Homecoming

[Darlyn Excron]

Both Darlyn and [member="Kay Arenais"] shared something in common, a lack of ability to stay out of trouble. In Darlyn's case, it was more his own fault. In this case, it was sneaking off to find his own bit of adventure alone, without guards. He usually didn't take long enough for anyone to really worry, and he was known to be quite capable on his own anyways making it not a cause of panic.

One thing he wasn't known for was flying.

So it would hardly be much of a surprise when Darlyn found himself crashing his starfighter, having come to this strange planet in the course of investigating his doppleganger from quite a long while ago. Someone had reported a sighting in the area, and when he arrived he found he had arrived too late to intercept. And while he was plotting a course to try and give chase, a defense turret seemed to hit him outta nowhere. Unsure what to do, he did the only rationally irrational thing he could.

He aimed the ship at the planet and prepared to 'land'.

Somehow he managed to avoid blowing up, or damaging his ship beyond repair on landing, but the impact left him jarred. That was, not great. He breathed slowly, and tried to climb out of his ship. Wearing the desperado armor he bought ages ago, his red hair was hidden under his pretty dope lookin' hat, and he stood out in the landscape. Contained was his dark presence, best he could, to try and hide while he assessed the damage...

 

[Auburn Sioda]

It was truly the ideal day on Domhanda for Auburn. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and her tea was perfectly sweet. That was, until a ship was shot out of the sky by the planet's defense systems. Auburn sighed, and set her teacup down on her table in the palace garden. "Niamh, gather some of the royal guard. I'll be going to investigate that ship personally."

"Of course, your majesty." The servant woman bowed and hurried off to gather guards for the queen, as Auburn went to change out of her dress. Merely a few minutes later, Auburn was donned in her armor, and ready to go. The queen and her escort of 6 guards traveled in the direction of the crashed ship, following the smoke cloud in the sky. As they approached, the sounds of their speeders would alert anyone alive of their approach.

As the group of 7 exited the forest, they stopped halfway between [member="Darlyn Excron"] and the treeline. "You there, chancer! State your name and business on Domhanda!"

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Just his luck, he couldn't be let alone to fix his ship in peace. Not that he could really, but he would've liked to have the peace and quiet. Instead, he hurried along trying to assess the damage, until he noticed the bright presence behind him, well before the noise of footsteps. HE groaned inwardly, and unclipped the strap holding his blaster steady. When [member="Auburn Sioda"] spoke up behind him, he turned rather calmly and drew the blaster, leveling it with her chest. He didn't really react to the alarm this caused the guards, even though he was well outnumbered.

"I guess chancer is rather bang on, though you seem to be the chancer here. I'm hunting a criminal, and it's Darlyn. Now you gonna keep gawking, shoot me, or you gonna help me fix my ship? I would much rather get on with it if I have to kill a fine thing like you to stay safe." He kept his gaze firmly on Auburn's eyes, but kept watch for the slightest aggressive movement.

 

[Auburn Sioda]

Auburn looked taken aback by [member="Darlyn Excron"] 's use of their slang. She blinked a couple of times before coming back from her shock. She cleared her throat, before holding up a hand, signalling the guards to stand down for now. "Well, Darlyn, first off, my name is Auburn Síoda, Queen of the Anam." Auburn walked forward to get a closer look at his ship. "While there aren't any criminals from off-world on Domhanda, your ship is too badly damaged to be fixed here. If you're willing to wait, I can have the ship transported to the nearest mechanics."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"No, they were in the system. Someone or something here shot me down before I could give chase. Which means I doubt I'll be getting any closer." He spun the DL-18, the barrel spinning back at him first as he brought his arm back and down, sliding it back to safety without issue. He listened to her more or less confirming what he felt, and sighed in annoyance. "Wish you were codding me... right well seeing as it was you and yours that made a right mess of my starfighter it only seems just that you're the ones who fix it. Sooner it's fixed sooner I can get back to work or home, whichever comes first. Or whiskey."

He reached up and tucked a lock of red hair back into his hat as he moved past Auburn to check the other side of his ship for damages. He didn't know how they planned to transport the thing but he ought to at least be sure nothing was going to explode on them. At least, nothing dangerous. He figured they'd want him off world now, and doubly so if they picked up on his, lack of light. "Going to need several stiff drinks when I get back already to make up for this.." He mumbled to himself.

[member="Auburn Sioda"]

 

[Auburn Sioda]

"My apologies about your ship. Our defense systems are automated from when the gulag plague first ravaged our population over 400 years ago." Auburn frowned at the damaged ship. Her great-grandfather really hadn't been playing around all those centuries ago. "None the less, you may ride with one of my guards on our way back to the palace."

Auburn watched curiously as [member="Darlyn Excron"] tucked a lock of red hair into his hat, and hummed as she turned to walk to her speeder. One of the guards seemed to be inputting coordinates into her data pad, and slipped it into her her pouch, as the other guards climbed onto their speeders. As Auburn got settled on hers, she loved up, smirking. "Well, chancer, take your pick."

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Well they certainly make a memorable first impression." He shook his head a little bit as he walked back away from the ship, he had everything personal from inside it anyways. At this point he just needed it repaired so he could get home and drink from the bottle rather than the flask he had with him. The metal changed the taste drastically after all. He listened to Auburn as she told him to take his pick, of which speeder of course. Now they were all so very enticing, with the armored guards and their... faces. Which to pick though, well he decided to continue being a right proper chancer.

As if he had all the right in the world, he sauntered up to Auburn's speeder, and before anyone could ask what he was doing, he took a seat behind her. If she glanced back, she'd see he, too, was smirking right back at her, almost radiating self assured confidence. "I think this one looks comfy. Objections, Miss Queenie?"

[member="Auburn Sioda"]

 

[Auburn Sioda]

A small laugh escaped Auburn's lips at [member="Darlyn Excron"] 's smart comment. "Most people who stumble upon us say that too." Auburn got her speeder up and running, and heard her guards before seeing Darlyn get on behind her. She turned her head around curiously, and laughed. "You might just be the biggest chancer I've ever met! I do hope you're able to hold on, I'm not an easy ride." With a wink and a rev of her speeder, Auburn spun her speeder around and sped off toward the palace, her guards following behind.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Can't be worse than me let's be fair. I mean just look at my beautiful parking job there." He chuckled at her rather quick acceptance of what, to be real, amounted to a joke he expected to end right then. Well if she was going to let him, he had might as well enjoy the scenery. He wrapped his arms firmly around [member="Auburn Sioda"]'s waist for support and safety, and watched the world blur past them on their way through towards their destination. He didn't know how long this would be, so he didn't distract her from paying attention on the off chance that would cause, disastrous results.

 

[Auburn Sioda]

An amused laugh came from Auburn as [member="Darlyn Excron"] referred to his ship. "Aye, maybe you need to go back to flight school!" Auburn laughed joyfully as she sped along. Darlyn's strong grip on her surprised her, but if that were the case... Well, Auburn knew a few tricks or two. "If you don't want to fall, hold on tight!"

Without warning, Auburn swerved to the right, aiming for a very small opening between two fallen trees. In the few moments before going through, Auburn leaned down flat against her speeder. If Darlyn followed her lead, there would be just enough room for them to fit. A jovial cackle would come from Auburn as she leaned back up, as the two would head for a fallen tree, perfectly placed to be a ramp over a ditch.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn laughed in response as well, glad this queen was uptight, or overly proper. His grip tightened a bit when she suddenly swerved, holding for dear life even if he wasnt all that concerned. He ducked down with her, thankfully not losing his head, but unfortunately losing his hat as he sat back up after.

He managed to quickly catch the hat and return his grip as the went for the natural ramp. Now his curled red hair was on full display, along with loud and constant laughter as they went. "Good to see you have guts! Do a flip!"

[member="Auburn Sioda"]

 

[Auburn Sioda]

"That's the plan!" Another laugh escaped Auburn's lips as she drove up the tree. With the speed they were going, and the height of the tree-ramp, the jump would be quite high. Once in the air, Auburn expertly turned the speeder 90 degrees, and at the peak of their jump, begun a barrel roll over the ditch revealed by the jump. All through the roll, Auburn laughed, and as they landed on the edge of the ditch, Auburn sped off once again through the trees.

Threading the needle between the tightly grown trees, the capital city soon came into view as the royal guard caught up to the pair on the clear path through the woods. Auburn drove the speeder back onto the path, and the group of 8 made their way to the royal palace.

[member="Darlyn Excron"]

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn was rather enjoying Auburn's risky tricks for the sake of tricks, they served no point other than showing off. He appreciated it, was far more fun than just flying through a forest at high speed towards civilization. He wasn't happy about almost losing his hat but, well not everything could be 100% perfect now could it? The rest of the ride was more or less uneventful, as they got close to their destination he could feel a few glances from the guards. Why, he didn't entirely understand, but he figured it was mostly in regards to being close to their Queen.

When they arrived, Darlyn let go and opted for style points, jumping off the bike and landing ahead of them while everyone came to a stop. Hat in hand, he dusted it off, laughing as he calmed from the adrenaline the ride caused. "Well, remind me to get that good myself." He shot a grin over at her, before running a hand through his curly red hair, helping hold it back in place as he put his hat back on.

[member="Auburn Sioda"]

 

[Auburn Sioda]

As the group arrived to the palace, Auburn slowed to a stop, and jumped slightly in surprise when Darlyn jumped off. All thoughts in her head froze however, when she saw the red curls growing from Darlyn's head. Well, at least now she knew why her guards kept glancing at him. The queen hummed as she got off her speeder, as theories formed in her head about [member="Darlyn Excron"] and his heritage. "You can try, but I've been riding for 30 years now. Care to join me in the garden?"

Not waiting for a response, Auburn began walking past Darlyn, smirking.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"You don't look a day over sixty, so I think I've got plenty of time." Curse her for realizing she was more interresting to be around than these generic people. Why would he willingly just sit around all bored like? He shrugged a bit at her as she walked past, quickly following behind her. He was paying attention to anyone they passed of course, very quickly picking up on a few, quirks the people around him seemed to have. Notably hair and ears.

Lucky him he found a planet of himself. Except, lightside himself. Yasha would have a field day with this one.

[member="Auburn Sioda"]

 

[Auburn Sioda]

"I'm not even 60 yet!" Auburn laughed as they walked, before the gate to the garden came into view. Opening the gate for the two of them, Auburn led the way down the flower-lined path to the center of the garden, where there sat a table and chairs. Surrounding them, were blossoming trees, that swayed gently in the wind. Auburn sat down at the table, where a piping hot pot of tea and two cups awaited the pair.

"I do hope you like tea, Darlyn."

[member="Darlyn Excron"]

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Only slightly less than I do alcohol." He hummed as he followed behind her into the garden, admiring the view. He actually did find the place rather nice, though the petals were flying quite a lot around the place, at least the petals not still happily attached to their trees and flowers. Truth be told it was nice to be in a place not liable to blow him up or try and kill him, and with tea besides. He moved up to the table and sat down, picking up the cup, filling it with tea, and taking a sip.

"Not quite as good as back home.." HE retrieved his flask, poured a little bit of whiskey in, and took another sip. "Much better. Now if I know my luck this is where you ask if I want a history lesson, I say yes or no, and you tell me 'the story begins five thousand years ago' or something despite my answer. Accurate?"

[member="Auburn Sioda"]

 

[Auburn Sioda]

Auburn watched, amused, as Darlyn poured whatever alcohol that was in his flask into his tea. She held her cup out to him with a smile. "Care to share? I've never had alcohol from off-world. Also, it begins almost 11,000 years ago. Much longer than a measly five thousand." Auburn snorted in amusement, before taking a sip of her tea, whether or not Darlyn spiked it with whiskey or not.

"Although, the really exciting stuff was a little over 400 years ago."

[member="Darlyn Excron"]

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"It burns a little on the way down." HE warned her, pouring a bit into her cup as well. "It's no Mando'ade Tihaar but it certainly does the trick." He took a sip along with her so as to gauge her reaction to the whiskey. When she spoke again, he couldn't help but chuckle. "That's kinda how most of the galaxy is on account of all that grimdark time after the Gulag plague. So why don't we skip to the fun stuff so I don't fall asleep in class?"

He liked her already. She really didn't stop his sense of humour in its tracks, and if anything she encouraged it. Certainly put [member="Auburn Sioda"] higher up than some others on his list. Mostly ahead of Jedi if he was being real honest, but probably somewhere behind Lil Yash. "Or don't, really up to you. I could do with catching up on some Z's."

 

[Auburn Sioda]

Auburn raised an eyebrow in curious amusement as Darlyn spoke of this "Mando'ade Tihaar" but, paused as she swallowed the spiked tea. "You weren't kidding about the burn. Seems like something my younger brother would like..." Auburn swirled the cup curiously as she thought about where to begin.

"Well, to begin with, our planet has been mostly ignored by the rest of the galaxy since time immorium, much less even know we, the Anam, exist. It was a surprise refugees from the plague even found our planet. As is our nature, we welcomed them with open arms... And suffered for it. The priesthood did what they could, but... millions died. As a result, people lost faith in their ability to lead us as a whole."

Auburn leaned back in her chair, frowning. Taking another sip of whiskey-tea, she sighed. "And that's where my great-great-grandfather comes in. He was an engineer, you see, and built our planetary defenses. He rallied the people together, and gave them hope that we would survive. He was a great leader, I wish I could have met him, honestly."

Auburn's eyes looked into the distance as she sighed. "He was crowned king by the people, and the priesthood lost all their political power with that action. Though, now I think they plan to use me as their rise to power, now that I'm to be the High Priestess..."

[member="Darlyn Excron"]