Sins Of The Father

[Alan]

Tracyn was a patient man when it came to this. He had waited so long, put it off in some cases. He lost sleep because of it. It had aged him terribly, from the loss of his hair to the darkening of his soul. He glanced around the bar, and then waved a hand, gesturing people out. The people in this particularly seedy part of Coruscant knew far better than to disturb him. It had been here that he stumbled out of and met Asha, and it would be here, that he reconciled with his son. His son. Cassus. The word caused a visible flinch of pain across his body as he leaned on the table. There was a glass of water for him, and a glass of water for Cassus, should he arrive.

Normally, Tracyn would have peeled any Sith apart and smashed their head through the table, but this was one of the few times that Tracyn was remotely calm and measured about his approach. His head perked up, and he stared at him for a while, passively. He gestured to the seat, and spoke without looking at him.

"Your mother would kill you if you stepped out of the house dressed like that, you know."

@[member="Cassus"]

 

[Lief]

It had been so long since Cassus had been permitted to leave the watchful eyes of his 'carers', little more than prison guards with a degree in science and the know-how to use it. He loathed them, and awaited the day he could slaughter them... But that was not today. He had received an anonymous message and, without waiting for permission, had set off in one of his Father's ships - manned by a droid - following the lure of the message.

When he ended up in a bar, however, he began to have doubts. His fists clenched into balls as he was overcome with a sudden desire... Anger flared within him, the wish to strike out following soon after, and it took all the boy could do in order to avoid lashing out at a bystander who was being ushered out by the bartender. Odd. There was only one figure left remaining, and he wandered closer, each step measured and controlled while his inner beast called out for him to... What? Cassus didn't understand himself or his own mind, his own reactions. Was this a byproduct of the Jedi and what they did to him? Perhaps Kaine would know...

The urge to return to his Father became too much and the boy turned away to go back to the door--- Before a voice broke through the air.

That caused him to turn and glare at the man, hand inches from the hilt at his belt. "You know nothing of my Mother" he spat.

@[member="Tracyn Ordo"]

 

[Alan]

"Make a move for the hilt and this conversation goes very south. Have a seat, Cassus. My name is Tracyn Ordo." He remained silent for a moment, before his hand slid from supporting his head to casually gesturing to the seat beside him.

"Cassus, you're not going to like what I have to say. I knew your mother, quite well. Cassus..." He paused, finding the right tone to use."Cassus, I'm your father." He said bluntly.

@[member="Cassus"]

 

[Lief]

@[member="Tracyn Ordo"]

He hated the sound of this man using his name, his jaw clenching and the muscles and veins in his neck tightening. What's more he was trying to command him... No one commanded him, unless it was Kaine, and even then it was purely because the man would put him back in the Cell if he didn't do as he was told. "No" he said, both fists clenching at this point. What a mistake to come here, Cassus, Kaine is going to be very angry... You better hope the Cell is all he has in mi-- SHUT UP!

The boy physically trembled as he fought to keep control, to keep the beast within him out of sight and out of mind... Yet the words spoken by Tracyn tipped him over the edge. He slammed both fists onto the table. "YOU KNOW NOTHING!" he impulsively roared, the triggers and blockages in his mind forcing him into the diabolical state which made him want to do the man before him serious damage. "I am NOTHING to you!"

 

[Alan]

Tracyn stood still for a moment, and then clucked his tongue, and exploded out of his seat. He was more experienced and far better trained than his son, and if he wanted to fight, it wouldn't end well for him. He stared down Cassus for a while, and then spoke.

"You ever wonder why you don't look like him, never knew your mother? I bet you don't. I know a lot more than you think, Cassus. And you'd be wise to calm down and not to exert yourself as a potential threat, because even you must be fully aware of who I am and what I do."Tracyn said through gritted teeth, his hands away from his lightsaber.

And that's what and should make Cassus Seren worry.

@[member="Cassus"]

 

[Lief]

Cassus did not even flinch to the sudden actions of the man claiming to be his Father, instead an intense staring-down session began while the boy continued to glare. "My mother is DEAD" he finally said, his hand clenching and unclenching against the duraplast table. And yet the next words which escaped this would-be-Jedi's mouth made him quell his anger. This was a dangerous foe, at least without Cassus having full training.

CRUSH HIM the voice within shouted, but for one the boy had full control. He would not listen to another word spoken against his Father and thus stepped back slowly. "I know the truth" Cassus finally said, "I do not need to hear lies from you, a Jedi, the likes of which stole me away. I don't know my mother because of YOU." Shaking his head he began to walk away, this was too much to handle while the procedure to sort out his mind was still fixing up his 'memories' and his temper.

@[member="Tracyn Ordo"]

 

[Alan]

@[member="Cassus"]

"Your mother was my wife, Cassus. Don't tell me that I'm lying. Here, you want proof?"Tracyn dug into his armor, reaching past the plates into the flightsuit underneath. He ripped a small photo, printed on paper. Expensive, but durable and didn't rely on anything but the printing process itself. He gently laid it on the table, staring at his son. He pointed to it."We had a small wedding ceremony. A lot of things were going on and we didn't get the chance to have a big ceremony. You don't believe me, that's fine. But believe this. I've got a video too, if you want to see that."Tracyn said, shrugging. He was attempting to hide the fact that infact, Asha's death was partly his fault. If he hadn't, well, hadn't. Just hadn't.

"You want to see what your father was like? What your 'father' did to me, your mother, and everyone she knew?"Tracyn said, coming face to face with his son. Cassus posed little threat, but he had no intention of fighting him or even raising his voice any longer. This was a time for talking.

@[member="Cassus"]

 

[Lief]

He shook his head but as the evidence mounted up against him the young boy began to crumple. His hand lifted to trace his own face, noting the resemblance between himself and the pair presented on the image before him, looking up to Tracyn. Even now he could not refute how alike they looked, and it scared him. "When did this happen?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He had to know how long Kaine had him or even how long Tracyn had held his son. Am I his son? He couldn't find a way to argue against it anymore.

Looking up at the man before him he shook his head, finding himself beginning to back away. "I... I can't..." Lifting his hands to his head he let out an excruciatingly pained sound as his mind tried to fight back against the knowledge he was learning, against the truth, Kaine's mental-probing having left him emotionally scarred against finding out the truth.

@[member="Tracyn Ordo"]

 

[Alan]

Tracyn stared down his son, looking down at the picture. He tapped it, and slid it closer to him. It was obviously, now his to keep. He stared at him for a while longer, before resuming his seat. He would let him go, and hopefully, he would come back. However, he would have to leave on a high note...as high of a note as you could have in this situation, at least."About a year ago."He said bluntly, staring at his son. His monster of a son, the twisted image of Sith alchemy. But still, his son.

"You can. And you have to."Tracyn said, standing up to face his son. He gently laid his hands on either of his arms, adjusting his jacket so it fitted better on him and looked better, more presentable."Not for me, not for your mother, not for anyone but yourself."Tracyn said gently, sighing after he spoke.

@[member="Cassus"]

 

[Lief]

Young Cassus did not know how to handle this sudden piece of information. "A year..? W-Why do I not remember anything? Why can't I remember life before then?" The musing was said aloud, yet it was more to himself until he turned a pleading gaze across to Tracyn. "If this is true where is she?" he said, stamping a finger down on the picture, directly over the face of Asha Seren.

When he came closer he slipped back, clutching at the image on the paper. Yet Tracyn's long stride brought him to the boy and when he straightened up the jacket of the jumpsuit he was wearing the boy looked confused. Was this how Fathers truly acted? Slowly the pain in his mind subsided and he stared up at Tracyn. What was he to believe?

@[member="Tracyn Ordo"]

 

[Alan]

"Kaine....changed you. You're supposed to be a kid. MY kid. Instead you're this fully grown man, with false memories. The force, can do terrible things to a person's mind, Cassus. And Kaine...did some truly awful things to yours."He paused when he asked about Asha, clearly still distraught about the loss of his last saving grace.

"Asha-Your mother..was killed in an explosion. I don't know who did it, but...I can make a good educated guess it was Kaine. He isn't your father. I am. I'm not perfect, but I'm not evil. I hope you understand what true evil is, now."He paused for a moment, trying to let him take it all in. It was harsh, but that's the way it needed to happen. Cassus was his son, his pride and joy. And nobody, especially Kaine, would hold him back any longer from making sure Cassus would have a good life, even if he had a rough start."I didn't want this, for you, Cassus. I was hoping you'd avoid all of this, Jedi, Sith...I was hoping you'd have a happy, quiet life. But now...now it seems like that's going to be hard to do, isn't it?"He said with a grim smile, his face holding back tears of pain and joy.


@[member="Cassus"]

 

[Lief]

If Tracyn had intended for Cassus to simply wander to his side like a stray dog that had been given a new home he was sadly mistaken. Instead the truth was very hard to hear and he found himself backing away from the man – his Father – with a shake of his head. He was not doubting the truth of it, no the look in his eyes showed that he knew this was serious. Instead he was trying to come to terms with it, and found himself wandering back to the entrance of the Cantina. “I can’t.” He whispered in the direction of Tracyn, before it got too much.

He stepped to the door and left before anything further could be said by the man who had been dubbed his Father…

@[member="Tracyn Ordo"]