Corellian Corvettes (Job: M&M)

Spoiler:

There she stood, waiting for her partner to show up. It’d be only the third or fourth job with Mei as a partner, but with each instance Mao felt slightly more prepared than the last to work with the odd woman. It was hard to say what incident was more shocking then the last as something strange always occurred with her around, from the collision in the café to the….sudden sprouting of lava of all things when trying to wrangle a chicken Mao sincerely hoped there wouldn’t be a new surprise this time around.

Of course finding out that the budding friend had turned towards a heat-based magic depressed the girl enough that her ears drooped slightly. How useless was she for this weakness against an evidently popular type of magic? ’Well…more like effect I suppose,’ though the thought did little to bring comfort. She wanted to be useful, really she did, but it was hard to feel pointless or in-the-way when one’s partner for a job could cause the very earth to rupture with your personal kryptonite and force you to fight away from them.

A small voice said things didn’t have to be this way, but for now it was easily ignored like a passing fancy. Besides the short mage thought she spotted the new and improved Mei not too far away.

’The sooner we fix this problem the easier it’ll be to leave. I think I prefer the trains over the carriage ride here…a lot slower and less bumpy.’ Reading had been a little nauseating during the journey, but at least her stomach finished settling.

Apparently there was a blockade, stopping Mei from enjoying one of the things that she loved most in life, trains. Specifically she liked model trains because let's be honest when you are forced to work on the railroad tracks day in and day out you start to like trains or you just go insane. Perhaps that was a little too dark of a thought as Mei approached the train station, she should try and switch her thoughts to something else, like the partner she would have on this job, Mao. Mei liked how Mao had a nice fluffy tail, Mei hadn't gotten to touch said tail yet, but she should make that her goal, to touch said tail. Not to get dat booty mind you, but just touch the tail and feel the fluffy embrace of loreal maintained perfection, after all mao was worth it.

It was then that she spotted Mao with her most illustrious of tails, but now Mei had to hold back from glomping it, especially in public as it would seem rather weird and possibly make Mao think even less of Mei then she already did.

"Hello Mao, I see that we are once again partners in crime, ready to stop a blockade of dastardly proportions?"

”I’m not sure how dastardly it is…but if it’s disrupting the usually spot-on train service it must be some level of dastardly…” It was certainly inconvenient that was for sure, and it’d be a lot harder to get goods into Clover without the train service. But what kind of masterminds could pull off such a stunt and to what extent? Perhaps they were going after some sort of crime syndicate or a group of bandits…maybe thugs or a small gang at the least?

Well they’d find out soon enough as the pair Mei’d their way to the station, someone inside pointing them towards the offices where the controller of the station, Albert, sat waiting for them.

The resulting information left Mao completely and utterly stumped. ”So…it’s just a Vulcan and its henchmanish goblin blocking the tracks? And…they’re demanding…dessert?” Okay so the blocking of the tracks with trees and keeping the transport from making its way into the town could be called dastardly, but she wasn’t quite sure how to place their demands. Extortion was extortion, and it wouldn’t be good to “reward” them for bad behavior either way.

But overall it was a rather pesky and small time issue, or felt like it compared to some of the other jobs she’d done.

”Yes, they’re demanding one hundred pies and one hundred tubs of sherbet – though we’re not sure which one likes the pie and which one likes the sherbet – for the returned use of our tracks! We’re not even sure if they’ll do it again or not, so we’d really appreciate it if you could get rid of them one way or another rather than just convincing them to leave.”

Mei could really understand these weird creatures demands, frankly she too would demand food from such a venture, but what was unforgivable was how they were disrupting trains. Mei liked trains, and apparently these guy's didn't like them, or at least were trying to get their demands done through them, which was the same thing shut up it makes sense. Perhaps the biggest problem with all of this wasn't the fact of the trains themselves, but that no one was doing anything about it... like seriously why didn't someone just go out there and beat them up or something? Well, that would be pretty bad, though, Mei didn't want to just smash them, well she did, but she knew that people would get mad for randomly hurting the creatures.

Still as the client approached Mei noticed his speech pattern was a little off, he apparently didn't care if they did get beat up or not, since he was probably so annoyed at them anyway that he would overlook his morals on the issue. Mei all for just punching them in the face and getting it over with, but Mao probably wasn't up for that.

"So you want us to somehow get rid of them, any means is okay?"

"Well yes I suppose any method is fine, I mean I don't know if you have to kill them, but I don't want them coming back to cause us trouble like this again!"

"I see, well then Mao do you have any solution, I don't know if it will survive contact with the enemy, but some kind of plan before we go out there would be good."

’Well…they possess at least some intelligence if they can manage to demand food in return.’ However they had some strength if the tree was as large as the man claimed and heavens knows they couldn’t have trains crashing and causing wrecks. ’Hmm…so do we simply run in with fists first and questions later or try to trick them…somehow? No, we’d definitely have to at the very least scare them off as they might realize they were tricked and return vengefully.’ Decision making was hard, especially given the “unique” circumstances laid before the two mages.

Scratching the back of her head Mao shrugged, frowning off to the side in thought, ”I mean…the easiest solution would be to simply kill them and be done with it.” The man looked alarmed at the notion, as if it hadn’t really crossed his mind outside of maybe a moment of fury, but Mao failed to notice as she continued her thoughts. ”But…I don’t think it’s so bad that it’s necessary except as maybe a last resort. If they’re just physically strong then it’d probably be easiest and best to scare the pair off with our magic.”

Turning to meet Mei’s eyes Mao’s set narrowed a bit, ”That…might actually be pretty easy too…I mean we’ll need to make sure they’re not by the tracks to avoid damaging them but…I’m sure they’re not too keen on possible lava baths either.” Who’d have thought nearly getting a taste of it before would inspire a solution later?

"Yeah killing them would prove to be the fastest method, but your idea of scaring them into running away isn't too bad. I mean they might come back if we do it poorly, but it should work for a while at least..."

Mei didn't expect the reaction of simply killing them, and while Mei was kind of all for it, the job proctor would probably be horrified at them simply murdering the creatures. perhaps that was why he had such a problem going on, he wasn't willing to take some actions that would fix his problems forever, though having morals like that was a good thing too so Mei couldn't yell at him too much. Perhaps the main problem lay in the unknown factor of these little runts, though Mao's comment about giving them a lava did amuse Mei, and at the same time make her feel bad...

"I didn't hit you right? I mean it was, uh my bad. I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot what I had trained for, my last magic was a little bad for my health so I learned this one, but now apparently it's bad for everyone else's health..."

How odd she went from being bad for herself to being bad for everyone else, perhaps it was just the natural flow of things or her new master wasn't all he was cracked up to be... ha that was a good joke, of course, he was. Perhaps he was the most potent of people she knew.

"Anyway you two, shouldn't you be trying to stop them instead of just talk about it? Though murder is uh, an option I suppose nothing will get done without some sort of action..."

”Right, we’ll be on our way then, thank you for your time,” Mao bowed her head a little before standing, waiting for Mei outside the building. For a place that shouldn’t be active in this lull of business there were still a lot of bustling bodies inside, though mostly employees it felt nice to be outside and away from the crowds again. Once they were freed from the other people however Mao addressed Mei’s concern with a small smile, ”No, the worst that happen was a small singed smell, but even that washed out after a bit. The ride on the chicken this time was definitely more thrilling last time, like one of my adventure novels!”

Yes, she’d felt like someone in a Talonia Jones book – or movie, she’d been curious to see it in action and rented the flick – compared to the first time where it was more like some ranch hand taming a bucking bronco. ’Hopefully if I have to do it again there’s less heat involved…’ Though what would happen a third time she couldn’t rightly say.

The change was still shocking, though recalling the job that involved a slave trade it wasn’t necessarily for the worst, ”I’m glad it doesn’t affect you so negatively though. It was…distressing to see you in such states before, so now the only thing we need to work on is perhaps teamwork so we can avoid any other such incidents. More so because my magic doesn’t mesh so well with things that produce heat such as your magic, but what’s life without some challenge?”

The real question though was how they’d spring up a decent trap while avoiding any harm to the tracks. Did the annoying beasts hang out explicitly around it and the tree they’d dropped there, or did they lounge about in the nearby grove?

"Your magic doesn't meld well with heat? Hmm that is a problem, while my magic isn't actually magma or anything, it does share the concepts of it, I'm just glad none of it got on you, if any of it did then well... it tends to melt people's hearts if you catch my drift."

Mei felt pretty bad for that still, her magic caused a large amount of damage to those within the area of effect, so much so that she frequently felt it wasn't good to do such around anyone. If Mei could handle a situation without using her magic then it would probably be for the best. Still why did she feel like burning things all the time, or just flat out destroying them? It was odd, maybe her master had an answer for it, still was a different feeling than before, more like justice was due upon what she melted to the ground, that it was the way of the world. An odd feeling, to say the least, but that wasn't the focus right now, the focus was these two weird creatures, and figuring out the perfect plan with Mao.

"Suppose that my magic isn't the way only to scare them off forever, do you think that you could follow up? Like do you need me to give your stuff a wide birth or something? I don't really know what the limitations of your's are, mine is pretty much just a giant ball of destruction, and I'd prefer to not hit them, or you. So you be the lead on the where I should direct it, and I'll try to avoid hitting anything you make."

”Could be worse, at least it’s not a heart breaker.”

And then Mao’s face twisted as if she’d just smelled something odd. ’Oh gods…did I…did I just PUN? Where did that even come from?’ Wordplay wasn’t something she often performed, largely because such games often went right over her head. Shaking it off she listened, trying to consider their options.

”I do need some distance between my crystals and the heat sources, so unfortunately we can’t do anything too close…however that doesn’t mean it all has to be you either. I definitely don’t want to make you do all the work: it’d be rude.” Mao pondered, a hand to her chin in thought, ”At the same time I think your’s, as brilliant as some of my crystals glow can be, is far more impressive and intimidating. Any living creature can realize the harm and dangers of lava plus we can put on quite the display I’m sure…”

Slowly Mao stopped walking and regarded Mei a little more closely, eyelids lowering in a concentrated stare, ”What are your abilities with it? Is there any chance you could even appear from, say, a spout? Because I’m sure we could even have a little fun with something theatrical, depending how good your evil laugh is…It might even be fun to pretend to be ‘bad guys’ whose turf they’re interfering with. That way I could herd them using one of my spells towards the location and when you see them coming from your hiding spot, you could create quite the scene while striking the fear of a god into their little hearts. Once they’re busy running off we can then go move the tree and collect. I’m of course open to opinions or edits to the idea.”

"So you want me to pretend to be a bad guy whose whole purpose is to kill them off in hellfire and brimstone? I suppose that is possible, but feels a little out of character for me. I mean I suppose I can do it, but this body doesn't really led to the terrifying aspects unless... well I suppose I could just transform myself into my magic, and then... actually yeah this could work, where do you think I should set up?"

Mei was now a little bit on board with this plan, it was odd but with the right timing it could work, especially if Mei was the main factor of scaring them. Then again it might fail horribly and they wouldn't have any kind of backup plan... maybe Mei should bring that up.

"What happens if the plan fails, like do we have a backup plan or anything? I guess I'm okay with punching them in the face, but my punches tend to leave a little to be desired in terms of just knocking them out... I'm not a heartbreaker Mao, I'm heartmelter. Nice pun by the way."

Yes Mei had to comment on the pun, though she had to correct Mao, as Mei literally melted hearts down. It was a sad and shameful act of her magic, but it's probably why Aiyana felt the need to wear almost nothing around Mei, since Mei was simply... too hot to handle.

Taking in Mei’s appearance…perhaps she’d agree, ”Well, we could probably just cast some sort of shadow to scare them rather than having them see you outright. This way it’ll appear a lot bigger and more intimidating, plus the fear of the unknown and unseen. If all else fails….then I guess we resort to the simpler tactic of beating the tar out of them. Should it come down to that then I’ll take care of it more while you drive them off afterward with the lava. Hopefully we just need the theatrical part of the plan though.”

There, their bases were covered and more than likely if they started acting like they weren’t frightened then she could swoop in and start clobbering the pair. Not the most finesse-filled plan, but it would do and worse came to really worse: they’d just wing a third plan.

”All we really need to do now is find a good spot, probably a cave or side of a mountain with some rocks you can hide behind and cast the shadow on…maybe we’ll pick up a headband with horns on it on the way.”


Once they’d gotten Mei settled Mao set out about the track, careful to stick more towards the forest portion of things. ’There they are,’ she thought, eyes narrowing as a pink, crystalline orb appeared in her right hand, ’Show time then.’ Lazing about on their large tree, the goblin screeched and pointed behind the Vulcan as the hoard of shards rose up from the forest like a serpentine monster. For added effect she clumped them together to form a mouth opening, and as soon as they were both yelling in fear and shock the mage cast the mass of crystals towards them. Forced to run, Mao gave chase while keeping to the trees and remaining unseen, though given the cloud of sharp little shards chasing them the pair likely wouldn’t have noticed her at this point.

Mei was waiting in position, she had taken up in a clump of rocks near a cave, she had an idea of what to do to these creatures, and how to scare them off. She didn't know if it was going to fully work, but Mei was going to try anyway! Still unsure if the little scare tactic would go off without a hitch, Mei waited for Mao to show up with the two in the lead, hopefully running away. It was a bit of a long wait, so Mei just kind of sat down and sighed a bit, thinking about what her master meant by go and find the truth or whatever, he was really nice but odd sometimes, especially when he was  trying to be all comforting and fatherly. It didn't seem to suit him at all, he was better when he was just instructing on how to handle situations. Like he always said, if your abilities can't carry you through it, then simply abuse their misguided wisdom.

It made no sense to Mei, but she always nodded anyway.

Thankfully before she could get too deep in thought the little jerks came running, screaming might Mei add, and now it was showtime. Taking a bit of a deep breath as Mei hadn't ever done this before, outside of training that is, and so she prepared for the little misadventure to unfold. Turning into her magma-like substance, mei launched herself out of the cave in a giant eruption of power. it was like the mountain had suddenly exploded, and landed near the little buggers. Burning the grass and a bit of the forest in the process, as the magma like stream landed within its midst via trail or actual impact zone, Mei grew herself into giant demonic looking being, or at least what she assumed they looked like.

"I AM THE WIZARD OF THE MOUNTAIN, YOU CAUSE ME GREAT ANGER, FOR YOU COMMIT TRESPASS AGAINST MY LANDS! I SHALL BURN YOU TO ASH IF YOU DO NOT REPENT AND NEVER APPROACH MY SCARED FIELDS AGAIN! THIS IS NOT A WARNING, I SHALL SMITE IF YOU DO NOT FLEE!"

Now Mei just had to wait for their reaction.

Things got pretty crazy for the two punks. They believed they’d be spending a lazy day doing nothing except blocking trains going into Clover and might traipse into town to see how their ransom was going – it’d been a few days after all, but the simple beasts figured the people might need time to bring them prime goods. Honestly the goblin and his leader Vulcan didn’t plan for much in their day, much less the sudden bout of cardio this strange and exotic (and shiny!) beast forced upon them.

Through the woods the pair raced, the monkey-based beast shrieking like an ape while his goblin cohort squawked like man being beaten by his wife’s purse after a disappointing anniversary. Whenever the beast came up on one of their sides the pair immediately went the opposite way, trying to avoid the constantly recreating jowls of the beast. Neither seemed to figure out that aside for the clanking and clinking of the gems it didn’t emit a roar or noise, but who could expect such of an “ethereal” and elemental beast anyhow?

Now they had to deal with this really scary looking hot-earth beast?! What was going on with this part of Clover?! If they’d realized they’d stepped on another, more powerful monster’s terf then they wouldn’t have tried to ransom the tracks in the first place! The only sounds that escaped the pair were their most basic of sounds as tears flowed, gibberish leaving their mouths before they fled into the forest as if Death itself was right on their heels.

”Well….I’d say that worked out spectacularly, what about you ‘Wizard of the Mountain?’”

Well, they ran away, they ran away like little babies at the fact of Mei's appearance, and at how Mao's creature she had made, positively scared them. Seriously Mei didn't expect it to work so well, she expected them to try and fight back... which would have been pretty bad, not only would they have not hurt Mei in that form, but they probably would have killed themselves by striking her, and getting the magma on their bodies. It would have made for one awkward job report that's for sure...

Still no one was hurt right, so it was all good. Returning to normal and having the magma vanish into a puff of nothingness, Mei approached Mao.

"Well I say that we take care of that tree blocking the way and then report back for much-needed goodies... if we are lucky they would have prepared the ransom and we might be able to snag a bit of it. I mean it's not like I'm hungry or anything... I mean this new magic doesn't make me as hungry as the other one uh... well it's just important to keep up a healthy diet of... pies and... screw it, I like food there said it. Let's go get some of the ransom and if we have to lie that they weren't taken care of to deliver it to them...

I mean be respectful and clearly tell the truth, and not lie to get free food... am I sure I'm a legal wizard still?"

Things worked out so beautifully, though Mao didn’t banish the shards quite yet as Mei approached her, letting the “beast” turn more into a sparkly pile of gems. ”I….I’m not sure?” The bunny-eared woman tilted her head, a question mark almost visible as she decided to shrug it off, ”But alignment or not, I’m sure they’d be grateful enough to part with a couple of pies and buckets of sherbet rather than the exorbitant amount the two demanded. Nothing wrong with liking food…I’m still trying to figure out why Aiyana doesn’t seem to fancy it so much though. Well maybe you’re not as picky, and adaptability such as that is a good skill to have.”

They walked towards the tree’s location, the thing easy enough to move after she splintered it into a few manageable chunks with the flurry of crystals, the larger ones pushed away with the same hoard of gems. The smaller pieces they could handle well enough with a simple fling of the arm or flick of the wrist.

Once it was cleared they returned to the station in town. As the professor would say: good news everybody! For they allowed Mei and Mao to walk away with a few pies and some sherbet – though Mao kept to a few pies. She preferred ice cream over sherbet.