Chapter 7 - Fire Team?

You reach the landing bay just a light freighter settles onto its landing gear. Once the ramp is down, Ken and AD-hoc recognize the human woman striding toward them. Danith 'Dancy' Colton.

[b]"Ken Tetsu, well you guys have certainly been busy since we all blasted out of Raxus. You know they told me this place didn't have a bar and then they told me you were here. Tell me both of those statements can't coexist..."

Ken smiles and points at the Slippery Ghest, 'Don't worry, we brought the drinks with us.'

"Ken insisted that we needed several varieties of libations. I am genuinely surprised he was correct" AD-hoc adds. Still thinking of several more practical options for the copious amount of space the bar takes up on the ship.

As you turn to head for the Ghest you notice a Human male come down the ramp from Dancy's ship. She nods at him to follow and as he approaches. She says, "Ken and team, Tomas. Tomas, meet the team."

Once you're all seated with a drink, Dancy picks up again.

"I have a target of opportunity and I know you guys never miss picking up what someone else leaves unattended." Smiling at the group, she takes a sip and continues. "The Empire is ramping up its presence on Obroa-skai, it appears it will be quite a significant presence once they are done. In the meantime, supply ships are dropping in faster than they can be unloaded. I've just been told that they have had to resort to creating makeshift landing yards on the outskirts of the city to park ships until they can get to them. That, gentlemen, is our opportunity, a landing yard full of light and medium freighters, stuffed with military supplies. Now all we need is an intrepid group of entrepreneurs to acquire a ship and I'll handle the resale."

Ken nods to Tomas and offers the human a bright golden Nova Blaster in a high ball glass. He sips his own and the cold drink slips down like liquid gold, pure class. Sighing contentedly he says 'Piracy you say?' and laughs, covering up one of his eyes with his hand like an eye patch. 'Sounds risky. We got a way to get in and out without being shot down?' He gestures at Tomas, 'And what's the human's part in this?' Ken's always dubious about humans. They don't seem to have the staying power of other species.

"My ship out there is loaded with standard imports, food and the like. On final approach, you guys can para glide out the back. That should allow you to land within a couple klicks of the landing yard. Getting out without getting shot is kinda the job. Hopefully, if you're quick and quiet you can be off the ground and have a head start before anyone comes after you. As for Tomas, I had just hired him to be part of the mission when I found out you guys might be available. I figured it might be easier to add him to your team than to keep trying to put together a whole team from scratch. Besides, he can fly and knows his way around a blaster, gotta be useful. "

She winks at Ken and covers one eye. "Rrrr, you in?

Tomas nods to the crew in greeting, hands on his hips. His face is young, though it looks like he's no stranger to scrapes.

"Greetings. Glad to be aboard." His voice sounds calm, but reserved. His eyes make it clear he's doing some sizing up as he looks around at his new companions. And there's something else about his face making the subtle implication that he isn't entirely happy. It isn't written all over him, but the hint is there for anyone with the eyes to see it.

"You had me at paraglide into enemy territory." Nox sighs with a contented smile. "Now this is what I've been looking for!"

Nox gives a look-over to the newcomer, looks at Meebo to gauge his assessment, and then greets the new guy. "Good to meet you Tomas. Name's Nox."

AD-hoc replies in confusion "Not only are you willing to risk gliding into an unauthorized zone, stealing from the Empire, and risk being shot at upon exit, but you are enthusiastic about it?" the droid's demeaner hides his utter befuddlement.

"Uh, yeah. All this sneaking and creeping around and looking cautiously through rooms is great, but sometimes I need my adrenaline pumping."

Tomas nods to Nox, returning his greeting, before saying to the group (with a bit of a sigh), "Alright, when do we get started?"

Ken flashed his disconcerting thin-lipped Rodian-smile at Dancy. 'For you, anything my dear,' and gives an elaborate bow.

He notices Tomas's reticence, 'Hey, we can always use an extra blaster but if you're not up for it now's the time to back out. Before the shooting starts.'

The usually talkative Meebo has his head buried in a datapad for most of the conversation. He's reading specs on the blaster rifle he picked up from the battle droids, thinking about potential mods. He looks up when he hears someone mention "shooting".

"Hmm? What?" he says, looking around the table. He does a double-take as his gaze passes over Tomas, as if he only just noticed the new arrival. "Oh, hi. I'm Meebo. I'm one of the ones that does the shooting." Then he looks off to one side as he tries to pull pieces of the half-heard conversation into something coherent. "So... we're stealing a ship?"

"From Imperials too! Isn't it exciting?" Nox smiles widely at his bounty hunting companion.

Dancy finishes her drink and stands up.

"Excellent, I'm going to take a quick stroll around and check out this place. Then I'll head back to my ship, we can leave whenever you folks get your gear together. "

Tomas eyes Ken with a confidence trailing off to a small despair as he speaks. "Don't worry, I'm game. This is just my first under-board gig. I was hoping things wouldn't come to this, but that's life I guess."

He then looks over to Meebo, answering with a pained smile, "I think we're all going to be shooting on this one, my little friend."

Ken shrugs. He's not sure he's ever done anything above board. 'You get used to it,' he says. 'And the rewards are good,' he gestures to their ship, The Slippery Ghest, bounty from their last go at stealing a ship.

You gather together aboard Dancy's ship, an 4R3 Light Transport. A relatively non-descript ship with no visible weapons. Dancy is in the cockpit with an older looking R4 droid. It looks like she's started the pre-flight checks.

"Welcome aboard, cargo bay and the para gliders are all the way in the back. We'll be on our way as soon as your settled."

Tomas takes in the sights with interest, though not in an overly obvious manner, and he casually tries to keep some distance between himself and the others. His observation becomes a bit more keen when he enters the cockpit. He slightly nods at times as eyes dart here and there, soaking it in.

Without any equipment to stow, or a need to sleep, AD-hoc skips the search for a bunk, and sticks to his normal routine. The Droid heads to the engine room,and listens to the hum of the machinery.