Chatter with the scruffy one?

[twelve_not_fourteen]

The Nexus' resident scoundrel is never particularly happy when things are stagnant. Han's been hustling in some capacity, since he was old enough to walk and talk, so it's not as if he's used to having copious amounts of 'spare time'. He's not sure he would describe his existence in the Nexus as that, but it was far more like it than what he was used to.  And in general a life on terra firma, all the time, isn't to his taste.

There's been good in his time.  He wouldn't try to deny as much.  But there's also been bad and even some ugly.

Somehow, he manages to endure.  Even when the odds where against him to do just that, there were friends to help him along.  

What has become clear is that trying to assemble a lot of money at once and by his supplies en mass hasn't been going all that well.  Rather than continuing the same approach again that didn't work before, it seemed like the better course to try something else for a while.  Damn if he knew what it was that he should do, though.  Perhaps study up on the local machinery and put his steady hands to work fixing things in exchange for a wage.  Kryff.  Maybe he should go back to stealing.

For now, those are the thoughts that tend to shuffle through his head - man, I've been here for a 'long time' and how am I gonna ever get the money I need to fix this ship.  Occasionally they're broken up with the stray thoughts of an attraction that seemed pretty unlikely at first.  Those thoughts make him smile when he has them, despite his nature ...

The body of Han Solo is much more defined than the mind.  It can be seen sitting on the lowered ramp of a YT-1300.  He is nursing a pale ale from a glass bottle and watching the sunset disappear behind buildings in the forum.  

If you should find yourself drawn to him for a conversation he'll ask you this, "do you think you'll ever have it all figured out?  Is it possible to have all of you 'ducks in a row' as the saying goes?"  Then he'll flash a lopsided grin, and shake his head.  "Forget all of that.  How bout a beer instead?"

Comments

[damn_yourself_early]

Who is this child in green and black? And how much could you get if you swiped his little crown and sold it? "Getting ducks in a row is like competing in a freestyle dance-off during an earthquake. You may know what steps you want to take, but other people and even the ground have their own ideas, so you have to just move with the music and try to stay a few steps ahead."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Well, is it real gold? He's noticed that people in the Nexus, especially the ones with ties to earth in some way, seem to love that shiny yellowish stuff. He could probably hawk it for a few credits.

"That is far more wisdom than anyone your age has a right to give." Han murmurs as he regards the young man. "I can't give you a beer, kid. Sorry."

[damn_yourself_early]

"Seriously?" Loki scoffs. "There's a drinking age in space? I'm from Asgard, where the mead flows like mead--it's outpaced water by that much!"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"It violates my highly developed moral code to give alcohol to a minor." Han manages to say with a straight face. Isn't that impressive?

"It's only in space if you bring it to space. Not is if there's fly through breweries."

[damn_yourself_early]

Han Solo has a highly developed moral code? Loki's giving him a look he may possibly have learned by copying Verity.

"Uh huh."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

So maybe highly developed is a bit of a stretch, but there are some lines he won't cross. He'll never hunt a sentient for a bounty, for instance. He'll never be involved in deals that involve slaves. He doesn't like to see kids getting hurt, though he's not especially from fond of them when they're real young ...

"You can believe what you want to believe, I'm not gonna give you a beer."

[damn_yourself_early]

"Some smuggler you turned out to be," Loki sighs.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Ah. A smart ass. Funny, how he thinks this shit is so amusing when he's saying it and how annoying it is when someone else is serving it back to him.

"What does that got to ..." Wait, how does he know so much about him? That seems way more important to figure out, much as he wants to defend himself from baseless judgements.

"How do you know who I am?"

[damn_yourself_early]

"How?" Loki seems a little incredulous that that's the question Han chose to ask. "You're famous! You made the Kessel run in twelve parsecs, right?" Sure, that's where he's heard of you.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

He's not the only person in the Nexus to know who he is. Plenty of earthers seem to hold him in high regard for reasons that make no sense to him. Han Solo as a general of the Rebel Alliance ... no way in hell that could ever be him.

He's no imperial sympathizer, true, but he doesn't particularly like the Rebels either. Not after their pointless skirmishes had taken Bria from him and twisted her enough that she felt perfectly content to use him and steal from him. Besides they won't win. They're wasting their time.

"Oh." He says with a faint nod. He's still not feeling like the kid's story lines up completely, but at least he knows him for being something he actually is. "Yeah, that was me. Lousy smuggler that I am managed the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs."

Nevermind the fact that he dumped the spice he had on board during his record breaking run.

[damn_yourself_early]

So that's how he went so fast--he got his weight down.

"Hey, you could be a lousy smuggler with a fast ship and still be a lousy smuggler," Loki points out.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Hey. Even Han Solo gets boarded sometimes. It's a reality of the work. That's not a part of the story he ever highlights, though. It's not that important of a detail anyway ...

"Fast ship and great pilot if you knew anything about Kessel." He says scrunching his nose and narrowing his eyes. "I was skirting black holes and running from imperial cruisers."

[damn_yourself_early]

Loki shrugs, grinning and spreading his hands. "Good pilot still isn't the same as good smuggler, necessarily."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

This kid has a retort for everything, doesn't he?

"I'm going to end up throwing one of these bottles at you, kid." He says as he takes another sip. "It will just probably be emptied first."

[damn_yourself_early]

The kid is Loki. For some parts of the world, he literally invented the idea of having a retort.

At Han's... is it a threat? Loki sighs. "No, you're not. But if you want me to leave, you just have to say so."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Not much of a threat. Loki seemed to see right through it, though, it's not as if he tried very hard to be convincing.

"I suppose you puzzle me just enough to find you interesting." He admits. Probably the closest that you'd get from him Loki. "So I get the sense that you don't bother with ducks or rows."

[damn_yourself_early]

"Oh, I'm always trying to put my ducks in a row, so to speak. I'm the god of plans, plots, and getting-away-with-it, I have to line up my waterfowl as much as I can. I've just seen enough to know that circumstances rarely allow for rigid planning. 'Blessed are the flexible,' as it's said, 'for they shall not be bent out of shape.'"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"You're a god?"

Han says, really not all that sure if his skepticism is warranted here, considering he's met a goddess in the Nexus ...

[damn_yourself_early]

Loki nods. "I'm Loki, the god of mischief! Brother to Thor, god of Thunder!" Flashing a grin and spreading his arms theatrically, he adds, "ta da!"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Not what I would have predicted."

Not even a little. He would have pictured the god of mischief to be a streetwise looking thief and a bit of a rogue. Basically, him.

[damn_yourself_early]

"Well, I'm going through a bit of a transitional period," he admits. "But I could point out that being what people expect isn't very mischievous at all."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

...

Well, the kid does have him there.

"Alright, fair enough. Do you choose to be a kid or are you growing into godness?"

[damn_yourself_early]

"Growing into it. I kind of died a little while ago, and had to reincarnate. It's a long story," the child answers.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"I can ..." Wait, what? Godhood is really strange so far as he can tell.

"Now I especially don't feel bad for boozing you up."

[damn_yourself_early]

Loki shrugs. "I mentioned how the mead flows in Asgard? I'll drink as I please when I go home."