Ask Just A Space Duck, Quack!

[Kai]

The inside of the vessel had music playing in the background as the Grysk checked on the loader droid. He was pretty sure it was the latest club music for Rishii if memory served. Malakai stared at the clean crates inside the Tumbleweed, disguised as simple cargo containers. Inside the crates were enough weapons to outfit a small army. Fragmentation grenades, blast vests, vibro blades and most notably a mixture of E-11s sniper blasters and DLT-20a longblasters were in the crates. The man watched as one of the labor droids placed a crate of actual normal foodstuffs ontop of one of the containers with weapons like it would decrease their chances of being discovered. Malakai knew that if someone boarded the ship they were probably going to find the crates and if they had the desire to look inside they would certainly find what was there.

The ship was leaving Ixtlar and the destination he knew he had to go to required the ship to pass through Coruscant space. Being in the core this close to the Sector Rangers made him uneasy but chances were he would not have done it if he did not have the assistance of a certain special gal he had previously hired for a spice run to Naboo. Though as far as he knew Thalia had been ignorant of the contents. Hopefully she retained her lack of curiosity.

The astromech was fitted into its socket and working on calculations while Malakai returned to the cockpit. He was a decent pilot but he knew that the woman that he was hiring as a pilot would be better, especially with the connections she had nowadays from what he had heard. "You ready to get this bread?" He asked her with as warm a smile as he could manage. Maybe this whole thing was going to be a cake walk.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

He had reached out to her and that had opened an interesting opportunity for the young Ranger. Her last encounter with this smuggler felt was ages ago and she would find it curious to see that he had still recalled who she was; much has changed at least within her since then, but for Kai, Thalia was eager to see what he was up to, especially his interests set on Coruscant. Now her home that she could at least call it now, she wasn't too thrilled to have him bring anything that could compromise or hurt other Rangers. The crates he loaded onto the ship sparked some interest, but Thalia kept quiet as the droid piled the crates.

Kai called out to her and Thalia turned her head, "Yeah, should be cake." she told him as she slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket. She had returned the smile to him, but she would admit it was an odd site to see a skull grin; prior to getting on the ship, Thalia did one more check of the transport, ensuring everything looked ready before she would take off; worst case for any pilot is a piece of the hull peels off as you eject from the atmosphere. His ship looked fine and Thalia would climb aboard, finding her place in the cockpit.

"Alright, you ready?" she asked as she began to flip switches to ignite engines and ensure the shields are working, "Not bad..." she said listening to the hum of the controls and retracted the loading ramp so they could take off.

@Darasuum

 

[Kai]

"Yeah I'm ready just...take it easy please. Try to look...casual" Yeah that word seemed right. The last thing he needed was for her to take his ship for a joy ride over Coruscant. Malakai got into the spare seat in the cockpit. He had tested everything out once but the Grysk prefered to not use the maximum abilities of the ship unless they had to.

"So what have you been up to? Still working freelance from time to time I see. I wasn't sure you were going to accept this job. Mind if I ask why?" The man was paying her a fair amount of credits for the work. She was a better pilot than he was from what he knew and knew the core better than he did. For now he was not gunning for trying to make her into a dirty Ranger but her knowledge of law enforcement from an inside perspective had its merits. It meant she would hopefully avoid the things that might otherwise get him marked as a possible smuggler.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia smirked, "Look casual?" the more she thought about that phrase, the wider her grin grew, until she giggled slightly to the idea of flying casual and what it looked like to her. Regardless, the ship took off with Thalia trying to make it as casual as a take-off that she could make. She broke through the atmosphere, checking all the systems before entering the coordinates to Coruscant, the navi-computer counting down before unlocking the controls. With a slow pull of the yoke, the stars stretched and they shot into the purple swirl of hyperspace.

The girl let out a long sigh of relief; she always found some level of stress when she made a hyperspace jump, as one never knew just exactly knew when those what ifs would happen, even if everything checked out just fine. She leaned back in her seat, watching the swirl of stars as Kai continued conversation.

She pursed her lips together in thought, trying to think of how to describe what she had been up to, in fact she had been up to in many things. One end to the galaxy to the other, she was learning all sorts of things about herself, but that answer was never really a cool thing to say.

"I need the extra credits to fix up my ship." She said glancing at Kai and smiled, "I make just enough to live comfortably, but not enough to do really anything else." she sighed and slumped back into her seat and propped her cheek up with the palm of her hand, her smile disappearing, "I don't get to fly it like I used to, but I am not selling it."

Thalia gave a shrug, "What about you? Still doing jobs? Getting ready to settle down? What does a skeleton man do?" she asked him teasingly.

@Darasuum

 

[Kai]

"Still that 3-Z?" He asked, remembering when she had flown him to Naboo previously. "It hold sentimental value? Cuz I know a few places where I can maybe get you a better ship." Light freighters were generally on the slow side for Malakai. He preferred faster ships though Thalia was probably coming to realize that after getting behind the controls of the ship.

At her line of questioning he took a breath, looking back with a thoughtful smile at everything that had happened since the trip to Naboo. "Hmm...now that I think about it, it has been awhile." He had a couple more aches and pains. "Let's see..."

"Business expansion..." Two strip bars, a gambling house and more had been added to his business ventures so far. "Lots of travel and plenty of it far less comfortable than our last trip was. Actually maybe going to take a vacation. Maybe Canto Bight." Crashing on Mimban, the Knights of Ren, pursuing ancient and forbidden knowledge, just a few of the things that were in the grand scheme of things. Canto Bight was where he planned on pushing his expansion into the casino business but some rest and relaxation was never something the punk would shy away from. "I think I'll settle down when I'm dead." He chuckled knowing he tempted fate often enough that such a thing could become reality tomorrow or the day after.

"I think I have a lot to offer and so does the galaxy. It'd be a waste to not take all the opportunity it offers. There's never not something to strive for, some new status to aim for. Maybe when it gets boring I'll stop..." The Grysk's brightened irises stared unfocused on the non-existant horizon of the hyperpsace tunnel as he became lost in thought.

You promised you'd live...for me

Only the voice came to his mind. It sounded distant yet reasurring, reminding him of why he didn't just crash that speeder into the side of a building or let the spiders kill him or ask for a second helping of beat-down from that quarren. "What do you think what happens after we die?" The Grysk asked and fished a flask from his jacket. The drugs quieted the voices but she always seemed to stick around. Malakai did not want the ghost of his dead girlfriend getting in the way of things for now. It was more of a Not now honey, I'm working Sort of deal. He offered the flask to Thalia as well.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

He asked about what her deal was with her ship and she smiled, there was truth in his question about it having sentimental value, however, she was not just quite ready yet to depart with it. She did imagine a faster ship would be ideal, but her work as a Ranger has kept her centralized on the core, nothing to where a quick jump here or there via shuttle couldn't solve. However, she would keep it in mind as he moved onto explaining his own recent ventures since their last meeting.

She liked his term, 'business expansion', it could have meant many things, but knowing how he was involved in illicit transporting of goods, she could only imagine what other businesses he may have supplying his interests. She grinned when he suggested he would settle down when he was dead. She certainly knew the feeling and often felt it with how much she worked with the Sector Rangers. Kai continued on, his thoughts drifted and Thalia adjusted her position in her seat to get more comfortable but was interrupted with Kai asking a rather deep question.

"When we die?" her face contorted in puzzlement, "Oh, I'm not sure," she replied accepting his offer for a drink from his flask. She took a quick swig, feeling the potent liquid burn her lips and throat. "I think really nothing, just become nothing, nonexistent as the time prior to birth."

Thalia leaned back and looked at the swirl of stars, "Do you always have such deep thoughts while flying?" she asked.

@Darasuum

 

[Kai]

"Hmm..." He murmured in response to her answer, considering it. But she asked a follow up question which warranted him to take another swig of his flask. "Nah...just like picking the brain of pretty people to see if they're as attractive in the mind as they are on the surface." A chuckle followed to help Thalia realize he was making an obvious flirtation to not be taken seriously.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm bored and just figured of filling the silence with some conversation. The worst people talk about things, like the new commlink they bought or the holoprojector in their summer home. A little bit above those types of people are just the type of people that talk about other people. Above that, people talk about ideas. Death is one of those ideas that personally intrigues me." He took another swig and took a follow up deep breath.

Malakai's eyes unfocused the more he delved further into his own contemplations. "I think I'm okay with it if you just...end." His head turned and focused on the viewport. Not what was beyond it, but the actual reflective surface of the starship viewport. Over his right shoulder he could see the lithe figure of a young Zeltron woman over his shoulder. Just as his eyes focused on her she faded from view and he was stuck staring at the faint reflection of his sole reflection. Malakai wanted to learn more about life after death considering his dead girlfriend continued to haunt him more or less every day.

"But I'd be lying if I said I think that's the case. Maybe reincarnation or resurrection is possible. Ever hear about anything like that?" The ghoulish male switched to a more casual tone as he pulled himself out of any morbid melancholy. A zombie apocalypse sounds like it would be fun. The criminal had played plenty of games involving killing the undead. It was always fun to get blazed and play holo-games in the fantastical. Malakai started reaching around in different cockpit compartments to find a handheld game he was pretty sure that he had left a few weeks back. Maybe it still had his previous save on it. The flask was set on the console between himself and Thalia allowing her to continue to partake if she desired.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia observed him carefully as he spoke, listening with intention as she tried to decipher where he was going with this conversation. He tried to make light of the situation, not really easing the topic with his overemphasized flirt and took another drink from his flask. Thalia almost believed he could have been drunk, unable to handle a few sips in the matter of minutes. He agreed with her perception, but was curious if there was more. It was an idea that many did believe, an afterlife of some form or another. It was probably Thalia's young age where she did not seem to ponder of such ideas.

Her own eyes traced his gaze from his sunken eyes to the reflection he must have seen in the glass. He then backpeddled, now speaking of an afterlife through reincarnation or the resurrection. "Like zombies?" she grinned, "Nahhh...only in holo-films, complete fiction, once you're dead, you're dead." Thalia said thinking about the last zombie horror holo she had watched.

"I think even if it were possible, leave the dead, dead." she said, "There have been plenty of holofilms that give an idea what happens when we don't listen to the natural order of things." she grinned, watching him settle in with his game. She decided to settle in also, it would be a couple hours before they exited hyperspace; reaching into her bag, she pulled out her journal, the same bracelet book mark rested in the crease.

@Darasuum

 

[Kai]

"Zombies?" He repeated the her answer but with his own confused tone. "What? No. I mean more like actual bring back from the dead." He stared out in front with a pause and then continued. "Like I guess that'd be what they call a miracle huh?" He chuckled as he realized he was basically asking. Do you believe in miracles? The sing song tone making him shake his head in amusement.

"I don't know. I think it'd be kind of cool to have a zombie apocalypse." Half the galaxy getting wiped out wouldn't be such a bad thing. Maybe that was a bit harsh. Yeah I'm probably just in a funk. Or at least a bigger funk than usual. While Kai had the visage of death he also had a general sense of morbidity whether it be with his outlook or sense of humor.

Hmm...maybe I should do that next." Supposedly there were rumors about undead among the witches of Dathomir. He wanted to check them out at some point. If there was a chance for what he wanted could be aided by what was on Dathomir he was willing to give it a shot.

The game in his hands beeped loudly as his avatar disappeared from the screen in a death scene. His face turned into one of surprise. A curse in huttese and then a reluctant grunt as he realized he was playing on hard mode and had to start back at the very beginning of the level despite having technically started the game back up towards the end of the level. I hope that wasn't Bruggan's save The rest of the time until they dropped out of hyperspace he just focused on the game in repeated attempts to get back to the same point as the game had been at.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia side eyed Kai as he mumbled to himself. Her brow narrowed as she tried to decipher what she was hearing, but more so how she was hearing it. She had begun to notice a feeling she would get when she heard the thoughts of others, like a draft from an opened window. This draft though felt different, one that brought the annoying need to shut the window. However, she decided not to push it, she knew he came from an interesting crowd of smugglers and passed it off as such. Her gaze fell back to her journal, not reading her entry, but instead starring at the words that rested on the page.

Thalia closed her eyes, her attention focusing to just feeling and clearing her mind to continue her writing, but instead, she lost track of time, her senses taking her far from the present, the glow of the Force hummed inside her until it was abruptly interrupted with the beeping of the hyperdrive computer.

The girl sat up straight, looking around a bit startled before she focused on quieting the alarms.

"Alright, exiting hyperspace." she said throwing her book into her bag and turned attention to piloting. She flipped a couple switches before pulling back on the yoke, the swirl of blue stars stilled and they returned to their place in the black matte of space. Coruscant laid in the distance as she took the ship toward it's atmosphere. "Easy, there she is." Thalia said.

@Darasuum

 

[Kai]

Malakai continued to play a bit after Thalia put her own book away. A few grumbles later and the ship dropped out of hyperspace. Stowing the video game back in its compartment he found it in originally. The woman angled the ship more towards the planet but he couldn't blame her. He had not exactly told her where they were precisely going.

"We're not stopping here...." He looked over the controls for a moment as he searched for where the navicomputer had been set. Not every ship was the same after all and he wasn't the best at being a pilot. It was why he usually had an astromech or someone else like Thalia doing the fancy stuff. "Uuuh...oh here it is."

With the coordinates put in Thalia would clearly see where they were headed to next. "Pantolomin has a nice resort that's in season this time of year too." A smile crossed his face as he thought about relaxing on the beautiful world. It would be his first time but when doing business for the Black Sun he felt like a few days of rest and relaxation was in order. He stood up for a moment and stretched. A few joints popped and some satisfied grunts came as he felt his tensed muscles loosen. Kai had intentionally given out compartmentalized and 'need to know' information out as it came up. While he liked the woman, he didn't trust anybody. He hoped she understood it wasn't anything personal.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia did not like that sinking sensation that stirred in her center as Kai announced their trip was taking a little bit of detour. She shifted in her seat and gave him a glaring stare, feeling her blaster rest against her thigh as she tried to decipher his motive. "We're not?" her eyebrow quirked as she took a rather sharp turn avoiding their original rendezvous point. She glanced at the computer, noting where they were going, "I did not sign up to to visit a resort world for you to take a holiday."

Her eyes narrowed, watching the count-down and her hand slammed on the controls to cancel the jump, "The agreement was Coruscant. Not to be your chauffeur." she flatly stated, turning the ship in order to enter the atmosphere of Coruscant, "You can find yourself another pilot there."

@Darasuum

 

[Kai]

"Noooope." He said with a casual tone. Malakai did not seem perturbed by her disspleasure. He had expected it but at the same time it was more or less the point he had been trying to make when he had been asking her why she didn't have questions about the job.

"The agreement was to transport goods from point A to point B. I said we were traveling through the Coruscant system. I never said we were dropping the cargo off there." A bony finger raised to also emphasize his point. He knew that it wasn't going to make Thalia feel better.

"Besides..." He added and played with some loose threads from his clothes. "...if I'm on Pantolomin for anything other than business I'll be sure to make sure you get your own resort room. You're better off not even landing on Coruscant. Rangers get vacation days don't they?" His eyes looked over at Thalia. A hint of a more serious look resided behind his baleful stare. Kai would be able to find another pilot, or just do it himself if necessary. He was wondering why she was so triggered by having to add one additional jump to the trip on a ship that wasn't even her's to risk. It made the Grysk want to start asking questions.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia's brow narrowed as he spoke, the feeling twisted in her stomach as he emphasized his own details to the task. There was something more that she felt than previously working with Kai, but she couldn't quite place it. Her hand brushed against her blaster before it came up back to the controls. She leaned over, resetting the navi-computer to Pantolomin, guiding the ship to the edge of Coruscant space, the countdown beeped until she was given the green to jump. Pulling the lever back, the stars once more melted into an indigo swirl, sending them across galaxies to their final point.

She held onto the controls, the feeling still not letting up, and Thalia reached within and touched it, expanding her senses outward. Her grasped on the controls loosened and she slowly leaned back in seat before her gaze slowly fell onto Kai. The feeling grew stronger.

"Who are you really, Kai?" she said, her intuition felt stronger than instinct. The answer was there, within Kai, "Don't play with me either." Thalia warned.

@Darasuum

 

[Kai]

The shift in the view beyond the ship changed, pointing away from the planet. It wasn't long before the ship was in hyperspace. One of the drawbacks that Kai had learned about concealing his presence in the force was that he only kept it buried so that any outside mental probe would not detect his force sensitivity. But he didn't hide his feelings, his jaded and cynical outlook. Thalia would be able to sense his feelings perfectly on the surface. But even while he maintained his buried presence in the force he was not completely blind to the presence of other force users. So far Thalia had not pushed far enough for him to notice.

"That's not an easy question to answer. But...." He thought on it a moment. There were several answers he thought about giving. Plenty of them were joke answers but Kai knew from the woman's tone she was serious. "...I'm a terrible person..." His eyes dropped a little as he thought about some of the things he had done. The movement at the corner of his eyes were just phantoms that he blinked away after a moment. "...and I'm trying to get back someone I lost." Raising a skeletal hand up to his head he ran his fingers over his black hair. "Kark....I need to find more shit if I'm gonna be that honest heh." He looked over his shoulder to see if there was an obvious stash of drugs somewhere knowing there wasn't.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia was surprised that he would even entertain such a question. She listened though as he spoke, finding a round-about way of explaining what she was feeling, but she knew it could go deeper, there was more than what he was letting on. Her eyes did not leave him. He called himself a terrible person, but Thalia would not bit that bait, from her experience, someone who sought pity for their goals always called themselves a terrible person. Setting the bar low so once she did find the truth, it would not come as shocking. However, Thalia knew many individuals would be considered "terrible" by core standards.

He ran his fingers through his hair, grumbling about finding his stash of spice. Thalia of course, was not happy with this response, it did not satisfy the feeling she had turning in her center. She glanced down at her hand, her thoughts wandered as she gently pressed her finger tips to her thumb, grounding herself. Though her thoughts returned to her power, to touch things and know their history, their stories, no matter how joyful or how horrid, and she wondered if she could do that with a person. Her senses stretched outward, the Force reverberating awkwardly around Kai as she started to slowly reach out to him with her fingers but stopped, shifting her seat.

"I think that is the stupidest boo-hooing story I have heard." she flatly stated.

@Darasuum

 

[Kai]

Kai looked up from his search as he heard Thalia speak. He squinted at her for a moment. Have I done something to offend you? Nope, don't say that. That's what she wants. The Marauder thought he had explained himself well enough considering the woman's own vague responses. Yet her response seemed like she was trying to incite him into doing or saying something. I hope if you told me your sad and edgy back story I wouldn't judge you too harshly on it. WAAAAY too sassy Kai. Silence is better. For the remainder of the ride he would sit in silence. Maybe the awkwardness of it, if any, would make the woman think twice about shaming him, not that he cared. Occasionally taking sips of his drink since it became clear this might be the last time he employed the woman. Some business deals just didn't turn out for the long run.

//end thread

@GABA