Private Among Salvage and Shadows

[Kaiva Rowe]

Ord Mantell was good for this sort of work.

Too much noise. Too many factions crossing paths without ceremony. Power here rarely announced itself cleanly. It bled through posture, through how people moved when they thought no one was important was watching.

Kaiva Rowe occupied a corner table on an upper level overlooking the main floor of the cantina. The position gave her a clear view of entrances, exits, and the subtle shifts in atmosphere that followed certain individuals like gravity wells. A datapad rested in her hand, its display deliberately dim. She was not recording faces or names. She was tracking weight. Who drew attention? Who bent the space around them without effort? Who inspired distance rather than fear?

Force sensitivity helped, but she did not rely on it. The Force could lie through intensity. Presence could be performed. True capability revealed itself in restraint.

Most of the room registered as expected. Mercenaries with sharp edges and shallow depth. Operators posturing above their actual reach. A few sparks of potential that might burn out under pressure. Useful knowledge, filed away.

Then the balance shifted.

It was not dramatic. No sudden silence. No ripple of panic. Just a subtle reorientation, like metal filings aligning themselves to an unseen field. Kaiva's attention lifted from the datapad without conscious intent, her focus narrowing toward the source without fixing on any single face.

Significant. Not loud. Not wasteful. But undeniably tiered above the ambient noise of the room.

She did not move. She did not shield or reach outward. Observation remained her priority. Engagement was not part of the assignment.

Support. Cooperation. Avoidance.

Ord Mantell had a way of answering those questions, whether one asked them or not.

Darth Nexion

 

[Darth Nexion]

For the last few months now, Nexion had made it a habit of travelling from planet to planet, looking for the best individuals to entertain him. He had found a good few, but his enjoyment of finding more people to serve as entertainment led him to continue. Now, he found himself of Ord Mantell, a neutral planet located in the Middle Rim. It was a place of many characters, but it was times like this when being force sensitive pays off. It helped find those who either he found interesting, or had an interest in him.

He entered a cantina, not wearing his usual tattered black robes. Instead, he was wearing a buttoned shirt under a long coat, a silver belt, black pants and boots. He wasn't wearing a hood, and his white hair was on full display in a wild and unbrushed manner. Even if you didn't know him, you could tell it wasn't a look he wore often... well, it was a look he shouldn't wear at all.

As he ordered himself a drink, his green eyes scanned the room before he sensed someone. He peered up and singled out a Zeltron woman. He took his drink and made his way to the upper level. He approached from behind, knowing she felt him in some capacity.

"I must say, it takes most people less time to tell when I'm nearby. Either you're new to this, or you're just slow."

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Kaiva Rowe

 

[Kaiva Rowe]

Kaiva felt him before she heard him.

Not as a spike of alarm, not as a flare of threat. More like pressure entering a sealed space. A change in the room's density that did not announce itself, but demanded accounting.

She did not turn right away.

The datapad in her hand dimmed another degree as she finished the line she had been reading. Only then did she shift her posture slightly, enough to acknowledge proximity without yielding ground. Her attention was precise now, inward and outward at once, Force awareness held close and controlled rather than extended.

"Ord Mantell encourages bad habits," she said calmly, her voice level and unhurried. Not loud enough to draw attention, not quiet enough to be dismissive. "People forget how visible they become when they rely too heavily on instinct."

She rose from her seat, turning just enough to face him without crowding his space. Her expression was neutral, composed, eyes steady rather than curious.

"You are not subtle," Kaiva continued. There was no accusation in it. Just a statement of measurement. "But you are disciplined. That narrows the field."

She studied him openly now, not staring, not retreating. Assessing posture, restraint, and the way the Force sat around him instead of spilling outward.

"I am not here for entertainment," she said evenly. "I am here to understand the kinds of people who move a room without trying."

A brief pause followed. Considered, not hesitant.

"There is always more to learn," Kaiva added. "The question is whether the lesson is worth the attention it draws."

Darth Nexion

 

[Darth Nexion]

Nexion leaned back against the banister as he looked at the Zeltron closely, his smile never wavering. He was amused at her short assessment of him as he took a sip of his drink. He leaned towards her as he spoke, very clearly getting into her personal space as opposed to the woman who had turned to him without crowding.

"Not here for the entertainment? What a shame, there's plenty to be found around here. Whether it be the drunkards fighting, the bets being placed, or the many numerous conversations happening around us. To be unconcerned with the entertainment value found in such things is a shame indeed."

He peered away, taking another drink as he observed said happenings around them. He then suddenly jolted back to her personal space with his smile widening into a grin that sat on his face almost too well.

"As for learning and whether something should be worth being learned, perhaps you'd care for a little lesson from me? I assure you, it may be mutually beneficial. You'll learn more about me, and I get to explain something of my interest to you. You strike me as the kind of lady who's satisfied with such a transaction... am I 'understanding' you correctly?"

____________________________________________________________________________

Kaiva Rowe

 

[Kaiva Rowe]

Kaiva did not step back when he closed the distance.

She adjusted instead, a subtle shift of her weight that reestablished her own sense of space without forcing him out of it. Her expression remained composed, but there was a trace of something warmer now. Not amusement. Interest, carefully measured.

"Entertainment is contextual," she replied calmly. "What you described is noise. Sometimes useful. Rarely instructive."

Her gaze followed his briefly as he looked out over the cantina, taking in the scuffles, the wagers, the conversations unfolding without awareness of the larger currents moving through them. When she looked back at him, it was with deliberate focus.

"As for lessons," Kaiva continued, her tone thoughtful rather than dismissive, "I tend to value the kind that reveal more than they conceal. Especially when they come from someone who enjoys being watched as much as watching others."

She allowed a small pause, enough to acknowledge his question without rushing to answer it.

"I am satisfied with exchanges that are honest about their purpose," she said. "If your interest is explanation rather than spectacle, then yes. That is something I am willing to entertain."

Her eyes did not drop, nor did they challenge. They assessed.

"But understanding," Kaiva added quietly, "is rarely a single transaction. It unfolds. The question is whether you are patient enough to let it."

Darth Nexion

 

[Darth Nexion]

"Well, going on from that then, here's a question for you: Who says entertainment is found in any one medium? Rhetorical question. The answer is: Nobody. Entertainment is subjective, no two individuals will share the most perfect, most identical preferences in entertainment. Sure, they may be uncannily similar, but there will be one small minor difference in their opinion, even if they don't point that out. So, why should the very concept of entertainment, or the kind of enjoyment found in it, be any different?"

He once again leaned into her personal space, practically right on her own face, unblinking as his eyes flashed a brighter green before calming down. He backed up and moved to the other side of her.

"See, the way I manifest enjoyment is rather overt. I'm upfront, I smile, I laugh and I make it apparent I'm amused. Others are more subtle, with maybe a small giggle or a slight tug on the lips. Somebody else may, I don't know, show no signs or even any interest in entertainment, yet they have enjoyment in their craft. Observing others, just to name a random example, to gather information on them. If done enough to become a sort of pass time, one must, on some level, enjoy what they're doing. After all, what's the point of doing something again and again if not because they enjoy it?"

He sat on the chair behind the Zeltron and leaned back against her, taking another sip of his drink. His eyes continued to scour the cantina, but his focus was entirely on the lady he was leaning back on, waiting for her response and gauging her reaction.

_________________________________________________________

Kaiva Rowe

 

[Kaiva Rowe]

Kaiva remained still when he leaned back against her.

Not frozen. Not yielding. Simply present.

Her breath stayed even, her posture relaxed enough to deny him the reaction he might have expected. If there was tension in her shoulders, it was the kind born of focus rather than discomfort. When she spoke, her voice was close to him now, low and unhurried.

"You're not wrong," she said. "Repetition does imply preference. Even discipline becomes a form of satisfaction when it is chosen."

Her gaze lifted, following the motion of the cantina rather than turning fully toward him. Fights flared and faded. Deals were made. People performed versions of themselves they believed would survive the night.

"But enjoyment is not the same as indulgence," Kaiva continued. "Some people enjoy precision. Others enjoy excess. Some enjoy observation because it allows them to remain untouched by the outcome."

She shifted slightly then, not to dislodge him, but to realign herself so the contact was no longer one-sided. A shared point of balance rather than a test of proximity.

"When I observe," she said calmly, "it is not because I am detached from what I see. It is because I am invested in understanding it before I decide how to engage."

A pause. Thoughtful. Open.

"You enjoy being overt," Kaiva added. "I enjoy being deliberate. Neither excludes the other."

She finally turned her head just enough that he could see her expression in profile. Not guarded. Not amused. Considered.

"So yes," she finished quietly, "there is enjoyment in what I do. But it isn't found in the spectacle itself. It's found in knowing when the spectacle matters and when it doesn't."

She let that settle between them.

"Now," Kaiva said, evenly, "was that the lesson you intended to offer, or merely the introduction?"

Darth Nexion

 

[Darth Nexion]

"Clever Zeltron, you are. My lesson to you is to not lie about such a thing as enjoyment. As I said, enjoyment and the entertainment it's found in can vary from person to person. I simply wish for people like yourself to acknowledge and enjoy that entertainment. You said, when we spoke at first, that you were not here for the entertainment. Now, you've just said there is enjoyment in what it is you do. That either means you agree with my reasoning and you've come to accept that, or you lied to me in the first place."

He leaned back further, finding comfort in leaning on her. He turned his head enough that his mouth was practically next to her ear.

"But I digress. If you want the shorter version: don't shy away from the enjoyment you feel in any task you do. In this galaxy, you never know what day will be your last, so you should always face it with laughter in your heart, and preferably a grin on your face."

He turned his head forward again, but didn't lessen on his sitting position. He finished the drink in his cup with a loud gulp before speaking once more.

"As for my end of this little... 'transaction', has my lesson given you any insight on myself, or do you wish to inquire further?"

_________________________________________________________________

Kaiva Rowe

 

[Kaiva Rowe]

Kaiva listened without interrupting him.

When he finished, she let the silence linger for a breath longer than necessary. Not as a challenge. As consideration. Only then did she speak, her voice calm, close, and thoughtful.

"You're right," she said. Simply. No qualifiers.

"I wasn't lying," Kaiva continued, "but I was being imprecise. I tend to separate enjoyment from spectacle, and in doing so I underestimate how closely the two can overlap."

She shifted just enough to sit more comfortably against him, not dislodging him, not yielding either. An adjustment made on her terms.

"There is enjoyment in what I do," she admitted. "Not in the chaos itself, but in the clarity that comes from watching it unfold. From recognizing patterns. From understanding people before they understand themselves."

Her tone warmed slightly then. Not laughter. Not a smile. But something genuine.

"If that qualifies as entertainment," she said, "then yes. I accept the distinction. And your reasoning."

She turned her head just enough that her voice carried clearly to him, no need for proximity to do the work.

"My name is Kaiva," she said. No rank. No title. "Kaiva Rowe."

A pause followed. Not hesitant. Open.

"As for insight," Kaiva added, "you've confirmed that you are honest about your enjoyment, even when it complicates how others perceive you. You don't hide behind restraint. You choose visibility."

Her gaze lifted briefly toward the room, then settled again.

"That alone makes you worth further inquiry," she said evenly. "If you're inclined to continue the exchange."

She did not ask a question yet. She waited.

Darth Nexion