Disclaimer: I don't own anything from kotor. Wish I did.
1. Heard
---
"From the moment I heard your voice across the galaxy, I have longed for you." - Visas Marr, to the Exile
Visas walked down the corridor to her chambers, her steps echoing on the cold, metal walls. The sound was that of a ghost ship. Her Master was not a living thing; hunger, not food, sustained his being. And the ones who piloted his ship, his slaves as much as she was, were empty shells. Their existence was only for his bidding. Life as other beings knew did not exist for them.
They were dead, just like she was.
Her pace quickened. Her chambers were stark. Bare of anything personal. The door closed behind her with a hiss and she let out a small sigh of – what? Relief? There was no escape. But being alone was enough.
She relished this chance to travel outside herself, outside of this ship where she was a prisoner. Now she relished it for a different reason.
Slowing her breathing and clearing her mind, Visas reached out with the Force. She sensed the ravenous void of her Master and the dull flickers of the ship's crew. Further out, she could sense life, real life, on other planets far away: raw emotions, freedoms, desires, hopes. And the distance that separated the two worlds seemed even longer than the light-years they were in reality. It used to be enough, this vicarious life, but it wasn't what she was looking for.
It was easier to find the echo, now that she'd been following it for a week. It was stronger than before. She followed the branching stems to its source. The roots.
The voice was small yet distinct from all the others in the galaxy. It carried a clear conviction – one that had been tested many times. And it was wounded. Scarred by another echo of tragedy and loss so like her own.
And like all sad things, it was beautiful.
Visas lingered. Studying it. Marvelling at it until she felt a cold presence enter her conscience. She tore herself away, but it was too late.
Her Master knew her secret.
Her only chance was to pretend that she had only just discovered it. The fact that she would even consider such a thing was ludicrous. But the mysterious voice gave her hope that something could be salvaged from her broken life; she wouldn't have to be powerless.
The bridge of the Ravager was open to the emptiness of outer space. It was as though something had stripped away the flesh of the ship and left the bare bones.
Visas strode down the walkway, past the ship's crew, and kneeled before her Master. He did not turn.
She spoke. "I have felt it too, my lord. A disturbance in the Force."
Her Master asked why she had disobeyed him.
She hastened to explain herself. "It was difficult to make out, my lord. At first, it was such a quiet thing. I did not notice it. But now I wonder if it has always been there and I merely could not hear it before. The sound built so slowly, yet when you listen for it you can make out the strains even over the background life of the universe."
"Liar."
Fear fluttered in her chest. Visas could sense his anger, but the strength of his reaction surprised her. Was this voice somehow more special than she knew?
"Do you feel it is a –"
Her hands flew to her throat where her words and her breath had suddenly been crushed. But the force that crushed it could not be stopped by her hands. Not by anything. She was helpless.
"You are the darkness in which all life dies, my lord."
She struggled to squeeze the words out. Her vision was going black around the edges and she could feel herself falling...
The pressure on her throat disappeared.
She collapsed to the floor. She had hidden the voice to protect it, as if she could keep it to herself. There was no freedom. There was no hope. Her Master had shown her that. As she had in all existing memory, Visas wanted to die.
"All life," she gasped, "exists to feed your power. And my life, my life is yours. I beg you. Please ... let me die."
But he would not. Her life was still his. And now she had a new duty.
"Yes. This disturbance ... I can follow it to its source ... and bring it to you."
Her Master saw the folly, the weakness of her heart and warned her. Failure meant death. The voice would fall silent one way or another.
"I will leave at once, my lord."
She would need credits, but those were easily extorted or stolen. Visas left the bridge, feeling the malevolent eyes of her Master on her back.
Author's Note: I was going to make a oneshot of a different scene instead. But I decided that a oneshot wouldn't do the romance justice. Length of this whole thing has yet to be decided. Visas/Exile isn't exactly a common pairing, I suppose because of her character. It'll be interesting to figure all that out =)