Why Do We Scream at Each Other?

[Caulder Dune]

CORUSCANT SYSTEM, CORUSCANT
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE HEADQUARTERS

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Darth Janus set his writing utensil down. Someone was about to call him. Not a moment later, the voice of his secretary, Sheila came over the intercom. Despite that dreadful affair with the Solo woman, he had not fired her. It was hardly her fault she had been so ruthlessly manipulated by a cruel trickster in such a manner. Were it not for Kitt's bold approach, he probably would have given the other Sith some measure of warning beforehand. Perhaps put a bounty out on her and have her barred from Sith space.

Not because he admired her boldness or anything. He simply suspected she would get herself killed before any of that was necessary.

"The visitor you were expecting from the Dark Lord's retinue is here." Sheila announced.

Oh, goody. He had been wondering when this trainee was supposed to show up. Janus could not imagine what business this aspirant had with him, but if she was being sent on behalf of the Dark Lord, then clearly she must be of some import. Janus was not about to refuse a requested service from the Dark Lord, either.

"Send her in." Janus replied, tenting his fingers on the desk like the stereotypical D-rate villain he was as he waited.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Darth Janus"]

The Dark Lord she only knew as the chef. He said he had some business to take care of and to look at this opportunity as a learning experience and a short vacation. He might've even said something about meeting an Uncle Janus but she couldn't remember the details.

She followed a friendly-enough woman and soon came face-to-face with the one she would be spending the next week with. Fingers shifted along the strap of the bag over her shoulder as she looked around, uncertainly. Myrtle-ellipses came to rest on the man behind the desk with long locks of snow. He seemed very important and she wondered with a small amount of rising panic if she was really in the right place.

The clone who didn't know she was a clone offered a shy smile. "Are you Uncle Janus?"

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

The right corner of Janus' mouth twitched indistinctly. A suppressed grimace. Uncle? Who had started calling him uncle? He was no one's uncle, far as he could tell. Clearly Dark Lord Ordo had some sort of funny bone if he had dispatched this... Young person here under the auspices of calling him Uncle Janus. He was positively mortified by this turn of epithet. More alarming than that was that the young woman was carrying a travel bag, signifying she would likely be living among him for more than a day. Janus had not received that memo.

Whatever the exact length of this field trip was going to be, Janus evidently had a job to do. So he would do it, and the Dark Lord would be satisfied, and he could get back to the business of cleaning up the streets through social mobility. And investigating those worrisome reports of Rat Kings and Beggar Lords duking it out in the lowermost levels of the undercity. At least, it was something of that sort. Frankly it struck him as too ridiculous to be true.

"I'd prefer it if you referred to me as Mr. Janus instead." Janus monotonously corrected, indicating one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat, please."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Darth Janus"]

She stared and couldn't help it. She never met someone like him before, very...stern? Feet shuffled awkwardly. "Okay, Mister Janus. I actually prefer to stand. Should I put my stuff over here?" The younger-looking version of the same woman that fought the man sitting behind the desk stepped toward the chair. Toe caught on the edge of the carpet and two things happened at once:

She quickly fell forward toward a fabulous carpet-face-plant.

Her bag flew from her shoulder and went sailing toward the sith lord's face - a rather expensive looking face.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Janus had been about to point out that standing was rude and that he hadn't asked what she preferred. He thought better of it. The newcomer shuffled over inelegantly, asking where she should leave her baggage. "Just put it down by-"

Exactly how this woman had managed to trip over a carpet, of all things, was beyond the physical comprehension of Janus. There was no amount of replaying footage from security cameras or divination powers that would ever sufficiently answer his questions regarding how this woman had found such an amazing way to trip over herself. His face contorted in a shocked grimmace as he took in the travel bag that had been flung from her shoulder and towards his face.

His expensive, expensive face.

Thankfully his reflexes were still good. A hand shot out, calling on the Force to do his bidding. Unfortunately, his reaction was too quick for him to do anything fancy- like catch it. Instead he instinctively pushed back with the Force. Also unfortunate was the disproportionate amount of power he put into it. The bag was flung towards the wall with incredible force, smacking into it with the loudest crack imaginable, before tumbling to the floor with a sad thump.

"-Over there. I guess. Please be more careful."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Darth Janus"]

She stood back up, unusually quickly, with the flush of embarrassment spread across her face. Whether it was the lighting or something else entirely, the rug burns on her skin seemed to fade before disappearing completely. She glanced behind her shoulder and winced, seeing her stuff poking through a fresh rip in the bag.

"I could say the same for you," she grumbled before clearing her throat. Arms crossed defensively over her chest. "How did someone who can use the force like that get stuck with me?"

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"I would ask the Dark Lord myself, but a wise civil servant only questions when it is necessary."

It didn't look like she had any intention of sitting, so Janus decided not to press the point. He didn't feel like arguing, not when other things were on his mind. The doors behind them slid open, and a spindly assistant droid teetered into the room. It brushed past Taheera without much acknowledgement, silently depositing a folder on Janus' desk.

Tyrin plucked the folder from his desk and opened it up to peruse the contents."Besides, it will be good experience for you. I take it you are an acolyte?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

She stumbled slightly as the droid teetered by.

Rude.

"I take it your droids missed their manners protocol updates?" Dry-voice cut across the short space between them like cold-air on an autumn day. "And Dark Lord?" Confused voice trailed off. Was he talking about the Chef? The title sounded too ominous to be the man that fed her soup and made her tea.

Unfortunately for the clone, Tahira never heard of the term acolyte before, so the clone didn't know what it meant. If he had said apprentice, that would've been a different story. "No," fingers came up to pinch the bridge of her nose, "I don't think so. I've never heard that word before."

An idea started to form in her chestnut-haired head.

"You seem to be very busy, though," turning, she scooped up her broken bag and inched toward the door. "Why don't I just give myself a tour and we can meet back...in a week, just before I get picked back up? I stay out of your hair," she snorted and quickly stopped her laugh. "I mean, you know. You get to do whatever you want and continue on. It'll be like I'm not even here. I promise!"

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

The droid beeped something indignant on its way out, the door sliding shut behind it.

Tyrin glanced up from the folder, fixating Taheera with an annoyed stare. More troubling than the fact she didn't know what the word acolyte meant was that she wasn't one. How could she be sent by the Dark Lord to be supervised and not know who the Dark Lord was? There were a lot of questions Tyrin had right about now. None were going to be answered any time soon, he imagined. He could only speculate what was going on here, but ultimately he wouldn't be any closer to figuring it out than before. Besides, this was mostly the Dark Lord's business. Far be it for him to scrutinize it unnecessarily.

"The Dark Lord. The head of state and government. Ruler of the One Sith. The man who sent you here." Tyrin's annoyance was only matched by his dismay. Was he really going to need to explain this? "If you are not an acolyte, what is your relation to the rest of the One Sith? Are you a relative of the Dark Lord?"

There was sincere concern within Tyrin that the latter was true. If it was, that would mean this woman had Mandalorian heritage. Mandalorians were base, primitive creatures and he certainly did not want to be teaching one anything. Unless the subject to be discussed was efficient ways to commit suicide. In that case, Tyrin could share the research he had collected shortly after he had been dethroned.

He cast his gaze back to the folder, but it did little to soothe his annoyance. Another resignation notice had been submitted.

"If I have been charged with supervising you for a standard week, I am going to supervise you for a standard week. Non-negotiable, I'm afraid."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Darth Janus"]

Mouth dropped. Thoughts about tailgating with the droid out the door disappeared. "Dark L-," she stammered as her back leaned heavily against the wall before sliding down it. "Sith?"

On the floor, she pulled her knees up to her chest and held them tightly. Shock and uncertainty flickered across the young clone's face. She wasn't sure why she felt this way about those words but she did.

"Related?" She spoke as if distracted, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. Head shook slowly in the negative. Once. Twice. "I don't think so."

She felt lost and unhinged and suddenly, she wanted to put as much distance between herself and this office as she could. She needed to think.

She pushed off the ground and went to open the door. "Please, can we go somewhere else? Or can you open the door?"

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Tyrin raised an eyebrow. It was the kind of elevation an eyebrow obtained only when confronted with something truly bewildering. The kind of height that would leave one thinking that, at any moment, it might take off from Tyrin's face and attempt to break through the atmosphere. The eyebrow remained attached to his face, as did his puzzled expression. For someone who was surrounded by Sith on the capital of their resurgent Empire, that was a very strange reaction to have. Especially when she had been babysat by the Dark Lord of said Sith prior to her arrival here.

Whatever. She was clearly traumatized on some level. Now she was even heading towards the door, just after threatening to curl up into a ball. Chicks these days. The doors would slide open as Taheera approached them (as they hadn't been locked), but Tyrin remained unmoved from his position.

"I have to process this resignation, then I suppose we'll... Something. The refresher is down the hall, at the very end. On the right. Ask Sheila if you get lost." It was a short walk, but given that she had tripped over a throw rug not ten minutes ago, Tyrin had to play it safe. "Take as long as you need."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Darth Janus"]

She nodded numbly and slipped out of his office. Sheila was busy filing her nails. The young clone managed to find the refresher.

And immediately broke down, once inside.

Janus would be waiting a long time.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

It didn't take very long to file everything away and get the resignation processed. After he was done with his work, Tyrin waited around for another half-hour. Apparently mental breakdowns were much more time-consuming affairs than he originally thought. With no sign of the woman, he began to feel like she had either slipped out or intended to hole herself up there indefinitely. The Umbaran sighed, getting up from his comfortable chair to begin the long and arduous trek towards the refresher.

He stalked past Sheila, down the hall, and eventually arrived in front of the bathroom. Was that crying he heard? Someone must have had a pretty traumatic, past experience with a Sith. Probably a repressed memory came bubbling to the surface. Maybe that was why Ordo had neglected to identify himself as a Sith Lord. Oh, how Tyrin wished he had received a memo on the quirks and paranoias of this woman he was looking after. Then maybe this could have been avoided.

Tyrin knocked on the door. Not too softly, but not exactly pounding the thing down either. "Are you still alive?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Darth Janus"]

Cheek pressed against the cold-bathroom floor in her curled up position. She stared at the door for the longest time, she could see the shadow of his feet just on the other side. "Does it," sniffle-gulp-voice crack soprano snark"sound like I am?"

She felt anchored to the floor.

"I'm so--," she bit back an apology. No, she wasn't sorry. She was sick of feeling things she didn't understand. Sick of not knowing who she was or where she came from.

"Have you ever not known who you really are?"

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Of course it sounded like she was alive. She was making noises and sniveling like a little toad. What a stupid question to ask. Tyrin bit back this response because he knew it would do little to help alleviate the situation. Maybe he should call Grandpappy Ordo or whatever if she didn't manage to compose herself sooner or later.

Then she asked a question. Had he ever not known who he was? Several times, but that didn't really bother him. It was irrelevant to what he was trying to accomplish in the galaxy. Tyrin was abducted from birth and raised as a Sith. As far as he was concerned, that made him a Sith. Everything prior to that was meaningless to him now. He was Tyrin, or Gerion depending on which side of the galaxy you were on, Ardik. AKA, Darth Janus.

And he was okay with that.

"If you're having an identity crisis, I can assure you that the floor of the refresher is not the place to do it. Please come out."

There was Tyrin. Warm and fuzzy as usual.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Darth Janus"]

She blinked. He said please. She didn't know why it was surprising but it was.

"You still didn't ans," hiccup-sniffle,"wer my question."

Maybe she would return politeness with politeness. "Please. Please come in," there was possibly a note of desperation in there too. Moving from the cold floor, the only thing that grounded her, seemed like it would still be too painful.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Tyrin scowled inwardly. It wasn't proper that he should be in the same refresher as a woman, but desperate times and all that. He indignantly pressed the button on the side of the doorway, prompting the door to slide up and away. There was the Taheera, tear stained and curled up in a ball on the floor.The refresher was actually well maintained and cleaned, but that didn't change the fact that it was the floor of a public restroom. Completely and utterly disgusting. She would have to wash her face and hands thoroughly before they left here. If, in fact, they did eventually leave here and she didn't end up glued to his office's refresher for the remainder of her natural life.

The Umbaran shook his head at the pathetic sight. "Everyone has their doubts, myself included. There's nothing to be done about that. But if you let them cripple you, you'll get nothing done."

Come to think of it, Tyrin had once had an identity crisis of his own. Was he truly unique? Was he truly unlike any other being in the galaxy? Given the population of Umbarans, at least one was bound to share similar outlooks, values, and skills as him. Add in the human and other near-human populations, which all had great potential to look, think, and be exactly as he was. Then add in every other non-human in the galaxy, which could at the very least think and act in a similar manner to him.

No one was truly unique. Not in a galaxy of at least quadrillions. Statistically, such a thing would be improbable.

So why bother getting upset about it?

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Darth Janus"]

Blinking, she looked up at Uncl- NO, Mister Janus. He seemed more put out than usual. Slowly, she sat up and pushed her palms against her blotchy-red face.

"Okay. What doubts do you have?"

Arms encircled around her knees as she pulled them against her chest, still gazing up at the blond, sith lord.

No longer sprawled on the refresher floor. Progress. Baby steps.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Tyrin resisted the impulse to narrow his eyes and speak harshly. This particular Umbaran was not about to have himself put on trial here, nor would he open up to some bleary eyed teenager on his bathroom floor.

"Is that really important?" He instead asked, rather plainly.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Darth Janus"]

"Yes," she blurted and stood, hands falling to her hips as she stared-off with the stern man. "Don't you think that it matters - that you matter? It is important. I want to know."

Poor Sheila was probably wondering what the heck was going on in that refresher. Or, she was just listening to her StarPod.

"Or, you're just too shy?" Hands clasped behind her back as she continued the stare-off.