Payments (Kathrine)

[Garret Treborn]

Garret was busy preparing his ship for departure from the planet Coruscant. This had been only his second time on the planet, but after much deliberation he decided it was not for him.

He had placed the call to Kat through his comm link a short while ago informing her that he was nearly ready for departure from the planet. The smuggler had said he would take the young woman to Corellia. She didn't have the credits to properly pay for a charter, so they had come to an agreement. Kat had promised him a different form of payment.

It had been a few days since Garret had bumped into Kat on the streets of Coruscant. After agreeing to act as a charter, the smuggler had said that he would need a few days to find a run. All of his searching had paid off after a short discussion with a man in one of the many bars on Coruscants. The man had been looking for an indvidual to transport a load of weapons to a planet not far from Corellia. The weapon stash was now safely aboard his ship.

Garret walked down the ramp of his ship and began checking the exterior. He always did a thorough check on his ship before any departure. The YT-1300 had cost him a good deal and nothing was about to happen to it. Once he was satisfied that his whole ship was in prime working order, the smuggler made his way back onto the ship to wait for Kat.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine walked up to the bay number and pushed the button on the door. It slid up with a quick swoosh and the young girl stepped through. She walked over to the ship's ramp and peered inside. "Hello. Anyone home?"

She walked up the ramp and inside to look around incase Garret wa were he couldn't hear her.

[Garret Treborn]

Garret heard foot steps on the ramp leading up to his ship. It must be her, he thought to himself. He stood up from his pilot's seat and made his way to the hatch once more. Sure enough, the young woman was standing just on the inside of the ship looking around. Smiling at her he said,

"Glad to see that you made it."

Garret pressed a few buttons on the panel next to the hatch and the ramp slid back into the belly of the ship. The door closed and hissed loudly as it sealed itself.

"You can put your things in the area where you'll be sleeping. It's in the back. Once you've done that, come to the front and strap yourself in so I can take off."

[Kathrine]

"OK," she said as she turned around and headed for theback. She found the room she was going to stay in and threw her single bag inside. She then turned around and went into the cockpit and sat down in a chair next to Garret. "So well this be apleasant take off?

[Garret Treborn]

Garret glanced over at Kat while he spoke. His fingers moved rapidly over the controls as he made last minute preparations. Everything on the control panel had been memorized by the smuggler shortly after aquiring the ship. He could blindly navigate all of the controls.

"The atmosphere of Coruscant isn't anything compared to some planets. Should be a smooth ride up into space."

[Kathrine]

"Good. I hate bumpy rides," she said as she strapped herself in and held on to the arm rests.

[Garret Treborn]

The smuggler reached up and flicked on his vid unit. The face of a man appeared on the screen.

"Garret Trebor requesting permission to take off."

A few moments passed and the reply came.

"Permission granted, you are clear for take off Mr. Trebor."

One of Garret's gloved hands reached up to flick off the vid unit and the other flipped the switch to activate the repulsors. The repulsors fired and the YT-1300 lifted slowly off the docking bay floor. After enough altitude was gained, the smuggler switched power to the engines and sent the ship into a quick climb. The tilt of the ship was close to 90 degrees and climbing quickly. Garret resisted the urge to whoop loudly.

[Kathrine]

Kate smiled as the ship rose out of Coruscant atmosphere. Finally they were in space and she could see the stars again. "Wow I've never seen the stars this bright. Even on my trip over here I was in a covered shuttle so we rarely go a glimpse of the outside. It is amazing."

[Garret Treborn]

Garret leveled off the ship as it broke through the atmosphere of Coruscant and into space. The only thing left to do was wait for the coordinates from the navicomputer and then he could make the jump to lightspeed. It was all smooth sailing from there.

"They are wonderful. After quite a bit of travel though, they seem to lose there appeal."

The navicomputer blinked once and indicated that the coordinates had been successfully pulled up. Garret entered them into the ship and pulled the lever that engaged lightspeed. The stars streaked by and became nothing but blurs.

[Kathrine]

"And this is hyperspace? It is even better than I dreamed it would be." She smiled and unbuckled herself. Kat stood up and walked to the cockpit door and stopped.

"I think I'll go put on something more...comfortable."

[Garret Treborn]

Garret unstrapped himself from his seat and stretched out his arms and legs. The only left was to wait unitl they arrived at Corellia. The wait wouldn't be so bad,, he though to himself.

The smuggler nodded to Kat when she made her statement. He winked and smiled at her.

"You do that."

[Kathrine]

She gave him a seductive smile and walked out of the cockpit and back to her room. Boy is he in for a surprise, she thought to herself as she picked up her bag and grabbed her clothes she was putting on.

Making sure the door was shut, she slipped out of her dress and grabbed her training pants and a tank top and quickly put them on. She walked back out to the cockpit and stood in the doorway. "Well?"

[Garret Treborn]

Garret checked the control panel to make sure everything was functioning properly and then stood up from the pilot's seat. He walked over to where Kat was framed in the entrance to the cockpit. Smiling roguishly at her, he put his hands around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"Well what?"

[Kathrine]

She brought her knee up fast and hard. And she did it with a smiled. "Now, now. Where are our manners?"

[Garret Treborn]

Garret's face contorted into a mix of agony and surprise. His hands traveled quickly down to his injured parts. He coughed a few times and attempted to stand up straight.

"What was THAT for!"

[Kathrine]

"Why did you put your hands on me?" She asked as she circled the man and jumped into a seat.

[Garret Treborn]

Garret rotated his body so he was constantly facing Kat. He winced slightly at the movement. His expression was now one of anger.

"I will dump you off on the nearest system if I feel the incentive, sweetie. I expect some form of payment for this ride to Corellia."

[Kathrine]

"And you shall have it. It was you however that failed to specify what type of payment you would want before we took off."

[Garret Treborn]

The smuggler glared at the girl without blinking. She was taking him for a complete fool. Well he wasn't going to have it.

"You made it clear what payment would be made." He paused and thought aloud. "Why bother stopping when I could just chuck her out into deep space."

[Kathrine]

"Did I? Hmm...I don't recall that part of the discussion. And chucking me out...well easier said than done."

[Garret Treborn]

"I never said you had to be alive."

The smuggler's hand went down to the blaster hanging at his side.

"Tell me though, what else did you have in mind?"

[Kathrine]

"I don't have a specific time to be at the Sith Order, but you might just have a deadline to meet and just maybe you'll need ome help, and I'd leave that alone if I were you."

[Garret Treborn]

Garret's anger flared anew. He unstrapped his blaster from the holster and drew it with the nozzle pointing to the ground.

"You are in no position to be making threats. Tell me what this is all about and do not leave anything out."

[Kathrine]

"Like I said, I just need a ride to Corellia to the Sith. It doesn't get much more complicated than that."

[Drake Shadowstalker]

hehe, oops

[Garret Treborn]

"What of this payment I was promised. If I do not recieve something, whether it's tangible or not, you are going to be floating home to Corellia."

[Kathrine]

"Don't worry, you will get what you want. I made a bargain and I will pay up."

[Garret Treborn]

Garret put his blaster back inside of its holster, but he did not strap it into place. He had a feeling this girl was playing him, but would he really kill her? No, he couldn't do that.

"You better."

He exited the cockpit and went to his room for a nap. The pain that Kat's knee had caused was still present. Perhaps he could sleep it off.

[Kathrine]

"Yeah you go walk it off, I'll worry about flying us!" She yelled after Garret.

[Garret Treborn]

The smuggler heard Kat yell after him. He smirked to himself. The ship didn't need a pilot until they came out of hyperspace. And that wouldn't be for a few days. Corellia was a long ways from the galactic hub that was Coruscant. By the time they reached Corellia, if Kat had not found a way to pay him for the ride, he was going to do something. He wasn't quite sure what that something was, but he definatly wasn't going to let her get off the hook.

Garret stepped inside the small compartment that compromised his living quarters on the YT-1300 freighter. He laid down on his back, staring at the ceiling, with his fingers locked behind his head. Through his mind raced all the events that had transpired after bumping into the young woman, up until the time they had taken off in his ship. Closing his eyes, he dozed off quickly.

[Kathrine]

A day later Kat stood pounding on Garret's door. It had been atleast a day since she had last eaten and she was starving, but she couldn't seem to find any food. "Hey! Open up!"

[Garret Treborn]

Garret was startled by the banging on the door and came awake quickly. What did this mouthy young female want now?, he asked himself. He rose to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes. Grabbing a pair of his pants nearby he put them on slowly. He wasn't going to rush himself. The girl had yet to offer any suggestions for how she was going to repay him. A painful memory flashed in his mind of when he had tried to collect on the payment he had thought was promised to him, only to have a knee placed squarely to his groin area.

Garret stood up from the cot and didn't bother to put on a short. An annoyed expression was displayed on his young face. He walked to the door and unsealed it. It flew open with a quick hiss.

"What is it?" he asked annoyed.

[Kathrine]

"Where is the food?" Kat demanded.

[Garret Treborn]

The smuggler wiped his hand across his face and sighed deeply. She probably didn't even look for it he thought to himself.

"It's in the cargo hold. Anything else?"

[Kathrine]

"Yeah, how about you come out here and try and be more social?"

[Garret Treborn]

Garret bit his tongue and walked past her. He headed towards the cargo hold. Once inside, he grabbed a package and tossed it back to Kat. In the package was some food for the both of them.

Exiting the cargo hold he went to the room adjacent to the <smallfont color={hovercolor}>-Censored-</smallfont> pit. In it was a table and some chairs.

"Want to play some cards?"

[Kathrine]

"Sure why not?" The young lady said as she skipped over to the table.

[Garret Treborn]

Garret took a seat across from the young woman.

"Got a favorite game?"

[Kathrine]

Sabacc?" She said hopefully.

[Garret Treborn]

"One of my favorites. Sabacc it is."

Garret took out the stack of card chips. The table was designed for playing sabacc as well as other games. He activated the interference field in the center of the table. The interference field was where a player could throw their card chips into to freeze the value.

"I will set the randomizer to operate by itself."

At any time during a sabacc hand, the dealer can change the value of the card chips by hitting the randomizer. This can turn a bad hand into a winning hand.

[Kathrine]

Kate sat down across the table. "Good. Are you any good though?"

[Garret Treborn]

"I'm okay. You gonna have any of that food? I wouldn't like to think that you woke me up for nothing."

[Kathrine]

Kate smiled. "Well you got me so worked up about a game."

She got up and put the food in a cooking unit. "Would you like anything while I'm at it?"

[Garret Treborn]

"Sure, I'm a little hungry."

[Kathrine]

Kate went back into the storage and grabbed another food package and placed it with her's in the cooking unit. "Ok they should be ready in a few minutes. Wanna start a game now?"

[Garret Treborn]

"Might as well."

Kat sat herself back down across from the young smuggler and he passed her two card chips. He dealt himself two and set the rest to the side.