Disappeared? No...

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli had taken to relaxing near one of the lakes of Erilnar and it was there that her datapad would chime with a message from the Jedi Order. Wondering what the urgency was, she lazily pulled the datapad from grass and pulled the message up.

Grandmaster Raaf has disappeared, presumed dead. No contact information was left, no explanation as to why. Only the Raven departed Lothal and was spotted abandoned in a distant system. The Council will be meeting to decide on the interim Grandmaster, and requests your presence on Lothal.

Corvus ... gone? No ... there was no way ... her sister would have told her if she was going on a mission ... No ...

Inside, she could feel that old fear bubbling up, quicker than ever. Corvus had accepted her as family immediately, even though she had been a Sith ... they had even ate lunch and shopped during that time, nevermind they were supposed to be hated enemies.

So soon after her parents' deaths, she had needed that shoulder ... needed the unconditional love that came from family ... and now it was gone. She hadn't heard a peep about Melori, but rumor had it from within the Sith that Melori had been dispatched on a mission and vanished as well.

"Am I ... alone ... again?" she whispered, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. The tears became full blown sobs as she desperately reached out with the Force to find the connection to her sister absent ... no no no no. The emotional backlash would manifest in waves of Force energy radiating out from her, the grass getting torn up slowly into the air.

"NO!" she yelled, the Force energy igniting in a destructive wave around her, the backlash rebounding along another connection she had. One with a certain [member="Connor Harrison"], and while he was very important to her, he was not her family ... her long lost family that was lost again...

 

[Connor Harrison]

Erilnar. South of Iego, Sanctum Space.

The first sign he knew he should go there was the spike in the Force that disturbed him in his time out eating lunch in his quarters on Voss. A cry out that echoed at the back of his head, enough to make him turn around to look at the blank wall he sat before. Looking out of the window by the small table outside to the gardens, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

He dropped his fork gently to his plate of pie and fresh vegetables, all prepared by him and ready to eat, before this haunting voice. Looking at nothing, he focused on the call, aimed at nothing but aimed at everything – it was Taeli Raaf.

He hadn’t seen her for a long time since their travels, and it was almost like the shift in direction they had taken signalled a new start. Their relationship seemed to end before it started – it puzzled him – but the Force moved in mysterious was. Either she had been busy with Republic matters that he knew were fragile, and he travelling around Sanctum space finding those to help and re-build his connections with the Order, time seemed to move quickly.

It was almost like he had given up and expected she had now their feet had touched the ground of reality and their journey had ended all those weeks and days and hours ago.

However, this wasn’t the time for this – something was wrong, and it was something that disturbed him enough to vacate the food, the quarters and the temple to find her.

- - - - - - - - - -​

He had only been here once, a planet seemingly made up of thousands of islands, a few industrial facilities and power stations and raging water. It was far from any other planet he’d been to.

He had to find a larger space to land his freighter, a much more sturdy and comfortable ride than the old E-wing, but he did miss the simplicity of such a craft – hop in, hop out. Done. Tapping into her com signal which was active, he found her ship in minutes and was soon down and out on land.

Connor crouched under the front of his ship as he walked to the front and looked out over the water and the islands, and the large power station in the distance. He couldn’t see her, but knew she was here only by her ship.

”TAELI!” He shouted through cupped hands.

Whatever was wrong, he just hoped he wasn’t going to stumble across something horrific.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

She didn't hear the yell, her mind wasn't in the here and now. Her frame was wracked by constant sobs, tears flowing freely as she stared at the broken datapad that showed the message. Once he found her, he would be treated to sight of her kneeling in a large section of ground that had been obliterated of all grass, the ground cracked and chunks of it floating around her.

The water of the nearby lake was churning, parts of the bank had been blasted away. In her grief and loneliness, her powers had fully been unleashed yet again in a wave of pure destruction. Loss of control yet again, her greatest fear and anxiety manifested tenfold now because of both sisters vanishing.

 

[Connor Harrison]

No answer. Typical!

However it didn’t take too long to find that raging Force signature, the only one in the surrounding islands beside his own. He had to traverse a walkway over from the ships but saw disturbed earth before he saw the crouched figure of Taeli.

He thought the spot she had picked would be a beautiful one, whatever she was here for, but instead the tree trunks were snapped, the debris floating across the choppy water around it. The earth had been spat up and the soil and earth was in mid-air, held by the kinetic spike she was radiating.

Connor walked down the walkway to the ground and his face become one of concern. Something was wrong with the Raaf family; he felt it, and suddenly he feared the worse. Corvus. For something to push Taeli this low, it had to involve the one anchor that rooted her; family.

He sidestepped to be alongside her frame, separated by the soil and dirt. She was a little lower in a small crater that rippled outwards. The water churned around the island and it sounded violent. As if looking at a ticking time bomb, Connor wiped his beard gently and his nose, deciphering which wire to cut first to avoid it exploding in his face.

”Taeli, take it easy and calm down. Tell me what’s happened. We’ll sort this out.”

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"They're gone," she whispered, her eyes still staring down at the broken datapad that still displayed the message that was, even now, tearing and breaking her heart. "My sisters ... are gone ... I'm alone ... again."

She wasn't even aware of the destruction the Force energy coming off of her was causing, the instability in the air around them. Another wave of energy rocketed outwards from her, breaking more of the ground into pieces to be thrown into the lake around them.

"I can't feel them ... either of them ... the bonds ... are gone," she cried.

 

[Connor Harrison]

The shockwave blast came out again after her first exclamation. It sent more earth spitting upwards, some dirt rained over Connor as he turned and covered his eyes, wobbling slightly. The water bubbled with the debris that fell into it, and then was silent. The Force was crackling around Taeli, and so was the danger which worried Connor.

He knew her former self. Darth Arcanix - brilliant scientist, deadly warrior. The only thing to save her had been family; and now they were...gone? They couldn't be gone. Corvus wasn't gone, she couldn't be. And the other one...he didn't remember her or know her.

”Taeli, you're not thinking this through. I'm sure they've not gone...” he paused, and shifted around the Force debris to try get her to notice him, ”...don't rely on the datapad. Let's talk this through and think logically - there's a reason for this. Come on, I'm here now.”

Connor couldn't hold his hand out, as she was protected by the wall of energy. There was a chill in the air.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"They're gone!" she yelled, her eyes wild, her hair lifting in the breeze her powers were causing. "I can't feel them anymore, either of them! The bonds are silent! Don't you dare patronize me by saying otherwise!"

With each phrase, the power crackled around her. More cracks formed, the wind picking up. She was losing control and his tone was not helping in saying to disregard the confirmation that lay at her feet.

"Gone..." she said, sliding back to the ground and holding her arms close to her chest. There would be a sudden crackle, a warning for Connor, before another blast would issue towards him that would normally send him flying into the lake if he wasn't fast enough. She wasn't in control of her powers right now, it wasn't intentional.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor felt the surge in the Force around him almost suck him and the environment forward an inch, building for an explosion outwards like a thermobaric bomb. His eyes saw it coming and he quickly knelt down and pushed outwards to repel the incoming blast and dug in to the ground.

Taeli's rage shot outwards again from her core, taking further chunks of earth out to the water. Connor clamped his eyes shut and pushed with all his strength to stop himself falling in. His feet scrapped along the earth, hand pushing down, and thankfully he came to a comfortable stop inches from the edge of the island.

Looking up slowly, near afraid to see the consequences, there was just a violent crater around Taeli that seemed to glow with the heat of the blasts she had shot out. She looked...possessed. It was clear words weren't going to help bring her down, but what else would?

Pushing his tongue against his teeth in frustration, Connor clenched his fists for a second and pushed outwards his arms, palms forward, and began to focus his ability to manipulate the Force to repel against hers. He was aiming to effectively prize open the wall of debris and push through to her, through the curtain of rocks and dirt.

”Don't do this. Don't become her again.”

He started walking, ready for anything now.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

Even as he started to advance forward, the Force energies radiating out from her started to subside, the debris floating in the air falling with a dull thud to the cracked ground. All she continued to do was sob and mourn the loss of her family yet again, old wounds torn open that Corvus had helped heal.

"Why me?" she whispered, still holding her arms close, tears falling freely onto her arms. "Why do I always lose my family?"

Unbidden, the words her doppelganger had spoken on Upekzar popped into her mind. It had said the darkness wasn't done with her yet, and maybe it was right after all. It would just continue robbing family members from her. No, the darkness hadn't robbed her of her family. It was the Republic. Corvus would have gone on a mission at the Republic's request ... and possibly taken out of commission for her decisions in recent events and splitting the Jedi from Republic space.

Fists clenched as her mind grasped that idea.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor’s eyes noted the debris falling, the invisible whirlwind of energy calming and the spike in the Force calming – calming, but still spiking.

”Why me again,” he muttered as he made his way forward to a broken Taeli.

She was on her knees and he could hear her sobbing, almost rocking, hunched up to protect herself from whatever horror she had heard or seen. He noted her position and anxiety, and slowly made it beside her and slunk down to her level, resting on one knee. He placed a hand on her back and gently rubbed as he slowly took the datapad from the ground, smeared with tears and mud, to read the message.

He read it twice, an inquisiative eye going over the message. He looked up, thinking what it could mean. There was no word that Corvus has been killed, captured or was even in danger. That was good. Now, to try relate the impossible to someone already grieving. held the datapad in his free hand and gently rubbed her back to comfort her.

”Listen to me.” He held the datapad in his free hand and gently rubbed her backto comfort her. ”You know Corvus better than anyone, ok. Better than the Republic also. To say she is presumed dead is wrong on their account. Think about it, with the state they are in, they are using this as a tool to rally the Republic together and form a stronger resolve – Corvus was their poster girl. Now she’s left, they’re desperate to make her a martyr.”

Careful what you say, Connor.

”Look. With her issues regarding the Republic, and with Braith, I know it’s hard to imagine, but she’s probably reached a point where she needs…time away. To collect her thoughts, to think where she wants to go, where she belongs – who she belongs to. Does that make sense? I know for a fact she isn’t dead. It’s not her style. The Corvus I know will probably have made a heart-breaking decision not to inform you, BUT she would have done it to protect her and you so you couldn’t stop her in doing what she feels she has to do for her sake.”

What the hell did he know? Corvus had certainly acted out of character, that was for sure. Regardless, it was all he could say with no information, and it could be taken either way.

”I didn’t want to see you for the first time in ages looking like this. Now come on, dry those tears and give me a hug. You've not even seen my new look - it won't be a surprise now. It’ll be ok. Trust me.”

With a soft tease in his voice, the kind he had used years before as a Padawan and months before as Master with her, Connor had the underlying worry that she was on the edge, and anything could tip her either way. It was the most dangerous of situations, and he was right at the centre of it.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"That message is from the Jedi, not the Republic," she replied quietly. His words stung her and she really wanted to react ... and she couldn't fight down her next words. "Maybe you didn't know Corvus as well as you thought you did if you think she would abandon her family and Braith without saying a single word."

"If the Republic is trying, or even did the deed, and make her a martyr ... then I won't rest until the institution is destroyed," she continued quietly. It wasn't born from anger, okay maybe it was, but it was stated as fact. She wouldn't give up finding her sister. She had to find a way to feel her sisters again. She just didn't know enough yet, yes that was it. She just needed to learn more. She would scour the archives ... and possibly delve into the holocrons in her personal collection. It would be dangerous, but they would have knowledge that had been lost for centuries. Maybe something she could find Corvus and Melori with.

Finally, she blinked away her tears as her resolve returned and she took in Connor's new look. There was a beat or two before she finally said with a small hint of humor, though she wasn't feeling particularly humorous, "Did someone bet you to wear that thing on your face?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Well, at least a glimmer of Taeli remained. Connor smiled a little, rolling his eyes in contemplation.

”No, this is all voluntary. I blame you for the grey though. Come on.”

He stood slightly, helping her stand. One hand on her back, the other on her arm. Without making it obvious, his eyes scanned the ground surrounding the pair and it was a nasty eruption of emotion that had come out violently. To be expected, but somehow it wasn’t like her…or maybe it was? The comment about the Republic was slightly un-nerving. That WASN’T Taeli.

Best thing was to get here away from here, so gently Connor nudged them to the side in an attempt to lead her away from this emotional epicentre.

”I’m sure the Republic and Jedi will do all they can and scour all known traces from her and the ship to find her. But, yes maybe Corvus has changed recently and I have fallen out of touch with her, but I know she’s stubborn. She’s being stubborn now. I really don’t think she is …I don’t think she’s gone, Taeli.”

He had no real insight into the other Raaf sister and couldn’t risk saying something that was identifiably out of character.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"I'm not the one who goes gallivanting into dangerous situations, the grey is all you," she commented quietly. She looked around at the devastation her outburst had unleashed and shuddered. She had forgotten just how her emotions could influence her powers ... to a both destructive and oddly fascinating degree.

"At least I wasn't inside anywhere when I got ... the news," she said, fighting back more tears. There were sure to be many sleepless nights where she cried for the loss of her sisters. "I'll find them ... both of them ... no matter what I have to do, I will find my family."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor nodded to himself and rubbed her shoulders.

”I will help you. If you want my help, of course. You know I will. I know it's been a while again, but, I'm here.”

He was in two minds to tell Taeli about the last time he'd seen Corvus and the breakthrough he'd had with her, but maybe now wasn't the time. Their environment told him she was still rather unstable. He began to guide her to the ship, across the islands.

”Can you tell me anything about the last time you saw Corvus and your sister? Was anything wrong, any conflict?”

Treading carefully, not just across the terrain, but also with words, it was rather shaky underfoot.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Last time I saw Corvus ... we were recovering something from an ancient Sith site on the world of Upekzar," Taeli whispered. She let herslef be guided right now, she just needed that support right now. "I had been looking for this particular item for a long time, it was the same thing I was looking for when we first met those years ago. Melori ... I last saw her on Ambria where we made a sort of truce with each other to not interfere. Nothing to suggest either would up and disappear."

 

[Connor Harrison]

OOC:

Spoiler

OMG I AM SO SORRY!! I thought I was waiting on you so just checked to be sure....and I totally ffff'd up. My apologies!

Connor let the walk go at a slow pace, the air and calmness of the islands and water would help Taeli focus, to compose her emotions and, hopefully, relax a little. His arm looped her side and took her arm in the other.

”Ok, well it sounds like nothing you had been involved with was a cause. I mean, we can check any place you want that you both went to, but that will just waste time and I doubt she'd, well, both of them, would have left a clue behind.”

He looked ahead and helped her cross to her ship across a walkway.

”What about Braith? Did Corvus say anything about her, or any relationships? I know the Republic is faltering, and you know Corvy - if those she believes in fall around her, she would probably feel either like she failed herself, or failed the entire galaxy as a Jedi. And that would be enough to drive her away to find herself again. Look what happened to me.”

In that instant he regretted the last part...hopefully Taeli wouldn't take much notice.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

OOC: Totally fine, been a little busy IRL so it's okay

"No, everything was good between them," Taeli said quietly, although her temper wanted to flare at his suggestion of why Corvus went missing. She was ... no, rein that thought in Taeli. "If someone close to Corvus were to fall, she would never go in hiding or blame herself. She might question her beliefs, she might even wonder what she could have done differently, but she wouldn't go into hiding. She would want to try and redeem or help that person find themselves again."

Thinking on it some more, she added, "Corvus, with all her positive traits and faults, would never abandon the Jedi. Ever. Even when Kana left, even when Kian vanished, even when Seraphina left, she stayed. She was the consummate Jedi, the pillar. She believed in duty to the Order above all else."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Moving on as they talked to reach her ship, Connor’s a little further back on another island, he guided her to sit underneath by one of the landing supports, out of the sun and in the shade. He knelt beside her and fingered the grass.

”What if…what if she has decided to rethink her position with the Jedi? Maybe something has happened to alter her outlook on the Republic? I don’t know.”

And that was it – he didn’t know. He could throw as many situations up as he could imagine, but Taeli would be able to defend every one of them. And make it much harder to actually find a logical reason why the once bright light in the eye of the Republic was now, seemingly, extinguished.

”Maybe it’s not for us to be able to question or understand the path someone takes, regardless who it is. We can never know. All we can do now I think is wait. And have trust in the Force, like she always told me to do.”

[member="Taeli Raaf"]