Hyperspace is a Blast

[Minna Balin]

Minna wasn't a thief.

Really, she wasn't.

But when she saw the fizzy drinks in the fridge, she looked left, right, and palmed it quickly. She knew they were [member="Loreena Arenais"]' drinks, and she felt a bead of guilt lodge itself in her gut for taking one, but she dispersed it quickly.

I'll pay Lori back. Promise.

The small hunter took her bounty through the corridors of the Jaster's Sparrow careful to watch her footsteps as she passed the living quarters. As far as she knew, Lori was the one watching the ship all night, and Minna would hate to be the one to wake her up. She knew she didn't want to face the wrath of a princess.

But now, it was her turn to watch the cockpit, make sure they didn't get stuck in any gravity wells along the way, or repair any unforeseen damage. As if there would be any issues along the way. Modern hyperdrives rarely malfunctioned, and Minna severely doubted that the space lane they were traveling would have any action.

She wasn't wearing her armor, instead dressed in a simple black tank top and pants. Her hair was a halo of messy brown locks, she really needed to comb that soon. With a happy chuckle, Minna hopped over the seat, and popped open the fizzy drink, taking a large swig.

It wasn't Sapir tea, but it would suffice.

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

Man, this journey felt long. Why did the job have to be so far out in the Galaxy?

The ship wasn't the biggest, there was little to do, and some of the now-crowded crew were sleeping. Some of them had been up the previous night, taking care that hyper-space trip went smoothly, and were now sleeping, and some were just minding their own business. But Gray was doing neither. Mostly since he woke up, he had just got something to eat, and sat in the cargo hold and read an article on his datapad.

But that quickly got boring. There was only so long you could read about how to clean a blaster, before you got fed up With it. What more can one do here, he thought to himself. He had been on many Journeys With the Jaster's Sparrow now, but most of them had taken significantly less time, and not needed that the crew took shifts on minding the hyper-drive and sleeping.

After considering his alternatives, and getting bored of doing that, he decided to go up to the upper deck and see if there was anything more to do there. Or at least someone to talk to. He got up, but left his hat lying on the seat beside the one he had sat on. Other than the hat, which had only worn at the start, he was only wearing a black shirt and a pair of Brown pants, held up by his belt With his guns in.

Upstairs, he couldn't see anyone either. Those not sleeping were probably lying in bed, Reading or watching holovids. "I wish I had brought some holovids, myself," he said silently to himself. It could give some Entertainment, at least. He walked through the short hall over to the cockpit, to see who was taking the shift now. And it seemed that was [member="Minna Balin"], Lori's old friend. Gray and her hadn't got the best first impression of each other, when he had accused her of… standing by the ship. In retrospect, it seemed quite silly. Maybe now could be a good time to right that mistake. But not make it too obvious that it was what he was doing.

"You know those are Lori's drinks, right?" he opened With, but saying it in an easy tone, and giving a small laugh to show it was a joke. He sat Down on the co-pilots Chair, facign her. "So, you're the one havign watch this shift, huh? Fun." He leant back in the Chair, and put his legs up in the metal plate over the Dashboard. "Don't think it really is needed, but can't hurt to be safe, right?"

 

[Minna Balin]

Minna pulled the bottle away from her face just as the smuggler entered the cockpit, planting himself in the copilot seat. Minna grinned sardonically, and placed the bottle on the dashboard with a deliberate slowness. "Drink? What drink? I don't see a drink," she commented, looking at the drink. Then, she shifted her eyes to the man, keeping her smile.

"Hey, Gray. Yeah, My shift." Minna mimicked the motion of kicking her feet up on the dash, careful not to knock over her fizzy prize. "Not exactly the most exciting time, but I'll manage."

A single eyebrow was raised in Gray's direction at his last comment. "Yeah, 'don't think it really is needed' is what someone says just before their hyperdrive goes on the fritz and drops 'em in a black hole." Despite the bombast, Minna was cautious in a lot of ways. She didn't take unnecessary risks. Not taking a shift would be an unnecessary risk she wasn't about to take.

"Glad to have you here, though." Gray and her hadn't quite had the most inspiring beginning. She may have embarassed him in front of, well, everyone. She wanted to know how he felt about it.

"Having someone to talk to helps."

"What brings you up here? Making sure I don't stand in the wrong place?" She couldn't resist aggravating that wound. For old time's sake.

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

"Well, I can't say Ive heard anyone complain that their lack of caution pulled them into a black hole while in hyperspace," Gray replied jokingly. It is true, what Minna said. It is smart to keep watch over the hyper-space travel, just to be safe. Though the only Place that really was vital to do was in Wild Space. These parts were charted, so the chance of flying into a black hole when you had entered the right coordinates was slim.

He laughed at her comment on him makung sure she wasn't standign in the wrong Place. She had embarrased him a bit when they first met, and he had wrongly accused her, but he didn't think of it too seriously. Or, tried to at least. He had just been a bit over-protective of the ship. "No, no, I'm not here to Control anyone. But truth be told, you were in the wrong Place, when you took that drink." He smiled jokingly to her.

"No, the reason I'm here is, well there ain't much to do on this ship. Some of the others are sleeping, others are Reading or watching holo-vids in their bunks." That is what he thought they were doing, at least. "Knew there would be someone up here I come and annoy."

"So, Minna, been meaning to ask, How do you and Lori know each other? I don't think she's mentioned you, not that I can remember, anyway. She hasn't really told much about her life before or beside her adventures With this ship and the crew. Can't blame her, though." With her Family, it was very understandable that she didn't og around shouting everything about herself. And Gray knew that well himself. Which was the reason he often chose to not tell his last-name to anyone he didn't trust. Even if no-one remembered that name, he himself didn't like to hear it.

But he had one more question. One that had gnawed on him more than how she knew Lori. "And one more thing, what's the deal With Your title, 'the Fish'? How did you come up With it?" It was a strange title. Could it represent something? Where did it come from? Hopefully, Gray would get the answer soon.

[member="Minna Balin"]

 

[Minna Balin]

Of course, Minna knew he wasn't some crazy control-freak. She doubted Lori would suffer anyone like that for long. The young Arenais was a free spirit, the Sparrow and the crew she kept were evidence enough of that. Minna was as well, to a certain extent. She depended on her dad, of course, but he was really her only tether to anywhere.

"Not annoying me yet," Minna noted, the same humor in her tone. "You'll have to try harder."

Then he asked her two very interesting questions. Her relationship with Loreena, and her title. The reason for the first was obvious; he was trying to get a read on how much she knew, of how much he could divulge. It was smart. There were plenty of people who would pay a pretty penny to have Lori captured.

"I've known Loreena since before she was born." Minna stared out into hyperspace, studying every streaking star line. "My father and her mother are friends, have been for a long time. Long time ago, Aunt Kay was captured while she was pregnant with her and Caed." Minna barely knew [member="Caedyn Arenais"]. She would have to change that sometime. Maybe that 'Lady Kay Likeability' was hereditary. "I flew my dad's ship while he rescued her. Ever since then, we've been buds. We go shooting sometimes, training, y'know, girl stuff."

A stiff chuckle escaped her lips, and she began to run her hair through with her fingers, trying to tame the thicket of curling brown. "Never anything like this, though. Can't wait to see the... you know..." With one hand, she pulled an imaginary lightsaber from her belt, and activated it with a zhoom from her mouth. "... In action."

"Your second question's a lot easier." Minna went cross-legged as she began to concentrate more on her hair, pulling out a beautiful set of green jade beads. "It was my dad's, a while ago. He passed it on to me when I started bounty hunting. 'The Fish' is a promise. Of growth. Dad goes by 'the Shark' now, so obviously it worked for him. He's one of the big fish. Like me, some day."

I hope.

"My turn." Minna didn't turn her head to face him, but glanced out the corner of her eye. "How did you meet Lori? That's gotta have a story attached to it."

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

A small laugh escaped Gray's mouth at Minna's comment that he wasn't annyoing her yet. "Oh, believe me, when Your shift is over, you'll have regretted those Words."

He listened attentivly to her story of how she knew Lori. Minna didn't seem to be that many years older than Lori, so it was impressive that she had flown her father's ship while he rescued Lori's mother. Gray had heard a bit about Kay Arenais, so it came as no surprise that she had been kidnapped whil pregnant. And it was not the last time she had been. For some reason, she had been the victim of many such Things. There was even a time she was rumored to be dead. Luckily, those rumors turned out to be false.

It was good to hear that Lori had a friend she did 'girl stuff' With. Going shooting is fun, even for Girls. You only have to be interested in it. Gray grinned when Minna pretended to use a lightsaber. Truth be told, he had done it himself when he was younger, too. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't recall having seen Lori use her lightsaber in a fight yet. "You've certainly known her for a long time."

The answer to his Next question was just as interesting. Inheriting her title from her father, whom now went by the title 'the Shark'. It sounded familiar. Gray had met one who went by the title 'the Shark' once before, on a job With Bounty Hunters. But that man couldn't be her father. He had been a Herglic. It was not possible. "I met a man once, bearing the title the Shark. But I'm sure we're not talking about the same man."

Then came the question he had expected: how he knew Lori. "That story is by far not as good as Yours. I was on Commenor, shortly after the invasion had ended. I was there to get away from someone I might have angered in the Outer Rim, and Commenor seemed like a good Place to hide. I learned that Lori was needing People for a job of rescuing some important Commenori People, and met With her in a park. I was suspicious of her then, but agreed to the job. From then on, I have been a part of her crew. Of the People on the ship now, I think I have been here the longest. She has kind of become like a little sister to me."

"But anyway, what have you been up to in the Galaxy lately? Any axciting bounties you've collected?"

[member="Minna Balin"]

 

[Minna Balin]

Minna turned her head at the challenge, the glint of something savage behind her eyes. "We'll see." If anything, she'd be the one to scare him off.

As Minna sat there, she began braiding her jade beads into her hair, expert fingers splicing together strings of green, holding the mass of brunette hair back, making her appear a bit more composed. She did it with a fevered practiced cadence, as if trying to hide her bed-head as quickly as possible. Besides Lori, she didn't really have friends. Contacts, sure. Mentors, of course. But talking, just talking, to someone, was a new concept for her.

It was a good concept.

At his musing on her title, Minna could only smile a shark-like grin. It wouldn't be the first time someone doubted she was her father's daughter. Only one bounty hunter called themself 'the Shark'. And that was her Dad. "You'd be surprised." She left it at that, finishing with her braids. Her hair was now neatly tied into a ponytail, now accented by green, crystal beads.

She leaned back in her seat again, still crossing her legs as she listened to Gray. Once he'd finished, she looked pensive. A little less mischievous. "Commenor's my home planet. Wasn't there for the invasion, but... heard it was bad. Haven't gone back since." She fixed her eyes on him. "I'm glad you met her. You seem dependable. She needs an anchor like that." Minna was learning how to read people. She wasn't perfect yet, but she was getting better. "As an added bonus, I get to talk to you. If you weren't here, I might have to sit through a conversation with Spike McBodyguard back there." She jabbed a thumb behind her, returning to a wolfish smile.

"I don't have any good hunting stories quite yet," she offered, with a shrug. "I'm new at this. Mostly just smugglers and spice dealers. Cleaning up the scum of the galaxy that Jedi don't care to." Minna flinched when she realized what she had said, and who she was talking to. They both had a Jedi as a friend now. She couldn't just go around saying stuff like that. "Sorry."

"My turn." Minna leaned forward, latching on to something she had heard. "You said you angered someone in the Outer Rim. You're also keeping your last name secret, 'Just-Gray'." A laugh like birdsong. "You don't have to tell me who you are, or who got peeved. But... what happened?"

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

Could it be true? That Ghorua the Shark was her father? Gray was quite sure that a Herglic like him could never have a human daughter. By all means, it was giologically impossible. But, there was possible, that he had taken her in, and called her his daughter. It wasn't uncommon for bounty hunters and people like that to do so. Yet, it all seemed very strange. But it didn't seem like Minna wanted to say more, so Gray decided to leave it, too.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you home," he said empathetically, when he heard Commenor had been her home too. "I only came after the invasion was over. Even though it was a victory, I doubt it looked like it used to. But I'm glad I met Lori too." He smiled at her remark on him being an anchor. Sure, he was dependable, but he'd never seen himself as an anchor to her. "Though I'm not sure I'd og so far as to Call myself her anchor. But if needed, I try to protect her."

Gray was glad that he was here to, talkign With Minna. She was more pleasant to talk With than he had first thought she would be. And she was funny, now shown by her remark about 'Spike McBodyguard'. He laughed out loud by that comment. From now on, he would always Call Curtis by the name Spike, and silently laugh when he didn't understand anything.

It didn't hurt when she told him that she mostly hunted smugglers and spice runners, or called them scum. It was true for a lot of them. Especially the spice runners. "No need to apologize. I imagine the smugglers you've taken Down are mostly the low-life who don't own a morale, and are only out to make Money, no matter what? Yeah, I'm not like that. I only take jobs where I know what I'm smuggling, and think it alright. And I try to avoid harming innocents. I can also not do Things to make it harder for other smugglers, due to a code in a Group I occasionally work With. So I'm completly fien With you havign taken Down other smugglers."

Now, she took up a more sensitive part. His last name. It wasn't a big Secret, it was mostly that he didn't like to use it among People he didn't know. Lori, and earlier members of the crew knew it. It was more what it meant to him, his past, that was sensitive. But he could answer the first topic she wondered about: Who he had angered in the Outer Rim. "Well, during the invasion of Commenor, I did some dealings With a couple sith in the Outer Rim. At the time, I didn't know about the invasion, and if I had, I would not have done it. Well, these sith wanted me to do a job, a simple smuggle run of some weapons, they ahd said. I delivered the crates, and they payed me. But right as I was about to leave, they discoered that I had decieved them. When I transported the crates With the 'weapons', I discovered that it wasn't just weapons. They payed me to smuggle slaves, children, to them." He slammed his fist on the Dashboard. "And I hate slavers. So I set them free, and delivered the crates. Things got very hot, very fast when they discovered it, so I fled. I had now discovered that Commenor had repeled a sith attack, so I thought I would be safe from them there. Which turned out to be true"

He leant forward in his Chair, and looked Down. Should he tell her about his name? Lori trusts her, and she looks trustworthy, he thought. At the moment, Lori was the only one on the crew that knew his background, where he came from. But if she trusted Minna, then he could probably too. "Thank you for saying that I don't have to tell who I am, but it is not my name that I want hidden. It is what it represents for me. My last name is Venasir. It probably means nothing to you. It is a long time sinceit did to most. Now, only a few remembers it, and they are not someone I want to know I'm alive. Lori knows the story behind it, ans she is the only one here that does. If you want to know it, I think I can trust you enough to tell you."

[member="Minna Balin"]

 

[Minna Balin]

"The thing about anchors is that they don't have to do anything," Minna said, injecting her voice with earnesty. "You just have to be there."

Minna knew Gray wasn't like the smugglers she hunted down previously. No one like that would stay in Lori's company for long, the Fish was sure of it. She had her own code as well; she only tracked down those that deserved it. The people she bagged deserved it. She was happy to see that the smuggler in her company now was as reserved as her about such things. She relaxed against the seat again, absentmindedly rubbing her arms.

Which stopped when Gray began telling his story.

Minna couldn't stand slavers. So, as a result, she didn't like Sith all that much either. Minna tensed her fists against her side, her lips puckering with distaste, staring out the viewport again. When Gray slammed the dash, the fizzy drink jumped, and the Force called out to Minna. With unnatural reflexes infusing her body, she caught the bottle before it hit the ground, nearly leaping out of her chair. The fizz began to bubble over, and Minna took a sip to lower it again. She shot an embarrassed smile his way.

She would put the bottle on the ground next time.

Minna was about to inject, say something about her own views on the subject, before realizing that Gray was about to speak. The bounty hunter studied the man, head cocked to the side, dark eyes looking for clues to the puzzle that was Gray. She would have to look up Venasir later.

Not for malicious purposes. Minna had been taught that the more you know about a person, and their situation, the better you can accomodate for them. This Venasir could be the son of a Sith, or a nobleman, or something stranger. The more she knew, the more she would understand him, as a person.

"Thanks," Minna started, stuttering her cadence for the first time in the conversation, as if struggling for the right words. "I know how difficult it can be to disclose info like that. Especially to a bounty hunter." There was a slight curve to the side of her mouth, but it was more serious. "That's a lot of trust."

Minna turned in her seat, until she was sideways, facing Gray. She brought her knee up to her chest, and hugged it close, waiting.

"Tell me."

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

Gray leant back in his chair, and sighed. It had been some time since he last had spoken anything of what he was now going to. He had pushed this part of his life to the back of his head for reasons. The betrayal, the person he used to be, what kind of family he came from. His old life was something he didn't want back, and therefore, he tried to not think about it. But it always found a way to creep back.

"I was born 28 years ago to the Balmorran noble Family Venasir," he started. "Back then, my Family was Rich, important and many People knew of us. I was an only-child, and lived there With my parents and their servants, in a huge house in the more lush and Natural Places on Balmorra. My father was a human, and my mother an Echani. He taught me how to use a blaster, and she taught me the echani fighting style. They took good care of me, despite often having the servants do Things With or for me."

"There was especially one servant, a twi'lek woman, who often had the responsibility of looking after me. I grew fond of her, and she was probably the only person I liked better than my parents at the time. But I'll get back to her later."

"I was friends With some other noble born kids at the time. And, well, we were assholes. Picked on those poorer than us, beat others up, treated People like Garbage, especially Our servants." He stopped for a second. "Slaves, not servants. The twi'lek was the only one I wasn't rude to. Anyway, we were stuck-up jerks, who thought we ruled the world because Our perants were Rich assholes who let us do what we wanted."

"But it was when I was 11 the bad Things happened. It still haunts me. I Hutt, and an old friend of my father, betrayed my Family. He had hired Mercenaries to attack Our mansion on night. I was woken by my mother and the twi'lek, and told to follow them to the exit. I had no idea what was happening, but followed. But since I had no idea what was happening, I stopped to look when we saw some of the attackers in a side-corridor. One of the attackers saw me, and tried to shot me, but the twi'lek jumped in the way, and got shot instead. As she died, she said it was her duty to protect me. That was when I began hating slavery, she was killed because she was Our slave."

"Me and my parents got to Our private Shuttle, and got away, but everything suggested we had all been killed. We fled to Nar Shaddaa, where my mother quickly died from the exhaustion. It was then I learned she was carrying what was to goign to be my little sister. My father was completly heartbroken, and became very withdrawn, often only sitting in the corner of whatever Place we stayed at, and did nothing. So it fell to me to get Food and credits for us, mostly by stealing or doing small delivery jobs."

"We never stayed at the same Place there for long. The Mercenaries and the traitor knew we were alive, and were looking for us. For eight years, we managed to avoid them. But one day, I came to the abandoned Apartment, and found my father's corpse on the floor. Shot in the head by the Mercenaries. But before he died, he had written a note for me, telling what had really happened. My father had double-crossed his 'friend', and he was out for revenge. Which he now thought he'd got, by killing my father. They didn't know I was still alive. Next to the note laid this blaster," he picked up his S-5, and spun it aroudn his finger once, "which I used to kill the mercs. I found their ship, killed them, and found out they had sent a Message to the Hutt saying the Venasirs were gone. After that, I took their ship as my own, and left Nar Shaddaa as a New person."

He let out another sigh, and leant forward, resting his head in his hands. "Think that covers the story. After that, I became suspiscous and paranoid of betrayal, and also grew a big hate for slavers. The reason I didn't take a New surname is because it had been many years since the House of Venasir fell, and few People still remembered it. Though I rarely use it when first introducing myself, or in Places With many People." He looked up at Minna. "I swore to not be like the nerf herder I used to be, or the one my father was. As a smuggler, I can choose to be nothing like that."

[member="Minna Balin"]

(OOC: some of this is not consistent With my bio. I wrote it a long time ago, and have made some mental notes about changes as he developed)

 

[Minna Balin]

Minna had expected a response. Of course she did, Gray offered it. But she hadn't expected... that.

Minna listened as dutifully as she could, staring at him with a growing softness. Her perched stance melted, until she leaned over her knees, simply listening, frozen. There was pity in her face, although she doubted Gray would want it. Hunted royalty. Hurt royalty. Alone royalty.

For the second time in their conversation, Minna didn't know what exactly to do. She'd never had a conversation like this. She had no idea what to say. So she reached out, across the aisle, attempting to take his hand. A symbol of assurance. That she had listened, at least, even if she couldn't quite understand. And she spoke.

"I've... never lost anyone, before. At least, not that I know of." Minna's tone was unsure, hesitant, without the theatrics she had displayed thus far. "I was adopted. Don't know where I came from, before Commenor. Before my Dad."

"But I do know something about legacy. I am the Fish, like my father before me. But that doesn't mean I'm Ghorua." She said the name now, a name so very dear to her heart. A name she didn't say lightly. "I'm my own woman. I was raised by him, his stories and lessons impact me, but I'm not him."

She smiled sagely, her eyes a little wet. "We are not our parents. We are not who we were. We are who we are."

"And Mr. Venasir, I like who you are. Despite the road you were forced on to get here."

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

It was hard telling his story, but it felt good once he was done. Now, another soul knew. Knew where he was from, who he had been. Who his parents had been. That he once had been a stuck-up nerf herder. He didn't exactly know how she would react. How did anyone react to a story like this? But it became clear when she reached a hand out and took his hand. Compassion. Not what he had expected, and not what he thought he deserved. But he let her show it.

Now, his suspicions was proven true. Ghorua the Shark was her father. Or, adopted father at least. Ghorua was a good man, from what Gray knew from the one mission they had been on together. "So, it is Ghorua who is Your father," Gray said. "I've met him. He's like you, in a way. But what you said, that you had not lost anyone, is not true. You never knew Your real parents, so they were lost before you got the chance to know them. I at least knew mine, though I found out they had been jerks and assholes after they died."

"But it is true, that we are not Our parents, and I'm glad I'm not them. Had I met them now, I'd probably put a blaster to their face." He chuckled, though he didn't know why. "Keeping slaves, and treating them as shit, cheating on honest deals, thinking they owned their homeplanet."

"We are who we are, yes. I am a smuggler, who hates slavers and travels With scoundrels and theives. If my parents were alive and could see me now, they'd either be very ashamed, or hire me to do some dirty-work."

It came as a shock to Gray when Minna said she liked who he was. Few People had said that to him before. He was a smuggler. Not many thought highly of them. His only real redeeming quality was that he despiced slavers. "Thanks, the Fish. I like who you are too, that you only take bounties on scum like spice-dealers. And honestly, after I learned what my parents had done, I'm glad I was forced to become who I am today. The only Things I would have go different, would be to not have my twi'lek caretaker die, or my mother dying before my sister were born."

"Well, I hink that should be enough sad-story for now. Have Lori told you anything about the job we are hired to do?"

[member="Minna Balin"]

 

[Minna Balin]

Minna furrowed her brow at Gray, consenting that, for the first time, he had annoyed her. Well, maybe he didn't annoy her, but had certainly struck a bad nerve at his comment on her previous family. She shook her head furiously, retreating her hands back to her sides. "My 'real' parents aren't my real parents, Gray. My Dad is my real parent." It was something she had thought about a lot. The one thing that had kept her up at night. "That's that."

She did really want to know who they were. Even as she was angry with them for leaving her. Even as she was glad for the circumstances that led her to her father's arms. She wanted to know their names. Their histories. Where she came from, why they left her, if they were even still alive. Even their faces. And her somewhat dark, musing face betrayed that, despite what she had said, that may not have, in fact, been that.

But she listened to Gray still. And she agreed with all that he'd said, and she quickly pushed her yearning for her family to the back of her mind. "I don't need your validation, Just-Gray, but I'm glad to take it." She gave him a wink, and leaned back in her chair, consenting to the fact that they needed to lighten the mood a little.

"Not much, in all honesty. Or, if she did, I wasn't paying attention all too well..." Minna grinned sheepishly. The new ship's interior had probably distracted her from any explanation Lori had given to the crew.

"It's gotta be pretty dangerous though, right? Dangerous enough to hire a bunch of sketchy people from a spaceport without background checks." She shrugged. Not the way she would have done things, but she trusted Loreena's intuition enough.

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

From the way Minna said it, it sounded to Gray like he had hurt her when he said 'real parents'. Damn, why did I use the Word real, he thought. It had never been his intention to hurt her. Annoy her a little bit, sure, but nothing serious. He had had his biological parents since he was born, so it was hard for him to imagine how she felt towards her adoptive father. But it was true, that Ghorua was her real father, since he had been the one to take the role. In a way, Gray wanted to apologize, but he felt it best to just let this topic rest.

"Well, I don't know much about the mission either," he told her. "But it's big. Bigger than Our earlier jobs, it seems. All I know, is that it is for a Group of Rakata, and it has something to do With a stolen treasure. Don't really know why it would require so many People though, to get back a stolen artifact."

"I honestly don't think Lori knows much more than that herself. Maybe the 'force' told her it would be Dangerous." He rolled his eyes when he said 'the force'. Most of the People that knew him knew that he wasn't a big fan of the force. It had been a bit of a shock when he learned that Lori was a force-user, since they rarely captained ships With crew like the Jaster's Sparrow. And she hadn't seem like either jedi or sith, not in a traditional sense. And she wasn't, in a traditional sense. She didn't og to war over ideologies and different opinions about the force. She wasn't a Complete pacifist like some jedi, a Complete sadist like most sith, or a hypocrite like the jedi that gladly went to war and killed a lot of People.

"When we're on the topic, what is Your opinion of the force?" He had been wondering a bit about her take on it. Most of the Bounty Hunters he knew didn't care much about it, or thought it was just another thing to prepare for, if they were to hunt a force user. So it would be interesting to hear the thoughts of a Bounty hunter who didn't hunt them, and had been a friend of a force user all her life. "I can Count on one hand the number of force-users I like. And some of them, I only hate less than others. I think Lori is the only one I really like."

[member="Minna Balin"]

 

[Minna Balin]

"Rakata?" Minna's eyes widened slightly, processing the new information. She had always heard the Rakata spoken about like legends. An ancient race of hyper-intelligent conquerors, now only a shadow of their former tyranny. Many of the people that knew the stories assumed they were myth. Minna had begun to believe they were nothing but stories as well. "That's... different. Wonder if they're anything like the stories say."

Gray's ridicule of the Force wasn't lost on Minna. She saw the rolled eyes, heard the haughty voice. She couldn't blame him for his attitude. She had a similar one. The only difference was she was connected to the stuff. Not proficient in it, not classically trained, but it was there.

Didn't mean he had to know about it yet, though. It would make for quite the surprise.

"I don't know," she said, truthfully, turning her eyes back to the viewport. "I mean, it's a natural phenomenon, right? Like gravity. Laws of Thermodynamics. All that stuff. I don't have a problem with gravity, or heat, so I don't have one with the Force."

"It's the people that use it wrong that I've got a problem with. Destroying planets. Leading armies against the defenseless." Minna had lived in First Order territory nearly all her life. She knew a thing or two about Force Users abusing their power.

"Why? You got a problem with the Force?" The mocking tone in her voice was light, joking, masking the fact that she was probing deeper.

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

Natural phenomenon? Was it really, or was it fabricated at some point? What proof was there that the force really was Natural? And why could only some use the force? Gray had heard jedi say that the force was everywhere, and in everyone, and that the force had a plan for everyone. Well, it certainly didn't seem like that very often.

"In a way, Yeah," he answered. "But the reason for that ain't got anything to do With any particular events from my past. My main problem With it, is the way it is used. Both by the jedi and sith." Neither was much better than the other, though the jedi at least didn't corrupt Things to be evil.

He leant back in his Chair, and folded his hands, in preperation to tell how he understood the force-users. "The jedi claim to use the force to do good, right? And sometimes they do. But they also use it to get Things their way, use their influence to get to what they want, and of course, the war. Throughout all history, the jedi have fought the sith, With periods where either one of the factions were gone, or they had a fragile Peace. But it alwys continued."

"And the sith, well, the only good thing they can do is to keep People in their Place, give stability. Other than that, nothing. They use the force to torture People, get Power, which the abuse. They think they can do whatever they want, because they can use the force."

He took a small pause. "And as I said, the war between those two factions have been ongoing through all time. They always have to fight each other, because they think the force should be used differently. And neither side ever does much to end the war, other than by annihilating the enemy. So the jedi aren't much better than the sith. The sith uses evil to corrupt end influence, while the jedi use their 'light side' to corrupt. Can't they just let Things be how they are."

He didn't have a personal reason for thinking this. It was mostly because he had seen, and read, how the jedi and sith behave. The WARs they had been having through the times had taken it's toll on the Whole Galaxy. Taris had at one point been completly bomabrded and become a wasteland, almost the same happened to Telos. And the planet Gray had only read about called Alderaan had been obliterated from the Galaxy. All this because of the force-users

[member="Minna Balin"]

 

[Minna Balin]

Minna listened, already growing a sly grin. This was going to get into debate territory fast. Which she didn't mind. She often got to spar with her body, much less so with her mind. It would be a refreshing change.

"That's not the Force," she said, matter-of-factly. "That's politics."

"Sounds to me like you don't have a problem with the Force at all. Just the war. Between the Light and Dark, or whatever." Minna, even as a Force-Wielder herself, didn't know much about that duality. Perhaps she would have to ask [member="Xos"] about it sometime.

"Personally, I like Jedi. Even if the Order's contradictory and hypocritical. Because despite prescribing to a peaceful religion, when they see injustice, they do something about it." Minna's thoughts on the subject became clearer the more she spoke, as if she were discovering it herself.

"If they didn't fight, if the Jedi 'let things be', where would we be now? Probably under the boot of the Sith, or the First Order." Minna wasn't smiling anymore. "And while I don't like war either, I prefer it to the alternative."

She took a sip of her drink, pensive. Before she had started this conversation, she'd had a very different view on the Jedi. But the more she thought about it, the more necessary they seemed in her mind. "Someone's gotta step up to the bully. If that's the Silvers, or the Coalition, or the Alliance, or whatever, I don't care. As long as someone does it."

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

She didn't understand like Gray did. It could seem like politics, but would those politics be there if not for the force? Sure, the republic had been around and participated in wars for a major part of galactic history, but none of their wars could compare to those that had been between the jedi and sith. Gray wouldn't claim to be a big historian, but he knew the main events. Events like the jedi civil war, where the republic was nearly destroyed because of the sith Malak, who had been a jedi. Or the war 300 years after, when the sith Empire invaded the republic, and then the Eternal Empire conquered the known galaxy. All led by force-users. And he didn't even want to think about the fact that the jedi betrayed the republic, which led to it becoming the Galactic Empire.

"Yeah, I hate the war, even if it barely effects me. But my point is that most of the major WARs that has happened has been between or because of force-users." Most People like him only cared if it meant bad businesss for them. But Gray had seen what the war did to People. Nar Shaddaa was still full of the descendants of refugees that came to the moon centuries ago. And it was not a pretty sight.

"I'm not against the jedi order for seekign to stop injustice, but for being hypocritical. They wage war, and seek to annihilate the sith, right? And yet, they Call themselves peace-keepers. I wager few peace-keepers would seek to annihilate another People, or in this case, religion."

What Gray was thinking now would be hard to explain in a proper way. "Wasn't some of the greatest sith in history jedi, who felt the order had betrayed or failed them? I think I've also heard of civillians joining the sith because the jedi prioriticed other Things over their world." This was the best way he found to say it, though he had more on his mind.

"At least the Coalition isn't ruled by religious force-users." He knew there were force-users in the coalition. Heck, he was even friends With some of them. But they didn't act like the jedi or sith. They didn't try to justify themselves With the force.

"One of the few jedi throughout history that I can respect was Revan. He did what was nesccesary at the time, and saved the Republic from the threat, without destroying the enemy's People. HE just shouldn't have gone to the dark side."

[member="Minna Balin"]

 

[Minna Balin]

Wow, that's deep-seated.

Minna watched Gray, studying his body-language more than his words, although she did listen to them as well. Maybe she wouldn't tell him her little secret after all.

"I'm gonna be honest, Gray, I don't know much about ancient history." She tucked her legs up again, almost defensively protecting herself. "I do know that the Jedi Order today is nothing like it was before the Darkness."

"They care about people. All you have to do is turn on the holonet, and you see rebuilding projects, or holding galas. Of course, they prioritize strategic positions, because if they didn't, then the entire galaxy becomes enslaved to the Sith." Minna debated what to say next. What she needed to know was where this vitriol was coming from.

"If the Sith stopped fighting, then the Jedi would to. We see that, with the Confederacy. That's led by a Sith Lord, but they're on pretty good terms with the rest of the galaxy. But if Jedi stop fighting, what happens then?" She needed to know more.

"What do you see as a perfect galaxy, Gray?"

- [member="Gray Venasir"] -

 

[Gray Venasir]

A Perfect Galaxy?

What did Gray's Perfect Galaxy look like, he wondered. He hadn't thought much about how he would Picture the ideal Galaxy, instead thinking about how much kark was in the one they lived in now. In it was a lot of kark in it.

Some of what Minna said was true. The jedi order now was different from the one that were before the Darkness. Back then, it was usually backed by the Republic, while now it was it's own organization. And the Confederacy is lead by a sith, and they aren't on hostile terms With the Silvers. He had even heard of them helping each other from time to time. So Things were better now than they used to be, but the force still played a major role in the big WARs that were waged.

"A Perfect Galaxy?" he said, scratching his chin With his left hand, and looking out the front-window at the hyperspace travelling. "Well for starters, no slaves or slavers. Everyone would be free. Secondly, no differing in the force religions. It would be one religion where they used the light and dark, or what they Call it, equally."

He looked back at her, to see if she gave any reaction. "I also think I'd remove the hutts, at least the brutal crime-lords who use People." Many smugglers worked for Hutts because they payed well, but they usually paid to keep all their illegal dealings off the radar. And the Hutts were Notorious slave users.

The last thing he could think of that he'd remove was a bit unusual. He sat and thought about it for some time, before deciding he was sure about it. "Lastly, I'd take away all the giant metropolis worlds, like Coruscant. Never liked them, and in my experience, they mostly bring suffering to People.

"But what about you, how would Your Perfect Galaxy look like?"

[member="Minna Balin"]