Chapter Text
He eventually gives in, and makes his way down to the second level bar. It’s around seven when he walks through the door - nodding at Ra’sara, the Twi’lek bartender who motions him towards a seat in the corner.
There's a hooded person sitting down at the corner table, who kind of reminds him of that one show Cal had shown him not too long ago, the broody hero in the corner stereotype.
Right , Ra’sara is obviously in this as well, he sits down beside the hooded man. “So?” Prauf finally asked the man, “you’re…” Rex , he knows this is the Rex Meg had told him about. He trails off, letting the other confirm or deny if he’s the right person. As much as he loves Ra’sara as a sentient, this is way too shady for even him.
“Rex,” correct, on both counts, definitely a clone, definitely Rex, his voice raspy but oddly calm, “it’s nice to meet you Prauf, they all had a lot of nice things to say about you.” Prauf snorted at that, the whole mood was tense to him, everyone around them seemed quite upbeat, “everyone here has been vetted for, it’s fine.” Rex clarified, waving his hand not worried, “and they trust you not to say anything even if you decline to help out.”
“Right,” he can take that as an answer, “so Meg said something about Jedi and a device you’re looking for.” Rex’s eyes flicker over the abednedo, a little amused.
“That’s basically the gist of it,” Rex agrees, taking a sip of the unknown drink in front of them, “basically the only job around here is to listen in to conversations while working, if you hear anything about the device, anything about Jedi or even something that sounds like it could be important just come here and tell Ra’sara or tell someone else.”
Prauf could do that, it wouldn’t do anything to risk his or Cal’s life - or Meg’s . But, he was dubious, “that’s it?” He asked aloud, a little stumped.
Rex shrugged, “that’s it,” he didn’t seem too worked up considering exactly who he worked with. “You have a kid,” Rex explained, “while it would be a great help to the rebellion to use whoever is willing I’m not willing to break apart families in the meantime. If something goes wrong you split - if not for you but for that kid of yours. If you’re still willing?”
Prauf slowly nodded at that, not realizing just how much they knew about him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “I came in here thinking you needed something along the lines of sabotaging imperial equipment, I can definitely listen into conversations and rumours alike.”
Rex and him spoke for hours about meaningless conversations to Prauf but could hold something of use to the clone. Prauf had no idea what was useful and what wasn’t, just that he knew things about others he probably shouldn’t have.
And if this was just a hoax from Meg, which he knew it wasn’t , then he’d be making a lot of enemies.
OoO
Prauf would like to think he did his job diligently alongside his kid, Cal. Frankly he was quite surprised Cal had what was better than the standard education - showing him that Cal had been wanted , wanted by someone with quite a lot of money.
Cal, before joining up with him and his team was smart enough to know how to disarm old clone war weapons, how they worked and their secrets, he knew things you couldn’t even get from a log sheet hidden between the metal casings of the ships frame. Cal was too smart for his own good, bothered and unable to stand the lack of stimulation given by those specific tasks, the repetitive nature of their job was always a struggle to those with a higher energy level or lower attention span.
He often wondered where they went, Cal’s parents, before he was adopted by his previous guardian. He had heard the word master once uttered in a dream, a painful and horrible nightmare, and if Prauf knew something it was that he never wanted to hear his kid say that word ever again.
It gave him some clues that just slightly stayed apart, and Prauf was quite good at piecing things together.
The rumours swayed across peoples lips like dust in the air, falling from one person's lips to another sentience’s set of ears.
Days pass and Prauf learns a lot more about the current gossip than ever before, normally tuning out the chatter for his own inner monologue. He learns that sector B’s Lucrehulk is in need of new hands, a sector Prauf knows is managed heavily , much more heavily than the rest of the planet, only about an hour on the train to the site he signs himself up, and then also Cal when his boy demanded to come along with him to the daunting and brutal sector.
He tried for hours to convince the redhead boy to go back to bed and take a rest for the next few days - him bringing in enough money from this one job to survive for the week — a warning for what’s to follow.
Cal doesn’t agree with him and gets Prauf to somehow sign him up anyway.
His feet are heavy as he walks into Ra’sara’s with his new schedule, “Cal and I are heading to sector B for the week.” Prauf informs Rex who came back down to the planet for the week’s briefing. Prauf tells him everything he heard that week, unable to transmit anything across Bracca’s radio wavelength without at least one other person also getting the same broadcast.
“You ready kid?” Prauf asked hesitantly as they boarded the train, and watched as Cal steeled himself for the work ahead of them.
“As I’ll ever be,” Cal replied, his eyes following the lights trailing by as the train continued on the track to their destination.
OoO
“Are you going to tell me why you decided to start taking risks like this?” Cal asks when they’re alone, no longer in the train car - clearly not made for people but Cargo instead. Prauf tries to look innocent but Cal shakes his head, “please don’t lie to me.”
Prauf sighs, “you remember when Meg came over?”
Cal nods, following the story easily, “she… she had a job offer, from a man at the bar, Cal.” Prauf stops and looks around once again before whispering into his kid's ear, “ he was a clone .”
Cal stiffened, tensing in fear at the idea of a clone soldier. A reminder of what the empire has done, “not all clones are bad!” Prauf tries to reassure the ginger, “they used to be kind, and they fought for justice alongside the jedi ,” he whispers the last words again - just in case. It doesn’t reassure the kid but Cal shakes his head almost worried for Prauf, “I promise, unlike these brainwashed bantha, Rex wants what’s best for the galaxy. He’s a rebel, Cal .”
That takes a moment for Cal’s mind to digest, “a rebel?” Cal almost hissed like a wet cat sitting in the rain, thankfully remembering to stay quiet.
“He wants us to listen in, to rumours - whatever is going on in the streets at the moment, and I figured Sector B was the best place to start.”
Cal frowns, holding tightly onto his jacket sleeve, “are you sure you’ll be okay doing this?”
Prauf was confident but seeing Cal’s expression made him somewhat worry about the situation- only for him to remember exactly how he found Cal and take a deep breath. “It’ll be fine, it’s nothing big or concrete, I just go to Ra’sara’s for drinks and talk to Meg,” it’s the best excuse they can think of, “but if you ever want to gossip,” Cal raises and eyebrow before nodding.
“Yeah,” Cal shifts and looks away towards the floor, “if I hear anything I’ll say so….” Cal steps away, “is there a time limit on gossip or is that all he wants?”
“Anything of importance,” Prauf states, not understanding why his kid would ask. “Why?”
Cal shrugs, “people spill a lot of things around kids, imperials included.”
Prauf was going to regret telling Cal anything about his arrangement, wasn’t he.