Edge of the Atlas.

[Dax Rau (TL8)]

Dax's ship dropped from hyperspace into the cold black of space. Before his custom ship would be the planet and system of Atlas, a planet on the southern edge of known space. Known to be a safe haven for smugglers, pirates, and other scum. Made perhaps even more popular now sense the Mandalorians ripped control of Nar Shaddaa away from the Empire.

Dax slipped into orbit above the planet and awaited clearance to land on Shipwreck Station. The only "known" outpost on this planet and also happens to be the site of the organization posing as some manner of government over the planet. Soon enough it would also be his temporary port of harbor out here on the edge of space.

The reasoning for being this far out in the void, credits. The BHG had a few open contracts, and Dax planned to cash in while the war was cooling down. Along for the ride on this endeavor was one of the Commando's new fresh faced Marauder's.

He was hesitant to bring her along after the loss of Cory. A wound that cut deeper then he expected. But Atlas was not the kind of place to be traveled solo, and the young mando was eager to try and make an impression on him.

So now here they were...

@EmilyHuene

 

[Mia Rau]

"Come oooonnn!" cried a voice from beside him. "I told you, I can pilot the ship! Let me bring us iiiinnnn!"

There was only one thing worse than not being in her own ship, and that was sitting in the co-pilot seat of someone else's. Mia Rau was a tremendous pilot. Or so she claimed. She'd yet to show anyone her skills for no one trusted her. Aside from flying her own boat to and from, she'd always been alone. And when she went on her first mission with the ragtag remnants of Death Watch, she was in the back. That one she understood a little as everyone had been riding in the cargo hold during that time. But that wasn't the case now. She was on her first private mission. With just the infamous Dax Rau accompanying her. And he was being a big meanie about it.

Mia was currently not wearing her Beskar'gam, something most Mandalorians would find strange. Most of the warriors she'd met never took theirs off. They felt more comfortably in the iron skin because it held meaning to them. Mia did not have that sentiment. Her armor was cool, but it was heavy and she felt like she was walking around in a bubble. It was far too restricting. She'd grown up in loose clothing and the wind in her hair. She felt nothing under all that leather and plating so she was in no hurry to put it back on.

Instead, she'd taken to wearing a black tank top over cargo pants. Her blond hair was down today and she'd spent most of the morning straightening it out to look her best; another thing she noticed most Mandalorians didn't waste time on. She held onto the suspicion she'd been adopted. But she couldn't help herself. She wanted to make a good impression on Dax and the best way to do that was to show him a pretty face. He'd taken that Corrine girl's death so hard. She felt bad for him, but...wasn't she supposed to have been married? Even she found it odd that he showed that much grief.

Leaning back in her chair she crossed her arms over her chest and kicked her legs onto the dash with a pout on her face. She really wanted to fly his ship. She wanted to fly any ship. But he insisted they take his. And she wanted to argue with him, but she couldn't bring herself to let out that bratty nature of hers just yet. The last thing Mia needed was for Dax to send her home to Mandalore because she had a big mouth. Still, it didn't stop her from saying her peace about the situation. He could at least let her fly it a little...

Turning her chin away from Dax, Mia would look out the window at the large crescent shaped island. Oh wait. Circular. Some of it was hidden by cloud. Now from up here, it looked like one big donut. Her eyes were focused on the green of the island; she hadn't seen too much of that in her valley back home. Only when she traveled to the capital did she see such life. It made her mood a little less sour, but still didn't change the fact she was bored sitting there while Dax angled them into the city and touched down into the hangar.

Rising to her feet, she figured it was time to put on her Beskar'gam. She groaned and headed out of the cabin to her bunk that Dax cleaned out for her. Thankfully, she had a curtain to change behind. While the thought of....no! No no no. She wouldn't think of that. With a grumpy pout she kicked off her shirt and pants and proceeded to put on the heavy bantha leather suit that would hold the durasteel plates of her armor. Most of it was sewn together, but the main underclothing still had to be tugged on with some effort. Maybe she should have gotten a size bigger?

Once the blue Mandalorian outfit was clipped on, she'd walk out with her helmet in the crook of her arm and head over to the cargo hold where she was keeping her weapons. Some Mando's might sleep with their guns. A good way to shoot your junk off was the way she thought about that.

​

 

[Dax Rau (TL8)]

Dax looked over to the young woman as she wined like a child. If he had the power of the wizard he enjoyed hunting so much, his glaring eyes would of closed her airway. He had little patients for the noise of pouting. But as quickly as he was burned holes into her with his eyes, he returned his attention to the sky. As the void of space turned into the blue sky, and rising sun. It was morning local time.

"Flying a puddle jumper back home is far different then flying into the unknown. And backwater pirate worlds are as unknown as it gets."

His voice was like gravel and tone were the sharpest of stones. He understood the need in her. She wanted to prove her worth, and show that she was worthy of his interest in her. But if the skies suddenly turned dark with pirate starfighter, however unexpected, he didn't trust her ability to survive an ambush in the air. Yet.

As the port city got closer, Mia shot from the co-pilot chair and presumably to her bunk to get ready. Dax was already wearing most of his iron skin. Save for his helmet and his gauntlets. Despite the fact he wore the less common heavier armor, it was literally a second skin to him.

But as the ship came to a rest withing the landing bay of the starport, Dax went to work finishing buttoning up the last pieces of his armor. Soon enough he would be sealed in a black body suit and covered his white and red planting and managed to cover nearly his entire body.

The commando would then leave the cockpit of the ship and make his way to the ramp, where he would meet Mia. Her dark blue and grey armor was clean of it's paint and marks of it's former owner, but Dax still felt the pull of sadness he did want to feel. Quickly then he pushed down the emotions. There was no time for loss, sorrow, withdraw.

"We're hear to establish a facility for the Bounty hunter's Guild. But first we need to get some intelligence, get a feel for the locals and see where they might go for contracts."

 

[Mia Rau]

To her childlike complaining he would scold her by saying things were a lot different than they were back home on Mandalore. She groaned and would reply to herself as she walked away, "Yeah but you never give me the chance how am I supposed to learn?" Thankfully, she was out of earshot because she really didn't want him finding another excuse to snap at her.

When he came to join her in the cargo hold, she'd look over her shoulder to the full set of armor coming her way. For a split second, she saw sadness in his eyes. She wondered why. Was it because Corrine wasn't here? They were partners -that much she knew- but she didn't know that the armor she was wearing had actually been the red heads. It wasn't that she couldn't put two and two together, she just figured out of the entire Mandalorian population what were the odds that same Solus clan member had forged herself a set of armor and thrown it away. Especially when clans passed down their beskar'gams to their children. Never in a million years would she have thought it belonged to the Corrine Solus.

Dax would explain their mission to her again, assuming she'd forgotten it. That's how she felt at least. It was just common practice and courtesy to go over over things twice, to make sure there were no mistakes. The same could be said for checking their gear. Which she did not do. While strapping her guns to her belt holsters she didn't even bother checking to see if the battery packs were in or that the spare packs had charge. Hell, it would be a miracle if she remembered to take the safety off before going into battle.

"Yes sir," she'd say with a nod of her head. Then, repeating what he'd said, "Establish a facility for the Bounty Hunter's Guild. Gain in intelligence from the locals. Make contacts with them as necessary." It wasn't word for word, but it would do. She hoped.

Now fully dressed, Mia picked up her helmet and slid it on until it locked in place. The H.U.D. systems booted up and supported her vision with all sorts of nifty applications. It was strange being completely covered in armor like this, and she doubted she'd ever get used to the feeling. She was thankful there was at least some manner of cooling to the air systems because if she started sweating then all bets were off. She'd toss this helmet right off and let the wind blow through her hair. Probably not the smartest idea in the midst of battle....