Brina Thalin

The paperwork and payment was all in order, and the only thing Brina added was a request for Black Sun to change the name. She went as far as to suggest the Golden Sun Casino, but left it up to the new owner. She signed it, got Zara's electronic signature, and just like that, the Link was many credits richer, but no longer owned the Golden Link Casino. It felt momentus, and Brina spent the next few hours walking the station, remembering. There had been a lot of good times here. Bad times too, she thought, remembering a very successful heist in particular. But overall, good. Finally, she shook herself. Time to move out, close up shop, and move on with her life. -- It took most of the next three days for Brina to transfer everything, pack everything, and wipe the computer systems. Black Sun would have a completely fresh start. The vault was emptied, being completely transferred to their Coruscant offices. The employees were taking the move in stride, mostly, although Brina knew they were hoping that Black Sun would hire them to stay. For now, once the week was up, they'd be suspended with two weeks' pay. In the meantime, they were put to work, wrapping everything up, packing things, and removing Link logos from everything. Finally, Brina was leaving the casino for the last time. She sat in the cockpit of her ship, and impulsively touched her forehead in a mini-salute. "Thanks for all the memories." And the Crazy Mynock lifted out of the hangar bay and into the stars.

Brina raised a hand. "I'm not worried about any blowback to the Link by selling to you. The Link and the Black Sun have always had an understanding, sometimes more formal than others, and we have no wish to change that." She was thinking quickly, trying to find any loopholes, and after a moment, was satisfied. There was no reason not to sell the Casino--nothing but sentimentality. She had always felt more at home here than any of the Link's many other properties. But it was a good business move, and both sides knew it. So after a moment, she nodded. "Alright, send over the paperwork. I'll sign the bill of sale and we can transfer ownership a few standard hours later, once the payment goes through."

"Hello Zalis," Brina answered, matching the other's tone. "My name is Brina Thalin, co-CEO of the Link Corporation. I was approached by your agents yesterday with a very generous offer to buy our property, the Golden Link Casino. I'd be very interested to hear more about your interest in our Casino and why you are interested in purchasing." For a moment, her mind flashed back, so many years ago, when business talk like this had been foreign to her. She had just been a common smuggler back then, doing runs for credits, not caring about the legality of what she was doing. If she had told younger Brina what she would be doing in 20 years, she would have laughed. And yet, here she was. The galaxy sure was a funny place.

Brina nodded, and the two agents were escorted out after a few pleasantries. She then informed the staff who had been waiting outside the door that she'd take the Crazy Mynock and be at the Casino in a standard day. -- True to her word, Brina arrived at the Casino the next day. Upon arriving, she headed straight for the office that she normally shared with Zara. She had commed her co-proprietor on the way here, and Zara had agreed with Brina's assessment--as long as the usage questions were answered satisfactorily, it made good business sense to sell the Casino. Especially at that price. The Black Sun comlink was sitting on her desk. Picking up, she called.

Brina nodded. "I would be happy to speak with K at their convenience, then. Hopefully we can both reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial." She wasn't surprised that these agents didn't have all the information. Black Sun always operated at a high level of secrecy, and was always very top-down. Clearly, that hadn't changed. It was interesting, however, that the orders were no longer coming from Mr. Diasku. Smash had had control of the Black Sun for many years. He had had a great mind for business, as well as the skill necessary to run his own personal empire of spies and criminals. She wondered idly what had become of him. The galaxy certainly was a different place than it had been in the past.

((If I'm messing up your storyline, feel free to let me know and I can delete this...but when I saw you had posted that, I felt I wanted to stick my nose in it.)) When they announced their business, the Black Sun agents were immediately escorted to the most high level conference room the Golden Link had to offer. They were served refreshments and informed by the station's AI Idarah that she was connecting them with a Link executive immediately. --- Brina Thalin, co-CEO of the Link Corporation, sat at her desk dumbfounded. A message had just come through on her urgent comm link stating that two Black Sun agents had just showed up at the Golden Link Casino offering to buy the property in it's entirety. It was, on the face of it, preposterous. But the Link and the Black Sun still had a tenuous agreement, and Brina thought it only fair to hear the two agents out. To be honest, while the Link Corporation still represented a significant investment, the Golden Link Casino was getting too expensive to keep running with the Link's diminished assets. Back in the company's heyday, it had been their biggest source of income, but over the years, interest in it had declined in favor of the more relaxing Kat Nargal Memorial Resort. She shook herself and headed to the comm room. Once there, she established a holographic link with the station. -- In the conference room, a life-sized hologram of Brina flickered to life. "Greetings," she said to the two agents. "I'm sorry I can't be there with you in person, but both Ms. Nargal and I are currently on Coruscant. I hope you'll forgive me if we get down to business." The two agents immediately laid out the particulars of the pecuniary transaction they wished to make, on behalf of this mysterious Mr. K. Unfortunately, they refused to say more, even when pressed for information. Brina was hesitant to sell the casino to someone so mysterious. It would be irresponsible. Who knew what this Mr. K had planned? "I admit that your offer is very tempting," she finally told the agents. "But I need some guarantees before I can consider it. I need a guarantee that the money you are offering is good, first of all. We're talking about a massive amount of credits. I know your organization has had access to those kinds of resources, but at the same time, you've been very quiet in the galactic community as of late. Secondly, I'd like to inquire what Mr. K intends to use the station for. Will it continue in it's role as a casino, or does he plan to gut it?" She smiled politely. "The Black Sun, you see, have been known to take drastic measures in the past, and if I were to equip one of those, say, against an ally of the Link, well, that would be very bad for our business, now."

A few days after Dr. Makaryk had sent his message, a Link transport shuttle arrived. The pilot, following instructions from Jedi Grandmaster Trevelian, showed up at the hospital in Iziz, asking for Dr. Makaryk and saying that he was here to provide the doctor transport to the Jedi at his leisure. The pilot would get paid either way, so it didn't matter to him if his layover on Onderon was short or long.

Given the man's cooperation through the procedures, once he had passed through he was granted a room in Alpha Wing. "Enjoy your stay," the woman behind the desk told him. "And if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

Exavior was granted clearance to land after several longer checks and scans. The Link had always been cautious with members of the Black Sun, and their suspicions had only increased since their director had been forced on the run by an unknown force. Many employees had no doubt that Black Sun was after Ms. Thalin, and so security was quite tight. Once the shuttle landed, security guards greeted the two passengers to escort them through security and confiscate their weapons.

A refugee ship traveling from Chandrila arrived over Ryloth and landed, taking a different berth on a more northern part of the planet's twilight zone than it normally would have. Brina slipped off the ship with a good majority of the rest of the refugees. She moved quickly and quietly, tense and alert for any attack. But no attack came as she made her way though the spaceport. She didn't dare to hope that Slicer had lost her trail somehow, but began to hope that she would make it to her rendezvous point in one piece. She stuck to more crowded areas and doubled back several times, but saw no sign of pursuit. Clearly, Slicer was just biding his time. Eventually, she arrived at the small building that constituted the Link headquarters on Ryloth. She slipped in and was greeted warmly by the staff. She spared them a smile and a few commendatory words before insisting that she had to leave. "Did my ship arrive?" she asked. "Yes, Director. It's in the back." She wasted no time and when she rounded the corner, there was the Crazy Mynock, as good as new. She smiled. "Excellent work. I'll make sure you all get a raise." The staff thanked her and bid her good luck. A few minutes later, she had the ship prepped and ready to go.

The refugee ship traveled through hyperspace. On board, Brina finally relaxed after a long while. She didn't think the bounty hunter had followed her, although she knew he'd be waiting at their destination. She did let herself stop roaming, however, and grab some food and rest. The conditions of the ship were not too bad, but it was a refugee ship after all, and it was crowded and naturally a bit rank. She settled down in between a Twi'lek family and a family of humans. After eating and taking a nap, she began to make some comm calls and pay some visits. First, she went up front and asked to speak with the captain of the vessel. The guards were naturally hesitant to grant a refugee speaking rights with the bridge crew, but they were satisfied when Brina showed her credentials. Once on the bridge, she spoke to the captain. "Thank you for seeing me, Captain. I'm sorry to have to involve you and your ship in this mess, but there are a few things you need to know for your safety. I'm being pursued by a bounty hunter, who I have no doubts will be waiting when we arrive on Taris." The captain looked alarmed and would have spoken, but Brina continued. "I do not know what means he will take to capture me, but I know he is dangerous." She had gotten a glimpse of the man earlier, and was pretty sure she knew who he was now. "Would it be possible to adjust our time table at all? If we can get there before him, or slip in unnoticed somehow, it would protect a lot of potential innocents onboard." The man slowly nodded. "I'll see what I can do. It might be possible for us to come in at another spaceport on the other side of the planet. I can't make us get there any faster, but that might give you just the edge you need." She nodded in return. "Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to help me in this situation. Here, take this as a measure of repayment." She handed him a credit chit of a fairly large denomination, then slipped off the bridge. On the way back to her spot, she called the Link headquarters and got one of her most trusted mechanic-and-pilot teams. She gave them implicit directions as to where she left the Crazy Mynock and what repairs it would need. "When you have it fixed up, bring it to Taris. I'll be waiting there." As she ended the comm, she knew that her ship would be alright. Really, she was lucky that she was the head honcho of one of the largest repair and transportation companies in the galaxy. She knew that she could trust this team to do excellent work and take care of her baby. She then settled in for the duration of the ride, keeping her guard up but allowing herself to get some much needed rest. It was now a waiting game until she reached Taris.

Brina didn't stop, despite the fact that she was quite short on breath. If it was Faust chasing her, like she assumed it was, then he would never give up. Her senses were alert for anything that might indicate a trap, and she kept changing her direction, passing through crowds, and moving through small shops in order to lose her pursuer. She checked her chrono. Gotta hurry if I'm going to make it. As she finally began to near the destination that she had been aiming for all along, a man with a cart suddenly went down in front of her. At the same moment, she felt her legs go out from under her. She turned the fall into a roll forward. Little did she know that the roll protected her from being hit by the tranq darts, as the hunter had aimed higher and to the right of where she ended up. She came to her feet and was buffeted by the suddenly panicked crowd. Instead of fighting them, she slipped to the right and used their momentum to cover her as she regained her composure from the fall. A stun bolt exploded to her left and she glanced back as she ran, zigzagging back and forth, to see an armored man charging at her. But it wasn't the hunter she expected. Before she had time to think more, she had ducked into a store. Running through it, she exited out the back into an alley. There was the road and the entrance. She bit her lip and put an another burst of speed, cutting through foot traffic as she did so. When she reached the terminal, she leapt over the short security gate, slapped a credit chit down as she ran past, and charged up the boarding ramp to the second refugee ship in the line at the depot, scattering humans and aliens alike as she did so. The ship was already getting ready to take off, and a few seconds after she was onboard, the boarding hatch shut and the lumbering ship pulled away from the spaceport. Brina kept moving until she was in the heart of the ship. She wasn't sure if the hunter had been able to get onboard, but it would be easy for him to find out the destination of the ship from the port officials. If he wasn't here, he'd be waiting at their first stop. She knew that she might have the police after her now too, but that didn't bother her. In fact, they might help her. She kept moving through the densely crowded ship, not settling in until she was sure she was safe. ((OOC: Also as part of my defense, I'd like to cite that a person trying to lose someone in a crowd would not head to an open beach. In my last posts, I clearly stayed among the streets and alleyways.)) <>

Brina lingered at the cafe for a while. She wasn't really sure what to do next. All she knew was that she needed to keep on the move. Finances didn't worry her; she had access to several accounts if she needed them. What did worry her is that since leaving the Resort, she had seen no sign of the bounty hunters that she knew for sure were following her. For a second, she wished she was a Force-user so she would at least be able to sense if someone was watching her. But she pushed the thought away. She would have to just be smart. Hopefully, the lack of bounty hunters meant that she had lost them. But she didn't really believe that. As she often did, she wondered who had put this bounty on her head, and what they wanted her for. It had to be for some nefarious purpose, for she believed she was quite approachable as a businesswoman. She sighed and drained the last of her lemonade. Her only idea was that it was Black Sun again. But why had they targeted her and not Zara? She was keeping careful tabs on the holonet, making sure there were no new bounties on her friend. So far, it had all been quiet. Brina was at least grateful for that. She paid her tab with an untraceable credit chit and began to stroll back to the hanger. As she did so, her mind turned to the saddening piece of news she had seen just that morning on the holonet. Kheldar was retiring. Brina felt it was the end of an era--Kheldar had been an information staple and the head of a massive organization. Not only that, but he had been a secret partner of the Link, and Brina knew she would miss his input and advice into their company. When she reached the hanger, it was empty except for a small droid. She stepped over to the hatch and keyed the security code. There was a small red light on the pad that wasn't normally lit. She frowned and tapped some keys. One of the features of her state-of-the-art security system was a passive scan that mapped the shape of her hull. In active mode when the ship was powered up, the scan was used to ensure that there was no hull damage from any type of combat. This was the same scanners in passive mode, drawing power from backup batteries. The results of the security sweep indicated something new near the ship's engines. But when she asked for it's mass, it turned out to be quite small. In fact, it wasn't much bigger than a thermal detonator. But she knew that it couldn't be a bomb; the bounty had been for her alive only. No sane hunter would risk killing his target. She shook her newly-blonde head and entered the ship. She'd run a few more detailed scans once she got inside. She headed to the cockpit and dropped her bag in the copilot's seat. Slipping behind the yoke, she keyed for warmup. And it was then that the dets blew. The explosion rocked the ship, and Brina was tossed onto the floor. "SITHSPIT!" she cursed. "Kriffing bounty hunters!!! No one attacks my ship!!" She immediately dashed back to survey the damage. It didn't take a practiced eye to see that the engines were completely crippled. Brina's years of experience told her that there was no way they would be repaired. They'd have to be completely replaced. She cursed again. The injury to her ship was like an injury to her. But common sense pushed through to the front of her mind. The hunter that had placed this trap would surely be now alerted to it's being triggered and on his way. She couldn't stay here, not right now. She bit her lip. "Sorry, baby," she said, placing a hand on the bulkhead. "Guess it'll be a while before we fly together again." She went back to the cockpit and grabbed her satchel, then headed to the cabin and grabbed the rest of her belongings, strapping her blaster to her side and muttering curses under her breath all the way. Heading down the ramp, she hit the button to lock it all back up. She turned to leave when suddenly she heard a clanking alarmingly close to her. She spun and saw the worker droid lunge at her. She ducked and rolled out of the way, but the droid kept coming, it's appendages reached out as if to grab her and squeeze her to death. But it was just a labor droid, no fancy weapons or programming, and old and slow. She maneuvered until she had a little room, then drew her blaster and made a clean, glowing hull in the droid's main processor. She tossed a credit chit on the ground to pay back the hanger owner for the droid's loss and hurried away, her blaster back in it's holster but her hand never far from it. She wandered aimlessly through the streets for quite a while, doing her best to put as much distance as possible between herself and the hanger, deliberately zigzagging and doubling back at times to lose any pursuit. Eventually, she had a destination in mind, but she wanted to make sure she wasn't being followed before she headed there.

A YT-2400 approaches Chandrila, smoothly inserts itself into traffic, and lands in the heart of the planet's capital city. Brina, now in new clothing and a blonde, steps out of her ship and locks it up tight. She began to stride through the city, knowing that she needed to refuel the Mynock and get restocked on some supplies. What I really need is a place to lay low for a while, she thought. I should have stayed a bit longer on Nar Shaddaa. I could go to Coruscant, or I could go to my family on Corellia... She frankly didn't know what to do. Or I could just take the Mynock into space and sit there until I need to restock. The last idea didn't seem very attractive, despite the fact that the Mynock was as much a home as she'd ever had. She finally stopped at a small cafe not far from the hanger. Food in her stomach would help her think clearer.

A YT-2400 known as the Crazy Mynock appeared out of hyperspace over Nar Shaddaa. Brina had been here long ago, back when she had been young and careless. She hadn't cared for the hell hole back then, but it had been useful, a smuggler's haven, a place to lie low and avoid detection from local law enforcement. And that was why she was here. She landed on a shabby looking platform and changed into attire more appropriate for the dingy streets of the vertical city. Stepping out, she encountered a welcoming committee. "This dock is private!" the Dug at the head of the party announced. Brina grimaced. She had never liked Dugs. But she knew how to deal with their type. "I'm sure I could pay your for the inconvenience of letting me land here," she said smoothly. The Dug's eyes lit with greed. These low-life types were very predictable. "I'm expecting important visitors later. It would be a great inconvenience indeed for me to have to tell them to land elsewhere." At the same time, Brina reflected, it was nice to be among beings who put up no pretenses. "I'll give you 200 credits." "Five hundred." "Four." "Agreed." She handed over the credits. "Any idea where I can find a good mechanic?" The Dug motioned. "Down the block to the right is a Sullustan named Jax." She nodded and tossed him another hundred credits before strolling away. She found she was having no trouble fitting back in here, something which amused her. Her years as a smuggler had been long ago. But she was glad she still remembered how it had been. She found Jax the Sullustan at work in one of his hangers. "You Jax?" she called. The alien climbed down and shook her hand. "What can I do for you?" "I need a new paint job and some new IDs for my ship." The Sullustan had received requests like this so often that he didn't bat an eye. Which of course was why Brina had come to Nar Shaddaa in the first place. "What type of ship?" "YT-2400." He nodded. "It'll take six hours." "If you make it four, I'll pay half again." "Alright, four. But you pay half up front." She nodded. She had expected that. She handed him the credit chit. "It's on landing platform HYT8." As much as she wanted to stay and make sure they didn't scratch her baby, she had other things to do while here. And that included a new look. And a drink. Three and a half hours later she had some new nondescript clothing and a dye pack for her hair. Even aliens would have little hardship remembered a human with her bright red hair color. She deposited it all in the Mynock and then surveyed the Sullustan's work. The ship had been repainted a grey with green splashes, and all identifying markers had been covered up. When the Sullustan saw her, he approached. "My crew found two tracking devices on your hull." He handed them to her. "Thought you'd probably want those taken off." She felt like an idiot. So that's what that light was saying! "Thanks, friend." When she paid him, she made sure to give him a little extra. Everything complete, she boarded and installed the first of her new IFF IDs. A few minutes later, the newly christened Heaven's Fury took off and headed back out into space.