Familial Ties

[Onrai]

[member="Lily Kuhn"]

The orbit of Empress Teta was not a place Vanessa Vantai typically found herself. Less so was that she was found in a region of space without the battleship she called home. The lack of the Ablution left Vanessa reasonably defenseless as she continued towards the local spaceport here.

But a lack of aggression was key for her to accomplish her goals.

Biologically, Vanessa was the half-sister of Lily Kuhn, having been “born” of their shared biological mother, Silara Vantai. Vanessa had hardly interacted with Lily during their brief familiar relationship before her self-imposed exile to the Unknown Regions, and her interactions had remained minimal throughout their time working together within the Krath and ICO, endeavours that seemed more and more likely not to come to fruition.

She had contacted Lily and asked for the woman to join her upon the spaceport in the location she called home. It was time to try and reconnect with her half-sister. even if the relationship only was blood-deep.

 

[Ellie Mors]

[member="Vanessa Vantai"]

It had been over a decade since Lily could have last called herself a child, the period of time where she had, albeit briefly, been made aware of a half-sibling that was much older than she was. They had never met intimately, strictly speaking, but like a distant relative living in some far-away country on some quaint world a galaxy away, the knowledge that she had such family outside of her own immediate one always existed. Perhaps it came as a surprise to her, the recent mother of one, that this relative had decided to bridge that gap now - although she certainly could not have thought of a better time in her adult life to have done so, as her infant son certainly could use more close family than just his parents. Lily knew little of her half sibling, only that she had been born some time before her mother had ever met her father, and that she was all but grown by the time that her parents had married and had her or her twin. It was only natural that the empress of the Teta system would allow her family - however extended, or removed - to visit, especially as the chance to get to know them better.

The red-head waited patiently at the now closed-off section of the Tetan spaceport, the armed security - the Krath, now having fallen silently in line with their empress - lining the entrances and dotting every corridor of the sprawling hub of travel and trade. She sat in one of the many benches that looked out to the runways and docks, where normally one waited for their flight to arrive or for one to depart, her clothing plain and yet regal, but most importantly she carried her baby boy swaddled in her arms. A pleasant smile was etched on her face, occupying her time waiting by distracting her infant son with a wiggling finger between his tiny, precious, little hands. "We're going to meet someone new today, little one." She said with an exaggerated tone of excitement, eliciting a small amount of laughter and a toothless smile from the boy. "Yes, she's your aunt, mommy's bigger sister." Lily added with a nod of her head, eyebrows raised in an expression that seemed only possible when communicating with babies. This, of course, spurred the child to make several incoherent noises, that appeared - in conjunction with his expression of enjoyment - to be a gesture of approval and perhaps excitement, genuine on his part. For her part, Lily glanced up to observe the transport dock, and rose accordingly as the craft prepared to unload its crew - Vanessa Vantai.

 

[Onrai]

Vanessa's exit from her shuttle was rather simple, all things considered. Though the Dark Troopers had been for the most part dissemminated amongst the Imperial military, having provided many wounded veterans with an opportunity to express their continued fanaticism for the Imperial cause, they still supported her, a pair of the Imperial troopers flanking her as it currently stood.

The Vahla walked towards her half-sister with a smile. In truth, the spirit within Vanessa's body had been more acquainted with their mother than with Lily, but it still wished to continue forming a familial bond, one way or the other. She came closer and gave Lily a hug, careful to not smush the small child. "You know, it feels like it's been years since I've seen you. The last time I remember ever interacting with you was before Lisette died, back when Silara was alive." She looked down at the baby boy and smiled even wider. "And I'm an aunt? Aw... what's his name?"

After the initial greetings had been hashed how, Vanessa looked at Lily. She recalled the one other somewhat recent time they had indirectly interacted - when DCMM had provided some fleet resources for the Krath to enhance the strength of the Cinnagar war fleet against factions that had attempted to gain a position within the core. Never had they met with regards to such business dealings, but now Vanessa considered it to be a good time to showcase her support. Her support, and the revelation of things she had done her best to keep hidden for a long period of time.

"Is there perhaps some place that we could sit down, perhaps enjoy a light meal, and talk, sis- Empress?"

[member="Lily Kuhn"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

While the baby initially recoiled in her arms, somehow having not noticed the approach of a stranger from behind, Lily nodded and switched the arm she was holding her child with so he could more easily see his aunt as she accepted her half sibling's embrace. "His name is Jaivant." She said, her gaze shifting from her sister to rest dotingly on the boy. "And I think you're right, it's been quite a while. The last time I kept up with most of the family was when I was still living with them." Lily agreed, taking a moment to think back. She nodded in agreement with her own statement, apparently having decided she was right. Their brief embrace was broken as Lily turned towards the main thoroughfare of the spaceport, which was now completely empty aside from the bodyguards and security personnel that dotted the walls. "Yes, but first let's get out of this stuffy spaceport, I think it would be a bit easier to relax in the Iron Citadel, less of these guards standing over my shoulder and reminding me of how many civilians are in the area." She said. She started walking, Jaivant playing with stray strands of hair that he had managed to grab with his little hands. "Oh, and you can just call me by my name, I'm not that old fashioned." Lily added with a short laugh, realizing her sister had called her by a title that was more for formal occasions than anything.

She led her half-sister, along with a dozen or so men and women that made up her security detail, through the space port and out to the armored air bus that waited for them outside, a handful more bodyguards waiting with blaster rifles at rest waiting patiently around the vehicle as added security. "I believe it'll only take us about fifteen or so minutes to get there, we aren't too far from the royal district. Hopefully Jaivant falls asleep on the way there, it's about time for his nap." She explained as a woman in fully body armor opened the door of the air bus for them. She climbed in with the help of the woman and her baby in her arms, several bodyguards forming a human wall on either side of her as to prevent vantage points - in the off chance of Alliance-regime sympathizers hoping to take her out with a lucky shot. "And you'll have to excuse the security, it will lighten up once we've left the space port. There's just too many opportunities in this area for someone who doesn't belong to slip on-world here for me to relax. Off-worlders who think they know what the people want more than they do are a nuisance, as I'm sure you're aware." Lily noted a she sat down in one of the seats and waited for her sibling to join her and for the vehicle to leave. Despite the presence of security, however, she didn't seem all too concerned about the possibility of an assassination attempt, which was audible in her tone.

[member="Vanessa Vantai"]

 

[Onrai]

"Hello, Jaivant." Vanessa said, smiling as she looked down on the young child. She was an aunt now - a strange feeling, even if she was only related to the baby by blood. Hearing confirmation that she could be less formal, Vanessa acknowledged it. "Sounds good to me, Lily." It was strange, having family - family was exceptionally odd for a Sith who had remained almost intentionally isolated for so long to have. Once they would get into the armored air-bus, Vanessa would sit down across from Lily, allowing her to look at the empress and her child while remaining comfortable.

"I suppose there's a lot to tell you." She said, thinking over how best to approach things. Certainly explaining she was a spirit, that had at one point been romantic partners with Lily's mother, who was currently residing in a body cloned from a deceased other sister, would need to be tactfully approached if she was to maintain good relations. These were the times Vanessa hated what she had done to survive.

At least she had kept Silara's promise.

[member="Lily Kuhn"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

She steadily rocked her baby in her arms as the vehicle pulled away from the port, cocking an eyebrow questioningly at Vanessa's statement. She wasn't too sure there was much she had been expecting to hear from her - unless she had some news on the manner of her mother and older sister's death, which was something that had remained buried from the moment of their passing - so the concept of there being information withheld from her was a bit confusing. "Is there?" She asked, her tone cautious, as she leaned back in her seat. Her free hand reached for a button on the door of the vehicle that controlled a soundproof divider - she didn't touch it, however, but the button was pressed down all the same by some otherworldly force.

"What do you mean, exactly?" Lily added as silence filled the space between them. Her expression had hardened, somewhat, perhaps an outward sign that she had braced herself for something difficult. She didn't know what to expect, but she had at least some suspicions given what information could have possibly slipped by her that her half sibling might know that she didn't. "And if it can wait, we should be at the citadel in several minutes. I don't want us to be interrupted." She noted.

She didn't seem pleased.

[member="Vanessa Vantai"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Lily Kuhn"]

"I'm fine with waiting, though I can at least abridge the tale." She said, sitting down. "To make a long story short, I both am and am not your half-sister. A long time ago, prior to my spirit being within this body, I was close with your mother." Vanessa began. "After she had become physically malformed through being put through the ritual to become a Sith Battlelord, I gave myself the responsibility of returning her to her previous physical form." The Sith Lord nodded. "Circumstances eventually resulted in my death, you see - and your mother, then my close associate, gave me a body. Alric was not the first man she had been close with, though the child she had with that man did not make it to term."

Vanessa sighed for a moment. "The body that Silara gave me was cloned from that. She considered it a precious thing. Adopting me into her family in a way was something she considered to be exceedingly important, so much so that she swore to kill me and torture my spirit forever if I ever let this body get killed. After she grew closer with Alric, and you and I met for the first and only time prior to this, I went on my separate way as she had moved on with her life, not needing me anymore. After some other circumstances, I traveled to the Unknown Regions, effectively exiling myself for about two decades. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I returned to assist the Sith Empire proper - and of course utilize my preexisting wealth from my last life to aid your cause in further militarizing the Krath." She concluded.

There was a pause for a bit before Vanessa concluded. "If it means anything, I still care about you as a sister and still wish to assist you in anything I can."

 

[Ellie Mors]

She opened and closed her mouth, her expression having warped directly from concern to confusion - she had always wondered why she hadn't been acquainted with Vanessa much, and it was quickly becoming clear why. She couldn't fathom the rationale behind anything that Vanessa was telling her, if that was even her actual name given the circumstances. What was she supposed to say? This woman was, effectively, little more than a stranger to her now - she probably could have gone her entire life without knowing what twisted events led to her having a half sister that wasn't actually.. her. "I.. I uh, um," She stammered, lost for words at the reveal. "That was certainly not what I had been anticipating." She admitted with some shock.

Her gaze shifted to the window, observing the landscape passing by. "I suppose this makes things a bit.. different. I mean, I'm not going to just cut things off from here, but you'll have to understand that just about everything that has been going on was on the premise that you were my actual sister. I'm not going to ask about the specifics behind whatever business you had with my mother before she met my father, I don't think I really want to know any more than whatever you've told me already honestly, but things are going to have to be a little different from here on out." Lily explained. It certainly complicated things, at least to a degree. There had been some concessions made because she had assumed they were siblings, but going forward she would have to reduce those leniencies to the sort she'd give associates - not family.

"We should be pulling up to the citadel soon, I suppose we can finish this inside."

[member="Vanessa Vantai"]

 

[Onrai]

“I know this is a bit complicated.” She said. “I also know that I have admittedly failed Silara and failed you. After I got this opportunity to be part of a family, to actually live the life of having relatives I could interact with and people I could care about, I ran off. I ran to the Unknown Regions and stayed there for decades because I was afraid and unsure of myself.”

She sighed, lowering her head. “I owe it to Silara and to you to be the sister I was supposed to be all those years ago. I’m sorry that while I was busy wallowing in my self-pity, your mother, father, and sisters were killed. I’m sorry I didn’t help you sooner. I should have been using the resources I had to keep you and them safe.” She breathed. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I want the opportunity to be your sister and support you in all that you do. That’s what family does - support each other, and honestly, you are all I have left.”

Actual tears began to be shed from her eyes once they reached the citadel. “Would you find it in your heart to forgive me for the failures I’ve made with regards to your - our family?”

[member="Lily Kuhn"]