Ask Corellia On the Trail

[Talak Rand]

Talak didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was, he knew it was bad. Extremely bad. He had been tracking a lead on Sith that were potentially working with a group of pirates in the Sanbra sector when he'd received the ominous message from Trys to find Crix.

Seven unanswered calls later, and Talak had decided that something was extremely wrong. That wasn't even to mention the fact that he could still sense the waves of negative emotion radiating through the Force. Talak and Trys had a deep enough connection that he could sense it over even such a vast distance, and that was the only thing he was holding onto right now: he could sense that she was alive.

In the heat of the moment he had forced the panic from his mind and slipped into a state of mind that was singular, driven, and didn't know the meaning of the word panic. His mind raced systematically through his options. As much as he wanted to go straight to find Trys, he knew that Crix was as important to her as breathing, and if there was a threat to her, Trys could take care of herself. Crix, Talak wasn't so sure about.

Artee, jump for Coruscant. Now, he said, letting the droid chart the course. He didn't know where Crix was, but he was wagering he wasn't in the Sanbra sector and Coruscant was the most likely destination. At worst it would probably move him in the direction of the young man.

He made for the long range communicator and punched in a quick code as it began to connect.

Hey, Talak, what can I do for you? The voice belonged to Nerth. When Talak had first met him he was a new crime scene tech for the Sector Rangers and Talak was still a Sith. Nerth had since been promoted in the years since and although a bit eccentric had earned a reputation as being the best at his job. He was also someone who was known to help Talak out in a pinch.

Nerth, Trys is in trouble, I need your help, he said. The Jedi's voice was serious enough to wipe the grin off the Ranger's face in an instant.

I need to find Trys, and I need to find Crix, he said. They both knew that what Talak was asking him to do was not within regulations, but Talak hoped Nerth would opt to help out his two old friends. There was a second's pause before the Ranger nodded and started to work on his data console.

Looks like Crix's comm unit is on Corellia, and Trys's... the young man frowned and his voice trailed off before he shook his head. I can't ping it. Might be turned off. You'd have to have direct access to the holonet mainframe to track it. But she was on a job here on Coruscant with, uh... Rangers Zad Ruzed and Corran Velt. I can get you in touch with them if you need, he offered.

Talak nodded and spoke. Forward me their comm codes and I'll get in touch with them. Talak out, he said.

Hey, Talak! Nerth interrupted before Talak could hang up. If there's anything else I can do, let me know. We all love Trys, he said. And it was true. Many of the Rangers looked up to Trys as their idol. She had become almost symbolic and the Rangers would have shifted the galaxy for her. Talak would keep that in mind.

Thanks, Nerth, he said, though the words sounded hollow. His mind was already onto the next step in finding those he loved.

---​

The Nomad dropped out of hyperspace closer to Corellia than was safe. Talak was buying seconds where he could get them, much to the rage of the local shipping freighters that he came very close to clipping. The ship made its descent at an equally questionable speed, just fast enough not to alert the authorities, but not at the recommended speed.

The ship landed roughly and the freighter's ramp descended before Talak was even out of his seat. Nerth had forwarded Talak the data point of Crix's ping, and it was surprisingly precise. Why exactly it had pinged as being in an old hangar on Corellia, Talak wasn't sure, but that could come later. The Jedi had been so preoccupied with planning the next steps in tracking down Trys that he hadn't even realized this was going to be his first meeting with Crix. He had seen the young man at the funeral after the prison break, but they'd not spoken and Talak couldn't even be sure that Crix had seen him there. Talak had heard a great deal about him from Trys, but he had no idea what Crix knew about him if anything at all. He assumed that he knew that Talak existed, but beyond that... who knew?

In any other circumstances this would have likely been incredibly awkward, but at this point, Talak was far too one-track minded for that. Crix's first impression of him - important as it was - was still insignificant next to the thought that Trys might die or be dying. He shut the thought from his mind as he made his way down the exit ramp and straight for the hangar in question, hoping to find Crix inside. @Sreeya @Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Corellia really wasn't great for a lot of reasons but one thing it had going for it was a culture that revolved around the building of spaceships. Literally their entire identity was considered to be "ship building and flying" and, by and large, they were fine with that. They put everything they could into it and got real good at it.

Probably why even a teenager could rent a landing bay to work on his junker for a few credits and no one asked questions. No one had asked questions when the almost-scrapped ship was literally craned onto the landing pad and no one said anything when Crix went diving into junkyards and came back bloody but with parts he needed.

His friends helped where they could but the truth of the matter was that Crix was the one who knew what he was doing. Everyone else could help but they had other things they could do to make sure they could actually get off the planet and to the Jedi. So it was with one arm within the guts of his ship that Talak would find him, covering in grease and bloody cuts that were barely closed, let alone healed.

Looking over his shoulder at the man who entered the hanger, he frowned slightly and clutched around at the controls inside the ship. He had been in the middle of installing something that he'd had to face off against a Sith to get so he wasn't exactly in the mood to talk to anyone.

"Not hirin' hands - feck off." he called out bluntly, some of his internal frustrations leaking out, "Unless you want me practicin' my aim with the ship's cannon on you."

Bit of a bluff since the VCX-100 he was working on only had turrets to fire from and he, currently, wasn't actually anywhere near the turrets but rather the cockpit.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak made it to the hangar to find the young man arms deep inside a ship's engine. Clearly he wasn't aware of what was going on, and as much as Talak would have liked to break the news nicely... well, he probably wasn't going to do that. Time was of the essence and every second... well that wasn't something he could think about.

Talak didn't even lose a beat as the kid threatened to shoot him and told him to get lost. His stride never broke and he didn't bother getting closer before beginning to speak.

Crix, I'm Talak, he almost added "your mom's friend" but he didn't even want to broach that topic now. He had no idea if Crix even knew Talak's name or not, but he hoped so. Otherwise he might have to convince Crix that he wasn't some sort of enemy. How hard could that be, though? How many non-Jedi had white lightsabers? Not many.

Your mom's in trouble, you need to come with me. It's not safe here, he said, jabbing his thumb toward the door. It was clear that he was in no mood for a long conversation, but he also knew this was Trys's son. He had very low hopes that he was going to be anything other than stubborn. @Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

The guy wasn't going to leave and he could feel it in his gut, the same feeling that had helped him evade being killed a few times now so one he was inclined to listen to. He reached for his stun blaster, pulling his other hand from the depths of his ship as he spun round to aim the weapon at the man. His breathing began to grow heavier and he gritted his teeth as the use of his actual name.

Few people knew his name around here and this arsehole wasn't one of them.

"Talak." he growled, having a faint feeling that he should remember the name but it escaped him for the moment, "Name rings a bell but I ain't sure what... what..."

His hand had been shaking before he heard the last bit because the last time he'd taken up his pistol like this had been against a Sith and even such a low-level memory made him want to be violently sick. He could still feel the stench of the Dark Side, still feel how the Sith had tortured him by making him see all of his memories and making them hurt. A sick little game by the Sith to make him associate even his mom's face with the pain that he'd experienced?

He didn't know and that was why he was working on the ship fueled by nothing but energy drinks and manic, desperate, energy. Crix couldn't stop his hand shaking and he let out a watery growl before holstering the weapon, knowing he likely wouldn't be accurate with it anyway.

"Mom mentioned you couple times - you should know by now that mom ain't ever in danger. Mom IS the danger."

Said with the confidence of a man who had never seen his mother as anything but strong, confident and ready to beat the whole damned Galaxy to a pulp. It was the confidence of a kid who admired his parent but there was an underlying current of desperation to believe it now. Crix shook his head.

"So sorry space cowboy but my mom is... w-well I said it before. And me? I know what I'm doing; gettin' to the Jedi." he said, more to himself than Talak, "I... I managed to get escape from a Sith a day back."

He had escaped - right?

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Oh, great, he was as stubborn as his mother. You have got to be kidding me, he thought to himself, extremely low on patience given the situation. The temptation to knock him out and kidnap him was real, but that would not have gone over well.

He knew that Crix had good reason to be confident in Trys, she was more terrifying than she even gave herself credit for being, but one person was still just one person. It didn't help that Talak didn't actually know what was wrong. But never before had Trys sent him a message like that, so he knew that it was serious.

Talak's head was swimming as he listened to what Crix said. He had escaped the Sith? He was trying to get to the Jedi? What?! He immediately stiffened and his eyes started scanning over the upper lip of the hangar, his senses instinctually reaching out for the presence of danger. Was this all a trap? Was Trys not in danger and it was simply Crix who was? No, if Crix were in danger rather than Trys she would have responded and she would have come herself. Something deeper was going on here. He didn't know what it was and he didn't like not knowing.

What do you mean the Sith came to get you? he asked. They didn't have time to have this conversation now. They needed to move. Now.

Look, she's the one that sent me to come get you, but how's this: you want to go to the Jedi. I can take you there. Right now. Win-win, he said, levitating his lightsaber and letting it ignite in front of him to indicate what exactly he was. Crix was a smart kid and the offer was a win-win for both of them. Talak hoped he would take it and they could sort out the details en route.

Don't believe me, look at my comm, he added, holding up the device. If Crix approached he'd put away his lightsaber. Even as Talak looked at the comlink he could see the last message from Trys just above. "I love you." He savored hearing those words from her and he missed her whenever they were apart, which was far too often. Now those words gnawed at him in a whole different way.

 

[Crix Aran]

Was... was this stringy-haired arsehole ignoring him?!

Indeed, the way Talak immediately started looking around the hanger did not inspire confidence in the idea that the man was actually paying attention to Crix. He almost started shouting at the guy when his gut twisted and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he felt something washing over him. It felt like he was being observed on a level beyond what normal eyes could do - the fact that Talak had a lightsaber on him confirmed what it was.

He was feeling the Force being used.

That was... that was actually pretty fecking cool.

But not the point.

The point? The point was the gradually growing knot in the middle of his gut that seemed to be growing bigger and more insistent with every second that passed. As the conversation went on he was beginning to feel it worsening. Crix swallowed thickly and wished he hadn't actually holstered his blaster.

"Y-yeah some Sith witch found me rooting around in a junkyard for some parts." he admitted despite the way his head throbbed in pain just thinking about the encounter, "She killed some guys with lightning and I tried running. Caught me and did this freaky thing with the Force - made my memories flash in my head and hurt when they did. I think she was torturing me - make me think of my memories and link them to the pain but I don't know shite about the Force."

Crix ignored the saber in favor of the comm. He took the device from Talak's hands, having crossed the distance between the two of them quickly. The knot in his stomach was tightening further and the creeping sense of dread was worsening. Now he knew that the feeling in his gut was often the Force trying to tell himself and he hated to think what it was.

He wanted to flick and swip through some of their shared messages... but also REALLY didn't.

"G-gross." he muttered, still a teenager who was currently reading his mom DMing a guy she... did things with and felt stuff for he guessed, "Alright then - you love my mom, where is she?"

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Yeah, Talak wasn't going to let Crix just take his comm and wander off to scroll through what was in there. Thankfully, it didn't look like Crix wanted to do that anyway. He took the comm back and put his lightsaber away, but even as he did so the blood continued to drain from his face. Crix may not have known anything about the Force, but Talak certainly did. And he knew what it was like to rip thoughts and memories out of someone's mind. What the "Sith witch" had decided to do with that information was a mystery to him, but it couldn't have been anything good. The fact that she had let Crix go only lent more credence to the idea that it had some connection to Trys's mysterious disappearance.

Amidst the chaos of the moment, something else caught Talak's attention, though. Crix's presence in the Force was different. The webs of the Force bent and curved subtlety toward Crix as Talak plucked at its strings. As if a competing Force were present that was always the case whenever he was around other Force users. He almost said something but held his tongue. This was something to probably broach with Trys first. There were enough other things that the two of them had to deal with right now that Crix's Force sensitivity wasn't something to deal with right now.

Where is she.

That was the real question. It was the question that was clawing at his mind and he didn't know the answer.

I don't know. She sent me to get you first, he said. He didn't want to say that he was fully intending to track her down because he knew that Crix would insist on coming along, which was out of the question. But he needed to get them both out of here.

The longer we wait here, the more time is wasted not finding her, he said, once again thrusting a thumb toward the door.

We can discuss everything else once we're underway, he said. And they had things to discuss. Talak needed to know what happened with that Sith. He had a creeping feeling that it was the key to whatever had happened.

 

[Crix Aran]

She sent this clown to pick him up? Didn't she just want to send him messages instead? She trusted this floppy-haired dude to get him to safety more than she trusted himself to do the same thing - that kind of burned on the inside. What made his mom trust this guy over him like that? He didn't like it and he knew he'd not like it even if the answer turned out to be one that made total sense because feck that, she shouldn't be trusting anyone more than him!

It was irritating in a way he couldn't shake but the feeling in his gut was getting worse and he really was finding it hard to focus on things aside from the creeping dread.

"The feck?" he pushed at Talak's shoulder with one hand, "You think she's in trouble and so you come get me? I'm feckin' running for Jedi country - I used the Force to push that crazy Sith witch off me - the feck are you doing wasting time picking me up? The feck can you say you love her if you didn't go right to her?"

Loved him? Please.

Dude was obviously a flake who wasn't gonna last another year, tops, at this rate. His mom was gonna end up being just freaking fine and she was gonna be hella pissed that this dude was taking his sweet ass time to come and... and... and be her ride home or whatever. It wasn't like his mom was gonna really need this arsehole, or Crix himself either, to help her kick ass and take names.

Why was the knot in his stomach getting worse?

"What aren't you tellin' me?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest, "You got this gormless look on your homeless man face when I mentioned the Sith pain thing. I ain' moving if you're pulling some silent treatment bullshit on me."

He raised an eyebrow in the universal language; Try me.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Crix wouldn't even make it through the first portion of his spiel before Talak abruptly interrupted. His patience was gone and the urge to just knock Crix out and take him was strong. Real strong. He refrained for now.

Instead, he simply spoke with ice in his voice.

The more time you spend arguing, the more likely she ends up dead, he said, acid in his voice as he let that sink in. Perhaps it was manipulative to imply that his whining and arguing would kill his mother, but there was an element of truth to it and Talak was done arguing. There was nothing kind or nice in his voice anymore. Every second he spent arguing with him, the more danger Trys was in and he wasn't going to allow that.

You want to sit here and stew like a child, fine, he said, and left. It was no bluff. He was fully intending to simply walk out and find her. If he wanted to be on his own, that was his choice.

And oh was he ever aware of Crix. He knew the kid had a stun blaster and less self control than his mother. On the off chance that he opted for something along those lines, Talak was fully prepared to deal with the situation if he got even a hint of it. After all, the young Zabrak wasn't exactly a master at concealing intent or emotions in the Force.

And he wasn't going to slow down unless he was attacked. He was going back to the Nomad, he was going to take off, and he was going to head to find her. And he knew Crix would be in tow whether he wanted to be or not. Talak was his only lead and his only means of getting off-world given the state of that ship he was working on.

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix felt his anger rising from deep inside of him, hot, intoxicating and sickening all at once. It was sweet but too sweet to be savored - he pushed it down as much as he could, squished it into a ball and stuffed it down deep inside of himself. Was it healthy? Absolutely not. But it was the only thing that stopped him from trying to swing for the smug bugger.

The dude had the balls to stand there and make some song and dance about how he was the one who was going to be responsible for any harm that befell his mother. Usually he would have been able to just ignore the barb and give the guy the finger. If it had been about anyone other than his mother he would have proudly presented his fingers and left to go back to work on his ship.

But it was about his mother.

He knew the bugger was manipulating him but the fact that it was about his mother meant that it didn't fecking matter if it was a wind up or not. And there was the other part as well... despite how desperately he wanted to just give the guy shite and let him storm off like the moody teenager people thought HE was? The knot in his stomach tightened further still at the suggestion that she was going to be harmed because of him.

Crix dreaded to think why that was.

Part of him was already beginning to fear it, running wild within the back of his mind and only not given more support because he was busy following Talak. He gritted his teeth and seethed as he followed alongside Talak, shooting the man a look out of the corner of his eye as they made for the 'Jedi' ship.

If that wasn't a load of bullshit too.

"We're gonna get on your ship. We're gonna go see my mother - who's going to be fecking Fine by the way..." he agreed with a spit at the floor, "And on the way you're gonna tell me why looked so shitty when I mentioned the Sith witch."

It was a tone of voice he'd learned from his mother but never really had the reason, the true emotion, to use it until now. He was going to go with Talak and he was going to laugh in the man's face when it turned out his mom had already beaten up whoever had come for her. But he needed to know the truth about the junkyard and he knew that the stroppy homeless person Jedi knew enough to give him some answers.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak might have found it hilarious that Crix was trying to give him orders and tell him how it was if this were any other circumstances. It wasn't and Talak could find no humor in anything right now. There was far too much Arcanist surfacing.

He was, however, relieved that Crix had actually decided to come along. Talak knew that Dun Moch wasn't really a Jedi technique, but it was just so effective.

They made it back to the Nomad and Talak ascended the ramp and shouted toward the cockpit. Artee, fire up the engines, we're taking off, he said, slamming a fist against the ramp controls and making for the cockpit, locking the paint room as he passed by. The rest of the ship, he didn't care about, but Crix didn't need to go in there.

Set course for Coruscant, he said, sliding into the pilot's seat. With Artee in the copilot position, he was sure Crix would be taking one of the positions in one of the other seats. If not, well, he'd probably find the lift off was anything but gentle. Talak was going to take off as aggressively as he'd landed.

The ship lurched into the air in such a way that substituted smoothness for speed and they were rocketing out of the atmosphere only moments later. At least they were on the way now, and Talak hoped that he could manage to be a bit more patient now.

As the stars turned from pricks into streaks Talak spun the chair around to face Crix. He was about to start talking when Artee turned as well and seemed to finally notice Crix.

Oh, master! Is this mistress Trys's son! Oh, this is so exciting! I am Artee, mistress Trys's favorite droid. Certainly you must be Crix! he said, incredibly excited about this new revelation.

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix liked the look of the ship that much was true but he didn't much like the fact that he was going to be leaving his friends behind on Corellia while he was off seeing to whatever the situation going on actually was. So far he'd had someone his mom knew (he wasn't going to use the L word until he could see even a glimmer of what his mom might actually see in the guy) show up, prove he knew her and then rush him off planet to go to her with him in tow.

... shite when he thought about it like that it sounded fecking awful. He'd basically gotten on the ship and was now heading BACK to Coruscant with an asshole just because he was worried for his mom. Crix was also worried for his mom but his confidence in her skills was higher than the clown in the pilot's seat he supposed.

He followed Talak into the cockpit and tapped away at his com-link as he sat down in the seat behind the pilot. When the droid started talking he looked up from his text message to stare at it for a moment.

"... RT-Series pilot droid. Pretty good nick too..." he muttered, half to himself and half because of the annoyance that was building, "So she spent enough time jetting around the stars with you and your droid for him to have the good taste to like her. Wonder why she didn't tell me shite all about you."

He meant it as a jab at the nature of Talak's relationship with his mom - how serious could they actually be if she'd basically never mentioned him to her only son?

But it cut him too.

The hell did it mean that his mom had spent that much time with someone she apparently 'loved' and she'd mentioned his name in passing, like, three times over the last year? Part of him worried it said a lot more about his own relationship with his mother than hers and Talak's. He'd never really worried about how her absences running criminals down across the Galaxy had affected their relationship as mother and son but he'd never really had another relationship to compare it against.

It hurt to think about.

"Yeah lil droid I'm Crix - and your left photoreceptor is a little loose. I'll tighten it."

Anything to do with his hands.

"If she's in danger or in trouble or missin' or whatever - why we going to Coruscant?" he asked as he watched the stars blur, "That where her trail stops? What's the coms location say?"

... he lived with Rangers his whole life. He picked up some stuff!

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was thankful that they both seemed to have calmed down to some extent. Either that or they could at least both focus on the issue at hand. They were united by a common purpose regardless of how well they got along. Somehow that also felt like being back in the Sith again. Everything about this situation just brought back a whole wave of habits that Talak had spent a lot of time trying to suppress.

He didn't really try to push it away anymore. He simply used the parts of it that he could. He was skeptical of Crix working on the droid, but he didn't say anything. That wouldn't help the situation.

Oh my, yes, that would be lovely if you would, the droid said, leaning forward to more easily be within Crix's reach.

Because that's where she was last seen. She was there with two other Rangers, and her comm can't be pinged right now, he said. Yes, that had already been tried.

We need to find out what happened with the Rangers she was working with and hopefully pick up her trail from there. If not, then we go for a holo station for a direct connection to override the security measures and track it directly, he said. Yes, that was illegal. No, he couldn't have cared less. Yes, it was clear that tracking people was something he was extremely experienced with.

There wasn't much they could do about it yet, though. They might have been able to call the Rangers, but that would have to wait. First, Talak needed to know what had happened with the Sith.

The Sith, he said, changing the topic. She was ripping memories and thoughts out of your head. Can you tell me exactly what happened? Start to finish? Everything that happened and everything she extracted, he asked. It was an attempt to be nice and less abrasive, but he didn't expect it to be reciprocated. Nevertheless, any piece of information that could be gleaned might be the difference between life and death.

 

[Crix Aran]

Talak might not like him much but that didn't change something he might not know about Crix; he liked to tinker. He wasn't working on the ship because he was the only one who could but because he was the best person to do it and because he enjoyed it. Even still shaken by the attack by the Sith Witch he had retreated to something he enjoyed to soothe himself. The fact that it also helped get him closer to his goal of reaching the Jedi helped.

"I've gotcha." he assured the droid as he carefully popped the receptor out and pulled out a small multi-tool he kept on him for just such work, "Looks like it's just some sand behind your receptor - how'd that even get there? You goin' on adventures too RT?"

He cleaned it up, popped it back in and secured it again, good as new (kinda) without the sand interfering with the fit of the part. It was just a matter of knowing what the problem was. Crix was a goal orientated person - if he had a goal he would accomplish it no matter what. Fixing a photo-receptor was just a small scale of that.

That Talak knew some of what he was talking about when it came to tracking someone down was the least he expected but he found himself glad that his mom hadn't just been bringing the guy on missions (maybe?! how would he even know?!) just cus he was a good blunt instrument. Slicing into a holo station was kind of illegal though.

"I can slice it." he admitted to Talak, "Sliced a few to delete records of swoop bike races for some friends..."

Enby getting jail time because someone in the same race as her was a bigger arsehole than the norm wasn't something he had wanted so he'd helped himself to the data. He was putting away his multi-tool more securely when Talak turned to actually engage with him and Crix decided to at least act like he...

His breathing began to become shallow, his chest seemingly frozen in position and restricting how much his lungs could expand, forcing him to take quicker, shallower, breaths.

There was a ringing in his ears.

The tremor in his right arm was back, his hand shaking so much he felt like he didn't even have any control over it anymore. He grabbed it with his other hand, pulling it tightly to his own chest. The shaking didn't stop but it became more manageable as his right hand blindly gripped his own shirt without any conscious decision from himself.

"... what?"

His voice was small, strangled and fragile.

The knot in his gut was undone.

He felt it, the Force, and he felt remorse. Remorse that it could no longer be the lock and key to the truth, the terrible truth, that he had felt but tried to deny. The truth he had buried inside his gut because he couldn't handle what it would mean if it was true. But now that it had been said? That someone with far more knowledge of the Force confirmed it?

"I... I... oh feck... oh feck feck..." he clutched at his own shirt as he leaned forward, eyes stinging but refusing to let Talak, who was NO ONE to him but SOMEONE to his mother, see him with tears in his eyes, "No I... I thought she was just... forcing me to relive the moments with pain. To hate them but I... it's me. She learned about mom from me."

He'd done it.

By not holding out, by not being strong enough or skilled enough to resist the Sith's mental attacks? He'd betrayed her. He had betrayed his own mother and he'd tried so desperately to believe anything else but the truth was laid out before him now and it hurt.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was highly skeptical of letting Crix do any slicing into anything. He could only imagine Trys's fury if she found out that Talak was taking Crix out to break laws. Yes, that would go over well. That was something that could be tackled later. For now, he needed to know about this Sith woman.

He was not expecting what happened next. He could feel the waves of emotion in the Force, and he didn't have to be a genius to see how... traumatized Crix was by what he just said. Talak felt woefully ill equipped to try to comfort him.

For a moment, Talak said nothing. He contemplated using the Force to calm him, but decided not to. Somehow that felt a bit wrong.

Hey, look at me, he said. His voice was no longer as harsh and cold as it had been earlier. He looked straight at Crix, waiting for Crix to actually look him in the eye.

This isn't your fault, he said. He wasn't even sure that the kid was going to believe him and he wasn't sure how he would react, but he was going to do what he could to alleviate the pain.

We have time to make this right, he said, shaking his head. He could tell Crix's mind was wandering down a dark path, somewhere that was self-destructive and unproductive. The worst combination but one that was so easy to fall into.

Remember who we're talking about here, he said. Crix had said it himself. Trys was tough and no pushover, and Talak wasn't giving up on her yet.

 

[Crix Aran]

If he had managed to hold out just a bit longer or if he had managed to lash out with the Force before she managed to break down his defences? They wouldn't be in this mess. He would be on his way to the Jedi and his mom would be as safe as she ever was during her job. He had learned pretty early on that the gut feelings he got was the Force trying to communicate something to him - what excuse did he have for not trying to work with that? If he'd learned how to control even some of it, then this entire thing wouldn't be happening.

It was his fault.

Crix hadn't been able to hold out and now it wasn't him who got the pay the price for it but his mom. He'd have paid any price and it'd have sucked but it would have, ultimately, been fine. But his mom? That cut deeper than literally anything else the Sith could have chosen to do and they likely knew it. The worst thing was that this was what his mom had always worried about - him being used against her.

And he had walked right on into it because he could fight the Sith witch off. He'd just stood there and gotten lost in the pain and not actually done anything until it was too late!

Crix pushed his fingers in his eyes, rubbing them hard to try and erase any evidence that they had held tears in them before looking up at Talak. His eyes were red but he'd just seen him rub his eyes - that was totally why they were red. No other reason for them to be red.

Almost immediately his voice cracked.

"H-how can it not be my fault?" he asked with a shaky, bitter, laugh, "I wasn't strong enough to fight her off... it's on me. I'm being used to weaken my mom and I'm not even there."

His right hand was shaking and he couldn't stop it even by gripping it with his other hand. Taking as deep a breath as he could, he closed his eyes. He just needed... he needed a goal. Needed something he could aim for, shoot for, and get there because that was what he did with problems. Just had to ignore that the price of failing to reach this goal was... his mom.

Feck he was never going to be able to ignore that.

"Y-yeah... yeah... toughest motherfecker this side of Luke Skywalker." he agreed with a forced smile, "Probably have shot The Eternal's dick off before we arrive, right?"

He forced a laugh.

He needed to pull himself together - his mom was in danger and it WAS his fault and he needed to do something about that. And he wasn't going to be able to do shite if his gun arm was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak gave him a moment to compose himself. He still didn't know all that had happened with the Sith woman, but clearly it wasn't good. He could only hope that it really wasn't too late. With each passing moment Talak felt like taking Crix to Ajan Kloss was less of an option. They didn't have the time for that.

How was it not Crix's fault? He'd never been trained to deal with Sith. He wasn't a Jedi or even a Ranger. He was just a kid still, even though Talak knew he wouldn't have liked to hear that.

You got away, he said. Though Talak couldn't be sure that Crix had actually gotten away vs being let go, it was an encouragement nonetheless. If not, who knows what would have happened? he said.

At the mention of the Eternal, Talak tried to keep himself from stiffening. If they had to face the Dark Lord things could go down hill very quickly. It had taken he and Hannibal to kill one of the dark councilors and it had nearly killed Talak in the process. But that was a sacrifice he'd make for Trys if he had to. He filed away the thought that he would need allies, and tried to force the thoughts of what the Eternal might do to Trys from his mind. Still, he couldn't force any joy onto his face as the thoughts intruded into his mind.

Task at hand, he reminded himself.

I'm sorry, but clearly something happened that leads you to believe that she was exposed because of the Sith woman. What happened? It's important, he said. He tried to probe as gently as he could, but it was of the utmost importance.

 

[Crix Aran]

Yeah, he got away.

A traitorous part of him wanted to say that he would have preferred to have NOT gotten away, that living with the knowledge that he had betrayed his own mother with his weakness was not really living at all... but even as a small part of him thought that, he was able to crush it within his own mind. He might have failed to protect his mother then but he was not about to start down some stupid spiral into self-pity, self-loathing and suicidal thoughts.

He'd stick to enjoying the first two without any hint of the third for now. Until he could force himself to make this better, to make it right again to make up for his weakness and his failure. Talak was trying to get them back on track, back to focusing on the goal at hand. And why wouldn't he?

The feck did this guy care about him or his feelings?

There was shite to be doing and this guy was basically a fecking stranger.

He rubbed at his eyes with his left thumb, not trusting he wouldn't poke his own bloody eyes out with the other one given all the shaking and shite. Coughing a little bit, he sniffed, trying to compose himself physically even if the shake was still there.

"She stretched out her hand and started to make me see things - memories and things I knew about the people in my life. I held out against her for a bit, tried to keep from thinking about my mom or my friends." he snorted, "Worked for about a minute... she tore through me like tissue paper and suddenly I'm thinking about my mom and my friends. Thinking about little shite too like her com number."

Crix shuddered.

"Then... then I snapped. I got so... so very angry. It was hot and it was heavy and I wanted her to just Die. I lashed out and there was fire and the Force and I ran while she was distracted... and a little on fire. She seemed distracted but I guess that was her realizing what she knew now..."

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Ah, so that was what it was. The Sith had gotten her comm number from Crix. That left more questions as well, but it also implied that the comlink was still a strong lead for him to follow. Holonet station it'll be, then, he thought to himself. Though even then, Talak didn't know what could have happened to lead to this series of events.

Nevertheless, Talak quickly typed a message and sent it to Trys saying simple "he's safe." He didn't know if she'd receive it, clearly she hadn't answered his calls, but if there was even that little bit he could do, he would.

He didn't say anything for a moment, trying to think of the next line to take. He hated the waiting. He always had. It was the worst part of any mission and it was just amplified now.

You haven't been trained in the Force at all? he asked. Clearly he knew that he could control it if he'd sprayed fire at the Sith. If the Sith kept coming after him, it could be quite a useful tool to have.

But there was one question that tore at Talak's mind above all others. There was one thing that bothered him and made him continue to be tense.

Do you have any idea how the Sith found you? he asked. It couldn't have been coincidence, and that was concerning in and of itself. It was a good thing he hadn't stayed there any longer.

@Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix took the chance provided by the lull in conversation to send a message to his friends in their group chat quickly. He likely wasn't going to feel up to messaging them a lot in the near future but he owed it to them to let them know what the kark he was actually doing so he shot the message off. It was left handed for the most part since the shaking was still there, even if it had calmed down a little bit to be just annoying rather than unusable.

He clenched his right fist and rested his forehead against it, breathing slowly and steadily as he tried to force himself to calm down like he had done in the past. Taking everything he had running around in his head and forcing it either out of himself or deep down inside like a ball. He was gonna be a therapist's field day at this rate he knew but he needed to... he needed to function, to be able to actually do something to help fix his mistake.

Trained in the Force? He snorted in bitter amusement.

"Oh yeah sure, plenty of opportunity for that being hidden from view on Coruscant." he shook his head, "No. I'm Force Sensitive and I... I haven't told mom."

He rubbed at one of his horns slightly.

"Umm... no? I was just in a junkyard grabbing some parts. My friends were running around other places getting credits and supplies."

@Phoenix