Ask Coruscant The Road Less Traveled

[Talak Rand]

Talak kept brooding for a few more moments, but it dissipated shortly thereafter. There really wasn't any point to being angry, and despite their tumultuous relationship they did work well together and at least partially enjoyed working together.

As they hailed another taxi, Trys explained that her vehicle had been taken away and Talak snorted in amusement.

A lotta good that's doin, he said, noting how they were driving in pursuit of a suspect. He didn't bother to point out that she probably should have been resting. It would have been a pointless endeavor.

Talak climbed out of the vehicle, and promptly stood in the middle of the road. It was quiet and empty and once the cab drove off, it was just the two of them. He should have been unnerved, but it somehow felt oddly peaceful. He reached out to the Force and could feel a warm, deep purple of love and care. He could only assume this was from the families. It was what he didn't notice that struck him as odd.

I don't sense anything... dark or malicious, he said with a frown. Not that that means he's not here, he said. Whoever this was was extremely cautious. If he was a Force user, he was likely masking his presence, and he suspected the man didn't do his killing here either. The black marks of death weren't pervading this place.

Okay, so we don't want to lose his trail, he started thinking out loud. So what's the next step? If you were a killer what would you do? he asked. The irony that he was asking her completely escaped him.

Switch out a vehicle maybe? Guy like this probably lives alone. Does he live here or is he looking for his next victim? he mused. She was the better detective than him by far. His space magic could grease the wheels, but it was hardly the be-all, end-all. This must have been why Jedi were such notorious investigators in the Old Republic: detective training plus the Force was probably a potent combination.

 

[Trys Aran]

“Well, one thing we have going for us is that he probably didn’t expect the waitress to talk,” Trys rubbed her chin in thought, “He’s very thorough, so he would have probably done something with the girl’s mind before making an escape,” She grimaced at the thought, pondering on it for a moment. Was it truly possible for the killer to be from the same organization?

“Let’s at least scope out the area and see if we find anything,” Trys walked over to the side and began to scope out the neighborhood. All the lawn was perfectly manicured and the small fences suggested that everything here was about as clean as it could get. Trys sighed, feeling time ticking by with each step they took. She made sure to stick to the shadows in case the killer was actually here somewhere.

Trys hobbled ahead to scope out the street. She was about to turn around when she saw a figure up ahead coming from one of the townhomes. The Ranger was rooted in place, her eyes widening as she saw parts of what the waitress described. Glancing to the side, she could tell he was making his way towards a speeder nearby that matched what they picked up on the footage.

She quickly drew out her pistol, quickly picking up the pace and making her way towards him. Trys began to half run, ignoring the shooting pain in her leg. The boot gave her away as the man abruptly looked her way - she couldn’t make out the details of his face from here.

Within seconds, she felt as if a massive fist had punched her entire upper body. With a cry, she was flung through the air and slammed back into a tree, landing in a heap on the ground. Through blurred vision, she could see the man leaping towards the speeder for a getway.

“Get...him..” Trys choked out if Talak was within earshot as she struggled to pull herself together. She half worried her leg was even worse now, and tremendous pain racked her whole body.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak followed along with Trys as they made their way through the suburban area, but nothing seemed out of place. If the flower killer was here, he was covering his tracks extremely well. He didn't sense the danger until it was too late, and he would be cursing himself for the lapse for days to come.

Trys was flung back, and Talak was rooted in place for a moment. He wanted to stop and check on her, but she was urging him on. He knew that she would have told him to go even if she were seriously hurt, but he also knew that he would never hear the end of it if he didn't try to chase the perp. And he also knew that Trys would probably blame herself.

These thoughts flowed quickly through his head, but she would see the moment's hesitation before he charged after the killer. His lightsaber hilt flicked into his hand, and he burst forward with the speed of the Force. The distance was far, and he was already gunning the engine before he could reach the vehicle. He reached out with the Force and grabbed the speeder. It lurched forward, stopping for a moment and straining. Talak's face twisted in effort and difficulty to hold the vehicle there, but a moment later an arc of lightning from the driver sent him flying backward and slamming through someone's wooden fence.

He groaned in pain and his muscles twitched and spasmed under the feeling. It was all too familiar, and one that brought back many bad memories. What was even worse, however, was that the man had escaped.

With a groan of pain and frustration, he slowly pushed himself back to his feet, grabbed his saber hilt and slipped it away, and limped back toward Trys. His muscles were still twitching and his legs threatened to give way under him, but he was far more worried about her.

Trys! Trys, are you okay! he said, coming around the corner to see that her leg wasn't doing so well.

Oh kriff, Trys we need to get you to a med center, he said, moving as quickly as his limping legs would let him.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys saw Talak rush past her, and she focused on trying to get up again. She planted her hand on the tree behind her and slowly tried to get up. She was sure she cracked a different bone or two somewhere, but she gritted her teeth through it. Her eyes were watering from the pain in her leg, and she glanced up when Talak came back.

“What’re you doing?! He’s getting away!” She responded to his suggestion of a med center. Trys shook her head, “Not a chance, we can’t let him get away!” Trys almost collapsed again, catching herself against the tree, “That’s the first time I came so close…” She said, defeat in her tone as she looked down at her leg, “God damn it.”

She was entirely too stubborn to quit now and waste time in a medical center. As was her usual strategy, she reached into her bag and pulled out a stim shot, plunging it into her arm to give her a momentary boost. Scowling at the ground and fuming at the situation, she looked towards the building he had rushed out from, “At least let’s scope out his dwellings.”

Trys paused for a moment, still feeling pain shooting through her. She jutted her chin, “You uh….go ahead, I’ll catch up,” It was clear she was trying to force her way through tremendous amounts of trauma.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was taken aback when she said that they needed to keep going. The man was gone, they didn't have a speeder, and she was badly wounded. He wasn't doing so great himself and she wanted to keep pursuing him?!

She slammed a stim shot and started trying to hobble forward, urging him to go on without her.

Kriff, he spat and promptly... didn't do what he was told. He moved over and bent down near her leg, very lightly feeling it and immediately being able to tell that there were bulges against the skin that shouldn't have been there.

Sit down, he said in a voice that didn't leave room for argument. He took her shoe off as gently as he could and put his fingers against the top of her foot. The skin on her foot was pale and he looked up at her with eyes that were deadly serious.

Trys, if we don't get you to a medcenter, you're going to lose your leg, he said. Call it in, but we're going now, he said. He didn't make it a habit of meeting her stubbornness head on, but this was an exceptional case.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys didn’t even get to decide whether she would listen to him or not. Her hand slipped against the tree and she stumbled back into a seat on the ground, wincing in pain. As he crouched down near her, she scowled at him, “What’re you doing? We have work to- hey!” He was pointedly ignoring her and had even removed the boot! She could see how bad the foot looked, and his touch only made her wince. Truthfully, she was more than embarrassed he was even doing this, but the pain was overwhelming.

She opened her mouth to argue, but she knew it was useless. They were both very stubborn people, and this was not a battle she would win. He didn’t often battle her on things, but he was adamant about this. Trys remained seated, reaching for her comlink and finally calling for a med speeder. She glanced up at Talak, quirking an eyebrow at his fingers brushing the skin of her foot, “You know you can’t do anything about it,” Trys said quietly, recalling his differences from a Jedi.

She looked away, sighing, “So close….we were so close. Now he knows we’re on his tail,” Trys looked back at him, remembering how it felt to get thrown back. It was then that she truly looked at him for the first time, noticing that he was disheveled and had cuts and scrapes, and his hair was sticking up at odd ends.

“Wait….you’re hurt too,” Her eyes widened, suddenly realizing that she had been so caught up with catching the killer that she had given no regard to Talak at all. Guilt bit at her insides worse than the physical pain she had. She met his gaze, her expression softening from the determined look she had, “Are you all right?”

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was glad that she seemed to have relented from trying to argue with him. There were some things that were more important than work... even if that work was to save lives. You're such a hypocrite. You'd be doing the same thing in her position, he thought amusedly. They really were alike in many ways.

We'll catch him, he insisted. He may not have been much of a detective, but between the two of them he had no doubts that the flower killer would end up... pushing up daisies.

When she mentioned that he couldn't do anything about it, he felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't given it much thought, but now that she'd voiced it he felt wrong for not being able to. He should have been able to help her. For all the powers he had, he should have...

I know... he said quietly, trying to distract from that thought by focusing on what he could do.

Oh yeah, I'm fine, he waved off her concern, but noticed how her expression changed. Somehow it made him feel... warmer. Better. Nothing a few quick bandages won't fix up, he said.

The med speeders showed up a few minutes later, and Talak was positively insistent that he ride along with them. He was about two seconds away from some mad handwaving, and Trys would be able to tell, when they finally relented. One of the medics even started fussing over Talak's scrapes and he waved the man off, telling him - a bit harsher than intended - to focus on Trys instead. If Trys hadn't been drugged up yet on pain meds, she might notice that this was getting under Talak's skin, but not in the murderous way. He hoped she didn't notice.

CSF was showing up to secure the scene, and Talak climbed into the speeder as they headed to the hospital and wheeled her in to the doctor.

I guess if we're alternating, it's going to be my turn next time, he muttered a weak joke. It did seem to go that way. She'd been injured in their chase of the Barabel, then he'd had a trip to the medcenter during the second slaving raid, and now it was her turn to go to surgery. He could look forward to what was in store for him next....

I'll be here when you get out, he said. And you better do what they tell you! he insisted, knowing how stubborn she was.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys hated taking a break during a job, and especially when she was making more headway than ever. However, she begrudgingly complied when the medics arrived and hoisted her onto a repulsorbed. She winced as she was moved, knowing that it was probably for the best that she didn’t put more pressure on the leg. Trys rolled her eyes as Talak insisted coming along, internally wanting to yell at him for not getting checked out himself.

After they arrived, they would take her in for surgery, and she didn’t know when she would come to again. As they wheeled her away, she called out to him, “Get bandaged up and if you feel up to it, go investigate the house and report back!” She paused before adding, “...I can’t regulate what I can’t see,” She left it at that. It was a very subtle hint for him to use any magic tricks he wanted to unearth intel.

---​

Trys was completely groggy by the time she came to. It was actually the next day, and she had been in surgery. There was a fresh cast on her leg, and she got a stern lecture about taking care of herself. Trys was still loopy on the drugs, and she was in an oddly great mood.

“Nurse!” She called over urgently, staring at the woman as she came in, “I’d like another bowl of pudding please!”

“...That’s the third bowl,” She shook her head disapprovingly before walking out to fetch some more. Trys was entirely too giddy to care, swaying lightly from side to side. She normally hated hospital gowns, but this one felt nice and airy. Trys was hopped up on all kinds of pain meds and she was still not entirely back from being knocked out.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak had gone back to the house and after some fair amount of convincing had managed to get inside the scene of the criminal. Luckily, he was vouched for by the same enthusiastic crime scene technician he had seen at the alley. It took some poking around, and in the house he could feel a subtle presence of darkness. Some "influence" on the neighbors revealed a bit more, but there were still a lot of gaps in the story.

He made his way back to the hospital and waited for Trys to wake up. This whole thing felt very familiar to him, and he had to use some more of his tricks to convince the medical staff that he was allowed access to her medical case. If she wasn't around to regulate then he was going to take full advantage.

He arrived back at the hospital in time to hear a familiar voice shouting about pudding. Talak frowned in confusion as he made his way down the hall, wondering what he was about to find.

He rounded the corner to her room and found that she was in a really good mood. He had to bite his lip to keep from smiling and turned to the nurse.

I'd just get her another bowl. This one's a stubborn one, he said with a smile and looked over to Trys. You seem to be doing better. How're you feeling? he asked.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was about to dig into her third bowl, when Talak walked in. She stared at him in wonder for a moment before her eyes lit up, “Talaaaaaaaak! I’m doing amaaaazing!” She gasped, “You’re here!” Trys stared at him for a moment before moving the bowl towards him, “Would you like some pudding? It’s sooooo good.”

She tried to move to get out of bed, but felt entirely woozy in her head. With a slight groan, she eased back to sit up in bed. Trys took a few bites of pudding, savoring the perfectly rich and chocolatey flavor. She turned to look at Talak again, “Last time….you were here..” She pointed to the bed, “And I was there,” She pointed at him with the spoon. For some reason this was the most hilarious thing ever, and she began to giggle. It was quite possibly the first time he had ever heard her laugh like this.

Trys almost always had a serious and reserved demeanor about her, and all of that went flying out the window now. She was all smiles and her eyes were lit up in a way that almost never happened. Trys set the pudding aside for now, looking at Talak again, “Awww why do you have those dark circles under your eyes?” Without any real filters, she was much more likely to blurt out things, “And your skin is chalk white. Like a ghost.”

 

[Talak Rand]

This was a side of Trys that he was certainly not used to seeing, and he couldn't seem to stop smiling. He was infinitely amused by her complete lack of inhibition.

You certainly do seem to be in a good mood. It's all yours, he said as she offered him pudding before promptly digging back into the bowl excitedly. She was like a child, perfectly happy with her bowl of chocolate pudding. He held up his hands and moved over to make sure she didn't try to stand on her fractured leg.

Yes, the roles were switched last time, he said with a chuckle. Was I this... excited when I was there? he asked, suddenly very concerned about what he might have said or done.

Yes, I know I don't look very good, he said. I'm not sure if a ghost is better or worse than a vampire, he said, referencing what she had called him earlier. He wasn't used to caring for other people or being responsible for them in any capacity, so trying to make sure she wasn't climbing out of bed or fidgeting too much was an entirely new experience for him.

 

[Trys Aran]

“You were soooo excited,” Trys nodded, thinking back to that day, “I had to tell them we were married so they’d let me in,” She snickered at that, “They never even guessed,” Her eyes widened then, “Oh man, they probably still think we’re married. We’re married on Gamorr I guess,” More laughing. She thought spontaneous marriages only happened on Zeltros.

Trys ran her fingers through her hair, tilting her head as she looked at him,“I said you look like a ghost, not that you don’t look good,” She said casually, turning to take a few more bites of pudding. Trys set it down again before looking around the room. She twiddled her thumbs for a moment before sighing.

“Okay, I’m bored,” She declared, “I’m going to take a walk,” Trys happily announced as she started leaning over to try and get out of bed. She had no real feeling in her leg, and it didn’t bother her enough to stop her, "Don't I have a case I need to solve? So much work to do..."

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak raised his eyebrows as she said that she'd told them they were married and that they were evidently "still married" on Gamorr. I can think of worse things, he muttered, biting his lip to try not to laugh. He knew he shouldn't have, but he wasn't the straight edge that Trys was. He was certainly hoping to get a reaction out of her more... ecstatic state.

His cheeks turned a bit red - it probably looked really red with how pale he was - when she corrected that she hadn't said he looked bad. He knew she had a thing for him. She just tried so hard to cover it up normally.

He was up in a flash as she announced her intention to walk around, and he put his hands on her shoulders to gently push her back into bed. Nooooooo, you're not allowed to be up walking around, he said emphatically and eased her back into bed.

You have nothing to be doing right now, and I'm here to make sure you don't do anything, he said. He took a seat at the side of her bed and looked down at her smiling. If she had been less dazed she probably would have made a comment about how the way he was looking at her broke rule number 3, and she still might, but she wouldn't remember any of it.

You know, you're a pretty neat person, Trys Aran, he said with a sigh and a smile.

So I can't let you work on any cases, but maybe I can sneak you some food, he said glancing back at the door to see if the staff were looking. He wasn't good with "rules" and he was perfectly happy to break some dietary restrictions. What's your favorite food? Assuming it's available in the cafeteria, he said. There was a good chance it wouldn't be, but it was worth a shot.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was already almost halfway up by the time he came around to stop her. She grumbled and protested, pushing back against him to keep fighting. However, she realized that he felt entirely too nice and warm. When he tried to pull back, she simply grabbed his wrist and tugged him back. Trys sighed and buried her face into his chest, “After all that fighting and running around, I expected you to smell terrible,” She said with a muffled voice, “But you smell nice. And you’re soooo warm,” He was. She was freezing in her stupid gown. Why were hospitals always frigid?

She couldn’t help but laugh at his comment about being neat, “Actually, I’m a very messy person,” Trys unburied her face from his chest and glanced up at him with a grin, “Very, very messy. In every way a person can be messy,” She began to chuckle at that, shaking her head. As he began to talk about food, her eyes lit up again.

“Really really spicy food,” She said excitedly, “And also really, really sweet,” Trys scrunched up her face, “Does that make me weird?” Trys stared at him a moment, “What do you like? Certainly not spicy…” She giggled at that.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was completely unprepared for her to pull him in and effectively snuggle up to him. His heart started to absolutely pound, and as warm as she thought he was, he suddenly felt very warm as well. The truth was that he wanted to lean into this. He wanted to climb up next to her on the bed and snuggle up against her, but she was in no position to make a decision like that, and while he might enjoy her off hand comments, that was something he wasn't willing to take advantage of.

Kriff, I wish I could kiss you, he thought to himself, barely hearing what had effectively launched into a rant about how messy she was. He just ended up smiling, something he seemed to do much more when he was around her and even more so when he was around her on these meds.

I do like spicy food, he objected. Just not quite as spicy as you like. But I like meats and high protein foods. And noodles, he said thoughtfully, thinking about what he ate on a regular basis. It seemed like more often than not it was some kind of crappy field rations, but those barely even counted as "food."

And I like wine, he said jokingly. Of course, she already knew this. Not sure they'll have any spicy food, but they probably have ice cream down there, he said.

 

[Trys Aran]

“Ooh! I like noodles too! Especially spicy noodles, followed by some ice cream...mmm,” She nodded excitedly, thinking about everything she wanted to eat. All of it sounded more appealing than just pudding. When he mentioned getting ice cream, she lit up, “Would you get me some?” Trys reached out and pulled him into a tight hug, “Thaaaank youuu! You’re just the best,” She drew back and smiled widely at him.

Trys got back into bed and would wait patiently. She was even convinced not to go wandering, because it meant that she would get to eat all the ice cream. Unfortunately for Talak, getting a hold of ice cream proved to be a lot more elusive than he anticipated. It would end up being quite a while before he managed to find any.

By the time he returned, Trys was sitting up in bed and there was another officer in there. By the looks of it, her more usual demeanor had returned, and she was deep in conversation. Upon spotting Talak, she took a datapad from the officer and dismissed him.

“Hey,” She greeted, glancing down for a moment at what he had in his hands, before the gaze went up to his eyes again, “Were you able to scope out the apartment?” It was obvious that she was back to clarity, and couldn’t remember a lick of what transpired between them.

 

[Talak Rand]

This was more physical contact than he had had with another human being in a long time, and while that normally would have been a bad thing, this time it most certainly didn't feel like a bad thing as she gave him a hug and told him he was the best.

I'll be back, but you need to stay in bed, he emphasized. Unfortunately, that was the last non-walled interaction he was going to get as his ice cream expedition took way longer than expected. When he returned, there was an officer in the room and he and Trys were talking intently.

Talak's very first instinct was to hurl the ice cream at the wall in anger, but his self-restrained got the better of his hissy-fit instincts, and he simply gritted his teeth together in a mix of disappointment and frustration and walked in. The next reaction he had was to promptly bury his sorrows in the ice cream he was carrying and just start eating it himself... which he did. This had to have been the angriest sequence of ice cream eating ever, but that was what happened.

Yeah, he said, flicking his eyes over at the officer to indicate that she needed to get rid of him somehow so that he could speak freely.

Once the man was gone, he started to speak between spoonfuls of resentment.

So I went and... talked to the neighbors, he said. He's middle aged and pretty nondescript. Gave his name as Mr. Tarth, which I'm guessing isn't a real name, and we found... a lot of weird stuff in his place, he said, taking a seat in the room.

He has a crazy obsession with the Empress Andraste, it seems, he said. He had no idea what normal people's understanding of the old Sith Empires were, so he'd explain if necessary.

I think he's... fetishized her. Hits girls that look like her, he said. At least that's what Ary Ballen said, he commented, mentioning the CSI tech that had helped him into the crime scene. Talak was just becoming a "regular" member of the team at this point.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys listened intently as Talak explained everything, and it was clear he had her undivided attention. This was the most she had ever gotten on the serial killer, and she couldn’t believe it all came in one night. She had been on the case for over a year. Trys jotted all the notes down and began to search on her datapad for old photos of the Empress Andraste. After a while, her eyes widened.

“They...they do bear similarities in appearance,” She whispered quietly, recalling all the victims. They were always short, dainty, pale and frail. Trys grimaced and shook her head, “Sick bastard,” Trys grumbled as she looked up. She was distracted slightly when she realized he had been angrily shoveling ice cream into his mouth in between giving a report. The sight was borderline fascinating, and she was perplexed.

“This is excellent stuff,” Trys said with a smile, “There’s a lot to go on. We can follow up on a bunch of different leads like exploring any cults or anything devoted to the first Empress. If you truly want to help with this, it might involve you dipping into intel in your organization,” This would truly test him, and she wouldn’t ask anything of him that he wouldn’t volunteer.

After a long moment, she glanced down at the empty bowl of ice cream in his hands. She quirked an eyebrow, “I didn’t know they had ice cream anywhere near here,” She remarked quietly, “I would’ve asked you to get me some too,” Trys said dryly, gaze lingering on the bowl for just a moment. She looked up at him again, “Well, I’m pretty useless right now, so I suppose we can catch up when I’m released again,” She said before turning back to focus on the datapad in her hands.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak nodded as she mentioned that he could dip into his resources. He was guessing that some of the archives and libraries at home base probably had something about Andraste. She was literally worshipped as a god by those stupid Guardians, so they'd better know something about her.

Yeah, there isn't any nearby, he said grumpily as he finished the bowl. When she said that she wished she could have gotten some, that just about finished it. It was all he could do not to just do something stupidly drastic, and his eyes were wide as he just stared blankly ahead.

Yeah, he said very shortly. Of course, none of this would make any sense to her, but she was probably used to how weird he was now and would probably blame it on space magic.

I'll look into stuff and get back to you. Might take a little while, though, he said before standing to leave. He paused at the door and turned to look at her. Get better and stay safe, he said, tone a bit softer this time and then he was gone.

---​

Talak had messaged Trys to meet him at the same caf shop (he was sure she still wouldn't like the proximity to her home, but oh well) a little over a week later. He had dug up some information on Andraste and her followers, but most of it hadn't been that helpful. He had even managed to browse through records of other cultists who might have been deployed here.

Truth be told, he was a bit nervous about presenting some of this to Trys lest it spark some unpleasant questions, but here he was anyway. When she walked in she would notice that although his eyes were still a pale yellow-ish color, it didn't appear so distorted, and most of the color had returned to his face.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was surprised he picked the same caf shop to meet in, but she didn’t protest. It would normally have been uncomfortable for her, but her son had left for a summer camp and wasn’t even on the planet at the moment. Trys hated being apart for him for long periods of time, but he had been ecstatic to go and it was perfect for closet geeks like him.

She entered the cafe, giving him a quick nod in greeting before taking a seat in front of him. Normally Trys wore a jacket at all times, but he had seen her tattoos before. As a result, she opted for a tanktop that revealed the breadth of her extensive sleeve tattoos. She ordered herself a cup of some very froofy mocha, wanting to indulge herself a bit. Trys knew he had some intel for her, and she was ready to dig into it right away. He would notice that she was walking normally again, as she had actually allowed herself a moment to heal this time.

Trys gazed at his eyes and took in sight of him, “You look better,” She remarked simply, referring to how he had looked sickly before. Trys pulled up her datapad, having some details to share of her own.

“What do you have for me?”