Unexpected Allies Are Often Amazing(Apillis)

[Jazen]

(Bleh, I'm terrible at thread starts but...tada!)

In Shine's experience, there were three kinds of days you could have. The first and obviously his favorite kind of day, was when everything went in his favor. Jobs were completed without a hitch, credits were in his pocket without people trying to renege on the agreements, no new holes were blasted in the Cat's hull; those were the kind of days Shine enjoyed. Heck, anyone would enjoy days like that. Unfortunately, those days were also the rarer breed among the three. The other two were far more common, at least in his experience.

The second, and probably most common kind of day that Shine encountered, were days when things just didn't go right in some way or form. It was those days that Shine usually ended up putting his piloting skills to the test, or had to draw his blaster to settle something in a non-verbal agreement. As a smuggler, Shine was used to those kind of days. His profession was considered illegal in most if not every world within the galaxy, even if some of the tasks he undertook were meant with the best intentions. A quick tongue, the ability to improvise on the fly, a steady hand with a blaster and his skill in piloting were what he called on those days to keep him from meeting a troublesome fate.

And of course, there were the days that things really went south. As much as Shine wanted to say he'd never had the experience, it would be a bare faced lie to do so. He was far more familiar with those days in one week then most people were in their entire lives. The reason behind that was simple; while there were plenty of honest people in the galaxy, there were just as many who would stab their own mother in the back if it meant they'd get a score. And once again, being a smuggler meant Shine often came face to face with those kinds of people far more often than his liking. Trips to Tatooine, Jaemus, even Umgul, had brought Shine into contact with some of these kinds of people...and he regretted the encounter every time. In fact, he had been going out of his way to avoid any planets that might be connected with them.

Unless, of course, it was to royally screw them over. Which is why he was having that third kind of day now.

The job had seemed innocent enough. That's how most jobs started out at first, innocent and simple until what your employer didn't tell you came to light. They didn't all go that way, but a job with little intel often became that was much harder than one that you got the full intel and all that intel was bad. At least you'd be expecting it then. Anyway, the task Shine had picked up this time was one he could agree with; bring food, water and medical supplies to a planet where relief was needed. It was one Shine had done before and the situation was even the same; the people keeping supplies from the people were part of the Empire. It was Jaemus all over again, save for two key differences. One, the planet wasn't as important on the list as Jaemus, so no giant fleet was waiting in space around the place, waiting to blast whoever dared tried to pass them into oblivion. The other was that unlike Jaemus, they didn't need a fleet of supplies; what Shine was bringing would help greatly alone. All in all, it seemed like it would be rather easy to pull off.

Save for the pirates the Empire was paying to act as "security" in their absence. No one had warned Shine of that and because of it, he'd almost walked into a trap. Only Vis's detection of a hidden frequency being sent between vessels had bought Shine the time needed to abort...and even then it had been close.

Which was what led Shine to a space station within spitting distance (hyperspace wise) of his objective. Not for any grand plan or ultimate objective. He just needed a drink. A good drink. And time to hash out what he could do to get to the planet and past the pirates that would likely have a stronghold, either on planet or nearby. Even if he got the supplies there, the pirates would know about it...the best bet was to take them out entirely. But he couldn't do that alone...a fact that led him to relax in his seat as he eyed the patrons around him. Maybe an answer would present itself while he drank.

Or he'd have to go home empty handed. Or worse.

[Apillis]

It was difficult to say what Averia was doing lingering on the space station, she finished her job aboard the light freighter as a hired mechanic. It was menial work, but it was something that always helped preoccupy the mind for a time. She likes to put on a stoic front, but passed that surface there was a lot brewing within her. Her life of self-imposed exile taking on a more insular countenance made everything she kept bottled up sealed up behind that stoic visage of hers. But there are those moments when it all comes spilling over and those moments are when the nature of what she is comes forth in volatile manifestations.

After taking her pay for being a hired hand for the trip with the light freighter crew that got her to the space station. She headed to some place to relax--a bit of solitude and down time. Though, solitude in a dive bar or cantina seems a bit counter productive, she had no interest in walking around a shop for food and drink, and was not up for getting a room at an establishment. So, really what she was left with was a dive joint to get a drink.

Tapping on the bar-counter with a knuckle as she leaned against it. The barkeep turned to her while casually inquiring, "What'll yah' have?", Averia simply pointed to a pitcher of ice tea that was being used for mixing drinks, "Alright. What kinda' alcohol with it, though? Or yah' some kinda' cocktail in mind?"

Averia merely shaking her head replied, "Just the tea."

The barkeep's brow furrowed a little, he never really understood people who order non-alcoholic drinks at bar, but what the hell--so long as they are buying something and not just water like a cheap Nancy bastard what the hell did he care. Pouring the drink Averia and slid it over her way, she idly picked up the sweating glass of ice tea and sipped away.

But after a pensive moment she had set down the glass, staring off into the melting ice as its cool temperatures sweated the glass, water forming around the base of the beverage. Averia took a swift swig of the drink before putting it down for good. Blue eyes washed over the patrons of the dive establishment as she crossed her arms under her chest, and contemplated simply taking off having no reason to linger much longer.

[Jazen]

Shine sighed in slight relief as the last dregs of his third drink made their way down into his gullet, the lovely warm feeling that the unknown beverage was causing expanding slowly through his stomach. Putting his glass down on the table he'd procured, Shine leaned back in his seat and let his eyes wander around the dive he'd managed to find himself at.

Finding a place to button down for a bit to clear his head hadn't been hard. Space stations like this always had a place or two that were out of the way, occupied by just enough patrons to lose oneself, yet one didn't have to worry about constant people coming in and out. Places like this were perfect for people like him, people who were looking for a place to stretch out and think or simply waste time till something better came along. In this case, Shine was a man of two worlds; his brain was thinking while a part of him was just hoping the answer would come walking in the door for him.

If Shine had been a Jedi, he would have said what happened next was the will of the Force. Since he was not, he had to get by with the most wicked stroke of luck he'd had in a while.

To be fair, it was not one simple thing. It was a combination of a couple. The first was the arrival of a woman that men would have stopped to look at anywhere, especially a backwater station like this one. She was of average height and what looked to be average build, but her outfit made it hard to tell in the dim light of the dive. Her face was far above average however; fair complexion, sharp eyes whose color was hard to tell in this lighting from Shine's location...and salmon pink hair that was a rarity to see on a human. At least, she looked human. She could be any number of humanoid subspecies, but Shine couldn't see any tell tale signs of which for now. Amongst the people here, she might as well have been a walking goddess.

Of course, most goddesses didn't pack the slugthrower on her back, or the sheathed sword at her hip. A bounty hunter, perhaps? Mercenary also came to mind, although it was perfectly reasonable that she was simply someone armed simply for the sake of deterring any form of trouble or unwanted company. From the way most the people in the dive shied away from her, it seemed that plan was working. Watching her carefully till she took a seat, Shine's attentions were only diverted by the arrival of several other individuals.

It only took one look at the group of four men to recognize them for what they were; pirates. Shine had seen enough of them in his travels to know the kind of aura they generated, to be able to pick them out from the way they walked and held themselves, the gear they carried. If not by that, then the way the strolled in like they owned the place was another good sign. But what got to Shine was the realization that came with their arrival. Considering how backwater this station was and off from most hyperspace routes, the chance these were random pirates somehow dropping by was slim.

These pirates were part of the group barricading the planet.

Just like that, fortune had dumped an answer to Shine's problems into his lap. He had a chance to learn or find a way to succeed in his job...and possibly stick it to these bloody pirates at the same time. However, even Shine wasn't crazy enough to start something without proper proof...or backup. He found his gaze slowly shifting from the band of pirates chuckling at the bar to the pink haired woman sitting just a short distance away. A plan was forming in his brain, one that would take just a little bit more luck as well as skill. Slowly, as to not draw too much attention to himself, Shine removed himself from his table and idly made his way over to the woman's free side, opposite the rowdy pirates.

Dropping himself into the seat, he signaled to the bartender to bring him another before taking strides to address the lady. He didn't look at her for the moment, but he pitched his voice so that it was clear he was speaking to her. "That's quite the arsenal you're packing there ma'am. Might I buy you a drink to honor it?"

[Apillis]

((Short post))

Sipping away at her tea casually as she leaned against the bar. Really it was all she wanted to do in peace, and then leave to move on elsewhere. There was noise and blustering, much of it seeming to be coming from a little group of loud pirates. But nothing within the establishment seemed to be out of the ordinary of what she had seen in any other dive. Leading Averia to relax with her simple tea at the bar.

That was until a young man apparently speaking up toward her has he approached her. Dammit... It is true life is hard, but sometimes it seems like it just sets out to purposefully piss a woman off by refusing to give a moments peace to herself. Her cerulean slowly turned toward the young man as her wooden expression was one lacking any form of amusement by the boy's commentary, "Clumsy comeons aside. What do you want?"

Awaiting the boy's answer she turned her gaze back to the tea she was nursing as she cradled it gently in her hands. Trying to extract any slice of meditative relaxation she could get from it, from the warmth of the cup itself, the almost liquid-esque manner in which the steam rose from the contents within the simple cup, to the soothing yet earthy bold flavors of the tea itself, or the lulling leafy aroma of the beverage. It was all really just a simple means to find peace of mind, shutting out her surroundings, but downside to getting a nice of cup tea in any establishment was always interlopers to the affair...

[Jazen]

(Short posts just make it easier to reply. ^_^ *takes it happily)

When Shine had approached the woman, he hadn't expected a warm welcome. A place like this, a woman like her, armed to the teeth in view for all to see...it was clear that she'd come here simply for a drink and nothing more. The weapons were likely meant to deter people from approaching her, something that on a normal day might have just made Shine shy away for safer waters. Maybe. And even if that hadn't, the cold and precise response to his arrival would have set off warning bells in his head that this woman was not going to be worth it.

Too bad it wasn't one of those days.

The low light of the dive had made it hard to properly appraise the woman before, so Shine took the moment to consider his reply to study her more carefully. What he'd noted before about her appearance hadn't been wrong; it had been terribly wrong. This woman was not only beautiful, she was downright flawless. What a woman of this caliber was doing in a low-life dive like this, in the backwater of the galaxy, carrying enough weapons to deter a small army, made Shine's head hurt to try and fathom. Onto that point, the weapons she carried looked to be of a higher grade than most around here carried. That either meant she'd set out with these weapons from somewhere, or was just so damn good at whatever she did to afford them.

Her beauty would have made him approach her on any other day; the weapons as well depending on what he required. A combination of both, well...Shine was wondering where the karma would kick in. Smiling, he shrugged his shoulders, dismissing the cold way in which she'd deflected his compliment. Well...this makes things a little easier, he mused to himself before addressing the woman openly.

"Clumsy? Oh, I've come up with far worse ones then that. And those usually aren't worded as compliments either.

But I can see you're one who likes to get straight to business. I can appreciate that. So, here it is." Smiling, he leaned closer so he could speak to her without having to speak loud enough for others to hear. "I would like to acquire your services, and weaponry, for a problem I seem to have found with a job. Nothing remotely difficult...not unless I missed the mark on you carrying all those weapons for something other than show. So...clumsy come-on aside, please tell me I've piqued your interest to tell you more?

It was a gamble, not telling her everything right there. But then, with a little tip of his head towards the pirate group and a twitch of his eyebrow, he hoped she'd caught on that present company would not likely enjoy what his job entailed. Hopefully.

[Apillis]

A with an unimpressed narrow eyed gaze, Averia glared with a clear expression of unamusement via a wooden visage as she uttered with a dry sardonic tone, "I wasn't aware carrying a blaster and blade constituted as an impressive arsenal within a den of spacers with pirates hanging about the area...", she then took another sip of her tea before continuing to listen to the boy's job offer.

A chance to remove pirates from the space lanes was something Averia seldom ever avoided. But space has its own nuances and nature about it, like an ecosystem where tyrants and criminals grow and spread their influence amongst each other. But like an ecosystem, when one thing is disturbed, something else invariably reacts to it in turn, whether for good or ill. Thus it is always best to get some understanding before running out into the field to pull some seemingly nondescript weeds, because it may effect other plants one way or another.

Listening to the boy's offer, Averia found it to be a little naivete, and while she enjoyed taking on pirates as a Warden--she had her anonymity as such to maintain, thereby act like any other spacer out there, leading her to state in her dry tone while simultaneously driving home a point to the lad, "You're new to this, aren't you? First off, how can my interest be piqued if I don't even know what I'm going to be paid? Secondly, they maybe pirates but who are they associated with? Pirates typically are in bands of more than just a few schmucks--they're an outfit, and some pirate bands even have government backers. So who would I be pissing off if I challenged them? It's nice knowing who may want to kill you."

Taking another sip of her cup of tea to finish it off, with a small sigh, she set the cup down before her, "I may have two weapons on my person... but that doesn't mean I'm just some gun totting idiot diving headlong into a situation I know nothing about. I don't know about you, but I particularly pride myself in the fact I haven't been shot for being stupid and ignorant."

[Jazen]

Shine smiled innocently as the woman glared at him. No doubt intended to shake him up a little or at the least, show just how much she was unimpressed with him as of this moment, the glare did little more then reassure Shine that he was dealing with someone who would be worth the effort. Clearly, this woman had been approached by people before and perhaps not for all the right reasons. Hopefully, Shine's reasons would be better.

"Perhaps not, but they might as well be, considering most these slime in here are carrying nothing more than a knife and a small blaster."

What came next came as a most welcome, if sharp, surprise. The woman, with a tone as casual as if she were speaking about the weather, proceeded to question two key facts about his approach. The first was more or less on the money, no pun intended. Without knowing how she was getting paid or with what, only the most amateur of mercenaries or smugglers would take a job involving pirates. In Shine's case, getting paid a fair amount up front, in credits or parts, was usually the way to go there. She was right to question that matter; in her place, Shine wouldn't have done any differently. That spoke something of how professional she was, a key fact that Shine didn't fail to note.

The second fact was the greater of the surprises, mostly due to the sharp slash it cut into Shine's understanding of the situation. To be honest, Shine had not even considered who the pirates might have been working for. The obvious thought was that the Empire had hired them to handle the planet's security; it left them free to use their war assets to guard more valuable assets or to take the fight to the Republic elsewhere. The planet had no real strategic value and so, if the Republic tried to save it, the only thing lost would be a bunch of scum, not trained Imperial soldiers. It was a logical tactic.

But Shine had never thought to clarify that. Having been slapped with the reality of that situation, Shine had to pause to muse over the situation once again, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. It didn't take him long to think up his answer and he only stopped before speaking it to check over his shoulder. Initially, he'd only asked the basic questions, just in case the pirates he was targeting were listening. By some stroke of luck, the group in question had moved elsewhere into the dive, a private booth in the far corner. The hindrance removed, Shine sighed and turned back to the woman, his smile crawling back onto his face.

"New to asking someone's help in taking people out? Most certainly. New to the ways of the underworld? Not so much.

I got to admit, you're taking me apart with razor sharp efficiency here. But that's good; it means you're just the kind of person I need. To answer your first question, I intended to pay in credits. I'm sure we can find a reasonable fee for your services. If that's not your preferred method of payment, I'm sure we can work something out. Want something you can't get easily brought to you? I'll get it. It's what I do best.

Now, as to your second question, that requires me to explain myself. I was holding off before because we had unwanted guests that I would have hated to have eavesdrop on us. I don't think it would have gone well. But they've wandered off so...the locks are off. See, I'm a smuggler by trade. Think what you will about me, I've heard it all. I was hired by someone who works to assist planets under Imperial rule, most specifically, one's that are suffering the basic necessities because of them. The task was simple; bring needed supplies to a planet in this sector so help out the local populace. I've done it before, so it should have been an easy run. There wasn't even supposed to be Imperial ships on station since this planet was just a footnote to them.

Didn't count on pirates though. Or to be more specific, pirates "defending" a planet from outsiders. Best I can figure, the Empire paid them to do what they didn't deem worth their time, at least for the moment. But to be honest, I can't back that up. I do know that it ain't the Hutt's backing them; a backwater world like that wouldn't even be worth a Hutt's time of day. Doubt it's the Mando's either; too far from their push to be a place they'd back track for. So, my best guess is they work for the Empire or some private group. But I can find out for sure back on my ship."

Shine leaned back in his seat, taking a moment to sip at his drink and let his words sink it. It had been a fair portion to say, but hopefully, it would be enough to sedate her into perhaps hearing more. "That group over there is with one of the ship's that held me off, I'm sure of it. This station's too close to the planet in question for it to be a coincidence. Again, I can't say that for sure, but I can find out in short order. Provided they are, what I'm asking is your help in taking them down and, if possible, finding out who hired them to safeguard the planet. Anything else about this I'd rather discuss in private, just in case we have any little rats listening in."

[Apillis]

The entire time the boy spoke Averia merely stared at him with a wooden, dull cerulean eyed gaze hoping that he was listening to the words coming out of his own mouth. Because they utterly contradicted his claim that he was not new to the ebbing tides of the Underworld, for it was sounding like amateur hour for the kid getting himself involved into something far more nuanced than he ever bothered to examine; and not examining it only exclaimed unprofessionalism and thoughtlessness.

Half her wanted to deck the boy for being clueless to his own situation but even further wanting to drag into it as well. But, the half of her that made her pause was the fact she is a Warden of the Sky coupled with her own seething hate for the Sith. As a Warden of the Sky, she is all that those spacers and fringers like Shine have to protect them from either the tyrannical elements like pirates or the Sith, or their own stupidity or haplessness which the boy seemed to possess both in abundance. In the case of the boy, it seemed like it was all of the above, she would be rescuing him from himself more than she would be the pirates or the Sith if they are truly involved.

With a slightly exasperated sigh, when Shine finished speaking, she said to him with a firm, stern tone in her voice, "A lot of unknowns for a job you claim to have been an 'easy run'. An easy job is predictable, because you know all there is to know. But you know very little about this job from the sounds of it, and now you're in over your head asking a complete stranger to help bail you out of it. Listen to your own words... 'best you can guess'... you 'figure'... you're 'sure' but then a second later say you 'can't say for sure', but you can 'find out on your ship'... So is that to say you kept the information on your ship without learning it from the onset? You're not even certain if you can pay me... And you asked earlier if any of this would pique my interests.", she closed her eyes as pinched the bridge of her nose with a high sigh as if a migraine was coming on, and it was--in the form of a boy smuggler who is asking to hire her for a job he does not even know himself.

Averia rose from her seat and gave Shine a solid smack upside the the back of his head like a teacher disciplining poor student, fortunate to get away with only that. She casually drew her blaster checking to see how many shots she had left with it before she would have to reach for her ammo pouch. Three shots. She sighed heavily out of exasperation once again before holstering the weapon, "No sense in going to your ship when you can get the information straight from the horse's mouth.", she said as she turned her cerulean gaze to across the way of the establishment to the group of pirates, "Just be sure to have your blaster ready."

[Jazen]

By the time the story had managed to find its way from Shine's mouth, he had come to realize just how much of an idiot he must have sounded like. True, there were parts he felt he was rather keen about, at least in the intel area. But as they always say, sometimes things said in your head sound a lot better in your head. Case in point, his entire segment of explanation. To him it had made sense. To someone else, now that he'd spoken it aloud...well, the woman wasted little time in making her opinion known. And boy did she ever.

Shine weathered the storm that her logic and tongue unleashed, bracing as the lashes came down again and again. Part of him felt the need to protest at times, but like the adult that he was, Shine let her speak her piece, enduring the strikes to his pride that he should have been prepared for. This woman held nothing back when it came to voicing her opinion and despite the matter, Shine found himself more amused then hurt. Call it what you will, but for Shine, this could be a valuable learning experience. So he took the brunt of her honesty and let her words come together in his mind.

The "easy run" is what it should have been, given the information his client had given him. No trouble, he had said. The planet wouldn't be guarded, just gotta fly, offload the supplies and fly out. By all accounts, simple. Next time, Shine would know better. And ask better questions. Professionally, once he hit the pirates, he should have cut his losses and bailed out. But his pride hadn't wanted to allow it, not when he'd made a habit of finishing his jobs despite whatever difficulties came his way. And on another level, something seemed off about the whole situation; what it was, Shine couldn't say. He wanted to know what merited a pirate bodyguard for a backwater planet like that. Hence, his current situation in asking the woman for assistance. The only part of her argument that Shine didn't agree with was the part regarding payment. He would pay her, in one form or the other. No matter how long or what it took.

"Damn...you don't hold back, do you? Well, I can't say you were wrong on any of those accounts. Except for the payment; I'll pay you and make good on whatever you deem is necessary. As for the information, no its not on my ship...but someone who..." He never finished that sentence right away, for the woman suddenly rose and gave him a solid crack to the back of his skull. The sheer surprise that painted his face would have little children giggle for hours. For Shine, he had to let his brain catch up before turning, eyes wide in surprise to her. "Ow! No need to get physical about it." That was when he noticed her checking her weapon before turning her gaze back to the pirates. Shine didn't even need to have her tell him about his blaster; his hand was already on it. Shrugging off the smack, he smiled just a little and muttered.

"Well...that was easy." Rising from his seat, he keyed his comm on. "Vis, I need you here. Track me via my comm, I'll leave it on. Things are about to get...interesting." The only sign of acknowledgement was a series of clicks, Vis noting the key words in his words. Now...now it was time to visit the horse.

[Apillis]

"Nothing interesting in simply inquiring to someone what their occupation is.", Averia remarked dryly as she begun walking over to the group the boy was supposedly sure were pirates. Perhaps they were, and Averia was inclined to believe the boy judging how the men carried themselves and their appearance. The acted as part of a band, and there were quote a few pirate outfits in their area, consolidating all of that with the groups' seedy countenance. They certainly fit a profile.

Yet... Averia always liked to get information straight from the horse's mouth so to speak. The logic was simple, if one wants to know something about someone... then ask them. Truth be told, Averia rather not have to do so altogether, but she was seeing little other options in learning the nitty gritty details.

All that ran through her head was this was not the sort of thing she chose to follow her father's footsteps in becoming a Warden of the Sky for. Like him, she was a crusader, finding fulfillment in fighting for a cause against tyranny. While the Sith are hypothesized to be involved, it was hardly a rallying cry to get behind. There were only these presumed pirates, and seeking to save this kid from his own ignorant blunders. It was all disenchanting to say the least.

Yet the soldier in her begun to kick in, the grandiosity of the task does not matter, simply getting it done and doing it well is all that matters, everything else is superfluous. What ran through her head from that point was how would her father handle the situation, but then she remembered he was not really a overtly aggressive man. He questioned and rationalized, and then start punching the scum until they finally told him what he needed to know. In that regard... perhaps Averia was a little more like her father than she cared to analyze.

The moment she stood before the supposed group of pirates, their mumblings and chattering among themselves faded into silence as they looked up at her from their seats. Only a trice of silence passed between them, but there was a definite tense, as if one of the two parties were waiting for the other to make the first move to pull a weapon. But at least for what were suspected pirates as Averia did not share Shine's certain, that tension begun to die a little as Averia inquired, "Are you pirates?", it was almost naively blunt, but it was certainly direct, and all they would had to do is answer, truth or lie--she can deduce how to proceed from there.

A unified chuckle escaped the lips of group as one spoke up, "Nah, honey. Privateers.", uttered in the tone of someone making a joke via a half-truth.

The plump pirate sitting closest to where Averia stood near their table begun to reach for her thigh with his right hand as he remarked with a lecherous smirk, "How you sit with us an--", however he was cut off before he could finish his own sentence by an abrupt surreal sit that he could only express through his screams of both terror and pain. It was right wrist nailed to the table by a vibroknife down to its hilt pinning his hand to the table's surface completely. The speed at which it was done was only a fraction of second, it was blinding action by the speed in which it was committed.

From their seated positions the pirates were slow to the draw when reaching for their blasters, wheras Averia's was already drawn. Averia was not necessarily a very good shot, she never exactly cared much for using a blaster, but conceded their uses. However, each of the pirates were only few feet from her at best, she did not need to be a crack shot to plug three pirates with her three remaining shots. Those she did not get, she placed her faith in that while the boy may not be the brightest bulb lighting the house, he at least knew how to shoot any pirate drawing down on the from only a few feet away. Given she had yet to be shot, perhaps her faith was not entirely misplace, and was at least one thing she could mark that he could do competently.

The screaming pirate struggled the entire to yank the blade out of his wrist as it nailed his hand to the table, but the blade was driven right through the wooden tabletop and refused to budge. Unable to reach around his own girth with his left hand to get his blaster, he had little other choice other than to try to pull the blade out of his wrist. But the power that was used to drive the blade through both his wrist and the wooden tabletop, the strength of his left arm alone he simply could not match.

The fat man's grasping at the hilt of the blade, Averia's own left hand wrapped over his in a vice like iron grip. His hands now detained and left with little else to do than writhe and squirm in pain, which amounted to little more than waddling stomps one in place given his circumference and inability to go anywhere. In Averia's right hand was her blaster, but she had changed her grip on it so she was holding it by the end of the barrel.

The two smacks from the butt of her blaster onto the pommel of vibroknife like hitting a hammer on the head of a nail, she did not even ask anything. But it was when she was about to smack the pommel of her vibroknife that he screamed begging her to stop amidst his incoherent sobbing, mumbling, and warbling lower lip like a terrified little child broken down into tears, "There's a lot of pirates in the area. Why? Your dead friend said you're privateers. He may have been joking, but there's something to it. I don't expect you to know the details. But I think you can point me in the direction of who does, while not being stupid enough to tell me a lie that'll earn this knife instead of impaling your wrist--splitting open your round gut."

[Jazen]

Following Averia quietly across the bar, Shine let his golden eyes cast about the dive once more. The group of pirates in the corner were the only group that he'd noticed inside the dive, but that wasn't to say more hadn't arrived since then, or been lurking somewhere else in the place. It wasn't a lot of time to throughly scan the place, but it was more than Shine needed. Being a pilot, Shine had to learn to gather information from around him as quickly as possible with only short glances. By the time they'd reached the table, Shine could say for sure that the pirates they were approaching were the only ones around.

For now.

Hand casually resting near his blaster, Shine turned his attention to the group just in time for the show. As always with scum like them, their only answer to Averia's words were to joke about it while one of them made a lewd pass at her. A pudgy pirate who obviously ate far too much of the ship's stores while out in deep space. Shine didn't even get a chance to think about rewriting the man's manners with his blaster; Averia did it before he could blink.

One second, the man had been reaching for her. The next, that hand was planted firmly to the table, a knife buried to the hilt keeping it there. Shine saw what was coming next before it truly happened and his blaster was out before the first shot had rang. Again, he almost didn't need to bother. Averia dropped all three men before they could even draw. No wait, not all of them. Shine casually put another bolt in one that attempted to evade and draw, only wounding him badly. Might as well put him out of his misery and avoid possible trouble later. Turning on his heel, Shine cast another look out at the dive, blaster ready in case there was trouble waiting in the wings.

Luckily, most the patrons took a glance at the action, saw the weapons in hand and merely went back to their drinks. None of their business and they didn't want it to be. Typical Outer Rim dive. Keeping himself posed to watch from trouble, Shine glanced back to the blubbering pirate as Averia gave him further incentive before interrogating him.

"I...w...we...boss said he'd found us...a jo..job. Something easy...something where we'd basically get big money for doing basic stuff. Watching some...dumb planet and keep...keeping people out. Sometimes we raided ships too...don't never know what we took though. Hush hush and always on the second ship. I'm just...just the cook! Boss didn't tell most of us no more then that...Ripper knew...Ripper was one of the boss's inner circle." The man's eyes shifted through tears to glance at the man who'd made the joke earlier, who was currently enjoying a smoking hole in his chest. "He ain't gonna be telling you nothing now...". There was bit of defiance in him now, as if knowing that she'd killed her best chance for information was his little way of getting back at her for the pain. Shine tutted and waved his finger at the man.

"Ah, but the lady asked you to point us to someone who would know and since Ripper isn't talking much, then the next in line would be best, no? Unless, of course, you like pain."

The color in the man's face drained again as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks and his mouth fluttered to come up with an answer before further harm could be inflicted upon him. "Wings would know! Wings and the boss are tight...always together. She's like...his squeeze. She's real ruthless too...but I don't know where she..." Shine cast a eyebrow at that, starting to turn as if letting Averia had him instead..."but she's probably with the boss! Upper levels is where they go...they got a pad here! A private place they spend time in...right above where he hold up when not out in space! But that's all I know, I swear! Please...please take it out now! I can't take the pain no more!"

"That's a good pirate. And I've got just the thing for you're pain." Shine's blaster rang out and the man slumped to the table, eyes wide in surprise. Sighing, Shine flipped the blaster back into his holster and eyed the fallen Ripper carefully. He'd gotten some information out of the fat man, but if this Ripper was one of the heads, then that might mean...ah, there it was. A datapad. Shifting one of the bodies aside, Shine plucked the device from the man before turning back to Averia, scanning the pad for a moment.

"Encrypted...clever for a pirate. But it shouldn't be too hard to break. My friend will make short work of it." Lifting his eyes to Averia, Shine glanced at the fallen pirates before giving a nod of appreciation. "Nice job on that by the way. Rather blunt but then, I can't argue with results. So...seems like if we want any real answers, this Wings and the boss would be the people to talk to.

Now...that might have been your way of saying you'll help. It might not. But if it was...shall we?" Shine put out his free hand to her, a non-vocal way to seal an agreement. "Shine. Shine Albatross. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[Apillis]

((Short post))

With the fat man dead, Averia was a bit agitated, not necessarily because he was shot but because he was shot while she was standing so close to him. Yanking the knife out of the dead man's hand, she wiped his blood on the shirt of the corpse before sheathing it back in its scabbard attached to the ammo pouch strapped to her thigh. With an unamused straight face expression, she turned to the boy, and gave him another harsh smack upside his head harder than the last.

With the stern tone almost like that a disciplinarian teacher, "Never shoot someone while I'm standing that close to them. I don't know you. I don't know your aim, or the quality of your weaponry.", with a heavy sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose unconsciously as a clear expression of frustration as she at last gave her name, "Averia.", she stated flatly.

She did not answer whether she was going to help him or not, in truth part of her was still on the fence as to whether or not she should. The only thing keeping her around was her sense of duty to putting down the tyranny within the skylanes brought by the pirates, and the chance to discover if they had a patron to thereby face them as well. That was if everything went as simplistically as possible. But these things seldom ever do.

Out of her exasperation for the so many unknowns involved in the affair, she casually rested an idle on her hip as she uttered, "Do you even know where these 'Wings' are, or is that yet another unknown in all of this to deal with?"

[Jazen]

Something was up. Shine felt it in his bones the minute the Averia cast her expression his way. True, that was the expression that she'd seemingly had this whole time, but for some reason, it was different. He had no idea why that expression sent a chill down his spine, but it could only mean...

THWACK!

Shine just about stumbled forward from the force of the blow to the back of his noggin. It wasn't enough to cause serious damage or anything like that...but be damned if it didn't hurt like hell! Instinctively reaching a hand to the spot to rub what would certainly be a lovely bump on his head tomorrow, Shine spun to Averia, a look of half-hurt and half-surprise on his face as Averia explained herself. He might have been insulted if her reasons weren't properly valid...well, he was still hurt, but hey, he would say the same things depending on the circumstances.

"Gah! Stop doing that! I'm sorry then, yeesh! But lesson learned. But I'll have you know my aim is fine and my blaster is perfectly adequate, thank you very much."

Grumbling and rubbing his throbbing head, Shine turned his mind back to the task at hand. At least he had a name to call her by now, even if she'd promptly ignored answering whether she was in or not. But from the way she continued to ask him questions, Shine gathered she was likely to do so...even if it was for her own reasons. Well, nothing to lose by telling her more. Putting the datapad he'd scored into his jacket and pulling out a comlink that he could insert into a device attached to his wrist, Shine shrugged his shoulders.

"Honestly, its another unknown. But Tubby there said that they have a place in the upper levels of this station, so if I had to hazard a guess, its that place with all the viewports at the top level of the station." Shine paused for a moment as the sound of footsteps on metal echoed from the entryway...but he stopped his hand from grabbing his blaster when he realized the footsteps were from padded paws...and then his comlink clicked twice. A private signal to indicate Vis was near. Smiling, turned to the door just as it hissed open and a small but familiar droid darted in towards him.

Bending down, Shine extended his arm so that Vis could take his usual place atop his shoulder before turning to Averia again. "But I'm sure Vis here will find out a lot of these unknowns for us in short order. Oh, by the way, Averia, meet my companion, Vistal. Vis, meet Averia."

Atop his shoulder, the small Familiar gave a slight wave of his paw to the woman, his eyes glittering as what counted for a smile on his face slid across his features. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms Averia. I'd like to apologize, both in advance and for anything earlier, on behalf of my handler. He doesn't think properly around women of a high quality."

"Thanks Vis. Here, amuse yourself with this," Shine said, handing the datapad to the droid, "and when we get a chance to find a port, download me the plans for the station. I want that thing fully decrypted ASAP. Let me know when you're done. In the meantime, I think its best if we relocated; it probably won't take long before someone comes looking for these guys. Shall we take a walk?" Shine made a gesture to indicate ladies first to Averia, hoping that another brain-jarring thwack to the head was not in the future cards.