Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23 
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Post by Jackie on Jul 29, 2015 16:13:04 GMT -5
The Torryn Spaceport on Therritha was hustling and bustling this morning, workers, pilots, traders, and slaves rushing to and fro to attend to their various duties. Cadence herself had only arrived on the planet a few hours earlier, and after parking the Black Bird in the bay Torryn traffic control instructed her too, she'd gotten on the horn and contacted the people responsible for collecting her cargo. The Epicanthix had contacted the buyer for her illicit goods first, the faster she got that stuff off her ship the better, though in her limited experience with the Zygerrians she'd found they were rather lax as far as smuggled goods went, generally more inclined to look the other way rather than crack down on it, at worst, customs personnel could often be bribed to let the matter slide. Once the man had shown up, it wouldn't take long for Cadence to unload her supply of spice and collect what she was owed, she'd even gotten a little bonus for arriving sooner than expected. Within an hour she'd contacted the receiver of her standard goods, and before long a Zygerrian woman would arrive with her entourage of 'servants' and begin unloading the Black Bird's cargo hold, Cadence checking everything off on her datapad as it left her ship. While for all intents and purposes, Cadence appeared fairly relaxed as she made sure everything was accounted for, in reality the Epicanthix was on edge. Zygerrians made her nervous, though to be fair, any species that built an empire with slavery made her nervous, and the woman was always sure to watch her back when dealing with any of them. She'd never had any issues the few times she'd conducted business and made deliveries to Zygerrian worlds, but she'd heard enough stories about the Zygerrians to keep her on guard around them at all times.
Before long, the Black Bird's cargo hold had been emptied, and after collecting what she was owed and getting the paperwork out of the way, Cadence would take a break and eat a bit of lunch before getting back to it. Fortunately she'd already found another job before touching down on the planet, someone needed a shipment of raw materials transported from Therritha to Lianna. Twas a lengthy trip, but the credits were good and Cadence had no desire to stay around the Zygerrians any longer than she had to. By the time early afternoon had arrived, the shipper had arrived with the raw materials in question (and surprise, more 'servants' to load it all) and the Black Bird would start being reloaded. As the 'servants' did their work, Cadence, datapad in hand, would go to the various containers being brought on board, double checking quantities, material types, and generally making sure everything matched up to the load order she'd been given. When most of the goods had been loaded, Cadence would exit her ship for a quick smoke break. There were probably some kind of regulations concerning smoking in a spaceport, but fuck em, she needed something to help keep her relaxed. As she stood underneath her ship, the Epicanthix would fish her cigarettes and lighter from one of her jacket pockets, slipping one out of the pack and placing it between her lips before lighting it and taking a heavy drag on it. After depositing the pack and lighter back into a pocket, Cadence would cross her arms as she gazed out over all the people working and running about in the complex, occasionally bringing her cigarette to her mouth for another puff.
Despite the organized chaos occurring around her, it was pretty easy to see who was who. The Zygerrians themselves generally supervised operations going on in the port, while slaves, largely made up of Nikto and Twi'leks, handled the manual labor. Of course there were plenty of humanoids that weren't Nikto or Twi'lek that called the Zygerrians master, poor bastards all of them. It was a little sad to see this kind of thing could still exist on such a massive scale, and on a Republic world no less, sure she was no upstanding member of the galactic community, but even she had her limits of depravity. Of course that thought made Cadence scoff and shake her head, as Therritha was only part of the Republic on paper, and masqurading the practice as 'endured servitude' was enough to bypass Republic law. The Epicanthix was no social worker though, and Zygerrian cultural practices, as crude as they seemed, weren't any of her business, all Cadence knew was she didn't want to join the lot of them so she'd keep her mouth shut and head down as much as possible. With luck I'll be on my way within an hour. Cadence thought to herself as she took another drag on her rapidly shortening cigarette.
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Post by aardvarklord on Jul 29, 2015 18:25:14 GMT -5
"Sorry ma'am, you need a valid ticket, pilots' license, passport, or diplomatic authorization to board a starship."
Tralet leaned his head on his hand with boredom as the human in front of him went on, a bit of blaster-resistant glass between him and her as she jabbered about having business on this 'scum-infested hole of pain and mistery,' also adding in a bit about her being a Republic delegate. 60% of the time, that line was an utter and complete fabrication, and another 35% of the time it was out-dated. This was the latter category. The woman kept trying to pass off this diplomatic pass as legitimate... despite being three years expired. Actually, he wasn't even certain if it was even legitimate, something about the color of the file looked off also, though that might have just been some sort of corruption in the file over time. How long did those things take to expire, something like over a decade?
"Look! I need to get through! This is non-negotiable!"
As he sighed, he felt a familiar sensation rub against his leg and looked down to see little Sasen trying to get his attention. Resisting the urge to smirk, he looked back up at the line and saw a familiar face with a small hover-trolley of crates waiting patiently for him to deal with this idiot. Groaning his irritation, he turned back to the woman and explained calmly, "Look ma'am, unless you can produce something else, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Just as the lady was winding up for another round of tirades, he added, still just as bored as he had been, "Either that, or I ask one of those fine fellows in the ceremonial armor to have a nice chat with you, and I can tell you from having been in it that my disposition would be much less sunny after being in that stuff for a few hours." When the woman looked over her shoulder to see the pair of Zygerrian guards scowling at her, their weapons slung loosely in front of them as they waited for an excuse to interrupt their boredom, she seemed to get the message. Just like that, she went back where she came, muttering all manner of curses about Tralet, the Zygerrians, and Therritha. Fine by him.
As he waved over the new customer, he picked his pet up and set him on his lap, petting the little fellow as he waited for the man to start getting his crates to move. The day was pretty normal so far, nothing really out of the ordinary for Tralet. Got up, had breakfast (as served by his servants), took Sasen for a walk, got berated by his mother for not punishing a servant after the juice had pulp in it, had a "friendly" reminder of his situation by one of his brothers, got to work, and had been bored out of his skull. Nothing unusual. Lately though, he had stopped to actually take notice of how many slaves there were around--or... well... no they were slaves. He'd never thought about it until the last couple years, but it was still amazing to him how many people were under his kind's yoke. While he didn't have a clear view of the spaceport right now, he could very easily imagine the sort of labor going on around the area... almost all of it by people who weren't getting paid (or were, but only enough to pay for rent and food, which was thus taken from them). Hrmm... he wondered what it was like for people to come here. This woman was obvious: she was a rabble-rouser hoping to get some images for the folks back home so that they could keep attempting to undermine Therritha, albeit unsuccessfully. She probably didn't realize that Tralet was doing her a favor by blocking her entry. At least there was no longer a risk she'd get "silenced."
Looking up as the newcomer put his crates through the scanner, he gave the fellow a slender smirk. "Good day, Valin, trust everything's treating you well?" he asked pleasantly, continuing to stroke his reptilian pet. He didn't even need to look at the scanner screen at his desk to know what was coming through; there was exactly one reason this fellow ever came by and it was to pick up some of his oh-so-special product. Though he still saw it out of the corner of his eye.
"Yep, all's going well," Valin responded as calmly as he got, still a little shifty while under the young Zygerrian's eyes, "So, usual deal?"
Tralet smiled thinly, setting Sasen down before folding his hands in front of him to look at Valin, who promptly shifted in place under the "feline" man's gaze. He loved making the spice dealer squirm, mostly because it reminded him that the criminal's business laid in his hands every day. Oh, sure, he could refuse to play with Tralet, some people did, but few people wanted to risk a good thing when trying to find some other official was risky at best. Granted, Therritha had its massive share of corrupt bureaucrats, but some were more likely to enslave someone when business started drying up. Tralet just wanted his share... usually. However, he had come up with an idea, one which required the dealer to come through. It had taken him time to get it prepared, mostly because his mother made it such a pain in the ass to get any papers again--but he had managed it. Now it was just timing, waiting for Valin to come through at a time close enough to his lunch break to make an excuse.
And this was it. "Not this time, old friend," he said in a perfect deadpan. For a moment he let the statement sit, watch the man sweat as he thought that the Zygerrian had finally decided he was no longer worth the effort, but then he smiled calmly and told him, "I'll let you in for free this time." The guy's eyes went wide with surprise, but before he could think he was getting through gratis, he added, "I'd like to know which bay you got your shipment from though."
The fellow seemed to mentally stop in his tracks at that thought, frowning and crossing his arms as he stared at Tralet, trying to figure out what was going through the Zygerrian's skull. Probably thought that there was some plan. He'd repeatedly heard the phrase 'Wheels within wheels' used to describe his people; and to be perfectly honest it was both fitting and complimentary in his mind. Just about the only compliment he ever heard from other species. "Not trying to cut into my business are ya?" the man asked warily.
"Of course not, don't be daft," the Zygerrian assured him dismissively, "I just have some business of my own that needs tending to."
Nodding his understanding, the man then handed over his documents and said in a hushed voice, "Bay 23."
Tralet sealed his confirmation with the 'stamps' of the 'papers,' then ushered him on his way with a calm, "Welcome to Torryn." The moment that the dealer was through, he turned to the guards and told them, "I'm taking my lunch break." They both grunted their confirmation and headed off, no doubt with the intent to do the same. He didn't even need to tell Sasen to come, the little thing just bounded alongside him, though he still grabbed the brezak's leash in case he decided to go chasing after someone else's pet. He stopped at a vending machine to grab his actual lunch, but didn't stop going as he headed straight for Bay 23.
Now, normally he was pretty good at recognizing ships, if not by name then at least by general design, but this one was puzzling him. But as he walked into the bay, datapad in hand and brezak pup bounding alongside him, he had a hard time recognizing the type of ship that he was looking at. It looked Corellian, but if there was any type of ship he should have been able to take note of, it would be that system's craft. But this thing was just bizarre. Shaking off his fascination, he looked for someone who was clearly not a Zygerrian or a servant, and eventually spotted the... eh, he thought she was human. But... there were so many "near human" breeds that it was hard to say for certain, and any time he saw tattoos on someone's face it certainly made him second-guess himself, and he wasn't great at telling them apart when they were the usual human skin tones. Well, it was inconsequential. Walking towards her, looking to and from his datapad mostly out of show, he eventually got within distance and asked as he approached, "Excuse me miss, are you the owner of this vessel?" His voice was pretty typical of Zygerrian noble's, finely cultured with a somewhat lower pitch, that faintest feline growl to it that some people found attractive but others found threatening... or perhaps both. Though, his voice was perhaps a little on the higher side compared to most males, not by much mind, but he was definitely not a bass singer.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Jul 29, 2015 20:48:00 GMT -5
With her cigarette nearly down to the filter, Cadence had just been about to toss it and return to check the final few containers when she noticed a finely dressed Zygerrian enter her area of the bay and make right for her. Immediately Cadence's heart skipped a beat as he drew near, for his plainly displayed credentials indicated he was a customs agent. Oh shit... The Epicanthix thought to herself as she shredded the butt of her cigarette with her fingers and let the scraps fall about. Someone from Customs was the last person a smuggler like her ever wanted to see, even if any illegal goods she may have had were already long gone. Just because they didn't catch you red-handed didn't mean they could make your life hell and drown you in paperwork, though considering she was dealing with a slaver race, paperwork would have been much more preferably to any 'alternatives'. Despite her nervousness, Cadence was a pro when it came to maintaining a relaxed exterior, indeed the Zygerrian would notice nothing out of the ordinary as he approached the near-human, she seemed just as calm, and even as bored, as he did.
"Excuse me miss, are you the owner of this vessel?" He'd ask her. After slipping her hands into her jacket pockets, Cadence would briefly give the Zygerrian a once over, as well as his little...whatever it was, looking more curious rather than suspicious. Normally when confronted with this question, the first thing out of her mouth would have been 'Who's asking?', but the last thing Cadence wanted to do was give any of these people any lip and get herself in hot water. Instead, the woman merely nodded lightly. "I am, do you need to see my manifest?" No sense wasting time with pleasantries if he was going to screen her, as Cadence would flip her datapad around and offer it to him if that's what he was here for. While it was clear to tell from his refined accent that this Zygerrian was well educated and cultured, he'd probably be able to tell Cadence was... less so... Granted she didn't come off as a knuckle-dragging inbred, the Epicanthix probably seemed a bit 'unrefined' at the least, or she looked the part if anything. Cadence wouldn't have been insulted at all if you told her she looked a little sketchy, because, well, she was pretty sketchy.
Cadence personally liked the feline touch in most Zygerrian's voices, now if only they as a whole were more likable... Of course that wouldn't stop her from being polite and cooperative with this one.
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Post by aardvarklord on Jul 29, 2015 21:11:15 GMT -5
To the woman's credit, Tralet couldn't tell that he'd put her on edge--well, not visually anyways. He could tell just from looking at her lower-class raiment, the cigarette she was putting out, and her general mannerisms that he had the right woman, and from that he knew that there was no way she was happy to see him. Smugglers hated customs agents unless they were cooperating, and even then they probably weren't too happy with the inconveniences that they caused. Still, she was a good actress, he had to admit. If he didn't already know what he was looking for, he would've just assumed she was legit, or at least known he had no case against her. However, she was rather unfortunate in this regard, as he felt rather confident that he could manage this pretty well.
"Indeed I do," he responded calmly as he took the manifest, putting his own datapad away as he looked it over, acting as if it was just business as usual. Mostly he was doing this for show, since he already knew she was a smuggler and, if he were after her ass, he had a witness. Still, had to play the game--didn't want her accomplice getting scared out of future deals. He wanted to hire this woman, but he also wanted to dictate the terms of the arrangement... if she had compunctions about taking him, he wanted to make sure that she had no choice in her own eyes. Freedom was so close, all he needed to do was seal this deal. Eventually he finished "looking over" the manifest, and started looking from the ship, to a camera on the wall, as if he were confused about something, his ears flicking back like a cat's. Eventually his blue eyes landed back on her, cold and inspecting her as if her very soul was on the line. He didn't particularly care about her lack of 'breeding,' as his mother called it, he'd been around plenty of people without much education, especially during his old championships. However, he had an act to put on.
Eventually he spoke up again, looking back at the datapad, "So... who did those four separate crates go to? Hrmm?" He thrust the datapad back at her, his eyes narrowing as he stared at her face. Hopefully she bought his act--he was doing everything right, but eyes were hard to fake. He liked to think he was good at it, but he was provably wrong before. Still, he hoped that she understood that he knew what was in them, so even if she didn't buy the hard-case act, she'd at least know to tread carefully.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Jul 29, 2015 21:45:10 GMT -5
Cadence waited patiently as the feline-esqe man looked over her shipping manifest, looking cool as a proverbial cucumber. In her business, the easiest way to not get in trouble for breaking the law, was to carry yourself like you weren't doing anything illegal. Even if you had all of your shit in order, if you looked guilty of something, that was probably because you were indeed guilty of something... As far as he or anyone else was concerned, Cadence was a by-the-book commercial pilot will all of her papers, permits, and licenses in order. However, her facade would break, if only for a moment, when he spoke his next words. "So... who did those four separate crates go to? Hrmm?" Cadence's lips tightened in a frown, though she'd never break eye contact with him, her intense brown eyes matching his icy blue ones. Suddenly however, the Epicanthix would smile charmingly at him. "I'm sure we both know I have no idea what you're talking about, but I also know you can make life difficult for me regardless." Cadence could play 'the game' as well as any smuggler, but in this particular instance she felt a more direct approach was warranted. Better to submit now and try to bribe her way out of trouble than attempt to talk her way out and have it blow up in her face.
"I could easily 'misplace' some credits if we let this conversation stop before it goes any farther. You look too important to be wasting your time with me anyways." A light sprinkling of flattery generally never hurt, greasing palms and rubbing egos tended to go hand in hand with each other, or they often did in Cadence's experience anyways. Frankly the customs agent could have demanded every last credit she made from the illicit sale, and then some, and even though the first thing in her mind would have been to tell him to go fuck himself, Cadence would have just smiled and handed it all over without complaint. The fact was he had her by the balls, he knew it and she knew it. As far as Cadence was concerned, it was better to be out a paycheck and back on to the next job than sitting in a jail or prison somewhere, and God only knew what would happen to her here on a Zygerrian world, she could have easily ended up joining the ranks of their 'indentured servants' as a way to 'serve her sentence and pay her fines'. The thought made her mentally shudder, and Cadence would go to great lengths to avoid that fate. Hell, if she had to fuck the guy to get off this planet, she'd probably do it, though she wouldn't resort to flirting and propositioning him for it quite yet...
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Post by aardvarklord on Jul 29, 2015 22:18:03 GMT -5
Ah, it was so satisfying when he dealt with someone who understood things so easily. While it was quick, Tralet picked up on the break from her confidence and internally felt a smug satisfaction as he saw that the negotiation was going perfectly his way. Still, he once again had to give her credit, she was very good at continuing to play things off as if she had done nothing wrong, even though anyone who knew the game they were playing could tell that she had seen the kind of deck she was working with. The smile was a nice touch too, no matter how insincere. Takes talent to lie that well. And then he caught the words he'd been dying to hear. "I could easily 'misplace' some credits if we let this conversation stop before it goes any farther. You look too important to be wasting your time with me anyways." The flattery was unnecessary, but quite welcome.
Oh, he could've very easily made a joke along the lines of 'excuse me, could you say that again?' As hard as he tried to keep a straight face, he felt a flicker of amusement cross his lips for a moment. He wondered how much of this was her cooperating because he was a "sharp-eyed" customs officer, and how much was just the Zygerrian factor peeking in... not that it mattered in the long run. One way or another, so long as he didn't do anything stupid, he knew this was in the bag. Heck, he wagered that she would have given him quite the sum if he asked, though that wasn't his intent. Even if he was taking advantage of her, he probably needed to not leave too bad of an impression... but he couldn't come off as desperate either. "That wasn't quite the form of compensation I had in mind," he said with a controlled smile and dismissive wave. As he adjusted himself slightly, Sasen walked over to her and started rubbing up against her legs, making a soft sound between a chitter and a purr, completely oblivious to her potentially dire situation. "See... I'm in need of a transport without a data trail," he began lightly speaking a little quieter to keep anyone from eavesdropping, his smile gone and replaced with nothing but business, "Agree to that at a reduced price, and I'll call it paid." He had no idea how that sounded to her. He wasn't in the business of smuggling, though he wagered that this was an abnormal route of going about such things... and to deal with a race of slavers... yeah... she couldn't be too thrilled about it. Still, hopefully she saw it as a bargain--since technically she was coming out of a situation where she could have been put into servitude and instead coming out with credits. Win-win.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Jul 30, 2015 8:44:53 GMT -5
Cadence had been expecting the next words out of the Zygerrian's mouth to be how many credits he wanted in exchange for letting her off the hook, however, her smile would quickly fade when the man suddenly revealed he wasn't interested in that form of 'compensation'. Immediately Cadence assumed the worst, that he was in the mood for a more... 'intimate' form of payment. The prospect made her visibly uncomfortable, not even able to enjoy the act of the little creature rubbing cutely against her legs. However, Cadence would relax when he promptly revealed that it wasn't anything like that either he wanted, no, his request was far more bizarre. The Epicanthix couldn't help but cock an eyebrow, quite clearly looking confused by the matter. She'd had customs officers request many different types of things from her over the years, but never had she had one looking for a lift off world, if she wasn't positive that she didn't hear him clearly, Cadence would have believed she had merely misheard him. "Uhhh, I see..." The near-human replied with a cocked eyebrow, her look of confusion shifting to one of suspicion.
A few red flags immediately sprung up within her mind, first and foremost being why this Zygerrian needed to get off the planet and not have a record of him doing so left behind. It screamed 'sketchy' to her, but at the same time she wasn't really in a position to demand answers from him. For a few moments, Cadence would merely mull his proposition over. He'd have likely been able to tell from the look in her eyes she was in deep thought over it, no doubt itching to know his angle and what he was trying to get away from, but obviously knowing he didn't have to tell her shit as far as that went. With a slightly frustrated sigh, Cadence would admit defeat. "...Three thousand credits and I'll take you to my next stop, Lianna." Considering the general going rate per passenger for this type of thing tended to hover around 6 thousand credits, Cadence felt that a meager 3,000 was more than a fair price. Really she was taking a lot of risk doing this, this Zygerrian could have had someone after him for all Cadence knew, that was generally the cause of people wanting transport off the books and it could easily get her in hot water with someone.
"Gonna go ahead and warn you right now, I'm not about to change how I live so if you don't like it, you'll have to get over it, and if I find any piles of shit or puddles of piss out of your little... thing here, you'll both be walking, so clean up after him, understand?" Provided he understood and accepted these simple terms, Cadence would glance back towards the ramp leading up into the Black Bird's cargo bay. It seemed she was all loaded, all Cadence needed to do was double check the last few containers that had been loaded and finalize her new manifest with the shipper, then they could be on their way. "You've got maybe half an hour at most before take off, so I hope you have your luggage close by." With that said, Cadence would excuse herself and make for the other waiting Zygerrian, leaving the customs agent and his pet to their own devices.
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Post by aardvarklord on Jul 30, 2015 16:52:09 GMT -5
To be perfectly frank, Tralet's mind wasn't even headed in the same direction as the woman's, not out of obliviousness but out of that instinct of being so close to his goal. Her show of discomfort went right over his head--he just thought that she assumed he was going to try to enslave her. Still, it was good to see that he took her thoroughly off-guard with his request, and while he kept himself in business mode as much as he could, the slightest of smirks tugged at the corner of his lips as she visibly tried to piece together what his thoughts were. Actually, this was the point where it could all go horribly wrong--if he came off as too desperate she could try to squeeze him or think he was pulling some sort of con on her. He kept his outward cool, but he couldn't help the fact that he was starting to sweat. And the whole while his pet was just rubbing up against her, trying to get attention.
Then, the greatest of relief. "...Three thousand credits and I'll take you to my next stop, Lianna." Oh, she had no idea how happy the Zygerrian was to hear those words. His ears obviously perked at the mention and there was a slight deflation of his stature as he nodded to her offer. "Perfect." Truth be told, he probably could have haggled a bit more, but he wanted her to not have a desire to push him out the airlock, and he also wanted to save as much time as possible. Once they were starbound he could worry about other concerns. The worst thing she could realize was that he had someone coming for him--not that he did right now, but that would change once he failed to show up after lunch. Above all, he needed out of sensor range, once that happened he could actually take a breath and stop worrying himself. The woman's warnings about her lifestyle and refusal to pick up after Sasen was nothing surprising (she probably wasn't big on passengers anyways), and he simply responded, "I would expect nothing less." To that he looked down at the brezak, who was finally giving up and coming back over to his master, "Besides, he's house broken."
With nothing else left other than a timetable to grab his stuff, he told her briskly, "I'll be back well beforehand," and headed for the door, giving her a wave as he left, only looking back to make sure that Sasen was following him. He kept his composure until he was out the door, remaining business-like as long as he could... and then the moment the door closed behind him he let out an exhilarated laugh, pumping his fist at his success. He'd done it! He was getting off this forsaken rock! It had all gone so smoothly! This was exactly what he was hoping for--no, even better. He thought for certain the person he did this to would pick up on his situation. Oh, he wasn't away yet, and he needed to keep walking, moving briskly but making sure not to draw attention to himself. But the hard part was over. Soon he would be safe and away, able to direct his own destiny. Scooping up his pet in his arms, which made a very startled squeak, he said happily, "Aren't you excited Sasen?"
"Squawk!"
It wouldn't be much more than fifteen minutes later when Tralet came strutting back into the bay, a sizable duffel bag bouncing at his hip and Sasen continuing to bound alongside him, occasionally catching some air and gliding. He had actually managed to put his luggage in his locker in preparation--which had been a bit of work, but he couldn't say it wasn't worth it. Assuming the near-human was visible from outside the ship, he would come up to her and ask, somewhat sarcastically, "Permission to come aboard, captain?" He knew he shouldn't give too much lip, but he just couldn't help it, he was so damn excited! Sure, he wasn't showing his satisfaction beyond a simple, passive smile which could mean anything really, but inside he was a little kid bounding up and down, clapping with glee.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Jul 30, 2015 22:52:02 GMT -5
The other Zygerrian was no where to be seen when Tralet returned to Bay 23, it seemed Cadence had overestimated how much time it would take her to check over the last bit of goods she was to deliver, or perhaps she'd intentionally told him wrong in hopes she could wrap up her business and try and slip away before his return. If that was the case, the Epicanthix did a damn good job of hiding her disappointment when he and his pup returned. His sarcastic little manner of asking to board the Black Bird would get a very unamused expression out of the near-human, whom would cross her arms as her eyes met his. "Not just yet, first I want to know your name or what I should call you, second, I like my credits up front if you don't mind." A 'fuck you if you do mind' likely didn't need to be said here, Cadence's stern look could have told him that much. Provided the Zygerrian introduced himself proper (unaware he used a fake name), she'd force a brief smile. "Well I'd say it's nice to meet you Tren, but we both know I'd be lying through my teeth. Anyways if you have the credits on you great, if not I can give you the info you'll need to transfer the funds to my account, provided you still have that datapad handy."
Regardless of his method of payment, a not-so-forced smile would grace her lips when their little transaction was complete. "Awesome, go ahead and get on board so we can get out of here." With that, Cadence would turn on her heels and make for the ramp leading up into her ship. Once on board, Tren would probably notice the ship was cluttered in some areas, but not neccesarily messy as it were. Everything had a 'disorganized organization' quality to it, and there was no organic trash to be found, clearly Cadence might have been guilty of being a clutter bug, but she certainly wasn't a slob. Rather than heading straight for the cockpit, Cadence would give the Zygerrian a quick tour of the Black Bird, if you could call showing him where he'd be slipping and where the bathroom was a 'tour' anyways. The ship was fairly small for a freighter, so there really wasn't much to show unless Tren was just fascinated by cargo space. Once he'd put his stuff away, the Epicanthix would make her way to the ship's cockpit, seating herself in the pilots seat. If Tren wished to accompany her and sit in the copilots seat she wouldn't voice any complaints, however she also didn't care if he'd have rather stayed in the back.
After buckling her safety harness, Cadence would begin going through her pre-flight checks as she opened up a comm channel with Torryn traffic control. As was standard process, she'd give the operator her general ship information and request permission to lift off. There would be several moments of silence before the all clear was given and the Black Bird was permitted to leave the spaceport. Wasting no more time, the Epicanthix would fire up the ship, the freighter vibrating aggressively as her two massive engines roared to life. By the time her systems check had concluded, the vibrating had died down to a dull, smooth idle. With nothing more to see too, Cadence would disengage the magnetic locks on the landing gear and get the ship airborne. Once up, the landing gear would retract and they'd be on there way. Getting out of Therritha's atmosphere would take mere minutes, and after clearing orbit, Cadence would start powering up the Black Bird's hyperdrive. Once the device was sufficiently powered, the near-human would engage the drive and shoot them into hyperspace, only once that was done would she let out a sigh of relief, glad to be free of the Zygerrians, well, all but one of them anyways...
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Post by aardvarklord on Jul 31, 2015 6:40:40 GMT -5
It was pretty clear that he wasn't going to get much in the way of chuckles and sunshine out of his pilot, but he didn't mind her attitude. Tralet had kind of forced her into this situation and his kind were known far and wide as slavers--I think she was granted a bit of a temper over it all. But that didn't stop his excitement. "Call me Tren," he told her frankly as he reached into his pocket while she proceeded to blather on about how she preferred to be paid up front. Everyone preferred that, and while he could have made some excuse, he figured that it would be best to keep things good with her. Actually, he almost decided to give her two-thirds of the pay here and one-third upon landing, but seeing her irritation he decided against it. Pulling out three thousand-credit chips, he handed them over to her one at a time, making sure she saw that he was playing straight with her. "You really think I'd be doing a data transfer?" he asked rhetorically, genuinely surprised she would have thought otherwise.
With that he gladly followed her aboard, whistling for Sasen to come before finally heading up the ramp on his way to freedom. One step closer to it anyways. For a brief moment he scrunched his nose up at the mess inside, expecting to catch some whiff of garbage as he saw the utter disorganization... but he quick enough realized that she had the mess under control. Looked more like some of the garages that his competitors used back in his racing days. Bah, "back" in his racing days, all two years ago. Still, while this wasn't the sort of way he would like to live, it wasn't repulsive or anything. The sleeping area wasn't anything near what he was hoping for, though he supposed this was what he got for not grabbing a luxury transport back when he was able to. And to be fair, it was much better than he feared. Still, small freighter or no, at least he was able to move around in it. Tralet opted to wait on joining the woman in the cockpit initially, mostly for the reason that he wanted to make sure that Sasen didn't scratch her up during take-off, so instead used the time to set up food and showed the critter the toilet (which he had been trying to teach him to use in the past, with some success).
His fears turned out to be unfounded however, as while the brezak pup was definitely confused and frightened by the shaking of the ship, he just snuggled up against Tralet until it stopped. Actually, even the Zygerrian was slightly alarmed by the shaking, having never been on a ship which acted in such a way--the ships he'd been on were always porcelain smooth. Still, once it eased off they both calmed down and headed for the cockpit, plopping down in the co-pilot's seat while Sasen hopped up into his lap. The sight of the ship leaving the atmosphere was always a wonderful sight, infinitely more so now that he knew he would be seeing Therritha for the last time. Actually, it was kind of a bittersweet feeling. The friends he had, his brothers, his favorite racing brezaks, that one restaurant which was cheap but classy (to an extent), the slave that had showed him the error of his ways... he'd not see any of them again. He wasn't upset about it, and certainly didn't show much as he quietly stroked his pet, but it was a strange thing to consider that he'd never see them again. Still, he couldn't help but feel his gut gnawing on him as he gazed out at the traffic, looking for his mother's ship, half-expecting it to intercept them.
Only once they hit hyperspace did he let out a massive relieved sigh. And they were clear, just like that. Thank goodness. Leaning his head back in the chair, he whispered to himself thoughtfully, "What a lovely sight." Eventually he realized he was in the near-human's presence and turned to her, trying to be genuinely pleasant for once, "Suppose I should've caught your name on the ground, since we'll be in the same twenty square meters for a while."
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Jul 31, 2015 13:22:02 GMT -5
If Cadence would have been bothered to retort to his little rhetorical question concerning data tranfers, she'd have shrugged and said something along the lines of 'I don't really give a shit what you do as long as I get my credits.' Twas inconsequential now however, Cadence had her credits and was about as happy as she could really be given the situation had been forced on her. The Epicanthix would briefly glance to the side as the Zygerrian entered the cockpit with his little pet, her gaze eventually shifting back to the view outside as they hurled through space. "That it is." Cadence would reply to his comment of it being a 'lovely sight', the woman smirking lightly as she kicked her feet up onto an empty area of her console. "It's kinda funny really, after long trips I tell myself I never want to see space again, but after a few days stuck on a planet I can't get back up here fast enough." Cadence couldn't help but shake her head and laugh lightly at herself. "Though any day I don't have to land on a planet like Therritha is a good day."
The near-human would give him a funny look when asked for her name. "Didn't see it on my shipping manifest?" Obviously not, otherwise he wouldn't have been asking, Cadence just found it odd seeing how customs agents were generally supposed to be keen eyed for information like that. "Anyways, my name's Cadence." Silence would befall them unless Tren happened to have more questions or anything else to say, which the woman would reply appropriately too before getting to ask her own questions. "I don't expect you'll tell me, but I feel I have to ask anyways. What makes a well-off looking customs officer want to flee his world with a smuggler, and not leave a paper trail to boot? In my experience, the only people that do things like that generally do it because they have someone after them and feel like they need to disappear for awhile. Should I have reason to worry about anything?" It was quite obvious that even if the Zygerrian divulged some information on his specific situation, that Cadence was either expecting to not get the whole story or to just be lied too. Of course they both likely knew that there wasn't anything she could rightly do about it, if he didn't wish to tell her anything than that was his prerogative, he'd payed her fee of credits and she was off Therritha so Cadence couldn't complain too much.
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Post by aardvarklord on Jul 31, 2015 14:58:59 GMT -5
Tralet's ears perked a little as he heard the woman talk about her little cycle of being in space, of how the long journeys wore on her. He kind of experienced something like that back when he went on trips with his mother... and when he enjoyed them. He loved visiting these new places and seeing strange aliens, but in the end he couldn't get back on familiar soil fast enough. Of course, that was different than this situation. Very, very different. Almost as if mirroring his thoughts, she spoke up her not-so-subtle opinion of his homeplanet, "Though any day I don't have to land on a planet like Therritha is a good day." Scoffing lightly, he commented lightly, "You're lucky you don't live there." That wasn't him being snide or anything, he was just legitimately sick and tired of that hole of misery.
He actually blushed a little when she asked about him not seeing it on the manifest, rubbing his neck awkwardly, "Ehehe... read it, didn't internalize it. Work, ya know." Actually, he just skimmed the manifest as he looked over it for show... he missed that detail for some stupid reason. Guess he was missing the forest for the trees. That was the human saying, right? "Well, good to meet you Cadence, even if you're not so happy to know me." Of course, her follow-up question snapped him out of his informal mood and he looked over at her with a raised eyebrow, his expression flattening out. He wasn't entirely certain what she was expecting to get out of him, but she had to know that the whole truth likely wasn't going to come to the forefront so easily. Still, she at least had a right to know the bare bones, if for no other reason than to know how much danger she might be in. He wasn't expecting much, but better safe than sorry. "You're not wrong, but it's not so dire," he assured her as he gazed out at hyperspace, continuing to stroke the lizard, his ears drooping contently, "Long story short, I won't be chased until someone realizes I'm gone. I wasn't in trouble per se, but I'll definitely feel safer one I've got a few lightyears between myself and that rotten planet." Realizing a somewhat distressing thought from all the times he went out 'hunting' with his mother, he added with a look towards her, "I'll let you know if I see anything worth worrying about. We should be clear though, should take time for them to figure out I'm even gone, much less where to. Hopefully we'll be landed by then." At least that was his hope. As far as he knew, his mother didn't have any ships which were particularly fast, and even if she figured out what happened right now, she'd have to burn the time figuring out this ship's destination. And from the looks of those engines, this thing wasn't a slouch. Smirking at the thought, he added to her somewhat teasingly, "That's all assuming this thing's engines aren't painted on."
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Jul 31, 2015 20:49:11 GMT -5
When Tren commented she was lucky that she didn't live there, Cadence would roll her eyes and grin. "Oh yeah? Being a Zygerrian on a world controlled by Zygerrians must be super tough. All those slaves- errr uhh, 'servants' to boss around..." While the near-human would watch her tongue when she was grounded planet side, up in deep space she would say it how she saw it, no tongue it cheek bullshit here. The Epicanthix's grin would widen a bit when the Zygerrian blushed a bit and chalked up his missing of her name to 'work', something she could honestly relate to. "Ehh, it isn't all bad I guess, I've been stuck with worse before, so long as you don't try to slap a collar around my neck or something at least. Unless you're just the kinky sort." This tease would be accompanied with a wink, though it should have been pretty clear she was just making a little fun of him and his species tendencies rather than being flirty. In truth, Cadence found herself not particularly bothered by Tren's presence, once the annoyance that he'd effectively twisted her arm into the deal had worn off anyways, besides that he seemed like a pretty alright guy, then again it would take more than a couple of hours for them to see how well they'd be able to tolerate each other.
Cadence wasn't surprised to hear she'd guessed right, and that Tren was indeed on the run from someone. The few details he was willing to give sounded sketchy, but the near-human wouldn't bother trying to pry anymore information out of the Zygerrian, she was lucky to have received this much as it was. "Please do, and I hope you're right." The following teasing comment about her ships engines would get a full on laugh out of Cadence. "My baby has more get up and go than any other freighter out there, she makes the competition look like they're going backwards." An over-exaggeration? Most definitely, but Cadence had a lot of confidence in the capabilities of her ship and her own skills as a pilot. "Fortunately the Corellians aren't in the business of making slow ships, even if some of their designs don't see mass-production. I wouldn't trade this ship for anything." Actually, this talk of ships made Cadence realize something. "Unless you aren't as well-off as you look like you are, why didn't you just buy your own ship? Not a dealership in the galaxy that would turn down hard credits, plenty of good, pre-owned models out their I'm sure."
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Post by aardvarklord on Aug 1, 2015 8:04:33 GMT -5
The woman's snippy response didn't get much of a visual response, mostly because it was something he was used to. But... well... it was the very sort of thing that had led to this insane situation to begin with, so Tralet certainly wasn't happy to hear it. All he could think to say was a half-hearted jab of, "I did say you, not me, didn't I?" Really though he never said it was hard... just wrong. Not that he had any place to rightfully complain, but he needed to actually stop and consider what the other side of the fence was like to actually figure out whether or not he should actually feel enraged about the mess that was his home. Of course, he wasn't bitter towards the woman for getting mouthy with him, because he deserved it... it was just annoying to know that he did. Of course, his attention was piqued by her follow-up joke about the collars, something that made him chuckle slightly and shake his head... only to be briefly caught off-guard by the vaguely flirty joke. He knew she was just poking fun at him, that this situation was in no way whatsoever the sort of thing that would lead her to even bother flirting with him, but it was just such an unexpected comment that it actually managed to get him to flush momentarily. He was quick to recover, responding with a tease and wink of his own, "I dunno, I think you'd look good with a spiked one, black synthleather and all that."
The woman's pride in her ship was amusing, if completely stereotypical of most pilots he knew. Though, it brought some kind of smug relief to know that he was actually right on the money with this ship being Corellian. Even if he didn't know the type, it was good that he was able to pick up the engineering cues. Still, it baffled him as to what it was. Her mention of it not being mass-production was rather telling though. Must've been a very limited and unsuccessful run, or maybe even a prototype. However, before he could get to asking what exactly this thing was, she asked him a question that was kind of... well... awkward. He was kind of hoping it wouldn't come up. He made an awkward "Myeh..." as he rubbed his neck, trying to recall the explanation he had come up with way back when this who plan of his started two years ago. Eventually he remembered and said with well-faked embarrassment, "Don't have a pilot's license. Couldn't get a ship from the legitimate routes, and my... pursuer..." damn, nearly said 'mother' there, "keeps a good eye on the black market. I can fly," he hastened to add, bold-facedly lying about that fact... only things he could fly were speeders and swoop bikes, "But... well... paperwork." Oh the irony of a customs agent saying that. He knew that it was ridiculous, but that was how it went. And the only reason he didn't have a pilot's license was just because his mother blocked him--though the excuse he always used was that it took forever and a day to get the hours in.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Aug 3, 2015 17:23:15 GMT -5
The Zygerrian's return jest following her little comment about collars would get a true, lighthearted laugh from Cadence. "Noooooo thanks, believe it or not I actually wore something like that when I was going through a 'phase' in my teens, along with all black clothing and a pound of gawdy make-up. Not my best look and I'm not eager to try it out again..." The memories of nearly a decade past did have the effect of making Cadence grin, and helped her lighten up a bit. "If I had to wear one, I'd want something classy, brown leather with a gold plate and my name on it maybe." Obviously the Epicanthix was still kidding, but she found the idea humorous to think about. As far as him not having his own ship went, his rather awkward reply would make Cadence raise an eyebrow curiously, not to mention smirk lightly. She was a bit surprised to hear he flat out didn't have a pilot's license. As Tren went on to say how he couldn't procure a ship from a legitimate source, she'd been just about to bring up the black market when the Zygerrian beat her to the punch. It was a little alarming to find out that whomever had an interest in her new found passenger was influential enough to have such a keen eye on the illegal markets on the planet. It definitely didn't make Cadence feel any better about having Tren on her ship, but what was done was done, all she could do now was keep the engines running hot and hope that whomever was after him wouldn't catch up until long after she'd dropped him off and took off in another direction. Of course even if they did get caught, Cadence could easily play dumb and say she had no idea he was a wanted man, play herself off as just another dumbass smuggler caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, plus she was legitimately muscled into this deal, hopefully that would be enough to get her off the hook if the worst came to pass.
"You Zygerrians must have a different system then, wasn't a whole lot of paperwork required when I got mine back on Corulag way back when." Cadence would shrug either way before unbuckling her safety harness and letting it fall to the side, allowing her to recline a little bit better in her chair. After awhile, the near-human's eyes would rest on Tren's little pet. "So, what exactly is that thing anyways? It's kinda cute."[/color] Provided Tren or the creature didn't mind, Cadence would stop reclining in her seat and reach over to pet it. "I thought about getting a pet, but in my line of work you never know when you'll get pinched by customs and detained for a day or two, that and I have no idea what I'd get or what I could stand being locked in here with for days on end."
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