Private Where the light barely touches

[Jacen Voidstalker]

The doors to the sonic opened just as she found the back room to the apartment.

"Ah," went Jacen, who did not even have a towel to hand. The door snapped shut smartly.

"How are you feeling?" he called through the door. He picked up the clothes from the floor and started shaking them out. A lot of years in the military had left him without a lot of shame.

"We should talk about what your doctor friend said."

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra couldn't stop herself from chuckling as the door snapped shut, though she respectfully turned her back to the door. A hand ran through her messy hair and she cleared her throat. Modesty wasn't a particularly useful trait for an assassin, but she didn't see a reason to insist that they talk face to face.

"Tired." She explained simply, turning her head just enough so that her voice would project partially towards the wash room.

"And... why? What did she say?"

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

He emerged from the refresher partially dressed. The worst of the grime had been blitzed out of his clothes by the sonic, just as it had taken the grim from his skin. It made him feel much more human, even as the headache pounded away.

"I promised to take you off world. In return she's going to pass the message up that she could not save you. That you died from the poison."

 

[Lierra Lunora]

The assassin blinked twice at the simple, but profound statement. Her mind staggered in disbelief and she shook her head a few times from side to side. She took a single breath, glancing off to the side. A whirlwind of thoughts whirled through her mind. He agreed to take her off planet? Wrivko was going to lie to the cartels? What did being dead even mean? She wouldn't have any money to her name; but she also wouldn't be a wanted woman any more.

She was going to need an alias. Not to mention she was going to have to find a Fixer that could forge the documents, and who wasn't tied with the cartel that held her leash.

Her brow furrowed in thought, before she finally turned her gaze back to Jacen. It took her a moment to realize that he was standing in front of her while only partially dressed.

"You... agreed to that? I don't have a way to pay you.."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"You don't need to," he said firmly, cutting off that line of thinking. He didn't want her desperately searching for something she could offer. Lierra was a killer, whether she wanted to be in that line of work or not. He did not want an assassin to think he was owed a favour.

"I should not have made that decision without you," he admitted. He didn't sound too apologetic. Deciding what was best for people would remain one of his worst qualities until he returned to the Force.

"I have some old friends who can probably drop you off in most sectors of the galaxy that aren't within sith space," Jacen told her. "You're probably stuck with me for a few days here," he apologised.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

She glanced around the corridor and chuckled, then looked to her feet as she collected her thoughts. He'd given her a chance at a fresh start, she'd be foolish to turn him down.

With a smirk, she raised her gaze back to his and quipped, "Well.... I've had worse roommates."

"We can play it by ear once we get off planet..." Lierra replied as she ran a hand through her hair.

There was an awkward pause as Lierra was not much of a conversationalist. More often than not, she stayed quiet and watched the room. She wasn't sure where to go from there.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"How are you feeling?" he asked, shirt still crumpled on his hands.

"You were poisoned yesterday after all. Do you keep much food here? I can make something whilst you shower?" he offered.

It was a whole string of questions. Right now he didn't know exactly where they stood. Clearly she was glad of the offer of leaving this place. That was lucky really, she could have been resentful for him making that choice.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

There was a moment when a fleeting smile danced across Lierra's features, her face briefly lighting up when he asked how she was feeling. She had one of those immediately charming smiles, it was infectious and brilliant -- completely altering the harsh lines of her face into a warm, friendly expression. Then the withdrawn and tired expression chased away the light.

"Yeah.. there's some food in the refrigerator if you want it. Nothing fancy, just some prepackaged ready meals."

There was a pause, before she remembered to answer his first question.

"And uh..." She hesitated again. Instinct told her to lie, to avoid admitting any weakness to Jacen. Placing her trust in others had gotten her more scars than she could count, both physical and mental.

"I'm tired." She finally relented, admitting a portion of the truth.

"The bed is more comfortable than the couch." The assassin explained, gesturing to the room at the end of the hall. "We can eat in there and watch something to pass the time..."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen was tempted to point out how obviously she was struggling to deal with a token of kindness. It was a long time since he had been with the Jedi order on sullust, looking after sith prisoners. He knew all too well that it was hard to accept for those who had seen the most hardship.

Jacen wondered if he had as much patience as he had back then. He was supposed to have retired from the front lines and yet here he was causing even more trouble. This whole mission hadn't gone well and he was bringing back a stray again.

What he hadn't expected was the warmth of her secret smile. He mirrored it quite readily, nodding slowly.

"Go lie down if you want, you've been through a lot. Want anything from the kitchen?"

 

[Lierra Lunora]

"Why are you helping me?" She finally asked, as if exasperated. Shouldn't he have taken off by now? Why take the risk of hiding with her while she recovered? Not to mention why he offered to take her off planet. What was his angle?

She didn't sound accusatory, just confused. In her experience, people didn't help one another -- not unless there was something in it for them.

They especially didn't help people like her...

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

He stood in silence. Then he placed his hands on his hips, one of them still holding his shirt. Jacen was feeling in a particularly honest mood.

"Because I used to be important and saved millions of people and I spent the last two years minding a dusty spare parts shop. Because you don't deserve being held in servitude and I can at least make a difference there. Something like that, anyway."

 

[Lierra Lunora]

"So... you were a Jedi, or something like that, I take it." She countered just as bluntly.

Having seen him use the Force during their wild escape only left a few options available. If he was concerned about saving people and wanting to make a difference, she found it highly unlikely that he was a Sith. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she smirked at him.

Her eyes flicked over towards the kitchen and then back to Jacen, being sharply reminded that the man was standing there with no shirt on.

"But uh... food. Food sounds like a plan."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Was. In the big war with the One Sith. I did actually fight the Dark Lord of the Sith, though it didn't quite go my way. The fact that he's still the dark lord ruling the Empire and I'm out here probably makes that point," Jacen explained.

He turned towards the kitchen, pulling his tunic over his head. He started rifling through the cupboards, finding plenty of ready meals as she had explained. It made sense. Long lasting for if she ever needed this place.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Instead of letting Jacen do all the work himself, she followed him into the kitchen and helped him to prepare the food. She moved slowly and was clearly not feeling well, but she didn't complain.

"Heh. Guess you're looking for a cause then? Not sure you want me to be that." She murmured quietly, pouring herself a glass of water and then a other for Jacen.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Wasn't going to try and make you a whole cause," he said. He immediately started to wonder if he was already doing that and was just lying to himself. It had been known to happen.

"Can get you off world, to somewhere in the core. Maybe a fresh start."

Jacen had to wonder what a fresh start was for a trained killer. Bounty hunting wasn't that much better as professions went to his mind. It was at least legal in most sectors.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Lierra's gaze turned to Jacen briefly as she pulled the now heated bowl of food from the microwave, sticking a pair of chopsticks into the rice mixture. Internally, she translated the plan he'd laid out for her: that he was going to dump her somewhere in the core.

She was just a tool, after all. What use was a knife without someone to wield it? Would he give her to a mugger? A sadist? A cook? There were many uses for a blade, it all just depended on the hand that held it.

There were high level hits in the Core. Corporate espionage and assassination were still hidden in the shadows of their tall, glittering, towers. It was likely Lierra would end up bound to such a master.

"Perhaps." She replied enigmatically to his musing about a fresh start.

"C'mon, we can eat in the bedroom." She changed the subject, walking past him to make her way to the back room.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen still felt like he was swimming inside his own head. The pain throbbed outwards from the blow to the back of his head.

He heated himself a small tub of stew and followed after Lierra. Apparently they had to wait for the doctor to tell them that it was safe to leave. There wasn't much to do until then.

"Your 'doctor' you do trust her don't you?" Jacen asked. He hadn't arranged the sheets again after waiting up, so they spread them down flat again so they could sit up against the head board.

 

[Lierra Lunora]

After arranging the bed, Lierra settled in top of the sheets and flicked on the television while Jacen got situated. It wasn't the most comfortable mattress if all time, but it certainly beat the floor.

"Yeah, I do. Wrivko isn't the sort to stab people in the back. She takes her job seriously and... Heh, she cares, y'know? That's not common in a place like this."

She kicked off her boots and gave a soft sigh as she finally started to relax. "Though... I guess the real question you need to ask yourself is if you trust me or not."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Are you going to be offended if I say 'not much at all'?" he asked. Jacen didn't do much to conceal the smile. It amused him, trying to trust an assassin who he had stopped. Stopping her had also completely ruined own little quest.

"Right now I can't figure any motivation for why you'd try and do me harm though so...thst sort of counts?"

 

[Lierra Lunora]

Another one of Lierra's smiles darted across her lips at his response. She nibbled on a mouthful of rice and mushrooms before she answered. "I'd be more worried if you did trust me. Good answer, Jacen." She replied with a low chuckle.

"But you're right... you don't need to be afraid of me. I'm not a bloodthirsty killer." She said simply, which might have seemed an odd thing for an assassin to say.