It could have been a relaxing vacation from the ordinary pressures of
business ownership if she hadn't been so pessimistic. -Diary of Baka Ma'lik
"You ask me that almost every time you come in here and the answer's still 'about as good as I can be for being locked in a little white room for several days.'" Jess Jess was wrong in that assessment. Even though she could not recognize it in herself, Clipper knew she was a little more aggravated than usual. Maybe it was from, like she said, just being imprisoned in a small, monochromatic room, or perhaps it was from her frustration with knowing that her friends were probably about to walk into an Imperial trap and there was nothing she could do. Either way, it wasn't one of her best days.
Zimel raised his hands in surrender. "Okay. Just asking." Both were silent, groping for some subject that would inspire conversation. Then he remembered the explanation he'd given his peers for why he'd come today. While his colleagues considered it no secret that the two had become friends, he still thought it was. "The general said that I could take you on a real tour of the base."
"That sounds an awful lot like a date," she commented, yawning, causing her mouth to open more than he'd imagined and her lengthy tongue curled similar to Clipper's.
His cheeks trying to match the walls in the guy's cabin, he frowned. "If you'll leave the vornskr behind."
"No, thanks. I think I'll pass."
"Yeah, I would, too. Knowing him, you might return to find a nice, pretty Clipper-hide rug."
Momentarily, her eyes widened, horrified at the mere suggestion of any such thing being done to her faithful companion. Then she realized that he was just joking and he had grown to like Clipper more than Janua did. "It would be nice to have a change of scenery," she admitted, "but for all I know, I could be heading to the trash compactor or a shuttle to Kessel."
He nodded absently then looked past her, almost as if he was seeing through her, much like she had heard Skywalker would do when probing someone's mind. "I'd like to get off this rock, too. Is there any chance I could go with you if your friends get here?" he solemnly asked once his eyes focused.
The captain opened and closed her mouth several times before giving up trying to give a logical explanation of the feeling in the pit of her stomach that was telling her not to let him come. For one thing, anyone who crossed a superior officer, whether their alliances lie with the Empire or New Republic, would be on the officer's bad side. They would want revenge or discipline, which could come in two main forms: a bounty hunter or a court martial. Either way, the future for this young man wouldn't be looking too bright.
On the other hand, if he really had a need to get away from here, this would probably be his only hope, leaving him to deal with the consequences. But how could the need to get a new job outweigh having a life free from fear? If he was to run away, he'd have people looking for him and they would be anxious to take him back to a place worse than where he'd started after he knew what it's like to be on his own. It would be devastating. There was no possible way she could let him destroy his future like that. She could not help him.
"You'd get put on Kitzlym Base's top ten most wanted list." Actually, now that she said that, she knew her ship would be on there too. But she would not be giving up all she had, all she had ever known to escape. She would be giving up her future if she stayed put, and her sanity too. "Neither of us wants that, but while, for me, it's unavoidable, I won't let you deliberately do that."
Zimel thought about all he had learned from her, in a sense his captive, his friend. Then he caught something in her words that didn't make sense to him. "Why do you say it's unavoidable for you?"
"I can't live like this. There are things I want to accomplish in my life and I won't let even a whole base of guys in white armor stand in my way."
"It's the same for me. These people are so."
"It would destroy your future, all you ever dreamed of. I will not allow you to do that to yourself. You're not coming with us. End of story." She paused and Clipper lifted his head and half-heartedly growled at the young man stroking him. Sighing, she gave him another choice, a chance to logically consider everything she had said and for her to do the same. "If you still disagree with me, go right now and take a day to think about it. Just remember that there would be major consequences for both of us if you leave."
The lieutenant stood, shoving the vornskr off his lap. As he crossed the threshold to the corridor, he muttered, "I have." He knew that General Dalpiez would be steaming mad, that he'd do everything in his power to get the junior comm officer to return in one manner or another. He knew Jess Jess could have figured that out. What she didn't know, however, was that the base barely had enough capital to buy food and medical supplies as well as the occasional spare part. Torlix Malkus was stretching his altruism by finding, buying, and shipping those supplies and no bounty hunter would be willing to find someone for free. Unless that coward that called himself a general was willing to take his precious life into his hands by leaving, he could be so bold as to become a holodrama star and be as safe as if he was hiding underground on Hoth in the abandoned Echo Base. There was no way he could stay here anymore. Life just wouldn't be the same. He was going to leave and Captain Cadyue's friends would sure be very helpful in that regard.
"You ask me that almost every time you come in here and the answer's still 'about as good as I can be for being locked in a little white room for several days.'" Jess Jess was wrong in that assessment. Even though she could not recognize it in herself, Clipper knew she was a little more aggravated than usual. Maybe it was from, like she said, just being imprisoned in a small, monochromatic room, or perhaps it was from her frustration with knowing that her friends were probably about to walk into an Imperial trap and there was nothing she could do. Either way, it wasn't one of her best days.
Zimel raised his hands in surrender. "Okay. Just asking." Both were silent, groping for some subject that would inspire conversation. Then he remembered the explanation he'd given his peers for why he'd come today. While his colleagues considered it no secret that the two had become friends, he still thought it was. "The general said that I could take you on a real tour of the base."
"That sounds an awful lot like a date," she commented, yawning, causing her mouth to open more than he'd imagined and her lengthy tongue curled similar to Clipper's.
His cheeks trying to match the walls in the guy's cabin, he frowned. "If you'll leave the vornskr behind."
"No, thanks. I think I'll pass."
"Yeah, I would, too. Knowing him, you might return to find a nice, pretty Clipper-hide rug."
Momentarily, her eyes widened, horrified at the mere suggestion of any such thing being done to her faithful companion. Then she realized that he was just joking and he had grown to like Clipper more than Janua did. "It would be nice to have a change of scenery," she admitted, "but for all I know, I could be heading to the trash compactor or a shuttle to Kessel."
He nodded absently then looked past her, almost as if he was seeing through her, much like she had heard Skywalker would do when probing someone's mind. "I'd like to get off this rock, too. Is there any chance I could go with you if your friends get here?" he solemnly asked once his eyes focused.
The captain opened and closed her mouth several times before giving up trying to give a logical explanation of the feeling in the pit of her stomach that was telling her not to let him come. For one thing, anyone who crossed a superior officer, whether their alliances lie with the Empire or New Republic, would be on the officer's bad side. They would want revenge or discipline, which could come in two main forms: a bounty hunter or a court martial. Either way, the future for this young man wouldn't be looking too bright.
On the other hand, if he really had a need to get away from here, this would probably be his only hope, leaving him to deal with the consequences. But how could the need to get a new job outweigh having a life free from fear? If he was to run away, he'd have people looking for him and they would be anxious to take him back to a place worse than where he'd started after he knew what it's like to be on his own. It would be devastating. There was no possible way she could let him destroy his future like that. She could not help him.
"You'd get put on Kitzlym Base's top ten most wanted list." Actually, now that she said that, she knew her ship would be on there too. But she would not be giving up all she had, all she had ever known to escape. She would be giving up her future if she stayed put, and her sanity too. "Neither of us wants that, but while, for me, it's unavoidable, I won't let you deliberately do that."
Zimel thought about all he had learned from her, in a sense his captive, his friend. Then he caught something in her words that didn't make sense to him. "Why do you say it's unavoidable for you?"
"I can't live like this. There are things I want to accomplish in my life and I won't let even a whole base of guys in white armor stand in my way."
"It's the same for me. These people are so."
"It would destroy your future, all you ever dreamed of. I will not allow you to do that to yourself. You're not coming with us. End of story." She paused and Clipper lifted his head and half-heartedly growled at the young man stroking him. Sighing, she gave him another choice, a chance to logically consider everything she had said and for her to do the same. "If you still disagree with me, go right now and take a day to think about it. Just remember that there would be major consequences for both of us if you leave."
The lieutenant stood, shoving the vornskr off his lap. As he crossed the threshold to the corridor, he muttered, "I have." He knew that General Dalpiez would be steaming mad, that he'd do everything in his power to get the junior comm officer to return in one manner or another. He knew Jess Jess could have figured that out. What she didn't know, however, was that the base barely had enough capital to buy food and medical supplies as well as the occasional spare part. Torlix Malkus was stretching his altruism by finding, buying, and shipping those supplies and no bounty hunter would be willing to find someone for free. Unless that coward that called himself a general was willing to take his precious life into his hands by leaving, he could be so bold as to become a holodrama star and be as safe as if he was hiding underground on Hoth in the abandoned Echo Base. There was no way he could stay here anymore. Life just wouldn't be the same. He was going to leave and Captain Cadyue's friends would sure be very helpful in that regard.