Nar Shaddaa

Such a messy creature... Aphr sighed, looking at the mess all over the communications room. The Jawa had been there, she knew it, but it rarely did clean up after itself.

With a shrug, she got to work. Clearing up, checking nothing was missing. It allowed her to relax, and push the nightmares of the previous night away, and she soon started humming as she worked.

"How does he get sand everywhere? Where does it come from?" Galen shook his head after waking in and looking around. "We haven't been on a desert planet in months."

Aphr looked around, and shrugged. "Stores it in his pockets and distributes it around the ship perhaps? Sand soaks up oil well from what I understand?"

She kneels to pick up a screwdriver of some sort.

"In a rush too if he's dropping tools."

"That makes sense, I suppose." he shrugged. "I half suspect he considers leaving his tools everywhere storage."

Galen assisted with the clean up, checking the equipment to make sure everything was operational.

"You don't need to help. It's kind of my job" Aphr said with a smile as she brushed the sand to a side "I'm sure you've got far more interesting things to do than cleaning. "

"Not while on the ship." he shook his head. "Not much to look for or keep an eye on here. But, I'll go crazy if I don't do something."

"I'm certainly not going to turn away helping hands if you're this bored" Aphr said with a laugh, smiling "thank you. Not much of a flyer?"

He laughed. "You can put me on a frozen tundra, in the middle of the desert, deep in the jungle or adrift on an ocean and I'll find a way to survive. But, I can't survive what's outside this ship. I'll even take the streets of Nar Shaddaa over being trapped indoors."

"Not that the company doesn't make it better." he added. "I just get antsy when I don't have a sky over me."

"I'll join you for the jungle" Aphr replied with a laugh. Galen always had that free-spirited feel around him, but in the ship...maybe a caged animal?

"Luckily Boss is fast, so you don't have to spend as long in space. What will you do when you arrive other than find the biggest open space?" She swept some sand off the controllers, her Lekku moving to complain silently about the mess.

"I'll be thinking about that jungle trip." he chuckled. "I'll explore the streets a bit. Even after all this time on Nar Shaddaa, I haven't seen most of it. What will you be doing?"

"Whatever Boss asks. Most likely talking to men who ogle me and women who sneer at me, arranging deals for the Starcross. Xero gave me permission to try the Huttball as well, which is good" Aphr shrugged "Xero is very kind to me compared to others, but I know not to push my luck. I know I'm still in trouble for oversleeping this morning, even if it was the first time in four years."

"I was wondering about that." he nodded as he picked up another one of the jawa's tools. "I've never seen you stay in your room that long. I hope it wasn't anything bad. But, you're treated well here. I doubt there will be any significant consequences. And, you should enjoy any time you get for yourself and indulge in things you enjoy."

"Just a bad dream, nothing bad" Aphr said with a shrug, brushing the terrifying dream off as if it was nothing "I won't let it happen again, and I've worked twice as hard today to make up for it. I'm very lucky, most Hutts would have severely punished me. Xero is extremely nice, but I do feel like I've earned a little leeway."

She had no choice in the matter of course, but she felt it either way.

"Don't even know if I'll like Huttball. Guess I'll find out" a chuckle at that "depending on what missions I'll have lined up for us I may get some more time between jobs."

He nodded again. "I think you'd have to do something that disrupted business for the captain to truly be upset with you. A dream or two shouldn't do that. I hadn't considered playing huttball. I'm not sure how I'd do there. Gotta be easier than outrunning a bull rancor."

"Disrupted Xeros day enough for him to come find me" Aphr sighed, then after a few moments "outrunning a bull rancor? What's the story behind that one?"

"It's the same story as the others." he shrugged. "Someone wanted one as a pet. The hutts seem to love their rancors. Bull rancors are hard to trap, but that didn't keep the old man from taking the job. I had some distance from it when I drew its attention, but I had difficulty keeping its mind confused. I barely made it through the snare."

Galen shook his head. "It didn't work anyway. It broke right out of the trap and we had to kill it. Janus didn't feed me for a week."

"That seems a little cruel, it wasn't your fault. Not that they would understand that, right?" Aphr nodded in understanding "how did you get into the business of capturing creatures though?"

"Janus bought me to be bait when I was six." he explained. "I'm sure he didn't expect me to outlast him. He didn't expect me to have force abilities either. That would have cost him extra."

Force abilities?

Aphr looked at Galen, really studying him for a few moments, before suddenly "oh!"

THAT'S why he feels different

"Forgive me, I don't think I knew you were...are you a Jedi or a Sith? If I'm allowed to ask?"

He shook his head. "Neither. I don't see the point of an order applying rules to a natural aspect of the universe. Seems like more of an excuse to promote their own agenda."

"I thought only those trained by Jedi and Sith could use the force?" Aphr asked, more curious now "yet you are part of neither?"

"That's like saying only those trained by the Empire or the Republic could pilot this ship." he replied. "The Force is a part of the universe. It is all around us and within us. Some develop talents connected to it. The Jedi and Sith have more collected knowledge regarding such abilities and have developed ways to train and improve one's powers. But, they aren't the only path. They're simply an easier one."

"I've never heard of anyone who was not with the Jedi or the Sith that could use the force" Aphr commented thoughtfully "how did you learn about it? Do you have a lightsaber like they do?"

"Janus realized it first." he admitted. "I told him that I could sense our targets coming, before I could actually see them. Then, there were a few times when I was too slow and was cornered, but attacked. I didn't want to be eaten, so I hoped they weren't hungry or angry. The creature would pause and look at me for a moment, then walk away."

"The old man said he'd only seen a Jedi do that." he shrugged. "I've encountered a few since then. They usually try to recruit me, but I don't want another master, even if I'd get a lightsaber."

"You could sense the animals? That's really quite impressive" Aphr said with an impressed look "and quite a useful skill also. Can you just feel it?"