A/N: After some difficulty being able to continue on to this chapter, I revamped the first one.
Leyna woke to a knock on her door and leaped up to answer it since Tynan had promised he'd come when done with his shift. There he was, tall and handsome and looked tired. "So how close are we to our next stop?"
"Indoumodo? Probably another day as long as we don't experience any delays." He laid on her couch after he kicked off his boots.
"Isn't that the planet with the poisonous insects?"
"They're called kouhuns. Indoumodians capture them out in the swamplands in capsules to sell. Mostly assassins and ambitious politicians and wealthy with grudges get them to take out whoever they wish. One bite from a kouhun can kill anyone instantly unless they happen to have the antidote on hand. Rumor is the natives built up an immunity to their venom by exposing themselves a little bit at a time, but then again they're something of a strange race. Usually they don't invite star cruisers to stop by, so I guess business has been slow and they're hoping to drum up some new prospective clients."
She hmmmed as she made them tea in the small kitchen. "Not a bad idea if you want people to buy from you. I'm sure plenty of passengers have the money."
He laughed. "Yeah, all of them are loaded. Even to get on this star cruiser they need to put down two million credits and they hand it over like pocket change."
"That's a lot more than most on Lysatra see in a lifetime."
"Not unless they want to apply for the Imperial Academy these days. The pay is great if you can graduate from there and don't mind the risk of death. I mean, being a pilot for a star cruiser isn't exactly a picnic, but at least your chances of being attacked are lower."
She poured the tea into two cups. "Has that happened before?"
"Sure, this is Wild Space and pirates seem to know what ships to pick off. Attacks have decreased by a lot though, especially after the Empire put that mining compound on Agaris. It's only happened once when I was on pilot duty about two years ago and almost everyone on the ship got away in the escape pods. The rest aboard the vessel were rescued by an Imperial infiltration team sent to salvage the cruiser if possible. They must have already been in the area or someone aboard had connections with how quickly they showed up."
"Weren't you scared?" She asked and handed him his cup.
"Sure, but then again I was one of the few locked up on the deck with Vagaari raiders. Those nomads go everywhere there's plunder to be had and I guess they thought a luxury ship in this backwater part of space made an easy mark. With how quickly the Empire responded, I doubt that group will give us much in the way of trouble. Rumor is their numbers were significantly depleted over twenty years ago by a Chiss commander out in the Unknown Regions, but no one knows for sure if that's true or not even if the Vagaari have been seen less."
She sat beside him with her cup. "Well I suppose if anyone could do something like that, it would be the legendary Chiss we've only heard stories about. What do you think the chances are meeting one?"
He shrugged. "Not very high since they keep to themselves. The stories come from somewhere granted, but no one's seen any around here in a very long time."
"Yeah." She decided to change the subject because she could tell from the way he spoke he didn't really want to discuss a species he knew she had a fascination with. She supposed it was similar to her feeling insecure just knowing he'd dated other women before her, even without further details. "What's the next stop after Indoumodo?"
"Teth. It's a jungle planet deep within the Hutt controlled portion of Wild Space so you have to watch your step, but it's an interesting place to visit. The B'omarr Order used to call the fortresses there and a few other planets home, but they abandoned their strongholds around the time our parents may have been kids. The Hutts took over the buildings and turned them into personal retreats that would hold against a seige or attack of almost any kind."
"A lot of people do business with the Hutts these days."
He chuckled. "It's one of the few ways to make a living out here. Not everyone can be lucky enough to get into my line of work and there's only a few people enlisting in the Imperial Academy from this part of space, so there's not much left besides smuggling and bounty hunting. I hear that over in the Capitol there are all kinds of jobs, but it's kind of hard to travel there without money."
She nodded. "It would take a long time to save even enough for just a trip, not to mention have enough extra to tide you over till employment started paying off. It's too bad these star cruisers rarely get over that way or it would be easier for us at least."
"Yeah, I've been thinking about getting us out of here. Next one heading out that way I'm assigned to is in about six months, but even with all I've been saving that seems a little too soon."
She sighed. "It's too bad I'm not very good at flying or mechanic work, those pay well and it'd be easy to get in since I'm already aboard."
He patted her hand. "You're really good at cooking and I know the kitchen staff is looking to hire. It might not get as much money, but every little bit helps. With both of us working, we'd definitely have enough by next year."
"That's a really good idea, Tynan." She beamed and finished her tea. "I'll talk to the head chef before someone else does."
"I'll be here when you get back."
She smiled. "Great, we need to spend as much time together as possible before your next shift." She said as she got up and headed out the door towards the kitchen.
