Private Take a Breath

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan held her gaze as her chin tilted up beneath his fingers. When her mouth curved, softening the moment, something eased in his chest.

He lowered his hand slowly, letting his fingertips trail for a heartbeat longer than necessary before settling it back on the table.

Months together on an isolated world. They were still getting their feet back under themselves. It felt like an endeavour when they were both ready for it. Even putting his thoughts about their relationship aside, if they were going to spend that much time out of the galaxy they needed to know where they stood.

"We'll plan around that," he said. "I'm glad you'd be willing to take me there. I can make time when the time is right."

This time, he was speaking completely literally.

"We could keep the cold away."

Too literally.

He shifted slightly in his chair, the repaired servos in his arm whirring in a smoother rhythm when he flexed the fingers again.

His eyes went back to hers and stayed there, steady and warm.

"Maybe I'll come see how your ship is going?"

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli held his look, the last of that strange tightness in her chest loosening a little when he didn't push, didn't rush, just… met her where she was.

"Yeah," she said softly. "We'll plan around it."

The Warden's fingers brushed a last wire into place, and she closed the panel on his palm with a quiet click. The servos purred smooth and clean when he flexed the hand again. Good. Something today made sense.

But then he said keep the cold away and her brain stuttered. The olive skin over her face flooded with a faint ruddy heat again. Entirely unhelpful.

All she could think of was how they stayed warm on that frozen mining world in the caves.

"Trextan," she warned under her breath, but it came out more flustered than stern. She looked down at his arm again as if it needed more adjusting, absolutely refusing to meet his eyes for a second.

Then he asked about the Sunfire.

Her gaze flicked up, caught his steady warmth, and something inside her steadied too.

"Yeah," she said, voice low but sure. "You can come see it."

It made her think of where it was stationed now. How she had been trying to barter parts with Tiny.

"Needs a few things... no different than when we were trying to update the Verre... only the Sunfire requires more parts than expected. Especially if I want to make it a ship worth for what I'll need it as a Warden."

She gave a soft hum, "But parts require credits and some bartering. So may take a bit. But allows for more cargo space and cabins."

A small pause and she followed up, "Okay how is that now?"

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

"Trextan," she warned under her breath, but it came out more flustered than stern.

Trextan watched her cheeks warm again and felt a soft laugh push at the back of his throat. He didn't let it out, mostly because the memories came back to him too. He hadn't thought of the mining tunnel but her expression took him back there.

He let the moment settle instead - quiet and easy - while she closed the last panel on his arm.

A small pause and she followed up, "Okay how is that now?"

He flexed the hand. This time the fingers moved smooth and linear, no hitch, no stutter. Good as new.

He turned it palm down, curling each digit slowly. He made a fist then he drew it up above his head.

He gave a sharp nod and grunted. As if she needed a reminder of the teenager he had been.

The talk of the Sunfire drew a smile. He shifted forward, resting his elbows on the table.

The thought of Choli working on her own ship, building something functional and fierce and her own made him feel a very different kind of warmth. He couldn't quite describe.

“Got some stuff in the lockers," he said." Sometimes people pay in parts for thanks and I have no idea what they are. You're welcome to anything. I can spare a few creds."

Even if he had grunted at her in thanks, there was an easiness to him, a confidence and softness that she had only seen pieces of when they were teenagers. Time had made more whole people of each of them.

Of course, she was about to discover that he still didn't know the value of things given the hyper-spec micro converter he had in the locker. A spare part from a Naboo freighter he had saved from a pirate vessel.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

"Oh really?" Choli's expression turned into one of intrigue at that. She perked up, leaning back and straightening in her seat to put away the spare parts and tools while she spoke.

"Well I can take a look at them. See what they are. Maybe trade you a few things for them or pay you a fair price." She offered him. Parts were few and far and between this far out in the Outer Rim, and seeing what others might have traded Trextan for his services was something the former Rogue pilot was not one to pass up.

"Do not argue. You may say you can spare a few credits, but if they are good parts, it is best you get your money's worth with them. We can come to an agreement if that's what it takes."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan watched her straighten, that familiar spark of focus back in place. It was something he had always admired about her. She could pivot from quiet reflection straight into practical problem solving.

"Right, not that I'm ever gonna try and argue with you once you've made up your mind..."

Which was a slight exaggeration, because he definitely had before. He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms loosely across his chest.

"... Or think you need or want charity. But you did a lot to keep the Verree flying. Could have been me needed another ship."

Trextan stood up. He gave his arm a little shake. Given the grey sweats he was wearing and how Choli was seated things would move around a little in her line of sight.

"Ah, feels good," he said with a content sigh. He moved to a panel on the wall. Tapping it just right to open it a crack. He carefully pulled the panel away and set it down and then tapped in a code to open an inner door.

"Hey, promise you'll let me know so I could join the test flight?" he asked. She was an amazing pilot. It had been terrifying at first to see her really fly. He'd become more used to - and more fond of - letting her take control.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli watched him with that faint, knowing look that said she had heard every word and already sorted which ones mattered. The moment he stood and shook out his arm, her eyes flicked up on instinct, then she deliberately looked away again, a quiet huff through her nose even as her olive skin flushed and she told herself to push her thoughts elsewhere.

"Charity?" she echoed, dry. "Please, if I wanted charity, I'd still be flying other people's ships."

She pushed up from her seat, rolling her shoulders once like she was settling back into herself as focus slid neatly into place. Turning back to him, she smiled.

"Well glad it feels better. Although you should really do a deep cleaning more often." she recommended, only to glance back up to him curiously as he followed up.

Invite him for the test flight. After a second, Choli gave him a slow half-grin.

"I could do that. But can your stomach handle it?"

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan caught the look she gave him and pretended, very deliberately, not to notice the flush that followed. He flexed the prosthetic once more, slower this time, feeling the smooth response all the way through the joints. It moved the way it should.

“Exactly,” he said about charity. "But we can help each other out every now and again. It all events out."

He took the point on more maintenance. He couldnt punch anything with it, if it was too clogged to move. It wasn't like an organic arm that deal with intrusions and damage through efficient processes that had evolved over millions of years.

"Stomach might not," he admitted. "But I trust you. And it would be important for you to know as I hang off the chair screaming that deep down I trust you."

He stepped back from the half-hidden cabinet so she could take a look. Her gaze did not immediately go to the contents.

"I... Will put my shirt on," he said, acknowledging that it was unfair. She might have passed her rights and wasn't covering her eyes but it was still unfair.

"Have a look at the bits and bobs."

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

But I trust you.

That meant a lot. More than Choli could say in words, but it was evident in the slow pause the Epicanthic made as she looked up at him.

Such a curious concept to think about. Trust. Even after three years. Even after still learning what were the changes but still seeing the familiar.

But the smile turned into a laugh at the screaming image.

"It won't be that bad... at least I hope not. The Verre shook worse because she's a smaller craft. The Sunfire is larger... size makes a difference."

A beat. Then Choli immediately turned to finish up collecting things.

"Okay, I'll go do that shortly." all the while chiding herself at where her mind went.

Later.

The Verre was quiet in that way that only came after adrenaline burned itself out. Choli sat alone at the fold down table, parts spread out in careful rows as she inventoried what Trextan had brought back from his last run. Each piece got weighed, turned, judged. Something steady to do while her thoughts refused to line up.

Too much had happened. The facility. Orryx. Trextan. Them.

Honestly, her mind felt like a crate someone had dumped and never sorted -- so she sorted metal instead.

Once she finished cataloging the gear, she keyed her datapad and sent a long range burst to the Aurora. She summarized that they had neutralized the facility, that Orryx was dead, and both of them were okay, just awaiting the next directive. She hesitated only a second before adding that they were stable but laying low for now.

Send.

Choli leaned back in her chair, exhaling slowly. For now, there was nothing to chase, nothing on fire, nothing screaming in the Force. Just the hum of the ship and the weight of figuring out what came next.

She glanced once toward the corridor where Trextan had disappeared, then back to the parts in front of her.

One thing at a time.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

He could only stand there in shock.

Another round to Choli.

---

Trextan emerged from the corridor a short while later. His dark, clury hair was still damp from a quick rinse and a clean shirt had been pulled on with more care than usual.

The Verree felt different. It was quiet now, stripped of the urgency that had hung over him recently. They had rescued Tiny and Choli, then sought out Rave Merrill's ship and then walked into the trap.

This was the kind of calm that came after surviving an ordeal when you hadn't been guaranteed to walk away in one piece.

He slowed as he approached Choli at the table.

She was exactly where he had half expected her to be. It still felt different to see her here in the ship. A reflection of the past, but they were very different now.

Still, she was surrounded by parts neatly ordered parts. It was familiar in a way that tugged at him too.


Trextan moved up behind Choli and placed his hands on her shoulders. He set his hands down lightly, intending to feel the tension there before he offered to try and work some knots out.

"So what's the ordering system here?" he asked.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

Choli heard Trextan before she felt the warmth of his hands at her shoulders. Her dark head came up, her slanted eyes shifting into ones of tinted in curiousity and amusement.

Oh, so he took a shower.

No, no, other thoughts. Like the fact that one of the spare parts he had on hand was a hyper-spec micro converter.

"Nevermind that, did you even realize you had this?" She shook it again at him. "hyper-spec micro converter?! Do you have any idea how much you can get for this?

As for her system, it was set on what was usable with the Verre, what wasn't compatable, and what was best sold or bartered off.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan straightened a little, wearing the expression of a man who absolutely had this under control.

“Of course I knew I had a…” he paused, eyes flicking back to the part in her hand, “…hyperspace mesh con… verter.”

He nodded once, decisively, as if that had settled it.

“Yes. That.”

The faintest crack appeared in his composure when her reaction did not immediately let him off the hook. His mouth twitched.

“I mean,” he continued, “I knew it was important. Obviously. I just did not realise it was important enough to wave at me.”

He leaned closer now peering at the component as if seeing it for the first time.

“All right,” he conceded. “Yeah I didn't know what it was.”

He gestured vaguely at the neatly sorted rows on the table.

“Rescued this fancy Naboo freighter from a group of pirates and they just gave me a few spares and said they'd write them off. Not allowed to pay mercenaries in credits or something. So... Like... How much ate we talking here? "

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker
Armor- x x x x x | Gear x x x x x x x | Weapons x x x x x

"Bullshit."

Choli immediately called out Trextan as her lips gave a twitch, and then she laughed, a bark of laughter making her breath come out in a faint huff as she shook her head at him.

"You are still a terrible liar," she told him frankly, rolling her eyes at him even as she set down the Hyperspec micro converter. Well, at least Choli could tell that the Warden was getting paid well and he wasn't getting hoodwinked for his trouble.

"Out here? likely several hundred credits," she told him, although a sudden thought brought to mind.

"So what sort of jobs are you taking?" she asked him, curious. Every Warden was different, with a varying set of skills that allowed them to be able to juggle different roles and responsibilities based on what they wanted to do or what the mission objective was.

"Are you sticking to a particular hyperspace route or has that gone sideways after the convergence? Or just wandering?"

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan accepted the callout with a snort, one corner of his mouth lifting as he shook his head.

"Take that back," he said, though there was no real heat behind it. "I am an appalling liar!"

Trextan had briefly forgotten that he had stepped up to try and rub some knots out of her shoulders. His hands started to work again.

“Several hundred credits sounds good,” he added. "I know you're not taking charity but remember how much work you put into keeping this thing...in one rickety piece."

"What have I been doing?" he asked. His thumb found a raised knot.

“Bit of everything,” he admitted. “Few supply runs. Er, more than a handful of rescues. The occasional bounty, but it's hard to know what's...good work. "

It was easy for people to lie and set a bounty on someone who had done no wrong.

"I just keep well away from the Blackwall."