This is What it Sounds Like When Doves Cry

[Caulder Dune]

CORUSCANT
IMPERIAL PALACE, LOWER DUNGEONS

@[member='Avalore Eden']

Crying.

A Sith Lord had visited this prisoner and left the building in tears.

How utterly pathetic.

It was news like this that made Darth Janus question his identity as a Sith, truly.

Three other Sith, one a Lord and two of lesser note, had also visited this prisoner. The Lord and one of the lessers had been here at length, but the other lesser hadn't stuck around for as long. None of them made a large fuss when they exited, additionally. What was going on with this prisoner that two Lords and another two Sithlings had deigned her important enough to speak with- one of them being so emotionally distraught by the end of it that she was reduced to a blubbering wreck?

Janus had learned of this event when he interrupted a pair of guards on their break, relentless mocking the Sith, a Darth Banshee, and making sexist remarks pertaining to the frailty of women. Typical guard stuff, really. They had seemed awful sorry when Janus found them there, then relieved when he only asked for more information. Once he was done, he kindly reminded them that not all Sith were as forgiving about this kind of insubordination as he was, and they would do well to voice their opinions more cautiously.

Once he sent them on their way, he made his way down to the dungeons. Frankly, Janus disproved of dungeons. They did more to rally the populace against governments than keep them in line. Prisoners ought to be rehabilitated, ransomed, released, or put to work. Not left to rot underground, taking up space. He supposed they could also be killed, but that tended to upset a lot of people and made enemy soldiers less likely to surrender.

The warden brought him to the cell of the prisoner in question, an Avalore Eden. He had taken the time to peruse some of her file before being brought here. There was nothing in it that indicated she had such command of the Force that she could reduce a Sith to tears at will, or was particularly interesting enough to warrant visitation. What was the deal here?

Janus gave a curt nod to the Warden, who promptly deactivated the energy beams that reinforced the solid door leading to her cell. With those out of the way, the Umbaran gently knocked on the cell door. The sound echoed down the lifeless, ill-maintained corridor.

The warden tugged at his collar uncomfortably, then clearing his throat. "You could, uh, just go in if you'd like, sir."
"I'd prefer to be polite, thank you."

Anyone this important deserved a courtesy knock, at least.

 

[Avalore Eden]

Puff.

Puff.

Pfffffff.

This was what Avalore imagined day 23 felt like.

Huff.

Fuff.

Ffff.

She didn't know that it was day 23. Really, she had no idea what day it was at all. The dungeons beneath the Imperial Palace on Sith-occupied Coruscant didn't afford her the liberty of sunlight. The natural instinctive process of ...what was it called? That rhythm, that little tune your body knows based on the hours of the day occupied by light. It controlled the blooming process of flowers and the seasonal shedding of animals.

Huff.

Puff.

Fffffff.

Circadian rhythm. Force, your brain hasn't rotted yet Avalore. You might be getting disgustingly skinny, your hair is a flock of seagulls and you likely smell like a hobo because you haven't showered since last week, but you still got your smarts girl. Oh frell...lost count.

Oh yeah, 48.

Deep breath. Go.

So, circadian rhythm gone. At that point in time, when this sort of thing happens, it's impossible to tell whether one is tired or not. Time holds no significance except when waiting for that next meal. It becomes hard to sleep, and after a while trying to stifle the crying is a painful feat. Restless, sore, aching and mentally strung out there was just one thing left to do.

Puff.

Huff.

Huuuuuu.

Sit ups.

Excercise was the only thing that seemed to help. Tiring herself out physically, purposefully, allowed the Jedi a chance to sleep. Soundly too. Deeply enough to drown out the sounds of her cell mates and the pain in her sides from the hardness of the metal bench that had served as her bed for the last four weeks.

51.

Arms crossed, booted feet planted at the base of the bench, outer robe rolled beneath the small of her back to help subdue the pain of the bedsores and to maintain posture, Avalore Eden puffed away. Smirk all you want, but muscle wastage was no laughing matter. Sit-ups were hard when your abdomen consisted of noodles.

Footsteps.

Fffff.

Ffffuuuuuu.

Nnf.

54.

Voices.

Ffuh.

Pfff.

Fffffffffffffifty-seven.

Knocking.

Avalore blinked, pausing on the back-draw of her sit ups and craned her head to look back at the doorway behind her.

Feet.

"Oh..." well this was awkward. Brown eyes traveled up the length of draped black robes to the sour-faced man and his long blond hair. She stared for a moment, considering her next move.

"Hi."

Wow, I take it back Avalore. Brains are gone, too.

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

@[member='Avalore Eden']

When there was no immediate response, Janus gestured and had the warden open the door anyway. As it turned out, the worst had not happened. She had not, in fact, starved to death in the time between Sith visits. Instead she had just been in the middle of a particularly vicious set of sit-ups. Beyond her disheveled state, Janus immediately noted how abysmal this holding cell was. It was all very Spartan. Small and featureless, save for a metal bench that made Janus' back ache just looking at it.

Someone was going to get a strongly worded letter concerning proper treatment of prisoners. Jedi, Republic, Mandalorian, or not. Didn't anyone realize these kinds of conditions only made break-ins more dramatic and more likely? It was almost as if they were asking for trouble. The woman, Avalore, stared blankly at him for a good few moments. However long she had been in here had clearly done a number on her socialization skills.

Janus turned to the warden. "Go get me a chair, please."

Wise man that he was, the warden did not question this and trundled off to go secure the Sith a piece of furniture. With that settled, Janus looked back to Avalore. He made no move to enter the cell.

"I've heard a great many Sith have been coming to see you. Moreso than other prisoners, strangely enough. I also heard you sent one of them away crying. May I come in?"

That last question was little more than a courtesy that was ridiculously out of place in the current setting. Janus would, without a doubt, enter regardless of what she said. A polite Sithling was, at the end of the day, still a Sithling.

 

[Avalore Eden]

Janus is well-read in the ways of Avalore Eden, blank stares and all. But really, what was one to say? Or do, even in her situation? Maybe leaping to one's feet and scurrying to a back corner was a smart option, but thus far she'd been given no reason to do anything of the sort. Strange, really, but she wasn't going to question it.

Straining as she held herself hovering inches off the ground, the Jedi Healer listened to her new visitor, eyes glancing around as he spoke, before finally giving up the gun and dropping her back to the ground with a grunt.

"Uh...yeah," welcome to my humble abode complete with metal bench bed and zero-privacy toiletries. She didn't get up, though that was likely the polite thing to do, it was also a very painful thing to do now that she was on the floor. Momentum lost, Avalore heaved a sigh.

"Yeah. Real pleasant exchange - that last one," the girl snorted softly, muttering something about 'weird people.'

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

@[member='Avalore Eden']

"Thank you."

Janus entered the cell, the door sliding shut behind him. He did not get very far, seeing that Avalore was laying across the floor like she was. Not wanting to step over her, this forced Janus to sort of linger in front of the door and crane his neck downward to look at her when he spoke. This was no way to have a conversation, especially with a prisoner of such (presumably) illustrious repute.

It would be a while before the warden returned with the chair he requested. Janus would stand for the meantime, and then see about it that Avalore got off the disgusting prison floor.

"I'm curious as to the purpose of that visit, moreso what you said to get that kind of response from a Sith Lord." Janus gestured to the metal bench. "Please, take a seat."

 

[Avalore Eden]

Force, she was afraid of this.

There was a split second of time that Avalore almost would have preferred a mean Sith who just ... picked her off the floor and tossed her to the bed. She wagered it would hurt just about as much as actually getting there on her own accord ...maybe just a little more. Another sigh as she readied her body for this arduous task, scowling slightly at her ineptitude as a Healer, being incapable of performing such powers on herself. Course, she didn't know any other Healers that could do it either, Master or otherwise, but this was beside the point.

What's in a name aside from the letters?

Grunting, the Jedi slowly and stiffly picked herself up off the floor and settled on the bench.

I think the floor was softer.

Steady breath, Avalore tugged at the hem of her robes and smoothed her hair from her face, thinking of how very much she must resemble a street urchin right now. But don't you look dapper? she thought, eyes falling on the man in question with his well-tailored ensemble, pin-straight platinum locks and fancy cane. Her gaze didn't linger long, because staring was just as rude as laying on the floor in the presence of company.

"I didn't say anything. Well," a curved brow batted upwards, "I said things, but nothing that should have elicited such a dramatic response. She brought me a comm, asked about my baby because she'd been present on Coruscant during the invasion when I was giving birth in the temple, you know, during it's collapse. Guess she was just curious to the outcome. Wanted to give me the chance to see it cause 'It isn't her fault her mum decided to play at war'..." the mocking, airy, high-pitched tone likely wasn't needed but Avalore was still a bit miffed about that particular statement, "then I told her that I couldn't, since I adopted the baby out. She took the news very hard."

Avalore cleared her throat, folded her hands in her lap, and looked back up at the man, "You're an odd lot, if you don't mind my saying so."

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

@[member='Avalore Eden']

Really? A Sith Lord had cried over a baby that wasn't even their own? Because a Jedi put their kid up for adoption? How completely ludicrous. Although, that was interesting fact. Janus had no idea that Jedi apparently had the time to squat and pop out a child in the middle of the climatic siege of Coruscant. Perhaps that was why they lost. Janus smirked when she mocked the weeping Sith, because humor transcended all sides of the Force. Well, depending on who you were speaking to. Darth Vornskr probably would have ripped out her spine and then strangled everyone who ever knew her to death with it.

And then, like, punch a kitten or something.

She was right to have given up the baby, in any event. Youngsters of her age had little business rearing children. A kid raising a kid was only going to end poorly, as far as he was concerned. How could someone be expected to raise a child if they were still learning themselves? Preposterous. She had a galaxy to go out there and explore; it would be a sin to forfeit her youth to raise an ankle-biter.

Janus voiced none of this, of course. Too much praise would spoil the conversation. He did nod sympathetically, or at least he appeared sympathetic. It was always wise to doubt the sincerity of a Sith.

"Most lots draw their share of fools. The Sith no less than any other cult." He conceded that much. "Tell me, how many others have seen fit to visit you?"

 

[Avalore Eden]

Preachin' to the choir, blondie.

Avalore refrained from rolling her eyes. Not at the man, mind you, but at the notion of fools. The woman's lips drew thin as she forced her comments to remain unspoken, but certainly she had met plenty of questionable people in her time spent amongst the Jedi.

Highly suspect.

Quiet, sober, Avalore's eyes remained on her hands now as the man fell into round one of questions. They'd all come to talk, to ask questions. What they had hoped to learn from her she couldn't say. What they had learned from her... well...

"The first one, I don't remember her name, but she spoke to my mind because I couldn't hear. Ear drums were busted on Empress Teta..." she rubbed at her nose, "Hal showed up for a bit. Then...after was Cal, er- Nexus is what he called himself. Then Sister Sobby, never got her name or if I did, I don't remember it. Now," she sighed and looked back to [member="Darth Janus"], "there's you."

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

"Well, I won't be making any inquiries about my visit, but thank you for mentioning it."

He folded his arms, studying the Jedi for any hints of deception. There was none, and he could safely attest to that given his perceptive abilities as an Umbaran. That, and he had already read the visitors logs. He hadn't suspected this one would care enough to lie. He imagined a smart Jedi would happily dispense dirt on Sith to another Sith, especially if they were convinced it would ultimately cause disunity among them. It wouldn't, of course, because Janus was a team player and uninterested in causing trouble for his colleagues.

This Umbaran was simply a curious sort.

Janus was disinterested in 'Sister Sobby,' as it seemed her visit had been brief. Instead he would start with the first one. "Tell me about the first visitor. The woman. What did you discuss?"

 

[Avalore Eden]

Brows lofting over a faint lightening of her expression, the Jedi offered a meek smile to the man's first comment. No, of course he wouldn't, though it did raise her own curiosity as to why she had received so many visitors. Mierin had only come because she'd asked to speak to someone with no reason to believe anyone would actually come.

Turns out, Sith were pretty accommodating to small requests.

"The usual, I guess," smile fading, Avalore looked back to her hands in her lap, snorting at the fact that she was speaking about these things like it happened to her all the time.

Oh, just the usual, please. Medium coffee, cream - no sugar, and a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles.

"She asked why I hadn't resisted when we were captured on Empress Teta. We talked a bit about fear and loneliness. About the Sith. About my baby," blinking, she looked up to stare at the bars that stood as the fore-wall of her cell, "she was also very interested in the fact that I gave it up. She asked about its father - he's dead - and then about how the Jedi took my pregnancy."

If she didn't know any better, looking back on the conversation Avalore would say Mierin had tried to rile her up. It hadn't worked, at least not in the way she probably aimed for.

"I got sick, Hal showed up. I got really sick... The rest is kind of innocuous."

She sniffed and rubbed at her nose again. Cold. God what she would do for a box of tissues.

"Who are you?" brown eyes looked at him again, half admiring his suit and half nostalgic for the past it reminded her of. Her father had worn suits like that.

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

Janus listened closely as she recounted the visit. Apparently the one Lesser Sith's visit had coincided with that of Mierin. If he was understanding this correctly, she held absolutely no information of any note. Mierin had simply come to... Talk about trivialities? It sounded a lot like an attempted conversion, but clearly nothing significant had come of it. Either he was missing something here, or she really just was your average Jedi.

Lex parsimoniae made it abundantly clear which of those scenarios were the truth.

What in the blazes was with all the visitors, then? Suddenly Janus could see he was probably contributing to the cycle. Someone else would probably visit after he was done here, having heard that three Sith Lords had visited the Jedi, and one of them left crying. Or maybe it would be two. There was still plenty of time left in the day. Before he could think of something else to ask, she asked him a question instead.

He answered reflexively. "I've had a few names. None of them interesting. Now it's Darth Janus, but that's liable to change if things here go belly-up."

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore blinked.

"...do things tend to go belly-up often around you?"

Cause, you know, if you've already had lots of names and the one you use now is only a temporary parking pass, it lead one to believe someone was shaking the goldfish in the bag every time they won one.

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

His eye twitched, ever so slightly. Touchy subject.

"No." Janus eventually answered. "Just once, but it was enough of an event that I felt inclined to change my modus operandi."

Janus was alluding to the coup that deposed him from the original Empire. Going around flaunting his old name would have just made him a target. After that, it had been Gerion Ardik. He still used Gerion Ardik, as that name did not have Sith tacked on to it in association. But as far as the One Sith were concerned, he was Darth Janus, one of many. He could hardly join up with them without a proper Darth name. It just didn't feel right.

He quickly decided to put this back on course before it went any further in that direction. "But let's not get sidetracked."

"Did you know any of your visitors prior to your incarceration?"

 

[Avalore Eden]

Modus operandi...

Ooo, she'd landed herself a foreigner. How exotic.

Brows batted up, Avalore scrunched her nose in thought of how to proceed with her response. Her initial reaction, as it often was to most everything, was fully disclosed honesty. Honesty was her weapon, it was her armor, it was something she had that few others could contest against. It was her one true quality she was really proud of. But, as Diana had told her six months into her pregnancy while picking up dinner late one night -

Everything in moderation, Preggo.

Too bad pregnancy couldn't come in moderation.

I'd only like to gain a pound, please.

I'd only like to throw up once a week please.

Yeah, right.

"I met Hal once before. He was a Jedi in the Order and we'd been stationed together on a short mission several months ago. Never saw him again after that. Nexus was a Jedi Knight I healed after Ossus. I was only assigned to him for one session because...well, he ran out on the Jedi. Suzie Sniffles assisted me on Coruscant while I gave birth, though I did not actually meet or speak to her. She recognized me first."

The girl's eyes grew tight, shrink-wrapped in thought, "It's odd, isn't it? That they all ended up here."

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

"Two defectors? How charming." Janus usually welcomed Jedi converts, but given the desperate situation of the Jedi and their handlers, he found himself often questioning their sincerity. It was evident in his tone he held some reservations towards them.

Many of them were also of questionable intellect. Forsaking institutions so that one may destroy it violently simply because they lost faith in it was no way to go through life. If that was really their beef, they should have focused themselves on moving up through the ranks and implementing the change they desired through slow and steady means. But that was the thing with Jedi: they lacked vision. At least this one had enough pride to stick with her guns. Even if her guns were lame and woefully under-powered.

Janus found the volume of Jedi defectors visiting captive Jedi highly suspicious. Either they had attempted to convert her themselves, or they were getting nostalgic. That would explain this visits far better than her being anything special. He continued on in his questioning. "I take it the two of them were expressing doubts on their life choices?"

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Doubts? Hardly," Avalore sighed, "Nexus attempted to be charming and disparate, but he's all vowels and no clincher." Bull in a China cabinet, that one. It was likely better that he ended up with the Sith, because the Jedi could only handle so much more collateral damage and friendly fire.

"Hal...just seemed lost. Like he found his shoes but couldn't figure out where he left his own feet."

A frown surfaced.

You left them with the Jedi, Hal.

"Your chair, Sir," a Guard had returned finally with a chair for [member="Darth Janus"]. One of those metal folding chairs that nobody could ever get open, and least of all liked to sit on. Avalore blinked at this and watched his reaction with a bated silence.

"Why did you join them?" she asked once things were settled.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

Janus made a mental note to have a conversation with this Hal individual at a later date. Weak links in the chain ought to be scrutinized and fixed before they broke. Nexus, on the other hand, was nothing special. A sincere but un-charismatic Sith. They practically grew on trees.

Although the metal folding chair presented to him was roughly as difficult to open as a Holocron that scorned the One Sith, Janus managed to surmount it regardless. He accepted the chair with little incident, thanking the guard and dismissing him to be sent on his way. The Umbaran then opened the chair, seating himself into the chair. Not the most comfortable seat he had ever been in, but probably a league or two above that bench.

Just as he had gotten comfortable, she was asking questions again. "I was trained since a young age at the Umbaran Shadow Academy. I had little choice in the matter. Why?"

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Then," Avalore said, elbows on her knees now, hands smoothing the roughspun hem of her robe sleeves, "you had little choice in the matter then."

It was a correction, yes, but not one said finitely nor in any manner of challenge. More like...a suggestion.

"But now, you're an adult. You don't look like you're hurting for anything. You can do whatever you want. You said things went belly-up before, so why did you stay the same path, assuming it was the same path then as it is now. Why not...try something different? You know...Realtor, Chef, Congressman...is this what you always wanted to do? To be?"

Her glance was a penetrating one, a daring one even. The very same she'd used when looking at other Jedi while asking them the very same questions.

"The Jedi I've asked never really have a solid answer, so I'm wondering if you will."

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Avalore Eden"]

He gave a contemptuous snort. "I have hardly stayed the same path. Perhaps a similar one, but never the exact same."

Why was he about to actually answer these questions? He was under no obligation to do so. Frankly, it would have been for the best if he just ignored her and kept making his inquiries. Or left to give that Hal person a talking to. Somehow he felt incensed to justify his position to the Jedi. To not do so would be to admit surrender. 'Oh, you're right. I've always wanted to be a baker. Toodles.'

No, none of that.

"I was a Sith for a great deal of time. Then after the aforementioned belly-up, I retired. I left it behind me, convinced myself I was done with it." Janus hoped that he would not have to elaborate on the belly-up that was his coup. "Stayed on Umbara and then on Hypori. Both venues were equally uneventful. I was bored. There was nothing to be done. Nothing moved me to be particularly active. I came here only after I spent a great deal of time away from it all. The One Sith's successful invasion of Coruscant inspired me to return, to contribute to something greater than myself and the petty planets I had endeared myself to in the meantime."

"What I am now is a bureaucrat, simply put. I coordinate the aid, rehabilitation, and relocation of Coruscant's most destitute underclasses. I take less, and I make more. I quite enjoy that. This is precisely what I want to do."

He leaned back in his chair, evidently satisfied with his own answer. Doubtless she wouldn't be, but there was no pleasing everyone.

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore listened quietly and when the man finished she spent some time digesting it all.

Her eyes traveled back to her hands as he mind wandered her own ambling path. He sounded, more or less, a bit like herself. Seemed to be that the man wished to be more than a product of his environment and, instead, wished for it to be a product of himself. It was a philosophy of living that she had come to grow into, since the early days of childhood. A doctrine of sorts her father had mentioned over and over.

Why had she joined the Jedi? Because she had been presented an opportunity to live for more than just herself. Because with this power she'd been blessed with she learned to help others while sacrificing the wants and desires of her own. Becoming a Healer embodied this idea of her family's and allowed her to live it, to be it.

The Jedi nodded slowly.

"That's a really good answer," another nod and a somber, appreciative glance, "thanks."

[member="Darth Janus"]