Cheers, bud.

[Loske Treicolt]

[SIZE=11pt]That sounded fun, certainly. But Loske was pretty tied to a paycheck and a pretty laid-back life as a starpilot part of several endeavours to liberate the galaxy. The idea of a brother-sister-duo pew-pewing through the galaxy was neat, but she did have a team here. And an apartment and stuff. Still, she’d been so jealous of Kaili Talith’s family and now she had the opportunity to have relationships of her own...[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Do you have your own ship?” The teen asked, the straw against the empty bottom indicating that she too had polished off her second drink. Dutifully, the droid waitress was back at the table, asking if a third round was necessary. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Oh it most definitely was, and she whirled away. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I don’t have my own under my name -- getting into those adventures would be on The Alliance’s dollar, and they’re sometimes precious of their fleet.” She was of course, referring to her own X-Wing. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“We could try and take it for a spin, though. Have you seen the Alliance’s hangar? It’s pretty impressive here -- they've made so much structural use out of a bunch of volcanic holes and caves.” [/SIZE]

[member="Isar Kislo"]

 

[Isar Kislo]

Isar could only shake his head to Loske's question. "I don't have my own personal starfighter either. I definitely don't get paid for my work with the Order, they just kind of...provide everything, including a vessel. I imagine I might have a bit more free-reign with my Jedi Starfighter than you do with your X-Wing, however."

While [member="Loske Matson"] was drunkenly droning on about the ingenuity of Alliance Engineering, Isar was struck with an idea; one that wasn't going to get them thrown in the brig or expelled from the Order. "Caves..." As their new drinks arrived, Isar leaned forward, delight dancing in his deep blue gaze. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

 

[Loske Treicolt]

[SIZE=11pt]A knavish grin spread across the girl’s full lips, leaning heavily into the table; assuming it would support her weight as she hunched forward. Were they thinking the same thing? Did they sometimes have shared memories? Was their wavelength thick with similarity? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I sure heckin’ hope so.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Having now acquired the taste (or muted the taste buds that would otherwise complain), Loske gave a heavy, final inhale of her straw and stumbled out of the booth, awkwardly skirting around Frank who grunted in annoyance and chose to chase down the waitress to pay for the three rounds of drinks between the siblings. Always the responsible one, Frank. Thank you to the robot mistress Talith. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]She pushed against the doorway, Frank in hot pursuit, and stopped outside to inhale deeply; feeling the rush was a little overwhelming and she put a hand on her hip in an attempt to self-steady. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The Sullust night was pretty much like any other planet, aside from the rolling volanic hills and random blurps of ash and orange against the night sky. At least there was a breathable atmosphere and it didn’t smell like sulfur. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“We could rent a speeder to get us out past the city.” Loske chimed, once [member="Isar Kislo"] joined her. [/SIZE]

 

[Isar Kislo]

Isar easily matched [member="Loske Matson"]'s grin as she replied to his statement. He didn't quite expect her to so rapidly and exuberantly set off to initiate the adventure, however. Following a short laugh to himself, Isar finished the rest of his drink. When he came to his feet, he was basically eight million times more steady than his kin, but he blamed that on his fairly resilient constitution courtesy of his training.

Glacier blue eyes briefly followed Frank as he went off to handle the bills. I really need one of those... The large clone emerged into the cool night air perhaps a few moments behind the perky pilot. On Loske's recommendation, Isar's eyes searched around. Fortunately, ground transport was fairly prodigious on Sullust. The world was simply to massive for anyone to be foot mobile to most of their destinations without an abundance of time. "Over here." Lightly grabbing Loske's arm, Isar dragged the woman with him, doing his best to keep her upright if she started to stumble.

In right around a minute, they arrived at a speeder that Isar mostly deemed suitable. It had to have the right speed capabilities after all. A brief glance to Loske, and Isar went about situating himself in the driver seat. "You...definitely are not driving."

 

[Loske Treicolt]

[SIZE=11pt]Deeply appalled at the implication that somebody may be a better driver than her, Loske’s fingertips pressed against her sternum in mock offense. “I could probably do this better than you with one eye closed,” she defended, hand now on her hip and a very stern point evidenced in her hand. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Frank knocked against the back of her leg, a low rumble in the droid’s would-be-belly as a stern reminder that should anything happen, she [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]did [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]have to go back to work at some point. A damaged star pilot was a pretty big liability for them to bet with. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“But, you could probably use the practice..” she resolved, and turned to hoist Frank upwards and into the backseat of the speeder before agily climbing over the side herself. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Can we see a map of where we are, and where some of the deepest, nearest caves are?” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]On cue, Frank illuminated the space between the siblings with a projected, blue topographic map that showed the different levels of Sullust’s surface, within a 5km range either side. After petting her chin for a few moments, Loske blinked slowly (or maybe it wasn’t slow, she couldnt’ tell, it just felt sluggish) and pointed to a particular one, then looked up at her chauffeur, [member="Isar Kislo"], seeking agreement. [/SIZE]

 

[Isar Kislo]

Isar rolled his eyes at his kind, though a smile did linger on his lips. "Practice.."

Vaulting his large frame over the side of the speeder, Isar settled comfortably into the driver's seat as Frank projected a map between him and Loske. Glacier-blue eyes surveyed the image for a few moments alongside his sister. When she pointed to one, his eyes met her gaze as a broad smile spread across his lips. The only response of assent that he gave was to gun the engine of the speeder. Simultaneously, Isar applied just enough thrust to the repulsor drive to clear the top of the nearest building as he cut the steering column sharply to the left.

Adjusting power to the repulsorlift to account for the change in the speeder's attitude, Isar kept the speeder in a tightly arced turn towards their initial course. For his part, Isar was very comfortable behind the controls of just about anything. After all, even their mother had been a very accomplished pilot and at a rather young age.

"You know. Now that I know of our connection, some of the stories I've heard around the troops during operations kind of make me want to puke." Isar went through the motions of making a fake-wrenching noise before turning a thin smile in Loske's direction.

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

The inebriated version of the Kiffar experiment clutched the handle next to her, looking at buildings as they whipped in and out of view, her blonde hair whipping around wildly behind her in that tell-tale ponytail.

“Please,” she gestured weakly “don’t mention puke.”

From the backseat, Frank made a droid-like chuckle noise.

It’s not like Loske was a stranger to locker room talk - it was partly how she’d acquired her skyward nickname. Still, connection aside, maybe it was her senses dulled, but she wasn’t catching on. Was he talking about their connection to the parents, or to each other? She sought clarity:

“What stories?”

[member="Isar Kislo"]

 

[Isar Kislo]

As the speeder settled out onto its intended course, it seemed as if they were floating on a cloud. Certainly...it was a very well-built speeder. Given that the destination was not terribly far, Isar was already making the turn onto their final course, initiating a smooth descent that he was flying completely off visual cues and intuition. The maintenance and operation of machinery meant to leave the ground had a very strong foundation in their family after all.

Unknown to both of them and even their mother for a considerable amount of time, Marcello Matteo had been a surprisingly accomplished practitioner of astrogation. No, he hadn't bothered discovering and creating new hyperlanes, but he'd certainly calculated more than his fair share of hyperspace jumps well away from known, charted hyperspace lanes without the aid of any navicomputer or droid.

Shifting his gaze to Loske, Isar gave her a 'come on...' type of expression. "Stories may not have been the right word." He paused only long enough to adjust their descent rate slightly. "Jokes. Quips. Detailed statements of desire to have you any number of sexually compromising positions."

Isar fake wrenched yet again.

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Flabbergasted, her brow quirked and she adjusted in her seat to squint at [member="Isar Kislo"], to make sure he wasn't lying "Me?"

Interesting topic to bring up. She supposed that was mostly inherited from their mother, although, it wouldn't be unlikely that some would suggest similar whispers about their pappa-o either, during The Republic's height. The pair together was basically unfair, and that resulted in two chemically fused, equally attractive blondes, now cruising around assisting The Alliance.

"Oh really, well now you know you can either deck 'em, or give them my digits."

She rolled a shoulder forward, and ran her tongue against her front teeth with a laugh.

"Depending on how good looking they are."

She was of course joking. Loske's love life was a dull affair. Unlike her mother and father (especially her father, pre-mother), she hadn't really ventured into any sort of mischief with the opposite gender. She had a mild ongoing crush with a certain Talith, but she'd really only interacted with him a handful of times; not enough to pinpoint something one way or another. Also, she didn't really register half of the innuendos he delivered -- they were way over her head.

"Since we've started down this road," she leaned back, draping an elbow over the door of the speeder and resting her chin in her hand. "How's your love life, brother?"

 

[Isar Kislo]

Isar casually glanced in Loske's direction. "Oh I'm giving out your comm code, don't even worry about that." As his head turned back to regard the rapidly approaching terrain of their destination, Isar adjusted the thrust to the repulsors one final time as they neared the mouth of the caverns. "Only to the unattractive ones, however."

Fortunately, Isar knew nothing of Loske's ongoing situation with Micah Talith. Isar probably would have judged her. Mostly for no reason, but still. Loske's turning of the tables on him caused Isar's expression to go flat as the speeder landed just outside their intended destination. "We're here!" The exclamation was followed near immediately by Isar vaulting out of his seat and onto the rocky surface, happy to act like Loske hadn't asked the question she'd asked.

Like her, he didn't really know how to...process emotions for another. However, he'd certainly taken the plunge with an attractive woman at their family's estate on Naboo a month or so prior. He'd heard...nothing from the woman since. It made him wonder if he'd done something wrong or offended her in some way. He'd thought he had been very respectful and pleasant.

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

A firm fist curled and she projected it toward the other experiment's upper arm when he confessed her only suitors henceforth would be trolls.

"And so we are." She agreed, wriggling herself free from the speeder and only tripping a little bit on exodus. It was really dark out, and when the speeder's internal dashboard went dark on parking, azure gaze had to take a second to adjust to the onyx saturation of the night.

"Excuse me," The girl stomped forward, trailing to her kin like a prehistoric predator. It was indeed rocky, and some of the molten rock wasn't as closely knit as others; as fortune would have it, the clumsy-on-land femme found her footing mixed up with some badblood pebbles and a slip in her step. Barely catching herself before collision, she awkwardly righted herself and continued her bee-line to brother "Excuse me -- there is an unanswered bantha in the room. I'm going to assume this means [member="Isar Kislo"]'s love life is some sort of zeltrosian scandal and you're ridden with all sorts of stories."

 

[Isar Kislo]

Isar's eyes drifted in the direction of his intoxicated sister. A small smirk formed on the older-looking clone's lips as he watched the silhouette of Loske's body attempt to navigate the terrain with...mild success.

Before Loske fully reached his position, Isar turned and began to transit towards the entrance to the cavern. However, he stopped the moment he realized they were about to walk into a dark cavern with very little light. No sooner had Loske reached him and stated her interpretation of his non-answer than he abruptly turned once more and began retreating back in the direction of the speeder. "No scandal," he idly commented as he returned to the speeder. Making his way to the trunk, Isar rifled around the contents until he found a small survival kit. It had one flashlight.

After removing the device, Isar turned it on to ensure it was operable. A wide-beam of dull light sprang forth. It wasn't exactly high quality but that was to be expected.

Returning to Loske's position, Isar shook the flashlight in the air slightly to indicate they were ready to go. "Don't want you tripping over your feet the entire time." Lightly, Isar tossed the flashlight to his sister. "My love life is no more interesting than your own. I had a... I met a girl on Naboo. It was nice, but I haven't spoken to her since."

Purposefully vague. That was the best policy.

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

"Hmph, thanks." Like a cat, two hands caught the flashlight awkwardly between two palms, as if she'd done it mid-clap. Wow, this drinking thing really was awesome. Even the most basic of reflexes were slowed!

"Whatever," Loske muttered to herself once [member="Isar Kislo"] divulged more of the story, and thumbed the flashlight back on and onto her feet. "What, we've only been out in the wild like, less than a handful of years?" Her eyes, and flashlight, cast upward to the mouth of the cave, it's gnarled lip curled upward and outward like an awning.

"We've got plenty of time for new stories. Who knows, maybe we'll even get holocrons-or-whatever like ma and pa." She edged inward, now looping the light around in the dark to highlight rocks jutting out of the sides.

"Wait...there was an it? Hohohoo----my god. Nevermind, Jedi Knight Kislo, you're well on your way."

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Meanwhile and Elsewhere ​

​

"I can't get over the feeling that we've somehow let them down."

Projected parenthood. It was very obvious that neither herself nor [member="Marcello Matteo"] were parent material. Well, maybe Marcello was, but she -- certainly not. But when she'd met the two youths that night, that greatly reflected her and her husband's likeness, there was no denying that something within her winced biologically. They had created two beautiful, functioning, intelligent and self sufficient humans.

Her hand dropped from her lips to her belly, the other hand idly scratching her collarbone in thought.

"They were created for war, abandoned, and then we just randomly show up? How in all the planets can we possibly make it up to them?"

Redeemer as always, Kiskla was now seeking redemption for her ignorance; and dragging the former Naboo King with her in this. This was typical. A handful of moments spent in desperate searching for answers, out loud, and then some sense of reason and calmness would find her.

"What happens, you take one, and I the other and we train them further? Do they have birthdays? Do we celebrate their chemical conception?

This is why we never had children of our own, so we wouldn't have to train others to balance life and" She lifted her hands for air quotes now "doing what's right."

 

[Isar Kislo]

Isar chuckled lightly watching Loske attempt to catch the device. She really did seem almost out of sorts from the alcohol. Then again, he would have been in a similar state had he not been subtlety managing the effects through alternative means.

Glacier-blue eyes briefly followed the beam of light before settling on Loske's features with a flat expression. Rolling his eyes at Loske's final comment, Isar motioned for his sister and her quips to come on with the light she carried. "It wasn't a big deal," he lied. "It's not a situation that I really think about."

Another lie.

Carefully, Isar stepped into the mouth of the cavern they had come to explore. For a brief moment, he reached into the Force, expanding his presence to feel for any immediate dangers.

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Marcello looked up from his idle perusing of the holonet at the sound of his chosen's voice. Vibrant, blue eyes gazed at the form of [member="Kiskla Grayson-Matteo"] through a couple strands of long blonde hair. For a moment, he had no words to offer - transfixed by her beauty as he always was when he laid eyes on her.

Watching as Kiskla's hand dropped to her belly, Marcello arched a curious brow. Naturally, he'd expected that one day Kiskla would feel this way, despite her general attitude of indifference mixed with irritation when she'd first learned of the existence of the clone-babies. The Naboo native knew the part he played in this particular production.

When Kiskla had finally finished, Marcello put down his datapad and came to his feet. Smiling thinly as he so often did, he casually approached his smaller partner. "Kiskla..." Slipping behind her, Marcello allowed his arms to settle around her waist as he kissed the top of her head lightly. "...maybe it's for the best that we allow them to grow and experience life on their own? All they have ever known has been a past implanted into their memories. For not having actually lived very long, they seem to be doing very well."

Yes. Marcello Matteo had done some digging on his children regardless of the circumstances of their conception.

"Isar is a Jedi Knight and Loske is a very accomplished starfighter pilot." Marcello paused for a moment as he released Kiskla, taking a seat and pulling her body towards him. "She's also quite unaware of her affinity for manipulating the Force, it would seem. In spite of everything, they seem to rather be taking on the best of our own traits." Following a gentle kiss to the top of her hand, Marcello managed a reassuring smile. "They know where we are should they need or want our guidance."

Marcello wasn't sure if Kiskla was buying any of what he was saying. It wasn't that Marcello hadn't thought of them raising children...you know the normal way. He simply had never been in a rush, and he certainly was not going to pressure Kiskla. Besides, she was quite a long way from having to worry about the inability to reproduce if it became a desire.

 

[Loske Treicolt]

"Mhm, okay." Loske answered, pointing the flashlight deeper into the bowels for the cavern and lowering her centre of gravity to scoot downward past the mouth and slide down a few meters of rubble to another level of ground. She reached behind her and dusted off her legs, which some said were as long as the Kessel Run.

"So how do you feel about being partially royal. Seems like we have two potential planets we have some stake in." Again, the dim beam swiveled around in front of her before she pointed it backward and up the slight incline she'd descended, for [member="Isar Kislo"]'s benefit.

It was interesting to her, now that she had some time to process it. She'd recently visited Naboo as a guest to an impressive lakeside manor belonging to [member="Sarge Potteiger"] and [member="Cira"] and had been struck with awe as soon as she'd been transported to their dock on the bay. Now, there was consideration in the back of her mind that the opportunity for her own lakeside home was a reality. But was that an advantage she wanted? She'd always been proud of her self sufficiency. Her credits were reaching a level where she could purchase her own ship soon, with some special modifications she'd designed, too!

Meanwhile, something slumbered in the distance; presently unbothered by the unannounced visitors. ​

 

[Isar Kislo]

Isar was sliding down the same path by the time his sister had turned to shine the light on the path for him. Instinctively, the Jedi Knight closed his eyes to keep from having his night vision robbed so early in their geological journey. Reaching the bottom, Isar stood, somewhat surprised at the amount of space in the cavern. "Honestly...it's not really my thing right now. The galaxy is large, and there are plenty more people than just the inhabitants of one or even two planets that need help."

It was such an idealistic point of view, shouldering the burdens of an entire galaxy over anything else. A sentiment Isar would know he inherited from his mother had he ever spent any amount of time in her presence. Walking forward carefully so as not to step on or in something that could potentially cause a problem, Isar posed the same question to Loske. "And you? Any visions of expensive robes and adoring subjects in your future? Troll of an arranged marriage for the good of the kingdom at your side?" A roguish smile touched the Jedi's lips at the thought.

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Loske smiled at the Jedi Knight's vision for the galaxy. There were always things to be done, and one person would do what they could to be effective; if just mattered where those efforts were concentrated. If one planet was your priority, darn right you could make that concentrated area flourish; if your priority was larger, like a faction, then that could flourish too. It was all about effort.

"Adoring subjects come without the planetary ownership." Loske assured her brother, leading the way with the yellow light into the throat of the tunnel. The idea of a husband was not in her vision; she'd wanted a family for so long that now she had some fragmented version of it, she was satisfied for the time being.

"It's still so baffling arranged marriages still happen." The pilot mused aloud, ignoring the fact that [member="Isar Kislo"] was suggesting it happen to her. If it did, would it be legitimate, considering she wasn't a true heir? Just a design? "The idea of matrimony being the bridge for governments really highlights how fragile these things are, hm?"

A heavy exhale was released further down the cavernous path as the creature stirred, detecting faint noises toward the entrance of its home.

 

[Isar Kislo]

Isar snorted slightly at Loske's statement about adoring subjects. Sure, admiration, respect, even idolization could and often did happen irregardless of nobility or royalty. It was the subjects part that made up the meat of his comment. He had been exposed to that world if only briefly on Naboo. The young Jedi certainly had not enjoyed the politics at all, and he wondered how their father ever dealt with it.

In response to Loske's comment about the marriages, Isar mostly shrugged. "I was just being facetious about the last part, but I'm sure it does happen from time to time." Ducking under a large piece of rock protruding from the ceiling of the cavern, Isar started to continue his comments. "I guess I understand it from a point of consolidating or expan---"

Abruptly, Isar stopped as he reached out a hand to grab Loske's arm. His danger senses stirred just as the unknown presence deeper in the cavern did. He really did need to return to [member="Aeron Kreelan"] to continue with his training. Isar's mind only strayed a little bit and briefly at the thought of the punchy, alluring blonde.

Lowering his voice, he quietly intoned to Loske. "Careful. We disturbed something..." Stretching out with the Force, Isar internally grumbled about being unable to determine little more than a very general size. "Something large."

[member="Loske Matson"]