Private A Shock to the System

[Alexander Hayes]

It wasn’t very often for Alexander to actually indulge in some time off. When he came back to the Alliance, he had been primarily focused on tracking down Maw remnants. After that, he was seamlessly integrated into GADF operations.

But even before all that, before his near death experience on Selvaris. All the K’paur knew was fighting, and joining the military had only sharpened it into a precise scalpel. Or hammer, if you asked anyone who worked with him.

Sure, he could’ve hung out with Aiden or Zinder. But both men were occupied with their own stuff. Alex knew well enough that Aiden was spending time with Briana, and he sure as hell didn’t want to be a third wheel.

Thus, it left the marine to his own devices. Which today consisted of tinkering with his cybernetic arm. His ‘carers’; those that had nursed him back to health after Selvaris, had left him instructions on how to maintain and troubleshoot any potential issues with his arm. Not that he had encountered any so far, but Alex was the type of person to always be prepared.

He was currently in his apartment, situated in a block that had been designated for GADF personnel. The K’paur was sitting at a workbench, using a multitool to test the servos in his cybernetic arm. Quietly humming to a song playing on the radio, completely unaware that a certain Jedi Shadow was about to be knocking on his door.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

What came next was less of a 'knocking' and more of a 'banging.'

Several harsh raps struck against the door, almost to the point of rattling, and on the other side of it stood none other than Maeve Linahan, Jedi Shadow and Sith Slayer. Perhaps she should've been more gentle, but she didn't particularly care. Alex should've just been glad she didn't come in through the window, or burst in through the wall.

Would've been much easier that way, honestly.

She tapped her foot impatiently at his doorstep. There was no time to waste. Maeve had been tasked a secret mission by the Jedi Council, and every moment she idled around was one less moment she could spend being productive.

Sure, she could've simply gone out alone. Taken a ship. Flown out to whatever backwater planet she needed to head to. It would've been easy. But after her briefing, she'd learned that a mission like this was going to be anything but easy. Maeve needed help, and with everyone else absent or busy elsewhere, there was only one person she felt was useful enough to take.

Unfortunately, she was busy too, so Maeve settled on the next best thing.

She knocked roughly on Alex's door again and sighed. "Alex? I know you're there. If you don't open this door in the next five seconds, I'm going to smash it down."

Alexander Hayes​

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[Alexander Hayes]

At first he thought it was one of his neighbours knocking at the door. He had yet to have any complaints about noise or the like, but it felt almost inevitable that there would be someone all too eager to complain about the smallest of things.

So it was something of a surprise when he recognized the voice on the other side of the door. Alex was almost tempted to see if Maeve would actually smash the door down. From the sound of her tone, she was feeling impatient. Whatever had brought her to his apartment, it was a timely matter.

“Alright, alright. Hold your horses, I’ll be there in a moment!”

The K’paur reached over to switch off the radio, before flipping his multitool into its compacted form. As Alex stood up from the workbench, his mind was awhirl, wondering what exactly it was Maeve needed from him. His first thought was a mission of course, but something that required this amount of urgency?

So focused was he on that thought, the K’paur had completely forgotten something as he went to open the door. It slid open to reveal not just Maeve, but also the scarred flesh of Alexander’s chest.

He had forgotten to put on a shirt.

“Well, good morning to you too, sunshine.”

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Five, four, three, two…

Maeve counted the seconds down, ready to make good on her threat, before she heard Alex's call and his footsteps thudding towards the door. Her lips pursed. She knew it was technically his day off, but for a soldier, he seemed awfully unpre—

The door swung open, revealing the shirtless K'paur, his chest a canvas of scars, and without meaning to, her eyes wandered down. Not long, but long enough.

They didn't linger. After an eye-blink, Maeve looked back up at him, burying her thoughts in an avalanche of cold. Focus. Now was not the time to get distracted.

She cleared her throat. "You're here. Good. I'm coming inside."

Maeve brushed past him, ignoring all sense of privacy and invading his apartment like she owned it. She searched around to make sure there was no one else, even going so far as to check for wire taps. Everything seemed in order, but she stopped shy of dissecting his bedroom. No need for that.

"Are you alone?" she asked him. "We need to talk."

Alexander Hayes​

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[Alexander Hayes]

It didn’t quite click when he noticed Maeve’s eyes wandered downwards. Not until she moved past, and the K’paur felt a breeze against his skin. Only then did he glance down at himself and notice his half undressed self. But before he could say or do anything, the Jedi Shadow strode into his apartment.

Alex stepped back inside, quietly closing the door as he watched Maeve walk around searching every nook and cranny possible.

If there was one word to describe his apartment, it would be ‘spartan’. Little to no effort to personalise the decorations, with the only real addition being a mechanical workbench tucked away in the corner.

And while the K’paur was certainly no SIA, even he recognized when someone was doing a security sweep of a location. Whatever this was, Maeve didn’t want nothing nor anyone else listening in.

He walked over towards the workbench, where his shirt was presently draped over the chair. Alex went to grab it, hand mid-motion when Maeve spoke up again. The K’paur raised an eyebrow at her, his curiosity ever increasing.

“Yeah I’m alone, what’s this about?”

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

His apartment was bare-boned and neatly organized, almost enough to warrant a compliment, but Maeve wasn't here to bond with him over their shared lack of interior design—she'd come here with a purpose.

"The Jedi Council have tasked me with a mission that may or may not determine the tide of our war against the Sith." She paced around his living room, finding his apartment appropriately clean of wiretaps or prying ears. She turned back to face him. "The Sith are after something. A weapon of some sort, from a time long before the High Republic, and if…"

Her words trailed. Again, Maeve's eyes were drawn back to the K'paur's chest.

The second she realized what she was doing though, Maeve scowled, an angry flush climbing her neck. "Oh, for Ashla's sake—could you put a shirt on? This is serious talk and I won't have you half-nakedly staring at me like that!"

She huffed and continued to march around his apartment. Whatever his response, she ignored him, refocusing on the subject, and continued, "Now, if the Sith manage to uncover whatever it is they're after, it could mean the deaths of thousands, and the Council can't have that. Neither can I. That's why I need to make for the Outer Rim as soon as possible."

Maeve pushed her hair back, a nervous tick.

"But I can't do this alone, and all the other Jedi I know aren't available, so as much as I hate to admit it, I need…" Gods, just the thought of saying it made her sick, "I need your help."

Alexander Hayes​

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