Oiling the cogs

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

They'd kissed many times in the six months they'd been flying together. They'd even kissed several times since he stepped off his ship. Yet as their lips met this time it sent an electroc jolt right through him.

There was a dumb smile on his face at her question, his lips moving a few times as if he'd forgotten how to speak. In truth he'd almost forgotten to breath. Blue eyes turned to the floor, then back up towards hers as his thoughts tried to ride the wave of euphoria and reach his lips with a reply.

"I was hoping the two oddballs would be worth it for getting me back in your cabin at the end of each shift," he replied, the corner of his mouth tugging up. "Truth be told I think Jarrick wants a clean break, hiring 'professionals' or something. Think he's got some old marine and navy pals lined up. Boy's my responsibility still anyway.

"But yeah I just haven't worked the details out yet. Could pool all the ship's under one honest business front. Try and keep the mischief on the down low for the right people."

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Would Jarrick even go for that?"

Sorting out what happened to the Quin and the arrangement between him and Jarrick was not something Mal was keen to get into the middle of. If they hadn't worked it out yet, then they hadn't worked it out yet. Jarrick was a good friend to Kairon though and in his time on the Warden, he had been invaluable. However, she could see the itch in his eyes. He needed a change of pace. He was ready to lead. And he was sensible.

"You know what, it's none of my business. You technically own the Quin. You decide what to do with your ship. As for making a shipping company, that might not be a bad idea. Force knows I just inherited a bar. Everything seems to be changing."

She sighed and remembered that they were not really dressed yet for the day so she politely mentioned the need for a shower and a little while later, they were back out on the street heading out of town, towards the mountains in the distance the speeder zipping across the plains, away from the scars of war and devastation.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Whilst there was a biting wind, the skies were clear. The sun streaming down picked out the contrast in the mountain ranges beautifully.

The speeder was pulled to a halt in a public park and the pair meandered through some open land, before taking a path that ran up towards some of the smaller peaks. The ground became rough and rocky, but they weren't here for climbing, just a stroll.

They talked of mundane things. Kairon carefully skirting any topic that could lead to the war. She seemed to like that. Rusty had come to find her already, but it sounded like she'd been too long with nothing but her own dark thoughts for company.

He came to a halt at a wooden fence, using it to take the weight off his feet for a moment. He was breathing heavily.

"Not had enough exercise recently I don't think!" he said, motioning for her to sit beside him. He pulled off his gloves and reached into his heavy jacket. He'd grabbed some snacks on the way seeing how ravenous she'd been at breakfast. "Want something?" he asked opening a bag of lightly spiced nuts.

 

[Malia Afredane]

The outdoors sounds great in theory, but after a bit of walking up hilly landscapes and huffing her way around, Mal realized how woefully out of shape she was. She sat down hard on the bench, leaning on him. The exertion she could do without, but the fresh air seem to clear her head, and help drive away the fog that seemed to have settled on her during her time planetside. She felt trapped by the circumstances but until Rusty and Kairon showed up, she didn't realize how deeply she'd been in that funk. It was nice to have a a bit of hope and cheerfulness.

The ache for her mother still throbbed, raw to the touch but she was getting better a little bit at a time over the last couple days.

"Sure," she said, holding out her hand. She popped them in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully as she stared off in the distance, her head resting on his shoulder.

"What kind of arrangement do you want on the Warden? Before it was just a gentleman's agreement since we knew you were going back to the Quin. If all of you are coming aboard, do you want to negotiate contract terms?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon stuck out his bottom lip for a moment, looking contemplative. “Yes I suppose we should really. The lad got his pay rise in the end last time. I assume you want to carry on running the usual fixed and performance split?” he asked. It was typical on a freighter to pay a relatively low fixed wage. That way when the going was good the crew were rewarded and when it was poor the ship could keep running at the cost of the crew knuckling down and living off beans and toast for a while. There were ships running entirely on handing out a fraction of profit to the crew, but most decent hands expected some fixed wage. Those ships tended to attract a certain quality of crew and often took on the most dangerous runs with deadly species or toxins aboard.

Kairon supposed he would still need a wage. He was going to own the majority of the business the Quin flew under, which might itself end up a subsidiary of Mal's perhaps. That didn't mean he'd actually get any money out of it until they turned a decent profit. Still, they were running well at the moment and he'd still take a hand in arranging some of the work for Jarrick, so he didn't see why that would change. Hopefully it would make a nice retirement nest egg.

The view from up here was good. Maybe even worth his current, breathless state.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"I don't know, I guess that sounds right. Rusty usually set everything up. By the way, the onus on making sure I don't gamble away all the profits is on you when we're flying. Just so you don't forget."

She took another handful of snacks and popped them in, the spiciness making her lips burn a little. She didn't mind it though, the flavor was good. Some heat but not overpowering the other notes in the spices.

"Asmus' classes are gonna start getting expensive. I'm willing to throw in on the cost as long as he serves as navigator but have you talked to him lately about a career path? He might do well at an academy too. Or are there rumblings from back home for him yet?"

Mal was curious how often if ever Kairon went back to Eriadu. Surely Asmus would be a little homesick?

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"Is there some ritual stubby hammer or cigarra cutter I'll need to have passed down to threaten you with?" he asked, his eyes holding a glint of humour.

He took a long drink from a bottle of water and then passed it over to her. Kairon blew out his cheeks at the questions on Asmus. It wasn't that he didn't welcome talking about it, quite the opposite. But it was a difficult topic.

"I haven't recently," he admitted. "Think he still reckons he can be a handsome scoundrel - or space dandy. To be honest the exams were as much to keep my sister off my back for a bit.

"Then again they might be less ashamed if me these days. Eriadu was one of the first to found the Alliance and word spread on how many smugglers turned out with the merchant fleet to hit that Final Order base," he explained. "You think he could make it through an academy?"

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Rusty can break my fingers all on his own, thank you very much. Get your own hammer."

She elbowed him slightly, joking with him about her running threat from her business partner. He hadn't needed to get on her in months about her gambling habits. It was almost progress or something.

"I think he could. When given structure and authority, he seems to thrive. If he can take it seriously. He's seen the ugly side of being one of us and he's still irrepressible. Float him the opportunity. I can't vouch for him, but I can cash in a favor or two. You scared of going back there? To Eriadu?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon welcomed being jostled. She seemed to be gradually emerging from her shell. "You're probably right," he agreed. "Sometimes I forget how young he really is still. So many don't really grow up 'til they're heading into their twenties. Guess I'd best sit him down soon and try and have a decent chat." There was a pause as he chuckled. "He always looks so bemused when I try and engage him in a serious conversation, as if suspicious that I'm trying to get him to admit to something. Probably 'cause half the time I am.

"And yeah...I don't much like the thought of going back. I mean...feth it...they looked down on me before. Since they I absconded with they boy and stole one of their freighters. Maybe smugglers are more popular these days?" he added with a shrug. "Maybe I could play up to the dashing scoundrel routine for once!" he added with a wry smile.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Well, if you want, I can talk to him. That way he might not think about it as an interrogation and more like a crewmember negotiation with their captain. When you all came aboard, it was as a group because the Quin was going to be down for a while. Let me talk to Asmus and Mai personally and make them offers. I don't want them to feel as if they are not valued individually. That way, asking Asmus about his future is just part of the contract negotiations."

She took the water, and drank a good long pull on the bottle to wash the taste of the seasonings off her lips. Her eyes were searching his, those contemplative blues and she wondered if she would ever understand all the things he never said, rolling around in his mind from all those big books he read and the things he had seen. He carried the weight of star systems on his shoulders, and she hoped that, at least for some of the time he was with her, he could put the burden down and simply be.

She set the bottle down on the bench and cuddled into his side, a deep breath washing out some of the stress of the day as she relaxed into him.

"Going to Eriadu is your choice. They might look the other way, they might throw you to the wolves for stealing the Quin, which you are no longer sailing. You can't ask me for family advice, my father put a bounty on mum to get a meeting with me. We're not exactly normal. "

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"Oh well, my old man is easy enough," Kairon admitted in a low chuckle. "He simply refuses to talk to me. Won't say a word. It's my sister and her husband that are the issue. He mostly runs the business now anyway. I think that's probably best with Asmus and Mai, you're right." She normally was; she was a better captain than him. He was a very good trader and handy enough in a scrap when he was in the mood. Which was exactly why he generally stayed out of them. But she was a better captain.

"Would you come along? If I went back for a family event?" he asked quietly. "I'm afraid they're a little on the traditional side, but I'd go dress shopping with you," he added with a lopsided smile. He squeezed her gently and turned back to the horizon. He simply felt content to be back here. A far cry from sitting in his bunk and brooding on his own. Though his mind had already turned to the topic of lunch. Something hot would be good. With a beer.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Of course, I just can't guarantee they're going to like me."

She stood up from the bench and offered him a hand to help him up as she faced back the way they came. She had color in her cheeks and it made her look much more vibrant than she had when he arrived the previous night. He would probably think it was the walk and the water and the fresh air. She would have said it had everything to do with having the man she loved by her side and not feeling quite so alone. She grinned at him, squeezing his hand as they walked.

"I think you're just trying to get me back in a dress."

Once they made it back to Bin Prime, they found a pub on the far side town, and over a big basket of fried fish and chips, she told him about Rusty showing up and pulling her ass out of the fire one more time, only this time the fire was a bottle of whiskey and how much she really didn't know what to do with Izzy's bar. It was too much change and without knowing what direction she was supposed to go in, she was drifting in a sea of something less than poetic. She really couldn't put words on it. It was pain, it felt eternal and she just wanted to forget it for a while.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon had never really figured out the shard, had never really worked out what drove him. Yet he could never be grateful enough for how he cared for Mal. They talked for a while of other things. Of things they'd experienced together, ideas for the future. Kairon mentioned that he hadn't expected her to have the last dress removed by another man with a pair of scissors in a medical ward.

He could see that inner turmoil as she forced herself back out of her shell, whilst part of her still wanted to crawl back into it.

"I'm sorry I never got to meet her Mal," he said suddenly. "Truly sorry. Why don't you tell me something about her. A story, one of the best times you remember with her?"

 

[Malia Afredane]

She sat back in her seat, her fingers idly playing with the edge of a napkin as her memories of her mother played in front of her eyes. She almost told him she didn't want to talk about her, but she remembered when Izzy had made the trip to see her graduate from the academy. She smiled thinking about it. She leaned forward, her elbows on the table as she reached for her water glass.

"When I graduated from the academy, Mum shut the bar down for a whole week and came to see me. After the ceremony, she insisted that we go out for a really nice dinner, her treat, so we get dressed up and head off to this place that has a reputation for very haute cuisine. Looking at the menu right off the bat, I can tell mum isn't going to eat 90% of this stuff but she was swearing up and down she was going to be adventurous so she orders these Endorian snails for an h'or d'oeuvre. She can't get the damn things out of their shells. She got these tongs and she kept trying to grab them but the butter sauce was so slick, they would shoot out of the grasp and go bouncing across the table. She got a chicken thing for dinner, and the portion size was ridiculously small but she stuck it out. We're walking back to the hotel after and I can hear her stomach growling so I suggest we duck in for a pint at this pub, and she shrugs ok but she ends up ordering a huge burger and fries and I sat there drinking a beer while she just about melted into a plate of greasy pub food. She still said it was the best burger she ever had."

Mal smiled, a sad remembrance on her face but laughing at the thoughts.

"You should have seen us, two women wearing very nice dresses arguing over who gets to eat the last fry in this crowded pub. Nuts."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon had reached for her free hand as she started to talk, holding it across the table. His expression also held that strange mix of happy in sad. It was hard not to imagine what this trip could have been like. They could have been in this very pub with Mal's mother enjoying a meal. He'd have been flustered the whole time, imagining he was being appraised. It was something he was prone to, from time to time. Imagining what his life could have been like if it would have followed a different path. Perhaps if the galaxy stopped flinging poodoo at him

There was a low chuckle as she finished her story. When he looked up at Mal he was glad he'd asked the question, glad he'd taken her mind to something good. But now he found himself sort of words.

Instead he raised his glass of beer before taking a swig. A drink to the memory. Kairon wasn't going anywhere any time soon, he wouldn't leave her alone to collapse back in in herself again.

"That was a good one and all too easy to imagine the pair of you like that," he said with a smile.

After some more shared memories and idle discussion plates were left empty and glasses empty but for a coating of suds. "Do you want to head somewhere else this afternoon? Or I can help go through the numbers on the bar if you want?" Perhaps that was too mundane, but maybe it would be best to help her start taking those small steps forwards.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"I don't know. The bar is a mess. The claims adjuster was in the other day. They have a lot of back up in their paperwork so it might be a while before I get a check cut and the work to fix it approved. I think I need that time. I'm gonna call a couple contacts and see if I can book a few trips and we can take off in the Warden."

She wanted her ship. She wanted her familiar routine. She wanted to be on the bridge with Kairon sitting at the console and sneaking crappy soap operas.

"That is if you don't mind. We can catch up to the Quin so I can pick up Asmus and Mai. Or we can just be us for a bit. I would like that too. Maybe we can just take Gracie instead. You and me and escaping somewhere that the war hasn't ruined."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

“I've no pressing need to catch up to the Quin. Jarrick's got his route mapped out - I checked it all over before he set out - and they'll be moving quick. And on top of that I'd just rather get on the Grace and chase some stars. The comedy sidekicks can sit this one out,” Kairon said earnestly. The Grace was full of narrow, cramped corridors, but it had more than enough room for the two of them. Easier to manage as well.

Kairon clicked his fingers and wagged his finger up and down. “Chroma Zed. Got a lead there I wanted to follow. Nice chap, needs to move some gear on the down low. You ever watched a play in a Chroman amphitheatre? There's one carved into a mountainside behind a waterfall. They conduct the play just as the sun starts to set over the distant mountains. Sun ain't too bright there so it doesn't catch the eye, but it catches the water plenty,” there was a childish grin as he paused for a moment.

“You will need a dress mind,” he added before looking thoughtful. “If I told you the tradition was off the shoulder, would you just believe me or go and check?” he asked. Whilst he'd been talking he'd been working his hands into his pocket and had put his payment card down on the table before she could complain. This round to Captain Rees.

 

[Malia Afredane]

Their game continued and his quick draw on this one was enough to earn him a satisfied grin. Fine, she would let him pay the check this time.

"You know, I think you just want me to wear more dresses. Everything requires me to have to a new wardrobe."

She shook her head at him as they slid out of the booth and headed for the door.

"Chroma Zed sounds like a good place to head to. Let's give it a try. New wardrobe and all."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"You look good in everything," Kairon said as they stepped outside, wrapping his arm around her waist. "But off the shoulder yeah?" he added quickly, a grin that was distinctly childish on his face. "Tell you what, why don't we grab a film - your choice - and a meal out this evening. My treat." He'd won the battle by catching her off guard at lunch, but this was a draw out war and it was worth seeing if he could get a head start on the next one.

In his view they'd talked enough on where they were in the 'verse for now. It was time to do his best to try and cheer her up a little. Get her off world and somewhere different. And just for once to stay out of any scrapes on the way. Damnit but even Zelton had ended up in a hospital ward.

"What shape's Gracie in?" he asked. He knew she'd had a few hiccups recently. Whilst he knew the Warden's service schedule inside out, he'd never really got into what made the Z-3 tick. Mostly, however, he was fishing to find out how soon they could be off.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"I'd rather not, if you don't mind. I'm just not in a mood for movies. You can help me plot a trip for the Warden so it can take off and get the hell out of here. I know it's business stuff, but hell, I suppose you're gonna be helping me a lot with course plotting on the Warden."

She leaned on him as they walked, and she felt strangely normal for the moment, sad yes but it was starting to feel less unbearable and more like her normal self. She knew there would be no going back to who she was before, but she knew she was cared for and that was enough to lift the fog a little.

"Gracie's fine. Sorta. She needs to have a tune up but with the war here, it's been hard to get her fixed. We can get her looked at when we get away from here."

They stopped for an ice cream cone at a stand not far from the apartment. She stood there, licking a cone and staring up at the heavens, watching the ships turn and burn out of the atmosphere, a faraway vacant look in her eyes. As he joined her on the sidewalk, it registered slowly that he was there until she pulled her eyes away from the spaceport in the distance and looked at him.

"You wanna leave right now?"

There was a hopeful look in her eyes as she decided it was time to stop feeling like she was a living ghost walking around looking for the spirit of her mother on the battlefield. Mal was alive and she felt truly calm and one with the 'verse when she was flying her birds through the galaxy. She may not be ready for the Warden, but Gracie might be just the thing to help her remember the precious things in life.

[member="Kairon Rees"]