Ask Externships Are Hard

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis looked at Trace in shock as she made a comment about what she was thinking. Shit. It always complicated things when people knew. They always treated her different. But then she realized that the girl was messing with her and the shock and fear faded away into a nervous laugh. "You got me." She chuckled uncomfortably.

Ailis looked up at the second story window of the facility and she was... well. She hadn't quite figured out the whole force jumping thing yet, so she was glad when Trace came up with another suggestion. One that involved a bit more talking and a bit less force fueled athleticism. Which was good because unless it was climbing fences and running from cops, Ailis wasn't exactly the most athletically inclined.

"Confident? Right now, not very," She started saying anxiously as an idea entered her brain and the devil on her shoulder screamed in her ear. Confidence, thats what crude was for after all. Just one swallow and she was on top of the world. Fuck it. Not like she hadn't gotten high doing school shit before anyways. "Gimme a few minutes though and I will be." She said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small Hello Lothcat pill case.

"Want one?" She offered Trace as she pulled a glittery pink and white pill capsule out of the tin and put it in her mouth, dry swallowing. It would take a few minutes to kick in, but by the time she had backtracked and reached the entrance to the spaceport she would be a rockstar.

@Phoenix

 

[Zhaan Duran]

Zhaan didn't pay too mind to getting ignored by the other blue-skin around, smirking a little around his cigar. Whether he wanted to be a stick in the mud or carry one up his ass wasn't really Duran's businesss. Instead he focused in on the Weequay who'd shown up and the little exchange over a device. He tasted the harsh, peppery from in his mouth before blowing it out, head tilting slightly when the man rushed over to the spread out group of pilots.

Duran got his hands on the device first and connected it to his bracer-embedded smartpad to copy the port-key code. It was literally the key to get out of this damn place without drawing unneeded attention and the currently-smuggler had other work to get to. Meanwhile workers had finished offloading his load of guns to the into-Sith-space ship and were working on replacing them with the Sith-manufactured goods aboard the A Ship Named Slipback. Nothing overtly suspicious so far.

'Sides, masked up blue-boy over there looked plenty vigilant. Not that Zhaan wasn't, peeking out from his under hat at the different entrances. He only looked lazy, hands casually resting coincidentally close to his pistols. Rangers or rivals did occasionally like to burst into active deals and Zhaan wasn't a big fan of that happening with his proverbial pants down.

"Hey, careful with that!" he irritably chastised a droid moving a crate of sensitive electronics. That shit was expensive.

@Phoenix @Arcangel @Orbit

 

[Trace]

Well Trace wasn't feeling very confident either, but they worked with what they had, and in this case, she was taking the acolyte's ascent as confidence because there weren't a lot of other choices.

Okay, Force be with you and all that, she said, but stopped when the other girl offered her... something. Her head tilted to the side for a moment as she faced the other girl. She... couldn't quite tell what they were. A drug of some sort? She somehow doubted they were breath mints.

What are they? she asked, the answer to that question determining wether she took one with a thank you or politely declined.

Either way, she was off to the window moments later. Pulling the Force to herself she leapt up to the upper floor, hoisting herself inside the room and dropping to the catwalk with the stealth and agility of... a cat.

She moved quietly along, letting the Force guide her through. She would only be so much help with actually reading the names of the ships, but instead she simply waited and listened. The Force augmented that sense as well, hearing the men loading the cargo, the sounds of their hearts beating. She heard them mention weapons and complain about the weight. And she waited.

@Arcangel @Orbit @Mr. Teatime

 

[Griffin Lockhart]

With the port-key downloaded into the smuggler's gauntlet, the road for them to depart from the space station looked clear. All that was left was for the shipments to be loaded but with the hands-on-deck they had, it shouldn't have been too long for that to happen.

They had been fortunate enough to avoid the spotlight of any authorities or rivals so far and it eased Lockhart slightly. One last remaining check on his gauntlet to see if his preparations were holding, the lights, doors, and other aspects of the dock still being within his control. It was all going much smoother than he had anticipated.

As he took one more scan around, he heard Zhaan shout at one of the droids behind him. Deciding to deviate from his path, Lockhart moved to one of the crates that had yet to be moved and placed one of his boots on top of it as a rest. His gaze went over to the Chiss while he tilted his head slightly as he asked, "Smuggler by trade?" Zhaan certainly fits the appearance of one. There was always a story for each one of their kind leaving their planet and he wondered if this smuggler possibly held military experience like him.

@Mr. Teatime @Arcangel @Phoenix

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis paused for a moment as Trace asked what they were, thinking about what to tell her. She thought about lying before settling on the truth. If the girl was a mind reader she would know if she was lying anyways. Its called Crude." She started with the name before continuing.

"Its a drug, sort of. It doesn't really 'get you high'," She quoted with the fingers on her other hand, "So much as it artificially boosts your confidence, lowers your inhibitions, dampens fear. Etc." She detailed the effects as quick and efficiently as she could. "You can do anything you want on Crude" She said with a devilish grin and a glint in her eye. She could feel it kicking in already and wanted to get going before the rush started.

Letting Trace take one or not, she would quickly stow the case. Turning and moving back to the hole in the fence, she would turn back to give Trace a smile and a word of encouragement. "Force with you too. And luck." Her eyes shined and she grinned at her before slipping through the fence and backtracking through the alley as she schemed of what to do.

Ailis strolled into the spaceport and looked around with her hands in her jacket pockets. Her eyes examined the options, a few open bay doors. She spotted a ship with Weequays loading and transfering crates, there was also a blue dude and another dude who looked strapped and packing blasters. This was definitely the place.

Ailis walked up to the open bay door and rapped on the metal there like she was knocking on a door before she walked in, confidence in her step. She practically owned the place. "Hey dudes. Who can I talk to about a thing?" She asked as she walked up to helmet man and a... Pantoran? With red eyes? A Pantoran with strange eyes. Check.

"I'm a student at the college here and I'm doing a paper on the spaceport." She lied easily, almost like it was the truth. It seemed believable. Ailis believed it from her own mouth. This was gonna be the best paper she had ever written. "I'm doing a critical piece on the dangers of spaceport security, and a proposition on changes that can make the job safer. Do you guys work here?" She spouted her fabrication. She looked like a college student, she was a college student. It was basically truth. Ailis looked back and forth between the two of them as she waited for an answer, eyes bright with an almost imperceptible shininess to them.

@Orbit @Mr. Teatime @Phoenix

 

[Trace]

Trace had listened to the explanation, but ultimate declined with a "no thanks." Her experience with drugs was extremely limited, and she didn't want to risk messing up this operation if there was some sort of adverse reaction. As for the other girl... Trace just hoped she knew what she was doing with this "Crude."

She continued to listen, hearing mention of smuggling and distantly the sound of Ailis making her introduction. She could sense the electricity flowing through the room. Like seeing a power system, she traced it toward one of the terminals just ahead and beneath her.

She waited until she was satisfied everyone was distracted before dropping silently off the catwalk. She touched a hand to the console and let her mind tear through the console, searching it for information. Ship names, shipping route, cargo, captain names, anything of value to turn over to the ISB. Being blind came with its own advantages she'd learned long ago. Rather than having to stand and work the console, potentially drawing attention, her use of technomancy was far more discreet. Yeah, she was going to have to get a career in the ISB when she grew up.

Just keep them distracted a bit longer, she thought to herself before finding the information she needed. A Ship Named Slipback. Slipback, slipback, slipback, she committed to memory. What kind of a ridiculous ship name is that anyway?! She committed the others to memory as well before withdrawing her hand and hoping, hoping, hoping that Ailis kept them distracted while she darted out.

@Arcangel @Orbit @Mr. Teatime

 

[Zhaan Duran]

Zhaan's crimson eyes went up from one of the doorways to partly turn to to the other Chiss. They'd unexpectly wandered up to start some conversation after the earlier snubbing. Duran smirked a little at the other man's especially military appearance, in stark contrast to the corsair's more piece-meal look. The only thing they seemed to have in common offhand, aside from species, were their preference for DE-10s.

"I'll take about any job," Zhaan replied conversationally, shrugging slightly. "So long as it pays. Moving merch's just one of them." He looked Lockhart up and down, from the way he held his carbine to the put-together armour and the way he stood. "Triggerman, I'm guessing?" Even their accents were different. Where Lockhart's had a crispness typical of Chiss military or the Core worlds, Zhaan was from a more outlying Chiss world and was half-raised by pirates, thieves, and scoundrels. He sounded more like some kind of backwater aristocrat if anything.

There was a knock by one of the doors he'd been watching a few moments prior and his gaze turned, tapping fingers stilling atop his left-hand pistol. There was a child wandering into the hangar. From her mouth spouted lots of words about a college and spaceport security. Zhaan kind of wondered why she wasn't at the main spaceport for this. Street-rat spy, or naive student? Either way, Duran wasn't security for this job, so he didn't give a damn.

A lazy grin spread out on the corsair's face, still leaning where he was as other workers looked variably tense or confused. "Do I look it?" he asked. Zhaan did not look like he worked here. At all. "Which college sent you way out here, little lady?" His voice was smooth and charmingly relaxed, like nothing in the galaxy was worth getting too worked up about.

@Arcangel @Orbit @Phoenix

 

[Griffin Lockhart]

Lockhart couldn't help but let out a light chuckle at the fellow Chiss' answer. It was exactly the same one he would have given if asked. Based on what he was hearing, there didn't appear to be any trace of the military within him and that eased his worries somewhat. It was better for everyone's health if they didn't have to shoot each other, especially during a job.

Upon being asked a question, a simple shrug was given before he added, "Just like you, if only the price is right." What was once missions for the betterment of his government and people, they were now solely just for him and he was going to extract every single credit of his worth. It was time to finally live a little.

Hearing the sound of the knock, Lockhart immediately lifted his boot off the crate and turned his attention towards the door. He had been expecting the authorities, another gang, but instead, it was a young woman as she came sauntering toward them without a care in the world.

Giving a quick glance to Zhaan, he returned his masked gaze back to the girl before stepping towards her. By the time she was telling them about her "critical piece" for her college, the Chiss had closed the distance, giving the appearance that he was about to speak before he quickly lifted his left wrist. Activating the launcher, a bola immediately whizzed out and soared towards the girl. With drugs in her system, the lack of great distance between them, it would be hard for Lockhart to miss and for her to avoid it. This would cut out all the cute talk as even if they carried the conversation normally, she wouldn't be allowed to leave after.

If it connected, the bola would wrap around her tightly and constrict her movement as it knocked her to the floor. Lockhart didn't reach for his gun but instead approached the young woman, pressing a button on his gauntlet as all the doors of the building shut and locked. "No hard feelings. I just can't let you leave until we do. The silver lining, you'll have plenty to write about for the dangers." The slightly modulated voice spoke calmly.

Even though she gave the appearance of a college girl, the fact they had been intruded on left him on edge. Still, he had no inclination to hurt her and pressed a button on his headset, speaking into the comms of the others, "Time to hurry up."

@Arcangel @Phoenix @Mr. Teatime

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis was not disappointed as the strange Pantoran spoke, a smooth and laidback drawl that matched his look and his hat perfectly. "Do you?" She gave him a look up and down before shaking her head. "With a hat like that, you're definitely the pilot." She was about to answer his question about what college she went to when Mr. Helmet shot at her. Or, shot something that wrapped her legs up and sent her sprawling backwards.

"What the fuck!" Ailis exclaimed as she sat up and blew hair out of her face ineffectually before wiping it away with a hand. "What the fuck was that for." She glared up at Mr. Helmet angrily. She struggled for a moment, tugging at the bonds around her legs determined to get up and kick the guys ass but it was no use. She gave up on that notion quickly. The violent reaction she had gotten for her intrusion pretty much confirmed that this was the place

"Ah fuck you caught me, there is no paper. I'm just here to sell some Crude." She fibbed, though it was a little bit closer to the truth. She was always looking to sell the goods and these fine gentlemen seemed like perfect customers. Well maybe not because they both seemed pretty confident already but everyone could use a little pick me up now and then.

"The people at this small port are usually more receptive to buying than the big one," She hooked her head towards the larger and much more frequented spaceport. "Never had anyone here try to tie me up though, guess you guys are into that kinda thing though huh? Let me up and I promise I'll hang around." She prattled on, confident that she could convince them to let her free.

@Phoenix @Mr. Teatime @Orbit

 

[Trace]

Trace crept back from the console, pulling the Force to herself and leaping up to the catwalk again, gripping the rails before hoisting herself smoothly over the railing and landing. She focused once again on the world around her as she crouched low.

She heard the click of a weapon and the yelling that followed. She'd been captured? Why? They'd just attacked a random woman for no reason? Her hand reached down and she slid her fingers along the cylinder of her lightsaber hilt, easing it out of her jacket and holding it in her hand.

And then she ran through her options. She could leave and leave Ailis behind. She knew that Master Atolon would have said to do that. The Sith survive by strength and all that. There was some merit to that, but there was something to be said for team efforts.

She could hear Ailis fessing up to trying to sell Crude, probably a more realistic expectation. After all, no one would be expecting to actually see Sith here. In an Empire of trillions there were only a limited number of Sith.

So rather than leave or jump straight into the fray, Trace waited. Without needing direct line of sight, she simply listened, focused on the Force, and waited to see if they would actually release her before they left. And if they didn't... she'd have to think of plan B. Sitting and waiting, that was what recon was all about, right? Well, things weren't boring anymore.

@Arcangel @Orbit @Mr. Teatime

 

[Zhaan Duran]

Zhaan just grinned a little and nodded appreciatively at the echoed sentiment from Lockhart. Chiss were justifiably uncommon outside their own space. Most were either exiles or spies, or maybe some combination of both. Duran preferred to think of himself as just another simple man making his way through the universe.

Duran's head tilted for a moment, hearing a light sound by the second floor, up and to his left. Chiss had sharper hearing than humans, another detail he felt no need to spread around. The sound was faint, though, and when he looked up there wasn't anyone up there. No one should be up in that room, either. Zhaan shrugged to himself.

He exchanged a momentarily glance with Lockhart over the young lady showing up but didn't do shit about it himself either way. "I can fly just fine," he answered Ailis, right before Lockhart bola'd her without a word. Wasn't that surprising, really. Walking face-first into criminal dealings could get a lady shot, or worse, depending on the planet.

Lockhart was being nice about it. Not that the girl had any need to know the details, of course. There was barely a reaction from Zhaan at all. It was business as usual. "Apologies, little lady. Not my thing," he told her, chewing on the end of his cigar. The man walked forward, all casual energy, and grabbed Ailis' jacket to drag her a bit so she was leaned up against a wall instead of awkwardly tied up on the floor. Didn't do anything to help her get free, though.

"Try the bar a block down." Zhaan indicated a direction with his head, speaking to the captured Ailis as conversationally as if she was not, in fact, a temporary prisoner. Meanwhile, the workers were double-timing their lifting to get shit going, spurred on by some random person wandering in and Lockhart's prodding. "Meanwhile, be a daisy and relax where you are. Nothing personal."

@Arcangel @Orbit @Phoenix

 

[Griffin Lockhart]

Lockhart stood over Ailis and gave her a little tilt of the head when she admitted to lying. It went from a college paper to selling drugs. The one-eighty was a little surprising but it pretty much ensured that she wouldn't be released from her restraints. If she was already lying, there was most likely more to be discovered.

Before the Chiss could open his mouth, Zhaan had walked over, apologizing for his rejection before he dragged her to be put up against a wall. While this happened, the bola was reloaded just in case of a bold escape or another surprise appearance. Lockhart wasn't comfortable in the dock anymore after the girl's intrusion. It was as if the sanctity of the place had been defiled and the very air was unsettling for him.

As Zhaan went back to the transport ships to help in the effort of loading, Lockhart walked over and leaned against a nearby pillar. His arms crossed over his chest as he peered down at the unknown Sith before giving her an upward nod, "Advice for next time you deal, bring a blaster. You'll get robbed trying to sell down here." It is always better to have it and not need it than the opposite. It wouldn't have made her capture as easy as it is.

While the remnants of the weapons were loaded on, Lockhart simply leaned against the wall and waited. His attention would be primarily on Ailis but he would keep an eye out for anything.

@Arcangel @Phoenix @Mr. Teatime

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis' bullshitting was in no way successful in getting her free, it did however get the red eyed Pantoran come up all close to her, hauling her up to lean her against the wall. That smooth voice and casual attitude was enough to make a girl melt and she looked up at him with the smell of his cigar in her nose.

"Sure thing flyboy," Her shining eyes meeting his unreadable reds. "I am relaxed, its you two boys who are getting all worked up." She purred with a wink as she continued, letting the crude talk for her. "How about you untie me and we make this personal."

It was then that the man who had entangled her spoke up, suggesting she carry a blaster next time. She glared at him. "You don't want me with a blaster, else you're the first one who gets a taste of it." She said in a tone that was joking and threatening at the same time before glancing back to blue and the again to Mr. Helmet, "Nothing personal." She giggled, having stolen flyboy's words out of his mouth.

@Phoenix @Orbit @Mr. Teatime

 

[Trace]

Trace continued to wait in silence and far more tense than she should have probably been. Her attention was now fully fixated on what was happening below, shifting between listening ti Ailis and her captors and the men still loading the transport.

Beyond that, she could sense the building tension in the room. She wasn't going to drop down, lightsaber waving, but she certainly wouldn't be sad if they up and left soon. Then everyone could get back to their lives.

Observe and report, she reminded herself as thoughts of interfering crept into her mind. She still had that nagging feeling that the ISB was watching and judging her, but they weren't stepping in. If they weren't stepping in, she wasn't making a call. Or pulling the fire alarm, no sir.

Come on, come on, just load up and leave, she thought to herself, fingers tapping nervously against the top of her lightsaber.

@Mr. Teatime @Arcangel @Orbit

 

[Zhaan Duran]

Zhaan's amusement at this little lady's attitude was plain to see on his face. For all her flirting, though, he wasn't the least bit interested. "I think you're doing just fine where you are," the corsair said, nodding his head slightly and turning to check on how well loading was going. Looked to him like all the weapons and other supplies had been properly loaded up, switched to their proper ships.

"Trust, little lady, you'd rather bolas than bolts." Zhaan tipped his hat and walked over to his ship to personally double-check the loaded cargo, peeking up through the cargo lift. Yup, good to go and a droid count on his gauntlet's smartpad had the right number. Duran took his cigar out with his left hand and loudly whistled, turning his hand in the air as the sign for 'time to go.'

He gave another good look around the area. Other than the one weirdly self-assured girl trying to talk herself out of her bindings there wasn't anything to be overly suspicious of. Zhaan glanced up at the overhanging area with catwalks and windows again, giving them a good long look, fingers tapping against a holstered blaster. Then he shrugged and turned to Lockhart.

"Deal's done."

@Orbit @Arcangel @Phoenix

 

[Griffin Lockhart]

The girl's lust for Zhaan was comedic to the Chiss. From college paper to dealing drugs, and then to flirt with one of her capturers. It was a strange list of points to follow but she hadn't posed any threat, allowing him to see the amusement with her plan of release. Peeling her gaze away from the smuggler, they returned to Lockhart and warned him about what would have happened if she did have a blaster.

Lockhart couldn't help but let out a genuine chuckle as he cocked his head at her, a light tone to his words, "I'll keep that in mind if we meet again girl." As he started to walk away, he heard Ailis tell him that it was nothing personal. The Chiss stopped for a moment, half turning to face her as he rhetorically asked, "Of course, it's just business, isn't it?" When one understood it was easier to remove hurt feelings in this business, it was much easier to survive and thrive.

After that, Zhaan signaled that everything had been packed away and ready to ship. Lockhart returned his gaze back to Ailis and put two fingers to his forehead to give her a half salute. "It's been a pleasure." The mercenary would then depart to leave the girl to figure out how to escape from the restraint herself.

"Let's get a move on then," Lockhart replied back to the fellow Chiss before he entered his ship. The other two would follow Zhaan as he had downloaded the port-key information.

@Arcangel @Phoenix @Mr. Teatime