:: Chapter Twenty Two ::
"Hey man, how is she doing?" asked Jonas when he joined Theron in the infirmary and handed his best friend a cup of caf.
Small and steady beeps denoted Eliza's heartbeat while the young woman bobbed unconsciously within a kolto tank. The machine hooked up to the tank rattled off another sheet listing her vitals while Theron sat in a chair by her side, his eyes red and puffy from the few tears he'd allowed himself to shed.
After escaping Asylum, Malavai, with Me'ghan's assistance, had done all he could to preserve her life, grateful she had survived at all when by his estimates, she should have succumbed to her injuries. The deep laceration down the length of her right upper arm was easily healed, as was the wound to her left shoulder but the damage done to her stomach and kidney was far more severe.
Malavai had done all he could, pushing his own medical skills beyond any procedure he'd performed in the past, and now it was up to the healing properties of the kolto solution and Eliza herself to make a full recovery.
"Any improvement?"
"None," Theron said and gratefully accepted the warm brew.
He was exhausted. They'd arrived back on Odessen that morning and he hadn't left her side since, spending the past seven hours sat by the tank while his mind played the entire event on a constant loop, plaguing him with thoughts of what he could have done differently to prevent any of this happening.
"She's tough, she's survived worse," Jonas offered some well intended, and clumsy, encouragement, "Like that time when you shot her."
Theron arched a brow and peered up at him. "Yeah… thanks."
"I grabbed those readouts you asked for, mind telling me what that's about?"
He handed over a datapad listing decrypted data and Ravage's holo-communicator and Theron immediately sat up to pore over the results. He scanned the list, tracing his index finger down the date and time stamps until he found the entry he'd been looking for and scoffed, reading aloud.
"Elias' Imperial Finery."
"A jeweler?" Jonas frowned and pulled up a chair for himself.
"I suspect so," Theron muttered and entered a search on his datapad.
"Planning a proposal already?"
"No, it's something else, look," he said and showed Jonas the information he'd found on Elias' Imperial Finery.
"The finest, handcrafted and custom designed jewelry in the Empire—the Elias family has served the Empire for generations and proudly enjoys an exclusive contract as the sole supplier of finery for esteemed members of the Dark Council," Jonas recited the HoloNet entry and furrowed his brows further.
"Alright, but I'm still not seeing why this is of any interest to you."
"Last week I overheard Ravage making a call, this call," Theron said indicating at the readout, "to Elias' Imperial Finery. He spoke of a replica he had made of something and threatened the man and his family if word ever got out."
"Okay, you think Ravage had a piece of jewelry replicated? So what if he did?"
Theron let out an exasperated sigh and retrieved Eliza's necklace from his pocket. "Not just any piece—Scourge's wedding band."
While Jonas inspected the ring up close, Theron began to explain further.
"Overhearing the call left me with the strangest feeling, you know? Instinct, perhaps. Then a couple of days later, Eliza showed me the wedding band and mentioned having a replica made for Cyara and I just… I can't explain how but I just know that ring, it isn't Scourge's."
"But didn't she get this from whatsherface, that woman who was there when Scourge was executed?"
"Regina, yes, who conveniently escaped and died before we could question her further. I haven't figured out the connection there but—"
"I might be able to help with that," said Me'ghan when she appeared in the doorway with a troubled look on her face.
Quickly, she closed the door and sat down on the armrest of Theron's chair before showing him her datapad.
"Malavai and I have had our suspicions about Regina for a while now and asked Vowrawn to investigate—he just got back to us and this is what he found."
Side by side on the screen sat two profiles—one for a Regina Feldran and another for a Thyra Beldiss—accompanied by a holograph of Thyra which perfectly matched a screenshot from the recorded holo-call with Regina from months ago.
"They're the same woman?" Theron frowned curiously.
"They are. Regina's real name is Thyra Beldiss, daughter of Lord Beldiss who worked for Ravage in the Sphere of Expansion and Diplomacy. Lord Beldiss died several years ago, and take a look at who killed him." Me'ghan swiped left to a third profile she'd prepared.
Jonas, with his curiosity tickled, got up and circled the two, leaning over Theron's shoulder to read along.
"Lord Beldiss died on Voss after a confrontation with a Jedi known as The Hero of Tython," he mumbled, "So Regina—Thyra, had a personal stake in this? Or do you suppose this is all part of a revenge scheme from Ravage's side?"
Me'ghan shook her head. "No. I mean, Ravage is a vengeful and petty bastard but he would not spend five years planning this just to seek retribution for one of his lackeys—the man likely meant nothing to him."
"Right, but the promise of revenge would be enough incentive for Thyra to go along with his scheme, yes?" Theron deduced and looked to Me'ghan for confirmation.
"Likely. I just can't figure out why she killed herself if that were the case unless something spooked her or it was, in fact, an accident."
"Guess that's one thing we'll never know…"
Jonas let out a deep sigh and sat back down. "But how would Ravage or this Thyra have known Marr and Scourge were brought before the Emperor on Zakuul?"
"They wouldn't have—they only knew there was no proof to claim otherwise either and the only person who might have known anything is gone now." Theron's thought landed on Kira and he sank his head into his hands.
It was all getting to be too much for him—this news on top of the day they'd had and he cast a glance at the woman he loved so deeply still fighting for her life inside the kolto tank.
"What do we do with this?"
Me'ghan gently squeezed his shoulder and gave a sympathetic smile. "For now, nothing.
"It's quite clear Ravage is behind all this but all we've got is circumstantial evidence to his scheme—none of it proves Scourge is still alive, which he might not be. We're basically back to square one of not knowing either way."
"No," Theron argued, "I can't keep this from her, she deserves to know."
A pained grimace appeared on Jonas' face and he leaned forward. "She does but Meg's right. Do you really want to throw Eliza back into a state of uncertainty? Revive her hope now that she's moved on?"
"No, but—"
"We don't know where he is or if he's still alive and it could be months or years before we find out."
"No, we need to find out sooner than that."
"Agreed," Me'ghan conceded, "but how? Where do we start looking for a man who we're not sure is even alive?"
"She mentioned a ritual, right before we landed on Asylum," Theron recalled and briefly explained what Eliza intended to do.
"It could work, but we should keep this between ourselves until after the ritual. For all we know we're wrong, unlikely as it seems, and she does manage to contact his Force spirit."
"And if she doesn't find him in this spirit realm?"
Me'ghan pursed her lips and sighed. "Then she'll want to know why, and we'll be one step closer to being right. We can tell her then, if you are certain."
"Hey uh, not to be a downer but," Jonas hesitated and eyed his best friend wearily, "what if it turns out he is alive? You realize you'd risk losing her again?"
Theron closed his eyes and nodded—the thought had crossed his mind before while trying to untangle Ravage's schemes.
"I'm aware but… I can't do what Ravage did, selfishly deceive her and this is not about just me and her. There's a little girl, their daughter, who deserves to meet and know her father if he's alive."
He got up and leaned forward against the kolto tank, resting his forehead on the transparisteel and his heart ached in the worst of ways. "I can't be selfish about this…"
"No… of course you can't." Me'ghan understood and even admired his magnanimous attitude.
She got up and winked Jonas over and together, they took one of the empty beds and pushed it up right next to the kolto tank, figuring Theron would want to stay the night and seeing the fatigue written all over him.
"Thanks." He gave a faint smile when he noticed.
"Get some rest for now and just call us if you need anything, alright?" Jonas said.
All they got was a tired nod while Theron sunk himself onto the bed by Eliza's side, never taking his eyes off her while his friends left. Once again his mind tormented him—he should have gone with her and they should have been better prepared for a trap. Still, exhausted as he was, he drifted off moments later and sank into a troubled sleep.
When he woke up the very next morning, he was surprised to catch Senya standing by Eliza's kolto tank. Her head was bowed, her eyes closed, her brows furrowed in sorrow and her hands folded together on her stomach while she appeared to be in some kind of trance.
"Uhm, morning…" he said quietly and slowly, she turned her head.
"Good morning, Agent Shan. Apologies if my presence woke you."
"No, it's alright, you didn't."
A faint smile crept up but never quite reached her dulled and sad eyes.
"I uh, I'm sorry about your loss," Theron offered and swung his legs over the side of the bed while he sat up.
"Thank you."
"How are you coping?"
"I've spent all yesterday down in the Force enclave meditating with Sana-Rae. She believes my daughter is at peace now and free from the pain and chaos in her psyche. It's a small comfort and I am very sorry for all the suffering she's inflicted."
Senya inched closer to the kolto tank and touched her hand to the transparisteel.
"I failed her, my daughter. I've failed all my children, and perhaps I shouldn't have left them," she admitted quietly and gazed up at Eliza, "but maybe it is not too late. I won't fail your Commander."
"And Arcann?"
"He must be stopped, through any means necessary, I know this. Perhaps I can still make him see reason, save him before he becomes truly lost but if not…"
"Eliza would understand if this is too difficult for you, we all would."
"He's my responsibility. I have abandoned him once before, left all three of my children with their cold-hearted and hard-handed father and now look—Arcann killed his own brother and Vaylin…" Her voice trailed off.
"If he can be saved, I will do all I can but I am aware he may already be beyond redemption."
Theron nodded solemnly, quite unsure of what to say in this situation and instead he took one of the readouts from the monitor hooked up to Eliza's tank.
"She's improving," said Senya, observing him and she indicated at the young woman's face, "Color has returned to her cheeks and the laceration on her stomach is starting to mend."
He slipped from bed and joined Senya, a tender smile forming on his face when he saw. "Oh thank the stars."
The door behind them creaked open and Malavai walked in carrying a breakfast tray in one hand and a chart and his datapad in the other.
"Good morning." He handed Theron the tray. "You should eat something, one patient is all I can handle right now, we don't need you laid up from dehydration and starvation."
"Thanks. How's Darius? I haven't seen him here."
"His injuries were superficial, though he'll be sporting a big scar for the rest of his life, which he appears rather proud of."
Senya glanced at the two men and turned away, excusing herself, "I will leave you to it."
"What did she want?" asked Malavai after she'd left.
"She came to check in on Eliza."
"Hm. Eat your breakfast," he ordered, "I'm going to make a few scans to see how Eliza is recovering and then we need to go down to the war room—Lana has some matters to discuss."
Reluctantly, not caring much about anything other than Eliza right now, Theron bit into a piece of toast while Malavai got to work and an hour later, the two men made their way downstairs.
"We've got more mouths than we can feed at this point, someone has to go on a supply run," Lana began rattling off a list of rising issues, "either that or we need to find an alternative settlement to house all these refugees from Zakuul."
"We can't just turn them away, Lana," Koth argued and he naturally sympathized with his own people, "not after all they've been through."
"I'm not saying we should but we're running low on resources and this was never meant to be a rescue operation for every citizen of Zakuul. We're here to put a stop to Arcann's tyranny."
"But they are helping and you need every able-bodied person you can get!"
Lana snapped, "And just how able-bodied will anyone be if there's no place to sleep, when there's nothing to eat?!"
Jonas and Charlie exchanged a curious look and the former leaned into his wife, whispering, "I guess the honeymoon weeks between those two are over."
"I'll take Vette and Risha and head to Alderaan," Jenna offered to stave off any further dissent, "got some people there who owe me and no doubt they've got plenty food reserves stashed away under their gilded homes."
Theron flashed her a grateful smile. "Thank you."
"Do you need backup?" asked Kendra, Havoc Squad's Commander who'd returned with Lana and Koth aboard the Gravestone.
"Nah, too many of us would raise suspicions, we'll be fine."
"There's also the matter of Ravage—I'm not sure what he has done to deserve incarceration but his current conditions are undignified and appalling," Lana touched on the next item on her list and received various agitated glares until Praven explained what had happened.
"Oh, I see." She frowned. "We'll just leave him where he is in that case."
"What about Arcann?" Me'ghan asked next, "Any chance he's so busy mourning he's declared a ceasefire of sorts?"
"Nah, he's making a spectacle of his loss," scoffed Jonas while he loaded up the holo-video Arcann had been broadcasting across the galaxy.
'Citizens of Zakuul! A few days ago the criminal known as The Outlander, the same woman who murdered our beloved Emperor, my father Valkorion, years ago, escaped our custody and viciously assaulted the sanctuary known as Asylum. There, hundreds of our own innocent citizens were savagely murdered by this terrorist and her band of rebels.
'My dear sister Vaylin, our High Justice, left on a rescue mission to aid and defend everyone on Asylum but it is with great regret and pain in my heart that I must inform you all of her passing—the Outlander murdered her and the valiant Knights who fought at my sister's side.
'The Outlander is a criminal, a tyrant and a murderer seeking to destroy our beautiful Empire. For the safety of every citizen of Zakuul, I will be imposing a new curfew and send more troops to patrol the streets day and night. I feel it is my sacred duty as your Emperor to ensure this Outlander is caught swiftly and brought to justice and your cooperation is appreciated. Anyone caught giving aid to this Outlander and her rebels will share in their fate.
'A vigil to honor my beloved sister will be announced at a later time.'
A holograph of Eliza accompanied the broadcast and Jenna made a few gagging noises once the recording finished.
"What a load of crap."
Charlie scoffed all the same and shook her head. "What heart? He hasn't got one."
"So, Eliza is the Outlander now?" Praven frowned.
"It's a clever subterfuge on his part," Theron analyzed on the spot.
"This way he gets to bury everything concerning Kira, conceal the truth and pin all the responsibility for Valkorion's death and this war on Eliza while effectively turning Zakuul against us—no one's ever seen the Outlander before until now so it's perfect for him."
Jonas nodded and folded his arms across his chest. "And to make matters worse, the Republic has just released a statement they're siding with Arcann and will make any effort to assist in the Outlander's capture."
"Curious…" Malavai pondered the announcement, "They are now openly standing with Arcann? They are aware the Outlander is Eliza and we have some of their own people working with us here, right?"
"Madon doesn't care and the Senate believes we're no more than a small group of degenerates who stand no chance so they're throwing their weight behind Arcann in the hope it'll pay off once all this comes to an end."
"Can't wait to see that blow up in their faces," Kendra muttered.
"Which it will, sooner or later." Jenna gave a shrug and hopped down from the desk she'd sat on to excuse herself, "I'm gonna start refueling The Deviant and tell Vette and Risha to pack."
"Be safe out there," Me'ghan called after her and picked up her own datapad and communicator, "I need to make a few calls myself, are we good here?"
"Yeah, thanks." Theron gave an absent smile.
"How is Eliza?" Lord Cytharat looked to Malavai.
"She's recovering quite well. A few more hours in the tank and then we should be able to move her to a bed and start waking her up."
