Sojourn [Meric Nadun]

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Meric Nadun"] |

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Sojourn, an adequate name for a moon who would pay homage to a man who would only been staying for a short while. Whomever it was who had discovered the moon had inadvertently created an irony for Meric Nadun, as he was escorted by the Thyrsian Sun Guard's who had evacuated him and their employer from the continent of Wawatt Archipelago.

"The Fort" was a stone building that overlooked a valley that led into the nearby forests, of which Sojourn was covered with. A lake nearby provided water to the building and it's residence. Walls stretched and surrounded the estate, providing a layer of defense. This is was where it's name came from. Other than it's walls and the armory hidden within, Alicia Drey's home away from home was exactly that. A grand, luxurious building but nothing special, other than it's historical connections and the role it played in the galaxies politics long before the Four Hundred Year Darkness; and the role that it would play now, in the modern era.

Darth Ayra shortly followed behind the hover bed that carried Meric Nadun. Her own was soft, light and would have been comfortable, if not for the injuries she had sustained to the hands of her adversary at the Battle of Kachirho. The broken spleen she had suffered to the hands of Meric Nadun had created internal bleeding, that now threatened to pour forth from her abdomen, which had mostly before destroyed by the shrapnel of a Graug's sword and the gigantic leg wound she had suffered to the same weapons.

The medical droids that had accompanied the Thyrsian Sun Guard, who served Alicia Drey as their employer, had done their job in sustaining the life of their master and her captive. But an operation was necessary to ensure that Darth Ayra did not die. Meric Nadun found himself in the same situation. Specialists from Chandrila had been drafted in and transported to Sojourn as the two Sith Lords were transport from Kashyyyk to the Hunter's Moon. Closer to Sojourn, the specialists had arrived approximately seven hours before the Sun Guard and their precious cargo had done. Precious time enough to prepare for their two patients, as they took on board the prognosis of the Sith, provided by the medical droids that had presided and watched over them.

Immediately they were brought into theater. Disrobed of her clothes, Darth Ayra's broken spleen was fixed, her abdomen repaired and the gash on her leg closed. Meric Nadun's own operation was far more complicated, as the specialists worked to study their patient and the suit that he wore. The prognosis of Meric and his suit revealed that it was needed to sustain him and his life. By the time Alicia Drey's operation had been completed by her own operators, Meric Nadun was still in the progress of prognosis and study, whilst his vitals were monitored.

"The Fort" was a hive of activity as stories were passed on by the staff that worked there. The Alfonsi had worked there for the best part of three years, after the building had been restored to it's former glory. Under contract and paid by Chandrila DataTech, the technological firm that had been founded by the Drey family fourteen years ago, they made up the cooks, cleaners and servants that served Alicia Drey whenever she returned to Sojourn to conduct business meetings or to take a holiday, as she got away from the bustle of Hanna City. "The Fort" served as the Alfonsi's home when Alicia was not, alongside the Thyrsian Sun Guard who lived there and guarded it, the surrounding guards and nearby forest.

When she was awake, Alicia's first priority was to kill off those rumors by allowing the Thyrsian commander, who had evacuated her and her guest from Kashyyyk, to spread that Alicia had been caught in a traffic incident back on Chandrila and had been taken to Sojourn for private care. That the event had been covered up by the Sun Guard and that it would not be reported by media outlets such as the Galactic News Network, as she wanted to keep it a secret from the public. It was upon her instruction that the team that had accompanied the commander should keep what they knew a secret and to simply forget about it if they wanted to keep their jobs. An professional outlet, Alicia assumed that the Sun Guards would comply. It wasn't like she didn't have other methods at her disposal to ensure that her participation in the One Sith's invasion of Kashyyyk remained a secret, as the unfortunate Imperial officers found out when they took her and Meric from Kachirho.

A standard eighteen hours passed, the standard rotation period in which Sojourn turned as it orbited the dead planet below it. Awakening in the master bedroom, Alicia gingerly raised herself up into a sitting position. Her eyes, now hazel brown in colour, lifted to survey the room. A servant boy, whom she recognized as Seamus Alfonsi, was waiting for her in a nearby seat. He carried with him as Raxor I, recognising the phone that Chandrila DataTech sold. By the sounds coming from the device, she deduced that he was playing some sort of game on it. She cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Oh! Miss Drey, you are awake!" The boy hastily closed his phone and pocketed it, rising up to walk to her side. "Are you okay?"
"Not so much Seamus. I was in a car accident." She gave him a reassuring smile. "Could you fetch me a glass of water?"
"Yes madam." He turned to the table side, where a jug of water, glass and a small, cardboard box were positioned. He poured the water into the glass and lifted it to her. Alicia took the glass and drained it one gulp. "Another."
They repeated the process twice over. Still holding the glass in his hand, Seamus said. "The Doctor told me to tell you when you woke up that you are to take one of these every six hours and no more than three a day."
"Are the Doctor's still here Seamus?"
"Yeah. I think they are with the man who came with you. The guards have told me, my Mother, Father, brothers and sisters to stay clear of the room he is in. Was he the one who crashed into you?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out." Alicia gave the boy a playful wink before turning to the bed side table. Reading the label, she deduced that they were antibiotics. She removed one of the tablets, put one in her mouth and gestured for another glass of water. When Seamus provided it, she took another big gulp and lowered the half empty glass onto the cabinet, as she swallowed the water and tablet.

Finished, Alicia turned her gaze back to the boy. "Find an adult and inform them that I wished to be taken to the room in which the man, who came with me to Sojourn, is staying in. That I will need a wheelchair and one of them to wheel me to the room in question."
"I can do that." Seamus turned and left the bedroom, allowing Alicia to reflect. As she waited for Seamus and one of his senior family members to return, she thought about the events on Kashyyyk and in particular, what she had done at the end of her adventure there. It was entirely plausible that someone had seen the transport leave with her and Meric on board, as they were taken away from Kachirho. There was also the case of the Yuuzhan Vong Ayra had instructed to retrieve Meric from the crater she had created from the Force Maelstrom that had been used to defeat him. It was also possible that those Vong, alongside any witnesses at the back lines of the One Sith's beachhead to the Wookiee city had died in the ensuing battle. There were too many variables to consider and possibilities that Alicia did not enjoy. She liked it when she knew exactly what was going on and what was going to happen. It wasn't like that in this case, such was her meticulous nature in all things ranging from her life as Alicia Drey to that of Darth Ayra.

Seamus soon returned, accompanied by his Mother, Alyxia Alfonsi. "Miss Drey..." she said, with a worried look. "We feared the worse."
"As did I, Alyxia. But you and your family continue to serve me well." Alicia gave Seamus a smile, which he returned. "Do you have the wheelchair with you?"
"Yes madam. Should we help you into it?"
"Yes." Together, Seamus and his Mother helped Alicia into the wheelchair that they had brought with them. Outside the bed covers, Alyxia noticed that she was shivering and so retrieved a blanket from a nearby cupboard to cover her. "Thank you," said Alicia. "Now take me to my guest."
"Of course."
"Goodbye Seamus. Thank you for helping me. I will see you at dinner."
"You are welcome Miss Drey. See you then!"

Wheeled out of the master bedroom, Alyxia and Alicia parted ways from Seamus and begun to make their way to the room that Meric Nadun was being held in. It took them fifteen minutes, during which various members of the Alfonsi family stopped to give their well wishing to their master as she passed them. They came to a stop outside the room, which Alicia remembered to be a spare bedroom that must have been converted into the make shift medical ward used to save Meric's life. Through the Force, she could sense that the Sith Lord inside was still alive. Her eyes turned to the next room, which was still in the process of being cleaned by two teenaged servants. Alicia deduced that was where her life had been saved too.

"You may return back to work now Alyxia. The guards will look after me from here on."
"Of course Miss Drey."
Inclining her head, Alyxia turned to leave. Alicia lifted her gaze to the Sun Guard at the door. "I want the report on our guests condition. Is he awake?"
"I do not know madam. I do know that the Doctor's have stabilised him."
"Good. I want the room cleared. Were you on Commander Damus's team?"
"Yes. I was on Chandrila, with the others."
Alicia smiled at the Sun Guard's professionalism. He knew that she hadn't been on Chandrila at the time. "Good. Tell Damus that I want that team and that team only in the vicinity. I want the specialists from Chandrila to be kept next door and that I will be through shortly to talk with them."
"As you wish."

The Thyrsian left to carry out his orders and returned minutes later with Commander Damus, who delivered the report on Meric's status and condition. As the specialists filtered through, out of the Sith Lord's room, Alicia greeted each one, thanked them and reassured them all that she would be in to see them soon. When the room was cleared, she had Damus wheel her into the room and then close the door, which remained unlocked.

With the Lenoi I opened on her lap, reading over the report about Meric Nadun, Alicia waited for him to awaken from his slumber. Extra security procedures had been taken by the Sun Guard to ensure Alicia's guest remained docile. A stasis field was being kept over the hover bed in which he laid in, accompanied by stun cuffs that were attached to both of his wrists and ankles, locked onto the panels that accompanied the side of his bed.

A light, blue hue covered the make shift medical ward, shining over the various apparatus and devices that now littered the room. An orange light shone over head, giving the room light. Nothing too bright, just your standard every day bulb.

 

[Kamon's OOC]

For the majority of the time that they traveled, he was awake. Restrained, though he could have removed the restraints at any moment had he wanted to. Truth be told he was somewhat curious as to where they were taking him. On the other side, even if he'd made it to his ship, he didn't have Vina or doctors standing by to take care of him. He'd probably have died anyway. He was content to see what would happen and where they were going, and subsequently find out why she had decided to take him anywhere.

The first time they stopped he listened. Listened as she slaughtered those that were assisting her. He found that strange, and rather unpleasant. There were other ways of dealing with people if you didn't want them to talk and the route she took to accomplishing the task made him angry. If he was in slightly better condition he would have used the Force and ended her then and there. He didn't, though. Mostly because he wasn't in the kind of condition that he needed to be in to actually do what he needed to do. That and he knew there were others waiting in the wings to support her. As evidenced when they resumed traveling.

It was a long trip. Long trips offered lots of time for reflecting, and lots of time for agonizing pain. It was not pleasant. Not in the least. Still, he bottled it up and stored it, locked behind walls within his mind and forgotten. It was better that way. More useful that way.

Into his mind he slowly receded as his body succumbed to illness. He could not retain full consciousness for long in his state. Meditation proved more useful, as he could lock his mind away into the Force and use it to give his body the rest it needed. If nothing else, he provided an avenue for his body to somewhat slow the onset of whatever viral or bacterial infection he'd managed to catch this time. It would prove useful if he actually managed to survive.

Somewhere inside of his mind during the trip he encountered his mother.

"I told you this would happen. You should always destroy your enemies before they even know you're there. Why do you think I killed everyone that quit working for you?"

"That is not an honorable battle," he said in return. This was, actually his mother's Force spirit, which he'd managed to tuck into his own mind for safe keeping.

"Why do you care? They don't, so why should you?"

"Because I am better than them. Stronger than them. I fight not for myself, but I use my third for power as an avenue to do what needs to be done. I told you that before. And look at you. You're own lunacy turned them to killing you."

"You know nothing, boy. This woman nearly killed you."

"I only lost because my suit was breached. Had it not been, I would have won. It just means I need a new design. Failure leads to learning, and learning leads to greater power."

His mother scoffed at him.

"Good bye, mother."

He locked her away again, into a facet of his mind. She'd been a heck of an assassin after all was said and done. A sweet woman turned cruel and calculating after her child was carelessly injured. It had destroyed her in the end. She'd started working for the Sith, and then she'd done something stupid and they'd killed her for it. He hated them for killing her, but that was only one of his reasons for hating them. It wasn't the strongest reason, either.

His mother had grown distant not long after the accident. Much of her time had been spent hunting the people down that had been responsible for allowing someone to be able to get onto the construction site that didn't belong there. That and she was trying to hunt my father down. The company had protected him at first. Afterwards he left the planet. For a time she'd followed him, leaving Meric alone in pain and misery with a bunch of people that could do nothing to help him. For a while he'd resented her for it, but she'd eventually returned to him.

It didn't matter anymore, though. She was dead. They would pay.

It didn't seem like long at all, but eventually he came to and was aware that he was trapped, not only in cuffs, but in what he thought was a stasis field. Without new mechanical eyes he had no way of knowing for sure if that was true, but it was a relatively good guess since he wasn't in a new suit, and he wasn't dead. Whoever did her medical work did a good job of it. Aside from the weakness he still felt within him, he was certain that if he were free he could very easily destroy her and any other Sith that might be around. The whole dredging up whatever energy was around him had replenished his resources.

She was there, too. He was certain of it.

"Why did you bring me here? Why not leave me to die?"

[member="Alicia Drey"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Meric Nadun"] |

It was a good question. Why did she not leave him to die at Kachirho? His first question was one that was easily answered. Sojourn had been a hide away, somewhere that Alicia Drey could get away and conduct errands without the bustle of Chandrila. She was in control of the Hunter's Moon, a place where only "the Fort", the Sun Guards that served her and the Alfonsi family lived. Save for it's wild life, she did not need to worry about any would be enemies or saboteurs involving themselves here.

You can't attack something that you didn't know nothing about and Sojourn was a well guarded secret. One that would remain a secret ever after Meric Nadun left Sojourn. He did not know it's coordinates. He didn't even know the name of the moon that he was on. All he knew was this room and, if she allowed it, the rest of the building. With every angle considered, the meticulous nature of the dirty haired blonde that sat before Meric Nadun had thought of every eventuality.

Control. A word that he would come to associate her with.

She unfolded the datapad before her. Leaning back into the wheelchair, Meric would learn that she hadn't fared better than her at Kashyyyk. Alicia began to read off each of his injuries. "Your suit was breached, requiring extensive surgery to remove the toxins that had entered your body. We repaired the suit as best we could, but I would think that only someone familiar with the technology could repair it properly. No doubt you have someone who can do this for you."

"I am afraid that we could not save your hand. We cleaned the wound and sealed it. If you decide to do so, then you will need to see a specialist in cybernetics to find a replacement. It is the same for other hand, where you lost your finger." Still looking at the screen, not looking at Meric as she recounted the damage she had done to the Sith Lord, Alicia lifted one of her hands and wiggled her smallest finger, so as to indicate which finger had been lost.

Lowering her hand back to her side, Alicia rested it on the arm rest of her wheel. Looking back up to Meric, she considered his second question. Why had she spared his life? As she recounted his injuries, reflecting on both her journey from Kachirho to the island where she slayed the One Sith officers, the journey from Kashyyyk to Sojourn and her thoughts in the main bedroom where Seamus had woken her up, Alicia came up with an answer.

It was something a person could only learn through the heat of battle. As they passed blows to one another, she had learned something about Meric Nadun. A piece of knowledge that she could have only learned in a duel with the man.

"I didn't kill you... Or leave you to be killed... Because I hate the Sith, just like you."

 

[Kamon's OOC]

She started off telling him what he already knew. That was safe, even for her. Seeing her was difficult, but he'd gone for years without eyes because of the damage that was done. It had taken ages for them to be able to install his cybernetics. Every time they had tried until he'd grown had proven futile as he gushed blood everywhere and squirmed due to the pain. It was hard, when you were young, to endure some of the hardships that he now took with very little thought. That was the nature of his life. Regardless, he was able to pinpoint her through his hearing. She still didn't sound well.

"I know my body's ailments. I have other suits, as well. It's a necessity."

No comment on whether or not he would seek out cybernetics. He already had some, but he was on the path to becoming more machine than he was human and that was a dangerous one to follow. Machines most often didn't move as fluidly as human appendages did, and sometimes could be more detrimental than they were helpful. On the other side of the coin, he would have no use for his left arm without an appendage there. A mechanical hand might be something of a necessity if he was to continue in his war against the Sith. Slowly, he realized, he was becoming more and more like the ancient Sith Lord Darth Vader. That was something he did not wish.

Then the woman said something that was most interesting. She hated the Sith. He was aware that she could be lying to him, but he recalled what he'd felt from her, her actions during their battle, the subtle nuances of the way she carried herself, and how she hadn't cared about the soldiers around her, soldiers necessary to win a war against the Republic. She'd destroyed them without a thought to their weight in the battle. That and she had no reason to lie to him since he was trapped in a stasis field and she had every opportunity to kill him.

"Why?"

The question was stated with some power behind it. Not a simpleton's answer, despite the single word. He was demanding that she spell out for him why she hated the Sith, why he should believe her, and why he should care for her dislike of the Sith. It was a loaded question, despite the simpleness of it. He waited for her response, only a slight eagerness touching him within.

[member="Alicia Drey"]

 

[Darth Ayra]

| [member="Meric Nadun"] |

The best lies were truths that were manipulated to come across in a different way than they would have normally. It was the ability to be dishonest, to twist and fabricate the story to get the reaction and result that the person in question wanted from their unsuspecting partner. In this case, Alicia Drey wanted to fabricate and pass on her story to get this man to begin trusting her.

"I was fourteen when I met Darth Pandeima." She began with a soft voice. Her gaze lowered to the floor. An aura of sadness came across the woman. It was a genuine feeling, for when she thought of her family, the anguish that she felt on the day of their deaths overcame her in abundance. "She told me that I had a gift. The ability to alter and shape the galaxy in ways I could not fathom; and she told me that she would teach me how to use my gift to this."

"I've come to understand a lot of things about the Sith. They can pluck anyone out of this galaxy and turn them into something great. But it comes with a cost. Those people who enter the servitude of another known as a Sith apprenticeship have to give something in return. Something that is important. It's almost like the dark side of the Force wills it to happen. You have to sacrifice in order to learn."

"Because of Pandeima I lost my parents; and because of the loss of my parents, I inherited the powers that brought you and I together, in this very room. I know of loss and sadness. I have a great pain that only goes to fuel the rage that I have within me. I am an objective person. I can look at myself and evaluate the type of person that I am. As my Sith Master said, I have the mind set and personality of a serial murder coupled with a thirst for power."

"But before we can continue, we never exchanged or passed on names during our confrontation on Kashyyyk. What is your name, stranger? And why is it you hate the Sith as much as I do?"