Ask Reach For The Sky

[Alana Calloway]

It was a tad embarrassing for Ines to be dabbing up the sweat and tears that had built up on Alana's face, coupled with having to open her shirt up so Ines could treat her wounds, but seeing as how they were about to get back into the action, Alana tried not to think about those two things in particular; it made her brain and chest get all fuzzy for some reason.

When the comlink went off, Alana found rather quick that Ines played her role well, rather well actually, and Alana found it rather...well cute. Alana flashed her a thumbs up in support once the girl had finished her performance, before setting about disarming their first victim. Though when Alana heard what the 'Jackers' were planning, her jaw nearly hit the floor. Vent the air out of the ship? That would kill everyone. Ines said it just as the idea crossed the woman's mind, with Alana's gaze meeting that of her friends. Without saying a word, they were of the same mind. "Damn right." Alana responded without skipping a beat to her friend's comment. Rising to her feet with one of the thug's blaster pistols, Alana unlocked the door and stepped into the hall, looting the other two's weapons and keys from them and quickly dragging them into their cabin; ideally with Ines' help. Once the idiots were taken care of, Alana would look to Ines, passkey in hand as she spoke. "Alright, three blaster rifles, two blaster pistols, and three keys. Let's go crazy." With her noble friend by her side, Alana would begin to unlock the cabins, then set about convincing several of them to take up arms from the rather small cache the pair had built up. If there was a leader behind this whole affair, Alana would be the first one to point to Ines for that department to be filled; after all, Ines had the cool headed factor going for her. There were several things the pair needed to do, free the passangers, arm them, inform them of what was going on, and hopefully retake the ship. Thankfully one of the passkeys that Ines held would get them access to their equipment, but there were on a bit of a time crunch as well. Alana could only hope they could pull it off in time.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

Ines gave Alana a happy smile upon seeing her thumbs-up. It was appreciated. The good moment wouldn't last any longer than that as the Jacker's plans unfolded. Alana was quick to spring from word to action, quickly unlocking the door to drag the two goons into their suite. The Alderaanian followed, and helped wherever she could, ensuring that it took as little time as possible. Both of them knew the stakes and wasted little time.

By all accounts, the two new occupants of the room were dead. However, in Ines mind, there was still a chance that they were alive. It was a mental security mechanism which worked wonders, seeing as the girl would hardly have been able to pull around, much less loot the body of someone she had just killed - at least not without both pausing and throwing up. Eventually, they had a small collection of weapons at display - mostly thanks to Alana who knew her way around weapons much better than Ines did. The Alderaanian listened as her friend listed what they had - it didn't seem like hardly enough for them to take out the hijacking crew, but at this point, there seemed to be little choice.

Together, the two then started to unlock cabins. When done with the card from outside, it would trigger a blip-sound inside the suites which would put the occupants on alert. Upon unlocking a new room, they would say something along the lines of "We are not with the Jackers, we are passengers like you." before even attempting to open the door. It was fortunate, seeing as a couple of rooms had passengers standing by the entrance with a raised letter opener or porcelain lamp. In one of the rooms, there were even a passenger who had managed to bring what looked like a wookie bowcaster which apparently only fired physical bolts. Not all unlocked suites had those kinds of passengers, however, as many contained elders and others who were ill-suited for a fight. And in one instance, two passengers who had been shot by the Jackers. It was a daunting sight and made the noble think of what her and Alana's fate could have been like if they weren't as lucky.

In the end, the two women had managed to gather a crowd of varying readiness and capability to retake the vessel. After the two friends had explained their take on the situation and what the Jackers were about to do, it seemed like they had the support of their fellow passengers.

While there were 16 of them in total, only eight were armed, including Ines and Alana. The choice they had now was obvious. Either they could try to take the bridge as is, or they could try to break the lockers open where the girls had their weapons stored, and a few of the other passengers claimed to have a blaster or two locked away too. After having considered their options for a while, Ines looked to her friend "You're injured, why don't you and whoever you bring go see if you can get those lockers open while the rest of us move towards the bridge?" There were no doubts about Alana's fighting capability in Ines mind, but she had already seen her friend shot once and did not want to see it again. Besides, only half of them being properly armed seemed sub optimal, considering the task ahead.

I remember to ping!

 

[Alana Calloway]

The stinging sensations in her chest had vanished some, but Alana didn't feel exactly one hundred proof just yet; despite what she had stated to Ines. The white haired huntress leaned up against a bulk head as Ines spoke to the passengers, alerting them of the situation and the plan they were going forward with. Alana had tried to make it look like she wasn't hurt, but Ines would know better, seeing a strained twitching of her friends' eye; Alana wasn't in danger, but she clearly wasn't fully recovered just yet. Seeing that two of the passengers hadn't fared as well as she had against the Jackers, Alana said a brief prayer of thanks to whatever cosmic force had found her desirable enough to live another day.

Once Ines had finished her little presentation, Alana inched on past several of the passengers, still occasionally gripping at her side. When Ines told her to go with the passengers, she initially refused. "And leave you all by your lonesome? I don' t think so princess." She muttered, tugging down on her hat with a free hand, her expression showing a great deal of concern. "You know just how unhinged these Jackers are, and now they're going to be desperate. Then there's a pretty little thing like you walking around and...." Alana stopped and cast her gaze elsewhere, letting out a disgruntled sigh, as she knew Ines was right. She wasn't going to be able to convince the noble anyways, and in the current situation time was of the essence; they could argue about this sort of thing later, once everyone was safe. "Okay." She followed up with, crossing her arms and looked rather dejected, before meeting Ines' eyes with her own. "But the moment I get down into the cargo hold, I'm booking it up towards you, okay? So....be careful?" Alana suggested, taking several slow steps back from her friend, before she would grab two younger looking men and wave them in behind her. "Come on you two, we're going to get gear up." Alana turned back behind her, letting out a call with a slightly elevated voice. "Anyone else looking to get some gear from the lockers below deck, follow me. We're taking the damn ship back boys and girls!" Alana grabbed at her side once more, as the effort apparently was enough to agitate the injury, but the pain didn't last long. She cast one more glance towards Ines before she disappeared around the corner, rather reluctant to leave her friend behind, even if it was for a brief moment. She'd have to just trust that her noble friend could handle things until Alana could meet back up with her, and took comfort in the fact they would only be apart for a few moments. Alana would just have to be quick about rearming herself.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

The fact that Alana was hurt was plain for anyone to see. At least Ines thought it was obvious enough and it pained her to see her friend hurt like that. The huntress not wanting to head down was expected and faced with two expectant eyes and a head leaned to the side until she finally decided to go fetch the weapons after all. Although the timing might have been a little weird, the Alderaanian was almost brought to blushing as her friend called her pretty, something which caused her to quickly intervene in a "I will be fine." The words were said loudly enough for the other passengers to hear too, some confidence would only do them good at this point, considering their rather grim situation.

"Okay?" she asked, almost as if looking for confirmation, looking deep into Alana's eyes. "Okay, you're coming right back up. Sounds fair enough" she replied and continued nodding "Yes, I'll be as careful as a person storming a bridge can be" The irony in the sentence had been seen from miles away but was still just as appreciated by the young noble. "You too, Alana. The first sign of the Jackers executing their plan and I want you on an escape pod, okay?" she said, trying to stay brief as she felt like tears would start welling up in her eyes if she continued. What if this was the last time she saw her friend?

There was a sense of melancholy in seeing Alana leave with her group. Even in a situation like this, it felt like Alana was the life of the party. That one person you just couldn't tear your eyes off regardless of if they were dancing on the table or throwing up on it. Almost absentmindedly, Ines spoke to her own group "Alright, let us be off" before turning around and starting to jog towards the bridge.

It was not an overly large ship and the group would arrive without too much delay. Still, the noble had time to say a few words "Our first objective is to get the door to the bridge open and jam it. After that, they can forget draining the air and we'll have a fighting chance." she said. Once they had climbed the stairs to the top floor, there was only a short corridor leading to the bridge doors "Some of you should take cover by the stairs." she said before bringing out the key card. A red light at the console indicated that it didn't work. "Plan B, then" she noted, upon which one of them blasted the security cam and a passenger who claimed to be good with computers started tampering with the console to slice his way through. The noble prayed that it would work, especially considering that plan C was to blast their way through which seemed far less reliable on a modern ship like this one.

Counter-Jacker Calloway

 

[Alana Calloway]

"Ok. If that's what you want." Alana's words lacked the enthusiasm that she typically held. She had no plan to leave Ines behind if the hijackers got their way, if things went that bad Alana would bust her rear trying to save the noble; she was never one to leave a friend behind. She could feel her friend wasn't fond of this plan either, but Ines had a point. The girl had the charisma to keep people organized, and while Alana had combat skills, she wasn't in shape to be combat rolling into the bridge blaster blazing.

Parting was sweet sorrow to say the least, as once Alana took her small party around the corner, she had a sinking feeling in her gut that refused to go away. "So whiteie, what's the plan here?" One of the younger members of her group asked, snapping Alana out her thoughts for a moment, though that feeling was still there. She glanced at the kid, eyeing him up and seeing the hint of fear in his eyes. His hands were shaking worse than a womprat in the middle of a Reek stampede. "We're gonna grab up some of the gear down in the hold. I have my rifle, the pretty girl back there has her weapons, and overall, we're going to come a packing while the first group keeps those Jacker guys in the bridge." Alana turned her attention towards navigating towards the hold, drawing her blaster as she felt a sense of foreboding moving on down. Going down the stairs, there was a flash of movement out of the corner of Alana's eye, as she leapt back, just in time to see a vibroblade slice the air in front of her. She drew up her blaster, firing into the Gammorean, as she sent him stumbling backwards, the pig man whining as he seemed to be wearing armor of some sort. A blast exploded the stairs under her feet, prompting the huntress to wave the group back. "Everyone back, get back!" She called, as she couldn't see where the shot had come from. The men behind her stumbled over each other, as Alana had no choice but to press the assault. She leapt forward, skipping the last three steps and nearly wacking her head on ceiling, as she slid into cover behind a crate. The Gammorean across from her was on the ground, huffing and puffing as his chest was smoldering from the shots. He wasn't a threat right not, but this other guy was for sure. Pressing against the cover, the pain slowly flared up once again, before it slowly died down. She could live with it, as Alana tried to visualize the space she was in, get a feel for where the man was. "Alright, you son of a nerf herder, let's dance."

On the bridge, the mood had worsened quite a bit. Jack sat in the captains chair, the dead body of the original pilot had been tossed off to the side. His hands ran through his hair as the stress was mounting. He was down to only three men up here, and two more guys in the cargo hold. "Jack, are we blowing this thing or not? Come on dude, it's been almost twenty minutes now." One of his Nagai lackys asked, as he was in the middle of juggling a vibro knife. Jack scowled, pointing a blaster pistol at the white skinned man, his hand trembling like mad. "You know what Edge, if you have an issue with how I'm running things you can go shove it!" He nearly shouted, the pressure was clearly getting to him. Edge only laughed, turning over to the Rodian they had by the door. "Squeaks, you hear this guy?" He laughed, as he pointed the vibroknife at the man, though the Rodian let out a low squeak that was fitting of his name. "Are you trying to tell me your scared to space these people Jack? They're a bunch of nobles. Just space them, lock the rooms again, and it's not an issue anymore." Edge pocketed the knife and moved towards the controls. "Seriously, I can just press a button and do it." "Edge, you touch a button on that console and I'll blast you til even your mother won't recognize that ugly face." Jack rose up and pointed to the Rodian. "Squeaks, check the console and you tell me what's going on, okay?" The Rodian said something that Jack couldn't understand, and moved towards the security console, looking at something, though sadly neither of the man could understand him. So when the Rodian tried to warn the two men about the situation, neither was aware of what was going on. "See? Thank you Squeaks, thank you for putting my mind at ease." Jack stated, as he looked to Edge. "Squeaks says everything is fine." Edge scowled and shook his head. "This is ridiculous Jack Just let me space the fethers."

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

The suspense was rising as the group of passengers stood outside, all eyes fixed on the self-proclaimed slicer. Many of those who were there were older and would most likely have complained about aching backs or stale joints, but not now. Now, they were all united to fight for their survival and each and every one of them were well aware of the stakes. With Ines standing by the slicer at the front, most of the others were in the staircase with only a few standing along the walls in the short corridor. It made sense, considering how extraordinarily bad the cover was in the corridor.

Eventually, a mumble could be heard from the slicer. He told them to prepare, for if he was ever going to succeed, it would be soon. And just as he said, the doors soon swooshed open. The Rodian Jacker who already knew they were coming was quick to raise his blaster and started firing a flurry of shots, hitting two of the passengers who stood in the corridor before being shot by all the others. "Jam all door controls. We need to keep this open" she said as she pushed past the slicer quickly trying to lead a charge into the bridge. Unfortunately, only three more people pressed through the entrance with her as the others still covered in the staircase. At least they had managed to pull back the two who got shot for treatment, if nothing else, at least they could reduce the pain.

It soon became apparent that few more would get through as Jack, a hulking Besalisk carrying a large minigun started spraying bolts in their direction. There were plenty of consoles and a few crates to take cover behind which was quite the life saver for the four passengers who had managed to enter the bridge. With the entire group covering from the heavy fire, Edge started making his way towards Ines on the one side whilst the foe she chatted with on Comlink earlier started making his way around on the other side, trying to get a good angle at one of her allies. "Fire! You don't have to hit them, just send something back!" the Alderaanian screamed from the top of her lungs, hoping that her voice would outrace the noise produced by the minigun. With that, she fired blindly from behind her cover, soon followed by the other passengers. Although they didn't hit anyone, it did force all foes into cover of their own which meant that the two flankers would travel slower whilst Jack had to pause his firing for a moment.

Once the hail of bolts stopped, Ines plopped out of her cover and saw the person from the comlink carrying a rifle, scurrying to take cover behind a tipped over table. Remembering Alana's words from before, Ines fired at her central mass and soon saw the man crumble as the stun blast paralysed him. Here she was, firing at other people - it was justified, but she still felt bad for doing so and soon dropped in behind cover again. It was lucky that she did, because before long, Jack started firing again, this time with renewed zeal.

Altdicted Garus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana could visualize the cargo hold around her, feeling the cold of the air, the heartbeats of everyone in the room. "Whiteie you need he-" "Quiet!" She called back up, taking a brief moment to focus on keeping her little team from getting shot to death. She could see the man for sure now, nine feet ahead, a little to her right, ducking down behind a crate. Alana shot up, running to the side as she brought the blaster to bare, only to see her target had done the same. Two blasts went off simultaneously, as Alana's shot nailed the man in the shoulder and sent him stumbling backwards, her attacker's shot blew a fist sized hole through her coat. Sliding into a crate and nearly smacking into the bulkhead. Alana pressed against the crate, leveling her blaster towards the man only to see he was no longer a threat. Letting out a sigh of relief, Alana pressed herself against one of the crates and calmed her nerves. Another shot rang out through the hall, giving her a heart attack for a split second, as she glanced back to see the Gammorean from earlier being put down by one of the passengers. There wasn't much she could say about it, these people were probably livid, and rightfully so. Still, Alana couldn't find any joy in seeing a life being taken, and decided to distract herself by collecting her and Ines' gear.

The situation on the bridge was only growing worse, as Jack began to fire without a care in the world, terminals exploding as they were struck and sent sparks and heated glass all across the room. It was clear that the man was in a panic, as while he hadn't managed to rack up a kill count, he was certainly putting everyone at risk. Edge dropped low and slid into cover behind a smoldering terminal, catching some poor passenger that walked by in the leg with a vibroknife, pulling him down and slitting his throat in mere seconds. Edge couldn't get to the life support controls from here, that plan was scrapped for the time being, but this bossy girl seemed to be shouting the orders, and if he took her out, then they could probably just kill the rest of the passengers and call it a day. When Ines popped back out of cover, she would see a pale faced man seemingly emerge out of no where and fling a vibroknife towards her. Edge had his target, he only had to hit the mark.

With her rifle and Ines' sword in tow, the huntress was hustling up the the bridge, trusting that she could leave a few men to collect some bags without supervision. She needed to get to Ines, needed to make sure she was safe. She could hear the blaster fire coming from up ahead, smoke starting to flow down the stairs from up above. She felt a searing pain start to build up from her lower abdomen, but chalked it up to another lingering injury from earlier. She put the pain aside, adrenaline and fear starting to take hold as she neared the bridge. She only hoped she wasn't too late.
@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

The positions were getting locked. Jack was keeping the lot of them suppressed with his constant fire and they were ensuring that neither Jack nor Edge managed to do anything too crazy through their returned fire. Still, Ines and her four allies were slowly making their way closer, moving from cover to cover. She made a point out of keeping a careful eye on her fellow passengers - if any of them got hit, she needed to know in order to help them and to have a good idea of which flanks were vulnerable - who knows, maybe there were more Jackers hiding somewhere.

To her horror, Ines could see one of her allies scream out in pain as Edge sliced his leg, and then his throat. "To the left!" she screamed out, bringing attention to what had just happened to the others. Even though Edge wanted to attack Ines, it would now be made hard for him as a blaster bolt swooshed past him, forcing him back into cover. Only then did Ines peek out of her cover to check on the situation again. With Edge firmly hidden behind a generously shaped couch, no knife would be thrown in her direction. At least on this occasion.

Unfortunately, the passengers would not be able to keep their advantageous position for very long as Jack ensured that they too had to remain hidden in cover. It was certainly rather bitter, having to retreat back into her cover, with Edge being able to kill one of her friends without them being able to at least take one of them out in return. The next time Ines plopped out of cover, Edge was already charging towards her. Upon seeing the noble exposed, he flung one of his knives at her whilst screaming "WAHAMEHAMAHEMAHIIIIIIIIII!!!" If the knife didn't scare her, the battle scream certainly did. Seeing the sharp object coming towards her, Ines threw herself to the side. Letting out a pained "Aah", Ines' right hand went to her left arm, it was wet. Apparently, the knife had scratched her arm as she was getting out of the way. Soon, the snake-like man appeared next to her previous cover, eyeing her viciously as he made his way closer to her. With her left arm in great pain and right hand holding the wound, Ines was not in a very good position to fight back as she tried to push her way back with her legs, partially to create distance between herself and Edge, and partially to get into a new piece of cover after having left the old one when avoiding the knife. Luckily for Ines, one of her remaining allies had remained vigilant and turned to fire on Edge. The knife-wielding foe was hit with a bolt square in the chest, and then with another one slightly to the side, and then a third one in the head as he fell.

Ines kept pushing until she shared cover with the one who had just saved her "Thank you" she said, her face locked in a frown as the wound pained her greatly with the stun blaster left behind on the floor where she had fallen. "We need to do something about that Jacker over there if we still want to have a ship left when this is all over" she said, looking to her neighbour, speaking loudly enough for the other remaining ally to hear too. "Try to take a few shots at him directly. If nothing else, it might give our friends in the staircase a few moments of respite to get up here too"

Enter Calloway!

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana reached the bridge of the ship, though it was almost impossible to see past all the smoke and blaster fire being exchanged. The loud whine of a minigun was making it almost impossible to even think straight, but her friend was up here and Alana wasn't walking down those stairs until she found her. Pressing against the bulkhead, Alana felt that flaring of pain once more, and actually took the time to inspect it. The cause was rather obvious, seemed that she hadn't emerged unscathed from that brief shoot out below deck, as a small red line had streaked through the right side of her abdomen, lining up rather nicely with the blaster shot in her coat. This was a literal grazing shot, but it was just another blow to her pride. She was getting sloppy. Alana peeked into the room, seeing what the issue was almost immediately. There was a four armed man firing a minigun back and forth, his two free hands firing blaster pistols at anyone trying to break cover. Alana herself only got a few moments glance before the fire nearly struck her as well.

With her rifle at the ready, Alana knew what she was going to do. Closing her eyes, she visualized the scene once again, seeing several of the passengers looking ready to move into action, and....she could see Ines, like a colored image in a black and white holopic. She was holding her arm, wounded and stuck behind cover. The site stirred a small amount of anger in Alana, but she kept herself composed, knowing if she gave into it she'd lose the image before her. Instead she took that anger and channeled it into firing at the fire suppression system directly above the aliens head, bringing down a shower of oxygen killing foam directly over his head, as it quickly would envelope him. Alana wouldn't get to see the final shot be landed, as she toppled over on her side and hit the deck, the small red line on her shirt had widened considerably, as her hat hit the ground not long after. She pressed her hand over the wound, wincing as she was now lying under a cloud of smoke, with the smell of burnt wiring in the air. She could only hope she had done enough to help, because for right now, she didn't feel up to getting back to her feet.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

And then they sprung into action. As if planned, Ines could see Alana appear in the corridor, just as her two allies started to draw some of the Besalisk's attention. Something about her friend was off - Ines seemed to see a more injured friend than before. While she hated to see Alana hurt like that, it was also inspiring to see her fight on in spite of it. Suddenly, the man next to her who had saved her from edge just a moment ago spun in a pirouette after being hit on his inner arm. Fortunately, he still seemed to be very much alive but it was clear that he wasn't going to fight anytime soon. With that, Ines picked up his blaster and plopped out of cover and fired a few shots, only to see the fire suppression system starting to suppress the Jacker. Seeing their chance, the noble and her one remaining ally rushed out of cover towards the Besalisk for a better shot. It was unclear to Ines who fired it, but someone eventually hit the man square in the face, disabling him completely.

Meanwhile, more of the passengers had started to move in to the bridge, a few of them bringing bacta packs. An older lady crouched down by Alana "Let us get you some bacta, dear" she said as a few more passengers rushed past them out into the bridge. Holstering the blaster pistol where she used to keep her stun blaster, Ines waved to those who carried the bacta "She is dead" she said, pointing to the one Edge had killed and then proceeded to point at the one who had been next to her "He could use some bacta". While she did not mention herself needing it too, it was obvious enough for them to see as the wound laid bare without any clothes to cover it.

Choosing to push past the mouse-like man who had taken upon himself to treat her wound, Ines quickly made her way towards Alana with the mouse-like man in close pursuit. "What happened? Are you alright?" she asked with a concerned voice as she approached, and quickly crouched down by her friend. Making an involuntary grimace in pain, Ines decided to sit down and allow the man to treat her wound too. Throwing a glance towards the bridge, it seemed like the other passengers were putting out fires and trying to work out the controls which were still functioning. Looking back at Alana, Ines smiled, happy to see her friend still alive with what the old lady seemed to treat like a minor injury "I let you out of my sight for five minutes, and you get shot again?" she asked jokingly with a stern voice. "Once we reach Ryloth, I ought to assign someone to watch you." she continued, thinking of which of her younger siblings were the best suited for the task.

Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana closed her eyes, feeling the pain slam into her sense, all she could hear was blaster fire and the hissing of several destroyed consoles. When the noise began to die down, Alana opened her eyes to see people milling about. Several people walked on past her, until a kind elderly woman knelled down beside her and began to administer Bacta. "T-Thanks, that feels much better." Alana muttered, as she withdrew her hand and swiped her hat off the floor. She settled for setting the hat on her chest, as she attempted to get a glance that Ines was okay, and it wasn't until she caught sight of the young woman that she finally allowed herself to relax. It seemed like everything was over. Alana pulled back her rifle and set it off to her side, feeling a bit at peace now.

Alana's eyes opened up as she heard Ines speaking to her, the white haired huntress smiled up at her friend, snickering and wincing through the pain. "I, er, forgot to duck." She played it off like it was just a unlucky coincidence. "I'm doing just fine, but what about you? Cut yourself stepping out of the closet?" Alana grinned, feeling well enough to sit up, despite the old woman tending to her. "Young lady, you need to lay down, or you'll bust that wound wide open." Alana waved her off, much to the woman's annoyance. "I'll be okay, my friend here will look after me." Alana smiled, as she pulled herself against the bulkhead. "Hey, I was gone for like three minutes and you almost blew the ship up!" The huntress teased, winking at the girl. "Promise next time I won't get shot again." She set her rifle across her lap, feeling rather overjoyed that they were all alive and well. "Why can't you look you out for me? Unless your too good for me." Alana grinned, enjoying the small prodding at her friend. "This is my first time stopping a hi-jacking, I'm a little rusty." She joked, letting out a breath as she was just enjoying the moment.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

"'Forgot to duck', my eye. You have to be careful" she said, showing obvious concern for her white-haired friend. An awkward smile formed briefly on her lips as Alana made a reason for her cut "Madame, no! I would never cut myself stepping out of the closet. It's a paper cut, things got rowdy at the office" she joked before her attention turned to the elder tending to Alana's wounds. Slowly, Ines brought her good arm around Alana's shoulder "Come now, if she says that you're laying down, that's what's happening" In order to an extra factor in convincing her friend to do as the elder instructed, the Alderaanian allowed her hand to slip down from its comfortable position at Alana's shoulder to instead near the armpit. If the shot woman she considered her friend still refused to lay down, a light little tickle would follow. More to remind Alana of her vulnerable position than actually making her submit, seeing as she was injured and all.

Working with the elder, Ines helped Alana lay down, even going so far as to offer her lap for the huntress to rest her head on. Whilst looking down at her friend, Ines took the rifle and rested it against the wall next to her "I am going to hold you to that promise, you know. Now, what do I get if you break it?" she asked whilst displaying a mischievous smile.

Summoning her most innocent look, Ines shrugged. "I suppose you just haven't seen my siblings at work yet. If they decide that they are going to watch you, you will not leave their sight lest you leave the planet." Leaning her head to the side, Ines thought for a moment "But I suppose" she began whilst exhaling "I could be the one to keep you under watch too. I would like to see the look of the farmer's face when I show up with you to ask for a job as a farm hand." she said, remembering their talk about work earlier. Shaking her head, Ines let out a light chuckle at Alana's joke "You make it sound like you intend to do it more. To de-rust yourself. That is why I need to keep a close eye on you. When we reach Ryloth, I'm keeping you away from anything dangerous. Even the office with its paper cuts and all" she said with a friendly tone.

Suddenly, an alarm went off and increased movements could be heard from the bridge. Ines quickly looked over whilst putting a hand on Alana's shoulder to signal that she didn't need to worry. Two of the passengers started running fire extinguishers at a seemingly important console whilst an older passenger screamed directions to the others from the top of her lungs. Ines remembered her as a former starliner pilot who had long since retired. Looking back to Alana, she spoke "It looks like we're fine. Maybe. At any rate, I'd say that we have done our part now, wouldn't you?"

Garry

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana giggled at her friends response, especially being referred to as 'Madame'. "Madame? That's a first, and if this is what you call an office I have some rather pointed questions about what your line of work is." Alana grinned, enjoying the bit of verbal teasing that was underway. Her smile faded only a bit, as she gave a small point at being told she needed to rest. Though a small squeal come from her lips as she felt Ines tickle her armpit from a moment, to which the white haired woman gave her friend a dirty look. "That wasn't nice." She muttered, making a mental note that she would not forget this betrayal; she'd have to plot her revenge once they reached Ryloth.

Alana let out a huff and set her head on Ines' lap, though it felt a little odd at first, she felt much more comfortable. As Ines spoke, Alana put her hat on her friends head, smiling once she had done so. She couldn't exactly wear it in her current position, so giving it to Ines made it less likely to get stepped on by all the people milling about. Alana bit down her lip slightly as Ines asked what she would get if Alana broke her promise, to which the huntress wasn't sure what to say to that initially, though her cheeks turned the slightest tinge of red. "Um, well, I could...buy you dinner?" She finally spoke, unsure if that would be a satisfactory response, but her eyes widened as she realized her friend might interpret that as a date. As much as Alana wouldn't mind the thought, Ines had better prospects for sort of thing. "You know, as friends of course." Alana added, as she fixated her gaze on Ines; not like there was anything else to look at anyways. Alana cross her arms over her chest, possibly giving Ines a glance at the rose vine tattoo across her friend's wrist now. "Oh, so I'm going to be held hostage by your siblings?" Alana asked, a small smirk playing across her face. The smirk soon faded as Ines talked of Alana trying to work as a farm hand, and didn't know why her friend found the thought amusing. "What's wrong with working out in the fields?" She asked, lightly poking her friend in the stomach as if she was demanding an answer. "I just want to get into bounty hunting, and working for some two timing Hutt won't get me no were by chasing down some gambler with debt." Alana had already tried that route, and it just lead to Nal Hutta, where she spent way too long doing stupid simple tracking missions. "And I'm not a child, you don't need to protect me princess. If you're running around getting paper cuts, I think I should be the one protecting you." Alana added on, sticking her tongue out playfully at Ines.

When the alarm sounded, Alana attempted to shoot up, but Ines kept her on the floor, as it seemed some standard fire alarm had just gone off. Alana let out a sigh, relaxing once more as she closed her eyes, her hand reaching up to hold Ines' hand, as she opened her eyes to see the beautiful woman looking down at her. A small smile stretched across her face, as she gave a small nod. "I would think so, were you wanting to get back to the cabin and lay down? You sorta saved the whole ship after all, I'm just the lucky schutta that shared a cabin with you." Alana grinned, holding back on saying anything to properly embarrass her friend until they were away from the rest of the passengers. A lightbulb went off in Alana's head soon after, as she shook her head. "Actually we can't go back into our rooms, those hijackers are probably starting to come to now." She giggled, giving a dismissive wave as if she let the whole thought process go.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

Slightly embarrassed by her choice of words, Ines could feel her face heating up for a moment only for her too then chirp "Well, you better get used to it." she said before looking out over the bridge - Alana had a point, it wasn't much of an office, at least not one where she could see herself working. With that, she simply shrugged innocently before proceeding to convince her friend to lay down. "Not nice? I am merely looking after you, just as you said" she countered before turning to Ethel, the older lady "Isn't that so?" she asked, receiving a triumphant nod from the elder who had just gotten her way as Alana now laid down on the floor.

"Dinner" she begun, just as Alana blurted out her second sentence about the two going as friends. A sweet smile formed on her lips, anyone with ears could hear were the huntress' mind was going before saying the sentence and the noble was quite flattered by the prospect. Even to the point where she thought of the idea as rather interesting. Waving the thoughts away for the moment, she continued "If you're breaking your promise, I'm going to need a lot more than just dinner." she said, with good spirits whilst trying to keep a stern face. Her voice soon warmed up "But dinner would be a good start" she said, looking down at her friend, eyes venturing to the beautiful white hair which had spread out across her legs.

"Don't give me any ideas" she said, with a wiggling finger to warn her. Ines was a little surprised by Alana's next question and was even more taken aback by the poke. Not sure where to begin, she chirped "No, nothing!" as she tried to compose herself. "There is nothing wrong with working in the fields. It's just that, I think they would be surprised if they saw one of us Panteers there to work the fields too. We.." she spoke, pausing towards the end in order to consider her words before speaking "...we have a slight reputation among some of the people we know." she said, not sure if Alana would understand where she was coming from. Her face became one of uncertainty as the huntress mentioned bounty hunting "I am, admittedly, quite unfamiliar with bounty hunting." she said with eyes wandering up to the ceiling as she thought "But I could ask around. Who knows, maybe I'll find something interesting for you." she said before chuckling "Or have dad set a bounty on someone himself." she said. Soon, however, the red-headed girl scrapped the idea in her mind, seeing as her dad was just as likely to put the bounty on an old rival as he was to put it on Alana.

In an overly dramatic manner, Ines gasped upon hearing her friend's preposterous idea. "Maybe I am succumbing to paper cuts, but you're the one laying on my lap in order to not get more hurt from one of the three blaster wounds you received" she countered before her attention was drawn away by the alarm.

Raising an amused eyebrow, Ines soon proceeded to shake her head valiantly "It wasn't just me. I think your body carries enough evidence of this being a team effort. Actually, with these marks, you were reasonably the one who did the heavy lifting" she said sincerely. Leaning her head to the side, Ines considered her friend's proposal and nodded "Going back to the suite might be a good idea. It seems like they have the situation under control up here." she said. Not wanting the occasion to become a duel of words about who could give the other the most credit, the Alderaanian was prepared to end the duel with a light tickle whilst insisting that Alana was the hero of the day.

Flattening her lips, the noble sighed "You are right" she said with a defeated tone, realising that their room was probably the most dangerous place in the ship right now. Running a soft and gentle hand along Alana's face, she looked down at the woman, wishing that she would heal from her wounds soon, preferably in comfort. "We locked the door, right? If so, the Jackers shouldn't be much of a problem if we leave them unattended, I hope." she said before throwing a glance over at the bridge "I think there's a couch group which we didn't ruin during the firefight. If the floor is getting too hard for you, I can take you there" she noted, thinking that they might as well stay available up on the bridge if they couldn't get back down to their room.

Trooper 4-1-1-9

 

[Alana Calloway]

"You're lucky you're cute." Alana muttered, crossing her arms. She wasn't upset or anything, but she did think Ines was fighting dirty with her methods of 'persuasion'. Then again, this was a woman of high birth, so she probably knew a thing or two about convincing people. Their following conversation was on a more comedic note, as they got to dinner. Alana flashed the girl a grin about something more than dinner. "Oh? And what would that entail princess?" Alana giggled, curious how her friend would respond. "If I'm having to get you dinner, you'll have to chose, and I'm sure you would never do this, but....um...can it be sorta down low? I'm not a very wealthy woman." Alana chuckled, nuzzling her head into possibly the best pillow she had ever had. Ines seemed to get a tad defensive about Alana's questions, and Alana figured that her friend was trying to explain herself without sounding like she was bragging about her family.

"Oh, I get it. Well, I'm not going to ask you to work in the fields. Just me, need to keep fit and all that." Alana explained, adjusting the hat on her friends head as it was just a little too far back on her head. She was going to find her friend the perfect hat, though she only hoped that would lead to Ines trying to steal her style, but if that did happen, well, at least Ines wore it well. Against her better sense, Alana threw one last comment tacked onto her initial comment. "Though if you want to come out in that top and help me pick through the fields I wouldn't complain." Having finally got that comment out that she had been holding back since she got shot, Alana focused on addressing the bounty hunting problem. "Nah, you don't have to do that. If people hear I have this beautiful noble woman doing things they'll think I'm one of those rich kid hunters that has connections and buys their way into the guild." Alana shrugged her shoulders, smiling at Ines. "Buttt, I might need someone to tag along for initiation, if your game for that?" Alana smiled sheepishly, hoping she could get the red head to consider it.

Ines' dramatic display squeezed a good laugh out of the huntress, as she had to hold her side from the laughter causing her side to ache. The alarm of course caused Alana to bolt up, only for Ines to stop her.

Alana was about to try and refute the words of her friend, obviously they were just having fun, but she saw Ines poise her hand as if she was about to strike, and stopped herself. She felt like she was going to regret informing Ines of her crippling weakness to tickling. She needed to find a weakness to exploit with Ines now, but the woman seemed to be almost unflappable; clearly that task would require some investigating. Ines did have siblings though, so perhaps that was one way to get back at the noble. Alana's blushing became more noticeable as Ines ran a hand along her cheek, prompting the white haired woman to bit down softly on her lip. "Yea, we did. I don't think they'd appreciate sharing the room with the two of us." Alana looked back to Ines, meeting her red eyes with her friend's greyish green ones. She recalled seeing those eyes crying just a few moments ago, the stark terror that filled them, and now she could see just how magnificent they were right now. Alana missed the bit about a couch when Ines mentioned it, and had to shake herself back into the world. "Um, sure, yea, that'd be great actually." Alana stuttered, perhaps a little distracted now, though she felt most of the pain on her side starting to fade; though she figured if she told Ines, she'd be kicked out of her current resting position.

Best Cow

 

[Ines Panteer]

Uh-oh - Ines had not thought about what additional punishments would be included and Alana was calling her bluff. Hearing her continue about keeping the food at a budget made it even harder "You would have to act as the help for a week" she thought, thinking it was a good idea seeing as how it was very inexpensive. Servants didn't have to pay for anything, after all. But then, the idea oozed of her upper class upbringing and did not really fit with the person she was trying to be. With an uncertain tone, she instead said "You would be confined to the Ines Safety Program. You would be dressed, from top to toe, in pillows twice your size. Before the dinner." she added, a mischievous smile forming on her lips. Her smile soon turned into something much sweeter and docile as it seemed like Alana was enjoying herself considering the circumstances, or at least, so it looked.

Her eyes went from Alana's red ones to her belly and then her feet. Shaking her head, she said "No" She was almost at the point of laughing - Alana was one of the most perfect beings she could remember having seen. There was no way she needed to exercise more than usual "You need no exercise" she stated before leaning her head to the side "Perhaps a mirror. A mirror would probably do you good."

For some reason, it felt like a privilege to wear Alana's hat. While she had no idea of why, the woman did wear it, like, all the time. It was as closely associated with her person as Manaan was associated with water. The red-eyed woman also seemed to know how to wear a had, as her small adjustment made it much more comfortable "Thanks" she said, appreciative of her friend's attention.

At first, Ines didn't understand what Alana was talking about until she looked down at herself and realised that she was still just wearing the tank-top after using her shirt to tend to Alana's first wound. "Oh" she said in a low surprised voice, feeling as her cheeks were quickly turning pink. Her hands went up to her elbows as she held herself, suddenly conscious over her relatively light apparel. Still, she supposed that her clothing made her look decent enough, all circumstances considered "I am sure a number of people would like to see me working their field." she said and chuckled "But they probably couldn't care less about my clothing. Even a winter coat would do!" she joked.

It was encouraging to see her friend not wanting her to use what influence she could muster in order to get ahead. But then, Alana had never felt like that kind of person either - her decision was hardly a surprise. Her eyebrows furrowed as Alana mentioned bringing her to the initiation. While at the one hand, the Alderaanian didn't want to get near a profession of such a low standing - if nothing else, a low standing in her parents eyes. On the other hand, she did want to ensure that Alana was safe. "Maybe I will come along" she said, after having considered the matter for both one and two seconds. "Someone needs to keep an eye on you and if I'm going to enter you into the ISP, I might as well be the one to watch you for breaches of our agreement."

The two locked eyes for a few moments as they considered what to do. Although it might be easy to loose oneself in Alana's red eyes, this time, the noble stayed strong. She wanted to make things more comfortable for her Huntress friend and would not be distracted. Soon, Alana decided that going to the couch group was indeed a good idea. With that, Ines nodded "Do you think you could walk there?" she asked, but knew that she wouldn't be satisfied with the answer. She then looked to Ethel "Would it be safe for her to walk there? With my help?" she asked. After receiving a confirmation from both, the teen started moving, indicating to her friend that it was time to get up. With some help from Ethel and the mouse-faced man, Ines managed to bring the white-haired woman up to her feet "Let me know if anything hurts, okay?" she said before slipping in under the Huntress' shoulder to help her get to the sofas as comfortably as possible. Once there, the girl would sit down at the end of one of the couches. Apparently still open for Alana to rest her head on her lap.

The Bestest of Garuses!

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana's giggles only grew as her friend responded back to each of her statements with something almost entirely nonsensical. It was probably too much for the huntress actually, as she winced and gripped her still aching side. This noble woman might very well be the death of her. "Okay, okay, mercy! You're going to kill me at this rate." She snickered, her laughter dying down before Ines had her giggling once again. This whole idea of being dressed in pillow armor like she was some sort of honored champion warrior riding out into battle was just absurd, though the tone of which Ines had stated things just made it that much more hilarious.

Alana raised an eyebrow at the mirror comment, thinking she knew what Ines was on about, but wanting to just tease the beautiful woman while she had the chance. "What do I need a mirror for? Is there something I don't know about?" Alana smirked, hoping to keep that bit of pink on her friends face. "I know I'm fit and what not, but if you don't keep in shape you lose it." Alana defended her position, having taken note of Ines' brief rundown of her physical stature. Maybe Ines thought she needed to try some new hair styles, which Alana was going to have to decline; after all, why style her hair when she was going to wear her beloved hat?

Alana decided against commenting about her friends' attire, because while she certainly was liking this look, she didn't want Ines to feel uncomfortable about her flirtations; after all, that road would only lead Alana to heartbreak. Ines deserved a man that was well put together, rich, and had better prospects of life than some two bit wanna be bounty huntress; not to mention the issue of Ines even swinging that way. Alana forced those depressing thoughts out of her head, knowing it would just upset her later on down the line. "Well, if you do want to come along I'd enjoy having you around." Alana commented, pursing her lips together as she let out a small sigh.

When it came time to move to the couch, Alana let out a small groan at being asked if she could stand. "Yea, I can make it. This thing is mostly healed up." With the help of the elderly woman and her friend, Alana was able to get to her feet with relatively low discomfort. "You're a really good friend Ines, thanks." Alana muttered, feeling a tad embarrassed that she was being drug around like a doll. Once the pair reached the couch, Alana was quick to take Ines up on the generousness offer of letting her rest her head on her lap. Alana had a small smile on her face as she took up her position, her snow white hair spreading out across her friends pants legs, as she gazed up at the noble. "Well, I'm not hurting no more, so I think I'll pull through." Alana commented, her hands crossed around her chest, as she allowed her eyes to close and just enjoy the closeness of her friend.

The Bestest of Cows

 

[Ines Panteer]

"Mercy? No, no, no my sweet friend. The Ines Safety Program shows no mercy. It will protect anyone in it with fire and fury" she said before leaning her head to the side "And pillows" she added, seeing as it was the most central element of the protection.

Seeing Alana's smirk, Ines could guess that her friend was playing at something. Was she being teased? Regardless, the red-headed girl nodded, "Yes, there obviously is since anyone who can see you will confirm that you don't need any exercise." she said before letting out a slight "Oh" upon hearing her friend's argument about the need to maintain it. The red-eyed woman had a good point, one which the Alderaanian didn't have much of a response to. "Well" she started but paused to think a bit more about a possible response. "Well... Fine! Working in the fields might be good then" she admitted whilst sending her friend a smile with a heavy undertone of "You got me this time"

It was good that the Huntress was well enough to move. Ines was rather well aware of the fact that she had already moved from the cargo hold up to the bridge, but the adrenaline which allowed her to defy her injuries should be gone now. Which meant that the capability to move had to come from the wounds actually being healed. Still, the groan did cause her to become a little concerned. "Don't mention it" she said upon being praised, feeling rather awkward to receive such a direct compliment. Soon, the two of them had reached the couch and the teen could once again feel her friend's head resting on her lap. Her hand ran through some of the woman's hair which spread out over her pants before she eventually started braiding it. "We might actually visit the hospital before we go home" she said and added "The family doctor isn't very good at keeping secrets from our parents. And this is something which they should be eased into." She was dearly hoping to avoid having them all too concerned - they should just learn of how their daughter bettered the family name.

"But don't worry, the Panteer hospitality I talked about earlier will be quite unavoidable, just you wait" she said. Smiling down at her friend, hoping that she would find it enjoyable rather than insufferable. "And if you need to, we can always escape to one of our city apartments or something" she added, wanting her friend to feel as free as possible. After all, Ines was the host and very much wanted her guest to be able to enjoy herself whilst visiting Ryloth.

The End

The bestsest of Garuses