Life's a Struggle

[Caid Centurion]

Sullust
OmegaPyre Trade Station

Silver-green eyes stared blankly at the out-of-place Weequay merchant presently attempting to swindle the dark-skinned Dathomir native out of his requisite fee. "Are you fething kidding me? Are you not seeing what this is?"

The Weequay grumbled loudly. "Nobody just sells a Krayt Pearl. Do I look like a complete fool to you? This is obviously fake."

Caid gripped the top of the counter hard, allowing his frustration to seep out into the Force just enough to warp the steel surface slightly. The effect had either gone unnoticed by Caid, or he simply did not care. "People that need credits damn sure do. You know perfectly well how expensive it's getting to maintain vessels out here these days? Not to mention there seems to be a new Imperial government erecting somewhere every week, delighting in enforcing some sort of BS no-fly zone...as if they can own space. Also, no, you don't look like a complete fool." Caid paused for a moment. "You just look extremely ugly."

The Weequay...obviously did not like Caid's comment.

Just as the Weequay was about to give physical action to his distaste, Caid leveled a blaster directly at the merchant's eyes. "Cool it, ruffles. You take your work too seriously. You don't want to make a deal? Fine." With his free hand, Caid collected the pearl and placed it back into the duffel bag slung across his body. "Get some lotion for those cracks." The rogue smiled thinly before holstering his weapon and stepping away from the booth. Caid had no 'feeling' that the Weequay had elected to give chase, but he wasn't exactly concerned about it.

Everyone just wanted to make some money.

[member="Nubica Felidae"]

 

[Nubica Felidae]

Nubica did not spend a lot of time on Sullust. In part because the main reason she should be there was to be at the Jedi Academy — and she was not the studious kind.

And the other reason? The planet itself. It was mountainous, volcanic, full of deserts and caves. The entire surface was covered in magma.

And the atmosphere of Sullust was barely breathable, with hot and thick clouds of toxic gases released in volcanic eruptions rendering the planet's surface lethal for sustained habitation and uncomfortable for short visits.

Then there were atmospheric blackouts that occurred on a regular basis due to the volume of smoky ash. And the surface was also dangerously volatile; eruptions occurred frequently. Most of the opaque substances ejected by the volcanoes remained in the upper atmosphere while heavier gases flowed back down, resulting in high surface visibility and noxious surface air.

So a lot of time was spent underground.

But she was on Sullust. Not to visit the Acdemy, but to pick up some supplies from the OmegaPyre Trade Station. The volume of undercover work she’d been doing had necessitated purchasing all manner of items to ensure she had a workable cover — or had a particular need. And she hankered after a decent holdout blaster.

As she entered the store, she could have cut the atmosphere with her saber. A somewhat cross human was exiting and the store owner — an angry looking Weequay was clearly weighing up options — and none of them were friendly.

She smiled at the man as he holstered his weapon. “It’s a big planet but not so big a market-place. I can think of only one other store if you’ve been unable to work out a trade to your liking. Which, from both of your faces, I can surmise was the outcome.”

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid's silver-green eyes immediately focused on the woman that had suddenly spoken to him. He didn't have to listen to the ever-present whispering of the Force to know what the woman was. Permitting himself a slow exhale, Caid briefly cast his gaze towards the ceiling. Why was it impossible to escape force users no matter where he went. Truth be told, it was a bit of a ridiculous point of view for him to have. The composition of his genetics had made him aware of the reality and presence of the Force. Those same genetics, however, granted him the stubbornness to believe he could simply will the Force's existence away.

Also...the temper. While that could not be exclusively blamed on genetics, growing up on a planet that thought of men mostly as second-class citizens with an absent father that most people on the planet detested for one well-founded reason or another certainly could be blamed. There were times when Caid wondered if Cameron hadn't forced him into such a situation on perhaps, hoping that he would succumb completely to his anger. It sounded like precisely the kind of scheme the man was known for in various circles.

Cameron Centurion did not, however, count on Caid forcing himself to rise above the circumstances of his life. He would be no pawn in that man's game.

Lowering his gaze back to [member="Nubica Felidae"], Caid managed a neutral expression and a subtle nod of the head. "My hope that this system holds anything of use to me is fleeting but...lead on, Jedi."

 

[Nubica Felidae]

“Lead on?” She smiled. It was a playful curl of the lips. “Who said anything about showing you where it is? I’m a Jedi, not a Girl Scout. I don’t need my, ‘helping an awkward man to find a store’ badge.”

She checked her sleeve as if for proof. “OK, I don’t have that one, but it doesn’t mean I’m looking for it either.”

She glanced around the shop. She’d come here first because it was closest. But a cursory glance showed her nothing she hadn’t seen last time she was here — and traders like these tended to put new merchandise front and centre.

“But seeing as the owner is giving me a rather old-fashioned stare, I think I’ll take my business elsewhere.”

“So,” she said, facing the man, “I’m not taking you. Let’s get that clear. But you’re welcome to follow me. And talk. You can talk to me too.”

“Now,” she said as they left the shop and turned left, “You seeing anyone professionally about that temper of yours?” Her eyes betrayed the humour of her question — to her at any rate.

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid wasn't really one to laugh a lot...at least not in the sense of finding things to be actually amusing. However, [member="Nubica Felidae"] seemed to be breaking the mold with a surprising amount of ease. Not the girl scout comment...that sounded like a pretty terrible, forced joke to Caid.

Perhaps it was her free spirit that he, for the moment, appreciated. Part of it made him wonder exactly how well she fit in with...any Jedi Order. His interactions with Jedi had been, well, purposefully limited. [member="Kiskla Grayson"] had been his own real inagural experience, and she'd turned out to be little more than a bratty, self-important child completely ignorant of everyone around her that wasn't serving a specific purpose in her life. Yet still, clearly, that was just him seeing as how people seemed to love her, speaking of her in hushed tones like she was some kind of prodigal daughter come to deliver them all from evil.

You know...until she got herself captured and then dropped off the grid.

Raising his hands innocently, Caid smirked as he followed Nubica. "You just assumed a lot from two words, but if you insist on me following you and talking to you, I suppose I can acquiesce to your request. Just don't think this means anything...we only just met."

Lowering his hands, Caid arched a curious brow at Nubica's next statement. "Temper?" Jerking a thumb back in the direction they just left, Caid offered Nubica a somewhat incredulous expression. "You mean my interaction with ridges back there?" Almost immediately, Caid's expression neutralized and he merely offered a roguish grin. "That wasn't temper. I was explaining the folly of his point of view and pointing out that I thought he was ugly. Really I was just being honest with the man."

 

[Nubica Felidae]

Nubica chuckled. “Facts are facts I guess. I mean, he he pretty ugly. I mean, his mother might love him — but outside his species, he’d never be regarded as a looker, eh?”

She was older than her years. In part because of the life she’d led. But most inhabitants of the galaxy were like that. Only the privileged were able to cosset themselves from reality. Jedi and the poor had a lot on common. Hardship was a strong link between them.

“And I may presume quite a bit — but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong, now does it?”

“But honesty and being entirely frank? Not entirely the same thing. But such is life, eh?” She glanced around as they walked. “Not precisely a tourist trap. What brings you here? I mean, choice or duty?”

[member="Caid Centurion"]