It was already late afternoon by the time Kai and Aine got back to Gurggo outpost. Aine had offered a hand at installing the transpacitor and both made their way to the Midsummer Comet. As they got closer, they spotted two men in the ship’s shadow. Kai had no trouble recognising them.
   “Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it,” Kai said before Brin or Elis could speak.
   “You know these two?” Aine asked.
   “Unfortunately,” Kai confirmed.
   “Alright, I get it, you’re upset, things could have gone better the last time we were all here, but that’s no reason not to hear us out. We’ve been through a lot together,” Brin asserted.
   Kai looked at him, an eyebrow raised. She could hardly believe that after leaving her out to dry, Brin was trying to sweet talk his way into getting whatever it is he wanted now. Yet she could very much believe it. She lowered the ramp of the Comet, not dignifying him with a response.
   “It wasn’t personal, just good business. Speaking of which, I have what some would call the job of the decade and it has your name on it,” Brin continued.
   Despite herself, Kai let show a constricted side smile. He was annoyingly persistent.
   “Captain, Kai, come on,” Brin insisted, “I’ll make it worth your while.”
   “Now where have I heard that before?” Kai asked rhetorically, looking at him and then at Elis who was staring intently away.
   “This is different. You help us for this job and you become part of the team. You’ll get your share, same as us.”
   “Not interested,” Kai said as she started to walk up the ramp followed by Aine who passed the two men with a shrug, all four hands raised towards the sky.
   “It’ll be exciting, and another chance for you to test the ship, I know how much you like doing that,” Brin urged on. “When are you going to get another shot at trying out her skills against the galaxy’s finest up and coming cartel?”
   Kai and Aine stopped and looked at each other. This could just be the distraction they needed.
   “You mean, the crime cartel, the Scarlet Eclipse? Oh yes, why not make an enemy out of a lethal group of galactic mercenaries?” Kai asked sarcastically, wanting to make sure that they were talking about the same ship.
   “That’s assuming you’ll get caught, which I’m not, or I wouldn’t have come to you for the job. Besides, the Scarlet Eclipse will have much bigger worries than your ship once we’re done,” Brin answered.
   Kai crossed her arms, considering the situation. At least they both agreed on the premise that she’d be going in and out unnoticed. Even if she couldn’t trust Brin to make good on his deal, it would be too risky for her to do the job alone and even more of a problem if she were unexpectedly to run into him on the ship. Worst case scenario, she’d get what she needed for Aine and be far away from Jakku as soon as she had delivered and could put this whole mess behind her. That wasn’t to say that she couldn’t try to get a good deal from Brin in the hope that she would actually get paid.
   “I want 60 percent of what you’re both getting in addition to my share,” Kai declared. “You do still owe me for your trip after all,” and not giving them a chance to argue she continued walking up the ramp. “Why don’t you go ahead and get us something to eat and meet us back here for a briefing? I have work to do.”

   With Brin and Elis gone on their mission to secure dinner, it didn’t take long for Kai to install the transpacitor under Aine’s unapologetically evident supervision. After that was done, Aine busied herself by actively exploring the Comet’s mechanisms. This involved far too much dismantling and re-wiring accompanied by Kai’s vocal objections that were thoroughly ignored.
   “I must say, you’ve got yourself a pretty nifty ship,” Aine said at last, handing the tools she had borrowed back to Kai seemingly satisfied with the last tweak. “I had to make sure you’re well prepared.” Aine paused. “This package is more precious than you know,” she added in a low voice while giving Kai a small pat on the arm.
   “It might help if I knew more about what I’m retrieving,” Kai nudged as she put the tools away, hoping to obtain at least some information about this mysterious package. Aine hadn’t been generous with the details and they were less than a day away from the heist.
   “You’ll be looking for a black case, relatively small, easy enough to carry. I’ll transfer its location, or where it should be, to your coms device tomorrow along with the docking code.”
   “A black case and a possible location is all I have to work with?” Kai asked, her head slightly tilted, eyebrows raised.
   “You’ll know it when you see it,” Aine assured her.
   From outside, Brin and Elis could be heard making their way back to the ship, apparently in disagreement about something. Kai couldn’t quite figure those two out.
   “Maybe your friends - ” Aine said.
   “- not my friends -” Kai clarified.
   “ - don’t need to know about his part of the operation. It would be best not to involve more people than we need to,” Aine finished.
   “Not going to be a problem,” Kai affirmed.

   “Took you long enough,” Kai said as Brin and Elis joined her and Aine in the Comet’s kitchen.
   Brin gave a glare in Elis’ direction and went to sit down at the table next to Aine while Elis opened a canister to reveal a tomato and chickpea soup, the deliciously enticing smell of it filling the air. Kai got the bowls and spoons and the soup was quickly served. Everyone eagerly dug in, the effects of the long day seemingly catching up to each of them. The thick feel of the sweet potatoes and legumes, the strong taste of the herbs and the appetising blend of different spices did a fabulous job of lowering Brin’s built up discontent. Elis had been even more unreasonable than usual, having made them wander to three different vendors before deeming the options acceptable and settling on the soup. Now that he was savouring the find, he almost felt like he should apologise to Elis for giving him a hard time. Almost. It was likely that a lot of the previous options they had seen would have been just as satisfying.
   “Right, should we get started?” Brin asked after a few mouthfuls, eager to finalise the plan.
   Nods from around the table gave him the go ahead. He started by explaining the larger operation that was divided into a ground assault led by another team and a hit on the main ship, which they were in charge of. Their job consisted of making it to the ship unnoticed, placing bombs, getting out unnoticed, and detonating the placed bombs.
   “The real trick will be getting the timing right. The other team will be giving us a head start, but we won’t have long and once the ground attack gets going the whole ship will be on alert,” Brin explained.
   “Which could mean that their attention will be on the ground rather than on us, which wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Kai countered.
   “We don’t know what the’ll do once the cartel realises they’ve been hit, either on the ground or their ship. We need it to be a coordinated assault. Although the timing won’t matter much if they start firing at us,” Brin added.
   “Getting there shouldn’t be a problem with the Comet’s sensor jammer,” Kai said. “Once I’m sure they haven’t noticed us, I’ll connect her at one of their docking rings.”
   “It won’t be that easy. They have access codes for each of their ships. They’ll know we’re not one of them,” Brin cautioned.
   “Weren’t you just telling me about your ship’s decryption module, Kai?” Aine asked after a short pause. “You were saying how it can decipher the last code that was used. Would that do the trick?”
   “Yes, right, absolutely,” Kai confirmed. “A new addition.”
   “Well, isn’t this ship full of surprises,” Brin commented with suspicion, staring from Kai to Aine. “I didn’t even know those existed.”
   “That’s the advantage of having a custom-made ship. There are lots of parts she has that you probably don’t know exist,” Kai said.
   Brin paused, staring distrustfully at the Ardennian. “Remind me how you’re involved in this?”
   “I’m here for moral support,” Aine answered with a smile.
   Brin definitely had the sense that something was going on between these two although he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The Ardennian had come back to the ship with Kai and whatever they had needed to fix it so maybe she was a mechanic that helped with the repairs, but that wouldn’t explain why Aine was joining their briefing. Whatever it was, he didn’t see how it would put the job at risk. If worst came to worst, he could always go to plan B: burning his way through the hull and going in with his blaster at the ready. He was also rather curious about what Kai and Aine were up to. Curiosity had always been a difficult trait for Brin to manage.
   It was therefore agreed that Kai would get them to the Scarlet Eclipse’s main ship with the Comet’s convenient covert abilities. It would then be up to Brin to go onboard and place the bombs while Kai stayed on the ship ready to take off as soon as he was back on board.
   “Splendid. It sounds like we all agree. This is surely a two-person job that you have most definitely under control,” Elis stated.
   Brin turned to look at him. “You’re not getting out of this that easily. Should I remind you why we’re doing this job? Besides, you never know when you’re going to need an extra pair of hands. Just stay out of our way and be ready in case you’re needed, for something,” he said with mixed feelings, wondering if having Elis with them wasn’t just going to complicate things but more worried about what he would get up to if left unsupervised planet-side. Followed a staring contest between the two men that was quickly ceded by Elis.
   “Very well. It would seem that I’ll be joining this fine operation and will be sitting quietly in a corner of the ship,” Elis relinquished, a tense smile lining his face.
   “Right, we have a plan, then,” Brin concluded with an exaggerated sigh. “Let’s meet back here at first light for a final run-through. I’ll have the equipment ready.”
   With that, Brin got up and gave a quick nod to both Kai and Aine then made his way out followed by a downcast Elis.

   After the men were gone, Kai escorted Aine out. Having Elis in the way might be a problem, but Kai would think of something.
   “So. The Comet has a decryption module that can decipher any last code used, does it?” Kai asked teasingly as the Ardennian swung on her robe.
   “The fewer people who know about my involvement the better,” Aine insisted. “I doubt either of them can confirm that such a device doesn’t exist, at least not in the next couple of hours. Although perhaps it’s something I could try inventing. It sounds handy.”
   Kai chuckled. Aine could definitely think on her feet.
   “You should get some rest,” Aine said, placing a hand on Kai’s arm and giving it a squeeze. “I’ll see you when it’s done.”

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