Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on May 10, 2018 8:09:50 GMT -5
"Have no fear for giving in Have no fear for giving over You better know that in the end It’s better to say too much Than never to say what you need to say again" John Mayer "Say" Aunna Lumina Praetor Full Name • Aunna Lumina Borgonia (birth), Aunna Lumina Praetor (legal) Nickname • Aun Aliases • Lumina Narraeva Race • Corellian Birthplace • Coronet, Corellia Age • 39 (Born: 3631 BBY) Height & Weight • 5'6" , 140lbs Gender • female Sexuality • hetero Faction • Republic, Mythics, grey jedi Concept • Grey Jedi/Mythic padawan level, Republic army former major--- Aunna has had a very off-color life for the past eight years. Starting as a Major in the Republic army sent to help track down grey and dark jedi as well as guard the kolto interests of the Republic on Manaan, she has been kidnapped, branded a traitor, realized her latent force sensitivity and received some training (both through Vex Praetor and the Stellar Mythics), and been absolved of her previous crimes. Languages • signifies speech and comprehension unless stated otherwise. Most were learned during her time in the military. Basic fluent High Galactic: novice (mainly comprehension) Olys Corellisi: fluent Selonian: adept Drallish: apprentice Durese: apprentice Smuggler Cant: adept Mon Calamari Blink Code: adept Huttese: apprentice Gamorrese: novice Kinetic Communication: novice Assets •
Appearance Face Claim • The Magdalena (Top Cow comics)  link 2 - Magdalena  (original artwork of Aunna and REA-13 "Eressea" by Otterling) Overall Looks • Aunna naturally has sandy brown hair (now often dyed auburn) and bright blue eyes that, these days, are often wary, keen and sometimes challenging, though also capable of showing a great variety of emotions. She is athletically built due to her years training as a soldier, and looks remarkably like her twin brother, Jade....the main difference being her well developed curves. Despite having given birth to twins, Aunna’s continued training in Lightsaber forms and force abilities has allowed her to regain and maintain her lithe form. Aunna has more than a few scars, both from her time in the military and with Vex, many of them are faded to almost nothing from time and good treatment, however, a few remain that are still quite visible: A blaster shot to her left leg that had gone with only basic field medical treatment, a long scar that cut across the opposite hip from a melee fight she’d gotten into, a scar running from her navel to her pelvic bone (from a surgery), the scar Andrew had given her (on her right shoulder), the blaster shot she’d received during their escape from the prison on the same shoulder, and the lightsaber injury Vex had saved her from (left side). She bears a few more scars now than she had during her time with Vex, reminders of close calls, a few scuffles, and her ferocious protectiveness of her children, but nothing really too noticeable. Since her trial and subsequent escape, she had taken on a more rugged (if still slightly militaristic) look, her hair cut to mid back, dark brown uniform pants with the Corellian 2nd Degree Bloodstripe (gold/yellow), and a tan or cream colored top. She also tends to wear a coat made of good, weather resistant, material that comes all the way down to mid-calf in the back in 'Corellian green' (dark emerald green) that is made for travel, durability and fluid, easy, unrestricted movement. The sleeves almost can’t be called that, as they are more like fabric that hangs down over the arms to the wrist in a sort of bell shape, but no matter which way she moves her arms, or how she moves them, they are always covered. The golden material that is sewn over the shoulder and down the front matched the color of the Bloodstripe piping along her brown pants almost perfectly. It only zips from her waist up, with an upright collar whose material flows into a hood, the satiny-looking, green, weather lining is a nearly perfect fit. This coat seems like it was meant to keep out any and all kinds of weather in any and all situations and it has been with her for nearly seven years, so obviously it's durable. Just beneath the coat she wears the jedi standard issue belt that Vex gifted her with, her collapsed pike resting on her left hip and a blaster against her right thigh. The length and cut of the coat make it fairly simple to hide both beneath it... She also wears glasses for reading and projects that require her dealing with small or detailed processes. From her time in the Mythics as a low level battle mythic, Aunna has a black and red set of armor. The black leather pants and top cover her body and are form fitting but allow easy movement, sturdy enough to provide protection but light enough for quick action. The metal plates of the armor are also thin and light, made of outsourced phrik metal like her pike haft, and are colored crimson with gold colored detailing. The plates protect her hips, her chest, and her shoulders as well as having boots and gauntlets made of the same sort, all of these are decorated with the Mythic insignia in gold. She also wears a long cloak with hood while on duty: black with gold on outside, crimson underside. Her lightsaber pike is her designated Mythic 'staff' and a long dagger is her designated 'sword'. If she's ever required to wear a formal dress, and no doubt there are times she will, most are flowing, lose around her body, leaving much to the imagination as smooth, light, material is left to shift and float around her form with her movements. Others are close cut around the top, tailored with clean lines that allow free movement. The amount of material used and the weight of it is always a concern for her, both being kept to a minimum to allow for swift action and ease of movement without exposing most of her skin. As an aging woman, and one who still considers themselves ‘taken’, she prefers no one but her lover to see the more alluring ((thinking decently here people)) parts of her…especially those Vex seemed to prefer: her neckline, mid-riff, and back. Should the dress expose some of those areas (which inevitably some do), she is certain to wear a robe, cloak, or some other covering. The one common factor of all of her dresses is that she has found (or created) a way to store her collapsed pike in them and out of view. Like usual a small silver badge rests about her neck with the Borgonia family crest on it…or, it’s mostly the Borgonia Crest. With a bit of digging (okay, a lot of digging) Aunna had managed to find a few old images of a Winsliyn crest (it wasn’t a Praetor crest, but she hadn’t expected to find one anyway…so it would have to work). With a few modifications the old Winsliyn crest became the new Praetor one and the two (Borgonia and Praetor) were merged to make the new badges that Aunna and her children wear. It hangs on the same silver chain she’s always worn, with the same medal from her time in the military, and only one angle wing left of the pair she used to have, the other having broken off sometime between the last time she had spoken to Vex and the time she reached Corellia. The missing angel wing has since been replaced by the metal feather that Ayer gifted her a little over seven years ago. Personality Profile Despite the years and trials of her life to date, some things about Aunna never change. Sentimental as any Corellian, she has a deep love for her home world and will always return to it if given the choice. Her love for living things, and seeing life flourish, hasn’t changed, nor has her dislike of hurting others…be it emotionally, mentally, or physically…she will, if she must, but Aunna still tends to try and avoid it if at all possible. Typically steadfast in her morals and beliefs, Aunna seems to have no problem speaking her mind...though she tends to feel remorseful for making others feel badly. Aunna is still willing to fight to protect another more often than not, though she now tends to choose her battles more carefully because of her family. One of her deepest wishes from early on in life was to help others to the best of her abilities, and, despite all she’s been through, she still sees one chance after another to change others lives for the better. She prefers being out in the wild with plants and animals the most, places where she can feel the life around her as opposed to cities, especially since her time with Vex and their time in places where few people would ever go. Her noble upbringing left her with a strong distaste for the lives of nobles that leaves her feeling stifled, and attempts to lead her life in relative simplicity. When she must enter the more…formal…life of a noble because of her lineage, she still tends to feel out of place and trapped/stifled by the strict unspoken rules of "etiquette" they hold to, though she has learned to easily hide her inner feelings from the outside world with a mask of calm that can often fool even the most trained eye. While her loyalty to Corellia and the Crown remains strong, she hasn't forgotten how the Republic attempted to make a traitor out of her unjustly, nor has she forgotten her upbringing as a noble and the expectations set upon her, or those set upon Rook and his family, or the danger they often faced. These are all things she desperately hopes to keep her children from having to suffer, especially now with Rook having abdicated the throne and her position as a noble of Corellia possibly bringing more duties upon her shoulders. Her willful and prideful sides tend to show quite often, making her a handful and a challenge to deal with at the best of times, often giving her a hardened demeanor to cover the more vulnerable core of her. That was one thing that certainly hadn't changed about her...any time she was hurting or emotionally uncomfortable that cool and composed mask of hers came around and got things done. Her time with Vex and as a traitor has especially put a fire in her belly when it comes to speaking up, or putting up defenses...and her time with the Mythics has increased her aptitude for defending herself and her children, making her a force to be reckoned with when it comes to many non-force users and even some of the less-trained force users. Aunna tries to see the best in others before seeing their faults, but time has tempered this part of her with the realities of the universe, and so she keeps a tight reign on her observations most of the time. She's used to be a very trusting person, and sometimes she still is, but also because of her past she has learned how to become cautious almost to the point of paranoia if she must be...especially now that she has children to be concerned about. She doesn't pretend that her time with Vex hasn't left a mark on her life when it comes to how others view her and their potential willingness to attack or be underhanded. The former major has more than a few quirks and one rather deep mental scar. Her upbringing as a noble is also the reason she has a "dislike" for being picked up, seeing as her dancing partners would tend to drop her while performing lifts or dips. She HATES being called "songbird" because of her former lover, Andrew, and has even gone so far as to break a man's nose who called her that once. Aunna isn't particularly proud of her voice, but she is confident in it and loves to sing. Unfortunately, Aunna is wary of relationships, also because of Andrew, and has a particularly deep fear of finding herself in another relationship like the one she had with the man which keeps her from getting too close with anyone. For some reason, however, despite the fact that she has compared him to Andrew, Aunna doesn't seem to feel the same toward Vex. While it may not have been a binding relationship (legally speaking) the fact that they were so close, and have two children, she considers herself his and no one elses. This isn't to say that at one point she didn't feel quite the opposite. The way he left her life (before she discovered why) left a deep scar on her emotionally...in some ways it has never fully healed, but after learning he left her to turn himself in and further absolve her name of any crimes she's made peace with the pain. Still, there's a rift in her with his absence that can never fully be healed. Background Father • Kovus Osrus Borgonia, 66, Corellian noble Mother • Sarah Lellian Borgonia, 62, Corellian noble Siblings • Jade Tiberious Borgonia, 39, brother, Imperial Rear Admiral (or is he?) link Other Important Connections • Raelyn Isis Praetor, 7, daughter Kieran Enery Praetor, 7, son Vex Praetor, 45, lover and initial mentor for force/saber abilities. link Bors Dracona, 48, Stellar Mythic High Sword, mentor Rook Solosten, 36, Former King of Corellia and friend link Samantha Sevchenko (Zaftig), 35, friend, Project Familiar pilot and security link Nareon J. Borgonia, 60, uncle, retired CorSec captain Meena H. Borgonia, 59, aunt, retired school teacher Lacey V. Jevrat, 32, cousin, CorSec detective (Meena and Nareon's daughter) Solan V. Jevrat, 10, 2nd cousin --Various members of the large, clan-like, families: Borgonia (military) and Kartright (nobles) Overall History • A New Light Aunna and her twin brother, Jade, were born on the planet of Corellia to a primarily military family, who also held the rank of nobility (albeit the lowest rank one could get), to Kovus and Sarah Borgonia. Their father had recently been promoted to the rank of Admiral in the navy, their grandfather was a retired General of the Army, and several cousins had also joined the armed forces by the time they were born. As one would expect, this had a great impact on the lives of the twins as they grew up. Early on, their father and grandfather regaled them with stories of combat and military life, daily life was highly structured, meals and events were always prompt and scheduled, and no form of disrespect was tolerated. By their fourth birthdays the twins were sent to be tested for midichlorian counts, something that was not common for the family, but due to the children’s seemingly impeccable 'sixth sense' they were tested. Unfortunately...or perhaps fortunately...neither child had a high enough count to be accepted into the Jedi ranks, though the midiclorians in their blood were significantly higher than most. However, this meant little because Jade, already cunning for his age and not wanting himself or Aunna to become a jedi but enter the military, had managed to exchange his and his sister's blood samples for another's blood sample of a far lower count (by pure luck), successfully keeping his and Aunna's jedi worthy midichlorian count a secret. By five, the twins were already attending a school their father had attended where they were taught leadership skills, as well as the basics of the military's history, along with science, math, reading, and other such skills one would expect any child to learn. As they neared the age of ten, the twins became...if possible...more connected with one another, causing all kinds of havoc within their classes due to their insatiable curiosity. At all times, it seemed as if one or both of the children had their nose in a book, were experimenting with various objects and chemicals, or asking seemingly never ending questions. During this time Aunna and Jade began the annoying habit of ending one another’s sentences. As age 17 approached, Aunna and Jade were assigned posts on different military cruisers, because of their father’s wish to maintain a military family. Here they were to observe and train with the men and women...mainly men...stationed on the cruisers. It was at this time in their lives that Jade flourished, but Aunna had a more difficult time. As she set about training on the cruiser she realized that many of the men she worked with looked down upon her simply because she was a woman. In an attempt to shield herself from this harsh reality, she became extremely sarcastic, growing a 'tough outer shell' to combat the resistance that met her at every turn. Despite this, the Corellian navy and her work under Donald Kail helped the young woman learn a considerable amount about leadership, especially after she received a medal of recognition for her swift thinking and leadership during a dogfight with pirates near the Corellian shipyards. At age 20, Aunna’s life became far more interesting. During a wedding for one of the Corellian princes, the young woman met Prince Rook for the first time. The two seemed to have a great amount in common, and despite her logic, the young woman developed a light crush on the rebellious prince. As she knew, however, things didn’t turn out the way she might have liked, and nothing came of this. Later that month, while on a mission to Manaan to negotiate a deal and receive a new batch of Kolto for Donald’s ship, Aunna found herself feeling more and more bound to the water planet as strange ‘visions’ seemed to plague her mind accompanied by a song that seemed ‘unfinished’ as of yet. During this, she met a man named Daren, who she later learned was Donald’s missing son, and was attacked by a band of mercenaries the sith hired to attack their own base and pin it on the Republic soldiers. After the subsequent questioning and reprimands from her superiors she left the navy and joined the army. It was here that she was finally able to start clawing her way up the ranks, despite its difficulties. Her first promotion came after leading a group of soldiers and wounded safely to a base camp nearly three miles away through the middle of a skirmish between the Hutts and their outlaws, and the republic. Though this had been in direct violation of her commander's orders, Aunna could no longer keep the scattered platoon in harms way, especially after their commander had died. As luck would have it, in disobeying orders she had followed her 'good feeling' about leaving and managed to not only save a colonel's son, but had also reported the enemy's movements in that area, which turned the tide of battle in favor of the Republic. Andrew Seals Her Fate Nearing age 24, Aunna met a man named Andrew Harvang. Andrew worked for a company that shipped supplies for the military to the various bases throughout the galaxy, and it was on one of these runs that he happened to meet the vivacious officer. With his charming personality and dashing looks, it hadn’t taken the man long to gain the young woman’s attention. Over the course of two years the two seemed to have hit it off well, and despite the long times between meetings because of their respective jobs, there was talk of making the relationship more serious. By this time Aunna had become known as “Songbird” (a pet name coined by Andrew himself) amongst the others on base with the young woman because of her voice and the fact that she seemed to be singing almost constantly. The good times were not to last, however, because behind the scenes not everything was right with the couple. Over the course of the second year things had become more and more rocky between the two, and Andrew seemed to become more unstable and angry. Aunna, despite the warnings of her brother, remained with Andrew, her pride and determination to make the relationship work blinding her to the true dangers of the man. One particular day, when she was 25, Aunna had approached Andrew about his flirtation with another woman. The ensuing argument was far from pleasant, especially for the young 1st Lieutenant, who found herself jostled around by the larger man. Aunna, as per her typical stubborn personality, refused to back down despite the fact that Andrew now had her pinned to the wall. As the blond man seemed to collect his wits once again, he released Aunna and apologized for his actions, stating that she had been completely right. What Aunna didn’t know, however, was the fact that Andrew was far from calm. He was tired of the “wretched woman’s unyielding ways” and was bound and determined to rid himself, and the galaxy, of her. Appeased, Aunna apologized for her temper as well, and, thinking nothing more was wrong, forgave Andrew. The rest of the evening was fairly calm. As a further “apology”, Andrew took Aunna out on a date, including dinner at her favorite restaurant and going to see a new holovid at the theater. Needless to say this was enough to ease the previous tensions of the day and the two engaged in more…adult… entertainments when they got home. Afterward, feeling content and relaxed, Aunna began to sing as Andrew made his way from the room under the guise of getting something to drink…unfortunately his return was not with a drink of any kind. Startled out of her song, Aunna was set upon by the maniacal looking man and his dagger. After a drawn out struggle resulting in the dagger piercing her right shoulder, the fiery woman managed to knock out her attacker and call for help. This was, however, the night that she unknowingly closed her connection to the force nearly completely, Andrew’s words of “sing wench! Why don’t you sing?!” ringing in her mind. After that night, the songs that had helped her connect so easily to the force, albeit unwittingly, cut from her as she vowed never to sing again. The Interlude By 28, and following a string of events such as the one involving the Hutts and her platoon, Aunna had been slowly promoted to the rank of captain. Many times she found herself receiving both a reprimand as well as a promotion in one fell swoop, due to her "unorthodox way of making decisions"...which seemed to be military terms for "you get the information you need, then decide to disregard it for your 'good' or 'bad' feeling about things" as her father put it. Her luck would run out, however, as she faced off against a small force of the dark jedi and rogues they had gathered to their cause. It seemed that this group of dark jedi had learned about Aunna's 'feelings' and worked to mask the truth of their operations, sending out mixed signals through the force, which confounded Aunna's attempts to make correct decisions through her feelings, and forcing her to rely solely on the information gathered by her troops. The battle was hard fought and the few Jedi that could be spared to fight, were, but even so, they were constantly outwitted by the dark jedi forces....luckily, help arrived in the form of her brother, who was now at the rank of Major, and his small fleet, loaded with fresh troops. The battle was won; however, Aunna only received a reprimand for her efforts. Undeterred, Aunna continued to work 110% at all times, until finally achieving the rank of Major at the age of 30. Dark Jedi…they're EVERYWHERE! ((IC Updates start here)) Before moving to her next mission, Aunna found herself once again on Coruscant. The night before her meeting, the major found herself the unwanted center of attention as she settled down to a ‘decent’ meal at a local cantina in the Entertainment District. Typically this wouldn’t have marked anything significant in the woman’s life, however, it would prove a vital turning point to her life in the months to come. What made it so significant? One person. The man was what she could only have described as a dark jedi, and through a rather mundane sequence of events the man took a not so subtle interest in the young major. “Can we help you?” she had asked. "Indeed, Major...but not today… We'll see each other again." He had replied. Indeed she would see him again. Oddly enough, the major’s duties had been, and would continue to be, hunting down pockets of dark jedi, first on Talus and Tralus, then on Selonia. It was on Selonia that the dark jedi she had met before would make good on his words from that night in the cantina on Coruscant. In her search for dark jedi, and his search for her, the two had once again managed to end up on the same planet, at the same time, in the same place. Fate…or perhaps the Force…was at work it seemed, and the two were destined to meet again face to face. Meet face to face they had indeed. It was, in fact, the dark Jedi’s laughter at finding Aunna’s purpose upon the planet that had attracted the attention of her men and set into motion a series of events that led to the two coming face to face once more. Weapon drawn, the major had gone looking for the singular thorn in her side, the predatory man who had seemed to take an interest in her. The search brought her into a dry-goods warehouse, her minor connection to the force drawing her toward him. It was also through this minor link that she first felt him brush against her mind and sending shivers down her spine at the dark and almost intimate touch. Disgusted and disturbed by the feeling, she had drawn closer to him, finally finding him in the heart of the place. Ever civil, she informed him of the charges brought against him…murder of republic soldiers and interfering with a republic investigation…and asked him to come quietly, though she knew he wasn’t about to do that. In return he had scoffed at her statement and given her a choice, to help him, or face the consequences. It was obvious where this confrontation had been leading from the start, and so Aunna had simply followed through. In the following fight, the major seemed to earn some small measure of respect and a decent amount of anger from the dark jedi as she managed to land two hits on him nearly allowing a third, more life threatening, one. Unfortunately, as is typical of battles between force/non-force users, the tide of battle was never truly in her favor. While she may have been able to deflect or dodge the majority of his physical attacks, the predominately telepathic man had the upper hand, slamming his will down upon her mind before breaking her leg. Blinded with the pain in her mind and her leg, the dark jedi left her there for her men to find later. As Aunna later came to learn, the three dark jedi they had ACTUALLY been sent there to find had been wreaking havoc outside of the warehouse. As the man left Aunna inside, he made swift work of the three outside. And so the Republic commended Aunna and her men for their ‘brave work in killing and capturing three dangerous dark jedi with minimal casualties.’ Unfortunately, Aunna found herself healing up behind a desk on Manaan…her newly ‘awarded’ position being one most would welcome after months of hard work….one saddled to a desk. Vex Praetor The recently healed major once again found herself hungry, something that seemed to often be her downfall since meeting the dark jedi on Coruscant. Making her way to a local dive bar, she had been ready to tuck into some decent food once more when, yet again, she found herself crossing paths with the rebreather masked man. Frustrated and already irritable from paperwork, the Major swiftly found herself in the aforementioned dive bar, and, as the people who milled about started to move in a more organized fashion, she knew something was wrong. The gap in the people led easily to the very man who had broken her leg, his polite gesture to the seat in his booth only served to rankle the woman further, but she sat anyway. Despite her short and snappish replies, the man…whom she would learn was named Vex Praetor…was quite civil, even polite, in his conversation with her, much to the woman’s surprise and consternation. Over the course of the conversation, the former jedi lay out his reasons and feelings, however unclear at the time, to the major. Little did she know how true one statement of his would turn out to be: “I do believe we have more in common than you realize..." From the major’s incensed reaction came another prophetic string of words, though not fulfilled in the manner which it was originally intended. “I will practically be selling you everything I still have to my name: my pride, my honor, and most likely my life.” Indeed, she did come close to fatality that day. As the two struggled against each other at the end of their conversation, each trying to get the other to see their point of view as correct, Aunna had left the booth, not bothering with the food that had just been delivered. As she came to the door of the building, the brother of one of the men Vex had attacked on Selonia entered, looking for blood…particularly Vex’s blood. Seeing her chance to protect not only the man she had just spoken to, but the others in the bar, Aunna attacked first. In the short struggle that followed, Aunna managed to kill the force wielding Sith Military man out of sheer luck and surprise, but not without receiving a particularly bad saber wound to her side. The searing pain caused the injured major to stumble backward against a close table, and she found herself in the very hands of the dark jedi she had just left. Easing her pain just enough to keep her from passing out, he managed to pull her out of danger by healing her with a type of what she could only describe later as force lightning. As he healed her, she managed to see a side of him that was not lost to the darkness, an indescribable light that he seemed to have buried nearly to the point of being forgotten. She had seen who he had been and who he could be again…a good man. She was taken, then, to one of the med-bays and fully treated with kolto, amazing the doctors that watched over her because of the degree her injuries had healed…little did they know it was because of a supposed Dark Jedi. Despite the possibility of being caught, Vex made his way into the hospital Aunna found to be her current residence, appearing one day in the corner of her room while she was doing paperwork. Seemingly the man was concerned for her well being, if only because she was of use to him. Irked by his sentiments, the major’s words were cold, though she didn’t fully understand…or perhaps acknowledge…why she cared whether he was TRULY concerned or not. As she tried to puzzle it out, he had asked her not to feel offended and stated that only because he had WANTED her alive had she stayed alive….that healing her had come at a cost to him. Unsure of what he meant, she half apologized for her cold attitude. She knew that if he stayed much longer, however, he would be caught because of his destruction of the camera in her room. Knowing this was true, Vex had come closer, whispering against her ear; "I am glad that you are doing better, Aunna. I look forward to seeing you again. Trust that I'll find an opportune time when there aren't so many cameras around. Perhaps we'll even manage to keep you from getting injured this time around." Allowing him to leave without drawing attention, Aunna had simply blamed the destruction of the camera on a ‘camera shy visitor’. She sincerely hoped that if there was a ‘next time’ he would make good on his words and she wouldn’t be injured…as it was she was certain to be given a good telling off by her commanders. As expected, only two days out of the hospital found her in a verbal confrontation with Colonel Vinay, her direct superior, who informed her that the conversation would not be forgotten. It certainly wouldn’t be. Saving ‘Little One’ In the following two weeks the major had received increasing reports of ‘incidents’ that could have only been done by Vex. After one particularly trying conference with three of her superiors via holo, Aunna snuck out of the base and into the streets of Manaan in an attempt to find the dark jedi and figure out exactly what he was up to. Things were going fine until she came near to the border between Sith and Republic sectors. As she slipped into the shadows of a near by building, she was spotted by a gang of sith officers who were fresh from the bar. When they pressed in around her the major knew she was outnumbered and prepared to try and make a swift escape. As luck would have it, however, Vex happened to be in the neighborhood, apparently searching out the major himself. Dropping from above the group, the dark man acted once more as some twisted guardian angel, keeping the woman safe from what was certainly going to be a most unpleasant fate. In the process, however, he used a mental attack that affected all around him, including her, which caused the already stressed younger woman to collapse to the ground unconscious. Vex picked her up and carried her to his makeshift residence where Aunna awoke a little while later to a rumbling shake and the feeling of death. After questioning Vex about what had happened the former jedi knew there was no way to soften the blow of the news…her base had just been destroyed by a bomb. The first thing Aunna could think to do was to go and try to help, but Vex knew that she would only get in the way at this point in time. Forcing her backward onto the bed he’d lain her on before and pinning her down to keep her from leaving, he explained that she couldn’t go back yet, and that he’d lured her out of the base, once again using what was swiftly becoming a pet name: ‘little one’. Accusing him of being behind the attack on her base, Aunna managed to get a hand free and hit him hard in the temple, causing him to stagger away from her, allowing her to get up. Though she hadn’t been about to leave because she knew that he was right about her being in the way, he lashed out, seeking to stun her with mental pain. It worked. As he lunged forward, his hand closed around her throat and he shoved her roughly against the wall, his voice furious as he explained that he’d only tried to ensure her safety. Though he hadn’t realized it, he was choking her, and as she explained that she didn’t know what would serve his purposes, the edges of her vision dimmed. Only after he had spoken his piece, and she found herself nearly out of air, did he finally realize he had been choking her. Letting her go, he pulled her close and in no uncertain terms told her exactly the kind of manner in which he would kill her and why. To say that Vex frightened her at that moment was so close and yet so far from the truth it was amazing. At that moment…he had terrified her. Not with his choking of her, nor with his snarling words, but rather with the close contact and the soft words that laid bare his pure anger at the fact that she had accused him of something so simple minded. “Never, ever, accuse me of something so elementary in its viciousness.” Anxious to leave, Aunna apologized to the incensed dark jedi and, with a warning from Vex to watch her back and that he would see her again, the major returned to the ruined site of the former Republic Base. Only Room for One Boogey Man in Ahto City – Samael Vorlax Over the days that followed, Aunna found herself piled high with work, both in excavating the remains of the base, and in filling out the paperwork that followed. It was one of these days that Aunna, who had opted to move from sleeping place to sleeping place to keep the rest of her surviving company safe, found herself with a visitor to the small military transport she had been staying in. Before she had noticed he was there, Aunna had come in and set about dealing with the mountain of papers on her desk, and earning a rather nasty paper cut. Seeing this, Vex decided to announce his presence with a bit of sarcastic humor. His voice startling the young major, Aunna scolded him mildly for frightening her, and immediately noticed that she felt rather self conscious about her dirty appearance because of her work at the base earlier. Apologizing, she asked the reason for his visit to her THIS time. Despite his statement that he didn’t care how she looked, she had noticed how Vex looked her over completely as she removed her coat and sat down again. Apparently concerned about if she had discovered the person behind the bombing, she’d informed him that she had no clue as to who might have been behind it, not until she looked back at the list she had just brought up on her computer. That was when she had noticed. A twi’lek man named Samael Vorlax…a man who’d threatened her life and her sexuality…had arrived on Manaan not long after she had. Bringing up the records on the man, it was obvious that Vorlax had a history of criminal activity, including threatening the Major, and was most likely on Manaan to make good his threats. Laying out a plan to capture the twi’lek using herself as bait, Aunna entrusted her life to Vex for the first time. Leaving the interior of the transport, she was nearly immediately blindsided by the man and disarmed. In the struggle that followed Aunna fought for her life against the dark jedi as she hoped that Vex would indeed help her. She wasn’t disappointed…though he waited to strike until the last moments before her strength gave out completely. The transport’s security cameras had captured everything, from Aunna’s struggle for her life against the stronger and faster man, to the point where Vex had disarmed Samael and had him pinned to the ground, his saber at Samael’s chest to keep him from getting away or trying anything else. After shutting off the camera and collecting the two vid-chips, Aunna stored one in the badge on her necklace secretly, and the other she gave to the Manaan security when they arrived to take custody of Vorlax. By that time Vex had already vanished into the ship and out of sight. Diamond in the Rough – “I DO care” Once the twi’lek was in custody, Aunna returned to the ship as well and faced Vex, obviously unhappy about his choices and the fact that he was simply using her to further his own ends. Even she didn’t fully understand why she had been so angry and hurt since Vex had told her numerous times that that was the only reason he’d ever bothered to help her…because she was useful to him. “Well Vex, with your interests secured, your interest would like to know what you have planed for her...at least in part. Your...interest...does not take being manipulated lightly, but if she will be, than she at least has the right to know something about what she will be doing.” At her incensed and sarcastic words, Vex took more than a few moments to reply…and his reply was laughter, a deep laughter that brought tears to the man’s eyes. It was the first true feeling she’d seen from the dark jedi, and despite her anger at the reaction, she almost laughed herself simply because he seemed so normal, the light she’d seen in him once before bubbling to the surface. It was obvious that he found some true humor in the situation. This, however, didn’t last long, and as it vanished so too did that light the major had seen within him once before. As he explained, once again, his intentions and lay out his exact use for her, he asked what had caused her anger this time. Frustrated, angry, hurt, and confused over why she was so hurt, Aunna proceeded to lecture him on exactly why she was upset…her answer not only surprised Vex, but herself as well. She had spoken without thinking and what she’d said had surprised them both, though only Vex seemed to show any of that surprise. Aunna finally informed the man of the light she had seen inside of him, and that his actions had caused her to doubt him and lose what little trust she had for him…and more surprising yet…that it hurt her to know this. She would rather him lie to her or kill her than to feel so betrayed and hurt again. The young major made it perfectly clear that she would rather the man lie and have her believe that he thought her life worth something, rather than be told ‘the truth’ and feel like she was of no more worth than “a scrap of metal you're preparing to put in the fire to mold....something....worthless.” As she ended her tirade with a statement that not only showed her truly caring character, the two interchanged the words that would potentially haunt both of them for some time to come, completely and finally intertwining their fates. “I'll tell you one thing I've learned by interacting with you Vex....even if you do find a way to heal your body....unless you start thinking differently about others....you'll never be able to heal your heart or your soul. Though, maybe you don't care.....but……but I DO care....and I wish you would think twice before losing yourself completely.” "Sometimes one is lost before they can realize it or hope to find a path back, Aunna. Follow, and you run the risk of getting lost yourself. Take care, Aunna." Kidnapped?! Several days would pass before yet another twist to Aunna’s life would throw her world into chaos. Not only had her brother contacted her the day before, informing the exhausted and stressed woman that he was defecting to the Sith military, but the rebuilding of the military base after the bombing was not going smoothly. Add to this the fact that she’d not heard, or seen, anything of Vex in the past few days…not even the occasional corpse or broken minded being…Aunna knew that the dark jedi was up to no good, things were far too quiet. It wasn’t, however, until she had nearly reached the building the Republic army was using as a temporary base that Aunna knew something was very, truly, wrong. Stopping barely 30 feet from the door to the building, Aunna watched a black armored being exit, two sabers attached to the belt around its waist. Upon speaking, the major was vaguely surprised to find that the dark jedi…the sith assassin…was a woman, a cathar by her tone and accent. That, however, was of little concern to the sandy brunette as the cathar informed her that Aunna herself was the reason the sith was there, and that the major had a choice: come quietly or not…but either way, the cathar WOULD take her and kill anyone who got in the way. Both women knew that the major wasn’t about to ‘come quietly’, and so the decision was made. During the short fight that ensued, both women showed their determination to have their will seen through, but Aunna was at the disadvantage. With one swift knee to the stomach she fell, winded, to her knees, her ribs on one side fractured and bruised. Knowing that if she wanted to live through whatever ordeal was ahead of her, Aunna allowed herself to be captured and taken to the cathar’s ship. Luckily…or perhaps unluckily…the cathar woman saw fit to take the major to Nar Shaddaa, the planet where not only her brother was currently positioned, but where Vex happened to be ‘on business’. Destiny – the Nar Shaddaa Incident Being hauled to her feet and out of the cathar’s ship, Aunna soon found herself in the dim and dingy setting of a cantina on Nar Shaddaa and feeling very confused as to why her captor WANTED to be caught. The cathar’s answer only served to raise more questions than answer them, her over all reason being that it was ‘for love’. Aunna was then released from the binders that held her and set free to go on her way if she so chose. The cathar kidnapper’s purpose for this, however, was the least of the Major’s worries. Even as Aunna moved away from her kidnapper to find a new place within the cantina to bide her time, a new man entered the bar, filling the air around him with a malice that nearly rooted her to the spot. For the first time in nearly 5 years, Aunna felt truly afraid. This man was no one to be trifled with, and she had no weapons with which to protect herself since the cathar woman had taken hers. Moments later a man named Marquin, who had apparently been paid to protect her, arrived and shoved a blaster into her hands as he informed her of a new escape route. Not bothering to wonder if this were some type of trap (it wouldn’t have made sense anyway, and since he seemed to be the only one with a plan she figured it was worth a shot), Aunna immersed herself into the crowd of people in the cantina, and when Marquin started a fight before driving everyone out of the crowded pub by waving around a grenade like a madman. Exiting the premises as swiftly as she could with the few people who had noticed the small side door, Aunna found herself facing another form speeding her direction and she nearly immediately knew it was another force user. Only later would she learn that this newcomer was the man she had sensed earlier, the one she had warned away and in return had her warning dismissed by, and the one she was currently trying to get back to because of the relative safety he provided….Vex. At that moment, however, her mind and adrenalin urging her into flight rather than fight, she didn’t recognize the man who came to her rescue and instead bolted into an abandoned building near by. After a few tense moments in the dark building, Aunna knew she would have to go out again if she hoped to find Vex or get away safely at all. It was with that in mind that she left the building and poked her head around the corner, soon realizing that the man she had tried to avoid…the third and final force user who had come speeding toward her causing her to leap into the building…had actually been Vex! Faltering for a moment as she weighed her options, Aunna called for Vex’s attention…but it was too late. He had already provoked the other dark jedi inside, the bald marauder (the cathar had already seemingly disappeared) who had given off the insidious aura in the cantina. The man blew out the wall with the force, causing Aunna to startle and back around the corner once more…but at least Vex now knew she was there, behind him, rather than trapped in the cantina with the devilish marauder. Trying her luck with the other side of the building so as to stay out of the way of the two force users, Aunna found another battle was beginning between Republic and Sith soldiers. As she crept back toward her original position so that she could possibly find a way around through another alley, she felt…heard…Vex’s voice ring through her mind. Run....Aunna....leave while you can. The sheer force and amount of the persuasion he had thrown into her mind caused the 30 year old major to stumble backward slightly. Pinned in indecision, her heart and mind battling over control of her actions because of what Vex had ordered her to do, Aunna faltered even as the dark marauder spoke to her jedi. Even as she turned to run, she finally broke through the spell as she realized that she couldn’t leave Vex behind or he would certainly die…she didn’t know how or why she knew, but she just KNEW. As she came to this realization, her mind unintentionally wrapped around that link he had created briefly to send his thoughts to her, her heart opening to him an allowing him access to the light she held within, however minor it may have been, to aid him. Without warning the bald marauder had appeared in her view, too close for comfort, obviously positioning himself there in her internal battle. Vex sharply severed the link between them as she fired at the bald monster and lept backwards and away from him to keep out of range of his saber. The events that followed seemed a blur as Aunna watched the confusion around her as Vex protected the dark being stalking toward her from a sniper shot before cutting down a Republic soldier. She noticed her brother join the fray in the street and watched as the bald marauder fell to his knees, holding his head in pain. She understood what Vex was doing now, at least in part, and turned to leave the force users to battle alone…she wouldn’t be used against Vex if she could help it. No sooner had Aunna turned to find the Republic soldiers than the ground beneath her trembled, startling her out of her movement. He had stood by then, turning his head to glare at her, ripping down what little mental barrier she had and rooting her to the ground in fear as the memory of that near fatal night with Andrew was brought to mind once more. The vision broke the woman’s strong will for that moment, and as the dark one let her out of his grip, she crumpled, falling to her knees on the ground, tears streaming down her face as she curled in upon herself, shaking, as she tried desperately to pull herself back together. Luckily Jade had seen the horror the bald dark jedi had unleashed upon his sister and moved to take action, speeding to her rescue and pulling her away from the saber battle that had ensued nearby her. Despite her terrorized state, Aunna managed to pull herself together bit by bit until at last her spirit came to her aid. “No!....I refuse to be afraid!” The thought finally allowed her mind to clear and she pushed the memory to the back of her mind once more. Taking stock of her situation she noticed Jade and a member of the Republic fighting nearby and knew that something was going terribly, irrevocably, wrong. Swiftly she removed the badge on her necklace that held her family’s crest…which stored her most important documents on a data-chip placed inside, including the secondary vid-chip from the security camera on Manaan that showed her battle against Samael Vorlax and Vex’s part in it...and as Jade was sent reeling from a blow the Republic soldier had dealt before leaving, she slipped the chip into Jade’s pocket. No sooner had she done this than she heard the sound of the sniper rifle once more. The emotional pain she had felt before, during that vision from her past, was nothing compared to what she felt when she watched the shot slice through Vex as he prepared his final strike against their enemy, the bald monstrosity of a marauder who had tried time and again to harm her. She had already gathered the republic soldier’s discarded combat knife and the blaster Marquin had handed her, but these were forgotten as she cried out in dismay, her body and eyes reflecting the pain she felt in her heart. Furious and desperate to save the man who had come to save her, Aunna turned and ran down the alley to come at the devil man from a new direction. As she crouched, hidden, behind a low wall, positioned, ready and waiting to strike, Aunna watched in horror and disgust as the man who Vex had nearly been able to kill rose once more to his feet, picking up and dragging Vex behind him with the force before settling the injured man against the wall. It seemed like forever that Aunna waited before she knew, she felt, the right moment to strike at her larger, and more fearsome opponent…but she wouldn’t be stopped. Her long dormant abilities were urging her onward as a soft song rose up in the back of her mind, channeling and focusing the force as it strived to break through the barriers she had unwittingly erected against its flow five years ago. Before either of the force users were able to do anything against her actions, Aunna had hurtled herself over the wall, the blaster firing repeatedly, serving to distract the marauder from his prey and her true intent. Slipping beneath his saber as it worked to block the blaster bolts, placing herself between the man and Vex, the knife she had procured dug into the space between the man’s ribs on his right side...directly into his liver. As she tore through the space, dragging the blade along between the ribs and out again, she swung at his head with the butt of the blaster as she aimed another strike with the dagger to the marauder’s diaphragm. Vex had struck out with her, his will to live finally coming to the fore as she came to his aid in the end, summoning all his strength and will to create a blast of force lightning that shocked across her arm, numbing it and blasting the unsuspecting and injured marauder devil backward into the crumbled wall of the cantina. As both Aunna and Vex took the opportunity to run, albeit in separate directions, the marauder gained his feet once more, intent on killing Aunna for her intrusion and injury of him. It was this that caused the wounded man to send the woman flying through the air with a blast of the force, causing her to land with the sickening cracking of her two already injured ribs as she hit a pile of the debris and metal that had been scattered along the street and alley. This was where Sgt. Damien Meesha would find the injured major after the marauder limped off once more to lick his wounds. As he helped her to her feet, Aunna felt her heart begin to break as he charged her with treason against the Republic and took her under arrest. It was in this manner that she unknowingly reached out for Vex once more through the force, hoping to find that what she had done hadn’t been a vain attempt…seeking comfort in knowing that he was still alive out there somewhere. Once she realized this action, however, she swiftly ended it, not wanting him to feel the pain…both physical and emotional…that she was going through. With that she was led into a transport bound for Coruscant, and her subsequent trial. What she didn’t know, was that Vex had noticed her unintentional action, and that he had sworn to himself to heal, and in turn save Aunna from the fate that she had brought upon herself for him. Trial of a Traitor The following weeks consisted of little more than jail time in solitary, questioning, and a three ring circus of a trial. The Republic was looking for someone to use as a sacrificial lamb to solidify the masses faith in their capability, and who better than the sister of a turn-coat who had been caught aiding a known dark jedi? The only problem was, they didn’t have enough solid evidence to call her a traitor as well…simply the fact that she’d saved Vex on Nar Shaddaa, and even that could be called into question considering the man’s talents in telepathy. He may have simply been manipulating her that way. Colonel Vinay (Aunna’s mirialan superior), however, wasn’t about to let the woman off that easily. The man had a grudge against the woman, her skill and rise through the ranks intimidating him and causing no end of rivalry between the two (even it if was only one sided). The various arguments they’d been through, the way she managed to make him look bad (or so he thought), her ability to deal with foes that outmatched her and her men, the way she’d shot up the ranks…it was all personal to him, and when his attempt at holding her back by sticking her on Manaan had backfired and she’d vanished, he’d started raising flags about Aunna being like her brother. When the major had reappeared on Nar Shaddaa, then been arrested by Meesha for aiding a dark jedi…the opportunity had been entirely too good to refuse. He’d rallied a few senators to his cries of ‘traitor’ and it had grown until they were calling to have her threat ended before she could take their military secrets (not that she knew many, but Vinay didn’t let the senators know that) to the Sith Empire to use against them. Vinay had gathered up the “evidence against Aunna” with the use of some well placed threats, a bit of dirt digging, and pocket lining of others. Aunna could easily tell the phony testimonies and evidence apart from the truth (she’d been there after all), but no one cared to hear what a traitor had to say in her defense…especially not when Meesha and what was left of his squad took their turns on the stand to testify. The culmination of the (very public) trial was when Aunna herself was called to the stand. The examination and cross examination were draining at best, her mind becoming mildly dazed as the two men bombarded her with the same questions over and over again trying to elicit new or different answers from the major. Seeing that their tactics weren’t working, they turned to trickery. The two hyenas attempted to trap her into lies, to no avail, they tried to lead her into lies, to no avail, they tried to make her angry enough to say something stupid…this last almost worked….almost. Finally, giving up on the trickery as well, they attempted a final effort…truth serum. This final tactic was all they needed to condemn her as the prosecution asked her questions that led directly up to her admitting that she had had contact with Jade after his defection to the Sith Navy, and then that she had knowingly aided an enemy of the Republic. It was a horrific moment for Aunna, who was slowly getting her wits back from the drug’s influence. The verdict was obvious… Aunna was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad. As she was led off back to the jail to await her execution the next morning, Aunna couldn’t know that the very sniper who had inadvertently helped cause this current predicament and his Familiar were planning to help right the damage they’d done and that Vex was setting himself up to help her escape her fate. The next morning found her sleep deprived and strangely calm…almost accepting of her immanent death. It was in this way that Vex would meet her and the guards surrounding her on the prison grounds. He’d made his way into the jedi temple and taken up the disguise of a jedi escort sent to ward off any attempts to free the woman, most specifically those that might be attempted by Vex himself. Without the help of the rebreather mask, his standard jedi robes hiding the rest of the machine, using his birth name and a security pass he’d obtained from a very specific slicer, Vex made his way into the jail yard without a second glance…even from Aunna. It wasn’t until he admonished one of the officers and spoke to HER that she even began paying any attention to the man escorting them, her first reaction to his words a mental backlash before retreating back into herself. The warm and gentle flow of his presence back toward her was not only baffling but caught her completely off guard, the affection evident in it the last thing she expected to feel. She attempted to dig up the ‘jedi’s’ name from her memory to no avail, but his words were enough of a clue. …Vex. Not willing to risk being wrong in her guess, she used the only other name she knew him by…the one he’d been born with and had used during his time with the jedi: Enery. She’d attempted to narrow her mind down onto the jedi escort, to reach only him and speak to him that way. It was, indeed, Vex…unable to let her become a sacrificial lamb for the Republic, and especially not because of him. The escape wasn’t exactly what one would call ‘easy’…Vex had killed all of her guards but one, the rest of the compound sounding the alert as soon as Vex had ignited his first saber. Between the cover fire from their hidden sniper compatriot, his AER droid, and Vex’s blaster deflection, the falsely imprisoned former major made it to the outer walls of the jail, taking the damaged AER, Ayer, with her after he opened the inner door. It seemed that things would have gone (semi) smoothly from there…if one stray blaster bolt hadn’t gotten through Vex’s defenses, slicing across Aunna’s shoulder as she hurried inside. With the second door also closed and locked, she called back to Vex for assistance…it came in the form of an unlit lightsaber. She had expected HIM to come, but the weapon was just as good at the moment, and Vex had other things on his mind. Furious at the fact that Aunna had been injured, compounded by the danger of the situation, he had one final trick up his sleeve. Stepping out into the midst of the encroaching guards and their remaining hounds, he drew in the force and let out a force scream that slammed into the minds of those surrounding him, killing or severely damaging them all and draining him of energy. Though the pain had also battered against Aunna she had been far enough away to avoid the majority of the damage as she cut her way out of the door. When Vex didn’t return, when she saw him collapsed and panting from the drain, she knew she couldn’t leave him. With a show of will and a bit of help from the force to bolster her strength, the woman returned for her protector and managed to half drag him to on of the jail transports. With his guidance, she was able to more easily use her latent force abilities to help get them to the lowest levels of Coruscant where the stress of the situation finally caught up to her. Snapping at him at first in the tumult of her emotions, Aunna was swift to realize her mistake and apologize, asking for his help to at least get her off of Coruscant alive. Vex had been less than pleased with her emotional outburst, far from comfortable in dealing with the situation and seeming to find some dark amusement in her words. Despite the initial harsh reaction of his lifting her up from the seat she was on and pressing her against the side of the transport, holding her there by her throat, she didn’t particularly care. By this point she was just too numb to care if he chose to harm her or not…she’d nearly died once that day, what was another brush with death to her? Surprisingly (to her anyway), he not only let her go, but pulled her closer…promising to keep her safe and get her away from Coruscant so long as she didn’t feel guilty for the situation. Stunned by the sudden closeness, Aunna found herself blushing but feeling slightly more calm and reassured by him and his promise. She could only promise him that she would try to do as he asked, he was asking a lot of her with that request, but it was the least she could do to try and do as he wished. With both equally confused by their feelings for the other, and (in Aunna’s case) wondering just what Vex felt for her, Vex patched up Aunna and she set about attempting to recharge the little recon droid that had helped in their escape. Finally learning that Ayer and Vex had met previously on Nar Shaddaa, she found herself without the willpower or energy to argue with Vex over the semantics of Republic orders or the mindset of those within the military…most specifically Ayer and his sniper. Her mind was wandering, thoughts scattered and broken, her vision blurring in her exhausted state, the lack of sleep from her time in prison and the stress taking a heavy toll on her. Deciding it was for the best to just agree with him, Aunna excused herself from man and droid and slunk off to the back of the transport, settling herself on the floor to get what sleep she could. She barely stirred as he approached and pressed her mind into a restful sleep before wrapping her in his robes and resting her head on his folded tunic gently. On the Run The escape from Coruscant was a harrowing experience even for the military-trained woman. From running into Andrew and his dark jedi Zabrak partner who threatened to capture her and sell her to the Hutts or turn her over to the Republic, to unlocking her force potential, to saving Rook, Sali and Ryn from assassins, it had been a trial of spirit to be sure. Even so, Vex, Aunna and Ayer managed to escape the planet with Kuuto and Veera, a couple of devaronian mercenaries that had worked with her and Jade previously. After a short trip to the Pendragon, one of the flagships of the Empire over Mygeeto, where her Brother was stationed, the troublesome trio made their way to Corellia on the Consul (a gift from her brother) to meet up with her parents and attempt to get the information the trio had gathered to help clear Aunna's name. That trip was plagued, however, by the information that Aunna was set to be disowned and that the majority of her most important documents and items were being burned....not to mention the fact that only a short time after making contact with her parents the jedi were all but knocking on the doors. It wasn't a pleasant situation for anyone....not Aunna, not Ayer, not Vex, and certainly not for the jedi Sihara Horula who nearly died. They all did leave alive, however, at least to her knowledge at first. She had no way of knowing that Ayer had been 'destroyed' by a sniper shot that would have otherwise killed Vex. Ayer was taken back to Kuat to be rebuilt by PF, Sihara and the others went back to the temple and Aunna and Vex headed to Carida to start her training. The trip to Carida (and the time on Carida) was eye opening to both man and woman as the tension between the two came to the point it boiled over. It had started as hurtful words and an argument, then a fight and then something much, much, different. It was intensity, passion, affection and proof that his darkly possessive nature could also be gentle. Of course, that gentility didn't count for a thing when it came to training her in saber combat....oh no. He was not a pleasant teacher, with out mercy when it came to correcting her mistakes and pushing her to the breaking point. She understood, however. Her combat instructors hadn't gone easy on her for the military, or before that her sword fighting instructors during her youth. Aunna found it a pleasant change of pace, however, no matter how grueling it was, and dove in head first. It was as much mental training as it was physical, her ability to protect her mind strengthening along side her ability to work with a lightsaber in Shii-cho....however, it wasn't swift enough for Vex's taste. His paranoia when it came to Aunna's ability to defend herself was second to none, and so he performed a little experiment: instead of stripping her mind of the knowledge she had, he put his force abilities to use by inserting knowledge, namely his knowledge of shii-cho to help her learn the form more accurately and more swiftly. The (relatively) peaceful times on Carida, however, couldn't last and once REA-13 was added to the duo once more, the trio headed for Dxun. It was an interesting enough place for training, and being away from people wasn't terrible, but the beasts of the moon were certainly something else. Their time on Onderon (while restocking the ship) was certainly eye opening as well...not only could Vex be pleasant, but actually gregarious as well if it came to being able to blend in. All good things must, however, come to an end...and it seemed this was especially true in Aunna's life, because despite how it might have felt at points, being around the insufferable man known as Vex was a good thing. As they moved on from Dxun and trouble continued to find them and chase them across the galaxy from one planet to the next, Vex had seemed to have his fill of her. She'd negotiated with Kellick to get him information from the temple and a meeting place for it, and certainly the newest mercenaries Colonel Vinay had hired to grab her hadn't helped anything....but she hadn't expected him to tell her that he was leaving. For good. That her usefulness was over. It had ripped open the old wound Andrew had caused years back...and made it worse. So much worse. Hadn't they just spent another of those warm and pleasant nights together only a few days back? Wounded deeply, the two had parted ways with him leaving the Consul and letting her slip off into space with no particular place to go in mind. All she knew was the deep pain and numbness, the way he had left her feeling....empty....as she searched for a suitable place to settle down, and perhaps search for a new mentor. Her heart, however, wasn't in it. "Sahsahlah, min larel" (end of IC updates/start time jump) A month and a half passed before she realized the news...A month and a half of trials, tribulations and that never-ceasing heartache. If it hadn't been for the fact that she'd realized something was....different....about her body she may have just given up and found herself a place to hunker down on Corellia to just wait things out. Someone would have found her there eventually. As it stood, however, something was different, and so she didn't just sit on her laurels on Corellia and wait. Quite the opposite, in fact. She and Sam had been busy putting together as much of a plan as possible to coerce Vinay to fess up to his own crimes. Already Rook had held up his part of the bargain by subtly leaking out the information he'd gotten from her, Ayer and Vex both to the Republic senate and to the various news stations. Of course, his hands had never been known to touch it, it was a delicate matter, but it was out there and filtering through the news cycle. A month and a half after Vex left, something else was also filtering through the news cycle...something unexpected. Vex had turned himself into the jedi peacefully and unarmed in return for his part of the story to be heard....and that said it all. Bit by bit the pieces had fallen into place to slowly reveal the truth of the matter, most of it anyway, and what little there was to condemn her that was left he fully accepted the blame for. He had manipulated her from the beginning, twisted her thoughts, led her on, coerced and threatened and deviously puppeteered the whole thing because she had been useful to him, but in the end she'd had more of an impact on him than he had originally believed, and so he was righting a wrong that he'd caused and further corroborated the story that the 'good Colonel' had pushed for an unfair trial. Aunna was stunned beyond belief...not only was she being called in to be cleared of her charges, but he had only pushed her away to sacrifice his freedom for hers. While she did get into contact with the Republic, she refused to come near Coruscant, instead giving them a place to send all relevant documents (namely her parents) and she would give them further instructions on how to get them to her. Aunna had already been bitten once, she wasn't going to be bitten again in case something funny was going on. She wanted those documents in her hand before she showed her face once more...and so it was. She (and Sam) were absolved from their crimes. Sam was gracious in her contact with Vex and furthermore brought him something in return. Aunna, still unwilling to go near the jedi temple or the heart of the Republic, had sent the woman with a datapad holding a vid file. She didn't (and would never) agree with him turning himself in (or leaving her) as he had, but she understood it and she was more than grateful. No matter how angry she'd been with him upon his leaving she wouldn't hold this against him...not any more, anyway...and while she would have liked to come to him in person she couldn't. Not yet. Beauty from Pain Technically Aunna could have gone to see her lover, and she desperately wanted to even if he was in a jail for force users in the center of the Republic, but now she had other things to think about...to worry about and to protect. Still hit-shy by her time as a traitor, and still keenly aware of the fact that there was still danger out there for her...for them. Two months since he had left her and she knew for sure that she wasn't the only one in her body any longer. With the knowledge that she was pregnant the instinct to protect herself and her unborn was a driving force to remain as far from the eye of the Republic, and even the ability to return to Corellia couldn't coax her back. He would have to accept that...not that he would know. If the jedi discovered that she was having children that was a risk of them going to the Order. The journey all the way there with the ongoing war was a risk, too, but she knew of a place where the war hadn't come and where she could be trained...probably. Aiaru. Only a month and a half after having decided to take care of her 'personal business' first, Aunna returned to the planet and the Mythics. Not only had she met a fairly pleasant man that could help guide her in how to settle in and start her training there, but there was another Familiar in their order and some modicum of safety from the roiling battle between Republic and Empire. So it was here that she turned her attention to settling in and trying to build up a new life for herself until she felt her...their...children were old enough to escape a fate in the Jedi Order and it was safe enough to make the trip back to the core. Over the next seven years she had kept in contact with her parents, with Rook, with Vex, with everyone she cared about, though only through messages and vids. Her training had progressed slowly but steadily, her two children (Raelyn and Kieran) were a much needed light in her life, and things slowly seemed to return to some sort of normalcy for the woman. She always made sure to remind the two children who their father was, telling them some of the...less brutal...stories of him and letting them know why he wasn't there with them. Slowly she started making trips back into the Core...first to bring the children to meet their grandparents and learn about Corellia and meet King Rook. Then to meet Samantha and learn about Kuat and Project Familiar where Eressea had come from. On their third or fourth trip to Corellia Aunna had left the two with her parents to see Vex for the first time in person. It had been a pleasant enough trip, if uncomfortable for her being on Coruscant and around the jedi, but perhaps that wasn't quite so nerve wracking as finally telling Vex that he'd fathered two children. He'd taken it....well enough? About as well as a father seven years in the dark could take such news anyway... Upon returning to the Consul that night Aunna learned the unthinkable had happened. The unrest from the 'Onderon Refugee Crisis', as people were calling it now, had resulted in Rook abdicating the throne...her fears of a power vacuum fully in the front of her mind. Promptly the next day she had returned to the Temple to speak to Vex. While he saw her need to return to Corellia as part of its nobility as opportunity for their children, Aunna could only remember how stifling and full of pressure the life of a noble was never mind one in a situation such as this, how none of them would have the ability to further train in the force...Aunna herself could manage without, but she wanted her children to have that opportunity more than any other. She had left with them still disagreeing, but at least they seemed to understand one another. Her next return to Corellia was for her father's birthday, a big to-do in all the worst ways for her, and a culture shock for her children, considering it was their first true taste of nobility on a large scale...and as soon as she was able to put the place to sublights she did. The next port of call was Coruscant, where finally she would let her children meet their father. It was one of the happiest and most bittersweet moments she'd ever had, watching the wonder and happiness in her lover's features and the interaction between the three of them. Original app link Stellar Mythic link |
