Come What May: Edge of the Empire

[Tarrir Karlo]

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away......


The space around bespin was well known for being full of smugglers, rebels and mining craft for years, so it was no surprise when a very old looking YT 2400 dropped out of hyperspace. Dark grey with a strange blue tint, the ship was covered in scars both old and new. In one part of the ship a bulkhead had cracked, with shoddy repairs and the force being the only thing holding it all together.


The cockpit , off to one side, had only a single occupant. Slim, dark haired and a little worse for wear, Pash Odir sat lazily at the control panel. Jet black boots resting gently on a side panel conveyed an apathy to the condition of the ship, though the carbine hanging behind him spoke of a slightly protective attitude.


He glances at the display


"been a while Lando, hope you still work here"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

Bespin was perhaps the cleanest place they had found themselves in a long while, and it was a place that she had always enjoyed. The tall spires and glimmering transparisteel, all miles above the cloud line. The door to the cockpit was open and she leant against the doorframe, the other occupant seemed unaware of her presence, not that it was unusual. She had almost perfected the art of moving almost silently, she was looking past him down on the approaching planet below. One hand toyed with her left Lekku, pulled forward over her shoulder. They seemed to have grown a little longer and the beginnings of dark markings had begun to stripe across them. 


His voice startled her from her reprieve, he had made many new acquaintances in the time they had been apart. Her emerald gaze drifted from the window to the figure sat in the flight chair. She had been feeling much more life her old self, but since her ordeal had gained a stillness that she hadn't had before. Before she might have questioned why they were here, but she trusted his judgements, although she still wouldn't admit that fact.  

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash slowly moved his feet down from the panels and began shaking down the engine. The ship had a name once, possibly could have one again, but for now it was good to have it hold together. He punches in some commands and the ship slowly moves in towards the gas giant. He had missed cloud city, and from what he had heard time had been good to it.


"This is Pash Odir of the Mynock's Tooth, requesting a berth" he spoke cooly into the commlink. His fingers drumming on the controls.


"This is port 4, you are cleared for bay 17 Alpha, please do not change course"


Pash was not about to start trouble just yet, and he sat back. Feet moving back to position

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

Another time, another ship, and she would have slapped his feet from the console. But here she didn't much care, she had no emotional ties with the ship and apart from the inconvenience she wouldn't much care if it fell apart. She covered the distance silently, leaning against the back of his chair, something she had to tiptoe to do, folding her arms across the top and resting her chin on crossed forearms. 


"So why are we here?" Her voice still sounded strange to her, with a note of uncertainty that she would have never allowed before. She guessed that was a side affect o f remaining sikent for as long as she had, still fighting some stubborn resolve not to speak at all. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

He looked up at her, still not quite believing that he had her back. Her lekku hanging either side of the chair.


"we have a job, partly going to pay for a whole refit, partly because I owe a favour"


He wasn't sure what the job was, but all he knew was that it was dangerous, impossible for most, and likely to get them killed. It paid very well however, and they hadn't been killed yet. So there they were.


He reached a hand behind him, gently touching her leg as his eyes swept the readouts.


"the job pays well, I don't have to tell you what that means"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She knew full well what it meant, dangerous or illegal or both. She smiled softly at him, the comforting touch of his hand against her leg, his palm warm through the dark fabric of her trousers. She brushed her lekku back over her shoulders, her chin slightly turned up as she once more looked out on to the approaching city. She still struggled to meet his eyes at times, often gazing off in to the distance or fixating on some item in her grasp. Today, with the beauty of cloud city it was easy to distract herself. 


By now she understood the line of work they often found themselves in, don't ask questions, finish the job and get paid. She moved around the chair, sitting lightly on the arm and folding one long leg over the other. 


"We best get to work then." She said, a slight smirk touching her lips. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash slowly slipped his arm around her. She still felt thin, better than when he found her, but still thin. With his other hand he began the autopilot docking procedure as cloud city came into view.


Rebellion had caused some scorching of the city. No longer new and shining weeks of intense street fighting left the occasional pillars of smoke. Z95s flew on patrol alongside cloud cars, the angular nose a sharp contrast to the linked bulbous pods that were characteristics of the city.


"time to get ready I think" pash mumbled as he stroked ardana's arm as they touched down on a small bay.

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She leant in to his hold, her hand laying gently over his muscular arm. It was a motion accepting his own, something she had only recently started doing, before she would tense or move away. Now however she was far more relaxed. Her mind wandered to the job ahead of them, wondering just what would be asked of them this time. In their time working together they had been asked to carry out all kinds of jobs, nothing surprised her anymore. 


She drew her eyes away from the city for a moment, her gaze flicking over his features. If he was worried he didn't show it at all and that gave her confidence. Of course she didn't trust his new contacts, she didn't trust anyone really, other than him of course but that was nothing new. As the ship touched down she rose, her fingers brushing the length of his arm with a gentleness that would have once been unusual for her. Moving across the flightdeck she collected her blaster and vibroknife, not as nice as the one she had before but it was practical. 


"Lets get going then." Her eyes glimmered, hinting the hidden excitement that work always provoked in her. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash grabbed his cloak, a mottled grey, loose fitting thing that hid a pair of bracers and a large pistol. Fitting a comlink in his ear he lowers the ramp, creaking under its own wait. The pair of them stride down, Pash ducking below the edge of the ship to key in the lock code.


Awaiting them is a tiny sullustan, accompanied by an odd looking human.


"when we agreed to fix your ship we didn't know we would have to buy a new one" the human stated, almost mechanical in tone. " this will cause delay"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She too grabbed her cloak, pulling her hood up over her head, preferring the anonymity that the dark fabric offered. She stepped down from  the ship, walking at his side. Her blasted holstered at her hip. Her bright eyes quickly evaluated the greeting party, not entirely sure if the comment was an attempt at humor. They weren't wrong though, the ship was a wreck and in desperate need of a complete overhaul. 


The sullustan was even smaller than her, which was an achievement. The humans unusualness had her slightly on edge, even more so than usual. She glanced up at Pash, once she would have been happy to do the talking, but these were his contacts and she had no idea what they were expecting of them. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

"I didn't realise that you cared, this city is bringing your little rebellion how many credits?" Pash was sick of the run around.


"lets grab dinner first before business" the human had suddenly found emotion. Pash wondered how much of him was still a man, but the nervous Twi'lek next to him gave him pause. Was it too early to bring her into this world again? Would she ever fully trust anyone in it? His fingers gently kissed the buttons in his palms, testing the resistance. He had long ago known not to go without at least 4 hidden weapons.


"dinner I is, ardana?" Gesturing with an open palm

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She could feel his eyes on her and looked towards him, her gaze met his only for a second but it was long enough to let him know she was ok. She steadied her breathing, which in turn calmed her nerves. It had been a long time since she had lived on the edge like this and although it was a part of who she was it took some getting used to again. She could see him toying with the controls in his hand, an added precaution that she might have once deemed excessive but was now grateful for. Beneath her cloak her hand lay over her vibroknife, something that made her feel much more secure. 


At the question about dinner she inclined her head in agreement. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash followed the group of rebels through the corridor, occasionally jumping out the way as squads of soldiers trampled passed, many familiar faces nodding to him. Pash visibly unwound, not all of these people would see him if there was a trap. He started to think about food......


sitting down at dinner, he looked down at the stale looking bread and soup. It was nice to know that at least the chefs were treating it like a war. He gently bit into a roll as his leg brushed ardana's next to him

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

Pash had visibly relaxed but is didn't help the red skinned twi'lek to settle at all. The number of people was a little overwhelming, she avoided large crowds recently and this was her first time back in a large, bustling city. She kept close to the tall males side, like a second shadow in her dark cloak. Although her general opinion on people hadn't changed her opinion on the rebellion had taken a turn for the better. She had actually showed some interest in their ideals whereas before she would have ignored them. 


She took a seat beside him, only now lowering her hood, more out of politeness than comfort.  At the touch of his leg against her own she looked round at him giving him a nervous smile before turning her attention to the meal placed before her. The rebels were always generous and it was part of what had changed her mind about them. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

The meal was over, caf had been brought out and the sullustan was resting his elbows on the table, impatiently looking at the human next to him.


"are you sure they are good enough?"


"don't you worry nien, they are better than you realise" the man replied "however I think it is time we got down to business"


He laid a datapad on the table and slid it across. On it was a large ship, with 3 wings in a Y shape, dark grey, with an imperial sigil on its side.


Pash looked at carefully.


"Why do you want a lamda class imperial shuttle?"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She hardly touched the food which was not unusual for her, but accepted the caff graciously, even thanking the person who handed it to her. Her hands wrapped around the cup, latent heat spreading comfortingly over her palms. She listened carefully to the two across the table, their tone had changed from pleasant and companionable to far more business like. many rebels employed these tactics, making generous offerings of food or supplies in an attempt to sweeten them up before getting serious. Many times it worked, and although she was reluctant to have any dealings with the imperials she knew they likely had no choice. Without the repairs their ship would fall apart, leaving them stranded, a prospect that did not appeal to her in any way.


Emerald gaze flicked over the image on the datapad, Pash had always been the one with expert ship knowledge but even she could identify the Imperial craft. The very thought was enough to make her shift uncomfortably in her chair, a knot of nerves bunching in her stomach. Pash's voice broke the tense silence and she looked across the table, watching them carefully to judge the honesty of their responses.

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

"Well?" Pash asked as their hosts discussed amongst themselves.


"Its a need to know mission, we pay highly, so you don't ask"


"this will make us the most wanted people in the galaxy, so tell us what you want it for" Pash was losing his temper.


"look, its going to be used for a top secret mission that could win us this war" the human stated calmly


"that's all we know, so that's all you can know"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

It was clear that they thought this was a mission of great importance and they were willing to pay highly for its completion. Being one of the most wanted people in the galaxy was not something she would rather avoid, but as usual they didn't really have much choice. 


"We can do this." She said, the first time she had spoken up, and it was more directed at Pash than at their business contacts. "I still think its a pretty dumb idea but we can get it done." There was a confidence in her voice that had been somewhat vacant of late. She lent back slightly in her chair, watching the two, wondering what they knew that they weren't telling them. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash was glad Ardana had spoken up, he was still doubtful of the risks involved. He looked at some of the info, specs for the ship....


Planet.....


"why are we doing this on Corusant?" Pash looked furious now, this was a death trap.

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

Ok so perhaps this was even above them, even their brash tactics wouldn't help them on Corusant where there was an imperial informant in every cantina. She inhaled sharply at the thought of the narrow streets, grimy skyscrapers and most concerningly the anti alien mindset. She could feel the anger radiating from Pash and although justified it wasn't helping. She lay a hand quietly on his arm, 


"Can we take a moment to talk about it." She asked, sounding surprisingly rational considering the multitude of thoughts that were swirling in her mind. This was a big mission to take on, and it wasn't going to be easy. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

The pair of them left the room and Pash turned to Ardana. He was worried at the look on her face.


"we could do this, but not just us, we need friends, and i don't have a lot of them left anymore"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She nodded slightly, this was definitely not something they could do alone and there was no way she would walk directly in to enemy territory with anyone she didn't trust. A shigh escaped her and she rested her elbows on the table, placing her chin on clenched fists. 


"I don't know anyone else stupid enough to take on a mission like this. If we get caught we will be killed, or worse." Even the thought of being back in Imperial custody made her shudder. "I don't see how they think this is going to help them win the war. Surely stealing one is just going to make them more suspicious of all their craft." Ever the sceptic, but she hadn't flat out declined the mission. It had her interest and that was at least something. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

"Well if they think it blew up, change the transponder... You'd need codes to really get anywhere anyway"


He thought of the allies they had travelled with. Some distant and others....


"is arlack still around?" He said quietly.

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She almost visibly winced at the name. She hadn't seen or heard from the Trandoshan in a long time and she missed him terribly, but she didn't know if she could face him again. 


"I haven't seen him since before..." She trailed off, not needing the reminder. "He'd certainly be crazy enough though. What about the Wookie?" She was unsure how she would feel about having the old crew back together would make her feel but they were probably the only people she could trust with something like this. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

"Dovahkin is on Kashykk, Arlack I heard was on Nar Shadaa" Pash didn't want to take the wookie away from his home. It hadn't been a good war for him. Last time they met, the wookie had lost an eye.


The Trandoshan on the other hand was a good idea, he had a better reputation for reliability now. His sniper skills were legend. There would be good things I they got Arlack back. Yusei was not needed, too unreliable.