Private Reunion Over Drinks

[NPC Treasury]

Kay's company was getting some good business. Who knew that with the changes in the political climate, her little tea company would get good business? It was all part and parcel of having a commodity in food and drink. However her menu was more unique than most. Perhaps that was the draw.

Altiria was where she was based nowadays, on the outskirts of the known Galaxy, situated between nothing and not in any place desired by any of the super powers. It was perfect. There was where she could hide, grieve and live in peace. Yet a part of her wanted to be back in the thick of things, despite the pains it caused. It was the part of her that always felt the need to help others.

Still, she hung back.

Kay busied herself in her shop, setting out freshly baked goods, with flour on her apron and her left cheek. Her hair was tied back, with some strands having escaped. The atmosphere was cozy, a fire lit in the fireplace, candles lit on the tables and the aromas of various herbs and teas hung in the air. And it was quiet. No music was playing. Not at the start of the day, at least.

Connor Harrison

 

[Connor Harrison]

Altiria was the next logical place to stop for fuel - forgetting to top up on
Teptixii was his own fault. Too busy reading onboard his Dynasty Class Freighter II to check the ship over; wasn't that what droids were for?

A small R5 unit rested in the small lounge bay of his ship. Various drawings, maps and notes were stuck up on the walls, charting a year long voyage across the galaxy that Connor was now drawing to a close. He had stayed away from politics and the events of the galaxy for a reason, and that reason was to help him move forward from all the nightmares of his past.

Fallen friends, dangerous enemies, corrupted Orders and boring politics. So much of what once made the galaxy great was gone, and staying away from most of humanity for 14 months had proven to be enlightening. He had visited worlds he had never seen, read books of both fact and fiction and found solace with his path.

Clipping his tatty red cowl around his neck covering his navy blue tunic, Connor swept his fringe back and walked down the loading ramp with a clunk of brown boots on metal. The R5 would monitor the security system that would allow the former Silver Jedi Master to load up on fuel at the station and take in refreshment.

From here, it was all the way down the Unknown Regions, heading South towards the Outer Planets Alliance, a group he had received a transmission from months ago; only now he had read it and activated the invitation to find them. Sure, it was a general introduction holomessage, but his name was on their records, and starting anew wouldn't be a bad thing now he was in action.

He stood outside an outlet called the Sphaera Tea Shoppe, looking rustic and elegant in style, design and character. It seemed quiet enough, and a place to have a drink, a read of his maps, and then move on once the ship was ready without talking to anyone. The area seemed to be part of a small industrial unit, with warehouses and storage facilities dotted around. A few small ships passed over, and a small mix of beings walked around with no sense of urgency or motivation. It seemed peaceful and isolated.

Connor looked up at the inviting lights of the tea house and walked inside, taking in the cosy layout as he walked lazily inside.

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

Little bells that hung on the inside of the doorway were activated as the door opened. Kay didn't look up as she carefully layered the Boba Bon Bons into a curved pyramid. "I'll be with you in a second." Her voice was easily heard among the silence of the shoppe.

Little wooden tables dotted the center, while various boxes of teas lined the shelves behind the counter where she stood. Biscuits, cookies and other baked goods were on display behind glass cases that protected them until purchase. Kettles were already boiling water, tea cups, saucers, spoons, plates and trays were piled clean in waiting on a second counter to her left.

It wasn't until she was nearly finished with her bon bon pyramid that she looked up and saw that it was Connor Harrison that had walked into her shoppe. Kay paused, holding onto the sweet treat in mid air. "Connor?"She was both surprised and in disbelief. A part of her wanted to hide, embarrassed of how much she had fallen. Yet another part of her wanted to run to him and hold him tightly. It had been a long time since she had seen him, too much misery had happened, and he had a great way of lightening her mood.

"Could I...get you anything?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

He had seen the Queen - former Queen - before she had seen him, and thankfully he had never let his personal grooming or hygiene suffer while travelling. This hadn't been a journey to turn into a straggly haired hermit, no. This had been a journey of becoming himself again, and here he was, in a cosy tea shop facing a woman he had known across many years, in many walks of life. But what fate had thrown them together once more? The first face to greet him in over a year was one he know so well.

Connor let out a grin, glancing to her pyramid of treats.

"You could get me a blue milk if you have some, please?"

The last time Connor was in the company of the Queen of Commenor, which evidently had become something of the past, they were trying to figure out their place on a camping trip and self-soothe and self-heal troubles. It was Connor's own instability that led him to leave during the night, without saying a word, and only leaving a note that he would be back soon.

"Fourteen months is a long time to wait, but I did say I'd be back."

There were...so many questions from this very meeting. What had happened to her? Where was her royal line? Why did she feel so broken?

He stood, with a neutral smile, to wait for the drink and gauge her response.

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

Blue milk. That was Connor Harrison 's staple drink, much like Sapir tea was her own. Kay gave him a small nod and finished up her pyramid, carefully placing the cover over top. She wiped her hands on her apron and then approached the cooler, gathering a glass along the way to get him his drink.

Once poured, she picked up a napkin on her way to him and walked around the counter to where he stood, holding the glass out to him while she met his gaze. The many months since they had seen eachother felt like a lifetime, but then again so much had happened to her since then.

"You look well. I trust your journey's did you good? Did you find what you were looking for?" Kay wasn't mad that he had left. She had been known to disappear from people as well, especially when things got emotionally complicated.

 

[Connor Harrison]

While Kay got his drink, Connor tapped his fingers gently on the counter waiting, a little nervous and a little awkward. While he was happy to see a familiar face, was he ready to see such a face so soon? He had enjoyed his isolation and journey away from others, and nobody knew him during that time - no opinion, no judgement, no expectation. Just him.

The blue milk was chilled on a slightly ice-cold glass, and he took it, cold to the touch. He took a sip. Never failed to disappoint.

"Thank you." Connor gauged her desire to talk. "So how long have you been here? Is this a full time investment or a sideline hobby?"

What he really wanted to ask was why the hell was a Queen of Commenor serving tea and cake on a backward shipping planet, and why did her aura feel so bleak? What had happened?

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

Kay merely smirked as Connor Harrison ignored her own questions and went straight to his own. Perhaps finding her here came as too much of a surprise for him to focus on himself.

She walked back behind the counter and began preparing herself a cup of Sapir tea while she spoke. "A series of unfortunate events. The monarchy was abolished, I was thrown in jail, rescued, plopped onto another seat of power only for it to be taken through torture. I lost my ship, my staff, everything." She poured the hot water into her cup and then gestured for Connor to join her at one of the tables. Kay sat down, cupping the mug in her hand as she waited for the leaves to steep. "Veiere was slain and I suffered major PTSD for a while. The only solice that I have is that my children are doing well, each in different sectors of the Galaxy."

Kay merely shrugged her shoulders. "I'm safe here. And who better to sell tea than me?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor held the cold glass and listened to the former Queen sum up everything in a few seconds, and his brow knotted at her painful story. As she moved to one of the tables, he joined her, sweeping his cowl over gently and perching on the edge of a wooden chair.

They were by a wall, with a candle between them and a lantern fixed beside them, one of a few lining the building to give off a soft, warm glow.

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

And he was, for everything. For losing her position as Queen, for the pain she had gone through and the people who set out to hurt her. And Veiere? He was a good man from what he remembered.

His thumb brushed the lip of his glass and he flowed with a longer sip this time, processing her news.

"I am glad you have solace with your children, and I am sure they are going to be just fine with strong genes.

A patron coughed in the corner of the room, rustling a paper she was reading.

"For what it's worth, my time away was far less...eventful. If that's the right word. I had so many demons, so many strings holding me this way and that. It was time to cut them. Old names from the past, my standings with other factions...a self cleanse. And it worked. Too well, in fact, because now I feel like I'm in a world I don't recognise anymore. It can be good and bad to hide away from events."

He took another drink and smacked his lips gently.

"Tell me., Kay, do you live and work here or are you running a little empire of your own across the stars?"

He tried to hide the little hesitation at calling her Kay. It didn't seem right when he had always called her Queen, or Your Highness, or Lady....now, just...Kay.

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

Kay glanced down at her cup as Connor Harrison gave her his sympathy. Those that found her tended to do that. Yet none of it was their fault. It was all hers alone. She had a habit of drawing in trouble like a magnet.

But nowadays trouble and everything else stayed away.

She sipped her tea as he spoke of what he had been up too, nodding her head. Cutting ties...Kay was certainly one of those ties to him. But was she anymore? More than likely she wasn't a string to anyone but her children. And they worried about her living so far away from everything all by herself. Yet for Kay; it meant that she was safer.

"I don't know what's going on out there either..."

To his questions on her own life at this moment, she gestured to the shoppe as a whole. "This is my life these days. I have a small bedroom upstairs. A far cry from palaces and estates, but those are beyond my reach. And it's not my place anymore." She was just a has-been. Partly the reason that trouble didn't come for her anymore was in that there was no need for it. She was a threat to no one, nor did she have anything that anyone wanted.

Besides tea...

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor nodded as he looked around at her world now, a far cry indeed from the world he once knew her in. She still sounded as if this was a choice not made by her alone. There were many questions to ask, but was now the right time after being away so long? To just appear and interrogate?

"What happened on Commenor? I mean, I remember the alliances that were there and...is there another ruling it now?"

Commenor had been a source of interest for many during his time with the Silver Jedi Order, and he knew parties from the likes of the First Order and the Galactic Republic had wanted a part of Kay's arena for their own gain. Had they succeeded?

"Forgive me asking. I just feel I have so much to catch up with, especially you here telling me this! I never expected to see you anywhere else but on a throne ruling a system." He paused. "Are you in trouble?"

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

Kay nodded a little in regards to Commenor. There was sadness in her eyes as she spoke, which she felt, so she averted her gaze from Connor Harrison 's own. "Commenor is fine, under the watch of the Silvers according to Veiere. Darlyn is President there now. I was removed by loyalists to the Elders that ruled back when I was a Senator. After they discovered what Praz had me do to come to power there, they had me arrested and sent to Purgatory. For a time they even faked my death to get people off their trail." She sipped her tea. "I won't go back there. I don't even touch the family fortune gained from our rule there. It's just...not right. My son looks after it all now."

As for being in trouble? Kay shook her head a little. "I'm not in any trouble as far as I am aware. For the most part I've stayed here. Some of my products are a little....unorthadox. But that's only in case an enemy shows up and I can use my products to subdue them." She had one tea that could remove one's connection to the Force for a time, and another to gain her influence over the drinker. She even had one that contained a lethal virus, as well as one that had the cure.

"Most don't even know that I'm here. Most don't care. And that's probably a good thing."

 

[Connor Harrison]

It sounded like the former Queen had been through enough bad experiences to put her off politics for good. Connor never really found it easy to trust politicians anyway.

"So. The Silvers got their prize it seems. Well, for what it's worth I think Commenor is in good hands, surrounded by people who will honour all you have done ."

Still, it wasn't much consolation for losing everything in the process. It was clear this was a chapter in her life that had been closed. At one time, Connor Harrison would have made her fight to take back what was hers, to confront those who tried to undermine her and stand tall. Now, he didn't know half of what had gone on or who to call on, so he was as much alone as she.

It was time to change the subject; this was a chance meeting, not a planned interrogation.

"Look. How about you let me try one of your little treats. I could do with a sweet treat." He leant into his pouch and pulled out a credit, laying it down. "Paying my way of course."

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

Kay nodded in agreement. Connor Harrison was right. Commenor was in good hands. She just worried in case one of the Silver's enemies went and attacked it in order to try to break their territory. Commenor was mostly safe while under hers and Veiere's care. They worked hard at making their territory a safe haven from war. And for many years it worked.

But nothing lasts forever....

Connor's request for a treat broke her of her thoughts. She offered him a small smile as she got to her feet, placing her cup down and then gently pushing his credit chip towards him. "It's on the house. I don't often have friends drop by, so it's not as though it'll cut into my profits." And besides, the way she figured it, her friends would hesitate to drop by again if she charged them for the privlege.

Kay walked over to the counter and gathered a couple of pieces of Lightside Fudge, as well as Boba Bon Bons, placing them on a little plate before returning to the table. "How long will you be staying on Altiria? I have some extra rooms upstairs if you need one."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor had a rampant sweet tooth - he always had - and this array of sweet treats was a welcome sight. He drank some more of the blue milk while Kay busied herself. He looked at the chip, and took it back, knowing full well he would leave it on the counter when she wasn't paying him attention.

"I have no idea to be honest. I was going to wait until my ship was fuelled and then head off. I'm on no timetable, but I'm just heading down the South East arm. I want to look at this Outer Planets Alliance, or whatever it's called. Taking up First Order space, if my research is correct? Call me curious."

As the delicious looking treats were placed down, Connor smiled and went for a small piece of the fudge that broke of smoothly in his hand.

"I just want to see what has become of a galaxy I don't recognise anymore."

He ate the fudge, looking at the piece in his hand. The small approving noise was a good sign, followed by the nod.

"Good stuff!" He put the half-eaten piece down. "I will stay, if you have the room and it's no trouble. It would be good to sleep well for a night. Refresh well, and then off in the morning. Tomorrow, some time."

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

Kay nodded. She knew about OPA. "Outer Planets Alliance is the Outer Rim Coalition. All one and the same. I learned that from my son as he helped them out there. Now he's returned to Silver space to help out there. But that's about the extent of my knowledge. I don't have a means of travel anymore." Her ship The Free Lady was floating in space somewhere in the Core. No doubt it was already taken by someone and either refitted or taken apart for scraps.

She watched Connor Harrison eat the fudge, it's effects making one selfless and overall feeling good. It didn't surprise her that he liked it as most people did. "It's no trouble at all. The rooms are much smaller than the ones at the Palace, but at least the beds are comfortable. I made sure of that." Kay took up her tea once more and had a sip. There was still an awkwardness between them, but not so much on her part. It was as though he was holding back something. "We could have dinner. I can cook up a bantha steak for you for old time's sake."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Dinner sounded good. It had been...days since he had eaten a good meal, and weeks since anything made for him. The fudge would wait, there was no need to spoil his appetite. Connor gave a confirming nod.

"I would really appreciate that. If it's no trouble?"

He stood up, sliding out from the chair and tapped his fingers on the wooden table.

"Let me go and check the ship and lock it up, and I'll be back." He gave her a smile. "It means a lot to see you again, and that you're doing well."

It seemed she had links to the OPA and Silvers still, so at least that was something to go on. But for now the politics he hated would wait - he had no agenda, no meetings, no rendezvous to make and so he had all the time needed.

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

"No trouble at all. I don't mind." Truth was that she wanted to do it. Kay has had so little company these last few years that she worried that she was nothing more than an afterthought, or dust in the wind. It was kind of sad, really. Outside of her children, she was sure to be forgotten....

Kay nodded as Connor Harrison took his leave. "Sure thing. It's not like I'm going anywhere. See you when you get back." She gave him a small smile in return, but really she didn't feel as though she was at all well. In truth she felt as though she was just scraping out an existence to keep herself occupied and alive for her children's sake. If it weren't for them she'd of just let herself waste away somewhere. Or gone on a suicide mission to seek revenge against those that harmed her.

Yet there was a chance that her children possibly needed her in the future. So she kept herself alive and out of trouble.

 

[Connor Harrison]

The light was fading, but there was plenty of illumination around the estate where his ship was. Floodlights shone down on the ships that were grounded, and the small businesses that were open had their own welcoming glow. Connor walked to his craft and lowered the loading ramp with a flip of the toggle in his hand, plucked from his belt a moment ago. The ramp hissed down for Connor to step in and set up the R5 unit to monitor the ship and activate the security lockdown. He unclipped his cowl and laid it out on the holomap reader, it's tatty edges draping over the side and down to the floor.

His boots clunked back down the metal ramp and out again, closing it behind him. The fueling was done, and no doubt he would be charged for the premature stay, but it would be worth it and nothing he couldn't afford for a good nights rest.

The Master ran his hand through his fringe and walked inside, now in just the navy blue tunic and three brown belts wrapped around his waist. No lightsaber at his side - he hadn't carried one with him for months. Well, he carried one in the ship, but not on his person. There was no need for such a weapon. Not yet.

Returning inside, Connor saw Kay behind the counter again.

"All fuelled and set for the journey. Should be ok until morning. Thank you again."

He just wanted to add "your Highness" but cut himself off. It was a habit that didn't feel right NOT doing so.

"I really do appreciate this. I can't beleive this side of the galaxy your face is the first friendly face I've seen in over a year. The Force does work in mysterious ways."

Connor rested against a nearby table as he faced the counter and folded his arms.

NPC Treasury

 

[NPC Treasury]

While Connor Harrison was out tending to his ship, Kay finished up with her work. She finished with the customers that were still inside of the shoppe, having idle chit chat and getting their purchases taken care of.

Then it was off to her room where she got herself changed into something a little nicer, a blouse and some slacks. It was about as dressy as she could get these days. Kay even did up her hair, braiding it and wrapping the braids around her head so that they encircled it like a crown.

Soon she was back downstairs behind the counter, getting everything set for tomorrow. Dinner was to be cooked in her kitchen at the back. Connor walked in soon after. She listened to him, with her back turned towards him. "The Force? Well I...don't think it really brought you here. It was just a luck of the draw really. You needed fuel and...it was just by chance that I was here." Did she really feel the words that she spoke? Not really. Yet the grieving part of her did.

Kay turned around to face him after a moment's pause. "It's not often that I get company. So I aim to please. Kitchen's this way." She gestured for him to follow her to the back. Behind the door was the kitchen. It was spacious but clearly used mostly for the production of teas and baked goods. Not really for any proper meals. Yet she made do where she had to.

"Once we've finished eating, I can show you to your room. You'll probably sleep well with a full belly."

 

[Connor Harrison]

"Trust me," Connor said as he followed Kay, "things like this do not just happen for a reason. In all the stops across all the stars and systems, I arrive here, and of all the tea rooms and former Queens of Commenor to greet me, it's you."

He shook his head and chuckled a little, enjoying the sights and smells around him that he hadn't experienced for so long. Fresh goods, sweets and rich mixtures and warm drinks that wafted under his nose. The kitchen felt - and smelt - alive, and it reminded him of better days.

"You must tell me then all about where this tea venture came from. I know you liked tea, but to make a business....actually, don't worry, I've answered my own question. Good job you I say. There's always room for more tea rooms to refuel the galaxy."

Connor followed through, looking around at the simple but spacious areas for prep, baking, cooking and serving. His eyes danced across the various strainers and pots, glasses and rows of bottles, pouches and packs lined up and stored high up. Small plants that were growing aromatic leaves and berries hung from above to the rear.

He stopped and leaned on a worktop.

"I have to ask. What happened to Veiere? He was a good man. A strong, decent man. I liked him. I don't think we ever got the chance to develop a good understanding and friendship sadly."

NPC Treasury