ledger_not_clean | Locked to solo

Natasha looked around the bar, noticing how many people were watching her. It made her nervous because she knew the First Order was looking for her, determined to find her before she could possibly find the Resistance. She'd gone directly to Maz's, knowing as well that the woman was her best chance at getting away. She hadn't gotten away unscathed though. She'd been shot and she was pretty badly injured, but she did her best to hide it in the way she carried herself.

Instead of asking too many questions Maz had just pointed to a man that she explained would help get Natasha off planet and far away, all she had to do was ask. So she started over, fighting the urge to limp. She knew she looked pretty battered up, but she could pretend it was nothing as she sat down beside the man, shifting the hood covering her head a bit which flashed her red hair, one of the biggest things she was trying to hide. "Are you looking for work?"

She looked around before looking at him again. "I need off planet and as far away as possible. I need to get away from anyone who could report back to the First Order and Maz said you're my best bet."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

solo_junior

It wasn't the first time Maz had sent someone his way, though it was a little soon after he'd just run an errand for her. Soon enough, in fact that he'd only just sat down with his drink after turning over the artifact she'd sent him after.

Of course, it wasn't entirely a surprise, even if they weren't actively working, were probably still looking for work, it was just how things went in her sphere of influence.

"Ben." He introduced himself, offering her a hand to shake, "And I can get you just about anywhere you'd like to go." A nod that seemed to indicate that flash of red hair he'd seen, "Chandrila's nice this time of year." Even if she wasn't from there, she'd be able to fit in there more easily than other places. He didn't often go that close to the core, that far into Republic space, but it wasn't as if he actively avoided it, either.

From:

ledger_not_clean

She looked at his hand for a moment, taking it slowly and wincing when she pulled at her side. "Tasha." She just hoped no one was listening in because Natasha Romanoff was likely a name that would garner a fair amount of attention at the moment.

"I don't want to go to Chandrila. I was hoping a certain pilot would be here, but he isn't. Is there any chance you might know how to find Han Solo?" She asked him, pulling the hood down a bit more securely so no one but him would have seen the flash of red hair. "Please, I need to find him. I need to get away from the First Order and...I might have information that he would be interested in."

From:

solo_junior

That got her an actual smile, "You're in luck." He spread his hands, as if presenting something, "You found the next best thing. Especially when he's off on a long haul. Rathtars, last I checked." He glanced down at the chrono and comm unit on his arm, "Which was about six hours ago, give or take." Shortly after he'd finished his own mission and before he'd made his hyperspace jump to Maz's place.

Ben had never made any secret over who he was related to, so the fact that she didn't already know made him curious, but he wasn't going to ask, not with as cagey as she was already being, he figured it was a case of having pissed off the wrong people, though given the state she was in -from what he could see of her- he was guessing it wasn't run-of-the-mill smuggler trouble.

From:

ledger_not_clean

She looked at the unit on his arm and then at him in confusion. "How would you know what he's doing?" She asked, shifting, turning her head to look at Maz and then looking at him again. "Are you...related to him somehow?" She suddenly noticed some people who were staring at her rather intently and she tensed up. "I need to leave...soon." She said, spinning back to him, looking scared.

"I don't want anyone to be in danger because of me and the longer I'm here the more these people are." She said before tilting her head. "I can pay you well."

From:

solo_junior

"Uh, yeah?" He replied to the question of relation, because he was fairly certain everyone knew it, but at the tension, the obvious nervousness practically spilling off of her in waves, he just nodded, "C'mon, we should go somewhere quiet to discuss this."

He gave her elbow a gentle nudge with his fingertips, picking up his drink to lead her through the main bar and down the stairs at the back -moving away from the group that he'd realized were watching her- using just a bare curl of the Force to make them both less noticeable. Not invisible, that was obvious in its own way, but unimportant, the kind of people that someone looked right over. He steered her into one of the small meeting rooms that Maz had set aside on the lower level, closing the door behind them before he asked, arms folded across his chest, "What's so important that you need my father and no one else?"

From:

ledger_not_clean

"I have information about Snoke and about a weapon the First Order is creating. A weapon that could destroy entire systems." She said quietly, still watching him a bit warily but seeming to relax more now that they were alone. She lowered the hood of her robe at least and the injuries to her face and throat were more visible. "I don't care what he does with the information, but...well everyone knows that he knows people in the Resistance."

She drew her robes a bit tighter around herself, though when she moved to turn and walk to the table she made a sound, catching herself on the edge of the table.

From:

solo_junior

There was a small smile at that last statement, nodding once, and finally relaxing himself, because he hadn't detected any twinge that would indicate that she was lying, "Yeah they do."

His brow creased a little at the apparent stumble, shifting forward reflexively to offer a hand, nudging the chair away from the table so she could sit, "I can get you to him, but it'll mean you're stuck with me for a few days."

From:

ledger_not_clean

She managed to get to the chair, sitting down carefully before looking up at him. "I've been stuck with worse company." She said, giving a wry smile, though it was laced with pain. "If you can handle being stuck with me, I can handle being stuck with you."

She held her hand out to shake then, feeling they'd come to an agreement. She only hoped he didn't find out who she was, or at least if he did, she hoped she was lucky enough that maybe he wouldn't recognize her name.

From:

solo_junior

He gave another broad smile, one that he clearly got from his father's side as he accepted the hand, nodding once, "So have I."

He nodded once, "I won't charge much, since I'm not actually the one you're after. Just enough to cover partial fuel and supplies, I'll get a finder's fee if your information is good." That was something that still made him laugh, because it was something Han had started almost as a joke, but he still paid up whenever Ben brought him a job.

From:

ledger_not_clean

"I have enough to cover anything you need." She said softly, shaking his hand a bit before seeming to relax a lot, leaning away from him as the exhaustion finally truly seemed to set in. "Is there any way I could wait on your ship until we leave? I'm sorry...I'm just so tired."

She pushed herself up, keeping an arm close to her body. The darkness of her robe hid her injuries but after the stumble earlier and the obvious pain in her expression, it would be impossible not to know she had some pretty bad wounds she was hiding.

From:

solo_junior

"Yeah, we can head out right now, I'm done with my business with Maz, probably why she sent you my way." He offered her a hand up, "And I'm no medic, but I know some basic first aid if you need." He shrugged, "Or I can let you raid the kit and deal with it yourself if that's how you're more comfortable."

A nod towards the door and the corridor beyond, "We can get to the docking bays from down here, won't have to go back upstairs at all." She was clearly worried about being seen, and he was going to do what he could to assuage those fears.

From:

ledger_not_clean

"I probably do need, actually." She hesitated before moving the robe so he could see where blood had caked and was sticking her shirt to her side. "I got hit with a blaster. Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't passed out yet." She moved to him, looking sheepish.

"Would you be opposed to me leaning against you? I just want to get out of here before someone reports back." She brushed her hair back before pulling her hood up, just in case.

From:

solo_junior

He winced at that, shaking his head, because he was fairly certain it was a minor miracle that she was even still standing, let alone actually coherent and carrying on a conversation.

"No, no I be opposed to that at all." He replied as he stepped in close to her uninjured side, sliding an arm around her shoulders, tilting her towards him just a little, an angle that would set them both walking at a wobble, just a pair of drunks headed home.

He sincerely doubted anyone would see them, but it was always a good idea to have that kind of cover ready if necessary, because in his line of work it usually became necessary.

From:

ledger_not_clean

She leaned into him, thankful for the support and even the warmth his body offered. "Okay, thank you for this." She said quietly, looking up at him and offering him a small, genuine smile.

Thankfully no one really seemed to notice them that she thought, of course she was wrong. A small group of First Order sympathizers had noticed them and by the time they made it to the ship, a small group of ships from the Order were landing on the planet.

From:

solo_junior

They were already boarding when the First Order ships were descending, and Ben swore, picking up the pace and all but hauling her aboard, lowering her into the copilot's seat and dropping into the pilot's seat himself, "Strap in."

He opened a channel to Maz even though they were still in her back yard, warning her about the ships, because while watering holes like hers were technically neutral ground, the First Order would find any reason to tear the place apart, and he was planning to make good on an escape while he still could.

He hadn't taken into account that they would have left a squad of ships in low-atmosphere to keep anyone from leaving the planet. He grit his teeth at the first warning shot across the shuttle's nose, shaking his head as his fingers danced over the controls, "Hold onto something, we'll have to outrun them, get to the night side of the planet and calculate our first jump from there."

From:

ledger_not_clean

As soon as she was in the seat she started pulling the straps over herself and making sure she was buckled in. She winced when she saw the squad waiting for them, shaking her head. "Damn it they really are trying hard to bring me back in."

She laid her head back, closing her eyes as she held on. She hated this, really never liked flying all that much and in a situation like this it only made it worse.

From:

solo_junior

Ben looked grim, but resolute, he'd taken on this job and he wasn't going to fail it before he was even an hour in. It helped that in the wake of his warning to Maz, other ships started rising from the surface as well in singles and pairs and then, apparently, all at once, giving them some cover.

He wasn't sure if it was just happenstance or if it had been an order from Maz herself, but he wasn't going to question it, either, just going to let them get lost in the crowd, jetting for the far side of the planet and into the hyperspace jump beyond, only speaking once they were in the familiar blue-stretch of lightspeed, "Well, that could have been worse."

From:

ledger_not_clean

Her knuckles were white where she was clinging to the straps that held her in her seat. Though she breathed out slowly, shivering before leaning her head back. God she felt so weak. "I think...I should lay down." She said quietly, unstrapping herself and getting up, intending to go towards the back of the ship.

She only made it a few steps though before she stumbled and she grabbed onto something to stop herself from actually hitting the floor.

From:

solo_junior

Ben, for his part, in the process of unstrapping himself, saw the stumble and just flicked a hand out to catch her with a wave of the Force, tilting her gently upright again as he actually caught up with her to take her arm, "C'mon, there's a cot, I can get you patched up."

Another tendril of the Force, a more focused Force-push had the panel for the bed activating, retracting the section of wall that kept the alcove of a bed out of view, he sat her gently on the edge of it, making sure she was steady, "I'm going to go get the medikit. You're going to have to take your shirt off." He said, unfolding to his feet to rummage around in a cargo compartment above the bed, "So I can see what I'm getting at."

From:

ledger_not_clean

She gasped when he caught her with the Force, looking around herself as she was righted again before grasping his arm the moment he was close enough. "Thank you." She said, leaning into him once more before letting him lead her to the cot.

Once there she removed the outer robes covering her body, dropping the ruined clothes in heap next to the cot. She didn't hesitate when he said she needed to remove her shirt, knowing that he wasn't lying just because of how bad the damage was. She dropped her shirt on the same heap before kicking off her boots and pushing her pants down as well, revealing another blast mark at her hip, though it wasn't near as bad as her upper body.

From:

solo_junior

He was a little surprised by the pants coming down as well, at least until he saw the blaster burn there as well, wincing just a little, but gone completely professional almost immediately thereafter, "Okay, first things first, we've got to get those clean, after that we can probably use bacta ointment on all of them, but you'll probably also need a dermal regenerator in a couple places."

He gave her a gentle smile, already having set the medkit on the bed beside her so that she could see exactly what he was taking out of it, starting with a fresh pad of gauze and a bottle of bacta wash, "I'm not going to lie, this is all pretty much going to feel bad, at least until you're covered up again and actually healing, but I don't think that's going to be super-comfortable, either."

From:

ledger_not_clean

"Believe me, I've been in worse condition before. Just do what ever you need to do." She said before trying to get as comfortable as possible on the cot.

She braced herself, closing her eyes and just exhaling slowly, praying that it wouldn't hurt too badly. Praying that maybe, just maybe she could relax as much as possible.

From:

solo_junior

Ben worked as quickly as he could while still being thorough and not doing her any more damage by being in a rush. He didn't have any skill with the Force that would help with numbing the pain, most of his skill skewed heavily into 'just push shit over', which was, as demonstrated earlier, also good for catching things, but not much help otherwise.

He cleaned each of the wounds in turn, getting bandages and bacta ointment on the less serious ones and pulling the dermal regenerator out of the med kit, checking to make sure it was at full power before thumbing it on, "This is going to itch like hell," he warned, "but that means it's working."

From:

ledger_not_clean

Her fingers gripped into the material of the cot beneath her, breathing as best as she could. She was trying her best not to let her breathing go too shallow. When he brought out the dermal regenerator she just nodded. "I've had to use one before."

She just rubbed at her hip where there was a fairly nasty scar. "Didn't do a very good job." She admitted, shrugging a shoulder.

From:

solo_junior

"Well it's not still bleeding, so I'm pretty sure that counts as doing a good job." He replied, shifting the tool to his other hand so he had better range of motion and access to the injury, "Five minutes, tops and then I can let you sleep it off for a bit."

His brow furrowed, glancing up at her briefly before returning to the wound he was working on, "Do you want a painkiller?" He knew some people were against them, on general principles he was as well, but only because of how deeply they made him sleep.