Private Burning Rocket Fuel

[Asmus Janes]

"Thrown out by Mai is a little strong," Asmus replied. "I think somewhere between unnerved by Mai and a little chased off by Mai."

Asmus didn't sound filled with regret. Back then he had never been interested in a long engagement. He felt a little touch of shame, but mostly just discomfort knowing Kairon would poke him about this for the next few days.

They had suffered enough during his time on the ship, he supposed. None more than Mai with her exceptional hearing. Durvin had been a loud one and quite bossy.

"Probably easier for Kairon to send a first message about the sale and I can try and talk to him if that doesn't go ahead. We didn't exactly keep in..."

It occurred to Asmus that he hadn't told Kaile about Durvin at all. The man hadn't really made a huge impression on his life.

One eyebrow rose in accusation.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile caught Asmus Janes 's arched brow, and she immediately said, "What?" There was no shame in the widening of those chocolate brown eyes as she gave a shrug and a half-melancholy smile, "I wanted to know how you were doin'."

"Do I even want to ask?" Kairon wondered, only to be distracted by Bix who demanded that he pour her Power Death Droid tea.

Kaile cracked her knuckles and leaned back, "Aye, let's have him reach out and if needed, you can try to flirt your way back into Durvin's good graces to at least buy them at cost."

Flirting was fine. Anything more was not. She'd make Asmus pay for that.

Leaning forward she gave a few taps of her fingers on the datatablet then gave a grin, "Got a holonumber. Kairon, you ready to try and make a deal?"

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus offered a subtle nod of his head. He understood. It didn't sit well to picture Kaile in her loneliest years watching him from a distance. They were together now. No more secrets.

"Not sure I remember how to flirt that well," Asmus laughed.

He also knew where the line was. They'd both been through a lot of life. Not something they exactly lifted the lid on, unless it was talking fantasy times or Asmus trying to figure out the geometry of a wookie.

"Think he'll believe you if we say they're surplus?" Kairon asked. "A person might think they're fake, but I checked they wouldn't hurt no-one."

"I'm not... I'm not sure he'd take my word, but we'll see," Asmus said.

 

[Kaile Vera]

"Oh you know how to flirt plenty," Kaile shot back to Asmus Janes , flashing him a knowing grin and chuckling. Granted, Asmus' flirting had a tendency to be silly, but oh, when he put his mind to it, he could lay it on thick.

"Alright Kairon, we'll prep you on what to say, reckon you can let 'im know what you have and what your willin' to take it for. Start out a little high, 'cause odds are he'll want to haggle you down. That way ya'll meet where we need to get you at and get this done."

A pause, then a knowing look, "Don't try and get all huffy here. We're runnin' against the clock and need to get these offloaded fast. Asmus can come in and bat his pretty pretty eyes if you need back up."

She got up and walked over towards Asmus, handing him the comm number. "I'll keep Bix busy. Hopefully Mai won't come in between this and that and get things messy."

 

[Asmus Janes]

"Oh you know how to flirt plenty,"

Asmus feigned a grimace. He glanced to Bix who was none the wiser. One day he would get to enjoy being an embarrassing dad, but he was a long way from being that person.

"Don't try and get all huffy here. We're runnin' against the clock and need to get these offloaded fast. Asmus can come in and bat his pretty pretty eyes if you need back up."

Kairon was out of his depth. He looked to Asmus, to Kaile and back to Asmus.

Asmus took the comm number and offered a fond smile.

Yes, that smile said, she is in charge and she is mine.

The two of them walked for the cockpit to get the cleanest signal and so that Bix wouldn't pick up and 'language' if the conversation took a turn.

"You don't deserve her."

"I know."

---

"Easy enough," Asmus said as they returned twenty minutes later. "All business."

"Mostly business," Kairon corrected.

"He asked if we could get dinner and I was unspecific as to my availability," Asmus declared.

 

[Kaile Vera]

"You are so perfect!" Kaile grinned, reaching up to cup Asmus's face and give him a quick, but firm kiss. "Mwwwah! Good job!" she praised him, flashing him a wink in turn.

"So, when's the drop-off and payment trade?" Kaile asked, curious to see if they would be able to get everything done before the deadline.

"Have to meet up on Seris Station nearby. Likely won't be but a couple of hours." Kairon replied, while the Lorrdian took it all in and gave a nod.

"Okay, and once we make the trade, what's the plan? Are you still aimin' to head on down Coreworlds?" Kaile asked, musing with concern. "Things ain't looking well with the Dark Empire and the Alliance spearheadin' to get nasty soon."

​

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Asmus Janes
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[Asmus Janes]

They had been diverted from Seris Station to the nearby planet of Galdia. The capital city was in the depths of its winter.

Summer here was - by all accounts - when it only snowed once a week.

Asmus was taking his gloves back off again. Bix had never seen snow before so she wanted to go out, but almost every time he put on the gloves she started taking off layers.

"Youll need all of these on when we go outside Bix," he explained again. He was quick to set her moving towards the ramp and slip his gloves back on.

They were all going to meet the apparently reputable company that wanted to buy all the death droid dolls. All expect for the full set Asmus had already stolen for Bix. They were going to play the full 'family business in trouble sympathy card'.

"I don't know quite what to think if this is where Durvin is insisting on getting me dinner later?" Asmus mused as they headed out. "Seris Station must have a dearth of good restaurants."

 

[Kaile Vera]

Galdia

A chuckle would bubble from behind Asmus Janes , Kaile adjusting her glove and tightening it around her wrist to keep it in place. A flash of a crooked grin and chocolate brown eyes with laugh lines at their corners beamed at his direction.

"You know she's going to last like, a minute tops before she tries to take that off again," She told him, her voice a teasing singsong as she grabbed a knit cap for Asmus to wear on his head.

As for Durvin, Kaile's shoulders shook again in amusement.

"Asmus, you still don't get it?" She teased him, quipping as she began to head down the ramp after their child - who was presently giggling with delight as her hands tried to grab a fistful of snow.

"You are the dinner." She pointed out to him, flashing a wink over her shoulder. "The sort of take out dinner one eats at home."

Sometimes, Asmus was still adorably innocent -- and gullible.

"Come on, a five minute walk is going to turn into fifteen because of Bix being distracted by it," Although truth be told, it was adorable how Bix was starting to throw the white fluff up in the air.

"So, am I playing bad cop or keeping to myself while you charm your ex?"

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Asmus Janes | Gear
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[Asmus Janes]

Asmus didn't answer for a moment, instead grinning as he watched Bix. He took out his datapad to grab a few holos.

"I think we'll just let it play out. It's hard to play bad cop over a cargo like..."

Asmus glanced at at Kairon. The smuggler crossed his arms over his chest.

"...like perfectly legitimate cargo," he corrected.

"Daddy for dinner!" Bix called out before falling back into the snow.

Asmus managed to pull an expression that read: see what you have done? No lorrdian skills were required.

He picked up Bix, who was a little square of padding.

They meandered down towards the canals. Kairon had explained that in the last century the planet had cooled a great deal. Canals were still the main route of transport around the city, but now they had to constantly break through the thin layer of ice. They had taken Bix on boats before, so Asmus wasn't particularly worried, but he did take some care on the slippery jetty down to one of the public boats.

They could have seated fifty people, but they were part of only a dozen who walked into the sheltered boat.

"I'll go ahead with Kairon and see what the deal is?" he suggested as the boat pulled away. It surprised him by accelerating quite quickly down the waterway.

"Weee!" went Bix.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile's eyes flashed with impish fire, and she stuck out her tongue in Asmus's direction.

"Yes, Bix. Daddy's gonna be dinner," She flashed the scoundrel a wink, indicating that she was going to be enjoying a snack later that night if possible.

Of course, Kairon only gave a choked grunt and cough. He really didn't need to hear any of this.

With a nod, the Lorrdian rubbed at her now red nose from the cold. The plan was solid. Besides, who knew how Asmus's ex would handle seeing Kaile and a rambunctioius toddler.

"Try not to get yourself into a bind." She reached over to press a quick peck on his lips. "Only I can do that." came the devilish whisper, before the woman grabbed the square padding that was a kicking Bix and secured her before she decided to go flying off the side of the boat.

"Are we looking to get in and get out, or do we want to try and see if there are any supplies we can gather here?" They had 12 hours to make the drop and get back, but who knew if there was anything else they could do while they were here before they needed to get back.

"Or are you thinking Mai might lead a mutiny in your absence, Kairon?"

​

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Tags Asmus Janes | Gear
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[Asmus Janes]

Kaile's eyes flashed with impish fire, and she stuck out her tongue in Asmus's direction.

"Yes, Bix. Daddy's gonna be dinner," She flashed the scoundrel a wink, indicating that she was going to be enjoying a snack later that night if possible.

She managed to cause a visual stutter in Asmus' demeanour. It was a rare event. He was both caught off guard and unable to escalate. His eyebrows rose high.

"Try not to get yourself into a bind." She reached over to press a quick peck on his lips. "Only I can do that."

"Promises, promises," he replied quickly and quietly.

With Bix in arms, he felt a little more relaxed. She had been on boats several times, but they hadn't taken her far from home regularly. He was feeling a little over protective and a touch nervous.

"The goods are going to a regular old commercial warehouse. Why don't you take Jay and Bix and go to their offices to see what the deal is. I'll go with Kairon to talk to Durvin to make sure it's all smoothed over."

And then, of course, he had promised to join him for a meal. He would explain his current situation there, once credits had changed hands and the goods were stored.

"You could ask see if they've got anything they need shipping?" Kairon added. "And Mai would have mutinied years ago. If she could fly."

 

[Kaile Vera]

There was nothing like Kaile's smug and satisfied silly grin at Asmus's obvious stutter and double take. The flush over his face and the flash of gold in his forest green eyes was the icing on the cake.

"The goods are going to a regular old commercial warehouse. Why don't you take Jay and Bix and go to their offices to see what the deal is. I'll go with Kairon to talk to Durvin to make sure it's all smoothed over."

With a giggle, Kaile gave a nod, then reached out to grab Bix from Asmus, "Sounds good. Jay and I can check to see if they have any requisitions for shipping," the Lorrdian added, acknowledging Kairon's ask.

"Try not to escalate things," chocolate brown eyes gave both Asmus and Kairon a level look.

"I ain't forgot how things went sideways before, so try and be all amicable and such. If'n you need me though, you know how to get me. I'll do what I can while Jay takes Bix back to the ship."

The last time Asmus got shot.

"Alright good luck," Kaile added, giving Asmus a quick kiss.

"Bix darlin, how bout we go lookin' for a few things, hmm,?"

"Candy!" the toddler exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"We will see pumpkin," with a departing wink, she and Jay departed from the two men. How things would go will now be several kinds of interesting.

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Tags Asmus Janes
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[Asmus Janes]

"Kairon, Asmus!" Durvin stood up from his table to welcome them. He made no attempt to hide that he was more excited to see one of them.

Durvin was a tall, lean man. He had dark skin and hair, but bright yellow eyes. Asmus had never seen that particular set of genetics before. There were so many human off shoots spread across so many planets that they were a varied species.

The plague had been long enough to see adaptations in humans confined to certain climates. Now the galaxy and human kind was connected again.

"Hey," went Kairon, offering a hand.

"Good to see you," Asmus said. He was offered a hug without warning.

"Get you both caf? What do you think of the place? I mean, technically, I own it now..."

Durvin encompassed the cafe with a wave of his hand. It didn't seem a particularly special cafe to Asmus, but it was clean and most of the tables were in use.

"Yeah nice place. I'll go get something from..."

"Oh no, you don't need to go to the till. I'll get it brought over. Sit, sit!"

 

[Kaile Vera]

​

Duvin's eyes were bright, and they kept gravitating back toward Asmus despite Kairon's participation in the conversation. Under Kairon's breath, he gave a faint grumbled commentary about Asmus and something about flies to honey.

"Caf, black," Kairon pipped up when Duvin turned his attention back at him, his expression indicating that he hadn't heard what the old spacer said and not wanting to put a dent in matters, Kairon figured black caf was safe enough to order.

"I'll get your usual," Duvin told Asmus with a wide grin after nodding at Kairon, turning towards the barista to put the orders in.

"The usual?" The old Spacer would snort out in Asmus's direction, rolling his eyes. "Let's deal with business before you take the winds off that boy's sails."

Meanwhile, Kaile, Jay, and Bix got into town. It was small but decent. Warm breath would condensate in the cool air. Jay had taken Bix into his arms because the little girl was starting to dart too precariously close to the canals, much to her objection.

"Alright. Let's see if we can find a few things to barter real quick." in the meantime, the Lorrdian kept checking her watch. She hoped that things would work out well.

She wasn't hoping to get on the bad side of a shootout for Asmus's honor.

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Tags Asmus Janes
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[Asmus Janes]

"The usual?" The old Spacer would snort out in Asmus's direction, rolling his eyes. "Let's deal with business before you take the winds off that boy's sails."

"We went for a couple of morning dates. He was a bit clingy really," Asmus said.

He glanced nervously towards Durvin and back to Kairon.

Back then, he hadn't exactly been good at drawing anything out. He had been rather fast and loose in love and affection.

"We can drop the cargo, be off world this evening and I'll deal with an angry holonet message," Asmus said.

"You could just tell him the truth and..."

"...but the cargo and..."

"Asmus it's just some cargo. You know sometimes you can still act like you're very young," Kairon grunted, offering a shake of his head.

Asmus was left slightly speechless as Durvin came back. Sometimes he forgot just how much more life Kairon had been through than him. Being a parent didn't age him by a decade. Even if it had felt like it after three months of no sleep.

 

[Kaile Vera]

"Here you go," Durvin replied, handing Asmus and Kairon their drink. He was particularly peppy, despite the cold. Curling his own hands around his cup of caf, he smiled and broke the ice first.

"Alright, so, might as well get to business first," he said, gesturing for Asmus and Kairon to take the lead. In his mind, the faster this could get settled, the faster perhaps, he might be able to figure out what to do next and figure out that meal. While he met Asmus when they were young, age had certainly settled well on the green-eyed scoundrel, unaware that it had been the time with the ALliance and SIS that had chiseled Asmus out into a yummy snack.

"I can tell you are related right around the eyes," Durvin gestured, amused. "Didn't realize you were working with family moving product. You starting to work this route much?" Perhaps probing questions will determine the chances of seeing Asmus again. In the past, Asmus had been more flighty, but who knew what a few years did to settle him down?



"Daddy?" Bix asked, noticing after becoming bored that her father hadn't been around in a while.

"He's helping your uncle Kairon, sweetie. You'll see him in a bit," Kaile replied, furrowing her eyes at the supplies of the small general store they located. While she'd be happier trying to save as much credits as she could with coupons, places this far out meant that prices would be high and bargains may not be easy to come by. Some places one couldn't even haggle much.

None the less, she did find some rations and some curious local meat. Some sort of furred Nuna. It was fresh at least, not frozen. Could perhaps make some sort of stew with it.

With their goods in hand, Kaile, Jay and Bix came to the counter to purchase their goods.

"Howdy, hope you havin' a good day," Kaile said with a smile, only to frown in concern as the shopkeeper, an older woman with greying hair, blue eyes, and wearing a thick brown coat, seemed to be annoyed as she slapped at her tablet.

"Stupid thing," she muttered, only to glance up at Kaile, " Oh sorry, my datpad has been acting up. This all for you?'

"It's okay, no need to fret," Kaile replied, although after a pause she offered to help, "Mind if i look at it? I'm good with tinkering around with things like those."

​

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Tags Asmus Janes
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[Asmus Janes]

"Didn't realize you were working with family moving product. You starting to work this route much?"

Asmus took a moment. He constricted several routes the conversation could take in his head.

He had never thought like that once. Never feeling he had anything to lose he had worn his heart on his sleeve. His feelings and his mouth directly connected.

That had changed when he had been flying missions from secret bases. Then it had become even more critical when he was Kaile and they had Bix to protect.

This wasn't a game, this was just a conversation with an old friend, he reminded himself. Kairon was right.

"I took a few months to start raising my daughter," Asmus said. "It felt like a good time to let her see some of the Galaxy."

He still avoided the war. It was hard to gauge on what side of that line people fell.

"How did you end up running business out here in the cold? Really appreciate the help."

 

[Kaile Vera]

​

“Your daughter?” Talk about tossing an ice bath on Durvin. Shock, turned to confusion then to curiousity.

“Oh, how old is she?” He asked, trying to take a casual sip of his caf. Kairon just looked uncomfortable; he was used to just getting straight to business, making a deal, then moving on. Small talk at his age was aggravating. He already told asmus they could just dump the load… as much as it pained him to do.

Better than seeing someone make eyes at his nephew. Did he ever have this one kicked off the ship by Mai?

“Opportunity struck when the Bryndal started hitting all those worlds. Their crusade was good for business. Lots of people needing to flee and get supplies. Got a good deal here and have taken over since.”

Which meant it saw a good amount of traffic. In the wake of the hive virus and the new galactic battles between the Alliance, Dark Empire, Mandalorians, and the eternal empire, moving goods was prime.

All the while, Kaile managed to get in good with the shop keep owner, having fixed her data pad. It allows her to negotiate some good prices for the goods. Not only that, but she also received news regarding the local sector.

Off in the distance, one of the large mountain ranges gave a rumble. Wisps of smoke would soon start to vent out into the brisk cold air.

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Tags Asmus Janes
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[Asmus Janes]

“Oh, how old is she?”

"She's two," Asmus said.

No matter the circumstances that had led there, he realised he was sitting down with an old friend and talking about his daughter with pride.

"She talks a lot now."

“Opportunity struck when the Bryndal started hitting all those worlds. Their crusade was good for business. Lots of people needing to flee and get supplies. Got a good deal here and have taken over since.”

"That's, good and bad. You know? I'm not judging," he said, raising one hand to make that point firmly.

"I'm glad you did well, I'm sure lots of refugees prefer this ice box to a dead world."

"You could meet Bix, if you wanted? Sorry, that's probably a strange thing to offer but we haven't been travelling much. Hunkered down during the wars and haven't met many old friends!"

 

[Kaile Vera]

​

[ That is alarming. ] Jay would exclaim in his monotone, the former Imperial droid would stare out with his ocular sensors off towards the distance.

"Oh, that? Nothing to be concerned about. It does that now and then." the shop owner would call out. Kaile, on the other hand, frowned.

"Are you sure?" the Lorrdian ask, reading the woman's body language. It didn't seem as if she was scared.

"Och, of course. It smokes now and then, but we haven't had anything other than a few rumblings now and then. It's an active volcano, but the lava is guided out towards a facility that makes use of the materials."

Kaile still felt weird about it.

Deciding to send a message to Asmus, she let him know about the smoking volcano in the distance.

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Asmus Janes
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