Calamity Jesse & Wild Ben Merasska Presents: A Wild Night On Canto Bight

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Dusted another! Looks like the rest of turning 'round. Buncha yella bellied dogs. We're in the clear!"

The clouds of fire and dust faded into the black velvet of space, like fireworks celebrating their victory. The proximity sensor wobbled softly until it stopped as the last of the pursuers dropped out of range. Just like that, they were alone in the stars. The only sound was the hum of engines and the cooling sizzle of the laser cannons on the other end of the turret. Satisfied, she let body untense and pulled herself free of the tiny seat and dropped straight down the chute to the decking below.

"Those Scyk boys know they can't keep up with the Bette. They'd just get dusted like their friends."

With a haughty laugh Jesse Buchanan grabbed her hat from the aft hatch lever where she'd left it before taking care of all that excitement up above and placed it back on top of her crown of white hair, pulling the brim down just right to get the fit just right. The spurs on her boots tinged loudly as she moved down the passage toward the cockpit, past the empty gunner and communications stations and through the small door and up to the singular pilot seat at the head of the mighty warship.

"And you said we'd never outrun the Shinghalla Cartel without a full crew, and I told you we'd be fine without Turk and Bynn. Better off I reckon, were my exact words I think. A poor girl might think you don't trust her, huh Ben?"

Draping her arms over the back of the pilot chair she tousled the red curly locks on the other side.

[Ben Merasska]

Ben slowly looked over to Jesse, his face gleaming with sweat, eyes wide, and his mouth a thin line.

"We survived?"

He looked around slowly, as if taking in that he and Jesse were in fact not space dust required every iota of his concentration, until Jesse's hand on his head gripped slightly.

The pain quite literally yanked him back into focus.

"Ahahaha," he said laughed nervously. "W-well, I was—I guess I was wrong, wasn't I?"

The hand loosened, and Ben felt relieved, and alternately shocked that he could feel relief around a woman so blatantly dangerous as Jesse. His relief disappeared as she tousled his hair again.

"What are we gonna do with the loot?" he asked. "If that's the last we see of the Scyks, I'll eat my jumpsuit."

[Jesse Lockhart]

"And in one piece, no less."

A quick glance over her shoulder through the portal gave her a good view of the co-pilot console. Hull integrity was green across the board. The shield emitters, on the other hand, were shades of yellow and red. Definitely going to need an overhaul to get all of them working again properly. Nothing they won't be able to afford once the job was done. Especially now that they were only splitting in two ways.

"You're really something else, Ben Merasska. You really know how to use that yoke, dontcha?" She slipped in beside the chair, letting her lips get real close to his ear. So close. Almost touching. "You'll have to show me sometime... After we cash in this haul!" Jumping back up she stood back up and leaned against the wall beside the doorway, her arms crossed and a cocky smile on her face.

"The Heart of Hapes will get handed off to our client for our big paycheck, and the rest of the haul we'll have to sell off on our own time. I never in all my years pictured myself a jewel thief, but I can't say that it doesn't suit us. There's a bit of mystery and romance to it. Jewel thief, sneaking through the night to steal hearts and diamonds. Ha! Pays a lot better than running nerfs that's for damn sure."

[Ben Merasska]

Ben froze and could have sworn he could feel Jesse's lips by his ear; he didn't move. He was pretty damn sure that his flightiness amused Jesse more than anything else, which accounted for the constant teasing and touches.

"Now that our lives aren't in danger, Jesse, d'you mind telling me where we're supposed to drop off this Heart? If we take any longer to leave, when the Scyks come back, and they will come back, our jump point will be as bright as an engine flare, and probably just as useful."

He risked a glance over to the young woman and caught her eye. She smirked widely, one corner of her mouth drifting up and stretching her lips. Ben was glad she was so fond of smirking; if she smiled, he thought the resemblance to a nexu would have been too much to bear.

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Vicar Torgenstein gets the diamond. We're to make the exchange on Cantonica. We ain't talking rural, podunk Cantonica. We're going to the City That Never Sleeps; Canto Bight. City of Lights, Sin City, and a hundred other names. I've seen holos, but I reckon it's even better in person."

It was impossible to hide the widening of her smile. The excitement in her voice threatened to blow out her teeth. Jesse liked to think this is what she'd always wanted since she was a little girl, but she knew that a was a lie. When she was a little girl all she wanted was to be rich and powerful, and settle down with a handsome man. Two out of three ain't bad.

"Let's blaze trails, partner. I'll get the Nav Computer set for Cantonica. The sooner we get there the sooner we get paid."

Sauntering from the doorway she slipped into the co-pilots seat. It felt a little alien to be here. Usually she was were Ben was sitting. She considered herself to be a good pilot, but Ben was something else. Jesse also didn't exactly trust him to handle the turret. She'd always felt that he was a big softy on the inside. That made it all the more fun to tease him. With the coordinates generated and set into the flight plan, she sent it up to the pilot's station.

[Ben Merasska]

"Canto Bight?" Ben whistled lowly.

"Reckon there's no better place to transfer loot than a place whose business is transferrin' loot; kinda poetic too," he said, getting to work on warming up the hyperdrives and aligning their vector with the flight path recommended by the computer. "No better place to lose all that loot either, I guess."

Jesse worked the nav-computer like a seasoned pilot, even executing some of the calculations herself, though it seemed less of a cerebral thing and more of experience and practice. A few switches, a couple dials and buttons, and the bright tunnel of hyperspace stretched into infinity in front of them. Ben leaned back in his seat and pondered what it meant that he was literally looking at forever just outside the viewport.

"Torgenstein on the up-and-up? Seem to remember some talk about a Hutt and a promise of revenge." Ben cracked a smile when Jesse looked over at him with a hard edge in her eye. "Happens to everyone. It's how I got to workin' with you, after all."

[Jesse Lockhart]

"What's the point of having all that money if ain't spendin' it, Benny-boy? I'm sure as death not gonna leave a place like Canto Bight without dropping some credits 'fore we leave."

Leaning back in the co-pilot seat she was able to turn her head and look into the cockpit, with her arms bent back behind and bracing the back of her neck as to not disturb her wide brimmed hat. The hat was, after all, almost the entirety of her personality.

"Torgenstein is an... old acquaintance of mine. Rich old man. A little funny, I reckon. Supposedly religious but I would never peg him for an actual god fearin' man. Owns a casino; The Stargazer. I have no doubts we will get our credits without a fuss. Might haggle on the final price but he was quite desperate to get the Heart back in his hands after he lost it. Shoulda seen the look on his face when he called me. Like he'd lost a child."

[Ben Merasska]

"Well, however he feels about it, that thing nearly caused us to die, several times. I counted. And it just made us both a lot of money."

He thought about it for a second, his smile (that wry thing) still sealed on his face.

"A lot of money. Did you see the cargo hold? It's like an Imperial vault down there. Maybe 'cause we did raid an Imperial vault. Or the Scyk boys did." He frowned thoughtfully. "If we raided the raiders, does that mean we essentially raided what the raiders raided?"

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Raider is too kind a word for them. Shingalla are a bunch of Hutt lovers. I reckon they were headed back to Hutt Space 'fore we got 'em. Would have gotten a lot more if that blasted second Gozanti hadn't shown up. Probably there for a hand off. I'm going to squeeze Tongenstein dry for that crap intel."

That had almost been the end of them. If it wasn't for some quick thinking, and dumping the slow baggage presented by her former crewmen, her and Ben would never have gotten out of there in time. Two more minutes and the Scyk's would have blown them up before they cleared the airlock. The Black Bette could handle one broken old Gozanti, but a second with a full starfighter compliment was a lot more than they signed on for. Hell, she almost dumped Ben along with the others, but she was the mind of forward thinking woman who knew it was a long flight back to Canto Bight and she was going to need the company.

"It's a long trip to Canto Bight. What do you reckon we should do to pass the time?"

She was out of her chair in a heartbeat and back behind the pilot's chair once again, leaning over it and looming above the ginger pilot.

"Arm wrastlin'? Sabacc? Maybe a nap?"

[Ben Merasska]

As her shadow loomed over him, Ben could only think that perhaps even a nexu didn't have as many teeth in their smile as Jesse did.

"How... how a game of sabacc?"

Maybe he'd make it to Cantonica, or maybe Jesse'd get board and come up with an idea that required all the loot and so she'd space him in orbit.

For a fleeting moment, he thought about Turk and Bynn, aboard that old Gozanti, and thought that perhaps, they might have gotten off lighter than he did.

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Gamblin' our shares seems a little lackluster when we're both loaded. Gonna need to raise the stakes some other way."

Stepping up beside the sitting Ben she planted a hand on his chest and pushed him back against the seat while she stretched over the top of his lap and pulled open a compartment beside the yoke and pulled from it's depths a pack of sabacc cards, using the hand on his chest for leverage and making every exaggerated motion she could to drag her body across his; especially as she pulled her body back.

"Here. Shuffle it up gooood. I'll grab us a drink."

Tossing the pack intentionally into Ben's delicate lap she sauntered back into the main cabin with the noisy clicking of her boot heels. The Black Bette lacked a lot of things, like adequate bed space and positive morale, but there was no way in tarnation it was ever going up into space without a full compliment of booze. She wouldn't be a proper Longwind gal if she didn't have something refreshin' to start the night off with. A little bourbon, some herbal aromatics, and a just a touch of mint. The labels on the bottles didn't particularly matter. It was all cheap stuff. She wasn't sending good stuff up a starship to get blown to smithereens. Although, now that she was thinking about it, now that she had the capital it was going to be time for some upgrades. There wasn't a lot of space in this compact weapon platform she called a ship, but maybe a full bar wouldn't be out of the question. It might help that morale problem.

Closing the compartment with a knowing wink at the stronger stuff hiding in the back, she headed back to the front with two mismatched glasses and presented one to the pilot, who was fumbling with the cards and unprepared. Too bad, she was going to play her hand. What was he going to do, run out the door?

"Strip Sabacc then?"

[Ben Merasska]

"Strip sabacc?!"

Ben's voice rose a few octaves in pitch.

"I, uh, why not some... other game? Like regular sabacc. What's wrong with regular sabacc? The sabacc we got plays pretty good, don't it?"

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Come on, Merasska, we are celebratin'!"

Slamming the drink down on the console almost threatened to spill the viscous liquid all over the controls. The dried stains on the cast-plast dash told a story that many a spilled drink had come before it.

"It ain't like it's nothing I haven't seen before. 'specially after that cold night on Kijimi when we lost the dang heat."

By the Emperor's Black Bones this man was impossible! All that cake and he didn't want to play. The chase just made her want him more. Like a predator eyeing it's prey, she narrowed her eyes over the top of her glass for a prolonged and uncomfortable stare before finally taking a drink from the refreshing beverage. It was, of course, mostly straight liquor. Strong, but refreshing. Especially if you've grown used to shooting the unfiltered grain liquor found on backwater worlds like Longwind.

Anything less was practically water.

[Ben Merasska]

"I'll have you know that Kijimi was not my fault!" Ben shot back, his expression a fluid mix of fear, consternation, and reverie. "I said the climate controls were faulty—"

He was cut off by the sound of Jesse shuffling the cards, a hungry, calculating look on her face. She looked like she was having fun. He glanced at the chronometer, and wondered if maybe he could actually stall long enough that they'd arrive before she'd really sink her teeth into him.

He caught the first sabacc card she tossed his way deftly, a resigned feeling of impending doom rising up in him. Even if he won (and despite her personality, Jesse Buchanan was in fact fit), he wasn't sure it would be a real victory. Either way, he'd be playing into her hands. Literally.

He glanced down at the card in his hand, and back up to Jesse, who leaned forward and kissed her teeth with a sound that had to be practiced.

Yep. He was doomed.

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Funny how finnicky and easily broken those controls were."

Tossing a card at Ben she pulled one for herself and immediately flipped it up in her cupped hand for a peak. Low and behold it was a Mistress card. That was an excellent start for the first round and it was hard to keep that glee inside as he smiled over the top of the card at her opponent. Dealing the second cards out she hesitated a moment and willed the card to be what she wanted, staring at it's back for several seconds before finally flipping it over to reveal... not the card she wanted. Damn. It was a nine! So goddamn close. Still a good hand but not right on the money just yet. It might not be good enough for a professional Sabacc Den but since they weren't betting or bluffing here and the only winning was keeping yourself out the buff, it would do just fine.

"Need another card there, Benny-boo? It won't do you any good."

[Ben Merasska]

He glanced up at her and gave a tremulous smile.

"Ah, yeah. I need one."

He'd gotten a Master of Coins and an Idiot. Not ideal, but it could have been far, far worse.

'I am so boned,' he thought to himself.

[Jesse Lockhart]

Grabbing another card from the deck she held it out for him to take, and nodded her chin toward the untouched glass on the dash when their eyes met over the top of the card. There was no way in the seven hells she was going to be the only one drinking today. It's a celebration, dammit!

"Mistress and nine makes twenty-two." She exclaimed triumphantly as she flipped her cards over. The lack of a table took a lot of the fun out of slamming your cards down but she made due by aggressively flipping the cards over and holding them up for him to see. "Whatcha got?"

[Ben Merasska]

Ben almost reluctantly flipped his own cards.

"Master and an Idiot and an Eight makes twenty two," he breathed, eyes wide. He glanced up at Jesse in disbelief, and absently took a swig from the bottle. "Uh, what's the rule for a tie? It's that clothes, uh, clothes stay on, right?"

[Jesse Lockhart]

An angry pout took her face as she saw his hand played out. A tie! Goddamn tie! Turns out the little ginger pilot was lucky are more things than just flying. Fella had a penchant for always coming out on top of situations he shouldn't. Jesse was going to have to think quickly if she was going to win this game of Sabacc. Although, now that she thought about it, she would win either way but she'd like to get a few layers off of Ben before the end. Her frown morphed back into a smile as a solution hit.

"A tie? I say, what are the chances? That means we both lose. Get it off, Merasska."

After a series of zippers and buttons her vest came off and was tossed over the back of the co-pilots seat in the next room. It's a shame there wasn't a second chair in here; although if her plan was a success they would be sharing the pilots seat soon enough.

"Your turn to deal."

[Ben Merasska]

She stared at him while taking off the vest, almost daring him to stare back. He was struck almost dumb, and only gathered himself when she turned to toss her vest into the other room. By the time she'd turned around, his own jacket was off.

"Your turn to deal," she said, satisfaction oozing from her voice. As well it should be, as he was pretty much playing right into her hands. He dealt the first cards, his mind whirling around thoughts and ideas for getting out of this situation. At this rate, why, they might even...

A Two of Staves.

At this rate, they might even take off all their clothes... what was wrong with that again? Jesse looked at him and smirked. Oh. There it was. That hungry, hunting look.

He dealt again. This time, he got a Four of Coins.

Well, fuck.

[Jesse Lockhart]

She let him deal out both of the cards before she took them and flipped them up, giving the boy a haughty look over the tops before allowing her eyes to flick down to look at the cards in her hands. The first thing that jumped out were matching suits. Flasks. And then the sinking realization as she recognized the two cards as the Mistress and Master.

"Well ain't it just your lucky day. Bombed out." She tossed the cards down in a fit and grabbed the front of her shirt. There were plenty of other layers to lose first. Gunbelt. Boots. However, she knew this was a surefire way to get Ben more in to the spirit of the thing. She took one button off at a time, while looking Ben straight in the eye. His vision waivered for a moment, moving upward to look at her hat in a pleading sort of way. How cute, for him to think that was an option.

"The hat stays on."

The last of the buttons came free and the starchy white blouse was pulled free tossed into the corridor to land on top of the previously discarded vest. She was starting to regret her decision as the creeping cool of space began to attack her newly exposed skin, but she didn't let it show on her face. Besides, if embarrassment could generate heat than those red cheeks would keep her plenty warm. Ben seemed completely at odds with the sight of the black and red, lacy, padded, and heavily supportive arrangement she had on. As he should be. The damn thing cost more than the rest of her outfit, might as well get to gawkin.

"My turn." She ripped the deck out of his hands, jarring him back from whatever world he'd let his mind escape to and began shuffling the cards back into the deck before dealing out two again. "Let's try to have a real round this time."

Moderation. Seven of Staves. It was a start, and maybe she could build it into a good hand.

[Ben Merasska]

He glanced over at the chronometer. Not good. They'd only been playing for... two minutes?!

He glanced over to Jesse and her... lacyness... and that wide brimmed hat that would be staying on...

He took a look at his card and blanched. He couldn't help it. How'd he get the Star? Jesse didn't seem to be too happy with her first card, but she had a much better gambling face than he did. She dealt his second card. His eyes bugged out.

The face of the Demise card seemingly stared at him as hungrily as Jesse did.

"I, uh... I... uh..." he flipped his cards.

[Jesse Lockhart]

This hand was garbage, and the look on Ben's face was saying mighty clear that he'd drawn something awful pleasant. She was going to need something to contest if'n she was going to even get his shirt off before her knickers hit the floor. Drawing a card from the top of the deck she flipped it up into her hand to reveal... the Master of Sabers. Good, but not good enough. Ben was holding with what he had. That made her all the more worried. Drawing another card she hoped for the best but luck wasn't exactly her strong suit. She musta had something saved in the tank because the card in her hand was the Master of Coins!

23!

"Gotcha. Sabacc!" She flipped her cards and looked overly smugly at Ben's hand, only to see the inverse point total looking back. "Come on Merasska. Your luck can't last forever." She exhaled loudly and made a big show of taking a big breath by pushing her chest out, all the while pulling her gun belt free and dropping it whole hog to the ground.

"Deal 'em out. Only so much space between us and Canto Bight, and I'm fixin' to win."

[Ben Merasska]

Jesse was looking annoyed, and Ben Merasska knew an annoyed Jesse was possibly more dangerous than an angry one; an annoyed Jesse could stew on herself until she'd contrived all sorts of nasty ways of revenging herself, while she usually just shot or killed by shooting the object of her anger.

He dealt out the cards. Balance, and of all things an Eleven of Coins. He glanced up to take stock of Jesse's own position.

[Jesse Lockhart]

Canto Bight felt like it was coming on quick. Jesse rushed the deal and immediately began grabbing more cards to cover the negatives in her hands until the two of them ran together at the head and she finally tossed her cards down in a hard won victory. It felt earned this time. What a round. So many draws. She had to admit, that she was afraid he was going to toss down a Fool's Gambit there at the end and take it all from her. Even Merasska couldn't be that lucky. Right?

"Hurry on up there. I don't want to be the only one freezing in their unmentionables. You've got a lot to lose still, boy. Let's get you there."

Pants pants pants please! I swear I'm gonna see them hams today...

[Ben Merasska]

Ben sighed and pulled off his shirt, without nearly any of the pageantry that Jesse had put into her own clothing's removal. Thankfully he'd worn his sleeveless undershirt, though from the look on Jesse's face she wasn't nearly as thankful. Almost immediately he felt the bite of chilled recycled atmosphere on his skin and took a drink of the cheap stuff she'd pulled out for celebrating.

It burned down, but warmed up his gut some, so it was something. How long until Cantonica? Ugh. At this rate, they'd finish the game before they arrived, and Jesse'd probably finish him.

He kept his eyes on her hands (for the most part) while she shuffled the deck, but she was looking a bit more serious now. He blanched again. If she started getting really competitive he might not even last to the end of the game!

"S'been a while since I've slept in an actual bed," he admitted. "Aside from some stiff cot with a thin blanket. A hotel stay sounds nice about now."

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Hotel? You're dreamin' too small. We are gonna get the biggest, ritziest suite at the most expensive place in the city. I deserve that much, and I ain't settlin' for less."

If they left Canto Bight with anything more than nothing in their pockets than this whole trip was for nothing. Sure, she could use the credits further down the road but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. You can't even land in Canto Bight without an invitation from the city or a patron. A day like this will probably never shine on the likes of them ever again. It was a mighty step up from all those years ago, back when little Delores was busy darning socks and patching knees, all the while looking up and knowing there was more out there, that she deserved more. This was it. The culmination of a dream, and she'd be damned if she was going to let Ben get in the way of getting what she wanted.

And right now he WAS what she wanted.

---A HALF HOUR LATER---

The hands were coming in hard now. They were both playing to win and they were rapidly running out of garments to lose. The last hand had left them both in only their undergarments, much to Jesse's infuriation. The man still had that ratty undershirt on. Come on, give a gal an appetizer for the meal that was to come. Her own underthings left very little to the imagination. There was more material and fabric sitting on her head than on what she had on the rest of her body.

"Deal 'em up Merasska. I'll 'freshen up our drinks."

Grabbing their empty glasses she headed back down the corridor, being sure to walk on the pads of her feet so that her assets were properly raised and presented. If you're gonna give a show might as well make it the best one. The glasses were filled back up, but this time with a considerable more alcohol than in the previous glasses. Just a little mint to hide the flavor. When they got to Canto Bight they would have to invest in some proper top shelf liquor. That shit probably tastes like rainbows and vibroblades.

Heading back into the cockpit she resumed her place against the wall and handed off the drink, chugging down half of the glass herself before setting it down and taking her cards. Decent hand. Close to bombing but not so close that he couldn't beat her with a decent hand of his own. Damn. This was going to be pushing her luck. There was no other way. This was it. Do or die. She couldn't let him win now. She needed to win. She wanted to win. Taking another card she slipped it into her hand, and there was no stopping the krayt smile that spread across her face. Flipping them over she stuck her tongue out into the corner of her mouth and pulled her hat back on her head.

"Pure Sabacc! Ha!"

[Ben Merasska]

Damn that walk. Damn it.

Jesse's last few hands were absolutely killer, and somehow, somehow, he'd barely managed to keep his innocence intact by properly losing a few hands. But now, all he had left were his thermals and his undershirt, and the thermals did nothing to hide what that walk did. His plan, if one could call it a plan, was actually coming off pretty nicely; stall the game as long as possible, win and lose at the right times to keep things just about even, and get stupid drunk enough that he could pass out and be useless to her perverted and debauched designs.

The drunkenness part wasn't quite as along, as he was still reacting quite strongly.

"Pure Sabacc!" she crowed. Ben glanced down at her cards (yes, the cards!) and then back up at her face. She had that nexu smile going, but also only that lacy bustier-thing and a set of knickers that couldn't be used to blow one's nose. He glanced at the chronometer, and then back at her, where her face was getting steadily more confident.

"Wait!" he said. "Ain't pure sabacc where you get it on the first two cards? It's just sabacc otherwise, right?" The amusement drained from her face and she leveled him with a flat look. "I'm serious! Ain't there a rule card in that box?"

Jesse reached over and plucked his cards from his hands. Well, shit.

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Don't get all pedantic on me, Merasska." She replied angrily as he tried to defend his ever weakening position, holding his cards up like a shield until she pulled those from his hand. She was half tempted to grab him by the collar of his undershirt and slap some sense into him. If he kept fighting back like this she would push him down and rip the losers clothes off him herself. Grabbing the deck she prepared to slip all the cards back in when she noticed the three he had been holding. The Fool, One of Stave, Two of Staves.

"What kind of shit is this? A Fool's Array? You've got to be shittin' me!" The cards became projectiles tossed back at his chest to flutter off into the corners of the cockpit. Her hand raised in a fist, every instinct telling her to be the sore loser she wanted to be, to hit him in the face for having the GALL to play such a hand, to rain on her parade, to take from her what she deserved. She'd take it from him, one way or another... and then her hand softened and her smile came back. It was not a friendly smile.

Taking advantage of the recoiling flinch he was in, hands up, ready for a blow, she instead slipped straight on to his lap, straddling her legs around his waist and the sides of the chair.

"Oh no, it looks like I've done lost, Ben. I just don't know which bit to take off next. Maybe you can help me? I'm much too cold and drunk to do it myself..." She asked coyly, taking a suddenly more innocent demeanor as she grabbed his arms and forced his hands around her, pressing his fingertips toward the center of her back where the singular clasp under considerable strain sat ready to spring open with little provocation.

[Ben Merasska]

Danger! Danger, Ben Merasska! DANGER!

With Jesse pinning him to the seat, he had absolutely zero avenues of escape. He'd been planning on folding that hand and hopefully dragging the next one or two out, but her discovery and the final loss of patience had put paid to that plan. And now here he was, with a beautiful woman in his lap, a beautiful woman asking for his help in taking off the last of her clothing, and all he could think was:

'I'd better give her the best orgasms of her life, or she'll space me the second we get into orbit.'

With that thought, he found the clasps of her bustier, and in the space of a second it was off her and in his hands. Her nipples hardened in the chilled air, right in front of his eyes, but he didn't move. His thoughts were moving parsecs, trying to figure out how to play this so that she wouldn't kill him after; if he was too good, or tried too hard, he wouldn't put it past her to kill him or something else just so that no one else would get what she'd got. If he were bad, she'd probably kill him just on principle.

If he could play himself off as so fearful and pathetic that it wouldn't be worth even playing with him—yeah no, she'd just lowered her weight onto him and felt his wooden willy through the thermals, and there was that nexu-smile again. She'd get her enjoyment from him regardless now. He'd have to play it by ear, making sure she took enough of the lead to feel comfortable, but keeping enough that she felt there was more for her to try and grab.

Why was her body so damn perky?

"So, uh, we still have a couple more hands to play?" he breathed, glancing down at the cards that littered the cockpit.

[Jesse Lockhart]

"It don't feel like little Ben wants to play cards no more."

Jesse's reply came with a side helping of hip grinding, as she dragged herself across his lap back and forth. She tried to make it look as smooth and easy a motion as possible, but truth be told she was having a hard time reaching the ground with her feet for the necessary leverage. Her grasp on his shoulder and arm for balance was becoming increasingly tight as he continued to fight back. His eyes were moving around the cockpit like he was just looking for something else to do. Her sickly sweet voice was developing a durasteel core at it's center as began to develop a hard edge from the attempts at misdirection.

"I reckon we can find something more fun to play with... me."

She slunk her body forward, digging the hard metal piercings into what little covered his chest. She was committed now to this little defenseless girl routine. It was what usually worked on the kind of men she found in her life that were far too intimidated by her actual personality. The faux vulnerability was the go to trick, and it was not looking too successful in this moment. It cost a lot of credits to look this good, so he better look while he still had eyes!

"Don'tcha want to find where else I might have piercings?"

Her hands turned into talons grapping his body and pulling him in closer, bumping his forehead into the brim of her hat.

"Whatcha say, Pilot-Boy? You ready to fly?"

[Ben Merasska]

"Muaharfm," Ben answered, his voice warbling. "I mean..."

Her hand reached down, and his voice pitched up.

"I mean..."

She leaned in closer, her hand gripping his prick.

"We're already flying, technically."

She squeezed, prompting him to hold onto her, squeezing right back as she ground against even more fervently.

"Ah! Yes! I'm, I'm ready! Ready to fly!"

[Jesse Lockhart]

Her hand suddenly released his shoulder and grabbed him by the throat instead, gripping tightly to the sides of his throat rather than cutting off his oxygen at the front. With it she forced him up against the back of his chair. The sweet voice was gone.

"That won't so hard now was it?"

Using the very tips of her toes she lifted herself up off his lap just enough that her other hand could pull down what was left of his sweet innocence enough to let her have access to what was barely hiding beneath. If the poor boy got any harder he'd put a hole through his pants.

"I got only one rule, Merasska. You better hurt me, and I'll hurt you."

She let her fingernails dig into the sides of his throat for emphasis as she cocked back her hat on her head so that it would stop bumping off his forehead every time she looked down. He had a weird, fearful look in his eye, but it kept glancing up at the hat.

"I told'ja. The hat stays on."

And with that she pulled what little undergarments she had left to the side, let the poor boy get a peak of the matching jewelry, and then with some careful fidgeting due to the low clearance, maneuvered Ben's CR90 straight into her docking bay; and pushed down. A moan bubbled up from somewhere in her guts before she even knew it was there. Her eyes closed for only a moment, to soak in the feeling, but then they snapped back open, red razorblades looking back into his. Her hand didn't loosen on his throat for a second. Her other hand found his shoulder for leverage, and her nails dug into the flesh looking for bone.

[Ben Merasska]

Oh man. Oh man. Jesse was excited, if that wet heat meant anything. And of course she's into pain. Of course. His face was probably turning red and there was a sharp stinging on his shoulder, and all he wanted to was breathe.

"You better hurt me, and I'll hurt you," she said, and Ben grimaced.

So he pulled her down onto him, lifted up, and pulled her right back down, as hard and violently as he could. For good measure he planted his feet on the floor, giving him a bit more leverage in pumping Jesse like she was a shotgun. It probably didn't hurt, but Ben wasn't the kind of guy to purposefully hurt someone, especially during sex, though Jesse would definitely end up changing at least one part of that statement.

[Jesse Lockhart]

He was getting into the spirit of the thing but there was just something missing that nagged in the back of her mind. It was like his spirit just wasn't quite into it no matter what his body said. She needed him to find that spark, and fast.

"I said hurt me!" Her hand released his throat and slapped him across the face. The blow came much softer than she intended. Soft enough to sting but not hard enough to cause any real damage.

"Like this." Grabbing one of his hands she brought it to her breast and wrapped his fingers tightly around her nipple and pressed them down upon the soft protruding flesh; squishing it into the metal core passing through it. The painful pleasure was just right, and it spurred her own body into action as she began pivoting her hips forward, more in tandem with his own movements, trying to find that matching rhythm; and then lifting herself higher at the peaks so that she had more space to fall, slamming her body down as hard as she could with each drop. Trying to scratch that hot itch deep inside. It was only getting hotter.

[Ben Merasska]

Sex with Jesse was like, well, pretty much anything else with Jesse; wild, painful, and dangerous. All three of those things Ben Merasska tended to avoid in his life, only to have to live through them regardless. The slap did little but jar him, and she was ever so kind as to show him just how she liked to be hurt. Pain and pleasure were twined together for this woman, and it was erotic and terrifying.

He squeezed down on her nipple again, twisting a little bit this time while driving his hips up. Jesse let him know just how much she liked that with another wild smile and a moan that made his toes curl and slamming right back down on him, the wet meaty slap of their bodies crashing together cracking sharply in the cockpit.

[Jesse Lockhart]

Now he was getting in to it! The less she had to direct him the more she could focus on herself; managing breathing, keeping her legs and hips moving, and focusing on the pleasure. The two points of stimulation was good. It gave her something to latch on to. The cockpit faded away into the background as the heat in her belly increased. Clamping one hand over her mouth so he couldn't say anything to deflate the moment, she began slamming even harder, pivoting her hips as much as she could to take every inch of pleasure this position afforded. Almost there. Her eyes closed and she leaned forward, resting her forehead on his.

Jesse landed hard one more time and stopped as her body tensed together and her legs became unresponsive as they tightened around the chair. Her fingernails dug into her shoulder as she tried desperately to keep the moan inside but instead let out of a squeak as all her walls came flooding down for a moment... and then she picked right back up where she left off; her movements shaky and disorganized now but powering back up to full capacity with every rise and fall.

"Don'tchu quit on me now. That's just one, partner. I got nine more to go before you blow."

[Ben Merasska]

"Nine?!" he gasped, his incredulity overwhelming his terror for a brief moment. "Stars, woman! Please tell me you won't be choking me the whole time. I'm going to need to breathe!"

Foregoing any real answer from her, he placed his hands on her ass and gripped firmly. He stood, surprising himself with how easily he held Jesse up, but after a couple seconds he was only all to aware that Jesse was a real woman and not a stick figure. Thankfully, his idea was not to embarrass himself with an attempt at standing sex, but to turn around and set Jesse on the pilot's seat with him slightly over her, and to do it quick enough while she was still riding that high that she wouldn't try too hard to get back over him.

"Now, uh, this ride'll get bumpy, but don't strap yourself in, right? And I'd appreciate the copilot helping me out with directions." With that, he pushed the seat so that it tilted back as far as it could go, and started thrusting, grunting as his hips smashed her deeper into the seat.

[Jesse Lockhart]

The world suddenly fell apart underneath her fingertips. One moment she was riding the warm buzz of satisfaction and the next she was floating through the air, not entirely sure for a moment where she was, and only knowing that Ben was there with her. Like two souls lost in the churn. And then she was back down to reality, but not in the same form she left it. Before she was riding high on top of her magnificent steed, a conqueror; and now she was on her back, the damsel.

Jesse did not like this change. The loss of her agency. To be the one acted upon instead of the actor. He stripped away her power and she wanted it back. Hands curled into fists she was ready to take it back, and then the hammer dropped and she could only gasp in surprise. It hit again. It was so deep, this angle. There were words spoken, coming out of his dumb face, but she couldn't hear them. She felt shell shocked. The sound was muffled. Her face hardened, eyes narrowing. She wanted to reach out and get him, but he was angled away now. If only he had a collar to grab, to reestablish dominance.

"You call that fuckin', flyboy?" She said, trying to keep her voice even as it wavered with each thrust. Grabbing the backs of her knees she pulled her legs down lower, closer to her body, and further out of his way, giving him complete and unobstructed access. "Come on, hurt me. I want to feel it in my guts."

[Ben Merasska]

Ben didn't say anything, just lifted his hips until he was almost out, and then letting his weight fall back down onto her. At least she seemed to be enjoying this, which not only made him feel good for making her feel good, but also for the real fact that the better he made her feel, the more likely she wouldn't kill him out of annoyance or because it would make things easier for her.

He continued, his thrusts not coming especially fast, but each one carrying his full weight behind it. Each time he crashed down on her, it felt like she was getting wetter and wetter, and stars and skies that noise coming from her was just... wait.

He stopped and looked up and around. Was that the ship or him?

With a jolt the ship came out of hyperspace, Cantonica looming before them, a leviathan in space, and Ben yelped as he slipped and fell onto the cockpit floor from the sudden shift in momentum the inertial dampeners couldn't compensate for.

"Ah," he groaned. "And that's why we don't bone in the cockpit everyone. Not while actually flying a starship, anyway."

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Merasska!" She hollered out her throat vibrating with the intense anger that was flooding her system and turning her vision red. "You get back up here right now, you hear! I was so close!"

Sitting up she looked down at the fallen ginger and then up at the viewport. It explained the situation, but did not excuse it for one moment. Setting her feet back down on the floor she stood up, shakily at first, from the pilots seat and stood over the fallen pilot; a scowl of disappointment on her face.

"Looks like you get out of it this time..." Turning and kneeling down she positioned herself directly above his face as she reached down and grabbed him by his already softening manhood and squeezed it, her own thigh threatening to crush his face between them. "...but you still owe me a few more. Bring us into port. I'm going to go freshen up. I reckon you might want to put down a towel."

Releasing him she headed out of the cockpit, grabbing her tossed clothing as she went on her way to the cramped refresher at the back of the starship.

If that boy thought she had been rough before, he was in for a whole new galaxy of hurt when she got his hand son him next. His quota just doubled, and there was no way in blazes she was going to let him balk on his debts.

[Ben Merasska]

Ben remained silent during Jesse's tirade, and watched her walk away.

"Murha," he gasped, the sound a mix of a sob, a sigh relief, and a groan of frustration.



***



It didn't take long to land, though it was definitely strange landing the ship mostly naked and standing up. What ended up taking a while was cleaning up after landing, as he managed to skillfully avoid the white-haired woman of terror and sex while getting himself cleaned and changed and preparing himself for the undoubtedly massive hangover he'd have in the morning.

If he survived the night, that is.

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Hurry up and get dressed!" She called up from the back of the ship when she was finally satisfied that she'd watched him pilot the ship naked for long enough. There was something mesmerizing about the ass on that man. However, there was still business for them to get to. Her employer was not the sort that liked to be kept waiting, and had the kind of resources and power available to him to effectively get them blacklisted in the entire civilized galaxy. That ain't much a threat, considering she rarely came to these sorts of places but it would be one less crosshair on her back. She had plenty of them already. Still, five more seconds of looking wouldn't hurt.

Once every vestment was back in place she grabbed her blaster and slotted it into her hip holster. Canto Bight wasn't the kind of place that liked people to be armed walking around, but she wasn't going to set foot outside of the Bette without one, not with the Heart of Hapes in tow. Speaking of which, the hefty, multi-faceted gem was taken and loaded carefully into a bag. If it weren't for the big payout and potential enemy for life, she would have loved nothing more than to keep the massive diamond for herself. The way it twinkled and glowed from within. It was an impractical desire. What would she do with such a large gem? It wasn't going to fit on a ring, after all. It'd just be in a vault sitting on a pillow. Still, it'd be nice to look at. They also had all the other gems and diamonds that they got in the haul. A lot less than they could have had if they'd gotten away clean, but still a couple thousand credits worth at least.

They'd have to find a jeweler for these. For now, just the Heart.

"Here." She said, holding out the bag. "You carry the heart, and I'll watch your back."

[Ben Merasska]

Ben nodded sagaciously.

"Right. You do know that if something happens I'm using this as a weapon?" He tested the heft on the gem within the bag. One thing they didn't tell you about stealing jewelry; while the stuff wasn't heavy by itself, the weight seemed to grow exponentially with each centimeter of growth or each piece of jewelry taken. "One hit from this, and I..."

He trailed off at the look on Jesse's face.

"...I will hold it close and tender and do my utmost to see that no harm comes to it before we get the credits from Torgenstern."

He took a further precaution of stuffing the bag holding the heart into another bag, this one slung over his shoulder and half open. Inside was an RK-3 blaster pistol and a spare power pack and a few false documents, just in case.

They tromped down the ramp to the ground and he looked around; everything was quiet and nothing seemed to be that high end, least around these parts. In the distance a glow seemed to emanate into the darkening sky.

"So, which way are we going?"

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Torgenstein."

She correctly sharply, cutting him off before he could dig himself further into a hole. Jesse was already feeling incredibly jilted and did not need his wiseass comments on top of that. She needed him to survive for at least a few more hours until she could finish what they started, and then his fate would be in the hands of whichever Gods he believed in, and no doubt had already tricked and stolen from. His odds of getting off Canto Bight were getting smaller and smaller by the minute. It was almost sad to see he had no idea. Just too damn busy coming up with his goddamn one liners and picking apart every damn thing she said!

Stomping angrily down the ramp she left Ben to follow after her, from a safe distance by the sound of his footsteps. No sooner had they stepped down the ramp then they could immediately see the walls of the docking bay and above it the lights of the city illuminating the dark sky. Now she was kicking herself for being in the refresher instead of seeing the view on the way in. It must have been magical from the air!

"We're meeting Torgenstein at his casino; the Stargazer. Real ritzy place, I hear. Look, Ben. I'm gonna need you to watch that lip of yours. Torgenstein is a flat out, good for nothin', measely excuse of a man; but that man gots his pride, and he gots a lot of power and credits. You best watch how you waggle them gums or your bound to get us killed, ya hear?"

[Ben Merasska]

"I'm bound to get us killed?" Ben muttered quietly to himself in incredulity. "I am?"

He didn't push his luck any further though.

"Gotcha, don't make Torgersten mad. Got it," he said loudly. "In fact, I'll keep my mouth shut and let you do the talkin'."

Cantonica, and by extension Canto Bight, was nothing like he'd expected. The streets and byways weren't shiny and wide, and the only glitzy and bright places were the huge casinos and hotels that dominated the landscape, though the closer they got to the casinos the better the buildings looked. There weren't really 'entrances' from the ground levels; not for people who wanted to go in and gamble anyway. The regular folks seemed to make due with small little gambling parlors ensconced in small alleys with brightly lit if tiny doorways. The entrances were for employees, who had to go through guard stations and present their credentials.

The closer to the center of it all they got, the nicer everything looked and the heavier air traffic became. Ships arrived and landed on an almost constant basis, and air cars buzzed by above them, some more like yachts than speeders, the sounds of music and revelry echoing from above and falling down on the heads of the poor saps down on the ground like a gaudy rain.

"Easy to get lost in a place like this," he commented, the bag slung over his shoulder long since secured and held close. "This guy couldn't get us a landing spot closer? Doesn't seem right to me."

[Jesse Lockhart]

Jesse barely heard him, her attention was so enraptured by the sounds and lights coming from the city center. Each block brought them closer, and as they neared everything scaled with them. Buildings became grander, bigger, gaudier. Then everything was the color of marble. Gold filigree everywhere. The crowds grew in size, and so did their status. Casino hoppers out on a binge were slowly replaced with rich socialites spending daddy's credits in an unappreciative way that both disgusted and enthralled her. She wanted so badly to achieve that, to be so wealthy you could go spend your free time in a casino city just throwing it away. That was living.

"He offered." She said at last, never taking her eyes off the glitz and glamor for a second. "I turned it down. I ain't parking my ship on some gilded rooftop if shit goes sideways. I'd sooner die than lose the Bette."

The people they passed either never noticed them or looked upon them with curious disgust and a chuckle. Like they had stumbled upon some quant oddity. Jesse ignored them. For all their wealth and decadence, they would never know just how soft they were. They lacked grit. They thought their credits protected them, but she could gun them all down in the street right now and there wasn't a damn thing their credits would be able to do for them. They had no idea how close to death they are. That little secret gave her all the power she would ever need, and when she someday stole all their wealth from them she would have credits AND power. Without power, credits would be meaningless.

"There it is. The Stargazer."

The casino was designed to look very much like a space station had been grounded. Circular body and spires, with a large pinnacle in the center. It had enough lights to illuminate the Core and enough windows that you could easily see the masses of people moving around inside the body of the station, and all the way up the spire.

"That's where we're headed. Straight to the top. Let me do the talkin', hun. If we're lucky, we'll live long enough to see the ocean tonight."

[Ben Merasska]

"You're the boss, Jesse," he said, surprisingly without an ounce of wry sarcasm or double meaning. He was too busy looking at the casino with wide eyes, taking in the sight. For all the places he'd ever been in the galaxy, he'd never seen a place like this.

They marched the last bit of distance to the Stargazer, and were stopped by a droid that looked suspiciously like an IG unit, and two guards.

"You must submit to a search and questioning before entering the premises," one said.

Friendly sorts, he thought to himself. He stayed quiet, however, as Jesse had told him.

[Jesse Lockhart]

"Hey there, Sugar. Mister Torgenstein is expecting us, and you know he ain't the type that wants to be kept waiting."

There was an urge to violence that was always just simmering underneath the surface, but something about this place, the lights and the people, she just couldn't bring herself to lob her usual threats of bodily harm at the guards that were wasting her time. She knew that she had a straight line to the client. These guards just didn't know that yet. However, violence was unlikely to get them what they wanted and might even turn Torgenstein against them. It hurt to repress it, but she always had a flare for the dramatic when she needed it.

"I'm not going to cause any trouble, I promise. It's just little me and my butler."

There was a fluttering of eyelashes and a thrusting out of chest that the guards certainly took notice of but were ultimately unphased by. Violence it will be then.

"You call up and let Taphran know that Jesse Buchanan is here to see him, and I ain't in no mood to be kept waiting, and I would reckon neither is he. Make. The. Call."

One of the guards backed away while touching his finger to his ear while the other guard and his droid kept a close eye on them, with their hands very close to weapons. Jesse was ready. Her boots dug into the ground and her shoulders haunched ever so slightly as her fingers twiddled restlessly; ready for the first move, ready to draw and fire. That moment never came, as the guard came back and ushered them toward the door with an apology and directions to the turbolift. Jesse didn't dawdle as she walked past them and through the doors.

If the city was a shining star then the inside of the Stargazer was a galaxy of lights and sounds all concentrated into the space inside. Every where she looked was lavish rugs, antique artwork, exquisite wooden furniture, and rows upon rows of gambling machines creating every pleasant brain activating sound imaginable. It was not the shiny, cutting edge fancy out in the rest of the city, but a kind of smoky, elegant fancy from an older age. She could not help but spin in place a few times as she took in the whole floor. It was amazing! The trip to the turbolift took much longer than it needed to, as she kept stopping to look at various decor, machines, and people as they passed. The smile never left her face for a second, not even as Ben herded her along.

The elevator was half full when they got on, but by the time they were halfway up to the top the other passengers had been let out on lower floors, leaving the two of them alone as the turbolift flung them skyward.

"This place is amazing, Ben." Even the inside of the turbolift was gilt and magificient. She reached over and grabbed her companion roughly by the back of his pants, digging her fingers in deep and pulling the redhead closer to her. "Once we're done with this you better believe you'll finishing what we started in the ship."

[Ben Merasska]

"This place is amazing, Ben,"Jesse breathed, her eyes wide and glinting with the reflected light of the holograms and flashing signs and the dazzling bursts from the machines as poor saps bought into the fantasy of making it big with one good push of a button.

Ben, for his part, saw the dark alleys and stone streets in the flash and glare as his eyes adjusted to the massive difference between the outside and the inside of the casino.

"It's somethin' all right," he answered.

"Cooman playa!" One of the machines activated right next to him, a stylized and sultry Twi'lek looking at him with a heart pounding smile and hooded eyes.

He yelped and jumped away. Jesse's voice rang out again, but the words didn't pierce the drone of his fear. She turned and continued on, and he followed, the bright shining lights and crowds of people sending shivers down his spine and a cold sweat drip down the back of his neck. Jesse, for her part, seemed to drink it all in and become more energized, seeing success and wealth in the tiling 'neath their feet. He didn't begrudge her for that at all; it was the way she was, and that was all there was to it at the end of the day. What gave her comfort and joy weren't what did for him, and if it were otherwise...

Well, he'd certainly prefer that, but then chances were that he'd never have met her in the first place.

Wait, was there a downside to all of this?

While he was lost in his thoughts, he managed to keep enough focus to follow Jesse to another turbolift, followed by two pairs of elites with a single man who looked noticeably rougher than they. One of the pairs were older with greying hair and glinting accessories everywhere. The other pair were younger, a man probably no more than five years older than him with striking yes and a face that seemed like it'd been sculpted from clay for the very purpose of showing the 'ideal rich human'. At his side was a human woman, with red hair, red lips, brown eyes, and a dress that was so dark green that it seemed to be black. The wealthies (as he dubbed them in his head) glanced over at them, and the younger man glanced up and down Jesse before returning to his conversation with the older couple, who seemed more than a bit intoxicated.

"Well, I'll be," the rougher man, obviously a bodyguard, said. "If it ain't Ben Merasska in the flesh."

"Mweh?" Ben answered, glancing up at the man.

"Oh, you know this man, Kerrick?" the younger man asked. The rough man looked at Jesse and then back at Ben, a smile that carried an odd weight with it on his face.

"Used to, sir. Flew in the same circles, you could say. Heard he died, actually. Around Yavin." Kerrick answered. "Didn't really talk to each other much, but seein' him now makes me think we weren't that different after all. Where are you headed?"

"Uh, just doin' some business," Ben said. "Then we'll see."

Kerrick said nothing for a moment, before nodding. "Come find me after, and we'll talk a bit, yeah? Catch up a bit. We'll be over at the sabacc tables. Ah, that is if you don't mind, boss."

He turned to the younger of the wealthies, who smiled enigmatically. "I don't at all. I'd relish the opportunity, really."

"There we go, find me after Merasska; we'll catch up."