Beyond - Legends Dawn of Tesserone (AU, OC)

Erilnar
Serenity Hall
Western Centrality

Carley Heraat kneeled before the High Priest of the Heraat clan, dressed in her finest armor and liveries, as she accepted the ancestral oath and blessing designating the true heir and inheritor of the Heraat legacy. She stood and gave a nod to the High Priest before turning around to address the tens of thousands of people arrayed below and before her in orderly columns, their individual family flags blowing in the wind, all waiting to hear the word from their leader.

She lifted her eyes to the skies of Erilnar which burned blood red with the scorching hulks of capital ships oozing their way into the atmosphere. The defeated Western Centrality fleet had been absolutely decimated in fierce ship to ship action. Carley had even committed her personal cadre of bodyguards to the conflict when her own vessel was boarded by General Traask himself. The fighting had been hard, bloody, and ultimately victorious as General Traask fell by Carley's hand though not without the loss of best warrior Centurion Volgaar.

Traask's death caused the remnants of the Western Centrality navy to immediately rout and surrender. Whole vessels and crews were captured intact. Others defected. The ground forces ceased their resistance as well leaving the capital city largely intact and safe from destruction. Carley's army marched into the city and quickly entrenched themselves in the government sector putting out the few remnants of resistance that refused to give up and yield themselves to Eastern Centrality occupation.

"Behold," the High Priest bellowed to the thousands gathered at the base of Serenity Hall's steps, "I give you the rightful heir and ruler of the Heraat clan and all Centrality space! The victor of Erilnar! The defender of our people! Our great and glorious lady Queen Carley Heraat!"

A thunderous cheer erupted from the thousands gathered at the base of the steps of Serenity Hall and a war cry soon took up amongst the surviving members of the Heraat clan. The flag of the Heraat clan climbed to the top of Serenity Hall and waved proudly in the wind. The flag reaffirmed the monumental victory and the reunification of the Centrality under one government and one leader. The flag symbolized peace and unity to which the Centrality had been unable to achieve for over 50 years.

Carley fought back tears as she remembered her mother Rayna Heraat who had been killed by an assassin operating under Master Adain at the start of this bitter war. She remembered her aunt Taaya Heraat who had also been killed by that same assassin in a parking garage on Roon. She remembered how the Federation had failed to support her in fighting against the combined forces of the Corporate Sector Authority and the Western Centrality and how she had to claw her way to the top with few resources and fewer personnel at her disposal. Nothing, however, could stop her from her destiny of once more seeing the Heraat flag fly over Erilnar's capital city.

"The Queen!" the crowd chanted.

"The Queen!"

"The Queen!"

Queen Carley Heraat knew that her ancestors were smiling down upon her today from the afterlife. She had done what no Heraat leader had done before her in over half a century. She had unified the Centrality in one crushing blow and solidfied her power amongst the landed class for generations to come. She had come a long way since being that scared teenager running from the accident that had killed her friend. She had come a long way from being that little orphan adopted by the Vehn family.

Now, at long last, Queen Carley Heraat had found her true calling and destiny.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

I remember that the Western and Eastern Centrality were similar to North and South Korea, but I can't remember which was which. I see the Eastern Centrality has won; was that the democratic one (South Korea) or the dictatorship (North Korea)? Or am I remembering this wrong? (It's been a while. )

 

@jcgoble3, when Governor General Traask took over the Western Centrality he became a dictatorship. Carley, although an autocratic ruler, is by blood and lineage the rightful heir to the ancient Centrality throne. So short answer: Eastern Centrality won but the parties changed and I view them as fairly benevolent despite their autocratic leanings.

 

Thanks for the explanation! My memory can be fuzzy at times.

 

The question (for me) becomes how large a force a united Centrality is and whether that means there's now a possibility of a D13 instead of a D12...especially given the sacrifices made to achieve unity.

 

The Centrality, now, is a lot stronger than it was before as a force in the region. Carley will want to cement ties with her neighbors rather quickly to establish political legitimacy.

 

Nime, Roon

Eleanor pulled up in front of her old offices from her days with the old RTO, long since forgotten, in the government sector and hopped out of her speeder with Robert Norden in tow. She entered her office and pulled a book off a nearby shelf and watched as the shelf disappeared into the wall revealing a spiraling staircase circling downward into the ground. Eleanor descended the steps and emerged into a secure war room filled with loyalists who occupied every layer of Federation government. They had arrived at her beck and call and each of them owed Eleanor Vehn a life debt.

"Report," Eleanor ordered.

"All Phantom teams have been eliminated," Admiral McRoarden stated in a dark tone, "and the few surviving members have gathered here per your request."

"And Rhyken?" Eleanor asked.

"Away on Bonadan," Admiral McRoarden pointed out.

"Strange," Eleanor mused, "he spends more time with the CSA than with his own government."

"Not so strange," McRoarden replied as he keyed up a holographic display of Trianii space. "The Fifth Fleet has been near Trianii space the last six months. They're monitoring a disturbing situation. Let me explain. Here we have Trianii freighters loaded with cortosis bound for the markets of Nal Hutta. Flanking them are Trianii escorts. The escorts peel off the minute the freighters leave Trianii space per interplanetary treaty. This leaves the freighters exposed for a few klicks as they prepare their jump to hyperspace. Guess who is coming to dinner?"

"The CSA," Eleanor cursed.

"Bingo," McRoarden replied, "but they're not flying CSA colors. That would be too obvious. The CSA is using mercenaries to hijack the freighters and bring them back to Bonadan for processing. Trian, of course, is getting screwed. Their revenue is being sent to their ancestral enemy."

"And the Federation has done nothing," Eleanor sighed as she lowered her head, "and what is Rhyken's involvement in all this?"

Jack Vehn emerged from the shadows. He gave a nod in Eleanor's direction. He hadn't seen her in awhile. His reputation with the family had taken a noticeable hit after he'd gone to work for Henryk Rhyken. Some had whispered he had openly betrayed the Vehn family while others felt he had been called to do his duty. He was a veteran of the earlier Phantom conflicts. He was also one of the better spooks in Federation service.

"Jack," Eleanor said acknowledging his presence, "it's been awhile."

"Eleanor," Jack replied, "the situation at hand is far worse than even you can possibly imagine."

"Try me," Eleanor replied.

"Henryk Rhyken is in the employ of the CSA," Jack explained, "he is behind the Phantoms being decimated. He is behind the Federation turning a blind eye to the problems of the Trianii people. He is behind everything. Now he is positioning himself to make a run for the presidency."

"Ambitious," Eleanor said, "but none of this surprises me."

"This might," Jack replied as he adjusted the holographic display and popped in a new data stick.

The feed showed Henryk Rhyken meeting with Zayn Kynnovan as the pair examined the gold stolen from High River. There was a brief conversation and then the parties went their separate ways. Rhyken going back to Nime and Kynnovan going with the gold aboard a transport under armed escort just as the feed cut out.

"I never knew he could be so treacherous," Eleanor stated, "and that gold belongs to the people of High River. A people Kynnova personally ruined. Where is the gold now?"

"Heading for Bonadan," Jack replied, "aboard Kynnovan's personal vessel. Fortunately, I know some people who can retrieve it for us."

"Who?" Eleanor asked.

"Sean Riggins," Jack replied, "and your daughter, Grace."

"I just saw her at my father's funeral," Eleanor replied, "it's too soon for her to go out on a mission."

"She couldn't be stopped," Jack said, "she kept saying something about a choice. Something she knew she had to do, something she felt called to make right."

"How long until they intercept?" Eleanor asked.

"Right about now," Jack replied with a nod to Admiral McRoarden, "Interdictor am I right?"

"Bingo," Admiral McRoarden replied, "that freighter won't be able to escape."

"What do you suggest we do with Rhyken?" Jack asked, "The Phantoms are clamoring for revenge."

Eleanor nodded and replied, "For now we chip away at his authority until there's nothing left and when there's nothing left we will strike him down."

"You play a long game," Jack pointed out.

"How do you think I've survived so long?" Eleanor replied.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Independent Systems
Near Trian

Sean Riggins ignored the hyperspace tunnel as he checked his weapon one final time. The surviving members of Phantom Team Six that had survived the ambush on Bonadan were also going over their gear in a final sweep before the coming mission. Nobody said a word. Nobody had to. Not on this mission. Everyone knew they weren't just going after gold that had been stolen from High River, they were going after one half of the brains behind the operation, a terrorist, an outlaw, Zayn Kynnovan.

"Sean," Grace whispered next to him and a familiar touch embraced his gloved hand, "there might be another way."

"Don't talk me out of this, Grace," Sean replied, "I have family in High River that never came home that day."

"I wasn't going to," Grace said, "I thought you might like to have this, you know, in case things get sloppy."

Sean's eyes, in the ethereal light and darkness of the cargo hold, caught sight of the elongated cylinder of a lightsaber. He wanted to reach out and hug Grace. The gesture was so simple and yet so reassuring. He knew as a Jedi Healer she couldn't accompany him on this mission of killing, of revenge. It was her way of saying that she was with him no matter what.

"Grace," Sean whispered, "keep your weapon. Let me do what must be done."

"Damn you," Grace growled and pulled Sean to her as the two locked lips. She could feel his resistance melting away. She tasted him and knew he loved her as well. She wanted to hold onto this moment forever. Wanted to stop the endless conflicts the Phantoms eternally found themselves engaged with and fighting. It was time for peace. It was time to come home.

The craft lurched to realspace and then a resounding thud as it docked with Zayn Kynnovan's vessel.

Sean pulled away and gently brought a gloved hand to Grace's cheek, "I will come back. I promise. When I do this is all going to end and we can plan our future together."

"Don't you dare disappoint me," Grace threatened.

"I would never be so bold," Sean replied as he signaled to his team to descend the ladder into the airlock.

"Good hunting," Grace called out.

"And successful returns," Sean replied as he dropped down into Zayn Kynnovan's ship and opened fire again and again and again.

---

Nime, Roon

Director of Foreign Affairs Henryk Rhyken poured himself a strong glass of Bakuran whiskey and took a long sip. His gaze fell across the metropolis of Nime. The city built up so much in the last two decades it was unrecognizeable from what had come before. The public money the Vehns had spent to make Nime great had been a marvelous feat of engineering and public service. The Vehns, rightfully, were to be commended for making Nime a city worth visiting versus a backwater hole in the wall.

The last few months had been very kind to him. The CSA was paying him handsomely to feed them intelligence on Federation military activities as well as diplomatic missions to the independent systems. Nobody could track what he was doing. Everything was highly encrypted and went through multiple layers before arriving conveniently on the ExO's desk. The last meeting with the ExO had him worried only in that they continued to chase down why a small but steady leak of credits was disappearing from the CSA coffers.

Henryk had turned those most loyal to him loose on finding the source of the credit leak but everything ended in darkness and dead ends. No one could figure out why the CSA was losing money and where it was going. There were rumors that it was being diverted to the Federation but no one could prove the point. He stopped searching after a futile few weeks. After all, he didn't really concern himself with such matters. The cortosis shipments from Trian were making their usual rounds to Bonadan and Trian was no longer a foreign policy concern for the Federation.

The Centrality, on the other hand, had absolutely gone off the rails. He'd quietly cursed as Queen Carley Heraat had assumed her ancestral throne of Erilnar and united the fractured Centrality under one political entity making them a powerful force in the independent systems that could no longer be pushed around. He'd made overtures to Queen Heraat to normalize relations with the Federation but he had been overtly rejected. That was concerning. That meant she was truly an independent variable. Someone outside of his ability to control.

Worrying Henryk, as well, was the fact that Eleanor Vehn had essentially disappeared from the face of the galaxy. She had been documented leaving High River but after that her whereabouts were unknown. Eleanor was not one to leave unaccounted for under the best of circumstances and now that the political realm had been redefined within the Federation he knew that interested parties were studying his movements as well. He quietly swore to himself that he would deal with her in due time.

"Incoming message," Rhyken's comm unit stated loudly.

"Put it on speaker," Rhyken replied.

Rhyken winced as all he heard were screams and the sound of blaster fire. Then a voice, huffing slightly, said, "This is Specialist Sean Riggins of Phantom Team Six to Director Rhyken. Zayn Kynnovan is dead. We have the gold. Now we're coming for you."

Rhyken felt his blood immediately run cold.

Everything was about to change.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Ayn and Declan would like to have that conversation.

Also, what a slander on Bakuran whiskey! Winding up in the hands of a man like Rhyken.

 

Nime, Roon

"Your security detail has been ramped up in the last few days," Jack Vehn pointed out to Director of Foreign Affairs Henryk Rhyken, "I doubt anyone is going to get through."

"Even what's left of the Phantoms?" Henryk asked.

"Even the Phantoms would have a hard time," Jack replied being honest for once. He'd worked for them. He knew how the Phantoms operated. Now that their ranks were decimated they would be even deadlier. He felt a small twinge of guilt for partaking in the purge but it was a greater sense of duty to the Federation that kept him loyal to Eleanor Vehn. He knew, however, he was walking a tight rope playing both sides.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I brought you here," Director Rhyken said as he sat behind his desk and opened a drawer. Concealed within was a blaster pistol.

"I am," Jack said, "but then with you I never know what I'm going to get."

"My informants tell me that you've been a busy boy, Jack," Director Rhyken said as his finger tips wrapped around the blaster pistol.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"You've been working for Eleanor Vehn. You've been playing both sides. I just don't know why," Director Rhyken stated.

Jack gulped. He'd been found out. He had been so careful. How could he have let Rhyken follow him so easily? Where had he gone wrong?

"Higher calling to the Federation," Jack replied deciding to play it straight, "I know no allegiance to any faction or side."

"Oh, Jack," Director Rhyken replied, "you do. You, more than anyone, would stand to gain from having a Vehn return to the Federation's throne."

"I don't know any Vehn that would take back that kind of power," Jack pointed out.

"Not even Eleanor?" Director Rhyken questioned.

"She's out of the running, Director," Jack replied, "and the other Vehns don't share or possess her political ambitions."

"Then what is she doing opposing me," Director Rhyken pointed out.

"Upholding the honor and history of her family," Jack replied, "and making sure scoundrels and crooks such as yourself don't go unpunished."

"I see," Director Rhyken mused, "which explains why she created the Phantoms. They serve beyond the judiciary oversight of the Federation Senate and courts. They carried out her private wishes at every hour of every day. Now they are destroyed and she comes after me."

"She created the Phantoms to find her daughter," Jack reminded the director.

"That's what she claims," Director Rhyken replied, "but its not the entire truth. One doesn't just create a special operations group to carry out Federation foreign policy. No, my boy, one creates a group like that to keep the enemies of the Federation at bay both internal and external."

"Then I suppose your days are numbered," Jack said with a hint of a smile.

"No, Jack," Director Rhyken growled and raised his blaster pistol pointing it squarely at Jack's chest, "your days are numbered."

In that moment Jack Vehn knew that his life had run its full course. He had done what he could to protect Eleanor and the Federation while working against Rhyken. He hadn't always played fair. He hadn't always played with the good guys. He'd worked one side against the other in order to sneak his way into the upper echelons of government. All of his hard worker, however, was about to pay off with his sacrifice. His death, he knew, would rally those loyalists of the Federation to Eleanor's cause and help her tip the balance in her favor.

As the blaster bolts took his life from him, as he fell to the floor, as the world faded in and out, Jack could only think of one thing that ever mattered to him. One thing that helped ease his passing into the next life.

His mother.

Kaitlyn Vehn.

---

Tesserone

Verity Vehn, matriarch of the Vehn family, let slip the teacup and saucer from her fingers. The fine dining set shattered into a thousand pieces much like her own heart. She collapsed to a nearby sofa and wept. The latest news was simply too hard to bear.

"Mother," Eleanor said just arriving by speeder, "I just heard."

"First your father," Verity said through her pain, "and now Jack. The bloodline of Kaitlyn Vehn is no more."

"There's no doubt who is behind the attack," Eleanor said as she comforted her mother, "but don't ask me to go after him just yet."

"Why not? He's taken everything from us," Verity replied, "next it will be our home."

"He would never touch Tesserone. It's off limits. Rhyken is playing a dangerous game. A game he feels he is in sole possession of the pieces. He's wrong. Hear me out before passing judgment," Eleanor expalined.

" I am going to let him become President of the Roon Federation. In so doing I am signing the death warrants of those who stand in his way," Eleanor pointed out, "but I promise you, Mama, he will be brought to justice. If I move too soon, if I push too hard, Jack's death will be for nothing. We can't rest on our past laurels. We must push forward into a new era. That era means I need to rally those forces that will stand up to Rhyken in secret. Forces that will thwart his every foreign policy decision, railroad things in the Senate, and weaken his power."

"Eleanor," Verity said, "you're talking as if you're at war."

"I am," Eleanor replied.

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

I sense this is a different kind of war. A much more personal war.

 

I'm on the verge of finishing Dumas's Man in the Iron Mask. It's given me new appreciation for the way that events and conversations sometimes play out here in the Tesserone stories! I definitely hear echoes of d'Artagnan and Louis XIV here.

 

That’s quite a compliment @Trieste! Thanks!

 

If anything, it's the anticipation that the characters show for the moves of each other that is the strongest echo!

 

OOC: This all may seem quite sudden and rushed. For that I apologize. I need to bring the Tesserone stories to a close. They've been a great source of joy for me over the years but alas there's only so much story I have in me to tell. There will be one concluding post after this one and then this thread will be locked for posterity. There may be a supplemental story in the works that takes place just beyond the Roon Federation and in the same timeline. Stay tuned...



Nime, Roon

Sean Riggins and the surviving members of Phantom Team Six, accompanied by Grace Vehn, breached the presidential headquarters of the Roon Federation. It was early morning and dark. Not even the birds outside in the trees had stirred. The staff was hungover from partying all night and even the nascent security detail was no match for the most elite fighting force in the eastern Outer Rim.

Phantom Team Six moved silently and swiftly, knocking aside any resistance that stood in their way, as they made their way into the presidential suite. The naked form of Henryk's latest mistress stirred in bed and was quickly silenced by a gruesome twist of the neck by one of Sean's subordinates. Henryk stirred and felt the cold muzzle of a blaster against the back of his neck. His eyes shot open in fear.

"Phantom Team Six has a message for you," Sean growled, "your days are numbered."

"No!" Henryk cried out as he was bound, gagged, and taken from the presidential suite under the watchful eyes of Grace Vehn.

She raised a comm. link and whispered, "Began succession plan. Long live the Federation!"

---

Ivory Coast
Roon

The ocean churned and roiled far below the cliffs as Phantom Team Six unraveled the still naked body of Henryk Rhyken from his bedding. Rhyken cowered as he tried to cover himself but there was no point. He could see in the eyes of those who had captured him that his end was at hand.

"Toss him in," Sean ordered.

"No, don't I get any last words?" Henryk pleaded.

"After you killed Jack Vehn and countless loyal soldiers of the Federation and after you have hereby betrayed the people of the Federation by working for the Corporate Sector Authority," Grace stated, "no. There are no words that will ever change what you did. Goodbye, Henryk."

"Wait!" Henryk cried but it was too late.

Powerful hands grabbed him and threw him off the top of the cliffs to the water, far, far, below. He was gone. With it a particularly short and dangerous time for the Roon Federation. It would take years for the Federation to rebuild its poliitcal standing with the D13 and it's neighbors. Removing Rhyken from power was the first step in that healing process.

"Per Eleanor Vehn," Grace said, "the Phantoms are disbanded. You men and women, thank you for your service, now go home to your families and disappear."

"As ordered," the surviving members of Phantom Team Six replied before they disappeared into the countryside.

"So, what now?" Sean asked.

Grace drew Sean close and kissed him on the lips. "Now our lives can truly began."

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

 

Precisely the question I ask myself now!

As a whole, when the Vehns move, they move fast.

 

Tesserone, Roon

Several Years Later





Verity Vehn quietly sipped her morning tea on the covered porch overlooking the distant Lady Constance mountains. The air was fresh and crisp with a hint of fall flavor in the air. The leaves lining the great drive to Tesserone were already starting to turn in preparation for the coming winter. Change was in the air and so was the reflection that change generated.

She glanced down at her lap upon which rested a photo album. She hardly recognized the young eyes staring back up at her in the black and white cover photo. Was that her? She was so young. She knew how archaic having actual photographs was in an era of holographic technology but that was why she'd made a life for herself on Roon. To get away from the galaxy's encroaching technological reach. To carve a niche out, to farm the land, to raise her family on wholesome values and truths. She also felt like walking down memory lane.

It soothed her aching soul to see pictures of past Vehns.

There was Oisin riding a horse. There was her father, Joaquin, walking her down the aisle not thirty feet from where she now sat. There was her mother, Rowena, smiling so radiantly and so full of life. She was the first of the Vehn's to fall. She'd had her life taken by the Elder Star society in a bombing here at Tesserone. Then Joaquin had passed. Then her son Liam. Then Kaitlyn. Then Oisin, Trieste to the core. Then Jack. How so much had changed in the decades since she had taken on the role of bridge between Trieste and Vehn.

Verity had, for the briefest of moments, begun to think that she had somehow cursed the Vehn family. She knew that wasn't possible. Knew it wasn't true. Still the doubts and the worries never ceased even with age. Yet, in the last few years, she felt a shift. Something had changed. Now as she raised her eyes down that long gravel road back toward the highway she saw the future of Tesserone: Grace and Sean.

The pair had gotten married several years ago and retired from their lives to work the land on Tesserone. Verity taught them everything she knew in exchange for one thing: peace. She wanted peace in her time where someone she loved, someone she cherished, wasn't about to have their life taken by some evil presence or malicious political opponent. Sean and Grace had agreed and given up their old lives to settle down and create a new one.

Sean was now very much engaged as a farmer finding peace in the fields and seasons of crop growing. It was hard work. Honest work. Yet it beat traveling from planet to planet taking out political opponents and cleaning up messes. He hadn't fired his weapon in several years and rarely did he turn his eyes skyward and think about what the greater galaxy was doing.

Besides, he had his son, and that was enough.

Grace had taken to rural life rather quickly having spent a decent chunk of her youth growing up in Tesserone. The nighmares of her conditioning under Master Tel Adain and her days as an assassin had finally begun to fade away with each passing moment. She'd replaced them with good memories and thoughts from her time as a Jedi Healer and in the true and honest connections she'd formed with neighbors since coming back home. Now she spent much of her time raising her son and tending to the fencing and fields that her mother, Eleanor, and grandmother, Verity, once poured their heart and soul into.

Verity waved to Sean and Grace as they returned from an early morning ride. She watched them unsaddle before heading in for breakfast. She gave them a smile and a nod and knew that all was right in the universe. The newest generation of Vehns to claim Tesserone as their ancestral home was secure. She'd done her duty.

"That view never gets old does it, Mama?" Eleanor asked as she joined her mother for tea.

"No, never does," Verity replied with a smile.

"Did you hear the good news?" Eleanor asked.

"Tell me," Verity replied.

"President Liberty Ann Karr won a second term as President of the Roon Federation," Eleanor said.

"I am very proud of her," Addison Vehn said as she walked up from the side yard with Connor racing around on a kid's speeder.

"As should we all," Austin, "after all with her as president we've finally had peace."

"Thank the Maker," Verity stated, "the eastern Outer Rim has known nothing but conflict. Nothing but endless conflict."

"That's all changed," Eleanor said, "I hear the Corporate Sector Authority is finally allowing the Federation a chance to open an embassy on Bonadan."

"Times have changed," Austin remarked.

"Indeed they have," Addison replied as she touched her enlarged belly. Number two was on the way.

"I just wanted to let all of you know how thankful I am for this family," Verity said, "we've been through a lot."

"We stick together," Eleanor said.
"Always," Austin added.
"No matter what," Addison piped in.

"Then I suppose I should tell you all the truth," Verity added.

"What truth?" Eleanor questioned.

"The truth about this place. About Tesserone," Verity said.

"Mama, we know the stories. Your father, Joaquin, came here and built it with his bare hands," Eleanor said rolling her eyes.

Verity shook her head. "No, my dear. Tesserone is far older than that. Several centuries, if not older, by my reckoning."

"What?" Austin asked.

"Tesserone was once owned, and built, by a prominent Roonian family known as the Kolvaards. Their story was like so many of the great families. Wealth that eventually became ruin when the old sources of money collapsed. By 1 BBY the Kolvaard family had only one heir, a woman, Louise. She went by Lou. She went off to fight in the Rebellion as a Y-Wing pilot. She earned a great number of accolades and was very distinguished," Verity explained.

"Lou met our common ancestor, Airen Vehn, shortly before he disappeared on the journey to find the Jaded Emerald of Solost. Airen, fresh from service with the Empire and narrowly avoiding death at the hands of the Alliance at Yavin, had come to Tesserone to bury Lou's brother and his good friend Myn. Before Myn died Airen was granted co ownership of the property by his good friend. The other owner was Lou. The pair could not have gotten along any worse. They hated one another," Verity said.

"What happened?" Eleanor asked.

"From there Lou went about her fight against the Empire, even though she herself had once served with them, at Hoth and Airen later joined her aboard the Rebel ship Intrepid. The two fought valiantly together and fell in love. They eventually retired from active military duty and settled here at Tesserone and raised a family," Verity said, "and, well, here we are."

"I had no idea," Eleanor commented.

"Who would?" Verity replied, "That's the first time I've ever made that knowledge public."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Austin asked.

"Because I didn't have all the details until last week," Verity replied, "and because I wanted you to keep believing in the magic of this place."

"I'll never stop believing," Eleanor said.

"Nor will I," Austin added.

"Good because I want you two to look after Sean and Grace when I am gone," Verity said, "because when I see the two of them I see the future."

"What kind of future?" Eleanor asked, "I hope a happy one."

Verity nodded.

"I see a new beginning," Verity said, "I see the Dawn of Tesserone."

Tag: @Trieste; @jcgoble3

THE END

 

Wonderful wrap-up, linking back to the story of Airen. I will miss this story but glad to have followed it through.

 

In an area of stories without end (Star Wars as much a guilty party here as any other cinematic universe), an end is something to celebrate. Well done!