Ask There's Always a Problem

[Terra Lanris]

She hadn't actually intended to imply she was legitimately angry, but neither of them seemed to linger on it for too long as they moved on to the stories she had heard.

I dunno, just stories about people disappearing after doing jobs for them. Lots of weird rules: dropping cargo off in dead space, cargo that was shady... humans and other sentients, she said. It was a company she was always very wary of and though she may one day tae a job from them, it wasn't now.

But I haven't heard those things about Blackwell, she said. Hopefully they would prove to be a better employer.

It was about at this time that they arrived at the building they were heading toward. She scarfed down the last few bites of her wrap and tossed away the wrapper before pushing her way into the Blackwell building.

Terra Nova Charters and Shipping. We're supposed to be getting landing coordinates for a pickup, she said to the droid sitting behind the desk. The offices were clean, and the droid promptly told them both to hold while it searched its database.

@Die Shize

 

[Mallister Keynion]

Cargo that was shady? Mal chewed on those thoughts right atop a Ronto morning wrap. Cargo that was shady sounded like shady cargo, and the kind that Mal himself shifted tended to have some shades and hues of its own.

Though, for a corporation that was reported to starve its targets, quite literally, ‘shady cargo’ likely had a whole new meaning as Terra used it. Mal had heard his horror stories too.

“Neither have I,” he agreed about Blackwell. Black. Well. “Though they don’t sound terribly inviting, if not terrible.”

Of one mind and one action, the man and woman disposed of their trash in unison. That slightly spicy sauce, sausage, egg and cheese were surprisingly delicious and Mal was proud to have paid for both. Heck, the cheese had even complemented the cheese of his dialogue...maybe.

Terra Nova Charters and Shipping. Those four words minus the conjunction had an unmistakable ring to them. Mal couldn’t quite put his finger on it but they held a kind of weight. The kind that indicates this lady knows what the heck she’s doing.

“Ah, yes, here you go,” the droid confirmed. “Bay 12. Take the left then the right then the left then the right, another left and—”

“Thanks,” Mal relieved, sense of direction never to be tested. “Follow me." He led the way.

"Wrong way," called the droid.

"Ahem. Right, right, was just testing. Lead the way, ma'am?" Terra was the leader of her business, after all. And I get lost in my own hold. From time to time.


@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Bay 12, she noted in her mind and gave a nod. Right, thanks, she said, letting him lead the way as he seemed to be eager to do so. It took about 3 seconds to realize that may have been a mistake as the droid corrected his direction and she bit her lip to stifle a smile and laugh.

Yeah, I know you knew where you were going, she said, teasing slightly as they headed in the actual direction of the hangar bay.

They came out into a large room that was "Bay 12." A variety of sentients and droids were shifting cargo throughout the rooms with large forklifts and mag clamps. It was clear this was a large operation they were stepping into with weapons, medical supplies, tech pieces, and everything in between in crates of all different sizes.

She made her way over to the dockmaster and reported in.

Oh yeah, yeah. Two ships? he asked, looking over to her and then to Mal and nodding. You can both swing your ships around there, he said, motioning to one end of the bay where ships were landing for loading. We'll get yer cargo together. But be careful, reports of a lot of pirates patrolling the hyperlanes out around here, he warned them.

@Die Shize

 

[Mallister Keynion]

“Two is better than one, on that note,” Mal nodded to Terra after the comments about increased pirate activity. Given the galaxy's current affairs, bad guys like pirates were having a field day picking it apart like crows on a battlefield.

It sounded just as swell that Terra had elected to sit down at that table in that cantina and, fast forward some beer and sandwiches later, here the two were about to watch each other’s back as they ferried cargo that wasn’t theirs.

“Tranquility, this is your captain calling,” the captain called over comm. “Sending you the docking deets now. Got ‘em?”

“Sir,” came a woman’s voice from the other end, on speaker. “Pretty sure you just sent us a link to…skydiving nude on Naboo?”

Mal’s immediate instinct was to glance Terra’s way and give her his back. “It’s, uh, a long story. Ignore that. Try this.”

“Got it. Inbound and touching down in five.”

A TL-1200 light freighter set down in the landing zone some time later while the dock hands were finalizing the cargo, a portion to be loaded in that ship and Terra’s.

Mal took a moment to gaze upon his vessel like a father reuniting with a daughter who just then returned from vacation. He was no less interested to see what his new partner flew the skies with.


@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

As Mal called in his ship, Terra suddenly felt a little bit embarrassed and peasant-like that she didn't have a crew to bring her ship in. It was just her aboard her Dynamic. She'd made it all this way by herself, and she pushed the thought out of her mind a moment later, taking pride and remembering she'd gotten here all by herself.

I'll be right back, she said. Granted, her ship wasn't parked that far away, but she would have to go get it herself and bring it around.

You don't have to wait for me. We can get the cargo and find somewhere to rendezvous, she suggested. Inevitably, they would be loaded up first and no doubt Blackwell wouldn't want them lingering around. Growing pains to working as a group, she supposed.

@Die Shize

 

[Mallister Keynion]

Spoiler: Music OOC

The hyperlanes might have been patrolled by pirates more than usual right about now but that need not extend to Ithor space just above the planet. The best place to rendezvous, then, as far as one captain thought anyway, was right outside.

Hell, it wasn’t like Mal knew the way, certainly less than your next door Mandalorian. This was still Terra’s game, after all, and if she didn’t know the way then they were both screwed, two full crews or two screws loose or no. Really not sure what that means, nope.

Really, the job details as far as Captain Mallister Keynion understood them was that his counterpart had a Blackwell contract and double the ships meant double the cargo meant double the payout. The delivery point was yet to be revealed.

“Tranquility here,” Mal called from the cockpit’s comm system in outer space, broadcasting solely between his ship and the dynamically named Dynamic. It was, he’d have to admit, aptly named.

“I’ve got some cards up my sleeves for dancing between the stars and the pirates between them, pending course, as I firmly believe remaining undetected is the goal of our enterprise and endeavor.” Less question, more statement.


@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

The Dynamic had eased its way into Ithor's upper atmosphere after being loaded up with supplies. Its name had been primarily the result of a miscommunication during a docking process at one point in time, and it had stuck.

She eased her way over to the coordinates they had worked out, and pulled up beside the tranquility before accepting the hail.

Good, glad we both made it, she said, reaching over to her navicomputer and punching up a few buttons before transmitting them over.

Transporting to the Castell System, she said. As he looked at the System, he would see that it didn't lie directly on a main hyperspace lane, which would mean their highest danger point was when they were approaching the system itself for the dropoff.

Fortunately, Ithor sat right on a hyperspace lane, so getting out of here shouldn't be too difficult.

@Die Shize

 

[Mallister Keynion]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Mal plugged the coordinates into the console and nodded, not that Terra would see his head move back and forth or anything.

Castell edged the Perlemian Trade Route but, space being spacious and all, that meant little to nothing when it came to predators and prey. Which shall we be?

“Locked and loaded,” the Captain of Tranquility called back. “Let’s go do business.” With that, the freighter took off beside a friend, though if that’s what Mal and Terra were to each other then it would prove itself in time. Or not.

They had traveled thus far already, being like-minded in their resolve to survive, hailing from troubled backgrounds and, sure, that wasn’t much different than most folks. But we see the stars and part them where others would only get burned.

What that meant, well, Mal might have yet to figure that out too but, for now, he leaned back in his seat and propped his feet on the console. “So, why do you do it?”

He might have asked his co-pilot, his crewmates, but he asked the woman on the other end of the comm, that Captain of the Dynamic. “Why do you spread your wings and fly? Really, though, what keeps you sailing, captain?”


@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

She angled her ship as she punched in the coordinates for herself, firing the ship's engines so that the escaped the gravity well of the planet. Other ships floated among the stars, slicing their way through lanes leading in and out of the planet.

She heard his voice over the coms again a few moments later and tilted her head to the side in thought. Why'd she do it? That wasn't a simple answer, was it? Not for anyone.

I dunno, I think there's a lot that goes into a question like that, she said, her mouth twisting up in thought.

I don't want to be tied to anywhere. I like being in a ship, it makes me feel alive. I guess at the end of the day, I can't really see myself doing anything else. Sure there's boring days, but what other job lets you work your way through hundreds of star systems? See everything the galaxy has to offer? she said. The more she thought about it, the more she realized just how much she enjoyed what she did. Much better than boosting speeders and stealing for de facto slave drivers who had run her life growing up.

What about you?

@Die Shize

 

[Mallister Keynion]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Terra thought of Mal’s question, Mal thought of Mal’s question, only then realizing how right she was. He had posed it as just a means of making convo on the way, but so often one didn’t recognize the weight of their own words until spoken and heard.

A gal after this guy’s own heart. He meant that in no profound way beyond just so, recognizing a spacer’s soul beside his own, no more, no less. So, when his own question was turned against himself, Mal sighed as though he had just swallowed a thousand stars.

Those were what he saw while staring out of the cockpit as his vessel sailed this sea beside another. “Freedom, is what. See, I think you said what I might have, though a mite more eloquent. Sometimes, for me, it’s just about flying. About getting from Point A to Point B, in one piece, ship and crew intact, one against the ‘verse.”

Boots propped up, Mal twiddled thumbs in his lap, recognizing how quickly poetry could go south. “Just about flying free. It ain’t much...but it’s enough.”

There was a ping beside his boots just then, coming from the console itself. A message came with it—a message of distress. Broadcasting, the Dynamic would surely pick it up too. Quite clearly, there was a ship out there that had fallen prey to pirates.

"You reading this, Terra?"

@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

She had a knowing laugh as he described his thoughts. Yes, they were two meiloorun on a branch. I getchu, she said, nodding despite no one actually being there to see it.

She was about to ask him another question when a light on her ship's dashboard started flashing an alert. It seemed he had picked it up to and she let out a throaty growl as she looked over the transponder data that scrolled across her screen. Her tail started to flick in a tell-tale sign of aggravation.

Yeah, I see it, she said, voice sounding far less pleasant as she thought about what exactly they were going to be flying into here. As much as she didn't want to go check it out for her own sake, there was a certain expectation among people like them, and she simply couldn't turn her back on another ship's distress beacon.

Let's check for survivors, she said, flipping switches on her ship to swap over and divert power to the guns and shields. Another switch and she had slave linked the two laser turrets to work in tandem, and then she prayed she wouldn't need them.

Are you picking up any other ships on your scope? she asked, glancing at her own instruments but seeing nothing other than the target ship.

Starry Sky, this is the Dynamic responding to your emergency hail, over, she said, hailing the ship on a com line they would both be able to hear. They were met with nothing but static on the other end.

I guess one of us is going to have to land and take a look, she said, taking another loop around the bulk freighter to look for any signs of fighters, freighters, or other pirate ships attached.

@Die Shize

 

[Mallister Keynion]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Not knowing too much about the kind of person Terra was exactly, Mal was ready for this to go either way, whether help a ship in need or go about their business.

Maybe if he had some illegal cargo in his hold he might have looked the other way on account of that, but all he had right now was a fellow captain ready to help.

“Nothing on my end,” he answered regarding any other ships. That could easily change though, for better or worse, so they would have to make this speedy like. That static ain’t a good sign. Pirates usually weren’t.

“I guess that’d be me,” Mal responded without much enthusiasm, nor apprehension. With that, he took Tranquility on its own pass across the Starry Sky, spotting no vessels tethered to it. Good. I hate boarding parties. On that note, time to board.

His light freighter lined up with the docking ring of the bigger one. There was some minor damage around the hull indicating that the vessel had been shot at, but there didn’t seem to be an atmospheric breach.

Nonetheless, Mal put on his flight suit and secured the helmet and bid his crew to take care of his baby except for one member who tagged along with his captain. The pair opened the hatch for the docking tube.

“We’re heading over,” he commed over to the Dynamic. “Figure if we don’t find survivors we might at least find out who didn't leave any.” While they weren’t en route to a hyperlane itself, pirates hugged them no less, and it usually helped to know your enemy.

Mal began to cross over. James, Tranquility’s gunner, walked beside his captain, rifle at the ready. They reached the airlock of the Starry Sky, opened the outer door, stepped inside.

“Terra,” Mal commed, gazing at the floor. “If there are survivors, well, I found an Ishi Tib who ain’t one of ‘em.”


@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Terra continued to fly the Dynamic around the ship in loops, keeping her eyes on her scanners and the weapons charged and ready to fire. Meanwhile, her ear was kept on the comlink, waiting for any news.

She was desperately hoping that it was just some power trouble and nothing more, but she had a nagging feeling that wasn't the case.

An Ishi Tib? Dead? Blaster wound? she asked, heart starting to pick up its pace as her eyes flicked around.

Inside the ship, as they advanced they would find the bridge sealed off without a visible way to enter. Blaster marks and even a broken-in-two sword lay on the deck of the ship as they drew closer.

@Die Shize

 

[Mallister Keynion]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

The Ishi Tib’s eyes were closed, mouth agape, maybe a dying gasp or a scream. “Blaster,” Mal confirmed. There was a hole in the chest where a heart might have been.

The pair from Tranquility continued to advance, Captain’s pistol out, leading the way. They encountered no resistance, cluing in that whatever had happened here had indeed happened. Attackers moved on. Job done.

James asked after the broken sword as to what could have done it. Mal reckoned a lightsaber might have but doubted it. The bodies in the bridge did not seem to have those kinds of burn marks.

Those corpses told tales, among which was that they weren’t all on the same side. A few appeared to have been left where they died before their fellow assailants left the ship, and they screamed of piracy.

“This ship is a graveyard,” Mal informed anyone who was listening. “Crew is toast. Computer says a deal of the cargo was taken. Not much we can do.”

His tone was matter-of-fact but there wasn’t much he could do about that either. As he observed the bridge, the one thing Mal would take with him on the way back to his ship was the symbolism of this ordeal.

Might have been us. This bulk freighter, the Starry Sky, was on its own out in the expanse. The Dynamic was not, Tranquility is not, by matter of circumstance. I’ll take it as a sign, that it’s about time I had another ship out here watching my back, Terra Nova Charters and Shipping or not.


@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Terra felt sobered at the sound of what she heard, and likewise couldn't shake from her mind how it could have been her. A single ship on its own out here wasn't a good thing.

I hear you, she said, voice serious and sad. I'll call it in to Ithor Security. You should probably get back to the Tranquility, she said.

She kept her eyes open, but whatever or whoever had hit the ship were likely long gone now. No doubt the pair would be tied up answering ISF questions for a while, but it was an unfortunate part of this sort of thing. They'd be of no real help to ISF, of course, but that wouldn't matter.

I guess our shipment's going to be delayed, she said as ships bearing paint and transponders of law enforcement arrived in this area of dead space. Still, she was confident they would make it out to their destination soon. They simply had to.

@Die Shize

 

[Mallister Keynion]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Ithor Security was the way to go. This freighter was out of the jurisdiction of two humble spacers who had to be on their way. “Heading to,” Mal affirmed as he made his way back to his own freighter.

Back in the cockpit of Tranquility, her captain had to debate it out with the crew as to what was about to happen. Half of them wanted to leave, given this was not their responsibility, and the other half felt what half of Mal felt: that it was about time to take responsibility.

In the end, their captain deduced that their best bet was to cooperate with Captain Lanris, given that they were now partners. This was her job, the cargo in Tranquility’s hold was Blackwell’s, and the whole lot of them might just score some points with ISF for what they had just reported.

“All right, you guys and gals be on your way now, safe travels,” was what boiled down to the ISF’s farewell after containing the situation. Mal didn’t reap much of a reward but was now in Ithor’s good books, more or less. Especially having stolen their flower, heh.

“Terra?” He chimed over cockpit console comm while readying to embark. “You’re a good person. But I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”


@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Terra was glad when things were finally finished up with ISF. Those types of things were always a pain, but less so than for the crew that was preyed upon. If things were different, it could have been her.

She was glad that Mal had ultimately decided that it was better to stick around. Not everyone would have done that, and maybe it was a testament to his character. Or maybe she was reading into things too much, probably too early to tell.

She snorted lightly at his comment, but didn't offer a rebuttal. She wasn't so sure he was right, but that was something that might remain to be seen. She'd done her fair share of dirty things to get by in this galaxy.

I think you're talking about yourself. Anyway, we should probably get this crap dropped off for Blackwell. This's already held us up enough, she said gruffly, though perhaps she wasn't really fooling anyone with that one.

//Exit @Die Shize

 

[Mallister Keynion]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Good person? Me? Talking about myself? That last part was right. The first? Well, I’m all right. “All right, Cap. Funny. I’m used to hearing that word more than saying it. That said, let’s mosey.”

There in the black of space, between the stars, two ships flew side by side. Tranquility and Dynamic, their hulls intact and holds packed, sailing on a sea that ferried them free as birds in the clouds.

In that regard, those two captains were two spirits of one flesh. Or is it two fleshes of one spirit? No, that couldn’t be right, debate it as Mal did in the cockpit with his co-pilot. ‘Fleshes’ sounded as bad as the frippery of a Hutt’s ballroom—whatever that meant.

Whatever, what meant more and mattered most was the partnership forged on a planet and ferried into the expanse surrounding it. Mallister and Terra, dynamic duo. Dynamic Tranquility.

Heck, now Mal was faced with a new debate: whether those two words sounded as cheesy as making peace with his Peacemaker, and now he craved one more Ronto morning wrap.

[End thread]

@Phoenix