Ask Mando on a Hot Tinnel Roof

[Carrick]

Slicing had never been something that Carrick was a specialist in but he knew enough to be dangerous when there was no one actively trying to stop him. There didn't appear to be any people logged into the same network trying to stop him so all he had to do was get past the built in security... it was a good thing that they had been so confident in their physical security that they had only installed the basic security suite that came with most terminals.

It was the same security suite that Carrick had learned how to slice on actually so it was like trying to remember the answers to a test he'd already seen the answer sheet too. Still, it had been a few years since he had seen the answer sheet so it took him a little longer than he would have liked.

But patience was a virtue he had in spades.

There were blaster bolts coming from somewhere further back - in the direction Reiel had gone - and he tensed. It almost physically hurt to keep himself still, trusting that Reiel was strong enough to beat them all bloody without any assistance from him. He had to trust that... he had to trust that she didn't need him to come and rescue her.

His slicing paid off and he downloaded the list of clients and as much as would fit into the datapad as he did so. He didn't have the time to mess around so he didn't, instead just grabbing everything he could rather than being selective. Hearing his com-link go off, he smiled a little bit as he hurried around the desk.

"Reiel - I'm done here so I'm... Reiel? Reiel!"

A sudden drop in communication?

The door opened to the corridor and Carrick stepped forward, his right hand reaching behind his back as he did so. Halfway down the corridor was the door to the slave quarters and he could see Reiel's boot from where he was... he couldn't tell what had happened to her but he didn't have much chance to find out immediately. Another set of guards were attempting a charge down the length of the corridor when they spotted him.

"Light him up!"

Four guards suddenly stopped moving, taking up kneeling positions and raising their blaster pistols to take aim before firing. Carrick ducked his head to the right to dodge one of the blaster bolts before his right hand came back around with what he had reached for before.

His real lightsaber, not the fancy one he kept in plain sight, ignited. The green of the blade lit up the corridor as he advanced to meet them, the blade easily cutting into the wall to his right as he advanced.

"J-jedi! Kark! Fire everything!"

Carrick wasn't as good a Jedi as some so he wasn't entirely confident in his ability to walk through four blaster-users unscathed. So he cheated - he didn't just use his saber. Batting away blaster bolts coming his way, Carrick reached out with the Force and dragged the closest guard into the line of fire, letting him take several blaster bolts before Throwing him down the hall, pinning a second guard beneath him.

With only two active shooters, Carrick was much more confident in his abilities. He angled his saber just right, deflecting the shot right back into the shooter's gut. With only one active shooter left, Carrick Pulled. The man screamed as he was Pulled across the distance, only to be impaled through the heart with Carrick's saber before he ruthlessly pulled it free with a slash.

The pinned guard received a quick stab to the head - Carrick tried not to dwell on the man's pleas as he extinguished his lightsaber and hid it once more. The girls gathered around Reiel but they backed away in fear as he approached... Jedi were often welcomed by the downtrodden but anyone who killed? It was reasonable to be afraid. He reached out tentatively with his hand.

"Reiel...?"

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

She didn't hear the girls' distressed cries the moment she hit the ground. Reiel's senses had become too dulled, and she felt as if she was submerged in water. The voices and sounds around her were muffled, garbled to the point that they were nearly incomprehensible. Why did she feel as if her bones have turned to jelly all of a sudden?

Reiel struggled to remember the fighting earlier, sifting from one muddled thought to another. She vaguely remembered something that stung her arm when one of the guards had pinned her down and tried to remove her helmet. The Mandalorian pressed her hands against the floor and tried to push herself up in a sitting position but with little success. Panicked voices drifted in and out of her consciousness, and she hazily remembered that she still had to get Shiri and the girls out of this place.

Get up. Get up, Reiel. They couldn't help you, they're too scared – these girls have had enough. You have to be the brave, strong one here. Get up, Mandalorian!

With a groan she made for another attempt, but the ground seemed to be insistent on getting acquainted with her helmet...?

Blaster fire lanced through her clouded mind and she winced, eyes searching for the source. That was when she saw it. A green glow from a distance. Reiel didn't know why but the sight comforted her, made her feel safe. She closed her eyes as a wave of nausea hit her.

She felt a hand on her arm and heard a familiar voice moments later.

"Ca...rrrriick," she slurred, eyes fluttering open. Reiel felt glad for the girls giving them distance for reasons unknown. But there was something wrong, her bewildered mind insisted. Something she had missed. This guy was Carrick, right? He was dressed like Carrick, heck, he even looked like him. However–

"Why is your glowssstiiiiiick green?"

"She's drugged," muttered one of the girls fearfully. "Oh, no!"

It was only instinct that kept Reiel from keeping her own hands off of her helmet. Her armor felt too heavy, but she let out a loud groan as she once more tried to get up. Shakily she had managed to get up on a sitting position, confusion clouding her brain as she looked around before her gaze settled on the Carrick look-alike. Damn, he looked handsome.

"Tch. Carrick's more handsome," the Mandalorian huffed in irritation. She jabbed a finger on the look-alike's chest, shooting him a stern look. "You look good, I'll give you that. Carrick, though? The real Carrick? He's beautiful."

She frowned, the half-remembered mission making itself known when she heard a whimper from the girls. Reiel gripped the Carrick look-alike's shoulder and, with much effort, sluggishly hauled herself up.

"Ni ganar rala ibac jag nirtac'a ni," she continued in Mando'a, whatever spice or sedative or something that she had been injected with practically removing her thoughts' filter. "Ni mureyca kaysh, gar kar'taylir. Carrick. Ni copaanir sto. Mureyca."

At least he wouldn't understand Mando'a. She was safe.

Reiel nodded at Carrick look-alike sagely. "You tell him that when you see him. For now, though... for now..." She plucked the Peacemaker from the floor and tapped it against her helmet twice. "We, uhh... I dunno. I think we gotta get... out? Leave? We gotta take some girls away... I... don't really... yep!"

With a goofy grin, she gently patted Carrick look-alike on the chest. "We gotta get out of here and blow this place up! We're gonna make my Carrick a senator! Let's go!"

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Of all the things he had expected... a drunk or drugged Reiel was not one of them.

Carrick stared at her for a long moment the first time she spoke before just letting out a small sigh. She wasn't dead and she didn't look like she was dying so he was going to call this one a win, even if even the former sex-slaves seemed to find it disheartening that their Mandalorians saviour was now slurring her words and acting like he was an impostor.

That she thought he was 'beautiful' was a thought he filed away for future use, chuckling a little bit as he pulled her up with his left hand, getting her feet under her again. Using the Force to reinforce himself so that he had the strength the half-guide and half-drag Reiel's armored form down the corridor, he held his now extinguished lightsaber in his right hand.

"Follow us out and you'll be free!"

Did he know that?

Not really.

Carrick wasn't planning on sticking around to talk to the local cops for one simple reason - he wasn't sure if the local senator was on the list of clients he had stolen from the back office. If he was? Great that worked out perfectly. If he wasn't? Then Carrick was going to need to get creative before he released the evidence.

Though that still all left him with Reiel... drugged Reiel was a rather talkative Reiel he was quickly learning to acknowledge. He patted her on the upper arm as he dragged her out of the nightclub. Thankfully it seemed that they had, between them, killed most of the guards and the others?

Well they weren't paid to be suicidally brave.

"Alright Reiel we need to head on back to the spaceport now um..." he paused awkwardly, "Do you know how to call your clan?"

Oh.

Oh this was not how he wanted to meet her clan but if anyone could get her medical attention without breaching cultural taboos... it was them. He had a bad feeling about this already.

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

If Reiel hadn't been drugged and was still keenly aware of what was happening, then she would've been glad that she and Carrick had done the job successfully. But as it was, she was spiced nearly as high as a kite and could only allow herself to be half-dragged and -guided out of the nightclub, now ignorant of the girls following the two of them and going off Maker-knew-where.

She was out of it.

Peacemaker still on her hand, Reiel lifted the weapon up in a pale imitation of her usual confidence, fingers trembling as she adjusted her hold. Her vision was busy turning itself on and off while she struggled to keep her legs from turning more and more into jelly. The solid warmth to her side felt really nice, and she wanted to feel it without the armor impeding contact–

"You feel nice," she told the Carrick look-alike with a dopey smile on her face. "Reeeeeallyyyy strong too. Too bad you're not Carrick. I wish he's here."

She trailed off, humming a random aruetii song. A dazed "huh?" was her initial response to the question, her drugged mind working overtime to process the information before the barest sliver of clarity pierced through the haze.

"My... clan. Buir," she muttered. "I can call... buir."

Reiel tilted her head to look up at Carrick, frowning as her vision swayed again.

"Spaceport. Right. Wait."

Retrieving one of her commlinks, Reiel began to contact her father, believing that the older Mandalorian wouldn't really leave her on the planet.

—·—

True to Reiel's belief, Wulfric Crowholde did not actually leave Tinnel IV.

Shortly after he went offworld, a nagging feeling pervaded in the back of the older Mandalorian's mind. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Call it a bounty hunter's paranoia, but when it came to his daughter's safety it was something Wulfric knew he must never ignore.

What was the job the client had asked of her? Did the Force user send her out alone, or where they together? These were just some of the questions that floated in and out of the Zabrak's mind, leaning more on the professional side of things than the others. Reiel seemed very fond of this man, even letting slip of his name by accident.

Carrick.

Reiel could defend herself and was strong-willed, that much Wulfric knew. But he still couldn't help but worry about what the sorcerer might be doing to his daughter. He only ever trusted one aruetii (and a sorceress, to boot) around his child, and yet here she was, out on a mission with another Force user yet again on a planet she was not familiar with.

Protective thoughts coupled with paranoia plaguing his mind, Wulfric Crowholde found himself returning planetside and docking his ship on the same spaceport he'd left Reiel at. He waited in the ship, pacing around the galley while twirling a throwing knife between his fingers. The older Mandalorian hadn't noticed how much time had passed in his waiting, too preoccupied with thoughts of his daughter's safety that he almost didn't hear his commlink go off.

Jaw clenching at the message, Wulfric stormed out of the ship to go to his daughter but not before arming himself to the teeth. If that sorcerer harmed his ad, there would be hell to pay.

—·—

"Buir. Need medical assistance. You at the spaceport?"

"Ad'ika, what happened? Are you hurt? I'm coming to get you – where are you?"

Reiel shook her head in negative despite knowing that her father wouldn't see. "No...? I feel... weird... though. Goin' to the port. Don't–" she swallowed, wincing at how dry her throat felt. "Don't hurt Carriiiii–"

And she was out again, the last vestiges of clarity getting pushed by the spice out of her mind again. Reiel dropped the commlink, deaf to her buir's stern voice calling her name. Compliance was easier than struggling and so she let Carrick look-alike take her wherever (to the spaceport) and let him do whatever he pleased with her (seek medical attention without breaching cultural taboos).

Wulfric found them easy enough – he didn't become chief beroya of Clan Crowholde for nothing. Through the Force, Carrick would feel confusion and anger, but above all the overwhelming fear and worry a single father felt at the sight of his daughter being practically half-dragged and -carried by an elite-looking sorcerer. The older Mandalorian stomped towards the two, expression grim as he extricated his child from Carrick's grasp with surprising gentleness.

One of Reiel's hands clutched Carrick's sleeve.

"Noooo," she protested weakly. "I can't– can't leave Carrrrriiiiick... let me gooooo... he needs– he's angry, I can't let him stay angry... help him... rid... Darkness..."

Wulfric tilted his head to the side, equal parts confused and curious at her words. "I need to get you to the ship, ner ad'ika. I won't be able to ascertain what's wrong without getting a proper look at you."

Reiel, for her part, shook her head stubbornly. "Need to stay with Carrick." She looked at the politician in question and reached out to him like a lost foundling. "Carrick, come with me. Need to... stay..."

Pale blue eyes narrowing as he shifted his focus on the man, Wulfric could only sigh in defeat and reluctantly gestured for Carrick to follow. With Reiel looking as if she wouldn't be able to tell him straight to the point what had caused her to be in such a state, he found it prudent to bring this sorcerer with him and question him in Reiel's stead.

He didn't need to say the words. He expected the young man to follow.

"Tell me what happened, and I might be lenient with your presence aboard my ship since Reiel seem to like you so damn much, sorcerer."

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Well he had brought Reiel along to a nightclub because it was a front of sexual slavery and something he could use to leverage himself a position in the senate but... well it kind of felt like one of them had managed to end the night like a real night at a nightclub was supposed to end; completely wasted. He honestly would have put odds on it being him who ended up having a little bit too much to drink to help with his cover. There was no way in hell he would have guessed this would happen.

Force, he was really starting to consider the need to hire a taxi at this point but the spaceport really wasn't too far so he just kept on going. Though he was beginning to find it more amusing that she was convinced he wasn't actually Carrick... for some reason he wasn't quite clear on, honestly.

"Buir?"

What was Buir?

Why was it that Mandos didn't give their language to translation software like everyone else? Because trying to learn it was hard as kark. Still, she called someone and told them she needed medical assistance and they were still at the spaceport? Was it the person who had dropped her off?

"Well this promises to go smoothly..."

It really didn't.

The other Mando was taller and seemed to be ready to fight a war by himself. He gave the man a little smile and shrug when Reiel wouldn't let him go and followed them onto the ship. As curious as he was, he tried not to look around much as he just followed along.

"We were freeing some women from a sexual slavery ring." he admitted freely and honestly, "We split up for a few minutes; me to get the boss and her to gather the women. When I came back she was staggering around and one of the women said she was drugged."

Here he paused.

"I didn't know how to get her medical attention without breaking taboos so I asked her to call you."

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

Reiel proved to be even more stubborn than she already was in her drugged state. She would attempt to peel herself off of her father's grip to try to wander off, and Wulfric was left with no choice but to carry her in his arms. He didn't mind the added weight of her armor – this wasn't honestly the first time he carried her like this, albeit not in a drugged state.

There was no powder on her helmet (it wouldn't get past the filter, anyway) and armor. Spiked drink? Reiel refrained from drinking on the job. Injected, then?

"I see." He glanced over at Carrick over his shoulder then nodded his head once in approval. "You did the right thing in having her reach out for her clanmates. That's... very respectful of you."

Clipped, stern, but hopefully sincere enough. The Force-user's response was unexpected but very much welcomed. Not everyone would be as respectful as he was if Reiel had been with someone else. No wonder she liked this particular sorcerer.

The older Mandalorian led Carrick to his freighter, stepping up the ramp after activating it using the custom controls on one of his vambraces. Reiel squawked out in protest and slapped a hand on her father's helmet when she realized she couldn't see Carrick in her position.

"Vaii cuyir Carrick?" she asked him frantically, trying to squirm out of his hold.

Sighing exasperatedly, Wulfric simply kept walking and ascended the ramp while making sure that his kid would remain in his hold. "Right behind us, little one. Now, stop struggling, please."

He led the politician to the galley and gestured for him to take a seat on one of the chairs. There was nothing much to see in this particular section of the ship, mainly spartan in setting, but Wulfric guessed that the young man wouldn't try something funny in here. Before he took Reiel to her quarters, however, he asked Carrick another thing.

"Had she been competent, though?"

The question was not meant to make the older Mandalorian seem as if he had no faith in his daughter's capabilities – it was posed, rather, as a form of reassurance that Reiel must have done well in executing her part on the job. She took pride in her work, and Wulfric could use Carrick's answer to placate her once she was sober. The older bounty hunter knew her daughter well enough to know that she would belittle herself for being drugged on the job once she was herself again.

Whatever Carrick's response might be, Wulfric would only answer him with a quiet nod before walking out of the galley. Any questions he might pose would not be entertained – the older Mandalorian had a drugged kid to attend to. Once he reached his daughter's quarters, he would place her on her bed and, with one swift yet careful movement, proceeded to take her helmet off. Reiel's eyes were closed, calm for once, and he took advantage of it to strip her of her armor and boots. Now only in her flightsuit, Wulfric took off his own helmet and gently patted his daughter's cheek with one hand.

"Ad'ika, are you still with me?"

Her only response was to open her eyes. Wulfric clenched his jaw at the sight of her dazed expression, her eyes – pupils blown wide – darting from his face to the ceiling. Given that Carrick had only been informed by one of the sex slaves that Reiel was drugged, there was no way to ascertain what kind of spice she had been given. The older Mandalorian had a few guesses as to what might be in her system but without a proper name there was no way in hell he would give her any sort of medication. It could only potentially make her condition worse.

Another sigh escaped past the Zabrak's lips, this time a defeated one. It seemed that the only thing left to do was to let Reiel ride out the spice's effects. She could be back to herself in a matter of hours, or worse, days, depending on the spice itself and the dose she had been given. He took one of his gloves off and pressed his hand on her forehead. She was a little warm. Wulfric reminded himself to get a new medisensor to replace the one they had on the ship.

"Get up, Reiel. Change into something more comfortable. Can you do that for me?" he gently asked her, running his fingers through her hair. The smile he gave her was soft when she nodded, and he helped her get back up on her feet. Putting his helmet back on, Wulfric stepped back outside of her room and reminded her before closing the door, "Holler if you need anything. I'll be right here at your door."

The absolute compliance she displayed was alarming, to say the least. More so the dazed smile on her face. Wulfric fought the urge to search for that damned nightclub himself to blow the karking place up.

Minutes passed without any more incident and Wulfric went back inside at Reiel's call. She was now dressed in her sleepwear, an oversized shirt she bought a week ago and a pair of short shorts. Guiding her back to bed, the (distressed) single father tucked her in and – helmetless once more – pressed his forehead briefly against hers before muttering, "Sleep it off, ad'ika. It's the only thing you can do at the moment. I promise you'll feel better soon."

With that, he put his helmet back on, left the room and went straight towards the galley to give Carrick a firm reminder to stay away from the cargo hold unless he wanted to join the acquisitions frozen in carbonite.

"Help yourself to some food or water, I don't really care anymore. But don't you dare think about trying to look for Reiel's room. Manda forbid you from taking advantage of the state she's in. You will never see the light of day again, sorcerer, I will make sure of that. Nor your corpse, for that matter."

With one last glacial glare at the sorcerer Wulfric turned around and made his way back to Reiel's room to look after her. He left an hour later, but only after making sure that she was in stable condition. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he left the room and headed towards the cockpit.

—·—

Reiel woke up with a groan a few hours later, her body aching from whatever she had done before falling asleep. Her memories were a little hazy, but she could remember bits and pieces of what had transpired hours prior to her awakening. Meeting with Carrick on the spaceport. The job. Facing off against the nightclub's guards.

Getting drugged.

Still a little groggy, she swung her legs off her bed and noticed a glass of water on her work table. Reiel got up and reached for the glass, noticing a handwritten note from her father on a blank page ripped from her drawing booklet.

Don't forget to put your helmet on. Your client is currently in the ship. ​

Embarrassment filled her at the memory of getting half-dragged out of the nightclub and towards the ship. She didn't mean to be so useless in their escape, more so getting drugged. Jamming her helmet back on and completely forgetting to change out of her sleep-rumpled clothing, Reiel hurriedly made her way out of her room in search for the ex-Jedi. An apology for her incompetence was in order but first, she let her feet carry her to the cockpit knowing that her buir would be there.

Oh, he had fallen asleep. The younger Mandalorian quietly stepped out of the cockpit, giving her father his much needed rest before heading for the galley.

Now that she was sober, it was getting easier to remember what else she had said and done in her addled state. Her bare feet padded across the floor, heat coloring her face and down to her exposed neck when she half-remembered mistaking Carrick for an impostor and telling him... things...

At least the most embarrassing thoughts were spoken out loud in Mando'a. Or were they? Did she say those in Mando-speak? Kark it all to high hell!

She stepped into the galley shyly, hands busy fidgeting on the hem of her oversized shirt. Her voice was small and timid when she called out to him,

"Um... Carrick?"

Kriff, maybe she should've changed into something more decent. Helmet, oversized shirt with the hem falling just shy on top of her knees, short shorts? Really? Maker, she must've looked hilarious right now.

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

He supposed the older Mandalorian hadn't really heard much about him but Carrick had always tried to be respectful of Reiel's culture. The culture itself was interesting and he had no desire to insult her or any of the other Mandalorians for their culture. It was something he could respect in a lot of ways it had to be said. Still it was odd to have someone comment on it considering it felt like the least he should do.

Carrick shrugged at Wulfric, smiling a little bit.

"It was the best way to help her that didn't end up with me and a doctor being shot for having seen her."

Which was also true.

He followed Wulfric and Reiel onto the ship and, as before, did his best to not look around though he did gave Reiel a small wave when she frantically looked for him. Carrick wasn't sure what she was expecting but he hoped that made her feel at least slightly more relaxed about everything. Looking at Wulfric when he spoke again, Carrick blinked a few times at the question before answering.

"As with before she excelled in every aspect of the mission."

Not a lie and not something that told Wulfric the reasoning for the mission either; he doubted that the Mandalorian would care for his more selfish reasons for starting the mission in the first place. Still, he seemed happy enough with the report and helped Reiel to get to her room to sleep it off while he stayed in the galley of the ship.

It was a fairly nice ship all things told but he was very much not surprised when Wulfric returned to lay down the law. Some of it was expected, like the comment about not looking in her room, but some of it was... well, if he was being honest the death threats also felt kind of expected. Wulfric was a Mandalorian of Reiel's clan and Carrick was a Force User who showed up with her unconscious and drugged.

He was surprised he hadn't been shot already, honestly.

"The thought never entered my mind." he assured Wulfric with both hands raised, "I've tried to remain respectful of your culture at all times and that's not about to change now."

Then, with Wulfric gone, Carrick made sure that the data he had retreived was securely hidden away on his person before settling in for a wait. Closing his eyes, Carrick sat perfectly still in his seat as he began to meditate. Meditation had always come easily to him and he soon entered the trance that most Force Users knew and used themselves. It rested him without blinding him entirely to the outside world like sleep would have done.

Case in point when Reiel spoke to him, he opened his eyes almost immediately and the trance ended. Turning in his seat, he froze up upon catching sight of Reiel... more specifically upon catching sight of what Reiel was wearing. Or not wearing. His gaze traveled up from her legs to meet her gaze through the helmet, trying to not appear as though he had been looking.

But he had.

She had nice legs.

"Reiel - are you feeling alright?"

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

It wouldn't have escaped Reiel's notice how Carrick froze up at the sight of her – terribly underdressed for your typical Mandalorian – and the way his gaze seemed to linger on her legs had she not averted her own. Honey brown eyes locked on his hair instead, the red on her face traveling further down her neck.

She swallowed her embarrassment and soldiered on in true Mandalorian fashion (sans armor), crossing the distance between them and taking the seat beside his. Small hands rubbed her arms, faint scars from years of training and hardwork a stark contrast against her slightly tanned skin. Helmeted head tilting to meet his gaze, Reiel offered him a weak but grateful smile at his worry about her well-being.

"I feel better now, thanks," she assured him, tone a little softer than usual. "A little sore from the fight, but nothing I can't handle. They're just bruises, they'll fade away soon enough."

Reiel turned on her chair to fully face him, her gaze turning critical as she gave him a once over. She scooted closer to him, her knees touching the side of his leg. "What about you? Are you okay? Did you get what you need?"

She trusted that he did, and hoped that the name and information he needed was included in the data he'd retrieved. And then she remembered Shiri and the other sex slaves, her hands falling to her lap and clenching into fists.

"How– How about the girls? Did we manage to help them escape?"

Then, humiliation swinging back in full, she took Carrick's hand in her own slightly trembling ones.

"I'm sorry, I didn't– I should've been more careful. Getting myself drugged... it's a dirty trick I should've seen coming, but I–"

She ducked her head. Letting out a small laugh, she'd lift her gaze to look at him again. "Bet you a hundred credits I started spewing weird stuff when I was drugged."

Best she get that stuff out instead of worrying herself to death about it for the next couple of years or so.

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Well that was a load off his mind for a number of reasons – not least of which was the threats to his life if she had any lasting injuries. He doubted that her clan-member would have been very happy if she was hurt seriously and Carrick himself wanted very much to avoid having her be injured. That it was just some light bruising was a relief.

“I’m glad you’re going to be alright.” He told her honestly, “To tell you the truth it was a little nerve-wracking to come back and find you downed.”

A little indeed…

Thankfully it wasn’t anything serious and even in the heat of the moment there hadn’t been any warnings about death through the Force so he had been optimistic. A well trained Mando going down from some club security? The thought alone was almost laughable now that he was able to think about it more logically.

She wasn’t asking if he was alright physically. He eyed her for a moment, his gaze wavering slightly when she moved her legs closer to him. Why did it look like her legs were so long when she was so small?

“You don’t need to worry about me – I’ve had training to combat my worst instincts.”

And he had gotten over it… mostly. Some of the time meditating had helped a lot more than it would have done usually. It helped that he had an answer when his better instincts asked if he was proud of what he’d done in there. He had stopped a sex slave trading ring and even if he stood to gain from it’s destruction, having it be gone was still a good thing.

“The girls got picked up by the local police after they fled the scene.” He admitted with a frown, “Don’t worry about the mission – it went about as well as we could have expected it to.”

He smirked ever so slightly however at the last part. Deciding to play innocent, he hummed slightly and looked up at the ceiling of the Galley for a second.

“Well… there was a lot of Mando speech.” He admitted even as his smirk widened, “Quite a bit of talk about how I wasn’t the Real Carrick. Apparently ‘Your’ Carrick is beautiful.”

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

His open concern for her had Reiel smiling like a lovestruck schoolgirl, and she had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from letting out an appreciative chuckle. She lifted a hand to run her fingers through his hair instead, trailing down ever so lightly until her palm rested against his cheek.

"Just a little?" she teased Carrick, her thumb softly caressing his cheekbone. This time Reiel saw how his gaze seemed to falter at the sight of her bare legs, and while she knew that she would be terribly embarrassed later for admitting what she had been telling him in Mando'a in her drugged state, she couldn't help but turn the tables at him while she still had the upper hand. For now, at least.

At least she was right in assuming that he still held on to his training to prevent himself from falling prey to negative emotions. Still didn't make her feel any regret kissing him. Reiel might have been too shy to admit it, but her honesty shone through her drugged state.

Feeling bold and a tad mischievous, Reiel moved her chair until they were sitting completely side by side and moved in her seat to face him. Then, wicked grin hidden by her helmet, she raised her legs and draped them across his thighs with a soft sigh. She couldn't shake off the feeling that he liked what he was seeing, and who was she to deny him a view up close?

A kriffing tease. She'd like to see if Carrick's training extended to this.

"I'm glad to hear that your training helps you even up to this day," she told him, mischief masked with relief and innocence as she removed her hand from his cheek. "And it's a relief to know that the girls have made it out and that we met our goal."

The blush on her face returned fiercely at the smirk on his face. Reiel could remember that – it seemed, in her drugged state, she had mistaken him for an impostor because instead of a blue lightsaber she had seen a green one.

"Ah, it's because, if I remember it correctly, the real Carrick's lightsaber is blue and not green – as seen on Serenno," she replied cheekily. "And yeah, my Carrick is beautiful. Carrick look-alike wouldn't be able to hold a candle against... you."

Reiel leaned forward, elbows on her thighs and chin resting on her palms. She looked up at Carrick with a lazy smile, her voice softer and much quieter than earlier.

"I think I'm starting to remember what I said in Mando'a... would you like to know what those were about?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Carrick was not a stranger to seduction techniques despite his time with the Jedi but he would admit that this was the first time he had encountered them from a Mandalorian. All of his training and experience around the warrior people was geared toward how to deal with them in diplomacy and in combat. So he wasn’t as prepared as he thought he would have been when Reiel decided that his glances at her legs merited him seeing them up close.

Now being something she reclined against, Carrick raised an eyebrow as her bare legs rested atop his own. Chuckling a little bit, he reached out and rested his hands on the legs now taking up his lap, his warm hands rested just above her knees. If she thought to turn him into a stuttering mess with her legs he was happy to disappoint her. They were nice legs but he wasn’t going to step back from a challenge.

His hands squeezed her lower thighs gently.

“My training has prepared me well.” He joked back with a widening smirk, rubbing his thumbs idly against her smooth skin, “You would be surprised at just what I have worked to protect myself against. Assassination, combat… seduction…”

Ah so she had seen his lightsaber – the one he actually kept rather than the one he showed people as a decoy. And she remembered it well enough despite her drugged state. Hmm. It took a moment for Carrick to decide if he was going to keep the secret from her and try and make her believe that she was mistaken.

In the end he decided against it, the secret not worth potentially jeopardizing their working relationship just because he liked having a decoy unknown to all but him.

“I have a second saber that I keep hidden in a second holster – the idea being that anyone can ‘disarm’ me by taking the saber I keep on display and be unprepared when I am still very much armed.” He admitted at length with a softer smile, “It’s a secret from… well you’re the only person outside of my family who knows about it.”

With her leaning forward, he raised an eyebrow at her lead in and tapped a finger against the middle of her T-visor.

“You know – I don’t think you ever forgot at all… but go on. I’m curious. Tell me Reiel…” his smirk returned in full, “… what did you say to me?”

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

Ah, maybe she shouldn't have counted her move a victory a little too soon. What had buir taught her again during her training, when she had managed to push him into a defensive position and she had been too overconfident in her next attack?

You're only a victor when your enemy cannot fight any longer. That much is obvious, verd'ika.

She'd gotten a broken arm for her folly, and only from a singular strike of her father's training staff.

As such, Reiel found herself swallowing a little too audibly for her liking when Carrick rested his hands on her thighs. All thoughts nearly fled her at that soft squeeze and the brush of his thumbs against her skin. Such warm hands... and she never thought they would feel this good against her skin.

"Oh? So you've been seduced before?" she asked with faux innocence, hiding her surprise at how relaxed her own voice sounded when all she thought she would've done was to choke them out. Her toes curled with pleasure with every brush of Carrick's thumbs on her skin, and Reiel found herself relaxing on her seat. A pleased sigh escaped her, not bothering with feeling embarrassed about it anymore.

The small Mandalorian hummed at the revelation, giving Carrick an appreciative smile at his honesty.

"Your secret is safe with me, cyarir," she told him. It wasn't a promise because that could be broken, but more of an assurance – her words that she'd uphold until her dying day. Mandalorians valued honor, and it extended to the words they spoke. It was, after all, the Way.

A tap to her T-visor, followed by the question, and Reiel's skin – yet again – instantly flushed red. Well, this was now or never. It's either he get creeped out, find amusement in it, or (blessed Manda, grant her something good) got turned on blush by what her drugged self had been honest about.

It's as if someone has already perished from embarrassment, she reassured herself. Maybe you can be the first? We shall see.

"I said," here, Reiel tilted her helmeted head to the side, unconsciously baring her neck to Carrick. She had been so used with being completely covered up that she had forgotten that not only her legs were bare for him to see. "I want to kiss you more. And that..."

Biting her lower lip, she mentally counted from one to ten, psyching herself up. A Mando's always straighforward, so why stall now?

Chuckling (kriff, did she ever feel this stuffy with her helmet on?) a little bashfully, Reiel admitted, "...I'd let you manhandle me."

Yay, girl! 100 points for that... or not!

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Was Reiel getting jealous of the idea that he had been seduced before? That was precious if it was true because the answer was, in fact, no he had never been seduced. He had done the seduction himself on occasion but that was something he was going to keep in his back pocket for now to better serve him later. It didn’t look like he would need to do much seducing of Reiel; it appeared that she was already mostly seduced.

He slowly dragged his thumb along her soft skin, looking where her eyes would be behind her visor and he just listened. Listened to hear how her breath shuddered and caught at the action before being released in a gusty sigh.

“Does it seem like I have?” he asked her instead of actually answering the question, shifting his fingers so he was slowly dragging his nails against her sensitive skin to cause goosebumps before smoothing them with the soft pads of his fingers instead, “And what about you, Reiel? Do you believe you have been… seduced?”

Of course he didn’t need to get her answer because she had already answered.

Apparently what she had said in Mando during their escape was more interesting than he had previously thought possible. Kisses? Yes he could see how and why she would want more of those – Carrick himself had found the experience of kissing her delightful and unexpected but very welcome. Manhandling her though?

It seemed that his little Mando was already almost all the way seduced.

The urge was too strong… he slid his right hand down her leg to grab her left ankle firmly in his grip. Lifting it, he swung her left leg up and to her left, leaving himself between both of her legs with one hand firmly on her right thigh and the other sliding up from her ankle to hold her left thigh. He squeezed her thighs as he slowly lowered her upper body forward, having angled himself to face her.

“If I manhandle you…” he breathed, his breath misting the front of her visor he was that close, “… it will need to be when your clan-mate isn’t half-pretending to be asleep in the cockpit.”

Pressing a quick kiss against her visor, Carrick would carefully move to stand, taking great care to lift her right leg up so he could pass under it. He was momentarily concerned that his decision to tease Reiel might have backfired but he hoped not – she had given him permission to manhandle her after all.

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

It was foolish of her to assume that Carrick would falter at the sight of her so underdressed. Would she mentally kick herself for feeling a little smug about it earlier? No need to ask that – she'd already been chewing herself out the moment he touched her legs with those amazingly warm hands. The tables have been turned against her, and there was nothing she could do but to take whatever he would dish out against her. Like a true Mando. With fortitude and–

Her skin was met with a deliciously light drag of blunt nails and fortitude instantly flew out the window. Well, there went her resolve. Gone like the personal commlinks she always misplaced until she forgot about them completely. Her earlier question was answered with yet another question, and Reiel would've laughed if her mind wasn't so busy going a little haywire from the sensations she was feeling.

"Y-You... ah..." Reiel masked the tiny moan that almost escaped her with a cough. "Seem like it. Wouldn't–" she swallowed audibly "–wouldn't be surprised if you've been seduced a lot. You're very attractive, see..."

The small Mandalorian almost missed his question, her mind too focused on the feel of his hands against her thighs. Reiel bit back a moan with every drag of Carrick's nails against her skin, and the way he would soothe the path with the soft pads of his fingers. She leaned forward towards him, resting her arms on her upper thighs to prevent his touch from straying even further. Not to dissuade him, no – but to allow herself a little time to hopefully recover and get her head out of the gutter it was intent on diving into.

"I have, actually," she admitted, tongue darting out to swipe at her bottom lip. "Someone attempted before. He failed. Now, though? I think..."

His right hand slid down the length of her left leg, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. The breath she had been holding came out in a surprised gasp, and then Carrick was moving. Reiel closed her eyes, a strangled sigh escaping her as he lowered her upper body forward towards him. Small hands found purchase on his shoulders, grasping a little too tight when she found his gaze focused solely on her. Smoldering, sending her heart beating a mile a minute. The kiss he pressed against her T-visor had her wishing that it had been on her lips instead, and Reiel let out a small moan at the thought. Where's a blindfold when you need one, damn it?

"If I promise to be quiet, though, would you continue?" she shot back, voice wavering. The leg he'd lifted would be followed by her left, and Reiel would move to lock them around Carrick's back. One hand would find his cheek, her thumb brushing against his lips with a featherlight touch. "Go on, show me what you got, mesh'la. The galley's ways away from the cockpit. Buir will only hear if one of us screams."

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

His Mando was getting more interested in things they ought not to be doing within earshot of one of her clan members. In particular one that had threatened his life should he even look upon her face or her bedroom. If said clan member caught wind of what they were a few heated words away from doing right now? Well Carrick wasn't sure of his ability to fight a Mandalorian off while his trousers were literally down.

Which meant that as much as he was enjoying teasing her?

As much as he would enjoy making her stretch and scream sinful things for him?

They were both going to need to take a step back from the edge of those same things. As much as they were both willing, Carrick was a firm believer in things having their time and their place and this was neither. She had only recently recovered from a drug used to date-rape people that had been administered during a raid on a sexual slavery operation.

There were so many things about the run-up to this moment that made Carrick uncomfortable considering moving forward. Even though he still felt the physical desire to do so. Instead he took a breath and did something that was probably the right thing.

Reaching out, he cupped where her cheek would be on her helmet.

"Reiel... we shouldn't, not right now." he told her quietly, kissing at her thumb as it touched his lips, "When we do anything like this, it should be without the spectre of what happened today looming over us. You were drugged only a few hours ago with a strain of spice given to sex slaves and I... I don't want whatever could, or will, happen to be marred by that."

He smirked ever so slightly.

"I also wouldn't want to limit ourselves to being quiet." he removed his hand, "Going to let me go?"

He gestured to the legs wrapped around him with a smirk.

"Before your... 'buir' walks in to see you wrapped around me."

It would be just his luck he did as well.

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

Unaware of Carrick's thoughts, Reiel bit her lip when one of his hands found the side of her helmet, his touch akin to cupping her cheek. His quiet voice cut through the haze of desire that clouded her mind, and it had taken her a considerable amount of effort to focus on what he was telling her.

His words made sense. Caught up by his teasing and seduction, the small Mandalorian had almost forgotten that she had been drugged just a few hours ago, and that the effects of the spice could be in her system still. Should the two of them continue, it would appear as if Carrick had taken advantage of her instead of Reiel being willing to act on their shared desire to be more than close and intimate with each other. The former made her feel bad for him, and left a bad taste in her mouth. She knew he wasn't like that, and the fact that he was being respectful of her and her condition only made her heart sing for him.

Had she done something really good in her past life to deserve meeting this man before her?

"O-Okay, I understand," she told him reassuringly, agreeing to his sentiments. "And you're right. We can't, not like this... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have–"

His smirk and follow-up had her face exploding in a vibrant shade of red. Reiel huffed out a laugh, letting her thumb brush against Carrick's lips one more time before removing her hand from his cheek to place it on the back of his head.

"You... want us to be loud? O-Oh. Oh, dear. That is terribly horrible of you, love!" she told him in between peals of laughter, still teasing. The small Mandalorian let him go, her legs sliding off of him and lowering until her bare feet touched the cold floor. Her other hand joined the one on the back of his head and Reiel drew him towards her, pressing his forehead to her helmet's rather tenderly.

And Carrick was right. It was more preferable if her buir would walk in on them in the middle of a keldabe kiss rather than the two of them (well, her, for the most part) wrapped around each other.

"Buir would have a conniption if he sees us in such a compromising position," she said, joking. "At least I think he'd be okay with walking in on us kissing. I'm kissing you right now, just so you know. We call it keldabe, and this is how Mandos kiss when they're in full gear. Well, I'm only wearing a helmet, but this still counts as a gear."

She would then pull away, her hands following suit but not before giving his cheeks a final caress.

"So, I guess you finally met my buir, huh, Carrick," Reiel said with faux innocence, grinning teasingly under the cover of her helmet. "My Dad."

She wouldn't be surprised if her father had given the politician a death threat or two, honestly. And had Buir seen what Reiel and Carrick had been doing earlier?

Even Reiel wouldn't be able to see the light of day any longer. Not until Buir bdecided that she's not grounded anymore.

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

She was probably blushing at the thought of the two of them being loud and he could see it - not on her face but in how her blush traveled further down her body. Her chest and neck looked flushed. It was rather enjoyable to be able to tell that she was blushing even with her helmet firmly in place.

"Hey - two consenting adult sentients can be as loud as they want in my book." he teased her with a wink, "If silence is the result of what they're doing? Then someone is doing something wrong."

He was vastly overstating his experience in the regard but he didn't need to have the physical experience to make the teasing comments and the jokes. Instead he just knew she would probably call him on it once they had actually gotten to that stage.

Carrick promised himself that he wouldn't hold it against her.

Huh... Keldabe was helmet forehead kisses and Buir was... father. He was learning a bit more of the language now and, as sweet as that first one was, learning the second one assured him that he had done well to avoid potentially getting himself shot up by an angry father.

"... there may have been a few threats to my person that make a lot more sense now." he admitted thoughtfully, "Okay yes the context helps. A lot."

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

Reiel raised an eyebrow at Carrick's teasing, grin almost shark-like as she crossed her arms over her chest. Chuckling and shaking her helmeted head rather fondly, the small Mandalorian stood up from her seat to grab two canteens of cold water from the cooler. Then, realizing belatedly that she couldn't exactly take off her buy'ce with him in the galley, she set the canteens on the table before dragging her chair towards the sink. Her father – stern as he might always be to outsiders – had a wicked sense of humor and would always tease her (good-naturedly!) for her small stature. As such, Wulfric always placed the straws on the cupboard's top shelf.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," she started, stepping up on the chair and turning to look at Carrick, "but why do I get the feeling that you've made someone scream before?"

Reiel was teasing him right back, but she honestly wouldn't be surprised if he'd turn out to be more experienced between the two of them. Embarrassingly enough, she had none... and should they reach that stage where they would act on the heated words they exchanged then Reiel, without hesitation, would just let Carrick take the wheel and accept any further teasing her inexperience might give him.

"I'm not surprised," exclaimed Reiel at the mention of death threats. "What's surprising is that he let you set foot inside the ship. Buir isn't really fond of outsiders, and having you here... well... Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you're here when I woke up – still happy to have you here, to be honest," she admitted with a genuine smile. "I'm just surprised he let you stay here."

Letting out a triumphant "aha!" at the sight of the straws, Reiel plucked out one before hopping off of the chair. Straw and chair on each hand, she made her way back to Carrick and settled beside him. She reached for the canteens of water she retrieved and offered him one.

"Thirsty?" she asked, smirking slightly at the double entendre but her following giggle gave her away. "Sorry, sorry, I'm kidding. Seriously, take this. I don't know if Dad gave you free reign to take something here to eat or drink when you waited while I slept off the spice's effects."

Then, tone turning concerned, she followed up with a, "Tell me he let you get something to eat or drink."

The ship was always well-stocked with food... and if Carrick had not eaten anything yet, and if he would want to, then Reiel could just cook something for him. Granted he'd be the only one to eat, but it was the thought that counted, right?

"Oh, and before I forgot... next plans for the job, if it's okay to ask?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

... she needed to stand on the chair to reach the straws? That was unexpectedly adorable and Carrick couldn't help the desire to want to tease her about it. But rather than speak he reached out with the Force instead. When she reached out to the straws while talking to him? He levitated the straws up further out of her reach while she was distracted.

"I think you have a very strange opinion on my prowess, Reiel." he teased her back, "All I said was that I wouldn't want you to be quiet. Besides... a gentleman never kisses and tells."

He was enough of a gentleman that it was true as well so that was a plus.

He continued to mess around with the straws, making a few of them zoom around her head a little before slotting back into place. Chuckling a little bit, he reached out to take the canteen she offered him.

"I'm sure you're thirstier than I..." he joked right back as he took a drink, "Don't worry about it; I have some idea about how possessive and defensive family can be."

Even though only his uncle survived.

He ignored the part about the food for now - he really didn't want to be eating while Reiel was just sitting there sipping from a straw. She might make some excellent food but he would feel awkward being the only one eating. Instead he focused on the next job.

"Next job will be an arrest being made." he told her with a sly grin, "The current police commissioner might be in the pocket so we'll be using one of his hungry understudies. Get the warrant so quick that no one has time to leak it. Catch the slippery bugger."

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Reiel Mal Crowholde]

Why did all her quips end up backfiring at her?

Flustered, Reiel averted her gaze at Carrick's comment about him not wanting her to be quiet – and it was rather easy to get sidetracked and have her mind wandering treacherously towards things that should have happened earlier had he not been a gentleman. At least him messing with the straws using the Force was enough to distract her from her thoughts. By Manda, she wasn't a pervert, but this man–

She was sipping on her drink when he answered her joke with his own. The small Mandalorian would've ended up choking on water had she not swallowed the mouthful of liquid in her mouth quickly, letting out a cough to clear her throat before she burst out laughing.

"Literally? Yeah, I am. Figuratively?" Reiel quipped, clinking her canteen of water against his. "If I answer that, you'll start thinking I'm a pervert or something... my Dad will disown me!"

It was a joke, of course. The disowning part, that is.

At least he wasn't disappointed with how her buir interacted with him. Reiel agreed with Carrick's response, and it brought her back to the things he had mentioned about his own family on their first date back in Serenno. About his family taking him off the family tree...

Well, it didn't technically fit the bill of the defensive and protective family tropes. It left her wondering – and concerned as well, to be honest – as to why his family deemed it necessary to do that. The small Mandalorian sobered at the thought.

Before she could delve further into her own thoughts about his family, Reiel shifted her focus on his response about the job. Just in time as well, for Wulfric finally made his presence known, not bothering to mask his heavy footsteps as he entered the galley. He took one look at Carrick, at Reiel's state of undress, and at the close proximity between the two before wordlessly making his way towards the cooler to grab a canteen of water for himself.

"Ni vercopaanir gar t'ad narir va narir mayen nuh'la, nuhunla vaal ni cuyir nuhoy, ad'ika," the older Mandalorian commented gruffly before fixing his daughter one of his patented "Stern Father" look. "Ni malyasa'yr va la'gatioa at e'yalyuyemr gar turjilyr. Ta' nadarna be tion'solet gar emuurir kaysh."

Her sorcerer? Did... Did she hear that right?

"No, Buir. We're good." Well, omitting the truth wasn't technically a lie, right? "No need to do that. I'm safe with Carrick."

Wulfric grunted, looking at Carrick with a hint of animosity before stomping back towards the cockpit. With her father gone, Reiel answered the politician's sly grin with her own.

"I'm starting to see that my buir's right in saying that this planet is crawling with corrupt lowlifes... You'll have your work cut out for you once you become this planet's Senator, cyarir."

@Nefieslab