uncertain_dume | An Empire Outpost in the Bryx Sector, A Galaxy Far, Far Away, Thursday Evening

It was supposed to be a milk run. In and out, no problem. Hera's sources had tipped her in on the location of a large shipment of bacta and other assorted medical supplies, which they were to come in, pick up, and then drop off on Wobani for a group of escapees from one of the Empire's labor camps. Hera would drop Kanan off, he'd make his way in on foot to secure the payload, and within an hour or two, the cargo would be on the ship, on the way to a group of people who could make far better use of it than the Imps could.

In theory. And Kanan had even managed to make it most of the way in, taking out a small trooper patrol and then helping himself to some of their gear. It was much easier to get in and out of an Empire's loading area when you were dressed for success, after all.

He... hadn't been banking on there being only one crate of cargo in the warehouse.

He extra hadn't been banking on it being accompanied by a half-dozen Rodians wearing shock collars, also awaiting transport to somewhere most certainly unpleasant.

After a quick, hushed conversation with the nervous captives, Kanan sighed and reached for his comm.

"Hey, Hera? How many people can we comfortably fit on the Ghost, anyway?"

[OOC: For she what is piloting the getaway vehicle!]

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Hera and her assistant got the collars off the rest of them, everything powered down, and she came back trailed by a few of their guests to see what Kanan had found.

"So what - whoa."

That was a lot of explosives. And they were on her ship this time.

"I'm beginning to see why maybe we were worth throwing away a couple squadrons of TIEs to chase down," Kanan said, glancing over his shoulder at Hera. "You know anybody who can use this?"

Because he'd be perfectly happy with them nowhere near him ever.

"Not off-hand, but I'll contact someone once we're out of the system; I'm sure someone will love them. I will love them off my ship."

She'd seen enough large explosions this year, thank you.

"And after the weather we just had, there is no way in hell it would be a good idea to haul this thing back to the island." Kanan paused, and then nodded to the crate. "Looks like it's packed well, at least. This container is a hell of a lot more secure than the ones we were hauling baby in. I'm going to secure this lid, then power down the lock. Right now, that's about the best we can do."

"Right." Hera nodded. "So we wait; I've got a passive alert set up. We wait till the storm blows over, then till there's no more sign of pursuit, then we head out." She looked up at the nearest rodian. "I don't imagine the Empire did much for you. I'm light on food, but there's plenty of ration bars."

Their market stop was supposed to be after the quick in-and-out to pick up bacta.

"Should tide you all over until we can stop somewhere to actually get food into you," Kanan agreed, shutting the lid on the crate, quickly typing in a new security code, and then powering the whole thing down. "Hopefully. It's pretty severe weather. We might have to get cozy."

If it really came down to it, he could go out and try to forage in the storm. Which would be... an adventure.

"I'm not hungry anyway. You guys can divide up my share if you need more."

Hera smiled. "Mine too. And if we can't get you somewhere safe as soon as we leave, we'll stop for food." She nodded toward the corridor. "There's bunks in the crew quarters; sleep if you want."

It wasn't like there was much to do otherwise. Even the dejarik table was turned off. "Next time," she murmured to Kanan, "maybe we should pick up some of those old-fashioned paper books."

"And candles to read them by," Kanan replied, smirking a little. "Sounds like fun. Get our own little bound-paper library in here, like people had back in the stone age."

Look, it wasn't that paper books weren't a thing in their galaxy, but it wasn't like they were much more than a novelty, either.

"We could get some of those old-fashioned paper playing cards, too."

Hera thought about it and frowned. "Not sure that'll work for sabacc. Know any Earth games?"

"All of the ones I know involve undressing," Kanan shared. Because... look, it was true. He wasn't even being shameless, here. "Think you can work with that?"

Hera snorted. "No. Especially not while we're on the run from the Empire. I'm sure you can play them without undressing, though."

Nice try, Kanan.

"We can probably work something out for credits instead," Kanan mused, stroking his beard. "Less fun, but it keeps the stakes up."

"Credits it is. We'll pick up a pack when we're back in town."

Hera prodded Kanan toward the cockpit. "Meanwhile, for now let's keep an eye on the weather and just sit. Maybe talk."

"Sitting and talking," Kanan echoed with a little smile as he nodded toward the ship's common area. "Sure. Sounds like a good way to pass the time, to me."

Really, it was basically the only way to pass the time, at the moment. He'd take it.

Hera smiled and headed for the common area instead. They'd have to listen harder to hear the storm, but they could sit closer together this way. It was a good trade-off.

An Empire Outpost in the Bryx Sector, A Galaxy Far, Far Away, Thursday Evening

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