Private Take a Breath

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

"This isn't sacred," he said, a faint smile tugging at his mouth. He took an industrial looking press out of the cupboard. It looked as if it had been in use for a few hundred years.

He glanced at Choli. He could see she was a little cold from the way her loose tunic clung to peaks. He kept his eyes higher and turned back to the kitchen counter. She was probably thinking of nothing but the Ren and the prison right now, he told himself.

"Got hot," he said. He reached for one of the valves off one of the pipes. "Had drinking water passed next to the cooling pipe."

Water came out steaming into the bottom half of the press. Cooling a starship was difficult when the only way to discharge heat was to use it or radiate it away. There was no air or water around a ship to release it into.

"It has suffered enough in its lifetime," he said.

There was humour in his tone, gentle and easy. Underneath it ran the quiet awareness of everything that had happened. He could see the faint bruise along her jaw and the tired in her eyes. Beautiful eyes, he thought to himself.

He reached into the cupboard above her shoulder, careful not to brush against her but close enough that the warmth of her lingered along his arm. He pulled down the tin of grounds and set it down.

The scent of caf made him feel like this was any other morning. He let the water infuse for a while.

"How you feeling? Painkillers are cabinet in the refresher. Want me to turn the heating up?"

 

[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 the steam curl up from the press, the smell of caf slowly filling the tiny galley. It grounded her more than she expected allowing her to perk up a bit better even as she settled in to sit down after lowering the fold down table.

"I'm fine," she replied although there was no denying how her voice was soft and worn at the edges. "Just… tired."

She reached up to rub her hands over her face to clear the sleep from her eyes. Three years ago, she might have been a bit awkwardly blushing over having an impromptu make out session after the kind of day they had. This time, she didn't. To a degree she understood it as much as hoped that Trextan didn't hold it against her for doing so.

Not that it didn't seem he wasn't a very willing participant. Her gaze slid to him, lingering for a second longer than she meant it to. Watching him go through the daily morning routine motions. Curious of what was on his mind after the fact too.

Of the whole facility. The Knight. Then of course what she felt about it. If she even wanted to go back to it. No. That chapter of her life is done.

She wasted too much time and stress over it already.

“Heatings fine. Might take the painkillers. See what caf does first.”

After a second the corner of her mouth lifted, faint but real.

"How are you holding up?"

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan leaned a shoulder against the bulkhead beside the fold-down table, hands curled around his cup as he watched her settle. The caf had begun to fill the galley with a warm, earthy scent. The familiarity of it - and the hum of the engines - seemed to soften the edge of the morning.

When she said she was fine the corners of his mouth lifted in quiet understanding. They had both been pushed hard and not just by the fight.

Fine did not mean that she was in perfect condition and had no worries. It meant that she was holding up as well as she could given what they had been through. There was a difference.

He slid the small box of painkillers across the table so she would not have to reach far. Then he eased himself into the opposite seat he started to stretch out his legs under the table before realising there wasn't enough room when the other chair was occupied.

"I'm doing alright," he said. He rubbed a hand over his jaw, feeling the faint stubble there.

"Running on empty a bit. Bad headache. I blacked out when that door hit me."

Trextan wiggled the fingers of his artificial arm.

"Wedged the arm between me and the door so it didn't crush me. Might have damaged some internals."

The arms main components were phrik. If he was every caught in an orbital bombardment all that would be left of him was the arm. The internals however could still be damaged by impacts.

He watched her for a long moment. Not pushing. Just present. His gaze flicked toward her bruised jaw, then back to her eyes. She'd kissed him hard. He knew Choli. She would talk when she wanted to and if she needed it.

He popped some painkillers.

"Actually, how long was I out for?"

 

[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 wrapped both hands around her caf, letting the warmth soak into her fingers before she took the first slow sip. It wasn't great caf but it was hot. That was enough.

She glanced up when Trextan sat across from her, watched him stretch his legs and immediately run out of space. A quiet snort of amusement escaped her.

"Ship's still small," she muttered wrly as she lifted the cup again.

When he pushed the painkillers closer, the Warden nodded her thanks and took one, washing it down with another gulp of caf. Only then did she look back at him, those color shifting eyes of hers tracing the edge of the bruise on his temple and the slight stiffness in his shoulder.

"Blackout explains the headache," she said simply, gesturing with her caf mug again, "And the whole… getting launched across the room thing."

THen Choli's attention fell briefly to his arm, noting the faint stutter in the servos.

"I can open it up later. Check the damage and fix what I can." It was the least she could do considering all that he went through. Just thinking back on how that had all gone down and just suddenly see him disappear through the doors before they were flung shut made Choli's eyes darken in recollection.

She could have lost him then.

Feeling uneasy, Choli shifted on her seat, tugging her tunic a bit closer around her as the faint ache in her muscles reminded her exactly what they'd come through. The question he asked made her pause.

Choli blinked a few times, thinking back.

"Maybe… ten seconds?" she replied, bringing the caf mug up to her lips. "Long enough to scare the hell out of me."

She took another sip, eyes lifting to meet his again.

"Any other injuries that need immediate looking after?" probablly should have been the first question she asked honestly rather than kiss him senseless once they were in hyperspace...

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan smiled when she commented on the size of the ship. He flexed his legs again under the fold-down table, bumping his knee against hers before settling.

"Small ships build character?" he murmured rhetorically. "Or hitting your head all the time prepares you for concussion."

He watched her swallow the painkiller and took in the subtle way she tucked her tunic closer, the heaviness behind her eyes. Then she mentioned his blackout, and the faint stiffness in his jaw returned.

" Yeah. That whole getting thrown about thing did not feel great," he admitted, one hand drifting up to rub the back of his neck.

"Didn't mean to scare you," he said earnestly.

When she shifted her attention to his arm, he followed her gaze. His cybernetic forearm gave that telltale half-stutter in the servos. He flexed the fingers once. Twice. The third time, one digit lagged half a beat.

"You can have a look if you want. That'd help."

He reached across and brushed the back of his fingers along her wrist, light but certain, grounding the words that followed.

"We're still in in one piece. He could have killed us. Don't think either of us could have taken him alone."

Although the concussion formed a foggy barrier around events, he wanted to analyse how the fight had gone.

"He was arrogant and rushed. He probably still could have won if he'd taken his time and worn us down."

He leaned back then, giving her the room to breathe again as he answered her last question.

"Bruised ribs. Sore shoulder. Pride slightly dented." A pause. His mouth faintly quirked upwards at one corner. "Not nearly as important as you being alright."

His gaze held hers for a moment long, steady and warm.

"You didn't pick up anything too nasty whilst I was down? You were pinned when I came to."

 

[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 felt his knee bump hers again under the table giving her a tiny jolt of contact she couldn't pretend not to notice, even as she raised her caf to her lips and took another swallow.

Things were a bit off, but not between them... just... in the heaviness of what had occured. The settling of it all. The closing of a chapter she'd long thought she'd never be able to close.

Maybe that was it. That it was surreal. Over.

When trextan apologized for scaring her, her eyes flickered back up to him, giving him a slight furrow of her brow in mild confusion. How had that been his fault? No need to be sorry.

"You got back up," she said simply. "That's what matters."

The Warden's gaze dropped to his cybernetic arm as the servos stuttered again. This time she reached out, lightly tapping one of the joints with her knuckle.

"Probably just an alignment issue....nd maybe a cracked bracket. Nothing big." but if there was more intricate damage, getting parts this far out would be tricky. Unless he already had some. "Do you carry replacement parts for it?"

Her voice trailed though when Trextan's fingers brushed her wrist then and Choli stilled for a breath. Not pulling away. Not leaning in. Just… letting it be there.

When he talked about Orryx, she looked down at her bowl, stirring the last of her caf absently.

"He wasn't expecting a fight," she muttered. "He wanted answers. Wanted me scared."

Her jaw tightened at the memory.

"He didn't get either."

The warmth in Trextan's voice when he said she was what mattered didn't go unnoticed. It settled somewhere low in her chest, quiet but real.

At his last question, she shook her head.

"Nothing too bad. Just… pinned. Maybe a few bruised ribs. Hurt like hell, but I'm fine now."

She glanced up fully then, her voice a shade softer.

"You're the one who took a door to the face."

A beat.

"You sure you're alright?"

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

She was right. He had got back up. And the way she said it - as if there had never been any doubt - steadied him more than the caf could.

When she tapped the joint in his cybernetic arm, he glanced down at it. He was more aware of her touch than the machinery.

"I keep a kit in the locker," he said. "Replacement brackets, wiring, a few servo rings. Enough to keep it functional."

Her quick assessment earned a soft breath of laughter.

Her voice changed when she spoke of Orryx. He watched the hard line of her jaw, the flicker in her eyes. Trextan had seen fear in many forms. He had not seen it in her yesterday, no matter what Orryx had expected.

"He expected the pilot they took," Trextan said quietly. "He got a Warden instead."

He drank another mouthful of caf, letting the warmth clear away the last fog of sleep. When she insisted she was fine, he studied her for a moment. She looked tired. Sore. Bruised. But steady.

Her teasing about him taking a door to the face made him chuckle.

"If I'd taken it to the face I wouldn't still be smiling," Trextan laughed.

"I've taken a few things to the face but not a door." he said dryly. His eyes narrows and he laughed again.

"Somewhere a rogue squadron pilot just sensed a chance missed for a lewd joke."

He set his mug aside. He held her gaze, steady and unguarded.

"So yeah. I am alright. I will be better once I have fixed the arm and eaten something. I can check if you cracked a rib."

"Any time you feel you wanna talk about anything, just reach out," he said.

He didn't want to force a conversation now. Or ever. He just wanted her to know that even when they parted ways he would be on the other end of a comm.

He was hoping that the time between meetings wouldn't be too long.

 

[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 might have had the joke slip past her if Trextan hadn't followed up with the quip that somewhere a Rogue Squadron pilot just sensed the missed chance for a lewd joke.

That sealed it and her face turned a slight tint of ruddy red over her olive skin. It wasn't as if she wasn't familiar with all the lewd jokes or euphemisms she'd grown accustomed to now and then. It was that it was Trextan who was making them.

She'd never heard him do so before, and combined with their makeout session from before, only painted her imagination more.

"I'm sure they'll make the joke anyway," if it was anything like Omar, she bet that Zeltron was still acting up.

As for talking about what happened...

"I just need time." Choli admitted frankly, bringing the caf cup up to take a sip and then let out a sigh.

"I don't know. Too much in my head to be honest. Half the time not sure how I feel." she took another breath, then looked at him.

"You know what, where is that kit. Might as well be productive with our time and get you fixed up."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan caught the shift in her expression straight away. He saw the small flare of colour across her cheeks. He didn't tease her for it.

He could see why it was easier to brush off such comments when they were out and about. This time they had spent a hot and heavy evening after nearly dying and they were all alone in a very small space.

"Rogue Squadron will manage without me adding to their history of bad innuendo," he said, thinking of Omar. The moment her tone changed he sobered with her.

Her honesty pulled his attention fully. No armour. No deflection. Just the truth.

"Time is fine," he said. "I guess in a way it's properly behind you. Got all the time ahead of you."

She didn't owe him any answers. He'd told her she could talk. She'd told him the truth. He was glad to hear it.

"Yeah let me grab it," he said as he rose from his seat, the stiffness in his side and slight dizziness reminded him he had - in fact - slammed into a durasteel wall the day before.

He returned and set down the out a compact case fitted with tools and spares. Trextan lifted off his shirt and extended his arm so she could reach the joint easily.

"Remember when you were far more interested in the arm?"

He left a pause so that she could reply that she still was.

 

[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 couldn't help but laugh at the mention of Rogue Squadron again. To talk about them seemed so.. surreal. The same with Wraith Squadron.

She let her fingers dribble along the mug, her brows furrowing a bit in musing.

"You ever think back to those times? " She asked, glancing up at him. It wasn't that she meant them but just the situation they'd been thrown in at the time. Having to run black for months, then randomly catching each other on that SIS ship.

She watched him get up to go grab the kit, watching with a bit of concern as he seemed to sway a bit.

"You alright?" Choli asked, pushing herself up to her feet when he returned, only to pause as he very nonchalantly slipped off his shirt, revealing exactly just how much time and work had broadened his chest with firmer muscles and a few new scars she hadn't seen before.

Years ago, the only time Trextan would have been able to take off his shirt in front of her was either in an emergency or when they were making out in the dark.

Pausing, she took the kit, only to give a huff of a laugh at how he pointed out when she was far more interested in his prosthetic.

Doing her best to keep her attention on his arm, the corner of her mouth gave a wry upward twist.

"Who says it isn't the main thing that still interests me?" she shot back with a light quip, although the honest appraisal in her eyes from earlier was not hard to miss.

Hiding and lying were never Choli's best skills. She wore all her emotions on her face and in her eyes.

Blunt. Observant. To the point.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

"You ever think back to those times? " She asked, glancing up at him.

"Yeah, yeah I do," he said. "I think I see stuff more objectively now. Like, the war and everything."

Trextan had been full of anger and confused about his role. He had been trained by the sith as a weapon against his own father. Then he had found himself in the middle of a war he didn't understand.

A Ren taking his arm had been motivation to join the fight, but he hadn't come to terms with it all until after the First Order had collapsed.

"You alright?" Choli asked, pushing herself up to her feet

"All good," he said, lifting a hand. "Little dizzy."

He'd been concussed and expected this. It was probably worth scraping together some credits for a brain scan in a few days if it stayed this way.

"Who says it isn't the main thing that still interests me?" she shot back with a light quip

Trextan grinned. He'd set that up but the retort still tickled him. Her glances weren't missed.

He could have asked if taking off his shirt was too much. He could have put on a vest and exposed the whole prosthetic - which included his shoulder.

Choli - as he knew - was more than capable of telling him if she didn't like his behaviour. Besides, he actually quite liked the attention. He tried - and failed - to avoid imagining warm skin to skin contact.

"With enough tools you could probably take the arm off. Keep that and get rid of the rest of me," he said.

He turned his hand down. Using the screen on the back of his arm to turn off most of the sensitivity. It didn't hurt to have it poked and prodded, but it was less distracting this way.

Then he turned his palm upwards, revealing the main access panel to get into the mechanics of the arm beneath the phrik plates.

 

[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

Taking the seat with her, Choli pulled it up and sat it down beside Trextan, close enough for their knees to brush.

A hand raked the thick length of dark hair away from her face, combing the mass to be half parted on the side as she tossed the bulk of it over her shoulder. Of course, once she took the kit and leaned closer to take Trextan's prosthetic hand, palm up, into her own, her hair had a mind of its own, and a few strands fell forward.

"So you're saying you want me to take your arm off so I can have my way with it?" she said dryly, glancing up just long enough to arch a dark brow at him.

If he wanted to play, fine. She could play.

What she couldn't seem to do was keep her attention strictly on the wiring in his arm instead of the solid line of his chest right in front of her. Being this close again tugged last night back into sharp focus, heat curling low in her stomach.

The way she'd kissed him senseless.

The way he'd held her with a steadiness he'd never had before.

Choli swallowed once, tried to refocus on the main access panel to get to the mechanics. Only to chuckle to herself.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan kept his arm still but relaxed, letting her adjust it however she needed. The faint brush of her knee against his was impossible to ignore. He didn't shift away.

When she made her dry little jab his eyes lifted from his arm to her face. Amusement, arousal and everything crashed together and his brain got stuck. His mouth fell open in a mockery of shock. He looked at her raised brow, the strands of hair that had slipped forward, and the flicker of challenge in her expression.

“It…” he started but it was too late for a comeback. Caught off guard, he had swung between ‘it would be looked after better if kept you held it’ to ‘you prefer it attached to me’.

“..well played,” he said instead with a chuckle. She deserved that victory. They had always had their little competitions.

He couldn't help but imagine her cradling his arm keeping a hold of his disembodied arm. Some colour rose from his neck to his ears and he chuckled again.

He held still but decided he could get one last return blow in. As she leaned forwards his left hand rose up and helped to tuck long, errant strands of dark hair back behind her ear.

Trextan didn't even try to hide the smirk as he watched her lean in to inspect the wiring. Being this close to her again in the privacy of the ship - with nothing hanging over their heads - made it impossible to keep his thoughts from wondering.

They had been awkward teenagers before, he thought. Not that they still couldn't be awkward. He remembered how she had once seen too much of him once and had to bail. Did passing her rights change that? There had always been a mixture of inexperience and her own cultural background


“I realise it's funny but I sleep so deep you could probably steal the arm off me without waking me.”

His attempts at distraction stopped in favour of gentle humour now she was hard at work.

 

[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.

Not her hands no, those kept moving on sheer muscle memory, but everything else in her went still the moment she registered what Trextan thought she'd meant.

The blush hit her cheeks fast and hard, blooming over her olive skin in a way she absolutely could not control. Her eyes flicked up just long enough to catch the look on his face -- that mix of shock and amusement and something far warmer -- and it only made the flush worse.

"I…," she muttered under her breath, blinking rapidly before bending her head quickly over his prosthetic. "That is not what I meant."

She tried to focus, really tried, popping the access panel on his palm with a sharp click. Cool metal and familiar circuitry greeted her, grounding her for all of three seconds before Trextan's words replayed again in her head.

Her blush deepened.

"How did you even think I would use…" she began, then stopped, eyes widening as the implication caught up with her.

Nope. Absolutely not going down that hyperspace lane.

"You know what," she said quickly, half laughing and have trying to not let her mind wander, "never mind. Just -- just let me focus before I short something in here."

Because with the way her brain was spiraling, she very well might.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

The moment he realised that had not been what she meant, he felt mortified. He couldn't make eye contact for a few seconds. Her half-hearted laugh made it easier, but his own blush deepened.

He decided - wise or not - to say exactly what came to mind.

"Thinking about making another joke just to cover how embarass I now feel but I'd really like to keep my arm working."

He breathed for a few moments, concentrating on the sound of tools against the metal of his arm. It was quite relaxing, even just to listen to. He watched her work. There was a joke there too, about her now getting inside his arm, but he left that as a thought.

"Can't tell if that was a warning or a threat about a short," he said. "Besides, worth more melted down and sold as phrik by the gram."

 

[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 couldn't help but give a short, if slightly flustered, huff of a laugh. She shook her head, feeling the heat wane from her face. Had this been when they were younger, perhaps the blush would have lingered, but it floated into something more comfortable.

Teasing and joking around weren't issues around Trextan. It was just the getting-to-know-each-other-all-over-again bit that they were still working on.

"You are fine," She assured him, switching to a holographic servodriver as she frowned and concentrated on the assembly.

"Both?" came her follow-up tease regarding the threat or warning, blue eyes coming up to look at him in friendly amusement now.

"And I know that already... how many of those Squib traders tried to barter you out of your prosthetic the last time we were on Skorr II?"

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

She always managed to take the edge off things with that wry little tone of hers.

He shifted slightly in the seat as her hands worked over the exposed wiring of his prosthetic. She was careful and precise in as she worked.

“Yeah you might pretend you're gentle with machines, but I've seen you lose your temper with a hydrospanner in hand.”

“I said before I think, I swear they were gonna swarm me and just take it. One of them kept asking if he could lick it to test the alloy. I am still not sure if that was a Squib thing or just that one being...yeah."

His gaze drifted to her again, watching the way her expression sharpened in concentration, the way her hair slipped forward only for her to huff it aside with growing irritation. A faint warmth settled in his chest.

He let her work in silence. She seemed steadier than he had might have expected this morning. Trextan let her work in peace.

His hand flexed slightly in hers, servo responding cleanly to her adjustment.

“I was thinking. I know you wanted to show me the Zeison Sha - was that it? - sometime. But anywhere you want to meet up for our next date? "

 

[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 Trextan flex the prosthetic fingers, tracking the subtle hitch in one servo. There it was. A lag like that meant a bracket was bent or a ring was misaligned. Easy enough to fix… normally. Harder when her heart was doing that stupid flutter because of the banter they were somehow still having.

The corner of her mouth tugged into a small, crooked smile at his hydrospanner comment.

"Some things require rough handling to get under control," she murmured, nudging a connector back into place with the tip of her tool. "But not everything can take getting beat by a hydrospanner."

She shot him a look that walked the line between teasing and a warning not to test her theory.

The servo flexed again. Cleaner this time, but still a little off. She'd replace the ring in a minute.

Trextan's question about the Zeison Sha made her pause. The smile faded into something more thoughtful, more real. Her brows knit as she considered the logistics, the meaning, the commitment.

"Yanibar?" she echoed, giving the hydrospanner a quick whirl between her fingers as if it were a stylus.

"That's not a weekend trip," she said quietly. "It's remote. Harsh. And nobody goes there unless they're staying a while."

That blue green gaze drifted, not away from him, but inward. Weighing it.

"If you met me there, you wouldn't just be… visiting." A slow breath. "You'd be training. Living with the Zeison Sha. Learning telekinesis the way they teach it. That's not casual."

She shrugged once, a small roll of her shoulder.

"If you want a weekend meet-up, something closer makes sense. Something easy to get to. Depends on where your routes take you next." Finally, she looked back up at him, her colorful shifting eyes steady despite everything swirling behind them.

"But if you really want Yanibar…"

The pad of her thumb brushed along the edge of the access panel, almost absently.

"…then we can talk about that too."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

TREXTAN

Trextan watched her work, the movements of her hands measured and precise. He let the tease go unanswered.

Mostly unanswered. One eyebrow quirked upwards when she shot him her look.

Her point about Yanibar had landed. He gave a slow nod. He felt that he had walked a line close to disrespectful for the work she had put in training with different cultures.

"Of course. It's not a casual thing for them I guess, trusting someone to teach them their ways. How long..."

He paused. His fingers flexed beneath her touch. In silence, he met her gaze. His real hand slowly reached up and a single curved finger cupped the tip of her chin.

Trextan left his artifical arm still as he leaned forwards. He closed his eyes at the last moment and placed a single chaste kiss on her lips.

"Sorry," he said as he leaned back without hint of real apology.

"How long would I need to be there to give that the time it deserves? Don't want to put you out when you have a ship to build too."

 

[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

Nothing was casual for the Zeison Sha.

That was what Choli was about to tell Trextan when she felt the press of his fingers come up to tip her chin up.

Those color shifting eyes met his own, and for a few seconds they stayed like that, before Choli bit her lower lip and and the corner of her mouth quirked up.

Even while she can be direct and it took her a bit to get terminology, Choli could still read between the lines there. He wasn't just talking about Yanibar and the Zeison Sha.

He was talking about them.

"It is okay." The Warden replied, her fingers spinning the hydrospanner in her fingers again.

"That would be several months to years. I spent a year with them. Not sure how much free time you have to spend it in a fridged tundra with me that long. I cannot guarantee the best communication out there either....but.... it is doable."