Private Ocean Blue

[Kahlil Noble]

Jobs on water worlds were a difficult thing to handle. At least for Kahlil. He loved the water, sure. But not being able to breath water meant he often was limited on just where he could go. Or how deep. Thankfully the shipment on Glee Anselm he had to deliver could be dropped off on one of the float outposts made specifically for offworlders. He stood on the edge of the platform, staring out over the greenish blue ocean with a faint smile. Right now he was just waiting for the ship to be unloaded.

Hopefully things would stay pretty calm.

Rhemti Totriddiam

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

"Alright!" The young male Nautolan grunted with effort as he hefted one of the smaller crates onto his shoulder, a wide, goofy smile across his two-toned features, revealing the sharp pointed teeth within. "This is the last trip we should need to make. Lets get this shipment back to the farm." He seemed to be the eldest one there out of all of the workers who were moving the shipment, which wasn't saying much. Late teens, maybe? It was hard to tell. At 5' 11" he was taller than the other workers, some of who seemed to be no older than twelve. The lot of them were hard working, moving the supplies from the spacers ship onto a vessel of their own, but the sound of laughter accompanied them all the while.

"Greetings. Are you the merchant or the pilot of the ship?" The young male had approached Kahlil Noble , the crate he'd been carrying was left dockside near the workers ship as the rest of the young male's crew finished up with loading.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil blinked before turning his gaze towards Rhemti Totriddiam . Then he smiled. The boy was the eldest, then? Simple farmers, if everything in the job was correct on paper. So far it seemed that way. "Yeah. Kahlil. You got everything you ordered?" Well, he wasn't the merchant. But he didn't seem to answer which role he was. Instead he was focused on the packages, his silvery gaze scanning each box just to make sure nothing had been damaged that he'd been unaware of.

Nothing bad, so far.

No, wait. He thought too soon. As Kahlil opened his mouth to say something else the sound of a blaster shot rang in his ears. His eyes widened before he turned, scanning the horizon. In the distance a skiff could be seen just above the surface. On it, well. Pirates by the look. The older man grimaced. "Take what you can and go." He pulled out a blaster, turning to run back to his ship.

"Pirates inbound! Everyone get somewhere safe!"

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

The young Nautolan tensed, his eyes wide as he looked off to where Kahlil Noble had. Pirates? Were they after the shipment? Something else? His father had dealt with meddling pirates in the past, but it had been a while since they'd last disrupted the dealings of the farm; the young Nautolan male couldn't quite remember when he'd last seen them.

Within a split second of Kahlil's order he ran, dashing right for his crew where they hung off the side of the floating dock, looking confused. Everything seemed to be loaded at last, the netted vessel they'd brought was full of crates, leaving only the handholds on the side for the crew. The aquatic creature that served as their 'beast of burden', hitched to the vessel's front nose to pull it along smoothly above or under the water, shifted nervously, bellowing in uncertainty as the pirates drew closer.

"Jin." The elder Nautolan started, crouching down to clap his brother on the shoulder. The younger male was a year younger than him at most, a slightly darker shade of red compared to his elder brother. "Get the supplies back home and tell father what happened. I'll be home soon."

"But, Rhem--" Jin started to argue, looking a bit frustrated as his other siblings broke off from the dock to grab ahold of their vessel, shooting nervous glances between themselves.

"But nothing, Jin! Git!" Rhemti smiled wide as he interrupted his brother, that same goofy grin, without a hint of fear or nervousness as he pushed his younger brother off the dock and into the water. Jin looked back up to the older teen, concern clear in his two toned features, but he didn't protest further, quickly attaching himself to the front of the vessel, letting out a short, sharp whistle that caused the beast hitched to their vessel to surge forward, diving beneath the waves and out of sight to head straight for their families farm.

That grin disappeared ever so slightly once his brothers were out of sight, and the pirates weren't quite close enough just yet, giving Rhemti a moment to breathe and think things through. He couldn't let Kahlil handle this alone, that wasn't who he was, no, he helped others as much as he possibly could. Now was no different, if a bit dangerous. Without much thought, and a bit of a deep breath to center himself, the young red Nautolan dove off the dock and into the surf, hiding beneath the dock closest to the pirates skiff, hopefully hidden from sight so as to surprise them when they least expected it.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil returned shortly after, a rifle in hand, as he went back to where he'd been before. Finding a place to perch down, steady his aim. Rifles weren't his forte, but without the Force.. Well. It'd be safer to shoot from afar. Maybe they'd get lucky and the pirates would get scared off when they realized there was someone here who could fight back? Wishful thinking probably, but he dared to hope for it anyway.

Only to realize Rhemti Totriddiam was still there. Part of him wanted to tell the kid to go, but that.. Well. Kahlil woulda done the same anyway. Instead he tossed the Nautolan his blaster, flashing a momentary smile before glancing down his own sights. Then fired. The first shot went wide, earning a muttered hiss of annoyance. The pirates seemed to take note of it too, turning to get out of range or out of sight. They didn't know where the shot came from, but they were on alert.

Kahlil squeezed the trigger again, taking down one of them. He couldn't waste the surprise of where, even if they knew it was going to happen. This time he hit his mark, impacting the engine of the Skiff. It went into a tail spin, but the momentum kept it going right for the dock. Chit. The Epicanthix grimaced before turning to start running away, shouting. "Go go go! Get out from under there! They're gonna crash!"

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

The sound of the blaster landing on the docks surface caught Rhemti's attention even from underwater, the red skinned Nautolan poking his head slightly from the waves with a timid curiosity before reaching for the hunk of metal. He got to inspect the blaster for less than a second before Kahlil Noble fired the first shot, making Rhemti jump with surprise, fumbling with the blaster for a few seconds as he tried not to drop it into the waves, before finally steadying himself, holding the blaster by the barrel with both hands so it wouldn't fall and be lost forever.

Drawn by the battle the older man was waging, and apparently one sided at that. Rhemti sunk beneath the waves to hide once more, to try and sneak a peak of the incoming skiff without being seen. The blaster was not forgotten but pushed to the back of his mind, his finger hooked through the handy carrying loop that sat at the weird angle between the two ends of it, though that odd metal bit that stuck out got a bit annoying; maybe it was broken?

The sound of Kahlil's rifle rang out again, making Rhemti jump slightly again, less this time because he was expecting it, but that's when everything spiraled out of control. His dark eyes widened, realizing just seconds after Kahlil yelled out to him that the ship was going to crash against them, wasting no time as he turned, practically dashing beneath the surface as he made a break for the opposite side of the dock.

Rhemti surfaced on the other side, not ten feet from the edge to look for Kahlil, worried about the man he barely knew given his running atop the dock was no match for the Nautolans' swimming speed. He'd wave frantically to Kahlil, showing he was away from the potential crash area as well as to hopefully direct him over, his expression worried.

"Over here! Into the water!" Rhemti yelled out, treading against the surf to stay in place and wait for the older man.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

There was no wasting time. As soon as Kahlil saw Rhemti Totriddiam yelling at him to go in the water, the taller figure immediately dove right in. Rifle first, just as the dock was crashed into by the skiff. Under the water he was at least safe from shrapnel, but the horrible screech of metal tearing echoed under the waves. He tensed, but at least he'd been able to take a breath before ending up under the water.

Not that he could stay for long. He surfaced slowly, rifle at the ready.

"You okay kid!?"

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

The sound produced by the crash of metal on metal made Rhemti cringe, raising his hands to his head to try and block out the sound if he could, though he had no such luck. It disoriented him for a moment, leaving the young Nautolan to sorta blink and stare around, shaking his head to try and get rid of the awful feeling, leaving Kahlil Noble 's question hanging in the air for a moment before he finally realized the older male was there.

"Ah.. Yeah.. I think so. My head is pounding a bit from the sound. Otherwise I'm fine." He was still holding the blaster wrong, mind you, his hand close to the surface as he continued to tread water. "Are you alright? Cut it rather close there." Rhemti was more worried about Kahlil than himself, sporting that same goofy grin, though he tried to throw in some concern.

"Does this happen often? Getting attacked?" The man had been awful ready for a fight, the curiosity and intrigue would be obvious in those large black eyes.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Now and then. Not usually on jobs like this." Kahlil let out a sigh as he slung the rifle over his shoulder before glancing to Rhemti Totriddiam . Then raised a brow curiously as the kid smiled of all things. Defense mechanism? Eventually he just returned the smile. "I'm fine, yeah. C'mon up. Help me see if anyone survived." His gaze shifted to the wreckage. He doubted anyone did, but.. If someone did, they'd need all the help they could get.

Pirate or not no one deserved death.

With that in mind he went to the wreckage to start sifting through, identify bodies. Find survivors. That sort of thing. On his part he didn't find much, but who knew who could've been thrown into the water.

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

Rhemti nodded to the older male, swimming through the water with visible ease, maneuvering through the wreckage all too easily, even expertly avoiding any debris that drifted down from the shipwreck. The young male swam beneath the wreckage that sat atop the surface, lodged into the dock, his various head-tendrils splayed out around him as he tried to 'sniff out' the various bodies that were scattered about the wreckage; not that there were many. They all seemed to be Anselmi, which didn't really surprise Rhemti, they were the only other race of sentient humanoids that were native to his home planet of Glee Anselm and constantly waging war against Rhemti and his fellow Nautolan.

Then he saw it. Movement. Rhemti's large dark eyes saw better in the dim shadows beneath the dock, making it easy for him to see the small body of one of the Anselmi pirates moving ever so slightly as the non amphibious creature tried to make it to the surface with little luck. The young Nautolan dove quickly for the Anselmi, wrapping one arm around the small blue being as they thrashed, making Rhemti's ascent back to the surface with the pirate all the more difficult.

"Kahlil!" The young red Nautolan called out to the silver haired male as he surfaced, holding the Anselmi pirate up so they could get some air. "I found someone!" He swam, if a bit awkwardly given carrying another, over to the edge of the dock


Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

So far, all the ones on the dock were all dead. More importantly though, they were all Anselmi. Kahlil's lips thinned as he looked through the group. A gang trying to get back at the Nautolan's by attacking one of the places spacers like the giant could go to? Would be a good way to cripple locals like Rhemti Totriddiam and his family. Racial hatred or part of a larger group? That was the more important question.

Not that he had time to think about it.

"I found someone!"

Kahlil immediately looked over before running to the edge of the dock. There he'd help the Nautolan pull the figure out. Alive. Good. Kahlil went right to CPR, pressing down rhythmically on the currently unconscious pirate's chest. "On my ship there's a medkit. Go get it, quick!"

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

"Med kit? Got it!" Rhemti had just barely pulled himself onto the dock when Kahlil Noble gave the order, sending the Nautolan stumbling as he dashed towards the ship. He knew next to nothing about a space faring vessel such as Kahlil's ship, only knowing where the ramp to get onboard was thanks to having previously unloaded their supply crates.

The young Nautolan found himself within the ship's hold, frozen in place as he suddenly realized he had no clue where this med kit was. Rhemti forced himself forward, determined to find this med kit, even if it meant he wasn't exactly paying attention to where he was power walking sending him full force into what seemed to be a droid.

"Ah, sorry! Oh! Um. Hi. Sorry. Med kit?" Rhemti looked uncertain at the mechanical being, having never actually spoken to a droid before; he was fighting the urge to investigate it. "Kahlil sent me?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

There was a series of annoyed sounding beeps, followed by frustrated sounding bops. Then a resigned boop. The smaller R6 unit would roll out of sight before returning with the requested medkit. And another series of sarcastic warbles for Rhemti Totriddiam .

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

Rhemti just stood and stared at the droid, his expression still a sheepish smile, though he grew more confused with each beep and boop from the R unit. Rhemti didn't speak droid. He just stood there, forgetting what it was that he was even doing there in the ship, even as the droid went off, well, until it returned with the med kit in hand.

"Oh! The med kit!" He beamed, smiling wide as he graciously took the med kit, bowing his head quickly. "I totally forgot! Thank you!" Rhemti shot the droid his goofy grin before dashing off out of the ship and back to Kahlil's side.

"Here, the med kit." He grew a bit more serious as he remembered the situation, looking with concern towards the Anselmi as he held the med kit out for Kahlil Noble .

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil had gotten the Anselmi breathing by the time Rhemti Totriddiam made it back outside. Unconscious and bleeding, yes, but breathing. The larger man would take the kit and immediately get to work to stop the bleeding, focused on his work. Mostly. He'd glance to the Nautolan who was presumably still sticking close. Then had Rhemti help. Just wrapping bandages, but something to get the kid involved.

Asides, having some first aid skills always helped.

With the wound stabilized, Kahlil let out a sigh just as R6 rolled out afterwards, letting out more beeps and boops. Which had Kahlil sigh. "How long?" More beeps.

"Alright, get started." There was an annoyed low tone. ".. Please and thank you, R6." A satisfied trill escaped the red droid before it rolled back into the ship. Kahlil plopped down, letting out a sigh.

"Hope he didn't give you too much sass. R6 is pretty lippy at times."

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

"Sass? Ah, not that I could tell." Rhemti plopped down next to Kahlil Noble , looking back after the red droid rolled off and back onto the ship, the curiosity obvious in his dark gaze. "You understood it? The droid actually..spoke?" The red skinned Nautolan turned the curious expression to the silver haired male, sporting that once more goofy grin.

"I didn't think such things existed in the world. I haven't seen much past my fathers kelp farm, honestly. The most I get to see from other worlds out there is when our shipments come in, and the threat of possible pirates makes them either not wait to find out or not want to be friendly." Rhemti glanced to the unconscious Anselmi he helped to bandage, hoping they'd pull through, even though they'd attacked him in the first place; he didn't wish harm on anyone if it could be so.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

".. Huh? Oh, yeah. R6 has quite the mouth on 'em if you can believe it." Right. Simple farmer boy. Kahlil just smiled as he watched Rhemti Totriddiam . The fact the Nautolan was so willing to help with bandaging the pirate spoke volumes on it's own on just what kind of person the kid was. "So the pirate thing is pretty common then? Sorry to hear that. Hopefully this one here'll take the kindness n' try to spread the word to leave your folks be, mm?"

He glanced down to the Anselmi, pausing. The pirate was awake, but feigning sleep? Khalil didn't bother bringing attention to it. Probably some old racism, knowing the history between the two species in front of him.

"Well, don't let me keep you. I'll handle the pirate here if you wanna head back home. Your siblings must be plenty worried about ya, right?"

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

"Are you sure? I can help if you need it. Besides, your payment was on the pod my siblings took back home. You need that right?" Rhemti got to his feet, starting to stretch as he headed towards the edge of the dock, his bare feet thudding gently across the floating metal structure. "I'll just dash back home, pick up your payment and come on back. Won't take but ten minutes tops." There was that goofy grin again, flashing sharp pointed teeth at Kahlil Noble .

"Plus I owe you big time for helping my family out like this."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Wait, the payment was underwater? Kahlil laughed nervously. R6 would give him all kinds of hell if he neglected another payment. Rhemti Totriddiam was a good kid for sure. "Alright, I'll wait around. I'm not goin' anywhere till R6 fixes up the ship anyway. Don't feel like ya gotta hurry back though."

 

[Rhemti Totriddiam]

He waved one hand at Kahlil Noble , still beaming before he dove off the edge into the water. He swam with impressive speed, though the waves as he headed for his fathers farm, deep below the surface. It would take him at least seven minutes to reach the edge of the farm, a light hum coming from his throat until suddenly he couldn't breathe as something tackled him. A bit dizzy, he just floated there for a few moments, unable to process what was happening, until someone shook him into focus.

"Rhemti! You're alive!" The young Nautolan let out a slight 'oof' as his siblings basically assaulted him, freaking out over what he'd done. They proceeded to scold him, his father joining in after a moment, though Rhemti could definitely see a glint of pride in the older Nautolan's eyes at having defended his family from pirates.

Rhemti didn't stay long, five minutes, ten tops, before collecting the payment for Kahlil and making his way back to the surface to meet the spacer back on the dock.