Trouble of the Bounty Hunter Sort(Fae)

[Jazen]

"What, tired already? If a little mess like this tires you out, I foresee a painful life as a bounty hunter for you."

Navigating the pathways of the Kuat Drive Yards could be likened to navigating a maze to the first time visitor to the place. Not only was it massive, as one would expect of one of the largest shipyards in the known galaxy, but it tended to be twists and turns that lead to one place or another. One could easily get turned around or lost if they weren't careful; fortunately for Shine, he'd been here enough to know the particulars of this maze. Well, at least this section of it.

As much as it amused him that his follower was getting tired, the tug of exhaustion was starting on him too. Sure, he was in a better shape than most ship owners were, kept that way by a healthy regiment of running like freck, but he wasn't a super-human with godlike stamina. If they had to keep dodging people in the coming future, he knew he'd be gasping for air too. But he wasn't spent yet and he didn't intend to be running on his feet for much longer.

Pausing to check around a corner and then listening for the sound of their followers, Kyle slowed the pace down a bit more, half for his benefit, but half for hers as well. She might have just tried to take him in for a bounty, but for the moment she was an ally and she wouldn't be any good to him exhausted.

"To be fair, my situations with women are fifty-fifty. I find they fall into three groups; women who want to see me strung up, such as yourself. Then there's my friends, who find me amusing, cute at times, but know I'm a stand-up guy. And then there's...well, the ones who would find a much better use for my nuts then kicking them."

He tried not to grin at her when he said that. Tried very hard. And he succeeded, but only because he was sure she might actually do something painful to his nuts if he didn't. Running with injured nuts was something he would not enjoy.

Their destination came in sight a moment later, the bay door that lead to A12 marked clearly upon the wall beside it. Jogging up to the door, Shine waited till Shanti had passed through before following in behind her, making sure no one saw them enter. Then he turned around, eyed the hangar, and clicked his comm twice. A signal to Vis that he had arrived. A moment later, he got the response in return; two clicks, a pause, then another. Vis was here. Smiling, Shine nodded to Shanti and started across the bay. "I should warn you...Vis takes some getting use to."

As if on cue, something rushed over their way, small and low to the floor, not pausing even as it came upon Shine. Shine was already leaning over, letting the small droid scamper up his arm to perch on his shoulder, turning to Shanti once Vis was secure. "Shanti, this is Vistal. Vistal, meet Shanti. She's our guest that I told you about."

"Greetings, Ms Shanti." The little mink droid bowed its head slightly towards her, shifting for better purchase on Shine's shoulder. "A pleasure to meet y...are you always that color or are you merely that dirty."

[Faeruy]

"You said your situation is fifty-fifty, and yet you mention three categories of women. Does that mean you haven't met any in the third category yet? Or are you just really bad at math?" That would explain the bounty on his head at any rate. Although it could easily be the former explanation. The only women who would want to touch him with a ten-foot-pole were either ones he paid or existed only in his fevered imagination.

She had to admit, once they got to the hanger bay, that his ship didn't look awful. At least, she'd stowed away in much worse before. With her luck though, this one probably flew like a brick. She watched as Shine clicked on his comm unit twice. There was a response.

Two clicks on a comm unit? Worst. Security. Ever. Shanti tried not to grin. She managed to keep it together by thinking on how much easier this would have been if she had just stalked him onto the ship. Confronting him, trying to flirt with him and not gag was way more effort than the job was worth.

Something small streaked past her. She didn't think there was vermin on this planet, so she was a bit surprised. Shine didn't though, and she watched as the small thing moved up his body. Partway up, she realized that it was reflecting light. So it wasn't a creature. It was a droid.

A tiny little thing. Communicated in proper language; exceedingly mobile. She wondered what else it could do. Probably not a lot; it was too small. She couldn't hide the look of surprise in her light eyes, but she tried to cover it up as quickly as possible, pulling a blase mask over her feature.

"Cute toy you got there. Does it clear the vermin out of the ducts?" The damn droid then decided to insult her. She knew she hadn't gotten a chance to shower yet, but clearly the thing did not have any social protocols programmed in. "Careful droid, or I'll disassemble you so fast you won't be able to send out a mayday call."

She looked back at Shine. "So tell me. What does this undersized piece of scrap metal do?"

[Jazen]

"Damn...think you're right...guess my situation would be thirty-three times three in that case. But I will admit, I run into women who fall into the first two categories more often than the third. Or rather, the one's in the third often change into the second. It's oddly complicated for a simple thing."

Although it was only for a fleeting moment, Shine caught that all too brief look in Shanti's eyes when Vis made his appearance. It was a look Shine had seen associated with people's first encounter with his droid companion; not many people saw a droid as advanced as Vis was. At least, not in such a compact form. Even Shine didn't know how the Wizard or Father or whatever their creator was called did it, creating such an advanced creature in a form so small. But then, Shine wasn't the smartest when it came to tech like that. He could tear a ship apart into the finer details but a droid like Vis was outside his expertise.

But then, considering how much help Vistal had been to him, Shine didn't much need to know those things.

Shanti covered up her surprise fast, becoming the woman who had suddenly tried to take him prisoner once again. Which was fine as far as Shine was concerned. He much preferred this version of her to the woman she had become to allure his attention. It had worked, he wouldn't argue that...but this side of her was much more fun to interact with. As for Vis, well..Vis blinked his optics in surprise at her words, his response coming back clear where a normal person might stutter.

"My apologies Ms Shanti. I did not mean to insult you. However, I cannot say my duties include cleaning out the..."

Shine reached up and patted the droid, chuckling. "Now now you two. Don't take it personally Shanti. Vis is still learning the ways of the world. He didn't mean it as an offense...he just tends to blurt out things rather than keep them quiet. I uh...wouldn't suggest you do that to him though Shanti...the guys that made him wouldn't like that and they have some serious pull. They'd make you regret it. That's not a threat by the way. Trying to save you trouble is all."

Glancing from the ship to Vis to Shanti, Shine rose an eyebrow at her question. Now, he was pretty sure she was talking Vis but she could also be talking about his ship. Now, being the man that he was, he didn't really take kindly to people insulting his ship. In that same thought, he didn't take kindly to people who insulted his friends, which Vis was, droid or not. However...Shanti had not seen either of the two in action. A small smile crept along Shine's face; oh, how he would enjoy showing her just how useful both of them could be.

'He can do enough. Vis, we're about to have company. Jack in over there and seal the hangar door. You warmed up the Cat beforehand?"

"Of course. We can leave quickly. One moment." Vis leap from his shoulder to the floor and landed without fuss before bounding over the few feet to the door, leaping to the wall and clamping on, his feet anchoring to the wall. Climbing up to the panel next to the door, Vis extended his jack from the compartment in his belly, the wire jack plugging into the system. Kuat Space yards had some powerful security, but only when it came to outside hacking and sensitive systems. Something simple, like locking down a hangar door, especially from where Vis was located, was simple, even for him. Within moments, he was in, finding the protocols and sealing the hangar door.

Not a moment too soon either. A loud bang on the other side told Shine their guests had arrived. It wouldn't be long before they found a way around or the port unsealed the door. Time to go. "That a boy Vis. Alright, I think its time to leave, ladies and gentledroids. Let's go." Shine waited till Vis dislodged himself from the wall and started across the hangar before making his own way towards the lowered ramp of the Cat, flying up it in quick steps and making for the cockpit. Sliding into the pilot's seat, Shine started going through the final checks to take off as the engines hummed to life.

"Take a seat Shanti and buckle up. We're gonna be outta here in a flash." He flashed her an unconcerned smile. "Well, that's a sample of what Vis can do. Time to show you what this old girl can do."

[Faeruy]

Shanti swore under her breath, in Huttese. She always found it had the most satisfying invectives. It was so annoying that nothing was going her way, and that she was left with virtually no options. She sprinted up the ramp behind Shine, though unlike him, she took her sweet time going into the bridge.

She loved ships. Not that she could fly them, but she loved them anyway. So much tech, so many computer systems, all working together to get someone from one place to another. So many ways to turn a majestic flying thing into complete garbage. Not that it would behoove her to do anything that would ground them. That would only get them killed. Once they were up and flying however...

Shanti took her time looking at the layout of the bridge, trying to plan her next move. They needed to get away from Kuat. But after that she needed to get them to Nal Hutta, somehow. She couldn't navigate, and she probably couldn't convince him to change course. She could make it easier for someone to pick her up, although doing so would give someone else a chance to take her bounty away from her. Then there was the problem of trying to get her message out. With both Shine and that squeaking little droid, it would be hard to go unnoticed. Maybe if she drugged Shine's drink? Lock Vis in cabin? So many options. So few good and practical ones.

She didn't have time for it right now though. If it's one thing she knew about ships, it's that taking off in something like that would be very unpleasant if she wasn't sitting down. She slid into what would be the co-pilot's seat as everything rumbled underneath her feet.

"Old is right." She mumbled. "How does thing even break atmosphere?" She really hoped that it could. It would make her job easier if he couldn't leave, but she would probably end up dead before she could collect the bounty.

While Shine acted as if he forgot that she had been trying to capture him moments before, she wasn't sure if it was an act, or a matter of convienence, or if he was really just that stupid. While she was inclined to believe it was the latter, she wasn't about to take her chances.

"What does this thing do?" She asked, poking at the controls in front of her. Better if he thought she was stupid. It might give her more freedom about the ship later. Through the main viewport, she could see the ship lift off; and if she concentrated she thought she could almost hear the shout of angry bounty hunters on the hanger floor. They'd try and get someone up in the air to follow them, that much was certain. "Please tell me this thing has some speed to it. Somebody's bound to follow, and this isn't exactly the most... inconspicuous hunk-of-junk. I'd love to stay alive long enough to see my parents again. Speaking of which, I promised my mother I'd check in with her. D'ya mind if I call her once we outrun these morons? If we outrun them?"

[Jazen]

Shine's hands were a blur, darting across the console in front of him, flipping switches in such a random matter that most people would assume he didn't know what he was doing. Oh, but he did; every switch he flipped, every dial he turned, every lightened button he pressed had a purpose towards getting the ship into the air. He knew the Cat so well he could do this in his sleep, blindfolded or even intoxicated; although flying it like that wasn't the best of plans. Not that he ever flew under the influence. He preferred to have his head properly clear when flying and although he'd had a few drinks before this madness, the adrenaline had quickly cleared it.

Shine was no lightweight either.

Shine half-noticed Shanti sitting down beside him and buckling up, mumbling something that sounded like question's regarding the Cat's ability. Well, that was fine. Let her think what she wanted. The Cat would prove its worth soon enough. He hadn't forgotten that she'd tried to take him in for a bounty either; right now, however, it was in her best interest to work with him the against him. Once they were away, Shine would figure out what to do about her. Maybe lock her in one of the room's and then fly her somewhere she could get off and find transport. Of course, that left him with that bounty over his head still. Ah, too much thinking for now, not enough flying! He'd worry about that all later. Right now, fleeing came first.

Without taking his eyes from the console as the ship finally finished powering up, the engines rumbling and humming to full life, Shine snapped his hand out and lightly smacked her hand away. "If you don't know what it does, don't touch it. Just sit there, hands to yourself and make sure you're strapped in tight. Vis! We clear for takeoff?"

Vis, clamped down to the third seat in the cockpit, tilted his head to the side before replying. "Yes Shine...we have clearance. We might want to make haste...I believe the hunters are returning to their own ships to give pursuit."

"Lovely. I always enjoy a good dogfight. As for your questions, Shanti, let me make this clear. You can call your mother till your blue in the face for all I care...but after you're off my ship. You fooled me once and that's bad enough. I'm not taking any more chances with you then I have to. Consider yourself lucky I let you onboard; I could have left you with those unsavory gentlemen instead. And yes, they might be bounty hunters like you...but it wouldn't be the first time bounty hunters killed another to claim a bounty. If they didn't chose another use for you.

Now, sit there, shut up and don't touch a damn thing." Shine gripped the controls and smiled wide as he lifted the ship from the dock, hovering until the doors were clear before glancing at Shanti. "Also, I hope you can hold your lunch down." He didn't give her a moment to process that before slamming the throttle forward..and the Cat shot out of the dock like a shell from a cannon, right into that black void, already making distance from the Yards. It was a toss up whether he should go for hyperspace or the planet...until the warning alarm that the had guests coming.

"Ah joy...Vis, start powering up the guns. This is going to get interesting."

[Faeruy]

Shanti was annoyed that her request didn't work. She needed this bounty; she couldn't go back to Nar Shaddaa empty handed; she'd lose her flat and starve. She had to find a way to hamstring him, or at least get the message out.

The ship lurched, and the redhead felt her stomach go into her throat. Little too late did the warning about losing her lunch come; she belched and luckily nothing came up.

Or maybe it wasn't so lucky.

The idea came to her in an instant. She needed a distraction, something to cover her while she hacked into the ship. Shanti had been in a lot of cantinas, had drunk a lot strange liquors in massive quantities over the years, and one did do all that and manage to survive without learning how to purge it easily and painlessly. The drink she had when she arrived, plus the movement of the ship, only made it that much easier. She could already feel the roiling in her gut. She could keep it down without too much effort, but this time, she wasn't even going to try.

"Shine..." She moaned once, before faceplanting into the controls in front of her. Shanti clenched her stomach muscles, and started to make gagging sounds. Nothing came out yet; she was looking at the controls. With her left hand, she started pushing things, not really caring what they did, only hoping that in changing things, she would severely mess things up. Satisfied she had done what she could, she lifted her head slightly. Her hair was a curtain of ringlets in front of her, masking the finger she was surreptitiously pushing down her throat.

"Oh...fu..." She groaned, and a stream of colorful, liquid mush came out of her throat and splashed onto the console. Covering everything. Including her hair, but that couldn't be helped. She jerked her head up and looked at Shine.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't..." Shanti belched again, this time on purpose. "I can't. I have to... Oh brix..." She frantically tore at her buckle, taking more time with it than she strictly needed to. "This ship... I'm gonna be sick again... Oh pooodoooo..." She pretended to fumble a bit more before actually undoing it, and got unsteadily to her feet.

The alarm was going off in her ears now. They were being followed. She just hoped the idiots weren't stupid enough to actually shoot them out of the sky, or that none of things she had touched were related to the guns.

"Where's the head?" She shouted over the noise, before gagging again. Shine's ship made a sharp manuever, and she fell, stumbling sideways.

Into the communications console. Bingo. Shanti didn't have to feign her heavy fall onto it, but she was careful about where she put her hands. If there was one system she knew well, it was communications. Her deft hands flew, though the command was simple enough; easier, in fact, than trying to send a message. All she did was send out an SOS, with the captain's name attached. Shine. That should get someone's attention.

She forced herself to puke again, this time over the console. Even if Shine or that stupid droid of his figured out what she did, it would take them a bit to clean off the muck to get to it. The incoming ships should also help distract them.

She slumped down to floor, her legs splayed out, her back against the cool wall. Spewing her guts always made her feel like she'd run a desert. "I... I'm just gonna lie here, if that's alright with you..."

[Jazen]

If Shine had learned anything from his time as a fighter pilot, it was while that staying on a straight path may be the fastest way to get from point A to B, it was also a really good way to get yourself shot out of the sky. A straight, fast moving target, with a tail, wouldn't last long. Which is why all pilots learned how to juke and jerk at random intervals, to swerve and drop and weave...to basically make them a constantly moving pain in the bottom to get a lock on or hit. Of course, you didn't want to weave right into a shot, so you thought about it a little.

The Black Cat was no little fighter, which was a problem when being shot at. She was a much bigger target and thus, Shine had to weave and jerk just a little bit farther...but there were added benefits to flying a freighter instead of a fighter. Better shields for one.

And cannons that could shoot behind him if need be. Of course, if those idiots wanted him alive, shooting at him would be about the stupidest thing they could do. At least he could give as good as he...

The sound of Shanti moaning didn't key into him until Vis suddenly smacked him on the arm with his paw, drawing Shine's eye for a moment to acknowledge him. "Vis, whatever this is, it had better be important. Im currently trying to keep our heads off a platter." Vis knew he had Shine's attention, even if the man wasn't looking directly at him for the moment. Which was good. There was a situation developing behind them, as Vis turned his head to watch the woman known as Shanti...just in time to notice her making gagging motions towards the console she sat at.

"Uh...we may have a situation in here as well." Shine's head turned just enough for him to glance at her, bent over the communications console, her hair covering her face as she clutched at her stomach. She was groaning in the not fun kind of way; Shine knew what was coming even before it did. Muttering a curse, he turned his attention back to the task of flying the ship while Vis did the only thing he could do...try and sway Shanti away from what was about to happen. "Please Ms Shanti...if you could make your way to the head...or avert your head away from the console...it would be a much better choice then what you're about to do." Strangely enough, from Vis's lower angle, it looked like she was pushing a finger into her own mouth. An attempt to get something choking her out? Perhaps a method to prevent something from coming out? It was a strange thing to see for the little droid. "I can escort you to the head, if you would just..."

Bluuuuuuuuuuuuurg!

The sudden sound silenced both Shine and Vis. Shine didn't even need to look to know what Shanti was doing and Vis could only blink in surprise and mutter an "oh my". A laugh of disbelief came from Shine as he heard Shanti muttering back there, about things far too late to prevent what would likely not be fun to clean up later. "Ah, that's just lovely. This day just continues to ride my list of favorite days. Some bounty hunter you are, if a little weaving like this makes you..."

The alarm went off in almost perfect unison with the sudden shake the ship did as something exploded behind them. Shine snapped his head to the sensors, studying it for a moment even as the ship rocked again before laughing aloud. "I take it back. I'd almost rather get taken in by you. At least you're not a fragging idiot. They're "shooting" at us! Apparently your fellow hunters don't need me alive as much as you do." Jerking the ship towards the planet, Shine made his dodges just a bit heavier, even as more shots clipped the rear shields.

Whatever Shanti had been doing behind him slipped by him for the moment...but Vis had watched carefully enough to remember every motion she had made. It had been more out of concern for her rather than suspicion, as the woman splayed out on the floor after having slammed against the board and expelled more of her inner workings onto the console and floor. Cleaning that up would not be fun, nor would using it. Shine would surely have a fit after but at least they could access it. Whether it be via Vis's handiwork or Shine's stubbornness when he needed to be.

"Dammit Vis, take over the autopilot. Keep us moving for now. I'll take care of our "guest" and then we'll deal with them." Vis silently acknowledged the order before taking Shine's place at controlling the ship; he wasn't nearly as effective as Shine but he needed only keep them in one piece for a few moments longer. Shine, meanwhile, spun from his chair, grabbed Shanti by her collar and hauled her to her feet, pushing her against the bulkhead, ignoring the ugly little bits of nasty she'd left around and on her. Stepping back, he put his hand on his pistol and gave her a look that was a mixture of anger and yet amusement.

"You get spacesick, fine. You make a choice right now. Those idiots are trying to kill us. And if we go, you go. So, you can suck it up and haul your ass into one of the turrets to prevent them from doing that and saving your own ass in the process. Or I can throw you into one of the rooms, lock the door and dump you off the first chance someone isn't trying to kill us. Pick, right now, otherwise I'll decide for you. You're either a hindrance or an asset right now and we don't have time to debate who's trying to take who's head. Decide."

[Faeruy]

Sitting was nice. Shanti could feel the sharp turns as her bounty/reluctant ally steered away from the people trying to kill them. It seemed odd that they would since the bounty she read specifically said alive. Maybe the ones currently after them had a personal vendetta. Or maybe her employer wasn't the only one who put a bounty on Shine's head. Maybe that person had a better offer? Something to consider anyway. If she could survive that long.

She'd been lucky so far.

Her reverie was interrupted by Shine hauling her bodily to her feet. Shanti coughed and choked as he pulled on her collar; tightening it around her neck. As if her throat wasn't sore enough from puking. She would be feeling it for days. He slammed her against the bulkhead; screws and rivets dug into her back; there would be bruises there. The very worst of it was; he didn't seem furious. He was... amused? So shoving her around like she was nothing but a plaything was funny for him? Even after she had been sick? Granted, that part was self-inflicted but he couldn't have known that.

She glared daggers at him as he spoke, one hand at her throat, massaging it, trying to soothe the pain. Shanti's face was as red as her hair. Any sign of weakness from her emptying her stomach was gone, and even though the droid was an even worse pilot than Shine was, she stood steady and listened to his idiotic diatribe.

When he finished, she did the only thing she could think of.

She brought up her booted foot into his groin.

"Don't you EVER touch me like that again!" She rasped. "Or I swear, I'll kill you myself and sell your body to these idiots. Pretty sure they won't kill me if I've got something to offer them." It was hard for her to get all the words out, her voice was harsh and barely there after all the abuse it had taken, but the intention should be clear enough even to him. Vis took another sharp turn, this time unexpected enough that Shanti had to place a hand against the bulkhead to prevent herself from falling.

"If you had half a brain, you would have asked me if I knew how to use one of your ship's guns, which, by the way, I don't. So lock me up in a room if you want." Not that it mattered to her. No locked room could ever hold her for long. If everything went sideways, she'd be out and in an escape pod before Shine could reach her."Get us both killed because you're too much of a wermo to realize you should be piloting the damn ship instead of threatening me. See if I care."

Then just because she was still angry and a little scared about her chances for survival and her arm itched with a desire to do something, she balled her hand into a fist, and aimed a punch at Shine's nose.

[Jazen]

Normally, when faced with the kind of situation that he was now facing, Shine tried to look at the positive, to remain as such and do his best to find a way out. Now, even while he was trying to be positive, he could also be deadly serious in the same notion. It was all about body language with him; he could look amused, be talking jokes and like this was nothing, but his body would give away how tense he was and how serious he was taking the situation.

Which is why even though he looked amused, he was also peeved right off. He'd come here to relax, ended up almost walking into a trap set by Shanti and now a bunch of idiots were trying to "kill!" him for a bounty that wanted him alive. The bounty pissed him off too; he hadn't done anything that would have warranted this kind of heat. At least, not that anyone knew. The damned Hutt couldn't have known he'd helped save Sam and that family from his grasp. Sam's allies had made sure of that and it had been months since they undertook it. No...there had to be a reason the Hutt wanted him alive. It sickened and angered him. At this point, the whole situation had him on edge; Shanti, the other hunters, the bounty...he was seriously a hair's breath from simply dumping her out the airlock and taking off for the high heavens.

But he wouldn't get answers that way. Or get rid of the bounty. He'd have to work on that one...maybe the Wizard could help. After all, the only reason the Hutt could want him was possibly to question him about the event...he needed more intel. And for that he needed to talk to...

The thought had to take a backpedal to the one that suddenly overwhelmed his brain. Now, Shine was no stranger to getting hit or taking a beating. He'd been in enough bar fights and battles for his life to have the scars to show for it. But no man can ever prepare for what Shanti suddenly threw at him; he was only lucky he'd been closer enough that the full force of the boot didn't transfer into his groin. It was a grain of salt really; the blow still hurt like hell and temporarily took the wind out of his sails.

It took him the length of her angry retort to catch his breath and regain a semblance of balance as his man-parts pulsed from the pain, going from burning hot to stunningly numb, a fact that he knew would come back to haunt him later. He couldn't blame her reaction but dammit, they had better things to do then...

Whack!

Shine saw the fist coming a moment to late to dodge it, but rather then having a broken nose, Shine titled his head at the last second to take the hit to his cheek; the maneuver saved his nose but sent him stumbling back into his seat and seeing the stars ringing in his eyes. Okay...this isn't going to end well for either party at this rate. His first thought was to shoot Shanti and be done with it...but he curbed that reaction. The second was to kick her into the hall, seal the doors and threaten to unlock the outer door if she didn't settle. Nope, still not the right option. So, despite his anger, he shook his head and spit a little blood onto his floor before settling back into his seat.

"Cute. You kill me, sure, but I doubt those idiots will pay you a damn thing. More like to cap you and keep everything for themselves. If you even got that far. So keep that in half your mind. In any case...fine, your half right. I should be piloting...but how else am I gonna get the damn point across?! Leave that to Vis? He barely reaches up past your damn knee. No offense partner."

Groaning in pain as he spun the seat back to take over manual operation of the ship, Shine glanced over his shoulder as he suddenly shifted the ship to dodge incoming fire. "But it's not like its rocket science to operate the damn things. You get in, check the radar and pull the damn trigger at the bad guys. But fine; just sit your ass down, stop puking all over my stuff and strap in. Vis...take over control of the guns. I'm pissed off now; heck with them. Blast them out the sky. In the meantime..."

Shine pushed the throttle hard and down, angling the ship down towards the planet suddenly, the whole room suddenly feeling the slight G-forces of the move. "I think it's time we paid your Father a visit. Strap in Shanit; this is gonna get bumpy." The ship shook suddenly as a blast rattled the shields as they hit atmosphere. "Very. Bumpy."

[Faeruy]

Cute. He thought they would kill her immediatelcy. Death would be the least of her worries if she couldn't convince them that she was more useful alive and relatively unharmed. For a smuggler who got in bad with Hutts, he was awfully naive. Then again, maybe it wasn't so surprising - Naive, goodhearted people often ran afoul of the greedy, self-interested Hutts.

His warning however, came too little, too late. Part of it was Shanti hadn't seriously considered that he would attempt a death dive towards the planet. She was slow moving towards a seat and as a consequence, didn't quite make it when he started going down. Instinct took over; instinct and a year and a half of riding in the cargo hold of freighters. The redhead slumped to the floor; bracing herself against the nearest wall. It wasn't perfect, and her face turned pink with the strain, but at least she wasn't flattened against the nearest console like a bug on a visor.

The ride was bumpy. Not only were they still being shot at, but they were hitting atmosphere; and clearly there was debris that kept bouncing off the hull. Shanti thought, with some satisfaction, that his ship had likely sustained some new dents. It was petty, but at this point she was going to take whatever pleasure from this misadventure that she could. It at least distracted her from the the feeling that her teeth were being rattled out of her head.

"Iiii...is-s-szit...s'po-o-o-sed to be this.... r-r-rough?" She said, chattering with every jostle of the ship. She kind of hoped it wasn't. After all, she hadn't seen any sign that the random keys she pressed earlier did anything, and after then making herself puke all over the console, she was hoping for something. At least he hadn't notice that she had activated a signal that would tell everyone in the system where they were. Yet.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion; whatever it was; blaster on the ship, debris on the hull, even one of their pursuers blowing up, the force it sent Shanti's head slamming back into the wall. For a brief moment she saw stars, and then, nothing.

[Jazen]

Shine's daring decision to suddenly dive towards the planet achieved several things. Not all of them were bad...but they weren't all good either.

Firstly, his maneuver caught them completely by surprise. Just as Shanti hadn't seemed to expect he'd suddenly dive headfirst towards the planet, neither had their pursuers. It took them that extra minute to decide whether to follow, to react and that was a very, very precious minute. That was good. Secondly, the sudden move plastered Shanti to the nearest wall, as she wasn't fast enough to get herself into a proper seat. She braced well enough, sure, but he could tell she wasn't enjoying the ride. It was a petty bit of satisfaction he felt at that but hey; she kicked him in the junk. Merited or not, Shine wasn't amused with that. So that was good as well.

But just as there is good in the world, there is bad, the other half of the coin. The first bad thing about his maneuver was it cut down what he could do to evade the hunters on their tail once they caught on. That extra minute bought him some time to gain distance, but flying in a straight line, those ships were going to catch up. They would all but have an easier time targeting him now, at least till they broke through the atmosphere. It would take all his skill...and a boatload of luck...to achieve that now. So that was kind of bad. But it least they were still in one piece; the shields were still holding and despite a bit of a bumpy ride due to being shot at. So that was something.

"Oooooooh, quiiiiit your....whinnnnnnning. Its not...that....r..."

BWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAMH!

Shine's thought process was cut dead for a brief moment as something rocked the ship violently, forcing him to silence his tongue or risk biting through it. There was a smaller thud behind him; a quick glance showed Shanti slumping to the floor, limp. Oh great...so either she was dead or just been knocked out. No time to consider that for now...and as much as she'd been the start of this misadventure, he prayed she wasn't dead. He was an ass when he needed to be sure...but hey, she was just trying to survive. Couldn't be "that" mad at her for that. He'd deal with that later; right now, making sure they all didn't get blown to scrap came first.

"Vis! How bad?!" Shine didn't feel like anything was wrong, other then there was some fight in the controls now.

"Checking...it appears the mine I dropped behind us has scored a hit. One of the pursuers has been removed and the other is..."

'You dropped a MINE?! When we're free falling and with them close enough to lean out and kiss? Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis..."

"I made the proper calculations and timed it right and made sure to adjust the shields and oh, I hope I haven't done anything wrong, although everything I can think of justifies what I..."

"...you bloody genius! I didn't even think of using the mines. ...I'm sure I'll have to make a pit stop as a result but for now, I'll take the good news. So, one gone, the other..."

"Falling back. It seems he's decided against this bounty for something hopefully easier. Or finally realized the bounty is for you alive. As for damages...well...we're going to need to touch down for repairs for sure. The shields took the worst of it, but the engine and rear wings have taken enough damage that could be alarming in the future if not taken care of. Other then that, we appear to be holding steady en....is she okay?"

Glancing over his shoulder again, Shine stared at the slumped Shanti, knocked out like a light on the floor. The shuddering in the ship lightened as they finally broke through the planet's atmosphere, cruising lightly now in the blue sky around them. Shine let out a long sigh as he slumped in his seat, still throbbing from where she'd hit him, his heart doing its best to beat out of his chest and escape. Groaning, he pulled himself out of the seat and moved towards Shanti.

"She's alive. Probably nailed her head when the ship shook...she'll have a nasty headache when she wakes up but otherwise, she should be fine. Take over flying for a moment Vis while I deal with her. And send a message to your Father. Let him know we're coming in for a visit and that we'll need some..."

"Hmmmm...odd. Shine, we are receiving responses to our...SOS? Strange...I was not aware we sent one. But we are broadcasting, apparently, and I cannot stop it. The communications array must be damaged or Ms Shanti's...accident, all over the board, damaged something sensitive. I can reply, but I cannot stop the message without repairs."

Shine frowned at this, his brow furrowing as he tried to think up how that had happened. The last thing he wanted was a bunch of people, honest or not honest, seeking him out like a beacon. That was just a hassle waiting to happen. But how the hell had...

It hit him like a ton of bricks, his hand slapping his face as he gazed down at Shanti, half angry, half impressed. "Well, maybe she isn't so bad at this after all. Vis, using your update link to the project to let them know we're coming then. You should be able to get the point across. We're on planet, so that will make it easier. Then respond to anyone answering the call that we've just suffered some damage to the communications array from debris and everything is okay. We just need to repair it. In the meantime..." Shine stepped out into the hall and a moment later returned, cable in his hands and used it to bind Shanti's arms tightly behind her back before picking her up and carrying her into the main galley and dumping her(nicely) in one of the rooms.

Returning to the cockpit, Shine grimaced again as he sat down and took over flying, heading for the Wizard's compound. "Let's get someplace safe...and then I have to make one hell of a phone call. To a face I hoped not to have to see again."

[Faeruy]

Shanti groaned. Her head felt fuzzy and she couldn't recall exactly what had happened. She wasn't where she remembered being; it was a small room and she was on what felt like a very cheap bunk. The hum of the engines echoed and amplified the throbbing of her skull. Her arms felt weird, and she wondered what they were doing behind her back. She rolled her shoulders. Her arms didn't follow.

Her hands were, quite literally, tied.

That seemed to shake Shanti out of her fuzz a bit. So she must have been knocked out, and Shine must have restrained her. Did he knock her out? She didn't think so. For one, she remembered there being a lot going on, for another, he didn't seem to have the guts to hit a girl. Chivalry worked well in her favor sometimes.

She wiggled her feet. At least those weren't tied up. Shanti slowly did a quick check to see what other restraints Shine might have put on her. There were none others. Despite the lancing pain it caused, Shanti grinned. He was an idiot. How much of an idiot? She kicked the side of her leg against the wall. The unmistakable press against her leg told her that Shine hadn't checked for weapons or taken away her vibroknife. That much of an idiot. Her grin got wider. This was going to be easy.

Though not entirely without pain. With a determined grimace, Shanti arched her back, sliding her bound hands under her butt. It took a bit of wriggling and contorting to slide them further underneath her legs and she nearly dislocated her shoulder trying to get them past her feet. She spent the entire time trying to stretch out the cable, hoping that if it was loose enough, she could slip her hands free, but he was smart enough to tie it tight against her wrist.

As soon as her hands were in front of her again, she reached into her boot and carefully extracted her knife. Shanti fumbled with it a bit, trying to get it into a position where she could saw at the cable. In another stroke of luck, the cable proved to offer little resistance to the blade. Within moments, her hands were free. She had her knife,her blaster, and she had a nice bit of cable now as well.

Now to try and get out of the room. The redhead thought for sure he would've locked the door, but she gave it a shot anyway. To her surprise, the door opened easily.

Just how stupid did he think she was?

She crept quietly down the galley. Years of crawling around the ducts of Nar Shaddaa taught Shanti how to move quietly and her footfalls hardly made a sound even on the deck of a ship. It felt harder than normal; her head still pulsed with an aching pain and she found it difficult to concentrate.

She made her way to the cockpit; but by then the effort to get there had taken it's toll; bright flashing lights kept dancing across her vision. She leaned against a bulkhead, just out of sight of the cockpit itself.

She'd wait. Catch her breath. No point in doing anything while they were still in flight. She held onto her blaster with both hands and watched; once they landed the first thing that stepped out of the cockpit was going to be blasted.

[Jazen]

With the threat of being blown out the sky gone, flying to the Wizard's compound was a relatively smooth ride. Nothing else seemed to want to inconvenience Shine's day, minus having to tell everyone that the SOS was a product of a circuit being frie. Aside from that, it was smooth sailing, a much welcome prospect considering what the last hour or so had brought. Three bounty hunters, two who were clearly either too stupid or so uncaring that his bounty clearly wanted him alive. And the third? Well, the third was hogtied up in the back in one of the guest rooms, knocked out cold from the event and hopefully for a bit longer.

Shine would never admit it, but she had almost had him. A pretty face, a little flirting, a bit of a suggestion...and she had him taking her back to the Cat, where she surely would have found a way to knock him out and then take him back for the bounty. The very thought sent a chill down Shine's spine just thinking about facing the Hutt again for whatever reason the slug had seen fit to put a bounty on him for. The only thing he could think of was the rescue of Sam...but Shine had covered his bases there. No one saw his face, Vis had made sure the video files had been erased...and the pair of them had set it up so that his ship had been off world under the care of another while they escaped on another ship to meet up later.

The only thing that Shine could think of was that since Shine hadn't contacted the Hutt since, he was likely suspicious as to why. There was a good chance he was simply trying to bring people in again, to question those for that day. It was a stretch but the Hutt had been a paranoid pain the butt. The answer to all this could be as simple as a phone call...and Shine's best fibbing skills. He'd deal with that soon. For now, landing, getting the communications sorted out and checking for extra damage took priority...and Shanti.

What to do with her was still nagging at Shine's mind. Part of him wanted to toss her out mid flight for all the trouble she'd caused him...but then, he had to grudgingly respect her for almost catching him. And aside from that kick to the balls and the punch to the face, both of which you could argue were justified, she hadn't done much else to hurt him. Really...it was a hard choice. But he could leave that till he dealt with other problems first. Like a certain call to a face that was like to make him retch...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The compound came into sight not long after and Shine set it down easily enough, using Vis to communicate to his Father that they had arrived. As the landing gear settled and the engines slowly roared down, Shine spun and moved to the communications board, frowning. It was still wet and sticky from Shanti's...accident all over it. The smell alone was harsh enough...and when Shine had to touch controls to inspect it, the slip of the goo beneath his fingers made him gag a bit. "Ugh...this is gonna be a pain to clean up. And I don't just mean the vomit...looks like the communications section is completely gunked up. I'll have to take the thing apart later. Least we know we can still send out. Aside from th....oh gorramit it. The navigation is buggered too." Grumbling, he turned to face Vis in his seat.

"She sure made a mess of things. The hyperdrive still works but looks like the system that links it to the nav charts is gunked up too. Till we clean up and replace it, we wont' be going anywhere farther then in system...unless we want to chance flying into a star. Ugh...what a mess. I'm gonna head outside to check the damage. Contact your Father and tell him I'm gonna need a few things...and to send some of his men. I'm gonna need help with the repairs most likely and to deal with.." he stopped mid-sentence as he went to move through the door and found Shanti there, a blaster in her hand and pointing in his direction.

Shine reacted faster then he ever had in his life to this...and his hands rose slowly and calmly as he stared at the woman who'd started this whole misadventure. She didn't look happy...or maybe she did. Hard to focus when there was a blaster aimed in your general direction and you're more concerned about how to deal with that. Shine opted for playing it cool...he, after all, had cards to play now. "Ah...had a good rest did we? I know it's not the best of beds but it usually works out. Nice job messing up my console over there, by the way. Gonna be a pain to replace and rewire all that.

So...you wanna hear the good news first...or the bad?" Don't smile, don't smile he thought to himself. Keep that poker face up. Last thing we want now is for her to get an itchy trigger finger.

[Faeruy]

Shanti reacted quickly. As soon as she saw a figure come through, she aimed low. She didn't want to kill him. Just hurt him. A lot. She pulled back the trigger with her finger.

Nothing happened.

She frowned, and pulled it back again.

Her blaster was either out of power, or it was jammed. Either one was equally likely. Poodoo. At least she still had her knife, but she wouldn't have time to get it out now.

She looked at Shine, standing there with his hands in the air. As if that would help him. She glared daggers at him, and didn't put down the gun. Not yet anyway. Who knew? If it was just jammed, and not out of power, there was a chance it would go off on it's own eventually.

"My head hurts worse than if a rancor was gnawing on it, thanks for asking. Also you're completely crap at tying people up. A frelling worm could a better job." She did grin slightly at the mention of the console. She was pretty pleased with that bit of sabotage. She stopped grinning almost immediately after as another stab of pain lanced through her head. She probably had a concussion or something. She'd need to get that looked at, but she'd have to try to be functional until she got out of this. Somehow.

What bothered her is that Shine seemed to be cool with everything that was going on, which seemed odd. Things were not going well, for either of them so she thought, so why was he so chipper? It bothered the little redhead more than it should. She switched the gun to one hand and made a show of shoving it down her boot. The same boot that held her knife. As she let go of the gun, she palmed the knife, shimmying it up her sleeve for later use.

"Let me guess. Good news is we're alive and we've landed on a planet. Bad news is we're in the middle of nowhere and the ship is broken?" Of course, with the beacon going off, somebody should be coming to 'rescue' them in quick order. She tilted her head to the side, blowing a loose red curl out of her face. "That not it? So tell me. Good news first. If I hear the bad news first I may kill you before I get to hear the good stuff."

[Jazen]

Shine knew the moment that door had opened, he had been saved.

In this motion to raise his hands, he had seen Shanti dip the gun low. Her body language spoke to what her intent was; she was going to shoot him. Maybe not fatally but he wasn't going to like where she was likely to shoot him either. Maybe the knee or in the thigh...if he was really lucky. It didn't really much matter; as he saw her hand clench, an action that told him she was about to depress the trigger, Shine waited for the bloom of pain that would soon be coming his way.

It never came.

Shine blinked, staring at the gun, then at Shanti, then back to the gun. Had be been wrong? Had she simply made the illusion of going for the shot? Or had the gun malfunctioned and he had been saved by the timeliest of errors? He wanted to lean towards the latter but even if that were true, there was no guarantee that it would happen again if she tried again. For all he knew, she was trying to trick him into acting, to give her a reason to justifiably shoot him. In any case, that gun was still there and Shine wasn't taking his chances anyway. Hopefully the things he had to share with her would defuse the possibility of him ever finding out.

Keeping as calm as he dared, Shine smiled lightly at her words, shrugging his shoulders lightly. He could have sworn he'd bound the wire all the way up to her shoulders...but he was in a rush, so he must have been mistaken. He should have at least patted her down for weapons; clearly she'd had a few hidden on her person that weren't visible to the normal look. Stupid. "Well, considering your up and about with a gun in my face, I figured you were feeling better. Also, shouldn't a bounty hunter have a better stomach for flying? A worm could have held it in better than you do."

Before she could get any ideas, he made a motion for her to hold on a moment, keeping both his hands clear of his body to signal he had no ill intent planned. After a moment, she did something of the same; she put the gun away into her boot. Shine doubted it was that easy but as soon as the gun was clear, he lowered his hands, letting out a little breath. He wasn't too worried about her pulling something now; he figured he could at least manage to fight her off long enough for Vis to get backup. Besides...she would have nothing to gain from it soon.
"We'll, you're not far off. The good news anyway. We managed to deter our pursuers not long after you took a nap and got down to Kuat in one piece. We're at a friendly port now and assessing the damage your little accident and our misadventure caused. So we're in the good there." He waited a moment of that to sink in. What he was about to hit her with was likely going to take the wind right out of her sails...and he wanted to be sure she was ready for it before he gave it.

"Now the bad news...well, it's mostly bad news for you...is that the bounty on my head? It's gone. Kaput. Removed without a trace. I hate to say it but we went through all of this...for nothing." He gave her an sympathetic smile, a sincere one...even if he was still ticked that she had come that close to taking him in and for the trouble she'd caused. "Sorry."

[Faeruy]

Shanti couldn't help but smirk a little. So he still thought her strategic regurgitation was an accident, the result of a weak stomach? She had no intention of disabusing him of that notion. Especially since he had all of the cleverness of a five-year-old who thought 'I know you are but what am I?' was the best of insults. Her smirk quickly turned to a grimace. Definitely a concussion. If she didn't want to end up as half-witted as Shine was, she needed medical attention stat. She couldn't let him know just how much of an advantage he had over her though. She shook her arm a bit. She had a feeling she'd have to use the vibroknife soon.

"We're on Kuat?" She asked, her brow furrowing. They hadn't gotten anywhere really useful then. Oh well, she really coundln't have expected much. At least she was alive and in one piece. Mostly. Also good to hear that his ship was scuppered. Now all they had to do was wait.

She couldn't believe his next words though. The bounty, gone? How? How did he know? And why? Nobody crossed the Hutts and got their bounties removed, not without actually making amends or a least the skills of an expert hacker, which she was pretty sure he wasn't. There hadn't been time for that anyway.

Why was she even considering believing him? Her brain must have really been addled.

Shanti barked out a cruel, derisive laugh. "Just how big of an idiot do you think I am? You're going to have to do much, much better than that if you want to save your own hide. You are seriously the stupidest and worst liar I've ever had the displeasure of meeting." With a flick of her wrist, the vibroknife and she was trying to shove Shine against the bulkhead. She may have been the smaller of the two, and she may have had a concussion, but she was angry, motivation enough to push beyond her normal capabilities. The red head rested the points of the knife against his throat.

"Now, let's go over your options here." she continued in a soft, almost sweet tone. "Now, I'm going to assume you're lying to save your own skin. In which case, you have a couple of options. First of all, you could come with me, and we'll go have a nice chat with my employer. Or you could pay me off. I'm a reasonable girl, and it's not like I'm particularly loyal to the Hutts. Enough credit to get out of here and maybe buy a few trinkets for my trouble won't be amiss. Or I could kill you and steal all your stuff." Shanti had her reason for not enjoying that notion; too much of a hassle and too messy, and all too likely to end badly for her. The first two options were much preferred. "Now, unfortunately for you, if you aren't lying, and there really is no bounty, then I'm sorry, but you only have the latter two options. So tell me Shine, just how dumb are you really?"

[Jazen]

Something was off about Shanti, that was for sure. One minute she would be smirking at him, happy in her control of the situation no doubt, the next she was grimacing. It was possible she was still feeling the effects of the ride down, the one that had led to her making a mess of his communications and navigation. It was also possible she was hurt in some way...she had hit that bulkhead rather hard. Again, without clear evidence, Shine couldn't be sure and unless absolutely necessary, he wasn't going to risk trying something that could get him killed if he was wrong.

Sadly enough, his mouth was the only way he could hopefully get out of this mess. A strong tool by any means when he really needed it...but would it be enough this time.

Her reaction to the "bad news" was as much as expected...and yet Shine took a small delight in it anyway. This whole day had been garnered against him lately, all because of her, and it was nice to see, aside from her whole episode on the way down, that the sword turned the other way. What he didn't like was that laugh that followed...ah but of course she didn't believe him. To be fair, in her place, Shine wouldn't have believed it either. That, however, didn't make it any less true in this scenario.

It took a considerable...considerable amount of willpower to not answer that first question out of her with the answer that was rolling about in his mind. Carefully, he grinned as he shrugged at her words. "I could answer that but I think it's best if I don't. Besides, it's not really my hide that's gonna need saving right about..."

Faster then he could react, there was a knife in Shanti's hand and that knife was coming up to his throat as she rammed into him. Now, she was the smaller of the two of them and Shine was no pushover himself...but the speed at which she'd done it, combined with her anger, had caught Shine enough that he was now against the bulkhead with a knife at this throat and a very pretty, very angry young woman pinning him. Still, he'd managed to put his hands down when she did it...so his hands were against the bulkhead too...one close enough to his gun to try a last ditch move if needed. But once again, it fell to his mouth to shoulder the burden.

"First off, assumptions. Never good to make. Trust me, I know. Second, I would love to go off with you to see that slimy sack of fat and have a chat with him. Unfortunately, I've already had that chat while you were napping. It was rather nice actually; the bounty was just because he wanted to speak to me about an event that transpired a little ways back. Something about a prisoner escape. He wanted to question the people around at the time; I proved I wasn't even on planet at the time. So no more need for the bounty.

Honestly...you can check with him if you need to. Now, as for your options..." Shine paused at that, as if he was seriously considering them before shrugging, smiling a grin he knew would just annoy her further.

"I might consider paying you...but you did wreck a part of my ship, so there's the cost of that to factor in. To be perfectly honest, I don't feel like getting you anything at all...but I do rather like my neck. Oh, I should mention, when I said a friendly port..." Shine tilted his head to where Vis sat, bunched up as if ready to pounce, his robotic eyes focused on Shanti "I meant friendly to me. We're where he was created...and you only leave here in one piece if we say so.

So, here's what we'll do. I'll pay you what I feel like paying you and a pass to whatever planet you want. In exchange, you get to leave here alive rather then dead or locked up. Everybody wins...sort of. So...how do you want this to play out Shanti? Nice and clean...or messy." His hand sat silent, unmoving...but ready to snatch his blaster and at least take the woman with him if she slit his throat. Gambling time..but he held the better hand.

I least....I hope so.

[Faeruy]

Shine talked far too much. Shanti's hand was starting to wobble a bit as he yammered on; more of a problem for Shine than her, since if she got tired and slipped, he was likely to lose an ear, if not worse. She didn't care if the port was friendly to him or not. For some reason, he still didn't realize that it didn't matter to her; she had survived as long as she had by talking, dealing, slicing, hiding, whatever she needed to do. "Friendly" meant nothing to someone who didn't have them.

He finally said the magic words though. She didn't understand why it took him so long to say 'sure thing', but perhaps he thought if he talked long enough he'd make her think he was creating the terms of the deal instead of just agreeing to the one she put out there. Annoying, but she wasn't going to say no. Shanti leaned back, removing the knife from his throat. She didn't sheathe it though; she wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Sounds good to me." She said, a lot more chipper. "I'd be more than happy to see the last of you. And your droid. And this ship." She waved the knife. "Lead the way Shine. And no funny stuff. You try to screw me, and I'll paint this place red with your blood." She grinned. This whole venture was more trouble than it was worth, but at least she wasn't dead.

[Jazen]

Shine's first thought when the knife slipped away from his throat was to deck Shanti right in her face. A foolish move, to be sure, but if he moved quick enough, he might be able to stun her long enough to draw his blaster...and then the conversation would go much more differently. And it would feel oh so good to turn that smug face into one of pain, to feel blood on his skin as a result and the sound of hopefully her nose breaking or her teeth getting knocked loose...

Woah...well that thought came out of nowhere. Shine didn't show it on his face, but he bit back that thought, pushed it away as if it were a drifting piece of garbage in the water, letting it drift away into the deep of his mind. This whole event had angered him more then even he had thought...and letting his more primal actions take hold in this case would not be the best course of action. Rational thought would.

In the chair across from the pair of them, Vis had silently been watching, his body stance one of a being about to pounce. When Shanti had take Shine against the wall, Vis had almost bounded into action right there. Vis was a water model, his greatest feature being able to perform in liquid much more adequately then his brothers and sisters. He had one other special feature that made him unique; the ability to produce a mild jolt of electricity. Originally, it had been put there to dissaude anything in the water from taking a bite out of him...but it worked just as well above water too. It wouldn't have done more then stunned Shanti for a few moments btu Vis knew that would be enough for Shine to turn the situation around.

And Shine had stopped him. A simple motion of the hand, one telling him to wait, had been the only thing keeping Vis from giving Shanti a jolt right in the back. He still was waiting to do it just in case.

Shine, meanwhile, dropped into the chair next to Vis, shrugging his shoulders as Shanti threatened him again. It had become like that; he trying to tell her that she really didn't want to cause him harm or the people outside wouldn't take kindly to that and her returning in favor that she simply didn't care so long as she got something out of this. Sighing, Shine nodded to Vis before grabbing a datapad and tapping a few keys. "And as much as I enjoy your lovely face and just as lovely attitude, I'll be glad when you aren't wasting the air on my ship. But I don't need to go anywhere; I can do that stuff from here.

Hah...tempting offer but I don't really do crazy. In any case, I don't have a whole lot of credits on me. But I can transfer credits to you easily enough, provided you give me the information I need." He handed her the datapad, tipping his head in Vis's direction.

"Give me a place to get the credits too and I'll give you...60% of what my bounty was. Considering it was fairly priced, that would still give your a fair amount...and that's most of what I have anyway. Then I'll have someone here fly you to the nearest spaceport so you can go wherever you want to go." After that, he folded his arms to wait...while Vis called out to his home to prepare a speeder for one.

[Faeruy]

Shanti took the datapad with glee. Was he really that dumb. Her face fell when she started to tap it. He had given her one with very limited capabilities; she wouldn't be able to slice her way into his account on this datapad. A shame, but sixty percent of the original bounty wouldn't be so bad. She could buy the new boots she'd been eyeing for the past couple of weeks. Biting her lip she continued to play around with the datapad, hoping he had something stored on it of any interest, but her search proved sadly futile.

She thought. Normally she had a ghost account floating around; Shanti didn't trust the people paying her not to steal from her so she created accounts to take in bounties, and then closed them as soon as she had transferred the money herself. The problem was, at the moment she couldn't remember her latest temporary account. She wasn't expecting to get paid in a place without a terminal she could use, at least she hoped that was the reason she couldn't remember the number. The other possible reason was brain damage. The redhead really hoped it wasn't brain damage. She looked from the datapad, to Shine, to Vis, then back to the datapad. He didn't seem like the sort who would do something like that. He wasn't smart enough, and strangely naive for someone who tangled with Hutts. She decided to risk it; it was't as if she had much money to steal anyway. and tapped in a few numbers before handing the datapad back to Shine.

"Here." She said. "And the sooner, the better. I could use the money." Little spots of light flickered in her vision and Shanti rubbed her forehead with a concerned look on her face. "How soon before somebody can fly me to the spaceport? I... I think it needs to be quick." She started to feel woozy, and sat down heavily in a chair across from Shine. "Oh, frell me..." She swore under her breath.