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Thread: Our Fallen Comrades

  1. #1
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    Rebel - Closed Our Fallen Comrades

    It had been five years since the last time. Five seemingly long years, and yet all the same they passed in such a way that it was as a snap of the fingers. It was perplexing and inevitable all in one go; something to mourn, yet something that you knew you couldn't do anything to stop. That was how it went. You could rage and rant all you wanted. You could even refuse to accept the changes that time brought. But those changes still happened, and ultimately there was nothing you could do; nothing you could say, beg for, or order. A man was - at the end of it all - helpless in the face of time.

    Five years had passed.

    Five years ago he'd been halfway through his tour on Dac. Five years ago he'd never have guess at what the future was to bring him. Also, five years ago he'd not had a single strand of grey creeping into his red hair.

    How it had become an agreed upon number he could never guess. Five. He was fairly certain that the others wouldn't be able to answer, either.


    * * *


    Unencumbered by his duties, Kes sat in his quarters. He waited. His eyes looked out at the starfield his window offered. It was quite honestly a wonderful view, and he was glad for Lt. Gradoona's proactive decision to upgrade what had been there previously.

    But any thought of the pristine black velvet outside, speckled with glittering white corusca diamonds, went no further than the surface.

    They would come. After all, it had been five years.

    Not as many would be here though. It seemed as though every time there were fewer. This time, there would be two less.

    The redhead gave a long sigh, and his eyes slowly slid from the starfield down to the single glass of bourbon that rested on the caf table.

    And in that moment, he felt old.

  2. #2
    Meiers Brecklin stood outside the door to Kes Akiena's quarters. He'd not knocked, nor had he rung the chime. It was a moment of silence that he occupied now, and his eyes stared ahead at the closed door.

    So much time had passed since those beginning days. So many years. From those fledgling times, attached to a desperate group of people trying to right the wrongs that they felt so passionately about. They had all come together in unity against something that was far bigger than all of them.

    And here they were now.

    From the Rebellion to the Alliance of Free Planets.

    It was a hope that had never died, and had grown into something far beyond their wildest dreams. The stark line of victory had never been achieved, but something more deep and meaningful had been grasped regardless.

    Meiers let out a sigh, as his thoughts brought him to the grim reality of where he stood now, and of the absent bodies that would be noted.

    In the span of five years so much had changed. So much had tried the bonds of their friendships. And they had come out the victors. Bruised and battered, but victorious all the same.

    He lifted a hand then, gently depressing the chime button.

  3. #3
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    He knew who it was that was the cause of the first door chime. It was always the same man. Always the same face that greeted him at the start of these gatherings.

    Taking up the glass, Kes made his way to the door, and reaching out he depressed the button that would open the door.

    It slid to the side with a pneumatic hiss to reveal exactly the man that he knew would be waiting on the other side.

    "Meiers."

    It was the only time that he ever said the other man's given name, in the these times. Both had become a strange pair of veterans, going back so many years.

    "Kes."

    The redhead stepped back and to the side then, allowing the chance to enter. Meiers Brecklin wasted little time as he stepped in, past the door's threshold. The door hissed closed, and Kes ambled away to make for the panoramic window once more.

    "Can I get you a drink?"

  4. #4
    "I'll have what you're having."

    Kes wore command well; at least as well as he himself had come to judge. His own posting was due to his own long service, and Meiers had found a strange sort of contentment as the head of the Starfighter Academy. The Marianas had become his home, and he'd come to take such great comfort within its bulkheads.

    "You look as well as can be," he started while Kes busied himself with pouring a measure of bourbon into a small glass.

  5. #5
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    It was a quick motion, the pour. His wrist twisted, turning the bottle about as he lifted it back up and returning the stopper.

    "Well, a body can't be too upset over being given command of a space station after essentially stealing a ship from the Alliance Engineering Corps on Dac."

    Spoken with a slight bit of exasperation. He took up the glass, and held it out for Brecklin to take. The older man accepted the offering with a grateful nod.

    "Have you spoken with Loklorien?"

  6. #6
    "Not since the trial, no."

    He took a first sip, feeling the alcohol roll across the tastebuds of his tongue before firing a blazing trail down his throat as he swallowed.

    "After the verdict and sentencing, she married herself to that infernal ship of hers and went off to the border."

    It was a minor admission that - while he'd not actually held contact with her, he did keep his eyes on her.

    "Honestly, you see her and talk with her more than I do, now."

    It was something that only took his thoughts back to a time, not so long ago, when he'd visited Loklorien and Dan, soon after the birth of their son Markos. The senator from Keppaa Brens had insisted, and he'd been caught up in the senator's endeavor. At least, at the time, he'd been able to bring a small gift to General Thrule. It was a tragedy, looking back to that moment in time. If only he'd known then what he knew now.

    It was all a moot point now.

    "I'll be glad to see her this evening."

  7. #7
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    "I'm sure she'll be glad to see you as well."

    Words spoken as if in a trance.

    He knew that s'Il would be glad to see Meiers. She always was whenever she saw him during these times. As if she was thankful he was still there.

    Every five years they had said their goodbyes to so many souls, and by the grace of the Force the core of their group had survived.

    Until now.

    "She's still raw, you know."

    The look that Brecklin gave him was a knowing one, and Kes pressed onward.

    "She never talks about him, and she never talks about Kori either. Old Girl seems to want to just... I dunno... "

    Letting himself sink into a chair opposite Brecklin, his old CO, Kes cradled his own drink.

    "... seems she just wants to forget."

  8. #8
    "We all want to forget," Meiers couldn't help but answer in a sort of strange, offhand way.

    "So, I can't really blame her."

    Another sip, another sad grimace. These meetings were as heartbreaking as they were therapeutic.

    "I was told that the children were taken to Ossus to live with the Jedi?"

  9. #9
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    Kes gave a nod.

    "They were. She wanted them somewhere safe, and I guess she thought that Ossus was the best choice."

    A silence fell between them then, and the redhead let his eyes fall to his drink. The contemplative silence was broken then, by another knock. Not the chime, but knuckles rapping on the door panel.

    Kes lifted his gaze up, locking eyes with Meiers.

    They both knew who was on the other side, and Jovan's commander rose to stand, heading for the entry.

  10. #10
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    She stood patiently, hands folded together in front of her once she'd given her customary three knocks.

    Khera was docked at Spire 2, on a short resupply that happened to coincide with the timing of the gathering that took place every five years. Well, it wasn't so much a coincidence and more of a meticulous scheduling attempt that'd been successful enough.

    Samus would be along shortly, as he was no doubt still with T'yeellaa, but s'Il herself had come straight from her own ship, walking in silence and lost in her own thoughts and memories. Standing in front of Kes' door, the Lupine had taken a few deep breaths. And then she rapped the door with her knuckles.

    And when the door slid open, Kes standing there for a moment before moving to the side, she smiled and gave a genial nod as she stepped past the threshold and inside.

    "Kes," she reached out to grasp his hand in a familiar hold, and she let him pull her into an embrace.

  11. #11
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    It was somewhat strange, yet familiar all at once as he held her in a brief hug. She was always so seemingly delicate, but he'd seen the old girl take hits that would drop a bantha, and she always got back up and went in for more.

    Letting her go, Kes stepped back as the door closed behind her, and a half-turn to the side, kept his free hand on her shoulder.

    "Drink?"

  12. #12
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    A nod, and a soft 'yes, thank you', was his answer, and s'Il turned her head to look at the other body in the room.

    Meiers.

    He had stood as well, and as Kes moved into the kitchenette, the Lupine bit her lip as her head angled downward. She neither seen nor talked to the old General since the trial. Under his gaze, she felt once more like the younger version of herself, small in his presence.

    "Meiers," she started, "... I... "

    A grimace, and jerking herself out from her own inner thoughts, she finally looked back up, meeting his own gaze.

    "I am sorry for not writing sooner."

  13. #13
    "Nonsense," he brushed her meekness off. This was not the time for that, and she knew it. Self-pity and regret was not going to be the order of the day, and setting his own glass on the low table, Meiers approached her.

    "We're here now, and that's enough."

    There, there was the start of her smile. It was bare and ghostly, but he saw the corner of her lips turn up ever-so-slightly. And without ceremony he wrapped her up in a strong embrace, making sure to dispel whatever demons of self-doubt she might be carrying with her. She was the oldest of friends, right alongside Kes. He would never think less of her for anything.

  14. #14
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    Taken up in his hold, s'Il wrapped her own arms around him in relief at his words. It was comforting to hear, and she took heart in that. She lingered a moment longer, his presence a reassuring thing, and when the sound of Kes' footsteps met her ears, the Lupine finally pulled away. She let out a long breath, as if unburdening herself of her inner pains for the duration of this visit. It was a time for healing, after all. When those still alive came together to celebrate the lives that had been lost.

    Except, for so long it had been the core group - herself, Meiers, Samus, Marlon, Kes, and... and Dan.

    The heartbreak came from the knowledge that they were two fewer, and it was because of one of those no longer present. However, if she was to be honest with herself, she was also responsible. She was also responsible for Marlon's death.

    She kept the sobering thought to herself, and accepted the glass that Kes extended to her.

    "Thank you, Kes."

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