Ask Fueling The Machine

[Altair Din]

“Why do we need an Imperial Knight again?”

“Because there’s a shady nexus and I can’t take it out on my own,” Altair said. He was hanging out with a few soldiers at a camp they set up near the mountainous terrains of Prakith. Taking over this planet was out of the question, but there was hope for setting up a depot near the mines. Getting the mining camp operational and transporting goods into Imperial space would be a huge success. With the Alliance and New Republic having collapsed, transporting goods became far easier.

The tiefling was just killing time with his soldiers, always one to engage closely with his men. They were eating snacks, smoking and discussing their favorite Holomovie actresses. The conversation turned spicy rather quick with the men laughing and talking about their types.

“I don’t have one,” Altair declared proudly. However, his men only laughed at him.

“Drama,” One of them said, “You like drama.”

“Ah, fuck you,” The tiefling chuckled, popping a few snacks in his mouth. The ‘snacks’ were local mushrooms. They weren’t psychedelic but they certainly mellowed people out. Everyone was in a blissfully great mood.

“I don’t look for drama,” Altair said as he took a swig of a drink, “Drama follows me,” He said with a smirk.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Another request came from Altair himself, but this time he was Kalique hesitated a moment before she simply accepted. Where ever they had been so far, something dramatic and absolutely absurd had happened and she didn't know whether they simply had bad luck or whether the first was constantly playing tricks on them to see how they'd handle absolute madness.

Obviously, she did accept just a few seconds later but a smirk tugged at her lips as she did so. No, she wasn't superstitious and so she told herself that this time it would be a normal mission and nothing else. Nexus points weren't to play with, yet she was confident they'd manage well as she already gathered experience in this area anyway.

She was transported to Prakith and while her armor was being directly transferred to camp, she was clad in her armor as she walked into the Imperial camp. She found Altair in a fairly good mood and chilling with his soldiers who seemed just as content. The vibe was relaxed, much like she had often experienced it in Imperial camps, but she hadn't directly been with Altair's men yet.

She approached the Tiefling with a smile on her lips, wondering whether he was all done on Varc for now and hoping there hadn't been any issues, but she was confident he had handled whatever the planet had thrown at him. "Warmaster Din", she greeted him with a polite inclination of her head, sticking to a formal way of adressing him before she introduced herself to his men. "I'm Knight Kalique Demici, it's nice to meet you".

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

His men straightened up a bit when she arrived, though he kept his informal posture. Altair only smirked at the shift, taking a swig from his bottle. He looked over at her, “Kalique! Come join us,” He called out cheerfully, inviting her to sit on a tree stump, “I scoped this area out before putting out a call for a Knight. Guarantee no bizarre cultists or breastfeeding ten year olds.”

Despite being a volatile planet, the mood around the camp was rather cheery. Things were looking up for the Empire and the ISC hadn’t launched any offensive strikes on them in a while. Various planets leaving the Empire actually made them less of a target as a faction.

Altair offered her some of the food if she wanted, though none of the shrooms he was partaking in, “How’re you doin’, girl?” He asked, some of his normal accent slipping into speech.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

The way his men did straighten up and he bluntly didn't made up for a comical imagine that did immediately draw a chuckle from her. It was as if they waited for him to give permission and without explicitly saying so, how he greeted her told them everything.

Kalique was surprised to find him in such a good mood and it was immediately infectious. He remembered her of what had been before and she couldn't stiffle the laughter the last part drew from her. "Ahh perfect. I see. Also no tower of terror in sight so it does seem fairly safe", she remarked amusedly, realizing how some soldiers were shifting gazes from him, to her, back to him, some seemingly not having heard all stories at once before.

She took a seat on the tree stump and accepted the snacks, actually not having eaten a lot today, but she couldn't help but notice the mushrooms on the ground. There it was. The thing that boosted the mood into super cheerfulness. It didn't seem like they'd start right away, so Kalique was actually happy about the socializing as there hadn't been too much of this recently. "I've been good, thanks. Busy but good. What about yourself? Is everything alright with your new kingdom?". She was quite convinced he had explored the world by now and the bathhouse ladies surely remembered him.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Hell yeah,” Altair said with a grin, “The brat is all happy about being betrothed and we’ll have the whole planet under Imperial rule,” He paused there, smirking at Kalique, “Klava was wondering where you went. She wants to share a meal with you,” He chuckled, “And I got new musicians.”

“Aw you gotta play us a song, boss,” One of the soldiers said with a whine.

“Naah, I haven’t done that in a while,” Altair remarked, taking a swig from his bottle. He thought about how he used to play his guitar every day. It had been months since he last picked it up, the instrument collecting dust. The tiefling went silent for a moment, staring off at nothing. The last time he was just himself was in that ridiculous festival with the tower of terror.

“Aww we miss it,” Another soldier said, “The Warmaster can sing like a pro,” He said to Kalique.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique was more than happy to know everything was fine on Varc and that the Empire could count on them. It wasn't just about the resources, but the fortresses they offered were already valuable themselves. They were way behind on tech and other modern developments, but somehow it had felt like time travel back then.

"I'm glad to hear...and oh I bet. She probably told you while feasting on a boar or something", Kalique remarked amusedly, not having any difficulties to imagine how she'd try to make her eat more and insisting on how she could still grow. "Oh? You grew tired of them already?" she sarcastically added, the thought about the flute alone making her chuckle again.

Kalique immediately realized how quickly his men jumped in on it and all she had heard of him was when he had sung on the bloom festival while rollerblading. "Oh they do have a point. Do it! Coke ooon" she shoved him with her elbow, a playful smirk on her lips before she amusedly whispered, "I know...it's new that he's so shy though" back to the soldier. "Let's go! Pleease" she threw him a pleading look, lips pouting and her green eyes widened.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Shy?” Altair exclaimed, “Me? Shy?” He turned to look at her, “Was I shy when-” He cleared his throat, deciding not to embarrass her in front of his soldiers, but the knowing look and slanted grin on his face would say enough. The tiefling took the word as an insult and gestured for one of the men to pass the guitar they brought. It wasn’t uncommon for his men to bring whatever they pleased on these cleanout missions that didn’t usually involve combat.

The tiefling grabbed the acoustic and looked at Kalique, “You have to do a trick for me then,” He demanded as he started strumming. He gave a jut of his chin to the soldiers so one of them would accompany with makeshift instruments. The man grabbed a cargo box and flipped it over for drums. Another grabbed some pots and pans for other instruments.

Altair started singing in Mereen, but it was a well recognized song. After the initial strumming, he began to sing, his voice projecting over the guitar. Right away it became clear that he truly did sound like he belonged on the stage. He swayed from side to side as he played, the soldiers playing their makeshift drums.

Song​

The tiefling grinned as he sang, his tail swishing and bouncing to the rhythm. The catchy beat was enough to get people moving. One of the soldiers jumped up and started dancing, clearly a little buzzed. Another soon joined in and they both playfully linked arms and started hopping in a circle. Altair chuckled to himself but he kept singing, slapping his guitar's body to a percussion rhythm. The entire mood changed and Altair felt that old rush he did when he hopped up on stage to command of it.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Obviously, Altair took the remark about him being shy as a direct challenge and he wasted no time before he demanded his instrument. A smug smirk was planted at her lips, knowing damn well that he did actually want this, just like his men and she was also excited for the show that was about to begin.

"A trick?" she quirked a brow at him, really wondering what the hell he had in mind for that, but for now she just leaned back and watched the show. She hadn't heard him speak his native tongue before and while she couldn't understand what he was saying, she knew the song and immediately started humming along with the catchy melody.

The mood immediately changed and some soliders already began to party as Altair gave them one hell of a show. She, too, was not just pleased about how he had granted them their wish, but was also very entertained by his performance. She was literally convinced that if he hadn't found his way into the military, he would have ended up on a stage somewhere, touring across the galaxy with his band.

As his song did come to an end, she joined the cheering and clapped excitedly. "Wow...a Rockstar surely got lost on you...do another one!". The soldiers immediately joined in, especially those who had started dancing were very keen on hearing another one.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Yes, a trick,” He said after the first song ended, “What, you have no talents at all?” He quipped. Wasn’t she a noble? Nobles were practically mandated to pick some sort of talent and hone it over time. Altair groaned at the request for more songs, checking his chrono. They really did have to get going on this mission.

However, he caved and started to play another song. This was also melodic and catchy, but a bit more relaxed. Once again, his fingers drummed and slapped against his guitar. His soldiers provided the backup vocals, the entire scene relaxed and cheery.

At the end of it, Altair set his guitar down and rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders and looking out towards where the mines were. He looked at his soldiers, “All right boys, let’s go. Demici and I lead the way.”

Altair started walking towards their destination, filling her in as they went, “There is a nexus of some sort here. It’s incredibly powerful and was created by a Sith Lord a long time ago. Whenever anyone tries to get to the mines, the oppressive nature of the nexus is just too much. That’s why it’ll take both of us to purge it,” She may have been demoted in rank, but she still had the strength of what used to be Sith Master as a rank. With their powers combined, he knew it would be possible to get past the hurdle.

“This nexus is dark,” He explained as he looked at her, “Real dark. It’ll fuck with your head so you gotta be prepared.”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

"I- she started laughing as he suddenly attacked her like this. "Pfff you wish" she amusedly added, contemplating whether she should show one of her secret talents in front of his whole army. The thought was amassing and she clearly wasn't one to turn down a challenge either, yet maybe she'd find a better moment.

She enjoyed the second one just as much, reveling in the fully relaxed and cheery mood his songs had boosted even further. As the song came to an end, she was, however, surprised that he immediately wanted to leave right after, but then again, she instantly noticed why.

He began explaining and it immediately reminded her of the dark focus point on Entralla and the presence that had haunted the village. "Oh well...I've gathered experience with that so I would say I know what to do, but then again I've learnt that it will always hit you unprepared at some point", she answered, letting out a quiet sigh.

The overall mood would help, but mental attacks were fatal if executed correctly. They couldn't let any of it in or get to them in any other way. "I will be" she ensured him as she met his gaze before she took a deep breath and already started to focus.

She was relaxed due to the mood prior to their departure, now she needed to fortify her mental barriers though. The lightsabers dangled from her belt, but she doubted she needed them. "Have you been inside here before?". She was hoping no one had claustrophobia or was afraid of the dark, as even as they entered, the mood shifted to something far more oppressive.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair shook his head, “I’ve only walked the perimeter and could feel the nexus,” He explained, “I recognized it because I’ve been around them on other planets,” He vaguely recalled his mission with Vex and the dark side presence.

There was a canyon and a valley at the bottom. Kalique would feel the chill in the air right away, an oppressive presence in the Force. Altair paused to look at her, letting her know that she would feel it at once. With that, he took the next step.

Without warning, both would feel a sudden pulse in their minds, an intrusion that was ancient and unnatural. It was cruel and malevolent, violently attempting to claw into their thoughts. They would both see glimpses of the past - images of Mandos of old, of an old Sith Lord, even faint images of the Empress Andraste herself.

Kalique would realize she was in the plane of the Force. Altair was there with her, his presence in the Force dark and demonic by appearance, but it felt more neutral than dark. The landscape ahead of them changed and shifted, black tendrils extending everywhere in a valley of despair. At the very end of that valley was a fleeting bit of light.

“That’s where we have to go,” Altair yelled, the environment pulling and tugging at the fabric of his existence. It took a toll on them to even be in this world without being torn apart.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Upon entering the deeper parts of the mines, Kalique felt all calm and centered. It was the right, readied mindset, yet she knew whatever was to come wouldn't be easy at all. The last nexus she had fought had taken its toll and this one wouldn't be any different, yet she felt confident as she knew how powerful Altair was.

"There already is this chill and tension in the air...let's get this over with". She met his gaze again, the look on her face confident and determined, yet such experiences weren't exactly pleasant and she knew it. She gave him a curt nod as he paused and looked at her again, signaling that she was ready, and just like that they pressed on and immediately found themselves shifting spheres.

She was confronted with a storm of images right in her mind as those malevolent forces prodded at her mind and violently yanked at her body. She stayed unwavering for now, although her teeth were gritted and the strain making her grimace a little. An invisible storm was raging all around and she caught the first glimpse of Altair's shifted form. He looked like full demon here, but there was something about his strong, somehow rather balanced presence she even found a little soothing as it gave her something to stay focused on. It was impressive to witness, yet she couldn't enjoy the subtle fascination as something violent constantly pulled at her, threatening to tear her apart.

She nodded and pushed forward, the violent, chaotic environment constantly hurting her, however she reached for him first. She took hold of his arm, knowing it would help both of them if they pushed through this together and so she began walking. The steps were cumbersome, as if walking against a never-ending gust of wind that didn't however just push against them, but swirl all around, violently yanking their presences in different directions.

The surroundings were oppressingly dark and dangerous, yet she tried hars to keep her mind focused. The Force was chaotic and sinister her, fully out of balance and an abomination sprung from someone powerful long ago, hence she was grateful for all the endless training's sessions she had undergone recently. "Stay focused on the light. We've got to stay focused" she mubled more to herself, eyes narrowed and actively trying to not let the pain weigh her down even though it became more difficult with each and every step they took.

The light didn't really grow closer, yet it was still there. Still, they'd soon learn that Altair wasn't the demon they'd have to fear here. The dark presence would slowly stir up painful memories and the worst fears and the first image Altair would see would be his baby girl...nothing happened yet, but he'd see an image of her floating into his consciousness. It would be a potential source of strength, yet he might already fear what was about to come.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair winced through the storms that raged within this plane. It took away from the very fabric of his existence here. The tiefling gritted his teeth, taking slow steps forward. He grasped Kalique’s hand when she came forth, keeping her from getting stripped to bits. She was powerful, but she was still not as strong as a Sith Lord. This would impact her worse than it did him.

He saw those images of his daughter, his jaw tightening. He knew these were tricks. He knew the kinds of images that would be thrust into his mind. He knew these things always attacked at the most vulnerable spots. Altair braced himself for it, calling the Force to shield himself. He blasted it outwards, sending some of the dark tendrils away. He saw a thin path open up and he dragged Kalique with him. They got only a few feet before the tendrils closed in to block the path again.

Meanwhile, Kalique had her own battles. She may have expected to see people close to her as the attack on her mind. Instead, she saw only herself. She saw a reflection of herself with her eyes burning yellow. There was power that channeled through her, the promise of everything she could be if she only reached out to take it. The galaxy could be at her mercy. It was the Force yielding to her every whim and a reality where she commanded everyone. It was intoxicating, a lustful display of power that felt so visceral that she would have a hard time distinguishing it from reality.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Together, they pushed through, but even of gritted teeth and labored breaths the pain was barely bearable. Her free hand was clenched into a fist and even if he did lend her strength, it was clawing of parts of her essence. There were no compromises in that. They'd have to reach the light.

Altair would constantly see the image of his daughter blending into his consciousness. She was smiling, she was happily giggling and gurgling, the vibrant violet eyes they shared gleefully meeting his gaze, and then she cried. She let out the most terrible, agonizing cry he had ever heard. She was in immense pain. "You know you can stop this...you can have all the power you need", a distant voice whispered softly through the terrible, ear-piercing cries why he kept seeing her daughter battle death. He knew it was waiting for her. Those sinister forces made him see it.

His force blast was efficient and they made some progress, yet the battle wouldn't stop. They were venturing deeper into the violent force storm that would not leave them unscathed. The Force tried its own tricks with her, but while such a dark presence had confronted her with a different fear last time, it was now using the fear that had recently surfaced. It began telling her stories about the power she could assume and the might she could wield and for a moment it felt real.

She saw the immense force she wielded and gazed into her own reflections, however actively focusing on all of her teachings, the endless meditative sessions and all the things that grounded her. Sith were after power and devoted themselves to the darkness, but her loyalties didn't lie with that urge.

This wasn't her. It had never been her. Her aspirations were different and even if the dark side was a constant alluring threat, always lurking somewhere and wanting to snatch those who didn't fully commit themselves to it, she would never allow that to happen with herself.

She forced another image into her very mind. The day she had lost control for a briefest moment. Imperial Knights always found themselves confronted with a choice. They could give in to the darkness and consume it, just like the Sith did, and turn themselves into unstoppable servants of the dark side. But not her. She hadn't felt powerful in this very moment when she asserted herself over the Imperial, she had felt terribly ashamed. She had never lost her patience and never would it ever happen again. This time it wasn't her shoving the Lieutenant but it was her shoving away the dark tendrils that tried to grab hold of her.

This wasn't the path she had chosen. Never would she descend that path. Throughout all her life she had seen the Sith, even trained with them, then finally began to slaughter them. The Empire was worth holding on to. Her ambitious were a constant reminder that she'd never carve to those sinister forces. "We...are...get-ting..closer", she pressed forward, clearly in pain and strain, but they were nearing their destination.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair couldn’t see what war was being raged on her, but he could tell it was causing her tremendous pain. He was already caving, and he was significantly stronger than her. The nexus had existed for hundreds of years, and there was an ancient strength to the hold it had on the area. For that entire time, no one had been able to penetrate through to the mines.

He gritted his teeth, realizing that Kalique was going to be on the brink of collapse. Altair reached down and scooped her off her feet, parts of his presence in the Force tearing away. His tail was already gone, and he was fighting against the resistance to carry her through the path. Her legs were disappearing, but her mind was still intact. As long she kept resisting, as long as they both worked together, they would make it through. Even if just barely.

The tendrils kept tearing at him, but he was determined to keep pushing. He leapt over the tendrils, landing into more. He had a decision to make, knowing it was going to be difficult to drive to the end of the path. He let Kalique go, pushing her with all his might towards that light. He remained behind with the tendrils overwhelming him.

Kalique had precious seconds to reach the end while the energies were too busy trying to destroy Altair. If she made it, it would finally release them from this nightmare.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Every step felt like it was the last she'd manage to take and she could no longer hold back the agonized cry as she forced herself to take yet another. Despite loudly screaming in tormenting pain, it was as if the raging storm was absorbing it, feeding on it, not just on her substance but on the pain as well.

Yet, she kept pushing through until she collapsed, her legs not just giving in but dissolving into thin air. "No!". With her last strength, she sent a force push off to slap away the next incoming tendril, but she was already on the ground and the next one already intended to drag off what left of her.

If it weren't for Altair, it would have gotten her. He picked her up and pushed her through together with him while she found herself of the brink of death. She faded in an out, her consciousness on a thin thread. Inside her head, the battle was still raging and it seemed as though this sinister force was trying to violently force these thoughts into her. If she'd give in, she herself would be able to fight it off, to wield seemingly unlimited power to crush and subdue this presence...or so the darkness told her. Still, she would not let it in. She was determined as ever, her mind the only thing still fighting the battle while her body had already given in.

They had to destroy this. She was not going to let go of this thought. She suddenly noticed how Altair let her down and her eyes widened a little. She could feel him pushing from behind and while what was left of her presence was so frail and almost completely transparent, she still sensed him and his presence. They weren't alone. Yet Altair had made a choice. With his last strength he shoved her forward and the light was close.

She couldn't give up now. Yet she suddenly felt him vanish. She was close, so close to letting go as the pain was simply unbearable, but with her last strength, she did mananged to drag her body forward. Could she just leave him behind?! Well...again she was left with no choice. They'd both die. What was left of her would get torn apart as well and with him already haven't been swallowed into the mass of abyssal tendrils this was all on her.

She could protect them. She would. She was strong enough to end this without giving in. She hadn't just sworn it to herself, but it had always been what drove her. Her very core. They'd bring balance to this place thanks to Altair's sacrifice. "You..w-will...n-not...win" she pressed forward, her voice simply fading into oblivion as she kept answering those voices in her head as she reached forward. This all happened within a split second and while the sinister forces consumed Altair, she managed to overcome the very last distance in the last second.

Her hand reached out and it touched the light. It was just her finger before it suddenly sucked her closer, her eyes widening in shock as her hand was suddenly inside this light before it fully combusted.

The sudden force explosion hurled them both out of this ethereal sphere and back into their plane. Their bodies seemed relatively unharmed, but for a moment they'd simply be passed out. The chamber was vehemently rocked with pieces of rocks and debris crumbling for the walls and every force sensitive being in the surroundings would feel that violent ripple within the Force as the nexus combusted.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

They were both violently thrust out of the plane of the Force. There was a long fissure that streaked through the earth. The two halves parted aside, revealing a deep crevice of molten earth below. When Kalique opened her eyes, she would feel extreme fatigue. The barrier was down, but it took a toll on them both.

If she looked over, she would find Altair on the ground a few feet away. He wasn’t initially moving, his entire psyche still recovering from almost being consumed. Several moments passed before his eyes slowly blinked open. He was on his back, staring up at the sky.

“What the…” He trailed off, rubbing his head from the throbbing pain. Altair looked over at Kalique, heaving a sigh of relief, “Man… I threw you like a Huttball and hoped for the best..” He muttered out loud. He thought about his sentence and smiled. That smiled turned into a chuckle, and then he was suddenly laughing.

“Okay I lied, this mission got weird too,” Altair kept laughing before it changed to a series of coughs. He was still not recovered from the terrible assault on his mind.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Her head was throbbing in pain while her heart kept speeding. For a while there was nothing. Despite somehow being semi-conscious, she couldn't move a single muscle while her senses were still relatively dulled. As she woke, she blinked slowly, her vision still very dizzy and an immense exhaustion was lingering in her nerves and bones, so that it took her quite a moment before she mananged to slowly tilt her head upwards.

She was on her belly, legs and arms outstretched and her eyelids heavy. After more blinking, her eyes focused and her gaze immediately fell on the Tiefling across from her, also still unflinching. "...". She opened her mouths, but even her lips moved so slowly and she couldn't muster the strength to actually speak.

Stirring slightly, she pulled her hands back in an attempt to lift her body, but the muscles weren't responding just yet. Grimacing, she gave up for now, her gaze still directed at Altair and her chin lifted though. He mubled something as her head cleared a little, the mental assault still taking its toll, but slowly and steady she made at least some progress.

Lifting her torso ever so slightly to turn to the side, she breathed deeply and gathered her strength while Altair began to rub his hand. "Are you...alright?" she carefully asked, finally finding the strength to speak, and obviously implying a 'given the circumstances'.

Despite almost having been consumed completely, he seemed relatively fine now, yet his remark caught her off guard so severely that she simply busted into laughter. It was more quiet than usual, but given her lack of strength she almost choked on his words, falling back onto the ground and starting to cough.

"A huttball...I can't". While they had been in a terribly dark situation that almost costed their lives, he lightened the mood in no time. Still chuckling, she finally mananged to sit up shakily, stretching her tense muscles out a little before she turned to him again. "Weird? This I'd call...intense" she answered, grimacing once again as a stinging pain flowed through her mind.

"You know what? I give up. We will never have any chill or normal missions...it's either us almost dying or something terribly absurd". She slowly shook her head, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple, not minding the crevice just yet. She glanced around, yet found it relieving that this oppressive darkness was gone.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

It took Altair a few minutes to finally sit up, and he did so while rubbing his temples. Everything in the plane felt real, and he was still reeling from the agony of feeling as if his body was being torn to shreds. The tiefling didn’t focus on the negative, however, grinning at Kalique, “Yeah, you’re just bad luck for me,” He said playfully. Truth was - she was the opposite. Since the first time they met, she had saved his tail on multiple occasions. His gaze lingered on her briefly before he looked back towards the mines.

“I don’t sense anything terrible the way forward,” Altair said as he slowly got up to his feet. If she needed a hand, he would pull her up as well, “I think we can have the Imperials go in to clear up anything else around the mines.”

Altair didn’t know too much about the planet, but he was wary of local fauna. The Imperials were making their way over to the mines and there were rivers and pools surrounding the area, “Keep an eye out for greethka!” He called out. He only read descriptions about them and they seemed unsettling.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

From a seated position, she had a better overview over the situation and over the deep schism that the destroyed nexus had caused. She was relieved that there was no more threat lingering in the air and despite the pain and the dizziness, she felt like she began to settle in this plane again.

"Eeexcuse me?!". Her head turned and she faced him, her mouth dramatically opened. "Need I remind you of how you're the one calling the shots and leading me into these messes?" she shot back teasingly, throwing him a smirk. A grimace followed after she pulled her knees towards her as she wanted to get up, thus as he made his way over, she gratefully accepted his hand.

"Thanks. And same, the coast seems clear" she agreed with him, battling the headache as she stood. She didn't assume the chances for spotting a Greethka were too high as they hadn't spotted any underground ponds or streaming rivers and she also wasn't sensing anything so powerful anymore.

More Imperials streamed into the cave to secure the premises while Kalique felt like she really needed a little break for now. Obviously, they had to stay close in case something happened, but her feeling was much more positive now. "You know I feel like we should both rest a little...we've got a lot to process. Remember that we still owe one another a horror-movie night though" she reminded him, actively focusing on different thoughts. They had already learned that they vibed rather well and could have fun with each other and socializing was always good for moral.

@Sreeya