Private The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

[John Locke]

Location: Diner on Corellia
Wearing: x
Tagging: Allyson Locke
​

He'd dined with kings and presidents, been invited to the most exclusive of restaurants and sat at the chef's table. The most classy and upper-class of establishments, it was the expectations of his position in society, more so now that he had emerged as one of the leaders of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. There was a pressure to act a certain way, dress a certain way, visit the right ships and restaurants. How scandalized would his 'peers' be if they could see him right now?

It wasn't a truth he hid, just one that he didn't broadcast, but John hadn't grown up in the circles he moved in now, not even close to it. He'd grown up in one of the worker families that were the backbone of any planets economy. His mother had taught at the local school, his father had been a clerk at a business. They didn't make a lot, just about enough to pay their bills and feed their family. They hadn't been able to go on holiday, hadn't been able to afford the luxuries he took for granted these days. It was funny, back then it wouldn't have even crossed his mind, all he'd cared about was what scrap he could scrounge and if he could convince old man Hennessy to let him use the workshop.

Fingers tightened around the mug of Caf John was cradling between his fingers, the rich aroma of the drink wafting up as he glanced out of the window. Times might have moved on, the people outside the window might not be the same but everything else about them was. The same stories, the same look on people's faces. He could almost read there thoughts from where he sat, the worries and carefree expressions mixed in the crowd, children weaving through the press, adults on their way to work and back. The same shops, the same diner where he'd dragged his parents as much as possible with the same smells and the same burger on the menu.

It was really true.

The more things change, the more they stayed the same.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Home.

Allyson Locke had finally come home after all this time. It was painful to think of this place, even after everything to bring Corellia back to what she was - she still wasn’t the same. Slinging her back over her shoulder, the native Corellian winced slightly and exhaled the pain that surged through her body out. Maybe she was getting old, but she didn’t remember ever taking this long to heal up. Still, her torso and most of her body bandaged was a thing, thank god for Jedi healers or she’d be pretty much dead.

Walking carefully, she entered the diner, and a hand adjusted the eyepatch she wore over her left eye. The damn thing was itchy, but she didn’t dare scratch knowing that anything could cause it to scar up. Maybe after everything heals, she could get some treatments to make sure she didn’t look horrendous. Allyson chuckled after seeing the carefully groomed head of her cousin, a smile cracked along her face. She moved towards the table he was seated at and came up behind him. A hand ruffled his hair as she carefully took her seat - doing her best not to make any winces as she did so.

Unlike John, her family had been better off. Her father was an engineer for the Corellian military, and her mother was able to stay at home to take care of her and her brother. After the catastrophe, everyone was gone. Having lived in the central city all of her life, her parents had made a home there. It also made them a huge target. Clearing her throat, Allyson did her best not to think about her parents or her brother; they made coming to Corellia hard, primarily because of the last time she had seen them.

John, of course, from what she knew didn’t know that fine detail of her life. Though, their mothers were known to gossip.

“Hey Johnny, - looking pretty snazzy nowadays. How have you been?” The contrast in their lives was so distinct. John had become a businessman, and Allyson, a smuggler, turned Jedi and Secret Agent. She wore her typical white v-neck shirt and the prestigious First Class Corellian Bloodstripes - they marked her a war hero, and the eyes that starred in the diner made it more visible. Not many lived after doing what they did to earn First Class, yet here she was bandaged and still smiling.

John Locke

 

[John Locke]

For a moment, a brief instant of time, it was like John was a kid again, waiting in the diner to meet his cousin to meet him. Away from the prying eyes of their families, the expectations and demands of parents and cousins. A chance for the two of them to just run through the streets, a chance to just enjoy being themselves. Even back then she'd made it a habit to reach out to ruffle his hair. She'd known how much it annoyed him and had done it anyway. It was a childhood habit by now, as was the almost immediate shake of his head, fingers sweeping up to run through his hair, straightening the mess she'd left behind, or trying to at least. It was so familiar a gesture, a call back to their childhood that he couldn't help but laugh as he twisted around to grin at her, a laugh spilling from his lips.

"Come on, you know I..."

The words died on his lips, the laughter dying stillborn.

The woman who settled into the seat across from him looked like the cousin from his memory. Kinda.

"The eyepatch is new, pretty bold fashion statement there Ally. Halloween's still a few months away, little early to be out trick or treating."

John had faced down the most powerful businessmen in the galaxy, stood toe to toe with Jedi and Sith and had stood unbending when the combined fleets of the Mandalorian Empire were bearing down on him. He'd stood unflinching in the face of certain death yet the sight of his cousin wrapped up in bandages was enough to cause him to stop, to stutter.

Their lives had always been so different, from the get-go they'd danced off in different directions, her into the military, him into business. He'd found his way into combat eventually leading fleets. But he'd never really experienced the reality of military life. Not in the same way Allyson had. Even know, he might had stood at the peak of one of the most powerful nations in the galaxy, with a vast military at his call...but he wasn't really a part of it.

The truth was he'd always been jealous of his cousin, of her ability to fit in. Even here, in the diner he could see the approving nods, the way that even the meanest of the diners nodded in her direction. He'd never had that skill with people, impress them with a presentation, awe them with his ideas, but approval, acceptance. That was a currency he'd never really been able to trade-in. In fact, the woman sitting across from him was one of the few people who he could really relax with and trust.

Which made seeing her like this that much harder.

"What happened to you?"

Allyson Locke ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson winced as she sat down and listened to his jokes. John was always someone that found a way to inject his version of comedy. It made her smile, he was one of the last living members of her past. The man in front of her was her older cousin, he was the closest to an older brother that she could have. He was protective and kind, but still a goofball. Allyson hated putting him through the crap she put him through. Working as a Jedi Shadow, wasn’t the safest means of work, but she did it. It was good to see him, he was doing well for himself. ​

“Uh,” Allyson paused and adjusted her seating. Soreness was her best friend right now, one that didn’t leave her alone. It was constant and reminded her of the disaster she did to herself. “It wasn’t anything Sith related this time.” She laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Their lives had been so different, Allyson had been initially on track to follow her father into the Corellian industry of ship making. Her father had been a huge name and had been one of the driving forces behind Corellian advancement. ​

She knew she was getting above her head when it came to her work, but with the threat of the Bryn’adul, it was necessary. “The Bryn’adul. Their leader Tathra I think his name was,” trying to pull the memories of the events were hazy, but she continued. “It rides a huge dragon mount - looks like the stuff we saw on tv as kids - you know the Atrisian cartoons.” ​

“Looked like nothing was taking it out, so I did what I thought was best.” Allyson looked nervous about revealing that she attempted to kill the dragon with her own life, but she knew if she lied, John would be able to work out what she was up to. “I crashed my fighter into it. Hoping to disrupt the flow of Force. These things - they have the Force John, they’re broken and overpowered - worse than the Vong.” Shaking her head, she sighed. “I was able to protect myself for the most part, but the blast launched me into a bit of a mess. Impaled myself on a tree.” She left no details out and expected to get scolded for her actions.​

John Locke​