A course in BOOM

[Trax]

OOC: So she can school him on every single tech skill except first aid.   Looking for Demolitions actually.  It'll be nice to 'learn' it without being thrown through a wall.

Kellie, if you used a skill during a mission you don't need to specifically train to improve it.

[Keshani]

I know..was more looking for rp aspect of it I guess.

[Trax]

OOC: That's doable, if Kesh asks.

[Keshani]

She was an enigma of sorts. She acted so awkward and unsure of herself when around people in other environments, but when she was in her own element it was as if she stepped into a whole different galaxy and became a whole new person, forgetting about her past and living in the Now. If there were any similarities between Kesh and Mariah, this would be the most likely place to find them.

As she worked with Trax and showed him what she could about demolitions (despite what she said, of course, she wasn't exactly a novice..) there was a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips the whole time, except for when she realized it was there and schooled her expression back into a more solemn one. Her tone was lighter, she was way more confident...she actually wasn't a bad teacher. And she seemed to really enjoy it. The fact that she had Trax's undivided attention probably didn't hurt, either...

If only she could be in her element, in her zone of comfort, all of the time.

But all good things must come to an end...

As they finished up, Kesh's expression turned more serious and she leaned back on her stool, lifting the front two legs off the ground as only a teenage kid could seem to do so well without falling on their rear ends....

Her gaze fell on Trax and she seemed to be lost in thought for a minute. He wasn't currently carrying his pistols, but she could easily imagine them by his side as they had been on the Station. She thought about how insane a shot the man was and her cheeks flushed a bit remembering just how bad a shot she had been by comparison. That made her think of how he had originally shot the power cable from her hands when she had tried to kill Cha'lana right when she had met them, which both brought a small smile to her lips again but almost at the same time made her stomach feel queasy thinking about Cha'lana....

"Hey Trax?" she began, tenatively. When he looked in her direction she took a slow breath before continuing. It was always hard to ask for help for some reason...

"Do you think you could teach me how to shoot better? As kinda a trade of sorts?"

She rushed on before even giving him a chance to speak, setting him up with an "out" as if she expected him to say no before even giving him a chance to answer for himself, "It's okay if you don't want to. I know you have a lot going on and I'm just a kid and all. Just...I want to...not be scared kinda."

She shrugged and looked away waiting for his answer.

[Trax]

Trax watched, listened and questioned, a lot, as Keshani went through everything with him.  He was astounded, Don't really know that much my ass.  But he'd learned a lot, and though his skills were still woefully pathetic in the area of demolitions, at least he was a little less likely to blow himself up now.

He was also happy to see the girl come out of her shell as she focused on the task at hand, and he even caught hints of smiles a few times.  Watching her reminded him of the times when he'd sit back and watch Mariah work.  They were happy memories, but unfortunately they were followed by regret for not being there for her.

When they were done, the sudden shift back to an uncertain, maybe even a little scared young girl caught him off guard.  She'd been so confident the past few hours, he was a little saddened that she'd reverted so quickly.  He stood silently as he looked at the girl, evaluating her request, and Keshani herself.  He didn't like the idea of the girl being in combat situations where she'd be required to shoot at people.

"I can, and it doesn't need to be a trade

Compared to the average person out there you're actually pretty good.  Granted the average person doesn't typically end up in a full on fire fight.  Which brings me to my only reason for some hesitation.  I'm not a fan of you being in any situation where you should be shooting at anyone.  And if you are in that situation I'd much rather you just kept your head down and stay out of the line of fire."  Trax let out a bit of a sigh.

"But in the end I'd rather you be prepared and not have to use the skills than to need the skills and not have them.

Tomorrow morning in the cargo hold." he said with a nod.

[OOC: Trax's comments about Kesh's skill are based on this table.]

[Keshani]

Her face flushed a bit and she looked decidedly uncomfortable at Trax's compliment about her current skill at shooting. It was almost as if she was ashamed instead of proud of the complement.

What was it with this girl??

His next comment, though, brought such a sudden rush of confused emotions and thoughts to mind that a very out of place burst of laughter escaped her lips before she could reign it in.

There were so many things just....strange...about the comment he had just made.

'I'm not a fan of you being in any situation where you should be shooting at anyone. And if you are in that situation I'd much rather you just kept your head down and stay out of the line of fire'

....
....
....
....

1. A warm fuzzy but butterfly fluttery feeling started in the pit of her stomach at his words - again this idea that he actually cared what happened to her, that coupled with the knowledge that he still was going to be leaving her very soon and she didn't know when or if she would ever see him again...

2. The fact that he was making this statement after what they had all just been through on the Station was just....super amusing to her. Because she had been perfectly able to just "keep her head down and stay out of the line of fire" there so well..

3. If only he knew the times in her life where she had either a) been forced to defend herself in some way, or b) needed to but couldn't....if he was protective of her now, she had a feeling that if he knew half of her story....well, she didn't know exactly how he'd react. Either he'd be either more protective or decide she was such a hard case that she wasn't worth his time...


Realizing that she had just pretty much made a fool out of herself and that Trax was more than a bit  confused by her reaction she covered her mouth and took a slow breath, calming her racing brain down.

"Sorry," she said much more calmly, "I just...." she shook her head slightly, "If only you knew...."

A few seconds longer for her to compose herself and she threw a smile in his direction.

"Tomorrow morning in the cargo hold then...." she shrugged a bit sheepishly. "Thanks, Trax."

And then she couldn't help it. On impulse she ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a brief hug before turning and dashing out the door to the workshop, feeling the sudden need to escape.

[Trax]

Trax was about to reply to Kesh's 'thanks' when she gave him a hug and then dashed out of the workshop.  He stood there, confused as to what exactly he'd done to earn such a gesture, for a few seconds before giving a bit of a shrug and heading to the cargo bay to figure out what he could do to set up some targets.