Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast
Results 41 to 60 of 85

Thread: Just running an errand (Arya, Jaas, and Ben)

  1. #41
    In slip 33-D Arya popped an access panel back into place in the floor of the passage inside Wing of the Raven and wiped her hands on a rag. She stomped down the ramp, tucking the rag partially into the back pocket of her pants, and banged on the hull to get Jaas' attention. "Get that fuel umbilical unhooked as soon as we're full," she said, unnecessarily. "I'll go see if our Mr. Admar got lost."

    Arya walked to the docking bay pedestrian entrance, and poked the button to open it. She stepped out to the edge of the sea of people heading to transports, and looked up and down the walkway.

    There is a curse.
    They say: May you live in interesting times.


  2. #42
    "Betss arre off jif jyou fjind hjim. That'ss cheatjing." Jaas called after his captain as she trundled off. Shaking his head before he went back to scraping fuel slag out of the exhaust port. Another side effect of their failing systems. This one in particular was high on their list of repairs. Fuel efficiency was very important when space travel is your primary means of income and your income is low. He poorly whistled a song from his homeworld while keeping an eye on the fuel gauge attached to the umbilical.

  3. #43
    Brask was scanning the docking slip numbers. The task of identifying the correct one was somewhat complicated by the Corellian adherence to the pre-Empire practice of displaying them in various languages. The Aurebesh characters of Basic on the scrolling displays above each hatchway alternated with selections from half a dozen other languages.

    It was a little after the appointed time for boarding so Brask was pleased to spot Ravenwing as she emerged into the thoroughfare.

    It would not do to miss a second flight.

    With a cheery wave he began making his way across the contraflow of pedestrian traffic. The porter droid stomped along behind him.

    "Captain!" Brask called to the spacer, "I hope I'm not too late."

  4. #44
    She waved back, and waited for him to catch up. "Not too late, no. We're just finishing fueling up." She led the way into the docking slip, the porter droid clunking awkwardly behind them. "The accommodations on board are small, but comfortable. Your trunk should fit in your cabin just fine."

    The Chevvette77 Wing of the Raven sat in front of them ramp extended invitingly. "Cabin besh," she told the droid. "Go ahead and stow the luggage." Arya put her hands on her hips. "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

    Jass came around the ship, wiping his hands on a rag, and she nodded. "Looks like we're set. You bring the credits?"

  5. #45
    Brask reached into his jacket, "Of course."

    He withdrew his hand from the inner pocket to reveal a small packet neatly wrapped and bound in waxed paper. It felt quite heavy for its size and the surface beneath the paper was hard and cold indicating that the payment was being made in the resurgently popular form of credit ingots.

    Acceptable on both sides of the border and rather difficult to trace AND with an intrinsic material value, too. All useful features in these troubled times. Not that these two would have need of such advantages I'm sure.

    Brask successfully stopped a smirk touching his lips at that thought and proffered the package to Ravenwing.

    "I am sure the accommodation will be perfectly acceptable and we'll make good time."

  6. #46
    The murmur of approaching voices bubbled over the sound of Jaas struggling to pull the fuel umbilical off the Wing of the Raven. The nozzles had a tendency to be difficult to remove. The connector was bad or some such nonsense, but they hardly had the credits to worry about replacing something that was only sort of broken. After putting the umbilical back on it's rack, Jaas stepped around the ship, wiping the leaked fuel off his striped hands; his tail was draped over his forearm like a towel to keep it out of the way. A good practice when operating machinery.

    "All rreadjy to go Captjain. Let me take jyourr bag."

    Grabbing the trunk from the porter droid, Jaas only paused a moment to eyeball the heavy parcel. Credits. Good. The trunk was easily lifted up on to a shoulder and carried up the access ramp, although it had to be immediately lowered in order to make it through the threshold and subsequent passageway in order to get it to the passenger cabin. It proved more difficult than anticipated. It was hard enough walking through the ship when your a large Cizerack, but more so when you are carrying a large trunk. Still, he managed it, and with only chipping the paint on a few doorways and bulkheads.

  7. #47
    Arya hefted the package and managed not to wince at the bangs coming from inside her ship as Jaas took the trunk inside. "Then let's get to it. After you, Mr. Admar." She gestured at the ramp, and followed him inside, closing up the ramp and hatch behind them. "Cabin besh, as I said, and make yourself at home in the common area. Kitchenette is at your disposal. You can sit there or in your cabin for take off."

    She headed into the cockpit and strapped in, signaling spaceport control that they were ready for departure. A countdown appeared on her console indicating when her window was, and she fired up the repulsors, getting everything ready. "Better find your seats," she called back via the intercom, and then the Wing of the Raven​ was lifting up and pulling for the upper atmosphere.

  8. #48
    Beepbeep! Beepbeep! Bee...

    Brask's eyes snapped open. His right hand found the chrono on his left wrist and shutoff the alarm. He sat up.

    Not long after Wing of the Raven had entered hyperspace he had retired to his cabin and stretched out on the narrow bunk, which stood against one bulkhead, and allowed himself a short nap. His chrono was set to wake him thirty minutes before their scheduled exit from the first leg of the trip through hyperspace.

    Plenty of time.

    Rising from the bed, Brask made for his trunk. It was one of those large, old-fashioned affairs designed to be stood on one end and opened as a kind of travelling armoire. The Cizerack co-pilot had noticed the markings indicating this and stowed the trunk accordingly.

    Not that the minimal floor space would have allowed it to be laid flat.

    Jaas had also tethered the trunk to the bulkhead, presumably as a precaution against sudden jolts. Given the turbulence on takeoff this had been a welcome precaution.

    Brask reached out a hand and touched a thumb to the biometric keypad. After a few moments, during which his readings were taken, the lock loosened and he was able to open the trunk.

    Inside was a small hanging space on the right with a few shirts and a spare suit. A spare pair of shoes occupied a slot beneath this. The rest of the space on this and the left side was divided into drawers.

    One advantage of classic styling is that no-one expects these things to come with modern conveniences like grav dampening to prevent wrinkling...

    Brask knelt by the left side and opened the lowest (and largest) drawer. From this he removed a blockish object that could only be described as a bag of translucent jelly. It quivered slightly as it was moved to the floor.

    With a swift, well-practised tug Brask removed the drawer from its slot revealing it to be appreciably shorter than would be expected. He reached into the space vacated by the drawer and felt around. After a few moments he withdrew his hand, which now contained a sleek looking disruptor.

    ...or sensor dampening for that matter.

    With surprising deftness given his general demeanour, Brask checked the weapon over, noting its one shot charge, and then sighted along its barrel. The weapon was then stowed in a jacket pocket.

    Working rapidly, he then returned to the drawer to its place, closed up and locked the trunk, and hefted the jelly bag. He made for the door, opening it to check that no one was around and entered the common area.

    As he had hoped it was unoccupied. His travelling companions would be in the cockpit making a show of working hard for the benefit of their well-paying client.

    Brask surveyed the furniture, selecting a chair on to which he deposited the bag. It quivered in a disconcerting manner. He walked back to the door of his quarters and considered the scene.

    Plausible enough.

    With a satisfied nod he made his was forward to the cockpit.

  9. #49
    "No, no. jYou'rre wrrong Arrjya. Hawkbat man can't jusst kjill the Jessterr. That would brreak hjiss code of honorr. He neverr kjillss anjyone. He chassess them down, beatss them up, and thrrowss them jin prrjisson. Ssurre thejy brreak out everrjy now and agajin, but he'ss wjilljing to chasse sscum ljike the Jessterr forreverr jif jit meanss keepjing corrusscant ssafe. That'ss dedjicatjion, that jiss." Jaas said, very matter of factually, as he fluffed the comic book in his hands to stop the pages from crinkling. The cover was quite grim on this issue. The Jester had Hawkbat man tied down in a chair and had pinned his own face on top of his, the Jester's face a bloody mess because of the missing face. Naturally.

    "jYou can't even comparre hjim to Captajin Corrusscant. He jusst clubss everrjyone to death wjith hjiss bjig sshjield. Hawkbat man could totalljy take hjim jin a fjight. He hass a gadget to help hjim beat everrjy enemjy he facess." Closing the comic book, Jaas swiveled the copilot seat to the side to face his companion. The chair squeaked under his weight. He was about to continue when he heard footsteps approaching the cockpit door. The comic book was quickly stowed away in a compartment and his chair was spun around and he made a show of working, even though Arya more or less exclusively piloted the ship.

  10. #50
    "Wait, I thought Captain Coruscant was in a totally different universe of heroes. How would he even fight Hawkbat Man?" Arya studied the console in front of her as Jaas opened his mouth to argue the point, and then she looked over at him with a teasing grin on her face.

    Their passenger made an appearance, and Arya turned slightly in her seat to look at him. "We're about ten minutes from the end of the first leg of the trip. Hope the bunk was comfortable enough."

  11. #51
    The man who stepped into the cockpit was not the "Mr Admar" they had picked up. He was a subtly different being. His gait was firmer and he seemed to stand just a little taller.

    Here goes...

    "Perfectly adequate," the voice was sharper and crisper than before.

    Brask registered the surprise on Arya's face and Jaas's turn to look who had spoken. He did not, however, allow either to speak.

    "In the next few minutes we shall be pulled from hyperspace. Most likely there will be a couple of customs cutters and an interdictor cruiser. Any attempt at escape you make is bound to fail."

    Keep going. They need to hear all of this or things are going to go wrong very quickly.

    "They'll board this ship search it and find me. I'll be arrested and you along with me. I doubt very much you want that or what will come afterwards.

    "I can ensure our escape but only if you co-operate with me completely."

  12. #52
    Arya stared at Admar - or whoever he was - and blinked. "Uh... what?!"

    The second word was louder than she'd meant it to be, but there was little chance to continue her bewilderment because klaxons began wailing, the console lit up with reds and oranges, the entire ship shuddered, and hyperspace fell apart around them. "WHAT?!" She turned in her chair and flipped switches and silenced alarms, the great hulk of an Imperial Interdictor looming ahead of them and slightly above, relatively speaking. In fact, the ship looked like it was hanging upside down in space, no doubt caused by Wing of the Raven's traumatic exit from hyperspace messing with their Z axis and spinning them around.

  13. #53
    "I had hoped to have more time to explain," Brask apologised as the ship shook, "But clearly," he waved a hand at the looming cruiser before them, "I miscalculated."

    An especially violent aftershock of the violent return to realspace shook the freighter, knocking Brask into the nearest bulkhead.

    "At this point," he said shoving himself back to an upright position, "you'll just have trust me."

  14. #54
    "jYou betterr sstarrt talkjing then, Pjinkjy!" Jaas yelled through clenched teeth over all the alarms that were currently going off. Being plucked out of hyperspace was not a pleasant experience, and the sudden deceleration had thrown him against the console. His fingers played across the console, silencing the annoying alarms. He had no idea what was going on. It was all way over his head and pay grade. Something something Empire. Too many holes. Not enough information. All he knew was they were in for a bumpy ride so he pulled his crash webbing over his waist and chest.

    Arrested. He said arrested. There was no way Jaas was going to go to prison again. Kessel was a hell to which he could never return. He would rather die.

  15. #55
    "There really isn't time to explain." Brask realised he was shouting to be heard over alarms no longer sounding and lowered his voice accordingly. "Any moment now, they'll start the boarding pro..."

    His words were drowned out by a voice over the speakers.

    "This is the Imperial Customs Cruiser Far Reach."

    "...cedure." Brask continued raising his voice again to be heard.

    "Your ship is being detained for inspection."

    "They're after me but they'll take you for accomplices."

    "Your hyperdrives will not function and we are armed."

    "And believe me, you don't want that."

    "Power down your sublight engines and prepare to be boarded."

    "You're only hope is to co-operate with my plan."

    "Do not resist or we shall open fire.

    "Or would you rather spend ten years in an Imperial detention facility?"

    "This is your only warning."

  16. #56
    Jaas looked about ready to throw off the crashwebbing and throttle the life out of their passenger, so Arya reached out and put a hand on his arm to remind him to stay sitting. The ship drifted, the sublights never engaged after their abrupt dismissal from hyperspace, and she toggled the comm. "This is the captain of Wing of the Raven - we will cooperate fully, Far Reach."

    The freighter jolted as a tractor beam lanced out and caught it, and she briefly wondered if they'd still be upside down to the cruiser when they linked up for boarding. Arya turned to Admar, her blue eyes flashing with gold fire. "I can't cooperate with a plan I've never heard. But you should know, we've both been 'detained' before. Iif your so-called plan doesn't work, you won't survive long enough to regret it."

  17. #57
    That transmission was not in the plan.

    "Believe me, if my plan doesn't work they'll do for me before you get the chance to. Now come with me."

    He turned and dashed back along the passage to the common area, his mind working furiously to revise the plan.

    It can still work. Just.

    By the time the others reached the common area, Brask had dived back into his cabin and retrieved a bundle of bound fabric. He tossed this to Arya saying, "Put those on. Quickly!"

    He then turned to Jaas. "Take that," he pointed to the jelly bag on the chair, "and put it on the Captain's chair in the cockpit and wait for me there."

  18. #58
    Arya shook out the bundle, revealing an Imperial tech uniform, and looked at Jaas, who was still hesitating. "Do what he said!"

    The ship vibrated loudly as the tractor beam pulled it, and she quickly pulled on the uniform.

  19. #59
    His eyes darted repeatedly back and forth from the Imperial ship in the viewscreen and the passenger who's fault this apparently all was. His fingers had tightened into fists, and it wasn't until pain started shooting up his arms that he realized that his nails were cutting into his palms. There wasn't much to do. He doubted there was any chance of escape. He was tempted to just sit here and wait for the end. Arya yelled, her voice cutting through the conflict in his own mind; snapping him back to reality.

    "Traanjirra take uss all!" He cursed, pulling the crash webbing free and pulling his monstrous body out of the seat. He grabbed the jelly bag and set it in Arya's chair and then backed away, all the way, to the very door to the cockpit. With the way things were going he could hardly trust the man or anything he said. This whole thing was forrda piss.

  20. #60
    Back in the common area, Brask politely turned his back to Arya. It was probably unnecessary but there was no point risking offence.

    Well...further offence after dragging her into this.

    "You have somewhere aboard you can hide?"

    It was only half question. Every sensible spacer's ship had a hidey hole if not to facilitate criminal activity then as a safety precaution.

Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •