Author's Note: Hi again. It's time for everyone's favorite space pirate. :)
xxx
Scarlett awoke to the sounds of small tapping at the door. She sat up from the disheveled looking mattress, the covers in complete disarray as they were mostly pooled at the end of the bed. Her red hair looked just about the same level of dishevelment, as it was pulled down from its usual single braid hairstyle and leaving it in long untamed waves.
The first thing she was made aware of was the sharp, dull pain ringing near the front of her head which gave a tell tale tale sign that there was too much drink consumed in the previous night. She was grateful that the majority of the lights within the small bedroom were turned off for the time being, as she had a good feeling her eyes would have been extra sensitive to the harsh lighting. She let out an irritated groan, moving her hands up and rubbing circles on her temples in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain. Hangovers were never kind to anyone caught within their calamity, and she was already craving a release from its bothersome grip.
The incessant knocking continued and it appeared to have no end in sight until someone finally answered its call.
She glanced over to Bane who had already smothered his head under the pillow to drown out the sound. It was obvious he had no intention of moving.
Rolling out of bed, Scarlett quickly made her way across the room in search of her lost pieces of clothing. A quick trip to the refresher was probably needed more than ever, especially after the activities from last night, but she figured that could wait until after breakfast. She took one of the bounty hunter's extra long sleeved shirts from a nearby shelf and quickly pulled it on over her head. Its collar and long sleeves would do well enough to hide certain bodily marks gratuitously left behind on her neck and collarbone. While still ignoring the pounding ache in the front of her head which was not being helped by the continual knocking, she moved over to the door and activated it open.
Todo stood at the entrance, his head craning up quite a bit to see the familiar female humanoid standing there. "I made coffee!" he exclaimed with excitement, holding up the steaming cup towards the much taller person. Which given his short height, wasn't an impressive amount.
It was the thought that counted.
Scarlett blinked, though she wasn't surprised to see the techno-service droid being the one responsible for the incessant noise. She gave him a raised brow, given she knew all too well about the droid's unusual culinary skills. Part of her was half expecting to find some kind of ammo casing at the bottom of the beverage. Either that or it was made with starship fuel.
The tiny droid seemed to sense her apprehension about the offered drink so he continued. He pretended to clear his throat, even though his vocal processor was completely mechanical. "It's the only thing Bane actually lets me make for him…"
The woman knelt down, balancing on the back her heels to get closer towards his eye level. "Thank you very much, Todo", she said with a nod, taking the drink and giving him a short pat on his head. Her previous unsure attitude had completely melted away into one of immediate gratitude.
She stifled a giggle to see him near giddy with bashfulness about the small gesture of appreciation he received. He was nearly bouncing from foot to foot. The woman couldn't help but wonder how infrequently the poor droid ever received praise from his master. Given his current reaction to such a small thing, she assumed it probably wasn't very frequent
Or ever, for that matter.
Todo then peered around her single mechanical leg, his optics detecting slight movement inside the room. "Where is Mister Bane?"
"He's probably putting on all of his armor and equipment", she answered, briefly looking back over her shoulder before walking down the short hallway towards the ladder. The Duros wasn't the kind of person to sleep in for very long, shared hangover or not. "He should be done in a few."
"Oh…", the droid replied lamely, turning back around to see the woman disappear near the top of the descending ladder. He looked back and forth between both occupied locations, his tiny fingers nervously tapping together while he decided who to go follow.
With a few calculated predictions, he looked back towards where Scarlett headed down and followed after her.
They arrived back in the galley, with the woman already standing near a small refrigerator unit as she was pushing various items around and checking the expiration dates. "Where's Gear and Grind?" she asked absentmindedly about her two companions, tiredly rubbing her eyes while she searched for something to help soak up the alcohol in her stomach.
Todo stopped in the middle of the room. "Who?" he innocently asked as though he had never heard of the two twin DUM-series droids before. His head slightly shifted to the side for further effect to his innocence. He observed as the woman immediately halted in her actions and peered over at him to give him a doubtful gaze.
The techo-service droid crossed his arms, tapping a circular foot against the floor. "Oh, don't look at me like that. They're both fine. I mean... they might be locked in a storage closet somewhere on the ship, but otherwise, they're fine."
Scarlett shook her head, returning back to her search for food. She needed to deal with her headache before she sought out her two droids who would likely be up in arms in a frenzy once they were released from their temporary place of stay. There was little doubt they would accentuate her headache with the ruckus they would inevitably cause about being placed in storage. She would never hear the end of it.
Her stomach grumbled at the lack of finding anything that caught her eye. "Does Bane ever eat anything of actual substance?" she asked, moving towards another nearby cabinet and shuffling through its contents. Although she assumed his dangerous job had made his body somewhat toned over the numerous years within his position, he was still quite a bit on the lean side and she wondered if his poor eating habits had anything to do with that.
"I mean, there's always rations", Todo tried offering, watching the woman grumble something under her breath before walking back across the room where her coffee cup sat waiting and plopped herself down into the booth cushion with a groan. She brought a hand to her head, letting it rest there while massaging circles into a singular temple.
Just then, the door to the galley slid open with a hiss. "Sorry this ain't a place for some high class refined dining, Princess", Bane announced after hearing the tail end of her grumbling from the hallway.
Scarlett drummed her hands against the table and ignored the biting comment, instead choosing to watch him enter while he was finishing pulling on his gloves and stretching his long fingers for them to fit accordingly. She suddenly turned away in sudden embarrassment when she felt the heat beginning to creep up her face at the remembrance of how beneficial that particular trait was within the bedroom.
She quickly brought the cup to her face, allowing the beverage to scald the inside of her mouth in an attempt to distract herself from the dirty thoughts plaguing her mind.
Perhaps it had been too much time spent apart from one another.
"We'll make a call to Hondo to see if he's got what we need. Even if I ain't happy about it", Bane continued, walking to the small kitchen inlet to obtain his own crafted brew for the morning. He stalked on over to the table again, currently oblivious to the woman's current inner conundrum she was fighting in her head. Sitting down next to her, he pulled out his personal communications device and set it up in front of them.
Deciding his coffee-making services were no longer needed, Todo activated his hovering mode and flew over to the empty space across from them at the booth. If there were any important details needed from this particular call, then he would be instructed to record them.
Bane's hand scrolled through the various contacts he kept around before landing on one particular name. A single finger hovered over 'Hondo Ohnaka' with obvious hesitance behind its lack of continuing movement. He idly dwelled back to the roaming traders idea, and he wondered if his luck would be any better trying to get into contact with them instead. But before any second decisions could be properly set in stone, the person next to him reached forward and hit the 'call' button for him.
He looked over with a frown to be met with a cheeky smile, but just as he was about to say something, the familiar hologram of the Weequay pirate appeared before them. The two were ignited in an illumination of blue lighting from the device.
"Well, well! If it isn't my favorite couple of all time! You two certainly look worse for wear!" Hondo announced with his arms outstretched. The hologram briefly flickered before stabilizing itself again. "Perhaps a little too rowdy in the sack last night?"
Scarlett cleared her throat and shifted in her seat upon hearing the bold statement, a light red tint appearing on her face while she pulled up at the collar of her shirt. She was thankful most of it was covering all of the evidence from the night prior, but it seemed that it still wasn't enough to be able to get past the observant pirate.
Bane didn't say anything, his mouth slightly tightening as he held back from saying anything further. He was already deeply regretting this line of communication. Without entertaining the pirate, he pulled out a cigarette and quickly lit it up.
Hondo just smiled at the immediate lack of reaction from the guilty party, his goofy grin hardly contagious to the two in front of him. "It's certainly been a while since I've seen the likes of you two, hasn't it? Don't tell me you two ran off and got hitched without inviting me to the wedding!"
"No", the Duros replied simply. On top of the smoke and caffeine, he was now greatly considering adding some type of alcohol to his coffee this morning.
The pirate's hologram hummed, and he put a hand up on the hips of his long red trench coat and tapped a thoughtful finger to his chin. "Well then, I expect an invitation at some point in time then. Anyway, I doubt a busy person like yourself called just to check in on my well-being. What can the great and most generous Hondo Ohnoko do for you?"
"Don't suppose ya' have a spare thrust manifold for a starship layin' around in that lousy excuse of a base", Bane began, blowing out a decent amount of smoke from his mouth and ignoring the ashes falling carelessly to the table below. He could sense the immediate detest coming from the tidy person just next to him.
Hondo took a moment to think, knowing full-well that the random call from the infamous bounty hunter couldn't have just been idly chatter. "Ah, I suppose it's been some time since we've last spoken to one another. There's been some… updates. You see, my humble and not lousy pirate base is no more. You can thank the lovely Separatists for that."
Bane's red eyes slightly narrowed to that bit of unfortunate news. He leaned forward, about to hit the 'end call' button on his communication device before even hearing anything else the pirate gang leader had to say.
"Ah, but not so fast my bounty hunting friend!" Hondo exclaimed quickly, putting his hands up for further emphasis to not end things so quickly. He talked quickly, like an expert hover car salesman trying to entice a buyer. "For I may still have the part you are looking for. Although my home on Florrum is no longer, I have relocated to a temporary place of stay."
"Do ya' have the part or not?"
Hondo cleared his throat, deciding that beating around the bush about this possible transaction wasn't the most optimal dance to attempt. "Yes, I can promise you that much, my impatient bounty hunting accomplice. Although my pirate gang might also be a bit smaller than before as well, we've managed to accumulate quite the stock of items again. Weapons, ammunition, ship parts, spice, you name it. Even a singular thrust manifold!"
"How much for it?" Bane quickly asked. He didn't even care about the amount of credits it would cost him at this point. He just wanted his ship fixed so he could get off this desolate husk of a planet and back to his usual state of bounty hunting business.
"Perhaps not credits… but rather we could make a different kind of deal", Hondo carefully began, lacing his fingers together. His pet Kowakian monkey-lizard appeared atop his shoulder, the creature quickly climbing up his side to rest at its usual perch. "How well of a relationship do you have with the Fett family? More specifically, Jabba, in this case."
The bounty hunter hummed, thinking the answer over before deciding on what to say. "Fairly good, considering I've bled them dry for a good amount of credits over a couple of different missions."
Scarlett raised a brow at the mention of the infamous Hutt family name. Although she had never met any of them personally, she had briefly visited the intimidating castle once before with Bane right around the time when their entire adventure started together. Not much of her outlook had changed even after visiting the esteemed palace, but she knew from rumors and gossip that it was never a good idea to be on the Hutt's bad side. They were good allies to have from what she heard, but far worse enemies if you were unfortunate or dumb enough to invoke their wrath.
"To make a tremendously long story short then, I had a pretty good business transaction going on between Jabba and I. You see, he needed me to go collect a rather particular order and get it smuggled to him. It was most definitely completely legal and absolutely not anything that would raise any suspicious eyebrows."
"A spice shipment?" the red head asked with skepticism behind her tone. There wasn't much else in the way of black market items that held such a high standard. Spice was an illegal type of material that seemed to always be within high demand.
Hondo hushed her with a wink before continuing. "Secrets don't make friends my dear. Anyway, my problem lies in the fact that the shipment has been stuck within a docking bay on Kijimi for a few days now. Which unfortunately means that it was either seized by regulated officials or someone else happened by it."
Bane's mouth turned into a nearly invisible line. Both of those possibilities weren't going to be an easy fix. "Then why can't you go get it?" he asked.
"Because when I contacted Jabba again to let him know the shipment's tracking number suddenly disappeared, I accidentally let some rather… let's say… unsavory things slip past while making an idle comment about the Fett's mother. I uh… didn't realize I had left the call open. Needless to say, I don't think I can even get near that star system anymore without my ship immediately being shot down", Hondo said with a sheepish grin.
"So once again, I'm out running your petty errands for you", the bounty hunter said with growing irritation. This was the same song and dance as the last time he owed the scheming man a favor.
"Except that you're actually getting something out of it this time!" Hondo replied with a boastful jest, the pet on his shoulder laughing along with him. "The deal I had with the infamous Fett was far too good to pass up though, you see. But if you can be the middle-man and take care of this little hiccup, I can promise you that ship part."
"What makes you think Jabba will even still accept the trade?" Scarlett asked, looking between the lines of this deal to try and make some sense of it.
"Because the deal is just as good for him as it is for me. He would be a fool to pass it up so easily. Motherly insults or not!" the Weequay explained, holding up a single finger in the air. "So, do we have ourselves a deal, or not?"
The hat-wearing mercenary brought a hand to his chin, rubbing it while deep in thought. He already had a sinking feeling that things were not going to be as easy as it currently looked from surface value. The fact that the status of the shipment was entirely unknown left him with immediate skepticism towards the whole ordeal. "You've got yourself a deal then. But I'll be expecting that ship part to be in the best damn condition it's ever been in."
"But of course!" Hondo replied with a beaming smile upon hearing the accepted trade offer. "Now then, I imagine you'll be heading straight to Kijimi? I would suggest packing some warm clothes, as I hear it's quite cold-"
"No", Bane replied boldly. "I'll be seein' Jabba first before I go wastin' my time on some backwater planet. I assume he's still withholding some information about the shipment if he was the one who initiated all of this."
"Well then, I'm glad you're on much better terms with the temperamental mother-loving Hutt! Good luck on your dubious errand! Oh, and stay in touch!" he said, nodding to the two of them with his trademark grin before his hologram dissipated.
Bane remained seated in the lingering silence after the call ended, absorbing the entirety of the deal he had just made. Without another word, he deposited his still-lit cigarette into the mostly full cup of coffee placed in front of him. He quickly stood up, abandoning his current company and heading outside the ship to properly clear his head. It wasn't that it was a poorly made deal, but rather that it wasn't the most ideal option for his own personal preference. There was a lot he needed to plan and think on.
Todo tapped his hands together after watching his master depart, the metal digits clinking lightly together. "That went well, don't you think?"
Scarlett merely shook her head with slight worry behind her features, instead opting to look down at the empty space now next to her. She took a long sip of her own drink, deciding to give the peeved bounty hunter some momentary space.
She changed the subject. "Todo, why don't you go show me where you shoved Gear and Grind away?"
The tiny droid across from her made a small noise of disgust, his shoulders drooping with the action. "Fine", he replied, accentuating the final vowel to an overly exaggerated degree.