Innocent Cargo

[Mia]

(OOC: Thread's open if you want to find a way to work yourself in.)

Another job from a Hutt

She always got jobs from a Hutt. Never any humanoid species. Hutts sickened her, their fat, slimy bodies and the places they lived in filled with their slave girls. Merrick was one of the worst she had worked for. There were never any attractive men and even the female dancers usually sickened her. Mia hadn't been on a date in nearly 5 years. She longed to be with a man, to have him hold her..

...I don't have time to think about this now...

Mia landed her ship and jumped out of her seat. It was time to see what sort of cargo Merrick had her delivering this time. She walked out of her ship to the bar where she was supposed to meet one Marrick's men... or whatever he was. Mia looked over the bar, it was dim, just like any other. She didn't really like the alien music that was coming from the stage across the room, so she took a table on other side of the bar where the music could barely be heard over the talking. She ordered a drink and let her mind wander while she waited. It had been a few years since she had any real "friends". The only people she knew know would betray her for less than a credit, if they got the chance. It was even longer since she'd been in love. She still remembered him and what happened.. but she preferred to not think about it too much, after what happened to him she disappeared. Her friends had tried to contact her a few times but given up shortly after.

Great friends they were..

Mia hated them now, she was a fool for ever tryiny.. She'd never been good enough for them, she was never really accepted. It was better now not to have friends. She didn't even use her real name anymore. They'd never be able to find her.

"Hello there."

Mia looked up to see the face of an attractive man. She smirked at him.

Looking to buy me a drink, are you?

"No. I'm here to talk business."

She laughed to herself. What was she thinking, no guy like that would be hitting on her.

Oh.. well, take a seat.

The man sat down across the table from her. Mia looked into his eyes.. they were bright blue. She became lost in them until he spoke.

"I have the cargo ready for you in my ship"

..the.. what?..

Oh, yes the cargo. I'll show you my ship and you can arrange to have it moved there.

What has that Hutt got me delivering?

"Oh no, the cargo can move it's self. "

The man smirked and winked at her. Before she could speak, he rose from his chair.

"Let's go take a look."

Mia finished her drink and got up quietly, her mind going crazy trying to figure out what she was going to be transporting. The pair left the bar and headed over to the docking bay. The man walked over toward a small ship that was painted a bright blue. The ship had been through alot, she noticed lazer burns across the hull.

"Well, here we are."

...nice ship...

"Thank you. Want to take a look inside her?"

I'm just here for the cargo.

"Where do you think it is?"

Mia and the man walked inside his ship and to a back room. He opened a door to reveal a hand full of slightly attractive women dressed in various dancer outfits. No crates. No nothing.

What kind of joke is this?! I wasted my time coming half-way across..

"Relax, Red. This is the cargo."

The name's Mia.. I'm transporting slave girls?

"Dancers, actually."

Great. Just great. That's just what she needed, 10 women to bother her all the way back to Merrick's lair.

[Ziggy Mezzaia]

"Ok, thanks a lot. We'll see you in a couple of weeks."

The human, the Jawa and the droid walked out of the bar and into the midday sun. It was quite hot, but the breeze helped a lot. They began walking back to the docking bay where Ray was waiting for them onboard their ship. They talked amongst themselves as they walked.

"I can't believe they said yes! This is our big chance!"

Ziggy was really excited. They'd just secured a series of gig dates in four clubs on Coruscant owned by Gallos Tarn, the owner of the bar they'd just been inside. This bar in particular played - according to Ziggy, Dick and Kit - the worst music ever. The lyrics weren't even in Basic and the music had no melody or "feel" to it. Thankfully, these guys were going to change all that very soon. Dick, the droid, stopped momentarily and held his arms out in triumph. "I told you that demo would win 'em over! And now we're already on our way to fame, fortune and eye-candy!"

Kit, the Jawa, kept to himself, listening to the other two talk. Though like his two friends, he was very excited to.

ZIggy continued talking as they entered the docking bay entrance. Their ship was in the last bay at the end of the terminal.

"I think we should invest in some new equipment. We've already got enough saved up for the effects we talked about. But I think we should do another job or two so we can afford those more expensive - and might I add powerful - amps we saw in Curly's on Coruscant 45th Precinct. Any ideas?"

They walked in silence for a minute or two. As they arrived at the entrance to their docking bay, Dick stopped them suddenly.

"I've got it! Remember that guy I was telling you abut? The senator I really can't stand. he's all up himself and so sure of everything he says and does. You know - they guy on Holonet! Well anyway, his son's this really soilt punk who think she's invincible. And he's got no respect whatsoever. According to Ray, he's just been bought a new speeder by his old man - a modified XJ-29 Blue Cassal speeder. Safe to say it'll fetch a pretty price on the black market given the illegal modifications that have been made."

"Sounds good!" replied Ziggy. Dick continued...

"The only problem is that we'd need to act fast. He's off to Malastare in five days to race the thing, and after that it'll be hard to find. I say we swipe it before he even goes to Malastare."

Even more excited at the thought of new equipment, they three band members entered the docking bay. But their faces fell to the floor at the site of an empty docking bay.

"Where the hell's Ray gone!?!?!?" exclaimed Ziggy. Straight after his angry outburst, his comm beeped. It was Ray...

"Sorry guys! Some security goons started snooping round and I had to book! I got a few jumps away but they fried the power couplings for the hyperdrive and now I'm stuck on Averam. It'll take me a day or two to find the parts. Sorry. You can either make your own way back or find a place to stay and wait for me to pick you up.. Later!"

The message was pre-recorded, so the three enraged friends couldn't even hurl abuse back at their older, wiser companion. Ziggy began pacing up and down nervously. He was muttering to himself, trying to think of a way out of their predicament. Dick and Kit ushered him out of the docking bay to find a place to get a bite to eat. They slowly walked back down towards the terminal entrance

"Okay, we just gotta figure this out. How are we going to get that speeder in time with no ride off this rock!?"

[Mia]

One of the women, with hair almost the same color as Mia's and clad only in white tape, looked over at her as she boarded the ship. The slave girl looked into Mia's eyes and the two stared at each other for a few moments before the dancer looked away.

Mia motioned for the girl to move inside and followed behind her quietly. Once they were in the ship one of the slave girls broke the silence, "You can't do this to us!" she yelled out, almost weeping as she spoke. Mia began to respond but the girl in white slapped the other woman, and she fell to the ground. "No one is going to stop me from meeting this great hutt", she said staring at the woman on the floor "and I'd like to get there sooner rather than later"

Mia was shocked but figured it was for the best.. She didn't need these women trying to take over her ship.

[Leeloo Mina]

As Mia was shuffling them to another part of the ship, Leeloo sighed and looked at her hand.. it stung from slapping the slave girl. She knew that the women feared her now and none of them would try to stop this woman from taking them to Merrick. Leeloo dreaded meeting him, and having to dance for him for days maybe, untill she could get a shot at him.

The smugger woman had given them quarters in the back, she obviously was expecting inanimate cargo, perhaps spice or something similar. Leeloo sat down on one of the beds she was sharing with one the slave she had slapped earlier. The young girl had been crying since they boarded the ship and Leeloo was flat out tired of it, "If you don't shut your trap, I'll smack you again.. What's your problem??" She asked angrily. "I miss my family..." the girl replied.

Leeloo sighed and looked over at the girl, she too knew what it was like to be young and not have anyone. ".. come here, what's your name?" The girl got up and sat on the side of the bed with Leeloo.. "Tarl'a", her voice was soft and she was still struggling to hold back tears.

"And how old are you?"

"I'm 13... "

Funny, she had looked older than that. Leeloo felt sorry for hitting the poor girl now. Just 13 cycles.. Didn't anyone have mercy anymore? This girl would probably be a slave to the hutt for the rest of her life.. Leeloo couldn't let that happen.

"Look.. Tarl'a? I'll get you out of her, okay? You just have to be a good girl, alright?"

The girl nodded and tried to smile. Leeloo wondered if she thought that it was a lie to get her to be quiet.. either way, it didn't matter, after she finished her job, she would try to escape with the girl.



<center><img src=http://www.fhost.org/x/leeloo/slaveleeloo.jpg></center>