Ask Dantooine We Are The Law

[Alfie Shepherd]

We Are The Law​

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Everyone has to start somewhere. Alfie was currently a nobody, which had it's perks, but also a few cons. For one, he couldn't demand any sort of long term respect- for now he had to earn that privilege. So far, hunting rogue gunslinger-wannabes was all Alfie could shoot for. It wasn't hard money- just a pain in the ass. The Weequay target had souped up speeder and out ran Alfie. Twice. He wasn't going to let that happen again.

However, now the young Veteran had an accomplice working with him rather than for him. It wasn't a big deal. If she died, that meant more credits and renown for himself. There was still that flash of memory- of a woman dancing in a blue dress, gazing up into his eyes with more love than the galaxy could hold- It wasn't my fault. He reminded himself, pushing the faded and jaded memories aside. If this new 'partner' of his couldn't keep up, then she wasn't cut out for this life.

"Here's the deal, missy," Alfie lit a cigar, inhaled, and blew a smoke ring. "You will man the repeater on The Endeavor. We will hunt this bastard down and you will have the honor of gunning him down." Did she even know how to shoot a gun? Well, now she had to or there would be hell to pay. Alfie would've preferred blasting the Weequay thug into dust, but no one sat in his cockpit and flew his ship. "No causalities, either. Anything you hit that isn't our speeding miscreant will be docked from your cut." His utterly blank expression and unimpressed tone would've made it perfectly clear that he wasn't messing around.

@Panda Hermit 98

 

[Lissa Blackhand]

Dantooine was in a somewhat fragile position since it left the Empire, open to all kinds of threats from above and below. Lissa felt bad for the turmoil it's people were probably going through on a daily basis, but strife was good for business, and lo and behold, this job dealt with one such source of turmoil. This particular threat was on the smaller end of the scale, but he could become something more if it wasn't nipped in the bud immediately. Cavalas Darr, Weequay Farmland Raider, Gunslinger, all around sleemo. Farms were a planet's lifeblood, the last thing they needed was someone stealing their hard earned credits and crops. She'd be all too glad to perform this little piece of community service.

Lissa sighed softly as her partner for the job decided now was a good time to throw his weight around. Even though she preferred to work alone on a job, her employer had insisted upon a pairing given how tenacious this Weequay had proven to be so far. He'd eluded hunters several times, so she could understand the need, but she didn't need to like it.
"I hope you're just blowing smoke metaphorically too, or must I remind you the contract wants him alive?" She countered, her cigarra flapping with her lips as she looked over the Repeater. Well maintained, no problems with the parts, shouldn't cause an issue as long as it stayed fixed to the mount. She loaded the blaster pack into the weapon before strapping herself into the hull floor, all snug and secure in the gunner's seat. She had her Rifle slung over her back though, juuust in case.

@Alfie Shepherd

 

[Alfie Shepherd]

"You'll find the setting for stun has never been used, but be my guest." The Weequay had already humiliated Alfred so he planned on doing whatever was necessary to make the thug suffer whilst still being alive. You didn't need arms or legs, anyway, for your heart to keep beating. After Lissa found her seat, Alfie found his in the cockpit and activated the thrusters. Once they were in the air, Alfred kept at a moderate speed so they wouldn't miss anything.

Watching the scanners was going to be difficult, because there were cattle about. If anything moving at high speeds come up, they'd have to check it out just in case. Or, perhaps Alfie's new partner had better eyes than he did during the day. Nighttime was when the Veteran felt he performed the best. Helping the Empire after what they had done to Alfie felt strange as well- but he couldn't pass up the pay. He couldn't afford to be picky anymore.

Where is this bastard...

@Panda Hermit 98

 

[Lissa Blackhand]

Lissa couldn't suppress the slight grimace at his words. He didn't strike her as the particularly caring type, even his talk of not harming civilians was essentially down to 'it'll cost you money'. In some ways, his eerie monotone and almost vacant expression reminded her of a droid, and that was far from a good thing. The last thing she needed was an unfeeling machine watching her back, she might as well have worked alone if that were the case. Regardless, they did have each other's back for now, so they had to act like it...better act like it.

She watched the ground below grow more distant and abstract as the ship began to climb, leveling the repeater down at the fields. She wasn't particularly confident in this plan, seemed little more than an upgrade of the classic 'wander around and hope you get lucky' tactic, but it was all they had at the moment. In hindsight, they could have set up a farm as bait, or smoked the Weequay out with whoever he was selling his booty to, but whats done is done. "How long have you been hunting him for?" She asked, a little unsure of herself. Despite his closed off demeanor, she could help but feel the need to try and talk for a bit, if for no other reason than to pass the time as she scanned the areas below for the target. "Must be good at what he does if the ISB couldn't take care of him."

@Charles

 

[Alfie Shepherd]

"Long enough to know what he's capable of." Alfie sighed. The scanners picked up a fast moving vehicle a couple clicks away, so Alfie increased the ship's speed in that direction. "Or," He interjected, hearing Lissa'a comment about the ISB's inability. "The ISB has better things to do. Hiring two nobodies to do the job and take the blame in case things go poorly is a very Imperial way of thinking." When the Sith became too much of a problem for the Empire, they just claimed that the Sith were no longer apart of the Empire. As if that was going to amend all the evil the Empire had committed. They were falling apart just as quickly as everyone else.

"We're closing in on the target. The idiot is off in a field by himself. No cover... No civilians or cattle... Should be an easy enough target." Alfred hated this Weequay enough already. If he somehow managed to slip through the Scoundrel's fingers one more time, it would be the last time.

@Panda Hermit 98

 

[Lissa Blackhand]

She recognized the sound of frustration in a man, he'd been hunting for a while it seemed. No wonder he didn't care about taking him in unharmed, he probably just wants the job to be done by this point so he could haul the Weequay to their client kicking and screaming. Still, he stood a much better chance of surviving if he wasn't seriously injured, so it was probably best to make sure he didn't go Vader on anyone.
Today's the day, we'll get him together, She said, trying to reassure him without it coming off as condescending - she knew how fragile some Bounty Hunters egos could be.

"In regards to the Empire, I disagree with that. This planet's no longer with them, so I imagine it's problems are just water off their back now. Still, they employ someone to fix it, that says to me that it's a matter of pride or someone in the hierarchy actually gives a damn...then again, I suppose that lines up with your reasoning too, just with different motivation." Regardless of the why, they would still be hiring mercenaries with no Imperial connection, so they would be expendable assets, the reason to hire them doesn't really change anything. When the gunship turned toward their target, she leveled the repeater forward, ready to fire as soon as she laid eyes on him. It would be a moment before they caught up though. "You sure it's him!? Why would he be off in a field on his own if he knows he's being hunted?"

Something didn't feel right...

@Charles

 

[Alfie Shepherd]

After they passed over the next plateau, Alfie could see the Weequay's speeder kicking up dust in the distance. However, this speeder seemed different. Almost as soon as Lissa finished with her thought provoking comment, the missile lock alarm blurred in the cockpit. Alfred watched as something blue launched from the back of the speeder and made it's way towards The Endeavor. Another sigh escaped Alfie as waited...and waited...just a little longer....

Now.

A few seconds before the missile would've hit Alfie, he deployed flares and rolled to the right. But that wasn't the last of the gunslinger's ionized rockets. Maybe the thug had rigged this up after the last pursuit- either way, it was really getting on Alfred's nerves. A few more flare pops and maneuvers later and they would almost be right on top of him.

"Take the shot!"

@Panda Hermit 98

 

[Lissa Blackhand]

Sure enough, it was a trap, Lissa watched the ion rockets fly from the speeder screaming toward the gunship. She was barely able to grab hold of the doorframe as support before Alfie took evasive maneuvers, groaning ever so slightly as she felt the searing heat brush of flares and rockets pass by her. If she hadn't been strapped in, she probably would have been knocked back into the ship's bowels, thank kark for preparedness.

A few more maneuvers later and they could almost see the whites of his eyes, Alfie screaming for her to take the shot while she fought not to lose her lunch. She grabbed the repeater, leveling it at the speeder and, in that infinitesimal second before firing, a dozen calculations ran through her head. Adjust a few degrees, shoot where he will be, not where he is, adjust for recoil dampened by the pod, ensure maximum survival chance, target acquired, engine.

She exhaled, squeezing the trigger.

A grouping of three or four blaster bolts ripped from the repeater barrel, sailing down into the fields, crimson sails on a collision course with the weequay speeder's center thruster. Instead, he moved at the worst possible second, veering right in a vain attempt to dodge the bolts - he must've heard her fire a second too late. Instead of hitting the center thruster and causing him to lose speed and come to a graceful stop, the bolts battered against the starboard stabilizer, turning it to scrap. What would have been a right-leaning drift instead turned into a desperate struggle to stay in control as the speeder started vibrating wildly, careening out of control without the stabilizer to keep it steady. It wasn't long before he tried to slow down, but that just caused the speeder to break hard and immediately pivot to the left, the right side of the thing unable to match and forcing it into a barrel roll as it crashed and burned through the field.

"Kark it all!! He moved at the last second! I don't know if he'll survive that crash!!" She screamed.

@Charles

 

[Alfie Shepherd]

Amusement struck Alfie with surprise as he watched the speeder burn. Though Lissa was worried, Alfred was not. The job was done- the scanners were still picking up the Weequay's vitals. There would probably be very broken bones and bruises, but Weequay were tough. Smoothly, Alfie brought the ship around and landed it not too far away from the thug's incapacitated body.

"He deserved it- praying upon those who only wanted to be left alone..." Alfie drew his blaster just in case. "He's pathetic. You did your job. Do not fret." With his boot, Alfie rolled the thug over, watching his chest heave up and down in sharp breaths. "Were you worried about the job or his life?" Alfie questioned Lissa without looking at her, keeping his aim on the Weequay, waiting patiently for him to wake up. If Lissa didn't want to kill him because the bounty needed him alive, then the Scoundrel could understand her frustration. There was no place for mercy for a job like this- in a galaxy like this. Getting too soft got you killed.

@Panda Hermit 98

 

[Lissa Blackhand]

Lissa practically launched herself from the ship as it landed, sprinting toward the wreck intending to extract the target from it. Thankfully, it seemed he'd managed to get thrown a little distance from it, and as Alfie was so quick to show, he was still alive. She breathed a sigh of relief seeing his chest heaving up and down - he was alive, they got paid, everyone was happy...except the Weequay, he deserved it. She nodded in agreement with that assessment at least, the sleemo had made a lot of people's lives a living hell, he deserved his just desserts at the end of the day, just not to die.

She looked at Alfie, raising an eyebrow at the question. She wondered if this was some sort of test, the short time she knew him seemed to indicate that was something he would do, but that short time was literally half an hour at most so it was far from an accurate gauge of his character.
"...both," She replied honestly. "I prefer not to kill, I'm not averse to it though, and like hell was I gonna waste 25,000 credits on dispensing justice when the client will probably do that themselves. As for the wreck, I like to do things cleanly. A speeder coming to a gentle stop and watching him wet himself seeing two armed hunter surround him is a lot more appealing than him just laying there dreaming next to his wreck." Like Alfie, she had a hand on her blaster, just in case he woke up...or Alfie tried something, honestly she figured it could go either way.

@Charles

 

[Alfie Shepherd]

"Hmph." Alfie responded to Lissa's own response. She wasn't soft and she liked doing things right the first time- good qualities Alfred was in need of for his new gang. "Good. Though, I think you performed adamantly." His expression and tone didn't fluctuate and remained the same, holstering his blaster so he could drag the Weequay to the ship. Whether or not Lissa took the compliment or not, she did manage to knock the thug unconscious while keeping him alive.

"Though you are wrong about how much credits you'll earn," Alfred retorted after situating the 'bad-guy'. "You shot him down. For an extra 10,000 from my cut to yours, I'd like to offer you a job." Networking couldn't get much easier than running bounties. Alfred was a business man and understood what a good prospect looked like. Lissa filled in valued holes that he could use. "It offers a better pay out than the ISB, and you would have a place to call home. Do you think you can tolerate me a little longer?" Alfie turned to gaze his unfeeling eyes into hers, noting that it was obvious Lissa Blackhand wasn't a fan of Alfred Shepherd.

"Or do you want to pick up the scraps left behind by the Bounty Hunter's Guild the rest of your life?"

@Panda Hermit 98

 

[Lissa Blackhand]

Maybe she was mistaken in her first impressions of the man, or maybe not. Either way, she wouldn't refuse a compliment, especially from someone whom seemed to radiate aloofness.
"Thank you," She said, watching him haul the Weequay away at blasterpoint, though she did have her blaster on him too, just in case. "You did good too, wouldn't have been as good a shot without an equally skilled pilot holding the ship steady. She seemed to list slightly to the left though, one of your repulsor-lift arrays might be out of alignment." She wasn't critiquing, it was more of an olive branch - she needed friends and allies after all. She liked working on ships and, given his adamant refusal to let her pilot, he probably liked his ship and wanted it purring like a loth-cat.

What he said next, while welcome, definitely surprised her a little. One job into another, eh? What could he want her for? She wondered who would end up on the wrong end of her blaster if she said yes, because that seemed like the only kind of job he would trust her for...well, trust is a strong word, but he's only seen her shoot and he doesn't seem the type to just hand out jobs willy nilly. The idea of a place to call home was nice, force knows she wouldn't call Nar Shadda home again, too many bad memories to sleep in those smog-shrouded streets. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the mention of BHG scrap picking though. "If that was meant to be a jab at my pride or ego, you make the mistake of thinking I have one. I might be interested, depends on the job though."

@Charles

 

[Alfie Shepherd]

So the repeater did need work on it. That would be the last time he ignored an angry Ugnaught. They were the best at what they did, but Alfie really didn't like the one's attitude on Kuat. If they hadn't been in the Core, Alfie would've taught the engineer a lesson about manners.

"Ah," Alfie glanced at the repeater thoughtfully. "Thank you." That wasn't something he said much, and it almost felt like he was speaking a different language. "You'll need an ego if you work for me." He arched an eyebrow and gazed back at Lissa, losing the wistful expression. "I've been holding tryouts for a little group of miscreants like you and I. You passed. I'm afraid I cannot say much else on the matter, but should you come to your senses," He grabbed a little business card from his pocket that held only Alfred's contact information. "I'll find you."

The Pahneke Baha Gang was nothing more than an idea Alfie had whilst he smoked one night. Now, that dream had a chance to become reality. Perhaps, if Alfie got enough willing talent, this gang could really change the galaxy as Alfie and Skelgok saw fit. But, alas, it was merely a thought and nothing else until people like Lissa Blackhand pledged their fealty.

@Panda Hermit 98

 

[Lissa Blackhand]

Lissa tentatively took the business card from his hand, looking over the details inscribed. It sounded like he was starting a gang, of what, she couldn't say. Either way, it was clear they wanted her to join and were perfectly willing to put credits on the table. Was that what she wanted though? Tied down to one place again, a few people? She thought on it for a moment, closing her fingers over the business card before placing it in her pocket. The wind whistling against the open plains began to fade, the cold replaced by humid smog, buzzing power lines, a cacophony of foot traffic and blaster bolts...a friendly chuckle, a soft but firm hand on her shoulder.

"I...I'll think about it. I'm not too keen on the idea of being tied down somewhere just yet though, so I'll warn you of that now," She said, looking him in the eye. "Interesting thought though. Now then, back home as it were?"

@Charles[/color]

 

[Alfie Shepherd]

Alfie watched as something seemed to click for Lissa. He was no fisher but he assumed now would be the time to reel her in for the prize. Finding people you could trust in this galaxy was hard, but Lissa seemed to have enough brains to understand what kind of man Alfred was. There was a quickness and eagerness in her that, when properly exploited, could mold her into someone she probably could never see herself becoming.

"Don't think too long," Alfie purposed. "Or you might lose your spot." Though he wasn't planning on making the gang exclusive, once you were in, you would be in for life. If Alfred didn't catch you leaving without saying goodbye, the Hutt Cartel would. "You fly. I need to smoke..." Alfred sat down besides the Weequay's body and pulled out a cigar. Some would say he had a problem, but no one could find a solution to his headaches. Sometimes he wished his mind could just slow down like everyone else's. "Don't ding her up, or I'm taking your bonus back." Alfie narrowed his eyes, glaring at the repeater instead of Lissa, though the malice in his voice was pretty direct.

@Panda Hermit 98

 

[Lissa Blackhand]

Lissa couldn't help but scoff a little at the suggestion she would scuff another person's ship.
"Please...I have standards, I know better than to mistreat a lady," She said, nodding at the request to fly and heading back to the ship.

Another successful mission, it seemed. 35,000 Credits in hand, bad guy stopped, potential connection made - a good day, all in all. Strapping into the cockpit, Lissa gently took the Endeavor off the ground and set a course back to town, settling into the chair for a decent length flight. No need to go fast, better to just take it easy and admire the view. Sun was starting to go down...hope that's not an omen...

/END THREAD - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

@Charles