Responsibility

[Kaile Vera]

"Yeah, I'll be happy to." Kaile told Asmus with a smile. With work still having to be done, it makes sense why they were eating so quickly. The interaction between Kairon and Asmus was amusing to watch play out. Only this time, the Captain was far more open in his emotions. There was a smile there in his chuckle, the crows feet of rarely used laugh lines showing in pronunciation.

If there ever was a time that the Lorrdian could see the family resemblance, it was then. That made her smile grow wider. Turning to Asmus, Kaile gave a slight perk of her brows as if to say, he has a point there.

With everyone finishing up, Kaile came to her feet. "Mmm, none the less still fun and exciting, I'm sure." she'd tease, chuckling as she began to clean up the table.


[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Spoiler

https://youtu.be/8rOeMmGg6yE
https://youtu.be/p7sHMdjnGUs
https://youtu.be/tPnK39ax_AM

“Ah, back to the grind!” Asmus called as he threw himself into the chair. He twisted around checking some readings, flicked a few switches and then settled back. The little black cube emerged from his pocket and was settled on a control console. It started to play.

He turned to Kaile with an almost sheepish grin. “See! Strings,” he said. Turning back to the controls he pulled up a holodisplay of their route. Another complex hyperspacetime route through a star cluster. It was slow going, which was exactly why it was quiet and infrequently patrolled. Pulling up some recent reports on military activity in the region he cross correlated the two bits of data and set the computer calculating some different routes and assessing them on a range of paraneters. He weighted each: fuel, time, probability of detection, distance to emergency beacons and set the computer optimising the route.

“So, you've got some work lined up on Denon?” he asked. She didn't know how much mediocre singing from Asmus she had ahead of her with the next two tracks.

 

[Kaile Vera]

"Oh."

Brown eyes would widen in surprise as the first strings of Everlong would play. It was quite unlike anything she'd heard before. Sliding down to her seat, she brought her knees up to her chest again. Perhaps that was a habit for the young woman? Could very well be. Leaning back upon the softness of her chair, Kaile gave Asmus a faint smile.

"It's beautiful," she told him, her mind going along with the tune, filling in the chorus, half murmuring them under her breath. "It's different." she would admit, half hooded lids appraising the Eriaduian with consideration. Her fingers would play and sway to the beat, as if following the melody. Nothing could ever quite sit still for the Lorrdian. Always had to have something moving, some sort of gesture in action and fluid like water.

"Hmm?" her attention perked, and one eyebrow gave a slight arch. Ah. Right. Denon. The reasons why she was going to Denon and what came after froze her smile a bit.

"I do." she told him. It was a half truth. She was to take another vessel there that would take her to Sullust. From there wherever the Alliance would assign her with a new mission and identity.

A more somber smile would follow, "It pays the bills."

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Fair enough," Asmus replied absent mindedly. "Look at that, they've been cutting through this gap with inderdictors to try and catch people out at these vertexes. Bugger, I'll shift the route," he said.

The noises from the galley faded out as the others headed for sleep. Asmus checked over his shoulder to see if the blanket was still tucked in the corner. Returning his attention to his console, he worked on altering the route.

"Oh, does Bobo need anything to eat?"

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile gave a slow shake of her head. "No, he has a nutrient tube." she would explain. A pause and a lick of her lips would follow her elaboration. "He takes his nutrition through his claws and the tiny suction cups at the bottom of his feet." a bit of show and tell with one of her fingers brushing across the palm of her other hand.

"I just have to make sure I refill it about once a month." Kaile added, giving a small shift in her seat as she made herself a bit more comfortable. Resting her chin upon the tops of her knees, her brown eyes would peer up at him. There was something strangely melodic and relaxing about the violins and other strings instruments playing.

"So it is just you, your parents, and your uncle?" came her quiet query, curious about what sort of family life Asmus had. "For family that is."

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus grunted, but then went "aah," as he continued to work. The display hadn't been configured to show some of the smaller gravity wells interfering with his preferred route. He gave a curt little nod when he was happy.

"Yeah, but a bucket load of cousins. Kairon got pinched by pirates when my mum was very small. Grandpa didn't have any more after that. He was never the same again apparently. What about you?"

Before she could reply he started to gently sing along to the next song. "Things you forget to say... Will haunt you"

 

[Kaile Vera]

"I don't have any."

Her smile lingered upon her lips, but there was a tinge of somber sheepishness. Pearly white teeth would nibble upon the fullness of her lower lip with vacillation. After another moment, the pink tip of her tongue darted over her lips to moisten them.
"Siblings." a small shrug and roll of her shoulders. "Well...anything really." No blood relatives to put a name to. Kaile had been on her own for as long as she could remember. Her life had been the Rebellion, Omega Pyre, and now the Alliance. Reflecting on that made it all the more clear how much of a lonely existence it was. Compared to Asmus and his family... to Kurt.

Things were rather more lonesome now.

[ And everything will turn to blue. The dream is fallacy come true.]

Tucking her chin on top of her knees, Kaile redirected the conversation to the song.

[ Just wanna spend some time with you On a beautiful day...]

"I've never heard this song before." she would admit, listening to the soft melody and the tenor of the artist's voice. "It is nice."

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus gave her a soft smile. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, before turning back to his display and quietly singing along for a few moments. In a rare flash of awareness he realised she wanted to the move the conversation on and he acquiesced.

"Yeah unfortunately they split up before they could really get going. Always wanted to see them live," he said. "Right, done," he said. "Pull back on the hyperspace level, then punch it again when this light goes green."

He slid out of his seat and pulled the blanket out from behind a console. "Scooch up?" he asked. "Thirty mins til the next hop."

 

[Kaile Vera]

"Okay," the Lorrdian replied, moving her hand to curl around the hyperdrive lever to await the signal. A brief glance up at the scoundrel and he caught her attention. The blanket and the smile he offered as a way to pass the time for the next thirty minutes seemed to brighten her face. With a warm glow, Kaile gave him a quick nod.

"I'd like that." she admitted with a widening smile. Another sheepish expression would flush her cheeks in mild remembrance, "I tend to get food coma after I eat. All kinds of sleepy." she would admit. "It gets worse if I'm pretty comfy."

No bright light, but they just had to wait a little bit longer.

"You get sleepy after you eat?"


[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Not so much in the morning," he admitted. "Normally after a big lunch though. Don't worry, I won't fall asleep now...even if I nearly did yesterday," he said. He unfurled the blanket and then perched on the edge of her chair, waiting for her to push the ship out of realspace so she could lean back and find a comfy spot again.

Leaning forwards himself he rested his chin on her shoulder, speaking quietly into her ear. "If you get really zonked, you can snuggle in on one of the back chairs," he said as the arm not holding the blanket at the ready snaked around her waist. It was a practical matter really, if she took the gunnery chair he wouldn't need to disturb her unless kriff hit the fan.

 

[Kaile Vera]

The light turned green and that was her cue. "Hold on tight," she told him with a faint smile. With a switch, she flipped the hyperdrive lever. The stars elongated and went streaking across the viewscreen in distinct lines. The Quin jumped into hyperspace then. There was a slight rumble, that familiar shudder as the freighter slipped into that stream.

The song would play in the background, going through the last few stanzas. Scooting up a bit, she snuggled close. "I'm okay here," she told him, resting her head against his shoulder. Already her fingers went curling around the blanket, covering them both with it as she adjusted it.

"Tell me about Eriadu." Kaile would ask him after a moment. "What do you love about it? Your favorite place?"


[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Hmm." The question prompted a non-committal response as Asmus played the question through his mind. "I mean, it has good sides, but it's...well it's like it only has one side really. It's not very varied. Eriadu has a culture rooted in the past. It's still got some pollution problems too. Not to mention the humanocentrists," he added with a shake of his head.

"I always liked the extravagant balls," he admitted. "But my favourite places was the woods that ran from the bottom of the family home. Got to have been about ten miles across those woods, there was a lovely little grove that got the sun in the summer with this little waterfall on the brook.

"Clearly you've been off the beaten track before and I don't always get far from the spaceports of the verse. Where else would you recommend?" he asked. Then he started to quietly hum along to the next track.

Desperate for changing, starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started, I'm chasing after you

 

[Kaile Vera]

The idle trace of her fingers upon his chest began anew. Much like it had last night, her finger tips would gingerly drift around in small doodles. Amusement would sparkle in her brown eyes at the mention of the extravagant balls. Considering the previous conversations they had, the enthusiasm that he expressed at the dresses and accessories for the Merchant's Ball, that didn't come to a surprise.

The woods now, that was an interesting twist. Kaile painted it in her mind, letting her imagination come up with a visual based on his description. A few more little taps as his question drew her from her reverie.

"Places to visit?" Kaile's eyebrows would furrow together, considering. A thought came to her then, "The Flamewind." she would say with an almost whimsical awe. "It occurs only once a year, and it is beautiful -- charging the radiation particules on the Oseon System to form a giant pinwheel of constantly shifting color."

She took a deep breath, letting herself relax as she shut her eyes. Remembering.

"Depending on the color, it can even get one feeling different emotions..."

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

His head tilted down as he slowly regarded her. Under those delicate traces, she'd feel his chest take in a deeper breath as he was subject to a myriad of feelings himself. Hanging by a moment...right...

With a gentle sigh he softly kissed the top of her head as he started to run hid hand through it again. There was still a trace of the oils in the tips, reminding him to wash it later.

"Always wanted to see that, but it's costly," he said. "Three weeks tighed down by all that interference. You make it sound worth it though."

"Funny, I see all these windows into cultures through the ports and cities we visit, but sometimes I realise I don't get to travel as far as I like to think. Visiting every which corner, but only scratching the surface."

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile gave a soft hum of pleasure at the light press of his lips upon the crown of her head. Little shivers would tingle down the nape of her neck and down her spine with the stroke of his fingers through her hair, lightly wafting the scent of lavender anew.

"Sorry... I should have hit the refresher this mornin'" she apologized with a sheepish half smile, exhaling a sigh as her full belly and the content sensation of Asmus's cafune lulling her into a deeper state of relaxation. Her own breathing deepened, slowly beginning to match the rhythm of the scoundrel that held her. It was odd how such little things like that occurred. Interesting.

[ living for the only thing I know. I'm running and not quite sure where to go...]

" And I don't know what I'm diving into..." she sang softly, pausing to say, "Mmm..." at his comment, Kaile's lips curved upward in mild humor. "Don't believe I'm well traveled myself. That was just luck." she admitted. It had been part of a mission that required her to follow and tract a target on the Arceneau Tourist Station for the viewing.

"Just at the right place at the right time, I 'spose." her cheek would softly nuzzle against his chest, the half idle doodle turning into a concave circular trace right over his heart, the fabric ruffling a bit with the drag of her finger.

"You ever want to go back home?" she wondered about that. Wouldn't he miss it? He seemed the sort who would do better there. Yeah, Asmus certainly stuck out like a sore thumb on the Quin.

But it wasn't for a lack of trying to fit in.

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"That's alright, like I said, I'll wash it out later for you," he replied. He made a soft, satisfied little noise as she nuzzled in against him. His other hand lightly trailed down the back of hers, along her arm and came to rest, cupping her elbow.

Beyond a gentle hum to the music that she'd feel reverberating through his chest he was quiet for a few moments. He gave the question the consideration it was due.

"No, no I don't think I would like to go home. It always felt a little small and a bit too traditional. I like to go places, meet new people and be kept on my toes. I think...i think a lot of people who've had success like to look back at the good times and attribute them to some nebulous plan they never really had. Sometimes really good things happen to those in the right place at the right time," he said as he gently squeezed her against him. Like those foolish enough to break through a secure barrier into a quarantine DMZ.

"I think I might end up a pilot, or a navigator. What about you?" he asked with a change of tone. "Got a big plan to follow?"

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]


“You don’t have to.” she yawned out quietly, bringing the doodle to a halt as she covered her mouth. His gentle squeeze would prompt a small smile, and she made herself comfortable as the last strains of the song played out.

“Oh… Okay.” Kaile said as she registered his answer about his home. So it was too small and he preferred to travel out. See the stars. A pilot? Well, he was a good pilot, considering how he managed to get them out of trouble earlier on. A navigator might be good too.

But was he really suited for that kind of life?

That made her wonder, giving a slight frown. All too soon he turned the tides and asked a question of his own. “Me?” her brows drew up more in remembrance that she too had a place to go soon. Reassignment.

“Oh....no. Just moving on to another job.” which was true. It just depended on what Retii assigned her to.

“Won’t you miss your parents?”

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus sighed. “Haven’t seen them in person for nearly four years now. Just the odd holocall with mum I suppose,” he admitted. He didn’t sound sad about it, just thoughtful. “Going back is going to be a bit strange when it does happen I suppose.”

The corner of his mouth twitched up. “My parents actually hired bounty hunters to try and drag me back at first, wanted them to arrest Kairon. I got shot by one of them and they suddenly stopped. Like, I think my mother was fine with the notion of bounty hunters dragging Kairon back as long as it was far away and she never had to see it. When she was confronted with the notion that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant process the bounty went straight down.”

He pulled up his shirt a few inches and eased her hand down to the scar just above his hipbone. She wouldn’t have seen it, but the delicate pads of her fingers would feel the subtle change in skin.

 

[Kaile Vera]

With delicate fingers, Kaile began to trace the pads of her fingertips over the subtle ridges of scar tissue upon his hip. It was a small roundish area, with rougher edges than the smooth skin in between. A tactile creature, the Lorrdian was able to mentally picture it through touch, feeling the protrutions of his hip bone, the flex of muscle above to his oblique and the vee path that led below.

"That must have hurt," she said, glancing up to look at him. One finger would be replaced by the skim of four others, as if to wipe away any lingering pain from it.

"Blaster round?" She asked, the light pressure of her finger pads tracing one idle circle only to span the flat press of her palm over it.

"It must have struck to the bone." She murmured, concern upon her heart-shaped face.

[member="Asmus Janes"]

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Yeah, that was the day I found out being shot isn't quite like it is in the films. The amount of pain was incredible. Makes me seem a big girl's blouse I suppose, but it was genuinely unpleasant, hah!

"Had to have it opened up so the medical droids could carefully layer back the bone the bolt had disintegrated. They make Blasters to vaporise durasteel so they do unpleasant things to organic matter."

Still, he thought to himself, having her run her fingers over it now seemed some level of recompense. Awareness of that rush he'd managed to dampen not long ago started to return. "Managed to avoid getting shot since...just about. You seem pretty handy with that more gun, ever get caught out yourself?"

He rolled out shoulder back away from her and tilted his head to the side to get a better look at her face whilst they talked.