#lohen'drin

I have your photographs And the sun on your face I'm freezing that frame 'Gold Dust' - Tori Amos

She found the package on her doorstep, just as she had all the others.  The last one had been delivered years ago.  She almost feared they had finally stopped.  That he was grown now and the mysterious photographer had stopped following him.  The surprise of seeing it there made her nearly drop the bag of groceries she held in the crook of her arm.

Retrieving it quickly, she tapped her finger against the door's lock and moved quickly through the portal as it hissed open.  The groceries were left on the kitchen counter, forgotten for the moment as she tore away the strange brown wrapping to reveal the holocube inside.  The message was displayed on the surface, longer than the others.

My apologies, Mrs. Neverdusk.  I'm sure you can understand with the tensions going on and your son being grown now that it's much more difficult for me to take the time to get a snapshot of him to send to you.  As you can see, he has passed his trials.  This may well be the last time I can send you anything.  However, I have also passed on a word of his parentage to him.  He's old enough and trained enough now that I feel him more than capable of making his own decisions about his family.   Regards, Y.

She felt a little chill run down her spine.  The very idea of him coming to see her.  What might she even say to him?  Would he remember her at all?  Did he know the circumstances of how he ended up on Tython? The bargain that was struck?

Shaking her head, she turned the holocube over and clicked the button to activate it.  His image sprung to life, a young man now nearing twenty.  Such a placid expression, his chin lifted as he studied something above him, his hands held loosely in his lap.  He had her eyes, she noted.  Of course he did.  

She tried to touch the image, just wishing she could touch his jaw, studying the way he moved.  Then startled as it hissed with static and the picture suddenly disappeared until she pulled her hand away and it reformed.  

The holocube joined the others she'd stored away in a chest under her side of the bed.  She took a moment to dust all of them off with care, displaying the photos sent to her over the years.  From a young boy of seven, squinting into the Tythonian sunlight, the padawan braid growing longer against his cheek as the years passed.  An adolescent holding a practice blade with a touch of uncertainty. A young man, fingers steepled in front of him, confidence in the half smile on his lips.  

When finally she turned them off, she closed the chest.  Kissing the tips of her fingers, she pressed them against the top of the container and then pushed it back beneath her bed.  Standing, straightening her blouse, she turned back toward the kitchen.  

If there's one thing some of the wacky situations we run into in Operations have taught me, it's this:  Under fire I am a graceful butterfly of a healer.

Also, the Sage self heal is fabulous.  I can hit Life Tap Noble Sacrifice a few times, then use the self heal and gain a bit more Force power without as much pain.  Which makes me feel a bit less bitter about how easy it is for my Operative medic to keep energy up compared to being Force power starved on my Sage.

I also noticed Lohen's Willpower is higher than before the patch.  I was at 2059 Willpower (fully buffed) before, it's now 2075 and I haven't touched his gear at all or gotten anything new.  

Lohen'drin sequestered himself in a small room at the back of the ship.  He made sure the door panel locked, hopefully keeping anyone from disturbing him.  

Settling on the cool floor of the cabin, he breathed in deeply and connected himself to the Force.  The light enveloped him, drowning out the rest of the world.  Here he could feel the nearby presences of other Jedi.  Jhet, Al'dien, Iolite, and many others. With a little concentration he found his padawan, safe on Coruscant. He reached out further, seeking out one particular light.

And found it drowned in darkness.  That one beautiful light, soft spoken Elkoreth, trapped now in fear and pain and terror.  Lohen'drin tried to reach out to him, to send him a message of comfort.  Then that light winked out completely and the person Lohen'drin once knew became a vortex.  

He gasped, letting go of his meditation to blink in the harsh ship's lighting.  The sick sticky feel of darkness clung to his skin, no matter how much he tried to tell himself it was all psychological.