesty. Secondly, she had been waiting a long time for an engineer or mechanic, if that part was true.
"So you were here fixing something? A contract gig?" She inquired as she gripped a low section of the pole. Raising her legs, she wrapped her feet tightly around a higher section. She manipulated her lekku to slip under the fabric of her top and then released the bar as they pulled it over her head, revealing the thin exotic dancer garment underneath as the only article remaining on her upper half. The garment dropped to the floor and she grabbed the bar as quickly as she could, before he started speaking again.
"I didn't want to land on this moon, but I'm travelling with this idiot Jawa. He insisted landing here and crashed the ship. I came here looking for some parts and blow off some steam before I fix it up and we leave tomorrow."

This was exactly what Essada was looking for, she allowed herself to stand upright and walked away from the pole. It was too distracting to do anything complex while he was speaking, anyway.
"You have to take me off this planet." Essada dropped all of the pretense in her excitement. "I'll pay what I can for the trip and continue your therapy sessions to make up the rest. I just need you to also fix my pod. Something crashed into me and broke it right outside. The guy who owns the place found me unconscious outside and brought me in before I woke up. I've been stuck here ever since."
"I'd need the rest of my crew to confirm." The Rodian paused, seemingly considering the offer while staring at Essada in deep thought. After surveying her, he continued "- Pod's don't all work the same way. If I could see it, I could tell you if I could fix it."
"That's easy." She rushed over to the window. "It's right outside." She pulled down the objects she used to conceal the window to reveal nothing more than the scenery offered of the planet by that particular porthole.

Her heart sank, now she truly was trapped here.

She stormed from her room, leaving the Rodian sitting on her bed, dumbfounded. Essada blew into the bar section of the tavern and made a bee-line for the owner.
"Done awready." The owner chuckled at the half dressed Twi'lek. "No a lot o' stamina oan that wan, wis there?"
"Where's my pod?" She was no longer in the mood to deal with him. he shrugged in response.
"Prolly oan the scrapheap, musta been fed up wi' it clutterin' the street oot back." He said as cool as ever. "Or some scavenger took it awa' fer spare parts."
"Or some desperate, greedy bantha bawsack sold it to keep me here." She was trying not to scream, as her emotions began to overwhelm her. She hadn't cried at her predicament before today, but for the first time, she felt truly isolated.

Essada slinked back to her room, threw the Rodian out of her room and slammed the door shut to compose herself.

 

[EmKay]

Somewhere in the middle of his work, Ronan took mental note that Rillians had joined the party. By their combined efforts the repairs were finished shortly before the conversation between Ambria and Mosses was wrapped up. It did not escape his notice that, even hungover and coming off being tied to the front of a speederbike through a firefight, Nik was at least somewhat capable with a spanner. Not that he would ever say that to the spacer's face. Once the last panel down below was patched back up, Ronan grabbed his handful of tools and his rag and went upstairs to tweak the various doors to the quarters.

As the Mandalorian passed the duo of the girl and the cap on his way toward the prow of the ship, he avoided eye-contact with either of them. The conversation was not his place and he would not interject himself by letting his attention stray to the two. Soon he was in-and-out of line-of-sight while he went from one door to the next, opening and closing them, making adjustments to their alignment and motor power, and testing again to make sure there wouldn't be a repeat of earlier where the door jammed when he tried to open it.

 

[Ambria]

As she felt the rolling emotions off of Ray, she lowered her gaze to her clenched hands. It was sheer focused will that she unfurled her fingers and stared at the half moons her nails had left as she listened to him and heard his words and felt his emotions.

She drew in a breath and lifted her gaze once more, her head nodding "The food is there, is enough for everyone" and she rose to turn to the sink and counter, remembering how TD had said to set the appliance to clean. "And yes, that sounds good to me" and she had the impression he had ideas. She didn't know what sort of ideas he had, but she knew he had ideas none the less and he seemed fond of what she had fixed.

She heard TD chirping and beeping with a bit of enthusiasm and it seemed as though, to her, that TD was talking about her, the strong impression of a garden coming to mind. Garden? She shook her head with a smile on her lips as she cleaned up what little mess there was, leaving the food there for any who would eat it. Later, she would clean things up the way she'd found it.

She considered with how Ray had seemed anxious to get going and the noise coming from ... well... everywhere.. it'd be best to return to her quarters. So, she headed into her quarters and keyed the door closed. With everything that had happened in a short span of time, she was exhausted. So it didn't take any time at all for her to fall asleep as soon as she laid herself down upon the bed.

 

[Raymond Mosses]

Ray left the woman and walked down the stairs tot he cockpit. The two of the four seats faced forward one for the pilot one for the co-pilot/navigator. Two seats were each facing the flanks of the ship, one left one right and were for the gunnery stations. Between the pilot and copilot seats the guts of the console hang like an eviscerated taun taun. Ray got down and crawled under the console and replaced the power converter and tucked all the wires and conduits back into place and screwed the panel back on the console. He stood and walked back tot he steps up to the living deck to make sure everyone was somewhere up there and not in the lower hold deck. he shouted out down the corridor so everyone could hear.

"We are about to take off. Find a seat or hold on to something this may be shaky." Ray turned and went to sit down in the pilots seat. "OK Ray try not to kill everyone on takeoff." he said to himself as he powered on the console. He ran a check of all the systems and control then powered up the reactor. The hum of the small hyperspace reactor came online and the muffled hum could be heard through out the ship. He double checked the gauges and slid the thrust controls forward. The ship shook a bit as gravity fought with the thrust to keep the vessel on the moon. a moment later the Dancer lifted off the surface and into the air. Ray looked at his directional display, turned the ship toward the settlement and pushed the control stick forward. The Dancer sped off in t he direction of the Pub only taking a few minutes to cover the distance.

The moon had no flight control or planetary port just flat land outside the small town. Ray looked for a spot open enough for the dancer and close enough to the two pubs that his cargo could be carried easily. He sat the Dancer down and secured the reactor and powered down the ship.

"Ok we are here" he shouted back down the corridor as he went down the steps into the cargo hold and lowered the Ramp. He made a mental note to close the ramp once they had left. Would not want any more people coming aboard and using the ships refreshers.

 

[Essada Termiss]

Essada rifled through her belongings in the wardrobe, thrusting her hand into pockets where she had been hiding the money she had been saving. Sorting the credits from the coins, she stuffed the chits back in and grabbed a blouse to throw on quickly. She wasn't used to the feeling of moping, it was unusual for her to find herself in a mood that she couldn't elevate herself. However, she was highly aware of what other people did to raise their mood and since her own techniques had failed, she sought to do the next best thing.

"Give me a double of whatever's strongest, Daven." Essada slid some coin across the table to the perplexed man. He seemed stuck in time for a second before he turned to prepare a drink.
"Ah dinnae 'hink ye ever used ma name afore." His voice was far more serious than normal. "Ye've never ordered a double or sat at the bar either. Ye dain' awright Essa?"
"No, I'm not alright. I didn't want to get too familiar, but now I'm going to be a permanent fixture, I dont suppose there's much point." Now that he had pointed it out, she became aware of the wall of sound around her and it became much more difficult to think. At the very least that was the effect she was after, so while painful, it didn't bother her that much.
"Look, ah've been countin' the numbers an' I reckon ye've mair than made up the difference for the clathes I picked up. So ye can pay the normal room rate fae noo oan. An' this is oan me." Daven put the drink in front of her and returned her coins. "Ah've been gie'ing ye a wee bit ae a hard time lately, but ah'm no a prick."

Essada sipped the drink, a little unsure what to make of the change in attitude her tormentor was showing. It's true that the man wasn't all bad. He had installed the system so that the outer and inner doors to the small foyer in the front of the building couldn't be opened at the same time, explaining to his customers that it was protection against the dust storms.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Daven..." She looked down at the liquid in front of her in disgust. "...but this stuff is awful. What is this?"
"Jes' call me Dave." He chuckled. "That crap is Loman Ale, or at least it's a pretty awful attempt tae copy it. That ither place... River Deep... this is what they've been sellin' that was stealin' mah customers awa'. Ah dinnae know whit's in the stuff, or who's supplyin' the place, so ah hid to try an' copy it and make it as close as possible. It tastes pretty similar, if yer awready wasted on ither stuff. Naebody really orders it here any mair, though."
"So you thought you'd try and get it rid of it by serving it to me?" She pushed it back towards him. "your apology was going so well."
"Well, ah wis tryin' tae prove a point actually. We've aw got problems, Essa. Ah dunno how ye usually manage to shake it aff as easily as ye dae. Yer actually really lucky that ye can go to bed in a bad mood and wake up beamin' the next mornin', no many people can." Daven picked up the glass and replaced it with a new one. "This stuff is much better." There was a bang from the outer door closing. "While ye might feel like ye've got the worst luck on this rock, right noo. There's a good chance whoever walks through that door feels the same way and will need the upliftin' expertise o' the best atmospheric choreographer in the system."
"I doubt that." Essada responded. She couldn't argue with his points, In fact she did start to feel a little less alone in the situation, but there was no way whoever walked through the interior door was currently feeling worse than she was.

In walked the Rodian she had kicked out earlier.

 

[Raymond Mosses]

Ray watched as the attendant walked up to him as he reached the end of the ramp. The old man smiled as he walked up and pushed out a datapad to Ray grinning wider as the pad neared Ray. "Docking fees, sir," said the man with the same contemptable grin. The man looked at the cargo seld behind Ray then took the pad back, hit a few commands then pushed it back towards him. "Tariffs," said the man still grinning. Ray looked at the number in shock then back up at the man. "Tariffs, from who? The Sith? Even those Dark hearted bastards would not gouge a man like this. You have five buildings and three landing pads, I could buy a town this size for that amount." said Ray growing angry at the thought of giving what would be a quarter of his payout for the load to the grinning man.

"Oh sorry, that reminds me," The man takes the pad and adds another line of charges to the total. "I almost forgot about the Sith," he said handing the pad back to Ray. Ray looks from the pad to the man, then back to the pad. He starts to say something then looks back at the man then back at the pad again. He looks up at the man again and gathers himself to calm down then looks back at the pad. He presses his thumb to the scanner part of the pad feeling as if he had just sold his soul to some damnable Sith god then looks back at the man then back at the pad as the man pulls it away.

"Thank you for visiting Juguanda's Moon, we hope you enjoy your stay," said the man as the smile disappeared from his face. The man turned and walked back to the small building Ray imagined he stored his coffin in and disappeared. Ray stood there a moment in disbelief then shook his head and continued on with his cargo to the pub up the street hoping there were no further issues.

 

[Ronan Nakasla]

Ronan hefted his shoulder pack and slung it on. It contained a variety of utility items he could need in a pinch, and given how little he knew about the hospitality of this little watering hole of a town he decided to assume nothing and brought his goodie bag. He followed out of the loading ramp a moment after the extortionist conversation ended, and took an unwelcome peer to the readout showing how much the captain had paid to land on a flat piece of land that did not even qualify as a docking bay on worse-off worlds. The attendant took back his datapad closer to him with that incredulous 'mind your own business' glare, and the Mandalorian let out a sound between a sigh and a hum. The uninitiated may have considered it to sound like a growl.

"I assume, then, with you charging such a premium for this zone, that you will afford the same luxuries as similarly-priced locations," the man took a step closer to the attendant who looked to his left and right for his guards to back him up. They gripped their weapons tighter in readiness, but had the discipline not to fire first. Legal reasons, obviously.

"On a galactic standard, your price falls within the semi-luxury zone," Ronan said simply with his voice a level near-monotone, "which means we can expect the ship cleaned, carbon scoring removed, rust remediation where necessary, a resupply of rations, a refresher purge," he leaned forward slightly, "at minimum."

Flustered and indignant, the attendant sputtered the beginnings of a retort. Something that was going to be along the lines of 'who do you think you are to tell me how to run my land and what you're entitled to', but Ronan cut him off with a raised hand.

"I can also inform the Sith that they are not getting their adequate percentage fees and make everybody's day much, much worse."

When the color washed out of the attendant's face, the Mandalorian knew he made his point, and proceeded to follow Raymond further into town.