Quarantine Moon: Orbital Drop on Orsonian

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

The descent was a bit rocky, the atmo-breaks still not working fully, but with Flint knowing what was wrong he accommodated for it well. There would be no accelerated landing this time. Putting a lot of effort into the landing he didn't hear Kitt wander over until she asked him what he was expecting. Truth be told he didn't quite know it himself.

"I don't know, but the way the dock man talked to me? Something didn't feel right. I don't like it." He said, a bit of tension present in his voice. The ship rocked a bit as the landing gear engaged and the Detroit Nexu found itself on the ground. Flint shut off the engines, stood up and let out a deep contemplative sigh. He supposed it was time to deal with these people.

"You wanna come or you want to stay in the ship?" He asked. Sure there was that male urge to protect the lady, keep her out of harms way, but Flint had no idea what he was going to, and Kitt had apparently learned to wrestle dragons and captured Sith Lords. At the least she'd earned a choice in what she wanted to do.

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

"Of course I'm comin.'" She patted the holstered blaster at her thigh. "I was born ready." She pulled the bandanna up over her nose and mouth and turned to Flint as she headed toward the ramp. "You know. The smell. Plus, I don't want to be recognized by anyone from my past. Just in case."

She grabbed a MK2 bolter on their way, also just in case.

Finger hit the switch to lower the ramp. At least that still worked. Somehow she managed to wiggle her way in front of the Captain, so she was the first down the ramp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORP2FK60TEw

 

[Flint Michigan]

Flint was a bit surprised at how eager the woman seemed, but smiled in reply. "Then let's go." He said, before she put up a veil over her nose. Apparently 'born ready' meant 'need to fumble with my bandana'. Walking towards the ramp he soon learned it also meant 'need to get my bolter'. A weapon he remembered seemed to be popular for Omegans while he was in service.

"I'll have to ask you about that one sometime." He said before her finger hit the ramp, lowering it to open up whatever PharmaTech sent for them.

"Hey, name's Flint, we have your shipment." He said as he got out there, notably behind Kitt as she seemed to want to push ahead of him.

 

[Valik]

When the Ramp lowered their were a couple of droids, containment tanks, a lone man skinny in frame with not a weapon on his body. His face at first seemed analytic, then a slight bit of surprise though it lasted only for a moment before his face returned to it's normal expression. He came towards the two as they left the ramp, heading for what appeared to be the crew's leader, a woman whose face he'd seen a time or two. Suprisingly the other one spoke first, but Valik ignored him, turning to face [member="Kitt Solo"].

"You're the one who called in the project Silver? Most intriguing." The Alchemist said addressing the Mechanic-turned-Bounty Hunter-turned-High Councilor-turned-Mechanic. Valik was planning on capturing or killing the crew and then infecting them with the Blackwing for testing, but the presence of a well-known Fringer like her changed things.

"I trust neither he nor the rest of his crew will be a problem?" Valik asked, carefully examining the bounty hunter for her response.

 

[Kitt Solo]

@Valik @Flint Michigan

She wanted to offer Flint an apologetic look as she was addressed as the leader. But she didn't dare turn her gaze away from Valik. That explained the familiar nudge in the force.

She frowned beneath the bandanna. His name was on her suspects list related to her sister's death. But now was neither the place or time to bring it up. It was too risky with other lives involved. And he recognized her. Little did she know it was that factor that was keeping them alive. But she did sense the built-up tension in the room, thick enough to cut with her Ma's pie serving knife.

"No problem here unless you make one, Valik." Voice was quiet as she addressed the sith lord before raising it for Flint's benefit. "We've got the cargo in there. If it's okay with the Captain, we can move forward with the exchange." Myrtle-ellipses finally rested on Flint.

She still didn't know what the cargo was and now with Valik's involvement, she really didn't want to know.

 

[Valik]

"The Captain? You're not?" He said with the faintest bit of puzzlement in his voice. Kitt came first but the man spoke first, they were both armed with blasters, Kitt also carrying a bolter for good measure. They were anticipating danger, and Kitt was trying to protect the man from it. More than that Kitt wore a jacket that was oversized, presumably his. She was either cold and he polite, or she cared for him. Or perhaps both. Useful information for the future.

"I apologize then, I misunderstood. I suppose I'll have to ready a payment now." Valik said and began scrawling with his datapad, putting out an arrangement of numbers. He wasn't planning on paying for the transaction, but if he wasn't going to kill them he wasn't going to give them reason to kill him either. At least not for now.

"How many samples did you acquire Captain?" Valik asked the spacer.

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

The exchange between Flint and the PharmaTech rep was rather strange. Aside from the man flat ignoring Flint's greetings he seemed to know Kitt, or at least know of her well enough to assume she was in charge. He asked if there'd be any problems, and Flint took the meaning. Snitches get stitches right? But all of that? Some chemical warfare company man acting creepy? That was workable. Understandable. What surprised Flint most was the way Kitt acted around him. Her eyes never wavered from his sight, as if she was afraid he'd move in one direction or another. When she talked to him she answered him directly and quietly, in a manner that was almost submissive. If Flint had to take a guess he'd say that Kitt was afraid of him, far more than she was undead beasts or failing hyperdrives. Kitt let Flint into the conversation at the end, her eyes finally looking up at his for a moment. Before he could speak the PharmaTech agent spoke, his voice calculating and polite, almost excessively so.

"Four. They're in the cargo hold, in the containers PharmaTech provided. I seem to remember the ad saying that you'd also perform a scan to make sure everything is sterilized?" Flint asked, and the man only nodded as he cracked away at his datapad, before holding it up to him to show a number.


"Acceptable?" The man asked, and Flint nodded. It was a good price, and something told Flint he didn't want to haggle with this man. He held up his finger and snapped twice, the two droids around him heading up the ramp to obtain the cargo and perform their scans as PharmaTech wired over the money. The droids were quick in their task, soon leaving the ship and heading back into PharmaTech headquarters.

"Thank you." The man said before offering a hand, which Flint took a shook, still wondering what exactly was going on. "May our next meeting be just as pleasurable." The scientist said before turning to follow his droids to do force-knows-what. Flint turned to look at the mechanic beside her.

"Now or later?" He asked, wondering when exactly he would learn what just happened.

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

She waited, anxiously, the tension wound tightly in her shoulders as she watched the entire exchange. She didn't breath easier until Valik and his groupies left. And she knew she'd breath easier, still, once they were safely off-planet.

Flint's voice cut through her introspection.

"What?" Mind churned to figure out what he meant. Then she caught it. His analytic gaze with a small mixture of curiosity and perhaps concern. "Oh. Nothing. That was nothing." She went to brush past his shoulder and head up the ship.

"I don't want to talk about it."

 

[Flint Michigan]

[member="Kitt Solo"]

Kitt's response came in stages. Confusion. Recognition. And then pushing Flint off. Whatever that man was, or whatever he did Kitt was taking it pretty hard. Flint put up a frown.

"All right." He said as he walked into the ship. "If you need me I'm here for you." Flint said, a bit worried for her. Whatever Kitt and Flint had started or experienced in the cold now was not the time to push, but give her some space and be there for whatever happened. Closing the ramp he headed over to the cockpit.

"It's time for us to get the hell off this rock." Flint said, prepping the Detroit Nexu for launch. Hopefuly with a little distance from the world of force-vampires she'd feel a bit better. And if not? Well, he still owed her a couple of pounds of dark chocolate.

 

[Kitt Solo]

[member="Flint Michigan"]

She wanted to tell Flint thank you. She appreciated the space. But she was still brooding as he walked by to the cockpit. She peeled off the bandanna and set the bolter down in her shared room.

She lingered in the doorway of the room, just making out the back of Flint's head in the cockpit.

Rubbing her temples, she slipped inside her bunk-room and sealed the door closed with a whoosh-hiss. She needed some time alone, the thing she feared most.