Ask Before The Storm

[Altair Din]

With the Hapes Queen Mother rampaging like a tyrant across worlds, it offered the perfect distraction away from the Empire. Altair was charged with starting a new war campaign, having had a nice break after Dathomir. He wasn’t quite over what happened on the planet or the men he lost, but he knew he couldn’t mope around permanently.

The tiefling ran his direct reports through drills and he had a good idea of the officers he wanted to join him on the campaign. He anticipated things getting bloody, but he intended to keep the standard rules of engagement on avoiding civilian casualties wherever possible.

Altair was in a training facility on Raxus, running around on the tracks outside. He was dressed in a tank and some shorts, blasting music on his EZPods as he trained for endurance. While brute force was his specialty, he needed to up the cardio training.

There were a few others on the track, but it was evening and largely empty. Altair loved these new facilities and they were open to anyone that was a part of the Imperial military, including ISB and Imperial Knights.

 

[Kalique Baize]

Ever since having moved to the new facilities, a few things had changed. After Dathomir, the move had raised the overall spirits and Kalique still couldn't deny that she loved the new headquarters. Squire training kept her busy, but the new facilities offered so many possibilities she really appreciated and it seemed like the quality of training constantly kept improving with the new equipment and concepts.

The formal celebrations had been weeks ago, but the shard hadn't left her mind. Had Altair been avoiding her ever since? Yep. Was she happy about it? No, absolutely not. Did she relent though? No. She had sent him messages. Even left him notes. She knew he was busy, but so was she, but there was something unresolved and Kalique simply couldn't shake the feeling that they had to figure out the shard. He hadn't been delighted of their finding back then and he had insisted on not going, but the Force kept telling her he had to come along and so she was still trying to catch the Warmaster somewhere on the property.

It was pure coincidence that she did run into him in their new base that they, but as she spotted the Tiefling on the tracks in the distance, she saw her chance. She was still clad in a leggins and a top from her weight lifting routine and immediately broke into a sprint to catch up. A smirk did tug at her lips as she came closer, knowing she could finally discuss the matter eye to eye.

"Altair!" she called out, switching into a normal jog behind him. Was he ignoring her? Was the assumption about getting caught in yet another terribly bizarre scenario so bad? "Altair!!" she tried again, however a few heads turned, not his.

She then spotted the phone strapped to his biceps and the way his head slightly bopped to the music, so she sped up again, fell into track next to him and tugged out one ear bud with the Force. "Are you trying to escape me?" she asked him, a playful smirk on her lips as she adapted to his speed.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair had, in fact, been avoiding Kalique. Why? She was terribly bad luck. He couldn’t think of a single example of where they ever went anywhere together that didn’t end with him either getting into a fight, in a leaf skirt or somehow possessed or some other nonsense. He simply hoped she would forget about the stupid shard thing at the social and he could go about his own way.

The tiefling was happily jogging away when he felt one of his EZPods come out. Altair turned to catch Kalique showing up to haunt him. A look of concern flashed as he initially sped up his running and just kept going.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” He called out as he kept jogging and she would have to do double time to catch up to his longer strides. After a whole lap, he finally slowed down and walked over to grab a bottle of water, completely drenched in sweat.

“Your awful ideas are going to get me killed,” Altair stated flatly as he looked at her, “Are you always this persistent?"

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

The way his face immediately twitched told her everything she needed to know. Her eyes narrowed at the realization that he was still trying to get away without ever finding out why it had caught her attention so obviously, but as she began to answer with a "You know exactly wh-", he already took off.

A hint of annoyance flashed across her features as she sped up, however actually having to accelerate quite a bit to keep up thanks to her short legs, which left her breathing much heavier as he finally stopped. If she had already done cardio, she would have been totally exhausted, but as she had lifted weights, her legs simply burned.

"You're unbelievable" she sighed as she put her hands into her hips, taking deep breaths in ans letting them out slowly. "My ideas?! Prakith was yours..." on Raxus, she had followed his orders, too, so she was just stating facts.

"I told you this isn't an awful idea. We're up to something major here" she added, meeting his gaze more seriously, before she flatly replied, "Yes. I can't take your no as an answer". She had always been very persistent, and even he knew about her stubbornness by now, so was he really surprised. "I need your help...we'll be fine". Her expressions softened a little, even tunring into a little plea as she looked up to him. She would never deny the bizarennes they had went through, but they had always been fine...

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair watched her practically dry heaving and he started to laugh, “Damn girl, you need some cardio in your life. You sound like a smoking granny,” He chortled gleefully at her misfortune. However, his expression quickly changed when she pointed out that the missions were his ideas. He opened and closed his mouth quickly, unable to refute the point.

The tiefling only heard half of what she said, rolling his eyes so hard they almost fell out of his head. She came out here and wasn’t going to go anywhere. He finally sighed, “Fine,” He said, defeated, “Do you even know where we’d be going?” Altair didn’t bother asking what she thought they would find because no one knew. He guessed it would be a giant pile of bullshit, but then he could do his I-told you-so dance, and that was worth it. Plus it was a nice little break before he left for the Expansion Campaign.

“If you wanted to hang out with me, you coulda just said so and picked a less dangerous activity,” He said with a scoff as he walked back towards the building to shower and change.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

"Are you kidding me?" she immediately interjected as he started teasing her in terms of the slight heavy breathing. "I've been lifting weights for two hours and you attempted to shake me off with your sprint" she shook her head, however chuckling.

"Come ooon, don't give me that look" she had never seen him accepting something so reluctantly, but he was quite good at the theatrics, this she had to admit. He did suddenly agree though, unable to contradict her and knowing she wouldn't relent so quickly anyway. Maybe he just wanted her to stop nudging him, but a yes was a yes.

"I do. The coordinates were encrypted, but I have them now" thanks to Guin, who had helped her figuring out the code, she knew exactly where they were headed. "So that you can throw up on me again? Nah. I guess the puking risk will be rather small on this little quest" she cheekily replied, walking off the tracks with him.

"When are you ready to depart? I could get the ship ready in an hour if you're free right away" if it was the case, she'd tell him to meet her at the hanger bay in an hour which would give her enough time to prepare as well. Even if she didn't know exactly what would expect them there, she had fought along side him often enough to know she couldn't simply trust him, but that his powers were probably exactly what they'd need.

"Better still come with an empty stomach. You'll get easily digestible veggie snacks aboard" she teasingly winked at him before she'd wave him a goodbye for now as it was time to part and get ready. She couldn't deny that he still didn't seem very pleased and optimistic, but that he had agreed to come along was all she needed right now. One way or another, she'd shower, change, gather her armor and equipment before she'd head for the ship to get ready until he'd meet her at the ramp.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was showered and ready within the hour, and he didn’t bother with his fancy Imperial uniforms. He wore standard armor that could allow him to pass as a neutral mercenary depending on where they went. He didn’t like flashing official statuses in unknown regions since it painted a target on his back. She would also notice he brought his own snacks because he had no desire to eat boring veggie snacks.

He stepped aboard her ship and took a look around, checking out any pictures or decor she had. Altair plopped down in his seat, wondering what her piloting abilities were like. He had been on multiple ‘adventures’ where he crash landed. Vahliri was perhaps the worst pilot he had ever met and he outright banned her from flying.

“How long will it take to get there?” He asked as he tuned his guitar, which he brought to kill time.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique spent the next thirty minutes gathering her belongings after having taken a shower and changed into regular clothes for now. Her armor was already in the ship, and once she reached the hangar she readied the vessel for takeoff in a few quick steps.

It was already fully tanked up and loaded with everything they might need, so she then basically studied the route once again before the Grand Marshall walked up the ramp. He came with quite some luggage, a guitar included, which amused her a little. Some things apparently never changed.

"Just a quick jump, actually. The coordinates were encoded in a complicated manner, but turns out we're headed for the moons of Iego" she explained. It was good that it wasn't too far off, but there was one problem. "We have to drop out of hyperspace in the sector and I'll fly us towards the target moon. Apperently, it isn't too easy to reach, but we'll be fine" she was definitely a decent pilot and was optimistic.

"Last chance: Are you ready to depart?" she wasn't planning on taking a scowl for an answer, so unless he had a really urgent errand to run, she morion for the co-pilot chair for now before she'd prepare the ship for take-off. "There's not much known about this specific moon, but the atmosphere is breathable". Not many inhabitants, if her research had been fertile, but even if she wasn't fully relying on it and had thus prepared for possible eventualities, it was a start.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Like I have a choice,” Altair mumbled in response as she said ‘last chance’. He was quiet in the passenger seat as they took off. He had his guitar with him, so he calmly strummed a few tunes, humming to himself as he watched the vortex of hyperspace spiral before him.

“What you been up to?” He asked her. Altair seldom had a chance to just take a breather. Most of his excursions were strict Imperial missions. Technically this was one as well, but it wasn’t as formal as the others. They had both been busy in their respective careers, but this time allowed for some general chit-chat.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

He didn't officially object again but he was probably already aware that it wouldn't have helped a lot. The engines were on a second later and a smirk crossed her lips as she directed her attention back onto the controls for now. After take-off, she maneuvered them into hyperspace as soon as it was possible and so for now they could simply lean back.

"Oh a lot, actually" she replied as she did actually lean back, pulled up her knees, turned her chair and faced him. "The Squires keep me very busy, but I really love working with them, I'm still involved in taking down the Hindsnake Cult and the move consumed most of my free time" she replied, tilting hear head to the side.

"How about yourself?" Altair was also always busy, but they weren't here to dwell on work only if they had some free time so she was curios to find out whether he also went through changes.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was strumming some beautiful tunes in the background that were absentmindedly played, but actually oddly relaxing.

“Cult?” He asked, quirking a brow, “Haven’t had your fill of cults yet?” He asked with a snicker, recalling back to the Raze wannabe. Dealing with squires sounded exhausting, but he admittedly wondered about training a batch. Even though he was Imperial, he was still an experienced Force user and he used to train cohorts while he was the combat captain in military school.

“Preparing for an offensive campaign,” Altair said simply. He didn’t mention much beyond that - a lot of it was classified. However, it was enough to share that the Empire would begin a forward expansion campaign again, “We finally have the resources to mobilize the troops.”

The tiefling didn’t sound entirely enthusiastic about war again. He had long wondered if it wasn’t better to shift entirely to his royal duties and step back from the Empire altogether. However, seeing Levik’s execution made him wonder if it was that easy to get out.

“You know, you still haven’t given me my shirt back,” He reminded her with a grin.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

She watched him play his guitar, studying the movement of his fingers against the strings and remembering how she had been taught to play the piano when she had still been a child. Her parents had even forced her to learn how to play the flute, but every time she had pretended to never get the finger movement right to escape the training and it had been oddly effective.

As she remembered the awfully wrong notes of the one lonely flute of Varc that had seemingly never ceased to play, she just had to chuckle, especially because she wondered whether her faked wrong playing had sounded similarly, but the memory of their mission in the sewers was just as hilarious.

"I simply can't get enough..." it was definitely her job to exterminate them, yet she was involved with them quite a lot recently. Kalique then noted how when Altair replied, their were definite, yet subtle hints of an inner aversion.

"Sounds busy...but you don't sound too enthusiastic", she admitted, her features softening and genuine empathy bleeding into her voice. She didn't envy him for it. War was exhausting and often painful and he called the shots on all of it. She didn't really miss her time with the military, if she was being honest, but she obviously admired his unbound dedication and knew it needed to be done.

She was grateful for the change of subject as it brought about a more positive mood, too. "You know, I still haven't received a delivery of a new, clean formal uniform from the Grand Marshall either..." she argued, her lips curling back into a smirk. "I still wonder whether they put anything else in those shots somehow, it had felt like more than just a regular buzz. "I still can't believe you threw up on me" she shook her head. In her memories, the night was a blur, but this she did definitely remember.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair only shrugged vaguely when she noticed that he didn’t seem enthusiastic, “I’ve been in a lot of battles, Kalique,” He said quietly, “I killed the the last leaders of the Sith, I led Korriban’s defense against the Killik, I led the attack on Dathomir..” He exhaled, “I’m tired,” He shook his head, “It’s just yet another campaign that I gotta lead..” Altair trailed off, realizing that he couldn’t exactly vent to her. After all, she was adjacent to the military. He didn’t have any people he could outright vent to anymore. There was Vahliri, but she carried her own massive burden at all times.

Kalique’s sentiments around her uniform drew out a chuckle, “Did you even put in a formal request for a uniform? Because that’d get you a new one right away,” He gave her a playful wink, “There was nothing special in those drinks, you’re just a toddler about drinking,” Altair scoffed. He refused to believe it was anything more than that - he knew he popped sulfur which probably made the drinks hit harder but Kalique had no excuse!

“Felt good to get a punch in though,” He said after a moment of silence, “I can’t deny I miss fighting,” Altair admitted, “I had a…'friend'.. That was in charge of a planet that had these extravagant fighting rings. I tried to convince her to open it up for tourism and I’d even fight in it to draw more crowds and give a huge economic boost,” He chatted excitedly about it before his face fell slightly, the smile drifting off. Celeste, yet another name in his life that was permanently erased. He cleared his throat, “So what do you do for fun these days anyway?” They didn’t exactly run in the same social circles, but he certainly recalled her being fun at that fair even before the evening took a spicy turn.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

She believed him when he said he was tired. If she was being honest with herself, she was tired too, although her inner exhaustion was on a whole different, much smaller scale than his. Her time in the military seemed ages away and while there were certainly some fond memories, she couldn't deny it hadbbeen draining in a whole different way than her duties as an Imperial Knight-Captain.

It was hard to fully imagine what Altair had already been through, but she knew all about his accomplishments and knew that all those major campaigns came with many costs as sleepless nights, terrible injuries, incredibly hard decisions and a lot more. She let out a soft sigh at the realization of how truly jaded the often so enthusiastic and energized Tiefling was, especially as he phrased it as 'just yet another campaign'.

There were a few things she wanted to say, but the truth was that she couldn't. It sounded like he needed a break, any kind of some time off or perhaps simply some distance, but duties didn't allow for it. They both knew it. Also, the Empire needed him, but Kalique sympathized with him still. It did also sound like there were more things he wanted to say, but it simply wasn't that easy. None of it ever was. Still, she had a feeling that while he might seem to carry on effortlessly on the outside, on the inside he probably also knew that he couldn't carry on like this forever.

"Fortunately, I always have enough uniforms, but I mean the same applies to you and shirts.. she replied with a smirk. "Also, you literally threw up on me. I'd say sending me a new uniform would have been the least the favor you owed me" she playfully quipped, before his next remark simply made her cross her arms in front of her chest. "We downed so many shots in no time...my one human liver simply couldn't take it".

As he began telling her about an old friend, she noticed how his features lit up once again, before the darkened just as quickly. He spoke in past tense yet again which made her assume they were either no longer friends or something worse had happened, but it saddened her to see that Altair's usual sparks seemed to perish.

She appreciated that he did open up about so much, but she couldn't help but to think he was definitely in desperate need of distractions. She still couldn't help but to wonder which planet he was talking about, but as vague as he kept it, she didn't push him any further. "I guess you know where to find a good place to brawl on Raxus now.." she thus pointed out, trying to keep the mood lighter as she referred to the bike club they had run into.

"Also, I'm pretty sure Klava would never say no to throwing hands and you probably haven't seen your son in quite some time then", she teased as the memories of their absolute bizarre trip resurfaced. "For fun?" he suddenly gave a question back and thereby turned the conversation back onto her, which was when she leaned back again.

"My life is as busy as ever, so work doesn't allow for much free time at the moment, but when I do, I travel a bit. Getting out every now and then really helps me to refocus and I still try to seek the next adventure". Even though she did also enjoy the tranquility of just an ordinary day off, her adventurous spirits were always present.

"I don't even dare to ask whether you still get the chance to do fun things these days". Altair was also very social, but he was also the Imperial Grand Marshall. "Exchanging more recipes and cooking hacks with elderly ladies?". She did also remember how their first mission had started and couldn't help but to bring it up.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair grimaced at the mention of his ‘son’. The boy was a complete imbecile and he feared he would never have a suitable ‘successor’ at this rate. He almost seriously considered putting Klava in power. She was a barbarian, but she had tactical skill when it came to combat and knew how to command thousands of people. Her subjects would just have to put up with poor hygiene and greasy fingers.

Kalique sounded just as busy as him if her only idea of fun was going off planet once in a while. He couldn’t judge her for it though, he wasn’t exactly too fun these days, “That granny went about rhubarb pie all wrong,” Altair said with a grin, “I had to correct her,” He sighed, “I haven’t made a proper full course meal and dessert in ages.”

He leaned back in his seat and continued strumming. It wouldn’t be long before they arrived at the planet, but the journey was pleasant and peaceful so far. He was away from immediate responsibilities, he had his guitar, and he wasn’t around someone that was going to judge him for one reason or another.

“I bet you never made a damn cake in your life,” He said suddenly, chuckling to himself.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

"Ohh so you were choosing between pie and my life. I see how it is" she interjected sharply, pretending to be actually quite disappointed and thus keeping her tone all serious. "And then you barfed all over my clothes...maybe I should have reconsidered bringing you along". She let out a dramatic sigh as she leaned back, however a smirk soon tugged at her lips as their lighthearted chat continued.

"It sounds like you miss it quite a lot...perhaps you'll get the chance for some time off after the next campaign". Actually taking some time off was helpful for recentering ones mind, but she understood why he rarely ever found time to do so.

"Excuse me?" she faced him again at the sudden playful accusing, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I have. I do enjoy cooking and baking, too. If you had asked teenage-me, she would have given you a different response, but my skills are quite decent". She doubted she could live up to his standards as she knew he was quite professional at it, but she had gotten to like it throughout the years.

"You know you're the only noble ass now" she scoffed teasingly, not focusing on the bitter truth of the disgraced house Demici right now. "But you know what...it seems like even just getting the chance of escaping your duties for a few hours already helps you".

It wasn't hard to notice the chance. He seemed much happier, much more loose already. "Have you been on any moon of Iego before?". They'd already reach the system soon, but the uncertainty about what they'd find there was bothering her a little. She was no stranger to the system, yet this particular moon she had never heard of before.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Kali,” He said with a suddenly serious look on his face, “No one puts your life in more danger than your own clumsiness,” Altair bit his lip, unable to keep a straight face as he started chuckling. He was once again hit by the memory of Kalique opening a door and randomly toppling down an entire set of stairs for absolutely no reason to loudly announce their presence. And then promptly following up with elbowing a switch to cause even more chaos. It was a wonder she made it as far as she did without her own klutzy habits knocking her out every few steps.

He shook his head at her question, “No, but legends say that’s where diathim are?” Altair mused, “The most beautiful beings in the galaxy..” He trailed off, now genuinely curious about whether these so-called beings were as stunning to behold as legends suggested.

It wasn’t long before they began to arrive on the surface of the planet. Altair stepped over to look through the transparisteel, surprised at the red and gray swirls on the planet. He couldn’t see any obvious cities or civilization just yet, and it only made him more curious about the moons.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

"Hm?" as his tone shifted into seriousness, she couldn't help but to raise a brow, wondering what he was suddenly talking about. As he continued though, her quizzical look immediately turned into a dramatically annoyed one before his chuckle infected her and she burst into laughter.

"Wow...just wow" she remarked, catching her breath as she cleared her throat and tried her best to remain serious. "I fall once and you keep bringing it up" a sigh escaped her as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "At least I haven't been wed in a straw skirt and an oiled upper body". Oh she vividly remembered the day...especially his wife and the effects of gravity...

"So maybe that's it then. We're hunting angels. They wanted us to find them" she joked playfully, checking whether they were still on course before she could finally initiate the landing sequence and finally pull them out of hyperspace as their conversation shifted onto what laid ahead.

It wasn't too easy to navigate through the asteroids that randomly drifted through space after having entered the sector, but they managed alright and soon approached the mysterious moon. "Nothing...I don't see anything from here" she remarked as they kept descending.

"So how much time can you spare? I've brought a few rations...the moon is huge, we might be searching for a little". They obviously had to return to their duties eventually, but judging from the moon's desolate position, daylight was rather sparse and they had to hurry if they didn't want to wait for another rotation. "The atmosphere is fine. A little less oxygen, but we'll get past the dizziness". Not the perfect conditions, but fair enough.

As the ship was finally landed, Kalique immediately unbuckled herself and fetched her lightsabers before she returned with the shard in her hand. "Okay then, let's go". She was relatively enthusiastic, still compensating for the lack of his optimism.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair snickered, “With how often you bring up my leaf skirt and oily chest, I’m beginning to think that image lives rent free in your head,” He chuckled to himself, walking over to grab his things for the landing. He had packed his own food supplies because he was judgy about Kalique’s choice of snacks. He didn’t want to spend most of the trip chewing on leaves. However, he only nodded along instead of criticizing her food.

He wasn’t sure how tieflings would react to the different levels of oxygen, so he placed his helmet atop his head, completing his Imperial uniform. He could breathe easy for now, but it also relied on a limited oxygen supply. He wanted to have it and not need it instead of the other way around.

“What are we searching for, exactly?” Altair asked, his mechanized voice coming through the helmet. The planet appeared barren for now, and it was noticeably cold. His tail swished from side to side as they walked.

He paused for a moment to look up at the sky. He had to admit - he had never seen such a brilliant sky. It looked like the entire galaxy was glinting only a few feet away. He stared in awe for a few moments before he realized he was holding them up, quickly shuffling to keep up with Kalique.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

As Kalique double checked on the atmospheric circumstances, her dataplad advised her not to exercise here, but otherwise the oxygen levels in her blood were supposed to be fine enough, so she didn't put on the helmet right away. She wasn't really fond of it, especially not when searching for something, so for now she kept it in her left hand in case they would need it later on.

"Well" Kalique smirked up at him before she shrugged, descending the ramp next to him."We could decipher the coordinates, but I still don't know what exactly we're after" she admitted. The shard could have been from anything, but she doubted the glass had a natural source, given the pinkish, iridescent colors.

"We've got to move two clicks to the East, then the coordinates encompass a larger crater formation. I assume we'll find what we're looking for there". She internally prayed it was nothing bizarre, but given that the surface alone was mysteriously reddish with slightly shimmering, blueish swirls of sand here and there, she wasn't so sure anymore.

She barely registered that Altair stopped and stared at the sky as she was busy marveling at the barren, yet interestingly painted landscape. "Come! Are you not looking forward to a little hike?". She enthusiastically continued, her thoughts circling around the shard she kept in her gloved hands.

It wasn't freezing, but relatively cool, but the armor kept her warm for now. "What are you hoping to find?" she curiously wanted to know, wondering what the Grand Marshall literally wanted to find.

@Sreeya