Smooth Landing

[Miya Ashera]

Saoirse had once more gotten herself into more trouble than she could handle. She seemed to have a talent for it. Fortunately for her, getting out of those sticky situations appeared to be an even greater talent. And after all bridges had been burnt out, it had been time to move on. In the subtlest way she could imagine, she had hitched a ride off Nar Shaddaa with some pilot named Tim. He didn't seem to mind the company, and when she offered to share with him what she had on her of spice, he had been easy to persuade. Tim was headed to Enigma Prime, for whatever reason, so now Saoirse supposed she was too.

In retrospect, it was when they started doing spice that it all had gone wrong. Maybe she should've seen it coming, but the urge had been strong and it hadn't felt right to deny him while they floated through space. Besides, getting high together was much more entertaining than alone. The auto-pilot had not approved. Or perhaps it had been Saoirse playing the ship's control panel like a piano while Tim sang a song from his homeworld at the top of his lungs. Probably the auto-pilot, she figured.

Regardless of who was to blame (the auto-pilot), their ship had made an unexpected pit stop before reaching their destination. Had they at least managed to make it to Enigma Prime? Saoirse honestly didn't know. She'd ask Tim, but of course, by unexpected pit stop she meant crash landing. Tim was totally dead. Saoirse had come out of it more or less unscathed. She woke up, unaware of how long she'd been out for. Her head hurt, as did pretty much the rest of her entire body, but nothing felt broken and she could move around just fine. There was blood on her forehead, but the bleeding had stopped.

With a groan she pushed open the transparent, yet dirt-covered, cockpit and stood up to look around. Saoirse was trying to get her bearings. She noticed now that there was some blood on her left shoulder, and parts of the arm of her white sweater had been ripped. It was a somewhat loose white top with long sleeves, which also left her left shoulder bare. Underneath she wore a strapless grey shirt, only visible by the hems below the shorter sweater. Her pants were black, slightly shiny, and unlike her sweater, a tight fit.

[member="Grudge The Grutt"]

 

[Grudge The Grutt]

Back In Ession. . . .

*SLAM* "You idiotic lump of hyperactive cells! I need that ore by tomorrow! T-..Tired? Keheh..Kehaha..KEEHAHAH!" Transmission ended.

Meanwhile In Enigma Prime. . . .

Enigma Prime, home to ore mines by which a particular 'Hutt' Grutt ( Grumpy Hutt ), had dispatched a platoon of mutants to extract minerals from. They arrived in 'Truck' class freighters, a portion of the platoon totting vibro-weapon and rifles whilst the remaining group snatched the mining equipment from the locals and carried through with instruction. By week 2 of their mining exposition, they ran low on supplies and means to sustain energy: Food and Water. A leading member contacted their leader, Grudge The Grutt, but found his effort futile as the Grutt merely laughed and hastened the speed of which he wished to received the minerals. The ending of the exposition neared, the freighters filled nearly to the brim with minerals and the mutants boarding the newly acquired mining equipment onto the various ships that surrounded the mining field before-----
"Big...Meteor...Up!" A mutant spoke in jumbled text.

The remaining mutants looked up, taking notice of a descending plane aimed directly before the mining field. The mutants quickly fled, a handful taken victim by the sheer force of the crash-land. The smoke, dirt clouds and general debris would flee with time, revealing a crashed shuttle alongside a humanoid: [member="Saoirse Reyes"]. The mutants would grunt, banging against their chests whilst others instantly took to positioning rifles towards her small frame. "Puny Lady make big boom! We kill now-" One would shout out, another tackling the previous speaker and stopping his rush towards the woman. "No! We bring puny, puny to Boss! Boss decide." The others nodded before lowering their rifles. A leading mutant would sling his rifle around to his back, approaching the woman before grunting.

"What bring you here, puny, puny? Why not us kill you now!?" He roared.

 

[Miya Ashera]

Saoirse was unaware of the people she had just killed. Or rather, that the auto-pilot had just killed. She was innocent. When she opened the cockpit and stood up she had not expected to see a small army of giant men. They appeared less than friendly. Not good. She could reach for the blaster down by the pilot's seat, but she wasn't sure she'd last long if she took the violent path. With their rifles aimed at her there was no guarantee that she'd ever reach the blaster. Kark it. Why could it never be simple and smooth sailing.

At least they were dumb. Or they seemed dumb, based on the way they spoke. First impressions mattered and were hard to overcome. Unfortunately for her, their first impression was that she was puny and easily squished. But maybe she could try to play them and turn this in her favour somehow... Or she might get herself torn to pieces. Fun for everyone involved.

"Try to kill me... I make another big boom! Very scary. Very... Uh... Boomy" Yeah. That'd totally freak them out.

She had watched as two seemed to start a little fight with each other as they decided to what to do with her. Kill or take to their boss? She was decidedly against one of those options, which didn't leave her with much. Hopefully he would be someone she could reason with, on the off chance they didn't run away in terror from her little bluff. She wasn't holding her breath.

In the event that they did not seem impressed with her little threat, she would quickly throw in another option: "Or! Take me to your boss. I teach boss how to make big boom. If Puny Lady can make big boom, imagine what your boss could do!" it was the first thing that came to mind and so she went with it. The horde of potentially trigger-happy brutes didn't exactly encourage her to take her time. "Speaking of, who is your boss exactly?" she added, curious about who or what she might be dealing with. There was a chance she was totally underestimating their intelligence and they would feel gravely insulted by her behaviour. Time would show if she could talk and joke her way out of this one.

[member="Grudge The Grutt"]

 

[Grudge The Grutt]

The surrounding band of mutants grunted in awe at the woman's threat. "Puny have big boom! Att-" His speech was briefly cut off by the leading mutant's hearty laughter. His brief laughter faded, a smug look substituting his prior expression as he took earth rumbling steps toward [member="Saoirse Reyes"]. He'd hunch his back, lowering his face to her own. "Little puny with big boom? Mutants not dumb. Speak like us again. We snatch throat out." Despite their jumbled text and low degree of general intellect, the leading member seemed to take her use of words as mockery. Thus, it wouldn't be tolerated. Whilst she spoke, the leading mutant extended a hand toward her, aiming to pick her up with a single hand and throw her over his shoulder. "Quiet, puny, puny. You come with us."

Sounds of ignitions firing and minerals being boarded onto the freighters roared throughout the vicinity. With the leading mutant's permission, the freighters rose into the sky and departed from Enigma Prime. In the leading shuttle, the leading mutant shrugged the woman off of his shoulder, allowing her to either fall or catch herself. "You teach Boss? GRAHA! Boss know much. Puny fleshy no hear of Balroyaal? Boss make..." He'd point to the giant monstrosities sitting in the ship. "Us..Himself. Boss brain big." Within time, they'd escape Enigma Prime, each individual freighter ship boarding onto an enormous ship: "The Lance", that lied outside the proximity of Enigma Prime's gravitational pull. "Come, puny." He'd command, walking off the ship and into the Lance's enormous exterior. Whether she knew it, or not, the ship had taken off toward Ession, where Balroyaal himself had constructed a business and a new race of near-mindless mutants.

[member="Saoirse Reyes"]

 

[Miya Ashera]

[member="Grudge The Grutt"]

Saoirse's threat almost backfired. It seemed the threat of imminent destruction only further convinced a few of them that she had to be destroyed immediately. She had been foolish in thinking lack of intelligence also meant lack of bravery. These were no cowards, but likely bred for combat. Being laughed at was fairly low on her list of favourite things to happen to her, but when it meant not dying, she would find a way to endure. Was he their leader, she wondered, as the giant moved towards her. What he said to her next made it feel like her blood froze right then and there. Not only had she miscalculated, she had totally been called out on it. Even if they weren't the smartest they were self-aware. Or maybe they were smart. Either way, she wouldn't be trying something like that again.

"Hey!" she exclaimed in protest, ready to dart down back into the cockpit when he reached out to grab her. The protest did her no good, however, and she quickly found herself lifted and tossed over the mutant's shoulder. Man this day just would not get any better. And the headache from the spice she had taken didn't make things any better. Puny puny was coming with them, whether she liked it or not.

Saoirse dropped down onto the floor of their shuttle. She slowly rose back up to her feet with spiteful look shot back at the mutant. She was clearly not amused. "Where are you taking me? Just let me leave" she asked and demanded. What did they want with her? Whatever it was, she didn't expect they'd offer her a new ship and a fresh batch of spice. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. She hadn't heard of their boss or of Balroyaal, but she felt pretty confident that none of that spelt anything good for her either.

"He made you? From what?" she asked, curious. Had they once been like her? If so, that didn't seem very promising for her future... Or were they some kind of genetically engineered clones? "So what, you guys are like... His slaves?" she asked, trying to sound simply naive and curious. There was no malice in her tone, though she was saying it to test their limits, learn more of their relationship and how they felt. The danger of pushing buttons was of course that they might at any time lead to a violent explosion. When the mutant walked off the shuttle and over into the larger ship, Saoirse followed. It wasn't like she had much of a choice at this point. And walking felt much better than being carried in the way she had been before.

 

[Grudge The Grutt]

The leading mutant paused, looking over to [member="Saoirse Reyes"]. "Mutants not slaves. Mutants are children to boss. You see chain?" He'd chuckle briefly, returning to his forward stroll further into the ship's cargo section. The massive auto-matic doors slid open, exposing Saoirse to the sight of hundreds walking around, both mutant and human--or something close enough. She could see gargantuan sized water tanks containing The Leviathan classed mutants. The massive stone-covered beasts swimming in circles about their limited space. "Here. Where mutants are carried to new owners. Boss sell us, and we serve." He'd exit the cargo section, entering one of many elevators and awaiting the puny's follow before they both rose up and into the commanding section of the ship. There, and only there, were where the mutants with purple high-tec "Titan Skin" heavy armor were allowed to command, and navigate. As the two walked in, they were met with unsettling gazes hidden behind technologically advanced masks. "...Me bring pun-" -- "TAKE PUNY TO PRISON HOLD. Not here," One would yell. "NO! This puny not for..'pleasure'. This puny for ..Boss." The mutants looked at one another, pausing briefly before bursting out in a collective hearty laughter. "That puny? If not to be pleasure dumpster, then what good is it?" Another would add. Then another. And another until---"GRAAH! SILENCE! YOU WANT PUNY? GET PAST ME." The leading mutant would shout, bobbing lightly with fists clenched in anger. The remaining mutants were overcome with silence, returning to their operations despite minor whispers. The mutant would look to Reyes, "..Sit." He'd command, motioning toward his oversized commanding chair. The boss' treasures were treated was jewels, for if their creator received he, she, or 'it' with damage..it spelled certain death.

"We reach home. One day." A mutant would announce. "Grancha.." The leading mutant would respond.

 

[Miya Ashera]

Children to boss? Those were some big kids, Saoirse thought to herself. At least she had learned the lesson that some things were better kept to herself. "Not all slaves require a chain. Not all chains are visible" Nope, that lesson wasn't quite learnt yet. But she had time to remedy that. Hopefully. He might call it what he would, but she still imagined theirs was a form of servitude. Whoever his 'boss' was she doubted he cared for them as he would his own children.

Saoirse restrained herself to not let out a gasp as she saw the army in front of her. Hot damn there were many of them. Her chances were better at the ship, and even they had been slim. Though suppose nothing changed. They were still going to bring her to their boss. She'd have to put her money on being able to play him. She was good at playing people and getting what she wanted.

"Sells his children, does he? Cruel boss." the blonde teased. In retrospect she probably should have stopped there, though Saoirse had no such filters. "Guess who else sells people? Slavers." Too far? Probably too far. It was a shame in this situation that she enjoyed pushing people to their limits this much.

Once they reached the command center things started getting heated again. There were more mutants here, although they appeared different. A mutant elite perhaps? Unlike the gang at the crash who simply wanted to murder her, these guys had another use for her in mind. Pleasure dumpster? Oh dear. She was keeping poor company. This time she didn't snap back with some underhanded remark. She simply watched the exchange between her guide and those who called for her to be handed over. It was clear that when they saw her they saw only one purpose. Thankfully her captor held some authority and they seemed to listen to him.

Her heart-rate had increased quite a bit as their discussion went on. Now that it was clear she was safe, it calmed a little. When the leading mutant told her to sit she was quick to comply. The chair was far too large for her, but it gave her space to make herself comfortable. She would have to stay on the good side of her protector, and try her best not to step out of line. He might just let them have their way with her. After all their shouting, however, she felt like she needed to put voice to her little victory. Leaning back in the chair, legs crossed, and with a smug smirk she said "Sorry boys. VIP in the house." She couldn't help it, she just wanted to rub it in their faces one time. She might not have been in control, but she was out of bounds. This meant neither did they.

[member="Grudge The Grutt"]