Of Fate and Fountains

[Hol Horse]

Athir slouched in the leather armchair as the balding man standing opposite him behind a table counted his credits to himself, no doubt verifying the cargo of spice that the zabrak had brought with him. The red skinned humanoid's green eyes skimmed around the room leisurely, the Hutts contacts here seemed to live notably better than the backroom shacks he had seen on Toydariya. There were pristene photos, a grand fireplace, open air windows with a fully furnished balcony that boasted an impressive view of the markets of Theed. It was a nice change of pace in Athir's mind, a reminder of the life of luxury he once lost and now sought to regain.

"There it is, the lot of it, 10,000 credits for three barrels of Spice. I'll send the esteemed Nibezza your regards, keep it up and you'l be making double that in no time kid" the human said, placing Athir's credit chip on the lavish wooden tabel and sliding it over to where he sat. The zabrak gave a simple nod and picked up the payday, sliding his newly bolstered chip into his back pocket. "If you're looking for any daredevil's to run cargo for you, you know how to find me" Athir said, finishing his buisness with the Hutt representative and stepping out of his office. A few flight's of stairs and a back alley later and the zabrak was standing in the middle of the bright streets of Theed.

Ahhh, Theed, Athir had come here once and a while growing up. His father, Moqu had a substantial field office for Kavos corp. here. Most of the humans and natives were used to seeing zabrak like himself, even now as he stood there deciding what to do next he got a few second looks, but fortunately they leaved him be. In a lot of ways, this city almost felt like a second Coruscant, there was money to made everywhere you looked that is- just without the urban feeling. The black market scene was fairly big here, maybe not as big as some of the other Republic worlds but still enough to make some impressive credits.

"Hmm..." Athir 'hmmm'd' to himself as he looked up and down the street he was on. He had been flying nonstop ever since the incident at the Vile Villa it felt like, not to mention the hellacious Kessel run he had survived with Damon. Time was money to Athir, yet, for now he decided he would throw a bit away by staying in Theed for a while. He had the Hutts behind him by now, he could pick up a contract later if he wanted to. The smuggler adjusted his pilot's jacket before sliding his hands into its pockets, inhaling the deep and rich air of Naboo. He couldn't explain it, it just felt clean here, like a part of him could relax in the sun for once.

So, where did that leave him? "Left or right?" he asked himself in muttering fashion, looking up and down the street once again. Eventually he reached his own little conclusion, a small grin on his face, "Naturally it should be left, for if I go right under the presumption 'I'm alway's right' I would be smitten by the power of tragic irony" he concluded, feeling oh-so smug with his little jest. As he turned to walk left up the street through the market though, he felt a sudden tug in his stomach.

The man stopped for a moment, his joviality somewhat dampened as his mind and stomach seemed to churn. He couldn't explain it, but, after careful consideration, it felt as though going right was the way he should go. Not paying much thought on the change of opinion and placing it ona fanciful whim, Athir turned around and began walking towards the main square of Theed.

@Undine

 

[Undine]

Today was going pretty good, despite the short rain in the early hours, which meant she had had an early start to her day. She and her fellow street performers were currently living in a little wanderer's village outside Theed as so called "loiterers" were not welcome to sleep out in the open of the city. Not that any of them were foolish enough to sleep out in the open anyway. It wasn't safe. The little village of a few dozen homeless mostly non-human beggars and street people lived together nicely. They managed to hold onto their own way of keeping the peace, even looking out for one another and sharing pretty much everything.

That morning, Ocean had woken up to the sound of rain overheard her tent, her back on the ground, the rainwater had managed to soak her robes. At least she was fortunate in the fact she wasn't going to be wearing them for most of the day. As a wandering street performer, Sarisa had her dancing outfit and her regular robes. The dancing outfit didn't actually belong to her though, as it belonged to the middle aged Togruta woman that ran their little band of performers.

The walk into Theed had been a short one, the rain keeping the roads sparse for the most part. It didn't take long for the rain to pick up, and by midday Ocean stood on the edge of one of the many fountains littering Theed's market district, wearing her borrowed dancing outfit of pale greens and bright turquoise. She wore no makeup nor wore any fancy jewelry, but her movements held a grace that was the envy of water itself, causing many to stop and stare. Her bare feet gently moved from step to step as she twisted and twirled the silver and aqua scarfs through the air. She moved them so they would mimic the movements of water. Her feet feel and rose to the sounds of the street musicians all around, some she knew others she simply liked their sound.

Occasionally, Ocean would catch the eye of a wandering citizen of Theed, and beckon them closer, almost as if to dance specifically for them. The other two dancers with her twirled and even sang, but her lungs couldn't take the stress of singing all day. Ocean was quick to grow fatigued though, and would take breaks every hour or two, stopping to drink some water or splash her face in the fountain. Sooner or later one of the other dancers would beckon her to return to them. It was as she was about to step back up onto the edge of the fountain that her gaze caught him.

He was a tall, red skinned fellow with horns. He seemed to be just another wanderer but something about him drew her attention. Sure he was attractive enough, but that wasn't really it. Regardless, Ocean stood and began to dance anew, waiting to see if she could catch his gaze as well. She would beckon him closer, as she had done with various others, only this time she wasn't looking for a few spare coins, she wanted to talk to him.​

 

[Hol Horse]

Athir purused the various stalls of the Theed market place. He could recall the memories of walking with his brothers and exploring the ins and outs of the city, those days felt so long ago now. As the zabrak walked along, he'd occasionally close his eyes and focus on slowly breathing in the scents and smells of the market. The foods, the freshly cut crops, the exotic spices, Athir wished he could become lost amongst the sea of stalls and shops that were littered amongst the streets of the capital. Still, he continued to walk, not certain of where it was he meant to be going. Should he have been looking to find a place to stay overnight? He was not going to sleep in the ship again, the thing felt like a jail cell he had spent so much time in it as of late. Plus, he had told his protocol droid to clean it up while he was out, it surely would be poor form to come back before the job was done, no?

The streets of Theed continued to drone on and on, the various sights and sound eventually turning into a myraid of colors and noises that never managed to feel truly overwhelming to Athir. Instead, he would grin, occasionally sampling the odd native snack or drink. Being a smuggler might have been a hard life, but when walked in a sea of bodies, the troubles of the world seemed to float away for a while. Thus, with a solid semi-honest paycheck on his person, a rather jovial atmosphere all around him, and a bright sunny day (sans some rain in the morning), Athir found himself in a rather good mood for once. As he continued deeper and deeper into the large markets of Theed, he eventually became aware of a new sound, a rhythmic flow that almost felt like water caressing his mind.

No, it was something more than that. It felt like the music was pulling at him, gently sliding up and down his spine almost as the sensation of a sudden and inexplicable desire filled his mind. The zabrak looked around, at first he saw nothing out of the ordinary, a few humans or gungans shooting him some questioning looks or calling him over to their stalls, but nothing notable. Still, that sudden pulling sensation he had felt earlier suddenly seemed to creep out of nowhere and wrap a warm grip around his mind. Slowly walking as he looked around the marketplace, Athir rounded a corner in the street kept an eye out for where the music might have been coming from.

The red skinned humanoid shrugged off a few clingy merchants trying to sell him their goods, still walking, still wondering. Eventually though, a sudden sensation of being watched came to Athir's mind. It was like someone had shot him almost yet he couldn't feel it yet, it was hard to explain. Natrually as a smuggler such a gut feeling would have been a bad sign, yet there was something benevolent in this certain case. Looking around some more, the zabrak finally noticed a group of street performers playing in front of the nearby fountain- more specifically, he noticed what seemed to be the lead dancer looking straight at him.

For a moment, he had caught her gaze, yet as the band began to strike up a new tune the stranger began to dance again. Athir raised an eyebrow as white skinned woman, clad in green and turqouise, seemed to beckon to him. Being more of a city-slicker for most of his life, the zabrak instinctively chuckled to himself at the attempt of the woman to lure him in. The poor beggar with a few tricks was a common thing on Coruscant, Athir had abandoned charity for the sake of such entertainment long ago. His interest initially sated, the zabrak turned to walk away, yet found himself unable to do so.

After a brief pause, he looked over his shoulder. He watched the woman dance, her motions and steps seemingly flowing like the oceans he had never seen. Her pale skin seemed to glow, her body was done justice by her dancing outfit, her gaze entrancing. Athir gave a small grin, she could buy some of his free time. The zabrak fully turned around and slowly approached the danger, his green eyes full of interest as he watched her dance.

 

[Undine]

Ocean began to move in a near trance like state, her body swaying to the breeze or perhaps the breeze swept along the path of her movements. No words came from her lips and she lost all sense of rhythm with the music being played. For her there was something deeper than the sounds of the instruments, when her gaze met the red skinned alien's something happened. For the briefest moment her romantic heart fluttered with the prospect of love at first sight, but she was too smart for that. She'd loved before but this was something else, more spiritual, deeper than the even the heart.

Her feet kicked the air, her robes flowed through the wind swirling around her body as she moved, her hands reached up towards the sky, and her head was thrown back as she closed her eyes. From her toes to the top of her head and all along her spine something seemed to flow through her. It's pulse beating in tune with her own heart, both began to mimic the rhythm of the music once more. She continued to dance, every time she spun back around she'd reconnect her gaze with his and the flow of energy would pulse through her anew. Despite her movements becoming faster and faster she felt more and more energized and joyous.

Ocean could feel herself losing control, her feet began to hurt where the skin was roughed up by the stone yet she could not stop. Despite the influx of energy she could feel her body becoming increasingly fatigued. A split second of worry flashed through her mind just as one of the other dancers, an orange skinned Twi'lek by the name of Yangchen, pulled at her arm, bringing her to a stop. Yangchen looked down at her with concern as she spoke softly. "Don't overdo it, you know what happened last time." Last time hadn't been anything like this, she'd simply loved the music then, this was on another level. Ocean had to talk to him, whoever he was. She had to know what it was about him that had caused such a reaction. Still, she remembered what had happened the last time she'd lost control, bleeding from the ears wasn't something you just forgot about.

Ocean took the opportunity for a break, sitting on the edge of the fountain to catch her breath as she scanned the guy from the top down. He certainly wasn't unattractive, any woman, or man, could see that, but there was something else there. For the time being Ocean decided to go with his exotic apperance being it, but she still wanted to hear his voice. She would have said hello but she wanted to focus on her breathing till her heartrate slowed down.

As a greeting, she held her hand out to him instead, almost as if she expected him to help her down. The shawl she wore was wrapped around het arm, it's bright turquoise contrasted with the chalk white of her skin. Ocean had bought it months ago once, or at least that what she'd tell anyone who asked. In truth, as with many wanderers, Ocean simply took what she wanted when people were not looking. She never had been the type to subscribe to any form of ownership of anything someone didn't keep on them or in their home, everything else was free game.​

 

[Hol Horse]

Athir watched as the chalk white dancer began her dance once again, his hands still relaxed in the pockets of his pilot jacket. His green eyes followed her movements as she took center stage in front of the band members, a position she most likely was used to. Admittedly, the zabrak could never have seen himself performing in front of hundreds of people, the sort of masses that would easily flow to and fro through the markets of Theed. He might have been charismatic, or so he had been told, but not even that could save one from the occasional burst of stagefright. The woman didn't seem phased in the slightest however, moving with grace and elegance that Athir had never seen before. Perhaps Naboo was known for more elegant culture than the urban scene of Coruscant?

No, there was something else to it that seemed to appeal and speak to something deeper, not just the refined tastes of a man who had once known the pleasures of luxury and opulence. The zabrak scratched his nose as he watched the stranger spin and spin and spin, her gaze occasionally meeting his own, something that made him smirk a bit. Faster and faster she moved, yet at the same time it felt as though in his minds eye that the two of them were barely moving at all, like the world suddenly had gone dark with the spotlights solely on them. It was a peculiar feeling, he had been with many women before, he was no youngling, and indeed he had favored some longer and more intensely than others, yet there was a certain air and almost spiritual quality that seemed to come out in his mind as he saw the woman's perfectly white frame move.

Was she a Dathomiri? The thought momentarily crossed his mind as he looked her over once more, now only maybe ten feet away or so. Perhaps, though Dathomiri usually tended to be crazy and scare the hell out of im usually, and instead she just made him feel warm, so far at least. She wasn't that tall, maybe coming up to about the middle of his chest in height, her most notable feature though easily being her perfectly white skin. The turquoise and green scarves contrasted sharply in color from her natural tone, something not lost on the zabrak as he wondered for a while about the stranger. He had no doubt she was poor, the clothes of her fellow performers was a strong indicator of that, as well as the way some of them looked at him expectantly, perhaps waiting for him to give a modest donation for their troubles.

The sight of the stranger stopping her dance suddenly brought a frown to the man's face. The moment the orange Twi'lek had stopped the dancer, that moment- that feeling, that inexplicable sensation running up and down his spine, was gone. The spotlight on the two of them had faded. Athir's interested and captivated green eyes seemed to lose some of their shine as he once more reverted back to his normal self. He was Athir, the smuggler, and she- the white woman currently catching her breath by the fountain, was a poor street performer of Theed. As she rested, seemingly exhausted, he noted her looking him over briefly, holding her gaze on him as he looked on silently, unsure of what to do. Normally, he would simply give a small round of applause and be on his way- not even bothering to tip her, yet, he didn't find it in him to do it this time around.

Athir fished out a small coin from his back pocket, it was worth maybe about 20 credits or so. He twiddled it in his fingers a bit as his eyes continued to look the stranger over in turn. She was pretty cute, the clothes may not have been to his liking that much, but she still had the curves to make men turn their heads as she walked by surely. The zabrak's green eyes narrowed a bit as a small smile appeared on his face, he wondered if she really was that snow white all over, and he meant all over. These thoughts were suddenly shut down though as the stranger extended a hand to shake. The smuggler eyed it for a moment, and reached out with his own red one, "That was quite the performance, where'd you learn to dance like that?" he asked still twiddling the coin in his free hand.

"I'm Athir" he introduced himself before flipping the coin to her with his thumb, intending for her to catch it, "I don't normally give away charity like that you know, you're a lucky lady- don't spend it all at once" he said with a wink. The zabrak would then eye her over again once more, "Are you a Dathomiri? You stick out like a sore thumb" he asked before looking around the crowd, "Then again, I guess if you're tall with red skin and horns you're not one to talk" he said lightly, referring to himself with a chuckle. "Anyways, I won't keep you if you've got another show coming up. We all gotta get rich somehow, eh?" he said before backing away a tad, intending to start leaving and be on his way. Though, as he kept looking at her, the thought of leaving suddenly felt rather... melancholy.

 

[Undine]

The alien's first comment earned him a smirk, though Ocean held her tongue as he offered her his name along with a coin. Catching it with a snap of her wrist, Ocean's smirk broke into a full out smile at the boy's wink. He was cute, she'd give him that, though calling her a charity case wasn't the ideal method of a charmer. As the zabrak eyed her over in turn, she offered her own name. "Ocean, and the pleasure is all yours." Ocean chuckled, more coy than arrogant, as least in intent, though how Athir choose to take it was his choice she supposed.

She continued to listen to him as he spoke, asking about her species before commenting on his own appearance. "Asking a girl what species she is? A little ambitious I'll give you that, though I'm unfamiliar with the Dathomiri if that helps." Ocean doubted very much that her words had offered any aid at all, how else was she to retain an air of mystery? "I'm not really one to chase wealth, not when there's so much fun to be had down here with the common folk." Ocean jumped off of the edge of the grand fountain, more ornate in feature it stood just over four feet tall, landing next to the red skinned devil. She caressed his shoulder, slowly pulling herself nearer to him as she placed an open palm on his chest. "You wouldn't happen to know about any fun to be had around here do you?" Her words were more playful and seductive, but her meaning was clear. She'd never been with a guy with horns before, and she wanted to see if they were sensitive.

A quick wink as she suddenly pulled away had her calling out to him as she turned to face him, walking backward towards a few stands selling various street foods. A grin on her face as she pulled at the bracelets on her wrists, causing her shaw and part of her dress to fall from it's place. Turning the fabric around replaced the vibrant turquoises with soft greens, her entire outfit seemingly become more earth toned as she twisted and pulled at various cloths and fabrics, turning her dress inside out without removing it.

As Ocean moved between the people in her way, she kept an eye on Athir, making sure he could see the movements of her hands as she not only pulled at her own clothes but at others' as well. Pocketing credits and small items here and there into the folds of her robes before coming to a stop next to a gugan sitting down, surrounded by baskets of fruits and snacks, a large oval grill in front of him as he cut and cooked various types of meats. Ocean paused, turning toward Athir before making her move. She walked past the side of the gungan's stall, stopping to pick up a soft peach colored fruit in her right hand, examining it.

She caught the gungan eyeing her as she moved to walk past him to the other side of his stall, gasping as he reached out and snatched her by the wrist. "You plan on paying for that girl?" He asked angrily, as Ocean twisted around, falling to the ground just in front of his stall having been brought to a sudden halt. His tone faded from anger to apologetic when she reached up with her left hand, offering one of the credits she's swiped from passer byers. "Apologies ma'am." He grumbled to himself as he let her go. Ocean quickly picking herself up and hurrying back towards Athir, a sly grin on her face.

Ocean led Athir away, towards a sitting place overlooking a lower courtyard with a group of street artists playing a tune. "Did you catch it? Or were you too busy watching me like everyone else?" Ocean laughed, offering Athir one of the same fruit she pretended to get caught stealing, along with a fried something on a stick. "What? I swiped them with my other hand as I passed, then dropped the first fruit to grab the kebabs when I fell. Don't tell Geed, that gungan fellow, he only agreed to the first fruit and I don't feel like giving him a private dance again any time soon. Besides, you missed something far more interesting by watching me." Ocean paused to take a bite of the kabab before continuing.

She turned where she was sitting, so she could face the stalls of the market again, though she didn't point she did tell Athir where to look. "Across from Geed, that woman in the grey jumpsuit, selling droid parts. She works for a man named Balder, he's a droid trader, mostly underground trading though nothing heavy illegal." Ocean turned back around when she saw Geed look her way as she continued speaking. "That orange skinned girl I was dancing with, remember her? Did you notice she was following us, or did you think I kept looking back at you because of your dazzling green eyes?" Ocean cracked another grin before spotting the Twi'lek in question, fast approaching. "She swiped a keycard to a warehouse if you wanna steal some droids with us. We could use a smuggler like you. Oh yeah, I can tell, you got it written all over that adorable face of yours." Ocean stood up, tossing the fruit in her hand towards the orange skinned woman before looking towards Athir. She hoped he wouldn't be to upset at her deception, or well her multiple layered deception.​

 

[Hol Horse]

Athir shook the woman, Ocean's, hand as she introduced herself. Her coy answer brought a small smile to his face, she had some spirit, he'd give her that much. Most poor people he had been forced to talk to growing up just groveled or complained about how miserable they were, not have a rebellious and sharp spark in their gaze like this one had. It was a refreshing change for him, a feeling made all the more real through her second answer to his inquiry about her race. The zabrak answered her smirk with a challenging one of his own, "What can I say? I'm an ambitious fellow, call it staying true to character" he said with a somewhat exaggerated shrug as he slipped his hands back into the pockets of his pilots jacket. Sure she hadn't given him an answer, but that wasn't something that bothered him all that much- there were only so many humanoid species with perfectly white skin stopming about the galaxy after all, he'd hazard a guess later if she wasn't a Dathomiri.

Not one to chase wealth though? Talk about a turn off. Athir's momentary mood for teasing suddenly felt somewhat deflated as Ocean revealed some of her more... base, tastes. His smirk lost a bit of its sheen for a second as the zabrak instantly recognized the difference in the two of them and its staggering divide, "Ah, I see" he said, leaving the matter at that. He forgot for a moment that he was from a different world than most, especially this woman's. He came from about as much an upper-class family as you could get, the charms and courtesies of the common folk were traits that were lost on him for the most part. Still, he made a mental note to give such things a second thought later as Ocean stepped forward and pressed herself against him, her open palm placed on his chest as she purred sweet nothings into his ear. Athir lowered his head in turn to purr his own response, his mind addled with momentary lust, "I don't know, Theed is a such an awfully big city. I imagine a pretty girl like you would understand things here like its country matters better than I" he said, emphasizing the first half of the word 'country' as a play on words, he doubted she'd need little imagination to understand his line of thinking... Although it wouldn't have been the first time his silver tongue had been lost on people before.

The teasing and somewhat-seductive tension between the two suddenly disappeared though as Ocean stepped back away from him, slipping into the crowd. Being rather tall, the zabrak got a good view of the snow white woman as she slipped and slithered through the ignorant crowds of Theed, pickpocketing the lot of them as if she were the real tax-collector of this city. Athir cracked a smirk, "Clever girl" he quietly said to himself as his green eyes watched Ocean eventually approach what looked like a fruit stand run by an old curmudgeon of a gungan. Her dress had faded from blue and green into more earthy and natural tones, a transformation that dazzled the eye and entranced the zabrak a bit as he watched Ocean move. His smirk faded into a somewhat neutral expression though as he saw her get caught by the gungan. She had so effortlessly pickpocketed the crowd a few moments ago, was she doing this on purpose or had she simply slipped up?

Athir watched with a raised eyebrow as Ocean seemed to come to some sort of agreement and pay the gungan before walking a few paces away and looking over to where the zabrak was standing, a sly smile that surely meant no good plastered all over her face. He followed her for a short while away from the central marketplace to a viewing area that looked out over the streets of Theed. As he leaned against the railing of the seating area that looked over the lower courtyard, he'd give a small clap of applause to Ocean as she revealed the second fruit she had stolen. "No, I'm afraid I couldn't keep my eyes off of you to notice anything else" he said with a smirk before taking a bite of his fruit. It was sweet, full of flavor and juice that tasted unlike anything he had had on Coruscant. The pleasant weather and company made it seem to taste all that much sweeter. Alright, she was maybe a little more than cute- her sly demeanous and charisma managed to charm even the embodiment of it like him. "You naughty, naughty girl- if I weren't a more morally upstanding fellow I ought to report you and your shenanigans" he said sarcastically with a smirk, then taking another bite of the fruit offered to him.

As Ocean spoke again, Athir would look on with an intrigued eye at the woman in the grey jumpsuit that she had verbally pointed out to him. Taking a bite of his fried... whatever it was- the zabrak made a mental note regarding Geed. He had no contract at the moment, and while smuggling droids may not have been as well-paying as smuggling Spice, it was still a steady payday to keep him busy and moving from system to system. Athir would look back to Ocean though as the human started looking their way, shaking his head as she noted the orange Twi'lek that was supposedly following her, "-and here I thought you were enamoured by my good looks. I guess a zabrak can never catch a break these days" he mused to himself sarcastically in response.

However, as her learned that the twi'lek had swiped the keycard to Geed's warehouse and that she knew he was a smuggler, he paused. Alright, he knew she was smart and clever, but not that clever. For a moment, he stumbled mentally, pausing from finishing his fried food before recollecting himself and speaking, "What gave me away? The fetish for black pilot jackets or the blaster pistol holstered on my belt?" he asked before looking to the woman and the twi'lek. He contemplated his options. He wasn't planning to come back to Naboo unless he had a contract like this going on, though no doubt once it was discovered the droids were stolen, getting back in here would be a tad harder. Still, he could make some semi-decent money even if he had to split the cut with these two- if not more. Athir thought the deal over, it wasn't a blowout but it wasn't insignificant... Plus he enjoyed Ocean so far, both speaking to her and just looking her over with his wandering eyes. The zabrak eventually reached his decision, "Sounds as good a job I'll find for now, I'll help you lot out. Smuggle it off planet and find a good buyer, the whole thing. I'll even bring the money back when It's all said and done" he stated... A half truth. If he could get off the planet with the droids and sell them in some hole he'd make a pretty penny, but if he did it solo he could keep the full profit for himself without having this woman breathing down his neck and probably all over the rest of his body as well.

Athir looked back at Ocean's gaze, his mouth nibbling on the remains of his fried snack.

 

[Undine]

Ocean laughed, what had given the young pistol toting offworlder away? She pulled a credit chip out of the fold of her robes, offering it to Athir with a coy grin. Having stolen it from him when she prushed up against him earlier. "You carry a lot of money on you, too much really. I'm glad you want to help but we don't want the money or the droids, keep them both." Ocean turned to the woman next to her, speaking directly to Athir suddenly becoming difficult. The woman named Sage put her hand on the white skinned shoulder of Rattataki, their skin colors clashing dramatically.

The Twi'lek motioned towards Athir's blaster, as she spit off a seed pit from the fruit. "We can get in and out ourselves, but were not fighters, we can defend ourselves from other wanderers and the like, but not security droids if we're caught. Consider the droids and the money you make selling them as payment, we want to secure transport off of Naboo." Sage paused as she met Ocean's gaze before continuing. "Ocean is sick, we hope to find some sort of legendary group of healers called Jadie or something like that." Ocean knew Sage didn't really want to leave Naboo, but she wasn't going to turn down the company of the person she considered to be her sister. Still, there was something that felt off, almost as if her gut was trying to warn her.

~

They'd spent weeks planning the theft, watching for patrols and who would be where. Luckily, the particular smuggler they were going after wasn't to good at his job. There was only one guard, a beggar who sat at the corner asking for money from people walking pass while keeping an eye on the storage unit. Every few days someone who worked for Balder would come by and speak to the beggar, offering some credits to keep her happy. Since they already had the keycard, the real issue was what lay beyond the door, as they hadn't gotten but one good look inside as Balder was dropping off some droids and picking up some more.

Nither Sage or Ocean were able to pick out what type of security droid it had been, but there had been no doubt about it, it had been a security droid. Which is where Athir came in. If he could keep the droid preoccupied, Ocean and Sage would be able to load some of the droids onto one of the repulser pads and walk right out of there with their prize. Ocean watched from a distance, standing next to Athir, the keycard in pocket, as Sage walked up to the beggar woman, dropping one of the many credit pouches they'd stolen throughout the day. Just as the beggar woman reach forward to grab it, Sage pulled a stun baton out from her robes and incapacitated the woman. There wasn't anyone around this time of day though, or any time of day really which is why they'd noticed a beggar out of place.

Ocean began moving forward, towards the terminal that was her goal, no doubt Athir close in step. Once Sage positioned the woman in a manner resembling sleeping, she joined Ocean and the Zabrak by the door. Swiping the keycard caused the terminal to flash a green light as the magnetic lock could be heard clicking off. Ocean stepped forward and opened the door. There was a button to turn on the lights, but she thought against it as it might alert someone or something she'd rather not know what they were doing. "So, Athir, point out what droids you want and we'll load em up, keep an eye out though, there should be a security droid somewhere." Ocean knew nothing about droids, and Sage was busy standing in the doorway watching outside, though it was doubtful she knew much more than Ocean.​

 

[Hol Horse]

That little thief. The sight of his credit chip, perhaps an item he valued more than anything else in this heartless and depraved galaxy in the hands of Ocean, made his blood instantly boil. His green eyes quickly shifted from a gaze of amused interest to fiery determination at the fact that his meager fortune had been stolen so effortlessly. Were it anyone besides the woman who he had somewhat come to enjoy for company, he surely would have lost his head right then and there. Instead, the zabrak could only with a strained smile, grab his credit chip swiftly from Ocean and slide it into one of the hidden pockets of his pilot's jacket. He had his heart and soul back, he could breathe a sigh of relied.

Still, the woman's next words were somewhat curious. No money or no droids? Athir looked at Ocean as if she had grown a pair of horns herself, his previously angry eyes now seeming to show a look of utter confusion and disbelief. She didn't want money? That statement alone caused him to feel suspicious of his newfound company somewhat, "Surely you must be joking. This is a cruel galaxy, and it doesn't care about you or me, only the credits we can bleed to save our own hides" he said, not buying the woman's worldview one bit. It was probably just a poor person thing, yeah- that must have been it. People like her probably grew up having nothing and never aspired to anything bigger, she didn't know what it meant to live like a king, to live period. Athir thought this as he looked from Ocean to a newcomer, and Orange Twi'lek, a woman named Sage.

With the other woman's arrival, it was back to talking business. Athir crossed his arms and leaned against the railing of the overlook as he heard the Twi'lek plead her case, as well as revealed her preferred method of payment. Transport was something that piqued the zabrak's interest, he hadn't thought of the fact that his freighter was large and fast enough to travel fairly easily around the systems, nor that giving people rides could give him some nice extra income on the side. The revelation that Ocean was in fact sick however made Athir frown a tad. The look that the two women exchanged as this was spoken seemed to indicate in his mind that whatever the illness was, was serious stuff. "You mean Jedi?" he added on after the Twi'lek had finished speaking, he didn't know much about the secretive group himself, but enough as the educated elite on Coruscant would- which were the basics. Still, pinning down a Jedi wasn't an easy task most likely, especially since he'd most likely be shot down if he were discovered as a smuggler. Still... The money out of this robbery would be much appreciated...

Athir sighed, and looked Ocean over again. Oh well, surely he could just drop her off on some jedi controlled planet and leave her be, that would be the end of it. She would eventually go her own way, and he would his.

---

The next few weeks blurred together in an indiscernible mess of Spice and poor life decisions. Athir's general routine had remained fairly standard: get up around noon, roll a spice cigara to calm his nerves, grab some food at the market, eye Ocean and Sage in all the right places while they danced, plan their heist and scout the droid smuggler, roll another spice cigara, get blitzed while he made microwavable dinner, and go to sleep at around 4am. Finally though, the night of the heist had come. The zabrak had prepared the Otho in case it was needed for a speedy getaway off the planet, refueling it and repairing its hull, though there was little more to do besides that. Yet another spice-laden cigara and a short walk later, and Athir was standing in Balder's secret droid stash, the rows filled with robotic gold in his opportunistic eyes.

Athir closed his eyes for a moment, sighing and exhaling a larger than normal puff of smoke through his cigara as he contemplated which droids to take. Hangar or mouse droids were worthless for a job like this in terms of payoff, the former was only useful for fairly elite spaceports and the latter could be bought on the cheap from any telemarketer. No, they were here for the big fish. Considering these options, the zabrak opened his eyes and settled his green gaze on Ocean, "Protocol Droids, everyone needs 'em, but they're expsensive for most people save the rich bastards" he said, "Grab a few, not too many or we won't carry them all back to the ship. I'll keep that security droid busy". With that, Athir turned away from the two street dancers and started walking deeper into the smuggler's den, remembering the path he took in-between the rows or droids and shelves as he began looking for the biggest threat to their operation.

Sure enough, he didn't have to walk very far from Ocean and Sage to find the droid in question. The thing must have heard the sound of the door opening as well as Athir and Ocean talking, it's metallic footstepts could be heard stalking the aisles, moving closer and closer to where Athir was. The thing sounded roughly the size of a humanoid, it's weight seemed to reflect that in the 'thud' like sounds it made when it walked. Athir puffed on his cigara, his nerves calm as ever as he decided on a course of action. He could see the silhouette of the security droid stomping down the aisle next to his, coming closer and closer to where he was hiding behind some of the taller models of droids. Puffing his cigara again, Athir spat it out, causing it to fly a few feet in front of him from in-between the doids onto the floor of the adjacent aisle, causing the security droid to stop. The bucket of bolts quietly and cautiously stepped forwards, leaning a tad and looking down at the cigara, no doubt calculating the fact that where there was a cigara, there was a cigara smoker.

A quick flourish of dexterity occurred as Athir pulled out his blaster and fired off a quick point-blank shot at the head of the security droid, shooting from in-between the tall droids separating the two aisles. The blaster bolt struck true, the glowing eyes of the droid went dark, it's body slumping over to a halt as the CPU was no doubt destroyed. The zabrak grinned a tad, he would carry this thing back to the Otho too, a security droid would fetch a pretty penny after all. With this in mind, he quickly picked up the heavy droid, placing it onto his shoulders fireman-style and sauntering back to Ocean and Sage, feeling like the conquering anti-hero he found himself to be. "Ladies, let's make some money" he said, more to himself, as metaphorical dollar signs appeared in his eyes, the prospect of the modest haul he'd make off this deal becoming more clear to him by the minute.