Chapter 7

Repairs

With the urgency of the mission before them, the Doom Patrol repair team doubled their efforts to fix the Titan. Calling in additional workers and even engineers from the science division to decrease the workload on the repair team, the number of people working on the titan was almost more than what could comfortably fit on the Titan itself, forcing most of them to stand around and chat with one another on matters regarding how best to efficiently repair the ship.

Victor had always been proud of his skills, but the mechanics effortless teamwork astonished him, however he managed to keep up with their pace and aid in the repair of the ship. He was somewhat pushed out of the way by the repair team until Garfield glared at them, telling the mechanics that if Victor was going to prove his skills then he had to be able to actually work on the ship.

Garfield chipped in occasionally when he wasn't speaking with the repair team about Victor's results, working the odd electrical unit and wiring panel until he was force away after the repair team's captain finally found him. Garfield reluctantly disappeared into the bridge with Rachel in tow, the ship was getting an overhaul and he had to adapt the ship's navigation system and control matrix to the repairs.

Rachel took interest in the ship's controls, asking after every little detail she could. She had found piloting the Titan somewhat enjoyable yet clunky, she thought it was due to the Titan's old age and dysfunctional state, but rather it was a quirk of the Titan that Garfield never bothered to fix after he grew accustomed to it.

Richard and Kori eventually joined them on the Titan after further discussing the details of the mission with Commander Dayton, they wanted to persuade Garfield into letting them both join the mission yet getting him to leave the bridge was proving difficult.

Kori initially didn't want to be part of the mission, she couldn't bare the thought of handing that girl over to the very monster that had inflicted such horrendous experiments upon her, but she reluctantly relented after overhearing Richard and Steve speaking in length of Lex Luthor's involvement with the empire.

She knew the mission was only to accept some dangerous mission after handing over the girl, however she couldn't pass up the chance to gleam any intel on those that had slaughtered her village, though preventing Lex from doing any more of these experiments on people would be more than worth the effort.

She had tried to ask Rita about her village, though surprisingly the Doom Patrol had nothing on the matter, in fact it was rather a shock to them. Rita explained that the Doom Patrol couldn't track every atrocious act the Empire or the Sith committed, they had to focus on specific targets or those in high positions.

However, Rita promised Kori she would spare some of their intelligence officers if she agreed to join the mission, it wasn't a strictly binding agreement, but rather Rita was concerned that Garfield might jeopardise the mission and would require aid as he lost his self-preservation when enraged and Lex was a master at aggravating people for no reason other than for fun.

"Titan should be up and running in twenty-two hours." The repair team's captain barked, Garfield had exited the bridge to enquire after the condition of the ship, he wanted to know the latest he could depart. Though the captain wasn't too thrilled reporting to him, she knew wasting time bickering with him was fruitless, so giving a short curt reply would be far better than the fight that might break out between them.

"Good, also can you load up the hanger bay with any spare parts or materials the Doom Patrol doesn't need." Garfield grunted, he made the mistake of only buying the necessary supplies to keep the Titan running over a certain period of time. "Oh, and any failed project or spare non-classified equipment and technology as well. Send me the bill once you're done and I'll transfer the necessary credits."

"What? Are you taking up tinkering as a hobby now?" The repair captain sneered, she glared at him, daring him to rebuke her insult. Garfield sighed and shook his head, he wanted to retort but he had other matters to attend to, and trading insults wouldn't get him anywhere.

"No, you've seen Victor's skill. He expressed an interest in fixing that fighter I have in the hanger bay." Garfield groaned, he normally wouldn't excessively buy items for another person, but if it meant keeping Victor out of his way then it was a necessary expense. Though, he was interested in seeing what he could do with that waste of scrap metal. "If he can fix it then it will be worth the cost, though it would do me some good to keep extra spare materials around just in case."

"The lad is capable, I'll admit that." The repair captain reluctantly admitted, she had been impressed with his ability to keep up with her highly trained crew, though his methods and skills were unorthodox, he wasn't afraid to experiment without restraint. "Fine, though I'll have to clear it with the commander."

The repair captain sighed before marching off into the station to find the commander, determined to get this over with rather than delaying the process as the commander had ordered the ship be repaired as fast as possible. Garfield stood on the ramp to his ship, interacting with the data pad attached to his wrist, he set aside an appropriate amount of credits that would be necessary to pay for the order, a number he winced at as it was nearly ten times the amount he would usually pay for spare parts.

"Ah, Garfield, I was hoping we could talk again." Richard spoke as he appeared out from doorway leading into the hanger on the station, he had been trying everything he could to persuade the captain of the Titan to allow him and Kori to join the mission to no avail. Garfield sighed, he didn't need this conversation, he already had two new inhabitants onboard his beloved starship, he wasn't going to except any more.

"Richard, let me cut you off, I already said no. Nothing will change my mind." Garfield grumbled, still working away at his credit account, setting aside various expenditures for food, fuel and most likely clothes. Only Victor brought a bag of his personal belongings, and he couldn't have Rachel wandering around in those ridiculously plain uniforms that the Doom Patrol left onboard, nor could she wear her dark attire she had on the first time they met, so a trip to the clothing store on Nar Shaddaa would be in order.

"I know, but I want to help." Richard sighed, Garfield stubbornness was slowly getting to him, from the brief conversation he had with Commander Dayton he knew that whatever mission that Lex would have Garfield undertake may be insanely dangerous, and he couldn't sit back and do nothing when he could help. "All I've done since leaving the Republic is running, I've had to abandon my principals and ignore those in need. I just want to do something to help someone other than myself."

"Sigh… I already have two people now residing on my ship, one of which if their identity ever gets out could be disastrous for me." Garfield held the bridge of his nose between his fingers, he closed his eyes and tried not to sound frustrated. "She has the luxury of not having her face blared across any holonet or view screen in the entire galaxy. So much as one person catches sight of you, and all the work the Doom Patrol put to clear my name would be wasted."

Richard looked away, trying to think of a way to convince Garfield that he may be of some help behind the scenes when Victor appeared from behind Garfield. He was cleaning his hands from oil and grease after working in the engine room with a few of the mechanics, they were impressed with his temporary fix to the wonky engine, though with their combined effort they managed to right it properly.

"Yo, Gar, that engine is now aligned perfectly, shouldn't cause any problems during flight." Victor triumphantly smirked, proud of his work. The praise he was receiving from the Doom Patrol had him excited, he silently wondered if he could ask Commander Dayton for a chance to become an engineer aboard the station, though he didn't want to press his luck as he had to keep his word with Garfield first.

Victor had overheard the conversation between Garfield and Richard, he personally didn't have an opinion on it, Richard's infamy could cause them a multitude of problems but his skill as a Republic captain was evident during their time on the freighter. He didn't know which would be better for the team, though he did have a thought that might help deal with the issue of Richard's notoriety.

"Couldn't Richard wear a disguise? I'm sure the Doom Patrol has various outfits that could conceal his identity?" Victor asked after Garfield grunted his gratitude towards fixing the engine, Richard's skill could be useful, especially against someone like Lex Luthor. Victor didn't know much about the corrupt businessman other than the harsh comments uttered by the repair team, from that alone he could tell they needed someone with the tactical ability to command a team in the heat of battle.

"With the rumour mill going around, it would look suspicious enough hiring an engineer and a co-pilot, but a soldier would…" Garfield stopped talking, he personally didn't want to have any more people living on his starship than necessary, but the thought of interacting with Lex Luthor made his skin crawl.

Garfield couldn't bring either Rachel or Victor with him to the meeting, Lex was the paranoid type, and he would dig up dirt on anyone who comes to a meeting with him. If either of them is seen by Lex, they will have their entire life dredged through with a fine-tooth comb, and for Rachel, that could easily become a death sentence. He on the other hand had nothing to hide, Lex already knew of his past with the Scarlet Reapers and the robbery on the Republic home world, that was the reason Lex personally reached out to offer him a job the first time they met.

The reason Garfield hated talking with Lex was because the latter had a habit of bringing up the past to throw him off his game, Lex knew Garfield's anger issues and used that against him to leverage the deal to his side. However, if he could have someone else there that Lex couldn't leverage then he might actually get out of the deal far richer than before.

Stalking off, Garfield disappeared into the station, leaving behind a somewhat baffled Richard and Victor. Commander Dayton usually spent his entire time in the main hub, working with the intelligence division on corralling their field agents, but on occasions before a major mission was about to be undertaken, he would disappear into his office to work quietly on reports. Coming to a halt outside his office door, he pressed the buzzer beside it and waited patiently for Commander Dayton to grant him entry.

The door opened a moment later, revealing Commander Dayton speaking with the repair captain on the matter that Garfield had asked of her before. Walking in, he waited for them to finish speaking before asking his request.

"Garfield, I hear you are after additional parts and equipment? You do understand that some of the items you have requested may not be granted?" Commander Dayton turned the conversation to Garfield, he was fairly certain that he wasn't here regarding this matter, but now that Garfield stood before them, he decided to get his side on this.

"Of course, sir. The captain can attest to Victor's skill, and he stated that would like to try his hand at repairing the fighter in the Titan's hanger bay." Garfield stood at attention and spoke loudly but respectfully. Though he acted somewhat informally around the commander occasionally, inside his office or upon first meeting, he had to act professionally as per the Doom Patrol's rules. "The ship could be useful for missions if Victor can get it working, if not then I can at least sell it once it's brought up to a certain standard."

Commander Dayton looked over the data pad in his hand, scanning through the list of materials that Garfield had requested. He was concerned with offering up spare equipment or failed projects, but the repair captain had stated an interest in testing Victor's skill. If he could repair that fighter to a decent enough level, then House Doom would be interested in hiring him as no one from the Doom Patrol's entire team of engineers would dare to waste their time on that hunk of junk.

"I will grant this request, but on the condition that the final version of that fighter be viewed by the station's engineering team first before you do anything with it." Commander Dayton confirmed the request as Garfield nodded his agreement, though Garfield didn't know exactly why Steve stipulated this condition, though Garfield supposed that he wanted to test Victor's skill.

If he could get a functioning fighter onboard his starship then he wouldn't question it, he would be rid of the shame of being swindled and he could leave the Titan far from dangerous situations. The repair captain took the data pad and left the room, heading off to get the materials transported to the Titan.

"Now, what matter do you need to discuss with me?" Steve asked after waving for Garfield to relax from attention, despite his rigid stance on formality, he knew Garfield's reckless and freelance nature meant he couldn't keep up the decorum for long.

"I was wondering if you still have the armour from that bounty hunter we captured?" Garfield didn't want to be making this request, but if it meant throwing Lex of his game enough that he could get the upper hand in the deal, then he was willing to swallow his pride. Commander Dayton looked puzzled at him for a moment before a light appeared in his eyes, he seemed to get what Garfield was asking after rather quickly.

"As useful as it would be to cover up the capture of that bounty hunter, aren't you worried of Lex's reaction?" Commander Dayton asked, they were struggling with creating a story for the disappearance of the bounty hunter without hinting at him being captured by a secret agency, but if said bounty hunter were to return to the public eye then the issues behind the disappearance would go away completely, however there was one slight problem with this idea. "You do know that Lex hates bounty hunters?"

"Exactly, Lex would be off his game and I might get something worthwhile out of the deal." Garfield allowed a slight grin to tug at the edge of his mouth, the thought of getting one over Lex pleased him to no end. "And Lex wouldn't be too suspicious of me handing the girl back as his attention would be too focused on the bounty hunter."

"It's a risk… but one that might work." Commander Dayton mumbled pensively, he scratched his chin in thought. Eventually, he pulled up a data pad and sent a request to the security team, ordering them to send the armour to the Titan immediately. "I'll have the armour and a dossier on the bounty hunter sent to the Titan, and I'll have the intelligence team create a plausible backstory which will be included in the dossier."

"Red X, that man was cold and capricious, but he had some semblance of honour that would dictate his actions." Garfield stated aloud in thought, he was the one ordered to hunt down Red X by House Doom when the bounty hunter went rogue and suddenly turned into a kidnapper and tried to take House Doom's princess, he almost succeeded had Garfield not laid a trap for him by offering himself up as bait.

His nickname, Beast Boy, is listed as the highest rewarding target for any bounty hunter despite not having a picture of his face. Garfield leaked word of his whereabouts through the grapevine of the bounty hunter's network, attracting all of the professional and expert bounty hunters to him, however the location he listed was only close enough to Red X's last location. Red X's greed got the better of him and he walked right into the trap.

Red X's reasons for kidnapping the princess weren't ever revealed, but when Garfield and the Doom Patrol cornered him, he demanded a duel against the strongest one among them. The terms of the duel were if Red X won then he would walk away with his prize of both the princess and Garfield, but if he lost then he would willingly surrender.

Garfield couldn't believe Red X's arrogance, that he would willingly agree to going back to the chains he escaped from, and though the Republic may be a far sight better than the Scarlet Reapers, it still meant losing his freedom. Brashly accepting the deal, Garfield and Red X brawled back and forth for several hours with no clear victor, especially since Garfield let his rage get the better of him in the initial outbreak of the fight.

It wasn't until Red X's cockiness got the better of him that Garfield cleared his head and finally managed to gain the upper hand and won the fight, and true to his word, Red X willingly surrendered. Though, part of Garfield knew that the bounty hunter wasn't happy with the result and was debating keeping his end of the deal, he always made a mental note to be prepared for the day that Red X escaped from prison to get his revenge.

"Red X once stated that he would only work for those that were on an equal footing to him, or those that paid him insurmountable amount of credits." Garfield continued to ponder aloud, he knew the Doom Patrol intelligence agents are more than capable of creating a believable backstory for Red X, yet he had an inkling of idea he believed might work. "You saw to it that Red X's attempt to kidnap the princess never got out, but word got around that he took on a job he couldn't handle and got himself either arrested or killed. However, the word among his clients doesn't believe this as they think he quit bounty hunting to go into the smuggling business."

"Yes, I had similar reports, though I doubt the clients actually believe he went into the smuggling business, Red X isn't someone with tact or any form of business savvy." Commander Dayton grunted, he shook his head slightly as he thought about Red X, the bounty hunter was formidable and relentless, but he had no patience or discretion.

"And you would be right, however the clients believe that Red X took the role of a bruiser on a smuggler ship, they just don't know which." Garfield hinted to his point, the last time he spoke with anyone that had used the services of Red X, they asked him if he knew which smuggler employed Red X as their security guard. Garfield never confirmed nor denied this point, he more or less just glared at his employer until they got to the point of why they were hiring him. "They think he didn't like the pay of a bounty hunter and decided to join a smuggler crew, using his prior reputation as leverage to gain a certain percentage of the overall cut."

"It's certainly plausible… however after the incident at Tatooine… wait…" Commander Dayton stopped to think for a moment, pulling up a data pad and searching through it for a few seconds. "Red X was on the Republic's radar, if it is played right then it may work to provide a believable cover story. Alright, I send word to the intelligence agents to spread word, if there is nothing else?"

Garfield shook his head before saluting to the commander, departing from his office and striding back to his ship. He was debating about keeping Richard on after this mission, Red X's reputation combined with a highly trained Republic commando would be valuable in dealing with his less than friendly clients, though it meant keeping him on board Titan, something he was still struggling with after adding Rachel and Victor to his team.

Entering the hanger bay, he found Rachel and Kori had joined Victor and Richard on the ramp, they were speaking about the mission as well as the possible work Lex might throw their way. Victor spotted Garfield entering the hanger bay and waved at him, drawing the attention of the others to his arrival.

"Hey, Soldier Boy, what do you know about Red X?" Garfield called out, enjoying the slight twitch in Richard's eye as he used his new nickname. Though he could see some slight inklings of anger mixed with fear in his eyes at the mention of Red X, a look that Garfield knew from those that had the misfortune of running into the bounty hunter. Out of the four of them, Kori was the only who didn't react to the name as if she either hadn't heard of it or wasn't as fazed as the others.

"A notorious bounty hunter that many fear, his skills are legendary as well as his feats." Richard replied, he had an unfortunate encounter with the fiend and nearly lost his life after cockily thinking he could tackle Red X head on without backup. It wasn't that he didn't have the skill to fight him head on, rather Red X didn't play fair and nearly blew an airlock before he could get his helmet on. "Although, he is a devious and cold fiend that isn't to be trusted, and one I hope to never see again."

"Glad to hear it, because you're now Red X!" Garfield grinned, enjoying the stunned look on their faces the moment he finished his sentence, they all looked at him as if he lost his mind. "That is, if you still want to join my crew?"

"Eh… not to be the bearer of bad news, but wouldn't impersonating Red X bring him out of the shadows to hunt us down?" Victor asked, voicing the question on all of their minds as they nodded their agreement to his words. "And I doubt Doom Patrol can create a suit just like the one he wears."

"You would be correct there, Vic…" Garfield toyed with them, pausing just enough for them to shift their expressions from looking at him as a madman to wondering if he lost his sanity with that little trip into the station. "IF he wasn't currently locked up in a House Doom prison."

"Wait, Doom Patrol captured him?!" Richard asked incredulously, impressed with the Doom Patrol's might and their skill if they managed to take him down. Richard didn't doubt the Republic's capability to hunt down the bounty hunter, but they never could provide the required amount of resources to effectively hunt him down.

"Yep, idiot made a mistake of challenging us, almost lost him on a few occasions but we baited him and took him down." Garfield grinned, he enjoyed speaking of his few achievements beyond that of Coruscant, though he couldn't really speak of this one as the Doom Patrol wanted to keep this quiet. "His armour is being brought out of storage as well as a dossier on everything the Doom Patrol knows about him, so you better learn what you can if you are going to play him."

"Not to sound ungrateful, but why?" Richard knew his infamy would attract attention and that he would have to wear a disguise in order to hide himself, but donning the armour and the persona of someone like Red X was going in a complete 180 of his true self, something he knew he would have to do eventually but not to this extent.

"We don't have time to build a new identity for you to use for this mission, or one that would be at least believable." Garfield stated, Doom Patrol's intelligence agents' skill had no equal, but even they aren't miracle workers that could create an identity that people wouldn't be suspicious of. "Red X is in prison and Doom Patrol needs a cover story for him anyway, so it kills two birds with one stone… that and Lex hates bounty hunters."

Richard glared him slightly, catching onto the last sentence Garfield spoke. He realised that he was being used as a pawn, but if it got him included in the mission then he would have to agree to this condition. He wondered if he could pull of the cold evil bad guy persona, though if the Doom Patrol was providing a dossier on him then it shouldn't be too difficult.

"Anyway, Titan's up in twenty-four hours, once repairs are complete, I need to run a diagnostic on all systems before we take flight." Garfield informed the three joining him, he was still on the fence about including Kori in the roster of the ship, though he supposed having two force wielding combatants on board wouldn't be such a bad idea when going up against Lex. "Oh, and Victor, I'm buying a surplus of parts and equipment that will be stored in the hanger bay. You can use it to fix the fighter, but Commander Dayton wants the engineering team to inspect it once it's done."

"Booyah!" Victor cried, thrusting his arm up into the air in triumph, he had wanted to play around with the fighter to see what he could make with it. He didn't have the credits to buy the materials himself which meant he had to ask Garfield if he would be willing to fund him, now he not only got to make the fighter without having to ask for the credits, but if the Doom Patrol wanted to inspect his work, then it meant they were interested in his talents. If he could pull off something amazing, then he might get his wish to work for them. "Thank you! You won't regret this."

"Hey, you're doing me a favour, if I can get a workable fighter out of this then its worth the credits. That hunk of junk has been a thorn in my side for a while now." Garfield shrugged off Victor's thanks, though Titan is an amazing brute that could shrug off heavy weaponry, she struggles vaguely in manoeuvrability and she isn't able to land on certain planets due to her size.

However, with a fighter in the hanger bay, he could take on missions and gain new clients he wouldn't have otherwise had. The revenue stream alone would be hundreds of times higher than what he was about to spend on the parts needed to repair the fighter.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." The repair captain appeared with a massive grin on her face, she held a data pad in her hand as she strode towards them, handing it to Garfield immediately. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he looked at the price.

"1.2 million credits!" Garfield screeched, his voice shattering instantly as he stared at the large number. The price would put a small dent into his fortune, but nothing he couldn't recuperate over time. The others immediately went wide eyed at the amount, none of them had ever seen such a massive number of credits in their entire lifetime, not even Rachel who never once had to worry about credits growing up. "What else was added to this list? An entire starship?"

"Commander Dayton conferred a few new prototypes as well as some high-end materials and equipment." The repair captain smugly smiled, she enjoyed the look of disbelief in Garfield's eyes. "I'm certain this isn't a problem?"

Victor tried to express his reluctance for Garfield to spend such a large amount on parts to allow him to build the fighter, but before he could utter a word, Garfield grumbled and confirmed the payment. They watched in shock as the repair captain checked the data pad, confirming the transaction went through.

"Payment confirmed, pleasure doing business with you." The repair captain grinned as she sauntered off, happy in getting one over Garfield. The four behind Garfield stared in shock at him, he had paid that amount without even contemplating it or even haggling down the price, they wondered just how rich he was.

"You didn't need to do that… there is no way I can ever repay such a large sum like that…" Victor mumbled aloud, he knew he would have to make a ship that would be worth more than the amount Garfield spent on the materials. Only high end starships go for roughly that amount, and he was working on a husk of a fighter.

"Like I said, if I can get a workable ship then it would be worth the credits." Garfield glared at the empty spot where the repair captain had left, he was fairly certain she padded out the list with some highly expensive materials or gear just to get back at him. "Titan isn't capable of landing on a certain few planets or stations, it cuts off a segment of my revenue as some of these places have the best clients. However, the fighter allows me to gain access to these clients, which could potentially double my overall income."

"Are you sure you're a smuggler?" Rachel quipped, she knew enough of them to know that they never acted like he does, he was the only one she had ever seen pay such an exorbitant price without complaining about it. Though, the smugglers she had met would whine about paying the fuel tab let alone spare parts for a ship that may never fly.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Garfield flatly retorted, glaring half-heartedly at her. He stalked into the cargo bay of his ship, determined to go back to the bridge and just hide there, though he was stopped by Kori tugging on his sleeve. She was still somewhat scared of him after the events in the cafeteria, but that wasn't going to stop her.

"Can I join the mission as well? I know I don't have any technical skills like the rest of them, but I can be helpful in a fight." Kori asked politely, keeping a soft smile on her face as she spoke. Garfield sighed, she was correct that her fighting skills would be useful, but he wasn't sure bringing her along would be a good idea given her tendency to jump to conclusions.

"Kori is worth bringing along, she can be an asset to the team." Richard backed her, stepping forward to stand beside her. He didn't want to risk his position on the ship, but he was joining a crew of a smuggler, a former Sith, and a freelance engineer, he could do with someone that hailed from the Republic like he does.

"Ugh! Fine, you'll just keep annoying me until I accept." Garfield groaned, he didn't want to deal with Richard's persistence when he had a mission to plan for. "But! She is your responsibility, if she steps out of line then you'll take the blame, understood?"

Richard nodded quickly, accepting the role without hesitation. He was once responsible for an entire team, and Kori is an enthusiastic padawan, he shouldn't have too much trouble corralling her away from the grumpy smuggler.

Rachel glared somewhat at Garfield, unsure if he actually meant those words or if he wanted to saddle someone else with similar responsibilities that he had agreed to not long ago. She was still debating whether she could fully trust Garfield, but given her options she had no choice, however seeing him like this made her wonder if he had a side to him that wasn't serious or grumpy, one that was more mischievous.

"Alright, we leave the moment Titan is fully functional, and heading straight to Nar Shaddaa." Garfield addressed them all, he stood at the top of the stairs leading up to the catwalk. "Once we get there, me and Richard will meet with Lex, the rest of you will wait on the ship, the area we are heading to isn't one to be walking about unless you're ready to kill at a moment's notice."

With that, Garfield strode off into the bridge, determined to be left alone for at least until the ship was up and running. When he sat down in his favourite chair, he was surprised to find Rachel jumping into the co-pilot seat moments later. Staring at her for a second, he wondered what he was going to do about his newfound charge.

"Look, Rachel. When you are on-board the Titan, you don't have to follow me around. Steve doesn't have any authority on board my ship." Garfield sighed, though he was still split between being afraid of her because of her reputation, or enjoying her company as Raven, he needed her to know that he wouldn't ever imprison her, nor would he try to abuse his current authority over her. "Like I said before, so long as you are Raven then you are free on board my ship, no one will take that away while I am in charge."

"I know… I'm just interested in learning why you are so against enslavement?" Rachel asked softly, she was still determined to learn what she could about him, especially now that she was tied to him and his ship. "From how you were acting around those Restraining Binds, its fair to assume that you have personal experience with them?"

Garfield flinched harshly, instantly rubbing his neck, an action that Rachel noticed and shuddered. She had thought that he knew of slaves that had worn a similar type of device, that he had seen first-hand what they do to people, but from the look of the slight markings around his neck and his own actions, he hadn't seen it rather he was a former slave.

Rachel didn't know how to continue the conversation after that, the valiant and proud captain was once a slave, one that suffered at the hands of others for their own purposes. She had thought his solitary life and violent nature was due to past trauma at the hands of some who betrayed him, but this explained everything. The mistrust, the paranoia, and the cold heartlessness.

This revelation also explained why he jumped to her defense, he knew what it was like to be chained up, to have no freedom of his own, to sit by while somebody else was subjected to that must have compelled him to act. Rachel sat there wondering about if he really didn't mind her being the Darkling Star, or that he only protected her because of his own past.

"Garfield, why did you help me?" Rachel asked quietly, though she had asked this question before, she hoped he had taken the time to come up with a better response than the one he had given her before. Garfield sat there quietly, he could see in her eyes that she had seen him flinch at her question, there was no way to hide his past with her keen eyes, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I don't like talking about my past… but yeah, I know those bindings personally." Garfield reluctantly admitted, rubbing his neck once again. He didn't have the strength to admit it allowed, to actually say the word that would describe his prior situation effectively, but he could hint at it through his actions. "Look, I've done things I wish I could take back… And I think you are in the same boat. Back then, if it wasn't for the Doom Patrol holding a hand out to me, I doubt I would be in as good a situation as I am now. So, I wanted to do the same to someone like me."

Rachel looked at him, wondering if it really was a hand being held out to her, though given how horrific the Darkling Star's reputation was, she found she couldn't complain. The Darkling Star committed so many atrocities that someone not killing her on sight was already kindness, but Garfield went out his way to not only protect her from his own people, but he even gave her a home on board his own starship.

"Am I a crew member on this ship?" Rachel asked, staring blankly at the bulkhead covering the front view screen. If she wasn't a prisoner on his ship, then what was she. Since they were alone, and he was answering her questions, she wanted to know the exact relation she has with the ship and him.

"I suppose so… though I don't know what it means to have a crew." Garfield mumbled aloud, the only crews he was part of were the Doom Patrol and formerly the Scarlet Reapers. The former paid their workers depending on the type of job they did, while the latter only paid those that actually pulled their weight. Neither structure worked for him, if he ever had a crew then he never wanted them to feel like they are only worth what they did, nor force them to fight like monsters just for a better pay.

"You never had anyone else join your ship before?" Rachel looked at him strangely, he had accepted her into his crew despite not knowing what a crew actually was. Though, she couldn't really lecture him on this subject either as she spent most of her life alone.

"Nope… well other than a Doom Patrol agent that I have to ferry either to a location or to the station, but they lock themselves up in one of the rooms and only come out for food." Garfield shrugged, those agents were expressly told by Commander Dayton to leave him alone, but he didn't want to tell Rachel that the agents actively avoid him because of an order. "I don't do live transport of any kind either, so its just me on this ship."

"That explains why you were so against having anyone on board, I thought for a moment you would send me to the wolves just for your peace and quiet." Rachel smirked, enjoying teasing Garfield at his hesitation to agree to Commander Dayton's demand that he would be her caretaker. Garfield flinched harshly as he recalled the scene, he half-heartedly glared at her before returning to his work. "So, if I am working for you, then do I get a cut of the profit from the jobs?"

Garfield paused in his working, staring blankly at the bulkhead in front of him, Rachel worriedly stopped playing with the screen in front of her to gaze at him in concern, anxious that she might have actually asked the wrong question. Despite her previous notion to mess with him, she had to keep on his good side otherwise she had no doubt Commander Dayton would hold up his end of the deal if she cause a commotion while she was still on board the Doom Patrol Station.

"Don't know really, I mean, I don't buy things for myself, so I don't have a cut of the profits either." Garfield finally broke the tense silence, the clothes he wore were mostly given to him by Rita while the rest were bought out of necessity. Food and other amenities were essential and required him to buy them, but beyond that he didn't buy himself anything.

After escaping the Scarlet Reapers, he wanted to spend his newfound loot on the things he had always wanted, but standing before the shops left him somewhat hesitant. He didn't know if it was because of his fear of losing control, or because he finally had credits of his own and he was fearful of losing them.

"In truth, I don't like paying for things for myself. I mean, Titan requires a serious amount of credits just to keep running, and I have to buy materials and equipment for upcoming jobs or to cater to some of my more… eccentric clients." Garfield continued, leaning back in his chair as he thought about it. He still didn't know why he was reluctant to buy anything for himself, although the upside was that he had a sizeable amount of credits to spend on the Titan, his prized possession.

"Are you serious?" Rachel just sat there stunned, she thought for a former slave that he would be spending credits as fast as he could, buying the things he couldn't have before. Yet, as she recalled the spartan nature of the Titan, she realised that he was speaking the truth, everything on board was all about either the ship itself or the mission, beyond that he didn't have anything remotely personal.

"Yep!" Garfield grinned widely at her, ignoring the frown on her face. Rachel didn't know whether to slam her hand in her face, or just sigh in exasperation. "Most of the credits go into a stockpile I have, I usually have much more than I need for maintenance, so it piles up… I mean if you need credits then I can transfer some into an account for you, I was setting aside some to get you clothes and other necessities since you'll be staying here."

"Really?" Rachel looked at him again, she still couldn't work him out, his nature was all over the place. One moment he is cold and violent, the next he is kind and carefree. It was somewhat frightening to know that the kind smuggler sat beside her could just as easily kill without any effort, though it would explain why he was highly sought after by people.

"Sure, we are heading to Nar Shaddaa anyway, they have some of the best clothing stores around." Garfield grinned, this option worked fairly better than his own plan, he didn't know what type of clothes she would like, nor did he know what she needed to live aboard his ship. While he and Richard were meeting with Lex, she could go off and buy whatever she needed to make herself comfortable in her new room. "I can drop you off in one of the major shopping districts, buy what you need, and I'll meet you back at the hanger."

"And what if I disappear with your credits?" Rachel daringly asked, she knew she was playing with fire asking this, but she couldn't help herself. Garfield is the strangest smuggler she had ever met, he is nothing like any of the stories she heard from the other apprentices about their run ins with smugglers, and none of those she had the misfortune of meeting ever acted like him.

"If you are worried about Commander Dayton keeping his end of the promise, don't be." Garfield sighed, he supposed that might be her response to being left alone, and he knew all about how seriously the Sith take deserters and the threat that Steve levelled against her was a serious one. "I'll run interference long enough that even the Doom Patrol would have trouble finding you."

"Why?" Rachel asked confused, she never knew of such kindness that Garfield was showing her, most of the time the only thing she ever thought of kindness was people leaving her alone to read or paid for her food and clothes.

"Like I said before, you are similar to me. And I want to help you like others had done for me." Garfield smiled, he was somewhat warming to her despite knowing her reputation and her past exploits, and he was starting to think that he might actually miss her if she chooses to leave, but at the same time he couldn't leash her. His smile suddenly stopped, he turned carefully and slowly towards her, the air instantly chilling as he coldly stared at her. "However, if you do leave, then be warned that if the Darkling Star ever makes an appearance, then Commander Dayton will be the least of your problems…"

Rachel shuddered at the murderous intent exuding from him, further emphasising her point of how sporadic his nature was. Rachel didn't know who would be more of a threat to her, the Sith and their boundless rage, or Garfield with the backing of the Doom Patrol, both were deadly in their own right, but one had a distinct advantage of being everywhere and nowhere all at once.

"Trust me when I say that I never want to be the Darkling Star ever again." Rachel muttered aloud, it was the reason she left the Sith order in the first place, she wanted to gain a new name for herself by her own hand, and not by the actions of the downright deranged. Garfield instantly calmed down, smiling warmly at her before returning to his work, leaving the former Sith stunned by how easy he jumps between drastically different emotion.

They worked quietly, Garfield set up a training program Commander Dayton had installed into the navigation system for him back when he was still learning to fly the clunky behemoth, Rachel took her time to go through all of the controls and find all of the Titan's quirks. She was still mulling over Garfield's words, she had the option to leave, and he would help her, but it meant returning back to her life before.

Rachel had spent most of her time going from one smuggler to another, working the odd jobs just to get the credits to travel to another planet. Trekking through the sands of Tatooine had her somewhat regretting her choice to leave the Sith, and if it wasn't for Garfield's kindness back then she was certain that she would have perished from dehydration.

Now she had her own room, an allowance to buy herself clothes and books, as well as a captain that stuck his neck out for her despite knowing her past. Rachel wasn't about to trust him, nor was she going let her guard down around him either, but if he was true to his words then she might actually stay, at least for the time being.


Author's Note: I need to keep better notes, I'm sure you noticed the shift in the story (and if not then its about halfway through when I realised that there were things I was suppose to be writing about but forgot.) However, I will try my best to keep a top of this, and I apologise for this.

Regarding my previous chapters, I will come back at some point to edit them and fix them of both grammatical errors and typos.