Private Next Stop: Awkward Conversation

[Saul Whesai]

As the hovertrain came to a stop and opened in front of Saul, his tired body sagged in relief. After a long, harrowing hitch coreward bound that had left his bones weary. The Android was on Coruscant, the GA's shining star, though he wasn't impressed by its grandeur. Every city planet looked the same to him; the only thing different was the creatures on the bottom levels. Those were all different variants of "Gonna rip your face off" that brought him joy every time he had to deal with them. Thankfully, he had at least had enough money for a semi-decent motel room this time around.

As Saul dragged his luggage into a car and sat down, he felt a wave of relief wash over him as he was able to sit down for the first time that evening. The Train started to take off into the sky, letting Saul unwind enough to let his body turn into jelly, only half listening as a cheerful announcement came over the intercom. "Now leaving the Courasant Port District. Our next stop will be the Galactic Market District. Thank you for taking the Courasant Sky Train and have a pleasant journey." The groan that came from the Android's mouth showed how enthused he was about their next stop. Being trapped in a tin can with however many shoppers and club patrons coming and going wasn't his idea of a fun time. He could only hope that his final destination wasn't that far down the line.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Saul Whesai

Taking the sky train wasn't Jonyna's normal route, but it was the fastest way to get to where she needed to be. The Reaper had run out of food for once, and Jonyna needed to stock up.

Taking her seat, she couldn't help but notice the android sitting next to her. "Sorry, I know my tail gets in the way." She said in advance. It was a running problem.

 

[Saul Whesai]

Well, he wasn't expecting the tail in his face or to brush elbows with a Jedi. Not that Saul knew it was Jonyna Si at first glance. She looked like any other commenter on the way to do whatever. The Android scooted out of the path of the incoming impact of fluff and put a smile on his tired face as he gave her space. "If I don't mind machine oil, I don't think I'll mind a little tail in my face." And with that, the train took off into the crimson sky, Saul didn't think anymore of the interaction. It was just two people going from place to place to him, till he remembered one holomag cover...

Doing a quick double take, he looked at the Cathar like she was an alien, the urge to blurt out the name of one of the most important people in the galaxy, riding on public transportation of all things. He managed to suppress that urge as he looked around at the other passengers who were too invested in their daily lives to notice, as the thought of Should she be running across roofs right now, trying to stop the bad guys? ran through his head. To Saul, meeting a Jedi was like meeting someone from another plane of existence. Maybe the Jedi are like everybody else...

Trying to be as discreet as he could, the Android took his bag off his shoulder and pulled out a datapad. Quickly popping into the pad's galley and cycling through the images, he found what he wanted. It was the cover of a starship magazine, going over all the new models of commercial ships coming out of the factory. Posing on the cover with the next big pleasure craft on the market was a Cathar woman with a thousand credit smile that looked a lot like the person he was sitting next to now with the title "This Yacht has the Master's seal of approval!". Setting the tablet on his lap in the open, it was a quiet question to Jonyna, asking if she was the same person that had popped up in his mind.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Saul Whesai

Jonyna seemed to just drum her knees for a moment, before pausing as the datapad was set on the-

Oh.

Oh that's...embaressing.

She blushed, nodding. "Yup. That's me. Just needed to go shopping, hope you're not looking for an autograph."

 

[Saul Whesai]

The reaction he got from the Cathar made him regret even asking. After a moment of gears grinding in his brain, the only reply he could come up with was "Thank you for all that you do then. The light of the Jedi usually doesn't reach where I live most of the time... but if the stories I hear are true, you do more good for galaxy then anyone else" Giving a small half smirk, the Android asked "Need another pair of hands for the groceries?" It was a shot in the dark that he was sure the Jedi Master was going to poitely decline but if nothing else, Saul thought he might as well offer. The real challenge would be if he would be able to carry the Jedi's groceries and his own bags at the same time.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Saul Whesai

Jonyna gave the man a soft smile, nodding. "I'd love that. Not everyday I have to restock my ship, but it'd be nice to have an extra pair of hands."

It was kindness like this that reassured Jonyna of her worldview. People are good, they chose to be evil.

 

[Saul Whesai]

Saul tried to hide his surprise when the Jedi accepted his offer. He had expected a polite decline, if anything, but now he was mystified about what to say, settling on a simple "You're welcome..." It was strange helping someone with superpowers who usually would help you. Either way, getting face time with a Jedi Master was worth the price of admission.

As the train neared her station, Saul finally found the confidence to bring words up his throat, trying to keep the conversation moving. "You can ask, you know. About where these come from." Pointing to his eyes, he was giving her verbal green light to ask anything she wanted. He might as well be an open book to someone who could slice him in half. It would be up to her to see how many pages she wanted to flip through.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Saul Whesai

"If you want to tell, sure. I'll ask." Jonyna nodded, shrugging. "I wasn't going to, but ya know. I've seen people with metal arms, metal legs. Eyes are pretty gnarly though. Something happen you might need help with?"

She hadn't expected a conversation on the train about cybernetics, but ya know, in for a credit.

 

[Saul Whesai]

The Android just gave a low chuckle as his two glowing eyes focused on the Jedi Master. "Let's just say I find talking about me easier than trying not annoy you with stupid questions like what were your favorite missions and what's your favorite starship. As for the cybernetics, let's just say they weren't my choice, not a lot was..." That was the easy way to tell her his past was a total nerf show. It wasn't that he would shy away from it if she asked about it directly, but he also didn't need the Cathar to throw up all over the car after hearing it. Seeing the car's various passenger's looking at him like he was some freakshow attraction was awkward enough.

As the train slowed at the Galactic Market, Saul got up and collected his bags. Glancing at the Cathar, he asked if this was her stop. He was fidgety wanting to get out of this crowded car into the fresh air (as fresh as it got on a city planet anyway). "And now I get to see what a Jedi Master buys for supper. Let's see what weird and wonderful things we can find"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Saul Whesai

Jonyna snorted slightly. "Trust me, I'd be able to hold my lunch down. You'd be surprised by the stuff I've seen in my day. Don't ask me what a Hutt does for fun."

Memories of Tatoonie and Ryloth came to mind. Crime bosses with disgusting, sadistic tastes in entertainment, who would pay a pretty penny for morbid fascinations.

As they stepped off, Jonyna had a bit of a pep in her step. "I'll tell you now, it's mostly what keeps me fit. Steaks, veggies, anything I can scrounge up from the local environment, usually. It's just that...well, Coruscant doesn't exactly have a natural environment. Nowhere on this planet is natural."

 

[Saul Whesai]

"So if I was talking about how I was experimented on for however many years to become whatever back on Denon...? That I don't even know if I'm truly dead or alive anymore...? You really want to hear about that?" It was another question that was delivered with a raised eyebrow, knowing the answer was probably no. Not that he would blame her for it.

As they got closer to the Market, Saul couldn't help but smile as he imagined the Cather trying to hunt down her prey with her sharp claws and a spear on her back. It was quite the sight to behold. "I don't usually have that luxury either. When I'm working onboard a starship, the best we get is nutrient packets. I call myself lucky if there is fresh fruit on board. Probably why I look like I came straight out of a horror holofilm." As they made it into the food market, he looked around, trying to find good deals among the stalls. Food wasn't his expertise, but a vendor was a vendor. There always was a deal to be had if you talked to the right person.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Saul Whesai

As they entered, Jonyna's tone was ever-chipper. And yet, her words were dark as pitch. "When I was 5 years old I saw a man get a blaster bolt through the brain. You can tell me whatever you want bud, I'm happy to hear whatever you have to tell me."

She paused as she looked back to his next bit, walking idly over to a fruit vendor and picking a few apples out, inspecting each with a keen feline eye. "Trust me, I know that feeling. Spent most of my childhood on the run, living on freighters. I consider myself lucky." Another pause, and she looked back with a sympathetic eye. "If you need a place to stay, I'm happy to foot the bill. I could get you a job at my company even."

 

[Saul Whesai]

Saul shrugged as they looked among the stalls. "Maybe when we aren't in the open..." As much as it was nice having someone with similar experiences to talk to, these topics weren't exactly for the open air. As he looked over an ice cabinet with a meat cabinet, he was able to get some of the largest cuts in the box for the flat rate price. It was a small deal he could leave the market happy about.

Turning back to her with a brown bag with his purchases in his hands, Saul couldn't help back give a raised eyebrow and a smirk as he considered her offer. A change-up in his life wouldn't be a bad thing, and working for a Jedi would be interesting. It only took a couple of seconds for her to give her an answer. "As much as I would love to take your extra model money off your hands, I can pay my way. As for the job, it depends on whether you have something with either engineering or programming in mind." He couldn't say no to a new job. Not one that would give him enough money to live more comfortably than he was used to in a starship bunk.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Saul Whesai

Jonyna's response was to pull out a small wallet, then a card which she handed over.

"Jonyna Si, Jedi Master, Casual model, and CEO of Si Tech, the largest manufacturer in the Alliance. We make the claws so the GADF can bare it's teeth, then we rebuild your house free of cost. I've got plenty of openings, and a place for anyone of any kind, if you don't mind the hours."

Her words were kind, but honest. "I figure we could use someone like you to test out our new products, or just bounce off my chief engineer. I've never been good with it myself, but she's a wiz at this sort of stuff."

 

[Saul Whesai]

"And they say Jedi aren't much for titles." Smirking as he flipped the card in his fingers, he looked back up at the Cathar with a sparkle in his neon eyes. "Alright, I'm willing to interview with this chief engineer at least, see if we can work together, and if the job details are for me. If nothing else, maybe I can try to work with the logistics and maintenance side of the business, improve things there. Besides, not like sleep likes me a whole lot anyway..."

His face got more serious for a moment as he said. "Thanks for taking a chance on me. I appreciate it. I know I'm not much of a "people person" so getting out there is relatively hard for me to do. Hell, I end up embarrassing myself half the time..." Letting out a sigh as the world of shoppers swirled around them, the android managed to put a smile on his face as he asked. "Is that all your shopping, or do you have more?"

Jonyna Si