A Trip Home (Tarsis)

[Naira Cross]

Continued from here As fate would have it (http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=40070)

“I have never feared for my life more than when I was in that space craft with you. And the only thing that I assumed was that you weren’t stupid enough to fly when you didn’t know how. But other than that I didn’t assume... I was tricked.”

Naira said this all while hurrying off the Theta-Class shuttle and away from the maniac who just piloted it. Stopping to recompose herself, she bent over to let all the blood drain back to the upper-half of her body. After making sure that she wasn’t going to faint, she stood back up and glared at Tarsis. “You can ride back by yourself; I’ll find alternate means of transport.”

She looked around and saw the bustling city and knew that she was home. The memories of her past came flooding back, the good and the bad, mostly the bad. A look of satisfaction came over her face as she remembered that she enjoyed most of it.

“So Tarsis, where would you like to go?”

[Tarsis]

"Please Naira, over react more. It wasn't that bad and you know it. Hell, I'd even complement me on a job well done. That was my first time flying one of those." Tarsis managed a slight chuckle as he exited the shuttle. It was true, he had never flown a shuttle like that, but he had flown before...once or twice anyways. "And besides, you getting another transport back to Korriban would probably be a bad idea being that no one is suppose to know of our existence there. I think you just might upset some of the Elders if you pulled a stunt like that." Tarsis gave her a sick smile as he walked over next to her and looked around. "So let us keep our mouths shut about that while we're here, shall we?"

Tarsis had only seen a small portion of Corellia both times he had been here, so where they went or what they did made little difference to him. "It doesn't really matter to me Miss Cross, so why don't we just small. Since we're already here, how about a tour of Coronet, the Jewel of Corellia?"

[Naira Cross]

“Sure I’ll play tour guide.” She started off and headed to the center of the city. Naira turned left on to a busy side walk and weaved her way through the crowd. Tarsis was keeping up behind her but just barely. Instead of weaving his way through the crowds, he pushed, leaving many aggravated people in his wake. Soon she came to a stop and turned around to face Tarsis. “Our first stop on our tour tonight is this lovely alley beside Club Coronet.” She said in a voice mocking that of an eager tour guide. The type of guide who lives for their job. Changing back to her normal voice she continued. “Yep a little bit of interesting information is that this if where I got the first and worst of many scars. Don’t feel to sorry for me, the sucker got what was coming to him. I was the only one that walked away.”

[Tarsis]

The streets were busy today, not like the last time he had come here, but then again, the last time he was here wasn't for pleasure cruise. He had a one track mind at that time and that was making sure his mission was taken care of, so he didn't really have time to take in the scenery. Chasing after people and being shot at can do that to a person.

After pushing his way through the crowed sidewalks, Tarsis came to a stop next to Naira. Perking up her voice, she started her rant off with an annoying voice that quickly started to get on Tarsis’ nerves. “Don’t, do that. The voice. It’s not you and it is quite annoying.” He said with a soft chuckle as he listened in to her story. "Don't worry, I won't." He said referring to her comment about feeling sorry for her. "But an interesting story nonetheless. May I see this scar or is it in one of those places that very few have seen?"

[Naira Cross]

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Naira said with an upward glance towards him. Truth be told, it was diagonally across her back from her left shoulder to her right hip. If Tarsis stuck around long enough, she would fill him in, but until then, she liked to keep him on his toes.

“Moving on.” She said as she turned on her heel and continued walking forwards. Turning her head over her shoulder she said to Tarsis, “There is some place I’d like to show you. The Palace.” The Palace in Coronet, was beautiful. Made from bricks of dura-crete of a light grayish color, it appeared to have five levels above ground, and numerous levels below, that members of the Order knew all too well, due to their recruitment. From the out side, a person could count 4 balconies, and no building of power is complete with out a tower.

[Tarsis]

"I would..." He said under his breath. "that's why I asked." Tarsis was being serious. He was rather curious to see it. He even had a few battle wounds of his own that he could share as well if it was such a big deal.

After they had moved on, Naira had brought Tarsis to the Coronet Palace. "Ah yes, I remember this place. It took me so long to find this place believe it or not. I spent at least 2 years trying to find out all I could about the Sith and it all finally brought me here." Tarsis said as he stared up at the massive structure before then; its tower stretching high into the dark night as its grayish colored dura-crete somewhat resembled the clouds in the sky. "Truly a great piece of architecture, but it's got nothing on Coruscant." He said with a smirk as he looked over at Naira. He had wondered if she was one of those people who would stand up for their home or if she was one of those who just didn’t care, like Tarsis. "Yep, this place is like a pebble in the great road of the galaxy compared to Coruscant. Hell, it's even smaller then Nar Shaddaa now that I think about it." He said as he looked around at Coronet. "Don't you think?" He said sarcastically as he waited to see how Naira took to his comments…

[Naira Cross]

“Well, seeing as how I’ve only been two places in my life, I really don’t have enough knowledge to prove you wrong. This is all I know, so it’s good enough for me.” She wondered of what his home had been like, having never seen it for herself. She remembered him saying that he was from Nar Shaddaa and that he had killed his father and siblings. Had he done it on purpose or was it the result of rage? All of these thought ran through her head and she found herself wanting to know more about this mysterious man who had brought her home.

“I don’t know about you, but I nearly lost my lunch on our trip over here so I’m rather hungry. Would you like to get something to eat? I know this little restaurant not too far from here. And since it’s a nice night out tonight they have some tables outside that we could eat at.” As soon as she said this, she realized what it had sounded like. Why did I say that. It sounds like a date. What’s wrong with you? Oh well, you can’t take it back now, then you’d just look stupid.

[Tarsis]

Hungry...food...restaurant... nice night out... tables outside...is she asking me out on a date? Tarsis thought to himself as he stared up at the Palace still. No....she's just hungry. You're flying was pretty crappy....shut up. Food does sound good though. When was the last time I ate today? Hmmm...I wonder what kind of food they'll have? Does she like me? Oh boy... here comes the head ache...Just roll with it... So many thoughts were running through Tarsis' mind at that moment. If this was suppose to be some kind of date, then why didn't she just ask him like it was? Or maybe he was just thinking too far into what she had said? Yeah, that was it. Tarsis was just thinking too far into it all. Looking away from the Palace and at Naira, Tarsis said with a slight grin, "Sure, food sounds good. Oh and let's lay off my flying skills. I never said I was an expert, so just let it go. Alright?"

[Naira Cross]

“Alright, alright. No more jokes.” She said with a slight smile. She started off at more of a slower pace than before. Things were beginning to become familiar again and she didn’t have to think about whether they were going in the right direction. Not long after beginning, they arrived at a small restaurant that most don’t even know is there. Walking in, there are about five tables and a bar in the far corner. At the bar sat a few people who were less than pleasant in nature. Past the bar was a door, to which Naira led Tarsis. It led to the outside where there were more tables and trees scattered in between. Seeing the setting and noticing that the stars were shining more than usual, her mind began to race again. Well, this is starting to look more and more like a date. I wonder what he’ll say. This could be potentially awkward. Bar! Go to the bar, more normal.

Turning around and pushing him back inside, she said “On second thought let’s sit at the bar. More people that are like us.”

[Tarsis]

As they walked towards the restaurant, Tarsis took in the sights as he casually strolled along next to Naira. She didn’t seem to have any troubles at all finding her way to this place which also made Tarsis think that she might have been planning this all along. But then again, he was probably thinking too far into all this again.

Once they arrived, Naira conveyed the two right through the tiny restaurant and straight towards the back. Hmmm, yep! This is a date…, Tarsis thought to himself as he looked up into the nights sky and saw the stars out shinning; their white dots silhouetting against a dark blanket. Not to mention the additional settings outside. This is defiantly a date…

Suddenly Tarsis felt a tug on his arm and everything shifted as the petite Naira Cross grabbed a hold of his arm and yanked him back inside.

“On second thought let’s sit at the bar. More people that are like us.”

Looking towards the bar, Tarsis could only laugh because the only two people sitting at the bar were nothing like them. “Who’s like us? The hooker and the fat guy?” I guess I was wrong…

[Naira Cross]

“Well, you know, I’m pretty enough. You… You might need a little work.” And with that she gave a slight touch to his stomach and sat down on a stool at the bar. The bartender walks over and takes their drink orders. ”What’ll it be?”

“I’ll have a few ‘Jewel’ shots.” Then realizing that Tarsis probably had never heard of that drink explained “Coronet ‘Jewel’ shots. Named for the city, obviously, and is usually every bar’s favored drink. Has a slightly sweet taste in the beginning but definitely some ‘kick’ at the end. What do you want?”

[Tarsis]

Tarsis just gave her an un-amused look. "Don't touch my stomach..." He said as he sat down. "I'll have you know that I take pride in the way I look. If I was to look like that, I'd probably kill myself." Of course he was just joking, just as Naira was, but it there was still a little bit of truth behind it all; at least the part about pride was.

“I’ll have a few ‘Jewel’ shots.”

"You know, as much as you talk, I'd have pinned you for someone who would be able to walk the walk as well.” Tarsis said teasingly referring to her drink. “Me, I’ll have whatever is your strongest.” Tarsis said to the bartender.

“One Coronet Bantha Tranq coming up!”

Bantha Tranq? Oh boy… Tarsis thought as he watched the bartended begin to concoct his order. “This ought to be good.” Tarsis said aloud as he looked over at Naira with a smile.

[Naira Cross]

“It’s not that I can’t walk the walk,” she said as she held up one of her shots and smiled, “it’s just that these taste better.” With that, she threw her head back and swallowed the drink in a matter of seconds. “And you, ordering a Bantha Tranq? You’ll be in for a world of hurt tomorrow. I should know, I won one of my swords in a drinking game thanks to that drink. I regretted it the next day. That drink brings even the mightiest warriors down to their knees.” Tarsis looked at her and said "Then I suggest we leave tonight if it's that bad” and took the drink from the hands of the bartender.

“So tell me, what’s your story? Why are you a Sith?” as she asked this question, she found herself looking up in to his unusual charcoal colored eyes and almost got lost in them. She wanted to know what brought him here and began to sense a feeling that she had not felt in a long time.

[Tarsis]

"My story..." Tarsis repeated to himself after taking another drink. "There's really nothing to it. I wanted power. What else do Sith want?" He said with a chuckle. “All Sith want power so that they may one day rule the galaxy." As he finished he gave Naira a stare that simply put, said, Duh!. He couldn’t help but laugh a little. He was lying, of course, but behind every lie is a little bit of truth.

Letting out a sigh after taking another drink of his " Bantha Tranq", a name that he was still getting use to, Tarsis went on. "Yeah, I wanted power." He said with a shrug. "I wanted to prove myself to everyone I knew. I wanted to make something out of myself that would be feared; something that would one day be hated, but soon after I was accepted into the Order, I realized that, power wasn't all I wanted. What I really wanted was some place just to grow." He paused for a moment as he saw the look of confusion come over Naira's face and smiled. "Not a place to grow old at or anything along the lines of maturity, but a place where I could continue to train myself. A place where I could do what I really enjoyed and further my own skills while learning new ones."

Up until this point, Tarsis had never really put so much thought into why he wanted to be a Sith. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was Naira. Frell, maybe it was himself finally just letting go. Stopping the hate-driven behemoth and letting his inner self speak for once. Who knew? But it was sort of a relief. “I guess when I look at it now I still want power..." He said through clenched teeth as a memory of his father came to mind. “but who wouldn't when all your life you were looked down upon because you couldn't keep up? When you were just never good enough? But, hey..." A smile crept back over his face. “in the end it was me who came out ahead of the game. It was me who was good enough, not them!” In that brief moment, Tarsis had reverted to a child like state and quickly righted himself afterwards. He hadn’t had a moment like that since before he had left home. “So there you go. Happy now?” A little bit of sarcasm stretched across his voice as he swallowed another gulp of his drink, waiting on Naira to say something.

[Naira Cross]

“Not quite.” Is the response that she gave to his ‘Happy now?’ question. And then a confused look came across her face and she elaborated. “Is that it? I mean, you kill you family, get revenge, and then come here. But what happened in between? No exploits or anything?”

[Tarsis]

"Man..." He said with a chuckle. "You're a hard one to please Miss Cross. Do you know that?" Taking down the last bit of his drink, Tarsis winced at its taste and then placed the mug back on the bar. “Well, as far as exploits go, I have already told you every place I’ve been. And for the "anything" part, I guess you could chalk my obsession with the Sith up to my old man. He use to tell me and my siblings stories about his exploits and what not." He paused for a moment as he caught himself playing with his mug. Apparently the drink was beginning to take its toll but he was no where near the point of being drunk. Maybe just a little tipsy, but that was about it. "He had a few run in's with some force users on several different plants; who claimed to Jedi and some who claimed to be Sith. He would go on to tell us about what each of them stood for, but he would usually focus more on the Sith then he would the Jedi. Sometimes I would think that he had forgot to tell us about the Jedi, but being a kid at the time, I just overlooked it. The stories were too good to ruin with thinking right in the middle of them.” He said as he moved his head side to side, cracking his neck.

“Let’s see…” Tarsis said as he found himself lost in the thought as he tried recalling anything else that might strike her fancy and then it hit him, XI. “Hmmm, well, to go on with the “anything” aspect of my life, I killed a man on Coruscant once and in doing so, acquired a droid. His name is XI-something or anther. I always called him XI. I was having him upgrade part wise and well… now that I think about it, I really need to go pick him up.” He said with a little bit of laughter escaping his lips.Maybe that drink was a little too much he thought to himself as he tried to recompose himself. “But yeah, for the moment, that’s all you get because that’s really all there is to tell.” He finished.

“So, now that I have elaborated a little more Miss Naira, does this make you happy now? And if it doesn’t, what do I have to do to make you happy?” Tarsis kind of stopped himself as he found himself thinking, Oh boy…. That last question was suppose to stay in the back of his mind, so how it slipped out like that was beyond him…

[Naira Cross]

That last question took her by surprise. She quickly turned her head to look at Tarsis and gave him a confused look that kinda said, ‘you can’t be serious’. Catching herself only a moment later, she looked at his empty glass and figured that this was his tipsy side. With a flip of a switch her expression went from confused and disbelieving to seductive and inviting. “Well what did you have in mind?”

Of course, she was being sarcastic, but as soon as the words had left her lips a few things went through her mind: What if he thinks I’m serious. Am I being serious. Why didn’t I say something different. Stupid shots.

“Never mind. Forget I said that.” Oh no, here comes the awkward silence. Quick think of something to say. “Sooo you have droid huh? Protocol droid possibly?”

[Tarsis]

Tarsis quirked an eyebrow in response to Naira's question and then smiled. He saw her expression, whether it was what she was truly feeling at that moment he didn’t know, and being too lazy to use the force to read her, Tarsis just let it be. "Really? Well I think the real question is, what do you have in mind Miss Cross? Because it is obvious you have something else on your mind other then my life's story."

Tarsis decided to let the matter end there for the moment and let her think about it. Maybe it was me who had something else on my mind... Tarsis thought for a second but quickly banished the idea from his mind. "Yes, he is a protocol droid... " Tarsis said in an attempt to change the subject. "er, well, he was. I had him upgraded a tad bit and now, now he's an assassin droid or at least that was the plan."

[Naira Cross]

“Assassination droid? Pretty fancy. And as far as having something else on my mind, you’ll just have to wait and see. Wouldn’t want to ruin the fun now would you?” Naira turned back to the bar and ordered a few more shots. She began to wonder why she was acting the way that she was. This shameless flirting thing was not something that she did. Ever.

On the other hand, what could it hurt? Her pursuit of power had left little time for anything of interest... “Come on, there’s another place I want to show you.” Just then, the bartender comes back with her drinks. “After I finish these off.”

[Tarsis]

"Yeeep, assassination droid and yes, it is pretty fancy if I do say so myself." Tarsis was pretty much at that point where everything was either really funny, or really boring.

"Well, if I were you and you were me, I'd say ruin the fun so that you'd be happy knowing what the fun was and I would be happy to because we'd both know what the fun was!" Tarsis kind of sat silently for a moment and then busted out in laughter. He hadn't had this much fun since he was a little boy and he hadn't laughed this hard ever, or at least as far back as he could remember.

"I'm ok by the way. Just having a goOd time." He said with a little belch there in the middle. "Sorry, excuse me." He laughed a little bit more. "Alrighty then, we'll set out as soon as you finish those off...." But before Naira could pick up one, Tarsis had stood up and was towering over her. His long black hair hung over his face as his dark, almost black eyes penetrated Naira’s brown eyes. Slowly, he lifted his arms up, wrapped them around her back, and pulled her in for a hug... or so it seemed. As if someone had flipped a switch in Tarsis' brain, he pushed her to the side and lifted her drinks up to his mouth and downed them. "What are you doing? You've had way too many Naira. Do you want to get drunk or something?"

[Naira Cross]

By this point, Naira could tell that he was a little far gone. Oh well, it seemed like this guy needed a good time. Everyone needs a break now and then. As she reached for one of her drinks Tarsis stood up and just looked at her with his deep almost hypnotic eyes…

Why is he standing? I haven’t, wait this looks like a hug. I haven’t gotten a hug in about 6 years. Why is he hugging me? Just then Naira was gently pushed to the side and left a little confused… until she turned around to see him steal her drinks. Did I miss something?

“Uh excuse me. Why… why… why did you just take my drinks? Are you looking to get beaten? And if anyone’s drunk here it’s you. You can’t even talk straight!” She turned and started to head for the door with a little more than just a swagger. “You’re lucky you are drunk cause if you weren’t I’d kick you all the way back home.”

[Tarsis]

"Oh come on Naira! It was a joke!" He said as he stormed through the doors after her. "And you didn't pay the man either! You're lucky I’m such a nice guy..." He said as he bumped into a man on the street.

"Watch it you bum!"

Tarsis stopped and turned to face the man.

"What'd you say to me?"

"You heard me! A bum! That's what you are! You're a clumsy BUM!"

Tarsis raised his fist into the air but right as he went to throw his fist forward; Naira caught it and turned him around to face her.

"A nice guy huh?"

“What!? I paid for your drinks. I’d say that was a nice thing to do. The bartender was rather mad when you walked out without paying him.” He said with a small smile inching across his face, and with a quick wink, Tarsis spoke again. “I think he likes you by the way. He wouldn’t stop staring at you. You could have probably gotten away without paying him. Did you two ever date? Have you ever dated? You don’t seem like that kind of person? Oh, and you owe me about 20 cred’s for those drinks. You’re not cheap you know that.”

[Naira Cross]

“That divider that’s between your mouth and your brain isn’t there right now is it? My dating schedule is not any of your business, not that you would have the slightest idea what to do with a girl anyway. You’d probably kill her the moment she tried to give you hug.”

Turning to the man she said, “Move along buddy, it’s not worth you getting beaten, and you,” she went back to facing Tarsis, “Lets find some place so you can sleep this off.”

[Tarsis]

Tarsis could smile as his drunken stupor hindered him from doing anything else of intelligence. "You wanna find out?" He said in response to her first comment. "Besides, I bet that I know more about women than you do! Heck, I'd even go as far to say that I've had more women than you've had, even in your wildest dreams!"

Tarsis let out a loud laugh as Naira sighed and shook her head at him. This whole situation was hysterical to him. This was probably the most the big man had laughed in a very long time. Come to think about, this was the most he had laughed in a long time and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that, although he would never admit it to her or anyone for that matter, it was Naira that brought all this out in him.

Snapping back to reality as Naira mentioned something about going somewhere and sleeping, Tarsis perked up and said, “Sleep? With you? I’ll have to think about it…. Ok, thought about it and I say yes, but I have to let you know, I sleep naked.”

[Naira Cross]

"I don't need to see you naked to know that your power suit is compensating for something. Come on, there's a relatively cheap hotel just up here."

Walking in to the hotel's main office, Naira noticed the worn down carpet, a few holes in the wall, and a couple other minor things, like blank spots on the wall where pictures use to be. This wasn't a luxurious place that was sure, but it was definitely better than the average Roach Motel.

From the back room, came the poor soul who had the night shift. "The only thing that we got left is a single on the second floor. All the other rooms are taken." You've got to be kidding me. Now my night is complete. "That's fine, we'll take it." The man grabbed the last key on the back wall, slid it across the counter, and took the twenty credits, Naira had put down.

Seeing Tarsis waiting on the steps leading up to the second floor, she looked at him and said "Do you think that you can manage a flight of stairs?"

[Tarsis]

"Do I think I can manage a flight of stairs? Psssh, I'm more capable of these stairs then you are!" Tarsis said as he tripped over the first one. "Watch that first step, it's tricky." He quickly add in as an attempt to play it off.

Slowly but surely, Tarsis made his way up the flight of stairs. Thankfully, he was beginning to sober up as the effects of the "Bantha Tranq" were only temporary it seemed and were wearing off. Never again... he thought as he began dry heaving over the railing. Wiping his mouth clean as Naira opened the door to their room, Tarsis followed her in. Once inside, the first thing he saw was the massive stain of crimson smeared in front of the doorway. "Homey, wouldn’t you say?"

[Naira Cross]

“Well at least we know the people who stay in this room have a good time.”

Inside of the room was a medium size bed, a small table with a lamp, and the bathroom still remained unseen. A musty smell seemed to hang low in the air and it made breathing rather difficult. Walking over to window, Naira pulled the blinds aside and tried to open the window. Several unsuccessful attempts later, she simply looked out the window at the busy streets, then up to the star filled sky and thought to herself, Welcome home Naira.

Under her breath, she said “I need a shower.” She walked over to the bathroom undressing as she went. Not caring any more, she didn’t even bother to close the door.

[Tarsis]

Oh my head...

Was the first thing to cross Tarsis’ mind as he opened his eyes. With his mind feeling like it had been ripped out and sewed back in, all he could do was rub his eyes as he tossed and turned in bed. Not wanting to look at the light for fear that his head ache would grow more severe, Tarsis kept his eyes closed, so one could imagine his surprise when his right arm laid across the naked chest of someone else in the bed. Quickly opening his eyes, Tarsis realized who it was and what his arm was laying across. Without a moment’s hesitation, he slowly removed his arm from where it had laid and slowly crept out of the bed.

Oh boy...We didn’t did we? Tarsis thought as he paced the room, back and forth. I mean, I know I was messed up last night, but I can control myself. I know my cut off point. Besides, she would have never gone along with it. But before Tarsis’ own assurance could register, he looked down and realized why it was so cold in the room. Great…I’m naked. This just keeps getting better and better.

Given the current situation, almost every man would be more than happy with himself. Tarsis had to admit, Naira was a cute girl, but that’s all she was, a girl. Growing angry, with himself more than anyone else, Tarsis walked over to the edge of the bed and yanked the covers off .

“Get up Naira!”