Private Shifting Sands

[Jas Katis]

Her teasing gave him an idea as they neared their destination in the snow. She was trying hard to get the attention off him and her feelings were sabotaging her façade of being calm and collected. He turned and came to a halt directly in front of her. Leaning down, he brought his face mere inches from hers as he gave a devilish grin with his sharp, pointed teeth. His golden eyes studied her for a second as he kept her in place with his massive stature. "I don't see you complaining about my 'trend' in this instance." he spoke with a low voice.

With a chuckle he turned and pressed on, using a hand on her back to keep her close. "You can't hide your emotions from me, Jae." he teased as he glanced down at her. After what felt like an eternity in the snow, they arrived at the cave she was looking for. Jae looked absolutely astonished and rushed off toward it, something he wasn't expecting at all. Still planted where he stood, he wasn't quick enough to catch up as she rushed towards the border of the bubble. The wind blowing maliciously straight at them was likely not something she anticipated either.

He was behind her in an instant, both hands taking hold of her shoulders to keep her steady as they approached the cave entrance. The bubble was gone now, seeing as it wouldn't be needed anymore once they were inside. "Already trying to run away from me, I see." he joked as he walked with her into the cave.

Once inside, a hand unclipped his lightsaber and held it at the ready, just in case they needed light or instant defence for something they weren't expecting.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

It was a surprise to Jae herself when she ducked around him and jogged towards the cave. Kriff his face has been so close to her… But this wasn’t the time to think about that. The cave was there, finally, and she was stoked. She glanced back at him as he laid his hands on her shoulders once more. "A little grabby, are we?" She winked. "And for the record, I’m not running from you. I’m running towards that.”

She pointed further into the cave, where he could see a small glowing patch of what looked like moss. As they got closer, though, it became easier to see the individual specks and blades of the plant. Jae slid her backpack off and knelt down in front of it. She slipped her gloves off, then pulled a box out of her backpack. Slowly, she picked each individual blade, laying them down in the case almost reverently.

As she worked, though, she didn’t hear the growling coming from behind them.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Jas wasn't sure what her obsession with the glowing moss was, but that's not what she was paying him for... if she was ever going to pay him. He calmly followed as she rushed off and carefully started to harvest each blade and speck of glowing plant life. Luckily Jas didn't have to use his lightsaber for illumination. Between the reflection from outside and the glowing moss in the cave, they had decent visibility.

"This cave isn't so bad. We can rest here for a while before we head back." he suggested as he looked around them. In truth, he wanted to give his wounds a break but he didn't want to admit it.

He paused when a growl echoed through the cave. He knew that his stomach didn't sound that brutal when he was hungry... and the presence behind him was another dead giveaway. He turned to face the creature as he ignited his lightsaber. With a deep hum the weapon bathed the cave in crimson light. He gave it a twirl and grasped it with both hands as he glared at the creature. "Jae, I'd suggest you leave the plants be for a moment." he warned as he stepped forward into an attack stance.

The force swelled within him, ready for a fight if the creature attacked. "Do you have your blaster with you?" he asked her as he took a step back to place himself between her and the beast.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

The sound of a lightsaber igniting was never something Jae imagined she'd be comfortable hearing, and she was certainly surprised to hear it now. She slowly stood up, leaving her box on the ground, and locked eyes with the creature ahead of them. It hunched down, looking like it was scoping them out. She slowly reached to her hip, pulling her blaster out. She wasn't exactly skilled with it, but it was better to have it than not. "Got it,” she murmured, hoping the creature wasn't alerted by sound.

And that's when it pounced. Claws out, the creature darted towards them, trying to slash at whichever of them it could get to. Jae took a few steps to the side, then shot at it, hoping to at least scare it off. But all that did was anger it towards her, as it charged in her direction. She bit a scream down as she tried again, but it was upon her before she got a chance, her blaster clattering onto the cave floor.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Safe to say, it didn’t look happy at all. It was ready for a fight, hunched over and coiled up. It reminded Jas of the hounds that were so common on his home world.

The tension broke when the creature pounced at them. Jas waited for it to come to him, but unfortunately Jae drew its attention and it altered course. Stretching a hand out, Jas launched it away from Jae and against the cave wall. ”Stay behind me!” he ordered her as he walked towards it.

It tried to pounce at him again, but Jas used the force to press it down on the ground as he approached it. With lightsaber in hand, he was ready to end it in an instant.

But something was bothering him in the back of his mind. This animal was either hungry... or they were in its lair.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

Jae sat up quickly, getting a bit dizzy, but able to stay focused enough to take in the scene around her. "Can you hold it for a minute longer?” she asked. "Just enough for me to grab this and us to get out?" She took the plants quicker now, knowing that she'd have time to fix them up back on the Manta. Just a small box full would be good for this run-- if she needed to do another, she'd have to do it another time. Neither of them were in prime shape for fighting, and she didn't want to make his injuries even worse than they were (whether he admitted it or not).

She quickly latched up the box, then looked back to Jas. "Ready when you are!"

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Jae asked him to hold it for a bit longer as she finished up with her collecting. Jas didn’t answer as his focus was completely in the creature in front of him. It was powerful, constantly trying to bite, jump or slash at Jas as he approached.

She was ready to move out, but he still didn’t respond as he stared down at the creature by his feet. His outstretched hand was trembling under the strain of keeping the animal on the ground. He was doing it on purpose, though. With a cold glare he extinguished his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt before he took hold of a different hilt.

He drew his Sith knife from its sheath under his heavy jacket and knelt down in front of the creature. He rested the tip of the sharp blade on the back of the creature’s neck and, with a powerful slam, drove the blade into its spine. He gave a violent twist to finish it before he pulled a tooth out of its jaw.

Rising to his feet, he looked to Jae. ”Are you sure you have everything?” he asked her calmly as he sheathed his blade and walked towards her. ”I’d suggest you take as much as you can while we have a moment of relief.” he suggested.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

Jae was stock still as he effortlessly killed the creature. She blinked a few times, then nodded with a small smile, and went back to getting the spice she needed. She'd gotten almost all of it, but now she was able to make sure that she had it all. Her heart was still racing from the encounter, but she was able to take some slow breaths now, and was glad to have the second to breathe.

"Thanks," she quietly said, looking back at him. Then, trying to lighten the mood, "Glad I've got you on my side." She packed up the rest of the box, dusting some dirt over the patch of moss. If she remembered correctly, that should help it regrow on its own. She wasn't exactly the best with herbs, but her client had mentioned it, so she figured she'd at least give it a shot. She slipped the box back into her backpack, then stood up, stretching her back.

"Ready to face the cold again?" She asked, tugging her gloves back on.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

She quickly finished up with the picking and put the box away. He watched the entrance for a moment until she joined him again. Her question earned a groan from him as he patted down his clothing. "I'd much rather camp out in this cave until the wind lets up, but I know that will not happen anytime soon." he muttered as he approached the cave entrance.

He ushered her closer and formed a bubble around them before walking into the icy wind outside of the cave. He glanced down at her with a smirk before he gave a gentle nudge. "I hope you're paying me extra for all this." he teased. "Going from blistering deserts to frozen wastelands was never stipulated in the contract." he continued. The walk was somewhat pleasant on the way back. Mostly because the wind wasn't nearly such an issue, but also due to their little revelation from earlier.

Back on the ship, he wasted no time in getting out of his winter clothing and back into his tatooine outfit. Emerging from the refresher, he was still busy fiddling with his shirt when he entered the cockpit. "Okay... we got the spice." he spoke up as he figured out the tattered clothing and tugged it on. "What was the second bit of the trip that you mentioned? That wind did a fine job of blowing away any concentration." he asked her as he dropped into the co-pilot's seat.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

"First off, there was never a contract, so don’t try and start," she chuckled, keeping easy pace with him back to the ship. “Second off, I don’t know what the going rates for mercenary bodyguards are these days, but I think I can whip up a fair payment. But that’s not gonna make me getting a speeder any easier.” She winked.

Back on the ship, Jae quickly shed her winter clothes, happily calling out their safe return to Sam. She laid sprawled out on the couch as Jas used the refresher, letting her extremities defrost. She let the comfort surround her, and didn’t get up when he came back out, simply chatting from her lounging position. ”You’re not gonna like the next part, cause we’re not leaving the planet yet. If we fly a few hours out, I’ll be able to get us closer to the site,” she explained. “It’s an old ritual site apparently, and there are a few things that are supposedly there that I’d kill to get some scans of. I figure I can fly us there into the night, we sleep on the ship, and head out in the morning.”

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Jas groaned at the mention of staying on the planet for at least a day longer. Though he could tell that she was itching to see this ritual site. He had to admit that he was curious as well, mostly because he couldn’t understand why someone would want to do anything ritualistic on this planet. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was some old Sith site.

”Alright. Seeing as we’re going to camp in the ship for the night, where shall I rest?” he asked her calmly. A smirk formed as he leaned over her relaxed form to look down at her. ”Or shall I keep your bed warm for you?” he teased her with a low voice as his hands rested on his hips. He had to admit, seeing her go from white to matching his own shade of red was quite amusing.

He proceeded to remove his Lanvarok and set it on the table along with his lightsaber before dropping into the couch with a heavy sigh. His head leaned back as he took the moment to truly relax. ”What do you usually do for meals? I can make something for us if you have ingredients.” he offered her without looking.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

Jae chuckled lightly at his reaction. That was about what she expected out of him. The planet wasn't exactly inviting, but damn if it wasn't interesting, at least to her.

She stuck her tongue out at him as he teased her, pretending her face wasn't turning a shade of pink. "I'm not that easy, but nice try." She sat up, stretching her arms out above her head. "You can either take my bed or the couch. Only places to sleep here. Remember, I'm mostly a one-woman crew, since Sam doesn't need to sleep."

Jae tugged her boots off, and headed towards the small kitchenette, her socks nearly gliding on the smooth clean floor. "A bit of this and that. Not much, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to you cooking for me," she teased back. She opened her pantry stores, looking over what she had. Some dried noodles, canned goods, and of course, her tiny stash of sweets and libations. "Feel free to take a look."

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

He chuckled at her comment as he gave her room to walk past, waving off the offer of her bed. ”I’m not that cruel, I shall take the couch. You keep your bed.” he offered her calmly as he watched her walk away. ”If this partnership turns out to be far more permanent, we can worry about more suitable accommodation. For now, let’s just focus on getting you that speeder you’re itching for.” He continued.

A laugh escaped as she admitted to wanting him to cook for her. He had a feeling she was the type who would like that option. Luckily he was a fairly decent cook... in some departments. ”Private bodyguard, personal cook... you are making the most out of this partnership. For the record, I hope you like meat. That’s by far the best thing I can make.” He spoke up before wandering over to look through her selection of ingredients.

The look he gave her was a wonderful combination of disbelief, sympathy and disappointment. ”How the hell are you still alive?” He closed the door and followed after her. ”After this mission, I’m going to buy you some proper ingredients. That pantry is just... I honestly don’t have a word in Basic to express what that is.” He commented as he faced her.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

Jae leaned against the wall as he judged her food options. "Look, I do what I can out here," she commented, waggling a finger at him. "I never promised luxury. I promised edibility." She looked over the food she had. Okay, maybe he was right. But she wasn't exactly ready to explain that she never learned how to cook, and figured it out on the road. He already had enough on her.

"And what kinda fancy words do you have to express it, huh?" She smirked. She opened up another small cabinet, revealing some meager cooking supplies. She pulled a few basics onto the counter, offering them up. Having a feeling she'd just be in his way, though, she moved to her small table and plopped herself down in one of the chairs. "Is this your way of telling me you're some master chef? Hell, if you are, I'll definitely buy you a bed," she laughed.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

A smirk formed and quickly morphed into an amused grin as he eyed her with raised eyebrows. "Edibility... at least." He snickered as he looked back to the pantry. He was going to have to get creative for this to work in any way, shape or form. Her next tease drew his attention back to her for a moment. "Grotthu ai imbelsia." He spoke in the Sith language. He had a strong suspicion that she wouldn't understand it at all, and truthfully it was likely a good thing. He could translate it to Basic, tell her that it was a "slave's existence" but it would likely not sit well.

Hoping to at least save her life with a proper dinner for once, he got to work on figuring out what to make with the basic supplies, noodles and canned meat. He was going to have to get very creative. Hoping to salvage the situation, he looked around until he found what could at least be called a spice rack, to some degree, and took a bunch of items from it. Pretty soon the noodles were slowly boiling and the other ingredients were mixed into a pan. A laugh burst out at her joke as he glanced over to her. "The scheming mistress makes her intentions known. What else will I have to do before I can sleep comfortably again in the near future?" He teased back with a wink before focusing on the dinner.

After a while, he added the boiled noodles to the pan and mixed the items up. It was not as fresh as he preferred, but he was confident that the spices and frying at least added some flavour to the meal. He got a pad out and set it on the table before placing the pan of noodles on it for them. Two bowls soon found their way onto the table along with eating utensils and some juice for both of them. "There we go. I hope you don't mind a little spiciness to your food, but that's the best I can do without emptying your pantry in one evening." He quipped as he joined her by the table and waited for her to serve herself.

"Let me know if I earned a bed yet or not." He grinned as he dished up a serving for himself and mixed it around a little, waiting for her to take the first bite.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

Jae watched him cook, and it took a lot for her to not stare in awe. She'd never learned how to cook, and was intimidated in any kitchen, let alone her own. But he was navigating around her kitchen as if he'd done it his whole life. And the smells that were coming out of the kitchen? Maker, if her mouth hadn't been watering already...

"What's that mean?" she asked. The language he spoke had quickly piqued her interest, and it was taking a lot out of her to not start jotting things down. When she found something new she found interesting, she couldn't help but want to learn everything about it. Of course, she had yet to decide whether it was his language and culture she found interesting, or just him, but she wasn't ready to face that quite yet.

She picked the utensil up, stirred the bowl a bit (mimicking what he did), and took a bite. Her eyes went wide, and she backed up, staring at the dish for a few seconds. After processing the spice that was dancing around her tongue, she dove in for another bite. "Kriff, I'll sleep on the damn couch tonight. You've earned a bed," she grinned. "Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

In all honesty he didn't want to translate it because he felt that it was a little inappropriate for this situation. But she wanted to know and he had a feeling that she wouldn't let it go if he didn't tell her. So with a strained smile he looked to her. "A slave's existence." He managed to drag out. "It's not the nicest way to put it but there you go." He quickly added, hoping he didn't sour her mood.

Around the dinner table, Jas burst out in laughter from her commentary. He set his utensils down and leaned back with a snicker as he looked at her. "That will not be necessary, I can wait for a bit." He reassured with a wave of his hand as he calmed down. "My tribe. I grew up in a rather traditional culture. So waging war, surviving, taking care of yourself, all of that was taught from a young age. Plus I spent a lot of time with my father and he loved his food. So I know a little bit about cooking, though I'm not a master by any means." He explained before helping himself to his meal. His serving was done in short order and he went in for a smaller second serving, before making that disappear as well in no time at all.

He sat back with a content and rested his hands on his head. "I'd say we're fine for the rest of the evening now. Though I'm buying you some proper supplies the next time we make port somewhere." He commented casually. "So what did you hear about this old ritual site? What is there that needs to be scanned so urgently?" He asked calmly, figuring they could converse a little more before they needed to go to bed.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

Jae glanced a bit oddly at him when he translated the phrase for her, but she had a feeling it was something he didn't want to talk about, so she left it that way. She couldn't help but chuckle at their continued conversation. She silently hoped she'd be able to keep him in her "employ" for some time longer-- he was fun to have around. "Y'know, you don't have to buy me supplies. I'm supposed to be paying you, remember?" The conversation of payment and credits hadn't been addressed since their meeting, but she knew that at some point it would come back. Luckily though, now wasn't the time.

"It's not that it's urgent," she explained. "It's more that I'm already here, and I've wanted to explore this place for a while." As she spoke, she pulled out her holopad, and projected 3-D images of scans she'd taken; of maps showing the same odd marking in the same place. "Whenever I stop in a new major city, I try and poke around in whatever knowledge repository they have, just to see if anything new comes up on my radar. I've heard of this one only from three different sources, but they all had the same markings on their maps." She excitedly pointed out the markings as she swapped between each of them. "Nobody I talked to knew what the markings meant, except for this one." She stopped at one map, and pointed at the final symbol in the odd sequence. "One of the researchers I talked to told me that they'd seen this one on a few documents indicating the word 'ritual' before. So it's sort of our best guess."

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Jas snickered at her suggestion to not buy stuff for her. She had a point, he couldn’t argue about that... but by Malachor did she look like she needed the help. ”The less you have to spend on things, the more I get paid.” He joked. He only realised after he said it that it didn’t make a lick of sense economically. She likely thought the exact same things, though he simply moved on to preserve his dignity.

She explained to him why she wanted to see this site so badly, and she was starting to stir his own curiosity over this whole thing. Almost enough to have him not complain at all anymore over how terrible this planet was. ”I think you would find the old Sith worlds quite interesting. Though I wouldn’t recommend going there now with the Imperial presence around them. They are liable to arrest you the moment they find you studying ancient Sith ruins and burial sites.” He sat back as he explained to her the situation. He didn’t know her so well yet, though he was certain that she would want to see those planets. It got him thinking...

”Does the name ‘Malachor’ sound familiar at all to you?” He asked her with a curious smile. Perhaps this plan could work.

Jaeviko Fitzsix

 

[Jaeviko Fitzsix]

Jae leaned her head on her hand, her elbow forward on the table as he spoke. His mention of the old Sith worlds piqued her interest. Where were they? Her knowledge of his kind was limited at best, but as soon as he mentioned the Imperial presence nearby, she understood why. She wasn't exactly ready to be interrogated by Imperials. She didn't exactly have much to hide, but she wasn't a fan of the possibility of being tortured, so it all evened out.

"Malachor?" She paused for a moment, running through as much as she could in her head to see if she'd heard of it before, but nothing was coming to her mind. "Place? Person?" She was pretty sure she didn't know it, but maybe if he described it more he could jog her memory. Whatever it was, though, this was the first time he'd brought something new up to her, and she was interested.

Jas Katis