Coronet: Treasure Ship Row

[Natalya Thurinos]

Corell was beginning to set as Natalya made her way through the bustling streets of Coronet, the tall buildings of the city a stark contrast to the dulcet orange hued sky. She was reminded of Coruscant and her thoughts raced back to the time when she and her brothers used to pickpocket for credits, living off of their only wish of survival. Ulick… Gavin. Furious with herself for allowing these memories to reemerge Natalya clenched her hands together, digging her nails into her palms until they were marred with four small crescents. The sinuous brunette pursed her lips together and quickened her pace. It could have been the look on her face, but it was obvious that she was not a force to be reckoned with and the sentients passing by left her alone for the most part. “Almost there,” she breathed almost silently, “I just have to find someone who’s loaded.” Treasure Ship Row. She had been to Coronet once or twice, but this was her first time on her own in The Row. It had been her decision to leave the band of pirates who had taught her how to hone her skill as a slicer. She was beginning to become attached to them, and she did not want that. Bad things happened the people she cared about. She knew that being this close to the Blue Sector she would be able to find someone willing to pay a lot of credits for her services. “Where is that blasted cantina?” Trying to keep a cool demeanor, Natalya looked at the glowing signs in Basic, until she came across one that looked familiar. She sighed with relief and made her way toward the building, sliding the front door open.

Almost immediately, a voice boomed out above the noise of the cantina. “Natalya! Where ya been, kid?” Over the heads of the sentients at the bar she could see the large form of the one who called out to her, an older looking Boltrunian whose rocklike face was formed into a look of happiness. Natalya smiled and removed her swoop helmet, her luxurious tawny hair falling about her shoulders in soft curls.

“It’s been a while, Vartu. Business looks like it’s just as good as ever.” She walked over to the bar and took a seat, warily looking at the other lifeforms in the cantina from the corners of her eyes. The Boltrunian chuckled, setting down the glass he had been drying to lean his hulking form against the bartop with his elbows.

“By the stars, you’ve certainly grown up, Talya.” He looked behind her. “Why aren’t you with your buddies?”

She hesitated, eyeing his sharp teeth. “I’m not traveling with them anymore. I think I’m good enough to promote my work on my own now. Besides, it was hard enough pulling in enough credits to feed all of us,” she added, jokingly. The look on his face showed that he knew she was not telling the whole story. Yet, he smiled and reached out a warty hand to affectionally pat her on the head much to her chagrin.

“I’ll go get you a drink. Corellian spiced ale, right?”

Vartu turned at her nod to grab a mug and make the drink, leaving her to fix her tousled tresses. Once satisfied with the state of her hair Natalya shifted in her seat, keeping her ears and eyes open for any potential customers.

[Natalya Thurinos]

Natalya sat staring blankly at the bartop, her fingers brushing against her lower lip thoughtfully. She was on her second mug of ale and she was beginning to feel as though maybe it had been a mistake to leave her friends. Unfortunately, by now they could be anywhere in this galaxy or the next and she had no idea where to even start looking. The brunette picked up her glass and downed the last bit of alcohol, wiping her mouth with the back of her jacket sleeve. kriff. She raked her fingers through her hair, lowering her head so that she was staring directly down at the smooth, metallic surface of the bar.

“Talya, you alright, kid?” The giant bartender arched a heavily ridged brow as he reached for the empty mug.

“Another.”

“Kiddo, don’t make me cut you off.”

“Vartu.”

The Boltrunian sighed and shook his head. “You better have the credits for this.”

The young woman sat in silence before reaching into one of the satchels on her belt and tossing a couple of chips onto the bar. Vartu stared at them for a moment and then up at her before turning away. “You know how unsafe you are? You aren’t with your friends anymore, Natalya. You’re a humanoid woman alone on a foreign planet. Who knows what kinds of skroggin’ jumped-up glitbiting barves are out there lookin’ to hook up a power conduit.” He turned back to face her and pushed her credit chips back. “I’m cutting you off, Pinky.”

She slowly raised her head, looking him square in the eye. He looked back, his gaze fierce, and for a moment she truly believed he was about to reach over the bar and throttle her. “Fine.” She looked away, pushing back from the bar a bit uneasily. “You win.”

“Thatta girl. Now tell me what’s got you in such a tiff.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing here. No one needs slicers anymore and I’m about to go into complete Corellian Overdrive. What’s going to happen when I run out of credits?”

“Have you ever considered being a gunman?”

Natalya rose both brows and sat for a moment, rolling her tongue around in her mouth. “No.”

“Why not? You’ve got a pretty good shot. Terrible at piloting, but a good shot. Now don’t listen to me, but I think that something big is about to go down. Something of cosmic proportion.”

“Oh please, Vartu, you always think that. You’re getting old, Rocky.”

“Like I said, don’t listen to me; not like you do anyway. But I think it has something to do with those Jedi.”

“… Go crink yourself. You mean those stupid glow stick wielding, ‘Force sensing’ morons? C’mon. They’re absolute lunatics. This whole battle between the farking Sith and Jedi is a ruse. There’s no such thing as the Force anyway.”

Shrugging his massive shoulders, the Boltrunian held his tongue. If she was going to be stubborn and naive, he was going to let her figure things out on her own. “At least consider what I said about being a gunman for hire. You might need to go off planet.”

“And how am I going to get there? I mean, I just got here.”

“The way you always do.” Vartu grinned, showing his sharp needle-like teeth.

[Natalya Thurinos]

“Now you be careful, Talya. I’ve lived for nearly seven centuries and I’ve never met any being as accident prone as you are.” Vartu’s massive form leaned against the counter behind the bar, his arms crossed over his wide, craggy chest as the human stood, grabbing her swoop helmet. “You sure you don’t need anything?”

“Nah. I don’t want your charity, Vartu, but I appreciate it.”

“Well, hey, before you go I’ve got a bucket of bolts in the back that could use your magic touch.” He jerked his thumb toward the back of the cantina. Natalya furrowed her brows.

“You mean that old DRK-1 unit I worked on last time?” She crinkled her nose, remembering the recalcitrant droid quite well. It was so out of commission, she had to rewire its entire system to get it running again… and that wasn’t before it blew a circuit in her face. Luckily she had been wearing her working goggles and all it managed to do was singe her hair a little bit. Her pirate friends had stood around, laughing until their sides were sore and they needed another ale to recover. Those were the good times. That was before they started to run low on credits; before that Hutt had sent them on a Blue Milk Run that had ended in disaster and had snubbed them of pay. Natalya shook her head, becoming aware that she was gritting her teeth. She came out of her reverie, looking up at Vartu and realizing that what little time she had spent with him, he had been more of a father to her than anyone else in the galaxy. Who knew where her father had gone--he left not too long after she was born. Ulick always told her that he wasn’t worth remembering, so she barely gave a second thought to the man that had been the cause of her existence. Before she could go back to the memories of her brothers again - that was twice in one day now! - she quickly replied to Vartu’s question. “Sure… Why not? It’s not like I have a connection out of here yet anyway. Is it giving you the same problems as before?”

“Yes and no.” At Natalya’s questioning look, he continued. “It seems to have picked up strange behaviors. Almost as though it believes it’s… living.”

A long pause. “...What.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but just check it out, will ya? It’s giving me the skifflins.”

“Alright, but you’re really getting old, Rockhead.”

She walked toward the back room of the cantina, ignoring the vulgar comments thrown at her in alien languages, her hand ready at her vibroblade in case one of the sentients became a little too courageous. Vartu, who was following closely behind, pointed over her shoulder to a powered down droid that was covered by a heavy working cloth. Hesitantly, the human woman neared it, looking back at the Boltrunian who only motioned her forward. Edging toward it, she slowly extended her hand to grab the cloth. “Vartu,” she whispered, “this thing better not--”


“Iiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!!!” The droid suddenly lurched forward with a scream of surprise, grabbing Natalya’s wrist tightly with one of its retractable clawed probes. The brunette yelped with equal amount of surprise and reached with her free hand for the vibroblade strapped to her thigh.

“Let go, you bucket of bolts! I’ll slice you in two!”

“Mistress Thurinos?” Said a small, metallic voice. She froze, blade crackling as it was held aloft. The droid released her wrist and pulled off the cloth, rising into the air. Natalya stared at the familiar orb, her heart still jumping into her throat. Swallowing, she lowered and sheathed her weapon, never losing eye contact with the DRK unit. The round, metallic droid hummed with delight and extended a thin, arm-like probe toward her, causing her to flinch. It hesitated as though hurt by her wince, but continued moving forward until its finger-like clamps delicately touched her cheek. “It is you!” It trilled with excitement. Gingerly, it lifted a strand of her hair, observing it with small sounds of pleasure. Natalya slowly turned toward Vartu, her eyes wide.

“This… is… farking obscure.”

Before Vartu could answer, the unit dropped Natalya’s hair and nuzzled toward her midriff. “You saved me, Mistress,” it purred, “You gave me life!”

“Uh… don’t mention it?”

“I am forever in your debt.”

Pushing the droid away, she started toward Vartu who shrugged his shoulders. “How is this thing speaking Basic? I don’t remember modifying it that much.” She eyed it suspiciously, slowly circling it as though any sudden movements might set it off. But it was already a few starships short of a fleet… “DRK unit, specify programming origin.”

“I told you, Mistress Thurinos, you did!”

“Call me Natalya.”

“Thank you, Mistress Natalya.”

She rolled her eyes and turned toward the Boltrunian who was keeping a generous distance away from the A.I. “I don’t think I can fix it this time,” she said in a low voice, “but you could probably sell it for a hefty price now that it can speak Basic.”

“Or…” Vartu took a step back as the droid hovered closer to him. Natalya inwardly smiled, thinking it strange how such a large, scary looking sentient could be afraid of a small droid. “I could just have it powered down for good. I think this thing might be more trouble than it’s worth.” The DRK-1 shuddered with a pathetic cry and swooped behind Natalya, hiding in her hair as it peered at Vartu over her shoulder. The colossal alien stared back, considering the droid for a moment before a smirk slowly unfurled on his rugged face, causing him to look even more fearsome than before. “You know, Tal. I think that old bucket of bolts has taken a liking to you. Maybe you should just take it with you. Y’know, since you no longer have your buddies for companionship.”

“Companionship?” Natalya gave him a look of incredulity. “I don’t need companionship!”

“Come on… You’re the one who modified it. It wasn’t like this before. It really makes my skin crawl.”

She shook her head and pushed the bot toward Vartu, a sickly sweet smile spread upon her lips. “Have fun with your new friend, Rocky. I gotta haul jets.”

Without saying another word to the Boltrunian, she quickly made her way out of the cantina and onto the walkway out front. Leaning against the wall, she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. There was something about that droid that sent an electric shock down her spine. What was with that DRK unit… Unable to place her finger on it she leaned over, putting her hair up into her swoop helmet as she slid it securely onto her head and began walking down The Row.

[Cassus Orade]

The night was lit by the high skyscrapers of Coronet, the streets full of sentient life... full of filth. Cassus' eyes narrowed as he watched a Rodian stumble by in a drunken stupor and his lips curled into a scowl. "Nope, not him." Cassus said silently while scoping out the area for his bounty through the Targeting Visor. He was making his way down a dark alleyway in a very dim area of the city when his scanner went haywire as though someone was tampering with it from a distance. "Blast! What is it now.." Cassus reached for one of his EE-3 blasters, readying his arm, suspicious that his bounty was the one fooling with his gear and could be near ready to ambush him. Cassus remained alert and steady, making his way down the alley slowly, keeping his eyes open for any sudden movement. Without warning, four blaster shots brazed past him. Then a fifth blast snapped toward his face, but with his skill he was easily able to dodge it. The Rodian came out of the shadows, staring down at Cassus for a brief moment before running for the nearest corner. Cassus grinned with content. "I love this job." He made his way down to see which way the Rodian went, mentally thinking that if only he had a new Mando t-visor helmet he would be able to see those skummy foot prints his bounty left. "Nope,” he grunted, “Gotta do this the old fashion way."
He continued making his way down until he noticed a cantina at the border of Pirate Ship Row, just east of the Blue Sector. "Gah, why did he have to run into this dump of an area. Of all the areas in Coronet he had to run to this one." He said calmly, an edge of disgust in his voice. Striding toward the entrance, he holstered his weapons so he wouldn't cause any attention and pulled his hood over his head, putting his visor on. Slowly, Cassus made his way toward the cantina where a woman stood leaning against the wall. She appeared to be the only woman in the area and he had to admit, as he looked her up and down, not a bad looking one either. But by the time he got to her eyes, he saw that she noticed him checking her out and he turned away, focusing on what he had to do; not to mention, a little embarrassed for being caught like that. He knew the Rodian was somewhere in here and he had to be on his guard or else he’d be a dead man… And he didn’t plan on dying here. No way in hell. He still had to pursue the ones who caused the deep, aching pain in his heart and mind. Only then could he live in peace and die honorably. But for now, he had to make some credits and he wasn’t making any if he couldn’t catch or at least kill this sleemo Rodian. Walking inside, he went toward the bar to ask for a drink, but the Baltrunian was too busy dealing with some sort of odd droid that was making too much noise for him to really hear what else was going on around him.
Suddenly, he felt the barrel of a blaster shoved into his side. Cassus looked out of the corners of his eyes, muttering to the Rodian, “So you think you got me, huh? Better guess again, you fool.” The Rodian looked down and noticed Cassus already had his blaster pointed right at his chest, but low enough to be hidden from watchful eyes.
“Hahaha… You are very skilled, young bounty hunter. But by the time you can pull that trigger, you’ll already be dead and I’ll be on my way out into space home free once again.” The Rodian laughed once again. While he was busy laughing, bathing in his so-called glory, Cassus took his chance and knocked the Rodian’s blaster out of his hands, shoving him to the floor. The Rodian was skilled enough to get back up quickly and came at Cassus with a hidden vibro knucker at full strength. They went at it with full hand to hand combat because Cassus knew the bounty was worth more alive than dead. So instead of resorting to his blasters, he used all his fighting skills he learned from the years as a young Mando’ade and years of experience learning Tera Kasi and other forms of martial arts. Everyone in the cantina started to riot and ran out to avoid the danger. The woman from outside had wandered into the cantina where she and the Baltrunian remained, ready to take action if the danger got too close. Cassus fought well, avoiding all of the Rodian’s oncoming attacks until he finally was able to deal a heavy blow onto the fiend’s chest, knocking him back until he stumbled into the bar stools. The Mandalorian watched as his bounty gasped for air, trying to get his stamina back up but he knew it was too late. Jumping on top of the bar, the Rodian ran toward the young woman who saw him coming and prepared to defend herself. But the obnoxious droid from earlier suddenly swooped in front, defending her.
”NOOO!!” The woman yelled, “You stupid bucket of bolts, what are you doing?!”
The Rodian saw this as an advantage and jumped on top of the hovering droid to boost himself over the woman, throwing an arm around her neck as he took her hostage. Cassus threw off his visor, his face set in an expression that would scare even a Wookie, his eyes fierce and filled with anger at seeing the filthy assassin take a defenseless woman hostage. Or so he thought she was helpless. All of a sudden, the woman brought up her elbow, right into the Rodian’s chin, knocking him backwards. Out of nowhere she had a vibroblade in hand and was about to strike him, but one shot went past her face right between the bounty’s eyes. The alien fell flat on his back with a loud thud, face sizzling from the shot.
“Thanks for the elbow, lady. Appreciate it, but you’ll have to get out of the way. I gotta get this skum out of here.”
The Bultrunian started yelling. “Who in the world do you think you are, bounty hunter? Bringing your kriffing game into my cantina… You know this is gonna cost ya.”
Cassus laughed. “Don’t worry, bud, just put it on my tab".

[Natalya Thurinos]

Natalya jumped in front of Vartu before he could yell at the newcomer any further. Or kill him.

“Who do you think you are, laserbrain! Parading around here like you own the place. You better hope to Chaos you have the credits to pay for this damage, you lousy drooling Drebble. I outta--” She felt a heavy hand on her shoulder.

“That’s enough, Talya.” Turning her head, the brunette looked up at the Boltrunian and almost shrank back at the look on his face. It was rigid and cold, like the icy mountains of Hoth, his two dark eyes a piercing bitter stare upon the bounty hunter. She thought she could see his throat shudder with a suppressed growl. “I’m not fond of your kind, bounty hunter. Just take it and leave.” By it, he meant the Rodian corpse. From the moment the fight had ceased, the DRK unit had slowly made its way to Natalya, looking her over in a motherly fashion with soft humming noises of disapproval. She brushed the droid away and stepped toward the Mandalorian, her vibroblade still in hand.

“No, Vartu. I’m going to make sure this creep pays you back, down to the last credit. This bounty will pay for the damage he did.” She looked back at him and nodded, a look of determination on her face. The Boltrunian sighed and closed his eyes, but his expression softened.

“You have a death wish, Pinky?”

“Mistress Natalya is thinking of fighting this fiend?” The robot squeaked.

“If I have to.” It hesitated and then hovered forward, protectively. She stared from Vartu to the droid, her eyebrows lifting. Great. It’s like some little farked up, dysfunctional family. “So what’ll it be,” she said, turning back toward the man, “Either you fight me and I take this bounty for myself or you hand over the credits.”

Heat rose to her cheeks as she heard the bounty hunter chuckle, her eyes glinting in the dim light of the cantina. Her jaw set tightly and she activated her vibroblade, taking a stance despite Vartu’s objections. Honestly, who the KRIFF did this guy think he was? He was really beginning to piss her off. She thought she could hear the Boltrunian say, “Oh, by the emperor’s black heart… The little Nexu’s been angered.” Or something to that effect. In an instant, she had taken a running leap at the Mandalorian, head first with her hands splayed behind her. As she neared him, she brought around the hand with the blade, aiming for his neck.

[Cassus Orade]

Cassus was shocked at how aggressive the woman was when suddenly she charged at him, vibroblade in hand. "Hmm, she's quick." Cassus thought calmly. At her attack, he leaned back enough to dodge the blade near his throat and then lightly nudged her forearm to the side, moving her weight forward until she started to stumble. She glared at him furiously. "Woah lady, calm down. Those eyes of yours could kill a Yuuzan Vong if they invaded again.” Cassus said while maneuvering around the agile woman’s attacks. While the two were at it, the Boltrunian studied Cassus’ moves and finally recognized who this bounty hunter might be and what he was capable of if Natalya pissed him off. He yelled to her, “Pinky, you better stop now! Can’t you see he’s been able to avoid all your attacks without breaking a sweat?” She grunted and with a loud, war-like cry the woman charged with all her might. The Mandalorian raised his brows, surprised at her unique knifing style. ”Hmm, she’s pretty cute when she gets angry like this. Not to mention, her Tera Kasi ain’t bad either…” He smiled, calmly moving to the side as he knocked the blade from her hand. “That’s enough, lady. You don’t stand a chance against a skilled Mandalorian as myself.” He grinned cockily and brought his arms down, showing a sign of good gesture that he’s done fighting and wants to come to an agreement. But the woman glared at him furiously, obviously annoyed. “You really need to calm down, sweetheart, I don’t want to hurt a pretty gal like you. I already said I’ll pay the debt off for the mess I made.” Cassus slowly made his way toward his cloak on the floor to pick it up. The woman took this opportunity and ran in a blink of an eye, snatching up her vibroblade and lunging for one more attack while the bounty hunter’s back was turned. Before Vartu could finish yelling, “Damn it, Talya, don’t you dare!” she was on the floor, looking down the barrel of a blaster. She was in shock, not knowing he could move that quickly. Cassus smiled, looking down at her. “Nice try, sweets, but next time you won’t be so lucky, charging at me when my back is turned.” He stared back with a look more furious than she had given him, his expression the one of a man who could conquer an entire planet if he wanted to. Coming to his senses, Cassus calmed himself and holstered his weapon, offering her a hand to help her up. She knocked his hand out of the way and got up on her own instead. He looked at her with a grin. "You’re pretty good, sweets. Makes me wonder what other skills you have for trade.”

[Natalya Thurinos]

Natalya threw him a fierce glare as she rose to her feet, patting at her pants and jacket as though an invisible layer of dust had landed there during the scuffle. She sheathed her blade. “Not the kind of skills you’d be interested in getting from a woman, you slimy little--” She stopped at a sharp look from Vartu. Yeah, thanks for reminding me that I got my ass kicked. The brunette took one, long stride over the body of the Rodian that was still lying on the floor and approached the Mandalorian, her lips puckered in a thoughtful manner, brows arched high.

“So you think you’re smoother than the surface of a neutron star.” With every word she got closer to him until she was in his face. “Well, guess what, buddy? You can just take your fripping, no-good nerfherding--” Something covered her mouth. It took her half a moment to realize that the strong, warty thing covering the lower half of her face was a hand. Vartu’s hand. The bartender leaned against the counter heavily, still covering Natalya’s mouth.

“She’s a slicer and a fairly ace sharp-shot. Goes by the name of Aria Xenos.” He ignored Natalya’s glare and incomprehensible mumblings beneath his hand. She could tell he was trying to get rid of her. How sweet. The Corellian Banshee was finally kicking its brood out of the nest. It was strange… One moment the oversized rock was complaining about how much he disliked the bounty hunter and the next it was almost as though he was pushing her to go with him. Natalya decided it was impossible to understand the Boltrunian and stopped trying to put logic into his motives. She pushed his hand away, freeing herself from the heavy burden with a gasp. Ah, oxygen.

“Like I said, laserbrain, nothing you would be interested in.” She cocked her hips at an angle, resting her hands on them with an expression that read: Make my day… I dare you.

[Cassus Orade]

Cassus stared at the crazy woman standing before him. She had an animately fierce look about her that caught Cassus’ eye in an enticing way. “So a slicer, ehh? Hmm… Well I’ve been seeking a slicer for a while now. But looking at you, I don’t think you have the skill to help me out with the things I require.” Cassus replied to the woman the Boltrunian tagged as Aria Xenos. The woman stared him down for his remark with a wild look in her eyes as though she would top his head off with one fist if she had the chance to. “Well you have the attitude, lady, if you want this job or not it will bring a large amount of creds to your lap. Don’t think I’m offering it to ya and that you can just tag along as you want either, just saying. But where I’m going is rough territory and I’m seeking to get myself some new armor and maybe a weapon. Come to think of it, that little vibroblade won’t get you far either if it came down to a real blaster fight.” He nodded and hoisted up his bounty over one shoulder, starting to walk away. “You’ll have to get yourself a real weapon.”

[Natalya Thurinos]

The thought that even this bounty hunter wouldn’t be interested in hiring her sent Natalya off the deep-end. “Fine. I’ll do it, but only so I can get the credits to repay the damage you caused here.” She didn’t want to sound like she was desperate, but her funding was running low and working with this guy would be better than not working at all. The DRK unit hummed behind her. With a sigh of frustration, she began rubbing her brow knowing she was stuck with this bucket of bolts. “Vartu, I’ll take DRK over here. How much you want for it?”

“Just take it… I don’t need it farking things up around here. You’ll be doing me a favor.”

“Oh! Mistress Na-”

“It’s Aria.” She said quickly, not wanting this stupid bot to blow her cover. It hummed in what appeared to be confusion before bobbing up and down.

“Affirmative, Mistress Aria.”

“Well, Rockhead, I’m gonna touch space. I’ll see ya real soon, okay?”

“You be safe, or I’ll regret ever letting you out of my sight. Clear skies, Pink.”

She stepped out of the cantina without any further pleasantries. Securing her goggles and helmet, she followed after the bounty hunter with her hands deep inside her jacket. She could hear the droid hovering just behind her, so close that if she had to stop abruptly it would probably run directly into her. She hung off to the bounty hunter’s left a little bit as they walked through the busy streets, sentients trying to appear as though they weren’t watching for fear of the same fate as the Rodian.

“So what am I supposed to call you? I’m sure you’d prefer not to be called scum or drooling Drebble. And what planet are we going to? That’d be nice to know too.” Her tone was flat.

[Cassus Orade]

“The name’s Cassus… Cassus Orade. And we’re heading to the Outer Rim Territories. Anymore questions, sweetheart, or can we get going? I still have to take care of this skum’s corpse and carbonize him in my ship," he told Aria. When they arrived at the ship he noticed the surprised but somewhat disgusted expression on her face. "What’s wrong, darling, never seen an ancient ship before from the old empire days? Listen, if you don't like it then you can just find yourself another ride out of here. Otherwise get on, we’re leaving." He watched as she seemed to think about it before walking up the ramp, her droid following closely behind. Now they were finally setting off to the Forest Moon of Endor. When they were entering deep space, Cassus watched from the cockpit as Aria wandered about the haul of his ship. She noticed the planet they were just on through a side window in the cargo area of the ship, an odd but happy look on her face. He walked up with a sly grin. “You alright, sweetheart?” She turned around, an annoyed look on her face and walked the other way to sit down on a cargo box. He followed her and sat down on a box facing her, deciding it was time to take it upon himself to explain the details of the mission. “So pretty much, when we get there you have to keep your wits about ya because I’m not digging no grave for somebody I don’t even know, understand? Also, that Boltrunian really praised ya well for a woman with just a vibroblade. Hell, I would actually mistake you for some crazy lady I heard of who was pretty deadly with a vibroblade… name started with an ‘N’, I believe… Oh well. Anyway, where we’re going is a place called the Death Watch Bunker filled with a fierce band of renegade Mandalorians. But these Mandos are the worst kind so it’s gonna take some guns to actually break in and start shooting, but I think I can handle it. I’m just hoping you can as well, but I’ll discuss more once you start telling me more about you, sweetheart, it’s only fair.” But before she could reply, a bright light quickly flashed outside the window and the ship started to shake. Aria’s droid came out, screaming in different dialects, reporting that four ships were heading towards them, their speed at minimum capacity with firepower fully charged. Cassus immediately jumped to his feet, telling Aria to follow him to the weapons station where they sat down next to each other at the console displaying the enemy crafts. “Blast, I knew that damn bounty would bring these fools along. Sad day for them though, I must say,” he said in a calm voice, the confident leader-like presence emerging as he began directing Aria what to do. But she surprised him, already getting the hang of it before he could explain further. A loud explosion appeared in front of the blast shield. “Wow, nice shot, lady. Now I’m starting to like you even more.” He hadn’t expected her to get a first kill so easily. Looking around, he noticed the two other ships flanking while one of them came straight at them. “We gotta get out of here or we’re dead. These guys are using good tactics and we’re outnumbered compared to these big heavy weapon freights after us.” Cassus ran to the main console to start the hyperdrive. Suddenly, a transmission came through from one of the ships. “Ahh, Cassus Orade, I’m glad that I’m able to actually see your face for once,” said a mysterious figure speaking over the transmission screen. “I should have known it was you, Ularo. No other pirate leader as the military training and tactics that you do, but it seems like this little chat won’t last long because I’m outta here, bud,” Cassus replied to the pirate. “Wait, we can make a….” Cassus ended the transmission before Ularo could finish and yelled down the hall to Aria. “You keep blasting over there, sweetheart, while I get us out of here!” Cassus finally got the hyperdrive operating, the ship lurching as it leapt off into deep space toward the coordinates he had punched in. “Well, wasn’t that a wonderful ride,” he muttered, sliding out of the pilot’s seat.

[Natalya Thurinos]

She had followed him onto the ship, hoping that it wouldn’t fall apart the moment they reached space. Natalya had to keep reminding herself that she needed the credits--and even that hardly motivated her. To her surprise (and relief) the ship made it through the atmosphere, and into the great expanse. She sighed and watched Coruscant grow smaller from a window in the hull of the ship, thinking that it would probably be the last time in a long time that she would see Vartu again. “You better take care, Rockhead.” She muttered to herself. DRK whirred questingly behind her and she turned to face it, but saw that Cassus was emerging from the cockpit, grinning stupidly. “You alright, sweetheart?” Rolling her eyes, she sat down on a nearby box without replying, cradling her chin in her hand as she continued to look out the window. She tried not to show any surprise when he mentioned another woman who used a vibroblade whose name coincidentally started with an ‘N’. She knew who he was talking about and it didn’t concern him. The less he knew the better. When he started talking about the Mandalorians, he captured her attention and she turned to look at him, listening carefully with her hands clasped together between her knees. She was about to retort about him calling her sweetheart again, when suddenly the ship started shaking. The droid--rather her droid now--zoomed out of the cockpit where it must have gone when Cassus started talking to her. It took her a minute to calm it down enough to start speaking Basic.

“Mistress Aria! Four ships are heading this way! Their speed is at minimum capacity but their firepower is fully charged. I think they have full intention to blow this ship to smithereens!”

She shot up, vaguely listening to Cassus as he led her to the weapons station where she slid into a seat and fumbled with lowering her goggles. She took one look at the laser canon and then gripped onto the handles, her thumbs poised and ready over the buttons. Watching in the monitor, she directed the firing mechanism until she saw an enemy ship in the crosshairs. Without hesitation, she pressed down both thumbs, releasing the laser. It impacted the ship, blasting it into a cloud of dust. She smiled as he complimented her, knowing that he wasn’t expecting her to get a kill before he did. When Cassus left, she watched the ships in interest, wondering why they were moving so slowly. A shot above the blast shield brought her back to her senses and she began trailing one of the ships with her monitor, waiting until it lined up in the crosshairs before firing. She fired, but it was not a direct shot. However, the ship she shot began tilting sideways, obviously losing control. Before she could fire again, she heard Cassus yelling to her from the cockpit and then not long after, the stars elongated, streaking across the sky as they made the jump to hyperspace. Lifting her goggles, she slipped out of the seat and walked toward the cockpit where Cassus was already getting up from the pilot’s seat. She leaned against the open doorway and removed her helmet, her long brown hair falling in loose curls around her shoulders. Shaking her head to rid herself of helmet hair, she held the swoop helmet at her side and looked at him with a small smile.


“So who were those guys? Seemed like they had an extreme interest in either you or your bounty.”

DRK emerged from the copilot’s seat, trembling as it hovered to Natalya and clung onto her with its retractable claws. “L-let’s not do that again, Mistress Aria.”

[Cassus Orade]

"Sorry for the trouble we just had back there, but I’m glad I could have you onboard seeing as you're very skilled in space combat from the looks of it." Cassus noted with a thankful smile to Aria, showing that a Mandolorian can be a grateful person and not just a hardass jerk. The woman gave him a captivating look that made him feel a bit bashful and confused because he had never felt such an emotion from someone before. They both discussed what happened while the DRK droid was sent to help fix some of the problems from the pirate attack. Cassus decided to show Aria her living quarters for her temporary stay with him on his ship during their journey. When Cassus finally got his new passenger settled, he took his leave to his living quarters and sat down at his desk where a small child like battleworn mando helmet resided on. He stared into the t-visor, memories of battles flashing through his mind, troubling his thoughts. He let out a big sigh. "In due time, Cassus, you'll get your revenge and make those sith pay for what they have done." He was muttering to himself like a crazy person but luckily, he was alone so no one could hear him say such things. When the ship AI system reported that they were nearing Endor soon, Cassus looked up toward the side window in his room at the blue haze from hyperspace travel. It gave him a calm feeling, easing his mind from worries and troubles that haunted him. He decided to meditate for a while so he could figure out a mental plan for future attack on the Death Watch Bunker. "Things are going according to plan and soon I'll get my armor and the answers I need to find those damn Sith and that blasted traitor Manda'lore. Then I can take his title for my own and bring honor to my family's name once again." Cassus thought to himself as he closed his eyes, going into a deep calm concentrated sleep until he and his new passenger arrived at Endor.

[Darth Jeluvitas]

(you may be intentionally thinking that the mandalore is a male for a story idea, but the current mandalore is actually a woman, just fyi)