Star Wars CLOSED Star Wars: Episode V: Twilight of the Force II: A Father’s Fate

OOC: Combo post with HS29 and the GM

IC: Nola Deidder, Arek Graul, and Four-Dee
Secret room, Nubian Embassy, Coruscant
Nola had known that Mrs. Graul's medical status was...not good, but she was still not prepared for the pitiful sight. Even more alarming though, was the bloodied and battered state of the room's other occupant--Arek.

For a second she thought the droid might tell her to leave, or worse, summon Norin, but it merely went to tend to Mrs. Graul, only warning Nola to avoid the cameras' view. She had her silencer as well, if she needed it, but the droid was apparently already blocking audio surveillance.

Careful not to get too close to Mrs. Graul's bed, Nola went to Arek, warily eying his injuries. Had Norin done this?

"Arek?" She wasn't sure how aware he was. "What happened?"

The voice broke through the haze that clouded his awareness, rousing Arek from his stupor as he slowly lifted his chin from the floor. It took him another moment to gain his bearings and to finally realize that a second presence had entered the small space – the woman he had met earlier on the platform. Was her name Nola?

A scoff escaped from his mouth at the memory, followed by a bitter smile that revealed blood-stained teeth in the dim light. He was clearly delirious and struggling to accept the truth about what had happened to him. In some facet of his mind, he may have even believed that Nola had arrived to finish what his grandfather began. She was his top aide, after all.

But once he stopped agonizing and actually made the effort to consider her words, Arek soon recognized that her tone was soft and gentle. With his limited Force abilities, he also could not detect any malice. In fact, she had asked after his well being. That helped him to relax, if only marginally. His anguish was still too great for him to withstand.

“N-Norin,” he croaked weakly, refusing to refer to that monster as his grandfather any longer. “Th–There was no...provocation. Only––fear. Despair…rage.”

The imprint the old man had left in the Force came surging back with a vengeance, forcing a feeble moan from his lips. That’s when the pain reached its apex, and he collapsed in on himself, his body now quivering as he curled into a fetal position. He felt safer this way, sheltered and protected.

Her suspicions confirmed, Nola looked for something to clean him up with. She knew she couldn't linger in here too long, but she wasn't just going to ignore his injuries--the droid could probably handle it, but he was busy with Mrs. Graul.

If Norin had beaten Arek, it was probably safe to assume that Arek didn't want any part of Norin's plans, so the question now was how to proceed.

"Arek...do you want to leave?" She kept her voice low, starting to clean up the blood from his face.

He visibly winced as she began to dab at his wounds, though he did not withdraw from her presence. In a galaxy that continually threatened to tear itself apart at the seams, it had been far too long since he had experienced this level of affection from another human being. It was a pleasant change.

In fact, he was so distracted that he nearly overlooked her question. But once he realized the severity of her words – and the possible implications that could follow – he sat up a little straighter and frowned. “I...can’t let him get away with it,” Arek grumbled under his breath, not really providing an answer. “It’s not just about my ‘father’ or myself...not anymore. He’s on the verge of upsetting a very delicate balance, and he will destroy countless lives in the process.”

His gaze strayed back toward the medical bed, his right hand clenching tightly as if to recall his grandmother’s delicate touch. “And I can’t leave my Grandma. What he’s doing to her, it’s criminal.” His blue eyes reflected the pale light, now shimmering with tears. “She was…afraid of him. I could feel it. I believe she’s capable of communicating with us, but he’s denying her that freedom.”

His frustration suddenly mounted and he slammed his clenched fist into the floor, his head snapping to regard the heavy shadows hanging in the corner of the room. “You witnessed it!” he shouted to no one in particular, seemingly on the brink of madness. “Why didn’t you do anything?!”

The room didn’t answer back; An’ya Kuro may have been there, refusing to comment, or simply gone. The medical droid looked back, apologetic. “My Master strictly forbade me from intervening, sir. As long as he is my Master, I am bound to obey.”

Of course, Arek may look a bit unhinged to Nola.

But An’ya had yet to decide about either of them. At least some of Norin’s aides were corrupt, and the room may have been sound proof... but it wasn’t Force proof. Had Arek been less traumatised, he might have sensed the dramatics in the other room all the more clearer.

Tempted for a moment to intervene, An’ya knew it was not her responsibility today, and she turned to go before Ike sensed her - or Arek.

Nola backed off, waiting to let him calm down a bit before she resumed tending to his injuries.

He wouldn't abandon Mrs. Graul, which was understandable, but Nola worried that if she and Del left, Norin might lash out at Arek, or Ashaiya. But there was no way they could move Mrs. Graul, not in the condition she was in...

Unless Arek was right, and her condition was simply a result of being heavily medicated over so many years--was Norin effectively keeping his wife prisoner in her own body?

She looked to the droid. "Is there any genuine medical reason why Mrs. Graul is being kept under sedation?"

The droid looked back at Arek, and then at Nola.

He could sense this was a moment where he would acquire a new master... and he may as well help along the process.

"No."

He said it as if it was a simple, painless statement.

Arek’s frustration over the mysterious interloper’s refusal to step forth and reveal herself – if she had even existed at all, quickly subsided when he noted the medical droid’s assessment. It was such a simple response, yet poignant as it confirmed what he had discovered in his heart to be true through their bond.

However, it also caused a series of conflicting emotions to well up inside of him, ranging from disgust over his Grandpa’s depravity to elation that his Grandmom could possibly regain some semblance of a normal life. All together they strengthened his resolve as he leaned forward and recaptured his grandmother’s hand in his own.

“Then she comes with us,” he stated softly, his blue eyes focusing intently on the pale face lying upon the pillow. “Four-Dee, please begin to administer the proper therapy to counteract the sedatives…but do it safely. We need her awake and alert. I will do my best to ensure that she remains stable.”

He recognized that he probably wasn’t in the best physical shape to attempt something like this, but what other choice did he have?

Inhaling deeply, Arek then closed his eyes and reached out to his Grandmom through the Force to reforge that connection.

IC: Nola's scowl deepened at the revelation that Mrs. Graul indeed did not need the so-called 'treatment' that Norin had subjected her to--did this count as torture? The evidence against him was mounting...

Arek had asked the droid to begin reversing the sedatives, and seemed focused on her, perhaps using the Force to aid the process? Nola was getting nervous about how long she'd been in here, and there was still something else she wanted to ask, but she didn't want to distract Arek from what he was doing. She might be able to risk a few more minutes...

The droid bobbed his head. "I shall do so, Master Graul."

"Aide Nola, there is a secret exit to the Senator's landing pad, too, if you wish to coordinate the removal of Mrs Graul and Arek Graul. I suspect that the Senator will be here soon, and my connection to the external cameras suggests that there are several new presences within the Embassy itself... and I am certain that there has been a blaster discharge, from the sensors that track the air intake..."

With that bombshell, he turned away and began to bring the woman to consciousness. The medical droid clearly didn't consider his behaviour to be treachery, not when he had transferred his ownership routines of his own accord.

That there were more visitors within the Embassy, and blaster fire, was worrying--was Del okay?--but Norin could not catch Nola in here, and if the droid was expecting him soon, it would be safer for her to head to the platform, rather than risk running right into the Senator on her way out.

Nola made sure to clear the record of her entrance, as Del had shown her (though perhaps there wasn't much point to it now), before heading out the secret exit to the landing platform.

She sent a text message to Del, only asking him to comm her as soon as he could; hopefully it wouldn't give them away.

TAG: @Sinrebirth @HanSolo29

 

OOC: A combo with @Sinrebirth

IC: Qwi Xux, Beaumont Kin
Location: Firenze, above Coruscant

Nobody is stopping us…

This was surprising Qwi as she was expecting a rather nasty fight to get off. But nothing happened. Thrawn was giving her a stare and Qwi resolved to stay as far away from him as possible.

Jyn meanwhile sketched a salute which made Qwi smile a little. As much as they well didn't get along it seemed Jyn was happy for them to proceed.

As she and Beaumont got on board Qwi moved into the cockpit and into the pilots seat, starting up her systems, activating the shields and the laser cannon trigger on the stick. Just in case.

She took Firenze out gently, bringing her back out into the black. But it seemed more fleets were arriving and the civilians were getting out. Probably because of Zorn's message.

Zorn better prepare himself, I think he is in for a tough fight….

And then she spotted Beaumont shaking. Was he now having second thoughts?. Pascale's Echo was frowning.

"Let me get this straight," she said, narrowing her eyes at Beaumont's reflection. "You said to me we should go and retire, let the Heroes deal with Zorn. Because if we stayed behind we might not make it...these are your words"

"And now that I have agreed to it, you are changing your mind!?" she exclaimed "I thought you were the one with the knowledge of where we were going. That you wanted this for us" she shook her head "What's changed?".

Beaumont looked defensive. "I've not changed my mind!" He gestured vaguely at the massed armada. "But this is serious business. I can't just expect you to be happy about stepping back from the end of the galaxy. What if they lose, because just one more yacht wasn't there blowing up TIEs?"

He looked frustrated. "We've spent two days being put through hell - we've done more than our fair share - and saved Coruscant!"

"But this is what heroes do!" Beaumont sounded unhappy. "We keep going until we die."

Qwi could feel Beaumont's unhappiness and it was like a punch in the gut.

"Do you think I am happy about this?" she replied her voice shaking "That we could potentially leave the galaxy to Zorn and his cronies for them to destroy at will? To see death and destruction and innocents caught up in it all? I will feel it all, again and again and again!".

"And do you know what I saw when I fought Rax? I saw you dying, I saw me dying in front of you. I've already lost someone I love already and I don't want to make that two in the space of a week!".

Qwi let that sink in, trying to rack her brains for a ssfe place to go "And do you think Thrawn will stop chasing after me? He will hunt me down. And we need to be somewhere safe for a bit. Just to rest. If the galaxy needs our help in the future we will help but on our terms, not theirs".

Pascale's Echo had been watching the exchange and he felt that these two were on the edge. They needed a break or they would be lost.

Ajan Kloss he said simply I went there for a break once. Away from civilisation and apparently it is strong in the Force there. You should be safe there to recharge your batteries until the time is right. Because poor Beaumont looks like he is about to burst.

"Ajan Kloss" she said simply inputting the coordinates in thanks to the Echo. "You might have heard of it. It will be a good place for us to rest, recharge and gather our thoughts and perhaps try to plan ahead. I know this is hard for you, it is for me too. But the only way we are going to survive is together"

Qwi pulled on the hyperdrive lever and Firenze shot into hyperspace.

She had already made the decision and they vanished into hyperspace, and Beaumont was surprised that she'd just gone ahead and did it. He stood from his chair in the cockpit, not sure how to communicate how he felt. He'd heard Rouser, he was sure of it, and he didn't want a third wheel in this, nor did he just want to be overruled even though he knew how frustrating he was being.

But if he couldn't voice his conflict with her, who could he?

He left the cockpit, and went to find something to do that didn't involve arguing with her.

Qwi watched him go….and she felt like her heart was being squeezed with a vise. Did he...detect something? Was he in fact Force sensitive?.

She rose shakily from the pilot's seat. Should she go talk to him? Should she try and set things right? Or was it already too late? He didn't even react to her arguments. Pascale's Echo remained quiet, even he was stunned.

She was still mentally and physically exhausted after the last couple of days. And now she was in danger of losing the only person she trusted. If Beaumont decided to go...she might as well throw herself off a cliff or drive Firenze into a sun. Because she would have nothing left.

Because that's what I deserve. To burn in hell.

Qwi moved to her cabin and took her boots and socks off. And she saw Drayson's blood on her jumpsuit, the rips she had made to stop Beaumonts wound from bleeding and to stop Drayson from bleeding out.

Images then hounded her. Pascale's dead body, Drayson dying, Beaumont getting hurt, nearly dying to save Coruscant, Beaumont's look at her as he left the cockpit…

She curled up into a ball.

And cried.

She cried for them all.

It wasn't long before Beaumont had calmed down enough to understand that he was more surprised than angry, and took a few deep breaths. It had been a hard of two days... nearly their third, now.

He knocked on her door, and, hearing the cries inside, stepped through, silently drawing her close as his own eyes wet, and he sat on the floor and rocked her, squeezing her, and just being quiet, supportive, and there for her.

It was so, so much.

So much.

She felt Beaumont's presence before he was there, and Qwi had never felt so relieved in her life. It was like Pascale when he used to return home from his trips safe and sound.

But she knew they were not out of the woods yet. Qwi knew that she had made a bad mistake. And the Echo it seemed was a problem that she and him would have to work out. Qwi let him support her and she wrapped her arms around him, her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry" she said looking up at him after she was done crying "I should have asked for your opinion before we jumped, but we had to get out of there. I'm sorry for everything, putting you in danger, causing you pain. I know what I did was wrong, I will ask for your opinion next time, I promise".

"I meant what I said about not losing two people I love in a week, and that the only way to get through this is together. I cannot imagine what you must be feeling".

She sighed "I didn't realise the Echo was Pascale, not until I fought Rax. I didn't know why he chose me, though I suppose he felt I was the only one he could trust at the time. But what I didn't know is that it could potentially kill me, nor that it could pass on to someone else if I died".

"He won't get in the way of us, in fact he supports us and wants to protect us both. But I know it caused you a lot of pain and anguish to nearly see me die. So I propose a compromise: I only use it when and only shen one of us is in mortal danger. I will listen to both your opinions before deciding things. That again is a promise".

She continued looking up at him to see what he thought.

Beaumont absorbed all of that, and held her softly. He was silent for a few minutes, before he continued. "I can't stop you speaking to Pascale, and I won't, Qwi. We should be grateful that at least some of him has stayed. I don't need to understand how it's happened, but it has, and we're lucky he has."

"We don't all get that chance," Beaumont managed to say, and he squeezed her close again. "It's a good thing, not a bad, I promise. I don't want to limit you at all - not for even a second."

She smiled up at him, she was indeed very lucky to find this man, they had hit a hump but they seemed to have overcome this challenge. But Qwi knew there were many more to come.

She responded with a squeeze of her own holding him close and not wanting to let go just yet.

"Thank you" she said looking straight into his eyes as he said this "I'm so lucky to have found you, and to have someone to trust and I'll bet you are thinking the same. Pascale will help not hinder and he will do all he can to ensure we survive".

"Also, you detected him speaking. I wonder if perhaps I am not the only one who had an awakening of sorts…"

"We can just take our time, take things slowly. And I hope that a bright future is on the horizon. Plus we can start to get to know each other better".

"All I know is at the moment, I need a good rest and relax, I think you do too" her smile grew a little wider.

Beaumont nodded. "Definitely. To all of that."

He helped her to the bed, and paused, unsure if he was staying, or going - even just to sleep. He himself was just too exhausted to think of much else, but he wouldn't leave - or stay - unless asked. Even what he wanted wasn't relevant right now - not as much as he wanted to support Qwi.

Now came the big test, did she want him to stay or go?

To be honest she needed a shower and to just crawl into bed, with Beaumont in the vicinity stripping off was not a good idea at the moment. That could wait until later.

But she didn't want him to go, not now. Qwi had felt safe and supported in his arms and she would do the same for him. For a young man he had seen a lot of things he really should not be seeing.

Qwi patted the space beside her "Please stay, I think we will both sleep a lot better in each other's company, don't you?"

"I'm here for you Beaumont. Whatever you need or want, I will provide it."

Beaumont smiled softly, and held her. "I'm literally dead on my feet, can we sleep?"

He laughed a little. "Not like that... just need to sleep. The ship will wake us when we get there... tomorrow, probably?"

He felt so tired; not just physically, but in his bones. He was ready to rest for a few days!

She chuckled holding him close and tucking her head underneath his chin "Now that we definitely can do. I don't know about you but I feel like I could literally sleep for a week".

"Firenze has been outfitted with some good technology, another thing we can thank Pascale for" she smiled as did the Echo "She will ping us when we get there, don't worry."

She gave him a squeeze, sweet dreams Beaumont and sleep well"

Pascale's Echo meanwhile looked at them both, smiled and then turned his gaze outwards.

He would keep watch.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: Apologies for the double post but guess who's back, back again....

A combo with @Sinrebirth , thank you for asking me to play this scruffy lookin nerf herder

IC: Han Solo, Anakin Skywalker
Location: Dagobah

After his...well out of body experience whatever you wanted to call it Han now felt conflicted.

He loved Xaverri, that much was clear but this encounter with his ex girlfriend. It had felt so real, just like seeing that vision of himself with a kid. Han Solo the scoundrel...a father? Ridiculous. But seeing Ben, Darth Zorn's child, maybe one day he may be cut out for this fatherhood thing.

Well so long as Zorn didn't blow them all to Hell and back. And that was why he was here. To convince Anakin Skywalker to rejoin the fold...or force him back in anyway. Either way this man was coming back with him, at blasterpoint if needs be.

But one thing's for sure Qi'ra the woman he had grown up with and loved had been lost to that monster Ananke. She had still been in there but now...perhaps he had seen for who she truly was. And she had tried to attack him at the end…

Forget it Han, you have bigger fish to fry here…

And that big fish was Anakin Skywalker. Standing right in front of him in the flesh.

"Hey there buddy, long time no see" Han said with a cocky grin "Looks like you've taken to living in a swamp quite well. What's it like, getting back to nature? Sure there is a hell of a lot of mud here"

He kept his hand tight on his blaster for this next bit.

"I came here to see you buddy. Believe me I would rather be taking scores right now but unfortunately I haven't got a choice. Your son has gone majorly psycho and is now eating planets, and I mean literally eating them".

Han shrugged "I figured hopefully nothing else bad could happen right? Wrong. Kashyyk gets attacked and that's a big no no in my book. So I head there and pick up Chewie's son, and drop off Mace Windu and some vigilante called Galen Malek, he carries a lightsaber too".

"And then I decide to travel here to y'know come and see an old friend. Because frankly your son needs stopping, and you are the one that can help do it".

He absorbed all of this softly.

"I know. Leia has been haunting me; Mace, too - the Force bridged us, reaching for me in my dreams... when I can't consciously cut myself off from the galaxy." He looked haggard, but had no desire to debate this.

"I didn't want to be found, Han. I picked a swamp world that could hide me for a reason." Anakin's eyes bored into Han's, and then he turned aside.

"Leave me alone."

"So this is it?" Han said with a scowl "The great Anakin Skywalker has been reduced to hiding in a swamp!. Cutting himself away from the galaxy because it hurts too much?"

He snorted "Y'know I tried running away once. And do you know where it got me...nowhere. Yes the galaxy doesn't owe me a thing. I'm more interested in getting the credits I can. But do you think that anybody would be able to do anything if the Sith rule the galaxy?".

"Lando and Chewie died in the last war and I didn't want to throw myself into this one. But I'll tell you this. Madelyn is still out there and I kind of like the kid. And if the great Anakin Skywalker comes back?. Zorn is going to know that he's in trouble, the galaxy could unite under you"

"Hell I don't want to be a hero….but you sure as hell could be".

"Mace will handle it; he survived for a reason, meanwhile my child ruined everything." Anakin said dully, stopping but not turning around. "Luke took my destiny, Han. I was supposed to become Darth Vader. Luke was supposed to be the one who stopped me. It's not my job to save him."

"It was my job to fall. I changed everything, and this is what happened." Anakin's voice grew harder. "None of this should have happened; I did this to everyone - and to you - and the sooner it ends, the sooner my son fixes everything, the sooner this abortive reality can be undone."

"Just like the Force wants."

The bitterness in his voice was palpable.

Well Han, time to use the ace in the hole….

"Oh really, is that what you think?" he replied "That some mystical Force wants this? What a load of nonsense. Some mystical force wants the galaxy to wither and die?. There should be no mystical Force that controls my destiny, nor others"

"Maybe me and Qi'ra or Ananke were supposed to be apart or she was meant to go all psycho killer. Who knows...but there is one person's fate you could change"

"Zorn had a son, I'll bet you didn't know that wallowing away in your swamp. A son called Ben named after someone perhaps?. I've got him.on the Falcon at the moment. So what you could do is raise your grandson to be a proper Jedi like his grandad, or you could see him turn into another Zorn"

He shrugged "Your choice Grandpa".

Anakin paused, feeling his heart swirling with emotion - a mixture of fear, of hope, a surge of so much. "Ben..."

"Ben is what Obi-Wan used to call himself, when he was undercover..." Anakin didn't know if it was the Force, but he couldn't see Luke - Zorn - would name his child as a tribute to Kenobi. "He wanted separation between himself as a Jedi and as a spy, he said."

He paused. "He should be here; with me. You can bring supplies, and I'll keep him safe here -"

Han raised a finger scowling "Not so fast Grandpa" he said "He's got a very capable woman, my partner Xav to look after him. Seems she and him have bonded very well together".

He lowered his hand back to his side "They will be safe here, Xav not really a warrior, though she's good with magic tricks. She'll keep him entertained. You on the other hand are gonna come with me. You want your grandson and other kids to have a brighter future? Then get your backside on the Falcon".

"Your son needs stopping and you are gonna do it, whether you like it or not. Because guess what? You've got something to fight for. Me? After doing this crazy stuff I'm going back to what I do best. You? You can raise your grandson and tell stories about your adventures"

"So what's it gonna be?. Wallowing in a swamp? Or getting off your backside and doing something?"

Anakin's eyes flashed, and he was suddenly beside Han. "I AM NOT WALLOWING!"

His arm lashed out, back-handed, and the Force carried the Corellian up into the trees.

Han went flying up into the trees and he managed to grab a branch, dangling down from it.

"Still got a temper on ya" he said "By the way, did you consider that your grandson or son could feel that. Your anger. Not a good start eh?"

He smirked "Oh and I have Chewie's son Lumpy aboard as copilot. Would you like to inform him you left me up a tree so he can rip your arms off?. Or would you kindly put me down"

"Because that ship isn't going anywhere without the both of us".

Anakin seethed - he wasn't done. Han was riling him up - more and more. His hand shot out, and he grabbed Han, yanking him free of the branch and dangling him over the swamp. His grip was hard, but not choking - he wasn't that far gone. "My wife and daughter died because of the Empire. My son killed my best friend. The galaxy wanted a sham of a peace, where everyone played nice, and it was all roses and compromise."

He spat the last words, and threw Han into the swamp.

His hand went again, lifting the Corellian.

"AND YOU WANT ME TO GO BACK!"

He threw Han down again, turning away, stalking towards where he sensed the Falcon, sensed his grandson.

Han was getting dunked and NOBODY dunked Han Solo in a swamp.

He growled pulling himself up from the swampy water. "Oh real cute Grandpa, real cute. Shall I tell your grandson that a monster is coming? That you would harm me, Xav and even Chewie's son to get to him?".

"Do you know what we got whilst you were here doing nothing? We actually had peace, the New Republic and the Empire are now allies, bad for me as they kept trying to chase me around. But they got a peace your daughter and wife would be proud of. Although I don't think they would be proud of you right now since you won't stand up and fight".

"Because that peace they fought for is about to go bye bye. But you go ahead, act like your son. And your grandson will see you for who you REALLY are. Are you going to be a fighter or a quitter?"

Anakin stopped at the ramp of the Falcon. Lumpawaroo was there, his bowcaster on his bandolier, looking uncertain.

There was a ripple, visible and yet not, and all manner of creature emerged from the swampy undergrowth to flee. Anakin looked back, his face half-shadowed, a tear glistening upon his cheek as it streamed down. "What do you want from me, Han? To snap my fingers and petals to rain on the free worlds?"

He'd never sounded so broken.

"You're asking me?" Han replied hoping that he wouldn't have to stun Anakin or Lumpy shoot him if he sensed Anakin would attack "What would a scoundrel like me know about peace?"

"But what you could do is stop the darkness, stop the Sith from triumphing because the New Republic and Imperial alliance? They are probably your best bet of achieving a peace you want. A peace you and your family desired, to help raise your grandson to be a Jedi and create a new order hell whatever you want".

"But maybe, just maybe you might care enough about the citizens of this galaxy to make sure that maybe no more worlds get blown up. Because another Alderaan might happen? Do you want that? Because he is literally eating planets, Mandalore was one of 'em. Madelyn and the Mandalorians have no home now".

"Time to stand up and be counted. Me? Well if i'm crazy enough to take on your son, you might as well join me, heard you did some crazy stuff back in the day" he smirked his trademark half smirk "Plus I have a score to settle, the Sith killed my best friend. Time for some payback".

He shrugged "But i'm done trying to convince you. It's up to you now. You can join me on a crazy adventure or you can go back to brooding in your swamp. What's it gonna be?".

Anakin looked up at Lumpawaroo. "Move."

The Wookiee growled, begging Anakin to listen. He took a half step down the ramp, and Anakin gestured. With a yelp, Lupawaroo flew back, crashing loudly through the tree-line, and he strode up the ramp.

"Where is my grandson!"

"You're going nowhere near -" came Xav's voice -

Han strode up behind him, anger clear on his face.

"You just tried to hurt Chewie's son there buddy and if he was looking down on you now he'd be trying to rip your arms off".

"Is that how you want to be remembered by the galaxy, a coward and perhaps a murderer too? Because you'd better take a look at yourself because you are turning into a carbon copy of your son".

He raised his blaster and set it to stun "And I don't think you want to go down that path".

Anakin looked back. He looked haggard, eyes bloodshot, completely exhausted and drained. He was barely himself.

“Shoot me then, Han. It’s the only way you’ll stop me.” He turned away, ignoring Lumpawaroo’s shouted roar.

"Suit yourself" said Han and fired a couple of stun shots at him.

"Ya know I really thought I could convince you, you know try the old Han Solo magic. But it seems it needs others to convince you, not just me. Maybe i'll take you to Mandalore let you see for yourself"

"It seems you are set in your own ways, thinking about yourself at the moment. Hell I do that most of the time. But I thought you would be better than this. Guess not".

He called to Xav "Sweetheart, grab yourself some stuff and anything you think Ben might need. You're going to spend some time in this lovely swamp, at least Ben will be safe from his father and crazy grandpa".

Han kept his blaster trained on Anakin, he hoped he wouldn't have to switch it to kill.

Anakin dropped to the ramp, and Han would see Xaverri holding Ben at the entrance. The young child was looking down at the unconscious man, eyes wide in curiosity.

She looked to Han, as Lumpy grumbled his way down the tree. “You want us to go?”

“Shouldn’t we be there when he wakes?” Xaverri looked at his unconscious form. “Won’t he be even angrier?” She looked concerned. “And where do you want me to go?”

She was conscious that Han had sent Chewbacca away with the box fourteen years ago, but she didn’t want to say that and provoke an argument.

Han stepped closer to Xav "He probably will be upset, but he caused this situation himself. Who knows what he'll do when he wakes up, but I don't want you or Ben getting hurt. I'm not going to lose by best gal" he smiled and gave her a kiss.

His encounter with Ananke still haunted him but she was too far gone now. "Anakin stayed here for years and Zorn never found him, I couldn't think of a more safer spot".

"I'm sure Anakin built himself a home here, find that and keep yourself and Ben hidden. I can think of no better lady to keep this little one entertained" he winked at her then turned serious "We'll come back for you and Ben when this craziness is done".

Han then smiled his trademark smirk "I might have an idea. You know I threatened to show him Mandalore? I'll take him there. Show him first hand what his son did. Might open his eyes a bit. Then it's off to Coruscant, got to see some big wigs about a certain Dark Lord that needs sorting out".

He turned to Lumpy "Sorry that was a bit rough for you pal, was rather rough for me too. Pop our guest in a bunk to cool off. Then once Xav is off we fire up the Falcon. We're heading off to Coruscant...via Mandalore".

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Chancellor Feyna Organa
Midnight meeting

Things were picking up speed again, and Feyna was trying to keep up.

She had bigger problems on her plate than worrying about letting Qwi Xux and Beaumont Kin leave--yes, Xux was a labeled war criminal, and their departure meant that the Republic would have to start from scratch with the Yuuzhan Vong issue, but Zorn was far more pressing. There wasn't even time to currently discuss the fate of the dormant Death Star still hanging in orbit.

Fleets had been called in from across the Republic and the Remnant, and Thrawn had summoned his ships from the Yevethan homeworld; thousands of capital ships and escorts, and near a million fighter craft...yet it did not feel like enough.

Feyna had as much at her command now as at the Battle of Korriban, fourteen years ago, against the Ultimate Weapon--but they weren't going up against a single, incomplete Death Star this time. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of fully-operational planet-killers were waiting at Exegol, and the Republic only had the very recent Battle of Kashyyyk as reference for how to beat them.

Piett, Raddus and Isolder had all been at Korriban; they'd all fought Zorn before. Thrawn had been chasing leads on him for a while, and maybe knew more than they did, but Feyna couldn't put him in charge; her detractors would have a field day if she put an Imperial in command. Which meant Piett was out as well, despite his skillful handling of Coruscant's defenses during Thrawn's attack. Isolder was the most likely to lead the operation the way Feyna would want it run, since he knew her better than anyone, but she didn't wish to be accused of favoritism. Which left--

"Supreme Commander Raddus will lead the assault."

To her mind, the best set-up would be Raddus, then Isolder, then Piett, and Thrawn only as a last resort.

As to the Jedi--they were scattered across the galaxy searching for Yuuzhan Vong spies, and she didn't know if they could rally in time, but no doubt they were all aware of Zorn's threat, and she needed everyone she could get for this assault.

At the same time, she couldn't help remembering Mimban just now, where the Order had been near-eliminated when so many of the Jedi had died on the Death Star; she did not wish to see history repeat itself.

TAG: @Sinrebirth @TheSilentInfluence @BobaMatt

 

OOC: A combo with @Sinrebirth

IC: Han Solo, Anakin Skywalker
Location: Millenium Falcon, Mandalore

Han hadn't regretted stunning Anakin. In fact he deserved it.

Coming over all crazy, dumping Han in the swamp, throwing Lumpy into a tree and then possibly trying to maybe hurt Xaverri and snatch his grandson?. He was out of his damn mind.

And so Han decided to head for Mandalore. Looking at the planet in front of him….it made him feel sick. Oh of course he didn't always care about people but seeing this place...it sent shivers up his spine that someone could do this.

He had no idea where Madelyn had headed off too but he hoped he would see the kid soon. Just to maybe say sorry at least.

As he and Lumpy were talking about supplies the young Wookiee seemed to nearly hit the roof of the cockpit. Here we go…

"Ah you are awake Grandpa, thought you were gone good and proper" Han said, not turning around "Welcome to Mandalore, at least what's left of it. Though I would show ya what your boy did, you know get some perspective".

"And to show you why Madelyn, Ka'tra and all the Mandos don't have a home now. What other planets could look like if you let Zorn get away with murder".

Anakin stared at the window. "He consumed its essence. Even the colour... the sound..." His eyes took in the gray world. "There is a Void in the Force here, a great wound. It's receding, but it won't heal for years - maybe millennia."

He cleared his throat, recalling his lessons. "This is a technique of the Sith - of Vitiate, of Revan, of Kaan, of Bane." His eyes unfocused. "A Thought Bomb. Usually it requires thousands of Force users, and technological crutches. Old old bad tech."

"Luke has grown powerful in the dark side in the last fourteen years. He's dug deep into the Sith ways." His voice trailed off, and his eyes lit slightly with comprehension. "The planet's void will hide me from Zorn for a while, but not long, not unless we stay for so long we are consumed by it." He eyed the New Republic station, almost far enough away to be in orbit of the closest orbiting planet - Mandallia, rather than Mandalore.

"I take it you have a plan," he said carefully. "As you left Ben behind with that woman."

Han listened to Anakin's explanation of it all. Of course he thought sometimes it was all a bit of mumbo jumbo. But seeing Mandalore like this and Anakin's explanation...it was devastating to hear that one person could do such a murderous thing.

"That woman happens to be my partner pal" he said turning round and raising a finger "she'll look after him well".

He turned back around "And yeah I do have a plan. I'm gonna take you to Coruscant, maybe just maybe you can help the New Republic big shots in developing a plan to stop your son. Or maybe you could join the fight".

"Because as you say we can't stay here long. And I just got the Falcon back, i'm not gonna lose her again".

Anakin nodded. He understood... and understood what needed to be done. "When I arrive at Coruscant; Zorn will know I'm on the move. Dagobah hid me. He will try to kill me... and you, if you're in my way."

"Such a small thing like the Falcon won't stop him."

He could hear Obi-Wan's words, a reality away. "He has become a very grave threat."

Now they just needed to find the man.

After that, Anakin had no idea what he would do. Something, no doubt.

"I'll do my bit, Han. I can find my own way from here, if you want." The next words stuck in his mouth. "Thank you, Han, Lumpy," he amended, adding the Wookiee in, who nodded.

Han also nodded and smiled "No problem pal, but I got you on board, might as well give you a lift. Plus I could use an extra gunner if you want to stick around on board".

He then turned to face Anakin fully "And people trying' to kill me, let's just say i'm used to it" he smirked "Just another day in the life of Han Solo. So the Falcon might not be able to stop him, but she can sure make a mess for him. So she can not only be remembered for doing the Kessel Run".

"The only way he's gonna get me is if he can catch me. And this ship is faster than most ships. And with you aboard, maybe his focus will.only be on you which may give the New Republic guys an advantage".

"But it's up to you pal".

Anakin looked at Han hard. "My son is exceptionally dangerous, Han. With a negligent gesture, he could kill you, and he wouldn't even care to watch you die. He's clearly inherited a lot of what Darth Sidious had laying around... and more besides."

He cleared his throat. In hindsight, when he and Mace killed Palpatine in the Chancellor's Office, they should have realised that he had plans like this. He'd been ruler of the Republic, and, as Darth Sidious, the Trade Federation and later Confederacy, for more than a decade. It was plenty of time to prepare a multitude of contingency plans...

"But if you want to help with that in mind," Anakin finished. "I'll accept the help." A bit more darkly, he added. "We're going to need it."

Lumpy moaned softly in agreement.

It looked like Lumpy was on board on this crazy ride, Han might as well take the plunge too.

"I don't think your son cares whom he kills pal. You, me, Lumpy, hell even everyone apart from your grandson. So I guess we might as well go out with a bang and hope that Zorn doesn't find Ben".

"And as you said we need all the help we can get. And right now? It's the New Republic. Hopefully they and their Imperial friends will have the firepower to stop him. And of course we will have Anakin Skywalker. That's gotta count for somethin".

He inputted the coordinates for Coruscant into the navicomputer turning the Falcon away from Mandalore.

"Buckle up guys, it's going to be one hellva ride…."

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

(A combo post between @Sinrebirth and myself.)

Ka'rta and Tor
Courscant

Ka'rta didn't give her escort a second glance. She had a mission to collect her daughter and leave her in the care of Owen, and Jerrod, the only people she could trust to watch over her, Owen's previous actions notwithstanding. She would have her revenge, she would watch Zorn die, that she was sure of. She just needed to secure Tor, the only part of her home she had left. There would be a reckoning for that man. Fett sent in information of the target, the man that escaped punishment from the last war. It had been a while since she'd hunted a target. It seemed Fett had done most of the work, it was just on her and Tor to finish the job.

Tor looked to Fett furrowing her brow a little.

"Buir wouldn't sack a planet, not without a reason." She started walking towards the landing pad, the place her mother would be landing. Looking down she fiddled with her hands, nervousness rising in her chest. She would have to explain all this to her mother, something that would be difficult to do.

Fett nodded. "Not without a reason."

He led Tor to the landing platform, ignoring Norin and the others, taking the lift out. "You're nervous; why? You've killed, and fought, and displayed courage. Your mother may be hard as durasteel, but she's no Sith."

Fett wasn't best placed to deal with family interactions; he didn't have one.

"I don't know, it's just I kinda disobeyed her, like a lot. And well, I could hear it in her voice. She's really angry." Out of the sky the Oisk came descending flaring the repulsers before landing hurriedly. The ramp lowered and out came the Hand of the Manda'lor, the Mandalor of Death Watch. Tor straightened up a little.

"You alright?" Ka'rta said looking down to her daughter.

"I'm fine." Tor replied looking up.

"We ready to go kill a senator?" Ka'rta turned to Fett her voice cold but an undertone of anger.

Fett looked at Ka'rta, and then back at Tor. "I can do it, if you'd rather do something else, Mand'alor," he said drily.

"It's on Aryan Graul, Senator of Bakura," he said neutrally. "Norin Graul is paying," Fett added. "Father and son. Messed up stuff..." He jerked a thumb back the way he came. "The Chancellor's aide, Winter, was just shot; Norin and the head of Black Sun, Ike, are trying to cover it up." Fett squinted through his mask, coming across sarcastic. "You're supposed to be a hero, right?"

His hands were loose, but he was wary of the woman.

"Hero is a subjective term." Ka'rta said looking right at Fett. "I don't care about any of this but my ad'ika took on a job, and I'll make sure they get it done. After that...well, I have a job myself to handle. I just need to make sure." She looked to her daughter. "I needed to make sure you were safe."

Boba nodded. "I get that." He pulled up a schematic. "Latest Intel has it that Aryan is at Indigo Tower with a bunch of fellow minded Centrist-wannabe Imps. It's a high tower, I wouldn't be surprised if we have some fun reaching there. We have these Taozin nodules..." He held out the lumpy flesh medallion. "This will hide us from him as a Force user."

He paused.

"Does your job pay? I can't see Coruscant being friendly to me after this, so I'll be looking for my next one pretty soon-ish, Mand'alor."

Fett sounded wry.

"Smart, I can act as a distraction if you need it. I'm sure they'd want to focus more on a pissed off Death Watch than a washed up bounty hunter and an up and coming one." She said looking at the pair. "I can get you there and drop you off some distance before it. Then make myself a nuisance if it become necessary."

"Only payment is vengeance, Daddy's boy needs to pay for what he did to me. But, if you want to join the fight I'm sure I can find some coffers to pay you out of..." She was a mercenary, she knew the life, and if she could get another gun on her side, she wouldn't turn it down.

"Washed up," Boba grinned beneath his helmet. "Drop us on the closest building, and we'll jetpack towards the tower, right, Tor?" He looked at Tor. "I'm sure we can sort you a proper jetpack between here and there."

He trudged towards the Osik, leaving them for a moment.

"I'll take the money, you can keep the vengeance, mind you," he called back.

As Fett walked away Ka'rta looked down at her daughter a slight smile under her helmet.

"I'm still mad at you. But, I glad to see you've gotten this far. I still love you Ad'ika."

"I love you too Buir." In the quiet moment Tor embraced her mother holding her close. Tears were hidden underneath Ka'rta's helmet. She'd missed her daughter, missed the only thing she had left from home.

"Now get onboard, I have a jetpack to hook you up to...you remember our lessons."

"Yes." she walked with a new since of pride with her mother walking behind. She was finally going on a mission with her mother...the only thing she wanted.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: A combo with @Sinrebirth

IC: Qwi Xux, Beaumont Kin, Pascale Rouser (Echo)
Location: Ajan Kloss

Qwi had never felt so rested.

Firenze had pinged them as soon as she knew they were getting close. Qwi had hated to leave Beaumont and his warm embrace but she had a ship to land.

As she settled Firenze down in her spot she felt the Force radiating from the jungles and all the life around it. It was a breathtaking feeling. But not only that she could now feel Beaumont's thoughts, feelings and it seemed memories too. It made her smile as Beaumont remembered Criton's Point.

Did you do this? Qwi thought at the Echo.

Oh I might have helped a little bit Pascale returned trying to look innocent. This will be new for you, so no thinking naughty thoughts he winked am not sure if Beaumont will be able to hear me as well so i'd better be on my best behaviour he chuckled.

It was strange and yet beautiful to have an intimate mental connection to Beaumont. She of course had never shared it with Pascale but maybe perhaps the Echo wanted them both to share it with each other so they could have that feeling of knowing the other was there.

After a quick systems, fuel and inventory check she joined Beaumont at the bottom of the ramp to look at the glorious sunrise her arm around his back.

"I don't know really" she responded "I never really had a plan for when we got here. Just rest and relaxation I guess. Unless you have any ideas, I don't know how you managed in isolation at Criton's Point...".

She smiled "How about first of all you tell me about yourself. You know quite a bit about me but what about you? Where are you from?. What was your life like up until Criton's Point? And more importantly why would you want to be with a war criminal?"

Beaumont laughed a little at her direct question. "Criton's Point was alright; after the bustle of the library worlds, of Obroa-Skai, of Kamparas, where I did my education." His eyes unfocused. "I'm from Lerct, in the Expansion Region. Quiet world, quiet sector. We only had the one battle, during the Clone Wars - at Cartao - it was before my time, of course."

"Until Criton's Point I was on my way to becoming a professor, actually. My wanderings were more gap year than educational, but on Point you had the very definition of a historical anomaly; Xim the Despot never reached as far as that world in the then-Unknown Regions, and yet his grandfather built a library there. The secrets... well, you found a few of them, with that Arb fellow."

He had dodged the question about why, because it was a question that he couldn't easily answer. Because feelings can't be explained, as a rule. That's why they're feelings, and not thoughts.

She smiled "You still could become a professor you know, I did my doctorate at Nouane another library world. Perhaps one day you can teach a class regarding something you are passionate about. I quite enjoyed my teaching stint, trying to teach the next generation to create things that are good, not bad".

"Of course being an Omwati perhaps I was destined to be a scientist, well it was either that to be an engineer or a musician. But Grand Moff Tarkin changed things, if he hadn't have come...maybe things would have been different" she sighed but then smiled again "Perhaps we will be able to both teach when peace eventually comes".

She turned her face towards him "You no doubt have felt something has changed between us, a connection between our minds has formed. Pascale I think might have had something to do with it…."

"But this world is rich in the Force. Perhaps we can try to maybe strengthen that connection? I don't know how but it could be very useful in the future. Maybe explore this place and listen to the Force around us" she shrugged "I'm not quite sure about these things".

Beaumont smiled at Qwi as she spoke; he loved the idea of teaching when the war was over. Or, whatever the mess that had engulfed the galaxy for two days would end up being called. "I mean, it's no different than research and experimentation, there is just a lot more walking involved." He stretched, stepping forward off the yacht ramp. "This world, it's definitely rich, that's exactly the word. So much life." He pointed.

"But," he said. "As we came down I spied some ruins and thought I'd take a look... this moon as a name, so it must have had civilization once upon a time." Beaumont shrugged. "Pascale would have wanted us to come here for a reason, and all."

The Echo was smiling away but he said nothing. It seemed he wanted them to find out for themselves.

"I fancy a good walk" she said "Having that sleep was rather refreshing. And visiting some ruins definitely sounds interesting. Hold on one second…."

She disappeared inside and then came out again tossing Beaumont one of Pascale's small blasters, one of her own back in it's holster on her hip "I know no civilization here. But just in case…."

She pressed the ramp control and then activated Firenze's security system "Lead the way" she said, gesturing for him to go first.

Beaumont juggled the blaster and dropped it in the grass, reaching down for it and looking sheepish. "Sorry, still not used to these things." He looked at her. "Did you want to bring the cloak?" He'd snatched it as they went, leaving the Wayfinder as the New Republic had a need for it.

Between them finding the Wayfinder, and Ka'rta connecting that Zorn was on Exegol, the galaxy had been pretty lucky overall. Otherwise, Zorn could have continued to attack the New Republic with impunity from his secret locale. Like he had often thought; they'd done their bit.

He'd gotten the cloak? That was quite a steal, and nobody hopefully had noticed. Well maybe Rax might eventually. But who else was going to need it.

"Good point, hold on" she deactivated the security system and quickly jumped in as soon as the ramp was down enough. Inside she found it, grabbed and came back out once again lifting the ramp and activating the security system.

She took his hand in hers and squeezed it "Hopefully we might not need either but I suppose you never know…" she gestured once again for him to lead the way.

Nodding, Beaumont led them, squeezing back and smiling.

They made their way through the grasses, happening upon a broken down stone entrance to a cave. "Interesting," he said softly. "This is old, but not as old as I thought." He was thinking aloud. "The Kloss - yes, I just made that name up - didn't use much imagery." He produced a digging implement from a pocket, a delicate little thing designed to clear dust and dirt without damaging what was beneath. He worked it upon the stone, revealing... vines?

He frowned, and behind Qwi, there was a voice; female, soft.

Why are you here?

Beaumont was clearly in his element here, so she let him be, but she wasn't too far behind him so she could see what was going on.

What was something like this doing here? Hopefully more would be revealed….and then Qwi nearly jumped out of her skin as the voice spoke.

I reckon we might have disturbed someone she sent to Beaumont. Pascale's Echo immediately went on high alert.

She turned around to face the voice "Apologies if we are disturbing you" she said out loud "My partner and I wanted to explore this place, to find out who lived here and where it came from. We were guided to this place and wanted to know what was here".

This place is rich in the Force. Nature begets life, begets Light. Where else would I be?

Beaumont looked back at Qwi. "I can't hear them?"

I wanted to speak to her first. I don't know you.

Now he could hear the voice!

It looked like Qwi was the focus of this being's attention.

"I carry an Echo of someone who has traveled here before, they guided us to this place for a reason and we are trying to figure it out. This place must be special if we have woken you".

"I suppose the question is who are you?"

Oh, no, I met him elsewhere, on Ach-To.

Her voice was lovely, and she became evident for a moment.



He clearly wanted me to speak to you both... I managed to use the Echo to linger, and here, where the Light is in abundance, I can be more than just a memory.

Beaumont was speechless.

What the hell?

Pascale's Echo was staring at her. I believe that is the Daughter of Mortis, the embodiment of the Light side of the Force. I apparently met the Father on Mimban when I used my newfound abilities to escape the temple….

And it seemed she had said she wanted to talk to them both. Was it just her and the Echo? Would Beaumont be left out? And she was still confused by it all.

"Why did you want to speak to us?" Qwi asked simply.

The Daughter brought Beaumont and Qwi into the conversation, creating a space in the White... with Pascale present. Beaumont's eyes widened, even wider than possibly before.

She gave them a moment to acclimatise themselves; she knew how difficult this could be for them.

Qwi couldn't believe what she was seeing….or where she was. Neither could Beaumont by the looks of it.

There was the Daughter….and there was Pascale's Echo….but as himself. Dressed in his usual suit and hat ensemble he smiled at them both his blue eyes sparkling. Qwi felt happy at least to see his Echo in person.

"Hello you two" he said "I know this seems very weird to you, believe me this is a little weird myself. But it is good to see you both and together as well".

"It's good to see you Pascale" Qwi replied "At least I am not talking to myself here" she chuckled.

"Indeed. You are both looking well….and I can see that your entwined bond is beginning to be established" he looked at Beaumont "I am entrusting you to take care of my former lover and that you will treat her the same as I did. And not make the same mistakes I did that lead to my death".

Qwi gave him a look of I'm sure he will before looking at the Daughter.

The Daughter simply blinked through their interaction. "This is one of the few places where we can speak, and not for long. The Echo which sustains Pascale Rouser in this world, it is not only now shared between the three of you, but fading, as any Echo would."

Beaumont pressed his lips together. "What even is an Echo."

"A corruption of the Force," the Daughter said darkly. "A blow against life - against the Force - will create a Wound. Within those Wounds, unnatural occurs, acts of unreality, and unholy abominations, can be formed." She regarded the three of them. "There was a man who once experimented with creating wounds in the Force, but with a view to killing it... to creating such a tremendous betrayal of life and thus ending it... and he perfected this experiment by creating a Wound that retained its shape when absorbed by the Force."

"The Echo is the reverberation of that initial Wound - a specific act, or sin, that reverberated down the timeline..." the Daughter regarded the three of them. "In that Echo is the ability to rewrite the rules of existence, a power known as an Epitaph, for it speaks of the End of Existence; Twilight. Thirty-five thousand years ago, the Twilight Wars were fought over this power; they started to seize the secret, but it was lost... because the person responsible for the experiment had pushed it beyond their reach - far into the future, through the bloodlines of those original Wounds."

She finished speaking, more gravely by the moment.

This was all going over Qwi's head with about a metre to spare. But scientifically how could this happen? Was it something to do with how they worked in combination with the host's body?

Perhaps Beaumont was understanding it more as a historian and Pascale of course had an Echo. But she knew one thing…..Pascale was fading away. And once he did she would lose her abilities, his help….and even possibly her connection to Beaumont.

She looked over at them both sadness enveloping her. She had moved on with Beaumont but Pascale was still her first love and his advice and guidance was helpful to both her and Beaumont to strengthen their bond.

The Echo meanwhile bowed his head. Pascale of course had been stripped of his Echo, his bond severed with a body that contained darkness. He had heard all of this before when dealing with his other self and the other visitor.

But it seemed his time was up. And he would leave behind this young partnership which he was helping nuture after his had failed.

"I've come to the conclusion that I died because I became corrupted by Typhojem that had entered my body fourteen years ago. That the Echo I had was keeping my spirit alive until I became too corrupted to keep my body alive."

"And so I was stripped, not only by another version of me, but I believe an ancestor was there too. I had become too dark. At first I was surprised but now I have accepted that perhaps my time was up and that Typhojem had killed me all those years ago".

Qwi was speechless and so Pascale turned to the Daughter "So what does this all mean? What do you want us to do?"

The Daughter looked gentle, and looked to Rouser sympathetically. "The Echoes, they are unnatural acts, but that does not mean they cannot achieve good... the Wound, it can be healed."

"The original Wound; if closed, the danger will pass," she said simply.

Beaumont, more historically inclined, was working through the snippets of lore and history they had; the Killik attack on Korriban... the Rakatan attack on Alderaan... the emptying of the Killiks from Alderaan and Alsakan... the presence of hidden Nests that surfaced during the reign of Vitiate... the rumoured Killik Sith that had died on Sarafur...

It was a bit beyond him, to be honest, and he loved Qwi for trying to reason through it like science. But the Force was magic, albeit grounded in certain principles.

"We know Palpatine survived his death in the Chancellor's Office, though seemingly Zorn killed him permanently thereafter," Beaumont managed simply. "These Wounds, and the ripples they create in the Force, I guess you could attach your... spirit? Sentience? To the Wound's... wavefront? And allow it to carry you forward, along the Force..." He looked at Rouser. "And as the Force is manifested as life, the Echo of the Wound would have to travel along life. If the original Wounded person had a relative, or perhaps a child?"

The Daughter nodded. "Precisely. The Epitaph Experiments were focused upon creating such a terrible moment of treachery that a Wound could be conceptualised within a person. A planet-destroying event was no longer needed... just a betrayal so deep it scarred the soul of the individual... and in their place within the Force."

Beaumont blinked a few times. "Qwi... isn't there the scientific belief that we are basically energy, contained within this shape, and all that energy does is change from kinetic to chemical and so on? The best I could say that someone has worked out how to carry something inside that energy... and I am pretty sure most basic weapon tech is predicated on finding a way to either amplify that energy to destructive levels, or to break it open and release the energy, at an, um, atomic level?" He was trying to remember his school education about old atomic bombs.

Qwi was trying to process it all and it was still going over her head. Even the scientific bits...she couldn't quite think straight.

Pascale spoke up "There could be a problem. If I do attach myself, what is to say what happens? I could end up being destroyed in the effort. I am more than willing to heal wounds but what will happen once I depart from Qwi? What happens to her?. When I had the Echo stripped I died, I don't want to that to her or Beaumont.".

"It also depends on whether this person did indeed have children or relatives? Let's hope they do as I suppose this would all be for nought. If I do this...I can't protect those I care about. Which is these two. But then I suppose I would have helped heal something".

Qwi was thinking through all this but Pascale's words were hammering home. He was possibly going to sacrifice himself to help maybe the galaxy but as he said it could all be for nought if he failed and ended up killing his spirit.

She spoke up but her mind was still in a whirl "I guess someone could. I mean you would have to be a pretty powerful person to be able to hold that amount of energy in your body. Because it would try to find a way to escape. Only I suppose if someone could contain it using the Force".

Pain was returning to her again, she had come here to escape pain and death. But now here it was back with a vengeance. She just wanted it all to stop now. Pascale was looking at her concerned.

The Daughter looked apologetic. "All things end..." She looked thoughtful. "... or, rather, all things should."

Beaumont glowered at her. "So says a Goddess."

"I am One with the Force," she responded, a bit sharply. "I saved the galaxy, and my time was... extended. Not through my choice. It became... necessary," she said, looking sad. "A pure Light, to counter the purest Dark... together, Balance and Chaos were held by great cosmic scales."

"Just get to the point," he said, a little wryly.

The Daughter looked offended, and glanced from Beaumont to Pascale and finally to Qwi. "Your story is unwritten... as is all of this realm's. It is not over. This reality is but a pocket, created as a side-effect to the experiments that preceded it. Here..." She looked forlorn. "There is only an Ending to be sought."

"Meaning...?" Beaumont pressed.

"The weapon that is being prepared to stop the Yuuzhan Vong," she said sadly. "It will inflict an incredible Wound upon the Force, greater than that of the Death Stars, or the original Epitaph Experiments. One which will give birth to another fracture in reality, and connect with other Wounds, in other timelines... that is the end of the Great Experiment; the destruction of all Reality..."

"It must never, ever be, and I would ask you, Qwi Xux, to forego all that you have learned. To stop your knowledge from being used to create that weapon." She held out a hand. "I would erase your memory, if you would let me... even if only to delay it's creation."

Beaumont stiffened. "What would she forget?" He looked to Pascale, and then to Qwi.

"Everything."

Pascale immediately let out a low growl in anger. This Goddess thought that she could play around with her brain. She was dead wrong. He deserved to go, not Qwi.

Qwi meanwhile felt even more devastated. If she chose to lose her memory, she would lose Pascale, Beaumont, everything she was and everything that had gone before. She would lose possibly, maybe a happy future. All so the galaxy would be saved. Would she ever be the same again? Probably not. And Beaumont could end up walking away from her.

And the weapon could still get built anyway. That's what the Daughter had said, it could only maybe delay it's creation.

The other option would be to stay as she was. And if anyone tried to snatch her….to maybe kill herself before it happened. Beaumont may have to watch her die but it was better maybe to go out as herself. Yes maybe she was putting herself and Beaumont over the galaxy but she had had enough of people telling her what she should do.

This was her destiny. And she would rather fight and go out with a bang rather than a whimper. And preferably with Beaumont by her side and Pascale providing what he could before he faded away.

"You are right, this story is not over...but it is mine, Beaumont's and Pascale's to write. My memory is mine and mine alone. I would lose everything if I lost it and do you know what? You can keep your prediction of doom and shove it".

Qwi narrowed her eyes "I would rather be myself than a lost soul, to fight and die with those I love and care about by my side, to remember them as they were. This weapon, if it does get built I will stop it and me and others will fight to do it. And if the galaxy ends at least I will have my conscience clear that I tried to do what I could"

Pascale was smiling, that's my girl.

"So no, you may not take my memories".

The Daughter nodded. "I understand, I do. I cannot force this upon you. I can only offer it." She hesitated. "As it once was before."

"You're going to tell us what happened to us in other timelines..." Beaumont said, expecting as much.

"Yes," her eyes crossed to him. "A young archaeologist, famous for it, who joined a Galactic Resistance against the return of autocracy, helping a new Chosen One research the Sith... and find the way to Exegol..."

Her eyes roved to Qwi. "A weapon designer who knew not what she made... and had her memories ripped from her by a Sith... and spent the rest of her life rebuilding herself, and bringing peace to a small corner of the galaxy..."

There was a smile, but a sad one. "But you never met, and indeed, one of you died in the Yuuzhan Vong War..."

"Well," Beaumont said drily. "None of those are going to happen here."

Well at least Beaumont hadn't bitten her head off for doing what she did….it could come later though.

Although did Beaumont have to ask about the other timeline? Because his potential future sounded a lot better than hers. Of course Pascale hadn't been mentioned but maybe his other self's future was still in motion…

"We are creating a new future" Qwi said moving towards Beaumont and standing next to him "One where a new history will be written. One that may have a bright future, maybe not who knows. But I do know this" she took Beaumont's hand and held it.

"We did meet and I'm glad we did. For we may have a future, one worth fighting for".

Pascale smiled all throughout.

"Maybe," the Daughter allowed.

"But balance will not be found without sacrifice... inevitably." The Daughter looked sad. "I accepted a prison for a hundred thousand years to contain my brother's darkness." Her eyes took in Qwi. "I leave it to you."

"But no, the weapon... it may be unfinished, but it is about to be discovered..." At that, she grew translucent. "May the Force be with you, all three of you. The Echo will sustain you..."

"... for now," and at that, she faded, and they returned to the jungle of Ajan Kloss, and for a moment Pascale was still there…

Pascale smiled at them both "This is au revoir but not farewell. I will be with you until the end or my time is up. And I will make sure to protect you both until then. Take care of each other and as they say….may the Force be with you…."

Qwi smiled at her former lover as she saw him disappear and feel him return to her. But it still troubled her that when Pascale eventually disappeared she could still die. Or even lose the treasured connection she had with Beaumont.

"That was….eventful" she said, still holding Beaumont's hand "I never expected that to happen. All whilst looking at ruins" she shook her head.

"I don't mind staying here to explore still or returning to Firenze. I think maybe we might need to talk about what just happened and maybe the next steps…."

Beaumont nodded. "I had hoped that us staying out the way... it'd stop the superweapon that Thrawn has planned..." He looked pained. "But clearly not."

"Inevitably, it will happen." Beaumont looked at her pointedly, turning to take her other hand in his. "You know the science better than I do. How long do you think we could stay out of things before someone else rebuilds your work? Could we take a few years off, and step in later, or do we need to do something now?"

He took a deep breath. "Do we need to do something? There are all those Heroes out there - Feyna, Linnett, Ka'rta - they can deal with it without us, surely?"

And here it was again, another big decision. And one that potentially held the fate of the galaxy in her hands.

The superweapon was about to be discovered, and it was clear Thrawn needed her to finish it. He wouldn't stop on his quest until he found her.

"It's been clear to me that Thrawn needs me to finish it. I don't think there is anyone else who could do it, and if there was it would take longer to finish it, at least I hope so. I think it will take a few years at least without me. We could have a break, make sure we are ready….and then fight him".

"The Death Star took years to complete even with my help, so probably did the Ultimate Weapon. If a weapon is found that was already maybe partially constructed say the Death Star we used it would still take some time to get it operational."

She squeezed his hands "You are right about the heroes once again, they are brave and strong and can deal with this. There may be other heroes out there. But we won't fully abandon them….when the time comes and we are ready we can help. We cannot let Thrawn get to me, if he does, that weapon will be ready and unleashed".

She looked up at Beaumont fully "I was denied a future before, I'm not going to let anything get in the way of it now."

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: Both of the following are combo posts w/ Sinre

IC: Chancellor Feyna Organa and Prince Isolder
Chancellor's office, Coruscant

Feyna hugged him back, holding him tight to her. "I love you, too."

She went quiet for a few moments, not pulling away, savoring his embrace as long as she could.

She wasn't going to make him promise that he would make it back safely; her pessimistic side knew what they were going up against, and there were no guarantees that they would succeed. She hoped they would, but Feyna's mental approach to a bad situation was usually assume the worst, hope for the best.

She lifted her head from his shoulder, her eyes finding his. He was worried, scared. But so was she. "And you be careful."

"I am about to be surrounded by one of the largest armada's in galactic history. I'm safe, it's you I'm worried about," Isolder said, firmly, holding her. "Do you have a plan?" He eyed the secret entrance that Thrawn had taken. "I don't like this room anymore, if it helps."

She followed his gaze, also frowning at the previously unknown entrance into her office, wondering why it was there and how she hadn't known about it. Much of the old structural plans had been used in the Senate building's reconstruction, and this addition felt like something Palpatine or Amedda might have had put in. Where did it lead to? And why did Thrawn know about it?

"I guess we should have asked Thrawn about that; if he knew about it and we didn't, who knows who else knows?

"I'll get a Senate guard to check it out.

"And I'm going to comm Shevu--hopefully he's got things back in hand at Isard--and whoever's next in the NRI chain of command." That was another thing, she'd need to contact Drayson's next of kin on Chandrila as well... "And give them everything we've gotten on Treen, so they can arrest her." Preferably before she made a move, or realized that Feyna was onto her. "And Aryan, if he's with her." At the very least, they had enough to hold Aryan, until his involvement, or lack thereof, was more clear.

"Another team should go up and take Rax into custody, and Jyn can make sure they get all the Yuuzhan Vong samples off that Death Star before they start tearing it apart."

She'd like to just blow the thing up, but doing so over Coruscant probably wasn't a good idea; debris fall was a concern, over such a populated and traffic-heavy planet.

"I'm getting worried about Winter, though; she hasn't checked back in since she went to talk to Norin. I was waiting for her before we made any decisions there..."

"I'll get the teams arranged before I go..." Isolder paused as she continued speaking about Winter. He was worried about her too, but at least they were going to sort out Treen and maybe even Aryan. "We'll need a Force user if we go after Aryan, don't forget..."

He pursed his lips. "Jyn can sort the samples... and I'll find about the NRI... but should we take the Death Star with us?" The Hapan held up a hand. "I know what it is, and I know what it did, but someone is going to mention it. I agree it should be taken apart, maybe even driven into Coruscant's sun, but..."

"I wanted to say it before someone else does."

She hoped she was misunderstanding him, that he wasn't actually suggesting they use that thing against Zorn. Even just as a scare tactic...it felt so very wrong. Even against him.

But she didn't want an argument with Isolder, especially not now, when it was still in the back of her mind that he might not come back from Exegol. So her tone was calm, but firm.

"The only reason I'd want it moved would be if it's being relocated for destruction. The New Republic can't show tolerance for a superweapon, under any circumstances. I shouldn't even have let Drayson's team use it, operational or not, and you saw how that came back to bite us."

Isolder smiled at Feyna. "That's the answer I wanted. No matter the threat we face, our principles will never be compromised - proving that there is a difference between Us and Them." He drew Feyna into a hug, his grin broadening. "I couldn't love you any more." He voice didn't catch on the emotion, but his spirit soared. "You don't hate, Feyna. You don't forget, but you don't let hate cloud you. Because of you, we have Piett standing beside us when everyone wanted him to be executed for war crimes. Because of you, we're recruited Thrawn days after he attacked us. Because of you, the New Republic has a fighting chance."

"It's all you," Isolder said, pulling back slightly so he could see her face, touching her chin lightly as he kissed her fully.

Feyna kissed him back, long and deep, hugging him tight again.

When they parted, she had tears in her eyes. "You don't know how much I needed to hear that..."

Or maybe he did. In public, other people didn't realize how much Feyna sometimes questioned herself--she couldn't afford to show it publicly, of course; her political enemies would eat her alive exploiting such a weakness--but in private, Isolder and Winter had both seen her less confident side, particularly when she hit mental or emotional lows. And these last few days, taking blow after blow, with so much going very wrong, her self-confidence had been knocked down quite a bit.

Isolder pulled free again, glancing at his chrono. "I'd best be going; Raddus, Piett and Thrawn are already in orbit. We'll need to get going before Zorn's deadline elapses... travelling through the Unknown Regions, it's dangerous enough with one ship, let alone hundreds."

He looked overwhelmed for a moment, and then reassured. "I'll be home soon, Feyna. One way or another, this is coming to an end today." The Prince of Hapes kissed her hand as he would royalty, grinning as he did, and turned to go, giving her one final chance to say whatever she needed to, and then he would be gone.

To war.

Feyna nodded slowly, reluctantly letting go.

"When you get back"--she didn't say if; she wanted to part on a positive note--"we'll make time somewhere to talk about wedding plans. I wasn't entirely joking when I said we could elope if you want."

"Oh after all this? You try and stop me eloping, Feyna," Isolder said, laughing. "If it's not with you I'll take one of my mother's choices! I am ready to settle down, trust me."

Feyna chuckled, nodding in agreement and going to him to steal one more quick kiss. "I love you," she said again.

A tinge of sadness crept into her voice. "I'd better not hold you up longer..."

"I know," Isolder said, looking back one last time, "and I love you too."

At that... he left.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

IC: Nola and Delan Deidder, background appearance by Norin Graul
Nubian Embassy, Coruscant

"Where are you? What are we going to do?"

Del was whispering, so Nola also kept her voice low. "Landing platform. Arek won't go along with Norin. I'm not sure how much he knows yet, but he wants to stop him.

"I didn't get too in-depth with him, but it sounds like whatever Norin's into, it's bigger than just taking down Aryan--he said something about how Norin was in danger of upsetting a 'balance,' but I didn't get to ask what he meant, yet.

"But he won't leave without Mrs. Graul. The medical droid is reversing the sedatives as we speak--apparently she doesn't actually need them..."

Nola suddenly wondered if Del had known that, too. She hoped not...

"The droid said there was blaster fire out there--what happened?"

Was he okay? It didn't sound like Norin had found him out yet, but what had happened to Winter, and what was a Black Sun leader doing here?

"Winter was shot," Del said, swallowing audibly. "The head of Black Sun - Ike - he's a Force user, and he's working on keeping her alive, but it's not good. He reckons he can wipe her memory, but she's been hurt, and, well, we all know that Winter has a perfect memory. It's what she's infamous for."

"We need to get out, take Arek with us if we can," Del said, carefully. "Norin won't kill his grandson, or his wife." He felt guilty for believing Norin all these years - that his wife had needed to be sedated. It was monstrous, and it just added to how damaged Norin was. "But us? I don't think he'll even pause for half a second."

"I don't, either," Nola agreed, grim. "But he beat Arek, and he kept his wife prisoner in her own body. If he's pushed over the edge, I think he'd do anything.

"Do you think you could get Winter out?" Clearly the Chancellor already knew something was up, but if Winter died in Norin's office...

Del considered. "I can't see Norin or Ike doing the body-work. I'm sure I can. I'll likely bring my ship to the landing bay to drop her off somewhere... and she'll wake up after Ike has done his Force-thing with no memory of what happened."

"I can pick you up then?" Del paused. "Are we going to the Chancellor now, with Arek and so on?" He managed to whisper even more quietly, if possible.

"Yes, I think we should. And the droid can probably patch up Winter's wounds on the way." Nola hoped the Chancellor didn't just have them arrested on sight once she saw Winter; the aide was practically her sister.

"You've got those datapads, right?" All their evidence was on those, they needed to make sure they didn't leave them behind.

Del froze; he didn't have them with him. "They're in our rooms... I don't know if I'll be able to naturally get back..."

"Can you get back in, safely?" He sounded concerned now, because he certainly was. They were cutting it mighty fine, and Nola was almost-safe where she stood.

Nola inwardly groaned--she'd thought he'd pocketed their datapads that morning?

She carefully peered around the platform, checking for another entrance besides the one she'd just used. "Where's Norin now? I might have to go back through Mrs. Graul's room, I don't want him to catch me if I do..."

"Norin is still in the main meeting room, closer to me than you," he sounded apologetic. "Hang on... if you're on the pad... our room edges the Embassy." He pulled up the remote on his comlink as he spoke.

A few meters from Nola, though not quite on the platform, a window popped open. There was a ledge, of course, but, well, she was high up. The Nubian Embassy warranted a high lofty position - it was a Core World, after all. "Can you get to that? Then you won't need to go back through the Embassy?"

Nola gulped, tensing at the idea of getting through that window at this elevation.

"Um, I think so..." She moved to the edge of the platform, gauging the distance, and for gods' sake don't look down.

She'd have killed for Force abilities right about now.

"I'm going to try it," she told him. "Just stay on the line if you can, I'll let you know when I get in." Tucking the comlink into her pocket, she cautiously moved out onto the ledge and began working her way to the window.

Del sounded uncertain, trying to remember how the docking pad had looked from their bedroom window. He knew that the ships that came and went didn't block the view... his eyes widened, as he could suddenly visualise exactly what Nola was doing.

"Be careful!"

With the comm in her pocket, she didn't hear him--probably just as well, since she didn't need any distractions.

Once she reached the window, Nola very gracelessly dove through, eager to be back inside. "I'm okay," she said, pulling the comlink back out and getting to her feet. Hopefully she wouldn't have to do that again. "Where'd you leave the 'pads?"

Del was panicking, and then Nola came back through. "In my pillow," he said, smiling neutrally at a passing receptionist droid. "Its lined with a sensor-reducing cloth, on the inside. Some kind of black material Norin gave me to hide things from..."

He amended quickly. "To hide things."

To hide things from her? Was that what he'd almost said?

Nola pretended she hadn't heard the slip, heading to his side of their bed and checking in his pillowcase.

The datapads were there, as he said, and there was a slam on the apartment door, two rooms over.

"Nola, where are you?"

It was Norin - he'd moved from the main meeting room. There was a click - he'd not even waited for her to respond -

Del held his breath, trying to listen.

Shootshootshootshootshoot--!

Nola tucked the datapads into her jacket, and scrambled to close the window as quietly as she could--she might have tried to climb back out, but she was sure he'd catch her in the act. She'd have to come up with a story, quick.

Norin's voice sounded out. "Nola?"

It wasn't in this room; he was looking around the kitchen. Del was still holding his breath, not wanting to speak in-case, somehow, Norin heard. But the next click in the apartment, it was unmistakable; it was the sound of a blaster being primed.

Thinking quickly, Del activated a window not in the en suite bathroom in their room, but in the main bedroom at the other end of the flat. It made a noise and Norin's voice, more uncertain, sounded again. "Nola?" He was further away, he'd taken the bait!

Hearing Norin prepping the blaster definitely sent her adrenaline rushing; clearly, he was onto her, and he wasn't interested in listening to explanations.

Well, looks like I'm going back out the window after all...

Hoping Norin was far enough away to not hear, she went back and opened up the window again, and, as quickly-but-safely as she could, climbed back out.

There was a buzzing, and Norin pulled out his comlink, focusing upon that, but his voice was still nearing. The call had distracted him from the window noise - either one - and there was a noise of fabric - he'd just slumped on her couch!

She'd made it, just about - now all she had to do was reach the landing bay again and she'd be safe from falling several kilometres -

Edging back to the platform, Nola breathed a sigh of relief once she was back on solid ground. And no sign of Norin coming to check the window.

After double-checking that the datapads were still in her jacket, Nola pulled her comm back out. "I'm okay," she told her husband again. "I've got the pads.

"So Norin's in our rooms...where's Ike? Can you get Winter and get out?"

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: A combo with @Sinrebirth

IC: Qwi Xux, Beaumont Kin
Location: Firenze, Ajan Kloss

They had headed back to Firenze with Qwi hoping they wouldn't argue about what had just happened. It was a bit to take in too.

After they were safely aboard Qwi locked up the yacht, after all she didn't want any creatures trying to get in and disturbing them during the night.

Beaumont made them tea and she sat down next to him in the common room. He had a thoughtful look on his face and Qwi knew that somehow it was all beginning to sink in a bit. She let him think about things whilst she sipped her tea, the Echo staying silent.

"I don't know how we did it" Qwi responded to Beaumonts query "Nouane of course was neutral at the time, they weren't worried about two war criminals on their world. But there was always the worry that we would get caught someday, which we did".

She sipped her tea "Pascale still took jobs, his reputation still preceded him so he still got good contracts. I always worried about him not coming back but he always did. Me? I just carried on teaching. I'd built a good rapport with some students. They always respected me, I don't know whether they knew who I truly was".

"Plus this man called Ike helped out. I don't know who he was but apparently Pascale met him when he first landed there".

Qwi shrugged "I guess the thing is to try and live as normal a life as possible. But be prepared to go if you there is a chance you get found out."

"Ike..." Beaumont shook his head. "Not a name I know, to be honest."

"As normal a life as possible," he repeated, slowly. "Well, then, I have a proposition... I had intended to take one of three expeditions after I finished up on Criton's Point. Either a jaunt to Ziost, or Korriban, because Sith history is something I quite enjoy..." He held up a hand. "But I appreciate it's probably not the smartest with the Dark Lord of the Sith back and all that."

"So," he held out his datapad, and keyed an image. "How about we go looking for this?"

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Alsakan_Tessent

It's called the Alsakan Tessent, and is rumoured to be the key to the ancient treasures of the Kings of Alsakan... before they disarmed and buried their heritage, something like three millennia ago. Not so ancient Sith, but still, pretty cool."

He was getting pretty impassioned, and went red with embarrassment as amusement tinged the Echo.

"Or, y'know, we could not..." Beaumont looked sheepish.

Qwi had to smile. Beaumont in a way did remind her of Pascale a bit with his enthusiasm for the subject or archeology. Pascale's Echo meanwhile was smiling, but still saying nothing.

"I agree that Ziost and Korriban are definitely out. Who knows what could be lurking there plus no doubt there are probably Sith followers about. No doubt Zorn has probably gathered a cult now since he's been about for these past fourteen years" she shuddered at the thought.

She leaned over towards Beaumont to get a look at the picture "I don't mind an expedition so long as nobody spots us and we don't have Thrawn or some mad Sith or Sith spirit chasing us. So you are interested in this because it is a Sith artefact or is there more to it?".

"Welllll," Beaumont said. "The Tessent was stolen by a Dark Jedi, legends say, a thousand years ago, but there's no other Sith connection I can discover." He shrugged. "But who knows. I'd say not, not with practically every ancient Sith influence out there already stepping up thanks to Palpatine, Amedda, Maul, etc etc etc." If he listed all the threats that had risen up in the last war, they'd be here all day.

"But there's no indication Alsakan was ever involved, not really. They went to war with Coruscant over who was going to be capital of the Old Republic, but they started doing that something like ten millennia before the Sith Order was founded? I'd be pretty surprised if there were any Sith influences back then."

"What's great about it, is that it takes us to the far south of the galaxy, like, way way away from anything, in the Moddell Sector." A shrug. "I mean," Beaumont added, slightly shy again. "If we stay here, well, apart from the ruins, there's not much else to explore." He looked at her, his meaning implied. "And I don't know if we're there yet, y'know?"

The Echo was nodding along with all sounds good to me he thought hopefully as you say nobody chasing you around and you get an artefact to add to the collection….

Qwi nodded "No we are not there just yet" she replied but she couldn't help flushing at the implication "We have only just set out on the road, it may come someday".

"But I agree a change of scenery will be nice and we are far away from the action as it were. You have been interested in the artefacts Pascale left behind, adding a new one to the collection will be right up your alley. Besides you need some backup if you are going exploring".

"We got topped up with fuel when we were aboard Home One so we should have enough to get there. We have at least a couple of months supplies on board as well. So it should keep us going for a bit"

She stood up "Would you like to go now? Or would you rather get some rest and head out in the morning?".

Beaumont looked at her, not sure if he was disappointed or not.

But it had been a few mad, mad days. "No time like the present, I guess," he said, stretching slightly. "It's been one helluva visit to Ajan Kloss though. Shame that galactic destiny had to step in and all that."

He stood up, stepping over to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll be looking over the Moddell Sector maps, but we should head to Annaj now. It's the sector capital, I think. Should be a good start." At that, though not abruptly, he headed to the artefact room where he had a handful of books set up, part-read and tabbed up with reference notes.

Qwi smiled as Beaumont kissed her cheek but she sensed something in Beaumont. Was it disappointment, was it sadness? She wasn't quite sure. But maybe it was something to do with her not succumbing maybe to his subtle advances.

She sighed it won't be long I promise she thought. I just need to make sure I'm ready, that I don't rush things….

The Echo nodded at that. Pascale understood that her feelings were still spinning around like a spin dryer. Too soon and she would be accused of moving on too quick, too late and she could lose Beaumont.

Qwi headed back to the cockpit and started up Firenze's systems again before bringing her up and away from the planet. Once she was safe enough away Qwi entered the coordinates for Annaj and jumped them into hyperspace.

She didn't know what to do with herself now. Perhaps she could explain to Beaumont what was going on, perhaps he would understand better.

She walked further back into the yacht to go and find him.

Beaumont was peering over a holochart, connecting rumours, following cartographical hints and other things. "Alright," he said, softly. "The Uvena said that he dropped off the Dark Jedi at -"

He'd left the door to the artefact door open, and peered back at her, from his cross-legged position on the floor, a small table and a book open upon it, the holoprojector fetched up beside it. He had a stylus in his hand, which allowed him to interact with the light.

"Qwi?"

Qwi entered the room feeling rather nervous at this stage. She hoped that she would hopefully explain things properly.

"I'm sorry to disturb you" she said flushing slightly as she sat down next to him taking his hand not holding the stylus "But I feel I needed to explain myself after what I said." She squeezed his hand "Please don't think that was a rejection. It wasn't"

Okay here goes….

"I do want to kiss you Beaumont, but I'm conflicted. If I move too fast I don't want you to think i'm jumping straight in so soon after Pascale died. But I don't know how long you will wait….and I don't want to lose you. Not after everything we have been through".

She shook her head then looked at him fully in the face "I want us to progress forward. I'm scared of say going into battle and we regret doing anything or not doing anything. I want to make sure we are both ready to take those extra steps".

Beaumont, who had pushed it out of his mind as teenage neediness, wanted to just shrug - again like a young man - and go, unhelpfully, okay, instead put down the stylus and smiled. "I understand, Qwi, I do. But sometimes your heart and your mind are not in sync, and then the circumstances are what they are. I get it, I really do. I promise."

His expression was warm, and that truth swam between them via the Echo.

Qwi smiled back feeling Beaumont's warmth and truth, but what he had said about her head and her heart not being in sync….it was an honest truth.

And it hurt a little. Beaumont was pretty clear in his thoughts whilst hers were all jumbled. And it wasn't helping them either.

Her expression turned sad at that thought. "I'm so sorry" she said gently "I didn't know if anybody would care for me again after I lost Pascale. But you did. And I'm sorry I can't give it to you fully as yet. You are right, I need to get myself sorted so that you deserve to have me fully and not some confused person who doesn't know whether they are coming or going".

"These past few days have taken a real toll on us both. I thought Ajan Kloss would be a safe haven...I guess the only safe haven we have is here".

"I'd say Ajan Kloss is safe," Beaumont said, cautiously, eying one of the open books. "Though I'm pretty sure those architectural designs are called Ophidian Grotesques, a form of art found on a bunch of devastated worlds... so maybe not."

Pascale Rouser would recognise those designs; from the temple on Mimban!

"And you're not confused, Qwi, you've been hurt, big time. It takes time. Not days, not weeks. Maybe not even months or years," he smiled, warmly - genuinely. "I know sometimes I'll struggle, but not because I don't want to be here; never." He shrugged. "But because I do want to be here."

He smiled again.

Qwi did smile at him, meanwhile Pascale did detect about the Grotesques.

I saw these on Mimban he said at the Temple of Pomojema. Unfortunately I didn't get to appreciate them much as I had a crystal to steal from my competitors…

Meanwhile Qwi showed appreciation and love through her Force bond with Beaumont. "Thank you so much Beaumont for understanding. We will get there I promise. I know what I need to do now, Pascale's memory will always be with me. I am with you and I want to be with you".

"I know it will be tough but we will get through it" her smile grew wider "We are about to embark on a new adventure…."

She bent forward and brushed his lips with hers, a personal thank you.

Beaumont let her kiss him, and he kissed her back, lightly. He was a younger man, and they always tasted sweeter, as if they had innocence within their flavour. Or perhaps it was just the naivety behind the kiss. But then, Qwi was Omwati, and she was a different breed altogether, and to kiss her, for Beaumont, was like no other kiss, notwithstanding how much of a brush it was.

He was completely passive, and just let the moment happen.

Qwi felt elation as he kissed back and she felt their emotions intermingle. She could feel Beaumont's happiness and she felt better after taking that first tentative step forward.

And she had to admit, his lips tasted good…

She gave him one more slightly harder kiss and then leaned back, that would do for now. There was no sense in pushing it.

"Thank you Beaumont" she breathed and squeezed his hand "I hope that was good for you, because it was for me" she smiled.

"I'd better leave you to your research, I'm going to head back to my cabin to get some rest. It's been a mentally draining day" she tipped her head to the side "Unless you would like to come and join me. And don't worry it will be like last time, just sleeping".

Beaumont grinned. "It's alright; I want to get started on a plan for us when we get there. It's a pretty well mapped sector, which will mean we could be busy for a while, y'know?"

He gave her a slight wave. "Sweet dreams, Qwi. I won't be long, promise."

She stood up still smiling "Oh I have no doubts that it will be another interesting trip. And I'm sure you'll have everything in hand. I'll see you when we arrive".

Qwi gave him a pat on the shoulder before heading to her cabin. She didn't want to sleep in her jumpsuit this time and so she stripped off everything and then got dressed in a nightdress which was a lot more comfortable.

She slipped under the covers making sure she left room for Beaumont to get in and then drifted off.

Tomorrow was another day.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: A hell of a combo with @JediMasterAnne and @Sinrebirth

IC: Han Solo, Anakin Skywalker, Chancellor Feyna Organa
Location: Millenium Falcon, Chancellors Office, Coruscant

It would have been nice to have known earlier that Shevu had already gone to the Nubian Embassy, Feyna thought, then she wouldn't have had to send Winter...

Before she could tell him so, however, he relayed to her news of the Millennium Falcon's arrival in-system, and a voice she hadn't heard in fourteen years came over the comm, and Shevu confirmed:

Anakin was here.

Feyna paled and sank into her chair, shaking and stunned speechless for several moments.

She'd been guilt-ridden for years over how they'd parted, embarrassed by the way she'd behaved then, sometimes wondering if she was part of the reason he'd left, but it was something that she'd simply had to learn to live with. There had always been a part of her that had hoped he might come back, but for the most part, she'd accepted the likelihood that he would stay hidden, that she would never see him again.

But if he was here, now...was he going to go after Zorn?

Struggling to regain some sense of self-control, Feyna addressed Shevu first. "Patch him through on a secured line," she instructed.

Meanwhile on the Falcon Han gave Anakin a stare "Hey pal, no touching the comms without permission. This is my ship not yours, if the New Republic wants to take a potshot at me, let 'em. At least i'll know where we stand here".

He turned to the comm "Greetings Your Highness, this Han Solo, Captain of the Millenium Falcon" boy did it feel good to be saying that again "Look who I found under a rock" he said with a smirk.

"I guess I'm here to rejoin the good fight, if there ever was one. Oh and sorry about the mess last time, kinda had to go and sort some things out".

Anakin stared at Han, expecting the rebuke and rolling with it. Lumpawaroo rumbled a chuckle under his breath.

"This is Anakin Skywalker. I understand my son has been responsible for some destruction recently, namely of Metellos, Mandalore and Kashyyyk." His voice broke slightly. "I'm here to put a stop to that."

Sounding more hoarse, he continued. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

Lumpy was utterly silent.

It took Feyna a couple more moments to respond; though she knew time was against them, it felt odd that he was apologizing to her. Just that he was here, even, was still surreal for her, like he'd come back from the dead.

"I'm sorry, too," she finally said. "To both of you. For...everything." She didn't try to make excuses or to defend herself, but hopefully they could finally close out that chapter of the past. Whether it even mattered to them after all this time, but she'd needed to get it out.

And if Anakin was going after Zorn, she might not get another chance. She worried about how powerful and dangerous Zorn had become, but she'd made the mistake of not trusting Anakin before, she wasn't going to make it again. She had to have faith that he knew what he was doing.

"Zorn has a fleet of Star Destroyers, equipped with Death Star technology," she explained, not sure how up to speed Anakin was. "We were able to defeat the one at Kashyyyk, but he has more at his base at Exegol, in the Unknown regions. We're hoping to stop them before they launch."

On board the Falcon Han heard the emotion in both their voices. At least Feyna had accepted his apology and he would accept hers. What was done in the past could stay there for all he cared, he was ready to take on Zorn and his cronies. Damn the odds.

Hopefully Madelyn would do the same…..

But he was pleased that Kashyyyk had not had the same fate as Mandalore, he looked and gave a smile to the Wookiee "Ya hear that Lumpy? You guys and the New Republic managed to hit them where it hurts".

He turned back to the comm "No worries kid, apology accepted" he knew he should have been more formal with her but it had slipped out "We've all been through a rough patch, what a way to reunite the old gang back together with a war".

Back to business "Yeah I saw the ship back at Kashyyyk before I went on my Anakin hunt. If that thing has a miniature superlaser and with Zorn draining planets he has an unstoppable force. But with all ships you must have found a weakness to take it out before it fired that gun it's got".

"The trouble is if he's got a big fleet, have you got enough firepower to take him on, especially if this Exegol is in the Unknown who knows what you could come up against before you get there".

He looked to Anakin "I wonder if we can come up with something that can hit them hard before they even know what's hit them".

Anakin shook his head. "As dangerous as those Star Destroyers will be, the real battle will be decided in the Force. Unless we can... stop Zorn," he managed, not able to say the word kill, "we lose. He is a superweapon in his own right."

He sounded a bit glum. "All Skywalker's are."

"We need to put our best fighters, pilots and Force users on the spear-tip of the armada," Anakin said with absolute resolve. "If we don't, Zorn will be free to swat this fleet aside on his own."

"That tip - that's where I need to be."

"You can coordinate with Raddus," Feyna told him. "He's in command of the assault. Piett is going as well, and--didn't you have some dealings with Grand Admiral Thrawn once, Anakin?" She couldn't quite remember. If he had, it had been a long time ago. "Anyway, he's taking his fleet. And Prince Isolder is leading the Hapan fleet."

It seemed Feyna and Anakin had the makings of a plan. Of course Han was no tactician so he was happy to leave these two to hash it out.

"Well if you want fighters at the tip of the spear, you've got another one" he said with a smirk "This ship apparently was in Zorn's collection hence the black paint job. So it would give him a bit of a surprise when this one fires back at him".

"And besides, the Falcon is the fastest ship you've got right now. She should be good enough to fight or carry whatever you need. And we've got two good pilots in me and Lumpawaroo, Chewbacca's son" he looked at Anakin "well maybe three".

"We'll lead the charge, just make sure everyone else can keep up".

"Thrawn," Anakin said, his memory drifting back to the Clone Wars. "Yes, I did, though he served the Empire, when he finally made it to Known Space. Ethically, in comparison to say Tarkin, Krennic and that ilk; I thought space whales took him into hyperspace, never to be seen again."

He glanced at Han. "The Falcon would make an excellent tip, because it's so fast..."

But the Anakin frowned. "Raddus, from the Battle of Mandalore..." He paused slightly in memory. "I did leave him to fight the Separatists, and the Empire." He looked at Han again. "We both did."

He pursed his lips a little. "If I may, why aren't you leading the fleet?" Anakin wasn't sure. "You commanded the fleet last time; when it destroyed the Ultimate Weapon."

Lumpy rumbled something about her being a politician now, not a Rebel.

Feyna tensed; Han had criticized her for something similar last time, as best she could recall, and she did not want a repeat experience.

"I would, but I do have some political 'housekeeping' to do here. Aryan Graul resurfaced a few days ago as Senator of Bakura, and from what I've heard and seen since then, he's fallen back in with a group of Centrists who may be trying to resurrect the Empire. We have evidence one of them helped to supply Zorn with those ships. I think if I left right now, I'd be leaving the door wide open for them to make a move."

Han listened to it all glad that Anakin had agreed at least for the Falcon to be the tip of the spear.

But did he really have to bring up the fact that he and Han had basically walked or flown in this case away from Mandalore? That was still a pretty sore subject.

"I have to agree with Her Worshipfulness" Han replied "Sounds like there is some action goin' on here too. And she can handle it, she's in the big leagues of politics now. Plus she's a bit of a fighter. This Aryan Graul and the traitors had better find a good sized rock to hide under because this kid is gonna kick it over".

"Don't worry Princess, we'll hopefully handle Zorn and his fleet and have your fleets hopefully back home soon. I think we'll maybe have to sweet talk the big guys into letting us tag along but that's my department" he smirked.

"Although this Thrawn sounds rather concerning. Especially if he's come back into the galaxy…"

"The situation with Thrawn at the moment is...complicated," Feyna agreed. "But he seems like the least of a lot of evils we've been dealing with lately.

"Anakin, what do you remember about the Far Outsiders?"

Mundane political housekeeping had the ability to transform into coups and intrigue, and Anakin had never had the patience for it. He was more likely to cut down someone who threatened him than play niceties. He also knew Thrawn was a good sort, at heart, but politically misguided. What more could you say of someone who fought honourably for the Empire?

But then Feyna turned the topic surprisingly quickly, and Anakin's eyes widened at that. "The Far Outsiders?" He looked at Han, and back at Feyna. "They were a species who threatened a world in the Tingel Arm - far away... called Zonama Sekot. Obi-Wan and I went there when I was just a Padawan -"

His voice caught at the memory of the visit, of the memory of his former Master, of a mission that was forty years ago now.

"We were tracking a missing Jedi named... Vergere, yes, that was it, and found a world of biological ships; very fast ones - they would give the Falcon a run for its money even now..." Lumpy sniffed at that, offended. "But the world had been scarred in driving off an unknown enemy the locals called the Far Outsiders. It all came to a head when Tarkin - yes, that Tarkin - brought a fleet of Old Republic ships to secure the biotechnology... and ended with Sekot jumping into hyperspace."

He allowed the idea of the planet jumping to percolate; it was a lot of information to handle, as well.

Feyna tried to wrap her head around the fact of an entire planet jumping into hyperspace--was it not anchored to a star, then?

How that worked, she did wonder, but it didn't seem important at the moment, and she was still conscious of how much time they were taking.

"The Far Outsiders, they've come back. They call themselves Yuuzhan Vong, they're anti-Force, techno-phobic, and very violent. Isolder and I were attacked by one on Hesperidium, and the Jedi have found several others scattered across the galaxy--they don't have a Force-presence, so the Jedi can detect them by the void they make--but we suspect there is an invasion coming somewhere in future.

"Thrawn seems to think the only way to beat them is a superweapon, but, as you can imagine, he and I are not in agreement on the subject.

"So as I said--complicated."

Anakin blinked, interrupting Han before he could reply. "Sekot had hyperdrive engines; big ones. We suspected it had been targeted for its biotech, and I guess the Outsiders - the Yuuzhan Vong - have the same tech, so maybe they were dealing with it before it was a threat."

He looked intrigued. "So if we could track it down, maybe we can get it to help. It was very strong in the Force. Very much alive." He wondered. "Thrawn struck me as the kind of person who hated superweapons, as distortions of, well, military logic. So he must be concerned, but..." He looked over at Han. "Perhaps we'll go track Sekot down afterwards, keeping Ben on the move might be a good idea, after all this..."

He'd had practice lying. A lot. Usually to himself, for the last fourteen years. Did he believe he would survive the Battle of Exegol? No.

No he did not.

But Han would make a brilliant father for Ben... if anything happened.

Han was listening to this but it sounded like total nonsense. Planets that could travel through hyperspace? Technophobic aliens? Han would believe it when he saw it.

He had seen many strange things in his time but this was the icing on the cake if what Feyna and Anakin were saying was true.

"Sure why not" Han replied "Ben would no doubt love it if it is strong in the Force but it depends on finding this super planet. Plus if these aliens are here to be honest we can deal with them after we get Zorn. I think he should be our main focus right now".

He leaned back casually in the pilots seat "So the main business at hand is where do you want us to go and where do you want the Falcon to be?".

Han was right, Yuuzhan Vong and Sekot could wait; they needed to focus on Zorn just now.

"If Anakin thinks the Falcon needs to spearhead the assault at Exegol, I'm going to trust his judgment in that."

"The commanders have a wayfinder that's supposed to lead to Exegol, if you need it..." With the Falcon being faster than any of the fleet ships, it might make more sense for them to have it.

Han didn't know what a wayfinder was but if it could show the way….

"We'll take it" Han said this time interrupting Anakin before he could reply this time "If we can't get there using conventional charts and this is our best bet to get there, I'll take it. I can leave the transponder on so you can follow us in. Could also alert you to potential hazards, we don't know if Zorn has surrounded this Exegol with somethin'".

He then smirked "We'll keep his eye on us whilst you jump on in. He might think it's just us and not a fleet comin'. Plus he'll be distracted with daddy comin' back into the picture it might give you guys a chance to hammer him".

He looked up at Anakin "Ready to go to war grandpa?".

Anakin nodded. "We'll head to the Raddus and see about this wayfinder, and blaze a path to Zorn."

His gaze became hooded. "Take care, Feyna. You were a very close friend of my daughter, and I know Leia appreciated your friendship." There. The words he had never said. Unable to cope, he triggered the channel, cutting it, and leaving Feyna to her reaction, and Han to his judgement.

There was more Feyna would have liked to have said, though she knew time was short; she'd wanted to ask Han if Zorn's son was safe, or whether Anakin knew anything about the alternate timeline theory (with Master Bnar gone, she'd lost her only source, and the Neti had suggested that Anakin might have known about the Change), she hadn't told him about her and Isolder, either...there was probably more she'd think of later. But he'd cut the line unexpectedly, before she could say anything else.

She stared at the silent comm for a long minute, eyes stinging and her throat tightening. He hadn't even given her a chance to say goodbye or good luck...

She blinked back the tears, telling herself she should be glad she'd had the chance to speak to him at all, that at least they'd been able to reconcile, but it was small comfort, knowing what he was headed into. With Isolder and Anakin leaving for war, perhaps not coming back, and Winter still not returned from meeting with Norin, Feyna felt very alone.

"May the Force be with you," she whispered, though Anakin obviously wouldn't hear.

May the Force be with us all.

Han thumped the console angrily. He hadn't had a chance to maybe say good luck to Feyna, maybe even a "see you around kid".

"That was not nice" he said turning to Anakin "You get to say what you want to say but I don't? The kid is going to get tossed into the fire and I can't even wish her good luck. What kind of a man does that? I hope if I get to talk to Madelyn you don't do that again" he raised a finger "Because if you do you'll be heading to Exegol on your own".

"Now get out of my cockpit before I say somethin I might regret later".

He turned back around and turned to Lumpy "Let's get to the Raddus, I don't suppose Zorn will wait long before he starts comin for us…."

TAG: @Sinrebirth , @JediMasterAnne

 

IC: Madelyn Linnett
Senate Tower, Chancellor's Office, as a hologram, and then back aboard the Rogue Shadow

Madelyn turned away from Mace Windu as things got underway. She hadn't had a chance to speak to Ka'tra that was true, but it was also the last thing on her mind right now. She listened carefully as Agate told her where the Osik was headed, and she had a funny feeling that things were are to get complicated. That was especially true after Anakin Skywalker contacted them. Madelyn recoiled a little, in shock because too much was happening at once. And she briefly thought that the force was really starting to work in mysterious ways for everything to unfold like this.

"I don't know where the Osik is going." Madelyn said, feeling a little jumbled. "But we need to be prepared for whatever might happen next." She looked at Master Windu. "Is it really him Master? Has Anakin Skywalker come back from the dead?"

Tag: @Sinrebirth @BobaMatt

 

OOC: A combo with @Sinrebirth

IC: Han Solo, Jabba the Hutt
Location: Millenium Falcon, Coruscant

Han had been given instructions to head to Home One, one of the beautiful looking cruisers sitting amongst the fleet. Lumpy was handling bringing them in when a chime came over the comm.

Of course thinking it was the Home one Han answered it and was now looking at his boss, well former boss anyway Jabba the Hutt.

So much for tryin to ditch that slug….and how the hell did he hear about Anakin Skywalker? It wasn't like I broadcast that over an open channel…

“Hero?” Han snorted “Hell I just picked this guy up and all of a sudden i’m the good guy again. I guess that trumps being a war criminal here on Coruscant. And as to Ike? Well I got a little sidetracked….got caught up in a rather nasty battle at Kashyyyk, got the Falcon back after a bit of bother but here I am. I don’t know if Ike is here, have only just arrived”.

“What am I playin? Well basically to keep myself alive long enough to make sure I get this upcoming job done, ya know help save the galaxy and all. Because basically if this goes south, well you and your wonderful pals won’t be seeing many more days. Especially if this Zorn gets his way….”

Jabba belched unfeelingly. "Come on, Han my boy, there must be an angle. I've known you for long enough to know you're always running a con!"

He leaned closer to the display. "Or have you truly gone... legit?" There was a noise akin to a shudder from his folds as he wobbled.

Han put a hand over his heart "Jabba ya wound me. Me always runnin a con? Might have the wrong guy" he half smirked at that.

"But this time? No con involved. I walked away lsst time from some friends of mine and I'm not gonna hold out on them again. Do I owe them anything? No. But maybe it might get me into their good books so I can maybe earn a credit or two."

"Savin a galaxy is better than being dead"

Jabba pursed his lips, analysing Han through narrowed eyes. "I'm not very interested in saving the galaxy, Han, but what comes after. The clans have tasked me to find out just what that is, my boy."

"If there is no profit to have in the future, then perhaps I should reach out to Senator Treen... or Darth Zorn directly..." Jabba licked his lips in anticipation. "If I negotiate for the survival of the Hutt worlds at the expense of the New Republic ones... would that be a good enough incentive for the clans, I wonder."

"Whaddya think I am, psychic?" Han said snorting "Who knows what may happen. All I know is Zorn doesn't deserve to be in this galaxy anymore".

"But you asked for my opinion so here it is. You side with Zorn and that Senator, do ya really think he'll let you have a piece of the pie? That he'll let gangsters, smugglers and criminals survive? This man literally eats planets. Ya think just because you offer the New Republic up he'll save you. He's a Sith, nuff said".

"At least if you help the New Republic out they will thank you for it and you still get to keep all your enterprises. We all get to carry on, ya think the New Republic will care about criminals still working? They will have enough on their plate cleaning up the fallout from Zorn".

"Is that a promise, Solo?" Jabba's eyes became slits. "That if the Hutts helped the New Republic, we'd get... concessions?"

His voice sounded pretty serious, and to the point.

"Look have I ever lied to ya?" Well maybe that was a lie in itself but Han was'nt going to let Jabba know that….

"I'm sure the New Republic would be grateful for your help, and if they aren't….well maybe I was wrong about them. Have I ever been wrong before?"

Again another lie.

"Look I know you want this Ike fella out the way but there are bigger things at stake here. Maybe you have a handy bounty hunter around who can do it for you, is Boba Fett still around?. I mean i'd love to do the job for you but i'm no assassin".

"So whaddya say? Come join the good guys for a little while, perhaps help save the galaxy and then bang back to normality afterwards".

Jabba made a noise of slow thought. "Hrmmm. I'm sure that you can leverage that goodwill into something which benefits the Clans, Solo..." He leaned closer to the screen. "Because I agree with you, my boy. Zorn and this cabal of Imperials... they'll be bad for business. I'll hire Boba Fett to deal with my problem, once he's finished his current job..."

"Just make sure, when all is said and done, I don't have to sic him on you," Jabba seethed. "Because I don't do anything for nothing." With that, he signed off, and Lumpy rumbled his concern.

Han looked over at Lumpy "I know pal, I know. Getting in deep again" he sighed "I suppose that's what ya get for being around gangsters".

He smirked "Don't worry, i'll try and think of something'. I don't want Boba Fett back on my ship, it was unpleasant enough last time…"

Han let Lumpy bring them in to Home One "Let's get this job done and worry about the rest afterwards shall we?"

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: Apologies for the double post but another combo with myself and @Sinrebirth

IC: Qwi Xux, Beaumont Kin
Location: Firenze, Annaj

Qwi awoke after another night with Beaumont. She nearly chuckled as Beaumont quickly got dressed and what looked like an excited look on his face.
She trusted him not to crash Firenze into the planet.

She felt the warmth of his body being in such close proximity to hers begin to disappear. But there was also something lingering in her brain. The fact that Pascale had visited her in her dream. And it had seemed so….real.

She had woken up to find Pascale’s blue eyes looking at her with his familiar smile. He had been holding her gently and she remembered what had happened on Ajan Kloss. About the Daughter saying that the Ech would eventually go. That he would disappear and never come back. That he had explained how he had died.

Qwi was still trying to process it all. But with Pascale now appearing like this….maybe it would not be long before his spirit finally passed on. It worried her that it felt so real though, that one day she could wake up and say Pascale’s name instead of Beaumont’s whilst they were together. And upset him. But perhaps Pascale had decided to spend his last moments with her so he could look at her and be with her one last time before he disappeared into the ether.

She could understand that but she would have to tread carefully as she had started the process of moving on with Beaumont. Qwi got up eventually and had a quick shower before getting dressed in a new jumpsuit and then joining Beaumont in the cockpit and popping herself in the pilot’s seat. Beaumont explained about what they arrived to….and the name he mentioned both surprised her and the Echo.

The last time I saw him I thought he was dead Pascale I guess he escaped that trap he fell in….

Qwi looked to Beaumont “Ast Kiorie sounds good then” she said moving the yacht forward towards the planet “It seems you’ve heard of Follnor as well…."

“Pascale and he were longtime rivals. Apparently it happened when Pascale snatched a rare jewel that Follnor was after. He’d done all the work, Pascale swooped in and said thank you very much and took it. They both kept running into each other on digs and explorations and such with Pascale pretty much besting him most times. And nearly killing each other in the process. The last time Pascale had seen him, Follnor had fallen into a rather nasty trap in a cave and Pascale had thought him dead. Looks like he’s come back. And no doubt he will be rather pleased when he finds out Pascale literally killed himself”.

“So is there any way to make sure we dodge him?”

Beaumont looked concerned. "He's probably looking for the Tessent, so it'll be difficult..."

"... we'll need to get go Ast quick, or we'll be in trouble. Once he starts recruiting, promising a share of the profit, we'll end up with more and more people to compete with... assuming he'd not brought a team in with him..." Beaumont pursed his lips. "... I'm basically following a Shistavenen legend from a thousand years ago. Not an easy sell..." He paused...

"Unless you want to just have a guess where to look?" Beaumont looked at her, from the display. "Maybe the Echo could help?"

Again the hint that using the Echo - or abusing it - would accelerate the loss of Pascale...

So it seemed they were about to go on a full blown treasure hunt complete with competing parties. With Beaumont unsure and Pascale beginning what was perhaps his final journey it was imperative she supposed they finished this one on top.

Well I might as well go out with a bang thought Pascale my final hurrah would be beating a rival to the prize...he chuckled.

He then passed his thoughts on to Qwi as to what he had heard.

"Well Pascale says that he has only heard rumours about where it might be, I suppose like you from tales, legends and the like. He heard something about Ast Kikorie Station. Of course it might not be there but as you say it may be a start, could be some clues there or just a wild bantha chase".

The map did resonate for a moment to Qwi, but Beaumont broke the moment with a nod. "Ast Kikorie, here we come."

When they hit hyperspace, the young man headed to Pascale's part of the yacht. "We're going to need to be fully kitted out..."

His hand rested on the wardrobe door. "Is this okay? My wearing his clothes?"

There was a brief vision of Beaumont in Pascale's traditional hat and suit...

Qwi hadn't returned to Pascale's cabin since she had seen his body. And seeing Beaumont in his clothes...it did squeeze her heart a little that he was about to wear her dead ex lovers clothes.

But Beaumont probably didn't have anything else to wear so it would be courteous to give them to him.

He does look good in them said Pascale with a smile and even Qwi did have to admit to herself he did look a little bit good in them.

She nodded "Of course. I'll sort out the weapons and packs. I'll be in the common room.once you are done".

Qwi headed back out and headed to the main common room and pulled a couple of packs and started loading them with food and water packs, a water bottle each and other bits and pieces they would need.

https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Dominic_Monaghan?file=Dominic_Monaghan.jpg

He stepped out of the room, and gave her a smile. "How do I look?"

Qwi looked over….and couldn't help but open her mouth in awe. He looked….good and her heart squeezed again. It was like Pascale had been resurrected from the grave and there was a little pang of sadness that it wasn't him which was quickly squashed.

Magnifique (magnificent) said Pascale you know I would never let anyone else wear my clothes but perhaps Beaumont is an exception. After all perhaps if he was my protege he would have to have some style..

Pardon?

Well before my untimely death I was thinking of possibly making him my protege. You know someone to pass the baton to when I got old and grey and couldn't do it anymore. There was a smile. I think he's there already…

Qwi shut her mouth and walked over towards him with a smile reaching up and straightening his collar on his shirt and straightening his jacket before slipping one of Pascale's small blasters into his jacket.

"There" she said resting her hands on his shoulders "You definitely look the part of a dashing explorer. Pascale approves as well".

"And I suppose i'll be your glamorous assistant, or bodyguard" she smiled "I think i'll stick with my jumpsuit, nice and easy to move around in if we get in a firefight".

She wrapped her arms around his neck gently "I 've packed what we need, hopefully I haven't left anything out. Feel free to check just in case…."

Beaumont blushed a little, but he enjoyed the attention. "These famous academic types always have some young hanger-on, so they'll likely not even notice you." He sounded amused. "So you'll be able to get away with whatever you need to."

"I can think of one thing you've forgotten..." He gave her a kiss, a light one.

Qwi responded to Beaumont's light kiss blushing a slightly deeper blue, keeping her arms loose around his neck.

Beaumont was right about her being able to do what she wanted to, of course she had never been out with Pascale on his jobs as she was teaching but she was sure she could try to pull off the young hanger on, the student to his teacher maybe.

"What have I forgotten?" Qwi said keeping her face close to Beaumont's. She was sure she had everything packed….

Beaumont met her eyes, a little uncertainty running through them. "I was just referring to the kiss." He chuckled softly. "Unless you can think of anything else..." It hadn't been all too long since their last semi-serious conversation, but knowing Qwi, she was literally working through a checklist of what had to be in their bags. With anyone else, it would have been an innuendo leading into something else, but Beaumont was pretty sure she didn't mean that.

Which meant she'd realise what she had said and how it could be interpreted - especially while holding her arms around his neck - and she would blush even deeper. Beaumont managed to keep his face relatively neutral as she worked through it, and, in all likelihood, blushed an even deeper shade of blue.

As Qwi looked at his face she had realised as time moved on that she had made another mistake. First the argument, then misinterpreting him the first time round….and now she'd misinterpreted again.

Well done Qwi, another clanger. Pascale's Echo remained silent but she did feel a comforting pat from him.

She released her arms from his neck going even bluer in the blushing department putting her hand over her mouth. There was no way she was ready for any intimacy yet and yet what she said...although Beaumont hadn't said anything yet.

"Oh God i'm so sorry" she said looking down "I meant whether there was anything important we hadn't maybe packed yet. I didn't mean...dammit!" She couldn't find the right words to say now that she had embarrassed herself in front of him.

And i'm supposed to be the one who is experienced in this sort of thing….

Beaumont smiled easily. "Don't worry about it, Qwi." He wasn't pretending, he was working out when she was playing and when she was serious, and he appreciated it wasn't even clear to him, let alone her - how could it be. "Stop worrying, and go make sure we have our toothbrushes." He stuck out his tongue, and went to the refresher for the moment.

This could go on a few tangents yet, so they had to be ready.

Qwi smirked at him as he walked past her "Cheeky", she responded and gave him a playful wink.

The awkward moment between them had passed but it was happening more than Qwi would like. She sighed moving over to the packs one more time.

That was close…

You two really need to use your bond more Pascale responded because when I go? You could lose it. You should treasure and use it while you can….

Fair point she said I just hope this doesn't happen again, because otherwise Beaumont is going to start getting second thoughts…

Don't worry my dear Pascale soothed you'll both eventually work things out. Now, focus on the job at hand, look after each other and beat the competition.

Yes sir Qwi thought with an inward smirk as Pascale chuckled.

After her final checks of the packs Qwi headed back to the cockpit to prepare for their arrival.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: Another combo w/ Sinre

IC: Chancellor Feyna Organa and Anakin Skywalker
Coruscant, speaking via comlink

She'd thought it might be Shevu again--she really needed to get him moving on Treen and Graul--or perhaps Winter finally checking in; she had not expected Anakin to call her back. But she couldn't help being glad that he had.

"I'm sorry... I haven't spoken to anyone apart of the family for so long. I... I got overwhelmed."

Feyna gave a small nod, understanding. "I know that feeling..."

Perhaps not in the same context as he meant, but with the galaxy coming apart around her, she'd been feeling overwhelmed pretty much since Thrawn's fleet had showed up two days ago. As soon as she managed to get a step ahead of one issue, something else went wrong.

"I was going to ask Han: Zorn's son, he's safe? You don't have to tell me where he is, but he's still hidden?"

He felt her pain, and the older man looked upset she had so much to handle. But she was Chancellor, it came with the territory. He steeled himself, and replied. "He is, I left him in the same place I hid; Han knows where. He'll be completely hidden from Zorn."

He hesitated for a moment -

"I get the feeling a lot has happened that you could have needed me to help with..."

Feyna raised an eyebrow. "Zorn's deadline would run out before I get through just the last few days."

She glanced downward, fidgeting slightly. "There was one specific thing..."

She tried to think of how to approach the subject delicately.

"Anakin, if I asked you about the Change...do you know what I'm talking about?"

Her question saw Anakin narrow his eyes. "I do. It was one of the things the Force reached out to me about... that I was supposed to fall, and become the Sith that Luke defeated... after the whole galaxy fell to Imperial rule... with Emperor Palpatine, instead of Amedda..." His voice trailed off. "I was to be Darth Vader, and his enforcer..."

The man shuddered. "But there, Leia survived, I know she did. Padme... died by my hand, in childbirth..." His eyes unfocused at the horrors he had seen. "It's why I left; my guilt, that Luke took my destiny... and Leia took my death."

His eyes were wet, and his voice hoarse. He couldn't bring himself to ask Feyna why she knew about it.

Feyna was quiet for a few moments; it was hard, hearing him talk about Leia, and Padme, and Luke, and seeing him get emotional made it harder still.

She didn't know if she should tell him what she knew of her own alternate life--especially considering that the life she had in this time, would have been Leia's. For the moment, she did not.

"Luke redeemed you, though, in that time," she pointed out.

Would it make a difference, in this time, if...but Zorn seemed more far-gone than Vader might have been.

"Master Bnar told me, the theory goes that the Force would eventually rectify a Change...what does that mean? What happens?"

Gathering himself, Anakin paused. "Master Bnar is probably right; the Force will self-correct... or, rather... the Ones..." His brow beetled. "Master Bnar and I spoke about this once, on Ossus. He believed the Force had a will, and I believed that it was ruled by three powerful Force users... who died during the Clone Wars. A Father, Son and Daughter, one for Balance, Darkness, and Light, respectively."

This would sound like a fairy-tale, he knew that. But the Far Outsiders - the Yuuzhan Vong - they sounded as insane as the idea of three deities ruling the Force from afar. He grunted, pressing forward.

"So without them, I do not know if these... spasms of violence... will ever balance out..." Anakin looked uncertain. "I was the Chosen One - the Father believed I was supposed to replace him, but I chose to return here, and fight the Clone Wars. My son and daughters were the ones who would ultimately balance the Force, before the Change."

The Jedi Master pursed his lips. "Which means its for me to do... but I can't do it alone, so I'll need you and Han and the other, well, Heroes." He looked directly at Feyna, catching that there was a reason for her queston. "How do you know of the Change? Have you seen something?"

She dropped her gaze again, briefly, biting her lip, then nodding. "I don't know how or why it happened, but I saw another version of myself, of who I was in that time.

"Leia was supposed to be the Princess of Alderaan, not me."

Did that mean that Feyna had taken Leia's destiny, then?

Anakin nodded, slowly. "I suspected as much. Leia became an orphan after what I... after what Darth Vader did."

He swallowed. "Does that bother you? That there is a version of this story where you were... what? Someone else?" Anakin wished he could draw her into a hug, then - probably the first empathy he'd felt for another soul in a long time - and all he could do was draw closer to the cam.

"You've done so much, Feyna, for this galaxy. Whatever was supposed to be, it didn't happen. Or if it does, it isn't here." His voice was soft, and warm, but determined. "Here, you're a Hero of the Galaxy. One of the few, I suspect, that hasn't cracked into a thousand pieces. You've built something incredible with your life, and I don't want you to think for a minute - for a second - that you haven't earned it."

"You've lost everything, Feyna." He sat back. "Coruscant? The top hundred levels were burned off by Qi'ra Ananke. You didn't let that stop you. You led the galaxies' recovery from Corellia, and restored everything to before the Clone Wars - but better. We could never have built the galactic union you have here and now. I've seen that fleet - the New Republic, the old Empire, even the Hapans - they're all here."

"Because of you," he added gently.

Feyna had to wipe at her eyes, again holding back tears. In the past, on her low days, she'd dwell on her mistakes so much that she would wonder if she deserved to be where she was in life, and this new discovery of the alternate timeline, the should-have-been, was not the most reassuring. But to hear Anakin tell her that she had earned all this...it helped, immensely.

"Thank you..." She managed a smile. "Isolder said something like that earlier, too," she added, remembering.

Her expression turned solemn again. "Anakin...how much of a chance do you think we really have, against Zorn? This isn't like the Ultimate Weapon, it wasn't fully-functional, he didn't try very hard to defend it, and he's more powerful now..."

If they re-fought that battle now, Feyna suspected that the outcome would be quite different.

Anakin's expression became unreadable, as it often did when he went into battle, back in the day. "No, it isn't," he said, reflecting on the HoloVid he had seen of the Sith Eternal Fleet. "It's many, many, many ships. Pound for pound, they outgun us, but so did the Galactic Empire, or the Separatists, when you counted. Battles like this are about the Force, Obi-Wan used to say -"

His voice caught slightly, and he felt a spectral hand upon his shoulder; his old Master, reassuring him - Feyna would see it, too.

"And I'm the Chosen One," Anakin said grimly. "It's my destiny to balance the Force, and that means stopping my son."

He left it at that, unable to say anymore about what he was going to have to do; that he had to remember that Zorn was Luke, because he would see his son's face when he saw him next. He allowed the moment to pass, as he belatedly caught the slight peak in Feyna's voice as she spoke about Isolder.

"The Hapan Prince?" Anakin grinned. "If it helps, and I won't be telling Han this but it's one of the reasons I trust him - I saw in my visions that Leia married him, would you believe? I would have turned to the dark side just over that, had that happened!" He forced a smile. "Isolder is a wonderful man, from what I've seen, Feyna." There was the slightest flitter, but Anakin focused on his teasing.

Feyna's smile returned, and she flushed slightly. "Isolder is my fiancé," she admitted. "It's not public, but..."

But I might not have another chance to tell you.

"His mother insisted he go, if we're taking their ships, and I'd expected as much...

"But you see why I'm worried." Of course she was worried about the whole operation in general, but Isolder, and Anakin, even Han, that was a personal concern.

"He's talking about eloping, after he gets back..."

Anakin Skywalker peered at the Chancellor. "I promise he'll return safely, Feyna. I put my life on it," he said, flashing an old grin, the kind which had forced a grin out of Padme. "So you can elope and be Queen Mother and ruler of Hapes and the New Republic."

"In a different time, we might never have known each other, but in this one, I could have seen you as my daughter," Anakin smiled. "May the Force be with you, Feyna."

She smiled back and nodded. "And you, Anakin. Tell Han I said 'good luck.' To both of you."

TAG: @Sinrebirth