| abstract | - Cleared Area (Before Main House) - Karrde's Base - Myrkr Central to the base is this open area between the main buildings is this open expanse, with its meticulously trimmed bluish-green grass and the occasional dotting of wildflowers. When necessary this area can be used for anything from special (and discreet) picnic-type gatherings to the organization of certain cargo before and after shipping. Often the clearing is the location of Karrde Group employees exercising, playing some simple lawn games, or simply enjoying the outdoors in between duty shifts. The main house is just to the southeast of the clearing; far to the west is the hanger, while the barracks are situated against the trees to the north. The Players: Simon: Before you is a young human male of average height and narrow build. His hair is a deep brown, parted and cut short. A strong jawline and deepset eyes of blue-gray give the man a stern look at a glance. For facial hair he wears a well groomed goatee and mustache, trimmed short and of the same deep color as the rest of his hair. All in all, the man's demeanor can be summed up in a word: aware. Simon is dressed in earth tones. Light tan, loose fitting trousers are tucked into soft leather boots that come up to just under his knees, and are tied tight with brown, leather chords. Tucked into the top of his pants is a simple shirt of a matching color. Over this is a loose wool tunic of dark brown, covering his arms completely and hanging down below his waste. It's comfortable clothing, suitable for most climates and cultures. Strapped diagnolly across his chest and back is what appears to be some sort of harness. It's worn in the way some people wear a bandolier, yet there is nothing attached to the device. A long shaft of cylinder rises over his left shoulder, a rod sheathed where some warriors sling their sword. Jessalyn: The composure of this young human woman is probably the most striking thing about her. Though otherwise unassuming, her expression is one of surprising coherence and calm, belied only by the slightly mischievous gleam in her leaf green eyes. Shining dark red hair falls in unruly silken waves down to the middle of her back, framing her wide cheekbones and smooth, pale skin not as fragile as most redheads'. She is relatively tall for a human woman, with long-boned limbs and a natural grace amplified by her skills. Jessa is dressed in a drab green sleeveless shirt, and a pair of kakhi pants with plenty of pockets. Around her waist is a black leather utility belt. Her hair is held back from her face and clipped behind her head, though stray curling locks continue to fall into her eyes. The fit of her trousers and the sturdy brown suede boots on her legs emphasize her narrow waist and the long-legged rhythm of her strides. The crickets and insects fill the night with their chirping and cacophony while the stars twinkle brightly in a perfectly clear twilight. Once more seeking the meditative properties of the outdoors, Simon walks around the compound, his arms clasped behind his back. He looks up to the night sky, enjoying the feel of a cool breeze as much as the silence and peace that numbs his normally enhanced senses. There was a melancholy beauty to the night, and Simon let the long shadows and darkness of the eve wrap him in a cool embrace. The darkness is all-enveloping, wrapping around the compound like a velvety blanket, and masking Jessalyn's movements as she walks silently across the grass, her light-footed grace an asset in stealth. She watches Simon with a melancholy expression of her own as he moves through the clearing, hugging the trees so that he won't notice her at first. But when he pauses to look up at the night sky, she catches her breath as the moonlight catches his face, and her heart wrenches. She steps away from the trees toward him, her figure emerging almost like a ghost out of the blackness. "Simon," she speaks his name softly to get his attention. Closing his eyes, Simon basks in the starlight a handful of heartbeats before turning to the sound of Jessalyn's voice. A small, secretive smile spreads on his lips. His eyes are sharp as they move toward the Jedi, shining as if they still held some of the star light he'd been enjoying. "Jessa," Simon responds, his voice pitched low as if to keep from shattering the stillness of the night. "I didn't know you were near." She smiles slightly, looking younger in the soft lighting, her eyes the only thing old in her face. They're heavy with worry that she seems eager to hide, judging by the persistent and genuine smile as she gazes up at Simon. "I didn't mean to startle you," she says in equally quiet tones. "But I'm glad you're here." Jessalyn has wanted to talk to him, even though it's a conversation that she dreads, and even now part of her wants to turn on her heel and seek refuge back in the barracks. Her heart, however, will not allow that. She takes a few courageous steps toward Simon. Even without the True Source, even in the dark of night, Simon could read apprehension about Jessalyn as she walks closer to him. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was that made him see that, exactly. She was as beautiful as he'd ever seen her. He could lose himself in her forest colored eyes. Extending a hand to her, he says, cocking his head to one side, "You did not startle me, Jessa. What's wrong? You seem... nervous?" Jessalyn slips her cool hand into Simon's and turns her face up to the stars as well, letting her vision fill with the calming image of the sky as dark whisps of clouds are blown back and forth to hide and then reveal the milky clusters of stars. "We're going to be leaving soon," she says finally, with a heavy sigh. "I find myself wondering about what will happen then. I mean. About you... and me." She bites down on her lower lip, thinking that had sounded calmer and more reasonable than it did in her head. Risking a glance, she peers up at him from beneath the dark screen of her lashes. Simon bites his lower lip and lowers his head, his gaze looking at the delicate hand clasped in his own. He intertwines his fingers with hers, making the union of their hands more complete. With the shadows of the night, it is difficult to tell which fingers are Simon's and which are Jessalyn's. A fitting image for what Simon was about to propose. "I want to be one with you," he says at last, turning his eyes back to her face. His throat was suddenly dry, and his voice cracks slightly as he continues, "You spoke of an intimacy once, which I feared. I want you to teach me this when we leave here, Jessa. I want to share my soul with you." Her fingers automatically tighten around his when he speaks, and Jessa turns her face towards him, eyes rounded now with shock. The words that she had wanted to speak are lost on her tongue, and she swallows hard before finding her voice, shifting her stance so that she's facing him more directly. "Are you sure? Simon, when we leave here ... I'm afraid that I'll just be a Jedi to you again, and not a woman." It was ironic that as much as she yearned to leave this place, to be able to feel the Force and have it strengthen her once more, she was afraid of doing so because of Simon. But she's determined to be honest with him. If they can't meet halfway, then there's nothing here for her. Her other hand lifts to cover their entwined fingers as she searches his face, her eyes revealing just how much she needs the fulfillment he speaks of, a thrill going through her at the thought. "Jedi... Selas... is that all that we are?" Simon asks, shaking his head. His expression is sardonic for a moment, then shifts to one more serious. He says, "I love you, Jessalyn Valios." He pauses to give the statement more weight, then continues, "I know what my vision means now, I think. You and I are meant to unite and be more. There are things we can teach each other. I do not have all the answers, and neither do the Jedi. Join me... be one with me... and we will make a new order. We will use the True Source... the Force... to heal the galaxy." This was nothing like the Dark Side, Jessalyn thinks to herself. The Dark Side was fear and hatred, not love and cooperation, and yet... the implications of his words suggest to her possibilities of knowledge and power no other Jedi has ever known, and the prospect is oddly intoxicating to a woman who has never been motivated by a thirst for power. Knowledge, however, and the melding of her being with a vibrant and noble man, those were things that found a strong answer inside her. A smile trembles on Jessalyn's lips as she nods her head, too emotional to speak at first, moving closer so that she can feel the warmth from his body. "And to heal each other," she adds in a soft voice. "There was a reason, I think, that it was you who touched my mind while I was still sleeping, and you who finally freed me. I love you, Simon." Releasing Jessalyn's hand, he folds his arms around the woman and draws her closer to him. He lowers his face to her hair, inhaling the sweet fragrance of her. Closing his eyes, he commits every sensation and feeling to memory, hoping to store away the moment forever. In that moment, he was one with the woman he loved, like two sparks that had come together and become a flame to fight back the darkness. An image from his memory fills his mind suddenly, of a flame beating beating back the darkness even as it tries to consume the source of the light. He can not remember where he'd seen the image before, but for a moment, his feelings are tinged with sadness. Drawing away from Jessalyn enough so that he can look clearly into her face, Simon asks, "When is it that we will leave this beautiful place, Jessa? Will it be soon, then?" Jessa tilts her head thoghtfully as she returns his gaze, keeping her arms easily around him. "Soon, yes," she agrees, suddenly as eager as he is. "When our ship is ready and we know where we want to go first for certain. I'm ready to leave, even though it is beautiful here...." She trails off, thinking that isn't quite true. There's something about being able to focus only on her physical senses here that is alluring, reminding her of the simplicity and pleasures of her youth, before life had been complicated by knowledge of the Force. And here, when she looked into Simon's eyes, there were no shadows. Jessa moves her hands up to Simon's shoulders and pulls him down so that she can kiss him very softly. "I didn't expect this, you know," she adds with a breathless smile. Simon opens his eyes slowly after Jessa's lips leave his. It was an odd thing, when Simon stopped to think about it. He didn't know why he always closed his eyes when Jessa kissed him. Perhaps the sweetness, the tenderness, overwhelmed all his senses such that he couldn't bear to see anything else. Perhaps it was that he wanted to commit each brief touch to memory, perfect in and of itself. Swallowing, Simon returns the look Jessalyn is giving him, then says, "I didn't expect any of this. I didn't expect to fall in love with you in a place so much like my home. Some surprises in life are pleasant." A chuckle shakes her body as Jessalyn leans into him and slides her arms around his neck, bending back her head back so that she can smile up at him from that perspective. "You're bound to find plenty more of surprises," she says ruefully. "There's a lot for us to accomplish in a short amount of time. But I want to fight beside you. I want to share everything with you." She speaks the last sentence in a softer voice, lashes lowering almost shyly. "I don't want you to ever regret... what I feel for you." Joy fills Simon. A surge of energy starts from his belly and moves out from his center, tightening his muscles like a coiled spring, until he can hold it back no more. Scooping up Jessalyn in his arms, he lifts her up into the air. A boystrous laugh bubbles out of him, and he turns about, enjoying the site of Jessalyn's face above him, framed by the starry night sky. As he lowers her back to the ground, he brings his hands up to caress her cheeks and touch her hair lightly. He says, his voice suddenly quiet, "I could never regret what has happened between us." Laughing, Jessalyn wiggles her feet back and forth as she's swept up into the air, adrenaline suddenly rushing through her as her heart races. She doesn't cling to him as if she might be afraid he will let go or drop her; her arms are embracing and trusting as she grins back down into his face, the stars casting silvery glints off her hair, forming a soft halo around her features. When her feet are back on the ground, she remains close to him, suppressing effervescent giggles that vibrate from her throat as he caresses her hair. "You're crazy," she says affectionately. "It's a good thing I like crazy." She eyes him coyly, the tensing of her body perceptible even in the darkness. In many ways, the one known as Simon Sezirok truly was insane, though likely not in the fashion that Jessalyn was playfully teasing. He had a zealot's narrow minded obsession. He was focused and straight forward, like an arrow fired straight and true toward its target. At this point in time, that target was Jessalyn. Nothing could draw him away from her at this point, even for a moment. Taking Jessalyn's tensing for hesitation, Simon lowers his face to Jessalyn's once more, pressing his lips to hers in a far more passionate kiss than what they'd shared before. The jubilation and energy he felt that caused him to lift Jessa into the air was still within him, still sending his heart to racing. A need was building within him, primal and natural. Drawing from the kiss, Simon says, his voice husky, "I want you, sweet Jessa. If we can not share our souls here, then let us share what we can. This place. This night." Maybe the circumstances that had led up until now had made it impossible for Jessalyn to avoid becoming the target of Simon's obsession; perhaps their personalities and ideals were so strong that they were inexorably linked together, like the vision he had shared with her, the thorny vine heavy with roses twined around the sturdy wooden staff. Whatever the reasons, she has given up resisting, her soul yearning for what he and no one else has ever offered her. She catches her breath as she recovers from the fiery kiss, her cheeks flushed and hot, but her smile brightening as she nudges her nose against his. She can barely hear her own whisper above the pounding of the blood in her ears. "I want you, too," she murmurs, drawing him with her as she glances towards the covering of the trees, sneaking a kiss every few steps until the forest swallows both of them up in darkness.
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