Random Act of Randomness

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Just how many space stations were there in the galaxy? Probably half as many as there were planets. Which was a fantastic thing! It made the job of being a bounty hunter harder, or anyone searching for someone all the more difficult. Needles in a haystack, that's what they were!

Lori loved that! It wasn't as though she had a bounty on her head, or was even being hunted persay, BUT both her parents got on the bad side of some powerful people and how better to get after them than by going after their kids? So she always had to be on guard. In fact she sort of had a couple of bodyguards. One named Arla; a secret assassin droid and one that could communicate with all aspects of Jaster's Sparrow as though she was a part of the ship herself! And then there was [member="Curtis Learchin"] . He sort of assigned himself as her bodyguard after she hired him as extra muscle for a mission.

But today was a day off. A time for everyone to do what they pleased. The space station carried gambling houses, bars, clubs, restaurants and even a shopping district! Lori wasn't interested in clothes though. She weaved her way through the people in the corridor. It was gadgets that she liked. Hopefully she'd be able to find something of interest around here.

She looked up high at the ceiling of one of the domes as some kind of drone flew overhead. That was when she bumped into [member="Valin Seek"] . "Oof!! Sorry!"

 

[Lief]

╫ S P A C E ╫​

RANDOM ACT OF RANDOMNESS​

Another day, another station.

Valin was left to wonder if he'd ever make it back to [member='Darth Sibilus'] at this rate. On his way into Mustafar he'd contemplated whether or not to rat the pilot out, but now he wasn't being just an inconvenience to his Master but to the boy himself. He just wanted to get back to civilized lands, and strangely enough to his training. Usually he'd kill for some time alone, how things had changed. Perhaps his long hiatus in Tyric's manor had been enough to tip him over the edge and out of the solitary bubble he'd built up for himself over so many years.

Of course, on a place like this it wasn't as though there were no people around. It's just... they were all strangers. Maybe that was for the best, though, that allowed him to be whoever he wanted to be... Yes... He could play this to his advantage.

With a very slight grin he hurried on through the station itself, away from the hedonistic dens of merriment that Captain Durren liked to occupy his time with, and out into the shopping district. He skirted past plenty of stalls and stores that failed to hold his interest, instead searching out some sort of oddity store - if there even was such a place - somewhere with curios. Somewhere which might be able to replace the dusty old tomes he'd lost during his plummet down to Altier's surface. Not exact copies, of course, but something in equally as poor condition so that he could finally, finally learn how to fix them up.

Force knew he needed something to do for the rest of their journey back to Panatha.

So focused was he on the storefronts and shop signs that he completely failed to notice the girl who ran straight into him. The two collided for a moment before he pulled away and steadied himself. He even reached out to try and steady her, without thinking. Naturally his hands fell back to his side before she could balk too much.

"No, no, not at all, I should've been watching where I was going, in truth," he said, his smooth Serennian accent practically purring the words. He dusted down his clothes, though they weren't too out of shape, and offered the girl an easy smile. She was pretty, though something in her eyes warned him against vocalizing such. He couldn't quite put his finger on what, though he supposed it didn't really matter. Wasn't as though he'd ever see her again.

In the brief collision he'd dropped one of his only possessions, his datapad, and now he stooped down to swipe it back from the ground.

"I'll be out of your way in a second," he explained, slowly righting himself back up. "Looking for anything nice?" he asked, as he sidestepped to let her pass. He'd watched Durren plenty of times during their travels, apparently small talk was a thing people did out here in the real world. Valin got the feeling that he wasn't exactly good at it.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori didn't protest at all as [member="Valin Seek"] made sure that she didn't stumble. In fact she thanked him and a small smile and nod. "I should have been looking too. But the drone caught my eye for longer than it should have." At least it wasn't a spy drone. Or so she hoped.

As Valin dusted himself off, she fixed her jacket so that it was straight again. Not that she cared too much for her appearance, but she liked to at least look alright. Valin looked to be about her age, which wasn't very common. There was something about him that seemed...well, she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was just his accent and tone of voice. It was soft.

"Your datapad is okay, isn't it? I don't believe that it was stepped on." She paused for a moment in thought as she pondered on how to answer his question. More than likely he figured she was out to shop for some new outfit or a dress. "I thought I'd scope out the latest gadgets, see if there is anything that I could use. What about you?"

 

[Lief]

So there they were, two people who actually bothered to own up to their part in what happened. What a rarity that was, at least it seemed to be a rarity. Most of what he'd read pointed toward people wanting to be blameless, but that was just stupid. There would always be someone else who knew, unless what you did happened within a locked room.

He shook such thoughts from his mind, and continued with that same easy smile.

"Oh, no, it's perfectly fine. Perhaps a little scuff mark, but..." He shrugged his shoulders, it had already been knocked around a fair bit in his youth, so what was one added mark? Besides, it was almost poetic. Like battle scars, they told a story. "Gadgets? Sweet! I don't even know what sorts of things have been released lately." Lately? More like ever, but she didn't need to know anything about his sheltered upbringing. After all today was about being somebody else. Someone other than Valin Seek.

"I'm in search of some old book or two, you know the kind that looks like you'll break it at the seams if you open it?" He realized that probably sounded strange, so he hastily followed it up with an explanation. "I thought it might be nice to give one a new lease of life... Is that silly?"

It probably was, but it was out there now so he'd own it. He placed the datapad into the small satchel at his side, free from further tumbles, and made to move though his attention seemed to remain upon the girl.

"Do you know anywhere that might have such, Miss?"

It was worth asking someone, after all he'd never been here before.

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"I don't know what's new out there either. I've been kinda busy. You know how that is, I'm sure." Well if [member="Valin Seek"] didn't know what's out there, then surely he had been on the move a lot like she was.

At the mention of old books, Lori's eyes lit right up. "Oh yes, my Mom had lots in her library on Commenor. She always loved the smell of the pages, or so she told me. Well that and they never ran out of battery life." Yes, Lori talked about her Mom in the past tense. It was hard to say whether or not she was alive. She didn't dig into that too much and there was more than one reason for that.

As to whether or not she knew where to find old books here? Lori shrugged her shoulders a little. "There might be a shop with old books around here. Shall we go look for it? Two sets of eyes are better than one, afterall."