Sins Of The Father (Susan)

[Poludnica]

The message from his daughter was displayed on the holoscreen hovering above the large desk. Three short sentences but they were enough to rip away the last shreds of Cassius’ peace. He stared it, analysed it, hoped it to be a lie. A made up story just to vex him, but the Liviana patriarch knew better. Finally Danica crossed the line and on purpose ruined everything - up until then Cassius had treated her behaviour as a rebellions acting out. Sooner or later she would have been back with a broken heart: broke, and snivelling. Not anymore; Danica now faced consequences Cassius believed she wasn’t ready to carry. Neither of them were.

For the first time in a very long time Cassius felt something more than fury or indifference toward his child. Emotion so alien, it caused a rush of anxiety he didn’t understand. His fingers trembled when the aged master reached for another cigarette. The ashtray on the desk betrayed it wasn’t the first this evening, not even the fifth. Their leftovers piled up in front of him, spilling ash on the spotless surface. For once Cassius didn’t care. He wiped it away with his hand before bringing a Pius Dea lighter to a paper stick trapped between the thin lips.

The lights in the office were dimmed to create a pleasant penumbra. Delicate music seeped from hidden speakers but Cassius barely registered it. His thoughts went back in time, fishing out memories of those moments he could have done a better job and be a stricter father. A present father, to beat such ideas out of Danica’s head before they had chance to flourish. He had been busy with other things: business on Nar Shaddaa, Livco and Pius Dea mission. Now one many members looked up to as a leader had lost a battle with his only child and the last Zhell would soon die out. Their bloodline sullied, destroyed.

Cassius poured himself another drink, the exquisite whiskey was half emptied by now. Not even the pleasant buzz could banish away the entangled mess of emotions. At the edge of the consciousness danced a nagging sensation that he had forgotten something important, but it eluded him whenever Cassius tried to reach for it. Closed in Livco office penthouse, the man gave a clear order not to disturb him. Even in the privacy of his kingdom, Cassius never let himself go but now his ebony hair was dishevelled and shirt loosely unbuttoned at the top. The data pad beeped but the grey jedi ignored it, instead lit another cigarette and downed the drink. It was going to be a long night…

[Susan]

As the chauffer driven shuttle glided gently into the reserved parking bay of the luxury apartment structure that would be its passenger’s destination, Samuel Cromwell allowed himself a small smile. He sat amongst his thoughts for a few moments whilst awaiting for the door to be opened by his human driver, and did not feel even a trickle of impatience. This was caused by one of those most seldom of occasions, the Corellian was in a rather good mood this day. The senate had convened earlier in the afternoon, several important issues on the agenda. One of which was the vote of a particularly insignificant piece of legislation, but nonetheless the vote fell in favour of the experienced Senator. It was just a slight amendment for farming rights in certain sectors, but it was something the wily old politician had put his full weight behind; being sure to bring up his support of the doctrine at almost any given opportunity. In truth, he did not care either way about the law in itself, but backing it as vigorously as he did – whilst ultimately being successful - rose public opinion of him significantly. It was not dangerously low before hand, but according to his advisors, many Corellian’s were starting to associate ‘Senator Cromwell’ together with ‘stale’. Not exactly the most desirable of relationships.

The joyous senator eventually did step out of his transportation, a somewhat more pleasing relationship in his mind. Specifically, his friendship with a man who was his equal in many ways, his superior in many others, and an irreplaceable ally ever since they first met. In truth, Cassius Liviana sometimes frightened his Corellian counterpart, but Samuel took the bad with the good as best he could. Most of the alarming scenarios were actually under complete control, with the Coruscanti just enjoying the sight of his dear friend curled up in a ball under a desk. Or behind a skycar. Or just lying as flat as was physically possible against the floor, praying that he would somehow dissolve into it and out of danger. The situations came about with far more frequency than Samuel would have liked. But that did not mean he would trade his friendship with the force user for anything in the universe. He took the bad with the good certainly, but the latter far outweighed the former. Even if at times Samuel found himself re-evaluating that belief. Usually when he was curled up in a ball under a desk.

Even such thoughts were not going to dispel the human’s good mood this day, he was not envisioning such a situation to occur today. This was to be a pre arranged meeting between friends, to celebrate Samuel’s unavoidable triumph, however minor, and discuss business of galactic consequence. A more simple definition would be two old men using any excuse to get drink and whine about the problem of the great unwashed that was a plague on every world. Bloody aliens. Samuel and Cassius first found friendship in their shared opinion of the alien filth that so stubbornly continued to exist, and were now two of the most influential members of Pius Dea. Which was not really saying much, the organisation was a far cry from its glory days ruling the republic. Samuel was however confident that soon their day would come. His day would come.

The Corellian entered the building, his biometric security clearances kicking in and allowing him access to the elevators instantly. As he rode up in blissful silence, Samuel continued thinking about how good his day was going. Before the Senate meeting, he had a brief conference with his nephew, who was to wish him luck. Samuel was inordinately proud of Rook, but then it was hard not to be. Despite his early hiccups, the young King was shaping to be an extremely capable young man.

Unbeknownst to the happy old man, the human attendants of the apartment complex were considering stopping his elevator in transit. Mister Liviana had commanded that he was not to be bothered, not by anyone. However, someone had the good mind to allow Senator Cromwell ahead regardless of these instructions. He was a special case after all, a more frequent visitor to Mister Liviana’s apartment than any other. Especially the businessman’s family, there were members of the complex staff that had no idea of the identities of Mister Liviana’s family, or if he even had any. The tall Corellian was certainly the closest to it – and his elevator continued onwards unimpeded. Which was fortunate, such an inconvenience could be quite the raincloud on Samuel’s rainy day. As far as he was concerned though, it was clear skies ahead. Exiting the elevator and activating the doorbell, Samuel remained quite cheerful. He was looking forward to seeing his good friend and discussing everything that they had to discuss. Oh yes, clear skies ahead indeed.

[Poludnica]

Crap. Cassius though when sensed the familiar presence coming toward the building. After all those years Samuel became a burning dot in the white noise of the Force. It also served as a reminder they two of them had a meeting planned but not today… His friend spent months on Coruscant ever since he had been elected as an acting Corellian senator. Samuel came the long way - from a position of power no one cared about aside from Corellians to a respected Senator. When faced with this fact, Cassius had to sum up what had happened in his life during last two years: Livco lost in the Republic Space because Devon made stupid choices. Danica ran off and got knocked by a slum born alien criminal turned Sith. Along the way she also stole from him, but that felt only like a small slight in a sea of insults. The physical prowess he had lost during ill fated coma was irreparable and permanent. It had been a bad two years, terrible enough for Cassius to slam his fist in the desk, knocking the bottle onto the floor. Its expensive content spilled, staining the luxurious handmade carpet. The aged master didn’t care, instead did what he never allowed himself to do: wallowed in self-pity.

What have I done wrong? Cassius thought angrily and stood up to nervously pace around the tastefully arranged office, finally stopping next to a lone portrait. An antique from Pius Dea era: three human men pushing alien filth down the temple’s step. The goddess hovered over them, giving her blessing. The painting was old fashioned, even cheesy in its theatrical gallantry. Cassius liked to imagine his ancestors earning favours this way, pushing humanity toward its rightful place as rulers of the Galaxy. Where those valiant genes had gone now? Soiled by Firrerreo blood, diluted in the worst possible way. The old master turned away from the proud image and to his daughter’s message. Frivolous and light, purposefully wounding. Cassius felt rage growing, swallowing the sadness. Sudden rush of fury grasped the man’s heart. He reached to lift the now emptied bottle and pushed it against the wall, right next to the doors. The glass shattered with a force that pressed the glass back into sand. The tremble ran through the metal wall and doors behind which stood the familiar, burning dot of life.

With a wave of his hand Cassius opened the doors. At the very first sight Samuel could see something was wrong, if he hadn’t guessed it already from the suspicious noises. The grey master had issued clear orders for no one to bother him but the Senator belonged into a special category. Almost a family, long time lover and a good friend. Cassius felt no anger the Corellian showed up but had yet to admit how much it pleased and shamed him. At one hand he looked like an utter mess: hair, still thick despite the age, was uncombed and formed messy curls on top of Cassius head. The office that led into private quarters now reeked of spilled alcohol, not to mention tiny shards of glass spread across the floor. The message from Danica was still displayed on the holoscreen above the desk. Cassius first reaction was to hide it but Samuel would learn either way.

”Samuel.” Cassius sighed, his voiced filled with unusual affection. Something that didn’t happen often. The grey master shook his head and placed fingertips on the temples. ”Forgive me.” He continued but didn’t look at the friend, instead closed his eyes, trying to banish annoying, stingy wetness from under the eyelids.