Shiny, Spicy and Maybe Crazy

[Alienor Vankar]

Boy, she couldn't remember when was the last time she had seen Molly. Alienor always made sure to keep in touch with her friend, but it'd been forever since their last heist. They had to fix that soon. It was why the young pirate - officially well-known musicial in upper circles and martial art trainer about everywhere else - had decided to pop up on Bespin. She knew that Molly did stuff there and she wasn't going to decline her friend's invitation when she had got it! She wasn't sure of what this trip could bring, but she was itching for new business ventures and new adventures altogether. The money wasn't a big deal for her at the moment, but credits and reputation could always be useful.

She had just landed and now needed to find her way to the rendezvous point with Molly. They'd definitely need food and booze to catch up with all the craziness that had happened in their life. She had no professional obligations for a good week, so she could make her visit count.

[Molly Black]

A little human girl, around seven standard years, was sitting on a bench adjacent to the lifts leading from Port Town, to the Residential District of Cloud City. In one hand she had what could only be described as an enormous lollipop, spun into a spiral of rainbow colors and flavors. The child was enjoying it so much, she almost forgot she was working at all. When she spotted her quarry, she hopped off the bench onto her feet and approached Alienor, sugary sweet in sticky hand.

"Hey... You're Ali Tankreyd, aren't 'cha?" Digging into her pocket she pulled out a piece of paper and a convenient piece of children's coloring medium. "Can I have your autograph?"

The piece of paper was already filled with script, penned in fanciful pink ink, not waxed crayon. It was obviously the abundantly girlish script belonging to Molly Black. It read: Follow the kid.

Waiting for the autograph of the famous musician, the little girl grinned up with a face full of expectancy and colors that had run together on her lips to become one indistinct blue-black mess.

[Alienor Vankar]

Humming one of her all-time favorite tunes, Alienor nevertheless saw the kid approaching. Or rather, she should say she saw the big ass lollipop with a little girl attached to it. She grinned to the kid's question. "Yup, that'd be me, sweetheart." She wasn't used to have children ask for her autograph, but generally speaking, it was common in certain places across the galaxy.

And Ali was really curious about it. "Sure thing." She grabbed the pen and looked at the paper, a wicked grin showing up on her lips when she recognized Molly's handwriting. Without hesitation, she scribbled with a fancy autograph for the kid, as a rael artist would do. "Here you go." Quirking a brow, she waited to see where the girl would wander to.

[Molly Black]

"Thanks!" Sticky fingers snatched up the paper. The kid inspected it with a grin before stuffing it none too gently into her pocket. "K, bye.", she grinned revealing a missing tooth and the new one growing in slightly askew.

With a spring in her step, the girl skipped away into the flow of pedestrian traffic. One hand carrying her lollipop, the other swinging madly at her side. She went around the natural curve of the facilities design until she was at the lifts before a different section of the residential district. Only she didn't hail a lift to ride in.. She disappeared into the stairwell. Giggling, she made a run for it.

She did however leave a trail of colored sugar hand prints..

They led to a rented apartment. #AA14 on level 192. The name plate reading, 'Minock. T.'

[Alienor Vankar]

That kid was cute for sure though Ali bet she was one heck of a mini spitfire too. That was probably such a deadly combo had been Molly's choice. She watched the little girl scamper off, and then casually began to follow her, as if she knew where the hell she was going. She caught sight of the colored sugar hand prints quick enough, and then it was follow the trail for the win.

The young blonde found it quite amusing and it was kind of a clever way to show her where to go. Of course, she couldn't help wondering in which poo-doo her friend might have got caught to rely on such a game, but she would find out soon enough.

Taking the staircases when time came, she reached the apartment number 72. Stopping in front of the door, she read the name plating and knocked.

[Molly Black]

The door whooshed open right after the knock, Molly Black's curly dark head popping out. She grinned at her friend, but made a show of peering both ways down the halls before saying so much as a word. "Judy got home?"

Across the hall, if you knew what you were looking for there was a much less obvious smudge of sticky goo on the entry hand plate of #AA15. Molly blew out a sigh of relief and pulled Ali into her temporary apartment. "Sorry about that. Can't be too careful right now. I think I'm being watched, and around here that is not a good thing. love."

"You didn't see any male Chiss loitering about, did you?", she asked, with an expression that was an odd mixture of fearful and hopeful.

[Alienor Vankar]

Ali's face lit up as her friend opened the door but she noticed how she peered both ways before anything else. She nodded to the question, guessing Judy was the lollipop cute monster. "I saw her enter..." She drawled before looking across the hall to be sure. She wasn't sure of what was going on, though this place wasn't the first one where she was on her guard. It was pretty much a healthy habit to develop when you loomed in the underworld.

She quirked a brow at what the brunette said. "Watched? Darling, what did you get yourself into?" She asked once she was inside the apartment.

At the question about the Chiss, she gave it some thought, going over the itinary she had followed to get to Molly. She pursed her lips. "Yeah, very briefly but I saw him not so far before the last turn to this building."

[Molly Black]

Relieved that Judy had made it home safely, she vowed to fork over half her candy stash to the kid in further payment.

Molly turned to Ali and bit her lip, a sure sign that yeah, it was that bad.. "I'm in a bit of trouble with the locals. They think I know something. Doesn't matter if it's true. So, until I can figure out how to fix that mess, it's just not safe to be me right now. Sorry for the drama."

Giving her friend a quick hug, she held her by the arms for a minute, truly happy to see her. "You look great! Celebrity becomes you.", she teased.

As for the Chiss.. "If you saw him, be certain that he saw you too. I'm not at all certain I can trust him, but right now he's all I have.", she admitted. "Plus you, and a bottle of wine if you're in the mood for a sipple?"

[Alienor Vankar]

Alienor had been happy to receive Molly's invitation and had thought it might be mostly hanging out and possibly discussing new heists and ventures. In an odd way, she was relieved that Molly hadn't hesitated to reach out to her in times of need. That was what friends were for, the good and the ugly. She had the gut feeling the latter wasn't going to go away in the blink of an eye. "Okay, sweetheart, you just tell me what I can do to help. I hate drama but I love kicking it in the ass."

She smiled at the quick hug and blushed at the compliment. "Why thank you! The last tour has been crazy busy, so I'm happy to have a breather!"

She wasn't sure what to think of the Chiss, but was looking forward to hear about all of this. "I brought you a selection of some millesime bottles. They're still aboard my ship, so we can fetch those later. For now, bring on the wine and tell me all about what's going on!"

[Molly Black]

Molly began by opening two bottles. She had a feeling both were going to be required before nights end. Pouring two glasses, way more than half full, Molly pondered the situation. She had wanted Alienor here for a few reasons. Firstly, they had been friends for a long time. Molly trusted her not to suddenly sell her out to the highest bidder. Alienor had no need of money that dirty, considering her talent and presence in the greater galactic music industry. Secondly, she was not only a prodigy with music, but with planning heists of all kinds. Ali had been responsible for the acquisition of some impressive ships over the years. If Molly was ever going to get her ship back, it might have to be done.. creatively.

"Let me start at the beginning.. Okay, when I first moved from Coruscant to Cloud City, I took a job as a waitress in a place called the Cloud 9 Bar and Grill, right? It was pretty much what you'd expect, but it wasn't my only job. I worked directly for one of the Vigos. I, uhh.. owed her a debt. Anyways - the point is the shit hit the fan!"

Escorting Ali toward the living room space, she invited her to sit and handed over her glass, before going back for both bottles, knowing how this was going to go..

"It went sideways when I helped a friend. Got some stuff out of his apartment and brought it to him. That's it. Turns out though the Empire wants him. Like, really wants him.. and if you've noticed, there is a strong Imperial presence on Bespin these days..", she sipped, and sipped, and sipped...

She left out the details of just who Barton Henning was and what it was she had brought to him. Not out of any suspicion of Alienor, but rather to protect her. The less she knew the better on that count.

"So...they figured out who I was, as a result I became a person of interest. Me!? I am remarkably un-interesting.", she griped.

"I tried to sneak back into Cloud City and that was when I met him."

[Alienor Vankar]

When Alienor saw Molly open two bottles, she found herself somewhat more worried than eager. And Gods knew she loved her booze. Yet, she didn't say a word and just smiled in thanks to her friend when she was handed a glass. The wine smelled divine and it tasted equally good. Even in difficult and worrisome times, she was grateful for her friendships. If Molly could put up with her craziness, she could certainly be there for her no matter what.

"Yeah, I recall the waitress job. That was about the last time you gave me a real update about what was up there." Since then, they had both been extremely busy with life and short messages summarized in "Hey how are you doing? Miss you. Must meet soon." had been the crux of their exchanges. Planting herself on a nearby seat, she brought her legs beneath her and sipped on her wine while listening to what her friend explained. Taking in all the details and memorizing all that could be useful for whatever they'd have to do to get Molly out of her current predicament, she already wanted to jump in the action and see what could be done.

"Sweetie, not sure hanging out with me will keep you out of more trouble, with how good I'm at that, but I'm here. Not sure yet how I can make you really un-interesting, as I doubt you'll ever be that, but we can work miracles, right?"

[Arriana Rezner]

There was a knocking at the door, a quick series of sharp raps.

“Temperance,” a voice said through the door, in a thick Cathari accent.

[Molly Black]

"Oh, you're not here to get me out of it, darling." Molly assured, Alienor with a sage nod and another lengthy sip from her glass. Licking her lips she smiled in a manner that promised mayhem. "I've decided. There's no going back. The only way out is through, that's where you come in."

The sound of her alias being called at the door brought a smile to Molly's face. She canted her head that way. "Reinforcements."

With a grin, Molly gained her feet, practically skipping to the door. Sliding it open, she smiled, another weight already lifting off her mind. It was like getting the band back together....only the only one who could qualify as a musician was Ali...but otherwise, just like it. "Hey...", Molly smiled at Arriana, happy she had decided to come. Sorsha had trusted her, and that was good enough for Molly Black. "Nice to see you again. Come in!"

"Arriana, this is....well.. Alienor Tankreyd. Surprise. Now it's a party."

[Arriana Rezner]

That ever-present feline role to her gait, Arriana entered the apartment with a smile on her face. She couldn't say how long it had been since she had crossed paths with Molly Black, but it was too long. The Imperial occupation of the city had made some of their business difficult and Arriana's contacts had it on good authority that Molly's difficulty had been a shade deeper than most.

Though Sorsha was gone, there were traces of her time with the Black Sun left still. The alliances she had secured were strong. Arri was grateful for that. She eyed the stranger, knowing that if she was good people to Molly, she could be trusted.

“You didn't tell me it vas a party. I vould have brought some Iridonian dancing boys to ogle,” she said, punctuating her words by pressing the tip of her tongue to one sharp incisor.

[Alienor Vankar]

"Whatever you need, hun. You know I'm in." Alienor replied without hesitation and a deadly grin on her lips. She wasn't the kind to backdown and she was fiercely protective when it came to her friends. She had a good heart but if anyone threatened people she cared for, she would unleash hell and not care about how far she would go.

When she heard someone knock at the door and call out for Molly, she quirked a brow, chuckling when the Cathar was brought in and her friend introduced everyone. "I'm not one to turn down a party. Well met, Arriana. The dancing boys would have been appreciated for sure. The alchool is good so it'll do." She chuckled and raised her glass to mark her words.

[Molly Black]

"I do love the way you think...", Molly remarked of the Iridonian dancing boys. "Maybe we can have them over to celebrate our success?"

Crossing through the kitchenette, Molly retrieved another glass and brought it over to the table. "Red? Nothing fancy here, Miss Rezner. I was going to buy the better bottle, but then I saw these shoes and..." She let that thought rail off. Considering the shine on the new black heels, they were probably killing Molly's poor feet, but you'd never know it. She always wore heels.

"I know.", she smiled appreciatively to Alienor. "I'm holding you to it. See the thing is, I want us to come up with a plan to steal back my ship."

[Xel-Naga]

The refresher sounded off and the door opened to reveal the burly Black Sun Enforcer, and close friend, and frequent customer, of Molly Black, Xel-Naga. "I definitely wouldn't pass the dancing boys." He said as he shoulder swaggered across the room to the table, where he took a seat and declined an offer of wine with a wave of his hand. From the inside pocket of his coat he produced a flask, which he immediately pulled a sip from. "Ididonians are so last season. Carshoulis had some of the most exquisite dancers I've ever seen. Cute little things."

He nodded his head in acknowledgement of his fellow Black Sun agent, and superior. He didn't work with Arriana directly, but he knew of her. His own work put him frequently underneath Sanis Prent's operation at the Cumulus Casino. Hustling debtors and throwing out trouble makers.

"You sure we can't just blast it out, Molly?"

[Arriana Rezner]

The glass of wine was much appreciated. It could have been the cheapest red this side of Coruscant, for all Arriana would have known. She sipped it and thought it tasted about the same as any other red wine she'd tasted. Whatever you could accuse the Cathar of, it was not class.

“Carshoulis.” The word wasn't a curse, but Arri said it as such. Uninvited, she found herself a chair and flopped into it, somehow managing not to slosh red wine all over in the process. She eyed Xel.

“You do know ve can't headbutt our vay out of all problems, yes?”

[Alienor Vankar]

When yet another person joined the party, a man whose name she ignored and who didn't introduce himself, Alienor kept quiet. She watched the interaction of the rest of the people who obviously knew each other. If Molly trusted them, that was good enough for the blonde. She wondered how this whole heist would go but she was excited.

"Blasting things can be a lot of fun and practical, but I take it we should go for a sneaky approach?" She said with a devious spark in her bright eyes, loving to scheme and see them to fruition. She had done a whole lot of crazy things in her life and she was ready to do more.

[Molly Black]

"Arri, is right, Xel. I think this one calls for slightly more precision. Besides.. we might hit my ship." She shook her curly head in a stern manner that suggested shooting holes in the hull of her luxury yacht was not an option.

"Xel Naga. Alienor Tankreyd." Molly introduced the two, expediently. "Not that Miss Celebrity here needs much introduction, but admit it, you guys had no idea she sang and ripped off ships!", she grinned.

"Maybe your celebrity is the angle. Sweet young thing like you, might be in the market for a party ship with a pool, right?"