Private Don't Change

[Judah Dashiell]

"Who says you can't be a kid and also learn something at the same time? You get time off..."

Judah looked confused for a moment. Being a young lad, the salvager just assumed the kid would be doing kid-stuff on his downtime. Ideal? No. In an ideal galaxy Iko Vel would be happy off somewhere living a boring life, wishing the school bell would ring. Yet the galaxy wasn't ideal right now. Life was horribly unfair. Sadly, even in this odd twist, Iko was luckier than most out in the 'verse. Didn't make his feelings any less valid, the situation was still a rough one.

"I have no doubt you will do just fine Iko. Least of my worries in this situation."

 

[Iko Vel]

"'Cause I never 'ad time off at 'ome. Dad was always expectin' me to do somethin'. If it wasn't helpin' out in the restaurant, I was meant to be doin' odd jobs around the 'ouse..."

To Iko, the concept of having time off was foreign. Everything was working for him. The only time he wasn't working was whenever he was around Persie. Though he shook his head, trying not to focus on that. There was no reason to be all down. The young lad just plastered a fake smile on his face at taht, giving Judah a short nod.

"You might not 'ave any doubt Sirs, but that doesn't make me any less concerned that I might mess up. I want to do my best for both you and the company."

Judah Dashiell

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to relax and do normal, teenage things. If you're concerned you should talk to Makai, much of the same work you'll be doing he did. He had plenty of time for all of his hobbies and visiting friends."

Makai was always working the salvage lines during the summer and long school breaks. He and Myra both had worked for their respective companies yet still found plenty of time to goof off. Judah reflected back with a bit of amusement, keeping those two apart for long periods of time back then was like trying to keep the tides of the ocean from crashing against the beach. Impossible.

"Mess up? Oh you're going to mess up. I have plenty of times, you'll get your best lessons from messing up and making mistakes. Not looking for perfection. Its what you do when you mess up is the most important. I don't know how the Jedi operate but...we're not after perfection. I'm looking to mold you into a well-rounded man, not a soldier or pious figure."

Perhaps a little bit of prejudice creeping in there. Still, Judah wasn't looking for someone to toe the line. He wanted someone to take risks, to push the boundaries. Iko Vel would learn that in time.

 

[Iko Vel]

"Well. I don't really have that many friends. At least not any I'll be able to see. Persie's the only one I'll be able to see...and I want to be able to focus on my work. Keep them separate from each other. I don't want to let myself get distracted thinkin' about Persie and everythin'..."

It was nice to think about Persie. But Iko didn't want her to become a distraction. If she became a distraction, he'd have to stay away from her and he didn't want to stay away from Persephone. Though it was going to be interesting to see how their friendship either grew stronger or fell apart from Iko being closer to her now, instead of dealing with the long distance from being a Jedi.

"I erh...don't know what exactly...a well-rounded man is. Since y'know...My dad is obviously not the best father figure. But...I'll do my best to make you proud Sir. It surprises me that you aren't lookin' for perfection...since well, I feel like people want perfection all the time."

Judah Dashiell

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"I'm sure you'll make more. Persephone seems to have quite a few friends."

Iko Vel seemed friendly enough and the old salvager was confident the boy would be just fine making friends and fitting in. There were kids always floating around at business events that Iko would be attending. Judah was purposeful in rubbing elbows with other business owners and various nobles when Makai was younger. It was important to have connections on that higher level in order to facilitate more growth for the business and to be frank, connections that could lead to suitable romantic partners in the future.

"Perfection all the time just leads to burnout and long-term failure. Can't have long-term failure, just stumbling. As I mentioned, perfection is the least of the worries we have to deal with."

A small pause.

"What else is on your mind?"

 

[Iko Vel]

"Yeah, but Persie is cool and fun to talk to. I'm weird. I can spend like 'ours talking about specific bits of metal or weapons I could make with them. Maybe I should try getting into armour as well...Oh, wait. I'm ramblin'. Sorry."

It was strange to think about perfection being the least of his problems. Iko had always thought he needed to do everything perfectly. The way he talked, the way he acted. Everything needed to be perfect. It's why he was so harsh on himself, coming from a place that was very much not perfect in his eyes. It didn't help that he was also being handed off from group to group, but at least when it came to joining Judah and the rest, that was part of his own choice. No-one else had made him do it. Though then Judah asked what else was on Iko's mind, and the young lad stopped for a moment...

"...'ow are you doin'? Are you okay Mr Dashiell? Oh. Also 'ave a more...business question on my mind as well. I know you do a lot of salvaging...but do you do any underwater salvaging? Since I'm sure there are plenty of ships that go down in orbit, that end up crashing in an ocean or somethin' and never bein' found. There could be a gold mine in the kind of materials they'd have available to them..."

Judah Dashiell

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"We have plenty of scrap metals around for you to work on armor with. Makai is working on a compound for the family, I'll see if there's a way he will put in a workshop. He might already have one in the works, I'm not sure, haven't seen any of the plans for it. All I know is that he wants us to move in...but I can give you more details once I personally know more."

Details were still sketchy. Judah just didn't know much yet beyond it being on the planet of Joiol and each 'section' of the family would have their own contained home. It seemed like an interesting concept and he was eager to actually see it in person. Perhaps when Makai was on his honeymoon he could ask to scope out the planet.

"Me?"

Judah seemed surprised the questioning went back to him.

"Oh, I'm fine. Trying to get back in the swing of business,Makai has been doing most of the work. I've got an Expo coming up so we will see what comes of that. At the very least it will be nice to see everyone and visit old business associates and meet new ones."

A small pause and a nod at the underwater salvage.

"I actually started underwater mining because Makai is part-fish." An amused smile at his own description of his son. "Takaroa Mining Facilities on the ocean floors. We've done....one or two ocean salvage operations. I can see the benefits of doing more, was this inspired by the events you saw on Gala? Either way, this might be a good project for you to spearhead. So your first challenge is to find ocean planets with battles that might have potential for us to salvage. Then once you present that too me, we will go out and map it."

Iko Vel