For Xin, just having another soul on board to talk to was a big boost over the last few trips. Brak has suggested he might help out on a trip or two but his skills were in high demand. Several other members of the Dragoons were not the kind of company he wanted to keep. It was more profitable and he was capable of running the ship alone. It could be boring though. Or difficult dealing with an anxious monkey lizard in mourning.
“A little,” he admitted with a wry grin. It was too early for him to think up something more witty. Instead he just finished his breakfast and briefly watched her slender calves as she padded back towards the room.
The first two bolts of the mesh floor had been lifted off with a hydro spanner when she reached the engine room. It wasn't really an engine room as much as a series of stations and access panels into the most easily accessible components and the hyperdrive. A lot of these small ships needed to be docked and opened from the outside for true access to the engines. It wasn't a destroyer, designed to run on its own for years with hundreds of crew members keeping it running.
“If yuh see something dart about down dere, don't jump. And hit a metal wall wid yuh head,” he advised. It sounded like the voice of experience. “Don't know how Skreech gets into de crawl spaces.”
---
Della had returned ready to work, pulling flame red hair into a ponytail as he spoke about the underbelly of the Dahlia.
“I'm more concerned you've been down here daily versus seeing creatures run about.”
Skeptical gaze flicked his way before taking in the tools laid out in the general area. It appeared all they would need so far, unless they ran into another unexpected problem.
“Skreech is smart. I bet he could handing us the tools or helping out. Don't discount the creature as nothing but a troll scaring you in the access shafts.”
Delila never pictured herself vouching for Skreech but here she was, speaking up for the monkey-lizard. Legs folded as Xin brought up the grate closest to her she sat on the metal edge, gathering tools. Boots dangled in, shoulders shifted and stretched as if mentally preparing.
“Ladies first.”
Hopping into the access hatch, Delila then went head first into the crawlspace towards the engine.
---
Xin laughed at the comment. He had to resist the urge to give a detailed schedule of maintenance that had been carried out on the ship. He knew she trusted him with it, but he was always slightly anxious to demonstrate that he had taken care of the ship.
Following behind her be slipped into the crawlspace with ease. His species were built with flexible joints that made them quote adept at swimming through tight crevices or maneuvering through tight corridors. The only barrier was that his shoulders were significantly broader than she was.
“If he feels like it, I am sure he is capable,” he replied. “Whether he is in de mood is anodda question.”
Xin clinked as he crawled with the tools jangling in his pockets. There was a panel in the crawlspace ahead of them that they would have to open to gain access to the third injector. After removing several other components safely.
“He bin more calm dis week, but it ah big change. As best I can understand his last owner raised him.”
Xin could still see the look of disbelief frozen in her expression as she dropped to her knees to the sound of Skreech's desperate wail.
---
“You still have to tell me that story.”
Squawk caught her off guard, hitting her head against the low ceiling. Delila has expected movement and had been prepared for that. Noise was an entirely different beast . Hand reached up and rubbed her head,mildly perturbed by having banged her head.
“Another side benefit of not having kids, I skipped the entire weird,loud noise thing. Apparently Skreech is seeing that I make up for that in one fell swoop.”
Tools were found to remove the panel, trying hard not to focus on the pain reverberating throughout her skull. Eyes glanced over to Xin, unable to resist a sarcastic comment.
“More calm this week huh?”
---
“Trust mi on dat one,” Xin sighed. He could hear claws on metal behind him. There was a flash of red as the monkey lizard skittered past him in the tube. “I'll tell yuh later.” The last thing he wanted to do was being up Mirax around Skreech first thing in the morning when he was starting to settle down.
He took up position on the opposite side of the panel and reached for his own hydrospanner.
“Come to help Skreech?”
The monkey lizard had used the mesh panels on either side of them for grip and hung from the wall between them. He was watching them work intently.
“Yes. Squidly breaks things.”
The answer caught him slightly be surprise. He had seen the lizard carry out jobs for Mirax to scout ahead of them, but he had such little insight into what their relationship had been. Skreech seemed to him to be less mature than a child in some respects, but far more aware in others.
Xin’s hydrospanner pulled free one of the bolts.
“Can yuh take dese back up and put dem in de the tin safe?” He asked. They could always get more bolts from the spares box. Skreech got in his way before he'd even finished the next one with the spanner and twisted it free once it was loose with his small, dexterous hands. Clearly he had done something like this before. His master had been a salvager.
“So de jobs yuh have on offer?” Xin asked.
---
It was hard to stifle the laughter of 'Squidly breaks things’ comment. It was only going to encourage Skreech but she didn't care. Despite her feelings for Xin it was still amusing to watch a back-and-forth.
Gaze took in the surroundings and as she was looking over a bundle if well separated electrical wires Xin asked his question. There was a long pause, panic rising up within her. Hand dropped from the electrical cords as she sought how to answer.
“Not sure what you're talking about.”
Playing stupid and deflection were her only hopes now.
“We getting closer to the injectors?”
---
“I wish,” xin replied. He finished sliding the panel underneath his own knee to expose the space below them. There was a shining chrome cylinder running perhaps four feet beneath them. It tapered off towards one end.
“Dat’s number three,” he said as he pointed towards it. The problem was obvious. Several other components, tubes and wires that had to be carefully disconnected and removed before they could access the panel near that tapered end. “Now getting to de junction box to start on dese wires is…” before he could stop Skreech had returned and darted into the opening. The agile little creature clambered down until he reached the fuel tube and scrambled over to the junction box.
“Quite...easy…” he trailed off. “Can you turn dat switch all de way around?” he asked Skreech.
His eyes turned back up towards Dells. “You know? De jobs you had on offer? On Corellia?”
---
Delila went and kneeled down in the small.space to look closer at the injectors. Junction box lay in an awkward spot but it seemed their resident monkey-lizard was on it. It was more or less a proud moment for her, of course Skreech would prove her point of being able to work. Working tended to take her mind off things, perhaps same could be said for Skreech.
There were times Dells couldn't tell if Xin was clueless or didn't understand due to culture issues or was merely playing stupid. This was one of those times. Gaze remained fixed on the injector and Skreech's handiwork. Delila wanted to make sure he actually turned the switch off.
Besides, it was easier to continue to be vague if she wasn't looking at Xin.
“Wasn't really an offer more… well, it's not very important. Nothing to discuss.”
---
Inky black eyes turned up to look at her. They betrayed very little about what he was thinking right now. Her tone had been slightly sharp, but it was the discomfort he could sense that drew his attention.
Xin hadn't thought he was prying but it seemed it was a topic she didn't want to being up. That didn't overly concern him, it had just caught him slightly off guard in what had seemed quite an innocuous subject.
There was a loud click as Skreech turned to switch. That saved them nearly fifteen minutes of removing support arms to reach through. Xin gave a pull and wiggle and the connection block between the junction and the cables cab free. He folded them up and tucked them nearly to one side.
“Sure,” he replied in a fairly light tone. Xin rolled onto his side and managed to get a hydrospanner in under one of the support arms and shields they still needed to remove.
“Can yuh hold de socket on de top?” He asked Dells. “Come out de way Skreech.”
It was an awkward angle to reach but it was too heavy for Skreech to work. The bolt probably hadn't come off since the ship had been constructed.
“What would yuh like for lunch?” Xin asked, changing the subject.
---
There was a slight twinge of guilt as Xin finally dropped the subject. Delila would discuss what was happening with the offers but a small,cramped access shafts didn't seem the place. Dells was a woman firmly rooted in reality - obviously it would be something that would be approached before the end of the trip. She just preferred to have such a talk when she wasn't caught so off guard. The subject matter was enough to catch her off guard alone.
Passing up offers to spend more time with Xin. He had asked for time, she thought this would be an olive branch in that direction. Would the Nautolan see it the same though?
“Do we have we spray lubricant? Might come in handy.”
Hand was firmly on the socket, leaning body weight into the tool to keep it from moving. Xin was using sheer muscle to try to get the bolt to move and it would be a lie to say she didn't enjoy the way the muscles in his arm flexed.
“Also you can cook? You're going to make me...well us...lunch?”
Dells wavered between disbelief and sheer surprise. Most times she just rummaged together what her limited cooking skills would allow. Having Xin actually ask her sent her feelings from guilty to cloud nine. She would appreciate whatever Xin put in front of her due to his thoughtfulness alone.
“I don't know… no one has asked me that in awhile. A sandwich I guess?”
---
“Are yuh doubting mi ability to loosen dis?” Xin asked as he heaved. The bolt didn't give. “Cos I am too,” he huffed.
“Skreech, spray battle about dis big back next to de tools please?”
The monkey lizard chuckled at his failure and darted back down the tunnel.
Xin took a breather and gave the bolt gentle taps. He didn't know if that really helped but it was something he had seen Brak do. He was still unsure why the subject had to be changed from her employment but didn't want to pry. Perhaps this trip was her way of escaping the decision for a time and didn't want to dwell on it. That would make sense.
“I’ll make lunch,” he reaffirmed. “Ah, bread might be in de freezer. Remind me to get some out. I'll get some meat out for dinner too.”
---
“ You don't have to, I'll eat anything put in front of me really.”
Being picky wasn't a trait one could have in her previous line of work. Same for being marooned. Now they were on board with.limited resources - not that they were on a long haul trip.
Xin was tapping the bolt and she wasn't sure why. Perhaps some type of spacer trick she didn't know about. If it proved useful it was another piece of knowledge to tuck away for later use. Weight still rested on the socket as Skreech was scurrying around getting the spray can.
“So how did you learn to do this? Spacer University back on the Fleet?”
---
Xin opened his mouth to reply. Just the slight glint in eyes and twitch of the tip of a headtail gave away the mischief behind what he was going to say. Then Skreech scrambled back down the tunnel and he decided to save the comment.
“Thenk yuh,” he said as he took the bottle. He gave the bolt a good spray and wiped away the excess with a rag from a pocket.
“When yuh are just off from a dock it make sense to use de fresh food,” Xin said with a shrug. He didn’t think he was a good cook by any means, but he had a notion of what Dells’ standard was.
“And mostly have been on de move fah a long time. Am no mechanic either. Can do a bit of everything but nuh so well I guess,” he chuckled. “Brak can make anyting mechical sing!”
Muscles bunched up and with his leg well braced he gave a tug that started the bolt turning.
---
She gave a look of 'really,Xin’ at the glint of mischief that crossed his features. Skreech had saved her from the comment but the point had gotten through clearly either way. There was a small chuckle before Xin continued on about his mechanical skills.
“Not so well? I highly doubt that Captain but I'll let you have it for now.”
Socket threatened to move and she applied more pressure to allow Xin to try and remove the bolt. Like he said, probably hadn't been removed since the ship was built and it wasn't as if they had spacecraft quality power equipment on board. That stuff was expensive, even used.
“On the move for a long time huh? Whatcha want to do in the future? The same? Or something different? Don't say you don't know, everyone has at least some vague idea of what their future plans are.”
---
He didn’t even look slightly embarrassed at her comment, but that was something nautolans were able to hide well. You had to learn to read the patterns in their eyes and subtle movements of the headtails. Dells would probably learn over time if she stayed around him.
“Being in dat prison was de longest I had stayed in place since I was...eight,” Xin replied. But for a soft grunt he fell silent for a few seconds. A quarter of a turn and he changed position to start twisting the bolt more freely.
Skreech was watching but staying oddly silent. He was listening to the conversation.
“Well, mi future plans kind of got brought forward,” Xin replied with a chuckle. Running a ship had been what he was saving for. “At some point I probably want to settle in one place. My skills are mostly on a ship thought.”
---
“So young Xin has been running around for years then? No kid should have to go through that, I'm sorry.”
It was tough to picture little boy Xin running around lost and alone. Xin was incredibly smart so no doubt he learned quickly. Yet it wasn't something she would wish on even her worst enemy. The nugget of information proved useful though and explained a good bit of some actions.
“ Mostly on a ship? I don't know, you did a great job on the beach.”
Grin was tossed in his direction upon her teasing.
“Settling down someday? That's the idea for everyone I suppose. I've got a rough idea but who knows if it comes to light.”
---
“Miss de water on a ship!” He admitted. The grin at her comment remained as an almost wistful smile. It was because part of his mind had decided to revisit their time together on the ground. “Most ships don't have much. Recycled air can get a little dry.”
Xin backed up and found room to start moving parts out of their way without leaving them precariously balanced. The last thing they needed was to make more work by dropping something beyond arm's reach.
“Mi uncle looked after mi fah a while, but I did nuh stay long,” Xin replied. He hadn't so much fought in a rebellion as become mixed up with some kids who thought themselves freedom fighters. Not the worst people he had been mixed up with either.
“Maybe would get bored in one city. I don't know. Maybe relaxing. Which do you prefer?”
---
“Not sure. The idea of retiring and spending my days in a sleepy beach town have a massive appeal. At the same time…. Can I ever retire? I need something to drive me, a purpose of sorts. One typically doesn't find that in quiet little towns.”
Delila had the idea circulating in her mind for some time now. Her body couldn't keep up forever, not doing heavy combat work anyways. When the Dahlia came along she had drifted from place to place and found it therapeutic in a way. If she didn't like somewhere then it was nothing more than closing the ramp and moving on.
“So I imagine I would get bored too. Depends also if I'm alone or have someone tagging along. Typically a partner in crime makes the adventure more memorable.”
Eyes went back to Xin, realizing they were touching close to the employment offer subject once again. Delila had accidentally charted herself into those waters.
“Which is part of the reason I've decided not to take the offer on Corellia.”
---
Without being able to hear her thoughts, Xin found it slightly strange that she had steered back to the earlier question. He doubted it was deliberate.
“Could yuh run a security department for one of the big firms? Or maybe hire on a few and start your own?” He asked. She must have enough references to take one of the big jobs at the galactic security business that made huge profits in these times. Probably good pension plans to.
“I'd come on adventures wid yuh!” He offered, not really picking up on the fact that her thoughts might have returned to that offer on their first meeting. Circumstances were very different now, both for Xin in general and between them both.
“Yuh must be doing alright now to be thinking about retirement so young,” he joked as if it could shelter him from any kind of retort that working together would be a bad idea.
---
“Well….yes and no. The job I have currently has a good number of perks. Obviously I get the freedom to do around and make a bit of a schedule. I could continue it until I get fired. Realistically I'm very aware years of abuse on my body will catch up to me quickly. So I would like something in place before that happens.”
Socket loosened and Delila placed it in the tin to be put away for safe keeping. Panel was pushed up and she lifted it out of the way for now.
“More so if we continue this.” Delila motioned between them. “At some point we will have to come to an agreement on future goals.”
This was the conversation she didn't want to have. Especially not in such a small enclosed space. If someone got overly emotional it would end very badly. Both for the ship and for the actual person.
“Speaking without knowing your feelings or ideas, if us did continue then I wouldn't want to be in a position where I'm doing work on the ground and you're off in the 'verse. Doesn't make for a good relationship.”
---
Xin went through a couple of phases. Even a human could see that he turned quiet and thoughtful at first. He also hadn't expected the conversation to turn this way quite so quickly.
Cocking his head to one side his lips split into a smile. She had been thinking about him when it came to weighing up career options. That meant he mattered to her. Not a lot of people seemed to take him seriously, but she did. He wasn't certain he was good enough for her, but she seemed to.
He made a thoughtful noise and set his hydrospanner down somewhere safe.
“Yes,” he said to her, the smile having gone. “I do want us to continue. I think we do need to talk about it.” His hand came up and nervously fiddled with one of the binds on his headtails. “Nuh sure what de answer is, but we should talk.”
They had agreed to take it a step at a time and that was exactly what they were doing. But she raised a sensible point. If they were heading down divergent paths then there came a point when there weren't any more steps forward.
---
Eyebrows knit for a moment, watching his actions. Xin had gone from a quiet moment to looking nervous as he spoke. Where the nervous emotion came in for Xin she couldn't tell. Was it the subject matter or the answers?
“Actually I'm not sure of the answers myself. Do we need answers yet? You mentioned time, which I can give. However even you should feel something is changing between us Xin.”
Rhythm was being found. Both were allowing the other see a private side of both emotions and personality. Sex had turned into an intimate event instead of a frantic lust fueled coupling.
“I'm not expecting a definitive answer on our lives Xin. You would be a fool to jump in so quickly. You have more to lose in this than I do.”
“I just want you to consider what you want for yourself and if there is an 'us’ that too. We have time but it would be foolish to end up in two different locations at the end of this.”
---
Xin listened and nodded. He was aware that he could be too free with his tongue and end up mixing up what he meant. This was the kind of discussion where it would take them longer if he spoke too quickly instead of considering his words.
“Yuh are right,” he said. “I do, yuh know, feel dat it's changing between us. I don't want it to be weeks and weeks before we meet again now, let alone down de line.”
He wasn't quite sure what she meant about him having more to lose. During his life he had rarely settled in one place. Perhaps that was why he didn't see there being a large risk to investing more in their relationship.
“I guess I'm nuh so fixed on being in space or on de ground. Yuh can travel wid mi here as long as dere is work, or yuh could put in a gud word fah mi wid de royal family!”
“Imbecile is a good word,” Skreech finally decided to interject.
---
“Sometimes it may be weeks and weeks. I mean….if I have to do some on-ground training or personal protection then we’re going to be separated. Such is the nature of the career. It happens. Your dream was to fly around and be your own boss, don’t give up on that. I like the idea of us traveling around.”
There was a chuckle on her part when Skreech added his two cents into the conversation.She probably shouldn’t encourage the money-lizard, much like she shouldn’t encourage Brak and his ‘Squidly’ comments.
“I can feel the love between you two.As for the Royal House, don’t know them that well but if you like. There’s always freelance contracts to be had too - they do a lot of mining and exporting so ships are always in and out.”
Dells moved closer and slipped an arm around Xin, drawing herself closer in the small space. Quick kiss was placed on his cheek.
---
“I did nuh …” he had been going to protest that the request for a royal introduction had been tongue in cheek but he fell silent when she moved towards him. This was such a confined space that it could have felt quite intimate and private. That was, if Skreech had not been sat watching them.
Spelling it out was nice, but what he felt at such an innocuous gesture was the real proof. Xin let a grease-covered hand give a gentle squeeze to her waist. A tilt of his head brushed his headtails against her temple as she turned away.
There was this layer of sensibility on which they were building this, Xin thought to himself. Whilst they could both be quite guarded with their words these little conversation felt like moments where they appraised and checked their heading.
“I like dat idea too.”
Skreech found a loose cable that he found interesting. He seemed content enough that Dells had laughed at his joke. He was, however, listening. His little world had been flipped but at least he had a place here and he understood that the conversation affected that.
“I'm glad we ran into each other,” he said earnestly. Just a chance meeting that had changed a great deal. Perhaps sometimes the Universe wasn't trying to punish him.
---
Arm dropped from around Xin after a moment. Skreech had gone quiet once again after his amusing little comment, playing with a loose wire of some sort when her eyes finally found the creature. There was still a great deal of work to be done. Panels were removed now someone had to crouch down and remove a metal cover.
“I am too, well...more glad my slightly inebriated state offered a challenge. Didn’t think you were going to accept but apparently surprises happen every now and then.”
Delila crouched down, sliding forward to look at the metal housing now stopping them from their next step.She wasn’t going to make Xin do all the work. Wasn’t her nature and besides it got incredibly boring watching someone do all the grunt work. Moving to her knees the redhead slid forward to reach the housing, checking the socket size needed. She took a moment before sitting back and digging through the toolbox Xin had drug through the tiny access areas.
“Corellia was a surprise too, a nice once.” Socket was found, the piece attaching to her wrench. “Hand me that spray can Skreech? Unlike Xin, I’ve got no one to show off my muscles for down here.”
---
