Calling in a Favor

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

Calling in a Favor​

THEME​

With a cigarette stubbornly pinched between his lips, Crix, pulled the duraplast interior siding off the wall of his ship. He took a drag off the cigarette and swore as he examined the burnt out carburetor. The only thing his recent trip to Kashyyyk had earned him was frustration. He removed the outer chassis and deflated when he got a look inside. The whole unit was trashed, he took a long drag on his cigarette and stood to his full height releasing the smoke as he rose.

Oh well, could be worse... he mused as he considered his options.

Crix looked around the ship, he had some interesting memories here. A small smudge caught his attention and he crouched down to examine it. A smile spread across his face as his adventure with the bounty hunter Ghost came flooding back to him.

"Man, that feels like ages ago..." he muttered into the empty space.

The smuggler wondered what kind of wild adventures the hunter had been on since their last meeting. If only she knew the shit he'd been through. He allowed himself a brief respite in the comfort of easier times before the anxiety of his destiny returned to gnawing at his innards. He quickly jumped into the refresher and got changed into his newly acquired armor.

Crix wore a leather jacket over his chest piece, his DH-7 on his hip and he hid his Hold Out Blaster in his left boot. He didn't wear the full armor, instead choosing to wear the chest piece, vambraces, and armored boots. When it came down to it, Crix preferred mobility over an ironclad defense.

Taris wasn't new to the smuggler. He'd done a job here a few years back when he'd first started out. Now that he thought about it, he'd been in the market for his first ship when he'd come here. The gears in his head started turning as he made his way to his favorite parts vendor.

Rusty's Bucket, was located on the fringes of New Lower City, or NLC. Ole Rusty was as crusty and dilapidated as his novelty name would imply. As an ancient Ardennian missing an arm and littered with various puckered scars across his body the old guy wasn't much to look at, but Crix rarely found appearances that important. He enjoyed the cooky little guys eccentric personality.

Crix called out as he entered the warehouse, "Rusty?"

Numerous piles of meticulously organized items lay displayed on tables checkering the floor of the storehouse. A distant crash followed by the sound of scraping metal and the clamber of scattering tools proceeded the appearance of the old Ardennian.

"Crix? As I live and breath," called back the old timer with more sarcasm than Crix thought was necessary.

"I thought you'd be dead, driftin' in wild space somewhere, glad yer not!" He laughed swiping at his knee with the stump of his missing arm and giving the smuggler a toothy grin.

"Thanks for the overwhelming confidence," Crix retorted with mock chagrin in his tone.

Before Rusty could poke more fun at him, Crix, asked, "If you're done hassling your only customer, would you mind grabbing me an FL-56r Carberator?"

Rusty obliged begrudgingly retrieving the part while ribbing Crix with any slight he could lean in the younger man's direction. Normally, this kind of treatment wouldn't fly, but the surly old shipwright had done his time in the Galaxy, and Crix didn't mind firing playful insults back and forth.

"You still in that XS-100? That ship was on its last leg when you stole it." Inquired Rusty as he handed the part box to Crix.

"Yep, and I'll have you know she's running better than ever." Crix shot back with a gleam of challenge in his eye.

Rusty laughed and Crix handed over the payment. He and Rusty got caught up, Crix only filled the Ardennian in on the smuggling aspects of his life and the engineer returned the same.

"Ya know kid, there might be a ship in need of a new pilot, now that I think of it." A devious smile slowly spread across the Ardennian's face.

"You interested?"

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She had no qualms with spending a lot of time in Imperial Republica space. She was becoming quite famous around these parts now for being the leader of Clan Solus. The clan was actively striking out against the Sith, and they were splashed across media all around. The general public feared her clan, and the Imperial soldiers were mortified. They had reasons to be – Raz had collected several sabers from Sith thus far. Despite her armor being outlawed, and despite the bounty on her clan, she proudly still wore her armor, daring anyone to do anything about it.

Raz had been on Taris before, especially as it was a staging point into Imperial space from Mandalorian space. She was familiar with Rusty’s Bucket, having not only gotten parts from him but also from doing some underhanded deals. He was well known among criminals and bounty hunters, and people paid him a handsome price for the information he provided.

She had been in the area looking for a new droid to help pilot her ship. She wanted one that was specifically Imperial, now that they had stolen some Imperial ships. A droid that could pass through Imperial space and blend in could only be bought from here, as the Ardennian had no qualms with dealing with various sides of the war.

As soon as she walked in, he looked up in surprise. Raz was used to such impressions of her when she strolled in nowadays, the badger insignia and tell-tale black and red beskar’gam infamous now, “Relax, old friend, only here for a droid,” It was easy to tell she was smiling beneath the helmet. Raz glanced over to the customer already there to see if he would be a problem, but she had to do a double take.

“Holy shit..” She spoke barely above a whisper, “Crix?”

 

[Daniel Solus (old)]

Daniel trailed along in Raz's wake. Their armor--and openly worn collection of lightsabers--attracted a lot of stares, but nobody, especially the police wanted to tangle with fully armored Mandalorians. Daniel took in the sights as they walked. He had been to Taris only briefly once before and there was lots to see; he loved street markets, the way they felt and smelled.

Raz though, seemed to know where she was going...something about a droid? Daniel hadn't really been paying attention. As they walked they passed a number of small vendors selling tasty-looking treats. As Raz vanished into a store, Daniel popped off his helmet and approached a kindly looking old lady selling sticky buns (his greatest weakness).

"Five credits! The best this side of Hapes!" the old lady croaked, not unkindly. "How many do you want?"

"Two please!" Daniel said, thinking that maybe Raz needed to appreciate the simple things more. He'd get her a sticky bun, she'd get the droid and they'd have a grand old time. He fished the change out of a pouch on his belt and handed it to the old lady before departing with a cheery wave.

He munched slowly on his prize, savoring the interesting spices the people of Taris seemed to like so much and meandered into the shop that Raz had passed into a moment earlier. The inside was dusty and lit with a kind of gloom that suggested profits were maybe no longer this establishment's primary interest. As he approached Raz, he saw her jerk back a second. He didn't need to see her face to know she was surprised.

Man she was jumpy.

He walked up and nudged her with the hand holding the second sticky bun. "I got you something!" He said happily, totally oblivious to what was happening around him. Eventually though he clued in and turned to look at the other customer. "Who's this, boss?" He asked around a mouthful of pastry, regarding the stranger with a curious look.

@Sreeya @Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

A sly grin played across Crix's face as intrigue settled in his expression at Rusty's invitation. This was exactly what he'd been waiting for. A chance to prove himself with someone with a considerable amount of connections. Job brokers like Rusty were tough to get in with, and whatever the Ardennian had planned would undoubtedly be some form of test. Rusty seemed to consider something leaving a silence between them that Crix decided to interrupt.

"You offering me a job old man," he joked. The Ardennian chuckled and shrugged.

"I'm just saying if you're in the market for a ship, I might know of one that's available." Rusty implied.

Crix nodded understanding.

"I'm in the market for a ship." He said with a smile. "What's the price?"

Before they could continue, Rusty got another customer. A Mandalorian clad in red and black armor with a badger insignia emblazoned on the pauldron entered the shop. Panic scurried across Rusty's face before being chased away by the veneer of a grizzled New Lower City shop owner. Recognition lit up his expression as they approached.

"So many unexpected guests today," chuckled Rusty.

Crix frowned examining the Mandalorian. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like he'd seen this being somewhere. His time in the outer rim left him oblivious to recent events, but he'd heard horror stories of a band of Mandalorians who were doing some serious work against the empire. When he spotted the lightsabers he knew the stories were true. His cocksure smile hid his sudden apprehension as the newcomer closed in.

“Relax, old friend, only here for a droid,” called a familiar voice, shaking a shocked expression out of the smuggler.

"Anything for you Ghost," said Rusty moving toward his new patron.

"Wait... GHOST?!" blurted Crix.

As the revelation slammed into him another newcomer arrived. This one carried a pair of sticky buns and seemed to be a subordinate of Ghosts.

"Who's this, boss?" Asked the new guy.

Crix gave a quick nod and a wave saying, "Name's Crix." turning to the other he said, "Good to see ya again, Ghost. Looks like you've been busy"


@Sreeya
@Lucid

 

[Raz Solus]

Raz was more than a little surprised to see a familiar face, especially one she hadn’t seen in some time. Their last meeting brought back some entertaining memories, and she could only imagine what sort of trouble he had run into since then, “I’ll be honest, I’m surprised to see you alive and kicking with your luck,” She chuckled beneath the helmet. Raz was distracted when Dopey entered the shop, nudging her with a sticky bun.

“Ay, Dopes,” She greeted him with a light punch to the shoulder before taking the bun. Raz wasn’t going to remove her helmet just here, but she had a soft spot for snacks like these. She looked back over to Dopey at his question, “This guy was my pilot for a few odd jobs I did for bounty hunting. He’s a damn good flyer, though he might rival you in getting into sticky situations,” She grinned at the thought. Raz nodded to Crix, knowing he likely heard the news about her clan. Back when he met her, she was still a no name bounty hunter, but now the badger insignia was a common sight within the Republica’s borders.

“You know, trying to do a public service,” She glanced over to Rusty. For whatever reason, he kept looking around nervously, as if he were expecting some sort of trouble. She left it alone for now, turning her attention back to Crix, “And you? Did you ever get your ship?”

@Lucid @Zay

 

[Daniel Solus (old)]

"Hello!"

Daniel grinned at Raz's typically rough greeting. He munched on his pastry while the other two talked, laughing at Raz's gentle jab at his knack for being utterly clueless. As they talked, he looked around the dim shop. He saw nothing particularly interesting and wondered why in the world Raz would come here of all places. It looked like it was a day away from filing for bankruptcy.

He was about to insert himself into the conversation, curious about the man when a lady walking by the entrance of the shop caught sight of them and screamed as though someone were trying to pull out her toenails. Wondering what on earth was wrong, was she hurt? Was someone trying to rob her? Daniel dashed for the door as fast as he could, only to stop and stare.

The streets were full of enormous rats (possums) and they were everywhere. They were climbing up the walls of buildings and hanging from trees. They were in the awnings of stalls and chasing people around with their sharp little teeth. Everywhere he looked, pandemonium reigned. "RAZ!" He yelled back into the shop. "Come quick!"

Daniel pulled a grenade from his belt and charged outside. What in the world could have caused this?

@Zay @Sreeya
Weirdest Dice Roll Ever

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

Ghost's appearance caught Crix off guard and he found himself struggling to regain his composure. She teased him about his rotten luck and he shrugged with a stupid grin on his face replying, "I'm just as shocked as you are, to be honest."

It was clear the new guy was with Ghost. They exchanged pleasantries and pastries, and Crix would be lying if he didn't admit some envy over the delicious looking buns. The smuggler smiled awkwardly when Ghost mentioned his skills and bobbed a salutatory nod to the new guy. Thinking back on their first mission together Crix was pretty sure she'd done all the heavy lifting. All he'd done was bargain for his life and fly the ship. He chuckled nostalgically as the image of that deranged homicidal piloting droid flashed into his mind's eye. Good times...

Ghost wore the symbol of a notorious Mandalorian clan that had established itself within the Imperial Republica. Crix didn't doubt her skill and to know she was lending it to this group made him think twice before writing the warriors off as simple marauders. The former bounty hunter responded to his question with her usual casual nonchalance, “You know, trying to do a public service.”

Crix scoffed teasingly adding, "Yeah, Clan Solus has been doing plenty of public service."

Ghost ribbed him about his ship asking if he'd managed to finally get one worth anything. Crix smiled and said, "Funny you should ask, Ole Rusty here was just about to point me in the right direction."

Rusty piped up at the mention of his name and said, "Now that you mention it, boy, that information is gonna cost ya...' started the old coot.

The smuggler chuckled derisively sharking his head, "Sure, what did you have in mind?"

The Ardennian nervously looked around the building as if expecting something to jump out at him. All four of his hands fidgeted anxiously as he gathered the strength to ask his question.

Just before he could get his request out, Dopes, suddenly called out, "RAZ! Come quick!"

With a reluctant sigh, Rusty admitted, "I have a bit of a rodent problem..." the shop owner gestured toward the front door and Crix followed after Dopes.

The Mandalorian pulled a grenade and began charging. Crix, on the other hand, peeked around the corner and was face to face with the ugliest vermin he'd ever set eyes on. Beedy eyes, dark as the void, peered into his soul. The tiny black holes were accompanied by sharp yellow fangs and claws on a body covered in sparse wiry hair. Reflexively, Crix stumbled backward screaming something about the critters being in his hair. Once his composure returned, he pulled his blaster steeled his mind and marched out the door to back up Dopes.

@Sreeya
@Lucid
Dice Thread
(ooc: rolled a 1 for how many possums Crix could see.)

 

[Raz Solus]

To say that things took a bizarre turn was an understatement. Raz whipped around as soon as Dopey mentioned anything, and she let out a high pitched shriek at the sight of the giant rodents. The screech was hilariously out of character for her, but it wasn’t often she ran into a problem like this. She didn’t dare step outside, already queasy at seeing the vermin through the window. She looked to the side and watched Crix practically kiss one in the face, almost making her vomit. He had a small panic attack before marching out behind Dopey. What the hell was with these people walking out into a sea of vermin?!

She stayed back where she was, sliding open the window and firing through there. A few of her shots missed, but a couple hit, killing at least three of the giant rats. Raz felt too queasy to step outside, the sight of so many little feet and so much scurrying making her skin crawl. She had very few fears, and apparently this was one of them. She looked over at Dopey in the distance, “What’re you doing?! Toss the damn grenade!” Raz screamed at him, firing another round of shots.

“What the hell is this, Rusty?” She called out, the Ardennian having jumped behind his counter for cover. He was covering himself with all his arms, trying to pretend he wasn’t here. Though a great person to work with, he was utterly useless in emergency scenarios. The rodents just kept piling on, and one of them managed to squeeze in through the doorway where Crix and Dopey had gone out. Raz went into a panic and shot it, rodent guts flying all around. Many of the rodents outside were pretending to be dead, only to spring up and attack Dopey or Crix when they got close.

Dice

@Zay @Lucid

 

[Daniel Solus (old)]

Raz's yell jerked Daniel out of his momentary stupor. It was the most bizarre situation he had ever been in, so bizarre in fact that lobbing a grenade at a cluster of the rodents near a fruit stand didn't seem that unusual. The terrified owner had fled her stand when the horde of possums attacked. She was a number of meteres down the street clinging to a friend crying hysterically. She shrieked when one of the offending creatures scampered over and nibbled at the hem of her dress.

She sent it flying a sturdy kick to it's beady little face.

Daniel, however was not so lucky. His toss was interrupted by a jumping rodent. It snapped its sharp little teeth at his arm. So conditioned was Daniel to avoid danger that he forgot completely--or didn't even think about--that the animal's teeth would have no effect on his armored arm. Instead his toss went wide, missing the group he had originally targeted and instead landed in the awning of the fruit stand amid two other rodents.

There was a terrific bang and dismembered rodent legs and tails went everywhere amid a shower of multicolored produce. For a moment there was stunned silence while single orange rolled across the street in a forlorn way. It didn't last though. Distressed that his grenade hadn't been as effective as he'd hoped and knowing he'd have to pay the lady for her stand, Daniel sent a shower of bolts at new swarm coming in from the left.

"Where are they coming from?" He yelled as he heard Raz's continuned screams. "They're just animals, Raz! You're way scarier than they are!!"

@Sreeya
@Zay

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

To say the scene had gone to shit would have been a terrible understatement. Crix pushed his way out of Rusty's store, prepared to battle these hellish hive rats to the death, just as Ghost reminded Dopes about the explosive in his hand. One of the rodents, lunged for the Mandalorian's arm disrupting the throw sending it wide. Crix watched the grenade and then looked just passed it to the fruit stand. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open in disbelief.

BOOM!

The smuggler was too stunned to move as a pair of possums that had been dining on the fruit carts fair were blown apart. A veritable fruit salad of detritus spewed forth from the destroyed livelihood of some poor soul... Crix stood motionless, eyes wide mouth still agape. A pained wail was heard not too far off. The destruction of the cart had brought everything to a momentary halt and all of their attention was on the Mandalorian.

Suddenly, the possums resurged. The concussion from the blast stunned some of the critter's nearby. Those not dazed were whipped into a frenzy and charged in from the left. Dopey opened fire on the incoming swarm and Crix added his blaster to the mix. The swarmed was thinned and the stragglers peeled off.

Dopey asked, "Where are they all coming from!"

"Not sure, I can't see from here." He looked for a vantage point and spotted one keeping an eye on horde.

Crix watched as the flow of the possums shifted. Their actions were more passive, and aside from the few still dumb enough to get close to Crix or Dopey the horde seemed to be... retreating? Crix's brow furrowed as he tried to see where they were running too. He took a step toward the bench when a seemingly dead possum returned from the grave and lunged at Crix's boot. The vermin's teeth ripped into his leather boot becoming lodged in the material. The smuggler swore in huttese for several seconds before successfully freeing his leg. As the possum's little body bounced off the ground and Crix blew it away.

To Dopes he asked a with a little frustration coloring his tone, "Can you see where they're going?"

♢♢♢​

Rusty landed behind his counter covering his head with his upper arms and holding himself with his lower arm. He rocked back and forth cradling his stump muttering a distressed mantra of, "Not again, no, not again." the Ardennian hated these accursed mongrels. Raz's voice snapped him out of it. He grabbed an ornate box off the shelf nearby, threw open the lid and grabbed the contents.

Rusty appeared on the other side of the counter with a freshly lit cigarette in his mouth. He had another clutched in his small shaking hand and alternated smoking while he poured two shots of Dantooine cognac. He slid one to Raz and said, "I've made some mistakes Raz..."

The Ardennian poured himself into a powerful story of love, loss, and possums. Apparently, the possum outbreak was Rusty's fault. A few years back he thought it'd be a good idea to bring in the vermin to sell as exotic pets. He was unaware of the species rapid population and was quickly overcome by the sheer amount of rodents. One fateful night, he forgot to close one of the cages and when he went to sleep, next to his loving wife, the possum's in that cage escaped which started an unbelievable series of events culminated in the puckered scars on his face, the loss of his arm, and the death of his wife.

Rusty poured himself a final finger of cognac sipped it needfully and said, "Their nest is in the sewers just below this building...Please, Raz..." The desperation was heavy in his voice. "Help me and I'll... I'll make it worth your while!"

♢♢♢​

Crix picked off a possum that snapped at his boot and another that looked at him funny. That's when Crix realized the amount in their immediate area was still intimidating, but overall their number had significantly decreased. With the grenade and the constant blaster fire, the remaining mass of rodents had shifted from chaotic aggression to frenzied flight.

The smuggler climbed up on a bench to get a better look at the masses. Other than the possums surrounding them, the rest were retreating into various drains. His expression shifted from frustration to dread as he watched the mob slowly dissipate. The last time he'd been on this fraking planet he'd been forced into the sewers... and watching the little bastards retreat, the smuggler had a nagging feeling he'd be returning soon.

"Wonder if I can convince Rusty, we killed them all..." He mused as he hopped off the bench and headed back toward the store.

@Sreeya
@Lucid

 

[Raz Solus]

Raz was actually standing up on the counter now. She was absolutely mortified and Rusty droned on as if they were talking about the weather. Raz stared at him in exasperation, “I DON’T CARE, RUSTY! NO AMOUNT OF MONEY COULD MAKE ME GO INTO THE SEWERS!” She was screeching at the top of her lungs, probably blowing Dan’s ear out from her comms being right by her mouth. She was practically standing on top of Rusty as he dove behind the counter again. She desperately wished she had her PIPE on her, and she looked down at her wrist rocket, toying with the idea of utilizing it.

Raz was looking out the window, seeing the frenzy beginning to die down. Thankfully Crix and Dan were braver than her. She had no idea she was so terrified of these things until now. Raz was in full panic mode, having to place her hand over her chest to calm herself down and double over from the anxiety. She had screamed like a little girl a few times and was convinced the creepy rodents were crawling all over her.

“I should bring our kriffing fleet in to glass this entire section of the planet,” Raz growled under her breath. As she saw Crix coming back, she remained where she was. Once he entered the shop, she addressed him right away, “What’s the fastest way out of here?!” She had arrived via public transport and it wasn’t exactly a quick option.

Raz turned over to Rusty, glaring down at him, “Tell Crix what he needs to know now. I’m not kriffing around!”


@Zay @Lucid

 

[Crix Dolan (TL8)]

As Crix entered the shop he stopped dead in his track, Raz was panicking and the smuggler's face broke into a wide grin and then he doubled over laughing.

“What’s the fastest way out of here?!” asked the scary Mandalorian, as Crix struggled to regain his composure.

Wiping a tear from his eye with his left hand, Crix flashed her a small smile saying, "I can give you a lift after rusty finishes telling me about that ship!"

Raz turned an icy glare upon the shop owner and Crix thanked the force he wasn't the Ardennian. In a tone that warned of further delay, Raz Solus said, “Tell Crix what he needs to know now. I’m not kriffing around!”

Crix stifled a laugh and said, "Well, Rusty?"

Defeated, but not out the cunning little businessman said, "Fine, I suppose SOME of you came to my aid in my time of need, Crix, if you're looking for a ship, Azure Twilight has a handful of modified XS-100's in hidden warehouse. If you want a ship get one of those."

Crix's excited expression faltered, "Yeah... I'll get right on that buddy. Mind if I request little more detail on the exact location?"

The little bastard laughed manically and Crix realized he'd soon be returning to the sewers of Taris...

"I tell you what Crix, my boy, If you take care of them possums in the sewer, I'll tell you the location, and I'll throw in a secret for the extra trouble." A greedy sneer contorted the little rat's face as Crix looked to Raz with an apologetic smile and shrug.

"Looks like I've got one small errand to run before I give you that lift, Raz..." He cleared his throat adding meekly, "Anyone wanna kill some more possums?"

@Sreeya
@Lucid