MC: AotE: Old Friends and New Jobs

[stingerhs]

"No, not really. I guess there are some things that we'll discover in time about each other. Thank you, Captain," Ryshana stated.

[starmark2k]

"C'mon we'll be landing soon, The quicker we depart the quicker we can get back and go." Nic Turned around and left Ryshanas room and stepped down the ladder.

[JasraLantill]

"It is a picture of Sephiroth. .... I see him as the pure incarnation of evil," Cloud said to Beryl.

 

"And you think he's here on Corellia?" Beryl looked at the picture, then grimaced with disgust. "Yeah. Well. That hair does look pretty evil," she commented. "I'll remember to keep an eye out for him. Keep your comm open. If I see him, I'll let you know." She looked at the picture one more time. "Erm...you're not thinking of going after him alone, are you? I mean, this is Corellia. Home of the best security forces in the Galaxy. Well, as compared to the Empire's bucket heads, anyway. If you need help, not that I'm saying that you will, mind," she added quickly as so not to offend his male ego, "just let me know. I'll round up some reinforcements for you."

 

She frowned slightly as if she was remembering something. "Erm...I'll be right back, you guys," she said to Jana and Cloud. "Just remembered I've got something to give to Rayne."

 

She dashed off to her room, wanting to be back in the cargo bay when the ship landed. What she had to give Rayne was in one of her drawers. When she got to her room though, Oliver was there waiting for her by the crates of his Jawa brew.

 

"Oliver?" she asked hesitantly, noticing his distress. "What's wrong? Having second thoughts about selling off your Jawa brew?"

[stingerhs]

Ryshana sighed to herself again. I guess it would be better if I had some more suitable clothes on, she thought as she looked down at what she was wearing. A form-fitting brown leather covering that was cut off midway between her chest and her pants made up the top while her pants were also a quite form fitting as well. Although she never really thought about it too often, Ryshana decided to look in the mirror. Studying herself, she realized that although she hadn't lost her beauty with age, she still looked rather plain.

 

In her lone pack that she brought on board, Ryshana began to rummage around a bit. Whenever she was running from the Imperials with Jeez, she had learned that sometimes one's appearance could easily make a difference in dealings. Grabbing some cleansers, Ryshana stripped off the remains of her clothes, locked the door, and took a quick shower. The cleansers she had were specifically designed to give her skin a bit of radience that would really show off her skin tones.

 

Finished with the shower, Ryshana dried herself off. She then took what appeared to be a series of black straps out of her bag. She then carefully arranged and then tied them to her lekku so that they appeared to be in a crossing pattern until they reached the curving point near her head where they were tied off. Grabbing a fresh set of brown leather clothes, she put them on fairly quickly.

 

Finally, she put on a small necklace that drooped slightly from her neck. In the center of the necklace was a small metal ring that appeared to be heavily worn. The ring itself was engraved with an ornamental design, but it lacked any gemstones. Looking into the mirror one last time, Ryshana smiled a bit to herself as she could now see her beauty for what it still was.

 

Hooking the lightsaber to her belt, Ryshana headed outside of her cabin and went down the ladder into the cargo bay.

[XoRRoX]

"Oliver?" she asked hesitantly, noticing his distress. "What's wrong? Having second thoughts about selling off your Jawa brew?"

 

How are you going to deliver it? I'm quite afraid actually, i should have done it myself, i don't want to set you in danger..." he said a little scared. He turned himself around a couple of times to see, if there was any, who could hear the conversation.

[starmark2k]

The Echo Enteredd the Planets Atmosphere and flew over the City until it came to beryls brothers spaceport. The ship slowed and came to a complete stop before it began to vertically land, its landing gears decended out of the hull and slowly touched the metallic floor.

 

Nic felt the ship shudder from inside the cargo bay and walked over to the door controls, before he pushed any buttons he turned to those in the Cargo hold "Remember, As Quick as we ca, we don't want to be hear to long... Now time to meet Psycho's Brother." Nic then his the inner air-lock door releace quickly followed by the loading ramp's switch.

[JasraLantill]

Beryl smiled at Oliver. "Is that what has got you so upset?" she asked, chuckling slightly. She shook her head. "Don't worry! My brother Rayne runs a transport company. A legitimate business, for the most part, but he hates the Empire. He resupplies blockade runners. Smugglers. He's not going to mind fronting a few cases of Jawa brew for you."

 

She took out a small, cloth wrapped item from her drawer, and the tucked it inside her flight jacket's inside pocket.

 

The ship rocked a bit.

 

"Jack's landed us," she said to him, as she hurriedly put on her jacket. "I've got to get to the cargo bay. Don't worry!" she called over her shoulder as she jogged down the corridor.

 

She slid down the ladder to the cargo bay just as the bay doors were opening. She did a double take as she passed by Ryshana, but then smiled. "Nice outfit," she complimented her.

 

Beryl was first off the Echo, followed by Nic and Jana. In the hanger of TransMag Corporation, Rayne Quitaan was standing just a few metres away from the end of the cargo ramp, flanked on either side by a couple of his loading dock workers. He was a handsome man, tall and well-built, but much older than Beryl, his sandy brown hair showing streaks of gray along the sides. His expression was stern and business like, but as Beryl approached he couldn't help but grin a little, obviously pleased to see her.

 

"Rayne!" Beryl called out to him as she walked down the ramp to meet him.

 

They stared at each other for a moment, then Rayne broke out in a broad smile and they hugged each other. "Good to have you home, sis," he said, patting her on the back.

 

"Good to be home," she said.

 

Their embrace over, he stood back and looked at her. "So, how's the Headhunter?" he asked.

 

"Damaged," she replied. "How's the witch and kids?"

 

He grinned. "Janel and the boys are fine," he replied. "So, gambing with 'Imperical' formulas again, I see?" trying to sound cross.

 

Beryl shrugged. "Yeah, well, you know me. Always up for a game."

 

His expression grew serious. "This isn't a game, Beryl."

 

She shrugged him off.

[Writer]

Jana turned to Nic. "No wonder she doesn't listen to us... she won't even listen to family."

 

Turning to Rayne, she said, "I'm Jana Vincent, first mate of the Echo, somewhat more talkative than the man standing next to me, Captain Nic White."

 

She grinned at Nic.

[JasraLantill]

Rayne extended his hand to Jana and then Nic. "My sister's always had a slight 'hearing' problem," he replied to Jana, looking at Beryl askance. "Nice to meet both of you." His eyes suddenly caught sight of Ryshana, and his eyes narrowed pensively. "And this is...?"

 

"Ryshana," said Beryl, suddenly aware that her brother might have known Ryshana from the Clone Wars. "Our, erm...turret gunner. And that's Cloud, our engineer."

 

Rayne's eyes didn't leave Ryshana. "Turret gunner. Right." He gave Beryl a look of disbelief, but didn't press the issue. "So, what's your cargo?"

 

"Swoop bikes," said Beryl. "Think you could unload them for us?" She batted her eyes. "Please?"

 

Rayne nodded, then motioned to his dock workers. "Make sure you treat this cargo as 'Class A'," he told them. He motioned for Beryl and the others to follow him. "Perhaps we should discuss the dispostion of your cargo and the nature of your repairs in my office." He pointed up to a windowed area that overlooked the loading dock, then headed towards the lift near the bay door, limping slightly.

 

"War injury," Beryl whispered to Jana.

 

Once inside the office, Rayne sat down at his desk and then flicked a few buttons. The windows in his office shimmered with a pale green light. "Anti-monitoring field," Rayne explained. "We can talk freely now."

 

He looked critically at Ryshana. "You may not remember me, but I remember you," he said to her. His gaze turned to Nic and Jana. "Look, I'm not going to ask where, how, or why you have a Jedi on board. Frankly, I don't want to know. But her presence certainly does explain the excessive amount of Imperial comm traffic. I'll help all I can, even give you the use of my personal shuttle while you're here, but you can't stay long. The Imps are looking for you, and it won't be long before they come looking here. I run a legitimate shipping business, but they know that I resupply blockade runners when I can. They can't prove it, but they know. So, just tell me what repairs you need, what supplies I can provide, and what you want to do with that cargo out there and I'll get you on your way. The sooner you leave, the better off we all will be."

[starmark2k]

"We share the same sentiment, We want to leave as soon as we can... As for supplies and repairs, Your sister had a slight run-in with an 'Eye-ball' and she needs a new targeting computer. The Ship it self just needs to be re'fueler and re-charged, so i would appreciate you do that... and although it goes without saying, keep the people who know we're here to a minimum, I'm sure you don't want to be visiting your sister in a imperial prison. Other than that all the Crew have Buisness to deal with so we need to leave this facility, I trust the ship and its contents are safe."

[JasraLantill]

"No safer place on Corellia for a wanted ship than right here," said Rayne. "Refueling's not a problem, and as far as discretion goes, well...the only employees in this particular hanger are ones I trust implicitly." He glanced out the window at his crew unloading the Echo. "Even so, I try to keep 'knowledge' down to the bare minimum. Safer for them, and for me, if you know what I mean."

 

He gave Beryl a look, not unlike one of Jana's. "Targeting computer, eh? That's in the nosecone, if I'm not mistaken. Cutting things a little close, were you?"

 

"I was landing," Beryl said defensively. "Wasn't much I could do."

 

"Uh-huh," Rayne muttered skeptically. "I'll have it fixed," he said turning back to Nic. "Along with anything else you might need." He looked at Beryl. "On condition that I can have a private word with my sister before you leave."

 

Beryl nodded. "Sure."

 

"Again, feel free to use my personal shuttle while you're here, Nic. It'll make it easier to get through any checkpoints the Imp's might have." He reached in his desk and pulled out a card key which he handed to Nic. "This will override the voice recognition locks. Go, take care of any business you have. The Echo should be ready when you return."

[ExtreamJedi12]

Cloud went to Rayne's personal shuttle. It looked like a nice piece of equipment. He looked around the place. Seemed like his own spaceprt back home. Perfect.

_________________________________________________________________

 

In the distance, a man with a long sword, long white hair, green eyes, and black clothing with shining sholder pads. That man was known throughout the Galaxy as Sephiroth. He was eyeing a starport in the distance. "Hmm...." he thought. "Should I destroy it from here or go in ane see the faces of the people as I kill them?" He pondered to himself for awhile. "I'll see the faces." He sensed a familiar somebody in that starport. "Cloud Strife. The only man that got away from me. Not this time." He ran as fast as he could to the starport. (He can run very fast so he would leave this giant cloud of sand behind him. I someone else to spot him.)

[XoRRoX]

Oliver followed Cloud to the shuttle. Oliver tried to look very interested in the shuttle, but he didn't actually care. " Cloud musen't know about Nic's order" he thought.

Oliver was completly sure, that Beryl could handle the deal. But he didn't like, that he was going to put someone else in danger. He was brought up to handle all things himself - but hey, he wasen't a stupid farmer anymore. But he didn't like this either.

[Writer]

"Your look could use a little work," Jana joked, looking to Rayne. She gave him her 'look'. "Like this, see?" Then, "Thanks for all your help."

 

Turning to Beryl, she said, "Shall we run off somewheres?" She glanced over to the two swoop bikes they'd set aside.

[steven]

Jack came behind Cloud who was looking at a shuttel. "Looks like someone knows how to make a ship. It's got a good hull plating, good engines and good weapons." He said. It wasnt like Jack for small talk "Cloud, can I have a word with you about whats-his-face?"

[XoRRoX]

Oliver looked on Jack with a Don't say-a-word face. "Nic didn't saied something about, that he should know it" he thought to himself.

[JasraLantill]

"Shall we run off somewheres?" Jana glanced over to the two swoop bikes they'd set aside.

 

Rayne followed Jana’s gaze out the window to the two swoops. Then his eyes narrowed and he gave Beryl a sideways look. “Beryl, you’re not planning to…?” He shook his head, then held up his hands in surrender. “Nevermind,” he said. “I don’t think I want to know.”

 

“Probably not,” Beryl replied, grinning. “I’ll catch up to you in a second, Jana. I want a word with Rayne in private, if you don’t mind.”

[Writer]

Jana nodded. "Of course."

 

She turned and left.

[starmark2k]

Nic Left With Jana and signaled to Ryshana to follow, He held Rayne's key in his hand and began to walk closly next to Jana. "Ever get the feeling someone's being too helpful?" he said with a concerned look on his face. Nic then held out his hand to stop Jana. "Look i know this guy is Beryls brother and al, but... Watch your back, I have a bad feeling about this."

[Writer]

"I'm more concerned with Cloud's feeling that Sephiroth is here," Jana said quietly. She looked up at Nic. "I know you very well; who do you have keeping an eye on him?"

[stingerhs]

Ryshana followed Nic outside the office. Ever since they arrived, Ryshana could feel a kind of churning inside of her. She knew that something was stirring, and she could feel it in the Force. It didn't help that this brother of Beryl knew who she was. Ryshana had remembered seeing him before, but she had yet to figure out where she saw him before.

 

As Nic turned and talked softly to Jana, Ryshana could easily overhear since she was so close. "I don't know if this is a good time to speak up or not, but I haven't been feeling at ease since the first Imperial attack midway between the space station and Alderaan. Now that we're here, the feeling has been intensifying quite a bit. Something is wrong. I can feel it," Ryshana stated quietly to Jana and Nic.

[starmark2k]

Nic looked at the two women. "O.K, I ain't had much experiance with Jedi 'feelings' so i don't know what that could mean, but i've had a feeling that troubles been bruing since Alderaan, somthing is going happen." He changed his focus to Jana. "I've got Jack and Impe keeping watch. They should be fine, to be honest i ain't sure he is here."

[stingerhs]

"When somebody like you has a bad feeling, that comes from intuition and cognitive reasoning. Whenever I say I have a bad feeling, that has a lot more to do with the Force than with me. Something here is looking to cause a lot of trouble, so it might be a good idea to leave before trouble finds us."

[JasraLantill]

Now alone with her brother, Beryl pulled out the small cloth wrapped bundle from her jacket. She handed it to Rayne. "Found this when I was piloting the Vindicator. Right before she was impounded and I joined up with Nic and the Echo." She paused as he unwrapped the small data disc. "Not sure if the information is current or not, but there's something on there you should see."

 

Rayne slid the tiny disc into a slot on his desk. A hologram of a ship's log began to play. An Imperial ship's log.

 

Rayne watched as the ship went through a battle drill. There were portions missing, and the image clarity wasn't that great, but Rayne recognised one of the officers. He closed his eyes, sighed sadly, then stopped the player.

 

"Thanks," he said to her. "I'll give this to one of my contacts. It's dated, but there still might be some information of value on it that they can use.” He glared at her. “You do realise that having this aboard your ship is almost as dangerous as having your ‘turret gunner’. You need to be more careful, Beryl. I know you think this is a game, but the Empire plays for keeps."

 

Beryl frowned at Rayne. "Is that all you're going to say?"

 

"What do you want me to say?" Rayne said irritably. "He's made his choice. I've made mine. And you, apparently, have made yours."

 

"But...?"

 

"There is nothing you can do about it, Beryl. Just leave it be!"

 

With a dissatified look, Beryl turned to leave. "Fine," she said curtly.

 

"Beryl...."

 

"No, no," she said, waving her hand. "You're right. You're always right. Dad always said so."

 

Rayne sighed. "Beryl, please.... Just leave it be. You'll only bring yourself heartache if you pursue this. You have to know that."

 

Beryl sighed. "I know."

 

"Look, my offer's still open," Rayne said, rising from his chair.

 

"I know." She looked down through the window at Jana, Nic, and Ryshana standing by the swoops. "But I can't leave them. Not now. They need me." She turned back to him and gave him a weak smile. "Plus I don't think I'm quite 'captain' material, if you know what I mean."

 

He smiled at her. "I know." He reached out his arm, and she responded by hugging him. "But you're my little sister. It's my job to look out for you."

 

"And you're my eldest brother," she replied, breaking off from him. Then she grinned. "It's my job to irritate you."

 

"A job you do quite well," he said, giving her a disapproving look. “I just wish you would reconsider. You could do better. And with all this attention from the Empire….” He sighed. “It’s dangerous, Beryl. Come and work for me. Leave the Echo. Nic seems like a capable guy. He can find another pilot.”

 

Beryl snorted. "Jana's right. You need to practice your ‘look’ more." She headed for the door. "I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself." She paused at the door. "If I don't have time to see you before we leave, say hello to the boys and mother for me, will ‘ya?"

 

"I will. And, Beryl?” His look grew very serious. “Watch yourself."

 

Beryl smiled. "I will."

 

She headed off to meet Jana and the others.

 

"...so it might be a good idea to leave before trouble finds us," Ryshana was saying as Beryl approached.

 

"What? We're leaving? No swoop racing?" Beryl said, giving an anxious look at Nic and Jana, then a longing look at the red & white swoop bike.

[starmark2k]

"No we have business to take care of first, However try to keep your racing low-key, We don't need any unwanted attention." Nic looked around and saw Rayne's shuttle then at Ryshana. "So we better get moving." He turned to Beryl and Jana "Watch each other's backs." Nic turned and walked towards the shuttle.