Fears of Betrayal (open RP)

[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..."