Dangerous Bait

[Vic Starfallen]

This Di Scarra spy was dangerous, maybe borderline psychopath, Vic mused to herself. There was something unsettling about her; but the First Mate didn't let it show in her body language. Her upbringing had made sure she had a perfect sabacc face, as well as treacherous posture when need be. This meeting was definitely among such occasions.

She knew too well what getting their hands on Belargic meant to Marielle, Remy, and herself. Yet the way her friend threw caution to the wind to make that deal was quite surprising. She trusted Marielle's judgement though. Getting rid of competition wouldn't hurt, and the fact Belargic was their prisoner without too much fuss, which she found baffling, was a true win. She could understand that Di Scarra likely wanted to take care of the Umbarans, and that as a Hapan, her appreciation for males, especially loud-mouthed ones that had strayed from the path too long, was minimal. Yet there was something off, though for now they had what they wanted, so she was fine with that.

She accompanied Marielle as they escorted the spy back to the hangar. She trusted their teams to have handled any beacons aboard the Argentine, so they would be able to be on their way soon enough. Once they ensured that the Umbaran delegation was gone.

[Alice Di Scarra]

The two women were dangerous, as pirates could and should be, Alice mused. Yet she had no fear of them, even with them likely be ready and willing to attack her, if they thought there was a need to. The Hapan had seen enough in her life already to know when to be scared, and now wasn't the case. On the contrary, she thought that these two were clever enough to be useful in the future, and gaining leverage where she could was part of her work as a spy.

And as a Sith, casualties were part of life. Maybe if she had worked long enough with Belargic she might have considered him more important than the Umbarans to save. It wasn't the case in her mind. She went to save the greater number, which would alleviate marks on the new classified documents populating her records.

Also gaining more intel on more pirates would prove useful, because she knew that her superiors had been adamant about getting their hands on a couple of elusive ones that were from the Shedu Maad area. And should Lafleche fail to deliver, which Alice didn't think would be the case given the impression she had gleaned from the Captain, Alice could always change plans and go after them. Truthfully, Alice thought that Lafleche would prove more useful as a resource than as a target.

After obtaining contact information and returning to the hangar, Alice waited for the Captain to be brought back. He was fine and in one piece, still in a disastrous mood; but the surprise on his face as he saw Alice was obvious.

She waited for him to return aboard, being the one standing behind last. She nodded to both Captain and First Mate.

"I will be in touch, Captain," she said in lieu of goodbyes, before heading aboard the Argentine.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Oblivious to the goings-on above deck, Dasquian stood inside the cramped confines of the ship’s brig. The two crewmen who delivered him to his cell had ostensibly taken up watch outside the cell, though in practise that involved sitting down at a table opposite the cell’s entrance and talking in low, conspiratory tones. The buzzing of the energy barrier sealing Dasquian into his cell made it difficult to hear what the pirates were saying. Instead, he watched the movements of their lips.

“Excuse me… could I trouble you gentlemen for a drink?” Belargic asked, taking a step towards the energy barrier. He could feel the slight shift in air pressure as he came closer to it, the hairs on the backs of his arms prickling in response to the charge in the atmosphere. From this position, he couldn’t tell whether there were other prisoners in the brig.

[Marielle Lafleche]

Captain Lafleche watched the Hapan spy board the Umbaran vessel, just after it's own captain. The deal was struck. In the future, Marielle would at some point throw some of her contemporaries beneath the wheels, so to speak. Ridding the pirate haven of Shedu Maad of a few rival crews would make the profits all the sweeter for the ones that remained. They should be thanking her! for her good, mercenary, sense. In return, they had themselves a delightfully fated prize in their hold.

A less disciplined version of Marielle might have immediately skipped from the hangar to the brig, to then stand victorious just on the other side of the barrier, the hunter and the catch.

Instead, her stride was the same steady pace she always maintained, Vic at her flank as they approached, but did not enter the brig. They took over the small cramped guard's station adjacent to the cells, watching a feed of the one occupied cell. From there they were able to communicate with the guards within the brig, without being seen by Belargic, for now.

They arrived just as The Argentine departed, it's communications still down, beacons destroyed, but on it's way unharmed, as she had promised.

"Give him nothing." Their captain's voice was an adamant command.

Standing back, arms folded across her chest in a rare gesture of stubbornness, Marielle watched the image of her prisoner.

Scowling she swung her dark gaze toward her friend, and First Mate. "I think... he makes me a little queasy or something, Vic."

[Vic Starfallen]

Vic was surprised that Marielle didn't go straight to the brig. While her friend could be the calculative kind, her behavior had been unusual for a few details since they had realized Belargic belonged to them. The First Mate was greatly satisfied with the catch for sure, and got a kick out of knowing he was their captive and looked forward to the look on his face when she would let him know about certain truths; but she was still a little puzzled by her Captain's overall choices.

When they were in the control room instead of the brig itself, Vic quietly observed Belargic for a short moment. She was relieved when Marielle refused to give him anything. That was how it was supposed to be. They would keep him alive for sure, but on their own terms.

She soon returned her attention to Marielle and scrutinized her body language. If there was one thing that Vic knew how to recognize, it was desire. She had learned to read even its most subtle signs, and her friend shockingly exhibited several of them, and some maybe not that subtle.

What Marielle told her only comforted her in her analysis. Since they had privacy in the control room, Vic told her as she saw it.

"Out of all available Hapans you had for all these years, you are lusting after a bony specimen who's been straying from the path for way too long."

She was certain of her assumption. To most people, it might not be obvious but she was educated as a Fifth Daughter, and had known Marielle for years.

"If you must go this road, at least make sure you break him well enough he services you properly."

While she couldn't understand Marielle's attraction to Belargic, she wanted to make sure that her Captain would receive proper attention.

Anything else was unacceptable.

[Dasquian Belargic]

When his request was met with leering silence, Dasquian nodded. He turned on his heels, away from the energy barrier to the three other durasteel walls that made up the holding cell. It was a relatively clean space with walls untarnished by graffiti or stains; it didn’t look like the type of place where prisoners were taken to die. No, the captain and her crew wanted him alive, and probably wanted to leverage his captivity for the thing that motivates all good pirates: money.

“You know, you could make a good wage in the Alliance Navy. Better than whatever you’re making fighting for scraps out here.”