Private Into the Night (Seo Linn)

[Dalvos Thrakan]

Seo settled into the co-pilot's seat with a quiet sigh, finally allowing herself to relax as the Copper Rose pulled free of Prosperity's battered hull. The ship groaned around them, but it was a comforting sort of groan, the sound of a vessel that had every reason to fall apart yet stubbornly refused to do so. She found herself smiling as Davlos apologized to his freighter. It reminded her of people she had known who spoke to old speeders or faithful animals after particularly difficult days. Somehow, it suited him.

When he mentioned her being an odd Jedi, she glanced over with an amused expression. "I do have a lightsaber," she replied, resting a hand against the hilt secured at her belt before lifting it just enough for him to see. "If I had needed to use it, I would have." She settled it back into place with practiced ease. "A blaster was enough today. There was no reason to turn every fight into something more personal than it already was."

She leaned back in her seat, watching the stars slowly widen beyond the viewport as they gained distance from the battle. "I didn't grow up as a Jedi." There was no hesitation in admitting it. Reaching up, she rolled back the sleeve of her tunic until the faded slave tattoo on her forearm came into view. Time had softened the edges, but it remained unmistakable. "I was born a slave on Lorrd. My mother and I were rescued and freed when I was young." She looked at the mark for only a moment before letting the sleeve fall back into place. "Life has a way of changing the plans we make for ourselves."

A small smile returned as she looked back toward him. "I actually wanted to become an archivist." There was almost a hint of embarrassment in the admission. "Books, history, holocrons, forgotten places. That always interested me more than battlefields." She gave a quiet shrug. "Instead, I found myself traveling the galaxy, helping wherever I could. Investigations, diplomacy, rescue missions. I suppose that makes me something closer to a Sentinel than anything else."

Her expression softened again, though this time there was unmistakable warmth behind it. "The Jedi are only one part of who I am." Her eyes drifted toward the stars for a moment before returning to him. "I'm also an older sister to three girls who still think they can talk me into anything, and I'm a mother." The faintest smile tugged at her lips. "Those responsibilities have probably taught me more about patience than the Jedi ever managed." She looked over at Davlos once more, the corners of her eyes creasing slightly with quiet amusement. "So perhaps you're right. I'm a little odd for a Jedi. But I don't think that's the worst thing to be."

His smile softened as she spoke, listening attentively even as his hands moved over the controls. He swept his gaze side to side, alert for any fighters vectoring to intercept them; it looked like the Sith fighters were mainly focused on the roiling sector of space around the evacuating transports, held there as much by their pursuit as by the swarms of allied fighters, unable to break away without being singled out in turn. The ailing great mass of the Prosperity fell into the distance behind them, a behemoth wracked by biting flies and the crimson stingers of the Sith fleet. He gritted his teeth as he pushed the throttle forward; they had done what they could do, and there was nothing else to do for it, now.

It wasn't until he had pressed in the twin lockouts and pushed the ship into hyperspace, stars stretching from pinpricks of light to endless pillars around them, that he finally sat back, and let the tension drain from his shoulders. He settled back into the seat fully, almost seeming to deflate as the last dregs of adrenaline drained from him.

Life has a way of changing the plans we make for ourselves.

He mulled over these words for a minute or so, quietly staring out into the streaks of hyperspace. "An Archivist, huh? What, ah, what would you want to study?" He blinked a couple of times, trying to mentally reconcile the image of the battle-hardened woman beside him with a bookish researcher tucked away somewhere. "That sounds like a much, uh, safer job." 'Safer' almost seemed a pejorative. His nose rankled slightly, unconsciously, in response. "Quiet, for sure. Lots of... Knowledge, I guess. Probably sit back, sip tea all day and talk about books, huh?" Now his tone was teasing.

"I, ah, grew up in a... not so great area, either, but, at the time, we thought it was uh... I mean, I had a shot, so it would've been pretty good, but... I guess it was always a pretty volatile, uhm..." He trailed off. It seemed like he wanted to talk about it but something was holding him back; something he didn't want to talk about, or perhaps admit to. "Not... slaves, not really, though, I mean, there was some of that, too. It wasn't slavery, but they... If they wanted something, you... Well, unless you could... Well, stop 'em... I guess at the end of the day it was kinda the same thing, except they weren't there all the time, you know? But when they were, everyone would... It was different, whenever, uhm, they were around. And people... Other people around me... They kinda wanted to be like them. I wanted to be like them, too, once. I know better, now. It almost... I almost died for it, but it seemed... worthwhile. Until it didn't. I had to, uhm, leave... Never went back. Even when mom..."

His voice lifted a couple of octaves, and trailed off into a hiss. He looked... Pained. Uncomfortable. Guilty? He shook his head, pushing the memories away with a grimace of effort, breathing slowly, in and out. Three count in, three count out. Three rotations of that, and he opened his eyes again.

"So, a mother, huh? I wouldn't have expected that. You look young for it." He smiled at her. "And three younger sisters. They must keep you running. Don't they worry about you?" The question almost seemed to slip out, and he grimaced slightly. "Sorry if that's personal, I just-" He shrugged slightly. "I'd be worried. Heck, I'd be worried about me. Kinda part of why I don't- Ah. Sorry," he apologized again, shifting his gaze away for a moment and slowly releasing the breath he'd been steadily pulling in.

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

Seo waited until the stars had stretched into the familiar blue-white currents of hyperspace before allowing herself to truly relax. The constant awareness that came with battle slowly ebbed away, replaced by the steady hum of the Copper Rose's engines. She folded her hands loosely in her lap, listening more than speaking as Dalvos found his way through memories that clearly did not come easily. She noticed the pauses, the words he abandoned halfway through, the careful breathing he used to steady himself. She didn't press him to continue. If there was one thing years of listening had taught her, it was that people shared the difficult parts only when they were ready.

His question about becoming an archivist brought an almost nostalgic smile to her face. "History," she answered simply. "The stories people forget. Ancient Jedi writings, old civilizations, languages that no one speaks anymore." Her eyes drifted toward the streaking stars outside the cockpit. "Every holocron, every journal, every artifact tells you something about the people who came before us. Not just what happened, but why." A quiet laugh escaped her. "Though I should disappoint you a little. There is considerably less sitting around drinking tea than you might imagine. Archivists spend an awful lot of time climbing through ruins, dusting off relics, and trying not to trigger ancient security systems."

When Dalvos spoke about his own past, Seo remained silent until he finished. She recognized the guilt in his expression long before he looked away from her. Different circumstances. Different lives. The same familiar weight. "You survived," she said gently. "Sometimes surviving means leaving places behind before we're ready." She didn't pretend to know everything he had experienced, nor did she try to compare it to her own. "There are parts of my life I never went back to either. Not because I hated them... but because I couldn't become the person I needed to be if I stayed." Her voice remained calm. "That doesn't mean you stop caring about the people you left behind."

His surprise at her being a mother made her smile again, though it softened around the edges. "Aodhan is sixteen now," she said quietly. "He lives with my parents on Lorrd. They gave him the stable childhood I wanted him to have." For a moment, her gaze drifted toward the stars beyond the viewport. "He wasn't born from love. When I was still a slave, my owner decided that my choices no longer belonged to me." She let the silence sit for a heartbeat before continuing. "Aodhan was the result." She looked back toward Dalvos, her expression composed. "None of that has ever changed how I feel about him. He has never been anything but my son." A faint smile returned. "The circumstances of his birth belong to the past. He does not." Her shoulders rose and fell in a slow breath. "My parents never treated him as anything other than family. Neither did my sisters. If anything, they spoiled him more than they ever spoiled me."

She turned slightly in her seat, studying Dalvos for a moment before speaking again. "You don't need to apologize for asking personal questions." The words were warm, carrying none of the reserve she often held with strangers. "After everything we've just been through together, I think we've earned a few honest conversations." Her gold eyes met his with a small smile. "And for what it's worth, I imagine there are people who worry about you too. Whether you let them or not."

Dalvos Thrakan

 

[Dalvos Thrakan]

"Languages that no one speaks anymore?" He raised an eyebrow, as if awaiting a punchline. "But how would you ever know if you got the pronunciation right?" He grinned at her faintly, though his hands twisted in his lap; wallpaper over the nerves he still felt, shaky with the adrenaline drop.

When she said 'but because I couldn't become the person I needed to be if I stayed' he became solemn, thoughtful, his eyes lowering to the consoles in front of him without really taking in anything they showed him. His hands finally stilled, as if tired of their fidgeting, limp in his lap.

"How could you... After all that... Still love him like your own son?" He asked, softly. "How could you look at him and know what was taken from you, and still accept him? I understand wanting people to be happy and healthy, in general, but..." He shook his head slowly. "I don't think I would be able to... overcome that. I think if I ever had the chance to confront... the one who took my life from me, I wouldn't be able to stop myself. I think I would hate him too much." His voice was nearly a whisper. "Even if I know now that life isn't what I wanted. He took that chance from me."

He smiled, a little, at her statement of familiarity. He dipped his head slightly to the side, as if acknowledging a point in her favor, but his eyes remained on the displays and the hypnotic patterns of hyperspace beyond.

"So much of my life felt like reacting... and when Ra gave me a choice, for the first time it didn't feel like someone else was making it for me. I felt like... I was finally choosing for myself. Like I got to decide who I was going to be. And I... made that decision out of anger. Fear. Hate. Sometimes I wonder if that was the right decision... Even if I'm... okay now, where I am, I wonder if I shouldn't have gone somewhere else. Left that hate behind. I'd like to think that I'm doing good in the Galaxy. Real good. Really... helping people. But... rarely so... hands on as this." He gestured behind, limply. "Usually it's the good I think I'm doing, by doing harm unto our enemies."

"But sometimes I still wonder. Do you understand that? You know you're making the right choices - you believe you're making the right choices. But you also don't know if you would even recognize it if you were wrong. It's easier to believe sometimes, like today... That I'm doing the right thing. But sometimes it isn't so clear."

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

Seo was quiet for a long moment after his question. The steady hum of the Copper Rose filled the cockpit as hyperspace streamed endlessly beyond the viewport, its familiar blue currents washing the silence in a strange sort of peace after everything they had endured. She didn't answer immediately, not because she was unwilling, but because she respected what he had asked. It was not idle curiosity. She could hear that in his voice. He was trying to understand her, and perhaps through that, understand something about himself. Her gaze remained fixed on the stars for another heartbeat before she finally spoke.

"The father is dead," she said quietly. "I killed him." There was no triumph in the admission, no anger rekindled by the memory. It had long since become another truth she carried rather than a wound that demanded to be reopened.

"It was before..." she paused briefly, searching for words that felt honest rather than dramatic. "Before I truly understood everything that had happened to me. I was still very young. I knew he was cruel. I knew I wanted my mother and me to be free." A slow breath escaped her as she rested one forearm against the armrest. "The rest came later. When I was older, when I understood why my childhood had been different from everyone else's."

Only then did she look toward him.

"As for how I love Aodhan..." The faintest smile found its way onto her face, transforming the sadness into something gentler. "Lorrd was a difficult world. Families were not always simple." Her fingers folded together loosely in her lap. "I am also the child of a child. My biological father had no place in my life. The man I call my father is the one who raised me from the time I was very little. He chose to marry my mother. He chose to raise me as though I had always been his daughter." Her smile warmed as memories surfaced. "He never once treated me differently. Never once reminded me that someone else's blood ran through my veins. To him, I was simply his little girl."

She let the thought linger, and when she spoke again, her voice had softened almost imperceptibly.

"So when Aodhan was born... I already knew what a father truly was." Her eyes found Dalvos' again, holding them comfortably now instead of looking away. "It was never the man who gave him life. It was the man who chose him every single day. The family who chose him every single day." A quiet laugh escaped her, touched with affection rather than humor. "The same family that chose me. My parents never saw him as anything except their grandson, and my sisters never questioned whether he belonged. If anything..." she smiled to herself, "...they spoiled him far more than they ever spoiled me."

For a few moments she simply watched the lights of hyperspace dance across the cockpit, the reflection catching softly in her gold eyes. "The man who hurt me belongs to the past. My son never did." There was a certainty in her voice that hadn't existed in the earlier parts of the conversation. "When I looked at Aodhan, I never saw the person who had taken my choices away. I saw a little boy who had done nothing wrong. A child who deserved to be loved without carrying the burden of another person's sins. I refused to let another innocent life become one more victim of his."

When the conversation shifted back toward the choices they had both made, Seo found herself studying Dalvos instead of the stars. He had carried people to safety, stood alone against impossible odds, laughed through pain, and still somehow questioned whether he was becoming the sort of man he wanted to be. There was something deeply human about that, something she found herself admiring more than she expected. A small smile touched her lips before she answered.

"I understand exactly what you mean." The words came quietly. "I've questioned my own choices more times than I can count. Whether I should have fought harder. Stayed longer. Left sooner. Whether I was helping enough people or simply moving from one tragedy to the next. Whether I had become the Jedi I wanted to be... or simply the one circumstance required." She gave the smallest shake of her head before looking back at him. "I don't think certainty is what tells us we're walking the right path."

Her smile returned, warmer now, accompanied by a gentleness she rarely allowed strangers to see.

"I think humility does. If we continue asking ourselves whether we're doing the right thing... if we keep listening when someone challenges us... if we never stop caring about the consequences of our actions..." She held his gaze for another quiet moment, something comfortable settling between them that hadn't been there when they first boarded the Copper Rose. "Then we're far less likely to become the kind of people who never ask those questions at all."

The silence that followed felt different now. Not awkward, but companionable.

Seo smiled to herself before speaking one last time.

"For what it's worth..." she said softly, "...after today, I don't think you're a man driven only by hate anymore." Her eyes met his once again, steady and sincere. "I think you're someone who's trying very hard to become better than the life that first shaped him."

There was no judgment in her expression. Only quiet respect. "And I think that's worth holding onto."


Dalvos Thrakan

 

[Dalvos Thrakan]

Davlos fell silent as she spoke, listening, with his eyes searching her face, as if matching word to expression. He could see no discomfort, no lies, no deception masked in her gaze. He seemed to mull over her words, even long after she was done speaking. He finally turned his gaze to hyperspace, brow furrowed in thought, no sound around them but the low thrum of the hyperdrive and the gentle hush of the air recyclers. It wasn't an empty silence; it was attentive, processing, as if she could hear the gears in his head churning, turning the information over and matching it against his thoughts, against his image of himself, seeing how the pieces fit. A couple of times, he seemed about to speak, before falling silent instead.

Finally, he gently reached over and placed a hand, lightly, atop her forearm. "There are... never clear answers, not to meaningful questions. There's never any guarantee of assurance." He paused, his tongue drifting over his lips as if tasting the thoughts and finding them palatable. "But sometimes... You're right. What is important is asking. You gave me an answer I did not expect, but I believe that it is one I needed."

When he finally spoke, it was as if reading something off a screen, reciting something from memory. "I wasn't born anywhere important... but it turns out, I had Potential." He spoke the word with emphasis, indicating the Force. "The Sith Order found me, and brought me and my mother to Korriban to train at the Academy. I wasn't just there... I was good. I was smarter than most of them, even if I wasn't stronger. I would get myself into and out of trouble as easily as breathing. But I was too good... I got impatient. I got reckless. I started to believe that I was better than them, all of them. That I was different. So I decided that, rather than all the hard work and danger of seeking out a crystal in the corrupted caves beneath the surface, I could take a shortcut. So I decided to steal another's lightsaber. And he caught me."

He lifted his right hand, five dexterously articulated fingers flexing with small mechanical sounds in the quiet. "Lost my arm just above the elbow. Probably would've lost my head, too, if I hadn't jumped. I'm pretty sure he thought I was dead... and for a while I thought I would be, too. By the time I got off-world I'd decided I was never going back. I wasn't sure how I was going to get my revenge on him, but I knew I couldn't do it there. I, uh, actually... joined a gang, for a while. I learned to be a slicer. It was a pretty good life until we got caught, but then... well." He gave a small laugh. "I met... Uh." He paused. "Seriously. I'm not joking. I met Ra'a'mah. She was... pretty fierce. Kinda scary. Not for long or anything, I'm not sure she even really remembers me, but I ended up joining uhm... the Dark Hand, a while later. That's why uh..." He gestured around the ship, "...I have some, uhm, very nonstandard modifications and... equipment that I probably shouldn't have, but I don't always know in advance when I'm gonna need it."

After a brief gap, he added, "I did end up finding a crystal, eventually... A long time later. I didn't know quite what to do with it; didn't have the tools or the knowledge to make a proper blade by that point. I've always worried that it's a bit sacrilegious, using it in a, uh, plasma torch, but... It lets me keep it by my side without... drawing undue attention."

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

Seo smiled faintly when Dalvos mentioned Ra'a'mah, the name bringing with it memories that felt surprisingly peaceful after everything they had just discussed. She leaned back comfortably in her seat, her forearms resting lightly on the armrests as the Copper Rose continued its steady journey through hyperspace.

"I know Ra'a'mah," she said warmly. "Though it's been a few years since we've seen one another." A quiet chuckle escaped her. "She has always struck me as someone who could be... intimidating when she wanted to be." The smile lingered another moment before softening into something more thoughtful. "I'm glad she crossed your path when she did. It sounds as though she gave you something more important than a place to belong." Her gold eyes met his briefly. "She gave you a choice. After everything you've told me... I think that's something you needed."

She listened without interruption as he continued, watching the story unfold piece by piece. She could almost picture the younger Dalvos: clever enough to believe himself untouchable, ambitious enough to chase shortcuts, stubborn enough to survive the consequences. When he flexed the synthetic fingers of his right hand, her gaze followed them for only a moment before returning to his face. She wasn't judging the mistakes he had made. If anything, she found herself quietly admiring that he could tell the story without trying to excuse it. There was a sincerity to him that had only grown stronger over the course of the day.

"You might be surprised," she admitted after a thoughtful pause. "After my mother and I gained our freedom, I belonged for a short time to a group that called themselves the Dominion." A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Their goal was to bring Jedi and Sith together. They believed both traditions had something worthwhile to teach and that the Force was larger than either philosophy alone." She let out another quiet laugh, shaking her head ever so slightly. "You can probably imagine how well that went."

Her expression remained gentle as she continued. "I have some Sith training as well. Probably nowhere near as much as yours." She smiled at him again, almost apologetically. "Enough to understand why some of their teachings appeal to people. They are honest about pain. Honest about fear. Honest about passion. The problem is what they choose to build upon those foundations."

She looked down at her hands for a moment before folding them together once more.

"When the Dominion eventually fell apart, I had another decision to make." Her eyes lifted to meet his again. "I chose to continue walking the path of a Jedi. Not because I believed Jedi were perfect. They aren't." A quiet certainty settled into her voice. "But because, at the end of the day, I wanted my life to be measured by what I gave to others rather than what I could take for myself."

Her gaze drifted briefly toward the compact plasma torch he had mentioned, a thoughtful smile returning.

"As for your kyber crystal..." she said, her tone carrying more curiosity than judgment, "I don't think it's sacrilegious." She looked back at him. "Kyber responds to the person who carries it. If yours chose to remain with you through everything you've become, then perhaps it understands its purpose better than either of us." The smile grew just a little warmer. "After all, today it wasn't used to take a life. It was used to save them."

For a few quiet moments she simply studied him, seeing not the former Sith acolyte or the gang member he had once been, but the man sitting beside her now. A man who had risked his life for strangers, questioned his own motives, and still worried whether he was walking the right path.

"I don't think either of us ended up where we expected," she said softly. "But... I find myself rather grateful for the roads that brought us here." Her smile lingered as she glanced out toward the endless river of hyperspace before returning to him. "Otherwise, I doubt we'd have ever met."

Dalvos Thrakan

 

[Dalvos Thrakan]

"The Dominion, huh? I don't remember hearing about them." He shook his head slightly, eyes twitching back and forth as if searching his memory for a mention of them.

"The Dominion is a primarily Force-oriented political organization founded-" an artificial voice sounded from a cubby farther back in the cockpit, and Davlos jerked as if stung, his hand pulled back from her arm as he twisted around in the seat.

"You're intruding, Ace," Davlos called back, glaring at a slim black-hulled protocol droid; an amalgamation of parts that ran on a pair of treads with a truncated upper body that brought the dome-shaped head up to about waist height. A small band just below the dome spun, and a pair of oculators swivelled to focus on him.

"How was I supposed to know? You never have company." A manipulator arm waved disparagingly at the interior of the ship. "At least unless you're intending to go on a suicide mission. Do you have any idea what the repairs are going to cost?"

Davlos gritted his teeth and growled out, "The Protectorate is going to pay for it. It was a sanctioned mission."

"Was it Sanctioned? I don't recall you contacting Veradune to register it."

"It was a call for help from a Jedi ship. We help Jedi. I took Protectorate- Look, we're not arguing about this right now. Ace, this is Seo. One of the, uh, commandos that came with me to rescue the Jedi ship full of refugees. Seo," he turned to her, a forced smile plastered across his features. "This is Ace. AC-18. He keeps the books for my... trading enterprise."

"Smuggling, primarily, by income if not by volume. But at least that's Sanctioned. Unlike this particularly violent excursion. Speaking of violent excursions," the vocabulator's crisp protocol droid voice nagged, "You appear to have an abnormal number of apertures in your anatomy. Perhaps if you weren't so busy crashing your ship into things you'd be able to afford a medical droid, as well."

"Ace," he growled back, "You. Are. Intruding."

"Oh, is this one of those interactions?" A pause. "Good for you, Master Thrakan. I shall return to tallying up the damages, I suppose." A pregnant pause, the droid acknowledging its departure but not yet moving. "... The extensive damages, Master Thrakan. Very. Extensive. Very nice to meet you, Miss Commando Seo. Very kind of you to return my Master to me." With that chiding note, it trundled away back toward the power closet; somehow even the pitch of its treads was disappointed.

Davlos turned back to Seo, his expression screwed up in annoyance, the forced grin still plastered on his face. "Ace is my accountant, though apparently he has aspirations to run more than just my books." He blew out a breath, shaking his head. He almost reached back for her, but then, as if realizing the pretense of the conversation had moved on, drew his hands back, though they fidgeted in his lap as if he didn't know quite what to do with them.

"He, uh, helps me keep the... Sithspit, uhm. So, you should know, now, that I'm a... Well, former Dark Hand, but currently working for the... Protectorate Intelligence Services. There's, uh, a bunch of us former Hands who... went legit, after the Founding. But that's... not well-known, necessarily. I still have a... mostly legitimate enterprise as a front that takes me back and forth all over the galaxy, gives me an excuse to be anywhere... especially in the kinds of places Sith like to hang out, or move goods. I don't usually engage openly like I did today, but... some things can't be helped. So, as an excuse to cozy up to... potentially problematic elements... I have an established cover as a smuggler pretending to be a legitimate high-value commodities trader." He sighed, softly, and the smile became less forced and more normal. "Sometimes I can't even keep straight where or what I'm supposed to be, and Ace serves a very important role-" he called down the hallway, in a tone that could favorably be described as apologetic, "In helping me keep the business afloat despite my... excursions."

"Usually, uh, this isn't a first date conversation, you know? I don't really know how else to describe it all." He cleared his throat. "Not that it's a date, I mean. But that I don't... ever tell people about this part of things."

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

Seo couldn't quite suppress the laugh that escaped her as the little protocol droid announced itself from the back of the Copper Rose. The exchange that followed was so familiar, so well rehearsed, that it was obvious the two of them had been having variations of the same argument for years. Ace scolded with all the exasperation of a worried parent, while Dalvos protested with the weary patience of someone who knew he was never going to win. It was oddly comforting to watch, especially after everything they had survived together. By the time the droid disappeared back toward the engineering compartment, still lamenting the extensive damages to the ship, Seo found herself smiling.

"I like him," she admitted, a quiet note of amusement warming her voice. "Someone has to worry about you, and he seems to have accepted that responsibility wholeheartedly."

The humor lingered only briefly before Dalvos began speaking again, this time about himself. Seo listened without interrupting, her attention remaining on him instead of the endless river of hyperspace beyond the cockpit canopy. She noticed the way his hands searched for something to occupy them, the way his words occasionally stumbled over one another when the conversation became personal, and how carefully he chose each admission. None of it felt rehearsed. None of it sounded like someone trying to justify his past. If anything, it felt like a man who had spent so many years becoming whoever others needed him to be that he was only now rediscovering the person he actually wished to become.

When he finished, Seo remained quiet for a moment, allowing his words the respect they deserved before she answered. "Thank you for trusting me with that." There was no hesitation in her voice, only sincerity. "We all wear different names throughout our lives. Some because we choose them, others because someone else chooses them for us. Titles change. Organizations rise and fall. Covers are created and discarded." Her gold eyes met his steadily. "What matters to me isn't the title you carried yesterday. It's the person sitting beside me now."

She settled back into her seat a little more comfortably, the gentle vibration of the freighter filling the silence between them. "You told me Ra'a'mah gave you a choice," she continued thoughtfully. "Listening to you now, I don't think that choice ended the day you left her. I think you've continued making it every day since. You could have remained where you were. You could have disappeared into the shadows and lived only for yourself. Instead, you've chosen to help people who will probably never know your name or what you've sacrificed for them." A gentle smile returned to her lips. "And apparently you've accepted a lifetime of patient lectures from your accountant along the way."

She laughed softly, the warmth in her expression never fading. "As for this not being a first-date conversation..." She shook her head with quiet amusement. "I imagine most first dates involve considerably fewer explosions, fewer Sith, and far less climbing through damaged starships." Her eyes remained on him for another moment, lingering just long enough for him to realize she wasn't teasing simply to fill the silence. "Although," she added with a faint smile, "I suspect they also involve considerably less honesty than we've shared today."

For a long moment she simply looked at him. The battle, the pain, the exhaustion, and everything they had survived together had stripped away the need for pretenses. She had seen him frightened, stubborn, selfless, uncertain, brave, and compassionate, often all within the span of a few minutes. There was something quietly beautiful about that honesty, and Seo had no desire to hide what she thought of it.

"I've discovered something about you today, Dalvos." Her voice softened, though her gaze never wavered. "I like the man who keeps choosing to do the right thing even when it costs him. I like the man who stayed behind so complete strangers could escape. I like the man who still questions himself because he genuinely wants to become someone he can be proud of." A faint warmth rose into her cheeks, but she made no effort to conceal it. "And..." she admitted with the same openness she had shown throughout their conversation, "I find that I'm rather enjoying getting to know you."

She reached across the narrow space between their seats and rested her hand lightly over his, her touch gentle and reassuring. "If this had been an ordinary day, perhaps we would have met over tea instead of on a battlefield. I think I would have accepted either invitation." Her thumb brushed softly across the back of his hand before she smiled once more. "So no... you don't have to decide whether you're a trader, a smuggler, an intelligence officer, or anything else while you're with me." Her smile became just a touch brighter, carrying a warmth that reached her eyes. "You only have to be Dalvos. From everything I've seen today..." she said quietly, "...I think that's more than enough."

Dalvos Thrakan

 

[Dalvos Thrakan]

He finally, finally, seemed to properly relax. He sunk down a little in his chair, head settling against the rest as if it were the most comfortable piece of furniture he'd ever experienced. "I've seen you fight," he murmured after a minute or so. "I don't think you're any friend to them," he gestured vaguely behind, at the battle retreating behind them both in time and space. "So I'm not too worried about it... But uh, if you ever run into me on Nar Shaddaa or Coruscant, or... really anywhere except Veradune... I'll probably be a very different person. For one thing," he grimaced, "My cover persona is pretty free with his drinks, both for himself and others. Back when I was younger," implying 'just getting started', "I thought that it'd be a great way to get the company to cover my drinks. And I was right. I've gotten repaid for every drink I've had. I just..." A wince; this time likely remembering a particularly bad hangover. "Now, I can't stand the stuff. Unfortunately, it's a great way to ingratiate yourself and get people talking, and nothing loosens them up like thinking you're even drunken than they are." He feigned a gagging expression. "If I could meet younger me, I'd probably kick his ass right about now."

He sighed heavily. "I'd, uh, also probably have to act like we hadn't met. Which would suck. I rather like having met you." He paused. "Maybe tea next time, though? I think that would be..." He glanced down at the hole in his thigh, "... more relaxing, now that we've had a good icebreaker."

"I really hope they're able to treat this with a topical," he said, after a moment, still staring down at the wound. "I hate going in the tank. I know I won't drown in it but... Ugh, the feeling like you're going to is the worst. It's nice that I can afford a full immersion treatment because of my work, but..." He shook his head, and repeated, "Ugh." A soft sigh. "I'll need to figure out a good excuse, too... at least it won't be my injuries keeping us off-route; the repairs to the Rose are probably gonna take longer... and be a lot more expensive." He cut a glance over his shoulder toward the passageway, as if hoping that Ace hadn't overheard the admission.

"But... That also means I'm going to have a couple weeks on Veradune... If you don't have any particular plans, I'd love if you'd come and visit once I'm decanted?" He turned his hand over, lightly holding her fingers without quite holding her hand. "Grab some lunch and talk about normal people things? Maybe I'll cook dinner one night or something; one advantage of my cover as a man of luxury trading in low volume high value goods is that I have an inside line on some amazing steaks and spices..." There was a hopeful, but almost bashful look to him, and he couldn't quite meet her gaze. There was an eagerness to him, also, that he almost seemed ashamed of, as if he didn't want her to see how much he was hoping for a yes; a fidgety awkwardness to his smile, lips twitching up and down as if trying to calibrate the right amount of smile not to seem overly eager.

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

Seo listened with growing amusement as Dalvos described the person she might encounter if their paths crossed somewhere less friendly than Veradune. The idea of pretending not to know him after everything they had just been through seemed almost absurd, though she understood the necessity behind it. His work depended upon people believing whatever version of himself he presented to them, and she had lived enough of her own life around secrets to understand how dangerous recognition at the wrong moment could become. "Then I suppose I'll have to remember not to look too pleased to see you if we happen across one another on Nar Shaddaa," she said, her smile carrying a gentle tease.

Her expression softened when he admitted that he rather liked having met her. The sentiment was returned more deeply than she was inclined to disguise, particularly after everything they had shared in such a remarkably short span of time. "Tea sounds considerably better," she agreed warmly. "Although I think calling today an icebreaker may be understating things somewhat. Most people manage introductions without crashing through the hull of a starship together." Her fingers shifted slightly against his when he turned his hand beneath hers, allowing the contact to remain naturally between them. "Still, I rather like having met you too, Dalvos. Whatever circumstances were required to make that happen."

When his attention returned to the wound in his thigh and the possibility of immersion treatment, Seo followed his gaze. She had already done what she could in the middle of the fighting, when there had been neither the time nor safety necessary for anything beyond keeping him moving, but those limitations no longer existed. "You know, the tank may not be necessary," she said thoughtfully. "I know how to heal more than what I did for you back there. That was simply all I could manage while people were shooting at us." Her gold eyes lifted to his again. "Now that we're somewhere safe and I can actually take the time, I can treat the injury properly. I can't promise there won't still be recovery afterward, but I may be able to spare you from being submerged in bacta." A faint smile touched her lips. "If you want me to, of course."

Then came his invitation, accompanied by an awkwardness Seo found unexpectedly endearing after watching the same man willingly plant himself behind a pile of wreckage and challenge an entire corridor of Sith troops. Apparently, inviting a woman to dinner required a different sort of courage. She didn't leave him waiting long enough to doubt her answer. Her fingers curled gently around his, turning the tentative contact into something unmistakably returned as a warm smile spread across her face. There was no effort to conceal the small spark of hope that entered her eyes along with it.

"I'd love to visit."

The answer came easily because there was nothing complicated about how she felt in that moment. She wanted to see him again. Not because another battle demanded it or because some mission placed them on the same path, but simply because she enjoyed his company and wanted the opportunity to discover who Dalvos was when neither of them was trying to survive. "Lunch, dinner, normal conversation..." Her smile brightened with quiet amusement. "All of that sounds wonderful. Although now that you've mentioned these amazing steaks and spices, you've created expectations for yourself."

Seo gave his hand a gentle squeeze, her expression softening as she regarded him. "And you don't need to look so worried about my answer," she added, warmth and a hint of teasing mingling naturally in her voice. "I haven't exactly been subtle about enjoying your company." Her thumb brushed lightly across his fingers. "Get yourself and the Rose home safely. Let me help make certain you don't spend your recovery floating in a bacta tank if I can avoid it, and afterward..." The hopeful warmth remained plainly visible in her eyes. "I'd very much like to find out what spending time with you is like when nobody is shooting at us."

Dalvos Thrakan

 

[Dalvos Thrakan]

"Oh please," he stated with a feigned aloofness, "Everyone is pleased to see me on Nar Shaddaa." He gave a toss of his head, platinum hair rippling with the movement, then grinned at her. "But I suppose I'll have to restrain my own enthusiasm, as well..."

He gave a little wiggle of his shoulders as he settled back into the padded chair, content to simply hold her hand and exist for a few moments. "Honestly..." He gave a short, dry laugh, "The idea of having my leg even mostly healed up is one of the nicest things I've heard all night. Not that I'm not extremely excited about taking you to dinner and all of that, but..." His voice dropped an octave, plaintive, "A sith-spited hole in my thigh hurts an awful bloody lot, to tell you the truth." His grin was a little strained. "I could go on ignoring it if I have to, but... Seo, I'm going to owe you a lot more than a couple of dinners if you can buff this out before they put me in the tank."

As if realizing he was still wearing all of it, he began to tug off his combat webbing and strapped-on plating, stacking them in an unruly pile next to his chair. He left on the relatively normal clothes beneath, taking a moment to assess the many holes in his lovely coppery cape with something akin to mourning before reverentially setting it atop the rest. The sonic rifle had a magnetic patch that adhered it quite firmly to a rack beside his chair.

Without everything else in the way... it looked pretty bad. It wasn't a direct hit, having clipped the armor plate and lost some of its energy to the ablatives, but from there it hammered straight into the meat of his thigh, center of the thick muscle on top. A few stubborn fibers had become embedded in the wound, but the blaster bolt had cleanly cauterized it otherwise; a small mercy.

"So, are you especially a healer? Or just one of your many talents as a strange Jedi?" He kept his gaze on the starfield ahead, clearly expecting the process to be painful.

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

Seo laughed softly, the sound warm and easy. "Well then," she said with a teasing smile, "perhaps I should make certain Nar Shaddaa never discovers you've become so agreeable. I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation."

Her eyes drifted toward his injured leg as he removed the armor piece by piece. The teasing faded into quiet concentration while she watched him expose the wound. She had seen injuries like it before, both during the years she had spent helping free slaves and later as a Jedi. It was ugly, but clean. The armor had done enough to spare the bone, and the heat of the bolt had prevented the bleeding that might otherwise have threatened his life.

Still... "It looks every bit as painful as I imagined," she admitted softly, moving her chair a little closer. "You've been carrying that longer than anyone should."

She lowered herself beside him, her attention never leaving the wound. Her fingertips hovered over the edge of the injury without touching it as she examined the damage with both her eyes and the quiet awareness the Force offered. The torn muscle, the scorched tissue, the stubborn fragments left behind. She let out a thoughtful breath before finally looking back up at him.

"I should tell you now that I'm going to disappoint your expectations," she said with an apologetic smile. "I'm not a healer by trade. My work has always been as an investigator. Following trails, finding people, uncovering truths that others overlook. Healing was simply something every Jedi was encouraged to learn because there are times when no dedicated healer is available."

Her smile became just a little more reassuring.

"I know more than the basics, but I'm no Master of the healing arts. What I can do is encourage your body to mend itself more quickly, ease the pain, and repair enough of the damaged muscle that you should be able to avoid spending the night floating in a bacta tank." Her head tilted slightly. "You'll still be sore for several days, and I'm afraid I can't promise you'll avoid Ace reminding you of your poor decisions."

A quiet laugh escaped her before she rested one hand gently against his knee, the other hovering just above the wound.

"It will probably ache while I'm working," she warned. "Not because I'm hurting you, but because your body will remember how to knit itself back together. Sometimes healing is uncomfortable."

Her gold eyes found his again, warm and steady.

"If at any point you'd like me to stop, tell me. Otherwise..." Another small smile crossed her lips. "I'd rather spend tonight talking with you than watching you disappear into a bacta tank."

Closing her eyes, Seo allowed herself a slow breath. The Force settled around her like calm water, flowing first through herself before gently extending into Dalvos. There was no brilliant spectacle, no dramatic display of power. Only a quiet warmth gathered beneath her fingertips, patient and measured as it encouraged damaged fibers to reconnect, soothed inflamed tissue, and coaxed the living body toward the healing it already knew how to accomplish on its own.

It was not perfection. It did not erase what had happened.

But as the warmth spread through the injured muscle, the relentless, burning throb began to ease, leaving behind only the deep ache of a wound that had finally begun to heal.

Dalvos Thrakan

 

[Dalvos Thrakan]

"An investigator?" He asked, his face lighting up. "No lie? Hell, that's most of the work that I do; figuring out who knows who, who does what, and who else knows about it. It's a lot like being a cop except by criminals have lightsabers... and governmental backing, a lot of the places I go to. But you'd be surprised; even in Sith space there's still a lot of sentiment against 'rogue' dark Jedi. Random acts of violence are still seriously disruptive. It's amazing how a people can both be so supportive of their government and yet hate so many of its actual representatives..."

"Look, if you ever find a way to make Ace forgive anything you'll forever be in my good books. He still reminds me of the time I almost took off with a fuel hose still attached. It was empty," he stated defensively, "but still attached, and would've cost several thousand credits to replace. And I would've... except that Ace spotted it before I pushed the throttle up." He glanced around as if expecting the odd droid to interject.

He watched her carefully as she moved to begin her work, a fearful anticipation on his face as if expecting it to be far worse than 'discomfort'; when she began and it merely transformed from a dull burn into a throbbing ache, he relaxed by degrees until he had returned to his prior calm. "I would... rather sit and talk with you, too. That sounds... really nice."

He watched her work. The way her eyes kept rising to his own; checking on him, reassuring him. Warm, glittering with a color like sunset. He found himself just watching her, waiting for her occasional glimpses just for another chance to meet her eyes. She wasn't conventionally pretty; she was rugged, strong-featured, but it lent her expressions a certain focus, an intensity, as if the object of her focus was the only real thing in the world.

As if when she looked at him, he was the only real thing in the world. Just the two of them, adrift in the endless dark.

He didn't speak as he watched her work, but the smile that played across his lips, flickering like an old bulb, was expressive enough.

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

The sudden enthusiasm that lit Dalvos's face when she mentioned her work drew a warmer smile from Seo. Of all the things she might have expected them to discover they shared, investigation had not been high on the list. She kept her attention divided between him and the injury beneath her hand, maintaining the gentle current of the Force flowing into damaged muscle while listening to him describe his own version of the profession. "It sounds as though yours comes with considerably more opportunities to be shot," she observed, amusement touching her voice. "Although I suppose after tonight I shouldn't pretend mine has always been particularly safe."

Her thumb moved almost absently against his knee as she continued working, a small point of contact that was no longer strictly necessary for what she was doing. Seo was normally a quiet woman, particularly around people she did not know well. Years spent reading expressions and watching for things left unsaid had made listening far more natural than speaking about herself. Here, alone with Dalvos aboard his ship, that reserve did not feel quite as necessary. She liked listening to him. She liked the way his thoughts seemed to tumble out whenever something caught his interest, and she was beginning to suspect she liked having his attention upon her just as much.

"My investigations tend to be less dramatic than yours," she admitted. "Missing people are probably the most common. Someone leaves home and doesn't return, or disappears somewhere between one port and another. Sometimes they run away and simply don't want to be found. Sometimes they became trapped somewhere and couldn't come back. Unfortunately, sometimes the answer is worse." There was no melodrama in the words. Seo had delivered enough difficult answers to families to understand that finding someone did not always mean bringing them home. "I've tracked stolen belongings as well. Family heirlooms, cargo, artifacts, things that might look insignificant to anyone except the person who lost them. Occasionally, something genuinely dangerous disappears and needs to be recovered before someone discovers exactly why it should never have been stolen."

A quiet smile returned as she looked up and caught him watching her again. This time, Seo did not immediately return her attention to his leg. Her gold eyes remained upon his white ones for several seconds, openly curious about the expression she found there. There was something unexpectedly pleasant about being looked at that way, especially by someone she had known for only a matter of hours. Seo was accustomed to being studied because someone wanted answers from her, wanted to determine whether she was dangerous, or simply wanted to understand the strange Lorrdian Jedi standing before them. Dalvos seemed to be looking simply because he enjoyed looking at her.

"I suppose the cases sound mundane compared with tracing Sith and infiltrating criminal networks," she continued, though her voice had softened slightly. "But I've never thought that made them less important. If someone's daughter disappears, she might be just one missing person among trillions across the rest of the galaxy. To her family, she is the entire galaxy. Finding her matters." Seo's gaze finally lowered toward his injury again, and the warmth beneath her palm strengthened fractionally as she coaxed another stubborn section of damaged tissue toward repair. "I think that's what I enjoy about it. There is usually a truth somewhere. You simply have to be patient enough to find it."

His story about Ace earned another laugh from her, and she shook her head. "No, I don't believe I can help you there. Forgiveness sounds well outside my abilities. Besides, Ace may have a point about the fuel hose." Her lips curved as she glanced toward the corridor where the little droid had disappeared. "Several thousand credits because you forgot to look behind you before taking off? I suspect reminding you for the rest of your life is simply responsible accounting."

The healing had progressed enough that Seo no longer needed quite so much concentration. The terrible wound was still there and would remain so for some time, but beneath the scorched surface, the muscle was beginning to hold itself together again. She eased the flow of the Force rather than stopping abruptly, allowing the warmth to diminish gradually until only her hand remained resting against him. When Seo raised her eyes again, she found Dalvos still watching her, and the smile that appeared was softer than the teasing one she had worn moments earlier.

"You keep looking at me," she said quietly.

There was no embarrassment in the observation, and certainly no request for him to stop. If anything, the warmth in her expression made precisely the opposite clear. Seo had never seen much purpose in pretending she did not feel something merely because acknowledging it might make a moment more complicated. She liked him. Perhaps it was early, and perhaps the circumstances of their meeting had been unusual, but neither changed the simple truth of it.

Her fingers shifted slightly against his knee before she added, "I don't mind." A faint trace of amusement entered her gold eyes as she held his gaze. "Actually, I rather like it."

Seo let that admission remain between them without trying to soften it into something safer. Her smile lingered as she finally withdrew her hand from his leg, though she remained beside his chair rather than retreating to her previous seat. "And for what it's worth, Dalvos, I meant what I said. I'd rather be sitting here talking with you too." Her expression warmed another degree. "I'm enjoying your company considerably more than I expected when I climbed aboard your ship tonight."

Dalvos Thrakan

 

[Dalvos Thrakan]

"As often as your investigations don't have happy endings... It's still a lot more than mine. There's a difference between one less evil, and one more good... and sometimes I wonder if I'm not working the wrong end of the scale." He paused for a moment, consideringly, "You know, a lot of the ports I make rounds of are places where people go when they don't want to be found... Or when other people don't want to be found. If you give me specs, I can keep an eye out for useful information. I, uh, have an in with a lot of the docking controllers across about half the rim. Avoiding unnecessary inspections means making fast friends with a wide range of people." His tone wasn't bragging, quite, but more that he seemed extremely pleased to be able to offer something to her. Something meaningful.

"Well, if you're enjoying me looking," he leaned in slightly, his voice almost confidential, "Then you're in luck. I'm kind of enjoying it myself." A pause, then more overt. "You're very pretty. I haven't seen eyes like yours before; or at least, I've never been quite so interested in them." Without a visible differentiation, it was hard to tell just where his eyes were focused, but the small twitches around them betrayed the small movements of his gaze, as if switching between tiny, specific details in her gaze.

His jaw shifted slightly, as if rolling the words around on his tongue, carefully picking between them and discarding the unnecessary; for a little while, they all seemed superfluous. As much as he thought about speaking, not a word passed his lips for a couple of minutes, until he leaned slightly into her, then shifted back into his seat; not so much to create distance as because of the uncomfortable angle of the seats. He shifted his hands down to his thigh, gently testing and prodding the area around the wound, hissing slightly with pain where it still hurt, but seeming pleased with how little of that there seemed to be. "Magic hands, Seo. I appreciate your help... and your company." He grinned, impishly. "And your stories. And your eyes." He gave a small, warm laugh, and his eyes drifted shut for a moment... then seemed to take a little while to open up again. "Mmn," he grumbled softly, opening them with a visible effort. "Post-battle, y'know?" He said, softly, a sleepy edge to his voice. "Adrenaline goes. Not shocky. Doesn't feel shocky. Stims are wearing off, too. Hng."

Without the pain propping him up, or the stims buzzing in his head, it seemed difficult for him to keep upright. "Mmn. Another... Three, four hours to Veradune. I, uh. Don't have sleeping quarters at the moment but... I've got blankets in the supply closet, there, if you want one; the autopilot will keep us on course. The, uh, seats recline... pretty far, too. It isn't a bed, but it's better than some places I've slept." He gave another little laugh, but this time he couldn't seem to quite keep his eyes open through it. "Ghorman silk blankets. A gift," he was interrupted by a yawn, "from some shady spicer, a while back. I repaid him by turning it over to the authorities; deniably, of course, had to keep my cover... threw away pretty much everything else he gave me, but I couldn't bring myself to toss them. Seriously." He nodded sleepily. "It's a treat."

His left hand still hung across the gap between their chairs, not quite willing to break contact just yet.

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

Seo's expression softened when Dalvos offered to keep an eye open during his travels. She understood immediately that he was not simply looking for another excuse to talk about his contacts. He wanted to give her something useful, something that mattered to the work she had chosen for herself. That touched her more than she expected. "I may take you up on that," she said, her gold eyes remaining on him. "There have been people I've lost at the edge of a trail because they passed through places where nobody wanted to answer questions from a Jedi. Having someone who already knows which questions to ask, and who can ask them without announcing what he's doing..." A thoughtful smile appeared. "That could make a difference, Dalvos. A real one. Thank you."

His compliment caught her more pleasantly than awkwardly. Seo had never been particularly shy about attraction, even if she was normally reserved in how she expressed herself, and there was no embarrassed attempt to look away when he called her pretty. Instead, her smile warmed as she met those strange white eyes that seemed so intent upon studying her own. "Thank you," she answered softly. Her gaze lingered upon his face in return, making it reasonably clear that the interest was not entirely one-sided. "And I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. It would have been unfortunate to discover you've been staring at me all this time purely for investigative purposes."

The quiet that followed did not bother her. Seo was comfortable with silence, perhaps more than most, and there was something unexpectedly pleasant about simply sitting beside him while the Copper Rose carried them through hyperspace. She allowed the closeness without trying to define it. They had met only hours ago under circumstances neither of them would have chosen, and Seo was not inclined to mistake the strange intimacy of surviving something together for a promise of anything beyond tonight. Still, she liked him. She liked listening to him, liked the peculiar mixture of bravado and awkward sincerity he seemed to possess, and she certainly wasn't going to pretend she hadn't noticed how attractive she found him.

"Magic hands might be overstating things," she replied when he finally tested his leg, a quiet laugh accompanying the words. "Remember, I said you're still going to be sore. If you undo everything I just helped your body repair because you decide tomorrow morning that you're perfectly healthy, I reserve the right to be very annoyed with you." Her teasing faded as she noticed the increasing effort it took him simply to keep his eyes open. The change was obvious now that the pain and stimulants were no longer forcing him awake. "You're exhausted."

His offer of a reclining chair and an admittedly tempting Ghorman silk blanket earned an amused shake of her head. "No. You have a bed somewhere on this ship, and you're going to use it." Seo rose from her seat, though she did not immediately release the hand still resting between them. Instead, she curled her fingers lightly around his and gave a gentle pull meant more as encouragement than an attempt to physically haul him upright. "You were shot, climbed through a dying ship, flew us out of a battle, and then let me convince your body to spend even more energy repairing itself. A chair that reclines 'pretty far' isn't winning this argument."

She waited until he was steady before releasing him, remaining close enough to offer support if his injured leg protested. "Show me where your quarters are. I'll make sure you get there without falling over, cover you up with one of your apparently magnificent, criminally acquired silk blankets, and then you can sleep properly." Her smile carried enough amusement to keep the instruction from sounding maternal. "I promise not to interrogate you about the ethics of keeping gifts from convicted spice dealers until you've had at least a few hours of sleep."

Seo glanced toward the controls and the steady course displayed there before returning her attention to him. She had no objection to staying awake a little longer herself. The adrenaline still lingering in her system would make immediate sleep difficult anyway, and someone should remain aware of their surroundings while Dalvos recovered. More importantly, after everything he had done to get them away from the Prosperity, she wanted to make sure he actually rested rather than waking ten minutes later and deciding there was some urgent task only he could perform.

"Come on," she said more gently, offering him her hand again. Her gold eyes carried the same warmth that had been there throughout their conversation, attraction present but left comfortably unexplored for another day. "Bed beats reclining seats, Dalvos. Even with Ghorman silk."

Dalvos Thrakan

 

[Dalvos Thrakan]

He cleared his throat a little, and shook his head, "No, uh. The crew compartment where you and the others rode in?" He gave a weak grin. "That's normally where the beds would be. I swapped out the external cargo pods for the emergency boosters, and then took out the beds for crew space." He winced, slightly. "There... really, actually aren't any beds at the moment. The Rose isn't... the most spacious ship ever created. A lot of the space is given over to the hyperdrive and engines; usually my deliveries require high speed, and discretion, not... capacity."

He ran his tongue over his lips slowly, and gave a little laugh. "So uh... At least these chairs recline? It's a lot more comfortable than the drop seats." He leaned in a little, almost conspiratorially, though the effect was a bit skewed by his exhaustion. "I promise I don't snore. Ace would've told me." He still held onto her hand, but gave her a little tug toward him, instead, in retribution for her trying to tug him up from the seat. "Besides... you're here." The admission turned his cheeks scarlet. "And if I'm going to entrust my life and my ship to anyone, then right now, I'd rather it be you." A pause, then, softly, "Besides, when we do come out of hyper, I uh, think I've got a lot of explaining to do. I may have... not actually... been specifically, myself, assigned to this mission."

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

Seo stopped trying to pull him from the chair the moment he explained that there was, in fact, nowhere else for him to sleep. Her eyes moved briefly toward the rear of the ship as though a bed might somehow materialize if she looked hard enough, then returned to Dalvos with quiet amusement. "You removed the beds for more engine space," she repeated, the faintest disbelief entering her voice. Considering everything she had learned about him over the last few hours, perhaps she should not have been surprised. "Of course you did. I'm beginning to understand your priorities."

His retaliatory tug caught her slightly off guard, drawing her closer rather than pulling him up. Seo could easily have stepped away. Instead, she allowed herself to follow the motion until she stood beside his chair, her hand still comfortably held within his. The conspiratorial assurance that he did not snore earned a soft laugh. "I'm not certain Ace is the character witness you want to invoke right now. He might simply be saving that information until the most embarrassing possible moment." Her smile lingered, but it softened noticeably when his cheeks reddened and he admitted that he would rather entrust himself and his ship to her than anyone else.

For a moment, Seo simply looked at him. They had known each other for only a few hours, but those hours had contained more honesty than some relationships managed in years. She was attracted to him, that much she had already admitted to herself, and the feeling had only grown as they talked. Yet tonight had begun with violence, fear, exhaustion, and far too much blood. Whatever might eventually exist between them deserved to begin somewhere other than the aftermath of that. Seo was perfectly content to enjoy the closeness without asking it to become anything more tonight.

"Then I'll stay," she said softly. Her thumb brushed once across the back of his hand before she lowered herself into the neighboring chair again. "You sleep. I'll keep an eye on the Rose and wake you before we reach Veradune. If your autopilot suddenly develops ambitions of its own, I'll make certain Ace knows before we end up somewhere completely different." She reached for the controls on her seat and experimented until it reclined considerably farther than she had expected. "You weren't exaggerating. These actually aren't terrible."

Then his final confession registered properly. Seo slowly turned her head toward him. "You weren't assigned to the mission?" There was a beat of silence before one eyebrow rose. The investigator in her suddenly found several pieces of their evening rearranging themselves into a much more interesting picture. "Dalvos, did you hear that a Jedi ship full of refugees was in trouble and simply decide to launch yourself into the middle of a battle?" The question carried considerably more fond exasperation than accusation. Given the man she had come to know tonight, she already suspected the answer.

A small shake of her head accompanied the smile that followed. "We'll deal with your explanations when we arrive. I'm certainly not going to keep you awake so you can rehearse them." Seo gave his hand a gentle squeeze, making no move to reclaim hers afterward. "And for whatever it's worth when someone starts asking uncomfortable questions, I'm glad you came. Assigned or not, people are alive because you did."

She glanced toward the supply compartment he had mentioned and, with a small gesture of the Force, drew one of the folded blankets toward them. Catching it, Seo unfolded the promised Ghorman silk and draped most of it across Dalvos, leaving enough to pull over herself once she settled beside him. The luxurious fabric earned an appreciative stroke of her fingertips. "All right," she conceded. "The shady spicer had excellent taste."

Seo reclined her chair beside his, their hands still loosely joined across the narrow space between them. She had no intention of reading more into the contact than tonight warranted, but neither did she see any reason to surrender something that felt this comfortable merely because they had only just met. "Go to sleep, Dalvos," she murmured, warmth entering her gold eyes when she looked over at him. "You've trusted me with your ship, your life, several secrets, and apparently the knowledge that you don't snore. I think I can manage things for a few hours."

Dalvos Thrakan

 

[Dalvos Thrakan]

"You weren't assigned to the mission?"

His eyes opened furtively, glancing about for a moment, before he mumbled something in reply masked by a cough. He gave a weak smile at her reassurance, then added, in a small voice, "The guys doing the on-the-spot overhaul were certainly under the impression that I was on official business... it helped that I had really official-looking orders to do it." Ignoring the fact that he made passable forgeries of Protectorate documents. He took a corner of the blanket and tucked it in around himself, and then carefully buckled in, reclining the chair. "See why I kept it?" He asked her, his smile losing its edge and fading to a sleepy look.

He gave a small, tired grunt, and consciousness fled him as swiftly as the jump to Hyperspace.

[[End Scene]]

Seo Linn