First Order; Second Chance

[Connor Harrison]

Connor fought the welcoming smile he wanted to give, and looked forward with a little nod, trying his best to not let her one comment and look go to his head.

"Just being honest, Ara,” he said.

While she spoke, he didn't pressure her by looking, he just kept walking, but clearly understanding with the little knot in his brow. A child suffering from neglect not of her own being, and picked up by those who would set her on the right path with her natural talent and ability.

"I've never been there, no. And I don't think I'd want to either. But try not to think on the past as painful as that,” he said gently, "for that only made you stronger and the beautiful woman I see before me. Already you've shown kindness, but resolve. Which means you're more humane than the ones who thought they could put you down.”

He glanced up to one of the observation towers in the park.

"Want to go for a ride?”

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara shrugged but internally thought she must be slipping if a nod was the only reaction he gave her.

"I don't think of it painfully. No, I think about the fact that places like that will no longer exist when the First Order is in power." Her gaze was focused on somewhere else, far off, not on the park surrounding them. Her features hardened with a small satisfied smile. "No. Someday I'll return there and by my hand it will no longer exist."

Releasing her hands from her back, she ran one through her hair unconsciously as he complemented her looks. Even in these colors and loose fitting clothes she looked good. She wondered how he'd react to her normal wardrobe of black, red, and gold skin-tight clothes. She'd have to find out sometime. She needed a good test subject, there were too many women in the Ren and not enough men to practice her charms on.

As he suggested a ride, her gaze rose to the platforms scattered above the park around them. The knot of anxiety in her chest returned, sending her pulse racing and her breathing to speed up ever so slightly.

"Not...particularly."

She internally cursed the part of her that still had no control over her fear of heights. Such a weakness was unacceptable. She could only hope Connor's ability was still to weak to sense the change in energy.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor slowed, looking at the girl and then the tower, and then back to the girl.

"Alright, that's ok,” he said. To turn down an observation deck, she must have vertigo.

He pointed on-wards, passing another patrol of troopers, this time only two, and he didn't bother to look this time. He was comfortable enough now.

"Obvious I know, but I take it you're scared of heights?”

Heights had never bothered Connor before. Well, that was a lie, at one point they had after the Rhen Var incident, but he had gotten over that in time and been able to scale cliff-faces and stand atop mountain peaks and dormant volcanoes. He walked by another bush, and pulled a violet flower from it that hadn't quite blossomed yet. Connor turned to Ara and slipped the flower through her hair, above her ear.

"Do you live as a Disciple in a temple or something? Or do you have your own freedom? Obviously with Jedi it's all in the temple pretty much. Those out of the temple are seen to be a bit reckless.”

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

She was very glad he didn’t push a ride on the elevated train. In response to his question he merely nodding, giving time for the knot in her chest and the invisible grip around her throat to loosen.

She noted his relative ease when the next patrol of troopers past and smiled to herself. Either he was becoming accustomed to environment on Dosuun or he trusted her presence more than he should. She let him tuck the flower into her hair and touched it lightly the two fingers.

”Careful or well start to garner the wrong kind of attention.” She laughed and glanced at the groups of scattered civilians. Most used the park as a means of getting from point A to point B, but a few strolled casually, enjoying the day and she and Connor were. She’d already noted a few dismissed glances their way, but the disciple hardly cared what strangers thought of the pair.

”We have lodgings, yes. But we also have some personal freedom, when we have contracts.” She winked, inviting him to share in the joke.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Looking around, and walking backwards a little, he gave her a playful confused expression.

"Wrong kind of attention? My dear Ara, you sound like...like a Jedi! Are emotions not allowed here? Are people not meant to get along in this place?”

He chuckled and turned back to join her.

"And contracts. I see. You sound like you're a Disciple for hire. Do you charge by the hour or set a fixed rate for the job? I bet you get your hands real dirty in these contracts. Which...is funny, I never thought the First Order would issue contracts. Bounty hunters would...”

Pondering, his face mulled over a few scenarios for a second. And with a hushed gasp, and whisper, Connor stopped and held her arm.

"You're not a bounty hunter are you...? We can't be having that.”

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara watched as he walked backwards and taunted her, the urge to shove him backwards tempered by her amusement. She watched with one eyebrow raised as he returned to her side. She let him continue his line of thought until a hand on her arm stopped her.

She quickly wiped the grin that had grown as he talked off her face and stared at him with a stern expression. Time for some fun of her own.

As soon as they stopped, she dropped her head, letting her hair fall over her shoulders. She raised her face, a feral, predatory gleam in her eyes as she brushed his hand off and stalked around him.

”Maybe that’s exactly what I am.”

She stopped behind him, one hand trailing over the back of cloak, coming to rest at the skin below his ear. Leaning forward, she pressed close, letting her hair fall against him.

Turning to whisper directly in his ear, ”Do you have a price on your head Mr. Harrison?”

She was very glad he couldn’t see the mischievous smile threatening to erupt with the laughter bubbling in her gut.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor stopped as she did, and he had noted that glint in her eye the whole time he talked. She generally seemed interested, and amused. At the sign of her predatory gaze, his brow raised a moment. Hunter indeed.

She moved behind, and the ex-Jedi stood still, as if she would have a blaster in his ribs or blade to his spine.

It was impossible not to feel his skin tingle at the feeling of her hair on his neck and that whisper.

"100,000 credits last time I checked. Can't remember if it was dead or alive,” he said, turning his head a little to her.

His mouth turned up slightly.

"Or was it 1,000. I can't remember. How much am I worth do you think to a Hunter?”

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara looked at him, eyes half closed, a self-satisfied half smile curling her lips up. When he didn’t pull away, she trailed her nail down the artery along his neck.

”Hmmm….”

She leaned in, mouth hovering just over the pulse point on his neck. Taking a deep breath, she revealed in the smell of pure male.

”I wouldn’t pay a credit over 2,000. We could always find a hunter and ask them.”

With a laugh, she released him and walked past, waving a hand dismissively. ”Don’t just stand there, they’ll think you’re up to no good.” Without waiting to see his reaction, she kept walking, heading towards another side path hidden in the flora and fauna.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Standing still, almost now keeping an eye on the passing citizens – and troopers – to dismiss Ara’s behaviour with a supportive smile, his skin crawled as her nail touched his neck. It could have been a blade, but it wasn’t, it was nothing but thrilling.

He smiled and shook his head at her wonderfully wry put-down, and walked on as if nothing had happened.

"Two thousand...” he muttered to himself with a grin.

Following on, he watched her walk from behind and admired the view…and the view around them with lush greens and pastel coloured flowers.

"So what happened to give you vetigo? Can’t be helpful when you’re working on contracts can it? Maybe we should try conquer that fear. Make you even tougher.”

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Ara chuckled at his murmured comment.

"Only the truth. I did offer to find a hunter and settle the debate did I not?"

She glanced back as they walked, noticing he had yet to catch up. Smirking, she turned away and let him keep his own pace. If there was a slight increase in hip swaying in her movements now, it was for his benefit.

She glanced up at one of the skyscrapers on the outskirts of the park, slowing to fall in step with Connor.

"When I was younger, I fell from a building just like that. I'm still not even sure how I survived." Her hands clinched into fists as an invisible hand wrapped around her throat. The fear from that night was now a constant anxiety. The reason she didn't travel when she could avoid it, stayed only on the first floor, and why she drank way too much after flights.

Her gaze stayed on the building for a few seconds longer before she exhaled and straightened. A fake smile plastered across her face, she tried to pretend breathing wasn't difficult all of a sudden.

"It hasn't stopped me yet."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a roll of the eyes, he amused himself by looking again as she rolled of the wit, but caught up to her when she directed his gaze to one of the tall scrapers on the park outskirts.

It was tall, and seemed to get wider the taller it got. An office, or apartment block? He couldn’t tell, but when Ara revealed her fall, it didn’t matter. His eyes went wide and he looked to her in mild disbelief, and then back to the building.

He gave a little whistle. How DID she survive.

"All it did was prove you are a survivor. These things happen for a reason. You survived that fall, which means you were destined for greater things.”

It started to bring back a few memories of his own fall.

"How the hell you survived on the other-hand I don’t know. I had a fall once, not like this, but from a mountain range on Rhen Var. Pushed myself too far, found a Force relic by accident and touched it, the energy was too much for me to hold and it literally blew me off the mountain. I fell right past my team of Republic Jedi, crashed into the water below, half frozen, and nearly died.”

He gave a shiver, and rolled up the sleeve of his left arm to show the swirl of crimson scars that the jagged rocks had carved into him on the fall, and luckily the cold ice had near numbed.

"Lost my way after that, and left the Republic. But here I am. Here you are. Survivors.”

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

She glanced at the wounds and grimaced in sympathy. Her eyes returned to building. He'd offered his story, so she offered hers. At least parts of it.

"I was 19. I'd been part of a street gang for years and we were running out of territory. As I ventured too far into a rival gang's area, and hey caught me stealing. It was stupid, a comm unit, not even a good one. But it doesn't matter in the slums, you survive by keeping to your own. I thought I could lose them on the rooftops. I was faster, more nimble, and I wasn't scared of heights back then."

She paused, took a deep breath, and continued.

"The buildings never seemed far apart for me, but I assumed they wouldn't risk it. I was wrong, and I was the one who missed." Her eyebrows crinkled in a frown as her gaze shifted to the streets and people at the base of the building. "I don't know how far I fell. 8? 10? Maybe 15 stories? Either way, I woke up days later in a med ward somehow intact."

She shrugged and starting walking again, at a slightly slower pace than before. "I paid my debt to the man who'd brought me in and went on my way. Sometimes my hands and ribs ache when it rains or when I'm cold, but that seems to be about it."

She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Destiny huh? Now you really sound like a former Jedi master." She stuck her tongue out at him in jest and clasped her hands behind her back to hide the slight shaking that had started part way through her story. It was not a memory she liked to relive.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Watching Ara as she spoke, Connor saw the ticks he had over the years in retelling a story one didn't want to revisit. In that sense, he should have left it, but he was honestly intrigued in what made this girl the survivor she was.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Ara. I'm just glad you survived.”

As she walked, he glanced behind and saw her hands. With a small smile, he reached over and took her arm, uncrossing her hands and taking her trembling one in his, the one with the scar lines and held them up together.

He gave her hand a playful slap.

"Don't you mention the J word to me again young lady.”

Holding their hands out, he looked at her, and then at them.

"Don't be afraid to be who you are, or even show your fears or worries. It makes you human, and it will soon give you strength to conquer your fear. The trembling will remind you of the mistakes made, and you will learn from them, and when the hand doesn't tremble again, then you know you've done it.”

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

She glanced at their hands and played with one of his scars, watching for his reaction.

"I'm not afraid. I just don't particularly want to feel the ground rushing up to meet me again. The next person who tries will be the one facing a freefall."

She stepped forward, still tracing his scars with her thumb. The skin was rough compared to the smoothness surrounding. She rather liked the difference in texture. Her other hand reached up, her thumb gently guiding his gaze to meet hers and held it their.

"I'll stop using the J word when you stop talking like one." She chuckled darkly and released his hand. Her gaze dropped to the flower tucked between his cloak and tunic. With a dark smile she deftly removed it and added it to the purple one in her hair.

"In the meantime, you can have this back when you earn it. And I need a drink." She started to step away but paused. "Do you gamble Mr. Harrison?" The mischievous glint in her eye was back.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

He watched her thumb trace the river of crimson on his hand. It didn't hurt, but it was tingling. He had a gentle smile at the corner of his mouth as he watched the Disciple look on, and it stayed there as she gave another wonderful tease.

"Touche.”

Looking at the now empty space where his flower had been and seeing it in her hair, it was far more suited in those long locks than his tunic. He didn't have time to move before she turned and asked the question the old Connor would have an easy answer for, with the notion of a drink and a gamble. A negative one. Good job the old Connor had died on Voss.

"Depends what the winnings are.”

This time, he walked past and looked to her with an equally mischievous glint in his dark eyes, indicating the girl to follow.

"Well? What's the gamble?”

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

She laughed at his audacity, smiling to herself.

"I was going to suggest we find a place to play Sabacc and enjoy a glass of brandy, but I get the feeling you have other ideas."

She frowned at his back, disappointed in the cloak that kept her from returning the favor of enjoying the view. Ara pouted for a moment before catching up to him with a few long strides. She mulled over his questions for a few moments and then tilted her head to him.

"The gamble must match the winnings, should it not? So, Mr. Harrison, tell me what you would be willing to bet, and I'll come up with a proper way to determine who wins."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

He held a finger up and waggled it as he walked, noting they had nearly crossed the entire length.

"Oh no, Sabacc and brandy is fine. I'm in no rush.”

But, he winced a little.

"I don't have much on me as you can see, I didn't come expecting time to gamble. But I have a little.”

He tapped his chin for a second, and then glanced at Ara.

"If I win, you tell me about the Ren you're not training in. If you win...then...well, I don't know, what are your winnings set at?”

As a swoop bike tootled past, Connor's arm went out to stop Ara from walking into the path of it.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

She stopped short, nearly running into the outstretched arm. She smiled and offered a sheepish thank you. As she recovered from the quick stop, she shook her head.

"Are you really that scared of any bet I'd come up with?" She chuckled and steered them back towards the plaza they'd first met at.

"You won't need anything if you're with me. But first I have to change. Do you mind a side trip?" She winked at him and headed back towards the complex, knowing how to get to her lodgings from there.

"If you're sure you don't want to make a more interesting wager, then I propose this...I win if I managed to win us 500 credits without costing us any. You win if I don't. To make it fair, I'll let you decide how long I have to do it in. If I win..."

She bit her lower lip, debating the options. He'd already proven willing to offer her information if she asked, so asking for questions answered would hardly be to her benefit. She paused, time to see how much he wanted the information.

"If I win, you spar with me."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

"But of course,” Connor said, ever the gent, hand out for her to now lead.

He walked behind her, silently laughing and shaking his head at her gamble. It was to the point, and it was good.

500 credits was child's play, but the losing aspect sounded fun.

"Okay,” he called after her, "I accept. I spar if you win, and you get the 500.”

Maybe he was feeling lucky, but part of him hadn't faced a Force user in combat since the Wall Of Light. Still - this was just a spar. And it would be good practice.

[member="Ara Ren"]

 

[Ara Zambrano]

Too easy. She chuckled and led them away from the Capitol Complex, towards the spaceport district. As they travelled from each area, she pointed out key locations, such as Victory and Memorial park in the distance. Luckily it was a short walk from the plaza to the residential district she'd chosen thanks to it's near perfect central position from the port her ship was docked at and the complex she'd reported to that morning.

The hotel was smaller than the surrounding buildings, only six stories as opposed to the colossal skyscrapers surrounding them. The lobby offered small clusters of couches, tables, stools, and even a small bar in the corner.

She turned to Connor and offered a sly smile. "I'll be right back. Enjoy a drink on me. They have my account on file, just give them my name. I won't be long." She nodded at the bar in the corner and took off down the hallway leading deeper into the building.

The room she'd rented was small and simple, fine for a few days' stay in the city. Conscious of her company waiting for her, she changed quickly, taking time to admire her silhouette in the mirror. She'd planned on attending a play or concert while here, but the outfit would do for a bit of gambling and coercion. A blood-red sleeveless top dipped low in the back showing off an expanse of bare skin. It stopped just short of covering her stomach, clinging to her athletic frame. Skin tight black pants hung low on her hips, the bottoms tucked into boots with a chunky heal, tall enough to be sexy but still solid enough that she could spar in them when she won.

She smiled at her reflection and left the two flowers tucked into her hair. Grabbing her cape from the small wardrobe, she wrapped it's comforting weight around her shoulders and clasped it over her collarbone. Satisfied that both saber hilts rested in the hidden pockets sewn into the lining of the cape, she left the room, rejoining Connor in the lobby.

She quirked an eyebrow and held her hand out. "Shall we?"

[member="Connor Harrison"]