Patchwork Equation

[Bobbi]

Ava, Sol, and Sadhric meet back up to finish their conversation from Wearing Thin.


Sol:
An hour and a half to nearly two hours later a small speeder was pulling up outside the palace gates. It was a newer model with all the shiney markings to prove it, including a logo against the side of the cab that belonged to a nearby medical ward which was an oblong oval encircling the Hapan symbol for medical care with the name of the ward, and its number running the outer edge of the circle. Within were three passengers, one of which was shifting to pull himself out of the cab with his left hand once it came to a stop. Overhead a thin layer of clouds still hung, but peeking out between the small breaks among them could be seen the blue sky above as well as the sun that shone down on the city in good weather. Solomon's exit from the speeder was anything but graceful, him depending solely on the use of his left arm and hand which threw off his balance enough to make things feel awkward and clumsy. Once out, he gave a thank you to the two other passengers of the speeder and was on his way to approaching the gates of the palace, pulling his ident-stick from a pocket in his pants. His information was given to the guards at the gate who then let him in, giving him access to the palace grounds. Ava had been called prior to him leaving his house with a rough estimate of how long it would take him to get there, and he was -nearly- on time, overshooting his estimate by five minutes, give or take. Being there now, though, he was set to roaming, his comm dangling at the fingertips of his left hand.


Sadhric:
The conference had taken its first formal adjournment. What that meant was that very, very few had actually left Hapes, and the palace gardens and corridors seemed even more filled than usual. Small groups had accepted invitations to tour sites within the Consortium, but had not left yet. Others were bent on making use of the more relaxed atmosphere to find System neighbors or distant representatives to pitch all kinds of partnerships, air all kinds of grievances, shake hands and tentacles and fins (or make appropriate equivalent gestures), to argue, posture, compliment and Express gratitude from this war, the last war, or even to renew thanks owed for centuries or even millennia.

These things were taking place around fountains in the gardens, in private chambers, in audience halls, in ship hangars. They took place on grand balconies and in cool open-air parlors stocked with servants and watched over by members of the Royal Guard. Seven hundred delegates with sometimes dozens of aides and advisors each...

The Palace teemed with activity.

The Mandalore had no aides, no advisors, and no servants. His ship did not bear the markings of his people. Moving among the real delegates, those who did not recognize his face might have the quicker thought him Hapan, or from the Core somewhere, than the only representative of one of the vanquished forces. He wore layers of mostly black and two tones of gray accented with bits of armorlike copper at shoulders, chest, and elsewhere. His own black hair was cut quite short. He hadn't spoken often, but had listened much, weaving between conversations and encounters.

Now he was leaving. Leaving the gardens. Leaving the pretense. Leaving the outward calm.

Rather than going for his ship straight away, the Mand'alor was aimed at the offices that belonged to him but remained unvisited.
^express


Ava:
Solomon wouldn’t get very far before he’d find the familiar face of Ava Azalee. Her attire changed from the soppy wet clothes to a formal pants suit with a crimson blouse covered by a black jacket that stretched down her hips. There were no formal markings on her clothing. No signs indicating who she was, where she was from, or what she represented. Her hair was pulled back into a neat and tight bun – the usual fly-aways in their rightful place for a change.

He was walking ahead of her when Ava spot him. Her throat cleared as the name, “Solomon” came out as both greeting and calling of attention.


Sol:
The palace, if you weren't familiar with it, could be a maze of corridors and rooms. Just then it was a maze of dignitaries. The first break had come to the summit leaving the place feeling crowded and stuffed full of beings, even despite the airy architecture of the place. Everywhere Solomon turned, nearly every corner seemed to be occupied by someone surrounded by either aids or more politicians, all of them dressed in the finery of their station. It made him feel like a sore thumb, dressed as he was in more common clothing. There had been little choice in that matter, as it came at doctor's orders. The court attire he'd worn that morning was replaced by a black short sleeved shirt with lime green accents around its high collar and the edges of the sleeves that bared the length of his left arm, scars and all, while his right was tucked inside a motion inhibiting brace which was essentially a sling designed to keep him from moving his arm and hand and worked in conjunction with another motion inhibitor worn over his right shoulder. That arm was completely immobile, and offered him some buffer room as he skirted the crowds and growing conversations. His pants were the same, though, as were the shoes he was wearing, which gave the outfit more of a pieced together look and wasn't quite as polished as he'd like in a situation like this. Rounding a corner, coming into an open gallery where groupings of sentients were holding their own conversations and flooding the space with chatter, Solomon heard his name called by a familiar voice. He stopped short of bumping into an Aqualish who had taken a step back just at the wrong moment to disengage itself from its current conversation in order to seek out another. Small formal apologizes were given, and then the Aqualish was parting ways, moving off to find its target audience. Solomon found Ava in the crowd at that moment, and headed the Jedi's way.
On his way toward Ava a shadow caught Solomon's sight just at the corner and he diverted to catch Sadhric, "Representative Jacet!" He called out, trying to sound as aide like as he could, waving his left arm to catch the man's attention, "Mr Jacet, a word a please!" The noise he was making came to his benefit as several beings in his way looked, took in his state and then parted just enough to give Solomon room to cut through.

Sadhric:
The name was like being hooked in the ear: startling, yanking.

It was so strange to hear that familiar old name that Sadhric first glanced back out of curiosity to know who else here had it; he'd seen no such person on any list.

That reflex turned to understanding when he spotted Solomon. Recognition of the man's voice had been obscured by the affectation.

Sadhric stopped and sighed a little before turning to intercept at an easy stroll. Once he was close enough, and saw Ava as well there, he said with a tired, wry note, "They do know my name here. I'm not exactly undercover."

Visually, right then The Mechanic was less like the haphazard Solomon and the carefully attired Ava and just exactly like the aristocrats, elected representatives, and others who formed the focus of so many conversations. He was lightyears from his old form-fitting, trashy shirts and scuffed trousers. Aside from an old cut across two knuckles, he was spotless. The darkly ornate stamped copper pieces managed to be dignified without being as ostentatious as some of the scintillating pieces others wore, but the message was the same--and more than that. It was a suit that he wore, but the pieces echoed armor and hinted at a warrior.

Something that Sadhric Tlin had never been.


Ava:
Her first reaction was widened eyes as Solomon swiftly veered in a different direction.

“Representative Jacet!” he had called out; leaving her to wonder… who was Jacet? "Mr. Jacet, a word please."

When Tlin saw her, he’d see confusion followed by recognition as puzzle pieces were put into place forming a picture she hadn’t seen seconds ago. Her eyes scanned him over, seeing the pieces as something that represented not himself but the people entrusted to him. Those who now called him leader.

She’d still be a few paces behind Solomon, trying to catch up from the deviation in his first trajectory. The lag left her unable to hear whatever The Mechanic’s reply would have been.


Sol:
With Sadhric heading his way, Solomon's course slowed. The urgency to catch up was replaced by the need to meet Sadhric halfway. Sadhric's statement was met with a small weak little nod, "I didn't know. I wasn't privy to the guest list, and I didn't want to break any anonymity you might have established."


Sadhric:
"You might have commed," Sadhric said, amused but subdued.


Sol:
"I'm not used to using it with my left hand only, I'm finding it's almost impossible to do."


Sadhric:
The Mechanic had not missed the inhibiting braces along Solomon's right arm, or the way he held himself. It had been more obvious when Sol had been moving toward him than it was now that he was stopped.

"Mm. Well. Let's get you set up with something with voice commands, shall we? Come with me. --Ava?"

He'd looked past Solomon to her, eyes visible behind the Lenses, and seemed to be asking her to join them

Ava:
She saw him and nodded once. "Yeah."

Like the Mechanic, Ava could see the difference in Solomon from when she first spoken with him at his house. She recalled the Hapan medical speeder parked near her ship and wondered what could have happened in such a short time between her first departure and her second arrival. A question saved for when they were not weaving through crowded hallways filled with diplomats and their aids.


Sol:
When Sadhric looked past him toward Ava, Sol turned just slightly that way to catch Ava's answer. Earlier that day, the need for voice commanded comms didn't seem like it was a thing he'd be needing. It was a thought that was not really all that foreign, but one that just hadn't occurred to him. His comm unit was fine, and had served him well all up until that point. An older model, but it was one he had been comfortable with. When needs must, however.... "Lead the way."


Sadhric:
There was no little friction about the fact that there was still a Mand'alor at all, that the new one had been the defunct "High Magistrate" of the dictator's Core and also happened to be oft-blamed for the destruction at the end of the Praetorian War, and that it was rumored that Maxima Buffton often had private audiences with him that may or may not have put him in the running as her consort.

Those things bothered many of the delegates, and many of those who had not been invited as well.

One of the more petty gripes was that the Mandalorians--conquered aggressors--had been given prime real estate within the Fountain Palace.

While the offices and the staff were situated amidst other offices of Hapan interest, the ones claimed by the Mandalorians were at the top of a tier that looked away over the city. They consisted of a circular domed tower, the base of which had its own cave-themed garden and series of waterfall fountains. Entering it meant leaving all hustle and noise from outside (the noise being highly unusual aside from days like this one) behind, trading it out for the sounds of trickling water and trained birds.

Beyond those in their pale stone alcoves were twin serpentine stairs that one took to reach the next level, where worked those whose job it was to interface between Keldabe and the Palace when the Mand'alor was not around himself.

Sadhric climbed to the top of the stairs and found himself being stared at by two dozen of his staff.

They had never seen him in the flesh before in there. If they'd glimpsed him in person before at all, in fact, it would have been in passing.

He knew where to go, however. Skirting the edges of the offices, with their libraries and tactical holos (and not a single actual Mandalorian in sight; every single staff member was Hapan) on display to any onlooker, he skipped the back lift in favor of more stairs.

These led to the top two floors of the tower.

The first was the destination: a real office that could only
be as pristine as it was because no one was ever in it. Someone tended the plants--there were many--and the birds--there were many--and the furniture and the floors, and the crystalline windows were spotless, but it had the coldness of the showroom.

Ava:
It was beautiful. The office granted to the man of many titles. There was no doubting their lustrous surroundings. She had heard some of the passing whispers about the Mand’alor who obtained the elegant office and all its grandeur. And even as she looked at it, Ava had to admit the space was quite nice. Nice but there was something missing. Hidden beneath the flora and song it felt empty and ostentatious.

“This is the space Maxima delegated to the Mandalorians?” She questioned, looking over at the Mechanic while her fingertips traced across a fabric armrest on one of the pieces of furniture.


Sadhric:
Sadhric was crossing the room. The light threw his shadow out to the side and elements of the windows leant the shadow three dimmer ghosts.

"Evidently."

He stopped dead center and turned slowly, studying the big room high and low curiously. "I wonder if it's an insult. Bit frilly for a Mandal." His mouth quirked sideways. "Though... I'm not sure there's a spot in the entire Palace that isn't."


Sol:
Leaving behind the throng of visitors from the summit, Sadhric led them up some stairs which took them to something that was more to Solomon's liking. Passing through, he found he could name the plants they were now surrounded by as well as some of the trained birds that graced the gardens with their presence. Months ago, a life time ago, he hadn't seen them for what they were or the beauty they represented. Now, to his eye, they were glowing brightly with the life it took to cultivate them. Up some more steps, and past roughly two dozen Hapans all at work just moments before, and now noticing Sadhric's presence, Solomon was quiet and soaking it in. The airy feeling of the palace seemed to stretch upward, even in this section which seemed to have been added on beyond the original construction of the palace due to its placement and decor, to a large office that was as empty feeling as a new ship which had never seen flight. "If the queen wanted to insult , I would have rather thought she'd put the Mandals down on the lower levels with the rabble." He, too, was taking it in.


Sadhric:
"The art of insulting without insulting," The Mechanic murmured.

He waved a hand quick and turned back around. "Not an insult to me, anyway. To what they once were. What some of them believe they still are, despite all evidence to the contrary."


Ava:
“I think that if they were to insult… this would have been a way.” Ava replied as her eyes found way to the spotless crystalline windows.


Sol:
One last look around at the room and Sol was nodding, as if he'd decided on something before looking toward Ava and Sadhric, "Good point."

Sadhric:
"Speaking of...."

Sadhric eyed Ava. Not a glance. Long enough for the gaze to lock, for the connection to be real, to gain gravity, to stir as if it were solid like a hand resting on her shoulder. He turned the same look on Solomon; nothing quick about it. He stood there and saw them, each in turn. Maybe looked all the way to the far end of them.

Then he said: "I've been thinking about our last conversations. I should never have crushed your request for instruction, Ava. And you, Sol... I should not have allowed it to seem that I was spitting on it when you said I was your best friend. I apologize."


Ava:
Ava almost missed the look. She’d been staring at those perfect windows internally debating on whether or not she’d be scolded for running an index finger across their surface; smudging their imperfection. Maybe it was because she felt his eyes on her. The hair pricking sensation that she was being observed. But when her head turned, it wasn’t an examining look that greeted her.

It was her who broke the glance first. Brown eyes turned away finding a path to the fluttering wings of a golden bird streaked with crimson and black. She looked at the animal but didn’t see it. It was a focal point of blurred color before Ava turned to face Solomon.

It was a quiet look but one that spoke volumes. If he wanted, he could speak first.


Sol:
'Speaking of...' Solomon caught Sadhric's gaze when it turned on him. It wasn't a light look, the gravity of it bearing an expression that Solomon had seen in The Mechanic maybe a handful of times before. It was the kind of look that, while not being cross in any way, was just as deep as any angered look he had ever gotten from Sadhric Tlin. It said that if there was one person in the galaxy that could see him right at that moment, it was Sadhric. It was broken only by Ava turned her head Solomon's way, pulling his attention away from where The Mechanic stood. He read her face, as well, seeming to tell him that he could answer first if he desired. "Its alright," he did answer, lacking any of the tightness the words had carried when he had said them to Ava not but two hours earlier, "Don't worry about it."


Sadhric:
"I do worry about it," Sadhric said lowly. "I worry about it for the same reasons I hoped to find someone to speak to. It's important. It matters to me. It's too easy for me to forget those things.

"I reacted as I did not because the idea was laughable. I don't have a family. A few times, I fancied I might have managed to make one, dysfunctional and broken into pieces though it may have been. I don't really think I managed any such thing, now, looking back at it, but I was startled to hear that from you because I don't think of you as a friend so much as family. Which is presumptuous. Ludicrous, I understand, but that is the truth. And it is embarrassing."


Sol:
"It's not ludicrous or presumptuous, Sadhric, and it shouldn't be embarrassing. I think I told you once that you are a like a brother to me, and I wasn't lying about that. Best friend, -and- brother. You may not be blood, but you are no less family, and because you are family you are forgiven."


Sadhric:
The Mechanic's brow was tight with the effort of containing something. It wasn't a flood of emotion or any such thing, more like a density of it somehow, with no rush or motion. The nod he gave was quick and tiny, easily missed. "But, you see, Ava is part of that too. Rather whether she likes it or not. You missed much when you were a prisoner here. I relied on her, and she came through for me quite often despite missteps. She watched my back--my brain, rather--when I went to stand in a room with Maltez and Zaal, and she worked with me when we tried to deal with Ro. And on Coruscant, too.

"That was important too, Sol. It's hard to watch you two never quite communicate even when your mouths are moving.

"--And I realize I'm not always helpful on that account. You were stupid to call Maltez, Ava, but I do know where that must have come from. I don't know how to protect you if you start opening the wrong doors. I certainly have failed to protect others who do that. I am very good at some things, but protecting does not seem to be among them."

Ava:
There was a lot in what he said. So much that Ava didn't know where to start. Something shifted in the way she looked at him. It was a flawless, subtle changes, but he watched it enough times to catch it happening.

Ava saw him not as The Mechanic. Not Mand'alor. All his titles and masks that were constantly swapped and switched to blend in wherever he needed were gone. And she looked at him as Sadhric Tlin.

"I'm not yours to protect; not in that sense." Not ever. Her voice was quiet against the sound of song birds as she continued. "I'm going to make mistakes, stupid mistakes, no matter what happens. I'm going to open wrong doors. It's inevitable. In some sense, I have to. I'll never grow, never learn, if I don't."


Sol:
While Ava and Sadhric spoke, Solomon had moved to occupy one of the office's oversized chairs, supporting the weight of his braces against the right armrest. From where he sat Solomon could see both Ava and The Mechanic easily. He leaned back, stretching just a bit, but not enough to disturb the brace on his shoulder. Having had no idea beyond an inkling of what had happened while he was doing time, Sol had to let that sink in. He hadn't been there for any of that, and had missed a great deal more. Sadhric had needed someone, and that someone had been Ava. He sat quietly, listening but not hearing for a moment as what Sadhric said formed and filled more holes in his mind.


Sadhric:
"Obviously."

Sadhric turned just enough to watch Sol find a seat. He himself glanced at Ava again before beginning a slow spiral walk away from the center point of the office, hands clasped behind his back. Every so often, when his spiral would have put his back to them, he looked or turned their way without stopping.

"Obviously, Ava. That's the point. It is also, when boiled down, completely irrelevant."


Ava:
“Why is that?” She asked watching has he moved round the room. Her eyes flickered to where Solomon had taken his seat while she continued to stay by the window.


Sol:
"Because regardless of whether or not you need to be protected, or want to be protected, he cares. And because he cares, he wants to protect you." Solomon's voice fell, the words coming with a distracted sound before he sobered slightly, looking first at Ava, and then finding Sadhric where he was pacing. It went deeper than that, but how to bring that into the understanding of words? It wasn't just about protection, be that the physical manifestation of affection. It was also about the affection itself.



Sadhric:
The Mechanic wound up at one of the bird cages. This one resembled this tower in basic shape. It held a pair of bright blue avians with long wing feathers and red spots around their wide black eyes. His right hand went to the little woven door. Opened it. Held it ajar. With his other hand he tapped the far side of the wicker cage rapidly to scare them into darting around the confines until first one found the open door and tumbled out into flight, and then the other, following.


Ava:
It was an answer she would have preferred to have heard from the Mechanic but Solomon took the floor. The result was that it was hard for Ava to find an answer to that. Her eyes flickered to where the man stood, releasing the birds from their cage.

Ava turned and found herself to where the Mechanic stood. The door was opened and the first bird scared into freedom when she arrived. “What is it you’re thinking?” She asked him as the second tumbled out the door.


Sol:
With no response coming to what Solomon had said, he watched Ava cross the floor to Sadhric and speak lowly. The birds had gone from that cage, flown off to find their way out, hopefully, or to get stuck in the offices that were before this one. But they were free from their cage, their quiet song gone from the room. Let loose just as Sadhric had spoken just moments earlier.


Sadhric:
By that time, in the round room in the tower, Sadhric had waved a hand experimentally, then tried a command in Hapan, and silently the crystalline windows were drawing back. The avians were frightened of that, too, and crashed into each other as they sought a perch away from the walls, high above in the arching bones of the office.

The Mechanic stood with his head tipped back to watch them rather than Ava.

"I'm thinking that I'd like for them to fly free out of here, but I'll give them a little time."


Ava:
"I wonder if these cages are all they've known." She asked. Ava watched as their wings spread in a display of bright colors. Each one was of a different color and pattern.



"These are tiris. This is their native environment, this region." He shrugged slightly. "They should do fine."


Sol:
With talk of the birds, and the windows opening above, Solomon titled his head back a bit to see the avians in question. He puckered his lips and let loose a soft and low whistle that very closely resembled the chirping of the tiris. It was a close match in pitch, not loud enough in volume, and not perfect by any means.

Sadhric:
The birds settled in nervously. They cocked their heads to put one black eye each on Solomon, showing off their reptilian, scaled crests a bit better with the move.

Sadhric shifted modes, stepping back a little and no longer watching them.

"I've made the apology I wanted to make."


Ava:
"Your apology is accepted." She replied.

Ava always wondered what happened in those changing moments. Was it like a switch being flicked in his brain that triggered the shifting of gears. Or was it some internal realization of a point made or lost within a conversation.

There was a glance to the birds that settled and looked curiously at Solomon. To Solomon who lowly whistled a mimicry. And then to the Mechanic.

"I'm worried about you."


Sol:
Where he sat, listening to Ava and Sadhric talk, Solomon's pitch changed a bit, drifting higher an octave or two. He still kept the volume low, controlling it with the muscles in his mouth, so as not to interrupt the conversation.


Sadhric:
The pitch change drew a glance, stealing Sadhric's look from Ava. He looked up at the birds again, too, briefly, and then said: "I know: I'm sorry. Some machines look like magic until you see their guts. I'm usually better at keeping mine out of sight."


Ava:
He wasn’t a machine.

Ava glanced up at the birds, watching them and listening to the tune Solomon whistled.

“I’ve been a bad friend to you. I’m sorry for that.” Ava began. “We’ve talked about Cato so many times. About how withered and worn he’s become. And all those times, it never occurred to me that you might be feeling the same way. You’re so good at keeping everything concealed. And when the smallest crack begins to show, you’re an expert at pointing the conversation elsewhere till you can cover it up.”


Sol:
The whistling continued at the low volume, Solomon pushing himself back against the chair as much as he was able to tilt his head and project the quiet noise upward while still attempting to find the right pitch. All the while, he continued to listen.


Sadhric:
One of the tiri made a very tentative chirp, skittering back and forth for a second within a six inch area on its perch. The other watched. Solomon had their attention.

Just below, Ava had Sadhric's narrow-eyed focus. "I'm hardly withered."


Ava:
“No.” There Ava agreed as she held the gaze. “But at one time, neither was Cato.”


Sol:
That tentative chirp. Sol let go of a short whistle, one that almost exactly echoed the noise of the bird.
the noise of that bird but in whistle form.^


Sadhric:
"I'm not Cato."


Sol:
It was Sadhric's tone of voice that caught in Solomon's ear. The whistling stopped, Sol turning his attention fully to where Ava and Sadhric were talking. He took them both in, and what he could see of Sadhric's expression.


Sadhric:
Sadhric's expression was the embodiment of intent expressionlessness. He had a face that could smooth out to droidlime symmetry, detachment, and neutrality.


Ava:
“You’re not.” Another agreement. “But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen to you. You shoulder everything and ask for little in return. I just…” It wasn’t lost to her that Solomon had stopped whistling. There Ava took a breath and looked at his lenses, searching for the eyes… the human behind them.

“I wanted you to know that I’m here. And that you don’t have to do everything on your own.”


Sol:
Those familiar words. Solomon had said them to Sadhric not too long ago. Not the same sentence, not the same context, but the sentiment and the basic bones of it were all the same. He didn't want Sadhric to feel like he had to do everything on his own. He had wanted Sadhric to know that he was still there for him. He could hear them echoing inside his mind just the way he had said them to Sadhric just a few days earlier.


Sadhric:
"I don't want to get into this again," Sadhric told her quietly. "It hurts you. And it hurts Solomon. You don't like what I have to say when I'm being honest. You both take it as you might a wound. Why would I want to keep wounding you?

"But simply not wishing to cause you pain does not change truths."


Ava:
“It doesn’t hurt as much as you think it does.” Her tone matched his. “You’re right in what you said. I’m not Cato or Blackmoon. And the advice that you would seek from them may never be the sort of advice that would come from me.”


Sol:
"Broaden that thought just a little bit, Ava," Solomon finally spoke up from where he sat, "Pain is pain. The amount of it doesn't matter. Sadhric doesn't want to see either of us in pain because of something he's said in honesty -- even if it is the smallest amount of hurt in our eyes. To him, it's too much."


Sadhric:
Sadhric slowly settled the weight of his focus on Solomon. "Too costly. I'm glad you finally understand," he said, ending at a whisper.


Ava:
She glanced at Solomon in his return to the conversation and took a small step back to allow him room if he wanted to join. The motion wasn’t a physical invitation for him to stand next but to feel open if he wanted to continue.

Whatever it was Ava would have said before ended there with the small nod.

"Even still," she spoke quietly. "I'm still here - should you need."


Sol:
An idea was beginning to form inside his head in that moment. Sitting there at some distance and listening to Ava speak with Sadhric, having the opportunity to listen passively instead of being in the middle of it was helping him understand a few things. And here again, the Jedi spoke words that echoed something Solomon had said to Sadhric. He shifted in the chair, bringing his right arm off of the arm rest to situate his posture better, a dull ache having begun to form between his spine and his left shoulder blade. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to get there," He said to Sadhric, giving a slight nod The Mechanic's way.


Sadhric:
Both voices got the same nod, the same softening of the eyes, the same slow relaxation of posture.

Sadhric Tlin nodded as if that was done.

Yet, he moved away to one of the windows that faced the tiered faces of the Fountain Palace, and said, "I do know that it must have been jarring, going from wartime association to nearly immediate dispersal. I just did what I do, and didn't really think about the effect that had on others, like you, Ava. You do friendship differently. I suspect you always wish you could jam it against the holes in your ship, so that you don't lose all your air to loneliness. And at the time, I'd been so still for so long that all I could think about was being free to move again."

Thinking about that made him grin crookedly. "Not that I think any of you would consider that period of time as me being particularly stilled."


Sol:
"It was strange," Solomon's head had turned as much as he could in order to see where Sadhric had gone, and when it reached a point that he could no longer see The Mechanic from where he sat, he had to take a moment to figure himself out in such a way that would not put pressure on his right side. He opted for leaning forward just a bit, the weight of his upper body resting on his left leg, supported by that arm against the armrests end, head turned toward Ava and the general direction of where Sadhric was standing, "To go from that mess to no mess," 'That mess' for Sol was not just the life encompassing snags that Vikas had thrown into his way, it was also the help that was needed by The Remnant and all the work that had gone into that. It was the stress of trying to find something of himself in the stew of what he'd been into, feeling like he was drowning even though he'd been breathing air and grasping for something of himself and others that he knew though not really knowing what he had been looking for in that. For a moment, he focused on Ava as that thought slipped through his mind, a considering look that lasted just for a few seconds before he was speaking again, "I can understand what you mean when you say that you'd been still for so long and couldn't wait to get moving again. It took a lot of everything -- time, attention, effort -- everything to fight for the end of it."


Sadhric:
The Mechanic was back to watching him, squinting a little. "What did happen to your arm? They've got a hydra-variant running around here, so easier to just ask you."


Sol:
Some embarrassment would show on his face, and Ava would be aware of that through The Force as well, "I overloaded the sensors in the support brace I was wearing. The tension feedback and the muscles in my arm did not get along at all."


Sadhric:
Sadhric's brow was tense as he listened to Sol, and his eyes focused quick and briefly to the side in the midst there, as if chasing some thought, before zeroing back in on Solomon. "Why were you wearing a support brace?"


Sol:
A glance went toward Ava, and then he returned to looking at Sadhric, "I lost a lot of strength in my arm during what I went through in the middle of everything. I went and consulted a medical ward at Trinity's urging to see if there was anything that could be done to help with the rebuilding process. The brace was part of the treatment, as is some nerve therapy for my hand."


Sadhric:
It was there.

In the way that Sadhric was very still before nodding, and the nod very quick and off-center when it came, very precisely just once.

He was biting it back with all his strength.

The old reflex, ancient and deep-knitted into his bones, to offer to put his hands to a problem and repair.


Sol:
Solomon saw it, his left shoulder dropping just slightly but not nearly enough to compromise Sol's posture, "I didn't tell you because you already have so much going on. I didn't want to give you anything else to worry about."

Ava:
Avas mind split in lot multiple directions. She caught the stillness from the Mechanic as old habits refused to die and gave him some privacy as he resisted the urge.

"We're they able to replace the sensors, or the brace itself, after it was overloaded? You look like you're really uncomfortable."


Sol:
"No," he answered Ava, looking her way, "the brace is being repaired. The sensors were topical and located in the brace itself. I wouldn't let them implant anything," he paused there and smiled just a tad, "My arm feels pretty numb right now, I don't feel it at all. I am aware of the weight of the inhibitors, though."


Sadhric:
In a distant way, The Mechanic was aware that Ava was doing him a kindness. It wasn't enough for him to release the reflex as he'd released the tiri, but it gave him a second to breathe, draw back, and rotate the problem before him. There was still a careful tension in him when his voice came back. "Are you... satisfied"--precise word choice--"with the care you receive?"

Ava:
Brown eyes flickered between the two men. She went still, waiting for Solomon's answer.


Sol:
"They are kind enough," he felt the edge of something there, in the way that Sadhric was standing and in The Mechanic's tone of voice. There were a few times when he'd seen it before, and knowing it was there turned his tone disquieted, "However they ask too many questions, and I think I'm pushing my limits in avoiding answers." He had shifted so that he was just slightly at the edge of the seat he'd chosen, still leaning to the left, but was now better able to see both Ava and Sadhric when he spoke, "And they certainly aren't you. I'm reluctant to ask, knowing what you've got going already with the summit here, the Mandals and....everything else," that everything else was B'sta, and the mapping and whatever else Sadhric might have going that he didn't know about, or didn't feel free enough to mention, "I feel like it wouldn't be right for me to ask this of you right now."


Sadhric:
"I meant your arm. The treatment. Are you satisfied?"

What did he care about whether they were kind or not? Were they effective on Sol's behalf in a way that Sol accepted as good enough?

He didn't care, either, if Solomon found them nosy or pushy. Even if he was implying that they weren't entirely what they seemed. Though....


Ava:
By this time, Ava found herself back at the window. The landscape before her was beautiful with small remnants remaining from the storm. Her arms were loose and relaxed at her side as she turned her body more towards Solomon to see him as he answered the question.


Sadhric:
The heavy implication was, of course, that no, Solomon was not satisfied, but implication was hardly an appropriate 'let's meet halfway' point. The reasons to not touch this were mountainous and growing. The reasons were very often the same as those which had kept him from trying to talk to Solomon on a number of other occasions. Sadhric already suspected they might not matter.

The Mechanic was The Mechanic was The Mechanic....


Sol:
"I'm not, not really." It was a strong admission, coming with a shake of his head. He told Trinity he was, doing everything to make it seem that way to prevent her from worrying. He told the doctor he was, and did everything he was supposed to do the way he was supposed to do it, "It is working, but the limited mobility is driving me nuts. I keep telling myself that at least this time I'm not stuck in a hover chair, and soon enough it will be over."


Ava:
Ava’s posture changed just a little. For a split second she tensed before catching herself in the moment. As she relaxed, she spoke. “Have you considered going to someone else; perhaps Eve?” It wouldn’t have been an outrageous call for Solomon to go to her younger sister for treatment who was also Trinity’s best friend.


Sadhric:
There was a sense of the space in the room expanding away from him, or of himself shrinking as Sadhric's gears began grinding into motion to figure out how to make room for Solomon, to make time for working on him, while keeping all of the balances that needed his guardianship from being thrown off.

Avoiding contact with Solomon's home and family, preventing the erosion of the barrier that kept Sol away from Mandalore, with no delay so great that Nikolaus Buffton would get pushy, or the antsy Mandals bolder, or the Chiss reading his disinterest as a vacuum, or....

Then he blinked over at Ava. Said nothing. Thought much.


Sol:
"I haven't spoken to her, let alone seen her since she replaced my knee for me. I could give her a call," he said that to Ava before switching gears, his attention going toward Sadhric, "It's alright, though. I can handle this."

Sol:
Right then, Sol's comm went off and he fumbled for it with his left hand. After a moment the call was answered, Sol having to work himself into a position where it was possible. After several seconds he stated "I'll call you right back." Before cutting the caller short in favor of looking back and forth between Sadhric and Ava, "Sorry, I need to take this. I'll be right back." With some awkward effort, Sol pushed himself up and headed toward the outer offices to return the call.


Sadhric:
Sadhric watched his one-time student peel himself out of his seat, rebalancing in tiny ways at several points, and then he watched him leave.

"What kind of call do you think could get Solomon Tekal up and out of here like that?" He probably could have checked. He might already have done so. Then again, maybe he was practicing restraint. "His children may be hurt. Or Trinity."

He was speaking very lowly, now watching the broad empty doorway through which Sol had disappeared. "Or his brother. --There's not much else, is there?" The last question came with a sharper, cooler animation than the slow speculation before it, with a very slight and quick turn of his head, almost but not quite to Ava, as his eyes were still on the doorway.

"He has, in the past, attempted to suggest that he has old school friends, or associates who know him through his more secretive existences. He speaks of these acquaintances as if shaping his words to make it sound like he has the kinds of friendships that normal sentients have, or that he has the kinds of associates that dark and dangerous creatures like the Bufftons would have. They come out like sparks, then drift, these little hints. He often seems embarrassed by them. As if he feels he must justify them, or defend them, but lacks the material to really cover them over to protect them. I don't really believe him when they arise. It's not that I think he lies, or fabricates, but that I don't believe he knows what to do with any of them and mostly just fakes it."

Ava:
Trinity was Ava’s guess. With the conference completed for the day and with evening beginning to settle over the palace, it made sense that Trinity would try to reach him.

“I don’t know Solomon well enough to know why he does and reacts to half the things he does.” She replied. “A long time ago, I used to think I did. But looking back on it now, I was wrong. I don’t think I ever really knew Solomon in the way that I claimed I did.”


Sadhric:
"And what did you once think, a long time ago?" Sadhric finally looked right at her with a looseness in the tilt of his head that suggested amusement.


Ava:
“That we were close friends.” Ava replied before blinking. Her eyes shifted from the door to the Mechanic in realization. “That came out a little more dramatic than I expected it to. I just… I thought I knew him. And it turns out I really didn’t know him at all.”


Sadhric:
"What had you done together that you thought you knew him?"


Ava:
“Ossus is where I first met him. Not long after your departure from the Temple, actually.” She said. “He was working on a droid he destroyed. It was meant to be his punching bag.” There, she smiled just a little from the memory.

“When I first met him; it was like looking at a bleeding man who refused to acknowledge the wound despite the mess. We spent a lot of time together on Ossus. Long days filled with little moments where all we had was one another to keep company.” After all, there wasn’t anything else there on Ossus except the Jedi temple and swamps.


Sadhric:
"Define 'a lot of time.'" Sadhric's mouth hooked a little, and the eye on that side wanted to wink with the odd smile.


Ava:
"It was a year."


Sadhric:
Sadhric considered with a dancy nod that bobbed around a few tiny times as his eyes traced along unseen routes. "Fair enough. But did you really think you'd know someone when you saw them only at rest? --Or relative rest. Don't get caught on semantics."


Ava:
“I thought I did. But looking back on it now, I was wrong. I only saw one side of Solomon then. This lonely man who missed his friend and who was stuck somewhere he didn’t want to be.”


Sadhric:
"And now you've seen him... how many other ways?"


Ava:
"More than we have time to count." She smiled just a little.


Sadhric:
"Oh, you have somewhere to be?" The Mechanic pinned her with a look. "You asked me to teach you. I'm not sure that I can, but I can at least point you toward not skimming across the surface of people."


Ava:
“No. But I’m not sure about your time table.” It was then she stared at him. At his look, Ava stilled just a hair. “I think that would be good skill to know.”


Sadhric:
"My time table... I should already be gone. But I told you two that I would try to talk with you more." He shrugged. "And now Sol's arm."


Ava:
“There’s Eve out there who could help him. And maybe others.” Ava suggested carefully.


Sadhric:
"That would be your sister's calling," the man agreed, nodding. "But Solomon would have to not be skittish to actually comm her. Or bitter." He made a little gesture. "It is his choice. His job."

And yet....


Ava:
“You say that but… the gears are already turning, aren’t they?”


Sadhric:
"Well, yes," he told her as if it should have gone without saying. That dropped swiftly enough, though, and he sighed and glanced up at the tiri avians again. "We don't go out and drink together. I don't go to his home for dinner. I don't send gifts. What I do is repair him."


Ava:
"You can't keep doing this though." She said softly. "He's never going to learn how to repair himself if you're always there to do it for him."


Sadhric:
"Repair himself? It's not about him not being repaired. It's about him being repaired using the best possible techniques. It's a matter of quality."


Ava:
“And you’re the only one who can provide that?”


Sadhric:
"Who knows him? Who is trusted by him?" His mouth tightened and then reset. "I would like to know that such things are done well."


Ava:
“Sadhric….” Despite the fact they were alone, she breathed his name quietly. And then, “Let me do it.”


Sadhric:
The new tone snagged his attention. Set him to a new carefulness. "Let you do what?"


Ava:
"Let's see if Solomon will go to Eve. I'll go with him to see if there's something she can do to improve the quality of repairing his arm." There, Ava paused. "It'll be good team-working skills for us."


Sadhric:
"What makes you think he'll agree to that? You have no more right to tell him how to handle his injury than I do."


Ava:
"You're right. I don't." She agreed. "But can't I ask him first to see if he'd be willing to go before you add another task to your 'list'?"


Sadhric:
Eyebrows rose in a tired face. "Yes, of course. I wouldn't dream of stopping you."


Ava:
"Thank you." Ava exhaled the words. Her brown eyes looked around the room, as if realizing that this was as along as they'd become for a time.

"There's something you said earlier that's been bothering me. I hear it, over and over again, in the back of my mind. And..."


Sadhric:
Sadhric glanced at the doors through which Solomon had gone, and then back at her, waiting.

Ava:
“I don’t know what’s happened to you since the last time we spoke. But… please,” She said the word and swallowed.

One step went in his direction that followed with another. It was then her voice lowered once more with the closer proximity to aid him in hearing her. “Please don’t kill a lot of people. Don’t kill a small amount.” She could see his eyes behind the tint of the lenses; a light brown color that met a much warmer, darker shade clouded by a thin cast. “Don’t… kill anyone.”

Sadhric:
Hint of a smile. In Sadhric's face, amusement brought with it the impression of the sly, always, as if he were eternally watching from farther away than he seemed. "That's only been in the back of your mind? It's only 'bothered' you?"


Ava:
“No.” She shook her head. “That’s not the point right now. The point is don't kill people."


Sadhric:
She was very close now. The smile faded. "You were content enough when Leban destroyed the creatures who abducted you."


Ava:
“I wasn’t content with what Leban did. I wasn’t happy or satisfied with what happened. I never will be. They didn’t deserve to die.” Ava could count on one hand the amount of times they talked about what happened before she arrived with Leban on a strange planet to meet a strange man. In all of those few conversations… they had never talked about this. “And I wasn’t with Leban long enough to discuss my feelings on it with him.”

Ava didn’t take another step. She was close enough.

“Don’t kill anyone.”


Sadhric:
"If not death, what did those bastards deserve? --Mind, I'm not arguing with you. If you'll give me a little credit, the context of that statement to which you’re referring was that I am attempting to avoid getting more blood on my hands. I wouldn't have bothered to state it aloud if it was such a flimsy wish that I'd just throw it away over nothing."


Ava:
“Despite what happened to me, that’s not my place to say. But what Leban did was wrong. He saw what they were doing and murdered them in a moment of rage and then called it something else.”

Once, Ava saw a glimpse of the capabilities of The Mechanic. Eyes that flashed in white hot rage as words snarled out like venom. There’d been moments, little moments when others discussed Sadhric Tlin and his violent ways, where she wondered what could have happened if there hadn’t been Buffton’s War.

“I know you wouldn’t.”


Sadhric:
About Leban, The Mechanic saw things differently. Or rather, he saw it two ways simultaneously and was deeply sympathetic with Malachi Leban in this case. Ava had parried the point at least by half, however, and to pursue it over her topic felt disrespectful. Because it was the real topic.

On the other hand, what was there to say?

"Nothing looms," he told her. "But all the elements are in orbit. I am trying to keep them from crashing into one another." He paused. "... which probably doesn't satisfy you, though I'm afraid there's not much you can do about it."


Ava:
Her voice stayed low when she spoke. “I have a lot of trust in you and in what you can do.” The corners of her lips tugged as her face softened.

“I’ve watched you find pathways, and roads, and options that I never would have found. And if I never learn anything else from you, I’ve learned that there is always another choice. Another option. Sometimes you just have to frame it differently. So I know you can figure this out without it all crashing together. Without bloodshed.”


Sadhric:
A few words came together and dispersed again while he was realizing that he was grateful to her for saying that. 'I have a lot of trust in you....' And while he was realizing that at the same time the words made him feel like a charlatan. Like he'd sold her a lie.

He thought, But is it any longer? as she reached the word 'bloodshed'.

"If it were only my choices, I think I'd be safe."


Ava:
She stood there while breathing the words, “You’re Sadhric Daarato Tlin. If there is anyone in this entire galaxy who could make this work… it’s you.”


Sadhric:
Because my record on this is one of such excellence.

He kept the thought to himself. He watched her instead of opening his mouth for a moment. Finally: "Nurturing peace is a bit different than winning a war."


Ava:
She could see the look on his eyes. It wasn’t the exact thought that she read but the reaction was there. Ava had seen it before in moments similar to this. Her eyes left his for a second as they glanced down to her hands and then back to him. Once more, there was the barest hint of a smile.

“Well, you’re not so old that you can’t learn new tricks.”


Sadhric:
His lip curled and he jutted his chin at her; a not-smile and a not-laugh.


Sol:
Just then, a tired looking Solomon was coming back into the room. The energy he had carried when he left had bled away in the moments he'd been gone. Entering back into the huge ornate office Solomon was saying "Sorry about that. Someone told Trin they'd seen me with the inhibitors on...." he was only just a bit into the room when the explanation shifted at sight of The Mechanic's expression. A look went toward Ava, Sol asking "What did I miss?"


Sadhric:
Sadhric wondered and then decided that it didn't matter to him whether Solomon was lying, so he nodded, accepting the explanation. His inclination was not to respond to the 'what did I miss?' With that, too, he forced himself onto a different path. "Much. You were a topic. As was your arm."


Ava:
Ava had stepped away with a quirked brow before Solomon entered back into the room. She would be next to the empty birdcage, her fingers lightly tracing across the bars. "Everything okay?" She asked since Solomon hadn't quite finished his explanation when he came in.


Sol:
"Yeah," he gave a distracted nod toward Ava, "She wanted to make sure I was alright. Took me a while to convince her, and I'm still not sure she's sold on it...." at the end of that he was looking between the two of them once again, "Wait, what about my arm?" His tone was curious, the question slow.


Sadhric:
In there was the most intriguing thing Solomon had suggested about his relationship, perhaps ever. But that could have been purely within Sadhric and a possibility that right then occurred to him.

"Just what was mentioned previously," Sadhric assured him.


Ava:
"Did they say how long you would be needing the brace?" Ava curiously asked.


Sol:
"The one I broke?" From looking at Sadhric he went to looking at Ava, "Six standard weeks to start, with an evaluation at the end to see if more time is needed."


Sadhric:
Sadhric raised two fingers and gestured toward Solomon's right arm. "May I...?"


Ava:
Ava stepped forward, coming level with the Mechanic to see.


Sol:
"Sure?" His answer was apprehensive, Sol now feeling the edges of where he was standing. Ava had moved in, and in that motion Sol realized that there had been only one other time she'd seen The Mechanic working on him. It had been alright then... he took a breath and gave a small nod, moving closer to where The Mechanic and the Jedi stood.


Sadhric:
Sadhric met him just Sol's side of halfway. "The other brace was identical to this one?" He knew Solomon was uneasy, and left dealing with that to Sol. He knew also that Ava might fade out and her pitch might go unpressed--he left that, too; if she did not pursue it, so be it.

More interesting was the question of whether Ava would raise her other topic in Solomon's presence, or if Sol would raise it on his own. For now, The Mechanic let the arm take his attention.


Ava:
"Have you taken this to anyone else or have the Hapans been the only one to treat this?" Ava questioned. She stood close but not so close that The Mechanic couldn't look at Solomon properly.
(Jesus that just now sent!)


Sol:
"No," Sol's arm was locked in the same sling-like inhibitors he'd worn before over his shirt. The materials used in the inhibitors would have been standard for the construction of such things, all medical grade, "The brace was," he named the model number, and quickly added, "it was slimmer. I was able to wear it under clothing undetected." If Sadhric knew about such things he'd know it was a black device made of a lightweight weave material with sensors at the shoulders and at even intervals down the arms. He found himself answering Ava with another shake of his head, "Just the Hapans."


Sadhric:
Sadhric nodded. He didn't know every model number of every such device--certainly not. But he could--and did--silently delve into a little research.

As always when in this mode, his hands were strong and precise, with a light touch that spoke of a practiced balance between steadiness and care.


Ava:
"You said you were hurt during the war. What happened that caused this?"

Sol:
"Stress," he shrugged a little with his left shoulder, "I allowed myself to get too tense." Sadhric would find the inhibitors to be easily removed. Beneath them, Solomon's right arm was swollen, the skin a light shade of pink. His arm would be covered in a film of bacta from his hand all the way up to where the sleeve from his shirt started. Beneath his shirt were bacta patches, which covered the rest of his right arm and shoulder. For Sadhric's research, he'd find that the model mentioned by Sol was a higher end brace, one Sol could easily afford. To the physical touch of Dr Tlin, Sol had very little reaction. If his arm was moved or touched, he didn't feel it. There would be no response giving credence to what he'd already mentioned about it being numb.

Sadhric:
At Solomon's answer, he'd find himself treated to a quick, unwavering look from the tight-lipped Mechanic. The brace was already off by that time. Knowing generally how those devices operated (with more specific knowledge filling in every time he took a second for it) helped him to sigh a little more to himself about this.

"The other topic was Ava's," he said aloud, as if What Solomon Had Missed had never been interrupted. "But I suppose she has decided that telling me not to kill people is not the sort of thing she wishes to do with you in the room, for some reason."


Ava:
"Well," Ava's tone was casual and calm. "We hadn't gotten to that yet." One topic at a time.


Sol:
From the tight lipped look Sol got from Sadhric to the renewed topic, Sol was looking Ava's way with encouragement, "Go on, if you wish." Sadhric would find that the flesh beneath the bacta was tight due to the swelling in all the ways that it should have been. The muscles beneath were inflamed, as was the joint of Sol's elbow. The sleeve of his shirt had been cut to accommodate, all the way up past his shoulder, the fabric clinging to the outside material of the bacta patches. There, the swelling wasn't quite as bad, but still evident.


Ava:
She took in the treatment that littered across his skin. A myriad of questions came and went. But the topic shifted to something much more important.

Or, at least it was to Ava.

"I asked him not to kill anyone." Ava said. "No matter how small or large the group."


Sol:
"From past conversations, I do think he's wanting to avoid that." For a moment Sol looked toward his arm and what The Mechanic was doing.


Ava:
"It's a good thing to avoid." Ava agreed.


Sol:
"Any suggestions on how to do that?" He glanced up Ava's way, "I think simply saying "don't do it" is kind of undermining the problem."


Ava:
Sometimes it did...


... and sometimes it didn't.

A glance went to The Mechanic as he continued his inspection. It felt weird to be discussing this, about this topic, about
The Mechanic, with The Mechanic sitting there.

It was hard to give straight advice when Ava didn't know the full extent of what was happening. The details hadn't been given to her beyond the ramblings of their first conversation.

"Faith that he will find another path."


Sadhric:
For his part, Sadhric was wielding his divine powers in ignoring both of them--but only in one sense. He certainly was ignoring them on a personal level. His attention was analytical. He did not understand why they both seemed to devolve into children with childlike levels of understanding and sophistication when they were together in the same space, and what he did not understand tended to frustrate him.

He did know several of the variables. Childlike, oversimplified versions of secrecy, privacy, respect, and loyalty seemed to be in play. He did not get the math.

So yes: he was and was not listening.

They could discuss him as if he weren't there all they liked.


Sol:
"I see," he gave a tight nod, "That's not much of a suggestion as it is a stating of your own hopes on the matter. It's not going to solve anything." He paused for a brief second to watch Sadhric again, "What about an emp field in the space surrounding the planet? A bunch of relays and buoys knitted together just outside of their atmosphere to keep them contained?" Half heart felt that was, spoken with a small smirk and quite openly in jest, "Or just letting things with these conferences ride out. If it comes through, and they can be absorbed into some new alliance there is a lot they could contribute, and a lot they could gain."


Sadhric:
Sadhric had already begun snapping the brace back into place with care. "Solomon...." he began tiredly without offering him more than a flick of a glance. "... I know you and Ava mean well...."


Sol:
Sol had been helping as needed, moving his right arm with his left hand as Sadhric needed in order to get the brace back on. He was focused on that for a moment with his head telling him his arm was supposed to be moving while no movement came. Through it, though, he gave Sadhric a shallow nod, "That's the last time I'll say anything about it. I'm supposed to staying away from them anyway, I'm just sorry you're stuck dealing with the situation."


Sadhric:
"It would be simpler if I were 'stuck' dealing with it," he told them. "But the fact is that I could leave. Leave all of this drudgery. As you and your brother have pointed out."

Ava:
Ava said nothing about Solomon's comment on what she and the Mechanic had been discussing. A part of her wasn't surprised that his reaction to the topic was likened to the patting of a child's head. It was his usual response to matters such as that. Maybe there -had- been a reason why she waited for him to leave before even saying it at all.

While Solomon might not have viewed the topic of trust and faith in The Mechanic having weight; Ava most certainly did. There was a power behind letting someone know they were believed in them. That someone trusted in them to make the right decision when it mattered most. And while Ava could have stood there arguing these points with him; that wasn't what was important to her. He was not the focus of this. Someone else was.

"How have the Mandals reacted to your position as their Mand'alore?" She asked, those brown eyes flickering back and forth between watching the Mechanic inspect the state of Solomons injury and his face. "What's the morale among the clans like right now?"


Sadhric:
The Mechanic stepped back from Solomon. The man's arm was back in its brace. Perhaps still a topic, but--

"Ava, please," Sadhric said with a sigh. "The details don't matter." Hadn't he said that two days ago? It might not have been entirely true, but it was a matter of spheres rather than dishonesty. "Not here. I do not wish to do this here. I hoped to talk to the two of you again in order to smooth raw edges, not create new ones."


Sol:
When Sadhric stepped back, Sol took to examining what he could of the brace and how his arm was now locked back up in the support of it, not out of any disrespectful thought geared toward what Sadhric had done, but because he couldn't feel it and he'd just told The Mechanic there would be no more talk of the Mandals coming from him. So as Ava pressed on, Sol made good on his word.


Sadhric:
"I know you want to help," Sadhric said slowly, low-voiced. "But it is not as simple as Mandal politics or any single thing. It means much to me that you have faith in me. I am trying to make sure that means something. Not just from you. People have sacrificed for me before. Died for me before. I have a lot of people I'd like not to let down for once, whether they live still or not. Whether they think well of me still or not. If just wishing for better outcomes were enough, I would face no trouble."


Ava:
"Okay." The answer came with a nod. There wasn't a look of hurt or resentment from the statement. It was acceptance for what he was asking. Advice recently given whispering in her ear like a ghost from the past. She looked at him with unspoken words that she would be there if he needed before her head bowed. "It's starting to get late, I should be going." Her head turned to look at Solomon. "Let me know if you decide on other avenues beyond the Hapans." And the Mechanic who already had his hands filled with messes to clean up. "I'll go with you if you'd like."


Sol:
He'd glanced up from his inspection toward Ava to nod, stopping after the motion with a quick look toward Sadhric. Just that half a beat before he was looking at Ava again, "You'd like to go with?"


Ava:
"If you'd like." She repeated. "We can contact Eve and perhaps a few others to see if they can improve the quality of your treatment." Ripley Tanner, who worked on Solomon's brace came to mind.


Sol:
Solomon's left hand lifted, his palm toward Ava as if the motion would stop the words in their tracks, "Thank you, Ava, but I really don't want too many hands prodding at me. I'd be open to reaching out to your sister, but no further. The less people that see this up close the more comfortable I'll be."


Sadhric:
Sadhric, silent now, worked on reining in the urge from before. The old urge. The urge to take over.


Ava:
"Then Eve it is." Her eyes shifted to the Mechanic. "It is her calling after all." Mirrored words echoed to help reign in habits that refused to die.


Sol:
And now, the other side of the offer. To take Ava with, or not. His gut reaction was to back away from that, to say 'thanks, but no'. It was a little snake of response that wiggled around inside his head while Sadhric stood close at hand wrestling with his own ancient urges. But urges could be overcome, even if it took some great effort. He'd made strides with that over the past few days with having not only told Ava where he lived, but having opened his house to her at all. It had been both a moment of comfort, and uncomfortable exposure. One step deserved another, otherwise he'd just be walking backward. "And, if you're serious about coming with," he said slowly, "I'd have you along."


Sadhric:
The Mechanic's expression opened a little with silent surprise at that. Silent and subtle, but there.


Ava:
She could see the reluctance on his face at the idea. She watched as he struggled to keep the words from passing across his lips and braced herself for it.

When they didn't come. When, in fact, the opposite occurred, Ava felt her shoulders relax. Her posture surprisingly eased and she nodded; finding herself relieved.

"Thank you." She said to Solomon.


Sol:
Had it been a mistake? Ava's shoulders relaxed, and he heard the words. His head nodded, Sol unable to stop himself when he calmly added, "But it stays between us, that's all I ask. Please, keep this in confidence, Ava."


Sadhric:
"I'd ask that you not choke each other," Sadhric put in wryly.


Ava:
"Agreed." She replied looking between them.


Sol:
Off-set, Sol gave another shallow nod. There was something funny about Sadhric's request he was sure. Just at that moment thought he didn't know why, still wrestling with a thought that was blooming into the idea that he -might- live to regret this.


Sadhric:
"If you wish, you may remain here to work out any details. The tiri might be glad of the company. In any case, I need to be leaving also." The Mechanic nodded to Sol--a stronger nod than Solomon's right then, by far--and then to Ava.

Ava:
Ava had already announced that she needed to be going so the decision to stay and work out the details was put in Solomon's hands. "Take care of yourself." She said to Tlin.


Sol:
"Take care," He managed to say to Sadhric above the doubt that had flooded in, finding it in him to give a slight smile toward The Mechanic before his attention went toward Ava, "If you need to go, too, don't let me keep you."


Sadhric:
Sadhric moved past them.

Stopped.

Turned back slowly, his expression intense but calm.

"May the Force be with you."

Punctuated by a nod. Then he did turn to go.


Sol:
That shook Sol out of it a bit. Those six words were rarely ever uttered by The Mechanic. Turning to look Sadhric's way, Sol's tone became heartfelt and he wore a warm smile as he said "And you, Sadhric."