Chapter Text
Nyx did not come aboard the ships of the Eternal Fleet very often, leaving its operations to others, Aygo mostly, and asking only to be kept updated every now and then on anything relevant. Which meant almost nothing that needed her attention most of the time. Even though she had learnt how to pilot a shuttle, she knew absolutely nothing about handling a fleet and did not even want to know more. That was the reason why the Alliance had officers and specialists, she had already enough on her own plate to insist on controlling everything.
Today's matter was not that important per se, but she had agreed to follow Lana's request anyway, mostly out of curiosity to be honest. The fleet had been raided several times within the past few months. Her advisor had been monitoring the events and had even found trace of other occurrences far before the moment when the ships had become the property of the Alliance. The exactions seemed perpetrated randomly on a hit-and-run mode by a small team under the cover of the delivery of supplies needed by the very limited living crew. The fact that the gigantic swarm of warships had been apparently already plundered and sabotaged by outsiders for years had been considered as a detail merely worthy of attention. Though weapons and supplies were stolen each time and some damages done, their impact was so minor that the saboteurs were not even hunted down. Setting hunting parties would be a loss of resources that the Alliance could currently not afford. However, the Gemini captain of this specific ship had been able to capture one of the culprits and eliminate the others and Hylo, who had been aboard the ship for a discrete encounter with one of her underworld contacts, had taken over and started interrogating him.
Only one out of the five assailants had survived the Gemini captain's counterattack, and the Commander would now discover what that Klyn Draysson, the only remaining survivor, looked like and decide what to do with him. Walking towards the cell, she started reading the intel transmitted by her underworld specialist. The human man was in his late fourties, dark-skinned, heavily tattooed, and seemed to be the pilot and apparently leader of the diseased small group. She was almost expecting to bump into Koth's older brother or cousin, especially as Hylo's side note mentioned a foul temper as well and the associated language.
She started hearing loud angry voices coming from the end of the aisle while skimming through the report on her datapad and instinctively started pricking up her ears to the talk. The male voice's accent was one from the Core Worlds, Republic side for sure, she would even say correlian and that raspy voice… She came to a stop, suddenly stunned by the prospect of who the owner of that voice could be, feeling her heart racing. Could that be? After all these months of unsuccessful searches?
She covered the remaining distance to the cell with a few rapid strides and soon discovered Hylo and their mysterious captive in the midst of a heated argument.
"Keep your stinking paws off me. I'm not in a talking mood," spat the man, flailing his arms toward the green-skinned woman.
"The tough guy act won't work on me," answered the unimpressed Mirialan, arms crossed on her chest. The woman had of course seen so many wannabe bad guys in her life that she did not even flinch at their threats.
"Oh yeah? Well let me talk to the son of a Hutt in charge and you'll see how tough I really am."
Barely repressing the growing smile that invited itself on her face, Nyx chose that moment to step into the cell, containing the urge to simply run towards the man who was turning his back at her. Remaining as composed as she could, she entered.
"You are looking at her," she said with an amused voice which made the man freeze and slowly turn around.
The expression he bore on his face was a mix of disbelief and shock. He remained in awe for a while, staring at her from head to toe. "Thought I'd seen enough ghosts to last a lifetime. But this…" he mumbled finally.
Nyx could not hide her smile any longer. "I never thought that I would be so happy to see my fleet's assailant."
"Your fleet? Trust me. I'm as surprised as you," he added, eyes wide open. "Last I heard, the eternal fleet belonged to some psycho empress determined to take over the galaxy. Killed a lot of good people. Almost killed me. So I fought back and made a stack of credits on the side."
"So, Mister…" She quickly looked at her datapad before returning to him. "Draysson. I suggest that you track down the people who provided you with your lousy intel, because they clearly missed a few updates. The ships have been property of the Eternal Alliance for several months, now."
"Alliance? You're the Alliance? Stars, if I had known the fleet was under new management and I'd happen to meet the Alliance leader, I would have brought flowers."
She snickered and turned to the Mirialan who had been observing them eyebrows raised, her face showing clearly her lack of understanding. "I can handle it from now, Hylo."
"You sure?"
Nyx nodded and dismissed the woman who left the cell. She then walked slowly towards the man who stood in the confined space, a smug smile slowly appearing on his face.
"Andronikos Revel…" she smirked, stopping within close range. "It has been a long time."
"Hey Sith," he answered in his low seductive voice, seizing both her shoulders with his callous hands. "Was starting to think I'd never find you."
She raised a quizzical eyebrow to this remark. The last time they had been together was more than seven years ago when she had ordered him to abandon her on Marr's flagship and return to Imperial space. And then, there had been this message from him waiting for her to read it for five long years. Yes, he had said that he would look for her, but she did not think that he would still do. "You were looking for me?"
"Yeah. I lied. I didn't hijack all those eternal fleet ships for the credits," he confessed, taking a step back and starting to stride around the cell. "First thought you dead and spent a few months drinking to forget the loss. Then I heard the Eternal Fleet hauled you away and I spent the remaining six years looking for you." At the sight of her amused smile, he immediately tried to justify himself clumsily, which made her smile even wider. "Don't get me wrong, I like the credits, but you and I had a nice setup, didn't we? Best job I ever had. And no one steals my favourite Sith girl from me like that and remains unpunished. So, I had to give it a try at least."
"And now that I caught you red-handed ransacking my property?"
He did not let himself being unsettled by the allusions that he might be in trouble and only shrugged casually. "Hum… Considering that you are the Alliance's boss, see if you need another pilot, maybe?"
She chuckled, crossing her arms on her chest. "Are you trying to turn your arrest into a job application?" she retorted.
Andronikos laughed frankly. "Well, freedom, action and inimitable extra benefits… if you're still offering the same conditions, I'd be willing to consider." The man's smug expression however immediately moved to a more serious one. "What do you say, Sith? Are we a team again?"
"The conditions might be a little different, and you will need to work for free. But the Alliance will provide everything needed to make you comfortable." She walked closer to him again and rested the palms of both her hands on his chest, raising her head to meet the pirate's gaze. While she had not seen him for a very long time, being close to him still felt natural. Nik was the man who knew her the best after all and she was not one to be shy considering all the things they had lived together for years. "We have a lot of catching up to do, and the extra benefits are not automatically granted," she continued with a wicked smile, knowing exactly what type of benefits he was talking about. "But I think that the Alliance could do with another member. And my crew was not the same without its pilot…"
A satisfied smile returned to his face and Nyx could soon feel his hands coming to rest on her hips. "Course it wasn't, I'm the best there is," he answered in a low voice, lowering his head a little. "Now, I'd say we have a deal to close."
He was claiming her mouth the moment after. A bold move but not a surprising one considering their past, and Nyx had to concede that her own behaviour had certainly not been discouraging that prospect. Leaning into his embrace, she sighed of content and parted her lips, allowing his teasing tongue to meet hers and deepen the kiss. It might have been a long time, it still all felt simply natural no matter how many years they had lived apart.
She closed her eyes. His taste made memories rush back into her mind. Memories of the years they had spent together on her journey to the Dark Council which had come to an unexpected end the day Marr and she had encountered the Eternal Fleet for the first time and been brought before Valkorion by his son. Andronikos had been her pilot until then and so much more than that… He had been the dearest of her very few close friends and a long-time occasional lover. A bit against the odds considering how it had all started.
When she had first met the man, she had not appreciated the cocky and proud way he talked to her. He lacked the respect she was expecting him to have for a Sith and was acting as an equal to her, which she profoundly considered inappropriate. She was young and still in her early apprenticeship with Darth Zash. Being respected was something she had not known before leaving Korriban on her missions. She had quickly discovered how much people feared the Sith outside of the Academy and had instantly liked the feeling. Not being among those who had to bow down to others, being the one who was feared, had been thrilling, almost intoxicating for her younger self. But that man did not give in. That man considered himself as worthy as she was. And she had had to tolerate it. Their first months on the ship had seen many violent arguments. But the pirate had rapidly proven himself much more reliable and trustworthy than she expected initially. He never lied, always made his intentions clear and kept the promises he made. Many times he had showed a commitment that was not only far above her minimum requirements but had put him in danger more than once. She had begun appreciating him truly. Then over time, appreciation had grown to attachment and they had become a real close-knit team, and friends just as close.
The physical part had come later on. She had never really considered him as a potential partner. The man was almost twice her age back then and though he was physically attractive, she had always regarded this kind of possibility as an open door to unwanted mess. But a few drinks and the frustration of not having spent enough time in a proper location where they could indulge themselves separately had done the rest one night and ended up in a particularly steamy encounter. And damn… he was good at it, all of it. That night would probably remain etched in her memory once and for all.
The morning after, instead of calling it a mistake, they had simply decided to set rules to their relationship and had both gladly stuck to them until then. There were strong feelings binding them together, feelings of unwavering friendship and undeniable lust for each other. But none even approaching the idea of love or sentimental commitment and both had always been free to have other partners, a path that each of them had followed once in a while. Within the months prior to her disappearance, Nyx had distanced herself from Nik a little to dive exclusively into her relationship with Theron, but Andronikos has always remained a close friend.
She broke the kiss after a moment of indulging their reunion and chuckled softly. "Enjoy the welcome kiss old man, any other member of the Alliance trying their fate this way would have felt the bite of my sabre in their guts."
"Yeah, but I am not just anyone," he replied, giving her a snotty smile and a wink that made her laugh and plant a friendly kiss on his rough cheek.
"I am glad to have you back, Nik," she whispered, hugging him briefly. And stars she was. After months of fruitless search and years apart, her dearest friend was finally back to her side.
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"And all this is yours? Well, girl, looks like you didn't lose that much after all." he noticed, looking around the military hangar approvingly.
They had landed on Odessen a few minutes before and she was showing him around the ever-busy base. In the shuttle heading towards the planet, they had concisely shared what had happened to each of them within the past seven years, agreeing to keep the details for later. He knew about the Alliance of course, and that mysterious Outlander who had been able to bring Emperor Arcann down. The death of the 'Psycho Empress', as he called her, by the hand of the same Outlander had been confirmed as well on the Holonet but as the fleet was still there, even though quiet, many people still wondered if it had really happened or if she had only lost a round and was regaining her strength.
Seven years before, Nik had not yet activated the hyperdrive when he had seen Marr's ship suddenly put itself to motion towards the Eternal Fleet. He had immediately understood that this was the end of them and that they had decided to charge to take down as many as they could before dying. He could not believe it and had looked at the scene with a feeling of numbed disbelief, seeing the flagship explode and light the darkness with bolts of fire. The pilot had needed to force himself to wake up and move on in order to keep his promise of warning the Empire but had let himself drown into the comfortable dizziness of perpetual drunkenness as soon as the message had been delivered and made it last for weeks. Then he had seen the destruction the Empire, the suffering, more death than he had ever seen before… Despite the Fury being grounded, he had managed to organise the escape of many of her people, requisitioning shuttles whenever needed - not all the time in a peaceful way, he confessed - to bring them to safer planets outside the Core. That was the moment when he had heard that she might not be dead and had started plundering the fleet as well. But after all these years, he had almost lost hope that his intel had been right.
He had not even been able to connect this mysterious Outlander escaped from Zakuul with his Sith friend. Her face was not known outside the usual official authorities and any types of rumours roamed among the masses. The Outlander might be a man or a woman, sometimes a Jedi or a former hero of the Republic, other times their Imperial counterparts. Any species and origins had been evoked and he had not really cared to follow that trail. The stories that he had heard were so ridiculous sometimes that he had even doubted more than once that the Outlander and the Alliance ever existed. If only he had known, he would have come quicker…
Nyx laughed at her friend's comment. "I have been appointed to be their leader, not their master. I am not sure that the statement that I own the place would be appreciated by all."
"Ah come on. Where's my crazy power-thirsty Sith gone? You weren't known for your sharing nature back then."
"I guess that she grew up a bit, and probably under very bad influence," she answered with an amused smile. "A more measured attitude seemed more appropriate to gather all these people here. Let's call it a more refined political positioning. But nothing would have happened without Lana."
"Oh, Blondie's around, I should have guessed… Still so uptight?"
"Nik…" she answered with a disapproving look while the corner of her mouth rose up almost imperceptibly, barely concealing her amusement. She could not really blame him for his appreciation. Lana had always been of the formal type in public, which gave her a cold and condescending demeanour. Only those who were better acquainted with her, which probably meant only a handful of people at best, knew about her surprising dark humour and the true affection she had for the people she cared the most about. For all the others, she was at best only an authoritarian officer, but Nyx had heard worse qualifiers used for her.
She still had vivid memories of the first time when Andronikos and Lana had met, many years before. For a brief moment, she had wondered which one of them would draw their weapon first. The confrontation of the imperial rigor with the easy-going and loose nature of her pirate friend always made sparks. Since his desertion from the army of the Republic, he had taken a habit of refusing any type of made-up authority based on hierarchies of some sorts, his loyalty and respect had to be earned. Lana had quickly had to reconsider her way of interacting with him, but luckily her diplomatic qualities had smoothed their interactions and Nyx knew that despite Nik's seemingly mocking remark, he nevertheless had come to appreciate her.
Not so surprisingly, Theron and Andronikos had had a hard time to get along as well. Theron had never been particularly good at interacting with people, not even at understanding the benefits of having those interactions if there was no clear and relatively immediate benefits to have them. She suspected it to be, consciously or not, a sort of defence mechanism coming from years under cover, or even from his earlier past. Nevertheless, he lacked the vision of long-term strategic positioning she had as a politician and that Nik perfectly perceived as well in his line of 'business'. "Nobody is useless until they are dead," the pirate used to say. And she could not agree more… with a small personal twist. Even dead people sometimes became unexpectedly useful…
"Yes. She is here, as one of my closest advisors and closest friends, now." She came to a stop and turned around to face him. "She is the one who rescued me from Zakuul. So you have to admit at least that she has been more efficient than you, old man," she said to tease him.
The chain reaction that her words provoked was an almost unseen occurrence on the base. Nik frowned and grabbed her around the waist to pull her against him, stirring up an immediate response from the people around who drew their weapons reactively. The next moment, she was held tightly against his chest and circled by a crowd holding him at gunpoint. She could remember only one time when she had seen the people around draw their weapon and aim at someone else on the base: the moment when Arcann had jumped out of the shuttle on the day of his arrival on Odessen.
"Stop calling me old man or I will show you right in front of your troops what I am still capable of," he whispered in her ear, totally unimpressed by the surrounding menace.
She smirked and gestured the assistance to lower their weapons. "I am not sure that you would last long enough to constitute a real threat to my well-being," she answered, leaving it to him to understand whatever he wanted from her provocative remark. "Now come, I have something else to show you," she said, pulling away as soon as he loosened his grip.
Turning on her heels, she moved towards the access to the outdoor ship docking port and called the lift, conscious that the recent outburst had drawn the attention of at least half of the people present in the hangar at that time, and nodded reassuringly towards a few soldiers whose looks were silently asking her if they had to intervene. When the doors opened, she let her friend go in first and selected the right level, watching the activity go back to normal while the lift's doors closed.
"You got my baby back!" Nik exclaimed as soon as the doors reopened, giving them a good view on the access bridge and the distinctive Fury-class Imperial Interceptor that stood on the headland right in front of them.
Nyx chuckled, a smile showing on her face at her friend's delighted outburst. "I remind you that this lady is mine, not yours. But yes, I got her back. She was in a bad shape but our engineers have done a great work."
"You fly her?"
"Sometimes… not very often in fact. I am rarely leaving on my own and most of the Alliance's smaller operations are made with the Gravestone." She showed the imposing ship docked in another distant area of the base, only his indistinct shape visible from there, and briefly explained its origins and promised to make Andronikos meet with the pilot who had the same sense of ownership towards the ancient ship than her friend had towards hers. "But I am glad to have her, even though she's becoming a bit dusty."
"Just say the word and I'll have her engines roar and make her reach the stars in no time."
She laughed wholeheartedly, pointing out that this was the kind of promises he had probably made to actual women countless times, which made her earn a wicked look and a sly smile. "And you know that I do not only promise. I deliver," he answered. She shook her head, rolling eyes and pretending despair. The man had definitely not changed a bit… And was still exactly the way she liked him.
Her comlink beeped, signalling an incoming call. Bey'wan Aygo had made himself available for the newcomer and was ready to meet him. They headed back to the base where Nyx left her pilot friend getting auditioned by the head of military operations. The Bothan supervised the dispatch of all the troops that could be linked to armed operations and had agreed to personally ensure Nik's integration to the Alliance after the usual evaluation of his potential useful skills. Andronikos would then receive quarters and be briefed on anything he needed to know as a new member of the Alliance.
In the course of months and years and the numerous people who had joined them, the integration process had become a well-known routine for many officers. Another aspect she never really took care of. Nevertheless, she made sure to confirm that her friend was a top-notch pilot before leaving the men together to head to the War Room, promising to join him for dinner and a drink if time allowed it.
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"Yeah, that's a decent one," he noted with appreciation, licking his lips to enjoy some more of the taste of the fine amber-coloured correlian whiskey he had been served.
"Do not be so picky, Nik. I remember that it is your favourite."
"Yeah yeah, fine. Just trying to find something to complain about."
"I would have expected something regarding your quarters. We cannot provide much comfort, or at least not until we build some additional structures…"
Nik sighed, looking as the thick liquid spiralling in the glass he was motioning. "Know what? Seen far worse these years. I won't complain as long as I have a bed in a private room, even that small." He put the glass on the table and leaned back into the couch they were sharing in the cantina, grinning innocently. "And if I am too unsatisfied, I'll sneak into your room and indulge myself. I'm sure that you have a spacious one with a double bed."
"I do." She confirmed, smiling. "Commander's privilege, I guess."
"Commander…" He raised an almost imploring eyebrow. "Is this really the way I'm supposed to call you now?"
Nyx laughed briefly. "Yes, Nik. In public at least." Raising an eyebrow interrogatively, she added: "Unless you want to continue using 'My Lord'?"
"Oh c'mon. You know I always hated that."
"And I never really appreciated all your 'babe' and 'girl' habits, which makes us even I suppose…" She had become serious this time, leaning towards him to make sure he listened to her properly. "Nik, this is not us, a ship and a small crew anymore. There are many more people involved. And half the base is already talking about the newcomer who just came in and calls their Commander 'his girl', obviously imagining many potential reasons for this little 'title'."
Andronikos sighed heavily, raising his hands in front of him in surrender. "Ah, fine… This is a lot less funny than what we had in the past but yeah, ok, understood Commander," he concluded, rolling his eyes while over-pronouncing the last word.
She nodded and smiled, putting discretely a hand on his left knee and squeezing it gently, soon feeling his fingers slip between hers and his hand cover her own. They remained silent for a time, not even looking at each other and absentmindedly brushing their fingers together.
Nyx would probably never truly admit it, but she had missed him more than she would have expected. From their very first night together, they had always had a very ambiguous relationship. Close friends and lovers, or perhaps closer to incestuous brother and sister. She did not really understand how that smug and sometimes insufferable man had been the only one she had ever fully let her guard down with. But mission after mission and then throughout every step of her way towards the Dark Council, he had almost always been there and she might not have made it that far without him.
She had been one of these countless arrogant self-centred Sith when she had met him. But he had never been impressed. Of course it had made her mad at first, who did he think he was? However, his lack of fear when he looked into her eyes to tell her frankly to go get lost as he had done countless times was probably the very thing that had made their relationship grow the way it had. Nik might be an unreliable pirate for many, he was a model of honesty with those he trusted and appreciated. He never hid his thoughts and expected her to do the same, which had sometimes led them to rather colourful arguments. 'Sparks times' as they used to call them.
Along her way up the Sith hierarchy, Andronikos had as well been an anchor point of some sort, one who had kept her from forgetting the difference between the position she was determined to obtain and who she was. If she had been spending so much time mastering control in her wielding of the Force, it might well be thanks to him and his outspoken warnings as soon as she was on the verge of losing herself. Getting him back was good. Soothing. Comforting.
She felt his hand leave hers and his body straighten, his attention suddenly drawn away.
"Hey, Shan!"
Leaving Nyx behind, Nik moved around the table and left the booth they were sharing to go meet Theron who had just entered the base's cantina. She felt a bit relieved to see that he seemed slightly less tired than he looked only a few days earlier, even though his features still bore marks of concern. Lana had finally forced him to take some more resting time and even though her friend was certain that he still cheated and remained connected to information feeds during his resting time, he had slept more lately. They still had no concrete hint about the traitor in their ranks but at least the spy had been forced to concentrate on that specific issue and had apparently put aside the other subjects he had been working on.
He had still looked lost in his trail of thoughts, or perhaps in one of the feeds provided by his implants, when he had entered the cantina and the pirate's outburst had caught him off-guard, but he had quickly composed himself enough to answer her friend's cordial salute, even though he remained more reserved than Andronikos was towards him. Their interactions had always been somewhat awkward, Theron feeling embarrassed by the kind of relationship Nyx had had with her long-time friend while neither her or Nik did see it as an issue.
The men discussed in a friendly manner for a while, most probably updating each other on their respective situation. The pilot had been looking forward to meet again with the former crew mates and missions' partners that had now joined the alliance and seemed visibly delighted. While she was observing them, he gestured a few times in her direction, seemingly inviting Theron to join them but the latter finally shook his head and declined the invitation. They parted with a good handshake but Andronikos seemed more than suspicious when he came back to the booth and let himself slouch onto the couch.
"Ooookay. Care to update me here? Where do you both stand now?"
"I put an end to our relationship several weeks ago."
"Oh, so you were back together after your little carbonite holiday," he said, leaning closer.
"Yes. Or at least we tried," she concluded, only there meeting his gaze with a look that ordered him silently to drop the subject, which of course she was sure that he would not.
"Yeah… Looks like one tried more than the other, hu?" he only added, shooting her a sidelong glance. "So, who's taking care of you now?"
"I do not need anyone to do that, Nik. I am strong enough to take care of my own self."
"Oh yeah. I know the Big Bad Sith doesn't need anyone. But what about you?" he insisted, tapping gently on her sternum with his index finger and seeming not convinced at all. "I remember a girl who sometimes crawled into my bed in the middle of the night because it was all too much and she needed a hug."
"A presence. I needed a soothing presence. Occasionally," she corrected in a low voice, tensing at the memories of her moments of weakness and distress. Nik knew many things about her that no other did, and as a consequence, he questioned as well much more. As glad as she was of having him around again, she knew that she would have to deal with his usual scepticism. He had always pretended himself to be self-centred and devoid of empathy, but he definitely wasn't. Much to her annoyance sometimes as he did not take this kind of affirmation easily for granted.
"Hu-hu. Whatever," he answered, making sure that she knew that he was not buying it. "At least now I can keep an eye on you again. Which is not that unpleasant anyway," he concluded with a playful smirk.
"Ah, you will never change," she replied with a little snicker, relieved that he did not insist on the former subject.
"No babe, I won't. Making me change is far beyond your reach."
She chuckled again and turned her head absent-mindedly to look at the crowd that was slowly getting denser. The sun had set already a while ago and, appart from those who were appointed to a night shift, most of the people on the base had finished their day and had time to enjoy some time off. While some preferred remaining outside or joining their quarters, the cantina remained the main meeting point and source of entertainment and the place had even sometimes hosted concerts recently. Even if she had not had time to do more than quickly passing by, she still remembered the wild atmosphere of the 'Black Sabacc' venue surprisingly organised by Aygo, a few weeks before. While the time of battles was far from over, it was good to see Odessen be a place of rather normal life sometimes.
Reaching the bar area, her gaze suddenly met with Arcann's. He had been there for a while already. She had seen him out of the corner of her eye and was even pretty sure that he had been looking at her from time to time. Nyx felt bad for him. She still remembered his first weeks on the base when he made the effort of coming to the cantina knowing at best that he would drink alone but might as well have to suffer hostile glares from the other patrons. The situation had strongly improved up to their latest intervention on Iokath and he had made a few acquaintances if not friends, but now that everyone knew that there was a traitor among them, he had become again someone people did not really want to be close with.
If Nik had not been there, she would not have missed their daily training and would probably have hanged out a bit with him too. Unlike the others, she had no doubt that he was not behind the sabotage which had been put in place to harm her. She had actually really started trusting and appreciating him. The man was clever and sharp and hid a subtle sense of humour that she had begun to discover when he had started relaxing a bit around her. Despite their common history, he was definitely someone she liked spending time with. He was now light years away from the enemy she had fought and sometimes she even almost forgot that he had been the Eternal Emperor.
She was not the sort of person who took it on herself to make other people comfortable. At first, it was curiosity that had motivated her wish to invest some time in getting to know him. She wanted to see by herself who he really was, especially now that his judgment and personality were not influenced by his lack of control over the dark side anymore. She had been surprised by the man she had discovered. He still had to find some sort of stability and deal with the full awareness of who he had been but he had made progress. She had worried a few times that he might be too damaged to take charge of himself. In that case, he would not have brought anything valuable to the Alliance and she would have sent him away with his mother. But he had proven her wrong and moved forward steadily, which she could only value.
Arcann was harder on himself that she thought necessary. But she knew that she had a far more cold-hearted perception of the damages of war than many others. War was dirty and so were his past actions but she had a lot of blood on her hands too and so did many around them. She was far less tolerant about the lack of judgment and gross mistakes he had done in his latest months as an emperor, but was conscious that his obsession about his father living inside her had been the source of this madness. That part was gone when Valkorion had been eliminated once and for all, clearing his mind and allowing outstanding thinking skills to resurface.
She could not deny that she somehow saw a counterpart in him. He was powerful in the Force, perhaps even more that she was though she could still pretend to have a finer control over it than he did. He had seen war, battlefields, known the taste of blood. And he had been a leader, not only confined into his throne room but as well on the frontline. In a way, they were very similar and she had not met that many people she had seen that way. Marr might had been one and she had considered him a mentor of some sort. The situation with Arcann was different. So far, she had tried to guide him slightly to get him back on track, but he may then become someone she wanted to keep by her side…
A blue shape moving around his head shook her out of her reverie and briefly caught her gaze, she then smiled neutrally back to him before looking away, seeing him do the same simultaneously. That blue shape was Vette, the twi'lek that had survived Vaylin's attack on Odessen when she had chosen to favour her rescue over Torian's, so convinced that she had been that he too would manage to make it through. She was a nice girl, easy-going just as Nik, and had been the very first person on the base who had not seen Arcann as a monster. Nyx had seen them together several times already, she knew that they had become friends, but seeing her leaning on him and whisper in his ear the way she just did had made her feel a sudden pang of discomfort… or was it disappointment? She could not really make sense of it. Even though they were closer than she expected, it was not hers to choose who he could… be with? Were they together? Well, if it was the case then she should be glad for him that he had found someone who could support him on the way to full recovery, not just irrationally react as if she had just been deprived from something. No. Good. That was a good thing.
"OK, so who's that?" she heard, realising that she had probably been silent and distracted for a while. She inhaled deeply and forced herself into the present time again.
"Hum, who?"
"That guy you've been looking at and who was staring back at you?"
"Oh a… friend." She had never stated it this way but yes, that was probably what they had become. Friends. She snickered pensively and raised her eyes to meet Nik's gaze. "And actually, he was the fleet's previous owner. Well, just before his sister took over."
"What??" Andronikos had managed to keep a measured voice but his tone reflected his shock perfectly. "No shit! That's the guy who hauled you and he is having a casual drink on your base? You nuts or what??"
She put a comforting hand on his forearm, ready to strengthen her grip if he suddenly wanted to stand up and react unexpectedly. "My crazy Sith part might not be that far away after all… Hush, let me explain…"
She briefed him on the missing parts that she had set aside when concentrating on the main events in her earlier explanations. The destruction of Arcann's flagship, Senya's escape with her son, the ritual on Voss… When she was finally done with her story, he was still looking at her gaping in complete bewilderment.
"Damn, girl, he still froze you in carbonite for five bloody years. That man should be rotting in a cell at best!"
"It is more complicated than that, Nik. The man is different now, I chose to give him a second chance. And… I think that I like him."
He sighed, rolling wide open eyes. "Like… like how?"
She gave him a stern glare and answered dryly: "Like appreciate. Don't be stupid."
"Oh my… yeah babe, you're still crazy, no doubt about it…"
______________________________________________
"Wanshom?"
Arcann found himself suddenly staring at a plate containing an already half eaten chokolate-coated cake that was held by a blue hand. He had been wandering in his thoughts for a while, anything that came to his mind, as long as it kept him away from the awkward feeling he was trying to withhold. He shook his head to put his ideas back into place and his gaze followed the arm that was holding to plate to finally meet two violet eyes. "I beg you pardon?"
"Humf" Vette held a finger up, asking him to wait and swallowed loudly before licking her lips.
"Do you want some? Looked like you needed some comfort…"
He broke eye contact again to stare into the void. "No, I am fine, thank you."
"Nah, you're not."
"I am. Thank you for your concern."
All of a sudden, he felt her lean against his back, her arms coming to rest on his shoulders from behind. A lekku brushed the right side of his face while she put her chin on her forearm.
"You've been staring." she cooed with an amused voice.
"I do not know what you are talking about."
Vette approached her mouth closer to his ear and whispered. "Mh, let me describe the scene for you… Two o'clock, grey skin, nice legs if you ask me, and currently laughing with a dark-skinned man who's clearly flirting with her."
Arcann repressed a sigh. Yes, he might have been staring. A bit. He was trying not to as each glimpse awoke in his guts a mix of anger and sadness that he wanted to go away. He had no right for feeling this way. She was not his. She would probably never be. He was being foolish and overly emotional about what he saw and this feeling had to go, he had to make it die away. She said that he should learn how to tame and use his emotions, feed on them, but this, this had to disappear.
"You're jealous…" Vette whispered, giggling softly. "I might have been right after all. You have a little crush, don't you?"
Arcann could not help looking again and saw Nyx observing him from the couch where she had been drinking and talking with the newcomer. She was frowning quizzically, her head tilted on the side, but immediately changed her expression to a neutral smile when their gazes met. He tried to smile neutrally in return then turned his bar stool a few degrees in the opposite direction to both break eye contact and force Vette to move from his back. His friend knew that he was not used to such familiarity but it was as if she voluntarily trespassed into his comfort zone as often as she could.
The twilek pushed her plate again in front of him on the bar. "Go on, help yourself, and be quick otherwise I might eat it all. Chokolate is good stuff against heartbreaks."
"I am not having a so-called 'crush', Vette," he tried to defend himself. "And I would appreciate that you do not persist in thinking so."
"Oh, sure, so you were only concerned of her well-being since this guy is a stranger, right? Just checking that she's safe, hu?"
Of course she would not stop, what was he hoping for? He liked her very much, but when Vette had something stuck in her head and was not satisfied with the answers she got, she would gladly continue chewing on the bone. And unfortunately, she was rather perceptive and gifted with empathy. Lying to her was not easy and usually, the best he could get away with was half truths.
"I… I do not like him. The way he addresses her is terribly disrespectful. Did you hear him? She is not some random girl in a bar, she… She is the Commander of the whole Eternal Alliance!"
And yet that man had dared calling her 'babe' and Arcann had heard him refer to her as 'his girl' a few times in her absence, making of course most of the men around chuckle. He did not know what infuriated him the most, the man's disrespect, the evidently possessive words he used for her or the fact that Nyx had barely reacted with a disapproving look when he had done so. Gods! How could this man appear suddenly out of nowhere and call her his… whatever else than Commander? And that had nothing to do with… with…
"Ah yep, I did," Vette said before engulfing a giant spoonful of cake into her mouth. "Humf… Well considering that Ashara told me that the Commander and this guy used to… hum, let me recall her words… yes, 'have recurring sexual encounters' back in the days, looks like he wouldn't be against resuming the good ol' kinky stuff."
Arcann paled a little. "I.. I… I didn't need to hear that."
"Nay, you don't want to hear that. Stings, hu?"
"No."
Stars! Arcann put his hands into his lap to hide them as he realised that he was both clenching them tightly into firsts. Though they were cut short, he could clearly feel the bite of his fingernails in the palm of his right hand. Yes, it stung, it bloody stung, more than it ever should. So why could she simply not leave him alone and let him go over it and silence it all?
"Yeeeeeeah, it stings. Why don't you protect your hunting territory and tell her?"
"I am not on a hunt and there is nothing to say. Now please, stop prodding my patience."
"Urgh! Guys can be so damn dumb!" Vette rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Okay, Mr. Grumpy Face. So I'd rather find you a treat to cheer you up before you become as grim as Skadge. What's your poison?"
"My… what?" Arcann looked at his twilek friend questioningly. Poison?
"Yeah. The one thing you always liked to stuff your mouth with when you were a kid, you know. Something that makes you feel good."
Arcann frowned. Was there such a thing? In the last two decades he had probably not indulged in any food the way she described. The Empire's kitchens usually served very elaborated dishes but nothing he could associate with joy and comfort, nothing he truly enjoyed eating. But he remembered that there had been something, earlier, when they were still a family. "I hum…" he answered tentatively. "There were pies my mother used to bake when we were young. I loved the smell…" The memory made him smile a little. "She always had to chide us because we could barely wait for them to cool down and would have burnt our tongues eating them up when they were still too hot, but then she used to let us eat them with our fingers…"
He recalled the laughter, sitting on the floor with their plates, smeared faces and sticky fingers, his brother and him making fun of their baby sister's terribly messy way of eating... These had been rare purely joyful moments when nobody around was imposing them to train, or learn, or watch their manners. Yes, if there was one thing he had enjoyed eating, that was the one... Arcann raised his eyes on Vette, granting her with half a smile. "The closest you find here would be cloudberry pie…"
Vette uttered a delighted giggle and yelled to the bar-droid. "Hey, Teefour, bring a slice of cloudberry pie to my friend here. With a huge amount of whipped cream!" And with a big grin stuck on her face, she turned around again to face him. "Now, Big Boy. Let's work on your case."