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Post by aardvarklord on May 3, 2015 2:14:41 GMT -5
Often times Jan found himself amazed by the places that he found himself in. Sometimes it was for the better, such as a fine five star resort or a palace, taken there as a treat by an employer or to look for a well-off target. Others it was a strange location, such as the one time he made the poor life choice to go to Dxun and was nearly eaten alive by a zakkeg and forced to take off while the thing was charging him. And then there were places like this so-called "Verge Dancer's Cantina" on Ruusan. He'd been to plenty of 'wretched hives' in his time, but most of them were at least well-maintained or tried to make themselves look proper. This place though... Jan was pretty certain that the boss had spent maybe fifty credits on this place's maintenance in the last three years. Paint was peeling off the walls, the ground was filthy, the tap looked like it was on its last legs, and he was pretty certain that he could smell some sort of mildew. Yup, this was a place he would prefer not to be in.
As it was, Jan was just here to meet with a contact, collect his pay, and get out. As he looked around, he eventually spotted a table some distance away from the other clients--they were all the sorts of people that the wise would avoid. Initially he intended to lean back in the booth and relax, but when the back of the thing flexed he grumbled with frustration and instead simply sat up and crossed his arms as he waited. There was a band off to the side, but they were either completely untalented or being forced to work well past their capacity to keep up with their sleep schedule. Poor guys. The waitresses weren't doing so well either from what he could tell; even had one human girl giving people lap dances to make a little extra tip. This was the sort of place that should probably just stop existing--the person who owned it didn't deserve the establishment if he couldn't be asked to take care of it or the people who worked it.
Why his contact wanted to meet here was beyond him. As it was he disliked this planet, always felt a little dingy, but this was dingy to the power of polluted.
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Post by Stelpher on May 3, 2015 4:15:18 GMT -5
About two weeks Natalia had been in this place, and she already felt like she was a slave again. The city was dark and filthy, the occupants filled with despair. Decent jobs were few and far between, and even then you were expect to work long hours for less than average pay. Oh yes, Natali felt just at home.
After Rev had been buried, she had returned to the ship to discover it didn't have enough fuel to leave the system. With no other alternatives, she had been forced to join the masses in look for work. Even in all the filth that the city was, she struggled finding a place. Apparently she looked a little too unkempt even for these people. There were always establishments where she could sell her body, but she'd hoped to avoid another occupation like that if possible.
And so after nearly three days of searching, she finally found a place; the Verge Dancer's Cantina.
The Cantina itself was as expected, grimy and low budget, but at least it was something and that was more than enough for Natali. The owner of the place gave her something to wear, an old dress short and pants for while she was working. It wasn't much of an improvement to her other clothes, but it was an improvement non-the-less.
Natali was briefly introduced to her coworkers, a disheveled old man, a woman in probably her thirties who looked like she'd been around, and a young girl who probably wasn't even Natali's age yet. They never spoke, her coworkers. They exchanged a few words when necessary on the job, but the second the cantina shut each night they were always off without a second glance. Once she tried to befriend the young teenager, but to her surprise was met with open annoyance and even hostility.
'I guess even here, people refuse to smile.' She idly thought, before going back to her work.
Little did she know, on one particular morning, that her life was about to change once more.
The day started like any other, she woke up and got changed, then dug into the left-overs she had taken from the Cantina the previous day. She made her way through the dark narrow streets until she eventually wound up at her destination. She went about the business of serving the few regulars that were up this early, then began wiping down spare tables.
After a time, a new individual entered the Cantina, a man with long hair and oddly shaped ears. He definitely wasn't a regular, and from the looks of him as he examined the building, he was probably from off-world.
Idly running a hand threw her snow-white hair, Natali approached with one of her signature smiles on her face.
"Excuse me sir, is there anything i can get you?"
After receiving a response, she quickly went to fetch his order, then returned.
"Here you go sir. Is there anything else i can get you?"
The man shook his head, and Natali nodded, turning to leave. After a quick glance around the Cantina, she realized she had nothing else to do, and so she turned back again, holding her hands in front of her.
"Umm, excuse me sir, if you don't mind me asking, where are you from? You don't look like a local."
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Post by aardvarklord on May 3, 2015 22:01:45 GMT -5
With surprising speed, Jan found himself being served by a woman that hemight have thought to be an echani if it weren't for the fact that she was serving drinks in this lousy cantina. She was a ragged thing, was probably pretty underneath her awful condition, and had a remarkably charming smile. Probably relied on it to make money at her job. Still, it got him smiling thinly back and he responded with a light order, "Eh, just some water for now." He wasn't exactly in any mood to get drunk--he'd do it on occasion but only when he felt reasonably safe. This place was not safe at all. Eventually the woman returned with his drink, which he said "Thank you" for and tried leaning back again, finding a place where a support board came up and laying on that. He shook his head to her question of if he needed anything else and fully expected her to go off for a little bit. She'd probably come back to ask if he wanted to order anything--and he might order some food next time if his contact took too long--but for now he was content.
Then, to his surprise, she stuck around. Not only that, but she went ahead and pointed out that he wasn't from around here and bashfully asked where he came from. Well, seeing that it was going to be a bit of a wait, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to kill some time by chatting with her. "Me? I'm just a spacer," he responded lightly, giving her a light smirk, "And I'm not dodging the question--I've never actually lived in a house. Though, I suppose my paperwork would say Dantooine." The thought amused him, since he'd only been to Dantooine a few times, the first being when he was ten. Looking back up at the girl, he took a gulp of water and examined her face. Her mannerisms were just so gentle, not the sort of woman whose skirt he'd naturally be chasing, but it was rather telling about her nonetheless. "What about you? You don't exactly act like you're at home either."
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Post by Stelpher on May 4, 2015 4:50:35 GMT -5
"Me? I'm just a spacer," The man responded lightly, giving Natali a light smirk, "And I'm not dodging the question--I've never actually lived in a house. Though, I suppose my paperwork would say Dantooine."
"Dantooine? I think i once met someone who lived there..." She idly spoke, her mind wandering as the man continued to speak.
"What about you? You don't exactly act like you're at home either."
Natali pressed a hand against her forehead, trying to remember the name of her home planet.
"It was uh...where was it? Sarkhai i think. Yeah, that was it. It's all a bit hazy, i haven't really had much time to think of home in the past decade or so. I don't think i could ever go back though. I'm an escaped s-" She paused mid sentence. What if this man was a slave-trader? Or worked for them? She couldn't take that risk.
She made a few gibberish sounding phrases, purposely messing up her sentence.
"Sorry, i mean something escaped my attention. One moment please."
As she stood up and walked back to the counter, she felt a stab of guilt, followed by a tenseness in her back. However, after no disciplinary kick from an unseen master came, she sighed in relief, once more thankful of her new-found freedom.
Natali grabbed a menu off the counter, then turned back to the strange man, handing it to him.
"Sorry, i forgot i'm still here to work. I don't think i'm allowed to chat without first offering you a menu. I don't suggest anything in particular though, it all tastes like different shapes of crap. Still, everyone around here has to eat."
"I should've known as much. I'll just have the salad..." He paused for a moment. "The cook isn't so bad he'd screw up a salad, right?""
In response, Natali gave a small giggle, then walked back to the counter, speaking over her shoulder as she walked.
"Oh, i don't know sir, I've seen him screw up two-minute ration-packs. It's actually quite the sight."
She spent the next few minutes delivering orders to other customers, dutifully putting up with those who seemed more interested in her then the meals she carried. When she was done, the 'salad' if it could still be called that was ready and and she took it over to the man.
"Well, it didn't turn out as bad as i thought, but that's not saying much."
She let out another small giggle, then asked him (and any company he might have) if there was anything else he wanted.
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Post by aardvarklord on May 4, 2015 12:06:52 GMT -5
It was amusing to see the girl's idly consider what he was saying, but when he asked about her own homeworld a series of alarm claxons started sounding in his head. Her difficulty coming up with her own home planet was a shocking revelation in and of itself--he may not have been from a planet but he had memorized every little detail of the old Little Needle. But then her aborted statement brought sense to it, even if it was a bit of a shocker. His eyebrows raised with surprise and he looked up at the woman with a little more of an appraising expression. Even as she caught herself and scampered away he found himself examining her thoughtfully. Certainly explained how she came to get here. He didn't recognize the planet name though, must've been a more obscure one.
He humored her when she came back with a menu and looked it over, hearing her confirmation of his fears regarding the quality of this place and immediately deciding, "I should've known as much. I'll just have a salad..." then, after a pause to consider that, he gave her a smirk, "The cook isn't so bad he'd screw up a salad right?" Of course, not only was he that bad, he was catastrophically bad if the lass was to be believed. It made him groan a bit, but he smiled at her as he gave her back the menu. At least she was honest enough to warn him.
Before long his contact arrived, an older human fellow with a full head of white hair which he had tied into a long braided ponytail, a goatee which might have been trimmed but had gone untouched for about a week, a series of scars across his face, rough and ugly clothing, and a stature a little larger than average but far from colossal. Natali would have recognized him as a regular. The man looked around for a bit, trying to find someone out of place in the cantina, and the moment he saw the relatively clean hybrid made a beeline right for him. "You the guy who's got my stuff?" the fellow asked gruffly, crossing his arms as he approached Jan's table.
"Assuming you've got my pay, certainly."
The man sat down across from him and brought out his own datapad and brought up an image of the intended delivery while Jan fished it out of his pocket. It didn't look like much, a ring that was probably a celebration for a school class of some description, but Jan had long figured out that it was hiding some interesting secrets somewhere within; that gem was a sort of information storage device--he'd taken a similar job before and recognized that it was likely bursting with something important to the rightful owner. Likely useless to Jan himself, but this fellow, "Kreg" he had gone by on the bounty board, probably was out quite a bit thanks to the piece of garbage who stole it. The man went about examining it, pulling out what might have been some sort of jeweler's kit to begin making sure that this was the genuine article.
While Kreg was doing that, the girl came back with the salad... the salad? Um... well it looked like food. So... that was something he supposed. Sighing and shaking his head, he looked up at the girl and gave her a light smile. "I think I'm good. You?" he added to Kreg.
The human was a little slow on the uptake, but eventually a smile crept onto the man's face, "Give me some of that fine Talusian ale you've got, love. I think I need to celebrate." Said Talusian "ale" was pretty much alcoholic piss. With that he let out a laugh and pulled out a tiny lockbox to seal the ring in and pocketed it. "Ah, I can't express how happy a man you've made me, but I'll see what I can do to try." With that the fellow went about laying out the credits that Jan was supposed to be receiving. In the meantime, the bounty hunter himself just went about grabbing himself a little something to eat... he wasn't gagging but the salad wasn't good by a long-shot. After downing the first bite, he looked up to the waitress and said with a light smirk, "Well, at least it's edible."
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Post by Stelpher on May 5, 2015 7:37:20 GMT -5
The strange man now joined by a man Natali recognized as a regular, took the salad, although a little reluctantly. After a brief moment, the regular gave her a smile.
"Give me some of that fine Talusian ale you've got, love. I think I need to celebrate."
Natali let out a snicker, giving the man an over-exaggerated bow.
"Of course my lord, only the finest quality for one such as yourself."
After double-checking with the stranger that he didn't want anything to drink, she left to fetch the ale. After looking through their rather small store, she found one of the better quality bottles. The regular seemed the okay sorts, so she thought she might as well get a decent bottle for him. She then returned, a drinking glass in hand.
Natali poured the old man a bottle, wondering what kind of business these two had together, before her thoughts were interrupted.
"Well, at least it's edible."
"Yeah well, you get what you pay for i guess, and considering nothing here is particularly expensive..." She responded with a small laugh.
Natali hung around the table a few moments more, bored and with not much else to do. She had cleaned the tables as much as she believed they ever could be, and all the other customers were either happy keeping their own company, or already had one of her coworkers tending to them. She got them any food or drink they asked for during whatever they were discussing, although she herself had long since tuned out of it. It was none of her business after all.
However with a severe stroke of bad luck, Natali heard the door to the staff quarters somewhere behind her creak open, the chef and the owners voice's streaming out. Before she had the chance to look as if there was still work that needed to be doing, she heard the owner of the establishment yelling out behind her.
"Hey you! Yes you with the white hair. What the hell do you think you're doing? You're here to work not to get all chummy with the customers."
Natali turned, bowing her head.
"Yes sir. Right away sir."
The two made their way back through the doors, although she heard him muttering.
"Dumb bitch. This is what they do after i'm so generous to give them a job. I should give her a pay cut or something..."
Wincing, Natali apologized to the two at the table, and went back to doing the things she'd already done three times that morning. Before even five minutes had passed, a group of rowdy young men had already got her fetching their drinks, and with each glass that was emptied, the boys would chuck more and more verbal abuse at her.
'Just another one of those days, isn't it Rev?' She thought to herself.
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Post by aardvarklord on May 8, 2015 21:19:23 GMT -5
Jan scoffed and shrugged, conceding the woman's point about the cost of the food here. He was tempted to argue that he actually wasn't getting what he paid for, since he would expect that a head of cabbage would at least be better than this, but he knew where she was coming from.
After that a little bit of banal banter came up, mostly from his employer asking about how the travel lanes were and the details of the job. Of course, Jan was never one for telling trade secrets, so he mostly just said that it was a simple matter of finding the tracks and getting a good position. As for the traffic, same old same old. The girl's presence was interesting, though he didn't mind it. She didn't have work to do, and while she didn't seem to have a whole lot to say she was just generally a nice girl. And easy on the eyes of course, but that wasn't his concern.
And then the upper leadership of the cantina came in... and almost immediately Jan regretted his purchase. He didn't do much other than frown at the bastard for his berating of the girl, it wasn't his place, but once she looked back at him, Jan made sure to give the girl a sympathetic look. Of course, his companion paid no attention--apparently this was common place--and just continued laying out the credits. Sighing, he declined to the drink and went to finishing his salad.
It didn't stop there, however, as the girl began getting harassed by some punks. Worthless sacks of crap, all of them; there's nothing worthy in attacking someone who isn't even capable of fighting back. She has to be nice for her job; those boys were just cowards. Meanwhile, his companion began hassling him to drink with him, and while Jan insisted that he didn't care much for alcohol (a blatant fib, but he didn't want THIS alcohol) the man kept pestering him. Eventually he caved and when Natali came back around he asked for a small bit of an ale he knew to be at least tolerable. However, he knew he wouldn't finish it, instead counting his credits and confirming that it was the agreed-upon amount, only drinking it to help force the salad down. At the same time he ordered his, his companion ordered more of his own crap ale.
When the girl came back around however and she sat it down, he quickly told her to hold on a second and quickly, while nobody was looking, slipped one of the credit tokens into her palm and said quietly, "In case he does dock your pay." She didn't deserve that--she was doing a wonderful job in fact. That owner was just an asshole, made him regret buying anything here.
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Post by Stelpher on May 12, 2015 4:49:15 GMT -5
Washing the dishes. Not the cleanest part of her job, nor the easiest, but Natali enjoyed it, it gave her a reason to get away. From the people, from the yelling, from everything. Behind these doors, it was just her, a cloth, some water and the dishes. Sometimes she came back here just so she could stop smiling. It hurt, the tiny muscles in her face constantly having to remain taught for hours on end. Yet she couldn't stop herself. Like a habit, it had been slowly ingrained into her very nature. But back here, there were no customers to serve, no masters to obey. Just her and her thoughts.
'And the dishes.' She reminded herself, as an idle knife swirling around in the water dug into her hand.
That was the price she had to pay for her solitude. All manner of things were dumped in here. Glasses, cutlery, plates. Sometimes it would even be broken, she had multiple cuts on her hands to prove it. When she was done with that load, she grabbed a small bandage, cutting two lengths off to tie around her hands. She couldn't bind her fingers though, that would sacrifice too much dexterity, but she could bandage her palms fine and that's all she needed for now.
As she left the room, she pressed a button on the wall, notifying the next waiter that it was their turn.
She went back to the two men from earlier, the older man and the young one with the strange ears.
After the older ordered yet another ale, the younger man finally decided to get something to drink too. A moment later, she returned with their drinks.
"Here you go sirs. Have a wonderful day." However before she could leave, the younger man asked her to wait a moment. Natali's expression changed to one of confused curiosity, and she did as told. To her surprise, the man gave her some credits.
"In case he does dock your pay."
She stared at the credits in her palm for a short while, before smiling back to the man, this time her smile felt warmer and more genuine however.
"I appreciate the gesture, but i can't accept this. They're your credits, not mine. How could i possibly accept something that i didn't earn through my own efforts? And i doubt it would do my reputation to any future employers any good if i were found out."
After taking a brief glance around, she gave the man a quick hug.
"Thank you for your generosity though."
And with that she continued on with her shift, somewhat higher in spirits. The feeling of a nail being driven into her skull whenever one of the cantina's rowdier occupants addressed her lessened. For the first time in a while, she had a reason to believe in society again. A reason to have hope.
Before the hour was out, Natali's shift had ended. She finished washing up, then grabbed her dusty old jacket as she said goodbye to her coworkers. Not that they cared.
She stepped outside to be greeted with the early afternoon light. With a smile on her face, she began walking. However, as she turned a nearby corner on her way back to the ship, she found herself bumping into the back of one of the cantina's earlier patrons. A very large and very drunk looking patron. Before she had time to react, his buddies were already circling her.
"Ey, ain't you the bitch who was getting all friendly with the stranger kid?" One spoke, the liquor evident in his breath.
"You know, it isn't safe to get so close to strange men like that. Could be dangerous."
Confused and with her tongue seeming to fail on her, could only stumble out a single phrase.
"Wah?"
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Post by aardvarklord on May 13, 2015 4:46:11 GMT -5
Jan was more than a little surprised when the woman declined the credits. Normally, he would have thought that someone down on their luck would be grateful for every little bit to help them through the day. However, he wasn't going to force is on her, and in a way he was impressed by her resolve. The hug, however, was a little more expected and he returned it, for how little it lasted, and returned a smile at her words. To him, this little gesture wasn't much, he wasn't big on generosity but at the same time he knew that his life style left him with some money to burn. But... who knew what it meant to her. Near as he could tell, she was echani, so she probably wanted to 'fight' her own life, yet he hoped that at least he put her in brighter spirits. Especially with the slime of this cantina around.
After she left he was teased a bit by the employer, but he just let sleeping dogs lie. It wasn't worth getting into an argument about, and for the time being he had a good enough mood going that he didn't feel like souring it. He was trapped around for a little while as he finished his shoddy meal and got his ear talked off by the man. This fellow seemed the sort that could talk for hours without saying anything... maybe he should have gone into politics.
Eventually though, he was released, and after a farewell Jan was let out into the streets where he could finally let out a long sigh of relief. "Glad to be out of that rat hole... he grumbled to himself. After scruffing his boots on the welcome mat, he started down the street, enjoying the good weather and taking big, deep breaths as he walked. However, as he headed to the spaceport, he noticed a bit of a commotion going on across the street. His first instinct was to just keep moving, second to find a good place to take cover in case blaster bolts started flying. But then he saw who was in the middle of the group... and immediately he felt his heart twinge at the sight.
Oh... you're going to regret this, ain't ya Jan? Shaking his head, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and darted across during a break in the traffic. The drunken slobs didn't notice him initially, apparently too focused on trying to do... whatever it was they wanted to the woman; rob her, beat her, rape her, all of the above? Even as he approached he noticed the bigger fellow reaching out to grab her by the neck, not in a 'I'm going to choke you manner,' but more him cradling her head and neck with his overgrown paw and putting her under control. Yeah, this wasn't going to happen if he had anything to say about it. "Oi! Leave the lady be!" he snapped at them as he approached.
Almost immediately the entire group turned to look at the newcomer, and all but the fellow on the far side of the group sneered when they realized who had come to join them. "Well, well, well," the big brute said with a sadistic grin, "Speak of the sith and he shall appear."
"Looking to take your turn with the bitch? Finish what ya started back there?" one of the others chimed in, already cracking his knuckles.
What a charming bunch. "All I'm looking for is for you laser-brained half-wits to space off and leave the poor woman alone."
"Oooooooh... 'leave the poor woman alone'," the big brute chided, his voice sounding feminine in his 'impression' of Jan, "Tell you what kid, you leave right now, and I'll consider not chasing your down and breaking your kneecaps." With that he turned back to Natali, pawing at her a bit and pushing her up against the wall.
So much for diplomacy. Good, he'd been hoping to beat some sense into these fools. And the best part, they were all blind drunk. Grinning tightly, he tried to make eye contact with the girl and give her a reassuring look. Even then though, what he did next was pretty simple. He began walking towards them aggressively, acting indignant (and perhaps he felt it a little), and started into what seemed like a tirade, "Cowards! The whole lot of you! Attacking someone for just doing her j--"
"Break him," the brute ordered.
Immediately one of the wingmen took a swing at him... exactly as he'd been hoping. He seemed to flow around the man's fist and grabbed the offending arm. Before the man could even get through the "Oh" in "Oh [expletive]!" Jan levered him face-first into the wall, then followed it up with a swift kick behind the knee. The guy crumpled like he was made of paper and blood dripped from his nose. With that Jan turned to the other three drunken imbeciles, cracking his neck and knuckles and giving a light grin. The other two wingmen looked utterly shocked, and even the brute looked like he'd at least been expecting the first guy to last longer than two seconds. Still, he had their attention now. "Three on one huh? Not to be clichéd, but I think you need more guys."
With that they all came after him, trying to gang up on him. Normally, Jan would've been a little concerned in such a situation, as he was pretty well surrounded by three guys who all dwarfed him, but he could smell the alcohol and knew that these guys weren't exactly trained. It started off simple enough, the opponents throwing punches at him, which he dodged calmly. He even put his hands behind his back at one point just to taunt them, waiting for them to make a mistake. Inevitably that happened as the two smaller guys both swung at him from opposite sides while the brute was ahead of him; he simply stepped back and pushed them into each other. Their skulls collided with a dull *thunk*.
At that point the guys grumbled something along the lines of "Kriff, I'll just go pay for a hooker," and started wandering off. Immediately the giant roared, "GET BACK HERE YOU COWARDS!"
Chuckling, Jan walked forward towards the man, intending to sweep his leg and knock him down. "So, you going to follow them? Or--"
Immediately the giant spun around and swung an upper cut into his gut and screamed, "STOP TALKING!!!!![/i]" Jan was sent sprawling onto the ground with a gasp of pain from the shot. Before he could catch his breath the giant tried to jump on him, but he quickly rolled away and got to his feet. The man then tried to rugby tackle him, but he tumbled away, only to catch a fist in the cheek as he got back up. Ignoring the pain, he swept the brute's leg and knocked him to the ground. As the man tried to get up--and seemed to be reaching for a weapon in his coat--Jan leaped onto his back and wrapped his arms around the leviathan's neck. They stumbled around for a little while after that, the beast repeatedly slamming Jan up against the wall while prying at the smaller man's arms in an attempt to get him off. However, he held on, and eventually the man started to stumble to the ground, falling to his knees before dropping with a mighty thud. And just like that it was over.
Letting out a massive sigh of relief, Jan got to his feet and leaned over on his knees, gasping for air. "Kriffing... guy... half... gundark..." he grumbled to himself before looking up at the woman (assuming she was still around) and asked with a weary smile, "You okay?"
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Post by Stelpher on May 17, 2015 5:47:36 GMT -5
As the brutes trapped Natali within their midst, she knew that only one of two things could happen next. One would leave her without her dignity, and the other without her life. However as the largest man reached for her neck, something happened that surprised the everyone present.
"Oi! Leave the lady be!"
The words seemed to lift Natali's heart, and she looked up to see the man from earlier approaching. A few words were exchanged between the two parties, the brutes seeming to take his presence as a joke and allowing him to leave if he didn't disturb them any longer. The largest then forced Natali against a wall, and she could guess what was going to come next.
But it didn't.
As she looked back to watch him leave, he simply came closer to the group, giving her a reassuring look.
What happened next, Natali couldn't easily explain, but by the end of it the stranger had taken down three of the brutes, and they quickly decided the fight was not worth their time. Somehow, this strange man had managed to reduce his opponents to just the apparent leader of the group, without so much as a scratch.
The strange man relaxed a little when he approached the thug, and was caught off-guide with a powerful uppercut. As the stranger was sent sprawling to the ground, Natali let out a brief cry of alarm, before raising her arm to warn the man of the thugs follow-up. Luckily the man recovered, and after a few more moments of struggling and combat, the man emerged victorious, managing to choke-out the brute.
The strange man soon approached Natali, mumbling to himself before saying with a smile.
"You okay?"
She just looked at him, an expression of shock on her face, before she dashed forward to check the man for injuries.
"Forget about me, look at you! Are you alright? What kind of idiot goes up against that many thugs? They could have killed you..."
Without her notice, tears had formed in her eyes and were beginning to make their journey across her pale face.
After a presumably proud and stubborn response, she offered (or more, demanded) for him to come back to her residence so she could clean him up. Once they reached the small ship, Natali left the man in her converted living room, telling him she'd be right back. She fetched her meager amount of medical supplies, a cloth and a small bucket of water, then came back to the living room.
"You're a fool, and one day your kindness will get you killed." She said harshly, before softening her expression. "But thank you, i'm in your debt."
Natali then told him to take off his shirt, before using the cloth to clean any small cuts or bruises caused by the fight.
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Post by aardvarklord on May 17, 2015 19:18:10 GMT -5
Honestly, Jan didn't think he was in too bad of shape. His cheek was swollen, his gut still hurt, and his back probably had a few minor cuts, but this was pretty mild stuff compared to some of his nastier jobs. However, he didn't fuss when poor Natali came up, worrying about his health, mostly just from the sight of the tears in her eyes. Had he really worried her that much? Didn't seem that bad to him. "Could have... might have... didn't," was the extent of his response as he looked up at her with a stony expression. He could've been prouder, or pointed out that he was armed and was actually trying to avoid bloodshed, but it was clear that she was in no condition to hear that sort of nonsense. And he was a little too battered to make wise-cracks.
Her offer to take him to her place was a bit odd, but he didn't protest considering that he was still trying to catch his breath. It was a bit of an odd sight to see a ship was her home, especially considering her job as a waitress, but then again if she was an ex-slave as he suspected then there was probably some story behind it. He went ahead and found himself a seat on what was basically a cushioned box and leaned forward; there was no way he'd be able to lean back for a little bit. Once she came back with something to clean him up he started taking his shirt off without needing her to tell him--he knew the drill. "You're a fool..." she told him, something which made him chuckle and shrug a little even as she thanked him. "I never claimed to be a sage," he admitted, casting her a light smirk before wincing a little and letting out a long, tired sigh, "Still, happy to help. And... thanks."
For a little bit he remained quiet, letting her begin cleaning his wounds and quietly sitting around. Of course, eventually a thought came to him as he looked at the ship. "If you've got a ship, what are you doing working in this gutter?" he asked calmly, "Why not do a bit of light shipping? It's no bulk freighter, but I could see this thing making you some money."
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Post by Stelpher on May 19, 2015 7:03:00 GMT -5
"I never claimed to be a sage," The man said, casting Natali a light smirk before wincing a little. "Still, happy to help. And... thanks."
The two remained silent for a time as she continued to clean him up, before he finally broke the silence.
"If you've got a ship, what are you doing working in this gutter? Why not do a bit of light shipping? It's no bulk freighter, but I could see this thing making you some money."
Natali paused a moment to look at the walls of the vessel, before responding.
"It's out of fuel, and i don't have the money to buy more. That's why I've been working on this planet. Although with how much they pay around here, i think i'm still at least a few months of an adequate amount of fuel."
She gave a little smile, her voice taking a more humorous tone.
"I don't think it would work out though. I'm not really great at talking to people, and i don't know a thing about running a business. I'd get ripped off all the time."
Natali sighed.
"They say business is all about selling yourself to your employer, but a few people have told me i'd be pretty good at selling myself." She finished the sentence in her head. 'Just, not that kind of selling myself...'
The silence returned, heavy like a blanket, until this time Natali chose to break it.
"So, what about you? What are you doing on this dump?"
After he answered her, a smile returned to her features.
"Work huh? Well, i guess it's not so bad. You get to travel, see places, meet people, all that stuff."
She decided to give him space to talk, if he wanted it, until she was finally done tending to his wounds.
"Well, that's about all i can do for you, i hope it's enough."
Her face reddened a little, but she managed to keep eye contact as she continued.
"By the way, if you ever need anything, feel free to ask. I am in your debt after all."
She briefly recalled the earlier events of how the man saved her.
"And uh, my name's Natalia, although most just call me Natali."
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Post by aardvarklord on May 19, 2015 20:47:17 GMT -5
Jan nodded understandingly when she explained that the ship was out of fuel. It might not have been expensive on a unit level, but affording to refuel an entire ship wasn't an easy process and paying for docking fees from a dead-end job would certainly hamper efforts. However, as she mentioned that she wouldn't be good at it and made a comment about selling herself, Jan almost immediately looked at her with concern. He almost immediately knew that the people meant something else by that and had to repress the urge to shake his head. She seemed a good woman; the idea that people thought of her only as a pair of tits on legs was... irritating to say the least. "It depends on the job," he assured her, "Shipping is just a matter of knowing where to take your goods and avoiding trouble."
Her query as to his business here got a scoff out of him. He didn't know how she'd react to him being a bounty hunter, but the story was odd even without that. "Had a high value delivery to give to that idiot I was sitting across from."
Eventually she finished with treating him and he straightened up, rolling his shoulders a little. "Thank you," he responded with a light smile. He noticed the slight blush she had going, but decided not to comment on it. It could be anything from being grateful for his save to her wanting to get in his pants--he wasn't about to make assumptions.
Of course, she then stated that she owed him... and he almost immediately sighed sadly at the prospect. He wasn't opposed to trading favors from people, but 99.9999% of the time, those people had the resources to spare for such favors. Still, it wasn't all bad, as she introduced herself. He could work with it. "My name's Jan," he introduced himself with a slight bow, "And Natali, I think you have enough to worry about without worrying about debts. Heck, I'd wager I might have inadvertantly gotten you into that mess just by drawing attention to you in the bar."
With that he got up and began walking around, rubbing a sore spot on his shoulder as he walked the floor of the ship. "Still, I appreciate the thought," he added, turning to her and flashing a friendly smile.
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Post by Stelpher on Jun 12, 2015 5:04:02 GMT -5
"My name's Jan." The man introduced himself with a slight bow.
"And Natali, I think you have enough to worry about without worrying about debts. Heck, I'd wager I might have inadvertently gotten you into that mess just by drawing attention to you in the bar." With that he stood up, rubbing his shoulder and walking around the room. "Still, I appreciate the thought." he added, turning to her and flashing a friendly smile.
Natali felt a small smile tugging at her features at man's generosity, but masked it with a frown.
"Thanks for your concern, but i can't just let this slide. I have to pay my debt to you, i just wouldn't feel right otherwise."
After getting no obvious response, her voice took on a slightly more desperate tone.
"Please Mr Jan, I'll do anything! I can cook, i can sow and i can clean. Even if you just wanted someone to talk to. Anything..." She lowered her head, relaxing her shoulder to allow her top to slide down a little, hoping he'd catch the hint. "So please, just give me a chance. If not for your own sake, do it for me." She looked back up, staring into his eyes and awaiting his response.
After a brief moment of thought, Jan approached Natali, straightening up her top.
“Are you absolutely certain?"
When she nodded, Jan sighed.
"Well, I suppose I could use someone to keep me company. We'll talk about pay and such once I see what you can do, but welcome aboard."
Natali bowed, with a grateful smile on her face.
“Thank you sir, I’ll pack my things immediately. Is now a good time, or would it be better for you if you picked me up later?”
Stroking his chin, Jan shrugged.
"May as well come once you've packed, I'll wait."
Nodding, Natali quickly moved through an adjacent doorway, heading to the room she slept in.
Once inside, she grabbed her minimal possessions – another pair of clothes, a blanket, a few credits and a vibroknife, the last of which she took hesitantly.
As Natali slowly walked back to where Jan waited for her, she thought to herself.
‘You know Rav, I never realized until after I got my freedom exactly how hard a life could be alone. I’m not strong like you, I don’t think I’m quite ready for it yet. But I met a super nice guy, and I sort of owe him, but it’s okay because he’s kind of cute. Anyways, I know you’re busy being dead and all, but I just thought I should let you know I’m saying goodbye to the ship. It got us out of there, it’s served its purpose. I’m sorry we couldn’t leave together. Wish me luck.’
She entered the room, waving to Jan from across the room.
“This is just about everything I own. I’m ready when you are.”
She put everything in a box to make it a little easier to carry, and then at Jan’s response the two left, Natali saying one last goodbye to the ship.
The trip to Jan’s residency felt almost surreal to Natali, the girl wrapped in thought and not really paying attention to the rest of the world. Then she bumped into Jan’s back as he stopped. Apologizing, she took a step back to look up at him.
“Is this it?”
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Post by aardvarklord on Jun 12, 2015 11:44:58 GMT -5
There really was no getting around this, was there? Jan could tell just by looking in the girl's eyes that she wasn't about to back down from this 'debt' idea that had somehow slipped into her brain. He definitely noticed the fact that she was also trying to seduce him into letting her come with him, and while he chose not to act on it, there was no way for him to say that he wasn't tempted.
However, more important was making sure she knew that he was giving her the chance to forget this whole mess; he wasn't a wookie, he didn't believe in life debts. "Are you absolutely certain?" he offered her. She was. Letting out a sigh he put his hands on his hips before giving her a somewhat forced, but patient smile, "Well, I suppose I could use someone to keep me company. We'll talk about pay and such once I see what you can do, but welcome aboard." After telling her to get packed and wrap things up, he calmly waited near the loading ramp and quietly debated what to do. So, he would need to set aside a place for her to sleep, probably needed to get her some more clothes in case he has to transport a VIP (and depending on her own supplies), get some more cooking at some point, figure out the average going rate of a live-in maid and cross reference that with how much Miss Life-Debt was willing to BE paid... Why did he get the feeling that getting someone to do work for him was going to be a lot of work in and of itself? That said, he supposed that having someone to talk to on the ship, and someone as good-looking as her for that matter, would be worth it. Hopefully. Maybe.
When she came in with a box of assorted goods, he couldn't help but feel like it was a little light. Then again, escaped slave. "Alright, no time like the present then," he said, waving for her to follow. Of course, they hadn't even gotten down the ramp when he opened his mouth to ask, "What about the--" and then he reminded himself once again: escaped slave. They put this thing up for sale, it would probably summon her owner down on them or someone looking to collect some bounty or something of the like. "Nevermind"
The walk to his hangar bay was pretty short, maybe ten bays down from the one she had settled. He jumped a little when she bumped into him, but otherwise just shrugged it off with an "It's fine," before trying to get his ID out. Her question made him chuckle a little as he shook his head, "Not precisely," he told her with a chuckle before the door slid open. Ushering her in, she would see the elegant Helix-class looming over them, its overgrown-fighter shape filling up the hangar. "This is my home." He calmly ushered her up to the ship and lowered the boarding ramp, making sure to close it behind them. She would undoubtedly find the interior rather pleasant, perhaps not as luxurious as the quarters of her former master, but definitely far from sparse. As they walked, he told her what each of the rooms were, including pointing to the entrance of the cargo bay.
Eventually, as they were approaching the guest rooms, they were waylaid by his "co-pilot." "WARP! Bruuurrrr vwert krawwrrrr," went the ugly sound of the patchwork astromech droid. Zero seemed to notice Natali with him, but didn't comment one way or the other... initially.
Rolling his eyes, Jan snipped back at the droid, "Excuse me while I took care of some work of my own."
"Dwaaarrrrrr!"
"Oh shut up and go set the screen up to show me the offers."
"Thrrrpt!" the droid raspberried before turning around and scooting off.
Letting out an amused chuckle, he turned to Natali with a smirk, "That was Zero. Don't mind him, he's more bark than bite." Still laughing at the droid's antics, he shook his head and opened a door and gestured to it, "This'll be your room. Make yourself at home while I deal with the farting trash can." Assuming she had no complaints, he then walked off into the ship and started looking over job offers with Zero. Meanwhile, she was left with her own personal quarters. It wasn't exceptionally roomy or anything, in fact it was scarcely more than a bed with a drawer underneath it, a closet off to the side, and a small desk with a computer, but it was nicely decorated and the bed's sheets were absolutely sublime.
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