Private Bored in the Boneyard

[Rajo Sobek]

Another day in the lower levels and another day slogging around the scrap yard looking for something that a tech-shop might have thrown out on accident. Raj was no techie, nor was he a regular wanderer of the scrap heaps of the undercity, but he did know that there were some good trinkets to be found out here if one looked hard enough. Much in the way that a more fortunate child might wander a beach for seashells when they had nothing to do, Raj had been known to explore the winding piles of old starship parts and speeder hulks for odds and ends he might take back. Every now and then he'd see someone meander by with a cart full of old rubbish, things that they could probably sell for scrap but not much else, and he was reminded of the fact that some people thought this was a good way to make money.

It often made him smirk when he remembered that he'd once thought it might be a possibility for him. He could almost picture himself scrounging around the trash heaps and rat-infested dumps all around the city for a chance at a decent meal as he kicked the back of an old couch apart. Nope, this was a hobby for sure and not much else. Spice had been good to him. Far too good to him.

It was about that time that he'd come to notice a particularly bulky vehicle that sat in a state of obvious disrepair a few meters away. It looked like some sort of old cargo pod that had been long abandoned. Graffiti hung around all sides of it, marking it as one of the more permanent fixtures of this rotten yard, but it was as good a place as any to post up and just take in the whine of the speeders overhead.

Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Spoiler: Harvest

''Someones trash - the other ones treasure.''

It had pretty much been her life for many cycles now. Salvaging what people with far more credits on their hands thought were useless trash, dumping it in whatever corner of the galaxy they deemed fit. She was... young. But in a galaxy this big, deep and sometimes dark - all too dark for many girls in the said dumpers families to even dare venturing out in on their own. For Brie however, it was essential. A necessary evil, some might say. A way of survival.

The flashlight on the side of her helmet lit up the cold and hard metal floor of the cargo pod. All around were bits and pieces of electrical devices of unknown age and origin. Mostly discarded droids and parts, which she could tell had already been scavanged. At least to some degree. She took a knee in front of a large heap of metal and her gloved hands started to carefully examine the pieces. Brie knew people tended to disregard things, thinking it was just the shiny bits that had value in it. Despite her young age, she had gained knowledge of a considerable amount of technolgy. What things were made for. How they worked. And what more important was, how much they were worth.

Others gained that knowledge in school, and they begun to learn it at about the same age as she was now. For what she had heard, when visiting bazaars and sitting at cantinas that did not call stormtroopers or police at the sight of a young lone girl trying to enjoy a soda, you learned a lot in school. Skills and knowledge that she had picked up from found datacards and extracting information out of protocol droids. Her life was in many cases vastly different than other teens, but she had one similarity; her mind did equal that vastness. Thinking. Curious. Inquisitive. Just like a growing childs should be. It was just... She hadn't had anyone to ask in a long time. Her thoughts were easily drawn to what her past could have been when reading those files on her datapad, and looking out of the window of her ship.

A slightly dented portable scanner catched her interest. Turning it up and down, and then down to up again she could conclude that it didn't work, but it could - after some tinkering aboard the ship. She put it in her black backpack she had placed at the side. Going through scrap like this landed you the risk of getting cut, one of her beginner's mistakes. Not to mention the risk of touching hazardous materials and breathing the poisionus fumes of it. She didn't want to end up like a hive rat, so that was well enough of a reason to wear the white dome helmet and the full-covering teal survival suit with black inserts. A vocalizer pack on her chest provided a clear channel for speaking. When looking back down again, she struck gold - well, not real gold, but a small object that might secure a fairly good amount of credits; a fly eye. She took it up and examined it carefully and it seemed to be intact. It was cool and all, but she had realy no use for the small espionage camera.

''Yess...'' she said for herself, all caught up in a small feeling of excitement.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

For a sleezebag like him, moments, where one could think on life and what they'd done in it, were not all too alluring. It had been a running theme lately. He'd find himself without much to do and his mind would wander back to that wretched dockyard on Bona. There weren't any fond memories back there though... Only ones he wished he could erase. Those days lugging around power couplings for those ungrateful corporate slugs had left a mark on him, one that wouldn't be erased easily. Dragging that kriff past all of the cripples and other homeless dregs on his way had left something in him too. He'd vowed long ago he wouldn't let it happen to him. He'd be put in the ground before he'd beg another for anything.

Before too long, he'd flicked a cigarra into his mouth and lit up. He didn't know where he'd be without the little buggers but he knew it wouldn't be anywhere good. What had started out as a way to pass the time off-shift had grown into a full-blown habit that even he knew he couldn't kick. The last time he'd tried to stop he'd started shaking... Yet another token from that damned rock. However harmful the little bastards were they did make dealing with the smells of the undercity more manageable. Where others wore masks... He inhaled smoke. That didn't mean he was safe from that metallic smell that blanketed this whole area. He could feel the kiss of battery acid against his nostrils and it made for a nice contrast with his little vice.

Ah well... There wasn't anything here. Hangin' round the scrapyards was a bad idea anyway. For all of the goons he had back in his own sector, it didn't mean feth if he got jumped by a couple of Xenos with bad intentions. He was about to push away from the rough rust-laden wall of the pod's exterior when he heard something from within. It was a whisper... A short little hiss of air that was completely indecipherable but it triggered an anxious tick that had plagued him for most of his life since his childhood. The feeling that someone had been watching him all this time.

That was just what he needed. To be tailed into some dark alley and mugged... Well, better to catch them off guard!

Slowly he made for the door of the pod. It was a bit difficult to move with any degree of care in this sort of terrain, the crunch of metal and glass underfoot was a constant in the yard and it wasn't altogether quiet. You could do it if you were trained in the art, however. Soon enough he was on that threshold and in one fluid movement he brought his flashlight to bear, illuminating the darkness towards what light he could already see.

Whatever it was, it was small. Must be some type of shorty from the outer-rim. Couldn't tell the species yet. Typical of them though, they were the usual suspects when it came to picking out garbage from old wrecks.

"Who's that, then!?"

Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

The excitement and curiousity had her all caught up when she heard the door behind her swing open. A male intimidating voice shouted at her and the area in front of her lit up by his stronger flashlight, causing her shadow to ge cast upon the heap of trash. She were taken by complete surprise. Panic grabbed her and due to the helmet design, she had to turn her whole upper body around to get a look at who or what she had to run from or fight against. Her pupils went small as the bright light hit her, so she could not realy make out any details of the man that blocked the only way out.

In a split second that felt like an eternity, she grabbed backpack from the floor and lunged herself around and to the other side of the heap. The back of the helmet hit the wall of the cargo pod and with the pack in her lap, she pulled up her knees and hugged around it all. She didn't answer him, hoping that he would loose interest.

The surprise, panic and frantic thoughts of what to do next had got her breathing to pick up in speed and it could be heard through her vocalizer. From what little she had seen through the light, the man looked tall and had a cigarette or something in his mouth, maybe a death stick. She rarely encountered humanoids down here. The main concern were usually stone mites and garbage worms. This mans intentions could be anything, if he were on drugs, it could just be much much worse...

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Raj's hand flew down to the grip of his blaster the moment the creature reached for that pack full of goodies. He half expected it to draw its own weapon and attempt to bring him down, but soon enough it was out of sight. It must have hit its helmet against the side of the container and the dull THOOM that followed made him blink. That... Wow. Perhaps it was just another symptom of a hangover, but it made him pause for a few moments. Whoever was in here was playing at something, though they certainly didn't seem like the type to attack anyone. Either that or they were the jitteriest assassin this side of the Core.

He certainly wasn't going to take any chances. Slowly, and with his eyes still on the heap that he thought the creature had dove behind, he reached for the blaster that sat snugly in his belt. Soon enough Brie might hear the soft crunches of ground-up debris and glass as he advanced. Moments like these were never good for the pursuer. As confident as he might have seemed to one hoping for him only to turn and walk away, there was no stopping that chilling feeling that he might be pounced on by some mutated creation of the undercity at any moment in this blasted tomb.

Before too long he'd made it to the edge of the trash heap and paused with the blaster borne right up against that little LED flashlight he carried about. It was quite clear, at least at this point, that they both knew where generally the other was... Or at least he hoped. If it turned out that this thing had pulled some sort of Magwit and was already behind him he'd be none the wiser.

Not really wanting to come around the corner, he thought he might try reasoning with the beast one last time.

"I've got you covered! Come on out from there or I'll blow you away!"

Yeah. Diplomacy.


Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Brie desperately tried to control her breathing and looked around in despair for options of what to do. There was a certain convincing tone in the mans stern voice. Something frightening. It told her that he could be nothing less than a ruthless criminal of some sort, one that most likely made truth of his villainious words.

The small light cone from the helmets flashlight went from one side to the other in the little space that she huddled up in. Nothing. It left her nothing but the option to face him. The thought scared her. Even if she had spent years of fighting for her own survival, when all came around she were still a lone kid in a dark galaxy. She avoided fighting if it not was absolutely necessary.

Then it struck her - she still had the KC-77N Hybrid Pistol tucked inside her belt. She carefully reached for it with one hand and brought it behind her back, squeezing it tightly. Taking one deep shivering breath, she stood up with slight struggle on shaky legs and hung the backpack over a shoulder. She kept the blaster concealed like she were holding up the backpack, easing its weight on her shoulder. Raising her free hand up, she took a few cautious steps out from the cover, first just enough to reveal half her body. She glanced once into the light but quickly let her green gaze fall upon the dirty floor, staying quiet. If the man made a move on her, she was ready to meet him with a blaster muzzle. At least, that was the plan. More or less thought out.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Raj steadied his hand as he began to hear movement just beyond the refuse barrier that still separated them. 'Seemed like it was working! No telling how this'd play out though. He was still keen on the idea that this was some type of alien creature that didn't speak to humans all that much, but he couldn't be too sure until he got a glimpse of whatever was in that spacesuit.

At first, he couldn't see too much. The glare from the light reflecting off of her visor made it difficult to get a clear picture, but once she'd turned to face him he couldn't help but smirk and drop the beam to the floor. Not only that... But he began to laugh! It wasn't maniacal laughter, as the girl might have come to expect from such a seedy-looking stranger, but one of pure disbelief!

"A kid!?", he managed between fits.

For all that fear he'd worked up in his body, the visage of a teen was quite the punchline. She looked like she barely fit the helmet! As funny as it was, and it was funny (At least to him), he'd soon managed to catch a lungful of that gritty rust-laden air and form a coherent thought. Honestly, he must have seemed a bit mad.

With little to fear he popped the blaster back into his belt and made to wipe a tear from his eye. It seemed as well that, at least for the moment, he was quite unaware of her weapon or any intent that she might have to use it.

"Space... I thought you were a killer!"



Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

The man clearly didn't think of her as any threat. It was always like that. People didn't think that a young person could be capable of hurting anyone, especially young girls like herself. People thought that they couldn't take care of themselves unless they had a grown up to hold onto. Hence why many cantina staffs called upon authorities when they saw stray youngsters, either thinking they were fugitives from some institution or with something more caring in their minds she still didn't want to end up being detained and placed in an unknown home somewhere.

The thoughts and his laugh made her slightly annoyed and she glanced up once and twice with a more irritated look. A moment of silence were filled with the sounds of the man trying to regain himself and her nervous breathing through the vocalizer. The noise from the passing speeders high above them were almost not heard through the walls of the cargo pod.

''I'm not...'' she suddenly uttered while looking down at the floor, but making sure she saw his feet if they would come closer.

In one way, she was very relieved that he had not attacked her right away and in general saw the situation as amusing. Still, she had heard of criminal organisations that kidnapped orphan girls, to sell as slaves, often with a more sinister intent. This man could just be playing a game on her age. She kept squeezing the grip of the pistol behind her, her life-line.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

However she felt, Raj felt somewhat relieved that he wouldn't be getting into any sort of fight in this cramped old metal box today. He was thinking of what he might do with her though. Obviously the layman would immediately think of just letting her run back off into the scrapyard to find her own death out there in the mire, but that hardly seemed like a way to let one so young go out.

"Well obviously! Say, what're you looking at? Am I really that ugly?"

It was no secret that she may just be too shy to look him in his face but he'd like to believe he wasn't that inherently terrifying. Looking towards the ground where his own light illuminated the floor around them, there was nothing of note besides a few old pieces of paper and some bits of metal. If that was any indicator, she was just afraid. Well, it figured. This was the undercity and he was a bit more gregarious than the average thug. Maybe she was expecting someone to sneak up on her? Maybe she'd have relished in that sort of typical interaction of the lower levels.

Either way, he certainly wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon. Sticking his free hand in his pocket, he continued to hold the light low and leaned up against a particularly large crate in the pod. He'd hear her out, and then he could certainly decide whether or not she was going to get robbed tonight.

Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

''I'm not looking...'' she said slightly higher through the vocalizer, sounding a bit more annoyed. Yes, the man both looked and sounded frightening to her, but she didn't know how he would take it if she told him that straight out. The gregarious man could still be playing a game, for all she knew. More over, she were still cut off from her only escape route.

As the man took a more relaxed approach leaning against a crate, she felt that the backpack were starting to weigh down on her shoulder. She wanted to adjust it and guessed that she could lower her arm by now. She did it slowly, her gaze flicked up at the man and down the floor again to check if she were allowed to. Her black bloved hand reached for the strap and she helped with the other hand that she had underneath the backpack.

KLINCK-KLICK!

Uh oh!

It felt like her heart stopped for a fraction of a second.

She had lost the grip of the pistol and it had hit the hard metal floor of the container. Now, she looked at him! Did he notice it? Did he see it? She moved her feet so that she might have hid the dropped weapon, preparing herself to just hit the floor and hope that she were fast enough to pick it up.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

By the tone of her voice, he could tell that he was getting to her to some small degree. At the moment he couldn't really figure what was worse, having someone fear you or be angry at you, but anger seemed like some sort of improvement! If someone was afraid of you they just clammed up which certainly didn't seem like any fun to him. If she were angry, well, at least she'd be more liable to speak up about it!

The dingy drug-dealer was about to make another wisecrack, possibly about her oversized helmet that he was almost certain was stolen, but that clickity-clack of a blaster was a sound that he'd known all too well growing up. Of course, he didn't know it was a blaster, but he was able to make an educated guess by way of his light before she shuffled her feet to hide the object. Many others of his type might take this as an opportunity to shove her away into the darkness and grab up her piece, but that wasn't really what he was about. He didn't feel like she'd shoot him and going through the trouble of leaving his little resting spot seemed pretty pointless so he did the next best thing he could think of to ease her up a little!

"You drop your gun, short-stack?", he said with a smug tone, "Y'know you gotta be careful; those things can go off pretty easily!"

What followed was another cocky snicker. He expected she might do something silly like scramble to the ground for the piece, but this was just a kid after all. As far as things went Raj was starting to lean towards the non-robby sort of mood. She'd made him laugh and that was more than he could say for a lot of the bums down here who always tried to talk a big game before they either got killed or dusted up.


Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Prepared for the worst, a silent and almost unnoticable sigh left her as the man remained where he was. She were still very much on her guard though, but she did not reach for the gun. Not yet, at least. Was he pondering about her fate this night? It was hard to tell, but what she could see of him was that he was not that old but old enough to have seen and done grim things.

She observed him through the visor, still somewhat flickering on the gaze but not as much as before. It was a daring move considering the position that she was in, but something told her to stand her ground. The mans smug tone and cocky snicker might have contributed to it. While another kid would have lost the ability to speak due to being too frightened, either panicing trying to get out or hide again, Brie kept cold and headstrongly held onto the hope of getting out of here.

''What do you want...?'' she asked, not realy expecting a truthful answer from who she still considered a villainous criminal.

She knew how to be careful!

And she wasn't that short, was she?

It seemed that the man tried to ease up the situation, but naturally she were still cautious. If only this man knew what she had been through. How many years she had fought through mostly on her own. She might not have been able to go head-to-head with every threat she had encountered, but she possessed a strong will and ingenious mind.

''I've got nothing on me.'' she stated as firmly as she could, hoping that he would ''just'' be a robber.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Raj looked her over for a moment, sort of confused. It was a valid question. If he didn't want anything from her she should be free to go. That was logical enough for him but in truth, he simply didn't want her to go. There could be any number of reasons as to why that was the case, perhaps he simply wanted someone to talk to that wasn't some greasy thug from off-planet. Whatever the true reason actually was, he was more than happy to give her a false one.

"Come over here." he'd say, beckoning her towards him as he sat down on a durasteel crate that had long been claimed by rust and other forms of decay.

The prospect obviously wasn't all that inviting, and he honestly expected that she might run. If she did, he wouldn't pursue. What would be the point in trying to run this girl down? All he'd get was tired and he didn't much feel like exhausting himself for this one.

To give her a bit more confidence, he thought he might as well explain what he wanted before she did make such a rash decision.

"Just show me what's in your bag, that's all."


Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

The offer left her in a pondering state for a bit. In either case, she would need to run past him to get out. The cargo pod was rather narrow and it was the only way out. Well, if he didn't completely change his approach, turning on the spot and leaving her. That was highly unlikely. Of course, all kids were more or less curious to their nature and Brie was no exception.

''I'm going to need my gun for that...'' she said and met his gaze, dead on this time. ''I will put it in my belt... But, if you try something...!'' she continued, adding a concealed threat to it. If she would use the gun or simply scream for help was untold. He didn't know her, so the threat would possibly not be taken seriously and force through another smug snicker. She were used to that.

She started to kneel down very slowly, both to show him that she were not going to shoot him without a reason and to check how he would take her demand. Her gaze stayed upon him through the rusty dark space of the container.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

He wouldn't move from the crate, quite content to raise his hands in innocence. He'd let her set about getting the blaster and he wasn't really afraid of her having it. Again, she didn't seem like the type to use it unless she absolutely had to... If that. In fact, he could only guess as to what type of person she was by the way she carried herself. Of course, he couldn't have any idea of whatever struggles she'd had to go through throughout her life and that was just fine by him. If one listened to depressing stories of a poor upbringing too often, it often led to dark thoughts.

"Don't worry about me, girl. I won't move a muscle."

After his assurances, he felt safe enough to drop his hands back to his sides and wait until he might see the contents of her pack. He wondered what she'd be carrying around about now. Perhaps something good? A few valuables? There was no way of telling whether or not she was a good smuggler, but she'd gotten to this age doing it so how bad could she really be?

"Let's see it!"

Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

She listened to the man while feeling for the pistol on the floor right behind her, looking all but precise in the way to do so. Never taking her eyes off him, she carefully picked the pistol up and tucked it inside the belt at her back. It was another daring step in their little ''standoff'', but it was not exactly trust that brought her to bend to the mans wishes. It was a mix of slowly building confidence and pure fortitude rarely seen in a girl of her age, along with a naturally reserved approach against the stranger.

Standing up again, she dared to take a few steps closer to him but stayed out of arms reach. Reaching for the shoulder on which the rectangular backpack hang, her rather small hand compared to his slided it off into a grasp in front of him. Without saying much more, she opened the backpack and kept her head high while glancing down at him. If it was intentional was uncertain, but it felt slightly more disarming when he had lowered himself by sitting down. To someone who might know a thing or two about salvaging, like a mechanic, shipwright or technician, the contents of her backpack showed that she knew what she were doing. There were parts that were fairly expensive new, parts that was rare to get hold of. More or less sought off. On top of it all was the fly eye.

She definately expected him to either claim some of it as a sort of a tax for her to pass, or take the whole bag.

''See? Not exactly gold chunks...'' she said dismissing the content, taking the chance that he didn't know much about mechanics or salvaging.

''Are you a robber...?'' she followed up, slightly curious, after a short pause.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Raj took his time inspecting the contents of the bag as it was presented to him. While he certainly wasn't any salvager, the bit of mechanics he'd learned on Bonadan told him that some of these items were certainly valuable, at least to her. Even if these things were worth some money, it wasn't nearly enough for him to think he should snatch away the lot. For one, she'd be liable to shoot him if he attempted it, and moreover it wasn't really worth his time trying to wrestle the bag away from her.

"A robber?.. No, not usually. Sometimes, but not too often these days."

It was hardly reassuring. The very fact that he admitted to being a robber on 'Some days' would probably be enough to make her want to escape his watchful gaze, but Raj still wouldn't make any brash movements to make her feel threatened. It appeared as though he'd chosen to be more of a docile creature tonight, which was a bit of a rare phenomenon for a man like him.

"Why don't you take a load off? I'm not gonna' hurt you or anything, Girl."

He motioned to the spot just next to him on the crate, wondering if she actually would decide to sit down and not just run off into the foul-smelling pit of the scrap yard once again. He hoped she would. It would be nice to have some decent company for a change.

Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Her suspicions were confirmed when the man answered her question and hinted her about his past. She were sure that he still was some sort of a criminal, but what kind? He didn't seem like the one kidnapping girls and bringing them to some forsaken planet in the Outer Rim, but she could be wrong - everything could just be a facade. A trick. Still, wouldn't he just have grabbed her by then? His acting demonstrated something else. Something that had not an evil intent.

Brie let the offer sink in for a bit. She were tierd. A moment of gathering herself before beginning the journey to the higher levels was well needed. So, would she bolt away from him just to find a quiet place to rest? Another lone temporary spot in the galaxy? Or could she take a dare and do it in the company of the man?

After that silent moment of consideration, only disturbed by her breathing through the vocalizer and Coruscant's distant white noise in the background, she took careful steps towards the crate. She sat down on it bult kept what safe distance she could from the stranger. She placed the bag on the floor between her knees and rested her arms in the lap. Brie kept her green glance silently upon him.

''Well... What are you now, then...?'' she asked suddenly, again exposing a bit of her curiousness.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Honestly, she'd surprised him when she'd begun to approach. He kept thinking that she was mere moments away from making a break for the opening, which she'd find would be quite unopposed, and yet she never made her break. Did she trust him? Almost certainly not. With the slavers and kidnappers running around the lower city like rats, it was hard for anyone to trust anyone down here. But, if anything, no one could truly call him a slaver. The entire business sickened him. He'd murder and he'd steal, but holding someone in some sort of bondage had never truly sat well with him. It was part of the reason he'd abandoned the Suns and their tendency to get involved with slavers politics on the outer rim. Fething bastards...

Then she asked him something that he'd been asked hundreds of times before by people unfamiliar with his business. He couldn't just go and say he was a pseudo-crime boss to anyone who asked. Men who did that were liable to get kidnapped themselves! Nah, he'd keep it simple like he always did when dealing with strangers. No matter how old!

"I'm a smuggler... Tech and weapons, y'know?"

It was sort of true. He didn't make many runs himself anymore, but when he did the cargo was definitely still less than legal.

"And what about you? This all you do for cash?"


Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

She heard what he said, but also how he said it. That faint hard-to-grasp feeling. That tiny grit of notion that settled inside her young mind, and slowly grew stronger with each thought. Her green gaze fell on the dark dirty floor in front of her, silently contemplating it although keeping a watch on the man through the corner of her eye.

She answered him with a few short nods.

''Most of the time... Sometimes... People send stuff with me to where I'm going...''

Still gentle about her moves, Brie reached into her backpack and brought up a small rectangular bag of ration, a shiny bag with some text in galactic basic on it. The bag had a cork on it which she carefully attached to a tube on her suit. Biting on a nozzle by her mouth in the helmet, she started to ingest the food.

''I don't believe you...'' she suddenly said with cautioun between a bite, glancing slightly at him.

Rajo Sobek