KotOR I: Orin Dakall

Something in the back of Carth's mind was nudging him, trying to wake him. He rolled onto his side and ignored it. A moment later it came again, more insistent. It was high-pitched and grating. He put his arm over his head. Then the nudge became a shove, and he realized someone was screaming.



He groped for his blaster in the dark, sitting up, but he couldn’t figure out where the sound was coming from. Until he saw a flailing limb from the bed. He groaned, and went over, shaking Orin's shoulder. Does she have nightmares every night?



Her eyes opened, focused on Carth, wide in absolute terror, and she screamed louder than before. She pushed his hand away and scrambled off the bed and into a corner, huddled in a quivering ball, squeezing herself in to look as small as possible.



Carth was shaken. An after-image of Orin’s face floated in front of his eyes. Bloodless, panicked, like a cornered animal, seeing him and screaming with more fear than he’d seen in a person before.



“Dakall?”



A whimper came from the corner; he could see her shaking her head. He edged over to her, kneeling down.



“Dakall, it’s me.”



He choked as her hand closed around his windpipe, crushing it.



“Dakall!” he gasped hoarsely, “It’s Onasi!”



The grip loosened. “C-Carth?” she asked uncertainly. He attempted to nod. Her hand slipped away and he sucked in lungfuls of air.



“I-- I’m sorry,” she said, looking at their surroundings uncomfortably.



Carth shook his head. “It’s okay.” His voice sounded like sandpaper. He rubbed his neck tenderly. “Same as last time?”



Orin seemed to snap into reality. “What?”



“The nightmare. Was it the one you had before?”



She looked uncertain, then shook her head. “Not from after the Spire, no.”



“Oh.” He got up and offered her his hand, pulling her to standing. “You okay to sleep? Or do you want to... talk, or something?”



She went back to the bed and laid down. “I’m fine. You rest.”



He curled up in his spot on the floor, now cold, and tried to. But Orin’s screams wouldn’t leave his head. Her wild pale eyes appeared every time he closed his own.



She fell asleep before he did. But her even breathing soon became whimpers, and he could hear her restless turnings. He couldn’t wake her again. Even if he knew it wasn’t him she was afraid of, he couldn’t stand the thought of her looking at him like that a second time.



He got up and placed his pistol by the bedside. “Shh,” he said soothingly, patting her shoulder. She flinched away from it. He looked helplessly around him, but nothing came to his aide. He kneaded his forehead with his knuckles, as her stirrings grew more agitated.



“She’s going to kill me when she wakes up,” he muttered, crawling in next to her back. “So much for saving the galaxy.”



She was shaking. He sighed, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her gently into his chest. “Shh, now. It’s okay. It’s all okay.” He winced as her sharp elbow landed in his ribs, but her movements began to still, and she quieted. “Good girl. That’s a good girl,” he murmured, stroking her short, near colorless hair. “Nothing to worry about.”



She sighed in her sleep and settled against him, the tension easing from her. He felt a pang as the memory of another woman floated through his mind. He sighed, and nestled his head into the hollow of Orin’s neck, knowing and accepting his own nightmare to come. It had been so long since he’d had physical contact with another being. At this point, it didn’t matter who it came from.



-----



Orin woke more rested and alert than she could ever remember being. She was always groggy in the morning... except for this one. She stretched, accidentally bumping into Carth, who was laying stomach down on the other side of the bed, his face turned away.



“Sorry,” she said quickly, then realized he was still asleep. She shrugged and got up, now feeling the sweat in her clothing and hair from the nightmare. “Eugh.” She refused to let herself think of the night before, and instead began musing on whether Carth had bathed her while she was passed out from the crash, or whether that was ungentlemanly and she really hadn’t been clean since the Spire. “Gross, how long have I been in this underwear?” she said aloud, making a disgusted face.



She peeled off her clothes as she headed to the cramped bathroom hidden by a curtain in the corner. She tossed everything in the bottom of the shower, then climbed in herself and turned the water on. It was freezing cold and smelled like... not water, but it served its purpose, and as it began to warm, Orin started to feel a bit less revolting.



“Shit,” she said, dashing out from the water to rummage through her pack to find an old bar of soap. She sprinted back under the water, now up to room temperature. She scrubbed herself down, avoiding her burns, and scrubbed her armor, clothes, and underwear as well. Rinsing everything out, she turned the water off and wrung them out over the drain, then draped everything over the curtain rod.



She slunk back out to her pack and fished out her uniform from on the Spire. She’d be insane to wear it outside, but at least it’d be okay in here until her clothes were dry. As she buttoned it up, she realized something didn’t sound right. Carth’s breathing wasn’t slow and heavy like when he fell asleep the day before. It was shallow.



She crept to the other side of the bed and saw his eyes were open and staring.



“I thought you were asleep,” she said, sitting on the floor so they were at eye level. “Wanna shower? I’ve got soap.”



He just stared.



“Um, I just washed my clothes, too, so if you want, I could... Carth?” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “What’s going on?”



His eyes flicked to hers. “She was screaming.”



“What?” She looked around, concerned. “Who was it? Where?”



“Or,” he started slowly, “maybe I was screaming...”



Orin looked him over carefully. “You are awake, right?”



He just looked at her blankly.



“Come on,” she said, rolling him over and pulling him up to sitting. “You’ll be fine once you wash up.” She laid his arm across her shoulders and stood, putting her arm around his back to keep him steady. She hauled him into the shower cubicle and turned on the water. Immediately he looked more alert.



“Better, yeah?” She left him, calling back: “Soap’s on the floor, and clean your clothes while you’re at it. I’ll pull some others out for you to wear while they dry.”