Ain't No Sass in Our Kaas [Silver Sanctum Dominion of Dromund Kaas]

[Rayliav'enci]

Raylia let him pull her in for a hug but she didn't squeeze him too tightly as he winched when her arms slipped around him. Her green eyes looked longingly at the open ramp of his ship behind him and she nodded to him that she would love to get away from Kaas City.

"I don't know how people live here. This place is vile. It poisons and twists. Just get us to orbit and I can take a look at your injuries."

There was something about being a force healer that required her to draw heavily on the force around her, using herself as a conduit to channel that energy into her patients. Here, she had to work twice as hard to overcome the corruption that she could sense. She watched him step away and took a last deep breath before she headed up the ramp herself.

He went on ahead of her, getting the ship ready to take off. She dropped her bag and followed him, taking a seat in the copilot's chair with her eyes closed resting. Only when the black skies of deep space were outside of the windscreens would she pick her head up and look at him.

"You're gonna have to pull off the armor so I can heal you."

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

"It is fun." She said it while working on the containers and they were finally loaded up as she stood there looking out at the rain covered area. THe probes searching and cataloging the debris gave a good indication while she was turning her head to look at the girl. "We might not be the best or most noble of the jedi orders but... there are enough temples dedicated to the jedi way that you can ignore the darksiders the grandmaster and council have welcomed." She said it with a shrug, the vaynai temple and academy, the places they constructed on Zygerria for healers and the massive temple by the lake served to teach jedi and her senses were getting no traces of dark taint on her.

 

[Sorel Crieff]

[member="Orihime Ike"]

Sorel continued to work and listened. "I kind of figured I was becoming the odd one out. I have a...thing...about dark siders. It's just me but let's say I don't necessarily enjoy their company. Maybe that will change one day, but I wouldn't bet my ship on it."

"I suppose I just need to keep myself around those that are like-minded and I can't go wrong." She doubled her effort, as if bothered that she'd shared as much as she had. "And don't mind me, I sometimes ramble. I'm sure if I put my mind to it, I'll fit right in."

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

"That is alright I do the same sometShe said it while looking out and well if anything she at least made a solid jedi friend and this one wasn't telling her how she was special and could use her emotions to fight and the darkside as a tool to defeat evil. She seemed to get it and that was a good thing while she was looking at the transport. "Well there isn't much to do here, Sasori will move in to establish testing and different ventures to try and work the planet but we got what refugees were here on medical ships. We have time if you like before well heading back into the order. Lots of stuff to do to avoid the more dark inclined."

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Rayliav'enci

The wince when she returned the hug was more of a reaction than he would have cared to show, but it was involuntary thing. The longing in her eyes as she stared at the ramp on his ship was impossible to miss and he couldn't say he blamed her for wanting to get off planet. He certainly was looking forward to leaving here also especially after the embarrassing debacle at the temple. THe Corellian in him was disappointed that he had to be extracted, just a matter of pride for him.

"I guess you would learn to adapt if you had no other choice, but I can't wrap my head around it either. Plus this place is giving me a headache. Orbit it is then."

He was a bit worried when she took a deep breath before they boarded. Was something wrong? Had she overextended herself? As much as he hoped she hadn't, he started prepping for take off and setting a trajectory to put them in a stable orbit until she told him where she wanted to go next. He took his time to work out the coordinates of where they were and set the ship for a geostationary orbit. It seemed like the space outside where they were was clear enough as long as they stayed out of low orbit. High orbit seemed a better chance to avoid debris from the recent fight with the xenos.

As he was finishing up setting the coordinates and finishing the systems check, Raylia took a seat next to him in the co-pilot's chair. He was quiet as they lifted off and got into position, he knew she needed to rest right now so he would let her. With that thought he took things a bit more slowly to let her rest as long as she could. Once she awoke they were set in orbit, then came her turning towards him and looking at him. Her words brought a rare pause from himas he thought about how to answer her.

"Well this is a bit different from the armor I used to wear. Just more of an armored flight suit than anything else. High end materials but still...yea well give me a sec here."

He took a quick moment to unseal the helm and remove it before taking off the torso armor and gauntlets. He was hoping this would be enough. If not then he'd do what he had to, but from what he could tell most of the more seroius injuries were to his shoulder, chest, and abdominal area. He took a deep breath, wincing slightly as he let it out.

 

[Rayliav'enci]

His armor peeled off, she stood up and crossed the distance, pulling his clothes gingerly aside to examine his contusions. Severe bruising, a couple broken ribs at least and the trauma to the shoulder were fairly straight forward. The painkillers had taken the edge off the headache and she was feeling better already being off the surface. She breathed in, centering herself in order to call her abilities forth. Her hands moved over his clothes a couple inches above as a faint glow and a warm sensation flooded his flesh.

Speeding his natural processes would help him rebound but it was not exactly pain free as his bones set and knitted themselves back together. The superficial tissues would be healed long before the pain of the bone fractures and contusions. Satisfied that she had done what she could on the torso, she moved to his shoulder, wrinkles deepening in her forehead.

"This is the same shoulder you injured on Sullust. The dislocation is going to take a little longer to heal and I think you should still get it checked by a doctor to make sure you don't need surgery."

She stepped back, allowing him to pull his suit back up. Raylia smiled a little before she turned to sink back into the copilot's seat.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

While this was not an odd situation for the two of them to be placed in, given his penchant for injuring himself, he still felt strange. Maybe it was residual stuff from the temple, it was definitely not as bad as it was there, but still not a feeling he cared for. She worked carefully, doing a thorough check and the heat was a calming feeling for him even if it didn't help to dull the pain of everything being put back together correctly. He focused on slow deep breaths while Raylia worked.

Kurayami just focused on keeping a steady, slow rate of brathing his eyes closed, even though it was easy to tell that he didn't exactly enjoy the sensation of the healing. It was far better than the walking around with the injuries though. His shoulder was far worse though bringing gasp of pain as it was correctly reset, he had known his solution was temporary. Her comment though was not a comforting one.

"How do you manage to remember these things? I can't even keep track of what was injured and where. Gotta say that I am glad to have you around and a longer recovery...well at least I have plenty of data from here and Korriban to comb through. We can always get it checked if it hasn't healed in a reasonable time. Never have been a fan of people poking around inside my body to fix things. I mean Force healing is one thing, but blades and lasers cutting someone open sounds like torture, not healing. We'll burn that bridge when we get there though."

Once she finished her work and stepped back, he returned her smile as he pulled the suit back up and zipped up the torso portion. He took his seat in the pilot's chair again leaving the helmet off for now. He turned his head towards her and nodded.

Well Ray, where would you like to go? I have nowhere to be so it's your call. And feel free to help yourself to anything onboard, I make sure to keep it well stocked with fresh food. If you just need sleep you can always lay down in my quarters. My home is your home. It's the least I can do with how often you have to patch me up."

[member="Rayliav'enci"]

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"No one is getting sucked out into space. Pretty soon you'll be so used to this Zej here will have you salvaging on the outside of ships and space stations."


Zej stopped as they drew closer to the main work site. It was the broken end of the vessel, one could see out clearly into space. Unclip from the safety line and workers would have been floating off into space. A Salacia-designed salvaging vessel was picking off the pieces loosened by the workers. Arm put the metal into a cargo-type container for storage.


"Finally got it clear enough to actually get the vessels in.Took quite a few hits from all the floating debris. Nothing we can't handle though.This is the seventh load out in two days. Tons of it, redirecting it to the Tabaqui facilties for melting given our location. Higher ups say you want it out to Elrood?"

 

[Rayliav'enci]

"We're gonna have to be here a while in order to treat more people. If you want to just hang out up here in orbit, you can rest up and go back to exploring tomorrow when I go back to help more people."

She bit her tongue about sending the rangers after him today, and headed off to get cleaned up and something to eat. She needed to get out of these bloody things. Scooping her bag up from the gangway, she headed for Kurayami's cabin. The personal transport wasn't too terribly large but he had sprung for a pretty decent refresher.

As the hot water flowed over her blue skin, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cool shower wall. She just breathed deeply, letting the water help to relax her from the long day. She had probably seen over a hundred patients today and holding her empathy in check was hard. She had wanted to scream and cry with them but they needed her strength. These were the days that her natural talents were in direct conflict with her chosen ones. She preferred archaeology and linguistics and scholarly pursuits because then she did not have to feel their pains, and sorrows and fears. She had a hard time separating them from her own feelings but these people needed it.

She dressed quickly and came back out in fresh mint green scrubs that she had brought along with her carrying a small ration with her. She stopped in the small galley and added some water to the cup, allowing the hot liquid to reconstitute the fungi into a soup broth. Right now, she wanted something comforting and she had always had a taste for these dehydrated soup cups.

It was cupped in her hands as she came back out to find him, her pursed lips blowing on it to cool while she waited to eat it.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

'If that is what you feel is best then we can certainly do that. I'm not sure about going back just yet, maybe day after tomorrow. Like I said before, already have alot of data to go through and there is the possibility that I found a tomb on Korriban. Even though I couldn't make out the name, it was something that just...felt like one."

He pulled up the first chunk of data from Korriban and set the computer to scanning all the video he had and focus on checking everything against any accessible databases. He didn't know exactly how much data collection he had done, but he knew it was quite a bit so the cross checking would take awhile. When Raylia went to go get cleaned up he stepped into the kitchen to grab a ration bar and a glass of water before sitting down again.

He had to admire her dedication to helping these people and her empathy for their plight. What stood out to him the most though was her inner strength. He had always found it surprising that someone of her field of study would be so laser focused when it came to things outside her expertise. It seemed so natural to her, and she was not one to make a big deal of her abilities. As much as he had feelings for her he also held a great admiration for what she did.

When she came in to get her soup taken care of, he stood and motioned to where he had been sitting.

"Sit down and rest Ray, you pushed yourself hard today. It was easy to see it in your eyes so please sit and feel free to ask me for anything you need. Especially if you are going back down there tomorrow. You'll need as much energy as you can manage to do what you did again."

[member="Rayliav'enci"]

 

[Rayliav'enci]

She let him surrender his seat, thankful to be off her feet for a little while. She let her eyes wander to the footage but even though it was something she dearly wanted to see, she wasn't in the mood to pay attention to the insides of a dark temple dedicated to the powers that had sapped her strength all day. Normally, reports from Dromund Kaas did not specify that the draw of the darkside was this strong but sipping the broth in her hand she started to wonder how strongly acts of war affected naturally occurring nexuses. The atmosphere in Kaas City after a devastating act of war would have been dire on the best of places in the galaxy, but it seemed to compound the hopelessness and anger that were known side effects of being near such a potent taint.

She grinned sheepishly behind the edge of the cup. "It's part of the job. I just wish I could do more. It was hard enough to suppress my empath abilities today as it was. I also tried to make sure those I helped were soothed by the force instead of being drained by it."

She didn't really ever talk to him about what she could do. Every Jedi had different talents. She was a known healer but the rest was usually a mystery. Being an archaeology didn't really require grand uses of her gifts and getting into the specifics of what she could and couldn't do was a little like Kurayami talking to her about his weapons. It was mostly over her head.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Kurayami sighed, knowing that it was something he needed to address but how to do it? Maybe the captain had given him a bit of help without even knowing it. He leaned back against the counter and set his empty water glass down before looking at her again. Damn, these things never got easier to talk about did they? He was certainly no master of emotion to start with and usually even worse at expressing them in any healthy ways. There were so many ways but maybe it was best to just be straightforward.

"Look Ray, there's uh...there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about for a long time. It's probably something that isn't unexpected really but I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't notice. It's one thing I've done a lot to hide or play off as not being serious about..."

He took a deep breath sighing as he tried to think about how to say it.

"I know that things have been rough in the past for both of us and we met under less than the best of circumstances. We've always been a bit of an odd couple and that makes this hard to say, but what makes it even harder for me is that, well other than this ship, you are basically all I have left. When I heard you were going to be here I was worried immediately. Not because you were going to be here, but because medical stations are tempting targets for any who want to cause trouble. I know you can handle yourself but having a city between us and knowing if something went wrong that by the time I got there...it just, it scared me. I can't afford to lose you.

What I am trying to get at here is...I mean what I'm trying to say is that...I love you Raylia. You know how cold I was when we first met so long ago. I was afraid to get close to you, and it fucking scares the hell out of me with how close I have gotten to you. I wasn't looking for someone after what happened. You just kinda fell into place and with how terrified I was of letting anyone close to me then...I was worried you would leave or that something would happen to you. You stayed with me though, you took care of me when I needed you most, you could have left any time but you dealt with the insanity that follows me around. Over time I grew to realize that I was scared because I loved you and couldn't bear the thought of losing you like I lost her..."

Kurayami took a deep breath to recenter himself and took a moment to refill his glass and take a sip of water.

"You are more important to me than anyone has been in a long time. I understand if this sounds crazy to you and makes no sense or if you don't feel the same. But the captain of the squad made a comment earlier that really made me wonder how you see me exactly. He mentioned that 'Women always worry about their men.' and it struck a bit of a chord with me when he pointed out that you managed to scramble a full team of rangers and a transport just to get me out when I was able to move under my own power. Not many people would go to those lengths. I know I worry you a lot, and you are right to, but I'm trying to work on that at least.

Okay with that craziness out in the open I feel much better, I wanted to tell you when we met on Naboo for drinks awhile back, but I just, I couldn't find the words...but that is the most important thing I have needed to address for a long time now. If you need time to process before responding, well it's not something minor so please take your time."

As nervous as he had been when he started he ended his rambling confession with a gentle smile, taking another drink while he waited for her reaction.

[member="Rayliav'enci"]

 

[Rayliav'enci]

She watched him with wide green eyes still ringed with exhaustion but rapt on his face as he spoke. Over the years as she started to grow fond of him, she began to consciously block her abilities in relation to him. She'd learned that friends and loved one tended to view it as an invasion of their privacy when she read their feelings. In learning to use her healing gifts, it was a boon as it allowed her to help them relax so she could help them quicker.

She had never tried to sense his feelings. Part of her was definitely scared of that she felt something and he would feel nothing. If she was blissfully unaware, she could accept that over knowing that he did not feel the same way. His confession seemed to paralyze her.

The lump in her throat, the turmoil in her belly, the pounding of her heart against her rib cage.

A moment's courage and it is done.

She was on her feet and moving before he could say anything else. Her arms encircled his neck drawing him close to her as her lips found his.

[member="Kurayami Bloodborn"]

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Kurayami noticed that Raylia was either shocked at what he said or excited by it. It was hard to tell at the moment since he was still trying to process that he had actually said the words he had. All that really registered to him at the moment was that he had rambled quite a bit and something about love had slipped out...did he really just say that? Not that he regretted it or didn't want to, just surprised himself by being so blunt about it, not that him being blunt was out of the ordinary, but usually it ended badly.

At first he was expecting that to be since she froze when he said the words. When she stood two possibilities came to mind immediately. One that she was about to walk out and say nothing, or alternately that when she approached that she was going to slap the everloving hell out of him for being presumptuous. Thankfully it was neither of those reactions, so his mind scrambled to come up with other possible scenarios. None of these were right either.

Time seemed to slow as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. This was more than unexpected and he had no time to think, he simply reacted by leaning in closer to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. The one thing he hadn't seen as even a remote possibility was the one that came to pass and he couldn't have been more pleased with her response. As strange of a feeling as this was it was what was right, somehow he just knew it was supposed end this way.

[member="Rayliav'enci"]

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Groaning and creaking accompanied their trek towards the end of the line so to speak. Makai watched as pieces were being detached with surprising speed. Beyond the bulk that was Zej, Makai could see the freighter picking up pieces and putting them into the cargo holds. It was interesting to watch, seeing the real progress right in front of him.


"Yeah, mark them on shipment towards Elrood." Iced blue eyes looked at his Dad talked to Zej. "I'll be putting in some communication about turning this mess into durasteel sheets and what not."


"Durasteel sheets eh? Something tells me if this works out in the applications on Elrood we could start selling salvaged durasteel as some....I don't know, fancy option for folks. Makes 'em feel like they have done something special."


Judah couldn't help but laugh.


"You have a point, perhaps it can be added in as a selling point."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

[member="Orihime Ike"]

"I don't exactly have a schedule - so anything I can do would fill my time fruitfully and help out those in need. So just tell me what needs doing, and I'll lend a hand." Sorel was aware that, given she'd spoken to so few people in the past two years - and certainly none she could trust - she was in danger of unloading on anyone that seemed to be on the same wavelength as her. She made a point of catching herself in the future and looked to steer the subject onto less controversial ground.

"Tell me, what is your mother like when she's not being a Jedi? Assuming she is ever off-duty so to speak." The question was asked in a matter of fact way and Sorel hoped it did not come across that she was prying - but instead just curious.

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

"Oh she never stops being a jedi.... or a mother." She said it with a smile cause it was nice and all but sometimes you did have to be careful. Couldn't make some jokes or do things with your master to bond when you already did... Or go home and talk about it. Alas the first order problems of being a jedi and having an attentive parent and master woe was her. "You'll find she is more open to teaching you just about anything because she believes you have the capacity to make your own choices rather then have her tell you what is right and wrong. Helps find ones who could become a danger and those who have a strong moral center to some things."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel felt herself blushing. It sounded as though she had been talked about – and in a positive way. As a Youngling that was picked up at the 11th hour and whose Master had died under less than ideal circumstances, she was not used to attention – let alone encouraging consideration.

“She is lucky to have you as a daughter and you to have her as a mother,” Sorel said honestly. “And I shall always be self-sufficient and will readily accept the things I cannot change and therefore ask for help. Furthermore I will have the tenacity to change those things I can. And therefore will strive for the wisdom to know which is which.”

“Now, where do you need me?”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Now it was her turn to blush and enjoy the compliment, basking in all of it as she thought about it with where they could go and help. There were the ruins of the old city they were salvaging and the ruined dark temples. Her mother had been working on the things while Orihime gave a nod of her head. "There is the remains of the old city we can go and search. That would be the best place to start and we can explore it for some interesting ideas." She was pointing towards the ruined sections of the city and temple in the distance with a grin while she held her saber. Looking like a shoto for a moment but her saber could change as needed.

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel nodded. "You've got the local knowledge - well certainly it's more than mine - so lead on. If you're sure we've done all we can, I'd appreciate looking around the old city. Things to see, people to help. That sort of thing. And is that a temple?" She saw where [member="Orihime Ike"] was pointing and raised an eyebrow. "I mean the old Sith temple?"