In Hyperspace, No One Can Hear You Scream

[BD-86]

"I need someone right now to explain to me what on my own ship I just stepped in before we get to Coruscant. Which, by the way, we'll be approaching soon, and therefore we need to get our karking story straight."

The telltale collection of chirps from the open access panel in the wall made it pretty easy to tell who was inside. Given this was how one got in to fix the sublight stabilizer (as well as the echoing sounds of huttese curses) made it pretty easy to guess who ELSE was inside.

As Sindren bemoaned the current state of his boot, as if on cue, BD-86 emerged dragging what looked like… a big clump of matted fur coated in wet sand? The little droid whistled along, turning to deposit the latest retrieval into the growing pile of disposables.

Instead of his carefully contained mound however, BD saw a familiar boot squarely in and on top of it. The droid slowly looked Sindren up and down, as if appraising the situation more thoroughly. After a moment’s pause, he suddenly let loose a quick, agitated-sounding string of beeps and whistles, slapping the wet, sandy clump of something directly on top of Sindren’s already soiled foot before petulantly retreating back into the wall.

[Mana Corrick]

"I need someone right now to explain to me what on my own ship I just stepped in before we get to Coruscant. Which, by the way, we'll be approaching soon, and therefore we need to get our karking story straight."

The telltale collection of chirps from the open access panel in the wall made it pretty easy to tell who was inside. Given this was how one got in to fix the sublight stabilizer (as well as the echoing sounds of huttese curses) made it pretty easy to guess who ELSE was inside.

Before long, a dirty mop of brown hair somehow containing a face pops out of the access panel just as a low hum echoes from the interior. "Jee gut bo kapa chuba, jango?" <Why are you yelling, old man?> Mana asks, pulling herself out of the wall just to lean against it, mucking up the bulkhead with her grease (and whatever other dirt she accumulated from crawling in the machinery).

"Chuba wanga. Bo shmi ta koo cho cho port." <Ship's fixed. At least until we make it to port> she reports, pushing off of the wall to snag a protein-flavored protein bar and digging into it ravenously.

[Tessia Sarn]

"Maybe a little?" There's an ironic twist to Kel's words, and to the little wrinkle of her nose, but that sympathy is still there to soften it.

Tessia sighs, pulling her cap off her head and twisting it in her hands. Her dark hair zigzags about her face in a riot of shaggy locks, "I knew it. I just... it's been a long job and..."

Her eyes dart away, not willing to make eye contact with Kel. "...and I'm ready to be home. I guess." It doesn't take the Force to know that wasn't what she'd orginally planned to say.

"I got…channelfish flavored protein bar, ormachek-flavored protein bar, and…" She pauses, wrinkling her nose at the label. "I guess protein-flavored protein bar? Oh, and a bunch of blue macarons!" she adds, brightening again. "But those, we're gonna split. I haven't had one of those in ages."

Tessia's been between scores often enough to know that you eat when the food's available, even if it's protein-flavored protein bar, so she pays attention, but..."Oh, macarons!" she breathes out, some life and excitement coming back to her eyes. She gestures to the table, taking a seat and encouraging Kel to do the same. "Yes please. I'll eat flavored protein bars, but not if you're going to offer me a share of blue macarons. You found those on the ship? I might have to change my opinion of the quality of on-board accommodations..."

That, of course, is when Captain Sinful (or something) shows up.

"...from excellent to absolutely top-tier, of course!" She beams, flopping her cap back on her head and blowing some of those stray strands out of her face with a puffed out lower lip.

"I need someone right now to explain to me what on my own ship I just stepped in before we get to Coruscant. Which, by the way, we'll be approaching soon, and therefore we need to get our karking story straight."

Coruscant. Home... of sorts. She's got a little squat of an apartment there, not anything most people would consider "home", but at least it's planetside and lacking in sand. Tessia isn't sure what the captain's talking about, but she's curious at what he might have stepped in. She rises from her seat a little way, craning her neck to see the floor. She wrinkles her nose and carefully sits back down in case the goo decides to attack anything that moves too fast.

"It wasn't me, whatever it was. But..."

Instead of his carefully contained mound however, BD saw a familiar boot squarely in and on top of it. The droid slowly looked Sindren up and down, as if appraising the situation more thoroughly. After a moment’s pause, he suddenly let loose a quick, agitated-sounding string of beeps and whistles, slapping the wet, sandy clump of something directly on top of Sindren’s already soiled foot before petulantly retreating back into the wall.

Before long, a dirty mop of brown hair somehow containing a face pops out of the access panel just as a low hum echoes from the interior. "Jee gut bo kapa chuba, jango?" <Why are you yelling, old man?> Mana asks, pulling herself out of the wall just to lean against it, mucking up the bulkhead with her grease (and whatever other dirt she accumulated from crawling in the machinery).

"Chuba wanga. Bo shmi ta koo cho cho port." <Ship's fixed. At least until we make it to port> she reports, pushing off of the wall to snag a protein-flavored protein bar and digging into it ravenously.

"...you might ask them?" she says sweetly, popping a bite of macaron in her mouth and chewing cheerfully. "Jusht a guesh" she adds, a couple of crumbs puffing from her full mouth.

[Sindren Lorn]

Sindren closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger while taking a deep breath before lifting his foot and shaking off whatever detritus the droid had just deposited on top of his boot.

There would be time later for conversations about how to properly dispose of shipboard trash, but more pressing matters needed attending.

"Anyway, like I said, we're quickly approaching Coruscant," he said, walking over to the table at which Kel and Tessia sat and grabbing the nearly empty tube of cookies. "We do need to get the remains of Flyyk stowed somewhere until we can claim the DNA-based bounty. We shouldn't have to worry about inspections at the level we're docking at, it's best not to risk it."

He shook the shiny silver foil container until one of the macarons tumbled into his hand. The aroma of cloudberry wafted up and Sindren breathed it in deeply, knowing that within a few hours he'd have nothing but the smell of oil, sweat, and tyranny clogging his sinuses. He popped the treat into his mouth whole and took a moment to simply enjoy the sugary tartness.

"Good find," he quietly said to Kel, favoring her with a conspiratorial wink before adjusting his posture to address everyone. "We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in about an hour and then we'll have about another hour of sublight - great job fixing whatever was karked Mana, by the way - til dock. Planetary police should be the only security at the docks, but they can sometimes be worse than standard Imperial security. Poorly trained zealots with a violent streak, for the most part. Love to show how much power they think they have, so stay quiet if they give you trouble. After that, we're all on to our next, yeah?"

Shaking the tube, a macaron fell into his hand and he walked over to offer it to Mana before bringing to his lips and tipping it up like a bottle so the final confection tumbled into his mouth.

[Kel Hannix]

Tessia sighs, pulling her cap off her head and twisting it in her hands. Her dark hair zigzags about her face in a riot of shaggy locks, "I knew it. I just... it's been a long job and..."

Her eyes dart away, not willing to make eye contact with Kel. "...and I'm ready to be home. I guess." It doesn't take the Force to know that wasn't what she'd orginally planned to say.

Kel holds Tessia's gaze for a beat longer, even after Tessia looks away. But she doesn't push, not this time. "Okay."

Tessia's been between scores often enough to know that you eat when the food's available, even if it's protein-flavored protein bar, so she pays attention, but..."Oh, macarons!" she breathes out, some life and excitement coming back to her eyes. She gestures to the table, taking a seat and encouraging Kel to do the same. "Yes please. I'll eat flavored protein bars, but not if you're going to offer me a share of blue macarons. You found those on the ship? I might have to change my opinion of the quality of on-board accommodations..."

A grin of happy relief spreads over Kel's face. Even if she hasn't gotten at the root of what's got Tessia so freaked out, she's at least helped a little. She'll take the win.

"I need someone right now to explain to me what on my own ship I just stepped in before we get to Coruscant. Which, by the way, we'll be approaching soon, and therefore we need to get our karking story straight."

"Whoa, I've got no idea what that is!" Kel can't help grimacing as she looks down at the glop, though, which she's sure isn't helping.

Instead of his carefully contained mound however, BD saw a familiar boot squarely in and on top of it. The droid slowly looked Sindren up and down, as if appraising the situation more thoroughly. After a moment’s pause, he suddenly let loose a quick, agitated-sounding string of beeps and whistles, slapping the wet, sandy clump of something directly on top of Sindren’s already soiled foot before petulantly retreating back into the wall.

"But, uh, now you've got more of it?" Probably helping even less. Not even with the hopeful grin Kel offers along with it.

He shook the shiny silver foil container until one of the macarons tumbled into his hand. The aroma of cloudberry wafted up and Sindren breathed it in deeply, knowing that within a few hours he'd have nothing but the smell of oil, sweat, and tyranny clogging his sinuses. He popped the treat into his mouth whole and took a moment to simply enjoy the sugary tartness.

Kel's breath catches briefly in a tension made instinctive by years of taking food that isn't hers. Of course she _knows_ the old man won't mind if she takes the extras - she's done it before, and she's pretty sure he knew then, too. But she still holds herself motionless, not daring one of those telltale crinkles from the extra protein bars in her pockets.

"Good find," he quietly said to Kel, favoring her with a conspiratorial wink before adjusting his posture to address everyone.

That's a win too. How often does the old man get to enjoy something? She's glad he's getting this change. Kel flashes a grin in return for the wink, and sprawls down into the chair next to Tessia, not bothering to hide the crinkling sound as she moves.

"We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in about an hour and then we'll have about another hour of sublight - great job fixing whatever was karked Mana, by the way - til dock. Planetary police should be the only security at the docks, but they can sometimes be worse than standard Imperial security. Poorly trained zealots with a violent streak, for the most part. Love to show how much power they think they have, so stay quiet if they give you trouble. After that, we're all on to our next, yeah?"

"Hard to tell the difference these days," Kel mutters. Planetary police answer to Imperial security, as far as she can tell - on the rare occasions when planetary police can even be found. Everything's Imperial; everything's far too dangerous for Kel to want to look closely enough to try to unravel the power dynamics. "I hope we can get through without saying anything."