How can one win, when Fools can be Kings?

[Alisha D.]

Alisha smiled weakly back at Kyllan. It was nice having him there... She leaned lightly against him as he put an arm around her.

"Thank you.." She said softly, blushing lightly and her smiled turned warm again..She couldn't help it. It was also getting rather difficult to look away from him. He felt almost magnetic. Instinctively, Alisha found herself getting closer to his face with her own. But then a thought occurred to her and she stopped, leaning back slightly again, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.

"By the way, when we met back on Pantolomim..and I am glad we did.." She smiled, but her expression turned to one of curiosity as one of her eyebrows arched. "What were you doing on Pantolomim? Were you just wondering around?" She did see him getting out of the same cantina as her and Hart. Her tone was not accusatory however, it was simply curiosity. But the Mandalorian had little time to reply, and Alisha snapped to attention when the captain announced their imminent arrival.

"All right passengers, we're about to come out of hyperspace, please endeavour to ensure that all items are stowed away safely and that you strap down and shut up for the next fiversion minutes."

Alisha rolled her eyes. "Seems like getting 5 minutes free at a time is difficult.." She smirked "Oh well...you heard the captain..Let's go.." She stood up, though not so fast..She was becoming a bit more comfortable than she was used to next to the Mandalorian...With a sigh, she walked to the cockpit, assuming Kyllan would be alongside.

"Taanab looks very wet I would recommend heavy weather gear if you have it."

She heard Pippa and could not help but smirk. Already Alisha felt a great deal of affection to the little Chadra fan. But she remembered she doesn't like water. And looking down at herself, she realises that herself only has the clothes she is wearing.

"Hmm a good point...Well..I'll get wet..and maybe a bit cold..I'll live though..remind me though if we go to the city maybe to get some more gear..and clothes.." She smirks at Kyllan quicky and puts her seatbelt on, while she waits to drop out onto the planet below. She looks at the windows outside, enjoying the view as usual as the ship would land.

 

[StarWriter]

"Thank you.." Such soft words, said in a sweet tone that he had gradually become more accustomed to hearing. Yet it was the pressure of her lithe, resplendent figure leaning against his that caused an adrenaline rush to wash over him. The magnetism definitely went both ways. The longer he spent around her the more difficult it was to be without her presence. "You're welcome, beautiful."

He glanced at her, seeing her drawing closer to him and he momentarily felt his pulse skip a beat in rhythm, yet she pulled away for some reason. Before he could even ponder why she asked him about Pantolomin and a brief glint of apprehension, guilt and nervousness shown in the way his eyes darted about or avoided her gaze.

"All right passengers, we're about to come out of hyperspace, please endeavour to ensure that all items are stowed away safely and that you strap down and shut up for the next fiversion minutes." Those words resounding through the internal speakers were a saving grace of sorts as the interruption gave him a reprieve in answering her.

Kyllan wasn't sure why he was so afraid to tell her why he was there. It was the world he had last seen her and Tippy as the escape pod he loaded them into sped into Pantolomin's atmosphere while he was being beset by a small squadron of bounty hunters and a patrol cruiser. It had taken him days to shake their trail and at least twice he thought he was going to be caught or killed. Yet he managed to get to Bilbringi regardless and make a decent sum.

"Seems like getting 5 minutes free at a time is difficult.."

It wasn't that the sole reason he had for going to Pantolomin was to find her, despite the high risk and danger to himself. Something within him just had to see her again. The Mandolorian was not used to such...attachment.

"Oh well...you heard the captain..Let's go.."

It was the fact that in his despondency born from the futile search to find her he had lost hope of seeing her again and reverted to what he knew, charming his ways into the arms and bed of a beautiful woman he cared nothing for. The galaxy was such a massive place. And he had no means of communicating with her to track her down after she and Tippy landed. The escape pod had been salvaged almost immediately and the trail went cold. Fear of Alisha seeing him as nothing more than the scoundrel he'd been most of his life and what she might do as a result actually terrified him. It was a feeling he hoped never to feel again but it was sobering.

"Hmm...of course..." Kyllan's tone was far more reserved than usual as he walked along side her to the cockpit where he would slowly lower into the pilot's chair and watch as the stars slowed and suddenly the verdant world they were approaching came into view.

"Taanab looks very wet I would recommend heavy weather gear if you have it."

Glancing at the planet he could already make note of storm clouds across large portions of the hemisphere they were on a course for. "Looks like." He replied to the Chadra-fan. A brief glance at Alisha when she chimed in he'd come out of his stupor and smile.

"Hmm a good point...Well..I'll get wet..and maybe a bit cold..I'll live though..remind me though if we go to the city maybe to get some more gear..and clothes.."

"I've got some survival gear in the cargo hold that you can use. There's a mix of things to handle different environments. I keep them around in case I have to go somewhere without my armor." Kyllan looked back out the cockpit. "You can take what you need until we can get something proper for you. They're my size." He chuckled and looked to her again.

"I suggest you get equipped as best as you can. We don't know yet what we might have to deal with on the surface. If we get more than five minutes free I'll tell you why I was on Pantolomin." His voice was surprisingly serious yet that signature wink and a grin were given to the beauty sitting beside him.

 

[Sangga]

Tanaab
Inner Rim
Co-ordinates: 0-8
​

There was a judder when they decelerated out of hyperspace, the inertia fields then compensating. The joint freighters rattle and some cabinets would open spilling out their contents, the airlock link groaned under the strain. The computer had been good it'd only take a few minutes to get to the outer atmosphere. Hart let out a long sigh and set the ships up for an approach to the planet.

The ships would cycle in a long, drawn out spiral ending roughly on Kaylon's last known position. It was not long in the descent that alarm lights and beeping alerts began to fill the control consoles of both ships. They were not supposed to enter an atmosphere like this, most of the warnings were for an imminent rupture of the airlock seal. Hart killed the alerts at his end, thus clearing them on the linked console in the Entendre. He needed to get them in the lower atmosphere, and let the ships settle and then get them on the deck. But that meant going down through the storms. "Hold onto your hats!"

He rolled the ships left and significantly increased the rate at which they were descending, the two cockpits would now be staring into the cloud banks below. The dark stains of an atmosphere too damp to keep the clouds as vapour. Flashes of million volts arcing through the moisture heralded their entrance into this dark and blinding realm. Rain streaked over the observation windows, a flash of a nearby bolt would blind anyone looking out for a second. Hart daren't look away from the scanners, the ground was getting close and the freighters still groaned.

There was a slight clearing of the cloud until they were plunged into the shade realm again. But as they did a great light flashed and all controls were turned off, the engines spluttered out. Hart began striking the control console, the ships were now on a parabolic course for the ground, and as gravity effected them a whine could be heard as they continued to accelerate. "No! No! No! Not today come on girl!" He rerouted power systems, flooded the auxiliary sub-systems and cycled the start up sequence.

All the while they dove for the ground, gravity suddenly not becoming a factor in the ships, his hat floated off his head. The engines spluttered and then roared into a cacophonous roar. Hart slammed all retros on both ship and hit a reverse gear and the ships engine power arrested the descent and set the ship level. Their blood would fall to their boots and Hart blacked out as he wasn't braced as he had dealing with the controls. His hat flopped onto the cockpits floor, the navi-computer suggested that they had arrived at their destination.

The ship was now floating only some ten feet above the canopy, the Captain was out for the count.

 

[Pippa]

Pippa felt the shaking from inside her walker. It got so rough that she even buckled up her internal harness to keep herself from rattling around inside. The rocking and rolling was intense but eventually came to a complete stop. She disentangled herself from her cockpit and took stock of the hangar. In all of the kerfuffle the tarp she'd tied down had come lose and there were pieces of scrap chaotically strewn around the hangar. She made a mental note of building a hard storage container for situations like this. She also made a mental note to over watch Harts landing technique next time, despite his assertions that he was a capable pilot she was no longer as sure as she had once been. She pattered around the hold and piled up the scrap as best she could. As she did, she spotted the treetops out one of the view ports. She was concerned that they were not actually landed and decided to head up to the cockpit to see what was up.

In the cockpit she found the collapsed captain slumped back in his chair. Unsure of how to proceed she decided to get on the ship comms.
"I would appear we have not yet quite landed, I am transferring control over to the Double Entendre as Captain Quint Hart is not currently capable of completing the landing".
She turned back around to the unconscious hapan. She gave him a few gentle prods, then a sharper jab with one of her tiny digits. Ascertaining that she would be unlikely to be ale to move or awaken the captain by her self she turned her attention to the cockpit around her and noticed a few extra dents and some shorting consoles. She began to analyse the systems with a piqued interest and began to diagnose the problems. After a minute or two she realised she'd need to pull open an access hatch and so she went and fetched her tools. Eagerly she dashed to the hold and back before making short work of the bolts on the access hatch. Peering inside she could easily see that the level of wiring and internal maintenance on the Yoania was severely below the standard of the other ship areas. She pulled on a pair of insulated gloved and clipped a grounding unit to her hip before wading in to the deep thicket of knotted wires and dust encrusted connectors to undertake the unforgiving task of re-wiring these miraculously partially-functional consoles.

To the world outside of the tiny access patch all you would hear is a fervent rustling, snipping and squeaking accompanied by the smell of hot solder and old dust.

 

[Frannykins87]

Alisha nodded when Kyllan offered his gear, smiling gratefully. "I'd appreciate it..and even if it isn't my size, better than nothing!" She giggles and then nodded again in agreement at his comment. Prepardness was always a good thing. Alisha made a mental note to actually buy herself some gear with her leftover credits. She glances at the consoles briefly, checking if all was in order as both ships began their approach.

"If we get more than five minutes free I'll tell you why I was on Pantolomin.."

Alisha noticed his wink and smirk, and once more felt a slight pull of the heartstring. She smiled weakly, but turned quickly as the ship was now starting to rumble a little bit from the approach.. She just had enough time to tie up her seatbelt when the alarms started flashing and the ships were shaking dangerously. Alisha was a lightweight, so she was being tossed side to side, the only thing that was keeping her in the seat was the belt. There was so much tremor Alisha couldn't quite see what the alarms were telling.

"Hold onto your hats!"

"Trying!!" Alisha replied in alarm. "Oh crap.." She then said to Kyllan, just managing to realise that it was likely the airlock that was triggering the alarm.."Not meant to land with both ships attached.."

As soon as she said that, the alarms would stop, probably Hart's doing. Trying to look to the consoles as she was struggling to keep her body still, Alisha caught a glimpse of flash of brilliant white, the glass of the cockpit scattered with water drops. She was being tossed so strongly her shoulders were starting to feel bruised. She gritted her teeth in pain as the shaking continued, and then noticed, after yet another flash, that the controls seemed to be down. She swore quietly. Something she hardly ever did. When the engine roared into life again and the ships halted, Alisha was holding on as much as she could to the arms of the seat. It wasn't enough however to avoid her being tossed forward, stopped at waist level by the seat belt, which violently restricted her breathing. She gaped for air, and as she frantically tried to untie her seatbelt, the impact causing some pain also. When she finally managed to take off her seatbelt, still gaping, she flops to the floor, trying to get air into her lungs, clutching her stomach across where the belt slammed.

"You..ok?" She managed to whisper.

"I would appear we have not yet quite landed, I am transferring control over to the Double Entendre as Captain Quint Hart is not currently capable of completing the landing".

Alisha frowned, slowly regaining breath "Great..Hmmm.." She whimpered, and would slowly rise to her knees, and waited there a while to recover as she looks to Kyllan. She rubs the sides of her arms, now decisively sore, and checking them over, she can see they were definitely bruised. Looking out the window, she could see the ships were not, in fact, quite landed...but it was dark and it was hard to see anything else.

"You think you could land us both?"

 

[StarWriter]

The sudden rumble of deceleration was something he'd felt many a time during his years travelling in space either alone or with his family, though it was generally a much smoother ordeal than the tumultuous rumblings that reverberated throughout his beloved ship.

"Hold onto your hats!" The words given as warning echoed through the speaker in the cockpit and he braced himself in his seat. Strapped in and with his hands lightly touching the control stick just in case his compatriot needed his assistance in guiding the linked freighters to their landing zone.

Hearing Alisha beside him he gave a brief nod of his head. "We should have separated the ships before entering the atmosphere. The Entendre can fly just not jump to lightspeed." He said through gritted teeth.

The impact of moisture upon the from windows heralded the rainfall that covered this portion of the globe and gave the two ships a good wash as they careened through the sky towards the surface. Kyllan instinctively glanced at Alisha, seeing her difficulty in dealing with the turbulence. The spark of electricity in the clouds they descended through gave him pause and he eyed them nervously, but hopeful as the readouts said they would be through the storm clouds shortly. Not soon enough however as his vision was overwhelmed by the sudden streak of lighting that darted in front of the cockpit to strike the other linked vessel. The surge flowed through both starships and Kyllan cursed as the controls went dead and everything shut off for a moment.

The sudden weightlessness in his gut made him grimace as he could feel their acceleration and let out a exhale of relief when Hart managed to bring the auxiliaries online and pull them out of the dead fall in time to put both ship in a hover mere feet above the forest canopy. A mix of training, and the heavy armor shielding his body helped him cope with the gravitic forces placed upon his body during the sudden deceleration.

"You..ok?"

Hearing the soft voice beside and near the deck plating he gave a nod and looked to Alisha. "I'm fine, what about you?" Earnest concern in his tone and those usually intense eyes of his had a softness in them at this moment.

"I would appear we have not yet quite landed, I am transferring control over to the Double Entendre as Captain Quint Hart is not currently capable of completing the landing".

As Pippa's voice came in over the linked channel he saw his controls light up, coming to life as everything was transferred to the Entendre. Kyllan immediately set about checking the systems, and was grateful to find that there wasn't too much damage to either ships. The airlock would need some heavy repairs, but still held its seal. "I've got it Pippa. Tend to Hart, I'll bring us to the landing coordinates." He replied to her and slowly turned both ships to face the proper directions as they gained a bit of altitude, enough to clear the canopy while maneuvering.

"You think you could land us both?"

Kyllan cast her a wink and a grin. "If I can get a kiss from the most gorgeous woman in the galaxy, I can do anything."

Carefully, as he diverted his focus to the task at hand the Mandolorian flew both ships with practiced skill. It was a bit disconcerting, at first due to the extra mass and strange flight characteristics of having two ships tethered like this. Yet he eventually grew somewhat accustomed to it and the two ships flew over the canopy, nearly brushing the treetops until he spotted their destination. A opening large enough for them both, barely, to fit between. Pure focus and concentration showed on his face, hands gripped to the controls tightly as he gingerly brought both vessels down between the trees. On every side he had little more than a couple of feet of clearance, yet Kyllan showed his piloting prowess as within a few breathless moments they descended. Kyllan activated the landing struts on both freighters and a few seconds later they would all feel the soft bounce of them touching solid ground.

Almost instantaneously he powered down both ships and put them into standby mode. "Teethree, Arrone. Get to work, there's repairs needed on both ships. Most damaged takes priority. Start with the airlock." He called over the ship's internals.

"Pippa. Are you hurt?" He asked in earnest while unstrapping from the seat and quickly gathering his gear. Even stopping by his quarters to get his big rifle, before opening the loading ramp on his ship. "You girls can handle things here. That descent would have been easy to spot. I'm going to set a perimeter around the ships." He quickly rummaged through the cargo in his hold for the things he'd need to make a defensive perimeter around the ships.

 

[Kaylon Neroka]

"Now come on Hotshot, you know me better than to make you an accomplice. Let's just say that I'll owe you, instead of you owing me if you can set us up with some cover."
He had to think about that. An opportunity to clear the debt he wished he'd never had to take. But again, he told himself how he'd be dead without Hart. The smug man winked at him as though he'd read his mind.
"Two astromechs and a pit droid... I imagine the two rollers will stay with the ships... I can't even begin to predict what the Toadstool will do."
An involuntary groan escaped Kaylon's lips, his whole body almost visibly sagging at the mention of a pit droid. The little nuisances were only good to causing havoc and trouble. But he was willing to accept his line of work might have coloured his perspectives on the little toadstools. If at least two of the droids could stay with the ship that would make traveling easier.

"We'll come in over the canopy as soon as we can... keep your lids open for two conjoined freighter twins."

Two conjoined freighter twins, what was that supposed to mean? He could only stare blankly at the holo-communicator as the projection winked out of existence. Had he stolen the Yoania a sibling? He couldn't say he knew Hart that well to rule it out or to even consider him capable of such a thing. But any man with Hart's luck at the tables had to be into some shady business.
Tucking the holo-communicator away into the many wrappings encasing his chest, he peered up at the weather, hoping for it to abate but realising the folly of such hope.

It wasn't long before he could hear the weather building, the light flashing through the sky as the storm did anything but abate. It was going to be far from ideal for-

His eyes widened as he watched something rocket through the air, some disjointed flying mass swooping down in his direction. Punching through the cloud cover with a flash of light, its whole form seemed to darken and descend like a comet. Far too steep a descent for anything he would have considered controlled, and his stomach almost lurched sympathetically at the notion of the passengers falling at terminal velocity.
He hadn't seen anyone make such a bombastic entrance into the atmosphere of a planet before and suddenly the words of Hart's message fell into place.
"We'll come in over the canopy as soon as we can" he'd said. This thing was rapidly hurtling towards it at a dangerous speed, not quite what Neroka envisioned for 'as soon as we can'.
He couldn't scramble from his boulder fast enough, into the deluge of the water-logged earth which had built up around its base. Shouldering his rifle further across his back and already throwing himself into a run, the ship was drawing closer and he needn't make a decision about where they should land. There was only one place large enough for what was apparently conjoined Yoania ships (he could neither remember or care what they were actually called at that moment in time) and either they would land there, or it was their safest point to crash in if they did. He didn't know if they could see it from orbit but if they had calculated his position through his holo-communicator his best bet was to meet them there and guide them to it.
The rain was still beating down on him and every surface was a frictionless tangle of leaves and trunks, the floor a mess of roots and wildlife hurtling itself out of his way back into their shelters and away from the drinkable pools forming throughout the undergrowth. He'd come into sight of the clearing he had in mind, hoping it would indeed be as big as they apparently required, when suddenly he was thrown staggering into a trunk, steadying himself as a sudden heat-wave washed over him and the surroundings. The trees swayed and rustled with a new crash of noise and even the pained creaking of branches made itself known. Kaylon's head turned sharply to look up as the Yoania and its partner arrested their descent with all its reverse thrusters firing in concert.
It was still a way above, but not much higher than the canopy itself and Neroka appreciated dearly that it didn't come in through the trees. It was far too close for him to feel anything but wariness and agitation. Looking up through the canopy the two ships made themselves known with thunderous clouds in the sky above, but he could barely see any more than that, already shielding his eyes from the light brought about by the engines through the canopy.
He hadn't even reached the clearing yet, but at least his visitors hadn't come crashing down, or else that would have been one striking way for Neroka to have seen yet another friend killed.

 

[Sangga]

All had gone black, his body felt oppressed and there was a whine of the retros and then nothing. There was just the darkness, that and falling, over and over through this dead space. Was he dead? Had something popped within the Hapan's biology that was exceptionally prone to pressure, Hart was unanswerable as a corpse. They would find a Will somewhere that left the ship, and its attached debt to whoever assumed ownership of the ship, and old edited dataslate that was passed on from his Uncle. He'd not had time to edit it to keep the debt away from them. He saw a bright light in the distance, and seemed to swing to it. As he approached it through the miasma of his sub-consciousness, he rotated and fell into a seated position.


The floor rose to meet him as there was a bounce with the landing. He returned to the conscious world, looking around he wiped the spittle of drool from the side of his mouth; where his tongue had rolled out of his mouth. Getting up he bent down to pick up his hat and saw light blossom across his vision. It hurt to keep his eyes open for a few seconds as he stood up and returned the hat to its rightful place atop his head. He heard a boarding ramp lower and the thud of Kyllan's boots on the deck. His memories flooded back, and his conversation with Neroka. His eyes widened as he then sprinted off to the Yoania's ramp, swinging past the airlock's weapons locker for his light repeater. "The gakker... should've waited!" His head was spinning and he bounced off of the bulkhead a few times as his balance set him off kilter. "The gakker's going to get himself hurt... or worse! I just hope Hotshot waits for me and doesn't assume the worst!" He hit the ramp stud and was at the end before he could squeeze out. He slung the light repeater inside his duster and placed his hand in his pocket to steady it. As the ramp lowered enough he hopped off, slid due to his lack of balance, and the slick mud of the freshly rained on ground. "Buck-ET-!" he didn't have time to finish calling for Kyllan as the wind was knocked out of him for a second. Staggering up, only his pride hurt, he looked around; with this undergrowth and thick vegetation Neroka could be anywhere.


"Buckethead! Freeze!" Hart's hands were out of his pockets one arm outstretched to Kyllan, waving down. Where was Neroka? What else was in the jungles of Tanaab? He heard a twig snap and instinctively turned his head to try and see. "Hotshot? That you?"

 

[Pippa]

"I've got it Pippa. Tend to Hart"
"I will do my utmost" She replied from the cluster of wires. She popped out and took another look at the slumped form of Quint. She took a long hard sniff and listened carefully. This close she could make out the tiny internals sounds of the body that certainly seemed encouraging, the Hapan's scent hadn't really changed. She could see a little bruising around his eyes and his lips were a slightly different colour but without advanced reading and a diagnostic device of some kind, a thought that gave her yet another idea to work on in the future, there was nothing more she could do. She pulled with all her might and shifted the large man forward in the char into a position that looked more comfortable and then went back to the wires.

As the ships swayed and rocked and made their final touchdown she was battered a little in the console and burnt herself with the solderer socket on her wiring tool a few times, but all in all she was fine and made short work of re-wiring the unit. She'd also managed to short cut out some of the tertiary redundancies by increasing the efficiency of the primary and secondary systems, besides civilian style runners like this seemed to suffer form over design more than less common ships. There were a few backed up trails in the wiring that lead to other areas n the ship. From her initial look she guessed that those would mostly be similar fixes but she did remember Quint mentioning some storage modification, she hoped they'd been done competently and there weren't system ruptures on the Yoania.

"Pippa. Are you hurt?"
She was surprised by the question, but heartened by the sincerity that accompanied it. "I am unharmed Kyllan, Captain Quint Hart also appears unharmed but I am not a medically trained individual, especially for species other than my own. Are you Alisha, R1, T3 and Tippy without injury or malfunction?" Her concern sounded genuine and did not waver over any of the names mentioned. She turned and zipped up the access panel's bolts. Other than the faint smell of burnt hair you might never know that anything had changed to the cockpit. Pippa started to make her way back through the Yoania.
"Alisha", she called over the intercom "I need to perform maintenance on the Yoania's electrical systems so that it does not short under pressure again, a ship like this should be able to handle the excessive strain that was put on it just now, while it is much newer the Double Entendre would be worth assessing as well. If R1and T3 are content to focus on the airlock repairs would you and Tippy mind checking for surge damage and repairing where needed, I will be at this for a while, I predict there to be a lot to correct."
Following the list she made earlier she one by one went through and fixed the electrical malfunctions she had predicted from her diagnostics of the console. Most were routine maintenance and cleanliness issues or surge damage from the loss of power during atmospheric entry. However there was one issue in the cargo hold that proved more complex. One of the "extra hatches" had been put in lazily and the wiring that had been moved had not bee properly re-insulated after being severed. Thankfully through the increased efficiency of the wiring from her maintenance and searches for spare material earlier she had found more than enough wire and insulation to fix the shorting wires. These repairs would take her the better part f an hour and she likely missed any dramatic altercations outside the ship while she was tucked away in an access tube. Once finished she would come up to the airlock to check in on the work and to see if any materials will be needed to affect repairs.

 

[Frannykins87]

"If I can get a kiss from the most gorgeous woman in the galaxy, I can do anything."

Alisha, her breath now back, shook her head with a grin. She still found his persistence almost charming, and rather amusing. But she didn't respond as she stood up, despite part of her actually wanting to give him his wish. She instead checked herself over. She was fine..She had worse than being tossed like a ragdoll, after all. She listened to the brief exchange between Kyllan and Pippa. She smiled softly when her small friend asked about their health.

"We're fine here, no worries Pippa." She then listened attentively to what she said. As she listened, Tippy came over to her, skipping cheerfully like nothing happened. "Ye ok no worries Pippa, I'll look after the Entendre. There is a fair bit of rewiring to do here too, but nothing too major hopefully. I will come over once I am done."

She then turns to Kyllan before he walks out.

"You girls can handle things here. That descent would have been easy to spot. I'm going to set a perimeter around the ships."

She nods. "Ye, while your droids work on the airlock I'll fix things in here and will check elsewhere..Do be careful out there..who know what's lurking.." She gives him a concerned look.

"You better come back in one piece..." She says, softly though, without really trying to make herself heard.

As he walks out, Alisha turns to the console, and decides she better tuck in. The rain is still furiously beating against the metal of the ship, and it was almost hard to see much outside the cockpit window. She has a feeling that Pippa would have a lot more to do, but she keeps a mental note to go help her whenever she is done on the Entendre. While Kyllan's droid buzz off to fix the airlock, Tippy remains with Alisha. She sits on her knees, and takes off the panel under the pilot console. She sees nothing major, but there was some delicate fixing to be done. The rather rough landing meant that some of the metal work was shifted. Which made her wonder who did it in the first place.. Removing those thoughts, she proceeds.

"Hmm Tippy just help R1 and T3 please.." She heard an angry beep in reply "Don't argue, this is important, just do it..It will save time for all of us.." With a final, low tone beep in protest, Tippy also goes off to help at the airlock.

Once Tippy goes off, Alisha proceeds with her tinkering. If someone came into the cockpit, they would see Alisha on her knees, almost entirely half way inside the panel, rewiring and delicately moving bits aside. Her size certainly made certain jobs much easier. After around 20 minutes or so, she emerges, and wipes her brow, the heat of inside the panel making her sweat a little bit. Once that was done, she took her tools and walked around the ship, fixing things here and there. There was no major damage to the inside of the ship that she could see, fortunately. It would have been a different story if they actually crash landed, and Alisha was quite grateful that didn't happen. In an hour, she fixed all she could, or at least all she could see needed fixing from inside the ship. She walks to the cargo and looks around to see if Kyllan was still there, and to look for any of the equipmment he mentioned that might help her with Tanaab's weather.

 

[StarWriter]

Relief. A momentary tension in his body relaxed when he heard Pippa's voice over the comm and the knowledge that they were alright. Kyllan remained silent in response as Alisha answered their comrades' eloquent query.

"Ye, while your droids work on the airlock I'll fix things in here and will check elsewhere..Do be careful out there..who know what's lurking.." At this he gave a nod to her from within the cargo hold, hoisting open the lid of a crate in front of him that held a bit of material he could use to fashion barricades and other bulwarks around their landing zone. Purely a temporary measure as he would need time and better materials to construct fortifications enough to pass his demanding requirements for their safety.

As the two, more technically inclined of their number set about repairs and coordinated the most efficient means to do so with one another and the droids, he proceeded to empty the contents of a few crates and set the material on the edge of the Entendre's loading ramp.

T3 and R1 quickly sped through the freighter to the airlock, whereupon both began to assess the damage and amidst a flurry of beeps and chirps make a plan for repairs. The astromech and repair droid each took a different side of the airlock. T3 within the Entendre, while R1 rolled into the Yoania and began similar repairs to the opposite connection. Both droids would direct Tippy to remain in the center of both airlocks to affect repairs there. Both droids utilized a wide variety of internal and external tools to accomplish their jobs.

As he was gathering the last of the materials he determined he might require, he saw Alisha enter the hold whom he cast a bright grin and a wink in her direction before walking down the ramp.

"Buckethead! Freeze!" The sudden shout caught Kyllan off guard for a moment, as he was still within the Entendre, standing most of the way down the loading ramp of his ship.

"What in Mandalore's name are you going on about you old codger?" Kyllan's tone held a modicum of confusion and irritation as he had no idea why his fellow captain was so excitable.

"Hotshot? That you?"

Seeing Hart spin around to look at the noise he gently set the things in his arms down on top of the rest and whipped the nasty looking rifle from his back and crouched with the barrel braced on the edge of one of the barricades sitting on the ramp. His head swiveled from side to side facing near where he heard the snapped twig.

 

[Kaylon Neroka]

Neroka was as still as he could manage. Having watched the craft land, with life coming from the engines of the Yoania's attached ship, he couldn't help but imagine the strain on the airlock where they were joined.

The clearing had proven just about large enough to land in, and Kaylon had immediately set about readying his rifle and laying amongst the undergrowth behind the cover of a large fern-like plant.
The barrel of his sniper rifle was hidden in the gloom and amongst the broad leaves, and in shifting his weight he internally cursed as a twig snapped beneath his weight.

And so he remained motionless, as still as he could manage. Aiming down the rifle's scope and caressing the trigger. Hart was in his sights, and a wry smirk tugged at his features. There were, he supposed, two ways to clear a debt. He snapped at himself for the idea but the gun barely strayed from its mark.

Hart was scrambling and rambling in the wet murk as he'd left the ramp, making almost too easy a target in those moments. The point of a gun amongst his clothes was an obvious warning to Neroka, and at their distance once his position was exposed both sides would be at the mercy of the other's weapon. If they were feeling merciful.
There was another figure running down one of the ships' loading ramps, clad in the familiar armour of a mandalorian but hefting cargo and bracing an unusual rifle upon the contents.
That complicated things significantly. Neroka would consider himself a good marksman but two armed and agitated targets would be a tough challenge and he'd doubt he'd be a match for the mandolorian once the firing began, it was in part why he enjoyed the luxuries of long range.

His hand felt forced and shifting up, he raised to a stand and slowly made an approach. His rifle still pressed to his eye as he stepped out past his cover and into the open. Hart had been the one to call him. If the mandolorian shot on his behalf then that'd be on him, not Neroka. Or perhaps that's just how Hart planned it, bringing outlaws all the way to a jungle to meet him. Of all things a mandolorian amongst them.
Perhaps Hart had finally decided to call off Neroka's own debt by simply capturing the pantoran and turning him in to the hurts.
The bastard wouldn't be that sly, would he?
His grip tightened about the frame of his rifle, he'd at least try to take one of them down if it came to it.

Thinking back on the brief time they had come to work together Neroka had lost himself. Following the events that set him out this far amongst the stars in the first place, he'd had an existential crisis which had almost consumed him.
But working with Hart had helped him come to terms with his uncertain future, and taught him how slippery the old bastard hapan could be when the game was up.
He wondered if he would ever need to shoot at him again.

"Coming in steady, you said" Neroka squeezed the trigger, casting the barrel down sharply and sending the mud at Hart's feet decorating his lower trousers in muck "You call that coming in steady?!"
His aim shifted up, aiming loosely in the region of his head. He glanced sharply at the mandalorian, measuring the armed figure's reaction before returning his stare to his target. At that distance, the scope wouldn't be needed.
After a pause, he continued.
"What do you want on Taanab, Hart?"

 

[Sangga]

"What in Mandalore's name are you going on about you old codger?"

"Coming in steady, you said." The shot spanked the ground between his feet, the spray dowsing him in the liquid filth. Hart had pulled out his light repeater in reaction but immediately dropped the aim as Neroka came out. "You call that coming in steady?!" The rifle was clearly aimed at Hart's head, his hand waved Kyllan down, his hand moving slowly, the light repeater lowering from its raised position at his waist. "What do you want on Taanab, Hart?"

"Buckethead, don't... calm... this is Kaylon Neroka... part of the reason why we are here..." he looked to Neroka, his arm lowered and a wide smile spreading across his face. "We're here 'cause my friend Hotshot is here, we need to lie low... and maybe get some supplies." Hart's mind raced, his hip ached at the memory of their last encounter. Then he took a pace forward. "How've you been Hotshot?"

At any movement from Neroka he'd pause, silence passed for several minutes each time. He'd then take a pace to the side to conceal the approach. "Look, we need your expertise, I need you again and..." He was now far too close, his head shook; he hated apologising. The dying rain still patterns of some of the broader leaves and the brim of Hart's hat for nearly an hour that passed like a day. "... I'm sorry. But we-" He saw it, he daren't believe it. No way had they not noticed that thing staring at them... and the others.

Hart's voice died down to barely a whisper. "Any pets Hotshot." He created a 'finger-blaster' and pointed behind Neroka. He glances at his gone. "Six legs, teeth, short muscular neck and claws like sabres?" Hart lifted his light repeater up and with his left hand pulled out his compact light blaster pistol. Each weapon began firing at the predator, it howled and then charged as several others could be heard roaring and howling in the trees. Hart's target collapsed to the floor under the hail of light blaster fire.

 

[Pippa]

Pippa was glad to see that repairs on the air locks were complete. They would remain functional for now and would hold if they needed to jump again but if they uncoupled and tried to couple again they'd need to replace of the the pneumatic valves in the seal because they were shot and the bolts would stay retracted. So if they did decouple they would have to find new parts before coupling again. Pippa was mildly concerned about this, they were already struggling for additional parts and unless that could find some scrap on Tanaab they were unlikely to see new parts until they found real civilisation. She put in on her list of things to address at some point and made a mental note to ask Hart about heading towards a planet they could get materials, there was only so much that patching and re-welding could do after all. Before she could finish her final diagnostics of the repair she hear the cracking of blaster fire. Dashing will all the speed her furious little legs would allow she made her way to the Yoania's cockpit and checked the out side cameras. She could see Hart, Kyllan and blue skinned person squaring off against some kind of native jungle fauna. She got on the ships speakers and broadcast to the group.
"I am going to fire up the ships, I know we just got here but it clearly is not safe, I count ten of these creatures on the view ports and another twenty on the scanners. I will leave flying to R1 and T3 now that the repairs are complete.Please do come back inside do we may leave."
With that she shifted over to the heavy cannon controls and began to fire, will the cannons were locked in a forward facing they were capable of a reasonable arc of fire. Pippa vaporised several of the beasts as they approached through the trees and set some of the foliage on fire with the Yoania's blaster cannons.

 

[Frannykins87]

Alisha looked through the cargo for a few minutes. Finally, in a locker at the back of the room, she found the equipment Kyllan described. Taking out piece by piece and setting aside anything irrelevant, she finally took out a chest piece. Was no where near as heavy as the armour Kyllan wore, but it would definitely give her some protection. It will still look like she is a little bit puffed out, but that wasn't her concern. She was slightly concerned about her movement being restricted. She heard Kyllan walk in the cargo, smiled back at him as he walked out and then proceeded to give the chest piece a check over. There was an option to tighten it, she could see that. which was good. She put that down, and checked in the locker to see if she could also find the matching leg part, though she was expecting them not to fit her, given the different stature between her and Kyllan. After a few more moments of carefully searching, she did in fact find the matching trousers..and they weren't too much longer either. . She put on the gear as quickly as possible,and takes a flare out of there too, in case they should get separated. The entire outfit wasn't too much like armor either, so her movements could still be agile, though not nearly as much. But that is the price you pay for some protection, so Alisha wasn't going to complain.

She takes a few minutes to remove her belt, then put on the gear, adjusting it to her figure as much as it was possible, and making a mental note to readjust it after she finished using it. She put back the belt on her new trousers, readjusting the length slightly to compensate for the extra layer around her waist. She didn't really have time to check further, as she started hearing loud voices and suddenly a few shots near the entrance of the ship. Alarmed, she takes out her blaster, and jogs to the middle of the landing ramp, where she saw Hart and Kyllan and someone she didn't recognize face off several rather aggressive looking beasts. She didn't get there in time to see Pippa run inside the Yoania, but a few moments after she got there the Yoania fired several shots from the heavy cannons, killing quite a few of the beasts.

"What.." She just has time to say loudly, when she hears a growl not too far from her, on the left side of the ramp. Suddenly a beast came into view, eyeing her up. She never seen beasts like these, but it wasn't like Tatooine was lacking in that department. But she knew she didn't have much time and quickly, and instinctively, run back three steps, and then aimed like she was taught to. Lucky she did so, for the beast already jumped onto the landing ramp. When she fired, her first shot hit the creatures legs, crippling it, and halting its advance. She shot again, and this time the beast dropped dead, its rather large head hit with her blaster. She didn't sigh, and shouted to the others

"You guys ok?? "

She carefully took some steps forward down the ramp, looking around, her breathing heavy and her hand shaking slightly.

 

[StarWriter]

Even though Kyllan was not sure why Hart was so excitable he recognized the note of concern in his voice, having heard it many times during training, or amidst combat previously to note that there was some potential threat. So his gaze drifted out beyond Hart to the foliage around them and spotted the sniper thanks to the Heads up Display of his helmet. The instant he did he swiveled that beast of a rifle in his direction and it was only upon seeing Hart's weapon lower that he relaxed, barely. With militaristic restraint he lined the crosshairs of the weapon far deadlier than a regular sniper rifle with Neroka's head. Finger resting against the side of the trigger guard.

"Coming in steady, you said" The shot blasted into the dirt yet that finger remained still.
"You call that coming in steady?!"

"You try a descent with linked freighters at terminal velocity, not crater and still manage to land without a scratch and then you can complain." Kyllan's voice was somewhat cold, similar to when Alisha had witnessed him dispatch a group of security that had nearly destroyed one of his droids. It wasn't quite as harsh, yet there was a ferocity to it. "Fire that weapon anywhere near one of us again and your head will long for its body."

The threat barely left his lips when he caught movement through the zoom of the scope behind Neroka to his right and shifted his weapon ever so slightly. Finger slipped against the trigger and with a short squeeze a deafening discharged echoed through the cargo hold of the Entendre the heavy round missed Neroka's left ear by centimeters, intentionally to prove a point, as another beast attempted to pounce on the sniper. With a blaster bolt powerful enough to punch through armored plating it burrowed a scorched hole through the creatures head and out it's backside even as the rapid fire sounds of repeater fire could be heard. An individual slender power cell discharged from the firing mechanism, in the span of a heartbeat he retrieved another one from his belt and slapped it into the chamber. Finger on the trigger a second time and another shot rang out as he fired and brought down another of the beasts as he heard Pippa's voice and the sudden cacophony of ship's weapons going off.

"I am going to fire up the ships, I know we just got here but it clearly is not safe, I count ten of these creatures on the view ports and another twenty on the scanners. I will leave flying to R1 and T3 now that the repairs are complete.Please do come back inside do we may leave."

The power cell discharged as he was mid motion to retrieve another one and slap it into the rifle. "No. Teethree, Arrone get on the guns and protect the ships. We just got here and I'm not going to retreat because of some beasts. We'll have to deal with them no matter where we make our haven on this rock." There was an intensity to his voice as he noticed one of the creatures come onto the ramp and lunge for Alisha. Blaster fire behind him and the loud thud and shaking of the ramp told him all he needed to know as he traversed the rifle on its bipod and fired just past Hart to blow the head off of yet another beast.

This time Kyllan did not reload, instead he chose to leave the powerful weapon where it was secured and drew the twin heavy blasters from his thighs as he rushed out of the ship, down the ramp and leapt into the air as his jetpack ignited. Flying out over Quint's head safely heavy blaster shots rang out. With each one they found their mark. If it hadn't been clear to his new compatriots before now, there was a one-shot-one-kill style to this Mandolorian.

"You guys ok?? "

Each of his blasters was fired, each one with a different target hitting two beasts that ran side by side and each one falling to the bolts that burned into their faces. Most of the weapons he favored had a powerful kick to them.

Kyllan spun in the air as another one leapt, those six mighty legs propelling the beast high into the air towards him. The last thing it felt was two shots, one from each blaster before its eyes incinerated and the thing soared to the ground as dead weight. Having made himself the most dangerous predator among them, purposefully snarling at them and being amplified through the speaker in his helmet he dropped to the ground with an arm facing to his left and right. The survivors of the group of ten rushed towards him. Bzoom! Bzoom! Bzoom! Bzoom! Measured shots in succession, twice from each of his blasters as a chirping sound filled his comm. And two of the beasts fell skidding across the damp earth. "Target where I'm standing Teethree."

Beep boop! "Fire!"

The swoosh of his jetpack being ignited suddenly could be heard and he shot like a rocket straight up a moment before the impact of dozens of rounds of light blaster shots from the Entendre's turret turned the space where he once was and where the remainder of the first group happened to reach into a cloud of dust, dirt and gore.

Kyllan made a three-point landing on the ground next to Hart a second later and looked about and the still incoming hostile wildlife. "Take cover in the ships and pick them off as they're drawn to me." He shouted to the other two men close by him. "It's easier to defend narrow spaces." Kyllan squared himself off, clearly undaunted by their adversaries.

 

[Kaylon Neroka]

Neroka's gun had remained steady, even as he heard Kyllan's threat. It wasn't the voice of a bounty hunter like himself, moreso the experienced tone of a man trained in the art of killing.Neroka could afford him a level of respect for his restraint, even after that shot. He'd known too many with an itchy trigger finger.

"How've you been hotshot?"

"It's been quiet. Peaceful even. Until I got a call from a guy coming to visit with a bunch of his friends on the run. He comes in hot and lands without much discretion, and now I have one of his passengers, or crew, aiming his gun at my head."
Another glance shot towards Kyllan, then silence for a while.

"Look, we need your expertise, I need you again and..." Turning to look at Hart again he could see the Hapan was moving closer. Nothing that compromized his own position, but he was outnumbered and outgunned from the start. Hart's own weapon was no longer matching the Mandolorian's response.
"...I'm sorry." That distracted Neroka, his mind stalling from keeping track of his surroundings to suddenly processing two words he'd never expected to have heard Hart say in earnest. Sorry? He was sorry? It had been so long since they were last together and yet Hart-

"Any pets Hotshot"

"What?"

"Six legs, teeth, short muscular neck and claws like sabres?" Neroka's eyebrow raised. But there was no time to react before the Mandolorian's large gun discharged and he smelt the sudden scent of ozone as it passed.
Neroka swore, turning to face the direction the shot had gone as a native predator of Taanab exploded with a gaping exit wound passing the length of its body. That said something for the Mandolorian's aim, or his luck.
Hart's gun was up again in a moment, a beast far closer than Neroka should have permitted suddenly receiving a viscious spray of blaster-fire as it charged in their general direction.
Neroka was beside Hart then, glancing to his old acquaintance, his sniper rifle held almost dumbly in his hands by the sheer surprise for precious seconds. It had been ages since he'd come across other people fighting the inhabitance of Taanab and the sound of weapons beside his own rationed sniper rounds had become alien to him.
His weapon raised and the sight was brought to his eye again as movement came from the surrounding foliage. Panning the barrel along the breadth of the treeline before him he took two shots, one disappearing into the trees with a screech, the other ending with the wet sound of another collapsing into the murk.

More were coming, he could tell that much already. His brain finally kicking into gear, thinking over what predators would be drawn to the loud noises their landing would have drawn. He could hear a turret from the conjoined ships open fire, spraying into the approaching number of beasts that sought to try for a kill. Rapid pulses of light punching from the barrels through beast and vegetation alike, a girl came from the cargo ramp, talking to the others, claiming her own kill though Neroka didn't afford to look, telling her gender only by her voice.

"Welcome to Taanab..." He growled to Hart beside him.

Another of his shots struck at a beast as it burst from among the trees, scoring the beast across the side of its face as it thundered forward, past a number of its dead. Neroka knew the name of this species, he was sure of it. Was it one that he'd named, or did it have some official name? He couldn't remember. It was likely the former of the two, and probably something absurd or overly long that changed after every encounter. He knew they were drawn to noise though, and the sparing use of his sniper rifle had led his daily life relatively quiet.
Speaking of his sniper rifle he only had- *click* Was fate that cruel?! What remained of the clip was empty, and the beast was still thundering towards him and Hart. He wasn't sure which of them would take the first step back in the face of this rampaging monster, but a sudden well-placed shot struck the beast clean between the eyes before thought turned into action.
A glance up and he could see the Mandalorian passing overhead, effortlessly gliding through the air, both hands armed and firing almost mechanically in turn through muscle memory. Neroka could see that it clearly wasn't luck that the Mandolorian shot past him earlier.

Two more beasts fell to the Mandolorian's heavy blasters and Neroka rummaged through the worn gear he had on him, searching in vain for ammunition that was long gone. Shouldering his sniper rifle, his hand automatically came to the hilt of a blade he had at his hip. Dulled with years of almost continual use, but a reliable tool, and weapon when it mattered.

Another of the beasts came at them, this time from the side and Neroka took the advantage, running at the beast to cover as much ground as possible. Side-stepping sharply as it passed, he readied his blade and struck it in the side. Its hide was toughened and leathery to the touch, but the blade sank to the hilt, the pace of the beast dragging the blade along and almost from Neroka's grasp, opening up the beast's side a few feet in length.

The roar that followed was evident enough that his blade had hit its mark, severing nerves and opening its chest to the elements. He span as he withdrew, following with the movement of the blade being pulled along the beast's side, withdrawing it as soon as he could tug it free. The blood poured from its wound and coated the blade in a glossy rich purplish-crimson.

It was turning now, as its charge slowed, trying to round on the Pantoran while it still had the strength to kill.

"Come at me then you bastard..." Neroka snarled, reversing the hold on his knife in a swift motion as the beast snorted, roared, and then broke once more into a charge.

 

[Sangga]

"Welcome to Taanab..." Neroka growled beside him. A beat was felled as it charged them, by Kyllan. Neroka then ran off and left Hart to his own ingenuity, the ship covered the left flank and Kyllan had some serious cover with his aerial angle. Neroka was in no danger as he egged on the Beasts.

Hart saw a few falling back and took the lull to change the clips if his light repeater. A growl emitted from behind him, he spun and held the trigger down as the beast lunged atop him. Even as he was knocked off his feet into the mud, the weapon fired a stream of bolts into the corpse.

He was nearly crushed by the muscular creatures body, it's wounds cauterised by the blaster fire, he could feel the goo of the wounds on his knuckles. With a grunt he rolled the beast over and snatched his gun up to see the group making short work of what was left.

"Hotshot, Buckethead, Shortstack, Kid and assorted Nuts and Bolts. Sound off if you ain't dead or ceasing to function." He checked every angle, he even fired into the dead creature. He'd seen Death, even dispensed him... he'd never been so close to it personally. "Money... we make money... that means civilisation... this is not..." he continued muttering, eventually looping through what he'd already said, and heading toward the ramp of the Yoania.

 

[Pippa]

As the smouldering echoes of blaster fire cooled around them coupled with the last few monstrous shrieks and the sound of a hunting knife repeatedly hitting home the crew gathered them selves to secure the area. The immediate tensions they were suffering were slowly eased as they bent to the task. Collecting what they could from the felled beasts and setting up electronic agitators to ward of future predators they settled into a gradual peace. Over the next few weeks they would come to know each other good deal better and did everything they could to get the ships back up to one hundred percent with what they could scavenge from the luscious jungles and after securing a safe pathway through what they could barter form the farming collectives on the far side of the Jungle line.

Once the crew and vessels were as ready as they were going to be and the immediate heat from Pantalomin had died down they were ready to take a new job to earn some Credits and maybe be able to acquire some real repairs in a more developed system. Of the jobs and missions they had available the best offer they could see was on Nar Shaddaa and so they decided to get out and make a new name for themselves.

Spoiler: The End

OOC: This represents the culmination of this plot thread into A fistful of credits. Posts following this are the above noted "getting to know each other better" Conversations and moments that transpired over the course of the weeks the crew spent on Taanab.

[COLOR=#ffff4d]@Kaylon Neroka[/COLOR] : As the fighting died down Pippa hopped into her walker to venture outside. Passing Quint on the gangplank she headed out to survey the area and in particular the terrifying beasts they'd been battling. After passing to ogle a few of the less toasty corpses she tuned and spotted the Pantoran crouched over one and preparing it in some way. Pippa stomped up and introduced herself to him. "Hello unidentified blue humanoid. I am Pippa. I can see that the indicator light on your rifle's Tibanna reservoir is blinking a refilling pattern. If you so wish I can recharge and refill your weapon. While I do so you may use mine, it would not do to be unarmed if we are assaulted again and I predict that you are a better shot then I am." She intoned deeply over the walker's speaker. She held out one robotic hand expectantly to receive Kalylon's sniper Rifle and offered him her Anti-Material rifle with the other.

[COLOR=#5900b3]@Frannykins87[/COLOR] : Pippa was concerned. Kaylon had assured them that another assault was unlikely for the next few days and while she did not distrust or disbelieve their new ally, there was apart of her that wanted to make sure. The fact that she could happily have walked down one of the creature's gullets without touching the sides only partly factored into this concern. She had been trying to form a defensive plan to deter or repel the creatures but her database had little to no information to work with. From looking at the creatures she had noticed in particular that they seemed to have proportionally small singularly-faceted eyes with milky corneas. This suggested that they relied more on scent and hearing to perceive their surroundings than eyesight. Pippa had decided she would try to build some kind of sonic agitator as a deterrent but she was struggling to find useful parts. She went to Alisha to ask for help. "Alisha, I wanted to build a device to help ward off the beasts but I cannot find a resonator coil or something that could take its place, I fear that we used the last one when you fixed the Yoania's engine over Pantalomin. I was wondering if you could help me find a way to make this work?"

[COLOR=#ff4d4d]@Sangga[/COLOR] : Pippa scampered frantically through the insides of the Yoania. Crawling and squeezing she could maker her way through ducts and access hatches that larger humanoids had no hope of fitting into. She could hear the angry clomping footsteps searching, probing, daring her to break cover. She mustered what courage she could and made a break for the cargo bay. If she could just make it into her walker she'd be safe, he could yell at her all he liked from in there and it wouldn't matter. Steeling her nerves for one last mad dash she slowly opened a panel looking out across the bay. She could hear the footsteps, they sounded far away, she felt sure that she'd lost him. Pelting as fast as her stubby cybernetic legs could carry her she gambled everything on one last sprint. Unfortunately for her Hart was a better gambler and a much better bluffer. He dashed out from where he had faked footfalls to make him seem father off than he really was and caught the wily Chadra-fan by the scruff of her neck easily catching up to and hoisting her one handed. Before he could say anything Pippa began hurriedly pleading her case at about a thousand squeaks per minute before Hart cut her off "IamsorryCaptainQuintHartbutIhaveinnowayalteredthefunctionsofyourshipIhaveonlytriedtobringittofullcatalogue
functionalitythewiringwasancientandithasclearlynotbeeninternallyservicedinmylifeti-"

[COLOR=#4da6ff]@StarWriter[/COLOR] : Pippa stood out in the clearing away from the ships. The perimeter seemed to be doing its job and the crew hadn't had another beast attack since the first. Pippa stared at a smoking tree and a large circle that had been painted on it. She was irritated that all of her shots were landing out side of the circle. Her walker stood a few feet away. She knew that if she got in it she could use the overlay grid to aim from the cockpit and she would have no difficulty blowing the tree to pieces with pinpoint accuracy but what Hart had said was sticking with her because he was right; she wouldn't always be able to rely on the safety of the inside of a vehicle, her years trapped at the Baba Industries research Lab should have taught her that. She would have to learn to defend her self out side it and learning to shoot was the first step towards that but it was proving to be something that she didn't have the knack for. Frustrated she turned to the patiently watching Mandalorian and implored him for advice "I am just not getting this" she squeaked in irritation "Kyllan please tell me what I am doing wrong, why does it not fire where I want it to?"

 

[Frannykins87]

@Kaylon Neroka : After the fight ended, Alisha took a deep sigh of relieve and sheated her weapon. She stepped outside the landing pad, where Kyllan , Hart and the stranger she saw earlier. She raised a hesitant hand to wave the man in greeting, assuming that he was the contact Hart spoke of earlier. She approached the men, and spoke softly. They might have been in a jungle, but she was taught manners. At least, until those proved futile. "Alisha is my name. Friend of Hart's I take it?" She ten looked around, her fear subsiding, and a hint of excitment in her eyes "So..Tanaab...rather green it seems...and..full of beasties...What ..WERE those things...?" An alarmed beeping sound would rush out of the ship, and a very distressed Tippy appeared at the landing. One quick look around at the corpses of the beasts, and Tippy rushed off back inside, screaching. Alisha sighed. "That's my droid...I..apologise in advance for any trouble he might cause..I'll try and keep him locked up or something..."

@Pippa Rhute : Alisha nodded at Pippa's idea when she heard it . "I concur. It would be best if we manage, at the very least, to dispel some of these attacks.." She was still a bit shaken from the beasts but she went over the corpse of the one she shot near the Yoania's landing pad, leaving the other three men to sort things out. Pippa's idea was good, but like she mentioned the materials were lacking...Unfortunately, no chance in hell the captain was going to let them...."borrow" spare parts from non-essential ship systems, so she wasn't even going to try. She respected the Captain too much. But the other problem was that they had no idea what other fauna was there. A challenge Alisha was happy to try and answer. If Tatooine taught her anything, it was that an ideal situation does not exist. So for the next hour, Alisha and Pippa got together to brain storm ideas for the device. After some time, they managed to come up with a design that would require constant fixing and monitoring, and likely would have worked with all the fauna present, given the lack of information on the planet they had. They also only had enough materials to make a couple, which they planted one in front, and one behind the area where the ship crash landed. Hopefully, it would at least deter some attacks.

@Sangga : In the days following the landing, Alisha also spent her time trying to fix the ships as much as possible. Especially Hart's, given the amount of strain it was under. It reminded her of her days working on Tatooine, though, and she almost enjoyed it. Cheerfully whistling a soft, happy tune that she remembered from when she was a child, she was now working on the engine, her hair tied up in a knot, and grease all over her hands and her shirt. She had been working at it for several hours now. Hart was, naturally, present in the room. Clearly, he didn't trust anyone with his ships. Alisha didn't mind. When she finished what she was doing, she smiled at him and showed him her handiwork "Engine's alright now... Though I wouldn't repeat what we did a few days ago..." She grins. Alisha also didn't mention the fact that she thought the engine could use an upgrade. Wasn't just out of respect for Hart, but it would be pointless mentioning when resources were so scarce at the moment. Alisha's optimism was shining through in this instant, however. "I think I am done fixing things here. I might check Kyllan's ship. Unless I can do something else for you." She smiled again, warmly and honestly.

@StarWriter : After all the repairs where done, and the devices made and put up, Alisha finally could relax a tad. Well, relax was a relative word. She didn't think those devices Pippa and she made was really going to stop all attacks, she thought it would be best to keep practicing her shooting with Kyllan as her guide. She was now very comfortable with the Mandalorian, though she always took the training seriously. The targets were set out outside this time, just in case those beasts would show up. Which she really hope they wouldn't. However she was improving steadily. After a particularly well placed shot that ended up roughtly in the middle of the target she was aiming at, She lowered her weapon and grinned, turning to Kyllan. "So..hmm do I get a prize now?" She giggled. Somehow she was blushing less and less with every interaction, though her eyes would sparkle slightly.