Bankor

Luth was yawning as she worked on her morning routine, wondering if she should give up and take a nap. Getting that armor had kept her up very late, and she'd only gotten a couple of hours of sleep. Still, she was dressed, at least, in uniform short her jacket. The knock at her door surprised her, and she called, "Who is it?"

Niall had come pretty much straight there from his meeting with Jace. He really should have some breakfast... Niall grimaced. This couldn't really wait.

"It's Niall." He called through the door. "May I come in? It's rather important."

"Oh, sure..." She opened the door for him, stepping back to let him enter with a worried expression. "Is everything okay, Niall?"

Niall was frowning gently. He was dressed sharply in his officer's uniform, shaved and showered, every line clean.

"Mmm. More or less." He said as he stepped into the room. He turned around, giving her a wan smile. "I've just been given a new investigation. I need your assistance with it."

She nodded a little bit, curious as she sat down on the bunk. "Okay... What's going on?"

"I've been asked to look into the death of a Major Vuru. Another suicide." Niall grimaced delicately. "Although the last one wasn't, I suppose."

He moved to sit next to her. "The Commander called me in to his office this morning. And showed me this." He pulled out his datapad, turning it so she could see. It was a picture of her leaving Major Vuru's room.

Niall smiled, but his lips were tight. "I really need you to tell me what was going on, Luth. Was this part of some SIS side project?"

She felt her stomach clench as she saw the picture and sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't ask me about that sooner than this, given that I was the last person who saw him. I was there, but it wasn't an SIS thing, though I can't say I don't feel like I was responsible somehow."

Niall frowned, tilting his head as he regarded her. "It... wasn't an SIS thing?"

He blinked a few times, shaking his head, reconstructing his thoughts. "So what happened?" He asked.

"I couldn't sleep... You know how that happens to me sometimes, with the nightmares. So I wandered around a little bit," she explained, her brows furrowing. "I saw someone's room was open and he was still up when I walked by, so I thought I'd check on him, maybe offer some kaff if he was working late. I only knew him by reputation, but he sounded like a decent guy. When I came in, he was a good way through a bottle and he actually pointed his blaster at me at first."

She sighed. "I wonder if already having it in his hand was a sign I should have paid more attention to... So... we talked a little bit. He told me how his daughter had sent him a message about how she wasn't going to see him anymore. I tried to sympathize, but he was pretty angry at her and the whole thing. So I took off after a bit."

She leaned her elbows on her knees and looked down. "There's been some times I've wondered if I'd done something different that night, it wouldn't have happened. If I'd tried harder, you know?" She shook her head. "I can't say there aren't times I've thought about it, too, though. Doing the same thing, I mean."

Niall listened, his expression sympathetic. "Wrong place at the wrong time, huh?"

As she finished, his eyes widened. "Luth..." His voice was soft. After a moment, he gave her a hesitant smile. "Not... lately, I hope?"

She shrugged and nodded. "Yeah... Honestly? I can completely see why they'd be suspicious. Someone walking out of the room of a person they barely know just before... well... yeah..." She sighed. "I do get it. I sensed the anger, though... I guess I couldn't help wanting to help. I've hurt enough people, it'd be nice to help someone. But... I guess it didn't work out that way."

She rubbed her hands together a little and looked up at him with an awkward smile. "... Mostly not? It's been getting better. I'm not there yet, but it's getting better slowly."

"Oh." Niall's lips twitched. "That's... I'm glad it's getting better, I suppose. By all means, I hope it continues to do so."

He sighed. "It sounds rather like he'd been through a hard time, before that." He frowned. "What did you know about him before this?"

She sighed and leaned back. "Model soldier for the most part... well liked. That's what I'd heard. The bottle wasn't expected. But from what he said, with his wife passing on and daughter refusing to see him, I guess can't really blame him."

Niall raised an eyebrow. "Nothing from SIS?"

He frowned again, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his legs. "Luth... can you tell me anything about what you've been doing for SIS lately? It seems as thought it may come up."

"I only met him that night, Niall. I don't generally research every person I meet, and looking into him after seemed... disrespectful," she said, shaking her head. "I've been primarily here to help with the war effort. I've done recon, because SIS trained me to be pretty good at that, and been in a couple of combat ops, one of which you were there for."

"I remember." Niall's lips quirked. He was silent for a few moments.

"Luth..." Niall chewed his lip for a few moments. "If SIS does have you doing anything really..." He broke off, chewing his lip again. "Well, I mean, you can always talk to me. About anything. You know that, right?" He looked at her, his grey eyes open, honest.

She smiled a little bit. "... I know. If SIS was having me do something super shady or that caused me heartache, I'd tell you." A soft sigh emerged from her lips. "For a while, I wasn't sure I would be able to tell you something like that, but... I think I could. I think you'd do your best for me. And that means a lot."

She let a small chuckled out. "Whoever you do choose to marry in the end, she's a lucky woman."

Niall watched her for a moment, before breathing a soft sigh. "Good. I'm glad."

At her last words, though, there was a flash of something in Niall's grey eyes. Pain, perhaps? He looked away. "Yes. I hope so." He fell silent.

She reached over and put a hand on his forearm. "Niall... What's wrong?"

Luth would feel some tension in Niall's arm. With an effort he relaxed it.

He glanced back at Luth, his lips twitching not quite into a smile. "Mmm. The future is just something that's been on my mind lately. Some days, it seems the possibilities are endless. And some days it seems there aren't any." His lips quirked. "In truth, I'm not sure which I prefer. They work out much the same."

She tilted her head and gave him a small smile. "You know you can talk to me about anything, too, right? Even the non-earth shaking stuff. So..." She paused. "I'm not going to push, but if I need to talk about it, I'm happy to listen. Help you get it off your chest, if nothing else."

"Thank you." Niall said softly. He glanced away again.

After a few moments, he glanced back. "I've left a few messages for Aly. But... Correlia is quite some distance away. And, of course, return messages can sometimes be difficult to get. But... I'd like to resolve some things with her. About the future, as I said."

She nodded, listening. "Yeah... That makes sense."

Niall took a deep breath. "Sometimes it's difficult to hope for the future. And other times, it feels like that's all I do."

It wasn't much of a smile, but Niall nevertheless managed one as he looked at Luth. "Did I ever tell you why I decided to become a soldier in the first place?"

She nodded a little bit. "I... definitely know that feeling. It's been riding me for a long time."

The shake of her hair made her curly hair bounce a little. "No... I don't think you ever have."