throughout s p a c e and time. [banks and blast hardcheese]

[hernameisbanks]

If there was one thing she hated more than being told what to do, it was the sound of men talking when she didn't ask them to talk.

"You know, you're way too pretty to be-"
"My god, shut the fuck up."

That was the end of that, watching as his lips clamped tight and his eyes looked around for some sort of assistance with the woman who clearly had zero interest in whatever he thought was important to say. She was not even slightly in the mood, index finger flicking through the hologram screen like a woman with intentions. Bialar was an absolute dumpster fire of a planet, but it was known for keeping fugitives happy with lucrative places to find work and jobs out the ass. Bialar was where you went when you needed a quick fix or a good job to send you off the planet and go out hunting for some bounty that someone didn't care enough about your life to have you do. She cared enough about her life to do these jobs and come back alive and thriving. Shifting through the display of names and faces, there was a moment when she finally did pause and feel her breath catch in her throat, the familiar face of a man with an 'X' across his image giving her the answer she was looking for. Dengar was the second merc she knew who had been killed this week, something along the lines of being caught in the crossfires of some murky crap in the Ban Andilles quadrant. She didn't believe that.

There was no way that Dengar was just caught in an accidental crossfire, she knew him. She knew that weasel of a man knew how to escape and finesse his way out of anything, and to be "caught in the middle of a crossfire" it wasn't like him. Stepping back and away from the counter, honey colored eyes looked toward the man who had been addressing her with terms of flattery that she didn't want, breathing softly through her nose before nodding gently, "Well. What do you have?" He would wait a moment, contemplating on being an asshole and stating that she didn't get to just waltz in and ask for his bounty opportunities, but alas, he didn't and didn't keep up an argument with her. Instead, he began to list off the opportunities that had been brought to his data board, nodding softly as she handed him a shimmery, dark blue disk, watching him load up the entries through a swift scan with his data retriever. "Thanks Garrus, see you in a while." A while was a good gauge of time, she didn't know when she'd be back to this miserable shit storm of a planet.

Inara Frenn, named after a constellation and set of stars known for bursting every 100 years and ever changing, was to put it plainly, a walking hell. Absolutely stunning, was what was often said, and usually the last thing that men would ever really get out before she either stole from them or had them shunted out of the nearest airlock and away from her line of sight. To say the very least, this young woman was something. The sound of her heeled boots simply thudding against the dusty ground reminded her of where she was, sighing softly when she thought of how badly she needed a vacation on some planet with vast greenery and open water, beaches and mixed drinks. Maybe after she figured out what was going on. The dark dress she wore hung down to her calves, though it left the soft, creamy skin of her thighs exposed as she moved, the slits offering ample space in the event she needed to run. The garter holster on her left thigh proved to be a natural bullshit deterrent, among that general expression of 'don't speak to me' on her soft face, the brunette breathed out softly as she tapped the earpiece that sat in her ear, "Hey, Q8?" It wasn't long before there was a soft chirp and a familiar voice speaking back to her, the android waking up with a sharp yawn that made her roll her eyes softly. The android had been her partner so to speak for years, assisting in any ship needs, including repairs, driving, and firing blasters when necessary. And, obviously, conversation.

"Yep, I'm up!" The voice sounded like a chipper, automated tone, and she couldn't help but smile every time as that was rarely ever the case. "See if you can find anything about Dengar for me? Any of his whereabouts and who he might have taken up a job with most recently?" As she moved through the buzzing city, her honey colored eyes wandered through the crowds of people, pirates and merchants all trying to either make a quick sale or get one, the scent of grilled meat hitting her nose and reminding her to eat something. It wasn't long before she exchanged a transaction for a stick of street food, the grilled, marinated meat on a kabob being warmly welcomed and chewed upon as Inara walked through the streets of Bialar.

 

[Blast Hardcheese]

Rex loved his job.

Rashid was convenient to have around, a mouse, or more accurately a rat of a man, with wandering fingers in everyone's trash; a very reliable source of illicit information, a well of connections, and too low in status for anyone to bother killing him.

Today, Rex came very close to doing just exactly that.

A deafening shot rang out through one of Bialar's many, many alleyways, followed by an ear splitting cry.

Rashid, for better or worse, was a bit of a coward, and while the little shit would normally know better than to sell anyone out, evidently someone had rattled him enough this time.

Rex blew the whisps of smoke from the smoldering barrel of his bolt revolver, spinning and holstering the weapon before casually traipsing over to the unlucky informant, whose leg had been reduced to a bloody mush of flesh and bone.

"Y-you bastard!" the little man choked out between wails, clutching the stump in disbelief as a pool of blood spread out from the open wound.

"C'mon now Razzy," the ginger bounty hunter said, tone jovial. "With a potty mouth like that you'd think we weren't friends."

Before Rashid could reply his answer was reduced to yet another scream as Rex planted one of his heavy boots on the wound, rubbing it in, literally.

"Wouldn't you know it, I had some very unexpected company on that job you suggested me Razzy. No-nonsense hombres, shoot first types, wasted the mark before I killed them all. That cost me a bonus Razzy."

The rat whimpered as he removed his boot.

"And that got me thinkin'," Rex continued, grabbing his old buddy by the collar. With one heave the bounty hunter's powerful prosthetic arm lifted the man from the ground, his remaining leg dangling. "You're not ambitious enough to have me iced like that, that leaves the client."

"I-I don't know a-anything Rex, my dear friend, my bro-"

"You have three more limbs I can remove, Rashid," Rex growled. He looked down, then corrected himself with a smile. "Make that four."

In a flash his revolver was against Rashid's groin, sending the rat into a panic. "I swear I swear! No names, no faces! They only asked me to hand you the job! I didn't know!"

Rex considered the coward's words for a bit, then relented with a heavy sigh, holstering his gun and dropping Rashid to the floor with painful thwack.

"Regen clinic closes in ten." Rex readjusted the collar of his armored synth-leather duster. "If I were you I'd hobble my ass over there."

Fuck, another dead end. Two competent mercs dead under suspicious circumstances, a failed attempt on his life, he could put two and two together. Rex was no stranger to danger; occupational hazard and all that, but this was getting a little too hairy even for him. He spun on his heel, leaving a cursing Rashid in his wake.

Hot damn, was he famished.

 

[hernameisbanks]

Chewing softly on a piece of meat, the brunette gently held the kabob in her mouth, hands raising to pull her dark hair up and off her shoulders into a high ponytail as her mind went wandering. Things were happening sporadically, but she wasn’t stupid enough to believe that these were accidents. These weren’t the sort of things that just happened, perfectly good bounty hunters being eliminated as though they never existed. Being wiped off the map as though they didn’t have friends and family to remember them. And sure, some of them didn’t but this didn’t mean that they would go unnoticed. Clicking her tongue behind her teeth softly once she had her hair settled, the dark pour of brown locks fell gently in a light swing against her back, her eyes soon narrowed into the fumbling mess of a man who was staggering through the crowds of people.


The way he was scampering around, it was very clear to see just who the information hungry man was, rolling her eyes softly but curiously taking note that his leg was leaking whatever ooze of blood he had. Intriguing. He had clearly been up to something, and that soft tickle of nosiness in her was curious to find what he had been doing in that alley, where he was going, and who he had been running from. Inara would keep to herself though, another piece of meat bit off and chewed softly, just in time for a merchant to call out to her after noting the blaster on her thigh. ”Ah! You like guns, eh?” Well that was a broad statement wasn’t it. ”I’m not interest-“ “Ah! But I have all the best guns.” This was another moment of wanting to roll her eyes into the back of her skull, but she would refrain. Instead, she would give this dirty man the time of day, noting how he looked like he had been dipped in some sort of ship oil, ignoring the thought that came to mind as he began now.

”I have guns just for little ladies like you,” Inara’s face would snarl softly, the natural pout on her lips turning into a look of disgust as he chose his words poorly. It was his mistake, and she would tune him out from then on. ”Little ladies like me huh?” Inara wasn’t new to this planet or this realm, but she knew this merchant was, ”Can I see it?” He had missed the social cues of a woman who was clearly bothered, and that would be his first mistake, the second being handing her one of his blasters. The model was sleek, probably the sort you wore under a nice outfit to gathering, probably with the intention of it being a showpiece. Holding her kabob of meat in one hand and the blaster raising in the other, the woman immediately fired a shot next to his head, knocking one of the baskets that hung behind him into the air before it crashed to the ground.


”Hey now lit-“ “Sir if you call me little anything one more time, I’ll blast your head right off your shoulders.” Inara was polite enough to hand him back his gun, offering a soft wink as she took another bite of her kabob and moved on, clearly having enough of burdening men for the week. Unfortunately when she would turn, she would immediately notice that familiar head of red hair and audibly groan. ”What kind of shitty luck is this.”