Remembrance (Vis Family Conclusion)

Sreeya

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OOC: 30 years into the future


She could hear the sea from here, the water splashing against the rocks and the taste of salt in the wind. She had come here quite often even as a child, and she had a lot of anger in her heart back then. There had been a lot of questions, the sense of betrayal, the feeling of abandonment. Her uncle Chaz had remained with her, as had Valin and other family friends. It hadn’t been till months later that the truth was revealed, and even then she had spent well over a year angry at her parents.

She couldn’t help but smile at the memory of her own stubbornness, and she knew it ran strongly in her family. Throughout the years, she kept the truth about her parents a secret. She had lived to see her parents become immortalized and put into history books. Tales of their deeds were taught to children all around the galaxy, and not just within Jedi or Sith teachings. Statues had been erected and there had been celebrations for the end of the Sith regime.

Through it all, Shae and Corvo Vis had been alive and away from it all. Ciri Vis played her role well and accepted the sympathies and condolences on losing her parents when she was but a child. It had been heartbreaking to keep their truth a secret, but they were there for her through it all, always giving her guidance when she sought it. Though things were never the same again and they had adopted new identities, they had been the happiest she had ever seen them.

The love her parents had shared was one of legends, and it was something that still left her unable to comprehend the complexities and mysteries of it. They could live in squalor, but they would persevere as long as they had one another. It was that love that convinced her she came from the best support system she could ever have. She forgave their past, forgave their decisions. As she grew older, she found purpose and meaning behind everything they did and grew to admire them both in ways she never had before.

Today was the first time she had returned here in over thirty years. Because today was the first time Shae and Corvo would truly be laid to rest under the graves that held their names. They had long epitaphs of their deeds, and words she knew they wouldn’t care too much about. Her father, especially, was always a very simple man.

Sorrow pulsated in her chest, and even being almost 40 years old she couldn’t help but feel like a little girl. Her parents had died together in the most poetic way imaginable, entangled in one another’s arms and at peace. They were not in the war anymore, and they had lived a happy life secluded away from a galaxy that had constantly sought to use their skills for its benefits. They had lived out their days loving one another and making a life of their own.

Ciri wiped a tear from her cheek, managing a small smile at all the memories. Strands of silver accompanied her dark hair nowadays. She had risen through the ranks of the Jedi, and she had taken up the title of Grand Master. Her name carried weight all across the galaxy, though for an entirely different reason than her parents.

After the war ended, she had worked hard to disband the Jedi as a militaristic Order. They had returned to the old ways of peace, and the lure to the Dark side was mitigated. The Jedi had returned to being enforcers and harbingers of peace instead of being launched into battles and wars. Academies were erected and it was the age of learning and wisdom. Ciri had the same fire in her that her parents did, but she had channeled that to guide the Jedi out of war.

As she stood there on the island and looked at the graves, she sighed. She had the ashes in her hands and she couldn’t bring herself to step forward. Though she had been ‘coping’ with their deaths for many decades, this was the first time it was true. She would suffer this loss largely alone, the whole galaxy having believed Corvo and Shae Vis to be dead a long time ago.
 

Insalius

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Jet had already done his mourning, careful to stand far enough away so that Ciri would have all the time she needed. He had known Corvo was still alive after the fall of the Emperor's ship thanks to the commlink he had given the man, its signal still strong and receiving. If it had been destroyed back then it wouldn't have responded as such. it had taken some time to get back into contact with the man, understandable since the couple had wanted to leave the galactic stage and live in peace, and one of the only responses the Elensalite ever received was a request to look after Ciri. Once he'd gotten a new arm from his home planet and had gotten used to it, the former Dark Honor Guard stowed his armor away and walked the world without a mask to become one of the young lady's companions and bodyguards. His loyalty never wavered and he did everything he could to ensure a hair was never harmed on her head.

His home planet, oddly enough, had become the place that the self-exiled of the Empire had decided to settle after their successful loss at Corellia. Former Grand Admiral DuValle still had a sizeable navy that he had never actually used in that final fight, instead sending it out to pick up those afraid of persecution by the Jedi and the new Republic as well as any credits and supplies that they could carry. Wanting only peace after the fighting, the ships brought their cargo and passengers to Myrhen where they settled in the ruins to live out their days. Getting rid of the Imperial name, Kurtis instead called their force the Hyperion Protectorate and vowed to only defend this world from those that would cause it harm, such as pirates and the like. The last Jet had heard of the man he had set up an academy to the military arts, ranging from strategy to ship design, all to pass down his knowledge to the next generations and to make sure the galaxy knew of its past so that it could do its best not to repeat it.

He saw Ciri hesitate with the ashes, pondering if he should stay where he was or if he should go to her. In the grand scheme of things he had only recently joined Corvo's group of companions before that climactic battle over Jakku, yet he had also resolved to do everything he could for the only family in the galaxy he truly respected. Feeling that resolve again he stepped forward, slowly and loudly so that he wouldn't surprise her. As highly skilled as she was, though, he doubted that anything could truly startle the younger woman short of a Star Destroyer threatening to ram them on the planet's surface. Once he was close enough he put a metallic hand on her soldiers, eyes dimly lit as he regarded her gently.

I know it is a hard thing to do. Loss of this kind, even after being apart for years, is still a pain the heart struggles to handle. I've seen it with my own people, just as I've seen it on countless other worlds. That your parents were heroes or renowned the galaxy over doesn't help the pain, but their love for you is something I know that will help." Just as he had done with Corvo all those years ago, Jet began to project those old emotions towards the woman. It had been what had made him leave the Empire and serve the Vis family, that beautiful Humanity that he had been searching for since he could even remember. It was just a small thing, a stream of emotional memory, but it was of the most powerful that he had accidentally taken from Shae and Corvo that day on Korriban. The memory of the two of them holding their newborn daughter Ciri, an absolute love that had been stronger than anything else Jet had ever come across. He hoped the feelings would help soothe her loss, to allow her to do what she needed herself to do.
 

Sreeya

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As Jet rested his hands on her shoulders, she had to smile. It was nice to have someone around that had been there since the days of the war. Most of the people she knew had passed. Chaz was still there, but he was an old man that grew to be more unsocial than ever. He had spent most of his life helping raise Ciri, and he had been her rock throughout that entire time. News of Corvo’s death had caused him to grow silent and he hadn’t spoken in days. He wouldn’t even come to bury his oldest friend’s ashes. Ciri knew it was because he needed to grieve in his own way.

“I think they went exactly how they would have wanted to,” Ciri looked down at the ashes, “They spent the rest of their days with one another…just like they always envisioned it. It had been like that even when they were on opposite sides of the war. He loved her before he even knew what that was,” She chuckled sadly to herself, “And my mother… she was the most defiant woman I’ve ever met. People have told me my whole life I was stubborn. I was nothing compared to Shae Vis. It took someone like her to set my father straight.”

Ciri spoke as she began to dig up the graves to bury the urns, “No matter how much they fought…even when my mother disappeared...He never learned how to go on without her. They were made for one another. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect ending for them. They were away from the chaos and the war and had each other's love till the end of their days.”

At the very end of it all, Ciri crouched down to bury the urns. With Jet’s help, she was able to finish burying them, standing up after the process was complete. The site didn’t look any different, but she knew now they were truly at rest and these weren’t empty graves.

“I know you’ve both become one with the Force…and I know even that’s not enough to keep you two apart,” Ciri grinned at that, “Know that I plan to continue upholding the Vis name. I will never forget what you two have done for me and the sacrifices you’ve made...I love you…mom and…dad..” Tears began to stream down her face unexpectedly. She hadn’t cried for years, but here she was, Grandmaster of the Jedi, sobbing quietly, “Goodbye..”
 

Insalius

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If Jet had a face he would be smiling, glad that Ciri was finally at peace with the loss of her parents. He gently helped her bury the urns, his own memories of his time with the previous generation of the Vis family going through his head. The galaxy had indeed changed quite a bit over the last few decades though it had definitely been for the better. The peace this time was real, hopefully lasting for as long as all of them would live for. It was inevitable that war would break out again, though when and over what were a mystery. In the face of such certain truths, it was important to revel in the peace that one could grasp now as best as one could. That was a lesson the Elensalite had learned from Shae and Corvo after they had left the galactic stage and it was one he devoted all his strength to maintaining as best he could for everyone else.

He was about to turn away when he felt something nostalgic, emotions he hadn't felt in a very long time. As he was an artificial being Jet couldn't use the force and had no presence in its field, yet even he could feel through his empathy that there was something else here. It was strongest behind Ciri, a mixture of old emotions that he thought he would never feel again. It seemed that the parents had come one last time to see their daughter off, to be a family together again for one last moment. He had read of such Force Apparitions yet had never seen one, though he was sure that was what he was feeling right now. The moment was perfect, hopefully something that Ciri had noticed and was able to take part in as well. He could feel their love and pride for their daughter, further reinforcing the validity of Jet's old decision to serve the Vis family. Truly they were the most human of all the denizens of the galaxy and that alone was worth protecting for him.

A flicker on the horizon made him look away, watching the sun start to fall below the distant line. "Ah, it would appear that it is time for us to depart. We shall return again soon, for sure. For now, though, I've an old friend who would like to give you a gift in the name of piece. He didn't give me the details but it's some newly developed technology that should help make life a bit easier on some of the harsher colonies out there. Let us go, keeping your parents in our hearts as we keep working to make a better future. I know they left their legacy to a great woman, perhaps the greatest Jedi Grandmaster I've had the privilege of knowing." With a gesture he guided Ciri back to their ship, taking off just as twilight fell on the planet. Until the end of his days he would be by her side, his son taking his place after his passing. The Vis family was one of the last few shining beacons in the darkness that had enveloped the galaxy and as long as their line lived on they would be protected by Jet's own progeny through as many generations as they survived. Twilight fell on the past, yet the Dawn would bring hope to all thanks to a couple whose names now lived on only in the memory of a few. Just as they wanted, in the end.
 
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