Private Goin' my way?

[Rook Heimdal]

Terminal City. Busy wasn’t an accurate word to describe the ecumenopolis. A marriage of Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa, all manner of business was accessible under the skylane expanse. Space ports were packed with species many eyes had never seen, riding in on ships so bizarre they looked like they’d flown out of a cheesy holofilm. From the Terminal City Free Port flowed all manner of beings on and off-world looking for work or trade, to sell merchandise, or second chances.

Gray eyes watched the array of ships flying overhead. Soon, one of those would be carrying her out of here—as soon as she found one to take her on as crew. The small freighter behind was being loaded, the clatter reminding her she still had business with the ship’s captain.

The stack of crates that hid the male Devaronian met her at the shoulder. With a patient pause she at last cleared her throat, causing the Devaronian to spook and clutch the datapad to his stomach.

“WHAT do you want?” He spat.

She rested an elbow on the top of the crates, "Accordin’ to our deal you owe me some pay. Give me that an’ I’ll be outta here, unless ya nee—"

The Devaronian held up a hand, “Don’t. I won’t be needing another slapstick mechanic. Got me a droid this time. As for pay…” He raised the datapad, “You eat a lot. Too much.”

She snapped her arm from the crates, “We had a deal, shook hands on it,” She glanced behind after raising her voice.

“Well I’m altering it.” He raised a finger, “I got you here in one piece: Check. Ya had a cot to sleep on: Check. You worked for me, though it was measly— tut tut don’t interrupt,” He raised a fourth finger, “And you ate enough that I’ll just manage to cover it with what WOULD have been your wage. Now shoo.” He waved her off as he turned around.

She stood awkward after the conclusion. Now this wasn’t right, granted he was the captain, and she did eat more than average, but cheating her out of her pay? Ridiculous. She almost had walked away.

A long arm reached out and grabbed the Devaronian by his left horn. He exclaimed and cursed, but the plastoid slaps of the datapad did nothing against her arm. She grabbed the other horn and raised him from the ground, evening his 5’9” frame with her 7’3”.

“LADY what’s your problem?!”

She paused, studying his wild expression. A multitude of scenes overlapped one another; all the ways the situation could go unfolded like a sped-up reel. It was too much, and before she could think of something to say she lost her grip and dropped the man.

His crew began to merge toward his location. Rook turned and ran, seeing an empty spot on the roof of a shack less than a kilometer away.

Fractured chunks of energy folded into space after she disappeared.

- - -​

The market port, to some, was the very definition of "too crowded." To Rook the overabundance of life was welcome, even comforting. She was just another face-- she caught her reflection in some glasteel. Okay, she was just another dirty face here.

A rumble in her stomach didn't help her forget she was out of cred. After a quick inventory she deduced she had nothing of value, unless someone in the area had a hankering for homemade grenades.

Eldin Daine

 

[Eldin Daine]

Terminus Markets​

After the somewhat successful mission at Kessel, Eldin had returned to Terminus to deliver the guns that he had been transporting through the Run and it was the best place to get parts for repairs for his ship. The smugglers had been captured, and most of their good confiscated but some of them, went into the inventory of the OPA for the greater good of course. The mission had paid well, it had been a dangerous undertaking by those involved and the leaders had made sure they had been well compensated. Danger money.

He had been here at least a week, and a few more days yet, before he could head back to Bespin, so he was making the best of his stay. Card games took up the most of his time, and by the end of that he had pocketed more than he came with. When he was not gambling, he kept to himself which was uncharacteristic.

It was a welcome change to be lost in the crowd of the Terminus market quarter, not that anyone here would know him and that was fine too. Frankly, he did not want to run into familiar faces, that was all they were really, just .. familiar faces. He passed by the stalls of the trinkets, his nose leading him to the food, and he realised he had skipped the midday meal. The catering was eclectic, some of which would not be able to eat, the digestive system would fail at breaking down some of this stuff, mostly designed for other species.

Finally thought, he came across a stall that sold burgers, the cook flipping them, and that wonderful sizzle spat, just as he rocked up. He ordered one with the lot and a cola to wash it down with and decided to find a seat to enjoy it and people watch. Never is it not crowded here, and hurrying toward the seat before it was taken, he bumped into a woman, [ Rook Heimdal ]

“Pardon ma’am”.

 

[Rook Heimdal]

"Pardon, ma'am."

Rook had been following her nose when she felt the jostle. The belated attempt to step out of the way caused a Rodian to trip over her leg, sending him into a barrel of orange spices. Whatever language he spoke it was understood (through the dusty coughs of spice) that he didn't find it funny.

"Oh! Hey I'm…" He stumbled off before she could even offer full condolences. She looked back to Eldin Daine , "...sorry." Getting two birds with one apology was alright, she figured.

The treasure in Eldin's hands quickly threw everything else out of view. She cocked an eyebrow at her new objective: Get a burger. Somehow, someway.

She bit her lip. One could argue it was the Firrerreo getting antsy to sink her fangs in some nerfburger… They'd be right! It'd been five hours since she last ate, but according to her stomach that time doubled. A nod barely registered as she left to scope out the burger stand.

Murphy's law wasn't optional, yet. As soon as Rook craned forward to see if anything was unattended, a hose from the grill's gas canister broke. The cook tossed away their spatula, hitting a patron in the face. Another woman dropped her entire meal on the ground (a scene which cut deep into Rook's hungry core). The chef drug the canister out from the grill, frantically tightening the valve before making it to the back of his stand. He clutched the canister to his chest while waiting for doom.

Rook watched with a bit skepticism as nothing happened. The chef opened his eyes and wiped the sweat on his brow, "C-closed, we are closed." He set the canister down with a ginger hand then began to draw the stand's security curtain.

It felt like the bars were meant for her as the iron curtain fell, a few meat patties still registering a sizzle on the griddle. With a defeated breath she turned, hand behind her head as her options grew sli-- There was still a burger here. The one from earlier that said "pardon."

A quick glance back and there it--he --was.

"You really 'bout to take this fella's meal?" She thought. Well, she wouldn't take it outright. Instead, let fate decide.

As she lumbered over to the man she grabbed a pair of mismatched dice from her pocket, "If you're the bettin' type mister, I'll throw dice for that meal of yours."

 

[Eldin Daine]

The commotion over at the burger stall caught his attention just for a moment, he was just pleased he got a burger before the shutters went down. His burger smelt all the better for it and took delight in unwrapping it and was just about to sink his teeth into it when he caught sight of a pair of boots in his eye line. His gaze followed the boots upward until reaching the dirty face of the woman he had bumped into.

“Look lady, I did apologise”. He spoke before she prompted the ‘wager’ for his lunch. “Hang on ya wanna toss me for this?”, he looked confused and amused all in one and looked at his delicious burger.

Well roll dice as it would turn out.

She was tactless, she was brazen and Eldin liked that. He grinned, “Sure, but if ya loose, what do I get?”.

He picked up his cola and sipped, one thing for sure he was not wagering his cola, he had taken a liking to the stuff. Eldin noticed the dice in her hand, but even still he searched in his pocket for a coin with two faces. "How about we even the odds, and flip a coin", too many games he had been in where the dice were loaded. Whether she was a cheat or not did not worry Eldin, he is one himself so there was no judgement there. He did think it strange that she wanted the burger so badly to approach him and offer the wager. The woman must be out of credits and hunger enough to go to this extreme.


Rook Heimdal

 

[Rook Heimdal]

“Sure, but if ya loose, what do I get?”

A narrowed stare. At least the man was open to the offer, that alone surprised her. But a pair of dice lifted from a drunk, some grenades that were not up to code, and one knife--not even a vibroknife, just a slab of sharp steel-- was all she had. Minus the clothes on her back and together it wasn't worth but a couple credits.

Rook palmed the back of her neck, and in raising her arm she heard the metallic clink of the salvaged suit hardpoints she wore. Well feth, she'd forgotten about them.

She looked over at her shoulder, giving the hardpoint a firm bump with her fist, "I'm a good porter and I know my way around a starship. Got some mechanical know-how. Ain't 'fraid of work. Honestly, that's all I got that's worth a damn."

The dice got a little toss in the air before being pocketed, "And a coin toss is fair 'nuff. You call it."

Eldin Daine

 

[Eldin Daine]

Well that offer was unexpected. Eldin was not really looking for crew but now that the idea was presented to him, he had to admit that having an extra pair of hands on the 'Rusty Bucket', would be a great help. Even if only for a short while, it certain would make long space trips a lot less boring. The girl made what he suspected, clear. She was down on her luck. Eldin had once been in this position and knew the bit of not only hunger but the need to find a way to make a living. The slipped two fingers into his trouser pocket and pull out a Talon. He rolled it between his fingers, a well practice trick that he would spend time with in space, "Stars or Stones?", the two sides of the coin, and he tossed it to her to flip.

"Ya call", he added, since she approached him with the wager, the girl could make the call.

"If ya do loose, I accept ya offer. Plenty of room on the Bucket". And if she won, maybe Eldin would offer the position to her anyway.

"And I could do with a mechanic", although his ship was undergoing repairs, it still needed to be maintained which was something he was not all that regular about doing.

"Ya got a name?", he pulled over a seat for her, no matter which way the coin drops they needed to have a conversation, and if she is eating his burger she might as well be comfortable.

Rook Heimdal

 

[Rook Heimdal]

She caught the coin between both hands.

"Stars or Stones?"

A Talon. It was a peculiar looking coin and a new currency she'd not seen before. Granted, thirteen years left enough time for a lot of change in the Outer Rim. She rolled the coin over in her palm before answering, "Stones."

The ghost of a grin tugged her cheek when he named his ship. Well, if she lost at least her transportation problem was solved since he was open to the idea of a mechanic. An image of that blasted Devaronian flitted past her mind's eye. She wasn't a bad mechanic, it was just that bad things happened sometimes. Her being present whenever they did was simple coincidence. She blinked the thought away.

She glanced at the coin in hand, fingers already having worked the Talon to be positioned over the thumb. Her attention was grabbed by the man again and she watched as he, curiously enough, pulled a seat up.

"Why is he so nice about this?" Rook didn't know whether to be grateful, suspicious, or both. It'd been a long time since the woman had received a kind gesture. She looked Eldin down to his boots then back to his face. Her bounty was still fresh on the holonet but he didn't seem like the hunter type.

She focused on the coin, "Lorjan. Name's Lorjan." The chink of the Talon punctuated the lie.

It landed in her palm with a soft pat. She lowered her hand for both of them to view: Stones. The Firrerreo snuffed her smile, trying not to give into her appetite's bad manners.

- - -​

Rook sat in the chair Eldin had pulled up for her. The burger presented such a pleasure that she almost lost herself in the moment. It was when she caught him in her periphery she paused, lowered the prize, and wiped a spot off her chin.

"Well, I uh," She hoped it didn't sound as awkward as she felt, "Seein' how you were such a fair sport I'd be glad to know ya name. You a captain or…?"

A pang of guilt wormed its way in her soul, not only for being so desperate as to gamble for a man's meal but to lie to him on top of that. Rook could have kicked herself.

She watched Eldin but kept shy of direct eye-contact.

Eldin Daine

 

[Eldin Daine]

“Well Lorjan, enjoy the burger”, he handed it over and sat watching her eat, and with every mouthful regretting taking up the bet. At least he had his cola.

The girl was down on her luck, his continuing observation confirmed it, and he remembered being in this situation himself, and by luck he had met someone that helped him out of a hole. What goes around comes around as they say.

“Eldin Daine is my name. I am a Sheriff with the OPA .. captain of my own ship”, he did not see any reason to lie to her about it, after all she was in OPA territory and their capital. “Ya no runnin’ from the law are ya?”, it was more jest than anything. If the girl had stolen food out of starvation to eat, he was not going to arrest her for anything like that, he had bigger fish to fry.

“If ya don’t mind me asking but .. ya seem like ya could do with work. Considering it was what you offered for the bet”. He pulled both legs up and propped his elbows on them and watched the people passing by while she ate.

“I could do with some help on the Bucket, but it would only be like when it needed maintenance and maybe run with me on the odd job. But I reckon I could get ya work in OPA if ya interested”.

Rook Heimdal

 

[Rook Heimdal]

“Eldin Daine is my name. I am a Sheriff..."

"I am a Sheriff..."

"...a Sheriff..."

Rook choked on the previous mouthful of burger. It was a quickish recovery, a slap to the chest and a sharp cough. Inside she was breaking out in a cold sweat. What were the Terminus gambling laws? Did any exist? On top of that she had lied to the man. Wasn't that breaking some line of legislative writ? She acknowledged all that he said with an interested nod even if she felt like a hooked fish.

Eldin Daine seemed to ooze cool-headed confidence. A Sheriff of OPA, that acronym Rook heard passed around in this patchwork of space. It was new--at least to her--and she hadn't received all the details of just how it came together. His question was asked in a light tone yet her mind raced for an answer.

"No, nothing like that." It was all she could muster and it didn't sound overly convincing. Explaining the wiles of Sith Alchemists didn't feel like appropriate conversation at that moment, at least not near a market street on shady Terminus. The last time she was in the Outer Rim was with the Kathol Outback, back then a small band of people with a common cause. She never found out what had happened to the movement, unless it had became part of this new "OPA?" It was a fine question to ask at the right time.

Her eyes brightened at the offer and she leaned forward in the undersized chair, "You mean it? I mean sure I'd be thrilled to get a job, and be more'n willin' to work on ya ship," A slight pause as she thought, "As for them OPA people… What is it that they-- well, you stand for?"

Rook's finger lightly tapped the last bite of her gambling prize. Her voice had gone low, "What's your policy on uh, those Jedi and Si..." It felt cursed, just their name alone tasted bitter in the mouth, "and their enemies?"

 

[Eldin Daine]

He gave her a bit of a long sideways look, not overly convinced she was telling the truth, but he suspected any criminal activity the girl had done, was most like done out of survival rather than being a part of any gang or serious crime. He was not interested in petty crime, the Judges always had bigger fish to fry in that regard.

“Yeah I mean it”, he grinned, “I could do with the company on the long trips, talking to myself get dull very quickly”. Although he did more sleeping than talking.

“Well”, he had to think, “The OPA just wanna live and let live, but we do keep an eye on illegal activities in our borders, ya know like slavers and pirates .. that sort of thing”.

“OPA has its own Jedi Enclave, I dunno much about ‘em though. As for Sith, dunno much about ‘em either but I know the high ups don’t like ‘em much. Mostly those Sith Empire mob”. Quite frankly, Eldin preferred to keep out of all that political stuff, his goal was to help try and keep people save and maintain their rights to justice, that was mostly what the Judges were all about.

He stood up, and brushed down his trousers, “Come on .. time to get back to my ship, need to make some preparation before getting back to Bespin”. And he could find out just how good or bad the girl was with ships. It did not really matter, the girl simply needed a break in her luck.


Rook Heimdal