RPlog:Rules and Regulations

Paul slips into the cargo hold, checking over his shoulder casually as he does so, noting that no one saw him enter and nods with a smile. In his hand is a bag and he tosses it over to land with a soft -whup- onto his stuff. He looks quite content with himself.

Jeralic looks over. "You look happy."

Paul smiles over at Jeralic. "Well, I was tired of being cooped up in here, so I stretched my legs, talked to a few old contacts to see what the lay of the land was like, and did a little shopping." He silently chuckles and adds, "Simple minds, simple pleasures."

Jeralic ahhhhhhs. "This shuttle is small? Never noticed..", he says as he taps a sequence into a panel, examining the readings.

At Paul's return into the ship, Shenner looks quickly up from her datapad, and for an instant, a flare of relief is quite obvious in her features. "Nobody followed yah, did they?" she asks, unconsciously echoing Paul's own greeting to her when she'd returned from her foray out.

Jeralic looks over. "By the way, how much do the two of you enjoy painting?"

Paul glances around at it. "Maybe it's just because it's not my ship ... which is pretty small really." He turns to Shen with a grin. "Of course not," he quips lightly. He then looks back to Jeralic, his brow knitting in bemusement. "Painting?"

Jeralic nods. "Painting. There are some symbols out on the hull I'd like removed, if we're planning on going anywhere."

Paul nods thoughtfully. "It's a good plan, but let's wait and see what Luke is so hot to talk to me about, and whether I'll be getting a lift from you or my new "employer"." He cocks his head to one side. "No point in painting it only to have to paint it over again."

Jeralic says, "Your new employer? You mean I don't get to come along?"

Paul shrugs idly, strolling about the cargo hold. "Dunno yet, have to play this one out by ear ... I need to earn Grathix's trust, and if that means cutting all of my connections to the NR, then so be it." He turns back to Jeralic. "I'll let you know what is going on just as soon as I know myself, promise," he says soberly.

Jeralic wheees. "Goody. I always wanted to come all the way out here for nothing."

Paul shrugs again. "Sorry, but I just asked for a ride of Luke, I didn't know what else he had planned or what he had told anyone else." Paul's eyes crinkle in amusement. "That guy really needs to work on his communication skills ... I seem to recall this happening on the last ship we were on, right Shen?"

Shenner grins lopsidedly at Paul's remark. "Yeah. Maybe it's a Jedi thing or somethin'."

Jeralic chuckles slightly, turning back to his panel

Paul smiles at the girl and sighs melodramatically. "Poor Jessa, guess she's doomed after all then."

Shenner blinks ever so slightly at Paul, and gives him a strange look before hastily covering it with a lopsided grin. "Yah... I guess." She just as hastily lowers her gaze to the datapad again, and its screen.

Paul chuckles to himself for a moment. "As if she didn't have enough to worry about with the training and all ... I wonder if she'll be able to string a sentence together the next time we see her." He sits down casually next to Shen, lolling slightly in the seat, his eyes on the ceiling.

Jeralic chuckles. "So, either of you know anyone looking for an old, retired Admiral in their organization?"

Paul shakes his head from side to side. "Not really ... I've been independent for so long, I'm not really up on who is looking for good help." Then a funny look comes over his face and he sits up and looks at the man more curiously. "However, once I finish thing up with Mandalore, I very may well be looking for a man of your experience actually." His gaze is serious and thoughtful.

Jeralic shrugs. "I'm open to the work. Hell, I don't care what you pay me, I get an okay pension from the New Republic. I just can't stand the thought of sitting planetside for the rest of my life."

Shenner utters a low snort at Jeralic's question, and just mutters, "Don't look at me, pal, I'm just a street rat who plays music." She looks down again, and pokes at the datapad she's holding, frowning critically at its screen.

Paul nods again and replies softly, "Yeah, I can imagine." In a more normal tone he replies, "I will definitely keep you in mind, and if you find that you're still free and I'm still alive, then I may very well be need of your services to help me find something." He turns to Shen at her words and chuckles. Giving her a teasing poke he replies, "Hey, there ain't no street rats in my organization kiddo, yer an official "Assistant Researcher" now."

Jeralic chuckles. Suddenly he swears as the panel he's working at sparks and a small amount of smoke comes out

Shenner jerks her gaze up in surprise at Paul's poke, then half-grins at him... only to start again at the panel's eruption of sparks.

Paul looks up at the sound of sparking, eyeing the panel concernedly. "Ah you need a hand there?"

Jeralic reaches up, flipping a switch. "no, I've got it. Damned sand gets everywhere.."

A chuckle rumbles up from Paul's chest. "Ain't that the truth ... Alx used to complain that it was getting into his data banks, but I think that was his memory short circuiting if you ask me."

Jeralic nods. "Couldn't you guys have found somewhere better to live?"

Shenner suddenly frowns, turning away slightly on the couch. "I don't live here," she snaps.

Paul laughs outright a that comment. "Me? Live here? Are you crazy? No, I'm from Corellia, but the only place I call home is the Bolt." At that, his expression drops yet again, his brow shadowed over with a frown.

Jeralic looks over. "The Bolt your ship?"

Paul looks up slowly, his expression still distracted and fretful. "Yeah ... at least it was the last time I saw it," he murmurs.

Jeralic smiles. "What kinda ship is she?"

Shenner, scowling to herself, flicks Paul a brief uneasy glance, then rises and paces off across the little hold as far away as she can go. She plops down against a wall and continues to type into the datapad, glaring with a now more vehement gaze every so often at what she works on.

Paul cracks a small smile as he thinks about his ship, picturing it in his mind. "It's a terrible name that it has - The Quasar Bolt - but I got it used and it's bad luck to change a ships name. It's a Sardakh Kale-1 - with a few modifications ... fastest thing I've ever flown, and with Alx ..." and his voice cuts off for a moment, "... well, it was a pretty versatile little craft."

Jeralic hmmms. "Nice ship..I still remember my first command, actually.."

Jeralic frowns as his comlink goes off. He pulls it out, turning it on

Paul notices Shen's departure into practically a corner of the ship and he lifts his lanky frame from the seat and ambles over to where she is now sitting. Hunkering down he peers curiously at her datapad. "Whatcha working on?" His hazel eyes look into hers earnestly.

The kid looks up, clearly taken aback that Nighman has followed her. She looks hesitantly up, and mutters in a gruff voice, "Just... tryin' to work on what you showed me."

Paul nods, his head bobbing up and down, making his hair drop into his eyes. Distractedly he brushes it back. "Damn, I gotta get this cut," he murmurs in annoyance. Then returning his attention to Shen he smiles. "So how's it going? Do you have any questions?"

Jeralic blinks, hitting the mute button on his comlink just in time to laugh

Jeralic un-hits the mute button, talking into it again

Jeralic moves to a corner of the room, starting to talk into his comlink quietly

"Well, uh, yeah, actually...." Shenner eyes Paul unsurely as though not quite convinced she's a proper outlet for his attention at the moment, before she turns the datapad to him and shows him what she's been typing: badly organized, and not exactly marvelously spelled, notes about the contents of his medikit. "I was readin' all the labels on the stuff that has 'em, but a couple of the tools..." She sheepishly taps the screen, where she's written a question mark and the addendum 'clamps off bleeding?'.

Jeralic flips a button on the comlink, starting to record.

Paul browses through the list, touching the screen idly here and then and occasionally correcting the spelling. "Okay, well this," he notes, leaning closer to Shen so they can both look at the screen, "is the compressor that I was telling you about, which does clamp off bleeding ... Now this ..." and he reaches down for a moment into the medical kit to pull the instrument, the back of his neck exposed for a vulnerable moment.

Shenner watches Paul as he ferrets into the medikit she'd stowed... or, perhaps more appropriately, watches the way his head bows down. Her gaze stays there at the nape of his neck, as if she finds that a much more fascinating place to put her attention than the datapad screen.

The bowed head raises again, and hazel eyes catch yours with a small smile reflected in them. "This," he repeats, "is to take someone's temperature - just place the tip into the ear opening and you'll get an instant reading." He drops that tool back down into the box with one hand while pointing it out on her list so that she can remove the question mark next to it. "Now this is a bone setter, and like I said, this is something we should probably cover as well."

Shenner takes the datapad back and hunt-and-pecks her way through replacing the question mark with the word 'compressor'. She leaves out one 's'.

Jeralic grins as he looks up. "Hey..Anyone see my datapad?", he asks, looking around

Shenner looks up long enough to shake her head as she pecks out 'bone setter'. Then she looks back at Paul and the tool in question, squinting. "That's for busted bones?"

Jeralic hmmms, poking around the ship. "Ah, here it is! Hey, you guys heard of Detjin at all?"

Paul leans over and adds the "s" and then grins at Shenner. "It's a good thing you're my assistant and not my secretary." At Jeralic's question, he raises his head for a moment and then merely shrugs in reply. He looks back at Shen and then the tool. "Yeah, it's for setting bones." He peers up at Jeralic again and shrugs in response for the second time.

Shenner mutters grumpily, "So I never won any spelling contests..." She shakes her head again to Jeralic, then says to Paul, "Well, uh, so, what's settin' bones?"

Jeralic nods, tapping out a message. "Great. I'll show Ackbar who's ready for retirement."

Paul cocks his head to the left, the swatch of hair dropping over his eyes again. He frowns and blows on it hard, making it flip up into the air for a moment only to settle back over his eyes again. He growls and flips his head to clear it to one side. "When you break a bone, you need to reset it," he explains demonstrating by putting two fingers end to end, then letting them slip apart. "If you leave them like this, they will rip up your ligaments and muscles, not to mention start to possibly knit this way, which could serious impede the ability to use that limb. When you reset bones you pull them apart a little," and he pulls his fingers apart, "and then set them back together end to end," and he rejoins his fingers. "That is of course if you're lucky and it's a clean break."

Jeralic shrugs, putting his datapad away. "Anyways..Talk to you guys later, I need some sleep"

Paul looks up distractedly from his demonstration. "Huh? Sorry, did you want something?"

Shenner glances over at Jeralic again, uncertainly -- perhaps she's not quite sure how to deal with the man yet -- and finally nods. "Okay."

Jeralic nods, slipping into the forward section. As usual, he intends to sleep in front.

Paul stares at the man for a moment and then shrugs, focusing all of his attention back on Shenner.

Shenner doesn't quite watch Jeralic go, though her gaze is pointed in that direction as the formal admiral vanishes off into the cockpit.

A dull triple thud sounds on the hull near the airlock.

Paul stiffens for a moment, frowning and laying a hand on Shen's shoulder. "Stay here, okay?" He rises and heads toward the airlock.

Shenner startles back to Paul, then to the hatch that's just been knocked upon. She glances off to the cockpit to see if that roused Jeralic, but evidently the man's already dropped into slumber.

Paul draws up to the airlock warily and then touching his comlink he murmurs softly into it, "Luke, is that you?"

A very clear, yet electronically filtered voice responds, "It's me Paul. I'm glad you made it."

Paul hits the airlock controls, opening the door to allow the young Jedi in, shutting it just as quickly as he fully enters.

Shenner stays sitting on the acceleration couch, her datapad in one hand, and looks rather more alert and sober now that Luke's present, though she does crack a momentary smile. "Hi..."

Luke strides up the ramp, his cowl slipped over his head. He looks side-long to Paul, "Grathix isn't exactly a gracious host. He's difficult to track down." then looking over at Shenner as he drops the cowl, "I'm even wondering if his invitation to come here wasn't a ruse." he says all of this sans introductions, yet his faint smile broadcasts to all that he is extremely pleased that you both are safe. He sighs audibly looking back to Paul.

Shenner sits up a bit more, as Luke comes in, saying anxiously, "You really think he might have General Solo?"

Paul gives Luke a grin. "Well, nice to see you in one piece," he murmurs contentedly. "Not a good host, huh? Well being that he is Mandalorian and you're not, that isn't all that surprising. As for the ruse of it all, I don't think so ... I found a very interesting lead that makes me think he's probably on the level." The tall Corellian's eyes gleam with a hint of excitement.

Luke answers Shenner first defeatedly, "One of the informants I paid off seems to think so Shen.." he squints faintly at Paul and replies, "What have you found?"

Shenner frowns at both men, now, her brow crinkled deeply just over her eyes. She falls silent, listening, but it's evident that she's not at all pleased.

Paul frowns at the implications of that answer and then leaning back against the bulkhead he gives Luke a shit-eating Corellian grin. "If I'm not mistaken, I've got the only key into Grathix's little crypt of treasures. He can't get to the artifacts without it ... least I don't think he can."

"Well, that will help us.." Luke says moving toward the couch and sitting down. He narrows his gaze on Paul, "..if the artifacts even exist." he shakes his head, "It's not making sense Paul. Grathix invites us here and practically ignores our every attempt at contacting him." he turns to glance at Shenner before continuing, "And he told me he was a VP of a company called Mandal Motors." a thoughtful pause, "My contact tells me he is in charge of a hunter group called the V'ez Tcha."

"He told me about Mandal Motors, yeah," Shenner affirms, but her eyes narrow at the mention of the new name. "Hunter group, you said that before, you mean, they're bounty hunters, doncha?"

Luke nods dramatically, "Yeah. Bounty hunters." he nearly spits out the words. "And he knows who I am.." he adds with a shrug, "I mean.. me being a Jedi and all.. he may be using the artifacts to lure me here. I dunno.. then my contact says they've got someone held captive.. he thinks the man is a Corellian." he pauses once again, turning from Shenner to Paul and breathes out, "It could be Han.. we just don't know. What do you think Paul? What do you think he's trying to do?"

Paul nods somberly. "So Shen told me ... that makes things a little interesting, I have to admit." Frowning, he tilts his head at Luke, "Did Grathix actually invite you ... he didn't invite me, just tempted me on Palahni, so I had planned on just introducing myself to him again as an interested and invaluable employee." The smile grows again, curling the corners of Paul's mouth devilishly. "And if I'm right, and I think I am, then the artifacts are very possibly real ... at least the crypt where they are kept is ... it's just a question of what is rumored to be inside and what actually is." He crosses his arms over his chest, regarding Luke curiously.

Luke replies, "He specifically invited me."

Looking distinctly uneasy as well as angry now, Shenner listens to the two men, frowning.

Paul considers for a moment. "Okay, what we're dealing with here is something of a paradox ... the Mandalorians are an extremely honorable race, with a strong personal code of ethics. I can't say whether Grathix potentially having Han and his approach to you and me have anything in common. It does, however, cast a certain amount of shadow on his position of honor, which I find intriguing." He then shakes his head. "I don't think it much matters one way of the other ... because if that crypt does contain what I think it does, I don't know if I would trust it in anyone's hands, let alone a Mandalorian who has potentially given up his code of honor.... unless that honor just doesn't apply to us outsiders."

Luke sighs, "If the artifacts exist. We'll find them, with or without Grathix's help. Looks like you've done your research Paul." he smiles, "But I don't want anyone endangered because of this. We have to meet with Grathix.." he says distantly while staring at the floor, "I've sent word to him to meet me in the dune sea. I should go there and wait for him." he sighs once again, placing his hands on his knees, "If he is a bounty hunter.. and he's out to get us, or is holding Han... I don't want to meet him on his own turf." again he looks at the floor, speaking as if to himself, "I know that area like the back of my hand. It'll be safe."

Shenner suddenly frowns more tightly, thrusting down the datapad. "Dammit, Luke, not you too!" she bursts out. "I just _had_ this argument with Paul -- you ain't gonna try to make us stay out of this, are you?"

Paul's head rises for a moment and his eyes sharpen. "Luke? Everyone knows you and Han are friends, right? That might explain why he is reluctant to see you now, when he was so eager before." Standing straighter, his hands drop to his hips. "As for the artifacts, I don't know if I can find the crypt without Grathix ... that is the one clue that was never discovered ... but if you think for one minute that I am not in this with you up to the neck, you are sorely mistaken." He takes a step forward, his expression serious and forceful.

Luke turns sharply to Shenner, but his features melt, "Alright.." he breathes out smiling, "You've both got a point." he turns to Paul, "You need something Grathix has in order to find this crypt on Mandalore?"

Paul shrugs, smiling a little at Luke's acquiescence. "I know what the crypt is and how to get into it ... well I will," he adds doubtfully for a moment, but then his expression clears. "I get the feeling that Grathix knows -where- the crypt is, which is the one piece of the puzzle that I don't have."

Luke nods succinctly, "Then lets go to this Hotel he's supposedly at, and meet him. Plain as that. I think we can take care of ourselves, if anything dangerous happens.. still.. I'll have Lando standing by."

Shenner thrusts her chin out, a gesture that might look more imposing if she were not in possession of a rather more delicate chin than she probably likes, as though she'd expected Luke to scold her. When he does not, she relaxes somewhat, but still scowls petulantly, muttering, "Good. Gettin' tired of not helpin'." Then she falls silent again as Paul and Luke speak on, and at last pipes up, "So y'all want me to take you both?"

Paul sighs deeply, and drags a hand through his hair. "Alright, well let's get consensus on how we want to run this - do you want to meet Grathix together as a unified front, or do you want each of us to approach him separately. I warn you, the more upfront we appear, the more likely he is to respect and trust us ... of course, we'll see how much that is worth, won't we?" He look at Shen and grins. "You know the way, you can be our guide."

Shenner bobs her head at Paul's suggested function for her, a sort of 'damn right' nod, and looks to Luke for his opinion on their approach.

Luke nods to Shenner, half turning, "Yeah.. take us all together. Paul's right. If he sees us acting subversively, he may suspect that -we- suspect him of less than honorable motives." he lets out a breath as punctuation, straightening his posture and adding, "We walk in there in broad daylight."

Shenner then asks bluntly, "What're we gonna do if he _does_ have General Solo?"

"We'll consider that if it's true Shen. No use worrying about what we don't know yet." Luke replies calmly.

Paul nods, his expression neutral. "Unified front, alright then," he murmurs to himself. He then cocks his head at Luke again. "Before I go to Mandalore, I'm going to need to make a quick side trip to Corellia."

The youngster starts to nod to Luke -- and then blinks at Paul. "Huh?"

Luke mimics Shenner's response, "Huh?"

Paul let's his hands drop to his sides. "I don't have the keypiece in my possession ... it's on Corellia ... I've got to go collect it before Grathix figures out where it might be and gets it first ... although I doubt that he would be able to find it ... it's in information channels that he probably doesn't check very often."

Still, Paul's expression is somewhat fretful, as if perhaps if Grathix were very diligent ....

Luke stands, "Let's see if Grathix is lying to us first." he says placing a hand on Paul's arm, "After we see him.. I'll know if he's trying to trap us."

Shenner gapes at Paul. "But if you're goin' to Corellia what..." She trails off, the words she doesn't utter obvious in her expression: what is SHE to do, then?

Paul glances down at Shen's outburst and blinks. "I'll need my assistant," he notes somberly to her. "We'll be pressed for time as it is."

Luke moves for the door, "I'll go round up Lando and Winter. We'll meet you two and Jeralic at the Twin Suns Hotel tomorrow." he says, slipping the darkened cowl over his head while absently patting the saber hilt concealed under his cloak. "..and be careful.." he warns.

Shenner seems to need a moment or two to absorb this, before she nods quickly, rapidly, 'sure, great, everything's under control' in her face now. But when she thinks neither of the men are looking at her, she brightens, just a hint, at Paul's calling her his assistant.

Paul nods at Luke. "Alright, we'll meet you there then ... but I don't suggest that we all try to meet with Grathix ... might look too much like we're trying to bully him, which after what Mandalore has been through, I doubt he would respond kindly to that." He pauses and then with an affectionate smile adds, "You watch yer back too Luke."

Shenner promises, "We'll be sharp!"

Luke smiles sheepishly under the hood, "We'll work out logistics when we're all together." he nods to Shen, his smile evident in the shadow of the cloth, then he disappears down the ramp.

Paul sighs slightly at the Jedi, touching his arm lightly where Luke's hand rested only moments before, a thoughtful smile curling his lips.

Shenner blows out a breath, and mutters, "Corellia. Huh."

After Luke has left and the cargo bay doors are closed again, Paul turns around thoughtfully, his eyes excited and happy. He suddenly gives a whoop and grabs Shenner up in a tight hug, spinning her around. Mocking the last cry of most drunks, he crows, "We're goin' to Mandalore!" and then puts her down in front of himself with a chuckle.

Shenner yelps, then bursts out giggling as Paul yanks her up and whirls her about. She grabs at him reflexively to keep from falling, and, once put down, she doesn't quite let go of him, remaining there to brightly gaze up the inches between their faces. "And Corellia!"

The happy expression slips for a second, but recovers quickly. "And Corellia," he mirrors vocally, but his voice is much quieter and more reserved in regards to the planet of his birth.

Shenner, watching Paul's features shift, quirks her head. "What is it?" she asks, searchingly. A half-smile quirks one end of her mouth as she lingers there before her tall companion, arms loosely draped about his waist. "Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the one scared of Corellians?"

At her own words, Shenner smirks a bit, momentarily surprised and then sardonically amused, but that passes as she looks back up to Paul.

Paul peers down at Shenner, a puzzled smile coming over his face. "You suffer from Corelliaphobia? I would never have guessed, since you seem to have no trouble with getting your way with us ... or is it just that I'm a push over?" he teases lightly.

Shenner parries, "Hey, pal, if you had no less than six different Corellians getting you in trouble in the last year, you'd be Corelliphobic, too!" Her smile broadens, but she still stares up at Paul with curiosity lingering in her eyes.

Paul splutters at that the hands resting on Shen's shoulders squeezing lightly. "Six Corellians? Oh my, that -is- impressive. Maybe you should wear a disguise when we land ... I might never see you again as a sea of Corellians rise and swallow you up whole right in front of me." He chuckles and his hands drop from her shoulders, but he doesn't step away. "You and Corellians, me and redheads - each of us equally cursed I think," he murmurs conspiratorially to her.

"Guess we're just mutually damned, yeah," Shen answers, her grin widening. "Can we break the curse?"

Paul tilts his head to one side, considering that for a moment. "Well in certain cultures, there are rituals that can be done to break curses ...." and then he breaks off laughing as one comes to mind and causes him to crack up. "Ahem ... yes, but I can't think of a useful one for our situation, I have to admit," he manages to gasp out between chuckles.

Shenner says blandly, "Well, I guess I could dye my hair...."

Still chuckling, Paul reaches out with one hand to idly touch Shen's hair, running his fingers just over the very top of it in gesture close to a caress, but not quite. "Nyah, I'll just take my chances I think. I like your hair red."

"Yeah?" Her face brightens, subtly modulating the wide grin she's still wearing. Then she chuckles. "Guess I'm doomed to drown in Corellians, if they all see my hair when I'm comin'.... you were the one said I needed a disguise, anyway!" And she pokes your shoulder.

Paul chuckles and shakes his head. "And that was all before you were openly out as being a woman ... if you thought it was bad then, just you wait." He frowns teasingly and murmurs, "Nope, you better not come to Corellia, or you'll be in deep deep ... very deep." He touches the curl in the front, testing the feel of it between two fingers. "If you're serious, I think you'd make a pretty brunette," he notes idly.

Shenner snorts. "Thought the idea of a disguise is to make 'em go away, not call 'em in," she begins, only to blink, double-taking, at your observation. Her face softens again -- and distinctly flushes on the word 'pretty', though she tries to cover it by smirking. "Pretty? You got the right street rat, pal?"

"The point of a disguise is to look like someone other than you are," he notes idly, his hand dropping away from her hair. Frowning slightly he raises a hand to touch one of her cheeks, looking at her delicate features and large green eyes. "Why do you always put yourself down Shen ... you are pretty you know, or don't you?" He frowns a little more at that thought, as if it never occurred to him that she might see herself very differently.

Shenner's smirk falters away, making the girl look strangely vulnerable. "Pretty's dangerous," she mumbles.

Paul's hand drops again and he frowns in confusion. "Dangerous? I guess if you're in a seedy area and you're not careful it can be ..." he murmurs. Being a man, there is obviously some part of him that cannot possibly relate. "Shen, is that why you pretended to be a boy for so long?"

Shenner opens her mouth, then closes it, visibly struggling for words. She turns away from you slightly, blushing, lowering her eyes, and croaking out roughly at last, "S-safer. I-I make a skinny gawk-eyed boy, but i-it's safer, helluva lot safer, and..." She trails off.

His eyes softening at her sudden distress, Paul touches Shen's shoulder again. "Are you sorry now?" he asks curiously. "Would you rather be someone else? Something safer?" He puzzles over that word again. "What would be safe?"

"What I want.... ain't really relevant," Shenner mumbles, not looking up. Her shoulder has tautened, quivering ever so slightly. "I-I wanna claim to be an adult, I-I-I just gotta deal with it, see?"

Paul places his other hand on her shoulder and hunkers down in front of her so that he is the one looking up. "Well, yes, you don't have a whole lot of choice there ... you're a woman, and that is pretty much that ... but what you want -is- relevant ... so, I guess the question comes full circle again ... what do you -want- Shen?"

Shenner stands a little straighter -- perhaps trying to square her shoulders. "Just... just wanna help you on this trip, y'know? Ain't no room for me mopin'."

Paul sighs slightly and gives Shenner's shoulders a squeeze again, before dropping his hands to his knees. "Well, there's a difference between dealing with a problem and bottling it up. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't push you, but if you don't actively deal with this, you're going to find that it's just going to keep building and building until you burst from all the pressure." His head drops down slightly, staring at the floor between then and he pinches he bridge of his nose for a moment before rubbing his eyes with one hand a little tiredly.

Shen watches you settle yourself down, and looks down at you as though perhaps the sudden alteration in your position in her field of vision disconcerts her a little. She says nothing until you finish, then says in a very small voice, "I'm tryin' not to... push you or nothin'."

Misunderstanding her words, Paul looks up at her again, frowning slightly. "No, I mean, I won't push you to talk about it if you don't want to, but just be careful about what you choose to bottle up, okay?" Then he quirks a brow in confusion as her words sink in a little more and he becomes uncertain of exactly what she just said to him, or what it meant.

Shenner swallows hard, standing there looking down at you, and after an effort she says huskily, "I... don't wanna... make you mad..."

That confuses Paul and he blinks at Shen. "Mad? Why would I be mad?"

Shenner considers looking down at a nice safe locale like her own feet, but the path down to them still runs rather close to the man hunkered down before her... and her gaze gets sidetracked by Paul's face. It lingers there, shyly; Paul might see a struggle to answer that very question flicker across her features, and as if she somehow finds an answer to it on her own, she murmurs, "No.... I guess.... that's just me bein' silly..."

Still not understanding, but seeing the opportunity to escape trying to, Paul smirks up at Shen. "Okay, well silly is alright," he offers gamely and then he stands up again and stretches, his muscles having cramped up some from crouching for so long. "So, you'll let me know if you need to talk, right?" he double checks, recalling that they really hadn't resolved much of what they had been talking about. He frowns again, realizing that they hadn't resolved -any- of what they were talking about.

Shenner watches the man rise, and she swallows once, her eyes tracing briefly from his face, down along his jawline and throat, before she finally bobs her head. "Yeah... sure," she murmurs.

Feeling frustrated at the lack of communication, Paul looks about the cargo hold a little desperately and then spots his bag. He strides over to it and in a deliberately bright voice says, "Hey, wanna see what I got while I was in town today?"

As if startled and then grateful for the sudden change of topic, Shenner grins a bit. "Okay...."

Paul grabs the bag and swings it up and onto a seat, he reaches in and replies playful, "Here, catch!" He tosses a number of objects at you, several pieces of clothing and finally, waiting for you to be ready to catch it, a slightly heavy medium to small box.

Shenner yelps, as she's suddenly bombarded. "Hey!" she squeals, then oofs as she awkwardly catches the box.

Paul chuckles softly and plops himself down on the couch, moving the bag over to the floor. He stretches himself out, hooking his ankles together and cupping his hands behind his head comfortably. He watches you with his head turned to the side to do so, a satisfied smirk on his face.

Shenner, buried in assorted articles of clothing, one of which has managed to land on her head, peers over at you, then giggles a bit and sits beside you, settling the box into her lap so she can open it. She shakes her head a little to get the shirt off her head; it falls slightly down to her shoulder as she gets the box open, and peers into it.

The box is a medical box, almost identical to Paul's only in much better shape and better stocked ... all the ingredients are the same, there's just a better quantity of them. As for the clothes scattered about, they seem to consist of three shirts all in the same style - simple but tailored natural fiber shirts with slightly bloused sleeves that button at the wrists and have a short buttoned front collar in shades of rust, forest green, and of all things purple. There is also a simple pair of black breeches.

Shenner releases a soft 'oh' at the contents of the box, and murmurs to herself for a moment or two, identifying things within it as she notices them. Then she looks up, belatedly registering the shirts. "More clothes for you?" she asks.

Paul chuckles at that. "If they're for me, I'm gonna have to lose an awful lot of weight," he teases. "No, the clothes are for you, and as for the medical kit, I figured you should have one of your own ... everyone really should have one handy."

Shenner blinks. "Wait... all this... this is all for me?"

Paul closes his eyes, a contented smile on his face. "Uh huh ... figured it could be, I dunno, your starting salary or something?"

Shenner's gaze flicks down to the medikit, then to the shirts and back again, and she blurts out in surprised wonder, "What... don't tell me... you were shoppin' for me?" The thought seems to inordinately please her.

The girl begins to smile again, still holding the medikit, though now she's reaching for the shirts, too, to look them over; you'd think she'd never gotten gifts before. But then, perhaps, considering her past... perhaps she hasn't.

Paul opens one lazy eye and peers at her. "Well, not just for you," he mumbles. He pulls one hand out from behind and rummages blindly in the bag till he pulls out a battered brown hat with a brim. It certainly isn't a new hat by any angle of the imagination, in fact it is pretty beat up looking, but it still has a good shape, and the wear somehow just makes it look well seasoned. He drops it onto his head with a casual smirk.

Shenner lifts her own head at that, grinningly saying, "Well, I was about to ask..." And she trails off again.

Paul raises one eyebrow. "You like it? Is it me?" He looks up at the brim of the hat. "I guess you could say I bought it sight unseen ... so hopefully it doesn't look ridiculous on me or something ... I have no idea."

Shenner stares at her companion, looking quite thunderstruck, though it must be a pleasant kind of thunderstruck, for a small marveling smile tugs lightly at her mouth, and her eyes have lit up. "Paul, that's... that's _great_," she breathes out.

He opens both eyes and gives her a cheeky grin. "Really? Hmmmm." He looks around the cabin for something sufficiently reflective, but nothing is quite that shiny. "Oh well, never a mirror when you want one," he murmurs unconcernedly.

Shenner just.... stares, apparently enthralled. "It's... great," she repeats, ineloquently for a girl with such a talent for the crafting of word and note into music. "Makes you look real... real..." Then she seems to catch herself, and she smirks a little, then sounds much steadier as she assures you, "It's you."

Paul nods, reassured by her enthusiasm. He reaches with one hand and tips the hat casually forward so that it shelters his eyes from the lights. He tucks his hand behind his head again and yawns, closing his eyes again. "Well, I'm glad it got your stamp of approval, I feel better now ... I paid 10 credits for the hat and 20 for the story that came with it," he murmurs with a soft lazy chuckle.

Soft sounds of movement, and Shen's sudden absence at Paul's side, suggest she's gotten up to put the clothes and the new medikit with the rest of her gear. But then she pads back, and her hand reaches in under the hat's brim to lift it up a moment so she can look under it... and she leans forward to kiss Paul's forehead, shyly, chastely as he's done hers before. "Thank you," she murmurs. "I'll try the new clothes on when I get up, and you tell me the story, okay?"

Paul's eyes flutter open as she lifts the hat, and a small sleepy smiles crosses his lips at her shy kiss. "Sounds like a fair trade," he mumbles sleepily, already partially dreaming, "but only if I get to watch," he adds wickedly, his eyes already closed again.

Shenner finds herself blushing crimson.... but also grinning broadly, standing there gazing down at her drowsing friend. Greatly daring, she lifts a hand again to resettle the hat down to shade his eyes for him... and as she does, finds the hand she's lifted pausing a moment, a hairsbreadth away from touching the plane of his cheek. She swallows; her hand stays there long enough to leave perhaps a dream's impression, nothing more, of its presence, before she straightens again and murmurs gently, "Goodnight, Paul." With that, she pads silently off to the couch she's been using as her own sleeping place. Even then, as she settles down to bed, she can't keep herself from one final look at him. Nor can she keep herself from thinking, _Yep, I really do like that hat!_