Two months… Two months wasn’t nearly enough time to pay for the damage he had done. To undo the hurt he caused. Yet here he was, standing outside of the jail, a free man but a prisoner of his own mind. The knot in his stomach was just as present as it was his first day in the jail. Without anything to go back to and no one in his corner, the duracrete cell was far more appealing than ‘freedom’.
It seemed someone took pity on him, however. One, Bril Teg Arga. The man who had given him a contract for his initial job of simple excavation. The pay was unbeatable and to a young Sebastian Vasca who only wanted to provide for his family. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Spending a year away from his mother and sister was a small sacrifice he was willing to make for such a sweet deal. His life was meant to be boring, mundane, repetitive until he fell in love. Lektra Kendis had made her way into his skittish heart and made her home there.
With someone else to provide for, it left him susceptible for unethical gain. The ‘gain’ which amounted to nothing. He finished worse than where he started and it nearly cost him his life. In some ways, it did. Lektra was gone. His mother and sister were disappointed in him. Both sources of income were void. The only thing he had left was regret. His motivation to make things right was waning.
After turning himself in, nothing got better. There was too much time to think about his mistakes, every turn that he made in the wrong direction. Too much time to think about her. The hollowness in his chest from seeing how her devastated and betrayed green eyes pierced his soul replayed over and over. Sleepless nights were a common theme. The food being barely edible and his lack of appetite made him lose enough weight to make his young face a bit gaunt, and his frame wiry.
Setting the myriad of thoughts aside, Sebastian looked up at the Selenian sky. It was overcast, light rain starting to hit his face, gray ball cap, and faded black hoodie. Unbothered, he lowered his head down until his gaze settled on the duracrete. He stuffed his hands into his gray tattered cargo pants while he waited on the mostly stranger to arrive.
The whirring of a speeder’s engine caused his gilded eyes to lift up just enough to see that it was his ride.
The faint mechanical whirr of Bril’s limospeeder grew louder as the vehicle approached before eventually leveling off to a gentle hum when the vehicle’s driver, an otherwise nondescript service droid save for the black cap worn on its head – a small gesture that, to him, helped to make the droid a bit more personable. Bril’s window rolled down slowly just as Sebastian made it to the side of the limo. He didn’t say anything, not yet. He just stared at him with a disappointed look; however, Bril’s expression eventually softened when he caught traces of the guilt, anger, and dejection churning beneath the surface of his mind. It was an expression not of pity, but genuine sympathy.
“Get in, Sebastian,” he stated curtly, averting his gaze to fix his distant gaze at the road ahead that glistened in the limospeeder’s headlights.
Once Sebastian shut the door, the driver pulled away at a steady pace. Bril remained silent.
Obedient to Bril’s command, Sebastian entered the vehicle and sat down in a seat adjacent to Bril. Were it not for the endless churning in his gut, Sebastian may have been enamored with the inside of the limospeeder. He had never ridden in one before. Never thought he would. Either way, the fancy interior lost its appeal to him as he settled in his seat, skipping the safety belt.
He hunched forward and buried his face into his hands, fingers pushing the billed cap up, revealing his longer than usual curly locks.
Silence remained for a few moments after, the human not budging from his position.
“I’m… sorry,” he murmured finally, voice barely above a whisper. “You shoulda just left me.”
Bril gave Sebastian one long, sidelong glance before shaking his head. “You can do more good out here, helping me clean up some of the mess you helped make,” he replied with a distinct matter-of-factness to his tone that came off colder than he’d intended.
A pregnant pause suggested he was choosing his words more carefully, now. “Besides, I can sense that your mind is punishing you plenty already.”
A sigh.
“I read the report detailing your arrest. What and whom you were involved with. How’d you go and get mixed up with someone like that, Sebastian?”
The opportunity for redemption felt like a far cry, an impossibility. He felt like he was too far gone to help anything or anyone. Even if he were to, somehow, save the galaxy from immanent destruction, Lektra would never forgive him. His mother and sister would still despise him. Despite these prevailing thoughts, it was an opportunity to make things right. It wouldn’t undo the damage but it was something.
Normally, being read by a stranger was unnerving but Aurelius desensitized him. The older man poked and prodded his psyche until he was a willing participant in the evil man’s activities. The difference now was Bril seemed genuinely empathetic.
When it came time to answer the heavy question the Zabrak shot his way, he finally sat back in his seat, head down and arms folded over his body.
A few moments of silence went by as he searched his memory. Pain welled in his chest as he searched for an answer. “I… I dunno, man.”
It was a lie. But the truth was embarrassing. He knew it was his greed for gain, his desire to make sure his mother, sister, and girlfriend were no longer in want. They could live the lives they wanted without the worry of when they’d have their next meal or if they would have a place to lay their head the next day.
“I can feel that you’re going through a lot right now,” Bril replied, moving a hand to grip Sebastian’s shoulder. “I know what it’s like to let the people you care about down, and definitely what it’s like to fear doing so again. But this doesn’t have to define you. It will if you let it, but If there’s one thing this galaxy has shown us, it’s that people who’ve done far worse than you can make up for their mistakes.”
Bril offered an encouraging nod while tapping his own temple with his index finger. “And I’ve been known to be a pretty good judge of character, so I wouldn’t be giving you the opportunity to show the people you love that you can do better if I didn’t think you could make good on it. The question you need to ask yourself is if you really want to do that.”
Sebastian sat in silence again and pondered the man’s words. It wasn’t unlike Aurelius’s initial approach to him. Gentle, understanding, empathetic. The difference now was there wasn’t a roundabout way of fixing the problems in his life. No obscure meetings or esoteric answers. No promise of credits. No promise that things would get better. By contrast to his previous mentor, Bril was being genuine.
“I do wanna do that,” Seb said finally. “Just ain’t sure I got any fight in me left to do it.” His honey-colored eyes finally lifted to meet Bril’s. Though he looked tired and drained with lingering doubts, there was a flicker of hope that he may be able to turn things around.
As Bril held Sebastian’s gaze, a subtle intensity resonated from him in the Force. Could his protégé feel it, he wondered?
“You didn’t have to get in,” he said. “You could have walked back into the life that got you here in the first place, but you didn’t.
"That tells me that you have plenty of fight left in you.”
The subtle intensity that radiated off of Bril certainly reached Sebastian. There was a quiet ‘woah’ that left his lips after he sensed it, his flicker of hope turning into a flame within.
“Yah, you right,” he chuffed, a half smile breaching his lips. Turning away from Bril’s gaze, he started to think about something new. “I gave up Aurelius’ right-hand guy–Absalom and I heard rumors ‘bout the Gilded bein’ chased out or somethin’.”
The rumors were about Lektra, that much he was aware of but he refused to give her up to anyone. Not even with the man next to him who obviously had good intentions.
“Well, that’s good to hear,” Bril replied, “But what of Aurelius himself? And does he know that you informed on his number two?”
“I dunno,” Sebastian said, “He can be anywhere… and he might know about me. He might not. I ain’t really talk to no one in there.”
“Better safe than sorry,” he said, tapping the screen on his handheld datapad, “I’ve secured a safehouse for you to live until things with Aurelius blow over. It likely goes without saying but just so we’re clear, you can’t tell anyone that you’re staying here. If Aurelius is as well-connected as you suggest, then we can’t take any chances.”
The speeder took them down a winding path leading into the Ussunian countryside, driving for another ten minutes until a nondescript building flanked by large bushes of wild vegetation. White paint peeled off of its walls, providing glimpses of the brown clay comprising the warehouse’s foundation. The path leading up to its weathered door was barely visible.
“This is it,” he said while opening his door, “Come on.”
Sebastian nodded at Bril’s warning. It made perfect sense. Part of the reason he turned himself in was to escape the man’s grasp. Now that he was out, he felt more than exposed. The only comfort he had was that Aurelius wasn’t all-knowing even though, at times, it felt like he was.
The human stepped outside of the vehicle and took in his surroundings. Though it was unimpressive, he wasn’t going to complain. It was a place to lay his head until things blew over.
He took one glance up at the overcast sky and let out a small chuff. It seemed his best and worst days were always rainy.
*…But it’s raining outside,” she said softly before clearing her throat and raising her voice to a normal volume. “You’ll get wet.”
“Ah, it’s no big d–” A big and bright lightning bolt struck just outside of the doors of the cafe. Shortly after there was thunder so loud that it rattled the entire establishment. The funny thing to him was if he was any faster or didn’t slow down when she said something, he could have been Human barbecue and very dead.
Frazzled from the moment, he retreated to where the nearest safety zone was. With her. No one came in or out, but the only other option was to sit alone. He reapproached her table and lowered his coffee to his side, and then pointed to the seat across from her with the hand that was holding his still wet jacket. “Can I sit?”
“….Go ahead,” she said quietly.*
The memory made his heart swell. Maybe, someday, things would actually be okay again. But a louder voice in his head reminded him that he ruined the best thing this life had given him, leaving his heart in the pit of his stomach again. Doing his best to seem okay, he followed his Zabrak friend into the aged building.
Feelings of bittersweet longing breached the phrenic divide – the Force provided Bril with a brief glimpse of the torrent of emotions running through Sebastian’s mind. A hand found its place on the man’s shoulder. “I know it’s a lot to take in,” he commented, “but things will get better.”
Bril approached the safehouse door and held his eye up to the small retinal scanner in the center of the panel. A flash of green light followed by a buzzing sound signaled a successful match just before the metal door slid open. Inside, the building was clean, with a neatly organized couch, chairs, and a holotable in the main living area; the neatness of the interior stood in such contrast to the ramshackle appearance of its exterior that it seemed deliberate.
“Cooling chamber is fully stocked with food and drinks,” he said, “Bedroom and refresher are both to your left.”
After that, Bril pulled. a wristlink communicator from his belt. “Use this in case of emergencies. It connects to a closed channel that your security detail and I have access to.”
Once they were inside, Sebastian looked around, surprised by the interior’s neat appearance. Even if it was the same on the inside, it wouldn’t be a bother to him. He was at the mercy of Bril’s kindness, anyway.
He took off his shoes, setting them next to the entrance and trotted behind the Zabrak. The tour was brief and plenty of information that he needed to get by.
When Bril presented the watch, he accepted it, a little stunned by the information. “…Security detail?” While he wasn’t the best fighter the galaxy had ever seen, he was more than capable after Aurelius’s rigorous training.
“I ain’t allowed to contact no one else?” He asked as he put on the device. He knew Lektra and his mom’s comm by heart. And though he would avoid the former (he knew she hated him through and through) the latter was ideal. He needed to apologize. Again. He put his mother in a position where she was going to struggle to make ends meet. Again.
“For the time being, no,” said the zabrak sternly, yet not without wearing a sympathetic expression on his face. He could feel the man’s desires to right his wrongs, to reach out to those he loved. “Getting out of lockup so quickly is likely to arouse suspicion in your former associates, but once I’m sure there’s no one looking for you, the security measures will relax a bit.
"But if it’s alright with you, I can relay a message to someone on your behalf. Who did you have in mind?”
Though the reasoning was sound, he hated the thought of wasting away, not being able to work toward righting his wrongs. But Bril was swift with a solution. One that brought him relief and dread.
“Uh, yeah–well, two actually,” he replied as he scratched his goatee. The human fell quiet and began to type up two separate messages on the watch. The first read:
Hey, ma, I'm ok and I'm out of prison. I'm gonna fix this soon. I love you. Tell Hibi I miss and love her too.
The second read:
Hey, it's Seb. I know I'm probably the last person you wanna hear from, but I'm out now and I'm gonna make this right. I just need time. I hope you can give me another chance.
He sent both messages to Bril with the respective contact information attached. “That’s it for now. Just, uh, lemme know if you hear back.”
Upon reading the messages, Bril nodded. “I can do that, though it’ll be better if I meet with them – more personal that way. For now, just try to relax. Easier said than done, I know; but the sooner you do, the better off you’ll be.
"Do you have any questions for me?”
“No. No questions. My ma is better reached on comms. She’s in Corellia. And… it may be hard tracking down my girlf—my ex,” he said, voice tapering off at the end. The realization was still setting in. Surely it would be okay with more time.
“The Core Worlds, huh?” he said upon hearing his mother was living on Corellia, “Is that where you’re from originally? If so, you’re a long way from home, Sebastian.
"As for your ex, if you have any of her belongings that she’s held in the last month or so, then I’ll be able to find her pretty easily.”
“Yeah… I am,” he said quietly, answering both questions along with his statement. “And nah. Nothin’ in the last month.” He still possessed the necklace she gave back to him after their fall out but it had been too long. Maybe he’d be able to give it back to her someday.
“I’ll just have to find another way to get in touch with her, then. But that can wait,” Bril pulled a small audio recorder from his waistband and held it aloft using the Force. “You’re going to tell me everything you know about Aurelius’ operation. Spare no details.”
“Right,” Seb said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It uh, ain’t gonna be quick so you might wanna sit.”
The young man sat down in the living area, his honey colored eyes landing on the audio recorder. He knew his freedom was hanging in the balance.
“Well, uh… he ran a kinda empire… he owned shops in lower Korda and businesses in the upper part. Most were a cover for the money he got from other… illegal things. He had a second in command but he wanted me to take his place. I was willin’, at first but I…” His lips twisted to one side as he stroked the hairs on his chin. “I know it ain’t for me no more. Anyway, he was like everywhere and no where at the same time. Meetin’ after meetin’, party after party. Big shots, politcal officials and allat. Anyone he coulda got over on. I was for it cause I ain’t have much growin’ up and it meant I got more in the end. More to take care of my family.”
He fell quiet, recalling the journey that got him where he was. He had to focus on moving forward to make things better.
Bril tilted his head. “You’re speaking about him in the past tense. Is his operation no more? Or did he die?” he asked, doing his best not to sound as excited as he was, but it showed on his face clear as day – the slight panic and embarrassment at the possibility of him having missed such a crucial detail. He produced a datapad from his pack and started going through his notes quickly and quietly while awaiting Sebastian’s response.
“Nah, he ain’t dead,” Seb said firmly with resolve. “But rumors are swarmin’ that the Gilded Hand ain’t really gonna be a problem no more. Somethin’ bout a vigilante, I dunno.”
“A vigilante?” he repeated, as if he were trying to convince himself that that was what Sebastian had actually said, “You mean like in those popular holofilms?”
“I… I guess, well, I mean, yeah?” The young human didn’t quite know if there was anything else to compare to. “Blokes that came in from the streets talk about it. But it’s just rumors…”
“That seems … irresponsible,” he replied, “but also cool. Tell me about these rumors you’ve heard. In my experience, even tall tales carry a bit of truth. It just takes a little work to find it.”
“Yeah,” he agreed quietly with a half smirk. “I just heard that they’re fast like lightnin’ and hard hittin’. No one was really able to really pin down what they wear or look like.”
As Sebastian spoke, Bril opened himself up to the Force, attuning his ears to the ceaseless drumbeat thrumming in the far reaches of his conscious mind. But when he did so, the rhythm didn’t change in any notable way. It offered him no insight into what exactly Sebastian was feeling or what the intentions behind his words were; so, either the Force didn’t want Bril to know or Sebastian was a good liar – both possibilities concerned him for different reasons. Bril remained silent to contemplate this. Then, he narrowed his eyes at Sebastian.
“And that’s all you know? Nothing else I could use to learn more about this … vigilante and their connection to all this?”
“No, nothin’,” he said, gilded gaze shifting to the ground. “If I knew more, I’d let you know. Aurelius is dang'rous on the streets and I… I wanna make sure he don’t hurt no one else.”
Bril stared at him, long and hard. He stared until the silence lingering in the air felt like it was going to crush them both.
“Okay, I believe you,” he finally said. Then, he glided his hands down his tunic to smooth out some of the wrinkles. “Well, you should make yourself at home. You’ll be spending a lot of time here until I’m confident that no holdovers from Aurelius’ operation are looking for you. If you need anything, you can use this to get into contact with me,” Bril tossed him an encrypted comlink that only had his comm code in it.
Bril stepped forward and shook Sebastian’s hand, gripping it tightly so he could look the man square in the face. “Remember, everything’s going to be alright, and you’re going to turn this all around.”
He patted him on the shoulder one final time before turning to make his exit, leaving Sebastian to contemplate his situation and how he wanted to move forward with his life – and the work he’d have to do to make up for his mistakes.