It seemed to take forever.
FIRST, the clones were slow about repairing his ship, and even with his help it took far longer than he'd anticipated.
THEN, he had to make his way back to the shortcut jump point. Via several jumps.... where he had to evade some pirates who happened to be working one of them.
FINALLY, he'd gotten on his way, gotten to Terra. He slipped past the defense system with his NRI and Spaceport codings, following his trackers to... the middle east? What was she doing outside of Jerusalem?
The Watcher shook his head to himself as he landed, cloaked, a bit away from the Terra Group team's transports. He stepped out onto the sand, the air shimmering about him briefly.
And then he was gone.
It hadn't taken him long to figure out that Sylvana was no longer there. He saw the tracking pendant Hobbie had given her, lying upon her folded jacket and boots.
Great, just great. Fes sighed and stalked silently down the Red Home's ramp, already formulating some plans in mind to figure out his next step.
Hearing voices, he ducked out of the way, invisibly weaving through the newly returned before he saw... her.
He slowly smiled. She could help him.
Cheriss paused in the darkness at the ramp to the Red Home. The men of their party were already halfway into the ship, but Becki paused and looked back, frowning to see the Wraith standing alone. "You go on," Cheriss insisted. "I'll be in shortly. I want to walk a little." Becki nodded and ducked into the ship.
A moment later, a baritone voice spoke in her ear. "We need to talk."
Her eyes widened in recognition. "What are you doing here?" she asked out of the side of her mouth, not looking around, knowing it would be pointless.
"Meet me just beyond that rise, Cheriss. The one to your left," he told her gently, his breath warm on her cheek, the only thing proving his voice was not her imagination.
She gave the slightest of nods, then waited a ten-count, maintaining her slow walk around the base of the Red Home, before heading in the direction indicated.
When she crossed the rise, the air to her right shimmered a moment to then reveal a man, his hair blonde this time and wearing a mustache, leaning back against the gulley wall with his hands folded atop his head. "Glad to see you're here, Cheriss."
She shook her head, his hair had to be a different colour every time she saw him. "You haven't answered me," she pointed out. "What are you doing here?"
"I was watching a girl for Wes and Hobbie... Sylvana Lorrdain. Got sidetracked on my way back to Terra from Coruscant, and it seems her trackers are left here, but there's nowhere to find her. Where is she?"
Confusion shadowed Cheriss's face. "She was here when we left yesterday. In med bay."
Concern shone on Fes's features, much more than he'd ever shown for any of his charges. "Medical? Why? What happened?" Flashes of thought ran into his mind, foremost being that if he'd been there she wouldn't have gotten hurt... and her absence could mean....
"It wasn't pretty." Cheriss winced. "They brought her and one of her teammates back barely alive. Apparently they meant to let off steam by sparring with one another. But it got out of hand. They nearly killed each other, Fes."
"Sith, she still hasn't gotten control of the berserker, I would have thought she would have in the past twenty years..." he muttered to himself before he sighed, then looked back up. "I'm sure they did. She's not here now, though - just her things. However no talk seemed like she was dead - but..." he broke off shaking his head.
"She was alive when we left," Cheriss shrugged. "But we heard nothing more about her while we were away. If something has changed . . ." She frowned, shivered by a wave of motherly concern the sort that had come more and more frequently ever since she first knew of Alienor, even when the concern was nothing to do with Alienor. "This is more than an ordinary Watching for you, though, isn't it, Fes?"
He nodded, "Much more."
"What, then?"
He shook his head, "I shouldn't tell you. Suffice to say, she was once very close to me."
Cheriss studied his face with an air of pity. "It's personal? Are you sure you know what you're doing, Fes?" She looked away, in the direction that was Mendellia and the nursery of the High Palace. "I've learned better than to let Personal get caught up with Mission since I came to Terra."
"When it started, it was just like any other job, Cheriss... it was only recently that I found out who she really was," He sighed. "You know I usually keep myself quite apart from my charges."
"Certainly," she said. "So forgive me if I find this surprising."
"Of course. I know you can keep secrets, perhaps my worry would be lightened if I had someone to share the burden of knowledge on this planet."
She smiled a little. "If you wish."
"I just found out my birth family yet lives," Fes said simply.
It took but a moment for the light of understanding to dawn in Cheriss's dark eyes. Then her mouth rounded in a silent Oh!, and finally she grinned and gripped his arm. "Truly! Is it so? How can it be?"
He shook his head, "I don't know - but it is so. Apparently the entire family disappeared for safety sake, and my siblings' memories erased. Skywalker unlocked those memories, and only then did Garik piece it together, and then myself."
"Does she know?" asked Cheriss.
He shook his head.
"Going to tell her?" she grinned.
He sighed, "I... don't know if that's the best thing."
"Perhaps not." She shrugged. "At least not as yet; she has enough to deal with before that. But Fes--" she fixed him with another motherly look--"she has to know soon. Especially if . . . well, my friend, her situation was precarious enough yesterday. I don't know what it will be today."
"I should have been here, dammit," Fes cursed himself, turning and smashing a small energy blast into the canyon wall, the rock crumbling around it.
Cheriss smiled faintly. "Ever the Watcher."
"I've failed her before, Cheriss... and now I've failed her again," he growled angrily, closing his eyes tightly and working to calm himself down before he did something really drastic. "I don't like not being in control of things."
"Just so you manage well what you do control," she encouraged.
He shook his head. "I try." He turned and looked at her, leaning back against the crumbled wall. "So, is it safe to assume she's been brought somewehre for medical treatment? She has an allergy to Bacta, same as myself."
"If she isn't here, that seems safe to assume."
"You realise I have to break cover now..."
She smiled. "I realize it pains you to consider doing so."
"But I will. Once I find out where she is, I'll worry about what I'll be doing from there." He looked at Cheriss and smiled. "You know, you're quite the sight for homesick eyes."
She laughed in surprise. "Only because my homesickness can't possibly be less than yours, Fes, after a year in this place."
He held his arm out to her in a gentlemanly fashion. "Guess it's time, then."
She smiled and accepted his arm. "Safety in numbers, old friend."
"Indeed."
Arm in arm they made their way back to the Red Home.