Downtime

[Keter]

Keter leaned back in the rickety chair, propping his feet up on the wooden table as he drank some juice straight from the carton. It had been a while since he'd been forced to live in anything elss than luxury. It was a curious experience. Also kind of nostalgic. The little shack on the town's outskirts was one of Zandra's hidey-holes, a safe place her clan had established for resupply missions and to act as a temporary sanctuary.

Zandra had chosen to use it as a hideout.

Ever since the heist fiasco, they had been keeping their heads down, and with nowhere else to go, Keter had stuck to his kind-of employer until everything blew over. The ship was grounded until they could reprogram it's code signals and repaint the hull, leaving them with a whole lot of nothing to do but time wasting.

Life was just glorious.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra spent most of her time now experimenting with her new hand. That kriffing space wizard. Next time she saw him, he'd be a dead man. And her dear friend, Doctor Cute-blue-alien, didn't exactly inspire confidence. Mostly because he said right out, 'I messed up. You'll never use your sword hand the same way again.' Great. So now she'd lost half her crew, her husband, her ship was on it's last few miles, and she lost her sword hand. Perfect.

The Echani sat at the dusty table in the cluttered kitchen. A pile of burned cigarette tips lay scattered around her. The filthy ashtray was overflowing, a clear sign of a smoking problem gone way out of control. Between two shaking cybernetic fingers, she clumsily held yet another burning cigarette. Doctor Azure would hate how much she was smoking, but she figured it was better than being hopped up on Stardust all day, hallucinating and talking to herself. Yeah. Still, going through the withdraw symptoms was absolutely terrible. She felt like death.

"Want one?" she offered, holding out a crushed pack of cigarettes, "I won't tell yer wife."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Still with the smoking. Well, they were all allowed their little vices. It built character and all that. The blond shook his head, letting his gaze sweep the room. He was bored. There was not much to do in the little improvised shack, and Zandra was often too lost in her own thoughts to play the part of a good host. Or good boss. Or anything really. He SUPPOSED he couldn't blame her, but she'd just lost a hand. Not like they COULDN'T get her a cybernetic. He was sure she had enough loot squirreled away somewhere that she could easily afford a replacement part. And if a healer had bodged up her hand...well, they could remove all the damaged parts and replace them. That's how cybernetics worked.

Urgh.

"We should probably head outside," Keter observed idly, setting the carton of juice onto the table with a sigh.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra ran one hand through her messy hair while the other shakily raised the cigarette to her lips. She wasn't used to this hand. The damn thing barely worked. She breathed in deep, taking in as much smoke into her lungs as she could.

"Outside?" she exhailed, "What for? Bored?"

Zandra could easily stay inside all day, just smoking until her veins stopped itching for Stardust. If she went out there, it was far too tempting to hunt down a dealer.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Look," Keter countered bluntly, "brooding in your lair is all well and good for a Sith, but not for you. You're an echani. A mandalorian. You don't do this kind of mopeyness, right?" the blond pointed out, standing up from the table. "Come on. Let's step outside, get some air. Maybe start tracking down a surgeon and a mechanic," he pondered out lout before shrugging.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The cigarette in the Echani's mouth drooped a little. She felt... properly shamed.

"A'right, A'right," she sighed, plucking the cigarette out from between her lips, "Where are we goin'?"

He was right.Cal woulda hated to see her like this. Just sitting around, moping about her lost hand. But if Cal were here, he woulda made sure her hand was fixed right. She flexed her metal fingers, trying her very best to make them obey her. Damn.
She sighed, snuffed out her cigarette then snatched a glove off the table.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Into town," the blond said, surprised at how easy that had been. The woman must have been in truly bad shape to just let him take charge like this. "We're going to walk into a fine little mechanics store and see about getting your hand fixed properly. THen, we're going to the park for some training - you're an echani-slash-mandalorian. You lose a hand? You choke them to death with the other - comabt pragmatism, right?" he continued, thinking out loud now as he led the way to the door, leaving the fetching of the keys to the master of the house.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The Echani snatched up the key card, practically stumbling after the blond. Why was he helping her? Nobody helped her. Why him? Why now? Were it anyone else, she'd be suspicious, thinking he might be developing a crush. But no. This was Keter. This guy was loyal to the very end to that Queen of his. So what was it? He must be lonely. She didn't know of many friends of his. For all she knew, it was her and that Barnabus guy.

Well, it wasn't like she was much better.

"When did you get nice?" she asked, locking the door behind, "Ain't like you to care."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Mumbling half formed plans to himself (involving something about integrated spurs), Keter stopped outside and turned to face her, surprised. "Really? Why shouldn't I care? You're sitting aound literally exuding an aura of dismay. Anyone could tell. Why wouldn't I want to fix that?" he asked her, curious to hear her reasoning. Actually, they should walk and talk. Keter resumed walking, indicating for the echani to follow.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

"I ain't yer cap'n," she answered immediately, "Ya got no reason to care."

And that was just it. In Zandras world, nobody really helped unless they were either getting something out of it, or family. A crew was a kind of family. She followed, hand fiddling with the stiff metal fingers on her right hand. Even with a new, perfect hand, she'd still have to get used to it. It wasn't like she thought for a second that she could just slap a new hand on and go right back to stealin' whatever she wanted.

"B'sides, my ship as it is right now? Half my crew dead? I can't afford a new hand."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter wished he could roll his eyes. "Well, you're...something." He had no idea what to call what they were. "But hey, I picked you up from your gambling carefree days, and you're a pirate queen now. Maybe we can strike lucky twice eh?" the blond offered with a faint grin, recalling the woman's nickname. He had always been luckier than her...

But that didn't matter. "And true, you may not. However, I am allowed to do what I want with my share..."

Even if their last heist had gone weird, they had still walked away with some loot....

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The pirate raised a thin white eyebrow. He was joking? No. No, he wasn't.

"No, no," she sighed, "I can' letcha do that."

Was he tryin' ta insult her here? She had her pride! She would find a way to pay for herself. She wouldn't even let her own husband pay for anything for her. What made Keter think that she'd let a friend do something like that for her?

"Look, you got your rock and your credits. Just keep it. Give it to your kids, your wife, hell, buy a new haircut with it! I'll get by. I always do."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Wanna fight me over it?" he asked her with a grin. He could take her, he knew it. Besides, he didn't like leaving hid...friend? Let's say friend, in a poor condition. "Besides, I'm a Sith - I'm all about power and passion. How can I leave you robbed of it?" the blond pointed out. "Now come my dark apprentice! Vile deeds await!" Keter declared dramatically, throwing out his arms as if to encompass the world and letting out a theatrical villanous laugh.

Becuase if he could make Zandra forget about her woes for a moment, then it was a win.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

In her condition? Yeah, a fight was all she needed. That would be such a joke. Even with her original hand, at her very best, she probably couldn't beat him. Space Wizards. It was hardly a fair fight.

"Ya know, Keter?" she sighed, "You might just be the worst Sith I've ever met. Not that I ever met many, mind ya."

She laughed. A genuine laugh this time.

"A'right. We'll just say... I'll pay you back for it."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Ah victory. It tasted so sweet! Still grinning, Keter nodded. "Of course, of course, whatever you say! And you know, as a fearsome pirate queen, even you must know the value of a good reputation, no?" he asked her, resuming their walk to town. A fearsome reputation guaranteed surrenders as opposed to bloody fights after all.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

"Yeah, yeah..."

The Echani rolled her eyes and pulled out a cigarette, stuck it between her lips and struggled to light it again. Damn hand. He was right. She needed to get it fixed, and as long as she paid him back, there would be absolutely no shame in letting a friend help.

"Ya better watch your reputation, Keter. Yer startin' ta get soft around me."

[member="Keter"]

 

[T. Greg]

he watched the pair but he wanted to get involved but not to scare them away has soon has they saw his black clock and light saber at his belt so he lost the clock revealing standard sith black and dark skin rodes and for the saber he put it inside the clock hiding it inside along with the clock in a little hiding spot he approaches the two smiling ' hello " looking at them switching between them both [member="Zandra Tal'verda"]