Finding Home or Returning Home

[Varyn Rask]

He had finally managed to do it: he'd gotten away from the rest of the galaxy. It took him going to an almost completely unknown world to do so, but he'd finally done it.

And what an incredible world he'd found to get away from it all. The planet had stuck in his mind ever since he visited the remains of the terrorist base that had been built here. He knew that he wanted somewhere to make a retirement home, and this seemed like a front runner.

He looked out over the open waters below, standing near the cliff that had taken his interest. The Arachas had set down on the planet, and Varyn had taken one of the two speeders from the hangar bay and zipped across the planet's surface. His intention wasn't to be the Emperor here, and his robes were appropriately unassuming. Although he had his glove-like gauntlets and weapons, his mask had been left behind. He could have almost been just another person walking out on a nearly-abandoned world if not for the dark presence that followed him around. Death dogged his every footstep.

His uncovered face let him breath in deeply the cool air blowing over the lake and smell the plants, grasses, and flowers of this world. He hadn't neglected to bring allergy pills this time, so there was no fear of a sudden and uncontrollable sneezing attack as he'd had in the garden on Korriban.

Despite its relatively unpopulated status, this world felt alive, but as he threw his leg back over the speeder and zoomed off, he felt another presence creeping up. It was a well-known feeling to Varyn that marked the site of a mass death... most commonly a battle. In this case, he was approaching the remains of the old terrorist base. He pulled the speeder over and climbed off, locking the controls and taking his first steps onto the rubble of the obliterated base.

Not so many years ago, the Imperial fleet had appeared here and turbolasers had ripped the structure down to its foundation. Although Imperial patrols had come through periodically to make sure it hadn't been resettled, no lasting presence had been established here.

There was only silence, and in that cool silence was the faintest call of the darkness. The same darkness that had taken the lives of those who had fought here. It was a power that he wielded: the intoxicating power to take life at a whim.

And then he felt something else. Foreign and different from this place, but not something he was intimately familiar with. Like a long-forgotten memory or a half-remembered dream, but not one that brought joy. Someone else was here....

@Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Years had passed since Alysanne had last been to Naboo, and so much had changed. She had left on a quest of her own, to discover secrets of the past, a journey that had lead her to the holocron of one of the few Jedi who had known the first Sith, Jedi Master Fennex Zerda. But while she had been hunting answers about her past, she had lost the present. The Sith had come to Naboo, and she had not been there to help protect those who had made a home here. They had followed her to build a new world here, and in their time of need she was nowhere to be found. She hadn't even realized what had happened till months later, when she had returned from isolation and learned how the Galaxy had changed behind her.

Shame and fear had kept her away all these years. Shame over her inability to save the rebels who had served in the cell she had founded her, and fear of what she would find when she came back here. Ruins. Broken, burnt, already forgotten, that's what she found. And the Force echoed with the deaths that had occurred when the Sith had rained fire from above. She could almost hear voices on the winds, voices of those she had known, voices of friends, the voices of men and women she had failed to save.

As she walked through the ruined remains, her mind lost in memories of what was lost, something brushed her consciousness. An echo within the Force, a touch of the Darkness. But this was different from what she had been feeling all around her. Stronger, darker, more sinister. Yet, like the voices in the air, she found that there was something familiar about this presence. Whoever it was, and it was a person, she knew them.

She began moving with purpose now, towards the source of the darkness, till she came to a stop on seeing a figure round the corner. She found her fist clinching instinctively, a sharp intake accompanying it. Her body reacted before her mind registered who it was. She had run into him ages ago, on Ilum. She hadn't known who he was then, only learning his true identity when he had taken the thrown years later. Varyn Rask, the man who had reunited the Sith. She had come to Naboo for closure, but she had run into the Emperor himself. What was the Force playing at?

"Varyn Rask." She called out once he was in earshot, trying her best to not let her emotions creep into her voice. "You are not welcome here."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn didn't move away from the feeling. He let his senses stretch out and drink the area in, but he sensed only the one other person. She was a familiar presence, though he still couldn't place her. She would feel the prickles of the Dark Side pushing at the edges of her mind, testing her resolve before she had even seen him.

He rounded the corner and saw her. His eyes flicked to her saber hand, and he resisted the urge to pull his own saber hilt. At their distance, he had space to have his weapon out and activated in time if she decided to attack. Not to mention the Force that bent to his every beck and call.

His eyes narrowed slightly as they fell a moment on her face. Try as she might, he could feel the flares of emotion from her even from here. My, my, that's not very "Jedi," he thought to himself. Since becoming Emperor he'd gained access to all the ancient archives, which meant he'd learned a great deal about the Jedi of old. Despicable anarchists, but he knew they were supposed to be without emotion... that is to say, they were to deny themselves the very thing that made them human.

There're many places I'm not welcome, and yet that doesn't stop me, he retorted. It was the benefit of being Emperor: you went where you wanted, when you wanted.

So far as I can see, you're the only person here, so will you be the one to stop me? Fell the Emperor? Strike a blow for your terrorist friends? Be the first to strike? he asked. The question was poignant and intentional. Jedi were supposed to be the peace-loving and peace-keeping pacifists. Would she be the first to draw a weapon or lash out with a blow? She would justify it to herself as a preemptive self-defense, but it would be just that: a poor justification of a betrayal of her principles. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

She stood her ground as he spoke, watching him, teeth grinding together as she tried to keep her emotions in check and failed. She had grown up with men and women who dreamed of being where he was, had known the vile things they had been willing to do to achieve that dream. Those she had called family had been willing to spill her blood if it helped them up the ladder of power. So she could only imagine what his accent must have been like. The Empire had always been lead by a Drast, till him. That could not be achieved by simple means, there must be a trail left in his wake that would give her nightmares.

The more he spoke, the more she felt tempted to turn his words into reality. To draw her blade, and cut him down. Strike a blow to the dark that it could not recover from. Her hand quivered, an involuntary twitch towards the blades that hung at her waist. But even as she realized what she was doing she stopped herself. She had lost herself to her surroundings, for just a moment she had let her doubts get the better of her. The death echoes around her, his very presence, the Dark Side was indeed powerful. She let out a deep breath and felt some of the tension flow out of her with that simple admission. She was not strong enough to defeat the darkness, not yet. But she was strong enough to resist it, to deny it. She would not give it, give him, the pleasure of seeing her fall like so many before her had.

Her hands un-clenched and moved away from her blade, falling idle by her side. "No," she finally replied, more in control of herself than she had been moments earlier, even though she hadn't entirely shrugged away the pain and sorrow she still felt from the Force all around them, "I will not strike at you." She didn't say more, but in her heart she knew what she didn't have to say. I am a Jedi, and that is not the Jedi way.

As she spoke she sized him up, now that she was actually getting her first good look at the man who was for all intents and purposes the living embodiment of everything she fought against. She might have made up her mind to not strike at him, and didn't discount the possibility of him attacking her, but that did not mean that she could not learn from this encounter. If she was able to learn something, anything, about the man then it might some day help defeat him and his Empire. How many opportunities did you get to face your enemy?

"I would think the Emperor would have better things to do than to wander ruins on a planet no one knows. Like choosing a bride." She had seen the broadcast, there were probably few in the Galaxy who hadn't. It seemed like the perfect opening to throw the questions back at him. If she was here to face something she was running away from, could the same not be true for him? "What are you doing here, all alone. I doubt you're here to win yourself a Gungan bride." She didn't expect him to actually tell her why he was there, but it didn't hurt to try. A man like him probably had a reason for everything he did, and she couldn't help but wonder what would draw him to Naboo of all places.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

The tension hung in the air for a moment, and he could feel her desire to strike him down. He could feel that she wanted to kill him and strike a blow for all of her friends who had no doubt died by the Empire's hands. Terrorists, every last one of them, and he didn't lose a minute's sleep over their deaths.

But she was too afraid. Her spirit was bound by the petty rules of the Jedi, and it was why they were so impotent to actually affect any change in the galaxy. They would always fall to those who were willing to do the hard things. To sacrifice their souls for the galaxy to change.

Then she announced she wouldn't attack him, and he watched her. Whether he could trust her wasn't in question for it was a definitive "no" but he sensed no deceit in her decision. He glanced back to the ruins, stepping up onto them and keeping her in the corner of his eye as he listened. He bent low and ran his fingers across the stone as if it would speak to him with the right coaxing.

You're not very original in your attempts to get under my skin, he said absentmindedly. If she thought she was the first person to make a crack about the broadcasts then she lacked imagination.

Imagination is a weapon. Those who lack it are the first to die, he thought, remembering the words of one of his combat instructors from his childhood. With increasing frequency lately his mind had been drawn away from conversations in reminiscent thought, and he wondered what to attribute that to.

Let's say I'm here looking for a Gungan bride, he said, deciding to play along with her little game. And that means you're here for what? To see if the Gungans re-settled your ruins?

The base was little more than that now, and the fact would sting. Where were you when it was leveled? he asked, even more pointedly. She'd clearly not given her life defending the base as so many of her comrades had. Unwilling to make sacrifices, he thought again, but waited to hear her answer, curious if it had struck a nerve. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

She watched as he bent down to touch the stone, some part of her almost expecting him to suddenly send it flying at her. But no, there were better ways for him to kill her if he wanted to, more efficient ways. She was letting her adolescent fears get the better of her again. She was not that girl anymore, she didn't have to fear him. But just because she didn't fear him, it didn't mean that he couldn't hurt her. And the words that escaped his lips cut deeper than any physical attack could have.

"I.." she started to speak but came up short, not finding the words to answer his question. She hadn't been here, hadn't been able to help her friends. What difference did the reasons make, the fact that they were dead and she hadn't done anything to stop it. She knew that he was getting under her skin, she was letting a simple question get the better of her, but she didn't care. She needed to know. "I wasn't here. But why?" She asked instead of answering his question. "There were innocents here, women, children, locals who had no intention of leaving the planet or ever fighting the Empire." A small town had started to build up around the rebel base, the Gungans would come here to trade, and some had even started settling down to set up shop. And the Sith had killed them all.

She had taken a few steps forward, without even realizing it. She was so desperate to hear his reply, to make some sense of what had happened here that she was throwing caution to the wind. She didn't care if he struck at her, the truth was worth the risk.

"You could have sent your soldiers down, captured them, thrown them into cells. But why kill them all?"

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn could tell that his words had cut deep, and that was the goal. She was on a wrong path, and he was going to show her that, whether she wanted to see it or not. Varyn was a monster by most people's standards, and he didn't deny that. He had done terrible things that made it increasingly difficult to sleep at night. In fact, he rarely slept anymore at all, but instead used a deep, meditative trance. But he told himself time and again that it was worth it because the galaxy's people would be saved in the long run. Lives would be changed for the better.

Why? he asked incredulously. Her question was actually offensive, but he realized a moment later it was simply born of ignorance. He shook his head and let out a sigh of disappointment.

Let's evaluate the situation, he said, standing and moving toward her. You have an enemy base in front you, and while you may throw in the civilians and say they were "innocent" your premise is false. They knew that the people they were living with and supporting were terrorists. That inherently precludes them from being "innocent" so please don't taint the actual citizens of the galaxy by trying to mask terror supporters as "innocent," he said.

So now that we've dispelled your lie - and it is a lie, please don't try to present it as anything else - if you had a choice to let your enemy die or your own soldiers and citizens die, which would you choose? he asked, stopping just in front of her, out of range if she decided to try to pull a saber on him. He waited for her to answer because there was only one answer: no one in their right mind would sacrifice their own men's lives to save their enemy.

Your propaganda paints me as a terrorist because addressing the real issues is much, much more difficult. Do you even know why you hate me so much? he asked. He could only hope that she wasn't going to point to terrorists dying as the reason for hating him. He who wanted peace, freedom, justice, and security for the galaxy. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

For a few moments it seemed like she was at a loss for words, but as she had heard him speak, as she had processed everything he had said, an answer had started forming in her head. "Only a Sith," she finally said, not noticing the irony of what she was saying at the time, "deals in absolutes."

It was not the right answer, in years to come she might come to spot the fallacy that lay in her own argument, but it was the begining of an answer, an answer if she survived this day and lived long enough she might finally stumble upon. "I refuse to believe killing one side or the other is the only solution. Blockade the word, starve them out, send in diplomats for Forces sake." Her voice was getting slowly more agitated as she spoke, more passion seeping into her voice as she faced down the Emperor. "There is always a choice, for all of us."

She shook her head as she looked around her and walked to a nearby piece of rubble and sat down on it. "I don't hate you, I don't hate anyone in the Empire. It is the Dark Side, and the path it will ultimately lead you down that I fear. I want to avoid the next Medriaas, an entire planet destroyed over the quarrel between two men." She paused for a moment, staring at the Emperor, before asking a question of her own. "Would you have done it? If you had been in the child-Emperor's place. Would you have rained fire on Medriaas just to snuff out a few dissidents? Your own people."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Only a Sith deals in absolutes? Comical. He nearly laughed at the comment and how wrong it was. How quaint, he retorted. Anyone who failed to deal in absolutes was an utter fool. He refused to believe that even the Jedi were that foolish. They had stood for thousands of years before the rise of the Sith, surely they hadn't existed during that time with such idiotic philosophies as that.

He listened to her words, but more than that, he fed off of what she felt. He could feel passion and agitation, yes, even the borders of anger seep into her words. There was a Jedi standing in front of him, yes, but even on top of that there was a normal person. Varyn had always been told to hate the Jedi, and he did distrust the Light, but did he know why? He who had made peace with the Mandalorians, perhaps there was peace to be had with the Jedi.

No, that was too radical even for him, wasn't it?

He watched as she took a seat on the rubble, and he didn't move for a moment. But then he did. He moved across from her and sat down on a slab of his own and listened to what she asked. He had no hood or mask on and she would be able to see his eyes. Although they had the faintest color of yellow in them, there was little else to mark the corruption of the Dark Side. He had rarely embraced its power fully, and it had always put him at risk in his position if he hadn't kept an iron grip on everything else.

Would I have leveled the planet? No. I would have found a way to kill the dissenters, but I have no interest in countless innocent dead to kill a few enemies. Those actions were the actions of what you said: a child, he said. And a child had nearly brought the galaxy to its own destruction.

What do you see when you look at me? The Dark Side? An Emperor? Something else? he asked. It was a loaded question, but it was intentional and he wasn't going to give her any hints. There was a reason he asked it, but first he needed her to look beyond just what the simpletons of the galaxy were told about him or what the Jedi had tried to indoctrinate her with. She would know the strides he'd made in the galaxy for both good and bad.

 

[Alysanne Drast]

"I see," she paused before continuing, almost laughing at the absurdity of what she was about to say, and surprised at the fact that she wasn't lying, "I see hope."

If Aurora, Valentine, Leah, any of the Jedi who had played a role in her tutelage, had heard what she had said they would have probably shown anger, surprise, bemusement, probably in that respective order. But they didn't know the Sith the way did, they didn't know the Empire the way she did. She had seen what centuries of expectation and corruption by the Dark Side had done to her family, to the Drasts, to the very heart of the Empire. It had been a child who had ravaged Medriaas, but it had been a child born and created by centuries of corruption. The first Empress might have rejected the Jedi, but she had still been a just ruler. Maybe one lifetime of darkness wasn't enough to entirely destroy the good in someone, but five lifetimes? Ten? Twenty? That was more then enough to create monsters. She had feared the monsters born into her family, and over time she had come to know why. The Drasts were the heart of the Empire, but it was a heart that had been rotting for centuries. Even Good King Siris, supposedly the best of them all, had gone bad at the end. Maybe some day she would as well.

And that was why in this new Emperor she say some hope for the Galaxy. "The Galaxy can't survive another crazed child leader. What if the next one doesn't stop at one world? I don't know if the Galactic Alliance will ever be what we hope and dread for it to be. But," She looked up and caught his eye, speaking now with a simple and honest calm, "if we don't then I see in you at least a chance for the Galaxy to know a better future than it would another another tyrant."

It wasn't like she hadn't done her research, and she wasn't so blinded by prejudice to ignore the simple fact that he had also achieved some good in his reign. Maybe it was the optimist in her, but she refused to believe that anyone was ever completely stripped of good, even if they were Sith. And at least he seemed to have not traveled as far down that path as the Emperors and Empresses of old.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

That was definitely not the answer he was expecting, and in fact he found himself somewhat taken aback by it. He didn't know what to say or how to respond. He'd spent years now trying to crush out the remains of the GA and their Jedi allies, but he couldn't sense any deception in her. It didn't feel like manipulation, and he'd been lied to often enough to know that feeling.

As she spoke, he realized that for at least a moment, she had let her walls down and the feeling was... relaxing. It was nice. It was the same sort of peace that he had felt when he was with Tasha, but he knew that that wouldn't become what he had hoped. And what would this be? He couldn't very well end up with a Jedi, but the moment... whatever things may happen, the moment felt pleasant and he found that he didn't want it to end.

I hope you're right, he said quietly after a moment. He hoped the galaxy might actually be the secure and peaceful place he'd imagined and fought for, but he also knew that the Sith were... volatile. There had always been Sith in the Order who wanted little more than self-serving power at any cost, and he realized that that represented the majority of the upper echelon. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to have created the United Protectorate.

As bad as one leader can be, I hope that democracy doesn't just breed corruption, he said with a sigh, rubbing his face. The Jedi were going to "watch out" for it, he was sure, but he wasn't sure that was a good thing.

You know, if I'm going to sit here and talk treasonous politics with you, I should probably at least know your name. Or is that top secret Jedi business? he asked.

Actually, I don't think it's possible for me to commit treason, he said a moment later almost as an after thought to his first comment. For all intents and purposes he was the law. But that didn't mean he wasn't fully aware that there were plenty of Sith who wanted to see him dead for what he'd done already. He had always said he was a radical, and it was likely enough to get him killed.

 

[Alysanne Drast]

She could see that her answer had caught him off guard, which brought a slight smile to her face. She had expected her Jedi mentors to have that same reaction, so it was nice to see that there were ways in which Jedi and Sith were still alike. The Jedi taught of forgiveness and redemption, of the everlasting and indestructible nature of hope. As he spoke about democracy and treason, she couldn't help but wonder if the Sith were no exception, within a man who was supposed to be the living personification of the Dark Side, maybe there was still home good to be found. Maybe you just had to know where to look.

Or maybe because of who she was, how she had ended up here, she was better equipped to see it. "No," she relied with a chuckle and a wry smile, wondering how he would react to who she was. She had seen many a rebel, even Jedi, react to her name as if she had uttered the foulest of curses. But she had the feeling that given who she now was, a Sith would not have a different reaction. Well, here was her opportunity to test that. "My name is Alysanne, Alysanne Drast."

If nothing else, it would at least shed some light on why she had spoken as she had earlier. She, more than probably any Jedi in the very history of the Order, knew just what the Sith were, what they were capable off. And that included the good along with the bad. She gave him a few moments to digest that in whatever way he would, before latching onto his last comment, hoping to strike while the iron was hot. She had expected dismissal and probably a quick death from him, but instead she had faced well reasoned, if somewhat biased, arguments. Even if she could sway his mind a little, it would be a greater boon than any she could leave behind.

"Do you not see the flaw in a system that makes it impossible for a man to do any wrong?" She leaned forward, talking in earnest now, for a moment forgetting that she was facing a Sith, and simple reasoning with anyone else, "If you cannot commit treason then what is stopping you but your own moral compass? Today you justified the deaths of the men and women who crossed your path here, what if someday you face a compelling enough argument to do the same to Coruscant? To Corellia? To Koribban? What would stop you? Or any that followed you? You might not be the evil tyrant that some believe you to be, but isn't history more likely to paint you as an anomaly rather than the norm?"

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

She was absolutely full of surprises. Varyn didn't normally like surprises, but this time he was quite captivated by the ever unfolding path that he was exploring in her.

A Drast? he repeated, genuinely surprised for the second time in the last minute. I suppose you're not my biggest fan then, he said with raised eyebrows. He had been the one to help tear down the Drast dynasty and replace it with his own, but then, wasn't that what she was doing as a Jedi? She was ripping into her family's Empire, and had been since before he took it over.

He listened to her as she began to speak again, considering what she had to say about Coruscant or Corellia or Korriban. He thought about it for a moment. He had a difficult time perceiving an instant where such drastic action would be required, but if it were....

I do what I have to to protect the Empire, he said. He was still Sith at the end of the day, and he had done some terrible things to safeguard the Empire. Even long before he became the Emperor he had fought and lived and breathed for the Empire. But even he couldn't argue that among Sith, he was an anomaly.

The Sith are the problem, not the Empire, he said. More treasonous words. But for all the progress I've made, I'm not in a position for the Empire to stand on its own two feet without the Sith, he said. A necessary evil. His reign was marked by necessary evils, and try as he might, he couldn't be rid of the Sith.

He let out a sigh and stood up, motioning for her to follow after him. He was still tentative about trusting her, but he sensed none of the darkness that surrounded a creature on the verge of killing. It was a scent he was all too familiar with. He led the way down a hill to the edge of a small cliff dropping off toward the water. Waves lapped at the bank below, and the sound echoed off the walls of the pseudo-canyon below.

It's beautiful, isn't it? he asked. He had always wanted to settle down here since they'd seized the world from the Alliance, but he'd never had anyone to share it with. The days of dreaming that Tasha might come here with him had slowly drifted away, and he was left once more with himself and the Empire.

Would you become Empress if you could? he asked, still looking out at the water. He knew the Drast blood, and that made her at least a distant claimant to the throne. He wondered what she would have done. A Jedi on the throne; what would be different?

 

[Alysanne Drast]

She had been pretty pleased at herself at seeing his reaction to her name, but it was soon her chance to be surprised as he ultimately conceded that the Sith were the problem. Never in a million years would she have expected those words from a Sith, but she was begining to realize that he was not your stereotypical Sith. For all her life she had treated them as Sith first, but he was also a man. Was it possible that somewhere deep down he might even be a good one?

She couldn't deny the truth behind his words, as ingrained as the Sith were within the Empire she could not imagine one without the other. But if somehow you could separate the two she knew that there was within the Empire the structure to provide a good life for its citizens. More truths that she had not expected from the Emperor of the Sith Empire. She looked at him curiously as she walked after him, following to the cliff top. For once she didn't even consider the possibility of walking into a trap of some sort. Instead a simple curiosity was all she felt, who was this man?

She didn't respond to his question about the view, instead just smiling softly as she let the cool breeze fan her face. She had forgotten how beautiful Naboo was. Her mistakes and his actions, neither had managed to change that. It was a humbling to acknowledge that. No matter how big things might seem, they were still so insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

But she did let out a laugh at his next question, one born of pure joy, at having been caught off guard by the ridiculousness of what he proposed. "Me? That would be a terrible idea, would end in nothing but disaster. I mean take a look around us." That shut the laughter right up, bringing her crashing down once more, her eyes drifting to the side, to one of the ruined structures. She knew exactly what it had been, could still hear the laughter that had rang out as they had built it up. "I am no leader. A leader protects, a leader guides, a leader makes the right choices for those that follow them. This is proof I am incapable of any of that." She turned back to face the Emperor, her eyes now sad yet deternmined. "No, I will never be Empress. That is a responsibility for people like you, those with the strength to do what needs to be done, even if...even if it means sacrificing yourself for the greater good. Not a failure like me." The last words were little more than a whisper, barely audible over the gentle breeze, whistling and rustling its way through the ruins.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

He could not only see and hear the pain in her as she looked back behind them toward the site of the battle, he could feel it within her. She blamed herself for what happened, just as he knew he would have if he had been in her position. He blamed himself for many of the failures of the Empire, and he internalized the responsibility for it. Yes, he understood her better than she thought. Perhaps even better than she understood herself.

Not a leader? I saw you on the Holonet. I studied that footage over and over when the Jedi reappeared, he began. She would know that his intentions weren't exactly pure in studying it, but she probably didn't know he was one of the Sith that had first captured then-Knight Breaux and corrupted the Jedi Master Blackwood before her disappearance.

You put yourself on the line and stood up for what you believed in, he said, even if he wasn't sure he could agree with what she believed in, he could still respect the risk she had taken.

You sell yourself short: protecting, guiding, standing up for what you believe in, he said, clearly implying that her actions had done just that.

What's more, I can sense it in you. The responsibility you take for the failure of others. You may not see it yet, but you will grow and evolve. Others will look to you someday. I'd wager they already do now, he said, turning to look at her, his gaze seemingly piercing. His eyes didn't waver and seemed to see through to her very soul.

Do you believe me? he asked, watching for her answer. There was an aura that exuded from him that would almost seem to convince her. It was sincere and true, and seemed to speak of his experience with the topic. Where she had doubt in herself, she might begin to actually feel confidence. Not a forced impression, but one that simply passively seeped off of him.

 

[Alysanne Drast]

She caught his gaze, feeling the intensity behind them, but holding it for a moment or two before turning away with a rueful smile on her face. "Careful," she said as she turned her gaze back to the beauty of Naboo, the smile still on her face, "that sounded positively kind. Isn't is it a crime for Jedi and Sith to be civil with each other."

She was just using humor as a shield from the truth, she knew it, and probably he did as well. He seemed a lot more insightful than she had expected. But did she trust him? Trust the things he had said? She wasn't sure. They were standing in literal proof of her failures after all. But maybe he was right, in some part, on some level. Not entirely, but not entirely wrong either.

"Yes," she finally said, letting out a deep breath before turning to face him once more, "maybe it's a day for treasonous thoughts. But yes, I do believe you. Or least believe that you mean and believe what you say. Which was very kind of you by the way."

She saw it in his eyes, and for a moment or two getting an insight into him that she hadn't before. He knew the pain she was speaking off, had dealt with failures that she could only imagine, and had risen above them. He spoke not just with empty assurance, he spoke out of the certainty born of experience. And in that moment she found that she did believe him.

"Yes," she said once more, her voice softer this time, more sincere, "I believe you."

She had come here today looking for some closure, for a means to move forward. But she hadn't really expected the Emperor of the Sith Empire to be the one who helped her down that path. No, she couldn't toss that label at him like an insult anymore. He might be who he was, but he was also a good man. Odd how accepting that had been so much easier than accepting everything he had said about her. Odd indeed.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn could tell that she believed him, and he found that it was surprisingly enjoyable. He liked seeing her happy, though he had never known her before this. He never would have expected to find a comfort in spending time with a Jedi, but out here in the cool breeze of Naboo, where no one else could be found, they weren't really Jedi and Sith. It was just a man and a woman enjoying a beautiful day.

A Jedi and a Sith? Oh certainly they couldn't be civil, but a man and a woman, he shrugged. Sometimes a title is just a title, he said, knowing that she didn't just see the title anymore either. They were just... them.

And you should believe me, he said, moving over to the cliff and sitting down where he was sure the ground wouldn't give way. He said nothing for a while, enjoying the breeze from the water, and enjoying her company. He had a nasty habit of pressing around in the minds of others, but he intentionally restrained himself from doing so with her, instead just picking up whatever fleeting thoughts and emotions she exuded.

This is pleasant, he finally said after several moments of silence. I confess I never expected to find... what in the stars was the words he was looking for? ...comfort in the company of a Jedi. But, it doesn't seem like we're just Jedi and Sith out here. Just regular people making our way in the galaxy, he said. No matter what titles they had - Jedi Master, Sith Emperor - and even if they were members of elite Orders, they were still just regular people.

 

[Alysanne Drast]

She didn't really have any argument against his statement about titles, in the moment agreeing with what he was saying. They weren't Jedi and Sith, for the first time in a very long time she wasn't anything but her, just a woman enjoying a beautiful view in the company of a man. Albeit an intriguing and complex puzzle of a man.

"Yes," she said as she reached out a hand and held it up to catch a leaf floating by in the wind, smiling as it came to a rest on her palm, appreciating the simple beauty of the patterns woven on its surface, "it really is."

She was about to say more, but there was a sudden grumble from behind them that cut that thought short. She reacted on instinct, turning around at once, hand dropping down towards her waist. She expected a warship dropping down towards them, but instead found the cause to be a lot more mundane. She let out a relieved chuckle as she noticed the not so distant clouds, as the thunder roared again and a distant bolt of lightning flew down from the sky. Relieved not because she wasn't being attacked, but because for a moment she had been forced to remember who they were. The illusion wasn't broken, not just yet.

"Seems like nature doesn't much care for titles either." Her tone was joyous, almost playful, she had always loved the rain. As the rain began falling down on them, gently for now, she closed her eyes and spread out her hands, laughing openly as she twirled around, letting the rain and wind caress her face. She opened her eyes and looked back at him, gesturing for him to join her. "Come on, regular people enjoy the rain. I promise there are few things in the Galaxy than the first rains on Naboo."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

He was quickly remembering why it was that he wanted to retire here someday, but he also knew he didn't want to do it alone. He knew that he couldn't have a Jedi along with him for it, but just being here around someone who he felt surprisingly relaxed around confirmed that he didn't want to spend his time on Naboo alone. He had already drawn up the plans for the home he planned to build, and the money had been paid for. He just needed to decide on a location, but he didn't think the site of the former Jedi and rebel base was quite appropriate.

He was shaken from his thoughts as the crack and rumble of thunder filled the sky, and he looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected this type of weather, but she seemed positively unfazed by it. She seemed to take life as it came, and was filled with an excitement about everything. It was refreshing in some ways.

He dubiously pushed himself back up as she began to spin in the rain, nearly colliding with him as she did, but she was simply too carried away by the joy of it to worry. He wasn't quite the twirling type, but he reached out and took her hand, letting her use him as a pivot around which to swing. The instant their hands touched, he felt a surprising electricity within himself, and his heart momentarily seemed to beat a bit harder.

He swung her around as she spun in the rain before finally pulling her back toward him so she wouldn't fall. And what do people do when it rains? he asked, now far closer and with an arm wrapped halfway around her from having pulled her back from her twirl. She could have moved away if she wanted, but he was far closer to her now. Their faces were only a foot apart, and he didn't move back. He normally had no love of physical contact with others, but this didn't feel nearly as wrong. He'd grown accustomed to the sensation, and in this case didn't want it to stop.

 

[Alysanne Drast]

For all her experiences as a Jedi, as a rebel, as a leader, there were ways in which she was still a complete novice. As he pulled her close, she was none of those things for a moment. In that moment she was just a girl, carried away by the moment, everything but them forgotten.

She didn't pull away, instead stepping forward to get closer to him. They weren't Jedi and Sith, Emperor and Jedi Master. She had never been in a situation like this before, and maybe at any other time her mind would have overcome whatever she was feeling right now. But she couldn't, and didn't.

"This." A simple words was a reply before she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. She let go then, letting things happen as they wanted to, as everything around them seemed to be building up to.

There might be consequences, there might be complications. But she'd deal with them when the time came, they would deal with it when the time came. For now she let the moment lead her where it would.

@Phoenix