A Concerned Touch

[Malia Afredane]

The look in his eyes was plenty to bring the color to her cheeks. She did not normally wear dresses or makeup and she felt a little silly for it now but it was a costume so she supposed it was meant to be a little silly. She stepped over to him, taking the makeup out of his hands and adding a few lines and blending the shades into others so that his features started to look strange and otherworldly.

"There."

She held up the mirror for him to see, her handiwork fairly well done. They headed out of the hotel into the streets, the revelry proving to be infectious and within an hour, they were laughing and drinking and dancing in the streets under paper lanterns of various colors. The Zeltrons were exuberant and their festive nature bolstered the crowds. Mal felt as though she couldn't lose here, as if this whole city was alive with the highest high she could have. It was a perpetual winning streak which was why Rusty had such a tight grasp on the financials when she was here.

She had a drink in one hand, something she had never heard of and her other one was wrapped around Kairon's neck as they danced to a band she had never heard of either, in a mass of colors and costumes, lost in the carnival.

[member='Kairon Rees']

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon was also lost. Lost in the dance, lost in the atmosphere, lost in her.

So he didn't even hear the first screams.

He'd been drinking slowly through the night, interspersing his drinks with water and several high caffeine mixers to keep himself going. Locked in her gaze as he was, Kairon didn't see the shifts in the crowd. Revellers had been screaming Yuuzhan Vong war cries through the night as part of the festival, but some part of him noticed the change in tone. His brow furrowed as he looked at Mal questioningly, unsure of why. She was mirroring his expression though, the spell also starting to break for her.

He tore his gaze away from her own, looking over her shoulder. The crowd parted and he saw an expression of abject fear on a Zeltron's face. Then he went down. Bodies shifted and moved, but for a moment he saw a flash of a reptilian creature holding a chitinous blade high above its head. The music suddenly stopped and the screaming intensified.

The fear spread across his own face, his thoughts started to push through the haze in a rush of adrenaline. "Feth Mal," he breathed, pulling away from her.

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal followed the line of Kairon's gaze as the crowds parted and a true Yuuzhan Vong warrior brought his rage to bear on the head of a rather unfortunate man who probably never dreamed he would die in the streets of Zeltros. Maybe she should have been afraid, but between the years she spent in uniform and even the years she spent in a military prison, there was nothing in her training that told her to run from a fight. If anything, it was the opposite. A look of determination and resolve came over her features as she bent down to remove her shoes.

"Kai, you've got to get people out of here. Go."

She stood up, looking around fast, pushing people out of her way as she made her way towards the stage. The mike stands or instruments would be decent improvised weapons. She clamored up on the stage, grabbing a bass guitar from a stand, her fingers wrapped around the slender neck. She kept low amid the fleeing crowds, and came up behind the rampaging warrior. She drew back, and stepped into the swing as she brought the solid wooden instrument right at the back of the warrior's head.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

Damn but she was brave. The burst of adrenaline did a good job of cutting through the fog. She'd already turned and headed off as he started hollering at those close to him. A child stumbled and he was there in a flash, helping the boy back to his feet and giving him a gentle push towards the exit. Even in the chaos a thought crossed his mind: Who let a child into a party like this?.

Losing sight of Mal, he started to wish for a blaster. “Come on, move!” he shouted. Unfortunately the call attracted unwanted attention. He felt as much as saw the reptilian creature bearing down on him. There was just enough time to turn and brace as it leapt at him. One arm managed to stop the organic knife held by the Yuuzhan Vong slave-fighter. Having leapt high enough it's knees slammed into his chest and it barrelled into him with enough force to topple him.

His back hit the sticky club floor hard and the Chazrach placed its free hand on the wrist of the one holding the knife and pressed it down. Kairon's breathing was quick and shallow. The fear started to change. Oh no.

It wasn't a hot rage that built, it was quite the opposite. Ice cold fury started as a maelstrom in his gut, cold tendrils reaching out across his body. Kairon's expression slowly changed to a wicked sneer. One leg went to the side, knee cocked. One arm, suddenly invigorated with new strength held the knife at bay, the other reached for the reptoid’s face. Two fingers hooked into eye sockets and he used the leverage and his planted foot to swing the wretched creature off him.

He shouted in rage as he turned his attention to the knife hand. There was a sickening crack as he broke the Chazrach's arm. Then he grasped the creature's head with both hands and lifted it off the ground. He slammed it down again and again and again. He stood up from the twitching corpse, chitinous organic knife in hand. Predatory eyes turned to look for something else to attack. Almost nothing could satiate this rage once it had begun.

Kairon watched on as a passenger in his own body. Another Chazrach was almost within reach. In a practised motion he pulled back its head and slit its throat before it had even seen his shadow looming over it.

Mal! Where is Mal? He screamed inpotently in his own head. Yet the message seemed to get through. The grip on the knife relaxed a touch. He stood still. His eyes scanned the room, not for the next target, but for his partner. Kairon saw her heft the guitar over her head. He headed for the stage.

 

[Malia Afredane]

The solid wood instrument caught the warrior at the back of the head, and cracked him pretty good. He fell to the floor in a heap, as blood and clear fluid began to seep out of his nose and ears. Skull fracture would keep him down. She hopped down to his side and looked for his weapon, grabbing the machete like blade he seem to have been carrying. A quick glance at the crowd was doing nothing for spotting the attackers since some of the costumes of the revelers looked very close to the actual Yuuzhan Vong vonduun.

A scream pulled her attention as she saw a woman being dragged backward by the hair, a hulking Vong raising a blade to silence her. Mal took off running at the Vong, and sweeping low at the Vong's knees. She caught him in the soft flexible patch behind the knee and the blade bit deep enough that the Vong staggered and let the woman go, reaching instead for Mal.

Mal turned the momentum of the knee strike into a stab as she buried the blade into the ribcage of the warrior. Blood spurted out of the Vong's mouth and Mal felt the blade catch as she tried to draw it back out. She jerked to the left to throw her weight into bringing it out which probably saved her as the blade of another vong sank into her right shoulder.

Mal screamed in pain, twisting away from her attacker, the machete-like blade forgotten as she rounded to face a Vong female with death in her eyes.

[member='Kairon Rees']

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

That scream opened a black pit of terror in Kairon’s gut. His heart was in his mouth as he looked to Mal, seeing her dance away from the blade that had cut her deeply. It evoked memories of the Techno Union vessel. The impotence of sitting in that cell whilst her screams drifted down the hallways towards them. The cold grip was almost debilitating.

Not today.

His left hand trembled, but his right held the blade firmly. Some dark part of him cherished that feeling. He had long since lost that notched and blood-stained machete that the Mad Dog had been known to use in the brutal charges against the merchants who resisted the crew of the Bad Karma.

His legs pumped hard as he tried to close the distance. The crowd was thinning now, which meant he attracted more attention. He heard the hiss of something moving through the air. Pain blossomed from one shoulder and the world span as the thud bug clipped him. The warmth ran down his arm as blood welled in the gouge.

Kark. Kark.

He scrambled back to his feet. Time seemed to stretch out as he looked around. To one side he saw someone try to strike a Yuuzhan Vong with a table leg. The massive hulking beast slipped past with a terrifying speed and ran the civilian through. A Chazrach loomed before him, blocking his path to Mal and the female who were squaring off.

The creature ducked under his first strike. Kairon grunted as it came on, smashing its shoulder under his ribs. Kairon was no skilled duellist. He was a mediocre shot. But a decade of fighting men to the death with his bare hands for fun had left him with a particular talent for close-in dirty fighting that he was not proud of.

His left arm went out to the side and came back around. The reproid had been pumping its little legs, trying to push him down. Kairon’s brawny arm wrapped around its head and came under its neck. He braced, using his advantage in weight to stop it dead. He dropped his weight a few inches holding tight and then exploded upwards. The crunch of the creature’s neck snapping resounded across the hall.

But he was too late to help. They were closing on each other and Mal was already wounded. He had no particular notion of chivalry. Mal was certainly no damsel in distress. That didn’t change the pain he still felt at hearing that scream. His hand swapped an organic blade for a heavy bottle.

The glass shattered with enough force to send the female Yuuzhan Vong stumbling to one side. Kairon hoped to hell it was enough to buy Mal a few seconds. Especially as the Yuuzhan Vong he had seen before loomed before him. This one hand some kind of organic whip. It coiled around its master’s forearm, letting its tail dangle down. The creature exploded into motion faster than Kairon could react. The pretend armour he had cracked as the tail sliced through it. It brought a long red streak as it skimmed the surface of his skin.

The little organic knife looked pitiful in his hand now.

 

[Malia Afredane]

By all rights, Mal should have been dead. The female Vong was stunned long enough by the bottle from Kairon that Mal was able to duck away and find cover behind the bar which gave her a moment to reassess her position. No weapon, dominant arm injured. This was going to be a rough one. She looked around and found a chef's knife. It would have to do.

She rolled back out as the female came at the bar and she sunk the knife deep into the female's thigh but the Vong was already bringing her hands down and she slammed her balled fists into Mal neck and shoulders. Mal hit the ground, the wind knocked out of her, seeing stars.

About that time, the Zeltron Security Force who had been patrolling the festival in force came and blaster bolts sang out across the carnage.

Mal's thoughts were on Kairon but she had no breath in her to get up and find him, as she wheezed and coughed, trying to find focus in her temporary incapacitation. The female hulking over her snarled as blaster fire sizzled on her armor, followed by the zing of tazer fire.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]
There was a loud thud as his knees came down to the ground beside her. “Stay down Mal, I'm here,” he whispered. She'd feel hands run across her as he checked her for any more wounds.

He moved his face in front of hers. There was a gash just above his right brow that bled profusely. The Yuuzhan Vong warrior had decided to play with him, nicking him with his amphistaff as he herded him backwards. Right up until the security forces kicked in the door and dropped him with a torrent of blaster fire.

“Stay still. Mal what's my name? Where are we?” he asked. Concern was etched into the lines of his face. He'd seen how hard she'd been hit across the back of the neck, he knew well enough how dangerous that could be. Air needed to be forced into his lungs as he felt his throat tighten. She'd gone down hard. Concussion at best, spinal damage possible. His fingers idly ran across her hair and he pulled a stray hair from her face. He wanted to hold her desperately, but didn't want to move her until the medics were there.

 

[Malia Afredane]

She coughed and wheezed until she had forced enough air into her lungs for them to start working again. She rolled over on her back, easing herself up on her elbows as she winced at the pain. Her neck hurt, the pain making her head throb with every cough. She groaned as she pulled on the stab wound, rolling on her left side to get the wound off the floor.

"Kairon Rees, we're on Zeltros on a dingy bar floor from the last festival I want to go to for a while."

There was a joke and a ghost of a smile on her lips as she reached for him with her right hand, a sharp intake of breath as the pain took over from the adrenaline.

"Are you ok?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]
“My name's Brian and you're clearly concussed,” he managed to say, a touch of euphoria showing in a grin that flashed across his face. It vanished to be replaced by a look of uncertainty as she winced in pain.

“Nothing more than superficial,” he grunted. He wiped away the blood that was trickling down his brow before standing up and stepping over Mal. He knelt down behind her and there was a rip as he pulled the dark, damp fabric away from the stab wound. “Sorry about this,” he warned before putting pressure down on the wound to stem the blood flow. Whilst a thud bug had caught his shoulder, the gouge was relatively superficial. The other cuts were skin deep and hurt like hell. Hers was deep and bleeding plenty.

“Thought that thing had stuck you good for a minute there,” he said. The wavering tone giving away his concern. “Looks like we're going to get lots of new stitches tonight,” he reflected, trying to sound more positive. “You saved a lot of people just then." Kairon lifted his eyes from her and looked for signs of a medic.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"It's my job."

She figured he probably wouldn't understand that, but soldiers, even disgraced and dishonored ones, don't run from a fight and they certainly don't let innocent people get hurt. She seethed as he pressed cloth to the wound to stem the blood flow. She sucked in a deep breath and pushed herself back up to sitting but she reached for him, wrapping her good arm around him, her face buried in his neck as he pressed his palm to the knife wound in her back. She leaned on him, just happy that they both were alive to be in pain.

"Kai..." She had something she wanted to say but before she could get it out, the nerve was gone. She could smell the mix of the makeup and his cologne. "I'm glad you're ok."

It felt like a copout, but she wasn't sure she wanted to get into a discussion of feelings right here on a sticky bar floor. She didn't know how he felt either. Best to just clam up and keep it quiet for now.

The medic got them and soon enough they were loaded up to head to the medical center. They gave Mal stitches, an IV bag and some pretty good painkillers. She was bruised but no concussion so they let them both go back to the hotel after a couple hours of observation and x-rays.

It was well after midnight when they made it back to the hotel. Mal headed straight for the bath, and started running a tub full of the hottest, soapest water she could. There were a couple candles lingering around the room, and their flickering light reflected in the mirror and off the glass of the shower. She gasped as she stepped into it, the temperature causing her skin to turn bright red. She relaxed into the side of the tub, her body hidden by the bubbles and dim light.

The painkillers were kicking in and a whimsical smile had twisted her lips.

"Rusty's gonna be pissed."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

Kairon winced in pain as he tentatively manoeuvred himself into the tub. It wasn’t in fact the shallow cut across his chest that caused him the most discomfort, though it did sting as it touched the water. Instead the bruising that was rapidly spreading across his side showed where the Chazrach had cracked a rib.

“Next time I’m asking to have the good stuff too,” he said softly as he sank down, keeping his shoulder above the water. Apparently he hadn't deserved the more potent analgesics. He’d seated himself opposite Mal, but decided to shuffle around next to her so they could stretch out, placing her on his right hand side so their good shoulders were together. He leant his head back and let out a long sigh. Under the water his hand found hers.

A welcome warmth spread through his chest as at that delicate touch and it had nothing to do with the temperature of the water. He turned his head to hold her gaze. His pained expression faded. He had never felt quite this way about anyone before. This wasn’t the heady rush of elation at each touch he’d felt on those first nights on Naboo. The genuine terror he’d felt at her scream and then the relief at finding her in one piece had been almost overwhelming in their intensity.

“I wish I could have you beside me through all the challenges I face,” he said suddenly. Often so awkward with expressing his affection, none of the tell-tale signs appeared as he spoke. There was a simple intensity in his eyes as he spoke. Perhaps she would take his meaning to simply mean that he appreciated her martial skill when he got caught in a tight spot. Perhaps she’d appreciate something more resounding in those words.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"If you're gonna be on the Warden with me, I think I'd like a few less challenges for a while, to be honest."

She was trying futilely to think through the haze of painkillers but it just wasn't happening. She cuddled into his arms instead, just letting the water and his embrace melt away her worries. When the bath turned chilly, they retreated to bed, too tired for anything but falling asleep in each other's arms. Mal woke to a throbbing shoulder when the pills wore off, but another dose and some water and she rolled back into his side, making sure that his wounds would not be disturbed.

The next day, Kairon got his wish. They did not leave the room, tending to the other's injuries, watching movies, reading and talking with copious amounts of room service. The word had gotten to the hotel staff what the pair of them had done so their stay had been comped.

It was after dinner and they were on the sofa, wrapped in heavy blankets; him with a book and her with a tablet and earphones binge watching a trashy soap opera. She looked up at him, her head cocked over to one side. She pulled the earbuds out, her show paused.

"It strikes me as a little odd. You ran away from Eriadu and the merchant life, you spent a long time as a pirate and yet you still wear the waistcoats, you read the things you'd be expected to back home and your cabin on the Quin looks like you never missed a day growing up away from Eriadu. Why?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

“What? Oh,” Kairon replied. It took him a moment to draw his attention from the book. He'd become really quite engrossed in the tense conversation that was happening between the two main characters. “Hmm,” was all he said for a moment, but his expression clearly showed he was considering the question. He rolled it around in his head for a moment, felt the shape of the question, how it reacted to his train of thought.

“I just like the books,” he said with a silly smile, holding his up. He sighed. “I mean, I grew up in two pretty different worlds. Diametrically opposed ones in fact. Doesn't mean they're not both a part of me, no matter how much I don't want to be in either.”

He scratched his beard, clearly struggling with the question. “Maybe this is somewhere in the middle,” he reasoned. “Half way between the two, a bit of trading, a bit of dirty work. Maybe… maybe if I let go of one completely, i'd snap back to the other. That sounds really stupid out loud. Maybe I'm scared it's true. Seems odd now you've asked it," he admitted with a shrug. "I just kind of drift along trying to do right by the crew trying not to look back too much.

" Hah! And you say you tend to ramble! Did you give much thought to settling down to trade?" he asked. He didn't think he'd work the answer out immediately, but now the question was asked he knew he'd have to find one. Was he really that scared to let go of the civilised aspect of his past? It wasn't just that which kept him anchored and away from letting that other side free.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"It wasn't so much settling down as it was I got out of prison, had some money squirreled away and started drinking myself into a dark hole for the crap I'd pulled. I sure as hell wasn't going to listen to mum, wiping up bartops for the rest of my life on Balmorra. I came to this because it was what got me busted but when you grow up knowing the people I did, what else do you really think you're suited to do?"

She snorted as she reached out to set the tablet on the adjacent coffee table. She searched for his hand, with her good one, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles.

"I guess you're right. We hang on to what we know so we don't lose ourselves to the darker, meaner parts of the universe. Or the meaner parts of this job. I got stabbed last night because I hold on to Captain Malia Afredane, Republic Navy in the way you hang on to Eriadu. It's what makes me defend others, and give fair cuts on jobs when I don't have to and the part that scares the feth out of me when it comes to having you on the Warden. But, hey, that's life, right?"

She looked sheepish as she admitted her fear. She was comfortable with him though, and now they had walked away from a dustup so there was a certain closeness between them now that had not existed before. A depth to the caring that had removed any doubt she might have had. If the fit hit the shan, then she knew she would take a blow for him or do anything in her power to make sure he was ok.

It was a very sovering thought.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"It's all a bit new isn't it?" he said with a warm smile. "I think that...makes sense though. Damn but you were brave," he said fondly, kissing the top of her head. He looked around him for a bookmark, but couldn't see one. Instead he folded down the corner of the page and placed the book down on the arm of the chair. If she knew him, she would understand just how seriously he was taking the conversation if he was going to ruin a book in such a heinous manner.

Letting go of her hand, he lifted his arm up to wrap around her. However there was a sudden sharp pain as it tugged on the gash across his chest. "Ooo ow, nope, not yet," he said through something between a grimace and a smile. He found her hand again and just shuffled closer. "This afternoon I suddenly felt some concern nagging on me, knowing we were a few days in. Then I remembered we weren't flying off in separate directions at the end. Felt good," he sighed. "You can put that up on the big screen if you want," he added, nodding towards the tablet.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Oh dear god, no. This is just utter tripe I shouldn't even be rotting what's left of my brain with."

She was genuinely embarrassed by her viewing habits when it came to her entertainment choices. She felt that smuggler captains or navy captains or responsible, respectable people shouldn't be watching soap operas and getting all worked up over who was cheating with who or who was coming back from the dead. However, she had been hooked on them since she was a kid. Her mother had them on at the bar during the day when it was slow and it to this day was the one thing she and Izzy could agree on.

The more melodramatic, the better.

However, this presented a problem when in the course of interactions with people who were not actors reading off horrible trite and trashy script, Mal realized that she had completely unrealistic view of how people should act or when they were hiding something. The card sharks helped her out with reading people, but she was still stuck with ridiculous expectations of what a relationship should be like. It was an adjustment for sure.

She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm kinda looking forward to being in the same place for a while. It's like there's a weight off, knowing we don't have to run off. Of course, by the time we're healed up and ready to board the Warden, you'll probably be sick of me and wanting to bunk with Jarrick for a change of scenery."

She chuckled at the joke, teasing a little bit about her blunder much earlier in their time together.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon joined in with the chuckle, turning his head to gentle kiss her hair again, lingering there to breath in her scent. Was it strange that he found the smell of her hair so comforting now? he idly wondered. Kairon was about to make a joke about Jarrick, but decided to refrain. Sometimes he took things too far and he remembered how painful that had been to her not very long ago. Instead he decided to simply be content that she was beginning to feel comfortable enough to make one herself.

They were probably both making understatements, he decided. 'It's all a bit new' certainly didn't do justice to how big a step this felt to him. It was really a business arrangement, but when you stripped that back on some level they were essentially moving in together. It was unfamiliar ground to him. His time running with the pirates was hardly conducive to forming healthy relationships. His family had tried to force some match ups when he had returned, but he'd always been an outsider at those formal events.

"I think it's ok to be a little scared about this," he said quietly, gentle squeezing her hand. "Oh the crew wanted to know if we felt like coming out for some lunch tomorrow. To be honest I think they're just a bit concerned about us and wanted to check in. Touching really," he said. He suddenly found his eyelids heavy. The ordeal had taken its toll on his body. He shuffled from side to side slightly as he made himself comfortable. A small early evening nap on the sofa seemed a good idea right now.