Shadows of Bankor

(CLOSED!)

There wasn't exactly an infirmary on Warrior's Heart. But what they needed to do didn't really need one, anyway. The common room, with its stools, and its table, would do well enough. And while it didn't have an infirmary, it did at least have a freshly-stocked medpack.

Petrus himself looked a little worse for the wear. His skin was a little pale, and there were hints of dark circles under his eyes. But there was also more confidence in them than there had been just the day before. It was hard to say if it was due to becoming a Knight, or fighting the Inquisitor... or just growing.

He turned, smiling at his 'patient' as he opened up the medkit, revealing plenty of bandaging, gauze, and antiseptic spray, treated with bacta.

"It is too much damage for full healing now. I hope you are liking scars Knight Karath?"

It had been a long day for both if them, for different reasons. While Petrus was off fighting the High Inquisitor Xanna had been securing supplies to make the temple a fully operational diplomacy station. And then there was the training mission with Liua and the Aznuri meeting.

Petrus smiled gently. "I'm sure I will, Knight Teevou. Warrior's Heart has lots of characters with sexy scars, you know?" His lips quirked playfully at that.

Reaching into the medkit, Petrus pulled out the antiseptic spray and a roll of bandages. "So... show me?" He nodded towards the bandages on her arms.

"I am still confused about how the High Inquisitor found the Temple, but it sounds like it was an epic battle." She gritted her teeth and started to remove the layer of bandages.

After hearing that Verse had lost a hand it seemed like a minor thing to have burn scars. As she revealed them it seemed they were at least healing cleanly. They looked rather...angry though.

"It was something." Petrus said. "First time I've ever been shot with lightning. I've been shocked before, but this was different..." He shuddered. "Verse encountered the Inquisitor yesterday, she's worried it's her fault. But... it's okay, I think." He smiled. "And Liua was incredible. You would have been proud."

He watched as she unwrapped her bandages, hissing a little at seeing how angry the burns looked. "Here..." Carefully, he sprayed antiseptic onto one forearm, then the other, a cool mist; Xanna would be able to feel the bacta in it.

Petrus picked up the bandage, starting to unroll it. "I don't know what I expected for the trials, but I didn't expect that." He said.

"I saw what he did to Mahon... I am glad you are all relatively okay after that. Is there any concern that the details were passed along to Imperial command?" That would be a problem.

She nodded and let him spray the bacta. It tingled and thrm immediately felt cool. She stared at the burns for a moment. They almost looked like constellations.

"I rather think that was the point. You can only ever prepare so much. Reality is something else."

Petrus nodded solemnly; Mahon's loss was still something they all felt. "Everyone's okay. And we checked the shuttle thoroughly. I think the temple is still a Jedi secret." He smiled. "And a few close friends."

He waited a few moments, studying her burns with her, and then began wrapping one with the bandage. His touch was warm, and as gentle as always. "Hold this." He smiled at her as, with her help, he taped the bandage in place.

Starting to move on to the other, he paused. "Yeah... that makes sense." Petrus frowned. "It was really personal, though." He chewed his lip a moment. "I can't decide if I want to talk about it or not."

"I am glad that you are all okay. Of course the attack happens while I am not there to help, but at least we are getting our supplies for the Temple. " She had been making soup and stock taking while the battle had been raging.

She let him tend to the bandages. He wanted to help and it was easier than trying to do it herself. "Thank you Petrus."

"Yes. It was very personal. Liua has been trying to quiz me all day." She smiled at the young women's enthusiasm.

"Everyone was great." Petrus smiled. "Liua was amazing... Valus too. He joined us. And Master Surro. She has laser blasters. I didn't know that." He chuckled. "But Liua... yeah, I think she'll be able to answer her own question soon enough."

He let out a breath. "It's been quite a day though. I'm about ready for a break, that's for sure."

Petrus carefully wrapped the second bandage, having her hold it as before. "There, how's that?" Smiling, her brought her hand to his lips, kissing it gently.

"Much better with your attention, thank you Petrus." She smiled back and looked into his eyes. "And I had thought the Trials alone made for a tiring day. It seems yours was far more intense."

Her hands gripped, feeling the tightening of the skin where she had been burned. "Well I am ready for that snowy vacation now Knight Karath." Leaning back in the chair she looked at the ceiling. "Of course, there is the small matter of tomorrow's second liberation of Bankor to deal with first."

Yellow met blue, and Petrus' own eyes lit in response; he savored it a moment before responding. "Yeah... I guess. But you know, even though I guess defeating the Inquisitor was a big thing, the Trial was really the most important thing, on a personal level. That... made me realize some things. Defending the temple was just doing what's right."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Yeah. It's a big day tomorrow. Just like it was one today." He sighed, brushing a hand across his face. "No time for a snowy vacation... I wish we could just dash off real fast, just to one of the poles for a few hours, or something." He gave her a wan smile. "We should probably make the best of it here, huh? I could turn the air hydrocontitioner up a few degrees."

That resonated with her. The Trials had been so much more than she had been expecting, and she had been expecting something remarkable.

"Yes. I think we each learned much about ourselves. I..." Still have a lot to learn.

She was at least able to smile at his suggestion. "You know Petrus, I think our entire time on this ship is going to involve me turning the heat down and Sloan turning it back up again. But how are you feeling. After your incredible day?"

Petrus grinned. "And the rest of us will just have to dress in layers, huh? Or maybe we can get Sloan a space heater. He can just curl around it... maybe we'd better tune up our reactor, just in case."

His eyebrows went up. "Me? I..." He chewed his lip a moment. "Tired. But... I feel better about myself than I had for a while. The trials... helped me accept something, about my past." He smiled, his blue eyes going briefly distant.

Refocusing on her, Petrus smiled. "How about you, huh? Knight Teevou." Reaching out, he gave her knee a little playful nudge.

The image of Sloan wrapped around a space heater drew a little laugh. "Oh, I do not think I could do that to him. Perhaps I can find a way to at least fix up my cabin to be cooler than the rest of the ship?"

She watched him closely as he spoke about the consequences of the Trials. "I am glad you have found this Petrus. You seem more... resolved? It is good." Her own discoveries were just as deep, but were going to need more self-reflection.

"Well I learned many things. Including, I think, a need to spend a lot more time buried in the archives, which was never my strongest skill." Her eyes were drawn to her forearms and the bandages. "Knight Teevou, burned but unbroken."

"Sure. Let me know if you want me to take a look. I think my skill with pipes has been well-established." He smiled.

He took a deep breath. "I am. Yeah. It's been a long journey to get here, but here I am." He smiled. "And I hope you know how much you helped me get here. The others too, but you're the one who reminded me how to stand up for what's right."

"Burned but unbroken. And it sounds like you learned something, too. I've got a friend who would love to hit the archives with you." Rising to his feet, Petrus took her hands, smiling playfully. "But not tonight. Tonight, I can't help but notice that we have the ship to ourselves..."

"If I had been in need of a plumber to begin with you might never have been demoted." She winked.

"The force brought us together, when we needed to stand together. Me, you, Mahon. It was the right place, the right time. And now we are Jedi Knights." Squeezing his hand she let him help her up.

"Oh yes? Well if you are suggesting a Warrior's Heart marathon I am going to be a little disappointed Knight Karath."

"A world where I'd never been demoted. I can't imagine." Petrus said, smiling.

He shook his head, grinning. "Well shoot! There goes my second idea." He stepped closer, his hands sliding around her waist. "But that's okay. I think my first idea is a pretty good one.

He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. It seemed he had gained in confidence; the kiss was gentle, but also with a pleasing firmness, growing in intensity.

After an enjoyable moment she pulled back and looked at him appraisingly. "Not bad. You will have me thinking I am a princess after all. Although I thought Knights were not supposed to be kissing? We are setting a bad example to... oh, it is just us here." She shrugged. "Tomorrow will be challenging. And so on, as far ahead as I can imagine. So let us have one night of good ideas."

"Oh." Petrus breathed. "One night, huh?"

His blue eyes were intense as they met her yellow. "Why don't we go back to the cabins, then?" He smiled. "You might be a Knight, but at least for tonight, I can treat you like a princess."

She booped him on the nose.

"Princesses are for fairytales. Treat me like a woman you dummy." With a grin she turned and pulled him along, leading him by the hand toward the cabins.

Master Kenobi would not have approved, but he would have understood...

/ftb

Later...

Petrus lay on his back, his bare chest rising and falling as he breathed in and out. The cabins were all uniform; he knew that, he'd seen all of them, before they'd moved their stuff in. So why was it that Xanna's room seemed somehow nicer than his? It wasn't roomier. And he kept his clean. So what was it?

Maybe it was just the way he was feeling right now.

Smiling, he reached out, letting one finger trail down Xanna's back. "Hey, you." Petrus said. His tone was almost as warm as his eyes as he looked at her.

I should probably thank Dove...

She rolled her head to the side to look at him. "Hello Petey." She laughed warmly and sighed. "That was fun. Which must be why the Temple does not encourage it."

She reached up and touched his face. "You know, I think I was expecting you to ask me what the princess in the story was called."

Petrus grinned. "That was amazing. And you're right. Y'know, I was half expecting the hatch to pop open, and Obi-Wan to pop his head out with one of his hello there's." He sighed pleasantly. "Thankfully, no interruptions."

He tilted his head, kissing Xanna's fingers, before relaxing into her touch. "Well, I really didn't need any name confusion right then." He said, smiling wryly. The smile faded, gently serious. "But... I still do want to know, yeah. If you wanted to tell me." Mirroring her, consciously or unconsciously, he reached up, his hand brushing back across her cheek.

She chuckled, a deep laugh from her chest that he had not heard before. "Always with Master Kenobi. I mean...it would be nice to know he was with us, but..."

Looking back at him she nodded. "I changed my name when I left for Bankor. That way I would not come up on any Imperial databases. We suspected that they had the names of all the Jedi from the sacking of the Temple on Coruscant. So I became Xanna Teevou." She chewed her lip a little. "This was the name of my favourite character from my children's books back on Pantora."

Petrus smiled at that. "Xanna Teevou was from children's books? Yeah? What sort of character was she?" His smile grew. "I sorta feel like I was closer than I thought with the fairy tale I told, then." Privately, he resolved to see if he could find copies of those books...

"So..." He chewed his lip a moment. "What was your name before, then?" He let his hand rest gently on her, warm, but not unpleasantly so. It seemed a very natural thing, an extension of the closeness he felt to her.