Taxi!

[Keter]

"Pah! I need to be convincing. Besides, he's my best friend's son. I am willing to let them explain themselves. Chances are I won't kill him. Besides, it's been so long I don't know if I even remember how to kill someone," he replied dryly. It was true, it had been a while since he had taken a life. Retiring from the galactic stage did that to you.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

"Ha! Your best friend? I thought I was your best friend!"

She grinned. Obviously it was a joke. Zandra doubted very much that anybody in this Galaxy considered her their best friend. She wasn't exactly the friendliest creature around.

"Trust me though on this much, Mason," she sighed, gently tatting her fingers in a steady rhythm on her armrest, "You never forget how to kill people."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Don't start that friendship stuff with me. We both know that we are hardly the kind of people to have what someone would consider true friends." Him a Sith, her a liar and gambler. They didn't just "trust" people. They couldn't. Not really.There would always be fear, or doubt. It was the way of the galaxy. He glanced at her drumming fingers. "That's uncharacteristically morbid of you. And Sith-y," the blond observed.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

"No, it isn't."

She cracked her fingers, one by one. Sitting here like this made her feel antsy. Keter was wrong though about another thing. Zandra did consider him a friend. Honestly, the only one she had right now. Still, she chose to let that conversation die. She'd revealed too many weaknesses for one day.

"I'm Echani and Mandalorian now," she replied with a shrug, "My people pride themselves in their skills in battle. You are always training for your next kill. I don't enjoy it, ya know. I don't like to do it if I don't gatta, but when I gatta, I know I can do it. Killin' ain't hard if ya know how to do it."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter laughed and waved his hands. "Well, if you reason it as a cultural thing, then sure." If it let her sleep easier at night, who was he to argue? "And not enjoying it makes you a good person," the blond observed. "It just got boring after a while for me. Killing is just so....easy," he sighed, shaking his head. That's why he had taken to carrying a variety of weapon - to vary things a bit. Some people chose to die, but that didn't mean Keter had to be bored whilst doing it. It had all been so long ago. He had avoided killing eventually. For Feena. For his family. But in the end, he was broken. HIs soul was stianed with ashes and blood. He covered it in a robe, but it was still there.

Maybe Feena had sensed it. Maybe that is why she had...left.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

It wasn't just a cultural thing. Zandra was a pirate, a bounty hunter, a killer for hire in essence. It was really part of her job. She didn't enjoy it, no, but waiting tables didn't exactly pay enough to support a whole village. A girl had to make a living.

"Easy," she agreed, "But it pays well."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"I never saw it as a job really. Not exactly a SIth-y outlook," Keter laughed. Since when had he been anywhere near Sith-y? He had been accepted into the Order, and left to his own devices. He had never been taught the ways of the Sith. He had to take his education into his own hands. Though having no preconceptions or knowledge of limitations had turned out into a boon in the end. He was someone with no limits.

Actually...

"Hey...do you teach Mandalorian and Echani combat?"

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The Echani pirate lit up another cigara. She had a really bad habit now. Every time her fingers were unoccupied, she was lighting up another. Honestly, at this point, hard drugs would almost be cheaper. Maybe she should go out and develop some more bad habits instead of this...

"Teach? Yeah. Can't say I'm very good m'self. My mom would look at my technique and be ashamed. But I ain't dead yet. Guess that means I ain't too awful."

She sat back, trying to blow smoke rings at the viewport. Failing. Ah well.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter frowned at her still smoking, but didn't comment. It wasn't his place after all. Instead he nodded and spoke. "So how much would it cost me to learn some of your moves?"

A part of him almost snickered at that. The old Zandra would have so miscontrued that question.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Moves? She didn't really have moves. She just kinda.. did it. She moved. She hit. She stabbed. What did he want to know?

"How much can ya pay?" she asked, tapping the ash off the end of her cigara, "And I ain't travellin' all the way to your place to teach ya. You'll have to come with me to learn, got it?"

Might be fun to teach someone who wasn't a kid, actually. Kids were blank slates. Adults? Adults had habits. Teaching adults was hard. She enjoyed a challenge.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter sighed. Of course. Such a mercenary outlook. "What do you want?" he countered, letting her set the terms once more. Still, he must have been garnering quite the positive opinion from her...

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

The pirate thought for a while. They'd be leaving hyperspace in a little while. Best not annoy her passenger before then.

"Six months of service aboard my crew. That's what. You'll get a cut of the profits, your own bunk, and free meals twice a day. Not too bad, eh? And I'll teach ya Echani battle techniques along with some of what I picked up in the Mandalorian villages. After you straighten things out with your little girl, of course."

And he could give her a hand finding Cal too, although she didn't say that out loud.

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Hmm," he replied, taking the time to consider the deal this time. It was...in all fairness, pretty good. He would be gaining. Money, experience. He wouldn't be stuck at home again...yes. It was tempting. Too good to be true in fact. Reality did not play that nice. Something was up. But now his suspicions were raised, then he could prepare himself for the unexpected. Heh. Preparing himself for the unexpected. How dramatic. "Deal," the blond said at last, extending his hand to shake hers.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Truth was, Zandra was just lonely. She wasn't a complicated person and to even think that she might have something else up her sleeve was giving her way too much credit. Cal was gone. Her crew were hardly suitable companions. All she really had was the only friend she thought she had. At least with on board, she might not go as crazy as fast.

"Good ta have ya on board, Mista Mason," she shook his hand with a smile, snuffing out her cig with the other, "Right, so, we got a good few hours 'til we get there. Ya wanna take a rest or...?"

She winced, realizing that for a second, that almost sounded like she was propositioning him. Ha! Those days were long over.

"Not like that. Don' take it like that. Ever."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

Keter couldn't help but laugh softly at that, his mood improved. Well...his daughter was on her own adventure now. He would remind her that she never had to do anything alone. And if she was truly fine...with...that boy...then he would let them have their own adventure. A father could never be there always for their children. They could only do their best.

"You really have changed," he laughed, shaking his head. "I won't, I won't," the blond reassured her. "I'm married remember?" he pointed out. Even if it seemed like he was the only one who remembered it at this point. Maybe it was time to visit Feena after all this adventuring.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

"Aye, married." She nodded and touched the cuffs of Cals old leather jacket. Mandalorians did not exchange rings. They said a vow, and that was it. It was up to each couple and the village to keep track. To Zandra, the jacket was her wedding ring. A gift from Cal. A very personal item.
"And ya don' talk much 'bout yer wife, ya know."

She let her smile fade. She was being nosey.
"Not that ya have to, ya know. It's fine if ya don't."

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"We don't talk much in the first place," Keter pointed out. Honestly. Such a stupid question. Of course he didn't mention her if he never spoke. The blond tapped the armrest of the chair he was sat in. "She's a queen you know. Of Naboo. Loves that planet dearly," he said.

It was one hell of an understatement.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

Zandra cleared her throat awkwardly. And here she thought she had it bad in her marriage. At least if Cal was dead, they'd have a good excuse for not talking anymore.

"Trouble in paradise? I get it. Must be hard. And ya don't live on the same planet. But she can't be Queen forever, right? Isn't there, like, only a certain length of time they can do before the next one takes over?"

She'd heard that somewhere. Or maybe they were talking about some other planet. There were far too many to remember...

[member="Keter"]

 

[Keter]

"Right, of course. Which is why she's taken over as....you know, I honestly don't know WHAT her title is anymore. But she's the Queen. If not in name, then certainly in power. I'm sure there's an official queen, but I bet she does what Feena wants. She's always been a shrewd politician," the man said, a smile of memory tugging at his lips.

[member="Zandra Tal'verda"]

 

[Zandra Tal'verda]

"Eh?"
Zandra just didn't get it. Life was too hard for those types. Zandra preferred the simple life of a criminal. Kept her entertained. Besides, it was dangerous to be a politician. Everyone was trying to kill you. Sure, people were trying to kill her too, but for good enough reason. Ya didn't become a well known pirate until you ticked off a few powerful criminals.

"Well, go see her. You still gatta chance, ya know? At least yer wife ain't up n' disappeared on ya! Ya know where she is! Go there and beg her to retire."

[member="Keter"]