Ever Been Worshipped?

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Kaalia's life was, simply said, far from conventional. She was married and had recently found out she wasn't expecting just one child but twins, which she still wasn't sure about how to react to. By itself this was not too unusual, but then there was Darth Avacyn. Sith Lady of Defiance, and founder of a collective of Sith known as the Valkyries. They also happened to be one and the same person.

And now Darth Avacyn had also unintentionally become the inspiration of a cult.

The 24 year-old woman had temporarily taken a step back from her duties as a Lady of the Sith Empire due to her pregnancy, but that did not mean the name Darth Avacyn had disappeared in the same way. It had turned out to be quite the opposite, in fact. Through her eyes within the Valkyries she had been notified of a strange collective gathering in an abandoned temple on Dromund Kaas, and it was very clear that she had been their influence. They often spoke of the 'Flame of Defiance', seemed to be worshipping the elements, predominantly fire, and had been seen reciting the Sith code on multiple occassions. Under normal circumstances Kaalia would not have paid this cult much mind, but now that she was indirectly responsible for this she felt she couldn't ignore it. If they were up to anything shady, it would have to be stopped.

Going alone didn't seem like a great idea, however. Not only was Kaalia expecting, which was really starting to show by now, she was fairly certain the cult members would not react in a very collected manner. With her temporary step back as a Sith however calling upon their aid was not really an option, but there was someone else who could help her out in the situation. Her wife.

"Miala?" The redhead entered the living area of the house she and Ishana had recently moved into in preparation of the twins that were going to join them soon, calling out to her wife to get her attention. "I, uh, need your help. You weren't busy for the upcoming few days, right?"

Explaining the situation was going to be interesting, to say the least.

[member="Ishana Pavanos"]

 

[Ishana Pavanos]

Ishana was thrilled when she initially learned that their attempts at becoming pregnant were successful. The now thirty-nine year old ran a hand through her graying hair and brush loose strands of silver and black back. The retired fighter pilot and part-time smuggler along with her wife, who just happened to be a Sith Lady and who just happened to have been a founder in their little Valkyries group recently learned that they were expecting twins. While her wife was still puzzled, Ishana wasn't just floored by the idea but now wondered if they would ever be ready for this. One baby was - one thing, two?

And so here she was, in their new house on Dromund Kaas, setting up the second crib. Ishana's mind was lost in thought, worried about her wife mostly and how she was feeling. Having twins explained why Kaalia had started to show early but now? Now it was obvious, and the former pilot just had a smug look. Her wife was pregnant, carrying their children and just as she let out a sigh of contentment. Ishana heard her wife call for her. "Just a minute habibti."

Ishana got a look at the second crib and looked over at the first with a smile she turned and went out of the nursery and down the hall. Her brow furrowed when her wife asked if she wasn't doing anything for the next few days. "No?" She replied before reaching the main room, where her hand instinctively went to the other woman's swollen abdomen. A kiss, "why?"

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

"Well..." The normally much more affectionate Kaalia was now a bit careful while trying to find the right words to explain the situation. It was something that was already close to too ridiculous to comprehend herself, and now she had to inform someone who barely knew anything about the workings of the Sith in the first place. "I may have unintentionally inspired a, how do you say it, uh..." It was at that moment she realized there really was no other way to put it. "A cult."

Smooth.

The woman awkwardly smiled and started scratching her neck, not entirely sure how it was going to land. Nontheless, if she needed Ishana te help her out she needed to know the details as well, and so she continued. "It's not the fun kind of idolization, either. I'm pretty sure they are kind of insane. Actually, just insane. Not kind of." In a way she found it to be flattering, but that was negated by how creepy they made it. Not that it unsettled her, she had seen people who were most definitely way further down the deep end, but she would've preferred it if the cult had never existed. Unfortunately that wasn't how things had panned out, and now the mess would have to be cleaned up.

"I'd go out there on my own to make sure they aren't about to do anything shady or dangerous, but there's this," Kaalia looked down, locking eyes with the hand that rested there, "And they would probably freak out if they saw their god in person. I don't know what they would exactly do, but I don't want to take the risk." At this point the request she was about to make was pretty clear, but to remove all doubt she still went to make it. "Could you maybe help me check it out, make sure they aren't going to try to set the entire planet on fire?" Perhaps it was an overexaggeration, but the redhead wasn't going to be surprised if they actually going planned or attempted it at one point.

[member="Ishana Pavanos"]

 

[Ishana Pavanos]

When Ishana was called to the living room by her wife, she had no idea what was about to unfold. In fact if she had had any idea of it at all she would've at least liked to have had a few shots of Whiskey just to take the edge off. Normally, Kaalia would have returned the kiss and when she didn't the pilot knew something was up and so she ran a hand through her own hair and listened. "Uh huh."

Honestly, it was all she could manage and when Kaalia gave her that goofy-awkward look and started to scratch the back of her neck nervously. Ishana had a feeling that there was going to be more to this conversation, but that didn't stop her. "I mean, listen, I realize that you're beautiful and all but I'm the only one who truly gets to worship you." A wink for good measure and a cheeky grin that would fade relatively fast. "Uh huh," followed by a nod of acknowledgment. Well most 'cultist' tend to be just a little on the far end of the spectrum from what Ishana understood of crazy religious types.

It wasn't until Kaalia looked down at Ishana's hand on her abdomen that it finally clicked. "Oh." A beat, "right." She shifted her stance and placed both hands on the other woman. They traced the curve of her wife's belly where their daughters were growing stronger each and everyday. "I see." The brunette added as she got the more than subtle hint that she would have to do the investigating for her wife. Regardless of the cultist stance on Kaalia as Darth Avacyn. The Balmorran was sure that they would not take kindly to seeing their goddess with child, or children in this case. Neither, did Ishana want to risk their daughters - the couple had worked too hard and gone through too much to lose them to a group of fanantics.

Even if they did worship her wife...

"Of course habibti, I will help you," she replied with ease as she gestured to the sofa, "but first let's sit down and take a moment to let this sink in for a moment." More so Kaalia could rest her feet, pregnancy was hard enough with one baby - two? She was sure that a quick rest wouldn't hurt anything.

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

One of the many things that Kaalia loved about Ishana was how she was always able to put a smile on her face. Her mood immediately lightnened up after the brunette made her claim of being the only one allowed to worship her, even causing a slight amused scoff to leave her system. Her explanation of what had been going on remained as nervous and slightly awkward as before, but at the very least she felt a bit more comfortable again.

When Ishana agreed to help, Kaalia could do nothing but let out a sigh of relief before anything else. With an unconventional situation like this one it was never easy to predict what somebody's reaction to it would be, even if it was much more obvious in hindsight. The nervosity and awkwardness fell off her shoulders and she started smiling, feeling much more confident about handling the issue now. "Thank you, dear," she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her wife and pulled her a little closer and rested her head on her shoulder for a moment, "You're a lifesaver." After a short moment she let go again, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek as she passed by it.

Although it was offered to take a moment to sit down as a way of letting things sink in, Kaalia was more interested in just sitting next to Ishana for a little while. "Of course," she replied as she casually started to wander over to the sofa, before taking her time to sit down. "I send out a message in advance to prepare my transport so I could check it out, but there is more than enough room for an extra passenger." When it came to her personal life she did things most things herself, but as Darth Avacyn she simply didn't have the time. Luckily, one of the perks of being a Sith Lady was that you had people under you. "They will let me know when they are ready."

[member="Ishana Pavanos"]

 

[Ishana Pavanos]

Ishana was happy that Kaalia was happy; now about this whole cult thing. What. The retired pilot wanted to sigh and to fuss, but she figured she could do all of that on the way over or whilst looking at the cultist. Maybe. At either rate she knew that doing that now would not be condusive to the situation. By now she had learned Kaalia's body and knew how it worked. So when she relaxed again the pilot tucked away any complaints for a bar later.

"You are most welcome," Ishana replied with a softness in her voice. She sat back in the sofa and let Kaalia settle in. And suddenly this ordeal with people who worshipped her wife faded from her mind. "You know me, always ready."

She knew that something like this would make anyone nervous, well, except for the most narissictic and egostatistical of people she supposed. Kaalia? Was not really one of those people, she could be, but generally she wasn't. And traditionally she would have handled something like this without bothering Ishana but she was right. "So what exactly am I doing? Running in and observing? Shooting people? Both?" Ishana wanted to get an idea of what she was getting herself into. The Balmorran loved her wife but she didn't exactly want to run in blind.

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Kaalia let out an amused scoff at the question that was posed, and figured that it was likely a good idea to lay out the plan beforehand. "As far as I know, which is not much unfortunately, they have not done anything too shady just yet. Now, that could change, but until there shouldn't be any reason to shoot anyone." As much as the cult was a source of headaches, immediately killing them all was a bit extreme. If it came down to it then there wasn't much of a choice, but Ishana wouldn't have to worry about that herself for as long as things went according to plan. "Although I have people watching from the outside, none of them have managed to get inside. Something about 'false gods'." Although it was a bit of a hunch, the fact Ishana wasn't Force sensitive would perhaps make the difference. "If I'm right however, you should be able to. That way we can figure out what they're planning."

If there was one thing Kaalia wouldn't do however, was let Ishana walk in without backup. "If anything goes wrong somehow, the people watching outside will make sure you walk out in one piece. I don't think it'll get to that, but there's no need to take the risk. If they do end up having shady plans, then it can be dealt with. Otherwise, I suppose we can just let them do their thing. I'm not their mother, even if they think I am."

Right after saying that, the holodevice in Kaalia'd pocket pinged. "Looks like the transport's ready. Ready to go?" She rose from the sofa and made her way over to where she had hung up her cloak. "They have not seen me in a while, so expect reactions. I was hoping I would be able to avoid those completely, but you can't have everything I suppose."

[member="Ishana Pavanos"]

 

[Ishana Pavanos]

"Right," Ishana acknowledged and yet the idea of this was still strange.

Did she realize how strange it was that people worshipped her wife? And not in the juvenile manner one might think because if that were the case heads might've rolled already. No, literally worshipped as having carved idols and are praying to Kaalia as if she can hear them from so many stars away. "False gods..." Her voice trailed she was half-way between disbelief and 'let's get this over with.' Ishana just lets out a quick breath as she headed off deeper into their home to grab some gear. Nothing fancy, "it makes me feel so good that you would ensure my wellbeing." Ishana teased as she emerged. And then she leaned in against the wall and looked at her wife.

"What those reactions could be, I wonder."

Not every day you see a pregnant Sith Lady, let alone pregnant with twins.

"And yeah, yeah I'm about as ready as I can be."

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

The trip itself had been a fairly uneventful one. Any initial surpised faces were quickly suppressed and the couple were left in peace for the journey's duration like they were instructed and during that time Kaalia tried to put the entirety of the situation in perspective. It was quite frankly one of the weirdest things to have ever happened to her and although for now she did not have time to let that sink in until everything was dealt with, once that happened she was going to take multiple days off from the outside world as a whole.

"Well, here we are," Kaalia said with a sigh as they began to come to a stop. The area seemed mostly deserted with the only signs of anyone having been here being the footprints left in the soggy ground. Some distance away an old temple stood, but instead of looking abadoned it was clear it was inhabited, a strange sight for such a remote part of the planet. They themselves had stopped at a camp that had been set up previously and served to scout the temple out, with a number of people actively keeping watch while they arrived. "Why they would want to live here is beyond me, but that comes with having a screw loose I suppose." While the redhead carefully planted her feet onto the ground another woman approached the two and she was met with a nod before the newcomer turned towards Ishana. "Any news?"

"Not as of this moment. It seems to be quiet for now," the woman answered. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Maraya," she then continued as she offered a handshake to the brunette. "I will be filling you in on all the details, the plan, and everything else you need. Is there anything specific you wish or need to know before we get into it?"

[member="Ishana Pavanos"]