#Darth Mekhis

[swtorpadawan]

Misplaced

Author’s Notes: The following story is Part III of my Shadow Games series and takes place at Vaiken Spacedock in my Halcyon Legacy a few weeks before the Forged Alliances story arc.

“What do you mean you’ve lost an experimental dreadnaught?”

Darth Arkous glared across his desk towards his chief advisor, Lana Beniko. The younger Sith was standing before him, having just delivered a report that had made his blood boil.

Beniko cooly maintained eye contact, impassively holding her ground. Despite her lack of a formal title – apparently by her own choice – she was unflappable as usual.

“With all due respect, my lord, I played no role in maintaining the security of the Undying.” The human female’s voice was clearly unphased by Arkous’ rising anger. He found himself simultaneously impressed and infuriated by her poise. Most of his underlings would have been cowering by this point, some of them on their knees.

Arkous finally turned away in dark contemplation. The implications of this news would impact his plans on multiple fronts.

Taking his motion as assent, Lana continued her report.

“The Sphere of Military Offense only just received this report - as a courtesy from our counterparts in Military Defense - that the ship had gone missing from where it had been posted stationed.”

She paused.

“As it was nominally considered a defensive asset, that placed it under Darth Marr’s purview.”

Despite his dark mood, Arkous had to bite back a smirk at the mention of his fellow Councilor. Nominally, Arkous was a fully-fledged member of the Sith Empire’s feared Dark Council as the Councilor of the Sphere of Military Offense, a position that should have made him the better or equal to any other Sith Lord in the galaxy save for the Emperor himself. Further, he was now well entrenched in his position, having held this role since shortly after the death of his predecessor, Darth Arho, on Ilum nearly two years ago.

In practice, Darth Marr, his counterpart as Councilor of the Sphere of Military Defense and one of the longest serving Sith on the Council, had taken advantage of the Emperor’s absence and the Empire’s many internal conflicts over the last few years, consolidating a significant power base for himself. Arkous, along with many of the other Councilors, were finding it increasingly difficult to act on their own authority without consulting him.

Indeed, some had even dared to whisper that Marr would eventually attempt to lay claim to the dark throne of the Sith Emperor for himself.

He is a symbol of everything wrong with the Dark Council. Arkous privately reflected.

He could only hope that the loss of such an infamous weapon under Darth Marr’s watch would take his esteemed colleague down a peg or two. When a new Empire eventually emerged from the fires to come, Sith like Marr would be tossed aside.

Beniko might well have been sensing – or perhaps anticipating – his thoughts.

“I am told that Lord Marr is… less than pleased.” The Sith advisor, the face of professionalism, confirmed dryly. Arkous fully understood the implied understatement.

Heads would no doubt be rolling at the Sphere of Military Defense over such a catastrophic failure. Quite literally.

Reluctantly putting aside his personal satisfaction at Marr’s plight, Arkous decided to press on.

“Fine. Fine.” The Pureblooded Sith Lord waved his hand dismissively. “What else do we know?”

Beniko turned back to her datapad.

“The Undying was stationed at the far end of the Dromund system outside of standard sensor range.” Beniko continued. “It was hoped that it would serve as the Empire’s ultimate fallback weapon if the Republic ever attempted another strike against the capital. With its advanced capabilities and the advantage of surprise, it could have devastated an opposing fleet…”

“I am well aware of its tactical potential.” Arkous interrupted, irritably. The Republic’s raid on Dromund Kaas two years prior, an attack that had led to the destruction of the ancient Dark Temple, had been a blight on the reputation of the entire Empire. It had made the Sith appear weak to the galaxy, encouraging dissent and rebellion throughout the Empire’s own ‘sphere of influence’. Revolts had arisen on several planets in light of the setbacks they had suffered during the Second Galactic War, and even the supply of Isotope-5 that Marr had claimed from Makeb prior to that planet’s destruction had not been enough to completely reverse that momentum. Indeed, Arkous recalled that it had been that these events had set him on the path of reconsidering his own loyalties…

He stopped himself. Beniko was perceptive. It would not do for him to dwell too long on those considerations in her presence.

“And I understand why it was there.” He stated firmly. “Pray, continue, Lana.”

Arkous had researched the specifications of the prototype vessel extensively after coming into power. Knowledge of the superweapon – much less details of its full capabilities – had been severely restricted. It had been an impressive ship, indeed.

“As you say, my lord.” The advisor moved on, apparently unrattled by his interruption as she looked down again.

“Every effort was taken to conceal the ship’s presence, including maintaining only a carefully selected skeleton crew and employing a communications embargo. Space traffic in that zone was restricted, and supply runs were carried out by droid-controlled transport ships.”

Beniko looked up.

“This is why it took them nearly a week to realize it had gone missing.” Lana was clearly allowing some of her dry contempt at the oversight by her counterparts at Military Defense to bleed into her report, even while maintaining her professional detachment.

“And thus we’ve managed to lose the last of Mekhis’ toys.” Arkous sighed in aggravation, sitting back in his chair.

Darth Mekhis, the late Councilor of the Empire’s Sphere of Technology, had been an engineering genius without peer. But she had also been a decrepit and insane crone; far too obsessed with the artistry of her own creations to effectively deploy them properly. Some rumors even claimed that she’d come to regard her weapons as her ‘children’. Arkous had no doubt those distractions had helped lead to her demise, along with the destruction of the Sun Razer some years ago.

Since then, both the Gauntlet and the Ascendant Spear, arguably the two most promising of Mekhis’ creations, had both been destroyed during ill-considered operations against the Republic.

The Silencer, a mega-laser that could be attached to a capital ship with the capability of destroying entire fleets, had shown great potential initially under the direction of Darth Nox. But the Republic had proven to be incredibly resourceful in refitting their capital ships to defend against the weapon. What’s more, it was terribly power-restrictive. Already there had been at least one incident where an Imperial dreadnaught had crippled itself in a failed attack on the Republic, leading to its capture. Without Mekhis to make corrective alterations, her mega-laser was now obsolete.

Finally, the Emperor’s Shadow, with its advanced cloaking capabilities, had been lost during Darth Malgus’ coupe attempt, its incredible technologies squandered on another Sith’s delusions of grandeur.

The Undying was now the only remaining superweapon from Sun Razer project, and now it had apparently been lost as well.

Arkous drummed his fingertips along the surface of his desk.

“Could the Republic be responsible?” he finally offered.

Beniko paused at length.

“Our intelligence apparatus has been somewhat… disorganized since the dissolution of Imperial Intelligence, my lord.” Her disapproval of the present state of affairs was obvious. Academically, Arkous was forced to agree. Whatever its faults might have been, the absence of the Empire’s Intelligence service had left a major gap in their capabilities, forcing them to rely more and more on the private networks of individual Sith.

Then again, that same ‘gap’ had allowed an opportunistic Sith Lord like Arkous to engage in his own machinations unimpeded.

“But our current analysis is that direct Republic involvement seems unlikely.” Beniko continued. “Such an operation would require the involvement of too many assets to have gone completely unnoticed. I believe our remaining operatives would have reported on such a bold plan.”

Suspicions of treachery creeped into the Sith Lords mind.

“Could the crew have mutinied?”

Beniko paused at that, gathering her thoughts.

“Not impossible, but both the officers and the crew were carefully selected for their loyalty to the Empire. Collective treason without warning signs seems implausible in the extreme.”

Arkous turned away in consideration.

“So we have nothing.” He concluded.  

“I’m told that Lord Marr has already asked the former Cipher Nine to investigate.” Beniko quickly responded. “Despite their… semi-independence, they have the most impressive track record of our surviving field agents.”

Arkous imagined that Marr hadn’t quite phrased it in the form of a ‘request’, independent agent or not. He also knew he could not allow anything to interfere in the Order’s goals. Not when they were so close to finally putting their plans in motion.

I’ll have to make certain that this Cipher agent finds no compromising breadcrumb trails leading back to me. He mused.

Not for the first time, he considered revealing his true allegiances to Beniko; her talents and acumen could be a great asset to the Master.

No. Not yet. Too many variables at this point. Beniko was a pragmatist. She might certainly come to recognize the danger that Vitiate represented, both to the Empire and to the galaxy as a whole. But it would be unwise to overplay that hand just yet. Perhaps later, she would be ready to see the situation clearly as he did and be ready to understand the desperate measures necessary to stop him.

With that decision made it became vital that he continue to keep her in the dark to his dealings, at least for the present.

“Very well.” He finally assented. “Keep me informed and order a full audit of our own Sphere’s assets in case other vessels or equipment are targeted. It would not do for us to repeat Marr’s mistake.”

He steepled his fingers together.

“You alone are capable of overseeing such efficiency, Lana.” The Dark Councilor then regarded his fellow Sith, their yellow eyes meeting. “I do hope my confidence in you has not been… misplaced.”

He allowed the unspoken threat to linger in the hope that it would convey enough urgency that she’d be distracted from his true intentions.

If she were at all intimidated by the warning, Beniko didn’t give it away.

“No, my lord.” She answered with a deference he strongly suspected his advisor didn’t feel. “I assure you I remain fully capable of carrying out your instructions.”

Crisp. Professional. Dedicated. Confident.

Were the situation otherwise, Arkous would have been enormously pleased with such a servant.

“Good.” He nodded, feigning satisfaction.

As he started to reconsider the webs of his plans, a stray strand caught his attention.

“One last thing. Inform Lord Goh to get that report to me as soon as possible. He’ll know the one.”

Beniko nodded in assent.

“Of course, my lord.”

“Then that will be all, Lana.” He said in dismissal, his chair rotating until he had turned away from his advisor.

“My lord.” She bowed and turned away, heading for the exit. He heard the door seal itself shut behind her a moment later.

Finally alone, Arkous fumed at the lost opportunity of the Undying. He had planned to steal the ship himself with the assistance of the Order, and now he had to consider the possibility of yet another player on the board, putting the Master’s plans at risk.

There was still time to revise his plans around this setback. Perhaps he would even have the opportunity to see Darok again.

For now, he would have to watch his back – and his chief advisor – carefully.

 Author’s Notes: The Undying makes its sole appearance in the Star Wars: The Old Republic - The Lost Suns limited series and graphic novel. Its one of several superweapon prototypes Theron Shan discovers before the destruction of the Sun Razer. The Gauntlet and the Silencer both later appear in the SWTOR class stories, while the Ascendant Spear is featured in the Annihilation novel. The Emperor’s Shadow and the Undying are not mentioned outside of the comic, and those absences are loose ends in my mind. I try to tie those off here.

The connection to the previous two chapters may not be obvious at this point, but I hope it becomes clear in time.

Makeb was destroyed in my storyline’s canon; more on that another time.

Lord Goh appears in the Forged Alliances story and is the end-boss in the Republic-sided Assault on Tython flashpoint. He’s most notable for almost never talking in the cutscenes.

The Darth Arkous / Colonel Darok ‘ship is one that’s been going through the fandom for a while, now. I touch on it here.

Thanks for reading, and may the Force be with you.

Tagging interested parties - @a-master-procrastinator​ @anchanted-one​ @grandninjamasterren​ @kartaylirsden​ @kemendin​ @kgoblin​ @magicallulu7​ @mysterious-cuchulainn-x​ @space-unicorn-dot​ @the-raven-of-highever​ @thefrostflower​ @tishinada​ 

[dragonaur]

A mostly mechanized Darth Mekhis.

[greyias]

“I’m not a Jedi.”

Star Wars: The Old Republic — The Lost Suns

[sabersourcing]

Darth Mekhis Lightsaber (SWTOR Lightsaber) | Lightsaber Profile

Darth Mekhis Lightsaber (SWTOR Lightsaber) | Lightsaber Profile

The Darth Mekhis lightsaber is a single-bladed red lightsaber wielded by Darth Mekhis. Darth Mekhis is an Old Republic era female Dark Lord of the Sith in Star Wars Legends. A Dark Council member and a scientist, Darth Mekhis becomes a weapon designer during the Cold War. RELATED LIGHTSABER SELLERS affiliate linksIf you purchase an item through these links, SaberSourcing receives some money at…

[anchanted-one]

Legend of Lightning Chapter 73. New Orders

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43208574/chapters/117990541

As Vajra busied himself with the teapot, he felt the Master’s eyes on him. He didn’t need to see her to feel her concern. “I’m fine, Master. I really am. I’m ready for this mission.”

“I know. You’re a strong young man, Vajra. We’re lucky to have you. But that doesn’t stop me from worrying. I had hoped you could have more time to recover.”

“So do I, Master.” He added the tea leaves and covered the top before turning off the heat.

“Tell me about what you did yesterday,” she asked, and Vajra gave her a modified account of his evening. He left out all mentions of Cipher Nine, but told her about the restaurant he’d visited, and the sunset he’d watched.

“Strange that you’d head out all the way there. It’s, what… fifteen kilometres off?”

“I needed the exercise,” Vajra said, pouring out two steaming cups of tea and placing one in front of her, with a single squeeze of lime and a spoonful of honey. He knew her well enough by now, to know how she liked her tea. “And Alderaan is a nice place for a run, when there’s no war going on.”

“That’s true.” She coughed and took a sip. “Mmmh. Thank you. Just what I needed.”

“So what about your day?”

“I spent it in here,” she said with a dour face. “Hoping the cold wouldn’t get this bad.”

“Well, maybe it’s a good thing that it did. Now you get a day off from work.”

She tilted her head and chuckled. “Looking at the bright side? I’ll take it. Maybe if it’d happened a week ago, I could’ve taken you, Kira, and Jasme for a brief vacation.”

“What about Theron?”

She looked bemused at mention of her son’s name. “You want to hear something funny? I heard from my former comrade last night. It turns out, Theron was responsible for the death of Darth Mekhis, several months ago. He faced a Dark Council member, and I didn’t hear about it until now.”

[reallystellacadente]

A Fresh Start

This was supposed to be part of a longer work that I won't describe because maybe it will eventually get written. But I'm testing the waters of this fandom again, working on various WIPs (AU story We Belong will be completed!!) and felt like I should just get this out there. It initially had an edgier title but I got distracted and forgot it.

Content warning for brief violence.

Find it on AO3 here. My epic take on the Quinn/SW story is here.

================================================

Two heavily bearded prisoners, one reeking of piss and shit, the other a bit better kept, were dragged before the magister’s desk.

He was a civilian advocate, a military retiree compelled to return when asked to serve in this role. His sole job: to pass judgment on errant military personnel. On occasion, his rulings were dictated from on high. He did both with all the brains and heart he could stomach.

And he did so from behind a simple wooden table behind a meter-high plasteel panel in a cold, steel gray room.

Today, it was two officers. He hated this part of the job. Because either they were guilty and a shame upon the service, or they were innocent and being framed to protect someone higher up who actually was guilty. So still, a shame upon the service.

Today, he had one of each. The first case was open and shut: A young lieutenant had gotten drunk and forced himself upon a barmaid. Normally, such a thing would be overlooked, since the young woman had not been severely injured, except she was the niece of a prominent Sith family. Human, but still Sith. He’d appealed, saying his drink had been spiked by a spiteful colleague. There was no way to prove it.

“Gorbinn, step forward.” The young man was clearly too weak to escape the guards holding him, so they dragged him to the front of the table. “You must stand to hear your fate, son.” The guards stood him up and then backed away.

“Jamith Gorbinn. The Military High Tribunal has reviewed your appeal. Your appeal has been denied. The sentence of death stands. It will be carried out immediately.”

The young man opened his mouth to protest, but one of the guards pointed his blaster at his head and fired before he could say anything. His body slammed forward to the duracrete floor and a pool of blood began to form.

A doctor walked slowly toward him, gave him a quick scan, and pronounced him dead.

The other officer somehow managed to pull himself up and the guards released their hold on him. He stayed in place, but stood up fully and attempted to straighten the dirty prison uniform he’d worn for the past three weeks. There was nothing he could do about the blood spatter on his left side. He assumed the magister would understand.

He’d last been given a clean uniform for his appeal hearing, brief and bewildering as it had been. He knew the process – all the arguments were laid out before the military court without the accused present, unlike the grueling court martial he’d been through the month before. Then the accused was brought in for a final statement, and questions if necessary. There had been none, but the officer had been certain that some of them looked upon him with pity and not scorn. It had been his only hope for these past weeks that somehow, his life might be spared.

Two young enlisted troops ran forward with a tarp and rolled the body onto it. The two guards who had escorted Gorbinn in lifted the body and dropped it onto the tarp, rolled it up and carried him away. One of the enlisted men went to the back of the room, just beyond the officer’s sight, and came back with a vibromop and a towel, and quickly removed any evidence of the justice that had just taken place.

Now it was obvious what the plasteel panel was for.

“Next. Prisoner Dorn-37652, step forward.”

Malavai Quinn, 27 years old, had been stripped of his captaincy and left without rank or even a name for the past three months since he’d taken it upon himself to countermand a moff’s misguided and cowardly orders. Reversing the retreat had saved hundreds of thousands of Imperial troops and hundreds of ships. It had been a glorious victory for the Empire, but it had come at a severe price to him personally.

He hadn’t regretted it until the court martial, when one of the judges remarked he had known Quinn’s father, who had died months earlier at Rhen Var, in service to Darth Mekhis. “You bring great shame upon a glorious military family,” she spat.

“I would not change what I have done, your honor. My actions were for the good of the Empire. We won the day and thous…”

“You disobeyed orders. There is no excuse.”

Quinn bowed his head and remained silent. The proceedings stretched on for three days, rather long for an Imperial court martial.

==

The young man bore a strong resemblance to his father, who the judge had researched while awaiting the decision he was to present as his own.

“Malavai Quinn. I have reviewed your appeal. The appeal of your death sentence has been approved, and the Military High Tribunal concurs. You will be returned to custody until such time as your final sentence has been determined and you are released.”

Quinn felt his stomach fall and then return. “Thank you, your honor. Sir.”

The judge rose slowly, picked up his datapad, and turned to leave. Quinn stood still, waiting for a formal dismissal.

“For the record, son, my granddaughter was at Druckenwell. She’s at home with her son now. I had no part in this decision, but I’m glad of it,” he said, turning his head back toward the defendant.

Quinn stood at attention and then nodded. “Sir, I may no longer be in service, but I am grateful nonetheless.” The two guards motioned toward Quinn, who followed them back.

As he retreated, Quinn figured he’d be dishonorably discharged, banished from Dromund Kaas and made to feel lucky he’d been left alive. There was nothing remaining for him here anyway. His mother had disowned him, whether she was still grieving for his father or worried about his sisters’ career and marriage chances, she hadn’t said. She was incensed he had refused an offer to simply leave the service without an official trial as part of a plea bargain. “You’re just being difficult, Malavai. You’re always difficult. You don’t think of anyone but yourself.”

“I’m thinking of the truth, Mother. It needs to be heard. Moff Broysc was …”

“I don’t care. Why should I? You don’t care. About anyone except yourself and your impossible standards. You’re worse than your father, and he’s a full colonel.” She brought a handkerchief to her eyes and mumbled into the cloth, “He was a full colonel.”

Quinn could never bear seeing her cry. “Mother, I’m sorry. I have to see this through.”

“Then you see it through alone. I’m done with you, Malavai. I have no need of a son who gives no thought to his family’s shame.”

And she cut the transmission. As a prisoner, Quinn had no way of contacting her, so he begged his advocate, who said they’d been unsuccessful at reaching her.

So this was it. Quinn followed the guards back to his cell. Two hours later, a fresh prison uniform was delivered and Quinn was ordered to the showers to clean up and shave.

He was escorted into a small workroom with a tabletop holo. A few minutes later, a large figure appeared and addressed him as “lieutenant.”

Quinn bowed, assuming he was addressing a Sith of some stature by the man’s dress and battle mask, and the high-end computer terminals behind him. “My lord, I have been stripped of my rank as a …”

“I know why you’re in there, Malavai Quinn. My name is Darth Baras. I have asked my master, Darth Vengean of the Dark Council, to spare your life in exchange for a new start with the military. You are to be transferred to Balmorra, where you will serve as my eyes and ears.

“Trust me, Quinn. Your talents will not be wasted.”

Quinn wasn’t sure what to say. He’d just been granted a new beginning. A humbling one, being returned to the rank of lieutenant when he was all but assured of a promotion to major before Druckenwell. And exiled to Balmorra, still a fresh warzone. But he was alive. And he was still Malavai Quinn.

He stood at attention, then bowed his head in deference. “Thank you my lord. I shall serve you faithfully for as long as I am required.”

The impassive metal face gave Quinn no clues as to the man behind it. It wasn’t even particularly frightening, like many Sith masks. His round figure likely meant the man was no fighter, or at least, had not been one recently.

“You will receive your official orders and a new uniform shortly. The shuttle to your new post leaves in two hours. You had best be on it. I will contact you again when I receive word you have arrived. Baras out.”

The holo went dark. Quinn was both elated and terrified. He was back in the service, his mind already calculating his newly possible futures: put on hold for a few months on Balmorra, a year at most, able to transfer back to a more relevant assignment after that. He’d be spending this time serving a Sith lord, a darth no less. As his father had done.

And look what that had gotten the man. Quinn vowed to do his father one better. Even disowned, he would make his family proud.

[wolf-of-the-glade]

So I am doing research (Gleefully scouring through SWTOR wiki) for a list I’m filling out and I came across this amazing thing...

“Seeing that a man in his underwear (Theron had taken off most of his clothes to deal with working in the Spear's engine room) had caused Mekhis's ultimate creation to be ruined, she activated her lightsaber and began to attack him.”

... on Darth Karrid’s wiki page and just the idea of some Sith turning around and just seeing a nearly naked man running around their ship in the middle of a massive space battle is fucking hilarious.

[synoxshots]

my superpower is making everything about Theron Shan

anyway I KNOW this isn’t the real reason but there is arguably a chain of events and the idea made me lol

sequence below spoiler cut

A massive oversimplification of events where

Theron Shan kills Darth Mekhis

Thanaton stalls the Silencer project

SI begins working with Moff Pyron and gets control of the chip that’s crucial in their creation

Demonstration of their power wins over other Moffs (and possibly Darth Achelon)

Moff Pyron and his fleet come to their aid on Corellia in the Kaggath

SI doesn’t die

SI defeats Thanaton and joins the Dark Council

[lonewolfel]

Fictober 2020, Day 25

Prompt: 25 - “sometimes you can even see”

Fandom: SWTOR (Star Wars the Old Republic)

Rating: G (mentions of death) 

Paring: mentions of Theron/Sith Inquisitor

Jace was never exactly close to Theron. That was something he had always regretted. He may not always agree with his son's choices (Darth Imperius), but he still cared about him. Satele's and Theron's disappearance was something that hit Jace hard. The last time Jace saw Theron they talked about his relationship with Darth Imperius. Now the Sith Lord is dead by Emperor Arcann’s hand and there was a fragile peace between the Zakuulan Empire and the Republic. 

Jace walked into the office of the Director of the SIS Marcus Trant. He sat down in front of the Director.As much as Jace hated to admit it he was jealous of the man. Trant knew far more about Theron than Jace ever did. After all Trant has no Theron for almost twenty years and Jace has known him for a couple years. Though Jace had tried, it was harder than he thought. As much as Theron probably didn't want to admit it  sometimes you can even see Theron’s similarities to Satele and Jace. 

"I'm glad you can make it." Trant said and Jace nodded.

"You had information on Theron." Jace said and Trant nodded. Though he seemed to be hesitating. 

"How much do you know about what happened on Yavin?" Trant asked and Jace frowned.

"I know that the Grandmaster's fleet went there along with the forces of Darth Imperius and Darth Marr to defeat the false Revan. Grandmaster Satele had a theory that Theron was into Darth Imperius." Jace said

"The Grandmaster may be more right than she thought." Trant muttered and Jace looked at him in confusion. "When I briefed Theron I could tell that he knew far more than he was letting on in regards to Darth Imperius. He spent months with her and yet claimed to know nothing that the Republic didn't already know." 

"You didn't consider it a security risk?" Jace asked in confusion. 

"I did until I got this from one of my agents inside the Empire." Trant said and he pulled out a recording. 

"Master, I have looked in all Imperial databases. Theron Shan is not mentioned in anything." Jace recognized the voice as the Jedi traitor Ashara Zavros. One of the apprentices of Darth Imperius.

"He is a good agent." The mechanical voice of Darth Imperius said

"But Master surely he has done something against the Empire." Zavros said

"How much do you know about Technoplague?" Darth Imperius asked

"Technoplague is an unknown Republic agent that is responsible for the death of two Dark Council members; Darth Mekhis and Darth Karrid of the Sphere of Technology." Zavros said "You think Theron is Technoplague."

"I know he is." Darth Imperius said

"He told you?" Zavros asked

"No, when he hacked into my ship the technique was practically Technoplague's MO. Also, Theron mentioned Master Zho a known accomplice to Technoplague's killing of Darth Mekhis." Darth Imperius said

"Shouldn't you tell Acina and the Dark Council?" Zavros asked

"No." Darth Imperius said

"Master, with all do respect, he has killed Dark Council members he could kill you." Zavros said and Darth Imperius started to laugh. Jace's frown deepened at the fact that she thought it was laughable at the idea that Theron could kill her. "Master, this is serious." Zavros seemed annoyed at her master.

"If he succeeds then I'm sure Zash and Thanaton will send him a fruit basket from beyond the grave." Darth Imperius said

"We need to find you people that won't try to kill you." Zavros said

"That's what you, Talos, Oculus, and Khem are for." Darth Imperius said

"Master..." Zavros started

"Trust me, Ashara." Darth Imperius said

"Yes, Master." Zavros said and the recording ended.

Darth Imperius knew exactly who Theron was, yet she made no move to defeat him. She allowed the Empire to sit in its ignorance. 

"The bug was destroyed soon after the recording." Trant said

"Do you think Darth Imperius wanted us to hear this?" Jace asked and Trant shrugged.

"I won't pretend to understand the mind of a Sith, but I doubt this was accidental. She did remain true to her word the Empire still has no clue who Technoplague really is." Trant said 

"Do you think they were in a relationship?" Jace asked

"There was no proof that Theron ever met with Imperius, but he did meet with her apprentice." Trant said and he pulled out another recording. This one had video. He saw Theron sitting at a table in a cantina alone with a cloaked figure walking towards him. "This was about a week after the Barsen'thor's capture." Trant hit play on the recording. 

Jace could hear the cantina music coming from the holo. The cloaked figure got closer to Theron.

"Ashara." Theron said and Jace could barely make it out.

"I came to give you this." Zavros said and she handed Theron something.

"What is happening?" Theron asked as he looked at the object.

"My Master and Lord Beniko have a plan." Zavros said

"What are they?" Theron asked

"My Master's plan I don't know, but she claims that both the Empire and Republic won't make it two more months fighting Zakuul." Zavros said and Jace huffed at how accurate that was.

"You're joking, that would only be a year." Theron said and Zavros shook her head. This revealed part of her face to the camera.

"That's what my Master says and she is rarely wrong." Zavros said

"What is Lana's plan?" Theron asked 

"It's in the datapad. I need to go. May the Force be with you, Theron." Zavros said and she turned away. She walked away and the video ended, remaining on the last scene. 

May the Force be with you was something Jace had heard from Jedi not Sith. This confused him. Why hadn't she adapted to the Sith sayings?

"Do you think he went to the Empire?" Jace asked fearing the answer.

"According to my agent in the Empire, Theron never joined with any Imperial. In fact Minister Lana Beniko has left the Empire and has not been seen since." Trant said

"What do you think they are up to?" Jace asked

"I don't know it was clearly about something in that datapad." Trant said

[badsithnocookie]

the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond replied to your post: “Wait, didn’t Revan take Naga Sadow’s lightsaber all the way back in...” :

And before Hadra, it was Darth Mekhis at the head of this sphere. Another woman. Who is killed by the awesome technoplague (Theron Shan, what a man !! ❤️ ❤️)... And yep I agreed, Acina wasn t a member of Dark Council during the chapter ! :)

..so i double checked this and holy crap, you’re right, theron has killed two heads of the sphere of technology

master zho would be proud

[meonlyred]

Theron Shan–Some are driven to follow in their parent's footsteps, while others loathe the very concept. For Theron Shan, it's a moot point. In keeping with Jedi strictures against attachment, Theron's mother, Grand Master Satele Shan, sent her infant son to be raised by the Jedi who trained her, Master Nhani Zho. 

Over time, as it became evident that Theron was not Force sensitive like his mother, he abandoned any notion of becoming a Jedi. Eventually, he joined the Strategic Information Service, using his adventurous nature and unique skillset to become a trusted field agent for the Republic.

Despite his success against the Revanites, Theron was put on administrative leave after Master Satele and Chancellor Saresh discovered he sent a team of black-ops Jedi to Ziost without their knowledge. Arcann’s invasion of the Core Worlds accelerated his reinstatement into the SIS, but Saresh’s policies frustrated him. When Lana Beniko approached him with a plan to build an alliance against Arcann, Theron was happy to walk away and fight what he considered the real threat to the galaxy.

The Unknown Asset-Even before the dismantling of Imperial Intelligence, no record existed of an SIS agent named Theron Shan. There are, however, vague accounts of a dangerous Republic asset dubbed “Technoplague” who may very well be Shan.

The asset first came to be known through his role in the death of Darth Mekhis of the Dark Council. He was later believed to have surfaced during the Battle of Duro and to have been instrumental in the destruction of the Ascendant Spear and the death of Darth Karrid. Mekhis’s second successor to the Sphere of Technology. Karrid’s successor, Darth Acina, gave the asset the Technoplague codename, but whether the perpetrator of both of these event is the same, and whether said perpetrator is Agent Shan, remains to be seen. 

[keldae]

53 I can't run from my feelings anymore. X&T?

There were only a few instances in Theron’s thirty-six years of life that had ever scared him witless. Getting captured by Darth Mekhis wasn’t the most terrifying incident of his life, but it ranked pretty high up there. Being on the Ascendant Spear while the Republic fleet (under his father’s command!) opened fire on the Imperial ship… yeah, that was a scary time in Theron’s life. Watching the entire populace of Ziost turn into unwitting hosts of a genocidal maniac of a Sith ghost… he still had nightmares about that. Getting chased by a pack of Knights of Zakuul while he and Korin had been scouting out the Spire and trying to find a way in to Arcann’s private Carbonite Decoration Storage Facility… he and Korin had agreed to never, ever talk about it again.

Xaja Taerich vanishing from the security cams’ feed in a flash of light (quite against her will, if the scared expression on her face in the nanosecond before she’d disappeared had been any indication)? That made him panic.

Three days of searching the forests near the base and trying to coordinate Havoc Squad (and Kaliyo)’s attack on the Gemini frequency transmitter later, and Theron’s heart didn’t start beating properly again until he’d heard her voice behind him, all business as usual, if exhausted-sounding. Xaja had limped into the command centre, looking like she’d been used as a punching bag or test dummy for an entire battalion of Knights, but alive and still with it enough to give orders over the comms to Kaliyo and Jorgan.

It had taken more willpower than Theron thought he’d had to not run over, grab Xaja in his arms, and never let her out of his sight again. The fact that her father was standing literally two feet away and had gotten to hug her tightly in relief first was a large contributing factor. But while the exhausted Jedi was giving her account of what had happened to her in the forest (and Satele Shan was on Odessen and had been for some time?! Theron very nearly picked up his holo to give his mother an appropriate chewing-out for her apparent habit of running off and abandoning people like him when she was damn well needed, except she probably wouldn’t have answered anyway.), the spy was dwelling on the thoughts and feelings that had consumed him over the last few days.

Theron had never figured himself to be the emotional type, or the sort of person to get attached easily (if at all) to others, and he was pretty sure he could thank his mother for that. But as he thought about the last six years, he’d become attached, quite without realizing it, to the five-foot-nothing Jedi who’d strolled into his and Darok’s planning room so long ago. And she seemed to reciprocate at least the affection, and Theron had thought that maybe she did care about him when she’d come tearing into the Revanite compound to find him (not to mention all the more pleasant and private interactions they’d had between then and her disappearance). Theron had been devastated when the news of her death came through to the Republic, and he remembered the rekindled hope he’d felt when Lana had found him with word that the Jedi was still alive. 

Is this what love feels like? he asked himself as he watched Xaja join Lana at the control panel, noting the frown on the pretty Jedi’s face as they lost contact with Havoc and Kaliyo. The constant worrying about her safety? The want to make sure that she’s okay? The want to make sure that… she’s happy? The need to do anything for her to stay alive and well?

Theron wasn’t too familiar with the idea of love, and wasn’t exactly fond of reflecting too deeply on his own emotions, especially when they centered around the pretty redhead who so easily distracted him from his own life with just a smile. But this… he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have felt as much grief as he did during her long, frozen captivity over a mere friend, or even a Jedi legend. He knew for certain there was nobody else alive who he would have felt that panic for when Valkorion abducted her. 

Kriff it. If that’s what love feels like, then… yeah. I think I love her. Just thinking the words made something in Theron’s heart twinge, not unpleasantly. That feeling was still there some time later, when he’d finally gotten her back into their quarters and was tending to her injuries. “Are you sure you don’t need to go to medical or get Lana to heal you?” he asked as he gently rubbed the contents of a kolto pack on her bruised up back. “What the hell did you fall into?”

“I didn’t so much as ‘fall’ into anything as I got thrown against a cliff a couple of times. Telling Valkorion what he could do with his opinions, an angry mynock, and a rusty hydrospanner was worth it.” Xaja hissed as Theron’s fingers found a particularly sore area of her back. “Besides, I don’t rest well in medical. Too much distraction.”

“Mmm.” Theron finished his kolto application and gently tapped her shoulder for her to sit up, trying and almost succeeding at not staring at her fair skin when she didn’t bother putting her tunic back on and stayed in just a bra and her trousers. “And did he try to take a bite out of your arm in the process?”

“Nah. We just haven’t found all the-” Xaja yelped as Theron dabbed a disinfectant into the bite mark on her arm; the spy waited until she’d calmed herself and focused the pain away before continuing his ministrations. “… all the wildlife here yet.” She was silent for a little while, watching Theron work, before she spoke again. “You feel… different. Something shifted in the command room, something with you. What happened?”

Theron paused in his wrapping of her arm in a kolto-infused bandage. “I… had a realization and made a decision,” he finally said.

“About what?”

It took a moment for Theron to find the words he needed, a pause he filled by finishing with her bandage. “When you disappeared,” he finally started, “… I don’t think I’ve ever been as terrified as I was then. All I could think about was you, wondering where you were and if you were still even alive. When you came back alive, it… made me think about some things, things I didn’t really want to admit to before. Remember how I’m awful at this whole relationship thing?”

“Theron, what are you saying?” Xaja frowned and caught Theron’s hand with both of her own, her palms virtually dwarfed by him.

“… I can’t run from my feelings anymore,” Theron finally said as he clasped his free hand over hers. “I’ve always cared for you, worried about you, been happy to see you… your habit of vanishing against your will made me realize just how much I’ve always cared about you.” He looked up from their joined hands to meet her eyes. “I should have said this to you a long time ago, it just took the prospect of losing you again to make me work up the nerve to do it.” He took a deep breath, and finally whispered out the three hardest, most dangerous words he’d ever said in his life. “I love you.”

If he’d ever worried about if Xaja returned his feelings, those fears were laid aside as Theron suddenly found himself with an armful of half-naked Jedi woman, and felt her kiss on his cheek. “I love you too,” she murmured, pulling back to look him in the eyes. “I think I felt it when we were on Rishi, admitted it to myself after Ziost, but when you had five years to think about it and I didn’t, I thought you might… you know… not want me-”

Theron silenced her with the kiss he’d been waiting for three days to give her. “Those five years only convinced me that I couldn’t look at another person again or ever feel for them what I feel for you. I’m not the biggest ‘feelings’ guy around, but this… I can’t deny it. I fell in love with you on Rishi and it’s never stopped, no matter how much I tried to convince myself it wasn’t real and that you couldn’t feel the same.”

“Oh, Theron…” Xaja pressed her palm against Theron’s cheek comfortingly. “You would have only needed to say the words then and I would have been yours.”

“Yeah? I’m saying them now.” Theron leaned in to kiss her again. “I love you.”

[greyias]

FIC: Smoke and Mirrors - Chapter 2

Title: Smoke and Mirrors Fandom: SWTOR Pairing: Theron Shan/f!Jedi Knight Rating: T Genre: Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn Synopsis: Something’s rotten on Carrick Station, and Theron won’t rest until he finds out what. But picking at the frayed threads of suspicion quickly unravels a conspiracy much larger than even the Republic’s top spy can handle on his own. (A mostly canon-compliant retelling of the Forged Alliances storyline, as seen through the eyes of Theron Shan.) Author’s Notes and Spoilers: See Chapter 1.

Chapter 1 | Crossposted to AO3 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Rather than head back to the Heorem Complex, Theron decided to review his notes and the personnel files back at his apartment. While he didn’t really care all that much if he attracted a few looks for his unkempt appearance from the all-nighter he just pulled, the thought of perusing the data in the comfort of his own bed was too tempting to pass up. If he needed to do any research that required heavier security protocols than what he already had in place, he could always head in at that point.

As he sunk into the mattress, he pulled up the file on the first member of the Coruscant Aegis, codename “Guardian”. Known in wider circles as Barsen’thor, the newest member of the Jedi High Council. He managed to make it about a third of the way through the file before his chin dropped as he started to nod off. Unable to let Marcus Trant be right about anything, Theron woke himself up with a quick shower in the refresher before powering through the rest of the file.  From what he could tell “Guardian” was more than capable, but a quick search of the HoloNet showed that the Jedi Master was in Temesher on a diplomatic mission. If the underground chatter was to be believed, “Ace”, the Voidhound, was similarly occupied. Although probably for less legitimate business then the Jedi Master. He filed both of them away as potential assets for future operations, but moved on to the next file.

He paged through the dossier on “Meteor”, liking what he was seeing. Leader of Havoc Squad, a fellow recipient of the Cross of Glory, and had a whole squad of heavy hitters that could be tapped into. The major had been a key player in taking out the Gauntlet — one of the weapons designed by Darth Mekhis. The dossier was long, and by the time he got to the end, he was tempted to just call it there for Havoc Squad so he could feel justified in giving into the temptation to close his eyes for a few minutes. (Not to mention it’d drive Jonas Balkar nuts if Theron sniped his favorite operative.)

However, he’d had left the most intriguing one for last. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t dying of curiosity to be able to review more details of the Sith Emperor’s demise. Even so, he massaged his temples, the tension mounting behind his implants letting him know he was going to need a break here soon if he had any hope of continuing to focus. This dossier was just as long as the rest, and his eyes almost crossed looking at the text.

“Okay,” he admitted quietly, “may need a break.”

He was loathe to take one, though, considering the narrow window of opportunity they were having to work with. He compromised by making a large pot of stimcaf, nowhere near the quality of Jace’s stash, but still decent enough to get the job done. While it brewed, he closed his eyes and focused his mind, acknowledging the fatigue and need for sleep, before releasing it out. By the time the caf maker chimed that it was ready, the tension headache had faded to the far corner of his consciousness. He would still need to sleep later, but this would help him focus for a few more hours.

With a mug of caf in hand as well as a sandwich to stave off hunger, Theron pulled up a chair far from the bed, and whipped out the dossier on the last candidate, codename “Shield”. 

While not exactly a household name, the Hero of Tython was definitely not an unknown player on the galactic scale, especially in the intelligence community. For some reason, she kept getting recruited into SIS operations, and her notoriety had started to spread beyond that after she had halted Darth Malgus’s attempted coup.

The dossier began with her apprenticeship on Tython to Orgus Din, one of the living legends of the first Galactic War. As he pored over the details, he couldn’t help but frown, his earlier statement to Jace coming to mind. It was a little hard to believe that one person had wound up doing so much in such a short time. Capturing a dark Jedi while an apprentice, exposing and defeating a Sith infiltrator on Coruscant, saving several planets from Darth Angral’s campaign of destruction. 

When he started seeing familiar names crop up in the report, Theron grabbed a spare datapad with a secure connection and pulled up the relevant SIS reports. He was familiar enough with several of the agents involved, and was curious if there were any extra details to be gleaned outside of the official dossier. He mostly just found more operations that weren’t in the main dossier, including one from Agent Fauler on his takedown of a Czerka coverup on Tatooine.

At least an hour had passed, and he was only a third finished with the main dossier. He was about halfway through the pot of caf, and was starting to get irritated with the glowing reviews from his fellow agents, when the main dossier got… interesting.

As in, Shan family lineage interesting. He’d only been lightly skimming the portion of her work with Oteg, the Jedi commander of the Telos, until he saw the mention of the Maelstrom Prison, and namely, it’s sole prisoner: Revan.

He thought that the fate of the famous off-and-on-again Jedi Knight and Sith Lord had been lost to history. Apparently after passing on the family genes, he’d gone after the Sith Emperor himself and failed. Only to be rescued from his three-hundred year imprisonment by the woman who ultimately finished the job.

Theron frowned, finger tapping the side of the datapad absently. He was never a big fan of coincidences and he wasn’t a believer in fate or destiny. The connection between Revan and this woman was pretty glaringly obvious, and if Master Zho was still around, he probably would have said it was the will of the Force. An angry bitterness rose up in the back of his throat, but Theron managed to push it down just below the surface.

After his failed apprenticeship under Nagani Zho, Theron had tried to put his whole ancestry behind him. If the Force didn’t want anything to do with him, he wanted to return the favor. He’d managed to do just that for almost a decade, when apparently it decided to pull him back into the fold with his mission with Master Zho and Teff’ith to the Vesla system, and then later with Gnost-Dural and the Ascendant Spear. 

He shoved the stupid coincidence and happenstance to the back of his mind, but there was still the lingering question of Revan’s fate. The official records were sparse, just that he had been rescued from the prison built for him in the Maelstrom Nebula, and had fallen in battle with Imperials in the Nanth’ri system before he could ever see the end of the Emperor who held him prisoner for so long. It seemed like such ignoble end for the legendary Knight, but then again life wasn’t fair.

The bitterness still burned in his throat, but Theron forced himself to focus back on his original task rather than this side-trek down the family album, and pulled back up the excessively long dossier. 

Except as he stared at the text, his brain had latched onto something. He blew out a breath, took another sip of the bitter brew in attempt to convince himself that was what he was tasting rather than his own feelings. He looked back over the section on Revan again, eyes falling on the location of the prison he’d been rescued from.

The Maelstrom Nebula… why was that familiar?

He pulled up a galactic map, and the Maelstrom Nebula was located on the borders of the Albarrio and Relgim sectors. And Oteg commanded the Telos. He blinked at the map, watching the pixelated swirls of green space dust whirl in the air. The Jedi that had discovered the key piece of intel for the upcoming operation had served during that campaign. Of course, the crew manifest for the Telos was large. It was a warship. A lot of people had served on it. The holo flickered, and Theron stared at it, that same funny feeling settling over him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. He continued to glare at the map, as if he could connect the two dots by sheer force and willpower.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t coming to him. With a sigh, he pulled back up the dossier, and continued reading. The sooner he finished this file, the sooner he could make his decision and call it a night.

Next up was the mission on Balmorra, which on the surface appeared to be aiding the resistance and helping fight off the Empire. However, Theron had read enough redacted files to tell when details were being conveniently left out. He recalled his brief partnership with Master Gnost-Dural, and the revelation that the Jedi did their own intelligence gathering. It made sense that they would also have their own version of black ops.

Theron continued down the rabbit hole, from the side-trip to Quesh, through the adventures on Hoth. There were a lot of flashy rescues, a few high profile military operations, and some side missions for the Grand Master herself, before “Shield” showed up again on Belsavis.

About halfway through the section on Belsavis, he frowned, remembering the riots fairly clearly. Partially because he’d been there for part of it. He retraced back to the last few missions on Hoth, searching for the detail that he missed. It wasn’t there, but as he started reviewing the dates, it struck him what <i>was</i> missing.

About six plus months.

No mention of any duties or activities, just a sudden jump in time. Theron quickly started a search on his other datapad, but as he delved further and further into the details of Shield’s personal life, he still couldn’t find anything regarding what she’d been up to during the time in question. No record of a leave of absence, no MIA report, no purchase history, or travel dossiers, just a giant hole that had been carefully written around. Not even a whisper or mention of her in any Republic records, almost like she hadn’t been there at all during the time.

Someone had wiped this woman’s record clean of something they didn’t want getting out. 

He glared at the datapad, as if it was directly responsible for the deed. It was enough of a red flag for him that he almost closed the file right there, regardless of the glowing recommendations of his fellow agents and the obvious admiration and confidence of both the Jedi Grand Master and the Supreme Commander.

But damn it, he hadn’t even gotten to the part about the Emperor yet. He didn’t set his reservation aside, though, even as he resumed his review of the dossier. The contents had definitely taken a turn for the darker, as he read about death cults, insanity rituals, the capture of several dark Jedi, and the liberation of Corellia.

Somewhere, buried within all of the heroics (did this woman ever sleep?), he found the reason for the urgency, and the sudden dark turn. It was a small line, possibly hastily tacked on to the end of the report regarding a fallen Jedi Master, Tol Braga, that discussed a dark side ritual to…

Theron felt his stomach drop, and re-read the line again just to be sure.

No, he’d read it right the first time. The Sith, or at least the Emperor’s inner circle, had been trying to complete a dark side ritual that would annihilate all life in the galaxy.

He tried to ignore the cold feeling of dread as he moved on in the dossier. He was finally to the part about Dromund Kaas and the raid on the Dark Temple. What he found curious, and if he were being honest with himself, more than a little impressive, was the account that Shield had taken on the Emperor by herself, with only a T7 unit as backup. The mission was what had earned her a Cross of Glory, as well as the rest of her crew (even the droid and Sith on her crew).

The rest of her exploits after that were a little wider known, things he had heard of, if he hadn’t exactly connected the name with the deed until now. Taking down Darth Malgus, saving the people of Makeb, even that whole mess with Czerka on CZ-198.

Damn it.

He kneaded his forehead as his tension headache started to creep through, his frustration mounting. Any of the Coruscant Aegis would be equipped to handle the Korriban job, but only one of them had already stormed an Imperial world in a similar manner. The fact that the little Jedi overachiever just kept saving the galaxy at every turn made it harder for him to ignore.

Except that someone had scrubbed her records to hide something. Considering her notoriety, it was probably something dirty. As far as assets went, dirt was great when he knew what it was and could use it to leverage things his way. It was more of a liability in this case, as the lack of information meant things could spiral out of hand very quickly. 

Theron glanced at the chrono, seeing that it had started to edge into evening. His long ignored fatigue dragged at him, and his bed called to him. Even if he still didn’t have his recommendation, he’d at least finished his review of the files. If he slept now, at least he could feel justified in the fact that Marcus couldn’t be right. And Jace did say that Theron could sleep on the decision, so he did just that. 

And if his sleep was just a little haunted by a dark spectre attempting to devour the galaxy, he wasn’t going to mention it to anyone.

Next Chapter

[rswtotd]

Darth Mekhis was a female scientist Dark Lord of the Sith of the resurgent Sith Empire, and one of seven surviving members of the Sith Emperor's Dark Council.

[reallystellacadente]

The Last Goodbye

I can’t help thinking how much @mellorian-j‘s unbearably beautiful drawing of Malavai Quinn here is such a gift. So here’s what I have to give back. Since someone mentioned this Quinn looks younger, I ran with it. Although I do have a lowkey headcanon that, because he is a sneak and dyes his hair, and depending on how long since he’s shaved, his emotional state, etc ... that Quinn’s age can frequently be hard to guess. 

Read it on AO3 here. (just posted, might take a bit to show)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That look. That moment, frozen in time.

It was the closest to a display of emotion that we got out of him, my brother, after our father was declared killed in action defending Darth Mekhis at Rhen Var.

When Malavai came home on leave after Father’s death, Mum was a mess. It was hard for all of us – especially Rissa, who was only 17 – to watch our proud, tough mother unable to pull herself together. We had expected her to draw up lists with tasks for each of us to help pull off the military funeral of the year. By then, my parents had been married for more than 30 years after all, my father gone for much of that. We all, knowingly or not, thought of their marriage as a calling much more than a personal relationship.

But Mum had lost her husband, the father of her children, her lover and her confidant and there wasn’t even a body to bury in the family vault. Since a Sith lord and Dark Council member had died in the battle, that stole all the attention away from the brave, selfless colonel who died protecting her work. The utter lack of his death took more from her than she had to give.

For Mal, it was different. He and Father had a good relationship. Not warm, but good. Father was always more kind than stern, though he demanded “peak performance” from us children. Mal always came through. Second in his class in prep school, he pushed himself hard to emerge first at the academy. Father never expected him to commit for a military career; he thought my brother too introverted, too curious, too intelligent for command. Still, he shed tears of pride at graduation. We all did.

I always figured my brother as emotionally stunted, not knowing at the time just how deep his passions ran. I admit, I was a terrible older sister. I tormented my introverted, brilliant little brother from birth. I would have sung naughty songs and read scary stories and taught him dirty words while he was still in the womb if Mother hadn’t been there.

But watching her fall apart, and watching him swoop in and take care of everything from the military requirements to estate affairs to the family business reports, left me in awe. My stupid baby brother was now a man, different in personality but otherwise much like our father.

As I was then a newly turned out trauma surgeon, fresh from my first combat tour and stationed on Dromund Kaas, and the eldest, I should have taken charge of the family affairs. Instead, I took charge of keeping Mum functional. And trying, unsuccessfully, for Mal to take some down time, or even sleep.

He did it, though. He got the advocates and the lawyers and the estate all wrapped up while simultaneously making all the funeral arrangements. The military even sent an honor guard, after some persistent cajoling, a skill I never knew my brother even had. We decided to seal an empty dress uniform in a coffin so that Father could take his rightful place among our many distinguished military ancestors.

Though it should have been his right as a fellow infantryman to seal the family tomb, my brother charitably granted that honor to two of Father’s captains who had survived the battle.

After all the planning and the sleepless nights, it was a small, quiet burial, suitably formal yet warm and intimate. Family, colleagues and friends gave heartfelt eulogies. Mal stood stoic for the entire ceremony. Even a few generals had shed tears, but not my brother. Then the captains sealed the vault, ignited the eternal flame and raised their blaster pistols in tribute. As everyone filed out from the cemetery, Malavai stood alone. He saluted Father one last time, then turned to go.

But he could not resist one last, lingering look. A stranger might not have picked up on it, but I, the big sister, the chief tormenter, the best friend and brat, I saw it all.

He pulled off his cap. His lips softened, his brows arced slightly downward, then a slight cowling of his eyelids. Others might need to weep or wail to show such feeling, but not him.

It was the real, final goodbye.

 [Three months later, Druckenwell happened, and I did not see my brother again for almost 11 years. – Dr. Kayda Quinn.]

[llane-venner]

Well, there’s precedent...

So I’m rereading a Star Wars comic (The Lost Suns) and man, the villain has some awful, awful dialogue. Like, worse-than-the-prequels awful. It sounds like something one of my more dramatic friends would have put on LiveJournal back in the day.

Some choice excerpts:

“These worlds, lush like fruit, crushed in our hands, juice bleeding down our wrists; this is the Empire as it should be. We shall bring crystalline light to the worlds we lost, and to the Jedi who exiled us.”

“This one I call Ror’jhan, She-Whose-Leaves-Sweat-Poison. She is a clever ship...Ror’jhan is her true name, and only we shall know it. What beauty there is in a machine. What is a ship, if not a cocoon? What are its passengers, if not larvae ready to burst into the world?”

And then I remember Harrison Ford’s legendary turn of phrase: “George, you can write this shit, but you can’t say it!” and I shrug, and I go back to my comic.