Private Brace For Impact

[Mathieu Brion]

Brace For Impact

This was never going to be easy.

With his hands clasped in a knot over his legs, Mathieu leaned forward on the pilot's chair, contemplating what he was about to do. Looking down at the lump of fingers and flesh, he bit his lower lip, doubting whether it was the right course or not. But then, this was something which he had been thinking about for a while and knew was the right thing - at least for his own good.

Having just come back from a mission on the opposite side of the planet, he still wore full combat gear and carried a few marks of having been in battle. A slight and thin cut along his left cheek, a blaster mark on his armour slightly above above the chest to the right and messy hair. Standing up to his full height, the large Morellian brushed his hair back with his left hand whilst the right one went over to the ship controls. Moments before he reached them, he decided to not turn the vessel off. The plan was not to stay for long anyways. He had a job lined up and would be on his way soon enough.

Taking another deep breath and letting out a anguishing sigh, he walked through the freighter with heavy steps. The private hangar in which the ship stood was large enough for the ship to comfortably fit in with plenty of space to spare. While the vents pumped out some cold smoke and cables hung low from the high ceiling, it served its purpose well as it contained both repair facilities, hover boards for cargo transportation and easy access to a nearby spaceport cantina. Still, it was a bleak setting with many cold nuances of grey and blue.

Having sent a message for Sammy to meet him there, he lowered the ramp whilst standing on it, causing himself to descend down towards ground level in unison with the platform.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

Sam was looking forward to this meeting. Her leg was healed up, she treated herself to some new clothes and she was even considering getting rid of her tattoo. After everything that happened, it was impossible for her to feel anything less than spectacular.

Her ship broke through the atmosphere and made a rather rocky landing by the spaceport next to Matt's ship. She still had a lot of room for improvement but between Matt's lessons, Beebee's help and an ancient instruction manual off the holonet, she was quickly learning how to fly her own ship. With a sugh of relief she powered down her ship and told Beebee to wstch over the ship.

She slipped on her holsters and made for the exit with a smile on her face. "Matt! she called out as she walked up to him, throwing her arms around his neck to plant a deep kiss on his lips. "You look like shit." she quipped with a chuckle, looking him over. At least he looked fine. " I hope they got as good as they gave." she continued as she checked the mark on his cheek.

Taking a step back she gave him a warm smile, though it faded as she looked into his eyes. "Babe? What's wrong? You look like something's cheweing you up hard." she asked gently.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

She was happy. And that made him happy. He was simple like that. It would be a moment which he would try to remember, to savour for as long as it would last. For what was about to come next was not pleasant. But it was for the best.

"Sammy" he replied to her happy exclamation. But his voice was calm, bordering on solemn. She hugged him - it was not unexpected and while slow to react, his one arm went around her back as he reciprocated the gesture. It was, however, not the same as it used to be as he soon patted her softly on the back, indicating that it was time to let go. Meanwhile, he reached up for a kiss - but knowing what was about to happen, Mathieu couldn't go along with it, regardless of how much he enjoyed the sensation. To avoid it, he leaned in, going past her so that their heads would be next to each other.

Her spirits were not down just yet as she continued, quipping that he looked like shit, causing him to chuckle involuntarily as he let go of her "I'd rather be in their position right now" he said truthfully, thinking that their position in a prisoners' shuttle was much easier than his. As they released the hug, Sammy could see that something was not as it should. Soundlessly, he worded a short "Yeah" as he looked at her.

Standing as close as they were with eyes meeting with her scent weaving in and out from his senses, he begun feeling way more emotional than he wanted to. Looking away, far out into the hangar's ship entrance, he whispered another quiet "Yeah". After a few uncomfortable moments, he put a heavy hand on her right shoulder and prepared to say it as he looked into her eyes. Failing, his hand fell back down to his side as his gaze followed on its path down.

A few more moments passed "Sammy" he said, with a strong voice, just as he had recomposed himself. "I need to break up with you" he said - honestly, bluntly and without mincing any words - just the same as always.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

His behavior was awkward. Not at all how she knew him to be. He avoided the kiss and his hug was sub-par at best. It was starting to form some questions in her mind that she really didn't want to entertain.

"Matt. What's going on?" she asked him with a deadly serious voice. He laid his hand on her shoulder but still nothing came out. Finally, after several long moments, he said it.

It felt like her heart stopped beating for a moment. Her eyes went wide with shock as she stared at him. But a deep scowl was quickly formed as she turned away, running a hand over her face and through her freshly brushed hair. "Matt if this is some kind of sick joke, I'll kick your ass." she threatened him. But she knew it wasn't a joke. He was being very serious.

Sam paced around a bit and walked up to him again."Why? Huh? Tell me why. Did I lose my appeal? Is the Coruscanti gutter rat not good enough anymore? Or did you meet some nice Naboo queen that tickles that elegant pickle Just a little bit better?" she asked him, practically shouting at him as it became harder to control her emotions.

"We're not breaking up." she said coldly with a shake of her head. "Know why? BECAUSE I GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO MAKE IT WORK!" she exploded, giving him a shove against his chest. "I quit smoking! I quit spice! I even got shot in the karking leg while I massacred my old gang! I even want to get this shit off me!" she shouted, pointing at her tattoo on her shoulder. "All that to make this work. To be able to live a normal life with you!" she finished, running her hands through her hair once more as she paced around.

When her hand lowered, she drew her pistol and brought it up to her head. But then she realized how pathetic she'd look if she did that so instead she turned the gun on Matt. "I love you, you karking nerf herder. You hear me?" she muttered, aiming right for his head. But it was little more than reflex. The gun lowered and she slipped it back into her holster.

She clenched her jaw hard to keep the emotions from getting the best of her. Even Matt wasn't allowed to see her weak. He lost that right the moment the words left his mouth. No, he'd get something else.

She walked up to him and swung her leg up to drive a durasteel-capped boot right into his groin, followed up by a hard punch to his nose. "Run along then! You spineless skug! You don't wanna be with me anymore? Then kark off!" she shouted, giving another kick to his side to chase him off like a mutt. "Go on then! Kark off! Go chase that Serenno ass then!" she continued to scream at him with a voice startking to crack. Her eyes were gwtting foggy but she pushed it aside. Unless he karked off, she would be kicking his ass all day.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

He watched as the emotions changed and fluctuated in her eyes, spotting hints of confusion, sadness and anger in them. Shaking his head, he let out a small "No" as she speculated about whether she was good enough or not. Even going so far as to thinking that he might have found someone else. The idea made his eyebrows furrow. Of course he had not found someone else but before he could say anything, she continued.

With sadness spread across his eyes, Mathieu's gaze fell as she yelled at him. While the large Morellian had hoped for this to take a more calm and peaceful route, he would be a fool not to have taken the possibility of this outcome into consideration. He knew who he was dealing with. The shove didn't cause him to budge, in fact, it was more likely that she would push herself back through the action than him. Internally, he cursed himself for not taking a step back, giving her the satisfaction of getting to push him. But on the outside, he remained calm, sad and solemn.

Without knowing what to say as she listed the sacrifices she had made, Mathieu remained silent. He knew that speaking would probably only make matters worse. Maybe if he had been a more gifted speaker, things would be different, but as they stood now, silence was golden.

But then she drew her blaster pistol. Every muscle in him twitched as he begun to dash towards her, not wanting to let her do what it looked like she was about to do. But then, she turned the blaster on him. Stopping right in his tracks, the Mercenary froze. He had faced the barrel of a blaster multiple times in the past but hers was one of few which had actually managed to hurt him. With his hand slowly going to his side where he had been shot before, he relived the past experience in his mind as he looked at her with doe-eyes.

A creeping sense of anger started to emerge as she put away the weapon. Mathieu hated how fearful he had become. How little she had to do to make him grow quiet, even before pulling out the blaster, he had little to say against her. It worked to reinforce his belief that what he was doing was the right option for him. But it also put him a bit closer to loosing his cool.

And then came the low-blow. It was not unexpected and between his armour, Ashlas guard and fine reflexes, he managed to raise his own leg to block hers, letting her soft limb pump in against his heavily armoured one. The punch against the nose was, however, unexpected and it wouldn't be long before he could smell the blood that was starting to seep out. It was only a matter of time before the nosebleed would become a fact. Looking at her for a few moments, he let out a quick "Sorry" before starting to take a few steps back - it was all that was needed, seeing as he stood by the ship's ramp. She was right - leaving was probably the best option.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

Her kick didn't land but her punch certainly did. Though what irked her more and more was the fact that he had nothing to say. He merely apologized and tried to walk away. "You karking coward! That's all you have to say?" she shouted, wrapping her arms around herself.

Though her anger faded as she watched him move up the ramp. "Matt! Wait." she called out with a much more sympathetic voice. She watched him as she hugged herself, biting her lower lip. "Please. Don't go." she begged him timidly. "Please don't leave me." she continued, taking a few steps closer. "At least... tell me why. I tried to make it work. Why leave?" she asked him, standing at the bottom of the ramp.

She wanted to grab hold of him and pull him off the ship, still not fully coming to terms with the situation. But she stayed at the bottom of the ramp, holding herself as she looked up at him with pleading eyes.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Her voice softened and he quickly realised that it was probably the last thing he could have wished for. It was clear to him that his defences started to crumble as he heard her little voice - timid and exposed. Stopping, he let out a heavy breath as his shoulders fell and a sympathetic look spread across his face. Mathieu wanted to take a step closer and give her a hug to stop her for feeling so lonely, but he knew that if he did, letting go would become so much harder. Instead, he stepped to the side, off of the ramp and while this did not prevent her from standing taller than her, it would at least put them on the same level as usual.

"I need to" he said in response to her plea, clearly rather unhappy about it himself. She took a few steps closer, whilst continuing to ask for him not to leave her - and how could he? His emotions for her were real and even now, he hated seeing her hurt. "You did" he whispered, more for himself to hear than her. Looking at her intently, he remained quite for a few moments - they were not in a rush. "I feel like, uhm..." he began but trailed off, once again gazing away in another direction. "I feel like I'm loosing myself" he said - the Morellian's mouth was still agape as he searched for something more to say. Something more substantive for her, but nothing came to mind. "I just-" he started but the sentence faded out as quickly as it had begun. Trying a few more times with the same result, he eventually managed to blurt something out "Remember how I used to be able to stand up to you and challenge you when we first met? That is all gone now. I- I just feel like I'm loosing myself in this and I can't" His tone was emotional, heavy and with a hint of desperation. Quickly, his eyes bounced from side to side, scanning her face before once again falling in a downwards gaze.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

It took him a while to get the wording but finally he gave his answer. That only made Sam feel worse. She knew the fault was with her. She was a hard person and that reflected harshly in her personality. But it was still not a pleasant realization to find out that, no matter how much she tried to fix her faults and flaws, it still wasn't enough.

She swallowed hard and gave a nod. "Okay." she said softly, giving a light sniff. With another nod she glanced off to the side then back to him. "Okay." she said again, turning to leave. However once she had some space between them, she turned around again.

"Hey Matt." she caaled out to him again. Once he looked at her, she'd draw her blaster again and fired at him. One bolt after the other, she fired at every armored spot on his body. She didn't want to kill him - that much- but she wanted to hurt him. She hoped the hits would leave a mark underneath.

Once her pistol was empty, she turned to make her way up her ship's ramp and closed it off. Wordlessly she started her ship up and roughly flew off again. A cold look was permanently affixed on her face as she flew the ship out of atmosphere and jumped to hyperspace.

Only after she was in hyperspace and gone from any prying eyes, did she get up and lock herself in her room to process what happened in her own way...

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

At least, it seemed like things were easing up a bit as she accepted his words. Looking down on her, his lips formed a thin line as he tried to think of what to do. While he did not want to leave her when she had begged for him to stay, there was little more left to say. At least now when emotions were running high and things were still so present and close.

Fighting his urge to throw his arms around her to console her, Mathieu simply let out a sincere "I'm sorry" With every moment, it became more and more clear that they were going to part ways. Before turning around to once again step up onto the ramp of his ship, he spoke with a soft voice with a sense of finality to it "Take care. You still have my holo-frequency. Call me - if you need a hand or want someone to talk to" Right now, he was probably the last person she would call, but for the long term, he figured that it would be best for him to have left her the option. Still caring for her, in a sense, he wanted her to know that they weren't parting on bad terms.

As soon as she called for him, the large Morellian turned around to see what she wanted. He was extremely surprised as she fired a bolt at him. He began with a terrified shout that turned into gibberish sooner than he had anticipated "SAMUAHhhhh" Memories of when she shot him without armour flooded back, filling his head with horror as the bolts rained down on him. He tried his best to avoid the bolts, but as such a close range, it was hard. "S- Ahhh!! Stahhh-" he squirmed as the bolts hit him, cringing and turning each time. Mathieu was not foreign to being shot at, but few people would have such a powerful mental effect on him as her and aware of the extreme risk of what she was doing, it wouldn't be long before he swirled around, bringing out his own blaster which was almost always set to stun by default - including this time. Firing a single accurate shot at her from close range, he was most certain that he would hit. If not, he would fire a second shot to guarantee that she would be knocked out.

Blaster marks covered his armour with cracks and smoke being a common sight. Heavy armour could withstand quite a bit of punishment, especially if the damage was not concentrated to a single spot, fortunately, she succeeded in spreading the pain throughout. Still, he could feel how some areas hurt more than others after receiving a second bolt and some of the impact marks being uncomfortably close to an unprotected area - most likely a result of him not standing still while being shot at. Looking down at her unconscious body, he shook his head "Blast it, Sammy" he whispered.

Sadness, bitterness and anger filled him as he walked up the ramp to the ship. Throwing a last glance at her, he closed the ramp before walking over to the cockpit and taking off. She had been a sneeze away from killing him and while he felt bad about ending their relationship, he was also sad and upset that she was willing to take the risk. Still having something of a soft spot for her, he picked up the ships commlink to make a call to his new friend Cadere "Cassie." he begun, his voice serious and almost harsh. The blaster marks on his armour was clear to see through the holoprojection, but that was not the topic he was going to cover now "I just broke up with Samantha" he said - but his cold tone and harsh demeanour was starting to crack as the finality of it all was starting to become obvious. Letting out a sad sigh, he looked away from the photoreceptor to pretend concentrating on piloting whilst actually hiding his rather devastated emotional state. "Sammy..." he said, returning to the more familiar name, regretting that he had spoken of her with such disdain moments earlier "...She, uh... You know..." he trailed off, once again flipping a few switches on the ship before continuing with a new breath and new resolve "Be there for her. I'm heading out for a job, I'll be away for a week or two."

Falling silent for a few moments, he then hung up. Leaning back in his chair, his thoughts went over what had just happened but he was quickly ambushed by the horror of being shot upon by her. "Blast it" he whispered whilst feeling the torturous pain, both internal and external.

Sam Sheridan

/End Thread