Location: Exterior to Interior of Krell Station, Ojom Orbit, Ojom System, The Deep Core
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"] & NPC Pirate Scum
It was very rare that Srina Talon felt unsure of herself. It was a much rarer sight, for her to be caught off guard, or surprised. As she deactivated her saber and the Supreme Commander swiftly closed the distance between them the small woman involuntarily took a step back. She did not fear him, nothing so specific, but there was an emotion lingering within him that she could not place. It was protective fire, prompting him to notice the small blaster-burn on her cheek when she barely had. He took hold of her chin and she allowed it, silver eyes unreadable, though luminous from the adrenaline that was slow to fade.
His words struck her as if they had been made of lightning. His concern
overflowed and
filled the Force Bond that he created between them as easily as a river merged with the sea. His visage filled her sight, his nearness sudden, as she tried to find the words to convey that she was fine. Yet, they remained stuck in her throat. Trapped.
“Aryn…”, his name, was all she could muster, before something bright and red flew between them.
Heat. Blaster-fire. Srina turned on a dime, prepared to deal with their attacker, but it seemed wholly unnecessary. Again she watched as the Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance took matters into his own hands.
Literally. The pirate that shot at them was dangling in the air in a moment’s time and Srina could feel the Force resonating in the dark-haired man beside her. His anger was unbound.
Why? The Echani could not place a reason. Not truly. They were shot at all the time, as it was the nature of their duties, but why only now, when she was in ‘
danger’ did the Jedi react with such finality?
The Sith Apprentice, for all of her experience with darkness, did not understand. A snap rang through the air, signaling the end of ragged breathes, and she felt life slip away, once again. The Confederacy did not have a tendency to show kindness to their enemies. For that matter, neither did the Echani, but Srina could not help but hang on to the aberrant behavior. This was not a fight.
It was an execution.
Something that might have been regret rolled through her. It belonged to the Jedi—not herself. Srina was more annoyed that her distraction with the dark-haired man could have cost them the mission. If the shot had been aimed, just a little more precisely, it could have cost the Alliance one of their leaders. The thought of losing him caused her heart to harden. She would not allow her focus to be interrupted again.
A gentle gloved hand reached for Aryn, landing on his cheek, to turn his gaze toward her. He had done the same thing to her not moments before. Mercurial eyes held his. There was no pity, no empathy, and no remorse. As always, within the calmness of her demeanor, he would find his solace.
“He could have killed either one of us. Do not take this on your shoulders. Do not crumble beneath this burden. The boy was old enough to hold a gun and foolish enough to shoot. Ergo—He was old enough to die.”
“We have a mission to complete, my Jedi. Your people are counting on you and I need you here.”
Her words reminded her of what she had spoken to him on Kubindi when they had sought to aid the Sovereignty. It felt like a lifetime ago, however, the same notion, the same lesson applied. Srina pulled away and headed toward the consoles that seemed mostly intact. Here, they could disrupt the pirate operation. Her fingers began to move over lighted keys as she sought to reprogram the security system, as planned, to take control of the remains of the station.
Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.
