WotH Chpt 59

==War on the Horizon - Chapter 59==
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===Drinking till Dusk===
Date: November 4, 3015/04.11.7954 CRCLocation: Dac, Calamari System (Currently neutral pending Confederacy negotiations),Calamari Sector, Outer Rim Territories
"Does it matter one way or the other?" I asked in response. "I'm content with my life. Even if it has taken time for me to fully process things. I've got people who care about me and who I'd die for, and I know that they'd do the same for me," I sipped my water before rocking a bit and looking out at the stars. "Besides, 'A Friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.'"
 
"I suppose that was a bit forward of me," Fay finally said after the silence had continued for a few moments, only broken by the sound of waves crashing upon the shore. "I merely wish to see what sort of being it is that has such influence among those whom I have mentored and assisted over the years."
 
"I'm an open book," I shrugged. "What you see is what you get. Just a simple man, making his way through the galaxy," I repeated a line nearly forgotten in my memory. "I don't mind questions, so long as I get to ask a few of my own and I get answers."
 
"I suppose that some questions would not be amiss," Fay replied. "But I believe that if we are to continue this conversation, we should do so indoors, and with some more refreshments."
 
"I suppose you're right about that," I looked across the sea as the wind blew, sending a bit of a shiver as the heat of the day finally left the shores. "Now, If we're going to be talking stories, we're going to need something a bit stronger than this."I gestured for the elfin woman to follow as I reached into a cabinet and brought out a bottle of whiskey that I'd collected a few years back in the Taurian Concordat.
 
"What's your poison?" I asked as I poured a couple of fingers into a decanter with a bit of ice.
 
"What is that?" She asked of the bottle in my hand.
 
"Whiskey," I replied. "I don't get drunk, but sometimes it does help to tell a story or two when you've got a drink to make some of the memories a bit less harsh. And, this one tastes a bit like the ones that I used to sip around a fire with my family, sharing stories and smoking some cigars."
 
"I shall give it a try," Faye responded. "I have never had any of this 'Whiskey' before."
 
"I'll start you out with a finger, and we'll go from there," I poured a second glass before setting it on the kitchen table. "Now, a story for a story?"
 
"That's as good a trade as any," Fay shrugged as she took a sip of the whiskey.
 
I chuckled as she made a sour face at first but then grew to like it more with every sip.
 
"That burns pleasantly," She finally said after a small cough. "Now, where shall I begin?"
 
"I'd say at the beginning, but I figure that if we're trading beginning stories we'll be here longer than we should be," I took a sip and savored the whiskey as it left a pleasant tingle on the way down. "You've got what, thirty years of stories to tell? And I've got some that cover a few centuries."
 
"Something like that," Fay smiled mysteriously. "But I suppose we should start with something lighthearted, like the time that I was mistaken as a fertility goddess to a culture that had receded to pre-spaceflight…"
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"So, I'm not normally the one to supervise leave. I mean, my callsign is Mom for a reason, but on this occasion, they decided that they wanted to go to a Taurian Rodeo, and despite my warnings, they wouldn't listen. So, I ended up having to step into my grandfather's shoes a bit and get into the ring with a one-ton mass of muscle and fat, and have to get its attention before it stomps one of the poor bastards flat. So I step in, and…"
 
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"So, as you've noticed by now, I do not carry a lightsaber," Fay points out the obvious. "It is not that I am not willing to step in and protect others or use violence when necessary, but it often leads people to underestimate me. For example, there was this one slave trader who believed he had merely captured me and several others and was going to make the sale of a lifetime before he found himself tied up and in an unusual position…"
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"So, we've got a mixed battalion, and while the initial assault went off without a hitch, it seems that Saint Murphy had decided that we needed a lesson in humility. So of course, the fucking Big Mac decides to go out of their way to come and see what was up on this border world while on their way back to the CapCon, and boy were they pissed. So with a little bit of warning, we got to work," My mind drifted back to the battle and those we had lost in it. "We punched way above our fucking weight class, but they still got some of our best people in exchange. But such is the way that things go."
 
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As the night wore on, we slowly moved to the twin sofas in the living room as we traded stories, and the drinks changed from liquor to water and eventually a small pot of coffee until the two of us gradually drifted off to sleep, the sun just beginning to peak above the horizon as we snored away.
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==Breakfast with a Friend==
"Oh good, you're up," Fay awoke to a pleasant smell and a voice calling her name. 
 
She took a moment to shake her head and reorient herself, calling on the Force to ease the slight headache before reinforcing her mind to remember specific details.
 
"It seems that I am," she sat up and stretched before glancing at the small kitchenette. "Do you mind if I use the refresher?"
 
"Be my guest," Hull grinned as he moved to a different part of the kitchen. "I already took a shower myself before starting on the breakfast. Take your time, breakfast," he glanced at a clock and grimaced. "Lunch rather, will be ready in about thirty minutes or so."
 
So Fay entered the refresher and splashed some water on her face before availing herself of the room's facilities.
 
Last night had been… Enjoyable in a way that she hadn't had in quite a while. Something was refreshing about meeting someone who had no idea of your reputation and who was able to see things with a fresh perspective.
 
She would also have to remember to try and collect some of that 'whisky' as she believed it was called. The liquid was something that would be very useful and would bring her some goodwill on many of the planets among the Outer Rim where such a drink was luxurious and most relied merely on common alcoholic beverages that were hardly refined.
 
But she had spent enough time reflecting on what lay ahead in the future, it was time to focus on what was in front of her at this moment.
 
And what that was, was breakfast. Which smelled divine.
 
"I take it you don't get much in the way of fresh food on your journeys?" Hull asked. "Now, this ain't anything fancy, and it's certainly not what we're able to get in the field, but you just can't beat a home cooked Southern-style breakfast anywhere in the world. That there," He pointed to a small hand-sized piece of some sort of bread. "That's a biscuit, and what you're going to want to do, is douse it in that sausage gravy, then, you're going to want to snack on some of that bacon and enjoy some waffles. Unfortunately, I used up all of the chicken last night, so I couldn't do Chicken and waffles, but I figure this is a good enough spread. And, even better, I made enough for it to last me the rest of the day."
 
Then, it seemed the mercenary commander was done talking, because he closed his eyes for a moment, bowed his head, and then began eating like a man possessed.
 
"I'd forgotten," he said in between bites. "How much energy being out on the water takes out of you. But with the local star and the wind, you wind up burning a lot, and well, might as well top off the tank with something hearty. Especially when you're on vacation."
 
"This is extremely filling and flavorful," Fay said after she'd finished the first plate, and was reaching for a second. "I shall have to see if I can acquire some ingredients, or perhaps be instructed in the process upon how to make such a meal on my own?"
 
"I just follow a recipe," Hull shrugged. "I don't have the full recipe book with me, unfortunately, but I've got copies of some of the pages I can let you have. I'll just need to print off a few of 'em."
 
"That would be most helpful," Fay said after she pushed a second plate away, her stomach feeling as if it would burst. "Now, unfortunately, I have responsibilities to attend to, the Quarrens and Mon Calamari are not likely to agree on something without the neutral party benign present."
 
"Sure," Hull replied. "But let me know if you want to do something like this again, it was fun. Haven't gotten to share stories like that with anyone in a good long while."
"I am certain that our paths will cross again," Fay stood up. "And when that occurs, we shall have even more stories to exchange."
 
"See you round the 'Verse," Hull stood up and shook her hand. "And let me know if you need any help with those negotiations. I've been known to do one or two of my own, you know."
 
"If I ever need salvage rights negotiated, you'll be the first to know," Fay laughed before finally leaving the hut and heading for the nearby town, she had a speeder to catch and a job to finish.
 
"What an interesting encounter," she mused. "I wonder what his future holds?"
 
But she did not reach into the force to attempt to catch a glimpse. Some things were better left unknown. For even a glimpse of the future could send one spiraling out of control, and if there was one thing Fay had learned over her centuries, it was that control was necessary for any being, not just a Jedi.
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Chapter 59