Private Shiraya's Legacy: The Return

[Briana Sal-Soren]

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Wearing: XoXo
Equipment: Lightsaber
Location: Hangar Bay, Hapes
Tag: Baros Sal-Soren , Brandyn Sal-Soren


'Hapes system in three.' Came the automated voice of her ship, the Dalné.

Briana ran her fingers through her dark locks that were left loosed around her shoulders, strapping herself into the safety harness with her cerulean eyes focused in on the holo recording that'd been playing on loop over the last hour.

"...are alive. Come home as soon as you're able. We love you."

A deep breath was drawn into her lungs, her mothers voice filling the empty cockpit as she leaned forward, cradling her head in her hands as her eyes filled like water in a well, the exhaustion of the last several days leaving her caught between the throes of tentative hope and quiet dread.

In the medical bay, encased in bacta, Aiden's life hung in the balance, the young marine having taken a blaster bolt to the chest for her earlier that morning. In the crucial moments afterward, Briana made the decision to take him to her family home on Hapes where he'd have access to state of the art medical facilities, but not without filling Valery in on the situation before she'd left.

Then, mere hours after take off, the other news came in - that her brother Brandyn and her father Baros were alive - and the convergence of both events left her feeling like a delicate strand of spider silk that might snap at any moment.

Her father had always been her world - a mentor, an image, a belief, someone she aspired to be like in life. It crushed her, leaving him and Breha behind in the ruins that'd become their home world, wrongly counted among the scores of dead who'd been buried beneath the rubble. The guilt had weighed so heavily on her that for months she barely slept.

And Brandyn? A part of her had always had a feeling that he was still out there, somewhere, even if for the longest time she hadn't been able to actively feel his presence. It was part of that special bond they shared - a bond that was as much a part of them as the Force itself - a gift, their mother had called it. Whatever happened to one of them, the other would instinctively know. Briana had trusted in that and trusted in Valery, who encouraged her not to give into fear and despair, to not go chasing after shadows. Thus, she'd left his fate in the hands of fortune, but in not looking for him, a part of her was continually plagued by the idea that perhaps she'd condemned him to die - wherever it was he'd ended.

The question then begged...

...Would they forgive her?

With tear-stained cheeks, Briana finally looked up to catch the scene of the stars elongating around her.

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The docking bay that she'd landed in was discreet and placed well away from the main hub, meant for foreign dignitaries or members of nobility who wanted to land without the threat of being bombarded by the media as soon as they touched ground.

Medical teams were alerted to the situation of her passenger before they landed and were quick to act, whisking Aiden off to the Estate before she could even get off the ship. Even though she worried after him, Briana knew he was being left in good hands, literally the best that money had to buy - and that she'd be with him again soon enough - healed.

This left Briana alone, giving her time to fix her disheveled hair and runny makeup, composing herself before finally exiting down the ramp.

From the far end of the hanger she glimpsed signs of movement. Even from this distance, she knew who it was.

On first instinct, her stomach lurched uncomfortably. Fear of the unknown threatening to override the warmth and joy that filled her heart upon seeing him, but even that fear couldn't stop the large smile that rose over the bud of her lips and spread across her face.

"Dad."

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[Baros Sal-Soren]

Meetings had been a part of Baros' life since he was in his late teens and stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. They had been a staple through his years running fashion houses around the galaxy, through his hard left turn into exploration and research of Force based cults and even during the saga with the Thistlebark Killer and his Disciples. These meetings though, they were of an ilk he had never experienced. Meetings with hardened criminals, ne'er do wells and outright terrorists. All of this was to save his grassroots movement that had been calling for more accountability for the factions of Force Users around the galaxy.

One would have thought that this direction in life would have been muted due to his love and subsequent marriage to a Jedi, and then you would think it multiplied once their Force sensitive children came into the world. But no. It had only intensified his determination to make a world safe from the extremist cult like fascination with the Sith, and even with the Jedi. He did this for them. To protect the ones that he loved most. They could and would never understand, but Baros had never been one to do things part way.

Much to his discouragement, his movement had started to show signs of its own brand of extremism. Anti-government, anarchist and violent anti-Jedi elements had started to merge with some of the various cells of peaceful protestors around the galaxy. The meetings that he had been in for the last many months were to attempt to bring the movement back into line with his original ideals and intent. Time, however, had marched on a little too much, and he could not bare to have his family in a state of mourning over him any longer.

And so, arrangements were made to make it appear as though Baros had been kidnapped. The money paid for his ransom would pay his performers, and gradually, carefully, be siphoned back into the family fortune.

Baros Sal-Soren was going home. Wherever his family could home now.

---

"Kiddo," Baros said, after a long, walk across the hangar to his daughter.

"Are we old enough now that we don't have to be embarrassed to hug each other?" He said, smile curling the corner of his lip in his trademarked way that he had passed on to his eldest.

Without even waiting for confirmation, Baros took his daughter into his arms and held her tightly, giving her a gentle kiss on the head. "I'm so sorry for what you have been through, Brandyn was gone too? And now your friend...is he going to be OK?"

| Briana Sal-Soren |​

 

[Briana Sal-Soren]

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Wearing: XoXo
Equipment: Lightsaber
Location: Hangar Bay, Hapes
Tag: Baros Sal-Soren , Brandyn Sal-Soren , FYI, Aiden Rennek , Breha Sal-Soren


"Kiddo,"

Briana's expression soured comically at the moniker, a brow arching at her father who asked with the attempt of a smirk, that almost came off as sheepish, "Are we old enough now that we don't have to be embarrassed to hug each other?"

Briana snorted lightly and opened her mouth to make a smart retort, but the words choked in her throat the moment she felt his arms wrap around her. Acquiescing to the embrace, tears welled in her blue eyes that matched his, her head falling against her fathers chest like when she was a little girl - right where she could hear his heartbeat. That steady thump of life that further confirmed this wasn't another dream. He was here and he was alive... and for that moment, all felt right again.

"I'm so sorry for what you have been through," he told her, "Brandyn was gone too? And now your friend...is he going to be OK?" All she could do at first was silently nod her head, her voice hoarse with emotion as she finally said, "I think so."

She sniffled, wiping her hand across her damp face as she pulled back from the embrace. "After he saved my life I tried to heal him and even though it worked, it wasn't enough... not for the extent of the injury he sustained... but I was assured by the doctors that he should be back on his feet by the end of the week." she informed him, before quickly realizing her mistake.

Even though she'd become rather good at keeping a straight face - Briana couldn't help the subtle bob of her throat as she swallowed her admission of using the Force. Her father had always tried so hard to steer them away from the Jedi path - the natural response of a loving parent who wanted to protect their children from the hardships and horrors that came from such a life. A faint sense of guilt rose up in her, before thinking better of it.

This was her father, and he'd always loved and supported her in her decisions before, surely he would not admonish her over this? Briana decided not to wait and find out, moving the conversation along. "I'm sorry that I didn't get to you and Breha in time... I tried - but I was too late when I finally made it that day. There were just too many..." how many months had she sat with that guilt, thinking she'd survived when he and her sister had not? "...I'm just really glad you made it... and Brandyn? Mom said he was here, too?"

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[Baros Sal-Soren]

Holding the back of her neck, Baros just leaned into the hug. It had been years since Briana had given him a hug like this. If he was honest, the headstrong elder of the triplets had never been a big hugger. He could feel the weight of her internal struggle, and his soul grew wearier. He rued some decisions entirely, wished he had made others sooner, but most of all he wished that none of them had ever had to hurt the ones he loved.

It is for their own good. And their children's good. And their children's. This is not just about you, Baros.

"He saved your life?" Baros said, ignoring the indication of her own Force usage - it did not bother him, "I will have meet this man. This...?"

Her apologies were too much for Baros, as a slight lump began to form in his throat. He tried to speak, to reassure her, but his own guilt and sorrow chocked out his words. A moment passed before her could push out. "You have always made the right decision when there was a tough call," he said in a whisper, "if you couldn't get to us it is because of a reason I believe was more than justified. Don't hold on to what is not yours to claim. Let go of the guilt, Briana."

| Briana Sal-Soren |​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

As if answering the question for her father, Brandyn's arms wrapped around his sister from the other side. He had given and received more hugs with his family in the last week than the last decade combined. Truthfully, he was not sure if he and Briana had ever hugged. Why hug when a playful punch in the arm could work just as well? This was different though. The had come out of the fire and were together again.

"Hey Bri. I am here too," he said, verbally answering the question for his father.

He and his father had already reconnected, shared stories of their trials and adventures. His father showed particular interest into Brandyn's investigation into The New Way.

"I am sorry I couldn't tell you...it never felt quite right keeping you in the dark," he said, of his enforced secrecy while undercover in The New Way, "I hope you can forgive me."

| Briana Sal-Soren |​

 

[Briana Sal-Soren]

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Wearing:
Equipment:
Location: Hangar Bay, Hapes
Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren , Baros Sal-Soren


"I think you've met him before," she filled in, her voice becoming more clear as the topic moved into something a little easier to talk about. " Aiden Rennek ? We used to compete against each other for the Humanity Athletic events that were hosted on Corellia, his family had a long history of military involvement." she tried to give him a wry look, but her red rimmed eyes with smeared mascara didn't convey the humor she was attempting. "Just don't make it weird when you do meet him."

Before she could respond to her father's words of reassurance, the water works threatening to start again, another presence pulled at her attention. The place in her heart that had for so long been empty, that only ever belonged to her brother, warmed, finally able to feel the bond she shared with her triplet again. Shock came over her as he enveloped her in an unexpected hug - taking the moment to try and quell the sensory overload and comprehend that he whom she'd once believed dead - was here, hugging her.

Slowly, she turned from her father to fully wrap her arms around her younger brothers frame, returning his embrace, blinking hard as her mental side pushed against the shadows that threatened against her consciousness, trying to convince her that there was no way that any of this was real.

Gently she pulled away, reaching up to touch his face and take in his form, still stunned that he was standing right there in front of her. "I thought I'd never see you again," she let her hand fall from his face to his shoulder, gripping it tightly as a smile spread over her features, one that would not easily disappear. It would take another moment before the second wave of emotion struck her and she pulled him in tightly, "of course I forgive you, you dummy. You're here, and you're home."

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[Baros Sal-Soren]

"Rennek?" Baros said, mind scratching through events and meets from Briana's athletics days, "the name is familiar. Forgive an old man for his failing memory."

He knew the family name well. There had been some of the military wives in the family that would attend Glitterstim events back in their heyday. "Make it weird?" He said, feigning being hurt, "well now that I know you care enough to put on a good show for this young man...I will be scrutinizing him a little more closely." As if he wouldn't have been giving the young man a thorough background check as it was.

Brandyn joined the embrace, Baros welcoming him with open arms. His son was a concern, having been tasked with uncovering the leaders of The New Way, but thankfully he could not pick up on any suspicions being cast in his direction. It wouldn't have taken a Force User to be able to see anything like that in Brandyn.

"Hey...your mother and Breha are expecting us all for dinner," he said, after a short time given to the mutual embrace, "let's let Briana freshen up shall we?"

| Briana Sal-Soren |​