Sapphire

To Ruby's credit, there had been very little that Sapphire had had to do except nurse her drink and watch the game. The Chiss was a natural at the game, and abnormally lucky. But when it came down to the final hand, Sapphire wasn't going to take any chances. "Let the final hand commence," the droid running the game announced calmly. It dealt both the Hutt and the Chiss two cards. Craning her neck, Sapphire could see that Dorjoola had received a 2 of Sabers and a Queen of Air and Darkness, while Ruby had gotten a Master of Coins and 3 of Staves. Both players raised, and the droid dealt them each another card. There was murmuring from the crowd as Dorjoola received The Evil One and Ruby the Commander of Coins, putting the Chiss well over the needed score of 23. To her credit, Ruby remained ice cold, her face and body not betraying a tiny clue. Dorjoola was looking pleased with himself. The odds of him getting Endurance and thus claiming a Pure Sabacc were small, but his odds were better than Ruby's. Even if she got an Endurance as well, it'd still put her at 21, and Dorjoola would win. This was time for Sapphire's secret weapon. Fingering the randomizer in her pocket, she sent a signal to the table. The field chimed, and suddenly all the cards were randomized. The crowd leaned forward eagerly. Doorjoola was sitting fairly well with an 11 of Flasks, a 13 of Staves, and Demise. He'd need one more round to feel confident to call it, but it was a pretty good hand. Ruby on the other hand had a 2 of Coins, and Mistress and Demise, which canceled each other out. There really wasn't anything she could do except try for an Idiot's Array, and only a fool or a desperate person would go for it with that type of hand. A fool or a desperate person--or someone with an Ace up her sleeve, and in this case, that Ace was Sapphire. Ruby looked dejected, but Dorjoola had raised the bet, and she reluctantly saw it. A burst from Sapphire's toy ensured that Ruby was given the 3 of Coins, and she noticed that Dorjoola had received an 8 of the same suit. Whispers flew around the room. Rules dictated it was Ruby's call this time. Like a woman with little hope, she made one last bet. Dorjoola eyed her carefully--Sapphire shuddered on Ruby's behalf--then gave a smile, wide even for a Hutt, and called it. The tension in the room was palpable as both players revealed their hands. Then the droid played out the last cards. There were whoops and hollers in the room as Dorjoola received a 2--Pure Sabaac, the first of the night. He chortled loudly. But Sapphire had already guaranteed what the next card would be. She put on an anxious face, and then the droid gave Ruby the Idiot. A shocked pall descended for a moment. Even Ruby wisely looked astonished at her own "luck"--and then the cheers re-erupted. The Idiot's Array was extremely rare, and everyone there counted themselves lucky to have seen it. The Hutt appeared grumpy, but he at least had the decency not to immediately claim that Ruby had cheated. This was his bar, and if he accused her of cheating, that would mean that his own cards and own droid were faulty. He had too much pride for that. "Rydal, pay the Chiss and let's go," he rumbled in Huttese. This was where Sapphire's other toy came into play. A quick signal sent scrambled the credit chits. When the Gran handed them to Ruby, she slipped them under the scanner on the table to make sure they were good--standard procedure--then exclaimed hotly when the scan came up negative. "Hey, what are you trying to pull?!?!" she yelled. Sapphire lost track of the situation in the bustle of the crowd for a few moments, but when she was back in earshot, she heard Dorjoola ordering Ruby to come to his palace tomorrow to receive her payment. She grinned. Everything was working perfectly.

Everything was ready. Sapphire arrived at the cantina fifteen minutes before Dorjoola was supposed to arrive. She was playing the part of a normal patron who would become a part of the interested crowd watching the high-stakes game that was about to take place. She sidled up to the bar and ordered a drink—nothing fancy, just a mild Corellian spiced rum—and set herself to enjoy the atmosphere of the bar and ward off all the proposals from various men trying to flirt with her. Ten minutes later, Ruby arrived and was escorted to the room off to the side where the high-stakes gambling was done. There was an interested murmur from the crowd as she took her seat. Everyone knew that something big was going to happen. A few minutes later, Dorjoola himself arrived, in all his slimy, blobby glory. The Hutt was on the small side for his kind, and wore a bandolier made of Rodian leather, studded with gems as an obvious display of wealth. His flabby fingers sparkled with rings, and Sapphire noted that he had gotten some vertical tail-striping tattoos since she had last seen him. His presence clinched the change in the atmosphere in the cantina. He slithered over to the game. “So, you wish to challenge me, the Mighty Dorjoola?” he burbled in Huttese. A matte brown protocol droid faithfully translated his words. Ruby’s response was lost to Sapphire as a pair of loudly chattering Gran passed between her and the Hutt. She hopped down off her barstool and began to meander over towards the game, joining the crowd already forming there. Pushing her way forward, she found a spot to stand where she would be able to see both player’s hands, but also wouldn’t be in the very front. Luck was with her, and she found a great spot behind a trio of Drall. They were wide enough that any moves she made with her scrambler would be hidden, but short enough that she could see over their heads. Ruby arranged for the stakes to be high, and as the game began, Sapphire got to work.

Sapphire grinned. "We're on." Over the next few days, the Gems went into detail putting everything into place. A bit of research had turned up the knowledge that Dorjoola's favorite game was sabacc, and that the Hutt usually frequented a certain large cantina. Sapphire focused on modifying a special sabacc deck. It was tricky, because sabacc decks were routinely put through rigid anti-cheating scans. But Sapphire was the best for a reason, and after spending a good amount of time, she was able to rig a device that would affect the randomizer, essentially giving her control over what Ruby's opponent would have, as well as what Ruby would get. All she had to do was watch the cards, and they could guarantee a win. She would also make sure that she deactivated his credit chits so that he couldn't pay his debts when he lost; it was important to meet him the next day in Dorjoola's palace. That was all the actual prep that was needed at this point. All three girls knew the drill and their roles, and they had some standard disguises in place for when they needed them. Sapphire herself was going to use one for the first phase of the plan, and so late on the second day, she emerged from the 'fresher with locks as blonde as Emerald's. "Guess we'll have to see if it's true that gentlemen prefer blondes," she commented wryly. She was dressed in nondescript clothing--after all, the goal this time was to not draw a ton of attention--but she knew she was going to get some just because of her figure, blonde hair or not. She slipped the randomizer-hacker into one pocket of her multi-pocketed pants, and the credit-chit scammer into another. Emerald was going to meet with Tarvil and get the groundwork laid, while Ruby and Sapphire beat the Hutt in sabacc. It was the first step in a highly detailed and complicated larger game the Gems were playing, and the stakes here were higher than simple credits. For her part, Sapphire was ready. This was the best kind of work in the galaxy, and she had the best two people in it to work with. Finally, it was time. Moved by a sudden sentimentality, Sapphire gave the other two a quick hug. "Let's go get 'em, girls."

Sapphire nodded. "For old times' sake," she winked at Emerald. "I think that's our best option for plan A anyway. He'll be a hard sell, but if he's smart, he'll know not to try to go up against us. The only thing working against us is how small we currently operate. But," she added, pulling out one of the datapads from the pile on the table, "with this assessment of our assets, we should be able to prove that we have the bigger guns." She glanced at Ruby. "Of course, things never go with plan A. Even that time in the Chandrila system. So I'll make sure to leave a virus in his systems when we leave. Probably the 'Diamond Friend' one I just developed. Haven't gotten to use that beauty yet." Her predatory grin was also longing. Developing new viruses and codes was her hobby and passion, but it was no fun if there wasn't someone to use them on. "Anyway, that'll get us access to most of his systems and we can go from there." She rose. "Put in the call to Tarvil, Em. See if we can get into see Dorjoola tomorrow."

Sapphire's blue eyes twinkled as her fellow pirates awoke. She chuckled at Emerald staggering around the apartment. "Looks like those 'Death Stars' were stronger than you thought!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "We certainly made a night of it! The real question is what didn't you do last night?" Emerald and Ruby both staggered in the direction of the refresher. Normally, Sapph would have just pointed and laughed, but today was a holiday after all, and that meant it was a special occasion. The caf had already been brewed--Sapphire had already drank three cups of the stuff--but she set out some mugs for her hungover friends. Then she went into her quarters and came back out with two large purple pills. "Come on, ladies, no time to be hungover today. I'm sharing my tranadipthaline, so get your behinds out here." Reached down, she hauled Emerald up and sat her on the sofa, sticking a mug of caf in one hand, and a pill in the other. "C'mon, you too, Ruby!" Sapphire had already taken a pill this morning. The drug was a miracle worker, clearing up the symptoms of hangovers in just 15 standard minutes flat. The downside was that each pill cost about the same as an Iridonian zintha gem, so the pirates took them sparingly. But today was worth it for Sapphire. Not only was it a holiday, but they already had an idea for their next job--AND Sapphire was getting her delivery of Alderaanian nerf steaks today. She winked at the other women. "The celebrations have just begun."

Of course, Ruby looked gorgeous in the gown, just as her fellow pirates knew she would. They pushed her in front of a mirror and forced the Chiss to look at herself. Sapphire laughed at her friend's expression, and quickly snapped a holo of Ruby before the Chiss could take the dress off. As Ruby was changing, she showed it to Emerald--it showed the Chiss stuffed into a golden gown, a deep frown on her face, while Emerald and Sapphire laughed in the background. "I'm totally hacking all of her datapads and computers and changing this to her background," Sapphire whispered conspiratorially. All of a sudden, she noticed a display: SPECIAL LAST MINUTE LIFE DAY SALE. Her jaw dropped. "Ladies!!" she breathed. "I just realized---TODAY IS LIFE DAY!" Sapphire was obsessed with holidays. She always overdid everything when it came to them. Life Day, Nal Hutta Summer Feast Day, Boonta Eve, the Festival of Light, Coruscant's Carnival Week...she didn't care what planet of origin it was from: if it was a holiday, she always wanted to do something to celebrate it. "I can't believe I didn't realize it was today!" She suddenly glared at Ruby, who had reemerged from the dressing room. "I blame you. I bet you were trying to make me forget! Emerald--pay for those gowns and let's go! We've got a lot of preparations to do before dawn!!" Thus began three hours of manic preparations. Sapphire wouldn't take no for an answer on anything. She dragged the others through buying a large green tree, gifts, and all sorts of decorations. Then they headed back to their apartment and Sapphire began transforming the place. She decorated every spare inch of the apartment with colored lights, greenery, and festive signs and ornaments. Then she gathered the other two and made them help her decorate the tree with more lights, holo-ornaments, and ribbons. No until the entire place glistened with glitter and cheer did Sapphire let herself and the other pirates collapse into bed. It had been a long night of celebration, and she was determined that tomorrow would be merry and bright.

Once the speeder was theirs, Sapphire climbed into the front passenger seat and flipped the radio on. A rolling beat blared from the speakers. "1-2-3 take my hand and come with me, because you look so fine and I really wanna make you mine!" the singer belted. Sapphire joined in. "4-5-6 c'mon and get your kicks, cause you don't need money when you look like that, do ya honey?" She laughed as Emerald's driving threw her against the door. They were the queens of the universe right now, and nothing was going to stop them. *** They had headed to the most upscale shopping district on Nar Shaddaa. Unlike on more civilized worlds, however, this one still retained the character and personality of the rest of the Hutt-controlled moon. And like the rest of the Moon, this place never slept. So it was that Sapphire found herself at a jeweler's shop at 3 am local time, bargaining for a better price for a new setting for some of the rainbow gems they had recently picked up. She was ordering a hairpiece akin to an understated tiara, and a ring set with alternating diamonds and rainbow gems. The gems themselves were extremely valuable, but Sapphire didn't want to just convert them all into credits. Finally, they settled on a price, and Sapphire promised to deliver the gems to the jeweler in the morning. Then she headed back across the street to where she had left Emerald and Ruby. Emerald had gone crazy in a clothing shop, and Ruby had stayed with their dress-crazy friend to supervise her. When Sapphire reentered the shop, Emerald was still in raptures over several gowns, and Ruby was looking exasperated. Sapphire was about to commiserate with the Chiss when her eyes fell on a stunning golden gown made of silk and satin. "Oh, Ruby...this would look so good on you! You have to try it on! Emerald! Help me make Ruby try this one on!"

The excitement of the hunt twisted in Sapphire's belly at her fellow pirate's ideas on how to deal with the Hutt. Her mind flew from one idea to the next, each with the potential to be extremely profitable. Emerald seemed equally excited--but this was hardly the time or place to get into the details. Emerald dramatically changed the subject, and Sapphire was happy to let her. She might love her work, but she loved to play just as much. She adjusted the already low neckline of her dress and tossed back the rest of her rum. "Let's give them something to remember," she agreed, following Emerald to her feet. The two pirates promenaded over to the group. While Emerald turned her attention on Antilles, the red-head used her hips to slip her way in between two of his friends. "Of course," she said, batting her eyelashes, "there's plenty of us to go around." She turned and put her arms around the neck of the man she had seen always ordering them more rounds, assuming that made him the best man. "Why don't we take this party somewhere we can show you boys some real fun?" She put her full lips next to his ear and gave him a light nibble. That was all the encouragement these boys needed. They eagerly escorted their new "conquests" to a back room they had reserved for the night. Upon entering, Sapphire's eyes landed on the woman already there. She wore a Mandalorian helmet and a ridiculous mockery of Mandalorian armor, too small plates failing to cover her feminine assets, the logo "Rando Mando" stamped on one of them. She laughed. "These gentlemen won't be needing your services anymore tonight, dearie," she told the stripper. She tossed the girl a credcoin with a scornful glance. "Go home." The stripper glared daggers at the two pirates, but the handful of men only had eyes for them, and she left in a huff. Sapphire exchanged a smirk with Emerald. Now they just needed some old classic Core Worlds rock and roll, and maybe...Sapphire grinned as she remembered which dress she was wearing. "You boys ever tried rokna blue?" She rolled up the hem of her already too short dress and pulled out a small clear packet with several nearly-microscopic crystals in it. "It's quite...euphoric." For herself, Sapphire rarely took drugs. They tended to dim the mind, and while she had many valuable physical talents, that was the one she relied upon the most. But the last time she had worn this particular dress had been on a job on Iego, where the Blood Gems had infiltrated a drug lord's compound and made off with his entire collection of almost priceless Hyperspace Wars-era art. Rokna blue had been a good investment as insurance on that trip; after all, the drug was highly euphoric, but also highly deadly in any quantities more than a microgram, making it the perfect subtle weapon for people of their type. She hadn't had to use it on Iego, but the added danger of the drug was just what these poor blue-collar snots needed to break free of their pathetic lives. She winked at the groom as she set the drug on the table, not bothering to fix her hem. She then slipped herself in between the best man and another friend, wrapping her arms around their waists. "Alright, gents, how shall we start?" *** Later on, once all six men were passed out in various piles around the burgundy-draped room, Sapphire zipped her dress back up and slipped her heels back on. Hooking arms with Emerald, she grinned broadly. "I think we should go get you that ring after all."

Sapphire smirked the entire time Emerald was playing with the men. Causing mayhem and mischief was the Blood Gems' specialty, in all forms. It was sad, really. These boys clearly thought they were being bold and daring by coming here to Nar Shaddaa and even entering an establishment such as this, much less buying drinks for three women so far out of their league. They probably all had boring-as-Sithspit desk jobs and went home with their modest salaries to their bland lives. Honestly, the Gems might be doing them a favor by giving them a wild night; one taste of real life before they returned to their haze of insignificance. Wanting to test her hypothesis, she winked at Emerald and then rose. Walking over to the group, she pretended to stumble into the groom-to-be. "Oh, so sorry," she said with a sly wink, slipping her hand into his pocket and stealing his ID while he was too distracted by her lithe body pressed against his. She continued walking, and once she was out of their sight, she examined the ID. James Antilles...human from Coruscant...boring blue-collar neighborhood...goods inspection manager at Terinfalds Warehouse and Trading Company. She almost laughed out loud. She couldn't think of anything more boring in the entire galaxy than sitting behind a desk reading through reports on goods inspections. She returned to the table with the other Gems and tossed the ID on the table with a smirk. "We seriously need to mess with them." She let the other two pirates read the ID, then pocketed it again. For the next few minutes, she concentrated on finishing her drink. Then Emerald brought the conversation back to Dorjoola. "What did you have in mind?" she asked. Sapphire leaned back in her chair nonchalantly. "Remember that jewelry shop we stopped in on the way here? While you were drooling over that emerald-encrusted titanium ring, I overheard a Rodian and a Nikto talking about your old Hutt friend. Seems he's lost a lot of money recently in some bad business dealings. He's getting desperate to turn a profit, and fewer and fewer smugglers are working for him." She raised her eyebrows suggestively. "We could go in a make sure he's ruined completely...or we could take over what's left of his little empire." A fire glinted in her deep blue eyes. "It might be time for us to grow our own assets."

This, Sapphire thought as she tossed back her head and laughed at Emerald's handling of Jalos, was why the Blood Gems were best together. The three headed off towards their apartment, Sapphire's mood still sky high. Nothing, not even Jalos' drooling, could make her lose her euphoria over their most recent heist. Their apartment was spacious and fully-stocked. This was their permanent residence, and the three sections of it each reflected the Gems' personalities. Sapphire headed towards hers, carpeted in deep blue, and sank into her bed with a long sigh. Ahhh....I love this bed.... But she wasn't in the mood this evening to stay in. She wanted to hit the town, live the high life, and have some fun. To that end, she rose and headed to her own closet. While not as extensive as Emerald's, Sapphire's wardrobe held fewer but more expensive pieces. Her real weakness was for shoes. She had several hundred pairs at least. In the end, she chose a slinky black dress with one long sleeve, whose low-dropping back and sky-high skirt would be ridiculously scandalous anywhere else in the galaxy, and paired it with some killer golden heels. She threw the top part of her hair up in a golden clip, and put on some large gold-and-diamond earrings to match. Emerald might have the edge over her in beauty, but only when they were right next to each other, and Sapphire was well aware of her allure. Deadly, dangerous, and drop-dead gorgeous, she thought smugly. *** When they arrived at the Crystal Decanter, the pirate relished the stunned looks and whispered comments that flew among the patrons as the Blood Gems walked in. Emerald went to get them drinks, and Sapphire flashed a smile at Ruby. "You know you love this as much as Em and I do," she winked. She took her drink with a relish, and laughed at Emerald's ridiculous concoction. "An emerald drink for Emerald," she chuckled. "To a successful heist," Emerald toasted. "May there be many more like it. Preferably soon." "I'll drink to that!" Sapphire exclaimed. She tossed back a swallow of the rum. "Well, we'll probably be here for a week or two at least. The Glory's repairs are going to take time. But I think there's plenty of mischief we can get into here on the Smuggler's Moon." An idea struck her, and she laughed again. "Emerald, you should go see Dorjoola." They continued chatting and drinking for the next ten minutes, but then were approached by several of the men from the stag party. "Can we buy you ladies some more drinks?"

Nar Shaddaa...the Vertical City. This place understood her. It lived--it had a pulse, one that could beat with the rush of violence or with the rhythms of dance music. There were beings of every species, of every background. The only thing that united them all was the desperation of life, the pursuit of whatever one wished, whether that be money or power or just to have a good time. For Sapphire, this would always be the place she felt the most like she fit in. It had been here that she had fled when she had first left Hapes, fed up and sick of the hoity toity Hapan lifestyle. She had landed here with no prospects and with no idea what she wanted to do with her life. She had fallen in with a criminal group, using her hacking skills to help pull off several minor heists. It had been a crazy time, and while she had held no love for any of the people she had worked with, she found that she loved the lifestyle. She had it all--drugs, sex, alcohol, and money--and most of all, freedom. It had been here where she had vowed that she was never going back to her stuffy Hapan upbringing. Alai Dov had died here. She was Sapphire the pirate for life. The red-head brought the ship gracefully down to a landing on an empty landing pad and turned to catch Emerald's grin. "No, probably not," Sapphire replied. "He'll probably charge an arm and a leg. I'll probably have to sleep with him too. But his people are some of the only ones I trust to do the job right. I mean, it's not like I'd ever take the Glory back to Rut'aan's place!" She shuddered. "I'll take Jalos' overactive libido over Rut'aan's slimy tentacles any day." She hit the switch to lower the ramp and came striding out of the mist that came with the hiss of the repulsors. A group of humanoids was already assembled. "Aw, a welcoming party?" Sapphire called out. "You didn't need to do that." "Didn't I? You know we like to pull out all the stops for the Blood Gem Pirates," came the response from the tall brawny human in the front of the group. His hair was dark brown, almost black in his scraggly beard. A long scar, a common sight among the denizens of the Smuggler's Moon, crossed his nose and turned downward underneath his blue eyes. His hand twitched on his blaster. "You've got a lot of guts coming back here, Sapphire." "Come on, Jalos," she replied scornfully. "You know as well as I do that that Hutt was going to track you down for what you did to him. It was only a matter of time. Besides," she added, striding forward, "wouldn't you rather put that whole mess behind us? For old times' sake?" Jalos had been one of the first people she had met on Nar Shaddaa. He had quickly become obsessed with her, and while at first she hadn't given him the time of day, he was so persistent that eventually she had given him what he wanted, hoping that that would be the end of it. Instead, he had turned possessive. That had eventually lead to an all-out brawl between them that had ended with Sapphire dumping his sorry behind in a trash compactor. That was years ago, now, though. They had seen each other on and off over the years. Despite their history, Sapphire did overall trust his men's workmanship. When it came to ship repairs, there were few garages as good as Jalos'. And few prices were too high for Sapphire to pay to get her ship fixed right, especially when it came to men as uncreative as Jalos. He grunted noncommittally at her words. "Why are you here?" She gestured at the ship with her chin. "The Glory got a little banged up on our last job. Need a team of techs and mechanics to look her over and give her some TLC." "That's going to cost you quite a bit," he replied, looking her up and down. "I'm not sure you'd be willing to pay what I'll ask." But he waved a hand and several techs came trotting forward. He knew Sapphire wouldn't be here if she hadn't already agreed to his price. "It's gonna be 8,000 just to have my guys take a look at her, plus the cost of whatever new parts she'll need, and labor of course." "Fine, but the cargo bay is off limits. If I catch any of your men put one toe in there, we leave without paying a thing." He grinned. "Of course, of course. That'll cost you something extra, though, darlin'." "Please," Sapphire snorted. "You know you can't handle it." "Come now," he drawled. "Is that the way you want to talk to the people fixing your beloved ship?" She rolled her eyes and walked away. As she passed him, he slapped her rear. "I'll pick you up later and take you to a nice dinner," he grinned. Sapphire raised her chin. "After the job is done." He paused, but nodded. "Sure. Give you time to work up an appetite." She kept walking. It would be easy for her to ruin Jalos completely, but then his mechanics would scatter and find jobs elsewhere, and it was worth it for her to put up with him to get her ship fixed right. His prices were steep but his work was good, and that was all she really cared about. The other two Gems had finished locking up the cargo hold while she negotiated, and now the three of them headed off the platform and down to the main thoroughfare. She hooked arms with Emerald as they walked, her demeanor changing. She glanced at an ad that displayed the current local time. "Well ladies, looks like it's still early afternoon here. What sort of trouble shall we get up to with what's left of the day? I'm thinking it's time to celebrate." This was their neighborhood. The Gems kept a large apartment a few blocks down, stocked with everything they needed, including whatever part of Emerald's extensive wardrobe she didn't feel the need to take with her. There were several of their favorite watering holes nearby, and all the shopping and nightlife three pirates could dream of. The sky was the limit.

Sapphire whistled. "That's a nice number," she said, "given how everything went to hell." She tossed Ruby a datapad with the damage readouts on it. "Unfortunately, the Hapan military tore my ship to shreds. Em figured that Nar Shaddaa was our best bet for repairs...and to maybe find a buyer for some of those warheads. We're on our way now." The three pirates finished catching each other up on everything, then separated to get cleaned up--especially Emerald and Ruby, since they were still covered in crusty dried white fire suppressant foam. Sapphire also took a shower, using a special shampoo to wash the dye out of her hair, returning it to it's natural vibrant red. She then spent extra time in front of the mirror, and dressed extra carefully. There were a lot of people she knew on Nar Shaddaa, and a pirate always had to make an impression. Thankfully there were two refreshers on the ship. That had been a necessary upgrade when it had become the Blood Gems' mobile base. Otherwise the three of them would have been pulling each other's hair an hour into every flight. Not long after, they were coming out hyperspace above the Smuggler's Moon.

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Thanks so much," she said dryly. She rummaged under the dashboard and emerged with a bottle of Ilum whiskey. She opened it and took a swig. Her adrenaline was still running high. They had escaped, with their payload intact, had stuck it to the Hapan military, and had narrowly avoided being blown up. What she needed was a lot of alcohol. And maybe a "roll in the hay", but that would have to wait until they got to their destination. After taking another swig of her drink, she felt fortified enough to look over the damage report. She winced. Her ship had taken a beating. Emerald was right--this was going to take some work, and that meant a fully stocked spaceport. "Nar Shaddaa it is then," she replied. The Hutt moon was a pirate's haven. The Blood Gems preferred to operate outside of Hutt Space, but every pirate and smuggler worth his weight in credits kept a safe house on the Smuggler's Moon. Sapphire dropped them out of hyperspace, then punched in the new coordinates. Once they were in hyperspace again, she turned back to Emerald. "You thinking of selling our loot? I thought we were going to keep them for ourselves. Unless we got a lot?" She wasn't sure how many they had managed to grab. Rising, she replaced the bottle and then left the cockpit, heading back to the cargo hold. "So Rube--how did we do?"

Emerald was predictably upset about the foam, but Sapphire was too busy gunning the engines to pay attention. The Hapan fleet scrambled quickly, way too quickly for the pirate's liking. She muttered under her breath. "Kriffing efficient Hapans." A wave of fighters were the first to reach them. She snarled as she juked and jinked, doing her best to avoid their fire. The shuttle was definitely not the Nebula's Glory. It had all the maneuverability of a bantha. Red lights began to flash all over the control board as the fighters scored multiple hits on their aft shields. And of course, as a delivery shuttle, it had no offensive weaponry. As the Nebula's Glory came into sight, she spared a split second of her attention to activate the signal device she had in her pocket. It was a tool Ruby had rigged up for her a long time ago, a device slaved to the Glory's controls that would get the ship warmed up and ready for a quick exit. Her distraction cost them their starboard shields. But the engines were still going strong--for now. With luck, they'd make it to their destination before they died...or before fire from the fighters hit their cargo hold. They drew nearer and nearer, the shuttle shaking from the laser fire. But then, she dipped the shuttle down and up and connected with the Glory. Before the link was even complete, she was running at top speed to the transfer tube. The instant it connected, she pounded down it and straight to the Glory's cockpit. Slipping behind the familiar controls, she engaged the engines, sending the ship jumping out of orbit. The docking had cost them again. The fighters had turned their weapons onto the Glory, and had blown a shallow hole in the aft section, damaging one of her power couplings, before Sapphire had gotten the shields up. She scowled. "Stop blowing holes in my ship!" she bellowed to the Hapan fighters, not caring that their pilots hadn't heard her. Now the race was really on. The big Hapan battle dragons and smaller frigates were starting to come into the fray now. Even the Glory wouldn't be able to withstand the fire from the capital ships for long. And they would be here long if the Hapans got their way. She grit her teeth as she put her ship through its paces. Emerald might think to take to the guns, but there wasn't much point, not with the way that Sapphire had the ship spinning, looping, reversing, and jerking. The navicomputer was putzing along, taking it's good sweet time about spitting out a navigational course. Sapphire glanced at it, and estimated that it would be ready by the time they cleared the planet's gravity well. Assuming--her heart dropped. There in front of them on the scanners was one of their new friends, a pulse-mass mine. She yelled a Hapan curse and started on a long diatribe in Hapan. "Chan urrainn dhomh a chreidsinn. Tha iad cho gòrach. Cha toigh leam seo. Chan eil seo fhiach e. Carson a rinn mi riamh a 'moladh a' tighinn air ais a seo?" Meanwhile there was a nasty hit on their aft starboard quadrant. The shields in that sector flickered and failed. She immediately transferred power from the port side, but not before another fighter scored a hit. Smoke billowed in the back, and an entire row of lights went red. Sapphire's verbal diatribe had died out to mostly a long string of curses. Then the capital ships began to open fire. They were in a very, very bad situation. But then, Sapphire got an idea. A wonderful, brilliant idea--if only they could pull it off. The Glory had an ion cannon--perfect for capturing targets. It was a long shot...but it was the only chance they had. She adjusted their course to head right for the little bugger. It got closer and closer. For the last half a klick, she straightened out their flight and lined up the cannon. One shot lanced out with the touch of a trigger. She didn't stick around to see if it connected, for she had already held a straight flight path too long. A second later, there was a beeping from her board. "YES!" she shouted. Amazingly, incredibly, it had worked. The ion pulse had knocked the pulse-mass mine out of commission. It was only temporary, but it was enough. Five seconds later, she threw the lever, sending the two linked ships into the safety of hyperspace.

If Ruby was sweating, she wasn't going to be the only one for long. Emerald's sharp eyes had spotted the droid technician, and she had launched into action. But Sapphire wasn't idle either. She frantically began to tap into the hanger's systems. By the time the droid technician yelled, she was in. "BREACH IN THE HA--!" "Great, just great," Sapphire muttered. "Now I have to create a breach." An idea hit her that might buy them more time. With a few lines of code, she set off the fire alarms. These drowned out the security alarms that had begun, and more than that, they immediately began to douse the entire hanger and all it's contents with fire-suppressant foam. There was immediate chaos in the hanger from all the organics. The droids however continued their work. There were five who were on their way back to the Lorell Distributors shuttle. They'd be here in the next standard minute. She bit her lip. It would take the security forces another 45 seconds to arrive on the scene. Emerald and Ruby could be here in 20 seconds max. Although...her mind spun with possibilities. She grabbed onto one and ran with it. "Ruby!" she said over the comm. "Send one of those thermal detonators over to the hangar door, then both of you get onboard!" She typed frantically on her computer screen as she darted out of the storage compartment and pounded her way up to the cockpit to start the shuttle's engines. Outside in the hangar, things started going haywire. The lights were flicking on and off, the air systems started blowing at full force, and various alarms kept going off, first signaling a reactor leak, then a weapons malfunction, then a hull breach. The fire system finally ran out of fire suppressant foam and was simply wailing. All the organics were running for the doors. Sapphire gave them 5 more seconds to get there, then slammed and locked the blast doors firmly in place. Three of the five droids had delivered their pulse mass mines. It would have to be enough; they couldn't wait any longer. She heard the pounding of boots on the ramp and slapped the button to close it. Abandoning her computer for now, she engaged the repulsorlifts. "Ruby, set off that detonator---now!" There was an explosion, and suddenly the hanger was open to space, the force-field having failed in the blast. Gunning the engines, she sent the shuttle diving through the ruined exit and heading for space. It was bound to look suspicious to even the most dim-witted Hapan, but there was nothing to do but run for it. "I really hope they don't use any of those--kriffing--pulsemass--mines," she spit out between maneuvers.

Three hundred. That was better than Sapphire expected. It seemed that the Hapans had taken the bait--hook, line, and sinker. As they made the final preparations, she was feeling confident. Now it was just a matter of switching out the mines, and that could be done with a little bit of slicing. She settled into her place in the cargo compartment, her portable computer in her lap, ready to go. There was a long pause, and then the hiss of repulsors. There was another long pause where the only audible noise was Emerald's breathing. "I'd be glad to have my droids assist yours in transferring the cargo," she heard Ruby say over their hidden comms. There was another pause, then Ruby said, "Thank you. We'll get to work right away." She let out a sigh of relief. So far, so good. Opening her computer, she got to work. The Hapans used a relatively simple code to network their work droids, one that Sapphire had learned long ago. She shook her head. In all these years, they hadn't bothered to update their systems. It was insulting. It didn't take long to plug in the lines of code that got her access to their programming. First things first. She accessed one of the droids' sensor packages and watched through the droid's eyes as it unloaded a crate of the dummy torpedoes and carried it to the programmed storage room. She breathed another sigh of relief. There were their targets--off to the side there were stacks of the now-obsolete pulse mass mines. She made the droid look in that direction so she could get a clear look. The crates were marked to be delivered to the fourth Hapan fleet in a few hours. As her droid dropped off it's cargo, she knew this was the tricky point. A few keystrokes and it moved over to the pulse mass mines, picked up a crate, and headed back towards the shuttle. The trick would be to hide in the hustle and bustle, and hope no one noticed that the droids were not just unloading the Lorell Distributors shuttle, but also loading it. Five crates in, their luck ran out.

Once the initial contact was made, they were escorted fairly quickly through the military installment. Sapphire could tell that Emerald was bothered by being back here. It was interesting; Sapphire too had attended Hapan military training in her younger years, but for her, that just made it easier to slip into a mindset where she was comfortable enough with the surroundings that she could observe and process them quickly. But then, she had always been the type to bottle up her feelings and let them go at a later point. Emerald wore her heart on her sleeve. But now was not the time. She gave her a few sidelong glances, but didn't dare say anything. Once the presentation got started, though, Emerald relaxed. Her natural charisma took over and Lyda could tell that the officers were intrigued by what Ulae was saying. At her cue, Lyda stepped forward, removing the dust cover on their prototype. "This is the Lorell Industries pulse interdictor torpedo," she explained. "Obviously a disarmed model." She flicked her wrist, and a detailed diagram of the torpedo appeared on the presentation screen, while Ulae handed out flimsy copies of the technical readouts. "As you can see, we've kept the same shell as with your current pulsemass mines, allowing for an easy switch to our product." She went on to elaborate on the specs of the new weapon, taking care to point out the places where it was superior to what they were currently using. One of Major Isolder's aides spoke up. "According to these specs, this new interdictor torpedo would increase the duration of the interdiction affect by ten standard minutes?" Lyda nodded. "That's correct. And the range of the interdiction field is wider as well, allowing you to halt more ships at a time." The presentation continued for another half hour. The Hapans had a ton of questions. Lyda was starting to get a little worried, but eventually, their clients agreed on a live field test. It was a promising step. Lyda was sure that if they saw the pulse interdictor in action, they'd be quite eager to buy. There was definitely nothing on the market quite like this. They were escorted back to their ship, where they carefully unloaded a live torpedo and handed it over to the Hapans, who hurried off with it. Major Isolder then crisply shook their hands. "Thank you. We are impressed with your product. Once we perform the live test, and assuming everything is as you say, we will contact you about purchasing." She then turned and headed off. Lyda bit the inside of her cheek. She was hoping they would be invited to the live field test, but it looked like Isolder was playing things close to her chest. Oh well... There was nothing they could do now except get back on the ship and wait.

The Diamond Cutter appeared out of hyperspace above Harterra, one of the interior cluster systems of the Hapes Cluster. The planet was a pleasant mix of mountain ranges and sweeping forests, broken by the trapping of civilization. Most of the architecture here was in the classic Empress Teta style, regal and stately. Or stuffy, as the occupants of the star yacht thought. Lyda Rohs sat in the pilot's seat. Her reddish-brown hair glinted in the lights of the panels as her brown eyes scanned the traffic around the planet. Not too busy. Hopefully the Hapan beauracracy wouldn't force them to wait. She tapped the comm. "This is the Diamond Cutter, carrying representatives of Lorell Distributors. We have a meeting with Major Antilani Isolder of the Hapan Defense Fleet." This began a long chain of back and forth messages until finally they were transferred to the military channels. Lyda let some of her impatience seep through as they were finally granted permission to land at a military base on planet. She took the ship down with a touch of Corellian recklessness, then turned to her business partner. "Ready to go show them the goods, Ulae?"

The preparations were done. They had gone over every detail of the plan until they could quote it to each other perfectly. They had multiple backup plans in place in case things went south. They had flawless disguises, detailed backstories they knew by heart, and a company front that as was legitimate as the best hacker in the galaxy could make it. They were ready. Sapphire met the eyes of both of her partners in turn. "Let's do this." She hit the lever, sending them into a short hyperspace jump that would take them to Harterra, where they'd meet their contact, Major Antilani Isolder. ((TO THE HAPES CLUSTER))

"Nothing worth getting is ever easy," Sapphire commented dryly. She had grimaced at Ruby's comment about creating the weapon that was later used against them. It wasn't nice of the Chiss to rub that Tralus job in her face. Coming up against her own code had been an honor, but one she could have easily done without. At least they had pulled it off then. With luck, this job would go more smoothly than that one. She finished off her glass of brandy and for a moment considered pouring herself another one. Probably best to be sober for this next part, she thought regretfully. "Alright then ladies. Let's get to work." And with that, they were off. It took a few days to track down an inactive pulsemass mine, but eventually they heard of a skirmish near Gallinore, and by timing it carefully, they were able to dip in the system, mingle with the scavengers, and pick up one before anyone even noticed they were there. As Ruby immediately got to work on the mine, and Emerald gathered the practical supplies they'd need outside of the weapons area--disguises, hidden comms, and the like--Sapphire began setting up their fake company. It was not difficult work, but time consuming. She ended up piggybacking it on a company called Tendrando Arms, a medium size corporation that had a reputation for good, solid products and honest business practices. They had formerly contracted with the New Republic, but with the demilitarization of the GA, they'd lost a good chunk of business. It was exactly the right set up for a company who was looking to branch out their market to the Hapans. She then set up a new account for the sale purposes, one that checkout as belonging to Tendrando Arms, but really funneled into one of the Blood Gems' accounts. Once everything was as solid and secure as Sapphire could make it, she moved on to developing a sales pitch and making sure that both of her fellow pirates knew everything there was to know about the company. Soon, it'd be time to move.

Emerald was being...uncharacteristically skeptical. Suddenly, Sapphire wondered if the plan was too daring for them. After all, she had learned to trust Emerald's 'bad feelings', even if she didn't understand them. They had kept the pirates out of hot water many times over the years. But after a moment, her fellow pirate seemed to reluctantly give in. "Don't worry," Sapphire repeated. "There won't be any holes in the story. We'll make sure everything looks absolutely legitimate. It's not difficult to do. I could even hack into a legitimate corporation and present us as reps of that group without anyone being the wiser. And of course, we're talking disguises for us and for the Glory." She accepted the flask Emerald had pulled out. It seemed she was finally on board. She took a swig from Emerald's flask and immediately grimaced. "Emerald, what are you drinking that swill for?" She rose and crossed to the liquor cabinet and pulled out the good stuff--an 88-proof barrel aged Corellian brandy--and three glasses. With a practiced air, she opened the bottle and poured a glass for each of them. Taking her own, Sapphire turned to Ruby. "You've been awfully quiet, Ruby. What do you think?"

Sapphire raised a red eyebrow at Emerald's sudden skepticism. "It'll work, it'll work. Trust me. Hapans like to think they're better than everyone else, right? They'll eat up a prototype weapon that will help prove that to the galaxy." A bunch of questions then poured forth from her fellow pirate, and Sapphire patiently answered them all. "We'd never get away with stealing a Battle Dragon," she said flatly. "Besides, there's no way we could crew a ship that size with just the three of us, and I don't see us increasing our capacity any time soon. As for your other concerns, these pulsemass mines are going to be really expensive to build, not to mention probably time consuming. I have no doubt that Ruby'll be able to do it," she tossed a glance at Ruby, "but it won't be cost prohibitive for us to mass produce them ourselves." She didn't like the idea of that shiny pile of credits in their account dwindling. The point was to make money. "To answer you second question, like I said, they're going to want a demonstration. We fire the working one off, and once they see it works, they won't need further proof. The next time they try to use one, it'll be in live-testing, and by that point, we'll have already made our delivery and vanished." She tossed her hair a little haughtily. "As for how many we can grab, it all depends on how much time we can buy at the weapons storage facility. Obviously we're supposed to be loading things off the ship, not onto it, but if I can hack into the loading droids' systems, I can get us several crate loads before security notices anything suspicious. Worst case scenario, we get one pallet full--probably about 20 warheads. But if things go according to plan, I don't see why we can't fill up the hold with them." She shrugged. "Keeps us going for quite a while. And who knows, by the time we run out, something better might have come along." She paused for a moment, thinking, calculating. In a way, running a con was similar to hacking a computer system. Things had to be placed just so. One piece out of place and the whole thing would crumble. "Now that I think about it," she said slowly, "I think Ruby should be the one making the actual delivery. She'll be the least suspicious as a dock worker, and she'll be in the best position to ID the real warheads that we want in case of some confusion. If you and I conceal ourselves in the ship," she said with a nod toward Emerald, "then I can still hack the droids and we'll be close by in case Ruby needs backup." She met Emerald's eyes again. "That means it'd be up to you and I to sell the military on the fake mines."

Sapphire winked. It didn’t seem like Ruby had quite caught on yet. “It’s the perfect tool for us. We track a mark, get ahead of them, set up a pulsemass mine and yank them out of hyperspace. While their systems are resetting, we board them and do what we do best. Then by the time the mine dies, we’ll be finished and able to slip back into hyperspace and on our way. And using this type of disposable interdiction will make it harder for any local authorities to track us down.” Ruby guessed she already had a plan, and Sapphire pulled out her datapad and put it on the small table in the middle of the ship’s lounge. “These things are only used by the Hapan military—they’re on all their Battle Dragons, which is how I learned about them in the first place. That means it’s going to be tough to steal them outright." She paused, biting her lip. "We'll need to run a con.” There was a long pause as she thought through possible cons. Her sapphire eyes met emerald ones across the table, and suddenly a grin spread over her face. "I've got it!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "The Chandrilan Arms con!" She made notes on the datapad as she spoke for the other two. “It's a classic con. Ruby will work up a prototype mine that would be a better model of what they currently have,” she said, pointing to the specs on Ruby’s datapad. “We’ll have to buy parts, but the payout will offset the expenses. You’ll have to make two probably, but only one of them has to work. Meanwhile I'll create us a fake company. We’ll go to Hapan military command as arms dealers. We’ll inform them about this new prototype and offer them a deal to get in on the ground floor of mass production. I’m sure they’ll want a demonstration, and of course, they'll investigate our company. Once they’re convinced, we’ll make the deal and they transfer the credits to an company account. Once the credits are there, I'll transfer them to one of our other shell accounts. Then we set up delivery, which gets us access to their weapons storage. Since it’s a similar device, it’ll be stored in the same or adjacent storage bunkers. Then it’s just a matter of grabbing the real pulsemass mines and replacing them with empty shells of our prototypes. By the time they discover the deception, we’ll be long gone, and our fake IDs will lead them to dead ends. We’ll have disappeared with both a sizeable shipment of pulsemass mines, as well as all the credits they paid us for the fakes.” She glanced at Emerald. “One of us will have to stay out of sight from Hapan command. We want to guarantee that the person who makes the delivery is a face none of them have seen before, otherwise they might get suspicious, no matter how small we claim our fake company is.”

Sapphire brought the ship out of hyperspace again quickly, then plotted a new heading and re-jumped, just to make sure they lost anyone tailing them. Those GA drones were a dime a dozen, but they had fairly sophisticated tracking algorithms. A few minutes later and they were in the clear, so she dropped them out of hyperspace again into the empty void of deep space. She ran a quick scan, but there was nothing on the scopes. She let out a breath, then grinned. Still alive and still free. She didn't like it when marks got away, but it happened occasionally. They were a very small group of pirates, and they just didn't have the resources to hit targets that were too big. It had been a risk anyway, she told herself. But it still rankled a little. Enough to need some rum, anyway. Ah, what was she kidding? She didn't need an excuse for rum. She reached for the flask she kept tucked in her belt and flipped it open. Taking a swig, she relaxed back in her chair. The fiery sensation burned back the sting of failure. She remembered the first time she had tried rum. She was 18, at the first big party of her debutante year. She had been forced to make small talk about extremely inconsequential matters, giggle incoherently, and wear uncomfortable shoes for three hours. She had hated every moment--the insincere flattery of the other girls, the snootiness of the guests, the political backbiting and maneuvering that was always going on under the surface. She eventually found herself standing off to the side, trying desperately to stay out of the limelight for a moment. Captain Alara, one of her mother's guards that was watching over her that night, had come up to her and offered her a sip of rum from her own hidden flask, winking. The alcohol had given her the strength to get through the rest of the evening, despite the endless pomp and ceremony. Of course, that had just been the first of many of those parties. She thought idly about Alara. She had been a good woman. It was a shame what had happened to her. All of a sudden, Sapphire sat bolt upright in her chair. A wonderful, marvelous, incredible idea had just come to her. She jumped to her feet and ran back to the other Gems. "I just had--" she stopped mid-sentence at the scene before her. Ruby lay on the ground by the couch, a thin line of liquid cable stretching from her holdout blaster to Emerald's ankle. Both ladies were breathless from laughter and roughhousing. She shook her head in mock exasperation. "I don't even want to know." Her eyes jumped to the still-open armaments locker, and she crossed to close it. "Ruby, what did I say about making sure this is latched properly? With the inertial compensators dialed back, some of this stuff might have gotten loose and blown a hole in my ship." She sat down on the couch, completely missing any looks the other two exchanged. "I thought of a brilliant idea," she grinned. "Have either of you heard of Hapan pulse mass mines?"

Things got out of hand very, very quickly. There was the sound of multiple thuds and cursing coming from behind her, but Sapphire didn't dare take her eyes off the instruments. "What are you DOING back there?!?" she shouted back. Finally, four ion bolts laced out. But in the nick of time, their target vanished, and Emerald's shots connected with new targets. Four of them. And they looked angry. "EMERALD! Now is NOT the time to make new friends!" Her hands flew across the instruments, sending the Glory juking and jinking, tumbling and spinning through space as she looked for a clear escape vector. There was no way they could take very many direct hits if these guys decided to take offense. And these GA types were just so easily offended. As if to prove it, several laser bolts lanced out, shaking the ship as they impacted off the shields. She winced. Where is it, where is it? How come the moment we need to escape the place is suddenly crawling with ships?!? Suddenly she saw it. With an audible whoop she punched the engines again. The ship leapt forward, slipping under the bow of a Corellian Corvette and into clear space. A moment later, she had pulled the lever sending them into the safety of hyperspace.