Thieves' Den

The Shadow glides gracefully through the canyon toward the hidden hangar of the Thieves' Den. With everyone on board and even picking up a handful of strays the ride over felt crowded for most as nearly everyone wanted to stay in the common area closest to the ramp with only Adrien and Trent in the cockpit. Adrien sat next to Trent and pointed out which cave was the entrance. "That one." When Trent nodded Adrien continued, "The entrance is tricky, you'll have to swing around and then straighten up, there's a few twists and then the hangar will be there." He patted Trent on the shoulder and headed back to the common area to talk to everyone directly. "I'm gonna have to ask that everyone to leave their weapons aboard the Shadow. It's nothing personal, but this is our home you're entering." He didn't mention that there were children there. He looked around to everyone in the room, even his crew members, "Everyone." He then gave a pointed glance at Liya as he continued, "You'll be safe. You have my word." He doubted his word would mean much to Liya, but there it was.

As the ship flew into the hangar and set down Adrien headed toward the ramp and lowered it to see Rachael at the bottom. He walked down the ramp and wrapped his arms around her, it was clear there was something different about this hug, like he needed it. He looked at her and she could see the sadness in his eyes immediately.

"What happened?" She spoke thoughtfully as she placed a hand on his cheek.

He shook his head and forced a grin, "Later, ok?" She nodded and he walked on. Heading toward Mack, Dax, and Ryder who were all standing ready as security, he greeted each of them in his own way Mack with a handshake, Ryder a fist bump, and Dax a pat on the back. "Where's my brother?"

"He's in the office."

"Anything exciting happen since I've been gone?"

"Not a thing, it's been quiet here for months. At least since the last time you were here."

Adrien nodded and smiled "Good. You and Dax should be happy to see some of our guests by the way." He looked back at the ramp then moved on hearing the clapping of little feet to the hangar floor.

"UNCLE ADRIEN!!!"

Neah, Rachael and Ethan's daughter, was running toward him as fast as her little legs would carry here. She was only three but she'd been talking before she could even walk and she remembered everything so he did his best to watch what he said around her, sort of. "Neah!" He held his arms out and caught her as she jumped toward him, he lifted her over his head and she giggled uncontrollably. He held her and the first genuinely joyful smile he'd had in weeks crossed his face. "You're getting so big!" He hugged her tightly. "You been kicking Eli's choobies at hide and seek?"

She nodded with a big smile on her face "Uh-huh. I'm the best frackin hider in the skips."

Adrien looked around to see if Rachael heard what she said or if Ethan was around and then he sat her down, kneeling beside her. "Damn right you are." He winked and gave her a high five before she ran off again. Adrien smiled and shook his head then continued on toward the office. He didn't see Ethan, Ace, Spaz, or Eli around but he assumed that Eli and Spaz were playing a game somewhere and Ace was in the office with Tobias.

Back at the ship Rachael was greeting everyone coming off.

"Hello everyone, my name is Rachael Lurov. As I'm sure Adrien said we ask that you leave all of your weapons on board the Shadow. They'll remain there for the duration of your stay here. I'm sure you're all tired so we have rooms being prepared for you to get some rest. We have everything you should need here but if you require something else please let me know and I will head into town to get it. You are welcome to leave at any time, however this place is difficult to find when you know where you're going and the way back isn't exactly safe."

Adrien had already made it to the office by the time anyone was coming off the ship, he didn't see Ace but Tobias was working on something. "You gave up the adventure of the stars to sit around here and do paperwork?"

"Well someone has to do it Little Brother and it sure isn't going to be you."

"You know we're smuggler's right? We don't really need a paper trail." Adrien quipped.

"I'm aware. This paperwork helps keep up the appearance of legality and keeps you flying around unhindered."

"But the adventure!" He jokingly plead.

"That's your problem Little Brother, He stood up and walked around the desk your head is always in the stars." He closed the gap between him and Adrien and saw the same thing that Rachael saw "What happened?"

The tears almost immediately began to fill his eyes once more and as much as he wanted to say what had happened he could barely speak a single word, "Connie..." was the only word he could force out before he began to break down and Tobias grabbed him, wrapping his arms around his brother to console him despite his own shock and pain from the news. Adrien didn't need to say anything else as he buried his head in his brother's shoulder and Tobias himself began to tear up.

Leaving the Skip One I knew behind and travelling (by spaceship, no less) to a different, even more secret part of the space rock was not at all what I had in mind when I agreed that we needed a private meeting place. We needed a place to ourselves, but not by cutting us off from our resources on The Red Cred or hidden elsewhere on the Skip.

But the decision was made, and I was left with three irreconcilable facts.

Irreconcilable fact number one: Fel was alive, he had the means to contact people, but he hadn’t contacted us. What the frip did that mean? The options were not appealing: mental illness, mind control, amnesia, spite, ego, a major change in character (positive or negative), etc. Or maybe he just thought WE were dead? Imperial Intelligence loved it’s fake news when it came to mentally torturing someone into desperate actions, after all. The sooner I saw that data chip, the better. The ride could have been five seconds, and that was still too long.

Irreconcilable fact number two: Isabelle had reappeared from wherever the universe had been hiding her for the last five years. When I had parted company with the thief, halfway across the galaxy, I had assumed I’d never see her again. And I was fine with that. At the time, I’d wanted to ring her neck after the job went sideways on us, but I wasn’t that person anymore. Deep down, I didn’t want her dead. But I wasn’t sure I wanted her HERE, either. And why in space was she using an alias? Did Adrien even know her real name?

I spent most of the trip to the Thieves’ Den keeping at least one eye on Isabelle, but maintaining my distance and an awkward silence. This was between me and her, and we didn’t need a large audience in a cramped space for that. Besides, neither of us was going anywhere for awhile. We could sort out our issues later, preferably alone and with plenty of professional courtesy.

Turning away with a slightly sick feeling as my old partner began hitting on the Doctor, I stared out at the fast-approaching canyon, both critiquing The Shadow’s pilot as he navigated the twists and turns, and committing them to memory in case I ever had a reason to come back … or we needed to leave on our own, without Draykon’s permission. I couldn’t know for sure what was waiting for us, or whether he intended to, er, control our departures.

Glancing around the crowded common area, my eye caught Adrien’s Mandalorian woman again. I’d have to take her out first, if there was a fight. I wondered if she was a Fett. I didn’t know much about clan insignia, but I did know that no orders from her boss, an outsider to the Mandalorians, would stop her if she knew who I was, and that would make today a thousand times worse. But it was too late now, and anyway she didn’t seem to recognize me. I’d let Malora handle Ade. That would leave me against … too many others. Not to mention trying to avoid friendly fire from the inexperienced Doctor.

But the ship was touching down now. I raised one eyebrow questioningly at the no-weapons request, but then let out a sigh, and proceeded to deposit my gun belt, two DL-44 pistols, a tiny holdout pistol, a length of braided steel cord, a couple of paper packets that might have been squashed ration bars or might have been thermal detonators covered in old ration wrappers, a three-inch steel nail, and two razor blades into a storage locker. It was overkill, some of that stuff didn’t really even count as a weapon, but if I really needed something, I’d do what I always did: improvise. Throwing it all down now was almost in itself a threat of future action.

At the bottom of the ramp, I found myself staring in wonder at irreconcilable fact number three. Draykon hadn’t brought us to some secret hideout. He had brought us to his HOME. A woman, who clearly meant the world to him, but not as a mate. Children running about freely, indicating this was a safe place. Children who called him “Uncle,” even. This was his family.

I stood, blinking several times, momentarily stunned by this unexpected extension of trust, and the very existence of a Draykon family. I’d seen a lot of strange things on the Skips, but this one topped them all. When our old friends Mack and Dax gave me a wave, I exchanged a somewhat distant smile and nod, only half aware of their presence.

As Draykon disappeared, and the woman who had introduced herself as Racheal began greeting the guests on a more personal level, I finally snapped out of it, wormed my way through the other gawking smugglers, nudged Malora as she stood trading barbs with the purple-haired one, and asked in a low voice, gesturing to our surroundings, and the people inhabiting it.

“What the frack… did you know about all of this? Or any of it?”

==Doc Chop SL==
<<107 PP; S18 Sector, Midnight Shadow>>

After trading nods with the other Mando, Curjas settles down a bit. If he had been recognized, the reaction would have been much less quiet. That being the case, he might as well get himself introduced to the closest thing on the ship to a properly sentient being. The first few steps almost turn into a stumble as the servos in the knee joints of his armor sporadically lock up, but once he is moving they smooth out again.

Making sure the other mando spot his approach (it was both unwise & rude to try & sneak up on a warrior), he waits until she is finished with her obvious recon of the area.

-Curjas (In rakatan)
Greetings ...

He realized his mistake quickly enough, but even old of the older members of the clan would still recognize the language, if not speak it.

-Curjas (in mando'a)
Greetings, sibling. I am Curjas, though most end up calling me Chop for some reason. What name do you go by?

Having spent enough time among aruetii, who don't always exercise the restraint her fellow Mandalorian evidences when approaching her, that she can truly appreciate having one of her own people around, Neassa puts as much warmth in her tone as said tone coming from her buy'ce permits as, having been allowed by her vod to finish her work mapping the area and the beings within it, she turns her head to address him in Mando'a, Neassa, and though she is usually one to stick to the terse end of the conversational spectrum, even adds a somewhat formal but clearly sincere, Well met, vod.

Keeping an eye on the movements of the various blips representing the various beings in the immediate area - her captain's brunette friend (represented on her HUD by a dot designated as "Hammer") currently accompanying the Zeltron (indicated on her buy'ce's HUD by a tiny blinking blip with the designation "After Burner") that, based on the expressions and body language of just about everyone that she saw interacting with him in the Red Shi*t, appears to have an uncanny ability ability to annoy just about everyone he comes into contact with save for his Bothan buddy (indicated by a blip designated as "Fuzzy"), into a room where Adrien (represented by a dot with his name over it since it is one of an ever dwindling few names of those she knows given how many beings her captain appears to be wont to collect along the way) and an Unknown lifeform (cleverly indicated by a dot with a numbered question mark over it) had been alone for a few moments - in case things go sideways, Neassa asks Curjas in Mando'a and with the inflection that makes the question more literal than casual so that he knows she is using the question to cover as many of the initial meeting of another Mando'ade questions as possible without the need to ask them all individually, Me'vaar ti gar? * Hopefully, Neassa muses after asking the question, somewhere in Curjas' reply will be a clue as to how he managed to earn the nickname "Chop", which might suit a cook well enough, but could bode ill were it a reference to the medical skills of a baar'ur. **



* What's new with you?
** medic

==Doc Chop SL==
<<107 PP; S18 Sector, Midnight Shadow>>

Since he had never meet her before, the greeting was obviously an introduction for him to fill in. He wasn't really sure where to start, or more correctly, where would be safe. He certainly wasn't going to start blabbering about chopping up aruetii for spare cash. That was what got him chased out of the Imperium in the first place, with a minor bounty on his head at that. Then again, he could probably start at the very beginning, that was a fairly safe topic.

-Doc Chop
When was the last time you visited aliit'yaim*? It was not that long ago that the aliit'alor's** father opened the mind vault. I am one of the Rakata freed from that safeguard made by the original Infinite Empire. I admit, I am still getting used to being a mandalorian. & to seeing races I am used to as servants running the galaxy. I assure you though, Despite the remove in time, my medical skills are still sharp as before.

* Clan Home, Lehon in this particular case.
** Clan Chief, currently Aya D'Ordinii

Only a second or two had gone by when the brothers were so rudely interrupted. Adrien with his back to the door didn't see who it was but Tobias looked up immediately with red eyes and the brothers pulled away from each other. Tobias stepping around Adrien, looking squarely at Karana and clearly angry.

"What the frack are you doing?" He paused for a moment looking between the three intruders, "Any idea what a closed door means?" Tobias snapped. Adrien meanwhile had taken a few steps forward, away from everyone, with his hands sweeping down his face to wipe away the evidence of his weak moment then ran his fingers through his hair as Tobias continued, "Is this how you treat people who are trying to help you?" He returned his eyes to Karana, "Is it?!" He raised his voice but did not shout. He turned to look at Aedon, "And you. With what happened to your crew I think you of all people should have a little empathy." He turned looked between the three of them once again, "We invited you into our home so you could rest, so that we could help you get a plan together in a safe place, and then help you find Fel." He stepped forward not quite in Karana's personal space, not yet. "That wasn't my idea mind you, that was his." He pointed at Adrien and then squared back up to Karana.

"Tobias." Adrien said quietly.

But his brother continued on, "Regardless of what it cost him, regardless of what it cost us, and he didn't do it for Fel or for her (Liya), he did it for you! And you have the nerve to just barge in here and act like we owe you a chat?" By this time he had stepped into her circle and was looking down at her, the hurt and the anger all the more apparent up close. "Do you even know what--"

Tobias felt a hand on his shoulder "Toby." Adrien interrupted and Tobias turned to see his brother standing there beside him, looking him in the eye and shaking his head, "It's ok." Tobias nodded and stepped back with a final look at the three.

Adrien turned to the others with the same sad look in his eye as Tobias, perhaps even worse. "We'll talk, I promise." Then his eyes met Karana's, "I promise." His gaze lingered a moment longer before he looked down and away from her. "Give me the night and I'll be back at it tomorrow." He didn't demand or order, it sounded more like a request or a plea than anything. Tobias on the other hand had already walked back to his desk and sat down, still staring at Karana, Liya, and Aedon.