Private I Roved Out: Ch. 4 - A Pearl of Memory

[Loxa Visl]

Tatooine
Sand Wastes
Twelve clicks north of Deathknell Canyon

It had been two months since she'd landed on Tatooine chasing a lead for a man who might know something about a long-lost people from a vastly unknown region of the galaxy. Things had not gone well. The man was dead - indebted as he was to the Hutts - and Loxa found herself suddenly caught up with his killers. As a space witch she held within her an undetermined amount of toughness and determination, and that was likely the only two things keeping her alive. Soon as they learned she could use the Force, Ysalamir and Force-nullifying accouterments had been employed. She wasn't appealing enough to be a front of the house Princess Slave, so they'd made her back-of-the-house grunt work slave.

The Hutt that had taken her as his property was called Yobu, he a smaller, younger crime lord looking to make a name for himself and earn a bit of clout. So off to the endless dune sea they went, on the hunt for krayt dragons and their valuable pearls.

So far they had proven curiously successful, and the success was making Yobu only that much more greedy. They'd only been meant for the sands for a few weeks but now?

Now he wanted to stretch his time a bit longer. A few more, he'd said, a few more. And the only way to make their supplies last was to cut from those that least needed it: the slaves.

"Sana," Loxa had finally been dismissed from her duties to move to the slave corral. She'd been given a pittance of rations - stale bread and a wooden bowl of broth along with a half-full canteen of water that was to last her until the next evening. She was hurting and exhausted, but this was only another chapter in her life of rough living. Loxa had been a slave before to arguably worse Masters, at the very least Yobu hadn't tried using them as bait for the dragons.

Yet.

"Sana, water-" she said to another of the slaves, a younger girl who was not holding up well with the sun, heat, and labor, "drink child."

Sana had tried many times before to turn her generosity away and learned it was pointless. She accepted the canteen and drank deeply. It would be empty when she got it back, but Loxa could survive without a bit longer. They would be returning to the city soon, and then she might find a way back to her freedom.

Khaleel Malvern

 

[Khaleel Malvern]

Loxa Visl

Everything was bright to him in a way it hadn't been for years... no, decades. It wasn't even the last years of amnesia. Clarity ran shot through his entire consciousness until Khaleel discovered who he had been and what he had lost. Khal had never been a stereotypical Jedi. Not a good man in even the narrow sense of the word.

But he had tried to do right until the Netherworld swallowed him up.

Now Khal was back however and he was coming for his woman.

Loxa... how could he have forgotten? He had loved her even when he was in his darkest place. But now he was finding his way back to the sun, but he could never be in the light without her at his side.

He tracked her down to Tatooine. Her presence like a burning blade against his mind. He just knew where to go. Tatooine had always been an infested chit-hole, but now it was keeping the woman he had called his soul and love. There were still contacts there that he could tap. Contacts that told him of the Huttese expedition.

That is how he managed to ingratiate himself with them during one of the resupply runs that brought fresh produce reserved only for the Hutt.

That is how Loxa would bump into a guard when she turned away from the girl she was helping and instead of being elbowed in the face... she'd get a soft chuckle. "Careful, darling... not every face here is as happy to see you as me." That drawl, those eyes, did she remember him? She hadn't when they left each other last time.

But maybe her memories woke up when his had?

It was a lot to hope for.

 

[Loxa Visl]

The bread. The bowl. The empty canteen. It all fell to the ground as Loxa staggared back from the man, expecting reprisal and bracing for impact. Nothing happened which made for a very confused Loxa. It wouldn't be her first run-in with the guards who had taken advantage of slaves when the Boss wasn't around. She looked up, gaze hardened and jaw drawn taught while her hands, raw though they were from laboring in the sun, were coiling into fists in preparation to beat yet another assailant away.

His voice did not immediately draw recognition, but when she dared to lift her gaze to his face Loxa felt all the air in her lungs suddenly disperse in a reverent gasp. Golden eyes widened in wonder and disbelief.

Was she hallucinating? Had she been worse off than she thought? There was simply no way he was here.

Right here.

"This One... is dreaming?"

 

[Khaleel Malvern]

All he wanted to do was touch her face and give her a kiss. Because his lips hadn't touched hers in so many years, but he still wasn't sure if she remembered him the way he remembered her.

And besides... They were still in the middle of a slave camp.

"No, darling, your eyes see true. I'd give you a hug but we can't give the game away." He murmured softly as his eyes flicked to the guards in the distance.

"At night we will make a break for it. I'll make an opening for you."

He already had a plan in mind. It included a lot of explosions and a roasted Hutt, but he didn't want to talk too much about it in the open.

Loxa Visl

 

[Loxa Visl]

She was grateful he did not hug her for the fact that much of her body hurt and the vast swathes of her exposed skin was raw, burnt, and begging for reprieve. There'd be no joy in kissing these parched and split lips.

Loxa hesitated, her mind pushing thoughts forward made incoherent by her exhaustion and shock at seeing him. She still was not fully convinced it was real, but at this point even a dream of escape was welcome. Without fully following his gaze toward the other guards, she nodded.

"They will think strange... if you do not punish This One."

She had bumped into him, dropped her broth on his boots. An offense worthy of a sound beating if the Boss wasn't around to see, or a solid smack if he was.

 

[Khaleel Malvern]

He paused there as his eyes flicked back towards her.

Loxa couldn't be serious.

The first time that he saw her after all those years and instead of a kiss, he had to punish her physically? That seemed so incredibly cruel for the both of them.

"I... Okay. Where would it hurt the least?" Khal asked gently, knowing better than to argue about it.

Otherwise they'd be both dead instead of both free.

 

[Loxa Visl]

What a question. Normally she'd take a bell-ringing blow to the head but she didn't trust her mental faculties enough for it.

If this was real? Needed her legs to run. Needed her arms and hands if she had to defend herself.

"Back," she said, gesturing faintly with a nod of her head. Her back was already covered with scars and more recent welts from the lash, what was one more note on the diary?

 

[Khaleel Malvern]

Khal didn't think about the blood pact that they had agreed to all that time ago. If he had he would have been more willing to do what needed doing, because it would have felt more honest.

Instead he only felt guilt as he nodded and roughly yanked her around and pushed her down to her knees.

Even in that aggression his hand gently squeezed her shoulder.

It was the only sign that he could give that this wasn't a nightmare. No, he was truly here and he would save her. But for the moment they had to do this disgusting thing. Setting his jaw he finally struck her across her back. The curse that came next was two-fold, it was an act, cursing her out for her clumsiness.

But it was also true because the pain laced through his back as well.

If Loxa still needed convincing who he was, this would be it.

 

[Loxa Visl]

On her knees her eyes caught the glint of Sana in the tent, huddled in fear toward the back. Loxa wanted to tell her it was fine but she held the instinct back and braced as his hand left her shoulder.

The only sounds that followed was that of him making contact with her back and the expletives that flew from his lips after. Loxa staggered, catching herself from a face-dive into the sand, and remained huddled in prostration on the ground. It would be enough to witness from afar. The other Guards returned back to their business.

Loxa did not look back at Khal, but she did spare a look to the mark on her arm that glowed an angry red. She'd nearly all but forgotten about the blood pact. Her heart stalled in that moment.

This was real. She wasn't dreaming. Resolve sharpened, the witch crawled back into the tent to collect Sana into her arms with gentle shushing and soothing murmurs.

 

[Khaleel Malvern]

The rest of the day passed by as it often did.

Except his presence was nearby now. She'd see him out of the corner of her eye, hear his voice in the distance and she got more rations for that day then usual. Just little signs here and there. It was the best he could do to apologize for what he had done. Even if she didn't think he needed to, he felt horrid about it regardless.

Then night time hit.

An explosion rocked the scene soon after the guards shift when the explosion would cause the most chaos. The new ones had only just woken up, the old ones were extremely tired from the guarding.

In that mess his face would appear in the opening of her tent and then his hand.

"Now or never, ready?" Offered to Loxa.

He wasn't yet back to his full Jedi roots even now. Maybe that is why they were so against attachment. He couldn't even think about any of the other slaves here.

 

[Loxa Visl]

She'd eaten only one of the extra rations and given the rest to the girl and another slave that had been with them from the start. With luck, her duties remained much the same throughout the day as it had the previous few. They'd been awaiting on a new restock before moving out to the canyon in the south where the hunt for krayt dragons would resume.

Had there been time, Loxa would have told him about the stash of krayt dragon pearls already collected, but there'd never been an opportunity.

Having caught perhaps an hour of sleep before the explosion woke the entire encampment, Loxa felt the rush of adrenaline grant her the energy she would need and collected the young girl with her.

"Come, Sana, it is time to leave," she had her in-hand when Khal appeared at the tent, and stepped forward to take his proffered hand with her shackled own, "A Girl comes with us."

The other slave was in well enough shape he'd survive.

 

[Khaleel Malvern]

His eyes flicked to the child.

Mouth opened to argue against it, but instead- "Yeah, of course, we aren't leaving children behind." -came out of it. She might not remember the Khaleel of before, but she'd get the distinct impression from her clouded memory that that... was not how Khal would have reacted in the past. In the past he might have grabbed the child and thrown it into a slaver to pave their escape.

Instead Khal yanked her with him, staying low, moving seemingly without needing any sort of visual.

Just moving by instinct until suddenly he froze up and pulled them with him against one of the walls. "Shh, keep her quiet." He hissed at Loxa as he peered around the corner before withdrawing quickly.

Several slaver guards would rumble past.

Loxa Visl

 

[Loxa Visl]

In the back of her mind it was an uncharacteristic response, but Loxa did not have the energy to question it now. She followed after him with stiff movements, her grip on the girl's hand like a vice, and quickly pushed back against the wall of the camp's main tent where the Hutt kept his comforts. Sana whined slightly out of fear. Loxa looked to her and shushed her gently, shaking her head.

When she looked back to Khal after the guards thundered past, her eyes gave him a strange look.

"A Hutt has found many Krayt Pearls on this hunt..." she hushed to him, her stare pointed.

They could find the case with the pearls and leave with a stash that would pay their way. She might also find her missing staff in the process.

 

[Khaleel Malvern]

Loxa Visl

He blinked and felt uncomfortable.

"Stealing from the Hutt?" But then something internally gave him a slap in the face. "Yes, good idea." As if the tone hadn't sounded highly skeptical initially.

Part of him didn't think it was a good idea to drag the kid along with them into the tent. But what else was there to do? He wasn't going to lose sight of Loxa after all this time, so neither of them could stay outside with the kid. It was the only option. He nodded and quickly paved the way forward, igniting his saber and cutting a hole into the tent so they could sneak inside.

Luckily for them the Hutt had vacated the tent to check on the explosions and leading his guards.

"You know where he stashes the pearls?"

 

[Loxa Visl]

"This One does not know where," she said in response as she helped Sana into the tent through the hole and followed quickly after, "but This One knows the chest."

Loxa had seen the Hutt quietly gloating to himself over his treasure between hunts, gorging on strange foodstuffs that she wasn't certain were dead before getting tossed into his gaping mouth.

"It is... metal," her eyes shifted down to Sana who looked positively terrified to be in the tent, "brown metal." Bronzium. "Sana... A Girl has seen the chest with the pearls, yes?"

Sana nodded, refusing to look at Khal.

"A Girl knows... where the chest ...sleeps?"

With some hesitation, Sana nodded again and pointed to a smaller tent that adjoined the one they stood in now. Loxa knew only that was where weapons and other valuables were stored.

 

[Khaleel Malvern]

He watched the exchange with curiosity.

In a distant past Khaleel would have been impatient. Maybe even would have grabbed the little girl by her wrist and shook her in the air, until she remembered more quickly what they needed to know. Not anymore. There was an eerie peace around him. As if... everything would come the way they should and he had full trust in that.

"The little tent?" He followed the trajectory of the gesture and nodded. "Alright, I will fetch it, you guys get ready to leave immediately. I don't know how long we got until the Hutt returns."

By the time he disappeared into the smaller tent, more explosions rocked in the distance. The secondary charges had done their job and most likely would have taken out the first response unit. Now chaos would be reigning completely inside the tent encampment. It was around that time that by sheer bad luck some of the guards passed by Loxa's sleeping place and realized she and the girl was gone.

The hunt was on.

In the distance they could hear the rumbling noise of the repulsor-sled that carried the Hutt closing in.

Khal came out carrying the moderate-sized chest right on time, not a moment too late. "Let's go, I can already hear his screaming, he isn't gonna be in a good mood if he discovers us here." Already walking past them. "Don't forget your staff," Over his shoulder as he pulled up the shredded remnants of the back of the tent to allow them through.

Loxa Visl