Private Off the Grid

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

Another day wasted, another night spent at the bar, but this time is different - it's not like the times before. Or so he tried to convince himself, again, as he sat alone at the bar counter with this fourth pint of the night. The music and the crowd around him were nothing more than background noise and images that would fade before the night was even over, and tomorrow would be nothing more than a repetition of it all. The only difference was that he sat in a different cantina in a different world, but everything felt exactly the same to him.

....

Aiden sighed deeply and stared down at his drink a moment longer before he finally raised his head, and for the first time, looked around at the other patrons. Most seemed to either be in a similar situation as him — miserable and wanting to be left alone — or they were out with a group of friends to celebrate the fact they didn't have to show up at work the next morning. Technically, Aiden fell into both categories, as he was on forced leave, but he had lost all the men he considered friends or even brothers in arms.

Only the booze could numb him against that pain.

"Bartender?" he asked, his tone deep and calm. The woman behind the bar turned to him with a smile and stepped closer.

"Another one, please."

Liedran Kathause ​

 

[Liedran Kathause]

The woman in the doorframe was perhaps a peculiar sight for some of the cantina's more attentive patrons. She wasn't quite tall so much as intimidating, bearing the rigid posture and radiating the stern energy of someone who'd spent their life in the military. What little light from the Coruscant Underworld outside peered into the room and found itself reflecting off of the metal on her wrist. Among that hostile air that seemed to shroud her, there was elegance to the design of the long black coat she wore over a grey collared shirt. If anyone had gotten far enough to guess that she were military, they'd quickly be clued into the fact that she was furthermore top brass.

But for all the dignity, for all the strength she seemed to portray, the bags under Liedran's eyes were a window into a tired and broken mind.

In the hours prior, she'd slogged through another briefing from Strategic Command-- mundane and overly optimistic updates on the Alliance-Imperial war. It took all her strength not to scream at those laughably detached desk jockeys and storm off.

She ambled over to the counter, setting her gloves on its cold, freshly cleaned surface and breathing a huge sigh. The barkeep seemed not to mind the skeletal-looking metal hand extending from Liedran's right sleeve, nor did any of the other patrons, apparently. A grateful smile found its way onto the admiral's expression. "I'll take a fizzbrew," she said when the bartender came around to take her order, in the mean-time setting down a slightly oversized stack of credits, "Keep the change."

The woman behind the counter appeared to nod gratefully before taking the credit chips and stepping away.

"Bartender?" he asked, his tone deep and calm. The woman behind the bar turned to him with a smile and stepped closer.

"Another one, please."

As the bartender nodded and went to prepare the other patron's order, Liedran couldn't help but stare at the source of the voice.

He was young, a lot younger than his mature and almost... tormented... voice seemed to indicate. The man's general demeanor-- those tired, disillusioned eyes, especially-- gave the admiral a strong sense of deja vu. The solitary figure was a near-recreation of the worn, haunted face she often stared at in the mirror.

If the other patron was anything like she was, he'd probably want to be left alone. Then again, if he really was anything like she was, he needed someone to talk to, before he fell into the same spiral she was tumbling down.

"You know that stuff's terrible for you, right?" She didn't display a joking smile, rather, a sympathetic one as she picked up her drink.

Aiden Rennek

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

"You know that stuff's terrible for you, right?"

Aiden blinked, sat up, and straightened his posture a little before his head turned in the direction of the woman's voice. Up until just now, he had been completely isolated in his own little world, and he almost seemed surprised that he was drawn out of it. Most people never bothered talking to types like him, who sat alone at a bar and looked visibly miserable, in fear of his misery dragging them down along with him.

He didn't blame them.

"Aye..." he finally answered with a faint smile of his own before he leaned forward again, and shifted his body almost around the glass between his hands. "...but that's the point," the deep voice added as his gaze shifted forward at nothing in particular. He wasn't the type to drink himself into blacking out, but going through just enough alcohol helped keep his mind from reaching darker thoughts he tried to keep buried away.

Glancing back at Liedran after a moment of quiet contemplation, he seemed to almost be studying her for a few seconds, "Well, now I'm definitely glad I'm off-duty." Even in civilian clothing, it was hard not to recognize such a prominent figure of the Alliance, but it still took him a few seconds to just believe a woman like her would come to a place like this.

"Just visiting a cantina once frequented during academy days?" He asked politely, but without even the slightest idea that it was somehow possible for her to be in a position very similar to his own. Sure, she looked exhausted, but doesn't that apply to all high-ranking officers?

Liedran Kathause ​

 

[Liedran Kathause]

"Well, now I'm definitely glad I'm off-duty."

She didn't quite know if the kid recognized her by her face or by her general demeanor. Of course, Liedran wasn't stranger to the former sort of attention. The dubious honor of being dispatched to a war-torn frontier so often, she had her likeness printed onto the occasional recruitment poster or propaganda page. So many civilians and young recruits had likely seen that face of dignity and determination, without knowing of the scars it hid.

Now that she thought of it, Aiden had definitely seen her face before. Unless she'd truly misconstrued his comment, the young man was another one of those poor, idealistic recruits she'd made a career out of dropping into warzones. A pang of regret flashed across her face, and Liedran hurriedly turned away to take a heavy swig of her drink.

He'd already started speaking again by the time she turned around.

"Just visiting a cantina once frequented during academy days?"

She shrugged, sadness still lurking in the corners of her eyes. "Not really," Liedran took a moment to think, all while her gaze wafted idly over the rest of the cantina. She never liked staring at any one thing in particular; that state was where the occasional flashback would leap for her throat. "I found this place on accident. Just figured I'd stop by."

"Hm. We haven't been acquainted," she realized, instinctively extending a metal hand, "Rear Admiral Liedran Kathause, 74th Expeditionary."

Aiden Rennek

 

[Aiden Rennek]

Coruscant

​

Even in his own misery, he could still recognize and empathize with the regret and pain he saw in her eyes when she turned back to him. Perhaps it was even easier, now that he understood what it meant to lose brothers in arms, but she was in a vastly different position. She had so much more experience and endured so many more brutal losses — it was something the public quickly overlooked, especially now that recent battles had been victories.

But he could never overlook it again.

"It's not the best place, but it's quiet," he said, knowing that's likely what brought her to this place as well. Even famous people could go unnoticed in this cantina, and nobody here cared enough for another to pick up on troubled eyes and question them. This was the ideal place to quietly get lost in it all.

"Hm. We haven't been acquainted," she realized, instinctively extending a metal hand, "Rear Admiral Liedran Kathause, 74th Expeditionary."

A faint and slightly forced smile touched his lips as he turned on his stool and firmly shook the woman's hand, "Trooper First Class Aiden Rennek. But here, it's just Aiden," he said before dipping his head, "It's an honor, Admiral, but I wish it were under better circumstances... for both of us."

He didn't want to make assumptions about her situation, nor did he feel it was appropriate for him to pressure her into talking about it, but he wasn't a fool — he understood to some extent what really brought her here. It may have been what sparked her to talk to him, as his eyes betrayed the same struggles.

Liedran Kathause ​