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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2492248" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 265: Home AgainThe Palace was still a mess. But thankfully, the handful of Tam’day’u were clearing the building of war droids level by level. They were amazing to watch. Coldly efficient...like watching a dozen Shadows. Jyren had sat and watched quietly on a viewscreen of sorts that the Palace Guards had set up, but finally turned away and walked out to a nearby balcony to look over the rest of the Palace.    Shadow stood back and watched him quietly for a few minutes before going back to the guard and making sure everything was going smoothly. She didn’t mean the Tam’day’u, of course, as she knew that was working fine. Instead, she was inquiring about the course of Ket’s fleet and the return of many of the Kanyaks from the Alraxian ‘fleet’, if it could be called that. Slowly, everything was returning to something close to normal.    At least something things were...others...Shadow sighed. Others didn’t look like they would ever go back to anywhere near normal. Obvious things like the simple fact that she was now Empress were surprisingly easy to get used to. It was the smaller things...and, mostly, it was Jyren. Other than that very short conversation aboard the X-Wing, he’d been silent. The link was being blocked, too...that was the most worrying part. Time and time again he’d yelled at her for doing exactly that, and now he was doing it. She wished her mother was there. She would know what to do...what to say...    Running a hand through her hair, Shadow sighed again and looked past all of the guards and other people to the balcony where Jyren was. Never in her life had Shadow ever expected to actually miss her mother. Her father...of course, but the Empress? She’d been so...so...she’d been exactly what Shadow had needed. At the time, it was impossible to see that, but even she had been a child once.    Shadow. That in itself was childish. A name given to her by the smugglers all those years ago. And yes, she had been Shadow. The clone was Shadow...but...but ever since merging with Marix she knew that it was impossible to ignore the simple fact that she was Marix BlueIce. That was going to be even more true now. Shadow was not the Empress. In fact, only Jyren knew her by that name here. Marix was the one who was supposed to lead these people. She was the one who was supposed to be doing all of this...and truthfully, when it came right down to it, Marix was not all that different from Shadow, especially now that the two personalities had been given time to merge to the point where there wasn’t any extra internal arguments.    So says you now. Marix’s voice popped into her mind right on cue.    Shadow rolled her eyes. You’re just being difficult.    There was no response of any tangible nature to that. If a Knight hadn’t stepped over to alert her to the arrival a large portion of the Kanyaks, the little debate might have gone farther. But now there were things to set her mind to, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a familiar profile stepping out onto the balcony to where Jyren was. Hopefully that would help, as she couldn’t think of anything to do anymore.    * * * *Navik Keros slowly walked over to where his son stood leaning on the cream white balcony and looking out over the expansive Palace. He had arrived barely five minutes earlier, having immediately tracked down Jyren the second he heard his son was there. He wanted to embrace the boy right away, but while Navik was no expert with the Force, he was intelligent enough to read emotions that were plainly obvious.So, instead, he simply stopped next to his son and also leaned forward on the balcony. Jyren didn’t even seem to react. After waiting a moment and receiving no form of acknowledgment, Navik attempted to see if the boy hadn’t gone deaf, “I’m glad you’re alright, son.”    Jyren tilted his head and glanced over to his father out of the corner of his eye. Well, at least that was something. Carefully, Navik reached over and resting a hand on his son’s shoulder, “Jyren, you’ve averted an all out war and saved our people...gods, you even got the girl! What’s wrong?”    That seemed to at least slightly get through, as Jyren finally turned away from the view and looked to his father. He opened his mouth to say something, but Navik could see him lose the words. Jyren sighed, closed his eyes, and then reached to his belt. Still without a word, he removed the lightsaber and extended it to his father.    Again, Navik did not need the Force to get the idea, and shook his head before firmly saying, “No, Jyren. I won’t take it. That was your mother’s gift to you, and you know how important that is far better than I do.”    “And I don’t deserve it!” Jyren yelled suddenly, and loud enough that all conversation in the adjoining room silenced as heads turned to see what was going on. Most of them didn’t understand Basic, but the volume was enough to get attention.     Navik Keros held his calm voice as he again shook his head, “No, son...you do deserve that. Your mother would be proud of everything you have done...of the man you’ve grown to be. I am proud of that. And, if the rumors I have heard are correct, Marix is, too.”    It almost got through. Almost...but Jyren was so much like his mother. Stubborn to the end. This time, he forced the hilt of the lightsaber into his father’s hand, “I don’t! I’ve misused that damned weapon enough!”    Knowing that pushing anymore would simply make things worse, Navik very slowly took the weapon from his son’s hands. Then, somewhat abruptly, he embraced Jyren tightly. Very quietly, Navik said, “I am proud of you, Jyren. I just wish your mother was here to say the same.”    He then turned let go of the slightly shorter Jyren before turning and walking back into the main room to find the Empress. Yes, there were many other things that were probably very important, but right now, it was his son that mattered right now. His damned stubborn son. Navik could only hope that Marix didn’t kill Jyren for that...the Force knew his mother had driven Navik insane because of that more times than he could count.</blockquote>

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