Bloodlines

[Aiwaz Khath]

Main Courtyard, The Song Residence, Voss​

But a few kilometers east of Voss' grand Jedi temple stood a humble estate that hummed quietly in the autumn heat. Warm and inviting, it housed the several Voss-residing members of the Song family, known for their ancient Jedi history and allegiance. Though the outside of its thick walls showed little to impress the the average onlooker, its insides showed a generous array of historical items over the last eight centuries, collected by the many members of the family over the years.

Auron walked silent and reverently around the estate's inner courtyard, admiring the many artefacts that had survived recent history. At the same time, he lamented all that had been lost of their lineage when the first Alderaan was destroyed, but there was plenty to admire that had endured the terrors and conflicts of the later Song legacy, the majority belonging to that of statues of recent legends amongst the family. Master Shan the Third, Knight Kaia, Lord Gao the Diplomat. More recently, the Knight Remus, Auron's own uncle - who he had never met - and beside him, Remus' older brother, he and Maya's father Rendo. They both stood in their younth and in their prime, proud Knights of the Jedi Order.

Now they were both gone, and while Remus' disappearance was intentional - unlike their father - not even his brother's vanishing could bring him out of hermitage. In long silence, Auron looked up to his father's statue, face stern and unwavering as his inner emotions threatened to tear him down. Ten years was a long time.
"Where are you, father?" he told the emotionless, stone husk in a hushed whisper. "I cannot stay this strong forever. I need you."

[member="Maya Song"]​

 

[Maya Song]

Voss was a bad memory for Maya. Though it was rather odd considering that her upbringing was far more pleasant than most, but perhaps it was because she was never too fond of her own family, no matter how caring they were. And after being gone to explore the galaxy at her own will for quite a while, she was reminded of this beautifully eery world. The orange skies and landscape, combined with the blowing wind gave Maya a depressing mood. She felt so lonely on this world, despite being surrounded by family and her brother.

The only reason she would've ever decided to revisit a place she seemed to hate so much was either to refuel or to pop in and say hello to her relatives. Both were the case actually. She came in with a rented ship, since she doesn't have a starship licence yet, and it needed some maintenance. Maya couldn't care much for her own heritage, and as soon as she was given enough free will, she left. But now she was back, and only to see her brother. She hadn't seen him in years, and he was likely the own person she had even bothered to think about while she was away.

But before she could meet him, Maya had to pass through her old estate. Every step inside the old building brought back so many memories, and strangely enough, they put a smile on her face. Perhaps it was the nostalgia, and the fact that she had grown and matured just a bit more, she could smile at otherwise distasteful memories.

After finally passing through the halls, smiling and nodding at some of the residents as she walked by, Maya ended up in the courtyard. The only person she was actually genuinely happy to see, appeared to by talking to himself in front of their father's statue. The smile on her face dropped, and now she was frowning. She had long stopped thinking about her father, and her brother's brooding brought back that depressing mood Maya was greatly hoping to avoid.

"Auron"

 

[Aiwaz Khath]

Auron's deep meditation was immediately broken, and he made a shallow gasp of surprise, for from within the depths of his wallowing he had completely neglected to recognise the presence of his favourite family member. For a moment he noted how dangerous that lack of feeling derived from severe emotional basking was. He turned to his sister, and suddenly he felt a wash of new feeling. It was a warmer feeling, a flush of love and relief, and he smiled. Albeit, the smile was a solemn one, for he could not truly hide the woes that bubbled beneath himself. But it was a smile nonetheless, and a genuine one.

"Maya." Extending his arms, he pulled his sister in for an embrace. "It's so good to see you," he spoke with ernest and sincerity. His voice was warm, though it was drenched in undertones of other emotions. Above all, he sounded so very tired. He took a moment to look at his sister. She had grown a great deal in the few years she had been away. She seemed much more mature, implying her time away had made her more shrewd, composed and generally strong. She was no longer the little girl who left Voss those years ago, but she was still his little sister. He, too, had clearly changed. His fun-loving, outgoing and headstrong personality was no more, having embraced adulthood more fervently - more so than he had wished - and above all the recent scars he had inherited from his time on Korriban were still raw and open. He smiled again, but it was clear his soul had been torn. Regardless, he offered love and welcome to his sister.
"What brought you back? I missed you."

[member="Maya Song"]​

 

[Maya Song]

Maya smiled once again, her cheeks going red, as she was embraced by her brother. The amount of joy she felt right now was indescribable, but it was shockingly short lived. Auron seemed so much different than Maya could remember, and admittingly in a bad way. She could clearly sense how he was feeling. The feelings themselves were some she had never felt before. Auron had been through quite a lot since she was gone, more so than her. Her journey was more of a phase of self-discovery that helped her mature somewhat, but she never underwent any hardships or anything of the sort. Auron clearly did. He appeared somewhat sad? alone? maybe scarred? She really had no idea how to describe what she was sensing in him.

"It's good to see you too..."

Maya softly replied. See was still wondering about him. It seems she had plenty to catch up on, and she was very eager to ask how much had changed. Obviously quite a lot. A quick sense into his current emotions was a clear a testament to that. And the beard. This was the first time she saw him with a beard. It made him look like a real Jedi. This out of place thought was enough to cheer her up a bit and make her small once more.

"What brought you back? I missed you."

"It was getting a bit lonely in Wild Space. I thought I'd just drop by and see if you were still here", that was a monumental understatement.

She pulled her head back from his embrace to face him, her smile dropped for the millionth time today,"Things aren't going so well are they?" She asked. Maya had the feeling it was going to get really deep as soon as he started talking again. He looked so much more grownup than whence they last saw each other, but even back then the teenage Auron still looked like an adult to her.

 

[Aiwaz Khath]

It became clear to Auron how obvious his woe had begotten about his person, and his sighed, shrugging torpidly in response to her question.
"You've missed a lot," he admitted to her. In truth, he was glad she was gone for the time that she had been, for it meant she avoided the great deal of damage that had arisen from the war with the Sith. Regardless, it was bound to affect everyone sooner or later, and she was bound to find out eventually.
"I was on Korriban. The Jedi had taken it from the Sith, to help its city." He stopped a moment, and gave an small twinge as though a tiny needle that rested inside his flesh was twisted ever so slightly. "But the Sith came to take it back." Memories flooded his mind of the taste of blood and sand and metal in his mouth, a loud ringing in his ears, and red and orange everywhere. The sky was fire. "The Sith had... reanimated creatures. They were dead. But then..." His fists clenched and his body tensed. "Someone on our side let bombs drop on the city." He breathed in long and steady, as though the last moments had been immensely demanding. "Over ten-thousand." He did not need to voice what he was talking about. Deep from within, he still struggled to come to terms with it all. He had wondered what might have happened if the Jedi never took the Sith homeworld in the first place. Would those people still be alive? Of course they would, he told himself, but then, would they be happy if they were? Would they be living like free people, or like slaves under the shackles of the Sith?

He sighed, the stress building in his temples, but he was too exhausted to let it aggravate him anymore. He needed to stop. He needed to rest. His eyes returned to Maya, his beautiful sister who once brought him an innocent happiness during his youth, and he sought to hold on to that feeling once more. Amidst his perseverance, he managed a smile.
"I ought not trouble you with my own burdens, though. Tell me, what have you seen?"

[member="Maya Song"]​

 

[Maya Song]

Maya watched in awe as Auron told his story, albeit rather vaguely. The fact that he was willing to let her in on this event right after finally seeing her again for a few years really said something. It undoubtedly haunted him, and this saddened her. It really spoiled the mood. She too thought of how lucky she was to leave the Jedi behind for a while, but who's to say she would've gone to Korriban anyways?

Normally a story like this would only provoke a "Oh that's terrible" kind of response from her, but combined with her brother and his gloomy mood, she was genuinely sad to hear about it. Were the Jedi really responsible for doing that? She pondered to herself. Over the years she hasn't questioned the Jedi Order on many occasions. Maya wasn't too sure she'd want to brand herself a Jedi anymore.

"I ought not trouble you with my own burdens, though. Tell me, what have you seen?"

"Well compared to you... um not much. I'm really sorry to hear about that. So the Jedi were responsible? I... I don't even know what to say, to be honest. Let's... find a place to sit down"

 

[Aiwaz Khath]

"It was not the Jedi," said Auron defiantly. It was being widely believed now that indeed the Jedi Order had sanctioned it, but this was nothing more than a lie. "Someone in our fleet acted alone and brought shame to us. Now that person is being hunted by Master Harrison. It won't be long before justice is delivered." He wondered, in fact, what sort of justice would be suitable for this situation, and such thoughts always lead him to countless ethical dilemmas and questions pertaining to what 'justice' actually meant. But this quickly brought him to many internal debates that were far too unsolvable when considered by one person. He did not indulge it this day.

Motioning towards one of the stone benches along the inner walls of the courtyard, Auron moved to sit down and his gaze moved upward towards the open top of the square. He wanted to change the topic, but there was only one place he could go. He was silent for the longest time.
"I hurt, sis," he finally said, clenching his fists a little on his knees. "My heart is not what it once was, and I'm scared about what's coming." The battle on Korriban was almost too much to bear, but another pain remained strong upon his soul. "I'm going to find father," he said with as much courage and strength as he could muster. "I'm going to find him and I'm going to bring him home." Auron longed for a complete family, but the disappearance of Remus, his uncle, and then his father, such an ideal was always a challenge to him. Then, when his sister left too, pressure continued to build on him. Now he was approaching a point where he had to act.

[member="Maya Song"]​

 

[Maya Song]

Maya would followed him up with another round of questions with regards to the whole Korriban incident, but she knew now wasn't a good time to be talking about. Her brother was visibly upset about it, and prying more into what happened that day would only kill the mood even more. Instead he took a seat on a bench, prompting her to follow suite and site next to him.

Listening to him continue frightened her somewhat. No, your heart is definitely not what it once was. You've changed way too much. Maya thought to herself whilst listening. Fear and pain were paths to the Dark side, and that was the frightening bit, Auron was becoming corrupted by it. His thoughts became irrational, which became evident by his will to find their father. At first Maya started to fear too, but for his well being, because to be frank she thought little of their father, and so it didn't bother her. Auron on the other hand... she cared for him, more than her entire family combined. But now she started to feel anger. His irrationality irritated her. Since Maya had matured, she was so annoyed out how some people thought, and now she was sensing it in her brother.

With strangely emotionless look on her face, she stopped her brother mid sentence,"No. A lot has clearly changed, but dad has been gone forever, and I've accepted that. How can you suddenly have the urge to look for him after all this time anyways? I can see you have a lot on your mind, and you're not thinking straight. Aren't at least a bit excited to see me? The way I see it you're not"

 

[Aiwaz Khath]

An air of irritation rose through Auron. For all her cares about him, Maya had hit a nerve. A rush coursed through him that he could not help as his heart rate increased, and before he could stop himself he spoke with much less patience than before.
"And what would you know of it? You've not been here. You abandoned us. You abandoned mother. She needed her daughter, and you left to play adventurer." As he spoke, years of pent up frustration at his sister, his father, his family and himself began to boil, and he was unable to interrupt himself. Korriban channeled through him. "Of course I'm excited to see you, but don't just walk back into my life after however many years and pretend to know everything that's going on. Because you don't." She just did not understand. With Korriban in his mind, his attention had returned to his father more than ever. "Do you know why I have not gone to find father yet? Because you were not here, and if I left it would have destroyed mother." The more he thought on this sentence, it was half of the truth, for he also did not deem himself ready for such an expedition. Who knew what he would find, on a once Sith occupied planet no less. "You have only ever thought about yourself. You are so..." He did not want to throw insults to his sister, for he loved her unconditionally. But it was difficult to resist the emotions that clutched and clawed at him, and before he had become aware of it, he had said it. "You are so selfish."

[member="Maya Song"]​

 

[Maya Song]

Maya could only listen while she let out a long sigh. In all honesty, she agreed with Auron on the fact that she was very selfish, but only because she cared so little about her family. It hardly phased her when she left her entire family behind to go on a really long excursion, and after all she didn't feel very needed anyways,"You're right. I am a bit selfish and I have no idea what's going on, but that's why I was hoping we could talk about it-"

She crossed her arms and leaned back against the bench,"-before you start going on about finding dad and all that. I just seems irrational, the way you're thinking at least. You don't seem very level headed about this, and I'm afraid you're gonna end up making some really bad decisions. Let's just calm down and think about this fully alright?"

Maya was getting a bit hungry and was thinking of fetching something from the kitchen a few minutes from now, and maybe even looking for her mom and saying hello along the way.