♙Fact 2.5 ♙{video}

[heirtostay]

[Tenel Ka's face is pale and drawn, and although her tone is as flat as ever, it still conveys a vast amount of loss.]

Jacen Solo is dead. He was killed by Darth Malak in the course of a rescue mission to Korriban. [She pauses, closes her eyes for a moment] It is no one's fault but that of the Sith.

That is all.

Comments

video;

[omnombouquet]

I can come over.

video;

[heirtostay]

[Silence]

I would appreciate this.

action

[omnombouquet]

[It doesn't take Zekk long to make his way over to the apartment, knocking gently on the door. He's calm on the outside, but unsure of how to feel. Hurt, angry, guilty that one of the last messages Jacen had for him was not to say 'I told you so'.]

action

[heirtostay]

[She can feel his turmoil of emotions, but keeps hers tightly locked up. All she can do is look at Zekk for a moment before she wordlessly steps towards him, arms wrapping around his shoulders.]

video

[alwaysqueen]

[Excuse Blair's expression of horror and dismay, her little black heart is breaking into thousands of jagged and angsty pieces right now. Jacen was her first friend here and she cares a great deal for him, and she never got to properly say goodbye.

And even if he'll be back in a week, he doesn't deserve to die. She's going to just cry now.

She tries to open her mouth to say something, but for once, Blair Waldorf is rendered silent.]

video

[heirtostay]

[That same flat note is in her voice] He will likely return in a week. [a beat] I'm sorry I cannot offer more comfort.

Re: video

[alwaysqueen]

How did he -? [She can't bring herself to say the d word.]

video

[heirtostay]

A lightsaber duel. From what I was able to tell, he held Malak off for long enough that the others were able to escape.

video;

[slayerdom]

[ Buffy's eyes go wide, immediately brimming with bright tears. Disbelief colors her expression and she looks a little numbed to the truth before her. She doesn't respond at first, confusion trying to work its way through her face as she processes. No. No, he can't -- ]

But, he just ... [ Her heart twists, a dead weight sinking in her stomach. She'd barely had time to register he was gone. ] How do you know? There has to be some kind of mistake, Malak couldn't -- [ She has to believe Jacen is better than Malak. ]

video;

[heirtostay]

[Tenel Ka's flat tone breaks on the next two words, raw emotions threadind through her voice, making it harsher than she intends. She had felt him die, felt his sorrow and his love for her, felt that extinguish in the space of a heartbeat] There is no mistake.

video;

[slayerdom]

[ Buffy reaches up to cover her mouth with a hand, shutting her eyes and pushing back the sorrow. She lowers her hand and controls the tears for now -- she can cry later. Seeing Tenel Ka being just as hurt as her gets her priority, because other people come first. ]

He'll come back. Revan will bring him back, he has to.

video;

[heirtostay]

The likelihood that he will return is high, but it is not absolute. Revan 'has' to do nothing. [She's not being harsh of bitter, simply stating the facts. Tenel Ka has never been a believer in lying to oneself or others for the sake of comfort]

[tronja307020]

[Tron looks worried, more then anything.]

Do you think he'll come back?

[Jacen was always nice to him when they talked. He'd enjoyed their discussions, even if they didn't happen often and he didn't know him very well. He really hopes he's not permanently gone.]

[heirtostay]

I do not pretend to know the mind of Revan. We can only hope.

[tronja307020]

[He shakes his head a bit, sobering somewhat.] Do we even know that it's Revan who's doing it? Maybe it's this Force? I sometimes hear Users talking about it having a "will." Rather like my people viewed Users before we met them. We knew they were there, and sentient, but...[Is this "Force" somewhere out there, walking around, talking to people, manipulating their fates? The way the Users decided the fates of their Programs. He understands so little of it, he doesn't know at all.

And he seems to get a small idea, a sad sort of smile crossing his face.]

Maybe...maybe the Force keeps bringing us back, and not Revan. Because it knows we want to stop him? [He's just thinking out loud now, really. But trying to be helpful at the same time.] Maybe it brings back the virtuous ones.

[heirtostay]

I can speak for the nature of the Force even less than I can for Revan. [She closes her eyes again]

I apologise; I cannot have this conversation with you at this moment. [It's too raw, and she doesn't have her responsibility, her duty to distract her like she did last time]

[sand_wormie]

[Luke's been feeling a little out of sorts, off balance, for a while now. He thought it was because he's been thinking of home, of his aunt and uncle and friends. Maybe it still is, partly.]

- Oh.

[He's heard of the coming back thing, but doesn't trust it, isn't going to say anything here.]

I... don't know what to say.

[heirtostay]

Ah. You should not feel as though you have to say anything.

[sand_wormie]

I can't say nothing.

[And hesitation. But... this is one of the things people do say, isn't it? That's less meaningless than 'I'm sorry'?]

...Is there anything you need? That I can do?

[heirtostay]

There is not. But I understand the sentiment behind your offer, Luke, and am grateful for it.