Rebirth For Salrtban

With the order finally placed and the slip now tucked away in his coat pocket, Rrakkt realized that he now had some time to kill. Elekav seemed to also notice it as well. It would be a few hours before they would even need to think about heading back to the ship. Scratching his chin at her question, he made a sound of thinking for a second or two as he looked around the market.

"Hmm...well, I suppose we could walk around an explore. That or we just head back to the ship and hang out there for awhile. I'm fine with either option so if there is something you'd like to do we can do that as well."
He said with a grin.
 
He was asking her to make a decision. She barely had any say in her life for so ling that given such a simple choice was staggering. Yet it was an important, if small step for her. Choosing her own destiny was all about simple steps. Elekav could have asked him to choose, but she wanted to have her decision, even if she didn't know what it was.

"I have to admit this place intimidates me a bit, but we are going to be on the ship for some time, aren't we. I think I would like to look around some with you." As long as he stayed with her she was sure she would be okay. She looked up at Rrakkt, still a little nervous, but mostly hopeful.
 
"Alright then, we can explore the market for a bit while we wait." He said with a grin before tugging her along towards the market.

Leaving the area for ship supplies, they entered the market area once more for the more civilian related purchases. There were plenty of stands that were filled with jewels and clothing, some even just had scarves for sale. Rrakkt took his time looking over the stands and such while they walked, his hand still holding onto her's gently. He didn't seemed to notice or care that they were still touching, mostly because he wasn't thinking much of it. In all honestly, feeling her hand in his felt...nice. After all, he lost her once, he'd rather not lose his friend again any time soon.
 
They wandered the market area aimlessly, more an excuse to walk around then anything else. Rrakkt obviously wasn't in need of any further purchases and Elekav had more then she needed she felt. Still the act of browsing was nice, especially with him.

There was another purpose the wandering served. It was a relatively safe place even if it was chaotic, and it gave Elekav a chance to be normal around people, even if in a place like this being normal meant little more then not worrying too much what anyone else was doing. She held Rrakkt's hand with ease, though when an alien came too close or they saw an argument or other small things that caused her a moments alarm she would squeeze his hand, reassuring herself he was there and looking up at him. He was so kind and she was so glad he was there with here.

And so they kept walking, up and down the levels looking at both the mundane and the bizarre until it was time to get back to the ship.
 
After wandering the market for the good part of two hours, Rrakkt started to lead the way back to the ship. However, it should be noticed that Rrakkt gave into his large stomach and bought a small snack for the small walk back. Of course, he also offered up to Elekav as well, that was what any proper gentleman would do after all. When they did get back to the ship though, it seemed that there shipment was just getting there as well. It was rather large but certainly no issue for the transport car that was carrying it all for the drive. Pausing a moment, he turned to Elekav and motioned to the ship.

"Hey, feel free to head inside, I'll just be here getting the shipment onto the ship, alright?"
He said kindly to her.
 
Elekav was honestly surprised. It sure seemed like a lot of supplies, but she had nothing to back that up with. She supposed it would be a while before they came upon another station. Looking away from the transport car she looked up at Rrakkt and nodded. "Alright," she said in agreement and started into the ship.

Once inside she wondered if she should have stayed, but there was nothing she could have done so it was best to get out of the way. Going down the corridor she finally arrived in her room. The thought still brought a smile to her face. More still needed to be done, but it was her own private space. It was a wonder for her.

While the day had not been physically demanding at all, Elekav found herself yawning. There had been so many new things for her to see and experience that it might has well have been a day of intense labor. She looked at the package of clothing that still needed to be put away, but decided it wouldn't hurt to sit for a moment. Sitting in a corner she leaned back and thought about everyone that had happened. It was still like a dream to her and she smiled closing her eyes for just a moment, falling asleep.
 
Rrakkt didn't have any problems getting the supplies onto the ship. He simply just handed his ticket over to the delivery man and had him load it up into the storage area. It took awhile to do it though, there was a lot of supplies. Though, they would also be in space for awhile and it might be a long time before they would have another chance to gather supplies at a space station. Once it was done though he tipped the guy before heading back into the ship.

He wandered around for a small bit, seeing if Elekav was anywhere in the halls. He did pause at her room to see if she was there, and found her curled up in a corner sleeping. He had to fight the urge to laugh as she rested peacefully there, her bags near the closet. He watched her for a moment before he moved over to her quietly and picked her up, cradling her in his arms and carrying her off towards his room. He figured that she'd rather be sleeping somewhere quiet. Also, this would allow him to get her bed put together without waking her up.
 
Elekav did not wake as Rrakkt picked her up, though the little sigh that escaped her lips. When he placed her in his bed she snuggled into the pillow, but still did not seem to wake. She was safe, and so she didn't need to wake. A safety made not just from her freedom, but by who was with her.

At some point Elekav awoke. She was a bit confused by where she was. It was quiet and dark, but also comfortable. Absently she hugged the pillow she was resting on and inhaled. "Rrakkt."

Once more she was in Rrakkt's bed, how she got there she wasn't quite sure, but as she sat up she smiled, sure that her friend had a hand in it. She felt rested and she wanted to thank him. Wandering out of the room she played with the folds of her skirt as she walked. She needed to put her new dress away. Actually she needed to put everything away. Using the comm system she was able to find Rrakkt, at her room. "Um, how long was I asleep?"
 
Rrakkt had just finished the bed and was currently working on getting some sheets and pillows on it, along with a blanket. After all, if she would be sleeping in her room she should have everything to make her nice and comfortable. When he heard her voice in the doorway he turned with a pillow in hand, just about to finish making the bed. He smiled at her and chuckled lightly before he tossed the pillow onto the bed and moved over to her.

"A few hours, not too long. I just got us out of dock and we've been flying since. Also made your bed so feel free to continue to sleep here for the rest of the trip."
He joked lighly.
 
Walking over she looked at Rrakkt, then lightly sat on the bed. It was comfortable of course. The small little smile she had been giving out last a bit longer as she looked up at Rrakkt again. "I suppose you want your bed back after this," she was able to tell he was joking, something she might not have been able to had she not been as relaxed as she was.

"Thank you by the way. I didn't expect to fall asleep, and definitely not to find you have finished setting up my room. I wish I could express how much this means to, that you...." Elekav frowned slightly. She wanted to show she was genuinely grateful, and felt upset she was unable to. All she wanted to do was talk with him.
 
"Well, I was hoping." He said with a small grin as he watched her check out the bed. "However I am not to upset, you needed to sleep in a bed much more than I did.

He blinked a bit as he noticed the frown on her face. He was confused for a moment as to why he was like that but as soon as she spoke he seemed to nod his head knowingly. After all, she didn't seem to be that good with expressing her feelings so it was no surprise that she was having issues of some kind.

"Look, don't worry about it too much. Just relax and get comfortable. You don't need to thank me, I'm sure you would have done the same to me if I had been in that situation."
 
"Of course I would have. You're one of my dearest friends" The conviction in her voice as Elekav looked up at him spoke of not only her sense of loyalty, but also to the fact that Rrakkt never had vanished from her mind thos dark decades. If fact her memories of life how it was helped keep her going in some of the worse situations. "It just use to be so easy. Of course we were also children back then."

Elekav was conflicted. She wanted to talk to Rrakkt, wanted to try to share with him, but not her past. She did not want to share those years of slavery. They were bitter, and saddening and she didn't want to relive them, let alone have Rrakkt suffer the telling. Yet she wanted to know more about him, the adult he had become. She was curious, but had no idea how to express that, let alone not seem selfish. "What do you tend to do while you're flying between shipments?"
 
"Of course it is easier to talk as a child, we don't have that little voice in our minds that keeps nagging at us if we are saying something appropriate." He said simply as he moved over to her and took a seat next to her on the bed.

He could tell she was torn in a away, though she did not so many emotions she did some expression in her face whenever she was trying to speak with him. Years of slavery seemed to be very unforgiving to her in that department. He'd be patient though, everyone needed time to adjust to new surroundings and situations. When she asked about what he did between jobs though, he didn't really have much to say.

"Not much, just stay on the ship, though I'll stop at a station to fill up on supplies if need be. Usually though, it is just one job to another."
 
"That sounds... lonely," she said to him, glad that he chose to sit down beside her. Elekav moved so she was facing him. It seemed to her that perhaps he wasn't so use to having someone around, which was surprising since he seemed so comfortable and relaxed. She didn't think his confidence was faked, but it was odd none the less to her that all he had to look forward to was the next job.

"Can I ask... Why did you choose to do this? Go into shipping." After all there had to be a reason. Their people were scattered but he seemed to have scattered himself willingly, or maybe he hadn't. She hoped he would tell her so that she could understand.
 
Elekav's next question was hard to answer, not because he did not know the answer but because it brought back memories that not even he wanted to remember. However, if they were being honest and truthful then he had no right to lie to her. His expression didn't change much, he didn't have to think about answering her. However, his tone changed to something a bit deeper, one that showed he was thinking of long ago.

"It is what my parents did...However, I didn't join because of the family business. Ships...are expensive. To start out they had to sell the ship we left in and use that money to by a traveling shipping vessel. However, the value of the first ship wasn't much so they had to borrow money from a man of less...desirable tastes. In the end, even with all the work they were getting and money they were making, it wasn't fast enough to please that greedy man's love for money. So they had a choice, sell me into slavery and pay me off with that money...or have me work on his shipping vessel's and work until the debt was paid. It wasn't a choice, it was a thoughtless decision. We eventually paid him off, though by then I was pretty big and old enough to be on my own...So I parted ways with my parents and got my own ship. It's all I knew how to do..."

When he finished talking he smiled a bit, remembering the last payment they had to make to that man and when he had joined the shipping guild on a lively shipping planet to get a discount on his first ship and get a payment plan. Though it wasn't the best experience to have it made him the tall strong man that he was today, and for that he was grateful for certainly the child back then would have never had the heart to face off with slave owners and buy one of his own kind into freedom.
 
Elekav tilted her head, hesitantly she moved her hand, pausing once more before setting it atop his. "You were very lucky. It is good that you know a good and important trade."Keeping her hand where it sat wasn't absentmindedness, she wouldn't have been able to, but she knew she had no words for him, and she wanted to show she cared.

​"I do not know if anything I know is very useful. I suppose the evidence will show in time," It wasn't that she was having a moment of low self worth, quite the opposite. She realized she had no notion of how she could help Rrakkt with his job. She hadn't thought any further then that because she couldn't even imagine being anywhere then with him at this time.
 
Rrakkt smiled a little more as she placed her hand on his and looked to her, her words a comfort in a way. He was lucky, or else he could have been in the same place as her and then neither of them would have been free at that moment. He let out a small chuckle when she talked about being helpful. Honestly he did not care if she did anything on the ship or not, but if she wanted to be useful then he wasn't about to turn away help either.

"If you'd like I could teach you something on the ship. There is a lot that you could learn. If you want to help, I'm not about to say no."
He said with a grin as he turned to look at her.
 
"I really would like to be helpful. I think I need to," It was less because she was use to always having a job, being a slave, then it was she wanted to have some self worth, and having useful knowledge was a start. She had no notion that Rrakkt did not judge her worth in such a way, because she did not know how to view herself. She was an ex-slave, in a universe that turned a blind eye once as her people were dying and again when so many of its children were forced into slavery.

Elekav wanted more for herself, more for her people, but she had no notion how that could happen, so in the meantime she just wanted to be more then just Rrakkt's passenger. She wanted to contribute to his success. "Not because I owe you, but because it's better to have many working for the same goal."
 
"I couldn't agree more." He said with a smile before standing up.

Elekav had a point and a good one at that. With more than one person working on the same thing, it would turn out better and faster than before. Also, he could use someone to watch the ship as he slept, he couldn't trust auto pilot for everything after all. Of course, he couldn't expect her to know how to do anything ship related, that required learning quite a bit and most masters wanted to keep their slaves stupid so that escape and survival outside would be less likely.

"It will be a lot of learning, but I think I might have something for you to do if you want to give it a shot."
 
Unsure what Rrakkt had in mind, but willing to try just about anything, Elekav stood as well. "I don't mind. After all, all I have is time to learn, right" This didn't mean she wasn't nervous, because she was. Learning had never been a good or enjoyable experience as a slave. If fact a lot of "teaching" was done upon threat of pain. Electro-whips were the favorite of certain slave masters. Logically Elekav knew that would not happen here, but it didn't make her any less apprehensive.

"Will it be as difficult as learning to ride a smegg?" Elekav tried and succeeded in thinking of something she had learned with Rrakkt. A smegg was a six legged creature that could move extremely quickly. They were menessing looking, but the domesticated ones were actually quite gentle and it wasn't an uncommon creature to gift to a child in a family of modest income. Rrakkt had actually had one for some time before she had finally asked for a ride with him. She had been small and the smegg was very large and snorted a lot which intimidated her to no end. What followed though wa bliss.