ABOVE THYFERRA
HRNS GRACE OF THEED
Vizion's Assigned Quarters
Viz —
Forward the attachments from this message to Command and relief units, it'll give you an idea of what's happening down here. Treat it as top priority. Rik Perris' frequency is included for any follow-up questions.
Bri
When Vizion received Briana's
message from the surface, earlier, and saw the contents thereof, it had reached so deep as to choke his soul, with a degree of helplessness and fear he never experienced before. Though it was
the vile broadcast from one of the Sith that compounded it, made it all too easy for that fear to bloom into anger, overcoming him swiftly.
The writ of emotion on the mind guaranteed
he would never forget that Sith.
But because of the artifact's effects, he could neither hear nor feel Briana, and with the boarding action visited upon the Grace of Theed, nor could he leave to go to her. Nor could he rely upon the Force to calm and guide himself, in its absence. When the King suddenly pressed the artifact further with nary a stitch of discussion, enveloping the world below, that anger thusly burned, unthinking, in
Aurelian Veruna
's direction, but years of Jedi life and training stayed the Knight's hand. Instead, Trozky fled the bridge of the ship for the quarters he'd been assigned, to wrestle with
himself.
Briana had nearly left this mortal plane a year before, and he had felt her slip and hang on by a thread through their bond, then, but by the will of the Force, her final thoughts towards him did not become so final; nonetheless, it had frightened him, put him face to face with his inability to accept the loss of her. But this time,
this time, she was stuck down there with something she couldn't fight, a collection of viruses, some that could nigh-immediately warp her into a beast of metal and twisted flesh, from which there could be no return. Down there contending with
what manner of darkness beyond that, he couldn't say.
It was the curse of the prophecy that he could find no peace with such a finality; even now he could find no other explanation. The future might ever be in motion, but what he was, what that meant? Well, it was written in stone.
After the artifact was disabled, Vizion could be found curled up, face streaked with tears, and a mind weighed down with shame that he'd been unable to cope if anyone had cared to look. It was no small mercy that the leaders of the Republic survived without his assistance—a sensory sweep while regaining his bearings told him as much—but that was a degree of risk that was unacceptable in the face of what had invited itself aboard. He had felt the presence of that witch, making it abundantly clear where he should have been, before the wretched woman made her exit.
He pushed himself up to sit, groaning, working against the desolate mood was in. His gaze and senses travelled around the room out of habit, despite knowing he had locked the door, thoughts swimming with hesitance over whether to reach out and seek Briana, uncertain about what he might… or might not find at the other end. But when his field of vision landed on his datapad, and he saw the blinking light of notification, he reached for the device and awoke the screen to find that there was a message from her. The sight of it, and its initial words started to unburden him of the worst outcomes.
When he opened the message, and started to read it, the relief spread throughout him...
Hey, I hope you're all right,
I've been worried about you ever since you sent out that message about the Force on Thyferra and then went radio silent afterwards. What happened up there? Were you hurt? At least tell me you're okay and what's going on. In more than a single sentence, preferably. We haven't really spoken since I left with the Vanguard, and the few times we have, you've seemed...distant. I told you I missed you, and you didn't even answer.
I know the circumstances are less than ideal right now... but is everything okay between us?
...but as he came to the end of the message, the relief slowed. Doubt started to gnaw. What could he even say at this distance, without tone and emotion to back it? I wouldn't be right to not explain what had happened to him directly, and that wasn't anything he wanted to drag out in writing, where there would be a record. And it was simply too much, and he was uncertain over how much to divulge, and what impact that might have.
He needed more time to think it through.
But he had to respond, and at least alleviate one concern. So Vizion went about putting together a reply:
Hey.
I don't know if I can find the words that convey just how immensely glad I am that you're okay.
I'm not hurt, but I'd rather not... I don't want to do this over messages, Bri. That's not what you deserve. You mean too much to me.
Please come home.
He sent it off, and lowered the datapad onto his lap, feeling the weight of truth that he had been carrying for so long. The time and patience he poured into to being with her, that went beyond mere feeling, and how that tied into what he'd scarcely been able to voice for years.
The
fear that drove him to make certain she remained on the path of Light.
