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This had proved to be one of the smoothest jobs they'd ever run. Hera, acting as a graduate assistant who had ended up at the administrative building when she'd meant to get to the xenobiologly labs on the other side of campus, had distracted the guards long enough for Kanan to slip in and out of the Imperial liaison's office without any trouble at all. Then again, neither the office nor the files inside were overly protected – the Empire didn't seem too concerned with anyone slipping away with their notes on Bar'leth University's faculty. It wasn't a weapon, or some exploitable resource, so maybe that wasn't surprising. But there were contacts in the rebellion who could use the information on which academics might be sympathetic, and which might be in imminent danger from the Empire.

And so they finish far ahead of their scheduled rendezvous with the Ghost. Kanan changes out of his maintenance uniform disguise, though Hera keeps her civilian clothes, and with little else to do in the meantime, they wander along the edge of the campus, its famous natural and cultural history museum looming not far in the distance. Most students and faculty have cleared out by now, but the paths and column-lined buildings are illuminated with white lanterns, keeping the campus bright as the cool evening sets in. The paths are lined with flower beds, and ahead of them is a wide pond, still enough to reflect the gymnasium just beyond it.

It's a very peaceful place, on the surface. But they had already read enough of the files they'd recovered to find that under that surface, it's anything but.

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"Probably safer that they're not driving, anyway."

The buildings are either side of them are getting shorter, streetlamps becoming fewer and farther between as they race toward the edge of the city. Dusk is giving way, to stars and two crescent moons flaring up in the sky.

"We could offer it to her," Hera agrees. "I'll probably be a little busy for it."

And as much as she wanted this tracked down, Hera wouldn't regret not having to do it herself.

Edited 2018-03-22 01:19 (UTC)

"Not for us, but for everyone else, definitely," Kanan agrees. He doesn't peer out the windows to look at the increasingly visible stars, but he knows they're there. "Safer they're not driving, I mean."

He scans a few flimsis with his datapad, then tucks it away again, replacing all the documentation and datacards in their appropriate position in the compartment.

Then --

"Sounds like we have a plan. Though, considering how fast this thing can go -- are you sure we couldn't stash it in the Ghost's cargo bay, at least for a while?"

He's probably kidding.

"And what, drive it around home?"

She's careful not to say 'Garel,' keeping her eyes ahead as they speed through the edges of the city, now mostly passing smaller homes and cantinas. She pulls down her goggles, looking out into the distance for anything that might be promising as a dumping ground.

"This thing isn't exactly subtle."

"I think it'd help us blend in on Nar Shaddaa, next time we have to head out that way."

Okay, now he's definitely kidding.

"No?"

Then his head turns, and now he really is peering out of the window.

"I think I see some trees over there, maybe a large rock formation? Could be a place to leave this thing behind, only slightly worse for wear than we found it."

Or, you know. A lot worse off. Either/or.

"Then it's a good thing we're not."

She glances toward the trees Kanan indicates, adjusting their direction slightly.

"I could take a look under the hood," she offers, instead. "See if there's anything that might be useful to us."

While not as obviously flashy as one of the most expensive speeders in the galaxy.

"I think that sounds like a perfectly lovely idea."

Okay, now Kanan grins, quick and a little too sharp.

"I'm sure anything this fancy's got to have some terrifying power source."

Not to mention all the rest of the bells and whistles.

"You'd think."

She swings the speeder out of the lane, toward the dark, wooded hills not far in the distance, Hera still pulling a mostly smooth ride from it.

"But a lot of these high-end models are more sparkle than substance. Not much to look at beneath."

"Do you think there's a chance we could turn some of the more easily-removed sparkle into substance?"

They still have to refuel the Ghost, and pick up spare parts, and --

Some more credits are always welcome.

Kanan takes this moment to check behind them, reaching out with the Force just a fraction. Given the lack of noise he's pretty sure that no one's chasing them down, but --

Better safe than sorry. Usually.

"You can take a look once we're out."

She lets Kanan take care of looking behind them, keeping her own eyes ahead.

"And you might want to update Spectre-3 about our location. I'm not walking back to the spaceport."

"I'll do that," he murmurs, focus elsewhere for a few long seconds.

Then --

"Unsurprising as it may seem, I think we got out of there with no one the wiser."

He turns then, keying on his comms.

"Spectre-3, I'm sending you our coordinates. There was a slight change of plan, but we're ready for a pick-up now."

Chopper blats with the standard annoyance that always goes with any 'change of plan.' Hera keeps her eyes ahead, slowing the speeder and gliding it more gently among a grove of trees.

She loops among them easily enough, the lights along the speeder's front illuminating their path, until she dips it down, along a narrow rock crevice that cuts through the otherwise upward slope.

It's not exactly a ravine, but it will do. Hera pulls out a flashlight. "You can take a look at the outside while I'm under the hood."

Edited 2018-03-24 01:05 (UTC)

"I'm honored."

He's smirking a little as he says that, even as he wipes away the scowl Chopper's annoyed blatting had brought to his face. (It's more useful when Chop can actually see his expression, too. Well, it's more entertaining for both of them, anyway.)

"I already want to start taking bets on whether all the gilding is real, or just paint."

Hera steps out of the speeder, moving around it, though she circles the front and keeps walking, instead making her way to Kanan's side.

"Hold on a second -"

She puts her hands on Kanan's shoulders, tugging him down toward her and leaning up to kiss him, moving just slowly enough that he can pull back if he wants to.

Kanan definitely doesn't want to move away, meeting her mouth with his and participating fully in the kiss. Moments like this are few and far between, and each one is worth lingering in.

When he pulls away from the kiss, a stretch of time later, he says --

"I hope fifteen seconds was okay."

"I think any more might be irresponsible, don't you?"

She smiles, lifting her hand to gently pat his jaw before she turns to move back toward the front of the speeder.

"Probably," he admits, reaching out to brush his fingers across hers as she moves, then heading for the back of the speeder to begin his own survey.

"It sure was nice, though."

"We'll have to find time for it again," she calls back, as she feels her way around the hood, and then lifts it up.

"It'll take some doing," he says, not too loudly. "But definitely worth it."

Some of the trim on the outside of the speeder is real, but not a lot of it. Kanan snorts.

"Shiny and hollow, just like them."

Okay, maybe not all of them, but this group of blowhards, definitely. Now to check out the interior . . .

The Phantom lands nearby not long after. As much as he complains, Chopper proves useful once he rolls off the shuttle, helping Kanan and Hera strip what they can from the speeder. Hera might feel bad about dismantling such a well-crafted machine, but -

No. She really doesn't.

"Does it still sound like we're alone?" Hera asks, as they're loading parts up into the Phantom.

The seat covers are genuine dewback leather, there is an actual powerful refrigeration unit inside the cabin, and there are a few other sundries that will fetch a decent price in trade, at the very least. But at Hera's question Kanan pauses, reaching out in a more-than-cursory fashion to check whether there are other living beings in the vicinity.

There are a few quick, nervous, darting beings, several calm and placid presences, and then some very tightly annoyed minds coming in this direction.

"Not for too much longer," Kanan says, grimacing a little. "But we've got a couple minutes."

"We'd better get going, anyway," Hera says. "I don't want any chance of them tracing us off-planet."

She turns, climbing up into the Phantom, and tells Chopper to help Kanan with what's left to pack up. That done, she focuses on priming the shuttle to leave in a hurry. Though hopefully without anyone chasing after them.

"Good call," Kanan agrees, picking up the pace to get the last of the goods stashed away.

Given that they're being hunted down in some shady rented speeders -- for plausible deniability on the part of Brock and his cronies, probably --

Getting the Phantom off the ground is going to put paid to any chasing.

Edited 2018-03-25 01:37 (UTC)

Hera preps the Phantom's engines and considers a course to the closest hyperspace lane from the system. They don't need to be too direct - they still have plenty of time before they rendezvous with the Ghost.

She doesn't look to Chopper and Kanan, but leans sideways out of her chair as she calls, "About ready to go back there?"

Kanan finishes securing the last of the gear, then slings himself into a seat and starts fastening belts.

"Good over here!"

Chopper's taking his own pains to secure himself, mainly by trundling at speed toward the cockpit so he can be available for Hera if anything goes wrong.

Hera pulls up the shuttle's ramp, as Chopper plugs in next to her.

"Just be ready to calculate the jump, Chop," she says, raising her eyes to see beams of light climbing up along the trees nearby. It looks like they're leaving not a moment too soon.

"Hang on," she calls back, and the Phantom rises from the ground, darting up toward Bar'leth's atmosphere in a matter of seconds.