Noventa - A Star Wars Story

"Nobody, not since my parents. I'd say, 4 years? 5? I don't know exactly."

Cal snorted. "Compared to you, maybe, I guess. Not everyone would agree. But that's probably why I've always been happy to have you along on our jobs. Wouldn't make much sense for me to object to your age, after all."

He gave her yet another thoughtful look. "How much time did you spend really on your own? You've got Kor now. And your mentor before him, sounds like. Anyone else?"

"Sounds like you were a late bloomer," she said. "I was on my own years ago."

"Huh." Cal pursed his lips. "Yeah, I get that. Well, like I said, if you wanna stick around, you've got a place here. You've more'n earned it."

He glanced at Quinn. "You know, actually, I think I was the same age you are now when I set out on my own for the first time. Left from this very building, in fact. So I guess it'd be somehow appropriate if you moved along, too." He sighed. "Hate to find as good a bouncer as Kor, though. Maybe that big robot. He seems to like it here for some reason."

"I don't know. Maybe. Or maybe it'd be time to move on. Depends. I don't usually stay in one place this long."

Cal's eyebrows went noticeably up. "And you don't do that anymore? Well, I'll be." He teased.

After a moment, he smiled. "So... I guess next is we kick the Imps off of Noventa. And this Seneschal, too. Are you gonna stick around after that? If we're not gettin' too far ahead of ourselves."

"That would be cheating," she said.

"They do. On both counts." Cal nodded.

Smiling, Cal shrugged. "Well... seems to me that it's not an easy road you've chosen to walk. But I think you can do it. Just remember, you've always got a home here if you want one." He smirked. "Gonna keep an eye on you in sabaac, though. How do I know you can't read my mind, see what cards I have?"

"It's not about want I want. It's about what people need. I could do without my face being easily recognized everywhere. That's just a lot of trouble. But people look up to the Jedi right? To Skywalker? Maybe that's what they need."

"Yeah, well..." Cal chuckled. "You say that now..."

But again, he studied her carefully, his eyes narrowing. "Is that how you want people to see you? It sounds like a lot of work." His tone was more curious than anything else.

"Well, it's not so bad when they see you as a symbol of peace and, I dunno, heroism."

Cal pursed his lips, studying Quinn for a long time.

Finally, he smiled wryly. "Don't know for sure, but I'm gonna guess that being a Jedi isn't gonna change that. Probably make it worse, in fact. It just means that people see different things." He pulled back the corner of his vest collar, showing the silver triangle he wore. "I know this changes what people see. A lightsaber probably does the same, only twice as much, at least.'

She shrugged. "She was the first person that saw me for who I am, not what they want to see."

"Hrm." Cal acknowledged that, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, I suppose that sounds about right to me. I've shot more'n my share of folks, but I don't think I've ever shot someone who didn't deserve it."

He smiled. "Sounds like she made quite an impression on you."

"Mikkians don't really understand dishonesty. I mean, they're not naieve. They understand it's a thing and people do it. But they themselves are just brutally honest. It's a matter of honor for them. But she never told me it was wrong for me to lie and cheat. She just told me that if I was going to do it, it needed to be for the right reasons. I haven't always done that... I still don't always do it. But, I mean, she made a lot of sense."

Cal scratched at his stubble. "Think so. I've seen a lot of different species; did my fair share of travel as a marshal."

He gave her a nod, silent encouragement to go on.

"No... she was just... someone I tried a sob story on. She felt the Force around me, and decided to teach me. I guess she had her reasons. Anyway, she's a Mikkian. You ever seen one?"

"Huh." Cal chuckled at that. "Well, I can't blame a kid for doin' what she needs to do to survive. And yeah, in my experience, outside of friendly games, pretty much everyone is cheating."

"So, does that mean your master was at the table too? Or just nearby?" He gave Quinn a gentle smile. "Why don't you tell me about her a bit?"

"Ah... well... Uh..." She cleared her throat. "I guess I'm not the best Jedi. Running away from home, I had to figure out how to make money, you know? Bit of begging worked pretty well, but only for small amounts. So I started learning how to gamble. And everyone else was cheating, so I learned to do that too, I guess."

She cleared her throat a second time.

"My Master only noticed me after I tried to scam enough credits out of her so that I could go back to the table."

"Yeah, I suppose that's the sort of thing I'd do if I was an ancient dark lord just woken up from my nap. Grab the nearest bunch of assholes I could find, make myself chief asshole." Cal said.

After a moment, he smiled. "It's weird, hearing you talk about this stuff. Just last week, I'd swear you were dealing Sabaac cards from your sleeve. Was that just a cover? Or do Jedi get one vice, or something?"