Ask Chandrila The Ghost of You

[Nick Shaw]

The door opened to Nick's small apartment. It was messy, just like he had left it several months prior when he had left for an undercover stint. He had convinced himself he had taken the assignment because it needed doing, but in reality, he had been running. He had lost those close to him, and the Galaxy had turned to shit. He was no good at the politics of whatever war the Sector Rangers had found themselves in the middle of.

He wasn't a soldier, he was a cop and in true cop fashion, when the going got tough, he buried his head into his work. He opened the refrigerator and frowned at whatever food had turned into a hideous science experiment. He tossed it, leaving the refrigerator empty. Even now, those things he had set aside, those thoughts, feelings, and emotions he had run from were crashing back in.

Nick crashed down onto the couch, looking over at the long-dead plant shriveled in the corner before turning on the halo-screen. He quickly flipped past several news channels talking about this war or that senator and landed on sports.

He settled back into the cushion with his feet up on the table, pulling out his phone and scrolling idly.

 

[Trys Aran]

It had been a few days since she had ‘come to life’. Her mind was still mostly foggy, but she knew she had to be tactful in how she immersed herself back into her old life. She wanted to avoid anything incredibly dramatic, but she knew starting with her Ranger partner was probably the safest bet. Trys had stared at her comlink for a long moment, knowing how jarring it would be to call him after what he had been told. Most Rangers still believed her to be missing or dead, her whereabouts considered classified intel. Even Nick hadn’t been told.

Trys was lying low, staying at a hotel nearby for a few days to properly recover and attempt to jog her memories. She would make contact with her son next. It was important to her to recall as much as possible before she saw him, not wanting to put him through thinking she didn’t remember him. Trys had an even tougher time not contacting him just yet, but she knew he would forgive her for taking a few days.

After she finished yet another cigarra to calm the nerves, she put it out and finally dialed. Trys would pause when he answered before speaking at last, “Nick…” She said simply, “It’s me.”

He would know to show up at a local, mostly empty cafe where she was already waiting at a table.

 

[Nick Shaw]

He had dozed off as halo projected dim lights across the otherwise dark room. He wasn't sure how long he had been out when his phone vibrated in his hand.

He ignored it first, shifting on the couch before his mind was pulling back into some semblance of consciousness. He held the device up to his ear, not looking to see who it was. "Shaw." he stated. There was a brief silence on line before her voice jarred him awake.

He was speechless before finally getting out. "Where are..." before the line cut out. He sat in stunned silence for a moment. He stared down at his phone, sure he had dreamed the whole thing but it was there, the log of her call. They used the code phrase dozens of times.

Nick rushed out, pulling a jacket on and tucking his blaster inside. When he showed up at the cafe he paused seeing her. He had been told she was dead, he was sure she was dead but here she was. Equal parts relief and anger flowed over him as he forced himself to walk towards her table.

He sat down, looking into her eyes. She looked like hell, but he didn't look any better.

"I can't kriffing believe its actually you." he said quietly, still trying to shake the feeling he was about to wake up on his couch.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys gave him an exhausted smile when he arrived. Seeing that familiar face gave her pause for a moment, her mind suddenly hit with countless memories. Externally she kept it together this time, welcoming the flow of information triggered by familiarity.

She rose from her seat and almost fell over, still getting used to walking again. She moved to give him a one armed hug, something she was normally not in the habit of, “I don’t do this often, so enjoy it” Trys said with her usual sarcastic tone before settling back down. It had been a while since she had seen him even before all this happened.

He looked worn as well, fatigue and new scars marking him. Trys sighed, wondering where to begin. The times they shared as partners seemed like they took place centuries ago, and all their jobs seemed so simple back then.

“Apparently a Sith completely kriffed with my head,” She said after a moment of silence, “I don’t remember a lot of things. I didn’t remember my son. I’ve been in a coma this entire time until..” Her face scrunched up slightly, “A Jedi named Hannibal unkriffed my head and pulled me from it. I called you because I recalled you being one of my closest friends.”

Trys shook her head, looking down at the table, “I’m trying to pick up the pieces of who I was before. I don’t even know where to begin.”

 

[Nick Shaw]

He paused awkwardly as she hugged him. They had been partners for a good while, and he knew she wasn't a touchy-feely type of person. He looked around the room, scanning it out of habit as they sat.

The story that came next made his stomach turn and boil over with anger. The muscles in his arms tightened as he forced his hands to rest on the table. "These kriffing religious freaks..." he said, disgust in his voice. He didn't care if they were Jedi, Sith, or whatever else they wanted to call themselves. He knew they were all bad news. He hated all of them.

He pulled out one of her badges from his jacket and slid it across the table. "This is who you are. This is your family." he said, expression hard with anger and guilt. "I should have been there...they had told me you were killed...I should have known..." he said trailing off as he looked down at the table.

Steeling himself, he looked back up. "We are going to make this right. Where are you staying?" he asked.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys glanced down as the badge was slid over. Simply looking at it sent over a wave of thoughts into her mind. She had to clutch her head again, a throbbing pain pulsing through her forehead and temples. However, seeing the badge filled her with a sense of elation. After the headache subsided, Trys smiled down at it, “I know you would’ve been there,” Trys looked up at him, “I remember at least that much.”

She looked out the window at his question, sighing, “I’m hunkering down in a hotel for a few days till I see my kid,” The words jabbed at her as she recalled him being Jedi now. Did Nick know about that broadcast that went out to the galaxy? Trys turned to look at him, “Where have you been?” Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “I don’t remember anything with you since that kriffed up AMS situation..”

Her gaze flicked down to the hand that was cybernetic, though not immediately obvious.

 

[Nick Shaw]

He couldn't shake the bolts of ice the crawled up his spine. It seemed surreal that she was here. He grew concerned as she gave a pained expression but a slight smile tugged at his mouth while she continued to study the badge.

"Like hell you are." he said waving a hand dismissively. "You're staying with me until you get back on your feet. It will be good to get some extra use out of the spare room," he said. She didn't look great, and he wasn't about to let her hang out in the wind alone again.

"On Corellia, undercover, investigating a spice ring. Been gone for a few months, I actually just got back yesterday," he said, keeping his tone casual.

Her eyes darted towards his cybernetic hand. The metallic digits twitched slightly reflexively. He hated the thing. Sure, it was better than nothing but it always seemed to be just a hair slower than a real hand. That was probably due to the cheaper model, that the Rangers had paid for. He had looked at improving it, but it was expensive and you didn't become a Ranger to get wealthy.

"You have any leads on where your kid may be at? I can probably do some digging if you want help?" he offered.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys eyed him with surprise. She opened her mouth to protest, but she could only chuckle instead, shaking her head, “I… “ She was normally very horrible about asking for help. Any other time and she would have said kriff no to being a potential burden for someone else. However, this was one of those rare times in her life where she had no idea what was going on with her mind.

“I’m pretty kriffed up, you know,” She said as she looked at him, “Are you sure you wanna take that on?” He knew her enough to know she detested asking for help. Her home had been blown up and she truly had nowhere to go. It felt as if she were right back to square one from before she had been a Ranger.

Trys sighed at last, “All right man, but I’ll get out of your hair as soon as possible,” She managed a smile, still not entirely used to accepting help.

She listened when he explained his undercover mission. She eyed him sharply, “Did you complete what you needed to? Need any help?” It was ridiculous coming from her when she didn’t even remember what she was doing a few days ago.

The topic of her son brought out a sigh, “I know he’s with the Jedi. I asked not to be briefed on the planet. I...don’t want to risk the Sith having done anything to my head to expose the Jedi planet.”

Trys shook her head, “I need..I need something, man. I need to do a job. I can’t keep sitting around in my own thoughts anymore.”

 

[Nick Shaw]

He leaned back in his seat and let out a laugh. "I have worked with you for a long time, you've never been completely put together up there," he said playfully, pointing towards his head.

He had known long enough to know that he was going to have to barge in and help her. He let the subject passed, knowing she would want to move on from it. "Wrapped up like a present. Once we took out their leader, they all jumped on top of each other to sing on each other," he said, voice beaming. Most would think he was too wrapped up in his job. Most Rangers his age were starting to slow down, start families, think about life beyond the Rangers but Nick couldn't let it go. He loved his work.

His expression soured at the mention of the Jedi. He had made it no secret he didn't like any of them. He didn't care if one group claimed to be good, evil, or whatever. Jedi or Sith made no difference to him. He paused for a moment. "I don't know any Jedi personally, but I am sure we can dig something up," he said, trying to reassure her.

It probably wasn't a good idea. She needed to rest, but Nick understood like most others couldn't the need to get back out there. He about went insane when he was recovering from his hand injury. He had been desperate to feel like his old self.

He sighed. "This is probably a horrible idea, but that hasn't ever stopped us before," he said, looking around as he pulled out his phone. "I have been trying to track down this new drug supplier bringing in big hauls on level 4567. They have been pretty choosey about the gangs they are working with which has made getting any information difficult."

"But recently there is a swoop gang that has been making big moves in the area. If we can get inside, I have a feeling he could maybe get something," he said. "Getting inside won't be easy though.." he said trailing off.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys couldn’t blame him for being suspicious of Jedi, most Rangers were. She herself was suspicious, which is why her son being one made things far more difficult. Thankfully Nick came to the rescue yet again with a mission idea. Life sprang back into her eyes as he continued to describe the job, that old familiar thrill and rush coming back.

“Kriff yeah!” She said almost a bit too excitedly, “I knew you wouldn’t look at me like I was some sorry piece of shit,” Trys was beaming at him. She barely had her guns back and would have to go back to her room to retrieve them. After the excitement wore off, she thought about the job again.

“You know that level is pretty notorious,” She remarked quietly, jogging her memory. The various levels had criminal activity running rampant because it was so far removed from high class civilian life. Poverty bred instability and high crime, all of it entirely ignored and brushed under the rug.

“We know enough about this gang to do some pretending?” Trys stared at him for a moment before she began to chuckle, “Like the time you had to play the role of my slave?” The memory came back suddenly and very amusingly, though it felt as if it were centuries ago. It was only funny because they ended up breaking everyone out in the end.

 

[Nick Shaw]

He let a chuckle, seeing some of the old Trys come back. He was relieved to see she was still in there. Sounds like she went through some shit, and some people never recovered from it.

He raised an eyebrow when she asked if he was familiar with the area. "I mean," he said, a smirk growing on his face. "If it's too much, I am sure we could find something slower. We could always go back to writing parking tickets," he said with a laugh. Those times were long past for both of them and it wasn't something he wanted to re-visit.

Nick scowled. "I think you're just jealous I can pull off the look better than you. I always did have the better legs..." he said trailing off.

"Yeah, so about the gang," he said when she asked about the gang. "To get in we are going to win a swoop bike race," he said, pausing slightly. "These races are more violence than actual racing, but I am sure its nothing we can't handle," he said. "Oh, and we will need to take out one of the participants and pose as them. I have pair in mind," he said. These races were done in pairs, one was a pilot and the other was a gunner of sorts.