The Force of Thought

[Bobbi]

Sol runs into Sadhric at the Hapan palace to have a little chat.







Sadhric:
It had still been dark, local time, when the Witchdoctor had settled in among the priority berths along the diplomatic wings of the Hapan Palace. One of those grand wings supposedly housed offices and lavish quarters that were just-as-supposedly Sadhric's, in his curious position with the Mandalorians. He'd heard he had some sort of staff there--and, indeed, he'd vetted them from afar after the fact, and let them be. So they weren't strangers, and yet they were, and those rooms were alien turf, and yet they weren't.

He'd never gone anywhere near them. Did not start at the third hour, instead disembarking and going to avail himself of different hospitality.

Come the next day, he'd had a single talk with a single Corellian attache, and proceeded to haunt the covered walks that edged the palace gardens, strolling around like his own slow-churning storm system, deep in thought.



Every so often, a holo would pop up for him, and he'd read or brush it away after a moment, but there was no swarm of the things. Here was a tall man of fit build, dressed in black and a green so dark it might as well have been black, too. His Lenses flashed as they moved through shade and morning light, his eyes barely visible behind them--just shadows, just hints.

These days, if you didn't know better, he looked like the younger among many of his companions. Their lives aged them. His life did something different to him.


Sol:

The palace was not a place where Solomon Tekal could normally be seen these days. It was a far cry from where he was comfortable, a place filled with cutting memories that were both good and bad. In this hallway he had played tag with Kara's children, and in that corridor he had staged a defense that was meant to slow down Vahn's usurpers as they pushed for the throne room. This hallway led to the conference room where Maltez's arrival had been announced which led him to fleeing with Kara on board the Justicar -- a moment that was just one of many that led up to her death. For every smile he could remember about the royal Hapan palace, there was any number of frowns. That was why he stayed away, even when Trinity urged him to join her at court. It just wasn't the lifestyle he wanted, nor were they walls he wanted to be in again not after having gotten out and away from them. And yet they seemed to drag him back. He had gotten a call from the mother of his son that someone of particular importance had arrived, and caused some quiet stir within the palace walls. She had told him that it was Sadhric, she was sure even if she had caught sight of him at a distance, and so he had come. The need for a call was put on the backburner for the moment. If he could get close enough, then the need for a call would disappear entirely. That was what had brought him into the palace, and what caused him to lurk with a purpose. He was wandering, but with intent, and then finally -- the garden. Passing by a break in the well manicured shrubbery and flowers, Sol caught sight of a glint from a pair of familiar glasses. Stepping back half a step, Sol redirected himself and aimed to cut across that opening to intercept The Mechanic. It was a damn wonder. He'd have known Sadhric anywhere, if not because of the years spent with him then for the fact that the man hadn't changed at all from the day they'd first met. "Got a minute?" He called out, anticipating a cold shoulder.




Sadhric:
The Mechanic's head came up a fraction and tipped slightly. Without turning, he said, "Ah, always reliable, the discretion of a Tekal."

Only then did he pivot more and appear to be eyeing Solomon with a reserved, wry set to his mouth.



Sol:
"Well, technically she and I aren't married, so she can't be considered a Tekal. Yet. That, and she's very curious about you," He brought a cautionary hand up and shook his head while quickly adding, "I didn't tell her anything." Solomon was looking well for himself, healthier all around and within his skin. Days spent at home had filled his cheeks in, and rest had brought life back to his eyes. In contrast to Sadhric's darkly colored clothing, Solomon was wearing a light blue shirt, and grey pants which were both made of a material that moved lightly with each step he took. It was a fabric that was notably Hapan, having been rendered by local textile companies. His hair was still very blonde, and had grown back to the length he preferred, and was worn spiked back in his preferred style.



Sadhric:
Sadhric bared a canine in a feral half-grin. "I was referring to your brother."




Sol:
"Ah, well, he was pretty worried after the visit you paid to him. He thought you might have been coming down with something, but we both know that couldn't be the case." If the ground were made of glass, or thin ice, he was pretty sure the areas beneath their feet would have been showing spider-web cracks that were bound to etch themselves further out until everything shattered.



Sadhric:
"Yes; that was an error. My error. He was disappointing but polite throughout." He studied Solomon--or rather it was possible that he made a show of letting his head move a little as if he were only just then studying Solomon, for the sake of bringing it up in conversation. "You don't look skeletal. Some sun on you, too. Reminds me of the way you'd look after returning from time spent with Cato."



Sol:
"It's the fresh air, and clean life. I'm getting used to it. You, though, never change." He had just about shrugged when Sadhric brought up the disappointment in Darien. It just seemed something that wouldn't change between the two of them. "Would you mind me asking why you had gone to him?"




Sadhric:
Sadhric let the first comment by, waiting out until the question was asked. An eyebrow arched and he seemed to be amused. "What, he didn't relate it all to you?"




Sol:
He made a gentle wave with his right hand, which was steady in the air and lacking any sort of tremble, "He said that you showed up, and seemed pretty distracted and unsettled and that it was weird to see you that way. He mentioned something about the Mandals, but it was only just a mentioning."



Sadhric:
"I bet it was." Sadhric nodded a little, then suddenly backhanded the thought out of the air. "I was distracted. I'm not anymore."



Sol:
"So," he clasped his hands behind his back and gave a shallow nod, watching Sadhric's movements. Nothing really changed about The Mechanic at all. That thought struck him again, and clung like a spot at the edge of his vision, "You're alright then?"



Sadhric:
That got a soundless laugh. "I'm not sure I'd go that far," he said, with the first crack in the detached manner. "But I've come to terms with the knowledge that I've run out of peers. There will be no wisdom gained from discussing difficulties with others. If I don't want to wallow, I am on my own again."



Sol:
"What about Cato? You haven't tried him?"



Sadhric:
Sadhric blinked at him. And his Lenses' reflective surface faded just enough and just in time that it could be seen. "Do you remember what happened when he reappeared after vanishing for so long?"




Sol:
Which time? Was the question, but betting on odds Sol gave a guess and said "The chin-kick?"




Sadhric:
A little growl barely stayed penned up in The Mechanic's throat and his lip curled. "I would have shot him."



Sol:
"I'll take that as a no. Which time are you referring to, then?" His hands released from behind his back, relaxing his shoulders forward in a natural role of muscle.


Sadhric:
But Sadhric was still eyeing him just the same way. "That's what you recall about that incident? Him kicking me?"




Sol:
"I wasn't there. I heard about the incident second hand from Jaysten. I know you were on Typhon, and you had tried to protect Jaysten. He didn't listen, and the reunion did not go pleasantly. Not too long after the camp was attacked by something, and you were forced to use The Null in defense."



Sadhric:
"I did try to protect Jaysten," he agreed quietly, with a distinct nod. "I also tried to shoot Cato. And it wasn't so much from any confusion of identity. Not if I'm being honest."



Sol:
That this was news to him came in the form of surprise showing in his expression. Solomon's eyebrows rose slightly, and his head shifted just a tick toward his right as he processed that, "Why did you try to shoot him?"




Sadhric:
Sadhric twitched a shoulder in a shrug and looked out across the garden. The new day's light was just kissing the tops of a small, tended grouping of lavender flowers. "Hard to explain."



Sol:
"But it is related to why you haven't tried talking to him?" Sadhric looked out across the garden, and Sol kept his eyes on The Mechanic.





Sadhric:
"I'd say so. I'm not sure you'd understand, Sol. For all your bookishness when you were younger, you were still relatively well-rounded. And even when you were at your most brittle after meeting your extended family, or after Vikas got her claws into you, all those family fibers--and the Force, let's not forget--were still there for you, making a subtle little net to catch you. --You wouldn't have believed that was there for you at the time, I know, but it was."




Sol:
"You're right. I didn't believe that it was there, I could barely even see my hands in front of my face at the time. And I might not understand, that's true, but I still want to help if I can. If you'll let me. Its the least I can do for my best friend."



Sadhric:
Sadhric looked right at him. "Your what?"




Sol:
"Best. Friend." It seemed like a juvenile term, but it was what it was. He, right then, could think of no other way to phrase it. Solomon had loads of family, but very few friends. And between the two groups there was a bridge and on it stood Sadhric. Family and friend.



Sadhric:
There was a pause while Sadhric studied him. Then he said, "Shouldn't that be StJames?"




Sol:
"Yes, but I don't think there is a finite number to how many best friends a person can have. We've known each other longer, you and I. She and I are still very much working to establish what you and I already have." His manner was relaxed, his posture cautious. Solomon was aware of who and what was around them, memories still haunting the back of his mind.



Sadhric:
Out of nowhere, Sadhric said, "Don't worry; it's blind and deaf to us."

A quick glance-around might reveal that he meant the slow-moving, Palace-colored holocam pathing over the gardens on an arc behind Solomon.



Sol:
"I figured. I didn't think you'd let me go on like that if someone were listening in. I haven't been back here since you and I last spoke, that's all it is. So, will you tell me what's going on?"



Sadhric:
The Mechanic fixed him with a look. It wasn't an unkind look. Wasn't as cold as it could have been, or sometimes had been. If anything, it was resigned. Fondly resigned, even if the fondness was hemmed in. "No," he said. "... because, frankly, I'm not interested in running down the checklist with anyone. Your brother started to do that. 'Have you tried this?' 'Have you tried that?' 'Did you think of X?'" He shook his head. "That's useless."



Sol:
Those spindly little cracks he felt they were standing on drew back slightly. It was dangerous ground between them, and Solomon hadn't known what to expect from this. That Sadhric wasn't being entirely cold, or harsh, was good. It wasn't great, but it was good. "What, then, are you interested in?"




Sadhric:
"You see, that's the part I don't think you can understand. That's my assessment. It's not intended as an insult."



Sol:
"It's not taken as one, and regardless of that I'm here, and I'm willing to listen. I can't force your hand, but I do want you to know that I am here."



Sadhric:
It got a low, tight little one-note ha from deep in Sadhric's throat. The reaction might have been insulting regardless of what he said he intended. It left him looking down at a patch of low, leopard-spotted blooms that were just off the path behind Sol. Already little beetles and crawlers were making the delicate petals dance as they climbed them.

The Mechanic seemed to be weighing things out. Maybe staring at the tiny life-and-death drama in the garden helped. In any case, after a moment, he said, "I did have friends before Rose Blackmoon, you know." Made a little gesture. "Before all of that. Or I'd have thought I did. In retrospect, I'm not as sure. But I had people I spent little bits of time with, here and there. Laughed with them. Fixed their ships, their law enforcement problems, and smoothed out wrinkles with the local toughs for them. I had lovers. Exes. All that garbage."



Sol:
"What happened that changed things?" He had flinched with just a barely visible reaction to Sadhric's low throated 'ha', prepared for dismissal. When it didn't come, Solomon responded with his careful question.


Sadhric:
"I forgot about them." His voice went tighter, and a little higher as he said it, emotion stealing the control of the low even tone he usually used. The loss of control there didn't last, but his expression was subtly tighter instead. Around the eyes. The mouth. Not just loss; anger, too, kept banked low like embers. "Got distracted. I got them killed because for a brief time I forgot they existed."


Sol:
"All of them are gone?" He remembered the lash of that anger. It may have been smoldering right then under Sadhric's control, but he remembered well what that anger felt like as it seeped toward him through The Force, and with it came the loss, both pulling Sadhric's expression in tightly like a cork in a bottle.



Sadhric:
"Oh, yes. Very." With that answer came another easing, a glance and a nod. Sadhric snapped his fingers. "Snuffed."



Sol:
Brow creased with concern, Solomon ventured another question, "By who?" It was no secret between them that Sadhric had dealings with the underworld of the galaxy, but Sol had been carefully shielded from a great deal of that over the years. So while he knew of it, he didn't know much about it.



Sadhric:
"Me. Technically Jida, but in every meaningful sense me." He shrugged. "Don't get the wrong idea. There weren't many of them. A handful. Four crewing the same ship. A couple of ladies around Coronet." He waved it off. "I wasn't a social butterfly one morning and woke up the next the opposite."



Sol:
"Would you tell me what happened?" A small little flying insect had taken to buzzing around Solomon's face. He took a moment to shoo it away with a gentle wave of his hand.



Sadhric:
"Details aren't really important. Suffice it to say, I was very focused on what I was doing, and forgot to make sure I knew where they were. --I did think I knew. But they were always off-schedule. Never double-checked. Didn't care. Didn't notice. It wasn't convenient to notice. Didn't. Even. Occur. To me."

He tipped his head in something close to a shrug. "Even then, I knew those 'friendships' and 'relationships' weren't like the ones that other people had. Not 'mockeries' of those things. I wouldn't say that. I don't think 'superficial' is quite the right word, either. 'Disposable' doesn't cut it. Whatever it was, it was different when they were alive, and different when they were dead."


Sol:
"Are you worried the same thing might happen again?" Still on that cautious ground, and still working on keeping it stable, Sol hadn't moved any closer to where Sadhric was standing than he had to approach The Mechanic.




Sadhric:
"No," he said, turning his head with an odd little smile as if the idea were absurd. "Not that exact thing."



Sol:
"What is, then?" He was trying not to think that he had never seen Sadhric like this. The idea that, after so many years, this was the first he was seeing this side of Sadhric seemed absurd. It was more likely that out of all those years Sol had seen, but was just blind.



Sadhric:
"Am I taking too long?" Sadhric gave a silent, vindicated laugh. "I already mentioned that I didn't think you'd understand."



Sol:
His face fell, his expression going flat at that, "That wasn't me being impatient, that was me asking if you could be a bit more clear."


Sadhric:
"Mm," he breathed, eyes not leaving Sol now as he nodded a little. "Cato mocks me when he thinks I'm being theatrical, too. Forgive me. I wasn't sure how to attempt to relay the idea without a story, but I'm no storyteller. I'll figure this out myself, Sol. That's the whole point anyway. --You look good. I'm glad if you're happy. Thank you for coming to say hello."



Sol:
"I don't think you are being theatrical," Solomon stated with a shake of his head, the flat expression softening with some sympathy. He knew Cato's mocking tone, and ways, all too well. "And I think Cato has a way of underestimating other people and their problems. But I am happy, and I'm glad you didn't have me escorted out the moment I showed my face -- thanks for that." He smiled slightly.



Sadhric:
Another nod, a very small motion like before. "Think nothing of it."



Sol:
"If I can help in any way --" He started, and then let it die, leaving the thought hanging in the air before him. The glass beneath his boots had seemed to heal, leaving just a smooth delicate surface to stand on. Looking down at it brought a reflection of the stars above. He did miss them, and his time out among them.




Sadhric:
"Enjoy your happiness, and be safe," Sadhric said. "That's how you can help."



Sol:
"I don't think I'll have any problem with that. You should come by and see the house before you set off again," He paused briefly, and then risked asking, "How's that experiment you had been anticipating?"



Sadhric:
"No," he said with another little laugh and a feral half-smile. "I should most definitely not come to your house. But thank you." And since his skittish attempt to try to talk about what was bothering him had been dismissed and he'd given up on it, he waved off the next topic, too. "Don't worry, Sol."



Sol:
"I do, and I will worry. I'm not sure what you were trying to say, it wasn't clear enough for me to grasp, but I can see how it's working on you and because of that I will worry."


Sadhric:
"Well, you didn't let me finish, but very well. You can choose worry or you can choose the life you were making before you came here this morning."


Sol:
"You seemed bent on dismissing my efforts to understand, so I was willing to let it go because I know how you can get when pushed and I didn't come here for that. "



Sadhric:
For a moment Sadhric was silent. He looked across the gardens briefly. Then he said, "Well. I'm not sure what to say to that. I don't wish to ruin anything you have here, or upset your mood, or insult you, so I'm going to wander that way"--a nod that indicated a meandering path--"now."



Sol:
When Sol spoke it was with a mutter, much of it mumbled at the edge of a frown, "It can't get much worse than this... " but room was given for Sadhric to walk away if he chose to. Sol still hadn't moved from where he stood.



Sadhric:
"Take care, Sol." He did move past him to continue up the little path.



Sol:
He was quiet and still as Sadhric moved toward the path, only when Sadhric was passing him though did he say "I know about B'sta. If that's what this is about, let Cato do it. Better to be someone you know than a stranger messing with things."



Sadhric:
As calculated, that stopped Sadhric and made him regard Solomon from those close quarters. "'Let Cato do it.' What an interesting philosophy. --What is this?" He straightened up fully. "Everyone's coming running to you these days? Crying about me?"


Sol:
"If that were the case, I think I'd have a line of Mandals beating down my door," He turned just the slight degree he needed to in order to look at The Mechanic, "Geraint and I ran into each other in the port. As course of conversation, I had asked how you and Cato were doing and it came up. They wont stay hidden forever, Sadhric. Right now they are unprepared for what's out here. Let someone prepare them."



Sadhric
"I agree. It will be me. Not Cato." He hesitated, though, mouth twisting unpleasantly. "... Unless he just shoots his mouth off down there. --Solomon, I did not mean to sour this little encounter. I did try to talk to you. I don't think my speaking about things I do not like to speak about constitutes me being 'bent on dismissing' your efforts. However, things being what they are, I do think you should adjust your criteria for 'best friendship.'"



Sol:
"Why's that?"



Sadhric:
"Because clearly, we do not communicate well. You wanted me to talk, I attempted it, and you apparently heard the difficulty I had with it as dismissal. I would not have tried to talk about that with many people. Nearly none."


He glanced around. "And certainly not here."



Sol:
“What was I supposed to hear, Sadhric? You told me you'd figure this out yourself, and that was the whole point. If that wasn't a dismissal, what was it?"



Sadhric:
"Ah, yes. And now we're debating the discussion itself. I'm not interested. I apologize for starting it."


Sol:
“Well, I am. It wouldn't hurt you to let go a little bit, Sadhric. Hell, it might actually be a bit helpful. But what the hells do I know? I still see shadows on every wall. "



Sadhric:
Tedious, Sol."



Sol:
“Yeah. It is. Enjoy your walk." It was him that started away this time, heading the opposite direction Sadhric had started going before Sol had stopped him.