Private Meeting at the Border

[Aleena Aryss]

​

Location: NIO/GA border planet​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Jon Kovacs ​

Prelude​

Aleena had heard stories about the Brotherhood of the Maw and their ferocious attacks against the Galactic Alliance. She wasn't there for the attack against Coruscant or the Battle on Jedha, but she knew people would need her help at the front of the war. Not to fight and hold off the waves of destruction that came from the Maw, but to heal and help undo the damage they had done to the planets they attacked. This is what ultimately brought her to the border between NIO and GA space, where the Maw had raided several planets in an attempt to strike fear into the hearts of the civilians of both galactic powers. ​

​

Aleena specifically had made her way to one of the forward encampments that were set up to repel the Maw attacks. According to what she heard, a great many of the defenders had sustained injuries, ranging from mild burns and cuts to severed limbs and severe head trauma. There was not remotely enough room for all these people in proper hospitals where bacta tanks could save their lives, but with enough rest between groups of patients, she was an almost endless source of healing.​

​

She hoped that she wasn't too late.​

​

The present​

Aleena sat beside the bed of an injured soldier who only hours ago had been shot in the back. His armor had absorbed most of the energy, but the bolt had still penetrated and burned the man. With ordinary healing equipment, it could take hours for him to recover, but her healing hands had gotten him restored in less than a minute. "Now, make sure you get some rest, and-" she stopped as a pair of nurses rushed into the field hospital that was set up.​

​

There was a lot of yelling that she couldn't understand, but they were carrying someone into the facility on a bed. The soldier on top was in shock from the pain he felt, as his body was badly burned from what she believed to be an explosion of some kind. Without any hesitation, Aleena ran over and made sure the nurses stepped aside. He wasn't going to make it, not without her immediate care.​

​

"Don't touch or disturb me," she said as her eyes closed.​

​

Aleena's hands then moved over the body of the man, her eyes closed and from deep within, the calming flow of her Force energy began to surface. Through her hands, it channeled into the man's body and at a completely unnatural rate, the skin and flesh underneath began to recover. The pain stopped almost immediately and while the man passed out, his life was saved.​

​

After about a minute, Aleena stepped back with drops of sweat running down her face. The people around her had gotten quiet from what they had seen, and looked at her with widened eyes. It made her feel like a clown, so she offered them an awkward smile and retreated quietly into a corner of the room, where she sat down in a chair and tried her best to get some rest before the next patient came in.​

​

I hope that was the last one for the day... ​

​

 

[Kovacs]

x​

Lots of people 'round the galaxy saw TIE pilots as nothing more than programmed drones capable of only the usual dogfighting, intercepting, and bombings. That's a great cover for what the job actually entailed in-depth. Hot exfils of assets under fire, partaking in special operations as a designated pilot and... smuggling runs. Can't believe it, right?

But here he was. Undercover, running guns to a pro-Imperial group on an Alliance border world when Maw marauders had struck. A classic raid. One of the many that the mentally depraved cultists constantly sprung on both the Imperials and the Alliance throughout the war. They were offloading the cargo at a barren valley when the Mawites pulled a number on them. Ambush. Shots tore through limbs and heads, and Jon was off to find some med-aid for those still barely breathing.

That's how he found himself on one of those forward encampments the Alliance had set up as HQs for defense and counter operations. He strode through makeshift beds of wounded soldiers, asking for help when at the corner of his vision a blondie gleamed like a star in a cloudy night on Corellia.

"Well, I'll be damned..." he halts, whistling and lowering his sunglasses down his nose, "...a Jedi." who else would shove nurses and start bringing the dead to life with a touch of her hand. Bacta be damned.

He zips down his leather bomber jacket and shoves through the gathered, starstruck crowd observing her magic, and pops out from the rest.

"Lady, don't I have a job for ya..." the pilot hangs his sunglasses on his buttoned-down shirt, then jerks his head back at where he came from, "C'mon, got a dozen rottin' corpses-to-be out in a valley five klicks west needin', uh--" he gestures up and down with his hand at her, "-- magic."

"Promise I'll buy you dinner after."

Aleena Aryss

 

[Aleena Aryss]

​

Location: NIO/GA border planet​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Jon Kovacs ​

...It wasn't the last one of the day​

​

Aleena was about to sigh when she heard someone approaching and addressing her but stopped herself when she turned to face him. Looking him over and listening to his words, she blinked and slowly tilted her head to look past him, almost as if to check which guard had allowed this stranger to just waltz into a medical facility.​

​

But his words seemed genuine... people needed her 'magic'? ​

​

"It's not magic, it's the Force." she first corrected him. He likely didn't care but she didn't want people to start viewing her as some kind of witch if she could help it. Aleena then quickly stepped towards a desk and retrieved the beautifully decorated silver lightsaber hilt, which she clipped to the belt on her dress. Not that she planned to really use it, but better safe than sorry. ​

​

She also seemingly ignored the dinner comment by stepping away towards the desk, which she purely did because she had no idea how to even respond to it. Flirty or overly charming behavior always caught her at a disadvantage.​

​

"Right.. lightsaber, check. Medical kit, check," she muttered to herself before moving over to join Jon Kovacs again. She looked up and into his eyes with a soft smile. "Alright, I'm ready. I uh, don't have a ship though. Do you have a way of getting there?" she asked with a sheepish smile. ​

​

"Oh and are these patients at a medical facility? Or where exactly are we going...?" she asked but she knew the answer deep down. They weren't going to a safely protected medical facility. Wherever they were heading next, there was a lot more risk in being there. Not that it would stop her - she was more than willing to put her life on the line to help others with her healing abilities.​

​

Aleena then followed after Jon, allowing him to take lead on what was going to be one of her very first missions near the front.​

​

​

 

[Kovacs]

"Magic, Force... the hell's the difference?" he arches an eyebrow, watching her as she checks her inventory - something so simple - as if she was going through a pre-flight check. "Do I have a ship?" he scoffs then demonstratively slams a thumb on his chest, "You're looking at the best pilot this side of the galaxy has to offer. Hell, the other side too."

His stupid grin abates at her next question, the carnage at the valley springing up in his mind unwelcomed. Is she gonna backpedal if she knew? There's no garrison of troops and walls to keep her safe but then again she's a Jedi, right? Swinging plasma torches and moving stuff with their thoughts and whatnot. Can't get better than that.

Still, Jon kept that piece of intel to himself until they aboard his ship. A modified Corellian freighter, can't get any more classic than that. Used to belong to a smuggler runnin' goods in Imperial space till he got busted. What his fate was remained a mystery and frankly - Jon didn't really want to think about it. Ship was his now, at least for the duration of the mission, and that's all that mattered.

"Make yourself at home... or don't." he rushed into the cockpit, sunglasses back on and lit up the engine, "With max thrust on, place ain't far from here - would love nothing more than to just sit and chit-chat, you know, get to know each other and whatnot but..." he bit his lip, thinking on how to deliver the sitrep, "...got half a dozen, half-dead guys at the valley. Got ambushed something bad by the Maw. Couldn't move 'em without risking their life any more than it already was."

"Got a name, Doc?" Jon tilts his head at her as the freighter blasts off west.​

Aleena Aryss

 

[Aleena Aryss]

​

Location: NIO/GA border planet​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Jon Kovacs ​

Aleena raised both her eyebrows when he got a little defensive about being a pilot, but she wasn't one to intentionally take jabs at people. So she simply met his words with an apologetic smile and nodded, "Lead the way then," she said as she followed him to his ship. That it was a Corellian freighter was hardly something she picked up on, nor that it was a classic ship. She was the type who couldn't tell a Tie-fighter from an X-wing.​

​

Stepping inside the freighter, she briefly paused in her steps and looked around the interior. She heard him mention something about making her at home but she didn't respond. Her mind was wandering off, focusing on what lay ahead of them.​

​

Only after a small shake of her head, she walked into the cockpit of the ship after him and lowered herself into her seat. She sat fairly forward onto her chair, with her hands placed on her lap - she was hardly relaxed, almost as if she was sitting somewhere where she wasn't entirely at ease.​

​

"Ambushed? Was the threat already eliminated or is it still out there...?" she asked, and her nervousness would be something he could easily pick up on. Many had the idea that Jedi were all capable fighters, and while she was certainly capable of defending herself a bit, she wasn't confident in fighting the forces of the Maw even a little bit.​

​

She swallowed hard and looked out through the window, barely registering his question.​

​

"My name.." she muttered briefly before blinking. "Oh uh, I'm Aleena Aryss." she smiled weakly and turned her blue eyes to him, hoping he hadn't picked up on her nervousness and awkwardness, but that was unlikely.​

​

"What is yours?"​

​

 

[Kovacs]

"Aleena Aryss." he repeats, tilting his head to the side liking how the name sounded. A cigarette materialized in his hand from the inside of his jacket, lighting it up as the pilot considers the name he wants to give. Going by the book meant giving his alias and if she was a Jedi... they could pick out straight-up lies, no? "You can call me Jon." he blows a cloud of smoke to the side then turns his attention back to her.

"What? You gettin' the jibbies now, sweetheart?" Jon asks, arching an eyebrow at her sudden shift in disposition. "...I don't know - I bailed while the firefight was still goin'-- ain't Jedi supposed to be purged from anxiety and emotions and stuff when they're young or some chit?" that's what he remembers seeing on a COMPNOR pamphlet, at least.

"Hmm?" one hand offers her a cigarette, the other lights up the zippo. That usually calms the nerves.​

Aleena Aryss

 

[Aleena Aryss]

​

Location: NIO/GA border planet​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Jon Kovacs ​

Aleena narrowed her eyes at him when he lit up a cigarette, hoping the ventilation on-board this freighter was good enough to keep the smoke away from her. While she wasn't going to lecture him about bad habits, she found the smoke difficult to deal with. When he turned back to her, however, she'd simply smile. "A pleasure to meet you, Jon," she said, glad he seemingly hadn't noticed her nervousness. ​

​

But he didn't just notice a moment later, he confronted her with it.​

​

She felt her cheeks redden and immediately broke eye contact, which only further showed her awkwardness, but it was already painfully obvious at this point anyway. "Well, we still feel the same emotions anybody else does. We just learn to control them better, and not let them cloud our judgment too much," she said, fully knowing her fear very much affected her ability to work in the field.​

​

She then sighed and looked back up in his eyes, "I'll be honest with you, I'm very new to all this. I'm... a bit scared." she admitted with some difficulty in her voice. "But I promise that I will do my best to do what I can to help those people." ​

​

Aleena then shifted somewhat uncomfortably in her chair and dismissed the offered cigarette with a small wave of her hand, "No thank you. I just need to... breath." she said, a smile finally beginning to form again.​

​

 

[Kovacs]

"A pleasure to meet you, Jon," she said, glad he seemingly hadn't noticed her nervousness.

"Mmmhm... likewise." he says, knocking off the cig against the ashtray oddly placed close to the throttle. She then proceeds with explaining the whole emotion jazz about Jedi that hardly resembled anything the COMPNOR pamphlet had read. This whole Force magic thing was a complete mystery to the pilot. The Culturology class they had at the Flight Institute spent ninety percent of the time teaching them about the dangers of the Force and how distrustful they had to be of Force Users, obviously Sith and notable Jedi too.

So was all this a ploy? A scheme? This scaredy-cat act Aleena was pulling? A way to have him lower his guard? He kinda doubted it. See, he's mingled with lotta folks in this job, you know. Being all gregarious and whatnot was a trait that ran down his family from his father's side. Dad could read people in ways no one ever could. Probably came with the 'job' - a high-roller, gambling man.

Aleena then shifted somewhat uncomfortably in her chair and dismissed the offered cigarette with a small wave of her hand, "No thank you. I just need to... breath." she said, a smile finally beginning to form again.

The pilot took that literally and crumbled the cig into the ashtray then waved away the smoke with his hand. He was no avid smoker anyway, took to the bad habit when he did LRRP for a year before graduating from the pilot's school. Scouting Sith remnant really did a number on you.

"Tsk, look--" he takes the sunglasses back up on his head, green eyes looking at the girl, "-- I'd be freakin' out if ya weren't scared going into a potential hive of wasps... I don't know much about controlling emotions and whatnot but... y'know... feeling scared, right? Hell, feeling anything - makes me feel alive." the distant memories of the skies darkening as the Sith laid nuclear waste upon his world were as vivid as if they had happened a day ago.

That fear, that same fear, had brought him behind the stick of a TIE.

"And I don't know about you, Aleena, but I do like being alive." he grins.

Whatever her response was, if any, it would be followed by the valley opening up ahead. Smoldering remains of vehicles blasted to oblivion, scorched earth, and half a dozen bloodied bodies still alive among a lake of charred corpses.

"I'm gonna put us right down there, middle of everyone still breathin'" Jon says, eyes vigilantly scanning for any signs of the Maw in the vicinity.

Nothing.

Yet.
​

Aleena Aryss

 

[Aleena Aryss]

​

Location: NIO/GA border planet​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Jon Kovacs ​

Aleena studied the man closely, unaware such a thing could be seen as staring. But the way he carried himself - his confidence but also his ability to be relatable - seemed to have a comforting effect on her. She also appreciated him waving away the smoke, even though it wasn't that hard to breathe. Just the fact he wanted to work with her and tried to help her calm down was very much welcomed.​

​

But most of all, his words got her thinking.​

"Tsk, look--" he takes the sunglasses back up on his head, green eyes looking at the girl, "-- I'd be freakin' out if ya weren't scared going into a potential hive of wasps... I don't know much about controlling emotions and whatnot but... y'know... feeling scared, right? Hell, feeling anything - makes me feel alive." the distant memories of the skies darkening as the Sith laid nuclear waste upon his world were as vivid as if they had happened a day ago.

That fear, that same fear, had brought him behind the stick of a TIE.

"And I don't know about you, Aleena, but I do like being alive." he grins.

Aleena chuckled and nodded in agreement, "That's a nice way to think about it. Thank you." she smiled and finally turned her eyes to the scenery up ahead, her mind now actually focused on the mission. She then closed her eyes and allowed the Force to freely flow between herself and the environment. She called out to it and in return, whispers of the Force would travel back towards her mind, giving her much more detail about what they were approaching.​

​

"I can sense the injured... their pain and..." she stopped. "We need to hurry, or it might be too late for them." she got up to her feet and while the ship was still in the process of landing, Aleena already made her way towards the exit. The second these doors opened, she would be rushing out to tend to the wounded.​

​

But as much as her Empathic skills allowed her to pick up on the injured, her Senses were extremely lacking when it came to detecting danger. Not even for a minute, did she think about why the enemy would just leave these injured out here? The Maw was brutal and definitely not the kind to spare injured so they could be rescued. She likely shrugged it off as the Maw being forced away, or them not noticing.​

​

"We're close!" she called out and as soon as the shuttle landed, and the doors finally opened, she stormed outside. Ready to tend to the wounded and save the day.​

​

Little did she know that danger was definitely out there, waiting for them to appear.​

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[Kovacs]

There could be a number of meanings behind her fixated stare at him but he chose not to wonder what it was and simply to appreciate looking back at something pretty before they were both looking at something really, really ugly down there in the valley.

Aleena chuckled and nodded in agreement, "That's a nice way to think about it. Thank you."

"Heh, anytime--" he huffed a chortle, turning back to the viewport as they neared the valley of death. Before he could even see the corpses and smoldering vehicles, Aleena was already striding towards the ramp. Her magic seems to be workin', Jon thought, hopefully, it doesn't go haywire when they most need it.

The pilot left the ship running, an itch on the back of his head telling him that their predicament with the Maw was far from over. The Jedi was already on one of the soldiers by the time Jon ran out of the freighter. He could hardly do anything for them so he stands overwatch, vigilantly scanning the area with eyes narrowed like an eagle's. Something seemed off. It was eerily silent. No chirping birds, no fluttering of wings, no critters moving about in the bushes.

Too silent.

Just as his hand fell instinctively on his holstered pistol, blaster fire erupted from the nearby thicket. A moment later, from another side, a repeater whirred to life and tore through the earth finding its aim on the duo rescuers. Without a second thought, his gloved hands shoved a nearby, broken speeder bike in the line of fire aimed at the Jedi and dove into a tumble behind it for cover.

"We need to delta outta here!" he barks through the rupturing fire, eyeing the Mawites carefully advancing from the woods under the repeater's cover. "And I mean NOW!" a couple of shots rang from his pistol towards the advancing marauders. They simply had no firepower to stave them long enough.

It's the wounded soldiers' lives for theirs. ​

Aleena Aryss

 

[Aleena Aryss]

​

Location: NIO/GA border planet​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Jon Kovacs ​

Aleena had quickly made her way to one of the injured soldiers on the ground. He was barely moving, burnt from some kind of explosion, and two blaster bolts had struck his body as well. She couldn't even imagine the pain he was going through, but she could sense his agony among a sea of despair from all the survivors around her. A battlefield like this was about as overwhelming as it could get to her, but she was luckily trained to set it all aside and focus.​

​

"There are so many of them..." she muttered as Jon stepped outside after her. ​

​

Aleena's hands were already placed over the wounded man's body, and her deep blue eyes almost seemed to glow as she began to channel the Force. This accelerated his body's healing immensely and it wouldn't take long before she had taken away the source of his pain. He would need more treatment and rest, but he was no longer in a critical condition. ​

​

This brought a rewarding smile to Aleena's face, who immediately rose up to her feet, ready to move to the next one. But by standing up, she had exposed herself and with Jon being in the line of fire as well now, the ambush began. ​

​

Hearing the blaster bolts fly past her, she stood frozen for a good second before she processed what was happening. Ducking low, she tried to move to the nearest body anyway but then heard Jon calling out to her.​

​

"We need to delta outta here!" he barks through the rupturing fire, eyeing the Mawites carefully advancing from the woods under the repeater's cover. "And I mean NOW!" a couple of shots rang from his pistol towards the advancing marauders. They simply had no firepower to stave them long enough.

Her eyes widened and she immediately called back, "If we leave now, they will all die!" and without waiting for his response, she approached the wounded soldier. But only seconds after she got down to her knees, an explosion went off awfully close to her, and she was swallowed up in the smoke and dust it blew up, while the explosive force knocked her against the ground.​

​

She found herself on her back, dazed but still alive and with blaster bolts flying over her, likely meant for Jon.​

​

Is this it?​

​

 

[Kovacs]

we gotta get outta this place​

"If we leave now, they will all die!"​

"If we don't, we'll all die!" he barked back through the cacophony of blaster bolts scorching the earth all too close.

Not that she heard him, she did just like any Jedi would! Ran further into the muck and grime to another wounded guerilla fighter and all Jon could think of was saving their hides... and the explanation he'd have to be giving back to COMPNOR for wasting all these requisitioned guns to rookies who got ambushed.

The loud boom of a grenade reverberated across his body, throwing dirt and smoke in the air where Aleenad had stood kneeling a moment ago.

"Aleena!!!!" Jon cried out, unable to make if the Jedi had survived the blow or it was him against the horde. He glanced back at the open ramp of his ship not too far away, then back at the dissipating smoke. Gritting his teeth, he muttered, "Damn it!" unclipping the sole grenade he carried, the pilot hurled it at the advancing marauders. A sharp hiss followed as the orb exploded in a cloud of smoke that ought to stall the Mawites movement for a bit. Maybe enough to pull the Jedi outta there - if she was still alive.

He darted in a burst of speed towards her just as a bolt struck him straight in the ribs and he crumbled down on his knees. "Feth..." his hand grasped at the wound and it grew warmer. That familiar warmth of ounces of blood trickling down. Another glance back at the ship and yet another choice he'd regret if he even lived through it, "Feth it all..." he carried on forward.

Sliding down right next to her, Jon's fingers reached for her pulse. Alive. Her eyes drowned in stupor moved, blinked.

"It's okay, it's okay... you're alive..." he shouted, then gestured at his ears, "Your ears are probably ringing, yeah? We gettin' the hell outta here, blondie--" the pilots arms reached to embrace her, helping her either get back on his feet or carrying her to the damn ship if he had to, "C'mon, can you walk or you want me to carry you?"
​

Aleena Aryss

 

[Aleena Aryss]

​

Location: NIO/GA border planet​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Jon Kovacs ​

Completely frozen and with shock in her eyes, Aleena stared up at the smoke-filled sky. Her hands were shaking, her body lay still and her ears were ringing from the explosion. This was a kind of madness Aleena had never experienced before. She had seen the aftermath of battles and spent much of her time patching up the injured, but she was never so close to the actual fighting herself. It scared the living hell out of her. ​

​

But when Jon appeared and looked down at her, she felt a shift in emotions. She couldn't hear the first few words he said, but the fact that he came to help her gave her the hope she needed to carry on. He hadn't just abandoned her.​

​

".....you're alive..."​

​

Am I? She wondered, but it sure looked like it. Aleena then felt his arms wrap around her and with his assistance, she was finally getting back up to her feet, still somewhat dazed but she was still standing. "I uh... I can walk," she said, her eyes shifting from his own, down to the bleeding injury. ​

​

He was hurt, likely because of her.​

​

She immediately leaned into him so they could use each other for support, but her hand shifted to his ribs. Normally, there would be more communication before she'd use her healing skills, but there was no time. Her small hand firmly pressed against the wound, which likely hurt, but the Force quickly began to flow from her, and into his body. ​

​

It drained her, and this showed through the sweat drops that began to run down her face, but the bleeding was stopping quickly, and the wound began to miraculously close. Just in time because the smoke from his smoke bomb was clearing up, and the Mawites were still behind them, looking for the two. ​

​

"I'm so sorry..." she whispered as the bolts flew all around them. All of this was her fault - if she hadn't run out on her own if she hadn't stayed there when the shooting began... then none of this would have happened.​

​

But as these self-destructive thoughts continued, another threat popped up, forcing her to snap back into the present. Two Mawites had maneuvred around them and now stood between the two and their ship. There was no way to get around them, so even Aleena knew they would have to go through them. ​

​

"Jon!" she called out as the silver hilt came off her belt. A green blade ignited and the first blaster bolts fired at them would be deflected by the blonde Jedi. Sadly, her aim wasn't great so she failed at sending the bolts back to them, but she didn't stand alone. With a brief bit of cover provided by her, Jon would have a clear shot at the two attackers.​

​

​

 

[Kovacs]

Aleena seemed to be equally surprised that she was still among the leaving; whether that was a blessing or a curse remained to be seen.

She could walk - good. The pilot wasn't sure how much she could carry her through an ambush with his life bleeding away from the scorching hole in his ribs. Her balance was still damaged from the explosion and his from the blaster's wound. They leaned on each other, staggering through dead and half-dead soldiers under the ravenous fire of the marauders. Her sudden touch on his injury startled him, for a moment unsure if this was a bad dream where he would wake up from to the sight of blondie here embracing him.

Great timing, brain.

The more logical scenario, instead, was in play. The magic-- the Force-- siphoned through her palm, miraculously closing the mortal wound at an incredible pace. The raw pain being drained away by the light touch of her fingertips. Aleena apologized but Jon wasn't sure exactly about what, hell, he wasn't sure he even heard her over the stunning surprise of being the witness of a miracle.

The pilot was still in shock when she withdrew her blade to meet the onslaught of two Mawites that had flanked them. Her shout brought him back to his senses and something foreign drew his arm up, aimed, and pulled the trigger of the blaster. Two shots, center mass. Out of nowhere. No way even the most rigorous of LRRP training could've taught him that. Jon couldn't dwell on it; his dad had always told him fear could make a man do the impossible.

Stumbling over the corpses and up the freighter, he smacked the panel to lift the ramp back up and hurried towards the cockpit. Blaster fire flashed on the transparisteel as the raiders now rushed towards the freighter in a futile attempt to stop them. The engine moaned hard and everything rumbled as Jon spared no care over the throttle to lift them up and as far way from the valley of death as possible.

Moments later, when the last blasters faded into the distance, he slumped into the pilot's sweat with a long, tense exhale escaping his lips. He swallowed hard, then picked up the half-empty pack of cigarettes to light one up.

"That..." he puffed the nicotine out, "...that was close..." taking a deep breath, Jon tilted his head to Aleena, "Hey, uh... thanks." he pulled up the side of his shirt where hardly anything but a fresh scar remained where the wound was.

"You... alright?" she looked anything but.
​

Aleena Aryss

 

[Aleena Aryss]

​

Location: NIO/GA border planet​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Jon Kovacs ​

With the green lightsaber drawn, Aleena deflected two more bolts but her strength to do so was fading quickly with her trembling hands and lack of any proper training or practice. Luckily though, her shout had brought Jon back to his senses, and for a moment, she could swear that she felt the Force rising up within him. With widened blue eyes, she watched as two incredibly quick consecutive shots struck the two attackers, dropping them instantly.​

​

If she wasn't panicking as much, she likely would have noticed more about the way he took them down, but right now? She was simply relieved that they were going to make it. That despite her rushing in to help those people, at least the two of them were going to make it out alive. ​

​

But as they passed over the bodies of the fallen attackers, and stepped into the ship, she couldn't help but feel terrible about the soldiers they had left behind. As a Healer, her one job was to always help those in need, and as a Jedi, she was taught to be selfless. To be willing to sacrifice her own life to save others. Had she completely failed to do so?​

​

Even if it was irrational thinking, it was plaguing her mind and it showed.​

​

As Jon sunk into his pilot seat to get them away from the warzone, Aleena sat down in the co-pilot seat, her face covered by blondie locks as she stared down at her trembling hands. Even as they cleared away from the immediate danger, she remained still in her seat. She definitely wasn't doing alright.​

​

"I..." she muttered.​

​

"They're all dead.."​

​

Her head turned and her deep blue eyes looked at Jon, filled with tears and shock. She looked like she needed a hug or some kind of comfort, but she didn't know what to do. So she just sat there trembling, her arms tugged against her body and her whole demeanor ridden with fear.​

​

"I couldn't save them."​

​

 

[Kovacs]

In times like these, Jon would crack a joke to break the ice - something he'd painfully learned to do as a long-recon so he'd not lose his mind. One was already on his tongue when her eyes came to meet his and his mouth remained half-open, wordless. Crystal blue eyes submerged in tears and a grimace marred with grief and guilt.

"I couldn't save them."

The gaping mouth was shut, pursing his lips tight. For a short moment, the pilot was unsure how to react. Then his hands reached to embrace her own, softly squeezing them as he leaned in closer from his chair, "Hey... it's okay. It's okay... you did everything you could, Aleena." not a lot to do when a whole platoon of deranged marauders ambushed you. During his short deployment as a long-recon operative, Jon had witnessed his first death. Tears had filled his eyes much like they did Aleena now. Then more deaths followed, some by his hand and you learn to be numb, at least partially. The pilot's seat carried a certain luxury in that regard - you never see the stupor-stricken faces, nor their last drawn breath. Just a ball of fire as if it was some firework show you play a lead role in.

"This... it's your first time in combat, isn't it?" he asked, half-blindly guessing. COMPNOR often implicitly painted Jedi as either bloodthirsty individuals cursed by the Force or as passive, useless preachers. But looking at Aleena, the separation tapes were peeled off. No Jedi, no Imperials. Just two humans that had walked together, nearly crossing death's line, and came back worse for wear.
​

Aleena Aryss

 

[Aleena Aryss]

​

Location: NIO/GA border planet​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Jon Kovacs ​

As Jon took her hands, he could feel them trembling from shock still, but his touch also seemed to have a calming effect. The woman took a few sharp but shakey breaths and gradually, she seemed to be getting a grip on herself again. This hadn't been the first time she saw death - as a Healer, it was only a matter of time before it would happen. But this was definitely the first time she got so close to it herself, and it made her reflect on how much she was sheltered as a Padawan with far more criticism. ​

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As much as it made her feel safe, protected, and cared for back then, it was now painfully obvious that she wasn't ready for what the Galaxy was truly like. Something was going to have to change for her.​

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Aleena then swallowed hard and raised an arm to wipe away some tears, before she looked at Jon again, "My first time like this, yes." she admitted with a tone of embarrassment. She knew all too well about the reputation of Jedi and their ability to fight, but she sure wasn't one of them. At the same time, she also wasn't a Jedi who sat still in some temple all day. ​

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Was she just reckless and unprepared?​

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She shook her head lightly and took a deep breath as her posture straightened, "I'm sorry for dragging you into that but... thank you for coming to help me." a gentle smile tugged at the corner of her lips.​

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"I owe you one."​

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