Private The Unseen Smuggler In Plain Sight

[Crosten Feyn]

Well, that was an easy delivery. Granted, none if it had been contraband in the true sense. Just some droid parts and materials, delivered to some merchant among many in the commercial district. He wasn't breaking any laws by holding onto it. Technically, Crosten hadn't broken any laws until he'd handed the delivery off, without paying the import fees that would've made the sale legal.

He wouldn't have gotten the job were that so. Crosten knew that. A smuggler's income pretty much relied on some law or regulation being broken; transactions conducted on the up and up had the benefit of more legitimate courier services. 'Course, skirting laws wasn't always hard work, and this had been by far the easiest delivery he'd had in a long while. With his spirits and credits high, Crosten had nowhere to be but was in no real rush to leave. Finding a cantina wouldn't be difficult. His travels had taken him to Commenor often enough that he knew just where to go.

It was during his walk there that something caught his eye. A familiar face, one he'd known he'd seen before. So, Crosten waved his arm high at Jairdain Ismet-Thio to get her attention.

Only to be completely ignored.

"The Kriff?" He uttered under breath, yet loud enough to catch the attention of those passing nearby with dirty looks Crosten didn't notice. The smuggler raised his arm and waved again, in a more exaggerated manner than last time. But even though she'd been facing him directly, the lady just didn't seem give any reaction.

Crosten figured he'd just approach and introduce himself again. Okay, sure, maybe she hadn't recognized him in the crowd either. Probably not, he figured. The smuggler had a pretty good awareness as a matter of professional survival. Having been involved in as many problems gives a smuggler real good incentive to get good at remembering who's who and finding them fast. She was just going about whatever she does day-to-day. No doubt she'd give him no mind until he approached.

So, he did.

By now it should've been clear enough the he was approaching her specifically, or so he'd thought. Regardless of what he knew to be true, and what actually was, Crosten hailed her without warning as she was right near him.

"Hey again!"

 

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

This day wasn't entirely typical for the Jedi, but she was making do. Her youngest daughter needed a dress for a birthday party and wanted Jairdain to help her pick it out. Why she wanted her blind mother to do it, she didn't know. However, she would do what the girl asked and walked out of the shop carrying the package for her.

Her stomach growled, and she needed to find something to eat. Following her nose, she went with the flow of the foot traffic and headed to one of the nearby restaurants. It wasn't that she was ignoring Crosten; she couldn't see him. The fact that they were on Commenor, she wasn't on the lookout for anybody approaching her. So, beyond being blind, she was oblivious to his focus on her.

She wasn't the type of person to jump or react too strongly to being startled. This time it came out of the blue, and with food on her mind, she drew in a surprised breath.

"Well, hello."

Stopping in her step, she now focused on Crosten and gave him a bit of a smile. Recognizing him, she motioned to the cafe she was about to visit.

"Care to join me for some food?"

Crosten Feyn

 

[Crosten Feyn]

Unsure whether his greeting would even be acknowledged, Crosten watched Jairdain turn to address him with sudden alertness. He was a touch surprised at the response. He'd have to admit, he'd been pretty surprised by the entire interaction at this point. The cordiality and invitation further perplexed the smuggler. Until now, he was pretty sure he was being snubbed and hadn't counted on much more than a head nod at best.

Despite the mild bewilderment on his face, she seemed to neither notice nor care.

He still wasn't aware she was blind.

"Care to join me for some food?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure!" Was Crosten's immediate response. It was exactly what he'd been doing when he'd bumped into her, and he was all too happy to continue.

"Was just headed for a bite to eat myself, there' a good place right around here." He added.

"Unless you had somewhere in mind?"

Jairdain Ismet-Thio

 

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

The happiness in his tone was infectious, and Jairdain smiled. Pointing in the general direction of the restaurant, they were close to, she started heading there.

"I followed my nose, and it led me here. It's been quite a few years. I don't think I ever caught your name before. I'm Jairdain Ismet. Do you get to Commenor very often?"

Maybe it was the same place he had been thinking of. Either way, she didn't leave much room for arguing and waited for him to catch up if he had fallen behind.

"Sorry if I bombed you with questions."

Taking a seat, they offered him a menu, but not her. If he noticed now they were sitting, her eyes weren't focused, even if she was looking in his direction.

Crosten Feyn

 

[Crosten Feyn]

Crosten turned to glance over in the direction she'd pointed, which happened to be the same way he'd been going. By the sounds of it, the two had been headed to the same destination anyhow.

"I followed my nose, and it led me here. It's been quite a few years. I don't think I ever caught your name before. I'm Jairdain Ismet. Do you get to Commenor very often?" Asked Jairdain

"Crosten! And your name again? I do come here quite often. Pretty common place for a…Courier to be sent off to." Crosten replied, choosing his words carefully for the situation.

"Not always deliveries, mind. I think I saw you at a battle?" No need to overexplain his true profession; she'd disapprove at worst, and be burdened with awareness of it at best. Nah, 'Courier' works fine as an honest description. He just happened to care a bit less about stuff likes rules and regulations was all.

"And hey, I don't mind the questions one bit. How else are we supposed to catch up, yeah?" Came his response, flashing a friendly smile she could not see as he took his seat. Crosten took his menu from the server, shocked that she had departed without handing one out to Jairdain.

"Hey! Can we get a menu for her, too?"

Jairdain Ismet-Thio

 

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

"Jairdain Ismet."

Smiling at him and nodding when he answered with his name. He said he came to Commenor often, and she chuckled at his wording.

"It is quite common for people to make that connection with the names."

Over the years, she had been in several battles, and she didn't know which one he might be thinking about. She could also tell he wasn't being entirely truthful, but decided not to pry. He could keep his secrets.

Quirking her mouth slightly in a smirk, she nodded again and took her seat.

"Always possible, it's been a few years since I was last in a battle. Normally, I provided support, usually Battle Meditation. Are you familiar with Force powers?"

She didn't sense he could use the Force, but she wasn't trying to read him.

"I can read and don't need a menu. I'm blind."

Crosten Feyn

 

[Crosten Feyn]

"Then it was you at Anvil, in Sev Tok." he spoke with a nod. Battles weren't something Crosten could claim he'd done often. Combat certainly was, but most conflicts Crosten encountered had been significantly smaller in scale. Generally in his line of work, conflicts were something that was best avoided, and usually were the result of business getting kriffed up and going sideways.

Yeah, he generally tried to avoid that. Often, he didn't.

"Yeah, I'm no merc or soldier or nothin' of the sort." He replied. His knack was for logistics and concealment, for the most part. That'd been the intention, anyhow. That busness had been in the category of getting real kriffed up.

The smuggler paused at the mention of force powers, and slowly gave a nod. "In a way. I'm familiar with the sorta folk who are familiar with Force Powers." Was his wry reply. The line of questioning struck him as strange, until she uttered her next words.

"...I'm blind."​

Crosten nodded as an epiphany struck him all at one. No, the lady couldn't see him if she couldn't see at all, yet the Force enabled some other means to sense the world. It's how she sensed him in close proximity. She'd probably sensed them all, and a man flailing his arm did nothing for that sorta detection. Probably something like that. Most of his actual knowledge of the force could be summarizsed in two statements: it made impossible things possible, and he didn't have any affinity with it. You either do, or you don't, and Crosten plain didn't.

"I see..." Crosten uttered, before quickly catching himsef."

"Ah Kriff, I mean I understand. Uh, sorry 'bout that." He sheepishly added.

Jairdain Ismet-Thio

 

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

When she was younger and before she had a growing family, maybe Jairdain had gone in search of war. By the time the Crosten mentioned happened, her first family had split, and she was a widow. Probably just starting to date and see Jax. Shrugging slightly, she didn't respond right away.

"It is possible. Over the years, I've been in quite a few battles."

Not trying to make a big deal of it, the server came to take their orders. Jairdain gave hers and then chuckled at Crosten.

"You're fine. Really. Most people seem to forget I'm blind. Just because I use the Force to get around."

Crosten Feyn

 

[Crosten Feyn]

"Yeah I gotta admit. The way you carry yourself, I'd have no idea." Crosten admitted, completely ignorant to the powers of the force and Jairdain's lack of sight. But it was true, she made it real easy to assume otherwise. He still had no idea how it worked, but it was a clear example that it did.

"Might've gotten in a few scuffles myself." Crosten mentioned, not wanting to make a big deal of it, either. He was a smuggler not a soldier, and didn't care to carry himself as such.

"That was one a big one, a while back. Wasn't for an friend of mine, I wouldn't been there to be honest." Crosten spoke while the server handed him his menu, taking it with a hand and scanning it for a moment. He then set it down, flipping the page carefully over.

"That kriff went south real fast." Crosten added, turning the next page over with his gaze scanning the next page from the top. "No idea how you got out, but we barely did
." He added, flipping ot the next page.

"It was a big favour to Jax, I can say that." He concluded, reaching the end of the menu.

With a shake of his head, the turned the pages back, scanning them again.

Jairdain Ismet-Thio

 

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

"Do you think I should carry a cane around?"

It was an honest question, and it might prevent similar situations from happening again in the future. Letting out a humorous huff, she agreed with his scuffle comment. Taking a drink of water gave him time to finish his story. Tilting her head at the mention of Jax saving his life, he had never told her.

"Jaxon Thio?"

Then again, maybe his full name wasn't common knowledge, but she said it anyway.

"He's my husband. He appears to enjoy scuffles and physical confrontations. Maybe a bit too much for a Jedi, but I'm not going to stop him from going. It's nice to know he has done good actions. Very heartening, actually. Thank you."

Leaning back in her chair, the server returned to take his order.

Crosten Feyn

 

[Crosten Feyn]

"I mean,I can't tell you how to get around. Though I suppose that'd make it clear enough." He replied with a slight smile, and a barely audible chuckle uttered under breath.

The tilt of her head caused him to wear a quizzical expression of his own. He'd travelled with Jax quite extensively in the past. Of all the Jedi, he was the one he understood the best, to be frank. Crosten wasn't quite sure why the man was of the order, supposing being force-sensitive was the primary driver there. It was gift Crosten was happy to be lacking. But aspects that may have raised eyebrows within the order only served to humanize and endear the young man in the older smuggler's eyes.

"He's my husband. He appears to enjoy scuffles and physical confrontations. Maybe a bit too much for a Jedi, but I'm not going to stop him from going. It's nice to know he has done good actions. Very heartening, actually. Thank you." Spoke Jairdain

At this quite apt description, Crosten could not conceal a hearty chuckle.

"Yeah he sure does. He's got a good heart, that's for sure." Crosten agreed, with a sip of his own drink.

Jairdain Ismet-Thio

 

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

"I use the Force to see emotions, and everything seems to have them. Of course, robots or droids I can't see, but pretty much everything else. Though the cane would make it obvious, as you said."

It was one way she used to explain how she saw, but it might not make it any more understandable to Crosten than it was before he mentioned it. She would have to think about it. She took a drink of the water that was set on the table for them. Setting the glass down, she leaned forward a little.

With the laugh of Crosten, she joined with him for a moment.

"I suppose I pick good men to marry."

Jax wasn't her first husband, but this new friend didn't know that. If he asked what she meant by her comment, she would answer him.

Crosten Feyn

 

[Crosten Feyn]

"Can see that. Droids think sure, but they don't really feel." He spoke freely, which was more a matter of personal opinion and belief. A mechanical man by nature, the outlook was natural. Droids were a tool, not a personality. Though he couldn't deny some, like BB-12, were capable of projecting quite a powerful personality, to say the very least.

"Some of the get rather convincing though, I'll give 'em that." He continued.

"I suppose I pick good men to marry." Jairdain quipped, prompting a small grin from the smuggler.

"Well since you married Jax, I can back that notion." Crosten raised his glass at the statement.

"Say...does he still have that old droid of his?"

Jairdain Ismet-Thio

 

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

Remembering a conversation she'd had with an old friend, she couldn't help but smile slightly. She would have to reach out to Kallic and see how he was doing.

"Yes, some can be convincing, but I still can't see them. All a part of their programming, I guess."

Shrugging, their food arrived, and she was able to focus on that for a moment as they each arranged their plates where they wanted them. Then he mentioned Jax's beastly machine.

"Yes, he still has him. We do not get along. I don't think he'll ever like me or me him."

Taking a bit of food, she chewed it and then swallowed.

"What do you think of him?"

Crosten Feyn