Private First Steps of Varesh

[Bramoc Karr]

A quiet smile found him.

"I did tell you that you were the right person for it."

There had been more truth in those words than she probably realized.

Questioning came as naturally to Talia as breathing. She examined assumptions instead of accepting them, dug beneath appearances, refused to leave mysteries unresolved. Those qualities made her exactly what the Varesh would need in an Arbiter. Yet none of that had been something he had sought out deliberately. He had not arrived on Voss with her name in mind or some elaborate design already formed.

The Force had simply led him there.

Looking back, it seemed almost impossible that the encounter had been chance. Of all the worlds in the galaxy, of all the people either of them might have crossed paths with, they had found one another. Whatever else could be said about destiny, that coincidence was difficult to dismiss.

Her next question lingered in his thoughts. Where. That answer was less obvious.

He had seen a great many systems over the course of his life, enough to know how little of the galaxy any one person could truly experience. Somewhere, there had to be a place untouched by the endless rivalries of governments, Jedi enclaves, Sith ambitions, and forgotten wars. A world where something entirely new could take root.

Finding it would not be easy.

"It should be somewhere that isn't burdened by old loyalties," he said after a moment. "A place with room to become something of its own. Whether such a world still exists..." He let the thought trail away before giving a faint shake of his head. "The galaxy has had thousands of years to leave its mark."

Silence settled briefly between them as another possibility took shape. His eyes lifted toward her again.

"After Voss, perhaps we make one more stop."

He leaned back slightly, considering the idea even as he spoke it aloud.

"Obroa-skai. The archives should have an orrery. If we're going to choose where the first House stands, I'd rather not do it by guesswork."

A faint warmth entered his expression.

"We'll see where the Force asks us to begin."

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia smiled to herself, her thumb absently brushing across the back of his hand. There had been a time, not so very long ago, when she might have argued with him about being the right person. She would have insisted there were wiser Jedi, more experienced leaders, people who had spent decades studying philosophy rather than buried civilizations. Now... she wasn't so certain. Not because she thought she had all the answers, but because she had come to appreciate the value of continuing to ask the questions.

"I think you were right," she admitted softly. "Though I suspect I'm going to challenge you often enough that you'll occasionally regret saying it." The smile she turned toward him was warm, touched with quiet amusement. "Then again... you've already had plenty of practice."

Her gaze drifted back to the river of stars stretching beyond the cockpit canopy. The idea of searching for a home rather than claiming one felt... appropriate. She thought of Veykar Prime waiting patiently for them, a place they would always return to, but one too personal to become the foundation for something larger. It deserved to remain theirs. A sanctuary. Somewhere their children could one day know not as the birthplace of a movement, but simply as home.

"I like that we're not trying to force the answer," she said after a thoughtful silence. "The Houses shouldn't begin because we found an empty patch of land. They should begin because we found the right place." She smiled faintly. "A world has its own history, its own character. If we're asking people to build a life there, then perhaps we owe that world the courtesy of listening to it first."

When he mentioned Obroa-skai, her attention shifted back to him almost immediately. The name stirred only the vaguest familiarity in the back of her mind.

"I've heard of Obroa-skai," she admitted, "though only in passing." Curiosity brightened her expression. "Tell me about it." She tucked one leg beneath herself in the co-pilot's seat as she turned a little more fully toward him. "You mentioned an orrery in the archives. Is it simply a map of the known galaxy, or something more?" A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "You know me well enough by now to realize you've just mentioned an archive and expected me not to ask questions."

A quiet laugh escaped her before she looked back through the canopy.

"And..." she added more thoughtfully, "if we're asking the Force where to begin, perhaps the search itself is part of the lesson. We'll see worlds we might never have visited otherwise. Meet people we never expected to meet." She glanced back at him, warmth returning to her eyes. "After all... that's how we found each other."

Bramoc Karr

 

[Bramoc Karr]

He gave a quiet shake of his head.

"No. I won't regret it. Every question simply means I have more time spent talking with you."

It was, in many ways, one of the things he appreciated most about her. Talia never accepted the surface of an idea when there was something deeper waiting beneath it. That habit had challenged him more than once, but it had also sharpened his own thinking. The Varesh would never be built on certainty alone. It would need people willing to question even its founders.

Her curiosity had already proven its worth.

As for their future, there was no urgency to choose a home simply because they felt they should. A decision like that could not be rushed. Whatever world became the first House of the Varesh would shape everything that followed. It deserved more than a point on a star chart.

"We'll have to see it with our own eyes," he said thoughtfully. "Walk its streets. Learn its history. Understand the people who already call it home, if anyone does. A foundation built in haste rarely remains standing for long."

When she admitted she wasn't familiar with Obroa-skai, genuine surprise flickered across his features.

"I thought you'd have been there already."

A soft chuckle escaped him before he continued.

"It's one of the greatest repositories of knowledge left in the galaxy. History hasn't been kind to its archives—there were losses, just as there were everywhere else—but what remains is staggering. Entire lifetimes could disappear inside those collections." His smile broadened slightly. "I'm fairly certain you'd never want to leave."

He rested his forearms on his knees as he explained the rest.

"An orrery is essentially a living map of the galaxy. A massive holographic projection you can walk through and examine from any angle." His gaze drifted for a moment, as though he could already picture it. "If we spend some time there—not searching for what we want, but listening instead—I think the Force will narrow the possibilities for us."

He looked back to her.

"We've spent enough of our lives forcing outcomes. This time... I'd rather discover one."

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

A warmth settled across Talia's features that had little to do with his words about Obroa-skai and everything to do with the sentence that had come before them. Every question simply meant more time spent talking with her. She couldn't think of a reply clever enough to match it, so instead she let her fingers curl a little more securely around his hand.

"I rather like that answer," she said softly. "It makes me feel a little less guilty about asking so many."

A quiet laugh followed before her attention shifted to the world beyond the viewport. She found herself nodding as he described how they should choose the first House. It wasn't enough to find a beautiful world, or an isolated one. They needed to understand it. To know its people if it had them, to learn its history, to discover whether it could truly become a home rather than simply another place to build. That was the archaeologist in her agreeing wholeheartedly with the man beside her.

When he mentioned Obroa-skai, however, her eyes lit up with unmistakable excitement.

"I have somehow managed to miss one of the galaxy's greatest archives?" she asked, sounding almost personally offended by the revelation before laughing at herself. "Well, that simply won't do." She shook her head with an amused smile. "You're right. If it truly is everything you've described, you may have to drag me back onto the ship when it's time to leave."

The image of the orrery captured her imagination just as easily. She pictured herself walking among stars suspended in light, tracing forgotten trade routes, ancient hyperspace lanes, worlds that had risen and fallen long before either of them had been born. It sounded less like a navigational tool and more like history given form.

"I like the idea of discovering our home rather than choosing it," she admitted after a thoughtful silence. "For most of my life I've gone looking for places because they held answers to questions I already had." She looked back at him, her smile gentle. "This feels different. We're not searching for a world that fits our plans. We're searching for one that might quietly tell us, 'You belong here.'" She squeezed his hand once. "I think... I'd like to listen."

Bramoc Karr

 

[Bramoc Karr]

Her answer earned a quiet nod.

He tightened his hand around hers for a moment as the stars stretched back into place and Voss emerged before them. The world where they had first met.

Not under circumstances either of them would have chosen.

There were memories tied to this planet he would rather have left behind. Even so, he could not regret coming here. Without Voss, without everything that had followed, Talia would never have become part of his life.

As the ship descended toward the atmosphere, he kept his attention on the controls.

"Obroa-skai may require... restraint."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"I suspect if I leave you alone in those archives, I may not see you again for several days."

The observation was delivered matter-of-factly, with only the slightest trace of amusement.

Clouds swept over the cockpit before the ship broke beneath them, descending toward the familiar stretch of ground where they had first crossed paths. The wings rotated into their landing position, repulsors easing the transport gently onto the surface. Bramoc completed the shutdown sequence in practiced silence.

"I still believe the Force will lead us to the right world," he said after a moment. "Not because we'll search harder than anyone else, but because we'll finally be willing to listen."

The last system powered down. Only then did he release her hand. He rose from the pilot's seat and looked toward the hatch before turning back to her.

"Come."

His gaze drifted briefly to her booted feet before returning to her eyes.

"We'll recover your research. Then we'll find you a proper pair of shoes."

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

A soft laugh escaped Talia as she rose from her seat, smoothing the front of her tunic before following him toward the hatch.

"I think your assessment of Obroa-skai is entirely fair," she admitted. "Though I promise not to disappear into the archives without telling you first." She smiled playfully. "You may only have to come rescue me once or twice." Or ten times...

Her eyes dropped briefly to the worn boots on her feet before she flexed one of them. They had been taken from the fortress before they left. Hardly hers to begin with, and they didn't quite fit right.

"The shoes do sound wonderful," she agreed. "My feet will probably thank you."

As they reached the hatch, she paused beside him, her hand finding his once more.

"Besides visiting Obroa-skai..." she asked, her expression warm with genuine curiosity, "...what would you like to do over the next few days?" A thoughtful smile crossed her face. "Apart from returning to the fortress, I mean. We've spent so much time thinking about what we should do. I'm wondering... what do you want to do?"

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'd like to know what you're looking forward to, now that we're finally beginning our life together."

Bramoc Karr

 

[Bramoc Karr]

He had expected as much.

If anyone in the galaxy could lose track of time inside a vast archive, it would be Talia. The fact that she acknowledged it herself only confirmed his suspicion.

With the transport powered down, Bramoc rose from the pilot's seat and made his way toward the rear hatch. At the press of a control, the boarding ramp lowered with its familiar mechanical hum. Cool air drifted into the cabin.

Talia slipped her hand into his.

He accepted it without hesitation, his fingers settling naturally around hers as they stepped onto the ramp and began walking toward the excavation site where her research tablet had been left behind.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Her question lingered in his thoughts.

What was he looking forward to?

He already knew the answer to the larger question. The Varesh. The first House. A future that might finally break a cycle stretching back thousands of years. But that was not what she had asked.

After a few moments, he answered.

"I don't know."

His eyes remained on the path ahead.

"I am looking forward to founding the first House, but I don't believe that's what you meant."

Silence returned briefly while he searched for an answer that felt honest.

"When I think about what's next..." His voice softened. "I think about time with you."

He glanced toward her before continuing.

"I want us to be married."

There was no grand flourish to the statement. He simply spoke it as something he had already accepted within himself.

"If that's what you want as well."

His gaze drifted to their joined hands.

"My people had a custom. When two people married, they marked their hands with matching tattoos." His thumb brushed lightly across the back of her hand. "If you noticed my parents, that's what you were seeing."

He looked back to her.

"I've found myself thinking about that tradition more than once."

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia walked beside him in comfortable silence, her hand resting easily within his. His answer wasn't immediate, and somehow that made it feel even more sincere. He hadn't reached for something he thought she wanted to hear. He had searched for what was true.

When he spoke of marriage, she slowed almost imperceptibly, turning her head to look at him. A warmth spread across her face that no amount of Voss's cool air could diminish.

"What kind of tattoo?" she asked first, genuine curiosity surfacing before anything else. Her eyes drifted toward the ancient statues that stood weathered by centuries, many of them bearing intricate markings carved into stone hands and forearms. "Something like those?" she wondered aloud. "Or were your people's designs different?" A small smile touched her lips. "It's rather fitting we're talking about traditions here, of all places."

Her gaze lingered on the statues for another heartbeat before returning to him.

"And... yes." The word came quietly, but without the slightest hesitation. "I would. Happily." She squeezed his hand a little tighter. "Especially since we're already trying to start a family." A soft laugh escaped her. "I think we've moved well beyond wondering whether we have a future together."

She smiled up at him, affection shining plainly in her blue eyes.

"It's strange, isn't it?" she said. "This is where we met... or at least where we first truly met." Her smile grew a touch more playful. "I wasn't exactly your biggest admirer that day." She laughed gently at the memory before her expression softened once more. "Now I can't imagine walking into the future without you."

Bramoc Karr

 

[Bramoc Karr]

Bramoc slowed, giving her question the consideration it deserved.

"Similar," he said after a moment. "But not quite."

Without letting go of her hand, he turned it slightly and traced an invisible pattern across the back of it with one finger. The path was slow and deliberate, weaving across her skin in lines too intricate to picture from touch alone.

"The design extends across most of the hand," he explained. "It isn't simply a matching mark. It's a family pattern, unique to the two people who bear it."

A faint smile appeared.

"I would have to draw it for you. Once it's there..." His eyes settled briefly on their joined hands. "...there's no mistaking what it means."

They resumed walking.

The path toward the excavation wound quietly through the landscape. Beyond the distant sounds of machinery and workers, Voss possessed a stillness he found unexpectedly pleasant. After the harsh silence of Veykar Prime, this world felt alive in a quieter way.

His thoughts lingered on what she had said.

She wanted the same future.

The realization settled comfortably within him. There would be practical matters to address first, of course. They would need to find someone willing to perform the ceremony, and before any of that...

He glanced down at her feet.

"We'll recover your tablet."

His attention returned to the path ahead.

"After that, we'll go into the nearest city."

Another small pause.

"We can find you shoes that fit."

Only then did the faintest hint of amusement reach his voice.

"I'd rather the tattoos be the only part of our wedding that leaves you in pain."

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia's attention remained on the gentle movement of his finger across the back of her hand. Though she couldn't hope to memorize the pattern from touch alone, she found herself imagining the countless generations before him who had traced that same design for the person they intended to spend their life beside.

"I'd like that," she said softly. "When you draw it... tell me what each part means." Her smile warmed as she looked at their joined hands. "If it's going to become part of me, I'd like to know the story I'm carrying."

The thought settled pleasantly in her heart. It wasn't simply a tattoo. It was a promise, worn openly for the world to see. Somehow, that felt fitting. Neither of them had been searching for one another when they'd arrived on Voss, yet here they were discussing the traditions of a wedding they both wanted.

Her eyes followed his glance toward her boots before she laughed quietly.

"I think my feet will appreciate that plan almost as much as I do." She nudged him gently. "Though I suspect they'll be relieved long before I am. I have a feeling I'll be smiling through the whole ceremony."

She squeezed his hand again, her expression becoming tender.

"And I don't mind a little pain if it means beginning the rest of my life with you." Her smile turned playful. "Besides, after everything we've already survived together... a pair of properly fitting shoes sounds like the easiest challenge we'll ever face."

Bramoc Karr

 

[Bramoc Karr]

"There are three parts to it."

Still holding her hand, Bramoc touched the back of it with a fingertip.

"My family's sigil would be placed here."

His finger lingered for a moment before tracing an invisible path outward, sketching the shape of intertwining lines only he could fully picture.

"The knots weave around it before continuing across the hand."

He turned her hand over carefully, his thumb supporting her fingers as he indicated the center of her palm.

"This is where yours would be."

His gaze rested there for a moment.

"I'll have to create a sigil worthy of you. I've never designed one before, but I think I know where to begin."

He smiled quietly.

"Together, they tell the same story from opposite sides of the hand. Individually they belong to us. Together they belong to neither of us alone."

There was more to the tradition than the tattoos themselves. The ceremony carried its own meaning, its own promises, but there would be time enough for that discussion later. One thing at a time.

Their path soon carried them beyond the trees and onto the battlefield where they had first met.

The excavation had transformed since then. What had once been scattered across the surface had moved underground, with workers disappearing into trenches and newly uncovered chambers. Only a handful remained above, each absorbed in their own task and paying little attention to the newcomers crossing the site.

Bramoc preferred it that way.

After a brief look across the landscape, he oriented himself and adjusted their course toward the place where he remembered finding Talia. It had never seemed remarkable to him, merely another stretch of scarred earth, which gave him reason to hope her tablet had escaped notice as well.

At her comment, he let out the faintest breath of amusement.

"I suspect you're right."

His eyes swept ahead as they walked.

"Finding shoes should be considerably simpler than founding a new Force tradition."

A brief pause followed before he added, his voice quieter,

"...or a family."

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia listened with complete attention as he described the tradition, her eyes following the path of his fingertip across her hand. She tried to imagine the finished design, though it remained just beyond her grasp. Somehow, that made it all the more special. It wasn't merely decoration. It was a story they would create together, one carried quite literally in their hands.

"I love that," she said quietly. "Not just the tattoos... but what they mean." Her thumb brushed gently across the back of his hand. "Neither of us loses who we are. We become part of something larger than ourselves." A warm smile touched her lips. "That feels like us."

As the excavation came into view, she slowed almost unconsciously. It looked so different now from the day they had met. Trenches cut deeper into the earth, workers moved with practiced purpose, and what had once been a forgotten ruin had become a living archaeological site. She searched instinctively for the place where she remembered dropping her tablet, though the landscape had changed enough that she wasn't entirely certain anymore.

"I think founding a family sounds much more rewarding than founding a Force tradition," she admitted with a soft laugh. "Though perhaps one will help us succeed at the other." Her smile lingered as she looked up at him. "Either way... I wouldn't want to do either without you."

Before either of them could continue, a voice called out from across the dig.

"...Talia?"

One of the archaeologists had straightened from a trench, squinting toward her for only a heartbeat before recognition spread across his face. His expression brightened immediately as he abandoned his notes and hurried in their direction.

"Talia!" Relief colored his voice. "Stars above, we thought you'd disappeared. There were rumors you'd been taken..." He slowed as he reached them, catching his breath before looking between her and Bramoc. "It's good to see you alive."

Bramoc Karr

 

[Bramoc Karr]

He found no fault in her reasoning.

Of the two futures they envisioned, the one centered on family carried the greater weight. The Varesh mattered. Its purpose mattered. But movements could fail, fracture, or evolve into something unrecognizable over generations. Children were different. Through them, the Veykari would truly live again.

He thought of the legacy they hoped to leave behind—not only for the galaxy, but for those who would one day bear their name.

"Agreed," he said simply.

A faint nod followed.

"On both counts."

Their attention returned to the task at hand.

They had only gone a short distance before a voice carried across the excavation.

"Talia!"

Bramoc turned toward the sound. A man climbed from one of the trenches, his clothing stained with dirt from hours spent below the surface. Relief spread plainly across his face as he hurried in their direction, already speaking before he had closed the distance. He spoke of her disappearance, of the uncertainty surrounding it, of fears that she had simply vanished.

Bramoc listened in silence.

His expression tightened almost imperceptibly at the mention that she might have been taken.

Technically...

He decided that particular conversation could wait.

This was Talia's world far more than his, and these were her colleagues. She knew them. She understood the questions they would ask and the answers they deserved.

He was content to let her speak.

For now.

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia smiled as she recognized him, relieved to see a familiar face. It felt strangely comforting to step back into a place that, only a short time ago, had simply been another excavation. So much had changed since then.

"I was," she admitted honestly. "Though... there's a reason for it." Her eyes drifted briefly to Bramoc beside her before returning to her colleague. "It's a rather long story, but I'm alright."

The archaeologist let out a long breath he had clearly been holding for days.

"Thank the stars," he said. "People were worried. We didn't know if we'd ever see you again."

Talia's smile softened.

"We're actually here for something rather specific." She shifted her satchel higher on her shoulder. "My tablet." A hopeful expression crossed her face. "Did anyone happen to rescue it?"

His face brightened immediately.

"Actually, yes!" he replied. "One of the survey teams found it not long after everything happened. We figured you'd come back for it eventually, so we kept it safe." He pointed toward the cluster of buildings that had become the expedition's headquarters. "It's at the cantina. We turned it into our base while the excavation expanded. Someone locked your tablet in the office there."

Relief washed across Talia's face, followed almost instantly by a grateful laugh.

"You have no idea how happy you've just made me." She glanced toward Bramoc, her eyes shining. "I was already preparing myself to start rewriting years of notes."

Bramoc Karr

 

[Bramoc Karr]

"A good reason," Bramoc said in quiet agreement.

The archaeologist's relief was unmistakable. Once he was satisfied that Talia was unharmed and had an explanation for her disappearance, the tension seemed to leave him almost entirely.

Bramoc found that... curious.

Kidnapping did not strike him as something one simply accepted and moved past. Yet the man appeared remarkably willing to do exactly that. Either archaeologists encountered such dangers more often than he had imagined, or the galaxy had become even more accustomed to violence than he had realized.

Neither possibility was particularly comforting.

Fortunately, the conversation took a more useful turn.

The man explained that Talia's tablet had been recovered and was waiting for her at the temporary cantina near the center of the excavation. Bramoc felt a measure of relief at that. Months—perhaps years—of work had not been lost after all.

"That is fortunate."

He inclined his head respectfully toward the archaeologist.

"You've spared us a great deal of time. Thank you."

As the man departed, Bramoc turned back to Talia. She was already looking at him. A faint warmth entered his expression.

"It would have taken you a very long time to reconstruct everything."

His fingers closed gently around hers.

"And I would rather not lose that time."

He gave her hand a light squeeze before nodding toward the camp.

"Come. Let's go retrieve it."

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia returned the archaeologist's smile, grateful that he hadn't pressed for answers she wasn't yet ready to give. His curiosity was evident enough, but so was his respect. She appreciated both.

"I'll explain everything another time," she promised. "Just... perhaps over dinner instead of in the middle of an excavation." A soft laugh escaped her. "Good luck with the dig, and I'll be in touch soon."

After watching him disappear back toward the trenches, she slipped her hand naturally into Bramoc's once more. Their pace was unhurried as they followed the well-worn path toward the makeshift headquarters that had grown around the old cantina.

"I'm so glad it was saved," she admitted quietly, relief still lingering in her voice. "Not because I couldn't recreate the notes eventually..." She looked up at him with a warm smile. "...but because every page would have been time spent remembering instead of discovering something new."

Her fingers intertwined with his as they walked.

"And I'd much rather spend that time with you." She smiled, her blue-green eyes bright with quiet happiness. "There are far more interesting things waiting for us than rewriting old field notes."

Bramoc Karr

 

[Bramoc Karr]

He watched the archaeologist disappear back into the excavation before returning his attention to Talia as their hands found one another again.

"I imagine reconstructing all of that would have taken months."

He glanced toward the camp ahead.

"Obroa-skai's archives would still be there. Your notes are not so easily replaced."

A subtle smile lingered as they walked.

The camp itself was more substantial than he had expected. Rather than a scattering of temporary shelters, the excavation had been outfitted with modular structures that looked designed to be assembled and dismantled with relative ease. Practical. Durable. Whoever had planned the site understood that archaeologists worked best when they weren't worrying about the roof collapsing over their heads. He approved.

His thumb brushed lightly across the back of her hand.

"You know..." he began, "I've never actually asked how long you've been doing this."

His gaze drifted across the dig site as workers continued about their tasks.

"How many excavations have there been?"

The question surprised even him. There were still pieces of her life he knew only in fragments. He had seen memories, glimpsed moments, understood parts of what had shaped her—but that was not the same as hearing her tell the story herself. He found that he wanted to.

A faint smile returned.

"I've likely seen more battlefields than you've had birthdays."

He looked over at her.

"But I wouldn't be surprised if you've spent nearly as much time uncovering them as I spent fighting on them."

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia smiled thoughtfully as they walked between the rows of modular buildings, her gaze drifting over the excavation almost instinctively. Even now, she found herself wondering what had been uncovered since she'd last stood here.

"It depends on the excavation," she answered. "Some only last a few weeks if the findings are limited. Others can continue for years." A quiet laugh escaped her. "I've known archaeologists who practically built a second home at a single site."

She looked over at him.

"I tended to move around more than most." Her fingers tightened gently around his. "Being a Jedi gave me a freedom many of my colleagues didn't have. If someone uncovered a promising site on the other side of the galaxy, I could simply go. I wasn't tied to one university or one expedition."

Her smile softened.

"Usually one or two excavations a season, depending on how successful the previous one had been." She shrugged lightly. "Sometimes I'd spend months carefully uncovering a single structure. Other times we'd realize after a few days there simply wasn't much left to find."

She glanced around the camp with familiar affection before looking back to him.

"I suppose that's the biggest difference between us." A warm smile touched her lips. "You traveled because duty called you to the next battlefield. I traveled because curiosity called me to the next mystery." Her blue-green eyes met his. "Though somehow... both roads led us here."

Bramoc Karr

 

[Bramoc Karr]

"They did."

His answer came quietly, his gaze lingering on the workers moving about the excavation rather than immediately finding hers.

"I used to think the Force had a habit of leading me from one conflict to the next. Every journey seemed to end with someone wanting something destroyed." A faint breath escaped him, almost a laugh. "Perhaps I simply never considered that it could lead me somewhere worth preserving instead."

He walked with her in silence for several steps, taking in the organized chaos of the dig site. There was something admirable about it. No armies. No commanders. Just people patiently trying to understand those who had come before them.

"I think your way was the better one."

His eyes drifted toward the trenches where archaeologists disappeared beneath the earth.

"You spent your life uncovering forgotten truths. I spent mine creating ruins for someone else to uncover."

There was no self-pity in the statement. It was simply the conclusion he had reached after many years.

"But perhaps that is why the Force chose our paths the way it did. You know how to preserve history." His attention returned to her. "I know what becomes of a galaxy when people refuse to learn from it."

A faint smile settled onto his face.

"That may be what has led us to Varesh."

His thumb brushed lightly across the back of her hand.

"You'll remind us what came before, and I'll make certain we never become it again."

He opened the door to the cantina for her to enter.

Talia Larkin Swift

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia smiled, though there was a thoughtful sadness to it as she listened. She understood what he meant. He saw battlefields where she saw archaeological sites. Neither of them was wrong. They were simply looking at the same galaxy through different experiences.

"Maybe both of our ways work together," she said softly. "You saw history while it was being made. I arrived years later to understand what was left behind." Her eyes wandered across the excavation before them. "Just imagine... another hundred years from now, the battles being fought today will be history too. Archaeologists like me will be brushing dust from the remnants, trying to understand the people who stood where we once stood."

Her fingers remained comfortably entwined with his as they walked toward the cantina.

"Do you think you'll go to war again, love?" she asked quietly. There was no fear or judgment in her voice, only genuine curiosity. "Not because someone asks you to... but because you believe you should?"

The familiar outline of the cantina came into view, and Talia's pace slowed. She stopped just outside the entrance, looking at the door for a long moment before letting out a small, amused breath.

"I think this is where the real questions begin," she said with a gentle smile. "Everyone inside is going to want to know where I've been... and how I somehow left with the man who kidnapped me." She looked up at Bramoc, warmth touching her blue-green eyes despite the awkwardness of the situation. "I'm not entirely sure how to explain that without sounding completely unbelievable."

Bramoc Karr