Reflection

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

He managed to resist asking why she spent her teens pickup up spoons. It wasn't the time for it and a fraction of a second later he realised that trivialising her story would have been a grave error. He leaned into the table, listening carefully as she explained the rest. Lips pursed he found that his hands were clasped tightly together. As she trailed off he found the urge to try and say something, anything. But what could he offer beyond a few token words.

It put his own problems into perspective. His family may have disowned him, but they were still alive as far as he knew. His childhood trauma had all been of his own creation. Of course he'd been able to say that before, to speak rationally and explain to himself and others that his issues could be overcome. But he also knew depression didn't work that way. It didn't tale a monumental event to send him back to a dark place, just a string of failures. But that was before, he told himself half-heartedly. It was different now.

Jacen opened his mouth as they were interrupted.

"Erm...starters...right... Could I have the liver parfait with the berries please?"

"Of course sir, another beer?"

"No. Thank you." She excused herself and left the pair alone. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise. You can carry on if you want to." He didn't have much to offer, just token words. Token words and a kind smile.

 

[Avalore Eden]

Liver parfait? she mouthed. Eugh.

Avalore made a face just long enough for Jacen to catch it when the Waitress wasn't looking.

"Oh..." a fresh sip of wine, "sorry, I have to get the taste of those words out of my mouth. Liver parfait - two things that should never be in the same sentence. How do you even..."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

"Well I don't know, what's wrong with that? It's just posh for pâté on toast right?" He asked back. He actually looked quite embarassed now, a mild flush reaching his cheeks that wasn't from the beer.

His eyes went down to his glass as he sullenly admitted: "It was the only thing in the starters that had meat in it."

 

[Avalore Eden]

She couldn't help the laugh at his apparent embarrassment.

"Oh don't," Avalore said as she put her wine glass back, "you're an adult, you can eat whatever you want."

Liver, she mouthed again over a droll sort of smirk before sticking her tongue out. Blech.

Whatever was happening wasn't meant to disarm him but to distract her from the train of thought she'd previously sent down the tracks. It had been a long time since she'd spoken about any of it and Avalore had begun to realize that she wasn't quite as healed or as strong as she thought. The hurt still welled up fresh like a newly opened cut and she was having a hard time stemming the flow. The smile on her face quickly disappeared and the Healer reached for her glass of water instead.

Ahem.

"Where was I..."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

"It's good for you..." He mumbled in a deliberately sullen tone. The corner of his lips twitched upwards, amused at her reaction. But the change in her expression was mirrored on his own.

The smile went, to be replaced replaced by a flash of concern and then a neutral look. He waited patiently for her to continue, hoping it was the right thing to do. It clearly wasn't an easy thing for her to recall, let alone talk about. It would have felt rude to prompt her, he decided. The course his life had followed seemed to have left him confident in his actions only when he was on the battlefield.

Stali had told him that Avalore had led a difficult life, but he'd never even hinted at events as grave as these. Perhaps it was so that Jacen didn't start to act differently around her because of it. Or perhaps it simply wasn't his story to tell.

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Ahm..." the Healer's eyes searched about, attempting to recollect a memory she'd long since tried to forget but couldn't possibly, altogether. Sort of like a bad speeder wreck.

"They... kept me in the back of their ship with the cargo. I remember being back there for a long time but I can't be sure just how long it was. I know how long it felt. There was a Dug back there too ... his name was Sedago. I'm not really sure what he did or why he was back there, he didn't speak a lot of basic but he gave me whatever rations they tossed at him. They tried a few more times to get me to read the chair but," she shook her head, unsmiling, "I couldn't do it. They always got so mad, like I was doing it on purpose...mm,"

Avalore gave an uncomfortable shrug, her mind unveiling things she'd rather not remember, not talk about, and looked up with a forced smile as their waitress appeared with the starters.

The soup smelled good and despite her melancholy, Ava found her appetite to be quite strong.

"Show's about to start in five minutes, have you decided on your entre?"

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

"Yes, actually, I think I'll have the slow cooked fillet." Once more the sudden switch back to their current situation threw him. Ordering food between chapters of the horrors Avalore had been through.

He started to spread the parfait over some form of bread that had been grilled. He took the time to consider his next words for when the waitress was out of earshot.

"I can't imagine how hard it is to talk about this. We don't have to stay for the show if you want to go somewhere more quiet to finish the story. I would like to hear the rest."

His past could attest to his poor decision making and he had never been good at handing out advice, but he could at least try and be a good listener to a friend going through a difficult time.

 

[Avalore Eden]

"And you Miss?"

"Mmm..." another quick once-over the menu, Avalore gave a short sigh, "the Manchurian Salad, house dressing on the side."

"Grilled or crispy?"

"Grilled, please."

"Very good." The waitress collected their menus and departed.

Avalore looked over at Jacen, an appreciative expression on her face, "Oh, you're not getting out of the Opera that easily. I've wanted to see this singer for a long time but I couldn't find a good mission parameter to give to Omai Rhen to cover the costs..." she cast a sideways glance, "luckily the Homestead is doing quite well for itself and we've managed to make something of a profit to afford the luxury of a holiday."

A large spoonful of soup was far more delicious than she could have hoped. Avalore had never touted herself as being a marvelous cook - certainly she was learning, the curve was steep, and she was getting better - nothing quite compared to a Chef's specialty.

"Oh this is divine...is soup one of the seven sins because I think I might be falling to the Darkside over here."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

A pang of guilt took the edge off the downright pleasure of the first bite. The bread crunched just the right amount, the sweetness of the berry jam balancing the rich, velvety parfait. They'd saved for this trip and Stali couldn't be here. Jacen, for the first time in his life he brushed crumbs off a beard. A fake beard. The reminder had him itching at the corner of his jaw once more.

"It was worth a try!" he announced with a smile. "I reckon I said good flavours were lost on me back at the homestead, but that's not really true," he said. His expression made clear he was enjoying the food.

"If you feel the temptation is becoming too great I'll waft some of this in your direction!" he threatened. Washing down the next bite he drained his glass. Had to be careful of that. Would take some extreme Jedi focus to drink as much as he had been used to before his return to the Order. Two beers a month was about the most he got away with now. Mostly when he came to the homestead.

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Oh, what?" Avalore blinked up from her soup, "so you're saying my cooking is bland?"

Nyork chowder.

The Jedi smirked faintly over another spoonful of soup before looking around as the lights in the dining hall dimmed, replaced by atmospheric lighting and the golden glow now set over the stage to their right. They were only a few tables away from the orchestra pit. An orchestra pit - Avalore withheld a girlish squeal of delight. How long since the last time she'd seen music like this live? Her heart suddenly ached for her youth again, back home on a Corellia far different than the one they traveled to now. She wasn't thinking of present day Corellia, however.

An excited flicker of false-blue eyes looked over to Jacen as the orchestra struck up their notes in a long sighing tune.

The curtains drew back, the notes quieted, a supremely lovely blue twilek slowly stepped out to center stage...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MR6D7tL38U​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

"I didn't mean..." Jacen started, but he stopped as soon as he saw the humour in her eyes. As the lights dimmed he began to smile. Not at the prospect of the upcoming show, but at the expression he caught on Avalore's face. She carried her past with her, her scars a watermark that ran more than skin deep. Yet she could still find joy in this not moments from opening that well. It was a bravery he wished he had.

The orchestra startled him as it began. He had never seen live music like this before. Jacen hadn't expected the sound to reverberate through him quite so strongly. But if the orchestra had gave him a start, the sound of the artist singing cut through any preconceptions he had. Avalore might have found his expression amusing. He sat stock still, eyes on the blue Twi'lek, completely enraptured.

It was half way through the first song. He didn't understand a word that was sung yet he felt almost attached to the emotion conveyed by the band and artist. Something else caught his attention. Not the tremors running through the floor of the hall, but something shifting in the Force. A dark possibility ahead. He tried to catch Avalore's eye.

 

[Avalore Eden]

Enthralled.

She remembered this feeling from her childhood. From her first family outing to the opera. The suspense of the music building, the atmosphere of the crowd as they held their breath for those impossible notes - hearts silently singing in unison with the ethereal voice of the star. Avalore remembered the sensation of innate emotion pinging in her chest, in her own throat where she always wished she had the ability to express it as this singer did.

She remembered her father talking about the Corellian Capital's Opera House, the prestige of its historied events. She remembered her mother helping her follow along in the translation booklets, and while she couldn't remember what the words this particularly talented Twi'lek was singing meant, she couldn't remember the smell of her mother's perfume as she leaned over the arm of her chair whispering secretive gossip in her ear about the guests sitting around them.

The ship rumbled right as the crowd stood for an uproarious applause as the first song finished. Avalore was on her feet clapping, too. Blue eyes bleary from the memories, utterly oblivious to the trembling of the Force.

A glass of water fell off a table adjacent to them, the guests leaning to wipe it up. A server stooped to help, exclaiming at their excitement with a smile. Somewhere a stack of china plates rang as they slid about.

"Oh Force," Avalore wiped at her face, "don't look at me Jacen, I'm on the verge of ugly-cry. It'll go away shortly...fffff..."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

Ugly-cry? Oh. He grinned as if he had just wanted to convey how much he has enjoyed the opening number and turned forwards again. But that joy stopped just below his eyes; that territory had been claimed by the concern now. Avalore perhaps needed this moment. Once again he was struck by how isolated she must be at times at the homestead. Chevu’s children needing her care, Stali often far away. Sulon was not the bright centre of civilisation Corellia had once been.

Jacen fell back within himself. It took a moment to find his centre. Much of his time was spent in near silence, his consciousness immersed in the Force. He hadn't come out of his shell recently, talked, laughed and enjoyed the world around him. And now he had to cut himself off from that which he resented.

The music was still there when the band started to play, but it was the equivalent to watching a holo film in black and white without the sound. It was still there, but it held meaning any more for him. The notes evoked no emotional response.
Another tremor. This one brought emotion. Fear, panic, death. Echoes of the future reduced to their base form. Couldn't go without saying anything now. He slipped from his seat, keeping his head low. He came to kneel beside Avalore's chair, wrapping his arm around the back of her chair.

“There's a problem.”

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Oh...yeah," Avalore had her face half-hidden behind her hands. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, blinking widely, "I lost a contact during my ugly cry. Do you see it anywhere?"

The Healer looked at her sullen-faced friend, blinking a set of mismatched blue-and-brown eyes at him, "Are you really hating it that much?" She frowned. That had been a spectacular opening number, how on earth Jacen could have been so turned-off was beyond her. Clearly he needed another beer.

"I'll order you another beer, where's the Waitress..."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

Jacen offered a weak smile at her misunderstanding. He didn't want to ruin this for her. He desperately didn't. By now he was in an almost meditative state, his mind immersed in the flow of the Force. It brought a cold logic, but an emotional detachment. One Avalore's wounded expression threatened to break.

Jacen didn't even look, his hand reached down and returned with the lens perched on his little finger.

"I'm really enjoying it," he said quietly as the applause started to wane. "I've got to take a call. I'll be back in a moment." He decided it was best to go and confirm his suspicions alone anyway.

"But if the waitress comes past do grab another beer," he added quietly. Jacen looked to the stage, the next song would start in just a few moments. His eyes traced a path between the exits. Which way was the Force guiding him?

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Oh, you're brilliant do you know that?" Avalore carefully took the contact, squinting in the dim lighting of the opera hall to see while muttering under her breath how he was even able to find it.

She smiled, contact delicately perched in her hand as she reached for her glass of water. Maybe she could just clean it off at the table and pop it back in. Discretely. Eh, on second thought.

"Just the same thing?" the Healer said after the retreating form of her friend. Same thing seemed safe. Force knew Avalore wasn't a connoisseur of beer. Waiting for the Waitress was becoming a little awkward, but the young woman showed up only a few minutes later.

"Your dinner will be right out, is there anything I can get you in the meantime?"
"Yes," said Avalore, "another beer for him and ... where are the restrooms?"
"Just over that way," the Waitress pointed in the opposite direction of where Jacen went.
"If you see him before I get back just let him know I had to run and put my contact back in?"
"Of course, here I thought your eyes were naturally blue. I was jealous."
"The things we do for perfection," Avalore smiled and yet felt herself wither just a fraction on the inside. It sounded like something her mother would have said.

Carefully wending through the crowds with the second number starting up, Avalore quietly frowned at the thought of missing a moment. Hopefully this whole contact lens business would be quick.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

Jacen moved out of the hall at a determined pace. All he could do was trust his instincts and follow the guidance of the Force. There was a threat, but unspecific. For all he knew it could be that the reactor was about to blow in an accident. But his senses led him up. There was stairwell that run to the first floor. On one side of the hall was a second dining area reserved for the guests in the top class of accommodation. On the other side were a series of boxes that could be hired out for small private groups for snacks and champagne.

"Do you have a resev..."

"Yes, you don't need to escort me."

"Of course sir."

A simple application of the Force, but he never felt good about doing it. A long corridor ran down behind the booths. There was a waiter pushing a trolley laden with champagne down it. Someone in a dark jacket emerged from a maintenance door and hurried into a booth.

"Is that what you're worried about?" he asked the Force. It didn't reply. It didn't have to. A chorus of blaster fire did that on its own. He accelerated forwards, nearly slipping on the carpet as he turned into the box. The man in the jacket had a rifle leaned on the edge of the balcony.

"Hey!" Jacen called. The man turned to bring his rifle about. Jacen caught the end of it with one hand and slammed it upwards. There was a crack as the muzzle caught the shooter between the eyes and dropped him. Jacen moved to the edge of the box, looking down to see what the shooter had done. It was worse than he had expected. There were several gunmen down there. One of them fired a few more warning shots.

"Get down! Where is Doctor Kirschen?" one of them called. He was a tall devaronian, wearing a bandoleer full of power packs and explosives. A waiter was pushed forwards by another gunman who led him to an empty table. The waiter shrugged and the gunman knocked him from his feet with a backhand. Jacen's eyes scanned for Avalore, working out where their table was from this perspective. She wasn't there.

"Lock it down and go search his rooms!" he heard the devaronian call.

 

[Avalore Eden]

Being rather numb to the nuanced tellings of the Force was both a blessing and a curse. The former allowed Avalore the ability to do her work without the distraction of dread, terror or death whispering in her mind. If she was unaware of it otherwise then it simply wasn't happening, for her. It made her focus monumental in delicate tasks that Healers often faced. The latter meant that when the source of those things began moving her way she remained completely oblivious.

Until someone else made her aware.

Avalore stood perched over the sink, left eye pulled open, attempting to put her contact back in. Given her lack of practice or necessity for such things, it was going as well as one might expect.

"Mmf, girl," a dark-skinned woman joined her at the sinks to reapply makeup, "stop messing around with old tech and get the implants."
"Implants?" Avalore blink-blink-blink'd at her as she failed, yet again, to apply the contact.
"Yeeaaah," replied the woman, "Perfect vision, I get up every morning and choose what color I wanna wear. Can even set them to change colors throughout the day. They have them night-vision and infrared settings for extra, but who the feth needs that?"
"Wow," Avalore fluttered her eyes before attempting the contact again for a third time, "so what happens when an EMP goes off near you?"
"An E M what?"

This was the point where the writer wanted to put the bathroom door slamming open but then she remembered that this is future-fantasy on a high-tech cruise liner.

The bathroom door swished open with a light and pleasant puff of perfume - standard for luxury cruise liners, apparently.

A disheveled looking man came flying in, causing the dark-skinned woman to scream. Avalore dropped her contact in the sink and watched it fall down the drain. "Oh, kaka."

"What are you doing in here?! Get out! This is the ladies room!" the dark-skinned woman started throwing hand towels at the man. They buffeted off his mostly-bald head and elbow as he attempted to block, trying to get a word in. When she ran out of towels she made for the crystal tip jar.

"Stop- wait! Stop! Madame! Please! Stop throwing things at me and hide me!"
"Hey!" Avalore bellowed, holding out her hands, "don't throw that at him, you'll hurt him!"
"GET OUT OF THE LADIES ROOM!"
"Stop screaming, you'll give me away!" the man hissed.
"What is going on?! - put that down -" Avalore snatched the jar from the other woman before turning to the man, "what are you doing in here? Why are you hiding?"

"They're here. I never thought they'd find me on a cruise ship of all places. They've come for me, I have to hide!" he shoved past Avalore towards the back stalls and threw himself into the last one.

"This isn't right! There's a man in the ladies room!" snapped the dark-skinned lady.
"Shush," Avalore gave the ladies door an odd look as the muffled sounds of a ruckus began to leak through. Crystal tip jar at hand the Jedi-in-cognito slowly crept over to the door jam and pushed the open button. What met her was the back a singularly ugly devaronian who appeared to be looking around in confusion. He turned left, then right, palming the large blaster in his hand, then turned to look in at the open doorway.

Avalore met him with wide eyes and promptly threw the jar at his head before hitting the emergency lock button on the door.

"Exactly who are you hiding from?"

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen had moved several booths down for the one he had taken. He'd stuffed the unfortunate terrorist into a closet before taking up his new position. He used the Force to crush each light within its mountings in turn and pulled the curtain tight behind him. It left him in almost complete darkness, allowing him to watch proceedings below.

An armed duros came down the corridor, searching each box in turn and sending the occupants down onto the floor below past several more terrorists guarding the route. He yanked the curtain back and stepped next to Jacen. He turned, his eyes sliding over Jacen as if he wasn't there before continuing on his journey. It didn't feel good to manipulate someone's mind like that, but at times it was necessary. Concern for Avalore grew. They were herding the diners against one wall down below, sitting them all in a crowd on the floor. Avalore wasn't among them.

“Number one!” The duros’ voice rang out from a few boxes down. “Can't find seven?”

“He definitely went up there! Anyone seen seven?”

No one had. Jacen supposed numbers were better than colours when it came to picking pseudonyms. It wouldn't be long before they found him knocked cold. Maybe half an hour at the most before he woke anyway. Being knocked out for that long genuinely wasn't good for your health, but Jacen struggled to feel sorry for him. What he hadn't yet determined was what these men were after. Perhaps if they were chasing some misplaced cause he could talk them down. Closing his eyes he stretched out through the Force and tried to find the healer.

 

[Avalore Eden]

"You can't stay here," Avalore pushed the stall door open.
"Like hell I can't, watch me!" the man slapped the door shut again.

Avalore frowned and kicked it open before he could fix the lock. It smacked him in the face, breaking his nose in the process.

"Ohhhhh! What the - woman!"

"Whatever that was out there will come-to eventually and it knows someone is in here," she reached in, all presence of friendly Avalore having been swapped out for Master Healer Eden. The latter was not particularly friendly but she was a good person to have around in dire situations. The very same person opted to do nothing for his broken nose.

"Come on," she yanked him off his toilet perch and down the row for the door.

"Wa-wa-wa-wait! Girlie, you ain't just gonna leave me in here are ya? What if that skunk comes in?"
"What's your name?"
"Deema, I'm an attorney from Horus Sector," the dark-skinned woman eyeballed the Healer and the Doctor, "I can represent you when he files suit for that broken nose."

And this was why Avalore liked her nice, quiet life on Sulon. Her frown deepened, "Come on."

The trio headed out into the hallway, carefully stepping over the body of the downed Devaronian. Deema stamped him with her heel - Avalore couldn't tell if it was on purpose or not.

"Where are we going? They're going to spot me!" the Doctor presently struggled against her grip on his jacket collar without much success. Wrangling twin toddlers on a daily basis had given Avalore a vice-grip.

"Away from all the noise," she answered, pausing by a large column as a group of pirates crossed the hall further down, "where are all the guards?"

"HANDS UP-" from behind them, Avalore heard the familiar whine of a blaster gun charging.
Deema screamed.

Turning sharply she had just enough time to grab ahold of the other woman and yank her in before throwing up a Force Bubble. The pirate fired off three shots, one of which rebounded directly into his gut. He dropped with a croak.

Deema continued screaming.

"The kitchens, move!" Avalore dropped the bubble and shoved them both off down the hall.