How can one win, when Fools can be Kings?

[Alisha D.]

Alisha wasn't pleased to find that Kyllan had moved, and even less pleased that he decided to have her help him in the cockpit. And all this meanwhile, her droid was hiding in the cockpit somewhere, trembling like a leaf. Alisha decided it would be safer for him. On the other hand, the Mandalorian was proving difficult to even heal.

"Ugh stop moving it won't help...And no..don't get ideas..." Alisha blushed when she realised what her armour comment could have been taken. But it was probably too late for that. Alisha refocused and with a slightly annoyed grunt followed Kyllan in the cockpit, watching the stranger walk into the turret with some difficulty. After clearing the space, Kyllan was clearly struggling to breathe.

"I could use that...medic kit...now.."

"Well obviou....." She didn't have time to complete the sentence before the man collapsed, as Hart announced to hold on. As the ship sped up Alisha almost lost her balance, but regained it quickly and got onto her knees next to the uncoscious Mandalorian.

"Stubborn Mando.." Alisha kept mumbling under her breath in annoyance, though her expression was that of concern. As Hart suggested, she nodded to him and took Kyllan's helmet off, and placed it beside him. She almost forgot he was fairly good looking. But shaking those thoughts away quickly, Alisha started to get to work to get his chest piece removed, which she did with some effort and placed it around. She then went to work on using the med kit. Fortunately for her, there were was standard instructions on how to bandage and heal blaster shots, so that's what she did. After she was done, she took a sigh of relief. She was satisfied that she stabilised him at least, and his injuries weren't so sever Her droid came out from its hiding space and looked at Kyllan.

"He'll be alright..I'd wager he's had worse..if I ever wagered.. Anyway.." Alisha said, looking up at Hart and the new acquaintance. She waited for Hart and Pippa to finish handshaking, with a smirk at the way the captain always seemed to introduce his ship, before introducing herself with a wave of her hand and a friendly smile.

"And I am Alisha, nice to meet you." And then she looked towards Pippa's mechanized armour, which, looking at it now, she found fascinating. Her pit droid, meanwhile, waved his metallical hands at Pippa also.

"This is Tippy my droid..and By the way your armour? Did you make it? It looks very interesting.."

 

[StarWriter]

Were he not devoid of consciousness Kyllan likely would have made a witty retort to Hart's reference to his helmet yet again, or offered Alisha some sort of flattery and compliment in jest meant to see those beauteous cheeks of her flush crimson. As it was, his form lay limply in the seat that supported him even as their ship slalomed through the resort and then leveled off at altitude.

Soft groans were his sole response as Alisha tended to his wounds, oblivious to the exchange of words between his exosuit wearing saviour and the captain of the ship that had born them all to safety. Voices slowly filled his perceptions after they began to break through the atmosphere of the water planet below, enough to elicit a deep groan as the Mandolorian smuggler began to regain consciousness. Shifting slightly he'd wince in pain and feel tightness around his abdomen, likely form bandages, he also felt the cool air of the climate controlled vessel across his body which told him his armor had been removed. "I guess I was right about you wanting to get me out of my...armor." Kyllan would say in a raspy voice as he sat up a bit straighter.

Eyes fluttering open he'd glance about the cockpit and make note of the stars visible through the windows. "I guess we made it without any other issues?" He asked groggily and would stubbornly attempt to rise from the gunnery seat, having to lean against the back until he was able to stretch and will his body to work as if nothing was wrong. This had not been the first time he'd been shot and wouldn't likely be the last. Such was his life.

"Thanks, Alisha. I owe you one." Kyllan's gaze would drift up the access tube to the light turret and he'd see the stranger of minute stature, comparatively, that had been in the suit still sitting on the loading ramp. "And it would seem I owe you as well. My thanks." The Mandolorian gave Pippa a humble bow that made him wince by aggravating his wounds.

"Captain, I presume you've prepared to jump to lightspeed?" He'd ask Hart with a glance and would retrieve a comlink from his belt. "T3-C8, do you read me?"

There was a moment of silence that grated on the man, until finally he heard a response. Beepity beep, boop. ~whine~ ~aggravated chirp~

"I know, I know. At least you two got away with the ship. You're tracking my signal beacon right?" He'd ask quizzically. "I'm on another YG-300, the Yoania. Get close and you can follow us into hyperspace."

Beep, booop. Wooo, ~shriek~ Boop beep.

"What do you mean the hyperdrive is offline?"

Beeeeep! Boop, woo!

"Karabast! Captain, can the Yoania handle jumping two ships into lightspeed? If the Entendre docks with her we should be able to make the jump. Once we're in hyperspace Alisha I'm sure can help my droids to fix her up. She took a hit from a few hunters carrying launchers like the one I shot." The Mandolorian bore an expression of concern, it was clear that he felt similarly about his own ship as Hart felt about the Yoania.

 

[Sangga]

"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, 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." The Captain let the blaster drop into his dusters pocket and took one of her small hands in his and shook it.

"And I am Alisha, nice to meet you. This is Tippy my droid..and By the way your armour? Did you make it? It looks very interesting..." He looked down the ladder-tube. The girl was making friends fast, this might be the crew he was looking for, for so long. He's final hesitation was calmed by the unarmoured head and torso of the Mandolorian coming to view below him.

"And it would seem I owe you as well. My thanks." He let out a toothy grin, this was it. He'd waited five years for something like this, he'd set to work with this lot. Put them through their paces... earn enough credits and... "Captain, I presume you've prepared to jump to lightspeed?" The Mandolorian communicated with his ship and then came some awkward news. He slowly descended the ladder muttering to himself. It was never simply. The other ship's hyperdrive wasn't working, some woman would have a baby with her! Complication after complication. The work was hard enough!

"I'm sure it could Mr Buckethead." His voice lacked the mirth of his previous grin, his face had hardened into it's neutral visage. "But it'd cost a lot more fuel, take us over twice as long and there is one other concern... how do I tow her? Shall we just pop out and lash a line to her? I don't have a tractor beam of an energy binder on this ship, even if I was willing to risk the damages to either ship. I am also not going to risk my airlock with a physical connection."

He let out a very pent up breath and raised both his hands, palms facing them. "But what we can do is connect together, there is no real risk on the scanners and even if there is, we'll have two ship and two sets of guns. We can patch your hyperdrive together and then make the jump together, if you still want to. We have one capable mechanic in the Kid..." he signaled to Alisha, examining the walker. "... and Shortstack up there looks to have built a walker and customised a gun..." his other finger twirled and then pointed up to the turret. "...So some mechanical knowledge has got to be in their little head. That's not counting the two astromechs you have as well as Toadstool there." he turned to head towards the bunkrooms. He continued his summation of the situation as he paced off to his room. "Either or, we're going to need your ship to get here first. So we're just going to need to sit on it, in orbit around a world that may very well be launching ships brimming with enforcers, or better yet Bounty Hunters!" It was the first time he raised his voice in the summation. Something had twigged in his head. "Anyway, how gakked up are we? What did you do, and why should I not be jumping into hyperspace right now, without your ship?" He'd paced forward, his hands clenched, his not inconsiderable build moving toward the other male. His stance wasn't wholly aggressive, it was on the approach, but his head leaned back a little and tilted to the left as he stopped, as if he was ensuring the brim of his hat wasn't blocking his view.

 

[Pippa]

"And I am Alisha, nice to meet you."
"Hello Alisha, I am Pippa Rhute, it is also nice to to properly meet you" Pippa waved back.
"This is Tippy my droid.." Pippa also waved at the emphatic droid Skee...pip pap woo ska She greeted Tippy in squeaky but passable droidspeak binary. "and By the way your armour? Did you make it? It looks very interesting.."
"Yes, I did. Though I would designate it more as a bipedal vehicle for miniature pilots then as armour. Especially since it's primary function is to prevent the likelihood of drowning. It was never designed to receive or deflect weapons fire." If they made a habit of days like this then that could be something she might have to amend. Growing irritated of having to talk past the Captain she waited for him to climb down before dropping through the turret shaft herself. She let the shocks in her artificial legs take the brunt of the drop but before she could straiten to continue addressing Alisha.
"And it would seem I owe you as well. My thanks." Pippa was slightly taken aback by the bow. Not being a social gesture she'd seen before she assumed it to be some form of formal greeting from the context. "Your thanks are noted Kyllan Braemar though I only did what anyone would have done if someone were in danger. Mostly I am glad to see that you did not perish due to my earlier erroneous assumption. I will endeavour to rectify the mistake in the future." She bowed back to not seem impolite.

She trotted through the cargo bay back towards her walker. Her feet clacking metallically against the ship floor. She prepared to proudly show Aisha the full extent of her creation's functionality but was dismayed by the level of damage it had sustained. "I am sorry Alisha. My diving walker has seen better days and it will need to be repaired before I can tell you about it properly. Suffice to say for now it is a prototype that consists of a pressurised central cockpit and four limbs roughly equivalent to type five droid specification for locomotion and manipulation. However the pressure seal has ruptured and the front chassis plate is cracked, no amount of welding will make this water tight again, I will need parts..." She began to descend into a calculative ponder but was snapped out of it at the mention of a broken Hyperdrive.

She fished around in the webbing of her walker and pulled out a single strapped bag and hefted it over her shoulder. It clanked and beeped as it swung, some of the noises sounded a lot like loose nuts and bolts. "Alisha, from your demeanour, technical interest and the built up layers of mechanical lubricant in your scent I believe you to be of a like mind. If there is a machine to fix I would be very eager to help you." She beamed a jagged rodent grin at Alisha and went to approach the Captain and Kyllan, the sweet pleasant aroma had followed her down the ladder and was beginning to percolate throughout the cargo area. She pulled out her data pad and began to scan the data entries of her digital encyclopedia for details on "Hyperdrives" when it occurred to her it would be far more prudent to follow up on the Bounty hunter data while they were still relatively safe. She flicked through the outpost's personnel files, quickly finding the five individuals they had killed at the Landing Pad. With a knot of worry welling up insider her she followed the profiles through to their active team allocation. As she had deduced earlier there were two teams at the pad, but as she had begun to fear, they were both teams of three.

She started to count. Bringing back up the pages on Hyperdrives she started to learn all she could about them. Still walking towards the two men she was interrupted in her frantic cramming by a sudden rise in tension between them.
"Anyway, how gakked up are we? What did you do, and why should I not be jumping into hyperspace right now, without your ship?"
She could see the heat in the Captains skin receding inwards, she had noticed that mammalian life-forms did this when they got angry or scared. He might be preparing to fight. Pippa scurried as fast as her legs would take her between the two men and waved her pad up at them.
"Captian Quint Hart, if you jump without him he will be captured or killed. He ship will be unable to jump to hyperspace and the Bounty Hunter that survived will call in reinforcements. I am unable to calculate a time frame but I am hesitant to predict that we have much more than minutes."

 

[Alisha D.]

"I guess I was right about you wanting to get me out of my...armor."

Alisha simply shook her head, rolling her eyes, but smirking despite herself. She wasn't pleased however when he tried to bow to Pippa, clearly not helping his injuries..She shook her head again, pouting slightly, but said nothing. Clearly a stubborn man..In any case, she then turned back to Pippa, and nodded with a smile at her explanation of her armour. "Interesting. I'll check it out later if you don't mind. And no Kyllan you don't owe me any..."

She was bout to finish her sentence when Kyllan had the exchange with his droid. After letting him speak she nodded and smiled at Pippa when she and Kyllan mentioned she could fix his hyperdrive. Shhe knew they could, depending on the amount of damange, and given that Pippa seemed like she knows a lot more than Alisha does.

"Alisha, from your demeanour, technical interest and the built up layers of mechanical lubricant in your scent I believe you to be of a like mind. If there is a machine to fix I would be very eager to help you."

"I like you already.." She giggled in reply, but then listened quietly to the captains concerns. Or rant, more likely. But he wasn't wrong.. She could see why he'd be hesitant, any way.

"Anyway, how gakked up are we? What did you do, and why should I not be jumping into hyperspace right now, without your ship?"

Alisha reflected a moment. "Well..to be fair the double ship jump WOULD stress the engines out..but it would survive, if I am not mistaken, though it would likely need fixing as well after. But yes Pippa has a point..bounty hunters are not known to give up so easily so..we don't have much time. Captain, if there is stress on your ship I promise we will fix it as soon as it is safe to do so. Right now though, we do need to get out of here..And you know, two ships are better than one sometimes..More firepower? More space..you know..could be useful!"

She then moved her mouth sideways in a kind of thinking pout. Not so much to try and manipulate him, that would be silly given his clear fondness for pazaak, but simply trying to emphasize her point.

 

[StarWriter]

"I'm sure it could Mr Buckethead." Kyllan would grumble when the Captain once again referred to him by an unwanted moniker. He was beginning to think that that was this man's way of either remembering those he's met, or if nothing else how he simply was socially. "It's Kyllan, you old grouch." He'd retort with a wry grin.

"But it'd cost a lot more fuel, take us over twice as long and there is one other concern... how do I tow her? Shall we just pop out and lash a line to her? I don't have a tractor beam of an energy binder on this ship, even if I was willing to risk the damages to either ship. I am also not going to risk my airlock with a physical connection." The smuggler would shake his head as he listened to Hart list all of his concerns, each one of them valid. A point of commonality between the two of them was their fondness for their respective vessels.

"But what we can do is connect together, there is no real risk on the scanners and even if there is, we'll have two ship and two sets of guns. We can patch your hyperdrive together and then make the jump together, if you still want to...." Kyllan would nod at this. "Precisely what I was suggesting. Though I'll admit I didn't clarify precisely enough. I don't know the full extent of the damage, but my droid mentioned the ship took at least one hit from a launcher. Before they were able to get airborne."

Skee...pip pap woo Hearing the sudden binary language being voiced by the diminutive chiropteran he would blink at a loss. "That can't have been easy to learn. I doubt I even possess the requisite vocal chords to even attempt to do that." He'd say a bit in wonderment before Pippa's words shifted his focus.

"Please, just call me Kyllan. Few would risk getting into a fight with bounty hunters, especially given their proclivity for hunting criminals. And don't worry about it. You still managed to alert me in time. There was no way you could have known there were three entire teams after me." He stated, pointing out the fact to Pippa that another team had attacked his own craft at the same time they were waylaid.

When Pippa and Alisha began to converse about the prototype suit and their technical interests and skills, he'd glance to Hart and shrug. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I've managed to get bounties put on my head from Nal Hutta to Korriban. I doubt though this is the latter, since these were all hunters and not Sith." Kyllan would move to the cockpit when he heard a beep on his comlink, notifying him that his ship was nearby. He saw the Entendre fly in front of the Yoania and slowly swing around towards this ship's docking port. In that brief flyby he could see his ship had taken a direct hit to the aft. One of her engines was damaged as well. "Damn."

Kyllan would turn to Quint. "She's bad, but as you said we have a plethora of skilled technicians on hand. As for our window, I have no idea how long we have, Pippa may be right and we only have minutes. This is my problem and it's been unjustly placed upon all of you. Alisha's already had to deal with the danger that surrounds me, once. Once my ship is docked I can board her and lure them away. You all get to safety. I'll see if I can't use a few tricks to keep them at bay for a while." Kyllan would give Hart a determined look, the Mandolorian had a deep sense of honor, one in which he would not needlessly place strangers and a dear friends in harm's way frivolously. That 'bucket' of his was already in his hands and being pulled down over his head once more and he gave his equipment a brief inspection.

"T3 can fly the ship while I man the turret on the Entendre give you cover to flee. They're coming for me, so they should let you all go once they realize I'm not going anywhere." Kyllan said, stubborn as ever despite the fact that the Mandolorian truly did not wish to part ways just yet. He'd only just been reacquainted with Alisha. And it would be nice to travel for a change, without being alone. The Yoania might shift just a tad as his YG-300 pulled in alongside of her.

Kyllan's gaze drifted between Alisha and Pippa, a warm smile hidden behind that T-visor at their eagerness to help. "I can man the turret on my ship, while you two repair it with my droids helping you. Give us at least some defensive fire if needed." He'd glance back to Quint. "Your call Captain. This is my problem, you don't owe me anything and my life is not worth putting all of yours at risk. If you tell me to go, I will. If not, I will do what I can to keep us alive." There was no bravado in his tone, no embellishment or fear. Pure, simple honesty.

 

[Sangga]

He moved to the cockpit to allow the Entendre to dock. He'd remained silent since the mention of who was responsible for the bounties. He walked to the airlock and pointed with his thumb. "Get off my ship, right now..." he turned away. He had to make a call, this was part of it. The sweet smell in the air was putting him off, but he needed to see how gakked he was. But this small band of idiots had already shown him that the future could be much brighter and he'd hold on to that "... if you two want to risk Hutt paid Bounty Hunters, or lunatics with laserswords. That's your business..." he looked as if he'd surrendered his dream, all happiness had drained from him. All concern had seeped out, his face was a stoic visage of neutrality. "... I can only cover you for so long... I got some pull with at least one Hutt. If all else fails, I'll make your pale in comparison... but if it comes to that... you're on your own."

He'd looked like a statue until the last statement. His stony face cracked into a smile. A father to his kids, or more appropriately a big brother looking to his siblings, were his eyes glistening? "Alisha, Pippa... look after Kyllan, treat his ship even better and faster..." a tone came from what Hart knew was the scanner set. "... and Kyllan..." a second and a third ping rung out. "...hurry the gak up will you! With any luck we can get out of here before anything comes to head." He sprinted back to the cockpit, his knee high boots thudding on the grating.

He glanced at the scope, two small returns... single man fighters... but the other was bigger than the Yoania... an armed transport? A corvette? These guys really mean business! He didn't pause for long and booted up Comm Suite, and keyed in his 'patron's' number. (@Nor'baal) A holo-graphic image of the Hutt Syndicate's logo spun in space and was then replaced by the face of a Domo of Nor'baal's. "I need to talk to his Eminence, Nor'baal Desilijic Koragga... it's incredibly urgent and a fast to expire offer of considerable value... this is Captain Quint Hart of the Yoania."

 

[Nor'baal]

Bored, the Domo of the Hutt ‘Nor’baal’ patched through the mans call, he was after all, on the list of people the Hutt would allow to speak to him (albeit, that list was growing shorter by the day). Within seconds, the call was patched through - the Hutt himself merely breifed on the name of the caller, his old Debtor, Hart.


Activating his Holo Unit, the Hutt spoke with his usual tones. <I would say it was a pleasure Captain...> snarled the Hutt, his emphasis on the mans title hopefully not missed <...but dear pops told me not to lie.> he finished, clearly pleased with his own joke.

 

[Sangga]

The head and face of Nor'baal filled the projector, the cockpit becoming bathed in the light blue glow. Hart took off his hat and smiled as best as he could. "Nor'baal, ever the sharp wit. Your father taught you never to get caught lying, and you know it." He didn't let the comental land for too long and pushed to the matter at hand.

"Look, I have a Mandolorian whose helped me deliver the goods for you onto Pantolomin and into the hands of theit particularly lighter black market. They have promised you the transfer of funds already, and have given me a tank of juvenile Pantolomin Halfbacks to give you as a present." He let the translators do their thing and continued some more. "But someone in your clan has put a bounty on his head... and a few of the red lasersword wielders."

He set back for a few more minutes to let the Crime Lord's aides gather the Intel. Then he leaned forward, so his face was clearly seen. "Could you pay them off... in return for having the same funds... and ten percent interest added on to my debt to you. Making it... more than what I originally owed you in the first place!" His eyes pierced into the projector, a perfect mug shot, then he moved to a more reclined position. "You know I'll work it off, and it'll earn you a ten percent commission... not to mention a tank of rare aquatic creatures... that I'm heard are used in a gambling game... but it's all irrelevant if we're killed by these scalp-takers." Hard, fast and to the point. Hart never liked using guided words with the Hutts. They appreciated honest debtors and openly disident loyalists.

 

[Nor'baal]

Struggling to remember which member of his family was trying to 'off' Quint, Nor'baal focused on the details - 'Mo Money, Less Problems' so to speak. In return for calling off (or more realistically, delaying) the attempted hit, Nor'baal would get a greater claim on the man, and some delicious treats to go with it. It was a no-brainer really, after all, the Hutt had no intention of ever seeing the mans debt repaid, so what harm was there in ramping it up? If anything, all it did was extend the terms and increase the payments; a win-win for the Hutt.

Without a word, he waved his hand and nodded, ending the call before instructing the attackers to end their assault, and leave the good Captain and his associates to their own devices.

 

[Pippa]

"That can't have been easy to learn. I doubt I even possess the requisite vocal chords to even attempt to do that."
"I actually find it easier to speak then Galactic Basic. There are only truthfully two words or sounds, just many ways to say them. Much like programming there are also equations that reduce the longer binary format into pronounceable terms. It doesn't require any specific vocal cords, just the ability to vary speech pitch across an octave, Kyllan." She grinned in a daft way, entirely unaware that few non-droids ever put in the effort to understand droid speak let alone speak it.

"Interesting. I'll check it out later if you don't mind."
"Not at all, I look forward to your impressions."
"I like you already.."
Pippa began to positively radiate cheerfulness. "That sentiment is mutual, Alisha." She made a raspy squeaky noise that probably qualified as a laugh. Her cheerfulness began to dull over the increased tension between Kyllan and the Captain.
"Get off my ship, right now..."
She wanted to interject, she wanted to correct the Captain and explain that she was also hunted, that she attacked the bounty hunters first, that she took data from their outpost and that their current doggedness and rabid pursuit was probably entirely because of her actions. But she couldn't. She wanted to trust these people, throw her heart out and hope that it wasn't trampled, as was her nature. But she kept getting betrayed. And these seemed like good people, people she could stay with for more than a week or a single trip. They could be an answer to her desperate but fruitless search for the other survivors from the Rhute Laboratories shuttle. Maybe she wouldn't have to feel alone in the galaxy. She wanted to tell them, but she couldn't risk it. Not if it meant being on her own again.

"Alisha, Pippa... look after Kyllan, treat his ship even better and faster..."
Pippa nodded and scurried off through the airlock to the Double Entendre. She didn't dare speak for fear of belying her emotions. In stead she crushed those feelings down with diagnostic displays of how Charge Planes should correctly direct Fusion Radiation through a Hyperdrive Motiavator so that she could deal with them later. The sweet scent began to give way to a sharper more citrusy smell.

 

[Alisha D.]

Alisha listened to Pippa's explanation about the binary..that is another very unusual, but fascinating interesting to discover about their new friend. She smiled back when Pippa cheerfully replied to her comment, she also noticed the pleasant smell in the air which somehow helped the feeling, but that joy was short lived.

"Get off my ship, right now..."

Alisha blinked and stood there a little confused by the abrupt change in the Captain's demenour. She looks at him with a rather puzzled look, and she started to worry. Given the looks he was giving them, however, she didn't think that he'd simply tell them to get off for good. Would he? Alisha bit her lower lip slightly, and controlled her impulse from asking if everything was ok. She almost wanted to give him a hug, but she too knew what blips on the scanner sounded like, and meant, and her face got tense again.

"Fine. Kyllan, Pippa, let's go, let us fix the Entedre...and hopefully we'll be back here....And nothing bad will happen..."

She gives the captain one last look of hope even though he's already sprinted towards the cockpit, and she sighed. What kind of trouble has she gotten herself into? She shakes her head immediately. No point in dwelling on it right now and proceeds towards the airlock after Pippa.

"Let's look at what the damage is. And Kyllan don't do too much, you're still injured..."

She turns to him, more concern still evident on the face.

 

[StarWriter]

"Get off my ship, right now..."
It was a response he fully expected, after all there were few in the galaxy who would be willing to risk their own lives to help a complete stranger, especially a Mandolorian one. Kyllan would say nothing, merely give Captain Hart a nod before slipping his helmet onto his head and striding towards the airlock with a determined gait.

"Alisha, Pippa... look after Kyllan, treat his ship even better and faster..." At least he was going to have some help getting the Entendre back up to spec or at least lightspeed worthy. He'd seen first hand just how gifted Alisha was with machines and knew that with all the extra help his ship could be out of here quickly.

"I actually find it easier to speak then Galactic Basic. There are only truthfully two words or sounds, just many ways to say them. Much like programming there are also equations that reduce the longer binary format into pronounceable terms. It doesn't require any specific vocal cords, just the ability to vary speech pitch across an octave, Kyllan." With a glance back at the diminutive chiropteran, he'd nod. "I never realized that. Sadly, I have the vocal range of a Hutt so I doubt I will be speaking it anytime soon."

Kyllan used the panel beside the airlock to cycle it open, a moment later the one on his own ship would open and an anxious utility droid would chirp incessantly at him. From down the corridor before spinning in a circle and zooming off to begin repairs himself. "I know, Teethree. You and Arone are going to have help this time." He'd call out to them before moving at a brisk pace towards the ladder leading to the turret.

"Let's look at what the damage is. And Kyllan don't do too much, you're still injured..."

"You know me." He'd call over his shoulder to her before scrambling up to the seat within the turret. Taking care not to let her hear him wince and grunt from the ache in his side.

"... and Kyllan..." "...hurry the gak up will you! With any luck we can get out of here before anything comes to head." The last thing he heard the captain say to him before he had went for the airlock. He mulled over them as he sat in that chair, rotating the turret it's full range while staying alert for any incoming hostiles.

Hostiles...that never came. Kyllan would sit in the turret for nearly a half hour of vigilant watch before he realized that there was no attack coming. For whatever reason, they're pursuers had been ended, or postponed their hunt and he'd breath a sigh of relief on the way down the ladder. The beleaguered smuggler would drop himself into a seat in the lounge, helmet set upon the holochess table. Hand pressed against his bandage he would slump a little, after all one of those shots had gotten quite near his lungs.

Both of his droids would be ecstatic to see Tippy and Alisha again, especially R1-E7, whom always followed her around whenever she was near, eternally grateful for her having saved his life on Corellia.

 

[Sangga]

He leaned back and rubbed his shorn hair. It'd paid off... but his debt wouldn't be anytime soon. He looked around the cockpit at the blinking lights, tapping the occasional faulty link. "Well... gak me." He got up out of the chair and put his hat back on. He headed to his bunk room, and began humming a bittersweet tune. It was something along the line of 'My girls eyes sparkle more than the Night' an old song from Hapan, something heaped in the style of Pirates.

Once in his room he began searching for something in the locker under his bed. A clink of glass was all he needed to hear. He pulled out an ornate bottle with a peeling label and glanced to his door, nobody was there. He slowly grasped the cork and stopped. This bottle was for when he was truly free, he shouldn't but it seemed so far away now.

He swallowed the bile down in his throat and placed the bottle back. Continuing his humming he headed back to the airlock. "Hey, you lot still kicking? Safe to say we're not dead... yet. How goes the repairs?" He stepped onto the Entendre and continued humming a little disjointedly until he saw Kyllan.

Sitting his bulk down beside the man he looked spent. His eyes held very little light, the happiness he had had when coming down from the turret was gone. "I'm sorry about that... I had to make a call.." he'd leave the obvious question and answer to hang.

 

[Pippa]

Pippa waddled through the Entendre, doing her best to put everything but repairing the ship out of her mind. It wasn't long before she found the engine room. The room had been sealed to vent and put out a fire but was almost ready to open properly again. Pippa looked to the external readouts by the door to see if she could find a basic damage and diagnostic report. The damage didn't see to be too extensive overall. The droids had managed to get the shield up fast enough that the ship had only sustained one direct hit. The hull structure was intact, the atmospheric levels were returning to normal indicating that there were no leaks. The main offline systems were the starboard-most engine's cooling system, it's fusion ignition coil and the hyper motivator. There was a replacement for the coil in the registered in the parts locker, but the other problems looked like they might have to be temporarily patched if they couldn't be fixed.

Pippa waited for the engine room to pressurise.
"Alisha, I believe that the overall problems with the ship to be simple. If we split our focus we should make short work of the issues at hand." She gestured to the diagnostics and did her best to address the impromptu engineering team with a breakdown of the situation. "There are undiagnosed issues with the starboard engine's fusion ignition coil and cooling system. For the sake of brevity it will probably be best to replace the coil. If the unidentified R1 and T3 units would be willing to do this, as the coil will need to be fitted from the outside of the ship, that would be best. The cooling system will need further diagnostic and probably internal repair, Alisha, if you and Tippy would look at this I would be grateful. I will do my best to diagnose the third issue which is with the Hyper Motivator though I may call on you if I cannot find the problem."
Peppap ski doo wikwik dwee she squeaked politely, asking the two droids if they wouldn't mind replacing the coil.

The entry readout beeped a completion signal and the door opened with a hiss. Notably perked up once more with a specific task at hand Pippa buzzed with readiness. Pottering into the engine room she found her way over to the motivator. Some walkway railings had been knocked loose by the blast and had fallen into the hyperdrive pit. Pippa squirmed down the lip of the pit and surveyed the damage. The railings had broken a few connectors and had dented one of the charge plains. Pulling several gizmos from her bag she set to work. The connectors were fairly easy to mend, as they were generic parts Pippa could simply strip the casings and replace the severed sections of wires within, taping them over after with duracoated insulation tape. The Charge Plain was more complicated but after about 30 minutes of careful work with a heating tool and a levelling chisel she had managed to work the dent free and return the Plain's channels to the proper shape.

She booted up the drive's computer to check to see if there was anything else wrong with the motivator and found a new problem. A power surge caused by the damaged connectors had wiped the computer of its algorithmic data. This meant that while you could plot a course and fire up the drive, the computer wouldn't be able to calculate the route. Pippa stopped for a moment to think, she could theoretically, with the equations for the hyperspace mass shadows and a map of the planned route, manually input the path calculations. However that would take considerable time. She decided she would have to post the question to the others. Then she remembered that the Capitain an Kyllan didn't seem in the best of moods with each other and that she'd have to talk to them both.

"Alisha," she called out, she struggled up out of the drive pit and over to her "I have effectively repaired the hyperdrive but it needs manual input to calculate a jump. I do not know enough about computers to fix this without the right code disk which means we may still be sitting here awhile if I have to calculate the jump myself. I was going to approach Captain Quint Hart and Kyllan and discuss the continued situation but I was concerned at the level of tension that arose earlier. Since you have known them longer than I have and appear far less...combative, I was wondering if you could tell me a little about them and if they are always like this with each other?"

 

[Alisha D.]

As soon as Alisha stepped onto the Entendre, she was immediately greeted by Arrone. She patted the droid and smiled at it affectionately, while tippy beeped in greeting, though it didn't sound quite as enthusiastic...When they walked into the engineering room, Pippa already started taking the lead.Alisha already admired her immensely. She was clearly far more intelligent and knowledgeable than herself. Lesser women would have considered this a threat and would be annoyed by it, but in Alisha's mind it was always good to spend time with such people, because chances were, she could learn a lot from her. She also loved the way she seemed to start to lead. Not out of a sense of superiority, but clearly she knows what she is doing. Excellent news for Alisha, because leading was not Alisha's forte. She was glad for directions. Not that she couldn't figure out the problems herself. But most definitely not so quickly, and with the two of them and their droids, repairs would be much easier, as Pippa mentioned

"Yup Pippa, I'll get on to it!" Alisha replied cheerfully, happy to finally be of help. While Pippa worked on the hyperdrive, the droids rushed to fix the coil outside, and Alisha, after a brief but warm smile directed to Kyllan as he turned to the lounge, took her tools out and started working on the cooling system. It was a bit of a strain, because they were placed slightly higher up. But it was clear the cooling system took a hit. Nothing she couldn't handle, however, it just took some careful welding and wedging, as a few parts came lose due to the explosion. As she finishes fixing it, Pippa walks over to her.

"..... I was wondering if you could tell me a little about them and if they are always like this with each other?"

After a quick check of her work, and making sure the system was at least patched up to last a while longer, she turns to Pippa with a raised eyebrow. "Well I honestly haven't met them much before you..The Captain just today in fact..Kyllan I have met before, but still don't know him too well.." Her lips would twist slightly into a smile and her cheeks would becoming slightly pinkish, but this effect disappeared quickly "Honestly other than them two being two typical human males that are just as stubborn as each other, I have no idea what could cause the conflict..Men...Are strange to me, admittedly..." She sighed, then heard the Captain yell. Of course, she had no idea the Captain isn't human, because she's never seen or heard of the Hapans before.

"Hey, you lot still kicking? Safe to say we're not dead... yet. How goes the repairs?

She yells back "Alright captain but the hyperdrive might need manual input..and I am glad we're not dead!" She chuckled slightly at that. It was indeed good to be alive, though if she could see the Captain she would be rather concerned. y. As it stands, she couldn't see him, so simply focused on the task at hand. She also believed the person in charge of a ship should always be referred as captain. She isn't sure where she got that from, but he seemed like he deserved the title, anyway, so she did not place emphasis on that mention.

Then she had an idea, and turned back to Pippa with a normal volume again "Maybe Arrone could help with the jump calculation, actually? Might take less time. I'd need to ask Kyllan if he modified him to do such things. Normally atromech droids are."

 

[StarWriter]

As the adrenaline rush of their flight from Pantolomin began to subside the full extent of pain from the wounds he sustained became all to evident and he sat quite motionless on seat he was in. The Mandolorian's eyes would close as he went through a few mental exercises his mother had taught him to focus his mind in such cases.

"Hey, you lot still kicking? Safe to say we're not dead... yet. How goes the repairs?"

The other captain's voice pulled him from his concentration and he'd glance up at him as the man took a seat beside him. "Seems like. You have anything to do with that? I've never known bounty hunters to give up so quickly." Kyllan, having left the fate of his beloved ship to far more skilled hands than his, declined to comment on the repairs. Especially since Alisha did so for him.

"I'm sorry about that... I had to make a call.." Kyllan merely shrugged, a gesture he instantly regretted when he suddenly winced and held his arms tightly around his chest. "It's fine. We're strangers to you and I'm a Mandolorian. That alone is enough motivation for most people to not think twice about leaving me to my fate." Kyllan's voice was not so much cold, but apathetic, as Alisha somewhat knew the burden of being treated like the rest of his people weighed heavily on him.

Both R1-E7 and T3-C8 beeped and chirped at Pippa when she spoke to them in binary, each one gladly willing to help repair the ship under her direction. They were equally ecstatic that she spoke to them in their own language. The droids worked quickly, one of the things Kyllan always liked about them was they worked well in tandem and their swift repairs had meant the difference between life and death for him a few times.

"....the hyperdrive might need manual input.." Kyllan caught that part of what Alisha said and would sit up a little. "Ask Arrone to do it. He's fully capable of operating the ship by himself, for the most part. Teethree as well to a lesser extent. The two of them can fly the Entendre about as well as anyone."

He'd glance at the man sitting beside him and would extend his right hand to him. "I can't imagine what you did was easy, or cheap. Regardless, you have my thanks and my help in whatever you need. As was mentioned earlier, having two ships working together doubles our firepower, options and our means."

 

[Sangga]

"No... Mandalorian s'got nothing to do with it. You don't look at me differently for being a Smuggler or anything else. Heck, a Mandolorian with a matching ship like mine... can only mean on thing. We're in the same trade. And let's face it we know nothing of each other really." He took of his wide-brimmed hat and rubbed the back of his neck, a habit when it came to feeling a big risk; something he'd never reveal at a Pazaak table. "What I did was far too easy... but it was as far from cheap as you can imagine. Try five years of my life in service to the scum that drifts to the top of Nar Shaddaa society." He stood up, his hands on his hips as he pondered it all, that magnificent toothy grin began to spread again, his breeding counting for alot in that smile. With a turn, he offered the warrior a hand. "So here I am, Captain Quint Hart of the Yoania, in debt up to my eyeballs but seasoned Smuggler; d'you, Kyllan Braemar, fancy earning some credits and the like?" With Kyllan as the other ship's Captain, he felt it right to ask first.

But he looked to the rear of the ship, where all manner of chirruping and welding. his hand still held out to Kyllan. "Hey Kid, Shortstack... and you droids as well! Come out here a minute, the bucket head and I have got something to ask you." He quickly turned to Kyllan as he heard the rest of the crew approach, his words became quite and his look was almost as serious as the grave. "The choice is now formally yours, none of this pecking order gak, four humanoids and three droids. Yeah, we are Captains of two fine vessels... but without their help today we would be flecks in the vacuum." As Pippa and Alisha arrived he smiled again, "We wanna just nail it down straight, especially for those that joined us under a little duress..." he eyed Pippa. "Two ships, four crew and three droids. something for all other Smugglers to be wary of. We are... what the heck are we?"

 

[Pippa]

Pippa attentively listened to Alisha's response. She made a mental note of the slight rush of heat to Alisha's face coupled with a discreet change in her scentl when she spoke about Kyllan but didn't say anything.
"Honestly other than them two being two typical human males that are just as stubborn as each other, I have no idea what could cause the conflict..Men...Are strange to me, admittedly..." Pippa found this very interesting. "I was not aware that Mandalorians were considered human, Is that a sub-species designation or cultural nomenclature? Also if Kyllan is a human male then I am not sure that Captain Quint Hart is. The chemical structure of the pheromones that makes up his scent is completely different to Kyllan's. It is closer to yours but I am afraid I do not know your race or sex either, judging on your syntax I would have to assume you are female and human because you classified the others as though you were not the same. I have not had time in the last few years to find the pheromone patterns that determine these things for non Chadra-fan and so with most people whom I do not share a species, I cannot tell."

Pippa was very glad to hear that Arrone could program the hyperdrive. While she had come to understand that her mind seemed to work faster than many of those that she'd met, her brain wasn't a programmable difference engine. Skit skit Dap doo She asked Arrone if they wouldn't mind operating the Hyperdrive. She walked back over to the hyperdrive pit. She gathered up her gizmos and her bag and steeled herself to go and face the Captain and Kyllan, even with the hyperdrive operational she would still need to talk to them about her hand in their recent peril. She needed to tell them why she didn't deserve to be on these ships. She gathered up all of her courage and was interrupted.

"Hey Kid, Shortstack... and you droids as well! Come out here a minute, the bucket head and I have got something to ask you."
The botom fell out of her stomach and she almost couldn't walk. She couldn't imagine what the captain would want to talk to them about. She worried. Worried about what they knew, if they suddenly decided she had to leave, if the captain was going to start shouting again. The sound of the rest of the "engineering team" assembling snapped her forwards into the aching maw of doubt that lay before her. She gently clanked forwards with the others down the ship to where the captain stood waiting, Kyllan slumped in a chair to his side, looking more than a little haggard. She welled with anxiety and anticipation for the captain's question.

"The choice is now formally yours, none of this pecking order gak, four humanoids and three droids. Yeah, we are Captains of two fine vessels... but without their help today we would be flecks in the vacuum. We wanna just nail it down straight, especially for those that joined us under a little duress..Two ships, four crew and three droids. something for all other Smugglers to be wary of. We are... what the heck are we?"

Her concern vanished like the particle trail from an Ion drive. The Captains toothy grin was more than enough to clear her anxieties, her doubts. She tucked her left over guilt away and used that pressure to push her self to talk.

"I know that my speech can be excessively verbose, but I often struggle for the correct words. Much like this vast galaxy of mysterious humanoids the language of Galactic basic for ever feels like it does not fit, that some how it was not designed for me and that I cannot belong here. This last hour has genuinely been the best of my time since fleeing my planet. And while I barely even know any of you and I know that you know almost nothing about me I would like to see this as something significant. There is a concept to my people that is almost more sacred than any other, more than faith in the giant green fish, more than fear of the inevitable death that the ocean brings. That is the idea of adventure. And for good or ill I can think of no other words to describe this gathering then as the greatest of Adventures." Pippa looked at the group around her, standing as steadily and as tall as she could, willing here nerves and jitters to hold back, doing everything to conceal her fears of rejection and hope, hoping that this could finally be the time she could allow her self to trust, hoping that they all would agree with her, hoping that this could be the end of her loneliness and maybe the start of a new family.

 

[Alisha D.]

"I was not aware that Mandalorians were considered human.."

'Well technically not, but Kyllan is only half Mandalorian."

She then listened to Pippa and was surprised to hear her talk about Captain Quint. She had no idea he could possibly be anything else. As fascinating as her ability to sense pheromones seemed to Alisha, she was just as surprised to hear that Quint might not be human. This day was turning out to be a very interesting learning experience was her, and her enthusiasm in her voice was very clear.

"Well dam..that's a fascinating ability you got there..And you can speak binary..Impressive, by the way! " She would offer Pippa a warm, full teeth smile, before clarifying herself to her.

"Yes I am a human female..but then I have no idea what Hart is..I might have to ask..if it's not too rude..or maybe better not..hmm.."

Before she could dwell on it further, Alisha heard the Captain's call, and promptly responded by gathering her tools and walking into the room, Pippa beside her. She noticed that her new friend seemed nervous. She was curious as to why, as she didn't see nor know any possibly reason for it. Once they reached the room, she gave Kyllan and the Captain both a friendly smile, though she would look to Kyllan a little longer. But then she noticed the expression of both men and frowned sadly.

"Sheesh, looks like both of you need a stiff drink or two..." She would say, before listening to the Captain.

"[...]What the heck are we?"

Alisha would grin. She already felt at home with the four of them. Before she could speak, though, Pippa had her say also. Alisha would turn to her with a slightly tilted head. Her speech was fairly amusing, but somehow she felt fear in her words. She immediately spoke reassuringly.

"I agree! It was..dangerous but..fun! Well mostly.." Alisha wasn't as proficient with words as Pippa clearly..but her enthusiasm was once again evident. She was practically bouncing in excitement "I would hope that we could all gang together for more ..adventures! I mean..me and Pippa..mostly Pippa..she knows more than me..but I'd help!" Her voice would go slightly higher "We would look after the ships, with the help of our droids, while we ..do stuff? Smuggling, stealing from big, mean corporations,..whatever...." She'd give a quick, knowing smirk to Kyllan at this, and Tippy would emerge from the hall and jump in excitment. It was like a droid child, which made Alisha giggle.

"What you think? " She looked at the Captain and Kyllan expectantly. Somehow, after spending some time with Kyllan, Alisha was starting to doubt he'd refuse to part ways..And secretly, or not very given her expression at this moment, she was hoping that would be true.