Voph sat in his quarters aboard the Arcane Scion, lost in thought. His dress tunic having been shed for the armored robes that had seen him through countless wars and skirmishes. Cold. Restricting. Comforting. Voph reveled in the security that his second skin offered him, perceived or otherwise. And right now...he needed all the comfort he could muster. As his ship flew through hyperspace, away from the jungle of Kashyyyk, and towards his newfound ward of Vylmira, Voph prepared himself for one final goodbye.
It was a long time coming, he had to admit. And it was not all poetic and weeping hearts. No, this was a challenge. A dare. Voph knew that were the natural order to take its course, he would still be dead. But something, or someone, brought him back. Voph's head turned to the terminal beside him, and the small pyramid structure sitting atop it. A wave of his hand as he stood, and both devices sprang to life, a holographic image of himself soon staring back at him. One to transmit, one to record. The transmission was encoded to a private, and nigh unbreakable, channel.
"Sabryna. My Wua. It's...been years since we spoke. I...miss you. For what it's worth..." Voph sighed, looking away from the camera trained on him, and his holographic twin mirrored this. "So much has changed since you went to sleep. Kyyrin's...well, he's not a baby anymore. He's dead. Died of old age. So much for never outliving your children, right?" Voph fell silent for a moment, then turned to look back at the camera. "I know you'll never see this message, but I want it said. For the record. So that...if my some miracle you ever did see it...You'll know why."
Voph's arms remained folded over his chest, his posture shrinking from his usual confident and impervious nature. As he began to speak, the welling emotion began to seep into his voice, though he fought to maintain an even and measured tone. "I...was lost. Broken. A mere shell of the man I was, or could have been. And...then I found you. And for all the galaxy, I couldn't have asked for a more fitting gift. A chance to heal. To become whole again. And somewhere along the way....I fell in love. With you. All of you. Even the way you used to scold me after coming home beaten and bloodied. All those...quirks that I protested against so loudly. And the prospect of spending the rest of my life by your side...it was intoxicating."
Voph paused to collect himself. Deep down, whatever remained of that once proud Sith Lord was screaming in protest. The world could not know how he felt. What he was capable of. But he continued on. It had to be said. ​"So imagine my grief when we were separated. I understand why. And I don't hold it against you. It's what you wanted. What you needed. It was something I couldn't provide. So I let you go. Hopeful that one day...we might meet again, under better circumstances. So imagine my despair when I traveled to Vaiken. And saw someone there who looked just like you. Only to learn that the love of my life had left...and something else came back. She was pleasant enough, and I wished her all the best...but..."
Voph reached up, and wiped a tear from his cheek. "You will never understand how hard it is to grieve the loss of a person that still walks among the living. To look at you...and know that I'll never see you again. But I want you to know...I'm still here. I always have been. And I always will be. And though I still love you, it is time for me to move on. To move past romanticizing over ghosts of the dead. I've found someone else. And I pray that you can make peace with that. Because I know that you are responsible. And so to the demon that killed you, I say this. Your time is coming, Sovryn. You cannot hide from me forever."
Voph moved forward to manually deactivate the devices, and begin the transmission sequence. He did not know where Sovryn would be hiding. But he made his best guess. After all, this message was for her, and her alone. The other? A message for him. To remind himself of who he was. Knowing that the mother of his child had become the sick and twisted Sith that now haunted his very dreams filled Voph with a creeping dread. Was he so different? Was the man he had been truly gone? He sighed quietly, standing stiff and unmoving as he contemplated this. Perhaps Kyyrk had died. Perhaps he was doomed to carry the mantle of Darth Voph till his dying day. But maker willing, his newfound solace in a humble refugee living among the Jedi would be enough to guide him through. To help him discover who he was meant to be. And to keep him from succumbing to the same darkness that had destroyed Sabryna...
It was a long time coming, he had to admit. And it was not all poetic and weeping hearts. No, this was a challenge. A dare. Voph knew that were the natural order to take its course, he would still be dead. But something, or someone, brought him back. Voph's head turned to the terminal beside him, and the small pyramid structure sitting atop it. A wave of his hand as he stood, and both devices sprang to life, a holographic image of himself soon staring back at him. One to transmit, one to record. The transmission was encoded to a private, and nigh unbreakable, channel.
"Sabryna. My Wua. It's...been years since we spoke. I...miss you. For what it's worth..." Voph sighed, looking away from the camera trained on him, and his holographic twin mirrored this. "So much has changed since you went to sleep. Kyyrin's...well, he's not a baby anymore. He's dead. Died of old age. So much for never outliving your children, right?" Voph fell silent for a moment, then turned to look back at the camera. "I know you'll never see this message, but I want it said. For the record. So that...if my some miracle you ever did see it...You'll know why."
Voph's arms remained folded over his chest, his posture shrinking from his usual confident and impervious nature. As he began to speak, the welling emotion began to seep into his voice, though he fought to maintain an even and measured tone. "I...was lost. Broken. A mere shell of the man I was, or could have been. And...then I found you. And for all the galaxy, I couldn't have asked for a more fitting gift. A chance to heal. To become whole again. And somewhere along the way....I fell in love. With you. All of you. Even the way you used to scold me after coming home beaten and bloodied. All those...quirks that I protested against so loudly. And the prospect of spending the rest of my life by your side...it was intoxicating."
Voph paused to collect himself. Deep down, whatever remained of that once proud Sith Lord was screaming in protest. The world could not know how he felt. What he was capable of. But he continued on. It had to be said. ​"So imagine my grief when we were separated. I understand why. And I don't hold it against you. It's what you wanted. What you needed. It was something I couldn't provide. So I let you go. Hopeful that one day...we might meet again, under better circumstances. So imagine my despair when I traveled to Vaiken. And saw someone there who looked just like you. Only to learn that the love of my life had left...and something else came back. She was pleasant enough, and I wished her all the best...but..."
Voph reached up, and wiped a tear from his cheek. "You will never understand how hard it is to grieve the loss of a person that still walks among the living. To look at you...and know that I'll never see you again. But I want you to know...I'm still here. I always have been. And I always will be. And though I still love you, it is time for me to move on. To move past romanticizing over ghosts of the dead. I've found someone else. And I pray that you can make peace with that. Because I know that you are responsible. And so to the demon that killed you, I say this. Your time is coming, Sovryn. You cannot hide from me forever."
Voph moved forward to manually deactivate the devices, and begin the transmission sequence. He did not know where Sovryn would be hiding. But he made his best guess. After all, this message was for her, and her alone. The other? A message for him. To remind himself of who he was. Knowing that the mother of his child had become the sick and twisted Sith that now haunted his very dreams filled Voph with a creeping dread. Was he so different? Was the man he had been truly gone? He sighed quietly, standing stiff and unmoving as he contemplated this. Perhaps Kyyrk had died. Perhaps he was doomed to carry the mantle of Darth Voph till his dying day. But maker willing, his newfound solace in a humble refugee living among the Jedi would be enough to guide him through. To help him discover who he was meant to be. And to keep him from succumbing to the same darkness that had destroyed Sabryna...
