Aftermath

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

Kairon lounged on the fold-out bed in his quarters. Classical music played quietly in the background, and a bottle of red sat breathing on a side table. For the first time in days he wasn’t ringing his hands, nor feeling sudden bursts of anger. He’d been talking – a lot. The often sullen captain had perhaps said more words in the last few days than the previous months.

The Alliance had covered the additional fines, but had apologetically admitted their funds could stretch no further. Instead they’d offered some counselling to help the crew through the experience. He’d rather firmly refused the offer of a Jedi healer; it would be a long time before he willing allowed a Force users to affect his faculties. Instead he’d seen a trauma specialist.

An iron resolve had built while they’d worked through what had been done to them. Whilst recalling events, playing them out and rationalising them had helped, it had also made him realised that he had to take measures to prevent it from happening again. The Sith would not feel so duty bound to corporate red tape. That airlock would have been real. So he’d made a bargain with the Alliance. They’d been busy outfitting ships for war as quickly as they could, so he arranged for the Quin to be outfitted at a fraction of corporate cost.

Now she wasn’t far off military spec, and when she was unladen she’d be quicker in a straight line too. The next time someone reached to take his ship, he was going to bite their hand.

Closing his eyes, he slowly exhaled. He’d wanted to go to talk to her. But he’d been flying into a rage erratically, lashing out at things around him. At other moments he had just lost all emotional feeling and had been left completely numb, staring at his hands again. He hadn’t wanted her to see him like that. He sat up, emptied half a glass in one go and dialled her on the holo terminal.

 

[Malia Afredane]

Mal and Rusty hadn't hung around long after making the delivery at Sullust. A couple days to be treated and find a job then they headed off. Mal was being cautious and sticking to things well away from Sith and TU territory which mean lower payoffs but on the plus side, she could take meetings with resistance leaders about more lucrative deals.

She happened to be finishing one up on Naboo. Rusty figured she was relatively safe there so he headed off to Dressel for a turn at the shop. Or doing something nefarious. Maybe a little bit of both.

She was at her hotel, getting ready to meet clients for a dinner meeting when the terminal chimed. Kairon. A knot caught in her throat but she answered it, a soft, sad smile on her face as she greeted him.

"Hi."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

“Hi, it’s me,” he said redundantly. He started to wring his hands again. For once he managed to carry on without leaving an awkward silence. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you or call earlier. I should have done,” he admitted. “We're still on Sullust, just had the Quin refitted. I thought we could catch up, perhaps, if you want. We didn’t get that date,” he said.

Some part of him felt that he was surely setting himself up to fall here. But if he hadn’t made the call the last he would have seen of her was across the deck of that Techno Union cruiser. She’d had dried blood caked to her face, had been barely able to stand. A line of battle droids had been between them. Nothing could be worse than that. He wondered where she was, she could be halfway across the Galaxy by now.

 

[Malia Afredane]

She grinned a little, feeling nervous and stupid. She didn't know if he remembered the things she said or if Jarrick had told him what he chewed her out about. She had pretty much written him off. You don't get another chance at that one moment, do you?

"We headed off a couple days after. I saw their healer, it helped so back in the saddle."

She laughed and swallowed hard. This was awkward and awful. She bit the stick and just faced the wreckage.

"Look, that job was terrible but I don't blame you for it. And I think we have a lot to talk about. If you want, I'm on Naboo for a couple more days. We can have that date, talk about that karking nightmare and see what comes after that. I make no promises. But....I really want to see you."

She felt like she was shaking visibly from nerves. She was being way more forward than anyone with her past could be without a reasonable level of intoxication. She waited for his answer. Naboo was a trip. There was no job here though she could probably find him one. He may not want to drag his crew here while he has a date with her.

There was a lot working against her on this one.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

That sad smile that had crossed her face had been what he was expecting. His mood had been calm and sombre, but the moment she laughed that heady mix of elation and anxiety was back again. He immediately reflected that laugh with his own expression. He hadn’t expected to be able to feel this way so soon.

“I’d like that,” he said. “Tell you what, we’ve got a brand new point-five Silk hyperdrive to run in. We’ll get off in a few hours. What timezone are you in?” he asked. Probably worth clarifying this time, he figured. To a spacer timezones didn’t really matter, but they did to restaurants and caff shops. After what they'd been through, they really did have a lot to talk through.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"I'm in Theed, it's about dinnertime here. You'll be here tomorrow for me so I'll meet you late morning after I get out of a meeting, if you don't mind. There's a cultural center downtown. See you on the steps at 1000?"

She waited for him at say yes this time before she killed the holo and headed off to dinner. The prospect of seeing him tomorrow was more nerve wracking than the arms deal she was about to go close.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mal hardly slept the night before, catching a few hours after being up way too late reading, trying to get her mind off seeing him. She still had a breakfast meeting with a rather taciturn rebellion fellow who wasn't ready to pay the prices Mal was giving. They haggled over breakfast but it was for naught, he was too morally upstanding to outfit his men with stolen goods. Not Mal's problem.

She ran back to the hotel and changed into something a little more her style, riding pants, boots, button down in blue and a brown leather jacket. She tried to do something with her hair but it did its own thing no matter what. There was definitely more gray in it than before. It pissed her off, but there was no time to do anything about it other than brush it a different way.

She got there and paced a bit. Sat a bit. Paced some more and worried that he was going to stand her up and that this was just a waste of time. Who would want to have a date with her? Was he out of his goram mind?

She felt like a teenager so far out of her element she started contemplating heavy drinking. At 1000. Because that solves everything.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

Perhaps they had pushed the Quin for her first voyage with a new primary hyperdrive, but there was always the reliable old backup that had served them for so long. He’d mostly chalked the Silk’s 0.5 speed hyperdrive up to market, but the clock didn’t lie. They’d never come close to the time they made.

Rather than his roughed up long coat and worn trousers with extra pockets, he decided to turn out more smartly for the centre of Theed. He didn’t own traditional suits for dealing with the more civilised types in the Core. His family was an old fashioned trading family from the Eriadu merchant classes, and he still dressed in their manner when he wasn’t dressed as a casual spacer. Eriadu still had something of a class system, and formal wear differed between them.

This morning he had a dark grey long sleeve shirt on, not tie, with a casual brown waistcoat over the top. A small chain hung from one pocket, with a very subtle decoration. For formal gathering the merchant classes from home tended to wear colourful waistcoats, with brightly coloured cravats and elaborate watch chain fobs. Still, even in the casual coat he was concerned about being overdressed. Damn his neuroticism.

The Theed architecture was utterly unique. Approaching the steps grand statues rose up above him, but these in turn were dwarfed by massive domed structures. He always enjoyed the flight in, looking down at all the green domes.

He spotted her on the stairs, instantly worried that she’d been left here waiting for too long. “Good morning!” he called.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"Hi!" She nearly shouted she was so nervous and enthusiastic and completely confused by the protocol of the situation but as he drew closer, she made a snap decision and wrapped him in an embrace as he approached her on the steps. She held him a moment, her head on his shoulder as she breathed him in and whispered.

"Hi..."

It felt good to touch him but she started to wonder if it was awkward so she released him and stepped back quickly, alarm on her face as she looked utterly confused by the situation.

"Sorry...I...uh...I..." She looked like she had something desperately important to say and she figured it was put up or shut up time, struggling with how to begin. He flew here to see her but she needed to get something off her chest.

"I know that....I...um...I have lots of baggage. It's not pretty, I'm not a gal you take to mom, but I think there is something ....I...karking hell...I karking like you and I'm tired of feeling like the stupid kid who can't tell her crush that she thinks he karking hung the moon. Is it too early to start drinking?"

She looked terrified and exasperated and like she might be told the worst thing she's ever heard in her life. Her confession was not quiet by any means and a couple people cast them sidelong looks as they ascended the steps into the museum. Meanwhile, time seemed to slow as she waited to see how Kairon would react.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

“Hi,” he echoed back in a whisper as she caught him off guard with the embrace. Kairon couldn’t prevent the board grin from spreading across is face as she appeared more agitated as she talked. Well, the question of who was going to speak first and get it out in the open was answered. At least he wasn’t going to spend a few hours wringing his hands and trying to work out a way to do it himself. No interruptions today. No crime lords, no torture.

“I…I like you Mal, really like you,” he confessed, holding her gaze. It sounded weak in his head. “We are who we are,” he explained, gesticulating with his hands. “Why don’t we find somewhere to sit - or walk - and talk? You can tell me just as much or as little about you as you want,” he said, lowering his voice. There was no chance he would be able to bring himself to describe certain events from his past, so he couldn’t expect her too.

He looked down at his feet, looking abashed with a lopsided smile. His heart was racing. “What a week. Any chance you also spent all last night trying to think of how to express how you feel and then forgot everything about twenty seconds ago?”

This had been a mad old week, with perhaps the worst two days of his lift sandwiched in the middle. He was starting to hope it might end on a high note.

 

[Malia Afredane]

When he confirmed that he felt the same way, it seemed like every muscle in her body just relaxed. The neurotic feeling died to be replaced by elation and euphoria.

"Every damn minute."

She stepped closer to him, a sheepish grin on her face.

"I lost my thoughts every time I saw you. It's why I was hitting the bottle pretty hard the last time on Shaddaa. Unless I was drinking, I couldn't bring myself to say a damned thing."

She looped her arm through his, and lead him down the stairs. It felt weird to be this comfortable with someone who wasn't a towering droid chassis but she liked it. Rusty was great, but she needed human companionship from time to time and it had been lacking of late. So much so she was thinking of getting a larger ship so she could have a crew. Being alone in the TU cell had driven the point home.

She lead him to a caf house and they got a couple cups to go before walking towards the massive waterfalls at the one end of Theed. Near a shady spot, along the river, they found a bench, and Mal took a deep breath and looked at him.

"So about the TU. Rusty told me everything the zabrak had done to all of us. Whether or not you believed the illusions, they weren't lying about some things. She knew how I felt about you. And so they stuck it to me by telling you my crappy past. I was run out of the Navy for skimming supply loads and selling the cargo. I did time in a Republic prison for it. I've been pirating and smuggling and dealing in weapons ever since. I don't kill people if I can help it. It's just the money to me. Although lately, a couple people have made me doubt that stance."

She gritted her teeth about Makers and the zabrak but she shook it off and looked at him again.

"I didn't want you to know. Normally, I could give a damn if anyone knows. But when you heard I was in the Navy, you looked like you respected me. For being me. Made me think you were probably a nice guy under that scowl."

She chuckled, then exhaled slowly, looking at the now empty caf cup in her hand.

"I don't even know how I'm supposed to act. I'm a mess."

She laughed, looking at the river across them, peacefully flowing along oblivious to the the pair.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

Walking arm in arm felt better than anything had in a long time. Those two days had left him either numb or angry. Old happy memories had lost their feeling, as if the colour had been drained away. But today was a brilliant canvas of emotions.

As they walked he kept glancing across at her and smiling, seeing her so close to him. He was certain he saw he look back at him in the same manner, but his nerves didn’t last enough to hold that look. Kairon was a man who could sit with his own thoughts in silence for a long time, so when they reached the waterfall he was content to sit and listen to her voice and watch the river flow by. So much so, that it took him a couple of seconds to realise he should be talking.

“I think you’re doing better than me,” Kairon said. “The best I’d come up with after ‘hello’ was ‘err’. Sooo I should tell you about the Quintessence. Rees is the same one as ‘Schmidt and Rees’, the freight company. The big one. The Quintessence was the Harlequin. I kind of stole the ship from my own family, and set off with her to start smuggling.

“My experiences aren’t why I don’t care about your past,” he said with a shrug. “But maybe it’ll help you believe me. I’m just elated and still shocked that you saw something you liked under the scowl,” he said.

The wind crossing the river carried a chill and the hot caf was gone. Heart in mouth, he reached out with his right hand to find hers. The backs of his knuckles were still grazed, but he hoped she wouldn’t mind.

 

[Malia Afredane]

Schmidt and Rees. That was an interesting tidbit that Rusty had never mentioned. If he stole it and renamed it, Kairon probably wasn't the favorite son. Still, it was a company large enough that she knew who they were. He had abandoned a fairly well off existence to be a smuggler. Adventure calls to everyone she guessed. She felt the warmth of his hand on hers, and she moved to intertwine her fingers with his, stroking the softer back of his hand with her thumb.

She looked around for a bin to toss her cup out and when she spied on a few feet away, she gently tugged him to his feet to drag him along. As they started walking again, she pulled herself closer to him, hugging his arm, hand in hand, her head leaning on his shoulder.

"So do you want to walk through the museum, get a bite to eat, sightsee?"

She peered up at him a little, a sweet smile on her face.

"What did you have in mind for that date on Sullust anyway?"

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

[member="Malia Afredane"]

"So do you want to walk through the museum, get a bite to eat, sightsee?"

“That sounds good to me,” he said. He felt a little light headed. He’d expected a slow day, never imagining she’d be so close to him already. He gently squeezed her arm with his free hand affectionately. The Center was huge. A shining beacon of culture for the whole region. Once it had been a testament to the advancements brought on by the stability the Omega Protectorate brought to the region.

"What did you have in mind for that date on Sullust anyway?"

“I used my old corporate account to book seats at a Bakur’s,” he said, referring to the renowned restaurant. “I felt really bad when I had to rush off back at Lucky's so thought it would be a nice surprise,” his mind went back to those cells, and the confusion he’d wrought by bringing it up. It brought him down a notch from his near-euphoric state, derailed a train of thought that ended with him leaning in and trying to kiss her. He rallied inside himself, refusing to let those events rule him. His smile faded just a touch, but he kept his tone from becoming too sombre. “I’m sorry, I think I shouted at you back in those cells. I didn't mean to. Where did you want to go then: history, science, medicine or artefacts? I heard they moved an actual Krayt dragon into an enclosure last month!”

Kairon was often a man of few words, prone to becoming sullen when life administered one of its frequent kicks when he was down. But now they were over the first exchange of words he actually felt comfortable, if still not entirely believing this was happening to him. That smile might have faded, but it wouldn’t leave him today.

 

[Malia Afredane]

She stopped them, stepping in front of him, still within his personal space.

"Don't apologize. It was a nightmare but this is...a welcome change. "

She smiled genuinely and it seemed to light her up from within, her hazel eyes with an edge of green to them. She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips in a mock display of deep throught, but pulled on his hand as she turned.

"To science!" She was giggling now, but they wandered through the exhibits, looking at various experimental setups, biomes, and geological displays. Towards the back of the science wing, there was a large domed room like an open planetarium, replaying a projection of the birth of a galaxy in splendid colors, as supernovas swirled into life and died again in a sea of star above their heads. It was the wide cosmos that they sailed through, in ships of metal surrounded by stars and stardust.

Mal was mesmerized by the lights and ethereal music accompanying the voiceover in the room, her eyes drawn from the ceiling every now and then to look at Kairon, to see if he was relaxing, if he was enjoying himself. She wanted so very badly to kiss him in that moment, her mouth running dry and a lump in her throat. Her guts were a whirling mass of butterflies and she was certain that if her heart pounded any louder, he would be able to hear it over the narration.

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

Kairon's eyes followed the trail of a comet as it streaked across space above. He turned his head as it cross the dome and fell down over his right shoulder and behind Malia's head. He'd stopped following it. She was looking at him. She was looking at him. He traced her delicate features with his eyes, before losing himself in her gaze. He was certain he'd stopped breathing as he saw a nebula explode in a myriad of colours in her eyes.

It was so quiet in here, just a gentle background melody to the lightshow. So very peaceful. It occurred to him that it was also very dark in here. Reaching across the gap between them with his left hand, he gently brushed her hair back from her face. He left the hand there, resting against her jaw. He leant in and paused a few inches from her face, staring deep into her eyes. Kairon tilted his head and moved his lips to hers.

 

[Malia Afredane]

If ever there was a moment that Mal wanted to freeze in time, to preserve as sharply in her memory as it existed in life, it was this moment. She could feel the warmth of his hand on her cheek, his eyes fixed on hers, then the tender brush of his lips. It was in that instance that she realized that she had been holding her breath, and now that she was given the chance to immerse herself in that kiss, she wanted nothing more than to drown in him.

Her hand let go of his, snaking around his neck to draw him closer, to take in the scent of him and hope that tongues and skin could be far more eloquent that she could on any given day. It was a kiss, just a kiss to any casual observer, but in the heart and mind of Mal, this was a triumph of her spirit over the brutality of the Techno Union. He was here, holding her, kissing her and in that beautiful moment, everything was perfect and right with the world.

She pulled away from him, with a playful nibble on his lower lip, and a dreamy faraway look in her eyes as she traced every line of his features with those hazel orbs.

"I think I could get used to that."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

A sharp intake of breath as she bit his lower lip. A sudden reminder that despite their awkward attempts at expressing their feelings, they were not teenagers. For a moment his eyes narrowed, and he looked longingly at her, with intent, oblivious to everything but her.

"I think I could get used to that."

His gaze softened, his narrowed lips forming a smile again. Today that never seemed far from his face. “Heh.”

Truly you are the master wordsmith, he thought to himself. The Bard of the Hyperlanes will pack up his writing pad once he hears of your articulation of passion.

The lights were starting to come back on, the show had finished. Kairon was still lost in her stunning eyes: hazel brown encircled in flecks of green. One part of his mind was fumbling for words, the other part was content with silence. She was looking over him. What did she see? Why would she let him kiss her? He was just an ageing, surly smuggler who could barely keep his boat going. And she was so…damn he wished he was better with words. For all the books he read and he couldn't even think of something that matched his feelings.

“You’re beautiful,” he said plainly. “We should get some lunch,” he added suddenly, before she could respond. His eyebrows came together in apologetic surprise as he made the second statement. Why did even you say that? he thought to himself incredulously. People were standing up around them now, and making their way out of the planetarium. How long had they been oblivious to their surroundings?

 

[Malia Afredane]

There was something in the way he casually combined "You're beautiful" and "We should get some lunch" as if both subjects were the most benign things in the world. She could not help the very loud laugh that came out, her fingers intertwining with his again. She buried her face in his shoulder as she let the giggles pass, walking with him towards the exit of the museum.

"Yeah, let's get you some food."

They wandered down the street, finally arriving at a pub that looked like a place for a decent bite and a good drink. They got a table in a corner of the place, which was well appointed if a little dimly lit. That was a pub for you though. She ordered a burger and an ale, leaning back in the booth, not really sure what to say or what to do with herself. She had a few flings here and there, random hookups without meaning and a couple promising beginnings derailed by the discovery that she had misconstrued their desire for a purely physical relationship for something else. Mal had a crappy track record for these things and the new elephant in the room for her was what was this going to be?

Certainly challenging. They were captains of their own vessels. Crew members could be shuffled between vessels. Captains? Yeah, that wasn't happening. So the now prominent thought in her mind was This is doomed to failure. She tried not to think of it. Captains could not sit idle for long, money to be made, crew to pay. However, she wanted to cherish every minute she could of this day with him, unsure if or when she would get another one.

Cut it out, Afredane. It ain't tomorrow yet.

She reached her hand across the table, palm up, looking for his hand again. An anchor to this moment, something to remind her this wasn't a dream or an illusion. That for a day, she got to be the woman in all those trashy romance novels and soap operas she watched. A tiny bit of her wanted that swirling romance, with flowery sentiments and impossible promises. She knew life didn't work that way, but a girl could dream.

"How long were you planning on staying on Naboo? I know I asked you to come but I'm sure you don't have a ton of time to burn if you spent a few days on Sullust."

[member="Kairon Rees"]

 

[Kairon Rees]

It took about as long for the colour to leave his face as it did for Mal to stop giggling - perhaps a little longer. Still, he took her humour in the spirit intended, even if he silently promised to try and make less of an arse of himself for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately the Captain of the Quintessence was a neurotic match for Afredane. As soon as she asked he started going round in circles in his own head. He didn’t want to think about their time together being limited right now, but he knew how quickly a few days would go. Especially now. He didn’t want this moment to become a memory.

He reached across the table and grasped her hand, perhaps a little too tightly, as if afraid she would escape if he let go. The Galaxy was a big, big place. Planets, cultures, species and civilisations beyond comprehension. At the same time, it could be a very small place, if you trod similar paths.

Kairon tried not to let worry tinge his expression, but he likely failed. “How long as you here for?” he asked, his intention clear. “The Alliance seemed keen to keep some privateers on hand, though they wouldn’t say why. But we can stay on retainer for a few weeks just ferrying their goods within the local systems. I figure it’s as good as any way to run in the new systems safely. Jarrick can handle it.

“You can fly with us any time you want you know,” he added quickly. He already knew that he was going to be disappointed. That she’d be off later today and on distant systems for the next month. But he was utterly besotted and in that moment he would have agreed to follow her to the far side of the Galaxy if she asked him.

 

[Malia Afredane]

"I've got nothing for a few days. Rusty took Gracie to run to Dressel. So I'm stuck here until he comes back for me. Gives me some time to host some meetings. I kinda got into arms dealing when I met Corr a few years ago. He's an enforcer for one of the Mando clans. It's mostly about who you know and working your connections. I've been here quietly talking to resistance leaders on some of the planets in Sith space. Anything I sell has to be clean and quiet. I usually run the loads myself unless it's too big for Gracie. We've been talking about getting a new ship. It's just a matter of making it happen. I feel like two sides of my life are pulling me in different directions. I could make it as a dealer. Be in charge of my own cartel the way a few people have been talking. Or I can have a crew and keep flying. It's irritating as hell to be torn."

She noticed she had talked a lot without giving him an opportunity to say anything. He's also only asked how long she was going to be here.

"Sorry, I tend to ramble."

She chuckled a bit, taking a sip of her ale.

"I'd like to see the Quin up close sometime. I don't know that you want me to fly with you. Two captains on one bridge is a recipe for disaster."