(I've got) Dreams To Remember

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It was billed as a routine stopover. A delivery of supplies and sundries. Nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly nothing that warranted special attentions. And yet, in the back of her mind Loklorien 'Ilancy couldn't help but wonder. Wonder at the seemingly here and there nature of those above her, and what their true intention were. Why they sent her and her crew to those places that seemed without any special meaning, yet carried such deep undertones. It was worth a moment of thought, but the Lupine was bound and determined to not give too much consideration to her designated flight plans. She was, at the good graces of Alliance Command, still on the active duty roster and not sitting in a cell, and for that she was more than grateful. She was determined to cross every one of her T's, and dot every one of her I's. She had been so meticulous in all of her reports that no doubt the poor secretary tasked with going over each bullet was bored to tears.

It was a strange sort of existence that she had resigned herself to.

Gone were the days of prestige and seniority. Gone were the deferential nods in her direction. She had lost the right to those because of a man that had been so bent on controlling her, and controlling the galaxy. And because she had believed his lies, she found herself caught up in the aftershocks. Taken up in a tide of reaction, she could only weather its' storm with a bowed head and supplication.

Everything involved with a planetary delivery had been tended to once the Khera'Va'ss'io had dropped from hyperspace, and as he fell into orbit around Ossus she knew that it would only be a matter of time.

A matter of time before she could take up her children in her arms and only let go when it was absolutely necessary for her to leave.

KHER set himself an orbital vector, in keeping with the protocol that he'd so studiously studied, and it wasn't long before he was fully engaged with those planetside. He was able enough to coordinate with the quartermasters below, and begin scheduling each and every supply shuttle. For him it was nothing but the norm. And as he stood behind her as she sat in her office, she knew that though his physical self was so close, his 'awareness', if one wished to call it that, was so far beyond them all. He saw to each and every little bit of minutia that he suspected would be needing tending to. Including...

You've got a private transmission, Captain.

"Oh?"

The Jedi, Zem-El Vymes.

They had been in orbit for an hour now, over Ossus. Ferrying supplies down to the planet's surface. Was she waiting for him to call? Not necessarily... her own tasks as captain had taken up more time than she'd suspected, and blinking, the elder Lupine shifted her gaze up from the datapad she'd been studying and stared at the numbers on her desk's built-in chrono. Had so much time already passed?

"Yes of course," was there exasperation in her tone?

"... patch him through, please."

Yes Mistress.

Less than a moment seemed to go by before the small projected upper half of Zem Vymes materialized over the top of her desk. Her features softened from their terse expression, and s'Il gave him a warm, if not tired, smile as she leaned back in her seat. And as if she was once more a young padawan, the Lupine found her voice after a considerable amount of searching.

"Hello."

[Zem Vymes]

"We really should stop meeting like this, Captain."

There was a tiredness to Zem's expression for just a moment until he centered himself toward his opposite's own holographic representation in his living room. There, the tiredness ebbed away into a warm smile, and Zem Vymes packed away his extensive burdens for the evening.

"Are you coming planetside?"

Even now, she felt a few million light years away. They'd kept up correspondence via the HoloNet, so seeing her face this way was better than not at all, but seeing it for real was another matter entirely.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

His first words only caused her smile to deepen, but his question gave her pause. It was really only a moment that passed before she nodded. She leaned forward only slightly, one arm going out to set the datapad atop a small pile of flimsis.

"I am," her hand shifted over, taking up a stylus and depositing it in the small, narrow indentation on one side of the desk. "I'd intended on coming down sooner, but, well... " A helpless shrug as she gave a nod to the unfinished reports and busywork littering her workspace. And even though he wouldn't see the smattering of datapads and flimsis, she knew that he understood.

Pushing her chair back, the Lupine slowly rose to stand.

"All is well, I hope?"

[Zem Vymes]

"Just as good that you didn't come earlier, I wouldn't have had a minute to see you. No fewer than five council meetings today alone, let alone my own independent studies and duties. It's been a day."

Hardly a complaint, given the history both Jedi had, from the clone wars on forward. Carrying larger slices of responsibility pie that didn't immediately require judgment on matters of life and death could be seen as a luxury. Still, the absurdity did occasionally overtake Zem during the quiet hours. It seemed so often that the greatest attribute he had to offer to his younger Jedi was that he was old, and had more years under his belt than most. It hardly made a leader, and though Zem was far from having second thoughts on the matter, it did cause a man to question just what made one fit to asume the mantle.

"Your daughter's been busy of late. When you come down, it won't take you long to see what I mean."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Oh?"

She didn't necessarily pry too hard, and as she pulled her uniform jacket from the back of her chair, she shrugged it on. Slender fingers began the process of fastening each button, starting from the bottom edge and ending at the top, stopping just shy of clasping the final hasp at the upper neckline.

"I hope it's nothing too terrible."

[Zem Vymes]

"Nah."

Zem shook his head dismissively.

"If it were the bad sort, I wouldn't have waited for you to hit orbit. But you'll just have to head down to Sanctuary to see what I mean."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

An hour later found her shuttle touching down on the tarmac of the landing pad, expertly piloted so as to minimize any of the possible shaking and jostling of normal flight. Running lights illuminated the growing darkness, casting shadows all about the area. s'Il opened her eyes as she felt the nu-class craft settle itself, and a moment later reached up to undo the harness holding her in her seat before lumbering up to stand. The boarding ramp began to lower, but she held back from descending down its' length. Instead, she stopped beneath the pilot's high-nested perch, one hand moving to grab hold of a rail track as her eye turned upward at the sound of the voice coming down.

"You stayin' the night then, Captain?"

"Doubtful."

"Fair enough; you'll be bringin' the little ones back then?"

"It's a fair bet, yes."

"Alright then," Jeremy Varin's voice trailed then, as his attentions seemed taken over by something else, but it wasn't long before he spoke up once more. "I'll be waiting here, then."

Making a face, s'Il turned her eyes to the open nose of the shuttle, then back upward.

"You don't have to stay here, Jeremy. There are places to eat here, in the Alliance quarter, and I'm sure they have more than formed protein bars and ration packs."

It was less than a breath after she'd spoken that the pilot's chair gave a hiss, and began to lower down the tracks. The Lupine stepped back, a little bit further down the boarding ramp to allow her pilot to unfold himself from his seat. He wasn't as tall as Dage, but he was still taller than she was, and giving a stretch, Varin rolled his shoulders.

"More than protein bars and ration packs. That's crazy talk."

She blinked up at him, saying nothing. Finally he relented, his head giving a respectful nod. "I suppose I'll have a look."

"Good."

Turning on her heel, she started the rest of the way down the boarding ramp, Varin following close behind.

[Zem Vymes]

Lok knew from memory where to find Zem's tent, yet as she approached the spot, she saw no familiar canvas structure. It had been taken up since by a haphazard array of building materials and cargo containers.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

For a moment she stood, blinking in the light of an overhead lamp at the sight that met her eyes. It was puzzling, and the Lupine gave a frown as her eye went over the crates and containers that now occupied the space that she'd known his tent to be.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya had been passing by to return to her dorm room, but the evident feeling of confusion from the woman she passed was pronounced, overriding her passive senses. Draiya turned as she passed, looking at the older humanoid. Hers was a face she didn't know.

"Arre you lost?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The voice gave her pause, and opening her mouth as if to speak, s'Il finally turned to look at the girl.

"I... "

Her mouth snapped shut as a near-scowl passed over her features.

"I was looking for Master Vymes, but... "

The obvious didn't need to be said.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

"Oh."

That would explain loitering where the old tent used to be.

"He moved last week. Just down that rroad overr therre."

Draiya gave a casual point down one of the narrow roads leading from Sanctuary's epicenter. It still didn't explain the new face.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"He... moved... "

It was a strange notion, and one that was very much expected. Her thoughts and emotions remained guarded, under lock and key as she let her gaze move from the girl to the cargo containers, then back to the girl. There was no real frustration, but a mild bit of annoyance did manage to make itself known in the form of an almost exasperated sigh. It would've been nice if he'd mentioned such a thing, yet in that moment came another realization; one that told her he had perhaps planned this?

"Well then." She seemed to draw inward, her shoulders hitching back as her hands moved to clasp behind her, at the small of her back. A broken gaze was fixed on the girl for a moment, the followed the path that her pointing finger had indicated.

"That is good to know."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

"Surre beats standing arround starring at carrgo."

With more than a cursory appraisal of the blonde woman, Draiya could sense more entwined than just a casual need to meet with the Jedi Master. There was more to that. Depth and intensity which could have been any number of things. The Syragori left that mystery hanging in the air, and pushed a strand of hair from encroaching over her eyes.

"Okay, bye."

And with that, Draiya resumed her return.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The girl was on her way before s'Il could afford any sort of satisfactory parting words, and instead the Lupine turned full in the direction that had been indicated. A long exhale of breath, and she started forward once more, heading away from the main body of Sanctuary and toward the outskirts. She paused at the beginning of a narrow pathway, but soon enough pressed onward, one booted foot at a time. And with each step, the curiosity and confusion only grew, each feeding off of the other.

She paused, stopping her progress to look behind her, and inhaling deeply, s'Il took in each scent, glad to have something around her that was not a ship's corridor or office or bridge. The wildlife around her now was such a welcome thing.

Her eyes closed then, as she stood in the dark, breathing in the heady aromas of the world around her.

[Zem Vymes]

Ahead and around a bend up a hill, Lok could spy the silhouette of a small house against the deep purple sky. Two windows glowed pale yellow against the darkness, and a finger of smoke curled up from a chimney set against a far wall. The light one one window was periodically broken by a silhouette passing back and forth in front of it. As she approached, she could hear the strain of wood rocking against wood.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She had expected his tent, but the sight that met her eye was anything but. Instead of the familiar canvas, what she looked upon now was a dwelling that held permanence. It was surprising, and her forward momentum came to a halt as the sound from the deck.

Her brow furrowed, and her lips formed a thin line as her expression showed her mild shock.

Slowly she started forward once more.