Come What May: Edge of the Empire

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

Ardanna had deliberately not mentioned the other human, although he had helped them on multiple occasions the two had never gotten along, and she still didn't trust him entirely. 


"I think we should get him on side before we accept. There's no way we can do this alone and there isn't much point getting their hopes up." She was glad to hear that the trandoshan was alive at least, finding him shouldn't be too difficult. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

"Well we are going to do this job anyway, may as well accept" Pash was itching to get planning, so much to buy, so many things which could go wrong.


"So we will have to train a little, your knife skills still need work" He muttered, knowing full well it was more for his reassurance than anything else.

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

Usually she would have argued that her knife skills were fine but going somewhere like Courasant she wasn't going to take any chances, instead she simply nodded. She could tell he was in a rush to get planning, something that made her smile slightly, almost unnoticeably. 


"Ok, yeah lets do it. We can get planning on the way to find the Trandoshan." She sounded cold, a tactic to hide her nervousness at rejoining with their former crewmate. She sat straight once more, looking over in his direction before rising from her chair. She found it hard to sit still when faced with such a daunting challenge. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash knocked on the door to invite the others in.


"We will do it, but you will need to refit us first, and we either need to get messages or a ship to Nar Shadaa for a colleague of ours" Pash put to them


"We find the terms agreeable, however we would prefer you remain here for now, no smuggler will take you" The Sullestan shrugged his shoulders"We have firing ranges and combat classes you can join, or if you prefer we have rooms set aside for private training"


"Please appreciate that you are free to leave, we just would keep the ship"


Pash took off his cloak, revealling a pair of black vambraces, a white shirt covered with under armour harnesses.


"Lets start with a quick melee session in a private room"


Smirking at Ardana he pulls a short knife from his boot another larger one from the small of his back


"Care to dance?"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She was stood a short distance from the table as the two returned, the strange looking human looked in her direction as Pash listed their terms and she gave a nod of agreement. They accepted as she knew they would, they wouldn't easily find anyone else insane enough to take on this challenge so these terms were more than agreeable. 


She was glad the Sullustan had added the bit about being free to leave, although of course without a ship there wasn't really anywhere they could go. Her gaze turned to Pash as he removed his cloak. He cut an impressive figure and as he drew his knife she knew exactly what he was planning. 


"Thought you'd never ask." She said with a devilish grin, moving to his side. Her own blade was concealed at her thigh, ready for battle at any time. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

They moved to a small room, again white, with a rubber matt about 40 square metres in the middle. Pash stepped to one end and twirled both knives, before dropping one and moving a bracer into a defensive stance.


"So little one, care to try your luck?"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She unfastened her own cloak, laying it neatly to one side. Beneath she was wearing her usual attire, dark fitted trousers with slightly heeled boots, anything to make her seem taller. Complemented by a sleeveless turtleneck with fingerless gloves. She stood across from him, hand resting over her thigh where her own vibroknife was sheathed, she drew it in one swift motion, that dangerous sparkle in her eyes. 


She had lost only a little of her confidence wielding the blade and her stance showed no hint of that fact. The blade was down at her side, making her look surprisingly open. 


"Bring it on." 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash moved in one instant, his blade angling down as he brought it down in a sweeping motion, easily parried by a turn of Ardana's knife. He feinted before aiming for her shoulder, her dodge and counterattack meant that he was forced to dodge himself.


"Not bad little one"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She could never quite predict his moves but the feint was easy enough to block. Although much smaller in stature she was faster. The knife came towards her shoulder and she lent on to her back leg which then gave her the power to lunge forward quickly, the knife aimed towards his stomach. Her eyes were up, watching him, trying to gauge how he would block her and counter attack. Her eyes glimmered, the knife flashing in her grip. It was obvious from the way she fought that she loved this style of fighting, her low center of gravity making her balance almost perfect. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash noticed the low stance, and decided to have a little fun. Slowly moving to one side he moved in for another high slash, but brought his hand to one side to jab at her elbow. As she parried he slipped under her guard and narrowly missed jabbing her ribs due to a quick dodge.


"ready for the surprise yet darling?" He asked, smirking as they circled

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She jumped clear of the attack, moving back slightly before circling around him. She chuckled lightly, inclining her head slightly. She brushed her Lekku back over her shoulders and flipped the knife backwards, laying flat against her forearm. 


"You know I love your surprises." A smirk quirked the corners of her lips. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash was wary, even in a training fight this could go badly. He needed absolute precision. He moved in low, knife ready, waited for Ardana to strike, and as she does he parries, and lets go of the knife.


In the moment of surprise he gets, he presses the buttons in his palms, and before anyone can blink Ardana has one vamblade pressed to her sternum with the other held across her throat.


"not bad huh?"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She knew he would have something up his sleeve although she hadn't thought it would be quite so literal. There was a moment's doubt in his eyes, which alerted her to his plans and allowed her to step back to only just out of range, one hand rose to block the arm that moved towards her throat the blow towards her sternum was mere millimeters short of impacting. 


"Impressive." She said a hand running along his forearm, "Not quite enough though." She dropped quickly and spinning kicked at the point just behind his knee. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash grunted as he allowed his body to lean into the kick, stabbing a blade into the floor before grabbing Ardana's boot and pulling upwards as he rose to his feet.


"good kick, bit slow on the retreat" he grinned, folding away the blades " Good warm up for the next week or so"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She gave a small noise of surprise as he grabbed her boot, but he wasn't actually trying to knock her off balance fully so she managed to use his frame to steady herself. She slipped her knife securely away and dusted herself off. 


"Not as out of practice as I thought." She remarked with a chuckle. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

Pash stretched his shoulders and looked over at the crowd that had gathered to watch. "well in practice enough to gain an audience" he murmured. He slipped his coat back on and slipped his weapons back into the hidden pockets.


"now show us to our rooms please"

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She had been so wrapped up in their training session she hadn't noticed the small crowd forming and as her eyes flicked across the audience she shied away. She pulled her cloak on and pulled the hood up, once more obscuring her face in shadow. 


"So much for private." She muttered below her breath, using his form as a shield from the huddle of onlookers. "Lets go." She said looking up at him, wishing for the privacy of their ship. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

He walked them to a set of pre arranged rooms. It wasn't much, just a set of beds, a small living area and a washroom.


"Finally we are alone" he said, sitting on the bed, stripping off his vamblades and boots.

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

It was quite obvious that she was happier as soon as the door closed. She flopped back on the bed, dark cloak almost totally hiding her small frame. "The sooner we are back in space the better," Her voice was muffled by the fabric, not even bothering to move it from her face. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

"Ardana take that off your face" Pash said as he brushed the covering away from her face. "You know I prefer having some clue as to how you think" because he didn't really know anymore. He was a little lost, staring into those bright eyes, not knowing what to do.

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She glared up at him as he pulled the cloak away from her face. "Do you mind?" She grumbled, although there was no real anger in the tone. She knew he hated not knowing what was going on in her mind, but she didn't know how to express what she was feeling at the best of times. She looked up at him, looking into his grey eyes, it was clear he was concerned so she gave a small smile. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

"One of these days, one of us really isn't going to make it back, and I would rather know how you feel right up until then" Pash whispered, his hand cupping Ardana's face

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

"You are always so dramatic." She said gently as she looked up at him, tilting her head slightly to lean in to his touch. Her own hand rested lightly against his chest, toying absentmindedly with the fabric of his shirt and pondering on his comment. Both of their bodies were marked with the scars of their past, physical ones the most obvious but the mental scars played the biggest role. Of course she wanted to tell him how she was feeling, but it was difficult when she barely knew herself. 

 

[Tarrir Karlo]

He pulled her into his chest, both of them falling back against the bed. Pash cradling the small form of Ardana. His chest still hurt from some of the wounds taken and his once violet eyes had become differing shades of purple veined grey. He kissed the top of her head and lay back, thinking of times past.

 

[TheMoonageDaydreamer]

She rested her head against his chest and sighed contently. "You need to stop worrying so much." She said gently, her voice muffled as she nestled comfortably in to the fabric of his shirt. The hand that wasn't resting on his chest toyed with one of her lekku, a momentary distraction.