Nar Shaddaa. The moon of Nal Hutta. It felt like it had been a long time since Shan had walked through the streets of the moon. His hand went to his belt, to feel his lightsaber there. He had never walked with a weapon on his childhood planet, but here he was. After the talk he had with his Master, and plenty of time to think about it, Shan had decided that he should go and see his parents again. They haven’t spoken since before he left to join the Jedi and part of him wanted to tell them all about the experiences he had. His training, the friends he had made, even some of the fights he had. His father had always told him to fight back whenever Shan had been involved in a fight after trying to help the sick and injured on the streets. It was actually amusing to him, being able to note the streets where he’d used to walk and the fact that he still did the same thing except on Coruscant. The Mirialan even stopped a few times on the street to actually help some of the sick and injured he saw on his way to his parent’s store. Though imagine his surprise to see the store locked up alongside being in shambles with broken windows and various bits of graffiti sprawled across the walls. With this discovery, Shan broke out into a run towards his old home, with a creeping fear sensation starting to go down his spine.
The door was unlocked, making it easy for the Mirialan to run in straight to his childhood living room, seeing various bits of furniture thrown across the place, tipped upside down or ripped open. Right in the corner of the living room, was Shan’s father. Valsi Pavond glanced down at the bottle of booze in his hand before looking back at the Padawan staring at him before bursting out into a fit of drunken laughter. “Ya show up now? No letter, no contact, nothin’?” The elder Mirialan kept laughing away, before bashing his arm against the chair he was sitting in, dropping the bottle to the floor where it shattered into pieces and covered the floor in foul smelling booze. Shan’s father grabbed his arm, holding it close to his chest. It didn’t take a Doctor to see that the arm was broken. The light of the room made it hard to see, but Shan could have sworn his father’s face was covered in bruises and blood. “Well. Yer too late. I ain’t got anythin’ to give ya now that ya came crawlin’ back from that cult of robed freaks.” Valsi threw his good hand dismissively in Shan’s direction, snarling to himself before stumbling up to his feet…and then collapsing straight back into the chair.
“Dad? What’s going on? Why’s the house like this? Why’s your store all locked up? Where’s Mum?” There was no way Shan’s mother would have left his father like this. She wouldn’t have let the house be left in this state, so what on earth happened? “What do ya think happened? ‘Cause of ya and yer charity, one of those street gangs came lookin’ for ya. One of their members got stabbed or somethin’, and they came lookin’ for ya to get you to heal him up.” Valsi snarled once again, rummaging his hand down the side of the chair as if he was searching for something. “They didn’t believe us when we said yer were off the planet. So they took turns kicking the life out of me, before taking yer mother off somewhere. That if ya weren’t here, they’ll find another way to get the medical care they need. They’ll probably sell ‘er off or somethin’. I don’t care anymore. I just want off this damn planet.” Valsi grumbled, wiping his forehead with his sleeve before looking back at Shan, freezing in place. The look of anger on Shan’s face was a sight that Valsi had never actually seen before. He had never seen his son ever look angry at anyone, yet here he was. If looks could kill, Valsi believed he’d have dropped dead on the spot from Shan’s gaze.
The Padawan took a set of firm steps towards his father, jabbing his finger towards the elder Mirialan’s face. “What are you talking about? We should be trying to get her back! I’m a Jedi now, we can go after them an-” Shan was cut off mid sentence by a surprise sucker punch from his father, sending the Mirialan stumbling backwards away from the man. Whilst Shan recovered from the punch, his father pulled out a rather ancient and decrepit looking blaster from his side, aiming it directly at Shan. “I don’t think you’re listenin’ to me, boy. I don’t care. I only stayed on this damned planet for her. If ya want to go on some suicide charge to rescue her, go ahead. But I ain’t riskin’ my life. I don’t have anythin’ keepin’ me here anymore. The store’s a wreck, this house is a wreck and my woman is gone. I only ever dealt with yer nonsense ‘cause she loved you. But she’s gone now. And ya best get goin’ as well. Ya ain’t any son of mine. I’d never have raised some freak. I don’t want to see yer face again, or I’ll shoot it off. ” The Elder Mirialan’s face twisted in a cruel grin, keeping the blaster pointed at Shan’s chest, though before Valsi could react the blaster was ripped from his hand and pulled straight into Shan’s who turned the weapon back on his father. “What? Are ya gonna shoot me? Ya don’t have the guts. Ya don’t even know how to use one of those things. Go on, keep cryin’. Ya can’t do nothin’.” The tears were flowing down Shan’s face as dozens of different thoughts were going to his mind. Telling him to shoot his father dead where he sat. Telling him to use his saber on the man, but he did neither of those. Instead he smashed the handle of the blaster against his father’s head, knocking the man out and leaving him in the filthy abode.
Now the Mirialan had a choice. Either he could try and seek revenge on whichever gang had actually taken his mother and deal some of his own justice. He was blinded by just enough anger that he didn’t care if he had to kill the gang members or not. There was a part of him that just wanted to get revenge. He wasn’t here to protect his parents. If he had stayed, none of this might have happened. If he had showed up earlier, none of this would have happened. He wanted to be able to take his parents to see Mirial but now? That was basically a pipedream. His other choice was to just go back to the Jedi Temple. Forgo revenge and instead explain his situation to Kahlil, or any of the other Jedi. They might have advice to give Shan or maybe they wouldn’t. The Padawan eventually made his choice, making his way back towards the Star port and preparing to make the journey back to Coruscant alone. Alone and with his thoughts.
The door was unlocked, making it easy for the Mirialan to run in straight to his childhood living room, seeing various bits of furniture thrown across the place, tipped upside down or ripped open. Right in the corner of the living room, was Shan’s father. Valsi Pavond glanced down at the bottle of booze in his hand before looking back at the Padawan staring at him before bursting out into a fit of drunken laughter. “Ya show up now? No letter, no contact, nothin’?” The elder Mirialan kept laughing away, before bashing his arm against the chair he was sitting in, dropping the bottle to the floor where it shattered into pieces and covered the floor in foul smelling booze. Shan’s father grabbed his arm, holding it close to his chest. It didn’t take a Doctor to see that the arm was broken. The light of the room made it hard to see, but Shan could have sworn his father’s face was covered in bruises and blood. “Well. Yer too late. I ain’t got anythin’ to give ya now that ya came crawlin’ back from that cult of robed freaks.” Valsi threw his good hand dismissively in Shan’s direction, snarling to himself before stumbling up to his feet…and then collapsing straight back into the chair.
“Dad? What’s going on? Why’s the house like this? Why’s your store all locked up? Where’s Mum?” There was no way Shan’s mother would have left his father like this. She wouldn’t have let the house be left in this state, so what on earth happened? “What do ya think happened? ‘Cause of ya and yer charity, one of those street gangs came lookin’ for ya. One of their members got stabbed or somethin’, and they came lookin’ for ya to get you to heal him up.” Valsi snarled once again, rummaging his hand down the side of the chair as if he was searching for something. “They didn’t believe us when we said yer were off the planet. So they took turns kicking the life out of me, before taking yer mother off somewhere. That if ya weren’t here, they’ll find another way to get the medical care they need. They’ll probably sell ‘er off or somethin’. I don’t care anymore. I just want off this damn planet.” Valsi grumbled, wiping his forehead with his sleeve before looking back at Shan, freezing in place. The look of anger on Shan’s face was a sight that Valsi had never actually seen before. He had never seen his son ever look angry at anyone, yet here he was. If looks could kill, Valsi believed he’d have dropped dead on the spot from Shan’s gaze.
The Padawan took a set of firm steps towards his father, jabbing his finger towards the elder Mirialan’s face. “What are you talking about? We should be trying to get her back! I’m a Jedi now, we can go after them an-” Shan was cut off mid sentence by a surprise sucker punch from his father, sending the Mirialan stumbling backwards away from the man. Whilst Shan recovered from the punch, his father pulled out a rather ancient and decrepit looking blaster from his side, aiming it directly at Shan. “I don’t think you’re listenin’ to me, boy. I don’t care. I only stayed on this damned planet for her. If ya want to go on some suicide charge to rescue her, go ahead. But I ain’t riskin’ my life. I don’t have anythin’ keepin’ me here anymore. The store’s a wreck, this house is a wreck and my woman is gone. I only ever dealt with yer nonsense ‘cause she loved you. But she’s gone now. And ya best get goin’ as well. Ya ain’t any son of mine. I’d never have raised some freak. I don’t want to see yer face again, or I’ll shoot it off. ” The Elder Mirialan’s face twisted in a cruel grin, keeping the blaster pointed at Shan’s chest, though before Valsi could react the blaster was ripped from his hand and pulled straight into Shan’s who turned the weapon back on his father. “What? Are ya gonna shoot me? Ya don’t have the guts. Ya don’t even know how to use one of those things. Go on, keep cryin’. Ya can’t do nothin’.” The tears were flowing down Shan’s face as dozens of different thoughts were going to his mind. Telling him to shoot his father dead where he sat. Telling him to use his saber on the man, but he did neither of those. Instead he smashed the handle of the blaster against his father’s head, knocking the man out and leaving him in the filthy abode.
Now the Mirialan had a choice. Either he could try and seek revenge on whichever gang had actually taken his mother and deal some of his own justice. He was blinded by just enough anger that he didn’t care if he had to kill the gang members or not. There was a part of him that just wanted to get revenge. He wasn’t here to protect his parents. If he had stayed, none of this might have happened. If he had showed up earlier, none of this would have happened. He wanted to be able to take his parents to see Mirial but now? That was basically a pipedream. His other choice was to just go back to the Jedi Temple. Forgo revenge and instead explain his situation to Kahlil, or any of the other Jedi. They might have advice to give Shan or maybe they wouldn’t. The Padawan eventually made his choice, making his way back towards the Star port and preparing to make the journey back to Coruscant alone. Alone and with his thoughts.
