An Introduction of Sorts

Posted on Sat Jan 19th, 2013 @ 5:19am by Morgo Le'Shaad & Sev Rezer

1,767 words; about a 9 minute read

Chapter: Chapter III: Relics
Location: Red Raptor, Kitchen
Timeline: During the Travel to Tython

ON:

Sev Rezer had been watching her since he had climbed aboard the Red Raptor. He, like any other bounty hunter, had heard of the reward offered for her and also of what she supposedly had done to deserved to be hunted. And, the Mandalorian noticed, she didn't seem to show any regret or even any kind.

"How it feels like?", Sev asked all of the sudden to Morgo that had been quietly eating on the table, not wanting to look at him, who had been pretending to eat an energy bar for five minutes as he observed. Her.

Morgo glanced up from her plate to the Mandalorian, who made no attempt to pretend he hadn’t been staring, looking at him from beneath her eyelashes. Morgo straightened as she stared back at the man, unflinchingly.

“What do you mean?”

Sev stopped pretending he was eating the energy bar and threw it in the trash compactor. "You were part of one of the most powerful families in the Galaxy. And all of the sudden you became a fugitive, hunted by bounty hunters and officers of the law. I also received a proposal to hunt you, but I had and still have better things to do. A lot of people would be living a nightmare, but you... you act like its a mere setback."

Morgo leaned back in her chair, bringing a glass of Nabooian wine to her lips, “I’m not most people.” She said simply as she sipped, a corner of her mouth lifting, “Being a fugitive isn’t fun, but it’s also never boring. And I do hate being bored.”

Setting the wine glass down, Morgo blinked, looking over the Mandalorian man, “Do I surprise you?”

Sev shrugged. "Considering of what they accused you having done, not really. Murder seems to come easy to you. If you wanted to live a boring life, you wouldn't cut people's throat or push people from balconies. But, then again, I assume you claim to be innocent", he add the last part with irony.

Morgo smiled, sharp as a knife, “Sounds like you don’t need an answer—you’ve figured it out yourself.” She said pleasantly, arching an eyebrow, “I could sit here all day and offer up all the evidence in the world. But I won’t. Because the fact is, you’ve already made up your mind on what kind of woman I am, haven't you? And nothing I say will change that.”

Under the table, Morgo crossed her legs, “But for the record, Castinnius jumped off the balcony of his own volition. There’s video evidence of that...and my alibi. Be a darling and do your research next time before you accuse me of anything. I don't like getting my hands dirty.”

"It's not what your mother say", replied Sev. "And, its not what they have been saying anymore. 'Manipulation via drug induction', it's what they say now. Of course, he could have drugged himself. But, what the Law have been saying is that you manipulated the 'poor' Castinnius into jump from the balcony after you drugged him. Could be true, could be a lie. But since you're a fugitive, it's easy pin another crime - if that was really crime on you. Power struggles are always bloody, aren't they?"

Morgo smirked, one corner of her lips curling like it knew a secret it was keeping from the rest of her face, “Oh, you’re an interesting one. Perceptive, aren’t you.”

The mandalorian simply waved his hand. "Facts are the first to die when powerful people want you dead and you probably know that. As fo me, I haven't made my mind about you yet. Because If had, and I thought you were a threat to me or my objectives, we wouldn't be talking. You'll be dead. Because, I AM a murderer. But, then again, you know that too."

“Already threatening to murder me? How ambitious of you. I think I’m in love.” Morgo said silkily, turning her gray eyes onto the man before her with an amused expression, “First you’re a Jedi-killer and now, you’re hunting down Axion: dark Jedi cult leader. I wouldn't dream of getting in your way. ”

Oh yes, she’d known about him. Any fugitive with two-finger’s width of forehead knew to research the most notorious bounty hunters and their methods for the sake of staying alive. And along the way Morgo had read about the one-eyed Mandalorian bounty hunter. When Thane had told her that the Sev Rezer would be a part of their crew, it was not hard to deduce what he was there for, what with the man’s track record of killing Jedi. It wasn’t difficult to imagine he’d turned his sights on the darker, more powerful Force-Sensitive target that Thane was also after. Probably because Axion had screwed him over at some point. It was a hobby of Dark Siders to backstab and manipulate, and poor Sev here had probably been played like a bass viol. Inwardly, Morgo smiled. A ship bent on revenge. How delicious.

Sev Rezer eyes bored into Morgo's. "I didn't threat you. I just informed you of a fact. Axion isn't just a target. I have personal score with him. And anyone that stays in way, will not stay long. Fact." The mandalorian straightened."Since you are aboard, would like that bounty hunters stopped hunting you? I can make that happen for you. No one would be stupid enough to come after you after they hear you're under my protection."

The man had sounded so earnest that Morgo was startled, snapping her gaze up at Sev. Now there was something Morgo had not expected, “Protection? You would do that?” The words had slipped out of her mouth before Morgo had the chance to check them, surprise getting the better of her. Morgo’s eyes narrowed slightly, feeling slightly off-balance.

“Your protection… in exchange for what?” She asked. Having all the bounty hunters off her trail would be a blessing. Then again, once her family realized no one was really trying or succeeding in capturing her, they’d probably raise her bounty to make her a more…appetizing catch. But if Sev was willing to protect her…

Morgo shut down that train of thought where it stood. When had she come to even entertain the possibility of relying on others? Alone is what protected her, and yet…

Morgo tilted her chin up slightly, gray eyes clashing with hazel, for once uncertain what to make of the man.

"Listen, ad'ika ", the Bounty Hunter said. "The only thing I want from you is when things got bad, you look over the girl. I don't trust the Flamewalker and I know the way Thane and Boomor are going is far from safe. And I can't and I won't be responsible for taking care of her. She's not of my clan and not of my blood. That's what I want in exchange. I need your vow of protection before I give mine." It was a very mandalorian ritual Sev was going for.

Morgo blinked slowly, considering what the man was asking of her. She had hoped to remain as 'unattached' as possible to this new crew, but fate, it seemed, had its own ideas.

"It is given. I vow." Morgo finally said at length, lacing her long fingers together atop the table, her gray eyes keen on Sev, "Though I must ask, if Berry is not of your kin, what do you care what becomes of her?"

Morgo thought it very peculiar that of all the crew members to approach her about Berry's safety, it would be Sev Rezer. Oh dear, had the man grown a soft spot for the stray girl? Of all people aboard the ship, Morgo had guessed that Sev would be the one without an obvious weakness. And while Morgo thought it was rather adorable, this protective gesture towards Berry, Sev had unwittingly shown his cards, asking this of Morgo. And to this the woman smiled. Absently, Morgo made a mental note to include this new development in her file of the Mandalorian.

Sev Rezer thought for a moment. "I don't care for her. But, as long she's part of this crew, and she's still the weakest fighter and she deserves the protection of one." He shook his head and started walking away. "You wouldn't understand. It's a Mandalorian tradition for any hunting parties. Even one as strange as this."

Morgo's fingernails lightly tapped a rhythm on the table's surface as she watched Sev walk away, "I'm sure." She said, voice smooth.

Watching him go, the man cut an admittedly impressive silhouette in the lighting of the ship, all harsh lines and economic movements as he walked. Even if he was slightly on the smaller side when compared to other Mandalorian males Morgo had encountered, the man a hardened physique that few (if any at all) could boast. Especially when compared to the others on the ship. By the way he moved, Morgo could tell that he'd honed his very body into a weapon itself, and the noble woman was suddenly grateful that Sev was on her side now, and that he'd never actually hunted her in the field. Bound by such integrity, duty and tradition, Morgo didn't think she would have been able to charm and cheat her way out of his grasp if he had.

Standing, Morgo lightly stepped around her chair and over to the trash compactor. Luckily for her, the machinery was on a timer based cycle and never actually compacted its trash until its programmed time—every three hours. Taking her fork, Morgo delicately opened the compactor and scanned over the odorous garbage, unfazed by the smell. Spearing the energy bar from before that Sev had been pretending to be eating while he'd unabashedly stared at her, Morgo shut the trash compactor and brought the barely eaten bar closer, under a brighter light, inspecting the specimen at the end of her fork.

If she hurried, the saliva left on the bar would be salvageable. Neatly knocking off the bits of the energy bar that had come into contact with Sev himself into a small vial, Morgo stoppered the reinforced glass container and lifted it to her cold, half-lidded eyes, which glittered dangerously in the dim light of the room.

It was time to see what exactly made Sev Rezer tick.

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