boommeister
CHALEYDONIA
CHRISTOPHSIS
It had been roughly two years since he had been talked into leaving behind the path of the wayseeker, and Rik Perris felt as if he was right back where he was, then. Albeit, different scenery, and a nicer establishment than when he'd been drowning his doubts and choking down the decision that in the end, only gave him different things to find objectionable than when he'd been a younger and more idealistic Jedi leaving the Order for the first time.
Leaving a second time in the previous year set him adrift again, floating through not one, but two causes that espoused change to the status quo, two that burned hot, and as it turned out, burned up fast, accomplishing some good, but not enough to cause any kind of shift in the galactic landscape. He didn’t think he was wrong, no, but he was left with many questions that had no simple answers.
Comparatively, the art of assessing rock was a piece of ryshcate, and that was why of all places, he’d decided to mull over next steps with the crystalline backdrop of Christophsis as a silent ear for his thoughts, while he sat on a barstool with the establishment buzzing its myriad conversations around him.
For the short frame of time that the Foundation had been in the region, he’d gotten curious about the crystal that made up the planet. Now that the Foundation was dispersing, he had a little time for that, along with his thoughts. Working his skill in detecting faults in different types of rock and other surfaces was part game, part growth, as was seeing how they acted when subsequently taken apart.
It was being prepared for what-ifs. For you-never-knows. He was looking over his shoulder, through the large windows that faced out into the landscape, at the formations of crystal that rose to the heavens. Some that could be seen from space. The barkeep at this end of the rather long counter noticed the small remainder in his glass, coming off of serving another patron, and the shift in her attention whispered against his awareness.
“Another?” She asked, gesturing at the glass, “Or would you prefer something else?”
Rik turned back to the bar, and the end of the cold hilt on his belt, that poked out from the bottom of his jacket, rolled against his hip with the motion. He glanced down at the glass, then glanced at the barkeep, then tossed back the small mouthful in one motion.
“Yeah,” he uttered slowly, noncommittally, drawing it out, setting the glass back on the counter with a dull tunk, “sure.”
This didn’t answer the question, not really.
"Question," he followed up quickly, thinking of later on, "I wan'ta get a closer look at some of the crystal around here, for training purposes, while I'm planetside. You know where I could go for that?"
"Training?" She thought about it. "For business, or...?"
Rik pulled his hand back from where it rested near the empty glass, tucking it into the crook of his other elbow. Folding his arms against the edge of the counter. "Nope, academic." Ish. He didn't look the academic at all, far closer to a spacer than anything else, but this was learning-related.
She pursed her lips, glancing down the counter at other waiting patrons. She looked back to him and held up a finger. "I'll... be right back." She gave a little smile, "think about your next drink in the meantime." Blowing him off as if she would better entertain his questions if he kept ordering, as if he could expect anything less. A half-amused sound rose in his throat.
"Yeahhh," came the reply as she walked away, "I'll do just that."
