Some Who Wander are Lost

[Korlen Tarask]

There was talk of construction jobs in Alliance space, and to be honest I'm just happy to be out of the Empire for good. My slightly shady past - wrongfully imprisoned on Kessel under my brother's name, and then broken out months ago in an unexpected jailbreak that had left the mining moon in chaos for a while - doesn't seem to phase the Alliance contractors who've probably hired people with much worse on their resume. The thing is, I'm good with my hands, and so here I am. Reporting to work in a hot, muddy camp that seems to be slowly transforming into a place people might actually want to live.

I hike my bag on my shoulder and walk into the camp from the newly laid landing pad, the shuttle behind me disgorging pallets of foodstuffs and who knows what else.

[Tevit Ramastan]

Living quarters were done enough that they didn't require immediate attention. Couple guys were handling marking off the route for some buried piping, and Tevit had yet to get the reports on how much water the camp would have access too. Without them, it would be impossible to design a proper irrigation system beyond the haphazard one already in place. There was work to be had all over the camp, but Tevit's biggest job was coordinating much of it and handling priorities.

The yellow-furred Nehantite was not a shift manager per se, or really a manager at all, but he was well-respected by most of the construction crew, and typically had a good head on his shoulders, so he was trusted with leadership. What he didn't have, however, were enough truly skilled workers to lead.

Tapping at a datapad, Tevit sighed, then brushed back his longer headfur. That was going to need a trim, soon enough, if only there was a barber to be had in the area. His entire work manifest was backlogged, many items in the red, but most couldn't be helped. Whoever thought of setting up an outpost here without proper supplies was an idiot, he thought, and he'd very much like to take a small hammer to their knees at great velocity. But, the manifest did say that a new worker would be arriving, one Korlen Tarask. Another human. Wonderful. What Tevit wouldn't give for a handful of Nehantite engineers or mechanics. A half dozen of them would be able to do the work of fifty humans. Shaking his head, Tevit sighed and looked up to see if this Korlen character had landed yet. Probably not, humans were always late. Not that Tevit knew what he was even supposed to look like anyhow.

[Korlen Tarask]

There's a group of workers in day-glo vests near the landing pad, and the foreman points me toward the middle of the camp when I tell him who I am. "You'll get set up in the barracks, we're sleeping four to a room." Sounds better than Kessel. Well, so the bar isn't very high when it comes to my expectations.

I reach another set of construction guys marking the dirt with spraypaint. "Hey, I'm looking for," I glance down at the bit of flimsi in my hand, "Rammstein?"

[Tevit Ramastan]

"Ramastan," Tevit called back. His ears had picked up the usual mispronunciation of his name, and triggered an immediate distrust of this person's ability to pay attention to details. Strike one his higher thinking began to take a tally in his head.

Tevit's red eyes looked the newcomer up and down, noting that he at least appeared to have brought durable workwear, which was more than he could say for many of the other human laborers. We'll give this one a chance. But if he fucks up, he's going on the ditch-digging crew.

"What do you want with him? He's a busy man," the Nehantite asked, not willing to introduce himself just yet.

[Korlen Tarask]

"S'posed to report for work," I say, gesturing with my thumb over my shoulder. "Just got in on the transport."

I hold out my hand toward the alien, Nehantite from the looks of him. Good engineers, Nehantites. "M'name's Korlen."

[Tevit Ramastan]

Straightforward, this one. Tevit could respect that, and good manners, too. Well, good enough, at least. The Nehantite extended his own paw, shaking Korlen's hand with a firm grip, and was pleasantly surprised to find a good amount of strength in the human's grasp, not to mention calloused fingers and palms. At last, we might have a real worker.

"And I'm Tevit Ramastan," he nodded, letting go of Korlen's hand. "I'm in charge of... whatever the hell needs to be done right away." It wasn't the best title or description, but it was the most accurate way Tevit knew to describe his role among the builders and engineers. "If they've assigned you to me, that means you must have some skills. Unfortunately I don't have a good CV for you, here," Tevit tapped his datapad. "Mind filling me in while I show you to your quarters? Get your stuff dropped off and I can give you the nickel tour of our paradise of behind-schedule work?"

[Korlen Tarask]

"Not at all," I say, adjusting my duffle bag on my back and following him. "I worked construction for a few years on Corellia, mainly houses. I did finish carpentry, but learned the basics of everything from wiring to plumbing from the other guys." We walk by a group of kids in robes, probably the Jedi. I try not to stare, even though seeing a real live Jedi is what one could call 'an occasion.'

"Ah, my recent work history is a bit sparse." I scrub a hand over my beard. "Did a stint on Kessel in the mines." There it is. It's in my file no doubt, but everyone just wants to hear you admit to your dirty secrets.

[Tevit Ramastan]

"We've got enough thick-skulled knuckle-draggers to do digging, around here, so if I don't have to waste your talents on that, I'll see if it can be avoided," Tevit replied.

He had hoped that construction would be far enough along by now that he could wear his sneakers, but he still clomped along in his heavy boots, tool belt sagging to one side on his waist. "If you think you can still handle wiring, you'll be with me for a bit. We're trying to wire up and plumb the medical center while the construction crew builds," he explained. "Not the ideal method, I know, but you'll soon learn that as long as something is being done, that's a good thing, here. I probably already know the answer, but, do you have your own tools, or will you need to borrow some?"

As he spoke, Tevit led the way to the general living quarters, past the slightly better ones for the Jedi and other important people and on to the more basic structures for the building crew. In time, the camp might resemble a small city, but for now not even the walkways had finished being paved, and landscaping was only an idea that would come to fruition much further down the line.

[Korlen Tarask]

I nod, getting a feel for the bustle of the place. Everyone seems to have a purpose here, but not like in the mines where our only purpose was to dig and pry out delicate spice veins from hard rock. "Yeah, pulling wire'll be fine, unless galactic standards have changed a huge amount in the last few years. I'll be up t' speed soon. And no, no tools unfortunately. Mine were sold by my ex while I was on Kessel." I wince a bit at the memory.

The living quarters are tight, as promised, but clean and there are only two other occupants of the room I'm shown, both out at the moment. I toss my bag on an available bed.

[Tevit Ramastan]

Tevit glanced around at the room, having been a while since he had wired one up, and he was ever so grateful that he had the comforts of his own ship to stay in. Sharing a room with other men was something he didn't miss at all from his days as a space-faring engineer, though he had certainly stayed in many worse places than this. At least everyone here got their own bed instead of having to share, for one thing...

Snapping himself back to the matter at hand, the Nehantite nodded, not having a great deal of sympathy while he was behind schedule. "Well, in that case you'll check some out from the supply depot," he said. "C'mon, we'll get you set up, and then you're going to join me for the rest of the day. Hate to say it, but you're late, and that's put us a few hours behind already. I intend to complete today's manifest before sundown, Mr. Tarask."

It was a longer walk than Tevit liked to the supply depot, to requisition another electrician's toolbelt, and Tevit signed for it with a swipe of his ID card. Tossing the heavy belt to Korlen, the mongoose stated, "You'll sign for one every morning, once we get you a card, and you'll return it every night. Any missing tools will be docked from your pay, got it?"

[Korlen Tarask]

"Sounds standard," I say, buckling the belt on over my heavy canvas pants. If I'm late it's because the transport was late, but I don't say anything. Ramastan seems a bit overworked, and the last thing I want to do is continue to make a bad impression in his mind. Head down, mouth shut, that I can do. At least this time I'm getting paid.

The work site is bustling with activity, steel framing still being welded into place in some areas while other workers are setting pipes. I let Ramastan lead the way, the sound of the work and banter washing over me, and the sun shining down on me. If I were more sentimental it might have brought a tear to my eye, but I'm not, so I just pay attention to where I'm walking and do what he tells me.

[Tevit Ramastan]

"Medical center's this way," Tevit pointed to a half-completed structure. "I've already got the first floor wired up, so we'll be starting on the second. Thankfully the weather's been with us, most of construction, so we won't have to worry about getting wet."

Inwardly, Tevit cringed at the thought of getting rained on. Sure, some other kingdoms were used to rain, but he was from arid Nehantish, and the idea of being wet when you don't want to be was far from a pleasant one. Tail snapping a bit as he picked up the pace, his eyes were drawn from the medical facility and toward a large earth-mover - one that shouldn't be where it was. "Damn it..." he muttered under his breath before jogging up to it.

"Hey! You're on buried pipe! You're going to break it!" Tevit shouted up to the driver. There was no response, and so the mongoose's ears went back while his tail began to become brushy. Another shout yielded nothing, and so Tevit threw down his datapad and ran over, quickly scaling the side of the earth-mover with the speed and agility of a wild animal before flinging the door open. By that point, Tevit's normally red irises had boiled over into fully red eyes - a trait no other known Nehantite shared, and he roared at the driver, teeth bared.

"Hey! Listen to me when I'm talking to you! Get this tractor out of here right now! You're on buried pipe and if you break it, so help me I'll break you!"

From the ground, all Korlen could likely make out was furious pointing and savage snarling of teeth from the mongoose, and then the earth-mover halted before beginning to reverse. At that, Tevit leapt down from it, landing on all fours before shaking his head and picking up his datapad once more. "This shit happens way too often. No one knows what anyone else is doing but me, it seems," he growled, his eyes slowly starting to return to normal.

[Korlen Tarask]

It isn't something you see every day, but to be honest, I'm used to a lot more violence than that in the workplace. I watch the earthmover slowly reversing, and then look at Ramastan. "I'm surprised there isn't a centralized contractors database, for a big undertaking like this. Set it up on a private holonet node, make sure all the different supervisors are talking to each other, something like that."

[Tevit Ramastan]

Tevit shook his head. "You are preaching to the chior, buddy. I've been complaining about that since day one, but no one seems to want to hear it. It's like they despise efficiency around here, or something. Lot of it is run by the Gossam, and they mean well, but even they don't seem to talk to each other unless forced to. You get used to it."

Continuing on his way to the medical facility, Tevit's eyes relaxed more, soon back to their usual appearance as his tail also reverted to normal. "Also wish we had more droids around here. Lots of fiddly little work to be done, would be much more efficient if the Alliance would give us some help in that area, but here, on Ossus, just be glad we have power. And even that goes down from time to time."

[Korlen Tarask]

The day goes pretty much as expected. I hadn't figured I was starting immediately, but people telling me what to do and when to do it is pretty normal. Ramastan is quick and efficient with his time, and we're soon threading wire throughout the skeleton of the second floor. Med facilities need a lot of wires, what with all the gadgets and things. I am quickly in the groove, and before I know it the day is over.

The sun is dipping toward the trees, and I wipe my face with the bottom of my shirt as I drop the borrowed toolbelt off at the depot. "Hey, where do I go for grub around here?" I'm pretty sure there aren't any restaurants.

[Tevit Ramastan]

All in all, not a bad day's work, Tevit imagined. He'd pushed the human hard, seeing what he could handle, but there were no objections, and very few missteps in the work.

There's some promise in this one. His higher reasoning spoke to itself. If he can keep this pace up, he might be worth keeping around.

Once the borrowed toolbelt was fully checked back in, Tevit smirked and ticked his head over at the mess tent.

"There's a main eating area everyone seems to use," he replied. "I'll show you. But don't expect too much; until the crops grow and can be processed right, it's nutritional paste for most everyone. Lucky you, huh?" There was a chuckle behind his words, one which hinted that Tevit needed not share in the culinary misery of the Jedi camp and its workers.

[Korlen Tarask]

"Sounds good," I say with a wry smile. I don't want to bring up the fact that just about anything is better than prison food, so I just leave it at that. Hell, paste with a sunset to look at seems like paradise to me. "See you tomorrow then?"

[Tevit Ramastan]

Tevit shrugged. "Unless you want a beer, sure," he replied. Korlen had done well, and impressed Tevit with his ability to just get his head down and get work done. That was a skill not shared by a great deal of the construction crew, in his opinion, and should be rewarded.

"I don't have too much, but I think I could spare you a bottle. Did good, today," the Nehantite cracked a smile, likely his first one of the day.

[Korlen Tarask]

"Thanks," I say, scruffing a hand over my hair. "I'd take you up on that beer, but I don't drink anymore. Nothing personal." I shuffle my feet a little, feeling awkward at having to turn down an obvious overture of friendship.

[Hwooroc]

The sights and sounds of things being built were irresistible to a Wookiee, and Hwooroc was no exception to that siren's call. Younglings classes occupied most of his time, of course, but when his studies were tended to, the little furball made sure to take the scenic route before heading to the mess hall. The construction in the Jedi camp was slapdash, and a little mad-house. It was completely alien to the organic fusion of woodshaping and technology he'd grown up around his treetop village of Shryookwouurro. He already knew the boxy-looking...boxes were the houses and stuff. He'd watched a crew of humans bolting a few together like a giant toy. The electricians came after that, cris-crossing the wiring to each unit and spooling it into points of power distribution. It reminded Hwooroc of his dad, and all of the work he did on starships. It wasn't the same thing, but the premise was the same. Take a power source. Take some wire. Connect outputs.

It was completely innocent, but a bystander might think otherwise to see a wookiee child pilfering through a recently-installed electrician's box with a pen-light clamped in his mouth.

[Tevit Ramastan]

No drinking, huh? Tevit would give Korlen a week before a bottle was back in his hand. There was no way the stress of the build site wouldn't do it to him, it was doing it to everyone else. Still, he'd made an offer of hospitality, and it'd be rude to just shut the human down now, especially after having done an honestly good day's work.

You are so going to regret this, Ramastan... he thought to himself before smiling. "It's all good. I've got some off-world stuff that isn't alcohol, too. C'mon, we'll go raid my fridge."

Tevit's ship rested a bit beyond the construction site of what would be new housing, and it was where he called his home. Not a pretty starship by any stretch of the imagination, it was a patchwork special made up of bits and pieces of other craft salvaged into something new, and not entirely ugly. She looked rough, but the work was solid, and she was custom-tailored to the needs of the spacefaring engineer. As he walked, the Nehantite's mood brightened visibly, for those who knew how to read his race's body language, and he looked forward to showing his ship off, as she was his pride and joy, and really the only thing he owned. But no sooner had a playful swing come to his tail than it froze, then twitched at the tip.

Ears up, and his eyes narrowing, Tevit slowed his pace, needing to make sure he saw what he thought he did. There, not two structures away, stood something furry, and it was messing with his work site. Well, the housing complex wasn't actually on his duty roster, per se, but Tevit considered the entire site his own, and he would be damned if someone was going to sabotage it!

Holding a paw up to halt Korlen, Tevit then reached down to unfasten his boots, slipping his bare footpaws out of them to tread silently across the dusty earth toward the offending figure. What it was doing, he wasn't sure, but he knew he'd never seen it before, and it was most certainly not part of the build crew. Creeping up with stealth both natural to his race, and practiced from years of hiding from his cousin, Tevit approached, waiting, waiting until he was close enough, and then...

Yellow-furred arms shot out, snatching the short, fuzzy figure by the shoulders and wrenching him away from the junction box, the little light spinning out of its mouth as he turned the... boy? around. Red eyes glared into the dark spots among that mass of fur on the offender's face, and Tevit snarled, "What do you think you're doing?!"

[Hwooroc]

"Hnnh rowowowwraa auaaauah mmrruuuah rrouwwwoo aawwwrruf!"

Explanations came quick and frantic from the surprised wookiee's mouth, as Hwooroc flailed his paws. He was just looking at how the power box had been hooked up since it looked overbuilt for the structure, and he was curious about how the resistors were arranged in the modular stack. Basic electrical engineering! Nothing sinister!

Nervous big eyes flicked from the furry alien to the human and back.

"Aawrrou wraa aa ooo harruomm."

It looked bad, but he didn't touch anything. Well not much.

[Tevit Ramastan]

Tevit's paws held fast to the boy's shoulders, but his eyes went up to the box. "Yeah, I don't care if you were interested in it, you shouldn't have been poking around in there!" the Nehantite reprimanded him. "You could have hurt yourself, or worse!"

But Hwooroc hadn't hurt himself. To the contrary, he was actually quite all right, despite having nearly crossed two high voltage lines. Releasing one of his shoulders, Tevit picked up his pen light and inspected the interior of the box. "No real damage, though. You're a lucky one, kid. And, those modular stacks are done like that so we can add more over time, when more dwellings get stacked on top of these."

A momentary pause came over the mongoose as he looked back into the boy's wide eyes. "Er, please tell me you can understand Basic. Otherwise I've just been saying a lot of gibberish, haven't I?" Tevit asked.

[Korlen Tarask]

"Is this a common problem?" I ask, then add, "Not the communication difficulties. But kids getting into construction sites. I was wondering about the lack of fencing to keep people out of unfinished areas to be honest. But then, fences probably wouldn't do much when you're surrounded by Jedi, huh."

I narrow my eyes at the Wookiee kid, crossing my arms across my chest. Couldn't hurt to be the bad cop to Ramastan's good cop.

[Tevit Ramastan]

"I think you'll find that standard safety measures are anything but standard, around here," Tevit replied. "But, no, most kids know better than to go poking around where it's obviously not finished, yet."

His voice turned to a warning growl toward the end, hoping that this Wookiee boy would get the picture, even if he couldn't understand what Tevit was saying.

[Hwooroc]

"Haarrpff mmowrrow."

Of course he could undersand Basic. It was the Galactic standard! He'd gotten very high marks for it in school. Still, it didn't look like the grown-ups were much thrilled at his round of investigative reverse-engineering, and Hwooroc shuffled guiltily on his footpaws, looking up through his tussled bangs bashfully.

"Hrrrooa omf omf..." he offered apologetically.

[Tevit Ramastan]

It was clear that the youngling meant no harm, and seeing as Tevit had caught him before he'd electrocuted himself, Tevit decided to err on the side of lenience. Releasing the boy's shoulder, Tevit flicked off his penlight and extended it back to him.

"It's okay, I'm just glad you didn't fry yourself," he said with a soft smile. "Just... please don't go poking into any more junction boxes, okay, kid? I think we both know it isn't pleasant to smell burning fur. In fact..." he hesitated, wondering if this was a jar of beetles worth opening. "...if you can promise you won't go messing with any more wires, I've got a bottle of grape Nehi I think I can part with. Do we have a deal?"

[Korlen Tarask]

My stomach growls, and I shuffle my feet a little.

"Been a long day," I say, starting to wonder if I should excuse myself back to the mess tent and dinner.

[Hwooroc]

The wookiee's eyes went big, and he nodded with gusto to the Nehantite's proposal, giving a big hug around Tevit's midsection.

"Haauf!"

A bottle of something purple was produced, and with the flick of a thumb the cap was off, and offered to Hwooroc. The wookiee took the drink, sniffing the fizzy drink within with a crinkling wet nose, when he heard a rumbling sound from the human nearby. Hwooroc knew that sound, and it transcended all galactic dialog. He looked like he'd been working all day. Looked tired, and now he sounded hungry. Hesitating with the bottle of nehi in his paws, Hwooroc thought it over, and took a few steps to Korlen, tugging on one of his hands.

"Nnngaa hra aumm rroo."

He offered Korlen his soda, holding it up with both hands.

[Korlen Tarask]

I chuckle at the gesture and shake my head. "Thanks little guy, but you enjoy that."

[Tevit Ramastan]

The soda had been meant for a confirmation of a day's work well done, but the look on the young wookiee's face made up for its loss. A smile coming over his face, Tevit shook his head, then looked back to his new assistant.

"Well then, I've at least got some chow back at my ship, and it's a hell of a lot better than the mess tent," he said. "It's going to be a long day, tomorrow, and I'm going to need an assistant again. You up for it, Mr. Tarask?"