An Infectious Situation

[Cassanova]

Lachlan immediately turned his weapon upon Vera, "Alliance?! This is an Imperium Facili'y! Dey were payin' tae bills! Paid fer tae good werk we been doin' 'ere!"
A sudden change of his train of thought brought his weapon upon Tsu, "Mainstream? Tae hell do ye take me fer? Some mad scientis'? Mah job is ter help folk!"
Naturally, and predictably his weapon finally fell to Eden, "An' ye! Who do ye work fer?! Who do ye tink ye are, comin' in here treatenin' me?"

Lachlan rubbed his temples, despite holding the gun in his hand still, then frantically swapped targets again, "Whoever can tell me what tae hell is goin' on wit dis darn bomb an' why tae damn ting was rigged to blow gets ter get me tae hell outta here... Detells commin' lay'ta."

 

[Tribunal Power]

Tsu had to let out a little laugh. This guy was working in an Imperial facility, and he was surprised to find a self-destruct sequence? That was awfully naive for someone so smart. "The bomb was probably rigged to blow because your employers typically don't like loose ends. Clearly, you guys were developing something dangerous here. They probably wanted it weaponized, and once it was, do you think they would want its creators hanging around-- the ones who could be able to un-make their new superweapon?" She shook her head and glanced to the bodies, adding, "Seems like standard Imperial operating procedure to me."

She had to respect the Imperial attitude for always taking what they want, no matter the cost. It was the same kind of ruthless perspective Tsu shared in her line of work. Still, that same attitude is what kept her from being able to lead an enclave or any larger responsibility within the Retrade-- instead they made her 'admiral' of a fleet of bloodthirsty pirates and turned her loose. She had no delusions on why.

"You alright down there?" chirped Lammen's voice inside her helm.

Her voice contained within her helmet so that no one else could hear, she replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just... Not used to trying to sway people with words. Not to mention there's a bomb down here."

"A bomb?"

"Yeah, with forty-ish hours on the clock. Imperial purge plan, probably a failsafe to clean up this kind of a mess."

Lammen chuckled over the air and said, "Well, you still want that diversion you ordered?"

"Not yet," she replied, glancing from each member of the standoff in the room, before her eyes came to rest on the jumpiest person there: the doctor. "Things haven't deteriorated yet. But keep it hot-- it's only a matter time."

Tsu clicked her voice back on to speak to the doctor again. "If you want to help people, or just do your work or whatever, I've made my offer. If you want to get out of here, let's get to getting. If you want to stay here and become a red and black smear on Plooma's surface, you're doing it by yourself, because I'm not waiting out the clock. You've got an oppertunity here. You've got talent, and we need it. So what's it gonna be, Doc?"

 

[Holiday]

Vera sighed heavily. This was an Imperial facility? That cleared things up greatly, but also made her question her decision to come here more and more. Now she knew things couldn't possibly get worse, not unless some Imperials themselves showed up.

"Mr. Artagan," said Vera calmly, "I can say with confidence that the Galactic Alliance does not care who your prior associations were. Imperials, Chis, Mandalorians, anyone who is willing to help the Galactic Alliance save lives is more than welcome. You are a man who can save lives, Lachlan," she said, using the man's first name. She felt that right now, this wasn't exactly a time for formalities. "I'm going to be honest. While I don't know what sort of deal the Galactic Alliance will make with you, I can tell you with utmost certainty that they're not going to throw you in some Force Cage and leave you to rot. You'll be able to do what you want to do: save lives."

As Lachlan asked about the bomb, Vera felt it was a simple answer. It was the one that Tsu had spoken, but she felt it was fine to reiterate the point.
"It's standard for all Imperial chains of command, and sometimes even bounty hunters," she said. She wasn't sure if the two others in the room were bounty hunters, but if they were...
"They eliminate those who are loose ends, or who can possibly lay claim to what they like to believe is theirs," she said. "It happens with the Sith and their apprentices, it happens with most bounty hunters and their 'partners', it doesn't matter. It does happen, especially with the Imperials. They don't want you around because, as said before, you can create the counter to their virus. You hold sensitive information that could bring them to justice, and they don't want that. They're scared of you."

 

[Kit]

"I don't work for anyone. I work for myself."

Her voice came out scratchy and metallic, devoid of the amusement that had snuck up on her.

"I'm not threatening you. I'm warning you. I don't want to rescue some maniac."

She paused.

"Some dangerous maniac."

Her faceplate turned to look at both of the other would-be rescuers, and then back to the scientist.

"I don't know a damn thing about the bomb. You might remember calling for help? You honestly think that the random people you pull in would know about your situation better than you?"

She laughed, which produced a grating, rasping noise.

"Besides, how are you so sure that your old bossess didn't hear your cry for help? Do you even know that you've got as much time as you think?"

 

[Cassanova]

Eden's taunts struck a chord within Lachlan, "Tha's it! Yer gonna shut up! Yer not even helpin' nothin'!"

The low-end pistol them moved to Tsu, "Ye can guarantee a workplace? I'm gon' 'aff ter figure out how ter counter this virus 'fore its used again."
Hesitantly he moved towards Tsu, his weapon raised between Vera and Eden, darting back and forth between them. "I aint ne'er gon' work fer tae Alliance, and you're just weird!"

Before long, Lachlan was literally using Tsu as a shield between himself and the room's other occupants. He'd decided where he was going to go - he only hoped that others would be accepting of this decision... otherwise this was going to get very interesting very quickly.

 

[Tribunal Power]

Tsu nodded to him, not really seeing a reason to elaborate just yet. Maybe he wouldn't like working for her kind of people, but he would have the highest quality facilities and she figured that probably mattered more than most things to this man. As he cowered behind her, she cast her gaze to the others around them, her faceless helmet pointed at them. She never lifted her weapon as she backed out carefully, activating the decryption program on her datapad through the interface on her HUD. The door she came through swiped open behind her, and she backed through it with the doctor cuddled behind her.

The door slammed closed before her, and she turned sharply. "Keep up, doc!" she shouted over her shoulder. "There's no telling what those thugs might do now."

Ensuring he was not far behind, she hurried through the halls she came down, her armored suit pushing her legs up and down, metal feet slamming against the bulk beneath. Her armored fingers gripped her violet rifle tightly as she moved, watching the doctor's blip on the sensors as she neared the dock where her ship awaited them.

 

[Cassanova]

With the satchel on his hip and over his shoulder, Lachlan ran after Tsu, occasionally checking over his shoulder, watching for the others, who may, or may not get unnecessarily hostile. The Phindarian human hadn't yet decided what he was going to do once he had escaped Plooma, or even if he had a choice from this point onwards. He knew he was on a spiralling course that simply left him at the whim of this armoured woman, and whoever she worked for.

"So where are ye takin' me?" he grumbled as he kept up with her, not even realising where he was going, or what exactly was the outcome of what he'd been involved in. The possibilities ran through his mind, and each one scared him more than the last, so he simply gripped his pistol and kept up.

 

[Tribunal Power]

"Tatooine, eventually," she called to him, matter-of-factly. "You have friends there."

For whatever reason, they needed him alive and well for something that was coming in the future. They wanted his work, his research, his brain on their side when it came down to it. Although that decision was above Tsu's pay grade, she hoped that they would treat him with decency; he seemed like an alright fellow, if a little jumpy.

Tsu came to a stop when she reached the very first door she'd come through. As she activated the decryption software again and the door slid open, she cautiously peered around the corner inspecting the area for any traps or ambushes. Everything seemed on the up and up, so she stepped out toward her ship.

The Barloz-class freighter was whirring idly on the deck, and once she was sure it was safe, she wasted no time getting to the open loading ramp. "Come on doc, almost there!" she called out over the sound of the live ship's repulsors.

 

[Holiday]

If the post is inaccurate, just let me know and I'll correct it.​

---

Vera had neglected to pursue Lachlan and his new bodyguard. She failed to see a reason to chase after them, considering that it would probably be in her best interest to avoid a firefight. Now it was just her and the other mercenary left in the room, and she hadn't planned on taking any chances with this one, either. She quickly cut into a nearby corridor away from the mercenary, slicing it closed behind her. She made her way through the various hallways and corridors of the installation, taking out her datapad as she did. She put together a hasty message, seeing this a viable enough last attempt to try and sway the doctor to her side. She had caught his "saviour's" name just moments ago, and had taken it upon herself to run the name through Galactic Alliance databases. What she had turned up wasn't an astronomical amount, but maybe it was just enough to show the doctor that he had made a potentially fatal decision.

Mr. Artagan, I implore you one last time to please reconsider your decision. Attached to this message is a file containing some information on your companion, and the co-ordinates to my ship. I shall wait for a while longer to see if you should change your mind. I hope you see that, even though you may think ill of the Galactic Alliance, we intend you no ill. Sincerely, Vera Prentiss.​

That was that. Now all that was left for Vera to do was to return to her ship, and wait to see if the scientist would change his mind. If he didn't, she would likely never see him again, and his talents may very well have gone to waste.

 

[Cassanova]

Lachlan was close on her heels as he bolted up the loading ramp, and awkwardly stood in the corner of the ship for a moment, as Tsu led the way to the cockpit. Following her quickly, he slipped into the co-pilot's seat, and grumbled at his uselessness.

"Listen I 'preshyate what yerv done fer me, but wha's the catch?"

Nothing came for free, Lachlan knew this as fact. You either had to work for it, or give up something valuable, or sell your soul to the devil. The promise of state of the art facilities was a nice touch though - Lachlan would need them to complete his research on VIC, and to discover a way to fully eradicate the virus permanently.

Watching as Tsu assumed control of the ship, he looked to her and asked, "Wha d'yer need me tae do?"

 

[Tribunal Power]

The loading ramp closed as Tsu clambered into her seat at the console. She cast the doctor a glance, before commenting, "There's always a catch, doc. But I'm the wrong person to ask. Everything will be explained when I get you to Tatooine, I'm sure."

Moments later, they were lifting away and breaking orbit. She relaxed a little bit, and looked over to the doctor, who still had the blaster he had brandished earlier. She was fairly confident that he wouldn't try to shoot her, so she laid her rifle down and leaned back in her seat as the ship autonavigated them away from the planet. She reached up to the back of her neck to twist the locking mechanism on her suit, disengaging her helmet, which she slipped off as her suit quietly depressurized.

"You don't need to do anything. There are some bunks around the corner there, if you need some shut-eye. We'll be linking up with my ship in far orbit and then it's off to Tatooine. The hyperspace trip will probably take more than twenty-four hours, and you'll need your strength when we get there. My associates are probably gonna grill you pretty hard when we get to Tatooine, but don't worry. They might intimidate you a little, but they won't hurt you-- they need you.

"My name is Tsu, by the way. Tsu Ordan."

 

[Cassanova]

Lachlan nodded as he slid his basic pistol into its holster, but kept upright in the seat. He had no intention of sleeping until he was certain he was safe. Based on what Tsu had told him, he expected that to be days at least.

"So who do ye work fer?" he grumbled as he settled into the seat, "Or are ye nae gonna tell me tha' too?"

His concerns were valid, and he watched with interest and fear as he was completely at the whim of some woman whom he didn't know who she worked for, nor what their intentions were. Their motivations, funding... he knew nothing, and it deeply unsettled him.

 

[Tribunal Power]

Glancing over to him with steel grey eyes, she let out a sigh and set her helmet aside. It was only fair that he know who he was dealing with, although it was against protocol to share it. Still, he was part of it now, not on the outside like most people, and so she acquiesced.

"I'm with the Retrade. It's an underground organization that has a hand in every market. Part of that market includes biological studies, and you're an opportunity to good to pass on. There's a lot of money to be made in black market medicine and biological components, and the Retrade has very little real estate in that market. That's profit we're not getting. I can only imagine that's why they want you so badly." Looking over to the console, she brought up the message terminal and began to send a message, adding, "That's my best guess, anyway. They don't tell me much sometimes. But if I'm right, they'll want you to have the very best equipment and all the things you need to turn a better profit. Trust me, if you keep them happy, they'll keep you happy. You might not like working for a criminal society, but they'll take good care of you. I know they have with me."

Her fingers danced over the keypad, typing up a quick message.

Package secured. En route to destination. ETA two cycles.

--T​

​

Looking back to the doctor, she offered him a comforting look and said, "Whatever you do, don't give anyone the idea that you're a flight risk. If you're not happy and you want out, there are channels to go through, but up and leaving will get you shot or hunted down. Besides, you'd be leaving behind a lot of opportunity with the Retrade.

"I'm probably making this sound a lot scarier than it is. The Retrade will make you feel at home because they want you as a friend, someone who wants to be in business with them. They're good at establishing mutually beneficial arrangements."

 

[Cassanova]

"The Retrade', eh?" he scratched his beard, "Never 'eard of 'em."

Truthfully the idea of the resources that Tsu claimed to have available was anyone's wet dream, and Lachlan was no exception. At the end of the day, he'd have to wait until he got to wherever Tsu was taking him to talk to him in more detail. Until then he was simply along for the ride. Nevertheless, he felt slightly more at ease, considering that Tsu was quite open with the information she had given him. He was, however, quite aware that there was always more to the story, but for the time being, it didn't seem that he had actually made a poor choice by selecting Tsu to be his rescuer.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see what your boss actually wants to hire me for - besides my good looks of course," he shrugged and watched Tsu as she piloted the ship towards Tatooine, as he relaxed in the co-pilot's seat, embracing his presence as being 'along for the ride'.

 

[Tribunal Power]

Tsu had to smile at his comment, unable to remain steadfast against his funny accent and wiley charm. She nodded to his comment that he would just have to wait and see, because sadly she knew nothing more.

The rest of the trip out of orbit was quiet and dull, until they saw the ship coming around the dark side of Plooma. A huge corvette, the same steel grey color of Tsu's eyes, silently turned drifted in far orbit of the planet, coming into view. The freighter that Tsu piloted adjusted course to intersect its path with the corvette.

"There she is. That's my girl, doc-- Concorde Dusk. I'd like to tell you it's an example of the Retrade's deep pockets, but..." She trailed off for a moment, soaking in the ship's visage as she said proudly, "This one I got myself."

She remembered the day she took the craft, the flagship in some pretend pirate's pathetic fleet. She overwhelmed it with freighters and destroyed its ordnance with precision weaponry, then boarded through the shuttle bay. It was a bloody fight, and she lost a good deal of friends that day, but their deaths were not in vain. Since then, the ship had become the jewel of Tsu's own fleet, her personal gunship. It was something to be proud of.

Keying the transmitter overhead, she hailed the ship. "Lammen, open her up. We're coming around starboard and bringing it in. I've got the doc with me."

"Right, opening up. Guess you don't need that distraction after all, eh Captain?"

"Guess not," she replied with a smile.

Their craft sped through space until reaching the starboard side of the ship, the shuttle bay doors opened for landing. Slowing dramatically, the Barloz-class freighter eased its way into the open maw and lowered itself to the deck, alongside a collection of fighters and shuttles that shared the bay. The sound of the massive doors closing was accompanied by flashing emergency lights, and by alarms that they would be unable to hear until the bay was pressurized again.

"They'll need to decontaminate us before we board the ship. Once we're deconned, I'll show you to your quarters until we arrive at Tatooine. If you have any equipment, data, or biological samples, we can have those stored in the science lab."

 

[Cassanova]

Lachlan gaped in awe at the oddly well funded operation - despite the fact it seemed as though a personal one to Tsu. His awe was even more obvious as the hangar doors opened, revealing the remarkably impressive collection that was littering the hangar bay. Lachlan, who barely owned the clothes on his back, and technically was still paying off a myriad of university degrees could only dream of owning one of these ships, let alone all of them and the Barloz that encapsulated them, "Not half bad..."

As the shuttle settled down onto the hangar floor, Lachlan stood, politely waiting for Tsu to gather her things and lead the way off the ship. Lachlan, still wearing his hazardous environment suit, and carrying only a small bag, no bigger than a sports duffle, which contained the entirety of his belongings - some notes, a few hard disks of research, a few samples of the VIC virus in fully sealed self-sustaining cool units, the crappy pistol he took, and really - that was about it. Technically, he didn't even have his own ident card, his credit chit, nothing. Within the next two days all sign that Lachlan Artagan was still alive was going to be incinerated on the planet's surface. Something else to deal with that Lachlan wasn't particularly looking forward to.

As Tsu led him down the ramp, he was acutely aware of the four men dressed in full hazardous containment suits that escorted them to a small section that had been cordoned off from the rest of the ship. These guys know what they're doing... Lachlan pondered to himself. Unfortunately he also knew that decontamination procedures, especially in a class-one situation, were unpleasant, and no time for modesty. A single cell of a contagion left in some uncleaned crevasse on your person could put an entire ship, city, or planet in danger - especially when your'e talking about VIC.

Lachlan and Tsu were led into a makeshift decontamination chamber complete with spore hoses, sponges, drains and recycled air. At a glance he could clearly see the next chamber of the decon-suite was kitted out with various medical scanners to ensure their cleanliness. Lachlan wasn't sure if Tsu knew what was coming next - but he did. Full body scrub with decon powders, soaps, and acids. Generally painful, irritating substances that make your skin uncomfortably dry for a day or two.

"Remove all your clothes and place them into this container," one of the men placed a clear, plastic container on the beds that had been set up, then turned to Lachlan and Tsu, "Undergarments too..."

 

[Tribunal Power]

Tsu was indeed familiar with the decontamination procedures, as she was the one who signed off on all decon reports that came through her ship, along with the heads of the science team that occupied the labs. There had to be recorded data signifying that everything had been done according to procedure, so that if a mistake was made, the person accountable could be dealt with. This was, of course, much to the chagrin of the Retrade, who hated having records of any kind; this ship, however, belonged to Tsu, and she would run it how she felt was best. The Retrade had put her in charge of a fleet, and that fleet would not be making mistakes just because the Retrade was afraid of paperwork.

When the plastic bin was thrust at them, Tsu let out a sigh. It wasn't that Tsu was a particularly modest woman, or even that she was all that shy. But when faced with taking her clothes off in front of someone for the first time, she tended to blush like a school girl, and it pissed her off. She wasn't a school girl. She was a pirate, a captain, a thief and a warrior, and they don't blush.

Turning her back to the doc, she decided to just get it over with. Her tank top pulled over her head, and with her bra wrapped inside, she tossed it into the bin. Unbuckling her belt, she set that side-- pistol, pouch, and all-- and unclasped her pants, leaving them along with her panties shoved into the container as well. She did her best to keep her back to the doctor, and tried to offer him the same courtesy she wished for, aside from a quick and innocent glance of curiosity-- no one could be denied that.

Additional men entered the quarantined area to support the first. They were armed with a collection of chemicals, a broom-handled brush each, and a thick hose. Tsu hated this part even more than the last.

Still, it beat a flesh-eating virus, if only by a little.

---

Tsu enjoyed the feeling of the thick, soft chair beneath her as a lab-hand brought by a cup of tea for her, and one for the doctor as well. With the decon done and over with, Tsu just wanted to relax for a moment. The course for Tatooine had already been set and it was all they could do to wait, so why not take a load off and have some tea?

They were sitting in a small, makeshift lounge on the exterior of the science facility labs. A large panoramic window provided a peek into the entry of the labs, where technicians and scientists and doctors meandered about tending to this and that. But there was one doctor on this ship, the man of the hour, that seemed to have Tsu's attention completely. She wanted to know why the Retrade wanted him so badly, why they thought he was worth so much trouble. Maybe he really was the best in his field, or maybe she was just over-analyzing and he was nothing more than a good opportunity. She might never know.

"Nothing like hot tea after being scrubbed bloody and burned with hazardous materials, hm?" she said, prodding the doctor with innocent if perhaps somewhat awkward conversation.

It would be a long flight to Tatooine, though she hoped not an awkward one.

 

[Cassanova]

Lachlan chuckled at the seemingly uncharacteristic and humorous comment from the woman who Lachlan had quietly given the title of 'mercenary queen' in his mind. The levity was something he could really use at this point - no one would argue the fact that he'd had a generally rough day. "Yer right a' the', ma'am. Althou' tae alterna'ive of bein' infec'ed with VIC aint exac'ly a viable option. Not a pretty way tae go. Nae by a long shot."

Sipping on his tea he eyed her off, partly because while yes - they had been naked in a room together, yes they had been in a virus infested building together, he'd barely laid eyes upon her, and was only now realising that she was actually a quite attractive woman. Despite his visual assessment of the mercenary queen, Lachlan kept his business professional for the time being. "So, ye say we're goin' tae Tatooin'. Tae Retrade got a base dere or summat? Dinnae know tha' anyone opera'ed such a fancy operation from a shi'ole like tha'."

"Pardon me manners," he waved his hand apologetically, "Ye saved me life an' fer tha' i'm grateful, Miss Ordan. But depennin' on what yer employer's are gonna be askin me, I'm gonna 'aff tae remind ye tha' me debt is to ye. Not yer boss."

 

[Tribunal Power]

Tsu peered at him with steel eyes, and although he was asking questions he shouldn't ask, she found herself charmed by his accent and his mannerisms. She leaned forward to better suit their conversation and replied to his inquiries, "The Retrade has some level of presence on Tatooine, yes. You will be taken to a temporary establishment for questioning, and your further involvement in the Retrade depends on how you act."

She'd seen it before, albeit with less willing parties. When the Retrade has a hostage, they try to gauge their resilience, and see if they can be swayed to loyalty. If they can be, great rewards would be in their future-- but if not, the Retade would make life very hard and still get what they need anyway, disposing of them afterwards. The Retrade generally preferred to make their members happy rather than dead, however, so the prior was always preferable to the latter.

"If you're good," she explained, "They'll treat you like an aristocrat. The best equipment, food, women-- or men, if that's your bag-- and anything you could want. Might be they'll even throw a fancy rank at you-- that's what they did with me." Leaning back in her chair, she took a sip of her tea and continued. "If you're not good, though, they'll make you wish you had been. They'll do everything they can to get what they need from you, and will leave you used up and broken until they decide to off you. So be good, yeah?" With a chuckle, she set down her empty teacup and ran fingers through her still-damp hair, leaning her head back to stretch her neck. "The Retrade has smart leadership, and they care about their members. Do good for them, and they'll do good for you. It's an easy arrangement."

Something about the good doctor illicited unusual honesty from Tsu. Normally she would have told her subject to cram it and kept them quiet until they arrived at the destination, never sharing any information. But this Lachlan fellow was personable, agreeable, likable. She felt like she'd get along with him. Maybe they could work together, after this-- assuming he wasn't stupid, and did something to piss off the Retrade.

She really hoped that didn't happen, or she'd be in the hot seat for talking.

 

[Cassanova]

Unsure exactly what to think at this point, Lachlan remained silent. While, yes, the Retrade looked after it's members, it also was brutally efficient. While the doctor could appreciate an efficient mentality, he was mildly at odds with the manner in which it was executed. At the end of a day, he respected the defence of secrecy - his work on "VIC" was known only by a handful of people, of which most were dead by now. To his knowledge, he was probably the only person alive who knew about VIC, and also had a sample of it.

While he had it, Lachlan was an immeasurable asset to have. From this virus so much could be learned. It could be countered eventually, once he was granted a lab worth a pretty penny. Considering he was in possession of the only viable sample of it, he wasn't overly concerned with making a cure for it, although he knew that it'd be worth his time to do it soon enough. Once this meeting with the Retrade was concluded and he was in a safe place, he would bring his mind to bear upon his work. Beyond that, however, he had things to do.

"I guess I'll have to behave then..."

Lachlan was disturbed from his thoughts of science, secrecy, and pirate queens, as the freighter shuddered into hyperspace, a clear indicator was the elongated star lines visible through one of the ship's viewports. Lachlan turned back to Tsu, a querying look upon his face, "To Tatooine, then?"