Dinner conversation. About as boring as reading through a senate bill, with a thousand words that have no meaning. Why you may ask? Because all the company would try to stay lighthearted, and therefore avoid topics of things that really matter. Surprisingly however, Ariadné was not as bored as usual. The quips and jokes were refreshing for once, perhaps her problem had been too much work.
"Daydreaming, Captain?" her Commander teased beside her.
Her brown eyes looked at him with a dubious glance, "If you have not noticed, Commander Starkiller, night has fallen. Therefore, it is no longer day" she replied, earning a chuckle from the older man. He was getting used to her dry sarcasm, that – in and of itself – was a relief. No one understood her as well as this stranger from Tatooine.
"Well then, you must have fallen asleep, for that is the only kind of dreaming acceptable at night" he replied.
She smiled, he understood her quips and replied in kind. She liked that. "I shall try and listen to the counsel, Commander."
"Ariadné" the Queen caught her daughter's attention.
"Yes, mother?" the Captain replied respectfully.
"Tell me, how is that rascal Vogelfrei Therizo? He's been in Jubilee for two months now hasn't he?" Mordé asked, her daughter nodded.
"He is doing well, as far as I know. But the person to ask is Senator Windress – indeed, sir, it is you who has him." Ariadné deflected to the old man.
Windress chuckled, "He's doing well, he has understood that he is under my family's care for the next several years, and has every intention of getting out free after it." he said.
"He's a hard worker" Myrna added, "Mother wouldn't know what to do if he wasn't there. She's become quite dependent on him as her messenger, and bodyguard – among other things"
"Yes, she can move the furniture as much as she wants now. He's always willing to help her when she requires it" Kendall inserted.
Ariadné turned to her mother, "There you have it, Therizo is doing well" the table erupted in laughter, they all knew that Ariadné did her best not to lean toward conjecture.
"As is his wife, Douleia" Adriané told her mother, "She is indispensable to the ward. Especially with her children around her, its as if she has seen her fate and has accepted it."
"You see?" Ariadné said abruptly, "If only Dreadnaught could hear you all, I keep telling him these Vogelfrei just need honest work to make them alright. Keep them out of trouble, and they won't be trouble" she declared.
"I can't say I've ever heard that analogy. . ." Myrna said softly.
"That's because I just made it up" Ariadné stated, causing laughter once more to fill the room.
She ran, she had no choice. The damned Echtrians had crossed the river in the night, hitting their weakest point – the underground passages. Many had died valiantly, trying to defend the river garrison of Ker Talagand. The battalion had fallen after quite some time, leaving her to run for her life. She willed herself not to cry, she had to get to Cairn Corness, the Captain had to know. She was the superior officer, and she had to report to her superior. They left her alive, so that she could see her subordinates die, but their plan had backfired, and now she was free – somewhat.
She felt pain in her arm, and fell to the ground, she had been hit. She turned, igniting her lightsaber. The gun was firing in her direction, but she blocked every blast, using the Force against them. She managed to hit the gunner aiming at her, hearing a satisfying cry. She then disengaged the weapon, and strapped it to her side, taking off once more.
Her raven colored hair was getting in the way of her sight – damn her being a woman, were she a man she wouldn't have to worry about all this damn vanity. Perhaps she should have taken the Sergeant's advice, and cut it yesterday.
There was a house in the distance, yes, she had to get to it. Quietly, she approached it, the Force signatures inside warning of a possible threat. Shielding herself with the Force, she stealthily sneaked in.
When dinner had ended, they were all lead to the sitting room for more time to spend with each other. Luke somehow found himself sitting next to the Queen, watching the others from afar. The Queen watched him watch them, an amused expression on her face; Luke wasn't just looking at them, he was looking specifically at Ariadné.
"It has been a long time since I have seen her so carefree" the Queen started abruptly, "You have helped her more than you realize"
Luke looked at the Queen, somewhat ashamed that she had noticed his unwavering gaze from her daughter's bright smile. "She does seem happier, even since I first met her" he said.
The Queen smiled, "Yes, she is very grateful for you. I was worried about her before you came, I was worried she would work herself to death." she said.
"Yes, she does have that tendency. I have to tell her to quit, or she still would." Luke said with a chuckle.
They were silent for a few moments, watching Ariadné. "She was but a girl when they brought her father and eldest brother back, dead. She was left with a mother who was deep in sorrow; a brother, who was somewhat irresponsible; a twin sister, who was just as lost as she; and a younger brother who looked to her for comfort. She had to grow up fast, taking a responsibility she never should have had to bear. She had to be the rock of the family, taking on things which a child her age never should have." the Queen said sorrowfully. "She was never even given the chance of love, her duty always coming first. Her adolescence was stolen from her."
She was much like Leia, made at an early age taking responsibility a girl should never have to. But even Leia didn't have it that hard. "You did your best, I'm sure. Ariadné is a very intelligent woman, and a good leader." Luke assured the older woman.
The Queen smiled good naturedly, "I know she is. She has done well despite the circumstances." she said, watching Luke with an intense gaze. He began to shift uncomfortably, the Queen was disconcerting. She seemed to notice, as she immediately smiled and looked away, "Forgive me, Commander, you just remind me of someone I used to know" she said, turning to address Adriané about something.
Luke wondered for a moment just who he reminded her of, but concluded that she wouldn't tell him anyway and left it alone.
"Enjoying my mother?" he heard Ariadné say from behind him, he turned to see the young woman smirking.
"Very much so, we were speaking of you actually" he teased, she raised her eyebrows and nodded.
"Were you indeed? And what horrible things did my mother tell you?" she asked, Luke didn't know what to say. He didn't know how Ariadné would respond if he really told her what they were speaking of.
"Nothing horrible, I assure you. Tell me, what did Sergeant Xavier tell you before we left about the garrisons on the riverfront?" he asked, her face fell and she groaned.
"He says that one of the garrisons didn't respond when he tried to contact them. Which is a worrisome prospect, under the circumstances." she said, "Lieutenant Tathis is the officer there, but we have no transmissions from Ker Talagand. It could be a bad sign, but I hope for all of us that it isn't."
"Lieutenant Tathis?" Luke asked, "I don't think I've met her have I?"
"No, she was assigned to her current post before you came. Sergeant Xavier has given one of the Scouts the assignment to find out what's going on, that is if he comes back" she huffed, taking a sip of her wine.
"You don't have much hope?" Luke asked the girl shook her head.
"Considering there is unrest on the river's edge – no, I don't have much hope for the garrison at Ker Telegand." she replied, launching into a discussion with Kendall about Senator Organa.
She stood over the three men who she had just killed. They had been taken unaware – sleeping to be more precise. The sentry was most definitely the most disappointing, he didn't even open his eyes as she killed him. Undisciplined fools from Echtra, they never know when they need to take care of business and leave bodily necessities for later. She needed to get to Cairn Corness, but first she needed some rest.
She ignited her lightsaber when she heard sequential beeping behind her, she turned to see two R-units.
"Hello there" she greeted. R2 beeped, and whirred. "Its nice to meet you too. Tell me, how did you get here? Did the Captain assign you to this outpost?" Another beep came out, as well as a mechanical sigh. "Ah, I see. And where is your master now?" R2 squealed, then beeped furiously. "I see. Where is R5?" just as she said it, the green astrodroid came around the corner.
"Hello, my robotic counterpart. I need to send a transmit to Cairn Corness, can you do it?" she asked. R5 beeped some more, signaled that it was recording.
She looked around, making sure there was nothing around the building, and then she recorded her hologram.
"Captain Llewellyn, this is Lieutenant Ana Tathis, I have bad news. . ."
Luke was just about to go to bed, his mood was absolutely elated after his evening with the Queen. He had to admit though, there was something about the Queen which unnerved him. Her gaze lingered on him longer than normal, and she sometimes spoke to him as if she had known him for years. She had said he reminded her of someone, but who? She wouldn't say, but she was an enigma for sure. Who was she?
He didn't ponder it long, as there was a tapping on his door. "Come in" he shouted, loud enough for whoever was on the other side. Justiss walked in, his face pale and drawn. "Justiss, what's wrong?" Luke asked.
"Commander, we just received a hologram." the Sergeant said, "I sent one of the Privates to inform Captain Llewellyn, as this message is vital to her." Luke was puzzled, but asked no questions as he got dressed once more.
When they arrived at the Holoroom, Ariadné was already there – waiting, her eyes still glazed from sleep. It was obvious she had rushed, as she had only hastily thrown a robe over her nightgown. Luke thought that the Private must have told her something which caused such a reaction from the typically calm Captain.
"Commander, I'm glad you made it" she said professionally, as if they had not just left a rather friendly dinner. "Now, Xavier, what is it that was transmitted?" she asked.
Justiss turned to her, papers in his hand, "First I must tell you where it was transmitted from: it was from a lake house which has not been used for twenty-some-odd years. You stationed a R-unit there, if you remember Captain, so as to transmit anything suspicious going on at the unprotected part of the beach." Ariadné nodded, "It was pre-recorded, so we have no idea how to contact the transmitter." he finished, telling one of the technicians to begin the hologram.
The faint image of a woman appeared on the holoviewer, her clothes were disheveled, and her dark hair was in knots. Ariadné immediately recognized her as Lieutenant Tathis – and the hologram confimed it in the message.
"Captain Llewellyn, this is Lieutenant Ana Tathis, you stationed me at the garrison at Ker Telegand. Captain, I am sorry to tell you that I have bad news. Echtrians have overtaken the garrison at Ker Telegand. As far as my knowledge goes, no one survived except myself. They came last night, but overtook the garrison completely by noontime. They are stronger than we anticipated, and they have a new General, a man by the name of Faruq. I overheard the commander of the Echtrians say that they were going to take over the garrison at Ker Tol by this evening. I simply wanted to warn you, this General Faruq has every intention of overtaking all the garrisons within the next few days. I am sending this in case I do not return to the capital. I am at the Lake House now, I hope to be at Cairn Corness within the next few hours, thanks to these R-units maps. May the Force be with you, Captain, and I am sorry for my failure. Tathis. Out."
The silence was deafening as no one said anything for quite some time. It was nigh on impossible, how could they have lost all their defenses? There was only one thought between them all.
The waiting was over, the war had begun.