Ask Coruscant The Road Less Traveled

[Talak Rand]

Talak could sense that fear and concern she had for her son, and he knew that it was a very real threat. He wondered what would happen if someone came after them. He realized that it wouldn't have mattered what his past was, he would have fought "his own" to protect them. But his own weren't really his own anymore were they? He was setting out to... start something new? Break out on his own? He didn't really know where he would go after this, but he also wasn't sure he could stop attacking the Syndicates. Or maybe instead of focusing on murdering, he needed to focus on rescuing. Set up an underground slave liberation force. Yes, like he totally knew how to do that....

I might reach out to them... but if I go back, I'm not sure I'll ever get out, he said before frowning as if realizing something.

Actually, I'm pretty sure I'd be killed just for this meeting alone. And potentially for what I did against the Syndicates, he said. His entire pitch would have been that he'd not exposed the cult but had thrown suspicion on the Jedi. Now, after spilling half his guts to a Sector Ranger, that argument went out the window.

For anything else they had done here, she would notice that his eyes had a bit more life in them now.

What happened to your leg? he asked. They'd been sitting here talking and he'd been woefully focused on himself, but it was clear she'd taken a beating in their time away as well.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys sighed when he spoke, “So it is you in the other footages as well…” She grumbled in an undertone. Could she use any of this in her report? He was asking for help and also volunteering critical information, and she despised him for that. She wanted to use all of this, but she felt wrong just exploiting the situation like that. Trys ran her fingers through her hair, thinking about how the more he talked, the more danger they were in.

When he asked about her leg, she stared at him dumbly for a moment. She jerked out of her internal thoughts, realizing that he shifted topics. Trys glanced down at the leg and grimaced, “I fell from several stories up while working a local case,” She thought back to how she still didn’t know where the teen girl she had been trying to run out with had gone, “Nasty business involving a rich dead girl. I’ve been focusing on an ongoing case that’s been eluding me for a long time now.”

The Flower Killer hadn’t struck in a few weeks, but she knew he was only biding his time. Trys couldn’t help but think how trivial her problems were compared to Talak's - he would have the Syndicate and his own organization coming after him.

“Where will you go now?” Trys had to ask out of curiosity. They weren’t going to solve anything tonight, and she was still reeling from the shock of seeing him here at all. Thankfully, they had entirely skirted around the topic of how they parted, though the sliver of awkwardness always hung in the back of her mind.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak had a guilty smile as she stated that it was him in the other footage. He was gaining quite a reputation, and perhaps not for the best.

He frowned as she talked about how she had fallen from a high point while working a local case. He could tell from the way she spoke about it and her impression in the Force that it was bothering her. Whatever it was seemed to be hanging around.

If you want any help with the case, let me know. I have a very specific set of skills… not just killing people, he said. He wasn't so sure she'd take him up on it, but he was going to offer until she either accepted or got sick of him asking. Evidently, he didn't have anything else to do anymore.

Where would he go now? That was an interesting question.

Well, first I'm going to help you with your case… he said, trying not to smile before continuing …then I think I might head back to Serenno. I ran across the guy they were going to… sell you to. I want to pay him a visit, he said. Was he allowed to admit that he wanted to go kill that scumball? Maybe she would want to help him and they could do it a more legal way? He didn't know how this worked, but he let the thought hang in the air for a moment.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys quirked an eyebrow as he mentioned once again helping her with her case.

“You realize I won’t be using anything you’ve said to me tonight without your explicit and vocal consent, right?” Trys wasn’t in the habit of using any off the record information. If he were going to help on the case, it would all be logged and tracked officially. Criminal or not, he had his rights, and she wouldn’t tread over them.

After tapping her fingers on the table for a moment, she reached into her bag and pulled out a datapad. Trys tapped on it for a moment before pulling up a video and sliding it over for him to look. It was the footage of the ‘dark siders’ at the Dathomir prison. He would see people using lightning on the guards and slashing them with sabers.

“Can you tell me anything about these psychos?” Trys had lost the lead she had on them despite having a profile. She pulled up the man’s file that has his mugshot and other details, “I don’t think that’s his real name, but that’s what they have on file. Is he….from the same organization?”

 

[Talak Rand]

She would notice immediately that he looked confused by her first statement, and the frown on his face only showed that further. They were used to operating in very different worlds and this "by-the-book" nature shouldn't have surprised him about her, but it was simply so foreign.

Uh... okay... I kind of assumed everything I told you would be used, he said with a shrug and an awkward chuckle. He was used to the idea of constant betrayal, and he realized it was one of the things he liked about being around her.

He watched the footage that she pushed across to him, but he didn't recognize either of the people shown. But there were things he did recognize for sure. Red lightsabers, blue lightning, and wanton murder. His jaw clenched slightly and he shook his head, clearly a bit annoyed at what he was seeing.

They're probably from the same group, he said, watching the footage again and again.

I don't know either of them personally, but the general rule is that red lightsabers and shooting lightning are going to indicate people from my side of the fence, he said.

To try to make a very complicated topic simple, Jedi, Sith, and other religious groups like them derive our abilities from an energy called "the Force." The common teaching says that like a coin there are two sides to the Force: Light and Dark. Shooting lightning out of your hands is almost always a dark side thing. As are red lightsabers. As the names might imply, the dark side is much more violent, he said, looking up at her to see if anything he'd said had helped... or had made any sense.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys simply stared at him, surprised at his surprise. He had expected her to be completely using everything he had blabbed about? Trys shook her head, wondering what kind of world he lived in to never expect to trust anyone. She must have appeared to strange to him after all that.

When he explained his feedback on the video and then followed up with all that talk about ‘Force’ and Light and Dark side, she simply had a glazed over look on her face. All of this sounded like Holomovie magic, and she had to pinch herself to remind her that this was all real. He didn’t say anything at the end to surprise her that this was all a joke. He kept looking at her with the same, weary and tired expression.

“And what happens if a Jedi shoots lightning?” Trys didn’t even know why she bothered asking. She was curious, even if she didn’t want to believe any of it. However, between what she had seen on the videos and what the ‘Jedi’ back on Dathomir had been able to do, she couldn’t deny that it existed.

“Being a Jedi sounds more useful anyway,” Trys shrugged, “The one I saw was bleeding from his face and he managed to heal everything up in seconds. All it took was him standing there looking like he needed to focus on taking a shit, and walla! All his cuts were gone,” She looked down at her broken leg, “Would’ve come in handy so I can stop limping around for weeks.”

Trys was about to turn back to him when her comlink began to buzz. She quickly answered it, and Talak would notice her face fall. After she was done, she set it down and sighed, “There’s been another murder. Flower guy strikes again,” Trys shook her head.

“Look, I gotta go,” She dropped enough credits on the table to pay for them both. She struggled for a moment before getting up and grabbing her giant heap of files. Trys turned to him and stood there awkwardly for a moment, “Uh… we can pick this chat up another time I guess. I’ll see you around.”

This was far less of a dramatic goodbye, and she turned and began to slowly hobble towards the door. She had to take the stupid files back home and then make her way to the crime scene.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak could see her eyes starting to glaze over as he started talking about the Force and decided that maybe it would be best not to talk about it all that much unless he was asked. To him it was just a part of every day life like breathing, but he had to remember that to most of the galaxy it was a difficult pill to swallow.

They want to do it more and if they do eventually they'll go crazy, he said, matter of factly. The number of parallels between the dark side and drugs was astounding.

I'd heal you, but... I'm trash at that, he said, looking down at her leg under the table. He would have loved to help out, but he was far from a lightsider, and in order to heal her he would have had to do... horrible things to another living being. Not to mention the toll it had taken on him the one time he had done it. It wasn't a path he was eager to walk again.

When she received a call, he could see her face change and he could feel it in the Force. She was upset about something, and he, in turn, found it unsettling. He watched as she talked about the flower killer striking again, and he wasn't sure what to expect out of this, but he knew that he wasn't going to let her brush him off that easily.

She got up and started gathering her files, and he promptly snatched them up before she could and then just stared defiantly at her for a moment.

I'll get these. You have to drag that leg around, he said teasingly and started walking away. He was clearly starting to feel a bit like his old self again. In truth, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had no illusions about the next few weeks or months being easy, but for the first time in years, he felt like he had... a hint of hope.

He was outside a moment later and standing at the edge of the street because, of course, he had no idea where they were going. But he knew she wasn't going to go wandering off without her files.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys couldn’t believe it - the nerve of him! She could only stare vacantly as he quickly scooped up all the files and began to walk out, not taking no for answer. She scowled at him as she hobbled forth behind him, quietly catching up to lead the way, “You’re infuriating,” Trys muttered as she passed him. She didn’t have the energy to argue with him, not when she now had to get back on the job late at night.

She made him wait at the end of her street, still not comfortable with him coming entirely too close to her home. He would be stuck waiting there as she slowly hobbled into her building and up the stairs (too cheap for any repulsorlifts). Her son was thankfully already asleep and Trys came back out moments later, slowly making her way back towards the end of the street. She knew he wouldn’t have left, and he was going to stick to this no matter what.

Trys hailed over a public transport, stepping into it as they headed towards the destination. She was glad for the coffees, feeling grumpy about having to work and also having to now manage Talak. She didn’t have the patience to deal with his loss of control tonight.

After they arrived at a street crossing near the crime scene, Trys stepped off slowly. The street was entirely deserted, but they would be able to see some flashing lights up ahead in an alley behind a cantina. Trys slowly started to make her way over, but she abruptly paused.

She turned to face Talak then, gazing at him sternly, “Before we proceed and before we work together, we need to set some ground rules,” Trys lifted her index finger, “Rule number one, I call the shots. There will be no foolish lightsaber waving and other ‘Force’ nonsense without my consent. And you certainly never, ever make calls like putting me out of commission so you can do what you want,” She raised her middle finger, “Rule number two, no killing unless I’m okay with it. I don’t give a shit how pissed off you get, go take a walk and breathe into a paper bag or something,” Trys paused for a long moment, “Rule number three if we’re gonna work together..”

She hesitated, and her gaze lingered on his for a moment. For a second she almost began to put the third finger back down, as if to retract the rule, but she spoke at last, “You can’t fall in love with me,” Trys said finally, all three rules announced in the same serious and flat tone. All three with a scowl.

Trys said nothing more, turning away from him as she pulled out a cigara and put it between her lips. She lit it as she began to hobble her way towards the crime scene. From the looks of it, forensics were already on the case. She could tell it was going to be a long night.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was quite pleased with himself, much to the frustration of Trys no doubt. She walked by muttering about how infuriating he was, and he took it with a smug smirk. Was this some kind of flirting he was doing? Oh dear, it might be...

She made him wait outside, so he kicked around the street for a bit, looking at the various people who were still coming and going. It was getting late, but this was the planet that never slept. It was no different here, and tonight it would be the detective and the... whatever he was who would be poking around the night.

As they arrived at the scene, Talak threw his hood up, but not so far as to be incredibly suspicious and intentionally edgy. He still looked... a bit emaciated, though his eyes seemed to have faded in color slightly back toward their normal hue. She "abruptly" spun to face him (or as abruptly as she could when she was hobbling around) and started rattling off orders. Okay, fine, I probably deserve this, he thought as she started running through one and two.

She paused for a really long time and he frowned in concern.

When she listed off the third rule so many things happened at once. First his gut felt like it'd done a somersault. Second, he was really glad she didn't have the Force to sense his reaction... not that she'd necessarily need the Force. Third, he hoped the night and the hood covered his face enough that she wouldn't be able to see that it was no beet red. And fourth, he had a vague, deer-in-headlights look.

He opened his mouth to object or something, but paused a moment.

You know, you kissed me, he finally said, not for a second going to let her live this down. He hadn't brought it up. Oh, I see, if I fall in love with you then it just becomes this two way love thing between partners... yeah, that's awkward. Been there, done that, he said, all of it trying and failing to suppress a smile because otherwise this was going to be really awkward and too close to home. Though the final sentence might make her wonder about the history behind it and whether it was really a joke or not.

He was getting quite good at this "tagging along at the crime scene" thing, and stuck quite close to Trys so as not to be harangued trying to make it through the police line. He actually wondered if there would be any familiar faces here from the last shootout.

So is there a brief on the case? he asked. Besides the fact that he'd gathered this was a serial killer, he knew almost nothing thus far about what to look for or consider.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys rolled her eyes at his quip back. She hadn’t expected him to say anything, and he just had to make some snide commentary. She missed his red face and initial reactions, already focusing back on the scene. Trys blew out a puff of smoke as she kept walking, not bothering to look back as she spoke, “I kissed you when I believed I wouldn’t see your stupid mug ever again,” She had no regrets, “Yet here you are again, cropping up like a bad case of herpes.”

The corners of her lips threatened a smile, but she kept it controlled, keeping her gaze trained forward. She noticed he had the sense to stick close this time instead of wandering off like an idiot and getting questioned. One of the forensics recognized him and waved enthusiastically, completely ruining the otherwise somber vibe of the crime scene. She didn't respond to Talak's question about a brief - truthfully there was usually little background as they came.

“What do we have here?” Trys presented her badge to the officer on the scene. She pointed a thumb back to Talak, “Trainee that’s shadowing me. We cool there?” The officer simply grunted in response, leading them into the back alley. Trys could see the body at once - the girl couldn’t have been older than eighteen.

“The usual MO?”

“Yep,” The officer sighed, “Photograph of herself in the palm of her hand, flower found in her mouth, signs of sexual assault though we have to confirm with lab.”

Trys walked closer to the body, shining a flashlight on the neck, “Fractured hyoid?”

“You know it,” It was like clockwork.

Trys wanted to crouch down, but her broken leg prevented her from doing so. She could see the bruises around the girl’s dainty neck, her vacant eyes gazing up into the night sky. She was in a flimsy dress, and it was hiked up near her thighs, revealing pale legs.

“Did she work at the cantina here?”

“We don’t know…” The officer shifted uncomfortably, “She’s still a Jane Doe.”

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was smiling to himself at her comments. He knew she liked him, and that was what mattered. And she knew. And she knew he knew.

I bet you say that to all the boys, he muttered, not offended in the least that he was apparently herpes. Ah yes, the abuse of love. Or something along those lines.

The happier mood stayed in place a bit as Talak saw another familiar face at the crime scene and gave a really awkward wave in return. But that was where the good mood ended. Talak followed Trys around the corner to find the scene of the crime itself and it was horrible.

While Trys may not be able to bend down, Talak had no such issues. He was careful of where he stepped and didn't touch anything, but leaned in closer to the body. She was... quite short. Human and remarkably pale as well. He could still smell her perfume, and somehow that made it more real. She had been a living, breathing person who had been snuffed out. Talak had witnessed a lot of death and a lot of violence in his life, but there were some things that could still get under your skin. He tried to distance himself from the well of emotions he could feel threatening to spring up and took a deep breath.

The flower killer, he thought to himself. This was a big galaxy, and there were many, many types of wildlife, but on Coruscant, nothing grew. Talak still remembered the first time he came to this world. It was a stark contrast in the Force to the emptier, rural worlds he was accustomed to. Almost every living thing here was sentient, and flowers didn't grow.

Have you ID'd the type of flower this is? he asked. He wasn't hopeful that it was something so rare that only a few people bought it, but this guy was either buying them somewhere or growing them. If they could track anything odd about that pattern... it wasn't a great lead, but it was something.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys nodded at Talak’s question, “Dahlias,” She explained, “Always a dahlia shoved into the victim’s mouth,” She sighed, completely desensitized to seeing bodies like these. Her frustration was towards the killer and her own inability to shape the puzzle together. He was always one step ahead, and she was always lagging behind.

“There is usually no connection between the victims,” Trys gave him some more context, “They’re all young, all from different backgrounds and all get left somewhere kind of public. And yet, we never have any witnesses,” She knew the killer toyed with them. He never left prints, never left anything behind to clue them in. It was as if he were a professional in the health field with how immaculate he left the crime scene.

“We’ve had about seven deaths now,” Trys shamefully admitted, “And we still have nothing on this guy aside from his usual MO,” She thought for a moment, “And the attacks always happen around spring time. Sometimes it’ll be one and then nothing for a year, then the following year we’ll see three girls pop up all over the various districts.”

Trys grimaced at the thought, “He always strikes in different places, so it took us a long time to even talk to other precincts and realize we had a serial on our hands,” She looked up as the officer on the scene stepped away. She looked around to ensure no one else was watching before she looked at Talak.

“...So? You got any magic you can do to get some more clues or what?” She quirked an eyebrow at him.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak listened to the information, still offended by the horror of what had happened here but starting to come out of it. Seven deaths all in spring and all with flowers, he thought to himself. The guys was smart enough to kill in different precincts so it took time to catch on.

As the other officer walked away, the two of them were left alone and he was thankful for the chance to relax if ever so slightly. His face twisted around a bit in thought as she asked about whether he could use the Force to find out a clue.

Hmm, he hummed to himself, receding into thought. I'm not sure it'll be much help, but I'll give it a shot, he said.

Reading the scene only offered so many solutions, but he'd take what he could. He knew that alchemy rituals could probably allow him to actually speak to the girl from the Cosmic Force, but... he was trying to get away from the dark side. Running to such a dark ritual was hardly something he was excited about.

His eyes closed and he focused on the scene, feeling the ground around him and the people gathered here. There was an urge to linger on Trys's presence that hadn't been there last time he had done this, but he pressed past it. The first thing he noticed was that the scene... lacked any black apart from himself. A few sparsely dotted points here and there, but very little. No reds to indicate fear or anger. It was just... drab. He reached out with his mind beyond their point here felt more of the same.

He opened his eyes and frowned.

The murder wasn't committed here or anywhere in the area, he said and started to chew on the inside of his lip. He felt like he was missing something. It felt like there was a piece of the puzzle that was staring him in the face, but was just beyond his reach.

He closed his eyes and honed in on the trail of malice and rage. It was there... but faint. Like following the whiff of a scent. It was there one moment and then gone: mixed in with all the other minds of this place.

She wasn't dropped here, so she had to be driven. Private speeder. I... I think he came from the North side, is there any traffic footage that way or... anything? he asked. Surely there wasn't any in the alley, but even narrowing down to one quadrant of footage coming out of here might be helpful.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys nodded along with what Talak said - so far it was tracking with how the killer operated. He never dumped the bodies where he murdered. However, details about personal speeder and general sense of direction caught her attention. Trys glanced away, grimacing, “It connects to a very busy road, but good call,” She pulled up her comlink and called in for footage from traffic stops near the intersections. It would be a long shot, but it was certainly worth looking into.

“Come on, time to go pointlessly ask some questions,” Trys grumbled as she began to hobble over to the cantina on the other side. There were a few employees left behind, and it was clear they had been questioned already. However, Trys often followed up just in case - being asked more than once usually jogged the memory.

She began with a young waitress that looked terrified. Trys flashed her badge and introduced Talak as a trainee before pulling out her datapad, “I apologize for running through this again, but can you tell me if you witnessed anything strange tonight?”

The woman shook her head, “I came in to work at 6 pm and it was my usual shift. I was taking out some trash when I….I saw the body,” She burst into tears, blowing her nose into her sleeve. She kept shooting glances over at Talak. Trys followed her line of sight and looked over at Talak.

“I know he looks like a vampire, but really, we’re here to help,” Trys said bluntly, the girl giving her a shocked expression and Trys kept jotting down notes without looking up, “And you saw absolutely nothing else when you went out there?”

“Nope, nothing,” She shook her head quickly, still looking over to stare at Talak. Trys could tell the woman was being oddly shifty, but she had no reason to keep prodding. Most of these interviews were always useless. Sometimes she had conspiracy theorists talk her ear off, but mostly the killer always struck when no witnesses were around.

“Did you hear a speeder leave the area or anything?”

“I uh….no, I was too scared when I saw the body,” She began to sob again, once again making questioning useless. If Trys weren’t working, she’d roll her eyes and toss the datapad right then. Another dead end. Another lead to nowhere.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak followed Trys inside, unaccustomed to having to question witnesses, he took the backseat and let Trys do all the talking. However, it seemed that his mere presence was off putting. She kept looking over at him, and he shot Trys a very dirty look when she mentioned he looked like a vampire. He was pretty sure she didn't see it, though, as she was intentionally averting her gaze from either Talak or the witness.

And make no mistake, Talak had become convinced that she was a witness. At least she had seen more than she was letting on. He didn't know what, but there was something.

Without really even considering it unusual, he glanced around to make sure no one was watching and waved his hand through the air.

You want to tell us what you saw, he said in a soothing voice.

I... want to tell you what I saw, she repeated a moment later. To Talak this was just best practice, but to Trys - who didn't believe in using information that had even been volunteered freely - it would most certainly not be something she was going to be very happy about.

But it was too late. The girl had already begun to spill what she'd seen.

I'd gone out back to meet up with my boyfriend. He likes to stop by and pay me visits. I saw a man covered head to toe and wearing a mask, but... he had your eyes, she said, indicating why she had been staring at Talak.

No way. No way this guys a dark sider, he said, but even in his own mind he didn't believe it. He shot a concerned look over at Trys, not even realizing that there was a distinct possibility she would be fuming. But they had gotten some information that might prove helpful!

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was about to move onto the next witness when Talak abruptly stepped in. She saw the girl’s eyes glaze over and she knew at once what he did. Gritting her teeth, Trys used her good leg to stomp harshly on Talak’s foot to give him her opinion on the tactic. She was fuming as the girl spoke, but even Trys couldn’t deny that the information was gold. This was the most she had ever gotten from a witness.

“Did you see him do anything else?”

“My...throat started to hurt and I started coughing and sputtering. My boyfriend showed up by then so I didn’t see anything else,” The girl said in a dreamy voice, “And that’s all I remember,” Her eyes were vacant, and she looked as if she were somewhere far away. It took her a moment to quickly shake her head and look at Trys, her face full of confusion.

“Thank you, you’ve been very helpful,” Trys mentioned with a smile, leaving the girl confused and standing where she was. The Ranger hobbled back outside, none of the other witnesses having mentioned anything remotely interesting from prior interviews. Almost everyone else had been inside.

Once they were outside, Trys looked around to see if anyone else were there. As she noticed no one else was looking, she suddenly whirled around with surprising speed and shoved Talak harshly by shoving him in the chest. He would be slammed back into the wall behind him, and she was glaring at him.

“What did I literally just say about using your magic bullshit?!” She hissed angrily, “Rangers are supposed to talk to a witness to get them comfortable enough to talk, not just extract information involuntarily . I don’t even know if we can use that considering it violates coercion laws.”

Trys shook her head, deeply conflicted. On one had she was furious, on the other she had more information from this than she ever would have gotten otherwise. She looked up at Talak again, looking deeply unsettled.

“How can I know you won’t use that trick on me?”

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak's face twisted up in pain as she stomped on his foot, and he gave her a murderous look. He was flicking his foot in the air trying to shake out the pain as she finished asking her questions and followed her outside, wondering if she'd broken his foot when she spun around and shoved him into the wall. If it had been... well, anyone else at all, he would have attacked them then and there. Perhaps there was some personal reflection to be done on the fact that he didn't do that with her and was kind of appalled at the thought of doing that.

He was about to speak up and defend himself as she finished talking, but then he looked into her eyes and she kept speaking. Again, he found her words cutting. It demonstrated her profound distrust of him, and he couldn't blame her. He chewed on his lip for a moment before speaking.

I wouldn't. Even if I tried, I don't think it would work, he tried to say reassuringly only to realize that it probably wasn't reassuring. But I wouldn't, he emphasized earnestly.

And I guess... it comes down to whether you trust me, he said. Because I'm telling you I wouldn't try any more than I'd try to... stab you, he said. Maybe that wasn't the best argument, but she would be able to see that he was at least sincere. He wasn't the best at reassurance, though.

He looked at her and looked for her reaction. He was hoping she wouldn't just walk away without saying anything, but that was what he was anticipating.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys crossed her arms over her chest, determined to hear his nonsense explanation. After he finished speaking, she was more perplexed than ever. She stared at him blankly, “Why wouldn’t it work?” Trys asked suspiciously. All of his ‘powers’ sounded like they could be used on anyone and force them to do anything. Was that why it was called the ‘Force’? She had so many questions…

“And on that note, yeah, why wouldn’t you stab me? I’m shocked you didn’t try just from me shoving you now,” Trys looked him up and down, scanning to see if he had a saber on him, “All I have to do is manage to tick you off, and it’s off with my head. Don’t even try and act like that’s not the case,” He had just gotten done explaining what he was and where he came from, and he expected her to believe he had absolutely no impulse issues? She had seen it for herself, and she knew she had to keep him at an arm’s length.

Still annoyed, she would let him respond before she turned and began to hobble away again. The detail the waitress mentioned about the eyes were alarming, and it suggested that the killer could be….one of Talak’s kind. Trys glanced over to look at Talak’s eyes, wondering what characteristics she were talking about. Right now, his eyes looked perfectly normal…

“If the killer is a...non Jedi.. "Trys couldn’t keep track of what these weirdos called themselves, “Then that makes our job a million times more difficult. He can use his powers to kill and then wipe the witness memories, right?” She didn’t even know where to start, and it felt as if she were back to square one again.

 

[Talak Rand]

He knew she didn't trust him, but it still hurt to hear her say it. This was why he wanted to leave the Sith Eternal behind. It left him alone even when he didn't want to be.

Honest truth... because you're too stubborn. It only works on weak minded people, he said. And he had had it fail before. That was never a fun experience and at best garnered weird looks and at worst... violence.

She'd look for his lightsaber, but she'd note that it wasn't in his hand or anywhere near it. He wasn't going to stab her, but he couldn't admit the reason for that was because he was on the cliff's edge of breaking rule 3 right on the heels of having broken one of the other rules.

But he was also getting frustrated. As much as he was trying to play nicely, she was starting to push his buttons. He probably shouldn't have blamed her, but that didn't mean it was easy to be pushed around and yelled at.

He took a deep breath, and although he appeared angry, it was far from the murderous fury that she'd seen from him before.

That's not fair, and you know, he said. I've never lifted so much as a finger against you, he said. It had been her that had shot him!

If you really think that I'm going to just try to kill you at any moment, then why bother letting me come along at all? You know you could have stopped me, he said. He had given her a full opportunity to shoot him, and she certainly could have driven him away had she wanted to.

He grunted in frustration and threw his hands up while shaking his head. If she thought he could be infuriating, she could be just as bad.

Well you're never going to get a better person to stop someone like me than me, he grumbled as she started talking about the case again. He was sure she wouldn't want him... doing what he did, but if push came to shove, he was a good option to have on the scene.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys could completely believe that she was too stubborn for his voodoo magic, and the thought gave her a measure of satisfaction. She met his gaze as he lashed out at her for not trusting him. She could see he was wounded from it, and his eyes betrayed as much. However, Trys couldn’t deny that there was truth to it - she had a tough time trusting him and his abilities. She hadn’t entirely forgiven him for the drugging incident, and it could very well never happen.

She remained silent after his little tirade, simply gazing into his eyes for a long moment. Her features softened at last, and she shook her head, turning away from him. Trys would never admit that his abilities had come in handy on several occasions. She would never admit that in many ways she actually enjoyed working with him. She was, as he had pointed out, stubborn after all.

“Come on,” Trys said gruffly, hobbling away and pulling up a datapad, “They think they have footage of a masked person on the traffic footage. Same speeder was spotted the next district over,” She said as she hailed over a speeder taxi and hobbled over to get into it. Trys glanced over at Talak, “They took away my transportation in hopes that it would keep me from working,” She explained with a scowl.

After a while, they arrived near where the last footage was taken. Trys got out slowly, realizing that they were in the middle of an intersection inside a residential neighborhood. The streets were quiet and dark, and they were surrounded by family homes. She looked around uncomfortably, “Well...this is where his trail runs cold. It’s hard to try and track him in real time. Normally we have to do a lot of forensics to start piecing together what he was doing after the fact,” Trys sighed, “But by then he’s long out of our grasp.”