Reflections

[Sreeya]

Talia sat down across from him, listening to him as he mentioned about how she had been hurt by the disappearance. In truth, it was something she never coped with very well. She had felt abandoned, and she had blamed Ral for it. Back then, everyone had been scattered. Caedryn was out of the picture, Prudii was on the opposite side of the war leading Death Watch and Bardan was missing. She had felt entirely alone then, and Ral had only made it worse.

She grinned as he mentioned not seeing the penthouse, “It was a different chapter of my life. Who I am now is closer to the person you knew before,” She mused out loud. Republic space was where she had been truly a different person with no real semblance of her Mando roots present. She was privately very thankful to have the old kinship back, and even more blessed to have her old friends welcoming her like family.

“Nah, you can visit Buir whenever you want, always,” Talia watched him as he muttered about telling her father about them, “I think he’ll say something to the effect of ‘about damn time!’” Talia chuckled at her impression of her father, “He has been rooting for you since day one.”

As the waitress came by, Talia ordered the biscuits and bantha sausage gravy. As the woman walked away, Talia turned back to Ral, “Going to see Buir will have to wait. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

She leaned in closer, her more jovial nature suddenly replaced with one more serious, “I’ve been looking into Mirdala’s disappearance and I think I have enough information to do a covert mission into Sith space to get him. I’ll take Dak with me. I’ll probably be gone for some time while I pull the extraction. I need to be able to call for backup in case it goes to shit, so I wanted you to know.”

 

[Kori Buor]

The man gave a little nod when Talia said her penthouse was a different chapter of her life. "Well, I think you know how I feel about who you are now." He smiled as he folded his menu, having decided what he wanted to eat. Hearing that he could visit his father-in-law whenever he wanted made him grin, and it only reinforced that this was a new part of his life, of their lives. Ral had always enjoyed spending time with Talia's dad as a teenager; he treated him differently, like he was just a regular person, not someone with a destiny or great plan. And he always enjoyed the comments he made about him and Moira which always worked the girl up.

Looking at the older version of that girl, Ral chuckled when Talia admitted to her dad rooting for them since day one. "That's nice to know. Glad at least one person liked shipping you with me. And with him I know I won't have the disapproving dad stereotype to overcome. I'm sure my mom and sister will be thrilled to know you're back in my life. She was always worried I was going to take advantage of you as a kid." Ral started to laugh as he thought back to how concerned his mother had always been when she learned he was spending time with Moira.

With their orders taken, Ral looked at Talia when she said going to see her father would have to wait. His face frowned a little as she leaned in and the smile faded from her face. Her words were serious, and as he listened, he steepled his hands thoughtfully. Mird had been missing for a while, and to hear that Talia had managed to track him down was good news, even if he was sitting in Sith space wasn't. Ral hated the thought of sending Talia into Sith space, but he knew Dak was more than capable. Setting aside his emotions, Ral reached across the table and grabbed her hand. She was his Countess, the First Protector, guardian of his life and keeper of his heart. If anyone else had asked him to go, he would have refused, but he knew she could do it. He had made her his Protector Errant, and that meant taking on the dangerous tasks that no one else could to protect not only him but the Dominion. With a forced smile, he spoke, "Okay..." the hesitancy in his voice was clear, but so was the solemn resolve in his eyes. "Just promise to come back to me. And if you need some help getting out I'll make sure the fleet is ready, or whatever you need. I'd burn the Galaxy down just to get you back. I'm not going to lose you so soon after getting you back."