Matthew Winters's Story

He stared at her, and began to shake. He tried to control it but his body would allow him to. He gritted his teeth, ground them. His breathing became shallow and a tear fell from his eye to her neck, "I'm sorry..." he said through clenched teeth, brushing a strand of hair from her face he took a long deep breath, "I'm sorry I could not save you." his voice barely a whisper as he choked out the words and stood, the crowd finally silent with no murmurs flitting about, the EMTs, all too late.

body would not* allow

As tears ran from the engineer's eyes he looked on at the man in white, surprise registered in his eyes but nowhere on his face as the voice resounded in his head. Then, after the flash of white he heard the girl breathing, well, gasping, but she was alive! Immediately on the ground kneeling next to her he grasps her hand and place his other under the back of her head, "Hey, can you hear me? Breath, just breath you're alright." his voice filled with concern to mask his own surprise and disbelief, such were his thoughts for a man witnessing a miracle.

Almost stunned again by the emerald of her eyes the engineer caught himself, "I am Matthew, I had just tried to save your life...?" he let his voice trail off, hoping to jog her memory of not but thirty seconds ago.

"Please, don't worry about it. I was happy to help, not happy about the situation of course but happy that I was able to help you." the poor man would almost be rambling if he had not stopped himself, for he was relieved as much as he was surprised, "As for your name though, I'm afraid I cannot help you with that. I apologize." he said, now that he was calmer. He stood and offered her his hand, not realizing that he was allowing himself to stare into those wondrous Emerald Gems.

"Royalty, or perhaps a special occasion...maybe you were to be wed?" Matthew suggested somewhat hesitantly. He looked at the crowd gawking at them, he thought with disdain. Before he could utter a word though a shout sounded from within the crowd, "Winters! Hey, Winters!" the voice belonged to a rather robust fellow who pushed his way through the crowd, "Look just 'cause you saved some chick from gettin' fried don't mean you can take overtime, you ain't gettin paid for it anyway. Basically I'm tellin ya yer shift's over, get out and take a day off." this large man seemed to dislike Matthew but the truth was far from, "Thanks Neil, did the boss okay it?", "Man to hell with that guy! Not like he pays attention ta us anyway, I'll tell 'im they wanted ya fer questionin' er somethin'. Just go and get some sleep, I saw the whole thing." and with that he shoved his way back through the crowd and vanished from view. Matthew turned back to the girl, "Um, I'd rather get something to eat if that's alright with you, besides I owe you something for the dress." he said sheepishly.

Hm, all of a sudden Matthews jaw decided to not work as the girl tossed her dress to the ground, revealing what she was wearing beneath. Finally after what seemed to him like a year his voice was found, "I-I uh, ahem, well then I would suggest, dining at home." even though he found his voice, his eyes still did not obey him until halfway through his sentence, when they finally looked up from her body to her eyes.

Matthew almost blushed when she said his name in such a way, though hid it by pondering on a name for only a moment while looking into her emerald eyes, again doing this unknowingly, before he spoke, "Perhaps...Elizabeth, could work as a temporary name? Even though one would not guess it from a glance, you seem sophisticated enough to bear the name of a queen."

This time Matthew did blush, his facial control left him as he caught a whiff of her hair as well as the fact that she has not let go of his hand yet, "The pleasure is mine, Liz." he said, returning her grin with a small smile of his own which soon turned into a sheepish smirk.

Darth Xalgan waited in the spaceport. He paced across the hangar like a prowling tiger, steel boots clanging menacingly on the metal grates. A dark cape flowed behind him and flourished as he turned directions.

“Incompetent Terrans…” the Sith hissed through his respirator.

“Cheer up, my lord.” Xalgan’s twi’lek companion replied. “I’m sure the ship will be all fixed up before too long.”

Vette watched Xalgan stew in his irritation. She placed her hands on her hips, fingers drumming on the hilts of her blasters, and kept an eye on the hangar door. Though she trusted his instincts, it wouldn’t do for a threat to sneak up on them while he was distracted.

“We can hardly spare more time here than we already have, Vette.” Xalgan growled, dark side energy churning around him. “We must return to Imperial space with all speed. I have been gone from my station for far too long.”

Admiral Steele was making his way through the spaceport, a very stern look about on his face, as he was flanked on either side by Aschen marines, each wearing their signature black BDU uniforms, with armored gear worn over them.

"Sir, your Condor will be arriving, shortly to take you back to your ship." The Marine sergeant reported. "Command has stared that it is of utmost importance that you return to Imperial space with all due haste." The Sergeant added, as the group rounded a corner.

Rythmic footfalls filled the hangar that Darth Xalgan was pacing about in. The doors opened up in the opposite side of the large bay, and a formation of six soldiers, in clearly identifiable Aschen uniforms could be seen. They clasped their disruptor rifles tightly, as they maintained their formation around a stern looking man, in a dark grey, and blue uniform.

They stopped about a hundred feet away, near an empty landing pad. Each Marine took in the sights all around them, and they fanned out around various crates, and equipment to take defensible positions in the event of a fight. Each soldier moved with the discipline that betrayed years of training, while the older man stared out the hangar into the skyline before him, then he checked his watch.

Shrknar glanced over his shoulder at the self-important Admiral Steele, who was just across the promenade. His nostril slits flared open, accompanied by a hissing exhalation of machine-assisted breath. The denizens of this world were... strange.

He had other things to attend to, however. Not to be dissuaded from his mission, he set out for Gambit's Bar to meet with his Terran contact.

"We've got company, my lord." Vette said, hand resting on her blaster and eyes trained on the soldiers.

"Calm yourself, Vette." Xalgan hissed, respirator sighing. "They're only Aschen, and if they were looking for a fight... they would have brought more men."

The twi'lek nodded, but she remained vigilant. Xalgan likewise ceased his mad pacing, straightened his back, and calmed his breath. Control. He thought. I am a Sith, not a wild animal. Strength, yet peace. Power, yet wisdom.

Xalgan watched the aschen soldiers through the dark lenses of his helmet. Though he doubted any malice on their part, he had heard the rumors, and so he opened himself to the ebb and flow in the Force to read their intentions. He was confident he could wipe out the entire unit in the space of six seconds if he needed to, but he would not be caught unawares.

Senseless violence was also unbecoming of a Darth.