Raw Deal

[Connor Harrison]

Jelwick City
Handooine, Phelleem Sector​

Jelwick was mighty impressive as a city, more so in places than Galactic City. That wasn’t thought out of resentment of the planet now collapsing under it’s own filth, but more honesty – Handooine was free from corrupt claws and power-crazed warriors and could just be itself.

Ben Trasker sat overlooking the city and huge U shaped tower complex. Tucking into a pot of pasta from a local vendor, he leant on his elbows, rifle over his back and pistol by his side as he ate slowly, looking up and watching transports passing in and out of the city to destinations unknown.

Direct from Coruscant, Trasker gently rocked back and forward on the bench he was sat on, located on the side of a small reservoir surrounded by small industrial units and docks. Thinking where to go next, who to seek out and where to establish himself. This was his time now; they’d screwed him over good and proper, but Ben Trasker wasn’t done yet. Not by a long shot.

[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

Handooine was one of the most fantastic planets Lilin had ever been to. Her homeworld had the calming beauty of nature, current living situation had the business of a true city. Yet Handooine was something completely different. It felt like a sanctuary of some sort with its peacefulness, even though it still had the traits of a huge settlement. It was a place the girl wanted to move, had she just had the right amount of money to do so.

She had ordered just a cup of coffee and had gone searching for a seat. Unfortunately to her, the place was rather busy and most of the tables were taken. Those which had the best look at the city had been taken, only one of these tables was practically empty with just one person sitting behind it. She wouldn't back down -- she didn't even care if a stranger was near her.

"I'm sorry, is this seat taken?" she asked from the man sitting there, hoping for a negative answer.

She truly hoped the man was OK with sitting in the same table with a stranger as well -- she just had to get the seat with such a view.

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Stopping chewing, Trasker glanced up to see the face of the polite voice. He nodded to the vacant side of the bench and continued.

”Help yourself.”

Taking a few final mouthfuls, he licked his thumb to finish the sweet sauce over the meal, and his hand, and discarded the pot on the table behind him. Leaning over, he fished inside the pocket of his black jacket and pulled out a small datapad, glancing over it, before pocketing it again. He flicked his eyes to the girl beside him, human instinct taking over having a little look at what she was doing.

[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

Lilin put the cup of coffee on the table and then sat down behind it. It was a nice view indeed, something she would remember most likely forever. She had just completed something from her bucket list, even though before visiting the planet, it wasn't even there. Now her real goal was to go and live her life there.

She shouldn't have let the first impression influence herself that much, but she couldn't help but really want to set her home up there.

"It's a nice planet, isn't it?"

Lilin wasn't the person who would feel awkward in silence. Nor was she one who didn't know what to say at such situations. She was simply herself and she didn't care if she was judged. Like she always thought, life was too short for these things.

Her eyes were locked to the nice cityscape, even to the degree of forgetting to blink.

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Again, Trasker was distracted by the voice and turned his head towards her.

”Look, don’t feel you have to make small talk. I’m here on my own for a reason, so are you, ok?”

A small neutral smile, and he turned back, rolling his eyes gently at the typical modern day attitude of those thinking they had it all to live for. Reaching into his breast pocket as he watched a boat move out from the dock, Trasker took a cigar and clamped it between his teeth, removing a lighter from the opposite pocket and sparking the flame to light it, sucking back on the stub gently to light his guilty pleasure.

[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

Okay, if that's what you want, Lilin thought to herself as she looked at the man. A reaction she had not seen before, but one that was to be expected in such a situation.

Some people weren't that social, after all. They didn't want to talk to random strangers. It was a difficult concept for the Rogue Padawan to grasp, but the more she wandered around the galaxy, the more she had started to notice such people.

She had to come to the understanding that not all people were extroverts.

Her head turned towards the city again, then brought the cup closer to her mouth to take a small sip of the usually creamy coffee she typically drank. She would have wanted to talk, even so much that the inner struggle inside her was more than the great Republic and One Sith war.

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Sucking in gently, Trasker then blew out the smoke as he snapped down the lighter and sat back, looking out over the city. Looking to the girl for a second, he worked out that she was obviously alone in the galaxy and trying to pass time. Didn't all loners do that at one point.

”Where you heading?”

[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

Lilin was surprised the man decided to talk to her.

"I am headed nowhere. I want to find my way in the galaxy, wander around, search for that something," she said, slightly philosophically. Even though she talked a lot, she also managed to find time for herself -- to think and wonder what her life could be about.

"There's a deep desire in me to learn. Learn about people, about the galaxy."

Her choice of words was to use was rather interesting that day. Had she kept up doing so, she could write a novel. Not that she wanted to or anything.

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Trasker took the cigar in his fingers and blew out some smoke before turning to the girl and pointed at her.

”I’ll give you a head start in that quest of yours – people will just let you down, and the galaxy itself won’t look after you. You have to do that yourself.”

He raised his eyebrow’s a little, smirked and went back to his cigar, looking out to the planet before them.

[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

That man seemed rather pessimistic to Lilin. She'd yet to see such cruelty and worry in a person. Had something happened to him that caused him to act like that? She couldn't tell, she was no mindreader.

"What do you mean? I know how to live. I will survive," she said. Her eyes moved back to the cityscape and looked into the distance. The man's words were rather difficult to digest. Because she the understood they portrayed the harsh truth. Lilin could survive in a peaceful galaxy, but in such an evil, warring universe, one had to have the skills of fighting.

Something Lilin did not have.

"Do you mean fighting skills?" she asked.

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Not looking at the girl, Trasker enjoyed his cigar but maintained his conversation.

”Fighting skills are essential. You gotta know how and when to fight when someone has a gun to your head or a blade in your back. And no offence kid, but you wouldn’t survive in the real world out there.”

Then, he turned, an inquisitive look in his eye.

”How would you survive if you had no-one and nothing behind you – just you. What would you do, and where would you go? How would you make sure you woke up the next morning and do it all again the next day?”


[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

"I would just go home. Easy as that. Not all places of the galaxy are that dangerous."

She had never seen the... dangerous part of the galaxy. She had been attacked only once and that was only because of a few drunkards just wanted to fool around. Life for her was not like it was for a few. Had she lived on Nar Shaddaa, one of the most famous criminal network planets, she would have had to step out for herself every once in a while, but in the galactic core, the most dangerous thing was a planned attack against a Republic planet.

Her life wasn't in danger like that.

"If you are so worried about my survival, why don't you teach me?"

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]

Spoiler

Weird. I don't seem to get notified when you tag me.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Holding the cigar in his mouth, Trasker held his arms out and turned to the girl.

”Hey, what do I look like? A teacher granting free lessons to everyone out there worried about how to get by? You either have it or you don’t, and if you don’t then you’re screwed.”

He returned to his cigar and waited a moment.

”What do you do for a living?”

Spoiler

Hm. I’ll try type manually and see if that works…?

[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

Then why do you even talk about how I should survive, you grump? Lilin thought to herself while taking another sip of the coffee and letting her eyes rest on the beauty of the skyscrapers, towers, busy city. She lived somewhere she could always see such a picture. Yet this one truly had something more to it. Something she could not quite understand.

"If I told you, you would just let me know how wrong I was when I made the decision and how I will die and how I can do nothing against it," she replied with a calm, yet cold tone. It was some cruelty she had inside her but had never used before. Her life had been rather positive lately -- she had learned to seek for happiness in small things.

That's why she felt like saying something so rude was painful for her.

"I am a part-time cashier and my father gives me money as well."

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]

Spoiler

Yeah, that worked.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Watching her talk, Trasker took in what he could about the girl.

”Kid, I don’t care what you do. You’re a cashier? Fine. Daddy gives you money? Fine. That’s what you do. It’s the easy way, yeah, but probably the safe way.”

Leaning over, he pulled the blaster from its holster and held it in his hand, weighing it up and down.

”You ever used one of these?”

[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

Lilin turned her head towards the hand of the man's. A blaster? She had never truly seen one being so close to her, not being used for killing her. She remembered the fight against Sith on Csilla just as if it had happened yesterday.

"No. I've not been wandering around weapon shops."

Truth to be told, she had no idea how weapons were bought? Were there supermarkets for these things? Was it done underground? She had no clue.

"Are they difficult to use?" she was curious.

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a flash of the eyes, he took his cigar and stubbed it out on the bench, before crushing it under his boot on the soil below before standing up, a tall and imposing frame against the girl sat below.

”Come on.”

Holstering the weapon, Trasker waited for the girl to follow before he started down the path along the front of the park down to the dockland below. He still carried his G.I.A identification and licence for the firearm to keep any do-gooders off his back, but he walked along the front to the industrial containers and crates due to be shipped out.

He didn’t care about a few lucky shots in to durasteel crates away from prying eyes, and he doubted the girl would last long. The sounds of machinery and motors from boats would help cover the noise.

Turning, he waited for her to reach him and pulled out his K9 again, twisting the butt to her.

”Show me what you think you do if you were faced with a thug.”

[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

Lilin put her cup on the table, stood up and followed the man. She had no idea what he was going to do, but she wanted to see -- her interest in this guy was rising and she truly wanted to understand what he was like and why was he so grumpy.

When they made it to the place they were supposed to go, Lilin looked around and all she could see were crates and containers of different sorts. Looked like a rather private area. She thought she understood why they'd gone there.

”Show me what you think you do if you were faced with a thug."

What? She had no idea of what to do.

Either way, she took the weapon, it was heavier than she expected it to be, so she thought it would be wiser to hold it with both of her hands. What would she do with a blaster when she were faced with a thug? Shoot them?

"I would shoot them in the leg. Or arm. So that I wouldn't kill them with the shot."

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Nodding to the crimson container opposite them, bearing a few scorch marks and dents from weeks of shipping around systems, Trasker looked between the girl and the target.

”Go on then – the container; a rather BIG thug, but show me. Shoot.”

He watched the girl, and then the container, and then back. Waiting.

[member="Lilin Imperieuse"]

 

[Liliane]

Lilin nodded and took a focused stance. She had never shot a weapon before -- her only way of defense had been either lightsaber of her bare hands. Now was the time to learn using one of such long-range weapons.

She took a deep breath, she could feel the tension rise. And then she shot.

And missed the container.

"What?"

[ [member="Ben Trasker"] ]