Angst in the Drizzle (Hal Terrano)

[Velok the Younger]

"I could really use some sex right about now."

The pilot, a stolid, longtime AEL employee -- one of Kyrikal 17's apostate Ithorians -- blinked gently. "I am flattered, ma'am, but-"

"Oh shut up, you know you're not my type."

"I do know. I also know that it is a very long way to Tatooine."

She let that one sail right by, and nodded, choosing to take it at face value. "Exactly. Put down up there."

"That is not a landing pad, ma'am."

"It's big enough, I look Sith enough, and I pay your bills."

"Yes, ma'am."

Rave disembarked in a gritty rainshower. It might have come from the clouds, it might have come from the gutters, it might have come from the sewers. This deep into Coruscant, the difference was largely academic, a false trichotomy. Rain sluiced off her dull-gold armour, a close-fitting, even svelte affair.

Feth, did she ever need a Jawa.

Yellow eyes narrowed, tracking a white-haired incarnation of moroseness not far ahead. She'd landed on a rooftop that might or might not support her weight; a walkway led along to the place where [member="Hal Terrano"] had chosen to brood.

She approached.

 

[Hal Terrano]

Even the one man Morose Crusade couldn't help but notice the ship landing where ships weren't meant to land, even throughout the constant buzz of Coruscant you had to notice the sound of rumbling engines when they were enough to set vibrations out from under your arse.

Hal Terrano was not shirtless.

Nor was he clutching a white dove in his hands.

Just sitting there, cross-legged with his back hunched in a manner that could only convey extreme quantities of brooding. His standard issue One Sith robes drenched in Coruscant's mystery rain, but whether it fell from the sky or splashed upwards didn't matter to him, of course it didn't.

Not when there was so much to weigh a man's mind down. Oh yes, oh yes, you've just crashed a pity part for one, welcome to the one and only Hal Terrano Show. Let's talk about guilt. Let's talk about feelings of abandonment. Let's talk about principles. Want a hug?

Of course you don't because you're a rock, right? You're vigilant aren't you? Stalwart? Are you sure? You're not sure. You don't even know how to talk about it.

The clang of boots upon the rooftop alerted him to another presence, he didn't turn to face this mysterious figure, remaining slouched like a sad potato. “You shouldn't be up here,” he advised through a mumble, “it's dangerous.”

[member="Rave Merrill"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Hal Terrano"]

"Sure it is." The Nightsister peered over the edge. "I might get tortured at random, or something might vomit on me, or I might get condescended to by aristocracy. Never know who you might run into on Coruscant these days. Then again, if I wanted safety, coming to the Sith capital of the known universe probably wasn't my smartest move."

 

[Hal Terrano]

These were all fair points regarding the dangers of Coruscant, especially the notion of vomit. You never know what's lurking around the corner with a gila stomach full of viral vomit and a pocket full of dreams. Here's a hint though, he's about five foot tall, has a half tail and is bordering on morbid obesity. I better stop though, I know what your voracious appetite craves and I'm not turning you on for free! You get your giddy kicks elsewhere!

Or at least pay me first.

Hal, of course, contrary to that last paragraph had not a single bone of mirth in his body and his response came in hard and dry. “I meant that you could slip and fall, ma'am.”

He still didn't budge, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared off into a smog-filled nothingness.

“The Sith are only a concern if you are an enemy of the Sith,” Terrano said bluntly with a slow and thoughtful blink. It was the usual case for Coruscant. When it came down to the wire the average Coruscanti citizen didn't give a toss about the Sith. The city was a machine that didn't rely upon their owners and masters. Jedi, Sith, Omega Potatoes. No form of government whether light, dark or neutral could truly change the heart and soul of the cityscape planet.

Finally the sad little man turned to look at her, armour confirming reason for his next question:

“Are you?”

[member="Rave Merrill"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Hal Terrano"]

"My name is Darth Talion," she said honestly. Feth, the depression rolled off him like plague off a Dinklage-sized rat. "Can I assume you go by Darth Dolorous? Darth Immobilis? Darth Malaise? Darth Mucous, or is that all rainwater?"

She stalked closer, into sabre range, close enough that he'd see her sleek dull-gold armour for what it was.

"Yes, I'm trying to get a response out of you, of one kind or another. I'm trying to determine how broken you are. Granted, I'm used to doing this with creatures the size of starships rather than men the size of mice. I don't suppose you respond well to nerf prods?"

 

[Hal Terrano]

Darth Talion.

He frowned, his distinct lack of eyebrows desperately trying to knit together. That name left a lot to consider. After all, it was a title usually reserved for a more powerful variety of Sith, well, that or some mad pretender bounding off to start another doomed to fail Sith Order.

One also had to remember that while not all One Sith were Darths, not all Darths were One Sith.

Her joke was lost upon the far too literal Sith Knight, and he titled his head upwards to not quite look at the woman in the eye, but rather slightly to the right. “No. I am Hal.” Swing, and'a miss. He wasn't crafted well for humour.

Terrano broke his off-gaze the moment the word broken came up in conversation. It was time to wield the sturdy sword of denial. “I'mnotbroken,” came the very stiff response, spoken so fast it was almost just one great big lie of a word. Oh Hal. You should talk about it. Confide in a stranger. How many people are there upon Coruscant, so what if you let one of them judge you, it could help. Let it go.

But you can't. Not a big strong man like you. Stalwart Jedi.

Just like that he found his teeth gritted, his fists clenched and chest rising. Composure, man. Keep it together. “I believe a nerf prod would classify as assault, ma'am.

I would be forced to arrest you.”

[member="Rave Merrill"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Hal Terrano"]

Laughing it off didn't suit her mood just now, nor her reading of the man. Neither did gentleness. She opted for business.

"No crimes will be committed today, Hal. I have an opportunity for you. It won't conflict with your current loyalties. There's a very decent chance you'll find it interesting."

Which would probably be a first.

 

[Hal Terrano]

Well, that was one weight off of his mind, even if he remained completely leaden despite that fact.

The notion of opportunity caused his head to turn, finally properly observing the armoured woman. His eyes would seek to look rather than simply glaze over into nothingness. Who was she? What was she? Ordinary people didn't just land upon Coruscanti rooftops in the pissing rain, no, no, ordinary people were less likely to disrupt the brooding of melancholy robed figures.

She was something, but what?

A blink. “What is it?” Terrano queried, brow creasing into an even deeper frown. Be careful, your face might stick that way.

[member="Rave Merrill"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Hal Terrano"]

"A taste of a new kind of life. No, I'm not a missionary. There's a planet whose people have a unique connection -- Hagron's World, it's called. Their society is unique as a result. It'll take you about a day to link in, maybe less, and you can end the link and return whenever you like. I've tried it, and I'm not sure whether it's to my taste, but it certainly made me think differently and experience things I'd never considered.

"Basically, I can make you someone new for a couple of days, no permanent effects. A total change of pace, and far enough away from civilization that nothing you do can have any possible repercussions this far Coreward. You get a couple of days of complete freedom, a completely new experience, and I get to see whether the link of Hagron's World can give someone the tools to be happy. Worst-case scenario, you've wasted a few days. Best-case scenario..." She shrugged eloquently.

 

[Hal Terrano]

A new kind of life.

Novel concept. This was a new kind of life, far removed from the pious plain porridge living of his Padwan days. No, it's moping malt whisky now, don't you know?

However the offer was a peculiar one, it wasn't particularly dramatic, there were no red pills or blue pills, it was just chance for a...break? You need a break, don't you? Traitor. It's hard work, throwing your discipline asides, discarding your oaths, turning your back upon the Order. Gotta take a break from all that. His rampant and increasingly pathetic guilt hissed at him, at the very notion of a holiday. He didn't deserve it...

But words like change of pace, freedom, happy...

The familiar creases upon his forehead could not be etched deeper than they were in that moment. This was the ultimate frown. Who was Darth Talion? Why did it feel so....vague...? This could have easily been a trap. What, hunters praying upon sad-sack Sith who dwell upon rooftops? You never know.

Suddenly words burst forth from his mouth so abruptly that they almost startled Hal himself:

“Can I go right now?”

[member="Rave Merrill"]