Private Take a Breath

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

It turned out that rowing was not particularly difficult. Not after a liitle bit of practise. He hadn't seen what colour Choli's eyes were when he first sent them in a slow circle, but he hadn't needed to. It was on her face.

Clearly he was going to row them in circles until they sank and drowned together.

He had apologised and blamed it on one cybernetic arm being stronger than the other.

Eventually he settled into a rhythm and set them down the river. The odd powered boat disturbed them, but generally they were allowed to row beneath bridges and enjoy the architecture of the city.

"This is nice," he said as he brought the oars in. They could just drift in the wide part of the river they found themselves.

He settled back into his side of the boat, facing Choli. After saying all the important things he had to say, he felt slightly exhausted. Trextan thought this would be a pleasant and comfortable silence.

Then her commlink buzzed. A single photograph sent across the holonet to her data pad. A single image from a security camera. One she had no memory of being taken.

It was her, several years ago, in a first order security line in her Rogue Squadron jumpsuit.

 

[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's knuckles were white against the edge of the bench, every shift of the boat setting her teeth on edge. She tried not to show it, tried to keep her shoulders loose and her mouth curved into something close to casual, but inside her gut twisted with every sway. Flying through a meteor storm with a busted navicomp? That she could handle. Drifting on a river in a glorified tub? Not so much.

When Trextan spun them in a full circle, there was no mistaking how her brow arched high in mild, if amused judgment.

"Then maybe you should work on strengthening the other arm," she shot back, voice dry. A smirk tugged at her lips, but it was more defense than humor. It felt like the obvious fix, even if she knew the Force could even out what muscle alone couldn't.

Once he settled into a rhythm, she managed to ease her death grip and glance at the city drifting past. Maybe this wasn't so bad. Maybe she could try this, for him, for them.

Then her comm buzzed.

She pulled it out, expecting something routine. The image that blinked onto her screen froze her breath in her throat. At first it didn't make sense: a security line, a figure in orange. Then recognition sank as to what that orange uniform was. The dark hair. Dusky olive skin. Her. Rogue Squadron uniform. First Order checkpoint.

Color drained from her face. The boat rocked under her sudden shift forward, and her voice came out tight, clipped, urgent.

"We need to get back to the ship. Now."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Even as she lifted the tablet, Trextan's thoughts turned to how he could shift the atmosphere. He felt he'd found a perfectly pleasant and private place to drift for a few minutes.

As soon as she spoke, any romantic thoughts sublimated into the ether. A memory left in the Force of a moment that could have been.

Despite his arguments, Trextan's father had managed to instill some soldiering instincts into him. He sat upright and met Choli's eyes.

"Right away," he said. He took up both oars and looked across the bank for a point to tie the boat. They'd paid with physical credits. If this was an emergency the rental group could come and find it.

"What's going on?" he asked as the boat knocked against the bank. He stowed the oars and gathered up the rope to tie them off.

He would jump out of the boat and then offer his hand to Choli, who had been rather nervous stepping in.

 

[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 didn't take his hand right away. Instead, she turned her comm over, the glow of the screen catching between them.

The image was unmistakable; her in her Rogue flightsuit, younger, the way she had been back when she'd first met him on Polis Massa.

"Someone just sent me this," she said flatly. Her voice carried no waver, but her eyes, darkening to near black, betrayed how wrong it felt.

"I don't remember any of that at all."

Her jaw tightened as she shut the screen off, gripping the comm like it might burn her. There was only one time her memory didn't reach -- when she'd been a prisoner of war. Which meant someone had dug into that shadow, dragged something out, and sent it straight to her.

She finally met his gaze, tension thrumming through her voice.

"If they can reach me here, if they know who I am... Chloe and Ren could be targets too."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

"We're in danger here," Trextan said.

The implication of the picture didn't sink in. He thought through the immediate danger as he accelerated his stride.

It couldn't be a coincidence that their tech was back on the wider holone and she was sent that photo. Chloe could handle danger, but Ren was a child.

He felt that flash of fear collapse like a neutral star into a heavy anger. Trextan put that aside and focussed on what they needed to do.

"No words? No threats?"

They needed to leave the spaceport. They needed to work out how to distance the danger from Ren. Choli would probably be two planning steps ahead already.

 

[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's boots hit the bank hard as she climbed out of the boat, her comm still clutched tight in one hand. Her mind was racing several parsecs a second but she did her best to try and keep her voice controlled.

"The image is the threat, Trextan," she said, her dark eyes narrowing as if she could burn the pieces into something that made sense.

Her lips pressed thin. The Verree. They still had it locked in the Hawk's hold. That gave them an option.

"I remember that flightsuit," she went on, her tone low and coated with a sharp edge.

"It was the one I wore when I crashed on Kaeshanna." Her stomach twisted. That was before the First Order had taken her, before the blackout in her memory.

Which meant whoever sent this either came from the First Order, or had their access.

She finally looked up at him, decisive.

"We take the Verree. Put distance between us and the Aurora. Then we figure out what this is. I can't trace it, not with what I know. We'll need a slicer."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan's boots crunched against the bank behind her, but his eyes never left the comm in her hand. The image. A shadow of something she had survived but barely remembered, now ripped open again. His gut knotted at the thought of someone dredging this up. It wasn't just a threat, but a cruel reminder.

He listened as she pieced it together, her voice sharp, decisive, cutting through the haze of old wounds. Kaeshanna. The First Order. The blackout. He felt the old familiar anger coil in his chest, but he kept it reined in. This wasn't the time for rage.

"Shit."

"You're right," he said, firm and low, stepping closer so his presence was solid beside her. "The Verree gets us off this deck and buys us space. We keep the Aurora out of the line of fire."

His gaze flicked to the water, then back to her. "And a slicer… yeah. We'll need someone we can trust to pull this apart, trace who's behind it. Because whoever sent this doesn't just want to rattle you. They want you cornered."

For a moment, his hand hovered near her shoulder before settling there, steady, grounding. His voice softened. "But they're not going to get that. Not this time. We'll stay ahead of them."

He wanted to say together. Any other time and that would have been right, but things between them were unsettled for such statements. The danger was what mattered.

"And then we'll deal with them," he said as they approached the ship.

 

[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

This wasn't the kind of situation Choli thought she'd be facing this morning. The worst she'd expected was maybe dealing with the aftershocks of kissing Trextan outside the bar, not staring down the weight of the First Order again.

They'd already clashed with them once when she and the other Wardens had been captured before Trextan and the rest had pulled them out.

Could this be connected?

Choli bit her lip, her expression hardening into a flat deadpan. The real question was who they could find to trace the source of the message. Out here, deep in the black, their options were thin.

"Maybe Chloe knows somebody from the outbound fleet who can help," she muttered, forcing her mind to focus on what resources they had.

She was so caught up in her racing thoughts that she didn't notice Trextan moving closer until his hand pressed firmly against her shoulder. Glancing up, the shifting hues in her irises betrayed what her face did not, the churning, crashing storm of fear, anger, and worry swirling inside her.

"Right. You're right," she breathed, trying to clear her head. "Let's go."

By the time they reached the Aurora Hawk, Chloe had been briefed. The older Warden listened in silence, arms crossed, and then gave a slow nod.

"I know someone," she said. "Paa Mae, Rodian slicer. He's running with one of the fleet ships. If anyone can trace that message, it's him."

However, before the pair coudl leave, Chloe drew Choli aside to ask her in a low and concerned voice. "You alright, kid?"

Choli gave a small shrug, jaw tight. The truth was written plain in her eyes, but all she said was, "I'll manage."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

"Right. You're right," she breathed, trying to clear her head. "Let's go."

All he offered was a sharp nod.

Over the years Choli had tried to live with that gap in her knowledge. For someone who valued control it had been difficult. Now that wall had been brought crashing down and she was literally starring at the past.

---

Trextan took a few steps away as Chloe pulled Choli aside, watching the exchange for a moment before turning away. He didn’t need the Force to read the body language and feel the tones of voice.

He walked away to get the navcomp primed. He didn't want to press anything. Chloe might have advice just for Choli. All he could try and be was an anchor in the turbulence, instead of making waves of his own.

After what had happened he didnt want to route any messages over local comms. If they could make a jump to a beacon they could reach out to Paa Mae without giving another ally away.

 

[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 lingered a moment longer with Chloe, her jaw set, then gave a faint nod to the older pilot. There wasn't much else to say, at least not here, not now.

Turning on her heel, she crossed the roomand stopped in front of Trextan. A curt nod was all she gave, a silent signal that it was time.

"Let's go." she told him curtly, though not due to a brusk nature as much as she had her mind elsewhere and was defaulting to the mode she took when things needed to get done.

She led the way out of the Aurora, her pace clipped, every line of her body tight with thought. Anger, fear, worry, it was all there, swirling under the surface, but she forced herself to keep her steps steady. One thing at a time.

The Nova Dawn loomed ahead, the ship where Paa Mae would be waiting. Choli drew a sharp breath through her nose, focusing on that. The next step. The next lead. The rest she'd deal with later.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

As the bulk of the Nova Dawn came into view, Trextan stood and set his hand firmly on top of her shoulder. It wasn't to to distract her, not to make any serious point. It was just a reminder that he would support her through this.

The Nova Dawn’s interior was a patchwork of corridors and the open spaces decorated by a variety of species. There were bright streamers of wiring bundled along bulkheads, dangling chimes that swayed when the engines shifted pitch.

A door hissed open, revealing the slicer’s den. Screens, datapads, and holoprojectors layered the walls, casting shifting lights across the clutter. In the middle of it sat paa Mae, a wiry Rodian with mottled green skin and an oversized set of goggles perched crookedly on his head.

He didn’t look up right away. Instead, he muttered in rapid-fire Rodese as his fingers danced over a datapad.
"Chee koona peecha wermo, patta patta…"

Finally swiveling around, he peered at them through his goggles, one lens magnifying his eye to comical size.
"Koona t’chuta?" he asked, voice bubbling with amusement.

His gaze bounced between Choli and Trextan, then he gave a sharp snort.

"[Oh the holonet message! Give me the datapads!]"

Paa Mae tilted his head, took it gingerly, and muttered in Rodese as he turned it over in his hands. He grabbed a bundle of wires and plugged them into the device.

With that, he spun back toward the console, humming an off-key Rodese tune as lines of code began to scroll across the displays.

His big eye lens flicked toward them.

"[Sit, sit. Watch master work.]" He waved them towards battered old chairs.

"[Or pace, but stay out of wires. Humans trip circuits too often!]"