onlyeverdoubted | TLV Inbox

[She probably means his reward, because what does information about his... prisoner do her? (He probably shouldn't use the word, but it's, well, accurate. This could get a lot worse than awkward. Might as well get it over with.]

I'm still really unclear on what you know and don't, sorry. How surprising is the news that I'm a defector with a price on my head and Hux has sort of turned rebel?

[A weighty pause. Well done, Bodhi, you just laid it all out for her]

Not surprising. But unfortunate to hear it confirmed.

[She grimaces]

I should shoot you where you stand.

[He's pretty sure that was the best move he could make. Doing it slowly and with lots of equivocation would have either brought them to this same place or required lying, which he's bad at even leaving morals aside.]

And I probably couldn't stop you. But I'd rather you didn't. He'd be upset.

You want to appeal to my sentimentality? Over who you've described as a traitor to our cause.

You really need to up your pitch.

[If she entirely lacked sentimentality, a lot of the last few very awkward moments wouldn't have happened, but arguing is not useful here.]

It also won't accomplish much. Death doesn't mean a lot more than time around here. And also you won't be able to get anything else out of me.

Assuming I want to get anything else out of you.

[but, notably, she hasn't yet gone for the gun.]

What's his rebel rank?

I'm using rebel, um, generally. There...

[Which always annoys him when Hux does it. Damn. And there have been rebels onboard several times from various points in their muddled, shared history.]

There's not a faction of the Rebel Alliance onboard. I'm not properly one either. It was just shorter than saying he's, um, reassessed his involvement and the goals of the First Order and roundly rejected both.

Stop saying 'um'. It makes you sound unintelligent.

[said firmly but not cruelly. Her eyes seem searching, trying to put this into context with the Armitage she knows and a future she never got to see]

He didn't only leave. He joined up with them.

There must have been a catalyst, but worrying about it and why I'm here is not my purpose. I will be returned to the Empire shortly.

I should have insisted he take the path of a Naval officer instead of an Army Engineer.

He was--

[Bodhi bites down an um that becomes an awkward pause instead. Because this is a weird thing to say, because that's how a nervous stammer works, because she's right, it does make him sound unintelligent, accurately enough.]

He was a very good army engineer.

[And he's sort of glad he didn't meet Hux as one of his own officers, however far removed.]

Better.

[Yes, but she could have kept a closer eye on Hux. Led him better so that he didn't feel the need to break all ties with the Order. Sloane doesn't voice this weakness of character aloud]

I suppose there's no undoing the past.

[That being literally what they're using their deals to do might not be welcome news. Her point is correct where it pertains to Hux.]

No, he... he's different, since I first knew him, that's true.

[A frown, parsing every bit of Bodhi's language]

I would imagine he'd have to be.

How is he different?

[Hux deserves a good answer, and Bodhi has a general idea that a lot of answers wouldn't mean much to an Imperial officer. Happier, kinder, more self-aware? He might as well speak Twi'lek.]

He knows how to answer his own questions now.

Yes, but he isn't here.

[A nod at Bodhi]

You are.

Oh, no, I mean that's how he's changed. All the mental cross referencing with what passed for the Imperial party line? Doesn't matter to him anymore. Sometimes he's aware of it...

[He frowns at remembered conversations about conditioning and what fighting it feels like.]

But he follows his own curiosity to his own conclusions.

[This is as confident as Bodhi's sounded since a blaster appeared above his coffee cup. Gushing about Hux brings out what passes for confidence in him.]

[Sloane stares at Bodhi, considering him in light of this new information. She's debating how much she wants to tell this odd man, so enamored of her old protege.

Finally, she reaches a conclusion]

Then he hasn't changed. He's returned to the boy I knew a long time ago.

I met him when he was five years old. We were stationed together as long as he was still considered a junior officer.

[He rose too quickly in the ranks, was always too ambitious for hs own good]

Glad to see he's grown a sense of morality amidst all those brains. I'd prefer it if he were still working with me, but better than to die with the old school style of Imperial officers.

I'm sure I needn't tell you the value of discretion in this conversation, Ex-Ensign. Hux's life may no longer be in danger but mine always is.

And the walls have ears.

[Bodhi lets out a breath he didn't mean to hold. Alright, that went better than expected. He stays quiet, adds this new information to his scanty store of what he knows about Hux. They don't need a past, but of course it's tempting to hear about him through someone else's eyes.]

I can do discretion.

[He did successfully defect, after all, whatever came after.]

Though if you're worried about, um, home, I'm already dead by the time you knew him, I think.

[She turns sharp eyes at Bodhi]

I am not worried about anything. And ex-Imperials have no home except the ship they live on.

[then, more calmly]

What did I tell you about the 'um's?

...And I'm not surprised he didn't see fit to mention me. We left on poor terms.

[Is it worth it to explain home meant their universe? Probably not. He's not going to improve her opinion of him.

And now he's curious, but if Hux didn't want him to know... But it's not exactly secrecy that keeps the habit of silence between them.]

Getting along with people didn't used to be a strength of his, no.

[Hey, a whole sentence he didn't stumble over!]

Unfortunately, it never was.

How did this arrangement between you come to pass? He's not known for being sociable or friendly.

[Bodhi's little smile is quite unconscious and almost makes him look like something other than a prey animal about to bolt.]

He was interested in the book I was reading. ...Also insulted me a few times.

[A slight, indulgent smile before it disappears]

I'm not surprised.

I'm starving. What sort of slop is available here?

I haven't been down yet, but--

[He catches another um before it escapes.]

The menu varies. It's usually fine.

On a ship, this size? That's a surprise.

And the engines are in top shape? No crashes?

[Does he want to open this can of worms? Maybe only gently.]

You can... probably tell by looking it's not your typical design.

[Though if she came to in the cabin Bodhi based on an apartment from their own universe and roughly her own era, the glaring strangeness may not be obvious. Wait until she sees the deck.]

I don't work in maintenance or the engine room, but as far as I know that's all... smooth.

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