02-13-2016, 10:06 AM
It was the dead of the night in the Goron village. Baldur sat at a bar in one of the older, more run down parts of town. That is, at least as run down and seedy as the friendly Goron community could get, which was admittedly not much. Baldur was a regular at this place. He knew the other regulars well and occasionally got free drinks or food from the staff. The place felt like another home sometimes, and now he was in need of something like that. Tonight, he was steadily drinking his favorite alcoholic beverage.
The Goron set his near empty mug on the counter and stared down at it, pondering his situation. How could he possibly tell Darunia and the other leaders of the Goron clan that he had helped the Empire gather valuable intelligence on them? Granted, he didn't know exactly what type of information was on that droid, but if two bounty hunters were willing to fight to the death over it, there was most likely some extreme consequence to it.
He couldn't believe it. A potentially horrible fate awaited his people all because of his own carelessness. Not only that, he didn't even have the strength to step forward and stop the bounty hunter. He wasn't sure whether to be proud or disappointed in himself for not overcoming his basic principles to end the possible Imperial threat. After all, that woman had killed a defenseless opponent right in front of him. Why should she be treated any differently?
Suddenly, a figure slid into the seat beside him. Quick, agile, and slender, they were obviously no Goron. Baldur curiously turned his head to identify the shape he'd seen in his peripheral. What he saw genuinely surprised him. The bounty hunter had come back. Brooke was sitting right there beside him. He did not extend the warm welcome the Gorons were famous for, nor did he awkwardly stutter like during their first meeting. The only gesture he offered her was a stern and angry glare through his narrowed eyes.
Brooke seemed oblivious, and raised two fingers to the bartender after pointing to Baldur's near empty mug. The Goron bartender went to get another drink to replace Baldur's and a fresh one for Brooke. Only then did Brooke turn and look up at the towering rock creature who showed no gratitude.
"I could have you thrown out of here in a second," Baldur told the feeble girl. Truthfully, that was only the tip of what the horde of Gorons could do to a puny human being, and they both knew it.
"What, do you think you'd need help to do it?" Brooke teased him, touching on the ridiculousness of such a boast. Even if she wasn't walking with a temporary limp, she was easily the underdog in any confrontation in this place.
Baldur grunted. He wasn't amused. "Why are you here?"
"I think you left this behind," Brooke said, reaching into her jacket pocket.
Baldur watched as Brooke produced that same tablet from before. His eyes widened as he thought of how dangerous one tiny electronic device could be. Brooke calmly sat the device down on the bar between the two of them, then gently pulled her hand away so it sat unprotected.
After spending the whole night regretting not acting when he should have, Baldur didn't hesitate. He balled the closest fist to it and lightly pounded downwards onto the device. It was barely a tap coming from him, but his immense weight and strength against one thin little device immediately shattered it into tiny, unrecognizable pieces. Baldur moved his hand to confirm the device's destruction, then let out quite possibly the largest sigh of relief he had ever exhaled.
"What was on it?" Baldur asked after a moment of silence, watching as the bartender briefly came by to set their drinks down.
"I don't know," Brooke admitted. "Could have been anything. I just couldn't stand to see you walking out of there like a kicked puppy."
"Probably important, to cause a battle like that," Baldur theorized as he grabbed his drink.
"You'd be surprised what a scavenger will fight over," Brooke replied took hold of her mug, as well.
Baldur pondered that. He'd never once considered having to fight for a living and take whatever job came by. Everything was pretty well provided and responsibilities divided amongst the Gorons. Perhaps he'd been somewhat rash and quick to judge. It was easier to think clearly, now that the device was destroyed and the information was lost. It didn't matter if it was intelligence on the Goron village or a geographic study on the volcanic patterns of the Ashen Steppes. The Empire wasn't getting it, and the chances that he had doomed his own people had dropped to zero.
That was enough for him, so he smiled as he raised his drink. Brooke raised hers and they clinked the edges together before they both took a large gulp of their drink, in celebration of the peace they'd made with each other. Baldur smiled as he slammed the mug down, but Brooke immediately hunched over, coughing and gagging.
"This is literally mud," Brooke finally managed to say after managing to get herself under control. She paused, and swished a little bit of the drink still in her mouth around. "...and vodka?"
Baldur suddenly let out a booming laugh. If he didn't feel vindicated before, he certainly did now. Just to rub it in he took another large swig of his own drink to finish it off.
"We're Gorons!" Baldur confidently announced, accidentally loud enough to get a few half hearted cheers from other parts of bar. "We eat rocks. What do you think we drink?"
Brooke paused and wondered. That simultaneously made perfect sense and zero sense. She'd have an aneurysm if she mentally debated the logic of that, though, so she just discarded the thought and politely pushed the drink over to Baldur. Her Goron friend quickly grabbed it and began to make short work of that one, as well.
"You know, I came here for more than just that," Brooke said, gesturing to the destroyed tablet.
Baldur paused, and looked to her curiously. "Oh?"
"I would have been dead today, if not for you," Brooke explained. "I've gotten out of some pretty bad situations, but Davin had me dead to rights in that cavern."
"You put up a pretty good fight," Baldur complimented her briefly, but allowed her to continue.
"Come on. If that Onix made it over to me, that would have been the end of it," Brooke waved her hand dismissively as she brushed off Baldur's praise. "But you enjoyed it. You loved every second of it. You've been yearning for adventure and a real challenge like that."
Baldur said nothing this time, and instead waited for Brooke to continue.
"Why don't you come with me? Be my partner," Brooke finally offered. "Travel the Omniverse with me. I've got the brains, you've got the brawn. We would be unstoppable."
"Leave the Gorons?" Baldur felt his heart race, and his voice catch in his throat. "For what? You said it yourself, you're a scavenger trying to make a living."
"And you love the sound of that," Brooke replied. "You want to see all this incredible place has to offer, not just more volcanoes and ash storms. You want to see the oceans of the Vasty Deep, the forests of the Tangled Green, Coruscant and Camelot's incredible civilizations."
Baldur looked at the empty mug again. She was right, but to leave everything behind for the guarantee of nothing but adventure was incredibly foolish. He had a place here. On the flip side, he didn't like his place. Tomorrow he would fight the same dragon spawn and toil over menial labor. Brooke, meanwhile, could be in any of those locations she had just described.
Brooke leaned in a little closer. "People wait for the call to adventure all their lives. If they miss it, they regret it until they die."
Baldur looked from the mug to the girl, his eyes showing his inner turmoil.
"This is the call, Baldur. You can do so much more than this," Brooke implored him even further.
Baldur nodded, slow and short at first but it became more confident. She was right, after all. He could do more than this. He'd dreamed of seeing more of the Omniverse but had no means or knowledge to do so until now. He needed her, she needed him. That was the cornerstone of any good partnership, and if they could look after each other, they might both do alright out there. There was one catch, however.
"I'm not an assassin or a murderer," Baldur suddenly announced. "I won't forget who I am out there."
"I wouldn't ask you to," Brooke replied with a wink. "Trust me, I'm not either, usually. Sometimes you get pushed past your limit, though."
"Fair enough..." Baldur hesitated for a moment, but then smiled as he finished the sentence. "Partner."
Brooke smiled widely as she held up a curled fist, and Baldur happily bumped fists with her. Of course, the human girl immediately shook her hand from the impact. She'd work on reeling in her new teammate's strength later. For now, she was happy to have a friend and companion. In a world full of backstabbers, she was thrilled to have a dependable ally. And what a teammate he would be. It seemed so simple to mix street smarts with brute force like this. Together they could take on anything. She could hardly wait.
Just a girl and a Goron against the world.
The Goron set his near empty mug on the counter and stared down at it, pondering his situation. How could he possibly tell Darunia and the other leaders of the Goron clan that he had helped the Empire gather valuable intelligence on them? Granted, he didn't know exactly what type of information was on that droid, but if two bounty hunters were willing to fight to the death over it, there was most likely some extreme consequence to it.
He couldn't believe it. A potentially horrible fate awaited his people all because of his own carelessness. Not only that, he didn't even have the strength to step forward and stop the bounty hunter. He wasn't sure whether to be proud or disappointed in himself for not overcoming his basic principles to end the possible Imperial threat. After all, that woman had killed a defenseless opponent right in front of him. Why should she be treated any differently?
Suddenly, a figure slid into the seat beside him. Quick, agile, and slender, they were obviously no Goron. Baldur curiously turned his head to identify the shape he'd seen in his peripheral. What he saw genuinely surprised him. The bounty hunter had come back. Brooke was sitting right there beside him. He did not extend the warm welcome the Gorons were famous for, nor did he awkwardly stutter like during their first meeting. The only gesture he offered her was a stern and angry glare through his narrowed eyes.
Brooke seemed oblivious, and raised two fingers to the bartender after pointing to Baldur's near empty mug. The Goron bartender went to get another drink to replace Baldur's and a fresh one for Brooke. Only then did Brooke turn and look up at the towering rock creature who showed no gratitude.
"I could have you thrown out of here in a second," Baldur told the feeble girl. Truthfully, that was only the tip of what the horde of Gorons could do to a puny human being, and they both knew it.
"What, do you think you'd need help to do it?" Brooke teased him, touching on the ridiculousness of such a boast. Even if she wasn't walking with a temporary limp, she was easily the underdog in any confrontation in this place.
Baldur grunted. He wasn't amused. "Why are you here?"
"I think you left this behind," Brooke said, reaching into her jacket pocket.
Baldur watched as Brooke produced that same tablet from before. His eyes widened as he thought of how dangerous one tiny electronic device could be. Brooke calmly sat the device down on the bar between the two of them, then gently pulled her hand away so it sat unprotected.
After spending the whole night regretting not acting when he should have, Baldur didn't hesitate. He balled the closest fist to it and lightly pounded downwards onto the device. It was barely a tap coming from him, but his immense weight and strength against one thin little device immediately shattered it into tiny, unrecognizable pieces. Baldur moved his hand to confirm the device's destruction, then let out quite possibly the largest sigh of relief he had ever exhaled.
"What was on it?" Baldur asked after a moment of silence, watching as the bartender briefly came by to set their drinks down.
"I don't know," Brooke admitted. "Could have been anything. I just couldn't stand to see you walking out of there like a kicked puppy."
"Probably important, to cause a battle like that," Baldur theorized as he grabbed his drink.
"You'd be surprised what a scavenger will fight over," Brooke replied took hold of her mug, as well.
Baldur pondered that. He'd never once considered having to fight for a living and take whatever job came by. Everything was pretty well provided and responsibilities divided amongst the Gorons. Perhaps he'd been somewhat rash and quick to judge. It was easier to think clearly, now that the device was destroyed and the information was lost. It didn't matter if it was intelligence on the Goron village or a geographic study on the volcanic patterns of the Ashen Steppes. The Empire wasn't getting it, and the chances that he had doomed his own people had dropped to zero.
That was enough for him, so he smiled as he raised his drink. Brooke raised hers and they clinked the edges together before they both took a large gulp of their drink, in celebration of the peace they'd made with each other. Baldur smiled as he slammed the mug down, but Brooke immediately hunched over, coughing and gagging.
"This is literally mud," Brooke finally managed to say after managing to get herself under control. She paused, and swished a little bit of the drink still in her mouth around. "...and vodka?"
Baldur suddenly let out a booming laugh. If he didn't feel vindicated before, he certainly did now. Just to rub it in he took another large swig of his own drink to finish it off.
"We're Gorons!" Baldur confidently announced, accidentally loud enough to get a few half hearted cheers from other parts of bar. "We eat rocks. What do you think we drink?"
Brooke paused and wondered. That simultaneously made perfect sense and zero sense. She'd have an aneurysm if she mentally debated the logic of that, though, so she just discarded the thought and politely pushed the drink over to Baldur. Her Goron friend quickly grabbed it and began to make short work of that one, as well.
"You know, I came here for more than just that," Brooke said, gesturing to the destroyed tablet.
Baldur paused, and looked to her curiously. "Oh?"
"I would have been dead today, if not for you," Brooke explained. "I've gotten out of some pretty bad situations, but Davin had me dead to rights in that cavern."
"You put up a pretty good fight," Baldur complimented her briefly, but allowed her to continue.
"Come on. If that Onix made it over to me, that would have been the end of it," Brooke waved her hand dismissively as she brushed off Baldur's praise. "But you enjoyed it. You loved every second of it. You've been yearning for adventure and a real challenge like that."
Baldur said nothing this time, and instead waited for Brooke to continue.
"Why don't you come with me? Be my partner," Brooke finally offered. "Travel the Omniverse with me. I've got the brains, you've got the brawn. We would be unstoppable."
"Leave the Gorons?" Baldur felt his heart race, and his voice catch in his throat. "For what? You said it yourself, you're a scavenger trying to make a living."
"And you love the sound of that," Brooke replied. "You want to see all this incredible place has to offer, not just more volcanoes and ash storms. You want to see the oceans of the Vasty Deep, the forests of the Tangled Green, Coruscant and Camelot's incredible civilizations."
Baldur looked at the empty mug again. She was right, but to leave everything behind for the guarantee of nothing but adventure was incredibly foolish. He had a place here. On the flip side, he didn't like his place. Tomorrow he would fight the same dragon spawn and toil over menial labor. Brooke, meanwhile, could be in any of those locations she had just described.
Brooke leaned in a little closer. "People wait for the call to adventure all their lives. If they miss it, they regret it until they die."
Baldur looked from the mug to the girl, his eyes showing his inner turmoil.
"This is the call, Baldur. You can do so much more than this," Brooke implored him even further.
Baldur nodded, slow and short at first but it became more confident. She was right, after all. He could do more than this. He'd dreamed of seeing more of the Omniverse but had no means or knowledge to do so until now. He needed her, she needed him. That was the cornerstone of any good partnership, and if they could look after each other, they might both do alright out there. There was one catch, however.
"I'm not an assassin or a murderer," Baldur suddenly announced. "I won't forget who I am out there."
"I wouldn't ask you to," Brooke replied with a wink. "Trust me, I'm not either, usually. Sometimes you get pushed past your limit, though."
"Fair enough..." Baldur hesitated for a moment, but then smiled as he finished the sentence. "Partner."
Brooke smiled widely as she held up a curled fist, and Baldur happily bumped fists with her. Of course, the human girl immediately shook her hand from the impact. She'd work on reeling in her new teammate's strength later. For now, she was happy to have a friend and companion. In a world full of backstabbers, she was thrilled to have a dependable ally. And what a teammate he would be. It seemed so simple to mix street smarts with brute force like this. Together they could take on anything. She could hardly wait.
Just a girl and a Goron against the world.