Trading Up I

[Howl]

Klatooine
(Unlicensed Starship Market)
​

On the backwater world of Klatooine, one of the most remote inhabited worlds in the galaxy, there was a market. Like many such markets around the galaxy, it was claimed that anything could be found or acquired there, and anything that wasn't there, someone there would know how to get it. Howl knew that this was never true. However, she had gathered enough intel to suggest that this market in particular actually might have something she could use. "Intel" might have been a somewhat gracious term for drunken conversation at cantinas, but there was a surprising amount of truth that was spilled at the various galactic watering holes along with beverages. Civilizations rise and fall, empires are built and toppled, wars fought and peace made, all this and more took place around the local bar. Or at lease that's what a smuggler had told her once. With the amount of information that one could find at such locations, Howl was inclined to believe the old drunk's words.

The lone spacer made her way through the market, scanning the various traders and their starships gathered around the market. Klatooine was a remote place and much of the planet's interstellar commerce was conducted at a handful of markets such as this one. That being the case, it was a rather large affair with many locals and foreigners present, and quite a few starships. Indeed, the market's structure was nowhere near large enough to hold all of the merchants and their wares, so many parked their ships around the market in concentric circles and used the ships themselves as their shops and storefronts. Indeed, some of these traders were actually here to sell the ships themselves, and it was beings such as this that Howl had come here to see. From an observation spire at the center of the market, Howl had witnessed a ship that would suit her needs quite nicely, now she simply had to find it. Howl was a skilled navigator and had an excellent sense of direction, but her skills were proving only marginally effective in the wild layout of the market. Still, her sense of direction told her that she was near her target. She only needed to see a stabilizer fin or tail insignia rising over the signs and awnings surrounding her.

 

[Oddi Xon]

“Damn that jawa…usin’ a busted droid as an excuse to stay on th’ ship. When did I become go-for girl???” Oddi muttered to herself as she trudged through the market area. Sure, she was enjoying her time on Caran Malo’s crew. She had her own bed, she was making friends, she was playing a lot of card games, and improving her skills all around.

But then there was Meeps.

Meeps was the other mechanic on the ship, and although he specialized in droids, he still technically had seniority over her… which pretty much made her his whipping post. Not to mention that he didn’t speak a lick of Basic. So she either had to depend on one of the droids to interpret him, or… if they were being tinkered on… she had to watch where he was pointing and get the gist, or face his jawa-tantrums. And yes, she was picking up a word or two of his language, but not fast enough. Soooo… he needed a whole list of supplies. Fine. It was nice to get some fresh air anyway.

“Now, let’s see…” she mumbled as she looked over her list. “Power capacitor, two half-inch conduit fittin’s, one half-inch 50 foot long flexible conduit, voltage tester, wire connectors…” The parts she was looking for reminded her of her days on Zolan, where she was either swiping tech in order to take it apart or putting something together. The environment was about right too… it was arid and dirty, much like her home planet. She might’ve not known the difference except there wasn’t another clawdite in sight.

She had just finished purchasing a pair of conduit fittings and a voltage tester when that feeling overcame her. The last time she felt this was back on Coruscant, where she had her first encounter with another force-sensitive (along with a galactic rebel). Her run-in with him inspired her to read up on this strange energy called the Force. And here she was, feeling this Force here in this market. Immediately her first thought was, Carthus??? She looked around at the other market-goers, scanning the crowd for a familiar face. Then, she paused. Now, come on… she told herself. That makes no sense. Why would he be here? It has t’ be someone else. Don’t be stupid… don’t follow it… just git what you need and get back to th’ ship.

She forced her own eyes to focus on the list and kept moving. She almost had it under control when suddenly it felt a bit stronger. She scrunched her lips in frustration. Gaaaaaaahhh!!! I can’t concentrate! She let her arm drop as she rolled her eyes at her own inquisitiveness. Okay, fine. Let’s jus’ find out who or what has that energy an’ move on!

Rather than focusing on faces, she decided to use this opportunity to attempt to focus on the Force instead. After all, she wanted to learn how to use it, right? She closed her eyes, imagining that she could still see the market and all of its hustle and bustle. Suddenly, her senses focused on one location, somewhere to her left. Her head instinctively turned in the direction of what seemed to be a human female, over by the capacitors. Oh! That’s kinda convenient right there. Lucky me! That meant that she could both buy something on her list and go and check her out without looking like she was stalking her. Stalking… that made it sound creepy. Observing. She was observing her. Yeah… that was the ticket.

She approached the capacitor stand and examined their wares, all the while keeping a side-eye out for this person. She looked like she had seen some action, what with her choice of apparel. A warrior of some sort? And whenever it looked like this human was going to glance her way, she kept her eyes on the merchandise. “Uh… how much for this capacitor?” she asked the merchant, trying to act casual.

 

[Howl]

Howl was being followed. She was convinced of it. Her senses were tingling in that peculiar way they do when you know someone is looking at you. But it was more than that. She could almost feel the other being's presence. She could tell that this stranger was unfamiliar to her and was located somewhere behind her, but not far. More than that, the other presence had shifted and started moving in roughly the same direction as Howl when she had passed. This was a busy marketplace to be sure, but that still seemed to be far to coincidental, at least to Howl's suspicious mind. Still, Howl didn't feel threatened by the presence. There was more a feeling of curiosity than anything, which was somewhat amusing. After all, unless someone had looked up her distant past, Howl hadn't done anything to deserve a bounty or any sort of special recognition... Not yet anyway.

Howl continued moving through the market still looking for the ship she knew to be there, even as she monitored her mystery stalker. Eventually, she found it. There were tarps draped over much of the vessel, which probably explained why it had been so hard to find. Howl walked past a merchant selling capacitors next door and bent low to look under one of the tarps. There she was. Her condition looked almost perfect, and she seemed to be fully stocked with all the bells and whistles. Sometimes when ships like these fell into the hands of merchants, they were modified to be less than what they once were, but not this one.

Howl made her way up to the merchant who was selling his wares at the front of the makeshift tent-ship. "You there. I wish to speak to the owner of this craft. I have a proposition for them. Are you them?" The merchant was a toydarian male. He glanced Howl up and down as he hovered behind his table, wings flapping fervently to keep his body aloft. "Wait there a moment. I'll get him." The toydarian lifted the tent flap behind him and flew inwards towards the underbelly of the ship. Howl turned her attention once more to the presence she had felt before. Her attention was drawn to a young Clawdite who had stopped at the stand selling capacitors and seemed to be doing some business there. Despite the Clawdite's apparent efforts to remain inconspicuous, Howl noted that she glanced in her direction several times. Who she was and what she wanted, Howl wasn't sure, but once more she didn't feel any malice from the girl, so she smirked to herself and let it be for the moment.

@Zanna Black

 

[Oddi Xon]

Oddi’s eyes met the human’s as she attempted to glance her way. *Sigh* Poo-doo… she noticed me watchin’ her. The clawdite’s shoulders drooped as she rolled her eyes in self-defeat. She knew that she had been an idiot. Obviously, if the other person was force-sensitive, they would notice her right back. Duh!!! Well, that makes this sneakin’ around pointless, don’t it? she reasoned. Well, business first, I suppose.

She found the correct capacitor and haggled her way to a decent price. (Perhaps Meeps was correct in sending her after all? Her experience in the fencing market seemed to have rubbed off on her.) Then she decided that since this lady obviously knew that she was being watched then she might as well try to strike up a conversation. After all, maybe this person knew what the Force was, maybe she didn’t. Either way, she was curious to know what she knew.

She was about to approach her when the first toydarian returned with yet another toydarian to talk to the lady. She knew that if she tried to say something now, it might leave the wrong impression. These days, she was learning to be a bit more mindful. I’ll let them conduct business first, she told herself. She paid special attention to the merchants. Buying ships in this sort of environment often came with risks, but Oddi had a particularly sharp eye for flaws. Maybe she could get on the lady’s good side and help her knock down the price…

 

[Howl]

Howl was distracted from her studying of the young clawdite by the arrival of the two toydarians. The one she had been speaking to before flew off to the side to get back to his original business. The new arrival was a female. That was an unfortunate turn of events. Strike One. Howl thought to herself. The fact that the ship was owned by a female meant that her feminine wiles wouldn't work on her. Not that they would have necessarily worked on a male toydarian as their physiology was fairly different from a Mandalorian's, such as Howl. But still, there were all sorts of weirdos in the galaxy, so Howl had had her fingers crossed.

"What is it you want with me girl?" The toydarian asked in a somewhat skeptical tone. Girl? Well, that may be strike two, if she's already in a bad mood. Howl thought to herself again. "Greetings friend." Howl did a light bow as she greeted the toydarian. "I'm here today to inquire about your ship. I saw her from a distance and was drawn to her. She's a Brig, right? An RVC-225 if I'm not mistaken? Or 'Blockade Runner' as she's know throughout much of the galaxy. A fine ship. Rare, and not one usually seen in a marketplace such as this. Especially not in the hands of a private trader." A trained merchant would probably assume at this point that Howl had no idea what she was doing and was in completely over her head. Who opened up bartering negotiations by complimenting and admiring the other party's goods? Surely it was better to come in sideways and try to make the other party feel as though you didn't really want their goods THAT much and try to get them to drop the price a bit in favor of not loosing the sale? But Howl's tactic was different. Perhaps it was a crude tactic, but she was coming in quick to butter the opposition up and make them a big offer right from the get-go. Howl wasn't about the long game. She wanted to wrap this up nice a quick. If that meant that she had to pay a little more, she didn't really care. This ship was going to be the future for Howl. She didn't care if she had to give up everything she had for it right now.

"I would like to make an offer for her. I have a YX-940 freighter for trade. She's in good condition and runs like a dream. In addition, I offer two hundred and fifty credits. Everything I have is on the table." Howl rested her hand upon the table almost symbolically as she awaited the toydarian's response.

@Zanna Black

 

[Oddi Xon]

“Ah, another admirer of our ‘Blockade Runner’!” exclaimed the toydarian in charge as she rubbed her hands eagerly. “You’re not the first, girl… you’re not the first. We’ve had many offers for the vessel today. The most recent one was very tempting… we are still considering it in fact.” A sly grin spread across her face, or at least it appeared that way to Oddi. Probably not as many as she lets on… she told herself.

Toydarians… even the fencers back on Zolan knew about that race and their merchandisers lack of tact. And they were shrewd and a crafty lot, the toydarians. Nine times out of ten they gained the upper hand when it came to bartering and haggling. Oddi had even heard a rumor that they were terribly unfair when it came to games of chance, a rumor that she, as a gambling girl, would always keep in mind. She knew that this human was probably going to get the short end of the stick in this arrangement. But as long as this lady was keeping them occupied she would have the opportunity to give this vessel a glance-over.

An RVC-225, eh? she mused, starting off with a broad view of the craft. Cosmetically it seemed in fairly decent shape… although even the untrained eye could see that it was well used. The nose had definitely seen atmospheric re-entry more than a few times, and there were slight marks that suggested that the ship had been shot at to the point that the shields had been nearly depleted. Did this happen while the toydarians owned this ship, or was this from previous ownership?

Oddi knew that she was shirking her duties, but the jawa could wait. Her curiosity was her master now. She had get in close to examine this craft. She took advantage of the toydarian’s distraction and crept her way behind the craft to get a better view of the situation. She hoped that the human was going to keep these merchants busy for a while.

 

[Howl]

Howl grimaced at the toydarian's ploy to try and barter. She had no time or patience for such games. What she offered was truly all that she had to offer. There were no reserves for her to draw on. Not yet anyway. She was currently stuck with just her simple light freighter, and freight jobs didn't pay enough. The credits she could earn were barely enough to keep her and her ship afloat, and the jobs were boring as well. Not worth her time. Howl was after more. Bigger scores and more interesting jobs were what she was after. A more exciting lifestyle too. She had the skills to support such a move, but not the means. Not the equipment. That was why she needed a ship such as this one. One that could move quickly, take a beating and dish one out as well. Howl was destined for great things, and a ship such as this would take her there, but she needed to get her hands on it first.

Howl frowned at the toydarian, her pleasant demeanor fading rapidly. "I have offered you as much as I can. I have no desire to barter with you. Will you take my offer or not? Time is a resource I do not have to give to you." The female toydarian looked taken aback by Howl's words. Quickly, however, she composed herself and her gaze became just as steely as Howls. "I don't know who you think you are, girl, but you would do well to mind your manners. All I do is barter, so if you have no time for me, then I have no time for you. Your offer had value, which is why I was willing to humor you for a bit, but it falls far short of what I would take for my ship. So you had best shove off now, before I start to get annoyed." Howl glared daggers at the toydarian and her hand slowly slid down her waist to her blaster on her thigh. The toydarian woman took notice and snapped her fingers. The curtain behind her slid open and two toydarian males hovered there with blaster pistols raised. Howl smiled and sidestepped, lowering her other cybernetic hand down to the blaster on her other thigh.The visor of her custom ranger armor snapped shut across her eyes. "You're going to regret turning down my offer. You'll regret fighting me even more!"

The toydarian woman chortled darkly. She spoke softly so the two males a little ways behind her couldn't hear. "Those two are merchants, not hired guns. You may very well be able to take them down with ease. But you might not have noticed that there is a guard station right behind our ship. I positioned us here with purpose, you see. Even if you are able to gun down half of my crew, the guards will be here in a matter of moments. Klatooine may not be the strictest planet when it comes to law enforcement, but their markets are highly important to them, and they don't take kindly to off-worlders coming here and shooting them up." The toydarian glanced up behind Howl where the bow of the ship rose above them. There was a whirring, hissing noise and Howl glanced over her shoulder to see one of the ship's ventral light cannons drop and spin around to point down at her. "Also, you should bear in mind that this ship you value so much belongs to me and is my weapon as well. Have a nice day dear, and enjoy your time at the market." Howl growled, but released her grip on her pistols, and opened her visor. Without a word, she spun about and walked out from under her dream ship, making her way down the street. She was angry. So much so that she forgot about the young clawdite that had been following her before. Her mind raced, and slowly, as she walked, her grimace turned into a twisted smirk. She knew what she should do.

@Zanna Black

 

[Oddi Xon]

So… let’s go down th’ list. Three deployed escape pods, two faulty bearin’s, no torpedoes left in th’ tube and th’ tube door is jammed to boot! Either the toydarians had been attacked, or the owner before them was in deeeeep poo-doo.

Oddi had been careful to keep her eye on the guard station when she decided to climb up inside of the brig via the landing bracers and shimmied herself inside. Then she had utilized a diagnostic reader that Meeps had loaned her and she had thankfully forgotten to give back. Now she was seeing the truths of this vessel. She didn’t know what sort of bartering and haggling was going on outside, but now she had something for that lady to work with. Then, maybe, the lady could tell her what her experience was with the Force. She wanted to know as much as she could from whoever she could.

She peaked back out side at the station and made sure that all eyes were elsewhere. Don’t be seen… don’t be seen… she repeated to herself, not realizing that her concentration was helping her mask her presence with that same energy that she wanted to know so much about.

She glanced back over toward the front of the ship, only to see the lady storming off while the toydarians laughed mockingly. Ai Mabara… I took too long! I need to catch up with her! She took off sprinting… well, as much as she could anyway, with her stubby legs.

As she maneuvered through the crowd, she could feel the lady’s energy quite strongly now, and it felt a little… dark. She’s angry! she concluded, but with a bit of surprise behind that. She wasn’t surprised about the fact that the lady was angry… oh no. It was that fact that Oddi could sense such a specific emotion now. Is this what it’s like? Are my senses gettin’ stronger??? she wondered. It felt so strange to truly know the feelings of another being, instead of just reading facial expressions and body language like she had been taught on Zolan.

At last, she could see the top of the lady’s head. Oddi knew that she was going to sound like a mere insolent child, but that didn’t change her determination. She knew that now was the time to speak up. “Hey, lady! Lady, ma’am! Wait up! I can help you git that brig!” She ran in front of her and stopped as she caught her breath a little. “Look, I know you don’t know me, an’ yes, I’ve been followin’ you, an’ I’m sorry ‘bout that… but I can help ya git that brig. I’m willin’ t’ bet that I can talk the price down for ya if you’ll let me. An’ then, I promise that I’ll explain why I was followin’ you.”

@ Yuan

 

[Howl]

Howl didn't hear the little clawdite who was chasing after her at first. She lifted her arm and tapped a button on her wrist-mounted communicator. "2-B, come meet me in the market. Bring my things along with you." As Howl called her personal droid she suddenly became aware that there was a young girl following her. Oh right, the clawdite girl who had been spying on her. Howl had almost forgotten about her. The encounter with the toydarian must have rattled her worse than she had initially thought. She stopped in the middle of the plaza as beings walked to and fro on either side, allowing the young girl (at least she assumed she was a girl, one could never really tell with clawdites) to catch up. "What do you want from me gir-" Howl began to speak but was cut off as the girl caught her breath and immediately launched into a spiel about how she could help her to negotiate and talk down the price. Kids, honestly, they got so worked up about things. Howl waited patiently for the child to finish.

"Well now. Why don't you start by explaining why it is that you were following me? I'm afraid that's what I'm more interested in. After that, we can talk about business." Howl glanced up at the sky. The sun was dropping low and the planet's single moon was beginning to rise on the horizon, just visible through the narrow corridors of the market. "But if we're going to talk, you'll have to walk with me. I still have things to do." Assuming the girl would follow her, Howl walked off again, heading for the market's starport just down the way. As she walked she glanced back over her shoulder. "I sensed you following me, you know. That's how I picked you out of the crowd. Well, that and the fact that you kept glancing at me. A bit of advice on tracking and stalking people, keep as much distance as you safely can, and try to find ways to look at the person without directly looking at the person. Tips from an old tracker."

The pair reached the railing of a long staircase leading down to the landing platforms. The starport was only for merchants and customers with large vessels, but this was a big market, so there were quite a few ships. Most were less than impressive. Old 35-Series freighters, a few Rockhopper freighters that looked like they had seen better days, some MPUV Boontas, and of course the ever-popular Mynoch freighters were present, and the affordable Nerf-Class freighters were ever present. Several decent ships for an aspiring cargo pilot, or maybe even a smuggler. But they were all junk in Howl's eyes, they served no purpose to her. But then, her eyes passed over a ship, and swung back. It was a MS-1800 Medical Support Freighter and at first glance one would think that it would be just as useless to Howl as any of the others, but she was having a thought which was rapidly changing her mind. Not to mention the ship appeared to be in remarkably good repair. It must be the Sector Relief Corp, stopping in for supplies. Yes, it would be full of medical supplies and equipment. The 1800's were basically a standalone, flying infirmary. That could have its uses. A gentle smile slowly returned to Howl's face as she listened to what the clawdite girl had to say.

@Zanna Black

 

[Oddi Xon]

Oddi felt awkward as all get out as she tried to keep up. This lady was all business and no nonsense, and here was this little clawdite who was ignoring the job she was sent out to do just so she could try and get a tidbit of information from a total stranger. But she couldn’t squander this opportunity… what else was she to do? She didn’t have much else to go on right now.

“Well, to be honest I wasn’t tryin’ real hard to hide from ya…” she explained, “I just wasn’t sure how ta’ approach you, ‘specially since chances are you probably won’t take me very seriously when I ask you what I wanna ask you. That’s why I wanted ta’ help first.” Her cheeks felt like they were burning as they turned a deeper olive. She really hadn’t thought through how she was going to ask the lady about her abilities. But then she recalled that the lady told her that she sensed her. Okay… there’s my starting point… let’s go with that, she resolved.

She drew in a breath. “Okay, you know how you just pointed out how you sensed me? The thing is, I sensed you too. I mean, I was walkin’ through th’ crowd readin’ a darn list and I felt yer presence. It’s an energy, ya see. An’ that’s somethin’ that I only felt once before, and th’ man I felt it from did a feat that I didn’t think possible, and yet there it was. Okay… okay… I’m ramblin’. My point is, and what I wanted to ask you, is… do you know that you have a connection to this thing called th’ Force?”

Ai, Mabara… I sound like a babblin’ idiot, she thought as she died a little inside.

Being ever the over-explainer, she continued. “I know that it’s a weird reason ta’ follow someone… hell, I don’t even know if you believe in it… but I’ve been lookin’ to find out more ‘bout it, so… I mean… Ai, Mabara, I coulda done this better… uh… why are we lookin’ at a medical ship now? Don’tcha want that other ship?”

@ Yuan

 

[Howl]

Howl watched as the two pilots made their way up a flight of stairs. They were beginning to draw near. "So you felt me? Well, that probably means that you are one of the few gifted with enhanced instincts! It is a wonderful ability to be fully aware of your surroundings. I would almost go as far as to say that it lets you see danger before it happens. It has certainly saved my life more times than one." As the two spoke, the two pilots were reaching the top of the stairs. They would be walking past the pair very shortly, Howl thought about telling the girl to wait where she was, but then thought better of it. Having a younger girl trailing in her wake made her seem less threatening. She motioned for Oddi to follow her. As they began to move towards the pilots, Howl suddenly heard Oddi state that the two of them had a connection to the force. Howl stopped in her tracks. She glanced back over her shoulder at the girl, frowning. Howl opened her mouth to say something, but realized that the pilots were about to pass them. "Hold that thought little sister."

Howl turned back towards the pilots, a smile on her face once more. "Yoohoo! Oh boys! Are you with the Sector Relief Corp?" The two pilots stopped, interrupted in their conversation, but not looking too perturbed when they saw a lovely lady was the one calling to them. "Well yes ma'am, we are. What can we do for you this fine day?" Howl smiled at them as she walked up right in front of them. She leaned in towards them, showing off a bit of cleavage and rested her hand on her hip, showing off the curve. "Oh, I just saw you walking up in your spiffy uniforms looking as handsome as can be! I was saved by the Corp when my freighter crashed on Savareen several years back. Those intrepid heroes nursed me back to health and got me back to the civilized worlds and basically saved my life! I've loved the Relief Corp ever since, and I just had to give a shout out to two fine specimens such as yourselves. Are you two looking for a little R&R?" The two men smiled at Howl, nodding in agreement. Then they shot each other an annoyed gaze, clearly wishing that the other wasn't present, before smiling back at Howl again. "Well, tell you what? There's a nice little cantina about seven or eight blocks down that road." Howl pointed off to their left. "My friends and I will be heading there here in just a little while. If you meet us there we can have a great time together, I'm sure! I'll buy the first round." The men seemed to be smiling even bigger now. "Well, who could say no to a lovely lady who buys you a drink!? We'll head there now!" Howl flashed them a big glowing smile. "Perfect! You can get the party started, then! We'll be along shortly. I'm so glad I get to have a date night with such a handsome gentleman tonight!" The foolishly smiling men flashed each other another annoyed glance then beamed at Howl once more. "Well then, we'll meet you there! Don't keep us waiting too long now, or we're liable to start fighting over ya!" Howl laughed openly, and stepped between the two men, reaching out and slapping them both on the ass simultaneously. Right where the pockets were on their flight suits by chance. "Well, we can't have that, now can we! I'll be along soon boys, don't worry. I wouldn't miss it for the world!" The grinning pilots stumbled at the unexpected spank and glanced back at Howl with mischievous grins. Then they suddenly remembered that the other man was there and glared at each other again. They waved and started walking off in the direction Howl had sent them. As they went, one could be heard saying: "I'm telling you to back off, she was clearly talking to me. No woman has so much as looked at you since-"

Howl walked back over to Oddi, eyes on the men, making sure they were leaving. As the men walked away they nearly ran in to a B-series astromech towing a small hovercart who was heading in Howl's direction. Howl waved quickly at the astromech and pointed back down the stairs with her thumb. The astromech beeped in annoyance and made it's way towards a freight elevator that was about to lower a number of crates down to ship-level. Howl turned her attention back to Oddi, frowning again. "Walk with me some more. I don't have all the time in the world." Howl began making her way down the stairs the pilots had just come up. "First off, don't go blabbing that 'F' word around in public. Someone is going to think you are a sith, or even a jedi! Out here in the outer rim and unknown reaches, it doesn't really matter which. Either is equally dangerous. Second, I never said I have... 'F' Powers... What I have are killer instincts that are second to none. And that is even better than some hokey pokey-" Howl glanced around to make sure no one could hear."-Force powers." As the two women reached the base of the stairs, Howl began walking down the gangway leading towards the MS-1800 medical freighter. "But, that's not to say that's not what YOU have my little friend. I'd be interested to know more about what you know of your... abilities?"

@Zanna Black

 

[Oddi Xon]

Oddi couldn’t help but be confused about why they were heading toward the medical freighter. Was the lady sick? Did she need assistance? Not that Oddi knew thing one about first aid… her former captors on Zolan tried to keep her nice and ignorant, only teaching her enough skills to keep her handy in the business. They hadn’t counted on Oddi’s natural knack for absorbing knowledge or tinkering with technology. All other skills were self-taught… even reading and writing. Eventually they had to acknowledge her skills and talents were an asset, and they utilized her as much as they could. That’s why when that human came by to buy her, she was worth far more than the average black-market slave. But first aid? She never latched on to that.

As she stood by listening to the lady speak to the pilots, she had to suppress a smirk. I don’t know what in the dickin’s she’s up to… she thought, …but she’s got a bit of larceny brewin’ in her! She did her best to appear confident with the gentlemen, so that they wouldn’t suspect anything. Then she watched with internal glee as the lady slapped them on the behind… right where their wallets might be. Well I’ll be damned… a fellow pick-pocket! she thought to herself as she kept cool and tried not to laugh. She just uses her womanly wiles instead a’ puttin’ on a cute child act. Guess we all gotta flaunt what we got.

The fact that the lady was so afraid of the “F-word” and was so easily dismissive of it… this was really making Oddi’s attempt at gleaning information out of her psychologically difficult. Not that she wasn’t trying to be nice to her, but in the end, how could one blame this lady for being cynical? Someone she didn’t even know had been following her and was trying to talk to her about an invisible power that she didn’t seem to really take any stock in. If Oddi hadn’t seen what she had seen or felt what she had felt then she might’ve eventually found herself in this lady’s position. But then she made mention of people thinking that Oddi might be “Jedi or Sith” just by merely mentioning the Force. She had only heard about those once or twice, but she took them to be types of warriors. Was there a connection between them and the Force? Was she that much more ignorant than she realized??? But now she had a gigantic clue to follow, thanks to this lady’s words of caution.

Finally, as they were walking down the gangway, the lady asked, "But, that's not to say that's not what YOU have my little friend. I'd be interested to know more about what you know of your... abilities?"

Oddi took in a breath. She began to answer her with a more subtle tone of voice. “Well, not much yet, an’ I ain’t had much to go by other than when I met another like myself jus’ recently. I know it might sound ridiculous, but I could practically see his energy. Not only that, but I saw him made a necklace float! No magnets or strings… I know how to look for them things. An’ he didn’t know what to call it either… the ‘F-word’, I mean. I found out on my own after that.” She lowered her voice even further, with a more cautious tone. “That’s why I’ve been followin’ you. I know you don’t think it’s th’ same thing, but I swear I seen the same thing in you as I did in him. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t be ignorin’ my shoppin’ list.” She held up a list of scratchings on paper, jotted down by a disgruntled jawa and interpreted through a droid.

@ Yuan

 

[Howl]

Howl smirked as the girl talked while they walked up to the freighter. She certainly was a curious creature, to be sure. Kinda cute too, in that little sister sort of way. Unfortunately, it seemed that she didn't know that much more than Howl did about that mysterious power out there called the force. Having been raised as a proud Mandalorian, Howl was loathe to admit that her abilities might actually be given to her by this mystical "force", but having broken from the Madalorians long ago and having seen much more of the galaxy than compared to her youth, she wasn't one to turn a blind eye, at least not to information that could be pertinent to her specifically. But this little girl was no jedi master, or sith, thank god. Howl wasn't sure which would be worse. Sith, more than likely. The sith were known for being cruel and ruthless. Jedi were supposedly more mild-mannered and just, but then that wasn't exactly Howl's modus operandi either, so she wasn't sure that she would fare much better with the Jedi as compared to their counterparts. The last thing she needed was to get taken down by some fancy wizard before she had even accomplished anything. But that didn't seem to be a danger with this Oddi character.

Howl and Oddi reached the freighter about the same time as Howl's droid did, towing it's little repulsor cart. Howl turned to look at Oddi as they stopped at the rear loading ramp, which was shut tight. "Well, I can't say that I know much more than you do about this mysterious force thing. I don't know much about Jedi either, other than the stories that go around. Now the sith... I have a touch of firsthand experience. Take it from me. You don't want to get too mixed up with them. Be aware of them, yes. Learn about how they do what they do, sure. Steal from them, if you can. Kill them, if you are able. At the end of the day, the only good sith, is a dead sith. Never trust a sith. They are serpents in the grass. Never believe any different." Howl reached into her waist belt and produced a data chit. She knelt down and inserted the chit into her astromech's data socket. The droid issued a series of beeps and whistles as it processed for a moment and then beeped in acknowledgment of the data. The droid rolled up to the ramp of the freighter and extended it's computer spike, jamming it into the ship's receptor. After a few twists, the ship's ramp began to open with a hiss. Howl turned to look at Oddi once more. "I believe you saw me working some of my trade, didn't you? Perhaps you have some inkling of who I might be and how I might do business? I don't want to make you uncomfortable sister, so if you want to leave it at that and be on your way, you may go in peace, and I wish you the best. That said, I have rather enjoyed our little talk. I am looking for some crew, and some compatriots for an undertaking I am putting together. If you have your place in the galaxy where you belong already, again I understand and wish you well. But, what would you say to tagging along with me on my little excursion? We could do a trial run? See how you feel after a job or two? That would give us time to talk more and get to know each other better. What do you say?" Howl swung herself up onto the ramp of the ship and crouched down on her long legs, extending her hand to the young Oddi below. Behind her the astromech was happily whistling as it towed her things onto the ship. Howl smirked again. "Oh, right. The name is Howl, by the way."

/// Exiting Thread ///