Private Unheard and Unspoken

[Inanna Harth]

THIS THREAD IS BEING REWRITTEN, GO AWAY​

Tammuz Hoole awoke with a start, his heart racing. Beside him Lilith stirred, muttering sleepily, "What is it?"

Without answering her, he climbed out of bed. His wife roused herself and sat up.

"Tammuz, what's the matter?"

He stumbled over to the bedroom window and opened it. Warm air touched his cold, slick skin, fragrant with the scent of the night-blooming flowers that grew in the thicket below. Blinking in the darkness, he was amazed to find not the tumultuous ocean of his dream, but miles and miles of forest stretching out in all directions, bathed in pale moonlight.

Lilith approached him slowly, standing at his side. She searched the horizon for what he saw, glanced at the chrono, then rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's still early."

Mopping the sweat from his brow, Tammuz nodded. "You go on back to bed, Lili. I'll be fine."

Not sure how to broach the subject, Lilith simply stated fact. "You had another vision."

"Yes."

"What was it this time?"

"I was drowning at sea with no hope of rescue." Last night it had been an escape pod adrift in uncharted space, life support swiftly dwindling. And before that, he had dreamed he was the last of his kind, wandering a barren wasteland alone.

Lilith sighed. "I wish we knew these visions of yours were only nightmares brought on by stress. Once the Force is involved, there's no telling the difference between fantasy and reality."

"A potential reality," he corrected gently. "The future isn't set in stone. The Force only grants me glimpses of the possibilities."

"But these visions are all so vague..." She trailed off, deep in thought, then noticed a subtle shift in Tammuz's body language. "Do you sense something?"

Staring off into the distance, he reached feebly for her hand. She took it. Her touch brought him back, and he sucked in a deep breath. Moonlight reflected in his inky eyes, which filled with tears even as he smiled at her.

"Inanna is coming home."

His words should have brought his wife joy, but recent events had left her uncertain, worried, and - though she hated to admit it - suspicious of her daughter's motives. They had learned from Pygar that she was working for the Sith Empire, supposedly undercover, only to be told by Nimdok and Red that she hadn't mentioned this spy work to either of them. Lilith was willing to give her daughter the benefit of the doubt, but it was all so strange. And it had been so long since she had any contact with her family. Would they even recognize her when they saw her?...

While Lilith stood frozen in shock, her mind whirling, Tammuz left her side and drifted over to a chair, sinking into it slowly. "I can feel her presence on the edge of my mind," he whispered. Swallowing, he added, "She isn't alone. She has a companion with her, someone... like Pygar."

"Another runaway?" Lilith asked, turning toward him.

"I can't see. They are guarding their mind, shutting themselves away from others." He opened his mouth, tried one last time to pierce the veil, then closed it, giving up. "We will have to watch them very closely."

"Are they that suspicious?"

He didn't answer her question, at least not directly. "I fear my visions were warning me of this," he confessed. "I think..." Trailing off, he shook his head. "I don't know what to think."

Lilith hugged her arms, as though afflicted by a sudden chill. "No matter what happens, promise me you'll give them a chance. More of one than you gave Pygar."

"Pygar," Tammuz echoed. "Don't mention this to him yet. Wait until we know for certain what's going on."

"Of course. And we won't mention Pygar to them."

"Not even to Inanna."

Lilith paused, hesitating before she said, "Don't tell me you're suspicious of her too."

"I'll know the truth when I see it for myself," he replied. Getting up, he headed for the door. "It really is still early. You should try to get some more sleep. I will... prepare a room for our guests."

***​

 

[Inanna Harth]

The day after Tammuz dreamed of drowning, Inanna stood in the doorway of her old bedroom, staring at the hole in the opposite wall. Jagged splintered wood framed the gap, which opened out into the ravaged jungle land beyond. It was noon in Goshen, the heat of a summer rain the previous night rising as mist from the wet undergrowth. The furniture inside the room had been moved out so as not to be ruined by water damage.

Inanna had shed her humanoid appearance, returning to her natural form—a squat and ugly gargoyle with skin like wet clay and beady little black marbles for eyes. By human standards, she didn’t even look female, lacking the usual markers and overall softness. As her gaze wandered the space where Nimdok had battled the Doppelganger, uncertainty began to snake into her thoughts.

“A small team,” she said softly, her voice overtaken by the trilling of exotic birds and insects. "You sent a small team to Lao-mon..."

She predicted Vandiir’s response to her report of what had happened to his small team. In her mind’s eye she envisioned the young Councilor shrugging his shoulders, mouth set in an indifferent smirk. He might be angry over the loss of his creature and annoyed about the death of the soldiers, but she doubted he would take it out on her so long as she succeeded here and now. He didn’t seem like the frivolous type of Sith that delighted in all forms of torture and looked for any excuse to hurt people, no matter how petty.

Then there was the issue of Nimdok, who had come and gone mere days before she arrived. Inanna had known for some time that she would have to keep Nimdok out of the investigation, even though it all centered on his daughter’s abduction. He and Vandiir apparently had something of a history as well, but she couldn’t allow the bad blood between them to ruin their chances at justice for Miri.

Turning away at last, Inanna left the bedroom, the door sliding shut behind her. Aside from the gaping hole in the wall of her childhood bedroom, the rest of the house was relatively undamaged. There was carbon scoring in one of the guest rooms, fire damage on the third floor, and some broken furniture downstairs, but none of her family members had been killed. That was all that truly mattered.

Entering the recreational room, she found Faya seated before the empty holotable. The Sith Changeling had carefully maintained a human identity ever since she arrived, appearing as a fair red-haired woman in a pale yellow dress. Even in an easy chair her posture was stiff and upright, with her palms lying flat against her thighs. She observed Inanna with an irritated glare.

“Is there any particular reason we aren’t moving on?”

Inanna frowned, her ashen brow furrowing. “We just got here.”

“And so far you have done nothing," Faya muttered. "At the very least, you could have told me you planned to do nothing but chitchat with your parents for hours on end. You didn't inform me that we would be staying in their home, either."

"Why wouldn't I stay with them?" Inanna snapped. "I grew up here. This has always been my home."

Faya averted her eyes. "I would've preferred to find separate lodgings elsewhere. It isn't safe for me, always having to maintain this form..."

Inanna was tired of the constant friction between herself and Faya. The Changeling was bad-tempered from the very start of their journey. Her disposition had worsened once they got planetside, presumably due to a combination of the tropical climate and the fact that Inanna’s parents, who had spent the entirety of last night telling their daughter about recent events, had excluded Faya from their confidence. The Changeling knew there was a hole in Inanna’s bedroom wall, but she still didn’t know why it was there, and so far Inanna hadn't bothered to enlighten her, preferring to stay as far away from Faya as she could whenever possible.

“You don’t get it. You've never had a family of your own. I have to at least pretend to be sentimental about it all, or they'll know something is up. It's the same way with lodgings—it would look suspicious if you refused free room and board when it was offered to you under these circumstances, as if you had something to hide from them. Besides, it was too late to drive around looking for a hotel last night. If you really care that much, though, you're welcome to leave today and find somewhere else to stay. Vandiir must have given you money to spend.”

“You’re not pretending anything,” Faya replied coolly. “While you take a trip down memory lane, I have to sit here and wait for you to get your act together. We’re wasting time. You can reminisce with your family after you accomplish what we came here for.”

There was a hint of a threat in her tone, as if she were also saying ‘If you don’t do something soon, I will, and you’re not going to like it.’ Inanna sighed. Adrian Vandiir hadn’t bothered to explain why he sent Faya along on this mission, leaving her to fret and fantasize darkly about what the girl’s purpose was. At one point Inanna had wondered if Faya herself knew why she was here.

“Fine,” Inanna muttered, sinking into a chair across from Faya. “What do you suggest would be the best course of action?”

The Changeling looked toward the room’s entrance, making sure no one was around to eavesdrop, then leaned forward, speaking in a whisper. “What did they tell you last night?”

Pygar and Adrian Vandiir. Nimdok and Miri. The doppelganger and the death squad. Red. The Lord of Doubt. They knew more than she did, even though she had been behind enemy lines. And most of the information was off-limits to Faya.

“Nothing of any concern to you.”

"What did you tell them?” she shot back.

“Exactly what we agreed upon.”

Faya, whom Inanna had introduced to her parents as "Diana Nylund", was supposed to be another defector from the Sith Empire, a low-ranking employee from the Office of Imperial Truth. Inanna had used her allotted vacation time as a cover to smuggle her to Lao-mon, which was supposed to explain the press for time. From there, the two of them would each leave the planet on different flights, eventually making their way back to Dromund Kaas with Inanna's family none the wiser.

“They must have mentioned the data,” Faya pressed. “I don’t see how they could neglect such an important detail.”

“Yes. They mentioned it.” They had also told Inanna a little about what the data contained. The thought alone turned her stomach. “But they wouldn’t tell me where it was or what they were going to do with it.”

“Then we had better find out. How many people do you suppose have seen its contents?”

“Pygar has seen it, my mother and father… my brother Mulciber was there the night the Doppelganger attacked, so it’s likely he did as well…”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Seven. All boys.”

Faya blinked. “How probable is it that they have also seen it, or at least know that it exists?”

“By now all of them know about it, even if they haven't seen it. My brothers are all scientists of one kind or another, except for Mithras—he’s a lawyer. My parents generally don’t keep secrets from their children.”

“What about people outside the family?”

Inanna snorted. “I don’t think they would have told their friends yet. What does any of this have to do with finding the data, anyway?”

“Could they have given it to someone else for safekeeping?”

“...It’s possible.”

“Then we’ll have to find out the answer to that question.” Faya stood. “I’m going to go look for a place to stay. I suggest you talk to your parents and get them to tell you more.”

The roads were dangerous this far from civilization. Part of Inanna hoped that the Changeling wouldn't come back, but Vandiir would probably count the death of another of his creations against her, even if it was due to Faya's own ignorance. “Be careful. There are a lot of predators around here. Big ones that can crush a speeder, especially a cheap rented one like ours.”

Faya walked out without responding to the warning, leaving Inanna alone. The Shi’ido gathered her wits about her and finally headed upstairs a full five minutes after the Changeling left.

 

[Inanna Harth]

As Inanna finally ascended the steps, Faya walked down the forest path away from the house. A voice on the wind like dead leaves rustling seemed to whisper in her ear, a new word or phrase with each step.

“The files cannot be easily copied… Especially on a backwater remote world like this… No, they have not transferred them yet… The datachip is all that we need…”

She heard the voice, but didn’t react to it. The long space voyage had allowed her time to get used to its whispering.

“Where is this loathsome device?”

“She will find it soon… I have foreseen it… Her chance to destroy it will come… But will she seize the opportunity… That remains to be seen...”

Faya pursed her lips. “This data is a threat to my creator. It must be destroyed no matter what.”

“There is time… The ones who came here before us were impatient fools… Blunt instruments sent to destroy all in their path… They were dispatched like the barbarians they were… But we will wait… For the right time to strike… If she fails.”

"You were sent here to serve Adrian Vandiir. Why bother testing her if it will put him at risk?"

"If I do not test her... It would be a waste... I will not lose a chance like this... To see her act on her own free will... Against those she loves... To fall over the edge... I know she will... She needs only a nudge..."

 

[Inanna Harth]

Tammuz Hoole sat at his desk, deep in meditation. His eyes opened as he sensed his daughter on the stairs behind him, and he turned his chair around to face her. To her eyes he seemed no older than he had been when she left; his appearance was largely unchanged, apart from the presence of a pendant hanging around his neck, stone beads arranged in the shape of a coiled dragon. The gems were common and of little value. Jewelry was always unusual on a shapeshifter, let alone a cheap necklace, and she had thought it odd enough to ask where it had come from as soon as she saw it. He told her only that it had been a gift from Nimdok, which raised more questions than it answered.

“You’re up earlier than expected,” he said.

“It’s already afternoon,” she replied.

“But we kept you up all night with our talking. I wouldn’t fault you for sleeping the day away." He tilted his head to the side. "What about the woman you brought with you?"

"She wants to stay in a hotel, so she left to find one." Inanna shrugged. "She prefers her privacy. Probably used to live in an apartment and isn't used to sleeping in a big house like this."

"Well, hopefully she can find a place to her satisfaction." He paused, studying her. She felt his touch through the Force, as gentle as if he had tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you," he said, smirking.

She smiled at the joke, but she knew he wasn't referring to a physical difference. “A lot can happen in forty years.”

“Yes.” He cast his eyes down. “We have some catching up to do, but… you said you don’t have much time to stay with us. You came to make sure Pygar was all right, that we would accept him, and to send that woman on her way, but not to visit your own family.”

"I've wanted to visit you, but things kept getting in the way," she said, not believing the words even as they fell from her mouth. Making excuses wasn't going to help. Suddenly she felt an unbearable weariness, a loneliness and desolation that threatened to crush her beneath its weight. Bracing herself, she took a few shaky steps closer—

But Tammuz shook his head. “I can wait another forty years if it means you will come home once and for all, Inanna. You don't have to tell me anything about where you've been all this time if you don't want to. I won't ask."

All the breath seemed to leave her lungs at once. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. If he had not interrupted her, she would have spilled her guts until there was nothing left to hide. Her desire to reconnect, to banish the loneliness that had hounded her for so long, was that strong. It would be the death of her. No—the death of her mission, though perhaps at this point her life did depend on its success.

“What if this is the last time I come home?” she asked, bitterness seeping into her tone.

“It won’t be.”

“How can you be sure?”

He smiled at her. “I know.”

But then he turned his back on her and began typing on his computer. Looking over his shoulder, she watched as he pulled up several files.

“I know this isn’t exactly what you’d like to see during your 'vacation', but I feel it is necessary,” he said. “This is the creature that attacked us.”

She stared at the screen until the image of the Doppelganger was burned into her retinas, forcing herself to take in every detail, all the while telling herself this is who you are bedding down with. This is the heart and soul of Adrian Vandiir. Are you willing to pay this tribute?

“...And this is Pygar's species.” The image changed, replaced by a picture of a Sith Changeling, white-eyed and ghostly, very similar to what she had first seen of Faya that night at Vandiir’s nightclub. “There’s much more than this on here,” Tammuz went on, gesturing to the datachip plugged into his computer. “Information on an organization called the Primyn Group, the locations of secret Sith facilities where experiments are performed to test new bioweapons…”

“Have you told anyone outside the family about this yet?” she rasped, swallowing to wet her dry throat. “The media, the feds, even just a friend or two…?”

He sighed. “I have been trying to get the Council of Sciences on board. If they support the public release, there will be little doubt or speculation as to the files’ authenticity. But so far they’ve been ignoring my attempts at contacting them. They are afraid of provoking the Sith Empire into seeking vengeance against all of Lao-mon, especially after the incident with the Doppelganger.”

“What will you do if they aren’t willing to support it?”

“Then I will have no choice but to release it myself through anonymous channels,” Tammuz replied. “Or, if need be, I will gift these Sith secrets to the Silver Jedi Order. Or better yet, the Galactic Alliance—I hear they’re more inclined to take action against the Darkness. Perhaps it will even make them rethink their current allegiance with the New Imperial Order.”

Inanna stared down at the datachip, more aware than ever before of how much damage the tiny piece of metal and plastic could do if it fell into the wrong (or the right) hands. “But… what if they track you down as the source of the leak?”

“I am prepared to take the brunt of the punishment,” he replied. “The rest of our family know what they must do to protect themselves. We are Shi’ido—we will do what we do best.”

“Blend in and disappear,” she murmured, tears pricking at her eyelids. “Oh Dad. That’s such a heavy burden to bear…”

“But I will bear it gladly if it means good wins the day,” he said. Clasping her hand in his, he gave it a reassuring squeeze. “That’s only if worst comes to worst. The Sith already know we’re here, it’s safe to assume they know we have it. They’ll send more soldiers, more monsters to try and take it from us. But by then it will be too late. We’ll already be gone, and the data will have launched.”

“Then I might as well stay here with you,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I have no one on Dromund Kaas to worry about, nothing to go back to. I could send in my resignation remotely—”

She stopped, hiding her abrupt pause with a well-timed sniff. Tammuz was looking at her, that same knowing smile tugging at the corners of his lips. But now the sight of it struck her to the core like a deep wound.

“I… I need some time to think about all this."

"I'm not surprised." He nodded and let go of her hand. "Go, take as much time as you need. There's no rush."

How she wished he was right.

 

[Inanna Harth]

Why does she tempt fate?...

Faya grit her teeth, startled by the voice. She was driving down a seemingly endless road, flanked on both sides by the strange flora of Lao-mon's jungles.

Surely she knows the risk… the danger… what does she think will happen?...

“I doubt she thinks at all,” Faya remarked blithely. “But now you understand why my creator doesn’t trust her. That is why he sent me.”

It is why he sent me through you… make no mistake… she knows what she does… but she wants others to choose for her… she feels she should not be made to decide…

“Then she is a fool, forfeiting mastery over her own fate.”

She has lived for too long with nothing to lose… not anymore… regardless of her choice, she will lose as much as she gains… she must decide what means more to her…

“Can you see what she will choose?”

I see what will happen both ways… I will not tell you… you want to see her fail… so that you may please your creator by bringing her broken body before him… and the remnants of the hated data crushed to powder in your fist… but know this… your fantasy will not come true in any future...

“Fair enough,” Faya uttered darkly. “It’s easy to guess. If she destroys the data, her family will be angry. Perhaps they will disown her, cast her out of their lives. If she doesn’t destroy the data—”

Turn around.

"Why? What's happened?"

Do not ask questions. Do as I say. Turn around now!

Swerving, she whipped the speeder around and headed back the way she had come.

 

[Inanna Harth]

Feathered wings beat the air as Lilith flew toward the mountains. She had made this trek twice a week ever since the incident with the Doppelganger, traveling by air to bring Pygar supplies at his hideout. But now she carried only a small datapad tucked underneath one arm.

The mountain compound where he had been staying for the past several weeks was a far cry from the Hoole family residence. Once it had housed miners. But the mines had dried up years ago, and the buildings left behind had sat abandoned until Pygar found sanctuary there. She arrived at the compound and absorbed her wings back into her body, shifting into a more familiar shape. Approaching the door to the house where Pygar dwelled, she raised her hand to knock, only for the door to open before her hand could strike.

Pygar looked healthy, given the circumstances. An artificial eye had recently been inserted into his empty right socket. After the doctors had cleaned out any haphazardly-healed tissue and remnants of his destroyed original eyeball, they had jammed the mechanical one in. It was still a little sore—the surgeon was used to operating on quick-healing, malleable Shi’ido—and he hadn’t gotten used to it yet, but it would solve the issue of his lost depth perception. Even better, the color of the iris could be changed, though the selection was currently limited to only baseline human eye colors. The Hoole family had paid for the cybernetic addition in full, adding one more reason he owed them to an ever-growing list.

“Something’s wrong,” he guessed. “Otherwise you would’ve just left the stuff behind and left.”

A sad frown crossed her sculpted features. “I’d visit with you each time if I could. But this isolation is for your own safety.” She inclined her head in a way that reminded Pygar curiously of a graceful long-necked Kaminoan. “May I come in?”

He stepped aside to let her through. The interior of his “home” was very sparse. He had cleaned it up as best he could, but there was a rodent infestation in addition to the ever-present insects. “Don’t take your shoes off,” he advised her, only to remember that she technically didn’t wear shoes. Or clothes, for that matter.

“What a place we left you in,” she muttered in disgust. “Well, if it’s any comfort, you may be leaving soon. It all depends on this…”

She pulled the datapad out from under her arm, pressed a few buttons, then held it out to him. Pygar looked at the screen, his brow furrowing. It displayed several images taken of a woman—or two women, for the uninitiated. Most were of a redhead in a yellow dress, but one was a blurry photo of a mousy white-haired girl lying asleep in a darkened bedroom. Unmistakably, a Sith Changeling.

Pygar’s lips parted. “Where was this taken?”

“At our home, in the early hours of the morning,” she replied. “All of the photos are of a woman calling herself Diana Nylund. She came with Inanna and claims she wants to defect, like you.”

He blinked. “Tammuz called me before they arrived. He said Inanna was with someone who had an aura like mine…”

“We had our suspicions. I snuck into her room and managed to take that last picture—I remembered how you told me you can’t always stay in one form while you’re unconscious, and figured it would be a good time to catch her unmasked. Do you recognize her?”

“Yes,” he whispered. “Her name is Faya. She was the one who tried to betray me… and she was the one who helped me steal the data.”

Lilith breathed a sigh. “Then she must have tricked Inanna into believing she was human. I love my daughter, but she tends to be too trusting—her heart is too soft, easy to trick and manipulate.” She tucked the datapad under her arm again. “I have to go and warn Tammuz."

"Let me go with you," Pygar blurted before she could turn her back on him.

She frowned. "You're still safe up here. We made sure not to speak too much of you."

"I want to go," he insisted. "I don't care how risky it is. I may be able to talk to Faya, convince her..." He knew it was a long shot, but he was willing to use any excuse to not miss out on the action.

Just then, his comm rang. Grabbing it from the table beside his bed, he looked at the caller ID. It was Tammuz. “Hello?” he answered.

“Pygar, are you all right?” Tammuz asked.

"Yes."

"Is Lilith with you?"

Casting a confused glance at Lilith, Pygar rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, she's here."

"Both of you stay where you are. It's not safe here anymore."

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

Alarmed, Lilith approached the comm and added, "I told him everything. The Changeling is someone he knows, a girl named Faya. She tried to betray him before."

“Things are even more dangerous than we thought," Tammuz said. "I'm going to try and upload the data onto the Holonet now. You have to stay away. It's too dangerous."

“Tammuz!” Pygar exclaimed before the Shi’ido could end the comm. “If I were to release the data myself, and let them kill me for it—would you accept that?”

There was a long silence on the other end before Tammuz answered. “You’re a very brave man, Pygar. But you’re also very foolish. Don’t throw your life away over a few files. It may be that in the future you’ll have a chance to fight Vandiir on better terms than this. You need only be patient.”

“But what about you?”

“I'm an old man now. You at least have a full life ahead of you to live,” Tammuz replied. “I have to go now. Remember what I told you.”

With that, Tammuz ended the comm.

"... All right," Lilith muttered. Pygar watched in mute fascination as she absorbed her datapad into her body, then gestured for him to follow her out the door. "I don't care what he says, I'm going. If you still want to come along, I'll have to carry you..."

 

[Inanna Harth]

No sooner had Faya parked the speeder in front of the Hoole residence, she fell in a slump against the seat, red hair turning white as snow. Her shadow peeled away from her unconscious body and slid underneath the door, turning into a noxious black mist when it met the tropical air outside. It foamed and bubbled toward the house, full of malicious intent.

Inside, Tammuz held up the datachip, preparing to insert it into his computer. No one wanted it. Mulciber, in the prime of his life and father to a young child, had refused to harbor it any longer than necessary. None of his brothers displayed any interest in keeping it secret and safe. The Council of the Sciences wouldn’t even speak of it. So once more the device had fallen into the reluctant hands of the Hoole family patriarch.

Sensing the approaching demon, he eyed the transparent windows and door leading out to the deck. His fingers closed, pushing the cold sharp metal into his palm, and his eyelids twitched as he drew it into his body, observing as it crawled up his arm. It moved across his chest and finally settled just behind the dragon pendant.

The darkness slithered over the deck, seeping underneath the door to the room where Tammuz sat at his desk. There was a soft creak as the old Shi’ido turned his chair to face the black fog stretching toward his feet.

“I was wondering when you would arrive,” he said. “Before you kill me, would you at least do me the honor of letting me meet my assassin one-on-one?”

The smog fell still. Then its blackness shivered, curling in on itself until it took on a human-esque shape. It had arms and legs, round glowing eyes, and a cruel smirking mouth. Kneeling before him, it almost looked submissive, if not for the vileness and treachery in its gaze.

“So Vandiir has tamed you,” Tammuz murmured, looking the demon up and down. “Your master is Vandiir, isn’t it?”

“I have no quarrel with you, Tammuz Hoole,” the demon replied in perfect Shi-idese. “I know you wish this cup would pass you over. But I have my orders. I must destroy the data.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

The demon growled softly. “I know you are hiding it within your body. Do not force my hand. Give it to me, and I will at least let your family live.”

Inanna ran up the stairs, breathing hard. “Dad, Diana—”

“Was carrying a demon, yes, I know.” Tammuz didn’t take his eyes off the creature. “I suggest you leave. Let me handle this.”

Inanna stared at the abysmal thing prostrated before her father. Her heart racing, she shook her head. “No. I’m staying.”

“Then convince your father to give up that which was stolen,” the demon rumbled. “You don’t want me to have to kill him, do you?”

“I would rather die than let this go on,” Tammuz replied. “It is high time the Sith Empire was made to feel its age.”

“As you do, old one?” the demon retorted. “You are already struggling just to change with the times, let alone hold onto your own skin. Soon you will shrivel and blow away like ash on the wind. And then who will lead the House of Hoole? Who will protect them from my master’s wrath?”

“If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine,” Tammuz replied with a strange smile.

Snarling, the demon lunged. Inanna gave a cry and instinctively reached out, trying to stop it. But there was a spark of violet light, and the demon gave a roar of betrayal.

“You fool! You cannot hold me in a Sith artifact! I am in my element! I will break free!—”

But there was a sound like a harsh gust of wind, then silence.

Tammuz fingered the dragon pendant hanging around his neck. “Kids these days,” he muttered. Turning to Inanna, he added, “I told you I would handle it.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two figures alight on the deck. Lilith and Pygar hurried inside, looking around in bewilderment.

“What’s going on? Did something happen?”

“Inanna, is that you?” Pygar asked, not recognizing her on sight in her natural form. “Where is Faya?”

Still in shock, Inanna stammered, “She… she’s unconscious outside. I saw that her speeder had pulled up, but she didn’t get out…”

“You knew who she really was?” Tammuz asked.

Inanna withered under his weary gaze. “Yes,” she whispered. “But I didn’t know about the demon—”

“A demon?” Pygar echoed. “Where is it? Is it still here?”

“You just missed it,” Tammuz replied. “I trapped it in this shield talisman I took from Nimdok. It needed an energy transfusion, anyway.”

Inanna looked away from them, clutching her arm. The task ahead stretched before her like the edge of a cliff overlooking an unknown land shrouded in fog. No matter how much she wished it, she knew she couldn’t stay here at the precipice forever. Sooner or later she would have to jump.

Turning, she said, “We have to destroy the data. It’s the only way to stop all this.”

“Are you crazy?” Pygar exclaimed. “He just defeated a smoke demon! I wouldn’t be surprised if your old man could take on the whole Sith armada by himself!”

“I can do no such thing,” Tammuz replied. His gaze focused entirely on Inanna. “But I know why you’re afraid. You never did learn how to hide your thoughts from others.”

Inanna wanted to scream in frustration and betrayal, her open mind having undermined her once more. Instead she splayed her feet and stood up straighter. “So you know everything, do you? Do you also know that I’m doing all this to stop the Lord of Doubt, a Sith even worse than Vandiir?”

“Arimanes told us all about the Lord of Doubt. There’s no need for you to get the evidence from Vandiir.”

"He didn't tell you how to find him," she pointed out.

“He told us his name, his species, and his origins,” Tammuz replied. “The rest can be found out easily.”

She shook her head. “Information is one thing. It can help me to know who he is, perhaps even find him, but it won’t help me defeat him.”

“What makes you think Vandiir will help you?” Pygar chimed in. “He only cares about himself and his science experiments!”

“I’ve spoken to him already,” she said. “We made a deal. Destroying the data is part of the agreement.”

Pygar grimaced, his disgust plain. “He won’t follow through. Or if he does, the price he’ll ask of you...”

“I don’t know what else he wants from me,” she said. “But I’m prepared to pay it regardless. You, on the other hand—”

“The fact remains that we have information you need,” Tammuz cut her off. Rising from his chair, he took a cautious step forward. “Inanna, let us help you. We can find another way to defeat the Lord of Doubt.”

Her brow furrowing, she shook her head. "There is no other way, Dad. Vandiir knows you have the data. He won't stop until it's destroyed, even if he has to kill you!"

"There must be another way." Another step. “A better way. The right way. It will take longer, and it will be more difficult, but it can be done.” He held out his hands. “I won’t give the data to you willingly. I made my choice already, and I'm willing to die for it. I can't let Vandiir go unpunished for what he did. It's just not right.”

She could see by his face that he meant every word. He wouldn't budge from his position unless he was struck down. But she couldn't bear it, couldn't live with herself knowing she had let him die for something she had brought into her parent's home, a responsibility she had unfairly foisted upon them...

A strangled sound escaped Inanna, half-gasp and half-sob. She trembled, and for a moment it seemed that she would break apart. Then her arm shot forward. Tammuz winced, his flesh rippling grotesquely. The datachip left his body and flew into her palm—and she crushed it in her fist with the strength of a Wookiee.

Panting from the stress, she laced steel throughout her voice as she demanded, “Did you copy the files? Where are they? On your computer?”

Tammuz would not answer. He stared at her, his expression carefully controlled, but she felt his pain and disappointment through the Force. It was within his power to stop her, but he couldn’t bring himself to raise a hand against her.

“You could never lie to me either, Dad,” she whispered, understanding his silence. She held up her hand. “The files aren’t on the computer. This was all there was.”

Pygar leaned against Lilith. He looked like he was about to collapse. “Everything I did, it was all useless…”

“Pygar, come here,” Tammuz commanded.

Setting his jaw, the Changeling obeyed, crossing the room to where Tammuz stood.

“What are you doing?” Lilith asked.

“It is bad luck to lose before you gain,” Tammuz ground out between clenched teeth. Locking eyes with Pygar, he spoke. “Pygar, spawn of the Sith, creation of Adrian Vandiir, I invoke the spirit of adoption over you. Henceforth you will be my son, equal to the children of my body in rights and privileges under the laws of my people. You will inherit that portion of my property that is due a son of my house, as well as my family name.” He held out his hand. “Do you accept?”

Pygar stared at him. The determination in Tammuz’s eyes made his gaze almost hypnotic. At last he took the patriarch’s hand, and Tammuz clasped it between both of his. Despite the hardness of his expression, the flesh of his fingers had begun to bubble and slither across his bones, hideously deformed by his rage and grief.

“Your name is Pygar Hoole,” he said, his wispy voice betraying his exhaustion. “You are the eighth son and youngest child of Tammuz Hoole, grandson of Dagon Hoole, and great-grandson of Mammon Hoole. May you bring honor and glory to your house for as long as you live.” He gestured to his wife. “Lilith, it’s your turn.”

Sniffling and wiping her eyes, she took his other hand and recited similar words, changing only the names of the ancestors, who on her side were from the house of Aerie. When she had finished, Tammuz joined her hands with Pygar’s, then turned back to Inanna. She stood as still as a statue. Black blood trickled from between her fingers where the jagged edges of the broken datachip pieces had cut into her palm.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke. “Inanna Hoole is a stranger to us—”

“Tammuz, no,” Lilith interrupted. Her voice was warped by tears. “I won’t do it. I can’t cast her out. Keep me out of it.”

“...Inanna Hoole is a stranger to me,” he began again, his voice cracking with every other word as he fought to keep his composure long enough to finish. “Though machines and records may trace her blood to my lineage, and she may continue to call me her father, I will no longer call her my daughter. I renounce her, because she repulses me…”

He trailed off, nearly losing the battle with his emotions. The final words of the disowning he could only whisper.

“Let her name be unheard and unspoken in my presence from this day forward, and let her leave this place forever, never to return.” When Inanna didn’t move a muscle, he straightened his sagging posture, listed his chin and coldly added, “Get out of my sight.”

She hesitated only because her bones felt leaden. Slowly and with limp, sagging movements, Inanna staggered out of the room. She descended the steps, forcing herself to keep going, to get out. If she could just get away from them, the shame and sorrow would go away. She would be numb to all of it, and she could go on as she had these past forty years...

The speeder remained where Faya had left it. She walked over to the driver’s side, finding the Changeling slumped backwards in the seat, her eyes shut and her body slack. After checking for a pulse, she pushed the unconscious girl over to the passenger side, then climbed in and slammed the door. Despite her determination to cut all ties, she couldn’t resist casting one final lingering look at the house where she grew up. No tears wet her cheeks. There was no lump in her throat. She felt nothing.

Keying the ignition, the engine flared to life, and she tore down the road, heading for the starport.