Voice of Naboo
Quinn Varanin
Aurelian Veruna
So, it is the King.
Of all the timing the Gods could have chosen.
The thought struck Sibylla with an almost incredulous rush of conflicting emotion. Relief at seeing Aurelian and Elian alive collided with the shock and alarm of seeing them there, all of it swallowed almost immediately by the adrenaline of simply trying to survive the chaos and horror surrounding them.
Honestly, she was certain her blood pressure was not going to be able to take any more when Aurelian had called out and held his blaster rifle at Quinn. Thank goodness he lowered his weapon, because otherwise Sibylla was certain things could have ended terribly -- and in the wake of seeing the horrifying power the Force could be used for, a fear of Quinn still lingered.
She could no longer hide what she knew about the Queen of Eshan, and no one could misinterpret what she was capable of doing. There was no wiping the image of what Quinn had been yanking out of what remained of those infected with the blight. The fear of that being done to Aurelian, Elian, and the Abrantes' forces was very real in that moment.
Thank Shiraya that didn't actually happen.
The thundering of her heart seemed to echo in the shells of her ears as Quinn tossed an item toward her, prompting Sibylla to lift her empty hand to catch the small device, her fingers closing around it as Quinn explained what it would do. For a moment, she recalled what Quinn had done on Moorja, where the blonde had also given her a way to pass through the Sith blockade. One chance to get beyond the fleet without being fired upon.
The brunette stared down at the disc, then up at Quinn again.
Even now. Even after everything they had said to one another Quinn was still making certain she could get home. In the next second, she tightened her curled her fingers around it.
"Thank you." There was nothing else to say-- not about the blockade, or the order Quinn refused to rescind, or the thousands of lives caught somewhere between them.
Certainly not about whatever madness had possessed Aurelian to point a rifle at a Sith Dark Councilor surrounded by warbeasts and apparently decide that today was an excellent day to test whether she could kill him faster than he could pull a trigger.
That particular conversation could wait. Then Sibylla heard Quinn's quiet words:
"I tried."
Sibylla drew still. Then came Quinn's admission that she had wanted to be good and stand in the light, had thought that if she had chosen differently enough times she just might not be the monster or the villian and be someone else.
Perhaps in another lifetime.
And despite it all, an ache bloomed within Sibylla's chest. Because in that instant she saw how Ace had wanted that too. Had struggled with it.
And perhaps the cruelest part of it all, because Sibylla believed her.
"I know." Sibylla softly replied, holding Quinn's gaze for another heartbeat.
"I know you did." But that did not absolve her. It did not make the extermination order disappear or return the dead to life, nor did it cleanse the bacta, rebuild the factories, undo the bombardment, or restore whatever remained of Thyferra beneath the smoke. And while Quinn might not have caused all of those actions, she had made the extermination order clear.
Understanding someone did not mean simply accepting everything they chose -- it was a lesson Sibylla was learning all too painfully well.
Part of her wanted to say something, but nothing came. Perhaps nothing should. They were already in a chaotic scenario and the sound of distant blaster fire and klaxons reminded them they were in an active battlefield. So instead, Sibylla merely inclined her head.
"Goodbye, Quinn."
Then she watched her go, the warbeast carrying the Echani through smoke and ruin until metal, ash, and distance swallowed her from sight.
Only then did Sibylla turn and, for a second her breath caught. There Aurelian stood, his armor scored and bloody, tangled, sweaty locks of hair sticking to his face, but alive. And for the first time since the sky over Thyferra had begun to burn, Sibylla felt the tears prick her eyes, and in the next instant, she crossed the distance between them.
And everything she had been holding together finally cracked as she stepped into him.
Arms wrapped around Aurelian, her grimy face disappearing against scorched armor as a shuddering breath escaped her. She did not care about the Kingsguard watching. She did not care about the Abrantes security detail, the smoke, the blood smeared across her clothes, or whatever remained of the careful appearance she had arrived on Thyferra wearing.
He was here, and they were alive. There wasn't any time for anything more.
Behind Aurelian stood those who had followed their King through hell to find her. Behind Sibylla, somewhere beyond the smoke, Quinn was returning to hers.
You have to look out for yours, and I have to look out for mine.
Perhaps those words would haunt Sibylla later but for now they were frighteningly simple -- they had to survive.
Another impact shook the plaza hard enough to send debris raining from the shattered buildings around them. So Sibylla tightened her grip on Aurelian's hand and cast her toward the smoke choked sky.
"Come on."
She pulled Aurelian with her toward the others.
"We are getting our people out of here."
~ Exit Thread ~
