Do You Still Remember? (Corvinus Palpatine)

[Anastasia Verd]

Seated at the pilot seat, Anastasia studied the galaxy maps on the screen. Autopilot was on which mostly meant she did not require to do much for the time being. She had ventured south from Krant, perhaps a little too far from home than she usually went on her own but Mom had let her borrow the Yacht. Every so often, she look at the other screens to make sure the autopilot was still on but then she would return her attention to the map, her fingers inches away from the screen, tracing down through the planets. Tatooine had sparked an interest in her mind but she wanted nothing to do with that wretched planet. Sand and trouble. The great Galactic Empire had fallen because of that planet. Her entire world had once been turned upside down because of not one but two men who had come from there. She wanted nothing to do with it.

There as a small group of planets before Tatooine showing on the map though. Pii. Far as she could remember, there was literally nothing relevant about the planet. A place in the galaxy. However, right now, such a place suited her. Quiet, not many nosey people. Anastasia checked information on it just in case. Forrests and logging. It would do. And it wasn't that far from Krant or Bothawui for what she had need for. She checked the coordinates of the planet before adjusting herself before them instruments and set the coordinates and then leaned back.

Once all was done, she left her seat and moved over to the end of room, to a small bag she had left there and pulled out three small metal cubes and put them on the floor, concentrating to the Force. She had been doing this for a while now, practicing. While she had lots to learn still, Telekinesis was something she already knew and in her mind that meant she had to work on it, make it better. Feeling the Force had come to her, she looked down on the cubes, summoning it to rise. When it stood still, she closed her eyes and concentrated further, calling it off the floor. Rise. Her mind simply thought and opened her eyes. The invisible hands of the Force had listened to her, her black irises seeing the one cube was hovering before her. A small smile formed on her face as she kept her focus on the cube, willing it to move to the left. It did. Then to the right and it complied. Soon, Anastasia was moving in across through the air of the entire room.

That had kept going a little while, testing herself to see just how fast she could make it go and then how fast she could stop it before it caused any problems. Not that much speed though. Which she learned when cube hit the doors once and almost hit her at one point. That will do for now, Anastasia told herself and slowly had it return to the other cubes before she gently lowered it back down to the floor. She lowered her head then, tilting it as she looked at the three of them. Could she? No. She knew better than that, instead turning her focus to only two. What was it that she remembered from her past? What would they say? "Size doesn't matter." That was something an Apprentice had to understand before he or she could comprehend an advanced form of telekinesis. It wasn't all that, of course but it was important to begin with. Nodding to herself, the Verd girl concentrated again, calling the Force to her again. Only this time, it wasn't as easy. First task she got. She was getting better at it. But she still didn't get this quite yet. She wanted to ask why her parents hadn't started training her earlier but Anastasia had an inkling already why she hadn't began her training earlier. However, that was only a hunch inspired by the memories she had been bombarded before she suddenly had memories of her like as a Verd. But Anastasia didn't swell on those memories too much. She was Anastasia Verd now. There were so many memories in her mind now that she simple let them in, studied them, tried to understand them all. There was just so many of them that sometimes, it was a big mess in there. And it was again threatening to take her over if she didn't stop thinking about it. The girl had more pressing matters now so she pushed those thoughts away and cleared her mind, concentrating on the two cubes again.

Her task took far more now. She kept concentrating, willing the cubes to rise but it wasn't happen. So Anastasia pushed herself further, focusing. Rise. Her mind ordered but the cubes did not respond. She narrowed her eyes at the cubes. Rise! She ordered again, refusing to stop. There was only success. There was no failure. Failure had killed her once, stricken by her own master. There would be no failure. Anastasia did not fail. Rise. No failure. The girl was inches away from getting angry with herself. But she didn't let herself, calming herself once more, pushing every single thought without her mind but the cubes and the Force. And in that calm she felt the cubes and grabbed them through the Force, lifting them. Slowly, the cubes raised from the ground, barely an inch away from it and trembled. She was straining herself in the process but she refused to give up, lifting the two cubes just a little higher.

Beep. The single sound from the front made her lose her concentration and the cubes fell to the floor. Anastasia got off the floor and returned to the instruments. The ship systems were alerting her of that she had reached her destination. She had to slow the ship down. Sitting down, Anastasia turned off the autopilot and slowed the ship down, taking her the rest of the way slowly. When she was over the planet, she adjusted herself and punched in a few commands before taking the wheel, beginning her descent. Entering atmosphere made the ship shake. Something she never missed. Thankfully, it was over soon and she could see the planet finally. Green. Lots of green. It will do, the Apprentice decided and took a moment to decide where she was land. A somewhat bigger clearing where the Yacht would fit and headed there at what she herself called slug-pace speed. Landing gear out, the Viceroy-class Yacht touched the ground and came to a full halt.

First, she looked out the window. More green. Then she looked down on her instruments and ran a scan with the Standard Sensor array. Primitive lifeforms didn't concern her, neither did any kind of settlement that had no means of harming her or the ship. She did however need to know if there was anything out there that could harm her. However, the reading she got confused her. There was a weak reading not too far from where she had landed but she couldn't get an exact reading to what it was. "Odd," the female just said.

@[member='Corvinus Palpatine']

 

[Anastasia Verd]

The signal was weak but still strong enough for the Array to pick it up and for Anastasia to download the coordinates into her datapad and left the cockpit, her fast walk through the hallway got to the cargohold, opening the weapons locker for one of the smaller blasters and heaed to the speeder, storing the weapon on it along with the datapad to a guide her.

Kybuck Speeder Bike came to life and Anastasia released the clutch as the cargo doors opened, riding into the group while the ship closed up behind her a few seconds later. She reached for her datapad and glanced at it, making a few turns on the way as the signal grew stronger on her path.

Something dark came in her path, for the most part hidden behind all the green around it and over it. Her datapad gave a beep to let her know she had arrived to her destination, urging Anastasia to stop the speeder, getting off it. She picked up her blaster then and walked over to the object that had caught her attention, checking the datapad once more to double check. Yes, this is where the signal was coming from. Anastasia approached it, putting the datapad in her pocket as her free hand ripped the green that had grown over it, getting a getting view of what it was.

An image flashed before her eyes. Carbonate. She had used this technology herself once. Anastasia came over to the side where there was a few gleaming lights left and looked over the instruments. Whatever was still in it was still alive. Her fingers carefully tapped over the keys on the panel before she quickly jumped up, her other hand gently gripping around the blaster as the carbonate began to change color.

@[member="Corvinus Palpatine"]

 

[Other Space Kaiden]

@[member="Anastasia Verd"]

The dust from the bones of all those he knew were but figments of a lost time, forever lost to the galaxy. Yet, Corvinus endured. He had been locked away in a dark tomb for sins he had never committed by a family he had never wronged. Perhaps it was fate, perhaps it was destiny or merely the sick joke of a twisted god who brought himself joy through tearing apart the lives of the ants below him. No, it was none of that in reality. In realty it was his name, it was a cursed name and had been since the purge of the Jedi and the rise of the Galactic Empire. It was a name that brought all who bore it trouble, a name that was only associated with madmen, mutants and the like. His father, even through all the good deeds he had accomplished, could not bring justice to the name and now it seemed that Corvinus had failed in it as well. He had been accused of being a monster and thrown into a block of carbonite merely because people saw his name and refused to listen to anything he had to say, of course that was nearly three centuries ago...but to him it had been only seconds.

As the carbonite lit up and changed from dark grey to a searing red, Corvinus saw only darkness. Slowly his hearing returned and the feeling of carbonite lit up his skin, but still the world was dark. Where was he? It wasn't Naboo, how was that possible he had to be on Naboo still! Shooting his eyes wide open, Corvinus flailed around in a hibernation sickness induced blindness, his heart racing just as it was before he was frozen.

"Where am I!" Corvinus exclaimed, sensing the presence of another but unable to build up the strength to get to his feet or move extensively, "Who are you?"

 

[Anastasia Verd]

The carbonate turned red then slowly melted into nothingless, releaving a man with white hair. She reached to the Force at an instance. Instict had taken over, her faith with the blastered limited to none. She remembered then how limited she was and charged the blaster, looking at the figure as he came to some sort of senses. She had heard exiting carbonation wasn't the least bit pleasant but she didn't personally know the feeling so she kept on guard.

The man asked for his location and who she was. "You're on a planet called Pii. And I'm your savior." Anastasia answered him. Between her two sentences, there wasn't a change in tone, both had said completely plain, no emphasis. The man had been given two facts. "Who are you and how did you end up on carbonate?"

@Corvinus Palpatine

 

[Other Space Kaiden]

@[member="Anastasia Verd"]


"Pii no, no I was on Naboo and I-I was...the bounty hunter" everything was so confusing, as if he were trying to remember a giant blur. He could remember the bounty hunter lowering him into the the chamber and now this. Looking around aimlessly at his surroundings, unable to see a thing, Corvinus began to force his mind into a calm and brought all of his anxiety and fear into a deep focus as he had taught himself before being put on ice. Closing his eyes, not that it made much of a difference, the elderly man took a deep breath and began to collect his thoughts. Of course he wasn't on Naboo, the ones who froze him weren't stupid enough to keep a frozen body around their estate. However, if he really was on Pii than he could have been there for almost any amount of time thanks to the system's low traffic rate. After a few moments of awkward silence, the elder spoke up again in a much more calm and collected voice

"I am Severus Coligus" he lied, knowing it was unwise to reveal his real name without knowing the current state of the galaxy "What year is this?"

 

[Anastasia Verd]

Naboo. Naboo? "You were on Naboo?" There was a planet she hadn't seen forever. Once a punishment, then a planet of great lessons but above that, Naboo itself was a planet Anastasia liked because of one single name. The galaxy didn't remember that name anymore but Anastasia remembered him all too well. She would never forget.

There was something about a bounty hunter but she did not understand that bit. Instead, some time after that, the man identified himself as Severus Coligus. Not a name she had heard of. Anastasia did not give him her name as he did not ask. Instead, she answered his next question. "The year is 836 since the great battle of Yavin." While it was great, it was not victorious in her mind. Still, it was a major event nevertheless. Anastasia took that into account.

@Corvinus Palpatine

 

[Other Space Kaiden]

@[member="Anastasia Verd"]

Corvinus's stomach turned as the realization of just how long he was frozen sank in and he almost keeled over as a result. How could this be? Corvinus began to get a rush of anxiety and rolled onto the hard ground beside the carbonite block. Breathing heavily he tried to lift himself up, but he felt so weak that he couldn't even climb to his knees properly. "By the force, is Naboo still there? Is the Triumvirate still in power? What of the Jedi and Sith?" the questions came in a barrage of non-stop speech, each word rushed and confused.

 

[Anastasia Verd]

The female kept watching silently. She'd been in this body for a while now so current time had become somewhat normal to her. The sight of Severus rolling and breathing heavily reminded her it had taken her some time to get used to it. But while he was talking mostly incoherent things, Anastasia noticed him talking about Naboo and then the question of Triumvirate. And the Jedi and Sith.

Such a curious question. Had he been that old? "My my, you have seen quite a bit, old man." She let it be said before she began answering questions. "Naboo of course stands. It remains as beautiful as it was at your time and before that. Triumvirate has fallen. Many have risen and fallen since then." Such was the way of Time. She had never liked it so but none of it mattered her, not since the First had come down.

Then there was the subject of the Jedi and Sith. "The Republic is there. Like a virus, always coming back." A virus. She liked that one quite a bit. "The Sith... they're out there. Divided in factions." She was perhaps forgtting something but it seemed like it's better to leave out one crutial factor that had caused her process so much. The Gulag Plague that had caused more trouble and death than most dark faction could ever possibly dream of achieving. For now though, she would let this man process what she had given him.

@Corvinus Palpatine

 

[Other Space Kaiden]

@[member="Anastasia Verd"]

Finding the ground and sitting himself down, Corvinus looked off into the great temporary darkness produced by the Hibernation Sickness. This was all so crazy, he had been frozen for hundreds of years and unnoticed by the trillions who had come and gone during that time. The Triumvirate was gone, might not have been a bad thing that they fell anyway. It was troubling, however, to know that the Jedi and Sith were hindering galactic progress as they always had. Fighting amongst themselves all in the name of "balance" or "life". Both sides were simply too close minded and hypocritical and with them constantly at ends the galaxy would continue to repeat the same cycles that it had for thousands of years prior and no doubt was repeating itself now. It was saddening, but there was nothing that he could do about it now and it was probably best if he focused on the now. He was completely at the mercy of this woman without his eyesight but she seemed pleasant enough. First impressions could be deceiving though. He needed to find out more about her and see where her allegiances lie and if she could offer him assistance off of this planet and to somewhere safe while he recovered.

"I see....Tell me, who are you and where are you from?" Corvinus asked in a shaky voice

 

[Anastasia Verd]

Black eyes never left the man as he sat down. Her blaster was still charged, requiring to merely fire it if need be. So far though, it was not necessary. He did finally ask who she was and where she was from.

As on cue, the woman said: "My name is Anastasia Verd. I'm from Krant." There was nothing secretive about that information. However, it hid far more than it revealed. It was a line rehearsed, along with other factors such as the name of her parents and some other facts. It was her mantra, what kept her sane in those first weeks of discovery.

Kneeling down, her blaster still pointed, Anastasia came in the man's eye-shot but still kept her distance. "I'm part of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a Templar. We control this part of the galaxy." This time though, as she spoke, there was a calm in her voice. This wasn't a mantra, this was information for the old man. But more than that, there was a small fraction of pride in her voice which Anastasia rarely showed. The name itself held meaning to Anastasia, more than anyone could understand. While it was very different from a faction of a same name of her history. Perhaps she just liked saying when she could no longer say she was part of the Empire for which she once fought so fiercely. But then again, there was no true Empire to fight for.

@Corvinus Palpatine

 

[Other Space Kaiden]

@[member="Anastasia Verd"]


Corvinus raised an eyebrow, the Confederacy had died out long before his time and now it seemed it was back. He wondered if the Sith had just as big apart in the rise of the CIS as they did during the Clone Wars or if this was something else entirely. There was also the matter of the Templars, he had never heard of such an organization but in this context he had to guess it was some new sect of force-users. This was all so breathtaking and Corvinus was still shaken, though he seemed to be handling it very well from the outside. Taking a deep breath, Corvinus shivered as a cold breeze blew through the forest and nipped at his skin, he was in no shape to be sitting out in the open like this and he knew it.

Lifting a wrinkled hand up to the woman, Corvinus spoke "I have many more things to ask, but for now do you have a ship for an old man to escape the breeze?"

 

[Anastasia Verd]

The woman switched her black eyes at the hand lifted towards her then looked up at Severus without actually talking it as he explained. He had things to ask but for now he wanted her to take him to her ship. In completele silence on her part, she raised an eyebrow and studied him for a bit. He was asking for more of her help. She had set him free, she had been answering his question and now he wanted even more.

In all that was Anastasia and the spirit that had become her, the Templar asked herself simple question: How would this be good for her? Was there anything this old man could be useful for to her? After thinking about it for a couple of seconds, Anastasia couldn't find a reason for it. So, she chose to ask the man that very same question. "For me to do that, you will need to give me one reason. Just a single reason." Anastasia was not shelter or a taxi service. If Severus wanted her help, this question had to be answered.

@Corvinus Palpatine