Madrugada

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, 'The Spaceport', 09:00 AM Local Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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She didn't need to read his mind to get a vague idea of what that look meant. She'd seen it before, and it always left a hollow feeling in her gut. Why, she wasn't sure. Still, Ayessa followed behind to the cockpit with an expression of mild humour at his reply, "Right." A heartbeat passed and she just awkwardly stood in the cockpit, observing as he operated the foreign-yet-familiar controls.

"Well, while you do that, suppose you can multitask. Where are you from? If we're to work together I think the basics are important." She wasn't sure why she felt the need to defend her question before he'd even protested. Her hip leaned against the console slightly now, far away enough to not be in the immediate way of his flight prep. Her gaze, meanwhile wandered all around the upper echelons of the cockpit, out to the window to the hanger, occasionally back to him, then rinse, repeat.

 

[Rook Lokar]

It was fairly obvious, of all things, where Rook was from. The walk, the talk, the demeanour, all of it, it all screamed Corellian, no? He'd only met a handful of the people once off-world, and they all acted the same. To big for their boots. It may be amusing that Rook can spot a Corellian by those negative traits, but not identify them in himself. His voice became a little strained as he stretched across to the far-side of the dash, "Corellia." Rook's reply was firm and quick, not offering as much as a look in her direction. His eyes glued to controls before him.

Rook let it go quiet, completely enthralled by the process he was undertaking. He had a certain affinity with this kind of technology and it kept him interested most days and most nights. Eventually, though, he'd have to of finished. The seat spun around, facing Ayessa as she asked her a question. "Y'ever been to Nar Shaddaa? If not, well..." His hand reached over, switching one final switch, "Just stick by me." A wink, or was it a twitch. Likely a wink.

Thought himself big and strong, ready to take on it all. Yet, if it truly came down to it it'd be Ayessa saving his hide. Being Jedi and all, of course.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, 'The Spaceport', 09:00 AM Local Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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Likely a wink.

A sharp exhale left her nose then and she quirked a brow, the snake head just above her eyebrow squishing a little comically as a result of the motion, "...No, I've never been. But I'll be sure to do that anyways." Now it made sense. Of course he was Corellian. That sector of space just seemed to spawn men like him, sort of like a nest of gundarks or a hive of particularly attractive, particularly annoying bees.

"Been smuggling long?" Awkwardly, she was starting to run out of relatively neutral questions to ask. Falling back on Jedi interrogation techniques didn't exactly help her here, and most of those were meant to divine direct information. She was a fisher who had no idea what to catch, at the moment, and it was odd.

Meanwhile outside, one could see the gradual lightening of the gloom. Chances were that meant that Kiffu's sun was starting to peep back out after it's sabbatical in the storm.

 

[Rook Lokar]

So, this was the part where they just sat and talked? Waiting around was never desirable, and Rook couldn't stand it. It made his skin crawl, all the boredom. It was great to see that the storm overhead was clearing up, though. If it took another ten minutes he might just run the risk and charge straight through it - Kiffar Authorities or not.

​His face had scrunched up in the thought at the question, leaning further back in his chair as if it were to provide him the answer he was so desperately searching for, "A few years." He'd had his ups and downs, working small time and nothing too fantastic, but now it seemed he'd struck the goldmine with The Exchange. He was just hoping he didn't have to become endebted to the Prince, or Vinon even. Didn't even want to know what a man who called him 'babe' was to do with I'm after finding himself in, what is essentially, possession of Rook.

"How long've you been scavenging?" The dull back and forth, please let this storm clear up soon. His head reared backwards, taking a glimpse at the sky. Any moment now.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, 'The Spaceport', 09:00 AM Local Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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A few days. "A few months." She replied, matching his energy. Before she could take her turn for the question-go-around a communique appeared on the ship's sensors, a bulletin from port authorities that the storm had dissolved enough to make flight safe. Free at last. No doubt the sound of repulsor lifts firing would be deafening in the hanger as everyone made the same decision to bolt. The questions weren't a terrible way for her, at least, to pass the time. She could spend it by literally rifling around his mind, but that wasn't exactly kosher. Alternatively, she could peruse the ship with the aid of her natural telemetry, read into who exactly had been owning it in perfect disguise. Yet all roads led to the same conclusion, that it simply was not good form on her part. Tragic.

Clearing her throat after eyeing the message and considering her options, Ayessa pressed on with the questioning, "Didn't sound like you had any other crewmembers before. Just yourself for those years?"

 

[Rook Lokar]

His attention was completely diverted from Ayessa once that alert came through. His youthful eyes rapidly rushed over it, absorbing enough of the words that it was coherent and got across it's point. Let's hope he didn't misread any of it. The seat in which Rook sat pivoted to face the dash, and his hands ran rampant over the controls in a controlled yet chaotic fashion. He knew what he was doing, even if it didn't look like it.

"Strap in." Rook demanded in a moment of frantic movements. "Everyone'll be on their way out, we'll be here for hours if we don't leave now." Starship traffic wasn't pleasurable, especially when a lightning storm was only here moments ago.

​The YT-1500 began to ascend, hovering off of the ground whilst the landing gear retracted inwards. The thunderous roar of the engines and thrusters kicked in as Rook raced off into the stars. A smaller freighter peeled off to the side in a moment of panic as the young Smuggler cut directly into his flight path, narrowly avoiding a potentially lethal collision. Corellian, all right.

​"Uhm, erh, not really. Nobody permanent, that is." Maybe she could see why now. From now on, though, it was smooth sailing to Nar Shaddaa. At least there was that.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, 'The Spaceport', 09:00 AM Local Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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Before he even shut his mouth Ayessa was in the copilot's seat, clipping in.

I have a really bad feeling about this.

Whatever Force-driven impulse had led her to think that, had been right. The Kiffar audibly yelped as their corvette skid past the smaller ship narrowly, and without thinking she snapped, "Did your mother never teach you to not cut in line? We almost hit them!"

Maybe that was the wrong thing to say. Still, she'd been slightly shaken but definitely awoken by the near-miss, focusing on slowing her heart before it hammered out of her chest. Cycling through a couple of meditation exercises she could recall learning as a youngling, she finally opened her eyes to gaze back out at stars, before looking over to Rook.

 

[Rook Lokar]

​An odd chuckle escaped him. Rook bounced up and down with each moment of improper laughter. That was, however, how some people got through the more trying times. Rook? He just enjoyed the thrill, and sooner or later something like that was bound to happen again. Whether Ayessa liked it or not, but it was made aware it was the latter. The Jedi, who he didn't know what a Jedi, didn't enjoy it. Even the yelp amused him.

"Uh, no." A smirk slapped across his face, glancing in Ayessa's direction before back to the stars ahead of him. "We're fine, don't worry."

The Smuggler's hands went back to work, pressing everything he can to get the hyperdrive in function, plotting a course to Nar Shaddaa. "Press that one over there, will ya'." He asks, pointing in the direction of a button on Ayessa's side of the console. If she couldn't fly, she'd have to learn to soon. If Rook needed anything, it was a co-pilot.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, 'The Spaceport', 09:00 AM Local Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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Quickly, her hand snaked out and fingers rapped the button, not keen to find out what happens if she didn't. We're fine, don't worry. Why did that, just upon hearing it, make a small bloom of anxiety form in her chest? Great start.

Still, a held breathe freed itself from her lungs and she leaned back in the chair, clearly climatizing now. On occasion, her gaze wandered backwards, as if she could see through the ship back to the planet they were leaving. There was no misery on her face, at least, that was visible, perhaps there just weren't any regrets.

"How long will the jump take?" Kiffu was an Inner Rim planet and, if she recalled correctly, Nar Shaddaa was probably Outer Rim. Chances were they'd be idle for a while. She didn't do well with idleness anymore.

 

[Rook Lokar]

Thought he'd answered this question earlier or at least something similar? No, maybe, yes? Doesn't matter, it was easy to answer with the same language he had before. Maybe he'd just frightened that memory from Ayessa. Not likely, someone such as herself had been through worse, surely.

"A while." Rook mentioned, his index finger pressing down on a button that made everything go... weird. White streaks washed over the viewport of the cockpit, and it became elongated for just a moment. Soon enough, the odd g's they felt against them were gone and they were within this wormhole. A blue tube, mystical in it's appearance. "We've got plenty of time to kill." He somehow found some comfort in her discomfort. Always the agitator.

"Best find yourself something to keep busy with." Rook stated as he shifted from his seat, moving further into the rest of the ship. He knew the best way to keep busy, and the helm could be left to itself. It was a safe course, or so he believed. Wherever he was going, Ayessa would have to go and see for herself.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, 'The Spaceport', 09:00 AM Local Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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Still a while. Nothing new there. Ayessa leaned back in the copilot chair, the way she sat making it appears as though she'd been in that chair her whole life.

Something to keep busy with. Hm. She could find a quiet corner and meditate, which would probably earn his ire and curiosity, so maybe not that. She could bother him, which would probably earn his ire but keep her somewhat amused, which definitely didn't feel like the Jedi decision but the fun way out. Or she could just follow wherever the feth he was going, and see what happened from there.

The last one seemed like a good jumping off point. Spinning in the copilot's chair, the Kiffar watched at first as he moved away, only standing to follow once she was sure he wouldn't outwardly notice. Thankfully, her footfalls were silent against the flooring of the ship. Technically, she wasn't even intending to sneak, but, well, here she was, just naturally creeping along. Maybe he'd behave differently if he wasn't fully aware she was there.

 

[Rook Lokar]

Considering where he was headed? Rook didn't exactly mind if she followed along, might even go as far to say that he'd prefer it. Although, she might change her mind at the instant of finding out. He wasn't going to say anything, warn Ayessa in any way, or something of the sort. Just let it flow, and see where it goes from there.

The last thing Ayessa would see of Rook his hands running slowly through his hair, scratching at the contracting of his fingers. Almost as if he was intent on getting the dirt, sand, anything else out of there. Then, however, he rounded a corner.

Next thing that came from there was water running, that of a shower. Might see why he wasn't too fussed if she rounded the corner and entered the room. Suppose Ayessa was right when she called him a Scoundrel after all.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Kiffu, 'The Spaceport', 09:00 AM Local Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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Meditation it was! It took a bit to knock the Jedi off guard but that certainly did it, and she'd never turned around so fast in her life. Her face was an amusing inferno of blood-rushed skin as she fumbled off, her mind running a few miles per hour -- Certainly, a sight Rook would have enjoyed if he hadn't been otherwise occupied. That was close. Of course, it went like that, too. Damn Corellians.

This did, however, give her as good a chance as any to scout out the ship's interior for herself, without supervision, find a good place to realign herself despite the universe's attempts to give her a good run for her non-existent credits.

She settled on sitting atop a crate. Who knew what actually in it-- Ayessa didn't want to think about that, actually --but it served its purpose. Crossing her legs like she had oh-so-many times, her hands resting plainly atop her thighs, a long sigh left her body and her troubles with it.

So what if he was a bastard? She'd handled worse. Hell, she might even be enjoying herself. Just a little.

 

[Rook Lokar]

A smirk stretched across Rook's lips as he'd felt the water run down his face, the hair on his head falling from it's position and over his forehead, but it was hearing the flurried pitter-patter of footsteps shifting away from the bathroom that amused him most. Disappointed? Hardly, he didn't expect someone to just join right in. Would've been thrilled, but maybe he was glad she didn't? It really showed the kind of woman she was, and in any case, it meant ht he Adams encasing to do. Everyone loves a challenge, but Rook more than most. Especially in this regard. There was no real reason to other than that he could, and so now he would.

Ayessa was bound to find that the YT-1500 was kept surprisingly clean. After all, it was his pride and joy. He respected a clean living space too. There was a dejarik board adjacent two booth seats, crates stacked neatly in the corner that she sat. Everything else was rather plain, exactly what you'd expect on a smuggler's ship. If her psychometry kicked in, she'd see the tales that this ship had endured. Under multiple owners, each of the same breed with differing morals. The last owner? Some hot shot racer who led a life of tragedy that claimed him in the end.

Such is life.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Open Space, Rook's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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Such is life, indeed.

The psychometry would doubtlessly come later, but for now, Ayessa simply let her senses expand. She sensed his turbulent emotions to her walking off, which led to a smile that was halfway to a grimace. She sensed the planet she was leaving, the homeworld she was meant to love deeply but felt nothing but a desire to have a desire for it. Beyond that, beyond this speck of a vessel, things were cloudy. Ever-shifting, changing, like the duney landscape of Kiffu, and it didn't sit right with her one bit. The Dark Side loomed like a hungry spark-dragon and Light rose to meet it, but both felt so different than what she had felt all that time ago. The way that the Order had felt like a sea of life and energy, and how eagerly she had swam in it. How she had drowned when the order had been given.

Any advice?

Nothing came forth. No visions, no imprints of what was to come, not even a sense of it. She hadn't expected it, but it would have been nice, at least. The Force had yet to abandon her, but it was keeping it's distance still, maybe she had to relearn her relationship with it. Troubling to have to do that whilst shacked up with Rook, but, it was what it was. Wishing it was different meant she was wishing she was dead.

Breaking her focus, Ayessa slid to her feet. A hand trailed along the crate, eagerly reading any sense her powers conjured. Most of it was things she already gathered, but it was handy to have nonetheless.

 

[Rook Lokar]

Rook had eventually finished with that shower of his. It was the kind that was way too hot, the kind that burnt your skin, the kind that hurt, but the kind that felt really good. Everyone knew it. At least most people did. Naked beneath the towel wrapped around his waist, he strut outside with his barefoot making that sound they did against a metallic interior. He'd been so used to being alone for so long on this thing, at times he'd spend the majority of it just... well, naked. Nobody could stop him, and he had a knack for breaking social norms for no real reason other than 'rules were made to be broken'. Young, dumb, and full of awful ideas.

"You alright?" Rook asked, his face frowned into some concern or so it seemed. Mistaking her face of concentration for one of worry, if nothing else. It'd hardly seem like a sincere gesture, though. After all, he's standing in a door way with some red, irritated skin from the steaming hot shower and wearing a towel as the last line of defence, if one understood what it meant.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Open Space, Rook's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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Out of all the times for him to ask if she was 'alright', it was now.

Pushing aside the fact he almost certainly was not properly dressed, it was a good question. No, she wasn't, and hadn't been since she was reborn into this galaxy with little direction, guidance, or comfort. She'd find neither of those here, either, which certainly didn't help. But maybe for now, she was at least okay. However long that lasted remained to be seen. Ayessa was merely young, the furthest thing from dumb, and full of regrets.

"Just thinking." Was her delayed reply, which wasn't really a lie, she had been thinking. Withdrawing her hand and cutting off the stem of emotions and memories like how someone would shut off a holo, she finally let her gaze wander over to him and her expression seemed... Less than impressed, "Planning to conquer Nar Shaddaa with a towel?"

 

[Rook Lokar]

"It crossed my mind." Rook rapidly replied, stepping off into a room to his left. It left him within ear-shot, and as he continued to speak was able to be heard rather clearly by Ayessa, "Once or twice." His voice came off a little strained, as if he was occupied with something else in the meantime. That 'something else' was getting changed, placing himself back into clothing that appeared rather similar in design to what he had on early. Suppose his type all had the same kind of clothing, no? Oh well, it hardly mattered.

He stepped back out into the open, fully clothed as the sound of boots against the metallic interior had replaced that of damp flesh. "Y'ever play Dejarik?" The Smuggler asked, bending his elbow as his thumb was brought upwards, pointing in the direction just over his shoulder, seemingly at the Dejarik Table.

There. A change of subject, and tone.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Open Space, Rook's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Rook Lokar"] ~ Trouble
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Dejarik. Dejarik-dejarik-dej-- That was the boardgame's name, wasn't it? If the expression of blankness on her face was any indication, it was clear that she hadn't played before. She'd heard the game's name thrown around before at the Temple, some claiming it to be a Jedi's game, and they partook in it often. But that had never been her style. Training and learning was more her style.

So, she could train and learn the game, which seemed like a fair compromise in her eyes. And it could be a mighty fine distraction, "If you're willing to put up with a few dozen questions about the rules, I'm sure I could handle an attempt at the game if you're fixing to play." Stepping away from the crate, Ayessa crossed her arms casually, in an attempt to appear natural.

 

[Rook Lokar]

Rook cracked a grin across his face because, as it was said earlier, rejection hurts no matter what. Anybody can attest to that surely. His booted feet shuffled across the flooring, walking in the direction of the Dejarik Table and the booths that surrounded it, explaining the rules all the way. They had some complexity to them, but hopefully Ayessa was a quick enough learner if anything else. Jedi typically were, or they had to. Rook didn't really know any of that, though. There wasn't a Jedi that saved him from that life of slavery, maybe they weren't as great as they were all cracked up to be.

"You been scavenging your whole life?" Rook posed the question, maybe as a distraction from the game. He preferred to win, of course. At the time of asking the question he'd moved one of the beginning pieces, it was nothing too special. Just a pawn, or something of the sort.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]