Familar Faces

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

​

​

​

The Raxis family had never really been close. The mandalorian clan had driven an even bigger wedge between the family than anything else in the galaxy. [member="Jack Raxis"] was assumed dead and [member="Gray Raxis"] hadn't even attempted to make contact with any other member of his family. It was annoying in some ways because Kei cared about family, those who he shared blood with. It was those who he shared familial ties with. It was annoying in many ways because Kei cared for his family, Kei cared for his blood.

The castle of Darth Vader was his target. The acid rain soaked planet of Vjun housed it. He wanted to know more about the life of Darth Vader, records showed that he was once the Jedi General Anakin Skywalker. Kei wanted to know what caused the fall, why he chose to turn. Records were extremely blured and so Kei wanted first hand experience to figure out what and why.

Why was a good question.

He walked through the castle entrance, sighing. He was interested in what would be behind the door, he wanted to know more about what had happened to cause the fall of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader.

He was interested

 

[Ra'a'mah]

The automated defenses of Bast Castle were offline and getting routine maintenance performed on them. If they had been online, then Kei would not have been able to enter so easily. From the outside, one couldn't easily tell the castle had anybody actually living in it.

So without those working, Kei's approach was unnoticed by them and even Ra'a'mah who lived there. However, not everybody was so oblivious to his approach. Her batman, housekeeper and butler, Vincent saw it.

As quickly as he could, he alerted her to their unexpected guest and moved to intercept him as he walked up to the doors of the castle. Arriving a few moments too late, he still got there before Kei had gotten more than a few steps through the open door.

"I am Vincent. Mistress of the castle is Ra'a'mah Numare and we both welcome you to Bast Castle."

Vincent was a former slave, but Ra had given him his freedom. He choose to stay and serve her in his old age. Even though he was a free man, that haunted look of a slave was still present after all these years. If Kei was able to read him though, he could tell it was his past that hung around him and not his present.

"If you would, please follow me."

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

@Ra'a'mah​

​

​

People lived in the castle?

Well, since when? Kei raised an eyebrow as the man introduced himself as Vincent. Kei didn't care who he was, he wanted to know who this mistress was? He tried to pronounce her name mentally although he honestly didn't have a clue. Ra'ah'mum? Ra'ah'mah? Raahmah? He grinned, he doubted her name was just a noise although with the galaxy. It was completely plausable that she went by just a noise, a simple noise.

The man seemed innocent enough, a little guant but otherwise fine. It was possible he was a slave, or a former slave. Kei wouldn't judge, he too ran a crew of former slaves. He shared something in common with this woman, the mistress of the castle. He felt a force presence, weak but there. He shared two things with the mistress of the castle. It was creepy, what else did he share with her.

"Anything I should know about your mistress? Is she planning to execute me for tresspassing? I don't like being killed, it never ends well"

 

[Ra'a'mah]

When Vincent had told her an unexpected guest would be arriving, Ra wondered what was going on. Her world wasn't a tourist attraction or anything, not much population or any real life. More than likely whoever came expected to find the castle empty and devoid of life. It certainly wouldn't be the first time somebody had made that mistake.

Not normally violent right away, she did grab her two sabers and hid them up her sleeves. It was already too late to hide her Force presence, in her own home it wasn't ever something she worried about and allowed her alignment to show.

Reaching out through the Force though, if her guest could sense the caress that is all it was. It would give her an idea of his alignment if he wasn't hiding it and maybe even his intention. As she felt, she didn't pick up on any hostility that could be directed intentionally at her, at least not yet. He seemed curious to the fact the castle had people living in it and it wasn't an empty husk left to fall apart. Not much beyond that.

Vincent knew where to lead Kei and would take him to the library. He wouldn't be searched or have any items taken away by the old man. When Kei asked what kind of person Ra was or if there would be any violence, Vincent almost smiled.

"Miss Ra is unlikely to cause you any harm unless you try to hurt her first. May I have your name to give to her?"

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

@Ra'a'mah​

​

He wasn't likely to cause his host harm. He wasn't likely to even draw his weapon, blaster or lightsaber unless she posed a threat to him. Not that many people truly posed a threat to him in the scale of things, the few who did were but a single digit percentage of the galaxy. The Sith, they issued a threat to him, they were likely to kill on site. They were rare though, a single digit percentage of the trillions, trillions upon trillions within the galaxy.

Then the guard asked for his name.

"Kei. My name is Kei Garnik"

The name wasn't special, the name he used to use before he found out his heratige. It was the name that his mother had given him, her last name instead of that of his father. Kei had accepted his legacy, accepted who he was but he still didn't feel comfortable giving his name out to people he didn't know. Most people would associate Raxis with the clan, the mandolorian clan that Kei didn't much care for.

But they were the only ones who would know the alias.

Jack and Gray both knew the alies of Kei Garnik. Kei assumed that they had informed the clan of his true identity, informed the clan that he was blood and that he would offer the clan a home and shelter. He wasn't sure, but that seemed to be the Gray Raxis style of things. There were few people who knew his true name, most of them were the Jedi whom he served alongside, the crew of The Nightshadow that drifted above Vjun.

It almost felt wrong having The Nightshadow. It felt wrong because he knew that soon he would be vacating that ship for a Star Destroyer within the Silver Jedi Order fleet. Kei, [member="Arekk"] and the young padawan Jerit would be forming the battalion and they would be fighting on the front lines, battling off the Sith. The fleet that Kei had been assigned was almost perfect for him.

"I'll wait here"

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Opening the library doors, Vincent motioned for Kei to enter and relay his name. In a way it might be comical to be announced or introduced in such a formal manner, but Vincent was old and wanted to go through the motions. Ra didn't always approve, but she wasn't mean enough to put her foot down and stop him from performing such a simple and harmless tradition.

"Please come in, Kei Garnik. I am Ra'a'mah Numare, but just call me Ra. Keeps it simple. Would you care for a drink?"

Because she had once again caught by surprise within her own home, her alignment within the Force would be clear. Yet there were no outward signs of corruption. Ra held the Code close to herself and used it more as that. She didn't crave power for the sake of having it, but wanted knowledge. With that knowledge came power though.

Whatever his answer, Vincent would leave and either close the door or leave it open to return with drinks and then close it.

"Make yourself comfortable or as comfortable as you can in a home where your visit was unexpected by its owner."

Not afraid to show a touch of humor at the situation, Ra would resume her seat in one of the chairs by the fireplace and motion to the one across from her.

"What brings you to Bast Castle?"

She gave no sign of knowing his name or what it meant to the Raxis side of things. Her interaction with them had been minimal and she had only met two members. Stardust and her husband Gray.

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

@Ra'a'mah​

​

He almost wished he knew that people had lived in Bast Castle.

It would of made it less awkward. Instead he was sat in someone's home being offered a seat and a drink. It was weird, it confused him. Why wasn't he kicked out, why didn't this female kick him out of her house? It all seemed weird to him, she didn't appear to pose a threat but Kei felt that there was more going on that he knew. He wondered what was going on, what the true motivation for Ra'a'mah's choice to allow him to stay around was.

He took a seat.

He ran his hands through his hair. He knew why he'd visited Bast Castle, to learn more about the Jedi General and to learn more about what caused his fall. He wanted to learn more about the fall of Darth Vader, learn how to avoid following the same path while attempting to learn and unify the force, master light and dark equally. Kei wondered if that would be possible, but first he needed to know how to avoid falling to the dark side.

"Bast Castle is the former home of the Sith Lord Darth Vader. I wanted to learn more about his past, what caused his downfall"

 

[Ra'a'mah]

She confidently watched Kei as he took the offered seat and made himself as comfortable as he could. Not naturally being empathic, she could read body language though. He was curious and she had to indicate any logical reasons for not having him removed or why she even let him in. He ran his hands through his hair before he answered as if giving it a little thought.

"Did you know it was originally built by a Count Dooku of Serenno? Then Darth Vader made it his home."

It was often an overlooked piece of Bast's history or just not known.

He said wanted to learn more of his past and what caused him to fall. It wasn't something Ra had looked into greatly, just on the surface, but she had ideas and it was all based off lies and deception.

"I see. I'm no expert on the man honestly. A little here and a little there. I sometimes wonder if there is any of his blood still around? I mean so many years later...do you think it ended or are there still distant relatives around or if any can traced?"

She was being conversational and welcoming of him. Not one to admit why, the reason for the welcome was the fact Ra was a lonely woman. There were few in her life she could call close. In fact, only one person did she feel she could fully trust. Her clan sister, Stardust.

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

@Ra'a'mah​

​

His eyes never stopped focused for too long. He still felt uncomfortable, he didn't know this woman and he didn't trust her. She seemed open enough, friendly enough but Kei didn't know why she still allowed him to explore in her house, why she spoke to him. He had to assume she was lonely. He had to assume very few people ever visited Bast Castle, very few people ever cared about visiting her, speaking to her.

Then his eyes locked something. A picture on the mantle. To most people the picture meant nothing but to Kei it meant something. He knew the person in the picture. He knew her because she'd trained him. Why did this woman have a picture of Stardust Raxis on her mantle? Why did she have a picture of someone Kei held close to him? Was it possible that she knew Stardust from somewhere in the past?

He stood and walked over to the mantle slowly. He slowly closed his fingers around the picture and looked at it. Stardust looked younger, he assumed it'd been taken during her Clan days. It looked like it, she always looked like that though. Kei was almost jealous, he was getting old while his cousin always looked younger than him. He wanted to get her anti-wrinkle cream, that would be rather nice.

"How do you know her?"

 

[Ra'a'mah]

One moment they were speaking on the ancient past and suddenly the atmosphere and topic changed. From something that was casual if a little tense and odd, to one that might be considered personal. He had been looking around the room, taking in its details. Those would just further show what kind of woman Ra was. A scholar more than a fighter. The type of herself that treasured knowledge and wanted to learn. These items also may have showed what her calling was within the Force. Somebody that might not be as dark as the aura she projected. One that held the Sith Code close to her heart, but still valued the teachings of others. Nothing went to waste around her and many options for study were open.

His eyes stopped on the picture of Stardust on the mantle and he stood up to look at it. He appeared really curious when he asked how she knew her clan sister. With the first sign of any true emotion from Ra, her face softened and she relaxed. It was a great change. She still didn't fully trust Kei, but as of yet he had proved to not be violent so she extended a small measure of trust.

"Stardust is a very dear woman to me. My longest and only friend really. So much so, she and I are sisters in way. How do you know her?"

Standing up, she moved to stand close to look at the picture. She did maintain a small separation between herself and Kei, but certainly closer than sitting in two different chairs.

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

@Ra'a'mah​

​

​

She was much more a scholar. The amount of books around the room suggested that. Kei was almost the same, gone were his days of attacking, of being the first one to fight and to attack. Now he only fought in self defense. He was now more interested in studying the force. He knew that if The Jedi, if The Silver Jedi Order could master the force then they would have a leg up in whatever war they chose to fight.

He kept his eyes on the picture as the woman spoke. He looked to her as her face softened as she spoke about her friend, her only friend. Kei knew what it was like to have no-one in the galaxy, no real friends. Only recently he began to make friends, true friends in [member="Arekk"] and [member="Asaraa Vashee"]. He knew what it was like to have no-one, to be alone with only your mind and your thoughts. He knew what it was like to be alone.

"She's family. I lied to you when I told you my name, I didn't know if I could trust you. My name is Kei, Kei Raxis. I'm a Raxis, cousin of Stardust and Gray. I'm blood family, not that mandalorian clan."

He still didn't trust her, not completely but he trusted her enough to tell her his true name instead of the alias he used. She'd probably of figured it out anyway when he told her that Stardust was family. Stardust was one of the members of his family that he truly trusted. Stardust was one of the people who'd taught him more about the force than anyone else. Stardust was the reason he was a Knight, a Jedi Knight.

 

[Ra'a'mah]

When Kei had asked how Ra knew Stardust and expressed his interest in her, she knew there was a connection. He told her the original name he had given was a false one and she nodded. Not too surprised at the fact, what did surprise her though was just how connected he was to Stardust.

"She adopted me as her sister into the clan a few years ago. So while I'm not too familiar with the whole clan business thing, I have a family. A small bit of something to cling onto. Helped her and her home a couple of times since becoming family. It's what one does I think."

She hadn't taken the name when it happened and only knew Stardust on a personal level. Gray she had met twice, but the first time he hadn't been himself exactly. The next time, they had little opportunity to speak and only briefly interacted.

"It is good to meet and apparently at random another person that is a Raxis. I did not hide who I am. There is no point in doing such a thing at home. Outside of these walls, what I am is different though. It is then where I wear a mask and hide what I am."

It would imply her alignment within the Force, but if Kei looked at her, there was no sign of corruption. While she followed the Sith code, Ra was not an evil person and if she had to use the Force, then her skills were mostly neutral in nature.​ That wasn't to say she couldn't be dark. It just was not in her naturally normally.

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

@Ra'a'mah​

​

​

Kei knew full well what it was like to hide and wear a mask.

He was always more open when in his quarters or on his ship, always more open in his own space. Outside of that space, he trusted no-one. Outside of that space, he would hide his force signature to make sure that those who studied the darkside and the art of the Sith wouldn't target him as a threat. He didn't want to be a threat, he didn't care for the war. He knew he needed to fight back but he wished he didn't have to.

She was a darkside alligned being. She had easily implied that. Kei didn't much care, she was free to practice what she wanted. She would be able to feel the light flowing from Kei and even then she hadn't shown herself as a threat. Kei was willing to show her the same trust, he didn't much care what she believed so long as she didn't wage a war against the galaxy and tear planets apart as they did.

"Was it random or was it fate that drew two Raxis' together?"

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Neither one posted an open threat to the other and it seemed it did not matter what alignment or following they each had. Looking away from the picture of Stardust, Ra looked at Kei.

"What is it like to be blood? My own blood, my parents were killed when I was an infant and I don't remember them. Only the man that raised me to be his successor. Even he didn't treat me like a daughter and brought me up as more of a tool or weapon to be used. When he died, I ran and hid on Coruscant with no memory of what happened in my past. Stardust actually helped me learn of what happened to me at least pointed me in the direction of where to look."

Prior to that Ra had thought she grew up on Coruscant, an orphan raised at an orphanage there. Then almost five years ago, Stardust told her to go someplace and there she learned of her real past. It had changed her greatly and opened her eyes. That she was a sith lord, not merely a person that could use the Force. What knowledge she had gained in her life crashed into her mind that day and turned her into what she was now. She also had the legacy she had built and incorporated everything together.

A sith that didn't care about the alignment of others and focused on business. One that would not harm children and go out of her way to protect them. The type of person that followed her own code and used it only for herself, holding it close and not forcing it on others.

"Maybe it was fate, Kei. No matter what it was, I am glad to know another family member, even if we aren't related by blood."

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

@Ra'a'mah​

​

​

What was it like to be blood.

He had family, people he could rely on. He had family, people he could trust to look out for him. Or, at least he thought he did. There was very little communication between the family. They hardly saw each other, they were all busy doing other things in the galaxy. When they did see each other though, it normally meant something had gone wrong and they needed to band together to fix it, help each other.

"What is it like to be blood, huh? Imagine having a group of people you can trust and rely on, people that you have something in common with. People say a clan bond is like sharing blood with people, you can rely on people".

Was it fate? Was it fate or was it the force? That was what the Jedi always wanted people to believe, things happened because the force wanted them to happen. It was the Jedi belief that everything occured because the force wanted them to occur. Sometimes it didn't take the force, sometimes things just happened and there was no reason for them to. Kei wasn't gonna say that out loud, but he was happy to think it.

"How long as you lived here? Seems cold, lonely"

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Listening to his answer on what it was like to have blood and support by them, then compare it to being in a clan, Ra understood on a basic level. Stardust had been in trouble a few times and Ra had been there to help her. In her own times of trouble, maybe not to the extent her friend had been in, Stardust had been there for her.

"Trust isn't so easily given by me. Like Stardust is the only person I feel I can truly trust. She's accepted me for who and what I am. Not ever questioned my path or decisions really. We've been there for each other for many years now. Gray, I've met twice and I don't think he has an opinion of me one direction or the other. You are the third Raxis I've met."

The word trust was almost foreign to her. Something that took time to gain and was very easily lost.

Kei asked how long she's lived in Bast Castle and she did some quick calculation in her mind.

"Between five and six years now. I'm not always here though. Just when I'm not needed with the merchant fleet I run. Ah it's not really that cold. Lonely yes, but Vincent and my other servants here keep me company when I do stay. Vincent was the man that brought you in."

She had clearly stated servants. Ra did not approve of slavery of any form and all her people were freed slaves that had decided to stay on and work for her.

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

@Ra'a'mah​

​

​

Servants.

Not slaves. No, no slaves. She didn't like slavery. Kei couldn't tell all that much from people but that much was obvious about the Raxis who was opposite him. She avoided the word slave like it was toxic, she avoided the word slave like it would cause pain. None of the servents felt like slaves through the force, none of them looked like slaves. It was possible that they were former slaves, but no. Ra' didn't keep them as slaves.

He was the third Raxis that she'd met opposite Gray and Stardust. Both of whom were good examples of what a Raxis should be. They were brave but calculated, didn't take risk without knowing the reward. Kei threw himself headfirst into risk, threw himself headfirst into danger. He was brave but he wasn't calculated, he didn't care much about risk. He was very much alike his family in someways and he was completely different in other ways.

"Merchant fleets, huh? Haven't flown with a merchant fleet in a while"

He had adopted the Raxis piloting gene, he was an amazing pilot like much of his family. It ran in the blood, he knew Jack and Gray were the same. All of them understood ships, all of them knew how to fly. Kei was a freighter pilot at heart but he knew starfighters, he could captain a cruiser if he needed to. He knew ships like the back of his hand, engine rooms better than any other rooms.

"Good money in it, mind"

 

[Ra'a'mah]

"I started out early in life as a freighter pilot, Kei. So when an opportunity was given to me to expand on that, I just couldn't refuse. Can you believe this? These people that hired me are so set against sith, yet they don't have any idea I can use the Force. Pay attention through the Force for a moment."

In the blink of an eye, ​her alignment within the Force was gone, even the fact she could even use it. Holding it only long enough for Kei to get a feeling, she let the block down and returned her normal alignment.

This was the first she had mentioned of herself, her alignment and that she was sith. It did not appear to bother him prior to her giving voice to it. With her admitting it out loud, she hoped it still wouldn't change. Before he could really speak, she would say one more thing.

"Whatever path you are on, it is meant for you. Who am I to tell you what you should or shouldn't be?"

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Vjun​

852ABY​

@Ra'a'mah​

​

​

She was a practioner of the dark.

Kei could feel it within her. He felt the force hide itself within her and then he felt the darkside reveal itself within her. If he was any other Jedi, he would of cut her down for revealing herself. Kei didn't care though, he didn't care what path someone chose. Darksiders weren't bad as a group, only those who chose to follow a violent method and commit genocide could really be "bad". Most darksiders just did their thing.

"Everyone is entitled to follow what they believe. And that's alright, when you think about it. So long as you don't slaughter innocent people then choosing to learn more about the darker arts of the force is fine. No-one gets hurt choosing to follow the dark. The darkside is powered from human emotions, everyone feels fear and everyone feels anger and hatred. You shouldn't shy away from them"

 

[Ra'a'mah]

If it was in her nature to give hugs, Ra would have given one to Kei as he spoke. Looking at him, he might feel that through the Force. For once, she didn't bother to hide what she felt behind any self imposed shield.

"None of those things do I do, at least not on purpose. It seems like you have a good understanding of me somehow. Sith I might be, but even then I don't crave power just to have it. What power I do have, I earned through working for it."

A few years ago though, ​she had craved power. Then a rug had been ripped out from under her and what power she had went away. Not wanting to rebuild it, she did feel the need to have allies, friends and family. Kei could be all three in time.

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want while you visit and return any time. I'll trust you with codes to deactivate the automatic guns so you don't get shot down. Just a part of being family."