Impact

[Asmus Janes]

“Yeah, they make those particle gatling guns they put on the D-Wings and K-Wings,” Asmus replied. Just the thought of those D-Wings cutting across the bow of a cruiser and leaving great gouges in the hull made him think fondly of them. He'd even done some procurement work in his down time. He decided to tell her that.


“I was actually a test pilot on the D-Wing programme when I was based out of Sullust for a while. A few years…”


About the time Max was graduating from the academy. A tight knot started to form at the back of his throat but he forced it back down. He focussed on the hope that the ache in his legs were fall to the background as they covered more distance.


“Want to stop and check the maps?” He asked.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Is this the point to tell him that she’d been constantly checking them? That might come off a bit off-putting. Part of her wondered if she should humor him or just be honest. As quickly as that came up, Kaile already was answering. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]The espion did not want to lie.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“I have been point referencing as we’ve been hiking.” a glance over to him and a quick tap of her temple. “I have the map here. Just…” a frown tighten over her brow. She came to a stop. A turn to the east. To the west. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“The information is dated. Some of the land features have changed. Not by much but depending on seasons…” what appeared to be a valley could very well be a lake due to melted snow. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“We are at least ninety-six kilometers from the city.” that was a way to go. Especially on damp boots. They wouldn’t be able to function with blisters and foot sores through all of that. Her own feet felt cold and clammy. A few pressure points felt warm around her toes and her heel. The scratches along her arms, the burn on her cheek, the bruises she knew already bloomed under her vest.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“We’ll need to change out to fresh socks, and dry boots or else our feet will suffer for it.” Ah, but what to do about it? Med-kits could help with sores, but preventative measures are essential. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Her head spun to meet the gaze of her pilot. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“How are your boots?”[/SIZE]

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus came to a halt. His foot was perched on a fallen trunk, which was slowly being eaten up by moss. His hand rested on his raised knee and he leaned forwards. She was far more capable than he had even realised during their briefings. Just as being a pilot did not change who he was, being an agent didn't fundamentally change the Kaile he knew. It was just something he had to let sink in.


“Sodden. We can find a particularly dense part of the forest, lay out the tent and check inventory?” He suggested. He knew exactly what was in the bags, she would likely have it stored in her implants. But in all the rush and the map drop things could have been left behind or damaged.


Considering the mission took his mind away from the notion that she'd been seeing Odennus when he'd just been ten kilometers away in the test base. If there was something he wanted his mind to dwell on to ignore the mechanical act of walking, it wasn't that.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[SIZE=13.3333px]How attune was a Lorrdian at reading a sapient’s body? How much intent and emotive tell tales could they be able to glean from the observation of a subtle gesture, a cant of a head, an arch of a brow? What stories would come from a twitch of a jaw, a flex of fingers, a tensing of the legs? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]How much more could a Lorrdian read off of the body of the one they are all too aware of every breath, glance, and flex of sinew and bone? The answer was perhaps too much than what Kaile would like to see. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]He’d already been tense about speaking about Sullust. The abrupt energetic shift of topic did not pass her by. He had begun with the need to elaborate on his achievements only to halt. That wasn’t like him. There was more to it there. He hadn’t even gone back to ask why she even mentioned Vanir Technologies. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]I was actually a test pilot on the D-Wing programme when I was based out of Sullust for a while. A few years…[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]A few years. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]I know.[/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px] That was the bit Kalie couldn’t say aloud. A brief recollection of the past. The green in his eyes and the searching of his gaze as he inquired back on the Quin just how often she stopped by Sulust. Quite a bit. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Quite a lot. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]It had been Sullust where she’d stayed at the Alliance hospital. Sullust where they’d had her hooked on lifescan monitors and colorful IV’s. Sullust where she’d gone back to the Big Guy and asked for a reassignment. Something. [/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px]Anything[/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px], to keep her mind busy. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Her eyes gave a slight flicker of blue. Scanning data, needing her own distraction. An excuse for the moist glow.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“There should be an alcove about five kilometers out. The scans suggest the woods are thick enough there to lay low for a bit. Get situated.” The pale blue swirl left and her eyes were once again that tawny amber. A Whiskey gold. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]Turning her head away, she picked up her pace again. Moving forward. One step at a time. The only way she knew how.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=13.3333px]“We can stop there.” the brunette said, warmth gone and an agent once more. [/SIZE]

 

[Asmus Janes]

You fucking idiot, he told himself. He knew in that moment that there would have to come a time when they would have to sit down and come to terms with the last few years. Clear the air. The truth was obvious. They'd moved in circles close to each other and either through chance or deliberate action on her part they had not met until that shuttle ride.

Now was not that time. He tried to compartmentalise that information and put it aside. But feelings didn't tend to fall into such simple cages, they tended to bleed out and latch onto other thoughts. Paint them in other colours until the mind went back to that cage.

Come to terms with her being here, settle into your roles. That can come. He knew that when she was pushed she closed up. Perhaps now more than then. She had been hurting when he met her and four days hadn't been enough to seal those wounds.

“Alright, let's move,” he said. There was determination in his voice. For the one who knew every inflection so well it would be clear that he was trying to move past whatever thoughts had ailed him and press on.

Rather than wait behind he took a few quick steps. His dexterity and balance wasn't entirely limited to skill behind the sticks. His feet took assured steps over vines and branches even with the weight on his back.

Whilst she had the maps he took the datapad from his pack and took a look at the relief maps of the region. There were some smaller settlements along the way. Stopping off at one and taking transport would probably be too risky. Easy for a small group of troops to ask questions about strangers and get profile sketches and be pointed in the right direction. No chance of commandeering a shuttle and bailing out either.

They didn't discuss much over the next few clicks. Both had heard down, intent on making the distance. A few comments in terrain between them and the destination. They'd already discussed at length where to enter the city on foot and they would actually pass the landing sites they'd agreed on ahead of the mission.

“Oh I am looking forward to dry feet,” he said with a chuckle as they searched for some flat ground to set down the equipment. When he found somewhere suitable he set down the bags, took a drink of water and slid his feet out of his boots. They were left upside down and his socks thrown over a branch after being wrung out.

“That feels nice,” he observed, curling up his toes into the soft moss that covered the ground.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

A solid thunk came from Asmus' right. It was Kaile's boot as it hit the ground. A small grimace came from the Lorrdian, her thumb hooking under the seam of her wet sock and slipping it off. A bare wiggle of toes with short, clipped toenails came next.

She too finally gave a sigh of relief. While the air was cold and crisp, it still felt nice to have the snug wet boots off. Well, until freezing toes made their complaint.

"Yeah, even sweat wicking socks won't do much if you go trudging through a river." She turned to the right, hooking her boots upside down to dry out.

A small wince came over her lips as she brought her right foot back up, resting her ankle on top of her knee. She gingerly pressed hot points. Those will need some synthflesh to ease the pressure.

"Check your feet. See if they need tending. We won't stay long here."

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus nodded and set himself down on a rock. What became apparent when he reached for his foot was that the sharp pain didn't come from down there. He slipped out of his jacket, finding that the left arm had ripped but not the shirt beneath.

The shirt was stained dark red. He pulled up his sheet sleeve and reached for a bottle of water. He wasted a splash to clean up the area around it.

"Just a small gash where I caught that branch on the way down," he informed Kaile.

He left it in the air for a few moments, it didn't seem to be bleeding much any more. Instead he returned to checking his feet. One blister needed a patch, but that was all. With a determined nod he went for the pack to do a quick inventory check and get the medpack.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Kaile let her gaze trace over Asmus' features and down to his shoulder. With his jacket off and his shirt sleeve rolled up, his bicep flexed and shifted.

Before she knew it the Lorrdian was already on her feet. Small little bits of synthflesh clung to parts of her feet, but the moss was a great cushion.

The pilot would feel the brief inquisitive search of her fingers against his arm a moment later. Were he to swing his gaze up he'd see the concern over Kaile's grimy face. She had an open med-kit in one hand, while her cool finger pads surveyed the wound on his shoulder with the other.

"A synth bandage should do the trick." she said, brows furrowed in.

"Hold this." she added, handing him the med-kit while she took to tending him when she didn't have to.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

His feet were cold on the moss, but there was a flush of warmth as she tended to his arm. Couldn't be helped. He was in some ways a simple creature. A professional demeanour and focus was required now, but he couldn't help the brief smile at some fussing from the agent.

"Thank you," he added simply as she wrapped the bandage around. In all honesty that would have been tricky, if not impossible on his own. Watching her expression he noted the cut on his cheek. Just a thin red line, but if infected it could flare an angry red. That wouldn't be good for staying inconspicuous, he thought.

She was concerned and it was just a scratch. He fondly recalled the treatment he'd received after nearly having his head split open by a gang member. With one hand he sorted through the med pack on his lab for an antibacterial wipes and a small, general purpose tube of bacta gel.

"Hold still a second please" he asked when she was done with his arm. The bandage on his arm was tight, but not uncomfortably so. If she would let him he would delicately cup her chin with his left hand, whilst wiping the thin line down with the other.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Now it was Kaile's turn to freeze. She stood still. They were within arm's length now, close enough to meet each other's eyes. To see the gold flecks in the verdant forest in his eyes and hear the faint breath of his breathing.

Her throat worked, and she held her breath. The fresh, light sting of the antiseptic wipe gingerly went brushing over her cheek. It took with it specks of dried blood, grime, and sweat, leaving a small clean area where the natural hue of her honey skin shone.

Seconds ticked by. Or was it minutes? It was hard considering how Asmus' gaze settled on her face.

Lids fell, and she focused on the button of his jacket. Around them the calls of birds chirping and the whisper of leaves in the breeze seemed to wane while the thud of her heart grew louder.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Another time and this nice secluded patch of woodland would have been a pleasant retreat. A better idea for time off perhaps than his beachouse. Anywhere anyway from work would be a welcome change. He didn't have the luxury of finding something else to look at. His eyes had to trace the lines of her heart shaped face, inexorably drawn to her wide hazel eyes.

Still, he carried out the quick clean without getting too distracted. However, after smoothing down some mild bacta gel across the cut with his thumb there was no medical reason for tucking strands of hair back behind her ear.

For just a moment he allowed the affection to spread onto his gaze. He sighed. Them he looked down and chuckled. "By the Force I actually pushed you out the back of a shuttle on a speeder bike."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

A bit of her lip. The taste of grit and the sickly sweet scent of the bacta ointment again. It brought all of it back. Everything. Down to the way, Asmus' expression softened, brows relaxing, the corners of his laugh lines smoothing flat, his eyes welling with regard.

The trace of his finger pad along the shell of her ear when he tucked the loose strands behind her ear caused her breath to hitch.

His sudden exclamation about the chaos of flying out of a speeder bike from a moving shuttle snapped her out of it.

The pilot's chuckle was infectious, and the absurdity of the situation, of what had happened, the madness, hit.

It was that sudden shift that served to ease the tension again. Like a swinging pendulum, they swung from one extreme to the next, this time amidst the shudder of shoulders and low laughs.

Kaile ducked her head, her bangs shadowing her face. Brows rose, and she made a slight cant of her head in acknowledgment of his madness.

"In hindsight, anyone would have agreed you are mad." she took a breath and went reaching down to collect the med-kit's items and clean up.

"Although who would be madder? The fool who suggested the idea or the one who followed?" The right corner of her mouth gave an upward twitch, revealing a dimple on her cheek.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He chuckled with her, enjoying the light moment in what had been a very serious few hours. No matter who his comrades were, there was always time to escape from reality every now and again. Had to really. And sometimes you had to be honest and face up to something.

"But you trusted me," he said. His tone was laced with the sincere appreciation for that brief act. She had put her life in his hands in that moment. Held on to nothing but his belief that his skill would get them through it. His expression was deadly serious once more.

"I know you. You know me. But it's not like we've really worked together before. I know where my limits are and I want you to know I'll trust you, implicitly, when you need me to."

He smiled, but not as he had done before. This was no sim now, no drill. They were in this together and they'd only get out of it together. And that meant he needed to see her both as Kaile and Agent Vera. Not just one.

The cheeky smile came back before he got too caught up in the moment. "But if it wouldn't do too much to put a dampener on us it might be easier if I finish your feet and then you give mine a look?"

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

There was a sharp pang in Kaile's heart with Asmus' words. The Lorrdian knew what he meant, and perhaps she understood it to a degree. But that's where the perspectives changed, and instead, the agent felt a chill run down her spine.

I know you. You know me.

It was a lie. The things that Kaile knew about Asmus had little to do with what he had revealed himself and more to what she'd excavated, and worse, he was unaware of it. Her guilt mushroomed between them, along with the longing to be able to share it. But she couldn't, wouldn't.

You don't know me.

He didn't. He didn't really know her. The closest had been Kurt. He knew about her time in the SIS. Her pregnancy. Everything that followed. Her best friend. The muscles in her throat seemed to tighten again.

Her breathing went shallow and the seconds ticked by. The cheeky smile of his snapped her out of her reverie. A slow nod. Then a mask of mild, if strained humor replaced the blank expression earlier, but perhaps it was too late.

"I reckon you can handle a synthflesh bandage or two." she added, taking the opportunity to sit down on the mossy embankment.

"How are your hands?" referencing the burns. It was as much out of concern as keeping the focus away from the topic of trust earlier.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

That burned her. There were a few options, the calculating part of his brain put forwards. Chief among them was the possibility that she didn't want to let me get close again. Was that because of her job or the vulnerability he knew was there? Or was it something else?

He settled down before her, starting to check her feet. She'd knocked a couple of patches loose and they'd lose their adhesion. He had to pull those free very carefully.

"Not too bad at all, the burns weren't really very deep" he replied. Infirmary had given him a spray of something a bit stronger and redressed the hand but that was about all.

When he was nearly done he leaned back and placed one foot on his knee. Turning his dextrous hands in he quickly massaged out some of the tension and gave a gentle flex before asking for the other one. She kept deflecting intrusion, but he couldn't press. Especially not now.

"Not that you know everything," he added in a cherry voice. He needed to do a kit inspection and hang the wet socks from is bags before they went, he thought. "Like the fact that living off freighters and carriers for ten years makes the notion of getting intimate in the outdoors a distant fantasy."

He grinned that cheeky grin that said he was trying to lighten the mood.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

"Ohhh." well that was one slight moan of pleasure that managed to escape the Lorrdian with the quick massage Asmus' nimble fingers gave. Wasn't what she was expecting, especially considering her feet were not at their best after a few hours of hiking in dreadful humidity and wet socks and boots.

He cut the tension again, reading her well. A wiggle of her toes and a quick rotation of her ankle served well enough. He didn't let her foot go, not yet. A flicker of fingers made her twitch a bit. A ticklish nerve deciding to strike.

"Well it ain't like ya'll stay up in the black all that time." she added, then reminding him.

"You also have your world." which she imagined from just his brief descriptions and a healthy dose of imagination that he had plenty of outdoor opportunities.

"Beach house, wasn't it?" yup, reminding him about that.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

An emphatic sigh hid the most of his embarrassment. "I've spent a total of four weeks there and on my own," he chuckled. There was absolutely no need to add that last part on. On reflection it was because he still entertained the notion of letting her borrow it with or without him, and didnt want her getting the notion it was some kind of sordid retreat.

"Truthfully it's a bit silly. I get paid, but have room and board and very little to spend on. Save clothes and fancy holoprojectros. Someone said it would be a good investment. Suppose there is a little of my dad still in there."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

One could even imagine him trying this best to sway a judge he was innocent. The slight flash of a dimple. The crooked grin. The way the corners of his eyes crinkled as he attempted to elaborate through the sheepish expression.

Well, he wasn't the only one who rarely went anywhere. Or spent much of her hard earned credits. A few years back it had all been meticulously counted and utilised for food, expenses, and upgrading the Mesa. Now... well, Kaileann had little choice but to play it by ear.

Shore leave came few and far in between and work with SIS kept her busy.

What did surprise her was that Asmus added that he'd spent that time alone. The Wraith was a social creature. She didn't think he could spend much time on his own.

"I see." a gentle tug came to pull her foot away from his lap.

"Reckon it is so. Having a small place of ones own." or likely large from what Asmus had said about his family.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"It didn't feel like a home," he said suddenly. He instantly regretted that a touch of regret made its way into his voice. It hadn't though, it had felt like a place to be. He'd cooked, eaten, visited the beach and done some more online courses to pass the time and expand his CV.

In part he missed the Quintessence, but he could hardly go on a smuggling run when on leave. It just wasn't...Appropriate. He even missed Mai and how she mercilessly teased him. Most of all he missed Kairon's steady, low voice. The admonishments that carried a weight of affection.

He swapped places and propped himself up on the perch. The Subversion had the people he cared about on it. That was what made a home and he was used to small spaces and the reassuring thrum of engines. That's why seeing Kaile laugh with Max elicited a smile, not a scowl. It had been like seeing her drawn into his family.

Far more than introducing her to his estranged, awkward parents would have been.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

It didn't feel like home.

Oh, the images and memories that would rise at that single word. Home.

Kurt.

The Mesa.

Flying at a reckless speed. Drifting from place to place for Kurt's deliveries. The places they traveled to. The sights they'd seen. Tatooine. Bazaar. Raxis Prime. Cloud 9 at Bespin. The tropical world where they discovered that hidden bunker and barely made it out with their lives.

All the months they spent retrofitting the Mesa, building her up. Making it their own. Their home.

My home.

It was a good thing that Kaile had her head low, her focus on the planar of Asmus' foot. Yet there was a slight tremble to her fingers, one that she attempted to hide by going over any of the tender spots she might find.

"Hand me some synthflesh will you?"