Sestooine Rage

[Aurelias Kazaar]

The Hope For Change: Orbiting Over Mon Calamari

"What th'frack ya mean I gotta new frackin' partner!?!" Aurelias Kazaar's snarl could be heard all th'way to th'fracking mess hall. "Don't frackin' need one! I like the ones I got. Birdy's o'little goofy an' th'Kid's gotta poor choice in men but they're smart dames!"

The blond-haired man sitting in th'chair in front of 'im held up both hands inna placating gesture. "Wasn't my choice, Kazaar. I'm just the messenger."

Kazaar's black eyes narrowed into more ovva scowl than oughta be possible. Frackin' figures. Move had The Black Man's fingerprints all over it. "Then where th'frack's Othy t'tell me this crap. Oughta have th'stones t'gimme th'news himself."

Crix lowered his hands to the cup o'caf he had sittin' on the desk. "If I knew where he was Aurelias, he'd be telling you this information himself. But ya know a lot of people aren't too happy with him right now."

That earned o'snort. "Yeah frackin' right. Othniel's so frackin' smart he probly did this himself. Got himself that fracked up rep so he could go fight his own damn war." He rolled 'is eyes. "Guy's o'frackin's psycho."

His pal only blinked without sayin' a word. He was probly thinkin' it was o'case of th'pot callin' the kettle black' but knew better. Both The Black Man and Kazaar were different types o'psychos.

"If it makes you feel any better, Aurelias, the partnership is only temporary." Crix handed Kazaar o'datapad detailin' the mission. "Just one mission."

He smiled. "It's a test run. Seeing if the girl is worth having on another few missions."

Kazaar glanced over th'pad. "One o'Starborn's flock o'agents? Good frackin' Kenobi that can't be good."

Crix gave him a 'look.' "You just don't like her because she runs around with Van-Derveld."

That got o'smirk but no other reply.

"You'll go back to Agents Russard and k'Vik when the mission is done." Crix promised. "And who knows, you might have some fun too."

Th'look he got said otherwise. 'Least Kazaar'd get some pleasure if Imps died. Which, in his case, meant they prob'ly would. In horrific frackin' fashion.

"So who is this dame? Why th'frack ya team me up with 'er?"

Crix's smile said it all. "The way The Black Man figures. If they survive a mission with you, they'll survive anything."

Kazaar snorted. "Har har, very frackin' funny. Where's she waitin'?"

"Three doors down. Try not to scare her off."

Th'ex-bounty hunter's response was o'finger as he headed for th'door. "Frack you Crix."

Crix was laughing. "Have fun Aurelias."

Kazaar's mood got even worse as he got closer t'where th'dame was waiting. Sure it'd be fun t'make Imps die, but he'd prefer t'either do it with Estelle Russard or Milivikal k'Vik. An' if they weren't available, by his frackin' self. He lit up o'cigar before saunterin' in th'briefing room. His 'partner' was waitin'.

"So who th'frack are you and why th'frack should I give o'damn."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville got to her feet slowly, a question in her eyes as the thick bodied and loud mouthed man walked in. She pulled down gently on the hem of her leather jacket to adjust it and straightened her back. "Lilaena De'Ville, Special Forces."

Her eyes were drawn to the cigar and its trail of fragrant smoke, and then she made eye contact with Kazaar. "I have worked with Intel for a few missions. I get the feeling the brass is still trying to find the best place for me." Her eyes narrowed a bit at his overall appearance, and she added, "Either that or they're trying to get me to quit and go home."

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Kazaar snorted. "Whoop-dee-frackin'-doo. Swear they're tryin' t'make me quit."

Gave De'Ville o'once over. Thin. Had muscle. Felt kinda off though. Kinda like she was hidin' somethin' she didn't want anyone t'know. Hell, might be o'predator hidden 'neath the 'by the book' expression. If she was one, no frackin' wonder why Othy wanted 'er.

"What kinda weapon ya got. Yeh, I wanna see it." He scowled. "What is that o'frackin' DH-17? That's what Gracey an' her minions're giving out these days? Frackin' hell those guy's are frackin' di'kuts."

He turned 'round without waitin'. "We're gettin' ya o'real blaster Lilly. No one works with me usin' that cheap piece o'poodoo. Let's go."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Actually that particular weapon was issued to me by SpecForce, not Intel." She followed after Kazaar, wondering how far down the squall hole this mission was going to take her. "I'm sure the Rebellion wishes they had the funds to properly outfit all their soldiers as per your tastes."

He kept walking, practically ignoring her, and she had to quicken her pace to keep up. "Where are we going exactly?" De'Ville almost reached out to grab his arm, but thought better of it. "You know, they told me about you."

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"Everyone says that. Must be m'charming personality."

Kazaar smirked'n got inna lift, ignorin' the look he got from o'Rebel soldier who'd obviously never known how frackin' fantastic o'cigar was. Frackin' non-smokers lookin' to press their beliefs on 'im. Bad 'nough the Council'd made their chambers non-smoking, now Kazaar had t'put up with th'crap he was gettin' from others. Frack 'em.

"Where we're goin', Lilly, is down t'the armory to get ya o'real blaster." He raised a finger before she could interrupt. "Look, I don't give o'crap who gave ya that blaster. Coulda been Mon Razien himself an' I'd tell ya it was o'cheap piece of shit that ain't frackin' worth th'material it was made in. Armory's got better one an' you'll use it.

"Then we're off t'the hanger t'take my ship that'll take us t'our mission. Until then, ya don't find out where 'cause it's not th'entire Rebellion's business where we're goin'."

The Rebel spy's eyes got heated. "Walls got ears. They fail t'teach that to ya in Spy School? If they did, then get th'frack outta here. Ain't interested in people who share what they do ovah drinks an' dinner."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville ground her teeth, but followed him out of the turbolift, walking behind Kazaar into the armory. "I wasn't asking about the mission," she bit out, "I'm not stupid, despite your assumptions to the contrary."

She'd been in the armory before, but never with permission to pick whatever she wanted. Before she could give anything a closer inspection, however, Kazaar had marched over and yanked a Model 434 Heavy off a rack, and turned around and handed it to her butt first. She accepted it, getting a feel for its heft. "A DeathHammer? Nice."

De'Ville held it out and aimed it at the wall, then checked the power cell. "I figured you to lean towards the DL-44 for a personal blaster. But this will do the job all right." She looked up, and added, "The job in general, not any specific job that may or may not be on our calendars."

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Kazaar's first answer was t'pull his long grey jacket back. Wore o'tank top underneath, which showed off his muscles an' his scars. There were o'helluva lot of 'em too. Pretty obvious Kazaar wasn't th'kinda guy t'back 'way from o'fight. But he hadn't pulled th'jacket back t'show De'Ville th'muscles or th'scars.

Instead, De'Ville's attention was drawn t'the large, silver twin blasters (really almost hand cannons) holstered near Kazaar's shoulders. "Bryars. Pack o'helluva punch. Vera'n Ashley do their jobs pretty damn well."

He dropped th'coat, smirked an' strode outta th'armory, De'Ville at his side. "An' yeah, I named 'em. So frackin' what."

Didn't give 'er o'chance t'speak. "As for our mission." He was cryptic but his th'devlish smile on his face pretty much said it all. "Killin' Imps. Causin' destruction. Blowin' things up. Think ya can do that, Lilly?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She smirked, "Its sort of my specialty." The 434 Heavy was weightier than she was used to, but it wouldn't take long for her to get used to its heft on her hip. De'Ville slung her holdall across her body, keeping it clear of her holster as she walked with Kazaar toward the hangars.

He was a solid mass, dense with muscles under his rumpled jacket, and people tended to hug the walls as he went by. De'Ville noted the scowls from those they passed, but found her own face forming an expression closer to a smile. He hadn't minded showing her his body, which said something about the sort of person he was. She would rather die than expose her own scars to a stranger on purpose.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Didn't have much trouble gettin' into th'hangar and Lilly, kinda like most people, decided t'keep things quiet. Kazaar wasn't 'gainst that. 'Specially since he was still stewin' inside 'bout not having Russard an' k'Vik 'long with 'im. Wasn't that he didn't like De'Ville, hell he didn't know enough 'bout her to make that decision, but he wasn't o'big fan o'people who just seemed t'go by the book. Probly why most people who gave 'im glares tended t'be officers. People who 'went by th'frackin' book'. He'd told Estelle o'long frackin' time ago how he wasn't o'fan of 'the book.'

Sure as hell wasn't 'bout t'stop now.

Kazaar led 'er to o'small Corellian freighter. YT-2000s were unique and The Night Train was no exception. He'd painted it o'dark grey, so it almost camouflaged itself 'gainst the sky. Kazaar woulda preferred it even darker but that's risk o'collision and 'er shields were that strong. 'Least not yet.

Couple button presses and th'two were striding up th'ramp into the livin' area. They were greeted by o'*tweet* then o'*blat* as the R7 droid rolled in.

Kazaar gave o'smirk-smile. "Ya gettin' in trouble again 'Trey'."

'Trey' *beeped* o'few times, then its oculator turned towards th'brown-haired woman.

"Yeh, gotta guest on this one. An' no it ain't our usual pals." Kazaar took o'puff from his cigar an' let th'smoke slide outta his mouth. "Ain't m'fault. Those two'er probly off gettin' in trouble somewhere else.

"Hell if I frackin' know, brass don't tell me anythin'."

'Nother smirk as he handed th'droid a datapad. "'Course they did tell us we're t'go.

"We're off th'Sestooine." Th'smoke followed Kazaar as he headed towards th'cockpit. "Gotta Imp facility t'blow t'hell an' back."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville eyed the droid, and tossed her holdall onto a chair before following Kazaar to the cockpit. "I assume we have appropriate ordinance?"

Behind his back she waved away the smoke, and leaned against the doorway as he got situated at the pilot's console. "I didn't think there was anything important on Sestooine. But then, that's probably the point, right?"

Inwardly she was dreading the trip, probably full of forced conversation or awkward silence. She had to bond with this man, however, at least get him to accept her as a teammate. Colonel Starborn had wanted her on SpecForce, but if she read the situation right this was an opportunity for her to get into SpecOps.

In SpecOps she could practically write her own ticket, at least when it came to fulfilling a certain Prime Minister's demands. She narrowed her eyes as Kazaar ignored her in favor of smoking his cigar and flicking switches on the console, and strode forward and planted herself in the co-pilot's seat.

"Need me to stay out of your way or would you like me to do something?"

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"Bottle o'bourbon on th'bar next t'ya. Pour yaself one an' gimme o'double." Kazaar was keepin' his eyes forward as The Night Train slid outta th'Hope For Change's hangar bay.

"We got o'good 'nough ordinance 'ere. Ain't th'kinda guy t'travel light." He smirked as he ashed 'is cigar inna durasteel ashtray near 'is right hand. "Got o'few things ya might like if you're all 'bout blowin' crap up. Let ya look at it later."

Kazaar took o'gulp from his glass an' let the strong alcohol burn down his throat. Felt frackin' good. Been too long since he'd been able t'enjoy the bourbon without someone askin' him if he was drinkin' too much. Frack 'em. Alcohol was good, 'specially with o'cigar.

He smirked one more time. "Hell, might have o'lightsaber back there if ya want one."

Couple minutes of silence while Kazaar enjoyed 'is bourbon. Eyes suddenly flicked t'De'Ville's dress. "Th'frack is that o'Rebel uniform? Change clothes. Change 'em right frackin' now. The he'll ya thinkin' girl? F'all we know damn Empire's gotta Interdictor cruiser sittin' out there. Want ya into clothes ya'd normally wear. Space the damn uni too. Ain't worth havin' 'round anyway.

"The frack ya doing?!? Stop standin' like some fraction' gizka and move ya ass!."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She was certainly used to obeying orders, but lately she'd been the one giving them, not receiving. De'Ville jerked at his intense rebuke, but didn't blush or stammer as he might expect. She hadn't taken him up on his invitation and poured herself a drink, and she got fluidly to her feet.

Her rationale for wearing the uniform sprang to her lips, but she kept it to herself. Kazaar didn't care, and if she'd bothered mentioning she had plenty of time to change clothes before they got to their destination he'd probably just start yelling at her again, and she didn't care for his cigar breath. De'Ville left the cockpit with a simple nod, backtracking to the living area and retrieving her holdall. The droid was nowhere to be seen, and Kazaar hadn't bothered telling her if there was a cabin she could use, though she was sure that the YT-2000s were usually equipped for around seven passengers.

Instead she wedged herself into the refresher and quickly stripped out of the Alliance clothes. The clothes she'd "normally wear" were decidedly inappropriate, and several thousand lightyears away on Onderon. Sturdy and tight black pants and a dark purple v-neck shirt that clung to her sparse curves sufficed to cover her body, and she took a moment to stare at her reflection in the mirror.

She was never quite sure what to think of how she looked. Such things were unimportant, and she'd spent most of her adult life hidden under a brown cloak. De'Ville re-buckled her gunbelt and situated the DeathHammer. The dark brown leather jacket was not regulation and she put it on again as she left the 'fresher.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Kazaar'd poured himself 'nother drink as De'Ville left. Frackin' rookie...

Both th'drink an' the cigar calmed 'im down o'bit more. Felt pretty damn good too. Helluva lot better than drinkin' some kinda gloppy fruit paste lotta people were claimin' would extend their lives. Frackin' morons. Enjoy ya life while ya can, don't bother goin' crazy 'bout extendin' it. 'Course, Kazaar wasn't th'kinda guy t'care about his life. Figured he'd die whenever an' go down fightin'.

Only way he knew how.

Handed De'Ville another glass as she walked back. "Relax o'bit too, Lilly. This ain't o'pleasure cruise but it sure as hell ain't Spec Forces."

Kazaar took another shot. "Imps gotta facility set up on Sestooine. Bosses think they're usin' it to plot their operations in th'Outer Rim or 'least have some kinda data hub there that's o'key part of their operations. They want us t'make sure that hub ain't 'round f'too much longer.

"Supposed t'be o'four level building. Computer core's in th'center. Gonna hafta get in, grab th'data and blow it t'hell."

A smirk. "Oughta be fun."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She stared at the drink, but concentrated on Kazaar's words. "Sounds fairly straight forward." De'Ville smiled, lifted the glass in a salute, and then sipped it.

She rarely drank, and when she did the alcohol was usually diluted at least with ice. The bourbon was warm and awful, but she didn't show any of her distaste on her face. The last time she'd really drank had been the day the news of the Emperor's death had finally trickled down to Onderon.

Although she didn't really remember much of that night, to be honest. De'Ville set the glass down, rolling her shoulders a bit to relax the muscles. "I take it our intel isn't very... complete?"

[Aurelias Kazaar]

A smirk. "Never frackin' is. Intel's normally spotty as bet. Depends on how good their intel is. Prefer gatherin' m'own.

"Least then I know where it's frackin' comin' from." He poured himself one more shot, then yanked three bottles o'beer from o'fridge by his feet. "Way I figure, we scout th'place outta bit. See where th'entrance t'the base is, what kinda security they got. Sneak our asses in an' raise hell.

"Should be fun." Handed th'beer out. It was Alderaanian ale.

"Want one?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"No thanks," she said. "I'm not much of a drinker."

The way his ship was laid out, it appeared that most of the 'upgrades' had been put towards hiding alcohol all over the cockpit. Still, he had a fearsome reputation, so he either operated better while under the influence, or knew how to moderate it. Of course, there weren't any current signs of moderation, as he shrugged and opened one of the beers, tipping it back.

"Do you always drink this much?" She wasn't judging him, merely curious. "I find it affects me adversely, so I avoid it, especially before a mission."

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"Who th'frack're you lady, my aunt?" Look Kazaar gave 'er pretty said his opinion o'her question. "Swear every frackin' rookie..."

Leveled his gaze at De'Ville. "Don't drink day before missions. Frackin' stupid t'go in drunk. When frackin' mistakes happen. But I like th'taste o'alcohol so I'll drink it when it ain't th'day before o'fracking mission.

"Takes two days t'get to Sestooine." Threw back 'is head and took o'long pull from his beer. "Won't be drinkin' by then."

Kazaar took another couple puffs from 'is cigar. "Gotta learn t'relax De'Ville. Survive longer if ya do that, but keep ya frackin' eyes open. Lotta us don't got the "all powerful Force" t'keep us goin'...

"Hell, be o'lot easier if that frackin' thing didn't exist. Force-damned crutch if ya ask me."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She raised an eyebrow, wondering what he was getting at with all his talk about Force users. Did he know or -

No, that was ridiculous. The man obviously had a huge chip on his shoulder when it came to Force users though.

"I thought one of your regular partners was a Jedi or something," she said after a minute. "And its not that I can't relax," she said perhaps a little too primly. "I just prefer not to alter my brain chemistry to do it."

Lilaena leaned back in the chair as if to prove her point. "I don't see how the Force is a crutch though. Seems like an advantage."

[Aurelias Kazaar]

"Lemme ask ya somethin' Lady." Kazaar leaned back'n took o'swig. "Ya o'kid on Brentaal or maybe Coruscant. Ya go'n do o'good frackin' job at school or maybe ya some gal just tryin' t'survive. Every damn day ya look up an' see that Jedi temple or see o'Jedi walkin' 'round in their robes thinkin' o'wave of their hand anna smile o'some kind'll solve everything..."

Slammed his hand on th'console. "Hell frackin' no! Think ya damn Force'll keep slavers from preying on girls who just wanna see th'big city. Or frackers who kill f'no frackin' reason but to see someone bleed. Or maybe sell spice t'kids near o'school. Jedi frackers were too busy bein' so enlightened so Force-damned educated they lost fracking touch with reality."

Took another sip o'his beer. "Old sayin' my Dad'd tell me 'Verd ori'shya beskar'gam.' Helluva lot more t'people than their powers or weapons. Gotta be smart 'nough t'actually know when'n how t'use 'em."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena waved her hand as though to dismiss most of his argument. "Okay, so the Jedi were assholes. I get it, really I do." She paused, and shoved the spike of anger that rose back, swallowing it down like a too big gulp of water. "But are you saying if you could use the Force, you wouldn't? Lets imagine you'd know 'when t'use it,' 'cause you're a smart guy.

"There are a lot of people with blasters and thermal detonators who don't know how to use them properly and who're more dangerous to people 'on their side' than the ones they're trying to fight against. I guess Force users wouldn't be much different," she shrugged. "Couldn't tell you. I've known a few, and they seemed like other people - some good, some bad."

She raised an eyebrow, "But I think it would be stupid to say that the Force is just a crutch, and dismiss it. Or t' judge a person based on a group that doesn't even exist anymore."

De'Ville wasn't about to mention the rumors about Jedi being harbored by the Alliance, or the fact that she'd brought an adept to the Rebellion in the hopes that the girl could be taken in by the Jedi. It wasn't in her 'pay grade' to care about something like that, and she wasn't cleared to know anything about it either.