“A Job…on a junk planet?” She scoffed. “You would have better luck selling this ship then find anything of worth down there. “ ... “If you could both do the job yourselves, then why offer me at all, seems like you both got it covered. Besides, I’m the one who doesn’t need spending coin. However, if you think you need me, my fee is fifty percent of the cut. If not, I’ll wait for triumphant return of goods.”
Fel stood, resting an arm heavily atop the radome of Wrench's lid, dented and chipped from age and lack of credits or care to do anything about it. His arm had rested there many times, to the point where resting an arm on R2-P47 was good as any La-z-boy. He hovered somewhere between bemused curiosity and mild insult. (but the curiosity was the far stronger of the two.)
"Normally, I'd agree with you. Don't usually have much cause to be planetside on a junk world. 'cept today, we do." He casually sidestepped the dig about the ship - for the moment.
"I mention it because a third would make the job easier. That's all." He stroked his scruffy, unkempt beard, deep in thought.
"Fifty percent?" He squinted at her through barely-open eyes, appraising.
"ok, fifty percent. Got yourself a deal."
She stepped toward the door of the cockpit, the mech was much larger than she remembered. “Someone is a bit grumpy looking…you should feed the big guy here?” Aellyn pointed to Jet as her head turned toward Fel. ”I’ll be in my room.” Stepping passed the large guy, she made the short walk back to the room she paid for.
Fel waited till Aellyn was long out of sight, and Jet had said his piece, up to his romantic gesture about reckless ambition. He chuckled, slapping Wrench on the lid playfully, as the Astromech added that her offer was especially kind, considering their planned payment for the job, then returning to re-wiring the droid socket behind the co-pilot's station, leaving Jet and Fel to speak.
"Yeah... she's a fire-cracker, that one. All kinds of trouble there, that's for certain." Having watched Aellyn leave, Fel shook the image loose which rattled around in his brain-pan like a pebble in a tin can.
"My guess is that girl's got entirely too many brains to be possessed of an ass like that." He crossed his arms, sharing a laugh with his old friend and mech. He checked the navacomp once more, a nervous habit that he carried with him from his snub-jock days. Jet could read him like a book, and Fel knew it.
Jet's expression grew serious “...we gotta be careful, though, kid. This ain’t for the faint-hearted. She might have the spark, but she ready for that fire?” Jet’s eyes narrowed slightly as he considered the possibilities.
Fel nodded sagely, agreeing with his friend.
"Yeah ...yeah. We'll go over the details once we land. If she wants out, I won't bicker none." He called up a few screens on his secure holonet, confirming what had been arranged.
"Abelene promised only first rights of refusal on a well-paying job if we did this for her. We asked about coin, but in three subsequent waves she handily sidestepped that question..." he sighed heavily, closed the holo, and looked back over to Jet.
"We've known Abelene a long while. She's been, what -- mayor? queen? of that backwater for a good number of years now. I have a better than average feeling she's gonna try and kill us." It wasn't said with malice, or like a great secret had been revealed. It simply was. Life was hard in the rim. Folks tended to do for themselves, and then for those who looked to them. If there was a way to cheat someone out of a handful of coins, Abelene would do it without question. It was their job to make sure she held to what was fair. He smiled at Jet. It was just part of the game.
"Sublight in ten. I'll start calculations for landing coordinates. Don't worry..." he glanced at Wrench
"Somewhere safe." Looking back to Jet in the doorway,
"we meet and gear up in the cargo bay in 3-0?"