Uncommon Family

[Kay-Larr]

Kay chewed the inside of her cheek as she at at the desk in her office, nursing a cup of tea. She had been thinking it over all night and finally came to a decision. She was going to tell a select few about her long-lost adopted son, [member="Bradshaw Ku"] . For [member="Veiere Arenais"] , she hoped to tell him in person when they could find the time. Meanwhile she would have to inform others as they were here on Commenor. If something were to happen to her, Brad would be next in line for the throne.

That may or may not be a good thing.

She sent a message for [member="Darlyn Excron"] and Brad to join her in her office. Who would arrive first? It was hard to say. In the meantime she just sipped her tea and delved into her thoughts while she waited.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

The message had been received, albeit a bit later than it would've been expected, alerting Darlyn to his presence being requested. He had just been in the tail end of a training session with several guardsmen, some of the most bright actually, and had been delayed due to the need to take a shower and get dressed. As usual he opted for his black robes with slight armor for his chest, the Commenori seal on his breastplate finally, and seeing as it may be a somewhat formal ocassion, what with a messenger being sent and all, he opted to wear a guardsmen's cap as well. He'd kicked the habit of wearing his hood indoors at all times, but he still refused to wear anything resembling a genuine uniform.

Taking a moment to straighten himself out, he gave [member="Lady Kay"]'s door a knock, before stepping inside. She almost never had need for him to wait, and unless he expected she might need it he hardly gave her much time to react when it was him being summoned. He walked up to her desk, and stood somewhat at attention, though still relaxed. "You called for me, m'lady?" He gave a small smile as he waited to be brought up to speed with what she required.

[member="Bradshaw Ku"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay wasn't entirely surprised to see that it was [member="Darlyn Excron"] that came to her office first. She smirked at his attire, noting how much he despised the uniform, yet still, the rest of the staff knew him well enough to not really care. And neither did she. He knew his place and he did his job. That's all that mattered.

"I did. I've also asked for my new pilot to arrive. I'd like for you two to meet." It was hard for her to figure out whether or not she should wait for [member="Bradshaw Ku"] to show up before she let Darlyn know about him being her son, or to let it wait until they were all together. It was a touchy subject at best.

 

[Bradshaw Ku]

The messenger sent by [member="Lady Kay"] to inform him of her summons would have a difficult time locating him. He wasn’t in his palace suite, as he soon found out, nor was he in the training rooms. In fact, he wasn’t anywhere on palace grounds, the messenger discovered. Winded from his hurry to complete his charge, he wondered what to do next.

If the messenger had been dedicated and exceedingly lucky, he might’ve stumbled upon Bradshaw in one of Chasin City’s lowliest cantina’s, The Hydraulic Arm. However, after tirelessly searching for him all over the palace grounds, he opted for a more technologically sound route of communication. He sent an urgent message to Bradshaw’s comm.

​

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-​

​

Bradhsaw was thoroughly enjoying his new position in life, and his new job. Going from poor freelance pilot to Royal Chauffeur for the Queen of Commenor was a-hell-of-a Cinderella story. Not being able to tell people… well, women… that he was also Prince of Commenor, or that he was Lady Kay’s apprentice, was unfortunate. No matter, he didn’t expect the apprentice line to be very effective with commoners anyway. Plus, the line, “Would you like to come back to the palace with me?” Often had the desired effect.

As always, he did what he could with what he had. Usually by exaggerating and lying.

“So, there I was, surrounded by enemy spacecraft, no allies for systems around with the Queen in the back. All I knew was, it was up to me to get her out alive, so I…” His comm interrupted. About to ignore it and continue his tall tale, it buzzed again, signifying an urgent message.

A bit annoyed, he pulled out the comm, “Sorry babe,” he said to the attractive Commenori woman he was attempting to pick up, rather successfully if he did say so himself, “Royal business, the Queen needs me. What can I say, it’s a hard and dangerous job,” he looked into her eyes, “but somebody’s gotta do it.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-​

​

Bradshaw entered Kay’s office, wearing his usual outfit, easily recognizable as the costume of a smuggler and pilot.

The thought of knocking first never occurred to him. He was about to say something like, “The planet better be under attack, because I just released a real catch back at the cantina,” but then he saw [member="Darlyn Excron"], Head of Palace Security, standing at her desk. He quickly realized he had to play the Royal Chauffeur role, as nobody so far knew his relationship to Lady Kay, nor, that he was her apprentice.

“My apologies your majesty. I was finishing an intense training routine off palace grounds when I got your summons.” He lied. Kay would have little trouble seeing through his excuse, but it wasn’t really for her benefit, after all.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn glanced back as the pilot arrived, offering some tired excuse for his lateness. Darlyn could only roll his eyes ever so slightly, and cross his arms as he turned to face [member="Bradshaw Ku"], giving the man a look over. A smuggler's garb clearly, at least the man knew how be comfortable. Even so, he'd have preferred if that comfort looked more professional. Even in his own case you could hardly call his robes and cloak anything but crisp and clean, the picture of professionalism in the workplace. Provided that workplace was sith or force-user based.

Which it sort of was, come to think of it. Before [member="Lady Kay"] had a chance to speak, however, he opted to make his own voice clear. "What a dreadful state. Next time perhaps it would be best for you to properly excuse yourself with a notice to the security office as to your expected whereabouts, or at the very least how long you will be out. It'd be disastrous if the Queen had to release you from service due to tardiness when she requires your services. I'm sure you simply forgot this time, I do hope you remember very clearly where to leave your notice." There wasn't a sense of hostility remotely present in his voice. He wasn't threatening the pilot after all, he was simply chastising him for failure to uphold simple protocol. It wasn't hard to say 'I'll be out for maybe four hours today, call if the queen needs me'. In fact it saved everyone time and energy.

Not to mention Darlyn loved getting to do the whole 'disappointed security figure' act. Quite frankly he was more amused than anything, this was hardly a time to be serious after all. Wait until war broke out, or some other significant event. Then maybe he'd drop the theatrics for a few minutes. Until then, he'd amuse himself, at the pilot's expense.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow as [member="Bradshaw Ku"] stepped in. Released a real catch, did he? How much of a playboy was he? He certainly wasn't going to be one for long. She set her tea down and folded her arms across her chest, leaning back in her chair as [member="Darlyn Excron"] got after him for not being very reachable.

"Thank you, Darlyn.

Now Brad....I can't have you running off like that. There is too much risk involved, especially if people discover who you are. You have to stop thinking about yourself and think of others as well. Am I clear?"

Her gaze went from Brad to Darlyn. "This is Bradshaw Ku. He is my adopted son from long ago, back when I was married. I'd like to keep it a secret, but I felt that you of all people should know."

 

[Bradshaw Ku]

Bradshaw felt like he’d just been called into the principal’s office for a scolding after getting lectured by [member="Darlyn Excron"], who was then quickly backed up by [member="Lady Kay"]. Sheesh, he thought, apparently, a man couldn’t have a drink in the city cantina without letting the watchdogs know exactly where he’d be, how many drinks he planned to have, and how many women would be following him back to the palace. Being the Queen’s personal pilot made for great pickup lines, there was no doubting that, but it came with its costs.

He was about to make a huff, but then Kay did something unexpected – she was good at that. She told Darlyn that he was her adopted son.

Perfect.

He crossed his arms and looked at Darlyn defiantly, letting a snarky smile play across his face. It was a playful smile tinged with arrogance that said, “You just berated your prince.” He stuck out his hand, “Nice to meet you Darlyn, I’m Bradshaw Ku, Prince of Commenor.” There was a friendly gleam in his eyes as he stared Darlyn down.

Despite Darlyn’s words, Bradshaw hadn’t detected any hostility from his lecturing. If anything, he seemed more amused than anything. Maybe he was somebody who liked to give people a good ribbing but could also take a joke. If so, Bradshaw respected that, and maybe, they could be better friends than their first interaction would let on.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Everything was always complicated when Kay was involved. Her family tree must've been a mess to say the least. Though the news hardly changed anything, didn't it? Darlyn was still in charge of security, Darlyn was still the line of defense between [member="Lady Kay"] and all manners of violent, excruciating ends. And Darlyn was still in charge of [member="Bradshaw Ku"] and his protection, though with a little more incentive than usual. Regardless of circumstance, his opinion of the man changed none. "Ah, perfect. I always wanted to berate royalty like a spoiled brat, now I can cross that off the bucket list."

He took Ku's hand and shook it firmly, giving him a nod. "And get used to it, Prince. As far as the rest of the staff is concerned, you're just the Queen's pilot. Not exactly the lap of luxury, nor do I suspect anyone here will be treating you as prince just yet." He paused in speech, pulling his hand back with a smirk. "Still, a word of advice. Just say you're going out for a while and to call you. Saves us both a headache, and paperwork. And we wouldn't want to give the dear Queen a heart attack before anyone could know who you are. Why, I'd assume someone would have to take charge at that point, and so new into a monarchy it's hard to say where the line of succession would fall."

There was enough truth to the statements. Only so newly made a monarchy, never before had succession been an issue. Not to mention it was quite the jab at Ku's currently unannounced state. At that moment, there were only three people who knew his identity. If something happened, well, it would be quite unfortunate. Not that Kay's heart was so weak, Darlyn knew better than that.

Oh what fun he would have with the prince..

 

[Bradshaw Ku]

With a slightly raised eyebrow Bardshaw listened to [member="Darlyn Excron"] give him more ‘advice’, mostly amused at getting a second lecture in so many minutes. He’d just met the Head of Security, and yet, he could already tell the man liked the sound of his own voice, or at least, liked the sound of that voice talking down to others. He even made quite a few threats… no, not threats... points about his princely status being rather secret and tenuous. Which, Bradshaw guessed, made him feel better about not having to talk to him as if her really were his prince.

That too was more amusing than anything. After all, Bradshaw had only very recently discovered he was technically a prince. Having spent his life since age nine as a smuggler and fighter/ freelance pilot, all the while occupying the poorer end of the socioeconomic spectrum, he had no delusions about being royalty. He was, technically, prince of Commenor, but it would take him a very long time to ever feel like he really was a prince, if he ever did.

Too be fair, Darlyn’s point about the tenuous nature of his succession status was all very true. Bradshaw hoped it never came to him having to ascend the throne, for all the reasons laid out by Darlyn, but also because it was frankly far too much work and responsibility – talk about paperwork. No, he was happy to just use his secret title for entertainment purposes.

He smirked, happy that Darlyn could give it back to him better than most. It made things more interesting.

He slid the chair across from Kay’s desk to face the coffee table. “Well, let’s hope you’re as good at your job as you are talking, so it doesn’t come to that,” he quipped, referring to Darlyn’s point about his succession status. He then flopped into the chair, crossing his feet on the coffee table.

“Did I stop my… um, training… just to be roasted harder than the Bantha steak I had last night, or was there something else we should be discussing? Either way, I’m here anyway so, feel free to continue. If I close my eyes, it’s because I’m meditating on all the wisdom washing over me.” He closed his eyes and let a big smile play across his face. Eyes still closed he added, "And don't worry, I'll let you know if I so much as sneeze and my snot lands off palace grounds, point taken."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay chewed the inside of her cheek as she watched the exchange between [member="Darlyn Excron"] and [member="Bradshaw Ku"] . It wasn't as though she was nervous. In fact she was less tham amused with Brad's behaviour. He was so cocky and full of himself, a far cry from what he used to be. Even the suggestion that he could be the heir to Commenor only seemed to bolster his ego even further, instead of giving him a sense of responsibility.

"Brad, you'll need to grow up if you're going to keep your job. I'll not have you be a playboy either. And keep in mind that should I marry, my husband would be next in line, not you. So that'll take some pressure off of you. Your training will help with the rest." She had opened up a can of worms. At some point she'd have to tell [member="Veiere Arenais"] and Brad about eachother. When that day would be, she didn't know. Right now she was trying to determine just what her status with Veiere was. He had fallen in love with a part of her that she couldn't remember. Whether or not he'd love this version of her as well was a different puzzle to solve.

 

[Bradshaw Ku]

Bradshaw’s massive smile dissolved into darker features and he opened his eyes as Kay began chastising him; telling him he had to grow up or lose his job and to stop being a playboy. Apparently, this meeting was about grilling him, he thought. He’d been having something of a good time with all his antics, the criticism from both [member="Darlyn Excron"] and [member="Lady Kay"] really started to wear on him, soon replacing those goodtime feelings with annoyance and frustration. What really got to him, though, was what she said next.

He didn’t know what to think about her point about marrying again. Did she have someone in mind? Was she really planning to get married? Was it just a hypothetical to make her point? He couldn’t tell. He would have to clarify that with her later.

Right now, though, he wasn’t just hearing disapproval from her. He didn’t just hear the run-of-the-mill chastisement, the kind he normally wouldn’t pay any mind, as his back-n-forth with Darlyn testified. Instead, in her comment about him not being next in line if she married and it ‘taking the pressure off,’ he decided to hear something more – and it got to him.

He didn’t want to be King, but, despite his normally joking and care-free attitude, he hated when people thought he was unable to accomplish something. Did she not think he could do it, if he had to? Was he not good enough? And, for that matter, he started to wonder, did she have any faith that he could track down Masq, or her other tormentors, and destroy them? Or was he just a joke? A pity case, handing him a piloting job because she felt bad for him, letting him play prince…?

Unconsciously, he beckoned the dark side to him. His heart beat harder in his chest. He became angrier as each thought popped into his head. Instead of hitting something, or someone, however, as he often would in this circumstance, this anger had a purpose. He’d already wasted too much time, he knew that. If Masq walked through the door right now, he’d be useless. If revenge was what he wanted, he’d have to work for it, as his father used to tell him – not exactly in those words. He wanted to prove himself to Kay and everyone else. He was going to show them all he wasn’t just a joke…

Standing, he faced Darlyn, this time with no humor or playfulness in his voice, just a seriousness and an edge, “You seem like a paragon of dedication and responsibility, maybe you’d be so kind as to be the one to start off your prince’s training? Show me how I should be training and do your worst while you’re at it?”

Turning to Kay, he added,“If the Queen approves, of course.”

If Kay liked Darlyn so much, he must be doing something right, he figured. Not to mention being Head of Palace Security.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Paragon of responsibility? That's a good one. Maybe you should've been a comedian." Perhaps it was going to get on [member="Bradshaw Ku"]'s nerves, for now, how carefree Darlyn was with the entire situation. Quite honestly watching a mother being... motherly... was something he hadn't much memory of, and he found the sight quite entertaining. Still, he knew well enough Ku was being sincere enough, despite his darkness and clear anger. Of course Darlyn knew it well enough, the slight twitches in the jaw, firmness of his stare, the change in his general attitude was enough of an obvious shift.

It was hard to tell he was family to [member="Lady Kay"]. Still, he wanted to learn, so there could be some hope for him. He turned his gaze over to Kay and bowed his head. "With your permission, I do have more than one suggestion for him to grow."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay felt the anger stewing in [member="Bradshaw Ku"] , felt it fester and boil within as it had done so before. Yet this time he didn't let it control him. Brad took the control. Good. He was learning without even knowing.

She bowed her head and waved her hand in a gesture to show that she was giving them her consent. "Yes, you both have my permission. Although Darlyn, I am curious as to what you have in mind." [member="Darlyn Excron"] tended to think outside the box. She didn't expect today to be any different, despite who Brad was. One way or another, Brad was going to improve himself.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"I'm sure you'll be thoroughly entertained. Can't promise the boy won't hurt tomorrow, I'd suggest cancelling any flight plans." He chuckled and cracked his knuckles, glancing over at [member="Bradshaw Ku"]. "I expect to see you at the training hall in five minutes. Lessons start today... do be grateful. My Master had thought it best to throw me to the wolves and see how I fare... you actually get to leave with a few bruises instead of broken hands." He gave [member="Lady Kay"] a bow, before heading on his way out.

He was going to thoroughly enjoy himself, that was for certain.

 

[Bradshaw Ku]

Bradshaw watched as Darlyn made a show of describing the training he had in mind for him. As someone who would have acted similarly, it wasn’t hard to miss. However, it was also apparent Darlyn wasn’t just joking, he really did have something rather unpleasant waiting for him. Still enthralled with anger and frustration, Bradshaw was glad to undertake whatever punishing training the Head of Security had in mind, at least maybe he’d start making progress toward the vengeance he sought. It would also be a great chance to start proving himself to [member="Darlyn Excron"] and, more importantly, [member="Lady Kay"].

How he’d feel during, or after, the training. Well, that was probably a whole other story.

He nodded to Kay, signifying his intent to follow Dalryn, and then left the office only moments after the Head of Security. He wasn’t going to be late to this meeting.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow, but then smiled a little, nodding her approval. "Sounds like it'll be a lot of fun then. Perhaps I'll come and watch it a bit later." She might even join in, who knows? Wouldn't they enjoy that?

She sipped her tea and watched as [member="Darlyn Excron"] and [member="Bradshaw Ku"] left her office. Ever since her son had come back into her life, things had been much different. There was more stress and she wondered what [member="Victor Tesla"] would have to say about that. Surely she'd have to inform him during her councelling sessions. She wondered if the Doctor was going to make Brad get some councelling too. That could help.