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Terrin's Crew

posted 10-28-2002 12:41 AM    
Aaron sat quietly in the cantina, looking suspiciously over a glass of Whyrene's reserve at a female in a red dress. And, as she had hoped, this girl was definitely the only person here in a red dress, so he knew this was his contact. But he sat for several minutes, watching her, getting suspicious that she was watching him as well.

After a length of time he stood, casually strode up to her, and commented, "Care to do some business with Eagle Enterprises?

At that he fell silent, sipping from his mug, waiting to see what she would have to say.



Cartina

posted 10-28-2002 12:51 AM    
Cartina looked up toward Aaron Barnes...

"Have a seat Mr. Barnes, you can call me Dominia... care to bye a lady a drink?"

She quieted, awaiting his reply...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-28-2002 06:30 PM    
Aaron sat across from this person who called herself Dominia, and waved the waitress over. "I'd like to buy the young lady a drink," he said to the waitress. Then he turned to his contact. "What would you like?"

And although it seemed as though Aaron was just referring to what drink she would prefer, he was talking about something much more than that...



Cartina

posted 10-28-2002 07:39 PM    
"Why don't you pick the drink, then we'll go see my ship... find out if we can work a deal for the first 2000 transport..."

She waited his next move...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 12:00 AM    
Probably the only one at this rate, Aaron thought a bit darkly. Then, "A little Alderaanian Ale would be nice," he directed the waitress. She departed and returned with glasses. Aaron paid and included a nice little tip, then took a few larger-than-necessary gulps, his brown eyes seeming to scan the cantina as if suspecting someone to jump out at him from nowhere. His eyes landed on someone, then he directed them back into "Dominio's" eyes. "Allright. Your ship is waiting not far from here...it should be a pleasant walk."

With that he stood and lead the way to the ship, not taking his eyes far from the new "costumer" he was leading for too long.

[ 10-29-2002 12:00 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]



Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 12:40 AM    
"I believe there has been a miss understanding, Mr. Barnes... I wish to show you my ship, the Lambda shuttle..."

She took down her drink with one swig, waiting for his response...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 02:03 PM    
Aaron froze a moment, cocking a brow. Then he forced himself to relax. "Allright," he said, motioning in front of him, "Lead the way." Then he waited, glancing out of the corner of his eye then returning his gaze to hers as he waited.

Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 04:23 PM    
Cartina rose to her feet, and led Aaron to her Lambda class transport...

"There she is, care for a closer inspection?"

She had hidden her armor and weapons in a very large suitcase... just in case Mr. Barnes wanted a look inside...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 04:27 PM    
Aaron pursed his lips, looking the Lambda over. Not in bad shape, actually. "You said something about a specialized hyperdrive?" he asked curiously.

Then he waited to see what she would do next.



Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 04:29 PM    
"Yes, I did... it's specialty is escaping... we wish to have enough fire power to not have to flee every encounter with the enemy... would you care to take a look inside?"

She quieted at that, waiting...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 04:33 PM    
The enemy? some little voice repeated in Aaron's head.

Maybe they could talk about more than just ships here...

"Sure, I'd like to take a look at the interior. And while we are at it, who is this enemy you are speaking of?"



Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 04:39 PM    
"Yes... that's why we need more fire power... another faction of our world is trying to break up our trading route with the other worlds in our system... now... the interior of the ship is most surpising..."

Cartina hadn't anticipated such a question, but thinking on her feet is what she's best at...

She motioned for Aaron to lead the way toward the opening hatch at the back of the ship...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 04:41 PM    
That nagging suspicion of his was growing louder by the second. He motioned for Dominio to lead the way instead as he interjected the question, "What system are you from again?"

Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 04:54 PM    
"Core'annan..."

She led the way to the ship, and waited for Aaron to make his way up to the cockpit...

"I'm going wash my face... just something about the air on this planet..."

She waited for his reply...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 05:02 PM    
Aaron frowned. Something about this was extremely wrong. He'd never even heard of that system. But then, who was he to tell her what to do on her own ship. "You aren't afraid I'll fiddle with your controls while you are away?" he asked cautiously, his suspicion gaining even more of a grip on his senses.

Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 05:05 PM    
"I trust you, Mr. Barnes..."

She said with a smile, heading for the small ship bathroom...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 05:08 PM    
Yeah, but do I trust you...

Once more Aaron frowned, now at Dominio's departing back. Not entirely unconsciously he reached for his blaster as if to be certain it was there, then his curiosity took the better of him. He headed for the cockpit of the Lambda to survey the controls, and all the while fired off a short message to someone on his comm. Once this was completed, he turned his eyes to the controls of the shuttle...



Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 05:22 PM    
Quickly returning to the cockpit, hair wet, Cartina asked Aaron if everything was up to par...

And exactly how much out of pocket she'd be...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 05:25 PM    
Aaron managed not to whirl on Dominio with his blaster. He did however arch an eyebrow at her, wet hair and all.

Renee would kill him. Too bad Renee headed for the hills of Naboo when he and her mother had gotten into an argument, however...

He cleared his throat. "Yes, everything looks in order. It's still gonna cost you 15000 though."

At that he waited to see what she would do next.

[ 10-29-2002 05:27 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]



Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 05:32 PM    
"Ok, lets go have a look at your ship... I'll take my things, as well..."

Cartina turned, and headed toward the back of the shuttle...

"Don't worry, the suitcase has it's own repulsorlift... other wise I might ask a strapping gentleman such as yourself to help me out..."

She gave Aaron a smile, then turned to head off the shuttle, rolling her eyes as soon as Aaron couldn't see such...

They exited the ship, the suitcase at Cartina's side...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 05:48 PM    
Aaron just arched his eyebrow even higher, following the woman out of the ship and taking the lead towards the Otana's Rival. Though most folks wanted 2400's over 2000's, the 2000 model did sport more firepower, which, all things considered, was a good thing if you were wanting to blow a hole in an enemy. Aaron filed that thought away, wondering exactly why he'd thought it at all, then proceeded onward til he reached a public hanger where the ship was sitting in all its glory, waiting for inspection. The outer hull was heavily armored and a dark blue, and she sported 2 Quad Laser Cannons, 1 Laser Cannon, and 1 Medium Ion Cannon.

After giving Dominio some time to inspect the outside of the ship, Aaron gave her a tour of the inside. The Otana's Rival's cockpit was situated in the center of the craft unlike the YT-2000's predecessor. Instead of having the pilot and co-pilot side by side as in earlier YT models, the pilot would sit in front while the co-pilot was situated behind and raised above the pilot. There was no room for other persons in the cockpit. A major advantage to this YT design was that, with the cockpit pod in the center of the ship, docking and maneuvering was made easier as opposed to having to gauge distance to the far side of the ship.

Once again leading her back to the outside of the ship, Aaron cocked a brow at her. "So," he said, "what do you think? Wanna make a trade?"

He refrained from asking if this would be cash or credit.



Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 05:53 PM    
"Beautiful... now, 15,000..."

Cartina handed the money to Aaron...

This better be worth it...

"I'll be in contact within the week, it shouldn't take long to make my decision..."

She gave Aaron a polite smile,"if there isn't anything else... I'll be on my way..."

[ 10-29-2002 06:00 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cartina ]



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 06:06 PM    
Mmmmmm...15,000, in CASH no less...

...Being in business is goooood...

Aaron pocketed the money, shaking his head. "No, that'll do it. I'll be in contact with you as well if there's any major problem with your shuttle."

At that he extended a friendly hand and shook hers. "Pleasure to do business with you."

Then he turned and headed for the shuttle he had just acquired.



Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 06:30 PM    
Cartina headed into her new YT-2000 transport, and blasted off up through the Ord Mantell atmosphere...

Making tight turns, looking like she was testing the ships superior handling, she started to think of where to go next...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 11:25 PM    
Aaron wasn't very thrilled with Ord Mantell, and was ready to just get the hell off planet. Besides that, there were things to be assessed regarding the shuttle he'd just acquired, and she needed to be placed into the Eagle Enterprises ship database along with her stats. In no time he'd headed for the shuttle and fired up all her systems. Deciding they good order, he headed for the skies, keyed in his course, and reached for the hyperdrive control.

Ahhh, the bliss of hyperspace travel...



Cartina

posted 10-29-2002 11:44 PM    
A bright blue pulse crossed over the Ord Mantell atmosphere, heading toward the Lambda shuttle...

On impact, the shuttle was powerless...

Lesson one, always know what to do if your ship is in enemy hands...

Cartina knew exactly where to hit the shuttle's weak shielding, after doing so the Otana's Rival quickly converged...

Within range, she flicked a switch to jam any messages from exiting the Lambda shuttle...

Cartina now carved into the shuttle with the laser cannons equipped on the YT-2000... targeting the hyperdrive, and disabling it completely...

A seperate comm link Cartina had set up earlier, was now linked between her and the shuttle...

"I know you can hear this..." Came a masculine voice...

The shuttles systems started to kick back in, yet Cartina still jammed any attempted messages from leaving it...

The bounty hunter sent Aaron coordinates, on the opposite side of Ord Mantell...

"Go there, now... or I shall blow you from the stars..."

Cartina waited for Aaron to comply...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-29-2002 11:58 PM    
Aaron froze.

Maybe this was one of Actar's brainwashed idiots, after him. He knew he hated Ord Mantell...

But at least there was someone out there not too far, following him, hopefully at a safe distance after this had happened. His senses again on full alert, Aaron at least satisfied his sudden captor and proceeded to the coordinates he'd been given.

This was definitely not good for a ship that you've just purchased...



Cartina

posted 10-30-2002 12:12 AM    
The shuttle touched down, as Cartina's transport followed shortly after...

Clad in armor, she exited the ship, and was at the back of the shuttle in no time... she clicked a button on her forearm, and the ramp opened...

She quickly jumped in, her bryar blaster ready to fire... she tossed a pair of restraints near the cockpit...

"Put those on..."

She waited...

[ 10-30-2002 12:13 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cartina ]



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-30-2002 12:25 AM    
Aaron rolled his eyes.

Did this guy really think he was that stupid?

Slamming the hatch closed, he quickly whirled, punching a command on the navboard and bringing the ship back into atmosphere and then into space. As he acclerated to the skies suddenly, he could hear something...or rather someone...roll and crash against something, most likely the bulkhead. Since hyperspace was out of the question for the moment, Aaron typed in commands to get to his destination via the sublight engine. Only when course was established did he pull his blaster from his belt, aiming it in front of him, and heading to the back to find a bounty hunter just getting to his feet.

He aimed his blaster, as if it would help against armor. "What do you want?" was all he asked. Then he waited.

[ 10-30-2002 12:29 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]



Cartina

posted 10-30-2002 12:45 AM    
She was straightened now...

Did he think I wasn't ready for such a circumstance...

She brought her arms together, holding her right forearm with her left hand...

She pressed down a button, and a flash of blinding light filled the ship...

Her visor blocked such rays, as she brought up her bryar pistol with amazing spread.. hitting Aaron in the shoulder, causing him to drop his blaster... lucky for Aaron, the blast was minimal, merely stunning him...

Cartina picked up the restraints, and placed them on the limp Aaron... she placed a hood over his head, for good measure...

She took the ship back down to where the YT 2000 transport was, and waited for Aaron to awake...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-30-2002 12:52 AM    
Aaron didn't know what the hell had happened, but he knew his shoulder and his head were both suddenly killing him. Memory came back in pieces, and he groaned. Then, swallowing to wet his dry throat, he garbled out a good, "What do you want from me?"

Then he waited, realizing that the Universe was disturbingly black despite the fact his eyes were open.



Cartina

posted 10-30-2002 01:26 AM    
"There is a bounty on Terrin Danner's head, I advise you to take me to him... do so, or I can make that headache disappear the easy way..."

Cartina paused, then continued...

"On your feet... move..."

Cartina led him back to the YT-2000 transport, searched every inch of his body, and placed him in a laser cannon turret seat...

"I'll let you think about that..." was the last thing she said, before sealing the door, and heading for the cockpit...

The Otana's Rival rose through the clouds, and entered hyperspace...

Home to Coruscant, not for long... if and when Aaron gave her the whereabouts of Mr. Terrin Danner...

[ 10-30-2002 02:01 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cartina ]



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-30-2002 12:53 PM    
Aaron just groaned.

It was so amusing that, considering Terrin hadn't even been directly involved with anything pertaining to Eagle Enterprises or anything else for that matter in the past few months, that he was suddenly a wanted man again. As far as Aaron knew, Actar was supposed to take the bounties off his and Terrin's heads.

Either he was lying about a few things himself, or something really odd was going on here.

"I haven't a clue in hell where Terrin Danner is," Aaron yelled through the door, his head throbbing in sync with the words.

This honestly was pretty much the truth, excepting the fact that Aaron knew Terrin's last destination was Coruscant. That didn't mean, however, this was where Terrin was--and who knew if he'd even gotten there? Either way, Aaron wasn't too intrested in divulging alot of information to this so-and-so.

Then, "I'd like to know just why there's a bounty on his head..."

So the question was bold and brazen. But Aaron couldn't resist.

[ 10-30-2002 12:57 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]



Cartina

posted 10-30-2002 04:26 PM    
Cartina got up from her cockpit seat, and approached where she heard the noise coming from...

She opened the door,"Care to talk now, Mr. Barnes... tell me, where is Terrin Danner?"

She quited, waiting for his reply... not taking her bryar pistol off target for a second...

[ 10-30-2002 04:27 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cartina ]



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-30-2002 09:22 PM    
"Are you deaf?" Aaron growled. "I don't know where Terrin Danner is. He could be anywhere at the moment, I ain't his momma, just his business partner and friend."

At that Aaron quieted and waited to see what the bounty hunter would do next.



Cartina

posted 10-30-2002 09:37 PM    
"To tell you the truth, Mr. Barnes... there's a bounty on your head, as well... dead or alive, if I'm correct... and no where near the reward for capture... I shall ask once more, where is Captain Terrin Danner??"

She paused for effect, then continued...

"...tell me, or I shall be force to follow through on your bounty... I think it's an extra 5,000 credits for your death... still well under half of Terrin's 50,000... and he's to be alive..."

She let this soak into Aaron's mind...

"...someone, doesn't like you..."

Cartina quieted at that, waiting for Aaron's choice... to live, or die...

[ 10-30-2002 09:38 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cartina ]



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-30-2002 09:49 PM    
Yeah, well, and I don't like you either, came the demonic thought in Aaron's mind. But he got to thinking something, and he thought he'd test the theory out, just to see. "That's funny, I believe Admiral Actar and I had an agreement that all the bounties on both mine and Terrin's heads would be removed. Which makes me wonder, just exactly who you are working for, and if the esteemed Admiral realizes that there is someone out there with the money to offer such large bounties on the heads of two men who have been cleared from the record by him. I don't think he'd like that, seeing as he's the head honcho these days..."

It was was worth a shot to see where this would go. If it landed Aaron in the local funeral home, then so be it. He and Terrin were never ones to betray friends...



Cartina

posted 10-30-2002 09:55 PM    
"You think what you will, Mr. Barnes... I... would like a one word answer from that thought process... the next word you speak will be the location of Terrin Danner, I will listen to nothing else... the next words seal your fate, think wisely... Mr. Barnes..."

She quieted, waiting for his next words, ready to hold to her word...



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-30-2002 10:00 PM    
Allright, now it wasn't gonna be that easy to get him to talk.

Aaron folded his arms against his chest, and glared like he could actually see his captor through the covering that was still over his head. "If finding Terrin Danner is so important to you then I'm no good to you dead..."

[ 10-30-2002 10:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]



Cartina

posted 10-30-2002 10:30 PM    
"Your half right, Mr. Barnes... finding Terrin Danner is important..."

From almost nowhere, a stun baton came forth before Cartina...

She shoved it into Aaron's side, knocking him unconscious...

"I suppose the 15,000 credits will have to do..."

She slid him into the main compartment of the ship...

From her belt, she took a hypospray...

She injected a fluid that paralyzed it's victims, from the neck down, for over 8 hours...

She waited for him to become aware of his situation...

[ 10-30-2002 10:38 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cartina ]



Terrin's Crew

posted 10-30-2002 10:51 PM    
Aaron came to with the awareness that something just wasn't right with the world. He swallowed, trying to assess just what that damned bounty hunter had done to him. Well, swallowing was successful...at least partially. But it didn't seem to wet his suddenly dry tbroat quite enough. He swallowed again, then went to reach up a hand to wipe his lips...

...only to find that the hand, nor the arm, nor the shoulder, nor anything else below his neck for that matter was functioning. Period.

Was he dead yet? Does one who is dying have this weird buzz in their head? Where was the damned light at the end of the tunnel? All he could see was black, black, and more black...

He moaned.

Hey! That worked!

Apparently, his hearing was working too, or else his head was buzzing so loudly he could actually hear it.

Fine, you damn bounty hunter. You want to play with fire, you got yourself a deal.

"If...you'd like to know where Terrin is..." he started, swallowing once more, his head again throbbing, only this time much worse than before. "Take it up with Admiral Actar and his cronies..."

He paused, wincing at the pain in his head, "Seeing as Terrin was headed to Coruscant last I knew..."

Aaron didn't know where this might take him, but it sure might be one hell of a ride.

[ 10-30-2002 10:57 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]



Cartina

posted 10-30-2002 11:05 PM    
Cartina went straight for the cockpit, being as quite as possible in doing so...

The course did not need changing, but Aaron needed to be left to his thoughts...
A few hours later...

The Otana's Rival came back into real space, on the outskirt of the Coruscant system...
Perhaps there might still be a price on Aaron's head, looks like that might be my only way back in... Cartina thought to herself, as she noticed the heightened security of the blockade...

She sent out a general message:

"I'm here concerning the bounty once on Aaron Barnes' head, co-owner of Eagle Enterprises... I have him in my possession... waiting for clearance to land..."

[ 10-30-2002 11:07 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cartina ]



Anakin

posted 10-30-2002 11:18 PM    
Reply:

The bounty for Aaron Barnes was rescended some time ago. The Empire has no interest in Mr. Barnes and suggests you set him free immediately, or leave this system.



Cartina

posted 10-30-2002 11:27 PM    
Ok... how about trying the truth...

"I have been informed Terrin Danner was last known to be on planet... do you happen to know his whereabouts? I have a few... questions for him... concerning a current bounty... call it professional courtesy..."

She quieted, and waited for a response...



Terrin's Crew

posted 11-03-2002 12:38 AM    
Aaron knew the ship had been in transit for sometime, and was finally starting to feel and actually move his lower body once again after too long of a stay on the floor in nearly complete paralysis. He was surprised that the bounty hunter hadn't kept track of the time til the stuff he'd injected wore off; it was no trouble after some length of time for Aaron to stand once more. He didn't have a blaster or a comlink so he couldn't dare to take on the hunter. But he figured he had a right to know what was going on. Rather brazenly, he headed for the cockpit, his hands still cuffed. He didn't know if he could take the hunter by surprise, but he sure hoped so.

"Where are we?" he croaked, only now realizing it'd been entirely too long since he drank anything, "And what exactly do you want with my partner and I again?"

[ 11-03-2002 12:39 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]



Cartina

posted 11-03-2002 01:03 AM    
"You are no longer needed, Mr. Barnes..."

The Otana's Rival returned to real space, as it lowered through the Ord Mantell atmosphere...

Cartina landed, span Aaron around... and booted him out the back of her new ship...

He now lay near his new Lambda shuttle, still in his restraints...

The YT-2000 transport blasted off, to check on other leads... toward the goal of capturing Galen Danner...



Terrin's Crew

posted 11-03-2002 09:51 PM    
Grumbling, Aaron stumbled to his feet, realizing that he was beginning to lose sensation in his wrists.

What kind of bounty hunter just dumps off cargo with information?

Well, one thing was for sure. The guy was apparently going to have a hell of a time trying to find Terrin. Aaron wasn't too sure though that the Imperials didn't know more than they were willing to admit...

Disgusted, Aaron headed for his newly acquired Lambda, grimacing at it as he lowered the ramp and headed inside.

Another Lambda. 15,000 down the drain. What a hell of a day.

After finally managing to cut his restraints off with a tool set in the back--which was rather hard to do, considering he had no free hands and had to resort to using his feet, Aaron repaired the comm system and hyperdrive. He was lucky he was good with technical things on ships or else he might have been out more than 15,000 credits. Finally satisfied that the ship was in good working order, Aaron dialed up the frequency to Matt's comm unit. Aaron filled him in on everything that happened, and Matt told him about the article in the Holonet News. Aaron just groaned.

"Well, that's lovely. Guess we need to get on that PR soon."

He paused a moment, then continued with, "I'm headed back for the Hornett. We need to get this bucket of bolts I've just been dumped with fully serviced, and we need to do some serious scheming to make sure our public reputations don't get slaughtered. If anyone calls for me, my comm frequency currently is..."

He hesitated a moment, then rattled off the numbers. "I'll be back in a day or so."

With that, the comm connection closed, Aaron fired up the engines, and blasted off into space, shortly thereafter hitting hyperspace.

Hopefully this rattletrap would stay in hyperspace til he got where he was going...

[ 11-03-2002 09:54 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]



Terrin's Crew

posted 11-05-2002 12:37 AM    
After making a small business-related stop on a hole in the wall world that he was more than happy to leave, Aaron blasted back off into space towards a prearranged rendevous point with the Hornett. He'd just hit hyperspace when the ship gave a little whine and whimper and suddenly just...

...fell out of hyperspace. Aaron reached for the hyperspace lever, pulled it, and was rewarded with nothing more than another whine.

"Damn!" he growled, actually slamming the navboard with his fist. "Piece of junk ship!"

With that he stood and headed for the back to see just what was wrong with his hyperdrive now. Hopefully if this thing wasn't patchable he wasn't too far off in the boonies to find somewhere to get it fixed...