"For a guy with a record that long, I thought you'd be taller."

[Nej Tane]

"Funny thing about life..."


Nej couldn't help but grin when she said she could get there on her own. Sure, she could. "Been at one end of the galaxy to the next, Ayessa. What I can tell you is that just because you can do something alone, doesn't mean you should." Analytical eyes lingered to the door. Hazel eyes then looked back to her. Then the door. He was seeing something that she wasn't. He rolled his eyes back to her, finally.

"A lot of people. And you're gonna hate me for this, but I promise you- this is for a very specific reason, for a good cause."

And then he kissed her. Eyes open, watching the door. Nobody wanted to see two people kissing. Especially the two guys wearing big red leather coats that walked into the cafe. Just like the guy in the alley. Same patch, same stupid look, same stupid tattoos probably. Nej broke his face parts from Ayessa's face parts, as soon as the two left the cafe. In the meanwhile, Nej had pulled the disruptor pistol out, holding it under the table- just in case.

Nej pulled the disruptor pistol down to his side and back into his holster.

"These guys. And guys like these guys. Mostly just these two guys at the moment."

Nej, for a moment, looked like an actual scoundrel, an actual, no-kidding guy with a plan. But, his plan was really just to run across the market to his ship. All he had to do was get through a terrifyingly open market on a planet that was notorious for not really having a give-a-crap law enforcement in certain areas. Like this one. Bigger, flashier parts with the tourists? Place was like an Alliance planet. Or, more recently, a Remnant or whatever was taking the Republic's place nowadays.

Nej rarely traveled to Sith worlds. Never liked the evil space wizards. Space wizards (see: Jedi) were already annoying enough (this one seemed okay) but ones that had dark magic and rituals about stuff- Nej really didn't want to deal with that. Like, at all.

Nej dragged Ayessa, not really giving her time to linger over a decision or the fact that he just kissed her. Stepping out into the dusk-light laden streets of Zeltros- always brought a bit of happiness and joy to Nej. He liked the dirty, ragged streets, to be honest. The honest people doing honest work, for the most part- then there were people like Nej. Honest criminals. Criminals who broke relatively minor laws, like, smuggling or thievery. Or grand theft. Or one count of public indecency, law without a license, dentistry without a license....small time jobs. Nej was just trying to scrape by, honestly.

​

The streets were relatively busy, people walking to and from work. Nej scanned the street and pulled the Jedi into the alleyway. "I think we got about, ten, twenty, maybe thirty-" Nej paused. "Maybe less than thirty minutes before they get more guys once they couldn't find me. And maybe you, now. My bad. However, that being said- my ship, the ship, is just across the market here."

He turned his back as a few more red-coated jackasses passed by. None of them openly carried weapons. Same way as Nej. Nothing that requires two hands. Nej turned his head to the Jedi.

"So, if there's shooting, are you like, one of the Jedi who gets upset if people die, or are you one of the chops-people-in-half kind of Jedi?"

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Zeltros, Some Cafe, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ PRBLMS
——————————————————————

Scoundrels never change, do they?

Acutely aware of the show she had suddenly been strung along into performing for the armed wanderers looking for her new 'friend', the Jedi idly rested a hand on his shoulder to gently nudge him closer, making it seem as though they were really into it. I can't believe this is working. The Order definitely hadn't taught her to to kiss like that, that had been other mentors, deep in the bowels of Coruscant. What the council knew wouldn't hurt them, and she did get her missions down outside of that. So, no harm done. Though one thought remained supreme, and it was a simple feth I wish this wasn't happening, I hardly know this random stranger in need and now we're at this? He was right, she did wind up hating him just a little bit, but could still appreciate the effectiveness of their joint gesture.

"More heads-up would be appreciated next time." Ayessa muttered mostly to herself, mostly to him, but he was already pulling her off and away on the next leg of their unfolding adventure. And she was left to process all he'd said earlier about not having to do it alone; Nej was somewhat right, she didn't, but she was doing it anyways. No matter how relatable she felt to these people, Ayessa wasn't anything like them. She came from a different place entirely, a different galaxy. There was nobody for her to rely on, except herself. She could always shake him on Kiffu.

Letting herself get dragged out of the cafe into the Zeltrosian streets, she barely got a second to re-familiarize herself with the terrain that could soon be a battleground before she got yanked into an alley. Her gaze was first to those red coated men marching on by, memorizing their apparel and gear before his voice snapped her attention back to him. One of those Jedi that gets upset when people die?

Don't make me laugh. How many had she cut down in the name of the Republic? Too many, too many, and all for nothing as well. Umbara echoed in her ears like a sick holotape stuck on repeat as she replied with a clipped tone, "I can kill if it comes to it, and I won't stop you from doing it either," Measuring in afterthought the surprising harshness in her tone she reigned back a little, letting a touch of more friendly banter enter it, "So, yeah, a chops-people-in-half kind of Knight."

 

[Nej Tane]

"...never turns out the way you want it to. But it always works out, one way or another.

"Then maybe you wouldn't kiss me back- and where would the fun be in that?"

She kissed him back she actually kissed him back, had to play it cool, play it cool. Where did Jedi learn to- Nej pushed the thoughts aside and placed his hands on his hips. He turned to look down the alley, analyzing his options. He could just walk across the market, hoping that they wouldn't get spotted. Or play it cool, play it safe and try and go around. But at the end of the day, there was only one way in and out of the spaceport he was docked at- that, and he would have to get the launch codes to release his ship. Part of the docking procedures. Nej didn't have the time to slice, or the ability to- in order to acquire the codes.

Nej checked the disruptor pistol on his thigh and looked up at Ayessa. He recognized the look on her face. Guilt. Remorse. Sadness. She was remembering something.

"I don't take any joy in it. I don't want to do it. But these guys- these are mean sons of bitches. Like, real men. Cut your tongue out kind of mean."

He placed a hand on her arm, a reassuring action that showed that Nej wasn't all guns, bad decisions, and mischief. Something human underneath it all.

"You take the lead, I follow. Go to a stall, browse for a second. I'll follow behind, and then we'll hold hands until we get to the dockyard. If they don't go after you when you're at the stall, they really didn't see us. If they do- well then they're just priming for an ambush and I'll ambush the ambushers. A counter-ambush. To win the ambush. Because I'm better at ambushing....

Also if they do ambush you don't get shot. I like you, so don't get shot."

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Zeltros, Marketplace, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ PRBLMS
——————————————————————

A sharp exhale left her nose at his last statement and Ayessa tentatively cracked a grin. It shook the momentary trauma from her bones and, after a period of thinking his 'plan' over, she spoke softly, "Yeah, okay, that works. Trust me, I can dodge a blaster bolt." A moment of silence, further contemplation.

"...Do we have to hold hands?" Sounded like a surefire way to keep her from grabbing her lightsaber. You know. Good excuse, and all. Part of her was just desperately unsure about that aspect of things. Unsure about him, too, but there was little choice now. She'd agreed to help, and her word was as good as gold. So that's why the Kiffar swallowed a lump in her throat, ducked out of the alley without waiting for his answer to her posed question, and followed his instructions to a tee.

It was easy to look nonchalant when you had the Force. Not a care in the world, Ayessa slowly released her anxieties into the ether as each step pulled her closer to her target, a market stall hawking trinkets. She couldn't afford any, of course, but these was no harm in looking for a second or three. Hazel eyes swept over the offerings with mock fascination, on occasion tweaking the objects with her fingers to further see the details. Her psychometric tendency railed against her skin to be let out, desperate to read, but the last thing she needed now was to fall down the life and memory of a tourist trap gimmick whilst there were killers possibly, just possibly, watching her now.

Wouldn't be my first ambush in a market. Come on, give me an excuse to hit something.

 

[Nej Tane]

"I feel the heat, see the light.."
Marketspace near Spaceport, Zeltros



Such was Nej's life that it all came down to pure luck. And that pure luck, sometimes ran out. Sometimes the tattoos he had, sometimes all the lucky charms, all the regalia and all the stories just wouldn't put him on luck's favorable side. Lady luck turned her eye to Nej Tane on that market. It began to rain, softly, before it did. Nej walked beside the Jedi. He looked over at her, and smiled a weak smile. A sheepish, boyish grin for an otherwise charming, capable man. A man who, by all accounts, was normally confident, if not stupidly confident. But the Jedi was invoking a certain thing that he had not done in a while- a cautious look on his life.

And a lack of a lot of things. Dependability. Honor. Friends. Friends that stayed alive, anyway. Who knew what happened to his old crew. Sure, the Ewok may have tried to eat him on occasion- but he still missed the little guy. He tapped his foot, turning his head. And then he saw it. The look in her eyes. She wanted something to happen. As the shopkeeper drawled on, Nej picked up a small trinket, a crude, polygon shaped object. It appeared to be a human, holding a spear.

"The Mandalorians, you see- worship the old Gods. They would worship war- and fight against the other God of the trio, who encouraged stagnation and idleness. And the third, and final- was the trickster guy. This little guy, just so happens to be the trickster God." He put it down, before picking up a small necklace with the planet Zeltros on it. A hand-made tourist trinket. Nice enough, he supposed. He paid for it and handed it to the Jedi.

"So you never forget me, you know?"

Nej smiled that same, handsome, well put-together grin. He turned his head.

"Five. Two with the same red leather jackets, same as the guys from the cafe- three others, just talking to them. Same kind rough-looking types. Bad guys, you know? I can maybe push around them, or maybe we can go through 'em. Lots of people, though. Good people shouldn't have to get hurt for what a stupid guy does, though."

There it was, ladies and gentlemen- Nej's conscience. Proof that he had one. And a guilty one, at that.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Zeltros, Marketplace, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ PRBLMS
——————————————————————

To be honest, Ayessa didn't know much of Mandalorians. One could probably extrapolate a little from the fact both them and Kiffar had clan structures, but beyond that, they were as different as water and oil to her. Her troopers had been based on a Mando, wasn't that how it had gone? She hadn't exactly paid attention to those lessons either. But, it's not like even that little tidbit gave her exceptional insight into the culture either. Which was why she found herself leaning in slightly as Nej droned on about trickster gods with genuine interest on her face. Maybe it might fool those onlookers, maybe not, she still found herself having a surprisingly good time. Then, of course, he was pressing a stupid accessory on her and she looked down at it with a bemused expression, one ridiculous line away from a painful eyeroll, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Alright."

Saying no would be rude and would break their narrative, so she didn't go to stop him immediately. It was also... Somewhat sweet. She even inspected the necklace as he spoke about his (now their) enemies and looked up upon the mention of innocents. Something behind her gaze softened, and she wordlessly agreed with a half-hearted grin, "You're not that stupid. I think. Well, you've done some stupid chit, like kissing a Jedi and trying to rob her, but, well, you know more about gods than I do." Glancing off to the side-- Probably after realizing how ridiculous that wound up saying --she kept going, "Anyways. I can get the crowd to back off if we're worried about collateral. Most will probably bolt when they see a lightsaber." Hopefully. If they didn't, things were bound to get messy despite her best efforts.

 

[Nej Tane]

Sex = violence/Violence=Sex


Nej smiled. "For the record, you kissed me back." Nej turned his head towards the men gathered, who were still talking. They started to break off, in Nej's guess to find them, or expand their search. So they weren't all hopelessly stupid. Nej, might have been however. He turned to face the Jedi- but was rudely interrupted.

Nej never wanted to be a king. Never wanted to wear the chief's headdress. Rings and crowns were not for the man who lived his life by the barrel of a gun, or the swipe of his fingers. Nej never wanted a pile of jewels. Never wanted a statue. He just wanted a life. He wanted to feel alive again. And there was nothing quite like getting hit with a chair across your back to remind you that you're alive.

He fell forward, crashing into the stall in front of him, hitting his head and causing a fine line of blood to trickle down his face.

It seemed that they did in fact, see them. Nej recovered rather quickly, and hooked the man in the jaw- and sent the Gurlanin flying, fur and all, straight into the ground. Nej shook his hand. Punched him wrong, but still knocked him out with a dirty hit. Nej turned to the other four, who were equally intent on coming after them. So they wouldn't need guns after all. Nej was a brawler, a capable man in a fistfight- and a dirty cheat. Nej grabbed the second one by the jacket, while the other three bum rushed the Jedi he was with. Or, to them, the small woman. Nej smashed the second man in the face with the Mandalorian statue, cracking the porcelain across his face, and blinding him. He smirked as the black-jacketed men went after Ayessa. The red jackets seemed to be more interested in Nej.

They probably were better off going for Nej.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Zeltros, Marketplace, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Dirty Work
——————————————————————

Well, you did want to hit something. A witty reply lived and subsequently died in her throat as the sound of a chair on man was identified and processed by her breakneck mind.

Ayessa sighed, let the Force light up every nerve of her body from toes to the roots of her hair, and possibly broke a man's foot.

Well, it wasn't quite that simple. But she was far stronger than she appeared to be, and brought her own booted limb down hard on one assailant who invaded her personal space first. Fights like these were nothing new, just more of the same, different faces each time but the same sort of people. A Jedi, their friend, and a bunch of bad people looking to do bad things. It was her job to stop them.

That idea had never appealed much to her either, but it was a calling she couldn't ignore, you can't put a snooze button on fate. Knighthood had been a mantle thrust upon her by the Force, cosmic order, maybe even some Mandalorian gods. She didn't have enough fire inside to turn it down. But, still, some part of her was still an innocent child on Kiffu trapped among sandstorms; not a warmonger who had been forced to be dripping red in the name of a forsaken democracy.

No telltale sound of bone crunching was heard-- If the first unlucky attacker hadn't been wearing boots, a medical droid would have had a field day with the pancake his foot would have been --But he still reeled in pain, knocked off balance. A strike to his side and he was toppled over entirely, temporarily out of the bout. That gave Ayessa enough time to squeak out a, "Nej!" A vain attempt to get his attention whilst he was busy with his own enemies, but an attempt nonetheless, as her hands crept around the curved hilt of a telltale weapon and sprung it free from it's hidden place. She then proceeded to use it, not yet ignited, to rather violently club the second man across the face. The pommel was certainly effective for it and would definitely leave a bruise, sending him sprawling across the trinket stand. She was saving the blade's lethality for when it was time to really get these guys to back off. They wouldn't be so stupid as to change into a lightsaber. Maybe. They might be. Her finger thumbed the ignition switch nonetheless.

 

[Nej Tane]

"I came here tonight to do two things-"


Nej snapped his head. Of all the things to say in a fight, of all the things to do- she said his name. But then, he heard a snap hiss- and the thugs backed off. Nej looked over as to why. Killer flashlight. Nej turned as the five leather-adorned assailants backed off quick and in a hurry. Shouting that there was a Jedi here.

Nej turned and laughed at Ayessa.

"Holy frak you're bold. Let's go, before they get-"

A blaster bolt went wide and shattered the shop stall next to Nej. Nej flinched and removed his disruptor pistol, rolling it into his hands, aiming it upwards. People were scattering madly. Some scared by the lightsaber, some scared by the gunshot. Black and red coats swarmed into the market. The bounty for Jedi was high on many planets- and the opportunity for some two bit crook to go after a Jedi was too good to pass up.

Nej put three shots, putting one man down and wounding another. They now had rifles, the men coming into the market. People were clearing away, or cowering for cover...and opening up the path to the spaceport. Plus, the authorities would be all over the spaceport- they'd at least be safe. Or safer, at least. Plus, Nej could bribe, charm or lie his way into things, but specifically into getting off the planet.

At, least, in theory.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Zeltros, Marketplace, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Dirty Work
——————————————————————

The hum of charged energy was in the air now as a lime-green lightsaber sizzled, the Jedi almost dazed at the sight of her own weapon. For a few seconds she waved it back and forth, appreciating the hum, the way the curved hilt fit in the hand that had shaped it. For just a second, Ayessa felt really, really good.

Then he spoke, and shots were fired.

Suddenly not so good.

Like a kick to her mind, muscle memory and years of training returned in an instant and a blaster bolt was sent wide, expertly deflected by the blade. Droids were better shots than these skugs, but I guess they don't make them like they used to. Her only reply to Nej's comment was a madwoman's grin of enjoyment; either she was having fun with the situation or having fun with his reaction to the situation. Oh well. At least she was having fun period?

Better that than panic. Rolling her wrist the blade whipped around slightly, arcing in a rather intimidating manner but it was the mark of a duelist. Or, it would have been, if she didn't accidentally clip some of the stall with her blade, the heavy scent of burning metal in the air now and sparks caused her to nearly jump out of her skin, "Are we going or what?" She sounded like a rat who had it's tail stepped on, nearly sheepish from the failed motion. Enough with the failed theatrics, her attention snapped like an alerted predator to the enemies slithering in and her posture took on a slightly more defensive stance, eyes flicking to Nej to see what the next step was. He led, she followed. At least until they were safe.

 

[Nej Tane]

Cry all you want....

Nej pushed a button behind his ear, and his helmet formed over his head. More like, a protective mask anyway. Was more used for stopping him from scraping his face and getting an edge in fistfights, than stopping a full-blown blaster bolt to the face. Nej rolled his body, withdrawing both of his handguns. One disruptor, one blaster. One in each hand. Nej glided on the ground, not so much running, but so much walking quickly. He pivoted on his heel, dodging, flourishly, a hail of blaster fire. One bit him in the long coat he was wearing, but he was none the worse for wear.

And then he fired.

Nej was fast. Very. Very. Fast. Say what you wanted about Nej. Say all the mean, nasty, true things about him. But no one could ever say that he wasn't damn near one of the fastest guns in the galaxy. Each shot, center mass. Each shot, dead center. Nej didn't even have time to notice Ayessa goofing up with her flourish. All he saw when he turned was a powerful, capable Jedi. A Jedi who was finding herself. His mask shifted only slightly. He was smiling. Not because she was beautiful, not because she handled herself- but because she was strong, and independent. And something was tugging at the back of Nej's mind.

But such thoughts would be pushed aside, because apparently shooting people's friends makes them upset at you. They weren't an army, but a gang, but there were still enough. Nej motioned for her to get to the other side of the spaceport. Distant sirens waned, marking the arrival of the planetary police. Not exactly something Nej wanted to stick around for. Plus, he was pretty sure disruptors were illegal around here. Nej took off, trying to close the distance between him and the spaceport.

​

The rain let up, but the pursuers didn't. The police had withdrawn, trying to contain the firefight at the market. There were four of them on their tail, wildly blasting around the two fleeing. Nej pointed his hand out, indicating for them to turn left. They reached the spaceport, where Nej frantically began to go through the undocking procedures.

"Handle them before they tell their friends!"

They already knew.

"I gotta get this thing ready to go!"

And wire about a dozen people to bribe them to get them off this planet and untracked.

And so, the Jedi was left to square off against four blaster-wielding foes the way that she saw fit. Nej disappeared into the ship, frantically getting it ready for flight.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Zeltros, Local Spaceport, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Dirty Work
——————————————————————

Handle them? What does 'handle them' entail--

A shot whizzed by the Kiffar's ear and she got a pretty good idea then. She could practically smell her hair burning.

Nej's smile from earlier still hung in her mind as the hilt in her hand flipped to a reversed grip, sort of like her own personal stormcloud. Or patch of sunshine. All she gleaned from his mind was his grin, but what could it have meant? Hers had been battle frenzy. And that particular emotion was back as her arm twitched, easily deflecting a fired shot from one assailant. It smacked into the side of a speeder instead, producing an excellent shower of sparks and smoke.

Try again.

The shooter did, and the bolt bounced back to strike him centre mass for his trouble, and he dropped like an anchor. In immense pain, but alive, she could feel him still. She found herself near-laughter, like a giddy child getting to use their favourite toy. Actual laughter would have followed if not for the fact things were serious and his three friends were proving Nej's landmark theory that shooting at friends tends to piss off the rest of them, like blowing up a nest of gundarks. She would have been content to stand there and deflect shots until Zeltros was consumed by the heat of its own sun, but they had a schedule to keep to. Springing off with the the Force on her side, a twist of her wrist had one's blaster sliced clean in two, and a mean kick to his gut sent the gangster brandishing the melting weapon sprawling into a suspiciously convenient stack of boxes. No stranger to inflicting death, but not exactly looking to be chummy neighbours. If she could avoid killing them, she would, that at least painted a difference between the two.

One didn't give her a choice. As Ayessa occupied herself with executing a wondeful sparta-kick he'd elected to sojourn into melee combat-- Against a Jedi, yes, but still, at least it was innovative --and lunged at her side with a vibroknife clutched in desperate hands.

Her lightsaber made an awful sound as it sliced him hip to sternum and he dropped, too, harder than the shot one and much harder than the incapacitated one.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Her head snapped around then to the final killer. He just ran. Probably to get friends, sure, but he ran nonetheless. A personal victory. Allowing herself a bit of professional pride her blade was sheathed as she made a dash for her companion, "Please tell me we're ready to go. There's going to be more of them, they always multiply."

 

[Nej Tane]

Nej didn't miss a beat, frantically working to try and get the ship airborne when more blaster fire came from across the bridge's ship. He closed the ramp as soon as the Jedi was on board. He was frantically doing this and that, before he released the magnetic docking clamp that held the ship in place.

"Hold on!"

He grabbed the Jedi by her shirt and threw her into the copilot's seat. Nej rolled the ship violently, breaking a few very expensive things in the process. The ship veered upwards and spun on it's side, and Nej felt the G-force push against his chest. He angled the ship directly upwards, soaring through the sky as blaster bolts screeched across the night sky, desperate for a clean hit on the junker ship. Nej turned and flipped off the would-be assassins as they became smaller and smaller, more distant. Another planet behind him. Another adventure, another fight.

And then the high would wear off and he would be stuck in the same boat...

But now he had company. And they were alone. Nej leaned back in the seat, letting the ship just...float. Staying out of the hyperlanes. Nej was good enough of a pilot to veer off the hyperlanes and be okay. He looked over at the Jedi, rolling his shoulders. It was cold on his ship, just how he liked it.

"Hey."

He said sheepishly, looking out to the stars.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Space, The Not-So-Final-Frontier, Nej's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Golden Dandelions
——————————————————————

It took a lot to knock the breath right out of Ayessa, but being tossed like a sack of flour by him into a chair that didn't feel as comfortable as it should have was more than enough to do it. It also took most of her computing power to hold on as suggested, gripping the sides of the co-pilot's seat and hoping whatever gods were waiting for them were rather kind. Thankfully, nothing truly terrible happened even with Nej at the helm, they didn't crash (They nearly did) and they didn't die (Though her heart was close to going into cardiac arrest).

Deep breathing. Slow your heartbeat right down. Her master had ensured she knew how to keep her body under control, to keep it from outracing her mind. A loud exhale of what must have been relief left her as she slumped back properly in the copilot's seat, a hand on her face, "By the Force." She muttered through her fingers, letting the euphoria of combat leave her body and leave an acute sense of tiredness in its wake. Then he spoke again and her head turned, hand dropping to her lap. Her lightsaber was still out, held in her left hand now, almost protectively. Like because she'd used it once, it could go away in an instant.

"I think we made it." Made it, for now. Who knew what was to come in the next few hours? Their survival was the only thought doing Olympic laps in her head.

The comforting presence of, you guessed it, the Force helped her in letting go of all that pent-up relief. And, admittedly, fear. Enough to get another sentence out, "--What do we do now?"

 

[Nej Tane]

The stars may have been before him, but the one that burnt the brightest was next to him.

​

Space above Zeltros​

0200 Local​

​

Nej ran his fingers over his eyes. What was there to do now? Sleep. Drink. He looked over at Ayessa. She wasn't just a Jedi. She was a person, just like him. With hopes. Dreams. Ideas. Beliefs. And flaws. He looked solemn. Almost disappointed. For so long, Nej wanted to meet a Jedi. Wanted to get to know what made them so special. To the galaxy, they were heroes. Gods. Wielders of an art, a weapon they did not understand, and could not understand. And the lightsaber- a symbol of the Jedi, of their finesse, of their prowess- their grace.

She fought like a fire, burning hot, but smoldering at times. He couldn't tell if she was burning right now. But Nej wanted to feel her warmth. He wanted to feel that for a long time. He had never felt fire like hers before.

"Now- I punch in the coordinates for Kiffu after getting into the hyperlane...and then I take you to Kiffu. Just like I promised. And then-"

Green eyes grew solemn with the notion that their time together would cease, at some point they were to go their separate ways. He was standing in the sun's light, and gotten sunburn. And he never wanted to heal.

"Then, you and your destiny can go meet. And I'll go back to- well. Figuring it all out."

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Space, The Not-So-Final-Frontier, Nej's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Golden Dandelions
——————————————————————

A loss of words was something that affected everyone, everywhere, but it had never troubled someone more than Ayessa in that moment. With parted lips she just looked over at him, her thought process already seizing up. Right. Of course. There were other things besides this at play. Them, in a cockpit alone, it wasn't meant to be forever. Just a few moments.

Truthfully, even being a Knight ordained by her council and her order, she'd never really felt like one. Not really, anyways. She'd been given the defective battalion, let the defective men under her service die; maybe even some hoping their defective Jedi would get herself blown up on the field and save everyone a lot of headaches.

Jedi were saints, yet she'd never felt so unholy in her life fighting their wars. That might have been what made her such a bad Knight.

Her back flattened against the copilot's seat and she brought her legs up to a crossed position, the way one might assume meditation occurred though it seemed to be for comfort rather than practicality. Ayessa watched him for a time, features a mask. There were a number of things on her mind, any one of them spoken aloud altering courses irreparably.

"Where are you from? If you don't mind answering."

A safer choice to start. Kiffu was some time away; they still had time.

 

[Nej Tane]

She's not just another face..
Zeltros Space
0215

"I think I'm from somewhere in the Outer Rim. Parents dropped me off at a charity on Tatooine- guess they couldn't pay for a shuttle offworld for three. I like to think that it was the hardest choice they ever made..but-"

He reached down and produced a bottle of something clear. Probably not water. And when he took a sip, clenching his teeth and shutting his eyes- it was an obvious answer as to what it might've been.

"I'm gonna guess that they just didn't want me. And nobody else did, either- right until I was old enough to lie, cheat, and steal for the Hutts. They were the only people that treated me like family, I guess."

He swirled the bottle. Nej didn't seem like the social drinker. He drank to forget.

"You were born on Kiffu- but I don't think you've been back there in a long, long time. How long has it been?"

Nej reached out and touched her lightsaber. He used to do the same thing with his guns, after a fight. Something about the only source of protection. His fingertips brushed her hand, ever so gently.

"Won't hurt you, I promise you."

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Space, The Not-So-Final-Frontier, Nej's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Golden Dandelions
——————————————————————

"The last time I was on Kiffu, I was... Three. Or four." Her gaze softened upon hearing him speak, watching him drink, rather numbly feeling the accidental touch. More in common than I thought. She didn't quite want to say 'it's-been-nearly-a-millennia', but perhaps what information she did give was enough for Nej to figure out that it had been a very long time, indeed.

Something compelled her to keep speaking, eyebrows pushed together as if in deep thought. Which she was, sifting through her memory to try and grasp at anything vaguely associated with 'Kiffu', "I don't remember very much," Ayessa admitted, eyes wandering to the viewport, "I remember it being sandy and stormy. And the love of my family, I remember that too. Everything else is--"

"--Messy."

The hand gripping her lightsaber moved to clip it to her belt, where it was normally meant to hang. Even the weight of it there was comforting to some degree and she set her hands palm-up on her lap after stowing it, "I do remember asking my Master if we could visit there when I was just starting as her apprentice, because we'd just been to her homeworld for training." A soft wince followed by a half-assed chuckle; that particular 'training' had been brutal. But she could hold her breathe for 10 minutes straight as a result, which probably made it worth it somehow in a round-about way, "I didn't understand why we couldn't go to Kiffu then, but all she would tell me is that I hadn't learned to let go yet. Seems like I still haven't."

She fell silent, then, for a few moments, "Mind if I have some?" Sure, it'd been some time, but Ayessa was still pretty confident she could hold her liquor.

 

[Nej Tane]

Faced with life, faced with death- we all ponder. We all wonder. And we all regret, at least one, tiny thing.


Nej smiled and retracted his hand, watching her relax.

He handed her the bottle and began to speak, looking out the same viewport.

"Kiffu ain't bad. People are a bit touchy though. Never got the whole face tattoo thing, either. But hey, what do I know?" Fingers tapped along his kneecap. "I'm just a spacer." He said solemnly. He wasn't just a spacer- if anything, Nej Tane was the spacer. He was a vagabond, a thief, a crook, criminal- sure. But, on several planets, you go to any of the Shockboxing gyms and he had gone from planet to planet, cracking teeth and breaking jaws with the best of them.

He rolled his hands, looking down to his fist. How could have punched the guy wrong, knowing all that? Goes to show that even pros make mistakes. He stood up and looked down at her, before looking over the console, typing in a few things. The ship rotated and began to go over the lightspeed procedures, preparing to jump itself to hyperspace. The calculations would take a few minutes on a ship as old as this.

"Gonna hit the refresher."

He didn't want to say that he was going to stand in the shower and pretend he was somewhere else, just like he did every other time. He did just that, the water cleansing body but unable to wash the dirt from his soul or the blood off of his hands. He came out, adjusting his hair in the mirror, and donned somewhat fresh clothes, which amounted to trousers and a gray cotton shirt. He sat back down in the chair next to her. He smelled like soap.

He stared out at the viewport, not really saying anything, listening to his ship bleep and boop for a while, before speaking.

"When I was a kid, I read all the stories about Han Solo and Boba Fett, all the great gunslingers and scoundrels in the galaxy. I wanted to be just like them, heroic and remembered-" He took the bottle back from her and took a long swig. "But you know what I got? I got forced into working for the Hutts, or starving in the hot sun of Tatooine. Orphanages really don't like to keep kids past about 13 or 14 out there. Nobody wanted a scruffy little human kid, anyway." Nej glanced out to the stars.

"Now I'm gonna be 30 in five years- and what do I have to show for it?"

He took another swig and handed the bottle back to her.

"What about you, Ayessa? What's your story?" Hazel eyes, somber-filled, turned to the Jedi.

[member="Ayessa Kroan"]

 

[Ayessa Kroan]

Space, The Not-So-Final-Frontier, Nej's Ship, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Nej Tane"] ~ Golden Dandelions
——————————————————————

The Kiffar held the bottle by it's throat and took a relatively generous gulp -- Enough to make her cough a little afterwards, red in her face and all, clearly more than she had expected. But, still. Good. Jedi weren't really meant to drink, but if you're undercover past 1313 and you're not drinking, you get spotted pretty fast as someone better. It's better to break a few rules and blend in than remain the hardass and get caught.

"Qukuuf," Ayessa finally said quietly, before Nej left for his shower, "The tattoos. They're passed down from the mother."

And whilst he was gone she simply sat and tried to push emotion out. Surprisingly hard, for an empath. Should be easy, for a Knight. Another thing to say she failed at, even the way the Force interacted with her was wrong.

He would find her sitting in the same position, same bottle in her fingers, same rather blank expression, same everything, really, a statue. Even her breathing seemed sparse, her chest hardly moving. The sound of a body moving nearby was enough to stir her from her momentary trance, gaze flicking over, and she offered the drink wordlessly.

Say what you will about him, she commented mentally, but he has the makings of something. Not sure what; but something, at least. To think otherwise means this galaxy really is that cruel.

His question about herself caught her off-guard slightly but she took the offered bottle back into slender fingers, staring a little quizzically. She could have said the honest, raw truth. How she'd been taken from her clan, raised and trained in the Temple among disconnected souls, how their Trials had broken her and put her back together not quite the same as before, how they'd sent her into battle as a child and expected her to win.

How in the end their own men had tried to kill them. Purged, they said.

Could she weave a lie believable enough to make it seem like she was from this time? From this era's Jedi? Unlikely. Her lost brown eyes just fell onto his, and all she managed was a simple, "I don't know how to explain it without sounding absolutely insane."

For once, the truth.