They Come Out of the Woodwork

[Kay-Larr]

Kay stood in her newly constructed throne room. The doors were open, just as she preferred nowadays, and guards stood at their posts outside of it. During her captivity, a closed door that was opened had brought her nothing but agony. So more often than not, every room that she was in had to have an open door. Confinement brought her plenty of anxiety.

She sipped her tea as she wandered the room, looking to the feshly lain marbled tiles, looking for any imperfection that needed to be corrected. So far she had found none. The carpenters had done their jobs well. That bodes well for them.

Her eyes drifted upwards to the arches. There was always something to be said about archways. Power always resided underneath them, power of various types. And now Kay had more power than she had ever had in her life. Not just an increase strength in the Force, but a power in authority too. Commenor was hers and hers alone. The Elders were dead. A new era had begun for both herself and for those around her. When that era would come to an end was anyone's guess.

[member="The Librarian"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Lady Kay"]

And sitting in her throne was a man with his legs kicked up over one arm of the throne while his body rested against the other, eyes turning on the woman who had entered with a raised brow. "You know, I am quite disappointed in you Kay. After all the time you spent on Kesh and I know you have seen my throne room enough for reference. I expected alot more of a spectacle from you old friend... want some rum with that tea?" He held up a small bottle towards the woman with a smile starting to crawl up his face.

Solan had come out of retirement to talk with the woman who was a former friend of his. He had heard of her taking control of Commenor which sounded odd to him considering her former standing on things like this. What was more obvious to him was the feeling of darkness and dread he got when he had come into the palace without alerting those that guarded it. She was not the same and instead he felt a feeling closer to that of Romeo Sin rather than a good person like he knew this woman. He was only making assumptions, though, unable to be sure what he was feeling was real until he talked with the woman directly and could study her feelings to make a decision.

What would he do if she was who he thought she had become, well nothing. From what he had seen on the planet, she was no tyrant thus far, no danger to her people and she might turn into someone like he had, a person who used the dark to protect their people. But it would be clear on what kind of ruler she planned to be by the end of this conversation of theirs.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay stiffened as soon as she heard his voice. At first, she didn't recognize it, couldn't quite place it. But after a moment, and after she saw him sitting in her throne, did she remember who he was. "Solan.." She let his name hang in the air, almost as though she was testing it to see if she was right. Her eyes then narrowed a little. What was he doing here? The last that she had heard, he had joined the mercs attacking the other planets in her sector. Fortunately Commenor was spared, but that was probably due to the fact that it was in Sith control at the time, unlike the other worlds. But if it wasn't? Then surely it would have been a brutal fight.

"To each their own taste. I didn't have this built with your approval in mind." She sipped her tea, ignoring his offer of rum while she remained in her spot. "So what do you want, Solan? Did you just come here to criticize?"

[member="The Librarian"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Lady Kay"]

"Now now, no need to be so cold Kay. Here I am coming to see an old friend and you are asking me what I want with such lack of heart. Makes an old man's own heart hurt." He was in no way old but he certainly felt like it most days, more than enough of the corruption having done its work on his insides. He wondered how long the rest would take but he shrugged off the thought and refocused on the woman that stood there and looked on at him with her tea. He could really go for some tea but he knew better than to ask in the home of someone else for such.

"If you really must know I was concerned with the events that have been happening here. I must say I had never expected you to be one who would look into ruling over your people and commanding them like a herd, but a shepherd must lead his or her flock ones the old shepherd has died. How did they die again?" He turned his head to her and shrugged, not really caring about the answer and just trying to find something to tip the woman off her balance and get him some information on what has been happening here. Yes, he had fought on the planets in this sector, but it had been against the Sith and for good reasons, but now the Sith were gone and that was not a worry.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow slightly. Old man? Hardly. But it did feel like a lifetime ago when they had first met. Maybe it was. The amount of times that she had died during her capture was beyond count. Both that and time can change a person.

She walked over to one of the columns and leaned against it, crossing an arm across her chest and tucking it underneath her other arm that held her tea. Support. That's what she needed the column for right now. The support of those around her was horribly lacking. So she was on her own. It was probably better that way.

Kay shrugged her shoulders a little when he asked about the Elders. "They died. Old age, more than likely. They made me their successor long ago. After my return, I went to them first and they died during the visit." She sipped her tea. "So there's nothing for you to be concerned about. It's not as though I'm building up an army to attack people. That would be stupid."

[member="The Librarian"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Lady Kay"]


"All at the same time? I must say that is a rather convenient coincidence but who am I to question it." He watched her, seeing a lack of any emotion which was worse than seeing hate or distaste. She shrugged off deaths like they were nothing to her, merely memories that failed to impact her at all. Something struck him about that but it was not his place to pry so the thought died in the back of his mind while he sat there, thinking about this place and about the woman infront of him. His hand reached inside the breast of his coat and removed an emerald gem the size of a baseball, looking at it and thinking to himself.

"Well, then It is good to see that you are stable in your place. A curious thought, building an army to attack and subjugate. Your mind chooses the strangest tangents to go off to my dear Lady Kay. I wonder if all these wars and battles has affected you into thinking that would be the only concern I would have in regards to your new rule. In truth, I was more concerned with how your people were taking the death of their leaders and the rather quick change into your government. How have you liked ruling thus far?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smirked while Solan remarked on the convenience of the start of her new reign. She made no move to give further details. She didn't need to. There was no need for her to explain herself to him. She wasn't on trial, nor did she feel as though she did anything wrong. If it wasn't meant to be, then it wouldn't of been allowed to happen. But there was no resistance.

As he pulled out the gem, she didn't even look at it. She kept her eyes trained on his own. Another smirk was revealed as he commented on how her mind worked. It was certainly different than most, but with all of the conflicts that she's gone through, one can't blame her.

"The Commenori are used to my rule. They chose me when they elected me as their President. It wasn't as though I just appeared out of nowhere. But things had to change. We can't count on anyone's help. So I am merely assuring them that they can help to protect Commenor on their own....We needed to grow up and stop living in a fantasy." Or rather she did. Pacifism was a folly.

[member="The Librarian"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Lady Kay"]

"Oh? What happened to the idealist woman with the dead Jedi Husband. What happened to the woman that thought she could continue one and work towards a better future. It is sad to see someone who worked so hard, stretch her hands out so far and only to have those very hands removed from their place." His eyes moved from the gem to her, closing his hand more tightly around its surface before grinning a bit wider with his body shifting and his feet hitting the ground, though he remained seated.

"Poor man must be rolling over in his grave, seeing his peace-loving wife's ideals tossed aside." Solan laughed as he said the words. He remembered his and Kay's conversation when they had been working on one of his projects on Kesh. This woman's words, that people needed to stop living in their fantasy and that her rule would protect them made him smile a bit wider. "Tell me, what will you do to make them grow up? Curfews? Conscriptions? Perhaps you will strip liberties, build great defenses, acquire a fleet to hold over your people like some great Iron Curtain. The Commenori are not warriors, nor do I hope you would turn them into such. So how will you help them grow up my Lady?" She was entertaining Solan with this change in her thoughts, made him curious in what she would come to say next. He wondered and smiled a bit more. "Come on, tell a dead man something interesting."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay narrowed her eyes as he brought up her late husband. Not to mention the fact that he was berating her for her rightful takeover. Everything was done legally. Her ideals may have changed, but not so much to warrant him belittling her and laughing . "Shaw was a Dark Jedi. And he was a warrior. He probably would have been quite proud, and understanding, and pissed off over what had happened to me. He'd of found me and rescued me. But it was my weakness that killed him." And it was her weakness that killed herself many times over. But there was no way for her to fight back. She held on for as long as she could, but how long that was, she couldn't tell. By the end of it she was nothing but skin and bones. Only now was she getting the weight back on and looking healthy once more.

She finished her tea and then held her cup in her hand as she lowered her arm to cross it over the other one. "We have our own military, we have our own fleet and defences. I will not have the Commenori be as defenceless as I was."

Kay stopped. She didn't want to talk about herself anymore. What Solan had said about him being dead had only now just registered to her. And it was the perfect opportunity for her to change the subject."You're a dead man, are you? What happened?"

[member="The Librarian"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Lady Kay"]

Solan laughed and smiled as she changed the subject, making it clear he was going to get nothing else from her in that regard which made him hold his chest and speak in a voice that was obviously more joking than serious.

"Oh, you would not believe how tragic the story is. There I was, this young king with so much around him, alone in bed with my eyes up at the ceiling when suddenly an unseen assailant gripped at my chest. I struggled but oh, the onset of his malice was too much and thus I died from the fiend's grip. A heart attack they said, all while I was asleep. Such an ending." He kept his grin aimed at her as he finished speaking before sighing and leaning back in the chair.

"In truth I substituted myself with a cloned double, having forced its heart to rupture while a few of my trusted companions were told of such. Which now includes you my dear, though I am sure you could care less about this information just as I am sure it was unneeded. I wanted to enjoy my last few years without the throne and enjoy them before the darkside finishes me off. Corruption can take its number on a body and no one should die to that silent killed." His illusion flickered for a moment, the healthy man replaced with something far more dead, a pale form with dark veins running across its face. Just as quick as it came, it vanished back, the relaxed man returning to her vision.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Such an ending indeed. As comical and theatrical as Solan was being, what he was describing was similar to what she had done to the Elders. Did he know about that? Or was it just a coincidence? Kay wasn't entirely sure.

As he told her more, she wondered if she should have a clone. That could be a good decoy in case of attempts on her own life. Others had already expressed their desire to take her away, probably to lock her up. And now she had a bounty on her head. So the very idea of someone coming after her was not that far fetched.

Then Solan showed her what the Darkness was doing to him. Her free hand was drawn up to her cheek. She caressed it with her thumb to be sure that it still felt smooth and healthy. Before she finally gave in to the Darkness, she was full of scars, bruises and horribly malnourished. Giving in had helped her to regain her subtle beauty and added to it. It also helped her to gain her freedom and increase her strength. She was still stubborn and willful. That hadn't changed.

"Everyone dies in their own time. Some just cheat death better than others. And some are constantly brought back, whether they want it or not..."

[member="The Librarian"]