Private One Man's Trash

[Persephone Dashiell]

ZORONHEAD, DECOMMISSIONED CITADEL

Persephone was back on Zonjou V. An interesting little planet in her opinion. There was an dangerous undercurrent. Smugglers, pirates(ugh), criminals and shady-types of all sorts used it as a passthrough. Yet then there was a much brighter side. Everyday citizens. Traders. Pioneers. Scholarly types who came to research ruins.

An odd mix but it gave the planet a buzz. Something she couldn’t describe. Something that made her feel as if she could come back again and again. Given the last time she was here it was a disaster, Persephone was eager to come back and go inside the ruins once again. Different ruins but the same excitement was still there.

“There’s so much leftover from the Kathol days, plus what was there before them. Naturally, a lot of people have raided the ruins. The Kathol obviously had their own agenda. Positive they raided the caves and ruins. Then all the criminals out here but that’s even better.”

Persephone didn’t wait for him to ask why. Or how. Instead with a small beat to catch her breath she continued.

“Even better because if criminals are using the ruins to hide out in, that means they bring their stuff. Stuff that gets left behind as they get killed. Stuff we’re going to find and liberate for our own.”

Liberate was a much better word than stealing or theft. A word a lady like herself would use. She was coming to learn the work of a ‘treasure hunter’ was all about framing finds in the right way. When it came down to it, she didn’t see it much different than actual theft - beyond a bit better moral compass.

They were walking away from their transport vessel, the Citadel looming in the background. A dusty trail left by speederbikes and animals marked the way towards a stretch of ruins built into one of the canyon walls. The sun was rising in the mid-morning sky, already beating down hot on them in the arid desert environment. Not her favorite place to be - too dusty, too hot, too dirty but one had to go where the artifacts were.

Critical blue eye crossed over Kiran. Lingering much longer than one just observing. Head tilted up and down, assessing. There was a long pause, bordering on the uncomfortable.

“Did you do something to your hair? It actually looks good. Suits you.” A small pause. "Keep it that way."

Kiran Arlos​

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Kiran Arlos
​

Kiran felt the heat first the kind that settled into his jacket and refused to leave. Even with the breeze rolling through the canyon, the air tasted like dust and sun-baked stone. Zonjou V wasn't beautiful in the traditional sense, but it had a kind of grit he respected. The place felt alive in its own way: half scholar, half scoundrel. He could see why Persephone liked it. The kind of planet where someone could disappear into the noise, or make a name for themselves if they were clever enough.

Her voice carried ahead of him, clear even over the crunch of gravel under their boots. He listened, half a smile tugging at his mouth as she spoke about the Kathol ruins and their layers of conquest and rediscovery. There was always something magnetic about the way she talked about history practical, almost predatory, yet threaded with fascination.

He chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "Liberate, huh? That's one way to put it. Remind me to use that next time someone accuses me of breaking and entering." Still, there was admiration in his tone. She had that balance bold enough to walk into danger, smart enough to make it sound like an opportunity.

The trail wound toward the canyon wall, the ruins barely visible yet, just a jagged mouth in the rock where shadow met light. The transport's engines hummed faintly behind them, fading as they moved farther away. Kiran adjusted the strap of his pack and glanced sideways at her. The reflection of the sun caught in her hair, turning the dust motes into sparks. She was in her element again, and it showed.

When her gaze turned on him, it was sharp and deliberate. He felt it before she spoke the way her eyes lingered, assessing, like she was taking stock of something that didn't quite fit.

For a heartbeat, he froze caught between confusion and amusement. He ran a self-conscious hand through his hair, suddenly aware of how the wind had tousled it. "Uh… yeah." he said, voice dipping into a quiet laugh. "Guess I trimmed it a little since the dig site. Didn't realize I'd passed inspection though. You really like it?"

When she added, "Keep it that way," his grin widened, more genuine this time. "Yes, ma'am. Wouldn't want to ruin my professional treasure-hunter aesthetic." He let the teasing hang for a moment before his tone softened. "But thanks. Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment."

Kiran adjusted his pack again, glancing toward her with an easy smile. "So." he said, "What's the plan? We 'liberating' relics or hunting trouble first?"

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"If I didn't like it, I would have told you. Fashion is an extremely serious business. I don't joke or lie when it comes to personal appearance."

On that front, she was a little cut-throat. Persephone liked to look a certain way. Clean clothes. Well conditioned and poised hair. A tinted lipgloss. Manicured nails. As such she expected others in her orbit to at least meet her halfway. Even now her little sister Phoebe wore nailpolish more days than not and she was just a little kid.

"It is a compliment and you're welcome. I wouldn't say treasure hunter just more....dashing teenage boy."

Persephone didn't want to utter the word handsome. Kiran Arlos was easy on the eyes, one would have to be extremely blind not to notice. Yet saying that out loud? To him? It just invited disaster. Especially since she didn't really know him. Or completely trust him. Or even have a good read on him. Mysterious but not in a cute way, more of a frustrating way.

"I never go hunting for trouble Kiran."

Head craned up as they approached the entrance on the side of the red cliffs. It was carved and shimmered with multiple colors. Almost painted but it was clearly a mineral from the environment, either washed over the surface or mixed in. The sides were crumbling and some of the stone steps but the entrance looked almost as if it could have been completed a year ago.

It meant not many had been inside. Or if they had been they didn't trash the place. Persephone hated seeing graffiti in historical places. There was a time and place for everything and ruins weren't it.

"We're looking for treasure of course. Now, I know nothing of this place beyond what the Kathol did here but....always up for looking around. Documenting our findings at the very least."

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Persephone Dashiell
​

Kiran couldn't help but grin as she delivered her declaration about fashion with the same gravity one might use for discussing battle tactics. "Noted," he said, amusement flickering in his voice. "Next time I risk a haircut, I'll make sure to clear it through the Persephone Dashiell Style Authority first." He gestured vaguely toward her immaculate attire, how even here, under the scorching sun and clinging dust, she somehow looked composed, deliberate. "You make it look easy." he added, quieter, a trace of sincerity slipping through before he could stop it.

Her next words "dashing teenage boy" landed like a carefully aimed shot. Kiran raised a brow, the grin returning full force. "Dashing teenage boy? That's what we're going with?" His tone was light, teasing, but his eyes lingered on her for a moment longer than necessary. Persephone always did that, kept just enough distance, as if refusing to let her thoughts give too much away. He respected that about her, even if it made her impossible to read.

"I'll take it." he said finally, chuckling as he fell into step beside her again. "Beats being called a 'guy who hauls buckets.' Though I feel like you downgraded my job title just to keep me humble."

Her response 'I never go hunting for trouble, Kiran' made him laugh under his breath. "No, of course not." he said dryly. "Trouble just follows you around, probably drawn by the scent of your nail polish."

The humor faded slowly as the canyon opened up before them. The ruins rose from the stone like something half-remembered, half-dreamed, walls carved with intricate patterns, the mineral-rich surface catching the light and throwing it back in deep reds and muted golds. The air cooled near the entrance, the dry wind threading through the fractures in the rock, carrying with it the faint echo of something ancient.

Kiran slowed, eyes tracing the sharp lines of the architecture. "This place…" he murmured, mostly to himself. "Doesn't look like the usual Kathol design. Too… careful. Like they were building on something older."

He stepped closer, his boots crunching softly against the sand and gravel. There was something mesmerizing about it, the way time had worn the place down, yet left it somehow untouched. No scrawled names, no empty cans or litter. Just silence and history breathing through the stone.

Kiran nodded, his expression thoughtful now. "Treasure, documentation, hidden chambers, it's all the same to me," he said. "You lead, I'll follow. Just promise me that if we find any curses or ancient traps, you'll let me be the first to trigger them. Seems only fair since you're the brains of this operation."

"Alright, Persephone." he said, voice low but warm. "Let's go liberate some history."

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"I make it look easy because I've had a lot of practice and effort."

Just like anything in life one had to practice and study a subject to get good at it. Fashion was in no way any different. Persephone had considered going into fashion as a career, even did an internship for two years surrounding textiles. Yet she felt it would crush her love of all things glamorous so best to stick to another lane.

"Material Relocation Specialist...not boy who hauls buckets. Besides, what's wrong with staying humble? You ever seen someone with a big ego? Its very exhausting for one. Two it doesn't really become you. Even if the humble thing is an act, stick with it." Then there was a roll of her eyes. "Nail polish smells horrible. See? You're not making any sense. Probably too much blood in those new muscles and not enough in your brain."

As they approached, Persephone noted how much different this ruin looked compared to the last she had just explored on the very same planet. Different group? Or different purpose? The last she had visited was much more scholarly in nature. As if it had been a government complex or school or some sort. This? This gave the vibe of something religious, especially with all the colors. Delineated it was something much more special than the library she had raided.

"That's because the Kathol didn't create this - they just set up shop on the planet. Mainly in that decommissioned citadel behind us. Now if I had to guess...looks religious. So spiritual ceremonies. Or a tomb for the above average person. Just a word of note I don't raid things from tombs...taking from the dead? Asking for trouble. If that's the case we can just look around."

Without waiting for another moment, she passed inside the archway, entering the cool stone ruins.

​

Kiran Arlos

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Persephone Dashiell
​

Kiran followed her into the shade of the ruins, the shift from the scorching canyon sun to the cool interior like stepping into another world. The air inside was different still, heavy, and filled with that faint mineral scent of old stone and time-worn dust. He let the silence stretch, his gaze moving over the walls etched with symbols that glimmered faintly in the filtered light. He wasn’t going to deny that the area looked amazing.

Her words from moments ago still lingered, threading through his thoughts about practice, effort, ego, humility. She said it all so matter-of-factly, but there was something underneath it: discipline, maybe, or the unspoken edge of experience that came from having to hold yourself together when others didn’t. Kiran had seen that look before in people who built armor out of control. And Persephone? She wore it with polish.

He smirked faintly to himself. “Material Relocation Specialist. Got it. Has a better ring to it than ‘bucket boy.’ although I’ve never had an issue with being humble, I’ve never been one to pretend I’m more than I actually am.”

When she rolled her eyes and shot back the line about nail polish and blood flow, he laughed quietly, the sound low but genuine. “Hey, I can multitask. Muscles and brains. Though I’ll admit, you’re far better at the planning part."

When Persephone explained her theory, the religious nature, the potential tomb. He listened in silence, watching the way she studied the space, sharp eyes catching patterns he might have missed. She had that same focus she always did when work took over: precise, deliberate, seeing connections invisible to others. “Religion makes sense,” he said finally, his voice quiet, respectful in the stillness. “Feels… intentional. Too careful to just be shelter or storage. And yeah, I’m with you on the tombs.” He tilted his head toward her, his expression softening. “You don’t take from the dead. Some things aren’t worth the bad luck or the nightmares.”

He stepped forward, past a fractured column, and glanced down a narrow hallway where faint light filtered through cracks above. The passage looked untouched, or nearly so, no scorch marks from blasters, no signs of vandalism, just centuries of quiet decay.

“Guess that rules out robbing graves.” he said, glancing back with a grin that didn’t quite mask the awe in his tone. “But if this place was for ceremonies, maybe there’s something left inscriptions, relics, even murals. Something the Kathol didn’t understand.”

For a long moment, he just stood there, letting the quiet hum of the ruin sink in. Dust motes drifted through the shafts of light, slow and weightless.

Then, looking back toward her silhouette framed in the archway, posture confident and curious in his opinion, he said softly. “Lead the way, Persephone. You’ve got the better instincts for this than I do.”

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Regarding his words, Kiran Arlos said something that gave her an opening. Perhaps not the best time to ask, considering the fit her last friend threw in such a ruins. All over a rodent. Persephone didn't know how to feel about that and frankly, it was his loss. Her mind was drifting too far now and she focused back on the present.

"Who are you really?"

She expected no answer. In fact, most of her expectations were in hell at this point. A grunt she would take as a sign of intelligence. Not that her standards had been lowered, oh no, they were higher than ever. More the fact it seemed she was being continually disappointed. Couldn't be disappointed if she didn't expect a single thing from anyone.

Shaking her head ever so slightly to clear her thoughts of her new philosophy, her gaze refocused on the colorful clay and openings in the cliffside. Light was pouring into the space, almost acting as if where they were standing was a lobby or receiving room. Even if it wasn't religious, perhaps it had been a residence of an ancient royal being.

"Certainly intentional. Also yes, plenty to explore even if its a tomb or catacomb." Persephone paused, chuckling a little. "Nightmares are the least of my concerns. Nightmares....nightmares don't really exist.You can wake up from those. It's reality you have to watch out for."

Looking around one more time as if to decide direction, Persephone turned to Zee.

"Zee, go ahead and begin recording. This may already be documented but who knows - cross reference the HoloNet and DarkNet for any information."

[ Starting now Miss Persephone. ]

She turned to Kiran once again and nodded to the left corridor.

"Let's go this way. Studies have proved most people don't take the left often. Might more for us to see."

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Persephone Dashiell
​

Kiran pauses beneath the painted lintel, the ruins breathing cool air around him, and for once the usual grin is gone. He runs a hand through his hair because Persephone noticed it, because the wind did a favor and the motion feels oddly like a hinge opening. He looks at her straight on, no joke ready, no sideways quip. The canyon light cuts her profile into hard planes and he thinks, not for the first time, that honesty might be the only decent thing left to offer.

"I don't really know who I am."

The words leave him quieter than he expected. They hang in the lobby of the ruin like dust motes, drifting in the shaft of light Zee has just started to record. Kiran can hear his own voice and it sounds smaller than usual, as if the echo here is used to older, heavier truths. "I don't know the center, there's a piece missing, an axis almost as if I keep turning and my thoughts can't find the correct stopping point. It blurs when I try to think past a certain point, the stories don't end up lining up and its slightly frustrating. Well, its entirely frustrating, to not know who you really are. You know what I mean?"

Kiran realizes it hurts, more than he expected. Not because of the not-knowing itself, he's long been used to piecing things together on the fly, but because he doesn't have an anchor. He's become good at fitting into other people's stories: the friend who cracks jokes, the kid who can charm a vendor, the guy who hauls buckets when asked. Those roles are useful. They keep him fed. They make him decent company. But they aren't a map back to himself.

"I've seen enough of both to know they blur, yet reality is messier." He chuckles lightly. "And less forgiving. You are correct that nightmares you can wake from, sometimes reality doesn't let you close your eyes."


He looked at Persephone again, as she chose the left path and he smiled and simply nodded his head. Anything would do. For now, the ruins take in his confession like a stone does the rain, quietly, without answer. "If you're still willing to trust a dashing material relocation specialist with a hole in his center, I'll follow where you lead."

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"No, I know what you mean."

Persephone was quiet for a long moment. She had expected Kiran Arlos to come back with a different answer. He seemed a different type of guy - one that at least had an inkling of who he was. At least had a small idea of what he stood for. Knowing how he answered, she regarded him as a flag, flapping in the breeze as if he didn't know which was the true direction.

"It seems to me." Persephone started softly, not wanting to seem as if she was demanding or making assumptions. "That maybe, just maybe, you need to spend some time figuring out who Kiran is. I think...no, I know...life is only going to get harder from here. The older you get. Not having a sense of self can lead to all sorts of negative directions. Such as becoming a pirate, no one likes a pirate."

A bit biased on the pirate front, but the sentiment still stood.

Picking the lefthand path, they began to walk, Zee trailing. It often too the droid a moment to record and also take measurements of the room. Although the droid was advanced, he was also very picky about being precise.

"Funny you mention that, I don't trust you." Might as well be upfront about the situation. If Kiran was going to go crazy Zee wasn't that far behind. Not that she suspected he would, but she had seen a lot. She had seen zero to sixty several times in life. "Ever since you hit the bulkhead.I..."

Persephone struggled a moment before sighing, realizing she was already on a road to where she had to voice her concerns.

"...I've seen that kind of thing before. Its...it's never a good ending."

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Persephone Dashiell
​

Kiran walked beside her, the sound of their footsteps mixing with the low hum of Zee’s sensors. The corridor narrowed here, the stone walls close enough that their voices came back in a soft echo, like the ruin itself was listening. He didn’t interrupt her, just let the words come, measured and careful the way she always spoke when it mattered.

When she finished, he drew a long breath and exhaled slowly. “Fair.” he said after a moment. “You don’t have to trust me.”

His tone wasn’t defensive, if anything, it carried the weight of quiet understanding. He rubbed the back of his neck, gaze tracing the faint carvings along the walls as they walked. “You’re not wrong about any of it. I do need to figure out who I am, but the truth is, I don’t even know where to start. Every time I think I’ve got something, some piece that feels real it slips. Like sand through your fingers.”

He paused, glancing over at her with a faint, crooked smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “And pirates? Yeah, no. That’s not me. Smugglers, maybe. Scavenger, sure. But pirates…” he shook his head, “I’ve seen enough of those to know better.”

They walked on, deeper into the left corridor. The air cooled further, and the light from outside narrowed to slivers cutting across the dust. Zee’s sensors flickered in the dimness, projecting faint blue outlines across the walls.

When Persephone mentioned the bulkhead incident, his steps slowed. The memory of it came unbidden, the noise, the flash, the sudden loss of control. He winced, jaw tightening. “Yeah.” he said quietly, “That wasn’t… my best moment. I'm sorry if it scared you, or something of that sort.”

He swallowed, eyes focused ahead now, though his voice dropped low. “You’re right to be cautious. Whatever that was, it wasn’t normal. I’ve tried to make sense of it since, even since i was younger. It felt like something inside me just… snapped loose. Not anger exactly, not fear either. Just this, void. Like something else was steering for a second.”

Kiran didn't know where it came from, what was scary was that if he wanted to, he couldn't put a much larger dent into that bulkhead. "I don't know where that, strength comes from."

He let out a humorless laugh. “So yeah. You don’t trust me. I get that. I wouldn’t either if I were you.”

The sound of their boots filled the silence for a while before he spoke again. “But for what it’s worth, Persephone… I don’t want to be that kind of person. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I don’t want to lose control like that again. I just...” he searched for the words. “Want to know why it happens. Why I happen.”

He reached up to touch one of the carved symbols in the wall, his fingers hovering just short of the surface. “Maybe that’s what this all is for. Every dig, every ruin, every broken thing we chase. Maybe I’m not just looking for pieces of the past—I’m trying to find the one that fits me.”

He looked back at her, a flicker of earnestness cutting through the guarded calm. “You don’t have to trust me. Just… don’t give up on me either?” He let the question hang, because that is what it was a question. He knew all too well she could ask him to leave and never come back and he would do it. He just really hope she didn't, she was his first real friend he ever had since he left Corellia.

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Listening, Persie wasn't judging, just trying to get a better handle on the situation. She enjoyed the company of Kiran Arlos but the fact he had dented the bulkhead - nothing but caution ever since. The clarity was appreciated but also concerning. If Kiran felt he wasn't in control in those moments then there was nothing to stop him from turning his anger elsewhere. Growing up in a situation where there was domestic abuse, Persephone wasn't going to let the same thing happen to herself. It probably helped she wasn't a drug addled working girl, growing up she had noticed having a clear mind made a world of difference.

"Have you ever thought about, I don't know, taking some time off and getting it investigated? Seems a little serious. If you're working for Makai then it means you have access to PharmaTech. Some of the best in the industry. Not saying they would figure it out but maybe it would be a start. Genetic testing even. Maybe you're a super hybrid species and don't even know it."

Thinking Kiran would find her crazy, she shrugged.

"My little sister is two species and you would never know it. Even I'm distantly Hapan. Just...don't discredit the idea. Especially considering how easy genetic testing is. Unless you're one of those macho guys who just happens to be scared of needles."

Shoulder bumped into his as he mentioned not giving up on him. It was the 'either' portion that got her. Who else had given up on him? His family was dead, that much she did remember. Maybe kicked out of the house by an Uncle or relative he had been sent to live with? The orphanage? Or maybe he had been more street kid like herself. Once her mother had passed it was as if she become invisible. No one looked after her because no one cared to. Her only saving grace had been the gumption to do things on her own.

"No, not giving up on you....but I think maybe you should listen to my advice. That maybe its time to take a moment and figure out yourself....and, if credits are an issue I can always loan you."

Persie would be happy to just give them but something told her Kiran wouldn't accept such an offer unless she said loan.

"Again, something to consider."

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Persephone Dashiell
​

Kiran slowed his pace a little, enough that the echo of their steps thinned into the soft hum of Zee's sensors. Her voice steady, pragmatic, worked through his thoughts like a slow-turning wrench, tightening things he'd tried to leave loose. He didn't interrupt her. He didn't even look at her at first. He just listened.

When she mentioned taking time off and getting it investigated, something in him tensed, a reflex, the kind that came from too many years of pretending nothing was wrong. The words PharmaTech and genetic testing made the air feel heavier somehow. Logical. Sensible. But still heavy.

He let out a short breath through his nose, somewhere between a sigh and a dry laugh. "You know, I've thought about it." he admitted, voice low but honest. "Not the hybrid thing exactly, but the testing. Trying to find something tangible, something with a name, a diagnosis, even a code in a file somewhere. But I never stuck with it. It's like every time I get close to pulling the thread, I stop. I don't know if it's fear or just…not wanting to see what's on the other end."

Her nudge at the end pulled him back from the spiral. The shoulder bump, small as it was, broke the heaviness for a breath. He glanced over at her, saw that flicker of concern in her eyes that didn't quite reach her usual guarded composure.

When she offered him credits, calling it a loan like she already knew how he'd react, "Persie." he said, her name steady but softened by the tone. "You don't owe me that. I appreciate it, I do, but this......You've already done more by just not walking away."

He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing toward the faint light spilling through a crack in the ceiling above them. "Still… you're right. About all of it. I keep telling myself I can push through. Figure it out on my own, but maybe that's just another way of avoiding it."

For a long moment, he was quiet. The ruins creaked faintly, old stone adjusting to the midday heat.

"Alright." he said finally, exhaling a slow breath. "When we're back in orbit, I'll reach out to someone at PharmaTech. See if they can run a scan or two. Genetic profile, neural scans, whatever they've got." His expression shifted, half weary, half amused. "If I turn out to be some kind of secret weapon prototype, you can say you told me so."

The faint glow of the corridor pull them forward. "Still." he said after a beat, glancing over his shoulder at her, "Thanks. For saying it straight. Most people either ignore it or pretend they don't see when something's off. You didn't."

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Ah, so you are stopping yourself from knowing because you don't want to know. Is it the needles? Do I need to come and hold your hand?"

Persephone knew it was more than just needles. Kiran Arlos didn't want answers. She understood on one level. On the other she didn't. Seemed if it was bugging him there could be a way forward with said answers. Obviously she didn't know the entire story or everything about Kiran so there may be more than meets the eye.

"I wasn't going to say anything. Worried how you would react to it. However, Zee is made of phrik and that is a near indestructible metal. I figured if you tried something you couldn't make it past him. Guess its a good thing I have a weirdly pink bodyguard droid...also that I am not most people. Consider yourself lucky."

She laughed at her own little joke as the corridor started going down. It was subtle but she could tell by the way her feet moved in her fashionable exploring boots. That was unexpected considering they hadn't veered from the path first taken. Her steps slowed a little, wondering if she missed something written on a wall. Symbols but no writing to speak of. Symbols could be decorative or not, she didn't know.

"We're descending. Odd."

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Persephone Dashiell
​

Kiran laughed under his breath when she asked if she needed to hold his hand, the sound echoing faintly against the stone. He gave her a playful nudge at her comment on the hand holding. "You....you just want to hold my hand?!" he said, shaking his head, but a smile and laugh came afterwards, clearly teasing. "It's not the needles, I've had worse. It's what comes after that worries me. You don't un-see something once it's written down. A test result's just… permanent proof that you aren't who you thought you were."

He let the next few steps fill the space. The corridor narrowed, the air cooling, his boots scuffing on dust that had settled for centuries. Her comment about Zee drew a faint smile. "Fair precaution. I wouldn't want to take on your pink metal bodyguard anyway; I like having all my limbs attached."

But there was something more sincere and more grounding to what she said. While she said she didn't trust him, so she didn't have any course to believe him when he said it. But if there was one thing he was sure about, it was this. "Just so you know, I wouldn't....I would never hurt you." he showed her a small smile before he continued.

The slope underfoot became more obvious, and he adjusted his balance automatically. "You were right earlier." he added after a pause, voice lower now. "I've been stopping myself. Not because I don't want to know, but because I'm not sure what I'll do with the answer once I have it."

The descent steepened slightly; faint light spilled down from a crack high above, painting pale stripes across the wall. Kiran's fingers brushed one of the carved symbols as he steadied himself. "You, on the other hand, seem to know exactly who you are. It's… grounding. Makes it easier to keep moving."

Ahead, the tunnel widened into a chamber, the floor dipping out of sight. He slowed, eyes narrowing. "You're right, definitely descending. Let's watch our footing. Feels like whatever was built here wanted to hide what mattered most below everything else."

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Ooorrr..." Persephone sing-songed out, trying to lighten the mood. "What is written on the piece of paper is just a small piece of the puzzle. If you're going to let what someone writes down on a datapad dictate what you do then thats just sad. Besides, what is going to come of it? Find out your father is a wookie? Now that would be life altering."

Listening to his concerns, Persephone wasn't sure what to say. Everyone took these things differently. She couldn't reassure him that things would be fine. Nor did it seem the time to remind him that he wasn't dying so it couldn't be all bad. If you asked her, it seemed he already had an inkling of what was going on. Maybe he was an experiment. Or one of those weird warrior human hybrid species that were more muscle than brains. That would be a crushing blow.

"Who else can I be besides Persephone Dashiell? Daughter of a whore and a useless pirate. There is no way to sugar coat these things. Either one embraces it and finds a way to move forward or..." Shoulders shrugged, thinking it over. "It consumes you. Then what kind of life have you made for yourself at that point? A wasted one in my opinion but everyone has their own philosophy. "

Slowing down as they reached a chamber, Persephone stopped to look before they entered. Behind her Zee had caught up and was bouncing his optical sensor lights around the space. They had descended enough to where it was dark now, needing light, the skylights no longer. From what she could tell, there were several doors across the chamber. Leading to other places she assumed.

"Lets see here."

Feet stepped into the chamber and the ground immediately gave way. As it gave way it would be clear to Kiran Arlos and Zee it was designed that way. As the bricks fell, massive stone 'bridges' were being revealed towards each door, narrow and long. Even navigating those would require steady, confident footwork.

As she fell, Persephone gave a scream, then went silent.

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Persephone Dashiell
​

The scream tore through the chamber and vanished, severed, swallowed by the echoing void below.

"Persephone!"

Kiran's voice cracked against the stone as his pulse hammered in his throat. He lunged forward, his boots skidding until he caught himself at the ragged edge where the floor had vanished. He steadied himself, then swept his wrist light through swirling dust and falling debris, probing desperately for any sign of her. Only the thunder of loose rock falling into darkness replied, along with the metallic hum of Zee's servos spinning up at his side.

The trap had been clever, mechanical, precise. The floor stones hadn't just crumbled. They had retracted, drawn downward in a collapsing puzzle. The person who engineered this place hadn't wanted casual visitors.

"Zee, can you scan?!" Kiran asked quickly, already pulling the coiled synthrope from his belt.

[ Scanning. Detecting motion below… twenty-two meters. One life-form. Pulse elevated but stable. ]

Twenty-two. His stomach twisted, but the tremor of relief at the word stable steadied his hands. He clipped the rope to a piton on his belt, drove the anchor into the nearest intact section of the wall, and tugged it hard until it held fast.

"Hang on, Persie." he muttered, voice rough now. "Don't you dare disappear on me."

The air was choked with grit and mineral dust, making it hard to see more than a few meters down. He swung his light. Fragments of the ruined walkway emerged from the gloom. Then farther below, a faint glint of something metallic. The pit opened into a lower chamber, wide and faintly glowing, as though illuminated by bioluminescent lichen or some kind of energy seep. The sight made the back of his neck prickle.

He started down carefully, boots braced, rope sliding through his gloved hands. "Zee, keep a perimeter scan. Anything moves that isn't me or her, well, you know, do what you gotta do. Take care of business."

[ Understood. ]

Every meter down, he could feel the pull of gravity fighting against his pace. His muscles ached, but the fear in his chest burned hotter. Twenty-two meters became twelve, then six.

"Persephone!" he called again, his voice echoing down the shaft. "Can you hear me? Say something!"

He caught the faintest sound in return, not a scream this time, but a groan. Weak, human, unmistakably hers.

Kiran's breath left him in a rush, half relief, half panic. "I'm coming, just don't move! You might've landed on something unstable!"

At five meters, his light caught her: sprawled on a slanted slab of stone, dusted in grit but alive. The slab had cracked under her impact but somehow held. The angles of her limbs were wrong for broken bones, maybe bruises, maybe a sprain, but she was breathing.

He lowered himself the rest of the way, dropping the last two meters to land beside her. Kneeling fast, he brushed debris off her shoulder, his voice steadier than he felt. "Hey, hey, easy. You're alright."

He exhaled shakily. "You scared the hell out of me." he murmured, half a whisper, half a prayer.

Above them, dust continued to drift from the fractured ceiling. Deeper in the ruin, a low mechanical hum began to stir. It was the unmistakable sound of old machinery waking after centuries of silence.

Kiran's gaze lifted, his light outlining new doorways yawning open. "Of course." he breathed. "It's never just one trap."

He turned back to her, jaw set. "What is hurting?" Kiran asked, so he could know how best to move her.

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

It took a moment to come back to. Things were hazy and dusty and everything hurt. That's what happened when one dropped such a distance. Persephone guessed she dropped quite far, given how much her body hurt. Breathing in for a moment to steady herself, the teenager was doing her best not to cry out. A few tears escaped but nothing else. A habit learned long ago that no matter how much she cried, no one was coming to save her.

There was Zee. Kiran Arlos may attempt something or direct Zee but the point still stood.

"Scared you?" Persephone said it in a joking manner, as if to state she was the one who had fallen the distance. She hadn't moved yet, wondering if Zee was somehow working his way down to collect her. Her droid could do basic biometrics, enough to determine what type of medical care and how quickly, maybe even stabilize her a bit. "Everything hurts."

She fell, it made sense. Trying to pinpoint one thing was impossible. Instead she could hear the mechanical whirring of a door. Ancient in sound, as if it was struggling. Perhaps the first time since it had been installed. Her mind raced thinking of what it could be. A rolling large rock and pack of kath hounds were the only two things that came to mind.

If they were kath hounds most likely skeletons by now.

No time to wait to find out. Laying down here wasn't good. It was just inviting an attempt to get into even more trouble. As Kiran was busy looking down the hallway at the opening door. As she did so, Persephone grit her teeth a bit and started to push herself up on her elbows into a sitting position. A little dizzy as the room tilted and swayed in a sense.

"Give me a hand up." Lifting her hand, she tried getting her feet under her. "It's not safe."

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Persephone Dashiell
​

Kiran was beside her the moment she tried to move. The tremor in her arm, the sharp intake of breath it all hit him at once, that mix of worry and adrenaline that hadn't quite burned off yet.

"Hey, easy," he murmured, voice low but steady as he crouched beside her. Dust still floated in the light from above, settling like fine ash over his jacket, her hair, the cracked slab beneath them. "You took a bad fall. Just, slow down a second."

But she was already pushing herself upright, stubborn as ever, and he could see in her eyes that lying still wasn't an option. So instead of arguing, he braced one arm behind her back and offered the other to pull her up.

"I've got you," he said, hauling her gently to her feet."Yeah, you scared me," he admitted with a small, crooked smile. "You vanish through a collapsing floor and try not to panic, see how that goes."

When she said everything hurts, the joking tone didn't fool him. He kept his voice soft. "Zee, could you come down and run a quick scan, focus on skeletal and internal injuries. Prioritize stabilization."

'At once!'

The droid descended the last few meters of the shaft, repulsors whirring quietly as it hovered beside them, pink photoreceptors flickering in diagnostic rhythm.

Kiran offered himself for support as Zee made his way down, rather easily and began the scan for injuries. The massive stone doors ahead were still groaning, the sound like the grinding of mountains. Dust poured from the seams as the mechanisms fought centuries of rust and decay.

"Yeah," he said grimly as the vibrations rippled underfoot, "You're right. Definitely not safe."

The ground shuddered again, less like a quake and more like something responding. The pattern of the vibration wasn't random; it pulsed in rhythm, deep and resonant, echoing through the stone like a heartbeat.

"Whatever's behind that, I don't plan on meeting it in a room with no exits. Alright, Persephone," he said, voice calm but threaded with urgency. "Let's find a way up and out before this place decides we're part of the exhibit."

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

[ Skeletal abnormalities detected. Left leg. Hairline fracture? Additional deep bruising. Recommended course of action would be to evacuate Miss Persephone. ]

Persephone shifted her weight to her right foot at the mention of a possible fracture. Grip was tight on Kiran Arlos , feeling a little bad for leaning her weight into him. She had little choice other than having Zee carry her, which given the vibrations under their feet, was going to have to happen. Either that or Kiran would have to. Persephone wasn't sure if he was strong enough over a great distance and two, Zee was a programmed bodyguard droid. He had other functions but his primary objective was to keep her out of major harm.

"Thanks for letting me use you as a temporary crutch."

Persephone felt the vibration change. Pulsing. She found that odd. It meant it was either organic or about to blow its top, unstable. If she was a betting woman - and she often was - Persephone had her credits on a weapon that was highly unstable. There had been no documentation on the site having a weapon but it was possible no one had stumbled upon it until they got lucky.

"Uh,yeah, let's leave. Do...do you want Zee to cover us and you pitifully walk beside me or do you want Zee to carry me? Uh, Zee is a trained bodyguard so if his arms are free he can use his blaster or snap necks...whatever one's local flair is. This is kind of embarrassing."

Persephone started to scoot a bit more frantically along as the vibration increased. Still pulsing but it felt stronger. More urgent in some ways. Face grimaced in pain, some weight did have to go on the left leg.

 

[Kiran Arlos]

Persephone Dashiell
​

Kiran tightened his arm around her shoulders automatically when her weight shifted, every muscle in his body tensing against the urge to pick her up outright. "Easy, Persie. You're fine using me for a crutch," he said, his tone light enough to soften the worry in it. "And you don't have to apologize. You just fell through half a ruin."

He could feel the tremors through the soles of his boots now, steady, rhythmic, too deliberate to be an aftershock. The pattern wasn't random; it had a pulse, a cadence that didn't belong to stone or machinery.

Zee's calm, metallic voice only confirmed what Kiran was already feeling in his bones: evacuate.

He met her eyes when she mentioned embarrassment, managing a grin despite the low, vibrating hum around them. "Hey, embarrassment's optional. Survival's not. And as for who carries who, if it keeps us from being crushed under ten tons of Kathol-era engineering, I'd carry you myself."

The words were half a joke, half a promise. He wasn't sure she'd let him make good on it.

When the next pulse rolled through, heavier, closer, he didn't wait. "Zee," he spoke easily enough. "Assist Persie. Prioritize safety and speed."

[ Understood. ]

Kiran steadied Persephone until Zee lifted her, his hands lingering for just a heartbeat longer than necessary before letting go. He adjusted his pack, drew two small glowstick from his pack, clipping one to his waist and the other he held in his hand.

"Alright," he said, "Zee, you can guide her back up. I'm sure your hops aren't to bad right? I'll meet you up there."

Kiran began the climb up, as quickly and efficeinetly as possible. His natural talent for these sorts of things came in handy. He hoped one day he would find out why. The hum below them grew louder, deepening into a throbbing thrum that vibrated through the air like the planet itself was breathing. Kiran didn't look down; he didn't need to. Whatever was waking beneath them didn't feel like simple machinery anymore.