A Long Journey

[Haytham Kaze]

He watched her carefully, a brow raising underneath that fallen hair of his as he spots her frown. And then it deepened. He figured it was because he just left her words hanging. It was better to just avoid the conflict altogether, he would say, at least for that situation. Speaking about what had happened on Cloud Nine between them was a time he didn't want to remember. It was in the past, and it was going to stay there forever if it were up to him.

It didn't matter how much they talked about it, it still would've happened.

He makes an "Mmm," sound at her statement of them both loving each other. It was true, but he didn't know what else she wanted him to say.

Then she spoke again.

"What do you want me to say? That I've changed? That I've grown into my title as a Sith?" He shook his head, "There's nothing that I could say that'll make you happy, Joza Perl." He started to raise his voice, slightly louder with every word, but there was clearly sadness in his tone. "I am searching for artifacts of power. Sith artifacts."

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s heart ached at his words, knowing them to be true. Nothing was ever easy between them, not now. In that moment, she wished that they were back on the fields of Bakura, before all of this had happened. Maybe she could revisit that place in her dreams, but there was no point in trying to drift off to it now.

“Are you content? Is this the sort of thing that makes you happy?” She took note of the sadness in his tone, and it almost made her heart break. She squeezed his hand. Their own ideals were making them grow further and further apart.

She stood suddenly, rising to the side of his chair. Swiftly she bent down on one knee so that she was now staring up at him. “Let me see your leg. I can help accelerate the healing.” She tilted towards it, beckoning for him to allow her to help him.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

"You know the answer is going to be no." He knew it was something that she had to ask him however. No matter how much it hurt the both of them to have this conversation.

He felt her squeeze his hand as he sets his head back against the rest of the large chair he was in and he watches her as she bends down to a knee in front of him. A frown came to his face as he indicates that she should get to her feet. Whether she took his gestures for what they were, he spoke it anyway, "Get on the chair. Or just bring it closer. You don't need to bend.." He says softly to her.

"It's a torn ligament." He knew that much about it. Something by his knee joint, on the side of it, but it hurt all throughout his leg. At least, when he wasn't utilizing the Force to sustain himself. "You don't have to..."

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“A torn ligament?” A frown creased Joza’s features as her hand instinctively went toward his injured leg, hovering over it before she withdrew and rose to her feet. “With the air of superiority you were projecting over me, I figured you would prefer to see me beneath you.” There was no malice in her tone, rather she stated it in a matter-of-fact way.

Nevertheless, she would return to her chair, balancing on the edge of it while reaching for his leg once more, urging for him to rest it in her lap. If he did so she would remove whatever hindrances were in her way and roll up his pant leg to just above his knee. “I don’t want you to say things just to make me happy. I just wish that you’d be more open with me.” She spoke in a wistful tone as her hands gently prodded the area around his knee, noting how swollen it had become.

Her lips turned downwards though a look of concentration as she focused on trying to find the easier area for her to apply her healing technique. Joza was no doctor, but she’d picked up some healing techniques from her time on Voss. Gingerly, the young Zeltron would wrap both of her hands around his knee and funnel the entirely of her healing training into his flesh, attempting to accelerate the repair of the torn tissue close to his kneecap. It must hurt an awful lot. She didn’t like seeing him injured or in pain. Damnit Nik.

“I got a job as a dancer, you know. In a club called Voss, ironically enough.” She attempted to change the subject and hopefully lighten the mood with a little idle conversation that involved neither Jedi nor Sith. “It’s a nice place, and I get paid well. Enough to buy my own little apartment. More than enough actually, I can live decently while sending some home back to my mother.” She paused, her words fading as she moved her hands lower across his leg at a different angle. She hadn’t had much experience in healing as she did handing a blade, so it didn’t come as naturally to her. “She wants to go to school to become a nurse, so I’m helping her out. Or, I’m trying to. She doesn’t like to take my credits, but prostitution isn’t as lucrative as a profession beyond a certain age…” She almost didn't want to mention it simply because it seemed like some cliche story from a HoloDrama, but Joza was attempting to be open...or find a more innocuous conversation topic.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

OOC: Post #1000, you're welcome

 

[Haytham Kaze]

When she made the mention of him lording his superiority over her, he bit his tongue and let that one resonate deep within. He had made plenty of mistakes when it involved Joza and treating her correctly, but he knew she understood why he had to do it. The only problem was when he did it again and again. A reason why he beat himself up over it, but he didn't expect her to know that, at least, he hoped she didn't know he did.

The black haired male leaned back into the chair as she urged him to raise his leg and he deposited it into her lap. With her help of course, there was no reason for him to do it alone while they were together. While they were in private in his chambers. Even if there was over a dozen security personnel outside the room. "I'm not sure that that is entirely possible," he said. "Do you tell me everything in your life?" Since they had heard first met he had withheld the secret of him being the apprentice of a Sith. "Do you want to tell me everything in your life?"

He had already revealed it recently, on Cloud Nine before he had harmed her.

He felt something around his leg, but he didn't know what was going on. It was akin to nothing he had felt before. In the past whenever Haytham had been injured, he had visited a regular Medical bay and was treated by everyday doctors. When he had been a Jedi, he had made it a point to do so, to get to know those he fought alongside. He hadn't met many people since he seemed to never get to the important battles on time, but those that he had met had been good people.

They were just trying to do their duty.

The same as him.

She's a dancer again? Well, actually, she was a waitress.

He hums softly as she made the small talk. "Were you also a dancer on Zeltros, when we had met?" He listened to her answer before he continued on to say, "I've inserted myself into the One Sith's military functions. If the One Sith turns it's attention to the Sanctum, you'll likely be fighting those soldiers that I've deployed rather than me personally," he said softly. He would prefer however, to battle and command on the frontlines. He was certain he'd find a way to do so. It would be difficult no doubt, but he would become a field commander. He would have it no other way. "It's good that you're helping your mother... You have to take care of family," he said as he looked down to his knee to see her work.

"Where do you dance?"

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“Mm…” Her voice hummed in thought, moreso focused on her healing than her response. “I don’t. And I don’t expect you to. But I’d like for us to be a little more open. I understand that we can’t be entirely so given the nature of our…choices.” She let her words hang, though she sounded as if she’d accepted it…somewhat.

“I was. Waitressing was steadier, so I did that more often.” She shrugged, moving her hands so that one was on top of the other, pressing against his leg as she attempted to penetrate into the deeper layers of tissue. She didn’t hide her wince when he mentioned the One Sith attacking the Sanctum. She did just ask him to be more open with her, so she would do nothing beyond that to signal her displeasure.

I’ll cut them down either way.

She’d become more ruthless in combat. One of her bladework teachers had been a Sith, after all.

Clearing the thought from her mind, she returned her mind to her mother. Yula. The Zeltron woman had a gentle and soft spoken demeanor. It was clear that not all things were inherited from Yulenka Perl. “Yeah…I don’t like the part of town she’s living in. It’s not a good area. If she goes to school, she can stay in a dormitory and wouldn’t have to worry about food and other such things.” Though they didn’t have much, Yula had been a loving mother and had given her daughter everything she could. “She deserves it.”

Pressing her fingers a bit harder into the joint around his kneecap, she hesitated. “Club Voss on Coruscant.” She paused to look up at him before he could have a follow-up question. “Is it working? Do you feel anything?”

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

He made sure to close his eyes as she worked on his leg. He was focusing on removing the pain from him, but the only outlet he knew of was channeling it into strength. His right hand clenched the pommel of the arm chair, and squeezing it tightly as he did his best to focus the Force into the chair and draining himself of the pain. "I'm not sure what you me to say to you. I don't know how much to say. What to say." He felt himself calming down, but he guessed that was because of the healing effect she had on him.

Not to mention her almost motherly presence.

He opened his eyes again to see her layering her hands over each other as he felt the Force reaching deeper into his leg. He huffs at her as she works at it, but not much else.

He wasn't sure what else to say to her about her mother, so he said nothing.

When she told him where she worked his gaze lifted from her working hands and back up to her as a sigh escaped from his lips. "Joza..." He recalled it being one of the first things he had told her when they had first met. When she had told him that she had wanted to be a Jedi, he specifically remembered telling her to stay away from two places. The Galactic Republic and the One Sith. And for all he knew, she did actually stay away from the Galactic Republic, but when it came to the One Sith she went to the heart of it's Empire. The first planet they captured to make themselves known to the Galaxy.

He bit his tongue to hold back anything he would've said that would be criticizing and cruel, and he said, "For how long?"

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“Do what makes you feel comfortable, then.” She paused, her green eyes rolling up to meet his. “Do what feels right. I don’t want to push you, but sometimes I do. Because at times, it’s better to talk about problems than letting them fester. I won’t think any less of you for it.” Her tone was earnest, albeit a bit distracted as she continued to work on him. Her brow creased with concentration as she fed the Force into the deep tissues of his leg.

“Does it hurt?" She asked softly, though she did not intend to stop if it was working.

As she mentioned Coruscant, he heart sank a little as she felt his disappointment. “It’s fine,” She hurried to try and cover herself. “I’ve got a good employer and I don’t get into any Jedi shenanigans while I’m there. I’m just a dancer trying to earn her credits.” She shrugged, her tone light and airy to try and make it seem as if she’d had everything figured out. But really, deep down she knew that it wasn’t the best of ideas. But the opportunity had been hard to pass up.

“About…a few months now.” Came the soft reply as she finally withdrew her hands from his leg. “How does it feel? Any better?” Signs of fatigue had begun to wear her face, a light layer of sweat on her forehead from the heavy concentration of her efforts. Healing didn’t come easily to the Zeltron, and frankly she was mediocre at best. But she wanted to help him, so she pushed herself to the best of her ability.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham met her eyes and he sighed as he did. Everything he did felt like it was the right thing to do, but look where that had gotten them. Look where that had gotten him. Stuck in a chair while the only person he ever truly cared for was fixing his leg as the result of something that he had done wrong. Because of something that he had done to her.

"It doesn't hurt as much." He was about to make her stop. Her healing was nothing that a little bit of soaking in a bacta couldn't fix. Whether he went into an entire tank or just stuck his foot into a modified one would be seen, but he'd allow her to do it for a little longer before he made her stop. He goes as far as to nod his head when she mentions that Coruscant was at least treating her right, but it still bothered him that she had been working on Coruscant for so long and hadn't told him.

They had been so close to each other.

And she hadn't told him.

His nose flared for a moment, and he pulled his leg out of her grasp. "Let me test it out," he said a bit too softly as he kept the bite out of his words. But when he saw the effort that she had been going through he raises up to his feet completely, setting his foot down with a slight sting of pain. It was much better now and he stepped to her, feeling almost as good as new as he grasped her hand and attempted to pull her up. If he had succeeded, he would've reversed their positions and set her down onto the throne-like chair he had been in.

She would find it was much more comfortable than what she had been on. More so, considering it's appearance.

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza watched with rapt interests as he withdrew his leg and stood, curious to see the effects of her efforts. Her eyes lingered on his injured leg, watching how it moved and looking for signs of pain now that the swelling had gone down.

As such, she was too distracted to notice when he grasped her hand and pulled her up in one smooth motion. A surprised noise escaped her lips shortly, but she made no move to stop him, even going so far as to lean in to his momentary touch. She had missed the feeling of his hands on her, and being a Zeltron she relished physical contact—regardless of whether it was sexual or not.

She made a soft noise of impact as she settled into the chair, confusion written on her face as she looked up at him. Joza couldn’t help but make herself comfortable, noting how the quality compared to what she was sitting on before. At least he’s sharing.

“It feels better then, I take it?” She offered a somewhat fatigued smile, though her eyes shone with pride. Leaning back into the chair, she sighed softly as she twined a hand into her red locks.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

He notes the look of contentment on her face as he reaches out to cup her face in his hand, a look of happiness spreading over the rugged features that were his face. He'd pull her in closer as he brings his own form lower, and down into a kneel in front of her as he uses his other hand to hold one of her hands. His mouth would open to say, "Only because you treated it." He spoke the words softly, allowing both of their faces to hover mere inches away from each other as he stared into her eyes. "I'm going to take you on a date. Now." His tone was used in a way as if to say there was no choice in the matter. She may have been a guest on his ship, but it was his ship. Technically the one Sith's actually, but she didn't need to know that.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but he closed it just as soon as he felt his spine feel as if it were being torn out.

Before he could even think of kissing her, he released her face and rose up to his feet as the ship was pulled out of hyperspace by something.

He already knew what it was that had taken them out of hyperspace. It was gravity wells, but he didn't know who would do such a thing so close to One Sith Space. He huffs as realization meets his eyes and he beckons Joza to come and follow him.

Outside of the ship, unbeknownst to those inside as of now was a single Star Destroyer. One of the Dark Lord loyalists remaining forces after he had been slain in the Uprising. Haytham himself didn't really know what had become of that, but regardless, the much larger ship had already begun firing on their Heavy Cruiser. The ship rocked. Repeatedly as the shields were met with consistent shots.

"I suppose this is as good a start to a date as any." He steps back to the table as he looks Joza up and down. "You're not going to stay here if I tell you to right?" He hums softly, he didn't even hear her answer as he said, "Help me put my armour back on." Who would've thought he would've said that, to [member="Joza Perl"] of all people.

 

[Joza Perl]

A genuine smile spread across her face at the combination of his gentle touches and words. Shaking her head softly, she spoke in a soft voice. “I’m not really that good at healing.” Shifting beneath him in perhaps what was early anticipation, her face suddenly blanked in surprise. “A date?” Her voice sounded almost innocent, as caught off guard a she was. “You’re taking me on a date?” It occurred to her for the first time that they’d never actually been on a date together. While wondering what sort of event he had planned, Joza felt her body lurch involuntarily.

Though she frowned at the loss of his attention, Joza rose shortly after him. Just when they had both calmed and let their argumentive tendencies settle, something had to go wrong. Joza found her footing quickly as the ship shook from the force of the blasts as they would ricochet off of the shield. At his question, she simply arched a brow and lowered her chin, giving him that look before wordlessly dropping down to snap his armor back into place.


“Nothing more romantic,” She muttered, brow creasing in concentration as a hand instinctively brushed against the hilt of one of her sabers. “I suppose later we could have a candlelit dinner over the smoldering wreckage of whatever is bombarding us.”

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

He exhales from his nose as he steps through the doorway connecting the main room of his chambers. With his array of weapons on, he waited for Joza to join him before more shaking occurred and things fell off the table in his room. His jaw clenched as he stepped out into the hallway surrounded by the small army outside his doorway. He didn't even need to speak before Major Shaya went on to say, "Bridge says we're under attack."

"Return to it." He didn't want to see if she would follow his orders, instead he waved off the rest of the stormtroopers and they headed off down a side corridor to eventually hit a staircase and to disperse evenly amongst as many floors as they could. "Deploy starfighters," he says as the ship rocks again, but this time he was ready for it and he rooted himself to the ground via the Force. He reached for Joza and he would've pulled her into the centre of the formation that formed around them.

The four herglics in power armour were the only guards of Haytham that were remaining, and once everyone was in position they started down the hallway towards another lift.

"They're not going to destroy the ship. They'll try and capture it," he said in assurance to Joza. He wondered if he was saying that more for his benefit or her own. When the lift opened up, the hallway that it opened to was in disarray. Wiring and parts of the ceiling had fallen out of place, electricity sparked from their ends. Every few paces one could look out to space via the viewports. In the hallway there were bodies, and when he saw them, his jaw clenched as they started through the corridor. "Stay with me, Joza."

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Grasping at the door frame, Joza steadied herself before returning to Haytham’s side. As the ship shuddered and rocked, the dancer would adjust her movements to compensate for the lack of balance as best she could. Though she didn’t rule out that her time with him could have come to blows, she didn’t expect them to be attacked by an outside source. Then again, she probably shouldn’t have agreed to meet a Sith Knight on his ship, but here she was.

Glancing at the herglics surrounding them, Joza casted a worried glance to Haytham. His following words did comfort her on some level, but the Zeltron knew better than to assume. Though she intended to stand alongside him, she hoped that they weren’t being attacked by the Jedi. “Any idea who’d be after you?” She spoke up, glancing around at the damage that the area had sustained already with a critical eye.

Unclipping one of her saber hilts, she twirled it in her hand. A nervous habit, but one that signaled that she was prepared for conflict. Numerous battles had allowed her to find a way to smooth her anxieties over and focus on the task at hand. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She attempted to offer him an encouraging smile, but all that appeared was a vague upturning of the corners of her lips. In one way, she was curious to see how he commanded those under him, though tried not to distract herself too much with it. “Are you sure your leg is alright?” She muttered lowly, enough for him to be able to hear her, voice laced with concern.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Before Haytham even had the chance to answer her, nose was originating from one of the bodies ahead of them. It was the sound of Major Shaya's soft, yet determined voice. A woman that did her job well and was efficient. She got results, and that was all Darth Vanitas required whilst he was commanding this ship.

Efficiency.

And results.

"The Dark Lord's remaining loyalists are firing upon us. Drop pods and ships are heading towards your level, My Lord. Starfighters have been given orders to destroy anything that gets past the ship's weapon emplacements." It was a simple task that Shaya had at this point in the attack, but he figured that fighting was going to get more intense in the next few minutes as the attacker's boarding parties got to their level. He reached out with his hand and tugged at the fallen soldier's comlink and for a moment, his entire body lurched upwards and Vanitas tensed for a moment, but when he tugged a second time, the comlink flew off of his wrist and was palmed a moment later.

"Take up positions," he said to his bodyguards. "Two of you to the other side of the corridor. We'll have them in a crossfire." He figured it was needless to say that they'd be disoriented from getting shot at in more than one direction. Haytham didn't make a move to continue ahead though. They remained in the doorway before he spotted something growing larger quickly in his peripherals. "Send reinforcements." He'd say after lifting the comlink to his mouth to speak into it. Lowering his arm, he knew that it would be a while before anyone else came, but Haytham had taken them on the route to the last intersection to the Bridge. Their purpose was to hold this location before they got help.

Down below their floor and above them too, he felt death. He gave pause as he ignored it, allowing it to wash over him as the first drop pods crashed into the corridor they were standing in violently, shaking the entirety of the inner bulkheads as the Herglics raised their MARS-12 rifles and levelled them at the half a dozen drop pods. "Don't move," he bit out to Joza. It was dead silent, he couldn't even feel life from the drop pods.

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

The Dark Lord? She shot Haytham a look, but didn’t pepper him with more questions. Now wasn’t the time, as tense as things were getting, and as many questions as she had for him. She could berate him later, and she intended for there to be a later at this point.

As they moved though the corridors, Joza reached out in the Force in an attempt to get a handle as to what was going on. It was difficult with the ship shaking and shuddering under the weight of the assault, especially in combination with the loss of life. A brief lump formed in the Zeltron’s throat, but she swallowed it just as quickly as it formed. The situation was still playing itself out, and they’d yet to see how well and truly screwed they could potentially be.

Joza breathed out lowly to steady herself the moment before the drop pod made it’s rather ungraceful landing. The sudden quaking caused her to stumble shortly, but not before she’d instinctively reached out to grab on to something to steady herself—which happened to be his hand. Quickly releasing it after she’d grasped it, the Knight nearly mumbled an apology and instead fitted her free hand against the hilt of her other saber as it remained clipped to her waist. Re-establishing her stance lest she get thrown off of balance again, Joza waited for either something to emerge, or for him to give orders—as much as she scoffed at the thought of following his directions, this was his ship.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

From the depths of the drop pods. They opened up with a sharp hissing sound as they depressurized. Smoke was issued from them and was billowing about in the hallway. Masking their presence. He allowed the Force to take his senses and spread them further, as was the beauty of the beauty. It expanded your ability to see, hear, and to perceive things around you. Better than any regular human being. He pulled his sleeve back and off of his wrists as he shot a look at Joza and smirked.

Just as the sound of a metal foot hitting the floor of the hallway was felt in the Force, it reverberated back towards him and he said, "Wait"

It had happened simultaneously. All of the drop pods had an assortment of droids within them. That's why there was no sign of life within them within the Force, and there was a dozen or so. "Don't move," he said to Joza, his hand clapping on her chest and likely her bust as he pressed her against the wall beside him. Before either of them could say anything, or for her to complain, an array of green, blue, and red blaster bolts was shot in every single direction.

They're not too smart.

He tilted his head to the side as a bolt flew past into the lift doors behind them. He clenched his jaw as he waited, "Fire on my mark."

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“Wh—“ Joza’s look of surprise quickly turned to one of irritation as he cupped her chest in a rather sudden manner, the momentum sending her flat against the wall. This is hardly the time for… A hail of blaster bolts whizzing past caused her to give pause to her thoughts, face finally settling in understanding. How he’d attuned his senses so finely she did not know. Well she did know—he’d been wielding the Force for longer than she, and thus had more time to refine his senses. Inwardly, she was sort of jealous.

There was a lot of not moving involved in this, and Joza was beginning to feel the itch for battle. It was the part of her that was still naiive, even though she’d been battle tested—the situation was growing tense and she disliked standing by. Brushing her thumb lightly over the ignition of her saber in anticipation, the Zeltron kept her eyes glued to what she could of the army of droids. “Whatever you want me to do, just tell me.” She murmured only loud enough for him to hear. “This is the only time I’ll do as you say without complaint.”

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham smirked underneath a cascade of that black hair atop his head. He had grabbed her chest well, because, he knew he'd get a reaction from her. He would've done more, but now wasn't the time to be fooling around with her. At least, not completely. "Multitasking," he'd say as he continued to hold her down on the wall.

The two Herglics that were body blocking for them were struck with random blaster bolts, but they continued to stand. Not only were they wearing power armour, but they were hulking figures already. They'd likely need lightsabres to actually disperse of the four herglics combined. But he doubted the droids carried any lightsabres.

"Fire the...er, Arc." He didn't know what it was called. Arc something he was certain. And there was only a grunt in reply as he finally released [member="Joza Perl"], just as the electricity bathed the hallway in front of them. There were countless droids in the hallway, and when the Arc cannons hit them with the electricity, it surged through the droid's body armour, frying circuits and joints. Within moments, the hallway was again filled with smoke and not much else except fried droid parts.

"You can move now... If you'd like," he said with a cheeky grin.

 

[Joza Perl]

Her mouth fell open at the mention of multitasking and she may have even flushed slightly at the insinuation, but otherwise didn’t try to wrench herself from his grip lest she get hit by an errant bolt in the process.

Still, she continued to watch as his herglic body guards fired an arc of electricity, reducing the approaching droids to nothing but smoldering parts. Sure hate to be caught up in that. Joza allowed herself to marvel at the destruction for a brief moment before coming back to reality.

“Was there any need to grasp that specific part of me?” She cleared her throat and brushed off her chest, straightening out the material of her robes as she shot him a half-hearted glare. “We’re in the midst of a battle.”

[member="Haytham Kaze"]