In Due Time

[Anj]

In Due Time

Once in a while people deserve a theme song. Really. They do. A groove to boost their egos or a strong bass to add pep in their steps. Many of the folks on The Wheel needed a good drink to do the trick. Or maybe two...Ok - three. Three shots often did the charm. But a nice song would have made the days easy. Easier than how some of the ale they went down. So, yes, like everyone else on that foresaken hideout of the Jedi, Anj earned some theme music.

However, he wouldn't get it. No, he would have to do with his own puckered lips and a whistling tune as he came to save the day.

And there he was on the Valiant with his fixer belt strapped like a bandolier. He had almost put on some eye black, but he'd hold that off for a better day. The lift was stuck. Anj volunteered to help. Jaxxi, the Balosar cutie, said she'd give him a hand. She was the one that broke the thing - but she flaked.

Anj, such a sucker for a pretty face, had dirt all over his own. Oil drips and sparks flew all around his head. Laid flat at the lift door, he poked with his screwdriver and yanked with his wrench. Nothing.

Nothing beside his whistling at least. It was an old Figrin D'an tune he heard in a catina once. Back when he was a lowly mech-head, a snot-nose, straggling behind the Rebel pilots, he learned it all. He learned how to con a Sullustian out of his drink. He learned the difference between a GBp-625 and Gbk-435 hyperdrive motivator. Even learned where an Ithorian's second mouth was, but he didn't learn a thing about lifts. He was trying, though.

"Frell," the screw-driver dropped. Right out his hands and down the tunnel it went. Annoying wasn't the word. Anj was more angry than annoyed. He was growling. Punched the thing, too. The lift rattled. Sparks flew, but the lights flickered on. Then off. Then back on. He slid from underneath, and watched bent over as the lifted dropped down.

It was fixed.

But the driver was lost.

"Frell...."

[Cleo Némain]

The lift had stopped moving. Not for any good reason that Cleo could figure out from the inside, but then again, Cleo wasn't very good with mechanical thingies. People she could handle, well, in her own ways. Not that any pickpocketing and general thievery skills learned were really going to do her any good on The Wheel, but that was fine. You didn't need to do that sort of thing here, but there was that want to keep up practice. Though Cleo wasn't sure that she needed practice in being small and unremarkable and unnoticeable, that sort of just happened.

But then there had been the lift. She wasn't sure why she was on the Valiant in the first place. No one had sent her there, but no one had told her to stay away either. They way Cleo was figuring it though, the fact the lift had just stopped somewhere that wasn't where she was told it to go was the ship itself either telling her that it liked her and wanted her to stay longer, or was telling her that it didn't like the fact she was there and wanted to try and ruin her day. That was a bit of a conundrum.

So she had stopped to think, since the lift had stopped for her, and sat down and had tried to figure out the Valiant's reasoning for putting her in such a position and Cleo had just almost figured it out when the thing moved again. Down it went, and the doors opened and then...

"Frell...."

Cleo didn't bother standing up. The lift had taken its time before deciding to move again and she could do the same. But she did let her head cant off to the right side as she looked at the person standing there.

"Tha's nah a vera niceish way ta say hi, ya know? Heard alls kinna ways ta do it but tha, tha dun work sa good, ye?"

[Anj]

She used sweet words. She spoke in a tangle. He raised his brow. He cocked his head. She confused him. He liked that. Anj stared baffled. Mouth a gape, he blinked and let his stare linger. Then, he smiled. And it went wide acros his lips. A laugh parted the young grin. A sly, embarassed chuckle and whether it was for his sneaky thoughts, or her weird way of talking was unclear. But he was amused.

And she was the cause, whoever she was. As he slowed his laugh to lull, he nodded. Why? Habit - she had got him good with her lil' comment. Whoever she was, she was clever. He'd have to watch himself around her. The lady didn't have a familiar face, though. Maybe she was just passing through; another one of the Alliance officals making check-ups, or doing diplomatic work. Although that tongue of her's was a bit unruly to be fit for politics. But who was Anj to judge.

"Ma'am, lady, ma'dam, I'm sowry," his drawl went into theatrics. He acted along with it. His head bobbed eloquently, and he straighten his back as if a butler or prince. Anj smirked at the end of his shirade, but continued.

"I aint mean to be so roode to ya," he winked. Since the Padawan was a little boy, he learned to be playful & hospitable. Little of his family was left to live in the wake of the war. Most died at the hands of the Empire, or space's other evils, but he had his grandma. Nana taught him a thing or two about being sweet, nice, and warm. If anything, people were one his greatest interest.

"Say, lets start ova'. Hi...they call me Anj."

He put his hand out and kept the smirk fixed on his face.

[Cleo Némain]

Cleo's head didn't want to right itself as the boy spoke up in the drawl she couldn't place but couldn't bring herself to judge either. His first reply though got her face to scrunch slightly on one side in a look that was a mixture of honest perplexity and reaction from an odd smell that apparently only she could pick up on. Maybe it was wires burning? Cleo knew someone back home would have joked that it was smoke coming out of her head as she tried to think. But there weren't gears in her head, only in the ship. And even then she wasn't real certain about that.

But it wasn't that train of thought that made the face happen. Nope. It was the "Ma'am" and "lady" and "ma'dam" talk that did it. Even as he was going about apologizing, or at least that's what Cleo figured he was doing, her mouth cracked open just slightly and let a small continuous (though she did try and keep it soft) "uhhhhhhh...." accompany whatever constant stream of thoughts about titles and old people and wires and gears that had taken over her thoughts.

The storm in her head did manage to quiet itself back down to a dull roar as his name cropped up, though. That was nice.

"'M Cleo, nah ma'am, nor lady, nor ma'dam."

The words sort of tumbled out on their own. She looked at the offered hand from where she still sat with legs crossed in the lift, back to the face of the one offering it, back to the hand, back up to the face again with his lopsided smile.

"Ya got... ships's juice... on ya, They-calls-ya-Anj."

No sooner had she stopped talking than Cleo looked very distressed.

"Wai' ... who're They?"

[Anj]

Once Anj had gotten stuck on Dathomir. One of the shuttles had been shot down by a wayward trooper during a shipment run. While working to get the ship back in ready before they were tracked down, he spotted some weirdo. A witch.

All of 15 year old, he had to act fast to get away. His heart raced. Fear bolted about his body like a lightning bolt from the sky. He didn't shake though. Anj remained cool, calm. Got out of there before the weird witch or trooper got close. Yet, Cleo felt like a bigger threat.

She was brash. Her slang was rough. And she had a distracting face. Already Anj's heartbeat had skipped a few times. Already Anj had looked like an idiot with his hand out there. Already he was bit intimidated. By the second Dathomir sounded like a good vacation from this awkward moment.

Anj didn't show any of this though. The smirk didn't fade. Actually, the only thing that retreated was his hand. "Sorry fo' dat..."

It went back at his side. He tilted his head a bit. Then moved it back smugly, giving her a look. And then he let out "hmph" for the smart-ass reply. Still a glimmer of playfulness sat in his eyes. All was a show. But she had got him, again.

"They da friendly folk on dis 'ere Wheel, 'M Cleo'." His fingers spun about, gesturing to the ship. A smile swept over his lips as he passed her. Then, he crouched down for his wrench. Looking up at her, his brow raised, and his eyes got soft and curious.

"So whatcha doin' 'round 'ere anyway, miss Cleo?" She didn't only speak foreign, but she looked it too. In all his days stationed at The Wheel, he hadn't bumped into her. Of course, there were a lot of faces, but many had become familiar ones.

Anj was always around, too. Whether flirting with the girls, or meddling with parts, he stayed quite active. It was his way of keeping his mind off all the craziness. Too much had went down to get here, and there was plenty more to be done to make it a purposeful stay.

[Cleo Némain]

Shoulders shrugged which seemed enough motivation and provide enough propulsion that she figured it was best to finally get to her feet. Sitting in a lift that worked properly wasn't quite right. Besides, standing up felt good, though she was a bit mournful at the fact that she was still wearing shoes so her toes were trapped. That would be remedied later. For now, well, for now she still had They-call-me-Anj in front of her.

Her fingertips interlaced with each other in front of her then moved up as if she was going to stretch them above her head before a sudden change in thought caused them to rest on the back of her head. He'd asked her something and she thought it over while running her tongue over the front of her teeth and made a small click noise when she finally went to speak.

"Dunna. Nah have no plans or nothin' Jus' wanderin'. Tis wha' I do when Cap'in Barty is offa somewheres anna I dinna get ta go. Sometimes I go onna tha Whally-don anna see someones onna there bu' nah today."

[Anj]

Anj was hunkered over with his back to her. As she got up, he could hear her. The calm way she moved - how she effortlessly changed her mind - it worked in his mind. So far, she was interesting. Plus, Cleo was a cool name.

"Nah today, eh?"

He smiled. Then, he picked up the wrench. Twirled it about for a second, and pocketed it in the bandolier. That bandolier look fit for war. Anj didn't look like the fighting type. The smile came to naturally. And as he stood up, hands crossing over his chest while he turned about to face her.

"Well, today ya goin' see how dis 'ere ship look. I'll be ya tour guide..."

Anj strolled on pass her, picking up his tool box on the floor. "C'mon, Imma show ya the greatest view in d'whooole galaxy..."

[Cleo Némain]

Cleo couldn't help but eye him suspiciously. The greatest was a real big order to fill, and so far she had seen some pretty great views while on the wheel. Though maybe they were more sights than views. She had to force herself to snap away from that thought almost as soon as the mental argument began over it.

"Wwweeeeelll... iffin tis tha grea'es'"

The first word was drawn out in a sing song manner that Cleo swore somehow resounded down into her very core. She liked that feeling. Then again, it had been a long while since she had sung in general. Even on Life Day she had chosen not to. But now wasn't the time for singing. Now was the time for touring.

Her hands wormed their way, as they often did, into the pockets of the rather rough looking jacket Cleo wore and there they stayed as she rocked back and forth from heels to balls of feet and back a bit a little before her head finally made the motion the rest of her body had been tempted to.

"Go'n then. Iffin your leadin' then get wit' tha' makin' of the leadin', mis'er Tour Gui'e."

She liked that too. While They-call-me-Anj sounded all sorts of good in Cleo's head Tour Guide, or at least as best as she could say it, worked just fine too.

[Anj]

"Ay, atleast I'd say it is.." He smiled back at her. His hands slipped into his pockets and stayed for a while. Each step flowed into a swagger he had mastered watching the pilot's as a kid. Even though he knew his way around a wrench, most his ways were of a spacer. Well, except that weird accent of his...

"Ya kno', y'look like somebody I'd take onna fly and a walk 'n d'park."

There was in a glint in his eye as he said that. The smile that kept returning to his lips got a bit wider, a bit goofier, a bit more jovial. Anj always made it hard to know whether he was jesting, pleasuring, testing, or simply being kind. Some called it charming, he just grinned because it came natural.

As he turned the corner and clicked at a botton for a sliding door, the stair way was revealed. Deep into the clinks, clunks, and chatter sounded off engines and droids. Astromechs were always at work down in these weird wiry space between floors. The lights were dim, but the sparks sizzled to the area to life.

With one out hand out, Anj guided Cleo down the hall.

"Come on, see dis...down dere," he pointed to a window down the sparkling pathway between the droids. Wires lay hap-hazardly about, ready to be stepped over, for a light that shun from beyond...

[Cleo Némain]

"y'look like somebody I'd take onna fly and a walk 'n d'park." Didn't matter to Cleo if he was joking or not, or was putting on the charm or not, she simply looked at him in a rather critical way that didn't really speak of if she believed a word of what he said or not. As nice as the whole flying and park thing sounded, Cleo, while apparently acted quite juvenile in the eyes of most, certainly wasn't naive about most things. Well... most things. She couldn't quite put her mind towards exactly what he might have actually meant and whether it was inappropriate or not.

She didn't have time to figure it out either when the small whoop and beep of one of the astromech droids caught her attention and brought a small squeal out of her in reply. If she hadn't been distracted thinking about other things Tour Guide was going on about she might have been able to prevent the reaction of bringing her hands up into loose fists and letting them rest against her mouth after she made the rather girlish noise. But as it stood, she had been distracted and so the slightly embarrassing motion of reacting to something she found adorable wasn't able to be contained.

It didn't take a lot of effort to tug her down the hall, her own feet wanted to be spurred on towards the droids and the little sparkles they were making as they worked.

But then came the window. And Cleo stopped and canted her head to the side slightly as she looked out from it.

Silence passed for a while.

Then her head straightened and continued its motion until she looked back at the Tour Guide.

"Ye, kay. So tis nah half bad. Dunno if tis tha grea'es' but t'aint alla bad neithers. Stars is stars though, see some see 'em all right quick if you look all hard nuff."

[Anj]

"No, no, no...y'aint sent it all."

Anj pocketed his hands and looked out with her. For a second, he just smiled. He liked to let his words linger. And sometimes he let them linger almost too long, nearly to the point of a strange silence. Yet, he stopped sort of such alotted time. Instead, he smoothly turned about and clicked a button.

The window tint changed to a blue. Dots were projcted onto the screen and the stars were aligned. As he turned about, he pointed at the stars and dragged them with his hand manually.


Darkness over took the room. The beeps quieted. All the astromech droids lined up behind him and watched. Soon, all the stars were bundled up into his hands, forming something of a star. The holographic design was nothing more than a simple touch, but what he was creating was the true spectacle.

With his hands cupping the ball of stars at the window, he looked over to the girl, to Cleo. A smile spread across his lips. Then, in an abrupt move, he threw the stars back out the window. The holographic projection spat the stars back, but not into their same place.

Instead, they spelled her name in basic. Planets revolved around them, and he chuckled.

"...Atleast I find it interesting...y'can do alot mo' than names..." Anj added as he clicked on the blue screen. The alignment of the stars didn't change...the projection remained. All the beauty of the galaxy revolved around her name...Atleast from this window.

[Cleo Némain]

"Well ain't tha' a thing..."

Her head was perched atop her neck at a peculiar angle and Cleo figured if she just kinda went with it, she'd fall right over. It wasn't such a bad thing at the moment, would probably put a stop to the strange twisting feeling in her stomach.

Cleo was a nobody and if asked would probably proudly state that she liked it that way. So seeing the very make up of the galaxy go and call her out like that was a bit of a discomfort.

As her head righted itself her feet instead became the thing to threaten balance, one of them going to a toe and and shifting weight on and off itself.

"Sa... who wen' anna taugh' ya tha' lil tricksies?"

[Anj]

"Hmmm...." Anj thought. He thought aloud. That was how he did things. With his head up, hand on his chin, he sucked at his teeth. All of it was habit. Since he was a kid he had been an expressive one. It was the same face he made when he was working on the shipyards - back when he was wet behind the ears.

After licking his lips, letting them smile and training his eyes back on the gal - he let those thoughts free. "Tell ya what - I'll show ya how"

Before she could protest, he was behind her. With one hand on her forearm, he started lifting her appendages up like a puppeter. Anj was expressive, but he wasn't a good puppet. Not as gentle as he wanted to. Instead of guiding, he yanked a bit - but like all things good...Anj was a bit rough around the edges.

And he knew it. "Sorry," he whispered. "But here y'go!" His other hand was doing all the work, grabbing up the stars and dragging them back to a ball. And there they were, waiting for this quirky, different girl to handle them as she may.

Backing up, he pointed over her shoulder at the ball. "There ya go...make somt'n"

[Cleo Némain]

"Uhhhmmm...."

It was like her head didn't want to stay on straight that day. It just kept going to one side, and there it went again as Cleo stared at the bundle of stars as if they were the most peculiar thing in the whole of the galaxy.

"Like wha? Nah used ta makin' nothin', just breakin' stuffs."

[Anj]

Anj leaned on in. Right over his shoulder, he whispered with a sly smile. "Then, break it."

He backed away with a laugh, and crossed his arms. He wanted to see what she could do. She didn't seem like the artsy type, but with that accent of her's it was hard to not picture her without something expressive to put out there.

[Cleo Némain]

That particular little thought caused her to scrunch up her face slightly, to the point where her lips came together in a little pout and it felt like all the skin right the the bridge of her nose was going to start merging into one spot.

"Bu'... tis nah all righ'-like ta go anna break stars."

Cleo managed to make that phrase sound like an absolute truth. The next part came out hushed enough though that it was hard to tell if she wanted They-calls-ya-Anj to hear. Cleo wasn't really sure on the fact either way.

"Did tha already once. Was nah so pretty."

[Anj]

He couldn't help but smile. He couldn't help but laugh. She had a unique way of putting words together, but a fair way of making sense. Anj stood back and watched her ponder out loud with a chuckle before he entered the conversation again.

"With dem hands, you gunna have hard time breakin' the stars, miss lady."

He pointed over her shoulder, with a calm smile.

"Just try it - aint gunna hurt nobody."

[Cleo Némain]

A cautionary glance was given over her shoulder and her eyes hovered somewhere between making contact with those of They-calls-ya-Anj and meandering about the area between them, drifting up to his forehead at times.

"Fine. Nah gonna be held nothin' 'sponsible iffin I go anna muck it alla up, kay?"

Cleo reached out, and cracked the knuckles in her fingers by tensing them into not-quite fist status before letting them go otherwise limp again. She wasn't quite sure how the whole thing worked, it looked complicated, but she also suspected that playing with the stars like that, even if it just looked like you were doing it, couldn't exactly be an easy thing - it would be insulting in some way if it was, she figured.

The ball of stars was looked at before she poked at it, watching it react, several of the stars being knocked away from the ball. That amused her enough. The poking continued, causing stars on the edge of the ball to be knocked into and pushed out of the general mass. The movement went faster and faster until there was an overall mess of them. She laughed because nothing broke, otherwise it wouldn't have been so funny.

[Anj]

Giving her one of those cheesy smiles, he added, "C'mon, give it a real push!'

"If you do, I got somethin' fo ya...."

[Cleo Némain]

"Li' wha'?"

Both of the half-formed words were drawn out, really drawn out. As if she couldn't get enough of the sound of them and how overly witty it was to act like you didn't care when you really did, or maybe you didn't. Cleo couldn't tell.

Two of her fingers came together, the nail of her index pressing to her thumb for a moment before she let the tension go and flicked one of the star lights almost cruelly.

[Anj]

That made him bite down on his bottom lip, with-holding the urging need to sneer. As if her playfulness had stirred him up, like a child twirling around a spoon in a filled cup of sweet tea. Anj wasn't sure if his composure was gone for good.

Leaned in right over her shoulder, he watched her flick one of the star lights. His gaze grew absent, until he turned it back to her. An awkward laugh was ready to escape him, but his bite stayed firm.

"Sum'n li' dis..." He reached out, over her, for the star she flicked, and pulled it back for her to push it again.

The sneer finally showed.

[Cleo Némain]

Her eyes, and subsequently her head, darted from that sneer, back to the ball of light that had been placed in front of her and back again, twice and a half before it was over and she was looking at the light again.

Cleo decided instantly that she didn't quite like the answer she had gotten. IT seemed, well, not like an answer at all. But maybe that was the point and really thinking about it, even for just that tiny bit, was decided to be far too headache inducing to be of any good to anyone.

So that came back to the stars, and moving them, and apparently the required pushing.

She let out a short breath, through her nose because through the mouth would have sounded like a sigh, which Cleo figured would have sounded like she was giving up. Not that she was really sure what she was giving up...

The ball of stars were looked at again before she took a hand and quite literally gave the lot of them a good shove and then a smear across toward the left, leaving a large glowing arc in their place. She had to admit, it did look awful pretty... even if playing with the stars themselves still seemed wrong to her.

[Anj]

Her eyes and head moved, but his didn't. The sneer stayed on his face. The balls of light that had been placed in front of her sat there, without his eyes looking at them. His eyes, his head, was pointed toward her.

Anj wasn't sure exactly what it was. Possibly it was how pecuilar she put her words together, or the playfulness that she had, but she was unknowingly doing things to his mind. At first thought, Anj was certain there was something Jedi-esque about it all, but he couldn't put his finger on it just yet.

Not just yet. So, as she pushed with the stars and heaved with a sigh, he finally released the swirls of confusion he had in his head. "I was'n tawkin' bout dat..." He whispered, with a light chuckle. Things were getting awkward being that close to her. But he leaned in further. The nervousness was getting to him. Anj could feel the prickles on his neck, but he went in further, letting his weight do most the work as he pushed her toward the wall.

Most of the acts stop being out of his logic, his thought, and more out of...Who knows where. Before he knew it, he had his hands pressed up against the wall, pinning her in as the star lights arced next to them. Staring straight into her eyes, he hushed, "I was so not tawkin' bout dat."

[Cleo Némain]

"Urhm..."

The stars had been distracting, real distracting, too distracting. Growing up on Nar Shaddaa taught a person to be quick witted, mindful of their surroundings and most importantly, never ever ever let yourself get trapped. But the stars had been to blame and she had forgotten everything and well...now there they were.

Her eyes were the first thing to dart away as Cleo thought maybe if she looked away the feeling that was welling up inside of her would go away too. But it didn't. It got worse. Lots worse. Worse to where she could feel it not only coursing through her but out of her and into the wall she was pinned against. Happened so much that she could swear the thing was starting to protest the whole thing more than she was.

Wasn't just in her head either, the strange groan of stressed metal actually was echoing through the tight space. It made the closer droids chirp nervously and Cleo could only echo their sound as best a person could. A tiny "eep" as the rest of her body followed that darting motion that had started what seemed like ages ago.

The gracefulness of her ducking under his arm and out to the side, with a few extra steps for good measure, wasn't exactly done with ease so much as just looked like it was on account of how small she was. A taller girl would have been stuck, Cleo had managed to move.

[Anj]

Anj was as uneasy as she was, especially since he wasn't all that sure what he was doing, so when her eyes darted away he looked down shamelessy. A blinking fit of utter confusion tackled his eyes as he stared at the vented floors, his mind cycling through surrealness and recalling the level of stupidity he had displayed in the past. He wondered, as the beeps of the astromech droids echoed through the clustered, dark quarters, where this moment ranked in his life of embarassment.

Gulping down, he nonchalantly lifted his arm as she swept gracefully underneath. She was short, he wasn't, and Anj felt suddenly like a giant monster - throwing his impish behavior into a depth of awkwardness coined by some of the finest holovid actors ever. His arms grew closer to his body as he pivoted to look at her, rubbing the back of his neck as the heat began to built. A flush was rushing up his body, sweat trickling down the side of his head. Any chance of being suave was out the window, the star lights, and into the emptiness of space.

His head was down as he looked up at her youthful nervousness, his smile saying it all. He said some more though, with his voice shaking.

"Uhmm...I--I-uh....didn' muh--muean...." He looked away, reaching in his pocket. Yanking out his room keys, he dangled them at his side. "I meant dis...dis..."

Then, in the seconds between his words and the next heartbeat he grasped the implications - "No, no, no...not li' dat - naaw. Itsa...li' I'm goin..." Anj turned about, point out the windowing as the stars shined gingerly back at the two. "I'm leavin....I ain't got nebody here to...y'kno...to handle m'thangs...sale em o' whateva....Good credits 'n dem blasters 'n dere...."

He nodded, finally turning his head to look back at here. "...Cuz I ain't comin' back--don't fit 'n all dat well." At the confession, he turned his head, rubbing at his neck, very unsure if she was the one to trust - yet it felt right. Of course, there was the fact she was a fresh, pretty face ruining his sense of judgement, but Anj had a keen sense of intuition on his side - he didn't always work with reason.

Obviously....

[Cleo Némain]

The man whose nicknames had just somehow seemed inappropriate was trying to talk, trying to explain and all she could kinda hear was... well, waves. It sounded like the roar of ocean crashing up on shore to her except she had never been near the ocean so the sound wasn't likened to that in her mind. But it wasn't totally foreign, either, Cleo had heard it before, lots of times. All she wanted to do was put her hands over her ears and wait for it to stop, even if it wasn't going to help any.

But the boy was talking so she had to try and listen. The whole thing with the keys were lost on her, which was probably for the best, and the roar finally went away with his words of "I'm leavin....I ain't got nebody here..."

She winced slightly, because it hurt to talk for some reason, hurt to really think, actually, but that seemed...ok.

"'M thinkin' tha' nobodies really fittin' in with anyone else... Tha brigh' spots, they dun act and they dun think like tha peoples who go an fly 'bouts. An even wit tha brigh' ones... they dun all think an such alike. Some of 'em think we should be goin' ta war an such an' the others dun... No body fits in 'cept when ya go anna think on it assa puzzle where tha pieces aint the same bu' they go anna work together. They fit, but dun look like it."

[Anj]

As soon as her voice ripped through the silence, the young mechanic tilted his head. A strange look came upon his face as if he was studying the components of the galaxy or even the slop being thrown on the plates in the mess hall for an actual healthy semblance of food. The eyebrow was up. His lips were smudged. Wrinkles formed on his forehead. His left eye went into a squint.

All he could muster when she finished was a silent "Huh?"

Turning his head to the beeps and boops of the astromechs, he recalled the first time he handled one of them. Grandfather Duke had him knee deep in oil and dirt with an arc wrench twisting with a focus surprising for all the five years he had in the galaxy. Those were better times, simpler times.

Recoiling his focus back on her, he blinked a bit, remembering what was said.

"Well I don' kno bout aww dat. I just kno' where I'm s'pose to be," Anj tried a smile on for size. It felt a bit strange, especially from how nervous and embarass he still felt. But it began to waver the more he talked, the more he thought, the more he did, and with a step of surety he opened up her hand and dropped the keys in them

"Buy ya self somethin'." He closed her hand. "Alotta good junk n dere."

[Cleo Némain]

She had taken a step back when he had stepped forward, even if Cleo knew she didn't have to, it had become a reaction, a nervous twitch. But her hand had been open and the keys were heavy, Cleo suspected that they were carrying more than just the weight of themselves at that moment. He was leaving behind more than just a room and its good junk.

Another small noise left her, like the soft whine one of the astromechs would make when they were uncertain about their surroundings.

"Bu'... where ya 'sposed ta be iffin nah 'ere...?"

[Anj]

A playfulness swept him up as she asked her question. The smile sloppily smeared along his lips grew wry as he raised his head to the ceiling, gazing aimlessly for an answer that just might fit.

Nothing.

The smile didn't fade though. In a shrug, he let it hang as he chuckled nervous. Tension danced in the air, and Anj couldn't avoid it. The glint in his eyes twinkled like the stars behind him, looking her up. She was as nervous as him.

"Maybe out here 'n...doin' the right thing," he cheerfully began, mockingly. "Givin the good fight." His smile faded as he added, "Ya know, The Rebellion."

[Cleo Némain]

It was kinda a funny thing the more Cleo realized it all. At that moment she really just wanted to kinda... get away. Maybe not far away but enough away that the twisty feeling in her stomach would go away too. It wasn't fear, fear was too strong, this was more like some small rodent that had managed to squeak away from a bad thing and now hung around waiting to see if the trap would actually spring again. Like poking at things with a stick.

"...Bu'... they're here."

Her hand waved, motioning to nothing in particular. They were on the Valiant after all... and it was a Rebel Alliance ship. Complete with rebel fighters, X-Wings and Rogue Squadron and all that.

"An, they're otha places too, I 'magine. Bu' they're here. Anna everywhere... dun need to go to be par' of it."

She keenly left out the distaste for the word fight that he had used. No fight was a good fight in Cleo's mind. Violence just made more violence and she was sure there was better ways of going about doing what had to be done... but that was best left for someone smarter than her.

[Anj]

Anj habitually ran his finger under his nose as he tried to hide a wily smirk. Somehow she didn't grasp the advantage of space, adventure and the Rebellion. Over the time he had spent on The Wheel he had done a lot more work for the Rebellion than he did any to progress as a Jedi. Most of his days were spent wrenching at a X-Wing, or handling the schematics on a disassembled A-Wing. He had practically made the move already, just without pushing that hyperspace button and putting up a waypoint.

For a while, he had planned his great escape, but mostly in silence. So, to finally talk about it was a relief, especially with those keys out of his hand. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he leaned in to bring his height down to her level.

"We gotta thang or two to learn bout dis 'ere galaxy, dont we..." He turned about, looking out the window.

His arms crossed as he stood beside her, gesturing at the stars. "Look at all dat...

It was fun was'n it?"

[Cleo Némain]

The tug to move away was somewhere in her mind, but his hand on her shoulder seemed to keep her firmly in place and then he let go and as pointing at the stars again.

"We gotta thang or two to learn bout dis 'ere galaxy, dont we..." Cleo wasn't quite sure what he meant by it. The galaxy was big, real big, and so Cleo figured you could always learn something new, but to narrow that down to just one or two items seemed an immeasurable task.

She looked out at the stars...then back to the room key in her hand and bit her lower lip, just slightly, barely really.

"Was dun seem righ'... still is."

[Anj]

He turned his head to her, an eyebrow shifting up. The wily smirk still ran along his lips as he tried to restrain a chuckle. Anj had caught her nuance. He had understood her point, for once. More often than not Anj's mind was on a fast track to something of importance, but as he slowed it down he realize something. There was still some confusion.

"I'm tawkin bout d'star lights silly" He shook his head and put his hands in his pocket.

He looked around for a second, nodded, and turned to the door. "Well then..." Anj waltz through the jumble of cables. "Guess that's my cue to go..."

[Cleo Némain]

With first the mouthing of the word "oh" as her scope was narrowed back to the display of lights, her eyebrows furrowed slightly as the entire sureness of everything she had said came crumbling down.

And then Tour-Guide-They-Calls-Ya-Anj was making a get away. He was sure of himself and Cleo wasn't and that wasn't a very good mix to be trying to convince people of anything so all Cleo could do was look forlorn and offer a small wave of good bye.

"Was...nice meetin' ya..." It was spoken softly, barely audible over the hum of the engines and the occasional noise from the droids.

And then it dawned on her.

"Wai'! Wha' am I s'posed ta do wit alla this'ere stuff?"

Her hand that held his room keys gestured wildly towards the star lights.

[Anj]

Her words fell on deaf ears.

Anj was at the door by the time she gave her farewell, and opening it when her voice raised over the hum of the engine. Stopped, he looked over his shoulder at her and the stars that she had pushed into a beautiful image. The mechanic looked thoughtful, staring at the woman with furrowed brows and up turned lips for a moment.

Then, he smirked.

His head went down. Anj surveyed the ground for the words. He wasn't sure what to say, but when it came to him, his head eased back up, looking across the room at Cleo.

"Idunno...we'll all find out in due time, right?" He shrugged theatrically and turned back to the exit.

"Sooo....ya comin'

[Cleo Némain]

She looked at him quizzically, getting that feeling that there was more to what he was saying than what he just said and Cleo didn't get why he couldn't have just said the full thing rather than the short version.

Another glance was cast back at the star lights, then the droids, and finally her looking about settled on the Tour-Guide again.

"Yea, guess sa... bu' only fer a lil' bit..."

Even as she spoke her feet took her to following him again, even if it was only to find her way back to where the boy would be leaving.

[Anj]

Anj clunked back to the hall. Hands behind his back, he playfully looked from side to side before tip-toeing out the compacted room. Looking over his shoulder, he allowed himself the pleasure of a small grin.

"Down that a'way," he gestured. "Up d'lift - rooming quarters, Forty three -- thats Four. Three. Thats my place. Remember that."

He gave her a nod. Turning about, he rubbed his chin in thought. "Sooo...ya wanna see the nice o' X-Wing imma fly off on or ya gunna run off 'n take all my stuff?"

[Cleo Némain]

Although keeping a distance between them, Cleo still followed, feet shuffling slightly as if she believed that taking real steps would be inappropriate somehow.

"X-win'? Bu' dun those go anna belon' ta tha pilots anna such? Nah gonna be too 'appy iffin ya go run off in ones." Her tone was clearly disapproving, but still hesitant in everything.

[Anj]

"They do belon' ta the pilots anna such," he mocked with a playful smile. "But Im work'n down dere in the hanga' bay - soooo..."

He turned on his heel, heading to the fixed lift. "...c'mon scaredy cat,"

[Cleo Némain]

Her eyes narrowed, her arms folded across her chest and if possible, she almost managed to glare at him.

"No."

The sudden halt in her footing was on account of her own words and the fact that well, enough was enough.

"Nah 'elpin you do nothin' like tha. Nah gonna go anna watch neither. Them pilot guys need those birdies ta keep us safe-like anna you wanna go anna take it cuzza some selfish thin'? Gonna 'urt the 'ole place!"

One hand was released to wave, motioning not just to the Valiant, but the entire flotilla that was The Wheel.

"Canna jus'fy it jus' cuzza you workin' on 'em or nothin'. Dun make it yours. Cuz when somethin' ba' 'appens anna the pilots all go anna try an save us, one of 'em is nah gonna 'ave his ship anna tha' one pilot could go an' make alla diff'rence inna battle."

Her hands returned to being tucked in.

"Nah scared. Jus' nah gonna go an do somethin' tha 'orrible."

[Anj]

Turning about, he watched her display.

Anj tucked his arms like she did. Nearly posed just like she did. He had a hard time taking a 5'0 girl serious when she was mad and cute at the same time.

It was also hard mocking her glare, but doing it while restraining a child like grin was nearly too much. Nearly being the key word, because Anj quickly returned to his own posture.

There was no way he could keep that act up long.

"Tha' horrible, eh?" He shook his head. "Im jus' borrowin' the ole thing. Puttin it to good-good use." He stomped away. "So calm it down mom."

Walking away, waving his hand like Cleo had done only seconds before, he yelled out. "And nothin 'ba gunna 'appen' when I join up wid d'Rebellion, ya can bet that!"

He clicked the lift, and waited, grumbling. "Silly girl"

[Cleo Némain]

"Still stealin'...still selfishnesses."

There was no hiding her disapproval. And when that lift eventually showed up, Cleo wasn't going to be joining him. He just didn't seem to get the fact he was hurting The Wheel with his plan. Resources were slim, a ship was a huge thing to just take away. And that was well, wrong by her standards.

The more she looked at him the worse the glare became before finally she shook her head. "You were all kinda right. Dun belon' 'ere. You dun care 'bout anythin nor anyone bu' you'self."

[Anj]

Anj perked at that. The resounding ding echoed through the hall. "Myself?"

He trotted back down the hall, like his father had when he had down something wrong. Trouble was written all over his face. He grimaced at her. "Myself?"

He gnarled and glared her. "Myself?"

He stammered, he grunted - Nothing. The words wouldn't come. The thoughts were there. But they were circling, jumping, hitting each side of his brain, trying to answer his own question. Those big, bad shoulders of his that rose in defense, and the chest that puffed out for a fight, all deflated.

Nothing.

His eyes cut away, looking at the plain wall. "Maybe ya right..."

[Cleo Némain]

The urge to bolt came again and Cleo was just almost sure she could outrun the boy if need be and then it happened... nothing.

"Maybe..."

She had no idea what else to say. Over all, the shot time she had met the man in front of her had been fun, then terrifying, then sad, now...well... she wasn't sure what to feel about it. Disappointed? Yes, maybe that was the word she wanted.

The lift arrived, doors sliding open behind where Anj stood.

"Ye shoul' go."

[Anj]

Months, weeks, days had a way of creeping away. Stress was always the cause. Words couldn't describe the vacant look in his eyes, so he didn't try. When she spoke, there was no response. Anj deviated his focus. His hands reached in and out of his pockets before he finally pulled out a cigarillo and a lighter. It had been some time since he smoked his last one.

Back on Yavin IV, when he was no more than a wet-behind-the-ears outlaw tech, when he met Han Solo and the gang, he had gotten hooked to those terrible things. He placed it right between his lips, let it hang, lit it, and looked down at Cleo.

"Yea..." He puffed, and exhale. Flicked some of it to the side, grunted, then glanced back at her. "Yea...I guess so."

He sighed. Anj was getting tired of all this emotional stuff. Without another word, he pivoted back around, like he had done so many times before, and strolled to the lift. A puff of smoke floated behind him as he entered, clicked the button and leaned up against the wall.

The smoke tasted sweet. Those keys were still in her hand. And he was on his way to the hangar bay.