From Darkness

[Placeholder 0128]

"Beats waiting for another bombing," Cedric said with a smile. He was unsure just how he felt about the whole situation, but then he'd long since foregone letting logic guide his path. He had chosen only to follow the Force, and the Force had brought him here.

Which raised a bit of a conundrum. If the Force had drawn him here, and he had truthfully desired to find Aes'ona of his own accord, was it simply that his motivations matched the will of the empyrean, or that the will of the empyrean was influenced by his own desires?

The thought brought Cedric to an uncomfortable place, and he chose to leave it be for the time being.

"I'll see you there," He offered her a final, faint smile as he drew his cowl back over his face and headed off into the gloom.

--------------​

​

​

​

It had not taken him very long to find the apartment. Traversing cityscapes was a skill Cedric had honed since his early childhood, and avoiding hubs of activity proved to be a simple task so long as he paid attention to his senses.

He'd not hesitated to make use of the doctor's shower as soon as he'd locked door behind him. A few minutes later and he emerged, cleansed of all the blood and grime that had been caked onto his skin during the bombing. He drew his undershirt over his scarred torso, pulled up his pants, and sat on his knees in the center of the living room. His eyes drew shut as he reached out into the empyrean, letting the waters of the Great Ocean wash over him so that he might be renewed in its depths.

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"] }​

~ † ~​

She didn't end up calling.

She didn't get a chance to.

After speaking to Luuio about the patients, she had ran to the university ready room to take a quick shower herself. When finished, she changed into clean scrubs. "Prennis, there you are," Gennra spoke from the other side of her open locker door. "Montoya sent me. He thinks--" The first nurse clipped her disguise matrix, and then her pager, back to the waistband of her pants and let the hem of her shirt fall over them before glancing in the mirror affixed to the inside of the door. Bringing her hands up to her hair, she quickly tucked in a few wispy locks before closing it. "Genn, thanks for the concern, but I'm..." She suddenly looked off somewhere to the left, as if trying to physically follow her derailed train of thought. "Prennis?" "Maybe, um..." Quickly, the world was greying, until it went black.

~ † ~​

The professor ended up walking her home, escorted by a campus security officer. "As soon as you get inside--" began Montoya, just to have his thought finished by his top student. "--big glass of water." She paused to cough as they hobbled down the second floor hall of her building. Until she had woken up an hour later, with a dry mouth and a churning stomach, she hadn't realized how thirsty she was or how little she'd eaten all day. "Food. Got it." "And call my office in an hour to check-in. Or a holomail," he added, voice firm. Non-negotiable.

Tired and in dull pain, Prennis nodded. The trio stopped when Prenn indicated her door, though Doctor Montoya kept his arm over her shoulders in support until she shakily stood up and took a step forward to knock on the door. "Roomates?" "A friend. I'll--" more coughing, "--be fine from here." "Stay safe," the officer finally piped up. "You guys too..." "And hydrated," the prof added once more, eyeing Prenn seriously before following the officer back down the hall.

 

[Placeholder 0128]

https://youtu.be/_Axa2YXonYM?t=2179​

Wandering through the depths of the empyrean was like diving into the deepest of nostalgic memories. It was a perfectness that was simply too good to be real, and that was because it wasn't. The Jedi hung within it, his thoughts drifting between worry for Aes'ona, and a nagging curiosity as to her reasons for being where she was.

His meditations only grew more chaotic he felt a wave of anxiety ripple through the empyrean. He reached out, his brow furrowing as he recognized the source. The danger she was in did not seem life threatening, though something had happened.

Distracted, Cedric found himself drawn back into reality. He stood to wait by the door, knowing full well that Aes'ona would be returning soon one way or the other. He filled that time with examining his lightsaber: more specifically admiring the silver symbol of the Jedi Order emblazoned upon it. The lightsaber was something of a relic, and its presence helped to ground him from drifting to far into the empyrean.

A knock at the door stirred him from his thoughts. Cedric opened it immediately, his narrowed eyes appraising Aes'ona as best they could. "What happened?" His voice was low, but it was softened with concern. He stepped forward, drawing an arm about her shoulder as he moved to lead her inside.

"Another attack?"

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"] }​

~ † ~​

"Of my own stupidity, apparently," she wheezed as she moved to sit on her couch in the living room. "Went n' dehydrated myself. Haven't eaten much either. I didn't notice in all the excitement. Can you get me a glass of water?" She coughed. "Make that two." With that, Prennis allowed herself to sink down in the couch, its arm in her lower back then at her neck, even though she knew she would need to sit back up to drink. A folded blanket lay near her feet, so she stretched and grabbed it between her toes to haul it up and over her. She caught it with a shaky hand and tucked herself in loosely.

"There should be snacks in the pantry," she added.

 

[Placeholder 0128]

"Of course," He mumbled as he went off to do his assigned tasks. The atmosphere of the apartment was a far cry from the chaos of the streets. You could still hear the occasional shifting of rubble in the distance, but the sounds and sights of the fighting were virtually lost here. The Jedi Master decided he liked it as he peered out one of the windows into the burgeoning ecunemopolis beyond. Commenor was many things, but a world torn apart by civil war was not something had expected to be added to that list.

"Okay," he began as he set down the glass and a few nutrient bars next to Aes'ona, "Explain to me how you got here, if you're feeling up to it." He moved to settle in one of the nearby chairs, one leg crossed over the other, elbow resting on the leg, chin on his fist as he peered curiously at Aes'ona.

"Last I had heard you were still loyal to the First Order. Now they're just remnants - did you defect, or did something else happen?" He lofted a brow.

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"] }​

~ † ~​

Politeness flew out the window the moment the glass was within Prennis' reach; if one ignored her current surroundings or history of travel, they might think she was either on or had just come from Tatooine where she suffered a dire heat stoke. When she was able to wrestle the glass out of the grasp of her instinct, three fourths of the water had vanished. And her throat was still dry. But too much liquid at once was not good for a dehydrated patient, so it couldn't be good for her either. Giving a sheepish grin, she remained sitting up but lowered the drink into her covered lap.

"Thanks," she began before pausing momentarily to brave the light fog that were her thoughts. "Yes, I-I did." Strange. She hadn't said that out loud before. "My last assignment was Sullust, help with the Order's medical examinations of the natives. They set up work camps, Cedric. I...should have told the Grand Admiral no." She said that, and it sounded preposterous--an adjunct wouldn't, couldn't, win against their commanding officer and employer. A sudden shiver tore through the pretend nurse that had nothing to do with temperature nor her ailments and everything to do with the malicious mystery of what had happened to her predecessor. She still remembered then Fleet Admiral Rausgeber's response, punctuated with a grimace that warned her that she might fall into 'retirement' as well should she not mind herself:

"Professor Arkani has recently retired."

Still, she should have said no. Surely, death would have been preferable to--

She stopped herself. Would it be? She took a deep breath. It wasn't a question she wanted to answer right now, but what she did know is, no matter what she did or said, Cedric would pass whatever judgement on her he saw fit.

Prennis began again, "I stayed until Naval Medical Service's job was almost done, and then, all of a sudden, we were called back to the fleet. And the fleet was to return to the interior. I never did find out why." She furrowed her brow. "Anyway, my transport was cutting through the Seswenna Sector--" a name she would likely never forget, "--before a pirate ship disabled and boarded us. They planned to sell off the entire medical team, but they ended up...only taking me." She left that insinuation open to the imagination. "One of the pirates was an undercover Jedi. He was trying to spoil their operations, he said." Prennis decided not to name names unless she was asked; he might not even know the Knight in question. "I just--uh, there's a lot more to it, but the upshot is that I realized entirely too late that I had spent half of my life training to and patching up the wrong side."

After a moment of chewing on her lip, Prennis exchanged her glass for a bar, ripping open the wrapper and kicking off her blanket. "But I got out before the Order fell, so I suppose it wasn't too late," she added before standing slowly. She took a few careful steps towards the stairs. "I'll be right back."

A few minutes was all it took for her to descend the stairs, this time in a tank top, a knit cardigan and jean shorts, but also as she used to appear. As she neared Cedric, she held up a palm-sized, circular, grey device and continued to nibble on her nutrient bar. She tossed it to him, then, as she all but crumpled back into the couch.

 

[Placeholder 0128]

Cedric listened in curious silence as Aes'ona told her tale. In truth, it was still odd to him to talk to a face that was not her own, but he had the benefit of the Force to go on. Thought her body might have been wholly different, her signature within the empyrean was wholly identical as to how it had always been. Aes'ona was not touched by the Force, and yet she embodied the virtues of the Jedi Order far better than many of the Jedi Cedric had come across in his travels.

She's a good woman.

"There's little you could have done, I'd think," he spoke when she mentioned the work camps. "The First Order and the Sith have gotten quite skillful when it comes to exploiting other sentient beings. They keep the good people at the bottom where they can't stand up to the evils being orchestrated by their leaders." He fell silent, listening further.

She spoke of pirates and an undercover Jedi. Cedric could only attribute such happenstance to the Force. Just as he had mused before, Aes'ona was important to the cosmic will of things. There was a history of normal men and women having such places within the empyrean, though they were exceedingly rare. Often more so than force sensitives themselves.

"He managed to convince you where I couldn't?" He asked, the slightest hint of jealousy finding its way into his words, "Sounds like an impressive Jedi. I'm glad you finally came around."

A few minutes of silence followed as Aes'ona went to change. Cedric's mind was oddly empty - there was nothing of great importance he found himself drawn to. He was simply content.

A reactionary smile found its way onto his face as Aes'ona came walking down the stairs. Seeing her in her own skin made it all seem real, in a sense. The illusion was gone.

"I prefer you this way," he mused, arms folding about his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

He reached up, snatching the silver object from the air. "What's this?"

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"] }​

~ † ~​

That hint of jealousy did make her feel a little bit guilty. Before she left, she squeezed in a, "I still had, you know, hope that the Order might see reason back then. Might change."

When she returned, and he made his comment, she frowned, trying to feign offense. "You don't like my disguise?" Before he could answer, she laughed and tucked herself back in. "A holographic matrix. I thought you might want to examine what little thing bested you." Those words were uttered with playful jest.

She then returned to the serious discussion at hand: "I changed my appearance, as you may have guessed, to avoid the FOSB," she assumed he knew the acronym, "but now that the entire Order seems to have imploded..." Another bite of her bar, small enough to chew and swallow quickly to continue. "I suppose I wouldn't need it anymore, had I not taken a new identity with it.

"And my given birth name," she added.

 

[Placeholder 0128]

"I didn't say that I didn't like it. I said that I preferred you without it," Cedric fired back, a warm smile on his face despite his words. "I wouldn't say it bested me, anyway. I still knew who you were, sort of," he lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. A cursory examination of the device revealed it to be what Aes'ona had indicated, though Cedric had never seen one quite like it. Stealth matrixes were relatively common around the galaxy, but they tended to only last for a few short minutes at the least, and perhaps a few hours at most. One that seemed to work indefinitely as Aes'ona's would certainly have to was beyond any technology Cedric was aware of.

"Smart little piece of tech, I'll admit. Far more advanced than anything I've come across of that nature," Cedric mused as he leaned back in his chair. It was a nice change of pace to simply sit around and talk. So much of his life revolved around adrenaline and violence that Cedric often found himself forgetting why he had walked down the Jedi path in the first place. Moments like these served as pleasant reminders as to that purpose.

"Yes, indeed, what do you plan to do now that the order is virtually gone?" He lofted a brow, "Going to continue as Prennis? It might not be a bad idea, but you can't live a lie forever. Been there, done that, and wrote the book on it: never goes over well." He offered her a good natured smile, but his words were serious.

A pause. He reached over, tapping her on the forearm playfully. "Besides, I happen to like Doctor Terrani. I don't know Prennis very well," he snickered.

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"] }​

~ † ~​

After another sip of water, Prennis settled back down into the soft cushions. "I don't know yet," she admitted with a far-off look. "I'm assuming my family's dead, but I've been wondering...did anyone survive? Part of me wants to go back. Offer emergency services." She frowned slightly at the bit about lying and her two personas. "Aes'ona was more of a lie than Prennis is. I was given that name on Dosuun by my--by Commandant Terrani." She had to stop calling Taeir father when she had a real one out there somewhere. "I was born Prennis...somewhere else." She still didn't know where; wasn't able to make sense of the planet she saw in her mind.

A quiet moment passed over her before she asked, "What’s the Force think of the butterfly effect, Cedric?” The Force didn't literally think, or so she did, but she couldn't think of a more articulate way to ask at the moment. "It has, uh, medical applications--" like when a communicable disease originated on far away planets but ripples of it reach one’s own, sometime virtually over a standard night with devastating consequences, "but…" she allowed herself to trail off before clearing her throat and beginning again. "Do you think if I had stayed Dosuun might have been spared?"

 

[Placeholder 0128]

A brow was lofted as she spoke of her true identity. Curiosity stirred his tongue, but he willed himself to remain silent until she had finished speaking. Given what she had said, he could only imagine that she might have gone through to end up with the First Order.

"You shouldn't return unless it's safe. The First Order is badly beaten, but it still has remnants. You may find yourself running into old acquaintances better left forgotten," Cedric mused as he felt a momentary chill pass through him. It was not a normal sensation, but rather a primal reaction to a sudden shift in the empyrean, something one unattuned to the Force could never understand. It made the hairs on the back of his next stand, his vision sharpened, and then it was gone.

Confused, the Jedi Master decided to ignore the sensation for now. It was likely a result of all the conflict occurring across the city.

"As to your name - were you abducted? Something of the like?" He gave her a curious look, "And do you want me to call you Prennis, or Aes'ona?"

A pause.

"So far as I am concerned, the butterfly effect in itself is the Force at work. Every tiny action we take ripples out into the Force, manipulating the destinies of those around us with every action taken at a minuet level, but...no, I don't think you staying would have done anything for Dosuun. Events of that magnitude are often beyond our realm of influence."

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"] }​

~ † ~​

Another memory passed over her at his question:

She was hiding, crouched behind that yardang again, before a deep voice tainted by the electronics of a stormtrooper sunbonnet came, "There ya are, ankle-bitter." And then a hand gripped her forearm harshly. She was yanked up and over into the sun by a captain. "A'most not worth the trouble."

She shook her head before glancing back up at Cedric. "I think I was, yes," she answered. "Prennis, if it's not too much trouble."

Then Prennis sighed and gave a hesitant, resigned nod. He was right, of course, Jedi Master or not. But even if her guilt was misplaced, she would still travel to Dosuun as soon as circumstances permitted.

 

[Placeholder 0128]

"Prennis it is then," Cedric agreed, though he found himself hesitating somewhat when he said the name. In his mind, Aes'ona was Aes'ona. Prennis was a relative stranger, though he supposed the two were truly one in the same. She had not acted any differently than she might have in the past, even though she wore a face that was not her own. The Jedi taught that it was the content of character that judged a person's worth, not their names, faces, or species. It was a belief he agreed with, but it would still take sometime before he could acknowledge that Prennis was truly one in the same as the doctor he that had been a constant in his mind since that battle many months ago.

He recalled the wounds he had received fighting the terentatek, and the cold welcome he had received by most of the locals. It had been pure luck that Aes'ona - no, Prennis - was the one to find him. He had little doubt in his mind that were it not for her, he would have died in that ditch all alone. For that, he owed her a great deal.

"You'll have to forgive me if I slip up from time to time. You're still Aes'ona to me. Takes time." He cast her a warm smile, but it was quickly dashed away.

A chill had entered the apartment, as if the room had dropped several dozen degrees. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he looked around the room, his brow furrowed as he tried to discern the source of the cold.

It was then that the dark mist began to coalesce from seemingly nothing all around them. It was a flaky black substance that moved like water, but was clearly a gas of some sort. The mist pooled around their feet, before drawing up to cover one of the walls of the room.

Cedric stared at it like a caged animal, all his primal senses telling him that this darkness meant danger.

"Do you see that?" Cedric asked warily, pointing to the mass.

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"] }​

~ † ~​

"Of course." Prennis nodded as she said so. Most humanoids were creatures of habit, after all. It was only fair to allow him a few, harmless slips-ups. She was most likely safe in Commenori space--maybe Silver in the near future--but if it happened in company, well, with some quick thinking on her part, she might be able to explain it away.

Time to start thinking of excuses.

For a moment, confusion washed over her face, mirroring Cedric's emotion. And then the mist began to sublimate on the carpet, Prennis jolted up and snatched her matrix from Cedric's hand. It then went back on her waistband and was activated.

Force of habit, but also, what was this?

"Smoke?" she suggested, though part of her knew better. She started on a path to the kitchen, momentarily stumbling, with intent to either call the fire department or to moisten a towel for their mouths...probably both.

 

[Placeholder 0128]

Cedric remained still as a statue.

It was extremely rare for the Force to manifest itself in physical form without coercion without a Force Sensitive to bring it about, but it did happen. This was one such phenomena, of that Cedric was certain. There was something familiar about the wall of inky blackness that seemed to be staring at the two of them. It both made him uneasy and oddly angry, though he truly did not know as to why. After a few moments of pregnant silence, he spoke.

"Not smoke, something far worse. Stay near the door." He ordered as he cautiously rose to his feet. With great hesitation, Cedric slowly walked toward the mass. "This is the Force Aes'ona, it's..." his brow furrowed.

Though it seemed a stupid thing to do, Cedric found himself drawn to the darkness. He reached out, allowing his hand to be engulfed in its depths. The blackness responded to his touch, jumping back as if it were a sentient thing. It reformed once more, coalescing into a thin humanoid figure. The figure was featureless, save for a head of long platinum hair and eyes that burned like hot coals. The Jedi Master's hand fell toward his lightsaber.

Before he could ignite the weapon, the shade simply collapsed, the darkness sinking away into nothingness. A heavy breath fell from Cedric's lips.

"That was a sign," he muttered, "A warning. Something horrible has returned to the galaxy," there was a pause as he turned to face Prennis. "I...I know what it is. I have to go stop it."

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"]}​

~ † ~​

Prennis didn't do either but instead as she was told, backing up towards the door. And there she stood, obedient and super vigilant of the potentail danger, until Cedric looked to her.

Then she took a single step forward. "Cedric, you can't," she said, voice not hard but harsh-edged. Shards of Atrisia flashed before Prennis' eyes. Granted, he was neither hurt nor high, as he had been on those stimulants, but she felt he shouldn't go nonetheless. That it would end in nothing good. She didn't know exactly what 'I have to stop it' meant exactly, but she could use her imagination.

One image was of that time she saw was his wounds while she was operating. She had done all she could, but with scars like that... If she couldn't do much more to reinforce what she had done before, she could keep him out of harm's way.

Make him stay.

"Surely, another Jedi is seeing," she motioned to the figure, "this too." Another few steps forward. "Have you seen another surgeon since my patch?" Part of her hoped the answer was no.

 

[Placeholder 0128]

Cedric's mind was filled with nothing but purpose. The creature that had returned to the galaxy was a far greater threat than any previous - not even the Sith Empire was so dangerous. Images of a world set aflame filled his mind, and nothing he could do would deter them. He recalled vividly the sight of thousands streaming out from the collapsing capital, and then as the imperial bombers had soared overhead to drop crates full of explosives upon their heads.

He recalled the face of a young man with pale hair and dark eyes. Then another, a woman that looked his kin, and then the city once more. He was already grabbing at his cloak when Prennis told him not to leave.

Had it been any other, he would have simply shoved them aside and gone on his way. Matters of the galaxy were far more important than the concern for one's own life, and Cedric's life had ever been one of service to the Force. Even still, when she spoke, he drew himself to a halt. This was Aes'ona after all.

"I have to. I don't know any other Jedi that can stop it," he said with the upmost sincerity, though there was a very real pain to his voice. His brow furrowed. "No, I haven't," he frowned, "The Force heals me well enough. I didn't see the need."

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"]}​

~ † ~​

The Force.

The Force.

Of course, the Force.

It was a valid way of healing, she knew, but also she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "Cedric." Though Cassius had used Force healing on her, she still had issue trusting in what she could not see. It was worse to her that relying on a medical droid. "You're not well enough. You won't do anything any good in your state. Even a starfish has to wait three hundred and sixty days for its arm to regrow completely by itself." The analogy made sense to her and hopefully was clear enough to him as well. "You need to rest."

 

[Placeholder 0128]

A thousand different retorts flew through Cedric's mind, but none of them seemed particularly apt. Aes'ona - Prennis - had a point. His wounds had not healed in their entirety since that day on Dosuun. His flesh had been restored well enough to fight, but the scar tissue was still new and fragile. Even still, those wounds had not kept Cedric from doing the Force's work in the time since that fateful day. There was no reason it should now.

However...

"You're lucky you came up with a good analogy," Cedric mumbled: he sounded rather defeated, though not displeased. "I'll rest for a time then, though I can't let this sit for long. I could return to my ship," he paused a thin smile finding its way onto his face.

"Unless you wanted me to stay here?" He asked, a brow lofted, hints of playfulness seeping into his voice. Poking at her was something he took great joy in, and it was a welcome distraction from the doomed prophecy they had both just been witness to.

"I suppose I might be too weak to take care of myself, after all..."

[member="Prennis Keeoli"]

 

[Prennis Keeoli]

{ Tag: [member="Cedric Grayson"] }​

~ † ~​

She won, for now, but victory had her rolling her eyes.

"Fine," she finally breathed. She had just about asked for this, for him not to go and stay here specifically, after all. "I think I'm sufficiently re-hydrated to play nurse." With a sigh, Prennis took her matrix back off her waistband and set it on the side of the kitchen bar. "Lie down. I'm going to go get my medkit." With that, she took off her cardigan and laid it over the counter as well before starting back up the stairs.

In her bedroom, she grabbed her kit from the closet along with a black elastic off her nightstand. On the way out, she smoothed her hair back into a high ponytail that she didn't pull through the last time. "Alright, be honest, how's the pain been?" she asked as she descended into the living room.