Private Bored in the Boneyard

[Rajo Sobek]

He wasn't too surprised. The way he'd said it hadn't really convinced him of the lie, so how could it convince another? It wasn't as if he was in a small club in the galaxy. He wasn't altogether proud of it, but it was a way of life. Dealing and killing had been all he'd known since he left Bonadan, and it made him more than enough money to be comfortable. It was a business, just like any other, but more often than not it was one that people couldn't understand.

"That so? Well then don't. I didn't ask you to."

Whatever. If she didn't believe him there wasn't much he could do besides tell her the truth that would probably send her on her way anyways. A change in topic seemed necessary, and that helmet on her head was enough of a distraction to bring up in any circle.

"Why don't you take that thing off? The air's breathable... Well... Breathable enough."

It wasn't as if she needed it for survival or anything on Coruscant. Perhaps it was better than nothing if she fell into a sludge pit, but still, most be a bit stuffy in the damned thing.

Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

If the man didn't want to tell her the truth, he didn't have to. It was only one of those spontaneous statements that she could sometimes utter, more or less without thinking of it. She had her ideas about him, but they were not enough to scare her away right now. At least not with the casual and, maybe not friendly but benign, way of showcasing himself.

She let it go with that and turned her head at him when he urged her to take the helmet off. Other than giving her a fresh air to breath on type II planets, it protected her from the possible toxins that she could encounter while going through the heaps of junk.

Of course, she did not wear it when not needed but it often also acted as a safe enclosed bubble for her, not completely exposing her face and emotions. Due to running her own kind of show for so many years, she were far from an ordinary girl. She were missing a big piece of her childhood, but her mind were still large and imaginary and sometimes it became lost in the music that she loved listening to. Yet, she was not that ashamed of the fact anymore. It had been an unavoidable path to go.

Her gaze slid off the man and settled it low at the wall opposite them. She took one last slurp of the ration and she reached for the buckle under her chin, releasing it. She lifted the helmet off and put it in her lap, revealing a bush of a rather messy but fine blonde hair which appeared darker in the dim light provided by their flashlights. The air was... ok to breath. A metallic rusty smell to it but that didn't surprise her considering their location. With a light quick snuffle, she pulled away a strand of hair from her face and threw a shy glance at the man.

''I wear it for the toxins that might be stirred up when I salvage...'' she said simply, hoping that the man would not see her as a potential object to kidnap now when she revealed herself a bit more.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Raj was happy that she'd decided to let the issue of his actual "career" go. As he thought on it more and more, he didn't really ever know how to describe himself even behind closed doors. He was many things, a ganglord, a dealer, and even a murderer, but none of those titles really sat well with him. Maybe even after all these years hiding from the light he was trying to seek some sort of moral high ground? Hmph, no chance of that...

As for the helmet, well, he really didn't expect her to take it off. She didn't owe it to him to reveal more of herself than she had to, and it certainly couldn't be an appealing prospect considering where she was and how he looked. I mean, it wasn't like he was dragging around cuffs and a cage ready to haul off any unsuspecting scrounger who turned out to not look like a half-baked Gorryl slug, but one could never be too careful when they strayed down from the surface. Cringing a bit at that slurping sound emanating from the end of the tube, he actually opted to look back towards the metallic floor of the pod to think about their situation some more. The only thing that drew his attention back was the snapping sound that came from the buckle of her helmet as she undid it.

When she revealed herself, well, Raj wasn't unimpressed. For a girl that had been running about the galaxy digging through old engine parts and cracked batteries, she didn't look half bad. She'd managed to keep a full head of hair underneath that suffocating piece of kit, bushy and unkempt as it was, and only now in the dim light from the radiance of his flashlight could he get a real picture of her face. She had a certain amount of natural beauty, that was for sure.

He also figured she wore that old helmet for more than the fear of breathing in some bad chems, too.

"Oh yeah, I'll bet there's some nasty stuff down in the dumps... Guessin' it helps not to look like a girl too much around the galaxy? Smart, really. There's some goons around here that might prefer you without the helmet."

Of course, that wasn't to say that being a girl in itself was an indicator of how able someone was to travel the stars, just that they had to deal with a slew of other, well, issues.

"And, y'know...", he'd continue while gesturing to her rugged-looking flight suit, "All the rest."

Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

It did not take more than a second for the brave and tested teen to understand what the guy realy meant, down there in the darkness of the scrapyard. Despite her protective suit, the thought of such a scenario got her to shiver slightly, from deep inside and out to the tops of her bushy hair. She might have looked young, naive and insignificant to some people, but she had heard stories that was enough for most girls to rather choose the otherwise unthinkable way out of it.

And those people were around here? In this very district?

That was actually more than she knew of, and another more frightful thought switched places with the last. Her green eyes grew bigger and fixed themselves with suspicion upon the man.

''Wh- what do you mean... around here?'' she asked in a tone both reflecting suspicion, and a pinch of regret for the decision to approach the guy. She felt herself tense a bit, discreetly clinging onto the helmet in her lap. Had she made a mistake? No, the way he acted and the things he said did not match with what she imagined a kidnapper would be like. Her gaze eased up slightly and flicked back and forth at the guy.

''You... You're not one of them... right?'' she continued, finally meeting his eyes with a sincere glance.

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

Raj blinked at the question and realized, within the context, how much of a creep he must have seemed like. Of course, he'd been accused of being a dog before but the mere thought that he would be one of those lowly scum that preyed on teenagers within the muck of a landfill was definitely a new low for him. Though part of him did enjoy keeping the girl on her toes.

Shaking his head casually he explained, "Nah, not me. I like girls with short hair, Y'know..." what followed was his best attempt at the sound of an electric razor and a hand casually gliding through the side of his own hair to add a bit more substance to what he was trying to convey. He was sure she could picture it in her mind.

"Yeah, that rebel look gets me every time... But, uh, yeah. Lots of scum rummaging around in the 'fill. You're smart to keep that blaster handy."

He wasn't too sure if what he'd said would give her much confidence in the fact that he wasn't out here for her. At the very least he was keeping up the casual air of conversation that had not yet been broken by her fleeing off into the darkness.

"So what happens after a day of eh... This? You go sleep somewhere or somfin'?"


Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Although she were still tensed, the guys answer and the actually slightly silly sound and move he made when trying to imitate an electric razor got her to smile within. One could say that he, with his imaginary razor, had cut the top of her tension and fright of what could happen in the next minute. That unexpected and silly comment, from someone who had the brute appearance of a criminal, completely turned the ambience in the not so dark any longer container.

Her inner smirk started to reveal itself on the outside in a white youthful smile and a light giggle escaped her. It was one of equal parts nervousness and delight. Twisting the helmet in her knee in contemplation, she threw him a glance with her smile still shining through.

''Tss, that's not nice...'' she said, getting an image in her head of him cutting these womens hair in the fashion that he just demonstrated.

Brie were still a little shy, but now obviously also in a more light spirit. In the land between nervousness and happieness, that was when words risked to slip out.

''Yes... Don't you go sleep somewhere or... somfin'?''

Of course, she would sleep somewhere. That mimicry of his question manifested her nervousness but at the same time relief that she might as well get out of here alive, after all. She turned her glance down onto the helmet again. With a light cough, she tried to become more serious, hoping that the guy would take the mimicry as a friendly reaction.

''Well... Yes? I usually sleep aboard my ship. Then it's the work of trying to sell or trade the stuff I've collected. Some trips are better then others, but Coruscant is a favourite...'' she said matter-of-factly, a shy smirk searching itself upon her lips in the end.

''I'm...'' she gave it a second thought, a hard second thought. ''I'm Brie... What's your name?''

Rajo Sobek

 

[Rajo Sobek]

He could never get mad at someone for mimicking his voice, he knew he spoke with an accent that didn't quite match up with the core's dialects. If anything he was glad that she was beginning to open up a bit more around him, and his own goofy smirk would flash across his face as he heard it. It had been a long time since he'd had a conversation quite like this. In fact, he couldn't really remember a time where he'd had one. It was strange to talk to a complete stranger who probably didn't know anything about him or his dealings, but it was also a breath of fresh air to not have to put on the gangster-esque song and dance.

"Rajo, but people call me Raj."

The daily routine of her life seemed sort of dull, but it was no better than slumming it out in the undercity. He might well make more money than she did, but at the end of the day, she didn't have to peak through the blinds before she left her home. There was a time where he'd thought of leaving all of this kriff behind and heading out into the stars for himself, but he doubted he'd be much of a spacer. Besides, what would he do? The galaxy was filled to the brim with smugglers and he didn't know anything about trade lanes and flight regulations... It was all too boring! He'd take the street any day.

"Traveling the stars must make for a nice life. I hope your little expeditions net you enough to get by..?"

There was a hint of concern in his voice, though it would probably be one of the rare times she'd ever hear it from him. Compassion wasn't really something that came naturally to him, but he liked to think he wasn't totally lost as a human just yet.

"Space knows there's enough wars going on to create the supply. You could probably build a star destroyer from scratch if you kepp' it all."

Brie Jaxx

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Who could have thought of that? Of all the jumps between systems that she had done, the times encountering a friendly - or at least not hostile face - could easily fit on the ten fingers on her hands. She always tried to go under the radar when out on a salvaging run, knowing well enough that she was a prey to slavers and robbers alike. By doing so, she had become pretty good at unnoticed go in and out of places and also finding the best ways in. Now, there was times when you had to sacrifice something to get the other, more valuable, thing. Going into a container with only one way out were not the best decision, but in the end it had paid off it seemed. She were no fool either, so she guessed that Raj had equal or similar qualities and maybe used them to tail... people?

''It's nice.'' she said confirmingly, nodding slightly while her gaze fell to the floor. The short answer and the tone of it might have not sounded overly enthusiastic. It hid something. Thoughts, and sadness deeper within. It sometimes surfaced when she thought of her consistent journey towards the objective of finding her parents. That burning hope kept her alive and going.

''I'm doing alright. Ones got to make a living somehow in this galaxy...'' she continued and threw Raj another glance, broken by another strand of hair that she again pulled back after a moment.

''So... Where do you live? What brought you here? Usually, there is just me and the duracrete slugs down here...''

Like the regular teen girl, she were full of questions and curiosity once introduced to people. Not nosey, but the situation had called for it, right? It was truly a relief to feel that the anxiety built up in her were starting to fade, each minute they just sat there having a conversation like sitting on a cantina or something.

Rajo Sobek