Girl on Film

[Eddard Thul Drast]

Eddard was on Taris not because Taris was particularly important but because Taris was actually rather close to Mandalorian space and yet still something of a regional hub world. It was highly industrialised and had the potential to give the Mandalorians spoils were they to raid it or to capture it outright.

It was a good place to keep an eye on the border between the Empire and the Mandalorians and, strangely enough, it was the best place to send messages into Mandalorian space without them taking an age to get there.

So while he was actually here to keep an eye out for any Mandalorian probing actions - he had also taken the opportunity to send Raz a message on the com details she had given him.

We should probably talk - sorry for springing that on you but you did shoot my foot off again so... even?

He honestly didn't expect a reply.

Instead he sat back down in the monitor room and sipped at a cup of caf, looking over the camera feeds of some of the Imperial assets in the area.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

Raz hadn’t missed the message, but she was also entirely unsure what to say. She wasn’t very well versed in things like ‘feelings’, and he had gone and dropped the L bomb on her. Her instinct had been to run away, and that was how she expected to react to that word under most circumstances. He had popped in to her mind more than she had cared to admit. She was focusing entirely on her clan and the impacts they were having. They had managed to capture a Drast and take her back. It wasn’t entirely decided what would be done with her just yet.

She began to think about her own life and what she wanted for her own path. Raz had no interest in becoming Mand’alor, despite many others whispering about how she could be a great candidate. Raz had her sights set on just her clan and making it a powerhouse within her people. Clan Solus had almost faded entirely into obscurity, and she wanted to bring it to the forefront and beyond it ever was.

For now, she set her focus on continuing to hit Sith wherever she could. She was currently near a warehouse that helped manufacture Imperial ship parts. She intended to sabotage the operations here to continue to strike at their attempts at having mission ready vessels. Raz had a few explosives with her, and her plan was to set some charges and disappear before anyone could tie things back to her.

She hadn’t acted yet, scoping out the building from afar. She was fully geared up, toying with the idea of using the saber she had on her at some point. After she decided it was time to move, she climbed down a ladder from the side of a building and began to quietly make her way towards the warehouse. She had to zig-zag through a couple of alleys to get to it, and she knew she had to make a quick getaway.

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

A glimpse of a woman in Mandalorian armour on one of the cameras, just for a second.

He should probably be surprised but, really, deep down? He wasn't even slightly surprised to find that she was here. The whole reason he was here was because people were pitching fits about possible Mandalorian aggression and whenever the idea of a Mandalorian popped into his head?

She was there.

Seemed that the Galaxy was going to go along with his thought process on this occasion because she was here. It might not be her - it might just be some other female Mandalorian but... well, his just kind of knew that it wasn't. It was her and he'd bet his right foot on it. If their interaction was similar to the last two times then betting his foot on it was probably a good idea because he was probably about to lose it again.

It was sickening to him in a way that he honestly would take another bill for another mechanical foot just to see her again - was he really such a love-struck fool for her? Perhaps he was.

Perhaps this was the curse of the line of Evandrus? The curse of falling in love so completely, so utterly, that there was nothing you would not do, no depths you would not sink to and no highs you would not credit entirely to them. Personally he was hoping it was just a crush and he could either sleep with her and get it out of his system or find that it was just gone one day.

His grandmother didn't think that likely but she was an old woman - he wasn't going to take her word as law. Eddard blinked when he realised he was cold and glanced around, noticing (finally) that he had been so distracted that he hadn't even noticed getting out of the chair and out of the security office entirely. Hell, he was already almost to the area where he had spotted Raz on the screens and all from walking while zoned out thinking about her.

This... this did not bode well for him.

Realising that sneaking up on a Mandalorian on a mission, or whenever really, was a bad idea, Eddard tapped out a message and sent it to her.

I've seen you in the area - I'm on the corner of Fourth and Lekku Street. I just want to talk, no funny business.​

He... well he doubted that she would respond but hopefully she would show up at least. He really hoped she did show up because this was Cornat Territory, a local gang that liked to scalp people. The warehouse district was savage in its own way.

And he was rather attached to his scalp all things considered.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She had just ducked into another alley when her comms lit up again. Raz had to pause, more than a little confused. She had notified her clan what she was doing, and she had asked not to be bothered. This was a delicate operation, and she didn’t want any beeps or distractions unless it was an absolute emergency. However, as soon as she saw what it was, she came to a dead stop. Raz bit her lip, staring at the words and considering her options.

She knew where the street crossing was, and she was half tempted to ignore it. What would she have to say to him? Their last meeting was downright awkward, and she hadn’t expected it from him. Then again, she couldn’t deny she had been wondering when or if she would run into him again. Raz sighed and decided that this would bug her far too much not to investigate. She made her decision and turned left from where she was originally going.

It was amusing for him to catch her like this. She knew he knew why she was here, and they would both be aware that her intentions were far from innocent. Raz had no explanation to offer him, and she knew he wouldn’t ask for one. He was good at letting everything else around them blend away, and she hated that about him. He had this strange way of making her feel as if she were the singular person for miles around, and no one and nothing else was in the peripheral.

Before she knew it, she found herself at the intersection where he mentioned, and she spotted him in the distance. Raz crossed her arms over her chest, the familiar sight of her cold, steely helmet and the T visor greeting him. For a long moment, she said nothing, wondering where to begin. What did he have to say, anyway? What more could be said after such a huge admission? Raz eyed him for a moment before she finally spoke, “….You are persistent,” She muttered, half serious and half as a joke. For a Solus to call someone persistent was ridiculous.

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

And there she was.

Of course it could have been any female wearing Mandalorian armour brazenly labelled as Clan Solus. But could it really? No. No, to Eddard's mind there was only one woman in the Galaxy who could wear the armour of a fugitive and wanted woman with such quiet and confident swagger. There was no doubt in his mind that beneath that armour was Raz Solus, Rally Master of Clan Solus, expert warrior and thorn in the side of the Empire. Raz Solus was the only woman who could be behind that T Visor...

The woman who glowed.

All of this crossed his mind in an instant so despite feeling like he had been standing there staring at her like an idiot, he had actually only wasted two blinks on the tangent about how certain he was that it was her. Which left him plenty of time to stand there like an idiot because he had no idea what to say.

His body had moved itself across the town to hope to catch a glimpse to her with no conscious decision of his own and yet now that he was here in front of her, it stubbornly refused to do the same again. It refused to find words and it refused to make any kind of movement.

And then she took the initiative and spoke first. She spoke first and she managed, with only three words, to pull from him a smile that so often he kept under lock and key.

"Coming from you?" he raised an eyebrow, "I'll take that as a compliment."

He took a single step closer to her before pausing and looking down at her feet.

"So it occurs to me that I... owe you an apology." he declared firmly, holding his empty hands so that she could see them, "It wasn't fair of me to just spring that on you last time. I probably even deserved to lose the foot again, or so I'm told. So for that I would like to apologise and like to do this right instead."

Eddard shouldn't be as nervous as he was but for some reason he found himself slightly shaken it had to be said. Was he even doing this right? He didn't know.

"There's a wildlife preserve in the richer sector - a collector's prized Reek has gone mad with rage. I would like to ask you to hunt it with me." he paused for a moment, looking very uncertain for a moment, "I believe this might be more culturally correct than asking you for a cup of caf... so instead I suggest we hunt first and then have a drink after if you want."

... and if neither of them had been gored or trampled to death by a Reek three times the size of a regular specimen of the species. He didn't know what the hell he was doing.

Was he even making any sense right now?

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

The irony of her own commentary wasn’t lost on her, and he was quick to pick up on it. Truth be told, even she had a hard time keeping from a faint grin threatening to spread. She was in enemy space at all times, always wearing her armor proudly and fully geared up. It was a wonder she wasn’t constantly shot at, and most of that came from people being outright afraid of engaging her.

As per usual when she came across him, her gaze lowered to his foot. It was becoming quite a trend for her to shoot it off, and for him to just bite duracrete. Despite that, he somehow didn’t grow to resent her, and she supposed the same was true for him. Outside of this, they had no qualms with killing each others’ brethren. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill her Solus boys, and she had quite literally captured a relative of his. She knew he would be aware of that fact by now, and it made things all the more awkward between them.

When he stepped closer, she stiffened slightly, but she didn’t move back. Even now, Raz was still slightly suspicious, but it was always a part of her nature. It took her a long time ever let her guard down, and the fact that he was a Sith made things even more difficult. As he spoke, she looked at his empty hands. She didn’t like to think about their last meeting, especially with the way they had parted. For a moment, she said nothing, as there was no way for her to exactly rebuff an apology.

She eyed him curiously, quirking an eyebrow, “…Do this right?” She muttered, asking quietly. She wasn’t exactly sure what he meant. What right or wrong way he was talking about? Before she could really dissect the comment, he had moved on. What he suggested next took her by surprise. A hunt? A hunt always brought a rush to her, and it had been one of the things he had found her doing when she was chasing after an Acklay. He had remembered that about her and actively sought out a similar feat for them to accomplish. Raz was stunned, standing there for a moment and blinking stupidly.

“I… uh…” She shifted slowly where she stood, “You planned this?” The surprise was obvious in her voice, “We’re at war…I have a bounty on my head….and you planned a hunt for us?” Raz didn’t know whether to laugh or shoot him – a common theme between them now. After a moment, she cleared her throat, “….I can never turn down a hunt..”

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

She was suspicious of him and he could understand that - as she said, the two of them were on opposite sides of a war and they had even gone after each other at one point or another. She had blown his foot off several times now, to the point where it was no longer even slightly funny but he couldn't bring himself to hold it against her. A few weeks or months ago he would have held it against her and tried to kill her but now? Well now it was, as he had decided before, a small price to see her again.

By the Gods above he hoped he didn't stay this sappy and he would either grow out of it entirely or would just drop the crush on her at some point. He was still convinced that this was all just a crush after all. Hopefully he might be free of it at some point... even if his grandmother was convinced that it was love and he was suffering from the curse of the Evandrus line.

Do what right indeed - this shouldn't be something that he wanted to do right but he wanted to. It was incredibly selfish to want to spend time with this Mandalorian but he knew that he was going to anyway. He didn't answer her however - how did you tell the most feared Mandalorian in all known space that you were trying to take her on a date? Well, he supposed he could just tell her but the last time he had explained something like that to her she had shot his foot out from under him.

And his last replacement foot was back at the barracks.

And there was the crux of the issue.

They were at war and they both knew it - she even held his aunt in custody after all - and yet here he was about to take her for a hunt and a drink. If he wasn't terribly mistaken this was close to the Mandalorian equivalent of asking someone out to dinner to an Alderaanian.

Their people warred and here he was asking her on a date.

"... our people are at war." he muttered, looking aside as he called for a discreet taxi service to send a speeder for them, "I'm not at war with you, Raz, and you're not at war with me. Maybe sometimes we don't have to 'be' our people - maybe sometimes we're just a man and a woman going on a hunt?"

A date.

The taxi approached, the driver giving them barely a glance before ignoring them entirely as Eddard had given him the destination already. Eddard smirked ever so slightly.

"At least this time there's no swamp."

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

She stared at him, gazing into the yellow eyes that were so unnatural and haunting. Normally he wore a mask that managed to detract from it, but now it was here in full view. She had come here to do a job, and the thought was nagging at the back of her mind. At the same time, she knew a good hunt could bring in a great amount of credits. Raz took in his words, her eyes narrowing slightly, “Shouldn’t we be at war with one another? Are you not part of the Republica? Am I not a Mandalorian and your sworn enemy?”

It made no sense to her, and she despised it. She didn’t reach for her gun, even though she could have. She didn’t activate her jetpack, even though she wanted to. A badger never ran. Even if the enemy was something as alien as the thoughts in her mind. No enemy or foe could keep a badger back. Raz mulled over the words – there was nothing wrong with a hunt. She looked into his eyes again, still slightly unnerved by the yellow. It was a constant reminder of what he was and the dark blood that pumped through his veins. Then again, did he see a savage beast when he gazed upon her like so many others in the galaxy?

She was pulled out of her thoughts when a taxi approached. She looked over for a moment before her attention flickered back to Eddard. A faint grin touched her lips at his words, “I don’t do too well in swamps,” She muttered quietly, thinking about her options. After standing around for a few moments, she finally joined him in the taxi. Raz didn’t understand her thoughts on the matter or him. He was a constant enigma to her, and it bugged her to no ends.

She realized he had already given the driver a destination when he didn’t even ask for one. At long last, the taxi took off and her mind was racing. He could be taking her to any sort of trap. Her eyes roamed all around and she kept fidgeting. He would be able to clearly sense the discomfort she felt, always suspicious and alert. Raz wasn’t so quick to trust, and her fingers were close to her guns at all times.

“I didn’t take you for the type to go on hunts,” She glanced over at him, looking him up and down as she grinned. He looked far too well put together to do such activities. Raz being Raz, she was entirely clueless to the fact that he may have arranged this more for her than himself.

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

Shouldn't they be at war with one another? Well he supposed, in a way, they were and they always would be at war until the war was over and one side was likely dead. The Imperials weren't know for their mercy and the Mandalorians were practically defined by their lust for blood and glory. He supposed that maybe this would all have to end in tears... but he didn't want to admit that so he wouldn't. The beautiful thing about this 'feeling' thing was that you didn't have to accept logic you didn't like if you didn't want to.

"Why?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "We're just people. Our nations, our peoples, are at war but does there need to be a war between us? Between Ned and Raz?"

It was a philosophical question and one he would have scoffed at others for spouting but there it was. Apparently 'feelings' made you something of a fool in many regards. When she said that she she didn't do well in swamps he couldn't help himself. Gods above and the Force itself damn it but she was able to elicit the response from him like no other and he hated that she could draw it from him, so naturally, so casually.

For the second time, Raz Solus made Eddard Thul-Drast act absolutely nothing like himself because she made him laugh.

She made him laugh, totally disarming him and he both hated that and loved it. To a man who wore his paranoid like a cloak and like a shield it was odd to be without it and when she made him laugh she made him drop it. It wasn't for long but a moment was like a lifetime if you carried something forever. His eyes flashed brighter, lighter, as he smiled.

"I don't know - you walked away from that glowing."

They were on their way however - the taxi was flying fast and Raz felt like a powderkeg about to go off sat beside him. It wasn't often that someone like Eddard felt the need to tell someone to relax but he would admit he felt like it wouldn't be out of place here. He smiled a little bit and glanced at her.

"Well what can I say... maybe hunting with you got me developing a taste for it?" he remarked drily before smirking, "Besides. Our last one went so well - why not do another!"

They arrived at the estate, clear grassland for the most part but with a very dense, rather ominously dark forest towards the back of the land... with a large trail through it of broken trees. He frowned a little bit before glancing at Raz.

"You've got a saber now, right?"

Imperial Intelligence knew that she did.

"Want to try hunting with it? Give me your vibroknife or something." he suggested with a shrug, "You hunt like a Sith and I'll hunt like a Mandalorian?"

Apparently the trick to keeping a date interesting was to subvert expectations... he wasn't sure how much of that he believed but oh well.

@Sreeya

 

[Raz Solus]

Raz turned to look at him, staring curiously as he laughed. It was strange to see him do that, and it was so far from everything she had ever heard about Sith. He was defying her perceptions of her greatest enemies, and she didn’t know whether to rejoice or get angry. She had stopped believing this was all part of some trickery, as the idea seemed very far-fetched. Raz instead took it all in, finding herself failing to stop a smile of her own forming to see him laugh. It even caused a change in his eyes, which suddenly looked less daunting and animalistic. When he spoke, however, she immediately scowled again.

“I don’t glow,” She muttered gruffly, looking in the other direction and crossing her arms over her chest. Glowing?! Since when did she glow? She recalled when he had said it, and she found it outright bizarre. In many ways it was a little endearing since he looked startled himself, as if he had said something very stupid. He had a more difficult time mentioning that than he did when he confidently announced his love for her. Raz winced slightly remembering that again. She never thought she’d engage with him again, let alone be driving in a taxi with him.

Thankfully he distracted her from her thoughts after he mentioned the last hunt. Raz rolled her eyes, “Hopefully there won’t be any throwing me involved this time,” She gave him a side glare he wouldn’t see, “I hate Force bullshit used on me unless absolutely necessary,” She was still convinced they were constantly reading minds and the thought made her quite uneasy.

After they stepped out and she gazed out at the forest, she sighed, “Damn it.. I suppose no creepy forests was too much to hope for,” Raz looked at him as he suggested the exchange. Her eyes widened, “How did you…” Never mind, she didn’t want to know how he knew she had a saber. Raz scoffed at his exchange idea.

“A true Mando relies more on ranged tactics,” Raz chewed on her lip for a moment and paused. After a while, she did something she thought unthinkable and reached for her rifle. She extended it to him, nodding for him to take it, “This is more like it,” Raz turned to look towards the forest, beginning to step into it. She reached into a pouch on her hip to produce the saber hilt she had, looking down at it curiously. She had to make sure it was pointed in the right direction, actually afraid of igniting it into herself. She had never felt so awkward about a weapon before.

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

He couldn't see her smile with her helmet in the way but even just passively 'looking' at her with the Force he could taste her emotions in the air. So while he couldn't see her smiling, he could feel it. He could feel that she seemed happier to be here and that was enough. Naturally he didn't attempt to 'read her mind' or anything - he just picked up on the emotions that she was putting out and it put a smile on his face.

Seemed she wasn't made of stone after all.

She didn't glow huh?

Well he wasn't going to argue with her considering the last time they'd had any kind of confrontation she had shot his foot out from under him - he wasn't exactly looking forward to that. So rather than argue the point he just mimed zipping his lips shut about the whole thing. Just because he wasn't going to mention it again, didn't mean he believed it for a second. She had glowed for him and it was still something that confused and enraptured him to this day. Sometimes he wished that he hadn't seen her like that, that she could have stayed just almost-faceless Mandalorian.

It would have been easier than dealing with feeling different things about her.

"If things get hairy I'm throwing you again." he told her bluntly before adding, with a small smirk, "Though if you want to save me with your jet pack or rocket boots or whatever you have? Well that would be alright too I suppose. Always wanted to try one."

How did he know she had a saber? While he appreciated that the Mandalorians were doing well in the war, he did slightly resent the idea that Imperial Intelligence was so blind that they weren't able to keep any kind of tabs on their primary concerns as it were. He didn't say that, he just shrugged.

Let her think on it herself.

Accepting the rifle with a blink, he held it in his hands a little awkwardly for a moment. Even when he was holding it, it probably looked and felt awkward. He shrugged and started to make his way into the forest. He couldn't help but comment however.

"Stop holding it like it's a live grenade." he joked before looking down, "And maybe I'll look less like a single man holding a newborn in time..."

As they pushed further into the forest they came across an odd sight - there was a reek, dead, with it's throat gored out. Coming up on it, Eddard could confidently say that it wasn't their target. Reaching up, the touched the mark at the neck that had killed it. His fingers traced the edges and he frowned.

"Does that look like a hand did that to you, or am I just being...?" He frowned as he glanced around the area, getting the unnerving feeling as though he was being watched, "... paranoid."

@Sreeya