SWTOR - Ripple Effect

Rating: T for Teen (for now)

Disclaimer: I own nada! Inle'rah is my Sith Sorcerer, but all belongs to SW!

SPOILERS! for the 'Knights of the Eternal Throne' and 'Crisis on Umbara' patch - you've been warned!

AN: This patch hit me hard, so I had to do some writing therapy to work through it. Not sure this will have enough time or effort to fully flesh out, but I wanted to get a bit started.

Come home.
Who knew such a simple phrase could bring so much pain.
Theron had never really known what it meant to have a home. Raised by Jedi and later working for the Republic SIS, he had never stayed in one place long enough to develop lasting attachments. It was people who made a home.
Now 'home' meant her...
And he had burned it all down in the wreckage of a speeding train.
Misery threatened to close his throat as surely as if she had somehow Force choked him from afar.
Come home.
The words echoed in his mind, long after the holo of her cherished image had faded. They pounded at his resolve until he sat on his hands to keep them from reaching for the shuttle controls.
I can't turn back now.
Theron buried the anguished scream deep in his chest, ever mindful of the watchers looking for flaws in his disguise.
If he crumbled, it would all be for nothing. He had to stay the course to the end and hope that, somehow, she would forgive him.
Until then, the way the light died in her golden eyes at his betrayal would haunt his nightmares.
Maybe it would be better if she didn't forgive me...At least then it would be over quickly...
I am so sorry, Love.

"May we speak?"
Lana looked up from the report she had been staring at blankly for an hour. It took her a moment to switch gears and recognize the man waiting expectantly. "Arcann? I'm sorry, I was..."
"Looking for Shan?"
The events on Umbara still stung, like the blaster bolt to the chest she had taken that horrible day. "Yes. Always," she said with a set jaw. "What did you want to talk about?"
The former emperor of Zakuul looked uncomfortable, flicking a glance to the lone figure at the far side of the command center.
Following his gaze, Lana guessed his meaning. "She doesn't sleep. Maybe an hour or two here and there, but no, she hasn't left."
"It has been well over a week, I am growing concerned for her...health."
The irony of his statement was not lost on the Sith and she couldn't help the quirk of a smile.
"How far you've come," she muttered. "Not long ago you were trying to kill her yourself."
Arcann grimaced at the reminder. "True. But that feels like a lifetime ago."
"A lot of things happened a lifetime ago." Lana's yellow eyes tracked across the room to the silent figure of their Commander. "I can only imagine how hard it must be for her. The guilt she must feel at not having seen the signs."
"None of us did."
"No." Lana sighed, drowning in a bone deep exhaustion that seemed ready to swallow her between one blink and the next. "She loved him."
"I know," he said quietly, finally drawing her full attention.
Understanding sparked in the back of her tired mind. "Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't realize you-"
The former emperor snapped his sharp gaze back to Lana. "I will be whatever she needs of me, but I know my place."
"I respect that. With everything going on, the last thing the Commander needs is more complications."
"Agreed."
"Still, I can't say I blame you. She has a...magnetism that goes far beyond the Force; a strength of character we need in such dark times. I like to imagine what the Empire could have become if she had chosen the throne instead of abdicating to Acina. I think we would have been much better off."
"All the more reason Shan's treachery makes little sense."
"I agree, but he has covered his tracks too well. I can't find any evidence that he was lying about wanting to destroy the Alliance."
"Do you believe that he truly meant it?"
Lana frowned. "At this point I'm open to all possibilities, but Inle...she says no. I was unconscious for most of their conversation, but she said Theron didn't sound like himself. She believes that he was under duress or being controlled somehow, but I can't find anything to support the hypothesis."
"Her faith is strong."
"Her instincts tend to be very good. She had faith in you, and here you are. She had faith that an alliance could work between Imperial and Republic troops, and here we all are."
Arcann nodded, his attention wandering back to the Commander, still standing vigil at the edge of the observation deck.
"Here we all are."

Arcann paused, regarding the slumped figure carefully. "Commander?"
Her normally luminous golden eyes were flat and unfocused as she struggled to look up at him.
"Are you...what are you doing here?"
"I hate my room," she mumbled.
His throat tightened at the desolate pitch to her voice. "Your room?" he prompted gently.
"It's...his stuff is still there."
Rage bloomed anew at the thought of Theron Shan. "He will pay for what he did, I swear it."
Inle slid downward against the wall, exhaustion finally sapping the last of her strength. Her pain bled through the Force and lodged like broken glass in Arcann's heart.
Without a thought, he reached out and scooped her up from the floor. She weighed almost nothing, clearly having eaten as poorly as she had slept over the last few weeks.
It was a testament to her condition that she didn't even try to fight him.
Glancing up and down the corridor, the former emperor knew it was important for Alliance morale to keep up a strong appearance. He couldn't march through the base carrying the Commander like a child.
Making a decision, he swept through the deserted exterior halls, careful to avoid soldiers and other personnel as they went about their business.
Arriving in front of Beniko's quarters, Arcann glanced down at the woman cradled to his chest. She had finally lost her battle against sleep and snuggled into the warmth of his arms.
If only...
He ignored the burning behind his eyes as he tapped the glowing call button on the access panel.
A tense minute passed before the disheveled Sith finally opened the door. "What-"
Arcann shouldered past her into the cramped stone room. "I found her in the South corridor."
"You-what? Kriff, she was supposed to be sleeping! I had Dr. Oggurobb hit her with enough sedatives to fell a rancor."
"You might need enough for two," he muttered.
"Set her down on the bed. Force knows I won't be sleeping more tonight. Did anyone see you?"
"She...they shouldn't see her like this."
"No, rumors are bad enough as it is." Scrubbing at her face to wake up, Lana sighed. "We have to do something."
"Short of finding Shan and dragging him back here in chains, I don't know what we can do."
They shared a moment of silence, watching the slow rise and fall of their leader's chest.
"She needs something to focus on: a mission, something to get her out of here and away from...all this."
"What do you suggest?"
"There...there are some reports of caravans of adegan crystals being raided, the last was deep in the Outer Rim."
"Wasn't that what Shan was stealing on Umbara?"
"Yes, but I doubt he's involved. The heists were smaller and more scattered. Making it seem like we're still investigating Theron's disappearance will be the only way she'll agree to go."
Arcann nodded. "When do you leave?"
"I can't."
"What?"
"I'm needed here," Lana said. "There are too many variables, I need to be where I can keep an eye on them all."
"She cannot go alone-"
"She won't be, you'll be there."
The former emperor went still. "You cannot be serious."
"I am," the blonde Sith insisted. "The thefts were only a short distance from Zakuul and your knowledge of the area would be invaluable. I was going to ask you anyway, but this...this is an opportunity that we can't squander."
"You do realize that this will look like I am trying to-"
"I will make sure that everyone knows that this is an official mission and you aren't reverting back to your tyrannical ways."
"I appreciate that," he said dryly.
"Look, to be honest, you don't do me much good here. Too many people still don't trust you. I do, and I know that you care for-"
The forbidding look he shot her made Lana pause.
"I know you'll take good care of her," she amended. "Just...get her free of all this, even if it's just for a few days. I can keep the Alliance together while you're gone."
"She won't thank you when she figures it out."
"Hopefully, she won't have to." Lana sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You should get some sleep yourself, I'll have the shuttle prepped and ready for you to leave at dawn."
"What of the Commander?"
"I'll keep an eye on her for tonight."
"Good."
"Thank you for bringing her here, though I'm surprised you didn't take her to your own quarters. They're on the South side are they not? That would have been closer."
Lana watched the former emperor shift his weight uneasily. "That would have been inappropriate."
"See?" The Sith couldn't help the tiny smile that pulled at her lips. "You are a good man, after all. Pity it took so long to get you there."
"Don't let that get out, I have a reputation as a monster to maintain," he grumbled in reply.
"They won't hear it from me."
Arcann nodded and paused at the door, turning to speak over his shoulder: "You should have Shan's things packed up. Their presence was what sent her to walk the halls."
"I'll work on that too. As unhappy as she is now, Inle still believes in him. She may get defensive once she is through the shock. I'll say that we did it to search his things for clues to his whereabouts."
"Good."
"And Arcann?"
"Yes?"
"Remember: she is grieving. She is still in denial right now, but that will pass and she will lash out. Try not to be too hard on her, even if she provokes you."
"I have battled her before, as you recall."
"Yes, but this will be different. For both of you."
Arcann shifted his gaze to the sleeping woman. "Yes, it will be different."

AN: I redeemed Arcann on Inle's play-through, but I still like him as the bad-boy. Something about the touch of danger makes everything more exciting!