Returning to Nothing...(Open)

[Cheyanne Rakai]

Quay'Na was gone and Cheyanne felt guilty of not seeing her sister until the very day of her funeral.

Aramis, Quay's baby son had survived but had been whisked off to AraMir to live with another family that Quay had already made arrangements with.

With a heavy heart, Cheyanne Rakai handed over her weapons at the door and entered. Not many were here today and Cheyanne was glad. For the past two days, she had found herself wondering the streets hoping, praying, cursing and screaming in her anguish, but even that didn't seem to help.

Now it was too late, Quay was gone and never coming back and Cheyanne would never hear her kind voice again.

Tears filled her eyes as she walked over to a seat and flopped down. "Whiskey, please." Cheyanne spoke in a dull tone to the server droid. Something had to numb her pain, anything...

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Kieran Devaneaux sat alone in the empty Bar and Grill after returning from his journey into the Outer Rim - only to have his turrets repaired, then he would go back. He cursed the rotten luck that had caused him to have that fateful run-in with both his father and his clone "brother" on his way to Deralia...he feared he'd need the Skyrider rather than the Devaneaux's Fury...

Looking up, he noticed another patron - but she looked like someone had died. Briefly sensing it, he knew that someone had. He stood, straightened his officer's uniform and walked over to her, asking, "Are you alright? Is there something I can do to help?"

[Cheyanne Rakai]

A tear slipped down her cheek as she sniffed and looked up. "Huh?" Cheyanne was truly out of it.

"Oh, not unless you have the power to bring someone back from the dead." She sighed deeply. "My sister died and I didn't even get to say good-bye..."

Her shot of whiskey was sat on the table before her a moment later by the server droid.

Cheyanne gulped it down and ordered another.

[Kieran Devaneaux]

((Dang double-post - please delete this one; the one below is correct))

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"I don't even think the Masters have that gift," Kieran said quietly. Uncertainly, he asked, "What happened to her?" He briefly recognized Cheyanne - and he knew without asking who her sister was. Kieran didn't know her personally, but he had heard something about her. This part about her being dead, though - this was new. Gods, what I've missed here, being out on the Rim, he thought.

[Cheyanne Rakai]

Cheyanne motioned to the seat across from her.

"Quay'Na passed away from having two massive strokes during her pregnancy, my dad said they call it Toxcemia. It caused her blood pressure to rise and that's when she had the strokes. They did all they could, even took the child..." Tears clouded her vision as she was racked with guilt again.

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Kieran was totally shocked; he had heard of this before. He had travelled the Outer Rim for years, and his healing knowledge had led him to people with some particularly nasty conditions. Toxcemia was one of them. "Good gods....I'm terribly sorry! That's....that's the most horrific thing that can happen to anyone...." Silent in shock for a moment, he thought about the condition, and what she had said. "Did the child survive?"

[Cheyanne Rakai]

Cheyanne nodded. "Yeah, she had a son, Aramis but she already knew it...and she knew that she was going to die. It was just no one wanted to believe it, she even made arrangements for people to take the child and now, he's gone too."

She paused. "I should've come back when she asked me two months ago, but I couldn't face her and now it's too late."

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Kieran nodded; he would understand how she would feel guilty. "What do you plan to do now? Do you wish to continue your life drinking until you slump over onto the floor?" he asked him, nodding to the whiskey glass. "I do not think that is what she would have wanted of you." Kieran disliked alcohol, he only drank it when he felt particularly down....and that was not often, which was surprising.

[Cheyanne Rakai]

He had a point as she looked at the empty glass. "I don't nomally drink, but it sounded appropriete for the time being. I just want this feeling to go away. I feel so empty again, it wasn't long ago that I suffered another loss...a miscarriage, and now my sister. It's not fair!"

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"The only suggestion I can give is seek counsel. I have lost a lot myself. Not like you, of course, but I have lost enough to be able to understand. Seven years ago, I lost my past, almost lost my identity. I can understand your feelings entirely....my first memory after losing my memory, so to speak..." Kieran grinned sheepishly. "...was sitting in this very bar, several empty mugs of Corellian beer on the bar....I became quite ill as a result. Too much beer can be bad for your health. I would hate to see it happen to someone else, especially one suffering as much as you are."

[Cheyanne Rakai]

Cheyanne nodded as she looked at the empty glass. "A long time ago, I was on top of things, I knew what I wanted and the glass was always half full. But, now it seems everything is falling apart and I've lost my way." She paused for a few moments.

"My name is Cheyanne Rakai, by the way, I don't mean to be rude."

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"No offense taken," Kieran said, chuckling. "I'm Kieran Devaneaux, recently returned from the Rim and still a little out of touch with all that's going on." The Jedi-Captain grinned.

[Cheyanne Rakai]

"I'm sure it will come back to me, but right now it's still so fresh and hard to take, ya know.."

Cheyanne looked at him. "You were on the outer Rim?"

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Kieran nodded. "I hail from a planet out on the Rim, beyond Tatooine. Well, at least, my birthworld is, anyway. My homeworld of Deralia is closer to the Inner Worlds than my birthplace is...but still far away from the center of the universe - which is right here on Coruscant. I was recently out there on my ship, the Devaneaux's Fury, searching for my past....I have been trying to find my birthworld, and trying to avoid my father."

[Cheyanne Rakai]

"Ahh, I see. I'm a pilot as well, I work for Maxwell Industries on Naboo in shipping. Very busy place so I don't get a lot of time to reach the Outer Rim very much. But, I've heard it can be rather rough out there."

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"It depends where in the Rim. Deralia is fairly quiet, and....I have no recollections of my birthworld to tell you. I only have what comes back to me, so to speak."

[Cheyanne Rakai]

Cheyanne gave him a strange look. "I don't understand what you mean."

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"I'm partially amnesiac," Kieran explained. "An unwelcome side effect of my father's overthrow on my birthworld...as much as I can remember of it, anyway. I was standing in a palace, I am presuming it was his. A fairly tall tower, I think....he and I had battled one another hand-to-hand, though of course I was the sneakier of the two and had managed to get a knife up my sleeve. I slit him across his face, blinding him in his right eye....but I did not expect him to do likewise." He tapped the scar on the right side of his face, smiling, looking somewhat embarrassed.... "Then I forgot that the planet's military had revolted as well, and they bombed the palace tower....with me still in it, unfortuately. Every moment after that until I woke up on a hospital ship...complete blur. But enough about me...."

[Cheyanne Rakai]

She nodded. "Ahh, well now it all makes sense and it really sucks." Her mood seemed to begin to change. There were far worse things in life than losing a sister.

"It must be very hard."

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"Oh, it can be, when you awaken to realize your supposedly long-dead father is not only alive, but is a Sith and is out for your head." Although not a public bounty, Artimus Devaneaux had selected a group of mercenaries, select Sovereignty officers (ironically, all under his clone brother Major Demon-Kieran's command, which meant he was almost literally being hunted by himself) and bounty hunters known as the Order of the White Hand - which, Kieran remembered grimly, had been the personal symbol of Artimus himself - to hunt the Jedi officer. On Coruscant, however, he was protected - for the moment. "Coruscant is one of the few safe havens I have left - if I attempt to get out into the Rim, I would need the Skyrider, which is my current Naval command." Kieran felt somewhat uncomfortable talking about himself in front of someone who had just lost a sibling...

[Cheyanne Rakai]

TEH whiskey was beginning to take it's toll, the shot was enough to effect her, since she wasn't a drinker and she had a very low tolerance to it.

Cheyanne didn't quite get the whole of what he was saying at that particular moment. It was almost as if he was talking way to fast for her mind to get.

She blinked slightly as she tilted her head. "So, how long have you been with the Jedi?"

[Artimus Devaneaux]

((EEP! Wrong C!))

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"Not quite a year yet. To be honest, I have not had a lot of time to train. I've been out in the field." He indicates his uniform and rank insignia - indicative of a New Republic captain. "There are few examples of Jedi military officers....as far as I know, Lion El'Jonson - one of Master Belargic's Padawans - and I are the only Jedi in the military, though I could be wrong about that. I have been just a tad out of touch."

[Cheyanne Rakai]

"Ahh, I was in the Naval Academy on Corellia a while ago, training to be a fighter pilot, top of my class even, but all things come to an end at one point or another..." She signalled for another drink, it came momentarily.

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Kieran looked momentarily concerned and placed his right hand - the one with his white-jeweled ring - over the glass in an attempt to keep Chey from destroying herself with alcohol. "No more. One was enough. I can see what the one has done to you."

[Cheyanne Rakai]

Cheyanne really never knew what it felt like to have someone care about what she was doing, besides Quay'Na. She sighed as she stared at his hand, wondering whether or not to be mad or thank him.

"I supppose you're right, I've never been much of a drinker and besides that stuff tastes awful." She wrinkled up her nose.

Her eyes came upon the ring he had on. "That's a nice ring, where'd you get it?"

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"I don't know - I am presuming it was a family relic, something my mother gave me when I was younger.....as I said, I do not have a complete recollection of my past." Kieran smiled as he moved his hand.

[Cheyanne Rakai]

"Hmmmm, it's a very nice ring, Kieran." Cheyanne sighed deeply. She needed to go out and do something, to get her mind off her sisters death.

"So, what does one do for fun in Coruscant?" She asked somberly.

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"This is one place, but usually it's more for taking a break, really. To be honest, I am not sure what sort of places there are around here - which is why I try not to stay around here too much. I'm usually on either one of my ships - only coming back here to finish up training, stuff like that."

[Cheyanne Rakai]

"Ahh, good point. I'm sure I can find something to do around here. I spent a good amount of time here, when Quay was at the Temple. We would meet here for lunch and she would always order a chef salad without meat or some kind of meatless stir-fry and..." It hit her like a ton of bricks, the memories that she couldn't control and Cheyanne suddenly burst into tears.

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Kieran placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Maybe what you need is to travel....come with me to Deralia. I can't take you on the Skyrider - it being a military ship - but the damage to the Devaneaux's Fury, my personal transport freighter, should be repaired by now. Perhaps I can let you fly the ship. Would you know how to fly a YT-2400?"

[Cheyanne Rakai]

"Oh, God, I'm sorry..." She apologized after he spoke. She wiped her eyes and took in a deep breath. "I guess, it's still not out of my system."

Cheyanne paused as she thought about what he said. "Fly your ship? It's not everyday, one gets to fly a new ship."

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Kieran grinned. "Promise not to crash her?"

[Cheyanne Rakai]

"Haven't crashed a ship yet, never even close." She told him as she gave a hint of a smile again.

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Kieran chuckled. "I'm sure. At any rate, I think the travelling will do you some good. This planet is somewhat stressful for you, I can see...because of your sadness from the loss of your sister. I can understand loss, and I know a little travel can make a lot of difference. Of course, you need only ask, and I can send for someone to bring you back to Coruscant if you so need it. I would take you back myself, but I have a lot of.....searching, if you will....to catch up on."

[Cheyanne Rakai]

"Well, maybe some time away from here would do me some good. I need to get my mind off all this, so I'll take you up on your offer and I thank-you for doing so."