The Truth is Out There [Meira]

[Mara]

[...from Candy is Dandy, but Liquor is...Let's Do Shots!]

Calling the place where he was currently residing a flophouse would have been kind. The dingy room he had paid for, cheaply, was barely large enough to hold a single bed and a partition-less refresher in the corner. Odors continually wrinkled his nose. He didn't think it had been cleaned in decades. And there was a reddish stain on the wall that he was afraid to peer too closely at. But it was on the outskirts of the city, relatively near the spaceport, and the proprietor's slogan was 'no questions asked.' Weighing the pros and cons, Trevil couldn't have asked for a better place to hide out in.

Nervous, he had paced around the tight quarters, peeking out through the drawn and dirty curtains every so often, almost expecting to hear sirens blaring or blasters cocking. Despite the promises of the owner regarding anonymity and privacy, he had still been worried that he had somehow left a trail behind and was only delaying the inevitable. Eventually, though, his head had started nodding, and it had been hard for him to keep alert. Gingerly, he had crawled exhausted on top of the bed, not bothering to pull back the coverings and trying not to think what infestations or fluids might be lying underneath, and had fallen asleep.

It had been a long night for the Bothan. He had been enjoying himself, playing sabacc at a club after the crew of the Jewel had stopped on Zeltros for some recreation time after more than their share of drama back on Taris. But then things had taken a sharp turn as he had been wrongly accused of cheating after winning his first game. And instead of staying to defend himself and prove his innocence, his flight response had kicked in. Not only had he had a device on his body that could be used to cheat at sabacc, despite not having touched it, he also was wanted for a much more serious crime back on Bothawui and had no interest in being caught. So without a second thought, he had quickly cleared out and left the club behind.

He had been making his getaway around the corner of the building when he had been sidetracked by the sudden appearance of Palas. The Twi'lek captain had understandably wanted to know what was going on, having obviously noticed the commotion inside being focused around the Bothan. He had been torn on whether to come clean with her then and there: it had been his original intention of following her to the club. Since they had gotten away from the mess on Taris and could finally breathe, earlier it had seemed the right time. But now, now he was just hoping to escape a lengthy prison sentence, and she was delaying him doing so.

The Bothan had blabbered a vow to explain everything later, asking her to trust him, and then had just ran off, hoping he would have the chance to do so, for Palas's sake. Trevil had grown fond of her and the other beings on the Jewel and the ship itself, the hunk of junk it was. Some of the ship's passengers had departed when they reached Zeltros, others before that. But there was still a nice core of crew left. And despite the short amount of time he had been with them, he had felt he belonged, which he hadn't felt in a long time, if ever. Not truly. It would be a shame if he never saw them again.

At first he hadn't had a plan to where he was directing his footsteps. Briefly he had considered and dropped the idea of returning to the spaceport and hiding aboard the Jewel. Trevil didn't want to put the others in danger, in case security at the club had called the proper authorities, and there were now even more beings searching for him, putting two and two together. The crew had already believed--and later dismissed--that it had been his fault for what happened on Taris. He wasn't sure his character could survive another defaming. Though as things currently stood, he might end up out of Palas's good graces anyway and back to hitching rides to continue his personal mission.

So he had just kept running, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the club's security team as he could. A few times he had had to stop, out of breath, bending over and panting, fur wilting. His life so far had not required much physical exertion, and he was out of shape and not at all accustomed to so much exercise. Once he had recovered enough, he would continue on, taking random side streets on his padded bare feet, turning here and there, as he had headed deeper into the city and then made his way into the slummy areas.

Trevil had sighed during one particular pit stop to regain his wind. He knew he would be lucky to get off this planet as a free being and really couldn't complain if he lost everything else and was on his own once again. But the Bothan had forced these and other depressing thoughts away and focused on the present. Dwelling on the enigma of the future would not help him now. What he needed now was a plan; he couldn't keep just wandering the city, waiting for someone to catch him, only delaying what could be the inevitable.

In the lightening dimness that heralded the upcoming arrival of sunup in an hour or two, he had stumbled upon the little flophouse. Figuring to just take his chances in holing up there and get some rest, he had put done some credits for a room. He could have afforded much better accommodations for himself, but Trevil was sure those would be the some of the first places the authorities would look. Better for him to disappear into the slums.

Blaring music jolted him awake, bleeding through the flimsi-thin walls of the establishment. With a groan, he moved his sore muscles and sat up on the bed with a yawn. Afternoon light poked through the cracks of the thin curtain covering the window. With one last shake of his fur, he dug in his pockets for his commlink, remembering a moment from the night before in the mix of all the chaos. Since he was still not clamped in cuffs and on his way to be incarcerated, he felt confident enough to fulfill his promise to Palas. Even if it was the last thing they said to each other. He had nothing else to lose, literally.

Connecting the device to his datapad, he added extra encryption security measures before logging in the frequency for Palas's personal commink. Trevil didn't want someone else aboard the Jewel picking up; this was for the Twi'lek's ear cones only. The Bothan drew in a deep breath and then was almost relieved when he got her answering service instead and had to leave a message. Making it quick and to the point, he told her he would explain everything if she came by and then relayed the coordinates to his current location, telling her to make sure she wasn't followed. Then he put his electronics away after shutting them off and leaned back on the bed, waiting and wondering whether the Twi'lek captain would come and gathering his courage for what he had to reveal if she did.

[Meira]

Palas was struggling with an internal conflict. On the one hand, the idea of moving or even opening her eyes sounded like torture. On the other hand... she didn't -couldn't- think about the other hand. She'd escaped that, for now at least, and so the battle with light and movement was all she was willing to deal with. She'd managed to make her way to the refresher clumsily stumbling her way through what she could manage of a cleaning routine. She was able to pull herself into what she hoped was clean clothes and now sat on the floor in her cabin, trying to forget some things and remember others.

From atop her desk, a sharp ping and a successive flash of three lights had her almost curled around herself in defense. When it repeated, rage at the device overcame the nausea from moving and she stood, grabbing the commlink and prepared to throw it against the wall. But a memory from the night before gave her pause.

Yunas standing in an alley. "I can explain...." His fur was on end, agitated. "Please... you just have to trust me." There had been security men, with batons. She looked down to see the darker purple of a bruise on her forearm. "I will comm you when I can. I...I have to go."

Palas looked back at the commlink, her brow furrowed in suspicious thought. What had he done now? Shaking her head, Palas moved to sit down on the edge of her bed. A flash of memory, however, had her moving to her desk chair instead. One battle at a time. She told herself as she activated the message.

Black banded lekku twitched as Palas peered up at the structure. Surely this building was condemned. But this was where Yunas had asked her to meet him. Either he was paranoid, or there was something else going on that she had yet to be informed of. Palas set her jaw as she moved into the building, trying her best to touch as little as possible. She walked right past the inattentive Zeltron manning the counter and moved toward the lifts. A few moments of study had her opting for the stairs instead. His room was only a few flights up after all. When she reached the door to the room he'd indicated to her, Palas knocked quietly. She'd managed to scrape together some food before coming, and had several helpings of water. Feeling much better now, this would be Yunas' only chance to square up and be honest. She just hoped he was overreacting to whatever it was that had him so scared.

[Mara]

Hearing the knock, Trevil's violet eyes opened and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. But then, ears twitching with nervousness, he rose to his feet and walked slowly towards the door, trying to keep his fur steady. This was it; everything that he had been a part of since joining up with the beings of the Jewel was coming to a head. But it was a risk he had to take, knowing that Palas at least deserved an explanation. He could not simply wave off the incident at the club as if it had not happened. Continuing to lie could do more harm in the long run than just being honest with the Twi'lek captain.

Reaching the door, he sucked in a deep breath and let it out. The Bothan leaned towards the small grimy peephole just to be doubly sure it was whom he was expecting. Chances were that anyone else would have banged more loudly or not at all, in the case of any authorities after him. He saw the purple Twi'lek standing there on the other side and felt relief wash over him. She had actually come to hear him out; part of him had been unsure whether Palas would actually care enough to see him again.

He turned the knob and stepped aside to let her pass through, gesturing graciously with a paw. "Thanks for coming."Trevil knew the room was not ideal, but he was trying to make the most of it. Seeing the look on her purple face, he scanned the room, which took not more than a second in the tiny quarters. Looking back to her, "The cleanest is probably the bed.  Unless you'd prefer to stand, but... you might want to sit." Knowing what he was about to reveal to her, he hoped she would take his advice. The Bothan himself stayed on his feet, too jittery to do anything else.

Then passed a few moments of awkward silence as Trevil's nerves tied his tongue. Normally a somewhat shy being, he wasn't used to a lot of talking. The Bothan had spent a good deal of his free time alone with computers and datapads and other various forms of technology, only associating with the living and breathing when necessary for the most part. And so this upcoming conversation with Palas was out of his comfort zone, with the adding difficulty of the topic at hand making him even more anxious. Not to mention revealing such things that he had never told anyone made him vulnerable. He looked down at his feet, still bare from when he had tossed his boots at the big insect thing named Ruck to aid his escape.

But finally Trevil had gained enough courage and lifted his eyes to look at Palas, his voice halting but steady enough. "About the club... and why I ran... I had been accused of cheating. I wasn't cheating. But... I'm a wanted being... for another, larger crime... and I couldn't take the chance... of being... caught." There, it was out, without bothering to soften it with platitudes, he had just gone right to the heart of it. He had more to say, but stopped there to let her digest the new information and to let himself recover. In the meantime, he forced his eyes to remain on Palas's, simultaneously filled with both eagerness and dread at her reaction to come.

[Meira]

There was a long pause after she knocked. She was just starting to wonder if she'd come to the wrong room, but then a shadow moved across the pinprick of light that she could see through her side of the peephole and Palas knew that Yunas was in there. He really must have been nervous because he took his sweet time opening the door. When he did, it didn't take an expert in Bothan body language to tell that she was right.

She moved through the opening and crossed to the middle of the dingy, cramped room, turning to face Yunas with her arms folded in front of her chest. Palas glanced toward the bed as he made his suggestion, but the sight of it was not very reassuring. "I'll pass." she said. Instead, she crossed to the window, looking out onto the rundown street while she waited for Yunas to say what he needed to say.

Again, he took his time. That was fine with Palas. If he was so nervous about what he was about to tell her, than she didn't feel any need to relieve him of that feeling. Whatever it was that he'd done, he probably deserved this stress. Palas wasn't one to deprive someone of something like that. So she leaned herself against the wall next to the window, eyes still peering through the dirty glass. She crossed one leg over the other, balancing her weight between the one supporting foot and her shoulder pressed against the wall. Only when he began to speak did she turn her eyes back toward him.

She didn't move or interrupt him as he spoke, and for a few moments after he'd finished, she remained silent. Then, a sudden chuckle broke the silence. Shortly, another followed, and then another. Palas pushed herself from the wall, dropping her arms down as her hands settled on her hips.

"A wanted being?" she said, emphasizing the term. "Well, good thing you kept that from me, Yunas. Who knows what I would do with a wanted being on my ship. How would I survive!?"

Palas knew the sarcasm might have been a bit unwarranted, but she couldn't help herself. There was, of course, the possibility that Yunas had done something unthinkably horrible to earn him a wanted status, but Palas couldn't possibly imagine someone like him doing anything so terrible. But now was the time for truth, so Palas leaned herself against the wall once again. This time she faced him fully as she waited for him to explain.

"Well, go on." she prompted.

[Mara]

He had merely dipped his head in acknowledgement when the Twi'lek captain forewent taking a seat. Instead, she turned her back on him and went to the window. Trevil shrugged; he wouldn't be responsible for her reactions once he revealed the truth to her. Not that the Bothan thought someone as tough as Palas would faint, but a part of mind did think that she might be overwhelmed with his news, and her knees would collapse. But perhaps he had watched too many holodramas in his youth.

A more likely response from the Jewel's captain would probably be quite the opposite. Upset that he hadn't been honest with her from the beginning. Enraged that she had been harboring a criminal. He had taken a couple steps back, angling so that the bed was positioned more fully between them. It was not a large room by any means, but any obstacle that could delay the Twi'lek from rushing over and throttling him was appreciated.

Then Trevil had finally gotten to the business at hand, explaining himself, what had happened at the club, why he had ran out of there. Something he had been scared to put out in the open, but knew there was no hiding from it now; the Bothan was literally out of options. Palas had been quiet throughout, which had made him yet more nervous, and his fur ruffled in agitation. Though she had turned to face him once he had started, he had no idea how she was taking this revelation of his past. Her features were neutral as she listened, and he couldn't read her.

But then the last thing he had expected or even considered happened. Palas laughed at him. Laughed. It had been too much for him to hope that she was actually just taking it all in stride and would just nod at him in understanding as if this happened to her all the time. Trevil would have much preferred a violent reaction from the Twi'lek; he would have been able to handle that. This, though, was demeaning, not meant in jest in the least, and he pulled his gaze away from her face, ears twitching.

Quickly his nervousness was replaced by exacerbation. It was like she didn't believe him! Or didn't believe that he could have done anything to warrant being a fugitive, avoiding the hand of the law. A paw came up and ran down his face as he sighed. The Bothan was regretting this; he should have just disappeared, stowed away on another freighter or something, left Palas and the Jewel behind. Hidden among some other shady characters and put as much distance between him and Zeltros as possible.

Trevil was about to say just that, his head snapping back to look at the purple Twi'lek. But something in her expression, the echoes of her biting laughter, made him pause. Of course... everyone on the ship were probably wanted for something. How could he have forgotten Taris? All  of them had been jailed, for a mistaken identity, but he had noticed the unmistakeable countenance of beings who had been placed in the last place they wanted to be but knew they deserved to be. He had been so stupid. It wasn't that Palas didn't believe him; she just didn't think his admittance was a big deal.

Well, maybe if he clarified exactly what he meant by being a wanted being. The Bothan nodded his head to himself, coming to an inner decision as the Twi'lek asked him to illuminate her further. Trevil took in a deep breath and let it out. He was strangely calm as he spoke, almost detached, as if he had told the story many times, instead of this being the first. "Okay. Back on Bothawui... I had this idea and put out some ads to find some others to join in with me. Since I was a child I had been good with computers and electronics. Some simple hacking and slicing here and there. But I wanted to prove how good I was.

"So I planned to rob the biggest bank in the planet's capital. I felt it was just the next step in my growing skills. With the others fulfilling their roles in the building, I sliced into the bank's security system and played it to our advantage. Soon enough, my associates had subdued the people inside and filled up their bags with millions of credits. And then they got out of there. I had done it. I was proud of myself. But I knew the authorities would be swarming that place to figure out what happened, so I dismantled my hidey hole and left to meet the others for my take."

Shaking his head sadly. "But they were not at the meeting point. They had just disappeared, thinking their cut looked much better spread out between four than five beings. And so now I am a fugitive with nothing to show for it." Trevil sighed. Palas might still not be impressed with the scope of his felony; he hadn't a clue as to the backgrounds of the Twi'lek, Lash, and the others. For all he knew he was consorting with murderers. But in his mind, he had done a heinous act... and he wasn't at all sorry about it.

The Bothan looked back at her. "That's it. That's my... story." He blinked his violet eyes. Should he...? Trevil decided he might as well, now that he was baring his vulnerable soul in front of the Twi'lek captain, instead of merely stating the plain facts of his criminal past. Clearing his throat, his fur fluttered, this time more in embarrassment than in anxiety. "Actually, there is one more thing you should know. Um, Yunas is not my real name. It's an alias I use." No need for him now to say why he would have need of one. "It's Trevil. Trevil Lora'nthe." There, it was all out. At rock bottom, he had trusted Palas with his deepest secrets, hoping that she would not misuse the information.

[Meira]

Yuna's looked like a puppy that had been kicked. Part of Palas started to regret reacting so insensitively. But she reminded herself that he had been the one to lie to her. Then again, he hadn't really lied. He'd withheld the truth. Could she say that she hadn't done the same thing? There were plenty of things in her past that she was not about to sit down and tell him or anyone else about. But... those things didn't put anyone on her ship in any direct danger, probably. Yunas had known about the less than ideal cargo they'd carried with them when he came aboard on Tattooine. But he hadn't been so forthcoming about his own baggage. No, Yunas was firmly in the wrong in this situation and Palas quickly dismissed any regret at having lashed out as she had.

Her right index finger tapped on the leather of her belt as she waited for the Bothan to recover and finish his confession. As he began, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she listened. She braced herself for some kind of bombshell, something so terrible she might have to unholster her blaster and get out quick. But what Yunas ended up revealing was just... pathetic.

She sighed when his speech came to an end. Her lekku twitched with pitty -though he wouldn't know what the movement meant- as she opened her mouth to speak. But before she could, the Bothan made one final confession. Palas' mouth closed and for a moment, all she did was blink at him. Somehow, the revelation of his real name was much more of a blow than anything else he'd said. After a moment, Palas pulled her thoughts together.

"Well... Trevil," the name didn't fit in her mind quite so well. "You're an idiot." She raised a hairless brow over her violet eyes, so similar to his own, and allowed a moment for that fact to sink in. Then, Palas plopped down on the corner of the bed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Of course they bailed on you. You gave them not to."

She shook her head. Rookie mistake or not, Yunas... Trevil wasn't wrong in his assessment of his situation. He was indeed a wanted being. And while the Bothan might see his crime as terrible, Palas just saw it as a blunder. A potentially dangerous blunder. That kind of heist would bring attention. Luckily, Palas was fairly good at staying out of the limelight. And in all honesty, the heat he might bring on their tails wouldn't exactly be the hottest she had ever run from. Legitimate authorities had rules, unlike mob bosses and cartel lords. In her mind, it was the latter that they needed to be more concerned with.

"What kind of bank was it? A Bothawui bank? An interplanetary one? Corporate? Government run?" Palas hoped it was local to his planet or system. Something like that meant very little in other areas of the galaxy. Authorities would have no power outside of their own jurisdictions. But she was losing confidence in his decision making abilities and worried he'd picked a bank with a wider reach than his own homeworld.

[Mara]

Though he had been braced for her reaction, hearing her say his name, his real name, out loud had startled him more than he thought it would, making him wince in reply. It had felt strange enough on his own tongue when he revealed the truth to Palas, but coming from her lips it was as recognizable as a foreign language to him. The Bothan's ears had not been in contact with 'Trevil' in years, not since before he had began to plan the heist in earnest had he been addressed that way. By his former employer or perhaps his family.

However, what she called him after that stung even more. Just as her earlier laughter had, being referred to as an idiot really brought him low. His head sagged down over his chest, and he sighed,  staring down at his feet, their hair crusted with the dirt and grime claimed off of the back streets of Zeltros during his escape. Trevil's ears drooped, and his fur went limp against his body. Because deep down within himself, he knew she was right. He had been a fool. Oh, the Bothan had a high I.Q., but his academic knowledge was only one factor in intelligence; he hadn't counted on the variables of working with other beings, trusting them to act in typical fashion.

It had seemed like the perfect crime on the surface. Once he had decided to go through with it, he had interviewed potential team members very carefully until he had arrived at those who fit the roles the best. Whom he believed would perform to their utmost and who were utterly dedicated to the plan. All of them had seemed keen on the idea and were eager to carry it out. No one was to be hurt, not seriously at least. They would just take the money and be off on their separate lives, millions of credits richer.

As the mastermind of the entire thing, Trevil had banked on a certain level of respect from the others. That although he wasn't there in the building with the rest of them when it had gone down, they would still treat him equally as a partner. After all, without his slicing skills, they would never have entered the bank safely in the first place, their only obstacles being a couple of security guards residing inside. But his lack of proximity to the crime and his blind trust had given him a weak spot, and they had taken advantage of it. Something he had always known but had taken Palas saying it to make him feel the truth of it. "Yes... I realize that... now."

But he hadn't a chance to wallow in his gaffes; the Twi'lek captain was asking him questions about the heist. The fact that she was inquiring for more details gave him hope that she wasn't giving up on him, that he might still have a future with her crew on the Jewel. She could have stormed out and left him behind at any time during their conversation, and the fact that she was still here gave him hope. Unless, of course, she was just gathering all the facts and information before making her ultimate decision. In which case he wanted to comply with her wishes as well as he could.

Still feeling a trifle ashamed, he kept his head down as he answered, slowly at first but warming up to his subject as he went on. "Yes, it was a Bothan-run bank... the largest in the capital city of Drev'starn. There are other branches on the planet of Bothawui and within the system. But that one was the headquarters. And other than perhaps Coruscant, being what it is, I am reasonably sure its locations and authority are limited to Bothan space."

Calmer now that he had something else to put his mind to, he lifted his head, thinking he now understood her motives for this line of questioning. She was worried about fallback, whether she and the others on the Jewel would be put in danger because of his past crimes if he remained with them. Trevil wanted to put her mind at ease, as much as he could, as much for her as for himself. "Given that I was behind the scenes and never inside the bank itself, it's highly unlikely that the bank even knows who I am, what I look like, that I exist. Or is even still searching for the culprits after all this time. Unless my ex-partners gave me up, which I doubt they had time for. But even so... I am good at covering my tracks. You are aware of my slicing skills. And I have been on the run for almost three years now without even the whiff of bank officials on my tail."

He shrugged then, feeling better now that everything was out in the open, all his secrets were on the table for Palas to see. But knowing how Palas might respond to his guarantee of not having been followed, he added for her benefit: "Of course, there is always a chance, I know... and you've a right to be concerned. I know I would. And I would understand if you wanted to part ways because of all of this." Trevil paused a moment, keeping his gaze on her face steady. "However, I hope you do not." The Bothan didn't mention that any negative baggage he had was more than overshadowed by all the positives he brought with him; he knew that the Twi'lek captain was already aware of both sides of the scales regarding him.

[Meira]

Palas rubbed at the back of her neck. Her headache was returning, and it felt like it'd brought friends. Why did stuff like this have to happen, and at the worst possible times? She was beginning to remember why she had worked alone for so long, impossible as it was. At least when she was by herself, her worst problems tended to be not having enough hands to get a job done. She never had to worry about hidden agendas or withheld information. She knew all the dirt on her crew because she was her crew.

Then she'd started picking up strays and it'd nearly gotten her killed half a dozen times. This whole mess was out of her wheel house. She didn't know how to handle it. On the one hand, Trevil had helped them get off Taris. On the other hand, he was the one that had led them there in the first place. If a positive could cancel out a negative, the reverse was also true. Just because he could help her didn't mean he couldn't also do damage. This time they'd made it out well enough. But that didn't mean things would go so well if there was a next time.

But then again, as Trevil said, he'd been in hiding for years and nothing had come up. Who was to say that couldn't continue? Palas rubbed her finger tips into her temples, trying to quiet the white noise her new headache was stirring up. Hiding was not the same thing as being on a crew, she told herself. If she had to leave him behind on the ship everywhere they went, was use was he to her?

There was a vibration in her pocket that pulled Palas from her thoughts. She stood, pulling out the comm to see that the call was coming from the Jewel. Through her incredible powers of deduction, Palas realized that meant the call could only be coming from one person. It took everything in her not to groan. With the press of a button, she ignored the comm and went to put it back in her pocket. It started to buzz again. Letting out a sigh, Palas turned back toward Trevil.

"Excuse me." she said, her face and voice doing nothing to conceal her vexation. "I've got to take this." She moved to the door, closing it behind her as she stepped out into the hall. "What?" she said, her voice low and obviously annoyed.

“Oh hey there Palas, how are you? Doing alright? Are you eating okay because I know this great-“

“What do you want, Lash?” she had raised her voice slightly, the words cold, even by her own standards.

“Right. Well, I was running some checks on the Jewel just now. Is there supposed to be a hole in the exhaust piping?”

“What?”

“Or maybe it's an intake... thing. I've flown a few ships in my day but, let's just say I'm not an expert at distinguishing the more intricate mechanical workings of you average, run of the-”

“Can you patch it?”

“Umm, that's not exactly my area of expertise. I'm more of the 'swoop in and save the day' kind of guy. But hey, it's probably nothing, right? So…"

“Dammit Lash!”

Palas disconnected the comm. Sliding it back into her pocket, she leaned heavily against the corridor wall. Could she not catch a break? She really didn't have the time, or the mental capacity to deal with any of this right now... or ever. She tapped her forehead against the wall, the tiny jolts of pain, which might have been unbearable earlier that morning, were now a welcome distraction from this constant barrage of crap she was having to deal with as a captain with a crew. Being responsible for herself and for her ship had been hard enough. This was damn near impossible. She stopped and rested her head against the wall as a thought came to her. What if she didn't have to be responsible for it all?

Trevil was an outlaw, one who could possibly have a bounty on his head. That would mean more heat on her own. As long as he was around, he was putting her in danger. Sure, she and Lash had a bounty on their heads already, but ditching Lash wouldn’t free her of it. But Trevil… there was no reason for anyone who might come after him to come after her if she parted ways with him now. Was it the kindest thing? No. But you didn't make it far in this kind of work if you were overly concerned about being kind. Palas set her jaw and opened the door to the room.

She stood in the doorway for a few silent moments. She looked at the floor, at the walls, the bed. Then finally, she looked at him. Her hands moved to rest on her hips and her lekku twitched with agitation. Like ripping off a bandage, she thought. Nothing to do but brace yourself and do it.

“I’m sorry.” she said, the words sounding rather lame in the air. “This isn’t going to work out. You got us into that mess on Taris, but you also helped get us out so… as far as I’m concerned, we’re square.” She turned to leave, but stopped abruptly and faced him again. “It’s nothing against you, Trevil. You seem like a good guy. I just can't afford to get involved with someone that could bring that kind of heat down on me. Not when I've got enough of my own."

She didn’t wait for a response. Palas moved quickly through the door and down the corridor. Soon, she was out of the building and heading back toward her ship. One fire out… still one more to go.

[Mara]

Palas had remained quiet the whole time as he explained his situation, never one interrupting, just staring at him neutrally. As his eyes had focused on her, he hadn't been sure whether that was a good sign or a bad omen. Unfortunately, though he had spent the last several months with her on the Jewel, there hadn't been much of a chance to personally get to know the Twi'lek captain. For which he was extremely regretful. Especially now, as he had no idea as to what thoughts could be going through her head. If she was reassured that his past would not be a problem, as he hoped, or if she was just further convinced that he didn't belong on her crew any longer.

But before she could give any sort of response, they were interrupted by the unlikeliest of things: the purple-hued being had an important comm call. If Trevil had had any bargaining chips to his name in this discussion, he would have just asked her to wait and give him her decision. However, after the tongue-lashing he had been through and the emotional ringer he had put himself through, revealing his secrets, he was feeling rather spineless. So he had just nodded his head and gestured for Palas to go ahead. She left the room, closing the door behind her. And then the Bothan was left to wallow in his thoughts.

He sunk himself father into the bed, a mattress that had seen better decades covered by a threadbare spread. Slouching over, he stared down at his bare feet, all matted with dirt from the streets. Trevil sighed; he was fearing the worst. Which kind of strange, actually, for him to be feeling, he knew. For years now, he had been reliant on no one but himself. Going from planet to planet, looking for his ex-partners, stopping for a few months here and there to earn the credits to get on the next transport to continue his search. His nomadic lifestyle hadn't allowed for making attachments, let alone friends.

With the Jewel, it had been different. At first, he had approached the beings of the ship as just the ornaments of another temporary layover. His way off Tatooine and on to the next planet. But then he had gotten involved. Started to get invested in their missions. And it hadn't been so bad. To finally have a purpose in his life again. Yeah, they had been in some scrapes, but it had been all of them, together, working towards an end game. The Bothan had realized he liked being part of a team again, being needed. Had even been considering leaving his past in the past and giving up his foolhardy quest and make the ship his permanent home.  

Now, though, his future lay in the purple hands of Palas. Trevil could hear her muffled voice from time to time on the other side of the door. He could tell she was trying to be quiet, but this building wasn't exactly made with thick soundproofed walls. But then it abruptly stopped, and all became quiet again. Yet, the Twi'lek remained outside. Paranoia creeping in, he wondered if the call had been about him. If the captain had called on her crew mate Lash or someone else to help her with this choice. Creating some kind of argument, and now she had to decide on her own. Whatever the reason, he could be sure this delay in her return could not be good for him.

His Bothan ears picked up the sound of the door clicking open, and his head snapped up to see the Twi'lek captain standing there. She seemed at unease, which just made Trevil's fur rustled in agitation in response. For a few minutes, there was silence, neither of them wiling to speak. Until finally she found her voice and said it. The words he had been sure were coming all this time, but had hoped he was wrong about. He would be parting ways with the Jewel, no longer welcome to step across its ramp or to mingle with its people. All he could do in response was nod, his ears already drooping. And then she was gone, never to be seen by his violet eyes again.

Trevil sucked in a deep breath, staring at the open doorway. He couldn't really fault Palas for wanting him off her ship. Even with all the precautions he had taken, all the time that had passed, he could still be a liability for her. Not to mention all the business that had resulted on Taris. So it was completely understandable, he knew; as much as it hurt him, the Bothan could see the logic in her decision. And it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it anymore.

Exhaling slowly, he came to his feet. It would be back to his original plan, then. Eventually the people of the Jewel would become a distant memory to him, just as all the other beings he had run into over the years had. And if he was entirely honest with himself, there was a small part of his brain that was grateful. Because he had gotten stagnant, remaining with the same people with so long. Trevil had lost sight of the original reason why he was out here in the galaxy, searching around. Without having to rely on the ship, he could be more independent again. Yes... it was a blessing in disguise. Once he convinced his heart to agree with his head.

Walking from the room and the down the hall, he was soon out of the flophouse and back into the daylight of Zeltros. A new day was already well on its way. As was a new chapter in his life, one that would be similar to an earlier one. He strode confidently along the street, pointing himself in the direction where he knew the spaceport to be. It was time to get off this planet and find a new one. As he went, he calculated how many credits he had left, what he could afford. And at the same time, worked out what his next destination would be. Trevil was back on the right path, once again.

[to Mirror, Mirror...]