The Dark Academy on Korriban

"I'm always up for teaming together for a fight, if the chances present themselves," she grins. A part of her was looking forward to testing her mettle against the hateful Republic, and with people like Jo'ren, Zeno and Kristal to call upon, she had no doubt that the Republic would be in for a lot of pain.

"Sorry about that though... for a moment there I thought it sounded like you were going to propose to me. Which I would have turned down."

"No. I've made the mistake of letting myself get too attached too quickly. I have seen the things you've allowed me to, but we haven't spent enough time together for either of us to know if anything more than friendship would work out. I would rather get to know you better. Not just your feelings, but your tastes, your opinions, your past, your hopes for the future... I don't want to end up finding I don't know the person I'm chasing after yet again. I'm sure that you would prefer to be more comfortable by knowing me better as well. Even when I'm away we can keep in contact." His tone, while still slightly affected by the drink earlier in the night, is more calm and warm than it has been for days.

"I'd like that," she says and nods. "I feel I've gotten to know you, but there's still a lot I don't know... so that sounds like a good plan."

"So," she leans her head against his shoulder. "Five of your favorite things?"

"I'm gonna leave fighting off of that list. It's too obvious," he says, feeling some semblance of happiness that she was at least willing to give it a chance.

"The void, raw foods, wind in my hair, the feeling of a free fall, and horsing around with my comrades back on Deathwright station. Any of those you want me to expand upon?"

"Hmmm," she contemplates which one to pick first. "What kind of raw foods?"

"Anything that can be eaten raw safely," he says. "The freshness, the untouched flavor, knowing what the taste is supposed to be before it's been processed. Even if something tastes better after it's been prepared, I still prefer it raw. Fruits, vegetables, fungus, meats. It makes it feel a bit more alive and makes me feel more alive in turn." He rests his head on hers, feeling her hair on his cheek and taking in her scent. A hard days battle, death and sweat. He finds that more pleasant than any perfume or soap.

"And what about yourself? Just share something you enjoy, I don't need a list... I'm bad at remembering them anyway. Much better with a vivid description."

"Guess I never thought about raw foods that way... I will have to keep that in mind next time something raw is served to me," she chuckles. Normally she'd feel a bit awkward with the scent of herself, being out here without refreshers or easy ways to keep a clean standard, but at this point, most people in the camp were in the same position and it didn't bother her that he could smell her sweat, the mud from the jungle, or the blood from her enemies as well as from her own wounds.

"Thunderstorms... I have many good memories about them, I like the feeling in the air when it builds up, and to see such power unleashed when the lightning strikes."

"That is a good feeling," he says with a chuckle. "I guess that means I'll have to take you flying through one some day. It's a bumpy ride but it really gets your heart racing."

"So good memories related to thunderstorms, huh? Got any good ones for me?"

"I'd like to try that some day... guess I've gotten a taste for heights after skydiving to get down here," she admits with a laugh.

"... I guess it's mostly because thunderstorms makes me think about times when my life was a lot less complicated. I didn't see my father too often when growing up, but he would visit when he could, sometimes he'd show me something he'd brought from a distant world and sometimes he'd take me somewhere to show me the Empire. My first visit to Dromund Kaas was with him, and there's plenty of thunderstorms there. We had them on Ziost too, but nothing like that."

"I remember he took me outdoors during a particularly strong one and held me close. As he did, he held up my hand with his and I remember he used the Force to make lightning too and how it connected with the lightning from the storm. Closing my eyes, I can still feel that surge of power, how it felt like my hair was standing on edge, and how he smiled and laughed with me."

"That's beautiful," Zeno says with a smile, that she'd not be able to see. "I never had a connection like that with my father. He was around a lot of the time, but he's a dour man in general. Always used to just ignore me unless he was trying to teach me a lesson on something he found important for me to learn. Couple of times he had me sit in on interrogations of rival agents."

"All my better memories are from my mother. Occasionally she'd take me flying in one of the full size fighters rather than the trainers. We'd sit around and poke at engines sometimes. Show me star maps and which hyperspace lanes she took into which battles."

"She sounds like a fun mother to have," she smiles as well. "What's it like inside those fighters?"

"Depends on the model. The starting trainers are pretty roomy on the inside but they have limited field of view with how much space the console and controls take up. But the standard Mark Vs are a tight fit and you can see everything around you. When you perform high speed maneuvers with them it's like the whole world spins around you and your in the center of it."

"You've never been in a starfighter? Even once?"

"Nope. Only those sim-ones you can find around Kaas City, where pretentious rich boys show off their skills without ever having flied a real fighter," she laughs a bit. "I've been on different kinds of starships, but never a fighter."

"We are definitely going to have to fix that," he says. "Can't have you never experience that thrill. So, how about this... other than cleaning a rotting, oversized tuk'ata skull in the middle of a desert, what is the oddest thing you've ever done?"

"Hmm... where to begin on that list? It is pretty extensive," she says with no bravado in her voice. It was truly an extensive list.

"I'd say having a trip into the past would have to score out on being the oddest thing. Or, having a really real vision of the past that left me with wounds and bruises."

"Time travel? Aside from getting some bumps and bruises that must have been an interesting experience. I didn't even know that was a thing. I thought it was just in movies and stories," he says, intrigued. "Where'd you go?"

"Still not quite sure if it was a vision that was way too real, or an actual trip into the past," she shrugs at that. "Was following up on this about a possible lost tribe of Sith, the Forgotten. I thought I might find ruins or something; instead I suddenly found myself in a rain-forest like area, with ancient Sith. Well, I met one that wasn't quite so nice. She hit me with a tree."

"When I came too, I felt like I had been hit by a tree too, and had the bruises to show for it."

"That sounds like a rough situation. I'm guessing that was back on Korriban. I think we've all learned that there's weird and dangerous stuff that happens there. I'm glad you came back safe though." He turns and kisses her on top of her head.

"After all, I'd be a rage monster and you'd be gone and the empire would be lesser for the loss. But I'm not surprised that you came back from it."

"I might not be as tough as some of you guys, but I'm tougher than I look," she teases with a smile. "And I have a knack for surviving. Even if you and Khalim hadn't cut me out, I probably would have managed to get out from underneath Death's Shadow in the end too. Just would've been twice as messy."

"Glad I made it too though... would've sucked to die from a tree. Cause of death; damage from a tree trunk moved at massive speed."

"That would be an unfortunate cause of death. I'm sure it felt like it too. I hope I never have to find out if getting hit by a tree feels worse than getting bitten by that giant tuk'ata though." He says with a chuckle.

"Tough, clever, strong, beautiful, and very lucky... looks like you got a great deal."

"In a match between Death's Shadow and Tree Trunk... so far the tree was the worst for me," she says, adding in a ligh chuckle. "And you? Good pilot, good fighter, powerful, exceptional abilities, and handsome... you didn't exactly get a bad deal yourself."

"Yeah, that wasn't my first run in with him," Zeno says with a chuckle. "The big mouth-shaped scar that reached from my collar to my waist on my chest and back? That was our first meeting," he replies. And he knows she's seen it up close. "I'll just have to wait until I get hit by a tree to find out which would be worse for me."

"And I may have gotten a few advantages. But the best assets are the ones that I can talk to and rely on," he replies. "The ones that can do the things I can't when I need them most."

"Flatterer," she says, grinning with good humor. At least she needed this after her visit to Kristal.

"That scar is very becoming for you... you should've thanked Death's Shadow for giving you such a rugged memento of your first encounter."

"Why do you think I preserved his skull?" Zeno asks, moving her hand to his lips.

"Eventually when I get back to my family after my next mission, I'll have one of our starfighters fitted with it after it's been treated for atmospheric re-entry. He will stay with me, my ship will be named in his honor, and his presence will be the last thing many of my enemies will see. Death's Shadow will have a continuing legacy and presence, but rather than being a terror of Korriban it will be a terror of the Republic."

"I want to see it when it's mounted on your fighter," her fingers move slightly under the touch of his lips. "And then fly in it."

"If there's room for two in it, of course."