Private So, Here's The Thing

[Wrenarias]

Since her arrival on Nar Shaddaa, Wrenarias had been in relative hiding. Escaping the clutches of some demented Sith had been difficult enough; but the last thing she wanted was to be found again. She had to keep moving, which was a trying process due to the injuries she was still recovering from.

And there was still the slightly problematic situation in that she had no way to access her accounts. Which, unfortunately, meant she effectively had no credits to her name. Proper lodging was out of the question, as was chartering a flight off planet on a shuttle wasn't feasible.

Battered, bruised, and exhausted, the pale green twi'lek meandered through the spaceport; hoping to find a ship that might hire her on or needed repairs. So far, she hadn't been quite that lucky, but the day was still fairly new.

She ran a hand along the cybernetic prosthetic lek, idly testing the appendage to check for any damages. It was a nervous tic of hers.

 

[Wynter Rackham]

Wrenarias

Business was good.

It always was.

There was always someone who needed a place. A birth. An empty hole in the ship that didn't exist. It was a great place to be for a smuggler. This is why Wynter loved the eternal conflict between the Light and the Dark. It always meant more for him. They could whine and moan, but everyone in a while there would be people that needed some good ol' fashion transport.

Sometimes?

It meant that someone he knew made an appointment with him.

"Wren?" He called out. Leaning against his ship, as a green Twi'lek passed on by. He didn't know Wrenarais. Which would be a problem most of the time, but right now? Someone... someone he liked knew Wren. And that someone had made an appointment.

That was good enough.

"You going off-world, ya?"

 

[Wrenarias]

Wren paused misstep when she heard a voice call out her name. Her eyes flicked over the Captain's face and her brow furrowed slightly. She slowly turned, as if hesitant to acknowledge the man. When she looked at him, he'd see there was something not quite right with her eyes.

Where whites should have been, there was only a dark, smoky grey that was nearly black. Her irises were a brilliant silver that almost seemed to glow.

She cleared her throat and took a reticent step closer to Wynter, biting her bottom lip as she looked him over more intently. He was handsome, but good looks hardly meant she could trust him. If anything, it made him more suspect.

"Yeah... I am. Why do you ask?" She asked quietly, sending a swift glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was coming up behind her.

 

[Wynter Rackham]

Wrenarias

You know.

There was always a consideration there.

Take a person or not. It was always a wonder of... worry or not. Will this person be a problem? Or is it going to be an easy cake. Wren was a difficult subject to the matter. They were... a problem. At the same time? They were not. Any sane captain would just say get the fuck out. But here was Captain Rackham and he was ... well ... Wyn was okay with a lot of things.

"Yeah... I am. Why do you ask?"

"Because someone gives a chit about you... and that is all I need." Wyn sighs there. It was hard when somebody didn't know how lucky they were. It was easier when they did.

Then you could negotiate.

Extra.

Figure out a price or two.

"So where do you wanna go?" Wyn asked, leaning against his durasteel port. Easy and okay.

 

[Wrenarias]

She rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly realizing that she didn't have much of an answer. She'd been so concerned with getting off planet, that she hadn't stopped to think of where she wanted to go exactly.

The twi'lek chuckled softly, a warm and charming sound as she looked him over, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jackets.

"Anywhere, basically. Do you have another haul or destination after this place? I promise, I won't be a bother or get in the way. I just need a lift, somewhere else."

She kept her reasons private for now. If he wanted to know more, he could ask.

 

[Wynter Rackham]

Wrenarias

That wasn't a surprise.

Plenty of people that just wanted to find the current place gone.

"Well, we are gunning for Hoth next." A shrug there. There was a shipyard there. A nexus. It could be enough, but looking at the woman that was looking for a lift? It probably wasn't. There was always that vibe. Of someone who desired more and took it. It was difficult for one Wynter, but that the same time... well.. it was far more interesting.

"After that we rest at Endor'."

This only made Wynter consider more about who he was traveling with. The really elite people got their own agents and sources. It made him watch Wren once or twice.

But that was that however.

He didn't try to figure out who she was fighting for. Or who she had been with. That was the difference between him and some other lines. They'd ask too much, while Wynter? He asked just enough.

 

[Wrenarias]

Wren shifted her weight from one leg to the other, her right knee was still swollen and exceptionally uncomfortable to stand on for long periods of time. One hand slipped from the pocket of her jacket to fiddle with the scarf that was wrapped around her throat.

She considered the two options she'd been given and then she shrugged her shoulders with a crooked smile. "I'd prefer Endor, but if your sick of me by the time we get to Hoth, I could make do."

Her head stayed slightly downturned, as though she was afraid to meet Wynter's gaze. She quirked her mouth to the side.

"I can be useful. I'm good with electronics and the like..."

 

[Wynter Rackham]

Wrenarias

A snort there.

"Dunno, maybe you will be tired of me halfway to Hoth, who knows?" Joking back as he stretched, before gesturing with his thumb over his shoulder. "Well, c'mon board. The Undoubtedly is leaving in a bit." He wouldn't wait for her to follow however. Already walking up the ramp into the cargo area, before turning around.

"I do like useful people, so I am sure I can find something for you to do."

Affectionately Wyn patted one of the crates next to him. "It's a good ship, but it feels its age. Always something in need of repairs." Once Wrenarias was on board he'd close off the ramp, letting it retract and shut the cargo bay.

"Anything else you good at?"

Brows furrowed as he looked at her curiously.

 

[Wrenarias]

"Fighting." Wren said rather vaguely, but with a rueful smile. She hated that it was one of the few things she was good at, but it was a simple matter of fact.

Her organic lek wrapped around her throat as she looked around the old ship, but her smile turned more genuine.

"I prefer old ships. They have more personality." She explained with a slight grin.

"Though... If you need me to fight, I'm not in the best condition so... Try to avoid trouble, if you can." Wren said with a light chuckle.

"Is there anyone else on board? Or is it just you?"

 

[Wynter Rackham]

A laugh there.

"Well, I am sadly kinda amazing at getting into trouble." Smirking there. "But I will do my best to avoid it for you." Cloud City was still fresh in his mind. It had been nuts. Terrorist plots, high-speed chases, creeping around in maintenance shafts. Straight out of some movie. It would have been fine, if they hadn't deputized him for a long arse time after that.

Working for the authorities always felt off to him.

"Just me," Nodding there as he pushed himself off the crate and gestured for her to follow him. The ship was (all jokes aside) in pretty decent shape. Though every angle of it was stuffed to the brink.

Crates here, there, everywhere.

It was clear that Wynter made hauling cargo around into his bread-and-butter. His other business, when he wasn't smuggling people in and out of planets. He tapped a button next to one of the doors. It hissed open and revealed a medium-sized room. Clearly Wyn had tried to make some room. Half of it was dominated by even more crates stacked to the wall.

The other? There was a hammock strung up for her.

"This will be your room, so if you get sick of me you can retreat into isolation." A wink there.

Wrenarias

 

[Wrenarias]

The last thing Wren had expected was a room to herself. She cautiously walked into the room, careful to not bump into Wynter as she passed him. There was a fleeting smile on her lips, though the expression still caused her pain.

"It's perfect... Thank you." She said softly and then half turned to look back to the Captain.

"Someone told you about me... But they didn't give you a destination of where to take me?" She asked with a furrowed brow.

Wary alarm bells went off in her mind, suddenly afraid that this was some sort trap.

 

[Wynter Rackham]

Wrenarias

Expression turned bemused there.

"Nope, told me to get you off the planet and that's that, didn't ask any questions." Tapping his head there. "You don't ask questions in this business, so you can tell me how much or how little you want." Another stretch there, yawning lightly. "I have been hauling crates all morning. The life of a smuggler is one without rest sadly."

"You must have pissed someone off good though. Lucky you that you have a friend who cares about you."

Wasn't always the case.

Plenty of people were all alone in the Galaxy. Nobody that could look after them. Was a tough life out there. "Anyway, you wanna come up to the cockpit? You can look over my shoulder while I tap in the coordinates." Grinning there. "Maybe that will put ya a bit at ease."

You didn't need to be an empath to see it.

Tension in the shoulders.

 

[Wrenarias]

Wren bit her bottom lip but she nodded her head. She appreciated him trying to put her at ease. Not many pilots that she'd flown with bothered to put forth the effort.

"Yeah, that'd be nice, actually. Thank you." She said, stepping back out of the room.

It felt weird to not have anything to leave in the room behind her. She barely had any belongings now, only the few things that she could carry on her person. Not even a bag with extra clothes.

She suddenly was worried hot disgusting she must have looked. It was a small miracle that Wyn agreed to take her on. She just hoped that he had a shower somewhere on board.

But who would reach out to a pilot and pay to get her off-world with no demands. It felt like a setup, perhaps one even Wyn wasn't aware of. She didn't want him to get hurt because of her.

That meant she would just have to fight all the harder if it came down to it.

"After you? I don't know where I'm going after all."

 

[Wynter Rackham]

"Sure thing then."

Nodding and leading the way. In the meantime lighting up a cigarette, before offering her one too. If she declined? Just a toothy grin and shrug, before puffing on his own. "Shower and refresher that-a-way." Gesturing towards a side corridor, before taking the stairs up to the cockpit. Two chairs, one positively worn from use, while the co-pilot chair was in relatively good shape.

If he hadn't already told her he flew alone that would have sealed the deal already.

"So, you fight, you fix chit, what do you do for a living?" Just making polite conversation there. Inquiring lightly as he tapped the coordinates. No surprises there, just as promised it was going to Hoth first.

There were a couple of stops in between however.

Fueling depots, things like that.

"Technician, outlaw? What's your poison."

Wrenarias

 

[Wrenarias]

The twi'lek did indeed take the offered cigarette, but she did so in such a way that she didn't touch his fingers. She quietly inhaled then blew the smoke from the corner of her mouth.

Wyn's chattering was endearing and she couldn't help but smile ever so slightly. While she wasn't particularly good at small talk, she appreciated his effort to acknowledge her existence. More often than not, Wrenarias went entirely unnoticed by others.

"Erm... Well, I've been a couple different things. Was a dancer once upon a time, then mercenary work for a long while. Some technical engineering for a short stint but... That didn't last due to certain circumstances." She was worried that Wyn might recognize her from the news -- the Twi'lek vigilante that was wanted in the Core worlds for a killing spree of elite businessmen and high society nobles.

She wouldn't offer that information up, but if he recognized her, there wasn't much she could do, but hope he didn't try to turn her in.

Her eyes caught her reflection in the duraglass view port and she paused. She looked wretched and the sight of her eyes made her shudder.

Cautiously, she moved to take the open seat nearby, still savoring the cigarette he'd given her.

"Are there any extra clothes that I could wear?" She asked, tearing her gaze from the window.

 

[Wynter Rackham]

Wrenarias

He did not in fact recognize her.

Mostly because Wyn didn't frequent the Core all that often. It brought up bad memories. Even if he had, he wouldn't have handed her in however. Killing off some rich fat cats wasn't his idea of a good time, but he wouldn't judge anyone else for partaking. They were usually useless arseholes anyway. Taking another drag from his cigarette and nodding thoughtfully.

"Well, sometimes it is nice to do a change of work scenery." A shrug there. He noticed two things- one, her trying very hard not to touch him in any way, which was interesting. The other was her discomfort about 'certain circumstances'. Didn't touch that one either though. Wynter had meant it, he tried not to ask questions about 'circumstances'.

It made things more complicated than they had to be.

If she wanted to tell him, she would on her own.

"Hmm, I might have some spare clothes that could fit you. They will be a bit big, if you don't mind that?" He engaged the engines. In the distance the roar of the ship could be overheard.

"I will drop it off in your room after your shower, yah?"

 

[Wrenarias]

"Yeah, that'd be perfect, actually. I don't really mind if they're too big." She explained with a warm smile, finally beginning to feel a little more comfortable.

Leaning back into her seat, Wrenarias closed her eyes and relaxed as she heard the engines firing up. She was leaving. It didn't really matter where she was going, just that it was away from here.

Some where no one could easily find her. Just disappear.

"Thank you... For doing this." She murmured after a few moments, taking a long drag from her cigarette to finish it off, before she put it out on the heel of her boot.

"Where should I put this?" Wren asked, raising the cigarette butt in question.

 

[Wynter Rackham]

Wrenarias

"Don't mention it." Waving his hand dismissively there, before focusing a bit more on the flying. "I do a lot of bad chit, so might as well do some good every once in a while. Good for the heart and all that." Artificial gravity took over as they got into the air. It always felt odd at first. He had it calibrated to be lighter Gs than what most planets had, so the first few minutes of acclimatization were amusing.

"Hm?"

Looking on over and noticing the butt. "Oh... I thought i had an ash bin somewhere here... oh well. Drop it in that can on the ground. S'fine." There was some clutter everywhere, but not nearly as bad as some stuff Wyn had seen.

Just... lived in.

You could see that this was Wyn's home. Not just a transport.

Once they broke atmosphere he yawned again and hit the auto-pilot. "Alright, let me point you to the shower, and I will go fetch up some of my sweaters and stuff for you."

A wink there.

"Don't got any bras around though, sorry about that."

 

[Wrenarias]

At first, it took her a moment to register what Wyn had just told her, and when it clicked she couldn't help but bust out laughing. It was the first time she'd genuinely laughed in weeks. The sensation felt foreign, but she reveled in it.

She waved a hand, shaking her head as the laughter died back down.

"Don't worry about it, I'll manage. Not like you're going to be hitting any turbulence or drastic maneuvering in hyperspace, right?" The woman said with another one of her characteristic warm smiles.

She stood up from her chair, sliding her hands back into the pockets of her jacket.

 

[Wynter Rackham]

Wrenarias

Grinning in return at the laughter.

"Nah, we ain't breaking a blockade, so I reckon you will be safe from that." He stomped out his own cigarette. Looked around ... and realized there was no place to put it now. What Wyn really needed was a small mobile ash tray. That followed him around, so he could just drop it in there. Oh well. Maybe there would be one in his future.

It would be ace.

"Shower ain't perfect tho. A bit too hot or too cold, depending on what temperature you set. Not sure how to fix it yet." A pause there by the door that went towards the bathroom.

"You know how to find your way back to your room from here?"

Otherwise he'd have to come back here. Which was fine, but he needed to know.