Private More Than A Weapon

[Eliz Krayt]

A hazy mind had him notice it too late. How she was talking. The tears in her eyes. He loved to hear the words Gwyneira Vizsla was telling him. But, it clicked too late. Panic filled his gaze as he felt the tug on his armor. "Gwyn, don't-!" Then he was tossed. Thrown out the window to impact the hard sand in a puff of the substance. Panic and fear immediately filled his mind as he stared up at the window above him. Too far up. Too far away.

Why did she..?

Eliz scrambled to his feet, trying to get up after her. Trying to stand again, trying to continue the fight. But he was in pain. Too much pain. The fall only worsened that pain as he winced, falling back into the sand. Why did she do this!?

Chit. Everything was getting darker and darker. Was he still that hurt? He gritted his teeth, trying to push himself up regardless. She was going to get hurt. Killed! Chit chit chi- The world went black again.

He awoke on Gwyn's ship. In the medical wing. Mini was close by. Immediately he shot up, panic still gripping his heart. Gwyn. "Mini where's Gwyn. What the kark is going on!?"

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Gwyneira coughed, thrown after being dragged by her hair and scrambling behind for so long. She sputtered, on the ground and panting. She looked up to the beskar laden man, whose cold emotionless helmet gazed down at her with zero remorse.

"You are going to pay for what you did. You killed most of my men, wrecked my base, ruined countless dollars."

Gwyn felt a boot slam into her back. The Rodian walked next to the Maw weapon, secure in the bunker, and sneered, "What's the plan, boss?"

The man crossed his arms, "We have her weapons, now also take her armor. We will sell everything on the black market alongside the girl herself, once we've tortured her enough."

Gwyn winced at that plan, but was also busy looking around for any kind of comlink, holodesk, anything that she could get a signal out through. She only saw the comlink laying on the Maw weapon before the Rodian held her as the Gungan tore her Aegis of the Watch off. It felt quite humiliating, having such symbolic and important armor stolen from her this way. She shuddered, the Rodian's hands too tightly digging into her arms, only slightly padded by her long sleeved shirt. She shuddered as she was pulled away from the armor on the ground. As she was thrown into the corner, she looked up to see a beskar armored leg raised.

Her side was brutally rammed into by a boot enforced with powerful metal.

~ ~ ~​

Mini turned and groaned, looking up to Eliz. He sighed in binary, stressed and upset about his owner's absence himself. As much as he knew she always had a plan, it was hard to understand why she constantly sacrificed herself for her plots.

He responded in binary, "She threw you out of a window and let herself get captured. The maker knows why. I know she's planning something, but wha-"

A signal suddenly resounded from the ship's communications system. An SOS signal.

"Oh. She is using herself as bait. Of course! If we follow the signal, we will reach where she is being hidden. If I know her, she made sure she is at wherever their base is."

Eliz Krayt

 

[Eliz Krayt]

Why did she have the be the one so willing to give up her own life? Anger rushed through him as he tried his best not to just up and run off after her. Well, no. The only thing that stopped him was the fact he wasn't sure where he was going. And yet, Mini seemed to figure it out. A code? Distress signal? His red eyes flared for a moment as he suppressed that urge to go running for her.

No, he was healed somewhat already. More than that. .. How long had he been out?

"Bring us there. Tell me everything you can about the layout."

He stood up, moving towards his gear. Bit by bit he'd start to strap on his armor, grim determination on his face. Next, his weapons. All of his weapons. He went through them, making sure they were fit. Ready. His eyes narrowed as he lifted up his heavy charric. Right. The Rodian needed to die first. Last, though. The Beskad. He lifted the finely crafted weapon, staring over it.

"And show me where Gwyn keeps her weapons."

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Mini was eager to tell him everything he could. As they moved, he hastily filled the boy in.

"The bunker is directly under the room where they turned the tide on you. It was a completely separate system from the facility, which is why I was unable to control or even scan it. It was specifically made for a final retreat."

"I have no idea what is in that bunker, aside Gwyn herself. Once again, all I could do was figure out it exists before I dragged you back here, armor and all. That armor made you hard to carry."

The droid showed Eliz where she kept her weaponry, in a closet in her quarters.

"Here is everything she left behind. She took her preferred weapons with her, sorry. The knife is kind of pathetic, and not sure those vambraces will be a fit with your weighty armor. That spare sniper rifle though? Oh, that thing may serve you well."

With everything said and done, Mini sighed in binary. Then, the astromech dropped some of his snarky demeanor, "If there was ever one being in the galaxy I could trust with my master, it is you. Gwyneira means a lot to me. Please, bring her back."

~ ~ ~​

Electrical currents flooded her body. She was in agony and she had to scream. As the electricity finally faded, Gwyn slumped on the floor, panting. Sweat coated her skin. She had never been in so much pain in her entire life. Beaten, bruised, likely fractured in the ribs, electrocuted, tasered, repeatedly stun blasted at the lowest setting so she would stay conscious, her hands put up again an overheating device and burned. She was teetering in and out of sleep, and struggling to hang on.

She looked up at the man in beskar, struggling to focus on him. He looked down on her and crossed his arms, "Another thirty seconds, but once again turn the setting a notch higher."

She braced herself, grimacing. There was no use in trying to pretend she was strong anymore. She winced her eyes shut and started screaming in agony as electricity bolted through her again.

Meanwhile, the SOS signal was still going strong.

Eliz Krayt

 

[Eliz Krayt]

"They'll all do."

Eliz was in a much colder demeanor as he answered the droid. The reason behind it was obvious enough. He was worried. Whatever Gwyneira Vizsla was going through, it wasn't something he could think about. He needed to kill his emotions. Dive fully into the Chiss training his father taught him. No emotion. Just cold, hard calculations. He slipped on his buy'ce, covering such emotion as he strapped the last of the weapons to his form.

"Fly over the base and open the ramp. I'll take care of the rest."

He didn't wait for Mini's answer as he instead moved to the ramp. No more time for talk. He couldn't talk. No, all he had was a rage he needed to put himself above less he go in and not think through it. He needed his wits about him. All at once he was gone. The fractal coating took over as he leaned back, closing his eyes. Once the ramp opened, once they were above, he dropped.

Like an invisible meteor he fell towards the base. He kept his eyes closed even as he hit terminal velocity, simply falling like a mass of metal like he was. And yet, just before he hit the building, he opened his eyes. His jetpack kicked on, similarly invisible as he let himself land on the roof. Well, more crash through it. And right onto the blasted Rodian from before. His verpine pistol popped two shots into the bug's face. He was on patrol, and not alone.

The gungan freaked right out, lifting their heavy repeater to try and find whatever it was that just ripped through the ceiling. The crash had ruined the fractal coating, and already it was starting to disrupt. The gungan saw it, lowering his gun to try and blast the now appearing Mandalorian. Except, Eliz was already on him. Faster than the gungan expected. Eliz brought his Beskad up, the super hard metal ripping into the gun. Not cutting through it, just biting into it. Rendering it inoperable as he flew forward instead. His hand gripped the mute man by the throat.

Crushing it instantly.

By his count, those were the last two guards. He dropped the corpse, turning his gaze towards the ground below him. He needed to move.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Eliz kicked open the last door. The room where Gwyneira Vizsla was being tortured. He could see it. What they used to torture her.

It was good he was dead to the Force. His anger, his rage. Not even a Sith could compare. Between them the man in the armor. The Beskar'gam that didn't belong to him. He started to speak, but before he could get a single word out Eliz shot him. Not with the Charric, not with a blaster. The sonic from the Rodian. Compressed sound slammed into the figures head, killing them before they could even get a word out edge wise.

There was only one thing that mattered. "Gwyn-!"

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Gwyneira looked up to the familiar man, his helmet hiding his face. She smiled weakly, struggling to move. Her body felt like the life force was ripped out of it. As he approached her, she sighed.

"Good, you killed them. All we have left is to destroy the weapon."

Was she not at all worried about herself? Well, yes, she was. A small amount of blood trickled from her mouth as he drew closer. The bruised, exhausted girl wanted nothing more than for Eliz to scoop her up. Yet, she had a little more to focus on.

"Just set explosives and make the kriffing thing blow up. There's a bag on the left of the supplies rack. And my weapons and armor are stored in the crate on the second shelf. They were going to sell it... and me too."

She closed her eyes, trying to find the strength to stand. By the Force, she tried. She got on her hands and knees, yet her side screamed for it to stop. She moaned, yelping a bit, before giving up and finding her entire frame sprawled on the floor again.

"I'm sorry." She struggled to hide the pain in her voice, "But I can't get up right now."


Eliz Krayt

 

[Eliz Krayt]

She was there. She was speaking. But.. Eliz dropped the gun as he stepped over to Gwyneira Vizsla . Without a word he took the crappy knife to cut her bonds and catch her before she fell to the floor. The weapon? He hadn't even thought about that. She was what mattered. He cradled her to his chest, for once truly thankful she couldn't feel the emotions going through his head. Without a doubt she would try to comfort him if she felt them.

Even as bruised and beaten as she was.

The explosives? His helm turned to the pack before he took that up and just tossed it by the weapon. From the vambrace he'd borrowed, he tossed a simple, remote explosive. Then left. Those didn't matter. She wanted to finish the job, and that's the only reason he bothered to think about it. It was time to leave. His jetpack kicked on as he neared where he came crashing through, flying up towards Mini and her ship. She needed medical attention before anything else.

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

So many technicalities were running through her mind. They needed to get all their stuff, the base was not exploded yet, there was nothing to guard the weapon from nearby pirates or jawas. She was a bit too stunned to respond. The mission! Yet, as Eliz pulled her into the medical wing, she had the idea that it was second thought to him. In the Eternal Empire, they put stability and loyalty above personhood, and Gwyn was unused to being cared for like this. As she was being looked over by both Eliz and Mini, she sighed. She looked up, exasperated, despite her pain.

"E-Eliz, we still have work to-ow!"

Yeah, her rib was definitely broken. And tender. And it just hurt.

Well, everything hurt, but especially her ribs.

As she was connected to an IV with water and given bacta, she continued to be antsy about everything, fidgeting as she was tended to. "The mission, we're nearly done. And no one is defending the weapon right now." She said as she was visibly fighting pain and near passed out from the electricity shocks still.

Eliz Krayt

 

[Eliz Krayt]

"Stop." All this time Eliz kept his helmet on. As Mini set about getting Gwyneira Vizsla ready for a dive into the bacta tank, he stayed back. He'd failed her. Failed to keep her safe. He had his own self loathing to process, and he certainly didn't want to burden her with such thoughts. But to see her struggle for consciousness and continue to talk about the job. To talk about the thing she was going to get sold into slavery for?

He cut her off midsentence. "It's handled. Rest. I'll go get your saber."

That's what mattered. He turned to leave then, knowing that she'd want that saber back. It was, after all, something sacred to her. And the Beskar'gam from the thug. Right. He left without another word, taking the trip to clear his head. Relax. Calm down. She's safe. Yet as he reentered the room, his rage built up. He ripped the armor from the dead figure, gathered Gwyn's gear, and left.

Blowing this room up would be wonderfully therapeutic, for both of them.

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Gwyneira had to trust Eliz. She sighed, hovering over the small bacta tank. As Eliz left, Mini kept her elevated. She shivered, having been stripped down to undergarments for the tank. She looked over to Mini as the droid turned his dome to her.

"I don't mean to guilt trip you, Gwyn. But you had him worried sick."

Despite her pain, and her feet dangling over the bacta, she rolled her eyes at her stubborn droid, "More like you were worried sick. He was more than capable of rescuing me-"

"-All do respect, master, but shut up."

Gwyn blanked at the droid, jaw dropped. "Excuse me!-ah!" Her stupid rib...

Mini glared through his dome. She could swear he was glaring, despite his lack of expression, "-Your plan worked, but look what it took to get there. You got brutally captured and beaten. You were going to be sold. Not to mention, Jac'Eli'Zirem was still injured himself when he came for you. And did you think about the panic it caused him? No, of course you did not. You never think of others."

Gwyn's eyes widened, feeling stubbornness and guilt battling for control, "It's not like he was the one who got tortured! He's absolutely fine, I'm the one who got hurt! And I'm okay with tha-"

Mini started lowering her into the bacta. As she was lowered beneath the tube and the top closed, Mini retorted, "You have no clue, Gwyneira. You never did. It makes sense, you never had any kind of close bonds to think on this based on. But let me ask you this; if Eliz had shoved you out of the window and let himself get captured, beaten, and sold, how would you handle it?"

The lid to the dome sealed shut, leaving her unable to respond as Mini left the room.


Eliz Krayt

 

[Eliz Krayt]

Eliz was back on the ship, but his anger hadn't quelled. The hyrbid was beyond overjoyed that she hadn't been sold yet. But the condition she was in? The torment she went through? If he hadn't gotten hurt, she never would have needed to sacrifice herself. No, he hadn't helped her realize she didn't need to sacrifice herself. That's what he truly wanted to do, show her that she was worth something.

But he failed.

With his armor off he stared at the new Beskar'gam. No, not new. Repurposed. Any trace of the original owner was gone. History, erased. His grip tightened as he found himself wishing he'd given that man a far more painful death. Not just for Gwyneira Vizsla and what he did to her, but to this suit of armor. Still, it was again in Mandalorian hands. Then he laughed. This train of thought, all it was was a distraction for what he felt.

He wasn't angry at his own limitations. No one could be everywhere or know everything. He was strong, but he was still mortal. He was just afraid. Horrified. With that realization he re-entered the medical bay, watching Gwyn float in the bacta tank. Her wounds. They'd heal. She was here. She was safe. That's what truly mattered. She did what any Vod would do, what he would do. Feeling rage at himself was just..

Selfish.

He reached out, setting a hand on the glass. "I love you, you idiot."

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

She blinked her eyes open. Through the bacta tank, through the liquid, she saw Eliz. He placed one hand on the glass, he declared his love for her. She wanted to cry. Through the breathing apparatus, she was unable to speak.

Then again, what could she say? Every second that passed, Mini's words pierced her more and more. How badly had she hurt Eliz through being hurt? What stress was he under, watching her right now? What pain flooded him when she pushed him away? What worries stung him as he searched and fought for her? When he saw her, what was the face her bore beneath his helmet? Had he been upset? Mournful? Sorrowful? Enraged?

The guilt was eating her inside out. All she wanted to do was to tell him she loved him back, and that she was sorry for the grief she caused.

Of course, she was unsure of if she would be willing or not to do it again? Looking back, she was struggling to answer whether or not there had been another way. Yet, gazing silently at her lover, she was once again slapped in the face with just how awful she could be.

She wanted to return his I love you. She wanted to apologize. Imprisoned in this bacta tank, however, she could only gaze back at him with remorse and affection.

Eliz Krayt

 

[Eliz Krayt]

Remorse wasn't what he wanted to see, but it didn't surprise him. Knowing Mini, there was probably something said that pushed her to those kinds of feelings. He'd have to scold the droid later. He kept his helmet on so she wouldn't feel any guilt. What she'd done was brave, honorable. For a Mandalorian, there was nothing that compared to putting your life on the line for Vod.

He stayed there before the tank, hand on the glass. For now, that's where Eliz would be. Watching over Gwyneira Vizsla , waiting until she could say all the things she wanted to say. "I'm not going anywhere, cyare. Rest. Heal."

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Cyare. He kept calling her that. What did it mean? The way he always said it, so gentle and affectionate. She smiled, though the breathing apparatus prevented the smile from being visible. She sighed, gazing at Eliz through the distorting liquid. All she could do was rest. She owed it to Eliz, after all. Heal up faster, so he wasn't worried about her so much. She had caused enough trouble.

She gave into the exhaustion that came with being beaten. She closed her eyes, feeling phantoms of lightning through the body, but also feeling the bacta work it's cleaning magic. She slipped into sleep, letting herself fade into slumber with Eliz there to watch over her.

~ ~ ~​

Mommy! Mommy! Do y'see? I wearned to wead by m'self! Mommy? See? Mommy... Do you see me?

...

Father, don't leave me! Not again!

A heavy beeping awoke her from her slumber. She blinked her eyes open, feeling herself elevated out of the bacta. She shivered, her pale skin coating in goosebumps and she mumbled, half asleep. Despite all the noise, she fell asleep again.

~ ~ ~​

She blinked her dreary eyes open. She felt... rested...

She stirred, draped over with a blanket and resting on a pillow. She recognized her ship's med unit, the cold table used for medical procedures. Her skin was unprotected against the chill of the metal. She moaned, stirring and trying to pull her sheet under her frame for some kind of warmth.

Where was she?

She opened her eyes. Blinding light met her as she looked around the small medical wing. Mini was cleaning up the bacta tank, as if it was recently used. She also noticed Jac'Eli'Zirem in the room. Hmm? Were she and Eliz not falling asleep together in her quarters? Why was she moved here? Then- Oh.

She remembered everything in a flash.

She winced, hissing, suddenly giving up trying to get more comfortable. Feeling around, she felt way better than she had been. Her side even felt better! Yet, inside, she still was upset.

Had she made a mistake?

As heavily analytical as she was, she kept looking back. She kept trying to find different methods and options, and weigh them against the plan she had opted with, and the outcome. None of them came out well.

The best she could do was talk. It no longer hurt to speak as she simply said, "I'm sorry."

Eliz Krayt

 

[Eliz Krayt]

She stirred, and he woke. Eliz's red eyes stayed on Gwyneira Vizsla , a soft smile on his face. For once, she seemed to rest. Not before stirring in the tank, but exhaustion must of really set in. She looked actually.. Relaxed. When was the last time he'd seen that? Had he ever seen that? It didn't last long, almost like she was still asleep and just waking up. His smile lessened at her change of attitude.

"Don't be. I'd of done the same in a heart beat."

Gwyn was still in one piece. That's what mattered the most of all the things rushing through his head. He scooted over to her, reaching out to set a hand atop hers. "You look a lot better."

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Gwyneira looked over to Eliz, sleepy yet awake. She shook her head, even as he sat beside her and took her hand. She sighed, explaining.

"No. No, I didn't at all consider the emotional ramifications. How you would feel in all this. I never think of others, I was only thinking about the mission. I was only thinking about myself."

She reached up with a hand and wiped the tears forming in her eyes away, "There I went, talking about how I wanted to be different. Talking about how I didn't want to hurt you. Talking about how I wanted to stop being selfish. Then I pull this poodoo. I'm sorry, Jac'Eli'Zirem."

Eliz Krayt

 

[Eliz Krayt]

"Well, it was pretty selfish. And stupid. Self sacrifice isn't something Mandalorians are known for, for good reason. No one wants someone to be a jareor. What you did was reckless, dumb. If they just decided to shoot you, this whole thing wouldn't of mattered. They'd of gotten away with the weapon, and you'd just be dead." Eliz didn't bother hiding his annoyance this time. For both their benefits, really. As she started to wipe her eyes, he reached out, gently taking her cheek to wipe them away with his thumb.

"It worked. That's the only reason I forgive you."

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Gwyneira winced at Eliz's words, curling inwards and going a bit fetal. She hated it when people yelled at her, especially people she looked up to. It tore her down and made her feel meaningless. Even more, Eliz's words were right. Every part of it. Yet, instead of leaving it at that, Eliz reached forward and wiped her tears away. She needed to hear that all at the same time. Eliz was honest with her, and that was a good thing. Not just someone who tried to blindly comfort her, but someone who like her was a thinker who laid out the facts. She needed that just as much as she needed his comfort. He was like a fire, both warm and refining. It helped her see clearly.

She nodded timidly at his forgiveness and it's conditions. In a shaky tone, she hastily responded, "I won't do it again, I promise!"

Eliz Krayt

 

[Eliz Krayt]

He leaned forward, gently pressing a kiss to Gwyneira Vizsla 's forehead. Honestly he just wanted to comfort her. But that wasn't what their relationship was. Not some happy fairy tail. Something real. .. Right? All at once he was aware that they hadn't actually talked about what this was between them. They admitted their feelings, but was that all there was to it? ".. So, what do ya want for dinner?"

They'd talk about it, eventually.

 

[Gwyneira Vizsla]

Gwyneira stares blankly for a moment. Dinner? Wait, food existed. She blinked, realizing that she was starved from fighting and being tortured. She blinked, one meal came to her mind. A special meal, one that she remembered sharing with Eliz right before that first time sleeping together, then a shallow one night stand.

It was so much more now.

Then again, she had to ask herself... They confessed their feelings to each other, but they had not talked about the future ahead together. She knew for a fact that she had already left lifestyle of sleeping around in the dust for him. She wanted no one and nothing else. Yet, their conflicting professions and life paths were glaring, and she was worried about just what level they both thought this was at. They were not yet on the same page, weren't they?

Perhaps, this simple gesture would open the door.

"You know the blueberry space waffles you made before? Those were good." She smiled a bit, "Think we could eat that together? I think the med bay can handle some crumbs in the table."

Eliz Krayt