You Call Me a Bitch Like It's a Bad Thing

[Ranooki Stryder]

"Move your asses over here," Ranooki boomed across the hangar. The lean brunette (https://celebmafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/aimee-garcia-one-day-at-a-time-tv-show-season-2-premiere-in-los-angeles-6.jpg) glared at the three men coming closer. The technicians had been sloppy as hell, and she was going to give the, a long and detailed piece of her mind. They knew what was coming as they did as told. She had been an accomplished military mechanics until she left the Centares Planetary Forces a few years ago. She still knew what to do with ships better than most that claimed to know what the heck they were doing.

"These freighters' maintenance needs to be redone from scratch. Your reports were bad enough, but Black Storm needs to get its navigation system upgraded; Black Sunrise's cooling units are messed up; and Astral Onyx's weapons are defective. You have three days to fix that, and you're fired if I have any complaint afterwards!"

She had no time for this kind of messes. Tonyh trusted her to keep a tight leash on his business' logistics. They had served together, along with a few others who had made civilian forays into private business since their military days. Ranooki had loved her life in the military, moreso than her comrade, who had always been too much of a wild card for this. Or rather, Ranooki was as wild, and had spent countless nights in the brig back in the day. She was just so good with ships that they hadn't been able to get rid of her, despite her fiery temperament, and extremely loud mouth.

"Associate Stryder," she heard a voice behind her. She was bloody glad when the employees had got their heads around addressing her properly instead of "Miss," which was atrociously annoying and even demeaning in her view.

"Has she arrived?" Ranooki snapped. She expected people to be on time, especially when it was potentially new business contacts for Verony Trading.

The man nodded. "Yes, ma'am. South docking bay."

Ranooki nodded; and turned on her heels at once.

[Katja Nystrom]

While her big sister went off to deliver medical supplies to fulfill their government contract, Katja was given her first solo negotiation assignment! She was nervous, but that was all internalized into obsessive well past the point of landing checks. Engines were powered down, communications were coming in clear, the ship was being refueled by droids - the ship gently thrummed on stand by power.

"No point in waiting here," she muttered and left the cockpit to head down the landing ramp.

She toyed with the panel, running diagnostic checks because nerves, and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her overalls. There was a bolt she rolled between her fingers to soothe her as she waited for the rep to meet her. It was a new customer that sought out the Nystroms. The sisters reputation of being professional expediters of goods and services had reached the ears of Verony Trading.

The plan was for Katja to have first contact as a feeler. Nikole trusted her little sister's instincts and if this company gave the younger Morellian any bad vibes, they would fly out immediately. They had enough suppliers and independent contractors that hired them on to keep their pockets full. This was also a good test for Katja to make sure her fiery temper and sassy attitude were reigned in and used when appropriate. She had the potential to be a hard, but fair, negotiator and now was her chance to see how much of Nikole's tutelage was learned.

Green eyes cast back and forth between the panel and the exit to see who this Tonyh guy sent.

[Ranooki Stryder]

It didn't take long for Ranook to reach the landing pad where the Nystroms' ship awaited. She saw that refueling was already happening, which satisfied her. She couldn't stand sloppiness. It just angered her. The fact that Vankar appreciated professionalism as much as she did, had helped her transition to the private sector. She still felt the urge to just oversee everything pertaining to maintenance and upgrades, but she also enjoyed her new responsibilities, glad that her former comrade trusted her with it, despite how she could scare the hell out of drunk Wookiees or hungry Gamorreans. She had high expectations of everybody, first and foremost herself.

Eyes scanned the docked ship, hearing the subtle rumble and hum of the star craft being on standby power. Approaching the boarding ramp, she caught sight of a blonde working on the ship. Her eyes narrowed at her, appreciating to see someone work on their ship, for she soon recognized one of the Nystrom sisters based on the files Vankar had relayed to her.

"Katja Nystrom? I'm Ranooki Stryder," she introduced herself curtly.

"Is there anything your ship needs besides refueling?" Verony Trading wasn't a free for all ship maintenance by any mean, but basic needs for good functioning seemed only polite to offer. She had picked the habit when serving in the military, when interacting with a bunch of diplomat stopping by.

[Katja Nystrom]

Her face was long in appraisal towards the woman heading her way, immediately liking the choice of clothing and how she carried herself. She definitely channeled what her sister did - all business strut with a 'I'll kick your ass' attitude if you say something stupid look. Katja got a sense that they were at least on neutral terms right now. The young Morellian just had to keep it that way as they conducted business.

Green eyes widened a bit at hearing the woman introduced herself with no muss or fuss and wondered how Nikole did this all the time?

She gave a two finger salute to acknowledge that she was Katja. "Hello Ms. Stryder."

Katja was pleased with herself being all formal polite.

"That's really cool of you to offer, but nah. We're good. Just running some diagnostics while we wait." She gently patted the ship. "So far nothings come up that needs a closer look. Just the way I like it."

The same hand that just pat the ship thrust a thumb over her shoulder. "Didja want to see the ship before we get into specifics? Make sure we got the right space for your needs?"

With new customers, Nikole always offered a tour because it didn't matter if you needed passage or ship something out, it was best to see all the options the Ronan had to offer.

[Ranooki Stryder]

While being called "Ms" annoyed her, Ranooki vividly remembered her argument with Tonyh about her not giving shit to contractors. At least, she was free to chew the Verony Trading employees out if they addressed her wrongly. She appreciated that she was dealing with a mechanics though. She was at ease with different kinds of people, especially with her current occupation; but she still had a less-bitchy spot for those who literally got their hands dirty and weren't the desk job kind of person.

"Good. Emergencies happen often enough, right?"

At the offer to see the ship, she nodded. "That would be great, thank you. We already have several options for cargo for you to transport. I went through the blueprints of the ship and its specs that you and your sister provided us with; but it never beats an actual visual check."

[Katja Nystrom]

"Pfft," she chuckled, "Tell me about it. I prefer it not being me causing the accident for all the other shit that happens."

Katja locked the panel down and with a sweeping bow, offered Ranooki to go first. "Then after you..."

She trudged up the ramp behind her, pointing out the general functions of the ship. "Sure you're well versed in this ship design, so I'll spare ya these details. But if something catches your eye, lemme know. Happy to explain anything."

The ship itself was in immaculate shape. Panels gleamed, the floors were shiny enough to see your reflection, and there was nothing out of place. This wasn't for show either since the ship was well maintained by daughters of a commanding mother that had served back home on Morellia. Keeping things ship shape as if they were enlisted were forever ingrained into their subconscious.

"Past this are the cargo holds. Have the equipment all set up for inspection too," she explained. "Depending on the size of your shipments, we convert the unused cabins for storage. Worse case, my sister stuffs me inside the turret to make more room."

She grinned.

[Ranooki Stryder]

"Preach," Ranooki said curtly. She was still ready to strangle a few employees about their sloppy jobs. "It seems you and your sister aren't going to run out of business, otherwise I may just offer you a job to replace two idiots I'm about to fire if they screw up just one more tiny time." She had no issue being visibly demanding. Apologizing for high standards had never been in her family or military lifestyles. And Vankar had also kept that from his previous walks of life, which was one of the reasons they worked well as business partners, even though he was the boss, and she was the barking bitch.

The brunette looked around, eyes scanning everything. It was impeccable. It was spotless in a way that only screamed one thing. She looked over her shoulder to stare at Nystrom. "Who served in the military? You or your sister?" Someone in the business must have been a soldier, because only military personnel could keep things so practical and neat.

As she started inspecting the cargo holds, she grinned appreciatively. She couldn't help chuckling at Katja's remark. "Well, since your sister isn't here, I guess your auto-pilot would have to be amazing, or remotely controlled from inside the turret then."

[Katja Nystrom]

That elicited a proud smile. "Business is pretty good, yeah."

Nikole's business acumen really had gotten the sisters a lot of business over the year. It helped that this ship and everything that went with it was theirs. Not one single credit came from their mother. Certain contacts couldn't be avoided that could be traced back to their mother considering who she was and where she married into, but the name Vandron wasn't necessarily synonymous with Nystrom. It was really odd to be related to the current Empress of the Empire through a shame marriage their mother orchestrated with Lise Tarkin's brother. The correlation not being well known was helpful so there wasn't an overt target on their backs too.

And speaking of her mother ...

"Our mom actually. She liked to drill that shit into our heads that it's just second nature now. Was so much fun living through a mini boot camp ..." she said with a derisive chuckle as she opened the cargo bay.

She thought on Stryder's comment and grinned. "Nikole will be around later. But we do have a sweet ass auto-pilot too. Not as good as the real deal as me and my sis tho."

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki's sharp eye was assessing everything she saw aboard the ship. Anyone knowing her would be shocked to see her positively impressed with the shape of things. She had stratospheric standards; and she wasn't apologetic about them. It had always served her and whoever she worked with well. That was also one of the reasons she was still single, besides just being happy to have fun and not commit in her personal life. She was picky as fuck, even if some would think much of her boozed up trouble had been sloppiness. Those thinking as such were sorely mistaken.

She chuckled about the mini boot camp quip. "The only reason I left the military instead of them giving me the boot was that I was too damn good for them to ever be able to complain about my work." She grinned mischievously. "I still wonder whether they renamed the brig with my name though."

She nodded at the thought of auto-pilot. "Sweet ass auto-pilot? What model did you work with for further upgrades?" Some auto-pilots were naturally high-tech, especially when you worked with either military prototypes or state-of-the-art illegal goods; but she had the inkling that the Nystroms had customized the hell out of it. Also, a hot mechanics talking about high tech wasn't something Ranooki would pass up, if she was completely honest with herself.

[Katja Nystrom]

Katja's ignorance about Stryder's standards was good because she would have been even more nervous! Her bubbly personality could only help her so much and probably be a fact spewing autonotom. The ship spoke for itself and the Nystroms had impeccable credentials but who would want to work with someone so dry and boring? Okay, Katja would but that wasn't her! She was fun, too fun at times per her sister, and wanted that to come across her personality because then she was being genuine. It was sounding like this Stryder lady was cut from the same mold.

Laughing as the cargo hold opened, Katja waved her to follow so the tour could continue. "That's pretty awesome you had a brig on reserve. Pretty sure I've got one on Zeltros. And that's saying a lot."

She hopped onto an empty crate, feet swinging back and forth. "It's a Microaxial Theta Class Auto-Pilot. It's high end. Found on a lot of starfighters. Sis and me tinkered on it and managed to slice it into the ship's computer logs. So the computer can run scenarios that fit flying patterns comparable to how we handle the ship."

It took years to get it to that point and the system was barely recognizable from the original software.

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki was already going through the lists of goods that needed immediate transportation, as well as some upcoming stuff they had coming their way. She knew that Tonyh had some auction planned a couple of weeks from now, which would require a lot of moving things around with appropriate contractors. Should the Nystroms do fine with a first batch, as she now believed they would, they would definitely be among those that she would recommend for post-auction things. While she knew some of their regular curator partners, the Adrijanas, tended to prefer overseeing transportation themselves, they tended to be among the exceptions.

The brunette gave a lopsided grin to Katja. "A bring on reserve on Zeltros? Now I will just have to buy you a drink and hear the stories!"

While she was always on-point business wise, the former military loved good crazy stories, and it seemed it was one for the books. While Tonyh was comfortable with most of her antics, because he knew she was no flake, she knew she could drive him crazy at times. Katja Nystrom seemed closer to her own style of business, which was rarer than some may think. Ranooki found that either people were fun or they were professional, but rarely both in the same. At least, when it came to her level of fun, she guessed.

Looking around the cargo hold, Ranooki mumbled to herself, taking the layout into account. While it had the size expected and seemed to have gone through little modifications from the original layout, no two ships were exactly the same, so taking in all details was important to her, given her job.

She gave an appreciative look to Katja as she explained what auto-pilot they had. "Most impressive. Auto-pilot programing has never been a forte of mine. I'm more of a hardware kind of mechanics."

[Katja Nystrom]

Katja was buzzing inside, delighted that this was going well. Her older sister would be so proud of her keeping Stryder engaged and it appeared their hopeful business partner had a playful streak like she did! Katja was not even close to a saint. She was on the opposite end of the spectrum living the party life every chance she could. Nikole had been clear that business and pleasure had a clear division. The Nystroms didn't need an old, disgruntled, flame of Katja's screwing them over in a deal because of misaligned affections.

While Stryder was mumbling to herself, probably taking mental notes of the ship, Katja allowed a wandering eye.

Gotta behave.

"Uh, yeah? We like tinkering. Though it's a controlled tinkering. We do the research and play around when we can."

Speaking of playing.

"So ... you serious about that drink? Cuz unless there's anything else ya need to see here, figure we can work out details while picking our gearheads and exchanging brig stories."

Fuck behaving.

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki grinned to Katja. "Controlled tinkering makes the most sense. There is a difference between good instincts, expertise, and still needing to do some goddam research."

She had to admit that interacting with a fellow mechanics was a nice change. She could dialogue with most people, but some who had no real practical experience could be pains in the ass. She had little love for desk-job people in her line of work. Also that blonde was her kind of mischief, more than she had first expected.

When asked whether she was serious about the drink, she almost looked more serious as she had ever since they had introduced themselves.

"I always mean business when it come to drinks. I have an extensive cabinet of liquors in my office, so we can work out those details in privacy."

She passed before the blonde and led the way outside of the ship, expecting Nystrom to follow. If the other woman had an issue with her office, there were many bar options, including some where she had such an open tab, it warranted private booths.

[Katja Nystrom]

"Seriously!" agreed the young Morellian. "I would've constantly fried the hyperdrive if I just decided to tinker on it without a fucking clue."

Katja began to second guess herself for swearing in front of the potential client. It shouldn't be a problem because most people in their line of work drop expletives almost every other word. Stryder did sort of swear but laying down an f bomb really wasn't professional. Hopefully it wasn't a deal breaker and with this one being former military, Katja had a good feeling things would fine.

"But yeah...I can appreciate those priorities." She hopped off the crate and follow Stryder out. "Let's go get those drinks and work on a contract."

She locked down the ship and sent a message to Nikole that a deal was being worked on. Nikole replied seconds later with 'Great Job. Proud of you'. It made her grin ear to ear seeing that before tucking the comm into the front pocket of her overalls.

"How far's your office?" she asked, catching up beside Stryder.

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki chuckled at Nystrom dropping an F bomb. Maybe some people would be horrified; but she preferred someone speaking their minds as colorfully as they wanted rather than speak in bloody riddles, if not actual fake elegance. She didn't care for such games. And frankly, she cussed to the point fellow military guys looked shocked back in her service days.

"Drinks and contract. That's a fucking good plan," she replied with a cheeky grin. She briefly looked over her shoulder at the blonde and winked, making it clear that there was no reason to sweat any sort of swearing around her.

Once they were in the landing bay, the brunette made her way outside of the facilities, all the way to a nearby speeder bike. Hopping on it, she patted the seat behind her. "I'm five minutes away from here on this pretty."

She waited for Nystrom to get behind her. "I used to have my office directly at the warehouse but I terrified employees more often than necessary. So Vankar had to drag me to that building over there, including a personal workshop. I still scare the shit out of any incompetent though."

[Katja Nystrom]

The blonde perked up at the retorting f bomb and causal wink thrown her way. If there were an inkling that this wasn't the kind of girl that Katja would find for fun, that got tossed out the airlock. She was going to have to buy Nikole a really big thank you present for meeting Stryder!

This is getting better and better ...

She already hopped onto the speeder and holding onto Stryder's hips the second that hand was removed from the seat, thinking that the speeder bike wasn't the only thing that was pretty here.

Quirking a brow as more information about her potential business partner was shared, she wondered why Stryder freely shared these details? Did she like testing everyone so if they were scared shitless they'd back off so they didn't waste her time?

"So ... if you keep scaring people ... how do you have anyone left that works for you and your boss?" she ask curiously. "I get weeding out incompetent people, but even that can only get you so far. Even idiots have their uses. And sometimes they're not exactly idiots. Just ... down on their luck and in a bad spot. Just don't know any better and are doing stupid shit to make ends meet."

She shrugged. "Just a different perspective. Me and big sis work for all sorts. Long as the credits are there, so are the Nystroms! Or... some stupid ass line I'm still trying to figure out."

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki couldn't deny that Nystrom's prompt hopping on the speeder bike was nice, just as her hands falling on her hips. Stryder could be strictly professional; but she was fine with breaking a lot of rules, as her military career had proven. And the blonde was competent, fun, and gorgeous, a really deadly combination by the mechanics's standards.

The ramble that came in response to what she admitted made her smile, although there was brief sadness showing in her eyes, though her passenger couldn't see it, which was a good thing.

"Oh we do have plenty of competent people. We're still growing, and as much as I'm in to help people learn the ropes, I'm no babysitter or mother figure. And some people come in thinking it's just going to be some desk job. Wrong guess...."

Back in the military, she had also seen too many idealists thinking they'd just serve their planet and be heroes, without understanding the risks. Yes, she had been even scarier as time went by, to the point of making some quit before they went to get themselves killed. She understood the risk of losing people. Vankar and her had seen that enough; but gratuitous canon fodder was a whole other thing.

She smiled about what Nystrom said next. "Yeah, it's a good thing they don't use me for marketing purposes. We'd be screwed."

Chuckling, she pulled in front of the building where she had her office. She let Nystrom climb down, before following suite. She led the way into the building, and took them to the third floor, which was loft style with part of it being visibly workshop, and the further part being a comfortable office. Sleek lines and comfortable couches and armchairs, with a very large liquor cabinet and a lot of gadgets and tools scattered around.

Walking up to the cabinet, she looked over her shoulder at her guest. "What would you like to drink?"

[Katja Nystrom]

Stryder had the attitude of Katja's sister and mother ... and the young Morellian wasn't quite sure how to take that.

Just keep it with her professionalism and don't go further than that, cuz ew!

She chuckled at marketing comment. "Well, I'm sure that you'd look really good on the holomerical. Until they zoom and we all see how fucking annoyed you are."

Some people were not made for vids and Stryder so had the wrong personality for it. She couldn't see anyone surviving the woman's tirade on how she should be directed ...

With quiet appraisal, Katja smiled at the setup inside the building and pulled out her link to fire off a quick message to her sister.

Heading inside office 4 final deets. Wish me luck!

She got an immediate response.

:) Good job. Here's hoping we celebrate later.

TY!!!

Grinning, Katja tucked the link away as they went into Stryder's office. Her eyes lit up at the decor of tools all over the place, surprised by that after the talk she and Stryder had on the ship regarding cleanliness and past military endeavors that the place was not very tidy. What was also interesting was the large liquor cabinet. It was the height of the wall.

This lady really liked her booze.

"Uh ... " she lowered her head to take a peak at what the shelves had. "What kinda whiskey ya got?"

[Ranooki Stryder]

"Back in military academy, they wanted to show some of us who specialized in mechanics in some promotional holovid. I very gladly let someone else be part of it."

The brunette chuckled, remembering it. "I even offered to do triple shift to avoid having to be in front of a camera."

Ranooki had forgotten about how messy her office was by her standards; but she had invited Nystrom over for drinks and contract finalization, so she would have to suck it up. Or rather, she started promptly putting things back where they belonged with solid efficiency.

She wanted to explain herself, but she realized she would just sound weak. Yet, the mess went again all she had bragged about. Shrugging, she looked at the blonde as she was finishing to bring order back in her office, as if nothing had happened. "I worked on a new project last night, and had an emergency with some of our shuttles this morning."

Finally satisfied with how the place looked, she was all the more grateful for the immense cabinet so Nystrom had had time to entertain herself. She walked up right behind the other woman and grinned.

"I have a lot of good ones from various areas of the galaxy. These two shelves are all whiskey, including some reserve ones, which I am happy to bust open for new contractors."

She retrieved two glasses and placed them on the desk, waiting for the gorgeous blonde to take her pick.

[Katja Nystrom]

This woman was mystifying. She had a depth about her that was being bogged down by big bad scary boss lady, and that almost diminished the charm perceived by Katja.

Almost.

Stryder's quips about the holovid were appealing but the disappointed look in her eye when Katja saw the mess around the office was unsettling. The woman was too hard on herself for whatever reason. Cleaning the office was a waste of time in the Morellian's opinion, but that wasn't her business. She was sure that this glimpse into Stryder's faults was never meant to occur.

"Gotta love those emergencies," she said with an understanding smile.

She pushed a transparency that had shifted partially off the desk into place before Stryder was looking at her again.

"Dare I be bold and go for a reserve?" She grinned with just the right amount of haughtiness that wouldn't offend her host.

Or ... at least she hoped so. She was pretty good at reading the woman so far.

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki was relieved that Nystrom didn't feel appalled by the slight mess in her office. She smiled back. "Sometimes I tease Vankar civilian life risks making me sloppy," she admitted in a self-deprecating grin. Tonyh always told her she was loosing her mind when spewing what he considered nonsense. The craziest one of them all was Ara, who had been bodyguard but especially nanny to Tonyh's daughter since they had left the military. That baffled Ranooki to no end. The mere thought of dealing with kids was enough to make her recoil. Tonyh's little one was cute; but especially on pictures.

She narrowed her eyes at Nystrom's question, and grinned at her, appreciating the woman's bold move and her good taste.

"Please dare," she replied with a slight purr in her voice.

Once Nystrom picked the bottle of her choice, she poured it into both glasses, soon handing one to the blonde.

"To lucrative partnerships," she cheered.

[Katja Nystrom]

She couldn't help a small smug little smile that etched across her lips when she heard that purr. She took her time in looking at the impressive amount of reserve choices. When she made her choice, she let her finger slide along the bottle from top to bottom, giving Stryder a playful sideways glance. "This one."

Katja happily accepted the glass with a twinkle in her eyes and held it up. "To lucrative partnerships."

The glasses clinked together and she tipped her head back, downing the contents like a pro. The liquid went down real smooth and her stomach felt warm and fuzzy, a sensation that spread throughout.

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki's eyes remained fastened upon Nystrom until she took the chosen bottle. The brunette couldn't help finding the blonde attractive. She wondered what stories they would trade; and whether the new business partnership would last long; but she definitely hoped to see where things would go.

After they clinked their glasses together, she drank the very same pro way as Nystrom, and enjoyed the sensation as always.

"Well, let me get you the paperwork to sign for a general agreement of two rounds of transportation to get us started. The first round we will assign you and your sister consists in selected artworks for Cloud City, as well as a few designer pieces of furniture."

She had been surprised when Vankar had insisted on gifting such things to some professional investment he was doing there; but his extravagance was nothing new to her.

[Katja Nystrom]

She eyed Stryder over the rim of the glass, wondering what was going on in that pretty head of hers. Katja wasn't surprised that it was all business after they downed their drinks.

"Oooo... fancy shit, huh?" She grinned, leaning a hip against the table. "Imperials doing a bit of redecorating there?"

It was a curious question but nothing that was too nosy.

"And do we get to know what the second round's about? Or does me and big sis need to be good girls before we get to find out?" she said playfully.

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki caught the curiosity and the loose fishing for info. She didn't blame Nystrom for that.

"Vankar is investing in some fancy establishment. He always had a thing for entertainment," she replied truthfully but without giving away too many details. Whatever the place's owner would decide to disclose to the transporters was up to her, not them.

The blonde's next inquiry made her grin, and selected undressed scenario passed before her mind's eye, although her composure didn't betray any shame about such thoughts, for Ranooki had no embarrassment over such musings.

"And here I thought you were the bad girl kind," she responded with a wink.

"The second shipment will either be to an upcoming auction Vankar is organizing, location undisclosed at the moment, or to Naboo to transport rare flowers and trees, to a local aristocrat. It depends on how scheduling works."

[Katja Nystrom]

"Mm." Katja didn't really care, but she knew Nikole would like the information. Personally she was just enjoying listening to Stryder talk.

"Never played botanist before. That'd be kinda cool," she mused about the possible Naboo trip, but she also loved hearing the responses to her playfulness.

"I'm behaving for big sis. But to be honest?" she hopped onto the table without asking, clearly exuding confidence that it would be welcomed. She crossed her legs and leaned back with her free hand, the one holding the empty glass bobbing in front of her as she talked. "I hate playing nice. But I do it for our business. And it's the right thing to do. And it's also so boring."

She thrust the glass towards Stryder with a tempered gaze that simmered with intent, making the overall greasy monkey look sexy. "I like being not boring most of the time."

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki chuckled at Nystrom's musings over playing botanist.

"Better you than me. Fairly sure I'd manage to keep that poor greenery sick or worse."

She winked to the blonde. "I'm much better at keeping humans and near-humans alive and very satisfied."

The brunette didn't miss a moment of watching the blonde hop on the table. That was a pleasing sight, which she couldn't help finding full of promises. After all, as long as business went smoothly, Vankar wouldn't give her shit for whatever fun times she got out of who they worked with. Given his track record with his flame, he really had nothing to reprimand her for.

Without missing a beat, Ranooki stepped closer, and fetched the empty glass from the blonde, refilling it in one smooth move, before doing the same with her own glass.

"Boring is not my cup of tea or flask of whiskey," she replied deadpan.

Setting the bottle aside, she rested her free hand on Nystrom's thigh.

"Feel free to never be boring around me," she purred, before downing her drink.

[Katja Nystrom]

Her legs dangled back and forth with playful anticipation as she bit back a purr when Stryder took her glass. All the talk of flowers and plants and botany was already long forgotten since Katja was enjoying the celebratory drinks and word play. She sniggered before taking her glass back.

"Well ... what is it then? If it's not a flask, is it a bottle?" she ribbed, peeling her index finger off the glass she was gripping to point at Stryder.

"Cuz ... " she leaned back, causing the hand on her thigh to slide higher as Katja got a proper look at the bottle, "... there's quite a bit to go if we get to this maybe threshold you're referring to?"

The blonde winked and downed her drink definitely not being boring and very aware of what she was doing.

She shook her head as the burn warmed her chest and belly without the buzz clouding her mind just yet. Green eyes danced with delight as they held Stryder's gaze. "Or ... maybe we close the deal first. Be kinda productive?"

[Ranooki Stryder]

"The first bottle from the shelf, right?"

Ranooki flashed a grin to the blonde, before her hand slid up as the gorgeous Nystrom leaned back. Darn, this one was her style more than most people she had been working with. That was distracting, but especially enticing.

She chuckled as they had both downed their second drink.

"It's too rare to work with non-boring people," she added.

She considered Nystrom's question. So many options danced in her mind.

She trailed her hand down towards the blonde's knee, and reluctantly let it go.

"What about we finalize the paperwork, before going for celebration for good productivity, in the city?"

Mischief showed in her eyes.

"I know places."

[Katja Nystrom]

Katja was enjoying the close proximity and was hanging on every word from Stryder. She had to swallow down a whine of disappointment when the hand left her knee but this was supposed to be a contract signing. Business before pleasure after all, though she was hoping there would be a lot of pleasure make up later.

Confirmation of said partying made the Morellian perk up. "Deal."

Then her face scrunched up in thought before looking down at the way she was dressed. "Do those places ya know allow a frumpy looking mechanic to walk into their establishments with greasy looking overalls?"

She never gallivanted around any city looking like this! Katja was a tube top, leather skirt, and boots that rode up to her thigh kind of girl when she was out partying. As nice as these negotiations were, she was not prepared for this pleasant turn of events.

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki had only reluctantly let go of Nystrom; but she was looking forward to get to be quite closer later during the evening.

When the blonde agreed to finalize the contracts first, the brunette didn't waste anytime. Sitting at her desk, almost oblivious to the gorgeous woman sitting nearby. She pulled up all the information needed, and adjusted any details that required reviewing.

She then had everything show up on the holo projector for Nystrom to review.

"If all looks adequate to you, I'll send you the file for you to legally approve."

As for the question that came next, she returned her full attention to the blonde, unapologetic about how she was staring.

"There's a VIP space with my name on it. You could show up in rags at my arm, they wouldn't say a thing."

Crossing her legs as she leaned against the back of her chair to get a better view, she grinned.

"Of course, you can take time to change if you'd like."

[Katja Nystrom]

Katja swiveled her body so she was now sitting petulantly cross-legged on the table, but her greens were taking the information in very seriously. Despite Stryder being a lot of fun, she needed to look over the details of the contract. Eyes scanned the slowly moving images, particularly the outline that broke down schedules, damages, fees, payment, the usual bylines to protect the company if anything untoward happened with paid contracted transporters. She was happy to note that Vankar appeared to be a fair boss if this were a typical contract. There was an addendum that if things went well, that the Nystrom sisters were immediately considered for the second job already mentioned.

Funnily enough, Katja wasn't paying attention to Stryder's staring when she spoke. "So - two things. One - you can send the file to the same coded frequency we originally used to speak to your Vankar boss guy."

She poked her head out, like a domestic jax, around the holoimage and looked coy. "Two - Rags or not, I like to dress the part. Maybe I can borrow some of your stuff and change?"

Her shoulders shrugged nonchalantly. "Unless you rather me waste time going back to the ship and do it."

[Ranooki Stryder]

Nystrom just looked hot on her desk, Ranooki mused. She was not against using said desk for sexy purposes and kept that in mind for later reference.

She appreciated that while the blonde could be a lot of fun, she knew when to be dead serious about business. That was a really attractive combo in the mechanics's eye. She didn't interrupt her as she went over the details once again. Both Vankar and her were thorough in preparing contracts, but they also valued that their contractors went through them with acute attention. It seemed only fair to all parties involved, and the smoother the business, the more lucrative and efficient.

She canted her head as Nystrom looked at her around the holoimage, quite amused at the sight.

"Good," she replied firmly to the sending the whole package back to Vankar, which she did at once.

"Copying you and your sister on it. And it's sent."

The notion of Vankar as her boss guy cracked her up.

She grinned when the blonde made it clear she'd love to change before they went out.

"Well, you should follow me then," she said with a wink.

She got up and trailed a hand on Nystrom's leg, before heading to a door that led to a staircase. She trusted her new associate would be right behind her.

Upstairs was a large bedroom, with a fairly gigantic bed, a decent-size closet, and an attached bathroom.

"I have an apartment downtown but I like having a second home here."

She gestured towards the closet.

"Feel free to pick whatever you like and use the fresher."

She didn't keep anything valuable, or secret, openly so she had no issue leaving the blonde to get ready by herself.

[Katja Nystrom]

Katja chewed on her lower lip, wanting more lingering touches but would just have to wait, and that wasn't going to happen sitting on Ranooki's desk. She slid off desk and definitely followed Ranooki's ass. The woman didn't say exactly how she was supposed to be following her and when they entered the bedroom, Katja let out an appreciative whistle.

"Damn. If this is your home away from home, your actual apartment must be huge." Not one to dally or linger around to poke through people's things, Katja padded over to the closet. "Awesome. Thanks. I'll be as quick as I can."

The doors swished open and damn did Ranooki have a lot to choose from. She had to be careful with her choices since Ranooki had a few inches on her but Katja decided her own boots could still work after a bit of cleaning. Sifting through the choices, she ignored the business clothes, looking for anything casual or sexy.

"Oooo.... what do we have here?" She pulled a sleeveless black leather dress off the rack and grinned. She had a fuller figure so it should fit snugly and the dress would be a little longer on her, but all the curves she wanted to show off would be present. With a nod, she took it into the fresher, stripped and used the insides of her overalls to polish her boots that were sleek, practical and ankle length. She lucked out that these could double to party.

Then she washed up, patting her armpits and under her breasts before wiping the work grime off her face with a borrowed towel. She poked about the cabinet and found some pins for her hair, forgoing the make-up. She'd look great without it and slipped into the dress which fit exactly how she wanted. It didn't bunch up and the length stopped a few inches above her knees. After admiring the way it fit, she used fingers to comb her hair out, pulled it back in several strands, twisted them together in a quick updo, and pinned it.

She blew a kiss at the mirror and confidently emerged from the fresher. This was a much better idea than returning back to the ship.

"Yo Stryder!" She called out. "I'm ready!"

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki leaned into the door frame as she watched Nystrom enter the room and start checking the wardrobe options.

"I'd say a big part of my actual apartment is a workshop; but yeah it's a good place, as you'll see."

She winked to the blonde, for there was little doubt they were going to have a lot of fun. And she was willing to actually take that girl home, as in her actual place, which wasn't a given even with some flings. All of this was a bit of a mess, but somehow she just knew that things would be fine mixing fruitful business and lots of pleasure.

She then went back to her office, sitting in her chair and making some arrangements for the night. She knew that the Rooftop Xtra was getting more and more famous and she wanted to make extra sure that they had a VIP lounge, as well as already putting a bottle of whiskey, and one of rum, her favorite Reserve ones, on her tab.

She also contacted one of the docking bay workers to have one of Tonyh's many limousine speeders ready. He was off world and this one was her favorite. She also made sure that Fidena would be their driver. The girl was a recent hire but a damn good driver and she was happy to get to drive some of the boss's fancier vehicles.

When she heard the blonde call out, she grinned; and headed straight back to the room. She took in how her new acquaintance filled that dress so perfectly. And she wolf whistled.

"That looks even better on you," she purred as she walked by Nystrom, trailing a hand across the girl's hip and waist.

"I'll be ready in just a few minutes."

She fetched a favorite red dress, and went for a quick shower, and quick make-up. Since she had left the military, she loved to spend hours in the fresher; but she was still damn good at being prompt.

As promised, she was all ready in less than ten minutes, and opened the door for Nystrom.

"Our ride awaits us."

Findera had already pulled in front of Ranooki's office, and slid the doors open for her passengers as soon as she saw them.

"Damn it, how am I supposed to drive fine with two stunning women like you in the back seat?"

The brunette laughed at the quip, and put in a generous credstick into the girl's hand.

"Because I let you drive Vankar's fancy shit?"

They both chuckled and then Findera pulled her window up, as Ranooki followed Nystrom in the back of the limo speeder.

[Katja Nystrom]

Katja preened under the praise and hoped the stolen touches from Stryder's hand would get more bold later. They were a nice appetizer for now. She watched her go with a promising smile before taking in the room. Her mind wandered to the comment of 'you'll see' with regards to Ranooki's apartment. That was one helluva foretelling statement. It was bold as fuck and at least she knew how the evening was going to end. She mentally unfed at the thought.

She politely looked around the apartment and didn't touch anything while waiting for her impromptu date to freshen up. Sometimes she had wandering fingers but this was a co-worker and Kaja had boundaries. Being good would pay off in the long run, she hoped, in case this turned into a regular affair.

"Hot damn!" Katja blurted out in appreciation. The red dress complimented Ranooki's curves and the Morellian was seriously considering cancelling the evening activities to get her out of that dress.

Patience Kat. Patience... foreplay is fun!

Smiling, she joined her and quirked a curious brow. "Ride? What ride?"

The answer to her question was waiting downstairs in the form of a hoverlimo. Green eyes immediately bugged out at the sight, clearly not expecting that. Maybe a taxi, sure, but a fucking limo?! No.

She whistled and cut a glance at Ranooki. "Holy shit, girl. You really pulled out all the stops."

After climbing in and hearing the exchange, Katja couldn't help laughing deeply with mischievous intent. "Depending on whatcha hear back here, could be worse distractions. So keep those eyes forward and don't crash us."

She patted the cushion beside her after crossing her legs. "C'mon, Stryder. We're wasting time."

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki grinned at the blonde's enthusiastic reaction to her appearance. That hungry look in Nystrom's eyes was utterly enticing and managing to get them to the speeder instead of just banging right then and there in her office had been a difficult task. The brunette liked to have her fun and had little to no hesitation to enjoy whoever she could; but sometimes she also knew that a bit of wait made for fireworks later on.

It didn't mean she was known for her patience on most occasions though...

She chuckled at the blonde's reaction as she led the way to their ride.

"It'd be a shame not to make the best of amenities available as Vankar's associate, gorgeous."

She loved her independence and being a grease monkey on a speeder bike; but she also enjoyed the little luxuries life could provide.

Findera laughed at Nystrom's antics.

"Have as much fun as you can have back there. If I still hear moaning when we're closing in on our destination, I can just take a detour to give you time to finish."

Ranooki laughed as Findera pulled the dark glass up, giving them privacy. That'd be typical Findera to do just that.

Without further ado, the brunette plopped herself next to her date for the night. It was as close to a date as Ranooki could conceive such things. One night stand, fling, whatever fun could happen, it was what she liked.

"Well, well, well," she purred, resting a hand on the blonde's thigh.

"I wouldn't want to keep you waiting."

[Katja Nystrom]

Katja brightly grinned as the privacy window went up and she couldn't help herself. She knelt down and titled her head to keep her face visible. "Thanks for driving us! And the privacy!"

She let out a chuckle, finding her own antics hilarious, before noticing that Stryder was about to hop inside the limo. Katja pivoted and slide back to her original position just in time to meet those beautiful eyes next to her and smiled, thrilling at the sound of Stryder's voice and teasing hand on her leg. "Little time I've known ya, you'd never do that," she said with a wink.

The limo stirred to life and Katja was impressed with how the stabilizers kept them from jostling around too much making it a smooth ride. That musing briefly stole her attention but now it was all back on the gorgeous woman beside her.

"So ... do I get to know where we're going? What'cha got planned?" she purred, leaning in closer. "Or is it all ... a surprise?"

[Ranooki Stryder]

Ranooki couldn't help laughing at Katja's playfulness. She was good at her job for what she had seen, and she was a lot of fun, and the night was still young. The brunette loved that, a whole lot. Life was too short not to make the best of attractive opportunities, whether business or pleasure, or both as the extremely hot blonde next to her was a testimony to.

She grinned at the blonde's response. "Good. I don't like making hot women wait, unless it's part of the game."

She winked back, for she did like being a wicked tormentor in intimate settings. Public sexiness rarely provided the opportunity to take too much time. Both had their appeal, really.

She caught the expression on Katja's face as the limo began its quick but smooth ride. The mechanics' appreciation was something the associate could understand. Vankar would rarely admit it; but he was better at picking speeders of various kinds since they had become friends years ago.

"We're going to my favorite hide that's not a hole in the wall," she explained with a wolfish grin, enjoying how the blonde was leaning closer. It's the Red Shadow Club. Private booth, and a real good DJ and liquor selection."

She brought her face as close to Katja's as she could without outright kissing her.

"We can be as indecent as we want."

She claimed the blonde's mouth without further ado, the fingers on her leg trailing up just under the edge of the short dress.

Katja was trouble and she liked it.