Private The Spiral Down

[Desbre Gensan]

Desbre grimaced as a chime played insistently, drawing her out of a dead sleep. Sleeping in the chair in the cockpit wasn't the most comfortable thing. She'd slept in worse, but this left her knee joints aching, and her tailbone hurt. Opening one bleary eye she grumbled at the displays. The mottled sky of hyperspace she expected wasn't there. Instead, a field of stars greeted her. The alert was the reversion to realspace alarm. She'd completed the jump. How long she'd been hanging in space she did not know.

Straightening up, she silenced the alarm with an annoyed stab. Reaching out she tapped a few displays. They brought up what long-range sensor data her vessel collected in the time she'd slept. It seemed she'd jumped into a semi-charted system. It wasn't fully explored, but at least it had the main celestial bodies mapped out. There were thousands of systems just like this one in the Unknown Regions and Wildspace. It was as good a place as any to be while she figured out what she would do.

One of the scopes began blinking. She put it up on the main display. Intermittent contact and fuzzy. She considered sending out an active scan. It would get her more data but also announce her exact position. But there was another way.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She reached for the Force. She didn't have to chase it. Instead, it was willing and ready, flowing into her like opening a flood gate. With this, she let it fill her and flow out. She expanded her sphere of responsibility, feeling for the life and energies nearby. Directing it in an oval toward where she picked up sensor data. Somewhere behind and to the right of her ship.

She contacted warmth in the void of space. Then the oscillations of energy from electronics. Then the light and energy of life, a mind. Several minds. A group of minds. Mostly men. They were alerted and approaching. A mixture of intents, but all of them predatory. They were coming. They were coming for her. For fresh meat.

Snapping her eyes open she fed power from the reactor into the ship's systems. She began to scan with her sensors. They were still several kilometers away. A transport the size of a frigate, and a cluster of Uglies closing like a cloud of insects ahead of the hive. Her ancient Loronar B-7 wasn't up to the task of handling fighters, and couldn't match much of anything in a fight. Her shields would hold up for a little. The laser cannon wasn't much of a threat. Sure it would dust starfighters and could hurt the ship they had, but it was slow. They had the numbers.

Her only hope was speed. That, her ship had and plenty of. She'd taken the time to restore them and improve them. Running was the best option for now. Reaching over she pushed the throttle to their stops. The entire back half of the ship was all engine. The drive cones spanned from dorsal hull to ventral hull. They exploded with a blue-white flame. Each jetted out a stream of thrust almost one hundred meters in length. The ship shot forward as though it were a rock kicked by a nexu. Acceleration slammed Desbre back into her seat, crushing her with an invisible hand. The ship trembled, shaking at the sudden stresses she demanded of its decrepit frame. The inertial dampers struggled to catch up.

"I'm sorry," she grunted apologetically to the ship. Behind her, the gap widened between the cloud of fighters and the transport. But the gap closed between them and her. A blue-white bolt of energy lanced out from the transport. It hit the rear shields and skittered across them in a dazzling display of light then dissipated. Inside the lights flickered and dimmed. the displays jittered from the discharge. Two more shots splashed across the shields. And then she knew. They were hammering at her with ion cannons. They wanted to capture her.

Des pressed down on one rudder. It put her into a side slip. She varied the angle of her ship's nose while introducing a slow roll. This put her into a spiral but made it impossible to predict where she'd actually be. Shots went wide from the bigger vessel. The fighters began sending out their own shots at a much faster pace. she could see the bolts zipping past her cockpit. Who were these jerks?

A fighter shot past her screens, moving out ahead of her. She rotated onto her right side and ruddered to the right, pinning the fighter in her display. Pressing a button on her flight yoke, the gun overhead flashed once, twice, thrice. The first shot went wide, the second stabbed into one engine, causing it to flame out. the third shot punched through the hull, and into something important. It exploded in an orange fireball that instantly winked out.

Another blast hit her hind end and the shields collapsed. The interior lights went out, plunging the ship into darkness. Two smaller hits rocked the ship, pitching it forward, ass over tea kettle. Quickly she twisted around and regained flight control. Sparing a glance at damage reports, she saw the aft shields were down. She'd taken a couple decent hits, and systems were edging from yellow to orange. Chief among them the hyperdrive. She had enough for a jump, but where could she go?

With one hand she pulled up the chart plot which had more data. Though the B-7 was a transport, it had some of the same sensors it's sister science survey ships from the Loronar company. There was a moon with some atmosphere and some kind of biosphere. She could set down there. She swung around as the navicomp projected a course that would put her very close. She set it to overlay on her main display, along with her total path indicator. The course projected like a corridor, which she settled into the very middle of. Calculating a micro-jump was somewhat difficult. But in this, she would simply use the moon's gravity well to revert.

Pulling back on the controls, the stars streaked toward her. In an instant, they resolved into the mottled sky of hyperspace. A second or two later it reverted automatically. The sky shattered and stars leaped back into the place where they'd been. A marble of blues, greens, and purples rushed up to meet her before slamming to a halt but filling her viewscreen. Good. She was where she wanted to be.

Already the place drew closer. She flicked a switch and the sky rotated, putting her belly to the planet. A dull glow began to build up ahead as she plowed into the upper atmosphere. Shields could take a lot of the danger out of a high-speed descent, and for now, they seemed to be up to the task. The ship's sensors switched over to ground scan mode. The computer built a topographical map ahead as she searched for a suitable landing site.

Crossing into the lower atmosphere, the burn of reentry faded. Her speed had slowed to something more reasonable. Her speed was still over two thousand kilometers per hour. It was still well above supersonic speeds, more than she could land with. She kicked off the sublight engines. The ship dumped more of its speed. Desbre spared a glance at a rearview camera. It showed she was trailing smoke when it could see through the pressure cone around her ship.

She needed to bleed some more speed. Reaching over she activated the flaps, drag fins, and ailerons. This increased the surface area and drag on the ship. She could have forced it to slow with the repulsor lifts. But they were starting to show signs of failure. Anything she could do to keep her engines in shape, she had to do. This way she could slow down ballistically before she had to rely on other means. It would give her more lift with some change in the trim, allowing her to glide farther.

The ship slowed and ahead she spotted a valley that dumped into a lake that fed into some waterfalls. That was as good as she would get for now. She adjusted course, aiming for the water. It was as good a place if any if her systems failed and she had to ditch. Taking hold of the controls, she adjusted the trim. The dorsal drag fins retracted. She left the flaps, creating a cushion of air under the ship. Nosing up a little, her rickety descent smoothed out and became steady.

---

Below if one were watching, in the distance of the late evening sky a glow appeared. It was like a glimpse of a star or a falling meteor. Except it came closer, and closer, growing brighter. Then it winked out. Odd. Less than a minute later a deep, loud BOOM rocked from the heavens with no clear source. None save for what looked like the twinkling of a star moving that direction. Green and red. The running lights of a ship. Part of the light came from the corona of drive cones, which also winked out. An infrasonic thrum paired with an ultrasonic whine, along with the midranges of repulsors droned through the air. It heralded the arrival of a ship resembling a flattened bullet speeding overhead. It had tines splayed all around. The ones on the bottom tines tucked back in. The ship shot over the shelf toward the upper lake. It was trailing thick black smoke, with the visible glows of fire around the edges.

---

Des expected the repulsors to give out any moment. When the controls finally went dark, she was fifty meters from the shore, moving at a good clip. The ship dropped to the water and skipped, turning to the left, hitting it again, flat on. The impact jerked the Arkanian woman around savagely. The air left her lungs at the first slam, and she swore she'd broken in half. The second impact drove the arm of the chair into her side. A deep groan rolled through her, echoed by the ship. Water sprayed up over the canopy. A third impact rang through the ship as it fetched up against the shoreline and beach. Most of the inertia had bled off on hitting the water. The ship skidded up the slope and above the waterline. It came to rest in a stand of trees on the ground some twenty to thirty meters from the water's edge.

The last of it whipped her about inside the cockpit. Mercifully she blanked out.

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist----|----​

Since he attained ownership and officially set to finding a spot to make his home. Anse had been fully engrossed in exploring every inch of territory he could. Usually he did this as a wolf, as he could chew down distance that he’d need a ship for as a man. He set markers along the borders of his established territory, mostly to keep predators out as there were a number of nasty things he had had to work to chase past the barrier. He had made sure the sensors identified the things he wanted to keep out and the things he wanted to be able to pass through.

He was just finishing putting the last of the meat in storage and hanging the hide so he could eventually use it as a blanket when the sensors started screaming. When he got to the display apparently an unknown object came screaming through his territory at high speeds to crash up at the lake. The scout droids had launched from the nearest sensor array to show him that the object was a ship, not an asteroid like he had hoped.

He brought M.A.T online, short for Many Armed Thing, a droid he had made himself that looked very like an octopus. The various utility functions and tools the droid carried made him particularly useful. He then made sure to bring the six drones he named his ‘bees’ with him. Whoever was in the wreck was likely going to be a pain to carry long distance. The Bees could cast an anti-grav field and fly as he ran as a wolf back to his home to get them to his med droid. He was just hoping it wasn’t going to be necessary because Piff, was cantankerous and he didn’t need to be chided.

He could take care of most things, not complicated surgery in type. From the looks of things it was a transport, if the owner and what crew was dead, he’d likely take it for parts. Plus whatever cargo it had been holding, if any. He wasn’t above looting the dead and this was his home, so all spoils were his. If he found anyone alive, well, negotiations could be had. He set his clothing in his bag with what supplies he thought he’d need and tools, then changed skin and carried the bag in his mouth as he bolted outside.

He took the path hewn from the stone upwards, grateful that he had made sure that the path up was easy for his paws and claws to grip. Hiding it to fool sensors and a scout droid had been a pain, but the whole point was to make it seem as if no one lived here for the element of surprise. Just as if one probed behind the waterfall with sensors they’d only see rock. It was a bit of overkill, but Anse liked his privacy and when he couldn’t use the natural world for things, he used tech.

Seventy percent of his home was influenced and shaped from nature. He used what he killed, he shaped things with as much natural things as he could and otherwise let things work with the land. Protecting his space and keeping an eye out meant some high tech surveillance and the use of droids, but he kept it all to a minimum. It also meant getting there on four paws instead of just say, taking his ship, but then that was perfectly fine as he didn’t need it.

Once at the ship he looked around for an easy way in and set M.A.T to seeing it get open. As it did so, he changed back and got dressed waiting and scoping out the damage. He wanted away from this before the Deep Thing woke up. Something big lived in the lake, something he’d seen a time or two slither into the trees. It was dark enough that the amphibious creature was probably out of the water and he had no interest in being near if it came to investigate.

He slipped inside the ship and called out a ‘Hello’ however silence met him. Making his way through he didn’t find any crew laying around and when he got to the cockpit he found a woman instead. He had the Bees lift her then shifted her so she was horizontal and then slipped out of his clothing and once he was on all fours hied himself from the area as fast as his four paws could carry him with the Bees following above him. As he got to the stairs he heard the deep groaning call and bore his teeth at it before going downwards and behind the water.

He then tended to her and kept an eye out, checking her vitals periodically. He had the med-droid near, just in case, but she seemed okay for now.


​

 

[Desbre Gensan]

It didn't take a great deal to get into the ship. A little bit of slicing got past the main lockout protocol. Getting in the door was easy. Getting access to the primary functions would be harder. That wasn't the concern.

The ship sat in a long gouge up from the water but mostly seemed intact. The fires had gone out by the time Anse and his machines arrived. The interior was a bit of a mess with panels popped free and exposed wiring sparking here and there.

There were no signs of other crew or passengers. There were a couple of swoop bikes in the cargo bay that also served as a garage with a workbench and tools. One looked utilitarian, the other was a sleeker, newer design. It looked fast and nimble. Its repulsors kept it neatly in place. The body panels were white with ombre accents ranging from teal to a rich deep purple. Most swoop bikes were fast, but this was a performance machine made for a racing circuit.

A check through the compartments revealed a couple of untouched rooms, save one. That one looked like it belonged to the woman up front. Inside were sketches and pictures, pieces of art and technical designs. On one table rested a set of small tools and an array of parts and pieces.

In the main pilot's seat, as the bees extracted Desbre, she gave a groan of protest. Her hair began to mat with blood from a gash in her forehead, and pale blood had started to seep into the homespun cloth. It clung to her, raised by the crash webbing over her seat. Her breath came in ragged gasps and a little liquidy. She wore a dark pair of pants and calf-high boots with a light shirt, wrapped in a thick nerfhide racing jacket. As the bees extracted her, a silvery hilt dangled from the loose belt around her waist.

The medical droid wasn't happy with the woman's condition but they could move her. No spinal injuries detected.

It didn't take long to haul her back to the cave. The crash did a number on her. His prize had a mild to a moderate concussion. A couple of broken ribs. Some internal organ bruising. The skin across her chest and breasts was darkening with a marvelous set of bruises and friction burns. There was a deep bruise over the busted ribs on her right side.

Stitching her head up took only a few minutes. Wrapping up her ribs was harder. Slapping on a bacta patch or three would help, as would a yarrock patch. And then she was left to recover on finding no further notable injuries.

---

Desbre shifted under the furs. Warm. Uncomfortably warm. And something heavy was on top of her. Pain hovered somewhere on the edge of her consciousness. She was separate from it, but she could feel it waiting, lurking, stalking. She could tell it was virtually from head to toe.

The young woman shifted, trying to move the furs off of her, but they weighed a ton. Feeling buried, she tried again, coming more awake. The pain rushed in to greet her. She took a deep breath. Barbed wire raked around her chest and lungs. It made her cough, which ignited fire there. And more coughing. Her lungs worked to clear themselves, and she tasted copper. After a fit of coughing a globule of something came up, which she immediately spat out. A globule of thick, almost mucus-like blood splattered on the floor.

That little bit of effort left her physically exhausted. Deep, slow breaths she thought, sucking in life-giving oxygen. It still hurt, but she could breathe. If she could manage that, she was alive.

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist ----|----​

The noise woke him from his doze, the sounds of discomfort and as he got up from the padded and worn leather seat his guest worked up a cough. He made a soothing noise as he knelt next to her. “Easy lass, you were a fair bit chill when I found ye, bet ye be warmed up now eh?”

He removed a couple of the furs and let her have a lighter one with the soft wool blanket. He checked her for fever in case the medication hadn’t done the job. He pulled a pitcher from next to his seat over and filled a cup before putting a lid on it. It looked like a baby’s sippy cup, technically it was, but for this it helped to reduce spillage. “This be some water, but with a bit of sweet and a trace of bitter. It’ll help with th’ thirst and hopefully take a bit of th’ fang from th’ hell your body be gripped in. Think ye can take a sip or two?”

His voice was low and soothing. His accent wasn’t easily placed, but he kept things simple hoping she didn’t fight too much. His presence was a calm one, confident and almost tranquil. Her being hurt and in pain didn’t unsettle his inner nature, if anything she needed the calm now more than ever with her so hurt. Anse was dressed in a simple grey long sleeved tunic and cargo pants. His long shoulder length more brown than blonde hair was pulled pack from his face in short tail. His goatee was trimmed and he looked more well kept than he had a week ago having got a bit lazy in his grooming with so much more needing his attention. His sky blue eyes were bright, he could have passed as any number of human-like races, nothing about him stood out just yet from her position on the ground.


​

 

[Desbre Gensan]

As she continued to take stock her eyes fluttered open. Still centered around her body, she felt the bandages. At the same time she realized she was completely naked in the pile of furs. A figure moved, crouching next to her. A mixture of fear and indignation rolled through her. She picked up the scent of fire and a person and her silvery eyes focused on the man. Had she been captured? It seemed like. But why wasn't she in a cell on a ship?

Despite her head being somewhat muzzy, she still felt clear enough. She reached for the Force. She gathered it up about her. She grew in strength and power as the man began to try to reassure her. He adjusted the covers, taking most of the heavy weight off of her. That wasn't necessary anymore. She could use it to enhance her body, or fling it off with a thought. Her strength already began to return. But the heat began to die away. She needed some heat, and her kind was warm-blooded, but adapted to the cold. Yavin VIII's temple had been comfortable, despite the frigid conditions there.

The pain began to fade as she washed the Force through her nervous system. His Basic was thick but understandable. She picked up no malice, only concern and calm for her. No ill intent. It seemed unlikely he was a captor. By now, in her condition, being stripped naked was the mildest of things that would have happened, conscious or not.

When he offered the drink her instincts screamed not to accept it. Club survival 101. Never take a drink handed to you by someone who isn't staff, unless it's someone you trust implicitly. But, again, no harmful intent behind it. At best he seemed concerned, and she guessed he had put something in it to dull the pain.

Her full lips remained pursed as she looked up at him. The interior of the cave was dark, save for the fire. But her eyes saw farther into the infrared spectrum than most humanoids. Drawing the blanket around her a little, she sat up, pinning it against her upper chest with one hand. The motion seemed to cause her only minor discomfort betrayed by the flicker of a grimace.

She accepted the cup and popped the top off only to spot the mixture within. Placing the top back in, she rested it on one knee, still gripped in one hand.

No response came from her for a moment. She looked at him, opened her mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it. Her gaze fell, dropping to her left a little, head cocked to one side. Listening. She took a long slow sniff of the air. She nodded slightly as if she'd understood something or had gained answers.

"Where are my clothes," she asked. It was neutral in tone, somewhere between curiosity and apathy. But with it, there was no mistaking that she intended to have them back. She simply would not rely on hostility or threat. She would merely have them back one way or another.

The platinum-haired woman cleared her throat softly then sipped at the mixture, grimacing a little at the taste. It was slightly astringent but also coated. The tickle in her throat eased. The dried blood taste in her mouth lessened. With her hand not holding the drink she grimaced and reached up to feel her jawline. There was a bruise there, and as she tongued the inside of her mouth she found a few of her teeth were loose. The experiment caused her to drop the cover, puddling against her belly. Idly she reached down to bring it back up. The air was comfortable, but she didn't want too much of her bodyheat stolen.

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist----|----​

He didn’t react to her naked shin, his eyes didn’t even follow the movement down to glance. He’d seen plenty making sure she was cleaned up and bandaged, but it took more than skin to make his pulse jump. He wasn’t the kind of man to prey on an injured guest, pretty as she was and he found her to be very pretty indeed. “I’ll go get them, stay put.”

He was up and moving in a blink and she’d get to see the rest of the room. It was part of a cave system attached to a much bigger space behind the falls. The fire pit was a nice size and warmed the mostly circular chamber. A bigger pile of furs lay across the room, a couple chests at the foot of it, presumably where he slept and stored his things with one ugly, but comfortable leather chair. Otherwise it was fairly spartan in the room. One thing was persistent, the sound of rushing water was a soothing and consistent sound.

He came back with the small bundle and set it within arms reach. He also set the pitcher near her in case she wanted to fill up the cup again. The liquid in the pitcher would be more water than herbs and honey. The first cup held the majority of the herbal infusion. She would tell he was tall, broad shouldered. Anse, barefoot as he was, stood at a tall six foot six and weighed about two hundred and sixty pounds. He was leanly muscled, like a dancer or martial artist, but not bulky and not in a way that said he kept his physique with intentional work.

All in all he was pleasing to the eye. When he set down the clothing she’d catch a glimpse of a band around his wrist, a tattoo that was actually five bands of varying thickness from his wrist to mid-forearm. He had other tattoos, but this one was the only accessible one. He also didn’t have any weapons on his person. He either didn’t think she was a threat, was confident he could deal with her or was giving her a measure of his trust. One could probably guess it was trust that guided him instead of the other two possibilities. He had no reason to distrust her and having a weapon might make her uneasy.

He sat down cross legged on the floor. “My name be Anse Baenshaol, might I know your name lass?”


​

 

[Desbre Gensan]

The water had already come to her ears. She'd verified it against the humidity of the cavern. A cave system explained a lot. If her attackers were looking for her, they would be hard-pressed to locate the two of them quickly in this place. It was something only a local would know about.

She did take a moment to admire his form, the way he moved. He moved like a predator and a natural fighter. Part of her approved in a subconscious but primal way. When he returned with her things she inspected them. They were clean. That surprised her a little. She pulled on her shirt, then the jacket and sighed, feeling more like herself.

Desbre sipped at some more of the water. A moment later she scooted back toward the fire as she found herself shivering again. She clearly wasn't back to good, not fully. Masking the pain didn't fix the damage. It only allowed her to push beyond a person's normal limits at the risk of harming herself more in the process.

At the asking of her name, she tilted her head. "Desbre Gensan," she supplied. A half dozen things to add came to mind. She turned each of them over. She examined if they were worth adding, or if she should keep them to herself until she knew more. The idea of invoking her Jedi training came to mind. But was she really? Perhaps as long as she adhered to the code and her training, that was enough. Could she still call herself a racer? She'd been off the circuit for years now. At least she could call herself a pilot. Though her crash suggested not a great one.

"Where's my ship," she asked after a moment, as the crash came back to mind. "I hope I didn't total it."

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist----|----​

-
“Pleasure ta meet ye, despite th’ circumstances.” He thought over her ship and sighed. “She was pretty damaged, if she can be fixed it will take a fair amount of time. She be pretty stuck where she skidded. When ye be healed up enough tha’ a walk won’t wind ye so bad, I’ll take ye ta look.” He frowned. “How ye get ta be in such dire trouble?”

He knew well enough that a goodly bit of the damage had to have been done from something else. His ship had teeth and was fast, but her cargo vessel would be easy pickings if one came at her smart enough. “I’ve secured the way in from th’ falls so if ye be in trouble bad enough this be th’ best place ta hide. Even if someone poked a nose behind the water after they got lucky ta find th’ path it will look like stone. If they go ta poke it, I or one of th’ droids would end them for their curiosity. I’ll do my best ta keep ya safe here, no questions asked.”

A pretty thing like her he figured probably had a few dozen unwanted admirers. Probably had a few nasties in her past too, he wouldn’t throw her to the monsters that might come sniffing. And, if they showed up he’d leave their bodies floating around his planet like macabre trophies. He wanted to make sure trespassers knew he’d rip their throats out.


​

 

[Desbre Gensan]

"Truth be told, I don't really know. I've been drifting around from place to place out here while I figure some things out. I've been selling the navigation and sensor data freelance. Most of this section of space still remains a mystery. So survey data is valuable and useful. And lucrative. It could be kind of dangerous work. But it's allowed me to think, and avoid trouble. Until now. I was on the fringe of the system, just collecting general survey data. I'd fallen asleep in my chair when I got these weird sensor contacts." She sighed. "And then I was under attack by a group of fighters and a larger transport. I would guess pirates or slavers. They tried to disable my ship rather than destroy it. They used ion cannons mostly and tried to run me down. I made a micro-jump across the system here, but not before they shot me in the back with blasters. I couldn't go far. I thought if I sat down here, I could hide and repair. But I guess they did more damage than I thought. My ship continued to lose power and systems were pretty shaky. I tried to baby it in. Probably should have not relied on ballistic flight and used more of my repulsors instead." She sighed at herself and her mistakes before taking another drink of the mix. It brought another grimace. It wasn't the worst thing she'd ever tasted by any means. But it didn't taste super great either.

"I didn't realize anyone was here. I don't mean to be a bother," she added quietly.

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist----|----​

She’d hear him laugh, a genuine belly deep sound of mirth. “Nah lass, no man would ever complain about having ye drop in and I don’t intend ta be th’ sort ta lie and appear ta do so. If tha’ lot tracks ye here, I will kill them when they come sniffing around. I got lots of orbit space around my moon tha’ could use th’ decoration. See how well pokey noses take ta frozen corpses around where their noses try ta be. Not a fan of slavers or pirates, few things in this life I be happy ta kill, but those be some of th’ exceptions.”

Predatory he was indeed. The idea of them getting a hold of her made the tranquil sea inside him start to boil. While at the same time the anticipation of the hunt set in and his wolf panted eager for the action. Ogrimm enjoyed killing the vermin almost as much as he did, but he pushed him and his own desires down. He didn’t want to get too ahead, they might not ever arrive, but if they were in the area he’d have to be careful.


​

 

[Desbre Gensan]

Des regarded him with a measure of wariness still. Her face heated a little when he spoke about no man would ever complain about having her drop in. His attraction wasn't hard to notice. In some ways it was flattering, but in others, it was still a cause for concern. She'd felt the weight of her pistol still in the jacket. And her lightsaber had been atop the pile. And of course, the Force itself was a powerful friend. It was always there, and always came readily when she called these days. That... she could rely on.

As he spoke of killing the slavers or pirates part of her approved. Part of her shifted, unsettled. Killing wasn't right, for the sake of it. But it was sometimes necessary. The two halves of her warred back and forth. He seemed gleeful at the idea, and as she watched him... something dark stirred around the man. Somewhere. Something. It was elusive but hungry. Predatory. But this did not make her feel safe. It wasn't protective. But it wasn't directed at her either. There was a wave of aggression toward those that bore the label of pirate or slaver. Those who prey on others.

She relaxed a notch. At least she wasn't that, even if she was a monster.

"I believe you," she spoke after a moment in a wee small voice. "I don't know what I could offer you in return for protection. I don't really have any credits anymore. I can fix some things. Fly. Labor. Scout. Some other things. Could probably help tunnel some more." She cast her metallic gaze around. The dim, dark, and dank interior of hte cavern seemed to bother her little. In fact, it was familiar if not comfortable. "I-I..." She closed her mouth as several thoughts whirled through her head.

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist----|----​

He chuckled again and shook his head. "None of tha' right now lass. I ain't gunna prey on ye and certainly not gunna ask ye ta do a thing while ye be injured. Just rest, recover and if ya see something tha' needs doin, just have at after ye feel well enough, aye? Ye look like ye have more tha' just body hurt, I see th' sadness in your eyes. I told ye, this be a safe place for ye and not just cuz your body be tenderized and I mean it. Also, don't get spooked if ye see a huge gold wolf, he be Ogrimm and he won't hurt ye."

He didn't need to confuse her or worry her by saying that wolf was also technically himself. Sure there were races that changed skin, but not many could grasp a perfectly normal looking human being able to turn his skin at will. Technically he wasn't human, he was a man who was sometimes a wolf, but she seemed pretty off balance right now and didn't need more to have chasing its tail in her already heavy mind. He stood up with a stretch and gave her a smile. "He be a sucker for a good scratch behind th' ears, if he be in th' mood for it. Let me know if ye be up for a meal aye? Got ta use the galley in my ship since what I be wanting is still being cobbled, but I am a fair cook when I've th' excuse ta not bother with th' auto-chef."


​

 

[Desbre Gensan]

The pale woman listened and nodded. He seemed to be earnest, and for the moment he believed what he said. As he explained about the wolf she nodded. She'd never heard of a wolf or seen one for that matter. But whatever it was, it sounded harmless enough. Almost like a pet or something. But the way he felt when mentioning this wolf was almost like another person. Maybe it was.

A yawn escaped her though she stifled it with a fist over her mouth. A bead of sweat had begun to form at her right temple, though the air kept her sufficiently cool. The effort of controlling her own pain for the last few minutes was taking its toll. She took a longer drink of the mixture he'd made, then sat the cup down. pulling over a boot she laid it on its side on the furs, then took her pants, folded up, and laid them over top of it. The jacket went on top, also folded, creating a makeshift pillow. She considered the shirt, then decided to add it on top, giving her something more comfortable than straight nerf hide against her face.

She laid down then, pulling the covers back up over her, laying on her left side, the fire in front, with her feet in his direction but off to his left. "So how did you come to be here," she asked. "You've not mentioned any family. It seems to me you're as alone as I am."

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist ----|----​

He moved to sit in the chair again, stifling a yawn. "This be my home lass and aye, no family tha' I know of, is a bit lonely I will admit. Was just me an my sire, till a war broke out on a planet and something toppled a building taking him from me. Grew up wandering and when I be able ta sit still, I come here, but I always end up wandering again and it be hard ta find a partner or two who would put up with tha' enough ta wanna tag along. When th' urge gnaws my tail, moving makes it cease, can't explain it any other way."

It didn't mean he didn't find companionship, but it was always temporary because eventually they want him to set down roots and stay, something he couldn't do. It was one of a few expectations that always broke things in the end which left him with a bit of a broken heart when he grew attached. It didn't happen often, but when it did he mourned the loss. "You lost family too?"


​

 

[Desbre Gensan]

His question hit her like a hammer in the chest. Her vision turned misty for a moment as she swallowed back the pain, but managed a slow nod. "I .. My parents died in a speeder crash when I was eleven. My sister and I were lucky." She bit her pouty lower lip for a moment before continuing. "And then again, a few years ago I lost my Grams. Had an aneurysm and died before the med techs could do anything about it." Her gaze fell. It was my fault. I should have been home, rather than being a selfish quim. "I still have my grandfather and my sister. Technically. But I can't go home. Not now, maybe not ever." One hand brushed away a frustrated hot tear, though she tried to disguise it as just rubbing her eye. "I'm pretty much on my own for now."

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist----|----​

He frowned, he didn't understand why she wouldn't be able to return to her kin, she didn't strike him as the type to have done something intentionally awful to warrant being alone. "Won't lie, curious ta know th' story behind tha', but I won't pry if ye would rather not talk about it."

It certainly roused his protective streak to hear her so sad and to know that for whatever reason she was alone. Maybe it was because she looked so fragile, maybe it was because she seemed to radiate pain and misery or perhaps both. He could feel his wolf growling, wanting to claw at whatever had her in so much pain, but he pushed him away willing himself to stillness on the inside. Not a good idea to let his wolf have his way, otherwise he'd shift skin and wouldn't that be a mess to explain.


​

 

[Desbre Gensan]

The questions seared into her, but at the same time, it was something she'd asked herself over and over again. She was almost numb about it in some ways. But others it was still fresh. "I was angry and wild when I was younger. And willful. I was angry about losing my parents. I turned to drugs and drinking... and other things. I wanted to numb it, or to feel something better. I fell in with a bunch of swoop riders. I liked it. I was good at it. I got a bike as well. When I was on the back of one, I was happy and free. I was mostly at peace. Nothing could catch me." She swallowed a small lump in her throat. "I started getting into races. Just bets and dares at first. I was good at it. Much better than my friends. I guess we pooled into a group and started finding others tor ace. Before long I was racing bikes underground to make money. I was a couple or three years in at that point. But once I got old enough to officially start a job, I started driving equipment for the mines. It didn't give me the same thrills and freedom, but it meant I had more income. I upgraded. I could move out if I wanted. My grandparents were pretty concerned about me as I seemed to be falling deeper in. I.. traded myself for favors or credits a few times to get things I needed." She let her gaze fall for a few moments. "They still don't know about that. I know I could have easily fallen down the whole of drugs and sex and not climbed out for a lot longer. And I could have wound up working for some pimp who would do whatever he wanted with me."

She sighed. "I was so stupid. But I had friends who looked out for me, and I never really went down that hole. Racing was my drug. Adrenaline was my drug." She looked back to him, firelight reflecting off of her eyes a little. "I started to wise up around seventeen, and I was home more. Education kept me busy. I never shirked that. I suppose that's one reason my grandparents never came down too hard on me. I handled my business. And I worked. They might not have liked some of my circle, but they saw I was successful." She shrugged. "Anyway, one night I got into a fight at home and I left, angry. My grandmother was getting up there in age. We were both very stressed. I decided I needed to blow off some steam, and arranged to get into a race. Went into the race. My grandmother went into an aneurysm when she heard. That was the straw the broke the bantha's back."

"My grandfather did his best with me, but he never really knew how to engage with me and the more I rebelled, the more he didn't want me around. and with this... well he blamed me. And maybe he's right to do so. A few weeks later, we had a long discussion and I left Arkania. I left to try to sort some things out. Everything I own is on my ship. That, I bought with some of the money my grams left me, combined with what I'd scrape dp from racing and driving."

"I could probably go back to Arkania, live in a different city. But it's not geography that keeps me away. I can't really go back until I can look my grandfather in the eye... until I make him proud," she finished, wiping at watery eyes again. Her tone of voice was even, nary a crack, but it still hurt to tell. She'd not told that story aloud, not in a long time. She tried to think back, trying to remember if she'd shared that with her first teacher among the Jedi or not.

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist----|----​

Anse thought back to his yearling years, her life was very different from his. Sure, he had chaffed under his father’s teaching and had more than once gotten into fights. However no matter what he never said things that made him feel like he was a disappointment or unwanted. A few times he had gone off on his own, but always his father let him know where he was headed if he left him behind. “Ye were doing what countless others your age did all through th’ millions of years there’d been kids your age. My sire called it ‘yearling years’ where both body and mind were too big and gangly ta take ta th’ leash of one’s clan with grace. Ye were just doing what ye needed ta do ta settle into who ye wanted ta be when you went your own way.”

The harder bit was how her grandmother died and the guilt. “Seems ta me, she woulda died tha’ way eventually, fight or no. Ye could have come home, apologized and she still woulda been gone. Things like tha’ be things one cannot escape and it be easier ta blame another than on a thing tha’ has no sense. I think ye need ta see your clan again lass, whether they blame ye or not because ye don’t have a lot of time. Ye owe it ta yourself ta go and use tha’ time even if he does blame ye, because you’d only have more regrets. Things ending on a fight is a bad way for things, for there is no resolution, no closure. Don’t let that keep ye from th’ ones ye care about.”

He thought about her ship and in a way, more and more they were proving to have things in common. He never did the racing thing, but he understood what it meant to have everything you own on your ship. “Though no matter what ye choose, I won’t pitch ye from my den or say ye can’t come back. I think ye be needing a place ta go ta when ye be tired of th’ travels as much as I do eh?”

Besides, having her as a neighbor wouldn’t be a bad thing at all, she seemed to have a lot of the same skills he had. It couldn’t hurt to have an extra skilled pair of hands.


​

 

[Desbre Gensan]

As he spoke about a different timeline, what might have been, if she'd stayed home, or returned home early. In her mind, it played out. Coming home through the door. Seeing the look of relief on her grandmother's face. Sitting down at the kitchen table to talk. And then the look of something wrong crossing her face, and then holding her head as her world began to spin out of control. Blood leaking from one eye, one ear as Des held her in panicked tears, screaming for a med tech. Though it had never happened, it still hurt to put herself in that time and space. Fresh tears began to flow, though the only outward signs came from a tightening jaw. Then, of course, the trail of a couple tears. She wiped at her face once more.

"I do plan to go back, eventually. But there are answers I need. And things I have to do. Many long miles," she said, her voice cracking. She sniffed a little. She lapsed into silence for a time, thinking his words over a little more. A place to go to, that she could use. This particular rock was fairly well off the beaten path. It made a good place to go to ground in.

"You're very generous," she said, fixing him in her red-rimmed gaze. "My ship is the only real home I've had in years." It wasn't an acceptance. It wasn't a rejection. Just facts. Reaching up she ran her fingers through her hair. It felt a little crusty or greasy. She remembered the wound to her head and surprise followed. It should have been a solid carpet of ick and gore. He'd cleaned her hair up some too. her face heated some at the knowledge of his treatment. But at the same time, she was filled with gratitude. It was thoughtful for sure. "I already owe you a great deal, I suppose," she murmured.

 

[Anse Baenshaol]

----|---- Playlist----|----​

She’d hear a huff at that. “I think if th’ roles be reversed ye would have done th’ same. Just glad ye are okay with things, didn’t think ye would have liked ta wake up looking like ye came from a horror holovid. Though, won’t lie, ye would have been th’ prettiest undead on th’ set.”

And he meant it. Wasn’t in his nature to let a person he fancied not have the praise they were due. It was especially true when said person was needing the praise to cheer them up. For all his honest flattery, he was a man of honor and meant every word. He would not seek to touch her or do anything that she didn’t first seek out. Words though, he’d happily share because she needed them quite badly. “I have myself a whole moon, plenty of room, besides. I be selfish, not generous. I like th’ idea of having a pretty neighbor who might be willin ta toss around tools with me ta help fix up her wee beastie tha’ got a bit tossed in th’ dirt.”

With a lot of work he was sure her ship could be fixed. It would take time and he’d have to go looking for things to bring back, but it could be done. There was nothing he liked better than having a project to work on. “I’m gunna make dinner, ye think ye be up for a bite or two? Could make ye a little something, something soft.”


​