Private Strands

[Allyson Locke]

//: Coruscant //:
//: Zaavik Perl //:

​

Silence lingered in the Coruscant apartment. The sound of boxes moving and furniture being set up had stopped. Allyson leaned against her kitchen counter and stared at an old photo. Physical images such as the one she held were rare, and the struggle it had gone through to survive the countless dangers showed on the edges. Her fingers could feel the fragility of the image, yet despite that, it survived. ​

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The Corellian never had much to hold on to. Nothing to really anchor her to life outside of her missions and gigs. She was continually floating from one job to the next, one persona to another, and never found footing anywhere. Like Kiribi with Jyoti, she had places, but even there, she was a visitor - she didn’t belong. Emerald eyes peered back at the old photo; a young Zaavik stared back at her along with a rare real smile from herself. She was reluctant to take him on as a student - chaos, she even ran from him when he needed her the most. Allyson never felt worthy of teaching anyone anything, but someone out there did. ​

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Zaavik taught her something that no one had been able to do, and she found herself caring more and more about his well being. He was her wake up call and her anchor. Shoving the photo back into her jacket, she grabbed the letter that announced the Zeltron’s knighting that she had missed while in captivity after Korriban, then pushed that as well into her coat. Pausing, she stopped at the door, grabbed the cloth eyepatch, and placed it over her empty eye. ​

​

A message was sent and coordinates requesting the Knight’s time on Corellia.​

//: Corellia //:
//: Sahsahlah Mountains //:
//: Temple de Uhl Verta //:

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There were several places to meet on Corellia, but none held the wonder like the Sahsahlah Mountains. This was the Corellian’s favorite place on the planet, one that she would come to often when she was feeling lost. Something about the way the electromagnetic interference in the area vibrated and stimulated the Mechu-Deru specialist. She practiced and trained to control the unnatural waves of energy while being wholly isolated from her thoughts. ​

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It was a place she had never shown Zaavik, but she felt it was finally time to share the entirety of her world with the Zeltron. ​

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A relaxed and calming breeze blew through the grassland as she stood just on the edge of the cracked hillside. Eyes stared at the temple that was built on the floating mountain structure. If anything, Allyson saw this palace as a sanctuary, one that she had protected with all her life. Now, she would share it with someone who she trusted.​

 

[Zaavik Perl]

Inertial compensators fired with a resounding boom as Zaavik's ship exited the egress of hyperspace onto the fringes of the Corellia System. Navterminal display zoomed in on the Corellian Sector, and then to the system itself, displaying a map made of crude white lines on an otherwise black screen. Colored blips with small numberplates indicated other ships, with dotted lines designating 'airspace' clearance for each. He flipped a switch on the overhead console to activate sublight engines and pressed forward on the yoke to set course for Corellia.

After a few minutes, two quick chimes sounded from the commsystem, alerting him of a traffic station hailing. Zaavik fished the SIA badge from his pocket and held it up before the projected as he hit a button to accept the hail. A projection of a short, fat, Corellian man in his late twenties sparked to life.

His deep, throaty voice sent over the commwaves. "This is sector traff- Oh, hey Zaavik."

"Khasaan'l, Rowan," Zaavik greeted.

"SIA business?"

"Nope."

"Jedi business?"

"Nah, personal. Nothing serious."

Rowan raised a brow, his pudgy cheeks tightening. "Alright. Lemme run your numbers and you're clear."

"Thanks, Rowan. Take it easy."

"You too, kid."

Corellia slowly grew larger beyond the transparisteel viewport. Terminal HUD beeped, displaying a message about entering the planet's gravity well. Another high-pitched tone announced the activation of atmospheric measures as the ship automatically prepared to descend. A subtle vibration took over the cockpit as empty vacuum became air resistance. The Planet's image beyond the cockpit became pure white as he descended through clouds. Moments later, greens and blues returned as he soared out of the cumulus clusters.

Repulsorengines screamed as he flew over a cityscape. A nudge of the yoke and he arced toward mountains as the cityscape disappeared. Altitude decreased every few minutes as he neared the coordinates. Due to the electromagnetic interference, he touched down several kilometers beyond to avoid a rough landing. The remainder of the distance was covered with a brisk, leisurely hike through the hills and grasslands.

Zaavik skulked up alongside Allyson, standing in silence and matching her gaze over the temple. Getting this close without giving himself away to his former Master was a testament to his new title. Although, one would be hard-pressed to get him to admit he deserved it. "That place looks incredible," he broke the silence and announced his presence by finally speaking.

He looked over, a frown creeping out as he saw the patch over her eye. Regard strayed back to the temple to avoid making it too obvious that he was staring at the new blemish. "Is this what you wanted to show me?"

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Corellia //:
//: Zaavik Perl //:

A thin smirk spread across the Corellian’s face as she could feel her former Padawan draw near. If she didn’t have the bond they shared, he would have surprised her. Knowing this, Allyson’s felt at ease. There was something she had done right with her life. It made up for all her shortcomings and failures, even the ones that kept her awake at night. A nod answered his question. ​

“Yeah. After Corellia broke during the Netherworld crisis, the landscape transformed and eventually healed. I kind of like to think that Corellia is kind of like us.” She paused and looked over at her former Padawan. He had grown and come so far from what he was when they first had met. “When I took you on as my Padawan, I was unsure of myself - still trying to figure out why you agreed to it, but we worked.” Allyson shrugged as her attention returned to the floating landscape. ​

“We had our ups and downs - both of us broke, crashed into each other, and eventually made up. I’ve always worked alone, easier that way, really. All you have to worry about is your own safety - if you get caught, you’re the only one suffering. You die, and that’s it. You’ve taught me that there’s more to that - when I left you after your accident. I was terrified to know that I failed to protect you.” ​

Allyson shrugged slightly and gave him a cheeky grin. “But I should have known it would take a lot more than faulty floorboards and some rakghouls to kill you. I don’t trust many people, Zaavik. Honestly, I could probably count them on an Arkanian's hand and still have left over fingers.” Allyson felt herself rambling and cleared her throat to get herself to the point. ​

“What I’m trying to say is - I was lucky to have you as a Padawan; you taught me just as much as I could have taught you. You deserve everything that you’ve accomplished and more. Don’t let anyone or yourself tell you otherwise.” ​

She nudged him slightly as she laughed. “I didn’t get to um,” she paused and looked at the ground for a second, contemplating. “I don’t have any kids - so guess you’re the closest thing to it.” ​

“I’m proud of you, Zaavik. So proud of you and what you’ve become. If anything ever happens to me, just know that you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.”​