Nar Shaddaa

It was a weird feeling carrying a body into the Jedi Compound, but it didn't feel right to bring her back on a stretcher so carry her he did, in his arms like one might a loved one. Wrapped in a few sheets from the Three Drinks, O'nera Aeser wasn't on display but it was pretty obvious what his burden was.

As he made his way from the borrowed speeder towards the entrance, he looked around, he was here but he didn't know where to take her.

Arali meets Zane at the entrance, nearly done with the last of her business at the enclave. Many duties here. This one is always the worst. She never knew O'nera, but she was still family.

"Thank you, Zane. I have... a place for her set up." She leads him inside. The garden isn't in its usual splendor, but it's still one of the most peaceful, beautiful places on the planet. Next to the meditation pool, a coffin lies ready for her. A refrigerated transport unit, until they decide where to put her to rest. Something most enclaves throughout the galaxy keep on hand. She looks to Zane; he knows what to do.

Black Hat didn't answer, merely gave the plum Twi'lek a nod as he followed her inside. Silently pleased that she didn't try to help him, this was his weight to carry, and he needed to remember every step of this walk. After all, he and Hood Girl, might not have been close friends, but when he had asked for help she had agreed without hesitation. Her death was his responsibility.

"Should anyone else be here?" Z asked softly as he entered the garden. Waiting a few moments for Arali's answer before he started to make his way to the coffin.

"Would that we had the luxury," Arali says grimly, matching pace at Zane's side. "Events have pulled us... in many directions. Which leaves matters... as they are. Her remains will be returned to the temple for burial."

Zane nodded before continuing on his way, his steps almost measured. When he arrived at the coffin Zane would gently set the woman to rest, taking a few moments to open the sheets up so one could see her face, there were no traces of pain on O'nera's features only peace.

It was fairly obvious that he was no longer paying attention to Arali as he sat beside the coffin on his knees observing the form of the dead woman. After a few moments of stillness Z finally moved, reaching into his pocket to produce a flask and tuck it beside the body. She probably wouldn't like it, but it somehow seemed fitting to leave her with the item he had when they first met. Reaching a hand up to pat the pocket where a lock of her hair rested in a handkerchief, he watched her in silence for a few more moments before reaching a hand forward to caress the dead woman's cheek.

"I'm sorry Hood Girl, I failed... Next time I go off to save the galaxy it will have to be alone." Dipping down he offered a chaste kiss on O'nera's forward before pulling away, she wouldn't of liked that either. Rising to his feet, Zane brushed off his knees, giving the body one last look. "Sleep in peace O'nera."

Taking a step back he turned to face Arali, there was sadness in his eyes, but no tears. "I leave her in your care."

Arali nods solemnly, but she has her own responsibilities to the dead.

She takes the lightsaber from her belt, disconnects the power relay, and places it in her hands, against her chest.

"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.

"Welcome home, sister." With that, she seals the coffin. More family she never knew going to the grave. A few taps in the console, and the upper section of the cover goes clear, so that O'nera can be seen, and her name appears across a display at the side.

Only then does she turn to face Zane. "She will be taken care of. Again, thank you."

Zane stepped back and watched as Arali saw to her own responsibilities. He really didn't put much stock in all this Jedi stuff, but O'nera had been a knight, and this was their way.

When the plum Twi'lek was done, he'd move his eyes from the coffin to Arali and offer her a soft smile. "No thanks are necessary, it's the least I could do." He offered smoothly.

"Do we just leave her here?" He asked after a small pause.

"I will be here. For a time," she answers. "Then, there will be others. The enclave is structurally sound, for the moment. But we... they will probably have to relocate." She's not really part of the enclave anymore, is she?

"There will be people rotating throughout the day. She will not be alone."

"Good." He replied softly, giving the coffin one last look. "Hopefully you will find someplace nice for her."

He turned his eyes once more towards Arali. "I'm sorry things went the way they did last night... It must of been hard on you all in the comms room. Vera losing her arm and everything else."

"No, Zane... don't."

The twi'lek shakes her head, "What we went through, it was... the least of what happened, and we both know it." She knows why Zane put her there. It was the tactically sound move, too, but that's the excuse, not the reason.

"I've been to war before. We accomplished the mission, and that's the important part. The next step is always picking up the pieces, which is the price we knew we'd have to pay."

Zane smirked, the cute little plum knew him far too well, she had probably seen through him since the beginning. Not that either of them would say his reasons out loud. "I can hardly keep anything from you, can I?" He replied with a chuckle.

"I know all about picking up the pieces Arali, I've done it more then once, and I knew the potential prices I'd have to pay. You're right I, we, were all prepared for this. It doesn't make me feel any better though." He ended with another soft chuckle.

He looked at Arali, his eyes meeting hers. "Because at the end of the day, all of you were my responsibility, whatever the reasons you came. It was because I asked it of you. This is my weight to bear and I will do so gladly. You don't have to."

"Doesn't work like that, old friend," she looks to O'nera.

"Every one of us was there because we chose to be. Your raid drew on several other people's investigations on the same project. If you hadn't brought it all together, hadn't led the charge, someone else would have. It may have gone better. It may have gone worse. You did as well as anyone can ask. The rest... is never easy."

She plucks a speck of dust that fell on the coffin away, "And O'nera knew it, too, and chose to take that risk."

"Stubborn plum." He grumbled in response, his eyes tracking back towards the coffin.

"Thank you though. I know all that, but sometimes it's hard to convince myself. I've lost a lot of people over the years, some I was closer to then others." He smirked and chuckled dryly. "It never gets easier, always harder, or well that's how it seems to me."

"Now, now. You need to brood, we can hit a bar later. On me. This place..." she looks around. The garden. The damaged painting of hers she put back up. Her lily.

"This place was dear to us. A place of balance. Peace. Now, they're probably going to level the whole compound as structurally unsound, this place included. Didn't want to leave on this note..."

"That I can understand." He looked from the coffin to the grounds around them. "This place is nice, peaceful, it doesn't quite seem to fit on Nar Shaddaa. Not like that's a bad thing though. This moon needs a place like this."

He looked her way. "Do you think they'll rebuild?"

"Probably. Nar Shaddaa is... more important than the Order cares to admit, and I don't think the Hutts will kick us off. I don't know if it will be on this spot, or somewhere else, but... the enclave I spent the last ten years in is... it's almost gone."

She laughs, but there's little humor in it. "I finally decide to leave, and everything that makes this place home start going away. The places burn. The people scatter, or... worse." Too many missing friends right now.

Honestly there wasn't much Z could say to that, it was true for him as well In many ways. "I think that in many ways it's a indication that its time to move on. Though I wish it had happened in a more pleasant way."

He looked her way and smiled softly. "Scattered though we may be, I'll always be around if you need me Arali. I may be something of a tattered old suit, but I have a few more dances left in me."

"I've seen your closet, old man. You'll never be in want of a nice suit, unless you start putting on weight."

She gets to her feet with a noise she should not be making at her age and hugs Zane, "But I'll miss being able to call you up for drinks over a game of pazaak, as you cheat me out of my money," she jokes; just part of the game. She gets up on her tiptoes to give Zane a chaste peck on the cheek, "Take care of yourself, and I hope you find some peace out there; you've earned it."

"I don't think there is much chance of that happening, unless you are around to put some of that cooking of yours in my stomach."

The hug was returned, perhaps a little tighter then she been expecting. "I'll miss you two, even the times you go full nerd on me and start talking about holovids from your childhood." He smiled as she kissed his cheek, and faster then most could react, he had her in a dip. His lips closing in to give her a light peck on the nose.

"I always take, care of myself Arali." He replied simply as he set her back on her feet. "As for peace, perhaps someday. I still think I'm a bit in the red on that account though."

Arali lets out an adorable little squeak as Zane goes for the dip, and bursts into a giggle fit when she's back on her feet.

"Hey, now; you have enough of my cooking, and you'll be in the best shape of your life," she sasses, a hand on her hips.

"I think I've brought you enough broken birds in need of dancing lessons to put you back in the black. See? I'm helping." She gives him a playful wink.

"You're probably right... My mother would praise you on the sheer amount of vegetables you fit in." He chuckled. "I blame you for the fact I eat more greens then meats these days."

"Perhaps you are, though I recall a lot of days with sore feet along the way." He paused a moment his expression turning slightly serious. "On the topic of broken birds though, how is the one I brought you doing?"

"But another service I provide," Arali offers an open gesture at the compliment, though at the mention of Asra, she smiles a telling smile.

"Things look... hopeful, in more ways than one." It's not hard to tell she's taken.

He chuckled at her comment, his expression changing to a warm smile as Arali talked of Luth. "Good... She needs someone to be close to right now, and that's not something I can provide. In ways we are far too similar to be good for each other, and that doesn't take into account that she is into women."

"I wish you two well, she needs some time and some healing. I think that's something you are well suited to provide."'

Arali considers, for a time, and it's clear she has some ideas in mind for the future, but it's far too early to give them voice.

"But what about you? You and Naveera looked so natural together. I think you've found someone who could accept you; the real you."

He raised a eyebrow quietly. "I seem to recall you trying to flee shortly after you tried to introduce us." Zane replied teasingly. "I have considered it though, but there will be some hurdles."

He loved Naveera of course, it was just... He might love another more. "Not the least of which is that she deserves better then me."