Private Equilibrium

[Arlo Renard]

Before Exegol

Kai kept his head down as he stood alongside Alicio and the rest of the Count's retinue. Disguised as just another member of the typical Alderaanian escort force, he waited with them to receive a proper welcome from the local government.

This planet was strange. The architecture of the city was spare and utilitarian, and the citizens seemed oddly detached. They showed no interest in the diplomats who had just arrived, or in much of anything besides getting to where they needed to be. It might have sounded unexceptional, but something about their expressionless faces seemed abnormally blank. Kai wondered how the peace talks would go with such lifeless people.

A vibration in his pocket prompted him to check his personal datapad. 1 new message.

Kai raised an eyebrow. It was from Claudia, an old... friend. She hadn't contacted him since he went to Azrael. Not that Kai could blame her, but why break her silence now? Despite his intense curiosity, he put his datapad away without reading the message. No distractions while he was working.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

It was an odd thing, for an unaffiliated world to make a delegation from the Galactic Alliance wait.

Not that Alicio was particularly offended. He understood that schedules were an ever-shifting thing, and didn't mind a little more prep-time to run through his mental bulletpoints. But many worlds around the Alliance relied on the body for trade; to risk offense seemed... too blasé.

Alicio figured it had something to do with the Maw. This world was closer to the Brotherhood's crumbling borders than the Count was comfortable with, and perhaps the planet was feeling the dread that came with a dissolving marauding empire as a neighbor.

Alicio looked to Kai then, his cane leaning against the palm of his hand. He almost mentioned an odd taste in the Force he couldn't put his finger on, but instead saw Kai check his datapad. "What was that?," he said, smiling as he noticed Kai's upturned brow.

- Arlo Renard -

 

[Arlo Renard]

"What was that?"

"Just a personal message, Your Excellency," Kai replied. "From my—er, from an old friend. It's nothing to do with our work here."

He went back to facing front, still waiting. It had been quite a while. Kai began to feel a creeping suspicion.

<Is there a reason they would keep us waiting this long?> he asked, switching to telepathy. <You would think they would be much more eager to see you...>

As if on cue, a small retinue of diplomats marched in. They wore the same stony lack of expression on their faces as everyone else on this planet, but at least they looked the part.

"We apologize for the delay, Senator Organa," their leader said with a solemn bow. "Something came up, but the matter has been resolved. Please, follow us."

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Of course, Alicio wanted to inquire further. He was curious as to what personal message Kai would upturn an eyebrow at, and it was something to pass the time, if nothing else. But Alicio wouldn't press. Instead, he simply nodded, returning his eyes to the front.

<It's... unusual,> Alicio returned, his face betraying none of their private conversation. <We're a valuable ally, especially considering the threat of the Maw on their borders. But... everyone is busy these days.> Alicio left it at that, though a touch of a frown betrayed a worried line of thinking.

Alicio's eyes flicked up towards the door just before a retinue from the local government appeared. Alicio couldn't help but notice the strange taste continue. He gripped his cane a little tighter, as if trying to peek just a bit further into the future.

"Of course," the Count returned, putting on a placative face. "Lead the way."

The Count followed along with Kai and his guads, sending a message to his bodyguard. <You don't have to call me 'Your Excellency', you know. Alicio is fine.> He flashed the Sithspawn an uneasy smile. Then, he vocalized a question to the local diplomat.

"If you don't mind my asking, what was the delay? Anything the Alliance can assist with, while I'm here?"

- Arlo Renard -

 

[Arlo Renard]

<You think something is up?> Kai asked. <’Cause I do.>

His suspicion only increased once the envoy arrived to escort them. They followed the diplomats into an elevator headed up.

<It’s in character, boss,> Kai replied, adjusting his Alderaanian uniform. <Besides, I like using the noble titles. Makes me feel like a knight.> In that regard, he was like a little kid who had graduated from playing pretend to actually living out his childhood fantasies. It certainly made the job a little more fun for him.

<But if you want me to call you Alicio, I will. Hey Alicio, are you ever going to soundproof your apartment?>

The leader of the group took several seconds to answer the Count’s question. “Only the typical shortsightedness of bureaucracy. There was some mandatory paperwork left unfinished.”

In Alicio’s future-sight, he would see one of the diplomats discreetly activate a hidden device. The lift would be flooded with a gas that would rapidly knock the Senator and his team unconscious… except for Kai, whose Sithspawn physiology would remain unaffected, much to the surprise of their attackers. The resulting bloodbath would not be pretty.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

<...Maybe.> Alicio couldn't say more. He wasn't sure what was wrong, but he'd tasted something. It didn't stop him from following the envoy, but it did make him lean into his future vision just a little more. Just in case.

Kai's continued thoughts earned a subtle smile from the Count, which Alicio tried to cover by turning his face away from the main group. <Well... When you put it that way, I suppose I can stomach being called 'Your Excellency', if that's what you prefer.>

<Hey Alicio, are you ever going to soundproof your apartment?>

<Huh?>

The head of the delegation's response was far from convincing. If it had been nothing but 'mandatory paperwork', their answer would have come far quicker.

The group huddled into the elevator together, and after a moment of thought, Alicio found a sad sort of frown. The senator turned his grey eyes on one of the diplomats, almost disinterestedly, and let the pressure of the Force ripple across his shoulders. Then, he spoke.

"A moment of your time..."
​

After the simple, attention-gathering mind trick, the Count began speaking to the man, under the guise of proposing a few of his talking points. Favorable trade deals, protection, safety, anything to grab the attention of the elevator. All the while, he sent an image into Kai's head. Of the device, hidden under the diplomat's sleeve, and a concern absent from his face.

<Trap. Can you steal it?>

- Arlo Renard -

 

[Arlo Renard]

Kai pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. Alicio was making that face he did whenever something was up. Like he tasted something sour.

<Huh?>

<You mean Amani never told you?> Kai rolled his eyes in exasperation. What do I have to do just to get some peace and quiet in my own home? <The walls are too thin. I can hear every argument and discussion… whenever you watch something on the holo…> He trailed off without mentioning the worst of it, figuring Alicio could put two and two together. Amani had reacted with such horror and embarrassment upon learning that he could hear them, he would’ve thought she’d have done something about it by now. But apparently not.

The matter of Kai’s continuous auditory suffering fell by the wayside as Alicio abruptly began speaking to one of the delegates. Kai felt a ripple through the Force as the Count used a mind trick, then saw the mental image he projected into his mind.

How to steal it… If he plucked it from the diplomat’s sleeve with the Force, everybody would see it. Bumping into the guy and stealing it that way would also be rather obvious.

So Kai went half and half. He leaned his back against the wall next to the diplomat, then with the slightest of motions he loosened the device with the Force, then caught it in his hand as it fell from the sleeve.

<Got it,> he told Alicio. <What happens when he notices it's gone?>

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

<The walls are too thin. I can hear every argument and discussion… whenever you watch something on the holo…>

<...Ah.> Alicio's mental voice was blank, but a talented telepath might detect the forced disinterest, as if Alicio were trying to suppress a mortifying realization.

The plan in the elevator went off without a hitch. Alicio continued to engage in mildly interesting, if casual conversation, hiding a conversation in the back of his head.

<As long as I've got eyes on him, he won't try it,> the Count managed to send back, while discussing tariff prices. <You could break it, and drop it on the ground next to him. Keeps our cover.>

Alicio's mental voice was wrought with worry. <I don't know what they'll do. I don't even know why they'd try it.> Already, his mind was racing. If they were hostile... everyone was in danger. Kai, his guards...

He couldn't let that happen.

- Arlo Renard -

 

[Arlo Renard]

<...Ah.>

The talented telepath Kai Bamarri could tell that Alicio had figured it out. <Soundproofing. As soon as you can. Please.>

But back to the far more dire situation at hand. Pretending to sneeze, Kai broke the internal components of the device with a bit of concentrated pressure, then let it drop from his hand. The diplomat heard it hit the floor, frowned, and bent to pick it up. Seconds later, his expression flickered in frustration as he tried to activate it, only to realize it was busted.

<I don't know what they'll do. I don't even know why they'd try it.>

<Face it, Your Excellency. This whole thing is probably a setup.> They would just have to figure out how get out of it in one piece...

The lift stopped, and the doors opened to reveal a large conference hall. As everyone began filing out of the elevator, another vision of the future opened up. News of the failure of the device would spread rapidly, with the native delegates using more direct methods to subdue the Count and his retinue. Guards armed with stun blasters would arrive within minutes to take them down.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

<We will... work on that soon. Yeah,> Alicio said, his mental tone suspiciously even, though a subtle pink had graced his cheeks.

Alicio kept an eye on the Future, checking to see if any backup remotes were activated, though the absence of one was a small comfort. It was only a matter of time until things escalated, and he doubted he could continue to construct 'lucky breaks'.

Their walk ended in an empty conference hall. Trying to seem simply curious, Alicio examined the area, the walls, the long conference table reaching across the center. Alicio let another stray message find it's way to Kai's head. <There's a whole stun squad coming. They want us alive. Or... me, at least.>

<What do you think the chances of us fighting our way out to an intact shuttle are? Honestly?> There was a new resolution in his eyes, even as he nodded and quibbled with a delegate, all-too-aware of the taste of frustration in the air.

Of course, he could see the future. The chances of them fighting their way out of the building, with minimal casualties, were good. But once their ship was destroyed... He would live. His guards would not.

- Arlo Renard -

 

[Arlo Renard]

Kai mentally groaned. Of course they had a whole squad coming for them. It was never as simple as breaking one device.

His gaze roved over their surroundings as he considered the route they had taken to get here, the distance to the hangar, and so on. <Our chances are okay,> he replied. <But there’s no way we’ll get out of here with no casualties.>

And that was always an issue with Alicio. The Count had to save everybody, or at least as many as he possibly could. You loved him for it, but Force, did it make things difficult sometimes.

<I’ll take them down,> Kai said with stubborn determination. <We’ll get you out of here, Your Excellency.>

A pulse in the Force warned him of impending danger as the walls slid open and the troops stormed inside. Abandoning all pretense of ignorance as to what was really going on, Kai would unleash a powerful blast of telekinesis all around them, hoping to knock the soldiers down while the Alderaanians made to escape...

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

<Thats... what I thought,> Alicio sent back, his own growing grim determination on his face.

A moment before the squad of soldiers appeared, Alicio turned to his guards. "Get down!" The Count pushed an Alderaanian under the table, even as a stun blast rocketed over their head. Alicio himself watched as chaos erupted, with Kai using the Force to throw around a few enemies, giving them a window of opportunity.

A few of Alicio's guards managed to force open the door they came through. One put a hand on his shoulder, and basically shoved him through the entryway. "Kai! Come on!" Alicio barked out the command, holding his cane tightly in his hand. "We can't take the elevator. Down the stairs!"

The Future was rarely certain, Alicio knew that better than most. It was always changing, fluctuating, roiling. But this time, the Future was certain.

Alicio would have to surrender.

- Arlo Renard -

 

[Arlo Renard]

"Kai! Come on! We can't take the elevator. Down the stairs!"

More guards came from below, firing stun blasters. An Alderaanian soldier was struck, his limp body toppling over the railing.

Kai spearheaded their escape, cutting through their attackers. Running along the walls and leveraging his body against the railing, he used the cramped stairwell to his advantage, engaging in increasingly acrobatic stunts fueled by the Force. Slicing through the barrel of a stun gun with his lightsaber and then sending the wielder toppling down the steps with a kick to the face, he managed a grim smile. He wasn't quite enjoying himself, but there was a certain satisfaction to be found in returning to what he was good at—beating the crap out of bad guys—and putting all his years of Jedi training to good use.

His winning streak ended when a stray bolt hit him square in the chest. Rather than stunning him, Kai's body seemed to temporarily lose its shape. The fake Alderaanian soldier's uniform he had donned for the occasion melted away like watercolors on a canvas in the rain, and with it went the definition of the young man's features. Underneath all that was his true form—a spindly, hairless, iridescent creature conjured up in a Sith Lord's lab.

Lunging forward, he snatched the weapon which had exposed him from the hands of the one who wielded it and whipped them across the head with it. They collapsed on the floor, out cold.

Dropping the weapon, Kai continued his assault. His body gradually regained cohesion, becoming whole again by the time they reached the hangar...

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio watched an Alderaanian soldier dip over the edge of the railing, not close enough to grab the man and pull him to safety. Though not for lack of trying, as he surged forward, leaning over the edge as the unconscious form fell a few flights.

It was the final nail in the coffin. Alicio had held onto hope that he had been wrong, somehow. That the future was different than what he'd seen. But it wasn't. He knew what he had to do.

The Count used Kai's moment of weakness, transforming into a multiflourescent being, to slip away from the main group. One of his own soldiers saw him, but Alicio nudged her mind to make her forget.

So by the time Kai and the others reached the hangar, the resistance was strong, but not impossible. Because their true target was running the opposite direction, through corridors and hallways, dodging stun rounds and exercising a planet's worth of patience not to draw his lightsaber. Instead, he sent a message to Kai.

<Don't take our ship, it's rigged to blow, lead them to another shuttle.> There was an unnamed guilt echoing around Alicio's words. <You should have just enough time to clear the hangar.>

<Its... the only way everyone lives.>

- Arlo Renard -

 

[Arlo Renard]

<Its... the only way everyone lives.>

Freezing, Kai looked around. Alicio was nowhere to be found. The Alderaanians paused too, realizing that they had lost their charge. Hearing distant gunfire, one moved to run towards it.

“No,” Kai said, stopping him. “Our ship is rigged to blow. Go to another shuttle, get off this planet, get the news out about what happened here. Go!”

At his urging, the Alderaanians departed. Kai started toward the sounds of battle, picking up speed until he was practically flying.

<I’m sworn to protect you,> he told the Count, his presence getting steadily closer. <That means I’m not leaving you here alone!>

He did not have a planet’s worth of patience. Anyone he encountered trying to stun him, he killed as quickly and efficiently as possible, wasting no time as he searched for Alicio…

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

As Alicio darted down the hallway, ducking and sidestepping as many stun blasts as he could, he sensed Kai break away from the rest, sending him a message in return. Alicio almost sobbed, but he was able to swallow it down.

<Kai, don't,> he sent back, feeling pain as he had to try to push the shapeshifter away. <Please. They want me alive. I have a chance. You don't.>

Finally, a stun bolt found purchase, winging his back. The Count hissed, their mental connection fuzzing a moment. <Run, hide, transform and wait, just don't do this!>

Kai would sense a sudden intake of breath, and consciousness beginning to slip from the Senator. He was able to force out one last sentence, before only silence would greet the Sithspawn's mind.

<D-don't... throw away your life... for me...>

- Arlo Renard -

 

[Arlo Renard]

Kai didn’t want to leave. Sensing Alicio slipping into consciousness only further galvanized him, spurring him into action. He didn’t want to believe in any visions of the future.

But what choice did he have? Alicio wouldn’t leave. He’d already effectively given himself up, surrendering to the enemy by choosing to stay and be captured. There was little Kai could do now anyway.

He’d allowed his emotions to get the better of him. Wasn’t the first time, and probably wouldn’t be the last.

Begrudgingly, and with a sort of impotent sorrow with which he was becoming all too familiar, he headed back to the shuttles.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

AFTER EXEGOL
MEDICAL STATION
​

Once extracted from a prison planet orbiting Exegol, Alicio had been rushed to a nearby medical station protected within Alliance space for treatment. He wasn't in critical condition by any means. Despite the hairline fractures on his ribs from where vindictive, sadistic Maw soldiers had planted boot after boot, he'd healed a lot on his own.

The thrill of survival had cooled off quickly after the endeavor, letting darker emotions prevail. He hadn't heard what had happened on Exegol after he left, and adrenaline had stolen most of his memories from his grand escape.. All he remembered after his escape was a bright Light consuming the Dark. Of course, he worried. About the Alliance, the Jedi, his friends, Amani. Hoped, prayed even, that they returned safely. That it was, indeed, over.

So there he sat. A nervous jumble of uncertainty and stubborn hope, staring into something unseen. Willing for things to turn out alright, even if he knew how futile wishing for it was.

- Arlo Renard -

 

[Arlo Renard]

The room was quiet, save for the faint whisper of glossy paper as Kai turned a page of his comic book. He sat at the Count’s bedside, reading while he waited for him to awaken.

Kai had not been on Exegol, but he did watch the news. The planet had been annihilated. At this stage, there were conflicting reports of what exactly had caused its destruction, but people were already debating over what had happened. Taking sides.

Another page turned. The story was getting good… right when he spied Alicio sitting up in bed over the rim of the book.

“Good evening,” Kai said, lowering the comic to his lap. “How are you feeling?”

There was an emptiness to his words, like he was just repeating the usual pleasantries. Or maybe he was just tired of watching people wake up in hospitals. Especially people he was supposed to protect.

"Sorry I wasn't on Exegol. I went looking for you in the wrong place."

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio's gaze turned towards Kai a moment before he spoke, a flicker of surprise flashing across his otherwise still features. Immediately, the Count picked up on the shapeshifter's muted nature, giving him a somber, curious look, and swinging his legs over the side of the hospital bed.

“How are you feeling?”

He ignored the question. His own health was far less important than Kai's own safety. "I'm glad you're okay," he said, relieved, even if there was some amorphous caution in his voice. An unvoiced sadness. "And... I'm glad you weren't on Exegol. It wasn't a good place to be."

"And..." More hesitation, which he quickly broke through.

"And I'm glad you left me. Thank you."

- Arlo Renard -