Set Fire to the Rain

[Haranea]

Finding the right balance between crowded places that made it easy to disappear, and backwater hell holes where no one chasing her would go, but where locals might be too curious, had been a pain in Haranea's ass since the day she had escaped her creators. Life as a lab rat had trained her to be greatly resilient, but it didn't mean she had much expectations for quality of life. Needles, tests, surgeries, hardcore combat lessons, had been her lot in life for the first ten years of her existence. While she looked in her twenties, she had no memories until hitting her teenage years. She had always known she had been created as some sort of clone, eventually turned cyborg for whatever research her creators were working on.

She had never been able to learn who had hired them as private scientists. Her instincts had told her imperial sooner than later, although the need to hire privately seemed bizarre given some things she had heard. She doubted it had anything to do with the Alliance. She had been on their territory a few times; had even considered applying as some sort of refugee somewhere, but eventually decided against it. The more she would reveal herself, the more at risk she would be. She had broken free from her visible chains, but invisible ones remained, preventing her from living her life to the fullest in a way.

The thought made the redhead (https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/000/475/522/large/jon-lee-bountyhunterchick.jpg?1424073140) smirk as she disembarked the shuttle that took her to her newest destination. She was alive and knew how to do maintenance on all her cybernetic pieces well enough. The one perk about how they wanted her to be a stealth and deadly thing was that she had no chip locator. She had made sure of that in discreet ways prior to making a run for her life. Her creators hadn't want to be traceable from her, and they didn't want to risk being hacked by anyone.

Kivax VI was a hub of criminal activity right at the edge of Hutt space, which made it not as horrible as Hutta or as criminal as Nar Shaddaa. It was on the small side; but it was crowded enough to offer options. She needed money, and was still hoping to get enough to eventually buy her own ship; so she'd have easier means to travel and a place to live no matter what. For now, she hoped that finding easy jobs whether for loading cargo or even better, to go scare or kill some easy targets, would happen sooner than later.

[Marc Ardsul]

Ardsul (https://www.ujackets.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/mark-wahlberg-transformers-the-last-knight-jacket-1.jpg) adjusted the pack over his shoulder and gazed out at the bustle of scum frequenting the spaceport. With a sigh, he felt the exhaustion of a long space flight, muscles on edge ready to disobey movement, just wanting to find a place to lay down and get some real rest instead of resting on uncomfortable seating during the flight. His hand ran through his unruly hair before rubbing his face, trying to force some wakefulness to deal with this planet.

There wasn't any work that the shuttle's pilot had for him to pay for the flight over to the next stop and he was fresh out of creds. He'd have to find something else on the hellhole he got stuck on. The only benefit of this planet is not being stranded further in Hutt Space so his chances of finding some legal work was higher despite not paying as much. Just had to do the leg work and asking the lead deck hand here if there was something Marc could do to get enough money for a nights stay to start.

Plodding down the ramp, he was shoulder bumped by Nikto and instinctively pull his pack closer, checking if anything was rifled through. The pockets were still closed and his ID and rations were still in his jacket. Even his empty credit stick was still there.

He adjusted his footsteps and kept an eye on the guy, weaving around others that disembarked the shuttle. He did the same move on a redhead he remembered seeing onboard, but the Nikto grabbed his arm and hissed with pain. Marc was surprised by that and wondered if the woman had armor underneath her clothing but what surprised him further, was the reptilian inconspicuously cut her bag open and out slipped either a credit stick or some documentation while apologizing profusely. It was hard to see from here.

"Hey!" he shouted, quickly advancing towards her.

That caught the Nikto's attention and tried to back away to make a run for it ...

[Haranea]

Everything that mattered to Haranea were tucked in zipped inside pockets in her jacket. She had a few belongings, including an half broken datapad, and some empty cred sticks, and spare tools and small parts in her backpack, but nothing she could live without. Hell, she could live without most things, as long as she could get water and some ration bars or basic food. As much as being a lab rat had screwed her over, she had to recognize the survival perks.

When a Nikto bumped into her, she didn't even think or look at who or what it was, and she twisted the arm hard enough to cause a yelp and sharp pain; but not enough to pulverize bones. She had to be mindful of her physical strength, especially as she didn't want to draw attention to her, at least as much as she could prevent it.

As the intruder apologized, she glared at him; and then was caught by surprise when a man, whom she vaguely remembered having seen aboard the shuttle, called her out. Her cybernetic eyes zero-ed on him for a brief moment, but the Nikto's movement grabbed her attention more.

She saw he had some of her stuff in his hand, and without a warning, she grabbed at his throat, and slammed him into the ground. She kneed him into the face, and retrieved her belongings. He whined and crawled away for his life, while she checked the damage on her pack.

Groaning, she finished to empty the external pocket and transfer stuff into the main one. She looked up at the guy who had alerted her earlier. "Thanks for the warning," she offered with a nod.

[Marc Ardsul]

Startled, Marc skidding to stop as the woman took immediate control of the situation. He watched with awe as she body slammed him against the ground by the throat, smashed a knee in his face, and began to put her things away nonchalantly. The Nikto crawling away didn't even registered, too impressed by the woman who was thanking him?

"Uh, sure," he said with a small chuckle. Marc barely played a role in all of this. "Pretty sure you didn't need it."

He got his feet moving again towards her, eyes briefly straying to the crawling Nikto.

"I've got a feeling you would've noticed anyway."

He was sure of that. There have been a lot of capable beings that he had crossed paths with and this was a woman not to be underestimated or trifled with.

As his eyes canvased back towards the redhead, he noticed a power cell on the ground. He crouched down to retrieve it and handed it to her.

"Sure this is yours too. Can't have too many of these on you."

[Haranea]

"Correct," Haranea replied in a more deadpan tone than she had meant to use.

She shrugged off. Social skills weren't always her forte given the life she had had. Her creators hadn't needed her to be the best conversationalist in the galaxy. She had been trained to be stealthy and deadly. Being a social butterfly had had no part in her education. She had obviously picked things here and there over her travels, and interactions with other people; but not enough to make her the nicest person to chat with.

She offered an awkward smile to the man when he mentioned how she would have likely noticed anyway.

"Well, you saved me time, so thanks," she replied, finishing to put her stuff back in her pack.

When he retrieved a power cell and handed it back to her, she fetched it casually, but she appreciated it.

"Thanks," she said curtly with a nod.

"Most people wouldn't have bothered saying a thing," she noted. She didn't take this guy for some kind of wannabe savior; but it was still rare in this bloody universe to find someone bother.

[Marc Ardsul]

Marc had met a lot of practical people in his life, his sister included - though her kindness was able to shine through when she was being tough - but this woman was ... interesting. She sounded like she was just going through the motions of social etiquette. There was no warmth or even a disgruntled fuck off, since she was capable of handling herself. The redhead was just there.

The shred of humanity that he got a whiff of was when she surprisingly gave him a compliment.

"Yeah, well ... lots of asses in the galaxy. Hate being that guy that could've done something and didn't." He snorted at his past misfortunes. "Least this time I didn't get my face fucked up for it."

He gave her a lopsided grin before clearing his throat, baffled as to why he was making fun of his own misfortunes before a stranger that didn't give two creds about his bad luck.

[Haranea]

Haranea tilted her head at the man's observation. And she found his sarcasm endearing. Maybe it was because it was about the only type of humor she had really picked upon over the years, and that she had learned to appreciate.

"Reconstructive surgeries are no fun; so I'm glad," she said dryly, although she returned the lopsided grin.

After all, one of her cybernetic eye glowed red, so her jesting about such things didn't give the extensive tech making up her body away.

"You look fine; so I take it you've not got your ass handed over to you lately, or you heal damn well for a human."

That latest part was one she got angry at herself for saying it; but whatever. She wasn't taking it back.

[Marc Ardsul]

The woman's mannerisms were a puzzle. She reacted to his joke with the same expression but her comment sounded monotone, as if reading off a script. Course if someone had to have their eye replaced, Marc could understand the dry humor. He'd been lucky that none of his past injuries required cybernetic enhancements.

Her next comment came with little surprise. There were plenty of near humans throughout the galaxy.

"Yeah. Been awhile," he confirmed. "And I heal like shit. For a human."

His mouth parted in a wider smile to let her know he took no offense. He also wasn't going to press the woman for who or what she was as it wasn't his business.

"So ... since you're definitely okay, and I'm okay, I should probably let you be. Sure you got things to do on such a welcoming planet like this, eh?" He chuckled.

[Haranea]

Haranea had always felt pulled into different directions when it came to interactions in the bigger world, instead of her lab rat years. She wanted to experience more, even at the risk of being awkward despite training; but keeping to herself was the most practical option, especially as a fugitive now.

She couldn't help laughing at the man's jesting about healing like shit.

"Well, then I caught you on a stellar day when you didn't get the shit beaten out of you."

Dry if not very dark humor was about the one kind she knew how to handle. It had been something she had learned to use and enjoy in the privacy of her mind even before she had been sent off for a few selected missions.

"Yeah, I bet we're both going to be busy as hell around this.... Place," she groaned, giving an unimpressed look at their surroundings.

She really hoped that she'd find some easy bucks to make, and soon.

"Hopefully you won't have to get into too much trouble being a decent person, for the rest of the day."

[Marc Ardsul]

He couldn't help laughing at her response that tired lines smoothed out and Marc felt like his life was normal for one brief instant. Marc calmed himself and coughed, reality setting in that he found himself on this shit hole of a planet.

"Yeah," he agreed about not getting into any more trouble for the day. "Course this could end up being a permanent residence if I can't find some quick creds to get outta here."

With a shrug, he adjusted the strap on his shoulder and gave her a quick downtrodden half smile, the kind that reflected that someone was resigned to their fate. "I wish you better luck for the rest of the day, Miss."

[Haranea]

She should just be on her way.

She shouldn't ask for any sort of joint job hunt, anything that involved someone else.

He could be a liability. He might become a target because of her.

It was just a bad idea.

She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She smiled, almost a little sadly.

"I wish you great luck," she said before walking away.

It only lasted a few steps before she turned back, hoping he would still be there when she did.

"I'm also looking to make some quick creds," she admitted, feeling weirdly vulnerable as she did so.

She looked at him and mustered confidence she didn't really feel at the moment.

"Why don't we team up?"

[Marc Ardsul]

Marc had only watched her take two steps before turning in the opposite direction, accepting the end of the encounter. He was not one to hover around other beings and accepted events as they unfolded. The Bortras native was a wandering soul and very few spirits in the galaxy rarely stuck around for more than a few shared words or glances.

It was why he visibly startled at hearing her voice again that manged to carry over the crowd. If he were just a few meters ahead, Marc wondered if he would have been out of ear shot.

He turned around and his eyes worked through the crowd to focus on her, unprepared for what she said next. Marc's initial thought was to decline the offer because he didn't want to be a burden to her. He could barely take care of himself at this point. Why drag someone in on his personal self exiled hell?

But instinct told him to say ...

"Yeah?"

He appeared curious, but also wary that this capable woman wanted to team up on making money together when she clearly didn't need any help. Yet that uncomfortable tingle in that back of his mind stuffed down those concerns because he picked up on the subtle vulnerability in her voice.

"Think we might get more working together?" he offered as explanation.

[Haranea]

Haranea had worried he might not hear her; and she doubted she would run after him to speak her mind. She was grateful when he was still close enough to face her again. She didn't know what was up with her, to ask a stranger like that; but she felt it was the right thing to do. And she was still learning to do what she wanted, though most of the time it was mere survival and keeping to herself.

She smiled when he offered a cautious but positive response to her offer. She was still surprised by her own words, and now was as well because he seemed willing to go for it. He really had no reason to do so, she thought; but she was glad he was going along with it regardless.

"I'm not sure what options we have around here, really; but I think it might give us more opportunities if we work together."

She had seen that sometimes people were biased and that by offering a mixed duet, they could be more eager to give it a try.

"I normally do decent at blending in," she admitted with a shrug.

[Marc Ardsul]

As she spoke, Marc found his feet moving towards her - compelled to really. He came to a stop a few meters before her with a thoughtful expression. "Just depends on what opportunities we're willing to do. Cuz there's a lot of potential."

Her next response was confusing to Marc wondering if it had to do with him finding out she wasn't entirely human with some upgrades.

"I'm sure you do but sometimes things happen we can't control." Like the attempted mugging he tried to stop and really didn't need to.

He smiled an extended a hand, figuring introductions were in order if they were actually going to work together. "Marc by the way."

[Haranea]

Harena felt some weird thing, something close to hope, as the man stepped closer to her. They were in the middle of some random hell hole, just two strangers who would have likely never talked to each other, if it hadn't been for a short string of events. She didn't understand how things were turning out, but she was glad for the direction.

"As long as I don't work as a stripper or a prostitute, I kinda don't care."

She was thinking there might be a lot of docking work available with how many people used this place as a practical pit stop at the edge of Hutt Space.

She smiled back and accepted his handshake, as often careful not to crush his bones. She was still working on that now that she had more contact with other living beings that went beyond the verbal, or her being the lab rat.

"I'm Nea."

She was surprised she hadn't used her usual alias. Granted, she hadn't given him her full real name, but it was still something.

[Marc Ardsul]

He laughed, a strong laugh that was born from the pit of his stomach with such force that it carried over the din of the crowd. His eyes twinkled with deep understanding since pursuing those avenues of revenue were absurd. "We're in agreement that stripping and prostitution are off the table."

As he lowered his hand, Marc nodded with a thin smile. "Well Nea, we should probably hit the streets before we end up sleeping on them."

Marc squinted and looked around. "Could start hitting up docking bays see if they need some quick, cheap labor. Had success with cantinas in the past too."

He looked to Nea and puffed out his chest with faux pride. "Best dishwasher here. Just so you know."

[Haranea]

She couldn't help laugh as he did the same. That was one hell of a random nonsense in the middle of nowhere to have them meet and join forces even though they had only met a few minutes ago. She didn't know what to make of it, but sure as hell she was going to take the chance.

"Good," she added with a mischievous grin.

She gestured for them to start walking, as they were discussing options.

"Docking bay sounds like a good start. It seems the area is all people shuttles, so there might be cargo sections around here."

She smirked because Hutts weren't technically that organized, but since they were just at the border, maybe locals were better at that. Keeping cargo away from travelers was a good deal to avoid theft, or to keep eyes away from criminal activity.

"Best dishwasher? Good to know."

She had waited a few tables in the recent past.

"As long as I don't end in fights with disgusting patrons, I carry plates like no other, and am a decent barkeep."

The crowd was only vaguely thinning out after they took a few turns, making her guess they were going in the right direction, especially when she saw large hover-sledges milling around.

She spotted a few Trandoshan guards near one gate. She could beat those in a fight, but that was often a telltale sign. And she was here to get a job, not break arms.

Further away she spotted humans and Rodians arguing and she got curious. She nodded towards them to catch Marc's attention, wondering whether this might be useful to them.

[Marc Ardsul]

"Yeah," he agreed, eyes squinting to take in the hustle and bustle. "Rather keep this adventure fight free. Don't mind finishing it if we don't start it, of course."

Marc really did try to keep out of trouble and especially more so with his new acquaintance. Who was giving him a curious look and he follow her line of sight. The group looked roughed up. A couple had prominent bacta patches and one of the humans had a plasto-cast on his arm.

"What the ...?"

He looked at Nea. "You sure this is a good idea?"

As they moved closer they caught a significant part of the conversation.

"... gonna space your ass when we get outta here. Had ta fuckin' git inna fight. And now? Busted arm. Two in jail and Nelee is takin' a bacta bath!" The human that sounded very much in charge flicked the Rodian's mouth. "We're fucked if we can't get outta here in time."

Marc look contemplative. "Well if we can keep a low profile, maybe we can do the hauling and make a few credits. Group's too banged up to really cause us much of a problem."

He stopped and looked to Nea. "What'cha think?"

[Haranea]

Haranea smirked and nodded. She'd rather avoid getting into trouble as well. She knew that she always risked being hunted wherever she went, despite having done a good job at leaving no trail, or misleading ones behind her in the past months. She couldn't be too prudent though; but that didn't mean she'd be a doormat if someone picked up a fight with her.

"That's how I operate too," she confirmed.

She was hoping that the group of banged up idiots might be a way for them to get some easy job as replacements. That was one of the good things about this type of place. The turnover was huge and people had to stay on schedule. So it could mean blending in as well as easy credits.

She shrugged at Marc's question. "That's the best I can come up with right now."

As they approached she was glad to see that her intuition might prove right. She was thinking exactly what her new partner said aloud shortly after.

"I say we do that. They're on a schedule, so they might just shut up about seeing a girl offer to help."

And in such places what looked human wasn't necessarily really human either, given the amount of near-humans in the galaxy.

"I'd still suggest you be he one to speak first though."

With an all male group, it could still pay off not to waltz in unless she wanted to pick a fight from the get go.

[Marc Ardsul]

Marc nodded and was mustering up the nerve to approach the group. He had no problem doing it, he just wanted it to go as smoothly as possible and avoid a fight. Nea did have a point that they were off schedule and might be willing to shed some credits to not get in trouble with whoever their boss was.

"All right. Here we go," muttered Marc and immediately plastered a pleasant smile onto his face.

He held out his arms so they could see he carried no weapons and wasn't looking for any trouble.

"Who the fuck dis?" groused one human to another.

"Fuck if I know." The large human tapped Marc on the chest. "Who you?"

He grimaced since the tap stung but he let it pass without comment. "Not trying to be a pest, okay? Just ... we overheard the bit of a trouble you're in.. Thought we could help."

He nodded to the broken arm. "We could be extra hands for some small compensation to get you back on track."

The Rodian snorted. What's it to ya? Maybe they're with Anfva and lying.

"Naw. Just broke. Need some credits so we can eat and maybe get a room for the night," he corrected with a disarming smile. "Me and my girl are just down on our luck. Not as bad you all, but maybe we can help each other?"

[Haranea]

Haranea had significantly improved when it came to her social skills; but she knew she could still be fairly awkward and easy to pick a fight. And she really wanted to blend in and stay under the radar, so keeping her mouth shut could be the way to go more often than not. Operating in the world of her own accord instead of following strict training that had included a tight leash had opened as many doors as it had been confusing on a regular basis.

She already had her hands perfectly visible the instant before Marc did the same so the group knew they came peacefully. The irony was that Haranea was a weapon; but that was another story.

She let her unexpected partner do the talking. She could tell they were suspicious, and likely with a big bruised ego about whatever had happened to leave them all banged up and behind.

One of them stared at her. "Is she even useful?" He asked Marc.

The redhead smiled politely and nodded towards the broken arm and the Rodian.

"Both arms work and I'm sure I can do as much as he did."

She did her best impersonation of sweet and non-threatening. The fact a Rodian had been part of the group worked in her favor, because they weren't the most muscular people around.

[Marc Ardsul]

"Her?" His smile was adoring and honest. Marc saw first hand how well she could handle herself and he fully believed Nea when she said she could haul with the best of them. "Yeah. Strong as ronto. So we'll get ya back on schedule if ya give us a chance."

The large human that initiated the conversation looked thoughtful while stroking his chin, sizing up the two of them before looking at the human with the cast. "What'cha think?"

"Hmm," he grumbled before looking at a loss. "If we say no, it takes a fucking long time. If we say yes, it won't take as long and we might not lose money on this for every hour late. Why not?"

With a sigh, the human that appeared to be in charge grumbled. "Fine. Ya both get 20 credits an hour. 50 credit bonus if we get out on time." He lightly patted the Rodians against their chest with the back of his hand. "This bruised idiots are Aeerd and Blie. They'll show you what to do."

Marc wasn't going to question this because any money was better than what they had, which was none. "Thanks. Really."

He looked to Nea with an encouraging smile. "Let's earn that 50 bonus."

[Haranea]

Nea was glad that Marc was better at the whole social stuff than she was. She had been partially trained for that, but really her creators considered her more a weapon that struck from the shadows than a living being who could operate in a similar fashion as a fully flesh and bone individual. She had improved her way to blend in; but chatting wasn't her forte.

She did her best to appear as non-threatening as possible as the conversation went on; hoping that her approach would continue to pay off.

She couldn't suppress a tiny grin when Marc compared her to a Ronto in terms of strength. That was quite accurate and it amused her, something rarer than she liked to admit now that she had run away from her captors.

20 bucks an hour sounded good to her, because it was better than nothing.

"Damn right," she replied to her unexpected companion as the deal had been settled.

She smiled to the two beat up idiots who were now leading them to the landing pad where work awaited. The freighter was nondescript, and of medium size. As for the cargo, it was a bunch of crates, more than she had expected. Most were of medium size, with a few heavier. She could carry either she gathered based on what her cybernetic eyes scanned; but she was careful to continue playing the part.

The others were giving them, especially her, a quizzical look. So she asked where the cargo bay was, and after getting the info, she got to work directly. She made sure to exhibit behavior that were within parameter of humans or near human women of her built as not to raise any further suspicion.