Star Wars - The Old Republic: Close To Home (Book 1: The Beginning)

Close To Home

Sounds of distant echoes of men and women screaming were heard with blaster fire had reverberated in the blackness of the void. Voices of men shouting orders to their subordinates to fire were later drowned by sounds of a lightsaber, slashing up flesh, as they were slowly cut down by its holder.

"Fall back... FALL BACK-!!" A man said this from afar before he screamed, with a sound of singed flesh heard from where he expressed his pain before the death he suffered. It kept going: the blaster fire, and the relentless swing of that lightsaber. It was almost endless, until the woman who dreamt of that, half screamed.

The black-haired fair-complexioned woman suddenly opened her eyes and pushed herself to sit up on the bed, gasping for air and breathing. She sounded shocked and terrified, while she put her hand on her face to feel herself sweat. "What in the hell was that-?" She thought of it herself. When her thinking fully came to, she realized she was inside the main quarters of her ship, the BT-7 Thunderclap. Wearing a white shirt and her boxers for her attire, she decided to roll the cover and get off her bed. Standing barefoot, she went to her refresher and opened it, before finding her duty clothing... the Recon Spotter's Jacket, dyed black and blue. She smirked at it, knowing why she chose the colors: pissing her aggressive opponents off, whoever they are.

A Cathar in the ship and part of the crew, Aric Jorgan, wearing his code of attire, the same one the woman was wearing, came into the room and stayed at the entrance. By the time he was there, he winced and looked away. He then coughed to get the woman's attention. "Major?"

The woman chuckled, eventually finding herself wearing the jacket and her leggings, looked at Jorgan while sitting on the bed and wearing her boots. "Lieutenant. You gotten up much earlier, huh?"

Jorgan looked at the Major now with ease as he saw her wear her boots. "Well, I wouldn't say I was lacking discipline. And I wasn't lacking modesty."

The major smirked at Jorgan for that. "Relax. Sleeping together doesn't just mean control but a little more to that. At some point, being a soldier catches up to ya, even as lovers."

"I'm not sure Dorne still agrees. Regulation quoting again." Aric muttered that, but made sure to look from outside and entered the room, before looking at her fully clothed and now standing from the bed. "I can get she's supportive, but she's a little bitter when it comes to this."

She nods. "I'll talk to her about it."

"Don't just talk to her about it, Lereana." Aric said this in a whisper. "Just be yourself." He tried not to smile, getting close to Lereana.

But she dared it and took a step before gently grabbing Aric's head and took her lips to his. As she kissed him, she felt him kiss back. It took a little while, but the two of them pulled away. A minute passed on that. But to both of them, it was heaven.

Jorgan chuckled at this. "I'm gonna get used to that a lot. Ya thinking you deserved that after Rakton?"

"I know it sounds selfish, but he got what's coming to him. It's best having him alive but..." Lereana lowered her head and sighed. "Jaxo. I don't know if my conscience was right about it."

"Well..." Jorgan spoke. "...duty comes first?"

"It's more than that," Lereana replied before looking back up at him again. "Jaxo and I became friends for a short time, even if it was just in the sense there were operations, and recently for her rescue. I... would never want to let her down. But... For the first time... I did. I had to save the others that meant more to the Republic. What was I supposed to-?" She lowered her head, realizing she was already letting a few tears out. She wiped herself with her gloves, but kept crying quietly. Then she felt a pair of arms come to her back while her head was brought up to his shoulder, by his hand so she could let it out. "I failed her... I did."