Rat's gotta eat, Bird's gotta fly

[Lirreka]

*The Near-Hyperphonic Wail of Nikki Nova backed by the thunderous beat of her Wookie Drummer set the deck plates to humming in the cargo hold of The Eclipse. Falgrim's head bobbed to the rythmn set up by the song playing on the intercom of his ship. It was the latest album by Nikki Nova and her group Durasteel Dreams, (Avaliable now at your local AllMart for just 12 credits! Get your's now and get a free Holo-poster of Nikki Nova herself!) one of Falgrim's guilty little pleasures. He walked back and forth on the ramp as the Cargo Droids loaded flat after flat of 'Emergency Supplies' which he checked off on his Datapad. The WORM tags (Write Once Read Many) on the containers had all the right official stamps and codes which would permit this shipment passage without excise taxes. Gotta love bean-counters. As long as all the bottom lines tallied up they were happy. As smoothly as things were going he'd be off Coruscant before the shift change which would save him about 2000 credits in bribes. War always brought the worst and best out in people. 'Hyperdrive' ended and the sultry tones of Nikki caressed Falgrim's ears with one of her Neo-thrive blues songs. It brought a smile to his face.*

"Alright guys, go get the cargo out of bay seven-seven-delta." Falgrim ordered. The Droids beeped and trundled off to comply. Falgrim glanced around the nearly empty landing bay and smirked. He'd be a lot happier when he was off Coruscant.

 

[Lirreka]

*It doesen't take long, Falgrim is rather expert at this, and the hold of the Eclipse is full along with a few smuggler's holds that no one knows about. Falgrim pays off the last of the bribes and fires up the engines of the freighter. Several minutes later the ship is a black speck against the blackness of space.
The Nav-com loads up the cource and with a back cracking jar the ship jolts into Hyperspace. Putting the live album of Durasteel Dreams into the deck, he punches play and leans back.*

"Nar Shaddaa here I come." he murmurs and listens to the Neo-blues.


<div align="center">**** Time (as they say in the epics) Passes****</div>

The Eclipse ghosts out of hyperspace whisper quiet and silky smooth. Getting clearance to land he brings the freighter to a rest on one of the landing pads. Beat up cargo droids and more beat up looking Radeons come out ready to unload. Falgrim meets them at the ramp.

"You better have lots of credits boys, 'cuz I got the A-number one goods straight from the horses mouth in Coruscant." He grins as credits change hands... "All yers." He says and steps aside.

"It's gonna be a hot time in the ole cantina tonight!" Falgrim chortles as he counts his credits...

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

As she walks down the streets of Nar Shaddaa, her arms are clasped closely around her waist and her eyes look to everyone suspiciously. Those who catch her gaze and hold it, she quickly averts her own hoping they will quit watching her. Trying to still grasp what just happened, she glanced behind her and caught the glimpse of something. Squinting to see what it was as her heart began to pound in her chest, she didn't see the man before her as she walked right into him. As if on instinct, she raised her hands in a defensive stance and quickly turned to face him. Her eyes were full of fear and her face as white as that of a ghost as she backed away from him slowly.

 

[Lirreka]

*Falgrim catches Jade before she falls back*

"Whoa there girl..." He smiles "Sorry bout that, shoulda been looking where I was going." He tips his hat to her " You alright?"

It wasn't much like him to care too much about others but he was well paid right now and that always put him in a good mood.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

She furrows her thin eyebrows at him as if she didn't understand what he was saying. Yet, one could look in her eyes and see that she indeed did understand. Hearing a sound behind her, she frantically turned her gaze back behind her again and saw a woman point her out to some thugs, members of one of the Hutts underground organizations. She knew they were after her. She had afterall killed two of their members in cold blood just a few minutes prior. The people wandering the streets of Nar Shaddaa would give up anyone for a few credits. No one could be trusted. Turning her gaze back to Falgrim, she nodded her head quickly and fled the area. Her long, flowing robes fluttered about her body, making it difficult to see just where her body began and ended as she ran away. It was almost as if she appeared to be floating across the ground. Chaos began to erupt around them as blaster fire followed after her, the thugs not caring if they hit innocent bystanders.

 

[Lirreka]

"Aw Shit!" Falgrim exclaims drawing two of his blasters. They're firing in his direction just as much hers and that means he gets to shoot back. The difference being Falgrim is a damn good shot. Firing several rounds in their direction aiming to wound rather then kill He infact gives the girl cover fire.

"I'd be findin me a new hobby 'bout now fellas otherwise I'm gonna stop playin Nice!" He hollars out to them. He is a disreputable figure so his skill with blasters should be well known here.

He backs away from the men in the direction the girl fled.. She got him into this and that means he has a right to know what the heck he got himself into.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Panting, she turned a corner and disappeared into an alley. Closing her eyes, she plastered herself against the wall trying to not to make a sound. Slowly turning her head to the side, she listened to the gunfire going back and forth and screams of others. All of this was because of her. Why had those men attacked her? Why did she have to kill them? Stricken with panic and uncertain of what might happen next, she listened carefully knowing they wouldn't stop. You can do this, she thought. Flashes of training came to her mind, training she never remembered having.

Two of the thugs fell to the ground writhing in pain as three others took cover from Falgrim's blaster fire, caring little for their fallen comrades. The streets had emptied quickly as he made his way down the street. Another choice shot took down one more thug leaving him only two left returning fire. Smoke began to fill the street and slowly rise into the air from the shots, making it harder and harder to see.

 

[Lirreka]

Blasterfire struck his coat but not him. Frowning he begins to aim at more painful spots on the remaining ones.
"Damnit now you're pissin me off. Don't make me tell your boss you've cost him an extra 10 percent next time I haul for him!"

With that he ducks down the alley he's certain she used and takes off at a trot, his blasters vanishing into his coat. He wanted answers.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Like clockwork, one and two thugs fell to the ground silent as he dipped into the alley. Her eyes saw a figure moving slowly through the shadows as she swallowed hard and knelt down to the ground. Reaching her hands out to find something, anything she could use as a weapon, she closed her fingers around a small, rusted pipe and slowly stood back up. Eyes darting to find him, she almost held her breath waiting for him to get close enough. Luckily for him, she had not been triggered. What blow she might land upon him would be devestating, but not nearly as devestating as the full brunt of the force she could bring.

Another figure was watching all that had happened since she was triggered and relaying it back to his superior. For her first field test, she had done remarkably well. He had asked his superior of she should be triggered yet again to take down this man, yet was refused. His master wanted to see just how she would react with the every day world and if her training and programming would hold.

 

[Lirreka]

*Falgrim moved through the Alley... He's known alleys like this all his life. It didn't matter what world they were on or in what culture they were built, they were all the same, they reeked with desperation and shattered hope. He didn't hate them but familiarity bred contempt.*
"They're gone, I convinced them to go the other way..." He said aloud... "You're safe from em now." He moved down the alley slowly "Comeon girl, I got some serious drinking to do and yer cutting into my sober flirting time... Didn't have no decent flirting back on Coruscant thanks to that blue bastard.." He muttered the last.. "Comeon and I'll buy ya a round of Lum."

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Her hands waivered for a moment as she listened to his words. For what seemed like ages, she didn't move nor make a sound; yet, this man didn't seem as if he would be leaving any time soon. Finally, realizing he meant her no harm, she reluctantly set the pipe down, letting it clatter against the ground. Taking a few tentative steps closer to him, she looked up to his towering form, towering to her small frame at least. The darkness made it hard to see his face. Swiftly scooting by him, she made her way toward the street again and peeked her head out. It was almost as if she did not believe a word he had just spoken to her about having taken care of everything. What if he were involved with them in some way? They did shoot at him, though, why would they do that if he was with them? Should she trust him?

 

[Lirreka]

*Falgrim flashed his most endearing and roguish smile at the girl and held out his hand*
"Hiya, My name's Falgrim Andaro but most call me Grim. How about you and me skedaddle out of this alley and head to a nice warm Cantina? I promise I'll be as much of a gentleman as I can be... We'll chat and you can tell me why those ground pounders were after you."

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

The man that had been watching her moved away, seeing that their prized possession had charmed one thus far. He was told to report back to his superior if she had made contact. Putting a device on the ground, the man bowed and kept his gaze downcast. From this hidden location, no one would see this conversation. Within moments, a dark cloaked figure wearing the mask of a monstrous demon appeared before the man.

"M'lord, she has made contact with the smuggler. Should I follow them?"

"No, leave the two alone for now. I have other plans in mind. She may have passed the first test, yet we are far from done with her. She must be perfected before the final act of her performance. Keep tracking her and report back to me once she is offworld. Do not let her escape you, yet do not be discovered either."

"Yes, m'lord," the man said as the image of the demonic figure faded away. Picking up the device again and slipping into his robes, he placed his own mask over his face and slipped away like a ghost.

<div align="center">*****************</div>

Upon hearing his voice, she spun around and looked at his outstretched hand. Keeping close to the wall and far from his reach, she flashed a look up to his eyes, fearful and wary of him. Yet, her stomach betrayed her as it growled an answer. Moving her hands to cover her stomach in a futile attempt to mask it's want for food, she looked away. She had no money and no means to meet her own needs.

 

[Lirreka]

*Cocking an eyebrow at her he grinned*

"Sounds like someone's hungry. Tell ya what, I'll spring for some grub for us both and when you're done if you're still not comfortable with me you can split. how's that sound? Can't get fairer then that now can ya?"

*He smiled again and sorta motioned along the alley*

"Comeon ya know you want to."

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Her gaze met his again as she considered his words. Nodding her head once, a flicker of a smile rose and then quickly faded at his suggestion. She indeed was hungry, famished in fact. Waiting for him to step out of the alley, she fell in behind him. His longer legs made for longer strides than her own as she hurried to keep up with him. All the while, her eyes darted to those they passed, looking for a face she would recognize or might recognize her. There had to be answers somewhere.

 

[Lirreka]

*He lead her to one of his favorite hangouts (And thus safer then some of the places he coulda chosen that were closer). Walking in he nodded to the bartender*

"Couple plates of the special, Dabs and a glass of Lum."

He took a seat at one of the booths along the back wall that'd give him a solid view of the door.

"Okay, how about we start with a name, You know mine but I don't know yers." He grins at her "That puts me at a disadvantage.. I mean it's only proper to know the name of the lady you're buying dinner for. It's in all the Etiquette Vids."

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Her eyes darted around the room taking note of all inside and how well to do they were (i.e. scoped their persons for weapons- threats). Turning to see Falgrim had chosen a table, she gracefully slipped into the seat opposite, not enjoying her back to the door. Sitting up straight, she turned her gaze away from him and looked to the floor as she shrugged her shoulders in answer to his question. Not sure if he understood, she tentatively raised her gaze back to his to see his reaction. Out of nervousness, her right hand slipped from the table and into the pocket of her robe where her fingers began to trace over the symbol on the jade stone she carried.

 

[Lirreka]

*Falgrim arched an eyebrow at her non-answer*

"Well... That was informative... Until you tell me your name I've gotta call you something... So what do you think of the name Fred?" He grinned. "IF you don't like it you can just tell me so... I'll take silence as you like the name." His grinned widened. "So what'll it be Fred?"

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Her brow furrowed as he made fun of her and she quickly turned her face away from his. Sighing, she was getting frustrated at his attitude. Did he think she was not telling him on purpose? Quickly turning her gaze back to him, as her cheeks rosy color increased from her frustration, she waved her hand at him in the "come on" gesture. She wanted him to produce a datapad or paper or something with which she could communicate with him.

 

[Lirreka]

He chuckled but slid a pad over to her. He suspected he was annoying her but that's a good thing, annoyance was a step away from fear.

"I tend to fill empty space with chatter so don't mind me on that."

*Their meals came soon enough and he sat in to eating while she used his pad.*