Before we entered the ship's food court I stopped my XO. "Commander, you might not want to join me when I ask the questions. I might have to use an ability my kind have...you personally might find it disturbing."
She hesitated for a moment. "What ability is this?" I looked down at her as I replied.
"Males of my kind have the ability to make ourselves look divine and more attractive. It works especially well on females. Considering your history..."
Swan frowned as she considered this. "I see...while I wish you would have told me earlier, it is still my duty as your second in command to support you. And with all respect, sir, you are new to this."
I 'hmmed' and nodded down at her, touching her shoulder softly. "Once something starts to happen, cover your eyes and turn your back. It will remove most of the effects. I will try my best to direct it away from you." With the advice given, I entered the food court.
Inside I found Princess Ni'Korish and her pet gorilla, having been escorted there moments earlier by Icri before she returned to trying to keep the rest of the passengers under control.
She looked up at me and frowned "You wished to see us, Captain?" I nodded.
"So I did...What do you know about the latest Pirate attack?"
Ni'Korish shook her head. "Nothing, Captain, likely less than you."
I raised my eyebrow. "Is that so? May I ask what reason the pirates might have though other than your capture?" Commander Swan displayed her agreement with a small nod of her head.
"Because it just happened to be that we were carrying powdered soups. If it was ore from the station they would have struck when we left, not when we approached. They also knew we had passengers... resupply ships don't normally have passengers."
Ni'Korish shrugged "So they found out you had rich people on board from somebody on Dantooine. I'm hardly the only target on this ship."
My throat rumbled softly. "All the people put together on this ship are not rich enough to be worth mobilizing a Cruiser for, 'Miss' Ni'Korish if you are excluded. Now, what do you know about the cause of the pirate attack?" At this point, I began to turn up the glamour.
Samantha Swan looked at me for a couple of seconds before quickly turning her back and covering her eyes.
"Tell me, Your Highness. Who is behind the pirate attack..." I asked again as I slowly turned the power-up, trying to keep it away from Swan as much as possible, focusing it close range on Ni'Korish and her bodyguard.
At half strength her pet gorilla fell to his knees, drooling. She stood there staring at me, the only visible change her eyes getting wider as I slowly continued to turn things up.
"Tell me, Princess. Who ordered the attack!" I flat out ordered as I turned things up to eleven.
She shivered before shaking her head. "I don't know! It has nothing to do with me!"
Full glamor at this proximity would have reduced a Jedi Knight to a drooling wreck with divine hallucinations and she was just glaring up at me.
Dustling or not, holy fuck that's sexy.
I snort and turned my glamor back down, shaking my head as I beat my instincts down with a mental stick, resisting the urge to find her a gift, ANY gift.
"Very well, princess. If you won't talk I have no choice but to put you off at the first available port, in this case, Dantooine."
Jasper shook his head as he struggled to rise from the floor. "N-no..." He managed to choke out as he got up with the help of a table "P-please, Captain."
She turned to look at him "Jasper!" He shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but it is my task to keep you safe. If we return to Dantoonie..."
"Speak!" I ordered him promptly, and he sighed and went to but before he had time to speak out the Princess shook her headphones.
"My Cousin. This entire trip is a way to keep me out of her grasp until I claim my crown in a little less than a year. My mother and father's idea... if I die before I get the crown, she gets the throne."
Sexy as hell or not I glared down at her. "So you put my ship, my flock, my passengers at risk?" Jasper shook his headphones.
"Nobody was to know. As far as anyone knows, we are still on Coruscuant."
Commander Swan snorted, having finally shaken herself from the remnants of the glamour. "Well, you have a leak somewhere. Give us one good reason as to why we should not drop you off at Dantooine?"
Jasper sighed. "We would be dead in a day. It was the last place we were and they would keep people there...if the cruiser signaled our hyperspace vector, and they would have, they will already be waiting."
My throat rumbled softly and I shook my head. "To me, it looks like your entire operation is blown anyway, Princess. If they are this close to your trail, you would be safer back in your palace."
Her bodyguard hesitated before nodding. "I think you are correct, Captain." She turned to look at him with eyes open wide in surprise.
"But it was your idea, Jasper!" He nodded.
"That was as long as we were able to keep hidden. Once revealed..."
The Princess sighed before she nodded. "I suppose you are right...I was just hoping to see more than Coruscant and the insides of a freighter...Very well..." She then turned her attention back to me. "Captain, I would like to hire your ship to take us back to the Hapes cluster."
I frowned down at her. "Your Highness, that's almost two weeks in hyper away...and it will be expensive." She simply nodded.
"We will pay. You will be richly rewarded for this service, Captain. Get me home safely and you will be showered in riches, that I can promise you."
Well...the sexy woman sure could be persuasive...