Cassandra slowly started to open her eyes, seeing the ceiling of the medical room she was in. Everything was a blur to her.
Where was she? Why was she here?
She reached up to her face and pulled off the silver colored mask that covered it, letting it drop to the side, clanking on the floor as she took a deep breath and sat up.
Slowly she turned and shifted to the edge of the bed to stand up. As she did, she started to feel a little dizzy.
Her breathing increased as she looked at the gown she was in and the bandages, which confused her even more. It was only a few steps before she collapsed to one knee.
Why couldn’t she catch her breath? Was it the atmosphere? It wasn’t making any sense.
The more she tried to catch her breath, the more and more she had trouble maintaining consciousness.
She reached up and grasped her throat as she tried harder to catch her breath. As she was trying to figure out what was going on, she saw out of the corner of her eye someone run into the room toward her. By pure reflex, Cassandra’s arm shot out toward the newcomer and telekinetically launched them through the wall of the room with incredible force. From the sounds of it, most likely through the opposing wall as well. She saw a metallic silver tray clink to the ground that had several objects on it.
The only thing she knew at this point was firstly, she needed a source of oxygen. Then secondly, to escape wherever….this….was.
Zuza practically leapt from her seat in the hallway, keening forward. Her hands stung against the stone walls, managing to straighten up before her face received the same impact. The familiar feel of the birds etched into her lightsaber, and the cold of the metal of it, grounded her enough to see the poor nurse currently whimpering as other nurses rushed in. There was no blood, she’d be okay; Cursing in various languages under her breath, Arcona’s Consul tucked the saber back onto her belt and rushed into the room.
“Cass!”
It wasn’t exactly a surprise, but watching her friend gasping for breath on the floor panicking was never going to be easy to see. She initially rushed past the Epicanthix, going for the respirator and pulling it as far as it could go and kneeling beside Cassandra. Her voice shook as she half commanded half begged, “Breathe into this, please-” while trying to get it over her face.
She didn’t bother fighting it, having heard Zuza’s voice. At this point she was barely awake as it was and grasped the respirator and held it to her face.
The pressure drastically increased and she was able to take the first deep breath she had been able to until this point.
“What…” she started, her voice raspy and unfamiliar to even herself due to the respirator’s pressure differential. “…is happening, Zuza? Where am I?”
“Just breathe for a minute Cass.” Zuza spoke, relief deep in her voice at Cassandra simply accepting the respirator.
“You’re on Selen. You.. fought someone. They hurt you real bad, you can’t.. your lungs got karked up so you need to breathe through this. You’re gonna be okay, we’ve got you.”
“I dont…remember…” she started, finally starting to return to her full cognizance as she sat against the back rail of her bed. Her eyes widened as she thought for a moment. “Is…Taldryan alright?”
“Yes. Ood is handling everything, Anders is helping. We’re trying to track down exactly.. what happened. But it’s going to be okay.” Zuza had helped Cass back up into the bed, sitting on the edge of it as she finally settled back down properly. “I’ve got the DIA on board to help with the investigation. Anders was struggling for unbiased opinions so I offered our hand to be used quietly. He’s around here somewhere.”
“Thank the force…” Cassandra said with a relief as she seemed to relax finally, leaning up to give her a tight hug. “Thank you for keeping Ood around a bit longer, I know he was busy doing his own thing in the northern lowlands. I’m sure Anders appreciates it as well, figuring he’s stuck dealing with the senate after…whatever happened.”
She sat back and let out a deep breath as her eyes closed for a few moments. Afterwards, she reopened them and raised her gown shirt a bit to see a wound on her lower left abdomen. “The scorch marks on the skin…the scarring pattern…someone with a lightsaber.”
Leaning back, she raised her right hand to her head as she tried to force herself to think. “But…I can’t remember…”
“He has been, yeah.” Zuza nodded, returning the hug with enthusiam only tempered by ensuring hands ended up on flesh already healed. She drew her legs up, crossing them under her on the bed and watching Cass investigate her injuries.
“That… stinks. We were really hoping you would. No one knows who did it to ya, no one knows kist about any of it from what we can tell so far. All your politicians are just goin’ mad, or getting buried under the ones going mad.” Zuza brushed her fingers through her brown locks, snagging tangles along the way, “It was a big fight. That much is about the only certainty we ‘ave.”
She let out a brief sigh before she lowered the shirt and leaned back with her eyes closed for a moment. “That surprises me, honestly. If it was a big fight, surely there would have been people who saw it.”
“It’s good to see you despite the circumstances though. I’ve missed you.” After she spoke she opened her eyes and looked at Zuza with a slight smile, extending her right hand to rest on her leg. “I’ll probably stick around for a short bit, but then I’ll need to get back and start wrangling the lothcats again. Ander’s probably can’t wait for me to deal with the senate again so he doesn’t have to. A Chancellor’s day never ends.”
“You were off by yourself. Very me move but probably.. not the best. Not really you either.” Zuza smiled, offering a wane smile, “Ood has been handlin’ things in your absence while Anders has been running the investigation. You have all the time you need to rest up. Your lungs… they might improve but even our medics can only do so much.”
The Human sighed softly, looking over at Cassandra. She wished they could do more. “You need to get used to the mask, more or less.”
She let out a dejected sigh and reached up to touch her forehead. “Why would I have been off by myself…and why is Ood handling things? With Anders being my Vice-Chancellor, I imagine the senate probably isn’t happy about this.”
Lowering her arm she looked over at Zuza. “You said Anders was here. I would like to speak to him when he is free. And…if I have to get used to this…just how extensive was the damage?”
She did manage to let out a slight chuckle though, mimicking the raspy voice of Vader. “Maybe I could become a force to be feared, haha.”
Anders had his own problems to deal with. Some massive, more than problematic for his own survival kind of problems. Truth be told, he had barely managed to settle until he had spoken to Draca, an obvious idea that needed to be presented to him by Evelyn.
Then, there was Cassandra. What in the name of the Nine Corellian Hells did she want from him now, of all times?
He entered the room just in time to hear Cassandra mimick the once previous Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader.
With a scoff, Anders took the moment to analyse Cassandra’s current state. “To put this simply, Cassandra, you look terrible.”
Zuza shook her head, a slight smile on her face. “And you say I have bad manners Anders?” She chuckled, leaning back in the seat before her expression sombered again.
“The damage was really bad Cass, you… were basically dead. There’s a reason you’re on Selen with our facilities rather than closer to home. It wasn’t ideal, to transport you that far, but… Well. You’ve definitely had us worryin’ over you.”
“That explains why I’m seeing you here, Zuza.” she said, with some understanding. Afterwards, she turned her attention to Anders’ snark comment. “It’s good to see you too, Vice-Chancellor. And at least I’m sure I feel worse than I look. Tell me, where do things stand on the diplomatic front with Dalicron? Assuming the senate is eager to get me back into things.”
A silence descended upon the room. With eyes narrowed upon her, Anders scrutinised Cassandra carefully. Memory loss; likely the result of trauma to the brain conductive with her most recent actions. Given her physical state, it is unlikely, but not impossible, to be Force-induced.
“Cassandra, what was your last memory before you awoke?”
“You, very forcefully, told me to not get involved with negotiation efforts that were planned over Trexxa with Kael Durran. I was in my office working on paperwork writeups for when you succeeded in your efforts, and I had just approved Ood to be on Kasiya at Zuza’s request.” she responded before looking between the two, confused at first before feeling slightly concerned. “Anders, how long was I out?”
“Long enough that you seem to have forgotten that the negotiations were an abysmal failure which led to you removing me from my position. You have since been replaced by Ood Bnar, who is now the Third Supreme Chancellor.”
Anders then addressed Zuza.
“Have your medical staff perform a CT scan on Cassandra’s brain. We need to know if there’s any permanent damage that cannot be seen otherwise.”
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“I can let ‘em know they should go ahead now. It was somethin’ they were considering but it would have been too much stress on her when she hadn’t even woken up yet. Properly.” Zuza explained, shifting to stand from her spot on Cass’ bed. “I’ll be back in a minute, considering Cass threw one of the nurses I probably need to go actually talk to ‘em anyway.”
She stepped out of the room, lingering a moment but set to close the door behind her and give the two Taldryanites a bit of privacy.
She seemed legitimately surprised by what he had said, Anders able to feel her confusion through the force. She briefly looked down as she considered what he said for a moment. “Things went that bad where I had to remove you? And if Ood succeeded me, I’m assuming due to my injuries, that would mean I named him as your replacement…”
“What else happened? Do you know what happened to me?”
“I do not know the specifics, only that you were caught in a battle that you, yourself, chose to make a stand for. The fact you are alive is nothing short of a miracle,” Anders explained and took a seat on her side of the bed. “I have been named Combat Master since you were rendered unable to continue your duties. FIST Rajhin is stepping down from his responsibilities and the situation with the Srverian Principate appears to be escalating along with our circumstances in Trexxa. We never do like to keep things simple, do we?”
Anders afforded himself a small chuckle. He figured he might as well keep Cassandra informed of recent happenings.
“What do you plan to do now?”
“Well…I guess head back to the senate complex, see what left needs done post-transition. Being as rough as I feel, moreso how everyone probably interpreted it, I’m not surprised they replaced me. It’ll be nice to see it one more time, unless I return to the life of a Senator and I grace it’s halls frequently once again.” she said with a slight smile, the first in a bit. “I might even inquire to see if my services would be needed with Principate negotiations, try and head off that front.”
She was already rambling in her mind, trying to plot and figure things out as she ever did. As she did however, she suddenly remembered. “Oh. Well, I guess first…” she started off saying a she held the tube from her mask in front of her, which lead to her pressurised respirato. “…getting into a mobile version of this that way I actually can get out of here.”
Cassandra really needed that scan more than he had suspected. He could see the gears in her head turning as she, no doubt, began to plot in the same manner that she always did.
“The administrative building is in ruins, many dead at the hands of you and your guard. Mr. Bnar put an end to the conflict, if that is any consolation.”
Those gears screeched to a halt as he said what he said, her expression shifting and her gaze locking onto his face.
“…what did you say?”
Anders slowly turned his head towards her.
“You heard what I said.”
Her expression was completely blank, as if her mind had completely checked out.
“I will ask…one more time. What-did-you-say? Because it almost sounded as if I were the aggressor there. I would never do that. Surely it was in the defense of it.”
Anders narrowed his eyes on her. “Manners, Cassandra. You know I do not take kindly to that flippant tone.”
“And you know I don’t appreciate sideways answers. If I were still your chancellor, I would order you to tell me but that’s obviously not the case anymore, is it? Now, tell me what happened at the senate complex” she defiantly said in a tone extremely out of the normal for her. Her frustration was beginning to build, as were her emotions directly behind them. Her eyes gradually began to narrow at the Chiss. “NOW!”
Zuza had been about to re-enter but at the tone paused a step away from the door. She opted to listen and remain outside, not causing any distraction Anders could use to avoid answering the question.
There were many ways Anders could have handled that situation. He considered letting his anger rise to match hers. He thought of subduing her with the Force.
Instead…
“You and I both know that you are in no position to be making demands of me. I will give you credit where it is due, you are a politician right until the end of your reign. Much like Palpatine, you lash out when you do not get your way.”
He spoke in a soft, low voice as he rose from the bed and folded his arms behind his back. He spared her a glance.
“I have more personal matters to attend to that do not involve indulging your arrogance and temper tantrums. I wish you a pleasant recovery, Cassandra.”
Anders left the room, spotting Zuza waiting, probably twiddling her thumbs whilst she waited.
“She is all yours,” he said bluntly before making his way down the corridor.
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Zuza winced at the interaction, and had in fact already stopped twiddling her thumbs by the time Anders exited. She hesitated, looking at his back and took a step after him.
“Anders.”
Whether or not he stopped, she waited a beat before following up, “You can rely on me if you need to, don’t forgot that.”
It had been brutal even for him, when it came to those he considered allies. Something was off and for once she wouldn’t pry, but she couldn’t let him leave without at least reminding him of that.
“Anders! Please!” she called out, tears almost welling out of her eyes. But it was no use, he was gone. Her head fell forward into her hands as she completely broke.
It couldn’t be. Her nightmares, they had actually become real? No. She would never do that. There was not any good reason for her to actually do that. Was she an enemy of the Republic now? Who was it she had killed? Was it people she knew, or was close to? Senators? Other Councillors?
She knew Anders avoiding the question was meant to try and lightly let her figure it out, but she knew him far too well. She knew what his avoidance meant, especially when she had point blank asked him. He always avoided the question when it was a tough one, and especially so when it was something he knew would hurt her.
It meant…the answer was yes.
But why? Why would she ever have done that? So much emotion began racing through her mind as she started to sob, her once unbreakable and stalwart resolve…finally broken.
“Why…”
Anders didn’t respond. That was fine
She sighed, re-entering the room. Cassandra first.
Several weeks would pass, with Cass’ mental health spiraling down to near dangerous levels. Even following the surgeries that would allow her body to support a pressurized mask life support system through bone mounts, it became far more than just a physical recovery. When asked about Taldryan, or when she planned to return, no answers were given. Contact with Anders was all but cut off, with her refusing to even acknowledge any incoming communications from him.
After reading the reports of what had happened, that same animosity extended outward to the rest of the Clan including its Consul, Lord Third Ood Bnar. It was almost a consideration if she would stay within Selen and Clan Arcona. As time passed, she gradually began to open back up once again to people; primarily Zuza. The trauma was still real however, as any reminders would send her into a depressive state, showing her resolve had not recovered at all. There was also no interest at all in anything political, as she had all but severed that aspect instead focusing inward toward herself.
The only key positive, however, was that she was taking time to re-bolster her body through martial arts training and basic lightsaber sparring with others, something that seemed to keep her attention. At one point, she finally decided to take the time and roam the city a bit.
It was definitely a sight to behold. Vastly different compared to Port Kasiya, from its signage all the way to the demeanor of the citizens. The architecture as well was quite refreshing.
“I am starting to see it now at least, am I not?” she mused sarcastically with her slightly modulated voice through the metallic mask. While it had been a long time she had nagged her to go out and see things, Cassandra instead staying cooped up, she was finally beginning to open up to things once more. Even the sunlight itself was a welcome change. “Though I must ask, Celeste?”
Having been there as long as she had, she was still lacking in her overall knowledge of the Arconan territory.
“It’s Selen’s tourist capital. Most of our trade deals across the planet and the Selenian’s government’s trade entirely… well it happens there. It’s an underwater city, ocean planet so… y'know.” She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. “Not everyone’s thing but it’s a beautiful place. You can see fish on the other side of the barrier usually too.”
“That would be pleasant, actually.” she said with a soft smile. It would be nice to have some time away from the city with just her and Zuza, whom she had started to grow more attached to these last weeks. Now that she herself was no longer involved with Taldryan’s politics or inner machinations, the amount of time she had free to just…do whatever…was tremendously high. “Always had a soft spot for water cities.”
“And, I’ve also had more time to think.” she added as they continued to walk, their destination having shifted and she now followed Zuza’s lead. “I don’t want to put anymore undue burden on all of you, and I still need to clear my head.”
As they continued, she lowered her head slightly. “And…I need to atone for what I did.”
She raised her hand up and looked at it intently, as if she was staring at on object, before she closed it into a fist. “I know people say what I did was justified, but with no memory of the core details I cant help but feel I could have approached it differently. Could I have prevented all of those deaths, could I have done something different in regards to my assailant? The amount of regret and shame I feel is…”
With a sigh she shook her head. “Sorry. I know I haven’t been the best company, and me constatly focusing on this definitely isn’t good. I just don’t know what to do.”
Zuza had not particular goal, walking them in such a way to pass the nicer parts of Estle’s university district. The bustle wasn’t as extreme as the noise below indicated the market was.
“You’re fine.” Zuza responded with initially, shaking her head at the apology. “You’re not here to be pleasant company, you’re here to recover. I wasn’t expectin’ anything different. Though.. I dunno how you’d try to atone when you don’t even know excatly.. what you did. From all reports, it wasn’t you going crazy for no reason.” The short Human rubbed the back of her neck, glancing out into the distant horizon.
“For now, you need to finish recoverin’. When that comes, we can all help you get settled into whatever the next step is. I don’t think a return to politics is it though.” She added the last bit with a slight smile, and nudge of the elbow.
“Yeah…it’s always been my life though. Politics and doing stuff for the people.” she said quietly as they continued along. “But I do agree, returning to it is not the best of moves at this point. Particularly with so many wanting my head for what happened.”
They continued they way along until they reached the starport and made their way inside, and to one of Zuza’s private craft.
“As nice as it would be, I wish it were as simple as simply asking you what I should do. But I know your answer is yours and not mine, just as the opposite of it is also true that what I would answer is also not yours.”
As they started to board, she paused for a second. “I think…I might try and help another way. Possibly travel to Karufr, learn more of Taldryan’s older days. What prompted the Council to strike and nearly destroy us, what caused them to pause and let us live. Figure the similarities between then and now, and try to preserve what I can. Not as a leader, but…with the people.”
Zuza smiled, nodding to the notion.
“Even as a leader that’s… what I try to do. Because really, everythin’ we do at the top, it has bigger waves at the bottom than people remember once up there. I’m trying to make sure I don’t. Politics was about as far from a thing in my until recently so, it’s easier. I think.. you’ll enjoy just working with the people. And if not, it’s not like you’ll be lacking for people wanting your advice and smarts.” She nudged Cass with her elbow, gentle but firm enough to not be missed as an accident.
“That is true, actually. I’ll always have you at the very least.” Cassandra said with a slight laugh. “The one constant in the universe. Zuzass, as Anders called it. Or Zuzandra, or Cassuza.”
“So tell me more about this aquatic city we’re headed for.”