Private Condolences

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

The ship idled for a moment as the engines slowly grew silent. Space travel did not bother Aerik as much as it bothered his father. He supposed it was because he had been raised to see it as a normal thing. Gerwald had not. It was ironic that Aerik spent more time on the ground while his father commanded the Second Legion, an assignment which had seen him on Jutrand less and less in recent months. Word of his exploits made their way back to the boy, to the academy as a whole, and each successive victory had only put a wider target on the young Lupo’s back.

Aerik was quickly becoming a prize to kill.

He was grateful for the opportunity to get off Jutrand, even if the circumstances were not ideal. Normally such a trip would not have been sanctioned, but there were certain demands of duty which had pressed the headmaster into granting Irina the time away from the academy. She asked for Aerik to be her escort to ensure she returned. The headmaster seemed to think taking a Lechner as collateral would be sufficient enough to guarantee her return.

Irina had talked about her Eliad how it was a desert, and arid place. Aerik had been curious about it. Gerwald avoided desert worlds. He preferred the forest. The young pup understood why when the loading ramp descended and the heat of the outdoor world rushed into the ship. It was like a wall. The beast inside him seemed to like it, however.

She insisted he dress in loose and light clothing. Aerik complied. Wherever he would need for the funeral, ritual, or ceremony, that they would be participating in later would be provided for him. It was the one nicety he could expect. The customs of Irina’s people would not allow her much beyond the closure the event was supposed to provide. Among the Sith, the girl was an equal to any man. Among her people, she was unfit to receive anything from her father, save the debts he had accumulated.

It was wrong.

His fiery gaze stole a quick look in the ebony girl’s direction. There was concern in it. Was she okay? Would she be okay? He supposed the matter was obvious, but he could not help but feel the injustice of her situation. As a Sith she could make it right. They both could. Would they? Wisdom might be to let the past go. This was a chain that could hold her back, afterall. Maybe the village needed to be burned to the ground, snuffed out of existence so as to finally free Irina from whatever was holding her back.

Through victory chains were broken.

Aerik was quiet as he took his place beside her. They walked off the ship together. He would let her take the lead because he did not know where to go from there. Aerik would see her home for the first time, but it was not a joyous thing.

He tried to say something, but he did not know what to say…

…he stayed silent.

The only sound between them for the moment was the rustle of their clothing and the lightsaber hilts they had claimed from the Jedi they had killed. It would have to do for the moment, until one of them broke the silence that had fallen between them.

 

[Irina Jesart]

The wall of heat was a familiar blanket, enveloping her with the comfort of home. A hint of sadness cracked through the mask before vanishing, no doubt caught by her golden-eyed companion. She was grateful that Aerik Lechner had agreed to come. She wasn't sure she'd be able to do this alone. The hot air wafted over them as they stepped off the ship, carrying glittering dust and a host of smells. The sweet scent of a shisha smoke, spiced caff and fruity curries. The smell of home.

Servants flanked the walkway from the landing pad to the villa. Clad in black, the women's faces hidden behind black veils, they bowed their heads as Irina passed, a ceremony she had expected. What she had not expected was the servants who did not belong to her house among them.

Her father's body had not yet been cremated, and already the other houses were making their move. At the end of the walkway, waiting to greet her was the Caretaker, head of the villa staff and her father's most trusted servant. A tall, slender blue blue-skinned Twi'lek. He bowed his head when they approached.

"Lady Irina, we wish your homecoming were not under such circumstances. Our deepest condolences, our hearts weigh heavily with the passing of your father. The sands await his return."

"Thank you, Santel."

Santel nodded, a sad look on his face as he studied Irina before lifting his gaze to Aerik questioningly. "He's here to see me return to the academy. I'm to stay in his sight at all times, lest I decide to make a break for it." That was not entirely true, but she would not have them separated when her home had become a viper's nest. "See that he had something to wear for the ceremony."

Santel's gaze swept over Aerik, assessing him like a tailor might and nodded. "It will be done." He stepped aside, gesturing for her to take the lead, and she did. Behind them, the servants filed away, returning to their duties. Santel escorted them into the courtyard, the garden planted with succulents and bromeliads of varying colours. In the centre stood a large Olive tree whose branches cast a cool shade over the space.

"We have some new faces," Irina commented, her tone cold.

"House Vedieu graciously lent some of their staff to ensure that we were fully outfitted for the few days you are here," Santel replied smoothly, casting her a sideways glance.

"How kind of them. We must send them our thanks." There was no gratitude in her tone, only iciness.

"I have some wine in the cellar that may suffice?" The corner of Santel's lip twitched. "And perhaps some olives?"

Irina nodded. It was a meagre response, a thanks out of duty and nothing more. "Perfect, see it done. I have some business I'd like to attend before lunch. Then I'm sure you have an errand list as long as my arm before tonight."

Santel bowed his head "Your father's office has been prepared for you." His gaze lingered before he bowed again and turned away. Irina's eyes widened briefly before her mask returned. They wouldn't have dared…would they?

When Irina turned to look at Aerik, her face was a mask once more, one of cool indifference, the only giveaway was the rage that was slowly building within her, a subtle vibration in the force. She led them through the small palace. It wasn't obnoxious in its decor, some subtleties spoke volumes of the wealth that had been accrued by generations, items of value collected by off-world traders, tapestries and paintings that wouldn't have been out of place in a gallery.

Irina paid it no mind, sweeping past all of it to her father's office. Once they were inside, she closed the door behind them, placed a finger to her lips to warn Aerik not to speak yet and moved to the desk, settling into the large leather chair she ran her fingers under the desks edge until she found the groove she was looking for, with a gentle click the desk popped open and she pulled a device from it setting it on the top.

"Cover your ears." Irina activated it, and a high-pitched whine emitted from it, gradually growing in pitch and volume. Fine for her ears, though it would be uncomfortable for Aeriks as it increased. Then it stopped before a small EMP pulse emitted from it. Large enough to cover the room, but not so large as to disrupt the rest of the house.

The smell of fried electronics told her that whatever devices had been planted were no longer viable. She gave Aerik a tight smile "And you think the academy is bad?"

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart
Aerik Lechner didn’t move at first.

He stood in the center of the office like a statue carved from some windswept, ancient cliff—still, and severe, while watching her with those burnished eyes that never seemed to blink long enough to miss anything. He covered his ears. The smell of scorched circuits reached him just as the ringing in his ears faded to a dull echo behind his temples.

Then he finally smirked.

“Remind me,” he said, voice low, dry, and threaded with that biting charm he’d inherited like a curse, “what part of this was supposed to make me feel better about the Academy?”

He stepped closer now, only a few paces between them and the desk, his gaze dragging deliberately over the room. Not the art or the riches, he didn’t care about any of that. He was watching the shadows and listening to the Force settle in the wake of the EMP like dust falling after a quake.

"Someone was listening," he said simply, then looked at the still-smoking device. “Probably more than one someone.”

His tone dropped a shade colder.

“You’re sure that was all of them?”

Not accusatory. Not quite. But it was the voice of someone raised in a world where trust was a blade you kept sheathed only long enough to sharpen.

He glanced back to her, the faintest flicker of curiosity behind his otherwise unreadable stare.

“And here I thought it was complicated being the son of Gerwald Lechner.”

 

[Irina Jesart]

Irina shrugged. “My father did everything he could to make this room bug proof. He told me once, that the walls had ears and if I didn't watch my tongue the Sandman would come for my eyes. I didn't sleep for a week, not until I made Santel stand over my bed to guard me.”

A lump formed in her throat and she swallowed against it. “His paranoia consumed him, so if there is any room in this house that is clear of listening devices after that, it will be this one.” She picked the EMP up, setting it back into its hiding place and closing the desk again.

She looked around the room, the walls lined with bookcases that were crammed with books and scrolls from all over the galaxy. There wasn't a tome in here she hadn't read. She sat back in the chair, fingers idly tracing the worn spots on its arms as she fell into deep thought for a moment.

“We're going to have to pretend like we normally do. The less attention on you the better. The Vedieu's haven't even waited for the ceremony before they inserted their staff which means they want me gone quickly…or dead. Can't have them knowing you're a Lechner, otherwise they'll think I'm worth keeping for my links and I'll wind up betrothed to some spineless schutta.”

She gave him a tight smile. “Assassination attempts are easier to deal with.”

Aerik Lechner

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Irina Jesart

Aerik leaned back against the edge of the desk, arms folded across his chest, watching her closely, though not without something gentler in his expression now. It was not sympathy, not exactly, but understanding. They shared the kind born of sleepless nights, standing guards, and fathers who weaponized bedtime stories.

"The Sandman," he echoed with a wry twist of his mouth. "Sounds charming."

He let the silence sit between them a moment. Not to be cruel just to let the truth of what she'd said settle fully. Then he spoke.

"You were right to make Santel stand watch." His voice softened slightly at the name. "And your father was right about the walls. They always have ears. Doesn't mean you stop speaking. Just means you learn to choose your weapons." He tapped a finger once against the desk then gave her a sharp look. "And yours are sharper than most."

Her plan, pragmatic and brutal as it was, earned a faint nod of approval.

"Pretending is fine, but if the Vedieus want you dead, they should've acted yesterday. You've already slipped the noose." A beat. "Even if they don't know it yet."

Then he leaned in, voice quiet, measured.

"If I thought you were safer alone, I'd leave." A pause. "But I don't. And I won't. Whether they see me as a risk, a bargaining chip, or a bastard from a disgraced line, I don't care. Let them underestimate me. Let them try."

His eyes burned faintly, that same slow-simmering fire that marked every Lechner.

"I don't mind getting my hands dirty for a cause. Especially not you."

Then, more lightly, almost teasing, he added, "And if it comes down to assassination or an arranged marriage, I'll happily handle the bloodstains."