Last time: Kyr learned that Cien had somehow managed to transfer over to Selina.

Now: Kyr needs help.


Chapter 9- Transfer Bodies and Pancakes

A loud pounding on the door awoke Viran with a start. He nearly fell out of bed as he hadn't been expecting such an abrupt wake up call, especially this late into the night. He took a second to calm his rapidly beating heart as it had nearly leapt out of his chest before he tossed aside the covers. He climbed out of bed and went to the door.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," Viran called out with a groan as the pounding continued. He ran a hand through his hair and approached the door. He pressed the button and opened the door to reveal Kyr.

"Viran?" Kyr asked, his voice frantic, panicked and fearful. "I just, I went down and I tried…" He trailed off, looking up and down the somewhat darkened corridor, "can I come in?" He asked in quiet panic, almost like he was scared.

"Uh, yeah," Viran said, still waking up, but worried for his friend. "Yeah, come in." He stepped aside and gestured into his quarters which were also dark.

Kyr stepped into the room, his buy'ce hanging limply in his hand as he came to a stop. "I'm sorry I woke you, I…" Kyr swallowed, "I talked with Selina."

"Wait what?" Viran asked, stunned as he flicked on the lights, but to a dim-ish setting. "When the hell did you do that?"

"Just now, I…" Kyr started, "I couldn't sleep and I thought if I talked to her I might get something out of her." He swallowed, sitting down in a chair that was next to a small table.

"And what did you find out?" Viran asked as he folded his arms across his chest, looking at his best friend worriedly. "What did she say to you?"

"She's insane." Kyr stated, wiping his face.

"I think we knew that much," Viran said, before Kyr could continue. Slightly joking, but also serious about his comment.

"Yeah, but then something happened." Kyr kept going, "she started screaming and clawing at her face as if she watched someone enter the cell and attack her. And then," He hesitated, looking like he was going to be sick.

"Then what?" Viran asked worriedly as he came over and placed a hand on Kyr's shoulder. "Kyr, what happened?"

"Everything changed, and she started speaking like she was Cien. Like it was Cien." He choked out, not able to understand what he had just encountered.

Viran looked at him, utterly confused as his face contorted into a very puzzled expression. "Wait, I'm sorry. What?" He asked, making sure he didn't just miss hear what Kyr said.

"She… she said that she had to transfer into Selina somehow so she could survive." He said, sniffing and brushing away tears. "She knew about the beach, our kiss, the dining room." He trailed off quietly, trying to understand. "Selina wouldn't know any of that." Kyr rambled on as he stared past the table. "When we picked her up she remembered something that only Cien would know, something she said to me a long time ago when our relationship started. Cien wouldn't have revealed any of that no matter what Selina did, she wouldn't have asked and Cien wouldn't have said anything." He said, shaking his head as he wiped his eyes again.

Viran frowned. This sounded ludicrous and impossible, but how Kyr was reacting, it seemed real enough. He clenched his jaw as he tried to figure out what to say. Flashes of his last encounter with Selina went through his mind and if what Kyr was saying was true, then something didn't add up. But he couldn't voice that… yet. "Kyr, I'm sorry for what I am about to say, but you do realize how insane that sounds right?" He asked carefully as he finally settled on his response.

Kyr swallowed. "I know, it's just…" He shuddered. "It was like hearing Cien's voice coming from that… from her." He said. "What if it's true Viran? It's not the weirdest thing to have happen to our family. What if Cien used her…" He paused, trying to think of the words around his frantic exhaustion. "Her mindspace powers to transfer into Selina to stop whatever she was going to do?"

"I mean, you're not wrong," Viran agreed with a shrugged. "We have experienced some really weird stuff over the years. But I'm not even sure if that's possible with the Force. To transfer into someone else like that," he said very unsure as he dropped his hand. "I mean I get that the Force can work in mysterious ways, but this seems highly unlikely. And what about Cien's body? If she transferred into Selina, then why…" he paused as he said his next sentence very, very carefully, "why did that person take her body if she… isn't in it?" He asked, skeptically.

"I don't know." Kyr replied. "She said she had to transfer so that she could make sure her body survived, so that the tw-" He stopped, not able to finish the sentence.

Viran frowned. "So that they would be okay?" He finished for him, softly.

"I guess." Kyr said, swallowing. "I… I don't know what to do. It sounded just like her Viran. What if this is real?" He asked, looking up at Viran with tears on his cheeks.

Viran held his gaze for a moment. He then knelt down, keeping his gaze on Kyr, and placed his hands on his shoulders, giving them a comforting squeeze. "Then we find out the truth. We ask her questions about the transfer and about where her body is," he said as reassuringly as he could even though this still seemed rather far fetched. "And if that is really Cien then that could explain why Sasha is in the mindspace. It just doesn't explain why she isn't waking up. It could also explain the weird presence I felt from her when Scamp and I went to go interrogate her." He added on the last part as he recalled the strange presence in the Force the last time he was down there. Or the fact she didn't react to him being there. She still only wanted to see Kyr.

"Yeah." Kyr said deflating.

"Look, it'll be okay," Viran said, quietly. "We will get the answers we need. I promise. But…" He paused before asking, "do you really believe that is Cien down there?"

"I honestly don't know." Kyr replied in almost a whisper, utterly defeated. "It sounds insane, but how else would she… Selina know about the cookie?" He asked quietly.

"Cookie? What cookie?" Viran asked, trying to recall what Kyr was referring to. "Are you referring to the fact that Cien is obsessed with Op's cookies? I feel like that's kind of public knowledge." He said, confused.

"No, I…" Kyr said quietly. "That day when she first arrived at Haven, I gave her a cookie when we talked in the dining room." He explained quietly. "I thought she thought I was an idiot for offering such a stupid thing, you remember what she was like, then." He said distantly. "But she said it was the first cookie she ever had, the first thing anyone offered her out of kindness." He continued quietly. "When she started thinking of me differently." He said. Remembering when she had told him that on their first trip to the beach, and the memory only made him want to cry again given the current circumstances.

"I… I never knew," Viran said, stunned as he rested back on his heels, dropping his hands from Kyr's shoulders. "I don't think any of us knew that." He then frowned. "And if Selina did know, something as private and as personal to the two of you as that, then… then maybe it really is Cien."

"Yeah." Kyr agreed in quiet defeat.

Viran went quiet for a moment as he processed all of this. "Are you going to be okay?" He asked, gently.

"I have no idea." Kyr said. "I just want my wife back." He said as he deflated forward, hiding his face in his palm. "But… this I don't know how to handle this."

"I'm not sure I would either if I were in your boots," Viran said, shrugging. "But here is what we can do for now. First, we should probably tell at least Oppie and Kait. They should know about this. Then let's keep talking to Cien. See if she can tell us what happened to her body, the twins, and with Sasha so we can help her situation. However, I think it might be best if we keep all of this between the family until we are a hundred percent sure. Trying to convince the Admiral and the other's of this might be a tough sell. How's that sound?" He asked, quietly.

"I guess." Kyr agreed. "I might want to talk to the Admiral about it." He said quietly, really feeling the need to talk to her about… all of this.

"Alright, I understand," Viran said with a nod. "Then we can bring it up with her too. Or, well, you can. But we will get this straightened out, Kyr." He said as he stood up.

"Okay." Kyr said, looking around the darkened room. "I should let you get to sleep." He said as he stood up numbly.

"It's fine," Viran said, giving him a comforting smile. "I'm always here for you, vod. Whenever you need me. So don't worry about waking me up."

"Thanks." Kyr said, heading for the door.

Viran watched him walk away with a furrowed brow. "Hey," he said, after a second. "Since we're both up, do you wanna go grab a drink or hit up the shooting range or something?" He suggested.

Kyr paused for a second. "A drink sounds good." He admitted.

Viran nodded as he grabbed his boots. "Then the first round or two are on me," he said as he slipped them on. He then grabbed his holster and belt, and pulled it on over his pants.

"Okay. Thanks vod." Kyr said as he stepped out in the corridor.

"Of course, vod," Viran said as he joined him. "Now let's go have some fun for a while," he said lightly as he wrapped an arm around Kyr's shoulder's and led him away.


Oppie leaned back in the stool, hiding a grimace of frustration after spending several hours this morning trying to reach out to Sasha. He looked up at Viran across from him on the other side of Sasha's bed, over her sleeping form. "Do you think we need to take a break?" He suggested, Viran looked absolutely exhausted.

Viran ran a hand down his face, rubbing at his eyes and the growing stubble on his face. "Yeah, I think so," he said with a sigh. "I want to keep going, but I might pass out if we do."

Oppie glanced at the chrono on his wrist. "It's still early enough we can get a late breakfast." He said. "And afterwards I think maybe you should get some more sleep. Getting up early and drinking with Kyr then doing this for a couple of hours won't leave a lot of you left to help Sasha later." He suggested with a hint of a concerned smirk.

"That's not a bad idea," Viran said, nodding as he dropped his hands. "And you're right. I want to make sure I'm here to help her. I just didn't expect the late night wake up from Kyr and I couldn't fall back asleep after." Plus the late night before that, but then he had least gotten a few hours of rest.

"Yeah." Oppie said with a frown as he stood up. He hid another grimace. There was a part of him that, as Kyr's actual brother, he wished he could have been there for him last night. And that Kyr had thought to come see him with that revelation about Cien. He was glad that Viran had been there for him, but it just felt like it emphasized the intractable distance between the two of them. Oppie really wanted to fix that, but he didn't have any idea how to. "Come on, breakfast is on me." He said, gesturing at the door.

"Alright," Viran said as he stood up. "I hope that includes a nice big cup of caf too." He smirked lightly before leaning over and placed a kiss on Sasha's forehead before stepping away from the bed. He then followed Oppie to the exit.

"If you want to take a nap afterward, I'm not sure that would be for the best." Oppie said wryly as they stepped out into the bustling corridor.

"Yeah, well, I also don't want to fall asleep into my food either," Viran said in a tired, joking manner.

"Maybe a stack of pancakes, in that case," Oppie said. "Something to cushion the fall."

Viran chuckled at that. "Yeah, maybe."

They walked in tired silence for a few moments, making their way to the turbolift. "Something we haven't tried yet." Oppie said after a moment, waiting for their lift to arrive, "is, actually, doing something so tremendously stupid that Sasha would sense it and come out of whatever this is just to scold us."

"Oh, but what would we do that would make her wake up?" Viran asked, smiling. "All I can think of is something that would have us ending in the medbay with her." He chuckled lightly.

"That might be it actually." Oppie said. "If we injured ourselves she'd probably wake up to tend to us, after the scolding." He said with a smirk.

That made Viran laugh out loud. "Yeah, she would. She would also be so mad us too for being so stupid too," he said as he laughter died down as a troubled smile came to his face. "Damn…I miss her." He said as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, me too." Oppie said with a sigh.

"I know she will be okay, but I just feel so… lost without her," Viran admitted as they climbed aboard the lift. It was thankfully empty so they were able to ride in peace. He leaned against the back wall, looking distantly ahead.

The lift shifted and started moving horizontally as Oppie leaned back against the bulkhead next to Viran. "I definitely get that." He admitted with a sigh. "I feel weird saying this but I really understand a lot better now after the last couple of months with Kait. I miss Sasha as my little sister, but… I understand more now what this is like for you and I'm sorry this is happening." He finished worriedly, looking down at his boots.

"It's alright," Viran said, glancing at Oppie. "I'm just glad I've got you and Kyr here to help me through this. Kait too." He looked away. "So… how are things going with you guys?" He asked, changing the subject slightly. "We haven't really talked about it since that bar on Coruscant."

Oppie thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Not much has changed. It's only been a few weeks. Even if it's felt like the better part of a year." He said absently. "After I got stung, though, Kait's been staying really close to me, which has been kind of nice." He said sheepishly.

"She was really worried about you when you got stung," Viran said, hiding a grimace as he, too, was worried for his brother when that happened. "It took both Sasha and Kelce to assure her that you would be okay, but she still did everything to stay by your side." He told him quietly. "To make sure you would be okay."

The lift doors opened and Oppie stepped forward a little uncomfortably. "I remember when I woke up and it looked like she'd been crying." Oppie said as they walked out into the corridor. "I felt really bad about that."

"I get it," Viran nodded. "I've been in her shoes before when it's come to Sasha. And I've been in your position too a few times. Remember that crash all those years ago when I was about eighteen?" He asked, glancing at him as they walked. "The one that nearly paralyzed me?"

"Yes." Oppie stated, remembering that all too vividly.

"I don't think you were there when I first woke up," Viran started. "But when I came to, Sasha was sitting beside my bedside, sobbing. It broke my heart seeing her so upset and I didn't know what to do. So I tried to assure her that I was okay and instead freaked her out as she didn't realize I was awake." He chuckled slightly at that part of the memory. "But I felt bad about that. That I made her cry like that." He looked ahead of them. "I think that's when I started really thinking of her differently, because I didn't want her to cry because of me again." He admitted quietly.

"Huh." Oppie said.

"Now you know the origin behind that," Viran said, nodding slightly. "But anyway," he changed the subject back around, "I get it. She really does care about you, Op."

"Yeah." Oppie agreed, a little embarrassed. "And I definitely don't want to ever make her cry again." He noted as they turned a corner and could see the door to the canteen ahead.

"Then just do what I do," Viran said, shrugging. "Just always try to be there for her and try not to get yourself hurt in anything that isn't self-inflicted stupidity." He said, lightly as a smile came to his face.

"I'll try." Oppie said with a smirk.

They arrived at the canteen and the door slid open for them. There was a decent crowd that had formed inside. Most looked to be finishing their breakfasts and others looked to be having an early lunch or just enjoying some light conversation. Viran went over to the cabinets and started to peruse the selections. There wasn't much left for breakfast food items, but he did find a plate of sausage, eggs, and pancakes, oddly enough. He went ahead and grabbed that plate along with some juice. Oppie grabbed a plate of the same and followed Viran to a table where they settled heavily into the chairs and started eating.

"On the way home Kait and I were having fun taking care of Lana." Oppie observed, tiredly, perhaps in a rambling manner. "I have to admit, it was very strange being in that sort of setting with her." He said as he absently ate some of his eggs. "Especially since that first day or two everything really still felt like I was being stabbed with pins and needles everywhere, I felt bad Kait ended up doing more with Lana than I was able to."

Viran couldn't help but smile slightly at the image of Op and Kait playing with Lana. "Well, the pins and needles feeling is gone now, right?" He asked after a couple of bites of his eggs.

"Yeah, mostly." Oppie replied with a shrug. "Still flares up every now and then. Kelce said that would stay for a little while."

"Ah. Well, maybe do something nice for her," Viran suggested with a shrug as he took another bite of his eggs. "To show her you're feeling better and thank her for helping take care of you. And Lana." He added that last part around a bite.

"I will, I've been trying to think what that might be." Oppie said thoughtfully.

"If you need any ideas, let me know," Viran said, smirking. "I could try and help think of something." He said genuinely.

Oppie considered that for a moment as he took a bite of sausage. "I'll probably take you up on that. Thanks." Oppie said after a moment.

"Of course," Viran said as he took a bite of his pancakes.

At that moment, Nova, Wynnie and Kait walked over to their table. Oppie was the first to spot them as they walked up, and he felt the tension bleed off of him when he saw Kait approach.

"Hey guys," Nova said, flashing them a smile. "Just waking up?" She asked, gesturing to their half eaten plates.

"Nah, we were up trying to reach Sasha." Oppie explained.

"Oh, how's she doing?" Nova asked with a slight frown.

"She's okay, but still hasn't responded," Viran answered, distantly.

"I'm sure it's helping her even if she isn't responding." Kait said consolingly. Nova nodded in agreement.

"I hope so," Viran agreed with a light nod. He then cleared his throat. "Do you guys want to join us?" He asked, offering up the other empty seats at the table.

"If you're sure," Nova said, looking between Viran and Op.

"Yeah, definitely." Oppie said with a shrug. "I assume you guys already had breakfast?" He asked.

"Yeah." Kait said, slipping in next to him. "They have good caf though." She said as she set her mug on the table.

"Yeah, they do," Viran said as Nova sat next to him and Wynnie on her other side. "But I'm trying to cut back this morning so I can get some sleep."

"Didn't sleep well last night?" Nova asked as she sipped her mug of caf.

"Not really, no," Viran admitted. "Not since Sasha got trapped, I haven't slept well. But definitely not last night."

"What happened?" Kait asked, concerned, and she cast a glance at Op as he grimaced next to her.

"Kyr came to my room early this morning," Viran explained as he lowered his fork. "He apparently made a late night visit to see Selina and he learned some… interesting news."

"Interesting? How?" Nova asked, curiously.

Viran bit his lip and exchanged an uneasy glance with Oppie. "He said that Cien somehow transferred herself into Selina's body," he said, still sounding slightly skeptical about the thought.

Nova was stunned to silence as she stared at Viran wide eyed.

"Is that even possible?" Kait asked incredulously, looking between Viran and Op.

"I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility." Oppie said in a tired tone.

"And in our family, we have seen some strange things occur because of the Force," Viran said, tiredly.

"But if that's Cien, then how…" Nova trailed off then rubbed her forehead. "Oh my head hurts trying to figure this out."

"Sounds like she transferred over using the Force," Viran answered, glancing at Nova. "But he didn't say much else. He was pretty shaken up by it. I got him a few drinks to console him and then managed to get him to bed. But I couldn't fall asleep after that." He took a bite of his eggs tiredly.

"Ha!" Wynnie piped up, "I knew she wouldn't go down that easy."

Oppie and Kait turned to look at the little red head with surprise.

"What?" Wynnie asked, confused.

"Wynn, read the room," Nova admonished quietly.

"No, I agree with Wynnie. I didn't think she would go down easily either," Viran said, looking at Wynnie then the others. "Cien has proven more than once that she won't give up without a fight. Especially with the twins' lives on the line. It's just… strange that she transferred and then never called out to Sasha or any of us for help. That's the one thing that bothers me with this." He added quietly. "I mean I went down there twice to talk with her and not once did she say 'Hi Viran, good to see you.' Maybe Selina was keeping her back or something. I don't know." He shook his head and ate a bit of his pancakes.

Nova blinked at that. "You went down there twice?"

Viran looked up from his plate at her and realized what he revealed. He nodded after a moment. "Yeah. The first time was helping Scamp try and get intel. When we first found how stubborn Selina was being." They all nodded as they all knew about that. "But then I went down two nights ago after I found the conversation between her and Von Signa while going through her stuff. I wanted to confront her about it, but instead just got her being a complete psychopath."

"Well," Kait started, "I don't think the psychopath part comes as a surprise to any of us."

"Yeah..." Oppie said trailing off. He would need to talk with Viran about that revelation about Von Signa later. After what he and Sasha had gone through on Myrkr, though, he wasn't sure it would be a good idea to read it if it had made Viran so upset.

Kait looked at her boyfriend with subtle concern. "But can you guys do that, transfer into other bodies?" She asked, trying to bring the conversation around and away from Von Signa.

"It's unexplored territory," Oppie started, "even, perhaps for the entire Jedi Order. I definitely don't remember any stories of… something like that, though I'm sure it's based on their mindspace abilities."

"Most likely," Viran agreed, glancing up at Oppie then back to his food.

"So what should we do with this information?" Nova asked, uncertain. "Should we tell the Admiral?"

"I'm not sure," Viran said, shrugging as he rubbed his eyes.

"I'd be surprised if Kyr didn't want to tell her himself today after he has a chance to understand what's going on." Oppie said as he took a bite of hashbrowns.

"But we saw that footage of her being taken away to that escape pod." Kait noted.

"So does that mean she's…" Nova tried to figure out what to say. "Unconscious like Sasha or…" She trailed off, not really wanting to finish that thought.

"Who knows," Viran said, looking downward. "But Sasha had sensed she was still alive and on the Taipan. But she must have been sensing her in Selina. But Sasha and Kyr also saw Cien when they tried to search for her in the mindspace, but that could have been an illusion or real or a dream." He ran his hands down his face. "This is complicated."

"Yeah." Kait agreed, taking a distracted sip of her caf.

"We need more answers," Viran said after a moment of silence at the table. "I think we need to talk to Cien. Or Selina. Both?" He shook his head. "You know what I mean."

"Do you think that since she's talked to Kyr she would talk to us now?" Oppie suggested.

"Possibly," Viran said, looking up at Oppie. "If she knows that we know it's her, then she might talk to us. But I've gotten Selina, or Cien, to talk to me before."

"Why would she have waited to talk to Kyr though?" Kait asked curiously. "Why not either of you? Especially since Kyr was dead set against not talking to Selina."

"I have no idea." Oppie said.

"Maybe she was scared or wanted us to be sure it was her?" Nova suggested. "Like she wanted to talk to Kyr as he would believe her. Not saying you guys wouldn't, but if I was in her shoes, I'd want to see Kelce first as he would understand."

"I guess." Oppie said with a grimace. Something about that nagged him.

"I guess we will find out then," Viran said, stifling a yawn as he rubbed his eyes.

"Maybe after you get a chance to rest?" Oppie suggested.

Viran nodded, tiredly. "Yeah, that might not be a bad idea," he said as he started to get sleepy at the table. He carefully nudged his plate aside so he didn't actually fall asleep in his pancakes.


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