How can one win, when Fools can be Kings?

[Sangga]

Pantolomin

A days leave from life.
​

The darker corners of Pantolomin were hidden from the sights of most tourists. They were not visible from any of the submersible casinos and the local government let the inhabitants rule themselves, provided they did not disrupt tourism. The world knew luxury akin to the Queen Mother herself, but in these darker pits. There was nought but tacky neon lit signs and bars, the odd Pazaak den or Holo-plaza. He'd heard there was one place that had contacts with the Slave markets, but surely not this close to such decent and affluent Core-worlds.

The Captain enjoyed the tacky lit bars and the over spill of the Pazaak Dens. Everyone and there mothers knew that you never played in the Pazaak den if you wanted to gamble anything more interesting then money. He had won the contract rights to Captain a ship in a colonial effort from an Ugnaught, an evening with a Twi'lek's Togrutan 'free slave'... some sort of screwed up syndrome of the mind and now he was in the process of fleecing this Toydarian for a rather interesting item. A glass box, with brass corners. A soft glow emitted from within the crystalline cuboid. Apparently it was some Jedi relic, the potbellied flapper had lost all its funds but saw what was in the pot and had given up this.

Hart put the contract, the girl and a healthy stack of credits against the item. The cards were dealt, the Toydarian played his entire hand and came up with 21, Hart lucked out with a cool deal of 15. The next round kept hart in charge, 20 on the nose. The Toydarian fluked a five card score of 20. Then the card were dealt again, Hart got 21, but minus one sealed the deal. He let the little winged bugger have the girl, Hart had a date with his winnings, a bottle and his room on the Yoania. He still new a few people in the Sith... not to mention the Jedi were always welcoming of anyone that didn't want to harass them or wave a saber around. But if it wasn't real... well it'd be nice to check in with the world once again. But one more night in the embrace of Pantolomin couldn't be too bad... could it?

He stood up from the Pazaak table and made his way to the bar, his hat in hand and his winning secreted into his duster's deep pockets. A flash of gunmetal visible for a second from within.

@Breeso
@Nox
@Teila Shem

 

[Alisha D.]

Alisha was not surprised when she stumbled upon the less flashy sector of Pantolomin. "Every planet has a dark corner" she thinks while she sips her drink slowly. She's been on the planet a few days only. Effectively, she has been planet hopping, working as a mechanic, which apparently are needed every where. Good thing for her though, cause it meant that she had enough credits to live a little, more than she's ever done on Tatooine. Not to mention this planet was amazing..All that water..Alisha has never seen so much water in one place in her life. Which goes without saying, being from Tatooine. So she really did enjoyed her tours on the planet.

However, all that touristic activity was starting to get boring a little. There were always far more interesting things to see in the darker sections. Yes, it was undoubtedly more dangerous..but Alisha was confident enough in her own ability to disappear if it came to that. Her pit droid was sitting under her bar stool, fidgeting for no particular reason, and looking around. For once in its metallic life, it was trying to not attract too much attention.

However, Alisha wasn't so lucky. What was clearly a very drunk man just approached her and leaned sideways on the bar facing her, with one elbow on the bar supporting his face. He was, she thinks, trying to wooe her, but was completely incoherent and quite rude, and Alisha raised an eyebrow at him. When he stopped speaking, she smirked at him and very nimbly pushed his elbow out of the way, meaning the guys simply hit his face sideways against the bar and collapsed on the floor with a grunt. Alisha snickered softly, and so did Tippy underneath her, as the man was clearly to drunk to stand up again. The bar man simply looked on in amusement. Sure enough, the man started snoring right there and then.

"Hmph idiot.." Alisha whispered quietly as she simply went back to enjoy her drink, looking around from time to time. She spotted a man leaving one of the many pazaak tables and heading for the bar. She turned around again, not really wanting to get into trouble, though she liked his hat if anything.

 

[Sangga]

Stepping over the prostrate body next to the girl with the Pit droid, his meaty hand came down on the bar. "Barkeep, grain, the bottle'll do." he deposited some credits onto the bar, enough to secure a half decent bottle. This deep into the Core, cold hard currency was frowned upon, yet out on the Rim, this chips were worthless. Once depositing the bottle, the chips were scooped up in a flash and the bottle's cork was pried out with the large man's teeth. A belt or three was drained before any other words were said, and before a glass was offered. "Typical woman, typical sleemo... new bar, same fodder." The appraisal of the situation wasn't to anyone in particular.

He looked down at the pit droid under her chair. "Huh? Not seen one like you in a while?" Spacer, mechanic or worse... His free hand went into a hip pocket under his duster. Even in the Core one couldn't be too careful. He put the drink on the bar, and squinted into his pince-nez. "So, what's your game?" The thug at their feet groaned and Quint put the heel of his jack boot into his shoulder. The thug rolled off the raised bare, lying face up in a decorative water feature. "And I'm not talking about your preference between Sabaac or Pazaak. Is sleemo there your muscle, this a shake down operation... or are you just a wandering, young, bit of squeeze that was in the wrong place at the wrong time?" The man's eyes blinked a little too much. The light, and his slight inebriation, was taking its toll.

If Alisha knew anything about the man's race, not an immediately guessable thing but not hard considering the conversations theme, some of his actions were justified; or his stance on her anyway. If she knew about the Captain of the Yoania, then all was more than justifiable.

@Frannykins87

 

[Alisha D.]

Alisha continued to quietly sip her drink, as the man proceeded with his transaction with the bartender, not sure whether the man was referring to her in anyway or not..but since she's done nothing that could really provoke him, she simply put it as maybe having a bad relation with women in general, or something. Which didn't surprise her in the least, given the manners he was showing..Not that that surprised her either, really. I suppose most underworld scoundrels would lack the luxury of needing good manners and such. And honestly, she's witnessed much worse. Like that gentleman on the floor...

Alisha did, however, raise an eyebrow when her droid was mentioned. She leans down a little to check on Tippy. It seemed rather bored..which, Alisha knew, was a dangerous thing. It could at any time sprint somewhere and disappear as it did that morning. But Alisha simply keeps an eye on her droid friend for the time being. Her attention turns back to the man at the bar. She did find it odd that he seemed not to be very good at..seeing, but Alisha was prudent enough not to ask.

"My game?" Alisha asked, her tone a little offended at the implication of the question...

" I don't have a game..That guy was just a random idiot...I am most definitely NOT a "bit of squeeze"...and I don't play pazaak nor sabaac..and to be frank, I was really born in the wrong place, at the wrong time...so I am used to it.."

She shrugs her shoulder, and finishes her drink. She checks the pocket of her trousers for credit chips, having to adjust her body slightly. Her rather tight trousers made it difficult for her to get anything out very easily..hence why she carries a belt pouch with her for most of her tools. After placing some credits on the bar, she nods at the bartender and gestures for him to get her another drink. She doesn't want to get drunk, so the next drink she is planning to sip a bit more slowly. This man though...She can't tell whether he's drunk or just..suspicious..I suppose only further conversation might reveal that. Still, the most interesting person she's met so far..That's got to be a sign, she thinks..maybe..

 

[Sangga]

"You've never played Pazaak?" It simply didn't compute and her objection to Sabaac as well... neither of them? He slammed the bottle on the bar, his fist clenched before his face. "But it whiles the time away, you can make money and..." he stopped, he looked down at the droid tugging his trouser leg. It had his pince-nez in his hand. In the commotion they had fallen off. He could barely see, he'd thought it was the drink. "Thank you, friend..." his embarrassment halted his rant and he poured a drink and offered her from the bottle.

"Join the club kid... so Dantooine, Tatooine, Kessel? What rock tossed you among the stars? What ones do you want to see? You got the ship to do it?" So he'd officially hit the chatty stage of his inebriation. This would stay a while, the next could go one of two ways. He'd need to answer a very urgent call of nature or... well the local constabulary were never happy with option two.

Now, whether he was talking to the droid or her was a mystery. However, another clue to his species would surface as the lights all turned on and he didn't squint. It was as if her preferred it. He removed his spectacles and nodded to the back door. "Place is being turned over, out we go... it's not licensed..."

 

[Alisha D.]

Alisha smiled, bemused at seeing Tippy handing the man his glasses. He definitely had issues seeing in low light.. But she knows very little of other species, other than ones on Tatooine, so at the moment she is still assuming he's human with low vision. She also found his almost rant, driven by alcohol no doubt, rather funny. She was aware how much money could be earned by either game, of course..She witnessed several in the bars and clubs in Tatooine..None of them ever played without cheating...However you needed to go in with credits to your name in the first place, plus Alisha never felt she'd be good at holding a straight face for too long.

Then the questions started. Alisha was almost startled at first. Clearly the alcohol was making him chatty. But Alisha is happy to oblige. It has been a while she didn't get a good conversation going. Maybe he won't remember all of it..she thinks..And what's the harm..

"I'm from that hot hell they call Tatooine.." She grins. She is so glad she's out of there...the climate pretty much everywhere was better than there, even though it made her slightly more tolerant of heat. "As for what I want to see...well as much as possible..Except Hoth maybe...I doubt I'd survive there with just my gear.." She gives a small chuckle as he droid beeped in agreement, and she then sips her drink once.

"And no I don't have a ship.."

When the lights turned on ,the man seemed to be able to see much better and relax. She turned her head towards the back, then nodded at the man. She gulped the drink. which made her cheek slightly redder.

"Licenced? I suppose on this planet they care about that.." She grins, and starts to walk towards the exit, with one slight wobble to her step.

"Come on Tippy. Off we go!" The droid replied with a happy beep, and after a quick inspection of the unconscious men, and a snicker, begins following her.

 

[StarWriter]

Pantolomin. Kyllan had mixed feelings about the planet. One one hand it was a perfect place to relax, unwind and lay low if you knew where to look. Easy to blend into a crowd of tourists when one needed to get away quick. On the other hand Mandolorians stood out everywhere they went and those in the know, knew that Pantolomin was a perfect place to relax, unwind and lay low.

Especially the local constabulary. Who had a tendency to raid such dark and circumspect establishments from time to time. Especially when they were unlicensed such as this one apparently was.

The tell tale panic ensued as lights came on, announcing the arrival of the authorities, much to Kyllan's chagrin. There were at least two outstanding bounties/warrants on his head for a job recently pulled off on Coruscant.

Perfect. Right when the night was getting interesting. He thought to himself as he hastily donned his signature armor, doing his best to balance himself while struggling to pull on one boot, then the other. While scrounging his gear that was sprawled all around the private room he had just above the bar.

"Terribly sorry my dear, but it seems our evening is going to have to be cut a bit short." Kyllan apologized to the lovely, Pantoran woman who was laying on the couch, nearly bare as day and wearing an expression that was a mix of disappointment and panic.

With most of his armor donned, he would lean over her, half bowed and give her a peck on the back of her hand before backing away. "I had a lovely time. Until next time." A wink and a charming grin were given as he pushed open the window to the room that overlooked the alley behind the bar and was directly above the backdoor. A few quick gestures secured the last of his belongings and he scooped the helmet off the side table. It was obvious that this was not the first time he'd had to get dressed in a rush. And without a further word the Mandolorian would step onto the ledge and off the balcony without pause, ignited his jetpack to control his descent to the ground below and landing right as two patrons and a pit droid seemed to be making a similar prompt exit from the bar.

"Looks like I'm not the only one avoiding trouble with the law." He'd comment offhanded as his jetpack shut off, a hint of amusement in his voice even through the speaker of his T-visor.

 

[Sangga]

Hart was almost at full-pelt when then sound of jets from above forced him to an alcove, his hand reached into his duster. As the Mandolorian landed and quipped lightly he revealed the pocket was false. His hand was on the stock and trigger of his light repeater. Instinctive, from the hip levels of thought. He only managed to catch up with his reaction to halt it from making him fire. The collapse-stocked weapon was returned to under his jacket. "Nice to see you bucket heads are still as showy as ever. Done crushing the lives of innocence under your boot?" His hand released the weapon and was pulled out. Palms raised and revealed. The anger at the Mandolorian wasn't personal, but it was his experience that had been proven in the news of late. The pair of men could be so similar, for only their stances on killing people. Mandolorians killed for 'honour', Hart viewed killing as a last resort... a dirty task that was always expensive, if not the most expensive thing someone could do.

The girl seemed quite taken with the theatrical entrance. Hart had seen enough. "Best not hang around if any of us are not friends of the law." He began threading his way through the crowd, his natural build hampering him, but his life in Hapan society and the slums of Nar Shaddaa countered some of it. He looked back at the couple and the droid. "You wanna see the galaxy kid, you need a ship! Luckily I know a guy, and he needs a crew! You want to bring your boyfriend and the walking toadstool you can! I'm sure he won't mind!" He was making a bee-line for the Yoania's landing pad. If there was one Mandolorian here, that was close enough to this war than he'd like... without being paid that is.

 

[Alisha D.]

Alisha was rather taken aback when the Mandalorian dropped off the balcony with his jets..She wasn't surprised he had a jet pack, most Mandos that she witnessed had, but she wasn't expecting that entrance..She tensed up and almost got ready to turn tail and bolt, but then she recognised the armour.

"Oh, Kyllan! Hmph don't scare us like that..." She relaxes a little bit, though looks a little irritated for it. Tippy, however, seemed quite pleased to see the Mandalorian, and runs up to him and waves excitedly, beeping.


"And ye well, I tend to try avoid trouble, law or otherwise..."

She couldn't help but chuckle heartily however, when Hart called him bucket head,not an entirely inappropriate comment, she thought. Bu her laughter stopped when she saw he was ready to shoot. Not an unwise reaction, mind you, to a Mando suddenly dropping in on you...

"It's ok he's not so bad.." She smirks at Kyllan

She turned back to Hart when he offered a ship. This could be the start of something really good. Her eyes lit up and her face relaxed into an excited beam. Granted, maybe it wasn't the wisest move really accepting a relative stranger's offer but..Alisha was decent judge of character and felt no threat from him, if only a slightly annoyance at her being female perhaps.Something she could work on, she had no doubt.

"I'd LOVE to take you up on that..I'm a mechanic so I am sure if you have a ship I can help maintain it. However..." Then she raised an eyebrow at the second comment.

"He is NOT my boy friend, and Tippy..well..maybe he is a bit of a toadstool actually..." She smirks, and the droid beeps in protest.

"Oh relax, we're only joking!" The droid responds with a sound similar to a human when they blow their tongue. Alisha giggles at it.

Finally she turns to Kyllan, still smirking. Despite her proclamation, she still thought Kyllan a decent man, even though she still didn't know him too well. Plenty of time for that, she thought, if he joins. Alisha was sort of hoping he would, even though she knew it wouldn't be the end of the world if he didn't. Still. Decent men were rare these days, which is part of the reason she didn't hesitate to take up Hart's offer.

"How about it, friend? You up for it? Maybe you can make the Mandos look less..thuggish than your counterparts on Tatooine.....or anywhere else.."

A flash of bitterness appears on her expression, as Alisha tries to not remember her dealings with Mandalorians previously. But she quickly brushes it aside and waits for Kyllan to answer.

 

[StarWriter]

Despite his flashy, sometimes pretentious philandering demeanor Kyllan was still a highly trained warrior, even only being half Mandolorian. Reflexes honed since he was a child had both of the his Sunspear Heavy blasters drawn as quickly as Hart had, though like the other man he had shown restraint. "Well, there's a quota on theatrics we have to meet daily." He wittily retorted, though his voice did quickly sour. "I am not like the rest of my kind." Once again, Kyllan felt like the monster his appearance made him out to be. Those blasters would be spun around his thumbs a few times before being slipped seamlessly into their holsters.

Thankfully a familiar and welcomed voice caught his attention, by name and his head whipped to see Alisha and her exuberant pit droid. His demeanor instantly changed. "Alisha! Never thought I'd get to see something so beautiful twice in one year." As was the norm, already loosing compliments her way.

"Hi Tippy. " He chuckled at the droid.

"And ye well, I tend to try avoid trouble, law or otherwise..." Kyllan chuckled a bit, "That's not true. You keep hanging out with me." He gave her a wink and a grin even behind that T-visor anyone who'd spent any measure of time around him when he spoke with women knew that's what he did.

"It's ok he's not so bad.."

"Gee, thanks." Kyllan muttered.

When Alisha beamed at the invitation the stranger offered them both, his eyes would narrow a bit, thankful for the helmet so neither of them could not the jealous expression that he bore. An expression that even surprised Kyllan, who quickly moved to follow the stranger. It didn't help when she so vehemently corrected the man on the nature of their relationship.

Regardless he took it in stride and that roguish grace returned when she inquired about whether or not he would join them. "What? And miss out on being around you? I'd never be able to live with myself if I did that." Kyllan would gesture for her to follow Hart as he protectively glanced back towards the door bar they had all exited hastily. "Besides, the Entendre is on the far side of the spaceport. I can have Tee-three and Ar-one dust off and meet us in orbit."

Kyllan would look to Hart. "Your ship is far closer than mine. I think I'll tag a long for a bit if that's alright. My droids can keep follow us in mine once we get off world."

The philandering Mandolorian would follow Hart to his ship and wait at the loading ramp until Alisha and Tippy were aboard before going in himself. Ever the warrior.

 

[Sangga]

As they approached the gate to the complex of landing pads, he looed to the pair... and the Toadstool. If the girl joined his crew would she ditch him for bucket head? His glances barely breached the rim of his hat, it was more at the space they occupied. "She ain't much, but damn it she's my gal. I'd like to introduce you..." the warrior had some experience with sbios so he aimed it mainly at the girl and her toadstool, he hit the door stud and the metal gate rolled back to reveal the light freighter. "... the Yoania. Home for me, and a couple of people like yourselves over the years... no one ever stuck with us..." he trailed off. He loved looking at her. It was his ship, his freedom, his home and his closest thing to a friend in this universe, but his last statement held a bittersweet loneliness.

He sniffed, wiping some caked dust from his nose and stepping forward, onto the pad. He trailed his hand over her underside as he stooped under, then activated the loading ramp. Pneumatics hissed and vented as it lowered in position. "So, Bucket head, you got a Ship an all? A couple of astromechs makes it more than a one man fighter... the Double Entendre I don't get it." He smirked to the pair and the droid, looking up from his inspection of the landing struts. "I see your in an Alabaster or some kind of gunship? All that hardware you carry and your Warrior spirit. A noble steed it must be."

He was going to board, but something was coming toward them, it was big... armoured and carried one gakking big gun. "What have you brought to my ship Bucket head!?" He caught himself and corrected. "Or is it looking for you Alisha, I doubt it wants to have a chat with Toadstool to swap maintenance tips?" He began up the ramp and running to the cockpit, maybe he could get the ship at least active when it arrived, the Shields being ignited would be even better!

 

[Pippa]

Pippa had hated Pantolomin. She hated the fact it was covered in water. She hated the fact that she'd been betrayed, again, by someone she thought was a friend, again, and left to find her own way off this sodden planet. After a miserable six hours of finding it impossible to charter a flight out because of the exorbitant tourist prices and being "politely asked to leave" gambling establishments because apparently being able to calculate probability through complex algorithms in your head is cheating. She had found herself in front of a bounty hunter outpost, only to discover that Baba Industries had managed to put word out as far as the Dolomar sector. Thankfully the outpost had been tragically understaffed. Grabbing what information she could from their front desk computer she made her way towards the space port before security forces discovered the mess.

Scanning the documentation as she waded through the ample crowds, she looked for a route that would get her to the port without hitting any more hunters. Once there she could maybe find a way to stowaway on a leaving ship? or barter passage, at this point she new she had limited time and limited choices she might have to consider every option no matter how drastic. Something in the information caught her eye. Two bounty hunters were active to the far side of the landing pads, they had commed in to confirm sighting of a bounty target, one Kyllan Braemar. His file cited him as an armed and dangerous Mandalorian fliying a Light Freighter called the Double Entendre. Coming to a stop just under the pad listings she checked for the Double Entendre. Realising that it was taking off and that the hunters hadn't called for support she calculated that he was likely still on the planet and in imminent danger. Comparing the listings to the last known location of the hunters she placed them at pad L-17 at which was docked a ship called the Yoania, she drew her Anti-Material Blaster rifle and broke into a run.

The Hulking figure parted casual street traffic like a Lightsaber through cheese. Standing at 2.5 meters and weighing almost half a tonne it resembled some kind of junk pile heavy battle droid. It raised a massive weapon that looked as custom as it's chassis as it approached the pad. Aiming in the Mandalorian's direction it boomed in a deep mechanical voice "KYLLAN BRAEMAR, YOU ARE A WANTED MAN, DEFEND YOURSELF." before firing the huge gun past Kyllan's right flank and into the waiting torso of an unsuspecting bounty hunter.

 

[Alisha D.]

"That's not true. You keep hanging out with me."

Alisha shook her head but grinned at the comment. Admittedly, he was rather funny. She giggles slightly when he thanked her sarcastically, and simply smirks in reply. Despite not having know him for long, Alisha already figured that even under the helmet, he was probably smiling. He definitely wasn't the stereotypical Mandalorian.

"What? And miss out on being around you? I'd never be able to live with myself if I did that."

She shook her head again and rolled her eyes, but grinned also. The trio then headed to Hart's ship. She was wondering all the way therewhat ship the captain has, and was almost trying to guess it in her excitment, and so didn't really notice his glances. Alisha was very keen on ships.

She stopped wondering as soon as they reached the ship. It was a good ship, no doubt. Though she didn't anticipate the good Captain to have a freighter.

"She's real pretty!" She commented when the captain introduced them, and smiled warmly at him. Her smiled turned sad when he mentioned no one sticking around. She had a feeling lonliness might have gotten to him a bit, given his look.. Well if Alisha was allowed to join, she'd never leave. Loyalty was something that was very important to her. To the right person, of course. But she thought it better not to ask the reasons, at least for the moment.

Before heading towards the ramp, Alisha peeked at the side of the ship. It didn't have a lot of modifications on, though with that kind of ship the possibilities were numerous. After making sure there was no damage, out of habit more than anything else, she started to head up the ramp, but turned very quickly around when Hart spotted someone rather well armed, even if short.....Then the rest few seconds happened quite fast..

As Hart sprints to the inside, insticts told her to find cover, which she did by quite nimbly dashing onto the ramp and squeezing herself on the sides of the ship to attempt to get some cover..This in time withe the shot she heard. Alarmed, she hears Kyllan's name being called and calls out to him

"KYLLAN! You ok? Who is that??"

She then unholsters her own rather simple blaster and points it at the figure now approaching.

 

[StarWriter]

"So, Bucket head, you got a Ship an all? A couple of astromechs makes it more than a one man fighter... the Double Entendre I don't get it."

Kyllan shook his head a bit at that, for the moment ignoring the man's nickname for him, that he suspected was used to refer to every Mandolorian Hart met. "It's no more a bucket than any other helmet." He'd quip and then give a nod of his head. "The name well, it'd probably take too long to explain it to you. Let's just say it's apropos for my personality." He'd chuckle through his helmet's speaker.

"I see your in an Alabaster or some kind of gunship? All that hardware you carry and your Warrior spirit. A noble steed it must be."

"She's a YG-300 I bought a few years back. She's not a combat vessel but she's able to hold her own. I find her to be quite worthy."
Kyllan gaze would run over the ship once they were all by the loading ramp. Like the Entendre, she didn't have a lot in the way of modifications, yet she seemed a sturdy and durable ship. It reminded him of the Entedre in that regard.

Kyllan was a bit distracted watching Alisha's reaction, finding the giddy way she admired the spacecraft to add to her irrefutable charm. Of course, as such he wasn't as fully observant as he might otherwise be and as he glance towards Hart we would barely register the danger to him. "You don't have to call me bucket head. My name is.."

"KYLLAN BRAEMAR, YOU ARE A WANTED MAN, DEFEND YOURSELF." His words cut off as someone else bellowed his name and that gun shot could practically be felt as it darted passed him. That is when those warrior reflexes kicked in, overriding his distracted mind and both of those Sunspear heavy blaster pistols would be drawn in a single breath as he spun on his heel to see the bounty hunter fall dead behind him. Something caught his attention and even though he was now vividly aware of the mechanized person heading their way, he was also aware of several other threats. "They might be here for me."

"KYLLAN! You ok? Who is that??"



He spotted two figures hiding behind cargo crates just behind the towering, droid looking being who had just saved his life. Those pistols would be leveled with steady arms as he began to fire upon those bounty hunters. He caught one in the chest with the first shot and the other dove behind cover. "Yep, they're definitely here for me. Never seen these lot before. Would it be too much to ask for at least one lovely bounty hunter to chase me for a change!" He fired another salvo of shots from his pistols.

"We should leave, there's another.." Kyllan began to back up the ramp and called to warn the others of more danger when he felt his armor takes several hits from a heavy repeater as a third hunter fired upon him from the side of the ramp, behind a crate. It sent him diving to the ramp for cover and out of pain, his pistols fired a bit wildly in the direction of this new hunter but he could feel it. At least one of those blaster shots had managed to punch through his armor. "We should...Hng..get out of here."

The Mandolorian would slip the pistol in his left hand into its holster and in the same motion take one of the fragmentation grenades from his belt, prime it and hurl it with desperate strength and accuracy towards the bounty hunter that shot him. Sharp, burning pain shot along his side to which his cry would mirror. "Ahh!" If nothing else it would land near the feet of his intended target and force the hunter to exit his cover lest he be caught in the blast as it destroyed the crate.

 

[Sangga]

Switches were thrown and dials were turned, a few lights in the cockpit began to flicker into life. He reached over to the other side of the cockpit, to the navigation seat and flicked two switches. Then an aura of distortion lined the hull, the black carbon scoring near the door created a few fireflies as it burned of the less stubborn areas of the marks. Now Hart sat in his chair, the Captain's chair, his hands hovering over the piloting controls. The yells of Kyllan caused his hands to clench as he was brought back from his reverence at the hundreds of times he'd taken off in worse. "We should...Hng..get out of here." A few shots spanked out of the ramp and then a yell another cry from the bucket head. "Ahh!"

"Pull him in, and shut him up! Treat him, or knock him out... the results the same. But we'll need someone in the light turret if we're to get out with him, another in the seat next to me for gunnery would also be appreciated." His thumbs rubbed there corresponding index and middle fingers a few times and he grasped the controls of the Yoania, and she began to rise a few feet. The detonation caused the ship to lurch a little as the shields repelled the shock wave, but there was a second lurch immediately after that tilted the ship until a little adjustment of the thrusters strength leveled her off. Continuing to rise, he turned to look back into the ship, where were they? But in fairness one other question was a little more pressing.

"What in the name of the cluster was that!? And I don't mean the fireworks, controls feel like I snagged onto a cargo crane or something?" He turned back and looked out the cockpit and was now staring at one of these bounty hunters, they had a big piece of hardware in their hands, some sort of tube. They'd nearly cleared the top of the landing pad, so these guys seemed to have done away with the 'Or Alive' option of the bounty. He turned the ship so the barrels of the heavy cannons were at least pointing in the vague direction of the launcher armed gakker. "Anyone? All you need to do is pull a gakking trigger!?"

 

[Pippa]

Pippa stomped towards the ship. It'd be a few seconds before she could fire again. She pulled back the bolt to expose the over heating dispersal coils to the air. The metal zinged and clicked as she continued to advance. Kyllan spun and fired behind her in what she could only imagine was practised familiarity, the fluid and precise movements convincing her that he wasn't treating her as an aggressor. She performed a clunky five point spin in her diving walker to see if she could help fire on the Hunters that had come from behind her. As she span she saw the first hunter go down to Kyllan's salvo and the second dive for cover. Her gun still cooling down, she kept a mental not of his position and wrenched the walker around the full 360 degrees and cumbersomely pressed forward.

She forced the front sensors on the walker back round to Kyllan too late to warn of the third hunter and their hail of repeater fire. As Kyllan landed on the ramp, scorch marks peppering his flank several things began to happen in very quick succession. Kyllan tossed a thermal detonator, the Yoania began to rise with the others on it and Pippa began to calculate. Over the second or two that the detonator hung in the air she compared and contrasted the acceleration of the ascent of the ship, the velocity and load bearing coefficient of the ramps closing mechanism, the pressure differential of the detonator's shock-wave and maximum thrust capacity of the diving walkers twin locomotion pistons. She realised that this could be her only chance to leave the planet. With Baba Industries and now random bounty hunters after her she'd just have to trust a trio of strangers she'd met in the most sudden of circumstances. She'd never had made it on Pantolomin anyway, after all, it was covered in water. She decided to go for it.

She gunned her walker up to top speed. She smash switched the power from the vacuum seal in the cockpit and purged the fluid ballast to lighten the walker in a torrent of super heated steam. Cranking the control levers as hard as she could, she pitched the walker over to make the most use of both her momentum and centrifugal force. She rolled the walker forward into a spring-loaded jump. As her walker bounded toward the underside of the ship the detonator exploded. It destroyed the crates and near vaporised the repeater wielding hunter behind them. The wave from the explosive cracked the lip of the walker's plating along the left side and had just enough force to land the it on the end of the ramp.

As the ship rocked and then levelled she could hear someone saying something about a cargo crane but couldn't place the logic of it. The metallic zing of the bolt on her rifle sliding into place indicated it's readiness to fire. She turned on the unsteady ramp tip and braced the walker against the roof of the entry way. Taking aim she took fire at the cover concealing the second hunter. The enormous rifle hummed briefly and then discharged a massive blaster bolt. The shot blew a hole the size of a gonk droid trough and through the light durasteel wall the front of the hangar was composed of and a distressed squealing told her she'd hit the hunter behind it. Holstering the hissing rifle she turned the walker back up the ramp allowing it to close. Disengaging the chassis and opening the cockpit to avoid more internal damage to the walker, Pippa hopped out in front of Alisha. The small black-eyed, furred, chiropteran humanoid stood up to her full 62 centimeters and addressed Alisha.

"Unidentified long-haired humanoid, my walker is too damaged and I am too small to properly manouver and medically treat Kyllan Braemar, especially if his biology is too divergent from what I have studied." she squeaked nasally, "There should be a standard medical emergency kit somewhere on this classification of sh-" She went to go on but was interrupted by Captain Quint.
"Anyone? All you need to do is pull a gakking trigger!?"
Spotting the hatch for the light turret she started to move towards it and then suddenly stopped, turning back to Alisha.
"I have more experience as a vehicle gunner than I do as a medic. If you are content to tend to Kyllan Braemar then I will ascend the turret however I am unfamiliar with your skill set. Which task would you rather perform?"

 

[Alisha D.]

Alisha found herself somehow very concerned when Kyllan was hit a few times... In the confusion of the gun fight, She heard the captain shout and ask for assistance, but Alisha was ready to bolt to help Kyllan when the ship shook, making her lose balance temporarily. Her agility, though, and quick reflexes, meant that she somehow held on to the side, without hitting it. What she saw next, however, almost made her jaw drop, despite the gravity of their situation. The small being, in what seemed like a mechanised amour, was shooting at the bounty hunters, then run onto the ramp and...ploppoed out of the armour in front of her. If they weren't in the middle of a fight, Alisha would most likely stopped to have a look at the armour..seemed very ingenious. But no time for that...Given the fact that they just helped the trio escape she withdrew her gun. And to be honest, as well equipped as she was, even despite the height, Alisha was most definitely out matched..Not hard to do, mind you...

"Unidentified long-haired humanoid...."

Alisha focused her attention to the stranger as she spoke to her. She found the way she addressed her rather strange, not to mention the way she spoke, but again, they didn't have the luxury of time for pleasantries..

"I have more experience as a vehicle gunner than I do as a medic. If you are content to tend to Kyllan Braemar then I will ascend the turret however I am unfamiliar with your skill set. Which task would you rather perform?"

"Anyone? All you need to do is pull a gakking trigger!?"
Alisha quickly turned her head to reply

"Someone is coming Captain! I need to help Kyllan!" She then turned towards the strange being again

"I'll go help Kyllan..somehow.not my area... but I'll do my best, I want to help him.." She said almost instinctively. With a nod of her head towards the stranger, who she assumed was simply going to walk to aid the captain, she rushed to Kyllan's side, meanwhile looking around the walls in search of the first aid kit, which she located fairly quickly. As a mechanic, she was familiar with most layouts and as the stranger said, most ship were equipped with a first aid kit, and it was almost always in the same place. Before checking in with Kyllan, she rushed to the entrance to the cockpit and grabbed the kit, and sped up to Kyllan again with a rather impressive speed. Unlike shooting, running was one of her fortes.

"You ok? Where are you hurt?" She asks Kyllan with a worried look. She makes a mental note that maybe learning some life saving skills wouldn't be a bad idea in the future..

She starts to open the kit and read the instructions..instructions were good..it meant that maybe she could find out what she was doing..All the meanwhile trying to remain calm because..she was not a medic.. She looks up at Kyllan as the ramp starts to close. "I might need to check under the armour.." She said casually without thinking, but rather with a business like tone.

 

[StarWriter]

To say that things had gone from calm to frantic in the span of a few heartbeats was an understatement and none was as keenly aware of that as Kyllan. So much was going on all at once were it not for his martial training he might have had difficulty in keeping up and staying aware of the situation. Like the fact that his savior was not only a skilled shot with a rather potent looking rifle, but that he, or she, or whatever was perhaps the tiniest being he'd ever laid eyes on. And spoke in a way he'd never really heard spoken before now. The fact that the ship had lurched far more than the effects of a thermal detonator could have been responsible for and his HUD had not detected any volatile materials in the crates near the blast when he threw it.

Kyllan was also keenly aware of at least one several centimeter holes that had peppered his robust Mandolorian armor and managed to catch the right spot, at the right angle to punch through. The sting of pain from the entry wound into his body and the scarred divots they had formed in his flesh. One just below his left lung, the other three were near his abdomen.

By the time Alisha came to check up on him he was already pulling himself, albeit slowly to his feet and securing his pistols to their respective holsters on his thighs.

"Anyone? All you need to do is pull a gakking trigger!?" Captain Quint's exasperated shout was heard and he glanced towards the cockpit. Kyllan had to brace himself against the bulkhead when he stood, breathing was a bit labored given the hole that had burned into his chest. Yet hearing the call for a gunner, those deadly honed instincts kicked in and he fought through the pain, the discomfort as he was taught.

"Someone is coming Captain! I need to help Kyllan!"

"I'll go help Kyllan..somehow.not my area... but I'll do my best, I want to help him.."

Alisha's voice was already a sweet sound to hear and yet the roguish smuggler found the concern behind those words to be a little surprising and quite welcomed. "Careful, Alisha or I might think you like me." His voice was strained and he coughed, grateful his helmet was on so she couldn't see his pained expression.

His gaze followed her mad rush to the cockpit where he was heading at a brisk shambling pace. When she sprinted back to him she'd find him half way to where she had retrieved the first aid kit. "You ok? Where are you hurt?"

"Mmmph. It's my pride what's hurt more than anything. I'll be fine once I sit down. You can treat me in the cockpit." He'd say, using the vast majority of his strength to maintain appearances in front of the only person here he knew.

"I might need to check under the armour.." Despite the business like tone of her voice, Kyllan's nature just couldn't help itself and he'd manage to crack a grin beneath that T-visor.

"If I knew getting shot was what would make you want to get me out of my armor, I'd have done it myself back on Corellia." He managed a laugh and that was a mistake as he began to cough near uncontrollably as he staggered into the cockpit to sit beside Quint. Despite his body beginning to fail him, the stubborn Mandolorian quickly assumed control of the gunnery station and used muscle memory to aim the ship's guns towards that hunter. A single thought crossed his mind, Alisha was here and in danger because of him. Someone he knew, a friend and a damn fine woman to boot. Finding a reserve of strength he didn't know he possessed, the beleaguered warrior would open fire on that hunter holding the tube like object. Those cannons unleashed a cacophonous and deadly barrage right where that launcher wielding bounty hunter stood, causing heavy carbon scoring on the durasteel whereupon he had once stood. Kyllan could not see any other hunters from this view, though there may be more in sight of the turret the chiropteran was likely already manning by now.

For all his stubbornness there was no bravado upon ending the hunter, rather he'd glance to Alisha, voice low and labored of breath. "I could use that...medic kit...now.."

Her face was the last thing he saw before everything went all black on him and he slumped into the seat beside the Captain. If he could see something so beautiful every time he fell unconscious he would have little complaint.

 

[Sangga]

He daren't look away from the scum pointing the tube at the ship, his ship! Someone arrived and left swiftly, no doubt Alisha taking the medi-kit. The speaker of the Kyllan's bucket crackled with a laugh. It lacked any true humour, he'd heard that laugh from players on the other side of the table. He'd laughed that kind of laugh as the life-support failed for the third time in a row and he was on the last emergency kit. He hit the retract stud for the ramp, and made some quick checks, angling the shields to dominate the forward arc.

But the slump of the armoured male in the seat on the other side of the nav-console caused him to snap out of his life, flashing before his eyes. The heavy cannons opened up and the poor bastard was flung from the encampment. "Yeah... Ok... Yeah OK, alright. Hold onto your hats, bucket, guts and garters. We're out of here!" He slammed the ship into full flank, it slowly accelerated away. Drifting over the streets. Some of the taller buildings were in the immediate path and hart slalomed around them with wide banking arcs, keeping the acceleration at some sort of rate. But they didn't seem to stop doing so until they were well away from the resort and out over the water, above some reefs at the mouth of a river delta. He slowed her down and checked the scanners. Nothing anywhere near them, maybe the bounty hunters didn't have any ships?

He turned in his chair to review the work being done on Kyllan, he seemed out cold. Alisha worked as best she could, the unconscious state of the Mandolorian no doubt helping her focus. "Get his helmet off, he no doubt needs the space to breath more than ever." Even with the wounded crewman, Hart visibly seemed a little more at peace for a few moments. He sat facing forward again, letting the ship rise into the cloud cover of the planet and soon they'd be out into space. The ship felt more like home again, he could see their newest arrival in the security camera in the turret, the ramp cam showed the image of the thing that'd fired the warning shot. He flicked a few switches and got up out of the seat, it'd be a few minutes until they were in a position to safely enter lightspeed, not to mention they needed to meet up with Kyllan's ship.

He nodded to Alisha and headed back into the ship and then up the ladder into the turret. Still holding onto the ladder, he withdrew his hold-out. Popping his head up, ensuring the hold-out was in the tunnel with him, he looked up at his new top gunner. "Nice sight huh? A planet you managed to leave, a fight you survived. So, what's your name Shortstack? Mine's Captain, if you plan to stay with us. Captain Quint Hart, and this..." he patted the opposite wall of the tight access ladder tunnel. "... this here's the Yoania. My gal." His free hand remained clamped around his hold-out.

 

[Pippa]

"I'll go help Kyllan..somehow.not my area... but I'll do my best, I want to help him.."
Pippa nodded back and left Alisha to find the kit and attend Kyllan. She waddled as fast as her stubby mechanical legs could take her over to the turret ladder. Her gaze drew upward at the climb and she cursed the standardised pattern spacing for average humanoids endemic to generic engineering layout and design. Summoning up all her gumption she attacked the ladder with determined purpose. Grabbing each rail with both hands she heaved up her whole body until she could hook her legs onto the rung and reach up for the next one. As she neared the top of the adder she heard the heavy cannons fire. Struggling up into the turret and the oversized chair she rapidly adjusted t the turret control scheme. She swung the twin light cannon mount around to survey for targets only to find the ship speeding away out over the space port and city.

Taking a moment to catch her breath and scan the skyline for any ships suddenly following them, the adrenaline from the last few frantic minutes began to wear off. She shook gently in the chair and admonished herself. Her assumption could have lead to the deaths of what she believed to be good people, there was no good reason to assume two com signals had meant two bounty hunters. As she calmed she started thinking more clearly, it was much more likely an indication of two teams of hunters. She would have to check the outpost's data in full on her pad when she had the chance and make sure they eradicated those teams in their entirety, otherwise someone would come looking for this ship before long. Her stewing lasted only for a brief pause, after all they weren't all dead and Kyllan Braemar would probably survive; he very much struck her as the kind of man who'd been shot before. People like that tend to pull through. She didn't yet know what to make of the unidentified long-haired humanoid, nor the unseen pilot who's speech patterns were a touch too colloquial for her to understand completely. She was so caught in this contemplative cloud that she didn't notice the ascent of Captain Quint nor the shallow blue waters the ship was drifting over.

"Nice sight huh? A planet you managed to leave, a fight you survived. So, what's your name Shortstack? Mine's Captain, if you plan to stay with us. Captain Quint Hart, and this, this here's the Yoania. My gal."
She jumped slightly at what felt like the sudden appearance of a pale short-haired humanoid apparently identified as "Captain Quint Hart".
"This is your vessel Captain Quint Hart? This ladder's rungs are too widely spaced." She swivelled the chair round to look at him directly. "I do not know what relevance small piles of material have to this situation but if you want to know my name it is Pippa Rhute, acting head researcher of Rhute technologies. I very much plan to stay with you as long as there are no immediate objections to my presence here. I do apologise for the violent manner in which I boarded your ship and made your acquaintance." She hopped off the chair and held out her palms towards Captain Quint somewhat expectantly. "I look forward to working well with you in the future Captain Quint Hart. Almost as much as leaving this ocean coated nightmare of a planet behind." As she said this a sweet, pleasant smell washed over the Captain.