Surveying the Damage, Fixing the Bridge

[Meeristali Peradun]

Age changed a man, whether that man was nakedly fleshed or finely furred, stubborn or no. As one well on his way from forties to fifties, Meeristali Peradun did not escape the effects of the passage of time and the change of circumstances on his trains of thought. While he was set into many of his ways, he had softened in others, possibly becoming too old to cling to such fool convictions that had led him to continue driving a wedge between himself and the younger half-breed that was his cousin. Mara Tallen was an uneasy point in his thoughts, one that had Castus catching him more pensive than was usual - a feat in itself - during their evenings of silence and sustenance. One asked after by that very same Selonian, to which he either never answered, or gave thin, terse replies.

It came to a head; he was fed up, and keeping it clammed up wasn't working anymore. A message was drafted up and sent, one quiet evening, to wherever the currents of this eerie, pretending silence of cold war had taken his relation. The onlyone of his relations he gave the courtesy of the time on his chrono, were such a thing asked. It read:

Mara,

I am well aware that I have left our relationship in an uncomfortable state, but I implore you to continue reading these words.

I am not as young as I once was, but life still demands much of me, from my flesh and inward. I have been thinking rather inescapably on the way of things between you and I, and find myself dissatisfied with the shape it retains. I will not live forever - no, I am not dying - and I wish to begin ensuring that the regrets I carry are as minimal as can be managed before such a time arrives that I am no longer of this plane of existence.

In shorter words, I wish to mend the ties between us. If you feel you can give a fool of an older man another chance, then I would like to receive you at the enclosed coordinates in three weeks' time.

-Meeristali

[Mara Tallen]

The missive sat flickering on the screen of her comm panel, its tiny letters arranged with precision, its words laden with years of unspoken strife. Mara sat back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest as she read through it yet again, disbelief waging war with frustration for control of her features.

An uncomfortable state indeed. Though she herself was guilty of much in the way of the animosity that marred their relationship, she could hardly help but think of the unkind words and barely veiled insults he'd levied at her during the time they were both stationed within the Wheel. Much as she'd wanted to reconcile with her cousin, whom she knew was fighting a battle with tradition and expectation of his own, she'd given up entirely.

Her father and Mack were all the family that she needed, and the extended 'family' of her Clan had always shown more warmth and support than anyone on Felacat ever had. She bristled at the old memories, a low, feral growl escaping her lips as she swiped roughly across the controls to turn the screen off. Though small, her apartment was well suited to her, and above all, it was private. There was no one to intrude unless by express invitation, even her brother and her father knocked before entering. Truthfully, the privacy was the one thing she'd miss the most when she went back.

Mara sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair, casting a glance to the newly minted ID tags hanging on a hook beside her usual gear. Everything had been checked, re-checked, then disassembled, cleaned, and checked again. Once a SpecForce soldier, always a SpecForce soldier her father had said, having witnessed her amidst one of her cleaning sprees, her beloved KX-80 spread out around her in pieces.

Nothing more remained but to meet Mackenzie at the spaceport, and finally take her leave of Mandalore.

* * * * *

"Morning, Major."

"Good morning, Ensign. Got anything for me?" Mara replied, returning the salute and smiling at the young woman. Standing on a busy thoroughfare in the heart of Jovan Station, she finally felt like she was right where she belonged. In spite of being there to meet with an ensign who was delivering a near metric ton of work that needed to be done. Promotions, she mused, always came with an exponential uptick in paperwork.

"Nothing our of the ordinary, ma'am. Just the usual reports for you. Also, a couple of encoded messages from Ossus that came through the central terminal. I loaded them onto this for you."

She was well pleased with the young ensign, who was respectful but still poised enough to meet her gaze and hold herself in a proper stance. "That was very thoughtful of you, thanks. I'll take this mess off of your hands. You can head back to your post now."

It was a credit to her control that she didn't flinch at the mention of Ossus, though the screen on the datapad cracked when she gripped it just a bit too hard. Mara almost didn't want to look, but there was a possibility that the messages were from Kala, so she would. At some point. Perhaps after she'd found something to vent her frustration upon.

Speaking of venting frustration, the Major checked the chrono on her wrist and frowned. She had just enough time to return to her office and drop off her paperwork before she was due to meet her cousin. Her stride lengthened and she quickly made her way through the Station, slowing only when necessary to offer a salute. Flimsis, datapads, and The Object of Potential Doom were neatly left on her desk, before she proceeded down to the meeting point mentioned in Stali's original note.

It was a vast cargo bay, mostly empty as it was primarily used for sorting cargo before it was divvied up to places around the station and the various ships docked with it. A wise choice, Mara thought to herself as she stepped inside and shrugged out of her uniform jacket. Out of the way enough where they'd have a modicum of privacy in case things became...heated.

Considering Stali was a full blooded Felacatian many years her senior and she a human Mandalorian half-breed, one or both of them was bound to break during this exchange. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, schooling herself to calm for the time being as she waited.