Private What's Mine is Mine

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

A few hours ago, Vulcan Krayt was taken into the brig. It wasn't as though he was made to wait and stew and get all anxious before someone came to see him. It was moreso because Lori had to see Grand Shepherd Burtch about the ludicrous bill that he had sent to her to pay for damages and even underwear of some of the Longneck's crew. So what if her methods weren't in some Imperial officer's handbook. They work, don't they?

Burtch got his way in the end though, afterall. She might outrank him due to her position within the Empire, but she had put him in command of this mission, and so that nullified her own status for the duration. Especially as she wanted to partake in any space battles to defend what was hers.

Vulcan's R2 unit was secured, so the pirate captive was alone in his cell. No other captives were on the ship, so the nearby cells were all empty.

Lori entered the cell with a tray carrying a plastic glass of water and a sandwich on a plastic plate. It wasn't hard to find Vulcan inside of the small cell which housed a bed, wash basin and toilet.

"Hungry?"

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

Vulcan put up no resistance to being taken down in the brig. His best option is to co-operate because a business end of a blaster is no fun nor is it healthy. So now he is perched on the spartan bed, the whole brig was empty which is also concerning because you can only do so much and take so much listening to your own thoughts. Vulcan shook his head at the sudden mental images. He did not want to entertain any of that today.

No, not even THAT one. That one took forever to unpick.

He doubted his fellow pirates noticed that he wasn't in the fray or feeding information back to the Quartermaster he was under. Now that's an upside, no yelling or noise to compete with. He quietly sighed in relief at this. Nobody likes out yelling an engine going at full tilt.

Vulcan's mind switched to what's going to happen to him, is it going to be bad, are they going to do horrible things to him? A lot of those avenues were overthought, he was so caught up in it he only vaguely noticed Loreena Arenais-Valhoun come in carrying what looked like food.

As if on cue his stomach rumbled in reply. Vulcan on the other hand eyed her suspiciously before he nodded.

<"Yes, been a while since I ate."> Which was true, everything went into battle mode and food was forgotten, except Rum, it was in spades where he lived.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori gave Vulcan Krayt a curt nod and then lay the tray down on the bed. Then she backed up a bit and folded her arms across her chest as she watched him. Her expression wasn't entirely unreadible. There was concern and a little bit of anger rolled into one.

"Well, where to begin? Mind telling me your name? Who you work for?" She had to stop herself from asking everything at once. Lori had a habit of forgetting herself at times and this was the first time that she had ever held a captive. Usually it was the other way around. Usually she was the one being held. Hopefully she wouldn't find herself being a captive any time soon.

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

He took some of the sandwiches and took a bite, it didn't taste any different, and even if it did, he wasn't choosy. Hunger doesn't pick at what is given. Besides, Vulcan is in no position to be picky about food, not while he is in the brig. He took more time to eat the food before answering her, which was something he found easy to do at the moment.

<"Vulcan and I work, well worked in the Soudforz as a gunner and anything else they wanted me to do."> He replied, grabbing the other piece of sandwich. Not wanting to give too much away because well, they went after their shipment after all. Vulcan grabbed the water and hesitated slightly, his suspiciousness piqued.

After a terse few minutes, his need to drink overruled his caution and he drank half of the water. His mouth was grateful for it as he was very thirsty and somewhat dehydrated, working in very hot and confined spaces can do that. His posture soon relaxed, seeing as there isn't any reason to be tense, well as tense as he was at the beginning.

<"Much better, haven't eaten or drunk anything except Rum since this morning.">

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Vulcan Krayt was a lackey. She didn't expect anything more than that. It wasn't as though she had stormed the bridge of the ship he flew out of and captured the Captain. No, he was a grunt.

But that didn't mean that he couldn't be useful.

"Well, you all failed in stealing my shipment of kyber crystals. I don't know how you all knew about it, but I'm just glad that we were able to stop you." Lori had lied about what the shipment was. All on purpose, of course. She had had this strategy used on her before, although in a slightly different way, for she wasn't a thief and hadn't been accused as one.

"So what would pirates want with a bunch of kyber crystals anyways? Just to sell them? Or are you all building lightsabers?"

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

He slowly put down his cup now wary of the woman in front of him. He wasn't surprised when more questions came, besides it is to be expected considering where he is now, the bed wasn't as lumpy as the ones in his previous ship but still not the best. He was wise enough not to moan about it even if he didn't enjoy it. Which came to the meat of the situation at hand.

<"Kyber Crystals? Captain said Beskar.> Vulcan says tilting his head in bemusement, either she is messing with him or his hearing has been affected by all that shouting. He wouldn't be surprised if it did and as for knowing how and where. Another ship had relayed the info through the 'grape vine' until it reached the Captain.

<"That is or was for the Captain to decide."> He added, not really telling her much on how they found out about the convoy. He's not the betraying type. <"No comment on the intel.">

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"Well maybe your Captain lied to you all. Every think of that?" Lori let out a small chuckle. "I think it'd be hilarious of any of you boarded one of my transports hoping to find beskar or something and instead find a whole lot of fruit! I think I should try that next!" That'd be a good trick! She didn't need to ask for permission to do so as she was the owner of the company.

Hmmm....something to think about later....

The fact that Vulcan Krayt preferred not to comment on the intel irked her somewhat. Here she was being nice and he wouldn't even reciprocate. So she merely shrugged her shoulders. "Well it's obvious that your intel was messed up. I mean, not only in shipment but also, you all were sorely outmatched. What did you all expect? To come across some itty bitty convoy that would wet their pants at the sight of a few pirates? Come on! You obviously thought that MandalArms has very little resources at it's disposal..." She lightly shrugged her shoulders a bit. "So it sounds to me like your beloved Captain has just put you all on a suicide mission. But don't worry. The less that you co-operate, the less chance that you'll see anything other than these four walls. This is an Elysium Empire vessel, and I'm not sure how they treat their prisoners yet. I just had to get to you first just in case you'd lose your ability to talk after they are through with you. So if you know what's best for you, I'd kinda think that you'd want to avoid that."

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

<"We had no reason to believe our Captain was lying...">

Vulcan drew his knees up to his chest and kept them there. So, the intel was wrong? This ... didn't surprise him, he doubted their Quartermaster or First Mate knew exactly what they were doing in the first place. Their captain never actually saw fit to come down to the deck to see their crew. So, he genuinely had no clue what was the real plan anyway. Vulcan did as told and he never questioned it. He never liked the shouting.

This is half the reason he had ended up captive and he saw doubt in his own mind that no one is coming to get him out of this mess. Well, that's the life of a Pirate, and he really should have expected this anyway. So now here he was, weighing out his options, he can't go back as the ship would have been far gone by now. And, if he continued his silence, he'll just make it worse for himself.

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun began to make more sense the longer he thought about it. He didn't enjoy the mental images that she had eluded to. So he talked, well as much as he could, as he wasn't privy to the finer details.

<"Captain always never directed us directly, only through either the Quartermaster or the First Mate. All they said was that we are going to raid you for your valuable cargo. Never said why they needed your wares. No one but the captain knew why they needed your cargo."> Vulcan answered. <"We just had to get it for the Captain, and they were going to go full out to make sure they got it.">

This was the bare truth of the matter, and Vulcan knew that he was sent on a mission he may not have come back from. That he is expendable and easily replaced.

It was pretty much a suicide mission.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

She was getting through to Vulcan Krayt , at least partly. The stance that he took and position on the bed reminded her a lot of herself, especially when she was younger.

"I need names. And if not of the people, I need to know what ships to look out for. Stealing any kind of cargo, valuable or not, is something that I need to look out for. And you can bet that a little ambush like yours isn't going to cut it."

Lori sat down at the edge of his bed. "You've gotta give me something so that I can convince them to let you go. Both you and your R2 unit."

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

<"Our Captain never gave her name, and no one told us."> Vulcan spoke up after a brief silence as he did want to get out of here, but he didn't believe he could exactly go back to the same life he had. So why keep quiet? He didn't change his posture as it felt safer with his knees drawn up.

With how chaotic it had been on the ship several hours prior, he had to really think back on the day he joined up. Which also included what was said about fur. But that isn't important right now at least he hoped not.

<"Nayr was our Quartermaster a Weequay, often yelled a lot. We were under his command. Then M'lio was the First Mate who was Nayr's boss. We were also onboard the Soudorforz that was heading towards you and your cargo."> He added after racking his brains for the information and pushing less valued intel back.

She didn't need to know about Whompa fur. He never understood why anyone said that. He knew he pronounced it poorly but hopefully, it wasn't butchered enough to be gobbledygook or wrong. Vulcan didn't want to see what the EE did to captives any time soon.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori nodded, giving a small appreciative smile. There was no privacy in the cells by the way of audio. Everything was always recorded. So that meant that Vulcan Krayt 's info was quickly being run into the systems and verified through Intelligence.

"Sounds like a really rough career choice. The only ships that I've ever been on besides my own were Mandalorian ones. Sure there's some yelling, but we're always told of what the missions are and not treated like some kind of a..." Lori tried to find the right word for something that would be given so very little information and disregarded as little more than a thing. Finally the words came to mind; "...servant droid. I hope that when they do release you, that you find some other line of work and don't go back to that ship. Where are you from? Anywhere near here?"

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

<"Uba IV but I haven't been inclined to go back there much or at all, I currently live/lived in Theed."> He replied truthfully, not wanting to go back there either. He is in a pickle. He's now jobless and without direction, yet he was happier not being yelled at or made fun of. The calmness of Loreena Arenais-Valhoun made it easier to keep some rapport going without it collapsing like a star inside a pressure valve.

He thought he was going to live as a Corsair, until his capture. Oh well, easy come, easy go. He relaxed, his body language more open and less guarded than it was a few moments ago, and his back had begun to protest to the position it was in. Vulcan gave his back a stretch which helped with the tingling prickly discomfort.

<"Got any more of those Sandwiches and water?"> He inquired hopefully, tapping at the empty plate and glass.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori nodded as Vulcan Krayt reiterated where he was from, followed by where he had lived. She chewed the inside of her cheek. He didn't seem as though he was overly excited to go there. Or anywhere really. It was as though he was in a state of flux.

She took the tray of dishes, nodding as she brought it to the door. After knocking on it, she handed the dishes over, requesting a refill from the guard on the other side, before returning her attention to Vulcan.

"More food is on the way. So where would you like to be dropped off when you're released? We can't go everywhere, mind you." Lori had a couple of ideas in mind, including Mandalore. Surely he'd be able to find work there.

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

As the minutes slipped by, Vulcan had no reason to be so on guard. Sure, in hindsight, he should be at least a little suspicious, but it has been a long day for everyone involved. Who knows what would happen once he was free, he could just go back to being a Pirate. No, that's what got him into this cell in the first place. Theed? Again, no, not because he disliked it but, he really didn't want the spectacle of being dropped off like a child in trouble. Well, 15 is pretty young in retrospect he had THAT down to a tee.

The Ubese sighed more to himself as he mulled things over, giving mental reasoning to what he wanted out of this. A cell will eventually get to him after a while, no one enjoys being in ship jail. Mandalore space seemed to be a good bet, he's out of the way and less likely to catch the ire of the Elysiums again. He's fortunate to be in one piece.

<"Mandalore space seems a good place as any to go."> He replied after giving a good pause to mull it all over. Petulance doesn't often equal silliness at least not this time.

Tag: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori's brows lifted as Vulcan Krayt seemed to have read her mind. Or maybe he just knew of her. Mandalore needed more people and more workers to help to make it strong again.

"I think that's a fine choice. They can use more good people. And you seem like a good person, if only just a little....misguided." Piracy was only bad from a certain point of view. Lori had stolen from the Eternal Empire before, but it wasn't for profit. What she had helped to steal only further empowered the Eclipse Rebellion to fight and gain the upper hand. "I'm sure that I could find someone needing your help. What skills do you have?"

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

Tag: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

He recognised that now, how bad his health would have been if he continued as he had been. The stress had made his head fuzzy on more than one occasion. The shouting was not a very good thing and now that he was spoken to calmly, he can recognise it for how unhealthy it was. He looked up focusing on Loreena fully. Anything to escape what awaited him in a day or so time. That will was something he didn't want to find out in a hurry.

He had skills, but he barely got to show them off, well, that's not entirely true, he held his own in a dogfight, that's skilful in of itself. He managed to shoot some fighters down, but he was gracious enough to refrain from bragging. He knows that that might sour things.

<"I am a decent pilot and I know my way around weaponry."> He replied, finding it hard to list everything as he racked his brains over things he knew about. He remembered that he was able to avoid being trampled on, which saved him from broken bones in a stampede of Corsairs in battle mode.

<"I haven't been trampled on as I am very fast on my feet and a quick thinker.">

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori had seen Vulcan Krayt 's flying abilities up close and personal. He was very good, although she had managed to beat him.

"Weaponry? Well there's plenty of those laying around various battlegrounds. Do you know them well enough to repair them?" Clean up crews were needed. It was tedious and sometimes boring work, but it needed to be done in order for the soil to be cleansed properly.

It was also good that Vulcan was light on his feet and able to adjust quickly to sudden changes in situations. Sometimes the old battlegrounds still held some armed surprises, and it was best to not get blown up in the process of trying to do something worthwhile.

 

[Vulcan Krayt]

Tag: Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

<"Yes, everything on the ship looked like they were about to fall apart, even the walls."> Vulcan answered her, remembering the patch jobs that needed to be done during a fight.

He didn't think much about the Duros that got sucked into space, because he only knew him a day. But still, it was shocking seeing someone get spaced and the near-miss of following suit. Which would have been a premature end for someone young as he. He once had to sort through the cargo. He didn't realise the First Mate was joking about growing fur, he certainly can't grow any. He said something about it and boom, sorting duty. Which allowed him time to get to know the handheld weaponry and ordinances well.

<"Yes, yes I do. Pretty well too."> He answered, a bit of pride colouring his tone.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori smiled as Vulcan Krayt revealed yet another skill of his. "Wicked! We could certainly use your help on Mandalore then. It's going to take a lot of time to restore the planet and rebuild, but with expert hands, we should be able to do it."

She placed a hand on his shoulder before getting to her feet. "I'll see that you are moved to a more comfortable quarter once security finishes their check on you. It'll be a little bit before we get to Mandalore, but not too long. Once there, you'll be dropped off at one of the camps. I've got a supply run to do before I head there myself. So I'll see you soon."

Lori exited the cell and headed out of the brig. She needed to file a report before she could do anything and that was always the worst part. But no matter. Mandalore was going to get another pair of helping hands. It was far better than having him sit in a cell for many months or years. That was for sure and certain.

~~ End of thread ~~​