Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Jaina zoomed through the air in her personal airspeeder, a refurbished vintage red XJ-6. She had the top down, the wind in her hair, music blaring - on top of the world!

She was thinking about changing her last name after the wedding. Grayson was a generic surname, chosen so that she would have something to put on legal documents. It meant nothing to her. But it would mean a lot to Aramis, she thought, if she were to take his name rather than the reverse. Granted, Vaelor was his married name; it had come from Entora. She would have to ask him what his, er, maiden name had been.

Slowing to a stop, she arrived at the next place on her list: a florist. Couldn't have a wedding without flowers. Stepping out of the speeder, she headed inside...
 
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... Only for her comms to start ringing the moment she stepped across the threshold. It was Mara. Activating her comlink, Jaina sighed. This had better be important. "Hey girl. What's up?"

"The Patriarch is gone!" Mara all but screamed into the receiver. "No one can find him or contact him. Ourabora isn't answering either. I haven't even been able to reach the General!"

Jaina quickly ducked into the solitude and privacy of a nearby alley. "Slow down," she said. "Are you safe?"

"I-I think so. I'm on Stalsinek IV, at the Aurelai family estate. The place is falling apart, but I wasn't sure if I could stay with the Khals anymore." Mara sounded like she was having a panic attack. "Force, what if the Queen Mother has found out about Secciah? Syreeta could be in danger!"

"Okay." Jaina pinched the bridge of her nose. "Let's start from the beginning. Tell me exactly what happened."

"I don't know. Every other member of our operation is missing. The Patriarch, Ourabora, the others - it's like they all just disappeared overnight. Everyone except for Syreeta and me." Mara paused for a long moment, and when she next spoke, it was through tears. "The whole Hapan operation is collapsing. Right when we were so close to a breakthrough..."

As Mara had reported to Jaina, Syreeta Ming was working with the mysterious "Patriarch" to kill and replace significant members of Hapan society with rebel operatives. Ourabora Fal'shivvy, a Ducha and one of the Queen Mother's most loyal henchwomen, had been replaced by an agent of the Patriarch codenamed "Margaret". But if all of their operatives had suddenly disappeared, then they were dealing with a real crisis.

"How well have you been covering your tracks?" Jaina asked. "Would the authorities have any reason to suspect you?"

"I've always been careful. It's Syreeta I'm scared for. The Patriarch didn't know it at the time, but Secciah Khal was dying from dementia. Her family were all preparing for her death - only for her to be miraculously healed once Syreeta took her place. It's always been suspicious, but now it's even more questionable."

"I see. Have you talked to Syreeta?"

"She's here with me."

"Put her on."

Moments later, Jaina's holoprojector lit up and a hologram of Syreeta - still in the form of the Ducha of Harterra - appeared. "Greetings, Jaina," she said with a bow.

"Mara's already filled me in on your situation. Have you decided how to proceed?"

Syreeta tilted her head. "I am considering pulling the plug. Secciah was never a good candidate for replacement, and I... I confess that I was never comfortable with the whole idea of replacing people. It has been difficult for me to lie to the people who knew her, pretending to be this person that I killed and... absorbed."

Yeah, Jaina could understand how that might be really weird and not fun. "I think you're right. It's time to let Secciah go. Make it look as if she died peacefully from natural causes." That at least would offer some comfort to her loved ones. Assuming she had any.
 
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On Stalsinek IV, Mara and Syreeta turned to face each other. "If you stop being Secciah, does that mean... I won't see you again?" Mara asked.

"I don't know," Syreeta replied. "Perhaps we will meet again. But it may be a long time hence."

Mara was overcome with emotions she had never felt before. Sadness, grief, longing for her friend to stay and yet determination that she must go for her safety. She reached for Syreeta's hand. "I'm glad that I met you," she said tearfully. "And I'll miss you when you're gone."

Syreeta was moved by her words, clasping Mara's hand between hers. "There will be a ball on Naboo tomorrow night. Let's have one last hurrah. I'll pretend to get drunk and insult you."

Mara couldn't help but laugh through her tears. "I'll cry into the shoulder of some handsome cad."

"We'll have the time of our lives, pretending to be awful people."

"Oh, I'm sure there will be plenty of those at the ball. Let's pretend to be good instead, just this once."



They did just that, though a bit of true feeling winded up poking through the pretend. After dumping her trauma on Romin Renoux, Mara finished her wine and left the bar. She found Syreeta on the dance floor, pretending to be intoxicated as she busted it down granny style.

"Come on now, Your Grace. Let's get you home," Mara said, helping the elderly Ducha outside to the palace gardens. They sat down on a stone bench near a fountain, listening to the soothing sound of running water and nocturnal animals coming out after sunset.

Syreeta seemed restless. "Let's go back and dance some more," she said. "I don't want this night to end just yet."

"I can't stand to go back in there," Mara confessed. "They let a Sith princess in. I still can't believe it..."

"Have faith, Mara. Things will get better. Right now the galaxy is going through a... transitional period." Syreeta folded her arms, her shoulders sagging. "I hope my grandson will be all right."

"Ben?" Mara asked, marveling at how Syreeta had absorbed Secciah's memories. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's back with the Jedi."

"His mother loves him, but once she becomes Ducha..." She trailed off. "Power corrupts. I'm afraid it will change her. She might suddenly see the merit of marrying her only child off to some Hapan princess who will hurt him. The same way his father was hurt."

Mara's brow furrowed. "Arlessa doesn't abuse Cedrin. Does she?"

Syreeta gave her a knowing look. "Secciah knew everything her children did. They couldn't keep any secrets from her." After a moment's pause, she revealed the truth: "Cedrin isn't Ben's father. General Kalen is."
 
Mara stared at her in shock. "But how?" she asked.

"There is more to Arlessa than meets the eye," Syreeta answered. "A woman as brilliant as her would not have settled for a mere trophy husband, unless she had a good reason to do so. She married Cedrin to hide the affair she had with her sister's consort, and to protect their child from harm."

"I'm surprised Secciah let Ben live, knowing who his father was," Mara murmured. "Especially after he killed her daughter, his own wife."

"Secciah cared for her daughters in her own way. She saw that Arlessa loved Ben, and didn't dare raise a hand against him despite his paternity." Syreeta's expression grew grim. "As I said, I'm more afraid that Arlessa, in trying to do right by her son with her newfound power, will wind up doing harm instead. But I suppose the fate of House Khal will be out of my hands once I stop being Secciah."

"I imagine it won't stop you from caring about what happens to them," Mara mused aloud.

Syreeta nodded. "Perhaps I could check on them periodically. See how they're faring." She closed her eyes, then sighed. "All right, I think I'm ready. Let's get this over with."

They had agreed on how Secciah Khal would die, but Mara still felt a shiver at Syreeta's words. "Okay," she whispered, reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze. "I love you."

"And I love you, my friend." And with those parting words, Secciah Khal went limp.

Mara leaped to her feet, standing over the Ducha's collapsed body. She feigned shock and horror, but didn't have to fake the tears that sprang from her eyes. "Someone help!" she screamed. "The Ducha is ill! Get a doctor!"

But there would be no hope for Secciah Khal. The official legal record would state that she had died from a massive heart attack after a night of drinking and dancing. Her funeral would be held a few days later on Harterra, with her body being interred in the family mausoleum. There was a real corpse in the coffin, manufactured to look like the late Ducha with the help of Mara and the master embalming software she downloaded just for the occasion. But Syreeta, still carrying Secciah's absorbed personality and memories, left the Hapes Cluster behind.
 

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