If excitement could be bottled, distilled, and processed into fuel… Jack would leave Lix somewhere in a food court and chain Mo'Ona in the depths of his garage. All he'd have to do would be to feed the little rat-lizard stories of the Last Stop Staryard and collect those sweet, sweet excitement drippings for his exhilaration forge.
He'd be rich in a month, maybe even less than that, as the little Hux trembled as went on and on about the boundless treasures of the mythical salvage field for days on end. Which is currently what the little 'Roid Racer was doing, espousing the legends of the place as he walked a tight and animated circle around Lix's scaly legs. Exasperation, if a little bemusement, sparkled in her eyes as she glanced at Jack who simply sat back on a toolbox in the Stripped Bolt's garage and watched the Hux walk a rut in his floor.
"So much, so much, salvage! An' it be all for the takings!" Clackity-clackity-click went his claws as he drooled upon his own suit, his naked whip cord tail lashing at the air, nearly smacking into Lix's ankle as he slurped his own spit in an attempt to find some semblance of decency. This was the first time Jack had really seen the little guy up close, or any Hux up close for that matter. Mo'Ona was a hunched over affair, only reaching the Human's knee, with scraggly paws wrapped in cloth and more belts than he'd seen on even those vacuum welders that went out to repair the outside of the station. Pants a size too small stretched over furry, rat like digitigrade legs and ran up to a poncho covered torso also laden with belts. These however were heavy with wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, and pliers of all manner. Not tools of repair, like Jack's, but of disassembly.
Mo'Ona, his face a thin pointy thing where scales were interspersed with dirty tufts of fur and two round ears, was a salvager through and through. Even before his profession as a 'Roid Racer. His grubby little paws, the claws worn down by nervous chewing, were made to take things apart and sell them, or put them together with other parts wholly unrelated and then sell them. Often to people who knew nothing about anything at egregiously inflated prices.
Underneath such glowing praise, however, was grime. Jack and Lix both continuously glanced at each other as Mo'Ona periodically scratched at his fur, sometimes going so far as to accidentally rip some of the wispy strands free with his claws. To their horror, tiny bugs… at least, Jack hoped they were bugs, would fall to the deck to skitter away in search of a home anew. Were all Hux so filthy or was Mo'Ona a special case of hygiene avoidance? What was even more baffling was a distinct lack of stench. Jack was sure the little dirtball would stink like a clogged bilge pump, yet to his unfiltered shock, there wasn't even so much as a whiff of odor wafting from the little guy.
Lix didn't seem to care, taking several steps away until she felt her scales were outside the sphere of effluvium influence Mo'Ona had. If he noticed, he either didn't care, understand, or had simply ignored the slight against his character and honor as a filthy rat lizard bastard. Either way, Lix breathed a sigh of relief as his attention was turned away from her and the clean scales beneath her flight suit and towards the much more vulnerable Human nearby.
"Yous can finds anything there! From teeny scout ships ta dreadnaughts!" Mo'Ona threw his little arms wide, standing on his toes as if it would give him a greater wingspan with which to demonstrate the sheer quantity of the variety they would soon feast upon. Jack, for his part, wasn't really listening. It wouldn't be his first foray into the legendary yard and he knew well what waited in that silent floating tomb. Instead, he leaned down to inspect the Hux closer, poking at his scales. Mo'Ona flinched, turning to swipe at the looming Human, his instincts driving him to duck and pull his paws to his chest as the larger creature towered over him. "W-Why lean over Mo'Ona? With your sharp carnivorous teeth?"
"Pfah! Those aren't carnivore teeth." Lix grinned, showing off rows upon rows of gleaming ivory fangs that made the little rat swallow thick.
"These don't feel like scales…" Jack poked the hardened bands that periodically circled the pint-sized racer's body, a look of understanding crossing his face as stepped back to puff out his tiny chest.
"Kah! Huxes aren't reptiles, everybody thinks sos but we's mammals with arthropod mutation!" Pride dripped from his voice as he parted some of the insect infested fur that grew from under his scales… revealing they weren't scales at all, but thick bands of protective chitin like a bug. "Hux evolved for survival! No squishing! Like roaches! Mlaaaaah!" To both Jack and Lix's horror, Mo'Ona proceeded to open his tiny muzzle far wider than anything his size had any right to, several pairs of mandibles unfolding from within his gullet to wetly claw at the air. "Shee?"
"Ugh! Eeeewwww! Put your bug mouth away dude! Gnah!" Lix wrapped her tail between her and the tiny Hux, as if the length of scale and muscle would protect her from the disguised eldritch beast. Jack however leaned closer. "Jaaaack! He's gonna bite you and you'll become one of them! Remember when I said no flamethrowers? I change my mind! Go get your flamethrower!"
"So, what's with the bugs in your fur? Are they like… your young?"
"Keehehehe, naw. Theys something I's picked up on a salvage run to some pet barge that broke down. They feel goods so I stay dirty. They needs to eats!" Thwip-thwip-thwip went the rat… bug's naked whip cord tail as he snickered, taking a teasing step towards Lix. A threatening hiss was his reward, the Kux'lar raising a deadly paw with shining claws his way.
"If those things end up on my ship I'm gutting you and not even eating whatever falls out."
"Same to my shop. I saw a few scuttle off earlier." Jack nodded, wisely agreeing with his amore.
"Oh, they comes back." The knowledge did little to assuage the growing horror that was taking root in Mo'Ona's newest partners in crime. "Nows, I's knows… there gonna be some… trusts to build back up. Mo'Ona did try to kill Lix at one-point loooooong ago."
"Wasn't that long ago." Jack mentioned, patting the revolver at his waistband. The gesture had the Hux gesticulating wildly, like a used ship salesman.
"True! True, buuuut, Mo'Ona nevers actually came at Lix!" He spread his paws in a begging manner, his maw split in a smile that was just a tad too wide. "Was only riding Ters' coat tails! Look at little Hux! Gotta make friends to survive and now realizes made wrong friends! Wants to be in winning corner!" With a happy hop, Mo'Ona leapt from his perch to impose himself between Jack and Lix, leaning on the former's leg with a grin. "Mo'Ona tired of scamming everyone. Wants to try this crew thing. Has fast ship! Came in higher position that Lix in preliminary!"
That… couldn't be denied. He had passed the No Safety Measures during the last race. Not to mention that mean little railgun he sported. That, in addition to his salvaging skills, meant he did have his uses.
"I dunno about crew." Lix said, taking a step out of his paw-reach. "But an alliance…" The word sent a shining spark through the Hux, his head snapping up and down in a jerky, excited nod that had him balancing on his toes.
"Yes-yes! Alliance! Working together! And I scam everyone else!"
"If you get into a scrap doing that shit, you're on your own, rat." Jack couldn't trust the hurt that flashed across the Hux's face at his words, nor the wringing paws that seemed just a tad bit too practiced. Whatever came out of that little rat-bug's mouth was as ingrained to manipulation and survival as the air that went through his nose. A quick glance at Lix told him the wily lizard was thinking along the same lines. Mo'Ona would be useful if not a friend, then an acquaintance… but turning your back on him was a bad idea. At least… for now.
"So, why does everyone think you guys are part reptile anyway?" Lix leaned down to sniff at the new anomaly, her neck curving back in a terrified 'S' when Mo'Ona puffed out his chest to offer a better angle.
"Well yous just saw why. Mo'Ona shows yous his mandibles," Lix scowled as he pressed his paws to his dainty little muzzle, adopting a shy stance as if he'd offered them a glimpse at something intimate. "And ya go and tell ya mans ta set Mo'Ona on fiya! It hurts a guy's self-esteem, ya knows? Buuut, if'n ya wanted ta tell ya mans ta do otha stuffs to Mo'Ona h-"
"Ew!" Lix kicked, less than gently, her newest partner. "Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Go be freaky somewhere else! He's my Human!"
"O-Okay! Mo'Ona g-gets it! No sharing! Stop kicking little Hux!" Jack could only sigh, be it in despair or amusement he didn't know. Either way, it was good to see the new crew getting along via swift applications of violence. Of course, this was how a good dysfunctional family should be. Pops crackled from still organic knees as Jack kneeled down to where the poor salvager was getting squished under an angry Kux'lar paw, a single eye looking back at him for succor.
"So, we need a pinger. You, my skittering little friend, are going to help us get one. Lix, be nice to our new friend." Jack waved away the pressing paw, chuckling at the grinning Hux beneath it. "Besides, I don't think that's having the desired effect." Mo'Ona was blushing… but he wasn't going to tell Lix that, he needed the little guy alive after all.
"Ugh… freakin' punk." The Kux'lar shook her paw vigorously, holding back a wretch as several bugs fell from her claws to skitter back into the safe tufts of fur scattered about Mo'Ona's body. "You better put those things in a jar or so help me…"
"Ngh… Mo'Ona can do thats… but where we starts? We goin' in blind or does Jack have an idea?"
"The Keelhaulers is my idea. Word is they took over a nice little warehouse down in the Vents that used to a central docking hub for anyone wanting to do trade. Legal or otherwise." Stars danced in Mo'Ona's eyes as he rose, the feeling of Lix's paw on his face all but forgotten as he danced about Jack with an excited chitter that came from deep within his throat. "You, my little ratty friend, are going to do what Hux do best. Get eyes inside that warehouse."
"Geeeee! I bets they gots lots o' toys down there besides a pinger too!" Carefully, and with all the tact the little rat man could muster, he turned his gaze to the still disassembled No Safety Measures not ten steps away. "No offense, we should looks for stuffs for the No Safety! Lots of power… ugh… wasted. Her engine is too strong."
Lix glared but… he was right. So much power was lost in thruster arrays and drive bells that just couldn't keep up with the engine she'd stuffed into the poor girl. Half of her potential was currently down tuned to avoid breaking what had been jury rigged to fit. Jack knew a sad raptor when he saw one. The mechanic slung a heavy arm around her shoulder, pulling her tight to his side in a gesture that made her tail curl around his calf. All it would take was a few parts swaps and a good day or so on a computer and the No Safety Would snap necks in the next race.
"That's what the trip to the Last Stop is for, but if we see anything good down there, well… we can just blame it's disappearance on the Keelhaulers. I'm hoping we fly away from the Staryard with juicy upgrades for all o' us." Jack said, squeezing Lix until she wheezed and beat on his chest with a fang filled smile for mercy. Mo'Ona leapt at that, drool collecting on his chin to drip upon the scratched deck, his head filled with daydreams of all the stuff they could find.
"Yes-yes! Ohhhh, you two are da best decision Mo'Ona has made yet! This is gonna be greats! Upgrades, salvage, the Last Stop Staryard! Is this what goin' to the afterlife be like? I wanna die tomorrow!"
"That can be arranged," Jack chuckled, leaning down to rub the Hux between his filthy ears. "But until then, we've work to do."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Right!" Lix clapped her paws together with the finality of a woman who was just about done with every man in her life. "The sooner we're done with these Keelhaulers and get this pinger thing, the better. So, what's the plan?"
"Simple, we utilize the fact that the Keels ai'n't got no idea what they're doing." Jack pulled the huffing lizard to his side once more as she tried to escape, her claws flailing, and cooling her growing frustration with the newest addition to the crew. "They didn't do what we did, my old crew I mean. They makin' enemies o' everybody. The locals will want 'em gone an' with me makin' face again in the Vents they'll want me… directed. You, little rat man, are gonna use the distraction I give ya to squirm ya way inside the Keelhauler warehouse and report back. We'll get word on their turf from a friend o' mine."
"So the locals down there will help us out?" Lix leaned into the mammal's warmth, rumbling happily as his arm wrapped around her shoulders. His training was coming along nicely.
"Precisely, within reason at least. Skrunkles," Mo'Ona perked, his nose wiggling. "There's a good bunch of Hux down in the Vents an' you guys seem to… just get along even when ya never met before."
"Well sure we's do. We're Huxes."
"Right, well, rats stick together I suppose. Either way, ai'n't gonna anything done just talking about it up here. Taran is waitin' for us down in the Vents."
"Don't be rude, yous never call a Hux a rat."
"Well don't be a rat, Skrunkles."
The introduction of Mo'Ona into their previously private adventure was still swirling about Lix's tongue, the taste of an additional friend still settling upon her palate when previously all she had to worry about was Jack's antics. Now, as Captain, Mo'Ona weighed on her as an unknown. She hated the way prejudice and stereotype colored her perception of the little rat-bug-guy… thing, but the 'Roid Racer felt entitled to at least some healthy skepticism. Mo'Ona had, at the end of the day, ridden Ters' coat tails when trying to take her head for an illegitimate bounty and that was something she wouldn't soon forget or forgive.
Not to mention… the moment they left the Stripped Bolt, every denizen of Koorka Station ensured their pockets were well protected whenever they passed the grimy little alien.
If the entire populace of a space station didn't even trust a random Hux… Surely there was justification for a healthy amount of suspicion on her part, right?
But no, Lix shook her head as they slipped through the throngs of the crowd towards the harshly sloping maintenance access that would lead them once more into the Vents. Her father would be disappointed if he knew she was basing her opinions of an entire race without experiencing them for herself. Mo'Ona had made a terrible first impression for his people, sure, but it wasn't fair to paint the Hux at large with a brush colored by her past with him, was it? If, in the future, it was revealed that all Hux were as sleazy and… dirty… as Mo'Ona then she'd fall in with the crowd's opinion but until then it was the Kux'lar way to reserve judgement.
She could leave knee-jerk blanket opinions to Jack.
The familiar heat of the Vents wrapped around Lix like a blanket, her bones warming in a pleasant bloom that suffused the reptile from nose to tail tip in a relaxing haze that had Jack sweating and Mo'Ona panting. Mammals were so inefficient in the heat, Lix thought, shaking her head as the men in her life simply tolerated the increase in temperature while she thrived. Of course, this meant she was ardently ignoring the creeping thoughts of turned tables, of how she would fare in the cold compared to them.
This wasn't about being fair, this was about Kux'lar superiority!
Mo'Ona's preferred survival tactic, one he'd already showcased, was on full display as they passed several Greer sliding into tubes seemingly too small for their bodies and rubbing elbows with denizens also heading into the bowels of Koorka station; that being hiding in the shadow of someone bigger than he. More than once his little paws stepped on the back of Jack's boots, followed by quick and insincere apologies that were met with heated glares. He simply smiled up at the annoyed Human before quickly shuffling closer, seeking refuge in the man's muscles built from fighting bolts and fasteners as large as the Hux's chest for longer than he could remember. At least before tossing his organic arms for the surety of steel.
It wasn't the little rat's first foray into Koorka, yet it would be his initiation into the Vents, not that he didn't intimately understand the culture. Opportunity, guile, subterfuge, nice and tight nooks he could hide in to count his haul… oh yeah, the Vents were exactly the kind of place Mo'Ona grew up in. The kind of place that taught him he would never be satisfied with just filling his belly and amassing shiny Roarks. No, he needed ambition to sate his desire, a goal to chase whether he achieved it or not.
Thrills, experiences, rush… Mo'Ona needed it all lest anxiety and dread creep up his tiny little spine and fill him with the sensation of wasted time and remind him of the ever-encroaching approach of an inevitable death. Adrenaline and endorphins were his addiction, new experiences his closely guarded hoard, and he was hoping, friends his newest stockpile. Debauchery was his go to drug and Mo'Ona… oh, Mo'Ona was addicted.
Greed, however, was at the root of it all. Mo'Ona needed more. More to sate the ever-voracious hole sitting in the back of his head that never filled no matter how much money or filth or death-defying thrills he tossed into its insatiable gullet. In the search for satiety, he'd done things that would have curdled other's stomachs, made them grimace in humiliation, shudder in fear, or scream in exhilaration. He felt like he'd done it all and he wanted to do so much more.
The Last Stop Staryard was just the place to do that. Not only for the childish like glee that would fill his withered heart, the promise of a treasure hunt only starry-eyed children dream of bolstering his sails, but for the near guarantee of death that devoured most that tread the tumultuous path to the yard. The council stood vigil over the place with a fervor usually reserved for religious zealots and their icons. No warnings, no comms pings, no warrants… those that ran the incorrect transponders or worse, no transponder at all, were met with a swift government sanctioned execution.
The very thought terrified him to his core, making his whip cord tail shiver as if struck by sudden cold.
And that fear excited him so, so much.
The Vents brought all of Mo'Ona's ruminations to a screeching halt, a blast of homesick nostalgia bringing the Hux's paws to his chest as his beady eyes grew to large black orbs at the sight of the bustling open market and carpet of obviously empty decoy Risks. Street vendors filled the hazy air with scrumptious scents that sent his tiny nose on a wiggle spree, the rat-bug's body bouncing on his paws as he gently squealed in delight. Mo'Ona's exuberance only grew as he watched a couple of young Humans pickpocket some avian alien species he'd never seen before, scampering away with an amateur haul that had him swooning. They were so new to the stealing game! It was so cute, their pathetic attempts!
With a hop and a skip, the Hux skirted around Jack's boots to scoop a pawful of Risks to his face, inhaling the combined scent of a dozen different species who had dropped or stepped on them. There was so much life down here in these muggy depths, so much opportunity for fun. Especially for someone with loose inhibitions and morals like him. Were it not for the bolstering presence of Jack and Lix staring at him from behind, he'd do just that. Oh, he had so much work to do on his non-existent reputation down here! But that could wait, oh it could wait. For now, the promise of the Last Stop was much more tasty than anything he could sink his tiny fangs into by himself.
"Focus Skrunkles, you're drooling." Shaking his head, Jack reached down to pluck the Hux from the pile of Risks he was piling about himself, quickly dropping the rat when several bugs began to crawl up his mechanical arm. "Euch… look, let's just get to Pew for You without you making a new home in someone's pocket."
"Or underwear. Nasty little thing, you are." Lix hissed, though it lacked heat.
"Whys thank ya! Mo'Ona works hard on his natural musk."
"Don't… ever call it that again." Lix shivered, feeling the eldritch gaze of old horrors fall upon her at the mention of the little rat-bug's musk. "Must you be so… ew? Like… is there a competition with prize money going on? Some other reason than giving your insectoid children food and not taking baths?"
"No."
"Right, well…" Lix rubbed shoulders with her Human as she slid her paws through the myriad mounds of discarded Risks, taking a moment to let her inner hatchling kick and toss the pointless little disks about before trotting off in the direction her memory steered her. This time, when Mo'Ona nestled up beside her, the Kux'lar went out of her way to not shoo him away. Even though a disgusted tremor wiggled its way up her breast and into her lizard brain. The captain in her knew she'd have to get used to her newest crewmate's quirks. As much as she wanted to tell Jack to manhandle the little creature into a shower, she had a sinking feeling anything that endangered the colony of bugs living between his chitin plates, a thought that sent another shiver up her spine, would most likely send him into an apoplectic fit. So, it was with a heavy heart, that she endeavored to accept both him and his colony of skittering children.
But so help her… There was no force, physical or ethereal, between the stars or beyond the reach of the ever-expanding universe, that would save Mo'Ona if even one creepy crawly made its way onboard the No Safety Measures. She would burn the little rat-bug alive with Jack's torch herself and enjoy every crispy minute of it. Then she'd torch the inside of her racer, and the Stripped Bolt's garage for good measure! Then Jack too, why not! He deserved it, somehow! She was sure of it! One wrong step and all would know the wrath of Kux'larian fire.
"What's up with you two today?" Jack pulled Lix back to his side before the reptile bodily walked into a stand, her jaws snapping at a passerby who had gotten too close during her daydreaming. "It's like ya heads are somewhere else."
"Daydreaming, is all…" Lix mumbled, watching as their newest crew skittered away into the crowds to do… something. "So, what do you think of him so far?" Her voice was needlessly whispered in Jack's ear, her paws stretching to bring her scaly lips close to the man's ear. "I dunno, I really don't think we can trust him?" The question trailed away into the whirling smog, watching at the little rat zoomed back and forth. Each time he came into view he'd have a larger and larger collection of Risks in his paws. A final pass saw him return with his pockets stuffed, even his maw bulged with the little plastic disks, Lix scoffing in disgust as Mo'Ona waggled his eyebrows. "You're gonna get super herpes."
"Bleeeghhhh…" A cascade of spit covered plastic fell at the raptor's paws, her claws kicking them away. "Blegh… ugh… they don't taste like they used to. These all be empty isn't theys?" Mo'Ona simply snickered as Jack confirmed his suspicions with a quick nod, his grimy paws tossing the worthless Risks to and fro with a chuckle as they meandered through the stalls. Proprietors would clutch their wares just a bit tighter whenever the Hux passed, his fellow rats near the walls openly gawking at his brazen march through the market until they saw his proximity to Jack. It wasn't something that escaped Lix' notice. Once again, Jack's very presence elicited a response, this time from a populace she hadn't even noticed before…
Now that she was looking, there were Hux pretty much everywhere a shadow could hide them. Each and every one was a shifty eyed little thing, skittering about when no one was looking, and their path was clear. If Lix blinked, they would vanish. A shiver ran up the Kux'lar's spine as she was suddenly reminded that the entire species had tricked the galaxy into thinking they were some kind of hybrid between mammals and reptiles.
Somehow…
And everyone just went along with it.
Now that she thought it about it, the entire thing was absurd. It just biologically made no sense. Why hide that they were arthropod mutants? The answer came quickly, an answer that spiked guilt through the 'Roid Racer for but a moment before she tamped the emotion down with the burning righteousness of a thousand suns. Her reaction in the Stripped Bolt had been the very reason their species hid their true nature. For all she knew, it was the galaxy's worst kept secret and she'd simply never had a reason to look to closely at a Hux. In the end, it didn't really affect her relationship with Mo'Ona in any way.
Alright… that wasn't true. His mouth was weird. So many little wiggly mandibles!
"Eugh…"
"Hm?" Jack turned his head just enough to glance at the shuddering lizard. "Step in something? That's a real problem down here."
"No, you goober. It's Mo'Ona. He's… eugh."
"Ah, yeah that threw me for a loop too." Lix squeaked as Jack's mechanical arm squeezed just a tad too tight, her tail lashing to smack some poor Human child's face as they reached for her empty pockets. He spluttered before zipping off for a target that lacked defensive tail tactics. "Nice. Good hit, very solid."
"Uuuuggghhhh! Jaaaaccckkk!" Lix squirmed as she was lifted, her paws flailing as the damned Human simply walked along, carrying her like so much cargo. Even as an official 'Roid Racer, the disrespect continued! "Ngh! Lemme down! Gnah!" Mercifully, her paws graced the deck once more, her tail whipping in anger to send another child to the ground.
"Guysh! I gotsh shum mor'!" Both turned as Mo'Ona reunited their dysfunctional crew, his suit's pockets full of worthless Risks once more.
And his maw. This time, however, his cheeks were so full it took the combined effort of several mouth mandibles to contain the bounty.
"Why did you go get more?" Lix huffed, crossing her scaly arms. "You know they're empty."
"Itsh fun! Bleeeeeghhh!" A projectile stream of disks and spittle dropped from the Hux' maw, several bouncing off Jack's boots as they turned the final straight towards Pew for You. Jack paid the slight little heed, his mechanical eyes darting about the hazy gloom. If he knew anything about gang culture, especially up and coming ones, the Keelhaulers wouldn't take kindly to the black eye he and Taran had given them. Sure, life had returned to normal here in the Vents, but that was one bad day away from getting turned on its head. The slight would demand a response in order for the Keelhaulers to earn back any manner of street cred and respect, which was worth more than Roarks in the seedy underbelly that was the Vents.
Nonetheless, he also knew Lix and Mo'Ona both were no greenhorns. Or at least, in Lix's case, recently bloodied. As for the Hux… there was a subtle turn to his paws… the way each step was angled to allow him an escape route no matter his surroundings. Even if those surroundings were Jack and Lix themselves. As much as they didn't trust Mo'Ona… Mo'Ona didn't truly trust them in turn either. As the mechanic had thought several times before, they were simply the newest rung on the little rat man's survival ladder. He knew what he was doing. Mo'Ona was no fool, he hadn't gotten where he was by being stupid.
Or perhaps he simply thought they'd be fun. Some people were simple thrill seekers looking to get their heart rate up. Some things in life were just that cut and dry.
Pew for You was as clean and orderly as the first time they'd crossed its threshold, as if a deadly fire fight hadn't occurred just outside its doorstep only a day ago. Nary a brass cassing, shard of glass, drop of blood, or metal shaving could be seen discarded on the ground. Similarly, Taran stood behind the counter with all new guards polishing the barrel of some new model pistol as if he hadn't lost a wink of sleep getting his store back in shape.
"No," Taran droned, never ceasing in his crusade against smudges. "The last time you walked in here I had to shoot someone. And no Huxes."
"Aw comes on! I'm with Jack!" Mo'Ona hid behind the mechanic's thick boot, peeking at the glaring store owner with a single beady eye.
"If he steals anything I'll cut off a paw." Jack shrugged, grinning at his old friend.
"Whats!"
"Anyway, he's on Lix's crew now. Calling in immunity." Jack's grin was oily, like a salesman who knew their client needed a ship and would pay just about any price.
"Bah fuck off. Fine fine, whatever." Taran sighed heavily, tossing his rag over a shoulder before finally gracing his newcomers with a tired customer service grin. "Welcome back by the way." A grin that was only directed to Lix.
"I'm only your sexiest customer." The Kux'lar knew when to play her paw, and hers was a better one than Jack's at the moment. "Jack's got the plan." Her reptilian eye winked as she wrapped a tail around Mo'Ona's thin waist, resisting the urge to shudder as she felt the bugs moving in his fur. "And the Hux is part of it so you could say he's with me."
"So," Jack pulled the Kux'lar to his side, a feeling he was quickly coming to find familiar. "You said the Keelhaulers have everything they stole off that cargo freighter in one big, fat, juicy warehouse?" Taran simply nodded, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Peeerfeeect. It's time for some hood rat shit."
It was then that Mo'Ona felt both fear and excitement, that glorious heart pounding soup, flood his veins for the first time in weeks. As Jack grinned down at him with less than peaceful intent, he knew, he was going to get exactly what he'd came for.
"Yes yes! Use Mo'Ona! Mo'Ona is your guy!"
And for once… for once, he meant that… he truly meant that.