Private Over The Moon [Past]

[Josh Dragovalor]

He listened attentively, quietly chewing his food and washing it down as necessary while Ra explained the story behind her Baroness title. It seemed that Ra had done her part in helping them out there, and had been called the Baroness in return. He had always assumed that the Baroness title was associated with something related to Vjun though, that acid rain based planet that seemed like it had difficulties supporting much life with its climate. But it seemed his initial theory had been wrong.

She was still the Baroness then, despite not seeming to refer to herself as such though. Interesting... Though the revelation that Helska was currently under Sith control led credence to just why she had decided to do that, and he nodded gingerly in turn.

"I see..." He spoke softly. "Well I'm sure that wherever you may go, and regardless of whoever controls them... They will not forget. Kindness is not always forgotten so easily, as much as those in the Sith would have you believe. People can... Suck. But not all. If they are grateful, they will remember.

This seemed like a fair way to end the topic, and he pondered if he had left anything unsaid. Or if there was anything else about her that he would like to know. After a moment of quiet eating, he seemed to find it.

"You never did go into much detail on why you left the Sith. Do you mind if I ask?" He inquired curiously. Of course there was an opportunity for her to ask similar questions if she wished. He hoped she knew that.

 

[Riamah]

There was a woman on Helska that Ra wondered if she was still there. Mother Maria was a character for sure and had an uncanny ability to tell the future, but couldn't use the Force at all. In a way, he was similar to Vincent but chose to remain on Helska.

"You know, we could probably sneak there and the Sith wouldn't notice us."

From her time there, the Dominion hadn't paid any sort of attention to it and allowed her to rule her block of ice however she wanted. As long as she followed the laws and her own morals, it was fine. Even back then, she had them though she was Sith at the time.

He mentioned that her kindness wouldn't be forgotten and he was probably correct. Almost chuckling when he said that people can suck, Ra couldn't help but agree. The subject seemed to come to an end and that was fine with her. His next question should have been asked long ago, but it never had. For a while, she had been wanting to tell Josh everything, but the perfect moment had just never really happened. Until tonight.

Pushing away her empty plate, her hand within his remained and she took on a bit of a thoughtful look. Adjusting her position so she keep holding hands with Josh, she started speaking.
"I'm not entirely sure you know of how I started with them. Before the Dominion fell, I went on a vision quest, for the lack of a better way to put it. I had memories locked away and I needed to find out what they were. When I returned from that, I had changed. No longer was a simple, young, and almost useless Force user, but a Sith Lord. Within the Dominion, I was promoted to being their spymaster essentially. I was given Bast Castle and Vjun when that happened.

"Time passed and the Sith eventually came knocking at my door on Vjun. An assassin had been sent to kill me. Instead of that happening, he recruited me into the Sith Assassins. That's how I got my foot in the door. I was in on the secret attack they were planning to do on the Dominion, but I had to remain true to my vow to them and not betray or leave them. The Sith never got such a vow out of me and no other government ever will. It was one of my biggest mistakes, but I learned from it. Getting any sort of promise or vow out of me is very difficult and I pick my words very carefully now."
In her life, she had learned how to trust only a few people. Josh was one of them and while some small part of her expected him to hurt her, she logically knew it was something false. All of their time together had been nothing but happiness and she didn't expect that to change. He was one person she would gladly make a vow to and she would never break it.

"Well, the Sith attacked Lorrd, Krayiss, and Eol Sha. Because of my vow, I landed on the side of the Dominion and even though I had the betrayal card up my sleeve, I never used it. Ended up being captured by the Galactic Empire, held by them about a week or so, and was suddenly released. They set into motion the first fall of my life. The Sith, not the Empire. Anyway, after the Dominion fell, I finally officially joined the Sith.

"More time passed and while I wasn't exactly active with them, I did a couple of missions with the Assassins. I actually preferred to be a merchant then. So that's what I worked on. Got hired on by the Metal Lords and one of their rules was no deals with the Sith. So I kept my allegiance hidden and secret. The droids ended up going their own way, but before HK left, he got me involved with the Free Worlds Coalition. That's pretty much when we met.
"I visited Kashyyyk not as a sith, but a merchant. Not to say I told you about my life then. With how the Metal Lords and the Coalition felt about the Sith, the fact I made a piss poor one, meeting you, they then launched an attack on the Coalition. My activity by then had changed from being Sith to a merchant so when they attacked, I came to the defense of the Coalition. That pretty much ended my time with the Sith. By then I had no knowledge of what was going on in that empire, no friends to speak of, and no loyalty on my part. Since I lived either on my ships or on Vjun, I just quietly left and didn't tell anybody. For all I know, they might still consider me as part of them. We both know that's not the case."

Such was life, made with many twists and turns. Work had brought them together and then they had gone on to explore each other further after that fateful meeting. If Ra could have gone back in time to change anything, she probably wouldn't. Any alteration might have prevented them from meeting or it would have brought them to meet as enemies and who knows how that would have ended.

Then she stopped talking.

"That's more than I've said at once to you I think. But now you know my story or as much I think are the important details. Some things have been left out, but if you want to know, just ask. I'm not going anywhere and we have time. We need to do this more often. I love you, Josh Dragonsflame."

Josh Dragovalor

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Well, he hadn't expected the long set of stories, but he didn't mind really. He listened intently, just casually eating his food while she did. He hoped she wouldn't mind if he ate while she told her stories, right? He was hungry, and the food was going to get cold if they didn't hurry. But he was definitely listening intently. As she went on, to be honest it sounded like she was... Never all that all in with the Sith. Like, at all. She was so distant from what she actually did with the Sith, and never showed any real like for them. Her membership seemed a matter of circumstance and nothing more. One that she began to distance herself from already by the time the Sith had turned on her.

Of course, there had to be some level of hate, some level of malice, capability to do evil... For her to become a Sith Lord at all. Josh wasn't stupid, he knew there was things she was leaving out. One didn't just walk into a cave and walk out a Sith Lord without something serious that indicated they merited the title. His brother had told him much of the process, and what it took. What they had done to him, what the dark side had done to him. To embrace it that far... One had to become a monster, indeed. Josh couldn't blame him for wanting to get out. But unlike him, Ra had always seemed to figure she could get out, while Nick had thought himself too far gone.

Either way, a good deal of her story made sense. She had never come off as that capable of being a Sith Lord, even with the hurdles they had dealt with on mission in the past. So he supposed all of this didn't seem that far fetched, even if he knew some details had clearly been left out. But he supposed that didn't matter, so long as those days were behind her.

He smiled gingerly, placing down his fork as she stopped. He wiped his face, swallowed, cleared his throat.

"That was quite a story. Thank you for sharing that with me" He spoke softly. "I love you too. I hope you always remember that. Even with how long we've been together... There's so much more I want to know about you, you know? What you like and don't like, your favorite colors, what flowers you like, your favorite things you do, what makes you happy... You've made me so happy for so long, and all I want to do in return is do the same."

 

[Riamah]

It didn't bother her that Josh ate as she spoke. If their places had been exchanged, she would have done the same thing. He accepted what she said and didn't give her any further questions about her past, even though she hadn't told him everything. The bits she had left out dealt more with her growing up than anything she had done as an adult. The largest bit is why she had gone on that vision quest and the reason she had returned as a Sith Lord.

Letting out a small breath of humor through her nose, he really didn't have much to say. That was fine with Ra. A door had been opened and she had granted him a small vision of her past. Her door would remain open and any time he wanted to explore, that option was there.

When she did finish, he narrowed down a few more things he wanted to know about her. Blinking a little, what he wanted to know seemed inconsequential and some of them she had never considered before.

"Favorite color and flowers? Do you mean that's a thing? I never thought about that honestly. I like tinkering around in my lair. That's something I like to do. Something I don't like...well the Sith. I don't think that's what you're after though."

Speaking with the hint of a smile, she shrugged a little.

"I'm going to have to think about some of that stuff. What about you? Anything you like or have an interest in?"

Josh Dragovalor

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He laughed a bit when Ra didn't seem to know how to answer his questions. They seemed like such simple questions, simple and easy to answer, yet they had never crossed her mind regardless of how routine they seemed. She asked the same of him and he tilted his head, realizing he wasn't sure either. "Suppose I've never stopped to really think about it, I've always been so busy with one thing or another" He admitted, scratching his head. He supposed they had that in common. "As far as colors go, again haven't thought much of it, but… Blue? I guess? I mean, I've seen a lot of blue in my life, being around the Jedi. And my lightsaber is blue. And I painted R4 and HK blue. So I guess I'm kind of partial to blue" He remarked. "I take Jason to see a lot of flora at the Rest, but I don't know if I could pick a favorite. I'm just trying to teach him how to associate names with objects, haven't considered my own personal feelings when doing so. I just kind of figured they'd be easy, routine questions for me to get to know you better… Even if I guess I wasn't prepared to answer them myself.

Things I like… Huh…" He trailed off as he tapped his fingers to the table. "I like building droids, it helps keep me feeling productive without too much stress. I took up fishing a little while ago if there was nothing to do at the Rest, though I don't do it much. It helps me relax, I guess."

He hoped she'd be able to find something. It was almost a little awkward answering these things himself when he had still found out so little about her in even these small things. He had found out about moments, things that had happened. But he still didn't feel like he knew Ra at her core. At least not yet.

 

[Riamah]

Wearing a smile on her face, it seemed she had put Josh in the same situation as he had done to her. Nodding as he answered, it made sense. Most of what he had was blue even if he hadn't made that choice because that was his favorite color. When it came to a flower, neither one of them had a known favorite and that was fine.

"Honestly, I sometimes feel like I'm more comfortable in space or on like Coruscant and Denon. Places where there isn't very much nature. Maybe you can help change my opinion? Take me on more walks or something. Introduce me to the plants of Naboo or even Kashyyyk. I hardly know anything about them."

Smiling when he mentioned his hobby of building droids, that was one they did share. Though they had yet to create one together. Perhaps that was something they could do soon. She would mention it later.

His admitting he liked fishing was a bit of a surprise and if she also picked up the hobby, it was another thing they could do together. Then again it might be something he wanted to keep to himself and not involve her. The choice would be his, but she did express some interest in it.

"I have two colors for my lightsabers. My two short ones are purple and the double-bladed one is yellow. Not sure what either color actually means."

Giving a bit of a shrug, she fell silent in thought and looked across at him.

"Blue also has played a large role in my life. Not to the same extent it has yours though."

Letting out a bit of a laugh through her nose, she smiled a little in memory.

"I wore blue a lot when I worked for the Coalition. Gold just doesn't suit me quite as well. Green! There, I really like the color green. Funny that I know almost nothing about nature, but I like that color. Maybe because Vjun was always grey. Who knows?"

Josh Dragovalor

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Oh really? I might just have to try" He teased when Ra would admit that she was bigger on the environments of space and the cities than she was with a nature filled area. "I've been around cities for so long, seeing as I grew up on Coruscant, that the change to Kashyyyk was... Nice. But I don't know if I have a preference, myself. I did get a little sick of cities for awhile, but I get nosalgic sometimes. At the same time, I like the peaceful ambiances of Kashyyyk and Naboo. I like the quiet. But it's not like space, which is... Sometimes a little too quiet for my tastes" He admitted. "I feel like our little island is still my favorite place though. It's nice to be able to let my hair down a bit, when I have to constantly be guarded elsewhere" Came the verdict.

He didn't mind taking her on more nature walks though. A second date was no problem for him. As far as fishing went, he wouldn't mind taking her along if the topic was broached. He had been planning to try and teach Jason. Nothing wrong with making the attempt with Ra too. It was hardly an exclusive matter.

Ra talked about her lightsaber colors and he nodded his head. He hadn't thought of using different colors on his two sabers. Blue was his color, and he liked it well enough. It was certainly easy enough to identify his own lightsabers in a crowd, at least. Though Ra would elaborate on blue playing a part in her life as well, after a bit of thought. After elaborating, she also brought up green as a favorite, which made him laugh. Hadn't he said before that green looked good on her?

"I could see grey getting a little tiresome" He agreed with a small smile. "Not a very happy color."

 

[Riamah]

She was glad Josh took the hint and agreed he might have to try introducing her more to nature. He might not be taking it seriously, but she was. It would be something to get them all together and involved as a family since he was already planning to take Jason out on nature walks. Blinking just slightly, Ra shook her head as her two memories collided. Sometimes it was difficult for her to keep them separate. In reality, she had only lived on Coruscant for a few years before she was picked up by her Captain and learned how to be a businesswoman.

"The silence of space is a change from the constant sound of the city and nature. Besides, if you get stuck on a ship for a long time, there are ways to make it more natural. You can't do that in a city or forest. Not easily at least."

Smiling when he made the letting his hair down comment, maybe it was the same way for her. Both her fleet and their home were places she could relax and do that.

"Maybe you could join me on a delivery some time?"

Nodding when he said grey was not generally a happy color, but her ships were also that color. Not quite the same, but close. At least on her ships, there was life.

Josh Dragovalor

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He was definitely taking it seriously, of course he was. He had wanted to explore the island for a little while now, though, so maybe this would be a good excuse to do both. A bit of exploration, and a nature walk. Why not, right? With that, he listened as she talked about how you could manipulate sounds and ambiance in a ship, but not in a forest. He hadn't thought of changing the ambiance in the ship. Maybe he would try that.

"Wouldn't a city or forest be natural by default?" he asked with a small laugh. "Since they're, you know. A city and a forest after all."

She brought up the possibility of him joining her on a delivery, and he smiled in turn. "I'd like that."

 

[Riamah]

His observation about things that were natural sounds caught Ra by surprise and she gave him a large smile and chuckled a little. Pointing a finger at him and nodding, she couldn't help but agree with the statement.

"You're right, Josh and it was a bit of a stupid comment on my part. It is within a woman's prerogative to not always make sense. Same as it is in your right to point it out when it happens. Just hope it's not a day when I'm cranky."

Happy that he liked the idea of going with her on one of her business trips, it would be something to arrange for one of her longer ones. At the moment, she didn't have anything pending, but who knows when she would get a message and take on a new contract of some kind.

"I'll let you know when I get one that seems interesting."

Finishing off her drink, she sat back in her chair and looked across at him.

"This has been a wonderful evening and the place is great. I'd like to come back again sometime."

Josh Dragovalor

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't think she was being stupid, crazy or nonsensical. She just got a little turned around. It happened to the best of them, right? Either way, it was true that if they just went to a natural setting then there was no need for modifications to make it a natural setting because it was, well... A natural setting.

He was fine with going with her on a business trip too. Now that their own business together was starting to get off the ground after a few years starting it up, it would be good for him to take more time to get used to the business world. It was a little daunting, doing something that was beyond the scope of the Jedi. But it was time he learned to start thinking about who he was outside of the Jedi Order.

Ra seemed pretty happy with how the date had gone, which he was glad for as he polished off his drink. He asked for the cheque the next time the waitress came around before regarding Ra with a warm smile.

"We definitely will, if that's what you want."