onlyeverdoubted | TLV Inbox

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.

I'm a seasoned admiral, Rook. I know this isn't like any ship that our galaxy has ever seen.

[She gives an echoed sigh]

It doesn't look like it's falling apart, at least. Are we permitted to see the engine room?

Probably, if you find someone from maintenance to let you in. It, um, won't increase your peace of mind much.

[He's trying to spare her the headache he gets whenever he thinks about it, but it's probably hopeless.]

I'm sure that won't be an issue.

[a narrowed look!]

Oh? And what do you know that I don't about that room?

It, well, doesn't make any sense. I don't mean it's unfamiliar, I mean nothing we can see explains how a ship this size and...

[He doesn't even know a word for the way this place is laid out. In lieu of some more ums, he twitches his hands helplessly.]

Either it's a decoy to keep us complacent, or, well, I don't really know.

[She scrutinizes Bodhi, taking this into consideration]

Show me.

[Bodhi shrugs. He knows the way, at least. He'd sort of hoped early on to find work there, but he'd probably be even more frustrated trying if there'd been room. The inventory job may be mind-numbing, but at least it works like an inventory.]

We can probably find someone to let us in.

Who here has a key?

[she walks over to the door and opens it into the hall, mindful of the cats.]

Um.

[His plan was to wander near the door and hope. This is where not keeping up with people comes to bite him. Is Luke still engine room? He's honestly not sure.]

One of them is... from our universe, I think...

[Only then does he realize he slipped back into "um."]

Then we will have to find him.

What's his name? Where is he located on this ship?

[Oh. Hm. Luke's name seems more likely to be a known factor than his own, but there's nothing for it. He already did the bit about defecting and all. Still, he tries to elide past it.]

Luke. I've been to his cabin; it's not far.

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