I glanced over at Deas, who gestured me forward.
"You are the reason we are here," He said. I bowed my head to him before stepping inside. The wall directly in front of me was a bookshelf, filled with physical books, datapads, and entry logs. Floating shelves were scattered along the left wall and the one I entered through, all sitting around eye level. Various gadgets, trinkets and keepsakes sat on them. A dark brown desk sat near the back of the room, framed by the bookshelf. To my right was a floor to ceiling window.
Standing in front of it was the silhouette of a man. He had his arms tucked behind his back, his broad shoulders accentuated by the coat he was wearing. He turned, revealing a man in his early forties. Age appeared to have barely affected him, his posture strong. The hair on the sides of his head had lost most of its brown pigment, framing his face and pulling my gaze to meet his. (Pretty much Silas Brairwood…without the obvious vampire traits. XD) I ducked my head a little. The shock of seeing my potential father was settling in, making my stomach roll. The door clicked behind me, sealing the deal that this conversation was happening.
"So. Arabin tells me that you requested to see me personally. Tell me, who are you, and what brought you to the Outer Rim?" The man gestured to a seat at the desk, which I took, wanting to keep things amicable as long as possible.
"I am here because I have learned a few things recently. Things that I think you should know." I pulled out a datapad and set it on his desk, pushing it towards him. He raised an eyebrow and sat down. He steepled his fingers in front of his mouth.
"I am at a disadvantage, I'm afraid. You didn't give your name." I nodded, my lips thinning.
"I am keeping it to myself for a reason." I gestured to the datapad. "Please." I folded my hands in my lap, hiding the shaking. He looked me over before picking up the pad and sitting back. He turned his chair slightly to his right as he settled in to read.
I watched with nerves firing left and right as his expression darkened with each word. His free hand covered his mouth, making it harder to read his expression. His eyes, however, bore clear pain. They flicked up to me. My breathing hitched as his eyes almost glowed.
"If this is some sort of joke, this will be the final conversation you will ever have." I bowed my head.
"I promise it is no joke. I only came to confirm the information." There was silence that stretched so far, it felt like even the Force had gone and died. Only, there was a warning from it right before a wave of rage slammed into me. Movement exploded from behind the desk. The datapad crashed into the wall near the door behind me.
"GET OUT!" I jumped, not expecting the shout. I scrambled to my feet and backed up. "I don't care what kind of powers my son had! We never should have given him to you! You coming here is some sick, twisted way to bring us more pain, and I won't have it!" The man roared as he slammed his hands onto the desk, rattling it. He was panting, I swore I saw steam coming off his breath. His face was red with rage. I paled and backed up until I hit the wall.
"You Jedi and your Force! There's a reason we live out here in the Outer Rim, so we don't have to deal with you!" I sucked in a breath through my nose.
"You…" He cut me off.
"No! I won't hear about how that was the best choice! Our son is gone, and it's your fault!" He whirled around, ducking his head. His fists clenched until they were white and shaking. "Get out of my sight! Nefore I forget that I am a merciful man!" The air was sucked out of the room.
"So you did give your son to them." He didn't answer, but his body tensed more. I calmed myself down before speaking. "…The Jedi are gone. Nearly extinct. My own Master was killed the night the Temple was stormed by the very armies we fought alongside. My best friend was murdered in cold blood sometime later that same night. I thought I had no one left. Then I remembered that the Jedi weren't my only family." I let the comment hang. I wanted him to have the chance to think. To comprehend what I was saying. The tension slowly unwound from his body. His head raised before he turned to the side, looking at me with a critical eye.
'Avoiding emotion. Avoiding hoping. I can understand. I'm doing the same.'
"I dug around for weeks," I continued, "There was only so much I could find since I couldn't access the Jedi Temple records. There was only one clue I had. My last name." He tensed once more, facing me fully.
"And what would that be." His voice was dead. Cold. He read the information, he just wanted to hear me say it. My throat tightened, and I cleared it lightly.
"Savanger." He fell back into his chair as he went pale. Slight hope, just a splinter, made my heart sing. "Despite not having the Jedi archives, I knew there wasn't a single Jedi in ten thousand that shared my name. The fact that you just said you gave up your son was what I was hoping to hear. Because if it wasn't you, I don't know who my parents are."
"…Jondu…?" I smiled a little, painfully.
"I hope you aren't mad at me for being a Jedi. I couldn't exactly object back then." He stood up. He steps were slow. His hands shook and his brow was creased. He stopped a few feet off.
"Jondu," He said again, his voice wavering. He closed the distance and dragged me into a hug. Not expecting it, I froze. "My son. My son has come home." I closed my eyes, taking in the sensations. He was shaking, but unwavering in his hold. He smelled of the books that were in the room. After a few moments, he pulled back, holding me at arm's length.
"I can't believe it," He whispered. A tear was in his eye, but it didn't fall. My own eyes began to water. I huffed out a weak laugh.
"I can't either." He pulled back, standing tall.
"Arabin!" He called out, turning to the door. Said door behind me opened.
"Yes sir?" The man leaned his head in.
"Cancel my appointments for the rest of the day."
"There was someone from the Post wanting to see you as well," Arabin prompted.
"Cancel. I have much more important business to attend to than some meeting." His hand landed on my shoulder, making me look up in surprise.
"I don't want to intrude. If you have business, please, don't let me stop you," I insisted.
"Nonsense." He wasn't going to budge, apparently. Arabin nodded and stepped out. "Now, I need to bring you to your mother." My eyes bugged out.
"O-okay." This was all suddenly coming at me like a speeder out of a fog cloud. He smiled.
"It will be alright, Jondu. She will be as happy as I am to see you. Even more so," His expression softened a little, "She was inconsolable for months." I looked down.
"I can't imagine the pain you both went through."
"It is in the past."
"Your words moments ago say that wound hasn't healed yet." I was hesitant to say it, but that rage I had felt from him was raw. He turned me to him, both hands on my shoulders.
"Jondu, when you have a child, they are the most important thing in the world. They are the binding between you and your spouse. You, have always been missed here." I closed my eyes and ducked my head. A single tear fell down my cheek.
"…Thank you." The two words barely touched my lips.
"Anything, for my son."
My son.
I was someone's son.
My hand clapped over my mouth as a sob surprised me. Strong arms wrapped around me once more, hiding me from the world.
"I don't doubt you've been so strong while trying to find us. You can rest here, my son." He kept saying it like if he didn't, it would become a fantasy. Like I would vanish.
I clenched my jaw and used his strength to steady myself. It took a minute, but I was able to pull back to my full height. I pressed the palms of my hands into my eyes, wiping them off. I took a deep breath.
"Sorry. You're right, it hasn't been easy." He smiled and led me out of the room. The hall was empty. Arabin must have led Deas out of the building. We stepped back into the large hall.
"I guess you need a tour of the place. This is the banquet hall. Any parties are centered here, though sometimes we have them outside if the weather permits."
"Parties?"
"We invite guests and business partners over every once in a while. Nothing more than a moral boost, really."
"I see. It sounds like you are rather comfortable here." I didn't want to make it about money, but this place…it was too extravagant to state otherwise. I grew up around duracrete and durasteel buildings. For wood to make up most of the place….
He laughed, tossing his head back. The rich, full sound bounced around the room.
"That we are. Come, your mother awaits." He led me to the far end of the hall and through another set of doors. A nearly identical hall to the one with his office stretched out before us. We went down to the other end of the hall, where a set of doors were made of glass.
"She is normally out here at this time of day. The trees shade the garden perfectly." We stepped out into a garden that looked more like a maze. Waist height hedges curved around a center fountain, while flowers sprouted out of bushes that were place sporadically around the area.
"Sabelle? Are you out here, dear?" My father called out.
"Over here!" I turned and nearly gasped. The woman kneeling next to a flowering bush had long, blonde hair and calm blue eyes. Her dress was made of flowing blues and whites. Her sleeves had tails to them that came together perfectly when she folded her arms together.
The woman stood up from where she had been tending to a flowering bush.
"Sabelle. I would like to introduce you to someone."
"Who is this, Orthun?" He smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"This is Jondu." I felt the tension before her face even shifted.
"…Orthun. That's not funny." I stepped forward, shaking my head.
"I'm afraid he's not being funny. When I was a mere child, I was handed over to the Jedi Order by my parents. I have since grown up in said Order." I looked down. "My name is Jondu Savanger." Her hands had come up to cover her mouth. Her eyes wide, they began watering.
"Sabelle, our son came home to us," Orthun said as he stood next to her, taking hold of her hand. The blue eyes shimmered.
"My…" A sad smile graced my lips when she couldn't get the words out. "My baby boy…?" I nodded. She took a half step forward. "But, you…the Jedi?" My smile saddened.
"They were killed." A tear rolled down her cheek. "I managed to escape." Orthun scoffed.
"Of course you did. You're our son, and we wouldn't expect anything less." I chuckled at that.
"It involved a few close calls. And," I looked down to my right, feeling the crystal in Kalenta's saber that was attached to my belt, "And it cost a friend."
"Oh no…" It was at that moment Sabelle pulled me into a hug. Her arms didn't hold a candle to Orthun's. But there was a different kind of surety to the hold. Once again, I used them to gather my strength. I returned the hug once I was sure I wouldn't break down. "Oh, my sweet child. Oh how I missed you." My eyes squeezed shut. My mouth opened and closed twice before the words finally formed.
"I wish I could say the same. I don't…remember you." It hurt, to admit that. She pulled back just enough that I could look at her. She tossed her hair a little while shaking her head.
"That doesn't matter. What matters now is that my child has returned to me." A hand landed on my shoulder again. Orthun smiled at both of us.
"Come inside. We will have a room set up for you by the time the sun sets. In the meanwhile, we have much to talk about."
Despite the Order's rules about attachments, the Force sung with happiness over these two new bonds I had instinctively began forming. They might never feel it themselves, given they weren't Force sensitive enough. But, that didn't matter to me. These two essential strangers were truly a connection I had been missing.
"Yeah. We do."