"He wants us to tow him to Coruscant?!" I said incredulously.

"Now, what exactly is wrong with that picture?"

I leaned forward, all serious now, especially since this bozo was trying to direct where Hornett went, and my baby and good ol buddy were both aboard her.

"Look, last time I looked there were other shipyards closer; I don't trust this guy one bit, pal.

"Don't you think he's getting a tad wee... pushy?"

--------------------

...especially with Sluis Van so close. I have the feeling this guy either has some bad connections with Actar and the Empire...

...or he doesn't have any at all. And, aside from not wanting to get up close and personal with the Coruscant blockade...

...I think Terrin would come back from the grave and take me with him if I took his SSD that close in to Coruscant."

Opening the comm frequency, Aaron formulated a quick reply that was already on his tongue before he really had to think about it. "I can take you to Sluis Van, and the Empire can help you rebuild your ship from there. After all, there are no good shipyards near Coruscant, and I think the Empire would greatly appreciate us saving them the extra trip and fuel."

As he hit the send button then, Aaron's message went on its way.

--------------------

"Alright, please just take me aboard and escort me to a shipyard. That would be appreciated."

--------------------

"Deck, please lock on to the small ship now powering down her engines just to the aft of the SSD, then calculate a hyperspace run to Sluis Van. We'll be hauling the ship there for repairs."

"Yes sir." came the crisp reply from the deck.

Aaron switched the comm frequency then now sending to Borimas. "The Hornett is locking her tractor beams onto your ship, and we will be going to hyperspace and heading towards Sluis Van immediately. I'm certain you can contact the Empire once we arrive there; these shipyards are frequently used by the Imps and they should have a contact for you. So, until we reach the other side of our hyperspace run, I hope the trip is smooth for you. Barnes out."

Even as Aaron finshed his message to Miguel, the Hornett locked on to his ship.

Aaron turned a quizzical look to Yaoksi. "I have a funny feeling about this guy. What do you think he's really up to?"

--------------------

"I sure as hell don't know," I said as I settled back with it.

"But one thing is certain; he was awfully adamant about coming aboard. And that just sets off all kinds of warning flags; what Captain wants to leave his ship to board the one that's tractoring it? Seems if he was on the level he'd want to remain aboard her.

"I know I would."

A little unhappy sort of frisson rippled through me at my own last statement, for hot on its heels came the crumpled image of my poor Devil. But I managed to snort that away with a good slug of my drink; fates knew she was in the best hands that could be had anywhere.

Not to mention the claws...

[ 02-23-2006 10:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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Miguel sent the message and waited impatiently for the reply.

--------------------

"Now he has information for you?" I said in a low, incredulous voice. Blinking then, I pursed my lips and propped my elbows on my knees while I gave meaning to what I was saying with accenting hand movements.

"Look, this guy has changed his story not once, but three times! I don't know about you, but I'm feeling all kinds of funny about this entire affair; he still is pressing to board Hornett, which leads me to wonder just how he managed to find her -- let alone why."

I straightened in my seat.

"If it were up to me, I'd say the only way to find out his true intentions would be to either give him a chance to come clean with you, or inform him that you're releasing the tractor and will send an alert to whoever he wants one sent to -- although Fates only know why he can't do that himself--

"And let him know we're going on our merry way. Trusting, of course, that this SSD has strong enough armor to hold up to whatever he might suddenly try to lambast us with?"

I paused a moment, letting those words sink in before finishing up with, "I really don't trust this guy, and I am beginning to doubt that his story of experiencing engine trouble is indeed factual. Remember, the first thing he did was jam your frequencies..."

I paused a moment, my hand going up to my mouth as I pondered further; playing the mind game with unknown peeps had never been my strongest suite, nor one I was much comfortable with. I preferred the cleanliness of the obvious, facts that one could react to without worrying about subterfuge, which led to a little something that was bothering me most of all.

The thing that irked me the most about all this was that I couldn't do a damned thing to help. Every cell in my body was itching to get into Devil and go out and lend what assistance that I could, even though that persistently annoying logical portion of my brain kept informing me that an SSD didn't really need that help at all; it was quite capable of handling things on its own, thank you very much.

I heaved a frustrated sigh and focused on Aaron once again.

"I dunno, an aggressive stance would be a likely opener if one felt somehow threatened by someone bigger than he is. Hornett is rather imposing, you know, and if this guy's engines really are failing, well..."

I trailed off with another shake of my head. Like I said, give me room to purely react, don't make me start second-guessing.

[ 02-25-2006 03:40 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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Aaron paused a moment, then continued with, "EE is a large corporation, well noted and highly respected, thanks to my former partner. People in the galaxy know of us...

...so why doesn't this guy? Maybe I'm overestimating how well the company is known...

...or maybe it's another warning flag."

Quieting again at that, Aaron considered just what to do for another few moments...

...then decided to take a gamble. "You know, if this guy just really needs to talk to me...

...then perhaps we can make arragements for him to do so...

...under my conditions. Then perhaps we'll see if that's what he really wants at all."

Saying that, Aaron opened the comm frequency once again. "I can't imagine what information you would have for a shipbuilder, sir, but because you are so insistent, perhaps something can be arranged. There's an establishment I frequent on Sluis Van called the Blue Asteroid. I am willing to meet you there once we arrive at the shipyards and your ship is in repair. Our journey there, as well as getting your ship in place in the shipyards, should take about 30 standard hours. I trust whatever information you have for me can wait this short span of time...

...and I trust that I will be able to bring whatever company I desire along with me. "

Stopping with that, Aaron sent the reply on its way...

...and waited with keen interest for whatever might follow.

--------------------

"Fine." Miguel decided on at last.

--------------------

It was a very big sigh.

"Good," I stated flatly as, slamming down the remnants of my drink I got to my feet.

"That's about as fair an approach as you can take, considering the circumstances. And since we've got a little time to spare, if you'd be so kind as to direct me to the galley and then my quarters I'd appreciate it."

I paused a moment, reading his eyes.

"And of course I'll accompany you down to the surface when we get to Sluis Van; K'kihl's better off without me vulturing over his shoulder anyway..."

Which, truth be known, was how I was planning on spending much of the thirty hours that stretched ahead of us, taking out just enough time to eat and catch a few winks in between.

--------------------

...I still have a very strange feeling about him. We'll see just what it is he wants. And in the meantime..."

Aaron paused, flipping a switch on his comm unit, "Deck, this is Captain Barnes. Are coordinates for Sluis Van locked in?"

"Yes sir. Coordinates locked in and tractor locked. Waiting for your signal."

"Very well, on my mark. 3, 2,1, Mark."

As the final word escaped his lips, the viewscreen behind Aaron's desk splayed out from stars, to starlines, to hyperspace. The Hornett seemed to hum a merry tune as she spread her wings.

And Aaron looked to Yaoski once more. "Now, let's find our way to the galley. I'm looking forward to some good Corellian Ale..."

----------------------

As the Hornett glided smoothly out of hyperspace 30 standard hours later, the scene of the Sluis Van shipyards filled the viewscreen on the main deck of the Hornett. Aaron pursed his lips, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then opening a secure frequency to the ship still within his tractor beams. Already having taken care of the logistics with the shipyards, all Aaron needed to do was to make certain the man who called him Miguel Borimas was prepared to leave his ship and meet Aaron at the surface.

"This is Captain Aaron Barnes," he opened with, "Your ship has a space in the shipyards, and will be looked at immediately. I trust you have a smaller transport aboard so you can meet me at the surface?"

--------------------

And in something of a hurry. Along the lines of lightspeed hurry.

I wondered idly how many lesser bridges there yet were, scattered about the Hornett, just as I wondered to myself what ship we were going use to travel to the surface.

That reminded me just why we were here; stiffening a little I reached a sly hand down and caressed the well-worn butt of my blaster.

I felt oodles better.

So I didn't say anything else, just waited for the reply so we could get the show on the road. I hoped that whatever this guy had to say wouldn't take up too much of our time; we were heading to a planet known for its shipyards, and I did owe K'kihl a hydrospanner after all...

--------------------

Tahel awoke with a start at the sound of a transmission to his ship. Sleepily, and lazily Miguel waddled over to the reply button.

"Yes, I'll be down there."

Miguel stretched his legs and arms as he yawned, before merrily heading down to the dockinbay of his ship. He jumped into a small one man cruiser. He quickly set it to auto piolit, just because he hated flying.

The ship careened towards the surface of the planet. As it came in, it passed customs due to the Imperials above. The ship landed in the starport where Miguel swiftly made his way out of the crowd of scum. Moving through he made his way to wait at the port entrance/exit. He took a seat and thoughtfully waited thinking, I am too old for this!

--------------------

--it sure felt good to hit dirt again.

I couldn't help but smile to myself as I hurried through the spaceport. Aaron, busy with some sort of minor emergency that had cropped up on Hornett, had elected to remain behind for a couple of hours, stating he'd join me at a local eatery after he had taken care of business aboardship. I thought the interim would be a good time to take care of business myself: K'kihl, while having access to an engineer's dreamworld of ship components and parts, still had a couple things Devil was in dire need of that could only be found in a shipyard proper.

And there's the little matter of a hydrospanner or two. I did owe the Ol' Cricket that, after all.

So Aaron had loaned me the use of a ship-to-ground flyer, and I had headed straight on down to the spaceport. After checking in with port authorities I took off, now heading out to find a particular establishment I had heard had not only quality parts but parts at a reasonable price.

As I exited the spaceport I couldn't help but notice an older man sitting alone, an odd enough sight indeed when compared to the hordes that thronged hither and yon within this bustling space facility. But I had other matters to attend to; my casual glance returned to the list in my hand.

First parts, then the hydrospanners, then the Blue Asteroid, I thought to myself as I passed through the exit and headed out into the even busier streets of the city itself.

--------------------

Devil deserved the best; she'd saved my hiney on more than one occasion. And yeah, though circumstances hadn't boded well for Captain Danner, at least I got him where he needed to go.

And got out again. Which is, after all, the most important part.

So, needless to say, I had a hey-day finding the parts and materials K'kihl needed to finalize his repairs. So much so that although it seemed fleeting I found, much to my surprise as I stood at the door of an elite supply facility, watching my order -- accompanied by not two but three spanking new hydrospanners -- sent off to be delivered to the repair dock holding my ship, that more than the allotted two hours had flitted past.

I frowned at my chronometer.

Damn. Aaron was footing this bill; it wouldn't do to keep him waiting.

I nodded to the proprietor, who was still gushing around me, inquiring if there was anything else, anything at all I might possibly come close to dreaming I might need in the unforeseeable future, and after acquiescing with some false promises I managed to extricate myself to the streets.

There I took off at a swift pace, and after seeking directions from a few of the locals found myself outside the establishment selected by Aaron.

The Blue Asteroid.

Shaking my head and hoping I wasn't too late I hastened in, finding much to my relief that, lengthy shopping aside, I had still managed to beat Aaron here. I heaved a sigh of relief, slid into a booth against the wall, and ordered myself a drink in order to pass the time until he got here.

[ 04-25-2006 05:21 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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Realizing it was the man aboard the ship, the second voice, he began to shadow him.

Tahel followed staying back a turn or so. Taking detours when they were available until he watched as the man took a seat at a booth.

Tahel followed into the booth taking a seat across from him.

"Well well, what do you know? If it isn't the man who tried to skip out on his part of the bargain. What do you think you are doing, running off and all?"

--------------------

But when he up and plops into my booth with such thinly veiled aggression, accusing me of--

"Hey!" I exclaimed as I hurriedly waved off the hovering server. No need for any innocent blood to be spilled, if indeed and Fate's forbid things came down to that. She gave me a confused look, but left quickly.

I frowned as I turned back to the guy, whose voice I finally recognized as belonging to our mysterious parasite who had wanted to go to Coruscant. My eyes darkened as I flicked a glance over him: no weapons that I could see.

At least not above the table, but not even a Hutt would be that stupid.

Realizing that this guy was as touchy as a vialful of fresh antimatter, I forced the frown away, settled into my seat. But kept every instinct, every muscle, every cell on the alert.

Those red warning flags weren't waving in my face just because they're pretty.

Smiling now, I reached for my glass.

"Hey, how's it going?" I opened jovially. "I see Aaron got you here, good as his word; how's the ship repairs coming along?"

I took a sip of my drink, seared him with a stare over the rim of my glass, then put it down with another smile.

"Here I thought you'd forgotten we were supposed to meet here, to discuss, ahh--

"Things."

I left it at that, and sent a furtive glance toward the door.

Aaron, where in all the Universe are you?

[ 04-27-2006 09:42 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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At any rate, Aaron was going to find out.

Finally able to leave the Hornett behind in her glory--with tight security--Aaron headed down to the planet in the Oasis. All the way down he lost himself in his concerns over the staff on the Hornett. While no one was particularly discontented...

...no one had ever gotten over the loss of the one person who made business dealings--and the Hornett--run as smooth as spidersilk.

And honestly, neither had Aaron either.

Now heading for the entrance of the Blue Asteroid, Aaron hoped he wasn't too late. As he walked in and scanned the room to finally find Yaoksi sitting in a booth with an older man across from him, Aaron frowned.

Okay, maybe that did take longer than it was supposed to.

Gathering his wits, he walked to the booth, looked at Yaoksi in apology for being so late, then turned to the older man.

You could cut the tension in the air with a vibroblade.

What the Hell was going on?

Aaron didn't comment on this, but insted quirked a brow. "Captain Aaron Barnes, my most sincere apologies for being late," he said simply, extending a hand. "Miguel Borimas?"

--------------------

Ye gods. Hadn't he already done enough for this guy?? He brought his ship here for repairs, he graciously acquiesces to meet him and discuss whatever in blazes it was he wanted to discuss, and all for what?

For this guy to sit there, clammed up like the proverbial stone, utterly ignoring the hand Aaron was extending.

It was all I could do to keep the growl from my voice as I broke into the tension as easily as I could, considering.

"So, Aaron, ale?"

I waved for the waitress, who glided by, nodded, and vanished in the growing crowd. I watched her go, then turned back to Barnes.

"How's repairs on Devil coming? I got the parts K'kihl needed, but the ol' Cricket wouldn't give me an estimated time of completion.

"Do you have any news?"

I reached for my glass just as the waitress returned, setting a goblet on the table in front of Aaron and sending a smile Miguel's way.

It wasn't returned; huffing up frostily, she went back to her other customers, while I picked up my glass and took a good hearty swig. I had to put something in my mouth before I ended up saying something I would probably come to regret.

[ 05-02-2006 03:55 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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This guy insisted on them getting together to talk. Only now he wasn't talking. What gives?

Taking a sip of the ale now in front of him, Aaron frowned a bit behind his glass and found himself thankful for Yaoksi's question to break up the uncomfortable silence. He rather hated uncomfortable silences...

"The cricket isn't telling us much either, honestly," Aaron answered, looking to Yaoksi. "He was busy at work when I left though. The way he works, K'khil will have the Devil up and running at 200 percent in no time. He's very efficient. And very tedious, as I'm certain you know."

Pausing at that, Aaron took another swig of the ale, and looked to the ever-quiet Borimas. "The shipyards say all your systems are green, but that your engines are toast on your ship...an internal problem of some sort. You are lucky that only your engines are on the blink, with the damage they have sustained..."

Very lucky, snorted a little voice in Aaron's head. Or perhaps something else entirely...

--------------------

Ok, so maybe mine might had some damage, considering the blast the ol' girl had taken in the spaceport, but her injuries were due to the obvious. This guy's ship, however, had somehow managed to take on some engine problems with all systems green. Granted, there could be reasons for that, but the way they build ships now it's usually the systems that go kerflooey, which in turn provoke the hardware to die one kind of hideous death or another.

This was a rarity...

...and the guy wasn't so much as batting an eye. If anything, he remained stonier than ever.

I didn't like it, nor did I trust this guy. Everything about him was shrieking out in warning, that he was holding back, hiding something...

"Ahh, Aaron?" I interjected, knocking the growing cricket noises away as I turned to him.

"I hate to break up this little tete-a-tete, but if I'm going to get that hydrospanner K'kihl needs, I'd better get going before the shop closes."

I rose to my feet with that, slugging down the last of my drink and turning an apologetic smile toward Borimas. I stuck my hand out, trying to keep the smile on my face from turning into a grimace.

"Nice to meet you, hope your repairs get finished soon and you find whatever it is you're looking for.

"Aaron--?"

My proffered hand rejected, I turned back to Barnes, waggled my brows in a meaningful way, then smoothly departed. I didn't know I had been holding my breath until I reached the street, when it erupted from me in a loud whoosh.

--------------------

Aaron refrained from returning the look, but instead smiled at Miguel perhaps a touch too warmly. "Your ship repairs are in order, and are manageable within a few days time. I'm certain you can find accomodations here on Sluis Van while you wait...

...and I'd hate to waste any more of your obviously valuable time. It's been a pleasure doing business with you, sir."

Taking the last sip of his Ale, Aaron then got to his feet, brushed off his pants, and extended a non-accepted hand to Borimas once more.

Well, ALLRIGHTY THEN.

Lowering his hand, Aaron simply nodded towawrds Borimas politely, turned on his heel, and headed after Yaoksi, leaving Miguel Borimas behind, sitting stonily in a booth by himself.

"Hey, Yaoksi, I'm coming with you!" he called, catching up to the other man.

"Lovely coming all this way, and for nothing," Aaron observed then to his commrade. "Now perhaps we can get some hydrospanners, get back to the Hornett, get the Devil fixed...

...and decide just where we will go from there. In peace."

[ 05-08-2006 10:03 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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I shook my head, then went so far as to clap a comradely arm around Aaron's shoulder.

"Look, when all is said and done, we ought to head off and, you know, maybe take a little time off. I know the most wonderful place..."

Rambling on, we moved on down the walkway, soon coming to a parts shop which yielded up a pair of spanking new hydrospanners.

Not even K'kihl could manage a grumble about these babies, I thought to myself as we exited, heading on toward the spaceport where our shuttles were docked. Suddenly the Hornett sounded the epitome of appetizing, and judging from the way Aaron's stride was lengthening, I'd wager he was probably thinking the same thing.

Get me outta here, and pronto!

--------------------

"Yeah, some time off sounds like the best idea I've heard in at least a year. After all, I haven't had any of that since T--"

He paused, stopping momentarily in his tracks and frowning.

Having a partner, and a friend for that matter, made things so much easier...

"...well, you know," he then finished, snapping out of his momentary reverie. "Let's space out of here. Follow me to the Hornett, and then we can get out of here, to well, anywhere at the moment. I need a good place to think. Too many of my good employees and friends are still AWOL, and it's high time to do something about it. See you on the Hornett."

And with nothing further than that, Aaron headed for the Oasis and Yaoksi to the ship he had been given, and clearance codes were granted. In but a few minutes Aaron's ship went from the skies to atmosphere to space, Yaoksi's ship following closely behind. And in another few minutes they had docking clearance inside the main hanger bay in the Hornett, wher each ship settled on their designated landing platforms to power down.

Aaron exited the Oasis, not quite thrilled with the idea of being back on the Hornett so soon, regardless of his desire to get away from Borimas.

This thought clearly embedded in his mind, he cocked a brow at the now-approaching Yaoksi. "You said something about a wonderful place for time off...?"

[ 05-08-2006 10:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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"Ever been to Coronet, on Corellia?" I countered, giving my vest a hitch.

"There's this place I've been to in Shipyard Row, called uhh--"

I paused a moment, scratching my head.

"Hmm, I believe it was the Cobalt Moonlet, something along those lines. Anyway, it's a place where the girls are soooo--"

I paused once more, but this time to add a touch of leer to my grin and to waggle my brows in a meaningful manner. One hand slid down to heft the pouch on my belt.

Yup. Nice and plump and letting forth such a lovely, lovely jingle...

"I can be ready in, oh, about ten minutes. What do you say?"

--------------------