Up Anchor

[Barton Henning]

Hollastin was at the arse-end of Hutt Space. Barton had known that, even before he had arrived, yet still he found himself unsettled by it all. He stood at the foot of his ships boarding ramp, watching warehouse workers make slow and sloppy work of loading crates worth of cargo into his ship. In truth, they were treating the shipment with about as much respect as it deserved. Barton had sampled a packet of the freeze-dried rations within before they'd agreed on a price. They tasted much as he'd imagined they would, coming from the so-called bargain basement of Hutt Space.

The Alliance didn't have the credits or the contacts to source anything better, however. They were mostly grateful for what they could get, although Barton knew that this particular shipment wouldn't be too enthusiastically received at its destination; it had been a long time since the passengers aboard the Wheel had eaten more than the most meagre rations.

As pair of Zabrak labourers hauled the last of the crates towards the Knightfall, Henning narrowed his eyes against the two suns that hung low in the sky. The rations weren't the only thing he was expecting to pick up, although his other cargo had yet to arrive.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

Hutt Space was probably the only region of the galaxy over which the Empire had very little or no influence at all. Imperial spies were reluctant to cross the border beyond Tion hegemony, especially upon hearing tales of what happened to those who tried to infiltrate the system. The Hutts were a creative bunch when it came to torture and extraction of information; it has been rumored they had specialists who could skin a person without killing them and then keep them alive for months.

Keeping this in mind at all times, Thanewulf ventured deep into Hutt Space for supplies. This way orders were almost impossible to track and no suspicion would arise when purchasing enough rations to feed a smaller army. Each and every trip into the Si'Klaata cluster was a gamble with one's life, a risk Tionne volounteered to take over. She already had her share of dealings with the Hutts as Watchman and knew what to expect. The grime adhering to her already felt like second skin, she was here for too long. It was time to go home. The sight of Barton's ship was a relief, one she yearned for in past few weeks.

"Hey." she said plainly upon approaching Barton from the back and lightly tapping him on the shoulder - "Long time no see. I thought you quit the Jedi and... went to become a stand up comedian."
Her fleshy lips stretched into a wide smile showing white teeth, which were in stark contrast with her darkened, muck-covered complexion.

[Barton Henning]

Though he'd known that Tionne was on Hollastin, it didn't make the sight of her any less of a surprise. Whilst Henning's life was one of orderly schedule, dictated by when and where the Knightfall needed to be, Tionne did as she pleased. He'd half expected that she wouldn't show, that he'd get back to the Wheel and find there were rumours she'd gone AWOL and taken a one-woman run at any Imperial stronghold. Barton cocked his head to one side, an eyebrow lifted as he made no effort to hide the smile her appearance and words had elicited. Even covered in dust and dirt, she still carried herself like the Jedi of old: calm, controlled and with just a hint of a swagger.

“I was on my way out, but they told me no one else was daft enough to spend their days flying into Hutt Space, picking up rogue Jedi Knights. Couldn't leave you in the lurch.”

[Tionne Thanewulf]

"Daft?" the redhead repeated with a quirked eyebrow and a thankful smile - "No, not daft. Completely crazy, yes."
Tionne looked around them to make sure they were alone on the landing platform. Even at sunset, the heat was sizzling, with two luminous orbs hanging low on the horizon, their eerie glow tinting the surroundings in red hues. During the day the light was so strong one needed goggles to walk about in the sun. A worn pair was used as a hairband, trying to keep Tionne's messy locks in place.

"It would take me weeks to reach the outskirts of Hutt Space, if not more. Public transporation is erratic for a reason. Makes it difficult for slaves to leave the sector if they escaped." Thanewulf clarified as she ascended up the rail, not wanting to stay on the planet a second longer than neccesary.

"Let's get out of here before I am made a slave dancer and you an eunuch." the redhead pleaded as she meandered though narrow corridors of Knightfall and slipped into the copilot seat, not bothering to buckle up.

[Barton Henning]

Barton dropped into the captain's seat with a huff of breath, happy to be out of Hollastin's evening heat.

“You don't think anyone would want to make a dancer out of me?” he asked with a glance at Tionne as his fingertips worked over the ships controls. Teasing life into the old freighter was second nature to him now. He could have done the pre-flight check in his sleep. Hell, sometimes he did, but that was always preferable to dreaming about the temple.

[Tionne Thanewulf]

The sound of engines was music to Tionne's ears. Her gut floated a bit as the ship lifted off in a cloud of dust. Knightfall was an old dustbin, but it could still fly, especially when yoke was in Barton's knowing hands. Her eyes trailed to his knuckles and bony fingers playing across the motherboard. A moment of silence passed, giving her enough space to ignore his comment and focus on important things. Instead, she showed admiration of his wits by a faintest of chuckles.

"Those hands could be put to better use." the redhead stated before fixing her steel gaze on him - "And that does not include being the Order's taxi driver. Or smuggling supplies across half known galaxy. Or anything you've done up until now."
Her features softened a notch.
"Not that it hasn't been appreciated..."

[Barton Henning]

“They're not the most glamorous jobs but someone's got to do them,” was Barton's only reply as the Knightfall angled away from the planets surface. With hardly any traffic to contend with, he could put a good distance between himself and the surface of Hollastin in no time at all. It was gratifying to think that given the load in his cargo hold, he wouldn't have to venture into this particular corner of Hutt Space for some time.

Henning sat back in his chair and ran both palms across his eyes and then back over his closely-cropped hair. He exhaled slowly, willing the tension that was threaded right through him to ebb away.

“I take it you didn't get yourself into any sort of trouble this time around, then?”

[Tionne Thanewulf]

Thanewulf chaffed dirt off her cargo pants, with little success. The fabric became impregnated with grime. Her lips curved downwards in loathing.
"I never get myself in trouble." she stated defensively, eyeing Barton with the corner of her eye - "It is I who usually comes to rescue, remember?"
Clearly, this was a reference to Laran's rescue in which Thanewulf played an important part, together with other prominent Jedi. The thought of taunting the Chief Inquisitor momentarily painted a smug expression on her face.

"Actually, I was rather surprised all went so smooth. Something must be wrong. We better keep our eyes open; we will be flying through Hutt space for a while." the redhead warned, before leaning forward not to dirty the seat she sat in further.

"I could use a shower and a change of clothes, if you have any to spare." said Tionne, gracing the captain of Knightfall with a meek smile.

[Barton Henning]

Henning needed no warnings about the dangers of passing through Hutt Space. Though the Hutt's weren't officially allied to the Empire, the two did enough dealings with each other to make keeping quiet about the Knightfall's business a necessity. The ship in and of itself wouldn't grease any palms but with a Jedi Knight on board, it'd made a decent bribe.

“No running water on board but there's a sonic shower attached to the port crew quarters. I don't know about the clothes...” Barton gave Tionne a glance. “But I'll see if I can find something while you're in there.”