In the Danger Zone

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori's eyebrows raised as a satisfied grin appeaeed after her kick had landed. [member="Curtis Learchin"] wasn't expecting that at all.

Of course that cocky moment gave him the second that he needed to gain the upperhand and hit her in the back. Lori stumbled forward, but then pivoted on her heel, spinning herself around with her elbows close to her while she pointed the tip of her weapon at him for a strick across his left side.

"Only if I scream." Arla was programmed for such things. And she was highly skilled for it too. "Now if you scream, I'm sure that she'd just smile."

 

[Curtis Learchin]

"There is such a thing as good screaming," Curtis teased, bringing his own weapon into a defensive block as the tip of her weapon darted forward. Pushing it away, he rushed forward, throwing his weight towards her with enough force to knock her to the floor should it connect.

"Then again, would she even know the difference?" He didn't know much about the co-pilot, apart from that she was protective of [member="Loreena Arenais"] as if she was her sister. Maybe he was more protective, but in a different way.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

A good screaming? Did [member="Curtis Learchin"] mean what she thought he meant?? Oh boy. Her cheeks reddened slightly, distracting her enough that when he rushed forward, it caught her by surprise. However her free hand rose up to grab him by the throat.

"Do you want me to scream so you can find out?" Lori raised her eyebrows up and down quickly, giving him a sly little grin that was almost daring him to say yes. Of course the kind of scream that she was thinking of doing was a fake hurt scream. The other kind would be far too embarrassing!

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis let [member="Loreena Arenais"]'s hand connect with his throat, her grip reminding him of what true combat was. He saw her blush, which was one of embarrassment. His comment had landed, and his smiled slightly.

"I think I could be persuaded." He said with a wink, his right hand resting gently on her hip. He gazed into her eyes, and felt a connection. It seemed that she felt the same way as he did, either that or she was trying to distract him.

If the latter was true, then it was working very well.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori's grip wasn't tight. She didn't want to restrict [member="Curtis Learchin"] from breathing or speaking afterall. This was just a spar.

Curtis was still quite close against her and she felt his hand on her hip. Her eyes met his and she held his gaze, feeling the slight pull of a connection being made. It was as though their energies were entwining together, bands of it twirling and twisting around eachother like vines. "..But what if I don't want the interuption?.." Lori couldn't help herself. She leaned forward and kissed his softly on the lips, lasting no more than a second before she realized what she did. Her cheeks blushed. "Sorry! Sorry!" Lori released his neck and placed her hand on his chest, ready to push back if he was going to do some counter move in their spar.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis' eyes widened slightly as [member="Loreena Arenais"] kissed him. He hadn't expected it, but he'd be lying if he said it hadn't crossed his mind. She moved away quickly, but he could still feel her lips on his, a ghostly imprint as her hand pressed gently on his chest. After a second of silence, Curtis placed his hand on Lori's and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I think we're done sparring." Curtis said with a chuckle as he moved away, his hand still resting on hers. In truth he didn't really know what to say, but he didn't want the moment to end either. "I'm not sure where you want to go from here Lori."

In that moment, nothing else in the galaxy mattered to him.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

[member="Curtis Learchin"] kissed her back, a quick kiss similar to her own. Her cheeks were still red and she tucked some strands of her hair behind her ear in an embarrassed gesture.

"I guess I won that round. Defences broken." She grinned proudly. Though she wasn't quite certain of where to go from there either. "We can...continue as normal. Work won't change, our jobs won't change..." She didn't want to rush anything. Lori was not looking to get her heart broken. She had had enough dysfunction in her life as it was. But at least Arla would always be at her side, so she'd never truly be alone.

"I felt something...when you looked at me. It was like...I don't know. My parents have a Force Bond. Could it be something similar? Did you feel it too?"

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis looked into [member="Loreena Arenais"]'s eyes, laughing slightly as she said that she'd won. In that moment though, he wished that he could tell her what he was really thinking. He wanted to tell her everything, all of his feelings, all of his past. But he knew that it would destroy whatever they had. He was a Sith, even if he hadn't gone back for some time. His master, his homeworld, all of it belonged to The Sith Empire. But his heart lay elsewhere.

"I felt it too." He agreed, realising that by saying that, he was telling her he had a connection to the force. He didn't care if she knew though. "I don't want whatever we have to hurt you, so we can do whatever feels best for you." It was all he could think of saying. He didn't want to force anything onto her, and he didn't want her to hate him either.

"Wherever this takes us, I'm with you." He still gripped her hand, smiling softly at her as he ran his free hand though her hair.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

He felt it too. That made her heart flutter. Or did it skip a couple of beats? Whatever it was, it was reassurance. Most especially as [member="Curtis Learchin"] was still holding her hand. She gave his a gentle squeeze, her eyes half closing while he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Well I'm stubborn and used to...not really having to follow a lot of rules. If you hadn't noticed by now, I sort of do whatever I like. Is that..okay? I mean..." She chewed the inside of her cheek, not entirely clear of where she was going with this herself. ...You will be able to do what you want too. So if you want to explore this connection further...then I'd like that."

Lori held his gaze while she kept close, now coming to realize that he was Force sensitive like she was. But then mostly everyone that she knew were too. Which put her mind back on the mission. "Have you ever had to fight Sith before? I've only had to run from them. Yet we'll be sneaking into their territory...Unless of course you'd rather we go visit my Mom..."

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis thought on what she said for a moment. She wanted to explore what they had, and so did he. If they were connected by the force, then he had to know how far the connection went. He'd heard tales of Jedi and Sith who formed such attachments, and how it could effect them both in and out of combat.

"I'd like to see how far this connection goes." He admitted, looking into [member="Loreena Arenais"]' eyes. Her next question was an interesting one, for him at least. He hadn't fought a full blown Sith, but he'd fought acolytes, and had one training session with a Dark Lord. "I have had some encounters... and right now, I'd prefer not to meet your mother, not until we figure out whatever we have."

He thought the answer was a good one. Likely her parents were force sensitive, and if that were true, then they would be able to sense his darker leanings.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori couldn't help but smile as [member="Curtis Learchin"] let her know that he wanted to explore just how deep their connection went. Her smile was almost conspiritorial in nature. And maybe it was? No doubt they were breaking some sort of rules; if not only just that of an employer and their employee. Curtis was more than that to her.

She let go of his hand, only to rest her forearms on his shoulders and intertwine her fingers behind his neck. Lori couldn't help but snicker as he said that he didn't want to meet her Mom just yet. Isn't meeting the parents supposed to be scary? Of course they weren't officially a couple yet...

"The Sith lay siege to my home planet a few years ago. But I escaped their blockade with my Dad and some others. An old friend of mine ended up working for them. He tried to talk me into surrendering, even led the Sith right to me by tracking my commlink. When I saw him again not too long ago, I punched him right in the nose. He still insists that I'd of been better off if I surrendered. But no doubt I'd only be in sone prison camp somewhere, or enslaved."

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis' arms wrapped around [member="Loreena Arenais"]' waist as hers went round his neck. He had to fight the urge to kiss her again, even if it was the only thing he really wanted to do. Her story of the Sith wasn't unlike his own, minus her family surviving. And then she said something that shook him slightly, a former friend how worked for the Empire. Had he met them by accident? Without more info he wouldn't know, and he could tell this wasn't the time for questions. No, now was the time for truths.

"I had a similar experience about 2 years ago..." He didn't want to give too much away, but opening up to her was a good thing in his eyes. "I was the only survivor." He thought that that would be enough, at least for the moment. He would tell her more in time, maybe even show her more, but right now it was too early for him to say anything.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"Really?" A touch of sadness crossed her face as [member="Curtis Learchin"] let her know of his family's fate. "I'm sorry...I bet that you miss them a lot..." Of course he did! How silly of her to say! "..I mean, I know that I would. I miss my family even now. I don't think we'll ever be together. We've all got...seperate lives." And vastly different ones too. Lori hardly saw them anymore and she was sure that they didn't see eachother anymore either.

"But we've got eachother and that's what's important right now." She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss, a little unsure if she had picked the moment right. "So let's make the best of it. And try to avoid any blockades or battles. Maybe sneaking into Sith territory for gathering info is a bad idea..."

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis brushed [member="Loreena Arenais"]' hair as she kissed him again. He had never felt this way about another person before, maybe there was some truth to what she had said about the force bond. She spoke of how her family had splintered to do their own things, and wondered what he would be doing at that moment if his adoptive clan was still alive. Would he have stayed on Dathomir? It didn't matter, like she said, they had each other now.

"I miss them, but maybe one day I'll have a family of my own again." It was a leading statement, but he meant it in the nicest way possible. "As for the Sith... I'll follow your lead." Truth be told, Curtis would've liked the chance to go back to Sith Space, but he knew how dangerous that would be. He was technically still part of the Empire, but only because his outings weren't important enough to draw the gaze of other Sith. If they went to the border, and ended up fighting, then his betrayal would be exposed.

"Guess being your bodyguard is a bit easier now though." He joked, a slight smile on his face as he looked into Lori's eyes. Whoever had lost her before was foolish to let her go.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"Well, a ship's crew is like a family. Or at least that's the way I see it sometimes." When she has a crew that consists of more than just Arla, that is. Her crew size used to be bigger, but after troubles with Imperials, plus a big paycheque from one of their missions, all of them had left her. Now at times it was a struggle to keep anyone employed on her ship.

But maybe this time it'll be different.

Lori nodded as [member="Curtis Learchin"] still maintained his position of being loyal to her and her decisions. And oh how she loved that! Of course she was certain that he wasn't just going to follow her blindly. She knew that he'd put his foot down when he wanted to. That was part of his job as well.

She grinned at him, a twinkle in her eye as she returned his gaze while he mentioned his job being easier now. "Oh I'll still be stubborn and strong willed. Especially if I really believe in something...But I expect you to hold your ground if you firmly believe that I'm making a mistake." Of course she knew that he would. But still, it was best for her to express it anyways. Some people don't like her stubborness. That could also be why she hadn't been able to keep a steady crew.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

"What kind of guard would I be if I couldn't hold my ground?" Curtis said with a smirk and a wink. It was somewhat strange that [member="Loreena Arenais"] was so open to him stating his opinion, though that may be a sign that he was more than just a crewmember from now on. It was then that he started to realise just how empty the ship truly felt. Apart from the two of them and a droid, it was silent throughout much of the vessel.

"Speaking of crew, where did all the others go?" He asked, realising how simple the question was, and that he should've asked it a long time ago. He didn't mind being alone with Lori of course, it was nice to have private time, but he had grown up in a clan where privacy was a distant memory. Not having that noise still bothered him.

He very rarely spoke of his family, maybe he'd go into more detail with Lori one day.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori laughed a little in spite of herself as [member="Curtis Learchin"] remarked on being able to hold his ground. She was his boss though, and some might think of that as meaning that they couldn't disagree with her. But that was never the case on her ship. Everyone's opinions were important.

To his question on the rest of the crew, Lori shrugged her shoulders. "Off on their own. We got a big payout for a job and maybe they've gone and retired? I don't know. I used my cut to pay off the Sparrow with interest and in turn I was given Arla. I couldn't fly this ship without her. You're the only other crew member that decided to stick around." Arla and Lori were used to it just being the two of them. So having someone else around was a nice change.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

"Well, I'll be staying around for a while..." He let the statement hang in the air, hinting that he was almost running from something. In a way he was, leaving the Sith Empire hadn't been his original plan, but he was committed to it now. Would he give up the dark side? Maybe, but for now it was a useful tool, even if [member="Loreena Arenais"] hadn't seen him use it yet.

"Whatever we're planning to do, we should problem, well, plan it" Curtis said with a joking smile. He was trying to trend the line between crewmember and something more, though he knew that eventually he'd end up being that something more. At least he hoped so. Once he was alone, he'd mediate on the connection they'd made. Perhaps he could discover more about it.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori's face brightened up as [member="Curtis Learchin"] said that he'd be staying for a while. Though part of her wanted him to stay forever, she knew to never count on that. Nothing was forever, most especially where she was concerned. But everyone else probably felt that way too. "Good."

And then he joked. Lori just grinned and nodded, watching the way his smile lit up his eyes. Only genuine smiles did that.

She pulled away from his grip, yet took his hand in her own. "Then let's plan while you finish cooking our supper." Curtis was cooking fish earlier, afterall. And now that fish was just sitting there waiting.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis nodded to her, suddenly remembering that before all of this, he had been cooking their food. And he really didn't want to ruin dinner...

"As you wish, m'lady" Curtis said with a smile, his hand intertwined with hers. It felt right somehow, like this had meant to happen to them both. His thoughts of the Empire had been replaced with thoughts of [member="Loreena Arenais"]. Maybe he would tell her, or maybe he would just quietly cut ties with the Sith to stay with her. Either way, he wasn't leaving her side, and if he truly had to, then he'd only be gone a little while.

The two of them made their way to the kitchen, and Curtis resumed his cooking of the fish. He was unsure if Lori would watch him, but got the feeling that she would be even if she didn't intend to.

"So, this Sith outpost... where exactly is it?"