Post new topic   Reply to topic    Pax Republica Forum Index -> RP and Character Stories
View previous topic :: View next topic   Goto page 1, 2  Next
Captain Bubbles

user avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

Hey guys! So, Rocks and I are best buddies in real life and since he decided to apply to Pax, we've been working on a backstory together, so our stories could intertwine a little bit. It takes place 4 years ATC, 6 years before the game starts. I hope you guys like it, we are having a ton of fun writing it Happy

Here goes our first installment:
--------------------------------

Bubbles discreetly took a seat at the bar and signaled the bartender. “Corellian brandy,” she ordered, just loud enough to be heard over the music. The rodian placed the drink infront of her, eying her up curiously, surely wondering if this small woman could handle the strong brew he had just served her. Bubbles rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly, draining her glass in a single gulp. She slammed her glass on the counter and held the rodian’s gaze. “Another,” she demanded. This time, the bartender served her and walked away, apparently reassured that his customer knew what she was doing.

No sooner did the rodian leave than a tall male Twi’Lek showed up to bother her. “Is this seat empty?” he asked casually, pointing to the seat next to hers, his lekku swaying with innuendos she wanted nothing to do with. “Yes, and this one,” she gestured to her own seat, “will be too if you sit down.” Bubbles felt a little guilty for having mocked the man, but as he walked away mumbling insults about her features, the feeling went away quickly. She was just happy to finally be alone, with a drink and her thoughts.

She sighed. She had chosen to come to Tatooine, specifically to Anchorhead, just for that reason; to be alone and get lost in the crowd, where no one could find her, especially not Dace Etison. After all, she had just stolen his ship. He had deserved it, of course, but she was pretty sure he didn’t see it that way.

Dace was her boss; he had recruited her, if it could be called that, when she was just a teenager. He was a spice runner, pretty successful too. Their last run had been especially fruitful, but at what cost...

Bubbles felt that painful feeling in her chest as she let her thoughts wander to Flinu and Trep. She took a sip of her brandy, swallowing really slowly, letting the liquid burn her throat. She welcomed the physical pain. Anything to distract her from the guilt she carried over her friend’s deaths.

And that was why Dace deserved to be punished. He had chosen credits over the life of his crew. Bubbles had been powerless to stop it and unable to mend her friend’s wounds as they lay there, dying. The memory was still so fresh in her mind. She bit the inside of her cheek, willing her tears away.

She was comforted by the fact that the smuggler captain now had no ship. “I’ve been so clever,” she smiled to herself. She had used all the credits from their last run to hire a forger and a hacker. They had forged her a fake identity and made her the new owner of The Dirty Pride on all the appropriate official channels. They, of course, also had given the ship a new name to make the transition seamless and untraceable.

The whole operation had left Bubbles near flat broke; on top of all the forgers’ and hackers’ fees, she’d also had to bribe many custom officials to get access to the information she needed, but it was done. Dace’s ship, now her very own ship, was The Mischievous Ferry and it was virtually impossible to link the two together. In fact, it was like The Dirty Pride had never existed.

Bubbles savored the last of her drink. She could feel the alcohol working wonders on her muscles; most of her neck and shoulders were all clenched together in tight knots of stress. She briefly wondered if she should have flirted with the Twi’Lek, at least to get a massage out of it, but she decided she had made the right decision. She could trust no one; Dace Etison was an angry, well connected man and he was looking for her. “Just because I think they’re all out to get me, doesn’t mean it’s not true,” she thought. It wasn’t the best attitude to make friends, but she figured it would keep her alive longer than most in her profession.

She reluctantly handed her credit chip to the bartender. Bubbles figured she had another few days worth of credits, maybe a week if she lived very frugally. She needed to find work as soon as possible or she would never be able to afford her ship’s upkeep. However, the kind of work she needed to pay the bills, was sure to attract some unwanted attention. “Damn it!” she exclaimed in frustration. Several patrons turned curiously towards her, wanting to see what the fuss was about.

Bubbles picked up her credit chip and quickly got to her feet. A little too quickly, she realized, as the ground started spinning under her. “I shouldn’t have drained that first glass so fast,” she whined inwardly. She found her balance and made it to the exit without further incidents.

The night air was dry and pleasantly warm. Around her, all sorts of mercenaries and pirates were walking the streets of Anchorhead, heading to whatever business had brought them to Tatooine, or like her, were trying to keep a low profile. Bubbles pulled her cloak over her montrals and hugged her jacket tightly. She started walking towards her ship, her fingers instinctively resting on the blasters at her hips, hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.


_________________


Before you criticize someone, try to put yourself on their ship and fly around a while. That way, when you criticize them, you're a few parsecs away and you have their ship.
IgotRocks

user avatar

Joined: 10 Oct 2011
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

Rocks slid through the shadows, not quite sneaking, but close. He was here to investigate Sith activity at the Czerka ruins on Tatooine. Rumor had it that they had discovered an ancient weapon and the Jedi council was eager to find out the truth.

It wasn’t that there weren’t other things that he’d rather be doing, a vigorous work out, an afternoon spent at a work bench crafting a new lightsaber, but where the Council willed, Rocks always went. Especially if it might mean a run in with the Sith, the murderers of his master years before.

He’d followed a group of Sith out from the spaceport, past the blind canyon his ship was stashed in and out to the Czerka ruins. Creeping through the ruins, he trailed them to a building whose roof had long ago blown away, then down a cluttered, cracked stairway.

Inside the basement, through a shattered wall, he found a space that looked much like a natural cave, with a concealed and sophisticated gleaming metal door. Through it, the sounds of arguing could be heard: “The dark lord will not tolerate more failures; we must discover the means to operate this device.” “Easy for you to say,” came the reply, “you’re only barking orders and not searching for a solution!”

Rocks crept to the side of the door to eavesdrop, but just as he reached it, his foot caught a small stone and kicked it forward to bounce with a loud ringing noise on the gleaming metal door. “Oh lovely ,” Rocks muttered before reaching into his lunch box and removing a small explosive charge. He threw it to stick to the ceiling above the metal door.

As loud angry voices could be heard coming closer, Rocks dashed up the stairs, his right hand moving smoothly along his utility belt to grab his detonator, while his left hand clutched his trusty lunchbox closely. At the top of the stairs, he thumbed the detonator, bringing a cloud of dust and small chunks of stone thundering up from below. “Report that to your dark master, filthy Sith !” he said with a grin as he sprinted out of the ruins and towards the blind canyon concealing his ship, The Boulder.

Entering the canyon, Rocks strode towards his ship, confident of a warm reception back on Tython and sure to secure a return mission with more resources to remove the threat he had uncovered from Sith hands.

Three hundred yards from his ship, Rocks sensed movement behind him and spun to see three dusty and bloody Sith moving in a ragged jog towards him. Turning to sprint towards The Boulder, Rocks was lifted off his feet by a shockwave as his ship exploded.

Staggering to his feet, he thought: “Those damn Sith must have rigged my ship to blow while I was in Anchorhead .” Turning, he faced the Sith as they spread out to cut off his escape. Fiery red lightsabers blossomed in each of the Siths hands. The leader, an evil scarred face human laughed and taunted Rocks: “ Not so smug now, are you, stupid Jedi!”
Rocks, never one to be deterred by odds not in his favor, replied: “Don’t make me set my lunch box down; you won’t like it if I do .” The three Sith laughed, confident in their victory. Rocks smirked as he slammed his lunch box down causing it to erupt in a blinding flash, kicking it forward past the leading Sith, he drew both of his lightsabers and force leapt at the human, skewering him before kicking his smoking chest off the crackling blades. While the other two Sith were still disorientated, Rocks sheathed his lightsabers and stooped to retrieve his lunchbox before dashing away.

As he ran, he opened his lunch box, removing two explosives. Nearing the end of the canyon, he threw the first one and then the other with the power of the Force, propelling them to each land on opposite walls of the canyon. After clearing the canyon, he triggered the explosives and brought down an avalanche of debris to slow the pursuit of the two remaining Sith.

And now, he was sliding through shadows, trying to make his way to the Anchorhead spaceport and off this dusty rock on the first ship he could find heading to Tython. Slinking between cargo containers and random junk at the edge of the port, Rocks edged closer to the first ship he could see: a Corellian XS Light Freighter. Long favored by smugglers, he hoped there was a secret compartment or two to hide in while letting any Sith pursuit die.

Sliding up to the entry, Rocks opened a small compartment on his utility belt, confident of a quick entry. But after several minutes, he turned away with a frustrated curse, unable to overcome the door’s security measures.

Turning to look for another likely ship close by, Rocks saw a small battered astro droid in a junk pile. A few minutes work rewiring and removing damaged components and the little droid came to life with a series of beeps, whirs and clicks.

Moving back over to the ship and getting the little astro droid to use its skills to open the door was at least as frustrating as his first attempts had been. “Listen to me, you bloody droid, open the door and get us inside before we have a whole Sith army breathing down our necks .”

A few moments later and after a happy series of beeps, the hatch popped open and Rocks quickly moved inside, giving the little droid a small push with the force to help him along. Once inside, he quickly determined that the ship was empty. Moving into the galley, he discovered it to be well stocked and also containing a handy smuggling compartment, just the right size for the droid and himself.

Moving the droid in, he said: “Wait here buddy, I need to restock my lunchbox and then we are going to hide out for a day or two .” Quickly hustling up a meal in the well stocked kitchen was effortless and Rocks sat down to eat at the table, blissfully unaware that the ship’s owner was on her way back.


_________________
Crox Rava

user avatar

Joined: 13 Mar 2011
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

Moar plz. :D


_________________
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.



Photobucket
Captain Bubbles

user avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

Bubbles felt grateful when she finally saw the outline of The Mischievous Ferry. She looked forward to a good night of sleep; it had been a long time since she had properly rested. She was hopeful that she could find a discreet solution to her financial problems in the morning.

When she reached the control panel to her ship, she quickly turned around to scan the area, wanting to make sure no one had followed her. She couldn’t spot any familiar faces in the crowd and she found herself letting out a sigh of relief. Bubbles quickly input her personal code into the security system, proud of all the failsafes she had recently installed to protect her new property.

Once aboard, Bubbles could not shake the feeling that something was off, but as she looked around, trying to locate the source of her anxiety, she found nothing. She managed to calm herself and decided that her nerves must be acting up, due to lack of sleep and stressful times. “Still…” she thought, “I’ll do a quick round of the ship, or I won’t be able to rest.”

She went to the cockpit first, which was empty. She made sure no one had accessed her navi-computer and felt satisfied that she had been the last person looking at the logs. Bubbles felt compelled to check the engines next. She found the smell reassuring and there was nothing that felt quite as good as knowing that everything was in working order if she needed to make a quick escape. However, before reaching the engine room, she noticed a soft light coming from the galley. She was certain that she hadn’t left it on and her heart started racing.

“Damn it!” Adrenaline coursed through her veins. “Dace Etison found me! How did this happen?” She was torn between running away and escaping with her life or defending her ship to the death. She chose the latter.

Bubbles reached for her blaster and quietly made her way to the galley, hugging the shadows. She peaked inside and was utterly surprised by what she saw: a massive Zabrak having dinner, swallowing Bubbles’ food and barely taking the time to chew. “Unexpected,” she mused.

But this was no laughing matter; this man had no reason to be on her ship. He wasn’t Dace, but he could be working for him. If he was a mercenary, it was possible more of them were on her ship. She had to act now, while she had the element of surprise on her side. “Shoot first, ask questions later,” Bubbles decided there was nothing else she could do.

She leapt out of cover, quickly aimed for the Zabrak’s head and immediately fired. The large man ducked just in time and Bubbles’ shot barely missed. As she returned to the safety of the hallway, she saw the Zabrak pick up the table, as if it was as light as a small child, and flip it over, taking cover behind it.

“What have I just gotten myself into,” her thoughts were a blur of panic.


Last edited by Captain Bubbles on October 23, 2011 4:26 pm; edited 1 time in total


_________________


Before you criticize someone, try to put yourself on their ship and fly around a while. That way, when you criticize them, you're a few parsecs away and you have their ship.
IgotRocks

user avatar

Joined: 10 Oct 2011
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

What luck, finding an obvious smuggler ship with such a well stocked galley ,” thought Rocks. In his past experiences with smugglers, the chill box was always the last compartment to get filled.

Nearing the end of his hastily prepared meal, Rocks suddenly sensed an angry presence behind him. Dropping his fork, Rocks slammed his body sideways, an instant before a blaster bolt passed through the space his head had so recently occupied. Making a quick decision to seek cover before trying to explain his presence to the presumably angry ship owner, Rocks lifted the heavy durasteel table with both hands, flipping it over before rolling behind it. As he did, he caught sight of a bright eyed Togruta wielding a still glowing hot blaster, ducking behind the edge of the door.

Calling on his Jedi training, Rocks calmed his rapidly beating heart and reached out with all of his available senses; he could hear the faintest pitter patter of light feet in the hallway moving away from the galley.

Rocks was annoyed at having his long overdue dinner interrupted, but couldn’t really blame the female smuggler for attacking him; he was after all, trespassing. But his sympathy stopped short of allowing her to blast any holes in him.

Extending a delicate seeking probe of Force, Rocks could sense through the walls that the Togruta had circled behind him to the other galley door: the one his not so cleverly concealed back was now facing.

Spinning around, Rocks locked eyes with the delicately featured Togruta. He pushed himself off the table with the Force propelling his body and landed next to the angry looking smuggler. He then swept his forearm in a swift controlled arc and knocked the blaster from her hands.

How dare you!” the smuggler spoke for the first time, a look of pain and surprise flashing across her face. Rather than stopping, the pretty Togruta dropped her other hand down to the top of her boot and withdrew a wicked looking blade. Stabbing blindly with fury, adding extra energy, she lashed out quickly enough that Rocks felt a sudden sting in his shoulder as well as a slow creeping wetness staining his tunic.

Snapping a quick kick to the inside of the Togruta’s wrist disarmed her yet again, but rather than showing any sign of giving up, Rocks could see her eyes scanning the floor, weighing her odds of reaching either one of her weapons to continue the fight.

Wait! This is all a misunderstanding .” This was getting out of hand. If he couldn’t get her to stop fighting soon, one, or both of them, was going to get hurt.

Some of the angry fire seemed to melt out of her eyes and her stance relaxed a bit. “Finally this crazy woman can see some sense ,” Rocks thought to himself. Just as he settled back on his heels, wondering where to begin his explanation, the smuggler captain hauled back and kicked him in the groin.

Rocks was able to turn enough that he didn’t receive the full force of the blow, but the pain made his knees betray him and he lurched forward, towards the rapidly approaching ground.


_________________
Captain Bubbles

user avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

The Zabrak had initially surprised Bubbles, by ducking behind cover so quickly. She was definitely feeling scared and overwhelmed at the fight ahead of her, but she still felt she had the upper hand: she knew her ship.

She started sprinting, as softly as she could, down the hall and around the galley, to the other entrance. She would get behind the Zabrak and shoot him in the back.

The intruder had his back to her, his eyes scanning the hallway where Bubbles had just been. She aimed for the back of his neck, her fingers shaking slightly. However, before she could pull the trigger, the Zabrak turned around. Time seemed to slow down as his bright orange eyes bored into hers, making her hesitate for a split second. It’s all it took; the man moved lightning fast, knocking her blaster right out of her hand with the back of his arm.

Pain shot from her wrist where the Zabrak had hit her, all the way to her elbow. “How dare you!” she yelled at the intruder. Bubbles hated getting hurt, let alone on her own ship by a complete stranger. She was infuriated. She reached down her left boot, to grab the knife she kept hidden for just this kind of situation and with all her strength, blindly stabbed at the Zabrak.

Again, the man dodged with incredible speed. “Am I so predictable?” she wondered. She was, however, comforted by the fact that she had sliced his tunic, around his shoulder, and that it was getting stained by a few drops of blood.

The smile on her face was wiped clean when the Zabrak once again disarmed her, kicking her weapon to the floor. Bubbles looked to the intruder, then to her discarded weapon, calculating her chances to retrieve it. The Zabrak must have deducted what she was planning to do and he spoke for the first time: “Wait! This is all a misunderstanding.”

Bubbles considered his words. It was true he hadn’t tried to seriously injure her, but maybe Dace had told him to bring her alive. She wasn’t stupid and she wouldn’t let her guard down.

She looked at the Zabrak and relaxed her stance. He seemed to relax too and Bubbles took the opportunity to kick him in the groin, hoping to incapacitate him and turn the odds in her favor. The man turned and avoided most of the blow, but her kick still took him to the ground. As he fell forward, he wrapped his arms around Bubbles and took her down with him.

She fell backwards and hit her head on the metal floor. The pain stunned her completely for a few seconds, giving the Zabrak enough time to pin her down. Bubbles struggled against his grip but she simply couldn’t move. “Are you quite finished fighting yet? I’d love to explain why I’m on your ship and eating your food,” he told her, annoyance and amusement mixed together in his voice.

Bubbles held the Zabrak’s gaze, trying to understand his angle. She decided that whatever he wanted, she wasn’t in immediate danger. The odds were clearly stacked against her and maybe befriending him for a while would give her enough time to get rid of him later, before he took her to Dace. Yeah, she was done fighting.

Well, almost. On a whim, she bit the Zabrak’s neck, the only part of him she could reach, hard enough to leave deep teeth mark. He had intruded on her, humiliated her and she didn’t like feeling beaten; she preferred having the last word in an argument. The man recoiled in pain, clearly surprised at her actions. “Yeah, now I’m done,” she said grinning.

“I guess I had it coming,” he answered casually. The Zabrak gracefully got to his feet and offered Bubbles a helping hand, which she proudly ignored. She folded her arms over her chest, waiting for an explanation, but the man offered none. Instead, he gathered Bubbles’ weapons and handed them back to her. She then watched, as he flipped the table back on its feet. “Have a seat, I’ll whip us both something to eat and explain my business here.”


_________________


Before you criticize someone, try to put yourself on their ship and fly around a while. That way, when you criticize them, you're a few parsecs away and you have their ship.
IgotRocks

user avatar

Joined: 10 Oct 2011
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

As the ground rushed up to meet him, Rocks summoned the strength, through sheer force of will, to stagger a half step forward and wrap his arms around the lithe smuggler captain. Dragging her down with him, he landed hard on top of her and listened to her head bang against the metal floor with a satisfying thud that slightly eased the painful blow he had so recently received.

Taking advantage of the opportunity presented to him, Rocks locked his hands behind the Togrutas back and squeezed hard, making sure she didn’t have room to maneuver and deliver another painful surprise.

“Are you quite finished fighting yet? I’d love to explain why I’m on your ship and eating your food.” Rocks was irked and entertained at the same time; this Togruta smuggler definitely had a considerable amount of personality. He just wished she would express it in ways that hurt less.

After a few moments of soul searching, the angry smuggler seemed to finally relax and lower her guard, ready to talk and call a truce. Leaning forward and looking like she was about to speak, the pretty Togruta leaned right past his face and sunk her teeth into his neck.

Pushing himself up while holding her shoulders to the floor, Rocks recoiled, more in shock than pain. The smuggler captain was looking up at him grinning, “Yeah, now I’m done!”

“I guess I had that coming,” Rocks answered with his best calm, cool-tough guy voice. Springing lightly back to his feet, Rocks did his best not to betray any sign he was still feeling the after affects of being kicked. He leaned down and offered assistance to the Togruta but wasn’t surprised when it was refused and the pretty smuggler got to her feet entirely under her own power.

The ship’s captain folded her arms over her chest and assumed the posture of someone who expected to have her demands met. Ignoring the obvious expectations for an immediate explanation, Rocks instead bent down and collected the smugglers fallen weapons and returned them back to her.

Grabbing the heavy durasteel table and flipping it back right side up, Rocks motioned with a nod of his head. “Have a seat, I’ll whip us both up something to eat and explain my business here.”

Moving with quick efficiency, Rocks let his hands move about the familiar task of preparing a meal, while trying to think where to begin his tale. Finally, he decided that a simple explanation was his best chance of getting the help he needed and not turned over to the Sith for a reward instead.

“Name’s Rocks, I’m a Jedi Sentinel, sent here on council business. . . “ Just then, Rocks was rudely interrupted by an outburst of laughter from the haughty smuggler. “If you’re a Jedi, then I’m a Wookiee queen, “she blurted out leaning forward over the table.

Sticking with his simple approach, Rocks looked for something close at hand to demonstrate for the skeptical Togruta. Reaching out with The Force, Rocks seized a plump muja fruit from the counter and moved it rapidly towards the pretty smuggler’s face, before slowing it and letting it drop to the table in front of her.

The startled look on her face brought Rocks the first smile he could remember in a long time. Teasingly, he said, ” Is that Jedi enough for you?” proud he could shake the seemingly unshakable smuggler. “By the way, you have real pretty eyes for a Wookiee queen,” he added, trying to needle her one more time before getting back to business.


_________________
Captain Bubbles

user avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

Bubbles sat, watching the Zabrak freely use her galley and cooking supplies, unsure what to think. “Name’s Rocks. I’m a jedi sentinel, sent here on council business…” Upon hearing the word jedi, Bubbles started laughing. It made no sense. What would one of them want with her ship? “If you’re a jedi, then I’m a Wookiee queen, come on!” She wanted the truth.

Then suddenly, one of the muja fruits Bubbles kept on the counter lifted itself in midair, crossed the room to the table and dropped right infront of her. “Is that jedi enough for you?” He sounded so proud. “By the way, you have real pretty eyes for a Wookiee queen,” he added teasingly.

Bubbles rolled her eyes and shook her head at the smug remark. Still, she was relieved. It seemed Rocks wasn’t here to bring her to Dace Etison after all. “A jedi,” she thought. Since her childhood, she had tried to stay clear away from them and their conflict. She still had no idea what the Zabrak was doing on her ship and she was getting restless, which Rocks seemed to feel.

“Listen, long story short: I’m here on a mission, my ship got blown up, the Sith are looking for me, I need transportation to Tython.” Bubbles perked up at those words and examined the jedi closely. It seemed he needed her. Maybe this was the job she had been looking for.

“Hmm! Well listen… Rocks, is it? Name’s Bubbles. Looks like you’re in trouble and it seems I can help you. Now, before we agree on anything, let’s talk about how expensive that problem of yours is gonna be,” she asked coyly.

The jedi looked at her, frowning. If he was expecting her to just freely help out from the goodness of her heart, he was out of his mind. She had problems of her own. She stared back at him, not budging. To make her point clear, she kicked her chair back slightly and leaned back, her feet resting casually on the table. “Well?” she inquired.

“The jedi council will provide you with a reasonable reward for your assistance,” Rocks replied. Bubbles was not sure what that meant. For all she knew, it could mean they would just overlook her slightly dishonorable business practices and let her go quietly, which wouldn’t pay her bills. “Reasonable? I’m sure the Sith would also offer a reasonable reward for your capture. You need my help? Well, I need an incredible amount of credits. And dinner,” she looked at her supplies for the week vanishing quickly as Rocks prepared their food. “You definitely owe me dinner.”

She eyed the Zabrak, waiting for his agreement, but he simply brushed off the question. “How about we discuss it over some food?” Bubbles shrugged. It seemed all the jedi could think about was food. But... maybe a hot meal and the promise of a shipload of credits was all she needed to brighten her mood.


_________________


Before you criticize someone, try to put yourself on their ship and fly around a while. That way, when you criticize them, you're a few parsecs away and you have their ship.
IgotRocks

user avatar

Joined: 10 Oct 2011
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

“The Jedi Council will provide you with a reasonable reward for your assistance,” Rocks assured Bubbles. Looking at her closely to gauge her reaction, Rocks felt his stomach drop a little, as an avarice gleam entered her eyes.

“Reasonable? I’m sure the Sith would also offer a reasonable reward for your capture. You need my help? Well, I need an incredible amount of credits. And dinner, you definitely owe me dinner.”Seeing the way the Togruta was eyeing his gratuitous use of her supplies, Rocks started to form a witty response when he was interrupted by a loud alarm klaxon.

“Oh, what now!” The smuggler captain exclaimed, sounding like she was rapidly approaching the end of her last nerve.

Rocks decided that the old soldiers adage about eating when you have the opportunity definitely applied to his situation. “Who knows, it could be my last meal,” he thought dreadfully. He quickly applied himself to scooping up the hot food he was preparing on the nanowave stove and started gulping it down in big bites, while stuffing the leftovers in the chill box.

While he finished chewing his last bite, Bubbles stood and directed a quizzical look in his direction. Inclining his head to indicate that she should lead the way, Rocks was rewarded with an exasperated shake of Togruta headtails before the lithe smuggler set out in the direction of the cockpit, Rocks following close on her heels.

Moving behind the copilot’s seat, as Bubbles slid into the captain’s, Rocks could see a bright orange light pulsing, on and off, in the middle of the ship’s instrument panel. He watched as Bubbles hand slid forward to key her communicator open, “This is The Mischievous Ferry,” she said in a level voice, despite the strained look on her face, “What seems to be the problem?”

The speaker in the cockpit crackled and an angry bored voice broadcast the response after a brief burst of static. “We detect two life forms aboard your ship and The Mischievous Ferry has only been registered for one. The Sith are looking for a dangerous fugitive and request permission to board and search you.” The voice cut off in an abrupt manner that left little doubt that it expected compliance.

Bubbles turned and looked over her shoulder to Rocks, her eyes searching his face. . . .


_________________
Captain Bubbles

user avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

The ship's alarm startled Bubbles, almost making her fall out of her seat. “Oh, what now!” she exclaimed, exhausted. She’d had enough unpleasant surprises for the day.

She quickly stood up and exchanged a look with her new passenger. Rocks seemed much calmer than she was; he was stuffing dinner down his throat, while stacking what he couldn’t eat in the chillbox. Bubbles shook her head at him, turned her back and headed for the cockpit at a quick pace. Heavy footsteps followed.

Bubbles sat in the pilot’s seat and glanced at her instruments. The orange flashing light on the communications panel meant they were being hailed by port authorities. She didn’t like the sound of that, but ignoring the message would only raise suspicions. “This is The Mischievous Ferry,” she said, her voice as steady as she could manage, “What seems to be the problem?”

“We detected two life forms aboard your ship and The Mischievous Ferry has only been registered for one. The Sith are looking for a dangerous fugitive and request permission to board and search.” The voice was cold and business-like. Bubbles figured that the port officials had either been bribed or threatened; it wasn’t normal, in Anchorhead, to do the Empire’s bidding. She assumed her ship wasn’t the only one getting searched.

She looked at Rocks, who was standing behind her. The Zabrak finally seemed on edge, probably realizing that his life was in her hands. She flashed him a quick smile, to reassure him. It was also in her best interest to not be boarded by Imperials. They tended to be thorough and she had a good amount of questionable goods stacked away in hidden compartments. Bubbles had to find a way out of this search or she too, would be in trouble. Her thoughts were racing.

“Negative, sir,” she replied calmly. “I simply brought back a handsome young catch from the cantina, if you know what I mean…” The jedi was far from her type; he was bulky, intimidating and somewhat scary looking, but no one had to know that. Still, she felt her face get warm as she said the words, but she didn’t care, this was an explanation that would work. But it didn’t: “We insist that the Sith be allowed to search your ship.”

Bubbles started to feel really on edge. She took a deep breath and spoke in her comm, once more. “Fine, fine, have it your way. But we’re indecent at the moment… Give me a few minutes to find some clothes.”

She knew she would regret this later, but the promise of payment and the threat a thorough ship search posed to her business left her with no choice. She ignited the ship’s engine. Almost instantly, her comm burst to life: “We have detected that your engines have been turned on. Abort immediately or we will be forced to take hostile actions.”

Bubbles swallowed hard. She had never actually piloted a ship in combat before and her hands were getting all clammy just thinking about it. “Hmm negative, we have a slight technical malfunction with the hmmm, forward... ion reactor…” she managed.

“That’s not even a thing!” Rocks exclaimed behind her. Bubbles jumped at the sound of his voice. For a moment, she had forgotten he was there. "Wishful thinking", she muttered. She turned to face the Zabrak and while looking him in the eye, she ended the communication with port authorities by slamming her fist on the panel. She didn’t have to take any attitude from him, especially when she was trying to help him.

“You shut your mouth when you talk to me! When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you. Now, shut up, sit down and strap in,” she hissed at Rocks, feeling frightened at their escape, angry at the situation and hopeful for a reward.


_________________


Before you criticize someone, try to put yourself on their ship and fly around a while. That way, when you criticize them, you're a few parsecs away and you have their ship.
IgotRocks

user avatar

Joined: 10 Oct 2011
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

“So she thinks I’m handsome, does she?” Rocks felt his chest swell up a little bit and his hands moved unconsciously to straighten his clothes. Before he could begin to speculate what the pretty smuggler might look like in an indecent state, Rocks was startled back to the present as Bubbles reached down and deftly flipped a toggle on the side of the control panel. The ship shuddered and came to life, engines quickly powering up to a smooth hum. Almost as quickly, the ship’s speaker crackled again and the control tower technician’s voice blared, definitely angry this time, “We have detected that your engines have been turned on. Abort immediately or we will be forced to take hostile actions.”

“Hmm negative, we have a slight technical malfunction with the hmmm, forward… ion reactor…” Bubbles tried to smooth talk the control tower technician.

Before he could stop himself Rocks blurted out, “That’s not even a thing!” His outburst caused the pretty Togruta to startle and give a small jump in her seat. She mumbled, “Wishful thinking”, before turning to face him.

Meeting the smuggler captain’s eyes, it was Rock’s turn to be startled as she cut off communication with the port authorities by smashing her hand down on the control panel.

As the last echoes of sound died down, her eyes smoldered and she berated the Zabrak, “You shut your mouth when you talk to me! When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you. Now, shut up, sit down and strap in,” she ended almost with a hiss.

Dropping into the co-pilot seat next to her, Rocks barely had his shoulders under the straps when he was slammed into his seat by the bold smuggler’s rapid takeoff. Pushing off the floor, he was able to brace himself long enough to fully strap in. Moments afterwards, the ship gave a violent lurch and seemed to leap sideways. Before he could ask what happened, he had his answer in the form of turbolaser fire streaking past the cockpit window.

“Eeeeeekkkk”, Bubbles squeaked in apparent dismay at her ship being struck, moving one of her hands to redirect the deflector shields towards the side of the ship under fire. Before she could move her hand back to its place on the ship’s controls, it gave another lurch as it was struck once more by the port’s turbolasers. Shrieking again the Togruta struggled to control her craft, finally completing a wild series of loops and rolls before coming out in stable flight and beginning to streak towards outer atmosphere.

Reaching for a second set of ship’s controls that weren’t in front of him in the stripped down smuggler craft, Rocks bellowed, “Have you ever even piloted a ship before!? You have no fracking clue what you’re doing!”


_________________
Captain Bubbles

user avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

Bubbles’ heart was beating so hard that she was sure Rocks could hear it, even over the engine’s roars. Her ship, the most important thing in her life, was under heavy fire. “And all because of this arrogant Zabrak!” she thought angrily. If she didn’t have to focus all her energy on not dying, Bubbles would be yelling at Rocks for choosing to hide on The Mischievous Ferry. “Always putting others in danger, these karking jedi, bringing their war to people who want nothing to do with it!” she fumed quietly.

Suddenly, her ship was struck by turbolasers, causing Bubbles to squeak like a little girl. She quickly rerouted the deflector shields to the aft of her ship, angry at herself for not having thought of doing it sooner and hoping that the damage was only superficial.

She was just a rookie, as green as they get. It was true that she had watched Dace pilot the ship many times as he got them out of sticky situations, but it was a completely different ordeal to actually be at the controls in combat. She found the ship’s acceleration to be very satisfying, but the high speed made it difficult to remain in control of lateral movements.

When Bubbles felt her ship getting struck a second time, she banked hard to starboard. She shrieked loudly as The Ferry executed several unplanned loops and rolls, while she attempted to bring her craft back to a stable ascension in the atmosphere. She finally felt her back hit the pilot’s seat while her headtails fell to her shoulders; gravity letting her know she had won their little skirmish.

She shot a quick glance to her passenger. He looked like he wasn’t the only one wishing he had picked another ship to hide on. “Have you ever even piloted a ship before?! You have no fracking clue what you’re doing!” he yelled at her.

She returned her attention to the controls and perfectly executed a starboard roll, followed by a forward loop, avoiding two hits from the turbolasers. “Well… in my defense, they have no clue what I’m doing either!” she replied, unable to hide her proud smile.

Bubbles felt it, when they finally crossed the layer between atmosphere and space; she enjoyed the lightness, the slight change in her weight as the artificial gravity generator kicked in. However, she barely had any time to appreciate the moment; her sensors had picked up four ships leaving Anchorhead, following the same departure vector she had.

She noticed Rocks lean in to examine the sensors. “We’re in trouble,” he said calmly. “Those are Sith fighters on our tail and they’re gonna outrun this rickety bucket in no time.” Bubbles wasn’t sure if she was more annoyed at having Sith bent on blowing up her ship or listening to Rocks insult her most prized possession. Sure, her ship wasn’t pretty on the outside, but that was the smart thing to do; nobody expected a piece of scrap metal to pack a punch like she did, or to have powerful shields, maneuverability and speed.

“Well, don’t just sit there, you idiot! Get to the laser cannons and distract them until the navicomputer is done calculating the jump to Tython!” she yelled at him. The air of calmness about him was making Bubbles angry and on edge. Maybe he wasn’t worried about his life, but he should at least have the decency to worry about hers.

Bubbles was inputting coordinates to the navicomputer and when she looked to the copilot’s seat, she saw that Rocks hadn’t budged. She was about to yell at him again, but the jedi spoke firmly: “Has anyone ever taught you manners? I respond better to being asked than ordered.”

She couldn’t believe his nerve! “You intruded on me. You put me in danger. You insulted my ship. I don’t have to ask you anything, except what the frack you’re still doing in the cockpit!” Her headtails were twitching angrily. Their lives were at stake and this fool wanted to sit calmly and discuss manners.

The furious twitching of her headtails subsided as Rocks finally walked away. Bubbles took a deep breath and focused all her attention on the evasive maneuvers to come.


_________________


Before you criticize someone, try to put yourself on their ship and fly around a while. That way, when you criticize them, you're a few parsecs away and you have their ship.
IgotRocks

user avatar

Joined: 10 Oct 2011
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

“Has anyone ever taught you manners? I respond better to being asked than ordered,” Rocks said with calm authority. This might be the Togruta’s ship and it might be his fault they were in this situation, but that was no reason for her to get grumpy.

The fire and venom that flared up in the pretty smuggler’s eyes made Rocks take an involuntary step back; maybe complaining now instead of later wasn’t the wisest course of action.

“You intruded on me. You put me in danger. You insulted my ship. I don’t have to ask you anything, except what the frack you’re still doing in the cockpit!” The last was said with an angry twitch of headtails that confirmed he would have been smarter to keep his mouth closed.

Moving down the passageway quickly became a complicated procedure as Bubbles continued her wild evasive maneuvers. Using both hands to fend off the walls and a little bit of the Force, Rocks finally came to the Mischievous Ferry’s gun turret.

Whistling under his breath, the Jedi was properly impressed by the hardware in front of him: it appeared to be a miniature version of a heavy turbolaser, like the ones that had so recently been firing at them. “Maybe this ship isn’t such a hunk of junk after all,” Rocks mused out loud as he slid into the seat in front of the controls and began to strap in. Bumping the toggle switch to bring the guns online brought a satisfying whine as the capacitors began to charge up.

Rocks had to scrunch down a little in the seat; the controls were definitely set up for someone closer to the Togruta’s size, but that wasn’t going to stop him from putting some big smoking holes in the sides of the filthy Sith pursuing them.

As he ratcheted down the last shoulder strap, the Jedi noticed a headset and microphone hanging above the targeting screen. Slipping it over his head he was greeted by a halfhearted grumbling and short shrieks, “Stupid Jedi, insult my ship will he, tells me I don’t know how to fly, eeeekkkk, if I didn’t know how to fly, could I have done that so perfectly?”
Smiling as the gun completed its warm up routine and showed all green across the instrument readout, Rocks decided to have a little fun with his new and unwilling sidekick. “Hey gorgeous, how about you relax and smooth out your wild flying so I can dust a few of these bastards before they put holes in both of us.”

Rocks heard a sharp intake of breath before the lovely smuggler captain’s voice thundered in his ears, “How long have you been listening to me!? Dirty eaves dropping Jedi. This is smooth flying, don’t make me fly rough!”

Snatching the headphones away from his ears, Rocks replied, “Ok, ok woman. Save the explosions for the Sith and spare my ears. You’d think she’d never been teased before,” he finished in a softer tone, as he settled the headphones back into place.

All joking aside, it was time to get serious. The gun’s targeting screen showed four incoming Sith fighters, moving in a loose two by two formation. Holding them off long enough to make the jump to hyperspace, without ending up with a few more holes in the hull than the manufacturer intended, was going to take skill, coordinated teamwork, and more luck than you could stack in a smuggling compartment big enough to fit a rancor in.

While Bubbles maintained smooth and level flight, Rocks held back at the gun controls. They were only going to get one chance to even the odds. Moving the targeting cursor over the lead craft, Rocks tightened his fingers on the triggers, slowly taking up all the slack.

When the two leading Sith craft allowed their paths to overlap, the Zabrak Jedi smiled and applied the final pressure needed to fire the guns. They slammed back into his hands, almost instantly recharging. Rocks fired again, once, twice, three times in rapid succession. The quick burst of fire from the turbolaser left the barrels glowing red and the two Sith craft in rapidly expanding explosions. Debris rocketed out from their twisted wreckage to clatter against the Mischievous Ferry’s hull.

Before he could swing the guns to try and hit a third ship, both Sith fighters accelerated, using as yet untapped energy reserves, while simultaneously taking radical evasive maneuvers. One fighter looped above the Ferry, staying so close the hulls almost rubbed, while the second fighter dove below.

“Roll to starboard, he’s too fracking close to shoot,” Rocks shouted into his microphone, hoping the inexperienced pilot could respond in time to save them both. The words had barely left his lips when he felt the ship quickly roll, bringing the third Sith’s glowing engine ports to rest under the targeting cursor. Unleashing a stream of red bolts, the zabrak didn’t release his grip on the triggers until the small compact fighter shuddered and belched long columns of fire from all of its hatches.

Scanning the targeting screen for the location of the fourth fighter, Rocks found it the same time his headphones crackled, “10 seconds to hyperspace,” Bubbles shrieked in his ears. The enemy fighter had completed its loop beneath them and was now coming back at full speed. Mentally counting down in his head, Rocks was at two when the Sith fighter opened fire, one when the ship shuddered and shook and then his stomach was lurching as the familiar sense of entering hyperspace came upon him.

Hitting the quick releases on the seat’s harness, Rocks stood and moved back down the hallway towards the cockpit. He was startled as Bubbles flew around the corner and pounced forward, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.
“I knew we’d be fine, right from the start! Did you see me, I was amazing!” The bright eyed Togruta exclaimed, her blue smiling eyes locked into his. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her close and of course, just as he started enjoying the hug, the ship gave a hiccup and dropped from hyperspace. The smuggler’s smile vanished and she pushed him away. “I knew it. From the beginning, I knew we were going to die!” Bubbles exclaimed before turning to run towards the cockpit.


_________________
Captain Bubbles

user avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

This was not good. It was bad. Much worse than a stingy employer who won’t pay kind of bad. It was more like I’m about to fall in a sarlacc pit and be slowly digested for the next millennia, kind of bad.

As Bubbles’ feet raced to the cockpit, so was her mind. There were a number of reasons a ship could drop out of hyperspace and not a single one was pleasant. There was a chance they could have flown into an interdiction field, generated by who knows what… maybe very rich and bloodthirsty pirates or worse, the Sith. Or they could have naturally come out of hyperspace, the ship sensors picking up debris or asteroids. She gulped. Or it could be critical engine failure. Whatever it was, she didn’t like it.

Bubbles reached the cockpit and instantly dropped in the captain’s seat, scanning her instruments. The first thing she noticed was that there was no other ship or any planet or debris to have pulled them out of hyperspace. “We’re alone,” she said, feeling somewhat reassured. But then, she spotted the problem and repeated herself, “We’re alone,” this time, her voice strident and desperate.

They had a severed fuel line, probably from the hit the ship had sustained from the remaining Sith fighter, just before jumping to hyperspace. Thankfully, they weren’t losing fuel; the fuel tanks automatically sealed off if a leak was detected. But out here, in deep space, there was no way to attempt any outside hull repairs. There wasn’t enough power left for long range transmissions, she didn’t own any fancy droids and before she stole Dace’s ship, he had sent the only space suit aboard for maintenance. And she hadn’t exactly gotten to replacing it yet. “We’re gonna die,” she said, matter of factly.

Rocks sat in the copilot’s seat and started examining the instruments. She didn’t pay him any attention; she was focused on coming up with an alternate plan. The only thing she could think to do was to cut power to everything except life support and hopefully stay alive long enough for someone to find them. Pirates, probably…

Her fingers moved quickly on the instrument panel, as she disabled all her ship’s systems, one after the other. As she worked, she spoke softly, trying to reassure herself, “No, no… we can’t die. You know why? Because we are so very pretty.”

“Hmm, Bubbles?” Rocks spoke calmly, bringing her out of her trance. Did he not understand he needed to be quiet? “Shhh, don’t talk. And would you stop panicking. You’re using up all the air!” He laughed. Her eyes turned murderous. “If you’re done being hysterical, I guess now is a good time to talk about the astrodroid I stashed in a smuggling compartment behind your chillbox.”

Bubbles perked up at the word astrodroid. She tilted her head sideways and carefully examined the jedi; he looked so smug and proud he had to actually be serious about the droid. Her eyes widened and she quickly got to her feet and headed for the galley at a quick pace. She knew exactly which container Rocks was talking about; she was planning on using it as a decoy compartment, stuffed with somewhat legal items. She’d get in trouble for them, but not too much. It would make the authorities feel like they had found something, while keeping Bubbles’ real smuggled goods hidden and safe.

She opened the compartment and there it was: a T7 astromech droid. Her jaw dropped. These models were top of the line and highly reliable, although this particular unit looked like it had seen better days. She patted the little droid on the head and turned to Rocks. “The next time I think we’re all gonna die and you have a brilliant plan to save the day, you better speak up sooner.”


_________________


Before you criticize someone, try to put yourself on their ship and fly around a while. That way, when you criticize them, you're a few parsecs away and you have their ship.
IgotRocks

user avatar

Joined: 10 Oct 2011
Posts:

Send private message
Reply with quote

re: Bubbles & Rocks, a tale of two worlds

“If you’re done being hysterical, I guess now would be a good time to talk about the astrodroid that I stashed in a smuggling compartment behind your chillbox.” Rocks was trying to tease Bubbles without completely pissing her off. He’d spotted the error light on the command console in the cockpit and knew the anti-matter fuel line to the hyperspace engines was severed. If he hadn’t brought the little droid along on a whim, they might be settling in for a long slow death but as it was, they should be looking at a fifteen minute fix once they got the T7 out the airlock.

The slim Togruta’s headtails perked up at the words astrodroid and she tilted her head to peer up at him. Unable to resist the quizzical look she was directing his way, Rocks grinned broadly and folded his arms across his chest.

Bubbles’ bright eyes widened and she bolted from the cockpit at almost a dead sprint. Rocks gave a small chuckle before dashing through the door, to follow her down the corridor to the galley. Rounding the corner, Bubbles threw the chillbox to one side and opened the compartment.

The little droid swiveled his optics to look at her and gave a happy sounding series of beeps, boops and whirls. Patting the little droid on his carbon scarred head and not looking at Rocks, the lithe smuggler said, “The next time I think we are all gonna die and you have a brilliant plan to save the day, you better speak up sooner.”

“Awwww don’t get angry. It’s not my fault you’re even cuter when you’re panicking! Besides,” Rocks said, “You never asked me if I was by myself or not.”

The Togruta’s headtails started jerking in short angry bursts and she looked up with murder in her eyes. “Oh, don’t get your headtails in a knot, I swear, some people have no sense of humor,” Rocks complained as he shouldered her aside to pull the droid out of the compartment. As he turned with the battered T7 in his arms, Rocks felt sharp pain in his backside that made him drop the little droid and spin around to confront a now grinning Bubbles, holding a very sharp and gleaming boot knife.

“There’s nothing wrong with my sense of humor,” Bubbles said, as she leaned forward to try and needle him again with her knife. “I find this absolutely hilarious!”
Rocks moved to put the battered and now angrily beeping T7 between them, “OK I get your point. Literally. I’ll knock off the jokes, you put the knife away, and my new little buddy here will have your ship fixed up in no time.”

The pretty Togruta smirked as she sheathed her knife inside her boot, “Follow me ace, I hope your little droid can fix starships better than you handle my humor.”
She moved out of the galley with a little bounce in her step and an attractive swing to her hips. Rocks followed quickly and took the opportunity to examine the lithe smuggler more closely. “Very nice, very very nice indeed”. He would have liked to run into her in a quiet cantina somewhere between missions for the Council.

The young Jedi felt the lessons of his dead master stir in the back of his head; he could hear his voice instructing him in the Jedi Code, warning against emotion and passion. But the code only warned against them it didn’t forbid them, at least that was how the Zabrak chose to interpret it.

Smile returning to his face Rocks thought, “Still going to be a long trip to Tython, plenty of time to impress her with my incredible charm and even more incredible cooking.”

They arrived at the hatch and airlock and Rocks quickly lifted his eyes up to meet Bubbles thinking, “Hope she didn’t notice me checking her out.” Quickly getting busy to avoid any possible awkward questions, the bulky Zabrak pushed the scarred up T7 the rest of the way into the airlock and hit the switch to close the hatch and start to cycle the air out.

The Mischievous Ferry gave a small shudder as the outside hatch of the airlock cycled open, the little droid flashed his optic lights twice and then rolled through the hatch and out of site. “You should head back to the cockpit and let me know when the warning light goes out, I will stay here and let the droid back in.”

Bubbles scowled briefly and looked like she wanted to argue, but after a moment of hesitation, nodded her head and left back in the direction of the cockpit. As she walked away, Rocks could hear the small astrodroid rolling along the outside of the hull as it made its way back towards the ship’s engines.


_________________
Posts from:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Pax Republica Forum Index -> RP and Character Stories All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum