Fears of Betrayal (open RP)

[Mari Bean]

Sparkling dewdrops of the early morning floated on the cool breeze to kiss the cheeks of a dark and motionless woman. Little more than a girl, having probably just reached her coming of age, her cheeks, smooth, and her eyes, depthless brown pools of innocence. Heavy black robes contrasted with her skin, a golden brown, and her silky brown hair that peeked out from under the deep hood that failed to hide her watery eyes.
The sun began to line the hills with orange brilliance, and rays of golden warmth shone out to greet the land. The young woman looked up, and the rays of light set her hair on fire. The brown locks shone golden and brassy red, and as the rays hit her eyes, they morphed into swirling pools of amber. If the rising sun could take form, it would be her, this fiery goddess, and she would bring beauty and joy to the land.
And then, as fast as it had came, it was gone. The illusion the dawn had created was gone and the sun continued to rise and left the line of hills, now simply shining yellow streams. The young woman's brown eyed gaze could have frozen the land upon which it swept. Anyone too engrossed in the wonderment the dawn had produced upon her would have failed to notice the silver hilt of a light saber and a small pistol at her hip. She held herself with a deadly grace, a coiled spring, ready to uncoil at the slightest provacation. Above dark purple circles, her eyes seemed haunted. They were the eyes of someone who had seen too much.

[Mari Bean]

And Mari had indeed seen too much. Being a Soul Walker, she was game to bounty hunters and followers of the light. She had met many a man who claimed to be in the light, who had probably seen more blood then she. Her thoughts began to wander to the purpose of her being in the Sith Empire. Her half-brother probably never made it to the Jedi. He was weak, even if he did have slight control of the force. Her main objective was to kill him. And after that she would leave the Empire. Soul Walkers usually affiliated with no one and only ties of the blood could hold them.

Then why do I fear betraying them? If I am not tied to them, why do I care if they die?

She had been having dreams of her betrayal nearly every night. She was sleep deprived and had not had any appetite. She had lost nearly 20 pounds and was turning a sickly pale yellow. Even the newest of disciples could have beaten her in a sparring match. She fell back against a tree and slid down to the col ground, choosing that over falling on her face in exhaustion. She leaned her head against a tree and began to watch the clouds.

[Mari Bean]

When Mari opened her eyes, it was nearly dusk. She berated herself for falling asleep out in the open and vunerable. She had needed the rest though. Thankfully, she had a dreamless sleep, fueled by her fatigue. For the first time since she had arrived, she actually looked at her surroundings. The land around her consisted of grassy plains and rolling hills. She even thought she could see light coming from behind one of the hills. She had no idea where she was because after having crash landed on this planet, there seemed to be an electrical short somewhere and her commlink was dead. It still irked her that she couldn't figure out how to fly her ship, the Mors Dominae. It was still in a small thicket about have a mile east from her. She stood up and debated on what she should do. Her stomach's loud protest decided her; she would head towards the lights. She disgraced herself by not provisioning her ship before leaving the HQ, and therefore had to hope that the light she saw was from a city.

By the time Mari had reached the small city, the moon had been up for nearly an hour. She wanted to lay down and go to sleep right where she stood, but even her fatigue could not compete with her agonizing hunger. She reached into her pocket and felt around. A few credits, some wire, and a pretty stone she had found. She mentally kicked herself as she remembered her purse sitting in a compartment in her ship. She normally would just take what she wanted and kill anyone who got in her way, but she probably couldn't handle any trouble in the condition she was in. She pulled down her hood and started into the city.
Her boots crunched as she walked through the poorly paved streets. Mangy dogs came out of their alleys to bark at her with brainless self-importance. People walked past her and gave her odd looks; little girls were supposed to be home helping their mothers with chores, not out walking the streets.
She stopped in front very noisy establishment; drunken shouts and music drifted out into the street. The building was about 3 stories high and the faded sign read "Corellian..." Something... She couldn't read the second word. And she didn't care. She was starving. She checked to make sure her pistol was visible and that her light saber wasn't. No need for anyone to know she was force sensitive.
She opened the door and a wave of warm air rolled into her. She noticed several service droids scurrying around with trays of drink and food. Sharp smells of spices and exotic drinks arroused her somewhat numb stomach and caused it complain. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as loud as the inn. She looked around and locked eyes with a fat man in an apron. He headed towards her, abruptly ending his conversation with a pompous looking man in a scarlet cloak. The man looked at her vemonously and tossed his head.

"Is there something I can do for you?" He had to yell over that clamor.
"Is there something I can do for a meal?"

A sith warrior washing dishes? I'm just bringing disgrace upon disgrace to the empire!

The innkeeper stared at her a minute and burst into laughter. She considered igniting her sabre in his belly, but decided against it and waited for his bellows to cease.

"You hardly look old enough to do what I need!"

Mari's ears turned red and she stared at the vulgar man dispassionatly. She reached into a hidden pocket in her robes and pulled out a gold bracelet. He grinned as he wrapped his fat fingers around it and motioned her towards a table. She didn't know what he was thinking but she would not leave this planet without that bracelet.


OOC: This is my first rp (can't you tell?) Please tell me if I'm doing something wrong, or anything. OOC comments would ba nice... and participation... http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/image/ez_icons/emoticons/smile.gif

[Itala Marzullo]

I would normaly enter and be rude but I'm actualy busy in another rpg.

[Mari Bean]

Mari's eyes shot open at the persistant beeping of a service droid. On it's tray was a a bowl of what looked like beef stew and a loaf of bread. She growled as she realized that she wouldn't get her "money's" worth. She gulped down the soup and tore into the bread. She was beginning to get odd looks from the other patrons; a few "ladies" turned up their noses at her. She slipped out of her chair and walked purposely towards the conversing innkeeper. She stood up straight and cut into his conversation, asking if she might be able to get a room for the night.

"Unless you have anymore gold bracelets between your breasts, then I shouold think not. ... Or maybe you would like to take me up on an offer? You aren't so young as--"

The disguting old man cut off as her fist knocked the wind out of his poor, over-worked lungs. She spun around and brought her leg up to kick him in the jaw, and deposit his greasy bulk onto the dirty floor. She spun on her heel and stormed towards the exit. Two large men with nothing but forehead and a few droids with blasters ran towards her. Without turning, Mari raised her hand, and fueled by the darkside and her anger, threw everyone within 10 feet of her to the ground. She walks out into the dark and leans agianst the closed door, her legs refusing to work. She pushes herself off, and starts on the long "journey" back to her ship.


OOC: *hops into the thread expecting some support from Itala... and is completely and utterly crushed ;_;*

I absolutely HAD to know that. Thanks for telling me. < /sarcasm >


Edit: Typos and a sentence fragement... ^_^;;;

[Trace Sha]

:: Sitting aboard his newly acquired Toscan Fighter, Trace looks through the forward facing view port, pleased so far with the maiden voyage of his new vessel. Just behind him, on each side, stand his two personal IG88 guard droids. Both of them sporting what look to be newly designed restraining bolts and each of them armed heavily, with menacing looking blaster rifles, and armored the same. ::

“A decent first test this has turned out to be. I wonder how well this ship will do in an actual combat situation?”

:: He looks down to his navigation console and recalls that someone else of the Empire had left the shipyards, not too long before he had, also on her maiden voyage with a newly acquired spacecraft. But she had not been heard from in several days and Trace was curious what had become of the Sith Warrior known as Mari. Trace decided to check in with TSE Fleet Commander Summoner and proceed to investigate a little further, into what may have happened to the stray Warrior, wondering if there would be some death to deal out if and when he was able to locate her. He opened a channel to the office of Summoner and relayed his message and intent, while thinking to himself. ::

I’ll make sure to keep in contact with TSE base. Wouldn’t want Rama thinking his big brother just up and took off, disappearing into thin air, much like this young girl has done.

:: Finished relaying his situation to the Fleet Commander, Trace begins to look over his holo display, studying the emission trail, he had determined to most likely be, that of Mari Bean’s ship. He adjusted his course to match and followed the trail, wondering if he would be able to locate the missing Sith. His thoughts stray for a moment. ::

I do still need to name this ship. Perhaps something about this voyage will inspire me to give this craft an earned name.

[Mari Bean]

*Weariness and irritation roll off Mari in waves. Stumbling over any thing over an inch high, she slowly makes her way back to her ship. Every step is a battle with herself, her body wanting to collapse, her mind knowing better than that.*

"If I think about ever losing sleep over dreams again, be sure to kick me!!"
[i]*talking to herself was an outlet, it kept her conscious. She was sure that as long as she didn't answer herself, she would be fine. The moon reflected off a shiny surface and caught her attention. Her ship. She was sure of it. All she had to do was get there. The thought of rest set her legs trembling, and a new rush of strength from her hope got her to the Mors Dominae in under 5 minutes. The hatch swung open at a touch and she climbed in to curl up on the floor after shutting the hatch again. Sleep took her before she could began to think of the future or breakfast.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Having been following the emission trail for several hours and having had programmed his Nav computer to automatically follow it, Trace has let himself slip off to sleep, sitting in the command chair of his starfighter. The monotonous, yet soothing vision of the stars passing by the transparisteel window of the canopy, the only thing with any motion inside his ship, besides the rising and falling of his chest as his body took in and expelled its required air.

An alarm begins to blurt out suddenly, it volume jolting Trace from his sleep and making him shoot suddenly from a slumped position in his chair, into an attentive and somewhat bewildered posture, looking all around and then down at his Nav console to figure out what the alarm is for. ::

A proximity alert? What in the Galaxy could be so close as to set off the alarm?

:: His query to himself is quickly answered as he hears a clanging of something impacting the hull of his ship, its impact causing him to grip the arms of his chair tightly, as the entire craft shakes and yaws from the blow. ::

Asteroids? Uggg, I shouldn’t have let myself relax and doze off. My ships first voyage and it may end up being its last.

:: He disengages the auto navigation computer and takes the controls of the ship into his own hands and begins to pilot his way through the dense field of small asteroids, trying not to let all the flashing red lights of warning on his console distract him from his careful and tedious task of navigating through the field. ::

I wonder if the one I am looking for also ran into this problem unexpectedly, and if it has anything to do with why no one has heard from her?

[Mari Bean]

*Mari bound down the halls of the Sith Empire Headquarters, heading straight toward the shipyards. Summoner had said her ship would be ready today, and she was anxious for any form of escape from her fears. She paid her dues to the SE account and promptly named her ship the Mors Dominae, Death's Mistress, the very thing she wished to become. She hoped into the chair that was directly behind the controls, and began pushing buttons with enthusiastic ignorance as to what they did. The ship shuddered to life and zoomed out of the shipyards and into space. Mari took note of what buttons she pressed and commited them to memory.
She was alone. Solitude pressed up against her and soothed her fears and worries. She sighed a little sigh and decided that she should sleep; this would be the first time she decided for herself instead of falling in exhaustion. She set the auto-pilot and drifted off, beginning a blessedly dreamless sleep, and soon was jerked awake at several high-pitched sirens and beeps. She looked around, startled, and suddenly was knocked uncoscious by a ferocious blow to her ship's hull.*

*Mari jerks awake, unsure of her surroundings and blind in the absence of light. Rememberence stir within her mind and she carefully makes her way to what she thought was the chair she had occupied on her first voyage. That dream. That was what happened. She wasn't sure if she had run into something or if something hit her deriberatly. She presses several buttons, groping blindly for something that might light-up, and nearly jumps out of her skin when she is nearly blinded by the lights of her c0ckpit. She cheers silently and finds the commlink.*

"Still broken. I suppose it couldn't have fixed itself..."

*She settles back in her chair, wondering if there is another way for her to implore aid. Her eyes graze across the control panel, looking at buttons whose purpose are unknown to her. Her gaze settles on a red button, alone in a box of plastic to avoid being pushed accidentally. She ponders it a minute and pushes back the box and presses the button without hesitation. She tenses, expecting the ship to blow up under her, when a little red light above her head begans to blink.*

A distress signal!!!

*Her hopes soar, and in her elation, begans to swing her feet, no longer to irritated that they don't quite reach the ground.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He managed to get clear of the field and breathed a sigh of relief as his tightly clenched hands relaxed in their grip upon the manual navigation controls. He looked down at his scanner carefully and found that he had strayed a little off the course of the emission trail which he had been following, but he realized it would be easy to correct, though he did still need to assess the damage his ship had suffered from the one impact which had startled him from his sleep.

Taking one hand from the flight controls he began to press the surface of the ship’s computer kiosk, bringing up the preliminary damage report and smiling as he saw that it revealed that his ship was not in any immediate danger of being breached by the vacuum of space and that it was also still quite space worthy, engine wise. The damage was minor and merely cosmetic, something that could be easily fixed by a maintenance droid at the TSE shipyards for what would most likely be a nominal fee.

Trace steered the craft back on the course of the emission trail, and his attention was suddenly drawn back down to his computer kiosk, as a rhythmic beeping sound had suddenly started sounding. He saw right there on his screen that a TSE distress beacon had been activated, and knew that it must be coming from the craft, or possibly the remains of the craft which the missing Sith had departed in. He attempted to raise her on the standard TSE comm. frequency but was replied to by nothing more than the sound of static.

Following the coordinates of the beacon, he piloted his craft for what only seemed like a few minutes before he was presented with the image of a planet before him through the canopy. It looked very habitable and his quick surface scan proved that it was. He began entry procedures and looked over his shoulder, making sure that his guard droids were still properly strapped in, because planetfall in any way shape or form, usually turned out to be at least a little bit of a bumpy ride in a small starfighter such as the one he called his own, still without a name ::

[Mari Bean]

*Still swinging her legs in a childish manner, Mari studies the interior of her ship. It wasn't a large ship, meant for 9 people or less, with two command chairs and controls. She had room for two weeks of stores, and there were several doors that probably led to closets that she hadn't quite figured out how to open. She promised herself to corner Summoner or Darth Ogre and entice one of them to teach her how to work this "blasted ship". With time to think, and rest leaving her mind clear, Mari began to think of this "misadventure". She then remembers about her bracelet. And her promise. Her eyes widen as she remembers trading her mother's life bracelet for a meager meal. She groans inwardly and pushes herself to her feet. Slightly peeved at her weakness, she searches her ship for something to leave a message with, just in case her "knight in shining armor" decides to come and comes before she gets back. She looks up and a smile spreads across her face. All though she can't talk over the commlink she can still type something up there for someone to read. Her head began to swell slightly at her "cunning and genius" and she left a little message, and headed back to the city.*


I am going to retrieve something that belongs to me. It is in a city about two and a half miles east of here. If rescue is your intention, then waiting for me to return would be advisable, but if I have not returned by the dawn after the day you arrive, feel free to leave, or if you wish, follow me.

Mari Lorica

[Trace Sha]

:: Having successfully entered the atmosphere of the planet, Trace pilots his craft to the location of the distress signal and sees the YT-2000 sitting in the thicket of brush. It had obviously not been a planned landing, but the ship didn’t look as if it was too terribly damaged from quick air borne visual observation.

He ran a quick scan and noticed there were no signs of life large enough to be human in the immediate area and he also took note that it did not look like there were any signs of a fight. His scan of the ship revealed that its primary and secondary electrical systems were offline and he determined that the damage in the aft quarter of the ship appeared to be the cause. The damage looked like it had been caused by something solid striking the ship and not some type of fire fight.

Deciding that he should land and investigate further, Trace moved his craft from its hovering position just to the east of the fallen ship and set his own down on the surface of the planet softly and skillfully in a small clearing. The ramp lowered and the exterior hull opened. Trace stood from his command chair and motioned to his two droids. They followed him as he exited the craft.

Once outside He ordered his droids to keep a watch on their surroundings and to check and see if they could find any signs of the pilot of the ship, while he went to have a closer look at it. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Mari walks through the streets a second time, this time rested and dangerous. The daylight replacing the nighttime setting of her last visit allowed the inhabitants of the city to see true nature. Woman clutching on their children walked wide around her, and men eyed her warily. She wore her lightsaber openly now, which got twice as many stares as her pistol. She stops at the entrance of the same tavern and stares straight into the faces of two burly men standing in front of the door. As she tries to enter, one of the men sticks an arm out to stop her.*

"Miss? I'm sorry, but young women with your description are not allowed to enter."

*Mari smirks* "And why is that?"

*The second man, a blonde answered her.* "The owner fears for the safety of his patrons."

"And why would he fear young women that are barely five feet tall?" *Mari asks cooly.*

*As the men began stuttering their answer, Mari decided that she wasn't going to let them finish.*

[IG88 Guard 1]

:: Stepping away from Trace at his command, Guard droid 1 activates his built in optical sensors and performs a scan of the area near the downed ship. Guard 1 finds a still fresh trail of human tracks on the ground heading in an eastern direction. The droid is able to determine that the human is not any more than five feet tall and had only left the area approximately 25 minutes previous to his scan. Having found what his Master had requested he went back toward the ship to relay the information he had gathered to Trace, after requesting that Guard 2 remain on the lookout so that his Master’s orders would still be followed. ::

[Trace Sha]

:: He made his way to the ship and looked around its interior, noticing that the homing beacon was still activated, he decided he would turn it off for now, so as not to attract any further attention. Who knows what kind of attention a distress call could bring in this part of the Galaxy, though he knew he and his guards were fully prepared to handle just about any interested interlopers who did happen to come along. He still preferred not to attract any unnecessary attention.

That done he looked around the ship a little more and noticed that the food stores had not been stocked. Either that or all of the supplies had been consumed. A puzzled expression covered his face as he continued to look around and came across a data pad bearing what appeared to be a note. Reviewing the message, his bewildered expression changed to one of ease and then slowly into one of concern. ::

Something that belongs to her in a city to the east?

:: He wondered what it was she might be missing and then quickly dismissed that thought as he pondered the possible trouble she may encounter. He knew she was a strong Sith Knight, but even a Sith could be overcome by numbers if the situation does turn sour on her. Having decided to follow her he stepped back to the exit of the ship and found one of his guard droids waiting for him.

The droid relayed his findings and Trace thought to himself that the facts matched well with the note he had just read. Making him more comfortable with his decision to go in that direction, knowing that the note was not merely some type of ruse planted by someone other than the author who had signed it. He ordered his second guard droid to stay with the ships, while he and the guard designated as number one would begin heading to this city. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Mari steps into the inn, not quite as noisy at midday as at night. She notices several men with assorted weapons trying to blend in, and a few patrons talking quietly amongst themselves. The innkeeper looks up sharply, and stares at her with disbelief. He yells and points directly at her, and the men walk towards her. She suddenly feels very vunerable. The men number around twelve, and she IS still a girl. She suddenly becomes angry at the men for making her feel this way. She screams and thrusts her arms out, shoving everyone back into the walls of the inn. She stomps purposly to the innkeeper and demands the return of her bracelet. He fumbles for the jewelry, and holds it out with a shaking hand, probably hoping she won't take his hand off with it. She takes the bracelet and puts it in her pocket, and suddenly feels a burning pain in her back. She spins to see the grinning faces of the men she stupidly disregarded, and reappraises the danger of her situation. She backs away from the men, one foot posed to flee and the other pointed towards them, hand on her saber.*

[Trace Sha]

:: While making their way towards the city, Trace and his droid move swiftly across the grassy plain, staying near the tree line at its edge. Trace’s droid suddenly stops and bids his master to do the same. The Sith warrior begins looking all around and reaching out with the Darkside, trying to sense what it may be that has caused his guard to stop their trek.

The IG88 droid raises one of his blaster rifles and fires a shot into the trees across the plain. The blast is followed by a pained scream. The air lights up with return fire as Trace draws his saber, ignites it with a snap hiss and begins turning laser fire aside as it streaks towards him. The guard droid begins walking menacingly in the direction of the fire having raised his second blaster, firing repeated rounds into the dense foliage.

While the droid draws fire Trace moves into the trees and makes his way around the plain, moving with Force enhanced speed, locating a group of what appear to be some type of poachers/pirates who from the looks of their position, were heading in a westerly direction.

Having been unnoticed by the group of riff raff, Trace steps out of the brush behind the largest of the party and places his saber in the middle of his back, pressing the activation switch before the large grotesque looking man. Before he knows what happened, a gurgling sound comes from his mouth as the blue blade of Trace’s saber extends and protrudes from his belly.

The other three members of the group notice the sound of the man dying and turn their attention from the methodically charging IG88 droid and turn to see Trace standing where their comrade had been. A twisted smile of pleasure adorning his face as the dead body lays slumped on the ground at his feet. ::

“Nice ambush, too bad for you that your choose me to be your target.”

:: One of the three is hit in the back of the head by a bolt from the droids blaster fire, spraying his brains and blood on the other two. The fear is evident in their faces as they realize they are now pinned between the man dressed in black and the droid who keeps coming at them undaunted, even after having taken several of their blaster rounds in his torso. Trace begins to walk towards the two, a glint of evil satisfaction in his eyes as he sees and senses their fear. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Mari senses something, a tickling at the back of her mind, and then it's gone. She shakes it off and eyes to men in front of her. A wail is heard outside and a woman bursts in, the head of the blonde guard rolling in from it's place at the door. The men look at it horrified and some glance at Mari, who smirks.

Yes, I did it. Yeppers. It was ME.

During the distraction, Mari ignites her saber and leaps into the center of the men, hacking and slicing. Four go down before they can get their bearings, and she jumps back before they can surround her. The woman's wails seem to be affecting the group and Mari decides to use it to her advantage. She reaches for the Darkside, and amplifies the sound. She makes ready to go at the men again, and stops at the sudden jolt of pain from her back. She wouldn't be able to kill them all. She had to get away. She felt blood trickling down her back and could hear it dripping on the floor. She had to escape.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Trace moves one hand down and pushes aside his jacket, pressing the surface of a small device on his belt. The blasts from the IG88 droid cease, but it continues moving toward the two remaining of the group. They look at each other and then back at Trace, dropping their weapons simultaneously. ::

“Don’t, d, d, don’t kill us.”

:: One of them pleads as Trace’s expression still bears the twisted smile of evil intent, while he keeps coming forward. Their eyes glow blue as they look upon the blade of Trace’s saber, getting closer and closer to them with each step the Sith takes. Trace reaches out with the Darkside of the Force and feeds his own demented pleasures with the fear ebbing from the two. He raises his open hand from his belt and each of them are pulled from their positions, towards him via a Force push. With a slight turn of his wrist, Trace severs their heads and ends their existence, his smile growing as he watches them die for their stupidity.

His strong connection to the Darkside, due to the intense feelings of rage and twisted satisfaction from the deaths he caused, alerts him that another of his kind is currently in trouble and he reaches to his belt again, pressing the surface of the control unit for his driod. The driod turns and begins heading eastward again, while Trace does the same, moving with Force enhanced speed, eager to spill more of the blood of fools. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She looks at the door, all the way on the other side of the room. Her back burning like fire, and the wailing of the woman seem to call out to her "Your time is near." She shakes her head and is suddenly taken aback by a surge of rage. Her head swivels around, trying to see where it could be coming from. West. Where her ship is. No closer than that. And getting closer very quickly. At first, she is afraid, and in an instant, the fear is diminished; she senses not only the pure evil, but the urgency, that person was trying to get here fast. She felt that whoever it was, was coming to help. Being new to these feelings, Mari is completely swallowed by it's rawness and power. She doesn't even notice the men moving quickly towards her.*

[Trace Sha]

:: The door bursts open, flying from its attachments to the wall across the room and landing on a table with the crash of broken glass, scattering some poor patrons dinner across the floor. A man adorned in a long black coat and carrying his lightsaber within his hand steps in, drawing the attention of all within the building. ::

“Is there some kind of problem here? If there wasn’t, there most certainly is now!”

:: He makes a quick scan of the room and sees what he can tell is the Sith he had not meet before standing near the far wall, she exudes a craving for death that could only mean she is the one among them who is like himself. Several of the shocked faces of what appear to have been an angry mob of people who had intended her harm are turned in his direction as he walks through the door. ::

“Like to gang up on others do you?”

:: His brow furrows in rage as two tables from the sides of the room, lift from the ground and sail through the air, impacting three of the group and spilling them to the ground in a heap. Trace raises a hand and bids the Sith towards him with a slight motion of the wrist, as he continues to move in her direction, and the fallen group struggle to regain their senses. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Not at all perplexed by the other Sith's entrance, Mari just feels a wave of relief. She studies him as he takes out a few of the guards, and notices that he has a very striking resemblence to Master Rama. She jerks upright as he beckons her to come to him and starts foward, only to unleash a new wave of pain. What the hell was on that thing?!? She could only shield so much pain, and the fact that she was hurting this much meant that if she hadn't been shielding herself from it, she would be unconscious. She stops and wavers, then a new feeling pales the pain and the relief both.

Look at how weak you are! He's probably laughing at your weakness!

Shame fills her very being and she starts to walk again. She would not disgrace herself in front of anyone!*

[Trace Sha]

:: He is able to sense her pain and her strong will to not display it in the way she continues to move towards him. He feels pride in knowing that he has become a member of a group of such individuals that have so much honor and pride that they are willing to stave off the calls of death and despair to prove they are better than others. As he reaches her and she him, each of them meeting at the middle of the room, he reaches out a hand to take hers just as the room fills with the sound of rapid blaster fire.

Trace’s attention was so drawn to this strong in will though not in physical size, Sith woman that he had failed to notice that the guards had risen from their spill and were charging his and Mari’s position. His droid had entered the door behind him and let loose the fire from both of his blaster rifles, tossing the guards all across the room, as their blood flew through the small café, splattering the walls with the various colors from each of the differing species. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She reaches the Sith in black and is slightly surprised when he takes her hand. She feels the emotion roaring through the force, and being so close, she can feel his emotions. Shame disappears and wonder slips in to replace it. She is slighty aware of the blaster fire, but is frozen in place at the raw new feelings, and her err in judging the tall man's thoughts. The droid can take care of the guards easily; without any kind of blaster or gun, they were completely helpless. She stares upward and pain is forgotten, she knows her worth and, from now on, is going to make sure everyone else knows it too.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Still captivated by the sense of wonderment he feels at seeing her strength, he pays no mind to the death being dealt around them as he looks into her eyes, and sees her pain diminishing replaced with a gleam of trust and thankfulness, and something more which he is not familiar with. He speaks softly to her, but she is able to hear as the café has become quiet now that his guard has finished in his duty of protecting his Master and his ally, and stands at the door weapons still raised, prepared to deal more hurt to any who would intend them harm. ::

“I’m Trace, Prince Trace Sha. Did you get what it was you returned here for?”

:: He notices the smell of fresh blood upon her and reaches his free hand into his coat, withdrawing a small box which looked like a medical kit of some sort. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Determination flows through her entire being, the will power that she hadn't had before, given to her by one look and gesture from the tall, dark Sith. Mari smiles slightly at her perception when he says his name, and greets him in a similar fashion.*

"Yes. I am Mari Lorica, the Sith know me as Mari Bean."

*She notices a small box in his hand and upon realizing that it was a med kit, is nearly overcome by agonizing pain. The throbbing wound was located on the right side of her back, right under her shoulder blade. She grimaces slightly as she realizes that she wouldn't be able to bandage up herself. This was a weakness that she could not hide.*

[Trace Sha]

“It is good to meet you and to know that your trip to this city was at least fruitful in that respect.”

:: He states in regards to her having found what she was looking for. Using his light grasp on her hand to lead her to turn around, he inspects the wound on her back, letting go of her hand as he opens the medical kit. ::

“Looks as if these one of these dead fools caught you by surprise”

::.He withdraws a small cylindrical object from the box and places it to the side of her neck. A whooshing noise follows as he injects her with a hypo-spray containing a pain suppressor and very strong antitoxin. He places the cylinder back in the box and pulls out a small bacta covered compress, placing it below her shirt, against the wound, with his hand entering through the slice in her clothing. He closes the box and helps hold her steady, with one hand on her waist while he places the box back within his coat. Sensing her continued pain he turns her back around, and bends down to lift her into his arms. ::

“If you have need of nothing else here then we shall take our leave, and get back to your ship.”

:: He looks around the café at the carnage left by his droid. Not a single being besides himself and Mari remain alive. ::

“I don’t think any of these rats will be bothering either you or I any longer. You were very brave to face them alone.”

[Mari Bean]

*A small grunt escapes her throat as she is easily lifted, and yet again, she feels weak. She sighs; there was nothing for it, she probably couldn't walk all the way back to her ship anyway. She glances up at his face, and turns her head to try and look over his shoulder.*

"Stupidity is what brought me here, and stupidity guided my actions." *she shakes her head* "I thank you for your help. I don't know that I deserve your help at all, but I'll gratefully accept it."

*She folds her arms, making holding her slightly awkward, and is rewarded by a new surge of pain. Not as bad as before, whatever Trace had done was working, but still enough to force her to stifle a groan.*

"Ready when you are...."

[Trace Sha]

“You are one of the fellow members of my newly acquired home. I like to think I value those that are a part of what I consider my family. My helping those in my family is just a matter of being there when needed, and when I feel drawn to it, much like something drew me here.”

:: His holding of her in his arms, is firm yet gentle and secure as he turns and exits the café, his droid stepping back out of the way. They get outside and find that the evening has set in. The three of them make their way out of the quiet city and into the darkness. He occasionally looks down from the path he is taking and into her face and sees that she is not too pleased to be showing any weakness or need for help and he realizes that he would be feeling the same if he were in her place. Self pride was something he had found to be strong in many that he had encountered at the Empire and that was one of the things that made him feel very comfortable among them. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Her scowl, having been set on her face for some time, was beginning to make her jaw hurt. She wasn't used to showing any facial expression besides cool serenity or fiery rage. Every time she noticed Trace looking at her, her scowl would deepen. Finally, she simply decides to settle for a straight face, she couldn't have serentity, due to the fact that it required dignity, and she had been, however gracefully, robbed of hers. At first, every step jolted pain through her being, but now, she simply couldn't feel anything in her back, numbness spreading slowly throughout her body. She would fall asleep soon. Her scowl returned. She would not sleep in front of Trace Sha! That not only would show weakness, it would leave her vunerable. To what, she didn't know, but she wasn't taking any chances. She peers out into the night, trying not to focus on one thing. She watches the steady movements of the droid walking beside them, and upon realizing that "steady" anything would make her drowsy, it was too late. Mari's head slowly falls on Trace's shoulder, and she drifts off.*

[Trace Sha]

:: They arrived at the place where the two ships were, Trace’s second guard droid was still standing stoic in the same place he had been when Trace left and remained scanning the area, being sure that none would catch his Master or his associate by surprise. Trace walked into her ship and moved to what appeared to be the living quarters and softly set the sleeping Mari down upon the bed there. He lifted the compress from her back slightly, inspected the wound and saw that the Bacta had reduced the swelling and inflammation already. He carefully put the compress back in place, and turned to exit her quarters. ::

“Rest well petite warrior, your will is strong and you will be well enough to fight again soon.”

His first guard droid had followed and was waiting in the corridor outside as he stepped out and Trace nodded at the dark droid. IG881 took a position near the door and stood there waitig as the door to her quarters closed. Trace made his way to the cockpit and began to try and determine the extent of the damage to the craft, knowing that his Toscan Fighter’s small tractor beam device would not be powerful enough on its own to lift this YT-2000 out of the gravitational pull and be able to reach escape velocity.

There was no response from the on-board computer and back up switchover seemed to have no effect either, so he rose from the command chair and steped back outside the craft to inspect the impact damage he had seen from the air when he first arrived. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Mari wakes from another dreamless sleep, and sits up, rubbing her eyes. She glances around and is greeted by the somewhat familiar interior of her ship. She was in her quarters, a place she had actually only been in once, and was on the bed in the corner. She swings her legs around to set her feet on the floor, and thinks about all that happened. She then stands, they weren't out yet. She didn't think they were, at least. It didn't feel like they were moving.

She walks to the door, and finds out rather painfully that she was still a little sleepy. After a whirl of color and dizzyness, Mari opens her eyes and finds herself looking at the floor. She grumbles to herself and pushes off the floor, slowly. She carefully makes her way out the door and begins to look around for Trace.*

[Trace Sha]

:: On the top of Mari’s craft Trace hears a beeping coming from the Data pad on his belt. He pulls his head from the bulkhead he is inside working on and looks down to the pad, tapping its surface. ::

She’s awake. I hope she finds the provisions I left for her. From the looks of the stores I saw here on this ship, I’d venture to guess she is mighty hungry.

:: He pokes his head back into the bulkhead and resumes the reconnection of the main and auxiliary power conduits which had been severed from the impact sustained by the ship, while just outside the hatchway to her ship, his Guard droid,number 2, stood with his jacket draped over his arm, and blaster rifle raised in the other, continuing to scan the area. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Upon exiting her quarters, Mari glances at a shelf to see some things that looked like several packets. She carefully takes one off the shelf and opens it, sniffing at the contents. Her stomach roars with anticipation and impatience, "It's edible! Eat it!" She falls upon the provisions like a rock, depleting all but three of the packets. Full for the first time in weeks, she lets out a pleased burp, and looks around to make sure no one heard her bad manners.

Mari hears noises coming from outside, and decides to check them out. She exits the ship and finds a blaster at her nose. She lets out a high-pitched squeak, not at all willing to scream, but ready enough to jump out of her skin. The droid lowers it's arm, recognizing her as his master's companion, and continues to scan the forest for threats. Mari looks around to see half of Trace, the other half hidden by her ship as he "plays around" with the wiring of her ship. She is still somewhat confused by his willingness to help her, someone he didn't know, and probably didn't care to. She thought that perhaps it was their common affiliation or something similar to that. She watches him work and patiently waits for him to notice her.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Hearing a high pitched scream outside, Trace jerks suddenly in reaction and the clanging of his head against the inside of the ship’s hull follows. Slowly he pulls his upper torso from inside and raises a hand to the back of his head looking around, realizing that it probably isn’t any kind of trouble or else his data pad would be beeping and he would hear the familiar sound of blaster fire. He looks towards the droid, bringing his hand away from his head, checking for blood, seeing none, and notices just over his hand that Mari is standing down on the ground. ::

“I see your awake. This should be repaired well enough to get you off this planet here soon enough.”

:: He mutters under his breath to himself. “I hope” in finishing his sentence. ::

“Do you have any idea what happened here? It looks like you got hit by something mighty solid, though not any kind of weapons ordinance.”

[Mari Bean]

*Mari raises a hand to conceal a small smile from Trace. She regains her composure, and answers his question:*

"I don't know what happened. I was... asleep... and alarms began to sound. Something did hit the ship, but I am not sure what it was. It knocked me unconscious."

*She sits on the ground and looks up at him, not willing to trust her legs under her for a prolonged amount of time.*

"I'm not sure how to thank you. Words do not seem enough. If there is anything I can do for you in the future, please tell me. I am in your debt."

*Folding her hands in her lap, her last words still ringing in her mind, she cannot recall any other time she has said them. She prided herself in not ever needing help, and suddenly finds herself up to her ears in need. She sighs. She couldn't do much for herself anymore. Her occupation had changed, and she had to adapt to it, something she couldn't do alone.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Trace nods as he hears her explanation of what happened on her trip, still rubbing the back of his head. ::

“It was probably the asteroid field that caught me by surprise on my trip as I followed your ship’s emissions trail. I heard about your leaving the shipyards not too long ago and that you had not been heard from since, so I decided to investigate. Can’t have my fellow TSE members disappearing without a trace, with no explanations.”

:: He moves his hand away from the back of his head and smiles as he waves it in the air as she says she is in his debt. ::

“No need for any kind of repayment, it’s the least I could do for a Sith Knight. I would do so again for you without hesitation.”

:: He turned back to the hull section, shrugged slightly and began to climb down from the ship. “”

“I think I should go ahead and test this out and see if my repair efforts have done any good.”

[Mari Bean]

*She smiles. So that was the reason. She was a Sith. It was nice to know that TSE cared about it's members. She watches him as he climbs down and walks in front of her. They stand and stare at each other and Mari realizes that he wants her to test the ship. She scrubs a hand through her short hair and tries to think of a way to tell him without disgracing herself any further.*


"Ummm... I really can't fly that thing..."

Oh, THAT was smooth... *She thinks to herself while trying to find a way to save her tattered dignity.*

"Uh... I mean I think it's best if you tested it. You would know what to expect..."

[Trace Sha]

:: Trace looks at her as they stare at each other, waiting to see if she wants to test her own ship, and finds that looking into her eyes is hard to do, as he doesn’t want to betray his newfound feelings for this brave, strong, and beautiful Sith Knight. He isn’t sure that such feelings are proper for Sith and especially to have them for those of higher rank. He hears her response and its all he can do not to crack a grin and laugh, but he maintains his composure. ::

“Not a problem, I can do that.”

:: He enters the ship and moves to the c0ckpit. Looking down at the Computer kiosk he presses the smooth surface of its input panel to activate the ship’s power systems and the kiosk lights up and responds to his command. The ship begins to hum and light up as all of it systems begin to slowly come back online. He smiles and looks over at Mari. ::

“Looks like I have primary power restored, but final repairs will still need to be made back at the Shipyards to ensure that it stays in working order.”

:: Trace reaches down to the data pad on his belt and taps its surface. The sound of IG88 moving through the corridor follows and the large black droid enters the c0ckpit. Trace points a finger over his shoulder, at the droid. ::

“IG88 here can pilot my ship, while I pilot yours and show you a few things about how its operated if you like?”

[Mari Bean]

*Mari glances at the droid and turns her head slightly to hide the redness of her cheeks. She needed the help badly, but still was reluctant to admit it. She turns and looks him straight in the face, hoping that he takes her rosy cheeks as the healthy glow of a growing girl.*

"That would be... very nice. If it's not any trouble..."

[Trace Sha]

:: Takes notice of her color and realizes that her pride has made her embarrassed to tell him she needed help and he understands that as he knows that his own pride would never allow him to show weakness of any kind either. Even to his allies. Considering this for a moment he thinks her bravery even stronger for being able to admit it to him. ::

“ No trouble, at all.”

:: He turns to the droid and nods. IG881 truns and exits the ship, while Trace taps the surface of his data pad on his belt again, and IG882, still on guard outside, boards the YT-2000, as he has no pilot programming and Trace must have at least one of his guards with him at all times. ::

“You wanna sit there?”

:: He points at the co-pilot’s chair as he takes a seat in the pilot’s chair. ::

“You’ll be able to see and hear me well from that seat. And hopefully my lessons will be sufficient. I never have been much of a teacher, just a student.”

[Mari Bean]

*Mari sits down and folds her hands in her lap. She leans foward slightly, knowing that missing anything that might be important might really mess her up in the future. She rests her elbow on the arm of the co-pilot chair and props her head on her hand, eyes shining, ready to learn something she doesn't know about. She finds herself dropping her guard, her instinctive defenses softning around her improptu teacher. She smiles warmly now, spikes retracted, if only slightly, and pushes a lock of hair behind her ear.*

"Any instruction you could give would be great. Knowing to fly my own ship might prove a little useful..."

[Trace Sha]

:: Trace looks to the side and nods then he turns back to the control console in front of him. Slowly he places a hand on the smooth surface of the kiosk and runs his thumb up along one of the colored displays. The hum of the engines beginning to warm up follows, and he then presses a couple of the smaller colored points higher up on the panel. The ship can be felt slowly lifting off the ground. ::

“The first one starts the engines, and the second two engage the repulsorlifts.”

:: He taps another of the top colored displays with a finger tip and the landing struts can be heard folding up and moving into a flying position beneath the craft. Trace looks to make sure she is still watching, and sees that she is. He then takes the flight stick into his hand and pulls it back slowly, tipping the forward section of the ship into the air, as he takes the thrust control into his other hand, at the opposite side of the pilots chair. He begins to ease it forward and the ship starts moving forward, its speed increasing as the control moves further forward. ::

“And now we are airborne, and well on our way to getting off this rock. Any questions?”

[Mari Bean]

*Mari watches as Trace explains how to take off.*

"No, I think I've got it."

*She sits back and closes her eyes. A little while later, her ears began to ring. She shakes her head a rew times and suddenly is reminded why she ended up on that planet. She opens her mouth to ask Trace:
"What about those asteroids? Do you--" *She is cut off by the proximity alert going off. The Mors Dominae begins to shake and Mari wonders about Trace's ship. Does the droid know what to do? She thinks to herself.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Trace had already prepared for the asteroid field and had relayed the information to his droid, while Mari was relaxing. As he did on his trip in, he deactivated the automated piloting system and manually flew the craft through the field, keeping a close eye on the short range scanner display, silencing the proximity alert, so as not to have the distraction of the blaring alarm.

The short range scanner's readout, showed their position, the position of the nearby asteroids, and the position of Trace’s craft, as his droid piloted it. The blip representing Trace’s ship, flared brightly on the display and then disappeared, Trace shook his head. ::

“I knew I should have had IG881 programmed with detailed flight data, and not just the bare minimum. Looks like I’m going to be needing a new droid and a new ship.”

:: Several minutes later, the blackness of space in front of them, became clear of all the different shaped objects that had filled it earlier, indicating they were clear of the field. Trace reactivated the automated navigation system, and double-checking the coordinates. Satisfied with the situation, he unbuckled his harness, rose from his seat and left the cockpit.

He walked through the corridor and entered the crew compartment, sitting down at the table there, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a small flask, which he screwed the top off of and tipped to his mouth, hoping that the vodka would help settle his nerves after piloting through the asteroids and losing his ship. ::

“I guess it was a good thing I hadn’t named her yet, less attachment to an unnamed ship.”

[Mari Bean]

*Suddenly feeling really guilty at the way she treated Trace when she first met him, Mari follows him and puts a hand on his shoulder as he pours himself a drink. She tenses a little, not used to showing pity, and doesn't know what to do or say. Guilt and shame began to dig a hole in her chest; it was her fault his newly acquired ship was lost. She knew that there wasn't much sentimental value, from what he had told her at least, but ships cost a lot of money...

Her nose twitches at the smell of strong alcohol and, she decides to sit next to him instead of stand over him. She is unable to look him in the face, so she studies her hands in her lap.*

[Trace Sha]

:: As he pours the drink and feels her hand placed on his shoulder, he feels his heart begin to race and his tension level rise even more, but it quickly subsides and he becomes calm, finding comfort in her display of pity, for what had happened. He lifts the glass and then turns to look at her, seeing her looking down, he feels as if he is responsible for making her feel guilty. He reaches a hand out and places it under her chin, gently lifting it up and looks her directly in the eyes, with a look of confidence. ::

“Don’t let it worry you. That ship meant nothing to me and neither did the droid. I can easily replace them once we are back home at HQ. Having a royal treasury at your disposal is helpful for such things.”

[Mari Bean]

[i]*Fear flashes through her as he reaches out to put his hand under her chin. She smushes the emotion down into an imaginary trap-door in her mind determinedly, and makes her face a stone mask as he looks into her eyes. Her worst fears come to life, and she is forced to quell a small whimper forming in her throat. Of all the dangers in life, an emotion, a feeling that she doesn't want to feel, scares her most of all. Affection beyond friendship was something she couldn't have. She was not allowed to experience any such thing, because she was too weak to handle the pain of it.

She stares back into his eyes, attempting with all her might to hide her fear, and feels as if Trace had laid her soul bare so he could read it, and that he was reading her right now. She swings violently away from his touch and walks into the cockpit. She sits in the co-pilot's chair and takes a shuddering breath to steady herself, feeling guilty all over again.* <i/>

[Trace Sha]

:: Even though the moment was a brief one, Trace saw in her eyes, a reflection of himself. His own fears and guilt for harboring feelings that he did not think proper, that he did not think one such as himself should ever have. As she turned away and walked out, his chin dropped and he looked upon the hand he had placed on her chin, still able to feel the warmth, where his skin had met hers.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then turned back to his drink, lifting the glass from the table with a far off look in his eyes as he tilted it back and sipped from its contents. He knew he had plenty of time to try to relax, drown his sorrows, and attempt to ease his nerves, with the mind numbing effects of alcohol, as this trip, at sublight speed would take them approximately eighteen days. The ships systems weren’t fit enough for even the small hyperspace jump required to get from here to Monto Curdo.

Trace rose from the table and checked the food stores, pleased that he had his droid transfer enough supplies to hold them over, from his ship to this one, while he had been performing repairs. He picks up a ration packet, opens it and consumes its contents, before heading out of the crew quarters and into the corridor. He walks into the secondary living quarters and approaches the bunk within. Lying down on it he stares at the ceiling, lost in thought, then once again draws his flask from his coat, sips from it, and then closes his eyes to try and get some rest. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She stares at nothing, listening to sounds of movement behind her. She looks at her hands in her lap, something she had being doing a lot of lately.

"Her hands are too smooth and soft. Vanity and laziness will be prominent in her person."

Calluses streaked her palms, the shaft of the moonblade and hilt of the lightsaber each making it's own marks. At that, she began to wonder where her moonblade was. She couldn't remember if she had brought it or not... She brings her legs up into the chair and hugs them to her chest.

She realizes that it will probably a while to get back to HQ. She sighs inwardly, not knowing how well it will go with Trace's royal upbringing and her stubborness and pride fighting for position. She knew he didn't mean to do anything to anger her, but he was slowly making her feel inferior... which was true, in a sense. He had 8 or 9 years on her, experience came with age. She was an unruly child and he was an adult. At that thought, rage blinds her for a second before she can control it. She didn't know how to feel. She was lost and alone, and would be so for a long time. She didn't know what she would do if her feelings got the best of her in front of Trace.

She stays in the cockpit, curled up in the co-pilots chair, and falls into a fitful sleep.*

[Trace Sha]

:: As he slept, still fully dressed and half intoxicated from his drinking, Trace tossed and turned, his mind filled with the images of being placed in suspended animation on his home-world, by his own people, and the blank emptiness that followed as he lost consciousness, before being reawakened by his brother, about two years later.

He woke a few hours later and rose from the bed, making his way to the fresher. Once clean, he walked back into the main room and picked his jacket up from the bed and hung it from a nearby peg on the wall. He paused for a moment as he had the urge to retrieve the flask from it, but convinced himself that now wasn’t a good time for drinking. He knew their journey home had just begun, and that single flask was all he had left.

Walking over to the transparisteel window at the far side of the room, he looked out and stared into the blackness of space as it seemed to sit motionless before his eyes, the speed or even indication of their travel not discernable at a glance.

As he gazed out, he recalled the look in Mari’s eyes and he realized that his deed of helping her had probably caused her to despise him. Her pride was definitely a match, if not even stronger than his own, that was evident in the way she carried herself. That pride had been wounded by what he had done. He knew of no way to repair it, and felt it best if he just tried to stay out of the way for now, not wanting to feed the hatred he thought she held for him now. Hatred was their way, though the hatred of an ally was the last thing he wanted to have. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Mari finds herself standing at the edge of a cliff, the deep gray of the sky foretelling bad weather. She was cold, a chill that ran straight through her bones, not from the gusts whipping her cloak out behind her, or the icey mist clinging to her skin. It was the cold of foreboding, danger breathing it's rancid breath right through her skin. She stepped backwards, away from the cliff and almost lost her balance on the slick surface. She peers through the murk trying to find out what's out there. A feeling runs through her, chiding her for her foolishiness, beckoning her towards the edge again. She hears the scrap of boots on the rocks littering the edge, and jerks her head around to see Trace walking towards the edge. She wants to call out to him, tell him about the danger, but pride holds her fast. "There's probably nothing there. You'll look like a fool."

Trace reaches the edge of the slick cliff, and looks down into the swirling mist below, and looks towards her. His face is contorted into a mask of agony and sorrow. A test. You fail. The mist swirls violently and thrusts a tendril over the edge and squeezes Trace until the blood runs from his pores. He doesn't scream, only looks at Mari, his eyes burning holes through her soul. Blaming her. She tries to turn and run, but slips and falls. She opens her eyes and screams, the red slickness sticking to the side of her face, the metallic smell filling her nostrils with its essence. It represented all that she had and would betray, the blood spilled for her foolish pride. She screams, and a thousands pinpricks pierce her skin, the pain she deserves.

She falls out of the chair with a grunt. Her screams still vibrate through the small cockpit. She winces and lays on the floor, enjoying it's coolness; Trace would come to investigate soon, and Mari didn't think she could face his eyes right then.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Still leaning against the tranpristeel window, Trace has his hands balled in fists and his eyes tightly closed, as he tries to put aside the idea that he has made a Sith Knight angry with him. The shrieking scream fills his ears and his eyes pop open and his head whips around in surprise. He is able to tell that the scream came from the front section of the ship and he was concerned what it could possibly be. His second IG88 guard droid was still on board and it had not alerted him to any danger.

Turning away from the window he moved out into the corridor, looked from side to side and let his anticipation to know what was wrong fuel the power of Darkside energies within him, it guiding him to the cockpit of the ship. He stepped through the doorway to the cockpit and stopped, surprised at what he saw. He saw Mari lying on the floor, no visible injuries and no longer making any sounds, though he could still see he back rising and falling, showing she was still drawing breath. Reluctantly he asked. ::

“Everything alright?”

[Mari Bean]

*She pushes herself up with her hands, pausing to look straight at the floor and regain her composure. She gets to her feet and keeps her head lowered, remembering the last time she looked into the face of a Sith from her dreams. For a matter of fact, the last person to hear her scream was Nuriko Sha, Trace's sister-in-law. Her head began to spin, Was there something significant about the Sha's? She lowered her voice so the fact that she was trembling might be overlooked. She felt a tickle in the back of her head, the darkside rising within her to confirm some of her suspisions. She already knew that TSE had significance in her dreams, but the Sha's?*

"Everything is fine. Just an... unpleasant dream..."

[Trace Sha]

:: He is able to see her trembling and hear the questions she asks of herself in the tone of her voice, but decides it best not to question her about what could have made her have such a bad dream as he himself knows what it is like. It is one of the reasons he drinks so much, so that he may sleep without the images of being placed into a hibernation chamber and fading to blackness, not knowing if he would ever return. He shakes his head, returning from his own thoughts he looks up in her direction, nods and says. ::

“Alright, good to know your alright.”

:: He then turns to leave, heading back toward the personal quarters he has been using. ::

[Mari Bean]

*As he looks in her direction, she glances up and catches a glimpse of his eyes. Like before, his face shows pain and sadness. She grimaces at the product of her own mind, and closes her eyes. She lowers her head, wanting to cry, but remembers that weeping is another weakness. She was beginning not to care about showing weakness. At least not to Trace. He had seen her make a fool of herself already, there wasn't much more he could see.

She steps out of the cockpit and walks to her quarters, across from the quarters Trace was using. She sniffs at her clothes and walks to a closet and removes some fresh robes and uses the fresher to remove the god-awful smell of two days of walking, old blood, and nightmare sweat. She tosses the dirty robes onto the floor and sits on the bed, thinking. Out of habit, the thoughts become words and began to trickle out in the form of arguement.*

"The Sha's appearing in my dreams and out is just a coinicidence!
Ha! You know dreams of that kind always have a pattern!
Ugh... Ok... Then WHY do the Sha's keep popping up in my dreams?"

*And that was a question she couldn't answer herself...*

[Trace Sha]

:: Back in his quarters he hears that Mari has gone to her own. He hears the door open and close in the corridor, followed closely by the sound of IG882 moving into a position near the entrances. Trace looks down at the flask lying on his bed and decides that he will wait until later to have any more to drink.

Hours seem to pass like they were days as he sits on the edge of the bed, contemplating all the things that have been running through his mind during this adventure away from his former home of Ord Mantell and away from his newfound home at Sith Empire HQ. He remembers how stricken with awe he was when he first set eyes on the young Sith Knight Mari, bravely fighting all the occupants of the cafe, for something he hadn't even bothered to ask her about. She had returned to retrieve something, but he didn't know what it was, though he figured it must be important. His mind drifted as he became somewhat drowsy, it drifted to when he was young and his brother was taken away from Ord Mantell, taken away to become a Jedi.

Now holding his flask in his hands, fiddling with the container, Trace fights the urge to drink. His addiction to the spirits pulling him to do it with the beckon pains of need, within his mind and his body, as he begins to sweat the cold sweat of a junkie needing his fix. ::

[Mari Bean]

*After hours of comtemplating her situation, Mari finally snaps. She needed someone to talk to, besides herself, which probably wasn't heathly anyways. She exits her quarters and notices the droid standing by the door. She stops in front of Trace's quarters and knocks lightly, hoping not to disturb him if he's sleeping.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Hearing the knocking Trace answers ::

“Just a moment.”

:: He rises from the bed, stows his flask back in his jacket as it hangs from the peg on the wall, and goes over to the fresher, wiping the sweat from his forehead, before he walks over to the door and activates the switch so that it opens for Mari. Standing to the side of it he looks at her trying to hide his pains of needing drink and asks. ::

“Did you need something, or is this just a casual visit?”

:: He grins slightly as the sentence ends, trying to lighten the tense air between them, and in his own demeanor with a joking tone in his voice as he asked. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She tries to return the grin, but fails miserably when she hears the stress in his tone. She looks up sharply and notices a tightness to his face that wasn't there before. Something was wrong. She couldn't't put her finger on it, but Trace was... in pain. She couldn't see any wounds, and she hadn't heard anything. She stands in front of him, and against her better jugdement, puts a hand on his forearm.*

"Trace... What's wrong?"

[Trace Sha]

:: His half smile fades as he realizes that his efforts to hide his condition failed and he lowers his head, looking at the place on his arm where she had placed her hand. Drawing in a deep breath, hoping to make himself feel a bit better about what he knows he must tell her, as he suspects if he were to try and skirt the issue, she would be able to sense that as well, and he does not wish to deceive her. ::

“My mind and body have become dependant on alcohol, and I have gone all day without any. The effects of not doing so are beginning to set in.”

:: He turns his head and looks over at his jacket, then closes his eyes, shakes his head, and turns back to look at Mari. ::

“Addictions are a tough thing to deal with, and I wasn’t prepared for such a long trip. Looks like it may be time for me to try and kick the habit, though my body sure doesn’t want me to.”

[Mari Bean]

*Her sharp gaze softens, and she looks down, feeling selfish. He must be having a hard time telling her this. She hadn't thought about him having weaknesses. She knows she should try and help, but she doesn't know how. She herself, so preoccupied with her own weakness, had never been in such a situation. She leaves her hand where it is and tries to say something that might help.*

"I... don't know how much help I can give, but... know that I am here... if you feel like talking..."

*She uncomfortably shifts her shoulders, ending her sentence rather awkwardly. She isn't used to depending on people, and she certainly isn't used to having people depend on her. But she decides that she should at least make an attempt. She finds herself becoming fond of Trace, despite their limited conversation, and wants to help him in any way she can.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He steps back, moving away from her touch on his arm, and sits on the edge of the bunk. Glancing occasionally over at his jacket, he sighs and begins to speak, his voice’s tone low and pained. He looks up into her eyes as she listens. ::

“When I was 21 years old and being prepared to be made King of Ord Mantell, the citizens revolted and killed my Father and my Step Mother, leaving only myself and my Sister Alisa as the last remaining people of royal descent on the planet. After our parents were killed, I was taken deep into what must have been some kind of dungeon within the castle. I had no knowledge that we had such a thing there, but wasn’t too surprised to find out, though my circumstances for being there were definitely not good ones. I was tortured for information in relation to my family’s assets and the secrets of the castle, it lasted for days and was very traumatizing to say the least.

Once they figured out that they would not get what they wanted from me, they decided to put me into cryo-hibernation, why they didn’t just kill me, I’m not sure. I suppose they thought they could get more information out of me later. The images of being tortured by those who had previously been so loyal to my family, race through my mind during almost every waking moment. I still feel the pain surging through my every pore as if it were happening now. I suppose that is what has driven me to drink just as it drove me to follow my brother’s path of the Darkside. I have much hatred within me for what was done, and I took great pleasure in killing the man who lead my captors. But even that is not enough to take away the pain, now I find myself eager to make others suffer, while at the same time trying to mask my own with the influence of alcohol.”

:: He looked away from her eyes again and towards his jacket, feeling the spirits of comfort calling his name. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Mari again feels a surge of guilt. She knows it is not her fault, but she feels guilty about the way she judged him in the beginning. She follows his glances toward his jacket and sees the longing in his eyes, the need for an escape, a barrier from the pain. To tell him that he should forget his past and think about his future would make her the greatest of hypocrites, so she decides against it. She thinks the best way to help Trace is to get his mind off not just the alcohol, but the memories, which drive him to it... but she hasn't a clue on how to do that.

She bites her lip, and timidly steps between Trace and his jacket, afraid that he might do something irrational if provoked. She thinks about his last sentence, and hesitantly speaks.*

"But by masking your suffering with such a substance may worry the people who care about you," *She begans to wonder if Trace's brother, Rama, is an alcoholic, but disgardes the idea, since Nuriko seems to have strong opinions about alcohol...* "A drink may shield you from pain, but it does not make it go away. Only you have the power to do that."

*She flinches at her own words. Practice what you preach. She had given him advice that she herself should follow...*

[Trace Sha]

:: Sweat had begun to form on his forehead once again, as his body ached for that which he had been depriving himself of for the entire day. He listened carefully to Mari’s advice and began top ponder the first thing she said, wondering if anyone really did care for him. He nodded his head as he recalled his brother rescuing him from his imprisonment in the cryo-hibernation unit. Looking back up at Mari, he sighed deeply. ::

“I may be the only one who can make the pain go away, but I have yet to figure out how. What about you, what has made you become one of the Sith, what is it that motivates you to let your aggression lead you through life?”

:: His hands fidgeted in his lap, as he gripped and clasped them in a sign of nervous anticipation and not knowing what to do, while sober. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Mari lowers her head, a flood of memories rushing through her mind, threating to wash her away. She watches Trace fidget nervously, and decides that if she cannot be strong for herself, she should be strong for him. Her face turns into an impassive stone mask and she begins:*

"When I was 13, my mother was taken by bounty hunters. I believe that she was brought to a Jedi group. I began to search for her and stowed away on a transport barge. I was discovered and a control collar was put on my neck. I was sold to a king and was made his... personnal slave. The darkside helped me escape, after I watched my home planet be destroyed. I continued my search and came across the Sith Empire. I joined, thinking that the Sith might help me. " *she shakes her head, trying to lessen the pain of what she is about to say and fishes the bracelet that was so important to her that she risked death to retrieve it.*
"But, by then, I should have already known she was dead. This," *she holds out the golden adornment* "is a her life bracelet. With this, I can tell where she is, no matter where she is. Except in death. And it stopped working when I was fourteen. I foolishly continued to search, and got myself into trouble that could have been avoided. It's useless, I don't need it anymore. I risked not only my life in retreiving it, but yours as well."

She looks away from him, embarrassed at her own stupidty and waits for him to respond.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He listened intently, finding her story similar to his own in some ways, yet more tragic in others. As she held out the bracelet for him to see, he raised his hands and took hers within it, squeezing it reassuringly. ::

“It is obviously not useless, for it is something you will always have to remember your Mother even if you can no longer feel her life force. It pleases me that I was able to aid you in retrieving it. Perhaps someday, you can give it to your own child, and they can feel your life force with it. Something so magical is bound to attach itself to you just as it had your Mother.”

:: He finds himself forgetting his pain as he thinks about this Sith Knight’s past. She had a very rough childhood, something he himself could not fathom, for his own childhood was the spoiled and comfortable one of a future King. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Mari glances at his hands, completely enveloping hers, and enjoys the warmth they give off. She can feel his pulse in her palm... or maybe it's her own. She listens to his words, and at the end, begins to shake her head.*

"It is not so easy. I must make another to give to my child. My mother was supposed to began teaching me how a few months ago..."

*She drops her eyes, and blinks away the mist forming at the edge of her vision. Her hand, still encompassed in his, begins to ball into a fist.*

[Trace Sha]

:: A look of sadness washes over his face and he grips her hand more tightly within his own. ::

“I apologize for making an assumption like that. Is there any way you can learn how to make one without your Mother’s guidance?”

:: He moves one hand away from hers and brushes a small lock of her hair back out of her face, and runs his fingertips along her cheek just below her eye, noticing the moisture welling up within. Their eyes meet and he can see the mixed emotions raging within her, and she can see the compassion and sorrow he has for having made her feel this way. ::

[Mari Bean]

*The bracelet in her hand begins to dig into her flesh as he tightens his grip. The hand moves away and leaves her's exposed to the air, making it feel cold and clammy.*

"I'm not sure. I suppose I won't find out unless I have a child."

*Looking at the floor, she fails to notice the hand reach up and brush a lock of hair out of her eyes until it touches her cheek. The pressure of his fingers on her cheek causes a warm tear to slide down onto them. Her eyes meet his, and she is slightly warmed by what she sees within them. She closes her eyes, berating herself silently for crying, but unable to make herself move away.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He wipes away the moisture on her cheek, where the tear had fallen onto his hand, with his thumb. Rising from the edge of the bunk, he steps closer to her, not paying any attention to his jacket hanging from the peg behind. Her emotional state and words, having drawn his complete attention, making him forget his own problems. The pounding in his head, the hot flashes, and the aches and pains, all but vanished as he worries about her state, and how he may be able to help her feel more at ease. As he steps closer to her, he finds himself pulling her face gently to his chest, placing his other arm around her back and hugging her, trying to comfort her with a warm embrace. ::

“Then keeping the one from your Mother is important and not useless? As you may be able to use it as a template of sorts, should the day you have a child, come.”

[Mari Bean]

*Eyes still closed, Mari feels him stand and move towards her. Her head is pulled into something warm and an arm wraps around her. Her eyes pop open, and a gasp is ripped from her throat, sounding very much like a sob. She tenses, wanting to run away, but cannot move, the protection that the embrace seems to promise holds her where she is. With her head almost to his chest, their size difference was severly evident. The deep rumble of his voice is muffled and she doesn't know what he is saying. But it feels soothing, the words she cannot hear, a comfort. Her hands stay at her sides, one trembling slightly, fidgeting with her robe, the other, a tight, unmoving fist, surrounding the bracelet.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He closes his own eyes and takes comfort in the embrace himself, continuing to hold her, even after she seemingly cried out, because there has ot been any physical resistance. He suspects that his desire and action to comfort her just caught her by surprise. After a couple of minutes he places his hands on her shoulders and steps back some, bending down low enough to look into her face. ::

“I know I can’t make your past any better, or take away the pain, just as you cannot for me, but know this, you have many friends and allies among those of us at TSE and I would like you to know that I am one of them.”

[Mari Bean]

*She smiles, and lifts a hand to wipe any remaining tears from her eyes. She looks into his face, and for the first time, doesn't have to crane her neck up to do so.

She begins to think about children, and if she would ever have any. She had been almost certain she wouldn't when her mother died, not being able to do any of the rituals of bonding between her children, that her mother was supposed to teach her, but she isn't so certain now. She discards the idea of using mind control to force someone, for there were many men at TSE that were worthy, and probably couldn't be controlled anyway. She decides to try something new, love, something that no one in her society had done. She just has to find it.

Her thoughts wander back to her dreams, her betrayal. Her secureness fades a little, and a pained look streaks across her face.*

"With friendship comes pain. I hope I do not cause my friends too much of it..."

[Trace Sha]

:: His features tighten some as he sees her pained expression, and he forces a smile as she speaks, still holding her shoulders, trying to read what he sees within her eyes. ::

“I have yet to experience any pain in relation to friendships, but I have not had many experiences to weigh that on, being sheltered and groomed to be King, kept me from having many social interactions.”

:: As he finishes his sentence, his eyes blink and his vision blurs. He becomes dizzy and puts a hand down to the ground to support him. The withdrawal affects were beginning to effect him again, and this time it was more pronounced than it had been earlier. His eyes flutter, then roll back and close, just as he falls sideways in an unconscious heap on the floor. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Horror flashes through her as she watches him collapse. With an expression very much like a startled rabbit, she cannot move or make a sound. Then she falls to her knees and grabs Trace's wrist, checking for a pulse. His arm feels hot, and she can feel the faint beating of his heart continuing to pump blood through his veins. He begins to sweat, and his breathing becomes labored.

She moves her grip up to his upper arm and tries to lift him. She squeaks as she pitches foward over him, and falls on her head. She grumbles a little, the terror of her situation forgotten momentarily. She pushes herself up and tries again, this time angry that she cannot help her friend by lifting him from the floor onto a bed. She grunts as she lifts him off the floor and gets half of him onto the bed. He begins to slip back off but she grabs him around the torso and pushes him up.

She steps back and catches her breath and moves to the door. It slids open, and she notices Trace's droid standing outside of the door. She stares at it blankly and wonders if it will listen to her.*

"Er... uh, could you, um, get me a towel or something...?"

*To her surprise, it obeys her, and moves down the hallway. She chuckles. The droid knows her ship better than she does. It returns with the towel, and she wets it with water from the stores. She places it on his forehead, and sits on the edge of his bed, not really knowing what's wrong or what to do.*

[Trace Sha]

:: As he lies there, unresponsive to her care, she can see that his eyes are moving quickly beneath his closed eyelids, darting from side to side and top to bottom, indicating that he is having some type of dream and or vision in his unconscious state. His body’s blood chemistry is way off, being half Corellian and half Nabari, becoming addicted to alcohol didn’t take much, and not having had any for over twenty-four hours now, had poor affects on his physiology, making him weak and susceptible to times of euphoria, dizziness, and unconsciousness.

His chest could be seen to start rising and falling more quickly than it had been previously, his breathing increasing in its frequency, most likely a result of whatever visions he was seeing in his mind. ::

Strapped on a table, Trace looked up into the eyes of the cruel looking individual hovering over him. The eldest son of Mogul Sha looked up with a face streaked with sweat, blood, and an expression of exhaustion and pain, as the dark clad individual began to get closer, holding a very sharp, very fine looking needle type apparatus, aiming it for Trace’s eye.

:: The scream filled his mind and shortly thereafter filed the room, as Mari sit on the edge of the bed, still trying to help him in any way she could. His eyes popped open, though still heavy with the signs of his weakened state, and displayed within them, the fear of the vision he had just seen in his mind. Breathing hard, his body began to relax again and he laid back on the bed, trying to regain control of his erratic breathing. ::

[Mari Bean]

*As the scream fills the room, Mari throws her hands up in surprise and falls off the bed with a thud. Pushing herself to her knees, she peers over the edge of the bed.*

"Trace? Are you... alright?"

*A trace of fear can be heard in her voice. She doesn't know what's going on, or how to help, and losing her first friend would be devastating. She slips a hand over the edge of the bed and onto his hand, hoping that he could feel it and know that she was there to help in anyway she could.*

[Trace Sha]

:: She feels his hand is clammy with sweat and trembling from the weakened state of his mind and body, his head turns and he speaks to her softly. ::

“I think I’m alright. Last thing I remember was talking to you and then I had a really bad flashback and woke up here.”

:: He tries to sit up on the bed and finds the room spinning, so he lays back down, putting his other hand over his eyes and groaning slightly. ::

“I suspect the first couple of days of no drink should be the worst. Could you have my droid get some water for me to drink, I’m feeling very parched and if I’m gonna quit the spirits I should start with some non alcoholic beverages right away?”

[Mari Bean]

*She nods and stands beckoning for the droid, and sending it for some water. It returns with a canteen, and she kneels once again at the side of the bed.*

"Can you sit up? I can help you with this if you need it." *gestures with canteen*

[Trace Sha]

:: He rolls over onto his side and lifts himself up some with his elbow on the surface of the bed. His eyes catching hers as she looked on with a desire to assist him. She can see the gratitude in his eyes as he tells her. ::

“I think I can manage, but your help is most definitely appreciated, as I am in a bit of a bad way right now.”

:: He moves his other hand, shakily under hers and helps her lift the canteen to his mouth, taking a short drink from it before he moves his hand away and lies back down, his head still turned to the side, looking at her with a thankful gaze. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She beams encouragement at him, a little worried about the clamminess of his hand under hers. When he finishes, she re-caps the canteen and puts her arms on the bed leaning her head on them, and looks at Trace.*

"It is nothing. If there is anything else you need, just say so."

[Trace Sha]

:: He smiled at her words as he laid there, still looking at her, his eyes cloudy with the effects of his condition. His forehead beaded with sweat and his arms shook where they sat at his sides. ::

“I think I’ll try to rest now. Could you wake me if I look as if, or you sense that I am having a vision. I keep reliving my past in my sleep, and right now, I am too weak to face those visions?”

[Mari Bean]

*She nods, and stays where she is, watching the rise and fall of his chest begin to even out. When she's sure he is asleep, she turns and sit on the floor, leaning on the bed. She closes her eyes and listens for the tell-tale signs of bad dreams, increased breathing and the like. She brings her legs up to her chest, and sighs, hugging her knees for comfort. She drops her head onto the bed, next to Trace's arm, and lets her thoughts wander.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He sleeps peacefully, the knowledge of having Mari close by seems to help comfort him. He had a great deal of respect for this petite Sith Knight and was growing very fond of her. As he slept his thoughts were filled with visions of her and his experiences with her so far on their journey. A smile graced his features as he slumbered contently.

Hours later he woke, feeling somewhat better than he had before. His body was still a bit weak and his skin cool and damp, but his vision was clear. He turned and saw Mari’s head lying on the edge of his bed and couldn’t resist running his fingers through her hair, and looking into her young face as she slept. He whispered…::

“Thank you.”

[Mari Bean]

*A warmth spreads through her, originating from her head and flowing all the way to her toes. She is wary at first, believing it is another nightmare, but realizes a difference in her previous nightmares and what was happening. There is no substance, no solidity, only the feeling, glowing and warm, absorbing her being with it's brilliance. She relaxes and enjoys the feeling, even though she doesn't know where it's coming from.

Her eyes flicker open, and the euphoria fades, but does not disappear. She discovers the origin, for she finds herself staring right into the face of it. The feeling of fingers in her hair brings unwelcome memories, but they pale in comparison to the questions going through her head. How could one person fill with so much warmth, where all that existed was ice? Her lips part, but she cannot speak; no words would come. She just continues to stare, a mixture of curiousity, affection, and traces of fear, visible in her eyes.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He was surprised to see her eyes open and then even more surprised by what he saw within them. His first instinct is to pull his hand away from the touch, but that instinct is overwhelmed by his own feelings of affection and curiosity. He has no fear of the feelings but seeing the small hint of fear in her eyes does not surprise him. Before he even knows what is happening, he finds himself nose to nose with her, his lips moving to touch hers. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She thinks she can almost see a reflection of her own emotions in his eyes, but is struck by the absense of fear. He is not afraid of his own feelings. His face moves towards her own, looking surprised at what he is doing. Her expression becomes a mirror image of his as his lips touch hers, and she is suddenly lost in a roar of emotion. Her first thought, to move away, was swallowed by the new feeling she felt, and her emotions tear through her, stripping away her defenses and leaving her bare. A tear slowly makes it's way across her nose to his, and her eyes close after it, her heart trying to pound it's way out of her chest.*

[Trace Sha]

:: The warmth that swept through his body was overwhelming, it completely washed away all his feelings of weakness due to his physical condition. He felt his heart swelling with feelings he wasn’t familiar with, but they brought him strength. His eyes closed just as he saw hers do so, and his lips pressed to hers more firmly, his hand in her hair, moving around to the back of her head, his fingers twisting gently through the strands of it. He was lost in a sea of emotions he did not comprehend and suddenly, pulled back to reality, when he felt a wetness touch his nose. He slowly pulled back from the kiss, though still nose to nose with her, opened his eyes and looked at her face to try and read if she had been frightened by what his instincts had him do. He spoke softly to her, stuttering some as he did. ::

“I, I, I, I’m sorry, something just came over me and I couldn’t hold myself back. Please don’t be sad or angry with me. I was just following my heart.”

[Mari Bean]

*As he pulls away, her eyes open, the feeling of the pressure of his lips on hers still there. When he speaks, she smiles, his words stumbling over each other, and lifts her hand to place it softly on the side of his head.*

"And that is what being a Sith means. To live off your emotions and follow your heart."

*Her words come out as soft as his, but where he stuttered, her voice quivers. She is being pelted with emotions she had never felt before, and the last time someone's hand had been in her hair, she had been screaming.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Seeing her smile began to ease his guilt of doing something that he thought may have made her unhappy. And then he felt elated, she responded even more positively to his affections. His heart began to race and pound furiously as she placed her hand on the side of his face.

He closed his eyes and let the warmth of the touch wash though his entire being. As she began to speak he opened his eyes again and looked into hers, his face leaning into her embrace of it. A smile graced his lips as she spoke words of wisdom, her experience and time as a Sith was greater than his own and he wasn’t sure if following these emotions was right, but hearing her words reminded him of his Master’s teachings and he knew she was right.

His hand within her hair, moved around to the side and he traced the contour of her cheek with the tip of his thumb. He moved closer to her again, lifting his chin and pressed his lips to her forehead, just above her eyes. Then tilted his head back down and looked at her with a confident expression. ::

“Thank you for the advice, and words of wisdom. I find myself feeling things I never have before. I hope that my actions have not brought you any pain.”

:: All traces of his poor physical condition have faded as he feels as if he were as strong as ten men and his body pulses and flows with a newfound energy. ::

[Mari Bean]

*The smile forming on his lips warms her, as does the light touch on the side of her face. She shivers slightly as his lips touch her forehead, and at his words, shivers more.*

"Not any pain that mustn't be faced. I cannot give you advice that I do not plan to follow myself."

*She looks into his eyes and notices that the tightness that was there is gone and he is no longer sweating. She touches his hand on her cheek and finds it warm and healthy, not cold and clammy like before. She smiles at him, and closes her eyes, enjoying the feel of the emotions she had just discovered.*

[Trace Sha]

:: As she closes her eyes, his thumb moves across her cheek and follows the curve of the outline of her eye. He had felt her trembling when he kissed her this time, and had a feeling that maybe there was something in her past that made her fear being close and having physical contact from someone. ::

“What does your heart tell you?”

[Mari Bean]

*She opens her eyes, her eyelashes brushing his thumb as he traces her eye, and thinks about his question. She looks down, away from him, as she tries to think of a way to tell him what her heart tells her.*

"My heart... it says to let go. It says forget everything that has happened, forsake my memories, everything that has made me the way I am, the source of my fear. I have never felt this way before. My heart does not want to let go.*

*Her voice wavers a bit at the end, revealing to him what she had hid from even herself. Her hand slides away from his face and rests on the edge of the bed.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He moves his hand away from her face and down to the hand she placed on the edge of the bed. He lifts hers in his own and brings the tops of her fingers to his cheek, then presses his lips to them and kisses a knuckle lightly. ::

“I have never felt this way either, but my heart is not mixed, telling me to let go, while at the same time telling me to not let go. It is leading me on a path which is bringing me strength, a path to do all that I can to aid and please you.”

[Mari Bean]

*She shakes her head, trying to clear her scattered thoughts.*

"I cannot even express my feelings clear. I meant that my heart doesn't want to let go of the new feeling. It needs to forget, but it also wants to keep feeling the way you make me feel. My heart asks too much. I am sorry."

*Her fingers, still in his hand, tremble a little, and she makes a point not to look at them.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He slides off the bed and kneels down on the floor next to her, still holding her hand in his. He reaches out his other hand and places it on the side of her arm. ::

“Do not be sorry for things you cannot control. You have expressed in what you said, that I make you feel a way, which you do not want to end. That pleases me very much so, and I do not wish to stop doing that.”

:: He places his hand on her shoulder and gently pulls her close to him in a warm embrace, just as their bodies meet, the entire ship shudders and shakes violently, knocking the couple to the floor. The shaking is followed by the sound of an alarm from the cockpit, and the lights in the room flicker and become a reddish color, indicating there is some type of emergency.

The two of them rise from the floor and look at each other puzzled for a moment and then move quickly into the corridor and to the cockpit. Once there they are able to see another space vessel through the transparisteel, firing laser blasts at Mari’s ship. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Her surprised expression turns to one of anger when she sees the other vessel firing at them. She beckons Trace to the pilot's chair, he'd be better at maneuvering than she, and she turns back down corridor, and to the turret, leaving with a simple point down the corridor where she was headed.

She straps herself in and begins returning fire at the ship. She grits her teeth and growls as it begins dodging the blasts, but even though she hadn't ever used a gun turret before, she was getting closer and closer to hitting the enemy each time.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Having strapped himself into the pilot’s chair, Trace began evasive maneuvers while at the same time trying to get a better idea of who this might be attacking them. He noticed some markings along the cockpit of the other vessel and recognized them as being written in the same language he had seen on Monto Curdo. He supposed that they were disgruntled citizens of the planet owned and tyrannically governed by the Sith Empire, who had somehow escaped and become pirates of space. It didn’t surprise him too much that they had attacked Mari’s ship, which more the markings of TSE.

With some luck as well as some good piloting, Trace managed to position the YT-2000 behind the craft, matching every move it made, doing all he could to give Mari an opportunity to blow these fools into spacedust. As he tailed the ship, he looked down to the console and saw that their own shield status had dropped from 76% integrity to 34%. He looked back up, just in time to see the red streak of a laser blast, heading right for the transparisteel cockpit, directly in front of him.

Pitching quickly to the side, the shot struck the side of the tubular structure of the cockpit, bringing the status of the shields down to 8% and causing an explosion within the piloting area. Sparks and fire rained around Trace, but he held fast in his pursuit, as the automated fire suppression system kicked in and extinguished the blaze. He sat in the pilot’s seat, his face black and red from burn wounds, his pain was evident in his eyes, but he held fast to the task at hand. ::

[Mari Bean]

*The shot was perfect, it was clear and open, calling her name. They were behind the other ship, and she had just locked on to her target. Then, the ship fired at them again, and for some reason, they didn't try to avoid it.

The ship shudders violently, and she grinds her teeth, wondering what Trace is doing, and if he's alright. She looks up to the display and fills the air with obscenities. The ship is trying to come back around behind them. She hopes Trace is awake now, and fires, trying to desuade them of their choice of paths.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Shaking off the blurriness in his sight, his blood beginning to boil with rage at those who would try to destroy himself and Mari, he focuses on keeping the ship within sight. The anger within him helps him to overcome the pain and agony of the wounds to his face.

As the offending craft moves to try and get behind them, he flips a switch on the console, activating the second turret on the Mors Dominae which springs to life, and spins to the side, firing blasts at the other ship from the bottom of Mari’s ship. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Realizing that Trace has gotten back on track, she attempts something that Ogre showed her once.*

Trace? Are you ok?!? What happened?!?

*Wondering if her message had gotten through; she hadn't really tried telepathic communication throught the darkside before, she concentrates on the target, the ship represented by a red blip on the display. She targets it again and fires, and growls when the ship dodges again.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Pitching the ship hard to the left, following the other, Trace suddenly hears a voice in his mind. He recognizes it right away and finds himself responding instinctively, even though he had never used telepathic communication. ::

”Took a hit here in the cockpit, stunned me for a few, but everything is alright now.”

:: he raised a hand to the burns on his face and flinched in pain briefly, as the fire from Mari and the automated turret closed in quickly on the enemy craft, pounding its shields. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She nods to herself upon recieving Trace's message, and continues battering away at the enemies shields. The other ship ceases fire and the commlink begins to static, probably a surrender. She grins and ceases fire as well, also disengaging the automated turret. The ship begins to turn around and a blast streaks through space from the Mors Dominae, and upon impact with the side of the ship, ends with a firey explosion. Several more follow the first blast and make sure the ship is dust.

She throws back her head and laughs at the blind fools who just lost their lives because they underestimated the strength of a lone Sith ship. She unstraps herself and starts towards the cockpit.*

[Trace Sha]

:: A twisted grin of pleasure comes over Trace’s face, as the fireball of the exploding ship reflect orange off of his pale white face. He looks down to the nav console and resets the previous coordinates back to the Sith Empire HQ. Trace un-straps himself from the pilot’s seat and rises to his feet. The pain in his face from the burns in minor, but he does need to go check on getting some medical supplies to get it taken care of, as he had left his kit back in the room. He exits the cockpit and enters the corridor. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She steps out into the corridor at the same time Trace does. She takes in his burned face and her expression becomes one of sympathy. They stop and stare at each other in the corridor, before Mari slips behind Trace and motions him towards his quarters.*

[Trace Sha]

:: They arrive at his quarters and walk through the door. Trace grabs his med kit from the peg next to his jacket and moves back over to his bed sitting on the edge of it, as he opens the small box. He pulls out a couple of small bacta covered flat bandages, as well as a roll of medical tape. He looks up at Mari and asks. ::

“Could you help me with this?

:: His cheek is severely blistered and his left eye swollen almost shut from the damage he sustained from the fire. ::

“I would have mentioned the injury I took to your earlier, but figured it was best to wait until the situation was resolved. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She takes the bandage in her hand and looks at it, then looks at Trace. She carefully puts the first bangage over his blistered cheek, and looks at his eye, not sure if she should just put the bandage on, or if there were eyedrops of some sort in the medkit that were to be applied first.*

"Yes... I suppose it was best..."

[Trace Sha]

:: He holds the med kit in his hand and notices her looking at his eye now that his cheek has been covered, pulling a small bottle from the kit he offers it to her. ::

“You could put this on my eye first if you don’t mind. That sure was some excellent shooting you did out there and killing them just as they were about to surrender was utter perfection. They deserved that punishment for their transgressions."

:: he pauses for a second. ::

"Is there something wrong, you seem a bit out of sorts?”

[Mari Bean]

*She takes the proffered bottle and touches his chin, pushing up slightly to get him to tilt it upward so she could apply the medication. He complies and she squeezes the bottle softly and a few drops fall onto his swollen eye. She then takes the second bandage out of his hand, after returning the bottle to it's place in the kit, and covers his eye with it. She grins at the reminder of the destruction of the other vessel, and her expression changes to one of puzzlement.*

"Wrong? ...Well... I am a little tired..."

[Trace Sha]

:: He lifts his hand to the bandage and pats his covered eye softly. Blinking his other eye a few times, he rises from the edge of the bed, and takes Mari’s arm into his own. ::

“If your tired then you should rest. I slept well earlier and can keep watch while you sleep.”

:: He begins to lead her to the door of his quarters to escort her to her own. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She smiles slightly, and allows herself to be led to her quarters. He opens the door and stands back, allowing her to enter. She turns after she enters to look at Trace with quiet speculation, as if he were a puzzle.*[i]

"Thank you."

[i]*She smiles at him, then closes the door. She falls onto the bed, and stares at the ceiling, letting her thoughts take her.*

[Trace Sha]

:: The door slides closed in front of him and he just stares at it for a few moments, reaching a hand up and placing the flat of his palm against it. His other hand begins to come up towards the door’s activation switch, but stops just short of pressing the button. His head turns to see that IG882 is still standing where it had been earlier, just beside the doorway, and then turns back to look at the door.

Finally pressing the door’s activation switch, it slides open in front of him and he steps inside her room, moving slowly over to her bed. Her attention is drawn from the ceiling to him, and he crawls up on the bed over her. With a hand he brushes some strands of her hair on her forehead, to the side, up and over her ear. He then leans down to meet his lips to hers, closing his eye. As their mouths are joined in the kiss, he finds himself speaking to her through the force as she did to him earlier. ::

“Rest well, Mari”

[Mari Bean]

*Dosing, she thinks she can feel someone enter her quarters. Too lazy to open her eyes, she lies there, and falls into a deeper sleep. She feels someone moving onto the bed, and as her mental alarm systems begin to go off, she senses the familiar presence of Trace. The panic changes to wariness, and then the panic is kindled anew by the feeling of someone touching her. Panicking to almost incoherent thought, she readies herself to jump up and run. Lips touch hers and a familiar voice echoes through her mind. She calms down and completely loses consciousness.

[Trace Sha]

:: He crawls off the bed and looks down at her with a warm smile then turns and heads out of the room. Passing through the corridor he re-enters his own room and takes his belt from the peg next to his jacket, placing it around his waist. Walking over to his bedside he picks up his data-pad and fixes it to his belt. On his way back out of the room, he stops briefly and looks at his jacket, then moves over to it and takes the flak out of the pocket.

He laughs quietly to himself and sticks the flask in the refuse ejection port, committing the container to the vacuum of space, with the press of a button. Exiting his quarters he makes his way to the cockpit, and initiates the automated repair systems, before he moves over to the side of the cockpit and begins accessing the physical damage done by the fire. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She shoots up, her breathing rapid and her eyes darting around the room. She can almost feel the cold metal collar closing about her throat, and hear the even colder laughter around her. She trembles uncontrollably, her teeth chattering with the intensity of it. The flashback of the slavers discovering her stowing away on the barge had caught her completely off guard. She had since blocked those memories from her mind, and all of a sudden they appear. She thinks that it might be from relaying parts of her past to Trace, and wonders why flashbacks replaced the nightmares of her betrayal.

She regains her composure and presses the heels of her palms to her eyes. She pushes her hands through her hair and blinks away the dark spots on her eyes as she stands. She starts towards the door of her quarters, shoving her memories away violently.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Having done all he could to repair the console which was damaged in the battle with the marauders. Trace looks at his blackened hands and thinks to himself. ::

”I hope we don’t see anymore random attacks. I don’t think the shields are going to be able to take it. I’m not exactly an expert technician and only did the best I could to repair these controls.”

:: He walks over to the main console in front of the pilot and co-pilot’s seats, taps on the display, bringing up the current status of the shields, and shakes his head in disappointment as it reveals they are only operating at 9% strength. He lifts his head and looks to the door, hearing movement in the corridor, quickly able to discern that it is not his droid. Leaving the display as it was, he picks up a nearby rag and begins to wipe the dark soot from his hands. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Exiting the corridor into the cockpit, she sees Trace watching at her enter. She notices the display behind him and winces slightly, and watches him wipe his hands on the rag.*

"This is the second time... I'm beginning to feel useless..."

*A grin spreads across her face, and chuckles at her words. She was useless... She was completely out of it when it came to technology, so she was of little help on a space vessel...*

[Trace Sha]

:: He laughs a bit and shakes his head at hearing what she had to say. ::

“Your not useless. You did a damn fine job of killing those pirate want to bees earlier.”

:: He flips off the display of the shield status with a tap on the console and tucks the end of the rag into the pocket of his coat. ::

“By my calculations it should only be another three or four days until we are discovered by a TSE patrol, and then we’ll have an escort and maybe even get a pickup, to help speed this journey along.”

:: He moves closer to her, grinning. ::

“Don’t ever think your useless, your one hell of a well trained killing machine, with a courage filled heart as big as a mountain. You slept well I hope?”

[Mari Bean]

*She blushes at the compliments and chuckles quietly at the prince's pronunciation of "wanna-be's". She doesn't know about her heart being "courage filled", but she agrees with the well trained part. She had been training all her life, first under her father, next under her Master, Darth Phantom. Both were and are great warriors, and she hopes a little piece of courage from each at least was absorbed by her in her training.*

"As well as can be expected..." *She tries not to wince, but only suceeds in twisting her face up into an even worse grimace.*

[Trace Sha]

:: His expression shows a slight bit of puzzlement as he sees the anguish in her face, but he does what he can to keep his features encouraging in their display. He looks down at his dirty hands for a second then back up to her. ::

“I know how that is, but last time I slept was better for me than it has been for a while, even without the aid of alcohol, and drunkenness. You want to keep an eye on things while I clean up? There isn’t much to do really except to keep a wary eye on the scanners.”

[Mari Bean]

*His puzzled expression at the face she made fills her with relief. As long as he wasn't going to ask about it. She nods, and begins to watch the displays as he goes to clean up.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Having finished cleaning up in the fresher in his room, Trace looks in the mirror, lifting the corner of his bandage from the wound on his cheek. He is pleased to see that his injuries are healing well so far and look as if they will not leave any scars, thanks to the attributes inherent within the bacta and the fact that the burns were only second degree in nature. HE pats the corner of the bandage back down and walks over to his bunk. He sits down for but a moment, and finds himself passed out seconds later. His own exhaustion caught him off guard and this trip had been rather eventful thus far. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Different colors play across her eyes, different displays showing too many things, much of which Mari didn't understand. Her attentiveness was beginning to fail, and she begins to wonder where Trace was. He had been gone for some time now, it didn't take that long to wash your hands...

She pushes off the chair she had been leaning on, and stretches, working a knot out of her back. She ambles down the corridor and stiffens a little once she reaches the door to his quarters. The door slides open, and she sees Trace lying on his back, quietly snoring. She allows herself a small smile, and exits his quarters, going back the lonely task of watching pretty buttons change colors.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He sat up quickly, not remembering where he was at first. He had been dreaming about his life on Ord Mantell, but this time it was not about the torture he had received. It was a memory of his Mother and Father, and a pleasant one at that. He was only eight years old in the dream, it was close to the last time that his family was complete, before his Mother had been stricken with a plague, a time when he was jealous of how his brother Rama was treated by their Father. But it was still much more pleasant than dreaming of being probed, cut, stabbed, and tortured by scientists, wanting information about the Sha legacy and their castle.

As he looked around the room, the thoughts of present time came back to him quickly. A smile gracing his features as he remembered that he was aboard Mari’s ship. Beginning to stand from the bed he wondered to himself, how long he had slept and he also wondered if Mari was doing alright while he was away. He recalled that he had only excused himself to come get cleaned up, and was curious if she wondered what had happened to him even though he wasn’t sure how long he had been gone.

He knew she wasn’t very comfortable with keeping an eye on the ships systems, as she had told him that she didn’t really know how to fly the ship previously in their adventure and he had seen the look on her face when he asked her to keep an eye on things while he came to clean up.

Returning to the cockpit, he saw her staring into the console before her, but he could tell that her attention wasn’t completely on the task and that she was bored and lonely doing so. As he entered, she turned and looked at him, apparently sensing his presence as he came in. He smiled and greeted her. ::

“Hello. Seems I passed out when I only stepped away to get cleaned up. Did I miss anything?”

:: He chuckles a little after his last words, knowing full well that nothing noteworthy happened while he was asleep. Because everything was just as it was before, and his droid would have notified him otherwise. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Just as she considers sitting down, a familiar presense fills her mind. She turns and is greeted by a rested Trace, a smile forming at his lips as he greets her. As he chuckles, a smile tugs at the corner of her lips, and she answers accordingly.*

"I don't think you missed anything... unless I'm reading these displays wrong..."

*She nearly chuckles at her last words, knowing well enough herself that she didn't understand a thing on those displays except the shields...*

[Trace Sha]

:: Her lack of understanding the readouts she has been watching and of which she now speaks is evident in her eyes. Trace strides over to where she stands in one step, the cockpit being so small, and looks down at one of the indicators. He speaks aloud as he goes over each one, his hand pointing each out in unison with his words. ::

“Life support at a nominal 100%, hull integrity at an acceptable 98%, mostly due to the damage it sustained from the asteroid that caused your crash, subspace engines operating at 100% and still holding steady, hyperspace drive unusable at .04%, weapons systems are inactive but operational at 100%, and shields still holding at 9%.”

:: As he took inventory and pointed out each of the indicators, his body had gotten closer and closer to hers. His senses became overwhelmed by the scent of her and the fact that she was so near. He found himself speechless as he looked down and saw that she was looking up at him, her eyes drawing his very soul inside them. The silence would have seemed awkward to anyone watching, but did not seem so to him as he studied every detail of her eyes, completely lost in their shimmering. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She listens carefully as he explains each display, and tries her best to commit it all to memory. She glances up at him occasionally as he speaks, studying the angles of his face, as he slowly gets closer and closer. He looks down and catches her eyes before she can avert her gaze, wonder prominent in his expression. She shrinks away from the intensity of that gaze, but soon is drawn into the strength of it, and is unable to look away. She blinks and takes a shuddering breath, trying to understand the sudden pulses of warmth that run through her body. She stares at Trace's brown eyes as they try to swallow her whole, and slowly begins to stop fighting them.*

[Trace Sha]

:: The silence continued for what seemed like only seconds but was actually several minutes. Trace thought he saw within her eyes, a struggle, a struggle against unfamiliar feelings and possibly even unwanted ones, but that seemed to fade as the moments passed, replaced by what appeared to be acceptance and maybe even a hint of willingness to let herself go.

He admired her control and knew that he himself was not so well contained. There were times that not being in total control of himself, often led to trouble, but he also knew that this was a time he did not have any wish to be controlled, just to let himself be lost in the ocean of emotion that was surrounding him, tugging at the essence of his usually hate filled heart, making it feel overcome with something so completely different.

Letting his instincts guide him, his hands moved around the sides of her face softly and he leaned all of the three quarters of a meter down to meet her eyes with his up close, her breaths falling softly on his lips as they got closer and closer. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She is surprised by what she sees in his eyes, the admiration, and the swirl of emotions he couldn't hide. She tenses slightly as his hands come up to her face, but soon relaxes, taking in the warmth of his touch. He moves closer until they are alomost face to face. She lowers her eyes, finally able to tear away from the emotions she felt, but did not move away, her legs unresponsive.*

[Trace Sha]

:: As she lowered her eyes, he felt a sudden disconnection, which brought him spiraling back to reality from his swimming in a sea of feelings. His eyes begin to blink again to moisten the corneas of his eyes, after being dry from having been locked in their trance like state. Just out of the corner of his eye he notices an odd distortion in the blackness of space. It looked like the clear points of light were blurred or some reason and it drew his full attention from Mari.

Turning to look out the window, still holding her face in his hands a ship slowly came into view, coming out of a cloaked state. Just as it did, the scanner’s proximity alert started to sound and the ship that had just appeared, zipped by, having made its flyby. Trace recognized the ship and the markings painted on it. It was a V-38 Phantom class TIE fighter, the markings on it making it clear it was a patrol craft, most likely part of a squadron, of the Sith Empire Fleet. Relaxed knowing that it was a friendly vessel, Trace pulled Mari to him slowly in a warm embrace. It now appeared their journey was nearing an end, or at least the rest of it would possibly be a bit safer, having what looked like it may be an escort. The comm. unit began to crackle and come to life, the pilot of the patrol craft hailing them to check their status. ::

Pilot: “This is Delta squad leader, anyone receiving?”

[Mari Bean]

*She looks up and follows his gaze to the ship as the proximity alert goes off. She feels herself being pulled into his arms, and is suddenly very tired. Not physically, but mentally. She had been fighting the entire trip, and now a part of her didn't want to anymore. She allows herself to rest her head on his chest, and she brings her arms tentatively around him, sighing slowly, and closing her eyes. She hears the voice over the comm., but ignores it at first, as a wearyness sinks into her bones. She backs away from the embrace and cranes her neck up to look at Trace, then turns to the comm. She stares at it, unsure how it respond, and turns to Trace again,confusion making her features child-like.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Trace runs a hand along the side of Mari’s face and quickly bends down to speak to her quietly and closely, seeing the confusions written on her features plainly. ::

“Its one of ours.”

:: He flashes a confident smile, presses his mouth to hers, kissing her sotly and quickly, then turns and presses the activation switch on the comm. unit, speaking into it. ::

“This is Trace Sha on board the Mors Dominae with its owner Mari Bean, everyone here is alright, but the hyperdrive isn’t functional and neither is long range communications. Over.”

V-38 Pilot: “Understood sir. Lancer Frigate Ziost is close by. I can request that she come and give you a lift back to base if you wish it sir? Over.”

:: Trace looked to Mari to see what her wishes were, releasing the send button on the comm.. unit. ::

“You want to get back in less than two days or do you want to keep moving at sublight speed and get back home in 12 days?”

[Mari Bean]

*She turns to stare out the window, slightly edgy from being taken by surprise by the sudden kiss. Some of his confidence seeps into her, and she gives him an uneasy smile, twiddling her fingers.*

"... Well, I think we should get back..."

*She finds herself wanting to stay on the ship with Trace, a yearning for his company, a little while longer to be alone with him. The thought catches her by surpise, and causes her face to flush. She looks at her feet, and finds them shifting uncomfortably, her heavy boots scuffing the floor. She feels like a little girl again, nervous at how her indecisiveness must appear to Trace, embarrassed at the emotions coursing through her, and angry at herself for allowing her feelings to manifest so greatly.*

"We may be needed..."

[Trace Sha]

:: He watched carefully as she answered him, he could hear the indecisiveness in her voice as well as see it one her face before she looked away. He felt as if he was very connected to her after they had spent theses past few days together and as she paused between replies he thought he could almost hear her speaking in his mind again, though this time not as directly as before. It was not clear enough for him to understand and he decided it was not meant for him to know or pick up on, as their previous communications as such had been clear and easy to understand. Nodding in the affirmative he looked back to the comm. device and responded to the V-38 pilot. ::

“Send a call out to the Ziost We’ll have her pick us up and take us back to HQ. Over.”

Pilot: “Will do sir, expect her here in about 12 hours. Out”

:: Trace released the send button on the comm. unit and watched the V-30 fade back out of sight as it had already relayed the message and went back into a cloaked state to resume its patrol. He turned from the window and back to Mari. ::

“Twenty four hours from now and we’ll all be back at HQ. Anything we may be needed for, we will be available, and we can get this ship repaired properly, rather than just my meager attempts at it.”

[Mari Bean]

*She folds her arms and turns toward the window as the patrol ship disappears again, shifting uncomfortably as she senses Trace turning back towards her again. She wants to look up, steal a little more strength from his eyes, strength she didn't have. But she knew that with the strength came a different weakness, and that her defenses against her own feelings were being slowly battered down.

She listens to his words and in spite of herself, begins to shake her head and chuckle.*

"You continue to degrade yourself, when you have done everything you can do to help. 'Meager' attempts they may be, but they are far better than I could have done myself. Without your help, I would most likely be dead. You have my eternal gratitude..."

*She stares out of the window as she speaks, the light of distant stars and the endless black mirrored in her eyes, becoming distant and unfocused.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He walks up behind her and puts his hands on her shoulders, looking over her head out the window. ::

“You would not have been dead, for your warrior’s spirit is strong and the Darkside would have helped you to be victorious over your enemies that night. I just helped speed up that victory by being there when I was. I would gladly do the same for you again, anytime.”

:: As he looks at the window with her just in front of him, he can still picture the first time he laid eyes on her, and how courageous and strong she was in that situation, even though badly outnumbered, the determination on her face and in her actions made him know that what he said was true, nothing would stop her from getting whatever she wished. Blinking his eyes as he refocused on the stars in front of him he remembered that she had not rested for a while and asked. ::

“Did you want to get some sleep before the Frigate arrives? It was my turn to sleep last, even though I didn’t plan it that way.”

[Mari Bean]

*She resists the sudden urge to turn and wrap her arms around the tall Sith. She disregards the possibilty that she could have survived; even if she did get out of that town alive, either her wound would have killed her or hunger, and she makes a point of not pointing this out to Trace.*

"I am not tired."

*She had strong confidence in her ability to lie, even though she really didn't want to lie to Trace. She was tired, but could probably stay awake for a few more hours. She wasn't ready to face her dreams, she didn't think she could face Trace with such weakness again.

The hands on her shoulders make her feel warm for some reason, and she unconsciously reaches up with her own hand to touch his, her fingers softly resting on his hand, her eyes slowly falling to look at her feet again.*

[Trace Sha]

:: The hand she had placed her own upon, tightened on her shoulder slightly. He had failed to notice that her words were not truthful or that her head had dropped and she was looking at her own feet, as his thoughts were still filled with the many things that had happened to each of them during the time they have come to know one another. He smiled as he recalled all the beings that were killed in the café the night he first set eyes on her, and it grows even wider as he remembers every moment of carrying her back to her ship.

Lost in his own thoughts for what easily could have been an hour or more he found that her back was now resting on his chest as he had drawn her closer to him while his memory was racing ::

[Mari Bean]

*The warmth from his body was beginning to make her drowsy. She hadn't even realized he had pulled her close until she felt the urge to rest her head on his chest. She drops her head even lower causing her hair to shade her eyes, and hunches her back, pulling away from Trace slightly. Her hand slides down her shoulder and her arms wrap around her stomach, as she begins to think of the future, and a way to forget her past. She turns suddenly, the warmth from him on her back dissipating quickly and refuses to meet his eyes. She is at a loss for words, not even sure why she turned around, so she remains silent and averts her eyes.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He crouched down in front of her on one knee, raising his hands to her elbows, trying to look up into her eyes that were hidden by her hair, wondering what it might be that was seemingly eating at her. ::

“Is there something wrong?”

[Mari Bean]

*She looks up so that he may see her eyes. "The eyes are the windows to one's soul." Weariness was one of the most prominent emotions to be seen, with hints of fear. She was afraid of her feelings for Trace, and mostly what could spawn from those feelings. She was afraid for him, because everything she ever had feeling for ultimately was destroyed or taken away. She had since made herself immune to such feelings, but somehow, without even trying, Trace had made her feel again.

She shifts her arms in his grip, the feeling of his hands surrounding each of her arms strangly comforting. Her fingers curl up slightly, and she gives him a saddened smile, trying without the words she couldn't find to quell his concern.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He could see the trace of fear in her eyes but he was puzzled by it. Not able to place what would make one whom he had seen as such a brave soul, feel such a way, he looked pleadingly, deeper into her eyes, hoping to find and uncover her soul, making all her dreams, hopes, aspirations, and fears clear to him. His hands tightened slightly in their hold on her elbows as he became lost in what he saw. ::

[Mari Bean]

*The pleading look on his face catches her off guard, and nearly rips her heart from her chest. She had no idea what he wanted, but knew that she didn't want to see that kind of look on his face. It nearly tore her in two to see him like that. His facial expression changes as he looks into her eyes, no longer pleading, but awestruck, as if he could not believe what he was seeing. She herself began to search desperately within his eyes, searching for something of what he saw, and how much. Her legs tremble slightly and she falls slowly to her knees in front of him, his hands still gripping her elbows. His eyes follow hers as they sink lower than his again, and she looks up, trying her best to hide the fear she knew he saw.*

[Trace Sha]

:: The awe in his eyes grew as he continued to look into hers, seeing the strength of character behind the fear there. He could also see her weariness was growing and that she could possibly be feeling uncomfortable with his probing, trying to gain an insight into what lay in her soul. Knowing that he did not wish to make her feel such a way, he wrapped his arms around her back, lowering one arm under her legs. He stood, lifting her small form from her knees on the deck, as he did, speaking softly while still maintaining eye contact. ::

“Lets both go get some rest. A lookout is not needed any longer as we are probably being observed by the V-38 patrol and I think we can both use some sleep. This trip has been hard on us both physically and mentally.”

[Mari Bean]

*Her arm moves to his back as he lifts her with ease, and she mentally promises herself to gain some weight since Trace seemed to think that she couldn't walk. She chuckles to herself and nods her agreement to his words, since it also seemed that she had no choice. Trace walks to the doorway leading out of the cockpit with Mari in tow, and then down the corridor to her quarters. The door slides open and they attempt to enter, but Mari's foot hits the doorframe. She stifles a laugh, and Trace turns sideways to enter.*

[Trace Sha]

:: His pale color reddens slightly as her foot hits the doorframe and he tries to pass it off with a quick smile. Taking her to her bed, he lowers her to it and kneels on the floor beside her. Reaching up and touching the side of her face he speaks. ::

“Rest well Mari. It wont be too long and we’ll once again be reunited with our comrades at the Empire.”

:: He rises back to a standing position, his eyes still focused on hers as his body turns towards the door, but his head remains faced in her direction. ::

[Mari Bean]

"You rest well also, Trace."

*She lifts her eyes to watch him after he sets her down. Her lips curve slightly, something that might pass for a smile, and she wonders why he is looking at her. She gets the impression that he wants to stay, but quickly discards the idea. She closes her eyes, and watches the backs of her eyelids, listening for any sound indicating Trace's movements.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He walks to the open doorway, his head still turned looking at her even after she had closed her eyes. Missing the opening as he isn’t looking he runs into the wall with a thud, and winces as he sees her eyes open back up and fill with amusement. He flashes a quick smile, side steps, and exits her quarters, slumping his shoulders in embarrassment as the door slides shut behind him.

Walking across the hall into his own room as he passes his IG88 droid still standing stoic, he opens the door, steps in and flops down on his bunk face first. Thankfully the injuries to his face are almost completely healed or he would be screaming in pain right now. He quickly dozes off, still fully clothed. ::

[Mari Bean]

*It takes every ounce of self-control she had to keep from bursting into laughter. When door slides closed, she puts a hand over her eyes and lies on her back, a wide grin spreading across her face. It soon fades and, unable to sleep, she begans to think, mostly wondering why Trace had been looking at her so intently that he missed the doorway completely.

The hand on her face slips away slowly as she begans to doze, and soon she is taken by sleep. She rolls onto her side and curls into a ball, digging into the bedding in her sleep.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He slept without the dreams of how he had been tortured once again, but not without dreams at all. This time the dreams include a young girl, a young girl with a control device around her neck. Her face was the only one clear to him in the dream, as all the others were out of focus but their mocking attitudes and belligerent behaviors was so very annoying and maddening. The young girl whose face he recognized was that of Mari, he could see the fear in her eyes and the burning hatred building within that would one day help lead her to the Sith

He woke up with a jolt as the last image in his dream was one of Mari being struck across the face by one of the belligerent beings, as he was attempting to force her to do something she wanted no part of. His hair was wet with sweat and his face even more pale than usual as he made his way over to the fresher and cleaned up, looking at himself in the mirror with curiosity. ::

”My first dream not about myself, and that’s what I get to see?”

:: He thought to himself and h ran his fingers through his hair, noticing that while his hair was dampened he looked a great deal more like his brother Rama. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Her eyes pop open and she shoots upright, gasping for breath. She shivers and touches tentatively at her face to find it unbruised. She had been sure that he had actually hit her, the dream had been so real. She shivers even more as she remembers the rest of that day, the part she blessedly hadn't dreamed about.

She begans to calm down, her breath slowing, and she becomes aware of her surroundings. She was sitting upright on her bed, the tickle of sweat rolling down her spine. A drop falls from the end of her hair onto her nose, and she decides she needs to get it cut when they get back to HQ.

She swings her legs around to the floor and walks to the fresher in her quarters, but instead of using it, she simply stares into the mirror. Brown hair damp with sweat frames her oval face, her eyes wide with fear. She is surpised to see her face contort in anger at the sight of her own fear-filled eyes, and she lowers her eyes, looking at the boots she didn't take off before she went to sleep.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Once dressed after cleaning up, Trace put his jacket on and checked to make sure all of his gear was in place. His wrist control for his droid, the data-pad on his belt, his lightsaber, the med-kit, and a few other miscellaneous items were all accounted for. Just as he was completing his inventory, a buzzer sounded, his head turned upward to the speaker that it came from and he wondered what it might be this time.

Opening the door to his quarters he made his way down the corridor quickly oing directly to the short range scanner to see if there was some sort of problem or if perhaps they were being ambushed again. He smiled as he saw the designation of the ship on the screen. The frigate Ziost had arrived and was slowly coming up on their position, preparing to take their ship on board and transport them the rest of the way back to Sith Empire HQ. He was happy to see other signs of life, but disappointed at the same time. This trip had taught him many things and he wasn’t quite ready for it to end yet, but knew that it must.

His disappointment evident on his face he sat down in the pilot’s chair and began to make docking preparations, going over al the ship’s systems again, before the Frigate was in place. ::

[Mari Bean]

*Her head snaps up at the sound and then relaxes after she hears nothing else indicating trouble, and the sound of Trace exiting his quarters . She decides to use the fresher, not willing to leave her quarters covered in sweat. Once she is clean, she runs her fingers through her hair in the place of the comb she didn't have, and leaves her quarters, heading down the corridor.

She walks up behind Trace, and notices the large ship on the scanner. She watches him going over the systems and notices a slight reluctence in his movements. She doesn't speak as she watches, still standing somewhat behind him and waits for the Frigate to get in position.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He would never have known she as there from the quietness of her footfalls, but there was something in his mind, a slight twinge of familiarity he had grown fond of, as she entered. He turned his head and saw her watching on, with a small smile of reeting he turned back to what he was doing and opened a comm. channel to the Ziost. ::

“This is Trace Sha on board YT-2000 Mors Dominae, requesting permission to dock.”

Frigate Commander: “Understood sir, the hanger is prepared to receive you on the port side.”

“Got it. Moving into position now.”

:: He deactivated the comm. and turned back to Mari asking. ::

“Might want to strap yourself in. Never know what might happen in a docking procedure.”

[Mari Bean]

*She nods, and moves to the co-pilot's chair, her arm brushing against his shoulder. She sits down, straping in, and looks straight ahead, wondering why she felt regret at leaving.

She turns her head to look at Trace, and again sees reluctence but this time, in his features. She looks at hewr hands in her lap and squashes the feelings down, mentally sitting on them. Any emotion that had shown on her face was gone now, hidden by an expressionless stone mask.*

[Trace Sha]

:: They could both see the Frigate getting closer and closer as Trace piloted the way towards it then veered to one side, to approach it perpendicularly. The hanger doors opened in front of them and slowly the small transport disappeared into the side of the frigate. Being the first time he had actually flown a space dock in a real life situation, Trace was moderately proud of himself, until the last moment when he disengaged the repulsorlifts, and learned he had doe so just a bit early, as Mari’s ship landed on the deck of the hangar a little roughly, making a terrible noise. ::

“I guess this is a little different than a simulation.”

[Mari Bean]

*She winces as they land, and glances sideways at Trace. She smiles and unstraps herself from the chair, standing slowly.*

"You did wonderfully, Trace. We might not have made it past the doors had I been piloting..."

*She stares out to the inside of the Frigate, and wonders what she was going to do after they got back.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Getting up out of the pilot’s seat he smiles at her words and places a hand back down on the arm of the pilot’s chair. ::

“It’s a fine ship Mari, tough little freighter.”

:: Allowing her to go before he does, they walk down the corridor heading for the rampway leading out to the hangar deck. Once out of the ship, Trace looks back at the scorched hull of the Mors Dominae and grins again as he thinks about the things this little ship ot them through in the last six days. Not far behind their exit from the ship Trace’s droid follows. The towering black droid takes a place behind Trace as the deck officer approaches the two Sith. ::

Deck Officer: “This way please, the Commander would like to welcome you aboard and then I am to show you to your quarters. We should arrive at TSE HQ in four hours, once we make the jump to hyperspace.”

:: The Deck officer begins to step away from them, pointing them in the direction of what looks to be a lift/elevator. ::

[Mari Bean]

*As they exit the Mors Dominae, Mari glances over her shoulder and is slightly surprised to see Trace grinning at the damaged hull of her ship. She allows herself a small smile of her own as she recalls his words from the cockpit, actually beginning to grow fond of 'that blasted ship'. The deck officer approaches, and Mari nods to his instruction, thanking him, and walks towards the lift. Stepping hesitantly in the lift, she moves to a corner and turns. Trace turns and takes the space next to her, his droid moving the stand on the other side of him. The deck officer boards last and touches a panel, closing the door, and causing the lift to began it's ascent.*

[Trace Sha]

:: After stepping off the lift once the door had opened, they follow the Deck Officer to the bridge of the Frigate, where they are greeted by a middle aged man wearing what looks to be the markings of a ranking member of the crew, on the front of his black uniform. The man bows before Mari and then Trace and stands back up, beginning to speak his greeting. ::

Commander: “Welcome on board the Frigate Ziost, mine to command currently. Not very often we stumble across members of TSE out here on patrol. But I won’t bother with questions, isn’t my place. I just wish to extend you a welcome to my ship and let you know that anything you need, all you have to do is ask.”

[Mari Bean]

*She nods and thanks the commander in much the same way as she did the deck officer. The commander orders the officer to show them their quarters, and the officer bids them to follow. They board the elevator yet again, and exit upon reaching the desired floor. The officer shows Mari to her quarters first.*

Deck officer: "If you need anything, there will be someone at the end of the corridor, or there is a comm. that signals the bridge."

*She hesitates and glances at Trace before entering. She leans on the door after it closes, staring at nothing.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Standing in the corridor as Mari was shown her room, their eyes meet briefly and he felt as if something was out of place. The last few days aboard her ship had made him very accustomed to having her near and knowing exactly where she was. But now, they were on a ship foreign to him, and he wondered if she felt as out of place as he did, as the Deck Officer led him further down the hall and pointed out his quarters. ::

Deck Officer: “Here you are sir.”

:: Trace walked in and the door closed behind him. He sat on the edge of the bunk for a few moments and could feel the uneasy feeling of the Frigate entering hyperspace. Unable to shake his feeling of detachment from Mari, he stood from the edge of the bed and walked to the door. Opening it he turned and walked back down the corridor. Arriving in front of the door to her quarters, his hand neared the hail for the room, but didn’t press the button as he wondered if she wanted to be bothered by him any more. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She closes her eyes and unconsciously taps on the door. She wonders why she feels so different, why she feels unhappy. She finds herself thinking of Trace, the familiar feel of his presence, and the confidence that emitted from it. Even though she knew he was only down the hall, it felt as if he were no where near, as if he were far away. She didn't know why she had a need for him just to be near, and decided that she wouldn't think about it. She felt alone on this large ship, and lost without him.

A small idea forms in her head. She would leave her quarters and walk up and down the halls, just in case he happened to leave his quarters. That sounded utterly pathetic to her but that was quelled soon by her need for company. Her excuse would be that she wanted to walk around, which she probably actually needed, after spending those days doing nothing. She turns and opens the door and sees Trace with his hand near the call button. Her excuse and her composure abandon her in seconds as she looks up at Trace, dumbfounded. Her cheeks flush and she lowers her head, beginning to fidget.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He feels like his heart is leaping out of his chest as the door opens and he sets eyes on her. He sees the color in her face change and thinks that his presence caught her just as off guard as her opening the door did him. His hand moves away from the call button and up under her chin, lifting it gently he looks into her eyes and feels himself warm up and feel whole again. ::

“Mind if I come in? I felt out of place without you near.”

[Mari Bean]

*She smiles slightly as she hears her own thoughts being spoken to her by the other. Her hand reaches up to lightly touch his under her chin, and she nods and steps away from the door, allowing him to enter. The door slides shut, and she sits on the edge of the bed, motioning him to sit where ever he pleased. She feels confused by the swirl of emotions going through her, she now feels complete, and that scares her. She feels as if she is becoming dependent on Trace, and the slip of pride that she had left after all it had been through on this trip didn't like it much.*

[Trace Sha]

:: Smiling in thanks, he followed her inside and sat on the bed next to her. The silence she showed in allowing him to enter and taking her own seat made things seem uncomfortable and he began to feel somewhat guilty for possibly having bothered her. ::

“Are you sure you don’t mind me being here?”

[Mari Bean]

*She leans inward slightly as he sits next to her, the bed sinking in under his weight. Feeling a little better than before, she is caught off guard by his question and tone of voice. She unconsciously begins to rub the heel of her hand on her leg as she answers.*

"Of course I don't mind. I was actually... When I opened the door... I..."

*She trails off nervously and avoids looking at Trace. She could feel each breath he took, he was so close, and had even convinced herself that she could her his heart beating. The oppressing ship suddenly felt lighter, despite her flustered composure. She wasn't alone on this big ship. She quells the urge to lean on his shoulder, and just wallows in the good feeling that courses through her.*

[Trace Sha]

:: His entire being washed over with comfort and familiarity as his senses were overwhelmed by the sight and scent of her. He no longer felt like something was missing. Looking directly into her eyes as she spoke, he was able to see and feel her nervousness about telling him what she was doing. ::

“You felt as I did, and you were going to come find me, but I arrived here first?”

:: He asked with an exuberant tone, his hopes that what he had just suggested obvious by how he spoke. Reaching out to her as she looked away, he placed a hand on top of the one she was rubbing her leg with, attempting to stop her fidgeting, so that she would pay him attention fully. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She looks at the large hand that had just swallowed hers on her lap, trying hard not to look up. Her hand twitches slightly under the weight of his, and she feels her heart leap up her throat and began to beat wildly. She attempts to quell that feeling, but fails, and she is overcome by the feeling he gives her.

She sighs and closes her eyes tightly, her hand turning over under his, and leans against him slightly. She breathes in the smell of him, his being, and feels a weight lift from her chest. Her eyes open again, and she whispers, barely loud enough for him to hear.*

"Maybe..."

[Trace Sha]

:: Warmth washes over him as she returns the embrace of his hand on hers, and leans up against him. Closing his eyes he feels almost completely at peace and at ease. His mind is void of its dwelling on his past or what he has learned about Mari’s past to this point.

His head tilts to the side and leans on top of her head and the utter tranquility of the moment makes him begin to feel very tired and ready to sleep at any moment. Not speaking any words in response to hers, he only continues to sit close, holding her hand in his own and embracing her against his shoulder in one of, what would most likely be, very few moments of harmony and peace. ::

[Mari Bean]

*She leans her head on his shoulder when he puts his head on top of hers, and she snuggles closer, drinking in the warmth and tranquility as if she were dying of thirst. She closes her eyes again, and forces her mind blank, wanting to enjoy this comfort without her thoughts getting in the way.

She feels his breaths even out and his mass become dead weight against her, and she thinks that he may be asleep. His breathing rustles her hair, and a long lock of it falls across her forehead and tickles her nose. She ignores it completely, and wraps an arm around her stomach, shifting to the side slightly to get even more comfortable, burrowing into his side.*

[Trace Sha]

:: His back up against the wall, and his head leaning down on top of Mari’s, Trace found himself so content and relaxed that he dozed off. His thoughts were clear and his soul non-tormented for the moment. He hadn’t once felt this way since he had been reawakened by is brother, until now. The emotions running through him brought him a restful sleep, as Mari’s nearness made him feel warmth unfelt before. Such a slumber would surely be interrupted far too soon, by something, or another, trouble always found its way to his kind, whether brought upon themselves or brought unexpected. ::

[Mari Bean]

Sweat poured out of her skin, stinging the many wounds all over her body. Her back was against something warm and breathing, and she gripped the hilt of her saber so tight her knuckles hurt. The breathing behind her matched her own, erratic and labored. Both were physically drained, their plight exhausting and dangerous. A group of faceless men approached them from all sides, taunting and laughing, each brandishing a bladed weapon. They would probably be able to escape, as long as they made no mistakes, but she was unsure, and worried. One of the men called out, offering a proposition.

"The girl comes with us, and you go free. Our business is not with you."

She nodded to accept the offer, better her than... who was it...? A fierce scream comes from behind her and she is spun around by heavy hands. The pale face of Trace Sha, glistening with sweat, filled her eyes, the great pain and anger evident on his face. She only saw that for a split second for soon after, the expression was replaced by one of surprise. The end of a sword stuck out of his chest, and the point pierced her own about half an inch. The surprise was replaced by sadness and acceptance.

"Why did you not believe in me?"

His eyes glazed over and a rude arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. The shock she felt was so deep, she couldn't even scream.



*She jerks awake with a gasp, her eyes darting all about her, as she tries to regain her bearings. Her eyes go wide as she realizes exactly where she is and in what kind of situation. She tries to gently extract her hand from Trace's, but doesn't succeed in her haste. The third dream of her betrayal, the second one with Trace in it, seemed a little too real for comfort. Her fears of betrayal were beginning to dig a hole in her chest, her fear of betraying the things she was beginning to love.

She finally pulls her hand free and stands, her head high and her face emotionless.*

"Please... forgive me."

*She turns towards the door to her quarters, and touches the side panel. The door slides open, and she steps out, for some reason feeling as if she had done the wrong thing.*

[Trace Sha]

:: He wakes up on the bed, that he and Mari had been sharing and finds himself alone. A nagging ache in his chest begins to creep into existence as his confusion about what happened before he fell asleep, sets in.

He and Mari were close and seemed to be enjoying the company of the other, so much so that he had fallen asleep, feeling more peace than he had known since being awakened from cryo sleep by Rama. Finding himself alone now, he wasn’t sure what had happened or what she thought of him.

Turning to look out the small window in the quarters he was in, he saw that the stars were no longer streaks of light, indicating they were no longer in hyperspace. He rose from the bed and stood, his expression sullen and saddened as he approached the door to find his way to exit so that he may finally return to TSE HQ, where he suspected the Frigate was now. ::::

[Mari Bean]

*An hour after the Frigate exits hyperspace and enters HQ, Mari exits it. She waited for Trace to leave first, not wanting to run into him, waiting until she could no longer feel his familiar presence aboard the large ship before leaving herself.

Walking down the ramp slowly, Mari catches sight of the deck officer from before. She stops him and inquires if he might relay a message to Lord Summoner, to have any necessary repairs to her ship made, and that she would deposit the required amount of credits in the Sith Empire account. He nods in asquiesce, and she continues to walk, heading towards her quarters.

She felt bad that she might have hurt Trace in any way, but she wasn't even sure if she had, or how. Even if she had, she was determined not to let her pride, or weakness hurt Trace in any way, sure that if she did, it would be much worse than what he was feeling now. Even though she hadn't realized it yet, the fears of her betrayal had changed. It had made itself personal, choosing a person that she would fear betraying the most. She no longer feared betraying the Sith Empire, for she would betray it if there was a choice between it and betraying Trace.

A sadness washes through her, as she already misses his presence. Anger wells up in her chest and seizes the other feeling, dragging it down. It angered her that she felt as if she were becoming dependent on Trace, yet it made her feel better, as if she weren't as alone as she felt ever since her mother died. A part of her wanted to depend on him, but another part feared what would happen to him if she were to allow herself to get near, and it held her fast.

She steps onto a lift with a saddened expression, feeling hollow, empty of the feeling that now only Trace could make her feel.*