Dressing Down

Posted on Wed Apr 8th, 2020 @ 8:18pm by Bomoor Thort & Mentis & Kalen "Rex" Vickers

1,973 words; about a 10 minute read

Chapter: Chapter VI: The Last Bastion
Location: Cockpit, Red Raptor
Timeline: Week Three, After "Rex to Riches"

OLD

"Right, I'm gonna' jump out first and then you jump after me," he whispered behind Rex, "Don't worry; 'your' powerful Force abilities will break your fall."

Rex looked over their gathered opponents and swung Mentis' saber a couple of more times again, just for good measure. When Mentis did not move quickly enough, he decided to reinforce their master-slave image again, and gave a firm backwards kick into the Rattataki's back, knocking him flying out of the window. Giving it a couple of seconds before making another move of his own, Rex then climbed up onto the window frame, being sure to not look down, although a gust of wind gripped him, an icy pang of fear shooting through his heart.

"Oh, kriff," he swore, eyes widening as he looked down at the sheer drop. The descent had not seemed so severe when he had been climbing in the opposite direction. Rex then noticed that his foes had begun exchanging glances, some element of confidence perhaps tearing down their prior caution. "Crush your windpipes!" He reminded them, wiggling the lightsaber before then slicing hard into the wall next to the window, carving a bright line into the structure. "G'luck!"

And then he jumped.

NEW

"Perhaps I should have expected this to happen," Bomoor's tone was flat and controlled as he sat twisted around in the Raptor's co-pilot chair, but his eyes flashed with a frustration that bubbled within, "When Mentis explained what the pair of you had been doing on Nar Shaddaa, I did have some hesitation at taking criminals onto our ship."

There was an intake of breath from Mr Vickers at the utterance of the word 'criminal', but the former-Jedi did not grant a pause for him to speak, "We may no longer be members of the Jedi Order and are operating outside of the Republic's jurisdiction, but that does not mean Thane and I are operating some gang of pirates."

Mentis was hunched over awkwardly, not quite sure whether he should be kneeling for some punishment or asserting a defence; such was the confusing fledgling relationship he had with the Ithorian, "Of course, Bomoor. I have the greatest of respect for our mission here and it was just that Rex..."

He turned to look at the Human who had intentionally misled him as to the virtuous nature of their expedition into Lord Curalo's household and the retrieval of a not-insubstantial quantity of high price possessions. Possessions that were, in fact, not the property of a wronged handmaiden as he had been led to believe. Of course, Mentis had half-suspected this fact quite early on but had gone along with it all the same. He was not keen to admit it, but he had quite enjoyed the thrill of it, as he had several times on Nar Shaddaa.

"Well, I suppose 'we' were both a bit taken in by the young woman's story," Mentis looked away as Rex gave him a quizzical glare and kept his eyes on Bomoor; why he was protecting the smuggler was beyond him, "It was a lapse in judgement that will not happen again."

Bomoor crossed his arms, "And what actually happened to the items you, well, 'stole' from this lord? Did you give them to his handmaiden?"

Rex looked back at Bomoor for a few seconds without saying anything, his expression somewhere in-between sullen and ashamed-schoolboy. Finally, after throwing a couple of glances to Mentis of his own, he began to speak. "Well, yeah. I mean, she got... an amount of the stuff, to, uhh... make amends for what that old bastard did." He pointed out of the cockpit window, as if gesturing at the Curalo estate itself. "That son of a gundark isn't going to miss one cred of that stuff, and you know it. I, on the other hand, miss my ship."

"Ah yes," Bomoor placed a wide palm on his head as though nursing a pain, "The much-loved ship that Mentis owes you a replacement for. Well, I'm sorry, but that vague debt does not entitle you to drag Mentis along on some criminal escapade."

"Vague debt?" Rex grumbled back to himself with a huff.

Bomoor turned to the Rattataki, "And Mentis, you too are using this as a weak crutch to excuse you doing something reckless. Why? Do you prefer life as a scoundrel? Because you made the wrong choice coming here if you think you can lead a double life. Flailing your lightsaber around out there risks attracting the wrong kind of attention; I needn't remind you of your own enemies, but Thane and I are equally at risk from Jedi like Rynseh who pursue us."

"I..." Mentis began. He was used to receiving a summary of his failures from Axion, but he was not used to having to justify his actions. He would be told how he was wrong, receive his punishment and then try not to fail again. He could tell Bomoor was angry, but must have been practising his Jedi restraint.

"...as I said, this was just a lapse in judgement. You are right, of course. I was tempted back towards a way of living I had become familiar with but I must commit to you fully as I pledged to do. I will not risk our safety again."

"Now, hold up just a karkin' minute!" Rex interjected, raising a hand with a pointed finger and taking a bold step toward Bomoor. Whatever anger the Ithorian was exhibiting did not seem to have actually cowed the Human, who even appeared a little irked by the whole situation. "Seems to me that you and that Thane don't have a monopoly on deciding what's right and wrong in this galaxy, considering the sort of kriff you guys get up to. It's a fine thing for you to preach about double lives, when as far as I can tell, you fools were off rescuing damsels and toppling tinpot dictators whilst Mantis here was busy having his fingernails pulled out for not scrubbing the paving well enough."

Rex nodded, but softened his tone a little. "Yeah, it's not so hard to read up on you guys, about your past life. You know, from when you were 'heroes'." He scowled a little and began to withdraw slightly, losing some of the tension in his shoulders. "Look, man. Sorry. I... I don't mean any offence to your or your pal, truly. But this man... he's a good guy, and you know that. This whole thing was my idea - my fault - and it was me that swung the laser sword around." He placed a friendly palm on Mentis' shoulder, and his own brief vitriolic complaint had subsided. His usual easy manner was returning. "I deceived him. I shouldn't have. He's my friend, but I saw a chance at an easy mark - one who deserved it, admittedly - and he thought he was helping a poor girl out. You wanna blame someone, blame me." Rex looked from Mentis to Bomoor. "I... didn't mean to make things harder for you guys."

Mentis was shocked at the outburst from Rex in his defence and felt an odd swell of affection for the man who would stand up to the hulking Force user. Perhaps he had some angle, but it was a hell of a risky gamble for the Force-disadvantaged smuggler. The Rattataki's gaze flung to Bomoor for a reaction.

"Mr Vickers..." Bomoor began, before something seemed to catch in his throats (or at least one of them) before, to Mentis surprise, becoming a subtle chuckle which echoed around the cabin like an operatic melody, "I do recall one or two damsels now that I think of it, and more than a few laser sword swings."

The Ithorian stood and looked down upon the two, "Perhaps I don't disapprove so much of the content of your adventure as much as I do the lack of discretion in its execution. I think you both share some blame there. But, I would perhaps be unwise in dismissing the relationship the pair of you have forged; despite its rough edges, it seems to foster a positive change in you, Mentis. Not unlike the relationship between myself and my own Human companion."

"What exactly are you saying, Bomoor?" Mentis queried, now extremely curious about the escapades that Rex and Bomoor were referring to.

"I'm not too sure yet," Bomoor answered, "For now, Rex should stay with us but perhaps I should give you some more constructive guidance on your next assignment. Perhaps the pair of you could look into that old droid we picked up on Korriban; I'm sure the parts you need for it will be very difficult to source but it should keep you out of trouble for a little bit."

Mentis was not sure to be pleased at the change in tone or annoyed at being spoken to like a child, but he could not help but agreeing that the structure of his relationship with Rex had seemingly kept him on a path away from Axion, where otherwise he might have fallen backwards.

"Gee, thanks," Rex managed. By his instant reaction to his own comment, it was obvious he realised he had misstepped - and potentially against the manner he had actually wanted to present, considering Bomoor's acquiescence since Rex's tirade. "I mean... Well, you get what I mean, I think. It's just a mess, all that's happened, these past few months. One minute, I'm zooming from Nar Shaddaa to Coruscant and back, ferrying spices and arms for fellas like Sev, and then Mantis lands in my lap."

Rex nudged Mentis in the ribs a little with his elbow, offering his friend a small and honest smile. "I... I get annoyed occasionally. I miss my ship and the freedom, but with all that happened, you guys are my best bet at getting back to what I had. And... Rex, why in Tusken Hell are you admitting' this? you have an important mission... quest... thing... to be dealing with." He looked back to Bomoor and shrugged. "I figure folks'll get hurt unless you pull this off, from what I'm gathering. You could do with all the help you can get - even if it's from a two-bit cowardly, failed smuggler, right?" He placed a friendly hand on Mentis again. "Even if that means hunting for spare parts."

Bomoor seemed to have gotten his chuckling out of his system and now had passive eyes fixed on the smuggler again as he threw out his explanations, "You understanding that will make things all the easier," he nodded, "Our plans never accounted for the pair of you, or even Coda for that matter. But we have not turned away allies in our pursuit of Axion so long as they have not undermined our security. I don't want to be as harsh as to threaten your co-operation, but you understand why myself and Thane might react the way we do when we hear about risky ventures such as yours."

He gestured to the doorway, "So, shall we talk spare parts? I can show you what we're working with if you haven't seen already."

Mentis looked to Rex and then back to Bomoor, "Sure, Rex and Reave will be very helpful with that kind of assignment."

Rex grinned with a lopsided smile. "Why the kriff not? It may have pissed you and Thane off, Bomoor, but knowing that half of Theed's cops are out hunting a wild Dark Jedi whilst we play mechanic with an old bucket of bolts kinda gives me a little kick." He stepped towards the doorway, much more at ease than he had been just moments before. "You've got to admit, big man: it was kinda cool."

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