Wait I know you.

[Hask Jen]

Tatooine/Mos Eisley
14:23 local time
​

The Hellion landed quite roughly in one of the hangars. With the amount of damage it suffered landing softly was slightly out of the question.

The ship was in tatters and in desperate need of repairs. At least there was a few dozen crates worth of spare parts in what's left of the cargo hold to fix it up. Hask rubbed his face with his hands, relieved that they managed to touch down alive after flying through hyperspace for days on end. Aurelie was asleep in the bunk area, but with a landing like this he could only hope that she was still asleep.

Hask stepped out of the cockpit and into the workshop to suit up in his scorched heavy armour. With no chance to stop since Exoleen he hadn't had a chance to get the parts to fix up his suit. With a sigh he pulled the tattered poncho over his outfit to complete his getup.

He holstered his 2 pistols, clipped his lightsabers to his hips and held his helmet under his left arm as he walked to the back of the ship to check on Aurelie. She had been through a lot and deserved to rest, so as softly as he could he stepped out and told his droid to tell her where he had gone when she wakes up.

That being finding someone to fix his ship. Thankfully a crew was close by and ready to start immediately. He took them through the ship, showed the parts and got a price and time.

Price was significantly lowered thanks to the spare parts, but time was still a couple of days at least. Hask sighed and gave in. The men started to work almost immediately. Hopefully Aurelie is a heavier sleeper than he is otherwise she's going to have one rude awakening.

While that was going on, he decided to have a look around and see what parts and clothing he could find. He walked out of the hangar, not looking at where he was going as he fumbled with his helmet.

He suddenly bumped into a very large Trandoshan. He was just about to apologise until the Trandoshan looked very familiar to the Pureblood...

@samdragon @Pyrenees

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Everything shook as the ship was about to touch down and with a violent smash or two, it finally landed. Aurelie sighed and rolled her eyes after hitting her head on the ceiling of the bunk bed, apparently bouncing rather high as the ship set down. This was the exact reason why a co-pilot would've been a good idea. But then, Hask was the was the boss and if he wanted her help, he'd have called for her. She whined lowly while holding her hand against the part of her head which hit the ceiling of the bed but got up just as Hask left the ship. Her leg had healed well and she could equip her gear just as she always did but in order to protect her from the Tatooine sands, she wrapped herself in a few layers of beige and brown cloth too.

Heading out, she noticed a crew approaching the repair the ship. There was no way the Sith would've just let them stroll into the hangar unless they were really there to do what they said. She chatted with the one she though was the leader of the team for a while, making sure to pick up a few tips and tricks from the mechanics. The girl liked to think that she knew her way around a ship rather well, but it was clear that these guys were very familiar with how to fix a ship up, besides, her friend might appreciate her help if he was going to do anything related to the ship. With that, the thief turned to the leader whom she had been speaking to "Where did the captain go?" to which the leader answered that he was just outside the hangar a moment ago.

Figuring that she could easily catch up to Hask if she ran, Aurelie decided to stay by the Hellion a little longer and pick up a few more tips before leaving.

@KinkyPrawn @samdragon

 

[Mephetch Tsississ]

After that mission on Mustafar, the Trandoshan decided to return on Tatooine to both have some rest and try to hide himself from eventual bounty hunters or assassins that the pirates would surely employ, given his criminal record for the Empire. This made him chuckle: pirates that try to arrest other pirates? Best joke in the galaxy!

After having left the crewmen a Rebel lieutenant lent him to crew the ship, he got to that dustball of a planet in the hangar he usually parked in. As usual, he got greeted by a Jawa who asked him the documents and similar, and he gave him the official document he got asked to give in any spaceport he went in, where it stated that he was an independent arms dealer and mercenary. Once everything was good, he walked out of the hangar... and bumped into someone!

"Sssorry, I didn't mean to... Wait a minute." The large lizard had bumped into a Pureblood who was wearing a tattered poncho and a scorched armor that has definitely seen better days. After a few seconds, he smirked as he recognized him: he was the Sith he met when he was in that prison around Geonosis! "Well well well... Hasssk Jen, nissse to sssee you again! Sssorry for how I treated you that time on Geonosssisss, but I jussst couldn't resssissst the opportunity" he said, a hand warily held on the hilt of his vibrosword...

 

[Hask Jen]

When Hask recognised who the Trandoshan was, his blood started to boil. He hoped that after what happened on Geonosis he would never see the lizard again. It seems things did not go exactly as planned.

As soon as Meph's hand glided down to his vibroblade, Hask reacted. Using the force he grabbed the Trandoshan by the throat, lifted him several feet off the ground and hurled him over his shoulder into the Hellion's open hangar behind him.

"Zip it, Tsississ! Did you think I'll forget your scaly mug that easily?!" the pureblood barked as he walked over to him. As the Trandoshan was still busy getting up, Hask ignited his lightsabre and held the tip of his crimson blade a few inches away from the criminal's throat. "Don't forget. You are still wanted and I know there's a handsome bounty on bringing in your overgrown head...dead or alive." he growled at Meph, not moving his blade. Taking another precaution he ignited a flame in the palm of his right hand in case he tried to pull another fast one on the Pureblood.

"You've got a lot of nerve strutting arou…" his threat was interrupted when he saw Aurelie chatting away with one of the mechanics like there was no tomorrow. "Aurelie what are you doing?" he called out to her, drawing her attention to him and the overgrown Gizka in front of him.

@samdragon @Pyrenees ​

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Mephetch was large and when being thrown into a hangar, very easy to notice. Aurelie quickly turned to look at what went on at the entrance and soon after, the mechanics nearby followed suit. She saw a Trandoshan on the ground who must've been thrown in by Hask, she leaned in towards the mechanic "That guy is in trouble" she said while thinking back to what her friend had done before they went to Tatooine. The girl raised her hand to keep the sun from her eyes and her forehead furrowed as she squinted her eyes to see the newcomer a little more clearly. She hadn't seen anyone so large in several months, and Trandoshan no less. It didn't take long before she realized that the guy was in fact her old captain who she hadn't seen in a rather long time. Many questions swirled around in her head but before she had time to do anything, Hask entered the hangar.

It didn't look like Hask and Mephetch got along very well at all as her current captain seemed dead set on killing the Trandoshan, or at least hurting him like there was no tomorrow. The contents of the threats couldn't be heard from the distance they were at, but the Sith certainly sounded as menacing as ever and his lightsaber directed at Mephetch's throat amplified the effect even more. She saw how Hask looked up at her and immediately knew that this might become a rather tricky situation. She bit her lower lip as he called out for her - that was clearly audible at least, but she was a little surprised by him calling her by the full name. The thief gave the nearby mechanic a worried look which he returned - there didn't seem to be much else for her to do than to see what the Sith wanted.

She walked up to the two, arriving just a meter behind the Trandoshan to his right, although she was standing up while he still had a lightsaber to his throat after the throw. In return for calling her by the full name, the young woman bowed deeply and despite being sarcastic, made sure she sounded formal as she responded "Yes, my lord. How may I serve you?". She then looked down at her former captain, a little worried about his current state and thus continued "I see you have already met Mephetch Tsississ" Her pronunciation of his name was on point, matching how the Trandoshans would say it themselves rather closely.

@samdragon @KinkyPrawn

 

[Mephetch Tsississ]

The Trandoshan gasped quite loudly as the Sith grabbed his throat with the Force and lifted him, and then he screamed in panic as he got thrown into the hangar. The landing was quite rough, but thankfully he didn't.break anything.

Finding the lightsaber pointed at his throat, he remained still, but he slowly and carefully grabbed his vibrosword just to very gently, almost politely, move the tip away from his throat. "Ssstill keeping a trudge for that misssadventure, I sssee... Why can't we talk in a more sssivilian manner?" he asked, trying to sound friendly even if his voice was clearly shaking a bit in fear.

As Hask called out for Aurelie, the Trandoshan looked at her, and smiled widely! He was definitely happy to see her, who he had employed some time ago as part of his crew, but he had to leave her for a bit because the mission he went into was, at least in his opinion, a bit too much for the thief.

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask was quite taken back by Aurelie's response. The sarcasm was dripping from her greeting, but in this moment it wasn't ver funny to him. The fact that she also knew the slimy lizard also caught him off guard.

He kept his eyes on Aurelie, confusion plastered on his face. The Trandoshan drew his blade and pushed the sith's own blade to the side, but with a quick flick of the wrist his blade was right back in its original position. "Wait, hold up. You...actually know this guy? How on Korriban do you know him?" he asked her. He killed the flame in his hand, figuring it was no longer necessary.

"As for you, Mephetch. You know exactly why we can't just talk in a 'sssivilisssed manner'." he said angrily as he looked back at him, mocking the Trandoshan's accent. "Not only did you almost knock a couple of teeth out, you almost cost me my life. My head was very nearly on the chopping block thanks to your little escape." he growled.

"Now...give me one good reason not to just slaughter you, drop your head off at the local authorities and use your hide as seat lining for my ship." the crimson blade moved closer to Meph's neck as Hask spoke, close enough for the Trnadoshan to feel the heat coming off the blade.

@Pyrenees @samdragon ​

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Despite not being very happy about being left behind, Aurelie couldn't help but to feel bad for her former captain as he laid there on the ground with a lightsaber to his throat. She looked back up at Hask as he asked her about knowing Mephetch and he didn't seem very pleased when he asked the question. The girl looked at him for a few seconds, fearful that he was about to enter his menacing sithy mood, but knew that she would have to answer the question "Yeah" she responded carefully. She scanned his eyes, he wanted to know how too. "I, uh, I worked for him, just like I work for you now" she continued with a small voice.

To her relief, the Sith eventually moved on. One thing was clear: Hask did not like Mephetch at all. Not only did he threaten the big Trandoshan, he also mocked his speech and listed how he had been wronged in the past. It didn't seem all too unlikely that this might end in violence and she was quite happy that she was not on the Trandoshan's side, having seen her current captain's prowess in combat. The situation did, however, look rather ugly - sure, Hask had a lightsaber pointed at Mephetch, but Mephetch's vibrosword were out in the open and could stab at the Sith at any given moment. In the worst case, both would perish - something which the thief very much wanted to avoid.

Slowly, Aurelie walked around Mephetch on the side which weren't holding the vibrosword and once she reached Hask, she walked around his back to stand on the same side as the Trandoshan's weapon was at. She had her own vibroknife ready to be ejected in the hidden N.E.V.D.A device and mentally prepared herself to eject it to defend the Sith in case Mephetch decided to strike. The girl had no illusions about being able to match her old captain's strength but knew that she at least had surprise on her side and hoped that she'd at least be able to redirect an attack or slow it down.

@KinkyPrawn @samdragon

 

[Mephetch Tsississ]

The Trandoshan looked up at Aurelie, then at Hask. "I know her becaussse I wanted to employ her asss part of my crew. But well, I had to leave her to help the Allianssse with sssome affairsss. Asss per why you ssshouldn't take my head..." Mephetch said, voice trailing off and then he hissed a bit angrily as Hask mocked his lips. "Lisssten. I'm sssorry for what happened, ok? Can't we forget what happened and try being friendsss? We got a mutual friend here. Aurelie, what do you think?"

 

[Hask Jen]

The pureblood's senses were wide open. He could sense both the honesty and fear of the Trandoshan, as well as the fear from Aurelie. While he didn't give a damn at this point about Meph, he did care about Aurelie. Her constantly being afraid of him and walking on eggshells around him after Exoleen is not only tiring him, it's putting strain on their relationship. They were going to need to talk it all through after this mess.

His hands clenched as he fought to not just kill the pirate here and now and attempt to calm down. His right hand's nails were digging into his palm and his left hand's servos were whirring and straining under the pressure of gripping his lightsabre. With a heavy sigh he extinguished his lightsabre and relaxed his grip, both out of fear of burning out his hand and for the sake of his first mate. "Fine. I guess we can talk...just one more thing." he said, clipping his lightsabre to his belt and helping up the Trandoshan. As soon as Meph was on his feet, a loud 'clang' could be heard as durasteel met bone and scale once again, but this time it was Hask's cyborg left fist crashing into Meph's jaw, knocking him to the ground again.

"That's for Geonosis." Hask said much more calmly and relaxed than a few seconds ago. He walked out of the hangar, but topped right outside the entrance. "We can talk over a drink. Cantina's pretty close. You two coming or what?" he called out to them as he waited for them to catch up.

They reached the cantina, which was surprisingly pretty quiet. They took a seat in a corner away from prying eyes or ears. The bartender came and asked for drinks.

"Pint of Tarisian Ale, please." Hask said calmly and politely before looking at his two companions. "What about you guys?"

@Pyrenees @samdragon

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Aurelie nodded along as Mephetch explained that he had tried to hire her, for what he said was true. She did however cross her arms and grumbled "I could've helped" in a bitter, but barely audible tone for anyone but herself. The girl carefully looked to Hask as the Trandoshan dropped her name as a mutual friend - he didn't seem angry, but rather in some kind of internal conflict where he had to put many rounds of thought into what to do. The tension was high, very well matched by the threatening hum of the Sith's lightsaber. But suddenly, the hum disappeared as her companion extinguished his weapon - she gave a sigh in relief and was quite happy that her current captain didn't kill her former one.

The young woman let out an amused chuckle as her Sith friend punched the privateer hard enough to cause the larger alien to once again fall down onto the ground. She may not have wanted Mephetch to die or even get seriously injured, but he sure did deserve that for leaving her, even if it was for her own good, and even if the punch was actually in retaliation for something else. While Hask started walking towards the exit, Aurelie gave her old friend a smile and helped him to his feet again "Hey, at least you didn't get stuck this time. I guess you're getting better at life on Tatooine." she joked with a jovial voice. The girl then raised her fist and threw a punch at Mephetch's arm - a relatively hard punch by her standards, maybe a little too hard as her fist hurt uncomfortably much after connecting with the Trandoshan's scales "And that's for leaving me!" Her tone was that of someone rather offended, but her smile and glimmering eyes made clear that they were on friendly terms. A short jog later and she was back at Hask's left-hand side as they made their way to the cantina.

The relationship between the barkeep and the thief had always been rather good and the two exchanged a few friendly words before Aurelie ordered the same drink as Hask.

The booth was rather isolated and a good spot for, well, anything to be discussed. She did not want them to get at each others throats (quite literally) again and quickly started talking, not really caring about what as long as they wouldn't fight again "Did you guys know that it's actually really cheap to buy agricultural machines and stuff on Corellia? Many people might not think of Corellia as the go-to place whenever you wanna get a farm-going, you know? But they've got the production, anyone know that. But the thing is, that farming worlds such as Dantooine don't have that much production of their own, so a lot of the agricultural machines are actually made en masse on the industrial worlds." She'd keep blabbering on unless stopped, doing whatever she could to keep the peace.

 

[Mephetch Tsississ]

The Trandoshan sighed in relief as the Sith decided to spare him, and smiled as he stood up... only to give a loud "Oooof!" as he got punched, and he fell heavily on the ground. He shortly glared at the Sith, but then chuckled, spitting out a fang or two and massaging his jaw. "Welp, I think I dessserved that" he chuckled, picking up one of the fangs and cleaning it up, plopping it in Aurelie's hand once she playfully punched his arm. "Keep that asss a sssmall memory for usss, hm?" he said as he cleaned up the other fang as they walked to the cantina.

As usual, the band there was playing a joyful tune, and the cantina was quite crowded, with plenty of different species. As Hask asked for drinks, he answered "Sssome Corellian wine."

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask glared at the Trandoshan, watching his every move. He agreed to have a 'civilised conversation' with the lizard. That doesn't mean he had to like him.

"Okay Tsississ, you asked for a civil conversation so here's your conversation. What do you want?" he said coldly. "And keep your drinks cheap, please. I'll need every last credit I have to get my ship up and running so no fancy stuff." he continued, a little more casually. His distrust in Meph was a personal matter, his credits were much more serious.

He looked over to Aurelie as she babbled away, trying to keep tensions low and get a conversation rolling. "Aurie relax. I'll behave if your scaly friend here manages to behave." he turned to look Meph in the eyes. "Will you be able to behave?" he said with a small, fake smile.


Their drinks arrived and Hask took a few big sips of his ale as soon as the glass reached his left hand. The sensation of gripping something but not feeling it in his hand was still very new to him but at least he's gotten the power control down. He subconsciously moved the fingers of his arm around, feeling the parts to be a little loose after his little stressing session of earlier. Sucking up his pride he let out a deep sigh before speaking to Meph once again. "Do you perhaps have a screwdriver on you? Hand's giving a bit of trouble." he mumbled shyly, barely loud enough for the Trandoshan to hear.

@Pyrenees @samdragon

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Aurelie looked at the fang her old captain gave her - it was one of the most unusual gifts she had ever received and she weren't quite sure what to do with the thing. Seeing the size of the large Trandoshan's fang did impress her - in fact, she was surprised that it even fell off at all. After a few moments thought, she slipped it into a pocket underneath her desert wear. "Thanks" she chirped before running off.
​

***​

The girl stopped mid-sentence with her mouth still hanging open as Hask told her to relax. She looked at him and the Sith did indeed seem committed to keeping himself from killing her old captain. Her mouth closed and she responded with a silent nod, and then turned to look at Mephetch for an answer to the question.

She was surprised that Hask asked the Trandoshan for a screwdriver - she was always there to help him out if needed and was confident that she could fetch one in just a few minutes. But, perhaps it was for the best that she remained with them, as a broker of peace or at least something to sit in between them. Besides, perhaps they'd be able to mend their relations if they showed some good will towards each other. Still, she didn't want to see her companion lose face and started to rise from her seat "Oh, I can get one for you" she said lightheartedly, apparently not viewing it as much of a problem to go on a little trip. This way, she'd be able to stay if Mephetch actually had a screwdriver, and if he didn't, Hask wouldn't have to stand the humiliation of being left without aid and a hand with lowered functionality. In truth, she didn't expect that she'd have to go, however, as the Trandoshan often seemed to have different tools on him and also seemed to want to create peace.

@KinkyPrawn @samdragon

 

[Mephetch Tsississ]

The Trandoshan chuckled as Hask told him to keep the budget low, and sipped on his wine. "I may be a pirate, but I like sssome fine drink time to time!" he joked, then looked at the Sith with a friendly smile. "What I want? Oh, nothing too complicated or sssuch. Jussst wanting to throw away that rivalry we have and well, maybe get in affairsss together?" he said, and at the Sith's question for a screwdriver, he pulled out one from the utility belt he was wearing.

 

[Hask Jen]

He gave a small smile as Aurie volunteered to get him one, but as soon as the Trandoshan pulled out one for him to use, the pureblood motioned for her to take her seat once again. He tinkered a bit with his hand, tightening the screws in the right place to secure his grip once again. When he was done, he flexed his fingers a bit to test them out. He gave a satisfied nod before handing the screwdriver back to Meph.

"Getting into affairs, huh? I like the sound of that." he said with a small smile. Hask always did prefer making friends to making enemies and this will be no exception. Besides with what the Trandoshan is capable of, he will definitely come in handy. "I...guess we can move on. Geonosis was another life, as far as I'm concerned. I've left the empire...paid the price for it too." he spoke as he stared absentmindedly at his arm. The black durasteel somewhat reflecting the light in the cantina.

He looked back up to Meph."I'm willing to move on if you are, but I'll need to know that I can trust you. I've got a job coming up and even with or without Aurie's help I'll still be a man short. Care to help out?" he took another big gulp from his ale before holding out his right hand for the Trandoshan to shake.

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

It looked like the situation was turning out just as she had hoped, with Mephetch providing Hask with a screwdriver and an offer of peace, both which were accepted. She would hardly claim that they had a steady partnership at the moment, but it seemed as if things were changing for the better. The girl returned Hask's small smile as she sat back down upon seeing his signal. She kept an attentive eye on how the Sith fixed up his prosthetic arm and put it to heart, fearing that it might be useful for her to know in the future.

Her captain didn't seem very happy about his arm as he spoke about leaving the Empire, and Aurelie felt bad for him. They were both people who had to work much with their hands and arms and whilst his mechanical replacement seemed to function relatively well, she doubted that it was really comparable to the real thing. The young woman leaned in and bumped her companion's left arm's elbow with her own "Hey, at least you've got me, right?" Her tone was bright as she tried to cheer him up.

Aurelie was no big drinker and noticed how she was starting to fall behind the others. She took a long sip from her glass as Hask asked Mephetch to join them for a mission. This was certainly a good thing since her companion could most likely use some better combat support than herself and she had seen first hand that Mephetch was an extraordinary fighter. With that, she smiled and nodded as the Sith made the offer "Yeah, that would be great! Perhaps you could even teach me a little more Trandoshan like you promised" her tone was glad.

@KinkyPrawn @samdragon

 

[Mephetch Tsississ]

The reptilian listened with interest what Hask had to tell him, and smiled. "Well, sssorry for your losss, but well, not everything can go sssmotthly, right? Besssidesss, you got quite the fansssy prosssthetic. I know that model, had worked on one or two in the passst. Very reliable, even though itsss maintenanssse can be demanding at timesss" he commented, observing the Sith's metallic arm.

As Hask asked him to join them and offered him the hand, he looked straight in the Sith's eyes. "Sssame thing for me. Can I trussst you that you won't jussst turn me to Imperial authoritiesss at the firssst opportunity? Sssorry for that, but sssinssse that bassstart of a Rodian betrayed me, I have sssome sssmall isssuesss in trusssting people, bear me" he said, a bit grimly.

 

[Hask Jen]

He listened to the Trandoshan's comment on his arm. Another reason to keep him around. He can actually help keep things running smoothly and seems to know his way around more than just weapons. This was followed up closely by Aurie's reassurance that she was by his side, prompting a smile to appear on the sith's face as she elbowed his arm. Yeah, at least I got you. he said warmly.

The moment faded a little when the Trandoshan fired back at Hask with his own mistrust. It was understandable. Their past wasn't exactly all perfume and roses. Where this mission takes place I have more risk of dying than you do. The mission takes place on Teth, between a small time Hutt and some Twi'lek gang. You'll actually be safer than I'll be from the authorities. Don't get any ideas though, They will only be dealing with me so if you want payment and safe passage off that rock you're going to have to work with me." he gave an overview of the mission, quick and professional.

@Pyrenees @samdragon

 

[Aurelie Fleury]

Aurelie's eyes shone up a little as Mephetch mentioned his skill regarding the prosthetic arm as she saw an opportunity to learn about how it worked and the maintenance stuff. But, it didn't take a genius to recognize that this was far from the best time to ask for lessons as her company still worked out some kind of alliance of sorts. But she was taking a mental note to speak to her former captain about it at a later point, perhaps she could even learn some more Trandoshan while at it.

The privateer then asked about Hask's trustworthiness which prompted her to gently let the tip of her fingers to embrace her lowered forehead while the palm hovered above the face. To her, Hask did not, at all, seem like the person who would betray someone in such a well thought through manner. If he ever turned on anyone, she assumed that it would be because of an uncontrollable rage turning him into the menace she had seen earlier - not because he planned to do anything evil. After the Sith had said his piece, Aurelie spoke up "Mephetch, if Hask tells you that he won't turn you in, I highly doubt he will. The worst thing you'll have to fear is me finally deciding to collect that bounty on your head. Instead of letting you go like I did last time." Her serious comment had turned into a joke at less than a moments notice. She threw a telling glance on the wall next to them as she talked about collecting a bounty, just to give him a hint about what she spoke of.

She then looked back at Hask. The girl didn't mean to question his plan and considered her words carefully before she carefully started "Our.. our ship, it isn't really, you know? Very space worthy.". A fragile peace had been established, and she felt like she was poking at it with a stick already, but she had already begun and continued "How do we get to Teth?" and glanced over at the Trandoshan. She considered suggesting going by Mephetch's ship but decided that she had said enough for now.

@KinkyPrawn @samdragon