Ask There Is Always Time For That

[Xim Zhan]

. . . LOCATION: Deep Space Relay Station Waypoint . . .
. . . Time: 5:00 somewhere . . .

The battered G1-A Starfighter, Manda Money, settled into an open slot in the landing bay alongside an eclectic variety of smaller star-faring ships. Outside, larger freighters had docked along the orbital rings of the unnamed station. This far out, any spot to take a break, socialize, stretch one’s appendages and breath someone else’s recycled air was. Not to be passed up. Of course, those with money to spare got access to private docks and the nicer, more exclusive, portions of the club and all the perks that offered. The rest of the patronage were left to the lower levels of said establishment, blocked from the alluring riches above by locked doors and security droids. That was not a luxury that Xim Zhan could or would afford though.

Still, a chance to drink something that might not be quite as recycled and eat somebody else’s cooking was hard to not pass by. So quietly he disembarked; sure to secure his craft behind him as a band of unsavory looking Rodians eyeballed his golden armor from a distance, chittering to themselves as they fingered their blasters. For a waypoint this far from civilized space, the local security was pretty lax when it came to weapons. Probably figured nobody was dumb enough to do anything that would risk the station itself or the anger of whoever it was that might keep it afloat. That, or the unseen security measures were enough to keep patrons in line when the front of bouncers and bots could.

Striding into the pulsating lights and music, Xim stood for a few minutes eyeballing the plethora of ad hoc residents who had taken to trying to make a buck on-station and the variety of vsgabonds and travelers. Eventually a rather intoxicated fellow and his play-the-part twi’lek ‘friend’ vacated a booth and Xim made a beeline to it before it got snatched up by some other drunken sot. it. It passed for clean, for what it was worth, and so he slid into the seat.

Pulling his T-visored helm from his head, Xim shook out his hair, placing the helmet between himself and the wall on the bench. He then swung the secured holo-menu projector toward him and began to half-heartedly flick through the options, mumbling under his breath at both the price and lack of options.

With any luck, a server droid or waitress would be by soon enough.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

As Maeve landed on the space station to refuel, she didn't only realize she had run out of food but out of buzz, too. Not that she drank when she flew - she simply needed something highly concentrated for her chem station as her recent travels had depleted or at least drastically reduced some of her supplies.

The space station near to her was a place she hadn't actually frequented yet, so she knew it offered as many opportunities as risks. She didn't know her way around, but as isolated as it was, she was yet another stranger there and that was always an advantage. She docked her ship and paid the droids to fuel it while she decided to stop by the local bar - she wasn't in the best mood just yet, knowing she had some time to pass, but perhaps a little refreshment would help.

She didn't even consider sticking to the lower docks as business went well these days and affording to pay her way in was absolutely possible - a few charming works and a wink in the right moment helped her negotiate though, and so she could even save a little before she was even in.

Some neon lights danced through the otherwise dimply lit room - the various, swirling lights and colors were actually quite mesmerizing after days spent in hyperspace with nothing but the ship's blank interior and speeding stars passing the viewport, so it was a welcome change that lightened her mood already.

She was headed right for the bar where she intended to grab a quick to-go drink and ask for a few things she had on her list, yet as she spied the very few options from afar, she let out a quiet sigh. So she'd have to do her shopping elsewhere. Fun. Yet right as she was about to spin, she caught a golden shimmer in the corner of her eyes.

Turning her head, her gaze soon rested on a Mandalorian casually scrolling through the menu, and, remembering her most recent and definitely pleasant experiences with the mysterious space warriors, she made her way over. The booths around were mostly full and as he seemed to be alone, she confidently approached him with a smile on her lips. "May I join you? I'd love to sit down for a moment".

@The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

Xim’s sea blue eyes scanned the menu, the corners of his mouth doing little to hide his disappointment. Still, even a B or C grade nerf steak was better than recycled space substance. That, a stack of fries, and a cold Corellian Ale ought to do the trick. The man’s gloves hand poked at the menu highlighting his options as he turned, catching the approach of hopefully a waitress.

“Nope.” he said to himself as the lithe young lady spoke cheerfully. Not a waitress.

“Hooker?” He queried, his face lighting up in a mischievous smile as he eyed the arms and graceful form of the clearly seasoned woman that stopped at his table. This seemed like the kind of establishment such business would be covertly conducted in the open in; but he doubted that was the case here. So much so, he could not help but ask in jest. Even if she was, some pleasant company to talk to was welcome. “You ain’t a Gamorrean at least.” Without waiting for an answer, Xim waved her toward the empty seat across from him. “Maybe we can get a server to come take our order if we are both hungry and miserable.”

Spinning the secured menu array around toward Maeve, he smiled warmly. “So, what brings you to these parts? Come to hear the tales of one of Mandalore’s finest? Nerf herding is a particular speciality of mine after all.”

Along the far side of this particular row of occupied booths a worn protocol droid, datapad in hand, began to dutifully move from table to table looking for orders of food and drink.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

His blue eyes immediately met hers, his lips curling into a mischievous smirk. He immediately asked whether she was a hooker, however his tone implied that he was joking. "Wow...most would take that as an insult", she elegantly slipped into the booth, a smirk spreading across her lips. "I'm going to assume that means you'd pay for banging me, so thanks I guess", she then added sarcastically, crossing her legs.

"What a charming comparison", he seemed quite the jester, perhaps even buzzed, but she was in rather lighthearted mood as well, so she was fine with it. "Oh fun...how long have you been waiting?", she was really curious about it as if this place proved itself to be that shitty, she'd simply switch places.

"Nerf herding?", she raised a brow, assuming it was yet another joke, but it was good that he was at least chatty as talking was usually a great way to let time pass quickly and she was a rather pleasant sight to take it. "A pit stop, actually. But once I walked in, my plans changed indeed. So what brings a mysterious space warrior to this", she gestured around for dramatic purposes, "-fine establishment?". Again, a sarcastic remark, but he seemed to share her attitudes on this place already.

She started scanning the menu, not finding anything that really sparked her interest, so she let out a little sight. As she was done, after having settled of something basic, she followed his gaze to the droid, noticing that they'd be stuck here forever before being served. "You think we could try causing a scene to get its attention any earlier?", she wondered, mischief glistening in her gaze.

@The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

The Mandaloridan smiled wide and chuckled. “Not long.” He replied in response to the question regarding his wait, before winking at her notation of nerf herding. “It is an honorable profession after all.”

Xim could see the server droid down the row. It seemed to be trying to convince a surprising well-dressed and groomed Whiphid that unlimited drinks were in fact not complementary with a meal. The droid was not winning the argument.

Turning his eyes back to Maeve, Xim shrugged. “Simple enough, I suppose. Just a layover . . . between nerfs,” he smiled widely. Sure he had done his fair share of farming, including the dubious herding of the nerfs. Someday he hoped to return to that peaceful existence; but that was not today. Still, it was an equally vague answer with plausibility and jest befitting their surroundings.

A clatter down the way drew the Mandalorian’s attention as the droid lost it’s arguement, a mechanical shriek filling the air as the robotic being tumbled ass end over tea kettle from a firmly well-centered kick from the Whiphid ‘businessmen’ as he rose to an imposing height with a growl.

“On second thought, nerfs are boring. A little action never hurt anyone. Whatcha got in mind?” Xim’s eyebrows waggled playfully as he scooped his helmet up, his fingers curling about the bottom edge and centering it on the table in front of him between his hands as his legs curled beneath him ready to move as soon as he knew what his newfound companion had in mind.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

She couldn't help but quirk a brow as he insisted on being a nerf herder stuck in layover right here. "So how does that work? You're herding in your armor? I mean, they probably can't hurt you and it's memorable", she shrugged, smirking at her own explanation. "Or are you leading a secret second life? Nerd herder by day, Mando by night", she slightly chuckled as she kept on musing, her gaze drifting down to examine the shiny beskar every now and then.

The droid's screech made her spin around, critically studying the business that man that, surprisingly enough, didn't seem to mean business right now. Hmm...a little commotion could have served her well, given that she always love to capitalize on chaos as it made people careless...

"I've got an idea. You're feeling adventurous enough? If so, follow my lead", she gave him a playful wink, waiting for an answer before she'd get up, moving towards the angry business man who already towered over her from a distance. She was about to clear her throat, when panicked cries suddenly echoed from the stairs, making Maeve once again turn and direct her attention towards the commotion.

All of a sudden, a blaster bolt would suddenly be slammed against the ceiling, making the shrieks die down momentarily and her eyes narrow. Pirates. "Good evening, ladies and gentleman". A massive Besalisk made his entrance, a sly grin on his lips as he entered their level, his whole crew just in tow.

Interestingly enough, the formerly angry business man was the first who screeched again before he dove into his booth while Maeve moved behind the Mandalorian. "I swear that wasn't what I've planned...but we've got to deal with them", she said to him in a hushed voice, just as the leader began walking in, scanning the room.

His eyes would soon settle on the Mandalorian and he'd demand, "Aight, buckethead. You're outnumbered. Why don't you hand over your weapons first. No one needs to get hurt". He was a threat in their eyes, so they'd have to plan their next step carefully. "Pretend you'll do it. I'll cover you". It would probably leave him questions whether the unassuming blue eyed stranger was capable of taking on such thugs, but Maeve was more than ready. Her temporary Mandalorian cover allowed her to reach for her blaster right away, slowly drawing it and waiting for him to pounce.

@The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

“Let’s go with the second option,” Xim smiled. “Nerf yack and all.”

He was about to agree to whatever bit of shenanigans, his newfound-to-be dining mate had in mind, but before he could nod, the room took a turn for the worse. The brigands worked quickly. The few security droids in the room were masses of twitching electronics on the floor. Xim’s legs and back tensed before he was spotted by the de facto leader. Hazard of the life style and all.

Xim canted his head at Maeve, “If they aren’t friends of yours . . . “ he mused with a wink. He had little more time to say anything as the leader called the gold-plated soldier-for-hire out. Slowly, he nodded, keeping his eyes focused on the hulking besalisk and his duel carbines that were trained on him in sight.

Ever so slowly, with cautious controlled movements Xim slid from his seat and stood, tucking his helmet up into the crook of his right arm. Carefully he reached down to the well-worn nerf-leather holster on his hip. Pulling the leather strap up to reveal his Mandalorian sidearm he deliberately and slowly pulled it out never looking away from the pirate leader and his band of goons that were fanning out behind him and already ripping weapons and valuables from fearful patrons.

Spinning the weapon in his palm, Xim stepped forward, the dim green glow of the safety setting visible on the frame. Stopping at a table occupied by a trio of cowering merchants, Xim palmed the weapon onto the table with a dull thud. “I’m just a simple man, nerf herding my way across the universe.”

Cautiously, the Mandalorian left his weapon on the table and stepped to the side clearing the table, his hands held openly out to each side of his waist. The next move belonged to the stranger he had just met. He hoped she knew what she was doing. If she didn’t things might turn violent rather quickly.

The tension in the air was palatable as eyes across the room watched the shimmering Mandalorian. Some hoped he would act. Others prayed he did not. Xim, however, wondered what was occurring elsewhere on the station. Were there pirates? There could not be that many. They’d have had to park a destroyer outside for that. If they could buy a few minutes, surely security would swoop in to clean up the mess. Xim would just need to make a quicker exit than he had hoped.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

Seemed like they'd get their actual without even wanting it to happen that quickly. "They aren't..." she reassured him in a hushed voice before her main attention was back on the pirtae scum. They looked somewhat experience, their equipment told her they had been in the business for quite some time or else they wouldn't be to able to afford it, but this didn't mean that they couldn't kick their asses right here.

She was truly hoping the alleged Mandalorian wasn't just a freak in armor, perhaps even a scoundrels himself, or some other kind of imposter (or truly a nerf herder...) but she simply relied on her intuition, as always, and it told her he was a capable fighter. For now. She was still dearly hoping her plan worked, but this meant for now they'd have to stick to their script.

For now, the Mando did appear to yield by relieving himself of his side arm. As the pirate's eyes were focused on it, there was a brief moment in which Maeve could slip her hand into her backpocket, grab the smoke grenade and without further warning, activate and hurl it over. It was a special blend - a hint of sedating gas mixed with the smoke - it wouldn't just obscure views, but it would most certainly slow them, however this meant they couldn't get close to it and if they'd have to leave, they'd have to find a different exit as the mixture lingered.

"Fuck!", was the last thing she heard from them, together with the familiar hiss of the grenade that already clouded the pirates crew's view. "Now!", she called out, referring to the Mandalorian and how he should start firing right away as bolts already came into their direction. Where he wore protection, she had nothing, so she sprung into cover first before she began shooting back. There were a few armed guests in here, she pressumed, but only two tried their best to aid them. While the main force remained at the entrance, some started running, only lightly affected by the gas and still rather versatile as they came running into their direction.

@The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

Xim canted his head and looked at the pirates. As the grenade sailed overhead and landed with a clatter and his, he smiled, even if but for a moment. And then he was moving, the realization of resistance dawned on the pirates and as it did their myriad of weaponry opened up. Corpses were easier to loot.

Xim immediately dove for cover, elegantly flipping the edge of his helmet around and sinking it onto his head with precision and grace. The faint hiss of his suit’s seal a welcome relief. At least the gernade was one less thing for the golden Mando to worry about. He landed, only slightly less gracefully, behind the table he had only moments before deposited his sidearm on. Her occupants already running for the exits.

A blind sweep of the table brought the Westar-made handgun clattering to the floor beside the Mandalorian. Scooping it up, Xim stood to a crouch and began to unleash a torrent of blasts in return, moving cautiously and smoothly back toward where he could barely make out Maeve in the smoky din. He was immediately grateful for the numerous upgrades to his armor as it sealed out the caustic outside air and filtered stale, yet pure, breathable atmosphere in.

Xim’s smile was obvious in his voice as he spoke, his pitch and tone muffled slightly by the T-visored helm. “You sure know how to show a fella a good time.” He chortled as he sent two more blasts into the foggy haze, directed at the source of several shots from the direction of the pirate crew.

Jerking his head toward a fiercely snarling leather-clad Trandoshan who was one of two that had taken up resistance to the boarding party. “Grab the lizard, and circle around the perimeter.” He instructed, the smile gone from his tone, replaced with deadly seriousness as his mind raced on the best way to handle such a situation and avert as much ‘innocent’ blood loss as possible.

Closer to the bar, a battle-scared Herglic adorned in what may have been the largest set of power-armor Xim had ever seen had forgone any sense of formality and was taking to overhand smashing any pirate he could grab straight through the polished duracrete and steel bar, seemingly unphased by blaster bolts that pinged all around and on him.

Xim raised an eyebrow as he shot a sideling glance to his companion. “Do you know how to use that?” he asked, hoping she knew how to use the gun she was toting. After that, it was time to close in for a bit of personal settling of religious violation.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

justify] She was once again in for a dangerous game, but as always, she was so down for it. It was hard to see through the dark, toxic fog, but she knew she just blindly had to fire in and the pained cries were the answers she needed. The rest inside the cloud was tranquilized already, stumbling out with uncertain steps.

"Stay clear of the smoke", she just hissed a warning as she slid over the table next to him to move to a different cover, sliding into the booth to quickly catch her breath and gain an overview of the convoluted, heated battle. He mentioned the incoming Trandoshan and with narrowed eyes she locked onto her target, before she added a quick, "on it".

As she was already rushing over, she didn't catch his last rhetorical question. Hadn't it been answered by the holes she had drilled into the corpses across the room? She still followed his instruction as he with his visor was definitely the one reading their heat signatures while she suddenly had to make her way over in the dim light that was left - somehow, the main power had been turned off and all that was left were some red emergency lights that faded in and out. A creepy moody atmosphere, but somehow oddly fitting.

She heard coughing and wailing, violent sounds of struggle, but it didn't keep her from moving like a panther through the night, sliding across one booth towards the next before she reached the massive, scaled adversary. As she basically appeared out of nowhere, she was too close for her blaster, hence she momentarily slid it across the table and rammed one of her Vibro-Daggers into his throat - she literally had to jump onto his back like a feral predator, but it was oddly effective.

Spluttering blood, he dropped down and she had a newly one, resistant meat shield while she glanced back into the messy crowd. It was hard to tell who was an enemy and who wasn't, as some local scoundrels kept fighting back, but as a one-eyed Twi-Lek with a roughed up leather coat attempted to approach the Mandalorian from behind, she had a dart out in a split second and hurled the little, yet venomous weapon over with deadly precision. It hit his arm, which was just right as he suddenly started shaking and falling.

But how many more did they have to kill, or was flight their only option? A few answered raced through her mind as she was suddenly yanked backwards before someone violently slammed her into the wall behind her. For a moment, she was totally dazed, before she recovered in the very last second to avoid the blow that was aimed right for her face. Still, she was involuntarily engaged in a hand to hand combat with a stronger opponent she had to shake off first.

@The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

Xim set off into the din. Low and crouched he made his way through the smog, red light glinting off the steel of blasters and the billowing cloud of acrid gas from his companion’s grenade. Chancing a glance over his should, he could just make out as his companion silenced the large lizard in a spurt of blood. Maybe he wasn’t on their side after all…

He did not dwell on it though, risk and reward of such a place. He had other thoughts on his mind. The monstrous besalisk needed dealt with as he seemed to be heading this particular boarding party. Through the smoke, he was hard to distinguish however. As Xim gained the man’s last location he seemed to have vanished into the smoke replaced by a trio of cackling diminutive leather-clad goons. Quickly holstering his sidearm, the Mandalorian shoved his hands into his belt in one fluid movement, locking the gold-hued vibro-claws in his fists.

He fell on the trio with a driving punch, followed by a slashing upper-cut, dropping two of the three pirates where they stood. The third’s face lit up in shock as the Mandalorian materialized from the mists and gave a loud cry as he turned his carbine on Xim. It was not enough. The solitary Mandalorian brought his clawed weapon down on the blaster carving deep gouges into the barrel and igniting the compressed gas as the pirate frantically pulled the trigger again. The weapon bloomed into a fiery explosion as it ignited the pirate and sent him flying one way and Xim the other.

Landing with a crash, Xim quickly sat up. His body ached from that particular stunt, but as he squinted behind his visor, he could just barely make out the four-armed besalisk proceeding to pummel what he had to guess was Maeve.

Overhead, the whir of energy began to hum above the chaos as emergency systems, long dormant and most assuredly not tested regularly as required by warranty, stirred and coughed to life. The red emergency lighting already lent a hellish aura to the floating coffin in space. The toxic air purifiers belched plumes of dust into the already corrupted air before they began to hiss as if trying to inhale at great speed whatever particulates it could reconsume. So long as nobody tried venting some portion of the station to space, things ought to go well enough.

Or not.

Behind the bar, an unconscious and paralyzed pirate had been left atop the hot grill following his unceremonious introduction through the bar. His flesh sizzled immediately, but given a few moments, his hodge-podge array of pirately finery erupted in flames. It was only a matter of moments before the fire suppression system kicked in, provided it worked still.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

Hell was literally set loose and they were right inside. Perhaps she should have played the role of a helpless Civilian longer, perhaps the sedating gas had been just the right choice as it took out the brute force of pirates who had first piled in, but because of her earliest maneuver, she was in a rather disadvantageous position on the floor.

While actually trained in hand to hand combat, Maeve knew she had to be the one still on her feet to gain actual chances through agility and speed - pinned on the ground and with a raging, massive opponent that outweighed her by at least another 100 pounds wasn't too helpful either.

Internally, she kept muttering 'oh fuck fuck fuck' while she scratched and squirmed, pushed as hard as she could and bit - not a very lady like technique, but her furious opponent wasn't a gentleman either and until she finally managed to violently shoot her knee into his crotch, she had been slammed against the floor two more times, which made her whole world spin.

She still managed to use the short window when her opponent was stunned and wailing in pain to wrestle free one hand, dive for her Vibro-Dagger one more time and ram it into his neck. Hot blood spluttered down on her and she barely managed to close her eyes, closely avoiding getting it in her eyes, too.

She was heavily panting and in severe pain as she wiggled her way free from underneath the dying opponent, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She was barely out when the loud, old, creaking ventilation system suddenly kicked into gear, together with the old ceiling sprinklers that bathed them in ice cold, dirty water first, before it at least slightly cleared.

It smelt like blood, burned skin and smoke, and Maeve frantically blinked, trying to locate further shooters, but she could barely scramble back to her feet. "Out...we've got to go", she yelled, her head still spinning and neither spotting the Mandalorian nor making out any other Civilians for now, but she did spot the greenish emergency exit sign somewhere to her right, despite the blurry vision, and with slightly zigzagging steps, she made her way over to it, her blaster still somewhat defensively raised, but the shots she fired to the left, where more pirates kept sprinting in, weren't really well aimed and it continously became harder to breathe.

@The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

The
of the overhead sprinklers was all the warning that came before the deluge of frigid space-cold putrid water rained down across the room eliciting cries of anger, surprise, and frustration from all. With the cleansing ventilation system firing up, the rain worked to extinguish the flames and clear the air.

Scooping himself from the floor, Xim made a B-line for Maeve just as she filleted his throat. He’d have to take note, she liked going for the jugular it seemed; an experience he preferred not to experience. Half way to her, the besalisk tumbled to the floor and as he scanned, Xim saw another of the pirates leveling a blaster at Maeve’s backside. Throwing himself into a slide across the liquor, blood, and chem-based water that now coated the floor, the Mandalorian slid toward the pirate. His vibro-claws shredded the man’s calfs and brought him tumbling to the ground where Xim quickly buried both fists into the man’s chest. Bending his knees so his feet were against the durasteel decking, Xim mashed the button on his wrist that activated his mag boots. They engaged and his momentum launched him to a standing position just before he flicked the magnetic servos off and began to circle around toward Maeve.

“Remind me to never let you near my neck,” he chided as he fell into step alongside Maeve and they rushed out the door and into an shadowy access hallway beyond. It was empty, for the moment; still, it was sopping wet as well.

Without warning, the entire station seemed to lurch, throwing the Mandalorian into the thief as the artificial gravity adapted moments later. Xim fell into Maeve, catching himself with an extended palm on the opposite wall. Pushing back to a standing position, he teased “And here I didn’t think you were that kind of girl,”

Xim turned and threw his shoulder into the door, forcing it shut with a screech of weakened metal on metal. There was not much handy to brace the door, but at the least anyone looking for a quick exit would go a different way.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

Her clothes were fully soaked and the loud, emergency ventilation brought in a cold rush of air that left her shivering. She still pushed on, at first barely noticing as the Mandalorian fell into step with her, too carried away from her spinning head and her hurting torso before she glanced up to him.

"Hm? Oh...yeah", she dreaded the incoming concussion, but tried to keep her thoughts orderly for now. "Never let anyone near your throat...unless you fully trust them". She had broken the rule, too, repeatedly even, but the neck was simply a sensitive area. Easily accessible in most cases, but the fact that he kept on jesting in this dire situation amused her a little.

The reached the exit and found themselves in a relatively narrow, dim lit corridor, Maeve barely blinked to force her eyes to adapt to the darkness, the absence of the red emergency lights making it hard for her to see at all, as she suddenly felt the station move. Without warning, she crashed into the Mandalorian before he crashed into her, pinning her against the wall behind and making her grimace in the dark. She needed something for the pain.

"Woah. No, normally I exchange a name first", she quipped, adding, "I'm also gonna say you started". While the playful banter momentarily distracted her from the pain, she still rummaged through her inside pockets until she managed to take hold of a bag of painkillers. While she kept walking, she took out one pill and swallowed it dryly, knowing she'd have to survive for a few more minutes for it to kick in.

"I don't see a lot. Can your nightvision guide us out?", she asked, narrowing her eyes once again. There was a dim source of light at the end of the corridor it seemed, but time was running and he was most certainly more efficient in moving in the dark. She reached for his metal arm, waiting for him to lead the way while she quickly reordered her grenades with the other hand. Perhaps they'd need them again.

@The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

Xim nodded. A moment later, he realized that she might not have seen such an affirmative. He smiled, “Don’t s’pose you can hear the ol’ marbles rolling around in my brain can you? C’mon. This way.” Sheathing a set of claws, he offered a free hand, only for her to take him by the arm. Staring through the falling chem-laden fire suppressant, there was not much to see, an upturned trolley of sorts, its contents of food and beverage shattered across the floor. Cautiously, the duo began to pock their way forward.

“Watch yourself there,” the Mandalorian indicated as he tugged Maeve on a wide path about the downed cart. About the end of the hallway, the door Xim had jammed burst open slamming into the adjacent wall.

“There they go! After them!” an angry voice bellowed as the sound of blaster fire erupted.

Xim turned and offered a pair of potshots over his and Maeve’s shoulders, yanking his Maeve.offered-arm toward the end of the hall. “Time to go!” A firefight in such confined quarters was not exactly desirable.

Around the corner would buy a few moments respite, he hoped. A quick scan revealed a stairwell leading down into the darkness. “Come on!” Xim grabbed Maeve’s hand to pull her down the stairs after him. The doorway at the bottom of the stairs led to a narrow hallway, simplistic staff housing by the looks of it. At least there wasn’t water pouring from the ceiling. The glowing red lights along the floor illuminated their path.

At least it was something. Kneeling in a door well, Xim chortled, “Sometimes it is convenient being a lefty,” as he pulled his blaster from it’s holster and unfolded the stock transforming the Mandalorian weapon into a light carbine. Pressing himself up against the closed door, Xim peered around corner and waited until the first pirate came charging around the corner.

Double tap.

The pirate crumpled forward with his momentum as a second charged ignorantly around the corner intent on pursuit only to meet the same fate.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

As they continued their flight, Maeve found herself hurrying after him, actually not finding it hard to still run with the pain, but she was still a bit grateful for the assists as he guided her through the maze of corridors and down the stairs. She kept her blaster in her free hand, however her newfound companion had better chances in spotting and shooting the enemies, so she didn't complain at all.

The painkillers finally started to kick in and it made it easier for her to stay focused, yet for a moment it seemed like they couldn't fully shake them off. Why were they after them? She began to wonder whether they weren't just pirates, but perhaps someone had seen her photo and thought he'd get himself a fine little bounty as she was actually on lists in a few places by then...

The uncertainty kept nagging at her, yet she was too busy following before the Mandalorian skillfully dealer with a new group of incoming adversaries. "Great shot", she couldn't help but to mention, a smirk tugging at her lips despite the inner annoyance about the possible man hunt that was going on here.

"There!", after another turn, they'd find an actual emergency exit that would allow them to escape the bar and enter the hallways of the station outside, however they'd soon discover that the whole place was suddenly not only on edge, but somewhat under attack. "What the fuck", she voiced her frustration aloud, her voice however still lowered and only for him to hear. "This strikes me as something that had still been somewhat planned". Not fully thought through, she wouldn't go that far, but somewhat organized. "My ship is in hangar C23...where's yours?". However, she doubted they'd be the ones to stop this madness.

@The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

Another pirate rounded the stairwell into the hallway and Xim dropped that one as well. Turning, he hurried along with Maeve, shooting furtive looks over his shoulder until they reached the exit. Finding themselves in a rather plush hallway, the duo continued to move. “. . . errrr, E19, lower lehe grumbled in response as he noted as band of roving pirates, hurriedly pushing along a gravsled of what could only be tools, hurrying away down the curvature of the exterior and out of sight of the hallway they found themselves in.

“Somebody has a plan for this station, thats for sure,” Xim pointed out one of the transparesteel windows to the bow of an abnormally large frigate that was haphazardly docked against the station. Emblazoned across her bow was the unmistakable symbol for a rather notorious group of brigands for hire. A few smaller pursuit craft and freighters seemed to be circling a short distance away as well. One did not come with that much fire or man power to a station like this without a clear set goal in mind. “There has to be something or somebody here that they’re after. You and I, our pockets are just bonuses for the picking. So it is probably a good thing this suit does not come with pockets.”

Turning the other direction, Xim gestured. “I have an idea. Lets go and find where they’re boarding at. With any luck . . .” He let the thought trail off as he set off at a slow run down the plush carpeted hallway. At least here, it was not foggy and wet. The emergency lighting cast long shadows, but nothing haphazardous seemed to be in the way.

As they moved forward, another band of pirates came into view. More specifically, their headlamps did before they rounded the corner, affording the duo the chance to duck behind a rather enormous fake potted fern of some sort. Squatting behind the ornate pot, Xim’s knees ached and he shifted thoughtlessly, moving his weight from one leg to the other. “Let them pass.” He encouraged. There was no sense giving themselves away. Not when they were this close. “You, uh, don’t happen to moonlight as a miner by chance do you? Have a few spare detpacks aboard your ride?”

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

The Mandalorian had no idea whom he was working with. Maeve was rather fine with that. She didn't need him to pose questions she did not want to answer, not before she could be certain about whether they were after her or not...The sheer possibility pissed her off, but she had to admit that her assumption couldn't make any sense as they would have surely recognized her up there in the bar and someone would have called her out. They had to be after something or someone after all...

It was some kind of a relief, but they were far from being safe, so together the unusual allies kept continuing. The meds were somewhat helping, yet as she followed him, her gaze kept flicking down to his armor when he wasn't looking. It was...so shiny. So expensive. Maybe...

"Hm?", a plan? She was a little perplex as all she wanted was to get the fuck off this station. She met his gaze, or at least his visor and raised a brow, however following without hesitation. They were soon forced to wait and let a group of pirates pass as he suddenly asked for detpacks.

"Detpacks no...TDs, yes. You really think blowing up stuff on a space station is a good idea?", she asked, clearly unsure about whether that was a smart move or not. Yet a moment later they were at least able to continue. Maeve kept her head low and her blaster readied while she hurried onwards, her target still being her ship.

@The Mad Hammer

 

[Xim Zhan]

“Ha! You are full of surprises,” Xim chuckled as he shook his head in approval. “Explosives in space rarely are. Be a right damn shame if someone were to put a detabatorsized hole in the pirate’s boarding array. Give ‘em something to worry about while we mop up and chase off the rest, maybe claim a few bounties of our own.” As he spoke, Xim began to creep forward toward the next synth-potted shrubbery.

And the next, with luck, they could find it fast. With more luck, maybe it’d be near enough to Hangar Deck C and a completely not-illicit cargo of thermal detanators.

Half-way to the forth potted plant, a small gaggle of rattag looking engineering types came sauntering out of the gloom. “Hey! Whatchyoutwodoinouthere?! Ain’t’ya’lls’posedtabeinlockdown?” One of the huskier fellows called out in a spray of spittle and slime as he drew a blaster and sent a flashing arc of golden-orange streaking wide in their direction.

In an instant, Xim was up and moving, his own blaster in his hand as he moved for cover, sen a trio of shots back in return. “Guess its time to go!” This was met by a deluge of haphazard blasterfire in respose, and Xim found himself wishing he’d had brought an explosive of his own with him. But really, who brought bombs into bars? Bars were for getting bombed not being bomb-bombed!

Peering about the giant pot, a shot zinged past the Mandalorian’s head causing him to recoil instinctively, popping out from another angle to return another burst of blasterfire into the nearest engineer.

This group of pirates were clearly not first-line assailants. Given their fitouts and haphazard shooting, they were clearly designated for something far more technical.

In the chaos, a shadowy predatory figure slunk through the darkness, only obscuring the red emergency light for a moment before vanishing like a wraith in the night. With cat-like movements, the beast moved about the edge of the battle watching, waiting, hungering.

Spinning and dropping to a knee, Xim dropped another two engineers with a pair of shots

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

"A huge shame...scandalous even", she agreed with him, the mischievous smirk widening despite her slightly hazy brain. Perhaps they couldn't just flip the odds, but also turn this whole game around. They had quite literally fired first, but they could very well shoot back.

Maeve kept following him, partly using him as an armored body shield why she could snatch some kills in the back rows of this battle. She was hurt already, she wanted to avoid catching more at all cost, so she held herself back a little. While the Mandalorian thus used a plant as cover, Maeve briefly checked an unlocked door which led her into a very dark room.

She quickly used her phone screen as means of illumination, however soon realized that it was naught but a cargo holding room, perhaps a space offered for layovers and temporary shipment storage, but as she simply took a few steps further in, her gaze locked onto a key stuck in a lock, the keychain happily dangling from it and the key still in position 'open'.

As her eyes grazed the 'living freight' warning sign, pure mischief crossed her features before she nonchalantly turned the key around. Heavy metal doors creaked and Maeve immediately bolted out, rejoining the Mandalorian while she panted slightly. "I bought us more time, but hell might be unleashed soon, so we better make a run for it". Her ship wasn't too far off and they could grab the TDs, given they still needed them. Whatever was in the cages, it was about to join the first freed predators.

@The Mad Hammer