Private Black Sheep

[Inanna Harth]

Quick goodbyes were said. Once they were outside, Inanna held her head in her hands.

“Sonuvabitch,” she muttered under her breath.

"What's the deal?"

She looked up at him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know this was supposed to be a nice family bonding experience, and I was hoping it would turn out better than when we visited your mother—” Ouch, that might sting a bit?

“I wish I could say this is the only time a long-lost brother of mine will show up, but Hieronymus is still out there somewhere, and half of my other brothers were never officially confirmed dead. Mulciber, Zurvan, Mithras, Penemue—we just assumed they died, because there was no way they could’ve gotten out alive after the Maw started dropping biological weapons on the surface of the fething planet.”

Her family was a mess, and had been even before war and genocide tore them apart. After all, before the Maw invaded Lao-mon, Inanna herself had been living in exile, disowned by her father and cut off from the rest of her relatives by distance and unaddressed grievances. All those words, left forever unsaid… Secrets that were never supposed to be revealed.

“I just couldn’t stand to be in there anymore,” she said. “So, let’s go home, okay?”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

“I know this was supposed to be a nice family bonding experience, and I was hoping it would turn out better than when we visited your mother—”

Cato's lips twisted a bit at the implication, "Ouch. I thought it went pretty well, all things considered…" News of his father's death had stung, no doubt. But in the time since he had returned more or less to his normal self, which is to say: deflecting personal struggles with humor. Even the tone as he said that had an almost sarcastic light tone to it. Still, at least as far as establishing a relationship with his mother went, they could've done much worse.

"…How many brothers do you have?" Perhaps it shouldn't be that unbelievable, given the Shi'ido lifespan, but it still managed to throw him for a loop any time he conceptualized it. Not only that, but of all the siblings she had, the fact that she could account for multiple being either missing or dead was tragic. It put Lilith's overjoyous response to Sam's return in a new light.

"O-okay," Cato said, thoughts still clearly on his mind. They remained unsaid for a few moments, before he decided to voice them anyway, "Something about what Sam said, it's… it's just not coming together for me," There wasn't anything in particular that came across as a blatant lie, but he couldn't deny that hunch, "Maybe I'm just paranoid…"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Ouch. I thought it went pretty well, all things considered…"

Feeling guilty, Inanna stopped in her tracks, turned around and stood in front of him. "I was just hoping I wouldn't find out any devastating news," she murmured. She didn't understand how he could recover so quickly from learning about his father's death, but then maybe his joking manner was a façade to cover up what he really felt. Inanna wasn't like that. She wore her emotions on her sleeve for all to see, for better or worse.

Her head lowered until it nearly touched Cato's chest. "Eight," she answered. "I had eight brothers. Now I have three. As far as I know."

Careful not to disturb Serena, she wrapped her arms around man and child and was quiet for a little while.

"You're not paranoid," she muttered. "Even if his story is true, the things he admitted to doing... leaving his own brother to die, working for criminals, taking centuries to reconnect with his family, and that only after most of us are dead... All of that is unforgivable. Or it would be, under better circumstances. He's clearly up to something. Mom doesn't want to see it, but I can, and so can you."

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato just smiled softly, knowing what she really meant by it all. The reveal of just how many siblings she lost quickly turned it into a frown, however. He laid his freed hand on Inanna's back and held her close, "I'm sorry."

They stood there for a bit in silence, until she spoke again. He found a more sly smile, "Good. 'Cause I didn't really think I was being paranoid," He was always on the lookout for suspicious behavior, warranted or not. But this time he knew all that vigilance was valid, to some extent anyway.

"What would he want though? What does he gain from trying to dupe his family like this?" His mind returned to thoughts of the Nexus Sam had mentioned.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“It’s been a few years,” she said softly. “I’ve had time to process it.” The deaths of her brothers wasn’t really what was bothering her right now. It was the fact that she had been lied to, and the lie had shaped the course of her life in lousy ways.

What’s more, the person most responsible for it wasn’t around for her to confront him. Her father was dead. She couldn’t even ask him why he had done it, why he had pushed her so damned hard to become a Jedi, even when she showed no interest, no aptitude, no drive for it.

“I don’t know,” she replied, her frustration obvious in her tone. She knew next to nothing about Sam. She didn’t know what kind of person he was or what made him tick. Nor did she trust her mother to be honest about his character. “That story he told about the nexus. Call me crazy, but I got the impression that Orcas was a sacrifice. Even if only in a ‘it’s you or me’ sort of way. I don’t think Sam did all that he could to save him.”

How could they confirm a thing like that, though? Unless they went to the nexus themselves. But that sounded suicidal...

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Hearing Inanna's doubt allowed Cato to feel a bit more permissive of his own conspiracies. So when she suggested that he allowed Orcas to be killed in his stead, Cato was all over it. He whistled lowly, "You think so?" He kept having to remind himself that her knowledge of Sam was hardly any more extensive than his own.

"...Maybe we should find out more about this nexus ourselves?" Cato, naturally, was the one to voice that thought aloud. It was far from a fun idea, but perhaps a necessary one, if Sam really had some sort of nefarious intentions. Maybe they could learn something without having to sacrifice somebody to a dark side nexus.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Oh yeah, sure. We can bring Serena along and make it a family vacation."

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Iiiii dunno about that, but," Cato smirked, "It would probably be for the best that we figure out something." If Sam had any ill intent, then the rest of Inanna's family were prime candidates for it. And it's not like any of them had Jedi powers to back up a bit of nexus exploring.

"Maybe we can leave her with my mom? The grandparent that doesn't have a suspicious, potentially villainous guest hanging around?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna matched Cato's smirk with one of her own. "The grandparent who clearly has something going on, but is simply better at keeping secrets than my family is," she countered.

But it was a safer bet. She sighed. "Fine. We'll check out the nexus. But you should know that the planet Zaathru is notorious for being extremely hostile to outsiders. As in, we had better avoid any native settlements, because they will probably try to kill us on sight."

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Ignorance is bliss," Cato chimed, being obviously ironic, given his tone. That said, it was still the better of the two options.

To top things off, Inanna had a less than favorable review of Zaathru as a whole. Cato sighed, but then followed up with a cocky shrug, "We live on Nar Shaddaa. We basically have to deal with that anyway," Similarly said with undertones of irony, but his confidence remained steady.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"True."

They had reached their ship. Inanna shrugged her shoulders. "Okay. Let's go to Zaathru. It's a long trip. Hopefully the Brotherhood of the Maw hasn't gotten their claws into it yet..."

Cato Harth​