Private Take a Breath

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan turned his bowl slowly between hus palms, as if weighing the question. The hum of the engines filled the pause while he found his words.

“What would it look like…” he echoed quietly, then exhaled a slow breath through his nose. “Different, I think. Or it should be.”

He shifted slightly forward, elbows on the table, voice low but steady. “I don't kind of know. Which is sort of the point."

"Dating would mean slowing down enough to actually see you when we meet up. Talking about things that aren’t missions or the past. Just... getting to know who we are now.”

Trextan gave a faint, almost self-conscious smile. “I don’t mean holo calls every day or some kind of schedule. I just mean... when we cross paths again, we don’t treat it like coincidence. We make time for each other and it's something we look forward to."

“I know we’ve got a lot to deal with right now. But I don’t want to leave it vague. I don’t want to go another few years wondering if I should have just said it.”

"We can make things more serious," he said and his tone and look left no margin for error for what he meant there. "As we go."

There was a slow burning warmth in his expression. They had spent to much time working around the rules of engagement last time, it was easy to imagine a full press of skin to skin and how her voice would rise.

Trextan leg go of the bowl and stretched his arm across the table. He opened his hand, palm up, in offering. It was a small gesture and it was going to hurt if she just looked at it. They couldn't go forwards if every step was a teenage fumble when their guard was down.

"How does that sound?"

 

[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 traced the edge of her spoon along the rim of her bowl, the soft scrape filling the quiet that lingered between them. This was more than Trextan had ever said before. Even back then, whatever that had been between them, he hadn't spoken like this.

She remembered how uncertain things had felt three years ago. How her own coming-of-age rites had hung over her like an invisible barrier, how her lack of experience with what others considered normal left her fumbling to understand what they were, what she wanted. But the galaxy had a way of teaching lessons fast. She had seen enough now, lived enough, to know how connections worked, especially among Wardens, where solitude was almost a rule, except for the few who chose to walk that road together.

What he said made sense. More than she expected it to. Waiting for the 'right time' probably meant waiting forever. And after the way they had kissed, well, clearly there was still something there.

Choli stopped fidgeting with her spoon, her fingers tightening around it once before setting it down.

"Okay," she said finally, quietly but sure. Those slanted hazel eyes lifted to meet his. "You're right. I do not want to leave it vague either. That's part of what went wrong before. Vague just makes me overthink everything."

She exhaled slowly, a warm steam of air falling from her lips as her shoulders slowly eased.

"What you're suggesting makes sense. So yeah. If we survive whatever's waiting for us at that storage facility, then okay. We'll give it a shot. Plan it out and make time to actually see each other."

A pause followed as she searched his face, something softer blooming behind her steady tone.

"I'd like that," she admitted.

Then, after a heartbeat, her lips curved into a small, teasing smile.

"Though fair warning, I think it is evident I don't slow burn very well."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

In just a few seconds of deliberation Trextan had imagined a dozen answers. The quiet okay landed harder than any speech could have. His shoulders eased before he realised they’d been tense the whole time.

A slow smile found its way to his face, small but genuine. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Okay.”

The silence didn't feel like the awkward silence of two people skirting around something, but a soft kind of peace.

When she admitted she didn’t do slow burn well, his brow arched, amusement flickering through the steadiness.

“No,” he murmured.

“Well,” he said, his voice low but teasing around the edges, “We can get a sound proof hotel for date three.”

The relief he felt at getting onto the same. Page before they faced mortal danger overcame his own embarrassment.

"But for now, maybe if you held my hand we might escalate to a kiss at worst."

 

[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 barked a laugh, shaking her head as her cheeks flushed over her olive face despite herself.

"Date three, huh? Guess I better survive long enough to find out what you've got planned for date two first," she shot back, trying to sound casual even though his teasing had landed harder than she wanted to admit.

"Careful what you offer, Voidstalker," she added in a voice dipping a wry warning, "I might take you up on it just to see you squirm."

Hours later, the Verre shuddered as it cut through Chalcedon's atmosphere, hull plating rattling from the stress. They came in low and dirty, just like they'd planned, their IFF signal dark and transponders cold.

From the cockpit, the world below came into view -- rust-colored canyons and stretches of rock that glittered faintly from the planet's mining dust. The sky was streaked with pale ash clouds, the kind that never quite cleared.

They found a landing zone tucked between two jagged ridges, far from the main port. The ship settled with a heavy thud, stabilizers kicking up red dust that swirled around them.

Vee zipped out of the ramp ahead of them, his sensors chirping softly as he began his covert patrol route.

Choli stood at the threshold, one hand on the frame of the ramp, the other adjusting her holster and lightknife. The smell of iron and heat clung to the air as she surveyed the landscape.

"I got a bad feeling about this," she murmured, eyes narrowing toward the horizon. Her tone wasn't panicked, just matter of fact -- the kind of statement someone made when they knew better than to ignore their gut.

The Pilot flicked her gaze over to Trextan with a half-smirk.

"But hey... if we live through it, date two's on you."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

"That suggests you're paying for date three," he added. He managed a small smile, appreciating the words to ease the tension.

Trextan had his handcannon at his hip, a sonic shotgun tucked into the small of his back. He had a rifle over his shoulder. He had never been a particularly good shot, but it was more about the threat if someone ambushed them at range.

"Nothing pinged us on the way down," he said, "but that doesn't mean our arrival hasn't been noticed."

There were enough ways for them to have been detected, from high resolution visual cameras, ground vibration sensors to the Force itself.

Trextan glanced at the screen on the inside of his artificial arm. He could see Vee's route, but the drone was flying covertly so there was no live feed.

As they rounded the rocks the facility came into site. Dull grey marked by the green where creeping vines had started to reclaim duracrete that would last a thousand years.

"Not a lot of cover on the way down," Trextan hissed.

 

[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 crouched low beside him, her blaster already drawn, a layer of dust from the volcanic ash over her olive skin. The faint smell of scorched dust filled her nose as they crept closer to the ruins. The facility sprawled ahead of them, a ghost of the First Order's precision now half eaten by time and nature.

"Not a lot of cover," she murmured back, eyes scanning the stretch of open ground. "Understatement of the century."

She adjusted her holster, gaze flicking between the rocks and the patrol of droids sweeping in the distance. Their metallic outlines cut hard against the dull terrain. Vee's faint ping on Trextan's display moved in tandem, charting routes and avoiding sightlines like the little pro he was.

Choli glanced sideways at Trextan, the faintest smirk tugging at her lips despite the tension.

"So, you got any little tricks up your sleeve for this? You know, Force fancy stuff to get us past without the shiny bucket-heads spotting us?"

She was half-joking, half-hoping. Out of both of them, it was Trextan that had the most tremendous amount of Force Potential -- Choli was just a good mechanic with an inkling in piloting and how machines worked. If she had to jumpstart the droids or reprogram she could. But she couldn't do it without getting her hands on them first.

As the patrol shifted direction, she motioned with two fingers, crouching lower as they moved from cover to cover, boots sinking softly into the loose dust. The facility loomed larger with every step, the duracrete walls streaked with blaster scortches and rust.

"Looks like we'll have one minute, tops, before that next sweep turns back," she whispered, pressing herself against the side of a broken barrier.

"Tell me you've got something that'll impress me for that second date."

It was a rare bit of humor. The kind that said she was already well in to her head with what this all meant with the month she blacked out as a POW and was trying to keep herself from dwelling on just what she might find.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

"We talking locations, plans or just physically?" Trextan asked.

He managed to embarass himself then. It was still a point of self consciousness since the brief time aboard the Subversion and Omar's comments.

"We'll plan something nice," he said. No interruptions this time. He glanced at Choli and smiled and part of him knew the escalations would probably come without regret once they were through this mission.

"Decision..." he said, his tone indicating the change of topic and call to action.

"... I can stretch out with the Force. Get an understanding of what's beyond those walls. But if there is a Ren, it's the same as using a life form scanner. It'll be a ping and draw attention. Just make a run for it?"

Hidden in background signals came a few messages from Vee. Just a few visible lifeforms around the perimeter.

"Why just a few guarding this place..." Trextan muttered."

 

[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 froze for half a heartbeat, her brain catching up to the implication behind his words. The flush hit instantly, a dark ruddy color creeping up her neck to her cheeks.

"That... was not what I meant!" she shot back in a fierce whisper, her voice a mix of embarrassment and disbelief. But it was too late. The image his tone conjured had already taken hold, and she muttered a quiet curse under her breath as she tore her gaze away from him.

Focus, Choli.

She forced her attention back to the facility, to the faint outlines of the walls just ahead. Her fingers brushed the edge of her blaster holster, grounding herself, while her teeth worried at her lower lip as she listened to his plan.

Trextan wasn't wrong. Using the Force could give them an edge, but it could also light them up like a beacon.

"Right," she said finally, exhaling through her nose as her pulse steadied.

"Then we move fast and quiet. We'll stay low, dodge any sensors or trip alerts, and figure out what's waiting once we're closer."

Her hazel eyes flicked toward him, still warm with a trace of that blush, but focused now.

"No distractions," she added pointedly, then smirked faintly. "At least not until we're done."

With that, she crouched low, signaling toward the next stretch of cover.

"Vee, keep us updated on patrol movement. Trextan, you're up."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan bit down on a grin the second her face went crimson, eyes darting away before she could catch the flicker of amusement threatening to break through.

That… really has not been what she meant, he told himself.

“Right,” he managed. “No distractions.”

His lips moved as if pulled by invisible strings. The hint of a smile was there and then gone.

He moved past her, crouching low as they slipped from the rocky embankment toward the shadowed edge of the facility. The walls ahead loomed taller now, all harsh lines and dull durasteel.

All trace of playfulness shifted into precision. Trextan’s gloved hand lifted, signaling for her to hold as he scanned the path ahead.

The message was a trap. They weren't supposed to know it was a trap. Thanks to a skilled rodian sliver they did know, but Trextan couldn't see how they turned that to their advantage yet.

The message was supposed to have drawn them here.

“Ready...” he whispered. “We slip between blind zones.”

He gave her a single nod, steady, grounded. No warning came from Vee so he gave a sharp gesture and led the way.

The building was ominous. He headed for a shadow in the wall and pressed himself to it. As they moved she would see the large doors that she had once been marched through. They remained open, the durasteel stolen long ago.

"Door," he hissed.

Choli would find it had a basic mechanical lock. Nothing networked or electric.

Inside wad the outer office where guards had once worked.

 

[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

The edges of the old durasteel door were pitted with age and dust, the faint smell of rust and scorched metal hanging in the air. Her grimy fingers brushed the lock's faceplate as her brow furrowed.

"Mechanical," she muttered. "Guess the First Order didn't trust their own tech this far out."

With a flick of her wrist, her solid-light holotool blinked to life, casting a pale blue glow against the wall. The tiny projection shaped itself into a set of precision tools, and Choli set to work, the soft click and scrape of tumblers filling the narrow corridor.

"Come on…" she whispered, sweat beading at her temple over her dusky skin. That's when she heard a sharp click and the door hissed open.

"Got it."

They slipped inside. The office smelled of age and neglect, consoles lining the walls under layers of dust. Choli swept the room then crouched by a dataterminal and brushed it off.

"Looks like they cleared most of it when they pulled out," she murmured, fingers running over the old ports and faded keys. "But maybe…"

She plugged in a small data spike from her belt, the device humming faintly as it interfaced with the console.

"If there's anything left cached in the system, I can try to pull it."

The faint sound of servos echoed again closer this time. A droid on patrol, pacing somewhere down the corridor.

Choli's flicked her gaze toward Trextan and quietly uttered out in warning.

"We've got company. Just buy me thirty seconds."

Her fingers kept moving even as she spoke, coaxing the system to life. Lines of faint green code flickered across the console, one word slowly resolving through the static.

"ARCHIVE: ACTIVE."

"Got something," she whispered.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

“Thirty seconds,” he echoed under his breath. “Plenty of time.”

He wasn’t sure if that was confidence or bluff. Either way, he shifted into the hallway. He crouched low and pressed his shoulder against the frame. The dim emergency strips along the wall flickered in irregular pulses, throwing long shadows that crawled across the durasteel.

The sound came again, heavier this time. The scrape of metal on metal, a servo whine, then a dull clank. Patrol unit. Medium-sized by the sound of it. Too loud and too close to be standard maintenance.

Trextan flicked his wrist; the matte hilt of his lightsaber dropped into his palm but didn’t ignite. No need to light up the entire corridor yet. He turned his head slightly toward the room, catching the faint glow of Choli’s holotool painting her face in soft blue light.

“Almost there?” he whispered.

Her fingers didn’t stop moving, and he could see the intensity in her focus, the slight crease in her brow. He remembered that look from a dozen missions before, determination that wouldn’t crack even under fire.

He forced his breath slow. The droid’s shadow grew longer across the far wall. He needed to do this quietly. That had never been his speciality.

Trextan moved up to the next corridor to keep Choli out of any stray fire if this didn't go to plan. He stretched out with the Force and searched for a weakness.

The moment the droid turned the corner, Trextan stepped out and moved fast one hand snapping forward. The Force rippled, a low hum like a pressure change, and the droid jerked sideways. Circuits sparked, a pop of light, and silence followed.

He arrived with his thumb over the button on his saber. Trextan stayed still for a heartbeat, listening. No alarms. No other movement. He had severed connections between the droid brain and the rest of the body with the Force.

He returned slowly and dropped to one knee

“That’s your thirty.”

The collapse of the First Order had been rapid. Without a common enemy, factions had broken apart and even turned on one another.

He stopped just behind her, eyes catching the stream of green code scrolling across the cracked display.

The First Order hadn't been dismantled, it's territory liberated. It has collapsed in on itself. Facilities decommissioned in a hasty fashion. The main drives at the facility had been taken, but Choli had found the archives. Resilient immutable drives hidden deep in the facility.

She had access to maps as a prison facility and records of transfers in and out. An entire wing, however, where the Knights of Ren had interrogated was redacted under PROJECT VEILBREAK.

There was a record of her Alliance service number and rank, but that was where the trail ended.

 

[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

The screen flickered with green code and then Choli saw what it said.

"I've got something," she said quietly. "Facility records, transfer logs… even layout maps." Her eyes scanned faster, then caught on one line that made her stomach twist. PROJECT VEILBREAK..."

She felt her throat go dry, and suddenly her tongue just felt as if it was swelling up. Swallowing hard, she continued to read.

"There's a redacted wing...something connected to the Knights of Ren." Her hand hesitated over the keys. "My name's in the system too. Service number, rank... and then nothing. It just stops."

Choli looked up at Trextan the blue light catching the unease in her eyes.

"Whatever happened here… it's tied to me."

A metallic clank echoed down the far hall. Another droid. Louder this time. Choli shut the console off with a sharp tap and stood, drawing her blaster.

"Looks like there might be something more deeper in the complex. Let's go."

She then yanked the data spike free, tucking it into the pouch at her hip just as the dull scrape of metal echoed closer. The low, mechanical hum of the approaching droid made the small hairs on her arms stand on end.

"Back exit," Choli whispered, sweeping the room with her blaster raised. She spotted a half-collapsed doorway behind a line of rusted file cabinets.

"There."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

"It stops?" he asked rhetorically.

He glanced over her shoulder. He recognised some of the names of units. It could have been some kind of intelligence report, but the transfer records made it clear. This was involved with prisoners of war.

There was no humour any more. There was no more embarrassment. There was just the laser focus of the two Wardens.

He didn't draw a weapon. Instead he moved to the door, using his artificial arm to snap the lock quietly so they could move deeper into the facility.

---

"What are you doing analyst?"

"Lord Orryx!"

In the pits of the cruiser's bridge, the staff hadn't expected the Knight of Ren to emerge on their shoulders.

"Just checking a signal from the facility. One of the old patrol droids lost it's comms."

"Analyst, were you not told specifically to raise any incident to my direct attention through the lieutenant?"

"Yes my lord, but no ships have landed and..."

The commander of Ren silenced the crew member with the slightest movement. Clad in black armor and towering over six foot in height, Lord Orryx commanded respect.

"You are aware that our quarry are Wardens and therefore have plenty of tricks to evade us? Do not answer, simply have my shuttle prepared. I have sensed a disturbance in the Force."

 

[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 followed close behind Trextan, her boots quietly moving over the dust covered floor. Around them, she could hear the distant echo of dripping water and the low groan of aging metal under stress. The air was cooler and stale here with the faint scent of oxidized steel.

The Warden swept her blaster ahead as Trextan broke the lock and eased the door open. Up ahead she saw a long corridor stretching out into dim light, the walls marked with flaking paint and faded First Order insignia.

"Doesn't make sense," she uttered under her breath, her eyes narrowing as she scanned for any signs of First Order or Knight of Ren personnel. "Why bring this up after all these years..."

Their footsteps lightly echoed as they descended quietly down a narrow stairwell. The chill here was even more prevalent, lower levels significantly colder, the walls lined with pipes that hissed faintly. Every so often, a patrol droid's sensor light flickered through a side corridor, sweeping past before disappearing again.

Vee's soft chirps came through Trextan's comm, confirming their path clear for now.

Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Choli gave a pause. A faint vibration hummed beneath her boots in a rhythmic mechanical way.

"You feel that?" she whispered as Choli adjusted her grip on the blaster, her grimy olive face turning into a steely expression.

"Alright," she breathed, steadying herself. "Let's see what's left down here."

Above them, miles higher, the shadow of a shuttle detached from the Imperial Star Destroyer orbiting Chalcedon, its engines burning faint blue as it began its descent toward the surface.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

The sound reached him first. It was an almost imperceptible hum, like the heartbeat of a machine that refused to die.

They approached a set of deep set secure doors. They had been left open, but looked strong enough to survive a siege. Trextan stepped through them and past a few rooms. There were no droids down here. He continued into a long, narrow corridor.

The light from his wrist-lamp cut through the gloom, catching on the faint outline of durasteel doors set into the walls. Each one bore a single number stenciled in white.

“Cells,” he murmured, barely audible above the rasp of the air recyclers still sputtering in the distance. “A detention block.”

He took a few slow steps forward. The floor crunched underfoot. There were old shards of plastiglass, maybe shattered visors or data slates. His light swept over the wall, illuminating the faded designation plate near the first door.

PROJECT: VEILBREAK // SECTION 03

Trextan felt a cold knot form in his gut.

“This isn’t just a prison,” he muttered. “It’s where they ran interrogation programs."

The Force itself seemed to recoil from the corridor. It was stale, tinged with the faint psychic residue of suffering.

He stopped at one door, running his hand over the control pad.

“Some power’s still being routed down here,” he said, frowning. “Could be emergency lines. Or is that sound a generator?"

The door hissed reluctantly, the hydraulics groaning as it slid halfway open before jamming. A narrow strip of darkness gaped beyond it. Trextan leaned forward, angling his light inside.

It was a small isolation cell. The walls were padded and scarred. Restraint rings hung from the ceiling, and in the corner, a single chair was bolted to the floor, its restraints torn.

The knot in his gut twisted tighter. He couldn't help but glance at Choli, fearful that she was thinking the same thing.

"Why bring this up..." he echoed.

 

[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

"Cells," Choli echoed softly, the word coating her tongue with a bitter taste even as that sense of dread continued to bubble within her.

She scanned the walls and each one felt more oppressive than the last, until her eyes caught the faded stencil on the bulkhead.

PROJECT: VEILBREAK.

Cholie felt her pulse kick start. She didn't need to be told what this was. She could feel it, the Force clinging to the air like a stain. Pain. Fear. Anger. All the ghosts that never really left.

"This isn't just a prison," she said quietly, voice unsteady. "It's something worse."

When Trextan forced open one of the doors, the creak of metal was deafening. The smell that drifted out was stale, metallic and right underneath that, something that hadn't belonged to the living for a long time.

Choli stepped closer, peering inside. The light from Trextan's wrist caught the restraints, the deep gouges along the wall. She felt her throat go dry, and she found herself swallowing hard.

"Force help them."

The hum grew louder now and Choli turned slightly, glancing down the corridor where faint red emergency lights blinked once then again.

Choli shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper....all the while her mind was racing. What if... what if something similiar had happened to her?

"Maybe they didn't. Maybe it never went dark."

And then, above them, the faint tremor of engines rolled through the ceiling, distant but unmistakable. The distinct thrum of a descending shuttle cut through Chalcedon's atmosphere.

Her gaze snapped upward. "Trextan…"

The floor shuddered once. Far above, Lord Orryx's shuttle broke through the clouds, its black silhouette slicing across the dying light as it made its approach toward the facility below.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

[TREXTAN]

Trextan’s gaze snapped upward at the same time she said his name, the low vibration running through the durasteel like a pulse. The red lights along the corridor blinked again.

He moved closer to Choli, scanning the ceiling as the sound deepened. Not thunder. Engines. Big ones.

“Frak,” he muttered, jaw tightening. “I bet they're here for us.”

Trextan drew a slow breath through his nose, trying to center himself in the Force. The faint prickle on the edge of his awareness told him they weren’t alone.

“Vee,” he whispered into his comm. “Get us an exit path - anything that’s not the way we came.”

Trextan frowned. He heard three distinct slams.

“Blast doors are cycling,” he said, looking to Choli. “We’re being sealed in.”

He could feel the faint tremor in the Force, cold and deliberate. Whoever was on that shuttle wasn’t a scout team.

Trextan’s eyes found Choli’s. The red lights threw long shadows across her face, the color of blood and warning.

“Or...we don't run."

He closed his hand into a fist. He felt a wave of determination. Trextan had made several poor choices in his life. This didn't feel like a hasty choice.

Choli deserved answers.