Private Relief Efforts: The Greenhouses

[Sera Mina]

Sera shot a worried look at August, but then nodded at Alicio Organa .

"I shall arrange for you to meet her...provided she is mentally well enough to speak...please give me a few minutes. I need to speak with whoever is treating her in private."

Sera walked away from him to use her comlink at a farther distance where she couldn't be heard...

Meanwhile...

"What in the world was she thinking?!" Nathan hissed in frustration as he paced around anxiously in his and his Fiance's private quarters aboard the Centurion Class Battle Cruiser Atrisian Sunset. His Fiance, publicly known as Vera Mina, Matriarch of Clan Li-Ves was currently using that Public Guise, wearing a gown that hugged her figure, seated on her "feeding station" a durasteel throne hooked to tankards of preserved blood, large ones, two on each side, observing him, as an IV wire fed into both her wrists, both sides of her neck, and the sides of her temple. Her flesh occasionally bubbled in small areas unsettlingly on her body.

"Force Spawn is gonna Force Spawn, Nathan. You can't keep such a creature like that, damaged as it is, by your side and expect it to perfectly function when interacting with others. I admit though, it is just absolute bad luck that it should happen right as the King of Alderaan and the Crown Prince come aboard." Vera mocked and lectured at the same time, causing Nathan to grimace as he sat at a nearby table with a cup of coffee, stressing out. She was right. Even if she could be irritating about it.

"She shouldn't have even been there..." Nathan grumbled. "A child was hurt, Vera. Hurt on one of our vessels."

"What the hell even prompted the king to attempt telepathy?" Vera pondered.

"Variables..." Nathan grunted, hands clasped together on the table. "Always the little variables that prove one's death..."

"Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about it." said Moya Virtu , interior manager of Bacta-Works Operations. She was aboard in a long, throne like chair in a pink gown, as a guest.

"Your only option is to move forward. The operation can be salvaged as long as you do not panic." she said.

"I concur." Vera agreed as servant droids started to cut off and unhook her feeds. "Use this connection to her to give her orders. Her only hope is to apologize like hell."

"I cannot stand trying to actively touch her mind." Nathan said with undisguised revulsion, not at all fascinated by the experience the way Alicio was.

"Besides...she already knows..." he said soberly.

There was a chime on a nearby desk terminal.

"That's the Doctor..." Nathan said, going over and putting on a cheap costume party mask he had bought through Sera a couple of weeks prior, partly to conceal his identity, but MAINLY to troll the Doctor he was about to have a conversation with, strapping on a vocal chord disguise strip on his throat.

"Go ahead..." he said as he hit the projection switch on the desk and the image of the doctor in dark blue medical scrubs appeared.

"Uh...sir?" The Doctor said in bewilderment.

"I'm trolling you, please continue." Nathan replied stoically without a missing a beat. "Status report."

"Um...okaaaaaayyyyyy..." The Doctor trailed in confusion. "Celsius has recovered somewhat. She's moving around. Good enough to speak, we think. But we just got a call from Sera. King Organa wants a word."

"Tell her to be honest as possible." Nathan instructed coldly. "By the way, did the trolling work?"

"Dude, you're not even the thirty sixth weirdest thing I've dealt with in the past month. Why, just a week prior, I had to get into a fist fight with something that came through a dimensional rift in my tool shed on Alderaan. Stop frontin'." the Doctor said in annoyance before cutting communication.

"Well...shoot..." Nathan said.

"Honey, what the hell was all that about?" Vera asked.

"I was bored. Besides. He's the only one I've ever done that too. If this gets out, I'll know where the leak came from, and that he'll snitch." Nathan answered, removing the disguise.

"Makes sense." Moya muttered. Personally, she assessed it as Nathan being under enough stress at this point that he was starting to display eccentricity around his family in a way he wouldn't around Jedi. Moments where he couldn't help but vent the stress in odd ways.

"Let's just hope she doesn't screw this up any worse. We need Organa's support. It is the only way the program will gain any traction. Any real legitimacy. Without Organa, I doubt there is anybody else in that Senate we can afford to trust with these vessels." Moya noted.

"I'm aware." Nathan replied. He hated secretly being an illegal Jedi Commander in charge of a secret Jedi PMC. So many complications...

"Hey, if this all goes belly up you got ways to fake your deaths, right?" he asked absently.

"Three Methods." Moya confirmed.

"Seven." Vera said for herself.

"Oh, good. That's at least one stressor off the noggin."

Vera glided over to him and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Two." he corrected stoically.

"If there is a way to help the child, I will of course, investigate all avenues towards doing so." she promised him.

Her arm hooked around his.

"This has clearly unsettled you. No more dwelling on it..." she said. "Your apprentices are waiting for you to observe their dueling...."

"You're right...I still feel awful about the Kid though. This wasn't supposed to be a day where someone innocent got hurt..."

"The day doesn't care who is innocent, my love. Nor the night..." Vera said. "And nether care about our plans."

Cold, brutal truth. It was hard to hear. But sometimes Vera was quite good at telling him.

August's suffering still deeply bothered him, because of his own daughter. Another child he couldn't protect from Syd...

Nathan clamped down on his anger before it could get any worse.

"You're right about that also, Vera. But that doesn't make it any easier to accept... especially when you know what it's like when one of your own children gets hurt..."

"My advice? Throw in something at the next meeting..." Moya suggested, looking at her nails as she rose to join them.

Nathan and Vera shrugged and the three went to observe the dueling ring set up in the lower decks from the comfort of a private booth with a two way screen that would be waiting for them when they arrived...

Meanwhile...


Sera got the go ahead from the Doctors about two minutes after Alicio made the request and he was led to part of the medical wing that had been deliberately isolated. It was here her transparent cell could be found...and Surt'r within, slowly pacing around inside in a depressed, addled manner.

"Best behavior, best behavior..." she said until she spotted Alicio's approach.

"Is August going to be okay?" she immediately asked Alicio.

"What happened was an accident, I swear..."

 

[Alicio Organa]

Seeing how the incident affected Surt'r made Alicio feel all the worse for how he reacted, in the moment.

He stood still, frowning with thought as he saw her. His face was unreadable, sphinx-like. Keeping his eyes cautiously trained on the woman, he sighed.

"He's alright. Healers are going to see to him on Alderaan, but I think he was more frightened than anything." Alicio's mood soured, before he reigned himself in again. "Attacks of the mind can cause a lot of irreparable damage. We're lucky you weren't connected to him directly."

"What happened was an accident, I swear..."

"I believe you." His eyes softened for but a moment. Intention was important to him. "August wanted me to tell you he's sorry for making you worry." Alicio's tone revealed he had no such apologies.

"I want to know why it happened in the first place."

- Sera Mina -

 

[Sera Mina]

Syd looked ill as Alicio Organa asked.

"They told me the most messed up thing... wasn't even supposed to be here today...I was due next week...and...me being me..." she trailed, hands fidgeting. The lights flickered above her.

"I really, really can't figure out what even prompted me to come here today. I don't even recall piloting here..."

Her mouth drew into a frown. It was so insanely hard to focus in normal, peaceful settings. It was in the quiet that the whispers were loudest.

"I am not like you and the boy. Not... normal...I... am a Force Spawn..."

Syd rubbed her temples on the verge of stuttering again.

"It happened because my mind barely survived a telepathic attack a few years back. In older times...that would never have happened, not even with my inherently schizophrenic nature..."

Syd started breathing hard through her nose as her thoughts went screwy. A desk nearby in the cell nudged very, very slightly closer to her, Andrew Detmer style.

"It happened a few years ago...and the wounds have only barely started to clot, never mind scab over..." she said after a few seconds of breathing hard, her eyes rolling into her head as she fought the whispers.

"Most days, I can keep a lid on it. The mess that was left. The s-s-screams..." she stuttered.

"But I was having trouble keeping it all locked. I'm...I'm not...used...to.... really talking much anymore..." she got out pacing anxiously in her cell. The lights above flickered harder, all the floor panels closest to the cell began to show very slight hairline cracks that that opened without a sound.

She managed to force herself to focus on him.

"So, when you're son came up to me...I wasn't...I started suffering anxiety..." she struggled, forcing herself to sit on the gurney.

"I was barely keeping it together when you talked to me...and I was so focused on keeping the mess from getting out...I wasn't prepared for someone's thoughts trying to get in. And with the absolute clown car act my subconscious is right now...when you attempted telepathy...I panicked, and my subconscious panicked, and we snapped our mind shut and the feedback from doing so in such a rapid manner echoed outward back to your mind because you were in contact. W-w-worse..." she stuttered, clutching her head as a silent ocean of whispers Alicio couldn't hear.

"...b-because you naturally h-ha-have a bond t-to your child...and because he was also in very close proximity...the feedback ended up hitting him through your mutual bond, while you a-and I were temporarily connected. It...was...an... accident...I deeply apologize. If anything more serious had happened to the Prince...I would have never forgiven myself..."

 

[Alicio Organa]

Surt'r was suffering.

It hurt to see. Her mind was clouded, constantly distracted, scattered. He'd only been exposed to it for a moment, and it had left a lasting mark he didn't yet understand. To be constantly bombarded by voices... it sounded like torture.

So Alicio redirected the conversation. "August is... something special." His face twitched a smile. He hoped her mind would calm, focus on something gentle. "I don't understand how he's so... comfortable, with people. Maybe I've taken him to one too many political functions, but he's... fearless."

"I've never been that way. Connecting with others was a skill I learned late in life."

There was a beat of thought. "How can I help you?" He was a father, whose son had just been hurt. But he couldn't ignore someone in pain. Someone that needed help.

- Sera Mina -

 

[Sera Mina]

"You can't."

It was the simple, cold truth of the matter.

"You c-c-couldn't h-help me if you had two centuries and the resources of three K-Kingdoms of Alderaan..." Syd explained to Alicio Organa . "There's no fixing it through outside help. I either regain control, rebuild the-the-the scaffolding..." she stuttered. "Or...I...stay...fragmented..."

Syd staggered back clutching her head as she lost her grip on the body due to the stress.

If you've never seen a Force Spawn transform before, it is disgusting to witness. The whole body starts to resemble bubbling, melting plastic as everything starts to bulge, warp and re-arrange itself.

That is exactly what happened to Syd as the stress of the situation triggered an involuntary transformation. Pigmentation, bone structure, musculature, general body language changed as Surt'r's features melted and vanished in a horrifying way into a new guise (But still in the medical scrubs the Doctors had given her), that, while still quite beautiful, didn't resemble Surt'r in anyway.

Even the Light Side Aura she gave off felt completely different. It was still light side, but still felt bizarre up close, but in a more overt way than Surt'r's aura.

The blond haired Sorceress of Tython blinked, before refocusing on Alicio, having none of the scattered look or tone of Surt'r.

"Like she said, King Organa..." The Tython Sorceress said in a completely different accent, sitting on the gurney.

"You can't help us. But for what it's worth, we thank you for the offer." The Sorceress said patiently.

Sera watched from a nearby security office that had a hidden feed in the room. Thank the Force she had cleared out all the doctors before Alicio could speak to her. They'd never want to get near Surt'r to again if they saw that.

"Now how do I salvage this chitshow?" Sera asked herself, heading out of the room and waiting at the tram station for him to be done speaking.

Meanwhile...

Nathan, Vera Mina , and Moya Virtu watched from a private, tinted booth as two of Nathan's illegal Apprentices stepped into the arena armed with Lightsaber-Pikes (Training Blades, mind you--Nathan had no interest in putting them through anything that even slightly resembled Sith Training) emitting a blue colored Shoto on a long, lightsaber resistant shaft.

The buzzer in the arena sounded and they sprinted at one another in their Golden Armor, dodging long thrusts and sweeps from one another, their pikes locking together as they attempted to outmaneuver one another.

"How long have you been training them?" Moya asked, sitting in a farther away seat from the two.

"Several months, on and off...I discovered them as relief workers on Kytrand. These are only two of them..." Nathan answered as he sat next to Vera, who watched the results of her future husband's clandestine handiwork, her fat engagement ring glittering on her wedding finger.

"I can see your fighting style amongst them...an imperfect reproduction..." Vera critiqued.

"It takes a long time, decades of continuous fighting, to truly master such a weapon..." Nathan trailed, fingers gliding over the back of his Fiance's hand idly, entwining with her fingers.

One Apprentice hit the other with a weak blast of electric judgement sending him flying hard into a wall.

"Which is why I try to give them a wide variety of fallback options, Vera." he added, the corners of his mouth threatening to tug into a smile as Vera clasped his fingers tighter as she watched the duel, the Android's innate thirst for combat making her follow every move and strategy employed.

Suddenly Nathan facepalmed with his freehand.

"What is it, dear?" Vera asked.

"It's Syd...being Syd..." he said in grumbling tone...

Everyone continued watching the fight...

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio watched on in muted silence as Surt'r changed. He was lucky to count a number of Shi'ido friends, as he'd become used to watching shapeshifters morph their bodies, or he may have felt a little sick.

Instead, he stepped forward, watching the woman, who had become an entirely different person, carefully. Then, he sighed.

"I'm not asking how I completely cure you." The king of Alderaan frowned. "Nor am I asking to fix all your problems. I just..."

"If I were anyone else, you would have just sabotaged Bacta-Works' deal with Alderaan, and I doubt the company will like that. And you hurt my son." There was a flash of anger, before the former Count seemed able to reign it in. "You are in pain. What can I give to you, what can I assist you with, to make your life easier?"

He couldn't do it all. But there had to be something he could do, however small.

"How can I help?"

- Sera Mina -

 

[Sera Mina]

The Sorceress in place of Syd stared at Alicio Organa.

"Most people just run away, these days..." she said very quietly.

"We would sleep better if you could convey to your son our sincerest apologies for one. We...we just were not prepared..." she said.

"And...and if his Majesty would permit it, my particular ailment presents a unique issue...I can best stabilize my mind in areas that are similar to me in terms of the elements I command. But in order to do that, I need to find an existing Force Nexus on a planet at a relatively very small size. I would ask you allow me to scout your world for one such Nexus. And finally..."

The Sorceress held out her hand and a small incision appeared on the palm, from which glowing green blood flowed out, forming into a small sphere that glowed with rainbow hues. It was an extremely ancient form of Light Side manipulation, and the transparent cell visibly rippled at the power getting Imbued into that small amount of blood, which warped and reforged it into a black gem with sparkling rainbow hues that seemed to go into infinity in it's depths. The blond Sorceress had her appearance warp violently back into that of Syd Celsius , the incision sealing up as she floated the gem through the walls of the observation cell that held her. The black stone passing through the cell walls, which rippled like water as it did so.

"I ask you accept this crystal as a vow of my debt to you and your son. Should he or you ever be in mortal peril, and no other help is available, I will know. And I will arrive to pry the jaws of death from your necks. No force shall stop me from making sure you both live to draw another breath, even should it cost me my own." Syd said, the crystal hovering in front of Alicio, glittering with fiery, sparking power in it's black depths, infused with the Light Side.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio let Surt'r speak, watching her with some mix of care and caution. On one hand, he did understand the danger. He wasn't as naïve as his political opponents sometimes made him out to be. He knew that the woman before him was dangerous, and could be lying to him. But on the other hand... he could sense when someone was hurting. When they needed help. And that overrode any caution he had.

That being said, he was... wary, as a beautiful iridescent black crystal broke the laws of reality to land in his palm. He could feel the heat, the fire, the life that radiated inside. "Thank you," he said in response, before gripping the crystal tight, and looking up to the Sorceress.

"August already feels bad for making you worry for him." Alicio found a soft smirk. "He asked me to come apologize to you. So... your first request shouldn't be too hard."

"For your second, I have a question. If you were to find a small nexus to stabilize yourself, would that hurt my world?" He wanted to help her, but not if it damaged the balance of the Force on Alderaan. "If that is the case, I can help you find somewhere nearby."

"And, finally... I accept your aid." Alicio's smile grew a little. "Though, that sounds more like you helping me, rather than the other way around."

- Sera Mina -

 

[Sera Mina]

"Trying to alter a Nexus, even a small one, is highly, HIGHLY inadvisable. There are consequences not even I could predict, were I to attempt it..." Surt'r assured Alicio Organa . "I need to find one that is naturally in synchronous with me...but me using it would not hurt your planet, or the surrounding areas...it would just be me, meditating."

Surt'r sat down.

"I thank you for accepting my vow. And it IS helping me..." Surt'r said. "It's helping me atone for what happened earlier..."

She sighed. "Your Majesty...I really need to rest now, if it's alright with you. I'm still feeling the effects from earlier..."

Later on...

Sera hid how much she was sweating bullets when she caught up with Alicio after his meeting in the Hangar.

"Your Majesty, if there is anything I might do to help your Son recover, or you yourself, I can provide access to any treatments or physician you require, at no expense to any but me. I would again offer my most sincere apologies for how the day went..." Sera said, masterfully hiding how absolutely terrified she was at the potential disaster looming over the arrangement...

 

[Alicio Organa]

Surt'r was obviously drained from the events of the day, but Alicio felt a little ray of hope warm his face. He'd wanted to give her some peace of mind, and he thought he'd accomplished that goal. Oddly enough... he felt he could trust this ally more than many he'd made, in recent days. She was pure power, raw... but honest. Wounded. Open.

He far preferred her type to the schemes of politicians and corporations.

"Rest," he said, nodding his head to the shapeshifter. "If you need any help on Alderaan, let me know. I don't know of any nexuses that would work for you, but I'm a seer, so I imagine I could help you find what you're looking for."

Alicio inclined his head respectfully. "Be well." Then, with a practiced fan of his cape, the king of Alderaan left the room.

It wasn't long before Sera Mina returned to him. Her face and mannerisms didn't betray any fear on her behalf, but the frequency of her questions and overwhelming concern certainly did. Grey eyes caught hers for a moment, the previous ice she'd seen from him seeming to have melted. "Aug will be fine. I'm sure healers are already looking him over on Alderaan. We have one of the best healthcare systems in the galaxy, you know." He smiled.

"But I should be with him. So I'm afraid we'll have to end our meeting here."

- Sera Mina -