Ask [Savareen] Sand In All The Wrong Places

[Raya Kryze]

A few moments passed, and Raya kept her eyes remained harshly fixed onto Matias - all of the venom and mistrust plain as day. The Kryze has been beaten and spat upon, and Matias was accessory to all of it. Beyond the desire to pummel him into the dirt, Raya didn’t trust him - not for a moment - to not stab her in the back at the nearest opportunity, even if she didn’t believe he was lying about anything that was said. Not yet anyway.

There was something about his blank, unbothered expression that had the opposite effect on the Mandalorian - her jaw flexing ever-so-slightly as her fingers twitched towards a fist. Her gaze briefly flicked towards her armor, eyes narrowing before returning to Matias.

“They’re going to notice I’m missing whether I’m wearing it or not.” She said flatly. “If you think I am going to walk out of this room without it, then your denser than you look.” The Kryze said lowly, “Which is fuckin’ saying something.” Whether Matias realized it or not, this was a matter of tradition and her culture and went far beyond simply going unarmed. She gave him no room to argue that point, and it was abundantly clear she was going to ignore whatever he was saying unless he planned to physically prevent her from retrieving it.

“He dies before we leave orbit.” She said in an entirely flat tone. There was no ounce of humor or desire to negotiate in her voice. This went deeper than petty revenge and she frankly didn’t care if he agreed or not. “You need me to fly the ship, those are the terms.”

The Kryze was entirely silent through what Matias said next - instead taking the opportunity to stare the man down - watching as he unlocked the door to her cell and pulled it open. Almost instinctively, Raya felt the temptation to lunge at him then and there - her fingers once more twitching as she followed his gaze, clearly noting the way he looked down to her injured ankle. She knew at once where his mind was going in the event she attacked him.

Without a word, Raya stepped through the opened door of the cell - coming face to face with Matias for the first time. Even with their extreme height difference, the Kryze never allowed her gaze to break from his - dark eyes narrowed into daggers the entire way. It was abundantly clear that her desire to put her gauntlet through his teeth hadn’t changed, even if that wasn’t the moment for her to do it. She lingered there for only a moment before stepping past the man, pushing through him if necessary - limp and all - to reach the table.

“Where are the rest of them?”

 

[Matias Vale]

Matias couldn't help the smirk that cracked at her retorts of how she was not leaving without her armor and her utter desire to kill Kodo. The man had a way to leave an impression and because of that, killing him from orbit was at least more acceptable. It meant that they would be on the ship and about to leave the atmosphere of Savareen for good. When it came to the comments about her armor though, he honestly didn't believe their legitimacy and instead of addressing them to give merit, they were left to just drift in the air. There was no way she was serious and he had to respect how convincing she sounded despite her condition.

Once the door was open, all bets were off as the distance between the two slowly shrank. The hatred for him practically radiated off her in droves and grew hotter with each step. Even so, his feet remained planted with his body acting as an impenetrable wall. Matias' gaze tracked her like a hawk, piercing eyes eventually finding purchase with her dark ones, the alertness in his gaze evident. The tension in the air between them was able to be cut with even a butter knife and almost choked the room.

As Raya stepped past the door, Matias' head would be the only part of him that shifted, tilting downward to accommodate for their height. Both their gazes wouldn't separate for a split second and this would be the first time they would be this close to each other. The spacing allowed him to notice the smaller details of her face, the attractive angles, and the hard lines beneath the bruises that highlighted her warrior life. Surprisingly, his curiosity got the better of him when it shouldn't, questions about who and what she was beginning to infiltrate his head. Raya was the biggest enigma that Matias had ever run across, in his whole life really. Their proximity gave her an opportunity to see the scars almost tucked away by his shirt silvery and clean, resembling a knife.

But when Raya proceeded to try and step past him, it snapped whatever stray thoughts lingered in his head. She was actually serious. Without hesitation, Matias would place a diagonal step backward, cutting her off the table and filling her view with his stature once more. His broad shoulders would grow tense as his gaze burned down at her, the gold and red flecks in his eyes almost glimmering. "It's clearly obvious how dense you believe I already am if you think you're getting any closer to that table." There was a new tone to his voice, one that was obviously a warning. If he didn't need proof enough, her entire walk out of the cell was all he needed to not give her a single piece. He didn't need any more rockets flying from her wrists.

"They won't notice because all of them are half a bottle deep in the cantina. I'm the only unfortunate one on guard duty tonight because it was my grand idea to save you." There was almost a strain to his voice like Matias was running out of patience with this game. When he spoke again, it would give Raya a window into exactly how he retained his place in the gang and remained alive at this point, "I'm warning you," His eyes made no attempt to hide that this would be one of the rare occasions he did, "Back the fuck up." The words were spoken with their own steel and authority, completely cold and practically metallic compared to himself earlier. If she wanted to be dragged to the ship broken except her arms, that worked for him.

 

[Raya Kryze]

Raya’s hardened gaze never lowered, and there was not a single word that left her lips while staring down Matias. She could clearly make out the scars that peaked up from beneath his shirt, all alluding to a life as harsh as the planet suggested. She couldn’t help but wonder why he was so desperate to leave, or who it was he was attempting to ferry as well. All the same, none of that mattered at that moment.

It didn’t matter in the slightest if Matias believed her or not, Raya was deathly serious about retrieving her Beskar’gam. That armor had more meaning to her than few other things in the Galaxy, and there was no scenario where the Kryze willingly left it behind for any extended period of time. It was a sentiment that any Mandalorian could understand and likely would’ve done the same, regardless of the wounded and disadvantaged state that she was in.

All the same, Raya wasn’t naive enough to believe that Matias would be all-too-thrilled about that idea - least of all after the damage she had inflicted upon his comrades. As a result, her gaze immediately snapped to attention the moment that Matias began to move across her peripheral. There was no question what his intentions were, and the Kryze had already made her decision on what occurred next.

Just as he began to cut into her path forward, Raya abruptly whirled her fist towards Matias’s ribcage - attempting to slam her fist into the side that moved towards her and to knock the breath from his lungs. There was no additional warning before the Kryze swung at him - the blow coming in before the man had an opportunity to comment about how dense she was or attempt to warn her. Her injured foot drew back and her weight shifted into a forward stance to somewhat compensate for her injury, while her other arm rose to guard her face.

@Orbit

 

[Matias Vale]

Matias had been far more lenient with her than he would have been with anyone else. The one warning would be given before he lost his cool and Raya spat on it without a second thought. Before he could even speak, she reacted to his movement and hurled a punch straight toward his ribcage. If she had played her cards right and exaggerated her injuries more, she most likely would have caught him flush with the attack. Unfortunately, the hatred that flowed through her veins and fueled her was painfully obvious, the daggers, and hardened look before she stepped out.

The punch would connect into his ribs and knock the air out of him slightly but given his size and the state that she was in, he barely moved an inch from the blow and recovered quickly. Almost instantly, Matias' closest hand would come shooting downward and lock tightly around the wrist of her extended hand with an iron grip that would be painful and unyielding. Instead of gunning for her head as she predicted, he tilted slightly toward her and threw a closed fist straight at her stomach with his free hand while she raised her other arm for her face. With his hand holding onto her wrist, his reach, and her busted ankle, the combination prevented her from easily separating to dodge the blow.

If the strike landed, there was enough power imbued into it to make her bend over and do a double take. Before she would be even given a moment to react, if the move worked, Matias would pull on the hand that was attached to her harshly. The result would be a halfway spin until he just threw her back into the cell bars with enough force to make the entire cage rattle.

Instead of closing in after the distance had been forced between them, Matias stood in the same spot, his golden gaze glimmering with rage as it gave a window into what he thought and how pointless this was. They almost burned through her and straight to the ground where he wanted to put her. Every fiber of him urged to not let up but he knew that meant he would lose control and his punches raining against her wouldn't stop.

So, he remained where he was as his eyes would slowly track Raya whether she got up or made her way toward him, his chest rising and falling evenly. It was the last chance he was giving her, more issued like a threat but still. "Don't make me drag you to the ship unconscious." The words came out cold, indicating that he was serious about what would come next. This was a losing battle for her and they both knew, Raya was beaten, scraped, hungry, and practically maimed. But, if she wanted to prove to herself she was tough, then Matias was willing to comply.

 

[Raya Kryze]

Even as she whirled forth with that punch, Raya kept her eyes harshly trained upon Matias - observing his every moment and response to her abrupt attack. The Mandalorkan knew she was fighting an uphill battle in her current state, and yet she fought anyway - driven by her own stubborn nature and every slight that she had endured up until this point. The fact that Matias was attempting to separate a Mandalorian from her armor was all it took for Raya to fight like her life depended on it.

While she felt Matias latch onto her wrist, the Mandalorian made no attempt to yank free from the man’s grasp despite the pain of his vice - immediately recognizing the difference in physical strength to know it was futile.

Even as her guard rose and lingered to guard her face, Raya’s umber eyes snapped downward as the man whirled in with a follow-up punch to her stomach. Rather than move her hand, Raya instead dipped her shoulder towards the man’s whirling fist - bringing her already-bent elbow down to meet the brute force of the blow. At once, Raya felt as the pain surged through the point of impact and bled through into her torso - manifesting in the gasp of pain and loss of breath that fled from her lips.

Gritting her teeth, the Kryze only allowed herself a split-second of pause before she stepped slightly forth with her good leg - wincing as razor agony surged the moment that additional pressure was further applied to her busted ankle - nearly buckling beneath her own weight. With one of Matias’ hands occupied pinning her own and the other positioned low from his punch, Raya darted her arm upwards to capitalize on his lowered guard - whirling her free hand, already positioned high and close to her face, in an attempted uppercut to the bottom of Matias’ jaw before he attempted to throw her. Even in her current state, the punch carried enough force to make Matias’ head spin and send the man reeling onto his ass if it landed.

Perhaps she was fighting a losing battle, but futile or not Raya had no intentions of letting up until one of them was beaten bloody. It went far deeper proving herself a warrior to some stranger, and had everything to do own cultural identity. “That Beskar’gam is mine.” She hissed, her voice hoarse and venomous. “And I’ll happily die getting it back.”

@Orbit

 

[Matias Vale]

Surprisingly, she was still quick and he had not expected her to push through the pain of her ankle in order to land a blow. Despite her speed, the strike would be thrown off course as not only did his hand pin her own but pulled her after he threw his punch. Matias shifted his head quickly at the same time to avoid a direct hit, the combination of the pull and movement resulting in her clipping his jaw. The throw would be completed nonetheless as she would nearly be lifted off her feet before she slammed into the metal cage, both of them separated.

A couple of steps were taken back, fingers pressing against where she had struck him before his gaze flicked to hers coldly. Of course, her response wasn't one of compliance but refined hatred again. When Beskar'gam was uttered, Raya could spot a pure look of confusion spread across his face without any effort. The word was utterly lost on him and his reply conveyed that unequivocally, "Lady, I have no idea what the fuck that means and don't care." She spoke like there wasn't death looming over her and this was all a choice.

Time for their little dance to come to an end. Numerous chances had been given and in Matias' mind, he had been extremely forthcoming. If they spent any longer fighting, someone could hear the noise and complicate everything. It was obvious the bout wouldn't cease until one of them hit the floor cold. As far as he was concerned, that was fine by him at this point.

As Raya was halfway through speaking on happily dying, Matias simply rolled his eyes as his hand immediately reached for his side and drew out his blaster with ease, their spacing not requiring him to aim. Two shots would be squeezed off in succession, cutting off her taunt and pushing her back against the cage if they struck. If she tried to remain standing despite taking two bolts straight two her chest, Matias would simply exhale before raising the blaster and placing a stun bolt right between her eyes to knock her out cold.

 

[Raya Kryze]

Raya couldn’t help the gasp of pain that escaped from her lips the moment her body slammed against the jail sell - the entire cage rattling from the impact. Her ankle surged with agony and her entire body - still bruised from before - ached from the additional blows. All the same, just as quickly as her body slumped against the slotted wall? The Mandalorian shifted back into a seated position, her umber gaze locking onto Matias unwaveringly. It didn’t matter how many hits she’d taken from Kodo or him - the defiance and willingness to fight behind her eyes hadn’t diminished in the least.

Her eyes immediately narrowed into slits when Matias revealed he didn’t know what she was talking about. He would clearly see the irritation that crossed her features that shockingly hadn’t been there before - revealing that his own disregard struck a nerve deeper than their entire little scrap had. Of course, she had no intention of saying a word to alleviate the mystery at that moment. Matias wasn’t going to understand and Raya had little-to-no tolerance to explain any of it to him.

Raya slouched forward, her expression frigid iron as she gazed up at the man. She knew this wasn’t a fight she was going to win - not in her current state - and yet she wasn’t ignorant to the fact that Matias still needed her. Needed her to pilot the ship and get him off that dusty-ball of a planet, and to help to repair some of the damages. And she was going to use that to her advantage.

Umber eyes snapped down just as Matias began to reach for the pistol on his hip. Urgency flashed across her features as the Kryze abruptly reached back and into the jail cell - her fingers curling around the rim of the tray that the man had previously brought for her. Food scattered as the Kryze hurled the tray at Matias - aiming to strike the metallic surface against his face while he fired off his pistol.

None of that, however, blocked the two stun-bolts that slammed into her chest. Raya felt her body go cold as the energy surged across her body - umber eyes remaining locked on Matias even as her body slumped forward and went limb.

@Orbit

 

[Matias Vale]

Unfortunately for her, the busted ankle meant she was a sitting duck for Matias and that brought this fight to an end. A valiant effort was made to prevent him from shooting but he used his free hand to smack the tray that was hurled at him to the floor, the metal clattering dishearteningly. Both bolts struck home in the meantime and sent her to the ground, somehow not knocking her out but incapacitating her.

At least knowing she wouldn't be able to move, Matias glanced down at the scuff marks of food that hit him and dusted himself off quickly, more annoyed than anything that he was dealing with this. When his fiery gaze flicked back up to Raya and found that she was still awake, practically burning a hole through his skull, a light scoff was let out by him. There were people in the gang that couldn't even put up a quarter of the fight that this woman could, the fact of her being awake was testament enough to her mettle. It was respectable and his curiosity once again flared about where she came from and what the hell she really was in truth. In his own mind, he was in a strange way thankful that her fate wouldn't be at the hands of the others if they could work together. Matias knew exactly what they planned, especially with her appearance and that wasn't deserved for anyone.

A soft click with his tongue was given as well as a cock of his head before he muttered, "I did warn you." Rapidly, his blaster was lifted and another two shots were fired right into her torso, fully finishing the job. Matias wasn't risking it and when he saw her eyes were fully closed, he shook his head before holstering the weapon. His golden gaze bore down on her for a moment, debating with himself if this was the right call before forcibly pushing the doubt from his mind.

Before he took a step toward her, he half turned to take a peek at the armor that was on the table. Once she laid eyes upon it she had been hellbent to retrieve it. Piecing together the pieces, he figured that the "Beskar'gam" was her armor though he still had no clue what it meant. Whatever it meant, she was willing to die for it. Matias retrieved a bag before stuffing the pieces into it, tying it securely at the top before heaving it over his shoulder. With Raya out cold, he just left there for a few moments, returning eventually with the bag replaced with ropes instead. Standing over her, he tied her arms together, leaving her legs with that swollen ankle doing enough. Based on their little interaction, if she found she was dragged again she would most likely bite out her tongue before speaking to him again. Instead, he heaved her over his broad shoulder as well, their size difference making it relatively easy for him.

Upon checking the coast was clear outside, he walked outside with her before tossing her onto the back of his bike. Music still blared from the cantina and the streets were empty, leaving them in peace. Instead of starting his bike, he simply held onto both handles before pushing it to the edge of the town, both of them taking a silent departure.

When Raya woke again, she would find herself staring up at a brilliantly lit-up sky, thousands of stars just plastered across a black canvas. The sight would be ruined however when she would be able to hear the sound of clanking, metallic in nature. If she glanced to her right, she would find herself lying beside her grounded ship and near the ramp. A few moments later, a pair of boots would descend before the rest of Matias' form entered the frame, his jacket still off, multiple stains covering his clothes and skin. Both his eyes slowly scanned her as he wiped his hands with a rag, his voice slightly exhausted but calm, "Morning."

 

[Raya Kryze]

Raya couldn’t so much as sneer while Matias loomed over her - the debilitating effects of the dual stun bolts coursing through her body and leaving her muscles largely unresponsive despite her every attempt. All the same, her gaze never broke away from his own - the intensity there failing to waver or flinch in the slightest, up until the moment that Matias fired another bolt to knock her completely unconscious. She was dead weight for the entirety of the journey, out cold until the pair finally reached the half-destroyed, Mandalorian vessel.

Slowly but surely, umber eyes flickered open once more - blinking rapidly a few times as she gaze came back into focus. She stared up at the night sky for a long moment - just long enough for realization and the previous sequence of events to flash across her mind once more. At once, the Mandalorian pushed off her shoulder and forced herself to sit up - leaning her back and arms against the jagged, metallic surface. She immediately attempted to test the resistance on her arms - tugging against the fabric until she picked up on the sound of someone striding down the ramp just to her right.

Instinctively, her gaze flicked around her surroundings - searching for any signs of her armor before flicking onto Matias. Her gaze lingered on the man for a long moment, narrowing ever-so-slightly as she observed his grease-smudged clothes after he’d clearly been working at repairing the ship. Raya merely leaned her head back against the ship, frigid gaze flicking ahead and out towards the vast, open fields. "You look like shit."

@Orbit

 

[Matias Vale]

Well, progress between them was developing, even if it was at a slow crawl. Instead of a glob of spit or charging body, his greeting was met with a simple snark reply. That couldn't make him happier as it least told him she was more accepting of the situation that she found herself in or at least spent all of her energy. The rag was slowly pulled between his fingers as he replied with dry sarcasm laced within his words, "I figured it would make you feel better." She wasn't in the best of shape, with matted hair, bruised skin, and sand caked to her face.

After the cleaning, he tossed the rag onto his shoulder and walked over to her, his long stride compensating for his slow pace. "From what I can tell, I've cleaned most of the superficial and structural integrity damage. It's shabby but it will get the job done. I need you to identify the critical systems. I've never seen a vessel of this make." As he spoke, his gaze flicked to the ship, helping recount what he had done before returning his attention to Raya, finishing by the time he arrived at her feet. Matias peered down at her for a moment, the debate in his optics not hidden from her as the cogs visibly turned while he debated in his mind. A few brief moments later, he gave her an upward nod, almost rhetorically asking, "Can we behave?"

Before she could really answer him, he pulled out his knife and leaned down to cut the bindings around her hands. If worse came to worse, he could always shoot her again and that was what had been the deciding factor in releasing her again. Once the rope dropped to the sand, Matias took a single step back from her as his gaze would lock against hers, waiting to see how it played.

If nothing happened, he reached behind him and pulled out a waterskin, the liquid loudly sloshing inside it. With an underhand throw it, it would be tossed right into her chest before he added, his tone softer from its usual nature, "So you don't pass out. You didn't drink back in the cell." Instead of waiting and watching her, Matias would just spin on his heel halfway and enter through the ramp again, intent on not wasting time. She was being given a short reprieve to collect her bearings but also give her the opportunity to discover her armor was nowhere near them.

 

[Raya Kryze]

Raya tilted her head back ever-so-slightly, pressing against the scuffed-up hull of her ship while she appraised the man before her. The Mandalorian’s gaze never broke from his own - staring straight into Matias’ eyes and piercing right out the back of his skull. She wasn’t outwardly aggressive - not at that moment, anyway - though the man would see no warmth behind her gaze. He would quickly surmise that she wasn’t any more accepting of the situation than she was back at that cell - but rather wasn’t in any position to protest any of it.

She leaned her head forward ever-so-slightly when Matias came back with snark of his own, “Get a little closer and I just might start to,” She said flatly. Her tone made it difficult to gauge if the Mandalorian was being serious or not, but experience would almost certainly point to Raya trying to headbutt the man at nearest opportunity.

Not that Raya actually expected him to get closer. She merely huffed through her nostrils and went back to gazing upwards - her umber eyes scanning the star-lit sky and the horizon beyond. The shit-hole status of Matias’ village meant that she really couldn’t use light pollution on the horizon to gauge their distance from the settlement, but the lack of approaching speeder bikes indicated that - for now at least - the pair had been undetected in their plot.

“No, you wouldn’t.” She replied back after Matias mentioned not seeing a vessel like the one she owned, “Unique model, and there isn’t a single Mandalorian who has voluntarily landed on this rock before.” The Kryze said with no lack of disdain to her voice.

She watched Matias in complete silence as he stepped forward, drawing a knife in order to cut the bindings on her wrists. Even at that moment, Matias would be able to feel the way that her gaze burned through him - and it would be impossible to predict whether the Kryze was going to swing at him or not. Slowly but surely, the Kryze rose up to her feet - rolling her wrist while coming up to her full height. It was abundantly clear that she favored her good leg and largely kept all of her weight off the other - but the woman wasn’t going to sit with her ass in the sand any longer. Her hand snapped up to drag the waterskin that was tossed, her gaze finally flicking down to regard the drink before tracking Matias as the man vanished up the ramp once more. She was under no illusion that her armor was hidden and nowhere close. If it had been, she’d have already been in the process of retrieving it.

Taking a swig from the skin, Raya took a moment or two more before turning and beginning to ascend the ramp - stepping up into the familiar atmosphere of

her own ship. It was the Kryze’s pride and joy, and the place where she spent most of her time when she wasn’t on campaign.

While she spotted Matias waiting near some of the damaged controls, Raya had no intention of burying her head in the repairs quite yet. The Mandalorian instead turned and proceeded further down the hallway and into the ship - her intent fixed upon the small medbay that was situated there. She had no idea what was damaged and what wasn’t, and she was about to find out.

@Orbit

 

[Matias Vale]

Crouched down at the controls, Matias removed one of the panels with his knife to reveal the maze of damaged wires beneath. He inspected it for a moment until he caught the sound of footsteps, expecting her to join him as he glanced over. Instead, she angled her path to the medbay in her unique stride and ignored him. It wasn't entirely surprising, with the amount of time that had passed, the adrenaline had to be out of her system. Raya most likely felt every prickle and sting from her ankle.

Without her direction, he could possibly do more damage than good and it wasn't worth the risk. Standing up with a soft exhale, he swiped the flashlight from the top of the controls before following after her. Raya would enter the bay first and find most of the supplies strewn about, thrown from their compartments onto the floor or other spaces. It was messy but there were items that she could pick from in order to doctor herself. Almost all of the electronic equipment was out, flashing lights and audible beeping emitting from each.

There wasn't much light to assist her and Matias silently flicked the end of the flashlight at her, helping her in retrieving whatever she was looking for. Standing there stoically, he thought to himself though his eyes remained to track Raya just in case she got jumpy again. Once more his curiosity crept through as he watched her, his wondering about who and what she was returning. There were men in the gang who wouldn't even attempt to walk with her injuries but yet she was standing. Then the words filtered through his head, Mandalorian and Beskar'gam. It was the first time he had ever heard such sounds and there were as foreign to him as the rest of the galaxy. It was clear whatever lifestyle she lived, its nature was completely different from his.

Eventually, the silence would be broken by him as he asked out, "You mentioned the word Mandalorian and... Bes-whatever. Where did you come from?" The only places he knew were the cities that were dotted across his sandy planet, so it may have been a faulty first question. Still, she was unknowingly his first window into the outer galaxy and he wanted even the tidbits he didn't understand at this point too.

 

[Raya Kryze]

Raya took a single glance at Matias - alongside all the damaged wires and circuitry - and promptly decided she wasn’t going to deal with any of that bullshit that the present. Instead, the Kryze continued to hobble her way towards the medbay of the ship - knowing her way around the vessel even the relative darkness that shrouded the interior. She was stubborn to a fault and fiercer than most - and it was the very reason she was still standing.

But all the same, adrenaline had faded and Raya felt every joint of pain within her broken joint at this point.

She tilted her head back ever-so-slightly at the sound of footsteps - instinctively growing tense as Matias closed in behind her. They needed to work together, but she still didn’t trust him much at all - and it wasn’t until he flicked on the flashlight that she turned her attention back to the medbay itself. The entire chamber was trashed and the Kryze was already pissed at the prospect of having to sort through and organize it all later.. But the supplies were still good - most of them, anyway - and that was all that mattered to her.

It didn’t take Raya more than a few moments to find what she was looking for. It wasn’t much - a stim pack, a vial of bacta and roll of gauze. At once, the Kryze hobbled over and lifted up a fallen chair, planting it back onto the ground before planting her ass in it. Without a moment of hesitation, Raya flicked the syringe tip of the stim before jamming it into her upper thigh - wincing ever-so-slightly as the medical stimulant was injected into her muscle. It wasn’t a fix in of itself, but it would do wonders for the pain and swelling within minutes. With that, the Kryze turned her attention to the ankle itself - rolling up the leg of her bodysuit.

Though, not before Matias asked his question.

Raya paused for a long moment, glancing up from her injury to stare back at Matias. Even in the low light, the Kryze could make out the unusual gold tint of his eyes - and he would conversely be able to see the warrior staring back at him with her own intensity. A few seconds ticked by before Raya broke the silent, tilting her head back. “You’ve never been off this fucking rock, have you?”

She almost scoffed the words, exhaling through her nostrils. A part of her was tempted to flip him a colorful hand gesture and go back to worrying about her injury. She wasn’t obligated to answer his questions and their relationship prior to this point hadn’t really put them on conversational terms. Hell, neither of them so much as knew the name of the other. But there she was - still entertaining the notion despite every bitter and petty urge screeching otherwise.

“I am a Mandalorian. That is my culture and the culture of those like me,” She said, speaking while popping open the vial and beginning to slather bacta across her ankle. “I was born on the planet of Concord Dawn, youngest daughter and a member of Clan Kryze,” The vial was discarded, and Raya turned her attention to the roll of gauze - pulling a long strip which she began to wrap around her ankle tightly. As she worked, the Kryze elaborated a bit further - going over the basics of her culture and who her people were. Their warrior lifestyle and core tenants. At once, Matias would begin to have a better understanding of just what Raya was and begin to piece together what kind of environment she was raised in.

“My beskar’gam,” She reiterated, “Is my armor, that you likely buried under a fucking rock somewhere.” The words were a bit harsher than before - and Matias would at once realize this was still, and would always be, a point of contention. There was once again that look in the woman’s eye that would leave him wondering if she was going to keep talking or take a swing at him. “Armor that has been passed down within my family for five hundred years - over five generations of my bloodline - reforged and fitted to each wearer. Every battle. Every bit of blood, sweat and tears.” The man would almost certainly, at this point, begin to understand why the woman had risked it all to get back to the armor she wore.

"I crashed on your planet after a skirmish along our contested border," She said, pinning the gauze into place as she finally finished what she was doing. It would take hours for the bacta to begin repairing things properly - and likely wouldn't completely due to the small amount.. But it would go miles in bringing the woman back to fighting condition.

@Orbit

 

[Matias Vale]

Matias had not expected her reaction to him questioning what she was and simply gave her a shrug of his shoulders as his response. Gaging her words, it seemed to him that apparently, his circumstances were quite rare. Ships had crashed on the surface of the planet before but they were unique occasions, the amount countable on one hand. That fact led him and the rest to believe they were lone travelers or merchants that just had an unfortunate turn of events to find them.

Sly comments would have been a given for the situation as she continued to speak but instead, he listened intently, his mind running rampant with his imagination. Excitement and fear blossomed within his stomach, confirmation that there was actual civilization outside of his planet. Logically, he knew there had to be other planets that were inhabited and more advanced but now it was no longer just a far-fetched dream that always slipped from his fingers. The fact he was speaking to someone that actually had a culture that was different from his excited him beyond measure, reassuring him that the galaxy wasn't only filled with Kodos. But fear also accompanied that sensation as the galaxy was much different than he naively expected and he was on the precipice of taking the final step to experience it himself.

A combination of a smile and grimace almost cracked across his face, the plan beginning to have a tangible form to it that he didn't know he was ready for. Raya then revealed that her armor was the "beskar'gam" that she had desperately wanted to retrieve earlier. Matias at first believed that her desire for it was only because it would be worth a lot of credits but he understood its true meaning then. The right had been made by stashing it at a different location, the woman's umber gaze burning into him with an intensity that underlined just how precious it was to her.

Matias pushed off the wall with his shoulders once Raya had finished wrapping her ankle, a smirk touching his lips before he commented, "Good thing it's under that rock then. You'd clearly kill for it." He made his way to the door but stopped before half turned toward the Mandalorian, "You'll get it back once we're in the air." There was no audible promise from him but his voice held an almost reassuring tone that meant he was serious, his unnaturally golden mixed gaze locked onto her umber one for a brief for a couple of moments. In any different situation, he would've kept it but she was the reason he was finally leaving his wretched home. It was the least he could do with nothing else to offer her.

Out of nowhere, Matias shut off the flashlight and plunged the med-bay into darkness with the only light source not emanating from the hallway. "Which is why we should get back to work. See you at the front." His gaze would finally tear away then as he exited from the space and went back to the cockpit, his footsteps echoing. If Raya followed after him, she would find him prone near one of the consoles, fidgeting with the wires.

 

[Raya Kryze]

Raya’s umber gaze lingered on Matias for a long moment - drinking in every little reaction that played out across his face. While uncommonly expressive and chatty amongst her peers, the Kryze was accustomed to her interactions being conducted behind the helmet’s her people wore - where one could only guess at the involuntary shifts in expression.

With Matias, it was all plain as day. The mixture of fear and excitement painted across his features - and the cogwheels that she could practically see turning behind his eyes. It was readily apparent that the man wasn’t only ignorant to Mandalorian culture - but hadn’t ever left the dust-covered shithole he called home. Perhaps that was why he was as desperate to leave as he was - though she couldn’t help but wonder who the other person was.

“So you’re catching on,” She said, her voice a bit more firm and venomous when he mentioned her armor. Even in that moment, it was abundantly clear that the Kryze wasn’t at all pleased to be separated from her armor - and the notion that Matias used it as a reward for her compliance caused her blood to boil internally. Her expression was frigid and almost deadpan - making it almost impossible to gauge what she had on her mind or what she would do next.

“I won’t be flying this ship ten feet off the ground before I’m wearing it.” She said bluntly, her eyes completely devoid of expression as she bore into Matias. Strangely enough, she believed what he was saying was truthful - but it changed little. “When your boss is dead and I have it back, I’ll drop you off at the nearest shithole planet of your choosing.”

She said nothing else whilst wrapping her ankle - securing the limb into place with the Bacta applied thick underneath. It would take a while for the joint to completely heal, but it already solved the worst of her pain and injury - especially in conjunction with the strong stim in her system. When the flashlight flicked off, Raya stood - all five feet of her marching past Matias and out of the medbay. She was a woman on a mission and had her eyes fixed onto the exposed paneling of her ship.

As she walked, the Kryze reached back to tie up her black hair - pulling it into a messy bun as she stopped at the critical systems. At once, the Kryze ducked her head inside - not seeming to mind the grime and oil that smeared across her shoulders and hands. “Your electrical work is sloppy as shit.” She muttered towards him, spending several minutes with her head buried inside.

After a long while, Raya finally emerged - hoisting herself up and back to a stand. Umber eyes fixed onto Matias for a brief moment before jutting her chin towards one of the back rooms. “Hyperdrive is damaged - forced me of hyperspace mid-flight. I should be able to fix it for now,” She said, turning on a heel and moving in that direction regardless of if he followed her. “Which means no long journeys after we leave.”

“Who else are you bringing?”

@Orbit

 

[Matias Vale]

After a few moments of his face stuck in the wires, his fingertips black from the effort, Matias was able to hear light footsteps come toward him. He slid out slightly so that his gaze could flick to Raya as she entered the cockpit after him, her gait noticeably much better. Instead of saying anything, he would just use his foot to shift back and have his upper half practically in the machine, amongst the parts and wires as a simple lift of his head would make him smack against the roof if he wasn't careful.

To his surprise, she submerged herself into the machine too, Matias having to shift slightly in order to give her room while she did her inspection. His muscles tensed slightly because of her proximity, wondering if he should slip out but deciding in the end to just stay. It seemed they had truly moved past the point of wanting to kill each other or at least both of them kept the feeling smothered enough that they can focus on the task at hand. That was good enough for him and he continued his work, splitting and tying wires once more.

When she commented about his handiwork, his retort nearly came quickly and smoothly as he focused on another wire, "Your shitty flying got you here. Blame yourself." Both their voices echoed slightly in the small compartment. Matias worked with what he got. The patchwork may not be exactly display-worthy but it would at least get the ship off the ground and able to land this time. This was one of the first times he really ever had worked on a ship but enough operations had been conducted by his hand on his bike and other machinery that he wasn't completely helpless.

After Raya slipped out from the machine, Matias stretched out his shoulders to get more comfortable as he sat slightly pressed against the inside wall to sit up. At the news of the hyperdrive damage, his head tilted back and softly smacked the metal wall as he realized how much was actually broken. Thankfully, Raya had optimism that she could fix it but at the cost of no long journeys, a smirk couldn't help but break out across Matias' lips, "Sure that makes you happy. Get to drop us off faster." There really wasn't a destination in mind for him at the moment so he chose to say nothing else, not knowing if it would be a problem in the future or not.

Matias returned to his work until another question came, this one causing him to pause for a moment. Flashes of their face zipped through his mind and after a quick shake of his head, he answered back somewhat quieter, "Someone who doesn't deserve to be here for another second." His tone was almost barren like he didn't want to think about it but Raya would be able to tell from his voice that he fully believed in what he said.

A couple of minutes later, Matias would finally finish with the electrical work as he used his feet to scoot out and stand. After a quick inspection, he slid the panel back in place before dusting himself off, streaks of grease covering his clothes and parts of his skin. Being finished in the cockpit, for the time being, he went to the hyperdrive and checked in on Raya as he stopped at the open doorway and peered at her. "And how bad really is it?" Without the drive somewhat operational, they weren't gonna be able to truly leave this planet. They at least needed one jump out of her.

Before Raya could really answer though, both of them would be able to hear voices and what appeared to be footsteps scaling the ramp to enter the ship.

 

[Raya Kryze]

“My shit flying is the only thing getting your worthless ass off this rock.” Raya snapped right back. She didn’t so much as glance at Matias during the retort - continuing to tinker with the wires and internal circuitry of the ship. Truthfully, the Kryze tried to simply blot the man out from her vision entirely. While they weren’t throwing punches - at the moment - she wasn’t at all enjoying the proximity nor having to deal with Matias in general.

“Ideally,” Raya said, lifting herself up a bit to address some of the damaged coolant pipes that ran beneath the console. “Assuming I don’t put you out an airlock.” She said dryly, leaving the man to wonder if she was serious or attempting to poke fun at him. Given the history and the Kryze’s own temperament, it was a pretty even split in terms of likelihood. The Kryze reached up, wiping some of the sweat from her brow and smudging a bit of oil along with it.

Though she didn’t pause, her brow did raise a bit when Matias vaguely answered her question. The Kryze clearly recognized the tone in his voice and it was enough to stifle any attempt to press him further. Truthfully, Raya cared very little as it was. “There are places worse than this.” She said flatly. If Matias was under the impression that this was the worst of it - that the Galaxy beyond was merely sunshine and rainbows? He was going to be in for a rude awakening.

With their work complete, Raya pushed onto her feet and began to approach the hyperdrive - keeping a constant pace. It was clear that the bacta and bindings were doing their job - as she moved quite a bit quicker and cleaner than before. The pain was still there faintly, but it was no longer a debilitating injury by any means. “It’s fixabl–” She was cut off entirely by the sound of footsteps and talking outside, and the Kryze knew immediately what that meant. Without a word, the woman grabbed Matias and jammed him further into the room - her hands curling around the fabric of his shirt. Despite appearances, she had no intention of getting hostile and gave him a look to keep his mouth shut.

“Think they’re still here?” A gruff voice broke the silence further down the hallway and towards the entrance of the ship, one that Matias would immediately recognize from his own gang.

“The fucking bike is outside.” Another voice chimmed in, equally familiar.

Raya immediately turned to Matias - eyes narrowed onto the man. She knew it was only a matter of time before his plan went south and the Kryze had no qualms with reminding him of that fact. More importantly, however, was addressing the current situation.

“Give me a blaster.” She whispered, her voice flat - clearly in no mood for any of his bullshit. They had no idea who else was outside, or what kind of heat the pair were packing.

@Orbit

 

[Matias Vale]

At her response of shoving him out of an airlock, he responded just as dryly and with a slight cock of his head, "Well, that's assuming I don't shoot you in the back first and push you out myself." She had yet discovered his own temperament but just like her statement, it was a flip of a coin whether he was being serious or poking fun; his face giving nothing as Matias was focused on his shitty wiring.

Tying off another wire, he was nearly finished and on paused for a moment when she commented there were places worse than this. Resting on his elbow, he stared at the wire for a long second before his head tilted down, his eyes shutting close for a moment. When they reopened, he focused back on his work before replying just as dryly as before, "Then you haven't been here long enough." Even though he hadn't seen anything else in the galaxy, his birthplace was a good start in telling him how rough it was.

By the time the two finished and heard the voices, Matias just stared down the hallway toward where he heard them. Why the fuck were they here? The last he checked, most of them had been completely plastered in the main hall. He tried to conjure a plan but before he could get very far, a pair of hands clutched the front of his shirt and yanked him to the side. Immediately, both of his hands would clasp around her wrists as his gaze snapped right down upon hers, his molten eyes glimmering as he thought she was about to make a run for it.

But he caught the look she gave and the steel in his own gaze lessened as his muscles eased too. Both his hands still held her wrists, allowing her to feel the warmth and coarseness of his hands that indicated the type of life he lived. Their eyes clashed as she told him to give her a blaster but that was out of the question for him. Matias leaned down slightly as he stated matter of factly, "No." With the grip on her wrists, he pulled her hands away before dropping them so he could step around her. Before he exited the room, he half turned to face her before sternly stating, "Do not leave this room." Not really giving her an opportunity to resist, he stepped out into the hall and strode after the voices.

 

[Raya Kryze]

For a few moments, Raya was silent as the grave - Umber eyes locked upon Matias. She merely listened as the man not only refused her request, but followed it up by attempting to give her orders in her own ship. Though she didn’t immediately follow him out of the room - and perhaps allowed for the illusion she was relenting to his demands - Matias clearly hadn’t been paying attention if he truly believed the Kryze was going to listen to a single word he said.

The moment Matias left the room, he would be able to better pick up on the voices emanating from closer to the durasteel ramp. As he rounded a corner, he would find a pair of his fellow gang members - men he would clearly recognize and almost certainly knew by name - rifling around near the damaged console. They hadn’t made any effort to tidy up their workstation - and it was obvious to anyone observing that someone had been tinkering around the ship recently.

“Start checking the rooms. Kill the bitch if you see her,” One of the men hissed. “Look for signs of Matias.” It wasn’t clear what the gang believed at this point. It was equally likely that he had betrayed them, or Raya had managed escape, kill him and take his bike. The man would only be left to wonder what happened to the one he hoped to take off the planet - the one he clearly cared about - if the former was true.

Unfortunately, Matias wouldn’t have very long to ponder that thought - nor would he have the opportunity to dispatch his comrades personally. Instead, the sound of quick, light footsteps briefly echoed behind him - rapidly followed up by Raya emerging from where she has clearly been trailing the man. She didn’t bother looking at Matias - her footsteps measured and with predatory intent that he hasn’t seen prior to that point. She carried no blaster - only the fusion cutter that had been used on the equipment from before.

Rounding the corner, Raya immediately closed the distance between herself and the man closest to her. The man turned in the direction of the noise and instinctively raised his blaster towards the Kryze, and it was at that moment she lunged forward. She stepped onto his flank - right hand darting down to bind his arm, while the left swung forward with the fusion cutter. The focused plasma tool was pressed viciously against the man’s eye and switched on - immediately burning and melting through his eye and optical nerve. He dropped his blaster and immediately began to squirm away, and Raya only took the opportunity to hook the man’s leg and drive forward - causing him to topple backwards with her in top.

His screams pitched and echoed through the ship, and immediately caught the attention of the second man. He whirled around and turned to stare wide eyed at Raya - his blaster raised and pointed in response. As he aimed to blast the Kryze, he didn’t pay the slightest bit of attention to Matias - giving the man the opportunity to level a shot without much difficulty, assuming the man could be useful enough to do so.

@Orbit

 

[Matias Vale]

Matias strolled down the hallway, using every second he could to think before meeting the other gang members. When he had checked the cantina, almost all of them had been wholly hammered and strung out on the tables. That meant there was a chance this "search party" was only the two thugs testing their luck. Approaching the turn, the voices could be recognized as both Tolbert and Zay. Each of them wasn't especially smart and their presence helped soothe the fear that Kodo had discovered Raya's escape and sent men out. There was a possibility this could be recovered.

As he turned the corner, his stature straightened, the soreness and exhaustion from toiling on the ship vanishing from his muscles. The authority of his position replaced both temporarily as he finally stepped out into the main room and swung his gaze to both the men scrounging through. Matias opened his mouth but before a sound could be uttered from his throat, he felt a presence brush past him and charge right after Tolbert, weapon in hand.

In the blink of an eye, the light at the end of the tunnel that he had been following since Raya arrived, had been completely smothered by her. All he could do was watch as the future he had envisioned became as large of a mystery as whether they would escape the planet or not now. Matias was only pulled out of his trance at the ear-piercing scream released from her victim before he saw the sight of the second blaster aimed at her back as well. Acting off instinct, he charged forward as he screamed out, "No!" Even though the outcome of them leaving the planet without difficulty had been destroyed; that didn't mean he could let Raya still be shot. Now, they were both in too deep.

Right as Zay tugged on the trigger, Matias' arm would slam down on the inside of the man's elbow and make the blaster instead aim straight up toward the ceiling. The bolt found purchase above as the sound of the firing shot would painfully ring in everyone's ears. Before the blaster could be aimed again, his free hand would shoot and layer on top of Zay's, his finger also over the trigger and pressed right against the guard.

The blaster would start to shake in between the both of them, the weapon pulled in both directions so the barrel was aimed right at one of their chests. Matias was stronger and the barrel slowly began to be pushed in the opposite direction as he just stared right into the man's eyes, both of them feet apart. Zay, realizing what was about to happen tried one last trick and committed to a headbutt.

Unfortunately for him, Matias was simply a better fighter and in a smooth motion, he tilted his head to the left and then used his free hand to give the man a one-armed hug before bringing him in. Not giving Zay a chance to regroup, a knee was lifted right into his stomach to knock the wind out of him. Next, came another shot but instead of striking metal, it found warm flesh as a soft gasp was released. The gang member's body would just slump against Matias' shoulder as it became lifeless.

With a shrug of his shoulder, Zay would be slipped off as he collapsed onto the ground with a thud, Matias standing there solemnly as he stared down at his old acquaintance. Silence occupied the ship then, thick to the point that it was almost deafening in its own way. That is, until it was shattered by Matias as he lifted his leg and kicked the wall hard enough to leave a dent, "FUCK!!" He screamed out in pure frustration as he snapped, the plan he had meticulously thought about and prepped for years just destroyed. Both of his hands combed through his hair and rested on top of his head as he spun around slowly, his eyes avoiding Raya and instead focusing on the body next to her. "You fucking idiot..." Matias muttered softly and defeated, his gaze lifted to meet the Mandalorian's umber one, "Why did you do that?" She just had to listen to him.

Before she got the opportunity to even answer, Matias' hands would drop like deadweight from his hands as he blankly stared at her, his entire body deflating. "Shit..." Without warning or care, he turned and sprinted right for the ramp, clearly heading for his bike to leave as he was almost already out of the ship.