An Aur Diamond in the Rough [Kinsey]

[Rune Shamalain]

Her slip of the Force did not go unnoticed, but it went without remark. For a brief moment Kinsey would find herself affixed with a look of faintly intrigued concern. Much as he would have liked to pursue that curious happening, now was not the time.

Frozen gaze lingered on the keepsake now resting around Kinsey's neck, a current of emotions and memories surfacing at seeing it worn by another. Much as it was so easy to wallow and drown in those things, their situation required his full attention. As did Kinsey. She was upset and seeing her in such a state was a unique experience for him. Rune didn't know her well, but he thought he understood what she represented.

Kinsey was strong. Kinsey was free. Kinsey was independent and wild.

Kinsey didn't need anyone's help ... except when she did, and when she didn't know she did.

A faint, sympathetic smile stretched his lips as her sass could no longer contain itself. Rune suppressed a chuckle as he followed her hardened line of sight to the slinky, silky number hanging on the bed.

His brows very slowly arched upwards.

A hand lifted to cover his mouth into which he gave a gentle cough.

"Hm. That. Is. Well." He wasn't quite sure exactly what it was. "Quite lovely." He made no comment to the fact that no clothing had been provided for him. Apparently Garhallan noble was well enough for Lord Umber.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

“Oh please,” back of her hand lightly smacked against Rune’s chest.

“It’s horrid,” stepping around Rune, the young woman eyed the slinky thing like it was a wild and dangerous animal. She snatched it from its perch and held it at arm’s length.

There was a rough knock on the door as a guard’s voice bellowed from the other end that they had ten more minutes until being escorted to the dining hall.

“Mister Shamalain. Please do turn around.” It was her surrender and triumph within the same sentence.

Might as well get this over with.

 

[Rune Shamalain]

The man grunted. It might've been a light smack by Kinsey standard but the woman truly underestimated her own strength. He did as commanded and turned on his heel, rubbing at his chest, a furrowed brow given towards the door and the guards on the other side.

"If you have anything you wish me to keep on my person..." his voice remained low, hands cupping at his back and held open for her to deposit any items. A few moments later of rumpling clothes, he found her spacer jacket thrown into his grasp. The man blinked, bringing it forward to look at it, "Your optimism of the size of my pockets is respectable."

But there was no way he could hide that on his person. Not beneath his custom tailored clothes.

He smirked, slightly rolled his eyes and put his other hand behind him again, "Anything else?"

Something warm, small, and metallic. A comm. That was much more reasonable. He tucked it into an inner pocket of his jacket.

"I can pocket your sass while I'm at it, if you like."

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

“Your pockets would never be big enough,” the pilot quipped back. She gave her jacket one last, forlorn look, fingers lingering on the well-worn sleeves. Fingers adjusted the necklace Rune let in her care, the ring resting against too much skin for her liking.

The dress was tight. Too short. Left nothing about her curves to the imagination.

“Good thing I got rid of all my lum,” she mused quietly. “Okay, it’s safe to turn around I guess.”

She still felt naked.

Fingers tucked lowered strands of sunkissed brown hair behind ears. At least her longer hair gave her shoulders some cover.

Ugh.

Shoulders squared forward with silent determination as she stepped forward just as the guards opened the door and ushered them out.

 

[Rune Shamalain]

He only had a moment to take in Kinsey before the door opened, and in that moment he found himself struck by several emotions at once. A profound sense of wonder washed over him at the strange dichotomy striding past him. The soft wisp of silk pulled across the tough exterior of a spacer. Her petite figure was lean, the trials and tribulations of her lifestyle evident by the muscle drawn beneath feminine curves. Yet for as lovely as she looked, the ambiance of her appearance was shrouded by her disgust.

A radiant, prickly rose.

Rune kept the thought to himself, frowning at the obvious discomfort she was in. This was a scenario he would have much rather encountered under entirely different circumstances. So, setting her jacket aside, he followed her out the door and allowed his long strides to catch up, holding out his arm for her to take as a silent peace offering.

They could be bound in shackles, separated, thrown into prison cells, tortured, or even dead by now. Dinner in a dress was the lesser evil of many options. Even so, much as he wanted to compliment how she looked, he didn't.

"I hope the menu is more tasteful than the fashion..." Rune offered under his breath, trying to garner a smile from her.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

Kinsey looped her arm around Rune's. Lord Umber had thought of everything regarding the dress. Only, he hadn't provided shoes, so the spacer still wore her scuffed-up ankle-high boots. Made her steps a little lighter at the small triumph.

And Rune had the good sense not to comment on it.

"Yes, well. I certainly hope it's something more." Rune would be rewarded with a partial smile but there would be nothing relaxed about it.

As they walked down a bleak and dark corridor lined with fading oil paintings, Kinsey would find herself squinting through her goggles. There was a significant amount of light blazing from a large room at the end of the corridor. A dining hall. With her one free hand, the girl peeled her goggles off.

Lord Umber sat at the end of a long and narrow table. Plates were piled high of all sorts of food: meats, cheeses, fruits, breads. Unfortunately for Rune, it all looked cooked. He motioned to the seats on either side of him, clearly meant to separate her and Rune.

"Welcome. Join me. And the guards will take good care of your goggles."

The Lord's eyes lingered to where the ring rested on Kinsey's body. Kinsey handed hers' over knowing very well that it looked like a trap and smelled like a trap.

 

[Rune Shamalain]

Mimicking Kinsey, Rune removed his goggles as well as they entered the great hall and took in the sight before them. It was surprising to see the man living so lavishly when he was surrounded by so much destitution and desolation. Where did they have farms to produce this variety of sustenance? He wondered if they imported, though their sour nature to outsiders made that option seem less viable.

Noting the separated seating arrangement, he handed off the goggles without a word and lead Kinsey around to her chair, pulling it out for her and pushing it in after she was seated. A gentle squeeze to a bare shoulder was the only reassurance he could offer.

"It's been quite some time since we've been treated to a feast of this caliber, Lord Umber," Rune stated as he rounded behind the man and took his own seat, "I'm curious, what delicacies is your sector known for?"

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

Kinsey forced a smile toward Lord Umber as he proceeded to brag about the delicacies of this dark and depressing and oppressed home world. There were hunks of meat and several bowls of certain sized eye-balls. Not to mention some dark looking fruits that looked half-rotted. The wine looked thick and green, like snot.

Kinsey didn't touch any of it.

But she did grip her utensils rather tightly. Thoughts of stabbing the fork right through Lord Umber's hand played happily across her mind. It made the corners of her lips twitch upwards just slightly.

The Lord cleared his throat.

"I hope you've had time to read over the contract. And your wife. Where in the galaxy did you meet such a lovely creature?" Lord Umber's voice purred as Kinsey's grip tightened on her fork.

Three prongs meant three points of entry.

 

[Rune Shamalain]

Well the spread was certainly different. Rune waited for Umber to begin serving himself before leaning to begin adding these foreign delicacies to his own plate. A faint glance given Kinsey's way silently asked her to do the same - she didn't have to really eat it, but it would behoove her to at least look like she was participating.

"I had a few moments to glance at it, yes," he replied in kind to the man, "I prefer to look over contracts in person so questions can be attended to immediately." Scooping what looked to be some variation of mostly-clear green gelatin with fruit inside in between a greyish puree and a rack of something resembling ribenes, Rune larked a brow at the follow-up.

"We met at my place of residence, actually," he replied lightly, "Honoghr. I hired her as my personal pilot as recommended to me by an associate."

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

Kinsey’s eye twitched slightly as she stared down Rune. She knew what he was asking. A frown tugged further at her lips. Reaching over, she stabbed the fork none too quietly into a single spear of something green and placed it on her plate. Hand plucked the napkins from her lap as she lightly brushed it against her mouth.

Moreso to hide her glower.

“That’s very quaint.” If Umber was a smart man, he’d be polite and take a trade deal very seriously. But he wasn’t smart. The rock he was on could be gone tomorrow. That’s how life worked here. Seize the day. Take pleasure as it presented itself.

Otherwise, it’d be lost.

And he didn’t give a kark about the other people here and how a trade deal would benefit them. From his perspective, he had all the power. These two were stranded on his rock. He would take what he wanted. One way or another.

“I’m wondering if you saw the section in the contract where I require an hour alone with your wife?” This was a fun and dangerous game to Lord Umber. Kinsey nearly choked on something that looked like water.

 

[Rune Shamalain]

"I did indeed," Rune replied nonchalantly, bringing a hand up to gesture dismissively at the thought, "you don't need an hour alone with my wife."

The thing to note here, however, was the intent behind that hand gesture. It carried with it and focused an age-old mental Force trick on the man, inflecting will over his mind to change the tone of the conversation. At least, that was the plan. Rune wasn't certain of the exposure to the Force these people had or if they carried any innate immunity to it, but he didn't think so. People like that didn't tend to stay off the radar of the key galactic players - just look at who held Panatha by the balls from across the galaxy.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

Lord Umber’s head shook as if trying to keep a pesky gnat off his face.

“Hm. You’re right. Perhaps only half that time.” The man snapped his gloved fingers. “It’s certainly not a request.” Guards stepped from their spots along the wall and flanked Rune.

Kinsey reached across the table, letting her fingers encircle Rune’s wrist in a momentary, light squeeze.

“Don’t worry, dear, I’ll be fine.”

Umber looked surprised. And slightly offended that a pretty creature might actually speak.

 

[Rune Shamalain]

He locked eyes with his wife for a brief moment, doing well to keep his emotions from surfacing on his face. Part of him wanted to feel amusement at Kinsey's silent request, but mostly he labored at keeping a growing fury in check.

Rune Shamalain did not abide by men like this in his life.

"Very well," he said after a beat, watching Kinsey's hand leave his arm and flicking his wrists before him to adjust his sleeves before deftly picking up fork and knife to cut into the ribenes. The guards were ignored entirely, "30 minutes and not a second more."

Somehow it seemed that statement was made towards Kinsey and not the Lord Umber.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

Kinsey’s lips twitched as Lord Umber grinned like the bastard he was.

Her expression wasn’t meant for the Lord.

With a loud screech, the Lord triumphantly scooched back his chair and stood. He offered a hand to Kinsey, another guard coming to her other side. Not having a choice was more than implied.

Standing, she ignored his hand and walked toward a door to the side. A silent look of NOT TO WORRY was passed over her shoulder as she and Lord Umber stepped out of sight.

About ten minutes from the door closing, there were muffled cries. A loud THUNK. And then silence.

 

[Rune Shamalain]

Giving a light sniff as the two dismissed themselves, Rune calmly raised the first bite of ribene to his nose and sampled it with a small lick. An assassin who had employed the use of toxins and poisons such as himself was knowledgeable in the many means of killing people across the stars. Could he detect everything? No, not likely. He was a man, not a machine, fallible like all the rest, but he felt comfortable in his assessment that the food had not been tampered with.

He ate in silence, taking time every bite or so to read over the rest of the contract, utterly unphased by the noises coming from the side door.

The guards, to their credit, didn't move from his sides and the one stationed at the door held his ground. Rune could sense the mild uncertainty there, though, as it didn't sound like a good time was being had on the other side of the door.

When it finally opened again Kinsey stepped through with a torn sleeve and a visible bruise forming on her jaw. Rune's frigid gaze settled on the quickly turning skin with a momentary flash of anger. Feeling as though he'd need to install a beskar pole at his spine to keep from breaking character, he checked the time on the datapad at his side, "You've another 12 minutes. Waste not want not."

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

The sad thing about all this?

Kinsey had been this girl. Not the kind to let a pig touch her. But the kind to wear dresses like this. To flirt. To drink too much. To take advantage of her looks and smile. She’d been young, stupid, and naive when Sage had targeted her. He hadn’t been a pig. He’d been a serpent.

So much had changed.

When her gaze locked with Rune’s across the hall, he’d see a flicker of the girl he’d had to hold from nightmares just a few nights ago beneath those layers of bravado and independence. A bent and marred fork with crimson liquid dripping off the tips clanged across the floor as she tossed it.

Waste not want not.

“Don’t worry. Nothing was wasted, love.”

The guard closest to her stammered and raised his weapon. The guards were well taken care of on this piece of hell. Some of them might hate the Lord. But they needed him to keep living the standard they were used to.

The lead guard growled. “Kill the lights. Arrest these two.”

Kinsey blinked as everything went black.

No one ever said she was good at political negotiations.

 

[Rune Shamalain]

He caught that flicker of fear and it pulled at him with an undeniable power. The very same power that would break a man like himself could also command him to action with nary a whisper. And in those moments that followed, as the fork clattered across the ground and the fresh scent of blood filtered across the air to be taken in by his predatory senses, he found himself caught between a rage clawing at the back of his ribs and the stalwart promise he'd made to Kinsey before they stepped foot off the ship.

He promised he wouldn't kill anyone. Not unless absolutely necessary.

It was that promise that kept him seated, blue gaze shifting as they were plunged into darkness to emit a bio luminescent glow.

Rune felt the hands of the guards at his side grab at his arms and pull him bodily from his seat. He did not fight it for all the effort he presently spared fighting back the fury bedeviling his instincts. He watched with perfect clarity as Kinsey thrashed against her aggressors but to no avail. They outnumbered and overpowered her and within short order they were both being cuffed and lead away.

"Kinsey -" being lead in front didn't leave him any view of her as she struggled behind them, en route to wherever the holding cells were located, "Kinsey."

"Quiet," something flew at his face and he couldn't tell if it was a fist or the butt of a rifle. He hoped it was a fist that caught the fangs in his mouth. Rune tasted blood but he wasn't certain who it belonged to.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

She was trembling. While Rune was struggling at keeping his rage at bay, Kinsey was struggling with her own demons. The darkness consumed her. There were no shapes or hues of faint light. Just the tight grip on her arms from the guards. She was scared.

Not because of what might happen to them.

Because she was barely keeping her force signature in check.

A famous healer had taken away a darkside poison on a far-away homestead, once. But that didn't mean the temptation to the disease of the darkside wasn't still there. And it was still there. And if she used it, he'd find her. And more importantly, she'd lose herself.

Breath hitched in her throat as she stumbled on uneven ground.

"Rune," her voice trembled. There was anguish there. He'd probably misplace the source but the meaning was the same. She needed him to get them out of there. She didn't know if Rune would be able to control himself. She didn't know if she'd be able to control herself.

But it was almost too late to wonder such things at all.

 

[Rune Shamalain]

It took less than a breath after she said his name for him to break his shackles. The metal shards fell to the floor in a stacatto symphony, heralding the emotional crescendo that had been slowly building over the last half hour. Muffled sounds reached Kinsey's ears but she would not be able to see. The noises of a struggle, of the two Guards detaining Rune discovering that their charge was not quite what he seemed.

Kinsey's guards immediately detoured as the fight broke out, swinging her down a hallway to the left and hurrying their pace.

She would hear Rune calling after her, voice fading amidst the chaos of the fight.

Then naught but their own footsteps. They came to a stop before a set of doors, pressing the control panel to call the lift.

"Did you see his eyes?" the guard to her left hissed, "He's a damned alien."
"Knew something wasn't right about him. Never turned his goggles on," replied the one of the right.

Silence fell, the light above the doors indicated the lift was one floor down.

The sound of a rasp breath echoed from behind them. A silver shadow coiling in. The Guard on her right suddenly lurched forward with a grunt, his face and helmet smashing into the door with such force it left an impression in the metal. The Guard on her left turned just in time, issuing a Code Red right before he flew backwards with a hrk.

Ding.

The doors opened, Kinsey would feel cool hands on her wrists pressing into her back, guiding her forward firmly. As the doors closed behind them again that grip would tighten, ensnaring her wrists and pulling them apart to break the links that bound them. Rune punched the knob for the Executive Suite before taking her by the shoulders to swiftly turn her around. Facing the man who looked for all the world as pale as a ghost, his hands remained but were gentle.

"Are you alright?" a husked question, eyes still blue but steely and sharp looking her over for any sign that she'd been harmed.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

The dim light the lift had to offer from the buttons and controls seemed blinding to Kinsey.

Blues squinted as they tried to focus on the soft glow of Rune's. Adrenaline was beginning to mix with exhaustion. It felt like she was trying to hold her head above water. There was something about this place that made it all too easy to succumb to her fears. The darkside was like a nagging shadowy temptress.

Rune would only see minor wounds.

A split lip. Bruise on her jaw and bruises along her arms from the guard's grip. Nothing her spacer skin hadn't seen before. Kinsey, the spacer extraordinaire, with cracks around the edges, nodded slowly, not trusting her own voice yet. Eyes flickered to the increasing digits on the lift readout.

A moment turned into a few moments as she found herself lost in Rune's icy gaze.

Wordlessly, she reached inside Rune's pocket, fishing out her comm.

"Pibs," voice was weak - not herself. "We need a pick-up. Sending you the coordinates. Scan the area for a private hanger."

Looks like they had to steal the fuel themselves. If they made it out. There was a concerned beep on the other end as the lift doors opened.

"HANDS UP," one of the guards shouted from the battalion that faced them in the corridor.