A Runaway Princess

Dash Aandek

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Dash just chuckled nervously.

"Let's try to keep the body count to a minimum, shall we? The last thing we need is a trail of bodies leading people right to us."

A sudden ping coming from the cockpit told Dash they were about to arrive at Nar Shaddaa.

"Well..."
Dash said, heading for the Cockpit and waving for Arwen to follow. "Let's not waste any time."
 

Rae Anne Jarrus

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Arwen smiled slightly embarrassed.

"I agree. I'd prefer to not have to pull a gun on someone, but if we have to, we have to."
she responded.

She heard the ping at the same time and followed Dash to the cockpit. "Alright then." she said with another smile.
 

Dash Aandek

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Dash flopped down into the pilot's seat of the Eagle's Talon; Using the cloth he kept next to his seat to wipe the oil from his hands before taking the controls; just as the ship dropped out of hyper space.

The large moon of Nal Hutta lie before them; almost looking inviting compared to the planet it orbits.

"Been a while since I been home..."
Dash muttered. "Wonder what's changed?"

Dash eased the Eagle's Talon into Orbit; before descending into the atmosphere over the Correlian Sector. After a short while, the star port was just below them.

"Come in, Correlian Port Authority; this is the HWK-290 Freighter Eagle's Talon; requesting docking clearance. I.D. number TM-2460."

"Affirmative, Eagle's Talon, please enter a holding pattern while we run a check." Came the reply.

Dash leaned back in his seat.

"Almost in the clear."
He said with a sigh. "Listen, when we get down there, follow my lead. I don't know how much experience you have outside of being a pampered noble, but this place runs on credits it stole from people like you. Er... no offence."
 

Hector Raegus

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The steady beeping of Haectors comm unit awoke him from slumber. "Ug, musta dozed off...what's this?" He thought to himself, pressing a button which opened the message and stopped the alarm.
Heavy it smiled to himself. The ID to the Eagles Talon Had been entered to dock in the Correlian Sector of the space ports on Nal Hutta. Haector imputed hyperspace coordinates and activated the drive. It would take several hours to get there, but they wouldn't know he was coming. He wasn't going to let his bounty escape again.
He gave an evil grin as the black of space became the white tunnel of light speed,
"Ready or not little princess...."
 

Dash Aandek

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After a short while; the comm system kicked on again.

"Eagle's Talon, you're cleared to land in bay 16."


"16. Roger that. Thanks." Dash replied; changing course for the landing pad.

The Eagle's Talon gently bumped down on it's pad; which immediately began retracting to bring the ship into the hangar bay. Dash flipped a few switches; killing the engines, and setting the shields to reboot; considering he hadn't since the attack from the bounty hunter forced him to shut them down to escape his tractor beam. Dash turned his seat around, and stood up; stretching slightly.

"Alrighty... So... anywhere you'd like to stop first? In general, I mean?" Dash asked.
 

Rae Anne Jarrus

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Arwen heard the voice over the comm saying that they were cleared for docking and she had a hidden relief that the bounty hunter had no idea they were there... hopefully.

After Dash asked hi question, Arwen thought for a second, but really couldn't think of anything. "Well, what is there to do here?? I've always wanted to come out this way, and this is my first time. So, what do you usually do while you're here?" she asked curiously. She was being honest, her guards wouldn't ever let her on a planet like this, but she didn't care. She wanted to come and see the planet.
 

Dash Aandek

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"A bit of this, and a bit of that." Dash said. "We're docked on Level 88. this is as close to the high-end district as you can find here."

Dash waved for Arwen to follow as they disembarked from the Eagle's Talon; and walked through the space port toward the street.

"I personally spend a lot of time in the bars and cantina's around the swoop track, but there's some night clubs that are popular if that's your thing. A few Pazaak dens as well, if you've got a mind to gamble. Although... I may have a way we can make some quick credits, if you're up for some slight of hand."
 

Rae Anne Jarrus

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"Level 88, eh?" she gave a smirk when he said it was the most high end that they could get. "I don't worry about high end, I worry about if we get to a place alive. Class doesn't always matter." Arwen said calmly as she then followed Dash out of the ship.

Arwen looked around, happy to finally see a different landscape for once other than shiny crystal like palaces. She was a little curious about how Dash acted around her. She told him that she was different than other royalty. She wasn't expecting or asking anything of or from him, she was just wanting someone different to spend time with.

"Well then, I wouldn't mind seeing the track. I'm not much of a gambler, unless you would like to. You know the place better than me, I'd like to see some of the places you go to and the things you do. I would like to see something other than high class. High class is getting old. I wanna see what people with lives do." she responded.
 

Dash Aandek

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"Oh, don't get me wrong, when I say high-end; on Nar Shaddaa that just means the toilets will only give you one disease, instead of three."

The hustle and bustle of the crowds around them made conversation difficult. Dash made sure to keep his pace slow; so Arwen wouldn't get lost while gawking at the various buildings and neon signs. Various speeders and swoops slid along the street; even more overhead. The whole situation combining into a symphony of voices, whines, and engines.

"Honestly, if you wanted to see how "normal" people live, We'd be better off on Corescant. Nar Shaddaa is called the Smuggler's Moon for a reason. Most of the people here make their living bending the laws. Smugglers, Slavers, counterfitters, Bounty.... hunters...."
Dash trailed off.

Dash stopped and slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Oh I'm a blasted idiot..."
He muttered. "I seriously brought a high-profile fugitive to a planet of bounty hunters..."
 

Rae Anne Jarrus

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Arwen gave Dash a weird look and laughed after hearing what he said. She honestly had no response to that, due to it being so perfectly phrased.

It was so noisy hearing all of the speeders going by mixed into one with voices, vehicle engines, and the city bustle all mixed into one noisy roar of people and machinery. She listened to Dash as he said that the planet was filled with many different types of law breakers one in common called bounty hunters. Her eyes widened as she heard that and saw as Dash immediately reacted.

Shesteppedforward next to him and puta hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. You couldn't remember. That's all." She said calmly hoping that he would understand that she wasn't angry at him for it.
 

Dash Aandek

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"I didn't think you'd be angry. I'm blown away at how idiotic that sounds."

Dash, shook his head.

"Plenty of people running from bounties lay their head here.As long as we keep a low profile, we should do fine."

Their walk took them eventually to small bar. The neon sign outside showed a swoop engine's turbine with a martini glass in front of it; the letters of the name long since burnt out; but still legible. "The Stuttering Swoop."

"Used to spend a lot of time here. Going to the track is fun and all, but..."
Dash trailed off; the noise of the bar's patrons, and of the swoop races being shown on the bar's broadcasting screens overtaking the air. Dash waved for Arwen to follow to a booth in the back, where they would be away from the majority of the crowd.
 

Rae Anne Jarrus

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She gave him a smile after he said what he did. "It's ok." she responded.

"Well, then I think we'll be fine if we are able to."
Arwen glanced around one more time before continuing on with Dash that soon led them to a bar. The sign for the bar was pretty cool and antique-ish. The lights in the letters were blown, but it still looked really cool.

Arwen looked to Dash as he started to say something. She nodded as he said that he had like going to the track and that he used to come here all the time. As he motioned for her to follow him inside, she walked through the door and looked around with a small smile on her face. She walked side by side with Dash in order not to get lost in the crowd as they shuffled their way to the back of the bar where a booth was. "It's not a bad place. I like the look of it." she said smiling at Dash. It was definitely a little bit quieter where they were compared to being right in the middle of the crowds.
 

Hector Raegus

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The white tunnel dissolved into the black void of space surrounded the moon of Nar Shadaa. Haector immediately set course for the hanger bay that the Eagles Talon.
Had docked at, while sending a transmission out at the same time. A blue image of a hurt appeared on the dash board and asked what he wanted.
"Burba, I need your full network of informates and street rabble to be on the look out for the girl in this bounty info I'm sending you or a swoop biker named Dash Aandek. If they see or hear any sign of those two, I want to know. I'll give you standard cut for this job Burba."
The Hutt shook it's head slowly. "Last time we worked together it took you two months to pay up. I'm raising the price 15% Haector, You owe me."
Haector nodded. "Fine fine, just do it ok, get it done. I want their location fast Burba, FAST." He cut the transmission off before the Hutt could raise the price any higher. His ship made its way towards the Eagle's Talon's position...

 

Dash Aandek

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"A lot of swoop jockeys like me spend their time here. Some newer guys looking to get signed to a sponsor, some older guys trying to relive the glory days. Food and drink's pretty good too." Dash said; punching on the table's console to bring a small display on the wall; showing an analytic top down view of the swoop track, as well as the actual presentation view of the race. "Definitely one of my favorite places in the Rim."

Dash leaned back in his seat for second before pulling out his credit chip, and sliding it into the slot on the table's console. His credit total; 300; popped up in the lower right corner of the display.

"Now... I only know a handful of ways to make money, and most of them involve swoop bikes." Dash said with a grin. "But, if I'm not wrong, I should be able to make some extra credits on a few bets."
 

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"Ooh, that's really cool!" she said happy to hear something other than politics. She watched as he pulled up the table's console which showed the racing track. Although she heard food and drinks and perked up. It had been a little while since she had last eaten and it was probably the same for Dash. When he said it was one of his favorite places, she looked at him and smiled. "I can tell." Arwen paused for a second. "Hey are you hungry? I can buy.." she offered.

Arwen's eyes went back to the swoop track and she was amazed to see something like it. She had seen tracks before no doubt, it had just been a while.

She set her elbows on the table without getting yelled at for once and listened to what Dash had to say. She smiled when he mentioned that most of his ideas involved swoop bikes. She loved his imagination. It ran wild just like hers did sometimes. It was nice to see Dash smiling now. "Well, Id like to hear those ideas." she said, her smile turning into a mischievous one.
 

Dash Aandek

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"I'll take what ever you feel like getting." Dash said with a grin at the offer of food.

Dash's eye's flickered over the list of competitors in front of him.

"So, if it wasn't obvious by now, I used to be a professional swoop racer. This was my home track. Nar Shaddaa's tracks are a little bit more sinister than you'll find anywhere else; a LOT of hazard's on the track. There are only a handful of models of swoop bike that can really handle the track, and I know a few of these racers. It's about as close as I can get to rigging the races. It's just a matter of picking the right swoop, and a talented rider."


Looking at the competitors, three stood out; primarily because of the swoops they used.

One rode a Zephyr-G. An older swoop; but a reliable one. Not fancy or fast, but maneuverable.

Next up; a TasseCo. Air-2. An odd choice; but given the swoop's design as a cargo hauling bike; the engines on it made it a missile with handlebars.

Finally; and most surprising; a Mobquet Flare-S. Before Dash had made his name on the circuit, Mobquets were few and far between, and the only ones you did see were the Overracer model; Mobquet's attempt at a real racing swoop. The Flare-S Dash rode gained quite a bit of notoriety, but most people don't realize, the only way it was able to race at all, was because of Dash's personal modifications. Unless this rider was emulating him to a T, he'd be in for a disappointing race.

Dash punched a few keys, placing 200 credits on the Air-2. The 10 to 1 odds it was given would mean a 2000 credit payout.

"Fingers crossed." Dash said. Dash rubbed his chin for a moment, and spoke up again. "Here's a question. Not that I'm not a fan of sitting around in bars and whatnot, but do you have any idea of what you want to do in the long term? Bounties don't last forever. Eventually you'll have to figure out what you're going to do with yourself."
 

Rae Anne Jarrus

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"Ok." she smiled as she called the waiter over and ordered some food for the both of them. She ordered what looked like a bacon cheese burger with fries. The waiter then went off and put the order in for them.

Arwen listened to what Dash was saying. When he said that he was a professional swoop racer, she took a closer look and realized that she had truly recognized him. "Oh! I remember you now. I would wait for my maids to leave and then I'd turn on the games and watch you race. I had actually placed a couple of bets on you." she said with a smile.

She looked at the racers that Dash had on the screen and she realized that one of the racers had a swoop like Dash's. She was slightly surprised at seeing the swoop as she hadn't seen any other except for his before.

She watched as Dash put in a bet for the Air-2 bike. It was a cool looking bike and she had a feeling that Dash would probably have chosen the correct one.

"Yeah." she said giving him a smile before he started talking again. His question was one she didn't know if she could answer, so she answered the best she could. "Well, honestly I don't know, but There is no one left in my family except for me to be able to rule over Naboo, so I have to continue with my duty there and practically hope that the Empire doesn't kill me." she said.
 

Dash Aandek

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"Sounds like a tough break." Dash said simply, his eyes locked on the screen as the race results came in. His racer had finished in third. Not good enough for a full payout, but he made his credits back. Dash grumbled to himself. "Be easier to race myself..."

Dash looked at Arwen, and shrugged.

"Well, at least I broke even."
 

Rae Anne Jarrus

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Arwen nodded to what he said and continued watching the rest of the race until the results came up. She realized that Dash's bet came in third. When he said it'd be better to race himself, she smirked. "Well, why did you stop racing?" she asked.

She returned Dash's look and nodded again. "True." she responded.
 

Dash Aandek

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"I only stopped in the official, er.... legal capacity." Dash said, rapping his knuckles on the table gently. "As for why I stopped... Some charges came up that I had tampered with another racer's Swoop; which lead to a, uh.... fatal accident? The investigation turned up security footage of me, but... obviously it wasn't. The committee banned me from competing on the professional circuit. I found out later the footage had been spliced and tampered with to make it look like I was there."

Dash sighed heavily.

"That was about two years ago now."
 
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