Adrift

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


Delila found it interesting he seemed to like to cook. Boredom? Ex-wife? Former occupation? It was difficult to say. Rag continued to find each mushroom, gently setting each one on the counter as he talked. They were in a jungle, so of course there were plenty of animals to kill. Some a bit easier to catch then others.


"Of course there are."


Delila thought for a moment.


"Fish is easiest to catch, what I've mainly been eating. Others are in supply, crap ton of birds and small animals. Depends on how much effort you prefer to put in I suppose."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Locke nodded, before starting to wash the vegetables.

If this had been familiar territory he might have gone out to hunt right now. But he was still tired, chemicals still running through his veins and giving him pause. The head was way better now than it had been yesterday, but that didn't mean Locke was ready to go out and start killing things just like that.

Not while he didn't know what the hell was out there in the first place.

"Might go out and explore in a few hours then." Elly responded after a moment of silence. "Nothing wrong with what we got right now, salad, fry up the mushrooms."

The man shrugged.

"I have had worse anyway."

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


Explore? Seriously? Delila had spent a decade or so on the planet. Last thing she wanted to do was explore the hell she had been trapped in for such a long period of time. She had traveled a great distance around her 'stone palace' and had probably done enough exploring for a lifetime.


The food was more than enough for her. Could have thrown another packet of ready-to-eat nerf chili at her and she would have ate it heartily, vomiting and all.


"I'll probably pass on the exploring, have fun though."


She could go poking around and try to find the manual for the ship. Delila wasn't completely idiotic, she did remember how to read and follow diagrams. If she could find the manual then matters could be taken into her own hands about the repair. Wiser to get it right the first time than rely on shaky memories.


"Yeah, this is a real horrible meal going on."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Locke smirked, but couldn't find any disagreement with her.

It needed some meat to really be tasty, to get the juices marinating and adding the sharpness. Besides no matter what mushrooms were, they couldn't really replace a good steak or a bantha burger. But they didn't really have a choice in the matter right now - maybe later he'd go out hunting and get them some proper food, but right in the moment he would be happy with something in their stomach.

"Alright, start cutting this up, I am gonna go and see if we got any garlic or onions. If we cut the onions up, fry them good, might make this entire thing a bit better."

Still wouldn't be meat, but not everything could be as good as meat.

Didn't mean you shouldn't eat it anyway.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


Meal was cooked, Delila spending most of her time asking pointless questions to Scars about cooking and exactly how he did what and why. It was probably best to learn a bit while stuck with Scars, perhaps it was something she would need in the future. One never knew. Either way, she had put herself in charge of clean up and quickly got the kitchen back in sparkling order.


Scars had found the manual and tossed it to her, allowing her to drift outside and stare at the damage, flipping through the old-school paper bound book. Eyes squinted, staring at the small print.Delila was used to having reading glasses. She had them in the crash but they had to be used to make a firestarter. The lenses were scratched up and beyond repair at this point. Still made a great fire though.


"Damn, I'm getting old....going to have to get new ones when I get on my feet..."


Clearly she was muttering to herself, flipping through pages, world tuned out from around her.

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Locke snorted while working on the array of machinery some meters next to her.

If there was one person looking good - no matter how old she claimed to be - it was this one. In truth, if it had been any other situation? He probably would have been all over here already... or at least think about being all over her... or maybe Elly would have simply told himself not to be a fool and let it go. It was increasingly difficult to tell with him and that was the truth.

He was trying to fix up the repulsor lift, if he could?

Would give them an easier way to navigate through this gorram jungle. Well, that was the hope anyway, fact of the matter was that at the end of the day there wasn't much he could about the trees and crap.

Unless there was a way to boost the hell out of the lift and allow it to push itself past the trees themselves?

"We tried fixing the flux capacitor already, it didn't work." He finally responded over his shoulder. In truth? Locke was increasingly getting more frustrated with their lack of progress. If he was gonna be stuck on this rotten planet forever.... well, Elly wasn't sure what he would do, but it wouldn't be pretty. There would probably be a lot of cursing involved as well.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


"Hmn"


Engrossed in her reading, Delila didn't offer much a of reply on what he had tried to fix. Didn't seem to register to her in one way or another. Page slowly flipped back and she looked over at the tools scattered around her. She was near where it looked as if a small fire had spread, melting wires. Seemed like an easy fix, clip and tie in back together. Clearly it wasn't going to transmit much in the horrible state it was in now.


Kneeling down, she picked up a pair of electrical snips, moving to cut out the damaged portion. Edge of the snips made contact with a current and next thing she knew it was electrocution city. It would have been wise to use a voltage meter first but clearly that step had been long forgotten.

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

At first Locke wasn't aware of what was happening.

That was the issue with electrocution.

Everything locked up, muscles ceased in perpetual twists and motions. Especially when the only other person around was cursing and trying to get his latest crafting project working, but within the lull he suddenly heard the choking sound. He turned around, eyes widening themselves slightly before instinct turned him into action. There wasn't much to do here, no rubber or anything that could ground the electricity.

All there was to do was to let go of the forcefethed wires, which was impossible once your fingers seized up.

So Dahlia would experience his body slamming into hers within the next three seconds, forcibly wrestling her away from the wires. Most of the charge got dislodged, but it hurt like a fether for Elly regardless.

"Feth." Locke grunted, while lying on top of her. At the moment he didn't yet fully realize just how compromising the positioning of bodies was. "You alright?"

Ugh, it hurt.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


Delila had run ins with electric before. Small, relatively harmless electric currents that might have left a thumb numb for a bit. Or caused her to jump back with a bit of a 'pinch'. Today she could safely say it was as if she had been struck by a long-haul freighter. Muscles were completely numb, Delila wasn't even aware if her own hand was moving when she tried to touch her temple or not.


Scars was over her, looking pained and concerned all at once. Blue-green eyes narrowed, her brain trying to think of a response. Was she okay? Body was numb. Heart was moving a little too rapidly for her liking. She was alive for the moment.


"Don't think...I'm cut out for....civilized life..."


Words were a bit slurred, hopefully he understood.

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Locke frowned, before shaking his head and sighing softly to himself.

Only after another moment or so did he notice their bodies pressed together and the close proximity. It almost immediately was followed by him pushing himself up and off the lady - not that he had mind the proximity, but it wasn't really the right kind of context for the stuff going through his head.

He offered a hand for her to drag herself back up, once her muscles started to work again.

"I need a gorram drink after this." Elly responded, before shrugging and gesturing towards the freighter. "Think I got a few Corellians in the cabinet."

...did she even know that Corellia was broken apart?

Maybe Locke had told her, he couldn't actually remember.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


It took a moment but she took his hand and was back up on her feet. Soldier training kicked in, knowing she had to get up or lay down and die. Muscles seemed a little tense, a little numb. Heart still hadn't got back to proper working order but at her age she didn't expect to bounce back instantaneously.


"Corellians? Ale or liquor?"


Corellian brandy had been her favorite back in the day. Nothing like a nerf dinner followed by a brady or two served neat. Didn't Scars say something happened to Corellia?A war or something? She couldn't really remember to being with.


"Nevermind.You go ahead....I'm going to get back at this. Maybe I'll join you later."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

"Later I might not be there to keep your ass from being fried, Dahlia."

Hands still holding, Locke tugged at it gently, before letting her go. The last thing he needed right now was getting drunk out of his mind, then the next morning walking outside and seeing Dahlia laying face-first in a ditch. That would be a crappy way to go and that would mean he'd have to start thinking about digging a hole for her, shove her in it and all the other crap.

Lots of energy spend for something that could be avoided easily.

"It's liquor. So we are getting drunk out of our minds, sleep, and then revisit this crap tomorrow, alright?"

Well, either way, Elly was already turning to walk back into the freighter.

No sense in standing around.

Either she would smart up or she would continue trying to kill herself.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


Personally, Delila would prefer to be cremated if such a fate befall her. Digging a hole, filling it in,putting rocks on top or whatever ritual decoration, all of it seemed like an extreme amount of work for someone who wouldn't be around to complain. From the way he finally let go of her hands, the look he gave her it was more than just a complete waste of energy. He would probably feel guilty if she up and fried herself. Even if she decided to actually use the voltage meter this time.


Either way, she watched him go. Delila wasn't going to do any more work for the evening but had the good enough sense to tidy up the area. Tools went back in their respective crate or box before she shoved it under the ship to keep it out of the rain. Makeshift tarp went over the opened repair areas. In the jungle one thing was certain : it was going to rain. Couldn't predict when, it just did.


Heading back inside, the ship was becoming a slightly less confusing maze. Lounge seemed like a logical place to drink and after a few wrong turns she found Scars sitting and drinking.


"Drinking alone? Not a good look."


Picking up a lowball glass, she poured her own drink before sitting at the opposite end of the couch.

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

"You kidding? Ladies love this look."

He hadn't been drinking long.

First it had been the case of cleaning up, water brushing against his skin and hair to feel a little bit more alive. Whatever the case was with this place, the humidity really worked havoc on your tissue and it was hard. But a little of water, little bit of soup and suddenly you felt way more in tune with yourself. After that it was trying to find the forcedamn bottles, because the crash had really done a number on his supplies.

Some of his stashes he only found broken bottles.

But about the fifth or sixth stash, Elly finally hit jackpot and got out about four or five bottles from a locker. Some corellian brandy, couple of mandalorian vodka and some other crap he didn't recognize now.

"Whatcha feeling?"

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


"Do they? Explains why I had to use a stick to beat them all off for this seat."



Delila put the edges of her boots on the little table containing the bottles of liquor, her back pushing deep into the cushion. She was in her own world, swirling the amber liquid in the glass. There was a sip of the liquid, something she couldn't identify. Either she hadn't drank it often before or her memory was completely fuzzy on the taste of certain things.



"I don't know. Bourbon? Its not horrible. First rule of drinking ; one may not complain about free drinks."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Locke snorted at that, before relaxing further into the seat.

"I will drink to that." A glass was half-raised, but it was too much effort to actually do the clink. But an air clink would do just as well in his mind. In truth all of this could have been much worse. It wouldn't have taken much for the entire ship to be wrecked and destroyed, all the supplies gone into the wind and only being here with a rock and some sticks.

It would get that bad soon enough, of course.

Resources weren't infinite and at some point they would run out, especially with two and even if they were hunting. But with a drink in hand and sipping from the glass softly... Locke didn't feel like thinking too hard about it.

"Bottle to your left." He gestured again with his glass towards the specific bottle. "It got what you want."

Personally Locke was starting off slowly.

Build up a foundation, before he would yank his liver out and pour alcohol over it.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


"Not the biggest fan of bourbon, just happened to pick it up first."


Delila yawned and sipped her drink. She wasn't too sure about drinking heavily. There had been no alcohol in her system in a decade. No check up on her cloned replacement liver put in well over a decade ago due to a Bando Gora attack. Wasn't too keen on getting extremely drunk and messing up something that might be half-wrong at the moment. Not exactly an emergency room around.


"What are your plans once you're off this rock?"

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

A shrug escaped his shoulders.

In truth he wasn't really thinking about escaping anymore. They had hit a wall with the electronics and the hyperdrive was completely busted, not even the spare parts Dells had brought along was helping with that - so, right now all that Locke was thinking about was the little glass with liquid in his hands. Elly played with it a bit, let the amber swirl around the glass while trying to think of something.

"Probably take a vacation from the work. I got so many spared up paid vacation days, it isn't even funny."

Maybe find himself a tropical beach, count the shells and listen to some music?

Get a few more drinks, tropical ones... with little flags or umbrellas attached to them. Fruity ones that were pleasant on the tongue and didn't burn out all your taste buds at any rate.

"You?"

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


Truth was, Delila wasn't so sure she should leave the planet. A lot of bridges were burned. The galaxy was large and expansive, so it was doubtful she would ever have to find her old contacts again. There was an issue of trying to integrate back into a normal life, trying to figure out what changed and how. Hell, she couldn't even remember the basics of electrical.


It didn't seem that Scars wanted her to stay though. Seemed a little angry when she mentioned staying and an early demise before. White Knight Syndrome? She couldn't say.


"Try to access an old and buried account I had set up for my Galactic Republic retirement.....I know they went under but might be some funds still left in there....never bothered to touch it."


A shrug.


"If not....find work at a seedy bar, crime lord....strip clubs always need security. Get enough money to go and do something else. I've done security for royalty and senators before....Probably do that again. Lay low. Try not to make the mistakes I made last time."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Locke listened without saying much in reply.

Galaxy had changed while Dells was gone - One Sith rose up, cut out a large portion of the Galaxy and then collapsed in on itself, then the Mandalorians came around... killed off the Republic and collapsed in on itself. The Alliance rose up and was now taking a pounding by the First Order.

If you looked at it?

Reality had a tendency to go around in circles and let history repeat itself. Wouldn't be a surprise to Locke if the Alliance got killed, then the Order followed soon after that.

Seemed to be the thing.

He took a sip and shrugged.

"Could always sign up with me, if we get out." The offer was make lightly, not much thought went into it. "Can always use a co-pilot."

In truth Locke liked Dahlia to a degree. Seemed like a good sort, besides... she already had the opportunity to just kill him and take his crap away from him. But she hadn't done that. That probably told a lot about what kind of person she was in the first place, so there was that.