UN: Senth; Video

[sergeant_slick]

[Hi everybody, it's your friendly neighborhood clone in a boat. He's on candle watch.]

Hey. Boredom's chewing holes in my brain right now, so let's play a stupid game I just made up: Just guess my age. Anybody who gets the year right on the first try wins bragging rights. If you get the month right too, you get to be fleet admiral. [That's something you can be for a bunch of dinghies, right?]

Also--anybody got any paint? Bonus points if it's waterproof. [He's got plans. Completely frivolous plans.]

Comments

UN: Senth; Video

[sergeant_slick]

[Oof.] Good guess, but you overshot it. Apparently I've been fooling you all into thinking I'm mature.

[bearshermark]

You're rather sensible, as I recall. Focused, with your priorities in order. You look the part as well.

[sergeant_slick]

I mean.

The last time we talked was because I set my face on fire, but sure, I won't argue that hard over compliments.

And okay--I do look older than I am. Want another guess?

[bearshermark]

[He laughs, having forgotten about that until mentioning]

Hm.. 24.

[sergeant_slick]

[There we go!] Remind me to tell you how I helped un-kidnap a child back before the revolt. That one was an even worse idea, but it worked.

Getting closer! Still too old, though. Try again.

[bearshermark]

[A sigh, pondering. Surely Slick is older than himself- and by a few years, at least. A handful, likely]

22.

[sergeant_slick]

Nah. Take a bigger step down than that. [It'd be a really decent guess, if it wasn't, y'know, running off the wrong assumptions.]

[bearshermark]

You aren't younger than twenty.

[He sounds very certain of this, like he might even argue about it for no clear reason]

[sergeant_slick]

I am definitely younger than twenty. [And he looks cheerfully ready for how much this is about to raise heck]

[bearshermark]

[What even]

But you look-

[Eleven cuts himself off, aware of two people who don't look anywhere near their actual age, but that was..

Still, he's suspicious now]

Why don't you look your age?

[sergeant_slick]

Because the Republic's full of impatient cheapskates. [And maybe the Kaminoans got bored of handling longer commissions, who knows.]

[bearshermark]

Impatient- how does that even work.

[How does one just- get impatient with aging and then skip it?]

If that's what they're doing, then that's- that's awful.

[sergeant_slick]

[He shrugs.] If I knew, I'd be three hundred years old. [And yeah, he was angry about it, but occasionally it was just cathartic to just lean into the dark humor for a bit.]

You want another guess, or should I just tell you?

[bearshermark]

[He sighs, still hardly able to believe it. Remembers vaguely that Slick mentioned something about cloned brothers. Goddess, how terrible was all of that..? It was too dark to comprehend at length]

May as well tell me.

[sergeant_slick]

Ten years, five months. We run at double speed. [In and out in half the time. Efficient.]

Sorry. Looks like you're not gonna be fleet admiral here.

[bearshermark]

[He'd known he wouldn't like the answer no matter what, but-]

Ten..? [It's still hard to wrap his head around] But you don't-

[Well of course he doesn't. Eleven finds himself quite suddenly furious on Slick's behalf]

How despicable. How dare they- [A hard huff of air, quietly grinding his teeth until finally, he breathes through the rest of his agitation]

..I'm sorry that happened to you. You deserve better.

[sergeant_slick]

It happened, can't change it. The rest I can try, once we get off this rock.

[He's trying to sound casual, but honestly... he hadn't really thought this through. If he had, he'd have remembered there were some nice people here, who actually understood this was weird and horrible.]

...So, me setting a Jedi on fire makes more sense now, right?

[bearshermark]

Hm..

[There isn't anything for it, though he wishes there were]

I wouldn't judge anyone too harshly for that, no matter their age. We're all inexperienced with something or other. Well enough that you only harmed yourself- and not irreparably- in the end.

[sergeant_slick]

Huh? [Did he not mention this bit at the time or something?] Oh, no, I didn't just hurt myself, I definitely set General Skywalker on fire with that one too. My only regret is that I didn't set more of him on fire before he disappeared off to somewhere. [Hopefully Taravast got him, somehow.]

[bearshermark]

Ah. My memory of things isn't what it was before- or after- the beacon.

[Which makes him sound unusually old, but that's Time shenanigans for you]

I remember you said he was a Jedi, and some notions of warning I've heard from both you and Arche about them. Has he made for any problems since?

[sergeant_slick]

It's all good, mate. Sometimes it's like that. [Though he's thinking less beacons, more traumatic brain injury, but--same difference.]

I haven't seen him at all. Don't know what happened. The closest we got was an argument over the comms a few months ago now. [And a Jedi disappearing didn't make him feel safe, but.] It's for the best he's not here anymore.

[bearshermark]

Hm. Well I'd hope you've had more practice with your magic since then at least.