Not Here
Locations
Factions
Players
Tia O'Mandalorio (Laurie)
Sabbath Rune (Jack)
Syatt Walker (Scott)
Sola (Rob)
Tao (Antonio)
Antwoord (Phil)
NPCs
Lt. Lee Meriweather
Velayna
Short Public Excerpt/Summary
Having arrived at Adasta, Sola, Tao, Antwoord, Tia, and Velayna watch as the fallen Vanguard are summoned from the Force, including Sabbath and Bandit. A mysterious woman invites Tia for tea. And Sabbath and Tia are reunited. Distantly.
Once they arrive at the hotel on Adasta, Velayna asks Tia, “Can I stay with you?” Tia gives Velayna a somewhat distracted smile. "Sure. Won't be the first time I've bunked with someone." And her expression briefly darkens before returning to neutral. “.... thank you....” She holds Tia’s hand, like a child would. Tia gives her hand a squeeze, then slips her arm around Velayna's shoulders as they walk down the hall. Velayna will pray. Tia never saw Sabbath pray. Ever.
Sola, Tao, Antwoord, and Tia are taken to an ancient temple in the icy mountains north of the Arcology. The cathedral is crowded with spectators from all walks of life in the system. The survivors are separated in the crowd as they watch each of the fallen Vanguard being summoned through a portal in the Force. One by one, the Vanguard return and are embraced by the crowd and their fellow soldiers. During the long ceremony, Tia is approached by a young woman who remarks that she can "Sense the burden she carries." They have a quiet conversation as the woman, introducing herself as "Mel", keeps Tia out of the press of the crowd. At the end, she invites Tia for tea when they all return to the city, and passes her a clearance code with her contact information and address. Finally, Sabbath and Bandit are returned from the Force. Sabbath looks around. Searching.... searching.... Searching.... And then he hangs his head and cries. Bandit will embrace Sabbath if he allows, silently. Sabbath hugs him hard. Tia looks over as Sabbath and Bandit walk through the door. Her eyes go to Sabbath, and she gives him a small, relieved smile. Sabbath rushes to her and grabs her up. He is crying openly as he holds her. He whispers, “... I’m sorry... I tried.... I’m so sorry... I tried...” He can’t stop crying. Tia hugs him, and gently strokes his hair, but she doesn't say anything. She seems oddly quiet. “.... I don’t want to be here,” Sabbath whispers. Tia stiffens, and takes a step back to look at him. Her eyes are empty of all emotion. Sabbath’s heart almost stops as he looks for Tia inside her eyes. Tia just watches him. Sabbath deflates and steps back. Tia's face suddenly returns back to life, but it's to her more usual, neutral pleasant face. She gives him a small smile and says, "Then you should go wherever it is that you want to be. You should check in with Velayna. She was worried about you." She gestures towards the young woman. “‘She’ was....?,” Sabbath looks cold. Velayna comes to take Sabbath’s hand. She gives Tia a ‘what’s wrong with you?’ Look. Then, tries to lead Sabbath away. Sabbath holds out a hand to Tia. Tia gives Sabbath a quizzical look, then takes his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "It's good to see you back, Sabbath." She smiles. "Looks like folks are heading off - we should probably keep up." She drops her hand and makes a small gesture waving him and Velayna ahead. Sabbath does not join them. He just... goes. When Velayna urges him to stay, he pulls his hand away and goes. Meanwhile, Sola basically "works the crowd" to gather any and all intelligence she can. She tries to reach the Doc on the Comms, but she only receives a busy signal. Replaying the images from her Neural Recorder, Sola tries to see if she can get a look at the person who escorted the Doc away from the scene. She sees a woman in a dark coat with long brown hair directing him out of the scene. There are code cylinders in her shoulder sleeve pocket.
That night, it’s an awkward dinner at the table. Sabbath disappears for a while, before finally joining the rest of the group. Tia hits the wine bottle hard. At one point, after it is revealed that the Vanguard have been invited to participate in some special training, Sabbath questions why he would even bother going to it. Tia looks him dead in the eye and in a low, bitter voice says, “Because it’s the last thing Lee arranged for before she died.” Sabbath recoils as if struck before deciding to attend the training. Tia looks at Sabbath, and for a split second he sees something brittle in her eyes before it vanishes. After Sola makes a comment questioning Lee’s motives, Tia gives her a scathing look, saying only, “If you believe that, then you really didn't know anything about Lee at all." Standing from the table, Tia heads to her room, shutting the door without looking back. Sabbath follows immediately thereafter, knocking on her door. After a moment, Tia cracks the door open. "Sabbath. Hi. What can I do for you? Kinda tired." “I don’t think either of us should be alone right now. I need you, Tia. Do you need me?” Tia stares at Sabbath for a long moment. She looks tired, and finally says, "Honestly, Sabbath, right now I don't want to need anyone." Her eyes look vacant. She might as well have stabbed him. He turns and walks away. She quietly closes the door behind him.
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