Taxi!

[Keter]

It had been a while since he had seen the great expanse of space. He had...missed it. "Mandalore? A lovely world, or so I hear." It was a planet of much beauty, if one knew where to look. Too many people equated it with the Mandalorian culture and expected some sort of death world. "You had kids? And you still pirate?" Keter asked, surprised. It was a risky business, didn't she worry about them? Or had she entrusted them to someone she could trust whilst she sought out to secure their future? He chose not to question about what had happened specifically. He was curious, but he could approach the issue tactfully. Kinda.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

He'd known that she had kids. She'd told him all about it. Hell, she even brought her son to him once when he was a tiny baby. Sure, that was years ago, but the surprise in his voice confused her.

"You knew I had kids. You met my son."
She sighed, blowing a thin stream of smoke at the viewport.
"Yeah. I still pirate. Because I have to, Keter. Someone's gatta bring in credits for Clan Tal'verda and with Calico missing still..."

She trailed off, flicking ash right onto the floor. Well, there it was. The biggest problem in her life right now. Pathetic.

"You'd do the same for your family too."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"My math is rusty - but your son is ONE child. KIDS imply more than one," he snarked back at the woman. Honestly. It wasn't as if they kept in regular contact. Entrusting one child to someone was heavy duty enough (he knew about that - entrusting Felicity to the Baroness had been hard on him...) but more than one? He couldn't imagine it. He sighed as he let his gaze wander around the cockpit again. The blond was just trying to distract himself now. His little girl was growing up. Fast. And Feena had missed it. That...hurt more than anything.

"Ah, so that's the problem. Calico is missing." Her other half, wasn't it? Hmm. Must have been quite the guy to make Zandra settle down. "How goes the hunt for him?"

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

"I have a daughter now too. My youngest. She's... a little wonder."

That was putting it lightly. The girl by all rights, should have died. She was born during the coldest day ever recorded in Mandalorian history. In a tiny cabin, almost two months early. She had been such a little thing. But she never showed a single sign of slowing for a second. She was too stubborn to die, even as a baby, she was too proud to give in. A trait that was clear even now. While her brother was sweet and had skill with the Force, his sister was strong, a skilled hunter, talented warrior. She took after her Mother physically, but her spirit was her fathers.

"He disappeared the day half the clan did. Then half of Mandalore. Then half the Galaxy. Everyone came back. He did not. I've looked everywhere I can think of. Left him messages everywhere. The village talks about him like he's already dead. I can't do that. Not until I find his body."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Ah. So you can expect to be doing this in a few years," Keter noted with a faint smile. Zandra had all the joys of watching out for a teen duaghter to look forward to.

Her explanation as to what happened to her husband made Keter nod. "Ah, the Netherworld incident. I got caught up in that too. Felicity came looking for me. Kind of why I no longer have a ship actually," he casually revealed with a shrug. "And how long ahve you been looking for him? Maybe you shouldn't actively look for him?"

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra fell silent for a moment. Stop looking? Why? She wasn't exactly a learned woman, but she knew that the likelihood of finding something you aren't even searching for was low. She guided her ship along the endless sea of black. Maybe Cal was out here somewhere, a frozen body floating forever in the void. Maybe one day she'd be flying along like this, and she'd spot him out there among the stars. She'd suit up and go out there herself after him. Bring him back. Give him a proper Mandalorian send off.

And then she could finally move on. Maybe someday, she could bring herself to love another. Or maybe not, and that would be okay too. At least she would have closure.

"I've been looking since it happened. I haven't stopped, not even for a second. The jobs that I take are always in places that I think he may be, or where he liked to go. I just... I dunno anymore. I'm tired, Keter. I don't even think I'd be sad of he was found dead anymore. I've cried so much already. I just want to be able to move on at this point."

And there it was. Zandra had laid her heart out at his feet. She'd just admitted her deepest fears and her darkest thoughts. And she wasn't even embarrassed about it.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

That was...heavy. Keter wondered if Feena had felt like that when he had effectively died for her. But she had found him. If anything, the galaxy ran on narrative causality, the blond had found. He nodded in a moment of silence, letting the woman know he had taken her words to hear. "But wasn't your whole...thing...that you were lucky? Aren't you more likely to find him by accident due to luck than if you actively search for him? Is there any obvious places you overlooked?" he asked her in what he hoped was a gentle tone. He really wasn't good at this kind of thing. Still, the woman was an acquaintance and Keter had never shook off the habit of aiding everyone he came across to earn favors.

Ah. He owed her a favor. Was she intending to use it to find Calico? Well...he'd need her children in that case. Blood links were tenuous but could offer a way to track the man. Sith alchemy was a bit more complicated than that, but it was an option...

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Luck. That was how it all started. Being in just the right place at just the right time. It was how she'd even met Calico. If she hadn't been walking down that particular street at 3 am, she might never have come across him. Same with Keter. If she hadn't been in that cantina at that time. Lady luck worked in mysterious ways.

"If Lady Luck wanted me to find Calico, I prob'ly would have stumbled across him by now. I'm starting to think I'll honestly never see him again. That would be okay, if I only knew what had happened to him. I can't think of where else he might be. My daughter, Rawnie, says that he'd prob'ly run off with another woman. Hell, I'd be mad as a wet nexu, but I could accept it, ya know?"

She sighed then took a long drag of her cigara until the red glow was nearly burned down to her fingers. What if Calico really did have another woman out there? She'd probably kill him. Literally. Wasting the best years of her life? Ruining her body with two kids. But mostly? Just for making her worry. Zandra was a simple soul. She hated worrying about anything.

"We're gunna make the jump to lightspeed soon. Best stay seated 'til we do."


[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter would have rolled his eyes if he could have. "When you say things like that, it makes me think we're literally going to crash into him in the next day or so," the blond pointed out, focusing his gaze on outer space again, waiting for the jump. Hyperspace was...strnage. It was something he had never studied, just accepted as part of the world. He had no idea of the mechanics. Strange. He entrusted his life to a process he had no idea about so often...

The blond dragged his attention back to the present. "So that's your price for this trip? Having me play bloodhound for you and sniffing out Calico?"

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra carefully guided her ship to the nearest hyperlane. The process was less complicated than one might think. These lanes existed for a reason. There was very little for the ship to calculate out here. With a lane, you didn't need to worry about accidentally crashing through a star or planet, or any of the other thousands of things that could kill you out here. Just follow the route and you're safe.

"Nah," she answered, putting her cig out on the dashboard once again, "I got a crew that needs to get paid. I can't let my personal problems keep 'em from eating."

With that, she activated the hyperdrive and the ship shot through space. She kept her eyes wide open as the familiar blue streaks whizzed past. Now all they needed was to wait. She unbuckled herself and slouched in her seat. She needed a drink.

"Ya know, you can use my cabin if ya wanna go get some rest. go down the hall, down the ladder then it'll be the last one on the left. Should be unlocked."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

They entered hyperspace, the interior of the cockpit being bathed in the blue swirling light of hyperspace. Keter stared at it, then felt a smirk tugging at his lips. Again, Zandra offering her bed to him. Something never changed. He let loose a chuckle, but no more than that. The woman wouldn't see the humor in the situation, he was sure. "Kind of you to offer," he quickly said, before she got suspicious. "But I'm fine here. Your cabin is your own."

Plus, he really didn't want to think of what had gone on in there.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra didn't really think much of it. It wasn't like she was asking to share a bed with him. Nah. She may be pirate scum, but she had her own morals. While she was still technically married to Calico, he was the only one she'd sleep with. She took her vows seriously in all things.

"Gatcha, well, if ya change your mind, you know where it is," She yawned and stretched, cracking her back and neck.
"So. You never did tell me what's going on with you. Missin' daughter? Someone kidnap her?"

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Urgh. Not having eyes made it hard t convey his emotions. Simple eye-rolling could get SO much done. "More of an elopement, apparently," he muttered darkly. He had a role to play to after all - that of the vengeful father. "With a child too. SO nice of her to let me know before all of this happened," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "Isn't a father entitled to some rights? Like threatening the future husband?"

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The pirate raised a thin pale eyebrow. Elopement? Wasn't the girl, like, sixteen? Who would marry a sixteen year old anyway? Young love. Ah, Zandra missed it. It was so stupid and reckless.

"Kid? At her age? Didn' anyone give her the, err, 'talk'?"

Seriously, she'd already had this discussion with both her kids, and they were much younger. Couldn't get them informed too early. Let them learn to make the right choices.

"Well, I say give that boy hell. If I heard some little punk knocked up my daughter, I'd make him eat his own liver."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"A little bit older," Keter replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And we did. Hence me hunting her down to find out exactly what she did," he added, letting his head fall back against the head rest, the very image of a stressed father. "Of course, the father is a good kid too, from what I've gathered of him. He worked for me for a bit. Responsible lad. It's gonna be a shame to kill him."

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra nodded in understanding. Eh, if the father was a good kid, maybe Zandra might not kill him. She'd just hurt him a bit for making her a grandmother. But Keter was the angry parent in this situation. He knew how to handle his own kid-

"Wait, so you're a grandfather now! Force, we're gettin' old..."

She snickered, glancing sideways to the Sith to check his reaction.

"So, whatcha gunna do with your daughter and the baby then once you kill the boy? Gunna go lock her in a tower forever?"

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter twitched at that. Grandfather. Old. Each word was like a stab to the heart. It was true. He was running out of time. Heck, he had never had time. He had never cared about time. The galaxy was sick, spiralling like a broken spinning top. The same things, repeating, forever. The Jedi. The Sith. Empires. Rebellions. Always and forever. A broken wheel, spinning in an empty room. A pathetic act. The blond sighed and quelled his thoughts. He had left all that behind. He had butted heads with the system, and lost. He had fled and exiled himself. There was nothing left. There was no way to leave a mark on the galaxy except through children.

That thought made him pause. Was it...had that been motivation? Had his greatest act fooled himself? Had...

Had everything in the past several decades been a lie?

Keter snorted, then started to laugh. "Old, yes!" he said quickly, giving the woman next to him an excuse. Yes. He was just old. He had left behind a child. A mark of his existence upon the galaxy. What she did...if she was happy, what else mattered? If she was safe...his legacy...

What was real? DId he care? He did. But did he? So many faces, so many voices...

He kept laughing, shaking his head as he tried to reig himself in. "Locking her in a tower started this. I don't think it would help in this case. No...send her to her mother for aid. Felicity always preferred her mother to me."

That was good. It would keep her alive.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

He... was starting to freak her out. His laughter frightened her. He was acting, well, insane. Not that it really shocked her. They were all crazy in one way or another. But his was the kinda crazy that could snap any second and crush your skull with that space magic of his. She kept her eyes focused ahead. She must have hit a nerve. Best not to hit another-

"Eh, kids run away and do stupid things," she shrugged, "it's part of growing up. It's life, ya know? True, most kids don't mess up this badly, but will it really help to go after her like this? I mean, if ya kill the boy, she'll only resent you."

She tried to keep her tone casual, sincerely hoping that she wasn't about to make him angry. Truth was, she really couldn't blame him for being completely insanely angry about the situation. She'd be out for blood herself, honestly. But this was... maybe taking things a bit far.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

He managed to contain his laughter and just grinned at her. "Ah...sorry. I just realised...we did a lot worse by her age, didn't we?" he explained, shaking his head. "And I'm not going to kill him. Just scare them into thinking more clearly. Maybe drive them towards safety. You know what they say - beat the grass to startle the snake," the man continued saying with a smirk.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

By her age, Zandra had been selling her body on street corners. She'd run away from home just a year earlier and quickly found herself without food, shelter or any sense of security. And the few friends that Zandra had in her youth were not the sort you'd want your kids hanging out with. She'd struggled with various drug addictions for years, found herself passed out in more dirty alleyways than she cared to remember. All things considered, she was just lucky to have survived it all.
Luckily, she had a knack for gambling and managed to support herself without needing to steal or... well.
Yeah. She'd done much, much worse by her age.

"But you just said you were going to kill him. Keep changing your mind?"

[member="Keter"]