I go to Steal From Them to Give to Me.

[Ush]

Ryloss was afraid he'd screwed it all up when he'd gone on his little rant, but then she smiled. That made Ryloss strangely happy. He could see it was forced, but he still couldn't help himself releasing a joyful blast of pheromones and give a twitching grin. He shrugged when she talked about maybe joining the Jedi, but didn't speak. His belief that she had cybernetics was indeed confirmed by how easily the sword went onto her back. He began to follow her outside. He grinned at Hiro's comment he didn't really understand. Whoever made that voice modulator needed a smack or two, although maybe it was just the fact he had just stepped out into the worst little cradle of anger and hate he had ever experienced getting to him. He began to shut of his emotional ports, this including the one to Matayn. He'd end up snapping and eating the brain's of cute little bantha babies if he didn't.
On top of that he now had to look pissed off. If he didn't pretty much every mugger on the godforsaken rock would flock to them like a fly to week old food that had been sprayed with sweeteners and left outside.
"Does it cost people to act nice once in a ****ing blue moon? They don't even have to ****ing do anything, just smile and not leer like their first and only desire is to gut you and steal all your money..."
He mumbled this, although loud enough for the two near him to hear. He was then immediately forced to glare down a human who had just stepped away from the wall at the other end of the street and uncrossed his arms. Ryloss then realized he was the target. He looked unarmed. So he stood to his full height (considerably taller than several years ago, spending years with no one but a Sith Pureblood as your only physical contact with people followed by another few months of training to kill the person that killed her, followed by one the worst ass kicking he'd ever received and a long period of time spent looking for ways to make a five-foot long weapon to be used to kill a three-meter tall Force Sensitive eater tends to do that to a person) and proceeded to slip his lightsaber to his belt, using sleight of hand to make sure that Matayn didn't see it (Hiro would hopefully understand). He was so engrossed in this that he mostly missed Hiro's comments.
"Hmm? What? Oh, yes, friends... Well, I actually have a piss-poor amount of them left and two of them are in the Jedi so I don't get to see them much, so yes, I'll be anyone's friend, really."
Again, he thought about his statement.
"Provided they don't try to kill me."
He then realized how offensive that sounded. He sighed, but didn't loosen up.
"Sorry. Best way to get around Nar Shadaa is to walk quickly and look pissed off. I'm focused on looking like someone the muggers aren't going to mess around with, so sorry for not really paying attention."
He then went back to glaring and looking annoyed. People stopped looking at them like a hunk of meat presented to a hungry dog after three-weeks of temptation.

 

[Black Noise]

Matayn closed up almost immediately when Ryloss spoke. Oh there was very little physical difference, Ryloss would likely miss it, but Hiro might not. Her free hand moved up and gripped her other side, a clear sign of an insecure person trying to secure themselves. Listening to Ryloss, Matayn began leading the two down the street, headed towards the starport. She had no real home, so why stay on Nar Shaddaa any longer than she had to?

Matayn was grateful for Hiro's words, they were far more comforting and kind now that she had started to open up to him. But it was Ryloss's speech that made her slightly confused enough to start thinking for a moment. She could feel the change in his emotions, like he was suddenly filled with anger and hate for no visible reason.

Tapping her side, a nervous habit, Matayn spoke.
"I have, never done that, and of all my time here I have not once been, er- confronted. Ry, what is wrong?"
While Matayn had begun to shut up herself emotionally, naturally attempting to resist hormone changes now, she was still concerned for Ryloss. After all, was that not how friends treated each other? With concern for each other's well being?

 

[Chairdor]

Hiro listened to Ryloss's mumbling, his tonal inflection and choice of vocabulary a clear indication of bitterness, the stimuli that caused this sudden shift of optimism was unclear to the droid, as any data points he had previously collected on the Zeltron pointed to a glass half full type, albeit one who realized the glass was twice as big as it needed to be. Looking about the scum-ridden streets Hiro noted the haunting malaise that rested upon these people. Everything he was gathering on Nar Shadaa bespoke a place of horrors, not a wild where such life and death danger was expected, but a cruel contained fortress of agony, the walls poverty, the guards each other. It was not a pretty sight to say the least, but unlike Ryloss Hiro refused to comment, speaking without action was a waste of breath, as the robot didn't normally breath, such a waste seemed highly inefficient.

Noting the strangeness in which Ryloss treated a particular individual who glared at the trio, eyes glazed with small signs of stim and spice addiction, made Hiros threat meter slightly tick upward. A small click on a large scale, the highest being imminent destruction from an ion storm, but one that demanded certain precautions. With a deftness and efficiency that all machines are programmed to possess Hiro silently unlatched his slug shooter and readied the hammer in case his quick draw was necessary. Looking down at Matayn who was gripping herself with a new found nervousness, either due to Ryloss's actions or the foreboding nature of the city led Hiro to swiftly enter logical interaction mode with the girl to perhaps calm her down and make her happy. Activating the thermal pads in his left hand to mimic the warmth of flesh the droid offered his hand to Matayn silently, merely letting the warm digits sway close the girl so as to not force the offer upon her, but merely to stand as a gesture of furthering friendship. Hearing her question, Hiro looked to Ryloss, unable to give any facial cue to show that he understood the current state of affairs, Hiro used his right hand to lightly tip his hat in hopes the Zeltron would get the message before saying,

"I'm sure the fella just forgot to get something at the mart we were at, eh Ryloss?"

 

[Ush]

Ryloss shook his head, trying to clear it. He had to think for about five seconds to formulate an answer for Matayn and Hiro. He did, actually forget something. The thought of the Zabraki ale filled his mind. But now was not the time. Now was the time for explanations. He looked at the air with sad eyes.
"No one wants to **** with the girl with the sword as big as she is. Or the man with the blaster. I almost didn't see you were a droid, Hiro, so I doubt a spice-filled inbred will. The unarmed, probably drunk zeltron? You'd be surprised how easy a target that looks."
He stopped trying to keep people away. Let them come. He had thirty centimeters of plasma for them.
"But what they forget is that I am stronger than a human, I can run faster, punch harder and survive more miserable conditions. If my people could pull their heads out of their asses, they could become a galatic power."
He sighed heavily.
"As it is, Zeltros is somewhere you go when you need to forget."
Ryloss looked around.
"And what's wrong? This planet, that is what is wrong. This used to be the homeworld for a race that the Hutts cheated out of life. The whole place still reminds you of that, if you open your eyes as only those attuned to the Force can. The wrongness here... This hate. I can see why things happened here as they did..."
His eyes fell on the beggar that had accosted him earlier.
"Look at that man. He takes advantage of your pity. When you give him credits, his sons and nephews will swarm out of the woodwork and beat you to death. Then they take everything you have. What kind of society allows that? One ruled by creatures so foul that not even the planet they live on can accept them? Or the hearts of men, twisted by greed, as every civilization has borne witness to..."
His eyes were dull, his head far away. He came back with a start. He looked at them sheepishly.
"Sorry. I have my own reasons for hating this place."
He started to walk again, trying to avoid their questions, when something caused him to stop. He had realized something. No one had ever called him 'Ry' before. He looked back at them. Neither of them deserved this.
"I probably owe both of you an explanation. But..."
Once again, he shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I can't bring myself to speak of it."
Even now? No, he had lied to them. He could well have spoken of it. Then why hadn't he? Because he was a coward. Because he was afraid of what they'd think of him. No. He was afraid that they'd hurt him too, wasn't he? So he started walking again, humming under his breath.
"In the streets... Of shame... Where you've lost your dreams in the rain... There's still signs... Of hope... There's a glow... Of light..."
He didn't really remember most of the song. It was short, and it spoke of a hero to the singer being murdered. Oh how Ryloss missed being young. This brought on a grimace. Twenty years old, and already thinking that? Well, that was new. He couldn't wait to see what he'd be thinking at eighty...

 

[Black Noise]

Matayn grimaced herself when Ryloss spoke, his pain reverberating as she knew all too well of what she spoke. Never would she tell, but Matayn had seen even worse than this world even as a young child. Necropolis, her birth world, was far worse than everything Ryloss just described. Yet, something deep down told her that Ryloss had experienced a loss that Matayn could not yet fully understand.

Matayn was young when her first feelings of loss, abuse and betrayal broke her. It was then that she closed herself off to the world, and even now that closing off could be seen and felt. It took every inch of her self-control to not totally recoil back when Hiro's warm fingertips brushed against her hand. Ryloss, on the other hand, was someone who opened themselves up from the beginning, and no matter how strong he was he still experienced his loss. These losses, they were like wounds, left open to fester and become infected.

But wounds could heal, with the right, gentle touches. If Matayn could heal, gently repair her broken pieces, then surely so could Ryloss. Matayn said nothing when Ryloss finished speaking, only keeping quiet. What could she say? Offering comfort was an action nearly totally unfamiliar to Matayn. Other than those beside her now, everyone Matayn had ever known to offer her comfort ended up dead.

But wounds could heal, right? Reaching down as Ryloss hummed, Matayn, slowly and gently, wrapped a few of her fingertips around Hiro's. Even the touch of non-human steel made Matayn wish to pull away, yet she did not. Forcing herself, and not exactly disliking it, Matayn kept her fingertips wrapped in Hiro's as the small group of three stopped outside of the Spaceport.

Looking up at the massive thing, a giant hub of thousands of shuttles and ships lifting off, arriving, refueling and repairing, Matayn could only look on in veiled awe. Sure, she had been through this exact spaceport once before, yet the last time she stepped across these steel steps she never dared to look up. Turning to Ryloss, she finally spoke.
"Perhaps leaving, it would help us both to forget, at least for a bit. Going back when you're ready, ready to face the demons."

 

[Chairdor]

Hiro listened to Ryloss slowly reveal himself to the pair, his anger at this place welling up until it overflowed. While the Droid knew the idea of catharsis as a general rule of psychology was illogical, he could not help but continue to note examples of it in his travels across the galaxy. Perhaps it was a half lie, catharsis, it revealed to one why they were angry and thus they became less angry, but in turn that anger turned to sadness or some other negative biological emotion. Like colors all beings had primary emotions, yet those emotions could be faded, shaded, brightened, and mixed in endless combinations and this Zeltron fellow was quite the chemist in this regard. In the end Hiro could only silently gaze at the fellow with the light saber and hope his outburst would not attract unruly attention, his priority servos focused nearly fully upon the young girls safety. Hiro did not see the irregularity in ignoring his own survival needs in this moment, something about this bodily altruism seemed right to the droid.

As he finished however, Hiro did have one thing to say, "In the deep dark, even the small sparks are blinding," it came forth in a gravely voice unlike one he had heard come from him before, going through his logs he found it was an old audio file, simply labeled X27, hoping the others wouldn't find this too strange, Hiro noted Matayn had grasped his hand, albeit lightly. While he could only mimic the shadow of true flesh and blood touch, the droid was glad in what he could provide though he knew it was not nearly enough for this troubled girl. Looking on he noted they were growing closer to their destination, the space port.

As he listened to her idea he heartily agreed, but didn't provide input, he couldn't help this girl, the only reason she didn't maul him earlier was due to Ryloss's masterful usage of his pheromones. Hiro could make a dull knife sharp, a dirty gun clean, and a bad guy dead, but he could not care for this girl, so he watched silently the ships above soaring into the sky bearing heavy loads of travelers, dreamers, schemers, people who needed to get away or head home. Hiros logical sensor had a slight blip when he thought of all the planets one could travel to and still not everyone had found a home, he supposed that lapse in logic was humorous, but it was not one a laugh track would be appropriate for especially because it was a private calculation. He did however find one thing to say, a phrase his cowboy alter ego took no part in

"It is difficult to fathom the vastness of space, how for every star there are trillions of lives...and there are so very many stars. That's the beautiful thing about space, it's never dark, not truly...there is always light." with that he continued to walk into the spaceport, not quite looking back any longer, his time with this pair grew short and he knew it. Slowly but sure his hand slipped away from Matayn and began to chill. Cold and lifeless, as it should be.

 

[Ush]

"I'm not even sure if it's demons I face anymore, or just ghosts..."
He felt slightly better now, but very tired. Like he wanted to lie down and sleep.
"But either way, leaving would be best."
He looked around. Some people had been watching, but it was more a 'is he going to kill me?' look than 'let's strip his body and leave it to the rats' look. And here, that was a much better reputation to have than on somewhere friendly, like Tatooine or Taris. He looked back at Matayn and Hiro, just in time to see Matayn take Hiro's hand and to hear the droid's comment. If he hadn't been looking at... Well, it seemed to have male programming, so him, he'd have had his lightsaber in hand in an instant.
"Better to light a candle than curse the night, hmm? Well, sometimes you just run out of matches..."
Ryloss looked at the ships taking off. He didn't feel the same wonder that Matayn did.
"How many, do you reckon, have slaves, spice or illegal weapons aboard? No even quality ones, if they're coming here. If they were proper stuff they'd be going to Nal Hutta. You can always find work here, just not good work..."
Ryloss kept walking, still humming his tune. He did, however, answer Hiro a second time, letting his inner pessimist show it's face once again.
"Many of those stars are dying, or have already died and all we're seeing is the light left behind. In billions of years, there will be no light that we can see, and we may have to leave this galaxy. That's one of the theories the Vong showed up here. Their galaxy ran out of light. Of course, they say that there was a war between two droid races that destroyed their galaxy. Both of those races ended up here, too, so maybe the light did fade in that galaxy. We have all these brilliant inventions, and the light from the suns is what we need most. Certain ships can run off the light. My skin is this color because the sun Zeltros orbits is brighter and larger than the one humans evolved on. Light is important, yes, but one day we will run out of it."
He groaned when he realised how long he'd been talking.
"Shit, this place is getting to me. 'Worse than even on ****ing Korriban, and I was having hallucinations there..."
Ryloss sighed.
"Anyway, my ship's near here. Should be enough room for the three of us."

 

[Black Noise]

Matayn watched and listened, her voice and expressions silent as she listened to both Hiro and Ryloss speak, Ryloss more so as he had more to say. She waited, pausing for a moment as she thought more about what the two said. Matayn had experienced much in her life, yet there was still much that she did not know. Even so, she knew that if she went with Ryloss, she would be drawn to stay with him. Two broken people did not make a whole person, if anything they might end up feeding each other. Hiro, he was a machine, more machine than man even for all the emotion he held, he was not good for Matayn and he knew it. That much, the dark haired girl knew.

All about the stars, all about who lived there and what evil they did, Matayn did not know. And all that information could not be held anywhere in all the galaxy in one place. But there was one thing Matayn knew as absolute, and opening her mouth she spoke it quietly.
"The galaxy is evil, almost everyone is evil, and in the end evil might win. But accepting that fate, it's not something I'll do. I'll fight it, I'll fight it forever. No one should suffer, like you or I, no one, and I'll fight so that can be so."

Stepping forward, Matayn moved in front of both Hiro and Ryloss, position herself and her weapon in such a way that would force the group to stop. Looking at them both, Matayn bowed and said.
"Thank you, I owe you both, and I hope someday I can pay you back."
At that, she headed off alone in a different direction of the spaceport, towards a transport where she quietly inquired of the next ship to Onderon. She heard the name, and although she knew nothing of the world, it sounded pleasant to the ear.

This was their parting, and Matayn wondered when, or if, they three would ever meet again.

 

[Chairdor]

The moments with Matayn and Ryloss held such a taut feeling to them, like the pluck of a violin they threatened to be violent and sharp and yet soothed instead. Still as Hiro listened to Ryloss speak and noted the pairs obvious philosophical differences he realized the two had inadvertently put a choice before the broken girl. The droid would have never done that had he realized, but the damage had been done and Matayn was no fool, she saw the sparks, even though they were small and departed from them, both of them.

As she sallied off to some distant world, Hiro attempted to calculate his failure, could he have even saved this girl for all his trying? At what point do the percentages become meaningless oblivion? At any rate the droid watched her go and did not wait on Ryloss. He walked himself and walked alone toward a scruffy band of smugglers, they seemed his type, free flying, free spirited. Free. As he boarded he turned back, he didn't know what he expected to see, but in the end he saw nothing but a sea of faces, none recognized and none recognizing him.

As he sat back on another ship with another crew, he slowly fell into a sort of malaise as his taxed inner workings slowed to cool down. As he entered a state as close to sleep as droids could come, his last thought was how he had effected that young girl, was it for the good or for the bad? Or like a star did his presence radiate nonsensically, it's impact felt yet never fully understood. As his eyes closed the stars twinkled on, then stretched as the ship hit light speed, and left the dark world behind.

 

[Ush]

Ryloss watched her turn and leave. He almost protested, but he knew that would only hurt her. Instead, he spoke to her one last time.
"Evil is evil. There is no greater, lesser or middling. If you over look one type of evil, you overlook it all."
He watcher her go, and when he turned to Hiro the droid was already gone.
"Ah."
He looked around. He puffed out his cheeks and scratched his head. He felt a bit lost. And then, finally he went back to his ship. He thought about them both as he prepared to take off. Hiro was the odder of the two, he realized. But Matayn needed someone to take care of her. Ryloss hoped she found that someone, one day. He really, really wanted that for her.
"Jimmy died... Today... They blew his brains out into the bay..."
That was the towards the end of the song he'd been humming earlier. Jimmy hadn't gotten a happy ending. He wished both of the two people he met today did. He set the ship on course for Coruscant and went back into the main ship. He procured himself a bottle of strong alcohol and poured a drink. A big drink. And then he drank it. Three hours later and he had figured out what the thing about Matayn was. She was the kind of person who would just watch the galaxy burn if it meant she would never be hurt again. Once more, Ryloss wished for her safety. And Hiro had no direction, much like Ryloss himself. He hoped that he found what he was looking for, or at least the path towards it. Ryloss drank to them both, and then he fell asleep.