Private Second Guessing

[Anora Vahn]

Tags: Kyyrk

---

The aftermath of Naboo was by no means an attractive sight to behold. True enough, a massive cleanup at been undergoing for a while now, but it was still a serious work in progress. Theed alone needed a lot of work still, a lot of work. Being part of the Queen's protective circle, Anora was quite aware that steps were being taken to find assistance with all things restorative related, but as it stood right now? It was a slow process.

Yet it was this very devastation that had the brunette questioning everything in her life now. All of the decisions that had been made throughout her years that led her to this moment. If she had followed a different path, made different decisions, would she have still ended up here? And if she had, would it be with her family still intact? That was the real kicker to all of this; Anora had finally found a reason to be on Naboo, to be within the same city as her younger sister! And then the universe struck, cackling manically as it kept the sisters separated once again.

Add that to some serious personal problems within the Clan she had been adopted into, and things just...didn't add up anymore. Nora was tired of being on the backburner and playing second fiddle to...well, to a lot of things. She spent more time being frustrated or pissed off than was probably healthy for her, and for what? What reason was there for her to stick around? Sometimes she just felt like the annoying girl the others couldn't get rid of, and it had gotten old, especially after so many years of thinking things were going in her direction.

But her head shook roughly and she scoffed, "So stupid." she muttered to herself. Her feet carried her across one of the halls in the remains of the palace and she leaned heavily against the door she came to. She and the rest of the Clan were mulling about, checking rooms to see what was salvageable and what wasn't, and she had willingly wandered off on her own just to get some breathing room. With her weight against the door it gave way easily enough and opened. The room behind it wasn't in too bad of shape and Anora sighed very slowly through her nose as she looked around.

"Well, if nothing else, it can be used as a meeting point." she stated aloud, and then stepped away from the door to investigate deeper into the room.

 

[Kyyrk]

Guilt.

That was all he ever felt these days.

Standing on the overlook...watching the city below... Kyyrk could feel nothing but the one constant emotion that had gripped him since that fateful day that Bothawui had come under attack. Naboo hadn't been the first planet to come under attack by the Unmaker. But it was certainly the last.

Kyyrk had known what was coming. And his arrogance had cost them all. If only he had taken help. If only he just hadn't gone alone. If only, if only, if only. He closed his eyes, head dipping as he massaged the bridge of his nose. For the second time in his life, He'd known a civilization ending event was on the horizon.

For the second time in his life, he'd failed to stop it. He couldn't bring himself to tell them. Alessandra Creed suspected, if she didn't know. But his frequent trips away from the realm of the fledgling Ascendancy had been twofold. First, to recover what assets he could. And second, to help rebuild the nations that he'd inadvertently helped to destroy. Now, standing here on the surface of Naboo for the first time in seven years? He'd discovered an all new kind of guilt.

The Unmaker had been here. Had been within his reach. Kyyrk could have ended it then and there. Or he could have died trying.

But he ran. In a fit of blind panic, animal instinct took over, and Kyyrk fled. Kyyrk paused, becoming aware of his surroundings once again. He'd wandered as he'd become lost in the mindscape. Kyyrk. Voph. Whatever name one knew him as. A hero of legend. A man who'd led a single fething ship against an infinite armada without an ounce of fear. Had turn and run. Kyyrk sighed quietly, turning to look down the street. The ruins of the palace stood tall and stark against the skyline. Kyyrk wondered for a moment what Svana Neoma would think of him if she knew how he had failed her planet.

His feet moved of their own will, carrying him towards the ruin. This was, after all, what he'd come for. There was something burried within the ruins that was, by all rights, his. The Ascendancy needed it. So did Naboo. Neither could benefit while it lay buried in the rubble. There were others within the structure. Some sanctioned. Some not. It didn't matter to Kyyrk right now. He had too much on his mind. He pulled the helmet of his Vanguard armor over his head, and stooped to enter one of the grand halls. What he sought was in the archives. Deep beneath the palace. This route was the most likely to not be destroyed. Or so he hoped...​

Anora Vahn

 

[Anora Vahn]

Tags: Kyyrk

---

People loitering about the halls of the palace was nothing new. In fact, more than once squatters and other bodies had to be run out from the remaining rooms or other places so that the Queen could be brought within the palace for whatever reasons she may have. It was foolish, a safer location could have been established, but the royal insisted that her place was here, and who were they to argue with her over the matter? But there was a difference in the people who skulked about because they needed shelter, and the person who had just slipped within the halls.

Anora had paused, her brow creasing in the middle and a frown pulling down the corners of her mouth. She hadn't really been around a lot of people with any form of pronounced Force signature in quite a long time. A couple of people, maybe, but that was it. And this? This was not someone - or something - she recognized.

A slow sigh parted her lips and she left the room she had been going through. Really, there was some voice in her head (that sounded frustratingly like Tyran's voice) telling her that she should have just let it be. Whomever had just come into the palace was probably looking for something, and that something wasn't her, and yet Nora followed her senses any way. She wasn't sure if it was her sense of duty or sheer curiosity leading her, but either way it didn't take her long to find this intruder considering the palace only had so many open paths right now.

"Are you lost?" she called out, and while she had wanted the question to come off rude and imposing, the curiosity had won out. This clearly wasn't some squatter looking for shelter, and that of course only made her that much more curious as to why they were here...

 

[Kyyrk]

Kyyrk was keenly aware of the other beings milling about the palace. But they did not stop him, so they were of no consequence to him. He picked his way through the rubble with a measured precision until he arrived at a collapsed archway. Naturally. Kyyrk sighed quietly, reaching out to test the stability of the rocks before him. He could get through with no problem, but the results would be...destructive. Kyyrk carefully removed a stone or two, thinking to himself if there was another path where he was going. He decided against it. The Archives were well fortified, and going to another entrance was likely to be a waste of time.

So absorbed in his task was Kyyrk that he did not notice the girl approaching him. Are you lost? Kyyrk turned to look behind him. A squatter, this man was not. A large and imposing figure, his stature reinforced by the bulwark of armor about his figure. Beskar and Vylmirium plates shrouded his figure, and the helmet provided a faceless appearance. Well, almost faceless. There was, expertly crafted into the faceplate, a series of medallions. Perhaps symbolic of many eyes? His armor was adorned with many runes, a sure sign that the wearer was a great Lore-master. But the runes held no meaning in basic. Many were an old language. Known only to the ancient scholars. Except for one. Upon his left collarbone, a single word was etched in Mando'a. Ijaa. Honored. Yet the rest of his appearance spoke of the Jedi. Or worse, the Sith.

Kyyrk regarded the woman before him for a moment, before his deep voice broke the silence. "No." Kyyrk tossed the large chunk of rubble he was holding, as if discarding an unwanted cup. His helmet turned to watch the chunk of architecture land, and slide to a halt. He vaguely recalled the Queen having kept a Mandalorian clan on retainer for security. One of the more tolerable clans, of course. This woman must be one of them. Kyyrk's helmet turned back to regard the woman silently. He reflected the woman's question back to her. It was not like the Mandalorians to be skulking near the archives... "Are you?"​

Anora Vahn

 

[Anora Vahn]

Tags: Kyyrk

---

It had never been Anora's place to judge another upon appearance. The way they radiated in the Force? Not even that was always a clear indicator, she had first hand experience with someone who damn near vibrated with Light trying to kill her, after all. But this lack of judgement did not keep Nora from keeping her guard up, she was not stupid after all. She had breathed in slowly through her nose when this figure had turned to look at her, and her brow tightened as her gaze swept over his armor. The observation only assured her she had done well to ask questions first rather than throw things.

After all, her own appearance was hardly impressive by any means. She did not wear her armor unless specifically told to, and considering that most of her Clan were loitering around somewhere doing who knew what, with the Guards and Handmaidens somewhere too? It had not been important to wear more than her usual, plain Jane getup. The lightsaber however, was always on her person.

When the answer came from this figure, Anora shifted on her feet and made a noise in the back of her throat when the question was turned back around on her. It was a loaded question, really, and not one she felt fit to answer in more ways than the immediate obvious. "No," she stated in reply. "Though I'm not the one lurking about, digging through rubble either." she did point out to him, yet she sounded more curious than reprimanding over the matter. "What could you possibly be digging for in here of all places?"

 

[Kyyrk]

Kyyrk watched the woman silently for a moment. What was he doing digging through rubble? Kyyrk thought the answer to such a thing would have been obvious. "A way through." Kyyrk turned back, removing another stone, and another. A rather profound answer, now that Kyyrk thought about it. While previously he'd taken a casual interest in the man he'd once been, he could no longer afford for it to be anything short of the forefront of his mind. The enigmatic Miraluka had answers. Answers that people desperately needed. Beyond this doorway and hidden within the archives? The first step to uncovering what Voph had known, and so foolishly discarded.

"If you'd paid attention, you'd know the archives are just down the hall." Kyyrk moved another stone, and stepped back as the rest of the pile crumbled of its own accord. He dropped the stone he'd been holding, and turned back to Anora. "I am here at the behest of Queen Liviana. There is an item within that may prove...useful." Kyyrk's head tilted slightly as he brushed the dust from his hands. The only problem with saying he was here at the behest of the Queen was that he'd not bothered to tell the Queen.

"There was an item stored in the archives that belonged to the Confederacy. Once belonged to a warlord named Darth Voph. A Holocron." Kyyrk watched the girl in silence for a moment longer, though it was not clear if he was trying to think of how to explain himself, or was waiting for a response from her. His stoic manner betrayed little. His stance was neutral. Confident. "I think it may help prevent an event like this from happening again." There was no question what he meant by "An event." None at all...

​

Anora Vahn

 

[Anora Vahn]

Tags: Kyyrk

---

Well, it was good to see that Anora was not the only one with a smart mouth between the two of them. And while the response had caused the brunette to shift her stance and loft a brow at this armor clad stranger, she could not deny that she had, had the obvious answer coming at her. She had left herself wide open for that sort of response, and she couldn't even be frustrated about it. "Alright then," she let out in a slight huff, though for the time being she did not move forward to help, not yet.

Especially considering what came out of his mouth next. He was here, doing this at behest of the Queen? Now Nora smirked a little and her arms folded. "Is that a fact?" she quipped, and then made a clicking sound with her tongue. "Why do I get the feeling then, that the young Queen has no idea that you are even here?" she countered. "I am very much aware of the fact that said young Queen is not expecting guests of any sort, and considering the fact that I am currently off duty from her personal detail...I'd say she knows nothing about any of this."

And yet, there was no immediate move from Anora to attack, attempt to restrain, or anything else. Because as soon as he said the name Voph, recognition zapped her brain. Not personal recognition, but through her sister, as well as the Queen. Svana may have only known what she had been told in stories, but she had passed that on to the Clan protecting her. And, it made Nora look at this person with a little less amusement and a little more curiosity. "Lurking about the palace, seeking old relics, tossing the Queen's name about for leverage...You must be Kyyrk."

Nora shook her head just once, sighed, and then moved forward to start helping. "She speaks highly of you, you know. Which means helping you is probably in my best interest. Digging for universe saving relics or otherwise."

 

[Kyyrk]

Kyyrk seemed unbothered at the idea that the Queen didn't specifically know he was there at that exact moment. The young woman, of course, was both keen and connected enough to spot the untruth immediately. But as Kyyrk explained his business here, a spark of recognition filled her eyes. Perhaps she'd finally recognized him. Kyyrk humphed quietly as Anora told him of the Queen's opinion of him. And as she said that helping him was likely in her best interest. "A disturbing line of thought I'd encourage you away from."

The kind of jobs he did? A Mandalorian was rarely suited for them. Especially in this day and age. With the answers he sought. The adversaries he faced. And such was why the Queen did not know where he was today. He'd earned her implicit trust over the course of the year or so he'd been in her employ. And he DID keep her up to date on his actions, but there was an understanding that some of the details she was better off not knowing. Kyyrk turned back to the doorway, pushing the last of the rubble aside and stooping to move through the opening. A snap-hiss heralded the ignition of a lightsaber, the white light filling the room. He held the blade aloft, but it was at a curious angle. Almost as if it were not for his own benefit.

"But yes, you are correct." Kyyrk glanced back at the girl. "I work as an advisor for the Queen. And...see to other tasks that are...too messy for the rest of her entourage." Though he chose the word 'messy,' it was clear enough that he meant matters that even a Mandalorian would be ill-equipped to handle. Kyyrk turned back to pick his way through the rubble across the room. His pace was slow and steady, allowing Anora plenty of leeway to keep up. As they walked, Kyyrk inquired about something. It was clear enough that Anora had recognized something, but the more he thought on it, the more he realized she'd only recognized his other name. Voph. "You know the person whose wisdom I seek. Voph. What do you know about him?" Kyyrk didn't voice the question he truly wished to know. Do you hate him as much as I do? ​

Anora Vahn

 

[Anora Vahn]

Tags: Kyyrk

---

It was doing her no good to just stand there and watch, so with a soft sigh Anora shifted forward so that she could help clear the way to this passage he was seeking. It all needed to be cleared out anyhow, and while a crew would eventually get to this portion of the palace, that could take days, and clearly this visitor of the Queen's couldn't wait. As such, Nora helped to dig through. "There's hardly anything that sprouts up that's too messy for her entourage." she did point out to him. And while she may not know what sort of jobs he rolled up his proverbial sleeves for, the same could be said the other way round. He had no idea what she and the others had been through, individually and together.

But it didn't really matter, right now everyone was here for one reason or another, and if this guy had something that could help protect and/or save everyone else? The Queen would want him assisted.

So when the rubble gave way and they were able to duck through, Nora followed suit. The hiss of a lightsaber did give her pause, but it was to study the blade's color curiously rather than stagger back in fear or lean forward in awe. "Curious." she muttered, more to herself than to him. But a second blade hissed to life once the young woman drew her own saber from her person. Being a more greenish-blue color still provided light, but it was light she could guide herself rather than having to rely on him.

His question however, made her shake her head. "I know nothing about this Voph." she answered, her tone just a little tighter as she thought about the fact. "However, he was someone my sister, Eenia, knew. Back when we used to communicate still, she said a thing here or there about him, though nothing I can recall that would stand out or be helpful in any way." she shrugged her shoulders. "Considering how overly and stupidly trusting my sister has always been, I can't say anything one way or the other about the guy..."

 

[Kyyrk]

Kyyrk led the way through the darkened halls, picking his way through the smaller piles of rubble that were strewn about the area. As the woman activated her own lightsaber, Kyyrk paused, turning to look at her in confusion. How had he missed that? Was he so distracted, so overcome by guilt, that he missed how she carried such a tool? He lowered his own blade, holding it at the ready low by his side. He did not need it to see in the dark. "A curious weapon for one of your kind." Kyyrk turned back to the task at hand. "Frankly I wonder if I should find it good or bad that the Mandalorians are so accepting of our kind these days..."

Force Sensitives. When Kyyrk came from? Such was a death sentence. But in this day? Seems that the Mandalorians not only permitted such arcane arts, but required them. Darth Metus was a clear indicator that even the highest rank among the children of Mandalore did not shy from the Force. Kyyrk had opened his mouth to say something more, but was frozen as Anora answered his question. That name. Eenia. He stopped in the middle of the room, his lightsaber falling from its readied position. Another lost soul abandoned in his quest for vengeance. Another wave of guilt washed over him. Until her name had been spoken, he hadn't even remembered that the girl existed.

"I see." His head turned to the side, as if he were trying to remember which direction to go. "I wasn't aware Eenia knew him. Though he did keep to himself quite a lot." Kyyrk turned towards the archives and continued to press onwards. "I do not recall Eenia to be overly trusting, however. Not to the degree you'd imply." Kyyrk glanced at his unexpected companion. "Some unresolved conflict between the two of you?" ​

Anora Vahn

 

[Anora Vahn]

Tags: Kyyrk

---

"I don't know that accepting is the word I would use." Anora stated. She had noticed the way he shifted, the way the hold on his saber had changed, but the brunette had merely rolled her shoulder and kept her cool. "In my case, it was sort of an unexpected alliance that turned into training, an offered home, and eventually a clan..." For a while, there had seemed to be more than that, but she had learned the hard way that wasn't the case at all. And, that wasn't worth mentioning anyhow.

Once they started moving again, the conversation about her Mandalorian ties didn't really matter all that much. She was here with the clan, they worked for the Queen, that was the jist of it. Everything else was history, and cloudy for Anora.

This time when movement stopped however, the brunette frowned. The way he reacted to her sister's name set her slightly on edge, and she wasn't sure which way to lean in that moment. "I think he was supposed to train her, but I couldn't tell you for sure." she informed, though was careful with what she said now. "As for my sister and I? If you count her trying to slay me in cold blood and being unsuccessful in her efforts as unresolved conflict? Then yes, I would say so." It was something she thought about a lot, that fight, what had happened and how it had gone down. But ultimately, Nora proved to be the better of the pair of them - or the luckier of the two at the very least.

Nora's brow tightened a bit once they were on the move once more. "How do you know my sister?" she asked. Conflict or not, that was her sister, and it had been years since she'd had more than bits and pieces of news about her.

 

[Kyyrk]

Kyyrk was silent for a moment, digesting what Anora had said. "We belonged to the same order. The Knights Obsidian. I'm sure you'd have at least heard of them, serving the Queen at the heart of Confederate space." A not unreasonable assumption. Arx Obsidia, the grand citadel that had replaced Nox Obsidia on Geonosis, sat hardly a mile from where they currently stood. It would be almost comical to be in the employ of the queen and never once have questioned the function of the imposing fortress. Kyyrk snorted to himself quietly. "She's been under your nose this whole time. And you never knew."

Kyyrk was silent for a moment. Musing on the fact that Eenia was still alive. He was glad to hear it, even if it was colored by a shade of guilt. He found it difficult to move past the idea that Eenia had tried to kill Anora. That seemed...wholely out of character for what little he knew of the girl. Kyyrk paused outside the door to the archives, looking up at the door. I suppose you could say it's partially family related. Kyyrk sighed quietly, then reached up to remove his helmet for the first time since landing on Naboo. In the darkness, his lilac orbs glowed with a soft, almost comforting light. "Last I had heard, she was showing great promise as a healer."

Kyyrk turned to look at Anora. "It destroyed her, you know." Kyyrk still remembered that day at the Silver Rest. He turned back to look at the door, resting a hand upon it to probe further with the Force. "I don't know what happened. Nor what was said. But she dedicated her life to righting that wrong." This was not said without some degree of assumption. Kyyrk was confident that he was not entirely wrong. "I'll not invite myself further into matters that do not concern me, but I hope that you both can reconcile some day."​

Anora Vahn

 

[Anora Vahn]

Tags: Kyyrk

---

It seemed out of place that Eenia would have joined such an Order, and that fact was evident on Anora's face as she was fed this news. While structure had always been easy for the younger of the Vahn sisters, what the Knights had been? Not so much. It was something that really gave Nora pause and made her think about it for a long moment. Long enough that she had missed the removal of the other's helmet until he had spoken to her again.

The reveal had brought curiosity to the brunette's expression, but not rudely so. She'd never seen someone's eyes look that way, even with all the other life forms she'd encountered over her years of life. Still, her main focus was on the subject of her sister. "She's always been a good healer." Nora pointed out, almost fondly. "She came into the ability very, very young. I still don't understand how I was found before she was. She has always been much stronger in the Force than I." A sigh parted her lips and she shook her head just once. "And she was here all along." Though the older sister was willing to bet that Eenia would be more upset about it than Nora was.

That isn't the say she didn't miss her sister, but Anora had learned that things happened as they were supposed to, while that was a challenge Nia had never quite grasped - last the sisters had seen one another, at least.

And while he was right, the matter didn't concern him, the brunette still nodded her head. "I hope we can too. I do miss her, and things need to be made right." she let out, but then huffed a soft breath and the sentimental emotion was gone from her expression. "So, how do we get the door open?" she could feel him probing at it, after all.

 

[Kyyrk]

Kyyrk was silent for a moment, looking at the door intently. "Good news...and bad. This would be easiest as a two person job, funny enough." Kyyrk stepped back, and drew a large circle on the door with his finger. "Locking mechanism. Need to cut that out. But, structural damage means that this panel...." He tapped the left half of the door. "...is going to fall, and most likely inwards. You cut, I hold?' The door itself falling over wasn't an issue of its own. But falling inward on the Archive could destroy some important trinkets.

"I know what you mean, though. I had a sister once." Once. Long dead, if his tone was anything to go by. Nothing that still bothered him, of course. Just spoken with the reverence owed the dearly departed. "She was my better in every way. Skill...intelligence...looks." Kyyrk chuckled at his own quip. Of course his sister would be far fairer than he. He stepped back from the door, looking up at the slab of decorative rock he'd volunteered to hold in place. Kyyrk sighed quietly. "Father insisted I be trained first. It was my birthright as eldest. Soon to be Patriarch of the great House Verros..."

Kyyrk glanced to the side, and tossed his helmet to rest on top of a pile of rubble. "Should have been her." The hollow tone to his voice suggested that something...terrible had happened. He was certainly afflicted with Survivor's Guilt. Believing his sister to have been the better. The more deserving. But what she didn't know was just how deep the survivor's guilt ran. He was all that was left. An entire planet, an entire people. Millennia of history and culture. And he was all that was left. He turned back to the door and deepened his stance slightly, preparing to take the full weight of the Door through the Force. "When you're ready." ​

Anora Vahn