Episode 1: An Unlikely Alliance [Active]

[Lexielai]

Atticus​

Atticus stepped into place beside Grim, grimacing to mirror the look of a common thug. “We’ll be alright,” he said reassuringly. “HK, I’ll toss you a blaster when it’s time. Just...don’t say anything murderous until then.”

He breathed in deeply, listening to the sounds of the automatic landing systems creaking through the ship’s metal floor. Atticus didn’t dare think too much. By this point he was better off flying by the seat of his pants than messing it up with some half-baked overthinking. He’d learned that much in his time in the Outer Rim, that was for sure.

The ship lurched slightly as if finally contacted the hanger bay floors. “Ready,” he said warily. With a hiss, the boarding ramp disconnected, extending itself towards the ground with the light crack of metal hitting metal.

Vetex​

“Hold position,” Vetex ordered. She stood ten feet from the base of the ship’s ramp, surrounded by two dozen pirates positioned all around the hanger. Four stood beside her, hands on their blasters and prepared for anything.

“Don’t shoot them yet. I want to know who these people are first, understand? But if they make one wrong move I want them blasted off the face of the galaxy.”

Some pirates nodded. Others remain stone-faced, so accustomed to her orders that acknowledgement was irrelevant. These were good men. Not as good as the crew of the Mel, no, but she doubted anyone could ever be.


Tags: Epiphany SilverFlight Volfy BainOfBridges

 

[Epiphany]

Nyis Veli-An-Dach​

The Chiss woman strode down the ramp with the unhurried, determined gait of a woman with somewhere to be and no time to be bothered with this. At the sight of the two dozen pirates, the obviously empty-handed Nyis grimaced and made a dismissive wave with one hand. She stopped a dozen feet from the ramp, surveyed the superior forces in front of her as if looking for a leader...and her irritated look faded slightly as she spotted Vertex (who presumably looked leaderish).

"Right. Let's make this quick, shall we? We've a rendezvous with another Syndicate vessel in twelve hours and we'll already have to take shortcuts to meet our schedule." Forcing a smile and not bothering to look like she was forcing it, she offered a hand. "Nyis Veli-An-Dach. I work for Jabba the Hutt. Now, take us to the Bloodraven captain, won't you? The sooner he realizes who we work for, the sooner he can get us back on our way and everyone here especially the soldiers detaining us avoid nine kinds of trouble you don't want."

Nyis crossed her arms and waits, obviously expecting Vertex to fall in at her side and escort the group to the captain. She paid absolutely no attention to the soldiers. After all, when you pitched a billion galactic credit standard deal to a room full of suits, you were pitching to the senior executive. No one else actually mattered.

 

[Volfy]

Ashenaa
​

Ashenaa glanced round at the group, giving them a 'fuck it, lets go' sort of expression. She fell in place just behind Nyis, putting on a face of mild irritation to play her role. They were meant to act as though they weren't about to die, that they had the authority to justify such a brazen attitude. Her boots thumped down the ramp, her eyes scanning the pirates. There were a lot of them. Then, Ashenaa caught sight of her. Ash's muscles seized up, her step faulted for a second, and her eyes widened with shock. She made a noise, catching it in her throat to give a bizarre growl. Vet was here. On a Bloodravens ship. Her eye's flicked from Vetex to Nyis, knowing that everything the Chiss woman was was bullshit, and Vet knew it. Ashenaa wasn't in with the Hutt's, and never had been. Then again, last time she knew, Vetex wasn't in with the Bloodravens.

Her face managed to maintain a rigid, natural look, but her mind raced. 'Vetex was alive! She was here! With the Bloodravens, and she seemed to lead them. Or this group at least. What is going on?!' Ashenaa stood next to Nyis, not looking away from Vetex, her eyes displaying a minimal amount of the confusion, joy and anger all raging in her head. A million possibilities flying through her mind as she tried to figure out why Vet was there. All while she was painfully aware of the lies that, to her credit, Nyis spun with great ease and confidence. Ash's hands had clamped together behind her back, almost cutting of the blood flow as she gripped them, trying to keep her composure. Her body was still rigid, unable to let herself relax as their fate hung thinly, based on Vet's willingness to buy Nyis con. Ashenaa wanted to scream, to yell, to run over and... What would she do? Answer's. She wanted some. But it would have to wait, or they would all get a swift blaster round to the chest, and she wouldn't be getting jack.

 

[Lexielai]

Vetex​

Several of her pirates looked to her for some sort of guidance. They started whispering to each other, hands half poised for their blasters and half at ease. The sudden commands of the Chiss woman who’d appeared were unexpected, and they weren’t sure what to do about it.

Yet Vetex’s eyes laid only on the Togruta trailing behind the Chiss. She held her breath, stunned. Ashenaa? No...it couldn’t be. What were the chances? But the Togruta looked like Ashenaa. Walked like Ashenaa. Did she also talk like Ashenaa?

“Stand down!” she hollered. The pirates lowered their blasters. “It appears we were mistaken. We’ve been expecting these people for some time. Carry on! We’ve got some saboteurs to catch.”

Her men looked at each other confused once more. “Now! Back to your stations,” she said, and this time her biting tone sent them packing. They quickly dispersed, leaving only her and her guards left with their guests.

“Come with me,” she said to the Chiss and her companions, though her eyes never left Ashenaa’s. “We have much to discuss.”

With that, Vetex turned on her heel and walked towards the blastdoor leading deeper inside the ship, her guards following in her step.

Atticus looked to Nyis. He shrugged. “Guess that went well. Lead the way, Captain.”


Epiphany Volfy BainOfBridges SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

Grim stood silently to the side for the interaction, holding his blaster in obvious sight and looking murderous, reflecting the off-put annoyance Nyis played so perfectly. At the passing threat Grim began fixing each pirate with a pensive glare, as if deciding which one he would end first, but he couldn't help but notice Ashenaa's look of recognition. He was about to step closer to her, remind her where they were, but the look of the woman leading the Bloodraven crew in the hangar made him pause.
Once the pirates had lowered their weapons and they were beckoned onto the ship Grim took the time to holster his own weapon and slide quietly over to Ashenaa as Vetex turned her back.
The tone in his voice was a mix of puzzlement and admiration. Anyone who could capture the attention of a pirate so deftly was worth investigating:
"Zat pirate women knows you." He whispered carefully. "How do you come to know Bloodreven Keptain? Zey don't mek eazy friends."

 

[Epiphany]

Nyis Veli-An-Dach​

The Chiss woman felt distinctly nonplussed at the other woman's words. Not that she'd show her confusion by even an inch. It wasn't just risky to admit her ignorance, it was outright unprofessional and if Nyis prized anything, it was her consummate professionalism.

"How much time?" she asked, falling into step beside the pirate's field commander here. "Have you been expecting us?"

With an indifferent wave, Nyis beckoned her newfound crew mates to fall in with her. It wouldn't do to show too much interest in them, or any actually. To a corporate woman, guards and mercenaries were like the pretty little paintings they put up on office corridors. The kind visitors looked at and employees never noticed again.

As the group proceeds deeper into the pirate ship, Nyis arched an eyebrow and sounded...well, if not impressed, at least respectful. "Quite the operation you have here, commander," she said to Vertex. "We'll do our best to make our business brief and get you back on your way to more profitable ventures. I suspect most of us will be recouping a loss of one kind or another, now that Talos Station's gone tits up."

Silence was safety and asking the pirate questions could prompt questions in return. But the more Nyis knew about what she was about to get into, the stronger her position.

Hopefully her crew mates would continue to play their parts.

 

[Lexielai]

Atticus

​

Atticus continued the ruse and stepped carefully behind Nyis, holding his arms crossed and keeping the nastiest grimace he could muster plastered across his face. It was fortunate that he didn’t need to fake being irked.

“A week now,” said the Zabrak Bloodraven leading them down the corridor. “You were supposed to have arrived three days ago. You’re late. Warlord and I were both expecting the Hutts to be punctual with trade agreements.”

He stood behind her, and so couldn’t see her expression, but she sounded sincere enough behind the classic thinly-veiled threats of a Bloodraven. Still, this was turning out too well; no way did they just happen to be lucky enough for this to all work out. If that were true he would’ve made it rich on Sabaac years ago.

They soon stepped deeper inside the ship, far away from the mass of pirates in the hanger bay. “We’re quickly expanding our operations in this sector,” the Zabrak continued. “Though I do agree the loss of Talos Station is unacceptable. We will severely punish those responsible.”

Oddly this one seemed to have an eerie calmness to her unlike the other bloodthirsty Bloodraven scum he’d met over the years. Atticus didn’t like that. Enemies who made their intentions known were easy to work with and work around; it was the people who kept their motivations vague that he really didn’t trust.

The Zabrak and her guards slowed to a stop outside a blast door. “Stay outside, I’ll call when I need you,” she said to her escort. Her eyes pointed to Nyis and Vetex as she turned around. “You two, come with me. We have much to discuss.”

Atticus moved to follow, but stopped when someone roughly pulled him back. “She didn’t say you too, human,” hissed a Trandoshan pirate. “The thugssss and the droid stay outside.”

“Hmph,” Atticus grunted. He looked towards Grim and HK and gave a nod. Subtly, one of his hands slipped inside his jacket and reached for the hidden blaster, waiting for the blast doors to close.


BainOfBridges Volfy Epiphany SilverFlight