{{ urbania's void - chapter 36
...a knock on the door (day thirty-four / +34)
"Zekk?" Alema ran the backs of her hands over her eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them. Zekk had told her to nap a bit when they returned from the chamber that seemed to act as a ballroom... when they were returned to their lavish rooms, their prison cells. It had to be late afternoon by now, even though the sky still looked the same as always.
And Zekk was nowhere to be seen.
"Arkenna?" The twi'lek called out, sliding off of the bed, still in the same clothes from the night before. She crept around the room a bit and then stopped moving altogether.
She heard a sharp breath being drawn... in and out.
Her gaze moved along the wall to the refresher door, which was cracked open a bit.
Sauntering over to it, she gently slid the door aside and peeked in. The dim glow from the small lamp on the counter gave her enough light to make out the scene.
Zekk was curled up on his side, in the painted durasteel of the tub.
"Zekk..." She whispered breathlessly.
Alema could hear his quiet, dry sobs and she could faintly see his shoulders moving as each one sounded.
Had he been there all night?
Even without the Force, Alema could feel the waves of grief radiating from his huddled form. She rushed over to the tub and fell to her knees beside it, reaching out to him. "Zekk, come on..." Her fingers curled around his shoulders and he turned onto his back, staring up at her with a tear-streaked face.
His lips begin to move like he wanted to speak, but no sound was finding their way out of them. Zekk just sighed and gave up.
Gave up on everything.
The twi'lek drew in a deep breath and bit her lower lip for a moment, before speaking up. "Do you want to be left alone right now, Arkenna?"
She could see his head nod quickly.
"Alright." Standing up, Alema retreated into the main room and grabbed one of the blankets off of the bed. She returned to the refresher and stared down to him.
His clothes were bunched up around him, the jacket of the outfit splayed out over his legs, his knees pulled up to his chest. She could see him shivering. She spread the blanket out and threw it over him, waiting for it to settle before she tucked the top under his chin.
Her mouth opened to release little nothings of comfort... but she knew they wouldn't help, so she stood and left him there. Alone and quivering, mumbling drivel about Peckhum and the mighty ship, the [i]Lightning Rod[/i].
Zekk's eyes shot open later, when a knock sounded on the door.
"This is unbelievable!"
Another echoing crash sounded as the second decorative vase was knocked from the shelf to the floor.
Tahiri Veila stared to the man in front of her, his right hand clutching the shelf, his chest heaving in and out. His eyes were wide with anger as his hair fell in curved strands around his pale face. She had no idea how to stop him. She just let him go.
"I mean, what are they doing to us?!" His yelling had ceased, but his voice was still as sharp as a vibroblade. Certain syllables were tinged with a crisp Hapan accent. "Did they act like this on Myrkr?!"
Tahiri just stared at him. No response. She knew it was basically a question that she wasn't mean to answer. She didn't want to fuel the fire more; she just wanted this to pass over him. She knew if their Force powers weren't muted, he would be swimming in the dark side about now. She wanted it to just pass right by...
But it hurt her to see him so worked up and angry... so deep in the dark side.
Her jade eyes never left his now pacing form.
Admiral Gadell Vessau grabbed the shelf with his other hand and dug his fingernails into the wood. His knuckles were growing shades whiter as his teeth gritted together.
"My father..."
He ripped the fragile ledge from the wall and dropped it to the ground, over the remnants of the vase that was on it before. His hands planted themselves on the wall and his palms seemed to stick to it, slick with sweat.
"Why? Why my father?" The ramblings were more to himself than Tahiri, or anyone who could be listening to them. He spun around slowly and pushed his back up against the wall, letting his chin tilt upwards and his eyes move towards the ceiling. "I can't believe they---"
Tahiri couldn't stand it anymore. She stood and stumbled over to him, instantly clutching the front of his jacket. Her fingers curled around the fabric, her hands balling into fists and losing themselves into the folds of the material.
Within seconds, she had her lips locked onto his, the kiss starting out as one to calm him down and quiet him. He seemed to melt back against the wall and as the kiss deepened, Tahiri realized why she had really done it.
She had really wanted to.
Something inside of her was begging to take the chance, to see how he would react.
Something inside of her was telling her how she felt for him.
Gadell's ferocity had died down as he felt her soft lips shut off his train of hissing and yelling. The kiss calmed his nerves and caused his head to get a little light. The Admiral found his hands running through her mass of blonde hair and as their lips parted, he found her eyes staring right into his.
Moments passed, silent moments. With a lingering undercurrent of warmth.
His voice was a whisper, "So that was Anakin?"
He spoke of the Mindmapped people they had seen, and the blue-eyed, shaggy haired boy that had caused Tahiri to cry out.
She nodded in return, her emerald eyes never leaving the azure depths that stared back at her.
"He was a good looking kid," his soft reply floated to her ears and as it did, Tahiri wanted to respond angrily --- 'good looking kid' --- they weren't kids!
But she stopped herself. Anakin was only a kid when he was killed. She had been basically a child. She had always argued then, that she was a teenager... that she was older than she seemed. But now when she looked back on it, she realized that she was just a kid.
Her and Anakin had been through so much as kids and after it all... that was when Tahiri really became a woman. The events of the war had helped to shape her and helped her to grow up into the strong woman she was now.
Anakin had died and Tahiri had gotten older. It hurt her when she thought like that, emotionally and mentally; even physically... it made her heart ache. She missed Anakin so much, but she knew that now he was always with her, in the Force.
She nodded at Gadell's statement and slowly let her forehead drop onto his chest. Tears were pooling at the corners of her eyes and as much as she tried to hold them back, some escaped, soaking though Gadell's shirt.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close to him as he could manage, planting a small peck on the top of her head. He knew that mentioning the kiss they shared would eliminate any of the feeling and purpose that it held... so they both just stood against the wall, in each other's arms, basking in the feeling of companionship and the moments of silence that enveloped them.
They stayed like that until a knock sounded on the door.
"Jacen?!"
Tenel Ka raced through the woods, smacking branches from her face, her barefeet padding loudly on the ground. Her nightgown was getting pulled and tugged, as each twig grabbed at her like billions of tiny claws.
She could feel that something was wrong, in the grove... the dravells...
...something was wrong with Jacen...
Sliding to a halt within the small open area, she saw General Solo. He was on his knees, in a pool of blood, scars criss-crossing the skin on his back. Dravells hovered around him like a shroud of pain... of death. They lingered, their light shimmering and reflecting in the crimson liquid.
"Jacen...?" Her voice escaped her. She could feel herself talking but no sound seemed to come out of her mouth.
His head turned back slowly and his eyes met with hers, for a moment, there was a flash. It was like all the dravells grew brighter and Jacen's visage changed a bit, his eyes shifting to a dark gray and his hair fading to a midnight shade, a deep green streak cutting across his pale cheekbones.
Then the dravells dimmed again and it was Jacen Solo.
He fell forward into the ocean of blood.
She could only murmur one thing...
"Kaidin."
The Queen Mother's eyes snapped open and as they fell into focus, she saw that Jacen was already sitting up in bed, beside her. Her gaze instantly attached itself to the cords in Jacen's back, where the muscles twitched and shifted as he held himself up with his hands. He sensed her movement and turned to her, his brown eyes wide.
"There was a knock at the door..." The sound of his whisper soothed her rapid train of thoughts and the quick beat of her heart, even though the message he was relaying was a tense one.
Jacen quickly pushed himself to the edge of the bed and reached down, pulling up the dark shirt that was attached to the jacket he had worn to dinner. He tore the shirt away from the overcoat and collar and pulled it over his head, the holes where he ripped it showing pale skin through the sea of black. He scooted back on the bed and sat up straight, his hand latching onto her shoulder as she followed suit, sitting up beside him. The door slid open and in slinked a male and a female.
"Come along." The female said, boring her motherly gaze into Tenel Ka.
"We're going for a walk." The male smirked to Jacen, the scar running down his face giving him a tough expression.
Minutes passed and they had no choice but to follow Teneniel Djo and Ganner Rhysode out of the stone bedroom.
At that same moment in time Gadell followed Kaden Vessau and Zekk was trailing behind stocky Peckhum, sniffling all the way.
Tenel Ka, Jacen, Gadell and Zekk ended up in the same room at the end of the short journey through the confusing hallways and corridors of the Mircas Tower.
...at a reunion none of them were looking forward to at all.
| 