The Wolf and the Snake

[Valgærd]

Space is beautiful.

My mind swirled, rife with thoughts and worries. I needed a new ship, a ship of my own. I needed to finalise so many things with this investment. There were crews that needed to be paid, equipment that needed purchasing, and a whole host of rich people that needed extorting to finance it all.

But this was going to change that… I hoped.

Of course, there are other advantages to having men and women of power and influence in your pocket, but I hated relying on them financially. There’s only so much juice you can squeeze out of a fruit before it dries up, and statistically, I was bound to come across one that squeezed back.

The instruments on the bridge in front of me lit up. Honestly, I was surprised this bucket of bolts managed to take me out this far. But I was glad it had. With a little fiddling, I dropped the ship out of hyperspace.

Something was nearby.

I took a moment to pause and admire the beauty. Ahead of me, a beautiful nebula sat against the inky backdrop, thousands of tiny white stars glittering upon it like gems on a gown. A sigh uncoiled from my chest. That view alone would almost make this trip worth it.

Once the breath left my lungs, however, I turned, studying the readings before me. Who else could possibly be out here?

[member="Death Adder"]

 

[Death Adder]

"Ahhh space. The great void of darkness. So beautiful, so deadly."

The human stared out into the void lost in his own words. He spoke as if talking to his crew, but they knew better. He was lost in his thoughts again. Perhaps another scheme to get them rich. The navigator, a Falleen, was hesitant to disturb his Captain.

"Ahm, Captain.."

The human turned his head ever so slightly pulling himself from his own thoughts and back to his own bridge.

"...There appears to be a small ship approaching. Looks like a freighter. Much to small to be a refinery ship or cargo hauler"

The human turned and returned to his chair, and looked at his Navigator and smiled.

"How curious, send a squadron out. Lets see what fortune has decided to grace us this day. In fact, you know what, I need to stretch my legs. Prepare a boarding party"

After giving his orders, the human made his way to the shuttle bay.


Five fighter spacecraft approached the new visitor, whom fired a couple of warning shots in front of the freighter, with the intention of getting her attention before sending a hail.

"Unknown ship, you are trespassing in Void Serpent space. You are to power down your engine and prepare to be boarded. Failure to compile and you'll find yourself weightless and cold very fast."

 

[Valgærd]

Boom, boom, boom!

I gasped, my fingers suddenly reaching to grip the console as my ship rocked and shuddered. A dark grimace fell across my features... I knew exactly what that was. I'd sustained no damage, no warnings were flashing across the panels, that was not a shot meant to maime or kill...

That was a warning shot.

Okay, maybe the freighter was a bad idea. I had no weapons to defend with and at best, minimal shields with which to defend myself. To say my options were limited would be a vicious understatement. But as the grimace past, the first tinges of a smile tugged at the corners of my lips. This was where I thrived. Out in the middle of nowhere, a sitting duck without so much as a bitey stick with which to defend myself?

Bring it on.

My smile broadened as I heard the hail, a voice coming over my speakers declaring that I was to be boarded. Even better.

"Oh... excellent." I murmured to myself, ensuring my outgoing comms were disabled, "come on in, boys."

Now, I didn't know exactly how many were boarding, which left me ad a disadvantage. But considering the small size of this freighter, it had only one door, which meant I did know exactly where they would be coming in; one point for me. Additionally, their chances of knowing exactly what I was were considerably low, and having a way to counter my... talents were also low, another point to me. I did as they instructed, powering down the engines and bringing this bucket of bolts to a stop.

Then, I grabbed my staff and made my way to the airlock, slipping into invisibility and waiting silently.

Welcome aboard, assholes.

[member="Death Adder"]

 

[Death Adder]

​

​

The pirate shuttle docked and created an perfect airlock. If the occupant of the freighter was paying attention, they would likely identify that these pirates were somewhat experienced, at least at piloting.

As the airlock opened, four Falleen pirate males entered, each wielding light blasters. If not stopped they would enter the vessel cautiously looking around corners and searching for crew members. If upon spotting anyone in the freighter, one pirate would watch them with their blaster trained on them standing about 2 meters away, intending to be out of direct hand to hand range if able.

After the four of the pirates secured the initial entry way, a well groomed human walked in flanked by two more pirates. One of which was a Trandoshan. He appeared unarmed and dressed in a fine suit of clothing. If the freighter crew member was perceptive she would likely notice underneath his suit he wore a skintight vacuum suit and perhaps maybe half a dozen concealed throwing blades. The human wouldn't survive long in space but a lot longer then if he had nothing at all. His neatly groomed brown vandyke was masterfully trimmed and sharp. He walked upright and placed each step purposefully.

Looking around the entry way he waited for his men to bring the crew back to him.

Hmm, I sense something, something's not right...

 

[Valgærd]

I counted them to myself, keeping my footfalls as light as possible and my staff close to me. No use being invisible if I ended up banging the thing on walls and roof, giving away my position.

Seven on board all together.

Instantly, the human caught my eye. Sharp, well-groomed, standing with good posture and with graceful, deliberate movements. He was hardly what I expected from a pirate; particularly out here in the outer rim. One thing was obvious about him: He was in charge. He hadn't yet said anything, but beyond the way he held himself differently from the others, and even beyond being flanked by what were clearly guards, the body language of the others around him seemed to just say that he was the boss.

Okay, now I knew whose attention I needed to get. Time to get it.

I followed the first two falleen as they moved into my ship. It didn't take long for them to peel off from the group and separate themselves as they searched for me. Eventually they made their way towards the engine bay. Perfect. I stayed three or four steps behind them until they were close enough to the humming machinery. Having spent several minutes stalking the two, I was coiled and ready to strike quickly. Going around to the outside of the pair, I held up my staff and unleashed a bolt into his side. Hopefully, the rumble of the engine masked the sound of the blow, which killed the first man instantly. As I'd hoped, he was shoved by the force of the blast into the second, who toppled to the ground. It took only a moment to ram the head of the staff into his temple and end him swiftly... if messily.

Two down, two to go.

Once again raising the shroud and turning invisible, I resumed the search through the ship. The other two falleen had made their way to the living quarters. Okay, significantly quieter than the engine bay. There was a chance someone might hear this. Staying silent, I repeated what I'd done before; ending them both swiftly before once again hiding my form and force signature.

Making my way back to the cargo hold I moved slowly, staying as silent as possible as I slipped by the human and his pet guards. Since the man had moved into the cargo bay, the doors of the airlock were hidden from his view. I had to do this quickly and quietly if it was going to work. I stepped into the airlock, moving as close to the shuttle as I could without actually stepping inside. I dropped my invisibility, relying now on the physical objects to obscure me from the invadors. Concentrating as hard as I could, I reached out through the force to the pilot of the shuttle.

"You don't want to wait here any longer." I said quietly.

"I don't want to wait here any longer."

"You want to return to your ship."

"I want to return to my ship."

As soon as I heard the hiss of the airlock disengaging and the shuttle begining to move away, I breathed out a sigh of relief. The human may have entered my ship as an invader, but he was now, for all intents and purposes, my hostage. Having heavily exerted myself hiding from him, I was no longer able to hold up the shroud with any effectiveness or consistency. In fact, even maintaining a human form was becoming tiresome. Time to reveal the sprung trap, I suppose.

"Welcome aboard, gentlemen" I began, stepping around from the airlock and into their sight. I held my staff up by my side, not threatening them, but clearly still armed with it, "please, make yourselves comfortable. You ought to know I treat all my hostages fairly and with as much comfort as I can provide."

As I spoke, I nodded to one of the small windows, where, if they looked, they would see their shuttle returning to the ship.

"Let's talk business, shall we?"

​

[member="Death Adder"]​

 

[Death Adder]

After awhile of waiting, while keeping his composure the human strolled over to the ships intercom still flanked by two of his crew. In a well educated tone he spoke.

"Well hello there."

The words echoed through the ship.

"It seems you may have misunderstood how this works. That's fine let me lay it out for you."

Without waiting for a response he continued.

"You see, you meet us at the airlock we meet shake hands exchange goods, then..."

Phsoosh

Looking back at the airlock door he turned to one of his crew.

"Was that my ship!"

Without waiting for a reply he used his wrist computer to open up a communication to his shuttle pilot.

"I didn't tell you to go snake!"

The reply that came back over his com was a dry monotone voice.

"I want to return to my ship"

For the first time since board the human lost a little of his composure, as he quickly reached out for a thermal detonator that was secured his Dosh bodyguard and placed his hand behind his back, just prior to hearing a woman's voice. Both bodyguards raised their blaster but where before they could fire were signaled by their captain to lower their arms.

"Well, there you are. Clever. I didn't expect that."

At the mention of business, the pirate's eyes lightened up slightly. Taking a quick glance at the empty cargo bay he returned his glaze back to the female.

"Business you say. Very well let us converse. Oh and some warning. That won't work on me."

The pirate motioned towards a window that now had shrinking after burner of his shuttle, and fold his hands in front of himself arming the detonator.

 

[Valgærd]

Oh he was charming.

Standing before the human and his now significantly-reduced entourage, I fought to keep my heartrate steady and my breathing even. He had to believe that I wasn't afraid of him. I had to believe I wasn't afraid of him. Even though I had effectively disabled his ships guns (assuming they wouldn't fire on their own captain), the man himself was still very much an unknown in this equation. With what was he armed? How was his skill? Was he human as he looked? Gurlanin like me? Something else?

"Oh I wouldn't presume to insult you with my pursuasion," I casually replied, slinking over with a shrug that would have emphasised the line of my cleavage, "not... that kind, anyway."

I stopped a few feet in front of him, not wishing to give his entourage any reason to get violent.

"So, first things first, we ought to get properly acquainted, wouldn't you say? I can hardly do business with someone if I can't even address them properly. I'll begin, as your hostess. You can call me Ahtemis. You might be...?"

I hoped that by offering my name first, this imeccably well-dressed pirate would be willing to engage me. After all, the more he was doing that, the less he was figuring out a way to blow me out of the galaxy without getting himself killed in the process.

​

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[member="Death Adder"]​

 

[Death Adder]

The pirate looked intently at the woman now approaching him. She was fearless.

Hmm, she's not even afraid. I suspect in the absence of a response from my searching crew she may have dispatched them. Ah, the good old distract him with cleavage deal. Right. I not dealing with a standard woman. hmm how should I play this..

"Ah right you are. How rude of me. You must forgive me. I was just admiring your ship and her all of her... assets."

The pirate looked the woman over as he spoke his last words.

"You may call me Death Adder. I'll be your...shall we say import agent into the Dohmus System. Come"

Death Adder motioned for them to both walk over to an area where they can both sit. But still purposefully keeping his distance to at least 2 meters from Ahtemis. His two guards remained where they were but didn't take their eyes of the woman.

"Perhaps we got off on to the wrong foot. I tell you what lets make this each make a gesture of good will, after all as you are the hostess, you can disarm yourself first and I'll deactivate this grenade here."

The human admired the woman but from afar. straightened himself and continued.

"You mentioned business. It just so happens I am also a man of business. Please do go."

A small smile breached his lips as he spoke.

 

[Valgærd]

Death Adder

Fitting, I thought to myself. He really did come across like some sort of deadly viper, cornering and striking at prey from the unseen shadows. Too bad this prey happened to be a wolf. Luckily for me, however, I happened to be in need of just such an asset. He moved about my ship as if it was already his, walking over to the small booth that served as the dining area and taking a seat. I followed, casually resting my staff against the wall where it would still be within arms reach if I had to stand up in a hurry. I made a show of sliding elegantly into the seat, moving with the fluid grace of a feline. It may not have looked like it, but we were already locked in a battle. Like two lions posturing over a kill, which ever of us showed weakness to the other would likely be killed.

I returned his smile with one of my own, dipping my head a little as my ebony tresses tumbled over my shoulder.

"Yes," I began, "business. It just so happens that I am in the process of finalising a deal that could prove advantageous... for both of us. It would seem that you and your men do a fine job of patrolling this sector, inspecting gear for contraband, etcetera. Unfortunately, seeing as there is almost no trade in this system right now, your business is dwindling, am I right?"

As I spoke, I leaned back, extending my arms and draping them over the cushioned seat. He may not have been able to see it, but under the table I crossed my legs, clearly indicating that I had no fear of him or his men. If only my own body would catch up and stop tingling with utter terror. Taking a breath, I kept my voice calm, velvety and flowing like honey,

"I would like to propose... a partnership, of sorts. With some time, lots of money, and just a little luck, I plan to get that system back up and trading again. This, of course, means a lot more traffic to the system. I can't control all of it, but such a fine, capable man as yourself, with such a fine crew... you certainly could. For the right fee, of course. Plus, you would obviously be free to keep any... contraband you confiscate. What do you think?"

It took all my concentration to let my breath it in a low, even sigh and not give away how much I felt as though I were walking on broken glass.

​

[member="Death Adder"]​

 

[Death Adder]

​

​

This woman is elegant, and confident. She has some talent and is not prey, but a predator in disguise. I think due to her demeanor however, she is slightly out of her depth. However she masks it well. Very well in fact. If I not trained and an expert to search for such things I would have easily miss it. But the body never lies.

Watching the woman place her staff down, the deactivated the grenade.

"Trading you say. And how would you be different to say another corporation that attempted to traverse this system?"

The human leaded back studied the woman across from him and stroked his beard in thought. After awhile he leaned in.

"And who are you exactly?

What would stop me from just ransom you back to your people?

The staff she has is extremely well made. Not quite sure what metal that is, but it looks masterfully crafted. And her cloak, I have not seen it's like before in the galaxy. I can sense her now before me. But I could not sense her when I first entered the ship. Can she somehow hide herself?

 

[Valgærd]

I arched an eyebrow at his question.

How indeed? The man surely didn't know it, but he'd struck something of a nerve with those words. I attempted to play off my uneasiness with a casual shift in my seat, casting my eyes down and subtly shrugging one shoulder as the light spilled over us.

"Because I am not a corporation." I replied after a moment, "they have shareholders, stock prices, publicity and all that nonsense to worry about. Their heads are in the books and their penthouses in the core systems. Do you think a CEO has ever come all the way out here? Where there are no late night floozies and fine wine on hand?"

I took a breath, realising that I'd leaned forwards a little while talking. My jaw tightened as I forced myself to casually lean back again. It was true. I was very far from one of those mega corporations. Perhaps I was right, perhaps this would be the reason I could make it where the big companies had failed. That's what I told myself, at least. But... the nagging feeling was ever-present. To my knowledge, no one had been as reckless as I've been. There had to be a reason for that. Men of power in your pocket, strings you can pull, credits from the accounts of the super-rich... there was only so far these could take you. I hoped this was far enough.

His next two questions came within quick seccession of one another.

To the first, I simply offered him a teasing smile and tapped the side of my nose,

"Oh come now, Death Adder." I mused coyly, "what's a woman without her secrets? You haven't even bought me dinner, yet. I could hardly divulge such personal information already, can I?"

After a moment, I let my smile grow wider,

"Suffice it to say, I am in the business of relieving some very powerful people of very delicate information. In return for its safekeeping, they tend to do me favours. As to ransoming me back to my people? That's hardly a new threat. I am in a business where that is a threat I receive almost daily. Do you really think I don't have my own contingencies in place? Or should I kill a few more of your men to prove it?"

I lifted a hand and wiggled my fingers playfully at the two guards, smiling at them,

"Don't worry boys, I'm sure your boss is reasonable."

​

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[member="Death Adder"]​

 

[Death Adder]

​

​

She certainly has confidence in her ability to deal. She even thinks she actually still has the upper hand. But perhaps it's all a bluff. But what's the worst that can happen.

"So you want to play your cards close to your chest. I can understand that. Respect that even."

If Ahtemis looked close enough, she could see the start of a very simple smirk form upon the human's mouth briefly before disappearing. Noticing his own emotion forming, Death Adder shifted in his chair and brought his fingers together, attempting to create a distraction from his emotion.

"Very well Ahtemis. Conciser me intrigued. I like your style and I might be interested in what your peddling. This makes us friends now. Come let me treat you to a meal friend."

As Death Adder stood and extended a free hand offering a hand shake, his guards although temporary stiffened at Ahtemis' last comment watched intently on her next reaction.

If Ahtemis accepts the gesture then Death adder will apply a firm hand grip then use his wrist computer to confirm some star chart coordinates, and will attempt to provide them to Ahtemis.

 

[Valgærd]

Although my eyes met his, gazing at this pirate directly and without fear, I was internally holding my breath.

Would he accept my offer? Would this be the beginning of a partnership between us? Would we walk out of here as friends and allies? Or would he call my bluff, and if that was the case, would he kill my himself for the trouble I've caused? Or have his men do it? Even if I grabbed my staff in time, I highly doubted I could take on the three of them. Whichever way it went, one thing was for sure: our futures had both changed forever because of this chance meeting.

Very well

He used my name, saying that, for now at least, I'd succesfully bartered my life back. The smile that graced my lips then as he stood was a genuine one, friends indeed. This human, this Death Adder, was clearly powerful, easily as manipulative as I was. I wouldn't trust someone like that in my pocket... yes, friends, I think, would be a good relationship.

"Why thank you," I replied, reaching out elegantly to shake his hand, "it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance... officially."

His handshake was firm, not strangling in nature but definitely one of power. My own was much more feminine and gentle, part of the charm and veil I chose to shroud myself in. I collected the coordinates on my datapad, sending them with a swipe to my ship's nav computer.

"Well," I smiled, tossing my hair back over my shoulder, "shall we go together? Or would you prefer to take your own ship?"

​

[member="Death Adder"]​

 

[Death Adder]

The two guards watched on and as they saw their captain and Ahtemis shake hands they visibly relaxed and almost let out a sigh. If the new partnership works out, perhaps their captain would be slightly lenient on them as they failed in their duty and allowed someone to get to this close to him. He had spaced others for less.

Death Adder gave a slight tilt of his head and smile as he looked into Ahtemis' eyes.

"We'll use your's. As you saw to it that mine was sent away."

His words might have contained a slight annoyance in his tone. Straightening himself the pirate tapped a few more commands on his wrist computer, before looking back to Ahtemis.

"Oh, and as my new friend I have organised a full squadron escort...you know, to honour our arrival back to base.

So I can warn my men, should we expect any other vessels into this system soon? You know, I wouldn't want to..."

Death Adder paused for a moment and considered his next words.

"Accidentally mistake their intentions."

I need to be careful. If she is indeed gifted like me, then she may be very well connected to one of those galactic interfering religious organisations. And that is trouble I don't need in this system. But if she is really genuine, then I'll take that bet. Their is a lot to gain here potentially.

 

[Valgærd]

I stiffened, sensing the annoyance slight displeasure in Death Adder's tone as he mentioned the stunt I'd pulled with his shuttle.

My eyes were on his fingers as they moved back to his wrist computer. However, his next words made me relax a little. An escort, fair enough, it wasn't anything I wouldn't do, were the roles reversed. In fact, there seemed to be a lot that he did that made sense to me. We weren't that different, it seemed. While my business dealings were mostly kept as well-hidden as possible, and his were more... overt, we still seemed to be cut from a similar cloth; carving out our respective livings from this harsh and unforgiving galaxy.

"An escort?" I replied with a smile, "well, that is special, isn't it?"

Special indeed. For the first time, I felt a sense of the uneasiness that the pirate was feeling. It was subtle, very well masked. But I'd made enough of an impression to earn his respect... at least for now. I moved swiftly towards what passed for a bridge on this bucket of bolts, gracefully lowering myself into the seat and firing up the engines again. I kept my eyes on the void ahead of us, but my arm swept out, daintily indicating to the co-pilot seat.

"Now, shall we?" I cooed, turning towards the coordinates.

​

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[member="Death Adder"]​

 

[Death Adder]

It wasn't long before the freighter reached the coordinates. At first there was nothing but the void of space. Death Adder watched his female companion waiting for a response. Seconds later his wrist computer lit up.

"Here we go. Brace yourself my dear. Welcome to the Serpent Maelstrom."

No sooner had he finished his welcome, then a huge Command Carrier Capital ship flew over the freighter and into the cockpit viewing window. Moments later all occupants of the freighter could feel a tractor beam attach itself and drag her into one of her many ship bays.


On the way out of the freighter, while escorting their new guest, Death Adder grabbed Ahtemis' staff and threw it to her. Barely looking at her, he continued.

"You may not want to leave that lying around. It looks expensive, and... well we are pirates after all"

With a wink he continued on leading Ahtemis through the his Carrier to what looked an Officers lounge. The lounge was elegant, opulent and out of place compared to the rest of the carrier. The ship looked like what you'd expect a pirate ship out in wild space would look like, but the lounge looked liked one had just walked into a high roller casino on Coruscant or Alderaan. Leaving the guards at the door, Death Adder walking straight over to a decanter, poured two crystal glasses, offered one to Ahtemis then offered her a seat before sitting himself opposite.

"Now then, lets get to know one other"