Stranger Than You Dreamt It [Connor]

[Lief]

Responsibility had never been her forte; it was amazing that she had kept at the business for as long as she did before slinking away into the shadows and dropping off the edge of the Galaxy... Well, not quite. Kyra had never been one for the public eye, she did not fit too well with most of the higher rungs of society who cared about money and their appearance. Recycling old things into new - albeit rusty - things? The audacity! Who would ever do such a thing? Well a junk-nut like Kyra would, and it wasn't always so well received.

And thus she had fled the common worlds in search of something a little more backwater. where common thieves, low lives, and hellions could amass without fear of public decency or humiliation. It's name was Jakku, although she and some of the others she had gotten to know since settling down in Cratertown referred to it as Star Point, on account of the Star Destroyer which loomed in the distance. Not a very imaginative name, to be sure, but it helped when they wanted to reference it over comms. After all, Jakku was their little slice of heaven, and Force knew she didn't want any do-gooders to come and shut down operations.

Her home was nice and simple, made of sandstone like the majority of the structures save for the Bar which stuck out like a sore thumb. She supposed that was the point, make everyone new to town realise where they could get their refreshments. Well it had certainly worked on her the first time she wandered into the sandtrap and spotted Ergel's. The interior was far from clean, but then again Kyra herself hardly scrubbed up well. Tools were on every counterspace, alongside random bits and pieces that looked ancient. Oil streaks stained the ground, the sofa, the bedsheets, but she didn't care. This was home, probably the only real one she had ever known.

Standing out on one of the balconies, with a great view over Cratertown and Jakku's single wonder, she stared at the towering hunk of metal in the distance and sighed. Much of it had been salvaged on the inside, but the shell had been left untouched out of... Respect? Perhaps, the people born here were proud of their heritage, even if they knew they'd never amass to much. It was a simple, humble life. They were simple, humble people.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Star Point; North of Cratertown
Jakku, Outer Rim​

This was life.

Nothing but a backpag of equipment and food and water, his blade at his side fixed tight and the humid wind racing over his chest and face. Dressed lightly in his vest and combat trousers, those thigh pockets stuffed with a map and small knife, he was ready for what Jakku had to offer.

No Order to answer to. No Padawans to listen to. No Sith to crush. Just the relics of history and all the time in the world. In fact, if there was one person or two he could have brought here, it would have been Corvus and Taeli. They would have loved the stories this Star Destroyer could tell from what was hidden inside.

Standing still on a small dune, Connor sighed at the awesome sight of the downed Star Destroyer which took up most of what he could see between the orange sand and the pale sky. Cratertown had been perfect to reside in for a day, his ship secure for extra credits, and the trek out to Star Point with his guide had been swift. He'd walked around the crash site twice, and now stood behind it and took it all in.

A piece of technology of an era long since dead. The Empire once patrolled the galaxy with these monsters, but this was evidently one monster brought down by the soldiers of the Rebellion long, long ago. The sand had buried the base of the Destroyer, the giant structure eaten away by decades of natural weathering, erosion and salvagers. It was peaceful apart from the grains of sand blowing around him down the dune. Who knew what was buried around this place? Other downed craft? Star-fighters? Command ships? It was mindblowing to think.

He wasn't here to salvage material or ship parts; he was here to salvage what it was like to stand inside one of these mighty ships and see what secrets resided inside. He pulled the straps on his backpack and sidled down the dune to walk the stretch towards the mighty wreckage.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Suddenly Kyra felt a nudging at the palm of her hand, and peering down she was met with the menacing sight of a large hound. She might have been afraid had Kyne not been the most loyal thing to ever enter her life, her only real companion at this point if one chose not to count her lowlife neighbors. No doubt the kusak was itching for some freedom, so begrudgingly Kyra turned from the view she still hadn't quite gotten used to and returned inside to grab a few supplies; if she couldn't stand and stare at Star Point then she would do the next best thing, after all Kyne enjoyed the ruined Star Destroyer just as much as she did.

"C'mon pup" she murmured as she strode to the door, the hound following at her heel. She might have taken the rundown speeder she'd salvaged from a local scrapyard, Kyne would've kept up no doubt, only the day was bright and cool - and she had no desire to waste it. Shouldering her pack she set off down the sandy track which led from her home through Cratertown in an almost direct line to the marvel of Jakku. As she wandered through the busy streets of her town, where she was now as common a face as any of the natives, Kyra smiled and said her good mornings as was due. They may have been in the middle of nowhere, in rough conditions, but these people stuck together. And she supposed she was one of them now.

The next hour or so was spent in moderate silence, with the panting and occasional bark from Kyne to break up the howl of wind across the dusty dunes. As ever on such an arid, heat-ridden world her forehead was met with perspiration long before the towering hunk of metal was within a stones throw. But when it was the sight and shade it provided was well worth the trek. Standing there with her hands on her hips and her head tipped upward Kyra could not help but marvel with a soft smile. No matter how many times she saw it, or how many times she came out here to visit, she could never get used to this view. It was foreboding, looming overhead like tha--

There were tracks here, fresh tracks. Walking through town that morning she had seen all of the usual suspects busy, none of them could've overtaken her as she had taken the most direct route. Meaning that whoever was here wasn't a native of Cratertown. Reaching for crank, one of her trademark weapons, the woman bade her hound to follow and began to edge around the Star Destroyer. Her feet dipped into the sand, making it a little more difficult than she might have liked to approach silently. But by the time she rounded the corner it no longer mattered how quiet she was being, for the sight which lay before her had Kyra gasp in astonishment.

"Connor?" she breathed, her eyes wide as she gazed upon a face from her past. One she had doubted she'd ever see again in a Galaxy so large, on a planet so backwater and unheard of. She said nothing else, did nothing else, the girl simply gawked at him. He was the only person she had ever gotten close to, surely it could not have been purely coincidence that led him here now? Kyne didn't quite know what to do; with a slight whimper of confusion the pup nuzzled Kyra's hand before sniffing toward Connor - not getting too close. At the first sign of danger, however, he would leap into protection mode. It seemed as though the Sols had an affinity toward animals...

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Usually at the first sign of someone he came across who wasn’t expected or invited to be around him, his hand moved for his weapon. But even before she spoke, out here around Star Point, he felt no danger and no threat. A world away from everything else it seemed, and those he came across probably where here for the same reason as he…but he was always willing to be wrong.

Squinting a little with the behemoth by their side blocking out the high sun, Connor walked towards the girl and dog, it inself looking a dangerous beast, but for now being rather well behaved. The voice was familiar, as was the face and posture – confident and ready for action, carrying her bag and looking ready for anything. It was one of those moments that just made him smile, because it was weeks before he had been thinking of their relationship nearly 10 years before.

”Kyra Sol?”

He walked closer and rested his hands by his side.

”Wow. From vanishing into thin air with a whole empire in your hands, you’re here ready to scavenge around this hunk of junk. You never change, do you.”

She was one totally removed from everyone else in his life – Jedi, Sith, Rangers – everyone. She represented a time when he was reckless, but free and walking a path of his own before everything changed.

He couldn’t help smile again. ”I missed you y’know.”

Goodness, now he was even starting to act like the reckless youth he was when he’d stood hand in hand before the Sith with her willing to protect her with his life. Seemed she had a new pet to do that, glancing down at the hound beside her.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

"No" she said hastily, "I would never scavenge something like this." Then she blinked, and without warning she moved swiftly forward and pulled [member="Connor Harrison"] into a sudden tight embrace. Kyne stayed put, a credit to his good behaviour, and simply watched from the side, head tilting slightly.

"Ugh, Connor... I thought I'd never see you again."

She pulled back to stare at him, hardly believing what she saw. "What are you doing here? Why on Jakku of all worlds?" She turned her gaze toward the Star Destroyer and knew that the answer was already so obvious. Why else would anyone come to this rundown place?

There he stood, the only thing she actually missed from her former life. It was a shock to the system, a wake up call of sorts. What had she been doing here? There was no greater purpose, heck she barely even got to properly scavenge anymore. In that instance all she had built up for herself came crashing down. It was all for nothing. And she knew it. Her face expressed as much, too.

But then she knew that Connor was not here to stay. And soon she would have to readjust into this life or another. "I had to leave" she said, though she did not divulge as to why. "But I didn't mean to leave without a word. It all just happened so quickly. I'm sorry..."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Resting his chin on her hair, as if nearly a decade had only been a few weeks, Connor gently patted the girl on the shoulders, another reassuring embrace he had given so many in times of need when they had nothing else.

”It’s alright, I think I’m just glad to see you’re still alive and…well…” he stopped.

Pulling back, raising her chin with his fingers, he tried to get her to look at him. When she did, she was still the mouthy and cocky scavenger he remembered, but she was now older, seemingly more headstrong and more beautiful. And she looked like she could certainly take care of herself still. His eyes flittered to the hound.

”Who’s your friend?”

Connor walked past Kyra towards the animal, hand held out.

”And what happened to your Empire bequeathed to you? You don’t look like a commander of armies I have to say.”

The hound lowered his head and growled, stopping Connor in his tracks, hand quickly retreating.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

The touch of his chin against her hair was more of a comfort to her than anything she had experienced. It was rare that she let her guard down like this, after all she had such a rough exterior! That was something she had to maintain if she was ever going to survive in this Galaxy, where people like her slipped through the cracks or worse. Turning her face into his chest she allowed the embrace to linger for a few more moments until Connor pulled back and tipped her chin up to peer at her. She wanted to look away, it was difficult to look him in the eye after so long. She felt guilty for having left without a word.

Thankfully after a moment of intense staring their gaze was broken and his attention was retracted to Kyne. When the pup growled she gave him a stern expression and the hound settled down, he even lay at her feet and basked in the heat. "His name is Kyne" she said, petting the pups head, "and as for the Empire, I decided I didn't want it." She frowned ever so slightly, was that a good enough reason? Likely not. "Everyone wanted me to act so prim and proper" she said, pulling a face. "Who needs credits anyway." She certainly didn't. She never had.

She stared at Connor almost sheepishly for a moment, it had been so long that she didn't quite know how to behave around him. It may have been years but Kyra had barely changed, she may have been more of an adult on the surface but she was still that girl he had found rummaging through scrapyards. How quickly their dynamic had changed. She wondered if he had thought about her as much as she had him. But then she had to put that thought from her mind. It had been a long time, he had likely moved on from their friendship, she was probably just a passing figure in his life. To Kyra though it was as though no time had passed at all, which probably was what made it all the more harder to take.

She had no way of expressing this, however, she had no way to tell him of all that he was to her. So instead she tore her prying eyes away from him with a very small sigh and peered at the behemoth at their side. Right now she hated the Galaxy for throwing them together so suddenly, without warning. Because she knew that he would have to leave just as quickly as he had returned.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor smiled and crept along the sand to Kyne as Kyra spoke, and gradually let the hound sniff his scent and took to gently stroking its head. Squinting up against the sun and the tranquil blue sky behind her, Connor watched Kyra and laughed gently at her steely resolve.

”True, true.” He stood, brushing his hands down.

”Credits aren't the be all of the galaxy. And you look like you've survived this far.”

Then, the silence seemed to dawn over them as he nodded and looked with her to the Star Destroyer looming over them. He wasn't sure why he was here now, or why she was here, or what to do now. Connor didn't really expect company and there was no goal here; no relic, no secrets - just exploration. He rolled his lips together, thinking in a way being here he HAD found something; his first real friend back beside him.

His mouth opened for a second, but nothing came out. So seconds later he tried again.

”So what are you doing here anyway? Silly question but still...I'm interested to hear why.”

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

"He won't bite" she said, with a small smirk of amusement to how timid Connor seemed to be when approaching her pup'. He knew now that Connor was a friend, just from the way Kyra was acting, that was enough to quench his feral side. She kept her gaze up at the Star Destroyer, a sad frown barely hidden from her expression. She didn't enjoy the silence as it stretched between them, it wasn't exactly uncomfortable or awkward, she simply didn't want to waste the time she had with him.

So she was grateful when he asked the next question. "I had to lay low for a while" she offered with a small shrug. "The woman who gave me the corporate empire likely wasn't happy when I upsticks and fled, placing her engineer in charge." Kyra hadn't heard from anyone, though, which was exactly how she liked it. "What's your excuse?" Her tone was somewhat playful, though it had an edge to it. She was holding back. Since when did Kyra hold back how she was feeling?

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Shooting her a smile, he was alerted to the real fact she was probably in danger. He hadn't forgotten that Sith - the Lady Kara with that light hair and icy eyes - so if Kyra had displeased her then what was keeping her from trying to catch up with the girl to take back what was hers.

Still - maybe he was overthinking things.

”In trouble again hm? Well I'll still look out for you. Remember.”

With that, he looked back at the relic from the Galactic Empire and reached over to take her hand in his. He just wanted to feel her comforting grip again and to feel needed, like he felt when she took his hand before the Sith council.

"And me? Well...it's complicated.”

The answer that would simply increase her evident curiosity.

”My alignment to the Silver Jedi is in question, but I've made choices to serve the Force how I feel is the only way to rid the galaxy from vipers praying on those who can't defend themselves. I'll sort them out, one way or another.”

His eyes flickered across the eroded hull, and realized it was the first time he'd started opening up.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

She could tell he was concerned, probably more than she was. Probably the right amount of concern, since Kyra generally didn't care too much about her own wellbeing. She was on a backwater planet, far from anyone and anything of importance. Well. She had been. She glanced down at their hands as Connor took hers into his and a slight blush crept up her cheeks. Had he been thinking about her then? Was this the same supporting gesture he had given her when brought before that Sith Lord so long ago? Was he ready to stand at her side again? They had made quite the team.

She was getting ahead of herself.

Her fingers remained loose in his yet there was an urgency in the way she maintained her grip. She didn't want to seem too reliant, but she also didn't want him to let go. He couldn't, not now. They had been apart for too long, and the thought of losing him all over again was unbearable, it pained her to her very core. Kyra had never cared about anything or anyone before. But Connor was different. Connor would have her attention for an eternity, no matter how much time passed between their meetings. All he ever had to do was call and she would be there.

"If they do not see the sincerity of your actions, then they do not deserve your time." She frowned a little, Kyra didn't know the ways of Force Users nor did she ever try to pretend to understand them. But one thing she did know was that Connor was loyal, once he had his mind set on something he would accomplish it. And if they would lose him over his methods then that was their loss.

She peered at the ship, yet out of the corner of her eye she monitored his expression; she soaked in the details of his face, which had barely changed since they last met save for a few signs of the hardships he had endured. She wished that she could wash away all of the concern, all of the worry and the stress of his job. But things were never so simple.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

When Kyra said that confident appraisal of him, he smiled both inwardly and externally. Nobody had said anything like that to him before; a truth that wasn't negative or rhetorical. Just a confidence in him. Of course she hadn't any idea what he had been through, but she saw his inner motivation and wasn't blinded by years of corruption and naive teachings. She saw the human Connor, and that was he he would always be. A human, acting for the good of others.

Slowly, he let his fingers drop from hers, but at the same time curled to hold her hand in his palm to which he turned and placed his other hand on hers.

”Thank you, Kyra. Say, one day you should come to Voss and let me show you around. It's where we have our Temple. But,” the enthusiasm faded, ”I don't know where I stand at the moment and right now I wouldn't want you around those idiots.”

Letting out a sigh, he hung his head, taking a moment, and then forcing a smile to look back at her naturally pretty face.

”Fancy going for a look inside? Or fancy getting something to eat and having a catch-up at Cratertown?”

He wanted to do everything and anything, because she was taking him away from the harsh reality of his duty as a Jedi. She reminded him of the people he was doing this for; people like her who meant the world to him and needed protecting.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Her hand became lost within his own, and as she turned her head to look at him so too did her gaze. Nothing had changed. Nothing at all. And that realisation brought tears to her eyes. Of course, she did her best to hide that fact. There was absolutely no way he would get the satisfaction of knowing he swayed her so.

"I'd go anywhere if you just asked me" she muttered, before biting her lip and staring away. Had she said that aloud? She hadn't meant to. Ugh, why was she such a fool? Surely now she had ruined things again. That was always her way. She stared at the ship. "Why not both? I live over in Cratertown, though my place is a bit of a mess." She didn't care, but perhaps he would.

With a heavy sigh she looked across to him again and gave him a curious glance. Of all the places he could've gone to escape his troubles, he had come here. Now Kyra wasn't all that in touch with the Force, but surely this had to be its doing. There was no other explanation.

"You don't have to go soon, do you?" There was a desperate look in her eye that disappeared a few seconds after it appeared. It told of her solitary life here, of her need to belong and to be back with a kindred spirit. She didn't want to be alone again, not after he had waltzed back into her life.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

A little turn of his head - he was hearing things he probably thought the heat was bringing out of her. Nearly 10 years had it been? 10? 9? And yet it didn't feel that long now. The Force worked in mysterious ways. Kyra was sensitive in the Force...that incident in the junkyard still made him chuckle...but did she remember? Had she forgotten?

Connor smiled and shook his head. ”I have nothing to go back for. I'm in no rush.”

Midvinter had been a cold planet to survive the Undead horde on, and with his emotional state up in the air with Chastity pretty much leaving him and Taeli keeping her distance, and with nobody seeming to care about him anymore, did he care?

”I think the Force acts for a reason - Jakku is tucked away in the Outer Rim, and we are two beings in a galaxy of billions right here again for such a reason.”

He looked at her, and he felt reckless. Foolish. Carefree.

”And you LIVE in this dustball? Now Kyra I thought you'd have a luxurious pad somewhere else other than this place. Come on - let's climb to the top and look out over our planet, shall we?”

With that grin that only meant trouble, he took her hand again and started walking to the giant ship, the shadow starting to blot out the sun above them.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

I'm in no rush. Those four little words brought a barely concealed grin to her lips. Oh there was so much she could show him, back at the workshop she called home. Things she'd been working on for years now. Kyra chewed her lip a little in thought, before shaking her head. "So what happened between you and those Jedi people anyway?"

She rolled her eyes to the mention of luxury and maneuvered her hand to be linked with his again, tugging him toward the ship. "Oh, luxury, sure, because that's exactly the style I go for." She stuck out her tongue and then began to enter the belly of the beast through a large hole which had been eroded into the side by the dusty dunes of Jakku.

"Besides, this is temporary." Okay, so it had been quite a while since she settled here, but it was for her own good, to keep her safe from Sith in the night. With a shrug she leaned against him as they walked, trying to find a fine line between playful and... Well, she didn't even know what. You're beginning to get attached again, Kyra. You can't do that. He'll be going away soon.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Walking to the gaping hole in the side of the ship, Kyra resting on him, Connor stopped and held onto her arm.

”Why go inside? Why not climb the outside? Ships at a good angle, we can get up on the front and say we've walked across a Star Destroyer. Keep going up until we can't go higher. I bet the view is beautiful.”

He looked at her for a moment and smiled, knowing how that probably sounded. A little laugh escaped him and he backed off along the side of the ship, the sand burying much more of it under his boots.

”Come on - or have you gotten less adventurous in your old age? The girl in the junkyard wouldn't say no to a challenge. I'll tell you all my stories on the way.”

Connor kept walking back, a dwarf next to the hulking ship, and held out his hand.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Connor halted, forcing her to do the same, and Kyra turned to face him with a curious glimmer in her eye. "You want to scale it?" She laughed kindly before grinning. "Oh you are on!" It was a most marvelous idea, something she had honestly never done before despite it being so close to home. "Race you to the top" she said, leaning up to kiss his cheek before rushing off into the sand which surrounded the Star Destroyer without any explanation for what she had just done.

Her cheeks began to glower as the girl took ahold of the boiling hot metal and began to climb, though whether from the heat or her own embarrassment was hard to tell. Her foot slipped several times as she scaled the side to try and get onto the hull, threatening to send her tumbling back down into the sand. At least she would have a cushioned fall if that did happen! She hoped that Connor would join her in the ascent, but she daren't glance back incase she was wrong.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

She had planted a kiss and gone by the time he turned around to see her. Kyra was fast and nimble, and already trying to claw her way up the hot metal, studded with exposed holes, wires and blaster shots. Dropping his bag on the sand, Connor took his time to walk to her, standing behind and watching her struggle.

Gently tutting to himself, the Jedi ran forward and saw the edge of the hull and used a boost of Force energy to make that hull come to his fingertips with an enhanced jump, a good distance up and onto the edge, rolling onto his side across the edge of the hull. He let out a content sigh and took a second to crane his neck around.

Already high up to see into the distance, a few lone ships were taking off from Cratertown and the desert was dotted with small hovels and space debris. The edge of the desert was far below where the Star Destroyer had crashed, and behind him the rest of the ship loomed like a large silver arrow head.

Edging forward, Connor poked his head over the edge, looking down onto Kyra.

”Come on slow coach. Move yourself.”

He grinned, giving her a little wave.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

He had cheated!

She watched as he soared overhead, propelled by the Force, and was lost for words. Oh, this was so not fair!

Scrambling up the side of the ship, using the stray wires and the like to aid in her ascension, the young woman shook her head and glared at him. "You're so going to get it, Connor!" she yelled, so that he could hear her from where he was. "You're such a cheater!"

Grumbling she pulled herself further up, before slipping down a few feet against the hull when she misplaced her foot. Cursing under her breath she sat there for a moment, taking in the view. She didn't even need to get to the top, this was magnificent. Her eyes widened as she drew a gasp. She could see her house from up here!

Let him cheat his way to the top, in her mind this was a victory.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor hopped up and stood back, looking down the ship, it seemed as big as a town laid out before him. Kyra came up and over and sat, exclaiming her frustration. He walked towards her.

”Excuse me sweetheart but when did we draft up the rules? One can only cheat if one breaks rules. We didn't have any.”

He knelt beside her and looked over the planet, taking it the silence and thankful he was living out a dream he'd wanted to do for months now since passing over the planet.

”I bet it's even better further up. Come on - just me and you, no Force power.”

He nudged her slightly.

”I bet you could unleash something in you if you had to though.”

[member="Kyra Sol"]