Finders keepers

[Hask Jen]

Tatooine/Mos Eisley​

13:42 local time​

Music was playing over the comms of the Hurricane as it sat beside the newly acquired XR-1200fp. Hask was as the comm systems, reading over files and checking some sources. He was dressed in cargo pants with a tank top. Next to him were some tools he used to work on some things on the new ship.

He and Arial have been laying low for a few days now to keep the authorities off their tails. Now he was currently working on a final haul that would set Arial up properly as well as complete the plan he was setting up for himself. The Hurricane was becoming too much for him, despite how fantastic it was for him. Problem was the XR-1200 still needed a lot of parts and spares.

A day or two ago he found a lead on some really nice parts for both their ships, including a military grade power core that would work in the XR-1200. But the trick was finding it. So he kept browsing through the stuff to find the lead back to the shipment of all those shiny parts. Finally he found the lead and a smile crept on his face. He stood up and walked over to Arial. "When was the last time you went pirate hunting? I found a location of that shipment I was tracking and it just so happens to lead back to a pirate base." he explained to her, twirling a wrench between the metallic fingers of his left hand. He threw it onto a nearby counter and folded his arms over his broad chest. "So? Wanna go pirate hunting? It's great fun, you'll love it." he joked, cocking his head slightly to the side.

@Algarus

 

[Arial Calvic]

Arial was growing slightly annoyed with Hask's taste in music, but even she couldn't deny it was somewhat catch, and she eventually found herself nodding to it. She was frankly just glad to find clothes more appropriate to her, donning her new tank top and shorts combo. Rather than try and dirty herself with mechanics, she was busy reading about Mos Eisley atop acounter. She was hoping to learn more about a crime network, or something interesting about the high crime rates of the city but that was no where to be seen; mostly just about murderers and pirate sorts, nothing interesting at all. As much as Arial appreciated what he was doing, she still wasn't...agreeing with his life style choices, but she reasoned that in time, she'd just have to come and accept it just as he had. She already had ideas on the specifications she needed for her new ship, and that was actually rather exciting for her. Hask spoke up, pausing in his work, as Arial lowered her holopad to look at him.

Seeing him in his current state, the briefest thought of temptation threatened to push to the front of her mind, but she caught it, banishing it back to the abyss where it belonged; clearly this heat was getting to her, the sooner they were off this world the better. "Pirate hunting?" Arial said, her facial expression showing a look of disbelief and humor. Hask's goofy pose struck once more, showing that he was actually serious about this. She finally had to give into the prospect now, because if not he'd whine her into submission; she was trained to resist torture, but not annoyance on that level of magnitude. "Pirate hunting? This isn't like running around Felucia trying to hunt down an Acklay." She repeated herself partly, her Imperial accent more pronounced than usual, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to convince him not to do it. If anything, she needed the target practice. Arial shrugged her shoulders, and looked to her friend with a set of deep seated reservations. "Sure, why not." She surrendered to the stupidity of the idea, what else was she going to do? There was absolutely nothing to do on this world anyways.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

He could feel how resigned she was. She really didn't want to go on this trip with him, it was written all over her features. But he didn't give a damn. She was coming along whether she liked it or not. He also caught the moment of vulnerability she showed, causing a grin to spread along his lips. With a sigh he curled his right arm in to flex his well-built arm and scratch a very convenient itch on the back of his head. "Now, what's got you all flustered like that?" he asked coolly to mess with her further.

Soon enough they were off to Junction. A backwater very close to Imperial space but still just a rock floating around like nothing. "I've been to this place before. Junction. Some sad excuse of a crime world and a hotspot for pirates to hang out. Last time I was here with some naive Serennoan upstart and a douchebag of a Sith Lord. Levelled an entire pirate base...and I'll slap someone if this is in fact the same base we levelled that time." he explained to Arial, now fully armoured and geared as usual. Ahead of them was the planet, looking every bit as unimpressive as he explained. He let go of the controls and slid a power cell into his one Quickdraw before holstering it. "Figured we track down the shipment, cause some mayhem in the base, then carry everything off before anyone can notice. Sound good? Or do you have another idea?" he asked her, casting a quick glance to her before focusing on the flight path again. He maneuvered the ship to an area and touched down.

"Alright, get your pirate face on. We're going in there." he instructed as he stood up and slid his helmet over his face. In order to know where they're going they need info. And what better way than to be in the middle of the place? At least blending in will be easy with all the sketchy drifters, black market dealers and other colourful individuals roaming around the place.

@Algarus

 

[Arial Calvic]

Arial raised an eyebrow at the accusation of being flustered. Maybe Hask had spent too much time in the sun as well. She wasn't flustered, she was annoyed. There was a difference. And it certainly had nothing to do with the idiot flexing infront of her. Definitely not. "Nothing, I just find the idea of hunting rodents like these pirate sort frankly repulsive." She said, trying to repel his attempt to tease something out of her. Hask would sense a bit of annoyance, but not the angry sort that she typically gave off, but more of a frustrated kind. "But, since I have a gun to my head, I might as well go get ready." She declared, moving back to her room to prepared for the mission.

Sitting in the speeder, Arial was looking through various armor designs on the market, really looking for something more sleek rather than this stupid armored monstrosity she was lumbering around in currently. "If you slap me, we are going to have issues." She said plainly, pausing to look at the pureblood. "Hopefully they aren't too bad. Other than that, I can live with this half assed plan." She mused, putting her helmet on as Hask requested a 'pirate face'. She only looked at him pointedly, behind her helm she raised an eyebrow, and a slightly amused expression. She slid an energy cell into her rifle and set it in her lap. "Nice try, I'm not making a stupid face for you." She said with a little more amusement rather than harshness. As much as she hated it, she was warming up to him.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask chuckled at her comment, leading the way out of the ship. "Hey, it might be an improvement if you do." he quipped, the smug grin clearly audible in his voice. As they walked he buttoned up his jacket a bit to hide away the lightsabers on his belt. The last thing he needed now was some ambitious bounty hunter coming after them. They walked past a bunch of stalls. All kinds of guns, parts and other items both of legal and illegal nature. A jawa was busy arguing with a Toydarian off to the one stall over what Hask could only guess was the price of a piece of junk. "I'll literally sit down and bet on that argument. My money's on the Toydarian." he said to Arial, chuckling as he walked.

They passed a small group of pirates who clearly were enjoying the view of Arial's snug outfit. Not wanting to entertain them Hask kept walking. He hoped Arial didn't want to have a fight first with the scum, they didn't have time for that. After a bit he came to a halt and faced an area filled with all kinds of ship parts. "Oh boy." he mumbled, looking at all the things. They had everything. He wandered into the area, looking all the parts over. There were cannons, parts he was looking for, spares of all kinds that would usually cost a fortune through a company...they had it all. But what really caught his eye was the military grade power core sitting on display. "Here's what we need." he explained to Arial. "This, the spares, all of it. My ship needs it and the Hurricane could do with some decent replacement parts. I know one of the fuel injectors is still seizing up, so getting these parts will be a boon." he continued, turning to face her.

He nodded to a quiet corner and led Arial away. "We need a distraction loud and disruptive enough to clear the place. From there loading all this into the Hurricane's hold will be easy. Got any ideas?" he asked her once they reached the secluded area.

@Algarus

 

[Arial Calvic]

Arial could only roll her eyes at her partners response. Stepping in front of Hask, the former agent proceeded through the little outpost, ignoring the onlookers as they moved through. She grinned at his comment about the Jawa and Toydarian. "Never underestimate the determination of a Jawa. They may be small, but they know how to haggle." She commented, moving past the various array of junk and rubbish. Most of it wasn't worth paying attention to. Hask's concerns of her picking a fight would be nonexistant, so long as the dirty bastards kept their hands to themselves; if that line got crossed however, then force help them.

Walking along the displays, she stopped as she caught Hask seemingly struck by something. She took a few steps back, and looked to see what had caught his attention. It was indeed a military power core, though how great of quality...they couldn't be picky. Buying it certainly wasn't an option, that'd be overpriced to hell and back. Of course, this is when Hask informed her they needed to pick the place clean to afford maintenance on both their ships, and Arial had to suppress the need to groan at her friends impromptu planning. She did stare at him for several moments, thinking of a proper somewhat sarcastic response, but decided against it. A distraction was what they needed? Arial looked around the premise, seeing various items and displays of junk, then pulled out an energy cell from her pistol. "I think I might have something." Arial said, fiddling with the device, before handing it to Hask. She might not be an operative anymore, but she knew her improvised explosive lessons from the academy. "If you press the release, it'll overload and explode in thirty seconds, low blast radius, but it's loud. Find your least favorite stall and slide it in there." Arial said promptly, patting her companion on the shoulder. "That work for you?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled by her helmet. He might not like the idea, but that's what she was giving him for the moment, Arial cast a look around, trying to find a target, and frankly the Dug merchant selling discount hyperspace fuel seemed like a good target, though...that might be a little bigger boom than she was planning.
@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask watched through his visor as Arial took out a power cell and fiddled with it. He crossed his arms as he studied her. She explained her little trick as he took the cell very carefully, rather confused by her action. "I'm more curious about where you learned this, because I never knew it was that easy to overload these." he said to her, his helmet hiding the grin on his face. "I think I might have a stall..." he said, trailing off as he eyed the nearby fuel shop that he wouldn't dare buy from. Odds of that being tampered with were pretty damn high. "You pop one off as well." he instructed, chucking a power cell at her to catch. "With a haul this high we'll need all the anarchy we can get." he explained before walking off.

By the stall he walked past and activated the cell. Immediately he could feel the thing starting to pulse and get warmer. With a smirk he levitated it sneakily into a small crevice all the while not even breaking his casual demeanour.

He came to a halt close to a food stall, now regretting deciding to blow the place up. The food the guy put up genuinely looked good. It didn't take long before a small explosion went off which quickly followed with a shattering, blinding, deafening series of more explosions. Hask ducked as debris and shrapnel flew all around him. Screams and shouts filled the air as people ran all over, trying to get away from the sudden "attack". Little did they know it was all a ploy.

And the Pureblood was enjoying every second of it.

A maniacal grin spread along his features as his golden eyes lost their glow and a sickly yellow set in. "Bang boom." he muttered as he walked into the hellfire towards the ship components. Though instead of burning him, the flames bent around him and dared not touch him as if he owned it. "Arial, get to the power core. Hurricane, get over here, we only have a small window." he spoke over the commlink. A confused "roger that" sounded off in response.

@Algarus

 

[Arial Calvic]

Arial smirked at Hask's question, she would have thought he'd know about it, but that was alright. "Trade secrets, sorry, can't share." She said with a cheeky smile. Maybe after this she'd show him, there was no harm in showing it after all. Arial caught the device that her friend tossed to her, and with some quick modifications, she had it primed and ready to go. Arial knew exactly where she was taking this one, as she moved opposite of Hask, towards a black market weapons dealer, who was stupid enough to leave a crate of energy cells out in the open before his stall. With some slight of hand, the cell slide perfectly into the crate, as she rounded back towards the Sith before the Mirialan weapon dealer even knew what happened. Almost on queue, the two explosions went off almost simultaneously, as Arial grinned behind the cover of her helm. She loved a well executed maneuver. She could see Hask bending the flames around himself, his orders coming through in her helm as she moved towards the power core. He was right, they were on the clock. Cries and screams were now heard, as the ringing in her ears came to an end. Another series of explosions billowed forth from the stall behind her, but that hardly mattered. She rushed quickly past the stall, her hands pressing to activate the lift it had been placed on, as it lingered only a half inch off the ground. Grabbing hold, she grunted as she pulled it with all she had, forgetting how much of a pain these damn things were.

Thankfully, it started to give, as she began to pull it towards Hask, though she hadn't gotten far before she heard shouting behind her. Arial couldn't see them, but a pair of Rodian's had drawn blasters on the young woman, trying to command that she stop in their native language, but Arial hadn't caught everything they had said. She dropped the sled and spun towards them, her hand going for the thigh blaster, and getting one shot off at the Rodian closet to her, though his partner got a single shot on her. Arial winced, as she felt the blast slam against her head, knocking her helmet clear off, and giving her the taste of copper in her mouth. The dumb bastard who had shot her toppled to the ground dead, as she grabbed the lift with her free hand and began moving once more, leaving the ruined remnants of her helmet behind; she didn't like the thing anyways. Her face stung like crazy now, but she'd live, thank the force it was just a grazing shot.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

More explosions erupted, naturally a chain reaction. It only added to the chaos around them. Hask walked with a brisk pace to the parts, looking it all over for a few seconds. "Hurricane, come in. Where the hell are you?" he asked over the comms. The sound of blaster fire, however, caught him off guard. Instinctively he whirled around and smoothly drew a pistol, staring down at the fresh corpses Arial just dropped. He moved over and helped her to her feet as he holstered the pistol. "Leave the core, I'll take care of it! Get those other things!" he ordered, gesturing to the other repulsor-lifts carrying a slew of other nice items they could use. It would be a lot easier for her to move than the enormous core.

More shouting was heard behind them. The pirates were starting to catch on to their stunt. He spun around and drew a pistol, slamming two bolts into one pirate without hesitation. He drew his second pistol and lobbed a cluster of rounds at more pirates that were approaching. "Get those things ready, we have to move!" he shouted over the gunfire, holstering his pistols and taking hold of the core's lift. With a grunt he started to push the core to an open area perfect to load the parts into the Hurricane.

By the time they got to the clearing their cover was blown. The pirates have labelled them as the attackers by now -not entirely wrong- and decided to go on the offensive. Hask maneuvered some crates together to provide some cover for them and the goods, then ducked as a cluster of blaster fire came his way. "We've been made. These guys are a lot more attentive than they usually are." he explained to Arial as he ejected a cell and slammed a fresh one into a pistol. A random bolt collided with his left arm from the side, knocking him down. From the ground he fired away at the attacker, emptying both pistols into the poor fool. He growled as he holstered his pistols and unclipped his lightsabers. "Really didn't want to use these..." he mumbled, getting back up.

Finally the Hurricane arrived and touched down. "Move, move! Get the stuff in, I'll cover you!" he ordered, igniting his lightsabers and deflecting some bolts headed for them.

@Algarus

 

[Arial Calvic]

Arial was no doubt thankful that Hask was going to handle the core, leaving her to collect the various other parts they were in need of. She moved quickly swiping up what she could, throwing various part boxes onto the repulsor lifts in the process, which was certainly easier to get moving than the damn core. Taking a lift in each arm, Arial took off, pulling the lifts as hard as she could manage, as the ground around her began to be showered with blaster shots. Having reached an acceptable point, Arial ducked down behind the lifts and drew her blaster, as she saw Hask doing the same. "Oh really? I had no idea!" She shouted at him, as she squeezed off three shots back at their attackers. She did have a moment of terror however, she witnessed her red skinned friend take a shot to the arm, but he seemed to recover quickly all things considered, so Arial fixated her firing in the direction of the attack, and repaid her friend's attacker by a well placed shot to the head. Hask's lightsabers seemed to discourage them from trying and giving chase, but that didn't stop them from taking pot shots at the pair. The Hurricane was already there thankfully, and seeing that this was their chance to get the hell out of here, Arial took full advantage of it. Grabbing hold of her lifts, she dropped her pistol back into the holster and quickly moved the lifts half way up the ramp, as Hask's crew would take it from there.

Arial sprinted back now, moving to get the core now, knowing just how much she was going to hate this. Hask was doing a decent job of distracting the pirates, but she could see in the distance what looked like landspeeders making their way towards the pair. Straining herself, Arial began moving the core towards the ship, as several deflected blaster shots landed just a tad close for her liking. There was a good chance they were going to make it, least that's what her instinct was telling her, so long as the Pureblood didn't drop his guard.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Her sarcastic comment really didn't sit well with Hask. Which was quite evident with his lack of response and slight growl escaping his throat. At least Arial was working hard on clearing the opening and loading all the valuables into the Hurricane. He kept blocking and deflecting, smirking at the fear he could feel from the pirates. They knew what he was, the crimson lightsaber gave it away. They didn't dare push up against him.

Finally she was onto the core, busy shoving it up the rank. The Hurricane's turrets also lit up the area with cannon fire. The extra firepower certainly forced the pirates back and made them think twice about getting any closer. He backed up, getting closer to Arial to close the gap between them. "Come on, almost there!" he called out over his shoulder. Not wanting to take any longer he focused the force and wrapped it around the core. With a grunt he pushed it up the ramp a lot quicker along with Arial's help.

Finally with everything onboard he gave Arial a shove into the hangar and slammed the controls to close it up. "Get out of here!" he shouted into the comms. The Hurricane lurched as it blasted off to get out of the atmosphere. A few plinks could be heard as blaster fire hit the hull, but it cut out as the shields came online. Finally Hask holstered his lightsabers and slid down to the ground against a crate. He reached up and pulled his helmet off with a heavy sigh. "All in a day's work." he said with a half-smile to Arial. Sparks sprung from his arm, catching his attention. "I really need a new arm." he commented. The Hurricane soon enough broke out of atmosphere and jumped to hyperspace. It would finally emerge again over Tatooine...by that time Hask had fallen asleep against the crate he was sitting against.

@Algarus

 

[Arial Calvic]

Hask's sudden use of the force caught Arial off guard, though she practically flew up into the cargo hold between her pulling and Hask's power, she landed on her back with a 'thud', and was only half way up before Hask moved her beyond the door, letting it close up in the process. She gritted her teeth as she felt the slam of gravity push down on them for a brief moment, before everything settled out. Seeing the sparks flying off his mechanical arm, Arial moved to her friend, trying to inspect the damage. "At least it's just your arm, we can replace that. If it took out your head I doubt there's anyone with a head hard as yours out there."

She hardly had time to do anything with the malfunctioning limb, before the Pureblood passed out against a crate, causing Arial to groan. She flagged down two of his crew, asking them for help, as she'd have him relocated back to his quarters with some assistance. Once they had set him on the bed, Arial went to work disconnecting the busted limb from the arm, just in case it started misfiring again; damaged circuits was one thing, but permanent nerve damage was something else entirely. Having done that, she set the limb on his nightstand, and left the Sith to sleep off his work. She paused as she was leaving his room, looking back at him, realizing just how close she had come to losing the last person she could call a 'friend' in this galaxy, and felt a sensation of fear course through her. "You big red idiot." She muttered, smirking a bit, before shutting off the light. Arial's next stop was the infirmary, because damn was her face hurting.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

As the ship came into the atmosphere of Tatooine Hask stirred awake on his bed, though his perception was still very much asleep. He tried to wipe the grogginess from his eyes, but the absence of a left arm shot him wide awake. He frantically shot up, panicking as old memories, fears and concern coursed through him. His eyes jumped around, looking for his arm.

He calmed down a lot when he saw his arm on the nightstand beside him. Now he was wondering how the hell he ended up here in the first place. He got up and locked his arm back into his shoulder as he walked to the door. He felt Arial's presence and quickly found her in the ship. "Next time you want to move me around, please don't take my arm off." he said calmly, careful to not sound harsh. "It's not a nice throwback." he said with a weak smile. The smile faded and he nodded to the door. "Come on. We're almost at the spaceport. Let's get the things ready." he instructed calmly and led the way down to the cargo hold. In the hold they simply needed to move everything and sort it out to move it off easily in the hangar once the ship touches down.

He helped to unload the cargo, leaving the parts for the Hurricane in the cargo hold. The power core and the parts for the new freighter he moved in and immediately started to install the newer parts. After a few minutes his coat and armour quickly ended up in a neat pile and somehow he also roped Arial into helping out. After a couple hours of work the new core was installed with brand new parts to back it up. Hask dropped the wrench he was holding back into the toolbox on the floor and turned to her with a smile. "Time to fire her up." he said and made his way to the cockpit. Sliding into the pilot's seat, he looked it over before flipping switches and activating systems. The ship beeped, whined and moaned as the systems powered up. With a nervous smile he pressed the ignition button and flinched as the ship's engines fired up and it started to take off.

He cheered happily, slapping the dashboard with excitement and beaming at her. "It works!" he shouted, looking everything over. All systems were green and the core, aside from needing a break-in period, was running at peak efficiency. He put the ship down and powered it down, still smiling from ear to ear. "Now onto the second part." he said and led Arial back to the Hurricane. In the cargo hold he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I've been thinking for a while now. This new ship fits me better and it's a lot more modular, something I'm in need of. But with no permanent house or place to hunker down I'll have nowhere to keep this ship. So I won't be needing it anymore." he explained casually, coming to a halt.

He turned to face her. "But I think you'll have a use for it." he finished with a smirk.

@Algarus

 

[Arial Calvic]

Arial was sat in the kitchen, a freshly applied strip of gaze over her side of her cheek to treat a mild burn she earned from the blaster shot to her head. Her head snapped towards Hask as she heard the door open, and she slid her holopad into her lap. Hask asked her not to touch his arm again, to which she shrugged. "Sorry, just was concerned it'd do more harm leaving it on then good. Read too many horror stories of cybernetics going haywire. Won't do it again." She said with a degree of sincerity, it had to be a little annoying to wake up with only one arm. Seeing that Hask wanted to get to work, Arial rose and put her glass away, knowing that they'd have their hands full for a fair bit. Unloading the cargo was certainly easier than when they had put it onboard, though the lack of hostile pirates was probably the reason for that. The real pain came when Hask set about upgrading his ship. Initially, Arial was content on keeping to herself, catching up on some holonews reports, but between Hask's exaggerated groaning, and his badgering of her current activities, she finally relented in helping. She found it oddly enjoyable installing the core, and even though mechanics weren't her forte, she did at least know what they were doing enough to help.

Hask's stupid smile almost made her forget the fact he guilt tripped her into helping, almost. As he sprinted into the cockpit like a young child on Life Day, she was trying to keep past. "Hopefully those pirates got a working core." She remarked, thinking how ironic it would be if all their work was for not; though, she'd also be a tad anger as well. Sitting alongside the Sith, Arial gripped her chair a tad, as he began to fire the engines up. A small part of her expected an explosion to go off, but to her great relief, only the sounds of the engine were produced instead. His outburst however, prompted a smirk from her, it was nice to see some things never changed. "How observant of you." She teased, double checking the read out everything did appear to be normal. Hask mentioned there was something else that had to be addressed, which garnered Arial's attention. "If this is about installing another power core I'll have to pass." She muttered, as she would fall in line with him, as the pair exited Hask's new ship and entered his newer one. She raised an eyebrow as he put his arm around her shoulder, but did little else as they walked through the cargo hold. She listened to what he was saying, assuming he was talking about selling it, her jaw nearly dropped as he told her he was giving it to her. It took several moments for Arial to process what he was saying, as she blinked several times, and looked about the hold, before looking back at him. "You...aren't kidding are you?" She said, a little at a loss. She had never owned her own ship before, nor commanded a crew. "Hask, I'm not sure what to say." She chuckled, rubbing the back of her head, before wrapping him up in a tight hug. "You didn't need to do all this for me." She spoke into his shoulder, before pulling back. "Thank you. I owe you majorly." He had single handily given her a new lease on life, she wasn't even sure how to even start paying that kindness back to him.

@KinkyPrawn

 

[Hask Jen]

Hask grinned at her shock. It was a little satisfying to see how gobsmacked she was by his offer. And deep down it made him feel all warm and fuzzy. "Not kidding at all." he casually assured her. He welcomed the hug and gladly returned it. "Promise me you won't scratch her, that's all you need to say." he said with a chuckle, gently rubbing her back as she held tightly onto him.

She finally released him, telling him that she owed him. He shrugged and lightly shook his head. "Don't worry about it. You're my friend, Arial. Don't worry about paying me back." he said softly, warmly. There was so much more he could say. She was the one that knew him the best in the galaxy. And she was the only true friend still living that he knew the whereabouts of at this point. There was very precious little he wouldn't do for her. "Now, as far as I know, there's only one proper way to celebrate a day as perfect as this and that is with a drink. And before you can argue, you're paying for the first round." he joked with a chuckle, leading her out of the ship towards the hangar's exit.

It seemed like the perfect way to end this exciting journey they've had these past few days.

/End Thread

@Algarus