Ghosts of Past Choices

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She stood in the hangar bay, Dage standing a small distance behind her, with KHER standing beside him. Fighter crews loitered about, clumped together in small groups and not really doing anything but watching with sideways eyes and talking in hushed tones. It wasn't often that the Captain met the shuttles that came abourd, and so when she stepped into the vast expanse of the hangar with the tall form of her XO in tow, not to mention the ship itself, there was a quiet rumble of surprise that went through the minds of all those already littering the flight deck.

Even as the mystery shuttle passed through the atmospheric barrier, they whispered among themselves.

She could feel their curiosity, but let it fall by the wayside as the shuttle ferrying her passenger settled down onto the deck.

She had already gone over the orders that'd been sent to her, and knew what awaited them. For the most part, at least. The only question then had been who would stand in the Jedi's place. Who would be sent, and who would stand beside her during the coming negotiations. It would be a step into the past, in a way. For her, at least. A painful step, but a necessary one nonetheless.

But, when the shuttle touched the deck, sending out jets of spent hydraulic steam, the Lupine very nearly recoiled in shock. Like a slap in the face, she knew who it was that the Council had sent, and it took a heavy amount of willpower to remain standing where she was. Her features had shown a look of initial shock, but she smoothed each creased line over, willing her face to obey.

Her eyes screwed shut then, and letting out a long breath, the Lupine let her head fall forward even as her shoulders hitched back.

[Zem Vymes]

The gangplank lowered with a hiss of pneumatic release, allowing a single passenger to debark the craft. The figure was shrouded in a loose brown robe that hid their features from sight. Even the face seemed obscured, drawn over by a heavy cowl as he made his way from the craft to the Alliance executive officers assembled before him. Not one to prolong matters of greeting, the figure drew back his hood, revealing a face every bit as familiar to Loklorien s'Ilancy as the unmistakeable presence she'd detected.

"Hello, old friend."

Zem Vymes smiled warmly, his greeting to his old friend a matter of happy understatement. There were few in the galaxy he shared such a connection with.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

His greeting was enough to cause her to look up, and s'Il gave him a thin, guarded smile.

"Master Jedi."

Formal to the last, she gave him a deferential nod and partial bow. Yet, behind the carefully erected barriers in her mind, the Lupine could not help the worry blossoming. Her features remained respectful, despite the concern.

"I'd not expected you to be the one sent."

[Zem Vymes]

"The benefits of sitting on the Council, no doubt. I occasionally get to choose auspicious assignments for myself."

Hands clasped inside his voluminous robes, Vymes walked in lockstep with Captain s'Ilancy as the entourage exited the hangar bay. There would be time for warmer moments, but each respected decorum for the moment.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Auspicious." A sideways glance was sent to him as they walked, Dage and KHER both trailing behind.

"That is a standing that I would not exactly classify myself or my ship as." Even through it all, she could not help the half-grin that pulled at one corner of her lips. "We simply 'are'."

Coming to a stop at the doors to a lift, s'Il turned to look at her executive officer even as the doors opened.

The rangy blonde held back, placing a hand on KHER'S metal shoulder to keep the damnable thing from moving forward. He knew that look well enough. "We'll find ourselves another lift, Captain." He angled toward the old Jedi, and gave a bow.

"Master Jedi."

[Zem Vymes]

"You speak with a Jedi's humility."

Zem gave a nod of his head as he occupied the lift with his former pupil. Turning back, he nodded at the subordinate officer who had offered his place on the lift with a thankful expression. The doors closed, and now Zem could dispense with the rigors of formality.

"It's not a careless compliment. I sought you out. For all we know it could simply be a matter of trade negotiations, but I'd still choose you."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Again she closed her eyes, and in such close quarters the Lupine let her shoulders fall, her demeanor changing as she reached out, palm hitting the small red 'stop' button. The lift shuddered to a halt, and s'Il stood for a few moments longer, unable to lift her gaze.

"Zem-El, I... "

It was painfully obvious that he had not been briefed.

"You don't even know where we're going."

Still, she could not lift her eyes up.

[Zem Vymes]

He wasn't ignorant to the whispers of the force, much less to his companion's strained expression.

"No, I don't. But I sense it's a place that we both hold a connection to."

Zem's eyes turned to Lok.

"I sense pain. Not acute or in the moment. But a residual pain."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

There were some nights, when she was so alone, that she could still feel it. Still feel the ache. The pain. The heartbreak.

Often in those times she held a hand to her jaw, trying to soothe the phantom hurt. It never seemed to alleviate what she had long suspected to be something deep-rooted and primal. Something so formative that her soul could not rest until a reckoning of sorts had come to pass. And now, so close to him, she could not stop herself as her left arm lifted up, her hand passing over a so long ago healed bruise. Yet, the remembrance of it brought fresh pain, and as her features pulled into a pinched expression, the Lupine reached out with the same hand, passing it over his own features. Her palm cupped one side of his jaw as the aching seemed to pass into him. It was not acute, nor meant to hurt; it was simply there. A shared experience.

Another moment later, she pulled away.

"We are going to Boz Pity."

[Zem Vymes]

A deep pain. The viscera healed, but the scar remained. A phantom ache, felt anew and diminished when provoked. Zem averted his eyes.

"That would explain the feeling."

The depth of trauma they'd both endured in their last brief visit to the tragedy-plagued world had set their paths in motion along different trajectories. He'd left her side, consumed with despair and with a notion that the only way to keep her whole was to leave her unspoiled.

How wrong he'd been.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She looked away then, staring at an invisible spot on the lift's wall, unable to meet his own eyes.

"This would've been easier to deal with if it was someone else that had been sent," her voice trailed off, and she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. A deep breath as she pulled her mind back and once more into the cage she so often seemed to keep herself within. Her hand released the stop button, and the lift started upward once more.

"But, you are here now, and so I suppose that we must make the best of things."

She licked suddenly dry lips, her shoulders once more straightening back as her posture seemed to stiffen, hands clasping together behind her back. She at least ventured a smile, finally angling her head upwards to look at him.

"Despite it all, it is good to see you again."

[Zem Vymes]

"It's important that I came. I don't believe in coincidences and I don't think you do either."

The older Jedi reached out to grasp the Captain's hand in a tender grasp.

"Maybe we left something of us behind there. Maybe we're set on this path to find it again. I left this planet a long time ago a lost man. Spent a lot of time staring at my own face in the mirror and got pretty good at recognizing the look."

Zem took her other hand, holding both close to him.

"There's no other way for this to be than the way it is."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Looking down, s'Il stared for only a moment at their hands together, and she gave a brief squeeze before slowly pulling from his grasp. A grateful nod, and the Lupine partially turned on her heel as the lift slowed to a stop. The doors opened, revealing a corridor that was for the most part devoid of crew members. Ahead, and a fair enough distance off was the door that led onto the bridge.

Stepping from the lift, she led the way forward.

"Be that as it may, it would still not be my first choice to return there."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem followed his former-protege along, once again returning to the somewhat-aloof facade of Jedi alongside Captain.

"Nor mine, but duty has a way of borrowing one's agency. Both of us could well have abandoned all of this to Schwartzweld, yet we didn't. We both took steps from our path, and were both returned to it. Whatever bad memories I have of Boz Pity are outweighed by a comfort in that."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Duty."

It wasn't repeated to mock, but more to simply roll the word over her tongue. To think on the many meanings that that single word held within its' four letters. As they drew closer to the bridge's doorway, she went on.

"You to the Jedi, and I to the Alliance," a half-grimace, lips curling slightly downward, "... the galaxy has a bit of a bent sense of humor. But, I am not surprised."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem wasn't about to be baited into the obvious topic of discussion - Lok's higher duty to the Jedi. The duty she kept putting off or diminishing ownership of. Nothing he'd say to her now would be different than what he'd already said to her a dozen times. If his words weren't enough to convince her to see, maybe there was something on her path that might.

"Maybe I missed the punchline altogether. If there's a message to us from the galaxy at large in this meeting, I have faith that it isn't something so capricious. Maybe there's a second chance down there."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I hope that you're right."

The two passed through the door after it opened, and Dage craned his neck over to watch the two from his perch behind her chair. KHER as well looked over, but remained silent. Rahgus twisted around in the pilot's nest, an elbow helping him to angle his upper body so that he could see who it was that they were ferrying. If he was surprised, his golden eyes certainly gave no indication. He did give a slight frown though, blinked rather owlishly, then let his gaze move to his captain as she moved to her chair.

[Q. Samus Dage]

"The shuttle pilot is requesting a departure, Ma'am." Dage's voice was level, with a bit of a lazy lilt to each word.


"Granted."


A nod was given to KHER before he turned his attentions to Zem. A crooked smile was given to the older Jedi as the lanky blonde leaned forward, resting his elbows on the broad, ebony-stained teekwood dash that swept behind the captain's chair.

"And now you're stuck with us."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem's attention tracked from the machine that served as Lok's assistant. It was overly-articulated and unnerving to a degree, but it wasn't Zem's first experience around such an automaton. His Lupine companion certainly favored her peoples' vintage droids.

A wry grin crossed the Jedi's craggy countenance as he listened to the Alliance XO wisecrack.

"I've had worse accomodations on an Alliance ship before. As long as there's black caf, the mind and body will endure."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She made a slightly pained face as she lowered herself to sit. Even if he'd not intended, Zem's words made her feel a small bit of internal shame at the memory of his past incarceration aboard the Dauntless.

"We have caf, yes," she started carefully.

"I'll make sure that you're supplied with as much as you need."

A quick breath was expelled, and with pursed lips the Lupine looked up to send her eyes to the back of the pilot's nest.

"Mr. Rahgus, once the shuttle has debarked, bring us about to our waypoint and prepare for the jump to hyperspace."

"Yes Ma'am."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem felt the retreat in her, and immediately regretted the admittedly dark joke. While he'd forgiven her completely, Loklorien s'Ilancy wasn't nearly as kind to herself.

It wouldn't do to offer apology in this place. Even alone, that was tenuous. Instead, the Jedi Master simply receded into the background as the ship's captain flexed the muscle of her command. Zem watched with quiet admiration for her ease at the post. It didn't seem that long ago that they were both standing on the deck of another warship perched on the threshold of the Carshoulis Cluster. A Jedi who hated to fly - now an Alliance officer ruling over a ship of the line.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It wasn't long before the Farghul pilot spoke up.

"Shuttle Kardis is lit from the bay, Cap'n."

Seeing no reason to look up from the datapad Dage had handed her, s'Il gave a wave to the air in front of her; a motion that she knew Rahgus couldn't see.

"Let's be on our way then."

Yes Ma'am.

Even despite the inertial dampeners, there was no mistaking the feeling of power that rumbled through the ship as he turned about, engines obeying Rahgus' commands. The stars before them seemed to tip on an invisible axis before slipping down and to the side, a sign that they had smoothly transitioned into motion.

The Lupine frowned, as if what she was reading somehow displeased her, but a moment later the expression seemed to fall into a more neutral expression as she finally looked up, her eye tracking to the side so that she could look at Zem for a moment. No change in her feature, and shifting in her seat, s'Il scooted forward a small bit so that she could twist her upper body around, affording her a mostly unimpeded look to Dage. The 'pad was still gripped in one hand, and a moment later she reached up, handing it back to him.

"This came in just today?"

"That it did." The blonde took back the 'pad with a shrug.

Her frown returned, and remained as her gaze turned away in mild frustration.

"Very well then. We'll amend our schedule once this business at Boz Pity is finished."

Settling back in her seat, she watched as the stars before them gave pause for a brief moment before stretching into a whirlwind of lines as they surged ahead, and with a silent peal of thunder, the Khera'Va'ss'io disappeared into hyperspace.

[Zem Vymes]

Time was a fluid thing. It passed over everyone and everything in a constant. Through the force, one could exist in a moment or through the full torrent. It became a lens through which one viewed the worlds surrounding.

Zem opened his eyes from meditation, not sure how much time had elapsed in their journey by hyperspace. He only knew by his senses that the journey was coming to an end. Sure enough, the proximity notice at the helm station chirped, and soon the faint inertial flutter could be felt as the elegant Lupine ship fell into realspace and adjusted its own reality. The Jedi Master's eyes turned to Lok, and he nodded.

"I'm ready. Are you?"

Dipping through the clouds, Khera'va'ssio skimmed across flat grey fog until the skeletal figures of young buildings could be seen below. It was hardly more than a city, but it was a sign of life where so few existed decades before. Vymes found his attention transfixed to the window - an unusual state of things for a Jedi who had been more than a few places.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

There was a pause as she considered his words, and slowly she rose to her feet.

"I've no choice," ground out through her teeth; not exactly growled, but the words seemed to spill out with a large amount of frustration. She was here only in the capacity of an escort; it did not make actually having to be on Boz Pity any better. Zem was the negotiator, not her. In this endeavor, her presence was merely as some afterthought of Alliance support. A show to those on the dead world below that they'd not been abandoned completely.

Moving down the shallow stairway that put her on the main bridge level, s'Il passed the pilot's nest to travel up the steps that would deposit her on the broad forward walkway, offering her an unimpeded view of the sight below. The distant sight of fresh construction was deceptive; Boz Pity was still a world of graves. It held so much dead beneath its' surface. Even now she could almost smell the rot. Hands shifted then, to clasp together at the small of her back as she continued to watch their approach.

A huffed breath through her nose, and she turned on her heel to regard the Jedi Master. She blinked, and one hand dislodged itself from the other to indicate the expanse of the viewing walkway.

"Feel free to come up for a closer look if you wish."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem accepted her invitation, approaching to stand by her side. For a moment he said little, simply watching as the city seemed to coast towards them, betraying the still-rapid approach they took. Through the embryonic shapes of the city ahead, Zem could feel to the firmament. It was more than Boz Pity's history. Loss and Death were in this place, almost literally in the soil itself. The Jedi Master's eyes caught his companion's trepidation in a glance, but he did not confront it. She'd spent her whole life in a way sifting through ashes. One of the last Lupines. A death rattle of her race struggling to become a full breath. Her connection to the finality of death and an end to things was in some ways an unassailable perspective that Zem could only see from afar.

He only hoped that it didn't obfuscate what he could also see stirring below.

"There's something down there. Faint but there. Through the hardscrabble and the long memories."

It was an invitation for her to feel.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

There was still hesitation. Not through fear, but more of a carefully held restraint. She had no qualms when it came to divining intentions and actions during tense situations, but this was... it was something else. It was a painful memory. One that she would've rather not revisited. Perhaps she didn't feel ready? Would she ever feel truly ready? And the truth of it was that no; she could never prepare herself properly. Whenever she felt her feet placed upon firm bedrock, it inevitably seemed to turn into sand and dissolve beneath her to send her once more into the wild torrent of crashing waves and merciless tides. Sweeping her every way but where she wanted so desperately to be.

And now she was back at one of those once-hopeful places. And she was not ready.

She knew what was unspoken, the question that was asked without words. Perhaps she would venture forth if there was none else to witness, but now? In this moment?

The Lupine steeled herself, fingers curling around each other as they held together at the small of her back.

"I will defer to you then."

Anything else on the matter was cut short, as Dage's voice cut through the air.

"Incomming transmission, Ma'am."

"Send it through, then."

In the next moment, a figure blinked into life before the Jedi Master and the Captain, manifested by Khera's onboard holoprojectors

[Zem Vymes]

She wouldn't let herself feel, or she at least wouldn't let herself say. Maybe it was where they were, and the moment they were in. Whatever the reason or excuse, it was an abdication by omission. Zem's eyes remained on her a moment longer, his aged face stretching somewhat taut-lipped at her nagging resistance.

She didn't speak, and there was nothing more for him to say. With the announcement from Commander Dage, all eyes went ahead to the holographic projection of Boz Pity's Prime Minister.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The shimmering apparition solidified as much as a hologram was capable, a 1:1 replication of the crisply dressed Lenigher Marchant. He was a middle-aged man with a shocking mane of white hair that contrasted sharply with his tanned skin. Everything about him seemed well manicured, but it also seemed a carefully prepared appearance. He gave a small bow, his eyes moving from the Captain to settle on her Jedi companion.

"Master Jedi, I and my staff have been anticipating your arrival."

[Zem Vymes]

Master Vymes bowed courteously before the hologram.

"Minister Marchant. The Jedi Council has agreed to your request for arbitration, and I am dispatched at your service."

The Jedi gestured to his left.

"This is Captain Loklorien s'Ilancy. She will be representing the Alliance of Free Planets in our dialogue. We look forward to meeting you in person."

So far, so good. There was a sense of caution from Minister Marchant, but that hardly seemed out of place given the precarious position that Boz Pity found itself residing.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Good good. I've made the necessary arrangements, and will await your arrival."

Another moment longer, and the hologram flickered out to once more leave the bridge crew more or less alone. Turning to Dage, s'Il turned about, her eye lingering on Zem before heading back down the stairway.

"Inform Lieutenant Varin that Master Vymes and I will be going to the planet."

"Yes Ma'am."

[Zem Vymes]

Time once again played tricks on the mind. Zem was caught up in deep thoughts, and he didn't come up for air until the shuttle was nearly on it's final approach. Through the window, he could see the slate grey skies above as they threaded a pair of embryonic buildings that were as of yet girders and basic framework and hope for more to come. Zem peeled his eyes away, finding Lok's.

"Minister Marchant used to chair the Boz Pity Diaspora Council back in the civil war years. He's helped the Alliance on a few occasions. I suppose now he intends to spend some of that good will capital."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"A prudent course of action for him," she agreed with a nod.

Holding his gaze for a short time, the Lupine offered a thin-lipped smile before letting her head lean back against the rest, eyes closing as Varin continued the nu-class shuttle's descent.

"I'd expect nothing less, honestly. If I were in his same situation, I'd be doing the same thing."

[Zem Vymes]

The shuttle banked on approach to the destination - situated in a quarter of the city that was largely completed. Here, a modest government building sat a few stories shorter than those surrounding it, and a private tarmac was ringed by guiding blue lamps.

Zem nodded along with Lok's reciprocating observation. It was probably true, but there was a truth yet unsaid.

"A lot of folks sacrificed. Paid a heavy toll for what the Alliance got. We didn't even win the war, but we have to find a way to win the peace. If the Alliance can't pay those debts, folks can't put faith in the cause. On the other hand, bleeding yourself dry leaves nothing but a flag."

Down below, the Minister and his staff could be seen as tiny dots growing larger by the closing distance.

"I don't have all these answers. Not now. Maybe not ever. Even back then, we were the right hand of the people put into place to make those choices. The Republic of Old had a thousand generations to get that right, and we don't even have a thousand days."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I like to think that we've got some hard-earned knowledge under our belts though, so maybe we'll have a leg up on things."

She felt as Varin angled the shuttle's repulsors, stopping their forward movement and bringing them downward to the waiting tarmac and the party that awaited them. There was a slight shudder as the landing struts folded out, and it wasn't long before the gentle rocking all throughout signaled that they'd touched down.

Finally she opened her eyes, and with a sigh, s'Il slowly lifted her arms up, fingers moving to undo her crashwebbing.

They were back.

Back on Boz Pity.

[Zem Vymes]

Zem rose from his seat, drawing his hood over his head as the shuttle's gangplank dropped. He allowed one more furtive glance to his companion, and then it was eyes forward. He didn't have to like her choices that brought her to this path, but he had to respect them. He was a Jedi Master of the Order. She was a Captain of the Alliance. Whether that fate changed with time was not for speculation in the here and now.

The Alliance entourage debarked with Zem and Lok at the head of it. Ahead, Minister Marchant and his retinue waited to receive them. They closed the distance, and Zem greeted Boz Pity's leader with a bow.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Prime minister Marchant was smiling as he stepped forward, ahead of his assembled aides.

"Master Jedi," his voice carried a note of respectfulness, and Marchant gave a bow. As he straightened back up, his eye went to s'Il and a deferential nod was given to her.

"Captain. Your presence is much anticipated as well."

The Lupine returned the nod with one of her own. "Thank you, Prime Minister. We are glad to be able to have the chance to repay you for you invaluable help so many years ago."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem took appraisal of Marchant. There was some bit of conflict behind the eyes, as if he was still coming to terms with a difficult decision.

"Would you like a brief tour of our settlement? It's still early days, but we haven't seen such promise in a lifetime. I hope it will illuminate perspective on our situation here."

Zem nodded at the Prime Minister's suggestion.

"I would like that. It's impressive progress from above, but I am more interested in the people that make it happen."

With a nod, Marchant dismissed one of his men to bring a speeder around, and he and his two guests entered with a bodyguard taking the front seat adjacent the driver. The speeder began a cruise down the adjacent street and it's row of completed buildings.

"The relative peace the Alliance established didn't only help the original few who called Boz Pity home. We've become something of a beacon for other diaspora communities through half a dozen sectors. There are some limited resources here, but we hope to develop others, such as agriculture to ensure a self-sustaining community takes root."

Marchant glanced to the Captain.

"While we welcome the chance to join the Alliance outright, our focus is on community first."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Right now, the Alliance is operating only in such a capacity as to provide you with the tools that you need. We're concerned with making sure that you are able to sustain yourselves and become more than a graveyard."

Well. Maybe not the best choice of words, but it was the truth regardless. She wasn't here to sugarcoat anything, but she wasn't here to grind anyone beneath a bootheel, either. The Alliance was not the Empire, and the people of Boz Pity needed that reassurance.

Folding her hands in her lap, the Lupine offered a conciliatory expression to Marchant.

"We're not the Empire," she assuaged.

"We want to see you flourish."

[Zem Vymes]

Marchant nodded with her explanations.

"The Empire introduced itself intimately here, Captain. I'm familiar with the difference. If the people of Boz Pity didn't also appreciate the difference, we wouldn't be here having this discussion."

Up ahead, an open air market was bustling with shoppers and goods. Most were imports, and it was an exercise in organized chaos as townspeople hurriedly browsed through what they needed.

Zem focused on the intent, trying to make Marchant's words less obfuscated.

"It's difficult to consider the galaxy at large when you're still tending to basic needs."

The Prime Minister nodded.

"That is one concern. We may yet have come farther than any other settlement in Boz Pity's history but we are still hardscrabble. Tatooine is more settled than we are. It's not even a matter of infrastructure. Rule of law and basic sentient rights. By the grace of gods we have planted a democratic seed. This could have easily been a town run by the strongest. There's something here that connects many people. A tie that binds that transcends cultures and even languages, and it's on this basis that we aim to become a true nation."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The speeder continued on, and s'Il listened quietly to the words that Prime Minister Marchant spoke, hearing the deeper undertones that he was conveying.

"Whatever you need, I'll make sure that it happens... "

A light smile to inject a small bit of reality into her words, "... within reason, of course."

Marchant nodded. "But of course."

The Prime Minister turned to Zem.

"And the Jedi, would there be considerations for one of your order being placed here on the planet in a consular fashion, if so asked?"

[Zem Vymes]

Vymes considered the request carefully.

"Minister, our order is as present an embryonic institution. We too have only recently settled on a sanctuary world not too dissimilar from Boz Pity. I cannot guarantee a permanent consular posting, but we are willing to send Jedi to any planet that requests their presence within the realities of the situation."

Zem raised an eyebrow.

"Was there a matter you wished to bring to a Jedi's insight? I am here to broker agreements between your people and the Alliance in good faith, but I make myself the servant of your people in other tasks as well."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'm mostly voicing thoughts on any future needs, Master Jedi."

Marchant raised both hands as if to assuage any concerns his Jedi guest might have of an immediate need.

"We have a good start, and whatever we wish to broker through the Alliance right now is nothing that needs to be attached to possible future engagements."

For her part, s'Il only gave a thin-lipped smile.

"You're exploring your options, Prime Minister. Nothing wrong with that."

Marchant gave a nod at the understanding words.

"That I am, Captain."

[Zem Vymes]

The Jedi Master nodded as the speeder coursed a roundabout, headed toward residential apartments. The uniformity of the lofts and their basic features reminded him of the prefabricated structures on Ossus. A first step in growth before more substantial foundations could be set, no doubt.

"Then consider the Order at your service should a need arise. Unlike the Republic of old, we are less at the service of the Chief of State, and more directly at the service of the people."

"We appreciate the help, Master Jedi."

Marchant again turned to s'Ilancy.

"Tell me Captain. What intentions does the Alliance military have here? We are under no illusions that our position at the frontier along Hutt space presents difficulties. Do you intend to station garrisons on our planet?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She made a thoughtful face at that.

"Well yes, you've got yourself very close to Hutt space, but we understand your need for autonomy. Also, we understand the need for help should you ask for it."

It was a tricky set of circumstances, and the Lupine was as frank as she could be.

"Would you wish for a garrison?"

[Zem Vymes]

Minister Marchant placed his hands in his lap, looking straight ahead.

"We have suffered at the callous indifference of war for generations. The Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War. Not even the very young here know of a time without war, violence, cruelty, or blood. Death makes up the soil we walk upon. In the face of that, it could make us cavalier, even accommodating to atrocity. If we held violence as indifferently as it held us, what hope would we ever have here?"

He again looked to the Captain.

"With all my heart, I reject that indifference. Boz Pity must know peace, even if that is inconvenient for the Alliance."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"There are always alternatives."

She wasn't so blind as to miss the underlying meaning of his words.

"I'll not presume to know exactly what you need; that is why I'm here. To learn. And if there is anything that myself or the Alliance can do to further your aims, then we will do what we can."

Of course, she was also not so naive as to think that such simple requests would be met with simple answers. Governments had a way of muddling even the clearest of springwaters.

The speeder rounded another corner, and looking out the window, s'Il caught sight of a busy market thoroughfare, street vendors calling out to passerby with advertisements of food and basic wares. It was a bustling scene, with people clamoring around the more popular stalls and offering either coin or something for barter. The sight brought uncomfortable memories back, and the Lupine turned away to cast her gaze once more forward.

[Zem Vymes]

Zem saw the crush of people in the market, and it brought him back in time. He too felt the connection through Loklorien, and through the shroud of his hood he looked across at her. These were things left unsaid in the moment.

"Someone once said that war represents the great failure. The defeat of reason and the inability to listen. Minister, the Jedi will honor your search for peace in whatever way we can."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Whoever spoke those words was a wise person."

A lull descended upon the small group as the tour continued; through the merchant district and even a fledgling industrial park. It was all bare bones, but it was a foundation that Boz Pity had not had in a very long time. It was a solid foundation, and the start of something that would hopefully not fall into heartbreak, death, and lawlessness at the first sign of incoming danger. In a way it was hopeful. Their sedan continued to pass through each growing district until it finally came to a slow stop at the front of a modest capital building.

The Prime Minister looked at his two guests.

"It is not much I know, but it is a start. And it is something that we are proud of."

[Zem Vymes]

"Modest starts become larger things if built on a good foundation, Minister. We all know the road ahead for you is long. Just remember the reasons you walk it."

As the group began to debark from the sedan, one of the older women in the assembled group near the capital seemed to pause in what she was doing. There was more to her look than mere rubbernecking, and her eyes fixated on Captain s'Ilancy with a haunted recollection.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Stepping out from the confines of the sedan, s'Il breathed in deeply. She took in the scents all around her as she moved to the side, eye traveling over the assembled individuals in a cursory fashion. Despite its' infancy, the government that was forming on Boz Pity seemed to be well enough established, and with a small bit of inner honesty, she had to admit that these first steps were hopeful. The look of those waiting for them was one of hard-fought battles for independence. Each person that waited for the group to leave the speeder looked to have the heavy knowledge of past experiences and painful, hard lives. But, what they held now was the culmination of their struggles.

Hands going to clasp behind her back, the Lupine waited as Prime Minister Marchant started toward the capitol building, leading his two guests toward the gathered group waiting for them.

[Zem Vymes]

The woman who had laid eyes on Lok now suddenly separated from the midst, closing in on the entourage and the Jedi with a leading accusatory finger fixed upon the Lupine.

"Murderer!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Head snapping to look at the woman, s'Il frowned. If she was startled by the cry, she didn't show it. Instead she blinked, setting herself back on the heels of her boots only slightly. And in that moment a floodgate seemed to open, spilling so many memories into her immediate thoughts. The approaching woman suddenly became the only person seen as a strange sort of tunnel-vision overtook the Lupine. Frozen, all she could do was stare as the Force showered visions of the distant past down from the heavens; of buildings in flames, of rubble and bodies.

Of death and destruction. Of pain and hurt and heartache and all that is terrible in war.

The phantom pain in her jaw once more burst to life, and as if in a daze she lifted a hand to lay her palm over the imagined ache. She was trapped in the hell that her mind mercilessly pushed upon her, and all she could do was stand rooted in place.

[Zem Vymes]

Minister Marchant turned at once at the outburst, leveling critical eyes at the heckler. He knew her as Gethira, one of the old guard - one of the few who'd managed to endure the decades past on Boz Pity and who weren't broken by it. Or perhaps that wasn't true.

"Get her out of here."

He gestured to his security detail, who promptly closed distance with Gethira, each taking an arm as they lifted her off her feet to be drug along by struggling heels. Gethiria was undaunted, even as she was led away.

"I was there! I saw what you did!"

From beneath his hood, Zem looked at the anguish on her face. A face he didn't remember. All he could see in his memories was the crush of misery and suffering. It was a single anguished creature with many faces that couldn't be distinguished.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She inhaled, a long drawn-in breath that seemed to freeze and crystallize within her lungs. A breath that held her captive. And then she released in a rattled exhale, and her eye finally broke from the woman as she was pulled out of sight. The ache in her jaw subsided slowly, and her hand once more went down to grasp at its' partner still waiting at the small of her back.

Another low breath in and out. Breathing seemed less foreign now.

She ventured a look to Zem as Prime Minister Marchant's words filled the around around them with apologies. She wasn't entirely paying attention... the look in her companion's eyes was the same that was in her own. She was not the only one reliving that terrible day.

[Zem Vymes]

Minister Marchant shook his head as Gethira was led away.

"Please excuse the interruption. I know the woman. Her mind hasn't been with her for some time."

He gestured for his guests to follow.

"I'm afraid you'll find a few people here who share her state of mind. There were many dark days, and not all wounds are those we see with the eyes."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Obediently she followed, as did Zem. Marchant and his retinue ushered them inside the capitol building without any further fuss, but it was more than obvious that the woman, Gethira, had had a subtle effect on those attending. The sideways glances were testament enough of that fact.

The Lupine did her best to ignore them, but it was no small effort. Every eye upon her felt accusatory, and while at the time she had built up so many walls, been so aloof to the destruction of the Boz Pity that they'd so long ago visited, she now understood in visceral fashion the heartache and seemingly crushing hopelessness that Zem himself had felt upon their first visit. It was a strange turn-around, rooted in the primal emotion of despair and, above all, abandonment.

[Zem Vymes]

Zem didn't sense madness or raving from the old woman. He sensed only earnest truthfulness to her accusation. A truth that was perhaps filtered through a certain point of view, but there was still truth behind it.

Minister Marchant led the procession into a conference room. By standards of the terms the room was drab and utilitarian. It suited the reality of the planet's burgeoning government. There wasn't time for finery when so many were still hand to mouth. Zem took his seat next to the Captain, lacing his fingers together in his lap.

"Minister, I would first wish to address whatever issues are most pertinent for your people. Their needs should be seen to."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Agreed. To that end, I've drawn up a list," an aide stepped forward, placing a datapad in the Prime Minister's waiting hand. A flick of his thumb turned it on, and he placed it on the table, sliding it across to his two guests.

Reaching out, s'Il pulled the 'pad the rest of the way to where both she and Zem could peruse its' contents. It was all standard fare, and after a few moments of reading, the Lupine gave the 'pad a gentle nudge to push it more fully in front of her Jedi companion. Her hands came together on the table, fingers lacing.

"Prime Minister," her broken gaze locked with his own muddled grey/blue eyes.

"Basic supplies we can provide. That's not an issue."

Marchant gave a nod.

[Zem Vymes]

This was all boilerplate, and Zem nodded along as he browsed. The trouble was in the scope of things. Most of what was requested was to tend to acute troubles.

"Are you well situated on skilled professionals? Doctors and the like?"

Marchant replied with a faint grimace.

"We have a few doctors. Well, most have experience in triage, frontier medicine, things of the sort. Volunteers from the Seswenna Civic League come and go, but it's still quite hand-to-mouth."

The Jedi nodded at the appraisal of the planet's shortcomings, glancing to Lok.

"Getting doctors here would be good, but the best long term I think is training them from the locals. Can it be done?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She thought on his words for only a short while before nodding.

"It can. Specialists are not entirely in short order, so I would believe that it is perfectly within the realm of possibility to bring in teams to train doctors from those here who wish to be involved in medicine."


* * *

The rest of the initial meeting went by in relative ease; the more difficult and sensitive matters would be left for the following day, once basic introductions and soft issues had been looked over and lightly discussed. One of the Prime Minister's aides stepped forward, giving a light touch to Marchant's shoulder. The other man looked up, giving a nod.

"We must conclude here though, for the day. I have made arrangements for both you, Master Jedi, and you as well Captain, if you both so wish to stay the night on Boz Pity?"

It was a proposition that she'd not been expecting, and the Lupine slowly leaned back in her seat. Her first instinct was to refuse, but she half-turned to Zem to see what his own reaction would be.

[Zem Vymes]

"Your hospitality is gracious, Minister. We would be honored to be your guests."

Even as Zem bowed, he could feel the tension build like a drawn bow in his counterpart. It was like so many things associated with this place. Painful, but avoiding the pain did nothing to cure the source. There was also the matter of the First Minister's pride, and indeed the self esteem of the entire community. What would it say to encourage the citizens of Boz Pity to lift themselves out of the morass, and then retreat to the proverbial ivory tower?

The delegation parted ways, and Zem and Lok made their way to the front entrance, catching another vista of the embryonic city.

"How are you holding up?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She thought on that for a bit as they stood, both looking out at the skeletal fingers of so many buildings rising up to try and touch the sky. It was eerie and haunting, like a corpse trying to drag itself from the grave and rejoin the living.

"I am... "

How best to answer?

"... I am doing as I was ordered."

It was not the answer that she knew he wanted. Blinking, the Lupine tried to shut out the unbidden image of the woman's - Geritha's - tortured features as she was pulled away. s'Il finally let out a long breath.

"I am coping; because I must. I have a duty to the Alliance, and I'll not turn away from it no matter how painful it may be."

A hand lifted to rub at her temple in an effort to alleviate the beginning of a small headache.

<"I suppose,"> even as her voice dropped in level so that only he could hear, she switched from Basic to the much more comfortable Bast'yr. <"that that is not the best of answers, but it is all I've got right now.">

[Zem Vymes]

The way she strained against it all troubled Zem a good deal. It was no more than he expected, but he hoped for his companion, even if she was reluctant to find her own solace.

"Coping is at best a piecemeal solution. You're trying to plug a hole in the dam with your hand. Can't you let it be? Let the water pass over you?"

Once again, Loklorien s'Ilancy was locked in a duel with her own guilt. It didn't have to be this way.

"Can I ask you something?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Another aide approached them, silently beckoning them to follow. In silence the two obeyed, but were mindful enough to keep a respectful distance as they were led through the building's corridors and hallways. It wasn't in any way a maze owing to the simplicity of all around them, and before long they were brought outside to another waiting sedan. Zem deferred first entry to her, and the Lupine climbed in, waiting as her Jedi companion sat alongside her. The aide shut the door behind them, giving the roof of the speeder a light slap in signal for the driver to be off.

As they pulled away from the curb, s'Il finally spoke.

"A distraction would be most welcome. Ask away."

[Zem Vymes]

There wasn't any way to be less direct, and Zem let it be.

"When was the last time you meditated?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She leaned back, into her seat as she considered his question. It seemed such a simple thing to ask, yet held deeper layers. Much deeper layers.

The sedan took a right turn, continuing on down another few side streets.

"It depends on the type you mean."

Again with the answers that weren't really answers. Again she knew that what she spoke wasn't what he deserved to hear. Eyes closing, the Lupine bowed her head only slightly. There was a silence then, that settled in the air between them.

Finally.

"I don't remember," she admitted truthfully.

[Zem Vymes]

That could be an earnest answer, or one she didn't want to search for the answer to. Either way, she was overdue.

"Join me tonight. After dinner. Bring with you whatever you've come here carrying, and maybe we can let some of that go together. Together again."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

What he spoke of was more than her uniform and pips. It was more than her duties, and the both of them knew it. What she'd brought with her to Boz Pity was so much more than the sum of what the Alliance wished. It was something so much more personal.

Her head still angled down, the Lupine still kept her eyes closed, unsure if she was worthy enough to look up.

It was a strange feeling, to be so cowed. Oh, she'd been put in some preconceived 'place' many times, but now?

She opened her mouth to speak, then snapped her jaw shut. Another moment of thought before she went on.

"I'm not so sure you wish to see the wreck that is my soul."

It was a candid and honest appraisal of her own self, and s'Il verbally laid herself out before him with a warning of the tumult that he wished to be a party to.

[Zem Vymes]

He wasn't going to be cowed by that. Zem's face remained unchanged as he watched her wrestle with her inner conflict.

"Wherever you think you are, I've seen you lower than that, and pulled you out of that hole. You didn't push me away then, and you won't turn me away now. You tell me that your soul's a wreck, well the first step to putting it right comes from within."

The Jedi put a hand on the Captain's shoulder.

"Unburden yourself of this weight. Let me help you."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her hand moved then, as the speeder slowed to a stop. It rested atop his own hand.

"After dinner."

Spoken with the voice of a woman almost condemned.



* * *


The ritual of contacting Dage was like something rote; a normal occurrence that seemed as though it had played out so many times before. Sitting at the utilitarian desk in the small room she'd been provided, in the hotel that'd been chosen for her her and Zem's overnight stay. She authorized the transfer of a day's worth of supplies; another uniform, her toiletries. It was all - in its' own way - normal. Samus had passed along a small number of comms and reports, as well as a few personal tidbits of information. A letter from Teagan, a short and rather terse message from Admiral Tyree... it was all the normal fare that she perused in her own office aboard Khera'Va'ss'io.

Except that it wasn't exactly the same.

Except that, after the provided meal that's been delivered to her room, there was more.

And with her food untouched, Loklorien s'Ilancy waited for the door chime that she knew was bound to ring out.

And without fail, the trill of a waiting visittor sounded through her thoughts.

A few moments of quiet contemplation, and the Lupine finally looked up.

"Come in."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem entered his companion's quarters, drawing back his hood as he crossed the threshold. He watched the cues on Loklorien's face, those tell-tale signs of the roiling storm beneath. All the hesitation and all the doubt. Everything that had filled the void after her fateful return from the darkside. No. Everything that had existed before that, and opened the door to let the darkness in. The root of it. Unshackled by morality, but dangerous in portent. Perhaps coming to Boz Pity was a blessing. Best to face the root of it all before it sprouted ill fruit again.

"Is there anything you need to take care of before we begin?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Still in her seat, the Lupine cut almost a lazy figure. Half-leaned back in a sideways slump, one arm resting on the top of the desk, her hand still gripping the datapad with Teagan's letter displayed on the screen. She stared up at him, blinked, and looked back down to her untouched meal. A sigh, followed by a strained smirk.

"I suppose not."

She was truly at a loss, and s'Il let out a groan as she slowly righted her posture, the datapad in her hand released to clatter lightly against the prefabricated desk top.

Again she looked up at him. He appeared so peaceful, so sure of himself. She stared unashamedly, letting her gaze study every facet of the Jedi Master that he'd become.

"I once watched Sol destroy my House's home back on Schwartzweld. It was one of the most painful things for me to see."

There was caution in her words, though not in warning to him, but more an unconscious defense of her own self. She had spoken truthfully when she'd admitted to not remembering the last time she'd meditated. The thought of it worried her, and that concern laced her voice with overtones that couldn't be ignored.

"I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little bit scared about what will you show to me... "

[Zem Vymes]

"Let it go."

Zem calmly took his student's hand, leading her away from her seat.

"Regrets of the past. Fears of the future. They are not who you are in this moment. Let it go, let it fall away. Empty yourself of all these things, and in that emptiness, you'll find clarity, serenity, and peace."

Age-calloused hands framed Loklorien's face, and Zem looked upon her. A face that had changed through the years, yet held so much constancy.

"Every journey has its first step. Forget where you have been and where you will go, and see where you are."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She wanted to object, to tell him that she was not worried over what the future would bring to her. But, at the same time, was there not some form of worry that surrounded her children's future? Some form of worry that fell upon her regardless of whether it was for her own self or those of her young ones? It was all the same, she concluded in the end, and therefor fell into the group of emotions that he now called on her to let fall away.

And so she did.

His palms on each side of her face held tight with a firm gentleness, and her broken gaze focused on his features in sudden rapt fascination as she allowed all to fall by the wayside.

A sharp inhalation of breath, and the Lupine felt her body almost buckle as she gave way to the here and now. Her arms felt like dead weight, resting at her sides yet tensed.

And as if by some sudden urge she felt constricted. Closed up by the confines of her uniform. Yet, there was comfort still to be found in the attire she found such comfort in. There was duty, purpose, a sense of belonging and a desire to live up to the ideals that her rank plate instilled. In the here and now, she was Loklorien s'Ilancy, a Captain of the line, a stalwart monument to freedom and hope.

In that moment she felt the single tear that formed in her still-functioning eye, and in silence she let it drip over her lower eyelid to run a thin rivulet down her cheek.

[Zem Vymes]

Zem could feel the change in will. The earnest attempt to set aside the superfluous through his instruction. She was ready to take in a new perspective. His hands moved to her hands, closing fingers over her own.

"Now, come sit on the floor beside me."

It was something every Jedi did countless times. One of the first things one did in the course of their learning. To understand the force, you had to understand yourself, and to understand yourself, you had to prepare yourself for understanding. Letting go, but also channeling the mental and physical with the spiritual to make your whole self a conduit for the energies of the universe to pass through.

Zem fell into a crossed-leg pose. His back was straight, shoulders held square and slightly back as his hands rested gently at the tops of his knees. He cast an even expression up at Loklorien, waiting for her to sit alongside.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

There was only a moment of hesitation before she obeyed. Lowering herself to sit beside him, the Lupine mimicked his posture... it made her feel young once more, taken back so many years to when she was still his Padawan, and he her Master. A long inhaled breath, and she let it out from between her teeth while angling her head to look at him. It was familiar and foreign all at once. The same as so many times before, yet different and new.

But, there was still a small amount of discomfort as she looked at him, like she was unsure of what she was doing. And even though she sat beside him upon the thinly carpeted floor, s'Il still couldn't shake the feeling that she was somehow off. That she was somehow missing some key element that was necessary.

She pursed her lips, her brow creasing with concern.

"It's been so long... "

[Zem Vymes]

"Time is perception. It's relative. Let it go. You've always been here."

Some of the mantras Zem used to console his former padawan were old. Thinking of them reminded him of his earliest days, studying in groups with Master Yoda. He could sense Lok's resistance, and as she stiffened in her pose, he reached forward to put a hand on her knee.

"Breathe in and out. Let it go. Not just in your mind, but here."

The Jedi Master's hand moved to her shoulder, fingers finding the tension built in her posture.

"It's all together. All at once. Just let go."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Another moment passed as she kept her eye on him, and blinking owlishly, the Lupine let out another long breath before turning to stare ahead of her. She closed her eyes. Everything that he spoke of, everything that he called her to let fall away...

His hand on her shoulder was strong, and her body reacted instantly; shoulders slumping as though the muscles beneath her skin were melting. As though there was nothing of Loklorien s'Ilancy contained in the uniform she wore. A halting exhale as her lungs expelled her worries and doubts in one laborious breath, and s'Il felt her mind emptying itself. She saw flashes in her mind's eye as each memory passed out of her... glimpses of faces, pangs of emotion, so many experiences seemed to jump to the forefront for but a second before disappearing on their way out from her consciousness.

All but one.

It had been buried so deep, and had become so entrenched.

With closed eyes she saw the ethereal fist come around, saw what she had not seen so long ago. There was no mistaking the balled up fingers of that ghostly hand with the one that now held her shoulder.

[Zem Vymes]

So much of the world around her fell away, and Zem continued to hold vigil over her. Until at last there was one thing. One final thing holding her back. A presence. A ghost of a memory.

"Let it all go" he reassured. "Let the walls fall down around you, and the universe end at your fingertips. Completely empty yourself of it all, so the ebb and flow of everything is in time with that breath, in and out."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In her mind, she tried to dodge. But the fist still connected with the same unexpected force that it had so long ago. Her body didn't move, but her thoughts reeled from the mental blow. And then, as though it was a holo on repeat, she saw the fist once more, coming up and around.

It struck again, and again. It was relentless, and so deeply entangled that the Lupine withered away with each strike.

This was a memory that had rooted itself so deeply and entrenched itself so firmly that it had defined her existence from the moment it'd taken place. Whether she realized it or not, it had taken such a strong hold on her and guided her. It had affected so much without her realizing it.

She pushed against it, her thoughts taking another blow while still trying to tear it free. It refused to be dislodged, and though she found herself able to shake it, it still remained.

Another strike.

So many times she had insisted on being alone. On doing her duties herself with no one to help her. On bearing her burdens without the offered help that had so many times been sent her way. And many times she succeeded in her tasks, but now?

Now. She needed him. She needed him to help her. It was an acquiescence of her own stubborn pride, and a new knowledge that this one last obstacle was something that only he would be able to exorcise. A memory created by him.

[Zem Vymes]

So consumed was she in this moment, and so clear had her conflict become to Zem that he rose silently as she roiled in self-confrontation. Something deep-set assailed her will, and if she could not be rid of it by her own actions, then Zem would guide her toward liberation.

"What do you see? Show me."

His hands now moved to frame her head, and Master Vymes peered deeply within the woman he knew more than any other.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

And like a burst of light she felt him. Heard his voice. She reached phantom hands out to grasp at his own thoughts and pull him close. The Lupine clung tightly to his presence even as that one single memory played out yet again for him to see in so much clarity. His own fist lancing in for a strike that had rendered her unconscious.

It was a memory that he himself had created. It had taken hold of her so completely, and though she thought she'd gone beyond it, it had never left. That terrible moment of raw abandonment and loss rolled over the Jedi Master as she sought his help.

[Zem Vymes]

One moment frozen in a fixed layer of space and time like fossilized amber for eyes in seemingly another universe to peer at. One perfect moment forever still, but to those who lived it, may have only seen one heartbeat of it in motion. Zem Vymes gazed upon the shatterpoint in Lok s'Ilancy's soul. That moment of parting, the deed done with a quick act of violence, which left a scar that had never properly healed. More than that, it set the two of them on different paths, each with new possibilities. Without that moment, would she have given in to the Dark Side? She may have not. But without that moment, would he have found the will to resist it's call?

"This too must pass."

A Jedi could not dwell on what might have been.

"Let it go."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

His voice was a tangible thing, his words washing over her. She listened and heard his intent. With a renewed sense of calm, the Lupine let out another breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. Air escaped her lungs and spilled from slightly open lips as she regained her wits, letting go first of the initial panic that seemed to rise with each swing of the fist. The memory itself seemed to dig itself deeper, as though it was sentient enough of the threat of removal.

s'Il clenched her jaw, willing herself to remain still and serene...

Until the moment was shattered into a thousand pieces as the door chime sounded, followed quickly by insistent thudding of a fist on the door.

"Captain s'Ilancy! You are ordered to open this door right now!"

A voice that was neither hers nor Zem's cut into her world, and the Lupine pulled herself violently from the meager meditative state that she'd been able to accomplish. A jerk of her head, and she felt Zem's hands pull away from the sides of her face... when had he moved to hold her?

[Zem Vymes]

Zem broke his connection to his companion and student, feeling the cresting emotional intent building beyond the door. He didn't react with a start or flinch, instead his eyes opened to focus on s'Ilancy's own. There was only reassurance in his expression. A wordless guarantee that everything would be alright. A defiance against fight or flight, a decision to hold himself to different accountability.

The Jedi Master drew to stand beside her, his fingers laced together in a clasping of hands. He gave Lok a nod. It meant whatever she needed it to mean.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her blank stare fell on him for only a moment as she rose shakily to her feet. Despite the sudden interruption, this evening had not been what she was expecting it to be. Of course, in the back of her mind, did she really have any expectations? Did she truly consider what he wished of her when he asked that she meditate with him? As well... had she been prepared?

Eyes screwed shut as she reached a hand out to give his own laced fingers a gentle pat. She lingered for only a moment, wondering if it would be appropriate to offer some sort of apology. What was the proper etiquette for such a failed attempt at harmony?

In the end she couldn't even begin to guess, and the Lupine let out a partially frustrated sigh as she moved to step past him, her eyes opening once more to track to the front entryway door.

The feelings she couldn't help but feel coming from the other side were concerning; anger, a desire for retribution. A howling call for revenge. Her brow furrowed, but she moved on regardless, an arm reaching out to pass her palm over the door activation panel.

And in the next moment a rush of bodies flooded through the opened doorway. She felt hands grasp her shoulders, pushing her back against the wall. A gasp escaped her lips as she felt a forearm pressed across her neck even as a slim set of binders was snapped roughly upon one wrist.

[Zem Vymes]

Zem was not spared the outrage of the intruders. A trio of uniformed figures spun him around and likewise pressed him to a wall. Fumbling hands reached to his belt, pulling free his lightsaber from it's carabiner. Still, the Jedi didn't so much as lift a finger in resistance. He seemed calm as a glass of water. The group that had swarmed them wore the uniforms (be that is it may) of the Boz Pity constabulary. Was the First Minister making some unseen move? Unlikely, Zem sensed no such hidden hand.

"Why are we being detained?"

A simple enough question, provided their captors were in a position to answer it.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Silence was the only answer to Zem's question, and s'Il felt herself twisted about. Both hands were brought together behind her back, and the click of the binders snapped with a quickness, connecting her wrists together. She was unwilling to fight. Still in a mental fog. Trying to recover from the viciousness of that one memory which refused to be dislodged, the Lupine allowed herself to be wrangled like some bit of flotsam. Her eyes screwed shut, and she pressed against her own internal struggle even as rough hands jostled her away from the wall and through the door.

A moment later she bucked as her senses half-way returned.

This was wrong. This was not in any way planned.

The men that surrounded her exuded an ill air, and she reacted with a vengeance.

[Zem Vymes]

"Captain..."

He could sense the shift in her even before he saw her resist. Nothing good could come of it here. They were in no danger, of that he could discern from the here and now. If that were the case, these men would have crossed the threshold with blasters and not binders.

Zem reached out to Lok's mind, willing her to face him. He projected an expression of serenity and calm. Through the violation they both experienced, he nevertheless was intent to see the heart of the matter as it was yet to develop.

Again, he addressed his captors, only this time with persuasion and a tweak of a bound hand.

"Why are we being detained?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

His presence soothed over her, trying to smooth the frayed edges. She settled somewhat, falling into step with their captors even as she felt a hand push her head forward. A blindfold was hurriedly passed over her eyes and cinched tight at the back of her head.

In her mind, there was no doubt now that this was nothing official.

There was no softening of the hands pushing her forward, and she was more than certain that those bringing Zem along in tow were much the same. Still though, the barest of hesitations could be felt like tiny ripples in the Force. Not a faltering, but it was certainly a bending to the will of the Jedi Master's words.

"You're both being taken in for questioning."

[Zem Vymes]

The blindfold slid over Zem's eyes and drawn taut. Undaunted, he again reached out through the force.

"On what grounds are we being questioned?"

Though, from feeling the energies of the force beyond the immediate situation, the Jedi Master was beginning to paint a picture in his mind. That woman, earlier in front of the Capitol. Her accusing finger. Past events were beginning to coalesce into present consequences. If they were being brought to account for events many decades ago, then it would be done with full faith and nonviolence. It was necessary for both the people of Boz Pity and for both Zem and Lok. This had to be dealt with.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Again that slight ripple, but the determination from their captors never waivered.

"Murder."

Their answers were short and clipped as they shuffled both Zem and s'Il through a series of corridors, down several flights of stairs, and finally out into what the Lupine could only surmise was a back alley. The doorway they'd been sent through held a burst of scents on the other side, and the faint sound of voices a fair distance away. Yes, they were outside now.

But something else arrested her attention, and in the immediate realization of the nothingness she could feel ahead of them, s'Il let out a slight gasp. She knew what waited for them; what waited to blanket them into true blindness.

How... ??

The how's and why's were irrelevant in the here and now, and as she was herded up into the back of what she guessed was a waiting van, she felt her stomach drop as her connection to the Force was severed so suddenly.

[Zem Vymes]

It was a strange thing. A Jedi was raised from infancy to be united with the force. To feel it as surely as any corporeal sense, and perhaps even more intimately. It wasn't just a part of the environment. It was that which gave the environment form, substance, and meaning. So when Zem Vymes crossed that unseen threshold into the void, his world fell away from him at once and he stumbled, requiring his captors to catch him at the arms. He felt heavy. Deaf, dumb, and blind to the world in a way he'd never comprehended.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She was pushed down onto a bench, her thoughts reeling in emptiness. Only one other time had she experienced such a total dislocation from the world around her, and now was no different in the sudden welling of desperation that grew inside of her. It was as though all of her had become nothing. The discomfort of her hands bound behind her, pressed agains the side wall of the van was but an afterthought as she fell on her own natural abilities. She tested the air, scenting the intermingling fragrances of bodies, cloth, and metal.

But it was the body that was so roughly deposited behind her that drew an immediate concern, and the Lupine let herself lean against him. Tentatively at first, her weight shifted so that his shoulder was almost resting on her own.

Hushed voices spoke at a quick pace, and as the van's door closed, s'Il felt as the van started off, picking up speed just before a sharp turn.

She was as blind as he, cast adrift into a sea of emptiness, but the Lupine at least had a small advantage due to her species.

And just as he had tried to comfort her in the minutes leading up to their kidnapping, she tried to extend the same to him. Her head bowed down and to the side, and she felt his hair come into contact with her temple.

"Breathe," she whispered.

[Zem Vymes]

He did as instructed, but even this automatic and involuntary thing felt forced somehow. The air rushed past his lips thick as treacle, and Zem gasped like a man with his head ducked under water. His entire body tensed as he tried to make sense of a world that was now more alien than it had ever been.

"What's...what's happened?"

The sudden deprivation the blindfold offered seemed infinitely more oppressive without the force keeping him tethered to everything else. As the Jedi slowly learned how to adapt, he had a strange thought - wondering if this was how everyone else experienced the universe around them.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

For a moment she was silent, doing her best to gauge the rhythm of his body and the labored sound of his breathing. It was - even without the Force - easy to tell that he had been completely broad-sided. In that moment she pressed just a little bit more into his side, trying to offer him physical comfort. Without any means to soothe his mind, there was nothing else that she could do; still though, the Lupine hoped that the tactile sensation of another body against his would be enough. After all, it had to be.

"Ysalimir."

Her voice remained low. Behind the cloth blindfold, she furrowed her brow.

"How they got one here though, I don't know."

Another bit of silence followed as she exhaled through her nose.

"I went to Mrkr a long time ago, to hunt them. One of those self-induced journeys of the soul that I felt the need to undertake. My people call it the Kheh'ani. I could only do it once though, and never returned."

There was no need to explain why.

[Zem Vymes]

"I've heard of them."

Finally gaining some semblance of equilibrium, Zem adjusted to the new normal, easing his breathing into a regular pace, though his words still sounded with tension.

"The difference in book learning and practical learning is a bit different, I suppose."

A sound of an engine beyond them and the subtle change of inertia signaled they were moving. They were the only clues and inclinations Zem had to the outside world. Beyond that, it was only her. Her support, proximity, warmth, and the timbre of her voice. Even diminished, Loklorien s'Ilancy shone brighter than the rest.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

There was a subtle change to the swirling scents around her; a sound like a scraping and dragging, a faint click follwed by a quick shuffling of boots. Any chance to try and suss out the difference or make sense of the sounds she was hearing was cut off by an angry voice.

"You idiots, get them away from each other!" came the hissed voice of a woman. It was a strangely familiar voice.

Sudden hands grasped the front of her uniform tunic in an instant, and s'Il felt herself pulled up, away from Zem. Gloved hands kept her on her feet while shifting her to the other side of the van before setting her roughly down.

The woman's voice seemed to sound again, with a hm yes, and a hard-to-hear that's better.

And in that moment it clicked. Gethiria. The woman with so much pain in her eyes. The woman who'd recognized her even after so long. The Lupine leaned forward in an attempt to rise, but was pushed back down and held fast.

A decidedly disdainful tone met her failed attempt to stand.

"There's no use in fighting what is meant to happen... "

The voice diminished somewhat, as s'Il guess that Gethiria had turned to face Zem, staring down at the blind Jedi Master.

"... nobody's crimes can go unpunished, even if it takes decades for justice to be served."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem's face turned in approximation to where he thought he heard the voice, noting that with only his ears to guide him, that sense was imprecise.

"Justice must be done in the open, with eyes to see it meted fairly."

It wasn't an accusation or an admission of any sort. If Gethira was honest to her intentions, she deserved an honest appraisal.

"In the shadows, there is a temptation to mutate into vengeance. Ask yourself what you really want."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Gethiria let out a snorted laugh.

"In the open, Marchant and his followers lick your boots and beg for your help. He's a spineless leader undeserving of his position."

There was no mistaking the vitriol in her voice.

"And even if our justice is touched with vengeance, it's no matter. You and her... you both brought death to this planet, and I plan to make sure you're punished."

s'Il leaned into the hands that kept her in place.

"We were as desperate as you were back then," she growled out, "... we did nothi-"

The palm that unexpectedly connected with the side of her face sent her back. She reeled at the blow.

When Gethiria spoke again, her voice was deathly quiet.

"You did everything."

[Zem Vymes]

She had made her decision. That much was clear. Whether they'd be able to face their accusers with reason and defend their case remained to be seen. For now, an impassioned argument would only be tibanna on the fire. Zem carefully clasped his hands together.

"You must do what you feel is right, of course."

Though his connection to the force had been taken from him, his teachings as a Jedi remained intact. He wouldn't allow the situation they were forced in to compromise that.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"And I plan to."

There was a finality in Gethiria's voice that caused a seed of worry to plant in s'Il's gut. Her cheek stung from the strike, and she let her head loll forward in a feeble attempt at clearing the star's from her mind's eye.

The other woman spoke once more, addressing Zem.

"Don't expect to be leaving this planet as you did all those years ago. Don't expect to ever feel the Force again, either."

Unseen, she gave a nod to one of the men standing beside the Jedi. He needed no other urging, and the butt of his rifle was sent into Zem's midsection.

[Zem Vymes]

Pain without warning. Zem doubled over as far as his restraint allowed, losing his breath in a gasp. Though the force was not with him, his training was. Pain was a construct of the mind. A Jedi knew his mind. Controlled it. Zem recovered his breath in uneven pulls, drawing back up to his sitting position, and he returned his hands to where they'd been.

Good, take it out on me. If you have to hurt anyone, it should be me.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Again she tried to bull her way up, and again she was brought back down to the bench.

"Noble of you, Captain, but it's best to just sit back and be still."

She said nothing in answer, instead keeping her head forward. The van jostled as its' repulsors passed over a series of potholes, and another turn brought them around in a looping feeling; as though they were now simply driving in circles. But, there was a distinct feeling that went with the turn, and s'Il realized that they were descending.

Gethiria spoke again.

"It won't be long, now. There are quite a few people who are looking forward to seeing you again."

[Zem Vymes]

The van continued it's rote turning, until it eventually evened out with a bump. Funny. Little things you began to notice when deprived of other senses. The feeling of inertia for one. Zem could feel the incline turn flat. A subtle change in direction once more, but now they were slowing...and then stopped. The faint sound the repulsor diminished away. That left them in a tinny silence. Zem marked time with the breathing of his captors, until at last the door threw open with comparative cacophony. A hand fell to each of his arms, squeezing around the bicep.

"Move it."

And with a jerk, Zem was on his feet, guided for every step by his captors. He felt the van shift ahead of him, no-doubt Lok and her captors had stepped off first. He followed a moment later, feet hitting solid ground. Solid like duracrete. No, metal. Zem purposely shuffled his footing, listening close to the way it sounded. Like decking.

He didn't have to wait long to find out. His blindfold was snatched off his head, and suddenly eyes that had seen nothing for a good half hour were seeing too much of everything. A painful white light that caused the Jedi Master to avert his gaze. The seconds it took for the white to bleed away revealed his captors. Gethira, of course. A half dozen men with balaclavas and blas-tec rifles. Zem turned to see Lok getting the same treatment with her own blindfold.

Again Zem looked beyond. The walls, the floor, the ceiling above. It looked familiar to him, clad in cool greys and rounded edges.

It was an old Trade Federation droid sphere.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With the blindfold quickly removed, s'Il clamped her eyes shut as the harsh light assaulted her. She made a pained face, her head angling to the side in some effort to further reduce the brightness. It did no good. The scents that made their way to her nose were a mixture of metal, age, and a tinged mustiness, and slowly she cracked up her single good eye. Again the lancing rays of the light, but she ignored them as best as she could as the world around her came into being; from white blurs to discernible shapes.

Both eyes opened then, as she became more accustomed. Sucking in a long breath, the Lupine sent her gaze to either side of her. She recognized Gethiria, the woman had an obvious look of contempt on her face. The cage on her shoulders held the ysalimir responsible for the absence of the Force, and in her hand she held Zem's sabre.

s'Il frowned.

"You're making a mistake."

"I don't think I am," came the retort.

The barrel of a rifle was nudged into her lower back, a wordless order to step forward. She obeyed, but her strides felt awkward, and gauging her footfalls had suddenly become a worrisome affair. Without the Force to aide her vision, the Lupine's depth perception had vanished. She stumbled, and was only kept on her feet by a rough hand grasping her arm.

[Zem Vymes]

He too was bidden ahead. With his sight returned, Zem looked around their surroundings. The droid sphere was derelict and in true neglect. Panels were missing. There were pitted sections of durasteel where the weather had gotten in and oxidized the metal surfaces. Boz Pity's reputation as a graveyard extended to ships that came here to die as well.

The Jedi Master considered their situation. Not ideal, but he certainly remembered worse odds. If it were simply a matter of beating those odds, this would be no different than a half dozen such close shaves. Zem, however, considered matters more grave at stake. If breaking out of imprisonment and avoiding a dark fate meant risking throwing Boz Pity into the abyss...

...it wasn't a trade he was willing to make.

"Gethira, the First Minister likely knows we are missing by now. He will be looking for us."

He spoke to the woman evenly, hands clasped in front of him as if they were having any manner of normal conversation.

"If the First Minister is looking for us, the Alliance will likely soon follow suit. You have time to do right by your people, but you need to make sure it's right."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Gethiria only sneered.

"Oh we'll not keep you two entirely in the dark," She shifted Zem's sabre to her other hand. "We'll be broadcasting your trial for all to see, so worry not. Everyone will be able to set eyes on you."

The small group led their captives deeper into the broken shell of the droid ship.

"And they'll be shown your crimes, and will cry out for retribution."

s'Il scowled at that, still somewhat trying her best to concentrate on walking.

"Cry out for our deaths, you mean."

Gethiria turned a smirk to the Lupine.

"If that's what you want to call it."

"This is wrong, and you know it."

The smirk remained.

"Captain, what we're doing now is not wrong. But, what you and your Jedi friend did all those years ago was."

[Zem Vymes]

"Gethira, we came to Boz Pity as many others did. Seeking refuge. Safety. You know from who. You know who's truly responsible for that."

He wasn't about to be cowed by her threats. By her saber of damoc hanging over their proverbial necks.

"I don't need the force to see your hatred. Your anger. Everything twisted inside with nowhere for it to set loose. It's pushing you to high ground like a nak in a flood. The war did that to a lot of people."

He shared a glance with Lok.

"Too many."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Gethiria seemed to brush off his words with little effort. Even as the group ascended a metal staircase that would take them a level above the main floor.

For s'Il, navigating the stairs was like moving through an obstacle course, and her footing was somewhat unsteady. Her pace wasn't slow, and she was able to keep up with Zem and the woman who'd orchestrated their kidnapping, but the struggle to gauge her steps was visible regardless.

"Oh I know you came here, but you also brought the Empire on your backs. And when they attacked, you did nothing but flee."

A cruel glint to her eyes as she held the Jedi's gaze.

"Allow me to give an example- "

s'Il's leg was in the midst of lifting, concentration on her features to keep from faltering when Gethiria's own foot slid over with enough force to disrupt the Lupine's footing.

It was as if the world had suddenly spun out of control, and she felt her body lose its' grip on balance as she fell forward. She at least had the presence of mind to twist as she went down, and landing hard on her shoulder on the upper landing, s'Il grit her teeth as she felt the breath knocked from her and a sharp yelp escaped her lips to echo in the cavernous expanse around them.

"I caused the fall, and I could have grabbed her arm to keep her from hitting the floor," Gethiria very nearly growled out, "... but my inaction resulted in your captain's pain."

With her single good eye cracking open, s'Il looked up at Gethiria in a mix of pain and frustration, but she said nothing as a sharp, stabbing sting spread through her shoulder.

"Much like your inaction resulted in the deaths of good people who had nowhere to go."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem paused on the landing, stooping down to help Lok to her feet. Every justification Gethira offered only served to show how damaged she was. It was a part of Boz Pity's background radiation, this deeply personal suffering. Even Zem and Lok's short time on the world had proven they weren't immune. Indeed, it had nearly destroyed them.

Perhaps the destruction was total, and this was it's completion.

"You've made your point. You wish that we'd stayed on Boz Pity as you were forced to, and subect to the same fate as many were."

Master Vymes looked from Gethira to her co-conspirators, looking for the signs of conflict in expressions that would betray that the justification couldn't be total.

"We weren't. We lived, as you live. Time has marched on. Take a look. Boz Pity is healing all around you, and you think picking old wounds until they bleed once more will bring catharsis?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"You live, yes."

Gethiria watched as the Jedi helped the captain.

"And so do we. But tell me, if you'd not come to Boz Pity, wouldn't there be more of us now, to rebuild? Wouldn't there would be no pain of loss?"



s'Il let out a sharp breath as Zem helped her up, her eyes screwing shut as she was eased up to stand once more. The stabbing throb in her shoulder faded somewhat, but it still made her lean into him just a little bit, hoping to find some sort of mutual shelter from this storm of retribution.

"You're mad," she finally managed.

[Zem Vymes]

Gethira met Lok's eye, a thin-pressed frown on her hard features.

"If I am mad, your war made me in it's image."

She glanced to her conspirators.

"Take them to the brig. We must make preparations for our justice to be seen."

Zem kept close as they were man-handled and marched away. The Jedi Master kept his eyes on Gethira as long as he could given being lead away. Her countenance did not waver.

The journey down the corridors was relatively brief. He'd hoped that Gethira would make the folly of letting them out of the cruel influence of the ysalimir, but to his chagrin she passed it to a guard who carried it in tow. The nutrient cage was eased to the ground at the threshold of a holding cell, and the Jedi and his Captain were led within. One conspirator remained only to activate the force field, and in a moment, he too disappeared.

Zem led Lok to a rudimentary bench built into the wall of the cell, easing her down.

"Are you okay?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A frown as she lowered her frame to sit. His help was almost eagerly taken, and s'Il gave a nod in thanks.

"I'll live. For now, at least."

The pain had by now receded somewhat, but it still had an edge, and as she leaned back against the wall, the Lupine grimaced as the movement spurred a fresh stinging flair.

She watched him, her hands coming together (not that her binders allowed for much else). Fingers pressed against each other as she tried and failed to think of anything else to say. It was frustrating; she could speak of the injustice of their predicament, of the knowledge that there was little doubt of Samus and his at-times rather annoying insistence on regular check-in intervals. For once, she was glad for her XO's habits. She could talk of Marchant, and of how the Prime Minister most assuredly knew by now that something had happened.

And yet, none of these things she spoke of. They seemed unnecessary and extraneous.

They weren't, but now, in this place, they were.

Did she think that they would die here, on this planet? The thought was one that she could've never anticipated, and before this day it was one that had never even entered her mind. But as she sat, the Lupine had to wonder if it was to be their fate.

An end on a planet that had begun so much destruction of the soul and heart. A planet that intended to finish what it began.

But, was it right? She stared at him, studying his features while trying to - albeit blindly - understand his thoughts. Finally, she turned away to stare at her hands as her voice dropped to a whisper.

"I'm sorry."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem's eyes finally turned to his companion at words he couldn't understand her uttering. Without the force, the innate mysteries of people were opaque in many ways. But he'd known Loklorien s'Ilancy for so long. Long enough to know better.

"Why?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Was his question unexpected? Not really, no. But it still gave her pause.

She let out a long breath before answering.

"Because of the two of us here, now, you do not belong."

Perhaps it was the old thinking that she fell upon; the old way. It was all that she had now, in the absence of the Force. Ingrained notions and habits that were so integral to her blood and people came to the forefront when normally they were held so well in check. For the passions of her race, the sense of history and its' ramifications was just as strong. And the history of their small involvement with the people of Boz Pity, weighed with the life that she had so dismally led, came crashing down in a torrent. It was like a gale of retribution that had caught up in its' waves a man who did not deserve to be taken.

Her jaw clenched as she searched for a better, more acceptable answer.

"Because... " she could find no other reason other than the purity of her apology.

"Because."

[Zem Vymes]

"Mm."

Zem watched Lok roil in a maelstrom of guilt. The old Jedi's weathered expression went from scrutiny to contemplation as he leaned back on his seat.

"If any of us belong here, then it's both of us or none. Let's forget about Jedi or not. Let's be people today."

His eyes shifted back to her, even as his head remained straight ahead, reclined against the wall.

"You don't want to wait for Gehtira. You're in a rush to condemn yourself."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She thought on his words, not only listening, but hearing. It was a shocking thing in a way, and her single eye tracked to the side so that she was afforded at least a peripheral look at his profile. He stared ahead, unflinching like some immovable boulder. And for all of her own careful outward projections of calm that she made sure was never cracked when in the presence of others, she felt a deep sense of humbleness in the face of Zem Vymes' presence.

He spoke of being something besides Jedi. Of being people. It was poignant, and it struck her to her core.

"What... "

Her sideways gaze shifted so that she too stared ahead. When she spoke next, her voice fell into a quiet, honest questioning tone.

"... what did you do to send you to the gallows that I found you on?"

[Zem Vymes]

For a moment, Zem said nothing. He remained as he was, reclined up against the wall, eyes gazing up toward the force screen, watching the energy shimmer at the periphery of the emitters. There was a blanket of white noise just discernible over the silence. It was the energy field.

She deserved to know. She'd rescued him at his lowest. He'd rescued her at hers.

"I killed a man."

Zem's shoulders moved with a laugh that was more an absurd breath.

"A man. A kid. Seemed bigger when I was drunk."

Calloused hands turned over in his lap as he confessed.

"Called me a cheat at sabacc. Guess I was just lucky. That state of being a Jedi doesn't believe, you remember."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I remember."

Her whisper was barely heard.

That he had killed - in itself - was nothing surprising. The lives that they'd taken when escaping the Temple during the Purge, and the live that they had taken in the years following were numerous enough. But, when he'd left to the moment he'd come back into her life was like a void that she wanted filled. It was an emptiness that she felt the need to understand.

Still she kept her eyes forward. It was comfortable in its' own way.

"And before?"

It was an unspoken request to know. She'd never once asked him since his return what had happened in those years of separation, and now seemed as good a time as any to ask.

[Zem Vymes]

"I drifted."

Zem was immovable. He told his tale without hesitation, without braggadocio, and without an aura of self pity. It was a history lesson.

"Here for six months. There for eight. I flew ships when the work was good. I knew how to fly."

Now, he looked at her.

"It's like drowning. Slow. Trying to breathe in the water, unwilling to die. Kicking and flailing. And up there..."

He pointed as if to illustrate, toward the ceiling.

"...the surface. But you know. You've been up there. Know that danger even more than you know what's killing you in the now. What's there to do, huh?"

The Jedi Master raised his eyebrows at the absurdity.

"I had a mind to do alright. Try and find good, and do it. If I couldn't do that, best I figured was to keep my promises. My soul."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She thought about that. About how even after he'd left, he still tried to keep himself centered. To do right in some form or fashion. It was, above everything else, heartening.

"I missed you so much," she finally managed.

It seemed so hollow in the face of what he spoke of, but it was the truth regardless.

[Zem Vymes]

"There wasn't a day that passed that I didn't think about you. What I'd left behind."

The Jedi Master's head bowed a bit.

"Every day, when I put my shoes on."

Zem laughed.

"My shoes. Funny. But you don't do a thing without 'em on your feet. So that was my ritual. My meditation."

Slowly, his eyes returned to his padawan.

"I put all of my faith in you, because I didn't have any left for me. Not then. The master does what he believes is best for his student. Even to his ruin."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Even to his ruin.

They were words that held so much within them and encompassed them so perfectly. For a few minutes she said nothing, instead letting her thoughts explore what he spoke of. She let her memories of their turbulent history play back like slides in a holoviewer. Their desperate escape from the Temple, their time spent running blindly. Finding Tam Jeneel before losing him so soon after. Her tutelage, his many lessons on their sanctuary world. The quiet times they shared that were always so few. And then when they joined Dan and his small group of rebels. They'd been caught up and brought into a fledgling civil war that transported them into a galaxy of desperation, small victories, and devastating losses. It was during those times that he had elevated her to Knight status. He'd claimed that she had learned all that he could teach to her, and in an admittedly old ceremony witnessed by none, he'd carefully cut the Padawan's braid from behind her ear.

It was also the same night that they'd first shared a bed.

So many memories. They had weathered so much together in their time before he'd left, and each one she remembered with clarity. Each one she could never forget.

Her gaze stayed on the forcefield before them, and slowly, her eyes closed.

"It is... tragic," she chose her words carefully, "... how the choices we make in life to protect those we care about end up hurting them the most."

It was as much an indictment of his past as it was of hers. Of her choice to join the Sith, Decepis. She had made her decision to save her daughter, to protect her; after all, when given the choice of her or her daughter, it was relatively easy to make. In truth, it had become a road that had led her to commit terrible atrocities.

[Zem Vymes]

"If I'd stayed, I would have taken you down with me. Down to a terrible place."

Zem hung his head.

"I couldn't see any other way. I couldn't see the future. Couldn't see what you'd become. And despite my every failure, you came back."

With that, he rose his head, taking her hand.

"It's easy to forgive a friend. It's much harder to forgive yourself. We both have to let go. Together. Let ourselves live again."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

His grasp on her hand caused her eyes to open, and the Lupine looked down to their entwined fingers. Her gaze lifted then, to look at his face.

There was no real secret to her activities in the years after he'd left, but the inner turmoil was still shrouded. Still hidden. And in that moment she knew that it was her initial reactions that were to be confessed.

"I cried so much. For weeks," she started slowly.

"It was like a part of me had been ripped away, and my heart had been ripped in two."

A less-than-steady breath.

"After that I was angry. It was like a simmering rage that just settled inside of me. I hated you for leaving, and I hated you for everything you'd done before you left."

Her own grip on his hand tightened, and she averted her eyes.

"And then, after I was done being angry, I did my best to forget you. I thought that if I banished your memory, I'd be able to go on."

Her head bowed then, and s'Il let her shoulders sag.

"And then you came back, and it was like everything had gone back to that first moment when I woke up after you hit me. I cried again, almost every night."

She remembered their recent time spent on Ossus, and the kiss they'd shared in his tent. It had been as though no time at all had passed, and at the time so wonderful... but in the darkest parts of her heart she'd grown fearful all over again.

"And on Ossus... in your tent," she gave a shake of her head.

"... after I left, I became scared all over again. Not of you, though. I was scared of myself."

A long breath escaped her lips as she admitted to a truth that had been nagging away at her for months.

"I'm weary of the feeling."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem brought his second hand over hers now, turning as much as he could to face her on the bench.

"Let it go, Lok."

He squeezed her hands, ready to be the rock to lean on if she was ready to do the same.

"We both need to let it go. We both have too much life to live ahead of us. Together."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Together.

A words that gave her hope, and bolstered her.

The Lupine let a ghostly smile peek through the cracks of her emotionally tired features.

Her head still angled down, she gave a slight nod before repeating that sanguine word.

"Together."

[Zem Vymes]

It was the first time that Zem felt Lok make the breakthrough he'd been waiting for. He felt it without the force. With all the intuition and feelings he was born with and knew innate. What hadn't been clear so many years ago was now crystal clear to him. He'd stay by her side until the day he died, because that's where his destiny lay.

"I love you, Lok."

Zem leaned in, pressing a tender kiss on her cheek. Withdrawing, he offered her a smile.

"Now, whaddya say we blow this joint?"

And with that, the old master winked.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The kiss to her cheek seemed to send a feeling of warmth through the rest of her body, and s'Il drew a breath that seemed as though it filled her lungs with new air and new life. Both of her hands gripped both of his in a strong hold.

His last words caused a small, nervous laugh, but there was an open kindness that shone in her eye now. It was a glint that had not been seen for so long. But there was something else there too; something that had nearly died on that fateful day, so long ago, on this very planet.

There was love.

"I'd venture that it's easier said than done, Master Jedi."

[Zem Vymes]

Ah, she'd forgotten a few of the basics. Zem smiled as he stood.

"Oh, even without the force, we crazy wizards still have a few tricks. Remember?"

The Jedi Master tapped at his belt, and a few of the pouches and containers she'd recognize from Jedi field issue. Opening one container, Zem drew out a small tube. Opening the top, he removed a smaller metal tube with what seemed to be waxy paper wrapped around it. He pulled the paper off, setting it aside, as he opened the smaller metal tube, removing what appeared to be a stick of dense putty.

Approaching the wall of the cell adjacent to the shield emitter, Zem ran his fingers down the seams in the metal plating, keeping an eye on where they were relative to the nearest emitter node.

"Let's see if I remember right. Second plate from the top. One, two, three finger lengths down. Here."

Zem mashed the bit of putty against the metal wall, spreading it with his fingers until it spread a few inches in each direction. Atop the putty, Zem carefully pressed the waxy paper against it until the putty shifted and became tacky enough to hold the paper in place.

"Now I need a volunteer from the audience."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She watched with a healthy amount of apprehension, but slowly rose to stand regardless. She recognized what he pulled out of one of the leather pouches on his belt, but it didn't diminish her hesitation. His light-hearted words only elicited a low, rueful chuckle.

"Your volunteer is worried for your sanity, not to mention her safety."

[Zem Vymes]

"Oh..."

He gave a reassuring nod.

"...you're perfectly safe, don't worry."

A moment later, a conciliatory shrug.

"Can't guarantee I'm free from a future of senility."

Zem moved aside, allowing Lok to add the last ingredient to the party favor. Typically used to cut through binds, it was a three stage corrosive material. The putty, the chemical-laden paper, and one other ingredient combined to produce a potent acidic chemical reaction that would pit and eat away durasteel, not to mention a great many other things.

All it was missing was moisture. It could be as little as a warm breath.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She pursed her lips, giving him a sidelong look as she moved to stand beside him, and kneeling, the Lupine eyed his handiwork. A moment later, and her mouth opened as she let out a measured breath.

Moments later she rocked back on her heels, rising to her feet.

s'Il turned then, to look up at him.

"I was reading a letter from Teagan, before all of this... " there was a look that she gave to him. Her motherly curiosity was unmistakable.

"She has a master, now?"

[Zem Vymes]

"I gave her an ultimatum. She made a choice."

The corrosive putty, now activated, began to discolor, and a second later it began to thin somewhat, sliding down across the durasteel as wisps of smoke curled above. Zem continued the conversation as they waited for it to run it's course.

"No half measures. If she wanted to stick to the path, she would be in it 100%."

The smoke intensified, and soon the chemical sludge had fully crept into the metal as open pits began to form in the surface.

"I haven't been more proud of her. Not because she's chose the Jedi, but because of how seriously she made her decision."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She watched as the metal slowly began to succumb to the chemical powers of the sludge that coated it. In some ways it was rather hypnotizing.

"Well that's good."

There was a silence as she continued to watch, then her eye moved, tracking up to meet his own gaze. It was easy to tell that her daughter's decision to join the Jedi was second place to something more pressing. Something more personal.

"She also wrote something else... "

While Zem had signed the papers granting him shared guardianship of her children, it had not been something that she'd divulged yet to Teagan. She'd been wanting to wait for the right time. Was it the Force then, that drew her daughter to ask of him the same thing that s'Il herself had? And completely without the knowledge of what her mother had done?

"... about a request that she made of you."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem nodded as the corrosive began to deform the last tracings of metal left behind.

"I wasn't prepared for her to ask. I know if it was me in her shoes, that would be a tough thing to think about."

He looked at Lok. Parents always want for their children to live the lives they never got to have. All of Lok's good intentions were nearly undone by everything that had fallen on poor Teagan's head. And despite that, she lived the values instilled in her. She'd been forced to grow up a lot faster than she ought to. Maybe now, she wouldn't have to rush into it so quickly.

"I told you when you asked. I can think of no higher honor."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A gentle smile, and the Lupine turned her attentions back to the blistered and disintegrating metal panel. It was so close.

"I remember you telling me once," there was a strange lilt to her words, as she let herself watch the last stages of the metal succumb to the powerful effects of the corrosive. She seemed half lost in memory, yet so intensely focused on the moment they now occupied.

"... a very long time ago on Talay... you told me that getting the chance to raise a child would be a wonderful thing."

The low hiss of dissolving metal began to die away, and her last words were spoken with a slight, almost rueful laugh.

"I hope that you still feel that way."

[Zem Vymes]

"I'm a few years past my prime since then." Zem conceded with raised brows at his advanced state.

"A little older, a little slower. But the spark hasn't left."

Vymes shared a smile meant only for her.

"I couldn't have asked for a better chance."

The corroded chaff that remained of the exposed durasteel fell away in a dry, scaly slough. Zem carefully tapped at the remnants with the metal tube in his hand, watching them fall away from a hole that had gone clear through the quarter inch durasteel plate to the internals within. Zem turned back to his partner.

"Guard on the left or right? Or both?"

They were still blind, and this was a critical juncture. A wrong move could be deadly.

"Or we hedge our bets. I go left, you go right."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It was like an old dance, and the Lupine nodded her head deferentially to him.

"I leave that to your discretion."

And yet, it was different now. They were both still so cut away from the Force, but it was something that hopefully they would be able to fix soon enough.

"Keep your eye out for the nutrient cage."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem nodded at that. The less he saw or felt of the ysalimir, the better he'd feel about everything. The Jedi Master drew quiet and still, then at last reached his hand through the corroded hole in the durasteel. The power fiber bundle leading to the emitter array was easily found.

Zem kept his eyes on Lok, and mouthed the silent countdown three...two...one. He pulled the power fibers free in one forceful tug. There was a smattering of sparks, and the ever-present din of white noise fell away, leaving a heavy auditory absence in it's wake. Lok was already through the door, going right, and Zem barreled to the left...finding nobody but the ysalimir. He turned, seeing Lok already setting herself upon the guard who had ended up on her side of the cell.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Though her hands were still bound, the Lupine moved like a fluid creature of action. Her body cut through the distance separating herself and the guard in a burst of speed that brought her crashing into him even before he'd had time to turn his head at the sudden deactivation of the force field.

She used her binders to her advantage, smashing them into the bridge of his nose and sending him reeling back, his firearm dropped as both of his hands came up to cradle a now-broken nose.

Her body coiled in, then released as the sole of her boot met the man's chest, sending him further back. In the same motion she swept around, her foot coming around and down, kicking the blaster rifle away. It slid across the metal flooring to Zem. There was no mistaking what she intended for him to do with it.

"Kill that thing," she ordered.

[Zem Vymes]

Zem squared the rifle up in his sights, taking aim at the ysalimir. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he righted himself to take aim at the groggy-yet-recovering kidnapper beyond Lok. Zem fired, but instead of a killing bolt of red, the rifle spat a dancing ring of bue energy which hit the injured kidnapper full in the chest, sending him sprawling finally into unconsciousness. The Jedi Master's eyes turned to his old pupil.

"Kill that thing"

Zem's eyes again traced to the ysalimir. He lined up the shot, paused, and let the weapon drop to his side.

"There's been enough killing for our journey. I don't mean to add to the number if I don't have to."

The Jedi Master moved the nutrient cage into the cell, against the far wall. He did the same with the unconscious Boz Pity native, dragging him just under the bench where they'd previously sat. Emerging again from the cell, he gave a resolute look to Lok.

"We have a lot of history to confront. Let's make sure we confront the now of things just as carefully."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

That he chose not to kill the creature was surprising, and yet... it was not.

Standing like some caged animal, the Lupine huffed a breath as she stared at him. Not killing the Ysalamiri creature was not in itself bothersome; they could leave its' sphere of influence and the nothingness that it projected. But, if Gethiria's followers found it, and brought it with them...

The implications were unfortunate, but she let the decision fall to Zem.

She nodded.

"Very well."

She wanted to Change. It had been so long since she had; so long since she had felt the freedom it brought with it. And yet, now in this moment, she knew that they could not afford such an indulgence. Perhaps if she was much younger she would have, but she had grown so much since then. Rather than the brash, blunt bludgeoning tool that she once was, so many years of experience filtered her initial reactions. The Lupine was still just that - a creature bent to two wills. But she had also become more, as well. She had become a woman who knew to allow her mind to dictate what her more wild nature wished for so badly. Her hands balled into fists, still held together by the binders.

Finally.

"You wish to find the woman?"

[Zem Vymes]

Zem took a step back. Then another. Another still. On his fourth step he took in a deep breath, eyes closing as he felt it all return to him. The world around felt like he'd known for so long. He held up a hand for a moment, a plea for momentary pause as he regained himself.

"We will find Gethira. Not out of revenge, and not out of justice. But because she needs our help."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She too took a few steps back, letting out an almost gasping breath as the Force flooded back into her consciousness like a tidal wave of awareness. Everything that had been hidden was suddenly laid out before her like an open book. And in the next instant her awareness shrank back. Not exactly shut away, but she brought it into a careful control that gave no quarter.

She let out a long breath from between clenched teeth. She looked down to the binders holding her hands together, and a moment later they clicked open, slipping from her wrists to clatter on the deck.

The Lupine angled her arms up slightly, one hand going to massage the wrist opposite as she finally turned her eyes to Zem.

"She would kill us," came her quiet words.

[Zem Vymes]

With the slightest nudge through the force, Zem's binders also fell free from his wrists.

"Gethira wants more than our blood, Loklorien. What she's after is harder to find than that."

Taking the first steps of relative freedom, Zem pushed on down the corridor, headed in a direction that he knew from memory would lead to a lift.

"We've seen so many people twisted by war. Scarred. Changed. War fundamentally alters the way the survivors see the world. How they measure it."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Still massaging her wrists, the Lupine kept pace, walking beside the Jedi Master. What he spoke of was the truth, but there was something deeper; something more primal that was being left unspoken. Whether by accident or intention, it mattered little to her.

"Seen so many people," she repeated softly as they continued on.

"We're a part of that group of people."

They rounded a corner, the lift doors coming into sight at the far end of the corridor.

"Our scarred survivor's view is just as valid as any of the others."

It wasn't spoken to defend Gethiria, but it wasn't spoken to condemn her, either. It was simply an observation that she felt merited note.

Her jaw clenched as she mulled over the years that'd shaped them, and her head dipped in a show of humility and partial shame as her hands moved to clasp at the small of her back.

"Some became more twisted than others in their experiences, and at the very least her scars haven't driven her to try and kill... until now."

Unlike me.

[Zem Vymes]

"You're right. We've changed."

Even the Jedi (or those who once were) weren't immune from the whirlpool's pull. The greedy force yearning to throw them into destruction.

"A Jedi can't stand alone, immune from the fire. We have many powers, but that isn't one of them."

Zem turned, clasping a hand around Lok's shoulder with a squeeze belying his emotion.

"So here we stand. Us old and weary few, with our scars and our burns and our memories. We know what it is to stray, but we still see the path, and know the sacrifice it takes to walk it."

The Jedi Master nodded in conciliatory measure, but set his jaw firm and his eyes full upon his companion at what he spoke next.

"There's good in this galaxy, set against every misery and terror and cruel hand. The fire hasn't diminished my belief. It's tempered it. I carry the good with me, and you do as well."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She let her eye travel up from his hand on her shoulder, tracking around to meet his own eyes. Kindness, understanding, and resolve met her. It was heartening, and the Lupine conceded the truth of his words with an admittedly near-bashful look to her own features.

Even as the lift chimed at them, the doors opening, she couldn't take her gaze away. She smiled a wistful smile, and one hand came up to keep the doors from closing.

"I find renewal each day," it seemed an old mantra by now, but it was one that held true to this day. Spoken by him, and carried through the years by her.

"... and you are such a large part of that."

[Zem Vymes]

A Jedi can't stand alone.

Zem took Lok up in full embrace, making good his words of hope and renewal. She'd come for him, and he'd come for her. They were bound by something stronger than that which sought to tear them apart. Their lips pressed together, and though Master Vymes did not divine the future, he could feel the force of that connection bringing her closer. Bringing her back.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She was taken by surprise, not expecting his sudden closeness. Just as unexpected were the emotions she now felt from him; he was unguarded and open, inviting her to give the same. And she did. But, she wasted little time as well, pulling him with her like a hungry anooba dragging its' prey into a burrow. Only, she dragged him into the temporary safety of the lift.

The control panel dinged at them, and fumbling blindly, s'Il managed to swipe her palm over more than half the buttons.

Finally she pulled back, a wide-eyed broken gaze sent up to him as her awareness blurred into the edges of his own thoughts, entwining into a single whispering line of the Force.

"I hope the Master Jedi knows what level we need to go to," she let out a soft heh.

"... because I just 'guessed' about half of them."

Which, on a droid ship, was a fair amount.

[Zem Vymes]

Zem glanced with somewhat-widening eyes at the result of her button-mashing spree. It was a fleeting look that became a wry little grin on the old man's face.

"Fortunately, patience is a Jedi's virtue."

The lift took them up three levels before an uneventful stop, then closed again for the next floor up. The doors parted with a hiss, revealing a pair of Gethira's henchmen. The two turned in tandem, one of them muttering a "What the-" before an unseen hand pulled them into the lift with force, smashing them into the opposite wall where they and their blaster rifles fell in a heap. Zem calmly retrieved one of the weapons, shouldering the strap.

"Guess the wait's not all that bad." He winked.

One of the men below began to stir, trying to regain consciousness. Zem merely gestured in a slight motion with two fingers, and the man's eyelids fluttered and fell as he went limp again.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Feels like the old days," came the not-really-grumbled response. Rather, her voice had taken on a warm tone that'd not been present since the last time they were on Boz Pity. What she had lost so many years ago on this dead world had suddenly been returned in brilliant fashion, and the Lupine let herself wallow in the sensation.

Taking up the second rifle, she angled it up, checking the chamber before letting it slide back into place. There would be enough charge in the power cell to give them a fighting chance. Hopefully.

Of course, after three more uneventful stops, the lift shuddered to a jolting stop as the lights dimmed. An alarm blared in the next moment, cause her to wince.

"Well then."

Spoken with an even voice, s'Il turned a knowing look to Zem as she gestured with a single pointed finger to the lift's roof hatch.

"I think that's our cue, Eso'eh."

[Zem Vymes]

"Like riding a speeder, it all comes back to you."

The hatch peeled open with the push of an invisible hand, and Zem deferred to the lady as she bounded up in a leap. He followed, finding the service ladder's rungs just as another pair of thugs entered the opening doors below. A well placed pair of shots severed the emergency brakes, sending the lift all the way to the bottom as they climbed to the next level - their true destination. Zem was the first up, reaching down to take Lok's hand to help her to her feet.

"Communications array control is three doors down. If Gethira plans to make our example a public one, she'll do it from there."

Another of Gethira's soldiers rounded the corner in time for Zem to check him sharply with a rifle-stroke to the midsection, which doubled him over for the follow-through, which cracked across his chin. From here, Master Vymes paused, looking back in the opposite direction.

"She's coming."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She'd felt it as well, and there was a brief moment as she leveled her rifle at the empty corridor before pulling the barrel sharply up.

There would be no killing this day.

Boz Pity had seen too much of it already.

But, there was an undeniable bit of information that resounded sharply...

"She's got your sabre... "

It was a strange notion. A strange consideration.

So many years ago, he had pressed his lightsabre into her hands on this very planet, with desperate words that spoke of his own heartache. A plea for her to pick up and take upon her shoulders the mantle of responsibility that each thought rested so solely upon their own shoulders. But now? They had both reached a strange accordance that would need closure. And even if they did not find such a thing now, it was still present. Still waiting. He'd answered her so-long-ago utterance.

Now it was up to her to - in the way of all things - give back to him.

'I love you, Lok.'

Even above the thundering insistence of the Force that heralded the approach of Gethiria, she could hear that final answer. That returned feeling of what she'd bared opened to him so long ago.

And she answered him, as though no time had passed.

"I'm no one's... "

She let the rifle strap slide from her shoulder, hearing the firearm clatter to the metal decking.

"... but yours."

[Zem Vymes]

Zem looked at Lok, at last returning to the path she knew how to walk. It had taken her a long time to remember the first steps, but those were always the hardest.

"I believe in you."

Gethira rounded the corner in an instant, her hand leading with a blaster pistol. She met a pair of Jedi who greeted her with empty hands. Zem turned to face his captor, a calm expression on his face.

"It's finished, Gethira."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

There was a strange disregard that she gave to the barrel of the pistol that Gethiria leveled at them. Rather, the Lupine shielded the Jedi Master with her own body.

At the very least, Gethiria didn't fire.

"Should've known that Jedi of your's would give you an encore."

s'Il only stared. She kept her eye on the other woman.

"This isn't justice."

"This is only what it's supposed to be, Captain."

s'Il pulled in a long breath, then let it out through her nose as she moved to further obstruct any killing shot that Gethiria might've had against Zem.

The Lupine lifted her hands in a partially conciliatory gesture, hoping to placate the woman.

"Whatever crimes you think we've committed-"

Gethiria gestured with her blaster, baring her teeth.

"You killed my brother," her voice held so much pain.

[Zem Vymes]

"The Empire killed your brother. Killed trillions more."

Zem took s'Il's hand in his own, stepping out from where she shielded him. He took a few careful steps toward her.

"They destroyed Alderaan. Enslaved entire races. They annihilated the Jedi to nearly every man, woman, and child."

Each step was done with conciliatory purpose. Hand in hand.

"They've taken from us for so long, that it only feels natural to take back where you can, Gethira. I know how it feels to stand on that ledge. To feel like someone owes the life stolen from you. A Jedi can't put that right, nor can revenge. Believe me when I say it."

The Jedi Master nodded.

"Let go, Gethira. Put revenge away. Honor your brother's memory, and let go."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Gethiria only snarled out a curse.

"You keep your justifications for yourself, if it makes you feel better. I know the truth... I watched it all. I saw you pick your way through the rubble like scavengers. Trying to rob people that already had nothing. You left my brother to die underneath a slab of durracrete while all you could do was argue with one another!"

The pistol wavered only a little bit, but it was a scant moment later that she redoubled her resolve. Behind her, the sounds of approaching boots could just be heard. A sharp cry, followed by a FREEZE! cut through everything.

s'Il whirled about on her heel, looked behind her and Zem as two more guards came into view, their rifles coming up. The Lupine let go of Zem's hand as she turned back to Gethiria. A memory triggered, as she blinked, suddenly knowing exactly who Gethiria was speaking of.

"Your brother... "

"Find the Ysalamiri! Hurry!" Gethiria all but ignored the Captain, calling out instead to one of the two men who'd come up behind her.

s'Il went on despite the interruption.

"There was nothing we could've done for him."

"Don't you lie to me!"

"I swear- "

"You say one more word," the pistol was hefted up to point directly at the Lupine's face. "... and I'll put a bolt right between your eyes."

[Zem Vymes]

Everything was built upon the hair tension in Gethira's trigger, and Zem felt the shatterpoint approaching.

"Not one more death. No more."

Zem met Gethira's eyes as he shook his head.

"You have that power. Here, now. Do what the Empire will never do. What Lok and I couldn't do back then."

Gently, the Jedi Master reached a hand up to her blaster, resting his touch feather-light against the top of the barrel.

"...and let go."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

As if entranced, Gethiria watched the hand that barely touched her pistol. Her breath caught in her throat, but she couldn't stop now.

For her part, s'Il stayed silent, more than aware of the blaster's business end held a scant six inches from her forehead. She let Zem speak now, as it was more than obvious that her own attempts to diffuse things would only make their precarious situation much worse.

"I can't let anything go," came Gethiria's whispered answer. The desperation in her voice palpable, now.

"If I did, I would be just as guilty as you... and just as guilty as the Empire that you brought here in your wake."

Tears were beginning to form in her eyes as she kept on.

"Your old civil war destroyed more lives than you'll ever know."

[Zem Vymes]

"And you'll destroy one more. A slip of the finger, a drop in the ocean. What's one death against trillions, after all?"

The Jedi Master's attention was taut and fixed upon this moment. If this wasn't settled the right way, the wound would never heal. His unwavering dark eyes never traveled outside the boundaries of Gethira's own.

"But you know that's a lie. They all count. Every single one. Your brother..."

Only now did Zem's eyes move to Lok, but only briefly.

"...her child. We can't bring the dead back, Gethira. But we can honor them. Not by who we condemn to die, but how we live."

Zem shook his head as his other arm softly rested on Gethira's shoulder.

"I'm not just asking for you to spare Captain s'Ilancy's life. I'm asking you to spare your soul. Because if you do this, you can never undo it. It'll stay with you forever."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Ma'am?"

The guard behind Gethiria took a step forward, his rifle still trained on the Jedi Master.

Gethiria's own voice was the barest of whispers, her eyes locked with Zem's.

"Wait. Just... wait."

s'Il let her own gaze shift from the pistol to Zem. Her entire body was frozen, like a moment held in perpetuity. And the the pistol lowered, and the Lupine let out a breath that she'd not realized she'd been holding in. Her eyes closed then, the muscles of her jaw clenching.

Gethiria spoke not a word however, still looking up at Zem like a scared youngling, terrified of what she had nearly done.

The pistol slid from her grip to clatter on the deck.

[Zem Vymes]

There were many things Zem could tell her, but they would sound small in her heart, conflicted as she was between a yearning for justice against the unjust and a choice made to save whatever she could that was decent. It occurred to Vymes that it wasn't just Gethira who had learned to take this first step today. He glanced back with a smile to Lok, before returning his attention to the conflicted Boz Pity woman.

"Thank you."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

* * *


s'Il walked a slight distance behind the small procession of Boz Pity's official constabulary officers. The group on a whole was slowly making their way out of the entrance of the droidship. Gethiria and her followers had surrendered their arms, and had in turn been placed under arrest. All things told, it had been a bloodless encounter that hadn't ended in death.

With her hands clasped together behind her back, the Lupine slowly stepped out into the sunlight of a new morning.

Had they truly spent an entire night in captivity? It'd certainly not felt as such, but then again time passed in such strange ways.

She blinked in the sunlight, and lifted a hand up to shield her eye from the unhindered brightness of the dawn.

"Never thought I'd see a clear dawn on Boz Pity," she remarked idly, staring at the morning hues of yellow, pink, and violet. It was actually rather... beautiful.

[Zem Vymes]

"Jedi don't believe in coincidences. The Force has a will in the universe. A voice and an intent."

Zem paused to admire the beautiful dawn on a planet that deserved many more. His own eyes shrank into a sharp squint and crows feet against the nascent sun's glare.

"It brought each of us here for whatever reason we needed. Put us in the crucible necessary to make things right. Maybe it's natural to fear what we don't know, but I think we lift ourselves up by believing."

He turned to look at Loklorien s'Ilancy as she'd always remained in his eyes. Whole. Complete.

"I never stopped believing in you, you know."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Well then," she half-laughed, her head bowing as they continued to put distance between them and the droidship.

An unmarked sedan slowed to a stop, and the front door opened, disgorging the lanky frame of Commander Samus Dage. He didn't look happy, but there was also obvious relief on his features. Minister Marchant followed close behind, an aide close on his own heels.

s'Il let out a rueful henh, and gave the Jedi Master a knowing sideways look.

There was nothing that she felt had to be said in this moment.

Instead she felt a soft smile tug at the corners of her lip.