Cover Your Crystal Eyes

[Skye Mertaal]

Yavin IV
[member="Mira Rekali"]

There are some demons you can't run from.

They lay there in wait, hiding in the shadows. Lulling you into a false sense of security. One masks the fear by reaching for what one knows, what is familiar. What can be used to forget fractured memories best left in the deep recesses of the mind.
Yet they are always there. In the fringe of the senses, oozing like a putrid pit of malice that fed on that fear. That delighted on the twisted night terrors that drove the ice daggers of shame and sin under the skin and taking their pound of flesh -- and Skye had plenty of demons clawing for their due.

Maybe that is why Skye wanted to break that perfect control. Or maybe she was just that gone, all care tossed to the wind, leaving only the ire filled banshee in its wake.

Maybe, somewhere deep inside, Skye wanted her due.

Taking a deep breath, the Hunter sent through the encrypted sequence that would grant her entry into Rekali Territory. It had been years since she set her boots back dirtside. The seemingly stoic hermit came for a reason, one that left a bitter tang in her mouth. But she had to pay her respects, see what she could do.

For Rekali.

Granted access, Mertaal’s would guide her Firespray into atmo. A shudder would rock the spacecraft, and she gave a slight grimace. It had taken years before she could even get to this point, and even then, it still wrecked her nerves. Old habits and fears die hard.

Breaking through the clouds, she directed the Shadow Phoenix towards Witchtown.

 

[The End Narrator]

Home.

Was this it?

It felt so alien to her, like a language rolling off her tongue that she didn’t quite comprehend. She had been fortunate to avoid the likes of Port Shardock since, well, since a while. Now, here she was, dwelling on what could or might have been a nice reunion.

Sort’ve.

She wasn’t really dwelling, so much as having a little drink to refresh herself. She had hoped to see [member="Aton Gyndar"] at some point during her visit, but apparently he was too busy to see his twin.
Maybe some other time. For now, she was just here – admiring what this place had become.

She spun an empty glass in her hand as she watched people come and go. The patrons of this place were interesting needless to say. She wondered at times what drove her mother to this place – there had to be reasons beyond her grandfather. Perhaps it was the Academy. Who knew. Mira had fond memories on Yavin IV herself, herself and [member="Liam Quez"] shared quite a few memorable moments in the jungles – even a not so memorable first attempt at love at the waterfalls to the southwest.

The thought brought a smirk to her lips. She had wondered what it would have been like if it were Fiore in that position – then again, given Fiore’s performance as of late, Mira was sure she wouldn’t be disappointed.
In the end, Yavin IV was full of memories – both good and bad, and after her encounter with that lovely Kalie girl, Mira had started to focus more on the positive side of things.

Who would have thought?

[member="Skye Mertaal"]

 

[Skye Mertaal]

The Shadow's engines waned to a soft whine as Skye shut them off. In full beskaram, the woman stoically shut off systems with a flick of her gauntleted finger. It was all second nature now. Funny how that happened. Years ago, she could barely do any of this. The odds had been more towards crashing than being productive.

It had taken a pilot droid back then to get anywhere. How things change.

Coming to her feet, the Hunter would proceed down the ladder well. Moving throughout a Firespray while in the landing position was a curious thing, but thankfully, having the cockpit set up on an axis to rotate made sure it would always remain upright. She slid down the ladderwell, her feet hitting the deck with a small thud.

The cherry glow of her eyepatch would wander across the main deck. Within moments, the ramp would open with a slow hiss. The damp, humid air of Witchtown came rolling in. From behind her helm, Skye narrowed her grey eye. Jumping off, the moist ground gave a slight thud. Pressing a button, the ramp began to close.

Now... where to start.


[member="Mira Rekali"]

 

[The End Narrator]

Mira stood up from her seat and casually made her way to the bar. With a soft thud, she dropped the glass before the droid bartender and gestured. “Let me get some water this time – I think I’m just going to sober up and head back towards the Temple.”

The droid turned to her and took the glass within its hands. “It isn’t my business what you do patron.” And for a lack of a better word, it didn’t give a damn what she did. Mira pursed her lips and then shrugged. Droids weren’t really the sociable type, well, that wasn’t true either. A soft beeping noise caught her attention and her gaze shifted to look at the blue and white BB unit beside her. This droid, was completely different. With a thud and a splash that sprayed liquid across her hands and parts of her face, the bartender droid set her drink before her – before moving onto other patrons. Mira’s hands rose up and brushed off the droplets off water before muttering.

“Thanks, jerkface.” A hand snatched the iceless water from the counter before she inclined her head to the right. “Let’s go Pixel.”

Yeah, it was best she step away from this damned droid before she ended up ripping it in half and attracting attention from Clan Shardock and potentially her grandfather - [member="Ember Rekali"]. Rumor had it that now probably wasn’t the best of times to get his attention, atleast in that mannerism. Mira sat down in a huff and a soft woosh against the thin cushioned seat. Pixel chirped and beeped beside her as he swiveled around, examining the patrons before turning back to her with a questionable beep.

“We’re just here to relax, for now…” Mira replied. Yeah, relax – that was best.

[member="Skye Mertaal"]

 

[Skye Mertaal]

A flex of her wrist would crack under the strain. From behind the black tee of her helm's visor, the Red Blade would pan at the busy docking station. There were more sentients moving about than the last time the Hunter was here. That's what happened when things run away from you. When life happens and the galaxy continues on while one squirrels themselves away deep in the jungle.

Full lips drew thin in displeasure. There was a bit of frustration there. Annoyance. Not at the changes that occurred but at herself. Sometimes, one had to step out of the dark. She'd been running for so long that the Hunter didn't quite know how to stop running.

Running was all she'd known.

Port Shardock was a curious mix of sounds and sensations. Civilized enough to warrant a cantina, wild enough to have the jungle creep up on it. There were things she'd have to do here. Restock on supplies, refuel, and perhaps get some maintenance done. Pay her respects. A deep breath rose her shoulders, and she felt a chill down her spine.

That pewter disk would swivel towards the current objective. Skye may have cut herself off willingly from the force with the suppression pills, but that didn't mean her gut instinct was gone. Narrowing that stormy eye, her bronzed visage peered through the helm and at the building in front of her. With a purposeful stride, she went straight for it.

A heavy gauntlet would push at the door, swinging it open. There was a light beat of music in the background, the area not as crowded as one would think.

Allya had her ways. Why am I here?

[member="Mira Rekali"]

 

[The End Narrator]

The music seemed to skip a beat as a newcomer made their entrance into the bar – Mira turned slightly to catch a glimpse of [member="Skye Mertaal"]. Much like the other patrons, she shrugged and turned back to her drink but Pixel apparently had something else in mind. The droid was distracted by something beyond Skye and attempted to flee in the direction of the door – rolling along, in between individuals before he came upon the form of the Hunter and rotated up with a loud beep before bumping into her leg.

The BB unit let off a series of beeps and tweets that resembled – well – cursing as the door closed behind Skye. With a slightly disappointed tone, Pixel turned and slowly rolled back towards Mira. The young girl took a moment to look down from the water in her hand and at her curious little droid, her free hand gently patting his dome. “What’s the matter?”

Pixel rotated around in a circle and made a few sorrowful beeps that cause Mira to raise an eyebrow and wave him away with a hand. “There is no way you saw Aton go by the door – besides, wouldn’t you think I would have felt him before you saw him?”

The droid let out a flat warble and rolled away from Mira, apparently dissatisfied that she didn’t believe him. Mira shrugged softly and continued to stare into the glass of water – content on just relaxing for the moment. She’d get to the task of resupplying and bothering those she knew around here soon enough.

All in due time…

[member="Skye Mertaal"] | [member="Aton Gyndar"] (Mentioned)

 

[Skye Mertaal]

The Hunter felt the slight boop from the BB-Unit. Her head would silently swivel down, that black tee visor studying the droid with a seemingly unwavering gaze.

It soon would roll away none the less. This time straight towards a younger woman with raven black hair, slouched over her table.

Behind her helm, the Hunter narrowed that singular stormy disk. Familiarity took her. Taking a breath, she stretched out one foot. Then the other. Heavy footfalls would announce her arrival, until she stood behind [member="Mira Rekali"].

“You are a Rekali.”

It was a statement. Meant more than just that of the clan.

Meant blood.

 

[The End Narrator]

Mira tensed up as she felt a presence behind her. A tingling sensation rushed down her spine and caused the hairs on her neck to stand. Pixel let out a flat tone and rolled between Mira and the newcomer.
She couldn’t exactly tell what the purpose of that sentence was – beyond identification.

Was the bounty that [member="Darth Vornskr"] placed on her so long ago still active? Nah, couldn’t be. He had satisfied his craving to destroy the children of the Sword on Ilum – hadn’t he? Mira’s lips showed a bit of displeasure as she tilted her head to the side and glanced behind her at the armor clad figure and then back to her water.

Her free hand would drop to her lap, gently caressing the metal of one of the lightsaber hilts as she spoke.

“I guess it depends on who is, well, making such a fact known to the world..."

[member="Skye Mertaal"]

 

[Skye Mertaal]

"Mertaal."

That was all the Hunter said, the name reverberating through the voice modular of the helm. A bright cherry red light would flare from under the dark tinted tee visor. A cybernetic ocular patch. Her name was only known in a few circles beyond the Red Blade, but Ember Rekali knew it well. It was she who had come with the patriarch to save his last surviving daughter from the One Sith.

As least, when Aaralyn had been the last surviving offspring.



[member="Mira Rekali"]

 

[The End Narrator]

Mira raised an eyebrow.

She had heard of that name when she was a child, her mother had spoke of it when she talked about darker times in her life - much darker times. She also spoke of it when there was always mention of holding onto hope. Mira's hand would relax and fall into her lap carefully as she turned her gaze to the table, letting off a sigh. "My mother spoke of you - very respectfully in-fact." She nodded to the woman despite still having her back to her. "Why don't you join me? I'm just, well, having a drink of water? Nothing fancy."

An honest gesture towards a woman she knew very little about.

[member="Skye Mertaal"]

 

[Skye Mertaal]

The skid of a chair and the sinking of the Hunteress to the seat was the stoic response. For those who knew of the Red Blade, she wasn't known as the most sociable of the lot.

"Water is fine." she said, voice modulated by the helm towards the barkeep. A swivel would turn towards the younger woman. At this angle, one could see the faint gleam of the cherry red ocular underneath the helm. There were rumors that the Huntress was a Cyborg, more metal than actual flesh and bone. How much was truth was anyone's guess. Mertaal never spoke otherwise, so maybe it suited her just fine.

"My condolences on the loss of your mother." Skye told her, and it was genuine. "She died how she lived."

[member="Mira Rekali"]

 

[The End Narrator]

Mira looked down at the glass before her.

“I guess, I appreciate it.” She didn’t know what else to say. The loss of her mother still ran deep into her soul – so much so that the thoughts still caused a sting. Mira kept her eyes fixated on the glass as she spoke. “How did you know her?” She questioned, breaking her focus to look up at Skye.

The woman had caught her attention – for the moment. Someone who knew her mother beyond, well, being her mother. Maybe she knew of her true exploits – and knew who she was for the stories she had heard so much of but never really had the courage to address to Aaralyn herself.

A mistake she would always come to regret…until the day they would meet again in the afterlife.

[member="Skye Mertaal"]