CHAPTER THREE

( SMUGGLERS DON'T PLAY FAIR )

VERA CAN'T HELP but think of the look on Thaddeus's face when he found out they had taken a ship. They weren't exactly quiet as they took out a ship. Dum-E, an old Imperial ID1001 droid, had alerted the two that their captain had been standing on the edge of the hangar, calling out to them. His face was a mix of emotions, anger and frustration with a bit of sorrow hidden in his features, as if he thought that they were jumping ship before meeting the Esai.

Vera tries to push the thought away, instead assuming that he was only saddened at the loss of his only stealth ship. The ship was old, battered with age, as it was, just like Dum-E, used for the Imperial army. She couldn't remember a time where the Imperial thrived, but she was certain her father did. Perhaps if he were old enough back then he would've worked on the Death Star, instead he was too busy kissing the ground the Supreme Leader Snoke walked along with her brother. It was like they worked as a hive mind together, killing the weak, taking children from families. If it weren't for her mother, she still would've been a part of The First Order. She often thought of what would have happened if she never fled after her mother told her to. Would she have become a Stormtrooper? A T.I.E. fighter? A loyal pawn to the supreme leader?

All thoughts that went out the window when they dropped out of lightspeed, the mossy green planet of Takodana on the horizon. Takodana is usually where they go for drinks and certain pointers on finding rare collectibles for Esai or anyone else who needed anything. They were an all put service but they never dealt with The First Order thanks to her background. She stretches her arms above her head, while yawning. Being in a cramped a small co-pilot seat was enough to make her exhausted, that and the fact she didn't get any sleep yet - even after Shan offered to pilot alone while she slept. She didn't trust Shan running on a mere two hours of sleep to eat let alone pilot a ship.

Dum-E chirped excitedly in between them, causing her to scoff. "No, stay on the ship," she commanded the droid. They were already landing in an old Imperial ship, they didn't need an Imperial droid following them around, it'd draw too much attention. Something that they didn't need was attention. To be cautious the landed the ship a mile away from their destination. It was already stolen, she didn't need anyone else stealing it, leaving them stranded. Or worse, they'd take Dum-E when she had finally been able to tolerate them. The tall tree of the jungle engulfed their view as they landed, a small view of the bar laid in the distance. "Stay," she warns Dum-E as she prepares to leave the ship with Shan by her side. "Are we really here to see Calix?" Shan questions lazily, almost a whine as she stands up from her seat to exit the ship with Vera. "I don't want to get caught up in one of your little biggest loser competitions,"

Vera turns to glare back at her as she presses the button that leads the landing platform to the ground. She was never going to live down the fact that she and Calix were going to be linked together for eternity in her crew mates eyes. "We're not here to talk to him," she grumbles out, heading down the platform, her boots clunking down on the metal. Shan throws her a confused look, her brow arching. She knew when Vera kept things short in simple things were about to get too complicated to comprehend. "Then why are we here?"

"To get some information," Vera responds, sighing in the process. Once she got her hand on Calix, she was going to wrong his neck like a damp towel. She couldn't believe that she got outsmarted by an oaf. Just thinking about him made her blood boil, causing her pace to quicken, not caring if her boots got muddy from the damp jungle terrain. "Sounds to me like we're talking to him," Shan replies, trying to keep up with the negotiator.

"We won't be talking to him for long," she huffs out. Although, Shan was the best company she could get on short notice she was always the worst when it came to conversation. Too open, too loud, things one shouldn't be when they're a smuggler unless they're asking for a death wish. "So what information are we talking about here? Something priceless I hope," Shan chides. Vera stops dead in her tracks as they approach the bar, taking note of all the ships that were just lingering about. Her eyes scan the front row of ships, looking for the certain rust colored ship that Calix resides in - doing sith-lord knows what in there with whatever girl he's caught in his trap. "Yes, priceless," Vera responds in a hushed tone. "Now keep your voice down and help me find his ship,"

"You don't even know if he's here?" Shan spits out egregiously, her voice raising in volume and her brows knotting as she places her hands on her hips. Vera twirls around on her heel, flashing her an apologetic smile before scowling at her. "What did I say about lowering your voice?" she whispers out in a high pitched, panicked tone. "Vera, why did you drag me all the way out here if you don't even know if your boyfriend isn't here?"

"Okay, one, he's not my boyfriend," Vera lists off, lowering herself as she scans through the rows of ships. "Says you," Shan scoffs, following her lead and looking for a rust colored ship. "And two, he just ran off with our payment for Esai. No doubt, right now, if he pawned it off, he's a very rich man who always comes here to celebrate,"

This makes Shan stop in her tracks "You brought me out here for a crumby orb?"

"It's not just an orb," Vera sighs out, turning to level with her friend. She didn't know whether to disclose this information that Thaddeus disposed upon her but seeing as she went against his orders once and dragged Shan across the Galaxy to retrieve the item with little to no information about what they were doing, she figured an explanation was in order.

"It's a Kyber crystal," she whispers out, trying not to be heard by any wandering ears. Shan's eyes widen as if she were a child finding out a myth to be true just as she did but then narrow in confusion. "A Kyber crystal?" she questions back with the same low volume. Vera shrugs as if she knew what she was talking about. "Yeah, you know, the thing that powers a lightsaber," she explains like this was all common knowledge. She turns on her heel, trying to continue on with their search. "I thought those didn't exist anymore," Shan exclaims, causing her to roll her eyes.

She did have to keep in mind that she was significantly younger than her and it would take some explaining. She had been raised thinking that Jedi were extinct, almost a fabled story she'd hear from time to time from her mother. Shan didn't have the luxury of knowing those stories. "Neither did I but Thaddeus told me. He was going to give it to Esai," she replies. An unsettling feeling came to her gut when she said his name. Just speaking it out lout made her think that she had just wished death upon someone. Being in Esai's care, it was like it was. A slight shiver ran down her spine just thinking of him.

"And you're okay with that?" Shan questions, sounding offended by the mere idea of letting the lunatic run rampant with the crystal. There was no doubt he was going to fashion a lightsaber of his own or some other kind of weapon. "Honestly Vera -" Shan hisses out, causing her to groan in frustration and stop in her tracks to turn and glare at the girl. "No, hell no, I'm not okay with it!" she exclaims as a glimmer of confliction sets in her eyes. "But if it covers my debt we can actually go about the Galaxy and do whatever we want. We'll be free,"

Shan scoffs, "Until the next time Esai needs us. Come on, you you'll never get rid of that debt. He'll just keep throwing us in circles."

"Not if I have a say in it," Vera replies hotly, as if she had a brilliant plan of getting out of his debt. She did. Well, at least she had the makings of a plan. "Do you?" Shan's voice sounds incredulous as if she was offended for Vera even thinking she could get away. "Even if it did cover your debt, you'd still have to watch your back. Your dad -"

Vera abruptly turns around, coming within inches of Shan as if she was going to brawl with her. "Thinks I'm dead. Let's keep it that way," she cuts her off, the blood in her veins broiling just thinking about her father. The thought of him and her brother were going to be looming over her head for the rest of her life, even if she were free. She wouldn't be able to hide from them for long. The word deserter rang in her mind like an endless echo. She returns to scrounging the area for the ship - and her ticket to freedom (even if it was temporary).

She was truly torn, she could take the crystal and give it to Esai be set for life or at least a little while. It could give her the foundations of maybe starting a normal life if Esai would let her out of his grasp. But it would eat a hole in her heart. Knowing that if she gave this to someone on the opposing side of the First Order, someone in the Resistance. It could give them an edge, the upper hand in the war. She'd still be in debt to Esai but for the greater good - something Thaddeus told her to throw away once she became part of his crew.

"Found the ship!" Shan calls out to her from another row to her right. Vera quickly perks up, running towards where Shan's voice was echoing from. She slows to a stop once she sees the old, dirty ship. Vera can't help but smile at the ship, an odd sensation because she usually scowls whenever she sees it. Instead of being an irritating eyesore it's now a sight for sore eyes. She gives Shan a side eyed glance before they both start stalking to the underside of the ship, looking for a way to get in.

"Hello, rust bucket. Where's your pilot?" Vera greets, looking for the seam of where the landing ramp sits down. She scrapes her nails alongside the underside of the ship until she comes across a small, thin strip in the metal. The landing dock. She couldn't quite fit her fingers in it to yank the door down but she sure as hell attempts it, until she lets out a groan of frustration. "We're going to have to go find him, if he's not in there," she states, knocking on the landing dock and waiting a few moments with no reply. "It's got to be in there," she growls out, attempting to throttle the door down once again before giving up.

Frustration engulfs her chest as she looks at the ship. She knew the crystal was in there, she was almost positive. He wouldn't pawn it off so fast. "Is that a hand print?" Shan questions from the outside of the ship. Vera comes out from underneath to investigate, rubbing her dust covered hands on her pants. "I wouldn't doubt it. I don't think he's ever washed this hunk of junk," she states as she narrows her eyes at the hand print in question.

She rolls her eyes in disgust at the sight of the small shadow of a print embedded in the grime of the ship. Calix was infamous for his sexcapeds, he was also known to brag about it the day afterwards. She's surprised they had a falling out with how often they spoke about his risque business. "Well it's definitely not his hand print," Shan observes and then narrows her eyes at Vera, a smirk playing at her lips. "Put your hand next to it Ver,"

Vera returns a glare towards Shan. "What are you insinuating?" she scoffs.

"Just humor me," Shan pleads, pointing to the hand. Vera begrudgingly places her hand next to the smudged print. "There. Happy?" she spits out. Although her hand appears to be a bit bigger than whosever hand was pressed up against the ship, Shan lets out a small giggle. "It's your hand print,"

Vera snatches her hand away, insulted but continues to look at the hand print. She knew it wasn't hers, she didn't know why she felt so unsure and so embarrassed by its presence. She quickly pushes her way past Shan towards the center of the aisle way where she could easily walk away from the ship. Her eyes lock on to the castle where Maz Kanata was probably hosting Calix after his triumphant victory against her. She could already picture him boozing it up and spreading ridiculous lies about how easy it was to beat her.

However, while she was brooding she felt Shan's presence next to her eyeing her to make her feel uncomfortable. There was no way she could convince that it wasn't her hand print. "I would never, ever, be caught dead in that death trap of a ship," she declares in a hostile tone as she begins the tread up to the castle.

"Whatever you say," Shan replies with a snort. Vera lets out a grunt of disgust as she wipes her hand against her pants once again, watching the dust become trapped in the material. Somehow she wanted to blame Calix for this. They both easily avoided the strange looks they were receiving from onlookers as they strolled up to the castle - most eyes were easily their competition, probably wondering where the rest of the crew was at. They essentially looked like easy targets for any rivals they didn't know about. Vera once again tries to rub the dust out of her pants. "That's the second time that ship has made my hands dirty -"

"Third," Shan quickly adds.

Vera's head snaps up as she is quick to throw a glare at her. "Would you shut up? I've never slept with Calix -"

"Vera Waik!" A loud voice calls upon her near the entrance of the castle. She cringes at the use of her name. Not only could everyone in the galaxy hear her name, but this would also provide ample time for Calix to flee if he was paying close enough attention. Her sights set on the poor soul who had screeched out her name in broad daylight - surely they had enough gumption to call her out but did they have enough courage to seek her?

She put her hand close to her blaster as she scans the crowd only to find the pirate queen herself, approaching them with a hobbled walk. She forces out a smile once she sees her, partially genuine because she enjoyed the company of Maz Kanata but she could be a little much - like shouting her last name out loud so everyone could hear. If The First Order had any spies that overheard she'd be done for.

"Maz, it's good to see you," she exclaims but Maz doesn't pay attention to her greeting. Instead she aimlessly looks around them, as if she were searching for something. Shan lifts a brow up at her, wondering what was going on. She had only come to Takodana once before however it would've been hard to forget about Maz. Vera merely shrugs it off, as if she shouldn't pay any mind to Maz's nonsense since she was always like this.

"Where is Thaddeus and the crew? All I see is this tiny one with you," Maz observes by tightening the goggles around her eyes to get a better view of Shan's face, making Shan uncomfortable. Vera bites down in her bottom lip, there was no way she'd send a transmission telling Thaddeus where they were at, that wouldn't be something she'd do unless they were in some sort of trouble. "Oh, you know, they're...away?" she chides, trying to cover her ass slightly but make it apparent that they weren't arriving. Lying to Maz didn't feel right to her, especially if they were here on strict business that could disrupt the bar atmosphere.

Maz in turn hums out a small chuckle as she eyes her. "Vera Waik," she begins - once again stating her full name to her disliking but at a reasonable tone. "Rebellious in spirit and good in heart. You're smuggler title doesn't suit you well," she observes. Vera lets out a breathy and exhausted chuckle in response, kneeling down before her so she could get on eye level with her. "It's better than my other title," she states, a sad smile growing on her face. "Even in death you are still wanted," Maz cryptically states revelling in the fact that she had just confused Vera. The only person who would want her alive who thought she was dead was her father - and even then it was hard to believe that he actually wanted her or would even accept her after everything.

"What you seek is inside, tread lightly and do not mess anything up," she taps the smugglers shoulder, who in turn gives her a small yet determined smirk. "We won't. It'll be a quick in and out," she promises. Her knees pops uncomfortably as she leans back up, her mind still set on the phrase Maz had confused her on. There was no way her father was searching for her, to The First Order she was dead or at the very least wanted if they had caught on to her duping them.

She gives Shan a small nod to assure her everything was okay, as she sees her giving her a concerned look. They enter through the large door, their senses immediately becoming frazzled by the loud music and voice chatting throughout the bar area. If she didn't know better she'd think it was some sort of a nightclub. Her hand instinctively grabs on to Shan's. She had brought her into this mess, she had to make sure she didn't lose her or get her into any trouble. This was way out of her element. Shan was only backup, good for shooting their way out of anything, she wasn't a negotiator and she wasn't there to look like a thug.

She thought it would take forever to find Calix as they weaved in and out of the patrons, and fellow smugglers who had come to find sanctuary in the castle but, as she weaved past a large man she caught a glimpse of him, pinned up in the back with a Twi'lek woman and a Zabrak woman around each of his arm. She rolls her eyes. Of course he'd have women wrapped around his finger, promising them sweet nothings in their ears, telling them how brave he was for stealing. She had once been among the women who he strung along but she was easily guided away from him.

Vera squeezed Shan's hand for reassurance and pulled her in tightly next to her, guiding her gaze over to the rival smuggler, a scowl appearing on the young girls face same as hers. "Remember how you watched Rod and I practice maneuver twelve?" she shouts into her ear. She leaned back, barely making out Shan's "Yeah." It was the nod of the head that let her know she understood. "We're going to do that," she states, clarifying with her finger as she points over to Calix's table. "This'll be fun," Shan mutters to herself under her breath, causing Vera to perk a brow up in confusion. She hoped it wasn't a snide remark but she didn't have time to chew her out, the more people walked in, the harder it was going to be to find their way to Calix and persuade him to fork over what belonged to them.

"Now remember, keep your eyes to yourself, follow me, and stay close," Vera instructs her, pulling on her hand as she begins walking around, avoiding any detection from him. She tries everything in her power to hide from his gaze, thankfully he was too distracted by the women at his side to even notice her until they were close. Bingo. Vera smirks to herself. She had successfully cornered him in the bar to where he couldn't run and to where he couldn't notice them. She turns back to Shan who awaited her permission to follow. With one nod of her head she turned back around and began sauntering up to the table, Shan quickly in tow.

Whatever conversation they were having stopped as soon as he saw them approach the table, his teal eyes growing wide with shock. "And then I said - ah! Vera!" he cheers, trying to cover his own panic up by giving her a thunderous greeting. Each of the women give a look to each other and then to Vera who crouches down to the tables height, making sure to brush past her blaster as she rests both of her elbows on the table. She gives them both a snarky smile, eyeing both of them up individually before speaking.

"Beat it," she instructs them in a taunting tone. Without a beat the two women raise themselves from the booth, giving her glares, abandoning their meal ticket. "Ladies -" Calix calls out to them, his voice drowning in the loudness of the bar. He huffs out an exasperated sigh, which Vera loves as she opens her eyes, gazing smuggly at him. She snaps her fingers and Shan instantly blocks Calix from retreating out of the right side of the booth while she slides into the left side, cornering him even further. She can see how nervous his eyes were underneath the calm and cool exterior he was trying to give off.

"Can I get you something to drink? What brings you ladies to this side of the system?" he curiously, and courtesyly, asks, his brow furrowing in question. Vera lets out a small chuckle at the stubborn man. He knew why they were there. He just wanted the satisfaction of hearing her say the words. She had no reason to hide what she was doing or why she had come to interrogate him. "Where's my orb?" she questions in a silky tone that could easily confuse others as flirting.

She bites down on her bottom lip as she sees him panic internally, his smile giving it away as he begins to let out a nervous laugh. "You're orb? No, honey, that's my orb," he argues, bringing down the mood that she was trying to go for. Seduction could only get her so far. Besides her anger got the best of her as her coy smile turned into an instant frown. "You stole it from me," she argued back.

"You swindled Bexon. Which means you stole it and then dropped it. I saw an opportunity and I took it," he tries to justify.

"Bantha shit," she hisses out.

"You would've done the same," he shrugs off, his tone becoming higher pitched as he took a sip of his drink. Vera scowls, her hands started to shake from the pent up rage growing inside of her. She was going to lash out at him while he was in the middle of his sip but a small cough caught her attention. Her dark eyes met Shan's who gave her a look that said "stick to the plan or else". She let out a large exhale through her nose to calm herself down just as Calix finished his drink, sitting down on the table.

"How'd you find out we were going? It was obviously planned," Vera casually asks as if she wasn't ready to throttle him two seconds earlier. "It was planned, but I will never reveal my secrets," he remarks acting as coy as she was when she came up to the booth. She knew damn well that two could play at that game. She threw him yet another coy smile while playing with her hair, trying to seem more attractive to him.

"You know what you are?" she asks aloud, in a sultry voice that he found appealing. He thought she was going to be stroking his ego. "What, sweetie?" he replies with the same zoned out tone she was putting on. Now she thought he was putty in her hands. But she knew him, she knew he was toying with her just as he had been doing over the past years. She leans closer to him flashing him another flirtatious look before it disintegrated into a scowl. "A stubborn man. Difficult -" she begins to spew off only for him to interrupt her.

"Aww," he coos at the insults. "That is so sweet. Is someone still upset about our wittle date?" he croaks out in a baby voice, his lips pouting in the process. Vera reels back, appalled by him and his accusation. Once again her hands become clammy from frustration. "I'm going to kick you so hard in your throat that your Adam's apple crushes your windpipe," she growls out, watching him gasp in false shock as if he had known she was going to insult him. "Why are you so violent?" he asks as if he's offended.

"That got really dark really fast," Shan comments, receiving an icy glare from Vera before she goes back to glaring at Calix. "I feel like you're taking your anger out on me. Is this about the two girls I had sitting here earlier? Are you jealous?" he taunts, trying to hide his smirk with his hand as he sees Vera's temper raising. She looked like she was going to pop a blood vessel or explode with fury but she remained completely calm which unsettled him for a moment.

"The orb, Calix. Where is it?" she hisses out of frustration, she was tired of asking only for him to ignore her. "C'mon Ver, you know I have a strict don't ask don't tell policy,"he replies, knowing the nickname would upset her. It did irk her. A few hairs stood up on edge on the back of her neck but she tried her best to remain calm. "And I have a strict I'm going to kick your teeth in policy," she retorts with the same shit eating, irritating smirk he had given her.

It was at that moment that Shan had realized that they were both too stubborn for their own good and that she was going to be here for a while due to it. She sighs out of boredom, trying not to engage in the conversation. "I don't have the orb, Ver, I lost it," Calix states in a whiney tone, trying to convince her that he didn't have it.

"You're such a terrible liar. You always have been," she scoffs, before looking away irritatedly. Calix knew all the ways to get under her skin. She would give anything if The First Order got their hands on him or reprimanded him for smuggling. "Let me buy you girls a drink," Calix offers after a moment, tilting his empty glass around. Vera shoots him another glare, one that he dismisses by putting his hand up to ease her emotions. "Please? It'll ease the tension and I'll tell you what happened because I honestly was robbed,"

The edges of her lips twist as she shouts out, "No -"

While at the same time, her partner in crime states, "Yes!"

Vera looks over towards Shan as if she had been deceived by her only friend. It wasn't part of the plan. Plus so many things could go wrong while he's out and about. "Great, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere," he happily informs them, hopping over Shan to be free. Vera whips her head as she watches Shan just let him pass and to see him walk away freely, she was at a loss of words. "I'll be watching you!" she warns him over her shoulder. Calix spins around to throw her a wink. "You always do, you can't get enough of me," he notes, causing Vera's cheeks to turn a bright hue of pink before she turns around to glare at her partner.

Shan looks at her blankly as she rests her elbow on the table in a bored fashion, paying no mind to the daggers Vera was throwing at her. "Why did you say yes to the drink?" she asks in an incredibly high pitched tone that was more irritated than soft. Shan merely shrugs before answering. "Because you dragged me on this shitty little side mission and we don't even have a prize to take back," Shan responds in an agitated tone, throwing Vera through a loop. She was flabbergasted at how annoyed and disinterested Shan appeared to be. "What? Yes we will. He has the orb Shan," she states.

"Vera, you always see the worst in people. I think he's telling the truth," she replies with an eye roll.

"That's because people are the worst and he's the worst of them all," she argues, her brows knitting together. A headache was starting to pound it's way into her. She couldn't return empty handed to Thaddeus let alone Esai. Shan was starting to jeopardize the mission. "Okay, well, he just bought us drinks and he's coming back to the booth. I think he's being honest," Shan tries to convey her innocence.

Vera snorts at how foolish she was. She liked Shan, she knew Shan looked up to her, but this was the worst mission she had been on. Even worse than the last where she almost burned to death. "A couple of Jawa Juices for my favorite girls -" Calix announces his presence, setting the drinks down in front of them before he's hastily cut off by Vera. "Calix, seriously where's the orb?"

"Seriously, sweetie," he groans out as he hops over Shan once again, taking his original spot between the two women. "I already told you I don't have it," he replies with a flirtatious smirk once again. He gestures to the drink in front of her that he had bought. He wanted her to take a sip of what his generosity got them. Hesitantly, she raises the cup to her lips, taking in a couple sip before returning to business. "Where'd it go?"

"I don't know," he admits. "I went to refuel and someone knocked me out. I went back to the ship and it wasn't there," he points to the small bruise on his forehead near his temple. Vera takes another sip, if this was really true this would be the last thing she'd drink. Calix closes the gap between him and her, making her feel anxious. "Speaking of which could you be a dear and nurse me back to health?" he suggestively asks, making kissing noises with his lips as he points to his bruise. She snorts as she pushes him away in rejection.

Of course he could never be serious when he was being interrogated. "Sounds irresponsible. What'd you tell your buyer?" she notes, hoping he'd continue his chivalrous tale as she takes another sip. Calix shrugs. "I haven't told them yet. I'm hoping they just let me off the hook -"

"Are you nuts?" Shan interrupts, her eyes narrowing at the rival smuggler. "They'll send a bounty hunter after you,"

Vera rubs a hand down and across her face. Of course, she'd be a lightweight. She had begun slurring her words. This'll make for a fun trip home. "Thanks for the concern, kid. Maybe I'll give them a call," Calix states, giving her a reassuring smile and a squeeze of the hand. Something about the action didn't settle right with Vera. Hopefully he wasn't too cheeky to make a pass at Shan right in front of her but she could never put it past him. "No you won't," Vera challenges, forcing him to break his dreamy eyed gaze from Shan.

"What?" he asks confused for a moment as if he had forgotten what he just said. "You won't call them. You're either too big of a coward to call them or you still have it. I'm willing to bet you still have it," she proceeds to poke and pry at him and his alleged story but she could easily see the holes in it. Calix raises from nearing Shan, a telltale sign he was beginning to get nervous. "Who's you're buyer? We can call them together and say not to mess with you because you're not alone," Vera urges, trying to please Shan by not lashing out.

She relishes in how uncomfortable he was becoming under her gaze. "I already told you I can't tell you who my client is. It's fully non-disclosure," Calix repeats his policy, a certain edge to his tone that only made Vera more curious.

"Do you know what's in the orb?" she quizzically asks, knowing damn well she was trying to trick him.

Calix shakes his head once, "I can't answer that."

"I know what's in it, I'm sure you couldn't resist to find out why a ball was so rare. I bet you had a peak," she presses on, glaring at him at this point. "Was it going to the Resistance?"

"I can't -"

"The First Order?"

"Vera, please don't make this difficult." he urges her. Vera stops abruptly, he mouth shutting as she hears his plea. She only nods her head, teeth grinding in the process. She gives one shifty look towards Shan as if she could communicate what she was about to do next. But it throws everyone off. She reached behind Calix, surprising him, as she latches on to the scruff of his jacket, fingers curling into the back of his neck.

"Ouch, hey! What are you doing?" Calix shouts in protest as he's forcefully yanked out of the booth, causing their drinks to go on the floor. "Making things difficult. Come on, Shan!" Vera replies. Shan takes on affect of what just happened and instead finishes what's in her cup before following the pair out.

There's quite a buzz starting to linger around as people stop and stare at the sight of the woman manhandling the man. "Nothing to see here, just taking care of business," she notes to the onlookers, hoping no one would get in the way. Thankfully, Calix was a rogue smuggler and worked alone. No one would come to his defense even in this establishment. Her eyes quickly adjust to the brightness of the sun that spread across Takodana.

Just a few mere feet away was his ship that he was going to lead them on and give them the orb. "Vera!" a voice calls out to her from behind. She knew that it belonged to Maz Kanata, get she didn't have time to turn back around. "I didn't make a mess. This'll be over soon," she shouts over her shoulder, tightening her grip on to Calix's neck to prevent him from thrashing around.

"Why are you doing this? Are you still mad about that date?" he cheekily asks from being clenched by her grasp. There was no doubt there'd be claw marks on the back of his neck, not the good kind, not the kind he'd shoe off as trophies. This was an embarrassment to him. "Nope. I'm glad you never showed, it saved me a lifetime of complication," she easily responds as if she was frustrated with him.

"Look, I said I was sorry. I got distracted." he tries to plea, only causing her to roll her eyes. "I don't care. I just need that orb," she repeats for the hundredth time.

"Vera, I honestly don't have it but if you need it for Esai, I might have something more valuable,"

This intrigues her. What could possibly be more valuable than a jewel that could make one of the most deadly weapons? He had her full interest. She drops his neck from her hand, tossing him in front of her her. He cries out in pain as he grabs on to the back of his neck, evaluating his injury. "What's that?" Vera questions, her hand slowly sliding to her to her blaster. His eyes widen with fear as he realizes that she had the upper hand, he hadn't come with a blaster. All he hand was a dingy knife.

He becomes breathless, although he's panting hard. His hand retracts back to his neck as he realizes he's bleeding from her claw marks. There was no easy way out of this. He just had to buy time. Slowly but surely he dropped down to one knee, confusing her as he reaches out to her, trying to clasp on to her hand. A bright red hue splays across her face at the action.

She knew the answer to his proposal would be no but it was still embarrassing to her as he was doing this in front of Shan who would ridicule her for this. He finally clutches on to her free hand, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "An escape," he says, theres a certain sweetness in his voice that confuses her.

"What?" she asks confused and under her breath.

"Come with me. We can live our lives freely on the outer rim. We can disappear, start a new life together, have a family," he lists off, ending his small rant with a hopeful sigh and an entrancing gaze that begged her to follow his instructions. For a moment she's in shock, it was bold of him to assume that she could just run away on a whim without Esai even knowing - she regretted telling him about Esai to begin with. Her shock slowly dissipated to a low, newfound hatred to for the man. She hadn't even kissed him and he was talking about starting a new life and family together. As if that could happen to her, as if she would let it willingly happen with him.

"Wow," she sighs out, trying to act astonished by this news by even throwing in some fake tearing up and waving a hand in front of her face as if she wanted to keep her cool. "You...are..." Calix hung on every syllable that she uttered, his hand tightening around hers. "Kriffing ridiculous." she finishes, throwing him off and then grabbing on to his wrist and twisting it to bend to her will. He lets out a groan of pain.

"After we get the orb, we're going back to the Saber and Knox is going to have a few words with you," she threatens, trying to get him to his feet, which he refused to do. She lets out a heavy sigh in frustration. He always had to make things difficult. It didn't matter if she had to cuff him to her, she needed that orb. They were going to have to physically carry him back to the ship if this is how he was going to act.

"Shan, how are you holding up?" she asks, her motor skills starting to become sloppy. Her brows knit together in confusion. Did she just slur? "Shan?" she questions, her heart rate accelerating in panic as she realizes that she really is starting to slur. She turns around to see her partner laying in the gravel behind them. "Shan!" she shouts in a panic.

She releases Calix to race over to her friend, finding it difficult to walk straight. She crouches down beside her, her chest heaving as she thinks of the worst thing that could happen to Shan. She leans down to her chest and listens for a beat. Thankfully she could hear it, but that didn't stop any effects that were happening to her. She lazily collapses next to Shan, her body becoming extremely tired, and the world was starting to swirl. "Woah, what's...happen...ing?" she sluggishly slurs out, trying to crawl towards a ledge that could help her stand up to get help. Instead of finding a ledge she finds a black boot in the gravel.

She tilts her head up to see Calix, or whatever swirled version of him it was. He holds a hand out to help her up. "Y-you?" she questions as she takes his hand. He pulls her up to her knees, refusing to help her further. "I'm sorry. Did I give you Jawa Juice? I meant to say I gave you Ambrostine," he jeers, pulling the orb out from under his jacket. How she didn't notice it before was beyond her but she couldn't comprehend what was happening at the moment. Was it even real?

She attempts to swipe it but misses it as Calix reels back, keeping it just out of reach. She collapses back down to her rear, holding her head to make it stop spinning. She watches as Calix looks to his wrist and then to her. "I got to go meet my buyer so, sweet dreams Vera," he states, his voice becoming foggy and distorted. Vera groans as she falls back, only her elbows were keeping her propped up. She whines on protest, catching Calix's attention.

He crosses over to her, crouching down to rest her head in his hand. She's took weak to even protest it. He fakes a pout as he watches her trip up over her words. "Who's...buy..." is all she can say before her body gives out completely, going limp into Calix's arms as he lays her down in the gravel. She just conscious enough to look up at him as he stands over her. She can't make out the muffled words he's saying but she swears she can tell who it was by reading his lips, before her vision turns completely black.

Han Solo.

A/N: Sorry if it's a little slow right now! It'll become much more fast paced and adventurous once we meet some main characters!