Private Orientation Day

[Ryn Trask]

​

Interacting with: Tess Wyn-Tai Hannibal Daxos

Ryn barked a laugh at Hannibal's quip, clutching his beer and wearing an expression of mock offense at the doubt leveled at his dancing skills.

"You know what, challenge accepted, Hani!" he declared, blue eyes gleaming with reckless confidence. "I've given her plenty of time to be dancing queen. Don't wanna risk her pulling something before I get out there."

The Kuati pointed a finger and gave a tongue click towards the cadat with a wide splitting grin.

"You, my friend, are on wingman duty. Keep the drinks safe. I'll handle morale."

It was right then that a sharp cry tore through the air.

"HONEY!"

The grin vanished from Ryn's face in an instant. He spun toward the sound, the bottle halfway to his lips, and froze when he spotted the scene unfolding across the flashing dance floor.

Tess was dangling in the grip of a Trandoshan built like a durasteel wall, its scaled hand clamped around her collar.

"Oh feth," he cursed, his expression shifting from amusement to wide eyed alarm. He didn't think; Ryn rarely did. Beer still in hand, he shoved through the crowd, ignoring the startled yelps and elbows as he went.

"Hey, you kriffing scale head!" he shouted over the pounding bass. "Put her down!"

Subtlety was never Ryn's style. Instead of waiting for Hannibal to handle it with his usual calm, he charged forward, swinging his leg in a quick, decisive kick aimed straight at the Trandoshan's crotch.

It should have been heroic. It should have been effective.

It wasn't.

The resounding clang that followed was like a death knell for his pride. The Trandoshan barely flinched, protected by what was clearly a plastcrete codpiece. Ryn, however, doubled over with a strangled curse, hopping backward on one foot.

"Oh kriffing, son of a -- what the feth was that!?!" he gasped, his face scrunching up in agony.

The club's lights flashed red and blue as people turned to watch. The music hiccuped but didn't stop. Of course, all eyes were on him now, the idiot cadet hopping on one foot in front of an eight-foot lizard.

It was at that point that Ryn did the next best thing. And simply tossed his beer to the Trandoshan's face, where it smacked him right on the snout and splat beer everywhere.

It was super successful, Ryn had effectively collected all the aggro, as Tess was dropped like a sack of Geldun sun apples and the lizard swung right at Ryn's oh so pretty face.

 

[Tess Wyn-Tai]

Location: Dance Floor
Tags: Hannibal Daxos | Ryn Trask

She hung a good few feet off the floor, the Trandoshan's grip on her collar squeezing all smart remarks from her throat. Her fingers scrabbled uselessly at its scaled wrist. She kicked and twisted, her shouts lost to the pounding bass. Then Hannibal's voice cut through. It was low, dangerous, and steady enough to make even her pause. But the Trandoshan didn't. Its yellow eyes didn't flicker. It either hadn't heard, or simply didn't care.

Tess kept flailing, more instinct than strategy, until her muscles screamed. "Feth it," she muttered, then went limp. Dead weight.

The sudden lack of resistance made the Trandoshan grunt, adjusting its hold. Claws scraped her collar. It wasn't much, but it bought her a moment. Enough time to glare up through a mess of hair and sweat. Then Ryn appeared. Of course he did. He charged through the crowd like a hero from an old holovid. For a moment, she almost smiled.

Then his kick landed. The clang was spectacular. Even in the chaos, Tess blinked. "Protective gear?" she rasped, a mix of awe and disbelief. "What are you... oh!"

A beer bottle smacked the Trandoshan square in the snout, bursting into a spray of foam and amber. For one glorious second, she thought it was over. Then the crowd reacted. The splash hit the lizard, and three other dancers. One of them turned, furious, shoving the wrong person. The shove was returned. A bottle swung. Someone screamed. The dance floor erupted.

Tess dropped hard to the ground, barely catching herself before being shoved sideways. "Honey!" she yelled again, more out of habit than hope this time.

She ducked as a glass shattered somewhere near her shoulder. A Rodian stumbled into her, fist swinging wild. She reeled back and threw one of her own. The punch landed square on someone's jaw, though she neither knew nor cared who.

Music still blared, as if cheering the chaos on, a beat for every brawl. Lights flashed. Bodies slammed. The air filled with shouting and broken glass. Then a fist caught her right in the eye. She never saw whose. White stars burst behind her eyelid. She stumbled back, clutching her face, a sound between a laugh and a yelp breaking from her lips.

"Oh, that's gonna bruise," she muttered, wiping blood from her lip. Around her, the club dissolved into a full-blown riot.

 

[Hannibal Daxos]

Tess Wyn-Tai Ryn Trask

​

By the time the beer hit the Trandoshan square in the face, Hannibal was already moving again. The crowd split around him like water around a prow, driven as much by his sheer momentum as by the crackling fury in his eyes. Tess was on the floor, dazed but alive; that was all that mattered for the next heartbeat.

The Trandoshan's swing came in wide, wild and aimed to take Ryn's head off. Hannibal's arms shot out, yelling all the same. "Hey! That's my friend!" His arms catching the reptilian's forearm mid-arc. The impact jarred up his arm, but he held on, twisting sharply as he stepped in, pulling the brute off-balance.

The music swallowed the grunt that escaped him as he drove his elbow into the creature's ribs once, twice the sound lost under the beat but the force of it unmistakable. The Trandoshan staggered, scales glinting under the lights, claws scraping for purchase on the slick floor. It was then pain shot through his elbow as he clutched it. "Oh chit......." He rubbed his elbow as it began to bruise already, it wasn't broken, but it was something and it fething hurt.

"Honey!"

Hannibal looked up as he tried to located his friends and what he located was a punch right to his face that completely turned him around and he fell onto a table. Then there were arms around his neck, he was in a choke hold, He used his free arm, the elbow that wasn't bruised and killing him as he sent another elbow strike towards whomever had him in a hold. It was effective as he turned and pushed him away.

He regained his composure in enough time to see Tess get hit in the eye. "Hey! That's my friend too!!!" Hannibal managed to avenge her for a brief moment as he landed a punch against her assailant, but then then was soon on the receiving end of another hit from someone swinging randomly.

Hannibal had seen bar fights before. Hell......But this this was different. This was chaos stitched to rhythm, a riot with a soundtrack.

Bodies slammed in time with the bass. Glass fell like rain. Someone was laughing a, wild sound and he wondered if it was Ryn, probably trying to convince himself this was still a good plan.

 

[Ryn Trask]

​

Location:
Interacting with: Tess Wyn-Tai Hannibal Daxos

Ryn was laughing. Of course, he was, still limping but at least his face was still oh so very pretty.

For now.

"Honey!" he hollered through the chaos, dodging a flying stool and a Twi'lek doing windmill kicks.

"I'm coming, sweetheart!"

The Kuati crashed into a table, went down with it, then popped back up looking like a man who'd barely survived an explosion and was disappointed it hadn't been bigger. Someone swung at him, so he swung back, landing a crack that only had him shaking his fist as the pain lanced through it.

"Karking hell!"

The dance floor had devolved into full-blown war. Tess was somewhere in the chaos, blond hair flashing like a distress beacon. Ryn shoved his way through the brawl, knocking over drinks and starting at least two new fights as he went.

"Note to self," he muttered, ducking a punch. "Never mix beer, bass, and Lizard heads."

He finally spotted Tess, grabbed her arm, and grinned that mischievous little boy grin.

"You alright, Honey? I swear, you can't take you anywhere. Now where did Hani go --"

Another Rodian lunged, but Ryn wasn't fast enough to duck it, but he at least managed to shove Tess out of the way. He got clipped right on the nose, and there was a distinct crack as stars filled his eyes and pain, oh the pain, just shot out, and blood gushed from his nostrils.

"Honnneeeeeyy!" He yelped out.

 

[Tess Wyn-Tai]

Location: Sticky Dance Floor
Tags: Hannibal Daxos | Ryn Trask

Her head was spinning, her eye throbbing beneath the bruise. Through the haze of lights and fists, she saw Hannibal fighting his way toward her. He was calm, solid, the quiet center that made the surrounding chaos feel louder. Then there was Ryn, crashing in like a wrecking ball, all elbows and bad decisions.

He grabbed her arm, grinning as if none of this was his fault. "Honey?" he asked again, like the word had weight. She gawked at him, breathless, hair sticking to her face. "Are you still doing this?" she shouted over the music. Before she could say more, he shoved her aside, taking a hit meant for her.

She went down hard. As bodies pressed in from every direction, the air immediately crushed out of her lungs. The floor was slick and sticky with beer and probably blood, and for a moment, she couldn't even breathe. Her chest seized. Panic clawed up her throat. No. Not here. She forced herself to crawl, elbowing and shoving until she could get her feet under her. When she finally stood, she felt like a wreck. Grime and sweat coated her face like war paint.

The bar was her only chance at high ground. She stumbled toward it, slipping twice before hauling herself up onto the counter. From there, the whole floor looked like a battlefield: Hannibal locked with someone twice his size, Ryn still swinging wild despite his bleeding nose, and the Trandoshan somewhere in the thick of it, throwing people like toys. "Hey!" she yelled, voice ragged, trying to catch Hannibal's attention. A flash of green caught her eye instead: a Rodian. It was the same one that had cracked Ryn across the face, and it was lining up for another hit.

Without thinking, Tess jumped. She landed square on the Rodian's back, her weight driving it forward with a shout of surprise. Her arms locked around its head, and before it could throw her off, she bit down hard on its ear. The taste was awful, bitter and metallic, but she didn't stop until the creature screeched and thrashed. "Hannibal!" she yelled through clenched teeth, riding the thrashing Rodian like an unbroken speeder.

"Get us out of here!"

 

[Hannibal Daxos]

Ryn Trask Tess Wyn-Tai​

Hannibal was already moving before Ryn's yelp hit the air. He'd seen the punch land, hell, he felt it, and by the time the Rodian's fist recoiled, Hannibal was on him. "Move!" he barked, low and lethal, as he shoved through a knot of fighting bodies. He caught the Rodian by the back of his jacket and yanked, hard enough to spin the bastard off balance and knocking him into another group of people. "Come on buddy!" Daxos's moved to help him, grabbing a hold of him .

"Have you seen....." Then he heard her voice through the way.

"Oh come on!" he shouted, shoving someone in front of him aside just in time to see her land square on the Rodian. The thing staggered forward with a strangled squeal, and Hannibal froze long enough to watch her bite it. Hard.

For a moment, even the music seemed to falter.

"Eh....." Hannibal shook his head and started laughing.


"Of course she's still fighting!" Daxos's mused as he neared her "Winnie! You got to let him go! He's not coming with us!" He reached for her and pulled her off of the rodian. The atmosphere was getting more intense and more shoving contest and random punches started getting thrown. As Daxos tried to steer them towards safety, freedom, or whatever it was they were calling this escape from chaos.

 

[Ryn Trask]

​

Location:
Interacting with: Tess Wyn-Tai Hannibal Daxos

Ryn spat blood, blinked through the strobe lights, and barked out a wild laugh.

"Okay, okay, this officially qualifies as bad idea number one!" he shouted, ducking under a flying bottle that shattered against the wall behind him.

The Cadet turned just in time to see Tess launch herself from the bar like a missile, straight onto the Rodian's back -- and immediately his jaw dropped.

"Is she biting him?!" he yelled to no one in particular, because of course she was. Of course, his fake fiancée had turned into a feral whirlwind in the middle of a riot.

Ryn elbowed a passing human who tried to shove him, grabbed a half-empty tray from the counter and started swinging it like a riot shield.

"Alright, alright, Operation Save Honey is officially a go!"

Hannibal was already in motion while Ryn… well, Ryn bulldozed his way through it.

"Outta the way, Imperial business!" he shouted at a crowd that absolutely did not care. He slipped once, arms flailgy before he caught himself as he almost went down, only to catch himself on a stranger's shoulder -- an of course he immediately got punched for it.

"Hey! Respect the uniform!" he snapped, swinging back without looking. The hit landed somewhere, though who it actually hit was up for debate.
He finally reached Tess just as Hannibal yanked her off the Rodian, her bloody teeth still bared like she was ready to take another bite.

"You good, Honey?" Ryn asked, face bruised and grin wide. "Next time maybe ask the guy to dance first, huh?"

A glass exploded next to his head, spraying them with foam.

"Kark!" he cursed ducking. Yup, the crowd was turning ugly, half of them fighting, the other half running for the exits. Somewhere behind them, the Trandoshan was roaring again, probably looking for round two.

"Alright, time to bail before we all get turned into kebab skewers!" Ryn said, grabbing Tess's hand and jerking his head toward the door.

"Hani, back exit! Move, move, move!"

 

[Tess Wyn-Tai]

Location: Alleyway
Tags: Hannibal Daxos | Ryn Trask

The Rodian shrieked, a high, panicked sound that rattled in her skull. She felt the creature twist beneath her, clawing at her arms as her teeth sank in deeper. Its skin tasted like oil and metal, bitter with regret, but she held on, jaw locked tight. The Rodian's wide eyes rolled back toward her, shock and disbelief flickering there before it bucked hard. She didn't stand a chance.

Hannibal's hands clamped around her waist, jerking her clean off the Rodian like she weighed nothing. "Hannibal!" she yelled, thrashing in his grip. "Put me down! I mean it. Don't you ever lift me again!" She kicked her boots in the air, smearing blood and beer across his sleeve until he finally set her down on her feet.

Ryn reached them immediately, face bruised but grinning like an idiot. The exit flashed in her sightline, a blessed, glowing sign cutting straight through the chaos. "Move!" she barked, shoving off Hannibal's chest and bolting straight for the door.

They burst into the alley a heartbeat later, the roar of the club fading behind them. Coruscant's lights hit like a slap: too bright, too clean. Tess hunched over, hands on her knees, catching her breath. Sweat and grime slicked her skin; she could still smell the fight clinging to her.

"What in the nine hells is wrong with everybody here?" she snapped, straightening up with a glare back at the club entrance. "Coruscant folks just don't know the difference between dancin' and a brawl."

 

[Hannibal Daxos]

Ryn Trask Tess Wyn-Tai​

Hannibal heard Ryn before he saw him that half-panicked, half-exhilarated tone that always meant things had gone from bad to catastrophic.

The Trandoshan's roar rolled through the room like thunder. The crowd surged in panic bodies colliding, glass breaking, a flash of blue light from someone’s blaster grazing the wall inches from Hannibal’s shoulder.

He didn’t waste a second. “Go! I’ve got rear!”

He pushed into motion.

The exit sign glowed faint red through the haze of smoke and flashing lights. Hannibal’s hand landed heavy on Ryn’s shoulder as he all but threw him toward it. “Get that door open!”

Tess stumbled out first, dragging Ryn behind her. Hannibal followed last, turning just long enough to see the Trandoshan plowing through the last of the fleeing crowd, its gaze locking on him.

Hannibal met it head-on, jaw set, and raised a single hand not in threat, but in warning. “Not tonight.” he muttered, then slammed the door shut and dropped the bar across it. And after a few moments, at long last. There was a breath of fresh air, and a relief that struck his face. And then soon followed, a series of chuckles.

“Coruscant’s fine.” Hannibal said, voice low with a teasing tone and sly grin.. “You two are the problem.”

He leaned against the alley wall, the cold duracrete biting through his sleeves. A laugh escaped him short, sharp, disbelieving. “The bite.....you are something else."

He jerked his chin down the alley. “Come on, we should get going. Before the club security remembers they don’t like us either.”

 

[Ryn Trask]

​

Location: It's a G R E A T night!
Interacting with: Tess Wyn-Tai Hannibal Daxos

Cool air hit them like salvation. The neon lights outside painted their faces in streaks of pink and blue, and for a moment, Ryn didn't say anything... then as Tess and Hani quipped back and forth, Ryn turned, bloody-nosed and beaming, his laugh bubbling out despite the bruises.

"Well," he said, hands on his knees, catching his breath. "That escalated fast. Reminder for next time: new safe word. Honey's officially cursed."

The Kuati straightened then slung an arm around both of them, and grinned.

"But hey… first night out? Not bad for a team-building exercise."

The night air buzzed around them, thick with the hum of speeders and the smell of fried street food drifting from somewhere nearby. Ryn sniffed the air and straightened suddenly, his grin growing.

"You smell that? Nuna kebabs!" Before he even finished, he was already trying to guide them over in a limp toward the corner where neon lights glowed and a droid vendor was sizzling skewers over an open burner.

"After everything we just went through, I think we've earned some greasy food and maybe another beer. You know, for morale."

He tossed a look over his shoulder, grinning. "Come on, you two. First round's on me -- no fights, no fake engagements, just food."

 

[Tess Wyn-Tai]

Location: Food Vendors
Tags: Hannibal Daxos | Ryn Trask

Tess straightened slowly, still breathing hard, brushing grime off her sleeve like it mattered. "Problem?" she shot back, glaring up at Hannibal. That wild, defiant spark still flickered in her eye. "I handled it! That lizard was twice my size. What was I 'posed to do? Ask him politely to stop throwing people?" She jabbed a finger at him, voice rising. "An' I told you not to lift me like some kind of cargo crate! I can stand on my own two feet just fine!"

She turned toward Ryn next, jaw tight, hair plastered to her cheek. "And you," she said, pointing, "don't you go acting like this was some kind of game. You were the one who started the whole 'Honey' nonsense, and look how that turned out! I nearly lost a tooth defending your dumb cover story!"

Ryn only grinned, of course he did, and that made her throw her hands up. "Stars above, y'all Core boys don't take anything serious, do you? Back home, a fight like that means something: it's personal, it's real. Here? Folks just throw a punch because someone sneezed too loud." She kicked at a bit of trash on the duracrete, still buzzing with leftover adrenaline she couldn't shake. "Whole planet's upside down," she muttered, half to herself. Then her stomach growled loud enough to make her wince.

The smell of roasted nuna drifted closer, and for the first time since she bit someone, Tess cracked a reluctant smile. "Alright, fine," she said, tugging Ryn's arm off her shoulder and wiping a smear of blood from her knuckle. "But if I get another drink spilled on me, or if one more person looks at me funny, I swear I'll deck em." She glanced at Hannibal, grin sharpening. "And if you ever pick me up again, I'll bite you next."

Tess started walking toward the kebab stand, shoulders still squared like she expected another brawl to break out any second. Underneath the dirt and bruises, however, her eyes still burned bright; half from fury, half from the thrill that hadn't quite worn off. "C'mon," she said over her shoulder, her voice sounding lighter now. "Let's get that food before Ryn picks another fight with someone's dinner."

 

[Hannibal Daxos]

Ryn Trask Tess Wyn-Tai​

Hannibal slowed just long enough to watch Ryn limp toward the vendor like a man possessed.

"Unbelievable." Hannibal muttered, shaking his head with a laugh.

The smell hit next charred meat, spice, smoke curling up into the neon haze. His stomach growled, betraying him. He sighed and followed, boots scraping against the duracrete.

Hannibal snorted, the sound halfway between a laugh and a warning. He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Noted," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I'll check for teeth before I touch you next time. Or maybe I'll wear gloves. Armored ones. Fancy, discreet—'respect the bite zone,' stamped on the cuff."

"Foods on me this time, one of yall can take the next one." He thumped Ryn on the shoulder as payment for future idiocy and handed the vendor extra for a double helping of sauce. "Ryn, you should get extra hot sauce, I'm sure it will put some fire in your eyes." Daxos chuckled lightly as even here the wind from above swept through and caught them as they stood. It felt good, if this was their first night out, it wasn't so bad.

He wondered how the second would go.


TEXT HERE

 

[Ryn Trask]

​

Interacting with: Tess Wyn-Tai Hannibal Daxos

Ryn sat perched on the edge of a plastoid crate with a half-eaten nuna kebab in one hand and a sweating longneck in the other. The smoky scent of grilled meat mixed with the crisp night air and for the first time that evening everything felt halfway calm.

"Well," he said around a mouthful, wincing as he chewed, "either my jaw's broken or this kebab's fighting back." He swallowed with a grimace and pointed the stick accusingly at the vendor droid. "I think the Nuna's winning."

The three of them looked like the aftermath of a bad training sim: scraped knuckles, bruises, torn sleeves, and enough dried blood to turn a few heads. Yet somehow, sitting here on overturned crates under the flickering glow of a neon sign, it felt like the best meal Ryn had ever had.

Another grimace and then the idea came to him as he pressed the cold bottle of Imperial Pale Ale against his cheek, sighing at the relief.

"Ahh, now that's the good stuff," he sighed out, though whether he meant the beer or the cold was anyone's guess. "Who needs medpacs when you've got Pale Ale?"

They fell into an easy rhythm then, trading jokes and complaints between bites of greasy food and pulls of beer. The fight already felt like some distant ridiculous story, almost heroic in hindsight. It would make for a great tale to tell the rest of the Cadets for clout.

At one point, Ryn leaned back against the stall's counter and then began squinting thoughtfully at Tess. It was bound to be trouble.

"You know..." he began in a faux tone of innocence but eyes glinting with mischief, "I think we might need to retire the 'Winnie' nickname."

The Kuati couldn't help himself as he spoke over the rim of his beer bottle.

''Cause after tonight, I'm thinking something a bit more… fierce." HE paused for dramatic effect, smirking. "Like Bitey.... or maybe Chomper."

 

[Tess Wyn-Tai]

Location: Food Stall
Tags: Hannibal Daxos | Ryn Trask

Tess stopped mid-bite, eyes narrowing over the rim of her bottle. "Bitey?" she repeated, real slow, like she was making sure she'd heard him right. The corner of her mouth twitched; not quite a smile, not quite not one. "You're lucky I ain't got nothin' left to throw at you, Ryn, or you'd be wearin' this kebab for a hat."

She jabbed the half-eaten skewer in his direction, grease dripping onto the crate between them. "An' don't you go lookin' at me like that, either. You deserved worse than what that Rodian gave ya. 'Fake fiancée,' my foot; next time you start somethin', I'll let the lizard finish it."

Ryn laughed, which only made her glare sharper. "I mean it! Don't test me."

Then Hannibal snorted behind his bottle, trying and failing to hide the smirk tugging at his mouth. Tess shot him a look that could've melted steel. "Don't you start, either. I see that grin, Hani. You think this is funny, but next time somebody gets bit, it's gonna be you."

She leaned back against the wall, chewing the last of her kebab, finally starting to calm down. The city buzzed around them; speeders streaking overhead, neon flickering across wet pavement, the low hum of Coruscant never really sleeping. For a brief moment, she almost felt… at home. Dirty, tired, but weirdly content.

Then her gaze drifted up toward a holo display above the street. The time blinked in pale blue numbers: 0200.

Her jaw went slack. "Stars above," she muttered. "Y'all... we're supposed to be up in three hours!"

 

[Hannibal Daxos]

Ryn Trask Tess Wyn-Tai​

Hannibal didn't say much other than just chuckled under his breath, as he tried to cover his mouth to stifle the laughter but even that was in vain. It was cute to him how Tess was barking things at them, yet she still carried a smile after each toss of words. It was amusing, yet genuine to the point to where even though they just met, he could easily say the were going to be friends, all three of them.

"What did I do?!" Hannibal exclaimed as he looked between the two. "I'm nothing to you, he's your fiancée." Daxos's started laughing again as he gave her a friendly nudge before looking to Ryn and started shaking his head. "This is all your fault!" The cadet said wit a smirk and teasing look, then took a bite of the strong flavored meat pierced by the skewer.

"Okay, we will put the blame on me for this one. Because clearly I am the more responsible one out of us three." Hannibal showed a grin and took a drink from the terrible tasting beer, but hey at this juncture he couldn't complain too much.

When Tess mentioned the time, he groaned and took a long deep breath. "We can't go to sleep now, that would just be worse for us."

 

[Ryn Trask]

​

Interacting with: Tess Wyn-Tai Hannibal Daxos

Ryn barked a laugh so loud that a few nearby pedestrians glanced their way. That cocky grin of his only grew wider as he leaned back on the crate with his bottle dangling from his fingers.

"See? That's exactly the attitude that earned you the name!" he teased, tilting his head toward Tess with that lazy, roguish charm that could infuriate and amuse in equal measure.

And then, because he was Ryn Trask and self preservation had never been one of his stronger instincts, he added with a wink, "Well, if your only complaint was that it was a fake fiancé, Chompy…" He paused, smirk deepening, "Could always make it real so there aren't any issues."

He laughed as he did his best to move out of the way for the potential hook he might get from her, glancing over at Hannibal, "Ahh, it's fine. We can handle a few hours of sleep. Or just stay awake honestly. We just gotta get cleaned up."

By the time the kebabs were nothing but skewers and the bottles sat empty, the tension had melted completely. What had started as chaos ended with camaraderie, the kind forged through bruises, bad decisions, and shared street food.

As they limped their way back toward the Academy, Ryn nudged Hannibal with his elbow.

"Alright, genius," he said, tone half-conspiratorial, half-proud, "what's the story when we get back? Training accident? Rogue cleaning droid? Angry cafeteria cook?"

 

[Tess Wyn-Tai]

Location: Going Back
Tags: Hannibal Daxos | Ryn Trask

Tess blinked slowly at Ryn's words, then fixed him with a look sharp enough to cut durasteel. "Make it real?" she echoed, her drawl thick. "Sweetheart, if I wanted a fiancé, I wouldn't pick the one who hides behind me when the fight breaks out."

She jabbed her empty skewer toward him. "You keep talkin' like that, Ryn Trask, and I'll make sure the next thing you kiss is a wall." Her lips twitched; half threat, half grin. "But I'll give ya this much: you know how to make a night memorable."

Hannibal's quiet chuckle broke through again, making her side-eye him. "Don't you start, Hani," she warned, though her tone softened. "I can still taste Rodian blood."

The worst of the fight melted into something easy. Three half-broken cadets limped home through the Coruscant night, smelling like sweat and cheap ale. Somehow, it just felt right.

When Ryn asked about the story, she snorted. "You really think I'm coverin' for y'all? Nah. I'm tellin' the truth about how two cadets got shown up by a Rodian half their size while I was savin' their sorry hides. Maybe I'll leave out the bit where I bit him, though."

They laughed, the sound rough but entirely real, and started back toward the Academy. Tess led the way, boots splashing through neon-shimmering puddles. The air was cool, humming with the city's pulse. She felt lighter, the adrenaline fading to something steady and quiet.

Then she noticed the crowd up ahead. A cluster of people were standing still, faces lit by a pale holo screen. Curiosity prickled. Tess pushed through, elbowing her way to the front.

The image hit her like a punch. A massive, silver sphere hung over the planet of Artrisia. Fire and smoke bloomed across its surface. The Death Star loomed behind it, silent and merciless. Her breath caught. She turned, eyes wide, her voice low. "Boys…" she murmured. All the humor had vanished.

 

[Hannibal Daxos]

Ryn Trask Tess Wyn-Tai​

"Hey, I didn't tell you to bite him. You must've.....wanted to?" Hannibal said with a laugh, as he stuck his tongue out at her. This was going to hurt in the morning. "I don't think I'm going to sleep. My luck I won't want to get up."

The walk back to the academy was long, but good and necessary. As they teased and laughed about the events that took place. It was truly something Daxos's wasn't going to forget for a long time. Hannibal didn't see it not at first, he just smirked but then when he noticed the others stopped walking once they were back at the academy and it was the 'boys' that got his attention and he looked to Tess and Ryn.

Then to what had drawn their attention.

Atrisia was on fire, and the death start had loomed on the screen. It should've have bothered him, but it shook something deep within him. As he saw the flames and the black smoke, suffocating and deathly to all those who were around it. And the screen flashed again to the death star, as if to showcase its power.

No.

That's exactly what it was doing.

And for once, Hannibal didn't know what do to or think. He just knew that it made him feel uneasy.

"What in the hell....."

 

[Ryn Trask]

​

Interacting with: Tess Wyn-Tai Hannibal Daxos

Ryn was still laughing when they turned the last corner, his arm slung lazily around Hannibal's shoulder for balance.

"Look, all I'm saying," the Kuati managed between chuckles, "if we tell the instructors we were testing 'combat adaptability,' they might buy it. Probably." He shot Tess a wink, grinning despite his swollen cheek and the faint limp in his stride. "Though you biting someone might complicate the paperwork, Chompy."

For once, everything felt light again. The chaos of the club was fading into the kind of fond story that would be retold over drinks years later.

Then they turned the corner toward the barracks.

The laughter dimmed at the sight of the crowd. Dozens of cadets and officers stood frozen, faces pale in the glow of the holoscreen suspended above the common room. Ryn let go of Hannibal and stumbled forward, still wearing that irrepressible grin as he wandered through the group towards the holoarray.

"What's all this then?" he asked, brushing his knuckles under his nose where it had dried blood. "Another Senate speech? Somebody blow up a training sim again?"

But the words died as soon as he saw it.

The massive sphere hung in orbit over Atrisia, making stomachs sink even through the holofeed's flicker. The Death Star III.

For a heartbeat, he didn't move. His grin vanished.

The chatter around him blurred into static. He knew that shape. Every Kuati kid who was into ships like he was did. One couldn't grow up on the holovids, learning about engineering and ship design and not know what that shadow meant. What it promised. His jaw clenched, the faint twitch of muscle the only sign of the sudden sinking weight in his chest.

He'd come to the Academy for the thrill of flight, the rush of the stars, to make his grandfather proud -- not this. Not the cold inevitability of that weapon.

And then, at that moment, the Death Star III shot a beam straight at the Mon Mothma, and then the great ship disappeared. Amidst gasps and cheers, it suddenly became hard to breathe, tension weighing everyone down. Ryn exhaled slowly through his nose, those bright blue oceanic eyes stark now against the bruising of his face.

"...That's not a simulation," he muttered quietly, more to himself than anyone. His voice lost its usual lilt and all humor gone. "They actually built one and deployed it."

For the first time since joining the Academy, Ryn Trask didn't have a joke ready. No quick quip, no sarcastic grin to deflect with. Just silence.

He looked from the screen to his friends, the neon light washing their faces pale blue.

"Guess the galaxy decided to remind us what we signed up for," he said finally, but there was no conviction behind it. Only the quiet unease of someone realizing just how small they really were.

But was this really what they signed up for?