Ask Defending the Kessel Run

Terra Lanris

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Per my new OP template, thread is death enabled​
Terra had called in no small amount of support for this job. The ships passing just outside of the Kessel Run had been preyed upon by a local pirate group, and Terra had made a deal with the local authorities to see that the attacks stopped.

To that end, Blue Star mercenaries had been placed aboard the ships and Eclipse "privateers" were flying escort. For her part, Terra had taken up in a fighter instead of her freighter. And this thing handled so much better than her freighter. She was trying not to giggle like a school girl as she made arcs around the convoy of ships.

Crow, you hear me? she asked, not sure which name he preferred her to use. She'd already done a comm check with the Eclipse Captain, and they could handle themselves, she knew. Not that she didn't trust Crix to do the same, but it was still prudent to check in.
 
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The Kessel Run. The ultimate test for any pilot. The very route Han Solo hung his hat on when he was just a lowly smuggler. Now, it was Crow’s turn. The Blackbird dropped out of Hyperspace at the specified coordinates. He rendezvoused with the Blue Star mercs and from there made contact with Terra.

Crow, you hear me?
Loud and clear, Boss,” Crow smiled, “Sound’s like you’re enjoying that Arrowhead.

The Blackbird banked slightly bringing him behind and above Terra. “So, got any info on these pirates?

A memory brushed against his consciousness, but he swatted away the feeling of deja vu like an annoying gnat. Like a gnat, the memory wouldn’t be ignored, and absentmindedly he said, “They don’t have a VT-49 Decimator do they?

@Phoenix
 
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Terra Lanris

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Oh, you better believe it, she said with a snicker she couldn't quite suppress. She loved this ship. Already she was putting it through its paces to really get a feel for things.

Less than I'd like. Sending over some info to you now, she said, clicking some buttons on her console so that several readouts would pass over to his display. Symbols, known ships, "estimated" numbers... ha, that was a good one. Terra was pretty sure the "estimated" numbers weren't even in the ballpark.

They've attacked every shipment for the last three months, though, he said. We're first line along with Eclipse. If - galaxy forbid - we fail, Blue Stars provide a fight inside the shipments, she said.

She eased the fighter (and by ease, it really involved a lot of unnecessary gunning the engine) the fighter forward to the head of the pack, boosting power to the short and long range scanners to search for anything coming out of hyperspace.

Scanners are garbled out here with the surrounding storm. Keep your eyes open. I have a feeling that if and when they appear, it'll be out of nowhere, she grumbled.
 
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Crow watched Terra show off a bit and he had to admit he was a little jealous. Flying had always come easy to him, and watching her bank and twirl made him want to start looking for a fighter himself. Then again, his ship, The Black Bird, was nothing to scoff at. He bearly managed to contain his desire to throw the throttle forward and join her for a dance or two, but if there were pirates afoot, playing around wasn’t where you wanted to be when they showed up. He knew that for a fact, after all, he’d been a pirate.

BeeGee twittered, and Crow looked to the console as instructed. Terra had sent over everything they had on the pirates. As he read the information streaming across his panel he frowned. Most pirates attacked with hit-and-fade tactics, show up guns hot, and numbers out the ass. This crew on the other hand seemed to hit differently. They used a scout team as a decoy, then once the enemy was fully engaged with the Scouts, the main force would arrive and smash the occupied enemy from the side. Classic flank.

Good to know the goods are safe,” he teased.

Terra shot ahead to try and get a better reading, but in the Kessel run, all you could do was pray you were jumping the right way. Crow mirrored Terra and dropped to the rear of the pack.

BeeGee, you get—

That’s when the first enemy ship winked out of hyperspace and opened fire.

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Terra Lanris

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Terra's eyes were flicking around as they continued down the cloudy path. Then, about twenty seconds later, everything hit the fan.

The first ship dropped out of hyperspace and opened fire. The lead element - she had read - was usually fighters with a heavier, boarding and freighter party for the flank. It meant Terra would be in the thick of it, but this... this was what she was good at. Better than holding a blaster in hand.

We've got bogies. Moving to engage, remember to stay on watch for the flank force, she said, twisting her ship upside down and throwing herself into an inverted dive to drop under the hail of cannon fire tearing her way before looping into a half-figure eight to bring her own guns on point and opening fire with her cannons.

Shots splashed off her opponent's shields and her sensors told her the quad laser cannons had quickly torn through and dropped the shields, even managing to land a hit but not destroying the fighter outright.

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Crow threw The Blackbird into evasive maneuvers slipping past the first volley of fire with no issue. Terra jumped on the enemy like a vornskr on wounded prey. To their credit the scout ship was holding its own, it writhed through the empty void of space like a serpent trying to disappear beneath the brush. It was heading hard for a cluster of miasmic clouds that crackled with blue sparks.

BeeGee chittered excitedly, and Crow smiled. The Blackbird’s console blinked a repeating message: Weapon Systems Ready.

From his vantage point, he could see Terra and the scout separating from the pack. There was some random detritus hanging around, which was common for this section of the run, but just the right of the cloud the scout was rushing, was a ruined half of a star destroyer. From the looks of it, it was ancient, and Crow didn’t like that one bit.

Careful, that wrecked destroyer could hide a fleet!

Suddenly, The wounded Scout fired something ahead of itself and then dropped into a downward corkscrew. Bright blue light lit up the space between Terra and the star destroyer, through squinted eyes, Crow could see the shadows.

Fuck!” he barked into his comm throwing the throttle forward.

BeeGee whooped excitedly as The Blackbird shot forward. To the Eclipse Captain, he said, “One of you with me, the other three stay with the shipment and get it the hell out of here!

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Terra dropped into pursuit of her prey, firing several more bursts of cannon fire that the scout craft managed to avoid only to drop low in front of the old destroyer.

Copy that, she said, eyes flicking up toward the destroyer to try to scout it out before she saw the other ship fire off its payload and dart. She narrowly managed to yank the yoke up, other hand slamming onto the throttle and sending her into an incredibly uncomfortable climb as the seismic charged detonated, tearing through the empty space and slicing into the destroyer.

Kriff, kriff, kriff, she spat, throwing a look back over her shoulder and seeing the Scout ship had dropped back onto her tail during her climb and was now spitting fire in her direction.

A shot slapped across her deflector shields and she threw the ship into a hard left turn and flattened out, zooming off toward the destroyer's husk.

Negative Crow, stay on the shipment, she said, grunting against the strain she was putting on her body and her ship as she made for the cover of the destroyer.

As if on cue, the other pirate ships emerged out of the nebula clouds, ion cannon fire raking across the shipment of spice as it took a turn through the storm tunnel.

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Terra’s words fell on deaf ears as the arrival of the main force cut off Crow's pursuit. He had to carry out the mission, and he had to trust she could outfly that scout.

They’re here! They—” cried one of the privateers before their com abruptly cut out. The Blackbird nimbly slipped oncoming fire as Crow fought tooth and nail to get to the shipment. An ion blast splashed off the shipment effectively stopping it. The Privateers that remained scrambled to engage the pirates with moderate success.

The Pirates matched their number. From what Crow could tell it looked like their main force was made up of four starfighters, and two gunships. One of the gunships was an SS-54 Light Assault ship, the other he couldn’t get a clear bead on but could make out that it was vaguely imperial.

PeeGee, start locking on to the SS-54,” barked Crow as canon fire slipped uncomfortably close to his ship. The little droid gave a thumbs-up with it’s flamethrower light.

The three remaining Privateers were fully engaged with the starfighters as the bigger ships closed in on the shipment. The Blackbird swooped down toward the SS-54, raking it’s nose with heavy laser fire. The light assault ship shuddered and it’s energy shield blinked twice before flickering off. The ship just managed to slip the final shot, narrowly escaping death in the process.

Crow shot just overhead of the two gunships, the SS-54 was breaking formation and heading after him, which was exactly what The Smuggler wanted.

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Terra was in the thick of it with the scout ship, his cannons flaring against as Terra threw the ship to the side and dove for a moment before pulling up and throwing the throttle forward, zooming to the full speed of her ship at 125 MGLT.

She made it to the Destroyer's hull at near-suicidal speeds, throwing her ship's speeds lower and shoving the yoke down to avoid slamming into one of the old decks. The scout ship... wasn't so lucky. He thought he had it under control right up until the moment his ship clipped the floor and he was sent spinning off into the wall of the destroyer into a twisted wreck of metal and fighter fuel.

Terra dove down, exiting out of the hangar bay of the destroyer and looping back around to the fight. She could see fighters zipping around the convoy and flashes of laser fire.

Crow, status. Where do you need me? she asked, eyes flicking over the area. Whether she was in charge of the operation of not, she knew that it was wisest to listen to the person who had been in the scrape over there while she'd dealt with her own problems.

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The SS-54 assault ship was right on The Blackbird’s tail. Laser fire streaked past BeeGee whooped. Crow smirked, then pulled the trigger. The Blackbird’s twin heavy laser turret fired two shots directly into the nose of the ship, ripping it to shreds. Crow whipped his ship around and was after the second gunship. To his surprise, his enemy was banking away from the shipment and coming toward him.

Crow called out to PeeGee, “Lock on that ship and ready a torpedo!
BeeGee twittered sarcastically, and Crow shot back, “Hey, cut the attitude buster!

As he and BeeGee closed back in on the main battlefield he noticed another privateer missing… they were down two and the pirates still had their full force. An explosion in Terra’s direction made his heart stop then he heard her voice. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and responded, “Took ya long enough,” he joked deflecting his anxiety, “Our privateer friends could use a hand. I’m going for the last gunship then can assist.

Laser fire lit up the closing distance between Crow and the Decimator. One shot collided with his shield sending the energy field flickering, barely clinging to life. A bead of sweat slid down Crow’s brow. BeeGee shrieked as astromech’s do. Just before collision, the two ships spun away from one another, but The Blackbird’s enhanced maneuvering gave it the advantage. In no time at all Crow whipped his ship around and set to tracking the Decimator.

Turns out they DO have that ship I was talking about!” he said over the open comm to no one really. He had a bad habit of talking to himself when he was hyperfocused.

The Blackbird fired twice sending four streaks of blue laser fire into the back of the Decimator. It’s shield now clung to life the same way his did.

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Terra Lanris

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The good news was that the pirates weren't really ready for a legitimate threat to their attack. Security had mostly been laxish, so the appearance of armed combatants made their job that much harder and more dangerous.

By the time Terra had made it back to the fight, Eclipse had managed to take down one of the fighters, which equalized the numbers a bit. Not that things were looking good, but they weren't looking bad.

Terra wasted no time in tearing in from the side, cannons raking over the side of two of the fighters flying in tandem. She saw the glow of their shields flicker as the rounds glanced off the deflectors, but they couldn't hold out forever.

She banked hard and dropped on their tail, firing at the one that looked like it had taken the biggest beating. Ion and cannon shots ripped through the space between them, pounding the fighter and leaving it hurtling off, disabled by the ion shots to either be retrieved or destroyed later... or come back online if they waited too long.

Content that Eclipse could finish off the last fighter on their own, she made another turn that sent her stomach into her throat and swung around on Crix's target.

Gonna hit it with the ion cannons, nearly in range hold on, she said, flicking her thumb along the control yoke to cycle off of mixed fire and onto ion only.

She zoomed back in his direction, opening up on its weakened shields and seeing electrical zaps carrying across the entire surface.

R3, broad-range comms, she said, not even sure if the troops on the Decimator would be able to hear it in their partially-fried state.

Surrender or be destroyed. This is your only warning. We will fire on you, she said. She had originally thought to bring them into her business, but now that she was here, she began to see problems with the idea. Eclipse wouldn't play well with them most likely, and recruiting pirates... could be tricky if she were trying to appear "legitimate" to get elected as governor. Not that it was impossible, but... she wasn't sure.

She opened up a comline to Crix as she awaited a reply.

We may have to board. Even have the convoy attack too to bring in Blue Star support, she said tentatively.

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The crackling ion blasts reduced The Decimator to nothing more than a durasteel asteroid. Crow sat back in his captain’s chair letting Terra do the talking. He pulled a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lit it up.

We may have to board,” she said. Crow blew out a plume of smoke and considered their options. Realistically, blowing them out of space would put an end to their immediate problem, but what if this wasn’t the main force? “Even have the convoy attack too, to bring in Blue Star Support,” Crow chewed on the inside of his lip as he worked through the situation.

The VT-49 was a decent-sized ship, it ran best with four crew and could carry up to six passengers comfortably. He had a hard time believing a rag-tag group of pirates would be at full capacity in the ship, but he’d been surprised before.

Just as he started to answer a voice came across the broad range comm, “We would rather die th—” there was a sudden clang and the unmistakable sounds of a struggle. The signal cut then re-established, and a different voice came across the line. It had the drawn-out vowels of Mandalorian basic and oozed charisma, “Sorry about that, our lines got a bit jammed. Comms can be a bit funny when you’ve been blasted by an ion cannon. Good shot on ya, by the by.

Crow tight beamed a message to Terra that read: Might not need to board. Got a feeling this guy doesn’t wanna die.

We-uh, we surrender.

Out of the corner of his eye, Crow, could see the last of the pirate starfighters burst into fiery slag.

We seem to have bitten off a bit more than we could chew. My name is Koska. I’m the newly appointed captain of this -er band of marry men,” a mumbling drone of a voice just out of range seemed to cut in, but Koska shut them up, “We’d greatly enjoy not dying if that’s on the table.

BeeGee run a scan on their systems, see if they’re trying to recoup,” said Crow. The droid gave a concentrated whistle.

To Terra he wrote: I see two options. Kill them and be done with it, or take them prisoner and see if we can squeeze some info out of them. There could be more of them, and learning what they know about The Run could be valuable. I’ll follow your lead, Boss.

These pirates had been using one of the most dangerous portions of space in the galaxy as a hunting ground, there was something to be learned from a group clever enough to do that. Something that could benefit Crimson Dawn greatly in time.

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Terra continued to fly predatory circles around the decimator as her eyes flicked between the fighter's various displays. There was the messages from Crow, the readouts from her sensors to be sure no one else was incoming, and of course, the conversation to listen to with the "new Captain."

You'll power down all systems as they come back online and surrender your ship immediately, she said. Her finger brushed over the trigger momentarily as she waited for confirmation and then she opened a line back up to Crow.

Can you call back to get us some people to tow them out of here, she said, continuing to fly around.

Okay, Captain. How many more of you are there? she asked. She had no doubt that the executives at Kessel would demand some sort of justice or retribution for the crimes committed, but that didn't mean Terra couldn't still turn some of the pirates to her side.

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Terra kept her ship in motion circling the Decimator like a shark around wounded prey. Koska was doing his best to talk his way out of the grave, and a part of Crow felt for him. It was easy to get wrapped up in a zealot’s diatribe, and he would know, he’d done it and it nearly killed him.

BeeGee interrupted his train of thought to report that the ship was following directions. Crow sent that to Terra so she could see for herself they were complying. She asked him to set up a tow, and he complied adding, “I’d like first dibs on their nav systems.

There was a lot someone could learn about a smuggler based on their nav system. The routes they took and the ones they didn’t. This ship had flown out of a nebula in The Kessel Run. The behavior was uncommon, to say the least, and with Crimson Dawn attempting to expand its power to Kessel, it would be advantageous to have shortcuts through the notorious path.

Crow received a notification from their shipment that they’d recouped their power and were ready to move. Koska, now in a defeated but still incredibly charismatic— or maybe endearing was more accurate— tone answered all of Terra’s questions.

We’re a single squad from a larger unit, If I had to guess I’d say we’re a third of the whole crew. Oh, and before I forget, one of the starfighters sent word to the rest of the host just before he got slagged, so IF we are going to be leaving, I would do so now rather than later.

Suddenly, time was against them. “I”ll tow them, let’s regroup and come up with a plan to root out the rest.

Crow threw The Blackbird into action swooping down from his elevated location and over The Decimator while BeeGee secured the ship. His guns would be fixed to the front but at least he’d still be able to fire.

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Terra swore while she was off comms, not happy to hear that they had time working against them. The problem with time working against you was that it was how you made mistakes.

Crow moved in for towing the ship, and Terra continued to fly around the area to provide cover. I'm inclined to just wipe out the rest of their group. Full send, strafing runs and tear them up from the sky if we can find their base, she said to Crow. It was the ruthless thing to do, and Terra was in the business of winning. Whether that meant doing something ruthless or not.

I don't think we're going to have time to pull Eclipse or Blue Stars into the system. Could see if we can pull any of Kessel's security, she said, waiting to hear if he had any particular opinions of his own on the question.

I don't really like the idea of taking our couple of ships up against twice this number by ourselves, she said. If this was only a third, that meant there was still two thirds left... and they'd already lost some of their fighters.

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BeeGee chortled as The Blackbird finished connecting to The Decimator. Crow eased the throttle forward and sent them heading for the mouth of The Kessel Run. As soon as they broke from the anomalous gravity well unique to the nebula, he’d be jumping to hyperspace. No way in hell he was going up against the other two-thirds of this crew.

Already cutting your losses?” he asked as she mentioned glassing the whole fleet. It made sense, but he couldn’t shake they were missing something. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d come across a substantial force within one of the most dangerous fly zones in the universe.

There may be more to gain here. Feels like a diamond in the rough kinda situation, don’t you think?” he asked letting her chew on the situation a moment before adding, “When was the last time you heard of a crew of pirates nearly twenty ships deep based IN The Kessel run?

Crow lit up a cigarette while watching his radar and making his point, “I think the possibility of a big haul is sitting right in front of us.

Terra started bouncing logistics which he took to mean she was at least contemplating the idea. “I say we do this quietly, take care of it in-house,” he said matter of factly, “I’ll front the cost for some degenerates and pick this crew apart.

He flicked the comm to Koska who was in the middle of saying, “I’m just trying to fracking survive, Jonsta— Wha— oh frak me, uh, yes? What can I do for you? Better yet, what can I trade for our lives?

Crow left him hanging a second longer than normal just as Koska started to speak, Crow said, “Your force operates in branches. Yes or no?
Uh—I’m not sure what-
This branch was six ships, how’s the rest of your force dispersed?
Well, it wouldn’t matter now would it?” Koska asked timidly.
What do you mean?
Everything will be in a sort of flux now, no? Be a bit of a power vacuum left when we don’t come back.

That’s when an idea began to blossom in Crow’s mind.

What if you did?” Now, it was Koska’s turn to ask for an explanation, “Sorry?

If you want to live the price is treachery.
Well, mate, as I’m sure you and your friend can ascertain, me and my boys value our lives over everything, else,” there was a glimmer of hope in Koska’s voice.

Crow left them hanging. Better to leave them guessing than make promises he couldn’t keep. He switched his comm back to Terra.

Yeah, give me three weeks. I can have this crew ripped apart from the inside out by then no problem.

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Money isn't my concern. Eclipse could deal with this easily, it's the time that has me worried, she said. But he was already plowing ahead, and seemed to have an idea at that.

Well, she supposed she wouldn't argue. If he had an idea, then that was that.

Okay, your plan, so what's it going to be? she asked. You're calling the shots, she said. It was a refreshing change of pace in a way not to be the one who had to come up with all the plans.

For now, she "kicked back" in her fighter, flew them back toward Kessel, and hoped to profit from whatever plan he had.
 

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Crow felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth as Terra handed him the reins. “Told you she likes me, BeeGee.” he said with comms muted. The droid warbled something that almost sounded like, ”Oh brother…”

The flight back to Kessel remained uneventful. Koska tried hailing him a few times but Crow never answered. Once back on Kessel, the former pirate now enforcer, would have to determine exactly how treacherous Koska was willing to be for his life.

⌬⌬⌬

Two weeks later…

Elongated star lines snapped back into pinpricks as the VT-49 Decimator dropped out of hyperspace. BeeGee whistled low as The Kessel Run spread out before them. Nebulous crimson formations undulated with cracking lightning as the gunship closed in on it’s final location. Just ahead a small rundown space station sat cockeyed amidst the void. Koska leaned forward from his passenger chair and pointed, “That’s it there.

Yup,” Crow replied hollowly. This was it. Slowly, they drifted toward the Pirate’s main base. A pair of starfighters dropped out of the hangar then swung around and started heading their way. Koska bristled and Crow set a “reassuring” hand on his shoulder.

Easy, pal,” growled Crow, “This is your big moment.

The Decimator received a hail and Koska opened the line. "Approaching vessel, you'd better identify yourself quick or get blown to slag."

Koska cleared his throat and started to speak, all that came out was a squeak, so he coughed cleared his throat again then said, “This is Kayden Koska, newly appointed captain of The Thrasher returning to base.

Koska? What happened to Sazbit?” asked the lead ship.
We, uh… well you see, he…,“ Koska let out a dramatic sigh, a tear began to well up in his right eye and he wailed, “He H-he’s dead. Our magnanimous and courageous captain died in the line of duty.

What?!” asked the pilot.
It’s true. He was the best of us, truly, now— All emotion suddenly leaving his voice— please escort us to base.
That’s crazy, can’t wait to hear how he went out, I’ll fly you in, send just send over your transponder.
Of course, thank you for your assistance,” Koska sent the information, the pilot verified it and they closed the com.

Step one: Complete.

Koska sank back into his chair chest heaving like he’d just run a marathon. Crow nodded at him and then stepped out of the cockpit. The Decimator was a spacious gunship with room for up to ten passengers and it was filled to the brim. Crow, BeeGee, Terra, and a squad from Kessel were disguised as members of Koska’s crew.

The plan was simple. Infiltrate the pirate base, locate the leader’s ship, and either steal it or it’s nav computer. These pirates had been operating within The Kessel Run and had become notorious for popping up from where they shouldn’t be.

The goal was to compound the coordinates plotted in both Koska and the captain’s ship to formulate a way to clear The Kessel Run impossibly fast. Effectively giving Crimson Dawn incredible reaction speed within the complex nebula. Securing this route could give them a huge advantage when it came to moving spice.

Crow stepped into the ship's lounge and poured himself a cup of coffee. They had a few minutes before they were taxied in, so he took a seat in the booth and opened a holoprojection of the pirate’s station.

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Terra was dubious about this, but she'd gone along with it. She listened to the conversation play out and she kept her pistol close at hand with extra ammunition if this went sideways.

Her tail flicked slightly to the side in aggravation and anticipation as they were taxied into the landing zone.

Aren't they going to notice a Tiefling wasn't in their crew before? she asked. She wore her helmet to cover her face now, but this probably wasn't as tight-nit of a crew as she was used to. In fact, with their willingness to turn on one another, she had to assume that they weren't very close knit. Perhaps the exception would be within their individual ships.

As they started unloading from the ship, Terra waited for most of the people to head out before disembarking down to the surface of the... asteroid station? It seemed to be an asteroid that was contained within a life-support bubble.

We should make Koska come with us, she said. As insurance, she said.

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90
Aren’t they going to notice a Tiefling wasn’t in their crew before?

Crow cocked a wry grin at her, “You’re cute when you’re nervous,” he teased. Before she could throttle him he said, “Luckily, you and I aren’t going to meet the captain.

The Smuggler could tell Terra wasn’t loving this plan, so he tried to put her at ease. “I’ve planted a bomb on our good friend Koska here,” he said while wrapping an arm around the squirming pirate. Crow pointed to his wrist console, a small red light blinked menacingly. “If our comrade here wants to live he’s gotta stick to the plan, and go report in,

Crow whistled sharply and one of the mercs stepped up “Danner, you’re going to stick to ole Koska here like a monkey lizard to a Hutt.

Danner confirmed his orders and fell in step behind Koska who raised a hand in question.

I’m sorry, did you say you put a bomb in me?
Crow waved it away, “You didn’t really think I’d trust you to betray your captain, did you?
W-where’d you put it?
Base of your skull, where else?
Awww, that’s the worst spot!” Koska groaned while fingering the nape of his neck. Crow chuckled wolfishly. He waved two other members of the merc’s over to Terra and himself and gave Danner command over the rest.

Crow gestured for the mercs to follow him. BeeGee rolled up to his side and displayed a holomap that highlighted where the captain’s ship was. “Lead the way, bud.

The little astromech twittered excitedly as it took point. Crow rolled his shoulders and followed after.

@Phoenix
 
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