Stockholm Statism

[Prennis Keeoli]

“I could turn around, or I could give it up…​

Oh, the storm is raging against me now…​

But I took the step, and I took the leap…”​

~ † ~​

{ Location: Horizon Cemetery, Chasin City }​

{ Status: Conflicted }​

{ Outfit: Jeans + textured hoodie }​

{ Tag: [member="Cassius Droma"] }​

~ † ~​

Naiya Fenn.

She had a brown granite plaque, installed flush to the ground, a single rose wrapped in silver film now parting the slightly sunburnt grass beside it.

It was a little on the nose.

Prennis was glad that no groundskeepers were working at the cemetery today; he or she would have definitely approached the nursing student by now, for she had been mostly still for the past hour, kneeling at a stranger’s grave, not that they would know that part. Still, though, the former was odd. And her reason was too. The desolation of the monarchy, along with all the preceding reasons for it, had not affected Prennis much, but last week’s riots and then this certainly had:

While helping clean up outside the hospital after the unrest had ended, Prennis had accidently overheard a security officer tell an Antarian Ranger, both assigned to the citywide peacekeeping detail. From his perspective, “not everything has hit the fan” because “at least that First Imp shutta is dead—waz-‘er-name. Fortan.” Even though her heart dropped at the mention of the Grand Moff, Prennis forced herself to continue on but stray out of the zone she had been assigned to clear in order to eavesdrop purposefully.

She had expected the solider to chuckle—she was used to the reaction—but he instead shook his head. “C’mon, Vulle,” he began, “that’s way out of line.” The officer laughed awkwardly, about to say something in his defense, but the Ranger cut him off. “The Ssi-ruu should be confined to a black hole. No one should be invaded like that, not even the Dosuunians.”

“I just—” The Commenori was interrupted yet again when a woman’s voice called out, “Idris!” First, the blonde man, Idris, nodded in the direction before turning to his company. “Hey, don’t wanna hear it.” Then, Idris swung his blaster rifle over his back and jogged off.

After that, the day went by in a blur. Prennis finished her share of work in the parking lot and then continued her shift in the ICU. Throughout the next few hours of clerical tasks, the intern was prone to dissociation, but her coworkers didn’t think much of it, though Harli and Jalise tried their best to comfort her. In fact, many of them were as well, and, for Prenn specifically, it just seemed as if her emotions were finally catching up to her.

And now, days after, between class and lab practical and work, she finally had the free time to act. It was weird, though, being here, giving a floral offering to a surrogate grave. She was sad, actually even more, feeling the sharp shards of guilt poking at the lining of her lungs with each shallow inhale, but maybe also less, for she hadn’t been able to force herself to dress in mourning black for the occasion though doing so would not seem out of place this week in the least.

With a heavy sign, Prenn pushed herself up off her knees and, giving the tombstone one more forlorn glance, stepped away. She couldn't spend all day moping, though she wanted to. And so, as she walked back towards her apartment, she had to consciously try not to drag her feet or reach for her datapad set to the latest from the First Order.

 

[Cassius Droma]

There was still much to do on Commenor. Even with the announcement of a reinstatement of democracy, there was still tension in the streets. Things like that didn’t just disappear overnight. While the violence had toned down much since Lady Kay’s shocking revelation, there were still protests dotting the streets. Many people were staying home just to avoid all of the conflict.

Since he used to live here, Cassius had volunteered to stay behind a little bit and look into a few things. Also, it would help to have a few Jedi around if any riots broke out again. A part of Cassius knew that another reason he wanted to stay around a little bit was just to see how things had changed since he’d left. Using his ship Spectre Melody as a base, he had begun to work through a series of investigations into various political groups, possible terrorist cells, and incidents around the capital.

During the diplomatic talks that had taken place a few days prior, there had been some sort of bomb scare at a hospital in Chasin City. While it had apparently been handled by some citizens and local forces, Cassius had decided to check it out for himself, and see if there was anything his psychometric abilities could gain from the scene.

As he made his way there, walking along the sidewalk, a sudden feeling came over him, making him stop in his tracks. The smell of pine filled his nostrils, and he felt a tingling on his chest, where the scar of a burn had been fading for the past few weeks. The Force had suddenly decided to remind him of his recent time on an abandoned moon after a crash landing… but why?

Looking around, his eyes locked onto a blonde woman heading in his general direction. She was through a crowd of people, so… why her? He’d certainly never seen her before…

Or had he?

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cassius Droma"] }​

~ † ~​

It didn't take long to feel eyes on her.

Maybe it was the fresh post traumatic stress following the Mercy bomb plot. Maybe it was paranoia that her abbreviated ceremony just now had attracted the prying eyes of a FOSB agent— She stopped herself, forcing a deep breath. At the very least, the latter was impossible: she knew the Order had fallen back to the Moddell Sector. That didn't mean she shouldn't worry about the possibility of the former. She had assumed that the terrorists from the hospital had been working alone, but by no means was that accurate.

Keeping her gaze away from the side that she felt watched on, she moved along with the people around her until she was able to slip behind a building. For a moment, she steeled herself before positioning herself to see the opposite side of the street behind her and peaking around the corner.

Was that—?! She squinted a little too hard, or she told herself that much. Ughh! Prennis ducked back behind the wall and slid to the ground, gingerly touching her temple where a bit of synthflesh covered the scabbing cut that her holoskin couldn't quite hide.

The figure across the way, standing in place, had looked quite a bit like Cassius, her savior from the First Order. But why would he...? Before she could even finish asking herself, a portion of the abdicated king's speech replaying in her mind: he had requested that the Jedi come to Commenor some time before the past week's violence. It was reasonable to expect that was the reason for his presence.

Suddenly, as she looked forward, the very edges of Prennis' vision began to fade out, but then back in. She brought her hand down to her heart as her airway constricted. Hyperventilating. And her logic from moments before went out the window.

What if that's what she was supposed to think?

See a friendly face. Go running to him. Get kidnapped. Or have a hoover car accident.

Fake galactic news. Just for her.

Oh Force.

Prenn brought her hand up once more to her neck, trying to message her throat into opening further. She wasn't successful, but unknowingly broke the chain around her neck. The hexagonal pendant fell to the ground, the link following as the panicked nurse scrambled down the alleyway and disappeared. If the pendant was to be examined, the name 'Prennis' would be engraved on one side, and the other, though now sanded down and painted blue, still felt a little like a embossed First Order shield pattern.

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius had watched the young woman for a few moments before darted around a corner. His brows furrowed, and he began to cautiously make his way toward the woman. He saw her head peak out for a moment, and the two locked eyes for the briefest of moments, but then she recoiled once again. Well that was… strange. The look on her face said that she had recognized him, but her first instinct was to hide?

Looking both ways across the street so he wouldn’t get hit by any landspeeders, Cassius crossed the path and to the other side. He sensed confusion and fear – it radiated from the woman. Giving the corner he was about to round a wide berth, he wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t be suddenly attacked.

Now standing in full view of the alleyway, though, he saw nothing. The woman must have run away as he was crossing the street towards her. Something glinted on the ground that caught Cassius’s eye. Crouching down, he picked up a pendant on a chain that seemed oddly familiar. Resting the piece of jewelry in his palm, he let his thumb trace over the name – ‘Prennis’. Flipping it over, his thumb caught on just a few slightly raised pieces of metal that protruded from the corners of the hexagon… as if it had once been a First Order symbol.

Closing his eyes, Cassius let himself dive into the history of the object. He’d found that it was easier to find the memories of objects if he had been there himself, since it would make him intrinsically linked to it. It confirmed his theory – this was the pendant of Dr. Aes’ona Terrani… Prennis. Without more time with the object, he could only go so far back in its history... but he could see everything from that day.

A hospital – that would make sense. Could this be Terrani… but using her birth name and a different face? It wouldn’t be impossible… but it was also likely that someone had taken the woman’s pendant at some point. Either way, he needed to find her. Pushing further back, he could see the beginning of the day… leaving the apartment of the owner.

Opening his eyes, Cassius stood, clutching the pendant. The apartment wasn’t far.

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cassius Droma"] }​

~ † ~​

The world was spinning, holographic road signs blurry, making it hard for the woman to navigate the city she had been living in for weeks. Cassius might have been able to reach her own apartment complex before she did. In any case, Prennis finally reached the lobby and stumbled up the stairs to her room. Due to the tension of the last few days, she, like many other Commenori that hadn’t felt the need to do so before, had begun locking her door, and, at first, she forgot she had done so before leaving this morning.

It took a moment to reach for her keys and another to open the door with her shaky hands. Once safe in her short entrance hallway, she kicked off her heeled booties and shrugged off her blazer to hang it on the coat rack. Breathe. Deeply. In…out…in…

Next, she walked into her kitchen to put some water on for tea. She refilled her kettle and put in on the back burner on the stovetop of her nanowave oven. Leaning back over the sink, she splashed some water over her face. For a moment, she considered calling Voph. But…hadn’t he left a few days ago? Maybe, maybe not. Prenn was in a weird headspace to say the least; she couldn’t remember, but that was the least of her worries currently. In any case, though, she could call the police.

After drying her face with a hand towel, she shook her head at herself. No, she couldn’t do that, either actually. What would she say to an officer? The purpose of this second wind was to lay low.

And she was probably overreacting, anyway.

Or…did part of her want to get caught?

This time, she ran her hand over her face before spinning around and leading back on the counter. No, no, of course not. But she did feel guilty, especially today.

 

[Cassius Droma]

The apartment complex was in a quiet enough area – modest, for someone in the medical field. As he walked into the building, he had purpose, as if he knew exactly where he was going. In reality, he did, as he had gleaned the location from the pendant that was now in a pouch on his belt. Moving through the lobby, Cassius went to the turbolift. His finger hovered over the button for the appropriate floor for a moment before hitting it.

The turbolift whisked up, and Cassius’s demeanor changed. He began to reach out with the Force while simultaneously making his own presence as incognito as he could. When the turbolift stopped, he stepped off, his footprints making almost no sound as his boots made their way across the carpeted floor.

Coming to the apartment that he knew to be the woman’s that he was tailing, Cassius stood very quietly outside for a moment, reaching inside with the Force. There didn’t seem to be anyone home… had he beaten her here? It was possible – if she was worried about being tailed, she could have taken a longer, more winding route home. Unfortunately for her, he’d taken the direct route.

Cassius pressed his hand against the door, and after a few moments and some clicking sounds, the door swished open. Stepping through, he made sure not to touch anything other than the floor and the walls. He closed the door behind him, locking it. Normally, he would never invade someone’s private abode like this, but there were some answers he needed, and he was worried that something had happened to the woman he’d saved on a deserted moon.

He’d stepped into the bedroom, mostly looking for an object to read with psychometry, when he heard the door unlatch again. Sucking in a breath, he pressed himself into a dark corner, his ears perking up. His breathing was slow and methodical as he listened to the woman. He could sense anguish and fear, as if the sight of him had wracked her nerves. What would she do, then, when she discovered that he had invaded her home?

Time to find out.

Before he even moved another muscle, he reached out with the Force, using his empathic abilities to try and calm Prennis, to encourage her to breathe. Slowly, he stepped out of the bedroom, the pendant in one hand, his other with the palm out – a sign of peace.

“Forgive the intrusion,” he said, his voice slow and methodical. “You dropped this back there.” He held up the pendant and it floated over to her, settling down on the counter.

“You know, I’ve seen that same pendant before, but it looked a little different,” he continued. “It used to be a First Order symbol, and it belonged to a doctor that helped me patch up a burn mark on my chest right here,” he pointed to where the burn wound had been.

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

~ † ~​

Suddenly, breathing became easier. Involuntarily deep. Normal. She stopped having to think about it. A wave of inexplicable calm washed over her, but she began to not care about where it may or may not have originated. Even more strangely, when a voice sounded behind her, though she turned, she could not bring herself to feel fear. It was like the capability was gone now, though it had been working just a moment ago.

When the intruder utilized the Force, however, it was like the spell was broken, but she was able to keep herself reasonably calm. Logic told her that, as far as she remembered, the First Order Security Bureau didn't hire Force-sensitives—those individuals instead became either Knights of Ren or a Praetorian Guard. And neither of those, again to her limited knowledge, made use of such trickery. It would be below them, wouldn't it be? Unbecoming of their unyielding strength.

It was him: [member="Cassius Droma"].

Of course, she had just been a doctor, more than capable of being wrong regarding such a topic, but whatever the case she let her guard down.

Prennis picked up the pendant before turning it over in her palm with her fingers and finally pocketing it into her jeans. As he finished speaking, the now-nurse kept her hand it her pocket, so, once he was done, could deactivate the holographic matrix clipped to the side of her belt. Blues and purple pixels shimmered into existence, rippling down from her forehead to her chest, disappearing under the neckline or her shirt and showing up again past her sleeve cutoffs. Her clothes didn't change, but her features did. A more familiar strawberry blonde now stood behind the bar.

"I hope it didn't get infected," she said with a shy half-smile. Shedding her disguise was a literal weight off her shoulders. She was moving to approach and hug Cassius but, at that moment, the tea kettle whistled and she instead went to turn off the stove. "Tea?" she asked, cringing at her own transition as she opened a cupboard and took down her University of Commenor mug. Her hand went back up to her collection, hovering over the many ceramic and durasteel handles as she awaited an answer.

 

[Cassius Droma]

Before his very eyes, she turned from a stranger into a friend, one that he had been through fire with. He blinked as he adjusted, the tension evaporating from the air. A holo-disguiser… and a good one, at that. Briefly, he pondered if she ever had any trouble with the device – what if it turned off during the day while she was out and about?

Regardless, it was as if they were suddenly on normal terms again. Perhaps the spell of calm he had cast over her had been more powerful than he realized. Terrani… well, Prennis commented that she hoped it his chest wound hadn’t gotten infected. “Ah, no, it’s doing fine…” he unconsciously felt the skin around it through his shirt. When T-4D4 had picked them up in his old ship, the Stardust Melody, they’d used the medical bay to patch themselves up a little better than they had been on the moon. Once he’d dropped her off, he spent a little bit of time healing at the Silver Rest on Kashyyyk, just to be sure.

She offered him tea, and while it wasn’t exactly his go-to drink, he nodded. “Sure,” he said, slowly sitting down at a bar-stool type of seat near the counter. As she prepared their drinks, he thought just what he’d ask her, since he had so many questions. Why she ran from him when she first saw him came to mind, but perhaps it wasn’t the time to bring that up.

He could have asked her why Commenor, but it made sense. In the rebuilding of the Sith occupation, there were a lot of people in need. Not only that, but it had been a relatively stable and safe world… until recently, that was.

“So, you’re a… nursing student, now?” Cassius asked. “Seems a little below you, honestly.” She had been a licensed doctor, after all.

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cassius Droma"] }​

~ † ~​

At the knight's answer, Prennis took down a Mercy Learning Hospital mug for him and set it down on the counter next to hers. After finding a sachet for each and pouring water over them, she turned and reached over the bar to set Cassius' before him. The liquid was a light green emanating both smoke and a fragrant smell. This must have been the tea that she had meant to console herself with. Then she turned back to the cupboard and removed a floral saucer. Set between them, it offered a place for them to discard of their sachets before their tea grew too strong.

As she steeped her teabag, she let the silence drag on, rather comfortable, until he asked his question. She smiled, a hint of sadness on her face. "I suppose you're right. But..." She paused to lick her teeth behind her lips, thinking. "The pirates didn't know what the medical team was doing on Sullust, did they?" Rhetorical; of course they didn't. "Well, I'll tell you," she might as well, "and if it makes you want to leave, I trust you can see yourself back out the way you came. I won't stop you." Of course, she didn't want him to leave, and she hoped the softness of her voice conveyed that much. He had known her allegiance since her capture and so far he had been able to see past it, but would he be able to tolerate the admission she was about to make?

After everything, she'd give him a way out. Whether he took it or not, she would always be grateful.

She stood from leaning over the counter and took a few steps back over the kitchen tiles before swaying forward again. Strange that she found it difficult, not the leaving, but the revelation of state secrets. To steel herself, Prennis took a deep breath before lifting her teabag out of the still hot liquid. Then, she began, watching the water drip off the sachet, "Ahab protocol, directive five. Us doctors were there with the Department of Labour to...medically decide which of the Sullustan adults were fit to work for the Order. Now, I never heard of any specific projects, but I did know of the general extent, the requirements, and to say the least it amounted to no good." That was enough. His imagination could do the rest, not that she knew much more anyway.

She paused again, taking a moment to set the bag on the saucer. Only then did she look over at Cassius. "I know, I was just following orders, but..." She cut herself off. No. She wasn't among the victims of Sullust. "It feels wrong to be that sorry for myself. I had a choice between my job, actually my life I suspect, and my patients'. Maybe I made the right choice for myself, but I misused my license, I'm sure I broke my oath, and I don't want to make another choice like that. I've given myself another chance—you've given me another chance—and I'll do all the good I still can, but I can't trust myself as a doctor anymore."

 

[Cassius Droma]

There was a pause as the two of them prepared their tea. It wasn’t something Cassius typically did, so he watched Prennis as she did hers, figuring whatever strength she had hers at would be sufficient for him as well. She began to answer his question with a rhetorical one of her own, although Cassius still shook his head. When he had infiltrated the group, there wasn’t a rhyme or reason as to why they had kidnapped the doctor – just that she had utility in more ways than one.

She gave him a warning, one that made his eyes squint ever so slightly. He wasn’t expecting an admission that seemed to affect her so greatly, but then he had to remind himself the faction she had served before he found her. Almost nothing she could say would scare him away, though. Cassius had faced much worse things in the galaxy, this probably wouldn’t hold much of a candle to that.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said solemnly.

He took a small sip of the sapir tea. He quirked an eyebrow at the taste – it was certainly something he could get used to. His focus on completely on Prennis, however, as she explained her true purpose on Sullust. As a doctor, it was quite possibly the first time she had seen the true First Order rear its ugly head. He set the mug down on the counter, cupping it with both hands.

“I understand,” Cassius said, speaking in a low, calm voice. “You don’t feel you deserve to be a doctor. You did something that’s completely against what you believe, and what you were probably taught in medical school. Now, is what you did wrong? Yes, it is. Your recognition of that was the first step. Defying the First Order, running away with me, and taking up residence here was a leap forward. Many would have found something completely different to do, and yet, you’re still in the medical field… because that’s just who you are. You’re a healer.”

“While there is some blame you can accept, you’re being entirely too hard on yourself,” he continued, shifting his body so he was completely facing her. “I know what happened to you – you were taken from your family, ripped, and brainwashed by the First Order. You bought it because it was designed for you to buy it.”

He took another sip of the tea, letting the warmth soothe him. The past few days had been rather hectic – it was nice to slow down for a change, and not just spend the majority of his nights on the Spectre Melody. “Maybe you don’t want to be a doctor anymore, and want to be a nurse instead. I can understand that – less decisions to make. However… going through school all over again must be killing you. I mean, how much time do you have left? Do you really want to spend that time going over things you already know and have mastered, or would you rather spend that time in the field, saving lives, healing wounds?”

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cassius Droma"] }​

~ † ~​

As she listened, after taking a long but quiet sip, Prenn folded her arms and hugged herself. The Jedi's reply progressed and Prennis shifted her weight uncomfortably. Yes, she was being too hard on herself; in her own way even she was a victim in all of this, though that did little to negate her actions. Even she knew that, but what else could she be in this situation? Cassius might worry now for her mental health, worn away by unchecked guilt, but he hadn't approved the forced servitude, in the form of hard labor, of countless innocents in what may have amounted to thinly-veiled, State-approved genocide.

She was about to politely disagree with his assessment for that reason when he brought up a more pressing concern, asked a question. Arguing that first main point was probably near useless anyway:

Though she had been able to have a BSN fabricated on Coruscant, and that knocked four years off her literal secondary education time, she still had at least three left if she wanted to earn her Master's of Nursing while working at the various hospitals and clinics around the city. And she hadn't even thought about the perks of getting a doctorate, which would tack on another year...

Prennis, though her disguise looked slightly younger than she in fact was, was almost middle-aged. That wasn't terribly old for a medical practitioner, but she understood Cassius' claim. "I must admit, the latter," she agreed with another small smile. "But I'm trying to be as honest as I can. ...At this point, that is." She gestured at her belt, a reference to her disguise that she probably not longer even needed. But it gave her a sense of comfort to wear, as if Aes'ona Terrani was dead not just in name but concept as well.

A beat passed, in which Prenn took another, shorter sip of her tea. Then she spoke; it seemed suddenly pertinent to share, if not without a proper transition, what, because she had already said so much that had been on her mind for the last weeks. Part of being honest, maybe. "Were you called here by the former King?" she asked, adding after the answer, "Around the time of his press conference, I was working a shift at Mercy. A team of terrorists infiltrated. We gathered they were acting alone." Another pause. Actually, part of this may help to illustrate her original answer. "It was a little dangerous for my tastes, but, if there was a way, then yes, I'd rather be applying what I already know."

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius nodded and spied the holographic disguiser once more when she gestured to it. Briefly, he wondered if her new face was something she specifically designed, or one that had been preprogrammed. He had to admit, he’d never used one before, but with some recent… changes, he no doubt would be using similar technology sooner rather than later.

“Changing your face doesn’t make you dishonest,” Cassius said, letting a smile come out from behind his mug before he took a sip. Pretending you’re a lowly nursing student when you’re a licensed doctor is. That seemed rather accusatory to say at the moment – he needed to coax her into his way of thinking. “Doesn’t change the person inside, though.”

She asked a question pertaining to his presence here on Commenor, and he nodded. “I was with the Silver Jedi delegation, yes.” His eyebrow quirked up when she mentioned the bombing attempt. “I’d actually been sent to investigate that,” he said. “I have a certain ability in the Force that allows me to see the past through objects… it’s part of the reason why I was able to break past that First Order conditioning,” he pointed to her forehead before taking another sip of the tea.

“A lot of people weren’t happy with the situation in general. Having someone who was supposed to be the absolute ruler of a planet suddenly turn out to be a murderer, and had usurped their power that way… it shook the people’s confidence. Of course, there are always those who will take advantage of that situation. You didn’t come across any of them, did you?”

When she seemed warm to the idea that she would practice what she knew, provided there was a way for her to do so, Cassius nodded. “I can get you what you need. Whether you want to be Dr. Prennis Keeoli or Prennis Keeoli, RN, I can take care of it.” He lifted a finger to punctuate his pause. “However, to help avoid suspicion, you might need to serve with the Silver Jedi for a while. Say you got the license through them. There are plenty of places for you to help out. Now, I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I…” his hands cupped the mug, as if trying to warm them, and he looked down for a moment, “would encourage you to just join us full time. There are plenty of places you could help, from the Rangers, the Diplomatic corps, to… well, me.”

Whether it was the Pathfinders or his other project, he would need a good medic. She could even stay on Commenor if it was for the other project, should she so choose.

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cassius Droma"] }​

~ † ~​

The smile telling of an almost-accusation was lost on Prennis, perhaps thanks to her mind's preoccupation, the internal debate she was having as they talked as she tried to listen as best she could. By some miracle, she managed to realize that he asked her a question and had caught enough in order to answer it:

"Oh, uh, unfortunately, I did," she said, taking her hands off her set-down mug that had been absorbing the now-dissipating warmth. "I was first to notice the hostile and tried to take care of it myself, and, well, I was never much of a combatant even in the Order." Prenn paused momentarily to offer a small smile. "But it turned out alright. A former Lord from the House was there to save the day." Then it turned into a frown as she remembered the second terrorist's haunting allegiance to the murdered Sith Elders. She knew that the Sith and the Ren were far from synonyms, but the former still reminded her of the latter.

Whatever had happened to the Supreme Leader, anyway...?

Rather suddenly, it felt like she was falling, though she physically was not; still, her palms came down hard on her counter. Her mug, closest to the disturbance, fell towards her. "Chit!" she exclaimed, jumping back as the tea remaining in her cup cascaded over the counter and onto her jeans and bare feet. After another trip to the sink behind her, during which Prennis set her mug into the stainless-durasteel vessel and picked up a dishcloth, returned to mop up her mess. First, she cleaned the linoleum and then began to wipe down the bar. "Sorry," she mumbled, eyes darting up to look at Cassius shyly. "Did any get on you?" If it did, she leaned over to get a clean dishcloth and tossed it over.

Then she could listen more intently: RN or...

Oh, he was pushing this, but he was right to—she had been a doctor. And she understood that he meant well, but...

She nodded. "Thank you. I'll take you up on one of the two; just, can you let me sleep on it?"

And then a sigh. The idea of staying with the Jedi wasn't the source of her present apprehensions, though she did not know what to expect, but she still wasn't used to all of this. Maybe the lying wasn't without good reason, but it still didn't sit well. The hope of living a normal, truthful life ever again seemed to dim by the day, though, maybe Prennis had never even lived one to be begin with, as Aes'ona or otherwise.

"Y-yes, that'd probably be for the best. Of course.

"You?" she repeated, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice as she blinked. "Uh, ahem, yes. What can I do for you, Padawan?"

 

[Cassius Droma]

He cocked an eyebrow as she mentioned that she’d actually run into the terrorists at the hospital. Prennis seemed to brush it off, though. She had lived through it, after all, and the bombing hadn’t been successful. Cassius was about to ask her further about the subject, but that was when she suddenly spilled tea onto the counter. Rising from his seat on the barstool, he took a small step back as a reflex.

“No, I think I’m fine…” he said, giving his robes a cursory glance just to be sure. Still, he accepted the other dishcloth and helped clean off the counter, the smell of the tea now more pungent in the air. Briefly, he wondered just what had made her jump like that, as there didn’t seem to be any sort of external stimuli that would have caused it. Perhaps some of that First Order brainwashing was still lingering there… or it could be PTSD from everything that had happened in recent months.

Soon enough, however, they were able to return to their conversation, and he made his proposal. She’d taken to the thought of skipping the rest of school better than he had expected. He gave a solitary nod as she asked for a little bit of time to think it over. “Absolutely. Take however much time you need. It’s a big decision, and we don’t have the threat of a pirate attack or the First Order lingering over us anymore,” he gave a soft smile as he sipped his tea, which had survived the earlier spill ordeal.

They got down to specifics, and Cassius cracked an even bigger smile as she referred to him by his former title. “It’s uh, Knight now, but you know, semantics,” he said slyly. To him, titles didn’t exactly mean that much, which was why he preferred people just call him by his name. “For one, there’s the Pathfinders. It’s our explorer branch that I help run. We’ve got a big ship being refitted as we speak. We’ll roam the edges of Silver territory and the galaxy, trying to seek out new life and new worlds, as well as unlocking the secrets of those we might have already discovered.”

There was a sigh as he thought about the other option. Did he dare tell her? He needed someone we could trust, after all. Even after everything they had been through, at the end of the day, she was still a former First Order officer.

“There’s another way you can help me, too. A little more of a… clandestine way,” his voice lowered and his eyes became more serious. “Just like any large organization, we’re always looking for ways to gather intelligence. And, sometimes, there are some of us that need to be patched up discreetly without anyone knowing about it, even the Silver Jedi Order. This role would serve two-fold: wherever you’re stationed, whether it’s here or anywhere else, you help feed us information about anything and anyone you can. Also, your medical services can be rendered to us if we’re in the area, or if there’s an emergency.”

It was completely up to her what she chose, and Cassius would support her either way.

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cassius Droma"] }​

~ † ~​

Prennis didn't find the illusion to the pirate attack funny in the slightest, probably because of her current mindspace, but she offered a small smile despite herself. And then it fell. "Oh, uh, of course," she corrected. Knight. "Congratulations, Cassius."

After that, she listened closely, leaning her elbows on the counter and resting her chin in her hands. At the very end of his pitch, Prennis retracted her head and gave a slow, thoughtful nodded. "Both certainly sound...interesting," she began, carefully musing. "I'm not—I mean, I was a doctor and took most of the basic and some of the advanced classes, but I'm no xenobiologist in the sense that I assume would be the most helpful to your crew." She almost added 'but I could give some recommendations' before realizing that the only names that came to mind she used to work with. The first of which was [member="Zanthier Madine"], though she was mostly an infectious disease expert.

Did...did she survive? How about Kiearen or Dermin?

Prennis managed to simply shake off the thoughts this time without stumbling. "S-sorry, where was I?" she asked, expecting an answer for a quick moment before remembering her train of thought herself and continuing on. "Intelligence?" she echoed. This time, she didn't catch her verbal slip. "But I'm no Luther Ando." Her laugh did stop short though as she realized that that was probably a good thing. Her eyes widened, somewhat horrified. "...or any other operative, I mean. Sorry."

"I would be willing to learn," she began again, awkwardly transitioning. "In the meantime, is there a Silver Jedi hospital I could work at? But, uh, I can't, I'm not Force-sensitive. Will that be alright?" A genuine question. She had no idea how the Jedi ran their metaphoric and literal ships. The only basis she had to try and understand was what little she knew about the Order of Ren, and they outright refused to incorporate non-Sensitives into their ranks to her knowledge.

 

[Cassius Droma]

She seemed to want to talk herself out of it, which Cassius couldn’t exactly blame her for. A lot had happened to her recently – she no doubt bounced around a little before settling on Commenor. Moving yet again could prove stressful. As far as the Pathfinders were concerned, she seemed to think that he needed something of a scientist. “Really, I would want you to help patch up people in case missions go badly,” Cassius said. “You’d be surprised the amount of bumps, bruises, scrapes… and a lot worse that explorers can get.”

The spot of chief medical officer had yet to be filled… but he didn’t want to offer that just yet. Something like that would need to be run by Master Galen, and Cassius would have to be honest about Prennis’s past as a First Order officer. Not that Master Galen would outright deny the woman the position because of that – he was an exemplar of Jedi forgiveness – but it certainly wouldn’t help, either.

Their conversation turned to his pitch about her working intelligence for him. His eyebrow quirked up as she mentioned her old friend from the First Order – Luther Ando. The man who had come to recover her on that moon, and whom they eventually have to escape from. “I probably wouldn’t send you on any clandestine missions, don’t worry,” he smiled, hoping to inject some levity into their conversation, “but I can teach you how to defend yourself, and some basic elements of spycraft. That is, only if you’re up to it.”

Prennis asked about a Silver Jedi hospital she could work at in the meantime, but expressed worry that she wasn’t Force sensitive. Cassius nodded. “Absolutely. Jedi healers are good, but your medical knowledge would be invaluable. Plus, bacta and conventional medicine can be just as good as the Force, sometimes. There’s the main medical complex on Kashyyyk, at the Silver Rest. If you want something a little more low-key, however, I’m sure there’s somewhere I could set you up.”

“Of course, I don’t want you to feel like I’m pushing you into anything. You need to make this decision for yourself. If you want to stay on Commenor, I completely understand. If you want to come with me… you can come whenever you’d like.”

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cassius Droma"] }​

~ † ~​

Yes, and space sickness. She shook off the memory of her father--well, not father, but Taeir--threatening to flood over her as she remembered his ailment. Then she looked back at Cassius from whenever faraway she had been looking, and forced a small smile. Her mouth seemed to move of someone else's accord, though the content of her speech was not against her will. She knew she had to be brave, but by the Balance, she didn't want to be:

She answered, "Actually, I take back what I asked before. The sooner we can leave, the better." So that she wouldn't, couldn't, back out. "If there's room for me, I could start off at the Silver Rest; get my footing. I'll see from there."

With a final, decisive nod, Prennis straightened. She then began to gently worry her bottom lip in between her teeth, trying to settle an internal conflict, and then, after a beat of silence, asked, "What do you suggest I bring?"

She hoped it wasn't obvious that that was not what she had meant to ask.