Private Relief Efforts: The Nexus Search

[Syd Celsius]

Wearing: This

Armed With: Herself


Weeks after the Greenhouse Incident...


Sera Mina , dressed to the Nines for the occasion , and after the wedding between her Mother Vera Mina , an Android of almost unrivaled sophistication and her adoptive organic father, Nathan Bloodscrawl , paced a bit as Syd Celsius, better known as Surt'r these days, sat in the chair in her office, rocking quietly, battling back Nathan's quiet, seething hatred of her which had never lessened in their bond.

Most of the Galaxy had no idea who he was. To those in his vicinity , he was just an unusually older, taciturn Padawan who had never risen in rank, and functioned as a courier between Enclaves.

(Cutaway of The Courier firing a Fat Man at New Vegas Fiends)

But he was the head of one of the largest, most powerful corporations in Alliance space. He ran Bacta-Works of Epica, powerful enough to field a fleet of merchant vessels as well as the Lysandra-Class Greenhouses. He knew no politician would trust him, that was why she was the face of the company, listed in all public materials as the CEO.

"I don't have the history with you that my father does. I understand why he hates you, but that's between you and him. All I care about is making sure today goes smoothly."

"But if he ordered you to kill me, would you?" Syd asked in curiosity.

"He wouldn't ask of me something he wants to do himself. But hypothetically? Say he did?" Sera mused.

Sera only shrugged. "I probably would, if for whatever reason he could not do it himself. Like I said...I understand why he hates you. If you had done even a tenth of the chit you did to him to me? I'd be wanting your head on a spike. Family Honor and obligation would compel me to end you on his behalf, if it came down to it, so he would not be troubled in the Afterlife."

"Do you hate me?" Syd asked.

Sera sighed, folding her arms. She couldn't believe the petite, pretty redhead in front of her, shuddering and failing to make eye contact, to even assert herself, had once been such an unfathomably deadly killer. She couldn't quite believe this broken thing was the source of such pain and misery and evil.

"I pity you," she answered honestly. "To be given so many chances at life...and constantly wasting them. And learning nothing. From what I read of you, you were once on the path to becoming a recognized temple master while training Starlin Rand . But then you threw it all away for Nathan's daughter...if Alicio Organa knew what my father knows of you, he'd likely regard you the way my Father does. As it stands...he only knows you are a healer onboard the Greenhouse. He's taken 'sympathy' on the pretty red head with the angel face...and he wants to help the lost soul put herself together..." Sera finished cynically.

"If it were up to me, this wouldn't be happening. But it's not, unfortunately," Sera said.

"Organa is this close to getting declared Vice Chancellor..." she said, pinching her finger and thumb together. "The company stands on the verge of a diplomatic and Humanitarian opportunity it might never obtain again elsewhere..."

Syd stared as Sera approached, then pointed at her with her finger intensely.

"Do NOT feth this up..." Sera warned.


Present...

Surt'r landed her lambda shuttle on a pad outside the Royal Palace, having descended from one of the ten kilometer greenhouses in the vicinity of the planet, but not in orbit. Yet it was still visible due to its sheer size. It was the grand showing off of the greenhouses and thousands were gathered in celebration as she stepped off, trying to keep her mind focused as she searched for the King, whom she had offered to take with her in a search for a small Nexus on the world, and possibly even show him a bit more of her knowledge in the process.

She felt like an imposter as she hesitantly walked off the shuttle. She looked very beautiful. But there was something about the endless anxiety in her gaze, the face, her presence in the Force, that let you know she was barely coherent most times.

Surt'r sat on a nearby bench, frightened somewhat by the large crowd. She took out a stick of medicated gum and chewed it to momentarily relieve her intense, crippling stress outside a combat zone. She almost couldn't function as a Civilian most days...

Her hands trembled as she waited on the bench, at times looking like she was no longer sure what to do with herself... looking lost and anxious and unhappy amidst a scene of balloons and smiling families and ticker tape. Like Tantalus, forced to watch the sweet things she would never have again enjoyed by others.

Surt'r suppressed an anxiety attack, and tears at the knowledge of how cut off she was from the joy around her...

 

[Alicio Organa]

Aldera, Alderaan
Palace Landing Zone
- Syd Celsius -
​

Alicio hadn't organized the celebration. From all outward appearances, it seemed to have organized itself.

As soon as it was clear the enormous ships in Alderaan's airspace weren't there for total annihilation, rumors and gossip spread like wildfire, from the dance halls of the nobility, to the shipping docks in Sanctuary City. They were captured Imperial super star destroyers, perhaps, or relics of a republic long past. The people waited with bated breath, for an announcement.

The truth of it, that they were a gift, to be used as massive relief centers across the galaxy, seemed too good to be true. The projections of how many people they would be able to assist, given by the crown, was incredible. They would be able to make right by their ancestors by helping the disenfranchised of the galaxy, on a scale they'd never even dreamed of before.

And suddenly, as if everyone had the same idea at once, there was a planetwide festival.

​

It was as if Alicio appeared from nowhere at all.

He stood a ways away from Surt'r, arms obscured by a long, black cloak. An eyebrow was raised at the redhead, but the tiniest tick of a smile caught the corner of his lip. "Chose a hell of a place to meet."

He wasn't the largest fan of crowds either, not without Amani there with him, but seeing so many smiling faces around, enjoying life together, was a simple joy. They didn't seem to see Alicio in return. They looked past him, or seemed to ignore him, as Alicio gently coaxed their minds away from noticing him.

He helped them focus on the joy, the togetherness, the taste of sweet food and the excitement of carnival games, not the uninteresting man walking up to the uninteresting woman on the bench.

He paused there a moment, casting a scrutinous eye over the healer. "Are you alright?" He asked partially out of personal concern... and partially because he didn't want her accidentally mind-bombing a crowd of civilians.

 

[Syd Celsius]

Sera Mina should have been ecstatic at how well received the people of Alderaan were at the ships, but all she could think about was the white phosphorus grenade that was Syd Celsius, next to the King of Alderaan.

She was in her office aboard one of the greenhouses, silently freaking out, cursing under her breath, knowing that to try and put a tail on the King would be political suicide at this point.

She had never come up against the paradox of having power before. It was rather vexing. She might well have the ear of someone who might someday be the Vice Chancellor... something that would be of priceless value.

Yet she couldn't monitor them. It was all riding on Syd not freaking out, and that freaked her out.

She sat in her comfy chair, her Family's wealth of no use to her at the moment. She knew she had to go down there. To make a presentation.

But all she could truly think about were the worst case scenarios involving Syd.

Sera quickly changed into her favorite dress, styled her hair, and prepared to depart. The day was young. The celebration on the planet below would sooth her nerves. For the moment.

The Breath of Lysandra was bristling with activity. This was the first time it would be truly, fully active. A grand celebration.

She walked through the lobby, panicking silently, despite the celebrity grade smiles she occasionally flashed when passing by employees as she headed to the turbolift that would take her to the hangar.

As she stepped onto the deck, Sera spotted her assigned 'Aunt', the Biot Melissa Bloodscrawl , dressed in her favorite outfit , overseeing the loading of supplies to the Taylander Shuttles. Melissa had started out as a blank Biot before she had been stolen and customized by her mother, programming her to act as her Husband's adoptive Sister and Bodyguard. Melissa was, when not in a combat scenario, a warm and approachable person. Sera had immediately grown fond of her after she had taken over security duties on the Family vessel.

She wouldn't be going to the planet of course. Nathan was adamant that no other member of House Bloodscrawl (Which existed still only in whispered conversations and shadows and had no official presence anywhere) be seen associating with Sera anywhere outside of areas not fully inhabited by Bacta-Works employees, all universally bound by NDA's upon being hired.

"Aunt Melissa..." Sera said softly, walking up to her.

Melissa turned and flashed a pearly white, perky smile as she went over and hugged Sera.

"You look gorgeous..." Melissa said before developing a look of concern.

"How are you holding up with...Surt'r?"

"Paranoid..." she confessed. "Melissa..."

"Yes?"

"Can we talk in private?"

Melissa nodded and they both walked to a repair bay not in use and sealed it to speak.

"Do you hate Syd?" Sera asked her once the door was locked.

Melissa sighed, folding her arms.

"That's a complicated question..." Melissa said. "I abhor her prior actions. But hate...it's a little too much processing power for me to devote to her. I leave the hatred to Nathan. I certainly don't trust her, however..."

"It's just...I dunno..." Sera admitted, pacing a bit.

"It's just...Father has not wavered at all in his condemnation of her, despite her working with us..."

"Syd works with us out of guilt. But you gotta remember the scale of what she did to him. She didn't just kill him the first time around. She killed his first wife, destroyed her soul by completely devouring it, and that's just what she did to his family while still a Sith..."

"No one person is entirely responsible for Laertia Io..." Sera countered. "Not even Syd."

"But Syd was the catalyst to his firstborn daughter's descent into insanity. Can you honestly blame him for completely hating her?"

"But did Syd make her become a terrorist?" Sera asked. "Did Syd make her rebel against the Jedi?"

"Not directly, no." Melissa conceded. "Those choices were hers. But Syd's mere presence certainly didn't help matters."

"But is it really fair to assign the most severe possible consequence solely to Syd for the horror of what his daughter became in this era? What she chose to become of her own free will?"

Melissa sighed.

"It seems you're starting to question the paradoxes in the thinking of Organics..." Melissa said gently. "Is it logical? Fair? No. But neither was what happened to him and his family at her hands. Both when she was fully a Sith and after she was forcibly reprogrammed into being a Jedi."

"But do you think he's thought about what comes after? Say he does finally take his revenge? What happens to him?"

Melissa raises her eyebrows in contemplation.

"What happens when the very source of all his most severe pain and anger is gone? Does that mean the Anger leaves...or does it grow?" Sera questioned. "She helps us in a desperate attempt to atone, and...what...he just kills her anyway?"

Sera leaned back on a wall.

"Frankly, I don't know who in that scenario that outcome would say more about."

"If you are so concerned...talk to him about it." Melissa challenged. "Fathers do listen to their heirs. But before you do, remember this: you have never wanted revenge. And you have never sought it. It's one thing to know of Syd's crimes in a distant, abstract way...and another to have felt the results."

Sera thought about it a moment.

"I'll keep it in mind. Thank you, Aunt Melissa..." Sera said.

Melissa smiled, went up and brushed her artificial niece's face gently.

"If there is anyone who CAN talk to him about it, it's you. You're the reason we have made such inroads on Alderaan. He trusts your input. And your character..." Melissa said, giving a small kiss on Sera's forehead.

"Now knock 'em dead..." Melissa encouraged...

Sera nodded and they both left the bay, with Sera heading for a cherry red Lambda Class Shuttle that lifted off and lazily descended to the planet, at the Palace Landing Zone after she informed the authorities where she wss heading, setting down on a landing pad.

Stepping out to flashing recorders and cameras, Sera flashed a billion credit smile at the throngs of reporters as she went to a Podium that had been set up.

"People of Alderaan...it is my immense pleasure to walk your world this day. My name is Sera Mina, daughter of one of the greatest lawyers on Coruscant, Vera Mina , who is Matriarch of the Atrisian House of Li-Ves."

This got the crowd of reporters paying attention. Their mysterious new friend, it seemed, was a member of Royalty also...

"I am the CEO of Bacta-Works, and I am here because your King shares my vision. But what IS my vision?" she asked rhetorically, expertly controlling her facial expressions, posture and tone to have the most commanding presence possible, which seemed to hypnotize everyone present.

"My vision is not only of a prosperous Alderaan that can send forth these vessels across the Alliance to bring relief to those who suffer, but to use these vessels to help itself recover should the need arise. An Alderaan at the forefront of quite possibly the single largest humanitarian relief effort yet launched in Alliance history. A constantly self reinforcing network that fast tracks resources to worlds that have suffered severe environmental devastation and the horrors of surviving planetary invasion. They may even serve as a means of evacuation for massive numbers of people in case of emergency..."

Sera's address was being broadcast across the whole planet. Her face showed up on pads, projectors, public screens.

"Of course, for such an ambitious effort, new kinds of thinking are required to fulfill these dreams..."

She gestured to the sky above her, where they ships could be seen.

"And new classes of Ships. The Lysandra-Class Greenhouse , is named after a Jedi warrior of the Gulag Plague, named Lysandra Crownwraithe. These vessels are hospital, research center, and production facility all rolled into one enormous package..."

That was the approved public pitch. Only the government knew about the stealth technology and other features.

"These can also construct space stations to leave behind after visiting a world to continue overseeing relief efforts on a world. They are only the first of their kind..." Sera added. "I am proud to introduce to you all both vessels. One is The Royal Mobile Greenhouse of Alderaan, and it's sister vessel, The Breath of Lysandra..."

She flashed an expertly timed smile as the cameras started flashing.

"Together, these ships will serve to highlight the values of not only the people of Alderaan, but that of the Galactic Alliance itself. These ships will hopefully not only highlight those values...but reinforce and spread them..."

As Sera continued to talk to the press, Surt'r, who had just run into Alicio Organa who had commented on her choice of meeting place, blinked at his question .

"Yes...I'm alright..." Surt'r replied. beginning to walk with him through elated crowds watching the broadcast on personal devices.

"Sometimes I can function easier in crowds than other times...took a lot of sleepless nights...and .."

She turned to him.

"I beg your pardon, your Majesty but...Prince August...has...has he recovered?" she asked in a whisper, shivering involuntarily at the whispers...

 

[Alicio Organa]

There was nothing quite like an Alderaanian festival.

Despite being in the largest city on the planet, it half-felt like they were taking a stroll through a forest. Much of Aldera was covered in forested parks, hung with bright streamers and cheery lights, with street corners laden with carnival games and foods. Couples walked arm-in-arm, families stopped at stalls, and a duo of youngsters chased each other around Alicio and Surt'r's heels. One of them looked up to apologize to the pair, and saw Alicio's face. The child blinked once or twice, before waving at the monarch of his planet in awe.

Alicio waved back, a kind smile on his face, before holding a finger to his lips. He used his mind-altering stealth on the adults, sure, but he couldn't bring himself to do it to children.

"He has." Alicio's newfound mirth evaporated, but his tone remained decidedly neutral. "But he tells me about memories that aren't his. He dreams of his fingers, sparking with green light." He canted his head to the side. "I don't suppose you know what that could mean."

There was an unmistakable curiosity to the king. The same things were happening to him, too.

- Syd Celsius -

 

[Syd Celsius]

Surt'r listened to the explanation Alicio Organa gave.

"It...it sounds like the both of you...may have accidentally been exposed to some of my knowledge on Electric Judgement. It's probably filtering through your subconscious as we speak...snippets first. Then greater details of the knowledge..."

She rubbed her chin in thought.

"There is a strong chance you both may end up being able to pull off a basic version of the ability..." she said, noticing how Sera had utterly captivated the crowd, seeing unarmed shuttles from the ship descend into designated landing points to off load the massive amounts of medical supplies promised to Alicio's world.

Again and again she was taken by surprise by Nathan's staggering level of ambition, so staggering he had successfully gotten his company in on an arrangement with one of the most powerful men in the Alliance.

She felt a deep sense of shame in thinking Laertia had once had big ideas. Now she was just a murderer. Because of her.

Sera may have had a more nuanced perception of Syd's role in Laertia's total, irrevocable turn to the Dark Side, but Syd herself did not. In the end, she was the reason Laertia had gotten bold. But it had turned out to be boldness poisoned with hubris.

"In past cases where this happened with others, it's taken weeks to months for enough knowledge to float to the surface for it to be usable. And there are other factors, such as the current strength of your ties to the light." she explained as she walked. They were headed off the beaten path into the wilderness where there were not so many voices to swim through. Out there she could think.

"I used to be a Jedi...my... nature... eventually complicated that life, and I was forced to leave it..." Syd admitted, knowing as well as Nathan did that telling as much of the truth as she dared get away with was the best possible route.

"I store personas the way people store data on Holo-Thumb Drives. None of them are actually alive, but when I take their form, I am forced to believe that I am actually am who I look like. I think like them. Talk as they would. I have been like this for a long time."

Syd noticed a grove, felt the Force flow through it.

"There. That feels interesting. I think I feel a very small Nexus in that grove there. Shall we investigate?" Syd asked.

Meanwhile.

Sera had talked and talked in as much legit details as she dared slip. The scope of the Alderaan led effort was enormous.

By the end, she had the press eating out of her hand, especially with the 300 tons of synthetic bacta she had promised Alicio arriving this very day, along with numerous other supplies from the Charity Organization her Father had started in secret. The entire range of their stock was being delivered to emergency facilities for civilians as well as government stock. They would be doing this for the next few days before they would be deployed on the King's orders as he felt best.

The old worry and paranoia soon returned. What was Syd saying, what was she doing? Was she messing it all up?

Not knowing the answers made Sera unable to enjoy anything, despite keeping up the act.

The press announcement soon ended but she was being flooded with questions and camera flashes which she politely declined to answer as she ended the highly curated public appearance, heading back into the Lambda Shuttle. She had given the public a snapshot of her. Better to build the suspense of her next announcement. This was already taking patients up for free. This was just good marketing.

As the shuttle silently carried her back up to the Greenhouse, she began to succumb to her worry, pacing rapidly.

What was Syd up to?



Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

"August has yet to show any connection to the Force. I didn't display any sensitivity until my early twenties- there's a chance he won't for years, if at all." Alicio's voice was thoughtful. He'd guessed it was something like that- it wasn't the first time he'd dealt with transferring memories. "But that makes sense."

He also noticed Sera's speech, his head canting to the side as he viewed the CEO. She had a lot of good things to say, of course people were optimistic. They gave and gave, and asked for little in return but exposure. His eyes narrowed pensively, but he didn't pay her, or Bacta-Works, any more mind.

The pair of them dipped off, away from the city, and into the genuine wilderness. Alderaan was a cold planet, especially in the early evening. Tall trees, the softest dusting of snow, and the low sounds of large, peaceful creatures accompanied the crunch of their footsteps, and the sound of Surt'r's voice.

Her story about herself left Alicio with more questions than answers- a common experience when he ran into the healer, he'd found. "You were a Jedi. Was that while you've existed this way? Why do you exist this way?" It obviously wasn't natural, and assuredly wasn't comfortable.

"There. That feels interesting. I think I feel a very small Nexus in that grove there. Shall we investigate?"

Alicio nodded, light steps letting the former Jedi take the lead. Despite being ever so slightly on edge... he was excited. He'd never been so close to a nexus in the Force before.

- Syd Celsius -

 

[Syd Celsius]

"I have always been this way..." Surt'r answered Alicio Organa quietly and softly. "For I am a Force Spawn. I store Personas of other Light Side Users. Once, I was even skilled enough to actively create new ones..."

"Once..." she trailed glancing at her hands as she walked.

"Once I fought the enemies of the Light Side with every persona in synchronous. There was no threat the Sith could pose that at least one personality in me wouldn't have an answer for. An entire coven of light side witches in a single body. The personas by themselves are nothing. They need me to be alive, or they need a body of their own. Without either they're just data, like on a holodisc."

The old grove loomed closer.

"But the price for my abilities is schizophrenia. Permanent. Irrevocable. In the end, it's just a fancy form of multiple personality disorder that's been weaponized."

The grove of ancient trees glistened with strange golden apples that had a mirror like sheen.

"The Nexus is Light Side...its been affecting the local plant life. This is a small Nexus but not a normal one. This is a holy place..."

Surt'r observed a warping effect at the very center of the grove, like heat waves. All the trees seem to curve around it. She got very close to it, her flesh starting to ripple like water the closer she got, bubbling in places. She quickly backed off...

"It's as I feared...too out of tune with it. It needs to be closer to the elements I channel as well as being Light Aligned..." She said, her deformed, rippling flesh resetting to normal as she backed away..."

"There is still much to be learned from this place however. The Light has affected the very fruits on the trees..." she remarked.

"Your Majesty...do you know much of the art of Plant Surge?" Surt'r asked. "One of the Personas in me knows...this place is excellent for demonstration, if you will humor me..."

 

[Alicio Organa]

"...That's very noble of you, you know. Not everyone could be who you are, and try to do good regardless."

Alicio was quiet, as he took in the space around them. Partially, he had nothing left to say. But mostly, he was awed by the sight of the grove. It was bright, shining with golden fruits that begged to be eaten. And in the center, a heat mirage that Alicio couldn't quite see, but could sense as clear as day. "I never realized... a place like this existed on Alderaan. It's beautiful."

He stood back as Surt'r approached the center, then quickly backed off just as soon. The King of Alderaan studied the shapeshifter, looking for lasting damage.

"Your Majesty...do you know much of the art of Plant Surge? One of the Personas in me knows...this place is excellent for demonstration, if you will humor me..."

"I've seen it before, but have never been quite able to replicate it. And not out of a lack of trying." He smirked, remembering his interactions with potted plants around his old Coruscanti apartment. He nodded cautiously.

"Show me."

- Syd Celsius -

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd nodded. "As you wish, your majesty. You, uh, might wanna cover your eyes if you have a weak stomach."

After giving him a grace period of ten seconds to decide, she initiated the transformation, her flesh bubbling horrifically, warping and sloughing as her entire skeletal, facial structure, and pigmentation changed, still in the same clothes she had arrived in, but now looking quite different .

The Sorceress of Kashyyyk stared at Alicio Organa , took a bow. Posture different. Expressions different, not at all the same voice.

"Your majesty, Plant Surge is a specialty of mine. It's about connecting with the life around you on a deeper level than normal. Essentially an extension of the exercises we were all taught in connecting to the Force except you focus on plant life."

She held her hand over a blade of grass, and it grew, warping into a brightly colored flower with thick stems.

"Such a technique is naturally boosted in a nexus like this..." she added. "Start very, very small, and do not rush. It's about being one with the plant, guiding it, not forcing it. It can't be forced." she said.

As he focused she would watch, wanting to see the extent of the King's natural grasp of the Force. She didn't feel like Surt'r, anymore then the blond woman Surt'r had become in front of him on the greenhouse medbay had felt like Surt'r. They all had a a light side presence, but no two so far were exactly alike. Perhaps it was starting to occur to the king how extremely dangerous such a creature could be. Tactics could shift in an instant. You might not even know you were talking to one you had fought earlier because no two personas would look, act or speak alike to the tiniest detail.

OOC: I'm deeply sorry for the wait. RL was hectic and I could only sporadically clear up my list, Alicio.

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio, did not, in fact, have a weak stomach. He was used to watching shapeshifters mold and stretch their bodies. This bubbling dissolution, however, was something new entirely. The corner of the king's mouth ticked down in discomfort, but he didn't look away, as a new face greeted him.

"You know," Alicio noted, with a bit of humor, "I'm not sure whether I should reintroduce myself, whenever you bring someone else to the front. They didn't exactly go through this situation in my etiquette classes."

Connecting with people, Alicio found, had always been relatively easy for him. He could relate to them, sympathize with them, understood them. But plants... it felt entirely different. The king of Alderaan closed his eyes, and tried to connect...

And felt that bright beacon of light, in the center of the grove. It grounded him, warmed his heart in ways it hadn't been warmed before. He focused on it, let the nexus lead him into meditation.

Alicio did his best to focus on the plants around him, how the Force moved through them, but it was obvious he wasn't naturally skilled enough to use Plant Surge. But, in all honesty, he seemed content enough just observing, the Force seeming to sharpen around the man, reflections of the Future glinting off of his eyes.

- Syd Celsius -

 

[Syd Celsius]

"Oh, we all know you. Just not in the same way. There is no need to re-introduce yourself. You must remember, I only exist, and think as I do because Syd serves as my subconscious. Every persona in Syd's body, including me, is ultimately just her with extra steps. She knows what I do and say because she wills it."

She sighed. "Believe me, even we get confused now and then...but I am alive enough to happily accept your re-introduction..."

The Sorceress of Kashyyyk watched as Alicio Organa focused on the power.

"Hardly anyone ever gets it on the first try. But you are, so far, doing very well connecting with the earth and the Force. You have to seep into each other, like water gradually soaking through cloth..."

As Alicio focused, the Creature spoke more of itself.

"Certain Personas have senior rank. They show up more. Theoretically, any single persona could get channeled. Realistically, a Force Spawn generally keeps a limit of five to seven personas as their 'master scaffolding' if you will. Any-persona else is normally kept just for the uptick in power gained from being absorbed into a host. Occasionally, a certain persona may grow strong enough to remain longer the more it is used, leaving a delicate balancing act...some personas may be very difficult to stop channeling...the true persona could be trapped for years, gaining a psychological dependency on being a secondary persona. They may have trouble being themselves, constantly thinking about going back to being the other. It's suspected to be at least part of the reason there are very few male Force Spawn...they are much more prone to getting 'trapped' if you will..."

Meanwhile...

Sera Mina paced in her hotel after having left the press conference. Her speech was on loop on all major networks. The giant ships were all they were talking about.

Yet all she could think about was Alicio and Syd. And all the ways she was probably making him throw up. Her all too human paranoia was flaring up badly when her mother, Vera Mina walked in, dressed to impress.

"Mother! I didn't expect you today..."

"I sensed your distress..." said one of the most horribly dangerous abominations in House Bloodscrawl said. "Sensed it from orbit, in fact..."

"How?" Sera asked.

Vera smiled. "I've gotten upgrades in recent months. Still navigating them.

Vera sat on a nearby luxury couch.

"What's troubling you?" Vera asked.

"I hate not being able to monitor the king. The most important day in the modern history of our house, and *I cannot monitor him because he's a bloody Jedi!!! How do you and Dad tolerate it?" Sera said in frustration. It wasn't the only thing bothering her. Her conversation with her aunt was still very fresh on her mind as she sat down next to Vera.

"Daughter, I used to have the exact same problem. The desire to be in charge. To always be in control. I was in control so much, that my grip eventually caused problems..." Vera said, running her fingers through her daughter's hair. "I was in so much control, I thought, that I didn't have to care...and behold, that attitude helped create Laertia Io...

Vera frowned. "Remember the mistake of Tarkin: The more you tighten your grip, the more control slips through your fingers..."

"But if Syd screws up, freaks out, that happens next to the King!" Sera exclaimed, rubbing her temples, organic databases overstressed as they tried to calculate the consequences of such worst case scenarios.

"Shhh..." Vera said, hugging her. Her empathy protocols had been upgraded recently, so she was more able to identify what her daughter was going through.

"If you start over-considering the fallout, you'll trap yourself with indecision and panic. What if you obey your instincts and send out a spy or a drone? What if it is detected? Suddenly, not only has Syd potentially screwed up, the king knows you're willing to spy on him to obtain a favorable outcome." Vera advised. "Part of your evolution as a thinking being is to know when to ignore what your databases tell. They're an excellent baseline, but they cannot solve every problem. The world is inherently illogical; not everything will fit into a neat and tidy space. You have to develop...heart, if you will. It's a difficult concept but it is what separates evolved synthetics like us from mere droids."

Sera looked at her Mother. Always so statuesque, so composed. One of the most savage killers of the old conflicts, who had eventually paid for her selfishness and bloodthirsty nature by indirectly causing it to blossom in Laertia through sheer neglect. Vera had learned and experienced the limits of Apathy's ability to insulate one from results.

Perhaps, Sera mused, she should not be so eager to create a similar problem by over-monitoring.

"And there is something else..." Sera said.

"What is it?" Vera asked softly.

"Do you want Syd to die for what she has done?"

Vera sighed.

"Oh my, your cognitive processes have been evolving! This is so exciting!" Vera gushed, standing up.

"My dear, your question can only be answered with a tour of Alderaan. Come, let's get you into something less recognizable and I shall endeavor to show you an example of the darkness in organics!" Vera chirped excitedly as she headed into a spare room in Sera's suite to change.

Sera, wondering where her Mother was going with this, hesitantly went into her own room to change...