Ask Transporting the Goods and the Bad

[Terra Lanris]

She was becoming so familiar with the inside of Afterlife. She spent so much time in here doing her work it was like a second home outside of her ship, and she couldn't decide if that was good or bad. She was going to drink Astria out of business at the rate she was going though.

Today it was another one of these Not!Pantorans (she really needed to figure out what they were, but it was rude to ask right? I mean, people asked her what she was all the time, but that wasn't really okay), but this one was actually part of Crimson Dawn.

She hadn't actually spent a lot of time working with real members of Crimson Dawn outside of Astria and instead was building her own company and sending some of the profits up the pipe as required. She was eager to see what this one was like, apparently a good pilot as well. A plus in her business and a potential asset to be added directly to Terra Nova Shipping and Charters.

She waited for his arrival, hoping he might be able to help her in recruiting some other pilots for the transportation and material shifting part of the operation. The Eclipse needed ships and pilots to fly them to do their pirating and she could certainly use more pirates for the moving of the goods they seized. Hopefully all would work out today and he'd be interested in a steady paycheck.

 

[Zhaan Duran]

UNTZ UNTZ UNTZ​

Duran'd been to a damn decent selection of bars, cantinas, and clubs around the galaxy, and he'd decided he liked the seedy ones best. You know, the ones that slapped poorly printed labels on bottles of shine they'd made in the basement and sold it next to the proper whiskey. The somewhat repetitive bass music made time seem like an endless stream, too. Probably helped.

But they were always the sorts of places where people minded their own damn business, unless it was business they were offering. Considering Duran was about two steps from being a mercenary this suited him perfectly. He'd not met this member of Crimson Dawn before- or many others to be fair- but the limited details seemed legit.

He didn't have the most subtle appearance as walked up to Terra's table, all mixed utilitarian attire and black tattoos that contrasted against his blue skin. That and the starkly crimson eyes above an easy little half-grin. Zhaan tipped his wide-brim hat in greeting before sweeping it from his head as he sat, laying it on the table. He got nice and comfortable.

"Not a bad spot. I'm Zhaan," he greeted, reaching across the table to shake the Tiefling woman's hand. "Have some work for me?" He fished a thin cigar out from inside his cigar, clamped it in his teeth, and worked on lighting it.

@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Terra saw the man approach and she perked up a bit, finishing off the remainder of her glass and setting it down before reaching out to take his hand and shake it.

Terra, she said. A droid brought her another glass almost immediately. Benefits of being who she was, after all. She motioned to the seat across from her and the droid waited for his order before it would scurry off to prepare it.

I might, she said in response to his inquiry about work. It was less a question of "do you or don't you" and more a question of type, which led her to her next question.

Tell me, Zhaan. What's your poison? We all have our preferred specialties. I like to try to match people up with the jobs that might fit them best, she said. Oh yeah, she liked that. It made her sound like a broker. That wasn't such a bad name for herself. "The Broker." She'd have to remember that one if this thing kept working out.

 

[Zhaan Duran]

Zhaan flashed a lazy smile around his cigar, puffing out a cloud of fragrant smoke. "Pleasure's mine," he said. His drink of choice was a basic neat bourbon. It wasn't quite the same, but it reminded him of his old crewmates. Rum was overrated.

He didn't seem in a rush- on the contrary, the Chiss corsair was quite relaxed. Zhaan considered Terra's question while puffing at his cigar as if he was seriously thinking on the answer. "Well," he began, taking a decent-sized drink, "I shoot, brawl, fly, and work subtle work if you get my meaning." Growing up and being taught by a gang of pirates gave him a decent base of skills to work with.

"Think piratey thoughts mate, you'll get the idea." Duran winked at Terra across the table. "Man out in the galaxy on his lonesome can't be too choosey now, can he?"

@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Terra nodded, taking another sip of her own drink. He seemed cool and collected. He either wasn't desperate or knew how to give a sense of being confident in his situation. Either way was a good thing. The last thing she needed was someone chomping at the bit to get involved in things without thinking. In other words, she had muscle but she needed capable people who could combine muscle and brain.

Oh, I'm familiar with those thoughts, she said as he mentioned to think piratey thoughts.

Intimately familiar, she said. While piracy hadn't been her breakout market, it had quickly become one of the main markets. But piracy's profit margins paled in comparison to other businesses, particularly for the danger and attention that it drew.

I could certainly use someone like you, and the pay is good, she said. How's your schedule looking today? Got room for a good paying job? she asked. Business acquisition was the name of Terra's game. She'd acquired Eclipse, then Blood Pack, then Blue Stars. Then a mining company, and eventually some casinos. It was all a matter of convincing current owners that they could no longer afford to do business without her. She wanted to expand her business outside of Omega now.

I'm sorry, I get asked questions like this all the time and I know how annoying they can be, but... you're not Pantoran, are you? Pantoran offshoot? Like Tieflings are an offshoot? she asked. Her curiosity was insatiable it seemed.

 

[Zhaan Duran]

The Chiss corsair gently tapped a small bit of ash from his cigar's end into an ashtray before returning it to his teeth, pulling a few experimental puffs before addressing Terra's first question. His expression was mildly amused as he replied, "I do I believe I can fit a job in." Truthfully he had fuck all planned for the day beyond drinking and some basic ship maintenance. "What've you got in mind?"

All the better with the some funding, right? He wasn't exactly short on cash, but neither was he anywhere near wealthy. Turns out leaving what a man 'should' do for work in a certain profession opens up all kinds of possibilities. Smuggling on its own was slow-paying stuff. Throw in some groundwork at the destination, though, and profits rise.

A low chuckle rumbled through the Chiss after the second question, particularly the pre-apology. "No ma'am, that I'm not," he said with a little of the head, lifting his glass to take a drink. "Chiss last I checked." The man wasn't going to correct someone making the wrong assumption, but he was obviously perfectly willing to answer when asked directly. Zhaan leaned forward slightly, fully crimson eyes brought into contrast among the mixed lighting of Afterlife as they met with Terra's "The eyes give it away."

Then he leaned back again, still as casual as can be, lips slowly spreading in a grin. "That, and most have a standard-issue stick up their ass." Luckily for him, Zhaan had extricated his years and years ago.

@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Excellent. A job it'll be, then, she said, draining the remainder of her glass and getting ready to get up to leave.

Chiss? she repeated. I'm not familiar. Well, actually, that's not true. I've worked with another Chiss before, but I never asked her. What's your homeworld like? If you don't mind my asking? she asked. She was a curious one, and the idea that his people came from beyond the known galaxy hadn't even crossed her mind.

She chuckled slightly as he mentioned how uptight they all were. Probably wouldn't get along too well with Tieflings, then. What an odd pairing we'll make then, she said with a smile.

Standing from her booth, she started heading out of the club while they spoke.

I've got an acquisition on Manaan. Some local smugglers who used to run out of there when it was FWA. I want to acquire their business, she said. Through violence, if necessary. Manaan and its kolto supply was one of her next targets for operations, and these smugglers would be a great asset to that end.

 

[Zhaan Duran]

Zhaan gave the Tiefling woman a lazy shrug when asked about his homeworld to show he didn't mind. "Never been personally. All I've heard is it's a frozen hellhole and the local nobles'll try to convince you it isn't." Here he was assuming she meant their actual homeworld, which was also the Chiss capital world. "Me, I'm from Capero. Tall mountains, grassy plains, massive shipyards in orbit. Not a bad place."

His eyebrows rose slightly, looking curious. "Oh yeah? What're your people like, then?" Given he was half raised by a crew of pirates, nothing about a particular race could be considered the 'standard'. Thieves, beggars, and outcasts all. Zhaan finished his drink and stood, languidly plopping his boots on the ground to lift himself up and tossing a moderate tip on the table. Afterlife was a tab kind of place, but a tip was just polite.

"Ocean smugglers, eh? We talking locals or foreigners?" he questioned while they walked. Duran couldn't tell someone a damn thing about Manaan culture, but their criminality, sure thing. Most of their cities were underwater, with the exceptions being the ones meant for foreign traders and tourists. Where they were based made a big difference.

@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Hm, sounds like a nice place, she said when he described Capero. Maybe not so much his people's homeworld, but no point in dwelling on that.

When he asked what Tieflings were like she just smiled for a moment. Very free spirited, she said. Pinning us down as a group is pretty much impossible. We all have our own quirks, but they're our quirks, she said. Each was unique but all seemed to want to carve their own way in the galaxy.

They're offworlders, but they have a contact in the production facilities and rumor has it they're trying to set up their own siphoning facility, she said. With some backing, they might be able to do just that.

I doubt they'll be too happy about a hostile takeover, but I've sent some people ahead of us just in case, she said. An open gunfight on the streets of Manaan would be very bad for business, but there were more subtle ways of disposing of people too. Even a gunfight could be quick and dirty if it needed to be.

Care to come with me or prefer to take your own ship and meet there?

 

[Zhaan Duran]

Duran smoothed back his pitch-black hair and placed his hat atop as soon as they were outside, nice and neat in his own little way. "Good to hear," was his only commentary on Tieflings and their quirks. As much as any culture had certain 'ideals', folks were widely varied. Zhaan wasn't too fond of those cultures that tried to make everyone the same sort of being. Like the Chiss Ascendency, funnily enough.

He adjusted his cigar's position between his teeth while they walked along, listening well to Terra's proposal. Contrary to popular portrayal, much of how pirates operated was through the idea of avoiding an actual shootout. Piracy wasn't profitable if the crew died off every time. Criminal gangs worked much the same so far as Zhaan could tell. They weren't a military force.

"Happy or not, I'm sure we can all come to some arrangement," he said with a hint of a grin. Duran nodded toward the spaceport. "I make it a policy not to leave A Ship Named Slickback behind, ma'am. I'll meet you onsite." The Chiss lazily tipped his hat in Terra's direction. "Anything else to cover beforehand?" Naturally, Terra would already have any information regarding Duran's going rates for things, which got things moving along without the touchy business of talking fees.

@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Terra shook her head as he asked if there was anything else.

Not if you can shoot and brawl like you said, she said, pulling out her datapad and clicking several times.

I'm sending you the coordinates for the hangar we can meet in, she said. She couldn't say she was surprised he wanted to take his own ship. It was the nature of people like them, and she was just as inclined to take her own transportation.

See you on the other side, she said, giving a two finger salute and heading toward her ship.

---​

The trip had given her time to make additional arrangements, and as she landed, she looked out at the sea beyond the docking bay. Weapons were heavily restricted here, so she'd simply brought along a smaller, less conspicuous concealed blaster for the operation. She hoped he would do the same.

Several Eclipse mercs were mulling about the hangar when he set down, and Terra was speaking to one of her smugglers as she waited. She sent a glance back toward the Slickback as it landed and wrapped up her conversation as he approached.

You ready to get to this? she asked. Meeting first to try to persuade them. If that doesn't work, we take a more aggressive approach, she said.

 

[Zhaan Duran]

Duran similarly arrived less armed than he'd been in Afterlife, missing both his dual pistols and vambraces. Instead, he'd kept to easily concealed or unscannable weaponry hidden on his person. Amazing what one could do with plastics.

The Chiss corsair tipped his hat as he walked up, offering the others around a greeting not, not visibly armed in the slightest. His long coat had even been replaced with a somewhat more 'civilized' aviator jacket, a bit less wear and tear for the Selkaath to whine about. "Set to go, ma'am," Duran replied before looking around at the shiny metal docking bay fixtures.

"Persuade first, encourage second. Not a problem." Encourage here clearly meant beat about the head and face, or similar. After they left the hangar he glanced over at Terra during the bit of walking. "They seem the bendable type?" he asked, curious about what to expect.

@Phoenix

 

[Terra Lanris]

Terra thought about his question as they headed out and toward the meeting point. It was a difficult thing to get a gauge of, but the answer that stuck in her head was "no."

Eh... their leader seems like the stubborn type. Willing to die on a hill just to say he fought. Some of them will probably back him, but others, I think, will be more pliable, she said.

She walked the streets and emerged into the sun. It was warm, but a breeze blew in over the sea. While the majority of the people here were Selkath, these landing stations were geared toward off-worlders, and many of those walking and milling about were just like them.

The other pirates set out on their own and would meet near the building in case they were needed. The last thing they needed was a horde of conspicuous looking criminals walking down the street together looking like trouble.

I arranged for a meeting with the leadership first so we can talk. If they don't work out... she tilted her head to the side, shook it, and gave a shrug. That's why we brought back up.