Adrift

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Eyes studied the scar again and Elly grinned back.

It was a good scar and it didn't seem like Dells was too bothered with it either. This was good, because there wasn't anything wrong with a good scar. It showed that you survived, showed that you got through whatever crap there was and came out alive on the other side. That wasn’t a small thing and, in Locke's opinion, it was quite important to be reminded of that.

While also being reminded that they were all mortal and that nothing came for free.

She brushed past him, pushing him to the wall and Elly couldn’t help but brush his hand down her back, giving her behind a soft pat.

Encouragement of sort.

"Get some tea for me as well." He shouted over his shoulder, as he went back to drying himself up and getting himself ready for a day of work.

Can't kark it all away sadly.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


Tea was waiting for him on the counter, spoon and one of those little squeeze bottles of honey sitting off to the side.


Meanwhile she had disappeared outside to work on her little project, mug in hand. Mists had already burned off for the day, leaving nothing but a hot and muggy atmosphere. Delila had set off gathering everything she would need for her idea at once, including a voltage meter. Fool her once. Its what she got for over estimating her abilities on day one.


Side panel of the vessel was carefully removed, Delila placing the bolts to the access hatch in a little cup for safekeeping. Sipping her tea, eyes took in the groupings of wires before her. Manual was laid out as a guide as she stared.


If she could add on the long-range booster salvaged off her own vessel they might be able to pick up and possibly hail holonet and basic transmissions. Hopefully.

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Tea was all good and well, but Elly was gorram hungry as well.

So he set out to make some food.

Took some time to go back and forth the bay with the fresh produce, but eventually he managed to gather up a few eggs, some frozen bantha meat and some other crap that would work nicely together. Wasn't long before the sound of sizzling butter sounded through the kitchen and Locke could mostly focus on stirring and sipping from his tea, while studying his datapad.

There was no reception here, obviously, but there were some mission reports he hadn't read yet.

So, that is what he did, stirring, reading and taking a sip of tea every once in a while. Trail suggested Dells went out, probably trying to fiddle with the wires again, hopefully this time she wouldn't get herself killed.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]



Delila was too engrossed in her own world to pay attention to breakfast or much of the world around her. Her body was halfway in the vessel,crawling through the small access space.


Common theme seemed to be burnt wiring,probably due to heat from engine loss or a similar event. Again, her knowledge was rusty. Trusty manual in hand was with her every step of the way, allowing her to label thing correctly this time. No more electrocution,well,save for a low voltage shock here and there.


Sun was high in the sky by the time she had managed to wiggle half-way out of the vessel. Grease covered her clothes and hair,already torn clothes a little more ragged. Wires laid around her feet in a nasty mess. Yet it was an organized mess.


Range booster from her ship was already installed. Flipping the switch, Delila waited to see if anything caught fire. So far,so good.


"Huh. Nothing on fire. Probably doesn't work."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

It was enough time for him to figure out the food and get something hot going on for her.

By the time she crawled out of the ship the man peeked out of the door and eyed her up and down. She was a mess, a good one though, fabric skirting up and down just right enough to see what a man wanted to see. The grime and oil didn't seem to bother him all that much, but that wasn't a huge surprise.

With the career he had, it wouldn't be a surprise if he had waded through far worse in his hay day.

"Got food ready for the two of us, take a break, eh?" Gotta take a few breaks every once in a while, otherwise there was a chance she would start making mistakes again.

Get electrocuted or something.

 

[Delila Castillon]

Frustration was written all over her face as [member="Elliot Locke"] poked his head out of the ship, glancing her over. Hand reached up and smudged more grease onto her temple as she tried to brush away a stray lock of hair. There was a bit of disbelief at his words.


Take a break? Taking a break meant staying on planet longer.


Hand rested on her hips, surveying her damage. Range extender was getting power but was it getting enough? Eyes narrowed, as if doing so would magically make the answer apparent. The only way to know was to actually go inside and mess around with the HoloNet and all of the communication equipment found in the cockpit.


Delila carefully put the panel half back on at an angle, just in case the rains found their way to them before she could finish inside.


"Yeah, I guess."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

In his mind she was here for years now, a decade or so and for him... he wasn't going to save the colony regardless.

So they might as well make the best of things and take it easy. The last thing they wanted to do was hurry their crap. All hurry would do was push them towards mistakes that would set them back even more. No, the slow and steady approach was the best one in this particular situation.

"Right on." Elly mumbled, before disappearing back into the ship and letting her finish up the covering. Once she got to the kitchen she would be greeted by a good and hearty meal.

His back was turned to her and the soft caress of caf was weaving itself through the currents.

If Elly was anything, it was very strict on his caf quality.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


Delila already knew about taking the 'wait and see' and 'slow and steady' approach to trying to get off planet. It meant turning what could have been getting off in a timely manner to an unplanned stay. Scars may not have an inkling to get off planet anytime soon. Delila knew the pitfalls of waiting, of holding out hope that someone cared enough to actually look for you.


It wasn't happening. Seemed to only make for hurt feelings and rusted out parts.


Either way she headed inside and went into the refresher, washing her hands and face, using her dirty towel from this morning. Smudge of grease was missed near her temple and she shrugged, fixing her ponytail before heading out into the kitchen.


Making her way to him, Delila touched his lower back, giving a heads up she was behind his person.


"Need help?"

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

In truth Elly was tired, exhausted even and it wasn't because of the sex or even the crash itself.

It was just the idea of having to fight every single moment of his life.

Sometimes it was just nice to... let go for a moment and take things in strides, but Locke guessed this wasn't really a good time to let things go and just relax. That would lead to him being stuck here for years to come, instead of figuring out a reasonable way to get out of this stuff alive.

"My lower back, Dahlia? For shame." He quipped before clicking his tongue. "That is definitely a date four kind of touch."

He half-turned to her, grin still tugging at the corner of his mouth and hand already brushing at her hip.

"Jokes aside, nah, I got this. Sit down and enjoy your food, I will be with you in a sec."

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]



"I wasn't aware I was already drifting into four date territory. I've rarely been past the third date, so its all new to me."


There was a grin before she kissed his cheek, pressed up against his side. There was a playful nudge before she drifted away, moving to fix her caf. Scars even had the little non-refrigerated creamers. Delila set to the task of fixing her caf, adding in cream and sugar.


Meandering back to the table, Delila took a seat and looked at the spread. Scars was trying to make her throw up again. Instead of reaching for anything, a sip of caf was opted for instead.


Slow and steady, right?


"Looks good,smells even better."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Locke hummed softly in response to the kiss and tenderness.

Wasn't something he had really expected from Dells, but on the other hand what did they even know about each other? Just a couple of funny nicknames, characters that fit roughly together without too much of a headache or fuss, chemistry in the bed and outside of it, followed by the realization that they could really depend on each other.

At least when it was life-and-death.

"Uhuh." Elly responded, while turning his own cup with caf in his hands and studying her. She hadn't touched any of the food yet, but then again... amount of alcohol they had consumed last night with the other stuff? Probably meant she would need some time, before she felt comfortable eating the crap out of stuff.

"Take your time, it's greasy, I know. But that's what we need right now."

Almost as if showing himself to be the example to the case, he settled down across her and started digging in. Didn't seem like Elly had a lot of issues throwing over all the food, even with the alcohol.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


It wasn't as easy as the want to eat it. Delila used to be able to shovel down food without a problem. Drinking and then going out for breakfast in the morning? Again, not a problem. The problem was having only eaten 'jungle scrapings' for the last decade. There was the issue of vomit and the related aftermath upon eating the prepared meal a handful of days ago.



"I think it might be the first time I've heard 'need' and 'greasy' in the same sentence before. Quite a feat."



Another sip of caf as she watched. Eyes drifted off Scars and back to the food. He had made enough for an army. Setting down the mug, Delila reached out and scooped a few small portions on her plate. Careful navigation was going to be key. Beyond the alcohol, she couldn't see the need for this beyond a little bit of fun. That was hard to come by on this planet.


"Appreciate this. Did we drink all the alcohol last night? Hope not..."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Army scale was what they need... well, what he needed right now anyway.

He had always been a hearty eater and that hadn't changed at all. If anything this entire shindig had only increased his appetite, there was nothing like a whole night of karking, drinking and above all that being crashed on a world with no real means to escape... to want to eat an entire bantha. But there were no banthas here, so he had to make do with what there was.

"Nah, I am a functional alcoholic." Elly responded with a humor-laced tone. "Got a few more stashes laying around here and there."

Though it wouldn't be enough if they kept this going each night.

One look at Dells told him that she probably wouldn't be in for that, which was probably for the best. Someone needed to be the brakes in this relationship and that would never really be him.

"Liking it? I kept the bantha bacon away from you, but I got a plate left if you want."

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]



"Functional must have a loose definition these days."


Delila could help but to smirk at her comment, clearly teasing Scars. She wasn't too interested in alcohol at the moment, at least for several days. Scars had convinced her to drink far too much, probably enough for a week or two. Besides, she had work to do. Communications wasn't going to fix itself.


"Yeah, its good. You can just throw me a piece, one piece."


She was still picking at her meal, eating at the pace of a snail. Not to say the food wasn't delicious, Scars could move in and be her personal chef when this was all said and done. Ten years of famine coupled with the alcohol were slowing her down. Somewhere in the back of her head she was worried about having enough for the coming months. Survival instinct kicking in, fighting the urge to eat as many calories as possible in one sitting.


The fear of being stuck here was real for her, frantically gnawing at the back of her thoughts at every turn.


"You cooked, I'll clean all this up."

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

The bacon was passed without much in the way of hesitation.

Locke wasn't greedy or stingy with his wares, but that was something she had more than enough experience with already. In truth he was worrying about the same things as her. They would need to slow down, if they wanted to be able to survive in the coming weeks, if her repairs didn't bear any fruit.

For a day or two while they were eating up the stuff that didn't preserve well? That was fine, but there would need to be discipline moving forward.

"Don't remember you complaining about my functionality last night." He teased right back, before taking another bite from the food. It wasn't bad, but he usually could do better than this. Combination of a dull headache at the edge of his skull, not all the ingredients he would have liked and poor surroundings?

Made it difficult to cook at quality. She seemed to love it regardless though - by the way her lips curled up every time she took a sizeable bite.

"Fair enough." Elly shrugged and agreed with it. Then he made himself comfortable with his datapad, deciding to study some of the scans the ship had managed to make, before the crash.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]



Delila rolled her eyes and nudged his leg with her foot under the table. Of course Scars would mention last night. She wasn't complaining, the previous evening had been enjoyable.It still bothered her Scars got under her skin so quickly. Blaming a lack of contact for the last decade wasn't good enough for her. There was something else but she had yet to figure it out.


"I'll be sure to complain loudly tonight."


A wry smile before a piece of bacon made its way to her mouth. Still good, a little more fatty than what she remembered. Then again, how was she to be sure? Scars was busy on his datapad, looking something over. Silence stretched between them but it wasn't uncomfortable. Delila was used to sitting around in silence by now. Distantly she could hear a rumble of thunder. Rainy season or close to it.


Distracted, she used pieces of food to make a little diagram on her plate, fork pushing them around in various positions as she thought. Hand reached for another piece of bacon, lost in thought.

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

His eyes caught her hands from a glance, but in that moment he didn't really link it to anything.

Attention was too far into the scans.

They were inconclusive and scrambled, but there was still enough to give him a rough idea of the greater portion of the planet. Not that it really mattered - the thing was far too large to ever traverse on foot. At least without proper equipment and a whole swath of time on their hands.

Which they didn't have.

"Playing with your food, Dahlia?" He tsk'ed softly without looking up from his datapad. Might have noticed she was making something specific otherwise.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


"Something like that."


Fork moved a small piece of 'schematic' around, stopping to stare for a long moment. Slowly she picked up her fork and ate her masterpiece, done picking the idea apart for now. It didn't take long before she was at her bursting point, wisely choosing to stop before she made herself sick. Despite not being around folks for awhile, she still had the good sense to wait until Scars was done before standing and cleaning up.


An hour or two later after her cleaning duties had been finished, Delila was back at work. This time in the cockpit and interior of the ship. Decking had been opened up, creating interesting 'obstacles' throughout the vessel. Wires snaked out in a few places, all leading towards the ramp and where she had worked previously.


The plan? Boost the signal.

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Two hours later Elly left the refresher and almost face-planted himself, because of those exposed wires everywhere.

He frowned, before rubbing the palm of his hand - woulda broken a nose, if he hadn't caught himself during the trip. It wasn't difficult to follow the wires outside and towards the zone, where she had been working only a few hours ago. He looked on as she was wiring them together for... some reason.

He wasn't an engineer, of course.

They probably would have left this damned place if he was, but Locke was getting a good idea of what she was trying to do. Funny enough it was exactly the same idea he had.

"Boosting the signal?" Locke wasn't sure how effective it would be, but at this point... what else could they do?

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Elliot Locke"]


Delila was deeply engrossed in wiring her bundle of mess together. The power was off, letting her work a little quicker than before,no worry of electrical shock at the moment. Things seemed a little daisy chained but she couldn't figure out a way to do it any better. Not with the resources they had.


Scars had found her outside again, messing around in the side access of the vessel.


"Yeah....thats the plan....." She stopped working to look at him. Sun was slowly going down. Hopefully she'd have enough light to finish up. "I'm sure you're ready to leave and be rid of me....Downside to this is any signal we may send or pick up won't be filtered. Could be introducing us to an interesting world..."