Private Close Encounters of the Profitable Kind

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

The Jaster's Delight made a momentary shudder as it jumped into hyperspace. Lori watched the pin prick stars turn into streaks of light. Such a sight never gets old.

Moments later she was already up from her chair. "I'm off to the kitchens and to check on Val. He might not be hungry, but I sure am." Lori was always hungry. Even at some meetings she could be seen scarfing down bantha burgers and the like.

Her footsteps were easily heard on the metal floor, as she made no attempt at being sneaky. Some people didn't like to be surprised and she didn't know Val Tessalisk well enough to pull pranks on him. As it was, she wandered around her ship for him and found him seated on a stool, holding part of a necklace or something and just staying perfectly still. Was he asleep? Meditating? Lori wasn't trained in the Force enough to even know if he was a Forcie too. But one didn't have to be a Forcie to meditate, did they? Probably not.

Lori cleared her throat a little to announce her presence. "Hey. You hungry? I'm just going to whip up a steak, myself."

 

[Val Tessalisk]

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Val nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise, shaking his head to snap out of his trance. He blinked and saw Lori standing in front of him. Val coughed and quickly tucked the necklace back into the collar of his armor before giving a stammering reply.

"I...I uh...yeah, sure. You got any Ewok Jerkey? I prefer the spicy kind that really gives you a kick in the rear" Val said with a nervous chuckle.

He wasn't particularly hungry, but he supposed a bit of food would help him take his mind off...her. Besides, he had every reason in the universe to content in this moment: he'd landed a job, was on his way to getting his own ship again, and might get steady work from here on out if he proved his skill as a mercenary. Yet despite all that, he still felt the emotions tugging at him no matter how deep he buried them. He made a promise to always keep her close in the form of the necklace, but by trying to move on or suppress these emotions he felt like he was betraying her. He'd already been unable to visit the place where she'd been cremated on her homeworld due to lacking a ship, and once he got a new one and some free time, it would be one of his first stops.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori watched as Val Tessalisk quickly tucked away his necklace once he realized that she was there. But she didn't plan on bringing it up. Maybe as a kid she would, but not now. Some things were better left alone.

She raised a brow as he mentioned Ewok jerky however. "You're kidding, right? I don't eat sentient beings..." No doubt Imperial companies putting Ewoks on the menu did so as punishment for them defeating the Empire with sticks and stones.

"I do have bantha though, and an array of spices. Come to the kitchen and take your pick." She gestured for Val to follow her, moving towards the kitchen where an array of locked cupboards and drawers lined the walls. Lori opened up a drawer containing jars of spices ranging from sweet to spicy. "How do you like your steak cooked?"

 

[Val Tessalisk]

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Val rose from the stool and stretched before giving a rebuttal

"Yeah well those little creeps wouldn't think twice about eating either of us. Fair game, I say" He said

He'd heard the horror stories of Ewoks allegedly capturing and eating Stormtroopers on Endor. He'd also heard about more than a few Spacers going missing there. How much of it was Imperial propaganda and how much of it was truth was hard for him to say. What he did know however, that if any of those furry freaks pointed a spear at him, he'd blow a fist-sized hole through them without a second thought. Val followed Lori to the kitchen and watched as she opened the drawer of spices. He grinned behind his faceplate; a large selection, just the way he liked it.

"I prefer mine cooked rare. As for the spices, gimmie the hottest thing you got. Nuclear armageddon or bust" He joked.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"Just because they may want to eat me, doesn't give me the right to stoop to that low level and eat them. Same reason that I don't stoop to the low levels of my enemies and wipe out anyone that gets in my way just because they disagree with me."

Lori hated that. A lot of her enemies were hypocrites. But at the same time, a lot of so-called good guys were the same way. She had seen people go to war against another people purely for the sole reason of who they were allied with. And then months later, they turn around and ally themselves with the government that they attacked others for allying with in the first place. It was really stupid.

Right now she hoped that the planet that her parents had left her and her brother in charge of wouldn't be pulled into something like that. It was bad enough that it was attacked because she had her small, private wedding there. At least no one really knew that she was one of the planet's rulers. That kind of information she wanted to keep secret, for her enemies would take advantage and exploit it for sure. So it was better just to keep moving and not settle down anywhere.

"Spicy and rare coming your way." She got out a couple of bantha steaks first, turned on the indoor grill, and then selected the spices to rub into the meat. For Val Tessalisk she had selected the hottest that she had, a favourite of one of her deceased uncles. But for herself she picked out one with a medium level of kick to it, for she liked to taste the flavour of the meat itself.

 

[Val Tessalisk]

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Val rolled his eyes at the idea of not stooping to the enemy's level. Thankfully, his faceplate and visor masked his disapproval with the statement. Sometimes, the only language an enemy understood was pure brutality. Wars weren't won with hugs and rainbows, they were won with Blasters and orbital bombardments. Lori seemed nice enough, but Val really hoped that she would open her eyes to that fact sooner rather than later if she wanted her rebellion to stand a chance at victory. He didn't know all the details surrounding her rebellion or the politics of the galaxy at large; but what he did know that in war, it's kill or be killed.

Val steered his thoughts away from combat and towards the sizzling meat on the grill. Even through the respirator on his helmet, Val could smell the delicious fumes of the cooking Bantha steak; it almost made his mouth water. This also reminded him that he would have to remove his helmet to eat. He could excuse himself to some dark corner of the ship to eat like some wretched cave-dwelling creature, or he could bury his reservations and reveal his face to Lori and Arla. He had hoped to wait until he was more acquainted with them to do so, but in hindsight he should have anticipated moments like this would crop up. He supposed it would be good manners to stay at the table and eat, and would make him seem a bit less shady.

"Mmmmmm...smell that Bantha steak. You know, there was this Duros at a cantina I visited once who served up the finest damn steak my mouth had the pleasure of eating. It was a looong time ago, but I know good Bantha steak when I smell it, and trust me sister, this is it!" Val exclaimed.

He often wondered what happened to that cantina cook. It was about 150 years since he last visited that cantina, but he remembered he was on a first-name basis with the cook and they'd often exchange stories and news with one another. Dak Coresei was his name, if he recalled correctly. Maybe if he was still around, or alive for that matter, Val would pay him a visit for old times sake.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori smiled at the compliment that Val Tessalisk threw her way in regards to the smell of the steaks as they cooked. She tended fully to the meat, keeping her focus on them while the two of them conversed. She took out a slice of smoked butter and set it on top to melt with the heat and be absorbed. That helped to prevent them from drying out, and also made the meat so soft that it almost melted in your mouth.

Being trained and growing through her teenage years with Jaster Awaud and his crew, she learned how to cook well while being onboard of a ship, as opposed to an open fire or a gourmet kitchen in a house. Afterall it wasn't so easy to fight on an empty stomach. It was possible, but one tended to think better on their feet when they had a full belly.

"I bet you probably think that I'm pretty green and hardly seen battle. But I have. My homeworld Commenor was attacked and put under siege by the Sith Empire ten years ago. I was onworld when it happened. And a classmate of mine that I had trusted ended up working for the Sith. Given that my parents ruled Commenor, he tried to get me to surrender myself to the Sith. But I didn't. I couldn't. I escaped, and fought in orbit a little while later during Commenor's liberation.

At my Dad's request, I had stayed out of the Jedi/Mandalorian war. I travelled to Bakura after his death, which was followed up shortly by my Mom's, and ended up on Bakura to see some old family friends. And that was when the Eternal Empire showed up, rounding up the protestors against their coming occupation and opened fire on everyone in the square. I saved what people that I could, escaping with them out through the sewer network. That action started the Eclipse Rebellion. And I've gone through quite a few more battles since then."

Lori turned over the steaks, again placing slices of smoked butter on them to soak into the meat.

"I haven't killed anyone with my bare hands, but I have with blaster bolts and blown up enemy fighter ships."

 

[Val Tessalisk]

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Val listened to Lori as she explained her experiences in battle against the Sith and the Eternal Empire. She turned out to be more experienced than he gave her credit for. He supposed she'd have to be if she's lasted this long with so many enemies. He still thought that she could benefit from being a bit more....aggressive. Something along the lines of blowing up a superweapon or capital ship would send the message to her enemies not to screw with her. He remembered about a group of rebels from a while ago that blew up something called a Death Star. Pulling off something like that would show that Lori's rebels meant business.

He wasn't a fan of the Sith either. In fact, the story goes that the Sith of old are the reason the Gen'Dai are scattered to the stars without a homeworld. His kind were pushed to near extinction because of the Sith, and given that it had been a long time since he'd seen another of his kind, he assumed they were still on the decline. Val loved the idea of payback on behalf on his entire species for what the Sith did to them. He smirked at the idea of crushing some bigshot Sith Lord's neck and windpipe with his bare hands, since they were so fond of choking others with the Force.

Upon Lori mentioning blasters, Val remembered that exquisite bow he saw in the armory.

"So what's the story behind that old bow in your armory? Is it a collector's item?" Val inquired as he crossed his arms and leaned his hulking frame against a kitchen wall facing Lori.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Well, at least Val Tessalisk didn't belittle her experiences, or call her out for being a child like most did. She would forever live under the shadows of her late parents and her famous Jedi twin brother that could beat her at everything she thought that she was good at. They all made her feel small, insignificant, and worthless. Barely a newlywed and already she was a widow, having failed to even succeed in that stage of her life. And now she was getting pushed out of the Rebels too.

Lori just carried on, pretending like nothing was out of the ordinary and everything was just peachy. At least while she was around other people, anyways.

"My bow? Oh no, that's newly made. I have different arrow tips that really pack a punch, sometimes literally. There's explosive ones too, as well as armour and stone piercing ones. It's quite useful for breaking people out of prison. I can even take down small fighters with it." She got out the plates and removed the steaks from the grill, placing them on each one. The meat sizzled and the smell was mouthwatering. Lori brought them over to the table and set the plates down before returning to gather the utensils.

"You know some of my story. So what's yours?"

 

[Val Tessalisk]

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Val took in the information about the bow with interest; he was something of an amateur enthusiast when it came to relic weapons like bows and even slugthrowers. It was fascinating how rapidly technology had advanced in a relatively short period of time, and being able to see one of these forerunners to modern day Blasters was always a treat. The different arrow types she had were interesting as well, they'd be pretty good against Lightsabers in the same way that a slugthrower would: the solid projectile would melt but it would spatter molten metal onto the defender and potentially harm them. Difficult to block, too. He'd considered purchasing a slugthrower or cobbling together his own from various parts he could find. For now however, his trusty T-21 carbine would do just fine.

Val took in the scent of the grilled steak and couldn't wait to sink his teeth into it as he took his seat at the table. Then Lori asked him a question he was caught off guard by: his past. Val paused for a moment to process the question before deciding that now was the time to show his face; not only would he have to eat but he also wanted to remove his mask of anonymity as to be a bit more personal. And so, he reached for the sides of his helmet and gave a slight twist to the right before the helmet's respirator gave a distinct hiss. Slowly he removed the emotionless, scowling helmet and revealed himself in earnest. He placed the helmet on the side of the table with a metallic thunk.

There he was. Val Tessalisk, in all his glory. His skin was indeed a light shade of purple, with dark purple/blue veins visible beneath his skin. His eyes were fiery orange suns that had seen their fair share of things in their time. His ears were tucked along his jawline like all Gen'Dai in armor, giving them the illusion of having tusks. He had a bit of an underbite, and his teeth were razor sharp like some prehistoric predator. These ferocious traits made Val look fairly threatening, despite having been fairly friendly thus far. Val sighed and chuckled.

"Well we've got around 2000 years worth of history to cover. Do you want the long version or the short version?" He asked with a smirk.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori wasn't surprised that Val Tessalisk removed his helmet after sitting down. He had to eat, afterall, and as far as she was aware, he was probably just used to wearing it. She was used to being around Mandalorians, and there were plenty that she had never even known their faces. So Val's aversion to wearing his helmet during most of their time together thus far didn't surprise her at all.

But what did surprise her? Part of that was his look. Yes, it was a bit intimidating, but his size also helped with that. Yet his tone of voice, his humour, all of that was enough to put her at ease. The rest that surprised her was to hear that his story was 2000 years long. Such a surprise was written on her face as she brought over the utensils and distributed them, before plopping down in her seat and preparing herself to cut into her steak.

"Two thousand years? Wicked! I don't think that I've ever come across someone that has lived that long. You look good! Wow. I bet you've seen some amazing things. Does history repeat itself as much as they say? What was technology like when you were young? More of the same? Or more prehistoric? How long does your species live for?" A clear sign of her comfort was the questions that piled up on top of eachother before she started cutting into her steak to have a bite.

Poor Val.

 

[Val Tessalisk]

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Val blinked at the onslaught of questions. He felt like a movie star getting ambushed by the paparazzi while out for a walk. Still, he was willing to answer a couple of them since they were on the subject. He leaned back in his chair with a loud creak. He really hoped this chair wouldn't give out on him now, that would make this conversation awkward.

"Well, I appreciate the compliment. I'm glad I don't look like I belong in a museum" he chuckled before continuing.

"When you live as long as my people do, you tend to see the same patterns every so often. History ain't nothing but a holodisk set on repeat. Same stuff, but with different names and places. When I was younger, I remember the Sith and Jedi wars of the Old Republic. The Clone Wars. The Galactic Empire. The Rebellion era. The First Order. As we sit here, some of those guys are still around and up to the same old things. It's like people can't take a hint." Val said with disappointment.

He cut a piece of steak with his knife before poking it with the point and biting it right off the blade like a shish kebab.

"Living this long has it's downsides. We Gen'Dai can live anywhere from 4000-7000 years, though the older members of my kind tend to.....well, let's just say they start losing their marbles and that they've given us a bit of a bad rep. Some think of us as cutthroat killers, ruthless bounty hunters or just straight up monsters. Of course as you can attest, we're not all like that. In fact, from what I've been told we were once a peaceful and somewhat philosophical culture. I mean, I'm not saying I haven't dropped a body.....or 20, but even I have lines I won't cross. I like to think that puts me a cut above most mercenaries!" He said with a smile of satisfaction.

"As for tech? Not really much has changed. Shocker, right? The designs have differed over the centuries of course, but the core concepts haven't. I'd bet if I showed you some holopictures you'd recognize some of them right away. Still it's neat that some really old stuff manages to find a way to stay relevant even in the modern era, like your bow. I really want to get my hands on a slugthrower as some point. I saw this guy use one in this flick I pirated off the Holonet; something about a cyborg having to protect some kid from a shapeshifting killer droid. He'd do this cool flip-cocking thing with it while riding on a speeder bike. Great movie by the way; the ending still makes me misty eyed."

He said as he scarfed down more of his steak.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori dug into her steak while Val Tessalisk answered her questions. At least he didn't mind! She soaked up nearly every word, taking in all of the information that he was giving her.

History repeated itself. She knew it! Even in her short lifetime she had seen it. Lori probably fell into that trap herself. In fact she was sure of it. For here she was in a small Rebellion fighting off an Imperial Empire. But the battles were decreasing as the other Rebels seemed to turn their focus to their Enclave instead. Lori was Force sensative too, but she wasn't strong like them or her family. She could barely do anything. At least those that she fought tended to not be Force Users, so it was more or less a fair fight.

"A slugthrower, huh? I'll have to see if we have one. Or maybe we can have one made for you? And I've seen that holo-movie! It's wicked! Sometimes I feel like that kid, especially when Commenor came under attack. But now I'm not so sure." Lori was a disappointment to many it seemed, even within the Rebels. But she was always different and independent, so it didn't really matter. It wasn't like she had to face them every day. Most of her time was spent in her ship.

 

[Val Tessalisk]

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Val's eyes perked with interest at the thought of getting his own custom-built slugthrower. He had a few ideas for designs based on models he's seen over the years, as well as the one used in the holo-film. Maybe later he'd jot down some ideas on a holo-pad and show them to Lori to see what she can do. He was pleased to hear she shared his enthusiasm regarding the holofilm. For the life of him, he couldn't remember the name of it. He really pushed the limits of his memory to remember the name of it before slamming his fist down on the table, making silverware jump.

"That's what it was called! Eliminator 2: Armageddon!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Oh! There was also another one that I really liked. It was a monster flick, and I'm a big sucker for those. Revenge of the Zillo Beast. The monster gets imprisoned in a volcano at the end of it, but they do it in a way where you can't help but feel bad for the critter. I really appreciate that, because the monster is just as much of a character as the rest of the cast. I always thought of them as tragic beings, just trying to live their lives until meddling sentients force them to become destructive. Man, I remember seeing that one in a holo-theater when it came out. I was there opening night!" He chuckled.

Clearly Val was a fan of the sci-fi genre and creature features, if that hadn't become obvious. During his rough patch in life, he'd often pirate films off the holonet and watch them in-between small time jobs. This gave him plenty of time to get acquainted with the genres he enjoyed and became a veritable encyclopedia about certain franchises. After all, it was better than cantina-hopping day in and day out. That's not to say he didn't enjoy that either, but the movies were more fun.

"So I feel like I've rambled on long enough about myself. What else can you tell me about your story? I'm sure you've had some wild adventures being a thorn in the Eternal Empire's side?" He asked inquisitively.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

As Val Tessalisk slammed his fist on the table, it wasn't just the silverware that jumped, but she did too. Then she laughed in spite of herself. "Yes! That's it! I just love the way the kid's mom broke out of the nuthouse. My mom had been wrongfully sent to them too. But I'm not sure how she escaped...." Lori figured that she had escaped. More than likely that was a trait of her Mom's that she had picked up: Escaping. It helped her to be good at her work with the Rebels.

Upon hearing of Val's mention of monster flicks often carrying the theme of the monsters being forced to be violent, she half wondered if he was referring to his own experiences. There was no doubt in her mind that he had been treated like that due to his appearance and size. Much as how her own youthful looks made everyone treat her like a child.

"I haven't been to a holotheatre in ages. It hasn't exactly been safe for me to do so. Not for a while anyways. I think that the last one that I saw was of huge Titan species, thousands of years old that come out of the deoths to continue their battle of supremecy against one another. But as always, the governments try to use them as weapons and control them." The very notion of it didn't seem far fetched, especially in this day and age.

Lori gobbled up more of her steak as she contemplated which stories to tell him. "Well I've rescued people from massacres, attacked communication centers and intercepted intel, gone after shipyards, and of course there's the rumour that I uh...killed their Emperor." It was propaganda on both the sides of the Eternal Empire and of the Eclipse to hide the truth behind what really happened to him. And it also was pivotal in boosting the morale of both sides.

 

[Val Tessalisk]

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

"Killed the Emperor, huh?" Val said as he gave Lori a look of sarcastic disbelief. He poked another chunk of steak and pointed at her with it before gobbling it up.

"How'd you manage that? I'd imagine that guy probably had the hardest killers in the galaxy as bodyguards." Val stated.

Obviously he knew it was probably just a rumor, though he wanted to tease Lori a bit about it. Still her escapades against the Eternal Empire were amusing to hear. Each story made the regime sound more and more incompetent given that one woman and her rebels were causing them so much trouble. It was a wonder how they even made it this far as an organization. Though Val assumed that he'd likely have to go up against them in the future, so he'd probably end up seeing for himself.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori lightly shrugged her shoulders as though the whole event that transpired and killed off Tacitus was no big deal.

"Oh, you know how it goes.....Emperor flies in Star Destroyer into a rift, Star Destroyer blows up, Emperor dies inside, the Galaxy is a little more peaceful." She munched on another piece of her steak, watching Val Tessalisk with the same amount of amusement that he had for her. It was really an odd pairing, and who knew that they'd start to become fast friends?

"The Eternal Empire is weaker now, I think. New leadership had taken over, but they are quite dependent on the Sith these days, and after the Emperor tried to sever ties with them too. So I've gotta choose my battles carefully, otherwise I'll be swarmed." And by that she meant killed as well. She doubted that she'd be captured this time. More than likely she'd be taken out by a sniper, or a Dreadnaught.

 

[Val Tessalisk]

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

Val laughed at the idea of the Emperor driving his ship into a rift to his doom. Maybe he should have gone back to the driving academy? Val went in to go take another cut of steak only to stop half way realizing that he had eaten it all. He must have gotten really lost in conversation that he didn't realize he had finished it entirely. He still felt the tingling of the spice in his mouth, which made him crave just one more steak.

"Lemme get another cut of the good stuff" he asked while motioning with his head

"Speaking of the Sith, what else can you tell me about this guy I'm gonna be tracking down?" he asked while using a cloth napkin to clean his mouth.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori finished her own steak. But unlike Val Tessalisk , she was full. She picked up her plate and got up from the table, setting the dishes on the counter before she began to prepare another steak for her new business companion.

"Well, he's not a Sith. Oddly enough he claims to be working for the Jedi. Yet I saw him at a meeting on Zakuul, supporting the Eternal Empire. He was claiming that I was in the wrong. Me. And all that I had been doing was trying to help others maintain their freedom when they asked me to. And then...he was a part of the attack on my wedding where many were killed, all in a bid to bring me in for crimes against the Empire." The seasoned bantha meat began to sizzle as it was placed in the hot pan. "I'm not the one that needs to be put under arrest. I'm not the bad guy."

 

[Val Tessalisk]

"Either this guy's delusional or he's a terrible liar. Either way, the Eternal Empire goes against what the Jedi stand for, so him working for them basically tells you everything you need to know: he ain't no Jedi" Val stated.

Val leaned back in his chair and watched as Loreena Arenais-Valhoun prepared another steak, the sweet aroma of spice filling his nostrils and fueling his hunger. He was a big guy after all, so he needed a lot of food to stay in top shape, so he didn't feel too bad about indulging himself. He listened to Lori claim how she wasn't the bad guy. He believed her, but experience has taught him that no matter how good your intentions are, somebody out there is going to have an issue with you.

"Well, soon enough he's going to find himself "under arrest" in a manner of speaking" Val said, grinning.

He didn't plan on killing the guy, as it was agreed to bring him in alive, but he was going to enjoy making sure he couldn't use some of his limbs for a while. He'd have to make sure not to rough his face up too much, as Lori would probably want to interrogate him, and he'd be no good to her with a broken jaw. He caught himself in the midst of his violent thoughts. Why was he acting this way? He knew he was far too young for his species' mental degradation to be taking effect, so what was it? Was it because the guy was claiming to be a Jedi? Was it because of...her? She'd been a Jedi too, so perhaps some lunatic claiming that title made him feel like this guy was insulting her in a way. He'd worked with a few other Jedi throughout his life, got pretty close with two in particular during the Rebellion era.