Lianna's Open Orbit

She exhaled a large sigh, laying down her fork. She crossed her hands in her lap and smiled sadly. "A couple years ago, someone decided they were going to bait an altercation of outsiders by offering up a strange artifact for auction. The people who arrived for the auction started a riot that lead to a large scale engagement. I was stationed as a shooter during the Dark Tide siege of Lola Curich. I was able to pick off a few of their landing craft, several of the ground forces. For my tactics and ability to cut off their escape down a certain route, I was promoted and awarded the Verpine Shatter Rifle. I named her Lola after that battle."

She looked at him quietly for a moment, then smiled. Question for question was interesting enough for the time being. "How did you become father to Gaeza?"

Her lunch finished, she bussed her plates and put them away, grabbing another cup of tea to take with her. She stopped next to the the table and gestured with him to come along with her. "You ready? Come on, I'll show you my apartment." Although there wasn't much in her apartment, there was definitely something missing from hers that was important. His daughter. They would be able to have more in depth conversation away from the mess. 

The route back to her apartment was much more direct and she didn't get lost this time. The empty moving crates were sitting outside her door, ready to be sent back to the shipping department. She opened the door and entered, sure he was just behind her. The personal touches were few, only a couple pictures here and there. Older people, mandalorians definitely by their clothes and the look of the homestead in the background of the picture. She offered him a seat, sinking down into the plush sofa. There was something tight and guarded about him and she couldn't help but point it out. She reached over and took his hand in hers, her thumb stroking the back of his hand.

"Do you ever relax? You seem wound up all the time. I think you look more tense than you did on the ship."

"You cloned a Sith Lord? Are you crazy?"

Mel sat back into the cushions, a little incredulous that Taung would be so reckless. If the Dark Tide would act so callously in order to get back one of their own, how would they react if they found out that Taung had cloned her? Mel looked away, thinking about the choice of tactics, but remembering back to how harshly Dark Tide had acted in the first place, she could say she wouldn't have considered his methods sound. Gaeza was nothing like a Sith, she was just a girl, one who grew up fast and liked Mandalore punk music.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't question." She turned back to him, scooching over to sit next to him, draping his arm around her. She pulled his face towards her with the light touch of a finger on his jawline. Her voice dropped down to a murmur, the tone and timbre comforting and warm.

"I think you've been carrying the weight of the world for far too long now. Am I the only person who knows this?"

"Are you ok?" She pressed her cheek to the top of his head, hugging him closer to her. She didn't want to move him just yet, but her leg was starting to fall asleep. The sensation of pins and needles was beginning to radiate down her hip. She pulled herself up, moving him back from her at little bit. She smoothed her thumb over his cheek, looking in his eyes with a soft smile.

She shifted her weight, letting blood flow back to her limbs, a chuckle as she thought of everything in the last couple years. She shook her head at him, her eyes falling into her lap. She hadn't been keeping huge secrets the way he had or had to juggle the priorities that came from being the most powerful man on Lianna. "Nothing so dramatic. Just doing my job, and trying to forget that this isn't Mandalore."

She reached over behind the couch to the table that held some arty looking decorations and some pictures. She picked up the biggest, a group photo of what could only be her family, judging by the resemblance. She started pointing out people in the picture, and it became obvious that she was missing from it. Perhaps she was the one taking the picture but it was unlikely that a family would pose for such a shot only to leave a member out.

"This is my brother Tireck, he's oldest. Then there's Telo, and Del. I was the youngest. Always following my brothers around, always getting into trouble with them. Tireck took over the farmstead from my father. I was supposed to marry a local boy and help feed Mandalore. Instead I joined the army. My folks support it, but Tireck always disagreed. He doesn't think I should be risking my life needlessly. He's got this weird ass chip on his shoulder that since our mom ran the home and raised the kids, that's what I should aspire to. It said it was an affront to our mother. The last time I was home, he called me a killer. Refused to let my nieces and nephews come anywhere near me. We got into a huge fight. I haven't been back. He says I'm not welcome. So Lianna is my home now. Tireck sent me this picture as an insult last year. I don't know what his problem is. My mother said he's scared. Scared that I will be killed so it is easier to push me away. I don't know if that's true. But it makes for a lonely life. Especially in my job."

She took a deep breath and put the picture back. She missed her family dearly and it was etched across her face, but with a calming, centering breath, she locked that hurt away once more and the careful army sniper facade was back in place. 

"Oh I don't know. Tireck's ego is pretty big enough where I don't think even a Manda'lor would be impressive to him." She chuckled at her brother's hubris but knew secretly that dating Taung would only reinforce her isolation from her brother. "My father would be beside himself though."

She laid her head over on his shoulder, placing her hands over his. They were warm and gentle, but firm as she grasped his hand. She looked up into his eyes, her aqua blues caring and clear. "I don't want to pine for Mandalore. Lianna is my home now. I will build my life here. Maybe I won't be lonely anymore." She nudged him a little with her elbow in the ribs, a smile cracking her face. "Besides, I met this guy and I think he might be interested in me. But I'm so bad at these things, it's hard to tell."

"That sure sounds like him. But I'm not really a girly girl, so you know I never know if they like me. I think my guns scare them." She chuckled as she draped his arm around her back, putting her closer to his muscled frame. "What do you think, do you think I caught the eye of a Manda'lor? Or is he just after Lola?" She grinned and stuck her tongue out at him.

His lips on hers quickened her pulse, she was jolted by the sensation and electrified by the emotion behind it. She closed her eyes and indulged herself, savoring every bit of his kisses. She pressed herself against him, wrapped in his arms. She twisted body around to be in a more comfortable position for their amorous embrace and wound up straddling his lap, her arms around his neck. She pulled back with a genuine smile, a sense of ease in her eyes as she looked into his. "Thank Kad for undercover mission, eh?"