Private Terrible Timing

[BB-610]

| LOCATION: Scarif |
| TAG: Jenn Kryze |


As BB-610's rise to the surface continued, all he could think about was how to make up for his mistake. He had always been a sensitive soul, never wishing to hurt anybody, and so when rare moment occurred in which he'd accidentally strike a nerve, it was easy for the droid to relapse into a shroud of shame. Akin to a puppy, BB-610 thrived from the love given by those around him and never intended to upset them; so much that when he did, he would keep his proverbial tail between his legs, not ever daring to question why somebody may be shouting at him.

Finally, the droid emerged from the clear waters, his chassis glistening with damp sand clinging to his plating. The setting sun told him that it was time to leave, and the utter horror of his situation finally dawned on him: he needed her in order to return home. BB-610 couldn't think of anything he'd wanted less than to share a tight place with the Mandalorian after everything he'd done; the astromech would much sooner rust away in the sand than dare pipe up to ask for a lift back to his ship. As far as BB-610 was concerned, he hardly deserved it.

He stood there, as motionless as he was on the seafloor, delaying the inevitable to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, the claws of awkwardness snaked ever closer, to the point where even a being of metal and wiring that wasn't perfectly versed in social cues could tell that something needed to cut through their silence. Reluctantly, BB-610 brought his attention back to the Mandalorian, an unblinking optic meeting an unblinking visor. Much like Jenn, he struggled to word his thoughts, and their mutual need to speak up only heightened the thickening layer of tension above them.

«I'm so sorry, Jenn.»

His binary was quiet, barely audible, but it was there. BB-610's optic had widened, glimmering in the droid equivalent of sad puppy-dog eyes. He had spoken earnestly, his head still slightly lowered in guilt. «I really do want to be friends. I think that... maybe things can be okay if we stick together.»

BB-610 fidgeted, feeling so incredibly small beneath her piercing gaze.

«I want the fighting to stop. I want people to know that you aren't bad.»

 

[Jenn Kryze]

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| Location | Scarif, Jenn's Little Paradise
| Objective | Speak truly. Tragically so.

"That's not how this works, Bee."

In a way, she wished she lacked the vision to understand this. That she was naive enough to think that this war could still be brought to a close, and two honest souls from opposite sides could do much of anything to prevent further loss of life. But Jenn knew better. Her vision was exactly why those who chose to refuse the Crusade had come to look up to her: the words she spoke were grounded in reality, and she never appealed to her people with unreasonable arguments.

"Valery is a good person, and so are you. Maybe even the best friend I have right now. But good people don't always make the right choices. If they did, the galaxy would be a better place. But... no. I don't think conquest is the right way for my people to return to our previous strength, Bee- but we do deserve to be strong again without having the people you fight for try and keep us strangled and weak. And we are right to stand up to this Alliance of tyrants when all others are content to suckle and grow fat on the hypocrisy it feeds them!"

Realizing that her voice had risen at the end, impassioned by the subject as she was, she shook her head, walking past him as she headed back to the Xandu, stopping to crouch down and offer him her hands to roll onto. No matter how angry she was with him for shattering the peace of her paradise, the Mandalorian was not so petty as to leave him to find his way up on his own. "I don't want war, Bee. I don't want more worlds to suffer the fate of Ukatis, may they be Alliance or Enclave. But I am not going to just... lie down and let anyone walk over my people. I like you, Bee, I really do, but you need to wake up. This is war. A war that sure as shit didn't start on its own, but because of actions from both sides. I fight for peace and justice, but I do fight. And if you, Valery, or anyone else I call friend decides to come to my home to bring war, then I will protect my people. You can think less of me for that if you want, but I will not apologize for protecting my own."

After boosting him up into the cockpit, she followed suit, lowering the canopy into place and preparing for liftoff. Before long, they left the atoll behind them- and with it, any hope of banter and levity. Even with the helmet on, there was no mistaking Jenn's weariness. She had come to Scarif to escape the war, and yet... here she was. Explaining to a droid that good will could not cure all ills. "I'm a Protector, Bee", Jenn said at last as they flew over the ocean, the water truly beautiful as the light of dusk shone over the surface. "But I'm not toothless. And I am not going to prostrate myself before a bunch of Senators or Jedi who treat me and my people like savages. Nor will I let myself be taken prisoner. I will never, ever let anyone hurt me again."

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BB-610 ​