Private Against the Law

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Erm."

He wasn't easily swayed by the eddies that carried her feelings through the Force. Trextan was aware of them, even he wasn't so ignorant.

"It's...er..."

Trextan looked deeply awkward confronted with the sight. He was deeply awkward when confronted with the sight.

He reached out, his organic hand coming to rest in the air over her shoulder. It hovered there for a few counts before he finally decided to let it rest on her.

It was far from a warm and comforting gesture.

"It will be alright. You are safe now," Trextan said. At least when he spoke he managed to convey a measure of confidence.

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

The small touch of his hand broke the dam.

Lossa was a physical being. Her presence usually felt literally and otherwise. The outlet for her usual outbursts far and away as she tried to mend the idea of her display to this poor soul that offered what they could.

A shaky hand rested on his, the small string of comfort at company steadying the force around her as she sobbed deep and freely.

It felt like eons had passed when she finally began to quiet. But only mere minutes as the sobs turned into pained hiccups.

Mumbling half formed apologies as she wiped her eyes. More than once having to pull on a sleeve to get away from the metal on the cuff.

Now she pushed against the harness. At first comforting, mimicking familiar arms that used to hold her. Feeling like a prison as she drew her hand away to fumble at the latch.

"I'm. I'm sorry. I. Never. I've never been in a spot, like that," Her hands slapping down to her legs as she growled at the latch. Bleary eyed and still trying to wrangle her breathing. "Before now."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan did empathise with her. The sudden flurry of emotions drew his mind to the battle of Kaeshana. He had been in the path of the most extreme flash collision of super powers in decades. Trextan hadn't been ready to be in a war. He'd been left crawling through clinging mud, crying out for his father.

"Hey, hey, it'll be alright," he said. He grimaced before trying to offer and encouraging smile. It probably looked as if he was fighting a stomach ache.

"I'll get that," he said, pulling the latch free and leaving the restraints loose over her shoulders.

On reflection, he should have offered more comfort than a single hand on the shoulder. He wished he was a little less awkward. His father was a more natural leader and teacher.

"Would you like...erm...a water or..."

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

She glanced up towards him, spying the strange mixture of expressions. The crying paired with a strangled laugh at the sight. She had to be insane, or at the very least one of those strange people that always laughed at the worst times.

She'd always felt a horrible amount of second hand embarrassment for those folks. And wondered now if she was also the source of someone else's experience on the topic.

He released the clip holding the harness to her, and even that small action took the weight of the situation to a more tolerable level.

"T-thank. Thank you." A hand wiping her eyes as the other pushed against the straps across her shoulder. Her frame rocking slightly under the slow wrestle of control from her emotions. The offer of something to drink not lost on her as she tried to take a deep breath.

"Water. Please." Still struggling to take the air needed for anything more than a few words.

Space.

Both literal and in this case, something someone else needed to get their bearings. The slow sinking feeling of perhaps being the source of trouble in most situations dawning on her as she sat in the strange and particular silence the vessel offered.

Eyes alight with their jump through hyperspace. The sight still as mesmerizing as the first time for her.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Water," he agreed.

Trextan stood and stepped past her. It felt a little easier to reach out when he wasn't face to face. He placed a hand more firmly on her shoulder.

"It'll...be alright," he said. "It really will. Have a think if there's anyone you wanna holo call."

Ignoring the mess this time, he walked past the bunks and the refresher to go and fetch a metal cup of water. Trextan took a little longer than he really needed to fetch a single cup of water.

He returned back to the front of the ship. Trextan held out the cup and sunk down into the pilot's chair. He swung it around to sit and face her.

"That was...not a great place to find yourself in," he said, feeling that he needed to say something.

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

The sobs had slowly dwindled to sniffles as he spoke. A nod to his agreement as she was half blubbering her words still. The second touch of his hand far more reassuring as she blinked at the shift.

Head turning to look at him as she grimaced at the idea of a holocall.

His exit allowing her the chance to finish wrangling the sniffles before even teasing the idea of someone getting a call this early in the morning.

Who even would-

"Mom." Defeat heavy in the singular word as memories of the woman being awake at the worst hours.

Either by choice or by means of her work.

She chewed on a nail, pondering what to say with the sight of her face, and the puffiness of her eyes. It had been a horrid couple of days. Well. One really. But it felt like far more. Something she couldn't even imagine for the people that called that place home.

A staggering breath broke the train of thought as wonder to where Trextan had gone began to creep in.

His reappearance greeted with the warmest smile she could muster alongside thanks for the cup.

The bag was produced once more, and a slender opaque tray produced. The surface coded with a singular letter dividing the pop tops along the length as her watch was examined. A frown with the click of her tongue as she examined the little tray before popping one open.

Spilling the contents into her hand she divided the pills across before replacing some inside and keeping out a small blue and green pill, two red pills, along with a small orange pill.

He swung around to face her as the small collection was up ended and washed down. Breath held until another drink was had to finish unsticking the final pill. The tray replaced in her bag with a sigh.

"It wasn't great, no." Still thinking about the people that lived there."What I don't get is how that treatment is allowed. Like. I don't live there. And I can leave. There's-"

Hands tightening around the cup as she shook her head.

"Why does the Senate allow that? Why do the jedi allow that!?" Anger replacing the emotions that had filled the cabin earlier, the soft rose of her eyes shifting to a deep crimson. Genuine anger filled her, thinking about the people she had spied in that lower level huddled together in fear.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Can't have been a good day," he said, "You willingly got onto this ship," he said. He waved to encompass the squib made junk ship that was currently all that seperate their frail forms from the endless plane of hyperspace.

As soon as he said he realised that it was neither the time for humor, nor the time for drawing her attention to the current situation. Stuck on rickety ship and relying on just him for her safety.

It took him a moment to notice that her eyes had shifted colour with her emotions. She wasn't the first girl he'd met who did that.

"It's a big planet," Trextan said. "A draconian empire turns the other way because industrial profits and a subjugated population works for them. The Alliance relies of worlds joining voluntarily. Systems like those are deep rooted. Denon elections are rigged as feth I hear."

"There are worse places than Denon. If you want to be a Warden, we make a difference when we can, but...It's hard knowing you can only do so much."

"You're doing...okay?" he asked. The question sounded stupid. He was slightly concerned about the pills she had washed down. He gaze traced over her quickly, looking for any injuries she might not have hidden.

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

Her expression softened to something of a smile.

"Can't be the worst ship. Gets you around. And it holds smell. So it's airtight." The sass in her tone once more as she drew on the force to calm herself.

The explanation doing nothing to alleviate the change in her eyes, arms crossing as disgust painted her face.

"A blind eye is no better than a lie." She spat, a grumbling about the Alliance turning into little more than mumbles as he continued on. A knowing frown appearing at the mention of being limited to what they could do.

"Hard to fight what controls everything in the core I guess." A hand trying to rub away the frustration on her face. A slight wince at twisting the corner of the nasal bandage. Fixing it did little to ease the sudden stabbing pain, but her eyes were easing back to the rosy color as her brow rose sharply in silent question.

"Okay? Oh! The pills. Ah. Yeah." Scratching her forehead with another click of her tongue.

"Bacta is a wonderful thing. But it doesn't go beyond how the tissue already was. Like," The hand settling against her leg. "You can only put so much liquid metal on a post before you have to cut out the post and replace it."

The free hand absently scratching a dirty spot on her pants.

"It's all prescription. And I've been on most of them so long it's," The scratching paused as she shook her head slightly. "I'm rambling. You talked about training?"

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Holds the smell

He grimaced, fingers tapping on his thigh in embarrassment. The droid pilot didn't have a sense of smell. It just sat in the chair and flew through the use of a data spike. He was all too aware of it now.

"It's not a good thing to dwell on too much, Trextan said. "Billions of people live in awful conditions across the galaxy. Sorry, that's not helping. Just...be proud of yourself when you are able to help someone. Even if it's just one person who got mixed up in something dangerous," he said, expression shifting to a soft smile.

"I didn't mean to pry into your medicine," he said, his eyes following her hand. He dismissed her apology with a wave of a hand.

"We can do a little training," he said, confirming the offer. "I know a few people better at teaching than me too. We need a bit more room."

"Look I've got some changes of clothes that might fit, be a bit baggy. But you can get a sonic, get your clothes cleaned and try and decompress. And I'll...find an air freshener."

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

While the smell comment was certainly not aimed as a barb. It had much more of an affect than she'd guessed it would. Then again comments about one's living situation tended to touch on nerves readily.

There wasn't any fixing it now as the topic continued on the living conditions of other's. The sudden jarring realization about what was supposed to be a wonderful government turning a blind eye to one of its planet's still fresh as she let the smile turn down.

"And thank you for helping me. I guess. I don't know." Hands weaving together with her sudden tangle of reality and ideation. "I guess it's hard to know what is and isn't happening in the galaxy if you just hang around a temple all day."

Frustration gilding her words as she shook the hold the thoughts had over her.

"It comes out eventually. If not this time, one of the next scheduled times. Just," Hands slipping apart and landing atop her legs with a slow and singular nod. "Part of life for me."

The mention of needing room reminded her of the fact they were sitting inside a squib ship. A smile caught up in somber humor at the thought of whipping lightsabers around and finding out how airtight the vessel was when a counter offer was made.

"Thank you. I'll take you up on that. Baggy is fine." Finishing the remainder of her water before letting him lead the way.

Taking another chance to orient herself now that she had the right state of mind to set the space to memory. Mind taking its own steps to back away from stress as the roving thoughts focused a bit more to the immediate surroundings.

"So I have to ask. What is it you do on the regular for work?" Curiosity in full swing once more at the thought of more mundane things.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Whatever I can," he said as he stood up. "Turns out people will pay a good few credits for a jedi guard, but you have to be careful who you work for."

People didn't know of the Wardens so it was easier to run on his reputation from the war against the sith. He'd also traded on his father's reputation a few times which made him feel a little dirty.

"Pirates tried to capture this ship a while back. Went badly for them and I kinda...kept some of their captain's stash of credits. Have been trying to spread the last of that thin last few weeks.

"Right, let's give you the full tour..." he said.

"Bunk beds, clothes drawers underneath, refresher on the other side."

It was narrow between the two. He could barely walk through without brushing his shoulders on either the bunk beds or the frosted sliding door into the refresher room.

"And kitchen and a enough space to stand in a circle with your arms stretched out," he said as they stepped into the last space of the small ship. Chairs folded down from one bulkhead next to the small space for preparing food.

"Short tour."

Trextan turned to one of the drawers under the beds. He grabbed some typical spacer pants and a shirt and jacket from right down the back that were actually a woman's size.

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

The assessment of his in between work was something close to surprised. An idea she would have never believed outside the Alliance but made sense with even a shred of outside knowledge.

"Yeah. I could see that being lucrative and equally dangerous." Her measure of the situation short lived as the tour went forward. Her eyes roaming the space, taking in both the ship and its owner.

It wasn't her dream ship, but he had a sense of pride about it. Something she could easily appreciate as they rounded back to the refresher.

Arms outstretched and sorting the given items into first and last.

"Awesome." A certain amount of trust placed in the one handing them over about their cleanliness before holding the jacket up to herself. Blinking a few times before a grin appeared.

"This is not your size." She locked her gaze to his. "One of those better teachers I'd guess?"

She'd let him answer before shedding her own jacket and tossing it into the beginning of a pile.

Leaning on the edge of the lower bed to remove her boots and socks before standing and beginning on the button of her pants.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

It was good to see her smile. Trextan stood before her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, not many mad enough to stay on this ship got long, but Choli could keep almost anything in the sky," he laughed. Trextan wasn't particularly adept at sizing up girls for clothes. The jacket wouldn't quite button up on Lossa.

"It can be dangerous but there's other work you can pick up on the go and Wardens keep a network of people who will do a bed and a hot meal for us. Is there anything else you can do that..."

Lossa was standing up and stepping long, pink legs out of the clothing on the floor. He glanced down and consciously realised what she was doing whilst he was talking at her.

He turned his back to her very sharply. Heat, rapidly rising up his neck.

"Force, I'm so sorry. I...that was stupid. I wasn't..."

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

Choli.

Seemed she was a mechanic of sorts with his expression of her talent. Someone she might have to understudy a bit with when she decided to take her own ship.

And a network of people to keep them afloat was a nice touch as well given-

Thoughts disturbed when he swiveled around. Her blinking stare at his back just shy of blades thinking he might step out on his own accord. A quiet slinking to the sliding door to finish the process she had already started unthinking.

"I-I think. We both get points for stupid. Ah. You." Hand scrubbing her forehead at her own assumption.

"Anything else I can do? Uh. Like the force? Or like work?" Something just why of desperation to keep the topic moving forward than linger on their equally dismal display of awareness.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan stepped around the corner when he heard the door click closed. He shook his head at himself. Self-awareness was not his greatest strength.

He felt warmth creeping up his neck. Part of that was embarrassment, but the rest was a little more primal. A flash of pink leg was about the most exciting thing he'd seen in weeks. Trextan was also, unfortunately, quite ignorant of how empathic zeltron could be.

"There's often temp work," he called out. "It's not glamorous. It's usually lifting heavy stuff around a dock when some droids are down or they're short handed, but it pays the bills. A handful of places know of the network and often pay for some made up job-or-other just cos they like having a Warden around for security for a bit."

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

She heard the quick steps out, breathing a sigh of relief until she caught whiff of the feelings that followed. Shaking her head at the thoughts. Love and attraction had always been strange concepts for her. And being in the wider galaxy was only making her ideals on the topic more solid.

Crimson eyes vibrant as she let the thought settle for the moment.

His explanation of typical jobs making her frown as more clothing was thrown on the pile, the door opening and closing enough to allow. Though more than once she did pause to check where he was.

"Yeah. That sounds about right. Further out you go might be more of the same, or more dangerous." A remark added thinking about Denon once more.

If that was what she could expect from so close to the core, she wondered about the planets further flung from them. Especially with the lack of reach the Galactic Alliance had. Then again she recalled other groups moving in to secure those spaces.

"Wardens work with bigger governments or just usually float around?" The refresher clicking on with a sharp sound of surprise at the feeling.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Yeah it gets dangerous out in the Outer Rim," he called out. "All these wars have left systems ravaged and not properly able to defend themselves."

"We just float around. Don't want to align to any government," Trextan said. He allowed his mind to wonder through flights of fancy. It didn't do anyone any harm if it was in his head, as far as he was concerned. He could take a sonic and quietly take action to remove the tension for a while after Lossa anyway.

"But you're never signing up for a contract or anything," he said. "It's not even like formally a thing you join."

"You ever travel much around the independent systems out from the Core?" he asked. "They're not all like Denon with crackdowns and stuff. Some friendly places out there, just lawless and dangerous."

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

Refreshers weren't her fist choice, but it was by and large better than nothing.

Her hands running through her hair in case of any hidden debris from the scene Trextan had caused in the first minutes of their meeting. A few plinks from the effort as she frowned to the little specks of debris before kicking them away from her feet.

No wonder she'd been uncomfortable in the chair.

Her guess about the Outer Rim being right. Then again the stories her parents had shared with her only added to that belief.

"Desperate people make desperate choices. And other capitalize on that. To be expected." Tone falling just short of cynicism as she blinked.

And blinked her eyes wider as he continued. Pausing in her wash to focus on breathing. Shivering before trying to hurry up.

"N-no. Mostly core travel. And not often under my own power. Granted if Denon is an example of a bad core world, I find it hard to believe there's a lot of good without some trouble anywhere." The handle squawking as she fumbled with it. Her skin felt over sensitive, though she was still stringing thoughts and sentences together at least.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

He had done the right thing. Trextan was absolutely certain of that. He was just feeling a little guilty about how this might look from the outside. Went to a dangerous world, rescued only the first zeltron girl he crossed in trouble. Guilt reinforced by the picture his mind was painting.

"It'll be an adventure though!" he called out. "Wouldn't want to live your life doing an office job every day in a corporate tower."

He would not, anyway. It was what his mother and stepfather had wanted for him. More than anything else, she hadn't wanted him to follow Jacen's path and end up in the military.

This was his own path, but sometimes he worried that she still would not have approved of this life.

"I'll grab a sonic after you," he said, the opposite of his visual imagination.

 

[Lossa Darcuhl]

Location: Aboard the Verree
Equipment: Danger Jacket, Outfit, Discreet Hearing Enhancer - Left Ear, Long Handled Double Lightsaber, Concealed Sling Bag
Tags: Trextan Voidstalker

Conflicting emotions made the world spin, a white knuckle grip on the handles as she took deep breaths to prepare herself to face the source of those competing feelings.

Another steadying breath and she felt centered enough for the task.

Clothes first she reminded herself, opening the door and snatching the pants first. The shirt falling away as she frowned and pawed for the thing frantically.

"It's. It's definitely an adventure." A finer strain could not be achieved by physical devices that existed in the galaxy as her voice had done.

Wanting very much to let him get his turn done with before something stupid happened.

"Yeah! I bet you will." Trying to push his feelings out once more as she pulled the clothing on with far more haste than care. Eventually stepping out to grab the other bits and making a quick retreat back to the front of the ship.

"Your turn! And," A pause in her near manic pace as she twisted to point at him. "Don't. I mean. Uh. You should. Uhm. Never. Never mind."

She wasn't sure if it was defeat or resignation that settled her to say nothing on the matter. Instead smartly marching to the cabin ahead and trying to put up some mental barriers and finish dressing.