Turning to dig around on the floor for where his holocom unit had come to rest with his hastily removed clothing, he finally found it under buried with his belt under Aittera's top. Setting it on the table next to the bed, he activated it and laid back down while he waited for the image of his apprentice to appear.
Aittera stirred with a soft moan when Kol moved, and as he settled back again, she drew her head up to look across at the holocom at the image of the Twi'lek flickering to life. Pria's head turned to look between the redhead and the Sith, her lekku twitching briefly.
"Apologies for disturbing you, Master," the apprentice began. "We have received an urgent message from Lord Somaesthesia."
"Put it through, please, Pria." Ragious was ever respectful to his apprentice - he always had been. It had been much the same with Temivi before the events that led to his shameful abandonment of her - ever his greatest regret. Many among the Sith questioned why he had taken not one, but two Twi'leks for his apprentices, when his fellows mostly took them as bed slaves. Truth be told, while Ragious found their beauty intoxicating, the two he had taken had been destined for so much more than to simply share a bed.
Pria hesitated as her eyes shifted once more to Aittera, who had settled against Kol's side to rest her head on his chest and closed her eyes when she decided that she wasn't ready to let the rest of the universe back in just yet.
"I explained that you were unavailable," she began as she returned her gaze to Ragious. "She is requesting your immediate return to Dromund Kaas."
"Out of the question. I've just found Aittera again, and we have a lot of catching up to do. Tell my sister that if she wants to see me, she can come to Rishi." He was annoyed that Jocelyn would pick this exact time to want to recall him.
"Master, the Imperial shipyards have been devastated and Korriban has fallen. There is every indication that Dromund Kaas will be besieged next." Despite the dire nature of the information she was conferring, the Twi'lek's voice remained steady, even calm.
Aittera's eyes flew open, and a moment later, she was upright. Despite the shock in her voice, there was a note of pride. She couldn't help it. "The Republic?"
"Couldn't have been, there is no way the Republic launched that scale of an attack without warning. And if the Sith had been warned, they would have been ready."
"The incursion is not Republic. Our communications officer is still gathering what she can and will have a full report ready for you by the time you return." Pria left the unsaid 'which should be right away', though the urgency hung unspoken in the air.
"Were we the only ones attacked?" He had sat upright when Aittera did, but the urgency in his apprentice's voice had him standing now, the light of the holo being used to locate his scattered clothing.
"A moment." The apprentice stepped out of view for a few moments, and when she returned, her usually stoic demeanor had given way to true apprehension. "It seems there are reports of attacks to Republic holdings as well."
Aittera was up and gathering her clothes too, and she turned a furrowed brow toward the holocom and the tiny image of the Twi'lek. "Who the hell has an army that big?"
"No one. The Hutt Cartel was gutted after Makeb, and the Revanites were destroyed. This is something new, and I think that is the most terrifying thing about it." Ragious was pulling on his clothing as he spoke. "Order the Avenger back to Kaas, I'll meet you there. Send word to House Eirndeth that all personnel are to prepare for evacuation. I want the entire house archive, everything of value packed up and ready for transport to the Avenger when you arrive."
Kol was right. The very idea that there was a new military force that was big enough and bold enough to strike at both Republic and Imperial holdings was terrifying. Aittera sat down on the edge of the bed, stunned, while he gave his apprentice orders.
Pria's holoimage gave a singular nod. "I shall await you there. Pria out."
His belt clicking into place around his waist was the last of his clothing in place as the image of his apprentice vanished. He looked over to where the redhead sat on the edge of the bed. "Come with me, Aittera. If both the Republic and the Empire are under attack, at my side on the Avenger is the safest place you could be."
She was just finishing pulling her second boot on. "You can't promise that - especially now. If whoever this is has it in for the Empire, running around in an Imperial dreadnought paints a target on your back."
Aittera stood and turned to look back at him as an idea suddenly occurred to her. "Come with me instead. We'll take the Hope in the opposite direction and just keep moving until both the Empire and the Republic are a distant memory."
"You know I can't. I wish I could. But I could never live with abandoning everything now. If there was no threat, if I knew my family, all the people that rely on me were safe as well." He smiled at her, but there was a sadness behind it. He was no longer the man she had first met, or even the one he had been when their connection first developed. "Do one thing for me, Aittera? If you can't come with me, at least do what you just asked me to do with you. Take the Hope, and get as far away as you can. If the fighting comes where you are, keep going further."
She raised a hand as she began to form an argument, but the reality of the situation hit her - truly hit her. She had known this moment would come, of course. He would have to return to his life - the one where she didn't quite fit - and she would have to walk away. The circumstances might be different, but the outcome would always be the same. They could never be together in any lasting way.
"Promise me you'll stay alive," she demanded with a quiet intensity, her cobalt gaze suddenly ablaze.
"I have to," He smiled a new smile at her - one that only she would ever see, "because I'm going to find you again. I will never give up on being with you."
"I think at this point, we both know this is never going to work."
"Probably not, but I can't change the way I feel about you, Aittera, and I wouldn't want to if I could."
She stood silent for several moments as that declaration hung in the air, memorizing that smile, fighting the urge to do what he had first asked and leave with him. Finally, her lips curled into the old familiar wry smile that used to come so easily to her and had been absent for far too long. "Until next time then."
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