Ask Coruscant The Road Less Traveled

[Talak Rand]

His body seemed to be reacting wildly to the mix of raging heat from the lightning and the chilling cold of the rain. Talak could feel her place him into her lap and arch over him, and it gave him an invigorating warmth despite the situation.

Kriff, you're right... that's... why you kept me around... he tried to joke as she mentioned how badly she might get hurt. He realized abruptly that he had no interest in letting that happen. The idea of her being hurt made him feel ill, and he found that their hands were suddenly intertwined. He wasn't sure which one of them had instigated it, but neither had pulled away. He found the thought of losing her to be almost unbearable and far overshadowed any physical pain he was in.

Saber... he muttered as they started taking him away. He knew they couldn't find the saber stuffed in his jacket, and he trusted her to keep it. This weapon is your life, was a common saying among users of the Force. Perhaps, then, it was symbolic that he entrusted it to her.

His eyelids felt heavy as they tore open his clothes to try to fix the burns but to no avail. He could hear her screaming in the background, but it became more difficult to concentrate.

Trys... it'll be okay... bacta tank... he said before falling unconscious. Whether his words were simply to make her feel better or because he actually knew how to treat it wasn't clear, but that was all they would get before the blackness took him.

 

[Trys Aran]

It was morning by the time she was granted permission to visit him. By now, he was out of the tank and in a bed, but he would have mental clarity. He still had the streaks on him, and Trys felt sick seeing them. She didn’t understand the kinds of damages Force users could inflict, but she felt a huge pang of guilt that Talak had to go through it for her. If she hadn’t shown up right then, he could have handled the man on his own probably.

Trys managed a smile when she saw him, coming by to stand next to the bed, “You know...when you said it was your turn, I didn’t think you’d try so hard to make that true,” They had a penchant for ending up in the medical bay and taking turns being the one hurt. Trys didn’t have to pretend to be someone else this time to visit him, but it was still difficult to see him banged up like this.

“How are you feeling?” She looked worn out from the night before. In fact, she was still in the same dress, which looked ridiculous in the medical bay. Trys had been working around the clock to not only ensure he had proper care, but also trying to find a lead on the killer. He had made it off into the night, and there was no trace of him.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak was feeling better already. After the initial shock, enough bacta could usually heal the burns with little more than some scarring. It was a relatively simple fix and one that he was familiar with. When she came in he was picking at some pancakes that looked like they were exceptionally rubbery, and his face seemed to light up on seeing her for a moment before he caught himself.

He smiled as she started talking, and he was honestly glad to see her. Another night in the bacta tank wasn't his favorite thing to do. I'm doing pretty well. Just a few scratches. I've had worse, he shrugged it off. He had had worse, but this hadn't been very pleasant. The scars would perfectly match with the others he had accumulated and streaked all over his torso.

He frowned as he looked at her more, giving thought to what he was seeing. She looked exhausted and was still in the same dress as last night.

You didn't get any sleep, did you? he asked. He knew how she could be, and it was obvious she'd been working all night.

He wasn't wearing a shirt in large part because the injuries hurt and it was better to have them exposed to the open air. He could sense that she was still broken up about seeing the scars on him, but he wasn't. So, he decided to break up the tension a bit.

Are you staring at my abs? he asked, squinting and trying not to smile.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was happy to find him in good spirits, though her gaze lingered on the streaks across his body. It looked unnatural, and she knew it would never go away completely. Her gaze rose up slightly, and she saw the remnants of the burn from when she had shot him with a blaster. Another pang of guilt hit her, though at the time she believed he fully deserved it.

She shook her head when he asked about sleep, “Nah, I couldn’t sleep after that fiasco. The guy that put the auction together is livid with me and thinks I purposely drew the thief’s attention. I’m in all kinds of hot water,” Trys sighed, rubbing her eyes slightly, “But I’m glad you’re okay,” She looked at him with a faint smile, “Turns out you’re useful to have around when hunting a Force using maniac.”

When he asked about her staring at his abs, she met his gaze head on, “What if I am?” Trys crossed her arms over her chest. If he thought she was going to look away or blush like he often did, he would be sorely mistaken, “What if I’m staring at your abs, your chest, your arms, your shoulders and everything else I can see right now?” He had nowhere to hide, and her face was completely poker face. Trys simply stared at him with that intense gaze she always had, internally amused at turning the tables on him after his attempt at a jab.

 

[Talak Rand]

Her comments about the auction brought back the memory that the totem was missing, too, and he was on the hook for that. Not only on the hook for it, but likely to find it impossible to explain where it had been lost. He could feel the anxiety creeping at the back of his mind, but he tried to push it aside.

Her response to his question certainly wasn't what he expected, but that didn't mean he was upset by it. There really wasn't any other word that could be used to describe Talak's face except smirking.

He shook his head slowly, smirk still present.

Nothin, just wanted to make sure we were on the same page, he said. It certainly wasn't going to bother him if that was the case.

Well, he said after a moment more. He started to swing his legs off the bed and climb out. You need sleep and we both need to find that killer, he said. It was now very much his problem as well. He ran a hand through his hair as he started looking around for some clothes to put on. The tux - which he was also on the hook for - had been cut up, and he realized he didn't actually have any clothes.

Great... he grumbled, realizing he was going to have to borrow some of the donated hospital clothes. And I need to get some clothes, he muttered.

So do we have any leads? he asked. He was hoping they may have found something while he was soaking in bacta, but he wasn't counting on it. The killer had likely fled back to Coruscant, and that meant a return.

I assume we're back to Coruscant. You're welcome to ride on the Nomad if you want. Artee'd love to see you, he said.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys shook her head, “Would he go back to Coruscant?” She had to ask, “He knows we’re on his tail. And I understood that most of your...organization doesn’t operate in the Deep Core,” She wasn’t entirely sure why the killer operated on Coruscant. However, with his obsession with Andraste, it made a bit more sense. Coruscant had been her seat of power, after all.

When he asked about leads, Trys sighed, “No… and to make things worse, he got away with the artifact so he will likely report that tidbit back to your leader,” She recalled him mentioning that they couldn’t lose it. Trys paused then, suddenly looking around before she reached into her bag and pulled it out. It was a saber hilt, and she extended it to Talak.

“We were able to collect that from the scene,” Trys explained, “Uh...I don’t know if it helps or if there’s anything you recognize from it,” It was a long shot. All members of his kind had sabers, right?

One thing was for certain - she did need sleep and he still needed to recover, “I’m also holding onto your saber for now. Just...let me know when you’re out and I’ll find you at your ship,” With that, Trys managed another smile before turning to leave. He would be left with the killer’s saber to do with as he pleased.

/End Thread