Author's Note: So, uh, if any of you received a notification about me posting a new chapter some time last week or maybe the week before... that was a mistake. Wrong story, wrong chapter.
This, however, is the right chapter!
-Chapter 128: Family Ties-
Location: Tiems
"Villages can raise a child, but not like a mother and father can."
"Close your eyes... focus. Reach out and feel the Force around you."
"I can feel it."
"Tell me what you see."
"I see a light... it's surrounded by darkness."
"Reach out to the light. Answer it's call." He tried to but soon struggled... and it showed.
"The darkness... i-it's getting thicker."
"Do not give in to it."
"I-I don't want to. But it's surrounding me... choking me out!" The black gave way to searing red and an intense heat, a pair of eyes forming in the fiery plume moments before it engulfed him. Dynnal snapped his eyes open and gasped as he was forcefully flung from his meditative attempt. His posture sagged as he heaved for air, the experience having taken a visible toll on him.
"Are you alright?" A gentle voice asked as a hand softly rubbed his shoulder. Dynnal shook his head as he straightened and then looked into the face of his concerned mother.
"I will be," he managed, "but that... kriff, what even was that?"
"I felt it too. A heat. Something dark and unyieldingly powerful," Meline described, "never in all my years have I ever felt something quite like that."
"Tell me about it, and I was at the forefront." Dynnal agreed, picking himself up.
The bright afternoon sun of Tiems shone down upon them without any clouds to hinder its light. After escaping with Meline from Ando Prime, Corsair had taken them to a small, forested world in the Outer Rim called Tiems. It was well out of the way of the war and was very quiet and peaceful. Corsair a purchased a decent homestead for them all, father and son spending several weeks nursing Meline back to health after her near two decades in isolated imprisonment. Color was returning to her skin and several hearty meals crafted by the father-son duo had filled out her body a little more. Given her connection to the Force, several days of constant meditating had also increased Meline's stamina and overall health, to a point where she was starting to look like her old self again. But the efforts were not total and Meline was not nearly as strong as she used to be. Corsair and Dynnal believed a few more days of rest would return her to full health. Until then, she just had to take things easy.
Dynnal had undergone a few changes too, Corsair having paid for some laser surgery to remove his serial number tattoo as well as extensive bacta treatments to heal up his iconic twin scars. While Dynnal was somewhat sad to see them go, he knew he needed to physically distance himself from bearing even a remote resemblance to The Wraith. And now he was well on his way to looking like a different man... a better man.
Meline stood alongside him, dressed in simple sweatpants and a tank top, only to stop and falter seconds later.
"Mom? You okay?" Dynnal worriedly asked as he grabbed her.
"Yes... Yes, just... I'm just a little lightheaded." Melina slowly replied, gathering her bearings as she pulled herself together. Concerned, Dynnal figured it was time for his mother to rest.
"Let's get you back to the house. Nice and easy now." He urged, an arm around her as Meline leaned against him, grateful for his support. He helped her out of the woods and into the sprawling grasslands of Tiems, where their house was located. Open and isolated, Dynnal had to admit the Corsair had good taste. The homestead was an open-concept two-story building with an open patio and deck in the rear, which is where Corsair was. Upon seeing his son helping his wife back, he was by their side in an instant.
"Everythin' a'ight?"
"Mom's just tired, needs to lie down for a bit." Dynnal explained, assuming her stronger use of the Force and his sudden encounter with whatever dark wave had come over him as being the likely factors for her exhaustion. Corsair nodded in understanding and slipped Meline's other arm over his shoulders as Dynnal released her.
"I loathe being so weak." The redhead sighed.
"Aw, yor gettin' bettah, babe. Jus' a lil' more a' this an' you'll be roight as rain!" Corsair promised. "Fer now, though, I ain't takin' any chances wit' ya." His earnest words and enthusiastic reply brought a soft chuckle from Meline as she recalled bygone years in which she enjoyed her husband's company.
"You're too sweet, Cory." She replied with a smile. Dynnal held back as his father escorted his mother to the upstairs bedroom. He paused for a moment as he considered how borderline-absurd it was for him to actually have people he could call parents, his birth parents, his genetic father and mother were here now. Having spent so many years of his life not knowing who he truly was to suddenly having a family, it was somewhat jarring. As they disappeared up the stairs, Dynnal sat down on the porch with a mutter,
"By self-admission, it's a little strange." He had no trouble calling Meline 'mom', but Corsair was still a work in progress. After everything he'd done to him during Wraith's tenure in control, it was hard to reconcile the fact that they were related. Dynnal had yet to warm up to the mercenary, or at least enough so to start calling him 'dad'. They just weren't there yet. It wasn't long until Corsair returned by himself and stood beside Dynnal on the porch. "How is she?" His son wondered.
"Tiahed. Somethin' took tha wind right outta 'er." Corsair answered. "What happened out there?" He asked and all Dynnal could do was shrug.
"Just finished meditating and she tried to stand." He answered. It was a pretty mundane task, but he left out the part about the sudden Dark Side barrage they both felt. "Maybe she stood too quickly?" He wondered, thinking that might have something to do with it.
"Could be. Gettin' all light-'eaded givin' how she's still recoverin'." Corsair mused, pulling a cigarra from his vest. "She's restin' now, we best give 'er some time."
"Yeah, we've got time before dinner anyway." Dynnal agreed as Corsair lit up, puffing his cigarra a few times to ensure it was smouldering.
"Care fo' a walk?" He wondered.
"Yeah, sure." Dynnal agreed, rising and following his father out into the grass. Behind their house was a forest filled with tall dark green trees, while nothing but rolling plains filled with wind-swept grass spread out for miles in front of the house. It was in this direction that they traveled, enjoying the ability to see for miles while blue sky stretched out in every direction imagineable. "Must seem strange to suddenly leave the mercenary life behind." Dynnal mused and Corsair chuckled.
"I chose tha life an' I figah I can choose ta leave it anytime I please." He remarked. "Ta be honest, it jus' kept me goin' aftah I lost you both. Those first couple a' months aftah you were born, jus' tha three a' us, those always were my favourite days." He mused, reminiscing the days when he and Meline were younger. "Now I got some new favourites." He added.
"Never took you to be so sentimental." Dynnal pointedly noted.
"Only 'bout my family, boyo." Corsair sincerely replied, exhaling a puff of smoke after a long drag from his cigarra. Walking in silence for a moment, Dynnal found himself with a question to pose.
"Gotta ask, do I have grandparents? I know Mom has no recollection of her family or any records. But what about you?" He asked. Corsair lost the vibrant shimmer in his eye for a moment.
"I wouldn't get yer hopes up, boyo. I nevah did get along well wit' Mom an' Dad. If they are still alive, I doubt they'd care much." He replied in a somber tone.
"You'll have to explain to me how such a breakdown came to be." Dynnal said.
"I will... when I've got tha guts ta tell ya relive it all." Corsair promised, blowing another cloud of smoke. While they were still on the topic, Dynnal made to expand on his questions.
"You mentioned I was named after your younger brother?"
"Yeah. Me kid brothah. Good kid. Thought tha world a' me an' I him." Corsair wistfully mused. What he wouldn't give to spend one more day with him... or to reverse fates altogether. "I'll... tell ya 'is story someday too." He promised in a quiet voice after a few more puffs. "Can we, uh, talk 'bout somethin' else?" He asked after a moment of silence. Dynnal could tell he'd struck a painful topic for Corsair and made a mental note before moving on.
"Oh, yeah, sure. Well, it, um... Seems like Mom took to the truth about what happened to me well enough." He remarked after a moment's hesitation to find a new topic.
"B'tween you an' me, she's bound an' dahtermined ta make shor' ya don't leave 'er sight evah again." Corsair told him with a chuckle, and Dynnal could believe it. "Guess ya turned out a'ight, though. Tall, jacked, ya probably got all tha ladies swoonin' ovah ya!" Corsair teased and Dynnal let out a soft chuckle in agreement. He didn't exactly keep track of whether or not he turned heads, but could sense through the Force that he most certainly was every time he went into the nearby village for food. "So, be honest, ya evah take advantage a' their lookin'?" Corsair wondered. Dynnal knew exactly what he was asking and shook his head,
"No, I haven't." He replied, "Ahsoka's the only girl I've ever slept with. And I plan on keeping it that way." For a moment, Corsair didn't say anything. But then he smiled and patted Dynnal on the shoulder.
"Good on ya, kiddo." He praised. "Can't say I was tha same growin' up. I did anythin' that might send Ma an' Pa in circles." He remarked.
"So you got around a lot." Dynnal determined and Corsair nodded.
"Yeah... but then I met yor mothah. And jus'... everythin' changed." He added. "I didn't want ta be with no othah girl, just 'er."
"Who were you with before?" A curious Dynnal pried.
"Any gal who wanted ta hop in tha sack." Corsair scoffed with a shrug. "Had this one Twi'lek though, when I was still goin' ta classes. She was a real lookah, fitness was 'er thing. We hit it off good but broke up aftah finishin'." He described, thinking briefly about Hahlli back on Coruscant. "She jus' couldn't go where I was goin'. Ran inta 'er again aftah yor mom an' I were sep'rated. She's doin' alright fo' 'erself, managin' a bar on Coruscant. Used ta be married even." Taking another drag on his cigarra, Corsair remembered those stolen moments of his youth in which Hahlli openly defied the societal desires of a 'good girl' like herself to be with a 'bad boy' like him. "She was tha closest thing I had to a real friend growin' up. Everyone else had their damn heads stuck in tha clouds, bein' heirs and heiresses an' all. But she was grounded, like me." Corsair explained.
"But then Mom came along." Dynnal concluded.
"Yep. An', a' course, she was a bloody Jedi!" Corsair remarked with a laugh. "But I'm shor ya know tha feelin'." Nodding in agreement, it was Dynnal's turn to remember as his thoughts drifted to Ahsoka... as they had several times over the course of their stay on Tiems.
"Yeah... I do." He agreed. "Gotta admit, there is a certain thrill that comes with it, though. Us doing something so... scandalous but not really caring because we love each other more."
"Well, ya do care somewhat, othahwise ya'd a' nevah gotten a preggers test." Corsair remarked, snuffing out the butt of his cigarra after one final puff.
"Kriffin' hell, I can't believe you spied on us." Dynnal groaned, rubbing his temples at the mere thought of his own father spying on his intimate activities with his girlfriend. "Tell me you didn't see anything." He begged.
"Naw, I wasn't creepin' that hard. I weren't even doin' that tha second an' third times." Corsair replied. Dynnal's eyes shot wide open.
"Oh for kriff sakes Corsair!" He gasped. "You spied on us then too?"
"I'm only guessin' 'bout tha third. But givin' she nevah left tha buildin' tha next day, I could only assume." The Titan remarked, having done his homework on Wraith long before he'd learned the infamous super-soldier was actually his brainwashed son. Taking note of Dynnal's exasperated look, Corsair patted him on the arm. "'S alright boyo, yor mothah an' I were kriffin' like rabbits aftah we got serious. 'S only natural." He said reassuringly. "I'm actually sahprised ya didn't try ta do it mor' of'en."
"Yeah, well... I thought... I mean, Wraith thought it was best we try to maintain appearances as much as possible. Guess that fear sorta kept our hormones at bay." Dynnal explained.
"Heh, a lil' fo'wahd thinkin' goes a long way... an' kept ya from bein' a dad it seems." Corsair mused, remembering how he and Meline had been so engrossed with one another, they had not considered protection or countermeasures at all... which had resulted in quite the journey for them both.
"We, uh, we actually talked about it one day." Dynnal mused, broaching the subject of the conversation he and Ahsoka had the morning after.
"Did ya now?"
"Yeah. I mean... we both seem open to the idea. Just... not right now." He ummarized.
"Bloody hell. Your seventeen, she's sixteen an' yor already considerin' kids." Corsair chuckled.
"Like I said. Not right now." Dynnal responded. Corsair nodded and the two walked in silence before Corsair had something further to say.
"I was thinkin' a' grillin' up some Bantha steaks fo' dinnah." He stated. "Sound alright?" If there was one thing Dynnal had come to appreciate about Corsair over the past days, it had been his skills at the barbecue and his talent as a grill master.
"Sounds pretty perfect." He agreed with a grin.
Later that day...
By the time Meline was feeling strong enough to walk, Corsair and Dynnal had gotten dinner ready. The trio sat outside, under the porch's gazebo roof as they partook in the summer meal father and son had prepared. Meline helped herself to one of several steaks Corsair had grilled as well as a chilled fruit drink Dynnal had made himself.
"This is very good, Cory. I really think you should go into the food business instead of being a mercenary." Meline told her husband.
"I can see it now, 'Titan Caterin''." He remarked with a laugh that Dynnal continued, just envisioning all of the Conglomerate's hardened mercs turned into waiters and cooks.
"It could be a father-son business. I know you had a hand in this too, Dynnal." Meline continued.
"Well, I've always wanted to improve my culinary skills and I'm learning plenty from Corsair." Her son replied, consuming a forkful of salad.
"Hopefully not just to impress this Ahsoka you're dating." Meline mused. "It's a valuable life skill everyone should master."
"Well, I suppose Ahsoka is part of the equation. I wouldn't mind treating her to a few home cooked meals as part of a date." Dynnal answered, sipping his own drink. "But being able to cook for myself beats a ration bar any day." Meline nodded in understanding. Not long after her rescue, Dynnal had briefly mentioned in passing that he was dating someone, and further conversation revealed the identity of the Togruta Jedi. It was something that shook Meline for being this close to déjà vu as she remembered her and Corsair's relationship and how forbidden it had been...
Like parents, like son, she'd determined.
"I would very much like to meet this woman you're so enamoured with one day."
"I'd like nothing more than to introduce you." Dynnal affirmed. His gaze fell to his plate and he stopped eating for a moment. "I confess, I'm... I miss her."
"Your heart longs for her that much?" Meline pressed, reaching out to grip his hand.
"Yeah." He affirmed with a slow nod. "You have no idea how much I love her."
"I think I can come pretty close." Meline offered, her love for Corsair very much the same.
"Why dontcha give 'er a call aftah dinnah? Yer mom an' I can wash up." Corsair suggested as he cut into his steak. Dynnal's eyes brightened.
"If you're sure, then yeah, I'll do just that." He readily agreed.
"Can't bahlieve ya haven't thought a' that 'til now." Corsair mused before taking a bite.
"I've been a little busy focused on the fact that I have parents and a family again." Dynnal remarked. "That and other things..."
"Like what?" Meline inquired.
"Just wondering what's next and what to do next is all." Her son replied. "I mean, Corsair's still the leader of the Titans and they're still contracted to the Republic..."
"Ya think I oughtta go back?" His father wondered.
"Well, yeah. You said you were only gonna be gone for a bit and it's been 'a bit'." Dynnal said. "Plus, I don't think its best if you keep us a secret." He was prepared to explain why, but soon found he didn't have to as Corsair nodded.
"I confess, I've been thinkin' 'bout that too, boyo." He replied. "Tha Jedi already know 'o Meline is, so she'll be easy ta explain. You howevah... Palpatine showed off Wraith's face tha whole galaxy, anyone botherin' ta listen in knows what ya look like."
"Well, we're working on that. Just a few things left to do in order to change my look completely." Dynnal said. The tattoo was gone and his scars were on their way out, his hair would be next as he planned to cut it short and grow it out to fill in the shaven side. But Corsair wasn't just talking about physical appearance.
"Thing is, boyo, if ya go back inta society ya can't act like ya normally do. You'll have ta be Wraith's polah opposite so no one sahspects a thing." He elaborated. "Yor gonna hafta act like someone else. Not just in speech, but in attitude an' mannahrisms. Ya can't do anythin' Wraith used ta do." It would be quite the undertaking and would force Dynnal to rely on every aspect of his infiltration training to act and behave like a different man. Sure, there were some people he could be normal around when alone, Ahsoka being at the top of his list, but the rest of the time he would have to act like a totally separate man from Wraith.
"Yeah... I've been thinking about what I could do differently." He admitted, having given this a great deal of thought over the past few days. "Hey, maybe you could introduce me as a new hire to the Titans." He suggested. Corsair nodded slowly.
"Could be." He mused in partial agreement. "Yor determined ta get back out there, are ya?"
"I look at it as my need to try and make up for everything Wraith's done to hinder the Republic." Dynnal explained. "I wanna put his abilities to good use for once."
"A noble gesture." Meline agreed. "But you have to think about your own safety, son. You can't help the Republic if you're on trial for Wraith's crimes." She urged. Dynnal sighed.
"I know. Guess I need to reign in my enthusiasm." He relented.
"'S alright boyo. Some ya can work on now, tha rest ya can make up as ya go along." Corsair said.
The conversation drifted back and forth afterwards as the Karn family polished off the evening meal. After the dishes had been moved inside, Dynnal went on a walk into the forest where he hoped to be able to connect with Ahsoka. As he did, Corsair and Meline set about tidying up, chatting as husband and wife for the first time in a long time.
"Do you remember when we used to do this together?" Meline asked, dish towel in hand as Corsair did most of the scrubbing.
"Shor' do. You were pregnant wit' Dynnal tha last time we did it." Her husband replied with a slight grin. "Ah, those were tha days. Simple pleasahs an' all." He said wistfully. Melina offered a soft chuckle in agreement.
"Newlyweds, living in a cheap, simple apartment, but so in love with one another we didn't care." She described recalling those days well.
"Might as well've been bloody paradise fo' all I care." Corsair remarked. They fell silent for a moment as they focused on the washing and drying, until Meline had something to ask of him.
"Cory... about that day..." She began and the way Corsair almost froze was enough for her to know he understood what she was referring to. "I know you said Dynnal was stolen away by the Techno Union. But... how exactly did that happen?" She asked.
"I told ya, honey, I left 'im wit' a bloke 'o said he'd take care a' 'im 'til I got back. When I got back, 'e was gone." Corsair spoke quietly as he repeated his account.
"You left him... with a complete stranger." Meline repeated. Just hearing it made the Titan merc sigh.
"Yeah... was real dumb a' me." He muttered. "I'm sorry, baby."
"I understand your reasons, Cory. And I forgive you." Meline offered, a free hand pushing some strands of fiery red hair behind her ear. "What I don't quite understand is exactly why you did that." She pressed. "Why would you abandon your son, even for a moment?" Corsair had stopped washing entirely, his soaked hands resting on the edge of the sink as he recalled his hurried helter-skelter actions on that day.
"I was hopin' ta jus' leave 'im fo' a lil' bit so I could getcha." He admitted. "Ya know I came fo' ya. I thought I could try, I really did. But then I went ta get 'im aftah, honest." He answered in a pained voice.
"You left him so you could try to save me?" Meline clarified, and he nodded.
"Yeah... an' none a' it worked out." He bitterly sniffed. "I didn't wanna lose ya, an' I didn't want Dynnal ta go without 'is mothah." He stated. "I figahed I could save tha two a ya and jus' wound up failin' ya."
"But you tried, Cory. No mother or son could've asked for more than that." Meline assured him, touching his arm. "In the end, I suppose we all turned out okay. We're back together now, we're a family again."
"Jus' took a lot longah than it shoulda." Corsair mumbled. Through the Force, Meline could sense his despondency and how he felt like a failure of a man. The one duty he'd taken to heart, to be a husband and a father, he'd failed at. And now he'd filed it away along with all the other failures from his past.
"Oh Cory..." Meline whispered, taking him into her arms and hugging him. Being several inches taller than her husband, Meline could cradle Corsair to her chest with ease. "My big, sweet, dumb, handsome man." She whispered.
"Yeah... dumb's right." He chuckled. For a moment, he almost broke down, but sniffed and hugged his wife instead. "I love ya, Meline. Always 'ave an' always will." He professed.
"I love you too, Corsair." Meline cooed. Tilting his head up to hers, Meline bent down and kissed her husband. Corsair returned it, the two having not enjoyed an embrace like this in seventeen years. As they kissed, Meline felt a familiar heat bloom within her core, a sensation she knew well and indulged often during the early days of her relationship with Corsair. Now, reunited with her husband, there was something she wanted that would make her freedom complete. Corsair broke off and made to leave her arms to continue the dishes, but Meline used the Force to keep him close and guided his gaze back to the mischievous look in her green eyes.
"The dishes can wait," she said in a low voice, "it's been almost twenty years since I last had you, Corsair." She said, and he was quick to pick up on her intentions. "I want you Cory. Now."
"Ya shor' babe? I mean, I wanna too, but ya gotta get yor strength-"
"I'm quite positive I'm strong enough to make love to my husband." She was very determined to do this and refused to let anything prevent her. "Besides, if you're so concerned about me resting, you'll have to tire me out first." She added in a seductive tone. Corsair heartily laughed.
"Bloody hell, babe... I missed ya so damn much." He said. Meline smiled, but it was a very sultry one.
"Stop talking Cory, and kiss me." She whispered, and she was reworded with a passionate embrace as her strong husband slowly maneuvered them out of the kitchen and up to the bedroom. Despite his concerns, Corsair had to admit that making love to his beloved wife sounded pretty ideal.
Outside, a relative distance from the house, Dynnal had been walking quietly without much on his, pleasantly thinking about getting to see Ahsoka again. Then he sensed something. Something familiar but in a different way. He knew what it was, he and Ahsoka having partaken in it many times before. The lustful energies in the Force were strong... and coming from his home.
He could only assume he knew just what his parents were up to.
"Oooookay... I'm taking a longer walk." He mused, venturing deeper into the woods and only mildly embarrassed as he silenced the emotions radiating through the Force. He realized he'd have to travel much further in order to avoid sensing or being bombarded with enough sensations to lose his mind and his ability to speak. Using the Force to cloak his emotions, Dynnal kept walking, whistling a little bit as he basked in his freedom from the Separatists and his newfound life as a young man with family and parents. He was a new man, his life was technically a blank canvas for him to design whatever he so chose. But however his life progress and unfolded, he knew he wanted Ahsoka involved in it as much as possible.
After a good walk in which the view of his home had been replaced by nothing but trees, Dynnal decided it was time for a test. It really had been a few weeks since the last time they spoke, given how preoccupied he'd been, so a conversation like this was well overdue. Just to make sure it could actually happen, Dynnal reached out through their Force bond. Hey. Got time to talk? He wondered. Within a second of his words, he felt a pulse of excitement.
Sure! Just give me one second! Came the reply. Dynnal smiled a little at her enthusiasm, his own excitement slowly building up within him. While the time off from everything had been good, as had reconnecting with his parents, he was really missing her presence.
Withdrawing their special communicator from his belt, Dynnal powered it on and primed the settings as he set the device on the ground before him, leaning back against a rock as he waited for the connection to be made. Within moments he saw the blue emitter flicker as its light grew in strength, generating an image soon afterward. Pixel by pixel the hologram took on shape until a life-sized Ahsoka stood before him, smiling brightly. "Hey you!" She cheerily greeted.
"How've you been 'Soka?" He replied, grinning as well.
"Missing you mostly." His girlfriend said, and he laughed.
"Oh, come on. Surely you've been busy enough to forget about me." He teased.
"But it's true! I do miss you." Ahsoka emphatically told him, shooting him some big eyes filled with longing. "It's been a while since we've done anything together." Dynnal softened.
"I miss you too." He said sincerely. "There's not a day that goes by where I don't think about how much I love you." He told her and Ahsoka smiled, touched and warmed by his words.
"You know, it's weird how one of those portal-thingys hasn't opened up for us." She suddenly said. Dynnal nodded.
"Yeah, I was noticing an absence of those recently." He agreed. "But we might not need one, I might be coming back soon." He revealed, much to her delight.
"Really? When?" Ahsoka eagerly wondered.
"Don't know yet. But I overheard Corsair chatting with one of the Titans, something about finalizing a small job to help out... someone. I can't remember who or what." He explained in part.
"You're gonna be working with the Titans?" Ahsoka asked, somewhat surprised.
"It'd be the perfect cover, wouldn't it?" Dynnal responded with a smirk.
"I'll say. No one would ever think that 'The Wraith' would be working with his worst enemies!" Ahsoka agreed with a giggle.
"True enough." Inwardly, Dynnal was already considering how differently he would act. Wraith was always bold, forward, confident to the point of prideful. If he were the opposite, that would make him shy, reserved and doubtful... Ahsoka wouldn't likely take to that well. Maybe socially awkward and a klutz around women? That could work...
"Oh, hey! I meant to tell you, we took out a couple of super-soldiers!" Ahsoka excitedly told him.
"Dead or wounded?" Dynnal wondered with a curious tilt of his head.
"Both! Anakin and my friend Xur killed one and wounded another. I just so happened to drive one off all by myself." Ahsoka said with a proud smile.
"Ho ho! Big girl in the Temple over here!" Dynnal applauded. "Nice work. That'll show 'em who not to mess with."
"Yeah, mess with me and get the montrals!"
"I think the phrase is 'horns', babe." Dynnal corrected.
"Yeah, well, uncultured spacers call these 'horns' so it's close enough." Ahsoka replied with a roll of her eyes.
Their conversation continued on much like that for nearly an hour as the two got caught up on recent events, both within their personal lives and as to goings-on in the galaxy at large. While they could not physically hold hands or hug, they managed to find a way around this barrier, by synching up their respective holograms so that they could intertwine fingers virtually. That way, they could practically feel one another. As it turned out, the hour was far later on Coruscant than it was on Tiems, and Ahsoka was in need of going to bed.
"You'll let me know when you'll be on Coruscant next, right? I can't wait to meet your mother." Ahsoka asked with shining eyes.
"Or I might just surprise you. Keep in mind I might have to act indifferent as I can't do anything in public that Wraith is known for... any connection to you included." Dynnal replied. "But I'll make sure you get the chance to meet my mother... and she's nothing like my father, for the record." He added.
"Good to know." Ahsoka giggled briefly before she regarded him with a loving gaze, her oceanic eyes locking with his emerald hues. "Good night, Dynnal. I love you."
"I love you too, 'Soka. Sweet dreams." Dynnal sweetly wished. With one last smile, Ahsoka's hologram flickered and then dissipated, leaving him alone with the subtle glow of Tiem's setting sun all around him as his communicator lay stationary on the ground, periodically flickering blue. Calling it to him with the Force, Dynnal held it for a moment, gazing fondly at the device as if it were a part of Ahsoka herself. Their communication had just ended and already he couldn't wait to see her again.
Later that night...
Meline awoke to a dull thumping resonating from somewhere within the house. Corsair was asleep beside her, snoring not too loudly but enough to be completely unaware of the noise. Her nearby chronometer indicated it was very early in the morning, well before the sun rose. Rising silently from her bed, wife and mother donned a bathrobe and stole quietly downstairs where the thumping grew louder. It came not from the kitchen, nor from the living area or back porch. Meline followed it to a nearby room, a small designated workout room Corsair had furnished during their early days of owning this place. From the slightly open door, the thumping came loudest and Meline peered in.
Within she found Dynnal, dressed in lightweight workout clothes with his hands wrapped up as he pounded away on a punching bag. Drilling the sandbag with blow after blow, he was completely oblivious to Meline's presence, who made no effort to hide her Force signature. Opening the door some more, she entered, and still he did not notice her. His body as covered in a light sheen of sweat, obviously he'd been doing this for a while now.
"Dynnal?" She softly called in wonder. It was unusual for him to be up at his hour. That got his attention, and he suddenly stopped and turned to her with widened eyes.
"Oh! Hi Mom." He greeted, rather surprised by her sudden presence. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" He wondered.
"Not really." Meline answered as she strode into the room. "What are you doing up so early? The sun hasn't even risen." With a sigh, Dynnal responded truthfully.
"I couldn't sleep." He admitted. "I... I feel something. Something out there is calling to me. I think it's the Force, but it feels so... otherworldly. So much so that it can't be the Force." He admitted.
"I've sensed this call as well." Meline solemnly told him and Dynnal looked to her surprised once again. The only connection he could draw was that both he and his mother were Force sensitive.
"I should ask Ahsoka, see if she's felt this draw." He suggested, slowly unwrapping the straps around his hands. "What could possibly be trying to reach out like this?" He wondered, only for Meline to shake her head.
"I know of nothing other than the Force that could call to a Force sensitive in such a manner. Admittedly, it's rather frightening." She confessed.
"I know." Dynnal agreed. "Anyway, I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd find something to occupy my thoughts with."
"Something other than your girlfriend?" Meline teased with a smile.
"Aw, Mom, not you too. Corsair's bad enough." Dynnal groaned.
"Sorry." Meline apologized with a smile and strode closer to him. "He is your father, you know."
"For several months he was my worst nightmare." Dynnal scoffed. "He almost killed me... he gave Wraith these, which I've inherited." He added, pointing to the fading scars on his face. "I mean, yeah, I'll forgive him... but I'm just having some trouble wrapping my head around him actually being my father. It's... weird." He explained. Meline nodded in agreement, taking hold of his hand.
"I admit, our family dynamic is not a normal one. Our lives have not been as tightly knit as they should be." She told him. "But now that we're all together again, we must make an effort to make up for what we've been deprived." Her words were spoken with encouragement and Dynnal understood what she was getting at. But she simply hadn't experienced Corsair the way he had.
"I'm sure I'll get there one day." He said, running a hand through his auburn hair. His assurance was enough to satisfy Meline for the moment.
"Seeing as I'm very much awake now, I'm going to brew myself a cup of tea. Care for some?" She offered.
"If you're offering, then yes." Dynnal accepted, making to remove his wrist straps. His mother left and he followed not long afterwards.
What neither of them fully understood was that this call branched out to every Force sensitive in the galaxy, not just the two of them. Jedi, Sith, even unaligned neutrals heard this siren's song everywhere they went. Master Yoda within the Jedi Temple, Count Dooku in his palace on Serenno, Palpatine in his private home on Coruscant, everyone heard it and felt it, the same swooning call of someone desperate to be loved, who craved attention and warm familiarity...
The kind of beckoning call only a Mother could make...
Elsewhere in the galaxy, on Coruscant...
When he was not assessing the super-soldier situation, Commander Thrawn was studying. This venture away from Csilla provided him with an opportunity to grow his knowledge and learn about the society around him. Relatively untouched by the larger galaxy, Csilla was as good a place for a Chiss to be raised but it hardly provided the layers of history of cultural nuances for him to study and examine.
And there was a new one that caught his eye.
Uncovered by Republic archeologists and further expounded upon by reports of the Jedi, a new piece of history that was suddenly throwing all of recorded. history into a new and unknown light. No longer were there inexplicable reasons as to why the Infinite Empire fell, and many other little 'unknowns' of history suddenly seemed to be given new reason and meaning.
All of it falling under the banner of something called 'The Iron Demon'.
His curiosity piqued, Thrawn began to research this seemingly supernatural entity for himself. With a keen eye and strategic mind, he soon found far more than what the Republic and Jedi could account for. Across the galaxy, within dozens of societies, cleansing the dust of history revealed all manner of legends and stories great and small that contained references or even hints at a creature or being so frightening it could only be described as demonic.
In the Sith tongue it was 'Gelezis Siqsa' or 'Black Death', the Hutts called him 'Way Sacan' or 'He who terrifies everyone', in Thyrsian he was 'Gike Xineke' or 'the Great Slayer' and in Echani 'Jiki Ximeke'l' or 'the Fiery Beast'. Even lesser species had a name, the Mirialians spoke of 'Woca Khosala' or 'the beast who walks on the sun', while the Cathar called him 'Go'a Kolara' or 'the Great Black Hunter'. Even in his own native tongue of Cheunh there was 'K'ar Bacun'. Two simple words spoken individually, yet found together in a single text referring to a being powerful enough to destroy the maurading Rakata. It seemed that every species once enslaved by the Rakata had their own story about about a dark figure wielding fire against their oppressors, he concluded, his own people speaking of an 'Iron Devil' that purportedly saved them.
Seemingly lost to the dust of history, the Chiss commander had uncovered an ancient poem written in Mando'a. It was simply titled: 'Te Ge'amre Ba'yr be Gar Dasu'r' which translated into Galactic Basic as 'The Dirge of the Iron Demon'." In the quiet of his private study, Thrawn read it for himself.
"Arise arise! As the ashes fall, behold a demon grim and tall. His skin like iron, his eyes like flame, his fierce anger lays low the mighty and his wrath turns kingdoms to shame.
"Arise! Arise did the Iron Demon to fell an empire infinite, quelled did he the fervour of both beast and being, and against him none could stand. With claws of steel and bones of ore, the demon walked unchallenged.
"Awake! Awaken did the Iron Demon to crush the mighty Jedi. As Mandalore crashed like a wave and the Sith like a mighty storm, so too did the Demon walk among them, their ranks bolstered by his dark aura of malice and hate.
"Fear! Fear the Iron Demon and his wrath. When comes he again none may say, his timing is his own. But when he does come, mayhaps the whole of the galaxy will be bathed in his fire and tremble before his strength. Few suffered, there are many who've yet to taste it."
A true historically grim tome if ever there was one. And yet whichever being inspired it certainly commanded enough power and presence to warrant a sort of reverence amongst the people's who spoke about him. There was fear and terror but also awe and greatness, someone who could command attention while also spilling blood left and right.
As his research deepened, Thrawn found a second, even older inscription, crafted by aging Killik Hive mystics who spouted many prophecies. The wording was very similar, yet distinct due to a lack of words available in the Killik tongue, and Thrawn dared not dismiss the plausible connections. Translated into Galactic Basic, the script was entitled 'The Iron Death'.
"Come again will the Iron Death. With the fire of the sun and the strength of a dragon shall he come, his ferocity unmatched and his wrath unbearable. Again shall he show his burning power to the masses, again will they behold his demonic visage. As his crimson gaze rakes over them, pain shall come and death not far behind. But when he comes, who is to say? None may know the manner of his darkness or the path by which he walks. But say, so say the stars, when he awakens next it will be to stop the Mother and strike deep into the heart of the Force. Then shall he sit enshrined upon a throne as he burns the worlds to hell."
"Though unchallenged he may seem, not for long will it be. For one shall arise to be his downfall, a figure of equal strength and might. The perfect contrast to his darkness. Alas, the Iron Death shall be felled... by the Iron Light."
This one was new and it stumped the Chiss commander. Thrawn leaned back in his chair as he studied the final line for a moment. An 'Iron Light', surely an approximate translation. Perhaps the Killiks were referring to something beyond their potential understanding. What was the opposite of 'death' and demon? Life? Light? The Killik tongue was unique and had many options available, that much Thrawn knew. He would have to decipher this at another time.
For now, though, he had a conclusion in mind.
From his vast database, he pulled up an imagine of the Iron Demon, a portion pulled from an artistic rendering of the ancient Sith brotherhood before they were annihilated by the Jedi. He stood in stark contrast, taller, armored, his gaze bright red and his curving horns a stark contrast to the Sith around him. Some say he took on the appearance of a man to appeal to the Sith, others weren't sure if it was one of many forms. With his hands clasped, Thrawn studied the image with shrewd eyes and a mind that thought like no other. He saw something familiar about the Demon's appearance. A few loose patterns that drew connections to a figure that had gone missing from the galactic spotlight... and Thrawn suddenly had a feeling he might know why.
"It is completely illogical. Hopelessly implausible, understandably improbable." He quietly told himself. Toggling yet a second image, side by side with the depiction of the Demon stood a recent snapshot of The Wraith wielding his famed firesaber... the height, the armor, the bright red optics... all of it coming together to create a pair of unique images that, in Thrawn's eyes, were virtually the same.
"Yet entirely possible." He murmured.
