Private The Adventures of Snotface and Goofball: Commenor Edition

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Caedyn Arenais

Snotface!

Been a while. Thought I'd check in, see how you're doing, if you're married or are a Daddy yet. Ha ha!

Not too much going on with me. I'm still searching for where I fit in, other than on my ship of course. I was given a mechanical bird that was sort of created from the Force. He's really neat in that he seems alive! I'm still not sure if he is though. But he's cute!

I might look into going after some of the people that hurt Mom. Setting traps and the like, stuff that I'm good at. I have a bodyguard, sorta, so he'll probably come with me and I won't be alone, then none of you will have to worry.

I would like to see you one of these days though. I miss ya!

Lori.

The message was sent with a snicker. In truth Lori missed her twin brother very much, as well as her Mom and Dad. But she wasn't quite ready to go to them yet. The Galaxy felt...off kilter still. And she was busy trying to decide just when and where she should poke her nose in. Only her instincts were guiding her and some of the time she couldn't hear what those instincts were saying. It was tough to quiet her mind sometimes.

Maybe Caedyn could help.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Spoiler: Loreena's Message

Snotface!

Been a while. Thought I'd check in, see how you're doing, if you're married or are a Daddy yet. Ha ha!

Not too much going on with me. I'm still searching for where I fit in, other than on my ship of course. I was given a mechanical bird that was sort of created from the Force. He's really neat in that he seems alive! I'm still not sure if he is though. But he's cute!

I might look into going after some of the people that hurt Mom. Setting traps and the like, stuff that I'm good at. I have a bodyguard, sorta, so he'll probably come with me and I won't be alone, then none of you will have to worry.

I would like to see you one of these days though. I miss ya!

Lori

Caedyn Arenais had not long left his Mother Kay-Larr when he received contact from his Sister, Loreena Arenais-Valhoun . Ironically, he had been speaking about Lori, wondering where and what she was up-to nowadays, hoping that she might accompany him on a new adventure, back to their former home-world of Commenor.

She hadn't exactly gone into a lot of detail as to where she was, though that sort of thing was best left to in-person conversations anyway. The nickname however she seemed to remember and despite the fact that he hated it, Loreena took every opportunity she had to call him 'snotface', in her sisterly-sibling/rivalry way.

Rather than sending her a written response however, the time that had passed since they'd last spent any time together warranted a holo-call. With Lexas at the helm of the ship, Caedyn removed himself from the cockpit and instead sought out the holo-communications suite where he could visibly see her, and she him through the holo-emitters, providing she had a holo-device of her own on hand. Otherwise it'd just be a live call, like on the comms.

"Loreena, it's Caedyn. Are you reading me?" he spoke through the mic, using her old Commenor Frequency, hoping she still had that old channel.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori was busy watching a holomovie. Oh how she loved the action adventure ones and this particular tale involved space pirates avoiding authorities while trying to save the Galaxy with ancient artifacts. There were puzzles and bootytraps, both of which she LOVED.

But when Caedyn Arenais 's face suddenly appeared, she spit out her spoda. Bits of it went right through his image and onto her ship's console. Lori even started choking a little. After the brief coughing spell however, she was finally able to compose herself.

Flicking the switch, she connected herself to his transmission. "Snotface! You got my message, right? How the heck are you? Where are you? Can I see you? I'm between jobs at the moment and who else would I think of on my downtime but my FAVOURITE brother?" He was of course her only brother. But who's counting??

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Snotface! You got my message, right? How the heck are you? Where are you? Can I see you?
I'm between jobs at the moment and who else would I think of on my downtime but my FAVOURITE brother?"
​

Now in view of his Sister thanks to the Holo-emitters, Caedyn visibly face-palmed in response to her continued use of that horrible nickname. "You know I hate that name, Loreena..." he used her full first name, not sounding amused though also showing no hint of anger or frustration, just stating the mere fact that it still bothered him some.

None the less, he was still extremely glad to see her again. Even if it was only by way of a Holo-call. "I'm also your only brother...-Unless Mom and Dad have been hiding something from me" he replied with a half smirk in jest of himself and his Sister. Like they could hide a secret that large from Lori and himself.

"Speaking of Mom, I've actually just been to see her recently and I've got an errand to run to Commenor. I was going to get in touch and see if you wanted to come along...-Like old times, you know? You can fly us there if you like" he added. Caedyn didn't know whether or not Lori was aware of their Mom's location, or what their father had been doing for that matter, but they had all the time in the Galaxy to catch up if she only chose to tag along with him on this little adventure in the making.

Commenor was their shared home-world after-all, and Caedyn and Lori had no reason to fear a return trip alike their parents seemed to frown upon.

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun​

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Caedyn Arenais

Uh oh. He used her full name instead of calling her Lori. She slid down a little in her seat, much like she used to whenever she got into trouble. Whereas Caedyn had plenty of experiences that caused him to grow up, Lori still had some of her childlike demeanor left. She was hardly ever in danger, more often than not just coasting through the stars. "Sorry..."

She snorted as he mentioned their parents hiding some lovechild that they never knew about. "I don't think that they're THAT good at lying to us." Parents always lied to their children, but usually it wasn't anything harmful. And surely a secret sibling would be too huge of a thing to keep hidden for long. But the two weren't together anymore and hadn't been for some time. There were times when that made her sad, but she hid it as well as she could.

"Is Mom okay? I haven't seen her since Zakuul. I've just been doing what Dad told us to do and stay away from it all. I don't think that I could've done any good anyways if I didn't. It's just...a messy situation. But I hear it's calmed down now. So that's good, right?" Lori perked up at the thought of running an errand with her brother. More than likely there was more to it than that. Why else would he ask her to come along?

At the thought of suggesting that she fly them down, Lori gave a mischievous grin. "You're really going to let me fly? Sure you won't get scared like the last time?" She did her Dead-Drop maneuver which made Caedyn's face pale to such a degree that she thought he'd black out! It was hilarious to her.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"You're never going to let me live that down are you" Caedyn chuckled quietly under his breath, shaking his head in a sense of bemused resignation. His Sister did of course love to tease him, and often times it used to be very much a back and forth game that they played. It really had been a while. "You know that was years ago now, right?" he reminded her with a half smirk. In fact, it was as far back as his early days in the Je'daii Order...-Much like their mother, Loreena didn't really keep up with such things though. She knew a little of the Force thanks to their father, though she seemed to have chosen a different life for herself. Caedyn on the other hand, while trying to steer clear of the same path their Father walked, had indeed joined the Jedi of the Galaxy and sought to create a name and destiny of his own right as opposed to forever living under Veiere's shadow.

"It's probably easier if we talk about Mom in person...-This is an old frequency, you know?" He continued, not exactly trusting the old Commenori channels that could have since been tapped into for all they knew about. Their Mom had wanted to keep a low profile and wished that no one know of her whereabouts. Of course, Lori wasn't 'no one' and Caedyn would fill her in on the details but not in an environment where their conversation could potentially be heard by others.

"Where are you holed up at the moment? I'm on the Repertoire, but I could meet you somewhere if you'd rather take your ship to Commenor?".

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun​

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Caedyn Arenais

Lori smirked. No, she'd never let Caedyn live that down. And of course he tried to make it sound like it was forever ago. But they weren't that old. Surely not the age of their parents anyways. "You never know....you could get horrible flashbacks!" She snickered to herself.

At the mention of being wary of the channel they were speaking on, Lori snorted. "Oh come on, like anyone would care. I've got no one tailing after me any. I've kept my nose clean. Out of all of our family, who'd of thought that I'd be the one staying out of trouble?" She surely didn't. Growing up she was always the one setting up pranks against others. She even continued that when she was training with the Mandalorians. But now she was on her own.

To his question of where she was holed up, Lori shrugged her shoulders. "I live in my ship. I don't stay anywhere else. I can get to Commenor. It'll just take me a few days to get there. Where did you want to meet? At the Estate? Is it still even there?" Lori hadn't been to Commenor since after the Occupation. That was when she left to train with her Dad, as short-lived as that was.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"You never know, Lori" Caedyn replied skeptically, "Mom and Dad made a lot of enemies over the years. It would make sense to try and get to them through us" he thought aloud. As for whether or not the Estate was still there, Caedyn wasn't entirely sure. When the Sith invaded, their Dad had barely escaped execution by way of the Darth Carnifex . He had returned to the Estate in order to gather his equipment, but had been followed by Koda Fett . The two had fought there and a lot of damage had been done to the place, yet neither of the children were present to bare witness to it all.

Caedyn had recently been gaining a lot of attention from outside parties. An Agent of the First Order had tried to assassinate him on Faldos not some time ago, and there were a number of jobs he'd taken on behalf of the Outer Planets Alliance. Loreena Arenais-Valhoun had been away, and they'd not been in contact for a very long time now so it was only natural for her to not be sensitive to the possibility of others looking to gain one over House Arenais, but it was better to be cautious than it was to be stupid, he figured.

"I'll meet you there in a couple days then" He confirmed, glancing to his right and loving over the navigational chart displayed across the holo-bench. "We can take the bikes out for a run while we're at it", the twins had been gifted the speeder bikes long ago, though Caedyn couldn't actually recall the last time they had taken them out for a good run.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Caedyn Arenais

Lori wasn't so sure that it was true anymore about their parents having enemies that would think of going after herself or her brother. How would they even be found? Or recognized? They weren't exactly in the public spotlight while in their youth, and neither of them were now. Especially Lori.

But Caedyn was always the more cautious of the two.

She brightened up as he mentioned the bikes. Oh it felt like FOREVER since they had ridden them. In fact their lives on Commenor felt like a different lifetime altogether. Everything was different now.

"That'll be fun. I'll see you then!" Lori ended the transmission, wondering just what kind of errand Caedyn had. Something to do with their Mom anyways. She hazarded a guess that it had something to do with tea.

A few days later Lori had Arla land the Jaster's Sparrow on the landing pad near the Estate. Of course she had arrived first! Once her ship was powered down, she nearly skipped down the cargoramp, her eyes scanning the skies for a sign of her brother. "Oh Snotfaaaaace....Where aaaaaare youuuuuu?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

The Repertoire broke orbit, descending down into the aptmosphere of Commenor some time after the arrival of Loreena Arenais-Valhoun and her Jaster's Sparrow. It had been a good number of years since Caedyn had last visited their place of upbringing, but the visuals brought back memories as though nothing had changed in the months since their forced distance from life there on the green world.

"I wonder if Darlyn Excron is still in charge around here..." Caedyn spoke aloud to himself, open thought causing his droid co-pilot to turn and gaze at him blankly as all droids were. Lexus didn't comment however, the droid had come to learn of Caedyn's habit of speaking his mind in such a rhetorical fashion after numerous and unnecessary disagreements over the subject.

With the remains of the family estate coming into view, so too did Caedyn notice that his Sister had arrived before they had. Between the two sights, it was difficult to know what to focus on, seeing Loreena again or the half burned, demolished manor that they once called home. It hadn't been maintained, nor repaired since whatever had broke or burned it down in the first place. A derelict estate, as absent as the family whom it once served to house. "Well that's depressing..." he muttered under his breath before moving to step away from the cockpit, Lexus finishing up the final landing sequence and setting the Repertoire down beside the Jaster's Sparrow a safe distance.

Walking down the landing ramp, Caedyn stepped out into the open view of his Sister and flashed her a broad grin; "I should've known you'd beat me here" he remarked, knowing that if he didn't say it first, she would. Caedyn stood adorned in his Tunic and Robes, the attire expected of someone in his position these days. His Lightsaber swung loosely from his belt as he moved to approach Lori further, opening his arms in offer of a long overdue hug between the siblings.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Caedyn Arenais

Lori grinned as she watched his ship come into view. She waited in eager anticipation as the ramp was lowered. But being unable to contain herself for much longer, she hurried towards him and nearly lept into his arms. She held onto him tightly, glad that the day was in much better contrast to when they last saw eachother in person. "Of course I beat you! We all know that I'm a better pilot."

Snickering she let him go and then began pacing around him, whistling. "Aren't you a sight! Taller, tunic and lightsaber. Why if that doesn't scream Jedi, nothing will." Lori's own attire was the same as always; coat, shirt and slacks. She looked the part of a spacer through and through, which was exactly what she was.

"So what's this errand? Looking for an old toy in your bedroom? There's bound to be some of our old stuff in there." Or maybe he wanted to fix the old Estate up. She wasn't certain.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"So what's this errand? Looking for an old toy in your bedroom?
There's bound to be some of our old stuff in there".
​

Ignoring the remark about Lori being the better pilot, Caedyn simply shook his head with a broad grin and waved her off as she stepped away, and they both turned toward the Estate. "Looks like there's been a bit of damage done to the place huh" he commented, for the time being not answering her question but rather looking over the side of the manor that had collapsed in on the supports from whatever last fight had taken place there. "I guess Mom and Dad never came back...-This place could really use some work".

"Mom's been hiding out on Altiria, some weird world I'd never heard of before going there to see her" Caedyn explained as he began to walk alongside his sister from the landing zone towards the estate; "The Eternal Empire really messed with her head. She thought we'd all been killed or something, and she's not like she used to be. She seems depressed and lost. I wanted to see her before I returned home to Svivren. That's where I'm training other Jedi...".

"Anyway...-She got herself into some trouble with politics on Altiria and while I was there, I was able to get her out of a bind" he continued, not going into the details surrounding the herbal epidemic that almost cost a society their lives. "She told me that there are some things of Dad's here on Commenor that I should take care of. She didn't say what, but apparently it's in some caves or something. A hidden underground sanctuary that the Elders used to retreat to".

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun​

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Caedyn Arenais

The Estate was a mess. But it wasn't as though she was going to clean it up. Lori had no reason to, really. Her home was Jaster's Sparrow and that was probably how it would be for a long time to come. Or so that was what she figured, anyways.

Lori listened to Caedyn as he explained the purpose for this visit. And about their Mom. It didn't really surprise her to hear the things that she did. "Mom's...really made a lot of enemies. Even remnants of the First Order wanted her out of Zakuul. I know because a group of them captured me. A girl named Samke said she was a friend of Mom and Dad's and she convinced me to try to get Mom to step down from Zakuul. I just didn't get the chance to do so. Mom had disappeared by then." Caedyn was filling in the gaps. Perhaps she'd go to Altiria herself some time and visit her too.

"You mean the Elder's Sanctuary? Mom used to talk about that. But it's location was a secret...Did she tell you where it is?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Apparently it's supposed to be somewhere east of the old military base, in the Eldritch Mountains..." Caedyn replied, pulling his datapad from his belt and activating the device. It was one of the reasons why their old home was the perfect meeting place for the two of them, already situated high up on the mountain range itself and overlooking Chasin City from where they stood. It made for a quicker trek, as opposed to having to start from the Spaceport in the Capital. This also kept their presence there quiet until after the necessary covert trip was done and out of the way.

"Thankfully, Mom's given me the co-ordinates, but she also asked me to be careful and to travel with a cloak if possible. She really didn't want this place to be discovered by anyone else" he continued, tapping the datapad screen and bringing up a map of the area before inputting the given coordinates and passing it over to his Sister so she could see their objective location.

"We can take the bikes out afterward; This is supposed to be easier done on foot and Mom mentioned a large bolder pressed against the rockface, some sort of underground entrance that a bike won't do us any favors. Just like old times, right?" he finished with a chuckle, glancing back to Loreena Arenais-Valhoun and recalling one of their first little adventures where she'd shown him her projection of Force Light. A fond memory of her with a bright glowing orb illuminating their surrounding area and a look of pride that had stuck with him all these years since.

"Mom and Dad were always good at making enemies, yeah" he responded on the subject of Lori's earlier remark; "Seems to come with the territory of living a life trying to fight for what's right" he added, realizing that he was finding the same trait to be a passive perk of his own lately. Given the Enclave had suffered from a recent attack by Imperial Agents, and he'd fared no better on Faldos working for the Outer Planets Alliance.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Caedyn Arenais

Lori took the datapad in hand, furrowing her brows as she both studied it and listened to her brother. "A cloak? I don't have anything fancy like that. Just spacer putfits. I guess we'll have to use the trees instead." Or wait till the dark of night. That was an option too.

She grinned as he mentioned an entrance blocked by a boulder. A cave? Yes!! The look on Caedyn's face suggested that he knew what she was thinking. "Just like old times. And never to worry, I'll light the way."

Lori handed back the datapad, not quite sure if Caedyn was taking a stab at her with his last comments. For among their family, she was the only one that didn't strike out to do anything special. Yes she fought in a few fleet battles, but only once outside of Commenor. Being told to stay out of things, she did. Only she made a habit of it.

"I've got no enemies yet. I've only had one debt and I paid him back on time and with interest, even though he didn't as for it." K Kaine Australis was the one to get her Jaster's Soarrow, afterall. And he funded a crew and repairs for an entire year.

"So when do we leave? Now?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Oh no, I wasn't talking about you. I've had my own problems with Imperials lately..." Caedyn shook his head, waving a hand at his Sister dismissively as if to say don't worry about it. "I was thinking I seem to have picked up their habit of attracting attention these days" he elaborated.

"There's remnants of the First Order still making trouble for the Outer Planets Alliance with the help of the Sith Empire and they attacked the Enclave on Svivren, as well as sent an Assassin after me on Faldos before that" he glanced back to Loreena Arenais-Valhoun with a look of dismay; "And I've done nothing to 'em to justify it but I guess they see too much of Mom and Dad in me" he didn't know why else the Imperials would be hunting him beyond the fear of Caedyn becoming a significant Jedi power in the Galaxy as their Father was.

"I covered my tracks coming here though, I had to so Mom's location wouldn't be discovered" he said out of want to reassure her as the pair of them walked across the grounds of their former home. Turning his attention back upon the half ruined estate, Caedyn frowned a little. So much had changed over the years for their family and while they were growing up, growing stronger and more independent, it was still unsettling just how different things had become and how distanced they all were from the close-knit family that they used to be.

"Is there anything you want to grab before we set off?" he asked, tagging the backpack a little tighter over his left shoulder while eyeing the decrepit House Arenais Estate. "I've got all I need" he added, glancing back to his Sister.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Caedyn Arenais

"Well I haven't picked up on their habit. I don't do anything to warrant it. I'm just goofball Lori..." Would she ever amount to anything? Maybe not. Or perhaps by the time that she did, it'd be too late and her family would all be dead. So none would be proud of her.

He covered his tracks. That was good. However if he had a tracker placed on him or his ship, it wouldn't be so good. Simply covering his tracks wouldn't be enough.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when he questioned her on supplies. "No I'm good. I've got my blaster and my light ball. Should be good enough." As far as Lori remembered, their Mom didn't take supplies with her whenever she went out to visit the Elder Sanctuary. So more than likely it was pretty safe for them to not have to either.

"After you." Lori gestured for him to lead. This was his mission. She was just the tag-a-long kid sister. She grinned a little to herself, wondering what sort of tricks she could pull on him this time....

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn nodded in response and the pair of them soon set off on track for the coordinates that their Mother had put into his Datapad. This Sanctuary of the Elders had certainly piqued his interest, and unlike his sister, he hadn't heard anything about the place until most recently on Altiria. From the description that his Mom had given him, it sounded like there were a number of secrets hidden in the place, isolated and away from the prying eyes and hands of others.

"So...Uncle Dar' probably knows about this place too, right?" He asked Loreena Arenais-Valhoun , speaking his thoughts aloud. Darlyn Excron was the figurehead of Commenor since the House Arenais had been forced to step away from the monarchy, although Caedyn hadn't been following on the latest politics of their home-world since...Well, since he was last living there. Would their Mom have told him? Something to keep in mind in case they did run into someone else along the trail.

On the subject of Lori's life choices however, Caedyn soon thought of the Outer Rim and how well life out there probably suited her. "You know, I'm spending most of my time working in the Outer Rim these days. It's more wide open space than it is in the core-worlds, or the Mid-rim. Given your career these days as a 'privateer', I reckon you could make a good number of jobs out there. Not to mention be closer to Svivren and pay me a visit from time to time" he suggested, more emphasizing the latter than anything. He really had missed his Sister after all this time they had been apart.

The trek down the mountainside was a peaceful one for the pair of them; taking to the path on foot, all they had to worry about was the sounds of nature and animal life echoing around them. It was a beautiful and serene environment, lush with green life and nothing trying to attack them or ruin the day. It was in these times where Caedyn felt most relaxed, comfortable to simply enjoy life and see it for what it was at it's purest form.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure who Mom told or didn't. But there has to be some reason that it's all kept secret. There could be treasure in there..." Or some old artifacts that she could maybe get her mitts on and....

No. Lori couldn't do that on Commenor.

She smirked as Caedyn Arenais suggested that she spend more time in the Outer Rim. Lori found herself nudging him with her shoulder while they walked. "You miss me that much, do ya? Can't bear to spend time away from your better half?"" She snickered. The term 'better half' was usually meant for married couples. But they were twins, so it worked for them too.

"Actually I had worked out in the Outer Rim before. And there was an invasion by the Sith Empire. I barely made it through their blockade...." But how many times would the Sith Empire go to the western side of the Galaxy? Not much. And given it's distance from the parts of the Galaxy that caused such trouble for their family, well it was easy to see the appeal that it had for Caedyn.

"Maybe I will check it out. It' been a long time since we've fought alongside eachother. We were a good team growing up. Inseperable..." Those days were long gone now however.

"So what's Svivren like?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Would it be that hard to believe, that I might miss seeing my brat sister around from time to time?" Caedyn replied, rolling his eyes and throwing Loreena a playful glare. Yes she could be a pain in the butt at times but only ever in jest and the two of them never got so competitive that they lost sight of their compassion and tolerance for one another. Life without his Twin Sister just wouldn't be the same, and although it had been a long time, he'd always known she were out there somewhere getting up to some sort of trouble. He had to believe that the Force would call to him should anything happen to her.

"Svivren's nothing like what you saw on Kashyyyk with the Silver Jedi" Caedyn was quick to admit, "We're much smaller in numbers and general size, only having the one Enclave and even then it's more or less a skeleton crew where staff is concerned" he used the ship term to describe the lack of personnel they had. "...But Svivren's a peaceful world run by the Svivreni Trade Alliance. The Capital City Wrils recently had their annual festival of great trade, and my people helped to provide security there during the event which was sort of our first real gig" He grinned faintly at the fact, rather proud given it had been a flawless run for their first real assignment. It wasn't much but it was the first official job and set them off to a good pace. "The Enclave's further out in the wilderness and is surrounded by Greenland. There's also a strong nexus that resides over the grounds which helps us to practice and center ourselves in the Force".

"I have to admit though, it's really difficult filling the position I'm in. Back with the Je'daii, the idea of being a Steward didn't seem so bad because there were numerous stewards that would each take care of a Je'daii location...-But with the Je'daii gone and the Enclave being one of the few Jedi locations in the Outer Rim that's not entirely focused on the mid, or core worlds...-It's a really big job for someone my age and I think people second guess me for being so young" a Jedi Knight meeting his mid-twenties, watching over others whom were much older than he was, it wasn't difficult to imagine that there'd be some concerns from those that might consider him to be unprepared for the momentous undertaking.

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun