Private Winds of Change

[Inanna Harth]

Inanna watched intently as each of the Alderaanians pricked their fingers. At the sight of red blood trickling from Alicio’s thumb, the head branchlurker was silent, their mantis-like face unreadable.

Then it came down to Prestor, who was the only one to protest. Inanna sensed what was coming—they all did—but perhaps some naïve part of her still hoped there really was no impostor.

Her danger sense flared before he even had a chance to aim his blaster, and Inanna, having no idea that Alicio was capable of defending himself, flung herself at the nobleman. She intended to push him onto the ground and out of the way of the shot, and only saw the hidden lightsaber (if at all) after the fact.

Meanwhile complete pandemonium erupted around them. Inanna felt the heat of bolts passing above her head as Prestor exchanged fire with the others. But it was a losing game, and he had to have known it. He was up against the Sparans, three other Shi’ido from Inanna’s security team, as well as the Alderaanians.

Mere seconds after tackling Alicio, Inanna sensed pain from one of the Sparans. Prestor was shooting to kill, but he was also trying to escape through one of the alleyways. Inanna reached out with the Force and seized the impostor with telekinesis. Pinned in place, he was wide-eyed and helpless. It only took one stun shot to take him out—

Or it would have, if one of the other Sparans hadn’t decapitated him with the sweep of a sharpened arm. Black alien blood, hot enough to steam in the wintry air, splattered the walls of the alley.

Cursing, Inanna released her hold on what was left of Prestor. “You didn’t have to do that!” she exclaimed. “He was probably brainwashed, you know! We could’ve helped him!”

She knew her words would fall on deaf ears. But not so long ago the Maw had gotten to her, too, and she remembered all too well what it had been like. As if she were a prisoner within her own mind.

The Sparans didn't respond to her words. She stared for a few moments at Prestor’s remains, before finally tearing her eyes away. “Sorry,” she mumbled an apology to Alicio, not exactly sure what she was apologizing for. Clambering to her feet, she held out a hand to help him up. “Are you all right?”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

The blue flash of Introspect blocked the first shot, redirecting it harmlessly to the ground, before something bodily knocked the noble over. Alicio was quick to deactivate the blade before he severed his own limbs, hitting the muddy ground hard on his side, and knocking the air from his form.

By the time he had regained his senses, Prestor was already dead. Alicio could taste the fear in the air, the rage choking his breath like smoke. It wasn't just the Sparans. It was his guards, angry and hurt at the betrayal. It was Inanna, shouting at the gang of Shi'ido. Maybe it was him, too? It was difficult to tell.

Alicio sat up, swiftly reconnecting the hilt of Introspect to his cane, and staring at the dead body of Prestor. How much of him was a lie? Did he deserve this fate?

Inanna's outstretched hand brought him back into focus. He regarded it darkly for a moment, before reaching out his own, clasping her's tightly, and pulling himself up with the help of his cane. "Nothing broken," he replied to her, although the way he stared at the body of his former guard, and the way he drew his hands into his cloak to hide the shaking, might say otherwise.

He turned to the Sparans, a grim calm greeting them, a storm of darker things looming beneath.

"Are you satisfied, then?"

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

Alicio’s strong grip told her he was (relatively) unharmed even before he answered her question. She kept her head down, staring at his gloved hand as it released hers and slid into the safety of his cloak. Thankfully, he didn’t get angry or question her decision to tackle him. She supposed it made enough sense from a tactical perspective that she wouldn’t have to explain—wouldn’t have to admit that her first panicked thought when she saw Prestor aim at the Count was I can't let him die, he's our only chance at getting out of here!

Which wasn’t true, of course. There were plenty of other nobles and diplomats and politicians out there who would be willing to help the refugees stranded on Erakhis. Right?

She nearly winced the next time Alicio spoke.

"Are you satisfied, then?"

The Sparan who had killed Prestor flicked his blood off their arm with a contemptuous gesture. Inanna realized abruptly that one of the Sparans had been fatally shot by Prestor during his escape attempt. Realized it, because she could sense them succumbing to their wounds.

“Satisfied,” the gang leader echoed Alicio in answer. As quickly as they had appeared, the Sparans disappeared, carrying their dead away with them.

What was left of Prestor lay where he had fallen. Inanna avoided looking at the corpse as she gestured to one of her men. “Collect his remains,” she ordered, then glanced at Alicio. “Unless you want them.” Obviously not to return his body to his family or anything of the sort, but they might need to bring it back to Alderaan as proof that he’d been an impostor.

This little incident certainly didn’t bode well for Shi'ido diplomacy. Hell, it didn’t even bode well for camp relations. The Sparan gang was probably going to hold this over her head like a grudge. Clan Hoole might become targets in the idiotic, self-destructive gang wars that had been birthed out of the old clan system. A system which had worked just fine on Lao-mon, but turned into a territorial chitshow when confined to the limits of a tiny refugee camp on a planet that was mostly oceanic. Her expression grew pained, frustration written all across her face. She raised a hand to her forehead in a vain attempt to hide her eyes, and her accent seemed more pronounced when she spoke—a side effect of stress.

“If you want to leave now, I won’t try to stop you. There’s more to see, but…” It’s not safe, she nearly said. Nowhere in here is safe. That’s why we’re all so desperate to get out of here. To go somewhere new, start over, and live again.

“You must do what you believe is right, as the Jedi say.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

The Sparans left peacefully, toting along their own casualty. Alicio watched them go, a chill settling in as the adrenaline of the moment drained away.

When Inanna asked him whether he wished to keep the remains of 'Prestor', he shook his head, offering a simple "No." He seemed to retreat into his own head, all the while his three remaining guards formed a tight circle around him, glancing suspiciously at everything, weapons out and ready to fire. They allowed the diplomat to say her piece, but seemed eager to interject.

"Your Excellency," Lea said, after a moment. "The camp is compromised. Keep your head down, we're escorting you back to Alderaan."

Alicio burst from his own thoughts with a vengeance. "No," he repeated, with much more force. "All of you, return to the ship. Contact House Organa, alert them to what has transpired here."

"With all due respect, Sir, we were just attacked. We simply can't..."

Alicio shot her a withering stare, and his guard cringed away from him. "I am staying, Lea." His voice turned soft. "Please."

The Alderaanians gave one last look to the Organa, and unwilling to disobey direct orders, they complied, leaving Alicio alone with the Shi'ido once more. The nobleman turned on Inanna, still holding that intensity.

"I wasn't lying to you." Alicio's anger broke, but his determination stayed. "I am here to help, however and as much as I can."

"It won't be long before my superiors call me back, so we may have to skip some of the tour. Is there somewhere we can talk?"

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

At Inanna’s acknowledgment, the Shi’ido went to collect Prestor’s remains. She avoided staring at the Alderaanians while they deliberated with one another, though she couldn’t help but overhear their conversation. Some of the creases in her expression smoothed over.

By the time Alicio approached her, minus his guards, some of the tension seemed to have passed. She nodded gratefully at his words, then gave him a wry smile. “I think I know a place.”

There was an abandoned school on the land which had been allocated to the refugees. The camp leadership had moved there recently, using it as a center of operations. Inanna led Alicio there, flanked by her guards. The path they took to reach it was filled with the same sort of sights Alicio had already seen—people crammed together in tattered shelters that weren’t meant to be permanent residences.

“Here,” she said, unlocking the door to what had once been an administrator’s office. She motioned for her guards to remain outside, then sealed the room once Alicio had joined her. “Tell me what—” she started to speak, only to break off as the electricity suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness. “There goes the generator,” she said with a sigh. Evidently her repair work earlier that morning hadn’t lasted.

Though she could give herself a form of night vision, Alicio was in the dark. For his benefit she produced a small flame with the Force. Balancing it on the tip of her thumb, she rummaged around until she found an emergency lamp. Thankfully, the batteries weren’t dead, and she was able to turn it on.

“Now, tell me what I must do to get us out of here.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

When the lights turned off, Alicio couldn't help but smile at the irony of it all.

Up until they had been left alone, the nobleman had kept a stoic face, walking through the camp lost in his own mind. Whatever was burning in his thoughts, he was giving all his attention to. He mutely observed the conditions of the people around him, but didn't comment on it.

He was looking at the bigger picture. And he didn't like what he saw.

Still, the momentary distraction of a power outage helped break through the exterior. It was the physical manifestation of why he had to help. The secondary distraction of a shift in the Force, and the flickering of spontaneous fire, also caught his attention, until the lamp was turned on, and the question was posed. He stayed in the shadows, his dark form barely moving as he thought.

"It's... not going to be easy." Alicio began, ponderously. "As I said before, many of the Noble Houses are already directly opposed. They're worried about... well... this." He gestured to the mud caking the side of his fine clothes.

"When they catch wind of what happened here today, they'll see it as proof that the people of Lao-mon aren't to be trusted. They won't care that the infiltrator was Mawite, because any Shi'ido has the potential to be just as dangerous."

He took a step forward, his shadowed face coming into the light of the lamp. "We do have one last option. To testify before Queen Faith Organa directly."

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

She caught Alicio’s ironic smile from the shadows. In the washed-out lighting of the lone lamp, he suddenly reminded her of the late Adrian Vandiir. The sense of searing deja vu that accompanied that observation nearly made her stop breathing. Both were pale, raven-haired noblemen with chiseled features and a penchant for wearing dark colors. Adrian’s eyes had been an icy blue, while Alicio’s were more of a steely gray… but why was she even drawing a comparison between the two, beyond the most surface-level characteristics? Alicio wasn’t a Sith Lord. (Right…?)

It didn't take her long to come up with an answer. All those years ago, she had knelt before Adrian to ask for a favor, the cost of which had led her to betray her people. Now here she was asking a favor of Alicio, this time in an effort to save them.

Unfortunately, their prospects didn’t look very promising.

“It’s too bad they can’t see us as anything more than shapeshifters,” Inanna muttered bitterly. “We have brilliant scientists, artists, inventors and philosophers, but forget about all that. Reduce us to a single evolutionary trait—and not even one unique to us, because there are several other changeling species out there and holographic disguise suites besides—and shut us out.”

Lowering her head, she stopped herself from ranting any further. Her anger had been carefully concealed while the guards were around. She’d been tolerant. But Alicio’s admission that the noble houses of Alderaan had already written them off brought it seething to the surface.

His suggestion that they go straight to Queen Faith made her raise her gaze from the floor. Her features, while deliberately and skillfully shaped to appear human, were oddly alien. “I assume by ‘we’ you mean the two of us? As in, I would go to Alderaan to meet with her in person?”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"I hope this doesn't make you think poorly of the Alderaanians," Alicio muttered, half of his face obscured by shadow. "We do have a tradition of helping those that need it. We were all, at one point in our ancestral histories, refugees as well. Most of us haven't forgotten."

He took a breath. "Which is why I think relocation is still possible."

Alicio tried to decide if Inanna was surprised, offended, or some other emotion as he suggested his alternative, but found her facial expression difficult to read. "As in, if you are comfortable with the notion, and able to be spared for a few days, and if Faith is available to meet with us... yes."

The nobleman sat down, resting his cane against a table. "Faith is good, I trust she would listen. And I'm sure she'd appreciate someone who knew this camp giving their perspective."

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

“I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I were,” was Inanna’s winking reply. “I just get tired of it all. It’s exhausting, climbing into the ring on behalf of my people, always willing to take the blows and still pull my punches.”

Technically she was just asking for more details about what he had in mind. Trauma fatigue had the tendency to dull one’s emotions. She’d watched the impostor get decapitated roughly forty minutes ago, after all, and felt both his and the wounded Sparan’s deaths through the Force. She really had no right to be as upbeat as she was, but by now she was used to making light of every tragedy that befell her. It was a coping mechanism, but an effective one.

She brightened a bit as he elaborated. “Sounds like a plan. As long as you don’t leave me alone with the Queen of Alderaan, I’m perfectly comfortable with it too.” She’d make time for a meeting of such importance.

While the Count took a seat, Inanna grew thoughtful, running through a checklist of things in her head. “Queen Faith. What a name for a benevolent monarch… Those pictures you took of the camp should be enough… I’d rather not parade any other refugees around, not even as proof of how bad off we are…" Her eyes widened. "Force, what am I going to wear?!”

Fashion was the most benign issue on her list of worries, and she knew it, but it was also the one she was least qualified to solve. Which was why she decided to disguise her request for actual advice on how to present herself as a joke. Force knew they could use some comic relief right now.

“I can’t wear Shi’ido finery when I meet the Queen, trust me on that one. So should I go full ‘when on Alderaan, do as the Alderaanians do’ with the braids and the white gowns and using tape instead of underwear? Or would that be too forward, as if I'd already moved in and considered myself a citizen?”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"As long as you don’t leave me alone with the Queen of Alderaan, I’m perfectly comfortable with it too.”

"If it's any consolation, she is the least intimidating monarch I have ever met. She'll like you, I reckon." Alicio responded well to Inanna's humor, smiling a bit and chuckling to himself, but he couldn't bring himself to fall into a good mood. Which became more apparent as the Shi'ido talked about a possible wardrobe.

"Ah..." Seeming to think hard about the topic, he turned his face away from the light. "My advice would always be to wear your traditional garb, but if that is off the table, I see no issue with dressing in the latest Alderaanian fashion." Voice a bit shaky, Alicio fished a black handkerchief from his pocket, and held it in one hand.

"It would show you care enough to learn about our culture. That seems like an admirable trait." Alicio passed the cloth over his eyes quickly, hoping present company didn't spy the motion.

He wasn't able to distract himself with an objective anymore. He had seen people die in front of him, violently. Alicio couldn't walk away from that unscathed.

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

She was about to demand to know if the thing about the tape was really true (he hadn’t denied it…), when she realized that despite his smile, Alicio wasn’t all right. Like a shift in the air before a storm, the atmosphere in the dark little office grew thick with the pall of his emotions. Well, that and his voice audibly trembled.

Though she didn’t realize he’d taken out a handkerchief, she saw the furtive motion of his hand over his eyes. He said he’d only just met his security team, so it was unlikely he had been close to Prestor. There was a possibility he felt some guilt over the Sparan’s death. But then, she reminded herself, some people were simply unused to seeing violence in their day-to-day lives. It had been a long time since she’d been like him, but she could still remember the shock of her first exposure.

She approached him cautiously, lowering herself a bit so she could see his downturned face, and gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

“What happened earlier wasn’t your fault. I know that’s no consolation, but it’s true. It could’ve been a whole lot worse.” Which was probably even less reassuring, but no less true. Her voice softened. “Neither the impostor nor the Sparan needed to die. I would’ve preferred it if they both had lived. But… I cannot control the actions of others. If I tried, I would be no better than the ones who took the mind of a sentient being and twisted it to their own designs.”

A beat. “I mean, if that is what’s upsetting you now, and you’re not just sick of me...”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

To his credit, Alicio was a dignified crier.

As his face came into view again, he looked as if he were trying to keep it all together, and succeeding for the most part. If it weren't for his wet eyes, and the tightness of his lips to stop the quivering, he would be the very picture of calm. Which he kept, until Inanna joked he might be crying because of her.

He let loose a crackling chuckle, holding the black kerchief to his cheek to hide his face. "No, no, not at all. You've been a perfect host, despite the circumstances."

"I don't blame you for what happened. Or the Sparans. Or even Prestor." Alicio rested his hand over Inanna's on his shoulder, trying to draw some of Inanna's stoic demeanor from the touch.

"You've certainly faced worse than this. Hell, the children in this camp have likely faced worse." To think, he was crying over only two deaths, one who threatened to kill him, and the other who tried.

How pathetic was he?

"There's much more at stake here than a rich boy's shellshock." He closed his eyes, dabbing his face again and producing one of his datapads. "I'll start setting up the meeting with the Queen now. Might as well begin the process as soon as possible."

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Yes, of course.” She inclined her head to one side, still peering up at him. “If going to the Queen doesn’t work out, are there still other options? Even less than ideal ones, like raising donations or... I don’t know, a political marriage? Be honest with me.”

Technically she could always go to another world seeking help, but it seemed a waste for nothing good whatsoever to come of the negotiations with Alderaan. Especially since two people had already died in the process.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Both could work, if all goes poorly," the Organa stated, after absently folding his handkerchief, but keeping it in his hands. "But I believe Cousin Faith will help."

Alicio found a soft smile. He held his cousin in the highest regard. To him, she was a paragon of everything he wanted to be. A wise monarch. A kind senator. A lover of earthy teas. He believed, beyond a doubt, that she would help them as best she could.

"If need be, I can use my own connections to run a few fundraisers. I have friends in nearby systems. People who I think would be willing to help." He pulled his cane into his lap, resting it across his legs, and squeezing the handle for comfort. "As for a political marriage, we would have to find the right candidates. That could take time."

"But I have faith in Faith."

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

Faith in Faith. She couldn't help but giggle at that. "You must have good reasons to trust in her."

She was hoping he would elaborate on those reasons, but it wasn't absolutely necessary for things to work out. In Inanna's experience, having at least one person willing to vouch for you that readily was a very good sign.

He was willing to discuss other options though, and she nodded along as he spoke of fundraisers and friends. She'd thrown out the concept of a political marriage thinking he would dismiss it or interpret it as a joke (and hopefully laugh again. He had a nice smile) and was left staring at him with raised eyebrows when he gave it serious consideration. Arranged political marriages were still an actual thing? Whoops. Maybe the rest of the galaxy wasn't as civilized as she thought.

"Oh, uh, I wasn't really being serious about a political marriage. We don't do that where I'm from. Besides, I don't think there's any Shi'ido that could be a candidate anyway. We don't have royalty, and even our wealthiest people have lost nearly everything, so... I don't see what anyone would stand to gain from marrying one of us, outside of fulfilling some fantasy." She propped her head on her hand, rolling her eyes and smirking to herself. Boy, did she have way too much experience with fulfilling other people's fantasies...

Looking at the way he clutched his cane over his lap, she was reminded of what had happened earlier. "Forgive me if this is intrusive, but... how did you manage to fit a lightsaber in there?" she asked, pointing to his cane.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"I do," the Count said simply, passing the cloth under his eyes one last time before folding it up and returning it to his pocket.

Alicio found a bit of humor in Inanna's quick backpedal away from the idea of an arranged marriage. He rotated the cane in his lap, giving his hands something to fiddle with, and smiling faintly. "Oh, they're a very serious thing on Alderaan. The planet is run by noble families, after all. Marriage is one of the surest ways to establish lasting alliances between them. For our purposes, it would be a way to gain leverage in the Court's laws on family and hospitality."

Alicio knew the stock Alderaanians put into political marriages all too well; his family had gone into hiding over one.

But he dropped the subject as Inanna did, and she asked him the question. He sighed a bit, having convinced himself that she hadn't seen the very obvious glow of Introspect. "It's not intrusive. Just... a secret I try not to show off."

With slow motions, Alicio clicked a hidden button on the side of the cane, and twisted the handle. The top off the cane came off in his hands, a pure black cylindrical device. The nobleman stood, and turned on the weapon. The lightsaber growled as it came to life, a shining blue color, pulsing with a heart of black.

Alicio didn't hold it like a warrior, fist tight and movements fluid. No, his stance was more guarded, his grip relaxed, as if he were holding a revered artifact, rather than a tool. "I saw you create fire. Do you have the Force as well?"

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

"That sounds pretty awful. Are you going to have to get married off someday?" She shrugged, wondering if she sounded rude. "I mean, I'm sure you'd find our ways strange too. But that was one thing I thought most constitutional monarchies had done away with."

To her surprise, Alicio not only demonstrated how the cane worked, he activated the blade. "I'm glad I had this room soundproofed, or else the people outside would think you were trying to murder me in here." He certainly wouldn't be the first to try. "I've never seen a blade that color before. Then again, I've never seen anyone make a cane into a lightsaber, either. It sounds different, too..."

Fascinated, she started to reach out as if to touch it, but stopped herself short. "Did you make it yourself?" she asked. "It's quite beautiful."

"I saw you create fire. Do you have the Force as well?"

She nodded, still admiring his lightsaber. "Yes. But sometimes I wish I didn't have it."

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"I expect I would, if it meant helping my Family." Alicio turned his head curiously at Inanna. She had called it awful. He'd never seen it that way. Another noble might be offended at the Shi'ido's disregard for Alderaan's tradition, but not Alicio. "But it's not required of me."

Faith had married a Mandalorian Sith, for Force sake, the antithesis of all things Alderaanian. Anything was possible.

After he'd activated the blade, Alicio smiled, a bit embarrassed at the thought the guards wouldn't like him brandishing a weapon at his host. "I... hadn't thought of that. Oops." He watched as Inanna appeared transfixed by Introspect, and he wondered briefly if she could taste the music too. The promises the crystal sang.

"I created it from scratch," Alicio stated, without a hint of pride. If anything, he sounded a bit ashamed. "Forged the crystal on my own. Created the hilt from old designs."

"Yes. But sometimes I wish I didn't have it."

Alicio tried to catch her eyes with his own as he deactivated the weapon. "What do you mean?" His face wasn't judgemental, or even all that surprised. Just curious.

- Inanna Harth -

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Glad to hear it isn’t strictly enforced,” she murmured, wishing she hadn’t said anything.

Oh great, now he was looking at her funny. She smiled back awkwardly.

He revealed he had not only made the cane-saber from scratch, but had also forged the crystal himself. Her smile dropped, and she stared at the cane with all the attentiveness of someone who loved exotic weapons and used to collect lightsaber crystals.

“That’s quite an amazing talent you have. May I?”

She lightly touched the backs of Alicio’s gloved hands with her fingertips, still wanting to examine the concealed weapon for herself. Wanting to feel the crystal especially, and wondering if it would feel anything like the Star she wore around her neck.

"What do you mean?"

She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. Her irises were silver, encircled by a smoky ring of black.

“The crushing weight of expectations, for one. My father was a revered Jedi Master, and I was the only one of his children who was born sensitive to the Force. He pinned many hopes and dreams on me. But I turned out to be quite the disappointment.” She took a deep breath, exhaling in a sigh. “That, and I had a cruel teacher who—” She cut herself off, not finishing the sentence. Her voice grew quieter. “I learned to hate the things she used the Force for, and the things she made me do with it, and wished it wasn’t mine to wield. This power I never asked for.”

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Um..." He held onto the hilt of the lightsaber a moment, before relinquishing his grip to allow Inanna to take the weapon. "Go ahead."

The energies of the crystal were a reflection of his innermost struggles. Hoping for better days, and fearing for worse ones. Both of them compelling him to perform acts of good, at any cost, including his own well-being. The eternal combat between tradition and progress, present and future, sea breeze and old incense, that raged in his soul, to this day.

Whether she would be able to feel his crystalized soul within the lightsaber, Alicio wasn't sure. But it felt like he were giving it up, regardless.

As she gave her explanation, Alicio felt his heart pang with sympathy. "I understand... heavy expectations." He seemed hesitant to get into the subject, wringing one hand with another. "Trust me, I do. I'm sorry to hear you bore them as well."

"When I first realized I had this power, it was described to me as a 'Gift'. Something given to me, to figure out what to do with for myself." He held Inanna's gaze, silver clashing with muted steel. "It's your Gift, to do with what you want. Not anyone else's."

"If you want to do anything with it, that is."

- Inanna Harth -