Gone

"GONE"

#ShortStory #OneShot #CharacterDevelopment

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IC: Crado Rasi Tuum (& Lyra Bathori)

Location: Stav Kesh & Kaleth, Tython

Music: Wicked Game "cover" by; Lusaint

https://youtu.be/DDUptOux5v4

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169 AA [1090 BBY]

// Hunting Cabin near Stav Kesh //

Morning before the incident….

"Come back to bed Lyra" the Large Cathar Male said as he watched his mate grab her belongings. He tapped the mattress, "They can wait for another hour… or two" he said with a soft purr in his voice and a smirk on his face. Lyra chuckled and shook her horned head as she grabbed her Je'daii robes off the ground. "You know that isn't true" she said and began to slip on her clothes "they said it was urgent" she added. It was true, she had indeed received a message only a few minutes ago, from the council itself telling her she had to go to Sunspot immediately. Of Course they didn't tell her why, but that wasn't uncommon. The council often spoke in riddles.

"They always say it's urgent" Crado replied with a sigh and fell back onto his pillow. "I think it's more urgent you come back to bed" he added as he peeked at Lyra, who was now almost dressed. "I'm not even supposed to be here" she replied, "if they find out…" "then what? They expel us? Kick us out of the order?" Crado grunted in frustration. He thought it was unfair that Lyra wasn't allowed to choose her own mate while everyone else could. Even her own brother was allowed, but she… because she was a female, couldn't. "They most likely kick you out" Lyra replied "they still need me, remember" she added with a sadness in her voice. She always tried to hide it but Crado could always sense her emotions.

"I remember" he replied and rolled onto his side. They had agreed that after she finished her training as a journeyer, they would tell the council about their relationship. And if they didn't accept it the both of them would leave. He knew she meant it with all her heart, but still he worried that eventually when the time would come she wouldn't leave her family behind.

Fully dressed Lyra turned towards him and gave him a loving smile. "I'll be back before you know it" she said and then held up her comlink "you can contact me if you miss me" she added. Immediately the Cathar male reached for his comlink on the nightstand and called her. Lyra smirked at him "seriously?", and he just smiled back "what?? I miss you already." He got out of the bed and stepped towards her, pulling her close into a warm embrace. He took in her scent and kissed her on the top of her head. "Say hello to brains for me" he said when he finally let go. "I will.." she replied and gave him a kiss before heading out… Crado had no idea that this was going to be the last time he'd see her.

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// Stav Kesh //

Four days after the incident….

Icy winds ruffled his mane as Crado stood on the battlements of Stav Kesh, looking down at the half buried Tho Yor on the side of the mountain. In his hands he held his comlink. It had been four days since Lyra left for Sunspot and after her message that she and Bob had arrived, he hadn't heard from her again. Several times, every single night to be exact, he had tried to contact her. But there was no reply. He had this eerie feeling that something had happened, still he tried to find a logical reason for her not contacting him. He figured that she was simply too busy with whatever task they had for her on that desolate moon. But after two days he began to worry even more. He had contacted the base on Sunspot, but they didn't tell him anything. They said that the work they did was classified. But he knew something wasn't right.

"Ranger" a voice suddenly said behind him. His mind had been so preoccupied that he hadn't even heard the Master approach. Startled, he pocketed the comlink and turned around. He made a respectful bow with his head "Master Haroun".. the Echani male before him gave a faint smile, "Crado" he paused for a moment and stepped closer. "The Council requested your presence at Kaleth" he said. "My presence? May I know what for?" The Cathar asked. "I'm sorry to inform you that something happened on Sunspot." the Master replied. "Sunspot? What happened?.." Crado's hands began to shake, he knew whatever it was, that it was bad. "I'm afraid I can't tell you, you will have to go to Kaleth for that."

The Cathar Ranger shook his head, he wanted to know now, but also knew that the council probably didn't give Master Haroun the full details either. So as fast as he could he rushed to the main hanger and hopped onto the transport that was waiting for him.

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// Kaleth //

As soon as the ramp was lowered, Crado jumped off the transport and ran across the main hangar of the temple. His heart was racing in his chest, full of worry and fear for the news that was to come. In his hurry he pushed aside several young journeyers that were going on a field trip. Without knowing he even pushed aside their teacher as he made his way to the nearest lift.

The journey to the top of the highest tower felt like an eternity. Holding his finger on the 'close' door button he impatiently stared at the changing floor numbers on the control panel next to the door. Every time the cabin slowed down he pressed the button, making sure the doors wouldn't open and the lift would continue moving up. All he could think of was Lyra and he prayed she was ok.

\*DING\*

The floor bell rang as the lift finally came to a stop. The doors opened "Greetings Ranger Rasi Tuum" a soft and friendly voice said the moment he stepped out of the lift. To the right he saw a young woman with green skin, "please take a seat, the Grand Master will see you shortly" she said and pointed at the benches against the wall. Quietly he obliged and sat down.

Only a couple of minutes later the doors to the council chambers opened and Crado saw Lyra's parents stepping outside. Her Mother, a Cathar hybrid like her daughter, immediately noticed Crado sitting in the hallway. Eyes red from crying she immediately asked "What is \*he\* doing here?" She was angry at him, but Crado didn't understand why as they had never officially met. The human male beside her was her husband, Galen Carro, the Temple Master of Bodhi. "He deserves to know Nermine" the Temple Master replied to his wife and tried to take her arm, but Nermine Bathori pushed it away and approached Crado. The large Cathar immediately rose up from his seat. The woman looked intimidating despite her size and if he wasn't already backed against the wall he would have taken a step back. Instead he greeted her with respect "Mistress Bathori" he said and bowed his head.

"It's all your fault" she said glaring up into his eyes as more tears began to well up in hers.. "I don't understand," he responded and glimpsed between her and her husband who was now also approaching. "Really?" Her lips were trembling as she spoke "Because of you my daughter was sent to Sunspot. If you'd stayed away from her like you'd been told she would have been here, she'd probably even be a Ranger. But you didn't listen, did you? You thought we didn't know about your relationship?" Crado wanted to respond but before he could Galen interrupted. "Nermine, you can't blame him" he said and looked up at Crado with a gentle but sad smile. "How can you say that? You know it's true! She's gone because of him!" Nermine bursted out in tears and ran to the lift. Temple Master Carro looked over at the young woman that had greeted Crado upon arrival, silently signaling her to go check on his wife while he would talk to Crado.

"Please forgive my wife" he said when he finally turned to the distraught Cathar. "We both know it wasn't your fault, but she… she needs someone to blame" he explained and placed his hand on Crado's shoulder. Crado didn't move or say anything, the last words of Lyra's mother echoed in his mind; 'she's gone'. After a moment in silence he finally spoke "but.. I.. I… I don't understand. What happened? Where's Lyra?" "The Grand Master will tell you himself… I'll be waiting here for you" Galen replied calmly. Crado could see the Temple Master was trying his best to contain his emotions in front of him, by now he understood that Lyra was really gone.. "He's waiting for you" Galen added and pointed at the open door to the council chambers.

Crado nodded and took a deep breath before he walked away from Lyra's father. The doors closed behind him as he walked into the circular chamber. The Grand Master wasn't there, but on the other side of the room he saw that the doors to his office were open. Crado walked across the room, his heart pounding in his chest. "Grand Master Darsten… you wished to see me?" He said after knocking on the door. "Yes Ranger Rasi Tuum.. I do" he replied and pointed to the empty chair in front of his desk "You better sit down, I'm afraid i have sad news." Tears began to well up in Crado's eyes as he took a seat, "it's about Lyra?" "I'm afraid so Crado" the Grand Master replied in sorrow and got up to get the Cathar a glass of water.

"An accident happened on Sunspot" he said as he placed the glass in front of Crado. "Journeyer Bathori was sent to the base to work the containment field of the Dark Matter well. It had been unstable for quite some time and we needed someone with her skills to find out why this was happening. While she and Belvedere were there an anomaly occurred" the Grand Master paused and sat down at his desk. "An Anomaly?" Crado asked with a trembling voice. "A wormhole opened above the well, according to our readings it was temporal like the one that brought our ancestors here… Lyra and her partner were pulled in before they could get out of the well chamber." Darsten explained. Crado's eyes widened and he gasped in shock, "but… but where did they go? Are they… are they dead?" He asked in panic as the tears poured down his cheeks. "We don't know where they went or when.. but readings suggest they were taken to the past." "We have to get them back!!" Crado yelled. "We would if we knew how but we don't even know how this wormhole opened, there's nothing that explains it. It was as if the force itself decided to take them wherever they needed to go."

The Grand Master did his best to remain composed as he explained but even he had difficulty with the situation. "Then let me go to Sunspot, I'll go through the wormhole myself to find them" the Cathar suggested. "Ranger… even If an anomaly occurred again and you got through there is no way of knowing if you end up in the same time as them. Besides, you know the stories of our ancestors, they were scattered across the galaxy, you might never even be able to find them." "But we have to do something! I can't just do nothing!" Crado clenched his fists in frustration. "Our scientists have been trying to find a way to undo this since it happened. Until they succeed we can't do anything except looking for signs of Lyra and Belvedere in the past. Lyra is smart enough to know what to do, she will leave messages for us to find."

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With a broken heart, Cardo eventually left the Grand Master's office. There was nothing he could do but hope they would find any signs of Lyra in history. At least then he would know she was alright. "Son.. lets get some fresh air, think we both can use it" he heard Galen say when he stepped out of the council chambers. Silently he nodded and followed Lyra's father into the lift. Both of them didn't say a word as the lift zoomed down to the ground floor or as they left the temple and made their way to the meditational gardens nearby. But after several minutes of silence they sat down on a bench overlooking the pond.

"She loved you, you know" Galen suddenly said. Slightly surprised, Crado looked at the man sitting next to him. Galen smiled, "there are some things in life one can not hide, even if they tried to. And love is one of those things and I could tell she loved you deeply… I was happy for you." Finally the facade of Lyra's father shattered as he broke into tears.. "Unfortunately my wife and the majority of the council weren't happy about it. They tried to separate you from the start." He wiped away the tears and tried to compose himself again. Crado didn't even know how to respond, all this time he thought no one knew. They had done everything to keep it secret.

"I kept telling her, you're pushing her away" Galen continued. "But… I can't blame her for the way she is. My wife was raised with the idea that it was her duty to make sure the bloodline would continue. The Bathori name was more important than her happiness or my daughter's." "But if everyone knew, why didn't they intervene?" Crado asked. Shaking his head Galen answered "they wanted to, but they knew that if they did we would lose both of you.. instead they tried to find ways to undo the imprinting." "Undo?" The Cathar's furrowed his brow. "I was against it but they had began working on creating a device to mentally recalibrate you. An experimental technique they apparently use in the future." From the tone of his voice and the way he shook his head, Crado could tell Galen felt ashamed.

"Lyra and I planned to run away together," Crado confessed. "I know… I would have done the same because this is not what our ancestors wanted for their children." For a moment they went silent again and just gazed at the view. He couldn't believe that the council would go through such lengths to ensure the Bathori bloodline would continue and he wondered what would have happened if they had created that device as neither him or Lyra would have accepted it.

"What are we going to do now?" He eventually broke the silence. Lyra's father sighed and stared down at his feet "go through the entire archive, looking for messages they might have left" he replied and then looked up at the Cathar, "we will find them and do whatever we can to bring you two together."

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To be continued….