Private You're My Only Hope

[Lilianna L'lerim]

Information

Crown Princess of Aaven, Priestess of Ashla​

"Galactic Common" | <"High Nelvaanian"> | ["Essonian"] | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

Objective: Meet with Lord Barran
Location: A café in the affluent part of Coruscant
Equipment: Noble Attire | Ashlan Rosary || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m

Severus Barran​

My heart shattered the moment I heard that Tancred had been captured. Ella came to tell me herself, and she also told me that my twin brother was going to be executed. Now the two of us were prisoners of the Galactic Empire, though I was still far freer than he was. I tried... I begged my sister to let me see him, but she refused, just like everyone else did. Tancred was being held in a prison cell somewhere, though I did not even know on which planet. And while I was allowed to walk freely on Coruscant, I could not leave, nor could I contact anyone.

I would have much rather been home on Aaven; Cesare Demici had promised to take me back soon, but I had no idea when that would happen. Coruscant felt foreign to me, and the darkness lingering here was suffocating. It was a city similar in size to the HPI’s capital on Terraris, yet that place still felt more like home. Perhaps because it belonged to my family, whereas everything here was unfamiliar. I knew no one… well, I knew Cesare, and I knew my sister, but I had no friends here, and I was not allowed to reach out to them, not even through the HoloNet or the HPI Net. I was isolated.

Still, I managed to send one message to Lord Michael Barran when I was brought to Coruscant, telling him that my brother had been captured as well and asking for his help to free him. Perhaps I should have contacted my Ashlanfather, Heinrich Faust … but Tancred had spent his teenage years and recent time under House Barran’s care. They knew him better... and perhaps they could help him better, too. I was desperate. I did not want my brother to die, and I hoped that somehow, in some way, he could still be saved. I spent most of my days praying, hoping it would do something… anything.

And when I was not praying, I tried to explore Coruscant, visiting museums and monuments. Not because that is what a noblewoman should do; I would much rather have been in a medical lab or hospital, but I was not allowed. So I created this routine to avoid drawing too much attention to myself when the day finally came to meet Lord Barran. I was not good at this, but after the library, museum, exhibition, or any artistic event, I would sit in a café or teahouse and drink something calming. Because I had asked for our meeting to take place in such a place; somewhere inconspicuous, somewhere busy.

As the day of the meeting drew closer, I grew more and more nervous. I tried to soothe myself with natural teas and calming foods, but they did very little. I panicked as well, what if my behaviour ended up endangering not just my brother but those who might try to help him? With these fears knotting my stomach, I began the day I was supposed to meet Lord Barran. I recited prayers to Ashla silently in my mind. There were not many artistic programmes in the morning, only a contemporary play about the rise of the Galactic Empire, so I watched that. When it ended…

… when it ended, I headed to the teahouse where the meeting would take place. I was nervous; every small sound made me flinch, even someone brushing past me. No matter how much I wanted to, I could not calm myself. Even when I finally arrived at the teahouse and sat down at the agreed spot, I kept glancing around anxiously. I ordered a calming tea, and the serving droid brought it soon after. I lifted the cup; my hands were trembling, but I still took a sip of the hot liquid.

And all the while, I kept praying to Ashla, beseeching that my anxiety and fear would not doom us all.

 

[Severus Barran]

TAGS
Lilianna L'lerim

YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE
1

​

Domi's Coffee Shack, City Surface,
Coruscant, Deep Core Territories (903 ABY)

'Here she comes, Sev.'
'Seen.... Play it cool for now.'
'My suggestion, go to the men's room - I'll ping as soon as she settles in.'
​

Nodding as he placed his datapad on the table, right next to his near-emptied mug, the young Lion carefully finished it's contents without letting it spill onto his stolen OIT uniform, a uniform of which he had taken from a man after beating him senseless. Miracles alone had kept the bleeding nose from leaking onto it when the need had arisen, though the young Dantooinan had been quick to unbutton it with the opponent's face downward-planted into the duracrete; this tactical robbery had occurred almost two weeks before that day in the coffee shop, and with many other aggressive acts of acquisition having occurred between one point and the other, another miracle had kept the local authorities from discovering their presence on Coruscant.

'So much melancholy.... Poor girl.'

The young Novanian subordinate in charge of keeping the shopfront as undisturbed as humanly possible, though each move would need to be timed in slow, deliberate movements, lest it appear as though he was something more than a mere barista. But it would not stop there for the white-eyed lad, as it just so happened that, throughout his coffee-house duties, he would have a headphone in whilst scanning for local, Imperial comm-link frequencies. Even with Lilia finally stepping in and offering polite greetings, to which a smile and a wave was given in turn, the one headphone would remain in his left-ear, kept at a discretely-low volume for everyone's sake.

'Some coffee shops would say,"The worst times to get coffee are closing afternoon-hours.", but I don't believe that.... You get more peace at this hour, and its just about time to turn everyone else away, so.... Whatcha havin', dawl?'

​

 

[Lilianna L'lerim]

Information

Crown Princess of Aaven, Priestess of Ashla​

"Galactic Common" | <"High Nelvaanian"> | ["Essonian"] | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

Objective: Meet with Lord Barran
Location: A café in the affluent part of Coruscant
Equipment: Noble Attire | Ashlan Rosary || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m

Severus Barran​

I greeted the man with a smile as well when he did the same. It was difficult to force that smile onto my face with so much anxiety coiling inside me. Here on Coruscant, I had not seen many men who looked quite like he did. When he spoke - and for far longer than I had expected - my entire body froze for a few heartbeats, and the colour drained from my face. Hidden beneath the fabric of my clothes, I clenched my hands into fists, trying to stop the trembling. I attempted to take a few deeper breaths as discreetly as I could, but the unsteady way I let them out surely did not escape anyone’s notice.

"I would like a cup of lavender tea, please, and a large mug of Happy Cat Hot Chocolate. Thank you very much." I said to the man, my voice wavering faintly with nerves.

It was only afterwards that I realised how unusual his accent was, certainly not local. Though I supposed mine must have sounded strange as well, making it quite clear that I was not from Coruscant but another world entirely. On a planet this vast, that was probably natural. Still... I was so overwhelmed that I could barely focus. In that moment, I deeply envied those who had learnt true self-discipline and could remain calm in any situation. Having even a fraction of such composure would have been a blessing for me.

That was when I also noticed that I had been standing completely still for several seconds; and I had even forgotten to breathe. A long, trembling sigh slipped out of me, and I quickly looked around to find where an empty seat might be. As the man had said, there were indeed very few people here, leaving plenty of places to sit. I looked back at him, flustered, and I think I even blushed from embarrassment. I shook my head slightly and felt myself grow even more nervous - even more anxious - terrified that my behaviour might seem suspicious.

"Just these, thank you... nothing else." I said or rather stammered to the man.

Only then did I manage to move. Tense and uneasy, I walked over to one of the empty tables and sat down, waiting for my order to arrive. All the while, I tried to focus on not hugging myself in a defensive posture, not fidgeting with my clothing, not picking at the napkin on the table; anything to stop my anxiety from revealing more than it should. And beneath it all, I kept praying silently, begging that my behaviour would not give me away...

 

[Severus Barran]

TAGS
Lilianna L'lerim

YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE
2

​

Domi's Coffee Shack, City Surface,
Coruscant, Deep Core Territories (903 ABY)

'Comin' right up.... I'll put on some music too.'
​

As the young Novanian set to his task, not another word would be said between them, figuring that it would be better not to overload the Aavenian's senses so early, needing Lilia as relaxed as possible in the moment his Dantooinan friend exited the men's room. Only speaking up when he finally brought her order, keeping it as service-related as possible when he eventually drawled,'Lavender tea's - here - and the Happy Caaaat - there. The biscuit's complementary.... Now, before you say anything, before you freak out - you're safe here, I want you to know that.... There is someone I think you should meet-', only to find himself interrupted by a correcting, though equally-kind presence.

'Micky, relax. We, alone, are reassurance-'

The young Count would have continued as he had before, but the terrified transfixation he saw would put that to an immediate, abrupt end, realising then that he had not considered the effect his disguise would have on the mind. It was then that Severus softened his confident demeanour, unbuttoning the white coat to reveal a contrastingly-more luxurious uniform beneath, revealing IMPAF affiliations as he reassured,'I am deeply sorry, this disguise is the only way that I could get close enough. I had not considered the effect it would have, and for that, I offer my most-sincere apologies.', slowly sitting down across the table from Lilia's position.

'You might not know me personally, but you might remember my father - Michael Barran.... And like myself, my father has not forgotten you either. I was around, but always busy when my father first took you under his wing, and yet, I'm still glad you brought his warmer-hearted side to the fore. I think he had forgotten what that felt like, somewhere along the way, and for that - you also have my sincere gratitude.'

​

 

[Lilianna L'lerim]

Information

Crown Princess of Aaven, Priestess of Ashla​

"Galactic Common" | <"High Nelvaanian"> | ["Essonian"] | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

Objective: Meet with Lord Barran
Location: A café in the affluent part of Coruscant
Equipment: Noble Attire | Ashlan Rosary || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m

Severus Barran​

The items I had ordered arrived soon enough; my hands were still trembling, so I truly felt that they would help me calm down. However, I did not have time to thank the man, because after he finished speaking - when he should have left - he continued. As he did so, my nervousness only intensified. I felt all the blood drain from my face, leaving me utterly pale. My heart began to pound so violently that instead of my chest, I felt it in my own throat. My chest and throat tightened, and for a few moments all I could hear was the sound of my heartbeat roaring in my ears.

Even so, as I drew breath in short, almost whistling gasps in the midst of the panic attack, I heard another sound. I snapped my head in its direction, and the moment I saw the snow-white ISB… or intelligence uniform so very similar to the one Ella wore... the entire world spun around me. Instinctively, I tried to flee like a wounded animal. The man said something, but amidst the violent pounding of my heart and my desperate gasping for air, I could not hear his words, I could not understand them. I rose instinctively to my feet, the chair crashing to the floor behind me, and as I stood up, the tea and hot chocolate spilled across the table.

I looked around in terror, searching for a way to escape, as I began to back away and raised my hands defensively. The man unbuttoned his uniform while he spoke, but at that moment, in that situation, I did not recognise the other uniform at all. All I could think was that I had been trapped, and that my sister had discovered what I was planning. There was no one else there besides us, and I saw only a single exit; but the two men stood in the way. After a few more backward steps, my back collided with a wall or perhaps another table. I jolted in fright, letting out a sharp scream.

As my gaze continued to dart wildly around, I spotted another door behind the counter, and the way to it was clear. Breathing became increasingly difficult, my chest tightening and aching more and more. Everything began to darken, yet like a terrified person - or animal - I moved towards the counter. After only a few steps, I could barely see anything at all, my limbs refusing to obey me, and then the merciful darkness wrapped itself around me...

 

[Severus Barran]

TAGS
Lilianna L'lerim

YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE
3

​

Domi's Coffee Shack, City Surface,
Coruscant, Deep Core Territories (903 ABY)

'Karking Nether, man.... Not our brightest moment, is it?'
'I hate that you're right, as now - neither of us are letting our respective other live it down.'
'Damn straight, we aren't.... But its this kinda thing that makes us smarter. Trial and error.'
​

'Alright, you put Lilia on the coach, gently.... And I'll - ah - go change, hm?', the young Lion suggested, all too sheepishly, almost as if he had accidentally stepped on the toes of a puppy, to which the young Shaman-Princeling was left in a wheezing mess, brief though it was. Shunting his friend towards the same men's room from whence he sprang out before, almost as if to say,"Start again, idiot. Go take it from the top.", Michael of Karidim would set to work in the spirit of good faith, smiling with naturally-exuded warmth of heart as he carefully place Lilia on the long couch along the left wall. Politely parting the poor girl's hair as according to the way she had it before, the Karidim clan's next chieftain was making painstaking efforts to respect Lilia in her moment of vulnerability, even going so far as to check her breathing before turning to flip the open-sign to Closed for the day.

'What have these demons done to you, gyall?'
'I was wondering that myself, there.'
'These - these servants of the Sith'ari.... They must pay for this, Sev.'

​

Finally stepping out from the men's room, and wearing his usual formal, diplomatic attire, Barran would clap a reassuring hand on Karidim's shoulder as he declared,'Oh, they'll get theirs, but in due course. So, for the time-being, its our job to give our foes a migraine at every turn.... Just remember, we - wait - our - turn. Just as our grandfathers, and our fathers did before us.', showing a resolve of which the young Novanian was rarely ever blessed enough to witness. It gave young Michael a hope he did not know he even needed, and when Severus offered a hand of brotherhood, he met it in the middle with relief that the Barran fire was still undimmed in it's permeation to the young Lion's generation.

'I think, first, our mothers would prefer we stick to the task at hand, but if you want - we can talk about your dream later.'
'Deal, on both counts.'

The young princelings would then fall silent for a moment, but then the satisfaction in doing the right thing suddenly gave way to concern for the unconscious princess, though not in terms of her condition. Both infiltrators knew that Lilia could recover well from sudden panic, giving way then to concerns for her immediate future, prompting one last comment on the matter as Michael concluded,'Light will return to the Galaxy someday, I truly believe this, but there isn't much time left for the Light, much there to consider. Ambitions will also mean nothing if we can't even save the innocent, so lets focus on giving hope to this innocent here.', totally unaware that Lilia would be able to hear this in her slow return to consciousness.

'Agreed.... Ashla knows what our mothers would say if we didn't.'
'Heh! Mi madre told me she'd sacrifice me for failing a woman, and I still believe her to this da-'
'Hi, Lilia.... For my idiocy, I apologise from the bottom of my heart. That was not wise of me, I realise that now.'

​

 

[Lilianna L'lerim]

Information

Crown Princess of Aaven, Priestess of Ashla​

"Galactic Common" | <"High Nelvaanian"> | ["Essonian"] | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

Objective: Meet with Lord Barran
Location: A café in the affluent part of Coruscant
Equipment: Noble Attire | Ashlan Rosary || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m

Severus Barran​

Now, however, I could see that the man was not wearing an ISB uniform, but something closer to a different kind of uniform, one that felt far more familiar. When I looked at his face more closely, he seemed familiar as well; I was certain we had never met before, yet I had seen him somewhere, in a picture perhaps, only much younger. At his words I nodded timidly and with confusion, trying to remember where I might know him from. The white-haired man was not familiar to me at all - I had never seen him before - but it was clear that the two of them were together.

Was I safe? I did not know. I was still frightened, still worried that something would go wrong. My thoughts did not help much either, dulled as they were by the loss of consciousness; my mind still moved painfully slowly. I tried to breathe more evenly, but my heart continued to pound in my chest. Then I went pale as realisation finally struck me.

"You… you… you are Ellayina’s betrothed, aren’t you? Sa… Ser… Lord Severus Barran?" I asked, worry and fear trembling in my voice… because it was possible that Ella had sent them.

 

[Severus Barran]

TAGS
Lilianna L'lerim

YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE
4

​

Domi's Coffee Shack, City Surface,
Coruscant, Deep Core Territories (903 ABY)

'You… you… you are Ellayina's betrothed, aren't you? Sa… Ser… Lord Severus Barran?'
'Ah, yes, but - uh - as for the betrothal, I'm not so sure it was ever fated to result in marriage.'
​

Their eyes finally met again, only this time, Lilianna would find that her fearfulness would bring pain to the soul of the young Lion; and when his eyes closed briefly, Severus could not hold back the sigh his lungs sent forth, for it was reason enough to wish for the death of her captors. Gladdened, however, that he was quick to answer with sincerity, Barran would open his eyelids once more, admitting,'Its not every day I feel the emanation of soul-deep rejection, but when Ella defected to the Galactic Empire - it seems to have been of no loss to either party, fortunately.', prefacing perfectly to alluded disdain for loveless power-marriages.

'Barrans, good and bad alike, will follow our hearts over prestige every time. It has rung true for every last son of the clan, apparently.... And Ellayina's heart, I think, was never meant to beat with mine.'

​

Realizing then that he was starting to wear his heart on his sleeve, the young Count of Ord Mynock bowed his head in a bid to cut himself short, and with more than enough humility to denote his recency to the rank as he continued,'Gave me confidence issues for a while, that one. I genuinely thought it was just me, but time tells all.... Perhaps someday our houses may join, but that particular betrothal, alas, will remain a what-if forevermore.', concluding the matter with an honesty that revealed much and more about the young Lion. Wishing not to break hearts, lest his own be broken in the process, Barran had realised that people often hid their true intentions in marriages between great houses, and was glad to have escaped the clutches of the cultures that gave rise to such traditions.

Severus wanted to marry for love, not to uphold the ways of high-nobility.

'There are other ways to honour an alliance... And what we chose, Michael & I, was the path of valour.'
'Damn right, for we uphold the Barran/Karidim alliance - back to back, with swords in hand.'

 

[Lilianna L'lerim]

Information

Crown Princess of Aaven, Priestess of Ashla​

"Galactic Common" | <"High Nelvaanian"> | ["Essonian"] | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

Objective: Meet with Lord Barran
Location: A café in the affluent part of Coruscant
Equipment: Noble Attire | Ashlan Rosary || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m

Severus Barran​

When Lord Barran confirmed that he truly was the person I had thought him to be, for a brief moment fear and dread washed over me again, the thought striking that perhaps he really was on her side. But his words carried pain, they were sorrowful, and it was unmistakably clear that he did not stand with my sister. And yet… yet I believe that perhaps I was able to offer him some measure of comfort. Although Ella had never been kind to either Tancred or me, I had wished that this might change in the future. And there was a reason for that.

"It may still beat as one… it may be you who heals the wounds upon her soul, the very wounds that drove her into the service of the Galactic Empire… we cannot know the future." I smiled sadly. "Perhaps you are the one who will save her…"

When she told me - and showed me - what she was preparing to do, what she had intended, I felt her pain and lived through it with him. I do not know whether it was a cry for help, or whether she did it to torment me, or to make me understand why she wished us dead. But I felt the grief and the sorrow, the pain; I recognised it. I believed that there was good in everyone; I would have said the same even of Darth Solipsis . But perhaps that belief was nothing more than my own naivety.

Our father suffered as well, and he never truly recovered from the loss of our mother; and it was his children who bore that suffering most of all. Especially Ella; and because Father could not truly show love, save in his own limited way. I do not know whether Tancred fled because of this, as Ella did, but both of them were guided down different paths by Ashla, and Her ways were unfathomable. But I was a romantic and a dreamer... I believed in happy endings. Or at the very least, I wanted to believe that they existed.

It is true that I was still inexperienced when it came to love and matters of the heart; I had mostly only encountered such things in novels and holofilms. Yet as they spoke here, the realisation suddenly struck me, I believe the two of them were together…

"Oh… I think I was mistaken… forgive me, I did not realise that you two…" I stammered, flushing deeply. "… are a couple."

Meanwhile, my thoughts were finally beginning to clear, to move faster and more normally again, and I sat up on the bench where I had been. I placed my feet on the floor and drew in a deep, trembling breath. I believe that… I was trying to clear my head and focus on why we were here in the first place. Because of my twin brother, who had to be saved; and because I had come to ask for help. Yes. I took another deep breath.

"I sent the message to Lord Barran, your father, because the Galactic Empire has captured my brother, Tancred, and they intend to execute him. I wished to ask for your father’s help... to help save him…" I finally said, with great difficulty, looking at the two men pleadingly.

 

[Severus Barran]

TAGS
Lilianna L'lerim

YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE
5

​

Domi's Coffee Shack, City Surface,
Coruscant, Deep Core Territories (903 ABY)

'Thank you.'
​

In time, perhaps many wounds could be healed, including those superficial and soul-deep alike, but there would be many that would remain raw, and far beyond the advent of peacetime at that. However, and as much as his prideful side often loathed to admit it, Severus knew that the foundations of his faith were built on (and quarried from-) bedrocks of forgiveness, penitence, and reconciliation, often proving miraculous whenever a soul repented within the heart of their own evils, and though there was much to forgive about Ella by then, the young Lion knew his own mother had come back from depths much darker than those of his betrothed.

Having made his peace with Lyra's past as Darth Sybila, young Barran only seeked to uncover truths of his mother's heroism by that point in his life, fully aware her soul had long-since been redeemed, willingly purified by the path of redemption. Thus, if the Mother of Dyasties could come back from that, the young Lion knew there was always a chance for his betrothed to fnd her way again, and as much as he wanted to blame a defecting beauty for everything, Severus wisely averted his own hypcrisy by heeding the truth of these beliefs. Even his own father had repented his sins in life, converting in the wake of confessing to the Voice of Ashla, an event of which could only imprint forever on Severus' mind, and forevermore at that.

'Huh? Oh.... Oh, no!'

Barran would have gone into further depth on the matter too, but then an innocent misunderstanding suddenly threw him for a mirthful loop, enough that he even quipped,'I firmly place you at fault for that one, Mikey. Perhaps we should leave,"Swords", away from diplomatic analogies, hm?', with eyes staring firm, giggling blame into the side of Karidim's head. The banter might have continued, but once again, a sudden development would sidetrack the young Lion's train of thought, and enough that he ended up fully invested in the latest wave of information to process; yet this time, and as much as Severus could not bear such a thought at the time, this particular distraction would be much more intense to consider.

'I sent the message to Lord Barran, your father, because the Galactic Empire has captured my brother, Tancred, and they intend to execute him. I wished to ask for your father's help... to help save him…'

If I'm already deployed, then I need to make a judgement call.
Just as the old man predicted, just as he said things might pan out.

Fortunately, I was paying attention. Unfortunately, he's probably on the way.​

'Of course you did, and you are certainly right to do so.... But we did not know of any of this, we couldn't-'
'Now-now, Brother. We have wishes here to respect, and fellowship's meaning to bolster - thats what family does.'

​

Having received news of double-edged nature, the Dantooinan was constantly bouncing between encouragement and dismay, leaving him unsure as to where he stood in the grand scheme of things, and this always infuriated him. In dire need of an outlet, the young Lion knew he was better off saving for the real rescue-attempt, and though he still had trouble stifling that rage at the time, Severus was well-aware of his good fortune in having plenty foes to slaughter on that impending day of days. Barran knew that respecting L'lerim's wishes meant marking his first operation a resounding failure, fully aware it prolonged her already-lengthy timeline in captivity, but in seeing the desperate need to know that Tancred would be saved, he realised the approaching mayhem was out of his hands from the start.

'Lilianna, you've gotten me terrified.... Alright, feth it! I'll do it, but on one condition.... Be honest, how long, roughly, have you been in captivity thusfar?'

​