Serpent Stinger: Chapter 2 “The Hunted”

JOURNEY OF THE SERPENT STINGER

“Chapter two: The Hunted”

GM: Game Master Yoda

~\*~

Main OCs: Kimi Sheiko & Slippery Shoony & Vomaar

NPCs: Khara Bathori, Shazza Fortuna, Hale the Bounty Hunter

Pets: Floki, Diaval

Chapter Stats:

Location: Boz Pity

Ship status: damaged and aboard the Trade’n’Save private trading station.

Company: none

Music: https://youtu.be/4kg9LasvLFE Blondie, or way or another

~\*~

Date: 1259 BBY

// Mid Rim/ The Slice, Halla sector, S-9, Boz Pity System //

On the graveyard planet of Boz Pity, Hale the Bounty Hunter Stands outside his personal starship “Fatman” talking on his holocom to Zallo the Hutt about his new plan to capture the Trade’n’Saves captain Shoony as well as the stolen cargo aboard.

“...Well of course I can handle it, but no one said anything about a kriffin’ Sith assassin girl gonna be waitin’ for me when I took the job…you’re lucky I had a spare tracker puck on me.” Said Hale with a semi-defeated tone into the small handheld holocom. Above the circular handheld device was the holo projected image of a large Hutt looking back at him. And he did not look at all happy.

“What do you mean? Zallo, I've been around, I know a damned sith spit force user when I see one…but listen. Don't worry, I've got a plan that will get us that creep Shoony AND your cargo…… How? Well, you know that docked frigate I told you about.. Yeah, that's right the one R8 turned into spacedust. Well it so happens that the dumb skinny blond kid who works for that slimeball dropped the very recently deceased Captain's name…yeah… a Falleen….. Named Ruusk.”

At the sound of the dead Captains name all of a sudden the large slug like Hutts’ demeanour changes as does his face to reflect a wide disgusting smile as he laughs out loud.

“I'll follow at a distance and make sure I'm not seen. Let me know when you've made contact with Prince Xaard and I'll make sure you get exactly what we agreed on and more. Trust me. Hale out.” \*click\*

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Khara Acherjon Bathori

Khara walked beside Shazza, still clutching her broken arm. The encounter with the bounty Hunter had caused adrenaline to rush through her body and distracted her from the terrible pain she was in. On top of that, the young Sky'tri was terrified and wanted her mother.

But all she had here were three strangers, well, she knew Shazza a little but the blue skinned woman, Kimi. She only knew she was supposedly tasked to take her to 'safety' and that didn't go as planned. The child even began to doubt if this woman was really a friend of her mother or a dark shield tasked to abduct her.

She walked closely beside the Twi'lek teen and pulled her arm, indicating she wanted to say something to her.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

Alert, the pale skinned Twi'lek followed Vomaar and Kimi. She was still a little shaken about what had happened in the cargo hold and she wasn't the only one as she could sense the child's emotions.

When Khara nudged her arm, Shazza looked at her. It was still strange that the girl was only nine despite the fact that she looked like a fourteen year old. "What's wrong?" She asked softly as she leaned in.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Khara Acherjon Bathori

"I don't like her" the nine year old whispered. "I think she's bad" she added softly… she glanced at the walking infront of them. The blond haired male had his arm around the woman, giving her support while he supposedly took them to the medbay.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

It surprised her how suspicious the child was about Kimi, but at the same time she understood. She was after all a complete stranger, but Shazza had a good feeling about her and tried to reassure the child that she didn't have to worry about Kimi. Vomaar however, that was a different story.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar.

It didn't take long for the group to reach the medbay, even with Vomaar being used as a full sized meat crutch by Kimi while they all kept their eyes peeled for the Bounty Hunter who may or may not have still been aboard.

Shazza and Khara whispered behind Vomaar as he walked, he felt suspicion emanating from the young girls but that was to be expected. After all, Shazza did have a ugly mountain of a man grab her and point a blaster at her head just twenty minutes earlier.

“Ok..here we are.” said the young male and holstering his blaster he leaned in to press the access code on the panel located next to the Medbay door without letting go of the blue skinned woman on his arm.

“Whoosh” the door slid open to reveal a small medical room beyond. It wasn't well stocked, or even very clean for that matter. To a skilled eye its machinery looked to be thousands of years out of date but it had the basics, and three unused patient beds lined up in a row along the farthest wall.

Floating inside the room, servos and sensors whirring and beeping was a medical droid. It looked to be a GH-7 medical unit, or at least one of the very first models of the basis for that particular droid.

“Come on… In here.” Vomaar said and led the four of them into the room, the door closing automatically behind them. The light was a crisp blue inside but dulled off to just 50% directly above the three beds which were made with a dark green colored linen and some not so comfortable looking pillows.

Vomaar led Kimi to the left most bed and sat her down, allowing himself to turn and return to the door. Locking it from inside.

“Safe.” Vomaar said with a smile. The Medical unit floated nearby carrying a tray of small cups of water and some while pills. “Greetings Shiphand Vommar. Are you here to collect Captain Shoonys refill on his hemorrhoid ointment? Oh.. And I'm afraid we are now all out of the Captains sexual enhancement medication. Please pass on my apologies and my reminder that the recommendation for the drug is a maximum of two capsules every twelve hours.” the medical unit said very casually. “Captain has requested seven times the recommended allotment in the last week alone, had I known I could have anticipated….”

“No... No GH-1, I'm not here for the Captain. My friends here have been in a crash and need some assistance. Can you help?” interrupted Vommar indicating to the girls with his hands.

“Real life patients!?! Why yes… Yes of course!” replied the droid excitedly, floating past Vommar so fast he nearly bumped into a medical trolley full of instruments he was standing next to.

“Everyone, this is our Medical droid GH-1.” introduced Vomaar as the droid approached Khara first, stopping abruptly in front of the girl and began scanning her.

“Tell me, what seems to be the problem” the droid said as it bobbed up and down in the air.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Slippery Shoony

“Just who in the blazers WAS that?” said Shoony to himself as he stood in front of the mirror and pulled on his casual clothes. Brown trousers, a tan colored undershirt and a maroon colored vest. All of which he possessed several hundred garments of, thanks to an unlucky Theelin captain who happened to run out of credits during a Pazaak game during his stay several years ago.

“Hmmmmm” he hummed, contemplating the current situation. The ship he'd seen fleeing the main docking bay was an unusual small freighter of some kind and the man he had footage of never showed his face to the cameras. Clearly he'd been in the control room and seen where the security weaknesses were. His ship was little better than a junker, but why was it here? And was it responsible for the destruction of the Falleen ship Droopta that now was floating around outside his own ship in countless pieces of scrap metal?

There was one other question he also needed to know… Where the shak was his brainless oaf of a shiphand?

\*click\* “Vomaar… Vomaar I command that you make your way to the command room immediately. There is an awful mess in here and also I need to understand why you left your post after I told you to stay put! If I find this evening's events had anything to do with you I will lodge my foot so far up your exhaust port that you'll be able to taste the boot polish!” \*click\*

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Kimi felt frustrated that she had to rely on a complete stranger. She had never been in a position like this where she was too weak to even stand on her own feet. So she was relieved when they finally arrived at the medbay.

The blond Balosar led her to one of the empty beds, and as he returned to the door she had a look around. Kimi had been in all sorts of medical facilities, from brand new and luxurious medcentres to back room operating theaters on the black market. But non looked as old as this one, everything seemed to be out of date, still it was better than nothing and with the door closed it felt a little safer.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

Quickly, the Twi'lek teen entered the medbay pulling young Khara with her. After helping the child onto the bed in the centre she noticed the droid. Her face turned, she felt extremely awkward when she heard what the droid had to say. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of species this Captain Shoony was because he sounded dirty.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Khara Acherjon Bathori

Trembling, Khara sat on the bed as the medical droid approached. She turned away her face, frightened as it began to scan her. Still clenching her arm she softly spoke up "my arm… I hurt my arm."

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

"Shhh, don't be afraid Khara. We are safe here" the young Twi'lek tried to comfort the frightened child. "We were in a crash, I think she hurt her arm in a fall, we think it's broken" she told the droid.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Meanwhile, Kimi sat on the other bed, watching the interaction between the medical droid and the children. She felt awful, guilty even, believing it was all her fault. She was supposed to bring them to safety, away from the fight, away from the danger.

"I'm not sure what happened, I hit my head and I was out for quite some time" she explained to the droid as he continued to scan the child's arm.

Then, before she could continue, she heard a voice over the comms. She glanced at Vomaar "I take it that that was Captain Shoony?" She asked.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

“Yep.. That's him alright. He's gonna kill me!” the blond haired Balosar said glumly as GH-1 finished scanning Khara. [[”I believe the child is suffering a hairline fracture in her right ulna bone. I suggest and can equip a cast for the child to wear for a 4 week period in order to heal”]] the old droid said before moving over to Kimi and shining a bright light in her eyes as it scanned her.

[[“It seems like you're suffering from a severe concussion and an open abrasion to your epicranial aponeurosis. Likely the result of blunt force trauma. Tell me.. Do you have a history of physical abuse or injury? My sensors are registering significant indicators suggesting this is not your first major trauma. I suggest and can provide a bacta head dressing to be worn for two days to heal your wound. I also suggest bed rest and to be monitored for several days before returning to mild activity such as walking, birdwatching and painting. Here, this will help you with the pain. How many fingers do you see?”]] GH-1 asked switching the light off, holding up three metallic fingers from one of its four robotic arms while bobbing up and down and selecting a cup with two blue pills from its front tray with a second arm and a small cup filled with water with a third. It waited expectantly as it held the two cups up to Kimi at chest height and it's three fingers in front of her face

“Well that settles it”. Said Vomaar as he exhaled, looking to Kimi and then to Shazza. “You girls should wait here and let GH-1 patch you up. I'm going to go and try to smooth things over with Mr Shoooy before he fires me.” Vomaar walked over to Shazza and handed her his blaster. “I'll bet that big creep’s gone now if the boss’s inside the command center and feels safe enough to call me over the standard com system. But just in case… Here, just point the business towards the bad guy and then pull the trigger.” he said with a wink. “Oh, and you might want to lock the door behind me, you'll be safe in here till I get back..and don't worry about me. No way some guy the size of a house’s gonna get the drop on me.” he gave a small chuckle that almost sounded like a scoff as he made his way to the door and popped his jacket collar. “I grew up on this ship. Know this old tub better than the back of my hand.”

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Slippery Shoony

“It's about time! Just what were you doing away from your post Vomaar? Choking the Endorian chicken in your room again? I tell you boy if you keep going Hans Solo on Darth Vader’s helmet you'll end up with worse eyesight than a Miraluka before you know it. now.. Just what in the blue blazers happened here!?”

(\* Vomaar carefully explains what had happened regarding the wormhole, the explosions and the bounty hunter however, he was careful to leave out that they had been crashed into by a strange looking ship and also the part where he helped lead the vessels odd looking but all female crew to the medbay. He also failed to mention their pink starship was still in pieces in the very wet cargo bay.

He knew his boss relied almost completely on his small army of droids and on Vomaar to run the entire trade vessel's maintenance and loading. The small green alien hadn't been to the cargo bay, the engineering deck or even the kitchens himself in year's. Preferring instead to keep to his own quarters and the Trade’n’Saves rather large and well stocked mess and gaming hall. A trend that Vommar was banking on to keep his new friends a secret from his scheming Captain as long as he possibly could. Until the time was right of course, which he assumed would probably be in about thirty to forty years as he stood next to Mr. Shoonys gravestone. )

“So let me get this straight Vomaar… You're telling me this man… A bounty hunter who didn't leave a name but is built like the side of an outhouse on Kashyyyk.. This unnamed fellow, who's birth certificate is an apology letter from a contraceptives factory, blew up The Droopta almost killing me as well and then killed all the crew including Captain Ruusk single handedly. Ruusk who I might add, as well as being a sucker in Pazzak, has a wife who humps like a Kushiban and just so happens to be a family member of the Falleen Brotherhood in case you didn't know… he then busted in here, followed you into the cargo bay but then took one look at you and turned tail? And he did all this without telling you why he did it? Or what he was after?”

Shoony glared at his young ship hand. “Vomaar your only 2 brain cells must be fighting over 3rd place if you think I'm going to believe a story like that.”

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

“No Sir, I think he may have gotten spooked when I mentioned Captain Ruusks name. But he actually told me he was looking for you. And that someone named Zallo hired him to collect. Dead OR alive. Are we in some kind of trouble sir?”

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shoony

“Only if we get caught with our pants down.. Which in your case would be everytime you need to count to eleven.” Shoony said, looking sideways to a kicked over Rusty colored R2 unit on the floor in the corner behind an upturned chair. “But if that fat slug Zallo sent him.. That's bad news for us if we stay here. Even worse if the Brotherhood comes looking for Ruusk and finds us here with his destroyed ship.”

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

“So.. Where to?” asked Vomaar trying to bypass any interest Shoony may still have in the gaping holes in his report.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Slippery Shoony

“Just get us to the edge of the system so we won't show up on any ships scanners if some come looking while we do our repairs. Then clean up all this mess, it's like a junk heap. I'll be in the mess hall making some calls and trying to figure out who this nameless mystery Bounty Hunter is and why he’s after us.”

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

A short time later and the Trade’n’Save now moving steadily through space Vomaar returns to the Med bay with a tray of food from the kitchens and knocks three times on the door before calling out. “Hey, guys.. Let me in will ya. It’s me, I brought food”.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

"Please do whatever you can for her" Kimi responded to the droid as he turned towards her. She cared more about the wellbeing of the child than her own. She squinted her eyes in pain when the droid shone the bright light in them. But eyes instantly widened when the droid asked her about her past "a history of physical abuse?" She repeated softly and then went quiet for a moment, memories of her past flashed by. All the times she was kicked and beaten. "I guess I have" she finally responded, obviously feeling uncomfortable but trying to hide her true emotions.

"Bedrest is not gonna happen, we got a ship to repair and we need to return home" she rambled as she gazed at the droids hand. "Three" she answered with a furrowed brow and then took the cup with the pills. "Seriously, you can't expect me to stay in bed" and threw the pills into her mouth. As she took the other cup she continued "there's simply no time" and washed the pills down with the water.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

After handing Shazza a blaster, Vomaar left the medbay to go see his boss. As instructed she locked the door and then went to Khara, who was still sitting on the medbed, softly crying. "You'll be ok.. this nice droid will give you a cast to help heal your arm" she tried to comfort the child like she was her little sister.

Shazza glanced up at Kimi, "I think it's better if you listened to the do…eh…droid. We're not going anywhere fast anyways. I will start the repairs on your ship. You rest, and get well. Because we're gonna need you" the Twi'lek's teen said with a smile. "Vomaar seems ok, not sure about his boss though" she let out a soft chuckle.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Sitting on the bed she glimpsed at Shazza "just because he's a pretty boy, doesn't mean we can actually trust him" she said sharply. "He's loyal to his boss and he doesn't sound all too pleasant." She added and then paused.

Her head was still ringing, the pain was tremendous. She did not like it one bit, but she would probably have to listen and rest. "Just.. just be careful ok. The way I am now I'm of no use to you. Can't save you.. so please watch yourself."

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

Some time later they heard the voice of Vomaar again,  he was standing in the corridor outside the medbay, saying he had food. Shazza looked at Kimi who nodded to open the door, so she did, letting the blond Balosar back in. Ofcourse she locked the door behind him again.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

"I can feel the engines, the station is moving isn't it?" She asked, glancing at the tray of food with suspicion. "Where are you taking us? And… What did your boss say?"

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

“I missed you too.” Replied Vomaar cheekily as he walked back into the medbay. He winked at the young Twi’lek as she turned around once she’d finished locking the door behind him.

"I can feel the engines, the station is moving isn't it?" "Where are you taking us? And… What did your boss say?" Said Kimi immediately, eyeing off the tray of food with suspicion.

“It’s not poisoned if that’s what you’re thinking..” Said the blond shiphand, picking up on her emotions. “And first things first.” He sat the tray down on the end of the unused medical examination bed and took a piece of herbed bread from it, dunked the corner into a bowl of lightly coloured pink paste that was sat to the side of the tray and then placed it into his mouth. “See...it’s good” he said with a half full mouth of food before swallowing and smiling kindly at Khara who now had a fresh white cast set over her arm and a fabric sling fastened around her neck that held her arms extra weight.

“Nice job GH-1” he said aloud as he looked at the cast. “I’m interested to see how good this new bacta wonder stuff really is.” The droid was in the corner preparing the bacta solution and applying it to Kimis bandage and so didn’t respond. “Anyway, help yourself kid. No need to be shy.” He added to the teal skinned girl before turning his attention back to Kimi who was still waiting for his response to her questions.

“That asshole Bounty Hunter is gone and yeah, we’re moving. Trade’n’Saves been banged up good after the explosions so we are having to limp it for a while. Gonna head to the edge of the system away from the scene, will be at least three days or so till we can even attempt a jump. Seems that Captain Ruusk was some kind of big shot for the Falleen Brotherhood and Mr.Shoony said we don’t want anyone thinking we had something to do with it.. and errr, I didn’t exactly tell him about you yet. I thought perhaps it’s best you lay low and just focus on getting better and your ship fixed you know. The boss somehow always seems to find ways to complicate things.”

He looked to the floor with a guilt spread across his face before looking back up and glancing over at Shazza.

“Shoony almost never leaves his quarters or the mess anyway. It’s like his own little slice of heaven up there. I doubt he will even notice. You’re welcome to share my quarters, I’ve got some spare bunks that I can set up. Or you can stay here with GH-1 if you like.”

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

With squinted eyes she glared at the blond Balosar, watching him prove to her the food wasn't poisoned. Kimi didn't like his attitude and despite his efforts she still didn't trust him.

She nodded to Khara, telling her it was ok to eat and while the child walked up to the tray of food Kimi listened to Vomaar speak.

Her expression changed when he admitted that he hadn't told his boss about them. "You haven't?" She asked surprised, not really sure what to think of it. "Lay low??" But before Vomaar could respond, the med droid approached with the bandages.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

The pale skinned Twi'lek got faint blushes on her cheeks when Vomaar looked at her. He seemed nice and he was quite good looking. "Sharing your room? That would be nice" she said without hesitation as she stepped towards the tray of food as well.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Her eyes widened, and if the droid wasn't applying the bandages she probably would have jumped off the bed. It was obvious the teen was taken by the Balosar man's charms. "No, medbay will be fine." She said bluntly.

"No need to get comfortable, we need to get our ship fixed and then we will get out of your hair" she said.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

She felt disappointed and slightly embarrassed when Kimi bluntly declined, but said nothing, she was in charge after all.

"But you and Khara need medical attention, should get well first." She said and glimpsed at Vomaar "I can start on the repairs though, I'm quite good with tech"

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

"Ok, you can get started and I'll help as much as I can." When the droid was done patching her up she jumped off the bed but almost instantly lost her balance again. No matter how much she hated it, she definitely needed rest first…

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

“Woah….easy there miss Kimi… you're in no shape to go anywhere or help anyone right now.” said Vomaar after he lunged forward and caught the blue skinned woman just before she fell over, gently helping her back up to the medical bed with both hands.

[“I'm afraid Shiphand Vomaar is correct Miss. Young Miss Khara and Miss Shazza are cleared physically for unrestricted and safe travel within the ship's confines. But I must insist on my previous suggestion that you require bed rest and to be monitored for several days before returning to mild activity such as walking, birdwatching and painting.”] repeated GH-1.

Vomaar rolled his eyes at the droid's all too systematic and impersonal bedside manner “Yeah.. thanks GH-1, I think she got it now.”

“Listen, I have to go set up the new parameters for the maintenance droid shifts now.. But I’ll come back in a few hours. I’ll bring a holopad to help entertain Khara, then you and I can go ‘n get started.” he said, fixing his jacket collar and winking at the Twi’lek teen. “I bet we’ll have you back on your way in no time.”

\*\*\*\*\*

GM UPDATE: For the next three days the Trade’N’Save made its way towards the edge of the Boz Pity, encountering barely a handful of passing civilian starships that steered well clear of the damaged circular trading vessel.

Kimi was able to rest in the Medical bay as instructed under the care of GH-1 who was ecstatic to have an actual real life patient. Khara for the most part tagged along with Shazza who, along with the handsome Balosar shiphand Vommar had been successful in transferring the heavily damaged Stinger Serpent Starship into the Engineering bay of the Trade’n’Saves hanger 3. A smaller and much less used hangar bay that was also closer to the ships Medbay than the main Hanger and the Main cargo bay where they had crashed.

The Trade’n’Save was now hyperdrive ready however the Stinger Serpent, with the engineering bay's lack of critically required parts for the now unique yacht, was likely still several weeks away from flying at its current rate of repair.

Floki and Diaval, the two pet birds had both been transferred to the medbay with their owners much to GH-1’s protests.

{ **Three days after the space space-time anomaly** }

IC: Slippery Shoony

Shoony: “Come on… come on…. answer you furry, flea ridden, useless sack of..”

Pax: “Pax here, whatta you want?”

Shoony: “Oh, Pax my good friend, I’ve been trying to reach you for days.”

Pax: “Drop the friend shack Shoony, you shouldn’t be callin’ here… you know our deal, we go through the channels, you deposit the funds. Same as usual.”

Shoony: “I’m well aware of that l, however this isn’t a supply call. Especially now Zallos’ put a price on my head!!”

Pax: “Zallo?? You sure??”

Shoony: “We've already had a little visit from a hunter the size of a small freighter, seems he wasn’t all that bright and let it slip who his employer was while shaking up my second in charge… And just as I was about to offload that shipment of Rodian Flame Silk you gave me to sell as well. Just what in the nine hells is going on Pax? What would that overweight swamp slime want with me??”

Pax: “Almost? You mean you still got it!??”

Shoony: “Yes Pax, when last I heard that’s what \*almost\* means. It’s still here.. Ruusk.. well let’s just say he lost interest once Zallos Hunter showed up.”

Pax: “Kriffing Shutta Skag!!! Listen… you gotta come meet me before things get any worse. But not here… it’s not safe. Uhh…...The Ring! In 2 days time.. there’s a big fight happening, got one of my boys fighting in it. Be there.. and bring the shipment. Or else you're on your own.”

Shoony: “Get Any worse?? What are you talking about? What’s in those crates Pax? You can’t expect me to believe all this is all over a few thousand credits worth of Flame Silk can you?!”

Pax: “2 days. Bring the shipment. And don’t call here again!” \*click\*

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Kimi did not like it one bit that she was told to stay in medbay, she also did not like the fact that this blond haired Balosar helped her back onto the medbed. But the petite Pantoran had little choice but to accept the fact that she wasn't fit for anything at the moment.

When Vomaar left the medbay, Kimi turned her gaze to Shazza. The pale Twi'lek had a faint blush on her cheeks and was smiling. It was obvious she was charmed by the Balosar. "Shazza" Kimi said sternly and waited for the girl to pay attention. "Please, please be careful" she said and meaning every word of it because she was after all responsible for the two girls.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

Her smile faded and turned into a frown. "Of course, what makes you think I wouldn't" she responded, noticing the worried tone in Kimi's voice. "Vomaar seems Ok, he's gonna help up."

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Not wanting to embarrass the girl and risk pushing her away Kimi just nodded and decided not to confront the girl with obvious observations she had made of her body language. "Yeah, it seems so… but we don't know these people and we have no idea where they are taking us.. Just stay alert.. ok?"

\*\*\*\*\*

//Three days later//

IC: Shazza Fortuna

"We've made a lot of progress" the Twi'lek said as she was sitting on one of the med beds, eating a sandwich. "We fixed a lot of damage but it seems we need a lot of parts" she added, looking over at Kimi who hadn't touched her food. "Vomaar said it could still take weeks" instantly Kimi's eyes grew bigger but before she could say anything Shazza continued "we're working as fast as we can" and hopped off the bed. She made her way to the exit "keep you updated Of Course" she said as she slipped out of the medbay, leaving the Pantoran alone..

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

"Weeks?" She repeated to herself and pushed the plate of food aside. "We'll see about that" she added with determination and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She knew the droid would protest, so before he'd noticed she also hopped off the medbed. Still feeling a little light headed she made her way to the exit.

Kimi stepped outside the medbay and looked down the corridor. Problem was, she wasn't familiar with the ship, she had no idea where to and most likely was going to go into the wrong direction. Khara wasn't there either to help her find her way. Kimi eventually turned right and began to walk down the corridors…

\*\*\*\*\*

GM UPDATE:

Vommar, Shazza and Khara return to the Hangar bay 3 to continue repairs on the Serpent Stinger.

GH-1 of course protested as to Kimi’s being out of bed but could do nothing to stop her as the Pantoran left the Medbay and headed down the corridor.

Shoony, leaving the comfort of his quarters made his way to the Trade’n’Saves command room and changes course to a location known as “The Ring.” A space station on the fringes of the nearby Hathrox system known for its gladiatorial cage and pit fighting.. as well as being a popular hotspot for other unsavoury dealings.

After resetting the navicomp, Shoony decides to investigate for himself what is in the crates he’d picked up from his shady business associate Pax. As he turns a corner leading towards the main cargo hold however, he's confronted with a stranger. A woman… With blue skin, purple hair and a head bandage.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Slippery Shoony

“Just what have you gotten me into Pax! It's not enough that I have to deal with a guy that looks like something a Wookie just coughed up.. I gotta get shot at for my trouble….. HEY! Who are you!?! I don't remember ordering any company this week!?” said Shoony as he turned the corner on his way to the main cargo hold and almost bumping into a strange blue skinned woman. She was attractive, he noticed, very attractive.

“But I suppose, for you I can make an exception..” he added, his long lizard like tongue leaving his mouth and wiping over his eyebrows one at a time sleazily before returning to it's origin.

“My name is Shoony… I'm the Captain on this vessel. You may have heard of me.” he added just as smoothly and looking directly into her eyes, then down to her breasts, then after a moment back up to her eyes again..

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Determined to find the others, Kimi stumbled through the corridors but soon realized she had no idea where to go. When she heard the footsteps around the corner, she assumed it to be Vomaar, she had already forgotten that there was supposed to be another person on board as well.

Her yellow eyes widened when she saw it wasn't the Balosar, she wasn't even sure what 'it' was and almost shrieked at the sight of the strange looking alien. As he introduced himself she quickly composed herself "ah.. so you are captain Shoony" she responded calmly looking him up and down while he was busy staring at her breasts. For a moment she also glanced down, realizing she was just wearing the padded suit and not the rest of her armour.

"eh.. I'm Kimi" she answered and gave him a flirty smile. He assumed her to be 'company', so that was what she was gonna pretend to be, for now anyway, until she'd get a better idea who this Shoony was. He didn't look dangerous but for some reason, Vomaar had tried very hard to keep their presence a secret for the captain. 'Maybe there is more about Mr Shoony that meets the eye' she thought to herself.

\*\*\*\*\*

[Hangar bay 3]

IC: Khara Acherjon Bathori

Arm wrapped in a cast, the young girl sat on a crate next to the ramp of the Stinger Serpent. Her pet Kiro's bird happily flapped around catching the snacks Khara threw up in the air. "Good" the girl giggled.

From inside the ship she could hear the large red-brown bird screeching. They had fed it but of course, it also needed to stretch its wings but no one dared to let it out.

She glanced over her shoulder, feeling bad for the bird that he couldn't get some exercise like Floki could.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

Meanwhile in the engine room, Shazza and Vomaar were working on the repairs.

* Screech!\* \*Clank!\* the pale Twi'lek hit her head against a beam.. "aargh, blasted bird" she grunted softly in pain as she rubbed her head. She glanced at Vomaar, being infatuated with the Balosar male she hoped he hadn't seen it. From embarrassment, her cheeks were already turning red.

\*\*\*\*\*

[Corridors]

IC: Kimi Sheiko

"Pleasure to finally meet you.. captain" Kimi responded smiling, trying very hard to think of a story to tell him. "My visit was supposed to be a surprise" she spoke in a seductive tone, insinuating that she was indeed an escort, sent by an associate. She hoped that he would mention the name of someone that could have sent her as a gift.. "But we had a bit of an accident when we arrived," she added with a playful giggle, pointing at the bandage on her head. "I was to be looking more presentable when we'd finally meet, once I'd recovered enough I mean" she added, persuasively explaining why she looked the way she did and hadn't announced her arrival to him..

Non-force skill used: Persuasion/seduction 2

Attribute used: Manipulation 13

\*\*\*\*\*

GM UPDATE: Kimi’s force-assisted seductive persuasion worked, or at least she could assume it did as the Captain of the Save'n Trade continued his flirtations and seemed to believe her story.

\*\*\*\*\*IC: Vomaar:

“Hey.. careful there.. Don’t want to end up back in the medbay with GH-1 and your friend Kimi do ya?” said Vomaar turning from his crouched position over the Stinger Serpents hyperdrive. He gave her one of his boyish, charming grins after. Shazza was rubbing her head, which confirmed what he had assumed was the sound of her bumping it on the low overhead bar of the small engine room. A hazard he’d noticed early on and nearly done himself several times over the last few days fixing the strange vessel. During that time the two had talked much yet he hadn’t pressed the questions he really wanted to know about her and her friends. He could tell she didn’t fully trust him but he was just happy that she was here. He now had someone to talk to that was closer to his age, if not still 8 or 9 years younger. Someone other than just droids and the occasional pirates or smuggler crews that frequented the Trade’n’Save from time to time at least. They were always trying to play an angle of some kind.. But not her.

The Twi’lek girl’s cheeks had gone pink and he could tell she was embarrassed to have been startled by that creepy bird still aboard the starship, even without his Balosar ability to sense emotions in others due to his two now retracted antennapalps hidden under his head of messy dyed blond hair. He had removed his jacket, and now wore a simple but tight fitting white shirt, his black heavy boots and a pair of side pocketed dark grey cargo pants which was the norm for the young shiphand when he was working on machines. Around his waist wasn’t his blaster belt as it was during their very first meeting, but now a tool belt with all kinds of small hand held tools and testing equipment designed for a starship mechanic.

“Well… from what I can tell, our biggest problem here other than reattaching the rotation wing is going to be the hyperdrives power core. It requires a hypermatter fuel cell… that’s cutting edge tech, as well as being worth a Hutts small fortune you know. You never did say where you got this thing anyways..?” he said, wiping his hands on the already greasy cloth that he was holding and standing to his full height. He turned his body to face Shazza and tilted his head slightly, his light blue eyes locking onto hers.

“You know what… don’t answer that. I know your boss Kimi probably warned you not to tell me anything about you or your ship. We’ve been at this for days and I still know nothing about you except your name..” he said, suddenly lowering his eyes. He was fond of the young girl.. but not knowing anything other than “they came from Tython through the giant swirly space hole” was more than a bit frustrating. He’d done nothing but help them... yet he knew nothing about their origins, their plans or even how it was that three clearly very different females in species and age all ended up on this single vessel alone. All he knew is that they wanted to return to Tython. Though he had no idea why.. There was nothing there.. A dead planet of unpredictable weather and tavern stories of ancient long-dead cultists and wild beasts as tall as buildings who breathed fire. Not that he believed any of it.

But…and probably the question that was even more puzzling to him... how did they have laser swords… Jedi weapons that both Shazza, and he was pretty sure, that also Kimi possessed. Shazza had produced hers once when she first exited the crashed starship and he had seen another inside as they were doing repairs to it. Were they Jedi? Or the other type he had also heard stories about..? One of those dark Jedi? Sith they were called, weren't they?

“\*No.. no that couldn’t be it\*”, the thinks to himself. Not after the things he’d been told about the Sith, nore after how he felt inside when he spoke with her. She was young, yes, but she was soft.. sweet.. and had an undeniable innocence about her. She also cared greatly for the young girl who accompanied her, even though physically she looked very big compared to the way she acted.. perhaps it was her species.. he had found himself wondering how large Khara would get at full adulthood. At any rate, she was lucky to have Shazza at her side.

Kimi…. Well, it was she he was still unsure about. She was cold, calculating and didn’t seem to trust anyone. Even when they offered to help her freely out of kindness. Perhaps she was a Sith? He assumed by the time he would find out it would be too late and she, along with Khara and Shazza, would be long gone.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Slippery Shoony

“Mmmm yes, but the pleasure will most certainly be all mine, don’t you worry..” he responded to Kimis introduction. Shoony couldn’t quite place who may have sent him this gift.. his birthday was still weeks away and there was only one person who actually knew that… and he wouldn’t have sent such a gift… unless… unless of course he HAD actually been paying attention to all the aliens' subtle hints over the last few months… he remembered back to their last conversation about it which was just two weeks ago.. “Vomaar! You worthless boil on a banthas’ backside listen up, my birthday is coming up.. if you get me anything less than a good striptease from an exotic-looking escort I’ll take your fleshy handlebars and treat your head as a toilet plunger. Got it?!.” His eyes started to well up with pride.. The useless orphan’s single brain cell must have finally multiplied and he had decided to show the proper level of respect and appreciation for Shoonys endless hospitality since taking him off that old, fat hookers hands all those years ago… what was her name again?… ahhhh yes…. Juicy Lucy..that was it... This was a grand day all around it seemed.

“But we had a bit of an accident when we arrived," Kimi said, pointing at the bandage on her head and giggling. "I was to be looking more presentable when we'd finally meet, once I'd recovered enough I mean" she added.

“Oh don’t you worry about that my little blue bell… we’ll have you out of those old things in no time..” he replied. His reptilian tongue flickered slightly as he thought about what she might look like under there.

“Oh blast!” He said out loud and shook his head once and clenched a fist, he suddenly remembered what he was doing before he ran into this hired and very sensual blue surprise. His fun would have to wait…

“Listen…. I umm…. I have to go and check on something in the main cargo bay. Can you do me a favour my dear.. Vomaar, that skinny, ugly boy who hired you for my birthday.. Can you please tell him to meet me in my quarters in an hour.. I believe you can find him tinkering on something down in hangar bay 3..”

The small alien pointed the way behind Kimi to a tee off in the corridor. “To the right.” He added with a wink and a coy smile. “And errhhmmm.. of course you are more than welcome to accompany him if you’re feeling up to it... we’ve got two days till our stop at the Ring.. no rush..”

Shoony raised his eyebrows up and down several times as he looked up into her eyes, insinuating that he was looking forwards to her own private company later on.. but for now.. he needed to find out what Pax had placed on his ship that was looking more and more likely to get them all killed.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

Embarrassed, Shazza smiled and rubbed her head. But his boyish smile quickly made her forget, he was handsome and funny. She had never felt like this before about anyone, But during their time together she couldn't help it and imagined becoming more than friends, despite knowing how Kimi felt about the Balosar. She had warned her several times now, the truth was she did understand it.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Khara Acherjon Bathori

Outside, Khara giggled softly. Despite being just a child, she also picked up on the infatuation of Shazza with Vomaar and thought it was rather silly.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

For a moment, as Vomaar continued the work, Shazza watched him, 'no', she stared at him. Once more imagining things she shouldn't. She snapped out of it when he spoke up again, telling her about the damage and work that was needed.

"It's not just that" she replied, "well ehm… it's true, Kimi is overly cautious…" she smiled and lowered her gaze to the floor. "But I also don't really know her" she admitted. It was the truth, before the Battle of Tython she had never seen or heard of Kimi. She paused to think about what to tell him. Eventually she decided that there was no harm telling about how they met, right? A space battle at the core of the galaxy wasn't going to stay a secret, news of it would travel far and wide, even to this corner of the galaxy.

"We met during a battle at Tython" she said and glanced up. "I was considered too young to take part in the battle, so I was tasked to look over Khara.. but the battle was taking a bad turn and Kimi was sent by Khara's parents to take her to safety. I didn't know her before that, even now I barely know her other than that Khara's parents trust her.." she began to fidget with her clothes as she continued to speak. "I wasn't supposed to come along but Khara was afraid, she didn't know Kimi either, so I decided to come… for her"

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Meanwhile, in the corridors elsewhere on the ship, Kimi's persuasion seemed to work or so she assumed. The strange blue skinned alien didn't seem to be worried about her wandering about. Not sure what to make of him she kept playing along, giggling at his comment about getting her out of her clothes.

It was a relief when he told her he had to go check on something, because she wasn't really enjoying the act. The way he looked at her, the way he spoke, brought too many memories of her past back to the surface. Without even having to ask, Shoony told her where to find Vomaar. "Ofcourse, I'll tell him at once," she replied with a wink. "See you later Captain" she added before turning into the direction that he had pointed her.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Khara Acherjon Bathori

All this time, the young girl was sitting on a crate outside the ship. Playing with her bird, Floki but at the same time eavesdropping on the conversation inside. Out of boredom mainly, and simply because she was still a child and therefore very curious.

Startled, she looked up when she noticed Kimi approaching.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

She brought her finger to her lips, 'shhh' before Khara could say anything. She smiled at the child and touched her shoulder for a moment before walking up the ramp. Kimi was light on her feet, trying her best not to let them know she was there. At the door she paused and listened, to her surprise, Shazza was telling Vomaar about her life on Tython as Je'daii Padawan..

Kimi cleared her throat and stepped inside. Shazza's eyes widened in shock. "Why don't you wait outside Shazza" Kimi said before the girl could respond to her entrance.

When the teen left Kimi stepped closer to Vomaar. "I met your boss" was the first thing she said… "he wants to see you in his quarters" she added as she stopped before him. The engine room wasn't particularly big so there was little space between them. "I think you should stay away from Shazza.. she's only girl.. a teenager.." she whispered at him. She knew it was Shazza who was interested in him and not the other way around. Kimi wasn't blind, she understood why the Twi'lek liked him, he was attractive, but still she felt a warning was in place. He was an adult after all. "Do you hear me?.. keep your distance" she added.

\*\*\*\*\*

GM UPDATE:

As the recovering Kimi makes her way to join Vomaar, Khara and Shazza down in Hangar bay 3, Shoony would go to the now cleaned up Trade’n’Saves’ main cargo hold.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

Vomaar listened with empathetic curiosity to Shazza as the Twi'lek girl began to speak about her past and how she, and the others had gotten here. A space battle over Tython?... Je’daii? He’d never heard of a Je’daii before.. And the whole thing sounded nuts. But, there was nothing about this whole situation that made any sense, so he had decided to trust her and her story.. After all, It was lonely out here and she was the only thing close to a friend he’d had.. well… ever.

Vomaar was about to step forwards and attempt to embrace Shazza, she had been through a lot and he could tell recounting her story was making her emotional and sad. But then he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat from the starship's entrance. It was Kimi. And she did not look pleased.

“…..do you hear me?.. keep your distance." the Pantoran woman warned, standing close to the shiphand. Shazza was ordered outside when Kimi had arrived then proceeded to announce she’d met Mr. Shoony and passed on a message that Vomaar was needed in the Captain's quarters, and soon. That in itself was concerning enough as normally they would meet in the command centre or not at all. His boss, usually content with sending his orders via mouse droid or yelling them out over the internal ships communication broadcast. Vomaar just assumed Mr Shoony liked the way his own voice sounded amplified by over a hundred or so high security prison class speakers.

Vomaar normally wasn't threatened easily as he looked down to Khara and Shazza’s now apparent guardian, he'd grown up on death threats and dealing with intimidating pirates and mobsters trying to push him around.. But Kimi… well when she threatened him, the thousands of tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

“Look it's not what you think OK.. I like her company.. that's all.” Vomaar protested. “You got nothin’ to worry about lady….” he said, unclipping his toolbelt and sitting it down next to the busted hyperdrive. “And I’ll prove it.” He added, stepping forwards to quickly close the gap between himself and the blue skinned, slender female.. then, without so much as a hint of hesitation he pressed himself against her, feeling the feminine curves of her body hard up against his own athletically muscular one, and kissed her passionately on the mouth….

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Slippery Shoony

Shoony looked around the main cargohold of his trading vessel as he stood at the entrance nearest to Easternmost the turbo lift. It was organised, with hundreds of equipment and transport crates arranged in stacks on the metal floor and in bays of designated cargo racking. The only sound was the constant low hum of the Trade’n’Saves engines. If there had been damage in here, Shoony could not tell. Next to him, was a deactivated lifting droid with faded yellow plating plugged into a charging port. One of several droids that Vomaar had re-assigned to the enormous hold to clean up the mess of the crash and the water works.

Shoony huffed at the lack of help being offered to him. “Damn heaps of scrap metal. The one time I actually need them and they are asleep on the job.” He complained. He barely ever came down here anymore, and the least these freeloading hunks of junk could do is help him find what he was looking for.

From memory, his business partner Pax’s crates are usually all unmarked. “Should be easy enough to find.” he mumbled as made his way into the cargo bay and began to walk around in search of any of the unmarked shipments.

It didn't take him long, just barely half an hour until he finally found them. All piled together in several orderly stacked cubes around three metres in height, courtesy of the lifting droid's base logic programming that dictated things arranged in squared shapes where more efficient to move and to store. With a small degree of difficulty the small blue alien scaled up the pile of crates using his hands and boots only. When he got to the top he was happy to find two of the crates stacked neatly in the centre like the apex of a pyramid. Clearly these two crates were surplus to the number needed to form an exact cube.

Standing atop the stack of transport boxes Shoony carefully walked over to one of the two and unlocked the rather unremarkable and embarrassingly low-tech metal clasp, opening the wooden lid…..

\*\*\*\*\*

GM UPDATE:

Shoony opens the unmarked cargo create, instead of finding the expected shipment of Rodian Firesilks intended for the late Falleen Brotherhood Captain Ruusk, he finds a smaller, more high-tech case with the markings of the black hand. Inside that, he would find weaponized Tibanna gas, frozen in carbonite. Together, the entire shipment was worth more than two million republic credits. And highly volatile if ignited.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Slippery Shoony

Shoonys closed the lid again and turned around, leaning his back on the craate as to stop from falling over… what he saw was…. Well, it was impossible. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it may well burst through his chest at any moment and his body was starting to excrete the same slippery fermented wheat smelling ooze as when he felt threatened.. He needed to check again, just to be sure it was real and not some hallucination caused by head trauma from the Droopta’s destruction now coming to the surface.

Shoony turned and opened the wooden crate again, inside was the same dark grey casing he had found the first time he had looked. It was almost military in its design and several lights shone from an inbuilt display panel on its front. The lights were a bright neon green, and their illumination steady. There was also a keypad but above it on a smaller display flashed a picture of an opened lock. Obviously this had been tampered with by a slicer and the security protocols overridden.

On the top of the hi-tech casting was a clear viewing window that had already fogged over since the Captain’s original attempt at seeing what was inside several moments ago. Shoony reached out, his fingers nervously shaking as he placed his palm flat onto the cold transparisteel. Shoony swallowed hard and wiped his hand across the window, replacing the fog with a light smear of clear ooze that seeped through his pores. Shoony let out a nervous chuckle, as below the glass was the same thing he had seen the first time… dozens of carbonate frozen pods of Tibanna gas worth ten thousands credits each. He closed the case again and quickly looked around.. doing the math in his mind.. “That's….. that’s over two million credits!” he said aloud into the echo of the cargo bay. “Pax….you fur brained moron what have you done?!”

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Staring the Balosar into his eyes she waited for him to acknowledge the warning. Maybe she overreacted, but the two girls were \*her\* responsibility and that was something she took very seriously. Shazza wasn't even supposed to be there, the fact that she was, was Kimi's fault.

When Vomaar said he'd prove to her that there was nothing to worry about, she furrowed her brow. She had no idea what he meant and there was nothing that prepared her for what he would do next. Kimi didn't move or respond to him closing in on her and when he pressed his lips on hers she just froze. Despite her past and her experience with men, she never expected this to happen.

The petite Pantoran suddenly returned the kiss, bringing her right hand up to his face, cupping his cheek. Why she responded? She had no idea, maybe the concussion was the reason she didn't think straight. Maybe it was because deep down she longed for intimacy as it had been quite some time since she allowed anyone that close to her.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Shazza Fortuna

Meanwhile, the young Twi'lek had stepped outside. Her cheeks were glowing, her heart was still racing. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Part from telling Vomaar more about the events that brought them there nothing had happened, but still she felt like she was caught \*in the act\*.

She sat down next to Khara on the crate in front of the ship. She smiled at the girl and placed her hand on her leg. "We're making progress, we're doing our best to get home as soon as possible" she said, trying to reassure the girl. SCREEETCH!!!!\* "Aaah!" Shazza startled and nearly fell off the crate. "That bloody bird!" She yelled in annoyance.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

The girls outside weren't the only ones that were startled by Diaval's noise, it startled Kimi aswell. Her eyes flung open and she suddenly realised what she was doing. She pushed Vomaar away. Now the Pantoran's cheeks turned lavender of embarrassment. "Eh.. I..  eh.." she stammered nervously as she brought her hand to her mouth and stared at the Balosar male.

"D… d.. Don't you need to go see your boss?" She then asked, changing the subject. "Sounded urgent" she added as she turned away, hiding her glowing face and trying to compose herself again.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

“Yeah.. Erhhmm… I guess I should..” said the handsome young Balosar after being pushed away from the attractive, if not overly aggressive, blue skinned woman mid-kiss. Kimi had turned away from him, and now she sounded surprisingly calm about the situation although he could sense the embarrassment flowing from her aura. But at least she wasn't angry anymore. Hopefully his kiss was enough to let her know that while he enjoyed Shazza’s company very much, he was not looking to take advantage of the young Twi'lek. “You should stay here. I think your bird desperately wants some attention from its owner….”

\*\*\*\*\*

GM UPDATE:

As the circular shaped Trade’n’Save trading vessel continues its steady course towards the Ring space station on the outskirts of Hathrox system, shiphand Vomaar heads up to meet his boss and Captain Slippery Shoony in his private quarters who confides in his young ward the nature of the cargo they were currently hauling, and the real reason why they were now being hunted by bounty hunters of Zallo the Hutt.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

“But…… But that's insane. It was supposed to be firesilks.. Just plain old Rodian firesilks for Captain Ruusk.” Vomaar said slowly as he processed what his captain had just told him. If it's weaponised… What was Ruusk planning on doing with it?”

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Slippery Shoony

“Do I look like a dead Falleen prince to you?” snapped back Shoony sarcastically to his first mate's imbecilic question. Honestly Vomaar you had toddled off to the refresher when the maker was handing out brains hadn't you? If I had to guess, I imagine he was looking to sell them himself.. I know there has been a lot of talk about civil unrest down on Hathrox III.. Maybe he had an interest in that. No idea why though? Those lamoes deserve to be overthrown. I mean who bans slavery this close to Hut space and thinks the cartels will just let it ride…. They might be the Republic, but that’s only because of Senator Yikic’s greased up palms.”

Shoony stopped and thought for a moment, pressing the tips of  his long skinny fingers together and bringing them up to his chin as he pondered over the situation again for what seemed like the hundredth time. “No.. there is something more going on.. I can feel it. That being said, I do enjoy credits.. but I have no wish of being hunted the rest of my days by Zallo’s dim witted thugs.. and of course there’s the matter of my \*oh so trustworthy\* business partner to address.” He said thoughtfully, totally ignoring his ship hand as he tried his best to think his way into a scenario where he benefits AND kept his right to breath... namely selling the deadly tibana for himself and at the same time removing the large target from his back.

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar “umm sir?” Said Vomaar who had also been thinking during this time…

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Slippery Shoony

“Yes Vomaar” the alien sighed, clearly annoyed by the seemingly constant interruption of his hand.. “What is it now?”

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Vomaar

“Well, seeing sir that we’re being open about the current situation… well, you know the errhmm… “Entertainment” you met earlier... Well, I think there's something more you should know…...

(\*Vomaar goes on to explain that there are actually 3 females who crashed into his ship when the explosion happened. He decides to leave out anything regarding Tython, time travel or laser swords. Just 3 travellers, stranded with them but who also helped him escape from the Bounty Hunter. )

\*\*\*\*\*

IC: Kimi Sheiko

Still with her back turned towards him, Kimi listened to his reply. Still feeling rather confused about what just happened she was relieved when he agreed he should go see his boss. She didn't turn around but did peek over her shoulder when the Balosar walked away and when he was gone she let out a deep sigh and pushed her back against the wall, bringing her hand up to her mouth.

'What was that about?' She asked herself and bit her lip, 'you're losing it Kimi.. get yourself together' she added and tried to compose herself. She took a couple of deep calming breaths and wiped her hair out of her face. Then, as if nothing had happened she walked out of the engine room.

\*SKKREERECH\*!!

"Yeah yeah.. I know" Kimi responded to the flapping bird in the corner. She approached and reached for its head to remove the hood. \*Screeech… screech\* Diaval responded. Kimi stepped over to a cool box and opened it. "Oh.. we definitely need to restock" she said as she reached inside and took out one of the final few raw chunks of meat. "Here you go boy" and flung the chunk towards the bird who caught it easily.

When he was finished eating, Kimi held up her arm, "you need to stretch your wings" she said. The large bird stepped onto her arm. Slowly she carried the heavy bird outside. The hanger wasn't exactly the ideal place to fly but it was better than nothing. Without hesitation the bird took off and Kimi walked down the ramp to join Shazza and Khara..

To be continued…..

GM UPDATE: End of Chapter 2.