Warranty Not Included (Gettin' Zapped)

[Kella]

The Bohemian shuddered like a living beast, sinking its claws into the hull of a smaller ship.

The predator had her prey.

Lordura leaned against the frame of the docking port, comm in hand. She peered nonchalant through the blast door's window. The docking claws locked into the other ship, and the resulting growl filled the cargo bay like a hunger pang. She waited greedily to be filled with pilfered plunder.

"This is the Captain speaking," she said into the comm, her voice echoing back through the walls of the other ship. "Your ship is now under my command." Even the deaf would hear her. "Those who would like the greatest chance of surviving will relocate themselves to the galley. Those who resist, will die. That is all."

Lordura looked back at her crew, in all manner of shapes and sizes but hardly motley. Each was sharp as they came, (though not necessarily there in the head) and each had a... thirst for this particular line of work. Finest group of men you'd ever meet, and they sure as hell weren't wearing Republic armor.

She didn't need to ask if they were ready. She didn't need to ask if they wanted some treasure. She didn't need to ask if they'd brought their best.

All she had to do was look at them. They cheered. She knew. They knew.

It was time.

[Rugs]

Click

Belt on, final suit check complete. Weapons? Ah yes, weapons were good, arrayed out on the little bed over in the corner of his room. Heavy blaster? Check. Short swords? Check. Dao? Got it. And of course... Pale fingers which had already checked and rechecked each of his tools with a practiced, professional precision paused near the final item that lay on his bed. It was a revolver. A very large revolver. A smile pulled at the edge of his lips as he held the thing, turning it over in his hands. Check.

Time was short, however. Guns went on him, as did the two short swords, and the bagua dao he'd received from his father as a gift so many years ago got slung over his back , hilt peeking up over a shoulder. He did one final check, making sure that he had extra ammo in the pockets of his armored suit. "Looks like we're good, Aysr," he said as he paused near the door and looked into the little mirror that hung from the wall. He flashed himself a grin, moving some of his pearly hair from in front of his eyes.

Spirits were high among the crew. Asyr was in a particularly good mood, and not just because he'd spent the night (or what passed for night in space) a few doors down the hall with a Twi'lek that he had the occasional fling with. Well... mirth filled his eyes as he slipped out of his room and down the hall. It played a role in his high spirits, he couldn't deny that. But there was something more to it than that.

"Ah, there you are Asyr."

"Aye, Flitch, here I am." Asyr motioned to the little droid, who was perched on a chair in the galley. He'd taken to moving about the ship more on his own, and as long as he didn't cause trouble, Asyr was content to let him keep doing so. "Come on, come on. Time's short."

"Time for what? I've seen a number of the crew come through here armed, Asyr." The Familiar hovered through the air on tiny repulsorlifts and alighted on the Echani's shoulder.

"Why, Flitch, it should be obvious." He wasn't quite sure if the smile he gave then was malevolent or eager. A mix of the two, perhaps. "It's raidin' time."

---------------------------------------------

There was the oh-so familiar shudder. The shaking that said one thing, and one thing only: they'd latched on. Now the Bohemian had found her prey and soon a wave of pirates, hungry for loot, would spill out of her belly and into the gut of the trapped vessel.

Asyr remembered his first raid. It wasn't the sort of thing easily forgotten. Was on hell of a ride...

He added his voice to the ones of the others as a cheer erupted. Excitement welled. Adrenaline started to flow into his blood.

Flitch was looking around nervously, but Asyr didn't notice. Soon it wouldn't matter.

Just as soon as a breach was made, they'd be in the other ship, and the fun would begin.

[Jace]

It was a daily routine but one that played an important role in the old smuggler now pirate's life. This time it was a little more necessary though since he may or may not actually need to use his weapons. He cleaned the weapon daily, making sure it would be entirely functional when the time came for some heavy work. Ocelot had been trained to use the revolver ever since he was little, he considered it part of his hand. The other part was the deadly curved blade that was currently strapped to his back. He didn't have to use that often but every once in awhile things got a little messy.

Satisfied with his weapons run through, Ocelot threw on his coat and headed out of his quarters. If he wasn't mistaken, it was almost time for the raid. He was still relatively new to such things, and as such he planned to be extra cautious. Ocelot had been primarily a smuggler his entire life, though he had dabbled in other areas as many did. He assumed this would be a rather 'quiet' raid from the briefing. It didn't seem like they would be expecting much resistance but one could never be sure.

He found his way to where the rest of the crew was waiting, and their captain. They seemed especially riled up, no doubt the prospect of plunder and the spoils was a major source of such excitement. Ocelot steadied himself as the ship lurched, marking contact with the other vessel. The captain was quite clear in her address to the crew of the other ship. Ocelot could feel the energy rising in the room among the other pirates, he chose not to participate in such things.

Maybe if I was younger, or more foolish

Ocelot could only shrug though, youth was always something to envy. Some would eventually grow up, others would die, it was just the way this business worked. Then again, he was slightly out of his element here, so maybe he was just being pessimistic. Once again he scanned the room, some figures were familiar, others not so much. He had no doubt that this was a crew of professionals, yet the older man still had his doubts. Ocelot let out one last sigh before preparing to head into the other ship, it was time for business.

[sparrow]

"Hey. You." Timminy Flomes tilted her head oddly at the auburn-haired human girl. Very odd, that one. She called herself Sierra. No last name, or middle initial. Just Sierra. Weird. However, if that was the only thing strange about the girl, Timminy Flomes probably wouldn't have cared. She found most people weird.

Sierra had arrived not long ago with that old man, Ocelot, with nothing but a bunch of mechanic's tools and the clothes on her back, which were for some reason bloodstained. That meant that for several days she had been borrowing Timminy's clothes, until they were able to stop at another port. She didn't like that. Not one bit. "No harm, no foul," Buck had said. "Look, she even washed and folded them for you."

"But they're mine. And her epithelial cells might still be in them..." she had replied, disgruntled.

Oh, Sierra did bring one more thing with her. There was that weird long-handled dagger with the retractable blade. Actually, she had two of them. Creepy.

And then there was the fact that Sierra always seemed to be a bit spaced out. And every day she would lock herself into that little room of hers for an hour or two, claiming to have headaches. The others seemed to have bought it. Timminy wasn't sure she did. It was either that or disappearing into the engine room or hyperdrive maintenance hatch, tinkering with who-knows-what. She rarely socialized with the others, except for Ocelet, with whom she had arrived with, and for some odd reason, Buck. The giant of a Kiffar, in the rare instances when he wasn't holding that gun of his, seemed to like running around with that petite little girl sitting on his shoulders for some reason. Some people just weren't meant to be understood.

And that was where Sierra happened to be right now. "Buck! Stop playing around and let's go!" Timminy yelled. "Sierra, Captain says you're with me, so try to keep up." She snapped her fingers one more time for emphasis.

"Sure, Timmi," Sierra said, hopping off of Buck's shoulders. "Just tell me what to do."

"Hey! That's Timminy Flomes to you!"

Sierra nodded, and said nothing. Timminy resisted the urge to give her a good solid punch.


*edited to incorporate some of Kella's suggestions on writing Timminy's character

[Meira]

If she sat on her bed squarely so that her knees bent around the side, perfectly in line with the edge of the bed, and kept her feet flat, they could not touch the floor. She was sitting like this now, swinging her legs back and forth, back and forth. Her teeth nibbled lightly at the inside of her lip, and her fingers tapped a random rhythm on the blankets. Roma was already bored.

Lordura, the captain of her current home, had commanded that she and Pau stay confined to their room while the rest of her crew got to work. What their work was, Roma couldn't be entirely sure, but she heard a great deal of metallic sounds recently. The kind of sounds that one heard from weapons. But Roma didn't ask questions. Roma went to her room and sat down on her bed. That couldn't have been more than five minutes ago.

Their room was, as Lordura called it, the "passenger suite. But right now it felt more like a containment cell. They'd been ushered in, then the door was closed and that was that. Roma didn't much care for sharing a room with Pau, but it was old news for them. Ships tended to have little space as it was, dealing with her companion's snoring and stink was just another beautiful part of the nomadic life.

At least the room was bigger than their usual accomodations. Apparently it had four bunks, but only two were folded down from the walls. It contained more storage space than the two had belongings, and the blankets were soft and warm. Definitely beat sleeping on the floors of a dirty cargo hold. All things considered, she really had nothing to complain about. They had a good setup here. But that didn't mean she was ready to get comfortable just yet. Lordura's crew had made little effort to introduce themselves to her, but that didn't bother the girl. New people were a challenge, voices took time to remember. She might have been blind for two years, but that didn't mean she was becoming an expert at it. She still struggled.

And this ship, and its people would take time getting used to. But would she have the time? The Humani merchant ships were through with her and Pau. Her lifelong reputation, and his newly found mala sort had pretty much seen to it that they were hardly welcome among the Humani anymore. Roma had long since stopped caring about that fact. The problem was that other crews, estrani crews, saw little use in Pau, and no use in her. Their rides with other ships had been one way, one stop, affairs. And those rides were growing few and far between. She'd learned not to take too much interest in the crews of ships. She was never around long enough for it to matter. But if they could find a way to fit in with this crew, if they could make themselves useful to Lordura and the rest, maybe that would make the difference.

So young, so stupid. Roma thought to herself as she flopped her body back onto her bed. Milky white eyes were vacant, staring toward the ceiling as she let out a heavy sigh. How long was she going to have to sit here? Surely, whatever trading Lordura was doing couldn't take too long.... But why did she and Pau have to stay in their room? Well, she could understand why she had to stay in the room. Nothing mucked up loading cargo like a blind girl in the way. But why didn't they put Pau to work?

Roma sat back up, then stood. Two step from the side of her bed was the wall. One step to the left and she was in front of the door. Her hand reached out and found the controls to open it, but nothing happened. She huffed out her frustration and turned around. Putting her back against the door, she set her jaw crooked, a common sign of anger for the girl.


"Pau, I'm hungry." she said, her back sliding down until she was sitting on the floor. The walls to their room were well insulated. Though she knew Lordura's crew was in the cargo hold, she could barely hear anything. "How long do you think they'll take?"

[Twysper]

Jaleqe's weight seesawed across the toes and heels of his heavy combat boots excitedly, shotgun loosely balanced on his shoulder, barrel pointed skywards. He was waiting for the heavy cargo doors to open, like every other armed-to-the-teeth-and-then-some space pirate in the throng around him. For his part, a bandoleer had been strapped over his combat armor, all loaded with specialty shells organized in some unfathomable pattern. The Firrerreo also had a blaster in an ankle holster, another one of the same holstered on his hip, and the strange weapon that was knuckledusters, gun, and knife, all in one, on his person.

He felt the growling of the Bohemian vibrate the soles of his feet as it latched onto the merchant ship. It was a nice feeling, he reflected, the sound of an upcoming payday.

Jaleqe rocked back on tiptoes again to peer above the mass of gravitating pirates and picked Asyr's shock of white hair out of the crowd. There was really only one thing to be done at that point, and so Jaleqe ducked back down and started to shoulder his way through, pushing and shoving until he was close to his favorite compatriot in debauchery. The Firrerreo elbowed him roughly before grinning.

A noisy, grinding machine, they all were. Efficient, but not necessarily pretty to look at. Jaleqe thought of the two newest passengers they had picked up; the blind girl and her protector that could hardly protect himself. He sighed mentally. The boy at least, would need some roughening up. The galaxy was a hard place, and untested youths had a nasty habit of dying.

At least he was running with pirates now; didn't get much better than that.

In comparison, the other duo they had picked up were just strange. One grizzled old man who seemed to know the trade, and one slight woman who claimed to be a mechanic. Buck had apparently taken a fancy to her.

Jaleqe didn't ask questions as to why Lordura was bringing more scruffy hobos onto the ship, but he still had the queries in his head. Could always get them to do all the menial chores. That would be downright thoughtful of her.

The doors of the cargo bay started to press open with a mechanical whirr, and all thoughts but what would be needed in the next few minutes of high-strung activities vanished.

The tall space pirate chambered a round with anticipation, and the noise was instantly lost among the raucous cacophony in the cargo bay. Jaleqe's booted foot pounded on the metal floor as adrenaline started flowing freely.

Party time.

[Kella]

Lordura stepped through the doorway, the picture of confidence. At this point, confidence was what it was all about.

The halls were empty. That meant one of two things. Either the ship's crew was smart, and in the galley, or there were armed mercenaries onboard laying in wait. Lordura always assumed the latter.

She indicated this to her crew with an almost bored, "Stay sharp," as they filed into the ship. She turned and took the narrow hall that lead to the cargo area in these kinds of ships, bypassing the galley. Buck and the odd pair, Ocelot and Sierra, would be taking care of the hostages.

The hall curved sharply, and the cargo bay would lie just beyond. It was a good place for an ambush. Lordura knew Marien would be behind her -- the woman always had her back -- and she waved her ahead. Marien had grenades, which were rather handy on these occasions.

Lordura shielded her eyes, but she knew as soon as she smelled burnt explosives that the flash grenade had worked its magic.

Gun raised, she stepped around the corner. Sure enough, there was a cluster of heavily armed men, momentarily blinded. Two shots, the sound of Marien's blaster, and two of them were on the ground. Lordura ducked back around the corner just as a rain of blaster bullets shredded the air.

It was about to get interesting.

[Rugs]

The denizens of the Bohemian roared, filling her belly with a thunder that struck fear into the hearts of so many. They were one; a great beast, ravenous with hunger and the need to loot and pilfer from their prey. Only a little longer. Just a few moments more and their desires would be satisfied.

Among all the cheering an excitement, Asyr felt someone elbow him in the ribs. He turned to look for the offender and broke into a stupid grin when he saw Jaleqe standing next to him. "There you are, y'damn slug." Asyr laughed and cuffed Jaleqe companionably on the shoulder, and the greeting ritual was complete. "An' here I was thinkin' you'd get here before me. You're slippin', Jaleqe."

It was all in jest, of course. Partly. Asyr's prowess for being late for things was well known among the rest of the crew--as were his clock-breaking habits--but he'd never be late for a raid. Not if he could help it.

And with his closest friend among the crew now standing beside him, everything was in place, as far as Asyr was concerned.

Flitch shifted again on his shoulder, still seemingly nervous about what was going on, if a droid could get nervous. Asyr noticed that his eagle-looking wings were tinted light shades of orange and yellow, rather than their usual silver-white.

He opened his mouth to say something, but a sound cut him off.

The breach was made, the doorway into their prey opened. Asyr's mouth spread into a grin as he pulled his heavy blaster from his hip and twirled it on his finger. "Payday," he said to Jaleqe right as he stopped the pistol's spinning.

The crew moved into the ships interior. Asyr gave an easy "Always do" when he heard Lordura told them to stay sharp.

A group of pirates split off down one corridor with Lordura at the head. Asyr and Jaleqe moved down another, with a few others at their backs. It was quiet within. Far more quiet than raids normally were.

Too quiet.

"Last time it was this quiet I nearly got m'damn arm blown off," Asyr muttered, half to himself, half to Jaleqe.

Hiss!

Asyr stopped. A door had opened further down the hall. A few tense heartbeats passed, and then three men, lightly armored and carrying little more than pistols to defend themselves stepped into the hallway.

They leveled the pistols at the pirates. "Stop right there, pirates. Make another move and w-"

It was funny, the way plasma from a heavy blaster could burn through cloth and flesh like it was nothing. Asyr's pistol smoked lightly from the shot as the victim fell to the ground. He'd taken a hit to the side. Painful, but not necessarily lethal. He at least had a small chance to survive. He probably wouldn't.

But at least he had a chance.

The two companions looked down at their fallen crew mate, then the pirates. They ducked away, using doorways for cover.

And then the shootin' started.

[Twysper]

Jaleqe charged with Asyr into the ship, automatically grouping up with the Echani as they moved off. Among pirates, it was important to stay with at least one person you could trust to watch your back.

The group of raiders turned into a long, still corridor and checked their pace. Boots scuffed quietly against the durasteel floor.

"Last time it was this quiet I nearly got m'damn arm blown off,"

"Lucky-- you couldn't grope women half as well without it." Jaleqe replied lightly, shotgun poised to blow the face off anything that looked remotely hostile as they moved slowly down the hallway.

The hiss of hydraulics instantly had Jaleqe moving to press himself against the sheer wall, aiming the 12 gauge towards the noise. Three lightly armed and armored men walked out, brandishing pistols.

Jaleqe snorted. The pirate was carrying more firepower than all of them combined solely on his person.

"Stop right there, pirates." One of them issued in an official-like manner. "Make another move and w-"

A prompt shot from Asyr silenced the naive speaker before Jaleqe could roll his eyes. The space pirate whooped as he fired a tight spread of buckshot down the hallway, sudden impact of the pellets causing him to twist to the ground in pain.

With ease born of repetition, The Firrerreo chambered another round-- too late to beat the other pirates to taking the last man down. As the group surged forwards again, Jaleqe took the opportunity to relieve one of the incapacitated men of his pistol, to make sure there were no heroic shots fired at their backs as they pushed further.

"Should've went to the galley." He hissed before the pirates moved on. Come to think of it, he wasn't entirely sure where they were headed, besides to simply clear the ship.

They turned the corner and came up on a number of doorways littered throughout the length of the next hallway.

Jaleqe, personally, hated clearing the many niches and crannies of spaceships. A clean firefight he could handle--being ambushed was not a fun experience. He switched his shotgun over to its semi-automatic firing mode and waved Asyr up to the first doorway with him.

On three, he slammed a fist into the door controls and spun into the
opening, blackened shotgun gleaming in the sterile light. Eyes immediately took in the scene of a room deserted in a hurry. There was a small bed that took up about half of the room, covers carelessly thrown towards the floor. Jaleqe led the way inside, pumped a round into the bed to make sure it was empty with nothing underneath it, stuffed something valuable-looking that was resting on the counter into his pocket and the two moved on to the next room.

The process was repeated on the next room, breaching on three, except this time, when they entered the room, a small, moving bulge under the sheets kept Jaleqe from blasting it immediately. He made a hush motion to Asyr and moved to yank back the covers. As they were pulled away, he felt something big and heavy slam into his back, and he speculated in a detached manner that it had moved from the slight space behind the door. Jaleqe crashed into the wall and hoped that Asyr was moving to assist before something burned or stabbed through him.

[Rugs]

BANG!

Though he was long past the point of jumping in surprise when Jaleqe fired his shotgun, Asyr couldn't deny the way a very peculiar, nearly giddy feeling filled his gut whenever that thing went off. And though he was a pistol man himself, that shotgun had a certain inherent feeling of manly awesomeness that made him crack a stupid grin when it was used--especially when Jaleqe used the special rounds.

Asyr whooped as Jaleqe did, and the other pirates cut the last defender down before either of them got around to it. "Easy as always," he crooned, grinning stupidly as he spun his pistol thrice on his forefinger.

The group pressed ahead to the fallen men. Asyr stopped and crouched low over one of them and made quick work of rifling over his belongings. A few credits that amounted to pocket change, some spare blaster packs, a stick of gum that was discarded on seeing the flavor, and a grenade.

"Least there was somethin' worth takin'," he muttered, lurching to his feet once more and falling in after Jaleqe. He kept his pistol raised and his eyes ahead, but also took a brief moment to glance at the ordinance in hand.

"Oh ho," he said softly, "ion grenade here." Even more satisfied with his find, Asyr clipped the little explosive sphere on his belt as they turned the corner. "That'll fetch a good price." Enough for a crate or two'a some good Corellian. Day's off to a good start.

His powdery eyes swept the hall before them. Both sides were lined with doors. Both sides were possible avenues of attack for the defenders. That made it room-clearing time. Long, tedious room clearing. "Jeez," he whispered through his teeth, echoing Jaleqe's disapproval, "hate havin' to do this sh*t."

There wasn't much else to do but clear it out, though. The other pirates of their group were working like a well-oiled machine, already broken into groups and moving to take care of multiple rooms at once. Two hung back in the hall, keep a watch for oncoming defenders or other crew members.

Asyr checked his pistol's power pack and loosened one of his knives when Jaleqe motioned him forward. With positions set, his Firrerreo companion counted down and pushed the door in. The two swept inside. All clear. Asyr nabbed a figurine that looked like it might be worth something and stuffed it into a small bag on his shoulder. No sign of a decent clock.

Back into the hall and down to the next room. The process was repeated. Jaleqe pushed the door open and they moved inside. Something was lumped on the bed under a cover. While Jaleqe inspected, Asyr turned his attention to the rest of the room...

Right when something attacked his partner from behind. Everything happened in a blur. Asyr at once both yelled a wordless warning and leveled his pistol at the thing, but Jaleqe was hit and thrown. Asyr fired two quick shots point blank. One grazed its side, the other took it in the arm.

The thing screeched in some crazed combination of pain and fury. Asyr's perception caught up with his reflexive action and he saw glimpses of fur, a broad muscular build, and a feline face and mouth lined with viciously-sharp teeth.

Something thudded on the ground after falling from the creature's grip. Asyr's eyes nearly faltered to look, until the fuming cat beast charged right at him. Being the Echani he was, he had a brief moment of warning; time enough to start squeezing the trigger again.

Blaster fired. Bolt impact to the chest. The creature staggered, but momentum kept it moving forward. Asyr braced himself.

It slammed into him clumsily. The mass of the thing sent them both stumbling back until the wall a few short feet behind Asyr stopped them. His pistol clattered to the floor when he was hit. Glass shattered loudly as something fell from the wall to the floor, but Asyr wasn't worried about whatever it was they'd just broken. Instead he pushed back on the thing, using the wall to brace himself. Thankfully, it staggered back, dazed by the nasty burn on its chest. That was all he needed.

He drew his second heavy blaster, leveled it, fired it. Shot to the gut. Shot to the chest. The thing collapsed in a heap.

"Whew, jeeeeeez," he said with a relieved, overly-loud sigh once the thing was on the floor. "Stupid gorram... cat thing." He put one more shot into the body just for good measure.

Satisfied that the thing was now quite properly dead, Asyr leaned down to scoop up his first pistol and look about the room, trying to ignore some of the lingering discomfort in his back from getting pushed into the wall. "You alright, Jaleqe?" He couldn't hide the little grin on his face, and offered a hand to his compadre if it was needed. "Been a while since I saw somethin' send you flyin' like that."

[Jace]

The grizzled old mercenary entered the ship along with the rest of the others. Ocelot moved with the small yet mysterious Sierra, and Buck who was somewhat of the complete opposite. It would be their job to secure the hostages, while not exciting, it was necessary. No doubt the captain was testing them, Ocelot quite agreed with her choice. You don't want someone you've never fought with guarding your back. He had to work his way into the crew and Ocelot honestly found that refreshing.

He stopped before the entrance to the galley and let the others go their separate ways. Ocelot had a rather odd feeling about the ship but he kept it to himself. The older mercenary removed his revolver from its shoulder holster and held it at the ready. He looked at the other two, nodding to them indicating he was ready. Ocelot wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but it never hurt to be cautious. He glanced towards the mechanic once, slightly worried about the young girl, but Buck seemed to have her well protected. Reassured, Ocelot hit the button and the door slid open.

There were a number of people in the galley, most of whom seemed relatively afraid. He couldn't really blame them but if they cooperated they would be unharmed. His eyes scanned the each person in the room, and he noted one or two 'oddities' but kept quiet. He looked at Buck and the veteran mercenary gave him a small but understanding nod. It was good to be working with people who knew the trade. He holstered his gun and began to move between the hostages.

"Relax folks" began Ocelot in his gruff tone "As long as you don't do anything stupid you'll be just fine"

Ocelot continued move what appeared to be rather carelessly among the hostages. He could see Buck doing the same thing, though it looked rather different when a 7'1 Kiffar did it. He heard the slightest shuffle from behind him and he whipped around, pistol suddenly in hand and pointed directly at the man's head. The man had his hand somewhere in his jacket, hand gripping a blaster pistol. Ocelot had spotted him when they first entered the room, in his business you needed to be able to differentiate between normal people and enemies.

"Son, that right there is my definition of stupid"

He relieved the guard of his weapon and suddenly heard a large thud. Ocelot turned to see Buck standing over a rather unconscious figure. Raising an eyebrow at the massive Kiffar, his gesture was returned with an indifferent shrug.

Well that takes care of-

The sound of blaster fire suddenly filled the ship.

That

[Twysper]

Jaleqe had lost his shotgun in the scuffle as soon as he had been thrown against the wall, and large claws had raked across his back, slashing through his shirt and skin. Courtesy of Asyr's fast reflexes, the lacerations were only skin deep; didn't stop the darting pain though. The space pirate only had time to draw his eclectic back-up weapon before his partner ended the fight. Jaleqe's ribs ached as he bent over to retrieve his fallen shotgun, holstering the combination pistol, knife, and brassknuckles.

"Did we raid a frakking zoo?" he complained as he fumbled to grab the weapon from next to the bed. "Thank you kindly."

A shrill scream pierced the air, and Jaleqe felt another weight drop on his back.

"GORRAM IT." The Firrerreo wasn't about to get jumped a second time in the same room. He twisted sharply, tossing the surprisingly slight weight to the floor. Instantly he had flicked his smaller pistol out again, and held the snub barrel pointed in the face of some sobbing child.

"You killed Dukey!" the boy yelled accusingly, fists still balled up.

"Now there's kids? This is a zoo." Jaleqe muttered before addressing the boy. "'Dukey' was a psychotic monster." The pirate pointed at the still smoking corpse. "Now he's gone away to wherever-rabid-pets go heaven. Your parents are probably in the galley if they're not dead."

Jaleqe picked up the kid by the shirt with one hand and grabbed his shotgun with the other.

"Never was any good at speeches." He sighed as he walked by Asyr, holding the now kicking and screaming kid at arms length. Jaleqe suspected the boy was about four or five, and that he had slipped away from his parents and returned to the room for his pet when everyone else moved to the galley. Shame, really.

Once back into the hallway, Jaleqe more or less tossed the kid towards one of the other pirates keeping watch.

"Found one. He could have sabotaged the whole operation. Maybe I'll get a raise." The space pirate grinned wolfishly.

"We're finished here!" One of the other raiders bellowed, coming out of the last room.

Jaleqe nudged Asyr and started trying to guess his way towards the cargo bay. "C'mon, you can find a new clock later."

[Rugs]

"Did we raid a frakking zoo?"

Asyr smirked as his partner in crime got to his feet. "If only. Nothin' makes ya feel alive like raidin' a zoo, y'know." For a very brief moment, he actually contemplated the thought of that. Surely there were vessels that hauled animals through space. Or maybe some kind'a space menager-

His pondering was shattered by the sound of Jeleqe yelling another curse, and before his brain could catch up, his arm had his pistol out and leveled at the thing that had jumped on Jaleqe.

The 'thing' just happened to be a kid.

Which was now being thrown off of Jaleqe's back.

It looked a little rough, but Asyr couldn't fault Jaleqe. Someone should've told the kid that if you don't want to get tossed, you don't jump on pirates' backs. That sounds nice and wise. One day he'd write a book. After he retired.

Anyway, the kid was hollering and screaming that they'd killed 'Dukey,' which to be fair, was entirely Dukey's fault. If Dukey hadn't thrown Jaleqe across the room, they might have been able to go about their business nice and calm like, and the cat would likely still be alive. Maybe bound up, but alive.

Lesson is, don't go throwin' pirates when they come on your ship, Asyr quipped silently as he gave the room a final look over before slinging his bag over his shoulder and sauntering out after Jaleqe. Damn, I really should write that book. Jaleqe could even co-author it.

As they reentered the hall, Jaleqe dropped the kid off and made a little quip. Asyr snorted a laugh as he checked his pistol. "Yeah, maybe. You know it ain't happenin' though."

"Asyr."

Asyr looked dumbly at Jaleqe, then one of the other pirates. "Who called me- Oh! Flitch!" He looked up with a stupid grin at the little dragon droid riding on his shoulder. He'd been so quiet the whole time Asyr'd forgotten he was there. "Sup, bud? Enjoyin' your first raid?"

Flitch's odd eagle wings rustled restlessly as he turned around on Asyr's shoulder to look at the child Jaleqe found. "What will happen to the boy? He will be taken care of, right?"

"Huh?" Asyr looked back at the child, who was sniveling by one of the pirates and saying something about 'poor little Dukey'. "I dunno."

"C'mon, you can find a new clock later."

"Yeah, yeah," Asyr said absentmindedly. He spun his pistol on his finger and turned to head off after Jaleqe. "Look, Flitch, sure the kid'll be just fine, alright? Don't worry about it."

The grunting noise Flitch made didn't seem convinced, but for the time being, the droid was appeased.

The group of pirates meandered their way through the ship with a cautious sort of haste. There was plundering to be had, if they could find the damn cargo bay. But there wasn't any sense running into a trap, either.

After a little bit, they came to a door. Asyr wasn't sure where it led to, but it was the only way forward. It was locked, whatever it was. "Looks like we found somethin'" he muttered to Jaleqe. "Flitch, you sure you don't wanna use your laser here?"

"I will not use my capabilities against innocent civilian vessels, Asyr," the droid answered flatly.

"Sheesh, who ever heard of a droid with a damn moral code?" Asyr asked Jaleqe.

"Alright," he went on, motioning to some of the other pirates, "come on, come on, time's wastin' and I still need a clock. Let's get this door open."

[Kella]

With impeccable timing, the doors slid open of their own accord. There was a moment of quiet, stillness, before a menacing figure emerged from a shadow...

"What took you so long?" Marien demanded brightly, waving her blaster to beckon them in. "You missed all the fun."

The cargo bay smelled of gunpowder and burned flesh, which was explained by the pile of corpses in the corner, tossed unceremoniously out of the way. The cargo bay was on the small side, and only a few crates stacked near the back. The rest of the space was occupied by a few dozen droids of various shapes and models, in their respective deactivated storage states, and a half dozen or so pirates. The ruffians milled about, inspecting the droids and crates, and muttering about the best way to transport their plunder.

The captain had been standing over the pile of corpses, rifling through their pockets and generally giving the impression that she was gaining a lot of useful information -- whether or not she actually was.

She turned when she heard Marien's greeting, and surveyed the newly arrived crew members.

"Has the rest of the ship been cleared?"