~O~
Treat You Better
New Eden
Sienna stirred a little and the first thing she noticed was the pain in her midsection. It was dull, but little sharp stabs still resonated through the skin, drawing small sounds of discomfort from her lips.
Star beeped beside her and she looked around, attempting to sense the droid.
"Oh, you're still here." she said.
She felt around and could tell that the little tubes were still attached to her arm, keeping her to the droid.
"Oh, you must be the droid who kept me alive," she told the machine, "I can't see you very well. I'm sorry. But I thank you."
A few synthetic noises in response from Star.
Sienna felt around her lower body, running her fingers across what she assumed was stitching done to the wound she'd suffered from that...
Oh, of course. It was coming back to her. The Inquisitor who had sliced her with the Force. She'd nearly had her insides spill out if not for being saved by her friends.
And Trilla.
She could still barely remember feeling Trilla there with her; through memories of pain and blood as the other woman had carried her. Comforted her. It had been so strange and felt like a dream that Sienna wasn't so sure if it had been real.
Then, Sienna looked up when she heard the door open. A protocol droid entered, addressing her. "Madam, good morning! I am a protocol droid. TC-88. I have been instructed to take you to your friends when you awake."
Sienna smiled, relieved. "Thank you. But...I can't see you very well, I'm afraid."
"Don't worry." TC-88 assured her in his pleasant, accented voice. "I'll be your eyes, madam. You have nothing to fear. Civilized is what I do."
Sienna rose, wincing as she struggled out of bed. Stepping onto the floor hurt a little, but she fought through it. Her mind was to where she was and what this place meant for her.
Taking the droid's cold, metal hand, she followed him down the corridors.
"What is this place?" Sienna asked.
"A home for Force-sensitive beings to hide away from the Empire," TC-88 explained, "We were all rescued from abuse and neglect. Lucien is our leader and caretaker and he watches over those here."
Sienna made a thoughtful sound. "Really? That's wonderful!" Then, she added hesitantly. "Are there...more Miraluka here?"
"There are twenty-two residents of pure Miraluka blood residing here in New Eden, madam." TC-88 informed her.
Sienna grinned, excited by the thought. She felt her heart racing. "I can't believe it. I never dreamed I'd be able to meet them. But would they all meet me?"
"Miraluka share the ideas of unity and thoughtfulness. They will be happy to meet you."
Sienna could barely contain her excitement; to finally meet her fellow Miraluka and be told they would be happy to see her was such a wonderful blessing.
But first, she had to see how her friends were doing.
They made their way down a path and Sienna was welcomed by colors all around her when they stepped outside into warm sunlight. She smiled brightly, awestruck by the rainbow of life through her eyes. Sounds of birds, happy people talking and swimming seas of pleasant shades; she'd never seen so much before.
"What is this?" she gasped. "It's wonderful."
TC-88 waved to a passing woman. "This is our home and soon, it can be yours, too."
A home. At last.
O
Lucien studied the holocron for the longest time in his hands. The others sat nearby at a round table, watching him as he seemed to cherish the item.
"Finally, after all this time," he sighed, "We can rebuild our order. We can save lives."
Cal smiled, nodding his head. BD-1 hopped down from his shoulders, made his way over to Lucien and the Miraluka chuckled, patting the droid on the head with one large hand.
"Your friend here seems to agree." he said.
Kareena was sitting beside him and Trilla noticed that she seemed happy as well. But still, she knew that peace wasn't always an option and that there had to be more to this little utopia than there seemed to be. There always was.
TC-88 entered the room and Sienna followed. The others were certainly relieved to see her up and moving; they rose and approached, embracing her. All but Trilla. She wasn't quite sure what to do.
She doesn't know what to do.
Hah, look at her.
She's just one girl, Trilla. Are you afraid of her, too?
The Dark was laughing a little, but she found it easier to ignore today.
"Ah! Your friend is awake." Lucien said, "Good. I'm glad to see you're alive. I see that Star is treating you well."
The droid let out a series of chirps in response.
Sienna was happy to be in Lucien's presence; Trilla felt herself half-smiling as she watched the excitement, the awe and the pleasure all cross her face. He was shaking hands with her now.
"...your father...who was he?"
"Victor Krane."
"I knew Victor Krane. He worked as a doctor among us. He married your mother, didn't he? Inanna-Shay." Lucien smiled. "Yes! Your mother was a member of the Luka Sene and she met Victor. I witnessed their marriage myself."
Sienna let out a breathless laugh. "So...you don't disapprove of me?"
"Of course not! Victor was a friend to our kind. And he was a friend of mine." Lucien continued, "I am happy to know both their legacies live on in you."
"What is the Luka Sene? I must know everything."
Lucien laughed gently, a hand on her shoulder. "All in good time, sister. We will get to talk more later." he said. "Now, we have business to discuss. Perhaps you could get some food."
Sienna made a face. "Well...I am hungry." she admitted.
"Good. Kareena. Would you go with her? Show her around a little."
Trilla's smile disappeared somewhat, eyes darkening as she watched the woman depart with Sienna. The hand that lingered on the small of her back.
She thought of following them.
What's wrong with you?
Stop it.
Stop it right now.
Lucien moved to a table to have a drink poured for him by a droid. He took a sip of it as Cal spoke.
"So, where do we go from here?" he asked.
"I don't know just yet." Lucien replied. He ran his finger across the rim of his glass. "I had searched for so many years for a holocron. Yet it would seem that fate has brought you here to me. I have hope now that the Jedi ways are not dead. And that we can create a new, better order than one we had before. For now, we let your friend rest and go from there."
"How many Miraluka are here?" Cere asked. "You'd mentioned Luka Sene."
Lucien nodded his head. "Yes, they were like Jedi, but we had our own ways of connecting with the Force." he explained, "We had meditation and education chambers in most cities on our homeworld of Alpheridies. While all Miraluka used the Force to sense the world around them, some Miralukans did have an increased sense-based aspect of the Force. Like your Jedi."
"Was Polemos a Luka Sene?" Cal asked.
Lucien suddenly crushed the glass in his hand, shattering it to bits.
The others watching looked stunned by this; his hand had started to bleed and the liquid he'd been drinking trickled down his palm in rivers, though he didn't seem to be in pain. His lips thinned and he slowly shook his head, addressing Cal.
"Do not. Speak his name. To me." he whispered, the even tone in his voice gone in place of frigid coldness.
It was the first time that they'd seen his composure broken.
"He murdered Sienna's father," Trilla continued before Cal could speak. "Perhaps you could shed some light on that matter?"
Lucien shook his head with disgust. "Polemos was a spoiled, rotten child who was given every chance to do right," he snapped, "He was given a gift and used that to destroy lives! He violated Miraluka law, desecrated our temples to sell our treasures for his own gain. And when he came to me, insisting that Victor not blend his blood with ours, that was the last I'd hear of it. I exiled him and stripped him of his title. He is no brother to us."
Merrin frowned at that. "I thought all Miraluka were tranquil beings."
"It is rare, but there can be members of our kind who fall prey to the Dark." Lucien explained. "Polemos let his jealousy get the best of him."
"So do we know where he is?" Trilla found herself wanting to know. Wanting to hunt him down like the dog he was.
"Bounty hunters have hunted him in the past." Lucien replied, "And I put the bounty on him for what he did to my daughter. He is to be brought to me dead or alive."
Trilla's brow furrowed. "What? What did he do to her?"
O
Kareena was removing her eye wraps, exposing the terrible scar across her head. She wiped her forehead down with another cloth before working on rewrapping her head.
Sienna was sitting across from her, waiting to receive a proper meal. Star was beside her, beeping a few times. It earned a small, warm laugh from Kareena.
"Star seems to have taken a liking to you." she remarked. "He says he likes how you don't pull on him like others do."
Sienna chuckled a little, patting the droid with one hand. "Well, you're very welcome."
An Aqualish cook approached the two, wheeling a cart of food for them. "I hope you both brought big appetites." he announced, with pride.
Kareena smiled and nodded. "Yes, we certainly have."
"I have Hoi-broth for our little guest," he said, placing the bowl in front of Sienna, "Good for a recovering patient. It includes boiled seaweed and oxidized spices from my own private stock. I have also included the tiniest bits of Nexu flesh. Good for the belly."
Sienna took a small inhale and smiled. "Ahh, I've never had this before. Thank you. It smells very good."
"And for Lady Kareena..." The Aqualish produced a plate of meat and vegetables. "My take on Nexu tongue served with Vormfruit and Kibla greens."
"Ahh, thank you, Po. As always, you never fail to impress."
Kareena looked at Sienna, who delicately sipped the broth. "Po Hid is one of our fine chefs here on New Eden."
Sienna smiled her approval when she savored a little sip of the broth. "Yes, I can see. You and Greez would certainly have much to talk about."
Po gave a little bow and went about his way while the two were eating. Sienna took a few delicate sips of her broth and it eased the sour feeling in her stomach to a degree.
"Your friends went through great lengths to bring you here alive," Kareena told her. "You're blessed to have them in your life. And I hope you can find a home here with us. We need to stick together in such dire times."
Sienna thought about Trilla so suddenly. Her stomach was soured again.
"You can learn much about your culture here." Kareena continued. "I would be happy to show you, of course. Perhaps even teach you the ways of Jedi."
Sienna stopped eating. Her lips thinned. "I refuse to be associated with the Jedi in any way."
Kareena was surprised by the cold change in her voice.
Sienna sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. That was rude."
"No, no, I understand." Kareena was quick to correct herself. "I should have understood that must have been a touchy subject for you. After all, it was Polemos who killed your father."
Sienna swallowed thickly, forcing down a hot lump in her throat.
"Anyway, enough of that," Kareena said, smiling now. "Cara's wife has an extensive library of audio files and history of our people. I can show you so much that you missed out on."
Sienna smiled hopefully.
O
Trilla departed the meeting to look for Sienna, making her way down into the little town. There were suspicious looks, but curious ones all around her from those there; she knew that they didn't trust her and she even expected a confrontation. Truthfully, she was amazed it hadn't happened sooner.
But an older woman directed Trilla to an enormous cargo ship that had been modified into their archives and she wasn't surprised to find Sienna talking with Kareena the entire time.
Of course she was.
A grin from the Dark. Of course she is.
"...there will be a bonfire party tonight. You should join us! The other Miraluka here will be happy to hear your stories. Twin Gods knows they're sick of mine at this point."
Sienna nodded, smiling.
Kareena turned, noticing Trilla there now. She cleared her throat and started to walk away.
"Your friend is here," she told Sienna. "I imagine the two of you have much to discuss."
Sienna's smile disappeared and she looked a long inhale as Trilla approached her. Kareena departed and Trilla watched her go for a moment, collecting her thoughts and words she intended to speak. Once again, she found herself fumbling with words.
It only happened with her.
"You look...well," Trilla managed, turning her focus to Sienna.
"Yes, thanks to all of you." Sienna replied, with a half-smile.
A nod from Trilla. She felt tense now.
This was ridiculous. She never did this; she never felt on edge speaking to someone the way she was. But all she could think about was what Sienna had decided on before nearly being sliced open by Dillon. She could still smell her blood all over her.
The horror of knowing that she could have died...
Trilla licked her lips before speaking. "You were leaving us."
Sienna blinked, taken by her words. Then, she sighed, knowing that was coming. "Is that why you're here? To talk about that?"
"Yes." Trilla said, evenly.
"I nearly died. And you feel as if I abandoned you," Sienna had never spoken with such an edge until now. She let out a short, angry laugh. "You've made it abundantly clear on what your thoughts were. No, I..."
She shook her head, blinking and forcing back her words for a moment. Trilla scoffed, throwing her hands in the air. Her instincts were to be cruel. To take back control of the situation.
She still saw Sienna bloody. Hurt.
That stopped such an instinct right away.
"I don't want to lie to you anymore," Sienna told her, sadly, "You have been lied to enough. I meant well, but often times, that's where the trouble lies. I was honest when I said I wanted to help you, but perhaps I was trying to help myself, too. Make the nightmares disappear. The ones of my failures. That wasn't right."
Trilla's features were grave. Her heart suddenly clenched.
"I'm sorry." Sienna continued, quietly now.
Star's trilling and synthetic noises were the only ones in the room now. Sienna and Trilla stood there in silence for a moment, in close proximity. Trilla quietly sighed now, watching Sienna as she seemed to shift where she stood. She wasn't aware that she'd been doing the same.
There was a warmth there again. Trilla's lips parted, her eyes narrowed. Sienna seemed interested in distracting herself so suddenly.
"Well, I'm glad we've cleared the air," she said, with the faintest of smiles.
"Does this mean you're no longer angry with me?" Trilla questioned, chuckling a little now. This felt absurd, but she was suddenly calmer.
"Ah, yes. It means that I'm no longer upset." Sienna replied. She wrinkled her brow. "Though I have to admit that I did like not feeling so much zen and peace all the time. Sometimes you need to feel something."
Trilla could agree with that.
It wasn't like her to feel things, but lately, feeling was all that she did.
O
Lucien had a pretty speech to make.
Trilla was paying no attention to it as she watched those gather around the great bonfire. Cere had been wearing new Jedi robes and it made Trilla utter a laugh. They were far too bright and colorful'; she'd never seen them before.
"What exactly are we dressing up as tonight?" she quipped.
Cere huffed and tried not to smile. "Oh, hush. This so happens to be a ceremonial robe of the - "
"For what, a street performer?" Trilla grinned.
Cere gave her a playful swat at her shoulder. She glanced at Trilla, watched her for a moment before speaking again.
"You seem relaxed now," she said, "I guess that talk with Sienna went well?"
Trilla nodded her head. "It did..."
"I've never seen you worried like that before."
"Why wouldn't I have been worried? She was going to bleed to death."
"Of course, of course," Cere nodded. "But...I just thought that it was different now. What you did was a good thing, Trilla. I want you to know that."
Trilla sighed impatiently, a sick feeling coming over her. She wasn't sure if she liked this attention right now.
"Fine. Whatever you say, Cere."
She was offered a drink by a droid and started to take a sip, but noticed that Sienna was associating herself with other Miraluka. They were laughing, talking and sharing stories. One of them had even begun braiding her hair. She looked very happy, like a child on their birthday.
Her mouth twitched in a smile.
But her smile disappeared when she noticed Kareena put a hand on Sienna's cheek.
Cere was eating when the other woman rose and frowned, watching her approach the Miraluka.
Once Trilla was close enough, three Miraluka women turned to her with bright smiles.
"Sienna, is this her?" one of them asked.
"Oh! She's very pretty!" another added.
Trilla frowned intensely, but her scowl eventually relaxed at the compliments. She didn't know what to make of the dithering, or their playful laughter. Sienna seemed embarrassed about something, but didn't speak on the matter.
Trilla huffed and turned to go, but her hand was stopped by Kareena and the other woman rose, smiling. "Oh, don't sulk!" she insisted, "Just silly chatter. It isn't often they get to see new people come through here. Sienna had a lot of good things to say about you."
"Oh?" Trilla made a face. "Are my ears aflame?"
Kareena chuckled and leaned forward, speaking under her breath. "Positively."
Trilla rolled her eyes dismissively at the scattered laughter. She returned to Cere and took a seat. The older woman stared at her and Trilla eventually sensed her look. She scowled now, interpreted exactly why she looked at her like that.
"Don't look at me that way, Cere," she snapped.
"What's bothering you?" Cere asked, "These people...This place... Every time Kareena talks to Sienna, you get this look on your face."
"I don't have a look."
Cere chuckled, pointing at her. "There. That one."
Trilla sighed, long and loud as she crossed her legs where she sat.
"You remember? When you were young. You sulked all over the temple one day," Cere continued, still smiling, "I asked you what was wrong and you told me you were angry that Sil had been talking with that boy from Naboo."
"Your point?" Trilla snapped.
"You're jealous."
Trilla crowed with laughter. "Don't be ridiculous!"
Cere regarded her in silence for a moment, giving her a chance to laugh about the idea before she made a short laugh herself, looking into the flame.
"I know. I know you're probably going to think I'm wrong," Cere said, "Or call me an idiot. But I know that you like her, Trilla. I know that she's good for you. And I know it hurt you when you thought she was going to die."
"Don't - "
"Trilla, I'm serious." Cere insisted, with gentleness that had the other woman look sharply away.
Trilla pursed her lips, suddenly uncomfortable. She watched Sienna interact with the other Miraluka. Eventually, Greez had walked up to them, wearing brand new clothes as well. He held out his arms and grinned at them.
"I think you look great." a Miraluka said.
Greez chuckled. "Hey, thanks I - " He cut himself and sighed, rolling his eyes when they started laughing. "Why do you gotta do that?"
Trilla shook her head, casting her gaze to the fire and the others dancing around the bonfire. Eventually, most of the Miraluka had joined in, performing a dance that awed those around her. But Sienna had not joined in.
Instead, she took a seat beside her and cleared her throat. Trilla looked at her.
"I assumed you'd be there with your Miraluka brothers and sisters dancing," she said.
"Mmm, stage fright." Sienna replied, with a laugh. "That and I don't know about the dance they're doing. Kareena told me she might show me sometime when I'm ready."
Trilla smiled, though she didn't really care to hear that.
Lucien had been telling a story as the night went on. Trilla had fallen asleep, sitting up against the log with her arms crossed. She didn't even notice when Sienna had fallen asleep on her shoulder, but it was certainly seen by Cere, who had been watching them. She smiled warmly and looked over at Cal and Merrin as they sat beside her.
"Hey..." Cere whispered, "Look."
"Yeah. We should get them up." Cal said. "It's getting late."
Cere shook her head, holding up a hand. "No, no. Let them sleep. I don't get to see Trilla so calm like this. She needs it."
"They both do." Merrin pointed out.
Sienna stirred a little - in the middle of a dream, no doubt. Trilla snorted softly, blinking awake. She looked around before noticing Sienna's sleepy face right near hers.
She stared at her for a moment, smiled and shook her head before closing her eyes and leaning her head against hers as well.