Coruscant nights

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Coruscant.


s'Il watched as the city-planet of Coruscant filled the viewscreen of her ship, the Baiken. She smiled faintly, and let the craft skim the atmosphere lightly before dipping the nose downwards and streaking towards the surface.

Behind her, in two large military shoulder duffels, she'd collected all of her necessary gear and choice weaponry.

Bringing the Baiken low through Coruscant's cityscape, she wove the ship through building too numerous to count before approaching one of the thousands of landing ports dotting the planet. s'Il cut in the repulsors, and the ship braked to a slow halt.

The landing struts extended, and the ship settled onto the tarmac.




1087th street and Main: The Gnats Cradle Inn.


The driver stopped before the inn, and s'Il tossed him his credits before stepping from the vehicle. She watched with mild interest as he drove off, then turned to the building she'd been told to meet Hera at.

Hefting the duffels up onto her shoulders with a slight grunt, she stepped forward, walking through the doors.

And now the fun begins.

[DarthHERA]

This thread is continued from: http://pub56.ezboard.com/fgjofrm2.showMessage?topicID=1708.topic "1000 Oceans"

**************************



The pugnosed alien yeowled as his shoulder popped out of its socket. He practically danced from foot to foot trying to break her grip, and it made Hera laugh at his absurdity.

"Next time I tell ya "you cant have a seat or buy me a drink", you'll listen maybe huh?"

He would have shot her with his blaster...if she hadnt already sliced his gnarled trigger hand from wrist to fingertip with her dagger rendering it as useless as the now flapping arm at his side...Oh he wanted to shoot her, she could see it in his beer-bleared eyes.

He said something threatening through saliva soaked lips and though it wasnt in Basic, Hera knew a threat when she heard one.

..she didnt have time for this...

s'Ilancy would be here soon, and they both had more important things to do.

Releasing a sigh of annoyance, and moving as quick as lightening, Hera skipped her arm out and with a quick flick, drew a crimson line the length of the fools throat. He blinked stupidly and fell to the floor.

Taking her rum glass with her, Hera stepped over the bloody mass and no one even noticed. The Gnats Craddle was the kind of place people were murdered or beaten on a regular basis - it was all part of the ambiance. As long as one left enough credits to cover the "cleanup crew" the owner was happy to have the business. Tossing the money on the table, Hera moved off to the door.

She nodded to the barkeep and caught s'Ilancy's eyes as she entered. "We're not staying. Bring the stuff, we'll talk on the way."


The Till Tower as a long way from this district - in the elite business quarter of Coruscant, a far cry from the Gnats Craddle.

Hera hailed a hover-cab as she waited s'Il to join her.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Stepping up beside Hera, s'Il couldn't help the thin smile on her lips. "Looks like you had an admirer."

HAD being the key word. She'd caught sight of Hera just as she was slitting the alien's throat, and her liking, not to mention respect for the other woman jumped a few notches.

She stood patiently, silent as death almost, while waiting for the cab to approach. She used the time to breath in the air around her; a potentially fatal thing to do sometimes, but she merely let the stench of exhaust fumes, smog, and body odors fill her nostrils. It brought back memories. Some were good, other weren't.

"I haven't been in this part of Coruscant in quite a while," she remarked idly as the small transport stopped rather abruptly before them. The door opened, and she ducked inside, positioning the duffels at her feet.

[DarthHERA]

Hera climbed into the transport after s'Ilancy and relaxed back against the seat as it lurched forward to wind and dart through the endless traffic that helped define the heartbeat of the planet city.

"Yeah, sure is a dump back there..."

She ginned.

"...A great place to party though." And she whiped her still bloodied dagger on the interior lining of the cab leaving a dark blue slime against the front passenger headrest. Both women ignored the drivers unhappy sigh of protest.

Sliding the blade into its sheath at her thigh, the Sith turned her full gaze to the blonde beside her.

"I see you came prepared."

By the look of the duffle bags, s'Ilancy had quite the arsenal with her. So far, in their breif association, s'Il had proven to be just the kind of adventurer Hera had hoped for when she first contacted her. Meeting her again Hera realised how much she had been looking forward to working with her.

There was alot Hera didnt know about the woman seated beside her - and wondered, out of curiousity, what her story was. Hopefully this was the beginning of a lasting association, and perhaps friendship. For now though, they had a priceless treasure to "lift" and the night was moving on.

"Did you go over the building schematics?" Dumb question - Hera knew she would have. Probably knew the builiding blind. The bland look that came back at her from s'Il was reply enough.

Hera laughed lightly...ok, next question.

"I was thinking the turbolift shaft would be the best access point. What do you think?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il sat back, her mind running through the possible courses of actions possible to her and Hera. Her eyes watched as buildings zipped past in a blur, and she let out a sigh before speaking. "That would be good, I have the equipment to allow us entry from that designation."

She shifted slightly in her seat, resting a booted foot on one of the duffels. "Though if you want to get more....fun.... out of this, we can always walk in the front door."

She laughed to herself, remembering an old holovid she'd seen ages ago. "No amount of security measures can withstand a woman in tight leather and in possession of a dominatrix mindset."

"Corporate men seem to enjoy a woman who carries a riding crop," she gave Hera a sidelong glance and a smirk, "and is not afraid to use it."

[DarthHERA]

She raised her eyebrow and a crooked grin creased her face as s'Ilancy spoke. Yep, friendship definitely was in the making. Hera liked her style.

"Through the front door or down the rain pipe, I dont really care. All that matters is we get what we came for."

She dipped her head low to look over the divider and through the front window of the transport to see how much further they had till their arrival at Till Tower. A few minutes further yet.

Casually commenting, as if the thought just occured to her, Hera asked s'Ilancy "You thought about payment?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il nodded. "I have." Looking out the window once more, she watched through half-closed eyes at the architecture flying by. It had steadily grown more upscale the further into the business district they were going, and after a few moments more of observation, she sat back in her seat.

"Like I said back on Arcan, I consider half of my payment to be the challenge offered in this particular 'undertaking.' As to the other half, 1.5 million credits will be satisfactory."

s'Il knew that 1.5 million was much too low a figure, even for being half of what she was asking for, but she had grown to like Hera.

Craning her neck to stare out the front viewport, she spotted the Till Tower in the distance, approaching steadily. Her hands reached for one of the duffels, and unzipping it, she pulled out two pairs of mag-lock kneegaurds. s'Il handed one pair to Hera as she began to fit the other to her knees.

"Pull around to the employee's entrance," she ordered the driver, her eyes glancing up to look at the Tower as it grew larger in the viewport. Going back to securing the kneegaurds on, she addressed Hera once more. "These will allow us to climb walls easier and with more precision than conventional ascension guns. I have those as well, but for enclosed spaces, mag-locks work wonders."

Finished, s'Il leaned back once more after closing the duffel and a small smile played across her features.

[DarthHERA]

s'Il put on the knee-guards and Hera did likewise.

Payment was not going to be a problem. The price s'Il asked for was lower than expected. It looked to Hera, judging by the attitude of her companion and the hardware she packed, that s'Ilancy was worth every credit and more.

Hera hailed the "Wolfsschanze" - her ship, which was docked at one of the many spaceports of Coruscant - and spoke to the droid. Instructing it to to forward the following account code to Remkah at ShadowFaene Fortress so he could transfer the 1.5 mill credits. Hera then handed the communicator to s'Ilancy.

"Give the droid the account info for the deposit."

The woman looked at Hera as she made a few last adjustments to her equipment. "The job isnt done yet. Jumping the gun a little arent you?"

Hera smiled. They would get what they came for, she knew it. s'Il would be paid - before or after made no difference to the Sith.

s'Il gave the necessary information and Hera took the device back again. The transport slowed and came to a stop.

"We're here."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Opening the door to the transport, s'Il stepped out into the evening sun. She pulled her two duffels with her, and waited as Hera got out as well. Craning her neck upwards, she stared up at the highrise in front of her. Impressive, she thought idly, this is going to be fun.

s'Il set the duffels down, and digging into her back pocket, drew out a slim credit chit, tossing it through the open passenger-side window at the driver. He caught it expertly and stuffed it into his billfold.

Turning back to the skyscraper, s'Il grinned as she took her bags up once more, starting off for the employee's entrance.

[DarthHERA]

Hera followed close behind s'Ilancy, glancing back to make certain no one was taking much interest in them as they approached the building.

As s'Il expertly jimmied the "Employees Only" door, Hera spoke to her looking over her shoulder as she worked.

"I guess I outta tell you that ol fancy-pants Jonathan Till is having a big wing-ding tonight in the Suite opposite the gallery. He plans on showing off his collection to some of the richest business mogels in Coruscant. We may have to disrupt the party some."

With a click, s'Il opened the door.

"The security will probly be increased too."

As s'Il looked back at Hera with a "now you tell me" look, Hera said dryly.

"That alright with you?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I laugh in the face of beefed-up security," s'Il laughed quietly, cracking a goofy smile as she swung the door open carefully. She poked her head inside for a quick look, then pulled it out again before opening the door all the way and using her foot to prop it open.

Holding the small lock-pick between her fingers, she tossed it a little ways into the air and caught it behind her back. With a sweeping motion, she indicated Hera to go first, and hefting the duffels onto her shoulders once more, cast a last look outside before following the other woman inside.

The door shut quietly, and s'Il looked to either side. The corridor they'd entered was deserted save for a single laundry cart a little ways down the hall to her right. Nodding her head in the direction of the cart, s'Il walked over to it smoothly, dumping the duffels inside and covering them with the linens already piled inside and ready for folding.

"I have half a mind to take some of whatever else he's got in his collection while we're here," s'Il thought aloud, pushing the cart forward and starting down the hall towards the main washrooms.

She'd studied the schematics to the Tower, and had decided that the best way to get in would be to use as many maintenence entrances and hallways as they could until they reached the floor below where the target was kept. It was then that she'd break out the real toys she'd brought with her.

[DarthHERA]

Hera grinned wryly at s'Il as they moved down the hallway. yup...this outta be fun

"You can take whatever you like, s'Il. Till has a lot of junk that he calls "Art" that some of the dandy-types get all teary-eyed over, but he does have some genuine good shiz in his collection."

Hera made for the "Femme Powder Room" and smiled as s'Il gave her an odd look.

"You didnt go before we came?"


"Funny." Hera smiled. "Just keep look out for a minit"

Hera was in and out in much less than a minute, and slung over her shoulder was a small canvas knapsack, which she had retrieved from behind a tile in the ceiling planted 3 days earlier.

As her companion raised a questioning eyebrow, Hera, teasingly explained. "Back-up..you know. Case you got lost getting here or something." Actually, it was just some carrying packs to put the twin paintings in - specially insulated so they, should they some how be faced toward one another during the womens escape would not begin their beautiful harmonies and jeopardise their postions. There were also a few other little items Hera had packed.

"Can never have too many toys, eh s'Il"

Nodding in sage agreement, the two deadly blondes headed for the Maitanence Door up ahead.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Stopping at the door, s'Il grinned, and after Hera opened it, pushed the cart through. The hallway before them seemed like it extended on forever, and s'Il started forward at a steady pace. They were alone, no one was anywhere in sight, and she tilted her head to the side as she mentally ran through the floorplan of the building. Soon the hallway branched in three direction, and s'Il lead the way down the furthest to right. What followed next was a long series of turns that seemed to go nowhere; sometimes the women had to pass through washrooms crowded full of employees, and other times it was as theough the entire building was deserted.

However complicated the physical layout appeared to be, the security aspect was an entirely different story. It was simple, leaving much unprotected from intrusion and break-in. The security measures this Jonathan Till chose to utilize were top of the line, but they were also standard. Every rich man and his cousin's dog had the same systems, making a lot of their 'defenses' easily bypassed.

Or at least for s'Il they were. She'd made it her job to know every security system inside and out; backwards and forwards, and every other known direction. It was good for business. Simple as that.

It may not be a perfect world, but hell. She was going to do her best to make it that way for herself.


The doors to the maintenence elevator came into view, and s'Il stopped the cart in front of it while in the same motion reaching out and pressing the up indicator.

Ten seconds later Hera and s'Il were in the lift and ascending quickly to the uppermost reaches of the skyscraper. Leaning forward to fish the duffels from the cart, s'Il set them roughly on the floor and began unzipping them. She pulled out two pairs of mag-lock fingerless gloves; used in conjunction with the kneeguards. Next came a very simple yet highly effective laser diverter, ascension guns, harnesses, glass cutters, nightvision goggles that also had infrared and heat sensitive capabilities among a slew of others, and tranquilizer guns.

From the other duffel she pulled glass mines; specially designed mines that internally shattered whole panes of glass without making it appear as if the glass was actually broken; it looked exactly the same as if nothing were wrong. They functioned on an extremely high frequency, destroying the internal making and cell structure of the glass so that when, say, someone ran through it, it was like breaking through paper. It didn't matter how thick the glass was, either.

"So along what veins does the illustrious Jonathan Till tend to run? Do his artistic tastes turn toward the more classical neo-modern, or does he prefer to collect anything and everything that fancies his eye?"

[DarthHERA]

Hera was impressed with all the hardware and s'Ilancy's forethought to bring what she had. She showed it by letting out a long low whistle.

"Frell woman, who is your supply contact?" Hera handled one item after another like a greedy child in a candy store, admiring. She strapped on the harness and pushed her hands into the fingerless mag-lock gloves, curling and extending her fingers, getting the feel of them.

"Till is fond of nudes."

s'Il looked up at her, and Hera noticed for the first time that her eyes were an extremely unusual color...and free of any of the liquid turbo-fuel s'Il had been on when the two women had first met.

"The Artwork - He likes nudes. Statues, paintings, holovisons..but thats a whole other topic that we dont want to talk about..."

s'Il continued organizing the gear.

"He also has one of the largest collections of precious stones in the galaxy, I hear."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il stopped, letting the hum of the lift's motor and gears fill the recycled air.

......largest collection of precious stones in the galaxy......

Squaring her shoulders, s'Il looked at Hera, and a feral grin crept across her face. Diamonds, jewels, precious stones; any and all were a..................special hobby of hers. One that she very much enjoyed partaking of as often as the oppertunity presented itself.

And what an oppertunity it is that has arisen.

She slid the gloves on smoothly, and the harness soon followed. The mines she stored on a special makeshift carrierplate on her stomach for easy access. Handing one pair of goggles to Hera, she grinned once more.

"I like precious stones," she said, her tone of voice indicating that she had a strong suspicion Hera already knew. "So. Nudes, huh." s'Il handed one pair goggles over to Hera, still grinning.

[DarthHERA]

Hera took the goggles...

"I had a feeling you might find that news interesting."

She put the goggles on and with a resounding "ping" let them snap-too against her face.

"You take the rocks...Ill take the painting and we can each make our choice as regards to the nudes."

Their grins were still in place when the "ding" of the turbolift sounded and they came to a light stop.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il slung one of the duffels over both shoulders, and with a quick glance out the opening doors to make sure no one was around, stepped out quickly. This was turning out to be a much better outing than she'd originally thought it would be. Seeing that no one was around, she motioned for Hera to follow, and heading to the left, she kept a close eye on the wall, observing the panels carefully and watching for the access hatch that the layout had indicated.

She nearly missed it; it had been built to completely blend with the rest of the panels. The only thing that gave it away were the deeper edge lines that lined the outer rims. She stopped abruptly, and reaching out, ran a finger along the edges, smiling. "Ah, there we are."

s'Il pulled a pocket knife from her boot. "These things come in handy at the darndest times," she grinned, carefully prying the access panel loose with the folded out file. It came loose surprisingly easy, and setting it lightly on the floor, s'Il closed the knife and replaced it back into her boot.



"So did you hear who Till has at this party?"


s'Il froze, snapping her head in the direction of the turn in the hall.


"Yeah, I can't believe it myself. I mean, I thought he never made public appearences."


s'Il looked back to Hera. "After you," she whispered, picking the panel cover up.

[DarthHERA]

Hera lingered just a moment before disappearing into the opening of the hatchway that s'Il had revealed for them. She had contemplated snuffing out the individuals that they heard in the hallway, but as short a time as it would take, would still delay their progress...and then the guests could be missed causing an alarm to be raised prematurely. Hera figured there was going to be plenty of opportunity to do some violence before the night was through, and chose to bide her time.

Climbing silently in behind her, s'Ilancy pulled the panel to and taking a double-sided adhesive strip from off her waistbelt ran it along the panel edges and reattached it to its grid. It was all done in seconds with a quiet calm....s'Il had obviously done this before....and all trace of their intrusion was erased.

Moving in a low crouch position - which was killer on the legs - they advanced along the inner walls of the prestigous business suites. After about 5 minutes they could hear a reverbating hum...a dulled noise consisting of a low drone..like many voices, music and movement muffled behind the walls. Hera looked to s'Il "Till's big bash is in full swing."

Three minutes later they stopped just past a T-junction and s'Ilancy pointed. Here's where we get out. Hera made as if to break through the opening, but s'Il tapped her arm lightly with an infrared-flashlight and pointed upward. Following the line of sight, Hera saw criss-crossed through the thin ventilation grill, the tell-tale red lines of what looked to be a standard alarm grid.

s'Il smiled in warning, "he's got a doorbell"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Scooting forward past Hera, s'Il couldn't help the grin that plastered across her face as she pulled out a simple sparkplug from one of her pockets with one hand and a paper clip with the other.

"My ship, of all things, taught me this little trick. I swear the thing has a whole database dedicated to breaking and entering, diffusing alarms, and the such. He may be psychotic from time to time," reaching out, s'Il barely touched the small powerbox with one end of the straightened out paper clip, and touching the other end to the sparkplug, flicked the thumb button on the small electrical device. The entire grid flickered, then died altogether; no trace of alarm going off at all, "but he sure knows his stuff."

s'Il replaced the clip and the sparkplug back into her pockets, and started forward once more.

The ducts sloped upward, and this was where the mag-lock gear came in handy. Their ascent was swift and silent, and cresting over the top lip of the edge, s'Il positioned herself over a grating so that she could stare down into Till's private gallery. Even with her limited view, she could tell the man spared no expenses when it came to collecting artwork.

"You weren't kidding," she whispered to Hera, "This guy is loaded."

After Hera had cleared the edge and was kneeling next to her, s'Il began working on the grating. It came away easily, and careful not to make any noise, s'Il set it next to her.

Both women listened carefully for any noise, and after a two minute silence, s'Il slowly lowered her head down for a better look.

No gaurds. Good.

The drop wasn't far, so there was no real need for a rope of any kind. Continuing to lower herself headfirst through the opening, s'Il pulled off a gracefull flip/somersault to dangle from her grip on the edge. Her fingers released, and she dropped noiselessly to the ground, landing in a crouch before moving to the side so that Hera had an open landing area.

[DarthHERA]

The Sith had used the force and her jump took no more effort than taking a small step downward. Hera landed silently beside s'Il. "That was a nice trick..."

s'Ilancy's eyes roved the room as she replied to Hera behind her, "The sparkplug and the clip?"

Hera too, scanned the room and the plethora of priceless artwork, "No...the flip and the somersault."

Twisting around slowly, Hera's grin faded to a frown at not seeing the Trasuvian Masterpiece.

As if reading her thoughts, s'Ilancy offered "probly further towards the back.."

The two moved off silently - or as was as silent as physically possible on the polished surface of the showroom floor. They passed case after gilded case of works of art and sculpture, stopping at one case in particular that held one of the famed nudes - a Twi'lek entwined about an elaborately carved cross-bow, the arrow of which she had plunged through her own torso.

Exchanging puzzled glances, the two women moved on.

They stepped into a small anteroom. It was wallpapered a gaudish red and had very very thick black carpet. On one far wall was a single painting in a frame, behind which Hera was certain a safe would be located.

"s'Ilancy.."

s'Il turned to see Hera pointing at the painting with a smile. "Your diamonds."

s'Il pointed in the other direction toward two glass cabinets standing side by side. Smiling back at Hera. "Your Masterpeice."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s’Il had to laugh as she pointed to Hera’s prize and Hera pointed to hers from across opposite sides of the room.

Trotting past each other to their respective catches, s’Il slowed to a stop in front of the painting, examining the canvas with a scrutinizing metallic gaze. She recognized the artist, Timothy Dennington, but found that she never cared for his style; his lines and strokes were too erratic, and the true beauty of what he was trying to portray was lost in the slop he slapped across the canvas. There was no real elegance in his work as compared to say, the masterpiece Alderaan Rising, by Miriseketch (which she conveniently had hanging on the wall of her office back on the Rascal King).

A hand reached up, and she ran steady fingers along the edge of the crystallized latinum-inlaid frame. This garbage? Surrounded by crystallized latinum? I never thought I’d see the day. Her index finger traced along the back edge, and midway down the side came across a slight indentation. She paused, studying the minute contour of the indent, and putting pressure into it, was rewarded with a muffled *click*.

With her other hand, she repeated the same routine on the other side of the frame, and finding a matching indentation, copied the process as another *click* could be heard. Gently pulling on the frame, her brows furrowed as the painting didn’t budge an inch. Stepping back, s’Il looked at the painting; it should have come away easily, but instead it was still fastened to the wall, and she had to think for a few seconds before an idea occurred to her. Stepping forward once more, she took hold of both sides, and instead of pulling out, she slid the painting to the side.

Shaking her head, she continued to slide the painting along the wall on the runners cleverly built into the back. She reached the end of the runners, and this time when she pulled, the painting came away effortlessly.

The plush carpet depressed slightly where s’Il set the painting, and she looked at the wall safe. Till had really gone all out when he made the decision on which safe to store his valuables in. It was airtight, waterproof, and burglarproof. But, s’Il thought, pulling a thin vial of pressurized carbonite and a custom-made lock-pick from a zipper pocket along the leg of her pants, it’s not s’Il proof.

s’Il made short work of the safe, and within two minutes it was wide open. Her eyes narrowed as the only thing inside to greet her was a maroon velvet bag with a fist-sized lump showing. She reached inside carefully, grasping the pouch and pulling it out. Loosening the gold colored drawstring, she emptied out the contents into her palm. Her knees nearly buckled.

The diamond she held in her hand was huge, one of the largest she’d seen; and it was very much real. s’Il held it up to the light, examining its luster, and the way it shone; her own eyes intense. Her fingers closed around the stone, and she slipped it once more into its velvet pouch before placing the whole thing into the small pack on her hip. Looking once more into the safe, she pulled out another pouch, this one contained smaller cuts, and these she tucked away safely into the pack on her other hip.

Once she had replaced everything back the way it was, s’Il turned to see how Hera was fairing, hoping the other woman was as satisfied with her catch as s’Il was with hers.

[Garrett Blade]

The turbolift came to a rest on the gallery level. The doors slid apart lazily, followed by the sound of many footsteps along the marble floor of the corridor surrounding the gallery itself. The heaviest pair of footsteps carried on a little forther than the groups. Then, a high-pitched beeping could be heard. it sounded like an access panel - somebody inputing a code. With a final beep-hum, the man sighed as the main doors unlocked...

[DarthHERA]

s'Il moved toward where the safe was and began working. She and Hera crossed paths as the Sith approached the elaborate cases and a smile crinckled the corners of her eyes as she saw the two-part masterpeice sitting, waiting her light touch to liberate them from the glass enclosure. For too long they had been locked up, unable to attain to their destined use - the lyrical beauty that they had within them silent and still - like two exotic birds bound and mute, ugly for the unnaturalness of it.

Of course..she was letting her thoughts meander down some cultural backstreet of her mind which she rarely visited and almost never indulged. But the paintings were exquisite. The more so for the fact that she would take them as her own and leave the rightful owner bereft. The smile broadened to a grin.

Hera took her dual bladed lightsaber in hand and ignited both ends. The brilliant blue shot from each end of the weapon in a low snap-hiss - its droning hum a sound Hera always found so satisfying. Standing between the two cases (the two parts of the masterpeice painting not facing each other in order to stop the resonating music that they triggered in each other) and beginning at the top of either case touched them with the blades. She gradually moved forward and, with the ease of a hot knife through butter, the energy beam of blue light slid open either case, slicing the tops of both off at the same instant. The severed peices landed with a heavy thud onto the thick carpeting.


Deactivating her blade, Hera attached it again to her sideclip. Then, pulling out the two identical bags to carry the paintings out of the pack which she had hauled earlier from its hiding place in the washroom, she called over her shoulder to s'Il.

"Grab those shiney rocks and lets go. I gotta feeling we are gonna have company very soon." Hera felt a familiar presence and not just a "feeling". Her blood literally tingled - for want of a better word to describe it. Ever since she had had to ingest some of Garrett Blade's blood to survive a Tuk'ata' attack, (http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11936)she had noticed a distinct "quickening" sensation whenever she came into close contact with him. And right now, her pulse was shooting right up.

She tossed one bag to s'Il who had finished helping herself to the diamonds and had come over to where Hera was. s'Il watched as the Sith used the force and raised both paintings from their stand up and over the glass, keeping them both side by side.

Hera handed s'Il one of the paintings, "Put it in the pack and strap it to your back, s'Il - it'll make travelling easier." Hera did the same and the two left the room - much untidier and a lot emptier than it had been not 3 minutes prior to their entry.

No sooner had they stepped passed the threshhold of the rooms doorway, than a silent alarm went off and the whole entire Till Tower Building went into security lockdown. Two seconds later a horrendous barrage of claxons and bells and flashing lights erupted.

The two women wryly looked at one another.

"Time to use some of your toys s'Il.."

[Garrett Blade]

As the alarm sounded, the man turned to one of the men with him.

"How much time?"

"Six, maybe seven minutes..." was the reply. The man gave a nod that suggested it'll do. He opened the outer diirs and stepped inside.

GENTLEMEN!!!...

...the doors slammed shut with a boom behind them...

"let's broaden our minds! Laurence!!!

A large, bald-headed man activated a portable audio system which churned out a hefty base line. After a few seconds the main tune kicked in...

All Hail...The New King In Town!

Young And Old...Gather Round!

Black and White...Red and Green!

The Funkiest Man...You Ever Seen!

Only one person could listen to such music at a time like this!

Tell you what his name is...

Party Man! Party Man!

Rock a Party Like...Nobody Can!

Garrett suddenly came across a rather attractive statuette on a raised display stand. It was a statuette of a female dancer. She had her arms outstretched christ-like and one foot high in the air to her rear. Garrett immediately began to immitate the pose mockingly hopping on the one foot...

Rules and Regulations...No Place In This Nation!

Party Man! PARTY MAN!

Garrett suddenly drew his hand across his chestin opposite directions, then flung out sideways, knocking the statuette off it's display stand. Then what followed was a crash course in abstract art. Garrett began to slice and dice the various works of art in the room with his lightsaber, whilst his associates defaced them with their pallettes...

Garrett stopped instantly as he sensed something just outside the room...

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s’Il slid the pack on easily, making sure the straps were tight, and pulling out a small comm unit from a pocket, she flicked it on. “Ok MMU, you can come up now. Meet us at the window of the main ballroom.”

The answer from the other end was almost immediate as the little avatar yelped with joy on being allowed to finally participate in s’Il's venture. Shaking her head, s’Il turned the comm off and replaced it back into the pocket while following Hera from the now looted room.




As soon as the music hit her ears, s’Il winced. She looked at Hera for a moment, than cautiously took a step from behind a large painting to stare at the sight in the main gallery before her. Her metallic eye widened as she watched the art on display being destroyed. Not that she minded; Till’s choice of artwork left a lot to be desired, so she didn’t really care one way or the other about the pieces being ruined.

It was the lunatic waving a lightsaber around like a baseball bat that instantly got her attention. She would have found the whole thing hilarious if it wasn’t for that infernal device. As it was, her feelings on the chosen weapon of both Sith and Jedi alike weren’t good ones, and she stood in her spot, rooted to the floor.

“What the bloody hell….”

s’Il’s gun was out in a second flat, but she kept it pointed to the ground. She continued to watch, mesmerized as the strange dance was played out in front of her.

And then the man stopped as if he’d sensed something, and his gaze swept to her and Hera. At an utter loss for words, s’Il said the first thing that came to mind.

“Oi, mate……” s’Il blinked a few times, still trying to understand what it was she was seeing in front of her, her eyes wary of the glowing blade. “………you got room for two more?”

[MMU]

“Ok MMU, you can come up now. Meet us at the window of the main ballroom.”


The Rascal King’s avatar nearly exploded with excitement as he went through his preflight sequences, and the graceful ship powered itself up, presently lifting off the landing pad to rise into the sky.

The main engines flared to life, and the Rascal King headed in the direction of the Till Tower, weaving through the air traffic with ease. The Tower came into view, and MMU brought himself in close as he angled upwards into a climb, his destination being on the upper levels of the Tower.

Nearing the ballroom floor, he leveled out, slowing to a stationary hover just beneath the enormous window to wait for s’Il; whenever she would decide to show up.

The little avatar sat in the modified pilot's seat, his green eyeports glowing with excitement. The control throttles on either side of him moved of their own accord, shifting slightly to keep the large ship steady. Even the little antannae atop his head bobbed back and forth, and he fidgeted uncontrollably.

For a droid, he was hopelessly neurotic.

[DarthHERA]

It was good to see Garrett again, though what he was doing here, she had no real clue. Had it been anyone else who had been there, she would have grabbed s'Il and moved on immediately, allowing the"party-crasher" to deal with the security forces that would be, even now, making their way to Till's art display levels. It would have been a convenient developement for Hera to just let him take up all their attention, while she, s'Il and their aquisitions leirsurely exited the building.

But she owed Blade - and she liked him.

As Garrett turned at s'Ils comment, Hera stepped up beside her and smiled at him in greeting. "The art not to your liking Blade, or do you always make such a grand entrance?"

The guests of the party had ducked for cover at the suddenness of Garretts violence, (the Dj himself was crawling as discreetly as was possible in his purple sequined jacket toward one of the few exits) but now were quickly gathering their witts....and a few of them finding their weapons.


ttt

[Garrett Blade]

He was sweating slightly, after the jumpind, dancing and prancing around. His face was slightly red, partially from the excitement though more the embarrassment. He swallowed hard, his throat dry after the mad singing.

"Hera! Ahem!..."

Garrett drew his pointed hand across his neck, signalling Laurence to cut the music. Instantly, the tune ended with a click. Garrett stepped forward a few...steps, straightening his attire as he did so, being slightly image-cinscious in Hera's presence.

"It's-uh...nice to see you again. How have you been since Korriban? Are you better?"

He glanced at s'Ilancy - the woman with Hera. He subconsciously hoped she was just with Hera, and not with Hera. But Lady Luck and Death never strolled in the park with their hands linked either! And whilst he was on the subject, he noticed that hera was looking quite attractive.

[DarthHERA]

She was still grinning at Garrett's rather extrovert behaviour.

"Im fine - almost good as new since our recent adventure"

She followed as Blades glance moved to s'Ilancy and back again, a curious look in his eyes that she didnt quite understand. She proceeded to introduce to him the smuggler-slash-theif extraordinaire beside her.

"This is my friend and business associate s'Ilancy Loklorien (gesturing with her hand from one to the other) and this is the notorious Garrett Blade." Talking out the corner of her mouth to s'Il she teased him "fancies himself a bit of a magician"

s'Il responded by shaking Garretts hand and spoke to Hera as to all intents Blade couldnt hear them discussing him, "Any good?"

Hera shrugged unenthusiastically, "ehh."

Smiling good naturedly at Blade, she continued by way of explanation. "We're here picking up some art."

Garrett took in at a glance the stuffed duffle-bags the women held and needed to ask no further.

"What are you doing here? (she flicked his jacket) Need a new day job do ya?"

Blade hadn't a chance to reply before the tell-tale "clunk,clunk,clunk" of a smoke canister came tumbling into the room, thrown from the doorway behind them.

Instantly the 3 responded in their own way. Hera - as was her style in such cases - shoot first and rumage the corpse pockets later for any answers she may need - pulled her blaster from her holster and twisted around, peeling a barrage of laser fire at the gathering bodies of security forces.

[imported_Cyrus Haman]

The world then exploded in blaster fire. But not from the security guards, but behind them. The guards ducked the fire from Hera, only to be destroyed by the mounted cannon. The man who carried the cannon was balding and mustached. He winked at the women as he took a drag off his cigarre.

"Heyas Hera. Ya called for me. Well here I am."

He turned, firing his cannon into the opening where most of the guards were amassing, hoping their increased numbers would overwhelm the now foursome.

The man continued to fire, smirking as the security guards fell and hid from his onslaught.

"So're you guys gonna sit there with ya mouth open or are ya gonna help m'?"

[MMU]

"Ok MMU, come one up...." s'Il's voice came over the comm, and MMU jumped up in s'Il's modified pilot's seat.

His repulsors kicked in, and the large ship rose above the main ballroom where most of the guests were enjoying Till's little gala. He roared into view of all in the gallery above the ballroom, his gracefull bulk filling the expansive windows, causing them to rattle with his engine's deep bass rumbling.

Ok I'm here, he said over-cheerfully through the comm.

Charging his forward cannons, he waited for s'Il's signal.

This was so much fun; he loved it when she let him help her.

[Garrett Blade]

Garrett summoned his staff to his hand, and quickly struck the ground with the sharp point. The staff was undamaged, though there was a crack in the floor. Instantly, as the gas seeped from the canister on the floor against one of the statues, it was draw quickly to the crack in the floor. As this went on, Garrett sensed several men emerging from the elevator outside the room.

Fenix

The beast appeared behind the men and immediately pounced onto the nearest one. The sound of screaming was instantly audible within the gallery. Garrett smiled as simultaneously men rushed inside brandishing weapons. Garrett dived behind a large stone statue as a precaution. He then shouted out, not to anybody in particular.

"I hate uninvited guests!"

He then stood up quickly and aimed his staff at three of the troopers. A blast of energy leapt from the crack on the floor and engulfed the men, knocking them unconscious. Whether or not it was the force of the impact or the properties of the blast was debatable.

[DarthHERA]

Where the blazes did Cyurs Haman come from?

Hera looked at him in a mix of surprise and agitation.

She scrambled over to where he was, still firing his weapon with zeal, she being careful to avoid the mayhem that Blade was bringing so effortlessly and with his usual flair.

"I thought you were going to wait for me at the spaceport"

She ducked a particularly accurate hail of fire from the security troopers. Haman just yelled over his shoulder, feigning he couldnt hear her, "ehh?"


Hera had heard s'Il call for her little fidget machine to bring the ship close to the building and knew some renovations for a new exit were in order. Or atleast enough diversion for them to escape to the waiting craft.
She ripped off a detonator from Cyurs belt (how handy) and made a move toward the door. She hadnt got very far when she saw the arrival of Fenix right in the path she needed to go. Changing her mind - and her direction -immediately, she handed the grenade to Cyrus, "Here, go make us a door." She remembered that pet beast of Garretts a little too well..

She continued to shoot anyone and all who took her fancy as she covered Cyrus and motioned to s'Il that it was just about time to bale on this party.

She had to admit, going "loud" with s'Ilancy, Blade and Cyrus was the most fun she had had in a while. She smiled happily as she continued to obliterate all things living that got in her line of fire.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il's wild grin stayed on her face as she pulled her guns from her shoulder holsters, firing madly into the group.

"Ok MMU," she called into the commset unit's small mic as it extended from her ear, "Come on in....."


* * * *

MMU shivered a droid shiver of pure excitement, and fired up his engines. His gracefull hulk moved forward, ever so slowly, then made contact with the huge glass panels. They shuddered under the pressure being put upon them, seemingly rippling with stress. MMU nudged himself forward, and snakes of white lace began to spread from the contact point, and with a brilliant shattering of glass, exploded in a trillion shards of clear ice.




s'Il shielded herself from the onslaught of glass; as did everyone else in the room. s'Il herself ducked quickly behind a pedastal that held one of Till's more modest pieces (well, as modest as a naked woman wearing nothing but seran wrap could be). She could feel the rush of the outside air as it touched her skin, and as soon as the glass shower had subsided, she bolted to her feet to look at the damage her ship had caused.

s'Il had to laugh. Just like a St. Bernard stuck in a cat door, MMU had wedged himself as far into the gallery as his bulk would allow. It was quite the sight indeed.

"Forward ramp; now!!!" she called again through the commset, heading for her ship. Instantly the wine of gears and servos echoed through the now open aired room, and The Rascal King's forward boarding ramp descended at a steady pace. It hit the floor with a clunk, and s'Il grinned at Hera as she started for the ramp.

"Taxis here......"

[imported_Cyrus Haman]

"What, ya expect me to wait at th'space port while you go have fun?" Haman smirked as he threw the thermal detonator towards the nearest wall. It happened to be right next to where a group of security guards was setting up a defensive front. One explosion later and 6 guards were dead and a nice, large hole stood where it was, just as the large ship crashed through the wall as well.

Gotta love conicidences.

"All right, boss, let's go!" He yelled, pushing Hera forward. His hand 'accidently' touched her rear, and he smirked as if to say, 'Sorry'.

The foursome, followed by the large beast ran towards the new exit. Haman and Hera covered Garrett and s'Il, while the beast ran next to them. A sudden explosion knocked the former down, as a few more security guards ran out.

Haman struggled to his feet, then pulled Hera up...another hand coping a feel. He apologized again with a smirk, then reknewed firing with his blaster.

[DarthHERA]

Hera smacked Haman up the side of the head as she boarded the ship. The commotion behind her saving him from a more severe response. She outta shoot the little rogue for his nonsense.
Right now she shoved the duffle bag she was carrying into his arms and told him to "guard it with his life". She tapped his crotch with her blaster muzzle to emphasize her words.

Slamming herself against the edge of the ship doorway for cover, she picked off any threat from shooters as s'Il, Garrett and Fenix all made their way up the ramp.

s'Il took her place on the opposite side of the doorway as the others filed in and grinned across at Hera.

"We're good to go then?" The answer was obvious and didnt really need a reply, but s'Il was just being her cool unflappable self. It sounded like she was asking Hera if she would enjoy a walk in the park by the casually calm way she said it.

Hera grinned right back at her and matched her calm suave manner, dodging the occassional laser richochet "Anytime you're comfortable to leave, is fine with me. Really."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il grinned at Hera; it was evident both women had developed a somewhat sarcastic wit about themselves in the short time they'd become aquainted, and s'Il was thoroughly enjoying the lackadaisical manner she and the other woman generated when around each other.

"Well then," she started, still grinning, "maybe it's time we left." Sqeezing off a few more shot, s'Il craned her neck back and called into the ship.

"Oi! MMU! Time to leave, eh!!"

In answer, the ramp s'Il and Hera were standing on began to lift back up, closing them off to the barrage of following blaster fire, and in the same motion the ship shuddered as it began extricating itself from its position.

Rubble peeled away, and chunks of permacrete slid off the top of the smooth, sloped hull as The Rascal King pulled out from the Till Tower.

With the forward boarding ramp fully closed, s'Il flashed Hera another carefree grin before turning to stare at Blade and Haman; the former generating just a bit of concern in her mind, not because of Fenix, but the lightsaber he carried at his side. The latter, well, she just didn't know what to think, though her first inclination was one of mistrust. She didn't know why, that's just the way she felt.

Her gaze swept back to Hera, and she motioned the Sith woman to follow, and as they strode down the halls heading for s'Il's office, the smuggler grinned wildly.

"So was it as good for you as it was for me?"

[DarthHERA]

Hera matched s'Il grin for grin, nodding her approval.

"All I need now, is a good smoke.."

And made her way to the others, still smiling.

**************************

As the Rascal King banked left and away from the destroyed remnants of the wall of Till Tower, Hera walked with her weight on one side to keep her footing against the sharp slant of the floor.

She approached a machine/droid of sorts...she'd never really seen its like before, but s'Il referred to it as MMU... and peered over its shoulder. Talking to s'Il who herself approached the navigation area, she still kept her gaze on the instruments.

"s'Il - we can expect Till to have some sort of airborne security to bring pusuit... We should head to the space port general area to breifly put down"

"I had planned for Cyrus to meet us there, but plans got changed." (Hera turned and scowled for Cyrus' benefit, before continuing) We have to drop off Haman close to the docking bay and take the goods with him and meet us at SFF Base. Its the Rascal King the security will be chasing....no one is looking for Cyrus."

She could almost hear Hamans brain ticking over at the opportunity for double-cross Hera had just handed him.

She glanced over at s'Il. "A good place would be to put down at the east-side. But we will have to be very quick."

[imported_Cyrus Haman]

"Yeah don't worry 'bout me," Haman smirked, "I'll keep th'cargo nice 'n safe."

In reality he had been monitoring the transmissions of security in the building the trio was pilfering from. When he heard the explosions and the security on the way, the smuggler grew a little concerned. Just being out of jail and all, he wanted to keep his employer alive. If that meant breaking a scheduled meet and saving her ass- he didn't give a flyin' Ewok.

Haman removed a small cigarra from a pouch in his jacket, thought about lighting it...then handed it to Hera.

"'Ere. Compliments o'me," he tried to ignore Hera's attempt to remove his manliness earlier.

Chick's jist uptight, he figured.

"I'll take th'Switch and th'cargo and get it to SFF. Umm...I'll need directions. Ya got 'em for me? And I'll need a navigator. Computer's on the frizt. So...ya interested Hera?" he winked.

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

Daiquiri had stood beside Hera back at the SFF home base, eyeballing the wreck that sat dully in the landing bay.

"Well, its seen better days," was her offhand comment at the time but for one of those strange reasons which no one knows, the phrase had stuck and "Better Days" had been reborn. The small but quick and deadly ship has been given a complete overhaul on the inside but by mutual agreement, the outside had been left untouched. The more seedy and banged up it looked, the less lkely it was to draw the wrong sort of attention, the kind of attention that usually ended up with someone being either tossed into the pokey or dead in a blaster fight. On second thought, blaster fights were fun as long as you werent the one who got your head blown off.

Glancing at her chrono she estimated that if everything had gone according to schedule, Hera and her current partner in crime, s'Ilancy and the Fortress' newest employee, a Cyrus Haman, should be returning to the space port at any moment. It was rare that Hera ever requested her to do something, it was usually left up to her to volunteer for a "job" but Hera had contacted her while she had been on the "Saiatah High Roller", the new and expensive gambling casino owned and operated by The Sith Order, and had asked her for a simple favor. No problem.
Perhaps when this was over she would return to the "Saiatah" and finish what she had started...perhaps. Until then, she had a job to do.

Leaning against the frame of the cockpit door, she kept a sharp lookout through the forward glass, watching for anyone fitting Haman's description to enter the docking bay directly across from hers'. It seemed a simple enough task...just wait until Haman lifted off in the "Switch" and follow him to make sure that he delievered Hera's newly acquired goods back to ShadowFaene. What could possibly go wrong?

[DarthHERA]

Hera took the offered cigar and looked it over. She wasnt one for smoking - cigarras or otherwise, and so handed it back.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Now...if it was a bottle of rum, that would be a different story."

Haman shrugged and pocketed again the cigar, nonplussed.

She knew Hamans type. Cocky, confident, and always checkin out his options, as he was now - Hera knew navigation wasnt what was on his mind by the wink he gave her.
"You'll find the co-ordinates on the small data disc in the side of the duffle bag I handed you. As for navigating, I suggest you put some of that 'expertise' of yours to good use and find your way about."

He still had that look of a snake charmer in his eye and that grin on his face.

"Im sure you wont disappoint me Cyrus. Not after all your boasting.."

She smiled and gave him a wink in return.

As the ship took course toward the east side SpacePort, Hera knew Daiquiri would already be set in place and waiting for Haman to show up.

[Garrett Blade]

Garrett was leaning against one of the walls a few feet away from Hera and Cyrus when he started talking to himself. Not that he knew he was talking to himself. As far as he was concerned, it was just another visitation from the Muse who'd taken an interest in his artistic nature. She looked a lot like Hera, and wore long, flowing purple robes. And she was extremely dark skinned. She walked over to Garrett and placed an arm around him...

"How's my most important person doing today?"

Garrett smiled at her - she smelled of bread - and Garrett hated bread - but it amused him slightly. He winked at her in a friendly manner...

"I'm good. Though my back's been in bulk all day! How 'bout you?"

The Muse looked across at Hera, then back at Garrett - a smirk on her face.

"I'm dandy. But I didn't come for a chat - I'm here on business. I came to see whether you'd started your latest masterpiece yet."

Garrett looked away from her briefly. He knew what she meant.

"Ah...that. Well to be honest I've been rather busy lately. I've got quite a lot on my plate at the moment with Hera and DeVille and the wedding thing and that other thing I got planned. I don't know when I'll be able to get round to it for you."

The Muse suddenly vanished and Garrett noticed Hera's friend looking oddly at him.

"What!?!?"

[DarthHERA]

Hera turned and called over to Garrett.

"Get around to what for me?"

Hera noticed Blade looked a little spaced..

[Garrett Blade]

Garrett subconsciously realised what had happened. Yet already he'd forgotten most of the conversation with the Muse.

"What? What - I didn't say nothin'!"

He instantly looked away - knowing full well he was lying to her.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il had stared curiously at Garret Blade, a quirky smile coming to her features as she listened as he talked to himself. And how could she forget his flustered look when Hera approached him in the first place? s'Il snorted as she watched Blade, then turned and headed for her modified pilot's seat. As she lowered herself into the form fitting contours, she reached her hands out and grasped at the control throttles on either side of the elongated chair.

"Manual control, if you will, King," she fairly purred to the little avatar that had hopped from the chair to allow her to sit. She smiled as she felt the control of her ship in her hands, and pushed forward and down on the throttles, sending the ship down to the lower levels of Coruscant.

[MMU]

Blade's little musings to himself hadn't excaped MMU's attentions either, but he dutifully waited until s'Il had taken back control before fairly bouncing to where the man stood, his glowing green eyeports alive with excitement. Stopping in front of the man, the little avatar craned his neck up to do his best to look the man in the face.

It was quite a distance, but didn't daunt The Rascal King's avatar in the least. If droids could smile, MMU would've been grinning from 'ear to ear' as he jumped up and down, his little hands reaching out to playfully tug at Blade's pant leg.

"Hi!!! I'm MMU, who're you??"

[Garrett Blade]

As he was looking away from Hera, Garrett felt something tugging at his leg. He looked down to notice a small prancing droid of sorts. Green eyes glared up at him. Perhaps it was poisoned. Then the little rascal spoke to him. His name was MMU - a rather odd name (that was rich - coming from someone who's surname came from a sharp cutting object!).

"Err.....Garrett."

Garrett looked back up, trying to find something interesting. Instantly, his eyes moved to Hera, but she was looking his way so he turned his head to face the opposite direction. He was beginning to like this wall - nice and gray!

[DarthHERA]

Hera frowned as she watched Blade. What the heck was wrong with him?

As MMU accosted his pantleg, Hera grinned. Another of s'Ils 'resources.' Hera had a feeling s'Ilancy had all kinds of gadgets and gizmos to help her get the job done. Another reason Hera liked her so much. She was an original.

"Blade" she called gruffly. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

She walked over and grabbed him on the shoulder, spinning him around to look at her. She squinted, looking into his eyes, first one then the other. "Youre not on that liquid quicksliver stuff are you?" Hera glanced pointedly at s'Il "not that I mind that, ya know" (turning back to Blade) "but..you're kinda makin me nervous."

She took a step back to look him over fully.

It made sense. The muttering, the nervous looks, that whacked-out dancing..it was all begining to add up.

"Whats going on? How long you been taking that stuff?"

[imported_Cyrus Haman]

Haman felt like waving when The Rascal King took off but decided against it. He had a job t'do, and hopefully, his reward would be more than just a paycheck.

The dark-clothed man turned then walked to where The Switch was located. It was an old Corellian YT-1300 model, but fast enough. If the damn thing didn't break every 30 trips or so, Haman knew he'd be as popular as Han frellin' Solo (whereever that guy was).

He stuck another cigarre in his mouth and lit it, taking the short burst of tobacco as it stuck in his mouth. He inhaled it quickly, sucking it down for all its worth- trying to get a 'nic fix' as he did.

It was finished by the time he got to The Switch.

The smuggler began to board the freighter, then noticed the smaller ship sitting near his. He'd noticed its occupant way before he'd noticed the ship- who could forget a blonde of that kind with her whispy hair. He bet she liked things rougher and was probably more rough than Hera.

The fact the woman was still standing next to the cockpit door drew his ire. Something was up.

Ah hell, might as well have a bitta fun.

He sauntered over to where Daquiri stood and smirked, "Admirin' the ship eh? Ain't a bad one'll tell ya that. Yours looks purty good yaself. What's it made of?"

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

Daiq didnt alter her leaning posistion as Haman approached. She did however want to give him the distinct impression that his presence wasnt welcome. The quicker he lifted off, the sooner she could get to what she was wanting. And at the moment, that particular "want" was in the sleeping compartment, snoring loudly.

Haman wasnt the usual pretty type that Hera liked, but to each thier own. Right now all she was in the mood for was shooing Haman back to his own ship and get this babysitting gig over with.

"Wha....you taken a survey? What the hell you think its made of?
Now, beat it, Im waitin for somebody!"

Angling her body just a fraction towards him, the lights that ran 'round the full diameter of each docking bay catch and reflect on the silver metallic bands that circle the circumference of her lightsaber. Slowly, she stands straight, feeling the weight of her saber swing gently forward at her hip. She follows his gaze as he takes it in. A smirk forms on her lips.

"Got any more questions?"

[Garrett Blade]

Garrett forcefully slapped Hera's arm off his shoulder as she implied he was on drugs. Sure he'd taken drugs before - but that was a long time ago. A really long time ago. Now it was...

"I'm not on liquid quicksilver...or...death sticks or...Pol'ti Grunge or any of that other dirt the guys down on Serei Row can get their hands on. I'm on the same stuff Luke Skywalker was on when he blew up the first Death Star. I'm taking the same concoction that helped Yoda and all his little lightside buddies form the Jedi Academy. I'm jacked up on the same poison as Palpatine when he arrived at Pinnacle Moon in The Eclipse - air!"

Garrett walked away from her a little, taking in a deep breath after his over-dramatised little speech. He placed an arm against the same gray wall as before and rested his head against it.

"I'm not on any drugs, I'm just..."

Could he tell her?

"I'm....."

No.

[DarthHERA]

He slapped her..? He'd actually slapped her.

Hera was stunned. Boy, talk about the "wrong thing to say."

Geez why was Blade so touchy.

She outta slap him right back - that might smarten him up a little.

But for once, Hera let her sensitivity rule her actions and instead of snapping the offending hand at the wrist, as would be her first reaction to such a move, she relented and decided on a less confrontational manner.

Something was bothering Blade, and she didnt like it. She had come to respect him a great deal during their time at the Valley of the Dark Lords.

She crossed over to where he stood, careful not to touch him. One slap was enough, thanks very much.

The Rascal King had now landed and deposited the intrepid Haman landward, freeing him to complete his contracted job for Hera. Lugging the packed masterpeice with him , he made his way into the spaceport. He was now under Daiquiri's eagle eye....

Hera gave s'Ilancy the nod to "get them outta here" and felt the ship thrusters respond to its captains commands.

She could now deal with the issue at hand.
Garrett didnt bother to look at her, but stared at the wall.

"I..er, Im sorry bout that Blade. You just arent yourself and it seemed a reasonable answer to me. You got to admit - you're acting kinda weird, even for you. (she grinned, hoping to see him smile) You want to tell me what the problem is? Women troubles, I bet. Too many? Too few? What?"

She was joking, but Blade didnt laugh.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

In the sleeping quarters, the 'want' stirred. It was no secret that the figure under the covers was a heavy sleeper; he'd been able to snooze through the jump and fall from hyper space, as well as the landing and much clattering and banging going on outside. All the while he'd been snoring contently, though now something was nagging at him and forcing him to wake up.

From under the loose sheets that were tugged over his head, he groaned. Pushing them aside, he sat up slowly and looked around, glancing down to check the time. Gitane would be wondering where he was, and at this he grinned. Outside he could hear Daiquiri speaking with someone, and as he stood up and mussed his hair into place, he tried to pick up on who it was - an unfamiliar presence, curious.

He looked to the side and caught a quick reflection of his self, flashing a toothed grin. Damn, even after waking up he looked good, no wonder he had Daiquiri drooling over him.

"Hmm.."

He knelt, tugged on his boots which had been left by the bed side and paced out towards where he could get a better view of his aqquaintance. Looking out across towards her, he smirked to himself.

"Ah, the slap head, the one you're meant to be following," he chimed straight into her mind, via the Force.

[Garrett Blade]

Now he was getting nervous. She was asking too many questions about him right now. Questions which even he didn't want to answer. And his nervousness was probably showing in his external behaviour. He started looking frantically around the room. An escape hatch or anything would have been perfect. He was pretty sure they weren't too high up. Then - his eyes found it.

An emergency override lever for the entrance hatch...thing.

Garrett stretched out his hand towards the lever and concentrated. It gave way with relative ease. Unfortunately the ramp didn't lower completely - but it was enough to jump through. He didn't even hesitate or look at Hera as he did. Upon exiting the ship, he noticed that they weren't too high up at all, and they just happened to be above a building at the time. He landed into a roll on the roof, stood to compose himself again, and looked up at the ship.

It was better than having to deal with her right now. He couldn't tell her. Not yet at least!

[DarthHERA]

"Frell! He Jumped!"

Hera couldnt believe her eyes. Blade was there one minute, and gone the next. She couldnt have been more shocked if he had taken out a harmonica and danced a Corelian jig.

s'Il was every bit as shocked as the two looked in disbelief at the open hatchway, and Garrett on the ground below.

"Blaaaaaade"

She called down to him, but he didnt look up. She cussed and pulled the lever down to close the open ramp.

She stormed over to where s'Il sat in the pilots seat, and looking though the view screen, followed where Garrett went.

Shaking her head, she look at her partner. "What'd I say?" s'Ilancy kept working the controls. "I've never driven a man to jump out a moving spaceship before."

[imported_Cyrus Haman]

"Yeh...what's a pretty girl like you doin' watching my ship?" Haman had unhooked his blaster from the holster behing him, "Who ya with? Jist doin' some honist bizness ya know?

"So why ya watchin' my ship?"

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

Daiquiri laughed to herself. Figured he'd be the stubborn, obstinate kind. But that was good. If he were to be permanently employed at SFF, he'd need to be tough and stand his ground, especially around the 'Faene mistress. Hera despised cowardly wimps and she had witnessed more than once, DrenKasts' sharp tongue and heavy boot sending the more timid scurrying for cover. Lets just see what this Haman guy's got. The smirk on her face grows larger.

"Did you lose your hearing along with your hair? I said I was waiting for someone and who it is happens to be none of your damn business."

Daiq sensed Vega stirring before his words crept into her mind. "Slap head"? Ohhh, yeah, right...Haman was bald. Turning her head a fraction, she could see Vega's large frame lounging just out of Haman's sight, then refocuses her attention back to the purported smuggler.

"For someone who doesnt like having his ship watched, youre certainly arousing my curiosity with all your questions. Maybe my friend and me ought to go over and take a look see, hmm? Might be something on board that we like. What do you think, Vega?"

[Vega Van-Derveld]

The Dark Jedi swaggered a little further out into view and let his head fall so it was on an angle as he watched Daiquiri. The Lupines cyan eyes slid upwards towards Haman again for a moment, before passing towards the man's ship. He jumped down out of the ship and paced across to stand by Daiquiri. Vega yawned somewhat.

"Quite. A shifty character like yourself could have any number of unwanted items stashed away on board..."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il followed Blade's form with her eyes also, slowing the King down a little.

"Whatever your secret is, let me know," she muttered goodnaturedly, "I could use a trick like that...."

She angled the ship around, its graceful hulk pivoting gently around the nose end so that they could keep an eye on Blade just a little bit longer.

MMU hopped up into her lap, wanting to see what the two women were so thoroughly engrossed in, and his eyes seemed to light up more than they already were. He liked Garrett, the man had actually paid attention to him and answered the small avatar's query.

s'Il's arm went over the droid's head, using it as an armrest as she continued to guide the ship around the building Blade had jumped down to.

"Girl," s'Il mused to Hera, the mental image of Garrett's flustered look back in the gallery flashing through her mind "I think he likes you."

[Garrett Blade]

He stumbled through a broken panel on the roof. A second later he was lying on a bed next to some naked woman. And three seconds after she'd kissed him in her blindfolded state, her enraged husband burst out of the fresher. Garrett shoved a lightsaber in his gut after breaking her neck. He then ran out of the apartment with one bad headache. He was beginning to feel drowsy, and his vision was starting to go all funny. He reached down to his belt and pulled out a small electronic device, flicked up the guard and pressed the button.

A small red light illuminated, accompanied by a high-pitched, yet quiet, beeping noise. Kal looked up and saw the alarm.

"Ah bugger it! I didn't even know he was back!"

Kal grabbed his coat and headed for his speeder - the homing device in his hand.

[imported_Cyrus Haman]

Haman shook his head, Some people have all th'luck...

He was pretty certain Daquiri was there to watch him. Whoever she was working for was news to him. The smuggler hoped the blond was with Hera. If not...he was gonna have t'get bloody. And he always hated to destroy a pretty face.

Haman walked to The Switch walking up into the compact bridge. Pressing a few controls, he began take off sequence.

"This is The Reklar requesting permission from Coruscant control to launch."

"Permission granted Reklar. Safe journey."

"Thanks...enjoy your evenin' too."

Safe and profitable... he hoped.

Haman still had plans to see what made Hera DrenKast the woman that she was. Hopefully it meant getting to spend some 'quality time' with the Sith Master.

The bald man smirked at the thought of 'quality time' then charted his course to Shadowfaene Fortress.

Time to make some creds.

Then he went into hyperspace.

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

Stifling a yawn, Daiq looked over at Vega and smiled. Soon, so very soon. She was growing impatient at the delays but thier time was close at hand and she could wait a few more hours.

With a jerk of her head, she signals Vega back inside the ship, sensing him following her first with his eyes, then bodily into the interior of her ship. Some extra sway to her hips is added as she strolls back into the cockpit and slides into her seat, automatically buckling the the light restraint attached to her chair.

Vega's presence in her mind hadnt diminished and she could feel him creeping about carefully, trying to unlock the secret alcoves of her thoughts. Granting him a knowing smile, she gestures to the comm.

"How 'bout you get clearance for us while I run preflight, hmm? I dont want him to get too far ahead."

For a fleeting second, she turns her mind inward, recapturing and focusing on Haman's thoughts, much as Vega had been doing with her own. Through the force, she locates his general direction and plots her ships' course accordingly. So far, so good. Haman was pointed towards ShadowFaene and his main thought kept echoing in her mind. She chuckles softly at his fantasy of Hera doing THAT with him.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

The Dark Jedi nodded. Though his mind wandered momentarily towards setting up the clearance for the ships lift off, it stuck firmly on Daiquiris thoughts, and thus as she chuckled so did he. The Lupine shifted uncomfortably in the stiff-backed chair that he was sat in, raising one hand to the comm link on the dash at a diagonal to him.

"This is the Better Days, requesting permission from control to launch."

Static white noise buzzed through the link for a moment, before eventually a voice spoke through.

"Permission granted. You are clear for take off, Better Days. Have a safe journey."

Vega cut the link and looked back to Daiquiri expectantly, holding back an aggrivated groan.

"How much longer to we have to babysit him?"

[Kal Jericho]

ooc: Vega, is that Till Lindemann in your avatar? Looks a lot like him!

ic:

It did not take Kal long to find Garrett. As he turned the corner he noticed him stumble out of a tenemant building across from his side. The speeder stopped nearby and Garrett literally fell into the back seat. He didn't say anything except...

"I couldn't tell her..."

Kal was about to ask "Who?" and "What?" but Garrett passed out instantly. Kal shook his head and drove off back to his pad...

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

The smile remains on her lips as Vega's impatience bleeds through into her mind. Good! Although he hadnt verbally admitted it, he wanted her as badly as she wanted him and the pitch of her desire rose at the knowledge.

"IF Haman goes straight to the fortress it wont be much longer than three or four hours. And the way his thoughts are centered on Hera, I doubt he deviates off course."

At the space ports' consent, Daiq finishes up the preflight check, entering the already plotted route into the ships' comp, then hits the engines' ignition button. Giving her craft more power, the battered ship rises gracefully from its docking bay then swings about as she heads it in the right direction. Gaining altitude, she pulls back on the throttles and at the naviputer's signal, she sends the Better Days into hyperspace, hot on the heels of Cyrus Haman.

[DarthHERA]

s'Il maneuvered the ship up now and away from the builiding. The two women knew they would probably be having some unwanted company at any moment and couldnt linger longer. As they did so, a small speeder clipped in close to the building entrance way below them.

Hera was sure s'Il was joking by her comment on Garrett - well, sort of sure, and laughed it off. "Sorcerers dont like people. They turn 'em into toads and shiz."

Slumping in the highbacked chair, one hand rubbing the side of her face Hera watched, sinking into thought, as they veered skyward.

Her mind flashed back to Korriban, where she had met Blade for the first time and in that short while, Hera had owed her life to him no less than three times. He had been a mystery to her then, just as he was a mystery to her now. Vaguely, she wondered if Garrett had ever got that machine part..She had never known - being out cold as Blade got them both out of that demolished temple, that was the last time she'd seen him. He was gone by the time she'd become fully conscious after being nursed back to health in his apartment and had never gotten the chance to asking him. She had a bad feeling that he hadn't. When she saw him next, she would find out. That, and other things.

Interupting her reverie, the radar screen lit up like a christmas tree as pursuit ships locked in on the Rascal Kings position. s'Il pulled hard on her belt, adjusting the strap tighter. "Till's buddies are here.. A little late, but whaddya expect from Civvies."

Hera clipped on her own belt, glad to be back to things she understood - and could have some control over.
She grinned at the woman next to her, s'Ils silver eyes gliting back at her in amusement. "Lets blow some stuff up"

**Daquiri signalled Hera on her handheld as her ship made the jump to hyperspace. Haman was behaving - so far it seemed. Hera noticed Daquiri sounded a tad distracted..

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

Daiq had never thought her cockpit was small or cramped but now with Vega's height and bulk wedged in close to hers, the area was taking on a diminished feel. But she wasnt complaining. It was nice having someone along for a change and particularly so Vega. On her usual runs and errands she was solo and at times it got not only boring but lonely.

But nothing had been boring or lonely with Vega on this trip. The heightened sexual tension between them was almost tangible. Damn this Cyrus Haman! Of all times for Hera to want her to babysit!

With an audible groan, she stands up, glancing at him.

"Im going to grab something to drink. Need anything?"

[Vega Van-Derveld]

The craft had barely lifted off and already it felt like there was a hot smog in the room. The tiny size of the ship left much to be desired - he would have killed for an icepack. When he'd agreed to come on the trip with Daiquiri, he hadn't realised he'd have to be jammed into a tiny box for the majority of the journey. It was worth it though, in the end, for the results that would come out of it.

"I wouldn't mind a Jack Daniels if you have one."

He turned to look out of the main viewscreen, then down at the dash, sighing heavily.

[Garrett Blade]

Garrett didn't know were he was. It was so dark. There was a light somewhere but he didn't know where that was either. He was blinded by the darkness so much it gave him a headache. And the smell. That horrendous stench assaulted his senses mercilessly. But besides that, there was nothing else. Then they arrived.

A small door opened in the corner of the............






...........well wherever he was, a door opened. And inside it was bright pink. Whether it was the light sinside or the natural colour of the walls was unknown, but it was definitely pink. And from within that small (very small) pink room came a train of dwarfs. At least they looked like dwarfs. They were no more than two and a half feet tall, but they were cloaked in darkness. There were hundreds of them, all pouring into the abyss Garrett found himself in. All this went on for something like ten minutes. Ten whole minutes of non-stop racket as their feet clanged on what sounded like a metal floor (with metal shoes on probably!). When the noise had finally dies down, one of them stepped forwards.

Or maybe he slid. Or flew. Or hovered (did they make repulsors that small?). Then, he removed his cloak...

[GNN Probe Droid]

Having remained clearly out of view whilst taking it's readings and recordings, the probe droid whistled a quite sigh then with a series of beeps went on it's way. The droids long antenna quickly dissapeared into it's small, spherical body as it headed for one of Coruscants larger traffic lanes hoping to avoid the rush hour on it's way back to GNN News Centre to both refuel and report in.

[Garrett Blade]

"We have been searching for you Garrett. And you have been searching for us, though you did not realise it. We come to you now to tell you of your power."

Now this guy was ug-ly! Still, he was making some sense - at least from Garrett's point of view.

"Do not resist your madness. Rellish in it. Why should you fear that which you are destined to become? Use the talents the Gods have bestowed upon you to rise yourself to your rightful place at their side."

Garrett looked confusingly at the small creature as if to say "What are you on about!?!?!?!?!?" but said nothing.

"We shall answer your questions soon. Be sure to remain on Coruscant for at least another three months. We will return in that many months time to advise you on your sacred mission. Farewell Insane One!"

[imported_Cyrus Haman]

The Switch came out of hyperspace where the coordinates said to.

There stood Shadowfaene Fortress, grey in space, sitting there like a hawk waiting for its prey.

Haman smirked, now he'd get paid.

'Bout time too. I'm sicka not gettin' any credits.

Haman flew into the waiting hangar bay, settling The Switch down on the metal floor. He exitted the hangar an dpulled out a small cigarre.

A Devonian ran up to him, cloaked in read and black.

"Yuu arrre...?"

"Cyrus Haman. I got sumthin' for Hera Drenkast. She's expectin' me."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The fight over Coruscant had been, for lack of a better description, fast and furious. It lasted for maybe five minutes, and most of the time was spent dodging both Till's and the local authorities' speeders.

The Rascal King flew easily through the skyscrapers, all the while climbing into space. s'Il pulled left on the throttles, and the large ship flipped itself over in a belly rolls; more for play than anything else. Their pursuers followed closely however, and it was a fine line that was danced between evasion and nonsensical showing off.

To s'Il, this was fun.

MMU sat on her lap, clapping his little hands together in pure excitement and joy.

The blaster bolts that followed them waned, then ceased altogether as the King cleared Coruscant's atmosphere and headed into deep space. Without a last glance over her proverbial shoulder, s'Il threw her ship into hyperspace.

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

The naviputer on the Better Days signaled Daiq that the set coordinates were coming up and she dropped the ship out of hyperspace. The signature trail of Haman's ship lead straight into the belly of ShadowFaene and Daiquiri breathed out a silent sigh of relief. This babysitting trip was at an end, thank the gods, and she could now get to the pleasure at hand, speaking of which, one of Vega's hands was idely running up and down along her outer thigh.

Throwing a grin over her shoulder at him, she opens the comm and gains clearance to land.

"ShadowFaene, this is the Better Days . Make room boys, we're coming in."

"Better Days , this is SFF. Youre cleared to land and welcome home."

Easing back on the throttle, Daiq brings her craft into the docking bay and sets her battered looking ship down in its own berth. Shutting down the engines, Daiquiri powers the whole ship down but leaves it open, knowing the mech crew will want to give it the once over. Unbuckling from her seat, she swivels it to look back at her passenger.

"Let me give them the word on Haman then I'll show you around, hmm? Come on."

Rising, she palms the button to lower the ramp then strolls down with Vega looming over her. The mechs glance curiously at him, then return to thier work as Daiq strolls casually over to Haman, a smirk twitching her lips.

"Look at what the Boss dragged in! Guess your good for you word, Haman. No, its alright...Hera brought him in."

This last exchange was directed to the aggitated Devonian who still acted highly distrustful to the new arrival.

[DarthHERA]

The steady hum of the Rascal King as she glided through the endless stars was soothing to the mind.

There had been no further word from Daiquiri - and no news, was good news. It seems Haman had proven himself trustworthy so far. Hera was pleased, she hated being wrong. And it saved Daiquiri the bother of disposing of him, should he have tried to swindol them.

As for s'Ilancy, she had exceeded Hera's expectations - and her expectations had been high. She was cool headed and capable and had a taste for adventure that the Sith appreciated. She was independant and resourceful, and (a characteristic Hera found invaluable) she was creative-a free thinker, a breaker of rules. She also kept her eye on the target at hand. The arrival of Garrett Blade was very unexpected and Hera had found him quite a distraction. But s'Il had kept her eye on the prize and had delivered as promised. ShadowFaene was made up of those with qualities such as hers...

Hera swung around in the soft leather chair, steepling her fingers together and looked over them at s'Ilancy. After a moment, s'Il finally swung around herself to face the Sith, her direct gaze asking why the need to stare.

Hera smiled.

"You know, there are pros and cons for being an independant s'Ilancy. There are also pros - and more so than cons - to have the backing of like-minded independents...such as those say like ShadowFaene...We can always use a talent such as yours"

The Sith watched as her comment hung in the air to see what s'Il maybe thinking of her offer.

[Garrett Blade]

Garrett woke up abruptly. He was sweating and breathing heavily. Kal was over on the other side of the room.

"Ah - Sleeping Beauty has risen! How d'ya feel, old buddy?"

Garrett was looking towards the window, as if he could see Hera there. But he couldn't.

"Fine. Thanks for the help. Gotta go."

He bolted out the door faster than a very fast thing.

"Don't mention it. See ya next week!"

Garrett ran down the corridor, down the stairs and out the main door. He looked up into the sky. A sense of failure came over him.

"Bugger! I bet she knows!"

Just then, a purple-robed woman approached him from across the street.

"Oh Christ! Look....."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il grinned at Hera's offer, plucking MMU from her lap and setting him on the deck, and with a swat to his little metal rear, sent him scurrying from the bridge to take her new prize back to her office. As soon as the door to the bridge shut, s'Il looked up at Hera.

"Yeah, bein' an independant is good; I do what I wanna do, make my own hours, wake up when I want to, and wear what I wanna wear."

Her voice took on a more serious note then, and she looked Hera straight in the eyes. "Although as independant as I may seem, I do tend to try and keep ties to certain companies that I feel are a benefit for me, and them as well. Two such connections are-" s'Il held up one finger, "UIT-" another finger went up, "... and a lesser known company called Terrisz'Voss; mostly a technologies developer as well as ship building firm on Yag'Dhul. I don't know how much you know of either, but both keep me well stocked for jobs completed and whatnot.

"While my introduction to both were quite different," she smiled at the memory of her beginnings with UIT; and Khendon Sevon, "their outcomes and my subsequent rolls in both establishments are along very much the same lines."

s'Il smiled then, resting her elbows on the armrests of her chair. She liked what Hera was proposing. She liked it alot. This night had started out well, and it was only getting better. Just like she'd dumped her dinner bill on Vice-Diktat Sevon; just like she'd approached one Gabriel Hyde and offered to finance his fledgling company; this was shaping up to be just the same kind of thing.

s'Il cracked her knuckles, then held out her hand in a handshake and proposed her own brand of "sealin' the deal".

"Wanna get pissdrunk... ?"

[imported_Cyrus Haman]

"I knew you were watching my ship when I saw ya," Haman let himself a smirk as he listned to the woman.

"So Hera's decided t'trust me huh. Fine...when's she comin' in? I'd like t'see if she'll give me my payment personally"

He gave another smirk.

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

"You'll get your payment when she gets here and when she gets here, is her business, not yours. Thats something you need to learn real quick. Hera wont be pushed or prodded. I hope it wont take the loss of a limb to get that through to you."

Daiq studied Haman closely. He wasnt offensive to look at...in a greasy, lowdown scummy way, but that smirk....she wanted to wipe it off his cocky little face in the worst way. On the bright side, she wasnt the one who had to deal with him, Hera was and it had been her choice to hire him.

Vega stirred behind her as he too watched Haman but she was well aware of the fact that Cyrus Haman wasnt what was on Vega's mind. Nor hers either. With a nod to the Devonian, Daiq instructs him to take Haman to the lounge.

"Give him a bottle of whatever he wants on the house, hmm?"

Turning, she takes one step, then stops, swinging back to whisper in the tech's ear.

"And make sure one of the guards keeps an eye on him."

That settled, she gives both the tech and Haman a curt nod before spinning about and taking Vega's hand in hers, leading him off to her quarters for some "quality" time.

[DarthHERA]

She returned the grin and as s'Il extended her hand out to shake on the new formed working relationship, Hera deliberately struck her own hand out, but too low to meet s'Ils. s'Ilancy dropped hers down to compensate, and Hera correspondingly moved hers high, so they kept missing. The two did this back and forth, until Loklorien smacked the Siths hand away, laughing at Hera's silly game.

Hera grinned, "Pissdrunk is my favorite way to drink!" She was in a great mood. She had the Masterpeice, she had realised a new reliable employee in Cyrus, and she had blown some pretty fancy real-estate up with some good friends. And now, could add a new contractor to the excellent group of smuggles, pirates and scoundrels at ShadowFaene.

A serious look came to Hera's face and this time, she took s'Ilancys hand in a firm and sincere grip. "Its gonna be a pleasure working with you, s'Ilancy LokLorien."


She took a moment to contact Daiquiri, thanking her for her part in the success of the operation, knowing that even though the job had turned out to be a cake-walk watching Haman, it could very easily have been a lot more difficult and time consuming. Hera knew Daiquiri would have seen the job through-and more- without a second thought. After breaking off connection, Hera kicked herself for not finding out what, or, as she more accurately could guess who the distraction was she could hear in the background..

Hera thought, too, of contacting Garrett Blade, but what would she say? Hey, thanks for scaring the helloutta me by leaping from a moving spacecraft?? No...that conversation would have to be done face to face and not over a transmission frequency.

And as for Haman....so far, he had proven himself quite capable and Hera would see what else he was good for on her return to base.

"So s'Il....we drinking In or Out?" Hera began a search for where the liquid candy was stowed, careful not to step on MMU.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

The Dark Jedi sat back against the wall of the quarters, looking up at the ceiling, then around the room. It wasn't quite what he'd expected Daiquiri's living space to be like, but it was pleasant enough. He imagined at the 'Fortress' most of the rooms were fairly generic in layout and decor, and if this was the case then credit had to be given to the 'Mistress' for her choice.

"Sssoooo.."

He ran one hand back through his hair and yawned, looking across the room at Daiquiri, who looked like she was busy with something. He shifted about on the bed a little, moving so that he was perched on the edge now instead of at the back.

"That was all we had to do, right? Watch that ... man for your boss and now you're off the hook?"

He didn't wait for an answer, infact he wasn't expecting one. It was more of a rhetorical question. Giving a slight grin, he continued.

"What now?"

[Daiquiri Van-Derveld]

Grinning, she finishes logging in her time before turning to look at him.

"Yes, that was it. Im "off the hook" as you put it. As for "what now", I have several stimulating ideas we could try out if youve the mind for it. Or, we could go grab something to eat . It all depends on what youre hungry for."


Walking up to him, Daiq straddles Vega's lap, her mischievious grin still in place.

"Better yet, why dont I get someone to bring us something to eat and drink, then we lock ourselves in here for several days?"

[Vega Van-Derveld]

He leant back a little, hands propped back on the bed as he gave an innocent smile.

"That sounds excellent.."

This way, he wouldn't have to make contact with Hera, or any of her lackeys for that matter. From the look of Haman, he had jumped to the instant conclusion that they were all scruffy idiots - aside from Daiquiri of course. She didn't seem to fit in to the line up, but then if it made her happy he was fine with it.