Bankor

Hopefully there wasn't a fire.

Or more importantly, a nervous Craw having a go at the bottle because of pre-battle jitters. He'd been keeping it together well enough, but they were heading into a warzone soon... everyone was nervous in their own way. So Nai'tiri liberally acquisitioned some of the leftover cake she had found in the fridge, and gave a tap on the doorway to the sleeping quarters. Privacy was premium in such confined space, so she wasn't going to just barge right in, even if pretty much every inch on the ship was shared.

"Craw?"

The door slid open with a quiet hiss. Craw stood in the doorway, he was tense you could see it from the way his jaw was tightened. Behind him in the small room his armor was disassembled and on the floor, next to it was an opened maintenance kit.

"Yeah? Everything alright, Nai?" He asked.

"I'm fine," she said, taking a bite of cake as she took in Craw's posture and the scenery behind him.

"You?" Nai asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Craw shrugged and a small smile crept up on his face.

"Fucked up and geared up. Heh. No I'm... I'm good. Just a bit... Nervous. Been a while since I've been in a war like this."

He turned his head and looked back in the room, following Nai's gaze.

"Double checking the armor and gear. Last minute adjustments. Stuff to keep my mind occupied."

"Yeah..." she slowly exhaled a soft sigh, holding up the piece of cake to offer him some to share. "... Never been to war either. Sticky situations, and gang-wars, yes. Covering an entire planet-war, no."

"Didn't think it would be against our own either when it happened."

Craw took some of the offered cake, wondering the reason why they had cake.

"Crap luck." He shrugged. "Ain't nothing we can do about it 'cept fight and give them a good death."

Craw paused for a minute, staring at the piece of cake. "Loyalties going zigzag, it's a damn shame. Nothing's ever simple in this fucking galaxy..." He was silent for a moment, before looking up at Nai and flashing a nervous grin. "But at least the Republic pays well enough."

"Nothing's simple," she agreed, deciding not to comment on the pay. It wasn't why she was here, after all. The pay didn't interest her.

Well... it was a nice bonus, though.

"No one else coming from clan Toboga to fight, I'm guessing?" Nai gave him a questioning look. It wasn't a big clan, but there were still a couple left in the galaxy. And then there was the question on which side they might be on...

Craw nodded.

"Shouldn't be anyone else coming though... We're not that good at keeping in touch. Maybe it's better that way... I don't know." He looked away, his grin turning into a deep frown.

Nai put a hand on Craw's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze, showing her sympathy for his situation.

"Cadera will treat you as one of us. Don't worry. I make no promises for old man Kelborn though... he does what he wants." It was reassuring, even if she had no idea how 'old uncle Ky' would react to the Toboga. "... Need help with your armor?"

Craw looked into Nai's deep red eyes and smiled warmly, although there was a sadness in his eyes. He nodded.

"Thanks Nai. I appreciate that. My family being what it is I... Thanks."

Craw shook his head at Nai's question.

"No thanks. I've got it on my own and I really just... Need to unwind. But thanks."

"This is your family, Craw." Nai made a vague gesture, indicating that she meant the ship and its crew. "Family's more than blood."

Considering she had long ago left behind her birth-family on Csilla, she knew what she was talking about.

Craw nodded, still smiling.

"Yeah. The Turtle's saved my life more times and in more ways than I can even count. Nudie, the ship, you and... Well I wouldn't be here without you guys." He knocked on the bulkhead softly.

Nai raised an eyebrow. "I'm noticing you're leaving out a name...?"

The smile disappears. Craw shrugs, frowning.

"I don't think I am."

It was a small ship. No need to speak the name to make things more awkward. She shrugged as well, letting the subject rest for now.

"You know any of the other Mandos who will be here?" Nai asked as she changed the subject.

Craw scratched the back of his head.

"Well there's the, uh, the Ordo Sisters. You know them, right? I had a few run ins with them on Nar Shaddaa we didn't really... Leave it on good terms."

"Thera and Vera?" she raised an eyebrow, before giving a shake of her head. "Know them, but not that well. Been some years since I last saw any of them. Didn't know they'd be here, but clan Ordo is good and honorable. War doesn't seem like Thera's field."

"What happened with you and the sisters?"

The last piece of her cake was consumed quickly.

Craw pauses for a moment, looking off into the distance.

"Oh. Well it's a long story."

"We're still hours away from Bankor. I got time to kill," Nai leaned casually against the wall.

"We got time."

Craw looked down at his feet, regret dancing in his eyes.

"It's the usual story, really. I got drunk and fucked everything up." Craw breathed in deeply before continuing.
"I met Vera at a bar. I guess the reason she hates my guts is... Well the same reason you hated them too. That I, uh... That I left you. Like that. And we immediately got off to a bad start because of that. Later we were on the same job, this was different from the original reason I was on Nar Shaddaa, and things went... They went bad. You can ask Dur about that." He finished pointedly.
"And... Well because of that job going as it did, my then-employer and I met Thera. And I was... I was pretty fucked up, not just because of that but... Yeah. She, uh... She denied me burial. And I guess I'm... Still denied it." He was still looking down, regret oozing out of his voice.
"That's it in a nutshell."

Seemed there was some drama underneath there. First leaving out Durasay and then his tone now. Probably better to ask the Pantoran senator some time later about it.

"Hm." She shrugged, looking away now. "Partly my fault that. The Ordo sisters I mean. I wasn't exactly quiet about why I was angry with our people."

Craw shrugged.
"Don't blame you for that, I did deserve it."

"You did," she agreed as there was no point to lie about it. "Guess you were lucky I didn't catch you sooner, before I started giving up. Might not have been here and talking like this if that happened."

Nai sighed and looked back at the armor.

"Don't have a lapse out there, Craw. It's not going to be a romp on Nar Shaddaa this war..."

Craw nodded, his face serious.
"I won't. I'll... I'll keep it together. Trust me."

"I already am." She was as serious as could be too.