Private A storm in the sky

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Brows rose at Trextan, saying he wasn't able to sense anything yet, inside her, at least.

That caused an impromptu amused half-snort. Of all the things to say, he really had to go with that? She shook her head at him before taking another sip of the rum.

"I am a lightweight, but not that much of a lightweight," She told him wryly, setting the bottle down to rest along her thigh. "And of all things, you really had to say it like that?" she arched both brows at him.

"Even I do not have to have the filthiest minds to see how open you left yourself with that one."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

His cheeks flushed. His expression managed to capture a frown and a grin at exactly the same time. Trextan broke eye contact and looked at the wall

Well we might die tomorrow so...
I'm sorry I'm out of practise but if you...
I'll push deeper and...

"I didn't even hear it as I said it," he admitted. He shook his head.

"And now I can think of so many follow ons but we haven't joked around in a long time and I'm not sure... Where the line is yet," he laughed.

"Oh dear..." he went, shaking his head.

"I will say when I can...sense the toxins...in your system."

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Trextan wasn't wrong; after three years, their history, and how they broke up, it was this slightly awkward line of not really knowning what would be okay to say, much less do. Where they stood.

Choli gave a small hum, then a nod, as if agreeing that perhaps that was right, a slight ruddy flush over her cheeks that was barely discernable over her olive skin.

"It is fine, just focus on what you can sense. Might as well think of it as practicing the Aspect of Sense if you have not applied it before." She tried to reason it out as any other training session, taking another sip of the rum. The warm heat coating her mouth and flowing down her throat, grounding her again on where they were at. As the minutes passed, she'd start to feel the tension flow from her body and that soft warmth spread over her limbs.

"How about now then?

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Choli Vyn

Trextan slowed his breathing. With each breath he imagined the flow of the Force through his lungs. Pictured his own presence moving back out with it.

He moved around the edges of her presence. Her mind had never been open to him. The sith had faced the same trouble. In the calm of the moment he knew he didn't need to read her thoughts. She was still taken back by the chance encounter; Choli was just better at focusing on the task at hand.

Trextan pushed past that into the physical realm. He could feel the places where her wounds had recently been healed. Fractures in her fingers were bones had knit quickly.

He first caught a sense of her around her brain. That made sense. Alcohol had spread through her bloodstream. When he tried to purge it, it felt like waving his hand through sand.

Trextan blinked his eyes open.

"I can sense it, but couldn't remove it. I'll try again in a moment."

He rocked back a little and rolled his shoulders.

"You know, I wasn't trying to say we shouldn't joke. Assuming we survive tomorrow and get to spend some time catching up," he said.

"What did it feel like to remove the alcohol?" he asked as he resettled his focus.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Choli's head felt lighter like her thoughts were drifting just out of reach, but she forced herself to stay grounded. Focus. Her cheeks warmed, not entirely from the rum, and she tried not to notice how Trextan's eyes flicked over her, his jaw tightening as he concentrated.

What did it feel like? That was a safe enough topic to latch onto. Something to keep her from letting her gaze wander too much, from noticing the way he rolled his shoulders or how his voice had a weight to it now, low and steady.

"It is like…" Choli trailed off, her brow furrowing as she tried to put it into words. "It is like seeing a current in a stream. You can feel where it is flowing strongest, but when you reach for it, it's slippery. You have to nudge it the right way, coax it out instead of forcing it. Otherwise, it pushes back."

She let out a small half laugh, her hands flexing along the bottle, "I'm not explaining it well. Try to focus on what you can sense that is not normal within the system, like when I showed you how to troubleshoot that hydraulic issue on the engine a while back. Once you lock onto what is standing out from the normal, though, you just… guide it out."

Her gaze dropped briefly to her lap, then back to him, catching the faint lines of concentration etched on his face. "It is different for everyone. You might feel it like heat or cold instead of water. But you will figure it out. You always do."

Choli bit her lip, trying not to let her thoughts wander to why he was good at that -- how he'd saved her before. She cleared her throat, determined to steer her mind elsewhere.

"So, try again," she said, leaning forward slightly as the pleasant flushed ruddiness crept in over her olive face. "Just… do not overthink it."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Choli Vyn

An enemy that simply resisted any attempt to overcome it with force? Applying more brute strength was how he overcame most obstacles.

"That all makes sense. I'll try it again. Coax it carefully."

She was dispensing absolutely valuable advice. More than that, just hearing that she thought he could do this made a difference.

There was a slight slur to her voice, a flush to her cheeks. He recognised that, it brought back memories of how events had typically progressed when she had been tipsy before. Trextan pushed that aside the memories of how loud she could get after a few drinks.

His throat bobbed. He closed his eyes. He focused. The line of tension around his jaw smoothed out.

He stretched out with the Force towards her. There was the familiar sense of the alcohol. It felt like a streak of blue, pulsing through her veins.

He didn't realise what he was doing with his hands. He held them both forwards, palms open. As he slowly closed them into fists he started to accelerate bringing the toxins out of where they affected her thoughts. There was a faint whiff of alcohol in the air as it reached her pores.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Choli blinked, the faint tingle in her system ebbing as Trextan worked. She noticed the shift in his expression first; the way the tightness in his jaw eased, replaced by calm determination. For a moment, it was easy to forget the situation they were in. He looked so focused that her chest tightened in a way she wasn't quite ready to examine. The faint whiff of alcohol in the air pulled her back to reality. She wrinkled her nose slightly, amused despite herself.

"Well, you are definitely doing something," she murmured, her voice soft but laced with that ever present wryness.

The buzz in her head faded further, and she straightened a little, watching him carefully. He was so steady, so intent. It wasn't brute force this time, and that made her smile with a small, quiet curve of her lips.

"That is it," she said, leaning forward, her fingers curling over her knees to stop herself from fidgeting. "Keep going."

The warmth of the alcohol in her system was ebbing fast, but another kind of heat was replacing it. His presence was like a tether, steady and grounding, and she found herself feeling almost reluctant as the last remnants of the alcohol left her. She bit her lip, looking away for a second, her voice quieter now.

"Guess you did not need my advice after all."

Her gaze flicked back to him, lingering on his hands, still outstretched, and then up to his face. "Not bad, Trextan..."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Your advice helped," Trextan said firmly as he opened his eyes. He set his hands down again and took a breath.

"Don't over think it," he said firmly.

Once glance down at her lips was such a small gesture. At close proximity however, it was far far too obvious. Trextan had been focussed on the task, but now his mind could drift and think of being given firm instruction before.

He realised in that moment that he didn't just have unresolved feelings around Choli. He had very real feelings that still existed. Now wasn't the time to cross that bridge. They were going to risk their lives for the galaxy again.

Any further thought was suddenly stifled by a realisation. Behind her fist, on her thigh, was his own hand. It was such a familiar gesture that he hadn't even noticed.

Trextan cleared his throat and drew his hand back to his lap.

"We should probably run through that again," he said.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Choli felt her pulse quicken as Trextan's hand moved away, leaving a phantom warmth on her leg that lingered far longer than it should. She swallowed hard, tilting her head slightly so the curtain of her dark hair fell enough to shield her expression, not that it would do much to hide the heat creeping up her neck.

"Yeah," she said, her voice steady despite the swirl of emotions clawing at her focus, dying the colors of her irises in telltale hues she did her best to hide.

"One more time. Better to be overprepared than not." She picked up the bottle of rum again, cradling it in both hands for a moment as if it might ground her. The buzz he'd just worked so hard to clear was gone, but the haze of everything else -- the memories, the what-ifs, and the unresolved tension -- was much harder to banish.

Choli took a measured sip, letting the burn of the alcohol distract her, and handed the bottle back to him without looking directly at his face. She pursed her lips, exhaling through her nose as if that might help her pull her thoughts into order.

"Right. No need to overthink," she said after a beat, glancing sideways at him. "Not bad for someone who used to knock himself out doing the same thing." Her attempt at humor was a little forced, but it was something to fill the space.

"Once more, and then Chloe might have something new for us to tackle." She hesitated, her hands fidgeting in her lap before she looked down, muttering half to herself, "And I could probably use a minute to clear my own head."

The corners of her mouth twitched into a small smile, though she kept her gaze fixed firmly on the bottle between them. If they could just get through this without another stray touch or lingering glance, maybe she'd have a chance to find her balance again. Maybe.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan kept his gaze on his lap. That had happened without even thinking about it. Three years felt like both a very short and a very long time. There hadn't been a phase of them adapting to be friends. Around her, it was remarkably easy to slip into a habit that felt so benign.

Choli didn't berate him and when he looked up he couldn't miss the shifting colour of her eyes. He didn't even need to see them. Trextan knew that despite her ability to be pragmatic that it was still an emotional experience for her.

"Right. No need to overthink," she said after a beat, glancing sideways at him. "Not bad for someone who used to knock himself out doing the same thing."

He smiled back at her.

"You take enough knocks you learn slowly, I suppose."

He had thought they might switch again, but Choli took a swig from the bottle. He waited for it to work into her system.

"And I could probably use a minute to clear my own head."

He chuckled softly. There was no point in making pretend. Better, he thought, to simply acknowledge it and move on.

Except that his gaze did linger as they waited in the small room. His thoughts tried to drift.

"Right, yes," he said to nothing in particular. Perhaps if they drew enough imaginary lines eventually they would be on more stable footing.

"What... Er... Else could she have for us to tackle?"

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Choli glanced at Trextan, catching the way his gaze lingered before he awkwardly tried to steer the conversation back on track. At least he wasn't pretending like nothing had happened -- it made the whole situation feel a little less... heavy.

Choli hesitated, setting the bottle aside as her gaze flicked to the wall, her thoughts momentarily straying to the next steps. "Well, I'm not sure. It might depend on if she needs anything from us once she figures out where the vault ship is at," she continued, her voice softening. "Either way, we have a lot to deal with before the vault. Dropping the others off... making sure everything's ready."

Her fingers fidgeted with the bottle, and she forced herself to look back at him, offering a small, lopsided smile. "But maybe she will tell us to get some rest instead." She tilted her head, her tone light but with a teasing edge. "Think you would be able to manage that? Or is detoxifying alcohol the closest you have been to relaxing in years?"

The words hung between them, playful but not quite free of the weight that lingered in the air.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

T R E X T A N​

Choli Vyn

"We have got a lot to do, but if anyone needs rest its you," he said with a soft laugh.

"I'm not sure detoxifying alcohol is the relaxation I've had, but this is definitely the most I've drunk in a few months. It's weird. Like my body now expects to feel drunk but it's gone."

He enjoyed that lopsided smile. He had missed it.

"I read quite a lot. Some of the flights are quite long and lonely - oh hell - that makes me sound pathetic. I do get to socialize and relax from time to time!"

He took a breath and tried to settle back into his focus. He immersed himself in the flow of the Force.

"Have you managed much down time?" he asked.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

"You are not pathetic," Choli said, her voice quieter than usual but steady. "Lonely, maybe, but that's part of the job, isn't it?"

She glanced at him, her expression softening as her gaze caught the faintest trace of a smile lingering on his face. It made her chest tighten in a way she didn't want to examine too closely.

"Down time?" she repeated, sitting back to take another sip of the rum. "Not really. Patrolling hyperlanes does not leave much room for it, especially if you're trying to keep things running." Her lips quirked in a wry grin. "Most of my 'relaxation' is fixing up my ship. And if I am not doing that, I am taking on jobs for spare parts. Keeps me busy."

Choli looked past him, her gaze unfocused, as though she could see through the walls of the ship into the endless black beyond. "I think the closest I've had to real down time was back on Yanibar. Sitting around a fire with Xena and Kol, swapping stories while trying not to freeze my toes off. It was... nice. Simple. Nothing to chase, nothing trying to shoot at you."

She paused, then gave a dry chuckle. "But I guess I do not know what to do with myself when things are quiet. Feels like I should be doing something, you know? Like there is always another hyperlane to patrol or some piece of junk to salvage."

Her arms loosened slightly, and she shifted her weight, the smile slipping into something softer, more vulnerable. "But yeah... I get what you mean about it being lonely sometimes. That's the con of being out there on your own."

She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head as though to clear the thoughts of how things had been the months on the Verre with Trextan years back. At least she still had R4, although he was holding down the fort back where she had her ship stationed for repairs.

"Anyway, enough about me. We can finish this up and get going."

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

He wondered about the time alone being part of the job. Space was vast. In the Core systems were tightly packed but the populated worlds were spread far and wide in the Rim. That meant travel time. He'd met a few friends along the way, had a couple of hookups but he had stopped often and just thought about the time alone.

Perhaps, he thought to himself, time seemed compressed when he was alone with his own thoughts. Or perhaps he was just a very simple person.

He had been through a number of phases in his life: with Jacen, with his step father, with the sith, then with the Alliance and then travelling with Chloe and Choli. Each had always come to a sudden end. He hadn't stopped to think that they didn't necessarily have to.

"I think you have better self motivation than me," Trextan said. He grinned as he closed his eyes and focused.

"It's good to hear how you've been," he said earnestly.

This time he was much quicker to find the alcohol moving through her system. Feeling more confident in himself, he was also far quicker to drain it away.

"We are both going to smell a little like a distillation plant," he said as he opened his eyes.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Choli let out a low chuckle, her smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Nothing a sonic won't fix," she quipped, brushing a few stray strands of hair back from her face. She flexed her fingers, rolling her shoulders as the last tingling traces of the detox faded.

She didn't let herself dwell too long on the warmth she'd felt when the Force had passed through her. That had been different. Too different. It was better to focus on the now, not the what was or the what-could-be. That part of her life had been tucked away like an old datapad at the bottom of a trunk -- still there, but not something she needed to use anymore.

"I think we got it down." Choli straightened, brushing her hands on her flight pants as if dusting off the moment. "Let's call it for now. Chloe will let us know if she needs anything else, and we've got more than enough to deal with later."

Her gaze softened slightly as she nodded toward him.

"Get some good rest, Trextan. You'll need it." The words were simple, but the way she said them carried a weight, an unspoken reminder of what lay ahead.

She hesitated for just a second before turning toward the door, her hand pausing briefly on the frame. "It was good to catch up. Really."

With that, she was gone, her footsteps fading down the corridor as she headed back to her own corner of the ship. The moment lingered, hanging in the stillness of the room like the faint whiff of alcohol they'd both just purged.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

"Nothing a sonic won't fix," she quipped, brushing a few stray strands of hair back from her face. She flexed her fingers, rolling her shoulders as the last tingling traces of the detox faded.

"Yeah," he went. Given her cultural rules about a specific ritual to reach adulthood, that frosted door had been a serious problem for them.

"I think we got it down." Choli straightened, brushing her hands on her flight pants as if dusting off the moment. "Let's call it for now. Chloe will let us know if she needs anything else, and we've got more than enough to deal with later."

"I think that's as good as we'll get with the time we've got. Let's try not to get poisoned in the first place."

He didn't like the idea of being utterly powerless to something. At least now they had a fighting chance.

"It was good to catch up. Really."

Trextan glanced around them. The isolated meditation chamber was suddenly very still and calm.

"It really was," he said. The tripping over words, mild innuendo and tension would have put him in an awkward position five years ago. Now, it only made the small reunion more lively to him.

Each chapter of his life had come slamming down to open the next. A cycle that needed to end. He picked up the bottle and took it back to the kitchen whilst avoiding being spotted by the others. It would have been an odd thing to explain.

---

"Shit."

Trextan watched as the sleek black shuttle emerged from the frigate. They had cruised in quietly. So quietly that they had almost taken a collision course for the vessel that had beaten them to the prize.

The Knight of Ren vessel was also trying to remain stealthy. In a way that was fortunate, had they been actively scanning around them they would have spotted the Wardens.

"What do we do? Put Merril's ship between us and enter from another side?" Trextan asked.

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Chloe's fingers tightened instinctively around the yoke, her pulse quickening. Her blue eyes flicked to the viewport, tracking the shadowy silhouette of the Knight of Ren shuttle against the backdrop of the stars. The air in the cockpit felt heavier, charged with that familiar mix of dread and determination she always got when things went sideways.

"Aye," she said, her voice steady despite the tension clawing at her chest. "That frigate's big enough. We can use it as cover...keep them from seeing us until we're inside."

Her mind raced, piecing together the next steps even as she adjusted their trajectory, easing the ship into the frigate's shadow. The controls hummed under her hands, a small, grounding comfort in the chaos. The Corellian murmured a small prayer to the Corellian Gods under her breath.

"But we'll have to move fast," she added, her tone sharp, all business. "If we wait too long, they'll either spot us or secure the Vault for themselves. And if that happens…" She didn't finish the thought. She didn't need to. At least she had given as much information on Rave's vault ship Chloe had been on before -- it would hopefully be the boon they would need for it.

Meanwhile, Choli shot a glance at Trextan, her expression unreadable. "Think you're ready to go sneaking around with me again, or is this where I remind you how much better I am at this than you?" She smirked faintly, though her pace at donning boarding gear never wavered. Her bravado was as much for herself as it was for him --anything to keep her mind from spiraling to what might happen if they were caught.

The frigate loomed closer, the Knight of Ren shuttle already descending toward an airlock. Choli took a breath and focused. Time to see if all those years patrolling the hyperlanes had paid off.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Meanwhile, Choli shot a glance at Trextan, her expression unreadable. "Think you're ready to go sneaking around with me again, or is this where I remind you how much better I am at this than you?" She smirked faintly, though her pace at donning boarding gear never wavered.

"Yeah, I can't forget that other vault ship we breached where you showed me up," Trextan said.

"Tssk," went Trix behind them. Brassycc made that quiet chuckling sound a wookie made. The one Trextan thought sounded like a dog choking on a bone.

Trextan felt a slight flutter of irritation. He didn't know what was at the core of Trix' attitude. Even with the dangers ahead he would rather his exchanges with Choli not be subject to commentary.

"Was never good at sneaking," Trextan admitted. "Especially not in breaching gear."

Given the risk of poisons, alchemy or a simple decompression Trextan was fetching the helmet to his suit from a cabinet.

"There is a signal," Arryk said. "They're transmitting in the clear. They're already under attack from droids."

 

[Choli Vyn]

Interacting with: Trextan Voidstalker

Choli's eyes snapped to the sensor display, the faint blip of the Knight of Ren shuttle flickering alongside a cluster of erratic signals -- droids, if Arryk was right. Her jaw tightened, pulse kicking up a notch.

"Well, that changes things," she muttered, flipping a few switches with practiced precision. The ship hummed, responding like an extension of herself. She liked that feeling of control in the middle of chaos.

"Chloe mentioned that Rave's vault ship had anti boarding droids....expect paddle beamers that will stun you and knock a limb out... or more, for hours." the edge of a grin tugged at the corner of her mouth, giving a brief glance at Trextan, who had terrible luck with paddle beamers in the past.

"We've got a window," Choli said, all business now. "If the droids are pinning them down, they'll be too busy to spot us. We slide in and get to the vault before either side locks it down." She reached for her own helmet, snapping it into place with a decisive click.

She shot Trextan a sidelong glance as he sealed his suit. "Try not to get knocked out by a paddle beamer this time, huh?"

Trix snorted. Brassycc's low chuckle rumbled again.

Choli didn't wait for a comeback. She was already up, sonic weapon in one hand and her light knife in the other. Within the next few minutes,Chloe had them lined up, the hook of the connector snapping into place to allow them to access the ship.

The Warden took point, her ability to manipulate droids an advantage. She might not be as powerful as Trextan in Force potential, but she could try and take control of a boarding droid before they got shot at.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

Trextan looked down at his prosthetic arm. There had once been a paddle beamer hidden inside the forearm. He had cheated in a duel and used it on Choli before they got entirely distracted.

Now that centre of his forearm was used to hide his lightsaber.

She shot Trextan a sidelong glance as he sealed his suit. "Try not to get knocked out by a paddle beamer this time, huh?"

"So you... Never got hit by a paddle beamer then?" he returned.

Trextan had the heavy occluder handcannon on one hip and his lightsaber on the other. The scattergun was difficult to block with a lightsaber. If he had a role on this mission, it was to deal with the Ren head on if they clashed.

"She's already gone," Trix snorted.

Damn it.

Trextan hurried after the group to get set up.

A dull thud ran through Chloe's ship as the hatch on the vault ship opened. They all braced as their own hatch followed. The connecting tube and the corridor ahead was empty.

Trextan followed after the group. A blast door slid across their path.

"Think we're being delayed because the droid are busy?" Trextan suggested.

Trix dropped to one knee and checked a datapad.

"We can route around it," she said, "and we could scan to be certain of the layout but that might alert the Ren."

"Feels like our first trap," Trextan muttered. "Maybe we go straight through?"