Fall by Degrees [Fortans & Jens...es]

[Natasi Fortan]

The hospital ship was rather cold and austere, all sterile deckplates and unmolested bulkheads and uniformed medical personnel. That, and the overwhelmingly sterile smell, was the first thing Imogen Fortan noticed as she disembarked the shuttle into the main hangar. "Miss Fortan?" the medical captain asked when she reached the bottom of the ramp. Imogen nodded briskly. "Identification, please?" Imogen passed over her ID badge which identified her as a member of the OS Civil Service. "And how are you related to Lieutenant Jens?"

"He's my ... third cousin? Once removed." Imogen smiled politely. The medical captain lofted an eyebrow and then nodded, passing her identification back to her.

"This way, please."

Imogen fell into step behind him, and followed him through the bowels of the ship, up a turbolift and down a hallway, into a recovery ward. The room would have comfortably slept four, but three of the corners were empty. The captain took Imogen over to the occupied beds. "Lieutenant? There's a Miss Fortan for you." He gestured for her to step forward, and Imogen came into view from behind the screen.

"Cousin Maximilian," Imogen said pleasantly. She had never held a grudge against the man like their mutual cousin Natasi. She rather liked him. Her smile faltered a little. "Expecting someone else?"

[member="Maximilian Jens"]

 

[Maximilian Jens]

When Maximilian had heard that Natasi Fortan was here to see him, he perked up in his bed.

"Yes, of course. Let her in."

He waved his good arm at the medical captain. His other was bound in a brace, while a bacta tank bubbled beside him. Maximilian's hair was still damp from a short stay in it. His injuries were minor, but he was lucky to be alive after the failed training exercise that had landed him here. And he would have a fresh black eye to show for it, the swelling in his right eye socket currently receding as the bacta did its work. It was a testament to the true danger of being a TIE Pilot - even when not in battle.

Max watched as the door hissed open again. He saw Natasi's silhouette enter it, and as she drew closer, he squinted. He blinked as he observed the diifference in what he had been expecting to be Natasi's chestnut brown hair and dainty nose. It was... Imogen?

"Oh, hello, Imogen," He smiled and called to her warmly. "I must admit, I was." He answered her question. "I'm afraid I've gotten used to dealing mostly with your sister. Though I'll take visitors all the same."

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Imogen hung back, examining her cousin from a distance before moving forward and leaning over to kiss him on both cheeks. "They didn't tell me how badly you were injured. You must have been rather shaken up, cousin Maximilian, as I haven't got a sister. Ah, but you must mean Cousin Natasi. Yes, we're all rather used to dealing with her." Imogen said this in such a way as to indicate that she had dealt with their glacial cousin rather too much.

"Unfortunately she couldn't get away," she said vaguely, looking evasively away from her cousin. The message was: She couldn't bear to participate in this particular meeting. "You see, there have been some... ah. Well, developments. She had to return to Herevan on short notice. It's not good news. For her, at least. It's not necessarily such bad news for you." She took a seat in the guest chair next to the bed and glanced up at the captain. "Would you excuse us, please?"

The captain nodded and excused himself with instructions to [member="Maximilian Jens"] to ring for help if needed.

 

[Maximilian Jens]

[member="Imogen Fortan"]

Maximilian was embarrassed that he'd mis-addressed Imogen, though his face didn't betray it. Perhaps he had spent too much time away from the estate that he was supposed to be an heir to, he figured. So many Fortans, so little time. However, his time in the Navy had left him little time for anything else.

Maybe it was a good thing that Imogen was here in Natasi's stead. It might give Maximilian a chance to observe another side of the Fortan family that wasn't Natasi. The blonde-haired cousin seemed Natasi's opposite in demeanor; where Natasi was cold, distant, and as difficult to read as a book in Huttese, Imogen's persona seemed warm and inviting. Max examined her as her words hung on her lips. Imogen's cryptic warning of the news that lay ahead did little to quiet his nerves.

"What do you mean?" Max inquired. "What is the bad news?"

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Imogen rested her handbag on her knees. "It's Uncle Frejrik, actually. He's dead."

She took a breath and sniffled lightly. She had been close to the last Earl of Herevan, who had been kind to her after her own father's death. And she had been good friends with Natasi growing up, despite her somewhat snobbish and high-handed manner. "Of course that makes you the Earl of Herevan, so it's not all bad news for you." She smiled sadly across at him.

"At any rate, Natasi had to return to the Hold to collect some of her personal effects that aren't part of the estate that you've inherited. She asked me to track you down and give you the news. Don't worry, though, I'm sure she'll clear out of there before you arrive."

[member="Maximilian Jens"]

 

[Maximilian Jens]

The news was unexpected. Maximilian had left Herevan with Lord Frejrik as a healthy, if aged, nobleman. The grim forebodings that Imogen had given Max had done little to quell his surprise.

"What happened?" Maximilian narrowed his eyes at Imogen. "This is terrible news. I don't take much pleasure in inheriting an estate at the expense of your family, especially not Natasi." Using his good arm, he struggled to perch himself up further on the bed.

"You've got to stop her," He told Imogen. "There is no reason for Natasi to leave Herevan."

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"You mustn't strain yourself," Imogen said, moving forward to plump his pillows and set one up behind his back. "Sit back and relax. Really, I think it's for the best, don't you? Natasi would hate to be there and not be queen of the county. She wasn't designed to be... well, a little person. Like me. She's not content unless she's in the big house. Not after she fancied herself half the Empress."

She shook her head and straightened a stray curl from her forehead. "I have concerns that there'll be no peace at Herevan Hold if you both share a roof. The servants will take sides and things will just fall all to pieces. Don't you think it's best to ... well, start fresh? You'll need to get rid of the butler straight away, he was always her creature, since she was a girl."

[member="Maximilian Jens"]

 

[Maximilian Jens]

[member="Imogen Fortan"]

Maximilian grunted as he strained to pull himself up, and shook his head with a furrowed brow.

"That's just petulant. We're a family now," He said. Or something like it, he thought to himself. "And if the law says we're a family then we ought to start acting like it. We should all be supporting Herevan Hold together. And besides, I'll need Natasi's help."

Suddenly, the grizzled pilot began pushing himself out of the bed. At first struggling, his feet finally found the cold durasteel floor and he began to right himself. Shirtless and clad only in sweats, Max practically held on to Imogen for support as he made towards the closet, where he had some personal belongings stored.

"I will return to Herevan at once. We both will," He said over his shoulder to her. "I'm on medical leave as it is. The Navy will grant me a short time of personal leave due to the circumstances as well. They aren't exactly the most kind-hearted organization, but the situation merits it."

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"We've been family since birth," Imogen reminded him, rolling her eyes at Maximilian's nobility. "Don't -- would you just -- all right, all right," she relented, finally moving to offer her support to him. He leaned on her as they hobbled over to the closet. "Not that that family business meant much to you two before. I rather thought you were like two nexu in a bag."

Imogen waited while he started sorting through his belongings. "I don't think I can get time off for ... you know, for very long. But I'll travel with you. That way I can at least verify to the Admiralty that I left you alive. Whatever Natasi does with you afterwards... well, that's none of my business."

[member="Maximilian Jens"]

 

[Maximilian Jens]

[member="Imogen Fortan"]

Maximilian smiled as he used Imogen's shoulder for support, then made his way to the closet to hastily throw a shirt over his head.

"I can tell you for my part that I've always wanted nothing but the warmest relations with Natasi," He said. "Unfortunately, the war has removed me from the scene for far too long."

Once he was properly dressed, and after awkwardly slipping his boots on, he made towards the doorway.

"I'll need to collect some of my formal wear from my cabin. For the funeral, no doubt. After that, I shall be ready to depart once I'm given clearance. That'll be where you come in."

 

[Natasi Fortan]

"I can't imagine anyone having warm relations with Cousin Natasi," said Imogen doubtfully as she averted her eyes. It seemed wrong to watch the man dress this way, so she busied herself with adjusting her bracelet. She waited for him to get ready to go and then stood up. "Cousin Maximilian, of course the funeral is over. He died weeks ago, we just had a devil of a time tracking you down."

Imogen sighed. These aristocrats moved at such a clip. She followed him into the hallway and then explained that she would meet him back at the shuttle. The medical captain gestured her back towards the turbolift. "Try to find your way back in one piece, Lieutenant."

[member="Maximilian Jens"]

 

[Maximilian Jens]

[member="Imogen Fortan"]

The personal leave had not been difficult to obtain, as Max had imagined. Once he petitioned his superior and explained the circumstances, he was granted two weeks of leave by the ship's Captain within the hour. Maximilian had imagined himself doing a few things today, namely rotting in a bed in the sick bay. Boarding a shuttle to Galidraan had not been one of them.

On the trip back to Galidraan Maximilian found that he quite liked Imogen's company. If only Natasi were such an easy shell to crack. It seemed to him that women could either be graced with excessive beauty or possess a warm, wonderful personality, but rarely if ever both. Natasi Fortan seemed to hold only the former.

"Well, here we are," Max said across the cabin to Imogen as the shuttle began to descend into the atmosphere of Galidraan. Funny... the last time he had come to Galidraan it was at the behest of a death also. His stark black dress uniform and cap were enough to keep his appearance somber, just like before. "Any last words before I go into the fire?"

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Imogen looked out the window. Snow was flurrying around the shuttle, swirling around the updraft caused by the shuttle's descent. "It's a late thaw, apparently," she said, referring to the fact that by calendar it was early spring on Galidraan, but the climate looked wintery. The shuttle swooped low over the plains, banking over the grounds of Herevan Hold.

The Hold sat proud on the edge of a cliff, straddling a rushing waterfall. The waterfall provided plumbing and power to the Hold, and populated the dozens of merry fountains that dotted the castle and its grounds. It had been a second home to Imogen since she was a girl, but she realized now that Natasi saying goodbye to it meant that Imogen would have to say goodbye too.

"If you think you'll get it bad, you know I'll get it worse. I'm sure she was half-hoping I'd bring back your ashes to put next to her father's so she could go looking for the ... after you, it's, what, the twelfth earl? But not looking very hard." Imogen reached over squeezed his elbow. "We'd better just get on with it."

[member="Maximilian Jens"]

 

[Maximilian Jens]

[member="Imogen Fortan"]

Jens nodded. "Yes, let's."

He pulled his black leather jacket close and exited the shuttle. The cold wind of Galidraan was there to greet him, breathing against his cheeks and then gusting, forcing him to reach up and readjust his cap. With Imogen linked around his arm, Maximilian walked up the long, frozen stairs of Herevan Hold - now his property. He had yet to adjust himself to that fact. Or the fact that he was technically Lord Herevan now, for that matter.

"Lord Herevan," one of the footmen at the top of the staircase greeted him, as if on cue. "It is good to see you back from the war in one piece, my Lord."

"Good to be back," Max offered a smile. "I would like to have the staff gathered in the foyer in about a half hour. I should very much like to introduce myself." He had met most of the staff the last time he was here, but that was before they were bound to serve him. Perhaps a few new additions had arrived since then as well.

Max turned again to the footman. "Where is Lady Natasi?"

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Lady Natasi was, in fact, in the library with the butler. The footman directed [member="Imogen Fortan"] and [member="Maximilian Jens"] to the library, where they would find the young would-be heiress standing on a ladder with a book in hand. Meanwhile, the butler, Mr. Hendersmith, was standing below her with a case, collecting books. "Are you quite certain, milady? It's one of your favorites. And rather valuable... a first edition of the Little Lost Bantha Cub, and signed by the author."

"I know," Natasi said, looking pale and tragic in black dress and limited makeup, her eyelids swollen and red. "Unfortunately it was a gift to my great-grand-papa, the 8th earl, on his third birthday, and thus forms a part of the estate." She tucked the book back into its rightful place on the library shelf. "What's next?" she asked, turning back to the room at large and reaching for the next book in the case, only to see that they had visitors. "Oh," she said expressionlessly, her dark eyes narrowing slightly. "Good. You've found him. We were so worried." All of this said in rather an exhausted deadpan suggested that she had no emotional attachment to the outcome of Imogen's search after all.

"Welcome back, Cousin Maximilian. Don't worry, I'm putting things back, not taking them."

 

[Maximilian Jens]

Filling the library doorway with his presence, Maximilian overheard the conversation between Natasi and Hendersmith. He had expected a cold greeting and that was exactly what he had received. For her part, Natasi looked like she had one foot in the grave herself. Losing a father was never easy, but she seemed to be taking it especially hard.

"It's good to have returned, Lady Natasi," Max inclined his head respectfully. "Pardon my interruption, but what is it you're putting back?"

He crossed towards the box from which Hendersmith was drawing books. These were a rare find indeed; it was a challenge alone to find something that wasn't a holo. Jens could only imagine what these tomes were worth... even the rather childish one that Hendersmith was holding now.

"Am I to understand that you're returning these with the intention of never seeing them again?"

[member="Natasi Fortan"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi's eyelid twitched and she took a step down off the ladder to take the next book. "I haven't the foggiest," she replied quietly before turning to mount the ladder again. "The Unanswered Question - that would have been... also my great-grand-papa's, who I believe is also your great-grand-uncle." Natasi brushed the cover lovingly and then slotted the book back into the bookshelf. "Whether I see them again is not for me to decide, but they're part of the estate. Papa had lent them to me and now they're yours, and besides I've read them now, so back to the library they ought to return."

"Balance Restored, milady?" asked Hendersmith.

"No - that one was Mama's personal property and not part of the estate. And besides, I doubt whether Cousin-- that is, whether Lord Herevan has any interest in the Cosmic Balance. It's not very much en vogue for our kind of people." Natasi inclined her head and took that book, with its black and white cover, out of Hendersmith's hand and set it on a nearby side table. "I've almost everything back as it should be. Don't worry, I won't trespass upon your hospitality much longer. Hendersmith, would you kindly return the rest of these books to their rightful place? Anything else that belonged to Mama you can place here."

[member="Imogen Fortan"] [member="Maximilian Jens"]

 

[Maximilian Jens]

"Well, you know Natasi, the library is always open to you, should you wish to read anything a second time. Everything here is, de facto, yours."

Max couldn't help but feel like Natasi's general attitude was bordering on childish melodrama. He understood the pain of losing a parent, but was it really so necessary to act like a complete iceberg? Max had known her father, too. And death, though sometimes unexpected, was the inevitable conclusion of life. Perhaps he had been spending too much time in the Navy. Had Jens grown too numb to the prospect of death? Half of the friends he graduated flight school with were now dead.

At least Natasi was correct about his interest in the Cosmic Balance. Despite being high nobility, Maximilian was, and would still remain, a warrior at heart. He had little interest in engaging in willful abstractions about restoring an invisible balance to the galaxy. To him, morality was in effect basic self-interest and self-preservation.

"Trespass upon my hospitality?" He looked up at her. "Actually, Natasi, I was hoping that I could speak with you in private."

[member="Natasi Fortan"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Imogen, who sensed that she was receiving the royal brush-off, excused herself on the excuse of going to unpack. "I'll just take the Empress Teta room, shall I?" she said as she left the room, flagging down a passing footman to arrange it. Natasi, for her part, looked over to Hendersmith and then back to [member="Maximilian Jens"]. "Let's settle in the drawing room, shall we? It's bound to be empty at this hour," she said after lifting her wrist to view her chrono. "Yes." She led the way into the gallery hall and across, to the door of the drawing room. It was a beautiful room, patterned in simple navy damask strike silk and dark wooden wainscoting and molding. It had once been a rather feminine room in pastel greens, but her father had redecorated it in more masculine tones several years ago.

"If you want luncheon you'll need to ring and arrange it with the staff. I've been taking my meals on trays in my room. I'm in the Queen Caroline room, by the way," she added in a business-like fashion. "Now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about? I can assure you that I haven't removed a thing from the Hold that belongs to the Estate -- if that's what you're worrying about."

[member="Maximilian Jens"]

 

[Maximilian Jens]

[member="Natasi Fortan"]

Maximilian nodded in compliance. "Yes, that will be fine."

Once they had entered the drawing room and settled themselves, Jens brushed off her comment about luncheon and resisted the urge to shake his head. Part of him had a difficult time getting used to this nobility thing, especially after his time in the Navy. He succesfully suppressed the urge to tell her that there was no need for anyone to make him "luncheon", and he was perfectly capable of feeding himself. But Maximilian knew full well that such a comment would go nowhere, not even with the staff. It was best to simply play along and let them do their duties.

The Lieutenant sighed. "No, Natasi... that isn't why I wanted to speak with you. Truthfully I don't care what you take from the Estate. I called you here because I want you to be a part of the Estate. I don't think you should leave."