IC: Jephego Rose and Devkas Rixian
Aboard the Sugar Baby
“Devkas reporting for duty, Captain!”
Ah, there was that Devaronian-- Jephego had had a feeling he might come and cozy himself up to her. She couldn’t help but crack a smirk as he saluted her and sat in the passenger seat behind the pilot’s seat. “Figured I’d come up and help keep an eye on our wayward co-pilot here.” He had a chilled flask with him, and as he opened it up and took a drink from it, the delicate scent of mead touched Jephego’s nose. She sniffed. “Hyperspace never gets old, does it? It’s just beautiful.”
“You know,” Jephego began, pulling her hands from behind her head and cracking every pierced knuckle, “I’ve heard that if you stare at hyperspace for too long, you’ll go crazy. Or worse," she intoned, turning in her seat to look at Devkas. "Cross-eyed." She winked. “You gonna share that mead, big guy?" She indicated the flask of liquor with a nod of her head.
Devkas guffawed at Captain Rose's quip as she turned around. "Well I don't know, Boss. I'd love to give you some but I think I've already gone…" He took another drink, and as he lowered the flask he revealed his eyes were now crooked. "Cross-eyed." He laughed again and handed her the mead, crossing his arms behind his head. "So, what ya think about all the meatheads on this ship?"
Jephego took a long swallow of the mead; it warmed her throat. She shrugged at Devkas’ question. “They’re meatheads.” Took another swig. "If you all can keep your crazy eyes on the prize, we might do okay." She held the flask out for Devkas to take back.
Devkas smiled and shook his head. "You keep it if ya want. I only like to have a bit on the ride in. Helps steel the nerves, ya know? Takes a bit of the stress off of dealing with whatever shipload of yahoos I get to deal with at whatever given moment over in Crimson Dawn. Big Blue back there definitely brings back those happy memories." He said as he smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Right," Jephego said, screwing the lid back on the flask of mead. "You're Crimson Dawn. What's their schtick, anyway? The name is new to me."
Devkas sighed as he crossed his arms behind his head and kicked his feet up on an unimportant console. "Ehh, same old same old. Smuggling, killing, pirating. Got started up way back in the early Empire days. Bosses have been trying to get it back into high gear the past decade or so. I got roped into it a few years back when I tried to take the keys to a supply ship that one of their bigwigs was in charge of." Devkas chuckled at the memory. "Standard join 'er die negotiations, nothing too fancy. S'what about you, how'd you stumble into the glamorous life?"
Jephego sucked in a breath. "Empire days. I still can't believe what happened to the goddamn Republic," she muttered. She swung her legs over the arm of her chair, lounging. "My story is a little kriffed up," Jephego began. "Believe it or not, I came into this glamorous life two hundred karking years ago. I know, I look positively phenomenal for being two hundred and nineteen years old." She flipped a gold adorned braid over one shoulder with a flirtatious shrug. "I had an ultra-religious childhood and wanted to get out, really. Wanted something more than religious texts and poverty. I talked my way onto a pirate crew when I was eighteen and fell in with their leader, a Zeltron gal named Yana Medine-- pink bitch that she was-- and she taught me everything. Unfortunately for her, she taught me too well, and I had my eyes set on more than just small-time piracy. I wound up taking her ship and marooning her. I really made a name for myself after that. Made a lot of money, slept around, buried lots of treasure, killed a lot of people. But it turned out that Yana was a nasty grudge-keeper. She joined Black Sun, hunted me down, and had me thrown in carbonite. And now I'm here." Jephego flourished her hand.
Devkas whistled. "Damn, two hundred nineteen? And here I was thinking you didn't look a day over a hundred thirty-five.” Jephego shrugged and rolled her eyes at this. "And yeesh, carbonite. Real bitch of a thing from what I hear. Ahh well, you know what they say. No time for plundering like the present."
"Is that really what they say?" Jephego chuckled, casting Devkas a catty sideways glance.
The Devaronian winked. "They do now. S'one of the best things about the present."
Jephego opened the mead again and drank. “I dunno about this present,” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “It’s a little shocking to wake up after a hundred and ninety year nap in carbonite only to find out the karking Sith rule everything.” She gazed at the hyperspace tunnel outside the viewscreen out of the corner of her eye, a little wistfully. “Well… almost everything.”
"Sith, Jedi, it's all the damn same. Buncha wizard yahoos with fancy swords." Devkas started cracking his knuckles as he spoke. "Galaxy's always a mess whoever's in charge of the goddamn thing. A shit ton of psychos bathing in the blood of their victims or a shit ton of self righteous hippies spouting nonsense. Either way, they're all up there duking it out while down below the rats scurry about unseen, picking up each and every crumb. And I much prefer being one of the rats."
“I think we deserve to be better than rats.” Jephego raised her brow at Devkas. She sat up and rummaged in the pocket of her purple greatcoat, coming up with a box of cigarras and a zip-lighter. Lighting one up, she leaned her head back to stare out the viewport above their heads. “Although I don’t disagree with you-- about the Sith and the Jedi. I grew up on Jedha reading every scrap of religious text my mother put in front of my nose. And I tell you what, it’s all just a bunch of well-written bullshit.” She took a drag. “I couldn’t care less about it all. It’s never served me.”
Devkas shrugged. "Nothing wrong with being rats. They're quick and sneaky, but they’re tough in a fight when it comes to it." Devkas smirked. He nodded his head at her cigarras. “Mind if I bum one off ya?"
“I’ve been a rat,” Jephego said, offering her box of cigarras to Devkas. “I’m karking over it.”
Devkas took the box and lit up a cigarra. "Well, let's see just what we can become once we get to the job site, then. Personally, I'd prefer to be one of those bigass Fyrnock things on Anaxes."
Jephego laughed. “We really will see.”
"I guess we will. How long until we get there, anyway?"
“Roundabout seventeen more standard hours, I think. You’re welcome to get some shuteye or have a cup of caf in the galley in the meantime. I’ll be here, sleeping, drinking, or smoking.” She winked.
Devkas stretched and stood. "Sounds like a plan. I'll head back and get some shut-eye. Come grab me if you need anything from me." He smiled and winked back.
“Will do, my friend,” Jephego said. “Try not to let those other two give you too much of a hard time. Lemmy especially.” She waved a hand as Devkas exited the cockpit, heading back to his bunk.
He waved a hand in acknowledgement as he went. "Don't worry 'bout me, boss. I've handled bigger idiots than these guys before."