Smoke from weapons firing billowed up and into the air as the alarms blared some mad peeling cacophony of sound. Torian coughed and ducked his head behind the cover of one of the large metal machines still hissing and spluttering as metal rods spilled from its interior onto the floor, jangling even more noise. Then the machine clanked and jerked so roughly it almost caused him to fail hearing Corridan's loud yells from nearby. But he managed to catch the alor'ad calling out to them all, directing them. Torian snaked his head around to find Corridan, saw him standing in front of several piled crates. Erstwhile cover, and hastily made Torian judged. Corridan pointed, "Mandoes! They're using stealth – don't waste your fire until you break them out of it! Hand to hand! Knives and blunt weapons only! Now!"
Torian grunted, clutched his electrostaff with roughly gloved fingers as he glanced around the ravaged factory through narrowed eyes. His breath sounded harsh against the back of his helmet's faceplate, felt harsh in his chest, too. The fires were burning loudly all around them. There were plenty of dead fighters on the floor, splayed out in ugly, broken piles of human and not some few non-human corpses alike. Their armor marked them as members of the local resistance the Mandalorian squad was directed to eradicate. And most of their dead bodies still gleamed and crackled with the electric remnants of busted stealth generators.
But there were plenty of dead civilians, too. Too many, really. Torian saw one dead woman draped across a nearby conveyor belt, her arm actually stapled to the surface by the machine over top of her. Her eyes stared sightlessly up towards the ceiling. Black eyes, blood spattered face, slim, cheaply draped body. No one of value or importance, just a worker in the factory. Torian sighed a disgusted sound, the incredible dishonor of fighters who used pitiful civilians as cover against a Mandalorian advance. Corridan and several warriors stepped out from their cover, legs planted firmly apart as they started shouting over the wild, crazed noise towards the workers nearby to get out, evacuate. The civilians jostled their way past the warriors, who bumped them steadily as they checked the retreating figures for whatever fighters might try getting out among them. At least the weaker civilians would no longer be in the way, Torian thought.
One old man burbled a panicked sound suddenly, and Torian looked over at him. The man was almost bald, with a sweat-ridden head covered by sparse spatterings of gray fuzz that amounted to hair. He was wailing, his wrinkled face practically smashed up against some crates by … something. Compelled to stay, even if whatever it was holding him there couldn't be discerned with the naked eye. Torian grimaced, holding his staff tightly as he leaped through the air towards the man. The jets on his back fired a steady sound even as his staff flew out and around at the glimmering form holding the old man.
The impact was heavy, thudding loudly when Torian's staff cracked open the head of the stealthed fighter. Torian shouted proudly as the blow ricocheted up his arms, "Oya!" But the old man yelped shrilly, looking up at Torian with wide, terrified eyes. Torian's blonde head and pale brown eyes were hidden behind the silent, hard faceplate of his helmet, until he almost seemed some strange, unworldly creature. Would he stop, or would blood lust propel him even further? The old man trembled and quaked as Torian silently regarded the blooded remains of the soldier on the floor. Corridan shouted out again and Torian grunted down at the old man, pointed, "Better get out of here. That way."
The old man regarded him with incredulity then. "Wait, you saved me? But … aren't you … well, I thought Mandalorians liked fighting and killing a wee too much, right? Why would you save us?"
Torian leaned his head sideways, confused, "Why are you wasting time? Get out."
"But … okay, okay. Thank you! Thank you so much!" Torian watched the old man scamper away, shaking his head as he went.
Then he turned back around, looking to his left and right at the Mandalorian warriors lining up all along the way. Each of them held up their blades and staffs. Torian could see one warrior holding up a heavy club of some kind, its end rounded into a heavy metallic ball-shape. Shouts came up and down the line as the Mandalorians began moving forward, as Corridan called out. "Destroy the dishonorable dogs, now! Beat them dead! Move!" Torian felt the blood surging in his veins as the line pressed forward, the warriors moving methodically towards their enemies. He heard the first screams of the resistance fighters echoing through the space, the wild shots from blaster rifles as they tried fighting and failed. Red blood flew in wild arcs through the air. Swords flashed and vibroblades sang.
He stepped forward with his brothers. And Eriadu met them.
Torian scowled as the man raised his fist, waving it in front of the twi'lek whore's blue-skinned face. The fellow shouted at her, "You'll do as I say, bitch! Whatever I want, you hear?" But the woman shook her head.
"You didn't pay enough for that!" She looked around wildly, trying to find the woman who procured for her, probably. But she was alone, left to deal with the miscreant dog manhandling her right now. Torian glanced at his companions, both of them giving the scene the same dirty look he himself was probably sporting. The three warriors had come to the establishment for some well-earned celebration, the victory at the Eriadu factory still sizzling through their blood. Watching a pitiful prostitute be abused was proving disruptive.
"Damn you!" The beefy fellow shook the woman hard, so that her lekku whipped back and forth as she whined bitterly.
"Hey! Stop it! You'll damage my property, you filthy piece of trash!" A human woman, her greying hair pulled back into a heavy bun, lumbered into the fray. She beat against the man's hands on the twi'lek's arms until he finally released the poor blue-skinned woman. "What the hell are you doing that for?"
The man snorted, leaning close enough his breath moved over the twi'lek's trembling face. The woman turned her head, roughly shutting her eyes as she breathed through her mouth. The man laughed, "I told her I wanted to do her right here, now. And I want her ass. She said no! After I paid her good credits, no less."
"Putting on a show costs more, you dumbass! You plunk down more credits or get the hell out of here!"
"I got more credits. How much will it cost?" Torian heard a small sound of distress come from the twi'lek, who was now cowering behind her human owner, just listening while the pair of them haggled the price of her pain and humiliation. Torian stood up and stalked towards the milling group. The gray-haired woman glanced at him, surprised.
Torian pointed towards the twi'lek, "I'll pay twice what he's offering."
The woman's pale blue eyes gleamed with avarice. She knew the warriors were marketable. Stupid resistance on the planet meant there was loads of work for the Mandalorian units that were marching all around Eriadu right now. Money's money, she thought. And the more the merrier, to boot. "That much'll get you the woman's company for the whole night."
The abuser started sputtering, before he stopped and shrugged through some nasty smile, "No problem. I don't ship out until the day after. I'm fine with seconds."
Torian glared at him, "How much for two days, then?"
The woman laughed out loud as she gleefully pocketed Torian's credits. "I should keep your drunken, stupid ass of a pirate self around, to encourage more do-gooder idiots. But here you go, boy," and she pushed the still-quivering twi'lek towards Torian with a laughing smile. The ass was stomping his foot and yelling at her every step she took as she sauntered away, leaving Torian to eye his prize and shake his head. Then the damned chakaar turned back around to glare at Torian again, "You shoulda minded your own damn business, you mando trash!" He stepped forward, his black, beady eyes glaring threateningly at Torian. But he stopped when Torian's companions ambled up to stand alongside him.
Jatne didn't look at him. He only tossed the hulking human trying so hard to look invisible right then a smirking laugh as he clapped Torian on the shoulder, "Sounds like you'll be busy the next couple of days, Torian."
M'hael fingered the hilt of his blaster as he nodded agreement, glaring at the chakaar until the man backed away. Slowly, slowly, with both his hands held up defensively. M'hael grumbled through his thick neck, "Better get her out of here. We'll let Corridan know what happened. And, Torian?" M'hael shot him a serious stare, "Don't forget we leave by the end of next week. We can't be late for the gathering at the Enclave."
Torian nodded, as he reached out to grip the twi'lek's blue hand before guiding her out of the cantina. What the hell was he supposed to do now, he wondered wildly.
"So what exactly are you going to do with me now, huh?"
Torian eyed the twi'lek, trying to figure out if the aliens had some preternatural ability to view a man's thoughts. As he eyed the woman's head tails, he considered it likely. Who knew what sort of magic people with brains shaped like that were capable of, anyway. Regardless, it didn't really surprise him to hear her voice exactly what had been moving through his head through much of the last hour as they travelled down the city streets to find this room.
But the woman only laughed suddenly, "You were wondering the same thing, weren't you?" She looked around the room he'd paid for with a steady, discerning gaze. She moved towards the bed, reached down to prod it with calculation, judging it for softness or comfort, perhaps. He heard her grunt softly, apparently approving. Then she sat down on the edge, looking over at him. "So, are we going to get on with things, or what?"
He cocked his blonde head, frowning at her. He wasn't certain what "things" she really meant, and this despite the many laughing comments from his fellow warriors over the years. It was times like this he missed his old friend the most. Korwis would have gladly answered the many questions he'd struggled with the past few years. But Korwis was gone, lost in the arena when Torian was thirteen, and he'd long since accepted the man's death.
"Shit, you've never been with a woman, have you?" The twi'lek was astonished. She sat there gaping at him. He scowled at her, clenching his jaw defensively. She held up her blue hands, swearing at him, "Not insulting you, hey! Just surprised, is all. You're … cute. Would've thought plenty of mando women would've taken advantage of you already, okay?"
Torian grunted. "Not hardly. I'm not exactly a prize. And I wouldn't offend a mandalorian woman by offering myself until I was."
She was obviously confused. "You're joking, right? What is it a mando woman would look for that you can't give her?" She ran her eyes up and down his frame with a shrewd, assessing look that made Torian want to squirm.
"Has nothing to do with what I look like. Not sure you'd understand mandalorian honor, either. No offense." Torian shook his head fatalistically. And the woman shrugged, utterly unoffended. Honor was hardly a word she'd be expected by anyone to understand, she thought. So she wasn't bothered by his assumption of her ignorance. "Has more to do with you not being mandalorian. Not that you're forced to sell yourself."
She eyed him, then. The young man was telling her the truth. He truly didn't think less of her for being a whore, she realized. It sent a warm tingling through her belly suddenly, a sense of safety there in that room. Plenty of people would've called the Mando some absurd idiot of a man, paying for an aging whore like her. But all she knew right then, was that she had a nice, comfortable spot of safe warmth for the next couple of nights. And the gratitude she felt for having gained just that much of a respite was huge. She eyed the mandalorian appraisingly. Few men would have done much to save her from a spot of pain, and even fewer would have bothered soothing her pitiful feelings of self-esteem. Most would have assumed she lacked any such things, in fact.
This mandalorian was a prize, even if he didn't realize it. How astonishing she could have him. Even if it was only for a little bit of time out of her sorry life. She decide to enjoy him while she could. And that's when she really smiled at him, "So. There a mando girl out there you're saving yourself for, then?"
Torian shook his head, frowning, "None in particular. I'm past age for marrying. But have things to do first."
"Past age? You're kidding, right? You can't be … what, sixteen years old, right?"
"Eighteen. But mandoes are judged by their deeds, not their years. I was blooded at thirteen, considered adult then. Should've been married a couple of years by now."
"Wow. You guys rush into things, huh?"
Torian shrugged, looking away from her. He wasn't going to stand there and explain why so few mandalorian women looked twice at him once they learned his clan name was Cadera. That would involve the telling of his entire life story, hardly a brief telling. He wasn't lore master that he could speak that well of such things. The twi'lek shrugged, disregarding his quiet contemplation.
"Bet you have an idea what kind of girl you want, though. Tell me bout her."
Torian looked back at the twi'lek, his brows drawn up into a curious line over his eyes. "What? Why?"
"I'd like to know what sort of fantasies move around in that cute head of yours, is all. Gives me a chance to get to know what you like." She smiled knowingly at him. He was still confused.
"I don't understand."
She chuckled, then, "We have time enough at least. Come here, sit down and talk to me." She patted the cushion of the bed next to her, ignoring his frown as he glanced around. Then she smirked as he walked cautiously across the room to settle down next to her, placing his pack and staff against the side of the bed. "Now, tell me. When you picture the most beautiful girl you've ever seen, what does she look like? She's human, right? I'd imagine she is. Humans would probably fantasize about human females."
She watched his face, saw him frown thoughtfully. She almost laughed again. But then his brown eyes went dark with remembering and she smiled instead. Torian looked sideways, obviously thinking, "Yes. She was human. Had dark hair, black like a midnight sky with no moonlight. And big brown eyes. Like candy that melts over your fingers."
The twi'lek sighed. "Maybe you'll win her someday, convince her to be with you."
Torian shook his head, "She died, I think. Fought so hard, never gave up. By the time we went to get her, she was gone. Wasn't mando'ad, or we might have managed to save her, rather than leave it to the Imps."
"Sorry to hear that. But she was beautiful?"
He nodded, remembering the girl who'd watched him that day, her eyes never leaving him as they moved through the streets of Kaas City. Her face had streamed blood the entire way, even as Korwis pressed a cloth along the wounds. He'd later given the scrap of blood-stained cloth to Torian, telling him it represented tremendous bravery and will in the face of impossible odds. "Fight like that, Torian, and you'll never lose." Torian was fairly sure the twi'lek wouldn't have thought the little girl child was so beautiful just then, but he mumbled, "Most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
"Well, then. Let me teach you how to touch and pleasure a girl like that."
He almost fell off the side of the bed where he was perched, but he just looked at the twi'lek. "What?" He frowned at the squeaky sound of his voice, then. The woman laughed softly, not mean or cruel. Just amused, "I want to show you how you treat someone like that. You know, for the day when you'll have to. I'm assuming eventually you'll do those things that will convince some mando girl you're the prize you really are, huh?"
He nodded, feeling utterly stupid right then.
"So I'm going to show you. Everything I can think of. And maybe a few things I can't think of off the top of my head right now but will over the next two days. Sound like a plan, mando?"
He nodded stupidly again.
"Good." She reached out to run a blue finger smoothly across his lower lip. "Won't hurt my feelings if you imagine I'm that pretty girl in your head, either. Better that way, even. Your hang-ups are nothing on mine, trust me."
He leaned into her finger against the sensitive flesh of his lips, felt his groin twitching into hard awareness. He grunted, "What's your name?"
"I thought we were going to pretend I was someone else?"
He shook his head, "No. Wouldn't do that." He looked away, not able to articulate his desire that his memory of that girl from Kaas City stay precious in his mind, and far from this moment in this room. Not and keep from hurting the twi'lek's feelings right then.
But the woman used a blue finger to pull his gaze back around to face her again. "Well okay, then. I'll be me. Your teacher for the next couple of days, okay? Just teaching you, is all. And you can call me Tivva, if you'd like."
Torian seemed to really think about the entire proposition. She thought he was exceptionally adorable all of a sudden, and then he admitted to her, "Not sure why you're doing this, is all."
She did laugh, then. Then she shrugged her pretty blue shoulders, "Because I like you, believe it or not. It isn't often someone lets me choose. And you have. I want to give something back to you."
Torian looked at her, thoughtful. Finally, he nodded, "All right. What do I do first?"
"Oh, you're really really cute." She grinned as she leaned forward, "Let me show you how to kiss a girl."
