Private It's Treason, Then

[Asha Sar'andor]

The derelict moon of Cyras lay sprawled before her as she brought her borrowed ship in to land.

Though she was often led by the whims of the Force, this time her efforts were not wholly free from repercussions. Usually Asha prided herself in being above the law, she adhered to it like a code of honour and she'd never been asked to stray from that. This was... Different. A test of faith, perhaps, or maybe just a debt owed. Either way as she exited her ship, clad in an envirosuit, the Je'daii Master approached the facility with trepidation in her heart.

For all that it held, it was a largely undermanned place. Mostly just a bunch of prisoners set to work off their debt to society; the sooner they were done, the sooner they could leave. It was a more powerful motivator than any rough handed prison guard could ever be. They'd more or less just been dumped here.

And that worked wonders for the girl.

Even so a droid approached her, asking for her to state her business there. Asha produced some forged documents, pertaining to one prisoner in particular. "He's to be extradited into my custody" she explained. The documents mentioned something about Aurum, and treasonous crimes against her monarch. Convincing enough, it would seem, for the droid at the very least. Asha was made to wait, and in the interim she couldn't quite keep her nerves from bubbling to the surface.

If this went south, well... She didn't want to imagine what might happen.

Arekk

 

[Arekk]

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It wasn't a surprise that Arekk's past would catch up to him; leading half of your life dedicated to crime and expect to come out unscathed was a fever dream to say the least. Cyras had become the man's 'home' for the past two years as he had been sentenced to spend a lengthy time in prison for multiple charges related to slicing and other underworld dealings.

Paying your debt to society meant hard-working labour by keeping the cells clean, including bathrooms, and some other miscellaneous tasks that many wouldn't be able to stomach, others would be sent to perform manual labour to the mining facility. Species of a many kind kept to each other, nobody mingled with one another to keep the peace amongst the population.

Arekk stayed by his lonesome, bidding the remainder of his time in peace. He was an able-bodied man that could take care of himself in most situations. Prison had never been in his mind but he was prepared for such eventuality; you could only go so for so long commiting crimes that you'd bite the dust eventually.

It was time for lunch so the entirety of the prisoner population on the facility was out to chow, Arekk included. There was tension up in the air as a group of Niktos had stabbed a Bith earlier in retaliation for being an informer and now they were stuck together for long, exhausting hours somewhere else where the number of guards was even thinner than the actual prison.

This wasn't good news at all.

Asha Hex
​

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

As Arekk lined up among the others, in hopes of being fed, he'd find himself approached by one of the many droids that tried to keep some modicum of order around the mining colony. Never mind the fact that someone had just been stabbed, that was seemingly ignored in the moment by that one droid in particular.

"Prisoner 2471," the droid began, its voice firm and level, "You are to report to the main office. Immediately."

As if to make a point, it nudged into him slightly to urge him into motion. No time for him to sit and eat, no time for questions or reluctance, the droid would see him moved one way or another.

Before he could reach the office in question, Arekk would find himself stopped and cuffed. Wrists and ankles. A precautionary measure, and no doubt one he was used to at this point.

Then the office door was opened, and he was pushed inside where a certain redhead awaited.

Well, the redhead and yet another droid that was.

Arekk

 

[Arekk]

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<+>----------+**+----------<+>​

Before he even had the chance to plop down for chow, Arekk was beckoned by one of the droids and practically moved away without having the chance to utter a word. Chained from wrists and ankles, rugged long hair and a long beard, Arekk strutted along layers of security doors until they had reached their destination.

"You have to be kidding." The man muttered under his breath upon setting his eyes on Asha. "What's this?"

Flashbacks came flooding instantly to the slicer's mind, images of Aurum and Atefeh and... Jyn. Of the good times, the really good times. It him almost like a vision of sorts and it was happening right infront of his own eyes until he snapped back to reality.

The droids were starting to get uneasy with Asha's presence and continued to wonder what was the business she had with Arekk. If they had done their research they would know that the slicer had a bounty on his head for multiple crimes in several systems; play their cards right and whoever was behind this mining operation could benefit greatly.

Asha Hex
​

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Asha did not say a single word to Arekk as he was led into the room. In fact for all intents and purposes she seemed utterly dismissive and unacknowledging of him. She didn't even look his way, she just glanced at the droid who had brought him in.

"Those shackles will hold, right?" she inquired. "I don't need him breaking free mid-transport."

The droid seemed almost alarmed that it needed to be asked.

"But of course they'll hold!"

"Good."

She rose up from the seat she'd taken, and handed this new droid a datapad which also had the same details she'd shared with the first droid. The prisoner was being transferred into ORC Judge custody, to answer for crimes more severe than those he was serving time for here on Lithios.

It was even signed by the Grand Marshal himself.

Everything looked legit, above the board. There shouldn't have been anything standing in their way.

"Please sign the two marked areas," she asked them, waiting around for them to do precisely that. Still not a word or a look toward Arekk. Hopefully he was picking up on the need for anonymity here.

They signed, then Asha nodded her head.

"I'll forward a copy to your commanding officer. If you can bring him to my ship, it's imperative we reach Kal'Shebbol before the hearing date."

She stepped around the table, and waited to see if they'd follow. They should, there really was no reason not to trust her. The documents had all been official, after all, even if she'd been the one to sign them on Cotan's behalf.

Live with a man for long enough, and you picked up on a thing or two.

Arekk

 

[Arekk]

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<+>----------+**+----------<+>​

The man was quick enough to pick up on Asha's intention for anonimity, deciding to play along by being the dismissive and certainly obnoxious individual that he was.

"If I knew that such a lovely girl like you would come to claim my head, I would've worn something better."

A certain tension was up in the air as Asha traded information with the droids that quickly faded away once the paperwork was verified and confirmed. The shackles were tightened even more as the red-haired woman mentioned them to Arekk's captors, him offering nothing but a kark-eating grin.

If there was something certain it would be that Arekk needed an urgent shower, he was nothing but a sweaty and dirty mess after hours of hard labour at the mining facility. His impatience was visible despite the facade he was trying to put on, gaze moving between each droid and a facial expression forming on his face that denoted frustration.

He was holding the urge to destroy them right there and then but he knew he would have to hold back, at least this time. His 'release' into Asha's custody had already been confirmed.

Asha Hex
​

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

They signed, and it was done.

His shackles were tightened, and once they all seemed satisfied she led the way from the room and back toward where her ship lay. Envirosuits were donned by both Asha and Arekk, a necessity once beyond the compound itself, and then they were out into the muted air.

Asha said nothing as she came upon the rented ship, the ramp lowering. She stepped aside so that the droids could lead him up, and then she followed after them. Once inside she gestured them to the right, and toward the holding cells. The one waiting for Arekk was small, cramped, and lacked even the most basic of amenities. Almost as though it was meant to cage an animal, not a man.

Then the droids were gone.

She had the ramp raised fairly soon after, doors closing and cabin repressurizing. Only then did she remove the envirosuit, and head away from Arekk toward the cockpit. He was actually, for a time, locked within the holding cell. They couldn't be too cautious after all.

The ship rose up, and then soon enough they were seeing stars through the viewing port.

Only once Lithios was but a speck in the distance did she approach him once more. Stood outside of the cell door, and crossed her arms disapprovingly.

"Illegal podracing. Slicing. Organized crime. Force, Arekk, is there anything you haven't done since leaving the Je'daii?"

With a wave of her hand she undid his shackles through the Force, but she didn't open the cell door, not yet. All the same he could get the envirosuit off now.

Arekk

 

[Arekk]

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<+>----------+**+----------<+>​

"Some experiences can shape a man. And feth... They have really shaped me."

The envirosuit came off immediately as Arekk was able to get hands on it, his eyes making a quick scan of the vessel that was hauling him off Lithios. Trapped in another cell, like a Rancor under its masters' throne. The shackles that had ingrained themselves onto his skin came off and clunked on the metallic flooring, rubbing of the wrists giving the man a small relief.

"I had to do what I could to survive. This universe is relentless."

He tried really hard to justify all the wrongdoings of past years and present but such thing mean nothing. Arekk didn't regret killing all of the men that stood in his way. The very echo of what once a noble man had quickly vanished over time, though a small glimpse surfaced every now and then.

"Guess it's time to atone."

The slicer's foot tapped incessantly against the durasteel floor as he engaged Asha in conversation. Half his face covered in the darkness of his cell while the only light shun the other half; a methaphor of sorts.

Asha Hex
​

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

"Don't do that" Asha said, all at once, as he tried to claim he had no other choice beyond what he'd done.

She shook her head, then stepped up to the door. Waited for the suit to be removed, and for the shackles to clank to the floor. Still the door wasn't opened though. She watched him warily through the barred window.

"Don't act like you had no choice. There was always another option for you, Arekk. You could have come home... I was waiting for you to come home."

Her face flushed slightly then, though what emotion exactly had caused it wasn't readily apparent. Asha had gotten particularly good at keeping her emotions pushed down, not quite in check but certainly far enough from the surface that she wouldn't act impulsively upon them.

"She was my sister, Arekk, in everything but blood. That makes you my brother. I just... I wish you had come to me. I wish you hadn't wasted away out here."

She swallowed, her cheeks feeling particularly warm at the talks of Jyn. No doubt he felt the same way. No doubt that was why he'd locked himself in purgatory on Lithios.

Arekk

 

[Arekk]

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<+>----------+**+----------<+>​

"Those animals took her from me!" He screamed viciously. "I wasn't going to stop until they were all dead."

The mere mention of his beloved's name was enough to bring out the worst in him, the pain and suffering of losing both Jyn and Atefeh was too hard to bear. It was a part of him. It broke his soul in a thousand pieces.

"It's too late for that now. Too late for everything."

Arekk paced around in his cell, trying to make sense of what was happening. That pure rage that fired up was eating him alive and had been for years, going down this path of self-destruction could only finish in one way only.

"There was no home to go back to. Not without her. Never."

He concluded with before disappearing into the shadows within his cell, head down.

Asha Hex
​

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

His rage was palpable.

It was a feeling she had also come to grips with since her death, one which had not waned until she'd witnessed the girl within the throws of the Nether, serene within the Chasm wherein only calm and peace could be found. She wasn't suffering, she wasn't lost within one of the Nether's horrid realms, no...

But how could she explain that to him, without him having seen it for himself? And would it even make a difference?

All the same, seeing him pacing around his cell like a caged animal was enough to have her throw caution to the wind. She shouldn't have unlocked the cell door, most would have told her she was foolish for doing so, especially in so angered a state, but she didn't care.

She unlocked it all the same, pulled the door aside, and stepped in there with him.

"Arekk..."

Asha moved to wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace, provided he didn't push her away or try to lash out.

"Nothing's too late... Living this way, is this what she'd want for you? You don't need to be alone, you don't need to shoulder the weight of it by yourself. I won't lose you too."

Arekk

 

[Arekk]

01000001 01101100 01110111 01100001 01111001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01110100 01110010 01101111 01110101 01100010 01101100 01100101 00101110 00001010

<+>----------+**+----------<+>​

"You shouldn't have showed me that vision, Asha. Seeing it unfold and being unable to do anything? The worst of tortures. That image has been in my head since. In my dreams. Everywhere."

The embrace felt like a wave of serenity was able to overtake him entirely, in a way the essence of his beloved Jyn had manifested through such gentle act. He reciprocated reluctantly before stepping away slowly, eyes befalling on the red-haired girl.

"I have nothing to fight for." He said as if it was a faint whisper. "I couldn't find their bodies, you know? No matter how much blood I shed... I couldn't get the faintest clue of their whereabouts."

Arekk would never lay a finger on Asha and the fact that she had trusted him enough, despite the volatile emotional state of his, to open the door to his cell made the slicer take a breather.

"I've done horrible things, Asha. Things I would never imagine myself doing. And that.... I can't never take back."

Asha Hex
​

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

"I know" the woman said, grief washing over her. Grief and unmatched guilt. "I regret sharing that vision with you every day. I shouldn't have been so foolish. I should have seen for myself first, or... I don't know. I'm sorry. Arekk, I'm so sorry. I wish I could take it back, remove it from your mind. It wasn't right of me, it wasn't fair, and I can only hope that one day you'll forgive me."

Asha didn't even feel as though she deserved forgiveness for it. It had been folly. She'd needed to see for herself, and when Arekk had been willing? Well... She'd ran with it. But it had done damage to the both of them in the process, Arekk far more than she.

He pulled back from her embrace, and she let him. She stepped back out of the cell, and granted him the space to leave it should he wish. To stretch his legs, free once more.

"We can't take back what we've done," she echoed, solemnly, "But we can atone for our actions. Strive to do better going forward. You don't have to be locked into your past, Arekk. You can find peace once more, if you allow yourself to... Purpose." Asha leaned back against the durasteel wall which made up the inner workings of the ship. It was cold, but that chill was a welcome respite from the heat of her skin.

Difficult conversations did that to her, made her flushed and clammy.

"I know it isn't so simple. I know you probably can't see a way forward... But I promise you, as someone who had to fight their way out of a truly dark state of mind myself, it is possible, Arekk." He just... Had to want it.

And if he didn't?

Well... Asha wasn't going to stand by and let that happen. She'd find a way; she owed it to Jyn.

Arekk

 

[Arekk]

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"What's done is done and we can't take it back. It's going to live with us for eternity to come."

Arekk had already accepted that such imagery would never leave him, the only way to annihilate it entirely was by placing a blaster shot to his dome and go into the big sleep. They were gone and he wasn't though Arekk wished it was him who had died instead.

"Sounds easy when you put it that way." He resounded with, scoffing. "But it's not. It really isn't."

The slicer slicked his fingers through his greasy and unkempt long hair and exhaled, trying to put words to his thoughts. Conflict was rampant within the man's heart and soul, always had been. He had to make a choice.

Perhaps he wasn't ready yet to see through what Asha meant but maybe, just maybe Arekk would be able to at least try. Only if that's what he wanted and such remained a mystery for the time being.

"I need time."

Asha Hex
​

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Asha merely nodded.

What else could she say in that moment to make it better? There was nothing she could say, or do, that would change a thing. But she'd done what she had come here to do, Arekk was a free man once more, and whether that would be a mistake remained to be seen. With any luck she could somewhat keep him in check, certainly she wouldn't be releasing him out into the greater Galaxy right away.

Not a prisoner, no, but call it an intervention of sorts. At least she knew he'd be safe on Tribunal Station for the foreseeable future. Until he knew what he wanted to do going forward.

She let out a very soft sigh.

"There's a refresher down the hall" she explained, "You've got the co-pilot's cabin. There are some clothes in there which ... well, I thought they'd fit. Force, Arekk, you look starved." Her expression dropped into a somber frown, and she shook her head.

"You go clean up, alright? Take as much time as you need. I'll fix you up something to eat."

A shower and something warm to eat, it wasn't much but it was all she had to offer him in that moment.

Arekk

 

[Arekk]

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"Thanks."

Arekk simply said, nothing more and nothing less, before disappearing into the depths of Asha's vessel to look for that so much needed shower. The durasteel door closed behind him and all that could be heard behind it was the sound of the downpour within.

The man would emerge about thirty minutes later wearing new clothes and smelling like a humanoid again instead of bantha poodoo. Arekk look revitalized, in a way, but the same old demeanor remained.

The smell of food emanating nearby was powerful enough to drag him wherever the red-haired girl was.

"Smells good."

The slicer plopped down on a stool nearby and waited patiently to chow.

Asha Hex
​

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

By the time that Arekk reemerged from the refresher, food had been prepped and plated. It wasn't anything fancy, just whatever rations were present aboard the ship, it wasn't as though she'd gone shopping for this trip after all, but they'd been cooked through on the stove and were far more palatable than they otherwise might have been.

Plus, she'd made him tea. From her teapot none the less. Serenity, peace, hopefully things she could provide him with at least for as long as he drank it.

If he drank it.

He looked slightly better, but with the grime gone she could really see how haggard he was. Lithios had taken years off him, and she frowned upon witnessing it. She set down the plate and the mug on the table, and ushered him in to a seat.

"Why don't you rest after you've eaten?" she suggested, grabbing a plate and mug of her own and slipping into a seat across from him. "When was the last time you had a proper night's sleep?" Mothering mode had well and truly taken over at this point, as much as she was trying to suppress it down. He was a fully grown man, he didn't need her fussing over him.

At the same time, though, Asha couldn't help it. She'd never been able to help it. Heck, Aellin kidnapping and enslaving her had happened because she was too worried about his injuries to realize he was going to inflict some of his own on her.

This wasn't Aellin though. This was Arekk. And Asha would fuss over him until the sun went backwards along the horizon, if only because she owed it to Jyn.

"Are you injured at all, Arekk?" The question came to her mind and left her lips all at once. She glanced over him, though it was hard to tell now that he was in slightly oversized clothes. Still she wouldn't put it past him, knowing where he'd just spent years of his life.