TheCorsair
Pēdicãbo ego võs et irrumäbo
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2013
After Sheila and Kaydia departed, Quentin excused himself from the table and politely declined Klynn and Arlia's invitation to spend the morning with them. They were pleasant company, and attractive, but there were things he needed to get done. Beginning with borrowing a skimmer and returning to the starport. By the time he arrived, a Zeltron foreman was supervising an assemblage of labor droids that swarmed over the Scrapper.
"Thom Allas," the foreman declared, shaking his hand with a strong, firm grip. "This your ship, I assume?"
Quentin nodded. "Malachi Hardin. And yeah, it is. How bad is it?"
Thom shook his head. "Bad. It's a wonder you got back here without crashing. Starbord hull's breached across three levels, the ventral hold's breached, the cannon mount's destroyed." He referred to a data slate. "Sublight drives leaked all of their coolant, probably before you landed. Hyperdrive is wrecked. Any worse, and those pirates could have waited for you to suffocate and then looted your corpses."
"Lovely thought," Quentin murmured. "So fixing it will be difficult?"
"Difficult?" Thom snorted. "If Golb GMbH wasn't footing the bill for you, I'd recommend selling it for scrap and buying a whole new ship. As it is..."
"Wait." Quentin held up a hand. "Golb GMbH?"
"Yeah. Madame Sheila said..." He consulted the slate. "She called this morning, told me to tell you that it's a wedding gift. And told me that, if you protest or try to stop me, I'm to have you physically getting off the pad because, and I quote 'I'm paying for this whether he likes it or not, so there.'"
Quentin waited, watching. As the silence grew, Thom lifted an eyebrow. "Yes...?"
"Nothing," Quentin said with a shrug. "I'm just... well, this is Zeltros, right?"
"Yes?" Thom said, making a question of it.
"I'm just waiting for the inevitable Zeltron innuendo about 'getting me off the lot'."
Thom snorted laughter. "Yeah, lots of people would do that, wouldn't they. Not me, though. Men just don't do it for me." He shrugged. "A bit deviant, I know, but there you are. You aren't bothered by working with a monosexual, are you?"
Now Quentin laughed. "No, not in the slightest. But I suppose I should get off the site." He gestured at the ship. "She means a lot to me, and I'll just get in the way if I hang around."
With nothing else to do, he returned to the penthouse. Finding himself alone - a bit of a shock, on a world were 'personal space' was often inside another person - he stripped off his shirt and shoes and began stretching and limbering up. Then, gripping an imaginary lightsaber, he began running through the practice forms of Shi-Cho and Makashi. Within minutes the world drifted away, along with thought and worry. He emptied himself of everything but the now, allowing the Force to flow through him and carry him along even as he directed it with the Forms. Parry, thrust, parry, slash, turn, parry, parry, slash...
Pain.
He froze, sensing great torment. Shame. Panic. Pain. Not his own, but he could taste it in the back of his mind. It carried the flavor of Kaydia's nightmares and memories, and his pulse quickened slightly as he reached out through the Force. Kaydia? he called. She wasn't in danger, he could sense that. But those emotions... had something triggered her memories? Love? Are you all right?
"Thom Allas," the foreman declared, shaking his hand with a strong, firm grip. "This your ship, I assume?"
Quentin nodded. "Malachi Hardin. And yeah, it is. How bad is it?"
Thom shook his head. "Bad. It's a wonder you got back here without crashing. Starbord hull's breached across three levels, the ventral hold's breached, the cannon mount's destroyed." He referred to a data slate. "Sublight drives leaked all of their coolant, probably before you landed. Hyperdrive is wrecked. Any worse, and those pirates could have waited for you to suffocate and then looted your corpses."
"Lovely thought," Quentin murmured. "So fixing it will be difficult?"
"Difficult?" Thom snorted. "If Golb GMbH wasn't footing the bill for you, I'd recommend selling it for scrap and buying a whole new ship. As it is..."
"Wait." Quentin held up a hand. "Golb GMbH?"
"Yeah. Madame Sheila said..." He consulted the slate. "She called this morning, told me to tell you that it's a wedding gift. And told me that, if you protest or try to stop me, I'm to have you physically getting off the pad because, and I quote 'I'm paying for this whether he likes it or not, so there.'"
Quentin waited, watching. As the silence grew, Thom lifted an eyebrow. "Yes...?"
"Nothing," Quentin said with a shrug. "I'm just... well, this is Zeltros, right?"
"Yes?" Thom said, making a question of it.
"I'm just waiting for the inevitable Zeltron innuendo about 'getting me off the lot'."
Thom snorted laughter. "Yeah, lots of people would do that, wouldn't they. Not me, though. Men just don't do it for me." He shrugged. "A bit deviant, I know, but there you are. You aren't bothered by working with a monosexual, are you?"
Now Quentin laughed. "No, not in the slightest. But I suppose I should get off the site." He gestured at the ship. "She means a lot to me, and I'll just get in the way if I hang around."
With nothing else to do, he returned to the penthouse. Finding himself alone - a bit of a shock, on a world were 'personal space' was often inside another person - he stripped off his shirt and shoes and began stretching and limbering up. Then, gripping an imaginary lightsaber, he began running through the practice forms of Shi-Cho and Makashi. Within minutes the world drifted away, along with thought and worry. He emptied himself of everything but the now, allowing the Force to flow through him and carry him along even as he directed it with the Forms. Parry, thrust, parry, slash, turn, parry, parry, slash...
Pain.
He froze, sensing great torment. Shame. Panic. Pain. Not his own, but he could taste it in the back of his mind. It carried the flavor of Kaydia's nightmares and memories, and his pulse quickened slightly as he reached out through the Force. Kaydia? he called. She wasn't in danger, he could sense that. But those emotions... had something triggered her memories? Love? Are you all right?