It Wasn't Meant to Be | Ardik & Fortan

[Natasi Fortan]

[OOC Note: This thread takes place an indeterminate amount of time following "Fall of the House of Fortan; or, A House Divided" and assumes certain things about the resolution of that storyline. Should events drastically depart from the expected outcome, this thread may become "non-canon" and replaced or revoked.]

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmrRNzMQ6cs

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Herevan Estate, Galidraan - Morning​

(Approximately 3 months after its burning)​

The rushing river that once ran through Herevan Hold, once filled its fountains, once powered its electrical plant, once gave life to the countryside, was now diverted away from the estate by a large, man-made concrete lake. It was a monstrous carbuncle on the face of the estate, but the feat of engineering had been necessary to power the village and the rest of the county, now that the hydroelectric plant within Herevan Hold itself had been damaged beyond repair. Much of the rest of the castle had been similarly damaged and had, since the fire had roared through it all those weeks ago, begun to collapse in on itself, great brick walls crumbling without the wooden frames to hold them. Only the central hold was still standing -- battered, burned, barely recognizable without its attendant wings and spires, fountains and pools. Even the gardens had been crumpled to mulch by the copious feet that had trampled them, whether they be first responders, medical examiners, Resistance fighters, or, for the past few weeks, First Order officials on the inquiry into the bizarre mystery of the Fortan family.

Natasi Fortan stood on the freshly-built bridge over the new canal, staring at her beloved Herevan Hold, and reflected on the same mysyery.

Imogen Fortan was dead; this much had been proven without a shadow of doubt by all manner of testing. Natasi Fortan was alive; this much had been proven by DNA testing and extensive psychological screening to determine that she was herself, and was not a Resistance plant. But just how a formerly trusted adviser and aide to who was once the most powerful Government official in the First Order, ended up as the leader of the Resistance -- this was still under investigation, and until such a time the inquiry resolved satisfactorily, the Fortans had been grounded -- a more literal state of being for Pierce Fortan, the fighter-pilot of the family. Natasi herself had filed for a leave of absence from her position as Moff of the Home Territories until she was cleared of any suspicion.

Natasi still had freedom of movement; she was not incarcerated. But since she had left the First Order medical facilities, she had had a pair of minders. Sioux Chambers, bless her, seemed affronted by the notion that her employer needed minding, but Natasi was grateful. She hadn't slept through the night since her release from the medical center. Every noise jarred her awake, every buzz of her communicator the harbinger of something horrible. The minders were armed, and had instructions not to let harm befall her. That was better than nothing, even if they did report on her activities to the board of inquiry.

Not for the first time, Natasi wondered if [member="Ludolf Vaas"] was a member of that board. As usual, her chest tightened at the thought, and it was all she could do to stop her feature crumpling. As it was, her dark eyes filled with hot tears. What he must think of me now, she thought, squeezing her eyes shut resolutely, causing her eyes to overfill and streak down her cheeks, over the still-livid bruises leftover from her ordeal at the hands of the Resistance. Thank goodness she wasn't wearing makeup. Will he ever trust me again? Will any of them? Should they? Natasi lifted her wrist to her face and dabbed her eyes with her sleeve. Again, not for the first time, she searched her memory for any clue, any flash, any thing that might have told her Imogen had planned her betrayal? As always, she came up empty. Her mind once again wandered towards her military colleague and she forced herself to take a breath. One thing at a time.

Pushing away from the railing, Natasi gathered her woolen coat tighter around her. It was early winter here, and flurries of snow danced through the air. They melted before they could drift, making the walk down the newly-driven road easy. Natasi was wearing black trousers and a white blouse under her black cape jacket, and her hair pulled back into a simple braid, and lined boots that sank slightly into the semi-frozen mud as she strode down the bank of the canal towards what was left of Herevan Hold. For the moment, she set aside her professional concerns. The meeting she had arranged with [member="Gerion Ardik"] was a business transaction indeed, but not a government one, and the appointed hour was approaching. She wondered, too, what Ardik would think of the news, but since he was not hugely fond of the First Order, she suspected he wouldn't care much one way or the other. Still, it pained her to think of herself as diminished in his eyes.

 

[Caulder Dune]

There were times where Darth Adekos was convinced beyond all doubt that he was the only one in the galaxy capable of doing his job properly. How could he not? Ineptitude lurked around almost every corner, like some foul misshapen creature in a bell tower. Adekos, himself now a similarly foul and misshapen creature, reflected on this as he slid his reflective visor back over his head. It had only been a matter of time before he slipped up and the physical evidence of his Dark Side dabbling became apparent. Now that time had come. Oh well. That was the price of doing business. At least he still had his personality and sunny disposition. His shuttle touched down at whatever passed for a landing pad among the charred ruins of Herevan Estate.

The sight reminded him, again, that no one could do their job. The First Order could not provide security to a high profile government official, the local fire marshal could not put out a fire. If it were Adekos calling the shots, a large amount of jobs would have been taken over by droids already. Droids didn't hesitate, didn't let laziness or office politics get in the way of doing their job. Didn't ask for raises or time off to spend with their family either. Model employees; completely unlike the bumbling flatfoots who had let this happen.

The wings of the Lambda-class folded upwards as it descended, landing gears extended. It was only a few moments before the loading ramp opened up and out strode Darth Adekos. He was accompanied by four members of the Tionese Whiteguard, the elite division devoted solely to the task of protecting the Tion Cluster. They were almost indistinguishable from the stormtroopers of the First Order, though they all had shoulder pauldrons that looked to be adorned in assorted Tionese heraldry rather than solid colors.

No one was nearby. No one of importance, anyway. There were some negligible amount of rabble bearing First Order insignias picking through the rubble. Not surprising. The First Order were very enthusiastic about destroying just about anything that was any thing, as he'd been forced to witness on Eriadu. No doubt they were trying to learn from this catastrophe, so they could improve the process by which they mindlessly put perfectly able-bodied, tax-paying citizenry and their property to the torch.

He quickly spied [member="Natasi Fortan"] off by herself, near the edge of the canal. Adekos moved with the same stiff, purposeful gait he always moved with, and eventually he and his retinue stopped a short ways off from where she was standing. "Lady Natasi," he greeted, his voice registering as somewhat cheerful despite the fact he sounded like a robotic chain smoker. "What can I do for you today?"

 

[Natasi Fortan]

She had known without looking, would have known without scheduling the meeting, the stiff gait of her friend [member="Darth Adekos"]. Her spirits lifted at the sound, but as she turned the smile died on her lips. He was entirely masked. Even he won't be seen with me, she realized, her eyes widening slightly at the realization. If she had lost his trust, then surely it was over. The noblewoman put on her most cordial smile and strode forward, her hand outstretched, meeting him with a handshake. Normally, she would have planted a kiss on each cheek (if only to see him squirm), but with the mask on, that seemed inappropriate. "My Lord Adekos," Natasi returned formally, her voice gruff for a moment before she swallowed the lump in her throat. "Thank you for meeting me. I hope Galidraan is not too out of the way for you."

She released his hand and turned back to the castle, suppressing a sigh. "I would invite you in, but...." Her voice trailed off, replaced with a long, rather pitiful sniffle.

Natasi glanced sidelong at Adekos. "It's a business meeting, you'll be glad to know. This time I know I've come to the right place." She had once approached him for help on a matter he was not quite versed in, but this time her request was right up his alley. "I need a pair of Human Replica Droids," she told him flatly. "They would need to look and act just like people, but not require sleep. They would need combat training in both close quarters and ranged combat, unarmed, melee, and firearms. They would be answerable to the First Order military command insofar as they could give a stop order, but they would be my personal bodyguards, and would ideally blend into my staff." She stopped and jammed her hands into her pockets.

"Can that be done? And for how much?"

 

[Caulder Dune]

Really, he must have been spending too much time among other Sith. Masks were par the course, nobody ever so much as blinked. But now he was malformed and the mask was something of a necessity, so he was wearing it to places he normally wouldn't Such as, for example, the ruined building formerly referred to as Herevan Hold. If he at all registered [member="Natasi Fortan"] 's silent dismay, he didn't appear to react to it. Just shook her hand firmly and went on with business. "I spend most of my leisure time in the Tion Cluster. It's no trouble." Adekos glanced behind him at the ruined estate when she trailed off, then looked back at her as she went on to the purpose of this meeting.

Human Replica Droids were expensive, not to mention fragile and difficult to repair. Unless they were purchased from Archangel, but Adekos did not trust them. They were... Suspicious. Adekos did business in droid manufacturing for a long time, and he had a knack for knowing when his competitors weren't being terribly forward. Still, better to not prattle on about such needless details. He also did not bother pointing out that of course they would look and act just like people and not require sleep. That was the whole point of them being human replica droids. "Easily." He replied. "And for you, nothing."

If the First Order was not willing to foot the bill for some additional security for this Moff that been abducted and tortured already, then Adekos saw no reason not to cover it himself. And he did suspect that this was not being covered or funded by the First Order. Otherwise they would have furnished more than two measly HRDs. A mixture of disgust and fiery indignation built up in the Umbaran for a moment, but he dismissed it with a deep breath. Calm, cool, and collected. Or not quite, because he quickly added.

"You should have more than that."

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi cracked a smile for the first time in weeks -- or she thought she did. [member="Darth Adekos"] would see nothing but her mouth becoming slightly less down-turned. Still, it made her cheek muscles twinge painfully. "Nonsense," she said with a tremor in her voice. "You and I both know you didn't stay in business by doing favors for your friends. I have some funds here," she gestured to her ship in the distance. On board was a bio-locked case of bearer bonds that numbered in the high millions, and there was more where that came from. "When my grandmother died, she left rather a significant fortune to my brother and I, but of course he died before she did. It skipped my mother because by that time we all knew about the entail on the estate and my grandmother didn't like the idea of my father or brother pocketing all the swag. Good thing, too, or it would all belong to cousin Maximilian now, and Balance only knows what he'd be doing with it." She sighed inwardly. Even talking about Maximilian Jens spitefully didn't make her happy, didn't get her blood racing as it once had.

Was she really dead and only pretending at real life? This was some through-the-looking-glass shit.

"I'm afraid while I don't have a figure in mind for Human Replica Droids, I'm fairly certain that I can't afford much more than two." She inhaled sharply through her nose. "I have to get an apartment, in the city I built from nothing, and so good am I, apparently, at laying out a city that the rent there is astronomical, so I need some funds to live on until I'm reinstated." She felt her face crumple; her voice rose an octave, and she turned away from Adekos quickly. "If I'm reinstated," she said, her voice brittle before it broke. Natasi put a hand to her mouth, her fingers trembling, and pressed her mouth shut for a full minute before she trusted herself to speak again. "At any rate," she cleared her throat. "I've got my defenders to left and right." She gestured to the minders.

 

[Caulder Dune]

He vaguely recalled Maximilian Jens. The TIE fighter pilot, wasn't he? It was nothing short of astonishing that someone who flew around in those ghastly machines had actually managed to outlive this property. Really, Adekos knew next to nothing about the man beyond that, except maybe that [member="Natasi Fortan"] was not excessively fond of him. Which could only mean that Adekos was not going to have a very positive outlook on the man either. "I stayed in business so I can do favors for my friends." He replied, matter-of-factly. "Otherwise there's no point."

An apartment was hardly the end of the world. Adekos had lived in several depending on where he was roosting at the time. Terrorists were more likely to attack lavish estates than apartment complexes, not to mention it was much easier to conceal where he lived than if he owned some towering manor or palace overlooking the city or some other natural vista. Otherwise you had events like these, arson and kidnapping all wrapped up into one. Needless, easily avoidable frustration. Natasi would doubtless appreciate the change once rent was no longer an object. For now, though, she looked a little on the distressed side. Adekos had never been an inherently comforting person and so had little to offer during that breach of composure.

"They would be fools to not reinstate you." Adekos bore in mind that the First Order would also be fools to glass a major trade world as some sort of disproportionate comeuppance, but that was neither here nor there. Speaking of which, he glanced at the minders she indicated. His look would have been one of disapproval of his mask actually allowed for the conveying of facial expressions. "I wouldn't-" Trust them to guard a pantry, much less you, he was about to say, but decided against it. Adekos cleared his throat instead.

"I will see about getting four droids for you. Do you have any... Preference, where appearances are concerned?"

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi finally looked away, bowing her head in assent. "Very well. If you insist," she said, offering a half-hearted shrug. "Thank you. That means rather a lot to me." She wiped her cheeks with her sleeve. They strolled along the pathway towards the burned out castle, for no particular reason. For her part, Natasi was walking just to walk, stretching her still-aching muscles. She wondered whether the pain would ever go away. "I would offer you something in return, but -- well, I know how you feel about my government and you know how I feel about having my integrity questioned, so there can be no possibility of quid pro quo." But, if there was ever the opportunity for her to assist [member="Darth Adekos"]' business, she would feel justified in doing so, due to his business acumen. He was almost guaranteed to be a good investment.

"Perhaps," Natasi responded to his commentary on how foolish it would be to not reinstate her. "But I appreciate there will be a full investigation. Even I cannot say for sure whether there was some sign I missed... some..." She waved a hand. "I don't know. Some clue, some hint that would have warned me about Imogen." By now they had reached the entry pavilion. Normally, the staff would be arrayed around the entrance, with Hendersmith at the center, waiting to inform her about some matter or another. Now, with the wooden doors burned to cinders, the entryway saw all the way through to the stone walls on the opposite side of the entrance. She could see the spot near the fountain inside where she had been stabbed by her own cousin, the spot from which she had been collected by the Resistance thugs and hauled away for more punishment.

Adekos was talking. Natasi forced herself to return to the presence, her faraway eyes narrowing as she turned back to him. "What? No -- no, nothing. I mean, human is rather implied in the name. But they should just look like... I don't know. Ordinary people. At least one woman, so she -- it, I guess -- can be in my quarters without raising eyebrows." She smirked, a twinge of pain snagging at her face. "If you have any friendly feelings for me at all, at the very least don't make them more attractive than I." She chuckled; it felt strange, sounded hollow, but it was the first time since Hoth that she had.

 

[Caulder Dune]

To their credit, the guards that accompanied him knew enough not to hover around Adekos as he was strolling around with Natasi. "I would have declined anyway." He replied at the mention of quid-pro-quo. As he did so, the guards were returning to the shuttle. No doubt they were trading speculation over their com-links as to why a Sithling like him was all the way out here to talk with a lady like [member="Natasi Fortan"]. Well, he was a Sith and she was an agent of the First Order. Maybe they were going to find a puppy to kick or whatever it is villains do when not gloating over damsels tied to train tracks. But it was silent speculation, and they were being paid well enough that it didn't get more vocal than that. Just another successful escort mission to add to their lists.

"She was family. You wouldn't have known to look." The opposite would be said if they were on Umbara, where a family member's loyalty could only be certain as long as they had no working knowledge of inheritance laws. Which, especially in the upper castes, was never the case. The murder of older siblings to secure a better chance of ruling the estate one day is a fairly common practice basically rudimentary. It definitely was no way to live or rear a family, constantly checking over your shoulder to make sure some cousin wasn't plotting to exterminate your entire line because he wanted your house.

Such cousins, and their families, had been dealt with harshly by Tyrin and his father. The charred hull of Herevan Hold reminded him of that much.

"If you have any friendly feelings for me at all, at the very least don't make them more attractive than I."

He snorted, perhaps too loudly. "I doubt such a thing would be possible, precision manufacturing or not." He rolled his shoulders, old bones creaking. "Regardless, be sure to memory wipe them frequently. Human Replica Droids can be quite dangerous if they manage to shirk their protocols, not to mention quite convincing with whatever personalities develop." Truly the last thing Tyrin wanted was for Natasi to become a droid abolitionist when a droid with an over-active personality matrix sacrificed itself to save her life.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

The cold was starting to get to Natasi. Everything about the day was starting to get to her. "I hope that's true," she told him when he commented on knowing about Imogen. "I've thought about it and thought about it -- really, I have -- and I just can't... I can't see it." Her eyes searched his ... mask ... for a few moments before she turned and paced towards the house. The front doors had been torn off the hinges by search and rescue personnel, and the soot had become disheveled from countless feet and precipitation that had come through the burnt out roof. Natasi stopped in the threshold, meters away from where she had lay dying. If only I had, she thought to herself, a lump rising in her throat. She cleared her throat and turned back to her visitor.

"I'm sure I shall follow the owner's manual. If there is one," she added dryly. "Alas, I shouldn't keep you, I'm sure you have better things to do. But I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see you again after all this time. Let me walk you back to your ship." She strolled back towards him, shoving her hands into her pockets. "I have to tell you something." Her voice was steady and dull, but not overly-emotional. She sounded as if she were discussing a long-dead relative. "It's not -- it's not for any special reason, and I don't want anything out of it, or from you. I don't even require a reply. But I've recently learned that I have a tendency to leave things unsaid and that has caused me significant pain. And so I have made it my business not to withhold anything, if it is important, and this is. Or... was."

They approached the ship, her minders still hanging a good distance back. "There was a time -- oh, long ago," she said, in the same dull, dead tone. "I loved you. I'd have done anything you asked." They reached the bottom of the ramp to [member="Darth Adekos"] ship. "At any rate, I hope it won't be awkward now. Or rather, more awkward than it always has been." She smirked and looked back towards the castle, blanching in the chill. "You have been a good friend to me, and I hope we will remain friends always. If you haven't already mentally chucked me for being a mental case or an emotional wreck, that is."

 

[Caulder Dune]

An owner's manual. Bah. "They do not typically come with one, but I imagine you will manage." These were droids, not household kitchen appliances. Not only did they operate themselves, but if the owner for some reason had trouble... They could physically ask the droid. Truly the technological marvels of this galaxy were staggering.

They were about a quarter way through Herevan's shell when [member="Natasi Fortan"] suddenly spun on a heel, jamming her hands in her pockets harshly- as if they had threatened to run off or something -now demanding to take him back to his ship. There was a certain stiffness in her voice, the kind of tone Adekos recognized as indicating he was not about to hear anything he would particularly enjoy. Par the course, really. It happened virtually every time he left his ship. and just when he was almost completely sure he could get away with an outing requiring no undesirable business, here was this tone of voice, scraping at his ear drums like any other multitude of annoyances he faced. Maybe he ought to never leave his ship again.

Tempting as it was, that was no way to go through life.

It was a good thing they were walking, otherwise he would have stiffened noticeably when Natasi finally got that out. Some things were better left unspoken, as talking about them made it... Physical. Present. Not so easily ignored. Addressing a problem made it necessary to acknowledge the problem even existed and all that. Strange line of thinking from a man in his line of work, but stranger people had thought stranger things. He didn't want to think about it then, he didn't want to dwell on his ineptitude now either. "I'll contact you soon to make sure you've received the droids." He coldly intoned, making his way up the ramp. The guards filed past him back onto the shuttle, having stopped faffing about the moment the two appeared to be approaching.

He paused, lingering for a moment before turning around and adding, "Take care of yourself, Natasi."

The ramp closed behind him shortly after, and that was the end of that.

 

[Natasi Fortan]

karking savage.

Natasi was silent as the ramp lifted, and she stood watching the ship as if it was about to morph into some animatronic animal and sing her a song. The only thing that happened was the lighting of the engines, the only sound the whine of the repulsors and the roar of the engines as his ship lifted off. Natasi inclined her head, watching as the ship left until it was gone, and she turned and strolled over to her own ship. Inside, Sioux Chambers stood, waiting. "Nice visit, ma'am?" asked Sioux.

"I suspect I will not remain on his Life Day card list," Natasi said dully. The ramp lifted, sealing the ship.

"He won't help?"

Natasi sank into a seat by a window, staring out into the Galidraani snowstorm that was starting to swirl around them. "No, he will. On much better terms than I expected. But I said something... well, rather foolish, he must think. But it's easy to think someone foolish when you don't know what they know." She pressed her lips together and pulled her coat around her frame tightly. "But it had to be done. The Balance demands it." Sioux, remaining diplomatically silent on the subject of the Balance, took her seat opposite her mistress and offered a datapad. "You've been, er, invited back to appear before the inquiry day after next. Would you like to review the details?" When Natasi didn't look over, didn't react at all, Sioux withdrew the datapad and muttered, "We can review it another time, ma'am." The ship lifted off and into space, and it was a long time before either woman moved.

End.

[member="Darth Adekos"]