Author's Notes: The following story takes place in my Halcyon Legacy, about a year after the class stories. This piece was sparked by a writing prompt I received from keirangoldenwatch from the OC Codex Prompts – "12. your OC overheard while drunk" for Zu'fanda Pampya. Thank you so much! I have wanted to write a piece concerning my third-favorite Sith Inquisitor for a while now, and this one was perfect! I'd apologize for taking so long to answer, but that's usual for me.

It was the sound that first alerted Ashara Zavros that something was wrong.

She had just stepped through the loading tube onto The Unchained, and almost immediately dropped the parcels she'd been carrying, her hands wrapping around her montrals protectively as her hearing was assaulted by the vibrations of the most ear-pounding noise she'd heard in her life.

"What in the blazes is that racket?!" Andronikos Revel bellowed from behind her, discarding his own packages on the floor of the entryway as he stepped past her.

The (former) Jedi and the (nominally retired) pirate had just picked up supplies from the Imperial space station in orbit over Kruskan. Darth Nox had deployed Khem Val and Xalek on a hunting mission on the nearby moon while Ashara and Andronikos handled the more mundane errands concerning the resupply and refueling of their ship. Ashara had quietly grumbled to herself about receiving such a relatively boring assignment while her crewmates were no doubt engaged in something more exciting.

But the sounds assailing her upon her return had made her wish she was still shopping for foodstuffs and medical supplies on the station's promenade.

Recovering, she moved to follow Andronikos, who was still snarling as he stormed into the central lounge area.

"Oh, thank the maker you've returned!" the mechanical voice could barely be heard over the sounds that continued to pound from the ship's internal speakers.

2V-R8 – Twowee to most of the crew who deigned to acknowledge his existence – had been sweeping up shattered glass in the main hold. His chassis did not include a mouth, but nevertheless Ashara couldn't help but think he'd be smiling in relief if he could.

"Outta my way, droid!" Andronikos shoved Twowee aside before he could say anything more, heading towards the main holo-display. Scowling at the terminal, he finally shut it off.

"Dammit. Gamorrean Opera." Revel growled. "No wonder my ears feel like they're bleeding."

Ashara sighed at the pirate's conduct, helping the droid to right himself as the pilot finally deactivated the sound on the console. She considered just asking him what had happened, but immediately realized the explanation would probably take far longer than finding out on her own. Instead, she patted the housekeeping droid on the shoulder.

"Go… tidy up in the engine room, Twowee." She instructed 2V-R8. "I'll let you know when you should finish up here."

"Oh. Yes, Mistress Ashara." The nervous droid acquiesced reluctantly, gathering its broom and pan before making its way down the hallway.

Ashara then took stock of the surroundings. The main living hold was a mess. Glass – and what seemed to be liquid remains were scattered everywhere. Turning to look up at Andronikos, she noted the look on his face as he regarded the room mirroring her own.

"What in the name of the Force happened here?" she asked, moving beside him.

It was at that moment that the two crewmates were joined by their illustrious employer.

Darth Nox, the former Lord Kallig and privately still known as Zu'fanda Pampya to her few confidantes, stepped out of the conference room, holding a bottle of Glova White Wine in one hand while using the other for leverage, propping herself up against the bulkhead. She looked entirely disheveled; more so than Ashara had ever seen in more than a year of travelling together. From what she'd had seen just from the floor, it must have been her fifth bottle at the very least.

Looking up and noticing Ashara and Andronikos for the first time, her mood seemed to immediately perk up.

"Ah, good! My two favorite people in the galaxy are back!" Zu'fanda gushed. "Now it's a party!"

With that, she took a long swig from her bottle, downing the remnants in a single gulp. If there'd be any doubt as to what had caused the mess, it was dispelled when she'd finished off the wine, then smashed the bottle to the floor.

Ashara winced. She'd seen Darth Nox imbibe alcohol before, but nothing like this. Apparently Andronikos was in the same boat, as his jaw dropped at the sight of her.

Zu'fanda Pampya – Lord Kallig – Darth Nox – Dark Councilor and the head of the Sphere of Mysteries – was plainly drunk.

Not noticing or not caring about either of their reactions, the Twi'lek Sith Lord surged forward, embracing them both, Andronikos on her left and Ashara on her right, before planting a rather messy kiss on each of their cheeks in turn.

Ashara felt herself blush at the display even as Andronikos pushed Nox away.

"Dammit, woman! What's gotten into you?"

Zu'fanda startled giggling, looking not at all put off.

"The galaxy itself is ending!" she laughed. "Why shouldn't we celebrate, my love?"

She grinned impishly at the erstwhile pirate, sauntering back up to him and placing her hand against his chest. A cross look flickered across her eyes.

"Did you know, that blasted serving droid said he thought I was drinking too much! Can you believe it? For what I discovered, there isn't enough alcohol in the galaxy."

Ashara picked up on this, still looking for an explanation for Nox's behavior.

"But what did you discover, my lord?"

For one fleeting moment, her Lordship's violet eyes focused themselves on Ashara. For one fleeting moment, she seemed entirely lucid. As if the real Zu'fanda Pampya, with all her intellect and self-awareness, was shining through the haze.

"Oh, my darling Ashara, you really didn't want to know."

With that, she laid her head against Andronikos' chest, smiling contentedly as her eyes closed.

Despite the tenderness of the gesture, Andronikos' eyes narrowed. Ashara could hear his teeth grinding together as he turned to regard the Togruta.

"Hey, check on Drellik, alright?"

Ashara bit her lip, turning to Nox. The Sith Lord had refocused on Andronikos, or rather on Revel's chest, as she gripped his torso for support.

Despite her current mood, Ashara could feel the emotions pouring from the powerful Sith Lord.

She felt her behavior concealing far more powerful emotions. Worry and despair.

Darth Nox had spent years as a slave in the Sith Empire, only to rise to the highest of positions.

She was not given to bouts of doubt or despondency. Not even during the difficult days of her feud with Thanaton.

Ashara swallowed and nodded, hurrying off down the hallway.

This was all troubling. Ashara knew that Zu'fanda could be … somewhat manic when she was under stress, and she'd certainly seen her imbibe alcohol.

But this was entirely new territory.

The Unchained's cargo bay had been converted into an archaeological laboratory not long after Lieutenant Talos Drellik had joined the crew. Crates still lined its walls, but the central area had been cleared, with examination tables, displays, bins and portable refrigeration units.

Drellik himself strictly forbade Twowee from entering the lab, ever since he had witnessed the droid starting to use industrial cleaner on some ancient samples the Imperial Reclamation Service officer had been studying. Nevertheless, Talos himself kept the hold neat and tidy.

Which is why she was quite surprised to find him carefully gathering fragments on the floor.

Talos Drellik, the eccentric academic whose awkwardness Ashara normally found rather charming, seemed beside himself. Whatever havoc Nox had unleashed on the rest of the ship, she'd clearly not spared his archaeology lab.

He looked up as she entered, his face immediately taking on a look of relief.

"Thank the Dark Lords its you." Talos sighed. "I was worried she'd returned to finish the job. Are Khem and Xalek still out? If either of them had seen her like this… I shudder to think how they might have reacted."

Ashara took a breath then nodded in agreement. Khem Val, the Dashade shadow killer, and Xalek, the Kaleesh Sith apprentice, could both be intimidating. They followed Darth Nox out of respect for her strength and power rather than any ideological reasons.

"Talos, what happened?"

He let out a sigh as he got to his feet, looking around helplessly.

"We were studying artifacts." He gestured to the scatted fragments, reduced to little more than pebbles. "Carefully recording and documenting information. I was at my table, and she was at her desk."

Talos licked his lips nervously.

"One second, everything was fine. The next, she'd given out a cry of anguish like I'd never heard before. I look up and she's blasting the tablets she'd been studying into dust with her Force lightning."

A mournful sigh escaped from the archaeologist.

"They were priceless."

Ashara gathered herself.

"What was she studying?"

"The tablets were from the Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas." Talos explained. "The ruins of the Dark Temple, I should say. Such a tragedy for academia that was." The sadness in his voice was obvious. "The Sphere of Ancient Knowledge retrieved a number of artifacts after the blasted Republic destroyed it a year ago, but Nox tagged them for the two of us to study personally."

He looked around forlornly.

"I was so looking forward to it. But now - "

"Talos, what did she learn?" Ashara pressed urgently. She hadn't forgotten she still had a very drunk, very troubled Dark Councilor just down the hallway.

"I don't know!" he protested. "She completely destroyed the tablet she was studying! She even destroyed the holo-recording! I've been trying to gather the remains, but there's nothing left to work with."

"She must have said something?" Ashara managed to keep her voice more conciliatory this time.

Talos nodded vigorously.

"She only told me three things: First, that I was to destroy all records of that tablet even existing. She even gave me her council access code to purge the Sphere's database."

That surprised Ashara. Nox would probably change her codes later – hopefully when she was sober – but she'd normally trust no one with those codes.

It was one more reason to worry.

"Second, she told me that I didn't want to know what she had discovered." Talos continued.

Those words - almost precisely what Nox had said to Ashara.

This is bad. Ashara was certain.

"What was the third thing, she told you Talos?" she finally asked, already with a feeling of oncoming dread.

The Imperial Reclamation Service officer winced.

"Third…. she told me that she was going to get completely drunk immediately.

On another day, Ashara might have smiled. Or even laughed.

Today, she grew increasingly worried.

Ashara just nodded to Talos.

"Okay, Talos. Just… finish clearing up here. If Xalek and Khem come back, we'll try to somehow pretend none of this ever happened."

Talos Drellik swallowed again.

"I… yes. Yes, thank you, Ashara."

Ashara gave him the most reassuring smile she could manage. He was a good sort of person, regardless of everything else. She turned and left.

Back in the main hold, Andronikos was still holding Nox in his arms. Her eyes were closed, and she was humming some tune or another as she still leaned against his chest.

Andronikos looked up at the Togruta.

"Did Drellik know anything?"

Ashara shook her head.

"Nothing very helpful, no. She learned something from some old tablets, but he didn't know what. We need to clean this up before the others come back."

He started to answer her when Zu'fanda stirred in his arms, the Sith Lord looking up at him.

"Come here, pirate. I need you." Nox grabbed Andronikos by the collar, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. Revel started to protest, but quickly melted into the display of affection.

Ashara watched as Andronikos' ears reddened. She knew what that reaction meant, and she would have been touched by the tenderness were her nerves less fraught.

Never breaking the kiss, the former pirate half-carried the Twi'lek to their shared quarters while the not-quite-a-Jedi-anymore looked on. The door was still open as he finally deposited Nox on her bed, then he returned to doorway, looking at Ashara. He started to open his mouth to say something, but once again he was interrupted by Zu'fanda.

"Tell Ashara she can join us if she wants, but to close the blasted door behind her." She laughed. "We wouldn't want to scandalize Talos or the droid."

Andronikos' jaw dropped as Ashara felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment at the invitation.

The two crewmates just looked at each other, in a loss for words.

Finally, Andronikos recovered and swallowed, giving Ashara a shrug and an apologetic look before finally withdrawing and sealing the door to the quarters behind him.

Ashara exhaled. She rarely imbibed in alcohol herself, being a (former) Jedi. But now, wondered if she needed a drink.

She knew that she would ask her Master about whatever it was that she'd discovered… once Nox eventually recovered from this day.

She didn't expect an answer, but she would ask. A Jedi sought truth, after all, lapse or not.

Even if she didn't want to know the answer.

Author's Notes: For the record, no, Zu'fanda does not have a polyamorous relationship with Andronikos and Ashara. (Not that there's anything wrong with that if she did.) She does have a slight attraction to Ashara, though her relationship with Andronikos is (mostly) exclusive.

I have so many WIPs planned involving Ashara across multiple Legacies that its not even funny. She's a very versatile character.

Gamorrean Opera is a real thing, by the way. Thank you, Wookiepedia.

Bonus points for anyone who can figure out what Zu'fanda discovered from the tablets.