Been a Long Time

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was still getting herself settled into the Presidential Palace. While she was unpacking her things, she came across a business card from a young man that she had come across a while ago when she was working for ArmaTech. A young man by the name of [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"] . She wondered how he was doing and whether or not he still had his business. Hmm. Of course she knew him by a nickname of his. Hopefully he wouldn't of forgotten about her. The young man was going to look for her adopted son as well. Maybe he had come across him. Or perhaps not. It was a huge galaxy and Brad could have easily changed his name.

She picked up her comlink and started to dial his number. "Dust? This is Lady Kay. Do you remember me?"

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Sometimes, exactly the thing you need happens at just the opportune moment: when Dust received a comm from Lady Kay, this was not the case. Dust had just returned from a One Sith assignment to fly in defense of Coruscant, a dogfight had broken out and amidst the blackout Dust was unsure what came of the alliance pilot he was fighting against. After that he had cleaned up what he could before leaving the planet, and now here he was, back in his lonely office, cleaning the latest blood off of his guilty conscience. After all, it would all be worth it if he could just find Keth again.*

"Dust? This is Lady Kay. Do you remember me?"

*The unexpected call WAS just the thing he needed, but a guilty conscience tends to want to be alone. He toyed with the thought of ignoring the call, one swift movement and he would never have to deal with the seemingly ineffable [member="Lady Kay"] again. He wouldn't ever have to deal with the red of his sins in contrast to the stark white of her goodness. Somehow, through these thoughts he couldn't help but answer anyways.*

Dust: *To himself* "Glutton for pain" *Picking up the commlink and answering* "Yes, Lady Kay, I remember you well. What brings you to call me?"

*He had tried to keep the uneasiness out of his words, but the slightest edge of his current mood couldn't be forced out entirely.*

 

[Kay-Larr]

It took a bit for the reply, but she was glad that [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"] picked up. His voice sounded a bit different than she remembered. But he was older now and had obviously seen and gone through much. It was hard to say, but more than likely it was true.

At least he remembered her. "I have been elected as President of Commenor. While unpacking I stumbled across your card. It had been a while since I had heard from you. Would you like to come to the Palace and we can catch up? Maybe even set up some contracts if you are still in business?"

Luckily for him, Commenor was on the very edge of Sith space in neutral territory. She would of course grant him quick access through security.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*jareth thought about this for a moment before responding. This was his... No, that couldn't be an excuse. This was an old friend, a good friend despite their short time before: he would go.*

Jareth: "yes, I would love to come."

*His voice might've come off as rough toward the end. Like he had cut off a bit for an unknown reason. Jareth reached beside him and buried his face in his hand for a moment before taking the hand away and bringing himself back to the comm.*

Jareth: *With the sound of genuine enthusiasm* "I look forward to seeing you again."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Again [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"] sounded a little off. Something was up and she wasn't sure what. But since he agreed to visit, Kay expected that soon she would find out what that was.

"Wonderful. I'll be sure that everything is ready for your arrival. See you soon."

She ended the call and grabbed her datapad, collecting enough information on him that security would require to gain him entry. Red flags were brought up as it was noted that he was Sith, but Kay quickly assured them that not all were the same and that he wasn't a threat. Of course they pointed out that she was a bit naive, but it wasn't as though she was unprotected. Finally after a bit more back and forth, access for Dust was secured.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust climbed aboard his newly repaired Limited Armaments "Ace" and took off making the jump to hyperspace. Upon arriving at Commenor, he was pinged by security, a few poorly masked insults and some wasted time later he was finally moved through security as Lady Kay had said would be the case. He arrived at the palace to uneasy guards, still he could see the dislike in their eyes, but they were far more polite than his previous encounter. He entered the room where [member="Lady Kay"] was seated rather warmly for someone of her station. Dust put on his warmest smile before bowing.*

Dust: "It's nice to see you again, M'lady."

*Dust looked up from the bow as he said this and shifted into all of the cold politeness of decorum for that one moment as he awaited her response. He was glad to see no uneasiness in her eyes at seeing him, as he would've looked much the same as before, if a little more pale and a touch skinnier.*

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smiled warmly as [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"] entered her office. She bowed her head in return and then got to her feet, walking around her desk to approach him and shake his hand. There was no fear nor negative emotions in her eyes, only concern. Perhaps he hadn't been feeling well, nor getting enough sunlight.

"Thank you for coming, Dust. I trust that your journey wasn't too difficult? Could I interest you in some sapir tea?" She gestured for him to have a seat on one of the comfy chairs by the coffee table. There was no need for her to be formal around her friends. And that's what she considered Dust to be.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust gladly took a seat in the cushioned recesses of the chair. The sweeping elegance of the room was not lost as his gaze took in the very classic palette. Focusing in on his host he returned her smile.*

Dust: "Yes, I would love some tea. The journey was rather uneventful compared to what I expected. Usually when someone of my... Nationality... Is passing through space you find at least a couple opportunists looking to make a quick credit. But all of this is neither here nor there: how have you been?"

*The genuine joy he felt served as an effective narcotic. The hardness he displayed, albeit involuntarily, over the phone was almost entirely gone, even if the occasional flinch betrayed some remnant thereof.*

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay already had tea prepared, she just needed to pour it. And so she did, one cup for each of them. She handed [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"] his tea cup and then picked up her own before sitting in the chair opposite of his. Tucking her feet underneath her chair, she cradled her cup in her hands.

She knew all too well what it was like to have people looking for an opportunity to try to capture her for credits. For a long time she had a million credit bounty on her head. But that was over now. These days her position as President put her in danger. Yet so far all has been good.

"Well you'll always be safe here, Dust. So don't worry about that. You are not the only one to be kind to me." She sipped her tea. "I have been well, for the most part. Some ups and downs, but I can't really complain. Life isn't boring, that's for sure. How's business?"

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust picked up his own cup gingerly by the handle, hands far away from the warmth of the heated beverage, and he used alter environment to drop the temperature fairly drastically and hoped Lady Kay wouldn't make much note of it. He didn't want to seem rude after all. He took a sip of the now lukewarm tea and noted that it was a splendid variety filled with subtle flavor. Setting it down he picked up a nearby pad and writing utensil rather absentmindedly, uncommon in most places but it fit inside the decorations of the room, and began writing as he spoke.*

Dust: "Business has fared rather well actually, we recently started tinkering with starships, and I actually traveled in our latest model to get here. It's a beautiful ship, outfitted to give total control over ship operations to the pilot. That being said, things haven't been too eventful on the business end beyond that. Do you still dabble in business?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay took another sip of her tea, curious as to what [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"] was writing down. Maybe she would find out later. If she didn't that was okay. It wasn't as though she was the demanding sort with that kind of thing. Everyone had their secrets. Even she did. Though hers caused no harm to anyone but herself.

"Starships? I'm working on getting our own shipyards up and running again. Not for sale, mind you, but for our own uses. On the business end of things, I'm no longer involved. Currently I am the new President of Commenor. I didn't quite have the desire to run a planet, but you can say that I was pushed into it by many."

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust listened to [member="Lady Kay"] intently as she spoke, hanging onto the words, hoping she would speak for longer. He didn't want the casual small talk to end. It felt nice to dwell on comfortable subjects, to catch up with a friend. When she ended her words Dust smiled up to give a reply, perhaps a bit more nervously than before, but if so only nominally more."

Dust: "That's very interesting, I've actually started into starshi..." *Dust paused and coughed into his right hand a moment before furrowing his brow and looking back up smiling again* "I'm sorry, I guess I just mentioned that" *Preempted by a nervous chuckle* "so, uhh, how did you get to be president of Commenor exactly?"

*Whereas the beginning of his speech started just barely edging into nervousness, one could tell that he was beginning to get more anxious. A small speckle of gleaming red might've been visible on his hand if one was paying attention to his hand as it returned to thoughtlessly scribbling.*

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow at [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"] 's behaviour. It wasn't bad, but coupled with his coughing and overall appearance, he didn't look well at all. Her concern grew, but still she made no mention of it just yet.

"Well, many of my friends put my up to it once they heard of the election. I was in between jobs at the time, but the people already knew me as I was once their Senator. Frankly, I think that they just wanted me to settle down and try to stay out of trouble. And this way they would know where to find me most of the time."

Most of the time she would be here. Other times she would be on diplomatic missions. Trouble of course would find her anywhere.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust couldn't help but chuckle at her rise to power. It was such an unlikely story, and was made more interesting for it.*

Dust: "Election by peer pressure, eh? Well they made the right voice... Er, choice..." *Another nervous chuckle followed, emphasized by a fit of coughing.*

Dust: "Sorry about that, anyway, stay out of trouble you say? I can't you see as troub... Er..."

*With each misstatement Dust's face contorted with a deepening mixture of confusion, perturbation, and embarrassment. Setting down the pad and pen on the table, Jareth tried to smile and regain his composure. He realized it may be too late, but if there was any chance of continuing the conversation as normal he would try for it.*

Dust: "What I mean to say is I can't see you getting into trouble."

*The words came out slowly and deliberately, but with a smile as his eyes looked up to meet those of [member="Lady Kay"] in a guilty look that seemed to be pleading for her to ignore what had become so painfully obvious.*

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was growing more and more concerned about [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]. She was about to bring it up, but the look in his eyes suggested that he really didn't want her too. She had a number of questions for him, but it seemed as though now wasn't the time.

So instead she addressed it in a different way. "Why don't you have some more tea, Dust. It'll help with your cold, for it's easy to see that you're a bit under the weather. And please accept my invitation to rest here until you are well. We have guest quarters that I'm sure you'll find comfortable. And no one would bother you." Except for Kay, of course.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*A sigh of relief eased Jareth's mind a bit as she caught that he didn't want to speak about this, at least not quite yet. His body visibly relaxed and all was calm once more. He shot a quiet look of thanks at her before moving on.*

Dust: "Some more tea would be wonderful, though I don't know if I could impose upon you to let me stay here."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smiled a little at his silent thank you and nodded. His comment however, caused her to laugh a little as she got up to pour him some more tea. "There's no imposition at all. I wouldn't of offered if I didn't think it best. So please, stay until you are well rested and recovered."

He reminded her so much of her adopted son, though she knew a long time ago that [member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"] was not him. Still, that didn't mean that she couldn't be kind.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

Wrong account

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Another sincere smile stretched its way across his face Before quickly turning to a slight guilt. With all this kindness he really couldn't expect her not to know what's going on. It wouldn't be right to wait.*

Dust: "I, I have something to tell you. I know you just tried to help me cover it up, but you really deserve to know what's going on..."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded a little and then sat herself down. She folded her hands on her lap. She expected to hear about it eventually, just didn't know that it would be so soon.

"Alright. I'm ready to listen."