A Guy Like You

[Scherezade deWinter]

We begin with a fade out.

Outside of the Giggledust, Ryloth was bathed in a warm morning sunlight. Birds made their noises and most insects stopped making theirs, rocks were floating on schedule, and action was starting to stir. In all ships and house that had any basic sense of self respects, pots of coffee were being made.

Inside the Giggledust, one Scherezade deWinter was hanging by her feet from the ceiling, one hand carefully holding her hair in place as the other hand poked the sleeping form of [member="Gerwald Lechner"] in her bed. They had both returned from their respective missions the day before, and had immediately found each other. The sleep she'd received that night was the best and deepest yet since the previous time they had spent a night together, courtesy of both his smell and presence keeping the Darkness away and giving her what she needed to rest. She didn't know if she had any similar effect on him.

And still, she had woken up earlier than intended. At first she had remained in the bed, limbs entangled in his, her ear pressed against his chest as she listened to his heart beat. It wasn't the same as sleeping, but it had a strong calming effect on the young Sith, who, since the ship was very much darkened on the inside and she didn't want to turn the light on to check, had no idea what time it actually was. Was it still night? Was it still morning? Who knew?

But eventually, Scherezade could not keep still. Inch by inch, she replaced her entwined form with pillows, doing her utter best not to wake Gerwald up with her movements, only to then decide to wake him up anyway in a horrible and terrible way - of sticking a finger up his nose.

A normative and sane man would've sent her home packing for such a stunt. But first of all, this was her ship, and second of all, she had a feeling that she'd have to pull much worse things for him to consider doing that.

And so, she did just that, trying very hard not to fall on him in a heap of giggles.

There was coffee waiting for him in the kitchen.

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

The mission had been a success, despite the fact Gerwald had been constantly distracted. His mind could not get over the events of his day with [member="Scherezade deWinter"], and more specifically their last night together. The wolf had been avoiding certain people because of the events of Dragonflower, but running into the sithling had proven to be a series of very unexpected events. All that mattered at this point was that he had returned alive, relatively unscathed, and successful. He had earned a couple of days respite, which found him on her ship.

There was never a doubt on how the two would greet each other upon returning from their respective missions, and if there had been the moment he saw her, it was gone. His massive form lay twisted and tangled among the pillows, so tired from his mission that when Scherezade left him, he didn't even stir. His body was tired, but nothing would have kept him from the 500 year old girl that had awakened the part of him which had been dormant for so long.

He could smell the coffee. His eyes were still closed as he playfully batted at the finger which was poking at his nose. She was such a child sometimes, but that was part of what Ger liked about her. Scherezade simply lived. Having been trapped for so long, she just lived, and had helped Gerwald understand an important lesson. Life was for the living.

"Right... I'm awake," he said looking up at the pure form which was hanging from the ceiling.

Ger smiled at the sight.

"Coffee!"

He smiled again, wrapped his hand behind her head, and pulled her toward him for a kiss. Never mind the fact his breath smelled like he'd eaten something raw, because it was always a possibility, Gerwald simply wanted to kiss her.

Tossing the covers aside, Gerwald got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. One cup of coffee was required before his host could expect any kind of humanity from him. A few sips in dispelled the fog in his brain, and made him much more talkative. He sat at the table with the mug between his large hands.

"So... I have a couple of days off after that mission... for once I don't have to be anywhere for anything..."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade's eyes widened as Gerwald said he was awake. And said coffee! She hadn't actually spent any mornings with anyone aside for him and Katrine and she had been sure that the rule was no speaking before coffee. Poking your finger up someone's nose didn't constitute as speaking, so she wasn't breaking the cardinal rule of morning in the technical sense and anyway-

Nah, her thoughts died as Gerwald pulled in for a kiss. Even his morning breath couldn't bother her as she returned it with equal passion, tasting the Gerwald that was beneath it. When the kiss broke and Gerwald left the room, Scherezade let herself fall on the bed, the smile still on her face.

She had managed to do quite a lot of things since breaking out of the pebble. She had trained, she had been in danger, she had almost died, she had run on top of mountains, swam inside of lakes, but never could she remember feeling so happy inside. Being around Gerwald again after a week and more of being apart made her feel like she wanted to explode into a cloud of soft glitter. She had no intention of analyzing this though. It was what it was, and she took it with pride and joy.

A mere few seconds later she'd left her room and made her way to the kitchen. A tall glass of ice cold cream was waiting for her.

"I know," Scherezade answered with a naughty grin, "I tried to get your schedule from the guard and he refused to give it to me." The rest of the story could probably be completed in Gerwald's head. He knew how persuasive she could sometimes be. And that she had access to laxatives and maybe other things that were much more potentially damaging.

"Which is why I was thinking about this something that I wanted to give you," she added, the grin never removing itself from her face. Gerwald had told her he'd only ever been on Stewjon and never traveled anywhere. He'd been on Ryloth as well, which is where they had shared that entire day and two nights together. "How would you like to travel with me and go see Coruscant, the Capital of the Galaxy?"


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

She had tried to get his schedule, but she also knew. That must have meant she proved to be more persuasive than the person she interrogated had counted on. It was a mistake to look at [member="Scherezade deWinter"] and assume she was as innocent and sweet as her face made her look. There was nothing innocent about her, and sweet, that depended on how one defined sweet. She was a Sith, and killer. Anyone who did not see her as such was underestimating her, even if she needed more training. Gerwald saw her for who she was, and had since their dance and subsequent hunt. It was why he was one her ship, and what allowed him to occupy a place in her bed. They were both warriors and killers in their own right, and suited for one another in that regard.

"You got it anyway," he said with a grin, not wanting to really know how. Gerwald could imagine and that was enough.

He finished his coffee and used the force to pour himself another mug. Gerwald had been practicing every chance he had, and this was one way he did. There was nothing showy or flashy about him. Everything was a weapon or a tool to him. Maybe a small part of him wanted Scherezade to notice, but only because she had been the one to teach him the basics of how it all worked. She had mentioned Coruscant about the time the pot set back on the table, and Ger shrugged.

"A giant city planet... doesn't seem too animal friendly," he said insinuating he was enjoying the freedom to shift any time he wished. "Seeing a new place wins out though," followed with a nod let her know that they needed to plan the trip. Gerwald had a feeling she had already planned it. Two days wasn't a long enough amount of time to just take off on a whim without knowing what they were going to do.

With two cups of coffee in him, Ger walked over to the galley. She made the coffee, he was going to make the sausages.

"Where are the sausages you made from the hunt... they should be ready by now from what you said that night?"

Ger was partly asking because he couldn't remember for sure if that was what she had said. He had been looking forward to eating them. They were from their kill after all, and it was one more way to relive that night.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

She gave a single nod to his claim that she'd got it anyway. She indeed had. And then he poured himself a second mug and she practically beamed at how he'd done it. Gentle mechanism so early in the morning? He was improving fast. And that was good. First of all, it was hot. And it meant that he would soon enough be less of a walking target to any Force Users who wanted to do him harm.

And then...

Scherezade bit her lower lip. She understood what he was trying to insinuate. But she also knew that he was wrong. Her mind began to jump from point, thinking on how to present her case, when Gerwald mentioned the sausages.

"Screw them for a moment," she said and jumped up, running back to her room to grab a holopad, and then ran back to the kitchen. He was never going to have to worry about food if he was around her. For one, he could hunt for himself. For two, she made sure not to leave her tummy empty.

She flicked the holopad open, and the entire kitchen filled with holos of the galaxy, drifting lazily in the morning kitchen air. The smile on her face was huge.

"I think I read somewhere that there's over a thousand inhabited planets in the galaxy," she explained, "we are here, on Ryloth. Stewjon is over there. Dragon flower is here."

It was a gorgeous sight. Few things were prettier than the galaxy in all its glory.

"Pick a planet, any planet. But know this - I would never take you to a place where you couldn't be completely yourself. There are so many species on Coruscant that you can't even name all the ones you see when you go down the street. You could shift in the the city square and maybe one or two tourists will blink, nothing more."

Her voice was excited, almost high pitched. She wanted to go somewhere with Gerwald, she wanted them to go on a grand adventure and travel somewhere. Coruscant had been her first choice, but it was far from her only choice. There were other great places they could go to.

"There's also Geonosis, where the CIS capital is," she offered, "there's Naboo with all its stupid lakes and lush forests and swamps. There's unexplored areas and planets. We can go to Tatooine, where everything is a desert."

Scherezade continued to list a few more planets, all with their own perks, before she finally shut the holopad off and sat on Gerwald's lap and kissed the tip of his nose. "The galaxy is ripe for your taking. You can choose anywhere you want to, and we'll go there. And after we decide where we go, we can devour sausages!"

[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

”Why... I’m hungry,” he answered when she told him to screw the sausages.

She ran back to the room and Gerwald shrugged. He walked back to his seat at the table and just waited for her to come back. It hadn’t been all that long as what she wanted seemed readily accessible. The galactic map filled the entire room. System upon system flooded the room and Gerwald was truly in wonder. They could go anywhere.

The statement made him pause for a moment. [member="Scherezade deWinter"] had essentially just told him the Galaxy was theirs, no, his, she called it his. Could be really take it? It was a thought that had never crossed his mind. Certainly on Stewjon he never aspired to leadership because his caste would not allow it. No one rose above their caste. Oh to gain power only to return and rub it in the face of all those who had treated him like nothing more than a beast of burden.

He shook his head at all the options.

”No, Coruscant. If the Galaxy is mine for the taking, then I want to see the center of it. You may make a tyrant out of me yet,” he teased as his lips captured hers. The mere thought of it all made him want more. Had he not been hungry he would have easily put her on the table and had what he wanted. She appealed to the alpha wolf in him.

He broke the kiss, sat her on the table and looked to the cooking unit.

”Now the sausages... where are they...”

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade nodded hard enough to make it feel like her brain was bouncing in her head. Her levels of excitement weren't really hard to miss and she grinned, returning his kiss with hunger. They were going to see Coruscant! She jumped from his lap the moment he mentioned the sausages, and went on to retrieve them. They had been hanging and air drying the entire time since she'd left, and they were ripe for the frying.

Wordessly, the young woman melted butter, because everything tasted better with butter, and set to frying them. Eggs flew into the frying pan as well, along with a healthy scoop of bantha lard.

"So we'll eat," she spoke, hands flying around as she grabbed various spices she wanted to add, tossing them into her feeding mixture, "and then we're going to the cockpick and you're going to raise the Giggledust off the ground and into space and we'll be in Coruscant by lunch."

She wanted to explode with excitement. Instead she kept her voice in check, keeping it light and borderlining the fluffy. There was no intent on placing actual pressure on him. But he was going to see the Galaxy and not all of it was going to be with her. Piloting was a skill that could save people, especially if things happened in the air. And sure, you could learn from all the manuals on what to do and when, but nothing beat actual hand on experience.

Her back was to him, but if his eyes didn't widen for at least a split of a second, she'd have been surprised.

A moment later she turned around, setting a plate and then piling it with hot, steaming sausages, eggs, and a hard cheese that she produced out of seemingly nowhere.

Scherezade took her seat again with a simiilliar arrangement, though her pile was undeniable smaller, and grinned.



[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Gerwald shrugged when it came to how long it would take to get somewhere. What had caught him off guard was the fact that she wanted him to pilot....

His eyes did in fact go wide, and his jaw almost hit the floor. There was no way that he should be trusted to pilot someone else's ship.

"I have had zero time on simulators, never touched the yoke of a ship. The first thing about piloting, I have no idea where to begin. YOU want ME to actually fly this thing?"

His eyes looked down to the plate in front of him, and he started to eat, slowly. He was still processing what she wanted him to do, and really wanted to be sure that was exactly what she was wanting and saying. He looked up from his plate and into the green eyes of the sithling.

"Maybe we should just go back to the bedroom for the rest of the day and explore the galaxy that way..."

Gerwald was clearly intimidated by having to fly the ship. He was afraid of breaking it.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade remained her sweet self as Gerwald explained his entire lack of experience with piloting. She had made an educated guess in advance that this would be the case. After all, he had told her that he'd never left Stewjon, and since he was of the Warriors, that meant he had no reason to receive piloting lessons, even in a sim. And then he offered to go back to the bedroom. For half a heart beat, despite all her grand plans, she almost agreed. Almost.

"We are not going into that bedroom until after we break atmo'," she said calmly and took a bite from her sausage. It was a wonderful sausage. Still juicy in the right places, and she'd managed to get the flavouring with the garlic and other things just right. She was going to have to replicate the recipe. "And we're not having sex in the other bedroom, on the counter, in the kitchen, or anywhere else on the ship until after that too," she added as an afterthought. Couldn't leave loopholes.

She put her fork on the plate and looked at Gerwald again. When she had first seen him, his overall attractiveness had not gone unnoticed, though it had done little to stir anything within her at the time. After their time together before she'd left for Maramere, though... His looks had almost faded. Not that he was not attractive anymore - he was much, much more than that. Yet his looked had faded into the background. It was the man she had understood she lusted for; the lupine behind the looks.

"I'm not going to teach you how to maneuver this ship in battle," Scherezade explained after taking a deep breath that had helped her form her thoughts into words, "mostly, because I can't do it myself either. And the weapons on this ship are five centuries old, so I don't think they even work at all, assuming my aunt hadn't sold them just to buy more spice. Come to think of it, I've never checked."

Her meeting with her aunt [member="Morgaine deWinter"] had been hard. Morgaine, in her drug induced state, had been certain that Scherezade was her mother, and had cried over thinking she was seeing Nessarose for the first time in half a millenia. She had tried to hug her too, but the woman smelled like she hadn't taken a proper bath in the same amount of time, and she had cried and apologized over killing Nessarose's pets and eating them. It had been... Awkward. Eventually Scherezade had gone along with pretending to be her mother, and asked for the ship. Morgaine had given her the entrance and all related codes without blinking.

"But you are not going to be grounded on Ryloth and only have the option of leaving it when someone else offers you a ride or sends you on a mission," she resumed, blinking away the memories of her aunt, "I'm going to teach you how to basically handle a control panel and how to cooperate with the autopilot. When I said the Galaxy was yours for the taking, I meant it in every possible sense of the word."

Which left them with the need to get Gerwald a ship. But that would have to wait. She couldn't just afford to buy him one. Then again,s he was looking into people who could be killed and have their ships taken from them after that. Those plans were initially for herself, but there was nothing that could keep her from expanding them. Scherezade was really good at making plans.

Only now she smiled again, still looking at Gerwald, "so you're going to pilot us to Coruscant. And after that we can explore the galaxy in every room this ship has."


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

So this was the power women had over men. The message was delivered loud and clear. If he wanted to get back into [member="Scherezade deWinter"]'s bed, he had to take the ship into space.

He quietly mumbled under his breath as he ate his sausage. The scene had been one he'd witnessed many times growing up as his mother would lay into his father about something, and proceed to explain what he would do about it and why. It was an ironic twist of fate to find himself in that position with someone he was not married to, but they were intimate. Gerwald didn't know what this was going to be, but he knew that she was someone that he completely be himself around, and she would be herself around him. The mutual honor they had shown each other, and the bits of their souls which they had laid before the other had tied them together in away Gerwald had never known before. Whether she was his first, or his only, nothing was more right about what happened between them.

He refused to put his mind to anything else when he was with her.

"Fine, we will do it your way... and not just because you've taken sex off the table until I do this. It's a skill I need, just like using the force."

Gerwald quickly finished his food, took their plates and rinsed them off in the sink. Damn she knew how to cook the meat, and it was nice that he did not need to do all the cooking. If they were going into space, he wanted clothes. Space was cold. When he finished with the dishes Gerwald went to fresher for a shower, leaving the door open for Scherezade if she wanted to join him, and then dressed. He'd gotten a couple of things together in an overnight bag knowing that he had zero intention of spending his two days anywhere but the Giggledust.

"Alright, let's get this over with," he said walking to the cockpit. It was time to crash the ship... or not.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade grinned as Gerwald realized that her way was the right way. Good. That meant she didn't have to check if she could actually go through with her bed time threat. She was half sure that she wouldn't, if given enough time, but logic had won out and he understood why he needed to know it.

When he entered the shower, she was there with him, and the two new loofahs she had bought for such occasions.

Once both were, sadly, dressed, and in the cockpit, Scherezade took the pilot seat and motioned for him to take the other one.

"So here are a shytbubble ton of buttons," she began. They were everywhere. Control panel, sides, ceiling. "I don't know what most of them do," she added, making sure they were on the same page.

But then things got easier. She showed him the communication section of the panel, as well as how to enter the coordinates to where they wanted to go.

"Every known planet is written in, so you usually don't need to know the exact coordinates yourself," she explained, and then paused herself. Could she tell him? Would she? Did she need to? Scherezade looked at Gerwald and nodded. She would. "You'll never find coordinates for Endelaan on a ship that does not belong to my family. And of the two ships I own, this is the only one that has it."

She wasn't entirely sure why the ship had it. Auntie Morgaine had never visited the planet. But now was not the time to linger.

"This button is lift off," she pointed, "After that you use the wheel to stir it in the direction you want. In our case, since we want to leave the planet's atmosphere, the direction is up. I have a steering wheel on my end as well, and I'm on the side that has the big boss buttons, so if you accidentally almost get the ship's nose into the ground, I'll be able to stop you and take over before something happens."

And that... Was the gist of it. She'd show him how to activate the auto pilot, and with that, had summarized all the theoretical bits that she could teach.

"So hit the button for lift off and let's go," Scherezade said with a grin, "I've been thinking about the elevator shaft."


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

The control panel was overwhelming, so a sigh of relief escaped Gerwald's lips at the knowledge he could ignore them. The idea was to get from point A to point B without dying. This was about travel, not combat, and for now that was all Gerwald wanted to think about. A day would come when he might need to know the other, but that was not today.

He nodded as everything was relayed. Then she mentioned Endelaan.

Why?

She had told him about her world, a little, but not in depth. Why did he have to know that he could not find it, save for her ship? In truth he didn't care as long as Scherezade was not there. Nothing about the world was important to him otherwise. It was rude, or maybe selfish, to think, but it was the truth. The way she spoke of it though made him wonder if she planned to return and that was why he needed to know. That line of thinking was quickly pushed out of his mind. Again, the future was not something he wanted to think about with the two days he had with her. Reality reminded him often enough that change was the only inevitable thing in life.

Gerwald focused, and did as instructed. He moved the yoke to the right position, and when he was ready, he powered up the ship, and lifted off.

Everything rattled, and he felt as though it was going to run away from him, but he held his grip firm. He felt like he was getting tossed around, but soon the steady climb toward the stars began. Gerwald held his breath most of the way up hoping they were not going to crash, and when they cleared the atmosphere he cheered...

"I did it! We aren't dead!"

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

She would never admit it out loud, but Scherezade's heart had been racing a gazillion lightyears per second as Gerwald actually started to take reign of the controls. There were so many, so many things that could go wrong, and suddenly her big flashy idea seemed a little bit less great and amazing than it had up until ten seconds ago. She gripped her own steering wheel, though she didn't move it or use it - to her surprise, and she supposed, to Gerwald's own surprise as well, he was doing it. The ship rattled and shook as they got higher and higher, but that part was to be expected. Millions of years of space travel and there still wasn't a decent way around that.

And then they broke atmo' and Gerwald cheered. Scherezade released the wheel, and joined in his cheering, "and I didn't have to butt in at any point!" she squealed as she jumped from her seat to his lap and gave him a huge hug, "you're a natural at this. Maybe you need someone who could actually tell you what the rest of the buttons do and you can take a more hands on approach to this whole piloting thing." Or not. Either way, she'd make him to the basics a few more times, and once she knew he wouldn't be grounded anywhere just for not knowing what the on/off button was, the rest would be entirely up to him.

"So how does it feel to know how to pilot?" she asked, her lips finding his jawline a moment later. She covered it with kisses as she made her way towards his neck, "to know you can get anywhere, whenever you want to?"


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

”I’m not a natural, I just pay attention,” he said with a shrug.

Gerwald was a fast learner, he had been his entire life. While others struggled he typically only needed to be shown something once in order to pick it up. Much of his skill with a blade was that way. His fighting abilities were developed, yes, but when he started it was all too natural as well.

”Pretty sure I could pick it up,” Gerwald grinned.

How did it feel to pilot? He was still scared out of his mind. What was he going to do with this other than see the Galaxy, which he wanted to do. The problem was it felt... He was a wolf and they were not made for space. It can natural but didn’t feel natural. Scherezade was so giddy, he didn’t want to ruin it, so Gerwald just smiled.

”Well I won’t be grounded, and once I get used to the shake...” he nodded. Yeah. This was something he could get used to.

He lifted his head as she peppered his neck with her lips. Gerwald reached for the auto pilot and flipped it on. His length let him do that without any issue. It was just after that he stood up and started to carry the sithling toward the broken lift.

”So what was it you said about the shaft earlier,” he smirked as his arms wrapped her into a hold that would keep her quite secure.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"Oh, you'll get used to the shakes," she nailed the innuendo. Twice.

It was a few hours later now. They had finished with the elevator shaft and a few more locations in the house. Her toes were still tingling as she skipped from room to room on her ship to locate all her clothes, and then between even more rooms to locate all her knives, strapping them beneath her clothes as she always did. Her gun rested against her hip, and the jeans she had chosen for the day was slightly different than the usual nondescript one she wore. This one hugged her around her thighs. It was the first pair she'd actually chosen for its effect rather than its usefulness.

Once Gerwald was ready as well, the two left the Giggledust. The ramp went out lazily and she took his hand, wanting to introduce him to the beauty that was Coruscant. "There is no other place like this," she said with excitement, "the entire planet is a city, all the way down from the foundations that have no right to manage to hold up hundreds and sometimes thousands of floors on top of it. There's zero nature here though, so millions of import ships come here daily to deliver food for the population. Everything is buildings. Everything! And like I mentioned this morning, no one cares if you let yourself be the wolf. They won't even blink twice. Pretty much every species in the 'verse comes here soon or later."

She was still babbling in an excited tone when they began to walk out, her mind filled with joy. The only thing that marred it was the three slugs that were sent to just before and Gerwald's feet.

Scherezade jumped backwards, a protective arm coming in front of Gerwald as well, and looked up.

Twelve Trandoshians were standing there, all with armor, and... Weapons. And they were doing their ticky ticky thing. Scherezade's eyes narrowed. "I don't understand Trandoshian," she complained, unable to understand what they wanted and why they thought- oh. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.

A small droid wheeled over.

"Greetings. I am G6-E1, translator droid. The Trandoshians say that you have a blood score to settle."

Scherezade bit her lower lip.

"Tell them I won fair and square and already spent the money on a bacta tank."

The droid translated.

"They say you cheated because you used the Force."

Scherezade turned to Gerwald, "so, like, a few months I was in the undercity, which is where all the supposedly bad stuff happens, and I ended up in a fighting pit with one of their kind," she pointed at the uglies, "and she beat me to a bloody pulp so I broke a few of her bones and then Force Screamed into her ear until her brain exploded."

"And they have been waiting for the chance to settle the score for several months now, and have missed you the previous three times you landed on this planet," the droid added helpfully to the context of the situation.

She looked at the Trandoshians and their slug pistols, her mind already beginning to calculate how much they'd need to take them down. They were sturdy butthats, harder to kill than your average human or near-human. And of course, slugs. Slugs were always a problem. They just moved too fast. Krak.


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

The sights of the city planet were as overwhelming as the idea of the place had sounded. His senses were going crazy, there were so many sounds and smells that he had to adjust to. It seemed there would be no time for that as the pair were almost immediately confronted by twelve ugly things demanding a blood score be settled.

Of course they did.

Gerwald was learning quickly that [member="Scherezade deWinter"] left death behind her wherever she went. That didn't make him like her any less. They were the same after all. Gerwald had accepted that part of who he was, and smiled.

Shots were fired, and Gerwald ducked, then took a step forward.

"Hey... there is no reason to fire any shots. If there is a blood score to settle, then we shall settle it like warriors. With honor. Twelve on two is hardly fair, even with the fact she can use the force. This fight... it happened in an arena?"

Gerwald sighed.

"Melee weapons only. To the death. The twelve of you can be the gauntlet. I fight until I kill you all, or one of you kills me. I will assume her blood debt if that will satisfy you."

Despite his size they would have to make the mistake of underestimating him. How could he fight through 12 and live? That is what they had to be thinking. Gerwald hoped they would agree. He knew Scherezade would protest, or expected it, so he turned to her.

"You won't convince me otherwise."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Won't convince her otherwise? Won't convince her otherwise?! She was full of protests! She even opened her mouth to voice them as the little droid translated between Gerwald and the uglies. But she shut her mouth and just glared at Gerwald.

Scherezade made some quick calculations. Twelve knives. Four bullets in the gun. She could kill them on the spot if she could shove Gerwald out of the way and fire/stab them all before the droid was done translating. But no, Gerwald wanted to... Wanted to take care of it? Fury turned to surprise and she looked at him. No one ever offered to fight a battle for her before. Were there rules on these things? Was she supposed to accept? Was she supposed to slap him on the back of the head and tell him not to be silly?

"The Trandoshians accept," the droid said. Whatever it was she was supposed to have been doing, she'd delayed too much in doing so. One of the Trandoshians made a few more clicks, and the droid translated again. "Please have the female surrender all her weapons ahead of the fight."

Now she was glaring again. "Not a chance. If he want to fight in my place he can, but I'm not removing any weapons from myself. Especially when those uglies aren't offering me assurances that I will not be attacked by them or their friends during or after the fight."

She looked to Gerwald as the droid set to translating again. "These are Trandoshians," she said in a heated whisper, "they're strong. Super strong. They're taller and wider than you and it's all muscle mass. The only reason I got out of that pit alive was because I Force Screamed into a Trandoshian's ear until her brain exploded. Are you sure this is what you want? I can kill them before the droid's done translating."


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Gerwald nodded. They accepted his terms, but they wanted [member="Scherezade deWinter"] to give up her knives.

Ger shook his head.

”I don’t think so... she is going to make sure you don’t cheat as payback for her using the force. Because I’m going to tell you right now, if you try, then honor is out the window and I will kill you all before you can blink.”

The prospect of a fight made the wolf in Gerwald more evident. His teeth were bared, and the look in his eyes was one of blood lust. If she looked, Scherezade would see it in him. The wolf was fighting, not the man.

He turned to her.

”You forget I’m a trained fighter. It’s never as much about size as it is skill. Why do you think I said melee weapons only. A good vibrosword will have me at a heavy adavantage. You’ve never actually watched me fight. Have some faith... hmmm?”

The droid indicated it was time to leave. They were headed underground for an arena of highly illegal activity. The high life of Coruscant.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Have some faith.

Scherezade still glared, but something in her expression had softened. He was right - she'd never seen him fight. She'd seen him play-sparring with her and killing a beast, and that was not quite the same. And she the wolf now, and wondered if he just wanted the fight or something else was going on.

"Fine," she finally relented, "but if they cheat I'm jumping in." She almost kissed him then, but realized the timing was way too wrong. Instead, she shoved her hands into her pockets and walked with the rest of them.

"She may keep her weapons, but must remain at least thirty feet away from the ring," the droid said. Scherezade groaned and just gave a simple nod.

Her brain went mad trying to find places in which the Trandoshians were weak, but she came up with nothing.

Inside of Scherezade, the rage was beginning to bubble. She didn't know if Gerwald could sense it and for the moment at least, didn't care. She had planned a fun day for them to spend together on Coruscant and those butthats were ruining it for her. She wanted to show him the city, not be dragged back to the undercity and into a stupid fight with stupid people that made stupid sense.

Emerald green eyes began to omit a light and she grabbed one of the daggers through her pockets, her grip on it strengthening. If they kept to the rules, it was going to be an exercise in self control

She friggin' hated self control.

After what seemed like an eternity, and a bunch of elevators that kept going down, they were finally at the place. Scherezade realized she recognized it - it was where the original fight had happened. There was a ring in the center, though the place was currently void of an audience, and the seller who'd sold her rat burgers was gone as well.

"Please enter the ring," the droid said, "once the bell ring, you may begin."


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

”No audience,” Gerwald smiled.

They didn’t know what kind of advantage that gave the force users. Yes Gerwald had spoken of honor, but he wanted Scherezade to know what to do if things turned south, which they likely would. Gerwald fully expected they would not keep to their agreement especially without an audience of witnesses. Gerwald wouldn’t if he were them.

”SPEED,” he pressed into Scherezade’s mind. ”If the force can enhance your speed, then your speed will be something they cannot defend. Always go for the throat or groin, the arteries there will make them bleed out. Speed will make you stronger too.”

Ger didn’t wait for her say she understood. It was time to enter the ring. Several blades weapons were offered, and Gerwald stuck to two vibro swords. The first came and went for a club. Brute strength was usually what unskilled fighters relied on. He smiled, because Gerwald knew this one dead already.

When the signal was given to begin the first creature came after Gerwald swinging for his head. Ger sucked and sliced at the abdomin cutting it in a swift motion. He swung behind and cut the knees out from under the lizard, and finished with the head once it feel to its knees.

That was one.

Gerwald looked to Scherezade.

”Impressed?”

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]