29: Nothing Left to Say.
Quinn's eyes were still on the door as if he expected Arielle to return at any moment but she never did "I shouldn't have said anything. Why did I have to let myself go like that?"
"Shock, surprise. You were overwhelmed." Me'ghan gave him a sympathetic smile but he couldn't help scolding himself.
"I'm trained to deal with shock, with the unexpected and to not lose my decorum."
"Mal… this isn't the same and if you're waiting for me to reprimand you, I won't." Me'ghan pulled up a chair and sat down next to him "At first I thought she was a past lover, actually. The way you responded to her it was as though everyone else ceased to exist but I understand now. I can't say I'd react any better if I were suddenly faced with a loved one I'd thought to be long dead."
"I feel so foolish. Van said she'd fled to the Republic and I cast it aside as a lie, assuming she purposely tried to throw us off Eliza's trail. Same as her lie about Eliza's death."
He buried his head in the palms of his hands once more "I never even considered looking among the ranks of the Jedi."
"You wouldn't have found her there then, she was too young."
"She hates me."
Me'ghan sighed and took her husband's hands in her own "She needs time. I don't think she ever knew any of this and you just turned her life upside down."
"I shouldn't have said anything."
"Stop" she placed her index finger to his lips "We'll figure this out and if you want to be angry with someone, blame the people who've kept her from you all these years. I cannot imagine the Jedi didn't know."
Me'ghan rose back to her feet and urged Quinn to do the same "Let's head home and take a few days to deal with this, see what we can dig up about your niece and that Sith she was with."
"You mean your predecessor?"
She chewed on the inside of her cheek and nodded. The comments made by both Lord Scourge and Arielle had left her with an unsettling feeling that the both of them knew far more about the man she served than she did herself.
"Yeah. I'm dying to know now what made him turn his back on the Emperor…"
—
The Defender was dark and seemingly empty by the time Lord Scourge returned but he could feel her presence nearby and made his way for her private quarters. He found her there, curled up into a ball on top of her blankets as she cried in silence.
"Jedi..." he sighed and flicked on a small light before climbing into bed next to her. She instantly rolled over and clung onto him, letting her tears trickle down his chest and he wrapped her into his arms.
"I don't know how to feel..." Arielle admitted in choked up whispers "I tried to stay, to hear his story but I couldn't breathe."
"I never even considered she might be dead... I always just assumed she was out there enjoying life and that was okay."
She buried her face against his chest again and sobbed, her heartache evident as she struggled to process everything she'd learned.
Lord Scourge, feeling entirely inadequate in the position of trying to provide the sort of comfort she needed now slowly rubbed the small of her back and focused on their conversation instead "They would have faced imprisonment themselves if they hadn't renounced her. I know that's hard for you to understand but life in the Empire can be quite unforgiving, especially for those that don't possess the gift of the Force."
Arielle frowned and thought "I know, I've heard the stories but it's not an easy thing to accept and there's a part of me which..." she hesitated and gasped for air.
"Don't hold back Jedi, just tell me every single thought you're having."
She lifted her head slightly and looked up at him through tear soaked lashes "Is it okay if on some level I'm angry with her too?"
"I mean, why did she have to go back? Even if she never got his message, she should have known better right? Why risk it?"
He nodded and kissed the top of her head "You can be angry but no one living will ever be able to answer that question now."
Her fingertips idly played along his chest as she fell silent again, losing herself in her own train of thought. Earlier that day she'd felt so happy and revived, she'd been in good spirits and even had a sense of clarity but now her entire world felt like it had been turned upside down once more.
"Malavai... I think I loved him once... there's been, snippets of memories resurfacing as he spoke but, I don't want to feel that right now, you know? He's a near complete stranger." Arielle sniffled.
"And Imperial, which makes your predicament even harder now." Lord Scourge deduced.
"Mm" she mused resting her arm on top of his chest as she lay her head down and stared into his eyes, her own puffed and red though the stream of salted tears ebbed away slowly "So this is where my darkness comes from huh? I'm not just Sith and not just part of any bloodline but an ancient one dating back to the days of old."
"It is. Many of my species have always enjoyed a symbiotic bond with the Dark side of the Force which was naturally passed on to you, even if your father never possessed the gift, even though you're human. You're part Pureblood too which is something that won't be ignored, trust me."
"I'm actually ashamed I didn't make the connection sooner," Lord Scourge thought out loud "that I was unable to identify its origin. I should have sensed your darkness wasn't new but rather ancient instead."
"What connection?"
"Your family name, Ignis. It had faint familiarity when I first heard it but I couldn't quite place it."
"And now?"
Lord Scourge propped one of the pillows up behind his back as he sat up, pulling Arielle more firmly into his arms at the same time "Now I remember."
"Back in my village, when I was still a child myself, there were always whispers of powerful Sith with unique abilities. Abilities they'd nurtured and maintained by keeping their bloodline pure. One of those families was the Ignis family who were said to have enslaved the element of fire, wielding its flames as a weapon of their own."
"My ancestors?"
"Yeah." Lord Scourge chuckled as he recalled those incredulous stories "I never believed any of it, cast the tales aside as myths. Until now."
Arielle welcomed the distraction as he spoke of his own past and the faintest makings of a twinkle returned to her eyes—she loved listening to him talk about times long ago and his own history.
"Now it would seem you're living proof."
She snorted miserably "We'll see about that. I may have once burned my toys, ridiculous as that sounds but I don't recall ever doing it again. It might have been a fluke and the purity of my bloodline ended the moment my father was born. He was human, not a Pureblood and he wasn't gifted in the Force either."
"That doesn't mean the legacy ended with your grandfather."
"Do you suppose our families knew each other?"
Lord Scourge scoffed at the very suggestion "I doubt it. Families like yours always secluded themselves from others, imagined themselves to be above everyone else. They lived in entirely different areas, sometimes even a whole other space section."
"And yours?"
"Proud and traditional though not half as arrogant. My mother taught Sith history to the local children while my father was gone most days fighting for our survival and for the Empire."
"What became of them, if you don't mind me asking? I mean you became immortal and—"
"I lost them both long before I became immortal. My father fell supporting an old family friend during a feud with another Sith while my mother died during my first year at the Academy. A mysterious virus affecting only my species had swept through the village."
"You never talk of them" Arielle mused as she lingered in his embrace "Were you close?"
"They raised me right and I respectfully mourned them both, my mother more so than my father. I never knew him well enough."
She could hear the faintest signs of affection in his voice when he spoke of his parents and a part of her envied that, wishing she'd known her own well enough to treasure such sentiments and then Arielle's brows pulled into a frown as her mind landed on a different thought.
"My name and legacy… Is that why the Emperor had my father killed? That prophecy makes much more sense now, a child born from the ancient flames, it's not literal. Did he know who I was when I faced him, what I might be capable of?"
"It does make sense now and based on what Malavai had to say, I even suspect that the constant torment you endured at Chaskar's hands was all intended as a way to see if the myths surrounding your family were true. For the Emperor to see if you possessed those same powers, if they'd manifest under duress. He would have had the perfect weapon then."
She sat up and looked at her hands, wondering what would trigger such an ability within her if the Overseer hadn't managed to draw it out. A sharp sting lashed along her lower back, phantom pain of wounds that were no longer there and then she felt Lord Scourge's tentative fingertips caress her skin instead.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you then, it was too great a risk."
"You need to stop apologizing for things like that" Arielle grimaced as she reflected on her own situation "What I need from you now is—"
A faint chiming sounded through the small quarters "I'm really starting to hate this thing." she picked up the holo comm which had interrupted their conversation and grumbled.
"Arielle."
Lord Scourge felt her tense up at the sound of Satele's voice "Grand Master."
"I apologize for disturbing you so late..." Satele spoke smoothly and Arielle could see her tilt her head as though she tried to get a better angle of the holo image before her. Lord Scourge stealthily snuck out of sight.
"I urge you to meet with me on Coruscant immediately. It's a matter of great import."
"I'm busy." Arielle limited her use of words on purpose, if only to prevent herself from lashing out and for a moment thought back to the manner in which she'd snapped at Theron.
"If you could fill me in on your current mission I may be able to have another take your place."
"No need."
She could hear Satele's resigned sigh "I spoke with Master Kaedan and he informed me of what he saw within you, what you both saw."
"Of course he did."
"Arielle we're concerned for you. Please meet with me."
Arielle tightened her grip on the small device as her anger rose to the surface "I have nothing left to say to you Grand Master."
She snapped the comm shut in her hand and threw it at her bedroom door while releasing an aggravated scream. The accessory shattered instantly, its broken wiring crackling in the air before dying out.
Lord Scourge watched as she shook, a combination of anger and hurt written all over her face "Jedi..."
"I don't think I want to go back, not for a while. Not to Coruscant and not to Tython either."
"Then we won't."
"I should call Kira and tell her what happened though. And I need to apologize to Theron."
Lord Scourge tried but couldn't stop himself from grinning "You just smashed your social life into a dozen pieces" he pointed back near the door.
"Oh right" Arielle buried her face against the palms of her hands "Set course for Nar Shaddaa. We'll resupply there and I'll get myself a new comm and until then anyone who needs us can just call the ship instead."
"Nar Shaddaa?"
"Do you have any other suggestions? It's a dump but at least people won't look at us twice there and we can get what we need. Perhaps even stay a few nights, away from the Jedi and Republic."
"Alright, sounds reasonable enough to me. I'll plot our course and then if you want, we can discuss your training as Sith? Assuming that's what you meant to say before Satele interrupted."
Arielle flashed him half a smile and nodded "It was."
