About Your Daughter...

[Cameron Centurion]

Kuat

Fortunately...the Nemesis had been due for a refit for some time. It had been a simple matter for an established client such as Cameron Centurion to arrange for a somewhat brief two-day visit. Additionally, he'd dispatched a message to the Office of the CEO requesting a meeting.

As Cameron tightened the black tie of his silver three-piece suit, a soft knock was heard at his door. With a wave of a hand, he opened the door. "Yes?"

"We're on our final approach."

"Very well." Once the man was gone, Cameron walked towards the living area to ensure his things were prepared. He'd arranged to rent a lavish home for his brief stay once more. When playing the part of Cameon the Entrepreneur, the Sith Lord did not skimp on the details.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

An incoming message would arrive some time later in the form of a holo-message.

A primly dressed Kuati noblewoman appeared within the blue illumination, hair tied back, her turnout was sleek and professional.

"Good day, Mr. Centurion, I am Lacey Hardt, Manager of Business Affairs. We have received your message and the Queen has agreed to meeting with you over diner tomorrow evening at her private estate planetside. She implores you contact the Director of Operations, Miss Leonardi, with anything you require for upgrades or repairs on your ship. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask. Welcome back to Kuat."

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron was informed of the message just prior to the flight crew piloting his vessel into their assigned berth. He reviewed it swiftly before deleting it from the database. There was no other reaction to be had, and he did not expect the...visit to last very long. A compendium of emotions had drifted through his being at various points during his journey. However, he had reconciled them long before this arrival. The anger and loss he felt over Amorella's sudden disappearance was swiftly replaced with the familiar...emptiness that he knew all too well. In fact, the return of that feeling had perhaps been too swift, too easy. An individual's path was never set, but their nature...it was a difficult thing to overcome.

Cameron's nature was to be a solitary figure, a vessel that consumed whatever resource was around him for his own means...simply to spit out the remains. He played his role well.

-----
Following Evening

Cameron emerged from the master suite of his rented residence dressed in a dark blue suit. A speeder and driver awaited for the Sith Lord outside. In a matter of minutes, they were on their way to the residence of the Queen. More than likely...Cameron's final visit.

Maybe.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

The estate of the reigning sovereign of Kuat was much as it had been at his last visit. What was different, however, was the locale of their evening meal. When he arrived he was immediately taken from the natural route, redirected from the steps of which he had taken before. Lead by a servant who seemed utterly awash with an ethereal haze, they entered the main elevator lift and rode it down the levels until all the light of day had faded.

When the lift opened he was greeted with a long hall lined with glass, temperature regulated cases within which hundreds upon hundreds of bottles rested in nooks. At the end of the hall was an open chamber with a polished table set for a meal. The Servant left Cameron to his own, returning to the lift and disappearing behind the doors.

Welcome to my wine cellar, the telltale telepathic voice spoke to his thoughts unimpaired, feel free to make a selection from the cases on your left.

A shadowed figure moved through the chamber at the end with a glimmer of red hair.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron buttoned his suit as he proceeded up the ornate drive of [member="Lorelei Darke"]'s residence. He did not offer the servant a smile or much of any recognition as he was taken down a distinctly separate path from his last visit. Emerging from the lift, his silver-green gaze shifted rapidly to take in his surroundings.

As the servant retreated and the soft voice touched his lips, Cameron paused and clasped his hands behind his back. For a moment, he allowed himself to consider the situation. The Queen wouldn't likely partake in anything he selected, but she was ever the host.

The Sith Lord's feet found purpose once more as he proceeded toward the definitively intimate dining area. Unclasping his hands, the large Sith stepped into the room, allowing his eyes to search for the current object of their desire. Once found, he would permit himself a slow appraisal of her beauty as he always did.

 

[Quietus]

The air was thick with the heady scent of blood and a distinct flavor of new death. There was a strange sort of pressure about the chamber, confined as it was, something that spoke of the arcane and twisted, yet the evidence pointed to everything but. Lorelei stood before a large glass distiller at the right end of the room filled with a deep burgundy, viscous liquid, a table of empty glass bottles to her left. They gleamed in the dim light, a match for that which Cameron had witnessed Amorella partaking from on numerous occasions. Amidst them sat a black, gleaming box, it's lid lifted to reveal small cyrstals within, tainted with trapped souls.

Deft hands carefully procured a bottle to fill, before taking up a crystal and dropping it into the mixture. The woman did not look up from her work.

I do not make an offer of my possessions lightly, her mental voice intoned as she carefully swilled the contents of the glass in her hands, acidic green eyes intensely watching the crystal tumble about the bottom, or have you lost your taste for vintage spirits?

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Then continuous brush of [member="Lorelei Darke"]'s presence against his own mind was a definitive reminder of his interactions with Quietus. The Sith Lord had initially found the inevitable closeness a bit...too intrusive to be comfortable, but he had grown to accept the feel of Quietus' voice and emotions casually swirling around his very thoughts with an undeniable strength and intensity. Silencia's presence in his mind was no different. "An offer is an offer. I merely chose to decline on this particular evening. Besides..." Cameron motioned to the room that literally seemed alive as his gaze remained locked on her form. "...you've already graciously offered your time and residence twice now. I have no thought to take further from you without definitive necessity."

His interactions with this family...he had allowed them to develop to a point where he actually believed he could be satisfied with any one individual. It was odd to him how every female member he'd met this far represented aspects of the only woman he'd ever loved. Silencia's quiet strength and poise, Quietus' effective brutality, and Amorella's compassion. It was actually starting to get a touch ridiculous, and the only way he knew how to resolve the matter was to keep all the women at a comfortable, transactional distance as he did with everyone else in the galaxy. "That includes your time. Your daughter, Amorella..." As if she didn't know the girl's name, "...has gone missing." Succinct and truthful. Cameron no idea where the girl was, but he was past the point of searching the galaxy for her. He had given too much of himself already. It was time to reclaim the only thing life had ever intended him to be.

A weapon.

 

[Quietus]

The woman's actions never paused, never waivered. She carefully set the bottle with a stopper and placed it aside, taking up an empty glass to begin the process again.

Has she now... the response was light and strangely without concern. That didn't take long.

Another crystal sank to the bottom of the new glass, glimmering with its ethereal presence in the murky liquid. Lorelei calmly turned it in her hands, feet pivoting slowly to face the man across the chamber. Her gaze was of quiet intensity, and it regarded the man pensively for a time. It might occur to him that the table set at the center of the room had already seen its meal, its guests gone for some time now, their own presences having evaporated into the nether, essences lingering now in that box of crystals.

Curious, for a man such as yourself to lose something so ...readily.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron fought the urge to pique a curious brow in response to [member="Lorelei Darke"]'s...insinuation. "I am not your daughter's keeper, Silencia." Permitting himself a brief laugh, the Sith Lord shook his head. "My presence here to convey the information is little more than a kindness born out of the respect I have for you and yours."

Casually, Cameron walked around the table, allowing his fingers to trail lightly over the surface of the table. The lingering presences of whomever previously occupied the room ran casually through the man's entire being. After several moments, Cameron stopped abruptly and looked up at Silencia. "Now that kindness has been paid." That was not to be the end of his statement, however. "My...affections for your daughter are what prompt me to tell you that her loss has created a most curious gap in whatever vestige of a soul I might yet still...maintain. I want nothing more than to cut a fiery path across the galaxy in search of her, but I feel this would do her a disservice."

Clasping his hands behind his back once more, Cameron inhaled deeply. "You and I know the horrors of the galaxy...of centuries past. Amorella still has much to learn as you well know. I can assure you that when she does return, she will be much stronger for it. Much more resilient to the trials and tribulations she has yet to face." Raising a hand to stem the tide of Silencia's undoubted irritation at Cameron appointing himself the person to 'teach' her daughter a lesson, the Sith Lord made one more comment. "She has journeyed through the treacherous caverns of my mind. Peeked upon every pivotal moment of my life...good, bad, and ugly."

Whether Amorella succeeded or failed in her current circumstance would be all her own. The existence of any vulnerability, however, was laid at the feet of several people. Those that sheltered her from the truth...and those that threw her into its deep abyss without a lifeline.

 

[Quietus]

Whether or not the Queen was annoyed, angry, or felt much of anything at all regarding the situation was not for others to know. Hundreds of years was the perfection that came from practiced control of this Master Empath - she'd long surpassed the need for shows of emotion to get things done. Already, the cogs of this galactic machination, orchestrated and engineered by her, were turning just as they should.

"No," she replied levelly, green eyes unwavering, poise statuesque, "I am her keeper." This stated so certainly, so factually as though there were no other truth greater in the galaxy might've given the impression that she had already known the girl was missing. Perhaps that she might even know where she was. Lorelei listened as he continued, allowing the man her full attention out of her own kindness born from what respect she held for him, face now forming the subtle hints of interest, intrigue.

Cameron Centurion had been affected by ...love.

The woman inhaled deeply, slowly, and then returned to her work of filling the empty glasses with that dark liquid once more.

"So what now then, that you have fractured your soul and invariably ended the reign of Moross' beloved Reviver," clink. The sound of the crystal shard hitting the bottom of the glass resonated profoundly throughout the chamber, sending a shiver through the Force.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron could not help but allow a thin smile to crack the surface of his otherwise stoic veneer. So that's what that felt like? Cameron had always wondered what it was like to interact with someone capable of actually matching the depth of his...scheming, analytical mind. [member="Lorelei Darke"]'s seeming indifference to, basically, everything he'd said communicated more than she probably could have uttered in any tongue.

Her unspoken perception of Amorella's effect on his very being was...accurate. He could not be sure whether or not he enjoyed the feeling of being so affected by anyone. The sensation was similar. Amorella's disappearance reminded him, somewhat, of Alia's death. There were certainly stark differences, however. The fact that Amorella remained alive was certainly among them.

At the posing of Silencia's inquiry, Cameron's smile dissipated. "Haven't you heard? The Reviver is eternal." The statement was made in a very flat tone - indicating only that the people of Moross would never cease to believe. Sure, those that followed Inari closely would be saddened by her decision to return to the heavens...nothing further. Their belief and love would not abate. Adjusting the coat of his suit slightly, Cameron mostly shrugged. "I do what I have been doing for over five centuries." Leveling his gaze back in Silencia's direction, the Sith Lord resumed his original posture. "Whatever I deem necessary."

As enigmatic a response as the dark-skinned Sith's general existence.

 

[Quietus]

Of course you will, the woman replied, lips lightly pursed, brows faintly lofted in some vague sense of amusement.

Lorelei placed a stopper in the glass, gently swilling the contents, and turned to face then approach the man. Calm, purposeful movements carried her the short distance, and when she reached the man she stole a moment to take him in. It was people like him, like Quietus, Moridin, Cazador, and yes...even the estranged Apparatus that despite past transgressions, she always held a strange affinity towards. Perhaps it was the touch of time upon them, lingering like a faint cologne. An aroma that subtlely stated 'I knew those years, I lived them alongside you however distantly apart we were' that spoke to her. That they had come from the same era of existence connected them, not quite like family but certainly close.

Your ship will be ready for departure in the morning. Miss Leonardi will be leaving a file for you containing the revised plans for Moross' orbital shipyards over Kinooine. KDY will be ready to ship out supplies and begin construction in two-weeks time, after the Republic has finished their little heroic charge on Teta.

She smiled, a meaningless sort of expression, Take this, and handed the glass to him, it's not for you.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron drew in a deep, silent breath before slowly letting it out. As he did, every muscle fiber within his body seemed to ripple slightly in response to the tone of the meeting and the Queen's parting comments. His ship...the Sith Lord had nearly forgotten the cover for his trip. Nearly. Extracting his silver-green gaze from [member="Lorelei Darke"]'s own eyes, Cameron accepted what the Queen offered forth. "A profound pleasure as always, Your Majesty." Cameron's tight smile conveyed...well...nothing. It was merely an expression, a false one he was so used to wearing for various reasons. Needless to say, it did not respect the prolific respect he had for the woman.

Silver-green eyes lingered over her frame as his face returned to an expressionless mask and he turned to depart. Though her comment about Kinooine had been received and retained, it was not a principal reason for his visit, so he did not bother to acknowledge.