Fears of Betrayal (open RP)

[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?"